He saw me getting plasters and wipes in the kitchen (keep in mind he was kinda drunk at the time) and wanted to put the plaster on me for some reason.
I panicked obviously and just took the plaster and put it on quickly, but then he asked to see it. I pulled my sleeve down and he saw another plaster and was like ''whats that blue one for'' I said the cat scratched me and he was like ''The cats been with me the whole time'' so I was like ''oh yeah was probably my fingernail then. Then he said ''well as long as its not on purpose then made eye contact with me''
Panik
TL;DR: my dad caught me getting plasters and i made a shitty excuse so now he probably knows :l
help
Context 1: Barely anything is known about the Dark Age of Technology (DaOT), and one of the biggest mysteries of the setting revolve around the mysterious Men of Materials: Gold, Stone, and Iron. While we know that the Men of Iron are true AI, such as UR-025, Tabula Myriad, etc, who could probably just download themselves into available chassises at any moment, not much is known about the Men of Stone or Gold.
Context 2: The descriptions of Kron in this short story confirm what we do know about the Men of Stone, and his existence has major ramifications regarding foundational aspects of the lore.
To begin this discussion, we need to clarify just what we actually know about the Men of Materials. While not explicitly stated in any novels or codex, Laurie Golding, an accredited BL author and editor of multiple publications, states that the original vision for the Men of Materials was to have them as three separate transhuman races. Specifically, Alan Meritt, one of the original authors of GW who was with them since the days of Rogue Trader, stated that the Men of Iron were the Machines, the Men of Gold were a genetically engineered master race that came about through selective breeding, while the Men of Stone were a cyborg intelligence. In particular, "the "Stone" part refers to silicon, and are likened to the Thirteenth Tribe from Battlestar Galactica, the original cyclons who left Kobol and began their own civilization". While a lot of this is old lore, just a couple years ago we have the first ever, explicitly confirmed existence of a Man of Iron, UR-025. And since the entire concept of the Men of Materials was introduced as a package deal in the 3rd edition rulebook, UR-025's existence hints that GW didn't softly retconn the entire concept, and the concept of all 3 transhuman races, namely Gold, Stone, and Iron, were still on the table for discussion and will be terms that define the DaOT.
While we have an explicit description of the Men of Iron in the lore, we really don't have such confirmation for the Men of Gold or Stone. However, the short story Ancient History, by Andy Chambers actually provides descriptions of a highly unusual individual that altogether, very strongly hints that he is a Man of Stone. To set the stage, Kron is officially a naval bondsman on the Imperial Battleship Retribution. While he is colloquially referred to as an "old h
... keep reading on reddit ➡"Whatever I lost, I lost a long time ago," - Barbara, Survivor, 2nd Terran Reanimation War, Resource War Era
The Executor Fifth Most High of Operational Security stared at the muzzle of the Terran Confederate Armed Forces magac pistol with wild eyes. His rear and side eyes were squeezed shut, his forward eyes wide, his feeding tendrils curled defensively. He could feel the roughness of the ferrocrete alleyway against his knees. His hands were behind his back, all four folded over one another as he looked up at the gigantic hole at the end of the barrel of the compact and ugly warsteel framed pistol.
It looks so much bigger than 10mm, the Executor thought.
Behind the pistol was the featureless black visage that the Executor had sent on more than a few missions in the hundred years he had held his position. The Lanaktallan had no name, no number, no rank.
He was just referred to as The Expediter.
"You thought I would not come for you after your pathetic attempt to assign assassins to eliminate the Terran Diplomatic Envoy Team," the Expediter rumbled. He pressed the barrel of the pistol against the Executor's forehead.
The Expediter paused for a moment, his hand going to his wrap-around datalink.
"You are indeed fortunate," the Expediter said. "I have a pressing appointment."
The Executor opened his mouth to thank the Expediter for his mercy.
The pistol coughed and the Executor's body dropped to the ground.
Ru'udamo'o trotted away quickly, heading for his vehicle. An ad had popped up on Kriegslist and he needed to answer it.
Speaks threw a em-flash grenade over the rapidly dissolving dumpster and rolled out from behind the dumpster, skittering forward as soon as his front legs hit the ground, at a full out run by the time his rear legs caught up.
The fweep fweep fweep of the rounds going by encouraged him to keep his head down.
They're using subsonic rounds, Speaks thought to himself. The door ahead was a hard light hologram that flickered to tell him that the physical component was now turned off.
He looked back as he slid behind another dumpster.
Four sets of red eyes, tall, bipedal.
The shoulders, neck, head shape, and arm/leg to torso
... keep reading on reddit ➡This time of year, trouble lurks in the shadow of my graveyard. It’s because of the winter holidays, you see—bereaved families come to visit, their outpouring of emotion gets the 'locals' all riled up, then anyone caught here after sundown is liable to have an encounter.
That’s what happened with poor Mrs. O’Reilly. I spotted her through the window of my shack, wandering past a row of headstones from the nineties. There was a dry winter breeze and mist so thick you couldn’t see your own shoes; definitely not a night you wanted to get stuck outside.
I pulled on my raincoat and gloves and caught up to her on the flank of a steep hill, close to a headstone dated October 13th, 1997.
“Good evening,” I said.
She shrieked and spun around.
I leaned back. “Didn’t mean to startle you. I’m Sean, the groundskeeper here.”
She put a hand to her chest and said, “Oh, I’m so sorry. You scared the absolute bejesus out of me.”
“My apologies.”
Wind hissed through the crooked branches of skeletal trees on either side of us. I looked around then said, “That breeze must be cutting you to the bone, what are you doing out here at this hour?”
“Well, I’m afraid I lost my bearings. I can’t even remember which way I came.” She whipped her head from side to side. “It feels like I’ve been going in circles. I really need to get home to my daughter, she must be worried sick.”
I had to get the lady inside before the situation became dangerous. “Not to worry. Come with me, I’ll take you over to the gate.”
“That would be wonderful. Thank you, Mr…” Her voice trailed off, waiting for me to fill in the rest.
“Donnelly. But you can call me Sean.” I tipped my cap.
“Pleased to meet you Mr. Donnelly.”
The path curved in a lazy S-shape. It was a narrow lane, with brambles and bushes to the left and a row of headstones on the right.
“How long have you worked here?” she asked, then breathed into her cupped hands.
“Coming up on twenty-five years.”
“And does it ever bother you?”
“What?”
She gestured toward a nearby headstone. “Being so close to the…you know. I’d imagine you’ve had a few frights over the years.”
“Only when I get my pay cheque.”
She chuckled. “It’s funny, I’ve never thought of myself as superstitious, but as soon as the sun went down I started picturing corpses springing out of their graves. I half-expected a rotted hand to snatch my ankle.”
“When that happens, it’s best to bash ‘em with a shovel. Usually sends ‘em right back to sleep.”
She stared at me.
“Kidding
... keep reading on reddit ➡“You ready Bruce?” my producer asks, moments before we go live.
“You bet,” I say, but it’s a lie. I’m not ready. Not after last week’s fiasco. How could I be? I check my mirror for any faults in my makeup, suck in my gut, then walk out on stage to a live studio audience.
Enter music.
The announcer introduces me. I glance down at my monitor and cringe. The producers make me out to be that sleazy game show host from the days of old. Polyester and all.
The camera cuts to me and we’re live.
“Alrighty. I’m happy to be here. Hope you are too!” I say, doing my best Bob Barker impression. “Let’s bring out this week’s contestant, shall we?” I’m looking at the camera, as if asking the folks at home. “And then…”
Cue the audience.
“LET’S MAKE A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL!”
This contestant takes to the podium. He’s a paunchy, middle-aged man, casually dressed, with broad shoulders and a generous chin. The camera follows him to the podium. Meanwhile, the audience is going berserk.
Cut to me.
“Knock it off!” I tell the audience, playfully. They hush. “Peter McNamara, tell us a little bit about yourself, why don’t you?”
Cut to Peter, who’s wiping his sweat-soaked forehead.
“Well Bruce, back in high school, I was leading quarterback for the Mater Dei Monarchs. State Champs, two years running! These days, I mostly sell insurance. Divorced. No kids. Plus…” Saving the best for last, “I’m a lifelong Chargers fan.”
Crowd cheers.
“Alright Peter, are YOU ready to make a DEAL with the DEVIL?”
He was.
“Great! Then let’s bring out Damion, shall we?”
Cue creepy music. Damion appears out of nowhere, and is standing next to Peter.
“Tell me Peter,” I ask. “Do you know the rules?”
Peter nods nervously, all the while glancing at the extremely tall man who appeared out of nowhere, and is now standing next to him wearing an outlandish devil suit.
“Great! So, Peter. Tell Damion, and the rest of us, what it is you most desire? Just remember…”
Cue the audience.
“THE DEVIL’S IN THE DETAILS!”
Peter is shaking like a leaf. His head looks like a well-polished bowling ball.
“Well Bruce,” he says. “I’ve given this a lot of thought.”
Cut to camera three.
“What I really want is a big ol’ house on the beach. And a big ol’ swimming pool. And a car built like a tank!”
The crowd agrees.
Right away I see the problem. He didn’t stick to the script. What’s this ‘built like a tank’ nonsense? Where did that come from? Before each show, I sit down with the contestant an
... keep reading on reddit ➡Hello all, stepping out of my typical line of writing here, and doing some fantasy. This popped in my head as I sat down to try and figure out the next Part of Second God, so I hope you enjoy it!
H==> PART 2
"No, Get Away!" A female voice shouted in anger, catching Will's attention as he walked past the alley. Will turned down the alley following the deluge of shouts.
"Do you know who I am? If you touch me..." The choice was cut off by the sound of flesh hitting flesh, and just as Will turned a corner in the ally he saw three men standing around a young woman burst into laughter.
"If you touch me." One of the men said in a poor mockery of the young woman's voice.
"Now I don't think she sounded quite like that." Will said, the deep vibrato of his voice causing all three men to jump and turn around. The young woman, to her credit, took the opportunity to scramble between two of them and hide behind the wall of muscle that was Will.
"Why don't you hand over that sweet little thing, and we let you walk out of here with all your fingers still attached to your hands, and not shoved down your throat." The largest one of the three said, a dagger that seemed to emanate a faint light, indicating enchantment, spun into his hand.
"Hmm, well that is a tempting offer, but I think I will have to decline. Have a good day gentlemen." Will said, placing one large hand on the young woman's shoulders and practically pushing her over as he moved her towards the mouth of the alley. As they approached the turn that would put them in sight of the mouth of the ally, three more men came around the corner.
"See, the problem with you refusing is that this alley, and all of whittlers end, is our territory." The man with the enchanted dagger said, his group of three coming to complete the circle around Will and the young woman.
"Well, I was hoping it wouldn't come to this." Will said shaking his head.
"Come to wha..." The man with the dagger said, but he was interrupted as Will's fist impacted his jaw with an uppercut that lifted the man three feet into the air.
Without stopping, Will caught the arm of the man to his right by the wrist in his left hand. His right arm swung over the far shoulder of the man and grabbed the man's shirt back. At the same time, Will's Right leg stepped behind the man, and with a rapid twisting motion, Will heaved with his body, sending the man who he had ahold of cat
... keep reading on reddit ➡City apartments are rough. My first two places were both basements, because that's what you can afford these days if you're looking to live alone. Third place, no lie, had a window facing a brick wall only three feet away. I was never looking for a spectacular view, I just wanted a decent window. Until last month, when I got one.
I moved in December 1st, to this super small, but super decent apartment only a few minute walk from the subway. The main living space extended from the kitchen, and a flimsy sliding door separated that from a small bedroom space. And the east wall of that bedroom space? A floor to ceiling window. Sure, it only overlooked the dirty street ahead, a small coffee place, and a huge community housing building, but my God -- the air, the sounds, the sunlight. It was perfect. And so shockingly affordable!
I'll make a note here, that I've never been much of a horror movie person. Just never caught my interest. So, when I couldn't find any bug reports on the building, it just seemed like a lucky break.
Anyway, after settling my debt with my moving helpers (A six pack of beer and a large pizza, obviously), they were off on their way and I began putting together my home. I started with the Wifi and living space so I could work to some tunes, then unboxed some stuff for the kitchen. As I was sliding some plates into my cupboard, a knock came at my door. Shit, maybe my music was too loud.
Standing on the other side of the door was a small woman woman wearing a hijab. I smiled apologetically. "Sorry, is the music too loud?"
"No, it's fine. The walls here are good," she assured me. "I wanted to say hello, welcome you to the building."
"Oh!" I hadn't expected such a warm reception. I'd never been greeted by a neighbor in any of my previous places. "Thanks so much! I'm Louis." She shook my hand.
"Quibla. Love to meet you." She peered into my apartment. "This looks good. Do you need curtains? I can give you some. I have extra."
"Thanks, but I'll get around to it. I'm excited to get some December sunlight coming through," I said with a laugh. She didn't laugh.
"It is no problem. They are lovely curtains. And you need your privacy," she said.
I chuckled, feeling some tension in the air. "I'll make sure to get some curtains up soon. In the meantime, I'll hide all this," I gestured to my lackluster physique. "Under wraps."
Again, no reaction from my neighbor. A moment later, she forced a small laugh, then nodded. "If you need anything,
... keep reading on reddit ➡Day one.
It starts on a relatively normal afternoon.
1pm, but I’m still drowsy. My girlfriend Minami is still in bed.
I rub my eyes and pull on the kitchen blinds. Golden sunlight streams through the window and I blink and grimace. We’ve just returned from Japan, you see. Visiting relatives. I feel so drowsy and drained; jetlag can be a real bitch.
As I adjust to the light I make awkward eye contact with a surprise visitor. A small black cat sat right there on the windowsill, waiting for me, it would seem.
“Oh, hi little guy”, I greet him, peering closer. “I haven’t see you around before. You move here recently?”
The cat does not respond, obviously; it just looks back at me through the glass, and blinks.
One of its eyes is blue, the other is green.
I hear Minami’s yawn behind me and I turn to greet her. She stretches her arms up high and scratches the back of her head.
“Morning Takuya” she says as she heads to the cupboards. “Damn, I’m so hungry. I feel like I haven’t properly eaten in years”.
“Minami, we have a guest, check it out!” I gesture to the window and turn back around, but unfortunately the cat has gone. “Oh. Maybe he’ll be back”.
Condensation has crept into the corners of the windows, I notice as I look for the cat. It catches in the light and I look a little closer as Minami makes her breakfast.
…How curious.
The condensation appears to be made of subtle, soft little crystals. I rub some with my finger and they dissolve into a fine dust.
“Hmm”.
And it’s not the only thing I notice, either. As the title would suggest.
Minami sits on one of our kitchen stools, and she idly sways her legs forwards and backwards as she eats. Perhaps it’s the motion that catches my eye, I couldn’t really say, but something about her tattoo gives me pause of thought.
I’ve always thought it was nice. It’s on the outer side of her left leg, down her calf. It’s incredibly intricate, and depicts a grey heron mid-flight. It’s comprised of inter-connecting lines and spirals, and carefully drawn leaves caught in invisible wind blow in front and behind the majestic bird.
…But today… I don’t know…
…Something just seems off.
Off in a way that I can’t really put into words
I mean, it’s the same tattoo. Grey heron. Mid-flight. Leaves…
…But I swear that it’s different, somehow?
Is it the lighting? I glance up at the bulb. But no, it’s not that… It’s almost as if something intangible has changed. Are the lines that make the heron a little thi
... keep reading on reddit ➡He had been sleeping, for how long was a mystery, but when he awoke he was nowhere familiar. This room was big. It was probably as big as his mum’s house in the area it took up alone. Its roof was high as well which lended it an expensive feeling. The room’s walls, floor and ceiling were all painted white or a very, very light grey. It was hard to tell as his eyes were still only half open. The furnishing of the room was very medical in nature. Wait, it was medical in nature and he happened to be hooked up to what passed as a vitals monitor. Thankfully that was the only piece of technology he was attached to.
Now fully awake but still lying down, half cocooned in a set of bed sheets he began to push himself up into a sitting position but only with genuine struggle. His whole body seemed to be stiff, sore and weak. Struggle aside, sitting gave him a better view of this room. First and foremost he noticed that he was in an absolutely massive bed for his size. You could easily fit two people on it and they would still have had space to wriggle around in their sleep without fear of either falling out of bed or annoying the other person to within an inch of their life. Secondly he noticed that the room was very spartan, a few of his things were at the other end of the room from him on some kind of chestofdrawers.
On his right there was a bedside table adorned with three things. A small light, a tall glass of water and a book. He took the water first and proceeded to sip before drinking it faster than was possibly good for him, the room even with large windows open was still sweat inducingly hot. He took off the covers of this oversized bed with his free hand and then placed the glass down back where he had picked it up from. He probably should have put the glass down first but seeing as it was completely empty there was little to worry about. He picked up the small book, the front cover plainly displaying the text ‘Shil’vati to English Lexicon’. That explained the purple cover and gold lettering. Colours that seemed to be their go to scheme. Purple might have been his favourite colour but having it plastered everywhere made it seem much less appealing. A quick flick through of the book itself revealed that the pages were a normal colour. Although a book with purple pages and gold type would have certainly been interesting.
*Ah that is why the bed is so large, it’s not meant for someone my size, it’s sized for your average Shil’vati amazon. Probably why the r
... keep reading on reddit ➡Chapter Twenty Seven: Small Step, Big Leap
“Nodrin… I was expecting many possible outcomes today… being the first of our people to venture off our world to speak with other unrelated peoples from the stars… was not one…” Meeki says as her hand clasps tightly with Nodrin’s.
The vessel they sit in merely hums as it departs from the ground and soars into the clouds faster than any Gratt airship. Despite the speed, there’s no significant shift of gravitational force.
“You will begin to feel lighter.” A Cali escort guard informed them through their automated translator technology. “Again, it is imperative that you understand that you must be overly cautious when interacting with other species. You are classified as Deathworlders because of your physical advantage over most others. So for the time being please keep your manipulators to yourselves unless prompted otherwise. If prompted, act with great care. Do not run until you have adjusted to the difference in gravity, and don’t move around corners carelessly. You are made of denser and heartier stuff than most others. Please be aware that your facial and bodily expressions may not translate the desired intent to other species. You can also expect strange or disconcerting expressions, it’s likely no offense is intended. Have any questions?”
“How many other species are there?” Nodrin inquires.
The Cali shifts in their standing position.
“Hundreds.” they say with a shrug, “Any questions regarding Deathworlder etiquette?”
Meeki and Nodrin look to each other in uncertainty.
“We must be gentle, understanding, reserved and respectful with everyone we meet. You have our word that we will be such.” Nodrin confirms to their guard.
“Excellent to hear. You are to meet with a member of Cali royalty, so if there’s any question of your intentions I am authorized to use deadly force. I hope you understand.” the guard replies.
“Understood.” Meeki says quickly, trying to not sound insulted by the insinuation. Surely the people of stars’ technological advantage outweighs anything two unarmed Gratt could accomplish. Though if their ‘royalty’ is involved then she supposes such a warning is merited.
It’s then the Gratt begins to feel indeed… lighter. Not weightless by any means, but they certainly are in awe of the phenomenon regardless.
Then making the two jump in surprise, the section of wall next to them fades into translucency. Meekit can’t help but grab her seat, fearing of falling out of the craft. Tho
... keep reading on reddit ➡I'm an electrician, but I will skip technical details to necessary parts. Winter got us pinned at the office construction site. My colleagues needed heat to plaster walls, mix adhesives etc. So, as a site electrician I was given a task of making sure there are enough large heaters (30 amps each times 8) to heat 3 floors. There wouldn't be any problem if: -we had more power to use (we could use 400A on a wire secured by 315A breakers with all heaters on full throttle we would have 470A, including staff rooms and office) -cables were big enough -tradies would turn them at half power at the end of shift Here comes the malicious compliance. I knew that our transformer would burn down first if I did what mngmt wanted. After two months of battle, arguing and giving alternatives (which came on top btw.) I gave up and complied. I told tradies to put these heaters on half power when they call it a day, and they more or less listened, while upper echelon ordered them to put it on max without my knowledge. It was arguably fine, despite my warnings about heating of wires that powered these heaters. One day, after a month, at the union break lights flickered. I thought of it as fluorescent lights being them. Oh how I was wrong. 5 minutes later I've got a call that our transformer is smoking. I opened fuse box that was next to it and shut down the whole site, as wires, oil and insulation started banging. I've moved to a safe distance, called fire dept and energy workers. And when white smoke started turning black I wanted to say "didn't I tell you?" as I was crouching and smoking a cig. It was burned down completely. Next day we got a fuse box with half the power and all but three heaters were decommissioned. As I was sitting in my room after investigation, I was talking with energy company. Reason? Power cables didn't have time to cool down, cable entry points melted, caught fire and breakers didn't work (not my fault, that's on energy comp) And here is the aftermath. When director learned of this he ordered managers to ask me if it's okay to use anything that needs three wires, and all in all defacto became a person that's solely responsible in terms of electricity.
Company I work for doesn't have electrical engineers The same day it happened we were visited by overseer of energy comp and he said we can raise the limit on breakers to 400A
Ask away, will answer
English is not my native language
Author's Note:
Welcome back, everybody! This chapter ended up being over 9000 words long, so it's getting split up into two updates. Part 2 will be posted on Monday at the usual time.
--
Eighty minutes until the teleportation spell was ready.
Rob paced back and forth across an empty street on the outskirts of Elven territory. Orn’tol and Zamira were facing away from him, keeping their watchful eyes on Broadwater’s empty streets. They didn't actually need to be on the lookout, as the Blight’s entry attempts were always heralded by a hideous sound that could be heard from one end of Deserter territory to another, but his pacing was making them nervous. Rob was aware of the effect it was having on them, but found that he couldn’t stop even if he wanted to. Sensory overload was pulling his limbs along like a puppeteer tugging at strings. The half-healed nerves in his arm were tingling, the Corruption within was burning, the sun was beating down on his face, and the anticipation of how the next few hours would play out was wreaking havoc on his mental state.
Something was going to happen. Something always happened.
The Blight tended to make entry attempts just a little away from the Deserters – presumably to give its spawn time to mature – but that left a wide area to cover, and it was unlikely that Rob’s trio would be the first to defend against new incursions. His group was formed for the purpose of responding to entry attempts as they came, which is why it consisted of himself, Zamira, and Orn’tol, three of the highest-Dexterity members in the Deserters. Group B consisted of Keira, Taleya, and a Ranger named Harkin, who were situated on the opposite end of Deserter territory. Both of their groups were positioned to cover as much ground as possible. It was a strategy they'd implemented three days ago, and so far, it had worked like a charm. At least one group was always able to respond to an entry attempt in short order.
But ‘in short order’ wasn’t ‘immediately’. Odds were that either some of the Rangers or some of the Fiends would be closer to any given entry attempt, and they couldn’t afford to wait for reinforcements. Not when leaving the Blightspawn to their own devices could result in unchecked mutating and multiplying. As a consequence, Rob had barely arrived in time to prevent casualties from occurring on two occasions now, and that was with his new boost in Dexterity. The way those situations could have played out were weighing on his
... keep reading on reddit ➡I do not own SSB nor the right to call any of this Cannon. As always those pleasures belong to BlueFishcake.
Chapter 4:
- Friday, March 8th, 2019 9:00 pm EST*
21 hours ago the United States entered DEFCON 4.
Unaccounted for spikes in background radiation were detected by a infared satellite tasked with charting the projected trajectories of meterites of the annual y-Normid meteor shower. The satellite was a newer model, more specifically it had been more recently serviced by ISS personel and sported the latest sensors. Where it had failed to do so the last four years it now easily picked up on the unusual heat output of some of the meteors and relayed it to NASA.
NASA tasked two additional satellites to confirm the readings. They also began contacting their counterparts in the other space-faring nations of the UN. After some satellite realignments the others reported the same findings. Upon confirmation of the data they tasked the ISS with direct observation and prepared to redirect Hubble.
The ISS was able to note that the meteors in question appeared unusually uniform and rather metallic in nature. Hubble shortly after not only confirmed this report but revealed one of the objects in question to have an structure similar in appearance to an engine. At this point NORAD got involved. After much deliberation the ISS was directed to aim concentrated radio waves at one of the objects. No one really knew what to do next when the small object fired its engines to course correct and directly face the ISS.
After a moment to collect themselves the space agencies of the world relayed their findings to the UN. Following a brief and surprisingly calm {the shock and panic having robbed many of the desire to debate} debate, it was decided to not inform the civilian population least mass panic erupt. After that the next course of action was obvious to the UN: 11 hours ago the world entered DEFCON 3.
////////////////////////////////////////////////
The fleet was now in position. The various Capital ships and their escorts sat closest to the planet, ready to screen any incoming fire and pick off any high altitude fighters. The Hele class Orbital Bombardment ships sat close behind them now safe to glass their targets in indiscriminate safety. The carriers
... keep reading on reddit ➡Once the raucous laughter died down, after far longer than Zachary would have liked, the girls moved onto more serious matters of discussion.
“So, do you like what we got you?” Master Sergeant Teloma asked.
“As I’ve said for the tenth time, yes, I do,” Zachary replied. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this shit, and now I have enough to last me months. And that’s before I ration this shit to last even longer!”
“Well, we’re glad you liked it,” Gar’lova said cheerfully, her lips curling into a wry smile. “Especially that last gift we got you, it seems to be your favorite.” The woman laughed, getting a few chuckles from her compatriots as Zachary scowled up at her.
“So which of these two put you up to that idea in the first place?” Zachary asked, passing an accusatory glance at Kolani and Mal’ava, the two offending women trying their best to look innocent in the whole matter.
“It was more than just them. Those of us who spent enough time on Earth, and couldn't stop hearing a certain officer talk about you all the damn time!” Teloma eyed the specific Major in question, before returning her attention to Zachary. “We picked up a decent amount of your ‘meme culture’ and such surrounding your military branch. So the five of us here thought it'd be the perfect gift for a crayon-eater like yourself,” Teloma said with a smile that made Zachary twitch slightly.
“So I have five of you to get back for this, got it. Also, which five of you? No offense to any of you, but I have no idea who most of you are,” he said bluntly, looking around at the array of women, most of whom he didn’t know.
“That’s understandable, you’ve only met most of us once, and that was only in passing,” Draxis replied. “You may not remember, but me, Master Sergeant Teloma, and Sergeant Gar’lova were with you and Mal’Ava the night we drove you back from the hospital.”
“You were also very skittish around us while in the APC, that much I remember,” Gar’lova added.
“With what I had to do to that trio of dumbass boots who tried fucking with him, it’s hardly surprising,” Teloma said, a hint of agitation in her voice as she remembered that day. “Suffice to say those bitches didn’t act up again, out of fear of me fucking them up if I caught them.”
“Or me,” Mal’Ava interrupted. “They still avoid me to this day, and for good reason, too.”
“Yeah, I never got to tell you thanks for that night. I just don’t like thinking about it,” Zachary said sincerely, his eyes wandering off to the side, av
... keep reading on reddit ➡“It’s so damned cold!” my girlfriend murmurs, shivering, and I unwrap my scarf from my neck and chuck it onto her shoulders. “Hey, no!” she replies, though she’s smiling. “Now you’ll just get cold!”
“I don’t get cold”, I lie, as we walk together towards the factory.
The factory is long abandoned. A massive, half-collapsed monolith out here in the scrublands. The area around us is covered with snow, and our shadows are long and dark beneath the orange-white glow of the lone, still-operational streetlight.
It isn’t night-time, not quite yet, but the day is dark and gloomy. There’s no-one else around, and the snow ahead is unbroken with any footprints.
“Do you think the rumours are true?” I ask her, grabbing her shoulders and making her jump.
She makes a noise at me and pushes me away. “Well, duh. Of course they’re true. They have to be. We wouldn’t be exploring a NON-haunted building now would we? That would be boring”.
The entrance to the factory approaches. The glass is smashed in one of its outer doors, and the other is covered with wooden-board, now well-graffitied. There’s a crude marionette spray-painted in white, and an ominous, cryptic ‘DON’T GET STRUNG’ warning scrawled beneath it in black.
“Don’t get strung…” I whisper creepily into Laura’s ear, and she laughs and pushes me away for a second time.
Her laughter fades as we step up to the factory’s door. The gates to the unknown.
“Well”, I say, “are you ready to go in?”
“Yeah”, she replies, glancing behind her. “Yeah, let’s do this”.
Let’s do this.
So in we go. I grab the handle and grunt with the strain, but am able to force it open about a foot, and we squeeze our way through the gap and into the shadows. The wintery breeze becomes a steady, ongoing backing rumble as we push steadily into the hallway and through further, broken doorways. There are portraits hung up here in the lobby, completely dusted over and faded, and only the faintest silhouettes are still visible.
We take some time to admire them. Or what’s left of them, to try and decipher what they might once have depicted.
One of these faded silhouettes looks kind of like a man- or a person, at least- with their arms outstretched.
Another looks like a spool of string. I try to rub away some of the layers of grime and dust, but not much else is revealed.
“This is so creepy”, Laura murmurs. “What do you think they used to make here?”
“No idea”, I reply as we step through the lobby and into the main room of the fac
... keep reading on reddit ➡Sunlight.
It was an alien feeling to Borno, who’d spent so much of his time outside the Orieli crater complex under the dark amalgamations of radioactive debris and viral spores that had enveloped Typhon’s skies for the past century.
He felt his environmental frame spin up its temperature control systems, feeling the freezing coolant pass through his undersuit as the raw sunlight, unfiltered by an ozone layer long since dissipated to nuclear fire, began to sear his frame. Yet the temperature to him felt almost like bliss. It must have only been 70 degrees celsius outside his frame, a refreshing temperature in comparison to the boiling and freezing extremes that regularly subsumed the crater.
Yet he couldn’t waste time bathing in the sun, he still had so much to do before he was meant to leave.
As he hurried down the path as best he could in his clucky frame he noticed a group of humans around the hillside drone port, preparing to unload one of the larger armoured cargo drones that had just arrived from orbit. He saw one of the humans, rigged in a larger frame, more akin to an exoskeleton, grab a power washer. They then proceeded to wipe down the drone, ridding it of any residual radioactive fallout the drone may have caught during its reentry.
They were equipped in similar environmental gear that Borno wore, yet adorned with the recognizable symbol of their organization, a dark green circle with a tree emanating in the centre. Gaia’s Directive, that was the name he’d seen plastered around their facilities and gear. He had no clue what it actually meant, yet they never seemed to acknowledge the name, using it only on official documents and reports. Instead, they referred to themselves by another name;
Cleaners.
“Excuse me, I’m looking for a Rosa Forneta, any of you guys seen her?” he called out to the band of humans on his frame’s speaker.
“Oh, she’s just a bit down from the hillside.” one of the humans called out, equipped in a bulky matte white environmental frame.
It pointed at a recently installed drone hangar further down the hill, where a group of humans seemed to be in the middle of a discussion near several large hexapedal automatons. “She was just talking to the techs about getting the eco bots to scrounge up the fallout around here, they should be finishing up now.”
“Thank you” Borno called out to the human, waving it goodbye as he started to walk down the metal stairs that had only recently been installed against the hard basalt stone
... keep reading on reddit ➡I don't want to step on anybody's toes here, but the amount of non-dad jokes here in this subreddit really annoys me. First of all, dad jokes CAN be NSFW, it clearly says so in the sub rules. Secondly, it doesn't automatically make it a dad joke if it's from a conversation between you and your child. Most importantly, the jokes that your CHILDREN tell YOU are not dad jokes. The point of a dad joke is that it's so cheesy only a dad who's trying to be funny would make such a joke. That's it. They are stupid plays on words, lame puns and so on. There has to be a clever pun or wordplay for it to be considered a dad joke.
Again, to all the fellow dads, I apologise if I'm sounding too harsh. But I just needed to get it off my chest.
“Abashed the Devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss” - Johan Meltron, Paradise's Loss
The Terran was screaming as she ignored the cutting bar sawing through her guts, spraying whitish-clear fluid that evaporated away almost immediately. Her hands clawed through the armor, raking Vuxten's chest and shoulder, but he screamed back into her face and slammed his chain wrapped fist into her head once, twice, three times and she tattered away into nothingness even as the chainsword sprayed out whitish-clear fluid that turned to wisps of vapor less than two feet from the clattering blade of the cutting bar.
He refused to back up a single step, despite the fact that the 20mm was overheated and discarded by the hypercom link, his rifle was slung over his back, his pistol was empty, the heavy subgun overheated, and the Vegetation Cutting Bar Mark 2 was beeping a low battery signal.
The heat in his suit was stifling, making him pant, leaving his tongue feeling raspy and sandpapery. He took a quick sip of water, ignoring how it was flat and tepid, and chinned up another piece of stimgum. The suit beeped at him that he was over the line, too much stim too quickly.
--chewy chewy-- 471 sent, overriding the interlock and resetting the counter to zero. He kicked the play button on the next song as Vuxten tabbed up two pieces of gum and used his tongue to move them to either side of his jaw, clamping down on them with his molars as another two flickering Terrans made entirely out of white energy slid through the wall, screaming, and oriented on him.
The speakers roared with a primal scream as Vuxten saw several others flicker through the wall. One kept disappearing only to reappear a few paces away, screaming just like the others. All of the specters, the Phasic Shades, had terrible death wounds on their bodies, were mutilated and torn, but still screamed and oriented on Vuxten with a desperate need to kill.
"Well I love TV and I love T. Rex," thundered out the speakers as Vuxten took two long steps and buried the fist wrapped with the shattered chain of a chainsword into the guts of the one on the left. The red-hot smoking metal embedded in the heavy gauntlet ripped through the man in a spay of whit
... keep reading on reddit ➡See the faerie dragon across the editions on Dump Stat
This week, we get to explore a creature that isn’t trying to kill you and suck the marrow from your bones, which is a welcome relief to us and all adventurers. These little joyful pranksters are probably the most fun an adventurer can hope for when it comes to the Monster Manual, as they can’t help but want to laugh. Even if you are the type of person to never crack a smile, you won’t be able to help yourself when they breath their euphoria gas in your face.
AD&D - Faerie Dragon
>Frequency: Very rare > >No. Appearing: 1-6 > >Armor Class: 5 (1 when invisible) > >Move: 6”/24” (MC:A) > >Hit Dice: See below > >% in Lair: 25% > >Treasure Type: S, T, U > >No. of Attacks: 1 > >Damage/Attack: 1-2 > >Special Attacks: Breath weapon, magic use > >Special Defenses: Invisibility > >Magic Resistance: See below > >Intelligence: High to genius > >Alignment: Chaotic Good > >Size: S (1-1 1/2’ long) > >Psionic Ability: Nil > >Chance of: Speaking: 90%, Magic use: 100%, Sleeping: 40% > >Level/X.P. Value: V/280 + 4 hp
This mischievous tiny dragon is first found in Dragon #62 (June 1982) created by Brian Jaeger; it was then reprinted in the Monster Manual II (1983). As far as first impressions go, they look like small little dragons, since, you know, they are dragons. There is no set color for these creatures for you to watch out for, as they change color as they age. They begin as a red-scaled dragon and then move down the colors of the rainbow, ending as tiny purple dragons once they live long enough to be ancient. Luckily, you can use color to help identify them a little bit, as male faerie dragons shine silver in the sunlight, while females shimmer gold.
The Faerie Dragon's tiny little wings resemble those of a butterfly, and they have tails that have been adapted to grasp or hold objects. Not much else is said about what they'd use their tails for, but one can use their imagination on how you might pull a few pranks with such a useful tail. These dragons always have a wide grin on their faces, which is more than a little creepy, but also a bit endearing. They can also breathe underwater, loving to swim and dive. Best of all, they can become invisi
... keep reading on reddit ➡AN : Was very sick, turned out to be covid, am back now. Cant taste anything though... ._.
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Cauladra
It had been a few days since Leo returned from the slums, and the state he was in shocked everyone who was present for the ball. To think that Leo could become mana depleted at all was unthinkable after feeling that endless pool, and she guessed that maybe he didn't have control over it, which only stoked her curiosity even more.
Now that Cauladra was done with the rush of magical paperwork she had to help with, she was heading to Anasslia to drop her contract with the court. Despite the recent reason for her decision being her desire to learn more about Leo, the truth was that this was bound to happen.
Knowing Anasslia, she would have pushed for Cauladra to study enchanted stuff coming out of Telnar to see how she could use it against her enemies, and that infuriated her. Although Cauladra would love to spend hours testing and experimenting with the new runes, why would she settle for that when she could just go to the source?
Entering Anasslia's chambers, Cauladra saw that Qassria was present as well, but Anasslia looked a little irritated as she glared at Qassria. “...to do this mother, because you were right. I understand that it will be after Selaria is under your control, but I will be leaving as soon as that matter is settled.”
Anasslia’s eyes sharpened at her daughter. “While I am ecstatic that you've finally realized how foolish you've been, I thought I told you that you were to marry him. Do you not und-” She paused to arch a brow at Cauladra, finally noticing the passive observer. “Yes? What do you need, I am in the middle of a private matter.” She remarked with a layer of hostility as she narrowed her eyes.
Cauladra briefly had second thoughts about announcing her resignation at this point in time, but she should get rid of it sooner rather than later, considering Anasslia's mood was starting to deteriorate after the ball anyway. "Anasslia, I've come to tell you that I'll be terminating my contract." She declared to the surprise of both selarins.
Anasslia's speechless state lasted for only a few moments before she started to direct her previous glare at Cauladra. "If I'm not mistaken, the contract stated that you we
... keep reading on reddit ➡As Atlas discussed with the others, I couldn't help but turn my attention back toward the medical tent. What I'd seen in there... it was grisly. I found it hard to believe Atlas was even capable of that. It was the stuff of legends, truly. I turned my eyes back down to Atlas and stared at him intently. His magic appeared to be back in working order, but what had I just seen? Those shapes and patterns within his body– it was arranged like it was script. I had never in my life truly questioned the origins of the power we controlled. What was it exactly? Where did it come from? The way our school system taught it, we discovered it, but how? It wasn't like it was always around. Sure, they attributed it to Herloi, but that goddess existed before magic, and nowhere in the old texts does it mention magic in any capacity. In fact, it felt more like the afterthought of a lazy author. One day in the modern era they just decided that magic derived from Her, and started adding it to her list of accolades.
But after the time I'd spent at ENU, I was beginning to feel like there was something hiding under the surface– something being kept secret by powerful people. Something worth killing four students to keep under wraps. I had a lot of questions and I was starting to feel like Galgalim was the answer to all of them.
I heard the crowd making a commotion and turned around quickly to see Leo stumbling out of the little tent as if he was some kind of newborn animal. I was secretly shocked that the stasis field was able to put him together after what I'd seen. The stasis field was no stranger to dismemberment, but being blown to bits? I was amazed it was able to piece him back together like that. I got the sensation however as I watched him, that he wasn't whole. He looked around at his surroundings as though he didn't remember where he was. What was even stranger than that, however, was that he didn't appear to have any magical signature at all. Headmaster Vega exited the tent and put his arm around Leo before waving at the audience. They cheered for his safety before Vega quickly guided Leo back into the tent. I narrowed my eyes and started toward the tent before I heard Headmaster Rowan's voice.
"Mister Dragstenn," he called from behind me. "Would you be so kind as to assist Mister Grimbrooke out of the arena?"
I stopped and closed my eyes before turning around and forcing a smile, "Of course, Headmaster Rowan."
I made my way back over to Atlas and gently li
... keep reading on reddit ➡My wife bought me a Peloton for Christmas, and I know… Peloton—it’s somewhere between a bicycle gang for introverts and a cult, but she spent a decent amount of money and I’d been complaining about my waistline, so…yeah.
Look, I’m grateful. It was a sweet gift. Yael doesn’t really do passive aggressive and I was the one who wanted fitness in my life. Well, maybe not fitness. A beach bod. Or a beach-y bod? A cabana bod in the very least. Anyway, when I got the thing, I was excited in the way that a thirty-five year old man gets about a tech-y new toy.
Only, the instructions weren’t in English. Even the QR code that came with the instructions led to a website in a language that looked like, well, Sumerian? It was cuneiform, I’m pretty sure. I recognized it from my high school history textbooks. Weird, right?
Luckily, it was relatively self-explanatory. YouTube had assembly tutorials, so that helped as well. And it wasn't until after I set it up in my home office that I noticed the logo on the bike itself.
Pelotan. With an ‘a’. A knock-off?
…Mo-ther F—
A part of me wanted to go tell Yael the bad news, but a louder, more whimsical part of me said, how often do you get the chance to use a Mesopotamian piece of pop-tech? That part won. I turned it on and a video of a man in a skin-tight unitard urged me not to waste a second more on the sofa. Extra by a country mile, but okay, fine. I hopped on and started pedaling.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t hate it. Not at first. The instructor was lively, encouraging, and a minute in, I was given the option to go picture-in-picture and instead bike through the central African tropics as my main feed.
Now, I’m not often one to gush about a piece of pretty scenery, but the verdant expanse that unfolded around me was like nothing I had ever seen. It was so crisp, so vibrant, with trees flowering in Barbie dream house pinks and grocery ad banana yellows. The coppery clay path before me serpentined in gentle curves and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a bit hypnotizing.
God. That sounds like ad copy, doesn’t it? A ride so entrancing, you’ll forget it’s exercise. Well I did forget. I watched the path slithering as my pace picked up. I almost didn’t notice the man run out from the forest around a hundred digital feet ahead of me. But I certainly noticed the men who were chasing him. And then for a brief moment, the first man stared into the camera and screamed, “M’Aidez!” It was subtitled.
«Help Me!
... keep reading on reddit ➡The Venicia School of Etiquette was a joke. Ladies pricking their fingers on embroidery needles, burning themselves on cookware, memorizing which utensils went to what side of the plate. Why couldn’t any of the classes teach something useful? Like what Encroachers and Defiled were on the island. Defense tactics. The current shaky economy between the other cities because of the constant attacks.
No. Instead, Annabelle had made the arduous journey from Catania, losing her sister and mother in the process, only to have her wrists slapped when her posture wasn’t straight.
She’d begged her mother to take them to Sorentina and let her continue her training as a [Sorcerer]. A kind, older woman had helped her hone the basic Spells to get by—minor offensive tactics and her personal favorite, [Displace]—but that was before she and the rest of Catania were reduced to ash.
“Venicia has plenty of warriors to protect us,” Annabelle’s mother had reassured her. “We’ll live together in peace as a family without the fear of the Defiled. Please, just a little further…”
“Annabelle! Pay attention!” Mistress Edith snapped, cracking the end of a ruler over Annabelle’s knuckles.
Annabelle grimaced as the girls nearby giggled behind their hands. The girls of pure Venician blood. Not an “import” like Annabelle.
“Squashing leeches is the only way to get rid of them,” Justine crooned to her cronies.
Annabelle caught sight of another girl in the hallway, marching past the classroom toward her next lesson.
“[Displace],” Annabelle whispered.
Justine vanished, replaced by a perplexed girl from the hallway.
“What the hell, Annabelle?” Justine shrieked.
Annabelle cackled, wriggling her tail in triumph.
The ruler descended once more, snapping the backs of Annabelle’s wrists and carving bright welts into her flesh. The searing pain was worth it.
“To Madame Celestia’s office with you! Now!” Mistress Edith bellowed as Justine exchanged places with her [Displaced] classmate.
“I hope she expels you,” Justine hissed so only Annabelle could hear.
A
... keep reading on reddit ➡Alot of great jokes get posted here! However just because you have a joke, doesn't mean it's a dad joke.
THIS IS NOT ABOUT NSFW, THIS IS ABOUT LONG JOKES, BLONDE JOKES, SEXUAL JOKES, KNOCK KNOCK JOKES, POLITICAL JOKES, ETC BEING POSTED IN A DAD JOKE SUB
Try telling these sexual jokes that get posted here, to your kid and see how your spouse likes it.. if that goes well, Try telling one of your friends kid about your sex life being like Coca cola, first it was normal, than light and now zero , and see if the parents are OK with you telling their kid the "dad joke"
I'm not even referencing the NSFW, I'm saying Dad jokes are corny, and sometimes painful, not sexual
So check out r/jokes for all types of jokes
r/unclejokes for dirty jokes
r/3amjokes for real weird and alot of OC
r/cleandadjokes If your really sick of seeing not dad jokes in r/dadjokes
Punchline !
Edit: this is not a post about NSFW , This is about jokes, knock knock jokes, blonde jokes, political jokes etc being posted in a dad joke sub
Edit 2: don't touch the thermostat
The store opened up on the first of December - located downtown in an older building that had been refurbished after many years of neglect - it had a sign out front which read, “Shae Tang’s Christmas Toy Shop.”
I saw it while walking down the street on my way to grab a coffee and it caught my eye. Bright fluorescent lights flashed white outside and giant nutcracker soldiers stood guard, flanking the double doorways at the entrance. The concrete sidewalk had been dug up and had been replaced with a tasteful grey-stone walkway. Huge Christmas trees were decorated with glittering gift-wrapped packages stacked up beneath them.
It looked like Santa's workshop at the North Pole, not your run-of-the-mill toy store. Whoever was running it had invested a good sum of money on the grand opening of the place - with everything from fake snow to people dressed as elves waving signs outside to draw in customers.
I couldn’t help myself - I went to go and look inside. I found the interior of the store to be just as impressive, if not moreso. The whole store was painted in reds, greens, and golds, and shelves were stacked floor to ceiling with toys. Many were so high off the ground you would need a ladder to reach them - and, sure enough, I noticed one being curiously steered by an employee as he glided around corners on it, going from aisle to aisle. The ladder was connected to a steel track which went all throughout the store and the small man riding it looked like he was windsurfing as he went around each bend and sped along purposefully. I had never seen anything quite like it.
It was early in the morning so it was quiet when I went in to be greeted by an older gentleman who I presumed to be the owner. He was wearing older-style clothing that I associated with the fifties or even earlier - a red-striped collared shirt and green vest made him look very festive. His cufflinks were tiny bells, I noticed as well, so that when he moved his arms or did anything it made a tinkling sound like sleigh bells.
“Hello, welcome,” he said, lowering his gold rimmed spectacles to examine me. “And a very merry Christmas to you, young man! I am Mr. Tang. Please have a look around and let us know if you have any questions.”
He was busy, I could tell, so I thanked him and began to walk around the store, trying to see if I could find a gift for my son. He was spending more and more time playing video games lately and I was hoping to buy him a present - something
... keep reading on reddit ➡As always the credit for the universe goes to Blue and a big thanks to fellow authors and beta readers. Enjoy! The links still don't want to work like they used to, apologies.
First (https://www.reddit.com/r/Sexyspacebabes/comments/p9frwa/claws_of_fate_ch1/)
Previous (https://www.reddit.com/r/Sexyspacebabes/comments/riffjg/claws_of_fate_ch21/)
Next (https://www.reddit.com/r/Sexyspacebabes/comments/s1l0l1/claws_of_fate_ch23/)
Breathe in.
Step.
Secure footlock.
Breathe out.
Step.
Secure footlock.
Change the locking point of the harness.
Repeat.
Simon was in his element once more. The blackest darkness overhead, white alloy beneath his feet and a load of materiel in his hand.
'Only this time I'm not on a space station, but a rather beautiful brick going five times escape velocity. No big deal…' He mused to himself, approaching another spot that Merid's computer highlighted as "structurally unstable.” In most of the cases he took care of during the last few hours it meant a weld of the outer layer of the ship's armor needed to be adjusted, or an external element was not secured properly.
As he crested the starboard side however, his eyes were met by something we wished to never see in his life.
"Visual on the component. It's not looking good, Cap'n." He reported, while his sensors ran over the jagged edges of the outer hull.
"We see it. Any idea what happened?" The concerned voice called over the radio.
"No, at least not as of yet. Let me take a closer look after the scan ends and I'll tell you more."
"Acknowledged. Just try to avoid damaging it more and don't compromise your suit. You're still a fair bit from the nearest airlock."
"Understood. Scan is still underway."
Simon used the optical zoom to see just exactly what went wrong. The exposed landing gear was still in fine shape, unlike the panel supposed to cover it. The metal door, supposed to be able to withstand multiple atmospheric re-rentries, meteor showers and burst laser fire, was bent outwards and shredded to pieces by some unknown source.
'Warning, unidentified objects detected. Identification underway,' flashed on his HUD inside the helmet. As he looked on, faint traces of Shil alloy, one not used in shipbuildin
... keep reading on reddit ➡A human brushed through the crowd. Cloth wrapped around her head, protecting her from the sand blowing in the wind. Some in the crowd scoffed or insulted her as she passed, but she just ignored them. She reached the front of the crowd and looked up at the large screen that held their attention. Someone placed a hand on her shoulder from behind.
"Roth, why'd you drag me all the way out here to watch a death-race?"
"I thought you liked these sorts of things?"
"Not this far into edzul territory!" he whispered sharply. "We ain't exactly welcome here. Especially you. What if you get recognized?"
"It'll be fine, Ace. As for why we're here, we're looking for a teznid. I want to recruit him."
"A fucking hiver? We don't do bloody mining work, Roth. What good would a hiver do us?"
"This one wasn't a worker drone." She pointed up to the screen displaying the race.
A green strike craft weaved through a canyon with three ships pursuing it. A clean white ship led the pack with the two other ships at their flanks. Lasers streaked through the air at the green ship, but they rolled and dodged every volley.
The racers approached a fork in the canyon. The green ship turned down the left path and shot a missile at a rocky overhang. The overhang shattered into pieces and fell down on his pursuers. One of them, a red ship, avoided the ruble by taking the right path, and the white ship expertly dodged the hail of debris. The last wasn't so lucky. A sizable rock slammed down on their wing, throwing their ship off balance and into the wall of the canyon. The ship crumpled against the wall and erupted into flames.
The crowd around Roth and Ace cheered at the destruction. Although, a handful of boos and groans could be heard from the ones that bet their money on the racer that now painted the canyon wall.
Ace blew air out his nose. “Well shit. How did these tentacle-faced fucks manage to find a tezinid pilot that was disconnected from the Hive?”
“My contact told me that a group of scavengers found him on a derelict Hive colony ship. He was the only one alive on it, so I imagine whatever made the ship derelict probably is what also saved him from being killed by the Hive for being ‘defective’. The scavengers threw him into these races as cannon fodder,” she chuckled, “But then he kept winning.”
“Right off the bat?”
“Pretty much. He was made specifically for flying, and had a lot of the experiences of other teznid pilots imparted onto him by the Hive. He’s not particular
... keep reading on reddit ➡So about 4 months ago my apartment building caught on fire; one of the top floor apartments and part of the roof.
Because of it being on the third floor, the amount of water the firefighters needed absolutely destroyed everything inside. Old ceilings, horsehair plaster walls, flooring etc. The building is not a tear down, but definitely a complete gut job.
The insurance covered up to a million in damages.
The numbers I just got back from the adjuster was about 740,000 for the claim, 180,000 for demo and I will still be able to sell the building for maybe 200,000.
I had a contractor freind tell me on the low side, it would take 200 a sq ft to redo the entire building. It’s 7500 sq ft. The numbers are not making a lot of sense to me. Does anyone have any advice on this situation?
How the hell am I suppose to know when it’s raining in Sweden?
Ants don’t even have the concept fathers, let alone a good dad joke. Keep r/ants out of my r/dadjokes.
But no, seriously. I understand rule 7 is great to have intelligent discussion, but sometimes it feels like 1 in 10 posts here is someone getting upset about the jokes on this sub. Let the mods deal with it, they regulate the sub.
We told her she can lean on us for support. Although, we are going to have to change her driver's license, her height is going down by a foot. I don't want to go too far out on a limb here but it better not be a hack job.
Ooh boy, I'm a little late with this one, but i feel confident in posting it now. It's happy, with a little sad. Hope you all enjoy it. Remember to read the original series, Hunter or Huntress. Feel free to join the HoH Discord
First Chapter Previous Chapter
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Steiger relaxed a bit, now that she was not crying anymore he got out of that ridiculous pose. Fengi watched as her hands slowly slipped off his face and left her searching for balance. She plopped down after taking a step backwards, not taking her eyes off the green dragon above her. The giddy feeling inside her being replaced with awe at the big beast.
Wonder filled her as she studied the dragon, his tail flowing behind him, his wings being stretched out and mud dripping off his undersides. His voice boomed as he spoke again, “Well, this has certainly been a morning to remember. Do I at least get to know her name before I become another child’s plaything?”
“Yeah. Her name is Fengi, we got her last night. No more information than that though.” Laere walked over and scooped the skinny girl off the ground. He looked inquisitively up at the large green dragon, “You know the lantern thing right?”
“Yeah, I think. Lit means family, unlit means extended family. Right?” His face spelled out the word ‘UNSURE’ in bold.
“Well, yeah but If it’s broken it supposedly means they have no family or relatives whatsoever. Her’s was broken and lit up. I was hoping someone else might be able to clear it up for us as well. Clearly though, you won’t be able to help on that front. Eh, worth a shot.”
The green dragon eyed the little girl in his arms, “Yes, It’s definitely a curious case, but one I’m afraid I won't be much help with. So what’s the reason you came over today? Besides making a fool out of me.”
Laere picked up the bucket of slop and waved it around. Steiger nodded and walked past the dragonette. His feet left huge impressions in the mud and the ground reverberated with his steps. He reared his head, pointing it backwards while he continued walking.
“Hey, do you mind taking a look a
... keep reading on reddit ➡They were cooked in Greece.
My name is Jean Bart, the Vichya Dominion's last cutting-edge battleship, who needn't rely on anyone but herself for strength. Yet… I've found myself utterly infatuated with my commander. The mere sight of him makes me weak. Being near him is like a drug. How did this happen? Now he wants me to be next secretary. My heart's racing. How long can I hide my feelings? Or… should I?
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13658606/25/A-Pirate-s-Crush
Jean Bart is back! Thanks everyone for your patience and understanding. I'm doing much better now, living alone and employed again, and much more stabilized in life. So, here's what I'm currently doing: I'm going through the entire story and doing polishing, fat-trimming, and revising on all of it, not only to refamiliarize myself, but to make significant improvements. The story was decent before, but I think I can do much better. Chapters 1-5 have been updated, and I plan to continue after this is posted. I think the story and characterization is MUCH better now. Don't worry, the core plotline is the same. I want to give Jean Bart the best story I can give her.
This is also a bit of a shorter chapter, but it felt appropriate to truncate it this way for what's gonna happen next.
Anyway, without further ado, here's Ch.25. I hope it was worth the wait. See you again in due time. Cheers.
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Alright Jean, you can do this. One... two...
...damn. My hand didn’t move. Again. It still dangled beside me, hoping to be seen by the commander. Hoping he’d take the hint.
This was me as we went tent by tent. Sure, we sampled some of the sights, but it was difficult to do so. Too distracted trying to breach the wall between my hand and the commander’s. That wall being… well… myself.
C’mon, Jean. Just reach out. One... two...
...you know what? This is too much to do outright. Let’s just ask him instead. Play it safe.
One... two...
...nothing. Damn it, why is this so hard?
...that painting of the couple... it didn’t feel like a date until then. After that, it hit me like a salvo. Suddenly, I felt like I was missing something. Something that all other couples around us were doing.
“Jean?”
“Huh?”
Ah... shoot. I’ve been dead silent again.
“I’m fine,” I said, already anticipating what he was gonna say.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “You look tense.”
“I’m just... thinking,” I said.
“Is there anything you wanna talk about?” he asked.
Tsk... the
... keep reading on reddit ➡I'm surprised it hasn't decade.
Part One / Part Two / Part Three
(Mild self-harm warning)
As Isaac continued to lead the tour with slightly more pep than before, I sat quietly, never leaving my seat nor speaking a single word. After helplessly witnessing a man get electrocuted to death only for everyone to laugh about his gruesome fate, my mind was largely numb, simply struggling to not replay the scene over and over on a loop. Even as Isaac shocked more unfortunate beasts into showing themselves while the tour progressed, I was a ghost among the jovial heathens, despite my heart thundering in my chest with each zap and subsequent cry of pain.
Additionally, Isaac’s satisfied grin as the rich man convulsed and cooked burned itself into my mind like a brand onto a heifer’s hide. No matter how desperately I tried to rid myself of it, the image was a scar among my self-numbing brain. I merely wished for the tour to conclude, so that I could leave Isaac’s side without offending him. I feared what he would do otherwise.
Finally, after a couple hours, we left the open safari area and entered an exhibition known as the ‘Curious Wonders.’ From feeding and my notes, I knew the creatures housed here were of either the most unique or the most ‘entertaining’ variety. Still, I had not seen them all, as a few had hidden themselves among their décor during breakfast, but I knew Isaac wouldn’t allow them to hide for the patrons’ presence. More would be blatantly electrocuted, and I would feel my stomach curl into tighter knots. Inevitably, I would feel the cold claws of helpless compassion grip my soul all over, again and again.
Blankly, I stared as Isaac quickly showcased a snake with two heads and spiked scales that glittered like solid gold. I did nothing while he talked about two furballs which comically rolled and jumped like cartoons. And even as he boasted about the cat-ape named Ginko I had read about upon my initial arrival, I barely looked at the beast. None of them phased me. None of the strange, unique creatures ripped my mind away from itself, until we came to the middle of the division.
Instinctively, my eyes landed on its visage as it moved in my periphery from behind its glass
... keep reading on reddit ➡Once the raucous laughter died down, after far longer than Zachary would have liked, the girls moved onto more serious matters of discussion.
“So, do you like what we got you?” Master Sergeant Teloma asked.
“As I’ve said for the tenth time, yes, I do,” Zachary replied. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this shit, and now I have enough to last me months. And that’s before I ration this shit to last even longer!”
“Well, we’re glad you liked it,” Gar’lova said cheerfully, her lips curling into a wry smile. “Especially that last gift we got you, it seems to be your favorite.” The woman laughed, getting a few chuckles from her compatriots as Zachary scowled up at her.
“So which of these two put you up to that idea in the first place?” Zachary asked, passing an accusatory glance at Kolani and Mal’ava, the two offending women trying their best to look innocent in the whole matter.
“It was more than just them. Those of us who spent enough time on Earth, and couldn't stop hearing a certain officer talk about you all the damn time!” Teloma eyed the specific Major in question, before returning her attention to Zachary. “We picked up a decent amount of your ‘meme culture’ and such surrounding your military branch. So the five of us here thought it'd be the perfect gift for a crayon-eater like yourself,” Teloma said with a smile that made Zachary twitch slightly.
“So I have five of you to get back for this, got it. Also, which five of you? No offense to any of you, but I have no idea who most of you are,” he said bluntly, looking around at the array of women, most of whom he didn’t know.
“That’s understandable, you’ve only met most of us once, and that was only in passing,” Draxis replied. “You may not remember, but me, Master Sergeant Teloma, and Sergeant Gar’lova were with you and Mal’Ava the night we drove you back from the hospital.”
“You were also very skittish around us while in the APC, that much I remember,” Gar’lova added.
“With what I had to do to that trio of dumbass boots who tried fucking with him, it’s hardly surprising,” Teloma said, a hint of agitation in her voice as she remembered that day. “Suffice to say those bitches didn’t act up again, out of fear of me fucking them up if I caught them.”
“Or me,” Mal’Ava interrupted. “They still avoid me to this day, and for good reason, too.”
“Yeah, I never got to tell you thanks for that night. I just don’t like thinking about it,” Zachary said sincerely, his eyes wandering off to the side, a
... keep reading on reddit ➡I’m just going to get to the point I apologize ahead of time if this is too much. I was raped by an older cousin when I was 14 and last year at 22. He was 26 when it first happened. He’s taller than me by a lot and has at least 60 lbs on me. He’s also a very very bad alcoholic and very violent.
He first assaulted me weeks before by forcing me to the ground and shoving his penis in my mouth during a family party when everyone was plastered. I was just completely traumatized. I didn’t know what to do or say after that. A few weeks later he came to my house and picked me up for a birthday party. He had called my dad ahead of time and asked if any of us kids needed a ride and I was the only one home. I was too scared to tell my dad I didn’t want to go with him because he would for sure ask why and I just wasn’t ready to say, i didn’t know how. So he picked me up and drove to an old oil pump jack in the backroads. He started touching me kept telling me it was okay and that I was going to like it. I was so so scared. If I screamed nobody would hear me. And I was scared of him to begin with. I knew that what was happening was wrong and I kept saying please wait and please stop, covering my body up. He kept moving my hands and he managed to pull my pants down and rape me. I was frozen and scared and in pain and sad. I didn’t know what to do other than lay there and cry. He asked me if I liked it after and I said “mhmm” because I didn’t know what was going to happen if I said no. He threw a rag at me and told me to wipe up the blood from his seats. He told me to get in the front and acted like nothing had happened at all. He told me he wanted to buy me things and take care of me and that he loved me more than anyone ever would. I was terrified. Because at this point I knew he had to be some kind of fucked up in his head to say something like that to his 14 year old cousin. I already know he’s violent and unpredictable I didn’t know if he would hurt me or threaten me if I acted the way I felt, which was terrified.
A couple months later I told my friend and she told the school. School made me tell my mom but when I told her I didn’t tell her it was a family member. That was the worst moment of my entire life. Having to tell my mom the last thing she would ever want to hear. It broke her. And I wish I never brought that burden to her. I hate myself for it, because I know how hard she loves all her children and I can’t imagine what that felt like for her to hear.
... keep reading on reddit ➡Do your worst!
He lost May
