Broken english taco lincoln park
Austin, without the toxicity
2017.03.19 01:34 Texas4E Austin, without the toxicity
The Austin subreddit that isn't toxic.
2023.03.25 11:19 Verrgasm Desperation
My foot pushed down harder on the accelerator as my stomach cramped up again in a painful spasm. I was speeding through a schoolzone, and as a sign popped up on the side of the road clearly stating '20' I snapped out of my desperate panic and reluctantly dropped from '40' down to '25'. Turning a corner I realized to my horror that it was three o'clock, and the street was mobbed with parents buzzing in and out of the building to collect their children.
I turned to look behind me and I nearly lost it, my asshole puckering as I sucked the poison back inside. I was completely boxed in. Another four cars had already trapped me inside. I smashed the horn, pleading with the traffic on either side to budge. They didn't.
After a gruelling seven and a half agonising minutes and a half hearted search for some sort of viable receptacle and something other than socks to wipe with, the blockage finally gave way. The cars slowly began to move forward. Eagerly creeping behind, I saw the problem. Somebody had broken down right there by the school gates, having finally been repaired and sent along. A wave of relief washed over me as I considered the short journey ahead. The Porsche dealership was a little over a mile away. A dealership which had a bathroom, one I'd used before. Afterall, that's where I'd bought my car. They knew me, and I knew I'd be able to breeze on in, no questions asked. A deep growling rumbled out over the radio and I put my foot down again as soon as I broke through onto the main road. Just a straight shot, and it would all be over.
Not a minute passed until I was once again utterly dismayed, near losing all hope; ready to just give up right there and then and ruin a perfectly decent pair of black suit pants and the interior of my beautiful brand new Porsche's two-colour interior, characterized by a perfectly coordinated interplay of colours, materials and individual finishes suited just for me. A red light shone in the distance, and in its wake sat a long line of idling cars. Lesser cars, all in my way. My gut quaked violently and sharp pains erupted all through my midsection, sweat pouring down my back and growing sticky in the afternoon heat. I peeled myself from the smooth-finish leather, craning my head out the open window just enough to get a good shout across and I screamed as loudly as the rapidly building pressure would allow, but once again my efforts were futile.
Another minute, now five since I first stared down the crimson cyclops - FIVE minutes at a red light - before at last I was granted passage as everyone finally moved along. Taking their sweet time, of course. I took the left, screeching into the Porsche customer parking lot. The engine stayed on and the keys stayed in, I didn't even close the door behind me. There was no time. The car was the least of my concerns at that point, there was only one thing on my mind.
Shoulder-barging through the glass doors, it's as if my vision became tunneled as I focused in on that bright shining door located at the far wall emblazoned with the sign identifying it as a toilet. And only a little bit past two rows of Porsche's that were only slightly better than mine, I was so close. An audible grunt escaped my pursed lips. As I rushed past the reception desk, something grabbed me. It was Gina. Fucking Gina.
"Mr Kleinfeld? Hi! Lovely to see you again! There aren't any problems with the car, are there?" She looked concerned on the surface but only about as far as it might affect her status as the dealership's top salesperson that month.
"What?!" I caught myself before I let slip just how much pain I was in, confused as to why I wasn't just making a break for it. "Oh? No it's… it's amazing. Fantastic, even. It's just… the thing is…"
Gina raised an eyebrow behind her thick hipster glasses. Functional, yet chic. Now appearing sincerely concerned.
"CAN I USE YOUR BATHROOM!?" The words piled out fast and hard in more of a shriek than a polite request. Gina took a small surprised step back before replying apologetically,
"I'm so sorry, but it'll be closed until at least Five. We've had a plumbing issue this morning a-"
My bodily functions erupted loudly against my will, interrupting the dealership's most enterprising saleswoman midsentence as a fetid smell akin to what I imagine a genocide reeks like filled the spacious area, floor to ceiling, within seconds. I stood there in shock, as did Gina. We maintained an uncomfortable mutual stare for a moment before my feet automatically began backing away; unconsciously desperate to escape the nightmare on my stunned behalf.
Others began to correlate the stench with my shuffling presence and two or three pointed in my direction, outing my soiled situation to their small groups of co-workers.
"Don't look at me!" I yelled as involuntarily as I'd emptied my bowels as I crossed the threshold back into the lot, my shrill echo booming as everyone who hadn't previously noticed my embarrassment did then at that exact moment. My mind was racing, while also simultaneously completely blank in an odd mix of trauma, shame, panic and despair. My reputation, tarnished in the blink of an eye like my work slacks.
I got to my still open and blinking Porsche, removed the bottom half of my attire and dumped it all right there beside me on the ground, socks included. They were someone else's problem now. With a quick wipe using the discarded clothing I hopped back inside and sped away from the scene, the smell haunting me the whole way like the memory of that day will haunt my every waking moment forever.
An hour's drive home later and I was sitting outside my house afraid to go inside. I didn't tell my wife what happened to me when she greeted me at the front door, balls out, instead storming upstairs to hide in the shower, opting for the inevitable rumor mill to do the job instead. We never spoke of it, ever. I never spoke about much of anything after that…
submitted by Verrgasm to creativewriting [link] [comments]
I turned to look behind me and I nearly lost it, my asshole puckering as I sucked the poison back inside. I was completely boxed in. Another four cars had already trapped me inside. I smashed the horn, pleading with the traffic on either side to budge. They didn't.
After a gruelling seven and a half agonising minutes and a half hearted search for some sort of viable receptacle and something other than socks to wipe with, the blockage finally gave way. The cars slowly began to move forward. Eagerly creeping behind, I saw the problem. Somebody had broken down right there by the school gates, having finally been repaired and sent along. A wave of relief washed over me as I considered the short journey ahead. The Porsche dealership was a little over a mile away. A dealership which had a bathroom, one I'd used before. Afterall, that's where I'd bought my car. They knew me, and I knew I'd be able to breeze on in, no questions asked. A deep growling rumbled out over the radio and I put my foot down again as soon as I broke through onto the main road. Just a straight shot, and it would all be over.
Not a minute passed until I was once again utterly dismayed, near losing all hope; ready to just give up right there and then and ruin a perfectly decent pair of black suit pants and the interior of my beautiful brand new Porsche's two-colour interior, characterized by a perfectly coordinated interplay of colours, materials and individual finishes suited just for me. A red light shone in the distance, and in its wake sat a long line of idling cars. Lesser cars, all in my way. My gut quaked violently and sharp pains erupted all through my midsection, sweat pouring down my back and growing sticky in the afternoon heat. I peeled myself from the smooth-finish leather, craning my head out the open window just enough to get a good shout across and I screamed as loudly as the rapidly building pressure would allow, but once again my efforts were futile.
Another minute, now five since I first stared down the crimson cyclops - FIVE minutes at a red light - before at last I was granted passage as everyone finally moved along. Taking their sweet time, of course. I took the left, screeching into the Porsche customer parking lot. The engine stayed on and the keys stayed in, I didn't even close the door behind me. There was no time. The car was the least of my concerns at that point, there was only one thing on my mind.
Shoulder-barging through the glass doors, it's as if my vision became tunneled as I focused in on that bright shining door located at the far wall emblazoned with the sign identifying it as a toilet. And only a little bit past two rows of Porsche's that were only slightly better than mine, I was so close. An audible grunt escaped my pursed lips. As I rushed past the reception desk, something grabbed me. It was Gina. Fucking Gina.
"Mr Kleinfeld? Hi! Lovely to see you again! There aren't any problems with the car, are there?" She looked concerned on the surface but only about as far as it might affect her status as the dealership's top salesperson that month.
"What?!" I caught myself before I let slip just how much pain I was in, confused as to why I wasn't just making a break for it. "Oh? No it's… it's amazing. Fantastic, even. It's just… the thing is…"
Gina raised an eyebrow behind her thick hipster glasses. Functional, yet chic. Now appearing sincerely concerned.
"CAN I USE YOUR BATHROOM!?" The words piled out fast and hard in more of a shriek than a polite request. Gina took a small surprised step back before replying apologetically,
"I'm so sorry, but it'll be closed until at least Five. We've had a plumbing issue this morning a-"
My bodily functions erupted loudly against my will, interrupting the dealership's most enterprising saleswoman midsentence as a fetid smell akin to what I imagine a genocide reeks like filled the spacious area, floor to ceiling, within seconds. I stood there in shock, as did Gina. We maintained an uncomfortable mutual stare for a moment before my feet automatically began backing away; unconsciously desperate to escape the nightmare on my stunned behalf.
Others began to correlate the stench with my shuffling presence and two or three pointed in my direction, outing my soiled situation to their small groups of co-workers.
"Don't look at me!" I yelled as involuntarily as I'd emptied my bowels as I crossed the threshold back into the lot, my shrill echo booming as everyone who hadn't previously noticed my embarrassment did then at that exact moment. My mind was racing, while also simultaneously completely blank in an odd mix of trauma, shame, panic and despair. My reputation, tarnished in the blink of an eye like my work slacks.
I got to my still open and blinking Porsche, removed the bottom half of my attire and dumped it all right there beside me on the ground, socks included. They were someone else's problem now. With a quick wipe using the discarded clothing I hopped back inside and sped away from the scene, the smell haunting me the whole way like the memory of that day will haunt my every waking moment forever.
An hour's drive home later and I was sitting outside my house afraid to go inside. I didn't tell my wife what happened to me when she greeted me at the front door, balls out, instead storming upstairs to hide in the shower, opting for the inevitable rumor mill to do the job instead. We never spoke of it, ever. I never spoke about much of anything after that…
2023.03.25 11:08 Verrgasm Desperation
My foot pushed down harder on the accelerator as my stomach cramped up again in a painful spasm. I was speeding through a schoolzone, and as a sign popped up on the side of the road clearly stating '20' I snapped out of my desperate panic and reluctantly dropped from '40' down to '25'. Turning a corner I realized to my horror that it was three o'clock, and the street was mobbed with parents buzzing in and out of the building to collect their children.
I turned to look behind me and I nearly lost it, my asshole puckering as I sucked the poison back inside. I was completely boxed in. Another four cars had already trapped me inside. I smashed the horn, pleading with the traffic on either side to budge. They didn't.
After a gruelling seven and a half agonising minutes and a half hearted search for some sort of viable receptacle and something other than socks to wipe with, the blockage finally gave way. The cars slowly began to move forward. Eagerly creeping behind, I saw the problem. Somebody had broken down right there by the school gates, having finally been repaired and sent along. A wave of relief washed over me as I considered the short journey ahead. The Porsche dealership was a little over a mile away. A dealership which had a bathroom, one I'd used before. Afterall, that's where I'd bought my car. They knew me, and I knew I'd be able to breeze on in, no questions asked. A deep growling rumbled out over the radio and I put my foot down again as soon as I broke through onto the main road. Just a straight shot, and it would all be over.
Not a minute passed until I was once again utterly dismayed, near losing all hope; ready to just give up right there and then and ruin a perfectly decent pair of black suit pants and the interior of my beautiful brand new Porsche's two-colour interior, characterized by a perfectly coordinated interplay of colours, materials and individual finishes suited just for me. A red light shone in the distance, and in its wake sat a long line of idling cars. Lesser cars, all in my way. My gut quaked violently and sharp pains erupted all through my midsection, sweat pouring down my back and growing sticky in the afternoon heat. I peeled myself from the smooth-finish leather, craning my head out the open window just enough to get a good shout across and I screamed as loudly as the rapidly building pressure would allow, but once again my efforts were futile.
Another minute, now five since I first stared down the crimson cyclops - FIVE minutes at a red light - before at last I was granted passage as everyone finally moved along. Taking their sweet time, of course. I took the left, screeching into the Porsche customer parking lot. The engine stayed on and the keys stayed in, I didn't even close the door behind me. There was no time. The car was the least of my concerns at that point, there was only one thing on my mind.
Shoulder-barging through the glass doors, it's as if my vision became tunneled as I focused in on that bright shining door located at the far wall emblazoned with the sign identifying it as a toilet. And only a little bit past two rows of Porsche's that were only slightly better than mine, I was so close. An audible grunt escaped my pursed lips. As I rushed past the reception desk, something grabbed me. It was Gina. Fucking Gina.
"Mr Kleinfeld? Hi! Lovely to see you again! There aren't any problems with the car, are there?" She looked concerned on the surface but only about as far as it might affect her status as the dealership's top salesperson that month.
"What?!" I caught myself before I let slip just how much pain I was in, confused as to why I wasn't just making a break for it. "Oh? No it's… it's amazing. Fantastic, even. It's just… the thing is…"
Gina raised an eyebrow behind her thick hipster glasses. Functional, yet chic. Now appearing sincerely concerned.
"CAN I USE YOUR BATHROOM!?" The words piled out fast and hard in more of a shriek than a polite request. Gina took a small surprised step back before replying apologetically,
"I'm so sorry, but it'll be closed until at least Five. We've had a plumbing issue this morning a-"
My bodily functions erupted loudly against my will, interrupting the dealership's most enterprising saleswoman midsentence as a fetid smell akin to what I imagine a genocide reeks like filled the spacious area, floor to ceiling, within seconds. I stood there in shock, as did Gina. We maintained an uncomfortable mutual stare for a moment before my feet automatically began backing away; unconsciously desperate to escape the nightmare on my stunned behalf.
Others began to correlate the stench with my shuffling presence and two or three pointed in my direction, outing my soiled situation to their small groups of co-workers.
"Don't look at me!" I yelled as involuntarily as I'd emptied my bowels as I crossed the threshold back into the lot, my shrill echo booming as everyone who hadn't previously noticed my embarrassment did then at that exact moment. My mind was racing, while also simultaneously completely blank in an odd mix of trauma, shame, panic and despair. My reputation, tarnished in the blink of an eye like my work slacks.
I got to my still open and blinking Porsche, removed the bottom half of my attire and dumped it all right there beside me on the ground, socks included. They were someone else's problem now. With a quick wipe using the discarded clothing I hopped back inside and sped away from the scene, the smell haunting me the whole way like the memory of that day will haunt my every waking moment forever.
An hour's drive home later and I was sitting outside my house afraid to go inside. I didn't tell my wife what happened to me when she greeted me at the front door, balls out, instead storming upstairs to hide in the shower, opting for the inevitable rumor mill to do the job instead. We never spoke of it, ever. I never spoke about much of anything after that…
submitted by Verrgasm to nosleep [link] [comments]
I turned to look behind me and I nearly lost it, my asshole puckering as I sucked the poison back inside. I was completely boxed in. Another four cars had already trapped me inside. I smashed the horn, pleading with the traffic on either side to budge. They didn't.
After a gruelling seven and a half agonising minutes and a half hearted search for some sort of viable receptacle and something other than socks to wipe with, the blockage finally gave way. The cars slowly began to move forward. Eagerly creeping behind, I saw the problem. Somebody had broken down right there by the school gates, having finally been repaired and sent along. A wave of relief washed over me as I considered the short journey ahead. The Porsche dealership was a little over a mile away. A dealership which had a bathroom, one I'd used before. Afterall, that's where I'd bought my car. They knew me, and I knew I'd be able to breeze on in, no questions asked. A deep growling rumbled out over the radio and I put my foot down again as soon as I broke through onto the main road. Just a straight shot, and it would all be over.
Not a minute passed until I was once again utterly dismayed, near losing all hope; ready to just give up right there and then and ruin a perfectly decent pair of black suit pants and the interior of my beautiful brand new Porsche's two-colour interior, characterized by a perfectly coordinated interplay of colours, materials and individual finishes suited just for me. A red light shone in the distance, and in its wake sat a long line of idling cars. Lesser cars, all in my way. My gut quaked violently and sharp pains erupted all through my midsection, sweat pouring down my back and growing sticky in the afternoon heat. I peeled myself from the smooth-finish leather, craning my head out the open window just enough to get a good shout across and I screamed as loudly as the rapidly building pressure would allow, but once again my efforts were futile.
Another minute, now five since I first stared down the crimson cyclops - FIVE minutes at a red light - before at last I was granted passage as everyone finally moved along. Taking their sweet time, of course. I took the left, screeching into the Porsche customer parking lot. The engine stayed on and the keys stayed in, I didn't even close the door behind me. There was no time. The car was the least of my concerns at that point, there was only one thing on my mind.
Shoulder-barging through the glass doors, it's as if my vision became tunneled as I focused in on that bright shining door located at the far wall emblazoned with the sign identifying it as a toilet. And only a little bit past two rows of Porsche's that were only slightly better than mine, I was so close. An audible grunt escaped my pursed lips. As I rushed past the reception desk, something grabbed me. It was Gina. Fucking Gina.
"Mr Kleinfeld? Hi! Lovely to see you again! There aren't any problems with the car, are there?" She looked concerned on the surface but only about as far as it might affect her status as the dealership's top salesperson that month.
"What?!" I caught myself before I let slip just how much pain I was in, confused as to why I wasn't just making a break for it. "Oh? No it's… it's amazing. Fantastic, even. It's just… the thing is…"
Gina raised an eyebrow behind her thick hipster glasses. Functional, yet chic. Now appearing sincerely concerned.
"CAN I USE YOUR BATHROOM!?" The words piled out fast and hard in more of a shriek than a polite request. Gina took a small surprised step back before replying apologetically,
"I'm so sorry, but it'll be closed until at least Five. We've had a plumbing issue this morning a-"
My bodily functions erupted loudly against my will, interrupting the dealership's most enterprising saleswoman midsentence as a fetid smell akin to what I imagine a genocide reeks like filled the spacious area, floor to ceiling, within seconds. I stood there in shock, as did Gina. We maintained an uncomfortable mutual stare for a moment before my feet automatically began backing away; unconsciously desperate to escape the nightmare on my stunned behalf.
Others began to correlate the stench with my shuffling presence and two or three pointed in my direction, outing my soiled situation to their small groups of co-workers.
"Don't look at me!" I yelled as involuntarily as I'd emptied my bowels as I crossed the threshold back into the lot, my shrill echo booming as everyone who hadn't previously noticed my embarrassment did then at that exact moment. My mind was racing, while also simultaneously completely blank in an odd mix of trauma, shame, panic and despair. My reputation, tarnished in the blink of an eye like my work slacks.
I got to my still open and blinking Porsche, removed the bottom half of my attire and dumped it all right there beside me on the ground, socks included. They were someone else's problem now. With a quick wipe using the discarded clothing I hopped back inside and sped away from the scene, the smell haunting me the whole way like the memory of that day will haunt my every waking moment forever.
An hour's drive home later and I was sitting outside my house afraid to go inside. I didn't tell my wife what happened to me when she greeted me at the front door, balls out, instead storming upstairs to hide in the shower, opting for the inevitable rumor mill to do the job instead. We never spoke of it, ever. I never spoke about much of anything after that…
2023.03.25 10:50 Yuribellion [Offer] Subtitles / closed captions for only $0.50 per video minute
I will create subtitle / CC files (i.e. SRT, SBV) for only $0.50 per video minute!
I manually create subtitle files, and I make sure all words and names are spelled correctly, punctuations are correct, lines are broken as properly as possible, each subtitle does not exceed two lines, and each subtitle is timed correctly.
I primarily make SRT files for YouTube videos, but I can also work with other formats, so long as I can download the video you want me to work on. The program I use is Subtitle Edit.
I am open to making revisions of my work and following your custom guidelines if you have any.
I can receive payments through PayPal.
Looking forward to working with you! :)
submitted by Yuribellion to slavelabour [link] [comments]
I manually create subtitle files, and I make sure all words and names are spelled correctly, punctuations are correct, lines are broken as properly as possible, each subtitle does not exceed two lines, and each subtitle is timed correctly.
I primarily make SRT files for YouTube videos, but I can also work with other formats, so long as I can download the video you want me to work on. The program I use is Subtitle Edit.
I am open to making revisions of my work and following your custom guidelines if you have any.
I can receive payments through PayPal.
- Languages I can transcribe: English, Filipino
- A few samples of my work: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jKl4HLHCWlCEIwbDpmrXQJmqF-mz9v80K5qfOKdT9bI/edit?usp=sharing
- (Another sample - a short ad I made for YouTube)
Looking forward to working with you! :)
2023.03.25 10:41 andy33theone Creators of universes
When I get on a higher frequency I don’t just see more “normal” synchronicities but also something I have thought about couple minutes prior to opening a video of this vlog series which i am about 100 episodes In out of like 200 will be spoken of in that video for the first time in the series and it is also sometimes even something related to me personal.
If I was on another subreddit I would go more into detail how I know this is not a coincidence because the odds would be extremely low for that to happen. It’s like 4D manifestation which transcends time, which we already know is an illusion. Although Some people here would say that this is just predetermination and not me manifesting this universe like that. For me I say it can be both, but it doesn’t change the fact that it will be my thoughts and most importantly the level of intensity of the feeling of these thoughts which changes my reality but even if it is predetermined I am still changing it.
Ofcourse I am not saying I can change something that has already happened, but say if now I will really think about tacos, it’s entirely possible that in the next episode which I haven’t seen before, they will go out to eat tacos or mention them (and ofcourse the series is not even about Mexicans or tacos or even food so yeah)
I have seen comments on like soulnexus where some people believe they “created universes” like thoughts affected world events etc, for me it hasn’t been so extreme and I also realise how it can actually be more like seeing in to the future rather than them creating the future, but I know how reality can get fucky like that.
For me I can sometimes create good luck or bad. Bad luck comes from when I do something I shouldn’t be doing, like say I will be disciplined but then break my word and it can have a compounding effect too. But then I learned that same can happen with good luck, so you can kind of hack reality by just believing that since you’re putting effort in to doing the right thing eg realising you need to do something and you aren’t being lazy, then you will get good luck because opposite applies for bad luck. It’s pretty much these mental gymnastics and you’re aware how dumb that would sound to someone but you know the fact that you believing it works makes it work since all your thoughts compound into reasons why now this is a good thing to do because you will be rewarded with some good luck. It is really hard to explain and I don’t think people would be able to do it like I do, I am still new to this “hacking” as I have only learned this in the past few months or so, but the way I manifest bad luck I know I can manifest good luck too.
By the way I tried to make this as short as possible so my grammar might be a bit hard to comprehend, by the way English is my second language.
Has anyone else experienced this 4D manifestation/creation of universes?
submitted by andy33theone to EscapingPrisonPlanet [link] [comments]
If I was on another subreddit I would go more into detail how I know this is not a coincidence because the odds would be extremely low for that to happen. It’s like 4D manifestation which transcends time, which we already know is an illusion. Although Some people here would say that this is just predetermination and not me manifesting this universe like that. For me I say it can be both, but it doesn’t change the fact that it will be my thoughts and most importantly the level of intensity of the feeling of these thoughts which changes my reality but even if it is predetermined I am still changing it.
Ofcourse I am not saying I can change something that has already happened, but say if now I will really think about tacos, it’s entirely possible that in the next episode which I haven’t seen before, they will go out to eat tacos or mention them (and ofcourse the series is not even about Mexicans or tacos or even food so yeah)
I have seen comments on like soulnexus where some people believe they “created universes” like thoughts affected world events etc, for me it hasn’t been so extreme and I also realise how it can actually be more like seeing in to the future rather than them creating the future, but I know how reality can get fucky like that.
For me I can sometimes create good luck or bad. Bad luck comes from when I do something I shouldn’t be doing, like say I will be disciplined but then break my word and it can have a compounding effect too. But then I learned that same can happen with good luck, so you can kind of hack reality by just believing that since you’re putting effort in to doing the right thing eg realising you need to do something and you aren’t being lazy, then you will get good luck because opposite applies for bad luck. It’s pretty much these mental gymnastics and you’re aware how dumb that would sound to someone but you know the fact that you believing it works makes it work since all your thoughts compound into reasons why now this is a good thing to do because you will be rewarded with some good luck. It is really hard to explain and I don’t think people would be able to do it like I do, I am still new to this “hacking” as I have only learned this in the past few months or so, but the way I manifest bad luck I know I can manifest good luck too.
By the way I tried to make this as short as possible so my grammar might be a bit hard to comprehend, by the way English is my second language.
Has anyone else experienced this 4D manifestation/creation of universes?
2023.03.25 10:40 Sinpleton025 Rifts of War - Chapter 2
Three moon cycles later
Galdush fields, Meilume region of the Empire
The time has come and the troops are ready. The chosen commander of Imperial forces is Ylyndar Glynra, general of the IV army, commanding twenty-five thousand infantry, ten thousand cavalry, ten thousand archers along with one hundred wyverns, one hundred battle mages and hundreds of siege elements for a total of fifty thousand troops. The vassal forces number forty thousand. Ten thousand dwarves from Nundolar commanded by Bardek Leadmaster and ten thousand from Halboram under Dalmin Bronzering. The Rosians sent twenty thousand in total under the command of Bodin Zorgen of Alston, king Thavok's eldest son. The imperials have also brought an auxiliary force of ten thousand slaves, which include ferral orcs, trolls, ogres, swine, lepians, feelians, leanoids, and welfen.
In total, the invasion force numbered one hundred thousand strong and they were to start the land attack in the Galdush fields. At the same time, the VI fleet of one hundred ships of various sizes gathered in the western waters away from the port city of Lashil. Admiral Lothar Tanros was also tasked with opening a rift and to attack the enemy's shoreline, making the invasion a pincer assault.
"It is time, general.", a captain said proudly.
"Indeed.", Ylandar replied, "I cannot wait to bring the emperor's light to this savage world. Are the mages in place?"
"Yes, general. They are finishing the ritual. It is a pity we cannot open more rifts."
"Any more and the spiritual energy of North Altia will be completely drained. I do not wish to destroy our world along with theirs."
"Understood sir.", at that moment, a large rift opened up. It was thirty steps wide, ten steps tall, and shining in bright blue. All soldiers stared at it with amazement and fright. This was the gateway to the savage land they were warned about, they must remain vigilant. "I shall prepare the first wave."
"Hold. I shall go.", Ylindar said.
"S-Sir? Are you certain?"
"Yes. I will lead the first wave.". With that, he rode to Bardek, Dalmin, and Bodin. "You know the plan. All Rosian troops, half of the dwarves, the entire auxiliary, and ten thousand of my own troops. Once a foothold has been established, a messenger will ride back and inform the rest of the troops to begin the second wave. The navy has most likely begun its attack. We must hurry. For the light!"
With that they marched forward into the rift, unaware of the dangers they will face. All they could do is pray to the spirits.
---
History is not kind. Many bad things happened throughout human history. Wars, plagues, destruction, and death beyond counting. On top of that, humans themselves were never the best of people. It is they who caused all of it to happen and it is also they who keep doing it. History has always described humans as selfish and self-harming, but history is written by the winner. And this time, the good wins.
The great virus that occurred in the third decade ravaged the planet, killing millions of people. But through human genius, a cure was made and the death was stopped. However, it was then that the true culprits were discovered. One of the greatest problems of humanity is overpopulation. We have grown soft and stopped "culling the herd" so that a sensible number can thrive and be strong. A group calling themselves 'True salvation', sought to fix this. Through decades of careful planning and manipulation, they've reached a solution. For mankind to prosper it needs to suffer. So they showed themselves in 2034 and declared that they will do what was necessary to save the Earth. So they set off fires and explosions all throughout the world. Thousands upon thousands of factories and industries were destroyed, the capital and major cities were devastated, planes kept crashing, ships kept sinking, and it was chaos. The death toll was in the millions, even hundreds of millions as every country suffered.
But the salvationist forgot one important thing. These are human beings. By attacking them all they've united them all. Global governments decided they will not stand by idly while their people were being killed for some 'greater good'. In a united effort, after fifteen years, they tracked down and eliminated the salvationists, ending the crisis. But now the bigger problem took the stage. The world was in chaos and it needed fixing. So for the future years, that is exactly what happened. A new generation replaced the old one and with everyone united they not only repaired but also advanced. New technologies were invented, and life became better. Artificial limbs became more common, medicine was more advanced and the military received more than one upgrade so that no future threat can harm the nations.
NATO got more support from South America and Australia, while East Europe and Asia created a new block called Easter Powers Alliance. The UN now strictly enforces laws against drugs and poachers are shot on sight so to protect the wild and plant life. Renewable energy sources are spread across the world and the atmosphere is being healed. Many monuments were built for the victims of the salvationists. It goes to show that no matter how much humanity is battered, it would always rise stronger.
And now? Now it is the year 2070 and things are going just fine.
5th of May, 2070
Lumberton, North Carolina
The Northeast park is always a wonderful place to visit. With playgrounds and baseball fields, it was always cheerful. Right now the Jaguars were playing against the Bulls and hundreds of people gathered to watch. Officers Bradly O'Neil, or just Brad, and Jack Mitchel pulled their police car over to watch the game.
"So who do think is winning this time?", Jack asked.
"My money is on the Bulls.", Brad said, "They're winning right now."
"No one knows man. I have a gut feeling the Jaguars are gonna make a comeback."
In that moment, a Jaguar pitcher threw the ball and the Bull hit it with the bat, sending it out of the ring.
"Hooooo! Another home run by the Bulls!", said the announcer, "If they keep this up they will win it all!"
The Bull ran full circle and when he finished, a tremor shook the ground. Suddenly, a large rectangle of light appeared. It was nearly fifty feet wide and sixteen feet tall. People were confused and everyone tried to wrap their heads around what exactly was happening.
"Brad?", Jack asked, "Did anyone order a light show?"
"At four pm? Unlikely.", Brad said as he grabbed his radio, "Dispatch this is officer O'Neil, we have a situation at the Northeast park. Unclear if it is a threat but I require reinforcements and-"
Out of the light, men started appearing. They were strange to say the least. They wore medieval-like armor and has pink skin. Behind them appeared something that freaked people out and scarred them even more. Things they would only see in fantasy movies. Green-skinned orcs, dwarves, and even huge dragon-like lizards. No one understood how they got here but they understood their purpose as they attacked the players and spectators.
The green-skinned and pig-like monsters killed and ate everyone they could find. The dragons flew in the air and arrows rained down on the people.
Brad took the radio again and shouted, "Threat confirmed! I repeat the threat is confirmed! Send reinforcements and alert the national guard! They're killing everyone! We need-"
A pig-like monster jumped at him but it got blasted away by a shotgun. "Power or speed?", asked Jack who shot the gun.
"Speed. I'll take the smaller ones.", he replied and grabbed the shotgun while Jack took the SMG, "We have to save as many people as we can! Come on!"
---
The attack is a success. Already these pale-skinned savages flee and are killed by the dozens and soon hundreds. This field will serve as a good foothold for the invasion.
Prince Bodin looked over the scenery and thought, 'This doesn't look like a land filled with chaos. Were the visions a lie after all?'
"Prince Bodin.", called general Ylindar, "It is glorious is it not? We will slaughter these savages and take the lands in the name of the light. I need you to send your forces over to the structures to the southwest, I have already dispatched the dwarves and auxillia to the south."
"This place is not like the one explained in the vision."
"That does not matter. You are to gather as many slaves as you can and kill all the soldiers that attack you. We must clear a path for the second wave." Bodin internally cursed but went with the orders and called his men.
"Sir!", called a captain, "There are several savages that are causing problems for us."
"What do you mean?"
"They are hiding behind strange metal carts and it appears they have boomsticks much like the dwarves."
"Send a group of mages with dwarves and crush them."
"Right away sir!". With that, the captain left and Ylindar started setting up the stronghold and preparing the letter for the second wave.
Five mages along with a hundred dwarf warriors and shooters. The two dozen savages hid behind metal carts and fired at the orcs and swine that ran at them. The dwarves took aim and fired but they only killed a couple. The savages fired and the mages tried to create a force shield, but something was wrong. There was no energy in this world and magic didn't work.
"What's the problem?", asked a dwarf.
"I-I don't know. I can't-"
Before he could finish, he fell to the ground with a hole in his head. The dwarves started to fall as well. The warriors put up their shields, but the weapons of the savages tore through them. Eventually, enough orcs and swine pushed them and killed most while taking one prisoner.
---
Some time later
Noble self-service storage
Bodin never liked the empire or the emperor. They killed his grandfather just because they wanted freedom. But right now, he didn't have a choice. Denying a direct imperial order is a death sentence. He needed to make sure his kingdom, as well as the others, by doing their bidding and dirty work.
On his way to the strange structures, he encountered strange things. Metal carts that moved without horses and the wide roads made of flat stones, as well as soldiers with repeating boomsticks. For every one of them he lost dozens, but they couldn't hold on for long. Bodin gave explicate orders not to kill any retreating soldiers or innocent people. They won't become monstrous killers like the elves.
After a while, they reached the structures. Rows of identical buildings locked with metal doors. They opened them one by one and only found different pieces of furniture and sometimes jewelry.
"Take anything of value.", Bodin said, "We have taken enough people captive. After we are done here we will report to general Ylindar. Captain, take the captives back quickly. I fear the men we've faced are but a fraction of their army."
"Yes my lord.", the captain said and left with his troops in a hurry.
"Are you starting to doubt the visions, prince Bodin.", spoke a man next to him, "Because so far I am."
"Viscount Iaw.", replied Bodin, "I know what you mean. These people don't look like the savage barbarians the elves told us about. They look like us."
"While I do agree with you on that, you cannot deny the differences. These structures look so robust, and the roads are completely flat. The boomsticks, and the metal carts, clearly these people possess great magic and machines. I cannot imagine what would happen if the empire got its hands on them."
"Don't even say that. Let's just get these items back to-". His sentence was cut by a loud explosion that came from the other side of the structures. Bits and pieces of armor, weapons, and bodies fell on all sides. The men panicked as more explosions came from all sides.
"They have cannons!", yelled Bodin, "Scatter! Find the shooters!". After he gave his orders the soldiers ran to all sides, but they stopped shortly after noticing something in the air. Enemy wyverns? No. They looked different and were made of metal much like the carriages. Several of them filled the sky and inside were soldiers with aimed cannons who opened fire on the Rosians. The soldiers died by the hundreds and Bodin knew he was in danger.
"We have to get out of here!", yelled Iaw and hurried forward on his horse. Bodin and the others followed but they slowed down as they saw a roadblock of large and bulky metal carriages. Dozens of enemies came out of them and prepared their weapons.
"I shall clear a path for you!", said Iaw and charged at the enemy with his troops. Bodin attempted to stop him but to no avail. The enemies opened fire and Iaw was filled with holes along with his men. They didn't even get close before they were slaughtered. Paralyzed by fear, the remaining Rosian troops did the only sensible thing, they surrendered. Now they can only hope for the enemy to be merciful.
---
'This was supposed to be a slow day.", thought lieutenant Jefferson, 'What the hell did we get ourselves into.'
This was beyond strange. A portal opening up in Northeast park, fantasy, and medieval people coming out of it and attacking people? This wasn't what Mark signed up to fight. But he did sign up to defend the United States from any threat. This one counts.
As he rode in his helicopter he saw the other choppers literally slaughtering the 'enemy'. If you can call people with swords and bows riding on a horse a proper enemy. They were being killed in the thousands and only several hundred were left at the storage facilities.
"Lieutenant, are you ok?", asked a sergeant, "You spaced out."
"I'm fine Thomas. This is just beyond me. But I guess it's not our job to think about it.", he stood up and grabbed the rope, "We're going down!"
They lowered themselves from the helicopter and got into formation. They moved through the roads and shot every enemy that came after them. It wasn't hard, these 'knights' weren't much of a threat as long as they were out of range.
"Cavalry behind us!", yelled Thomas. The platoon got into a firing line and opened fire, cutting down the dozens of horses and 'men' riding them. As they continued forward they arrived at the JLTVs placed to block the enemy's advance.
"Lieutenant Mark Jefferson.", he said as he saluted.
"Sergeant Norman Cole. Sir, you're not gonna believe this."
"We are under attack by Lord of the rings characters in pink. Try me."
"Well, these people speak a different language, unsurprisingly. But when I introduced myself they spoke English."
This did surprise Mark. "English? Are you sure?"
"Yes. There's an accent definitely but it's unmistakable. And that guy with the cape and silver helmet? He's the leader. Prince Bodin of Alston."
After some pondering, Mark answered, "Load them up in the trucks. Separate the more important ones. I need to get in touch with the forces sent to Food lion."
"Yes, sir."
'This keeps getting weirder and weirder.', Mark thought.
---
Earlier
Near Food lion
Zoya was not happy about this. Being forced to fight for these oppressors alongside animals. It was degrading. But she didn't have a choice. It was serve or die. Because of their animal features, lepians and feelians are sent first to scout the area and bring information. But what the others were doing was horrible.
All around she could see the feral orcs butchering people and raid homes, the swine, trolls, and ogres eating people alive, and the dwarves plundering treasures and taking weapons. It was disgusting. The forces did suffer casualties. These people were armed with weapons more powerful than even the dwarves had. The feral beast suffered the most. Even the trolls and ogress fell to being shot enough times. But eventually, they had to run away.
Plunging her dagger into a blue-clothed soldier's back, Zoya let out a tired sigh. "How much longer?", she asked herself.
"As long as it takes.", said a woman behind her.
"Bora. I thought you were killed."
"I was almost. But I lost many of my own. These weapons are deadly. If we dodge one shot ten more appear."
"What's taking you so long, rabbit?", asked the dwarven general Dalmin in a disrespectful attitude, "I thought you lepians were supposed to be expert scouts."
"Don't talk down at us, dwarf.", said Bora.
"Shut it cat! Or I'll grind you into meat and feed you to my hog.", Bora hissed at that, "Now, get going. It won't be long before Bardek arrives and I intend to have more fun.". With that he rode off, leaving Zoya and Bora.
"I'm going to kill him one day.", said Bora.
Zoya looked behind her and saw a group of children running away from a swine and a feral orc. They went inside what looked like a large market. Zoya ran after them and Bora quickly followed. They reached the mark and when they entered it they saw the women and children cowering in a corner as the swine and orc closed in. Zoya rushed at the orc and slit its throat then quickly spun around and kicked the swine, knocking it to the ground. Without wasting time she plunged her dagger into its heart. She walked over to the children and gestured for them to calm down.
"What was that?", Bora asked.
"I'm not letting let innocent people get butchered and eaten by monsters."
"But if the elves find out-"
"They won't. We can-", she stopped midway after her ears twitched. Looking out the window she saw and hear explosions. That must be this world's army. Dalmin rode on his hog to lead a charge against their metal carriages but was cut down by the enemy's weapons.
Zoya and Bora were scared. Their people were dying and soon they will follow. But just then, a little girl walked to her side and pulled her hand. "Don't worry.", she spoke in the imperial tongue, which surprised Zoya, "We'll tell them you saved us."
---
"This is pretty insane isn't it sir?", asked a soldier.
"It sure is Paterson.", said the sergeant, "Let's just kill everything that can't talk first and worry about the rest later."
"Rodger.". They exited the Bradley and got to work, opening fire on what looked like dwarves and orcs. The Bradley itself focused on the larger targets while the soldiers moved in. House by house and street by street they moved in. The dwarves fired their musket-like weapons but they only managed to land a few lucky shots. The new M16A5 assault rifle with 6.8mm bullets tore through their armor and shields.
An ogre started charging from the back lines, swinging his large stone on a chain. "Paterson! Fire your grenade launcher!", ordered the sergeant. Paterson fired and upon impact the grenade exploded, leaving a gaping hole in the ogre's chest and bursting its organs all around. The battle continued and the stubborn dwarves fought as well as the ugly monsters. The only ones that surrendered were the animalistic 'people'.
As the soldiers progressed they saw horrid things. People were being eaten and ripped apart by the monsters as they screamed and begged for their lives. Homes burned and vehicles crushed. This won't go unanswered. "Kill them all!", yelled the sergeant, and the soldiers happily obliged.
With rifles, grenades, and machine guns they slaughtered the monsters. Trolls and ogres were blown to pieces, orcs, and swine riddled with holes like Swiss cheese. Even the stubborn dwarves were shown little mercy. The sergeant continued with his men to Food lion where he spotted two animal-like people, one looked like a cat and the other like a bunny, with over a dozen children.
They entered and pointed their guns at them immediately, but the children stood in front of them. "Don't shoot them.", said a boy.
"What?", asked the sergeant.
"They saved us from the monsters.", said a girl pointing to the dead orc and pig.
After some delay, the sergeant spoke, "Lower your weapons.". He walked to the two women. "I am gunnery-sergeant Jeff Miller. Who are you?"
"I am Zoya and this is Bora.", answered the rabbit woman, "We are the slave auxiliary of the empire of light."
Confused, Jeff asked, "The what?"
Before she could answer, Paterson walked over to Miller, "Sir, I have a message from lieutenant Mark Jefferson. He asks about a report and if we're ready to join them in the attack on Northeast park."
Jeff looked at the two women before turning to his men, "Paterson, tell the lieutenant that we'll join them soon. Johnson, and Shane, take these two into custody. I'll question them more when I get back."
"Where are you going?", asked Bora suddenly.
Jeff turned to her slowly and answered, "We're gonna end this."
End of chapter 2
---
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Sorry for the choppy chapter, I promise better work in the future.
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Galdush fields, Meilume region of the Empire
The time has come and the troops are ready. The chosen commander of Imperial forces is Ylyndar Glynra, general of the IV army, commanding twenty-five thousand infantry, ten thousand cavalry, ten thousand archers along with one hundred wyverns, one hundred battle mages and hundreds of siege elements for a total of fifty thousand troops. The vassal forces number forty thousand. Ten thousand dwarves from Nundolar commanded by Bardek Leadmaster and ten thousand from Halboram under Dalmin Bronzering. The Rosians sent twenty thousand in total under the command of Bodin Zorgen of Alston, king Thavok's eldest son. The imperials have also brought an auxiliary force of ten thousand slaves, which include ferral orcs, trolls, ogres, swine, lepians, feelians, leanoids, and welfen.
In total, the invasion force numbered one hundred thousand strong and they were to start the land attack in the Galdush fields. At the same time, the VI fleet of one hundred ships of various sizes gathered in the western waters away from the port city of Lashil. Admiral Lothar Tanros was also tasked with opening a rift and to attack the enemy's shoreline, making the invasion a pincer assault.
"It is time, general.", a captain said proudly.
"Indeed.", Ylandar replied, "I cannot wait to bring the emperor's light to this savage world. Are the mages in place?"
"Yes, general. They are finishing the ritual. It is a pity we cannot open more rifts."
"Any more and the spiritual energy of North Altia will be completely drained. I do not wish to destroy our world along with theirs."
"Understood sir.", at that moment, a large rift opened up. It was thirty steps wide, ten steps tall, and shining in bright blue. All soldiers stared at it with amazement and fright. This was the gateway to the savage land they were warned about, they must remain vigilant. "I shall prepare the first wave."
"Hold. I shall go.", Ylindar said.
"S-Sir? Are you certain?"
"Yes. I will lead the first wave.". With that, he rode to Bardek, Dalmin, and Bodin. "You know the plan. All Rosian troops, half of the dwarves, the entire auxiliary, and ten thousand of my own troops. Once a foothold has been established, a messenger will ride back and inform the rest of the troops to begin the second wave. The navy has most likely begun its attack. We must hurry. For the light!"
With that they marched forward into the rift, unaware of the dangers they will face. All they could do is pray to the spirits.
---
History is not kind. Many bad things happened throughout human history. Wars, plagues, destruction, and death beyond counting. On top of that, humans themselves were never the best of people. It is they who caused all of it to happen and it is also they who keep doing it. History has always described humans as selfish and self-harming, but history is written by the winner. And this time, the good wins.
The great virus that occurred in the third decade ravaged the planet, killing millions of people. But through human genius, a cure was made and the death was stopped. However, it was then that the true culprits were discovered. One of the greatest problems of humanity is overpopulation. We have grown soft and stopped "culling the herd" so that a sensible number can thrive and be strong. A group calling themselves 'True salvation', sought to fix this. Through decades of careful planning and manipulation, they've reached a solution. For mankind to prosper it needs to suffer. So they showed themselves in 2034 and declared that they will do what was necessary to save the Earth. So they set off fires and explosions all throughout the world. Thousands upon thousands of factories and industries were destroyed, the capital and major cities were devastated, planes kept crashing, ships kept sinking, and it was chaos. The death toll was in the millions, even hundreds of millions as every country suffered.
But the salvationist forgot one important thing. These are human beings. By attacking them all they've united them all. Global governments decided they will not stand by idly while their people were being killed for some 'greater good'. In a united effort, after fifteen years, they tracked down and eliminated the salvationists, ending the crisis. But now the bigger problem took the stage. The world was in chaos and it needed fixing. So for the future years, that is exactly what happened. A new generation replaced the old one and with everyone united they not only repaired but also advanced. New technologies were invented, and life became better. Artificial limbs became more common, medicine was more advanced and the military received more than one upgrade so that no future threat can harm the nations.
NATO got more support from South America and Australia, while East Europe and Asia created a new block called Easter Powers Alliance. The UN now strictly enforces laws against drugs and poachers are shot on sight so to protect the wild and plant life. Renewable energy sources are spread across the world and the atmosphere is being healed. Many monuments were built for the victims of the salvationists. It goes to show that no matter how much humanity is battered, it would always rise stronger.
And now? Now it is the year 2070 and things are going just fine.
5th of May, 2070
Lumberton, North Carolina
The Northeast park is always a wonderful place to visit. With playgrounds and baseball fields, it was always cheerful. Right now the Jaguars were playing against the Bulls and hundreds of people gathered to watch. Officers Bradly O'Neil, or just Brad, and Jack Mitchel pulled their police car over to watch the game.
"So who do think is winning this time?", Jack asked.
"My money is on the Bulls.", Brad said, "They're winning right now."
"No one knows man. I have a gut feeling the Jaguars are gonna make a comeback."
In that moment, a Jaguar pitcher threw the ball and the Bull hit it with the bat, sending it out of the ring.
"Hooooo! Another home run by the Bulls!", said the announcer, "If they keep this up they will win it all!"
The Bull ran full circle and when he finished, a tremor shook the ground. Suddenly, a large rectangle of light appeared. It was nearly fifty feet wide and sixteen feet tall. People were confused and everyone tried to wrap their heads around what exactly was happening.
"Brad?", Jack asked, "Did anyone order a light show?"
"At four pm? Unlikely.", Brad said as he grabbed his radio, "Dispatch this is officer O'Neil, we have a situation at the Northeast park. Unclear if it is a threat but I require reinforcements and-"
Out of the light, men started appearing. They were strange to say the least. They wore medieval-like armor and has pink skin. Behind them appeared something that freaked people out and scarred them even more. Things they would only see in fantasy movies. Green-skinned orcs, dwarves, and even huge dragon-like lizards. No one understood how they got here but they understood their purpose as they attacked the players and spectators.
The green-skinned and pig-like monsters killed and ate everyone they could find. The dragons flew in the air and arrows rained down on the people.
Brad took the radio again and shouted, "Threat confirmed! I repeat the threat is confirmed! Send reinforcements and alert the national guard! They're killing everyone! We need-"
A pig-like monster jumped at him but it got blasted away by a shotgun. "Power or speed?", asked Jack who shot the gun.
"Speed. I'll take the smaller ones.", he replied and grabbed the shotgun while Jack took the SMG, "We have to save as many people as we can! Come on!"
---
The attack is a success. Already these pale-skinned savages flee and are killed by the dozens and soon hundreds. This field will serve as a good foothold for the invasion.
Prince Bodin looked over the scenery and thought, 'This doesn't look like a land filled with chaos. Were the visions a lie after all?'
"Prince Bodin.", called general Ylindar, "It is glorious is it not? We will slaughter these savages and take the lands in the name of the light. I need you to send your forces over to the structures to the southwest, I have already dispatched the dwarves and auxillia to the south."
"This place is not like the one explained in the vision."
"That does not matter. You are to gather as many slaves as you can and kill all the soldiers that attack you. We must clear a path for the second wave." Bodin internally cursed but went with the orders and called his men.
"Sir!", called a captain, "There are several savages that are causing problems for us."
"What do you mean?"
"They are hiding behind strange metal carts and it appears they have boomsticks much like the dwarves."
"Send a group of mages with dwarves and crush them."
"Right away sir!". With that, the captain left and Ylindar started setting up the stronghold and preparing the letter for the second wave.
Five mages along with a hundred dwarf warriors and shooters. The two dozen savages hid behind metal carts and fired at the orcs and swine that ran at them. The dwarves took aim and fired but they only killed a couple. The savages fired and the mages tried to create a force shield, but something was wrong. There was no energy in this world and magic didn't work.
"What's the problem?", asked a dwarf.
"I-I don't know. I can't-"
Before he could finish, he fell to the ground with a hole in his head. The dwarves started to fall as well. The warriors put up their shields, but the weapons of the savages tore through them. Eventually, enough orcs and swine pushed them and killed most while taking one prisoner.
---
Some time later
Noble self-service storage
Bodin never liked the empire or the emperor. They killed his grandfather just because they wanted freedom. But right now, he didn't have a choice. Denying a direct imperial order is a death sentence. He needed to make sure his kingdom, as well as the others, by doing their bidding and dirty work.
On his way to the strange structures, he encountered strange things. Metal carts that moved without horses and the wide roads made of flat stones, as well as soldiers with repeating boomsticks. For every one of them he lost dozens, but they couldn't hold on for long. Bodin gave explicate orders not to kill any retreating soldiers or innocent people. They won't become monstrous killers like the elves.
After a while, they reached the structures. Rows of identical buildings locked with metal doors. They opened them one by one and only found different pieces of furniture and sometimes jewelry.
"Take anything of value.", Bodin said, "We have taken enough people captive. After we are done here we will report to general Ylindar. Captain, take the captives back quickly. I fear the men we've faced are but a fraction of their army."
"Yes my lord.", the captain said and left with his troops in a hurry.
"Are you starting to doubt the visions, prince Bodin.", spoke a man next to him, "Because so far I am."
"Viscount Iaw.", replied Bodin, "I know what you mean. These people don't look like the savage barbarians the elves told us about. They look like us."
"While I do agree with you on that, you cannot deny the differences. These structures look so robust, and the roads are completely flat. The boomsticks, and the metal carts, clearly these people possess great magic and machines. I cannot imagine what would happen if the empire got its hands on them."
"Don't even say that. Let's just get these items back to-". His sentence was cut by a loud explosion that came from the other side of the structures. Bits and pieces of armor, weapons, and bodies fell on all sides. The men panicked as more explosions came from all sides.
"They have cannons!", yelled Bodin, "Scatter! Find the shooters!". After he gave his orders the soldiers ran to all sides, but they stopped shortly after noticing something in the air. Enemy wyverns? No. They looked different and were made of metal much like the carriages. Several of them filled the sky and inside were soldiers with aimed cannons who opened fire on the Rosians. The soldiers died by the hundreds and Bodin knew he was in danger.
"We have to get out of here!", yelled Iaw and hurried forward on his horse. Bodin and the others followed but they slowed down as they saw a roadblock of large and bulky metal carriages. Dozens of enemies came out of them and prepared their weapons.
"I shall clear a path for you!", said Iaw and charged at the enemy with his troops. Bodin attempted to stop him but to no avail. The enemies opened fire and Iaw was filled with holes along with his men. They didn't even get close before they were slaughtered. Paralyzed by fear, the remaining Rosian troops did the only sensible thing, they surrendered. Now they can only hope for the enemy to be merciful.
---
'This was supposed to be a slow day.", thought lieutenant Jefferson, 'What the hell did we get ourselves into.'
This was beyond strange. A portal opening up in Northeast park, fantasy, and medieval people coming out of it and attacking people? This wasn't what Mark signed up to fight. But he did sign up to defend the United States from any threat. This one counts.
As he rode in his helicopter he saw the other choppers literally slaughtering the 'enemy'. If you can call people with swords and bows riding on a horse a proper enemy. They were being killed in the thousands and only several hundred were left at the storage facilities.
"Lieutenant, are you ok?", asked a sergeant, "You spaced out."
"I'm fine Thomas. This is just beyond me. But I guess it's not our job to think about it.", he stood up and grabbed the rope, "We're going down!"
They lowered themselves from the helicopter and got into formation. They moved through the roads and shot every enemy that came after them. It wasn't hard, these 'knights' weren't much of a threat as long as they were out of range.
"Cavalry behind us!", yelled Thomas. The platoon got into a firing line and opened fire, cutting down the dozens of horses and 'men' riding them. As they continued forward they arrived at the JLTVs placed to block the enemy's advance.
"Lieutenant Mark Jefferson.", he said as he saluted.
"Sergeant Norman Cole. Sir, you're not gonna believe this."
"We are under attack by Lord of the rings characters in pink. Try me."
"Well, these people speak a different language, unsurprisingly. But when I introduced myself they spoke English."
This did surprise Mark. "English? Are you sure?"
"Yes. There's an accent definitely but it's unmistakable. And that guy with the cape and silver helmet? He's the leader. Prince Bodin of Alston."
After some pondering, Mark answered, "Load them up in the trucks. Separate the more important ones. I need to get in touch with the forces sent to Food lion."
"Yes, sir."
'This keeps getting weirder and weirder.', Mark thought.
---
Earlier
Near Food lion
Zoya was not happy about this. Being forced to fight for these oppressors alongside animals. It was degrading. But she didn't have a choice. It was serve or die. Because of their animal features, lepians and feelians are sent first to scout the area and bring information. But what the others were doing was horrible.
All around she could see the feral orcs butchering people and raid homes, the swine, trolls, and ogres eating people alive, and the dwarves plundering treasures and taking weapons. It was disgusting. The forces did suffer casualties. These people were armed with weapons more powerful than even the dwarves had. The feral beast suffered the most. Even the trolls and ogress fell to being shot enough times. But eventually, they had to run away.
Plunging her dagger into a blue-clothed soldier's back, Zoya let out a tired sigh. "How much longer?", she asked herself.
"As long as it takes.", said a woman behind her.
"Bora. I thought you were killed."
"I was almost. But I lost many of my own. These weapons are deadly. If we dodge one shot ten more appear."
"What's taking you so long, rabbit?", asked the dwarven general Dalmin in a disrespectful attitude, "I thought you lepians were supposed to be expert scouts."
"Don't talk down at us, dwarf.", said Bora.
"Shut it cat! Or I'll grind you into meat and feed you to my hog.", Bora hissed at that, "Now, get going. It won't be long before Bardek arrives and I intend to have more fun.". With that he rode off, leaving Zoya and Bora.
"I'm going to kill him one day.", said Bora.
Zoya looked behind her and saw a group of children running away from a swine and a feral orc. They went inside what looked like a large market. Zoya ran after them and Bora quickly followed. They reached the mark and when they entered it they saw the women and children cowering in a corner as the swine and orc closed in. Zoya rushed at the orc and slit its throat then quickly spun around and kicked the swine, knocking it to the ground. Without wasting time she plunged her dagger into its heart. She walked over to the children and gestured for them to calm down.
"What was that?", Bora asked.
"I'm not letting let innocent people get butchered and eaten by monsters."
"But if the elves find out-"
"They won't. We can-", she stopped midway after her ears twitched. Looking out the window she saw and hear explosions. That must be this world's army. Dalmin rode on his hog to lead a charge against their metal carriages but was cut down by the enemy's weapons.
Zoya and Bora were scared. Their people were dying and soon they will follow. But just then, a little girl walked to her side and pulled her hand. "Don't worry.", she spoke in the imperial tongue, which surprised Zoya, "We'll tell them you saved us."
---
"This is pretty insane isn't it sir?", asked a soldier.
"It sure is Paterson.", said the sergeant, "Let's just kill everything that can't talk first and worry about the rest later."
"Rodger.". They exited the Bradley and got to work, opening fire on what looked like dwarves and orcs. The Bradley itself focused on the larger targets while the soldiers moved in. House by house and street by street they moved in. The dwarves fired their musket-like weapons but they only managed to land a few lucky shots. The new M16A5 assault rifle with 6.8mm bullets tore through their armor and shields.
An ogre started charging from the back lines, swinging his large stone on a chain. "Paterson! Fire your grenade launcher!", ordered the sergeant. Paterson fired and upon impact the grenade exploded, leaving a gaping hole in the ogre's chest and bursting its organs all around. The battle continued and the stubborn dwarves fought as well as the ugly monsters. The only ones that surrendered were the animalistic 'people'.
As the soldiers progressed they saw horrid things. People were being eaten and ripped apart by the monsters as they screamed and begged for their lives. Homes burned and vehicles crushed. This won't go unanswered. "Kill them all!", yelled the sergeant, and the soldiers happily obliged.
With rifles, grenades, and machine guns they slaughtered the monsters. Trolls and ogres were blown to pieces, orcs, and swine riddled with holes like Swiss cheese. Even the stubborn dwarves were shown little mercy. The sergeant continued with his men to Food lion where he spotted two animal-like people, one looked like a cat and the other like a bunny, with over a dozen children.
They entered and pointed their guns at them immediately, but the children stood in front of them. "Don't shoot them.", said a boy.
"What?", asked the sergeant.
"They saved us from the monsters.", said a girl pointing to the dead orc and pig.
After some delay, the sergeant spoke, "Lower your weapons.". He walked to the two women. "I am gunnery-sergeant Jeff Miller. Who are you?"
"I am Zoya and this is Bora.", answered the rabbit woman, "We are the slave auxiliary of the empire of light."
Confused, Jeff asked, "The what?"
Before she could answer, Paterson walked over to Miller, "Sir, I have a message from lieutenant Mark Jefferson. He asks about a report and if we're ready to join them in the attack on Northeast park."
Jeff looked at the two women before turning to his men, "Paterson, tell the lieutenant that we'll join them soon. Johnson, and Shane, take these two into custody. I'll question them more when I get back."
"Where are you going?", asked Bora suddenly.
Jeff turned to her slowly and answered, "We're gonna end this."
End of chapter 2
---
Thank you very much for reading. If you'd like to support me (for some freakin' reason) feel free to upvote, follow, and check out my Patreon: patreon.com/SimpleWrites
Sorry for the choppy chapter, I promise better work in the future.
2023.03.25 10:40 Sinpleton025 [Rifts of War] - Chapter 2
Three moon cycles later
Galdush fields, Meilume region of the Empire
The time has come and the troops are ready. The chosen commander of Imperial forces is Ylyndar Glynra, general of the IV army, commanding twenty-five thousand infantry, ten thousand cavalry, ten thousand archers along with one hundred wyverns, one hundred battle mages and hundreds of siege elements for a total of fifty thousand troops. The vassal forces number forty thousand. Ten thousand dwarves from Nundolar commanded by Bardek Leadmaster and ten thousand from Halboram under Dalmin Bronzering. The Rosians sent twenty thousand in total under the command of Bodin Zorgen of Alston, king Thavok's eldest son. The imperials have also brought an auxiliary force of ten thousand slaves, which include ferral orcs, trolls, ogres, swine, lepians, feelians, leanoids, and welfen.
In total, the invasion force numbered one hundred thousand strong and they were to start the land attack in the Galdush fields. At the same time, the VI fleet of one hundred ships of various sizes gathered in the western waters away from the port city of Lashil. Admiral Lothar Tanros was also tasked with opening a rift and to attack the enemy's shoreline, making the invasion a pincer assault.
"It is time, general.", a captain said proudly.
"Indeed.", Ylandar replied, "I cannot wait to bring the emperor's light to this savage world. Are the mages in place?"
"Yes, general. They are finishing the ritual. It is a pity we cannot open more rifts."
"Any more and the spiritual energy of North Altia will be completely drained. I do not wish to destroy our world along with theirs."
"Understood sir.", at that moment, a large rift opened up. It was thirty steps wide, ten steps tall, and shining in bright blue. All soldiers stared at it with amazement and fright. This was the gateway to the savage land they were warned about, they must remain vigilant. "I shall prepare the first wave."
"Hold. I shall go.", Ylindar said.
"S-Sir? Are you certain?"
"Yes. I will lead the first wave.". With that, he rode to Bardek, Dalmin, and Bodin. "You know the plan. All Rosian troops, half of the dwarves, the entire auxiliary, and ten thousand of my own troops. Once a foothold has been established, a messenger will ride back and inform the rest of the troops to begin the second wave. The navy has most likely begun its attack. We must hurry. For the light!"
With that they marched forward into the rift, unaware of the dangers they will face. All they could do is pray to the spirits.
---
History is not kind. Many bad things happened throughout human history. Wars, plagues, destruction, and death beyond counting. On top of that, humans themselves were never the best of people. It is they who caused all of it to happen and it is also they who keep doing it. History has always described humans as selfish and self-harming, but history is written by the winner. And this time, the good wins.
The great virus that occurred in the third decade ravaged the planet, killing millions of people. But through human genius, a cure was made and the death was stopped. However, it was then that the true culprits were discovered. One of the greatest problems of humanity is overpopulation. We have grown soft and stopped "culling the herd" so that a sensible number can thrive and be strong. A group calling themselves 'True salvation', sought to fix this. Through decades of careful planning and manipulation, they've reached a solution. For mankind to prosper it needs to suffer. So they showed themselves in 2034 and declared that they will do what was necessary to save the Earth. So they set off fires and explosions all throughout the world. Thousands upon thousands of factories and industries were destroyed, the capital and major cities were devastated, planes kept crashing, ships kept sinking, and it was chaos. The death toll was in the millions, even hundreds of millions as every country suffered.
But the salvationist forgot one important thing. These are human beings. By attacking them all they've united them all. Global governments decided they will not stand by idly while their people were being killed for some 'greater good'. In a united effort, after fifteen years, they tracked down and eliminated the salvationists, ending the crisis. But now the bigger problem took the stage. The world was in chaos and it needed fixing. So for the future years, that is exactly what happened. A new generation replaced the old one and with everyone united they not only repaired but also advanced. New technologies were invented, and life became better. Artificial limbs became more common, medicine was more advanced and the military received more than one upgrade so that no future threat can harm the nations.
NATO got more support from South America and Australia, while East Europe and Asia created a new block called Easter Powers Alliance. The UN now strictly enforces laws against drugs and poachers are shot on sight so to protect the wild and plant life. Renewable energy sources are spread across the world and the atmosphere is being healed. Many monuments were built for the victims of the salvationists. It goes to show that no matter how much humanity is battered, it would always rise stronger.
And now? Now it is the year 2070 and things are going just fine.
5th of May, 2070
Lumberton, North Carolina
The Northeast park is always a wonderful place to visit. With playgrounds and baseball fields, it was always cheerful. Right now the Jaguars were playing against the Bulls and hundreds of people gathered to watch. Officers Bradly O'Neil, or just Brad, and Jack Mitchel pulled their police car over to watch the game.
"So who do think is winning this time?", Jack asked.
"My money is on the Bulls.", Brad said, "They're winning right now."
"No one knows man. I have a gut feeling the Jaguars are gonna make a comeback."
In that moment, a Jaguar pitcher threw the ball and the Bull hit it with the bat, sending it out of the ring.
"Hooooo! Another home run by the Bulls!", said the announcer, "If they keep this up they will win it all!"
The Bull ran full circle and when he finished, a tremor shook the ground. Suddenly, a large rectangle of light appeared. It was nearly fifty feet wide and sixteen feet tall. People were confused and everyone tried to wrap their heads around what exactly was happening.
"Brad?", Jack asked, "Did anyone order a light show?"
"At four pm? Unlikely.", Brad said as he grabbed his radio, "Dispatch this is officer O'Neil, we have a situation at the Northeast park. Unclear if it is a threat but I require reinforcements and-"
Out of the light, men started appearing. They were strange to say the least. They wore medieval-like armor and has pink skin. Behind them appeared something that freaked people out and scarred them even more. Things they would only see in fantasy movies. Green-skinned orcs, dwarves, and even huge dragon-like lizards. No one understood how they got here but they understood their purpose as they attacked the players and spectators.
The green-skinned and pig-like monsters killed and ate everyone they could find. The dragons flew in the air and arrows rained down on the people.
Brad took the radio again and shouted, "Threat confirmed! I repeat the threat is confirmed! Send reinforcements and alert the national guard! They're killing everyone! We need-"
A pig-like monster jumped at him but it got blasted away by a shotgun. "Power or speed?", asked Jack who shot the gun.
"Speed. I'll take the smaller ones.", he replied and grabbed the shotgun while Jack took the SMG, "We have to save as many people as we can! Come on!"
---
The attack is a success. Already these pale-skinned savages flee and are killed by the dozens and soon hundreds. This field will serve as a good foothold for the invasion.
Prince Bodin looked over the scenery and thought, 'This doesn't look like a land filled with chaos. Were the visions a lie after all?'
"Prince Bodin.", called general Ylindar, "It is glorious is it not? We will slaughter these savages and take the lands in the name of the light. I need you to send your forces over to the structures to the southwest, I have already dispatched the dwarves and auxillia to the south."
"This place is not like the one explained in the vision."
"That does not matter. You are to gather as many slaves as you can and kill all the soldiers that attack you. We must clear a path for the second wave." Bodin internally cursed but went with the orders and called his men.
"Sir!", called a captain, "There are several savages that are causing problems for us."
"What do you mean?"
"They are hiding behind strange metal carts and it appears they have boomsticks much like the dwarves."
"Send a group of mages with dwarves and crush them."
"Right away sir!". With that, the captain left and Ylindar started setting up the stronghold and preparing the letter for the second wave.
Five mages along with a hundred dwarf warriors and shooters. The two dozen savages hid behind metal carts and fired at the orcs and swine that ran at them. The dwarves took aim and fired but they only killed a couple. The savages fired and the mages tried to create a force shield, but something was wrong. There was no energy in this world and magic didn't work.
"What's the problem?", asked a dwarf.
"I-I don't know. I can't-"
Before he could finish, he fell to the ground with a hole in his head. The dwarves started to fall as well. The warriors put up their shields, but the weapons of the savages tore through them. Eventually, enough orcs and swine pushed them and killed most while taking one prisoner.
---
Some time later
Noble self-service storage
Bodin never liked the empire or the emperor. They killed his grandfather just because they wanted freedom. But right now, he didn't have a choice. Denying a direct imperial order is a death sentence. He needed to make sure his kingdom, as well as the others, by doing their bidding and dirty work.
On his way to the strange structures, he encountered strange things. Metal carts that moved without horses and the wide roads made of flat stones, as well as soldiers with repeating boomsticks. For every one of them he lost dozens, but they couldn't hold on for long. Bodin gave explicate orders not to kill any retreating soldiers or innocent people. They won't become monstrous killers like the elves.
After a while, they reached the structures. Rows of identical buildings locked with metal doors. They opened them one by one and only found different pieces of furniture and sometimes jewelry.
"Take anything of value.", Bodin said, "We have taken enough people captive. After we are done here we will report to general Ylindar. Captain, take the captives back quickly. I fear the men we've faced are but a fraction of their army."
"Yes my lord.", the captain said and left with his troops in a hurry.
"Are you starting to doubt the visions, prince Bodin.", spoke a man next to him, "Because so far I am."
"Viscount Iaw.", replied Bodin, "I know what you mean. These people don't look like the savage barbarians the elves told us about. They look like us."
"While I do agree with you on that, you cannot deny the differences. These structures look so robust, and the roads are completely flat. The boomsticks, and the metal carts, clearly these people possess great magic and machines. I cannot imagine what would happen if the empire got its hands on them."
"Don't even say that. Let's just get these items back to-". His sentence was cut by a loud explosion that came from the other side of the structures. Bits and pieces of armor, weapons, and bodies fell on all sides. The men panicked as more explosions came from all sides.
"They have cannons!", yelled Bodin, "Scatter! Find the shooters!". After he gave his orders the soldiers ran to all sides, but they stopped shortly after noticing something in the air. Enemy wyverns? No. They looked different and were made of metal much like the carriages. Several of them filled the sky and inside were soldiers with aimed cannons who opened fire on the Rosians. The soldiers died by the hundreds and Bodin knew he was in danger.
"We have to get out of here!", yelled Iaw and hurried forward on his horse. Bodin and the others followed but they slowed down as they saw a roadblock of large and bulky metal carriages. Dozens of enemies came out of them and prepared their weapons.
"I shall clear a path for you!", said Iaw and charged at the enemy with his troops. Bodin attempted to stop him but to no avail. The enemies opened fire and Iaw was filled with holes along with his men. They didn't even get close before they were slaughtered. Paralyzed by fear, the remaining Rosian troops did the only sensible thing, they surrendered. Now they can only hope for the enemy to be merciful.
---
'This was supposed to be a slow day.", thought lieutenant Jefferson, 'What the hell did we get ourselves into.'
This was beyond strange. A portal opening up in Northeast park, fantasy, and medieval people coming out of it and attacking people? This wasn't what Mark signed up to fight. But he did sign up to defend the United States from any threat. This one counts.
As he rode in his helicopter he saw the other choppers literally slaughtering the 'enemy'. If you can call people with swords and bows riding on a horse a proper enemy. They were being killed in the thousands and only several hundred were left at the storage facilities.
"Lieutenant, are you ok?", asked a sergeant, "You spaced out."
"I'm fine Thomas. This is just beyond me. But I guess it's not our job to think about it.", he stood up and grabbed the rope, "We're going down!"
They lowered themselves from the helicopter and got into formation. They moved through the roads and shot every enemy that came after them. It wasn't hard, these 'knights' weren't much of a threat as long as they were out of range.
"Cavalry behind us!", yelled Thomas. The platoon got into a firing line and opened fire, cutting down the dozens of horses and 'men' riding them. As they continued forward they arrived at the JLTVs placed to block the enemy's advance.
"Lieutenant Mark Jefferson.", he said as he saluted.
"Sergeant Norman Cole. Sir, you're not gonna believe this."
"We are under attack by Lord of the rings characters in pink. Try me."
"Well, these people speak a different language, unsurprisingly. But when I introduced myself they spoke English."
This did surprise Mark. "English? Are you sure?"
"Yes. There's an accent definitely but it's unmistakable. And that guy with the cape and silver helmet? He's the leader. Prince Bodin of Alston."
After some pondering, Mark answered, "Load them up in the trucks. Separate the more important ones. I need to get in touch with the forces sent to Food lion."
"Yes, sir."
'This keeps getting weirder and weirder.', Mark thought.
---
Earlier
Near Food lion
Zoya was not happy about this. Being forced to fight for these oppressors alongside animals. It was degrading. But she didn't have a choice. It was serve or die. Because of their animal features, lepians and feelians are sent first to scout the area and bring information. But what the others were doing was horrible.
All around she could see the feral orcs butchering people and raid homes, the swine, trolls, and ogres eating people alive, and the dwarves plundering treasures and taking weapons. It was disgusting. The forces did suffer casualties. These people were armed with weapons more powerful than even the dwarves had. The feral beast suffered the most. Even the trolls and ogress fell to being shot enough times. But eventually, they had to run away.
Plunging her dagger into a blue-clothed soldier's back, Zoya let out a tired sigh. "How much longer?", she asked herself.
"As long as it takes.", said a woman behind her.
"Bora. I thought you were killed."
"I was almost. But I lost many of my own. These weapons are deadly. If we dodge one shot ten more appear."
"What's taking you so long, rabbit?", asked the dwarven general Dalmin in a disrespectful attitude, "I thought you lepians were supposed to be expert scouts."
"Don't talk down at us, dwarf.", said Bora.
"Shut it cat! Or I'll grind you into meat and feed you to my hog.", Bora hissed at that, "Now, get going. It won't be long before Bardek arrives and I intend to have more fun.". With that he rode off, leaving Zoya and Bora.
"I'm going to kill him one day.", said Bora.
Zoya looked behind her and saw a group of children running away from a swine and a feral orc. They went inside what looked like a large market. Zoya ran after them and Bora quickly followed. They reached the mark and when they entered it they saw the women and children cowering in a corner as the swine and orc closed in. Zoya rushed at the orc and slit its throat then quickly spun around and kicked the swine, knocking it to the ground. Without wasting time she plunged her dagger into its heart. She walked over to the children and gestured for them to calm down.
"What was that?", Bora asked.
"I'm not letting let innocent people get butchered and eaten by monsters."
"But if the elves find out-"
"They won't. We can-", she stopped midway after her ears twitched. Looking out the window she saw and hear explosions. That must be this world's army. Dalmin rode on his hog to lead a charge against their metal carriages but was cut down by the enemy's weapons.
Zoya and Bora were scared. Their people were dying and soon they will follow. But just then, a little girl walked to her side and pulled her hand. "Don't worry.", she spoke in the imperial tongue, which surprised Zoya, "We'll tell them you saved us."
---
"This is pretty insane isn't it sir?", asked a soldier.
"It sure is Paterson.", said the sergeant, "Let's just kill everything that can't talk first and worry about the rest later."
"Rodger.". They exited the Bradley and got to work, opening fire on what looked like dwarves and orcs. The Bradley itself focused on the larger targets while the soldiers moved in. House by house and street by street they moved in. The dwarves fired their musket-like weapons but they only managed to land a few lucky shots. The new M16A5 assault rifle with 6.8mm bullets tore through their armor and shields.
An ogre started charging from the back lines, swinging his large stone on a chain. "Paterson! Fire your grenade launcher!", ordered the sergeant. Paterson fired and upon impact the grenade exploded, leaving a gaping hole in the ogre's chest and bursting its organs all around. The battle continued and the stubborn dwarves fought as well as the ugly monsters. The only ones that surrendered were the animalistic 'people'.
As the soldiers progressed they saw horrid things. People were being eaten and ripped apart by the monsters as they screamed and begged for their lives. Homes burned and vehicles crushed. This won't go unanswered. "Kill them all!", yelled the sergeant, and the soldiers happily obliged.
With rifles, grenades, and machine guns they slaughtered the monsters. Trolls and ogres were blown to pieces, orcs, and swine riddled with holes like Swiss cheese. Even the stubborn dwarves were shown little mercy. The sergeant continued with his men to Food lion where he spotted two animal-like people, one looked like a cat and the other like a bunny, with over a dozen children.
They entered and pointed their guns at them immediately, but the children stood in front of them. "Don't shoot them.", said a boy.
"What?", asked the sergeant.
"They saved us from the monsters.", said a girl pointing to the dead orc and pig.
After some delay, the sergeant spoke, "Lower your weapons.". He walked to the two women. "I am gunnery-sergeant Jeff Miller. Who are you?"
"I am Zoya and this is Bora.", answered the rabbit woman, "We are the slave auxiliary of the empire of light."
Confused, Jeff asked, "The what?"
Before she could answer, Paterson walked over to Miller, "Sir, I have a message from lieutenant Mark Jefferson. He asks about a report and if we're ready to join them in the attack on Northeast park."
Jeff looked at the two women before turning to his men, "Paterson, tell the lieutenant that we'll join them soon. Johnson, and Shane, take these two into custody. I'll question them more when I get back."
"Where are you going?", asked Bora suddenly.
Jeff turned to her slowly and answered, "We're gonna end this."
End of chapter 2
---
Thank you very much for reading. If you'd like to support me (for some freakin' reason) feel free to upvote, follow, and check out my Patreon (DM me for the link, please).
Sorry for the choppy chapter, I promise better work in the future.
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Galdush fields, Meilume region of the Empire
The time has come and the troops are ready. The chosen commander of Imperial forces is Ylyndar Glynra, general of the IV army, commanding twenty-five thousand infantry, ten thousand cavalry, ten thousand archers along with one hundred wyverns, one hundred battle mages and hundreds of siege elements for a total of fifty thousand troops. The vassal forces number forty thousand. Ten thousand dwarves from Nundolar commanded by Bardek Leadmaster and ten thousand from Halboram under Dalmin Bronzering. The Rosians sent twenty thousand in total under the command of Bodin Zorgen of Alston, king Thavok's eldest son. The imperials have also brought an auxiliary force of ten thousand slaves, which include ferral orcs, trolls, ogres, swine, lepians, feelians, leanoids, and welfen.
In total, the invasion force numbered one hundred thousand strong and they were to start the land attack in the Galdush fields. At the same time, the VI fleet of one hundred ships of various sizes gathered in the western waters away from the port city of Lashil. Admiral Lothar Tanros was also tasked with opening a rift and to attack the enemy's shoreline, making the invasion a pincer assault.
"It is time, general.", a captain said proudly.
"Indeed.", Ylandar replied, "I cannot wait to bring the emperor's light to this savage world. Are the mages in place?"
"Yes, general. They are finishing the ritual. It is a pity we cannot open more rifts."
"Any more and the spiritual energy of North Altia will be completely drained. I do not wish to destroy our world along with theirs."
"Understood sir.", at that moment, a large rift opened up. It was thirty steps wide, ten steps tall, and shining in bright blue. All soldiers stared at it with amazement and fright. This was the gateway to the savage land they were warned about, they must remain vigilant. "I shall prepare the first wave."
"Hold. I shall go.", Ylindar said.
"S-Sir? Are you certain?"
"Yes. I will lead the first wave.". With that, he rode to Bardek, Dalmin, and Bodin. "You know the plan. All Rosian troops, half of the dwarves, the entire auxiliary, and ten thousand of my own troops. Once a foothold has been established, a messenger will ride back and inform the rest of the troops to begin the second wave. The navy has most likely begun its attack. We must hurry. For the light!"
With that they marched forward into the rift, unaware of the dangers they will face. All they could do is pray to the spirits.
---
History is not kind. Many bad things happened throughout human history. Wars, plagues, destruction, and death beyond counting. On top of that, humans themselves were never the best of people. It is they who caused all of it to happen and it is also they who keep doing it. History has always described humans as selfish and self-harming, but history is written by the winner. And this time, the good wins.
The great virus that occurred in the third decade ravaged the planet, killing millions of people. But through human genius, a cure was made and the death was stopped. However, it was then that the true culprits were discovered. One of the greatest problems of humanity is overpopulation. We have grown soft and stopped "culling the herd" so that a sensible number can thrive and be strong. A group calling themselves 'True salvation', sought to fix this. Through decades of careful planning and manipulation, they've reached a solution. For mankind to prosper it needs to suffer. So they showed themselves in 2034 and declared that they will do what was necessary to save the Earth. So they set off fires and explosions all throughout the world. Thousands upon thousands of factories and industries were destroyed, the capital and major cities were devastated, planes kept crashing, ships kept sinking, and it was chaos. The death toll was in the millions, even hundreds of millions as every country suffered.
But the salvationist forgot one important thing. These are human beings. By attacking them all they've united them all. Global governments decided they will not stand by idly while their people were being killed for some 'greater good'. In a united effort, after fifteen years, they tracked down and eliminated the salvationists, ending the crisis. But now the bigger problem took the stage. The world was in chaos and it needed fixing. So for the future years, that is exactly what happened. A new generation replaced the old one and with everyone united they not only repaired but also advanced. New technologies were invented, and life became better. Artificial limbs became more common, medicine was more advanced and the military received more than one upgrade so that no future threat can harm the nations.
NATO got more support from South America and Australia, while East Europe and Asia created a new block called Easter Powers Alliance. The UN now strictly enforces laws against drugs and poachers are shot on sight so to protect the wild and plant life. Renewable energy sources are spread across the world and the atmosphere is being healed. Many monuments were built for the victims of the salvationists. It goes to show that no matter how much humanity is battered, it would always rise stronger.
And now? Now it is the year 2070 and things are going just fine.
5th of May, 2070
Lumberton, North Carolina
The Northeast park is always a wonderful place to visit. With playgrounds and baseball fields, it was always cheerful. Right now the Jaguars were playing against the Bulls and hundreds of people gathered to watch. Officers Bradly O'Neil, or just Brad, and Jack Mitchel pulled their police car over to watch the game.
"So who do think is winning this time?", Jack asked.
"My money is on the Bulls.", Brad said, "They're winning right now."
"No one knows man. I have a gut feeling the Jaguars are gonna make a comeback."
In that moment, a Jaguar pitcher threw the ball and the Bull hit it with the bat, sending it out of the ring.
"Hooooo! Another home run by the Bulls!", said the announcer, "If they keep this up they will win it all!"
The Bull ran full circle and when he finished, a tremor shook the ground. Suddenly, a large rectangle of light appeared. It was nearly fifty feet wide and sixteen feet tall. People were confused and everyone tried to wrap their heads around what exactly was happening.
"Brad?", Jack asked, "Did anyone order a light show?"
"At four pm? Unlikely.", Brad said as he grabbed his radio, "Dispatch this is officer O'Neil, we have a situation at the Northeast park. Unclear if it is a threat but I require reinforcements and-"
Out of the light, men started appearing. They were strange to say the least. They wore medieval-like armor and has pink skin. Behind them appeared something that freaked people out and scarred them even more. Things they would only see in fantasy movies. Green-skinned orcs, dwarves, and even huge dragon-like lizards. No one understood how they got here but they understood their purpose as they attacked the players and spectators.
The green-skinned and pig-like monsters killed and ate everyone they could find. The dragons flew in the air and arrows rained down on the people.
Brad took the radio again and shouted, "Threat confirmed! I repeat the threat is confirmed! Send reinforcements and alert the national guard! They're killing everyone! We need-"
A pig-like monster jumped at him but it got blasted away by a shotgun. "Power or speed?", asked Jack who shot the gun.
"Speed. I'll take the smaller ones.", he replied and grabbed the shotgun while Jack took the SMG, "We have to save as many people as we can! Come on!"
---
The attack is a success. Already these pale-skinned savages flee and are killed by the dozens and soon hundreds. This field will serve as a good foothold for the invasion.
Prince Bodin looked over the scenery and thought, 'This doesn't look like a land filled with chaos. Were the visions a lie after all?'
"Prince Bodin.", called general Ylindar, "It is glorious is it not? We will slaughter these savages and take the lands in the name of the light. I need you to send your forces over to the structures to the southwest, I have already dispatched the dwarves and auxillia to the south."
"This place is not like the one explained in the vision."
"That does not matter. You are to gather as many slaves as you can and kill all the soldiers that attack you. We must clear a path for the second wave." Bodin internally cursed but went with the orders and called his men.
"Sir!", called a captain, "There are several savages that are causing problems for us."
"What do you mean?"
"They are hiding behind strange metal carts and it appears they have boomsticks much like the dwarves."
"Send a group of mages with dwarves and crush them."
"Right away sir!". With that, the captain left and Ylindar started setting up the stronghold and preparing the letter for the second wave.
Five mages along with a hundred dwarf warriors and shooters. The two dozen savages hid behind metal carts and fired at the orcs and swine that ran at them. The dwarves took aim and fired but they only killed a couple. The savages fired and the mages tried to create a force shield, but something was wrong. There was no energy in this world and magic didn't work.
"What's the problem?", asked a dwarf.
"I-I don't know. I can't-"
Before he could finish, he fell to the ground with a hole in his head. The dwarves started to fall as well. The warriors put up their shields, but the weapons of the savages tore through them. Eventually, enough orcs and swine pushed them and killed most while taking one prisoner.
---
Some time later
Noble self-service storage
Bodin never liked the empire or the emperor. They killed his grandfather just because they wanted freedom. But right now, he didn't have a choice. Denying a direct imperial order is a death sentence. He needed to make sure his kingdom, as well as the others, by doing their bidding and dirty work.
On his way to the strange structures, he encountered strange things. Metal carts that moved without horses and the wide roads made of flat stones, as well as soldiers with repeating boomsticks. For every one of them he lost dozens, but they couldn't hold on for long. Bodin gave explicate orders not to kill any retreating soldiers or innocent people. They won't become monstrous killers like the elves.
After a while, they reached the structures. Rows of identical buildings locked with metal doors. They opened them one by one and only found different pieces of furniture and sometimes jewelry.
"Take anything of value.", Bodin said, "We have taken enough people captive. After we are done here we will report to general Ylindar. Captain, take the captives back quickly. I fear the men we've faced are but a fraction of their army."
"Yes my lord.", the captain said and left with his troops in a hurry.
"Are you starting to doubt the visions, prince Bodin.", spoke a man next to him, "Because so far I am."
"Viscount Iaw.", replied Bodin, "I know what you mean. These people don't look like the savage barbarians the elves told us about. They look like us."
"While I do agree with you on that, you cannot deny the differences. These structures look so robust, and the roads are completely flat. The boomsticks, and the metal carts, clearly these people possess great magic and machines. I cannot imagine what would happen if the empire got its hands on them."
"Don't even say that. Let's just get these items back to-". His sentence was cut by a loud explosion that came from the other side of the structures. Bits and pieces of armor, weapons, and bodies fell on all sides. The men panicked as more explosions came from all sides.
"They have cannons!", yelled Bodin, "Scatter! Find the shooters!". After he gave his orders the soldiers ran to all sides, but they stopped shortly after noticing something in the air. Enemy wyverns? No. They looked different and were made of metal much like the carriages. Several of them filled the sky and inside were soldiers with aimed cannons who opened fire on the Rosians. The soldiers died by the hundreds and Bodin knew he was in danger.
"We have to get out of here!", yelled Iaw and hurried forward on his horse. Bodin and the others followed but they slowed down as they saw a roadblock of large and bulky metal carriages. Dozens of enemies came out of them and prepared their weapons.
"I shall clear a path for you!", said Iaw and charged at the enemy with his troops. Bodin attempted to stop him but to no avail. The enemies opened fire and Iaw was filled with holes along with his men. They didn't even get close before they were slaughtered. Paralyzed by fear, the remaining Rosian troops did the only sensible thing, they surrendered. Now they can only hope for the enemy to be merciful.
---
'This was supposed to be a slow day.", thought lieutenant Jefferson, 'What the hell did we get ourselves into.'
This was beyond strange. A portal opening up in Northeast park, fantasy, and medieval people coming out of it and attacking people? This wasn't what Mark signed up to fight. But he did sign up to defend the United States from any threat. This one counts.
As he rode in his helicopter he saw the other choppers literally slaughtering the 'enemy'. If you can call people with swords and bows riding on a horse a proper enemy. They were being killed in the thousands and only several hundred were left at the storage facilities.
"Lieutenant, are you ok?", asked a sergeant, "You spaced out."
"I'm fine Thomas. This is just beyond me. But I guess it's not our job to think about it.", he stood up and grabbed the rope, "We're going down!"
They lowered themselves from the helicopter and got into formation. They moved through the roads and shot every enemy that came after them. It wasn't hard, these 'knights' weren't much of a threat as long as they were out of range.
"Cavalry behind us!", yelled Thomas. The platoon got into a firing line and opened fire, cutting down the dozens of horses and 'men' riding them. As they continued forward they arrived at the JLTVs placed to block the enemy's advance.
"Lieutenant Mark Jefferson.", he said as he saluted.
"Sergeant Norman Cole. Sir, you're not gonna believe this."
"We are under attack by Lord of the rings characters in pink. Try me."
"Well, these people speak a different language, unsurprisingly. But when I introduced myself they spoke English."
This did surprise Mark. "English? Are you sure?"
"Yes. There's an accent definitely but it's unmistakable. And that guy with the cape and silver helmet? He's the leader. Prince Bodin of Alston."
After some pondering, Mark answered, "Load them up in the trucks. Separate the more important ones. I need to get in touch with the forces sent to Food lion."
"Yes, sir."
'This keeps getting weirder and weirder.', Mark thought.
---
Earlier
Near Food lion
Zoya was not happy about this. Being forced to fight for these oppressors alongside animals. It was degrading. But she didn't have a choice. It was serve or die. Because of their animal features, lepians and feelians are sent first to scout the area and bring information. But what the others were doing was horrible.
All around she could see the feral orcs butchering people and raid homes, the swine, trolls, and ogres eating people alive, and the dwarves plundering treasures and taking weapons. It was disgusting. The forces did suffer casualties. These people were armed with weapons more powerful than even the dwarves had. The feral beast suffered the most. Even the trolls and ogress fell to being shot enough times. But eventually, they had to run away.
Plunging her dagger into a blue-clothed soldier's back, Zoya let out a tired sigh. "How much longer?", she asked herself.
"As long as it takes.", said a woman behind her.
"Bora. I thought you were killed."
"I was almost. But I lost many of my own. These weapons are deadly. If we dodge one shot ten more appear."
"What's taking you so long, rabbit?", asked the dwarven general Dalmin in a disrespectful attitude, "I thought you lepians were supposed to be expert scouts."
"Don't talk down at us, dwarf.", said Bora.
"Shut it cat! Or I'll grind you into meat and feed you to my hog.", Bora hissed at that, "Now, get going. It won't be long before Bardek arrives and I intend to have more fun.". With that he rode off, leaving Zoya and Bora.
"I'm going to kill him one day.", said Bora.
Zoya looked behind her and saw a group of children running away from a swine and a feral orc. They went inside what looked like a large market. Zoya ran after them and Bora quickly followed. They reached the mark and when they entered it they saw the women and children cowering in a corner as the swine and orc closed in. Zoya rushed at the orc and slit its throat then quickly spun around and kicked the swine, knocking it to the ground. Without wasting time she plunged her dagger into its heart. She walked over to the children and gestured for them to calm down.
"What was that?", Bora asked.
"I'm not letting let innocent people get butchered and eaten by monsters."
"But if the elves find out-"
"They won't. We can-", she stopped midway after her ears twitched. Looking out the window she saw and hear explosions. That must be this world's army. Dalmin rode on his hog to lead a charge against their metal carriages but was cut down by the enemy's weapons.
Zoya and Bora were scared. Their people were dying and soon they will follow. But just then, a little girl walked to her side and pulled her hand. "Don't worry.", she spoke in the imperial tongue, which surprised Zoya, "We'll tell them you saved us."
---
"This is pretty insane isn't it sir?", asked a soldier.
"It sure is Paterson.", said the sergeant, "Let's just kill everything that can't talk first and worry about the rest later."
"Rodger.". They exited the Bradley and got to work, opening fire on what looked like dwarves and orcs. The Bradley itself focused on the larger targets while the soldiers moved in. House by house and street by street they moved in. The dwarves fired their musket-like weapons but they only managed to land a few lucky shots. The new M16A5 assault rifle with 6.8mm bullets tore through their armor and shields.
An ogre started charging from the back lines, swinging his large stone on a chain. "Paterson! Fire your grenade launcher!", ordered the sergeant. Paterson fired and upon impact the grenade exploded, leaving a gaping hole in the ogre's chest and bursting its organs all around. The battle continued and the stubborn dwarves fought as well as the ugly monsters. The only ones that surrendered were the animalistic 'people'.
As the soldiers progressed they saw horrid things. People were being eaten and ripped apart by the monsters as they screamed and begged for their lives. Homes burned and vehicles crushed. This won't go unanswered. "Kill them all!", yelled the sergeant, and the soldiers happily obliged.
With rifles, grenades, and machine guns they slaughtered the monsters. Trolls and ogres were blown to pieces, orcs, and swine riddled with holes like Swiss cheese. Even the stubborn dwarves were shown little mercy. The sergeant continued with his men to Food lion where he spotted two animal-like people, one looked like a cat and the other like a bunny, with over a dozen children.
They entered and pointed their guns at them immediately, but the children stood in front of them. "Don't shoot them.", said a boy.
"What?", asked the sergeant.
"They saved us from the monsters.", said a girl pointing to the dead orc and pig.
After some delay, the sergeant spoke, "Lower your weapons.". He walked to the two women. "I am gunnery-sergeant Jeff Miller. Who are you?"
"I am Zoya and this is Bora.", answered the rabbit woman, "We are the slave auxiliary of the empire of light."
Confused, Jeff asked, "The what?"
Before she could answer, Paterson walked over to Miller, "Sir, I have a message from lieutenant Mark Jefferson. He asks about a report and if we're ready to join them in the attack on Northeast park."
Jeff looked at the two women before turning to his men, "Paterson, tell the lieutenant that we'll join them soon. Johnson, and Shane, take these two into custody. I'll question them more when I get back."
"Where are you going?", asked Bora suddenly.
Jeff turned to her slowly and answered, "We're gonna end this."
End of chapter 2
---
Thank you very much for reading. If you'd like to support me (for some freakin' reason) feel free to upvote, follow, and check out my Patreon (DM me for the link, please).
Sorry for the choppy chapter, I promise better work in the future.
2023.03.25 10:38 darthbrann 1st time seller looking for advice
I own an 8-letters english dictionary word domain with .pro that fits with science, tech and professional services.
For privacy, let's call it WORD .pro
US company who owns WORD .com is publicly traded on the stock exchange.
About 300 other companies are named WORD.
Last month, a finance company got for its product a fresh domain WORDPro .com
Here are my options:
I need advice on how to reach, who to reach, park on DAN, asking price...
What would be the best way to sell it ?
submitted by darthbrann to Domains [link] [comments]
For privacy, let's call it WORD .pro
US company who owns WORD .com is publicly traded on the stock exchange.
About 300 other companies are named WORD.
Last month, a finance company got for its product a fresh domain WORDPro .com
Here are my options:
- Sell WORD .pro to owner of WORD .com
- Sell WORD .pro to owner of WORDPro .com
- Sell to any other company named WORD.
I need advice on how to reach, who to reach, park on DAN, asking price...
What would be the best way to sell it ?
2023.03.25 10:25 traderoqq [H] Games (also special delisted) Animal Crossing New Horizons, Bioshock 2, Space Engineers ... [W] ANNO 1800, AC Valhalla, Red Dead 2 , , Shadow / Rise of Tomb Raider , Watchdogs 1 2
I Have these games::
MY GAME LIST::
https://pastebin.com/raw/H6794t9W
also have
Space Engineers
Rivals of Aether
Stardew Valley
Project Cars 1 2
Styx Shard of Darkness
NBA 2k17
NBA 2k16
WWE 2K16
Risong Storm 2 Vietnam
Bioshock 2
Tannenberg
also have - Animal Crossing: New Horizons NW SWITCH code
Endless Space - Collection Satellite Reign Sudden Strike 4 Crazy Oafish Ultra Blocks: Big Sale GRAV Tasty Shame in Silver Soul! Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days Scribblenauts Unlimited BioShock Sid Meier's Ace Patrol Chroma Squad
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition The Fish Fillets 2 Batman: Arkham Origins - New Millennium Skins Pack Splice Sid Meier's Ace Patrol: Pacific Skies Sang-Froid - Tales of Werewolves Cubetractor Disciples III: Gold Edition Airline Tycoon 2 Stronghold HD Toybox Turbos Ashes of the Singularity - Overlord Scenario Pack DLC Monaco Strife: Veteran Edition Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation Total War: ROME II - Blood & Gore Total War: ATTILA - Blood & Burning
Freedom Planet Desperados - Wanted Dead or Alive Out of the Park Baseball 14 Aaru's Awakening Rising Storm/Red Orchestra 2 Multiplayer Epistory - Typing Chronicles Furi Bounty Train Bear With Me - Collector's Edition Fight'N Rage Slipstream Ancestors Legacy Laser League: World Arena Sniper Elite V2 Pumped BMX + Gremlins, Inc.
Forged Battalion Grand Ages: Medieval Bleed 2 Anomaly Defenders Dungeons 3 Broken Age Shadow Complex Remastered Homefront Front Mission Evolved Strider Subterrain Amnesia Collection Galactic Civilizations III ENDLESS™ Legend Crawl GALAK-Z
Kimmy Street Racing Syndicate Company of Heroes 2 - German Commander: Storm Doctrine The Red Solstice Victim of Xen FORCED BIT.TRIP Presents... Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood RIVE
Retro City Rampage DX Steredenn Savage Lands Wrath of Anna Total War: SHOGUN 2 - Blood Pack DLC Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Unmechanical Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians
Pressure Gare Sapphire Mechs Prime World: Defenders Alpha Prime Toki Tori 2+ Endorlight Carrier Command: Gaea Mission Unity of Command Operation Flashpoint: Red River Worms Pinball A Story About My Uncle Age of Empires II (2013): The Forgotten Leviathan Eador. Genesis Chaos Domain Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Deponia Skyward Collapse: Nihon no Mura Skyward Collapse Probably Archery Anomaly 2
Xotic: Complete pack Crash Time 2 Run or Die The Bridge Secret of the Magic Crystal KickBeat Steam Edition Escape Goat 2 Dustforce Void 21 Block N Load - 560 Platinum Bar Pack ENDLESS™ Space - Definitive Edition Evoland 2 Resident Evil 0 Crusader Kings II: Sons of Abraham Sanctum Anomaly Warzone Earth Mount & Blade: With Fire and Sword Evoland
Eets Munchies Overture Titan Attacks Alien Rage - Unlimited Awesomenauts East India Company Gold Pirates of Black Cove Two Worlds Enclave KnightShift The Lord of the Rings Online: Steely Dawn Starter Pack Worms Blast Tesla Effect Saints Row IV Sorcerer King: Rivals Resident Evil Revelations 2 Rebel Galaxy Just Cause 2 Men of War: Assault Squad - Game of the Year Edition Legends of Eisenwald Dungeon Defenders Collection Contagion Another Perspective Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition Crazy Machines 3 Z1 Battle Royale Stronghold Crusader HD Stronghold Crusader 2 STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy STAR WARS: Dark Forces STAR WARS: Knights of the Old Republic Mini Metro
Life is Feudal: Your Own Air Conflicts: Pacific Carriers Galaxy on Fire 2 Full HD Thunder Wolves Overlord: Overlord II Schrödinger's Cat and the Raiders of the Lost Quark Torchlight II
COH2 - The Western Front Armies: Oberkommando West Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Game of the Year Edition Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Retribution Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine Batman: Arkham Origins Scribblenauts Unlimited Bastion Medieval II: Base Game Sid Meier's Pirates! Company of Heroes 2 + Oberkommando West Viking: Battle for Asgard Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom Abyss Odyssey Insurgency Men of War: Assault Squad - Game of the Year Edition 1 2 Natural Selection 2 Sanctum 2
Cities in Motion 2 The Bureau: XCOM Declassified The Darkness II Hitman: Absolution Supreme Commander 2 Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light MURDERED: SOUL SUSPECT Startopia Tomb Raider Imperium Romanum: Gold Edition Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty Arma 2 Arma Tactics Arma: Gold Edition Take On Helicopters UFO: Afterlight
Arma: Cold War Assault Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box Crysis 2 Maximum Edition Dead Space (2008) Mirror's Edge Dead Space 2 Dragon Age: Origins Bejeweled 3 GRID 2 GRID 2 Drift Pack Hospital Tycoon Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Operation Flashpoint: Red River Overlord GRID GRID 2 Spa-Francorchamps Track Pack DiRT Showdown
WHAT GAMES I WANT =>>
WISHLIST
AGE OF EMPIRES 2 DE - Dynasties of India DLC (Steam key)
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar or Steam),
ANNO 1800 (Standard or Complete year 4)
Conan Unconquered,
Battlefield 2042 / 4 / 1
Batllefiedl 1 + Titan Fall 2 Ulrimate pack
Kingdoms of Amalur FATE EDITION (humble bundle)
Assasins Creed : Valhalla
Assasins Creed : Odyssey / Revelations / Rogue / Brotherhood /Syndicate (can be uPlay, Ubi Connect)
Diablo 2 , Warcraft 3 ,Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019) / Cold War , Starcraft 2 campaigns
Mount & Blade 2 Bannerlord,
Mafia DefinitiveEdition,
Risen 3 Complete
God Of War, Uncharted collection
Total War Warhammer 1 , 2 / Three Kingdoms (Steam)
ANNO 1800 / 2070 / 2205 (uplay / Ubi Connect)
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands, Steep ,Division 1 2, Far Cry 4
Rise of Tomb Rider, Shadows of Tomb Raider,
Watchdogs 1 2 legion (ubi connect)
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 1 2 ,Advanced Warfare, IW, BlackOps 2 / 3 ,
Elder RIng,
Forza 3 4 5
(mild/low interest in )::
Ticket to Ride DLCs and carcassone game + dlc
Ryse son of Rome, Heroes Might&Magic VI
Railroad Corporation, Railroad tycoon 2, 3 , Railway Empire
https://www.reddit.com/IGSRep/comments/zwfxek/traderoqqs_igs_rep_page_numbe
submitted by traderoqq to GameTrade [link] [comments]
MY GAME LIST::
https://pastebin.com/raw/H6794t9W
also have
Space Engineers
Rivals of Aether
Stardew Valley
Project Cars 1 2
Styx Shard of Darkness
NBA 2k17
NBA 2k16
WWE 2K16
Risong Storm 2 Vietnam
Bioshock 2
Tannenberg
also have - Animal Crossing: New Horizons NW SWITCH code
Endless Space - Collection Satellite Reign Sudden Strike 4 Crazy Oafish Ultra Blocks: Big Sale GRAV Tasty Shame in Silver Soul! Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days Scribblenauts Unlimited BioShock Sid Meier's Ace Patrol Chroma Squad
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition The Fish Fillets 2 Batman: Arkham Origins - New Millennium Skins Pack Splice Sid Meier's Ace Patrol: Pacific Skies Sang-Froid - Tales of Werewolves Cubetractor Disciples III: Gold Edition Airline Tycoon 2 Stronghold HD Toybox Turbos Ashes of the Singularity - Overlord Scenario Pack DLC Monaco Strife: Veteran Edition Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation Total War: ROME II - Blood & Gore Total War: ATTILA - Blood & Burning
Freedom Planet Desperados - Wanted Dead or Alive Out of the Park Baseball 14 Aaru's Awakening Rising Storm/Red Orchestra 2 Multiplayer Epistory - Typing Chronicles Furi Bounty Train Bear With Me - Collector's Edition Fight'N Rage Slipstream Ancestors Legacy Laser League: World Arena Sniper Elite V2 Pumped BMX + Gremlins, Inc.
Forged Battalion Grand Ages: Medieval Bleed 2 Anomaly Defenders Dungeons 3 Broken Age Shadow Complex Remastered Homefront Front Mission Evolved Strider Subterrain Amnesia Collection Galactic Civilizations III ENDLESS™ Legend Crawl GALAK-Z
Kimmy Street Racing Syndicate Company of Heroes 2 - German Commander: Storm Doctrine The Red Solstice Victim of Xen FORCED BIT.TRIP Presents... Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood RIVE
Retro City Rampage DX Steredenn Savage Lands Wrath of Anna Total War: SHOGUN 2 - Blood Pack DLC Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Unmechanical Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians
Pressure Gare Sapphire Mechs Prime World: Defenders Alpha Prime Toki Tori 2+ Endorlight Carrier Command: Gaea Mission Unity of Command Operation Flashpoint: Red River Worms Pinball A Story About My Uncle Age of Empires II (2013): The Forgotten Leviathan Eador. Genesis Chaos Domain Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Deponia Skyward Collapse: Nihon no Mura Skyward Collapse Probably Archery Anomaly 2
Xotic: Complete pack Crash Time 2 Run or Die The Bridge Secret of the Magic Crystal KickBeat Steam Edition Escape Goat 2 Dustforce Void 21 Block N Load - 560 Platinum Bar Pack ENDLESS™ Space - Definitive Edition Evoland 2 Resident Evil 0 Crusader Kings II: Sons of Abraham Sanctum Anomaly Warzone Earth Mount & Blade: With Fire and Sword Evoland
Eets Munchies Overture Titan Attacks Alien Rage - Unlimited Awesomenauts East India Company Gold Pirates of Black Cove Two Worlds Enclave KnightShift The Lord of the Rings Online: Steely Dawn Starter Pack Worms Blast Tesla Effect Saints Row IV Sorcerer King: Rivals Resident Evil Revelations 2 Rebel Galaxy Just Cause 2 Men of War: Assault Squad - Game of the Year Edition Legends of Eisenwald Dungeon Defenders Collection Contagion Another Perspective Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition Crazy Machines 3 Z1 Battle Royale Stronghold Crusader HD Stronghold Crusader 2 STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy STAR WARS: Dark Forces STAR WARS: Knights of the Old Republic Mini Metro
Life is Feudal: Your Own Air Conflicts: Pacific Carriers Galaxy on Fire 2 Full HD Thunder Wolves Overlord: Overlord II Schrödinger's Cat and the Raiders of the Lost Quark Torchlight II
COH2 - The Western Front Armies: Oberkommando West Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Game of the Year Edition Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Retribution Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine Batman: Arkham Origins Scribblenauts Unlimited Bastion Medieval II: Base Game Sid Meier's Pirates! Company of Heroes 2 + Oberkommando West Viking: Battle for Asgard Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom Abyss Odyssey Insurgency Men of War: Assault Squad - Game of the Year Edition 1 2 Natural Selection 2 Sanctum 2
Cities in Motion 2 The Bureau: XCOM Declassified The Darkness II Hitman: Absolution Supreme Commander 2 Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light MURDERED: SOUL SUSPECT Startopia Tomb Raider Imperium Romanum: Gold Edition Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty Arma 2 Arma Tactics Arma: Gold Edition Take On Helicopters UFO: Afterlight
Arma: Cold War Assault Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box Crysis 2 Maximum Edition Dead Space (2008) Mirror's Edge Dead Space 2 Dragon Age: Origins Bejeweled 3 GRID 2 GRID 2 Drift Pack Hospital Tycoon Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Operation Flashpoint: Red River Overlord GRID GRID 2 Spa-Francorchamps Track Pack DiRT Showdown
WISHLIST
AGE OF EMPIRES 2 DE - Dynasties of India DLC (Steam key)
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar or Steam),
ANNO 1800 (Standard or Complete year 4)
Conan Unconquered,
Battlefield 2042 / 4 / 1
Batllefiedl 1 + Titan Fall 2 Ulrimate pack
Kingdoms of Amalur FATE EDITION (humble bundle)
Assasins Creed : Valhalla
Assasins Creed : Odyssey / Revelations / Rogue / Brotherhood /Syndicate (can be uPlay, Ubi Connect)
Diablo 2 , Warcraft 3 ,Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019) / Cold War , Starcraft 2 campaigns
Mount & Blade 2 Bannerlord,
Mafia DefinitiveEdition,
Risen 3 Complete
God Of War, Uncharted collection
Total War Warhammer 1 , 2 / Three Kingdoms (Steam)
ANNO 1800 / 2070 / 2205 (uplay / Ubi Connect)
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands, Steep ,Division 1 2, Far Cry 4
Rise of Tomb Rider, Shadows of Tomb Raider,
Watchdogs 1 2 legion (ubi connect)
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 1 2 ,Advanced Warfare, IW, BlackOps 2 / 3 ,
Elder RIng,
Forza 3 4 5
(mild/low interest in )::
Ticket to Ride DLCs and carcassone game + dlc
Ryse son of Rome, Heroes Might&Magic VI
Railroad Corporation, Railroad tycoon 2, 3 , Railway Empire
2023.03.25 10:24 traderoqq [H] Games (also special delisted) Animal Crossing New Horizons, Bisohsock 2, Space Engineers ... [W] ANNO 1800, AC Valhalla, Red Dead 2 , , Shadow / Rise of Tomb Raider Wishlist-Games
I Have these games::
MY GAME LIST::
https://pastebin.com/raw/H6794t9W
also have
Space Engineers
Rivals of Aether
Stardew Valley
Project Cars 1 2
Styx Shard of Darkness
NBA 2k17
NBA 2k16
WWE 2K16
Risong Storm 2 Vietnam
Bioshock 2
Tannenberg
also have - Animal Crossing: New Horizons NW SWITCH code
Endless Space - Collection Satellite Reign Sudden Strike 4 Crazy Oafish Ultra Blocks: Big Sale GRAV Tasty Shame in Silver Soul! Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days Scribblenauts Unlimited BioShock Sid Meier's Ace Patrol Chroma Squad
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition The Fish Fillets 2 Batman: Arkham Origins - New Millennium Skins Pack Splice Sid Meier's Ace Patrol: Pacific Skies Sang-Froid - Tales of Werewolves Cubetractor Disciples III: Gold Edition Airline Tycoon 2 Stronghold HD Toybox Turbos Ashes of the Singularity - Overlord Scenario Pack DLC Monaco Strife: Veteran Edition Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation Total War: ROME II - Blood & Gore Total War: ATTILA - Blood & Burning
Freedom Planet Desperados - Wanted Dead or Alive Out of the Park Baseball 14 Aaru's Awakening Rising Storm/Red Orchestra 2 Multiplayer Epistory - Typing Chronicles Furi Bounty Train Bear With Me - Collector's Edition Fight'N Rage Slipstream Ancestors Legacy Laser League: World Arena Sniper Elite V2 Pumped BMX + Gremlins, Inc.
Forged Battalion Grand Ages: Medieval Bleed 2 Anomaly Defenders Dungeons 3 Broken Age Shadow Complex Remastered Homefront Front Mission Evolved Strider Subterrain Amnesia Collection Galactic Civilizations III ENDLESS™ Legend Crawl GALAK-Z
Kimmy Street Racing Syndicate Company of Heroes 2 - German Commander: Storm Doctrine The Red Solstice Victim of Xen FORCED BIT.TRIP Presents... Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood RIVE
Retro City Rampage DX Steredenn Savage Lands Wrath of Anna Total War: SHOGUN 2 - Blood Pack DLC Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Unmechanical Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians
Pressure Gare Sapphire Mechs Prime World: Defenders Alpha Prime Toki Tori 2+ Endorlight Carrier Command: Gaea Mission Unity of Command Operation Flashpoint: Red River Worms Pinball A Story About My Uncle Age of Empires II (2013): The Forgotten Leviathan Eador. Genesis Chaos Domain Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Deponia Skyward Collapse: Nihon no Mura Skyward Collapse Probably Archery Anomaly 2
Xotic: Complete pack Crash Time 2 Run or Die The Bridge Secret of the Magic Crystal KickBeat Steam Edition Escape Goat 2 Dustforce Void 21 Block N Load - 560 Platinum Bar Pack ENDLESS™ Space - Definitive Edition Evoland 2 Resident Evil 0 Crusader Kings II: Sons of Abraham Sanctum Anomaly Warzone Earth Mount & Blade: With Fire and Sword Evoland
Eets Munchies Overture Titan Attacks Alien Rage - Unlimited Awesomenauts East India Company Gold Pirates of Black Cove Two Worlds Enclave KnightShift The Lord of the Rings Online: Steely Dawn Starter Pack Worms Blast Tesla Effect Saints Row IV Sorcerer King: Rivals Resident Evil Revelations 2 Rebel Galaxy Just Cause 2 Men of War: Assault Squad - Game of the Year Edition Legends of Eisenwald Dungeon Defenders Collection Contagion Another Perspective Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition Crazy Machines 3 Z1 Battle Royale Stronghold Crusader HD Stronghold Crusader 2 STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy STAR WARS: Dark Forces STAR WARS: Knights of the Old Republic Mini Metro
Life is Feudal: Your Own Air Conflicts: Pacific Carriers Galaxy on Fire 2 Full HD Thunder Wolves Overlord: Overlord II Schrödinger's Cat and the Raiders of the Lost Quark Torchlight II
COH2 - The Western Front Armies: Oberkommando West Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Game of the Year Edition Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Retribution Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine Batman: Arkham Origins Scribblenauts Unlimited Bastion Medieval II: Base Game Sid Meier's Pirates! Company of Heroes 2 + Oberkommando West Viking: Battle for Asgard Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom Abyss Odyssey Insurgency Men of War: Assault Squad - Game of the Year Edition 1 2 Natural Selection 2 Sanctum 2
Cities in Motion 2 The Bureau: XCOM Declassified The Darkness II Hitman: Absolution Supreme Commander 2 Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light MURDERED: SOUL SUSPECT Startopia Tomb Raider Imperium Romanum: Gold Edition Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty Arma 2 Arma Tactics Arma: Gold Edition Take On Helicopters UFO: Afterlight
Arma: Cold War Assault Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box Crysis 2 Maximum Edition Dead Space (2008) Mirror's Edge Dead Space 2 Dragon Age: Origins Bejeweled 3 GRID 2 GRID 2 Drift Pack Hospital Tycoon Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Operation Flashpoint: Red River Overlord GRID GRID 2 Spa-Francorchamps Track Pack DiRT Showdown
WHAT GAMES I WANT =>>
WISHLIST
AGE OF EMPIRES 2 DE - Dynasties of India DLC (Steam key)
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar or Steam),
ANNO 1800 (Standard or Complete year 4)
Conan Unconquered,
Battlefield 2042 / 4 / 1
Batllefiedl 1 + Titan Fall 2 Ulrimate pack
Kingdoms of Amalur FATE EDITION (humble bundle)
Assasins Creed : Valhalla
Assasins Creed : Odyssey / Revelations / Rogue / Brotherhood /Syndicate (can be uPlay, Ubi Connect)
Diablo 2 , Warcraft 3 ,Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019) / Cold War , Starcraft 2 campaigns
Mount & Blade 2 Bannerlord,
Mafia DefinitiveEdition,
Risen 3 Complete
God Of War, Uncharted collection
Total War Warhammer 1 , 2 / Three Kingdoms (Steam)
ANNO 1800 / 2070 / 2205 (uplay / Ubi Connect)
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands, Steep ,Division 1 2, Far Cry 4
Rise of Tomb Rider, Shadows of Tomb Raider,
Watchdogs 1 2 legion (ubi connect)
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 1 2 ,Advanced Warfare, IW, BlackOps 2 / 3 ,
Elder RIng,
Forza 3 4 5
(mild/low interest in )::
Ticket to Ride DLCs and carcassone game + dlc
Ryse son of Rome, Heroes Might&Magic VI
Railroad Corporation, Railroad tycoon 2, 3 , Railway Empire
https://www.reddit.com/IGSRep/comments/zwfxek/traderoqqs_igs_rep_page_numbe
submitted by traderoqq to indiegameswap [link] [comments]
MY GAME LIST::
https://pastebin.com/raw/H6794t9W
also have
Space Engineers
Rivals of Aether
Stardew Valley
Project Cars 1 2
Styx Shard of Darkness
NBA 2k17
NBA 2k16
WWE 2K16
Risong Storm 2 Vietnam
Bioshock 2
Tannenberg
also have - Animal Crossing: New Horizons NW SWITCH code
Endless Space - Collection Satellite Reign Sudden Strike 4 Crazy Oafish Ultra Blocks: Big Sale GRAV Tasty Shame in Silver Soul! Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days Scribblenauts Unlimited BioShock Sid Meier's Ace Patrol Chroma Squad
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition The Fish Fillets 2 Batman: Arkham Origins - New Millennium Skins Pack Splice Sid Meier's Ace Patrol: Pacific Skies Sang-Froid - Tales of Werewolves Cubetractor Disciples III: Gold Edition Airline Tycoon 2 Stronghold HD Toybox Turbos Ashes of the Singularity - Overlord Scenario Pack DLC Monaco Strife: Veteran Edition Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation Total War: ROME II - Blood & Gore Total War: ATTILA - Blood & Burning
Freedom Planet Desperados - Wanted Dead or Alive Out of the Park Baseball 14 Aaru's Awakening Rising Storm/Red Orchestra 2 Multiplayer Epistory - Typing Chronicles Furi Bounty Train Bear With Me - Collector's Edition Fight'N Rage Slipstream Ancestors Legacy Laser League: World Arena Sniper Elite V2 Pumped BMX + Gremlins, Inc.
Forged Battalion Grand Ages: Medieval Bleed 2 Anomaly Defenders Dungeons 3 Broken Age Shadow Complex Remastered Homefront Front Mission Evolved Strider Subterrain Amnesia Collection Galactic Civilizations III ENDLESS™ Legend Crawl GALAK-Z
Kimmy Street Racing Syndicate Company of Heroes 2 - German Commander: Storm Doctrine The Red Solstice Victim of Xen FORCED BIT.TRIP Presents... Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood RIVE
Retro City Rampage DX Steredenn Savage Lands Wrath of Anna Total War: SHOGUN 2 - Blood Pack DLC Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Unmechanical Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians
Pressure Gare Sapphire Mechs Prime World: Defenders Alpha Prime Toki Tori 2+ Endorlight Carrier Command: Gaea Mission Unity of Command Operation Flashpoint: Red River Worms Pinball A Story About My Uncle Age of Empires II (2013): The Forgotten Leviathan Eador. Genesis Chaos Domain Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Deponia Skyward Collapse: Nihon no Mura Skyward Collapse Probably Archery Anomaly 2
Xotic: Complete pack Crash Time 2 Run or Die The Bridge Secret of the Magic Crystal KickBeat Steam Edition Escape Goat 2 Dustforce Void 21 Block N Load - 560 Platinum Bar Pack ENDLESS™ Space - Definitive Edition Evoland 2 Resident Evil 0 Crusader Kings II: Sons of Abraham Sanctum Anomaly Warzone Earth Mount & Blade: With Fire and Sword Evoland
Eets Munchies Overture Titan Attacks Alien Rage - Unlimited Awesomenauts East India Company Gold Pirates of Black Cove Two Worlds Enclave KnightShift The Lord of the Rings Online: Steely Dawn Starter Pack Worms Blast Tesla Effect Saints Row IV Sorcerer King: Rivals Resident Evil Revelations 2 Rebel Galaxy Just Cause 2 Men of War: Assault Squad - Game of the Year Edition Legends of Eisenwald Dungeon Defenders Collection Contagion Another Perspective Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition Crazy Machines 3 Z1 Battle Royale Stronghold Crusader HD Stronghold Crusader 2 STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy STAR WARS: Dark Forces STAR WARS: Knights of the Old Republic Mini Metro
Life is Feudal: Your Own Air Conflicts: Pacific Carriers Galaxy on Fire 2 Full HD Thunder Wolves Overlord: Overlord II Schrödinger's Cat and the Raiders of the Lost Quark Torchlight II
COH2 - The Western Front Armies: Oberkommando West Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Game of the Year Edition Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Retribution Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine Batman: Arkham Origins Scribblenauts Unlimited Bastion Medieval II: Base Game Sid Meier's Pirates! Company of Heroes 2 + Oberkommando West Viking: Battle for Asgard Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom Abyss Odyssey Insurgency Men of War: Assault Squad - Game of the Year Edition 1 2 Natural Selection 2 Sanctum 2
Cities in Motion 2 The Bureau: XCOM Declassified The Darkness II Hitman: Absolution Supreme Commander 2 Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light MURDERED: SOUL SUSPECT Startopia Tomb Raider Imperium Romanum: Gold Edition Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty Arma 2 Arma Tactics Arma: Gold Edition Take On Helicopters UFO: Afterlight
Arma: Cold War Assault Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box Crysis 2 Maximum Edition Dead Space (2008) Mirror's Edge Dead Space 2 Dragon Age: Origins Bejeweled 3 GRID 2 GRID 2 Drift Pack Hospital Tycoon Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Operation Flashpoint: Red River Overlord GRID GRID 2 Spa-Francorchamps Track Pack DiRT Showdown
WISHLIST
AGE OF EMPIRES 2 DE - Dynasties of India DLC (Steam key)
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar or Steam),
ANNO 1800 (Standard or Complete year 4)
Conan Unconquered,
Battlefield 2042 / 4 / 1
Batllefiedl 1 + Titan Fall 2 Ulrimate pack
Kingdoms of Amalur FATE EDITION (humble bundle)
Assasins Creed : Valhalla
Assasins Creed : Odyssey / Revelations / Rogue / Brotherhood /Syndicate (can be uPlay, Ubi Connect)
Diablo 2 , Warcraft 3 ,Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019) / Cold War , Starcraft 2 campaigns
Mount & Blade 2 Bannerlord,
Mafia DefinitiveEdition,
Risen 3 Complete
God Of War, Uncharted collection
Total War Warhammer 1 , 2 / Three Kingdoms (Steam)
ANNO 1800 / 2070 / 2205 (uplay / Ubi Connect)
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands, Steep ,Division 1 2, Far Cry 4
Rise of Tomb Rider, Shadows of Tomb Raider,
Watchdogs 1 2 legion (ubi connect)
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 1 2 ,Advanced Warfare, IW, BlackOps 2 / 3 ,
Elder RIng,
Forza 3 4 5
(mild/low interest in )::
Ticket to Ride DLCs and carcassone game + dlc
Ryse son of Rome, Heroes Might&Magic VI
Railroad Corporation, Railroad tycoon 2, 3 , Railway Empire
2023.03.25 10:07 Daw88 Itinerary review - Tokyo > Mt. Fuji > Kyoto > Osaka > Okinawa - 18 Days
Greetings!
My wife and I have our honeymoon booked, and we've got 2 and a half weeks in Japan. Our route is Tokyo > Mt Fuji > Kyoto > Osaka > Okinawa. We are travelling mid-May.
We both love food and drink, which is easily what we're most looking forward to. Also, we are Londoners, so we wanted to spend a lot of time in Tokyo hence the 5 days there.
We have kept our itinerary fairly loose. Rather than trying to cram everything in, we would rather plan a few things and just go with the flow and find cool things spontaneously.
Here is what we've got, and please let us know your thoughts.
Thanks!
Tokyo - staying in Ginza
Day 1 - London-Haneda, landing 07:30am Tokyo time
Morning
· Get Suica Pass and get cash
· Travel to hotel, chill out etc. Go to Lawsons to stock up on waters, room beers, snacks (egg sandwiches!) etc
Afternoon
· See how we feel, maybe explore Ginza (Tsujiki Market, Hamarikyu Gardens), maybe chill in room if we're knackered
Evening
· Ginza Izakaya, few beers and early night - could be hideously jetlagged
Day 2
Morning
· Pick up Bullet Train tickets for Kyoto and bus tickets for Mt Fuji
· Senso-Ji Temple
Afternoon
· Lunch at Ramen baIzakaya near Tokyo National Museum
· Tokyo National Museum
· Stroll round Ueno Park
Evening
· Head to Shinjuku (Izakaya, Golden Gai, Taito Arcade, Ben Fiddich Bar, Albatross Bar etc)
· End the night with a Yamazaki 12 in New York Bar, Hyatt Regency
Day 3
Morning
· Teamlabs Planets booked at 11am
Afternoon
· Chill at hotel R&R
· Head to Shibuya Crossing latte/afternoon early evening
Evening
· Dinner booked at Nishiazabu Taku (Michelin Star sushi)
· Big night out in Rappongi (bar hopping, karaoke, and end up in club - house/techno preferable, please shout if you have any recommendations!)
Day 4
Morning
· Hangover! No plans
Afternoon
· Get Mcdonalds/KFC for a booze mop (don't judge! we are intrigued to try)
Evening
· Head to Akihabara to check out the arcades (rhythm arcades in particular - Hey Taito), explore M's Pop Life sex shop
· Dinner at Izakaya
Day 5
Morning
· No plans yet - shout if we are missing anything. Probably do some shopping
Afternoon
· Hopefully get a table at Kyubey for sushi lunch
Evening
· Our last night in Tokyo, maybe go back to Shinjuku or explore our favourite area we've found
Mt. Fuji - staying in Ryokan, Lake Kawaguchi
Day 6
Morning
· Get the bus from Tokyo to Lake Kawaguchi, anticipating a 2-3pm arrival
Afternoon and evening
· Chill at Ryokan. We have a suite booked, so hopefully we will have views of Mt. Fuji from our bath with a few beers and sakes
· Dinner at ryokan
Kyoyo - staying in Gion
Day 7
Morning and afternoon
· Bit of a slog of a journey, going from Mt. Fuji > Tokyo > Kyoto. Anticipating a 3-4pm arrival in Kyoto
Evening
· Moonlight stroll around Gion, dinner and beers at Izakaya
Day 8
Morning
· 'Path of Philosophy' walk
· Kinkakuji Temple
Afternoon
· Calligraphy class near hotel
· Nishiki Market
Evening
· Dinner at Kyoboshi (Michelin Star Tempura place)
· Few beers
Day 9
Morning and afternoon
· Day trip to Nara
Evening
· Dinner and drinks at Izakaya
Day 10
Morning
· Bamboo Grove
Afternoon
· Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine
Evening
· Dinner and drinks at Izakaya
Osaka
Day 11
Morning
· Travel to Osaka
Afternoon and Evening
· We only have one day in Osaka, please let us know how to make the most of our short time here
Day 12 to 16 - Okinawa
Nothing planned here - chill at the hotel, drink cocktails in the pool etc. Maybe venture out one day to try taco rice and see what Naha has to offer
Day 17 - back to Tokyo - staying Ginza again
No plans this day, take it easy and explore what we feel like
Day 18 - Tokyo back to London, late morning flight
Thanks for reading and appreciate any comments.
Take it easy.
Daw88
submitted by Daw88 to JapanTravel [link] [comments]
My wife and I have our honeymoon booked, and we've got 2 and a half weeks in Japan. Our route is Tokyo > Mt Fuji > Kyoto > Osaka > Okinawa. We are travelling mid-May.
We both love food and drink, which is easily what we're most looking forward to. Also, we are Londoners, so we wanted to spend a lot of time in Tokyo hence the 5 days there.
We have kept our itinerary fairly loose. Rather than trying to cram everything in, we would rather plan a few things and just go with the flow and find cool things spontaneously.
Here is what we've got, and please let us know your thoughts.
Thanks!
Tokyo - staying in Ginza
Day 1 - London-Haneda, landing 07:30am Tokyo time
Morning
· Get Suica Pass and get cash
· Travel to hotel, chill out etc. Go to Lawsons to stock up on waters, room beers, snacks (egg sandwiches!) etc
Afternoon
· See how we feel, maybe explore Ginza (Tsujiki Market, Hamarikyu Gardens), maybe chill in room if we're knackered
Evening
· Ginza Izakaya, few beers and early night - could be hideously jetlagged
Day 2
Morning
· Pick up Bullet Train tickets for Kyoto and bus tickets for Mt Fuji
· Senso-Ji Temple
Afternoon
· Lunch at Ramen baIzakaya near Tokyo National Museum
· Tokyo National Museum
· Stroll round Ueno Park
Evening
· Head to Shinjuku (Izakaya, Golden Gai, Taito Arcade, Ben Fiddich Bar, Albatross Bar etc)
· End the night with a Yamazaki 12 in New York Bar, Hyatt Regency
Day 3
Morning
· Teamlabs Planets booked at 11am
Afternoon
· Chill at hotel R&R
· Head to Shibuya Crossing latte/afternoon early evening
Evening
· Dinner booked at Nishiazabu Taku (Michelin Star sushi)
· Big night out in Rappongi (bar hopping, karaoke, and end up in club - house/techno preferable, please shout if you have any recommendations!)
Day 4
Morning
· Hangover! No plans
Afternoon
· Get Mcdonalds/KFC for a booze mop (don't judge! we are intrigued to try)
Evening
· Head to Akihabara to check out the arcades (rhythm arcades in particular - Hey Taito), explore M's Pop Life sex shop
· Dinner at Izakaya
Day 5
Morning
· No plans yet - shout if we are missing anything. Probably do some shopping
Afternoon
· Hopefully get a table at Kyubey for sushi lunch
Evening
· Our last night in Tokyo, maybe go back to Shinjuku or explore our favourite area we've found
Mt. Fuji - staying in Ryokan, Lake Kawaguchi
Day 6
Morning
· Get the bus from Tokyo to Lake Kawaguchi, anticipating a 2-3pm arrival
Afternoon and evening
· Chill at Ryokan. We have a suite booked, so hopefully we will have views of Mt. Fuji from our bath with a few beers and sakes
· Dinner at ryokan
Kyoyo - staying in Gion
Day 7
Morning and afternoon
· Bit of a slog of a journey, going from Mt. Fuji > Tokyo > Kyoto. Anticipating a 3-4pm arrival in Kyoto
Evening
· Moonlight stroll around Gion, dinner and beers at Izakaya
Day 8
Morning
· 'Path of Philosophy' walk
· Kinkakuji Temple
Afternoon
· Calligraphy class near hotel
· Nishiki Market
Evening
· Dinner at Kyoboshi (Michelin Star Tempura place)
· Few beers
Day 9
Morning and afternoon
· Day trip to Nara
Evening
· Dinner and drinks at Izakaya
Day 10
Morning
· Bamboo Grove
Afternoon
· Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine
Evening
· Dinner and drinks at Izakaya
Osaka
Day 11
Morning
· Travel to Osaka
Afternoon and Evening
· We only have one day in Osaka, please let us know how to make the most of our short time here
Day 12 to 16 - Okinawa
Nothing planned here - chill at the hotel, drink cocktails in the pool etc. Maybe venture out one day to try taco rice and see what Naha has to offer
Day 17 - back to Tokyo - staying Ginza again
No plans this day, take it easy and explore what we feel like
Day 18 - Tokyo back to London, late morning flight
Thanks for reading and appreciate any comments.
Take it easy.
Daw88
2023.03.25 10:03 Effective-Writer4076 MUST READ: HOW TO HIRE A WRITER AND AVOID GETTING SCAMMED!
READ BELOW TO AVOID GETTING SCAMMED AND FINDING QUALITY FREELANCERS!
1.Use PayPal and select “Goods and Services” to send payments
Use PayPal to pay your freelancer, and select the payment to be for “Goods and services” when sending. Sending it as a Good/Service guarantees a refund incase you get scammed! Sending it as a “Friends/family/gift” offers ZERO protection!
It's up to you at the end of the day how you use your purchased projects. But utilizing them in this way is 100% more likely to improve your understanding of the discussion point!
RED FLAGS TO WATCH OUT FOR
- Writers messaging you with broken English, bad punctuation, typo’s, etc.
- Writers asking you to send payments as “Gifts” instead of services.
- Writers asking for more funds without providing the completed work. Or changing the price mid-way (except if you’ve asked for additional writing).
- Writers requesting payments through Western Union or Cryptocurrency. As these forms of payments are irreversible/virtually untraceable.
- Writers copy and pasting/plagiarizing work
submitted by Effective-Writer4076 to u/Effective-Writer4076 [link] [comments]
1.Use PayPal and select “Goods and Services” to send payments
Use PayPal to pay your freelancer, and select the payment to be for “Goods and services” when sending. Sending it as a Good/Service guarantees a refund incase you get scammed! Sending it as a “Friends/family/gift” offers ZERO protection!
- Pay in milestones
- Never reveal ANY personal information
- Interview and ask writers questions and request samples before hiring
- Make sure the model projects you pay for are NOT plagiarized
- Use the projects you receive as research guides/models, instead of turning it in as your own work
It's up to you at the end of the day how you use your purchased projects. But utilizing them in this way is 100% more likely to improve your understanding of the discussion point!
RED FLAGS TO WATCH OUT FOR
- Writers messaging you with broken English, bad punctuation, typo’s, etc.
- Writers asking you to send payments as “Gifts” instead of services.
- Writers asking for more funds without providing the completed work. Or changing the price mid-way (except if you’ve asked for additional writing).
- Writers requesting payments through Western Union or Cryptocurrency. As these forms of payments are irreversible/virtually untraceable.
- Writers copy and pasting/plagiarizing work
2023.03.25 09:55 PhCPA Yeouido Spring Flower Festival Opening Date (Need Help)
When is the exact date of Yeouido Spring Festival? April 4 or 5? I have seen two different sources and do not know which is correct.
Thank you!
submitted by PhCPA to koreatravel [link] [comments]
- Yeongdeungpo Cultural Foundation (ydpcf.or.kr) - April 4
- Yeongdeungpo Yeouido Spring Flower Festival - Yeongdeungpo-gu Official Website (ydp.go.kr) -April 5
Thank you!
2023.03.25 09:44 sucheksdee First time seeing the new accord and bro parked it where all the cars be getting broken into 💀
 | submitted by sucheksdee to accord [link] [comments] |
2023.03.25 09:44 rotibulat SS: Campus DLC - An Inquiry into the Division between Social and Life Sciences
This thought had been stuck and bothering my mind since I got SS (Shitty Skylines): Campus DLC after its release (two years) because I often think about this even before playing Cities Skylines (where the game and its DLCs provide a release to develop my fantasies and thinking), so I decided to vent out for an reflection essay here.
There are three tiers of campus complexes from the DLC: Trade School, Liberal Arts College, and University - with each three of them presenting three faculties. I will examine the unspoken power relations that underlies the decision in choosing the taught subject attached to the campus complexs. There are two clusters of faculties in every tiers of complexes: social and life sciences (which should have been at the same level instead of needing different tiers to be unlocked), with its third tier faculties neither fit to those two categories and required a separate classification once the other to are unlocked. The table below will sums up the division of each educational faculties in regard to each of its role in the game's societal simulation:
Some of real-life countries had separation of social and natural science classes (ex. France and Indonesia that I could think of) since high school, hence I think it is needed to provide the ideology that underlies at CS: Campus' choice of its college subjects. Law and Medicine are both ancient subjects that are staples of higher education in all cultures, however sometimes the basic purpose of those studies became visible when its modern educational equivalent (Trade School) peels its bare purpose of higher education to human needs (food and belonging). All of them provide generalist labor that can be flexible when switching career at a particular sector or industry, and there are no purpose in keeping Liberal Arts College and Trade School once the University is unlocked with its ancient disciplines of Law and Medicine. The explanation of the table are below:
Social science faculties provides techniques and methods for population control through producing fictions (be it in forms of religion or state) from its crude ways to sophistication, starting from the gaze of a police, the endless task of a teacher, and the bullshitery jargons by a lawyer. All social science stems from this curiosity of an out-of-control rapid social change with ever-accelerating industrialization (especially with CS: Industries installed). All of those professions and curriculum stems from the gluttonous religious clerics, which in modern days it's increasingly being replaced by corporate and state administrators to escape the guilt of slaughterhouse and toils of farming - educational stream for lazy persons. Their ability to control people are always in the name of people's welfare, where they in fact are bards and storytellers of the most generic kind.
There are no difference between a food chef and a apothecary (whom made physician's recipes where they could do it by themselves), from the saying 'food as the best medicine' to an actual physician in providing pleasure and healthiness to affected cims. Hard-workers tend to go on this clusters where they do not mind serving other people to the point where we could find records of royalty to despise medical professionals due to their status as care-workers (though their career trajectory and prosperity are all the same and only differs in their talents). No difference between a kitchen's chef, naturalist's yard and a physician's laboratory in terms of its purpose to the cims as a whole. In my games, the purpose of hospitals and hotels are the same and I frequently put those two buildings into a same district (and should have been in the real-life, where leisure is the luxury kind of a sick care).
----
SS: Campus are all fun and games until the player are able to unlock all of the three campus complex tiers, the balance had been broken from the duality balance of complementing social and life science. With the unlock of third faculty buildings, the ideology of those campus complexes become networked. School of Economics (Liberal Arts College) and School of Engineering (Trade School) provides a perfect balance between social and life science clusters for cims purpose without any need of an exalted University in our modern age:
A single higher education institution becomes two and competing with each other, then the unlocking on School of Science (University) completely broke the balance: transposing heritage of social-life sciences balance into Economics and Engineering schools, and damaging the continuity of ancient educational reputation by introducing modern science subjects in the University complex which consists two exalted faculties of Law and Medical professionals since the ages of Plato, Buddha, and Confucius.
Wish someone will do the same for the ideology underlies the industrial and park districts in Industries and Parklife DLCs.
submitted by rotibulat to shittyskylines [link] [comments]
There are three tiers of campus complexes from the DLC: Trade School, Liberal Arts College, and University - with each three of them presenting three faculties. I will examine the unspoken power relations that underlies the decision in choosing the taught subject attached to the campus complexs. There are two clusters of faculties in every tiers of complexes: social and life sciences (which should have been at the same level instead of needing different tiers to be unlocked), with its third tier faculties neither fit to those two categories and required a separate classification once the other to are unlocked. The table below will sums up the division of each educational faculties in regard to each of its role in the game's societal simulation:
| Social Science Cluster | Life Science Cluster | |
|---|---|---|
| Trade School | Police Academy - maintain violence | School of Tourism and Travel - encourages gluttony |
| Liberal Arts College | School of Education - introduce literacy for thought control | School of Environmental Studies - exploits land, sea, and air |
| University | School of Law - bureaucracy became ritualized, sanctified | School of Medicine - experimenting with dangerous substances |
- Social science cluster - on providing fictions of a state and religion to the city's population
Social science faculties provides techniques and methods for population control through producing fictions (be it in forms of religion or state) from its crude ways to sophistication, starting from the gaze of a police, the endless task of a teacher, and the bullshitery jargons by a lawyer. All social science stems from this curiosity of an out-of-control rapid social change with ever-accelerating industrialization (especially with CS: Industries installed). All of those professions and curriculum stems from the gluttonous religious clerics, which in modern days it's increasingly being replaced by corporate and state administrators to escape the guilt of slaughterhouse and toils of farming - educational stream for lazy persons. Their ability to control people are always in the name of people's welfare, where they in fact are bards and storytellers of the most generic kind.
- Life science cluster - on hunting and gathering for food and rest
There are no difference between a food chef and a apothecary (whom made physician's recipes where they could do it by themselves), from the saying 'food as the best medicine' to an actual physician in providing pleasure and healthiness to affected cims. Hard-workers tend to go on this clusters where they do not mind serving other people to the point where we could find records of royalty to despise medical professionals due to their status as care-workers (though their career trajectory and prosperity are all the same and only differs in their talents). No difference between a kitchen's chef, naturalist's yard and a physician's laboratory in terms of its purpose to the cims as a whole. In my games, the purpose of hospitals and hotels are the same and I frequently put those two buildings into a same district (and should have been in the real-life, where leisure is the luxury kind of a sick care).
----
SS: Campus are all fun and games until the player are able to unlock all of the three campus complex tiers, the balance had been broken from the duality balance of complementing social and life science. With the unlock of third faculty buildings, the ideology of those campus complexes become networked. School of Economics (Liberal Arts College) and School of Engineering (Trade School) provides a perfect balance between social and life science clusters for cims purpose without any need of an exalted University in our modern age:
| Social Science - Liberal Arts College | Life Science - Trade School | |
|---|---|---|
| The Most Distinguished Modern Subjects in Replacing Sacred Arts of Law and Medicine | School of Economics - training clergies in counting the morality of cims by taxes and narrating the foundation of fictions needed by a city: religion and state | School of Engineering - provide tools for insatiable consumption of the city and solutions to make cims ever more gluttonous in cuisine and leisure |
Wish someone will do the same for the ideology underlies the industrial and park districts in Industries and Parklife DLCs.
2023.03.25 09:29 Electronic_Futur3 ZOOPHILES SUCK!
 | submitted by Electronic_Futur3 to repost [link] [comments] |
2023.03.25 09:18 Wonderful_Card5299 Upset over how I was treated when my friend died
(Trigger warning for having a friend commit suicide)
I've been reading these posts all night and I've never felt so seen before. I've honestly been crying because I never knew how to explain emotional neglect to people. I feel like telling this story because I've never able to tell it to anyone... I'm 24 and this happened when I was 17, and the older I get the more angry I become about it.
When I was in highschool I had a friend who didn't come to school on Monday or Tuesday. On Wednesday two of our friends were in the counselor's office and no one would tell me why, which pissed me off because I wanted to be able to be there for them. That night I'm up until 1 or 2am doing homework in the kitchen and I get a text that reads "[blank] hung herself yesterday morning. She's in a coma and if she wakes up she'll be paralyzed from the neck down."
I remember running up to my room and sobbing as loud as I could. I grew up in a SUPER emotionally neglectful household. I cannot name one, single time that my mom comforted me. I remember crying from grief and shock with no worry of waking my mom up, because I thought finally, this type of pain will warrant comfort. She'll wake up and come comfort me. Except she didn't.
I woke up for school the next day and said nothing about it-- I was in a lot of shock, and I didn't even know how to bring it up. I always say that my household had no emotional infrastructure. There were emotions but no road for them to travel on, so I learned from a very young age that there's no feasible way (or a reason) to communicate them. So I just threw on clothes and said nothing in the car to school and went to my first period english class. The teachers all knew but the students (except my friend group) only knew that "something happened." I was waiting for class to start and they were all whispering and wondering what happened, and it felt like such a bad fucking teen movie because I was sitting there and knew exactly what happened. Then the english teacher goes "I want to be sensative so we're not going to follow the lesson plan today, we're going to read this poem about death." Which I'm still honestly pissed about.
I remember meeting up with a friend to walk to our next class together, except we both could speak without crying and she left to cry in the bathroom. I sat in second period for about 5 minutes listening to people whisper before just getting up and leaving. I walked to the front office where most of my friend group was with our favorite teacher, and the office people had cleared out a classroom for us to sit and cry in. Eventually they call our parents to come pick us up.
My mom awkwardly rubbed my back while we sat in the parking lot and she goes "what...what happened?" and it's so cheesy but I never understood the phrase 'the words were caught in my throat' before, except they were, and I had to force them out. Then she goes "why didn't you tell me this morning?" and I still can not even comprehend the gaul she had to say that, because how could I have told her??
She bought me a smoothie on the way home as my "comfort".
I go home and cry in bed. I get a text a few hours later that says "she's dead." I go downstairs and tell my mom that she's dead. And that was it.
A couple days later her family invites my friend group to see her body at the hospital before they take it out. The 5 of us, delirious, in-shock teenagers who can barely drive, drove 2 hours to the hospital with no adults. We almost got in a car crash because the driver turned onto the highway wrong and we were facing the cars.
I had to buy my own funeral dress. I had to get a carpool to the funeral.
submitted by Wonderful_Card5299 to emotionalneglect [link] [comments]
I've been reading these posts all night and I've never felt so seen before. I've honestly been crying because I never knew how to explain emotional neglect to people. I feel like telling this story because I've never able to tell it to anyone... I'm 24 and this happened when I was 17, and the older I get the more angry I become about it.
When I was in highschool I had a friend who didn't come to school on Monday or Tuesday. On Wednesday two of our friends were in the counselor's office and no one would tell me why, which pissed me off because I wanted to be able to be there for them. That night I'm up until 1 or 2am doing homework in the kitchen and I get a text that reads "[blank] hung herself yesterday morning. She's in a coma and if she wakes up she'll be paralyzed from the neck down."
I remember running up to my room and sobbing as loud as I could. I grew up in a SUPER emotionally neglectful household. I cannot name one, single time that my mom comforted me. I remember crying from grief and shock with no worry of waking my mom up, because I thought finally, this type of pain will warrant comfort. She'll wake up and come comfort me. Except she didn't.
I woke up for school the next day and said nothing about it-- I was in a lot of shock, and I didn't even know how to bring it up. I always say that my household had no emotional infrastructure. There were emotions but no road for them to travel on, so I learned from a very young age that there's no feasible way (or a reason) to communicate them. So I just threw on clothes and said nothing in the car to school and went to my first period english class. The teachers all knew but the students (except my friend group) only knew that "something happened." I was waiting for class to start and they were all whispering and wondering what happened, and it felt like such a bad fucking teen movie because I was sitting there and knew exactly what happened. Then the english teacher goes "I want to be sensative so we're not going to follow the lesson plan today, we're going to read this poem about death." Which I'm still honestly pissed about.
I remember meeting up with a friend to walk to our next class together, except we both could speak without crying and she left to cry in the bathroom. I sat in second period for about 5 minutes listening to people whisper before just getting up and leaving. I walked to the front office where most of my friend group was with our favorite teacher, and the office people had cleared out a classroom for us to sit and cry in. Eventually they call our parents to come pick us up.
My mom awkwardly rubbed my back while we sat in the parking lot and she goes "what...what happened?" and it's so cheesy but I never understood the phrase 'the words were caught in my throat' before, except they were, and I had to force them out. Then she goes "why didn't you tell me this morning?" and I still can not even comprehend the gaul she had to say that, because how could I have told her??
She bought me a smoothie on the way home as my "comfort".
I go home and cry in bed. I get a text a few hours later that says "she's dead." I go downstairs and tell my mom that she's dead. And that was it.
A couple days later her family invites my friend group to see her body at the hospital before they take it out. The 5 of us, delirious, in-shock teenagers who can barely drive, drove 2 hours to the hospital with no adults. We almost got in a car crash because the driver turned onto the highway wrong and we were facing the cars.
I had to buy my own funeral dress. I had to get a carpool to the funeral.
2023.03.25 08:52 Heeeeeeeeeegon We have a comedy show with special guests! Let's make #maketokyolauugh on Friday 31st, Kanda!
 | submitted by Heeeeeeeeeegon to harajuku [link] [comments] |
2023.03.25 08:52 Heeeeeeeeeegon We have a comedy show with special guests! Let's make #maketokyolauugh on Friday 31st, Kanda!
 | submitted by Heeeeeeeeeegon to Tokyo [link] [comments] |
2023.03.25 08:20 pro20blackoutz First Time Here: Taking Care of My Grandfather and his Businesses
Introduction Hello everyone, my name is Max; I am 18 years old and enrolled in university. (currently online only but will clarify later). First off before I talk about myself, I read through so many of my fellow peers' posts in this forum; and it really humbled me immediately about the situation I have to deal with on my own. I am so sorry for each and every one of you here who are hurting and suffering the loss of amazing loved ones who deserved anything but the fate they received. I can feel your pain through your words, and I can almost sense the love and amazing people in your pictures. It was truly a remarkable experience for me to really get a glimpse into the pain so many of us feel when death or suffering comes knocking at our doorsteps. Thank you for sharing your stories and I wish I could give each and every one of you a hug and whatever could take the pain away from you guys. None of you beautiful souls deserve to suffer.
Here's My Story: My grandfather is the toughest man I have ever seen in my life and by far the most dedicated and hard-working family man I have ever had the fortunate opportunity to meet and love. He immigrated from Yugoslavia in the 1970s before the brutal war in the 90s because he knew that the communist state was going downhill fast and that opportunities were drying up for him to raise a family and have a good life in the country he had lived in his entire life. He left his family in Yugoslavia when he immigrated to the United States to pursue the American Dream this country once had and to secure a better life for himself and his family. He came with pennies to his name, slept on park benches, did odd jobs wherever he could find them to make some money, and persevered through hell and back to bring his family to this country. As he juggled surviving in this country eating a bowl of soup a day and barely able to pay rent, he sacrificed everything he could to afford money to send to his wife and kids back in Yugoslavia so that they could live comfortably until he had enough money to bring them here to this country. His story truly is one that has resonated with me since I was a child, the true epitome of the American Dream. He worked hard day and night, came to a new country in which he had no money or no knowledge of how America function or how to speak a word of English; and built three dental practices and a real estate empire with his bare hands. He is solely responsible for my family's success. (We are not wealthy by any means, but he allowed us to be comfortable) As a child, I thought of him almost as a deity or godlike figure; unstoppable, invincible, and impenetrable.
In December of last year, this image I had of my grandfather being enormously wealthy and invincible was shattered by the harsh reality of what things actually were. My grandfather suffered a heart attack and drove himself to the hospital after he had tried to walk off the pain. (he had not realized he was suffering a heart attack until he was admitted to the hospital) I had prepared to enroll in college, but I decided to fly out to him and take care of him since he had no one able to do so. (some made excuses, some just couldn't be there for long periods of time, etc.) I flew out and when I saw him, he looked so frail and weak. His voice quivered barely able to speak. He spoke so softly it almost seemed like a whisper as if it required all his energy to simply utter the words he had on his mind. He couldn't get up on his own, he didn't know how to schedule doctor's appointments to resolve what lingering issues he still had after his procedure and to make sure he was still alright, he was basically unable to do anything at all that required any amount of effort. It was heartbreaking to see him in such a state, to have to help him up when all his life he had been completely independent and never required anybody's assistance. It was very hard to take care of him on an emotional level, although I executed my duties as necessary. My emotional pain was inferior in comparison to his physical pain, and I had to step up otherwise he would have died alone, severely ill, and miserable. I have been with him ever since taking care of anything he requires although he has recovered tremendously well since his heart attack. (he will never be as strong as he was before the heart attack, but I am glad he is as close as can be given the circumstances)
As I mentioned earlier; my grandfather has three dental practices (he practices very infrequently now after the heart attack as his staff left after his procedure in a truly evil manner in my opinion) and over 12 residential properties managing over 50 tenants, and I have had to assume a lot of the duties he once took care of himself to take the stress off his shoulders and lessen his workload. I am now primarily responsible for billing, managing tenant issues/disputes, and a majority of the duties that come with owning real estate. I have also had to do this while taking college courses and juggling the immensely overwhelming workload professors give out all while managing the overwhelming workload that comes with being a landlord. When we meet with tenants or our employees, he always tells them when he dies that I will take over the empire and be in charge of everything. Every time he says that it breaks my heart and at the same time it makes me feel selfishly amazing. I want to take over these properties and build it out further than my grandfather ever could given his limitations and how he had come from truly nothing. But at the same time, I am so fucking scared of losing my grandfather. I fear he will pass soon as most heart attack victims do after their initial heart attack, and that I will lose my best friend and greatest inspiration to be great. He made me a better person, helping me transition from ignorant adolescence to eye-opening adulthood that makes you see life through a different lens. No longer did I have rose-colored glasses that would allow me to remove the negatives of this universe and to only focus on and appreciate the positives. I have seen the worst and best of mankind in these past few months. I have seen desperation force people to make horrible decisions, and I have seen people purely destroy others because it could benefit them a little better. I have seen utter kindness purely just to help me and my grandfather out, and people who really care about us. I have seen more in these past few months to help me conceptualize the universe we find ourselves in than I have in my entire childhood. (Forgive me if I am rambling incoherently, it's hard to illustrate what I feel and what I have experienced)
Overall, I am terrified by the harsh world we find ourselves in. I used to think life wasn't so bad, that everything works out, and that people are inherently good. But in reality, it truly is not the case. My grandfather sacrificed everything to give our family a good life and he accomplished his goal; but now at 84 years old, he's heartbroken, he's sad, and he's trying to set everything up before he passes. Most nights I am here I am terrified that today may be the last day I see him, that he will pass peacefully in his sleep. That I won't be able to tell him how much I love him one more time. That I won't be able to tell him how much I appreciate all the things he has done for me and our family. He sacrificed everything to do good for his family, and yet he is suffering alone.
Without me being here, my grandfather would be dead. His empire would be destroyed, and his assets embroiled in a brutal legal battle brought on by his estranged daughter. I truly believe I saved him, but it never is enough. No matter how much I do, he is still going to suffer. There is still going to be more to do, there are still things that I will not be able to accomplish. No matter what, I will leave eventually and he will be back to being alone. His suffering will continue, and his pain is never-ending.
I just do not know what to do. I can't vent to my family because I don't want to burden them with the weight I carry on my shoulders just to relieve myself temporarily. I can't resolve all the matters that need resolving on my own. I can't save him as hard as I try. I just can't make things perfect.
Why is life so cruel and unfair? Why is it that good people always get crushed by the evil that is ever so prevalent in our society? Why is the universe designed to instill immense pain and suffering into us all? Why does my grandfather have to suffer given all that he is done? He's a god-fearing man, a family man, and a good man. Why does life have to be this way? These are all questions I have thought about heavily during my time here, and questions I do not think I will ever find the answers to.
The more I learn about life and about my family, the more I realize how all the nice wrapping we place around harsh truths can truly blind us. Once you tear away at the façade, you see an ugly and brutal void full of evil. You see the pain people feel, you witness the suffering, and you become one of them.
I have no one to talk to who could offer any kind of support to me in these trying times. I feel completely isolated, suffering, and alone just like my grandfather. It is what has bonded us ever so much over the years. We both understand each other because we are quite literally cut from the same cloth, which is not something I can say for the rest of my family. My grandfather and I are so similar, nearly identical; and it scares me that I will follow the same path as he did. That I will sacrifice everything to care for my family and yet in old age I will find myself alone and miserable. I am scared about so much, I am suffering so much, (I don't want to equate my pain to anyone else here, I know so many of you are suffering far more than me and I do not want to come across as selfish or arrogant) and I never feel anything I do will ever be enough. I fear our family is cursed, designed to be constantly divided and in pain. I fear that the empire we have will eventually fall, not grow. I fear that I will die young. I fear that I will never marry and have a family. I fear that I will lose my grandfather soon. I am fearful of so many things, and I am so saddened by this universe. I don't know why life has to be this way, do you?
I know my statements in this post may be incoherent at times and hard to follow, as I said earlier it is hard to really put into words the reality which I am experiencing. It's hard to put months and years of your life into a few paragraphs. It's hard to really process everything I am enduring more than anything. In conclusion, I want to make this world a better place. Not just for me and my family, but for society. I want to change the dynamic we have been so comfortable with shrugging off as just the way things are. I want to rid this world of unnecessary evil, I want to just make things perfect. But knowing how life is, these are mere dreams which I will never reach; just like the stars. I want life to be better, can any one help me?
Thanks for reading my dear friends. God bless each and every one of you. With Love, Max
submitted by pro20blackoutz to GriefSupport [link] [comments]
Here's My Story: My grandfather is the toughest man I have ever seen in my life and by far the most dedicated and hard-working family man I have ever had the fortunate opportunity to meet and love. He immigrated from Yugoslavia in the 1970s before the brutal war in the 90s because he knew that the communist state was going downhill fast and that opportunities were drying up for him to raise a family and have a good life in the country he had lived in his entire life. He left his family in Yugoslavia when he immigrated to the United States to pursue the American Dream this country once had and to secure a better life for himself and his family. He came with pennies to his name, slept on park benches, did odd jobs wherever he could find them to make some money, and persevered through hell and back to bring his family to this country. As he juggled surviving in this country eating a bowl of soup a day and barely able to pay rent, he sacrificed everything he could to afford money to send to his wife and kids back in Yugoslavia so that they could live comfortably until he had enough money to bring them here to this country. His story truly is one that has resonated with me since I was a child, the true epitome of the American Dream. He worked hard day and night, came to a new country in which he had no money or no knowledge of how America function or how to speak a word of English; and built three dental practices and a real estate empire with his bare hands. He is solely responsible for my family's success. (We are not wealthy by any means, but he allowed us to be comfortable) As a child, I thought of him almost as a deity or godlike figure; unstoppable, invincible, and impenetrable.
In December of last year, this image I had of my grandfather being enormously wealthy and invincible was shattered by the harsh reality of what things actually were. My grandfather suffered a heart attack and drove himself to the hospital after he had tried to walk off the pain. (he had not realized he was suffering a heart attack until he was admitted to the hospital) I had prepared to enroll in college, but I decided to fly out to him and take care of him since he had no one able to do so. (some made excuses, some just couldn't be there for long periods of time, etc.) I flew out and when I saw him, he looked so frail and weak. His voice quivered barely able to speak. He spoke so softly it almost seemed like a whisper as if it required all his energy to simply utter the words he had on his mind. He couldn't get up on his own, he didn't know how to schedule doctor's appointments to resolve what lingering issues he still had after his procedure and to make sure he was still alright, he was basically unable to do anything at all that required any amount of effort. It was heartbreaking to see him in such a state, to have to help him up when all his life he had been completely independent and never required anybody's assistance. It was very hard to take care of him on an emotional level, although I executed my duties as necessary. My emotional pain was inferior in comparison to his physical pain, and I had to step up otherwise he would have died alone, severely ill, and miserable. I have been with him ever since taking care of anything he requires although he has recovered tremendously well since his heart attack. (he will never be as strong as he was before the heart attack, but I am glad he is as close as can be given the circumstances)
As I mentioned earlier; my grandfather has three dental practices (he practices very infrequently now after the heart attack as his staff left after his procedure in a truly evil manner in my opinion) and over 12 residential properties managing over 50 tenants, and I have had to assume a lot of the duties he once took care of himself to take the stress off his shoulders and lessen his workload. I am now primarily responsible for billing, managing tenant issues/disputes, and a majority of the duties that come with owning real estate. I have also had to do this while taking college courses and juggling the immensely overwhelming workload professors give out all while managing the overwhelming workload that comes with being a landlord. When we meet with tenants or our employees, he always tells them when he dies that I will take over the empire and be in charge of everything. Every time he says that it breaks my heart and at the same time it makes me feel selfishly amazing. I want to take over these properties and build it out further than my grandfather ever could given his limitations and how he had come from truly nothing. But at the same time, I am so fucking scared of losing my grandfather. I fear he will pass soon as most heart attack victims do after their initial heart attack, and that I will lose my best friend and greatest inspiration to be great. He made me a better person, helping me transition from ignorant adolescence to eye-opening adulthood that makes you see life through a different lens. No longer did I have rose-colored glasses that would allow me to remove the negatives of this universe and to only focus on and appreciate the positives. I have seen the worst and best of mankind in these past few months. I have seen desperation force people to make horrible decisions, and I have seen people purely destroy others because it could benefit them a little better. I have seen utter kindness purely just to help me and my grandfather out, and people who really care about us. I have seen more in these past few months to help me conceptualize the universe we find ourselves in than I have in my entire childhood. (Forgive me if I am rambling incoherently, it's hard to illustrate what I feel and what I have experienced)
Overall, I am terrified by the harsh world we find ourselves in. I used to think life wasn't so bad, that everything works out, and that people are inherently good. But in reality, it truly is not the case. My grandfather sacrificed everything to give our family a good life and he accomplished his goal; but now at 84 years old, he's heartbroken, he's sad, and he's trying to set everything up before he passes. Most nights I am here I am terrified that today may be the last day I see him, that he will pass peacefully in his sleep. That I won't be able to tell him how much I love him one more time. That I won't be able to tell him how much I appreciate all the things he has done for me and our family. He sacrificed everything to do good for his family, and yet he is suffering alone.
Without me being here, my grandfather would be dead. His empire would be destroyed, and his assets embroiled in a brutal legal battle brought on by his estranged daughter. I truly believe I saved him, but it never is enough. No matter how much I do, he is still going to suffer. There is still going to be more to do, there are still things that I will not be able to accomplish. No matter what, I will leave eventually and he will be back to being alone. His suffering will continue, and his pain is never-ending.
I just do not know what to do. I can't vent to my family because I don't want to burden them with the weight I carry on my shoulders just to relieve myself temporarily. I can't resolve all the matters that need resolving on my own. I can't save him as hard as I try. I just can't make things perfect.
Why is life so cruel and unfair? Why is it that good people always get crushed by the evil that is ever so prevalent in our society? Why is the universe designed to instill immense pain and suffering into us all? Why does my grandfather have to suffer given all that he is done? He's a god-fearing man, a family man, and a good man. Why does life have to be this way? These are all questions I have thought about heavily during my time here, and questions I do not think I will ever find the answers to.
The more I learn about life and about my family, the more I realize how all the nice wrapping we place around harsh truths can truly blind us. Once you tear away at the façade, you see an ugly and brutal void full of evil. You see the pain people feel, you witness the suffering, and you become one of them.
I have no one to talk to who could offer any kind of support to me in these trying times. I feel completely isolated, suffering, and alone just like my grandfather. It is what has bonded us ever so much over the years. We both understand each other because we are quite literally cut from the same cloth, which is not something I can say for the rest of my family. My grandfather and I are so similar, nearly identical; and it scares me that I will follow the same path as he did. That I will sacrifice everything to care for my family and yet in old age I will find myself alone and miserable. I am scared about so much, I am suffering so much, (I don't want to equate my pain to anyone else here, I know so many of you are suffering far more than me and I do not want to come across as selfish or arrogant) and I never feel anything I do will ever be enough. I fear our family is cursed, designed to be constantly divided and in pain. I fear that the empire we have will eventually fall, not grow. I fear that I will die young. I fear that I will never marry and have a family. I fear that I will lose my grandfather soon. I am fearful of so many things, and I am so saddened by this universe. I don't know why life has to be this way, do you?
I know my statements in this post may be incoherent at times and hard to follow, as I said earlier it is hard to really put into words the reality which I am experiencing. It's hard to put months and years of your life into a few paragraphs. It's hard to really process everything I am enduring more than anything. In conclusion, I want to make this world a better place. Not just for me and my family, but for society. I want to change the dynamic we have been so comfortable with shrugging off as just the way things are. I want to rid this world of unnecessary evil, I want to just make things perfect. But knowing how life is, these are mere dreams which I will never reach; just like the stars. I want life to be better, can any one help me?
Thanks for reading my dear friends. God bless each and every one of you. With Love, Max
2023.03.25 07:21 TeddyBearToons Norman Regains Faith in Humanity
Once upon a time, there lived a man called Norman.
Norman was not particularly smart, or fast, or strong or charismatic or even particularly lucky. He wasn't stupid or slow, nor was he weak or socially inept. If anything, Norman was painfully average. Everything about him was utterly uninteresting.
Norman worked as a manager of a sales team for a company that he couldn't be bothered to remember the name of. Every day he did paperwork, counted beans, handled complaints and generally just stayed in his office. He was a good enough boss; somewhat absentee, but everyone under him knew that if they had a problem, he could deal with it.
"Dealing with it" was how Norman went along with life. He once heard of the phrase "this too, shall pass" and didn't take it to heart as much as he made it the core of his entire philosophy. In life he encountered problems, and his day-to-day happenings consisted of dealing with them. If he couldn't deal with a problem or fix an issue, he found that simply riding out the consequences and adjusting to the shifts it caused would often solve the problem.
Take Norman's job, for example. Norman didn't care much for paperwork. He found it boring to fill out memos, approve forms, and juggle spreadsheets. Despite this, Norman was good at it and it made him money, so he dealt with it. His parents were overbearing, judging and stricter with him while favoring his sister, so he kept contact at a minimum and dealt with the problem.
For whatever reason, Norman wasn't really affected by the stress caused by problems. This manifested in an almost supernatural ability to remain calm in all kinds of situations. He simply dealt with stressful situations and moved on. When one of his salesmen had to take an emergency leave and threw his carefully built shift schedule into chaos, Norman dealt with it. His subordinates eased into the shift change nicely. When his pet rabbit died, he dealt with it. He didn't shed a single tear.
Norman thought that it was because he was detached, in a way. Those sorts of things didn't really bother him. He never could explain why.
Norman wanted to be a robotics engineer when he was young. He loved machines and read plenty of sci-fi stories. Especially the ones involving robots. Norman didn't want to be a sales team supervisor, but he dealt with it.
He sometimes took junk computers home with him, where he had a little workshop where he spent his free time tinkering and soldering and plugging things together. He named his PC Frankenstein because all of its parts came from otherwise broken computers. He used Frankenstein to write code for little robotic doodads that he made.
One day, he realized that he didn't really like making his little doodads anymore. Maybe he didn't have the time for it, or maybe it didn't interest him anymore, but he visited his workshop less and less. He dealt with it.
It turned out some of his colleagues went fishing on occasion. He learned to fish and went with them, and for a while he had fun. But he showed up less and less. He didn't have the time for it, or maybe he didn't have the energy to go out, but he didn't really go fishing anymore. He dealt with it.
At a family gathering, Norman's parents fawned over his sister and her achievements. She was a doctor. They scoffed at Norman's 9-to-5 office job. Norman didn't say anything. He felt he had done good, but didn't contradict his parents. He knew what would happen if he did. So he dealt with it.
Ever so slowly, problems became more and more prevalent. They never got to a point of actual contention but they became more and more annoying to deal with. Norman dealt with his problems, but complained a little more when he did it. He became pessimistic.
Norman started predicting what little ways the day might screw up for him. His reward system twisted itself into something worse. He was wrong as much as he was right, but every time he was right he got a twinge of sick satisfaction of having gamed the universe in a way. So he remembered the bad happenings more than the good happenings.
Norman became bitter inside. Outside nothing really changed. He was always a bit withdrawn so nobody really noticed everything. But he became bitter. He became subtly colder in his dealings with other people. A bit more sarcastic.
He didn't really do anything anymore. He woke up, ate breakfast, went to work, came home, ate dinner and went to sleep. He didn't want to do anything more. Everything he did invited more and more problems, more and more pressure to deal with it. He minimized the problems he encountered.
And he dealt with it.
One day, it clicked. Norman was unhappy but he couldn't really explain why he was unhappy. It was almost as if living was a drug, and slowly, ever so slowly he built up a tolerance for it. Things happening didn't really elicit a response anymore. Norman had facilitated enough HR meetings to see depression when he saw it.
Norman was confused. He shouldn't have depression of all things. Only the socially inept, the poor, the addicts, the lonely got depressed. To have depression meant you had something wrong in your life. Norman's life was perfect. He was financially stable, had a roof over his head and food on his table, a good job and people who he liked to think liked him. But the fact still stood that he exhibited all the symptoms of depression.
This was a problem.
Norman was always a bit introspective, and he applied his experience with his tinkering hobby to many things. It was one of the reasons for his expertise in mathematics, for example. Even with calculus, math was really a machine, a complicated machine with numbers for motors and variables for switches. Take apart an equation and put it back together, and you can figure out which part was missing. Which gear could create the desired outcome.
Norman had read many stories, both in books and online, of machines becoming people. He reasoned that perhaps depression is what it was called when people became machines.
Because really, his existence was almost mechanical now. His routine was straight and cold. He figured that an advanced enough algorithm could go through his motions as effectively as he could.
A routine was a coping mechanism. And what happens when that routine becomes excessive? To the point that it blots out everything else?
What was the point of it all?
Norman considered this one night, as he lay awake in bed. After a day of work, just before another day of work identical to what he had just gone through.
What was the point? To just work and work and work? No. For entertainment? Norman did browse memes now and then. Mindless entertainment. There was no point to that, either.
What if Norman could just… end it all?
He'd thought of it on occasion. At first he'd contemplate it after particularly devastating fights with his parents. After returns of grades he thought were good but were never enough. At first it was out of misinformed revenge. He hadn't been valued by his parents. Only abused, treated like an investment more than a person.
Some people only appreciate things when they're gone.
Now, Norman had different reasons. He didn't really see a point to it anymore. He found life boring, and tiring, and annoying. Problems upon problems upon problems. For so long all he had done was deal with problems only to find more problems. He hadn't cracked under the pressure, but he had certainly changed. Deformed. Warped like an overstressed support.
He could deal with it all right now.
Norman didn't really know what happened after death, but whatever it was he wouldn't have to deal with all the fucking problems anymore.
At this point another person might have gotten help, or talked with someone. Norman didn't have anyone to talk to. All he had was his work and his problems. He had acquaintances at most. He hated people, because all they did was bring him more problems.
And a little part of him thought, "Huh. That's pathetic."
He considered it. That'd be weird if he went and offed himself on only his prerogative. As far as he figured nobody really wanted it. Nobody even disliked him that much except for his parents, and he'd cut them off long ago.
Other people have had depression. Maybe they could help.
A sensible part of him went, "No. All they'd do is give you more problems. And you'd have to deal with it."
“But a little more problems is a lot better than just ending it," said the first part of Norman. "Maybe if we exhaust all other options to find a reason to live, then we could go on happily, knowing we tried everything we could."
So Norman went and reached out for help. Even if it would give him problems. But it was the only option he had left.
Now, Norman was lucky. His boss lightened his workload immediately and referred him to therapy. He learned to spot when that sensible part of him wasn't being so sensible. To find the fallacies that part told him. To look at things a little better. To figure out which problems were problems and which problems were merely inconveniences. What problems should be solved and which ones could be simply evaded.
Many people aren't so lucky. They are simply pushed away, or their cries for help are seen as weird anomalies instead of something worse. So watch carefully if you feel someone might need help.
Norman began to do small things. He shaved once. He changed his tie. Washed the dishes. He went out on a walk in the park. And he began to see.
Norman didn't really pay attention to the world these days. He just kind of assumed everything was overcast and gray and dreary. He never really did appreciate the vivid diversity of color the world provided in even a public park, underfunded and bland as it was.
When Norman appreciated the little things in life, he appreciated the little problems as well. Sometimes there really was no problem at all, especially when talking to people. He began to open up to people, and slowly gained a network of friends in his coworkers. He went fishing again. He booted up Frankenstein again. He met people in his hobby groups and made more friends. He even ended up dating.
Describing the process only took a few pages, but for Norman it took months and months to even begin to change. The whole thing took years. At first it was a herculean effort to just keep going, like running through a minefield in the dark. Every natural instinct in his body told Norman that every step would be his last. It turned out, many of the mines in his field were simply water balloons. Some of them were just plates of metal with clickers in them, placed there by people whose opinions didn't really matter.
As he worked on himself, it was as if the sun came up, and he figured out that his minefield didn't really have that many mines in it. Those few mines that did exist were easy to see. And he had help. His friends let him know where the mines were, what to do, because they cared about him. They had fun with him. And Norman simply appreciated the act of walking, even if it was in a minefield. Norman was sure he couldn't have done it on his own.
Yes, people helped him. But it was Norman who started it. It was Norman who began his journey, like the primer that begins the explosion that has a bullet flying from a gun. And Norman learned that there are always people willing to help you, if only you reached out and asked. The real trick was finding them. The hardest part was mustering up the courage to ask.
Norman had read on the internet once that what some people considered the first sign of human civilization was an ancient leg bone that had once been broken, showing signs of having been fully healed. The reasoning was that for any animal, even for the herd and pack animals, even for the so-called eusocial animals such as bees, a broken leg was a death sentence. To survive a broken leg, someone would have to be helped. They would have had to have been a burden and a net loss on their companions, who bear the brunt anyway. Who helped each other. They say that helping each other for the sake of it is the first sign of civilization.
One day, Norman went to the park, the one where it all began. He was good friends with his boss, and had even been given a raise for outstanding work. He had a cat, now - also named Norman. He didn't move on, go to school and get a "dream job" as a robotics engineer as he once wanted - he knew to never make your passion your job. He was fine with his tinkering hobby. He had recently made Frankenstein a set of legs and was working towards having it take its first steps.
He sat on a park bench with his girlfriend - now fiancée - and thought. He wondered. His brush with death had left him quite philosophical.
Humans, he thought. Humans are social animals. But that isn’t really what separates humans from animals. Herds, packs, hives, prides and schools exist in the animal kingdom. Not empathy, either. Rats, mice, dogs, cats and all kinds of animals used extensively as test subjects have been shown to empathize.
No, what sets humans apart is the drive to help each other. Wolves will leave one of their own to die if they suffer a broken leg. Bees that are damaged beyond repair are simply left outside the hive to freeze. Mice and rats will gladly leave an incapacitated fellow to their fate. But humans?
Only humans would risk so much to drag an injured friend back home. Only humans would spend weeks and weeks nursing a fellow back to life when the only probable result would be a death and a waste of resources. Only humans would stop to help one less fortunate when there is no benefit to themselves. They wouldn’t have a society otherwise.
Norman looked out on the park, his soon-to-be wife’s head on his shoulder, and a satisfied smile crept across his face, the first he had had in a long while.
And he was happy. Because he hadn’t been left behind.
This was humanity’s motto:
No man left behind.
submitted by TeddyBearToons to lifeofnorman [link] [comments]
Norman was not particularly smart, or fast, or strong or charismatic or even particularly lucky. He wasn't stupid or slow, nor was he weak or socially inept. If anything, Norman was painfully average. Everything about him was utterly uninteresting.
Norman worked as a manager of a sales team for a company that he couldn't be bothered to remember the name of. Every day he did paperwork, counted beans, handled complaints and generally just stayed in his office. He was a good enough boss; somewhat absentee, but everyone under him knew that if they had a problem, he could deal with it.
"Dealing with it" was how Norman went along with life. He once heard of the phrase "this too, shall pass" and didn't take it to heart as much as he made it the core of his entire philosophy. In life he encountered problems, and his day-to-day happenings consisted of dealing with them. If he couldn't deal with a problem or fix an issue, he found that simply riding out the consequences and adjusting to the shifts it caused would often solve the problem.
Take Norman's job, for example. Norman didn't care much for paperwork. He found it boring to fill out memos, approve forms, and juggle spreadsheets. Despite this, Norman was good at it and it made him money, so he dealt with it. His parents were overbearing, judging and stricter with him while favoring his sister, so he kept contact at a minimum and dealt with the problem.
For whatever reason, Norman wasn't really affected by the stress caused by problems. This manifested in an almost supernatural ability to remain calm in all kinds of situations. He simply dealt with stressful situations and moved on. When one of his salesmen had to take an emergency leave and threw his carefully built shift schedule into chaos, Norman dealt with it. His subordinates eased into the shift change nicely. When his pet rabbit died, he dealt with it. He didn't shed a single tear.
Norman thought that it was because he was detached, in a way. Those sorts of things didn't really bother him. He never could explain why.
Norman wanted to be a robotics engineer when he was young. He loved machines and read plenty of sci-fi stories. Especially the ones involving robots. Norman didn't want to be a sales team supervisor, but he dealt with it.
He sometimes took junk computers home with him, where he had a little workshop where he spent his free time tinkering and soldering and plugging things together. He named his PC Frankenstein because all of its parts came from otherwise broken computers. He used Frankenstein to write code for little robotic doodads that he made.
One day, he realized that he didn't really like making his little doodads anymore. Maybe he didn't have the time for it, or maybe it didn't interest him anymore, but he visited his workshop less and less. He dealt with it.
It turned out some of his colleagues went fishing on occasion. He learned to fish and went with them, and for a while he had fun. But he showed up less and less. He didn't have the time for it, or maybe he didn't have the energy to go out, but he didn't really go fishing anymore. He dealt with it.
At a family gathering, Norman's parents fawned over his sister and her achievements. She was a doctor. They scoffed at Norman's 9-to-5 office job. Norman didn't say anything. He felt he had done good, but didn't contradict his parents. He knew what would happen if he did. So he dealt with it.
Ever so slowly, problems became more and more prevalent. They never got to a point of actual contention but they became more and more annoying to deal with. Norman dealt with his problems, but complained a little more when he did it. He became pessimistic.
Norman started predicting what little ways the day might screw up for him. His reward system twisted itself into something worse. He was wrong as much as he was right, but every time he was right he got a twinge of sick satisfaction of having gamed the universe in a way. So he remembered the bad happenings more than the good happenings.
Norman became bitter inside. Outside nothing really changed. He was always a bit withdrawn so nobody really noticed everything. But he became bitter. He became subtly colder in his dealings with other people. A bit more sarcastic.
He didn't really do anything anymore. He woke up, ate breakfast, went to work, came home, ate dinner and went to sleep. He didn't want to do anything more. Everything he did invited more and more problems, more and more pressure to deal with it. He minimized the problems he encountered.
And he dealt with it.
One day, it clicked. Norman was unhappy but he couldn't really explain why he was unhappy. It was almost as if living was a drug, and slowly, ever so slowly he built up a tolerance for it. Things happening didn't really elicit a response anymore. Norman had facilitated enough HR meetings to see depression when he saw it.
Norman was confused. He shouldn't have depression of all things. Only the socially inept, the poor, the addicts, the lonely got depressed. To have depression meant you had something wrong in your life. Norman's life was perfect. He was financially stable, had a roof over his head and food on his table, a good job and people who he liked to think liked him. But the fact still stood that he exhibited all the symptoms of depression.
This was a problem.
Norman was always a bit introspective, and he applied his experience with his tinkering hobby to many things. It was one of the reasons for his expertise in mathematics, for example. Even with calculus, math was really a machine, a complicated machine with numbers for motors and variables for switches. Take apart an equation and put it back together, and you can figure out which part was missing. Which gear could create the desired outcome.
Norman had read many stories, both in books and online, of machines becoming people. He reasoned that perhaps depression is what it was called when people became machines.
Because really, his existence was almost mechanical now. His routine was straight and cold. He figured that an advanced enough algorithm could go through his motions as effectively as he could.
A routine was a coping mechanism. And what happens when that routine becomes excessive? To the point that it blots out everything else?
What was the point of it all?
Norman considered this one night, as he lay awake in bed. After a day of work, just before another day of work identical to what he had just gone through.
What was the point? To just work and work and work? No. For entertainment? Norman did browse memes now and then. Mindless entertainment. There was no point to that, either.
What if Norman could just… end it all?
He'd thought of it on occasion. At first he'd contemplate it after particularly devastating fights with his parents. After returns of grades he thought were good but were never enough. At first it was out of misinformed revenge. He hadn't been valued by his parents. Only abused, treated like an investment more than a person.
Some people only appreciate things when they're gone.
Now, Norman had different reasons. He didn't really see a point to it anymore. He found life boring, and tiring, and annoying. Problems upon problems upon problems. For so long all he had done was deal with problems only to find more problems. He hadn't cracked under the pressure, but he had certainly changed. Deformed. Warped like an overstressed support.
He could deal with it all right now.
Norman didn't really know what happened after death, but whatever it was he wouldn't have to deal with all the fucking problems anymore.
At this point another person might have gotten help, or talked with someone. Norman didn't have anyone to talk to. All he had was his work and his problems. He had acquaintances at most. He hated people, because all they did was bring him more problems.
And a little part of him thought, "Huh. That's pathetic."
He considered it. That'd be weird if he went and offed himself on only his prerogative. As far as he figured nobody really wanted it. Nobody even disliked him that much except for his parents, and he'd cut them off long ago.
Other people have had depression. Maybe they could help.
A sensible part of him went, "No. All they'd do is give you more problems. And you'd have to deal with it."
“But a little more problems is a lot better than just ending it," said the first part of Norman. "Maybe if we exhaust all other options to find a reason to live, then we could go on happily, knowing we tried everything we could."
So Norman went and reached out for help. Even if it would give him problems. But it was the only option he had left.
Now, Norman was lucky. His boss lightened his workload immediately and referred him to therapy. He learned to spot when that sensible part of him wasn't being so sensible. To find the fallacies that part told him. To look at things a little better. To figure out which problems were problems and which problems were merely inconveniences. What problems should be solved and which ones could be simply evaded.
Many people aren't so lucky. They are simply pushed away, or their cries for help are seen as weird anomalies instead of something worse. So watch carefully if you feel someone might need help.
Norman began to do small things. He shaved once. He changed his tie. Washed the dishes. He went out on a walk in the park. And he began to see.
Norman didn't really pay attention to the world these days. He just kind of assumed everything was overcast and gray and dreary. He never really did appreciate the vivid diversity of color the world provided in even a public park, underfunded and bland as it was.
When Norman appreciated the little things in life, he appreciated the little problems as well. Sometimes there really was no problem at all, especially when talking to people. He began to open up to people, and slowly gained a network of friends in his coworkers. He went fishing again. He booted up Frankenstein again. He met people in his hobby groups and made more friends. He even ended up dating.
Describing the process only took a few pages, but for Norman it took months and months to even begin to change. The whole thing took years. At first it was a herculean effort to just keep going, like running through a minefield in the dark. Every natural instinct in his body told Norman that every step would be his last. It turned out, many of the mines in his field were simply water balloons. Some of them were just plates of metal with clickers in them, placed there by people whose opinions didn't really matter.
As he worked on himself, it was as if the sun came up, and he figured out that his minefield didn't really have that many mines in it. Those few mines that did exist were easy to see. And he had help. His friends let him know where the mines were, what to do, because they cared about him. They had fun with him. And Norman simply appreciated the act of walking, even if it was in a minefield. Norman was sure he couldn't have done it on his own.
Yes, people helped him. But it was Norman who started it. It was Norman who began his journey, like the primer that begins the explosion that has a bullet flying from a gun. And Norman learned that there are always people willing to help you, if only you reached out and asked. The real trick was finding them. The hardest part was mustering up the courage to ask.
Norman had read on the internet once that what some people considered the first sign of human civilization was an ancient leg bone that had once been broken, showing signs of having been fully healed. The reasoning was that for any animal, even for the herd and pack animals, even for the so-called eusocial animals such as bees, a broken leg was a death sentence. To survive a broken leg, someone would have to be helped. They would have had to have been a burden and a net loss on their companions, who bear the brunt anyway. Who helped each other. They say that helping each other for the sake of it is the first sign of civilization.
One day, Norman went to the park, the one where it all began. He was good friends with his boss, and had even been given a raise for outstanding work. He had a cat, now - also named Norman. He didn't move on, go to school and get a "dream job" as a robotics engineer as he once wanted - he knew to never make your passion your job. He was fine with his tinkering hobby. He had recently made Frankenstein a set of legs and was working towards having it take its first steps.
He sat on a park bench with his girlfriend - now fiancée - and thought. He wondered. His brush with death had left him quite philosophical.
Humans, he thought. Humans are social animals. But that isn’t really what separates humans from animals. Herds, packs, hives, prides and schools exist in the animal kingdom. Not empathy, either. Rats, mice, dogs, cats and all kinds of animals used extensively as test subjects have been shown to empathize.
No, what sets humans apart is the drive to help each other. Wolves will leave one of their own to die if they suffer a broken leg. Bees that are damaged beyond repair are simply left outside the hive to freeze. Mice and rats will gladly leave an incapacitated fellow to their fate. But humans?
Only humans would risk so much to drag an injured friend back home. Only humans would spend weeks and weeks nursing a fellow back to life when the only probable result would be a death and a waste of resources. Only humans would stop to help one less fortunate when there is no benefit to themselves. They wouldn’t have a society otherwise.
Norman looked out on the park, his soon-to-be wife’s head on his shoulder, and a satisfied smile crept across his face, the first he had had in a long while.
And he was happy. Because he hadn’t been left behind.
This was humanity’s motto:
No man left behind.
2023.03.25 07:18 FishingNo3051 Fiance got hit by headon by someone w/o insurance any thing we can do?
Today my fiance was out with our son a truck pulled out in front and hit him head on. The dash of our car was pushed inward. Fiances leg is badly bruised and extremely swollen luckily not broken along with bruising to chest and shoulder from seat belt. Our son was thankful fine too he has bruising on his chest from carseat. The other driver had minimal injury. He had no insurance for his truck and was slurring his words. He was allowed to leave without being arrested. My sister and brother in law and a woman who witnessed accident all heard him slurring his words and heard an officer as we left in ambulance tell another officer " I told you to breathalyze him" we were not able to get the driver name or anything as he did not speak English (only language we know). A younger man we are sure if it was his son or boss came and started taking thing out of the truck even after being told to stop by officers, so it might have been a work truck we are just trying to find out our options and advice is very helpful thank you all.
To add we thought about suing, however we are very low on money ATM fiance got laid off of work the day before and I am a Sahm. I am trying to find a job since he will be on bed rest for a while
submitted by FishingNo3051 to legaladvice [link] [comments]
To add we thought about suing, however we are very low on money ATM fiance got laid off of work the day before and I am a Sahm. I am trying to find a job since he will be on bed rest for a while
2023.03.25 07:15 TeddyBearToons No Man Left Behind
Once upon a time, there lived a man called Norman.
Norman was not particularly smart, or fast, or strong or charismatic or even particularly lucky. He wasn't stupid or slow, nor was he weak or socially inept. If anything, Norman was painfully average. Everything about him was utterly uninteresting.
Norman worked as a manager of a sales team for a company that he couldn't be bothered to remember the name of. Every day he did paperwork, counted beans, handled complaints and generally just stayed in his office. He was a good enough boss; somewhat absentee, but everyone under him knew that if they had a problem, he could deal with it.
"Dealing with it" was how Norman went along with life. He once heard of the phrase "this too, shall pass" and didn't take it to heart as much as he made it the core of his entire philosophy. In life he encountered problems, and his day-to-day happenings consisted of dealing with them. If he couldn't deal with a problem or fix an issue, he found that simply riding out the consequences and adjusting to the shifts it caused would often solve the problem.
Take Norman's job, for example. Norman didn't care much for paperwork. He found it boring to fill out memos, approve forms, and juggle spreadsheets. Despite this, Norman was good at it and it made him money, so he dealt with it. His parents were overbearing, judging and stricter with him while favoring his sister, so he kept contact at a minimum and dealt with the problem.
For whatever reason, Norman wasn't really affected by the stress caused by problems. This manifested in an almost supernatural ability to remain calm in all kinds of situations. He simply dealt with stressful situations and moved on. When one of his salesmen had to take an emergency leave and threw his carefully built shift schedule into chaos, Norman dealt with it. His subordinates eased into the shift change nicely. When his pet rabbit died, he dealt with it. He didn't shed a single tear.
Norman thought that it was because he was detached, in a way. Those sorts of things didn't really bother him. He never could explain why.
Norman wanted to be a robotics engineer when he was young. He loved machines and read plenty of sci-fi stories. Especially the ones involving robots. Norman didn't want to be a sales team supervisor, but he dealt with it.
He sometimes took junk computers home with him, where he had a little workshop where he spent his free time tinkering and soldering and plugging things together. He named his PC Frankenstein because all of its parts came from otherwise broken computers. He used Frankenstein to write code for little robotic doodads that he made.
One day, he realized that he didn't really like making his little doodads anymore. Maybe he didn't have the time for it, or maybe it didn't interest him anymore, but he visited his workshop less and less. He dealt with it.
It turned out some of his colleagues went fishing on occasion. He learned to fish and went with them, and for a while he had fun. But he showed up less and less. He didn't have the time for it, or maybe he didn't have the energy to go out, but he didn't really go fishing anymore. He dealt with it.
At a family gathering, Norman's parents fawned over his sister and her achievements. She was a doctor. They scoffed at Norman's 9-to-5 office job. Norman didn't say anything. He felt he had done good, but didn't contradict his parents. He knew what would happen if he did. So he dealt with it.
Ever so slowly, problems became more and more prevalent. They never got to a point of actual contention but they became more and more annoying to deal with. Norman dealt with his problems, but complained a little more when he did it. He became pessimistic.
Norman started predicting what little ways the day might screw up for him. His reward system twisted itself into something worse. He was wrong as much as he was right, but every time he was right he got a twinge of sick satisfaction of having gamed the universe in a way. So he remembered the bad happenings more than the good happenings.
Norman became bitter inside. Outside nothing really changed. He was always a bit withdrawn so nobody really noticed everything. But he became bitter. He became subtly colder in his dealings with other people. A bit more sarcastic.
He didn't really do anything anymore. He woke up, ate breakfast, went to work, came home, ate dinner and went to sleep. He didn't want to do anything more. Everything he did invited more and more problems, more and more pressure to deal with it. He minimized the problems he encountered.
And he dealt with it.
One day, it clicked. Norman was unhappy but he couldn't really explain why he was unhappy. It was almost as if living was a drug, and slowly, ever so slowly he built up a tolerance for it. Things happening didn't really elicit a response anymore. Norman had facilitated enough HR meetings to see depression when he saw it.
Norman was confused. He shouldn't have depression of all things. Only the socially inept, the poor, the addicts, the lonely got depressed. To have depression meant you had something wrong in your life. Norman's life was perfect. He was financially stable, had a roof over his head and food on his table, a good job and people who he liked to think liked him. But the fact still stood that he exhibited all the symptoms of depression.
This was a problem.
Norman was always a bit introspective, and he applied his experience with his tinkering hobby to many things. It was one of the reasons for his expertise in mathematics, for example. Even with calculus, math was really a machine, a complicated machine with numbers for motors and variables for switches. Take apart an equation and put it back together, and you can figure out which part was missing. Which gear could create the desired outcome.
Norman had read many stories, both in books and online, of machines becoming people. He reasoned that perhaps depression is what it was called when people became machines.
Because really, his existence was almost mechanical now. His routine was straight and cold. He figured that an advanced enough algorithm could go through his motions as effectively as he could.
A routine was a coping mechanism. And what happens when that routine becomes excessive? To the point that it blots out everything else?
What was the point of it all?
Norman considered this one night, as he lay awake in bed. After a day of work, just before another day of work identical to what he had just gone through.
What was the point? To just work and work and work? No. For entertainment? Norman did browse memes now and then. Mindless entertainment. There was no point to that, either.
What if Norman could just… end it all?
He'd thought of it on occasion. At first he'd contemplate it after particularly devastating fights with his parents. After returns of grades he thought were good but were never enough. At first it was out of misinformed revenge. He hadn't been valued by his parents. Only abused, treated like an investment more than a person.
Some people only appreciate things when they're gone.
Now, Norman had different reasons. He didn't really see a point to it anymore. He found life boring, and tiring, and annoying. Problems upon problems upon problems. For so long all he had done was deal with problems only to find more problems. He hadn't cracked under the pressure, but he had certainly changed. Deformed. Warped like an overstressed support.
He could deal with it all right now.
Norman didn't really know what happened after death, but whatever it was he wouldn't have to deal with all the fucking problems anymore.
At this point another person might have gotten help, or talked with someone. Norman didn't have anyone to talk to. All he had was his work and his problems. He had acquaintances at most. He hated people, because all they did was bring him more problems.
And a little part of him thought, "Huh. That's pathetic."
He considered it. That'd be weird if he went and offed himself on only his prerogative. As far as he figured nobody really wanted it. Nobody even disliked him that much except for his parents, and he'd cut them off long ago.
Other people have had depression. Maybe they could help.
A sensible part of him went, "No. All they'd do is give you more problems. And you'd have to deal with it."
“But a little more problems is a lot better than just ending it," said the first part of Norman. "Maybe if we exhaust all other options to find a reason to live, then we could go on happily, knowing we tried everything we could."
So Norman went and reached out for help. Even if it would give him problems. But it was the only option he had left.
Now, Norman was lucky. His boss lightened his workload immediately and referred him to therapy. He learned to spot when that sensible part of him wasn't being so sensible. To find the fallacies that part told him. To look at things a little better. To figure out which problems were problems and which problems were merely inconveniences. What problems should be solved and which ones could be simply evaded.
Many people aren't so lucky. They are simply pushed away, or their cries for help are seen as weird anomalies instead of something worse. So watch carefully if you feel someone might need help.
Norman began to do small things. He shaved once. He changed his tie. Washed the dishes. He went out on a walk in the park. And he began to see.
Norman didn't really pay attention to the world these days. He just kind of assumed everything was overcast and gray and dreary. He never really did appreciate the vivid diversity of color the world provided in even a public park, underfunded and bland as it was.
When Norman appreciated the little things in life, he appreciated the little problems as well. Sometimes there really was no problem at all, especially when talking to people. He began to open up to people, and slowly gained a network of friends in his coworkers. He went fishing again. He booted up Frankenstein again. He met people in his hobby groups and made more friends. He even ended up dating.
Describing the process only took a few pages, but for Norman it took months and months to even begin to change. The whole thing took years. At first it was a herculean effort to just keep going, like running through a minefield in the dark. Every natural instinct in his body told Norman that every step would be his last. It turned out, many of the mines in his field were simply water balloons. Some of them were just plates of metal with clickers in them, placed there by people whose opinions didn't really matter.
As he worked on himself, it was as if the sun came up, and he figured out that his minefield didn't really have that many mines in it. Those few mines that did exist were easy to see. And he had help. His friends let him know where the mines were, what to do, because they cared about him. They had fun with him. And Norman simply appreciated the act of walking, even if it was in a minefield. Norman was sure he couldn't have done it on his own.
Yes, people helped him. But it was Norman who started it. It was Norman who began his journey, like the primer that begins the explosion that has a bullet flying from a gun. And Norman learned that there are always people willing to help you, if only you reached out and asked. The real trick was finding them. The hardest part was mustering up the courage to ask.
Norman had read on the internet once that what some people considered the first sign of human civilization was an ancient leg bone that had once been broken, showing signs of having been fully healed. The reasoning was that for any animal, even for the herd and pack animals, even for the so-called eusocial animals such as bees, a broken leg was a death sentence. To survive a broken leg, someone would have to be helped. They would have had to have been a burden and a net loss on their companions, who bear the brunt anyway. Who helped each other. They say that helping each other for the sake of it is the first sign of civilization.
One day, Norman went to the park, the one where it all began. He was good friends with his boss, and had even been given a raise for outstanding work. He had a new pet rabbit. He didn't move on, go to school and get a "dream job" as a robotics engineer as he once wanted - he knew to never make your passion your job. He was fine with his tinkering hobby. He had recently made Frankenstein a set of legs and was working towards having it take its first steps.
He sat on a park bench with his girlfriend - now fiancée - and thought. He wondered. His brush with death had left him quite philosophical.
Humans, he thought. Humans are social animals. But that isn’t really what separates humans from animals. Herds, packs, hives, prides and schools exist in the animal kingdom. Not empathy, either. Rats, mice, dogs, cats and all kinds of animals used extensively as test subjects have been shown to empathize.
No, what sets humans apart is the drive to help each other. Wolves will leave one of their own to die if they suffer a broken leg. Bees that are damaged beyond repair are simply left outside the hive to freeze. Mice and rats will gladly leave an incapacitated fellow to their fate. But humans?
Only humans would risk so much to drag an injured friend back home. Only humans would spend weeks and weeks nursing a fellow back to life when the only probable result would be a death and a waste of resources. Only humans would stop to help one less fortunate when there is no benefit to themselves. They wouldn’t have a society otherwise.
Norman looked out on the park, his soon-to-be wife’s head on his shoulder, and a satisfied smile crept across his face, the first he had had in a long while.
And he was happy. Because he hadn’t been left behind.
This was humanity’s motto:
No man left behind.
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Norman was not particularly smart, or fast, or strong or charismatic or even particularly lucky. He wasn't stupid or slow, nor was he weak or socially inept. If anything, Norman was painfully average. Everything about him was utterly uninteresting.
Norman worked as a manager of a sales team for a company that he couldn't be bothered to remember the name of. Every day he did paperwork, counted beans, handled complaints and generally just stayed in his office. He was a good enough boss; somewhat absentee, but everyone under him knew that if they had a problem, he could deal with it.
"Dealing with it" was how Norman went along with life. He once heard of the phrase "this too, shall pass" and didn't take it to heart as much as he made it the core of his entire philosophy. In life he encountered problems, and his day-to-day happenings consisted of dealing with them. If he couldn't deal with a problem or fix an issue, he found that simply riding out the consequences and adjusting to the shifts it caused would often solve the problem.
Take Norman's job, for example. Norman didn't care much for paperwork. He found it boring to fill out memos, approve forms, and juggle spreadsheets. Despite this, Norman was good at it and it made him money, so he dealt with it. His parents were overbearing, judging and stricter with him while favoring his sister, so he kept contact at a minimum and dealt with the problem.
For whatever reason, Norman wasn't really affected by the stress caused by problems. This manifested in an almost supernatural ability to remain calm in all kinds of situations. He simply dealt with stressful situations and moved on. When one of his salesmen had to take an emergency leave and threw his carefully built shift schedule into chaos, Norman dealt with it. His subordinates eased into the shift change nicely. When his pet rabbit died, he dealt with it. He didn't shed a single tear.
Norman thought that it was because he was detached, in a way. Those sorts of things didn't really bother him. He never could explain why.
Norman wanted to be a robotics engineer when he was young. He loved machines and read plenty of sci-fi stories. Especially the ones involving robots. Norman didn't want to be a sales team supervisor, but he dealt with it.
He sometimes took junk computers home with him, where he had a little workshop where he spent his free time tinkering and soldering and plugging things together. He named his PC Frankenstein because all of its parts came from otherwise broken computers. He used Frankenstein to write code for little robotic doodads that he made.
One day, he realized that he didn't really like making his little doodads anymore. Maybe he didn't have the time for it, or maybe it didn't interest him anymore, but he visited his workshop less and less. He dealt with it.
It turned out some of his colleagues went fishing on occasion. He learned to fish and went with them, and for a while he had fun. But he showed up less and less. He didn't have the time for it, or maybe he didn't have the energy to go out, but he didn't really go fishing anymore. He dealt with it.
At a family gathering, Norman's parents fawned over his sister and her achievements. She was a doctor. They scoffed at Norman's 9-to-5 office job. Norman didn't say anything. He felt he had done good, but didn't contradict his parents. He knew what would happen if he did. So he dealt with it.
Ever so slowly, problems became more and more prevalent. They never got to a point of actual contention but they became more and more annoying to deal with. Norman dealt with his problems, but complained a little more when he did it. He became pessimistic.
Norman started predicting what little ways the day might screw up for him. His reward system twisted itself into something worse. He was wrong as much as he was right, but every time he was right he got a twinge of sick satisfaction of having gamed the universe in a way. So he remembered the bad happenings more than the good happenings.
Norman became bitter inside. Outside nothing really changed. He was always a bit withdrawn so nobody really noticed everything. But he became bitter. He became subtly colder in his dealings with other people. A bit more sarcastic.
He didn't really do anything anymore. He woke up, ate breakfast, went to work, came home, ate dinner and went to sleep. He didn't want to do anything more. Everything he did invited more and more problems, more and more pressure to deal with it. He minimized the problems he encountered.
And he dealt with it.
One day, it clicked. Norman was unhappy but he couldn't really explain why he was unhappy. It was almost as if living was a drug, and slowly, ever so slowly he built up a tolerance for it. Things happening didn't really elicit a response anymore. Norman had facilitated enough HR meetings to see depression when he saw it.
Norman was confused. He shouldn't have depression of all things. Only the socially inept, the poor, the addicts, the lonely got depressed. To have depression meant you had something wrong in your life. Norman's life was perfect. He was financially stable, had a roof over his head and food on his table, a good job and people who he liked to think liked him. But the fact still stood that he exhibited all the symptoms of depression.
This was a problem.
Norman was always a bit introspective, and he applied his experience with his tinkering hobby to many things. It was one of the reasons for his expertise in mathematics, for example. Even with calculus, math was really a machine, a complicated machine with numbers for motors and variables for switches. Take apart an equation and put it back together, and you can figure out which part was missing. Which gear could create the desired outcome.
Norman had read many stories, both in books and online, of machines becoming people. He reasoned that perhaps depression is what it was called when people became machines.
Because really, his existence was almost mechanical now. His routine was straight and cold. He figured that an advanced enough algorithm could go through his motions as effectively as he could.
A routine was a coping mechanism. And what happens when that routine becomes excessive? To the point that it blots out everything else?
What was the point of it all?
Norman considered this one night, as he lay awake in bed. After a day of work, just before another day of work identical to what he had just gone through.
What was the point? To just work and work and work? No. For entertainment? Norman did browse memes now and then. Mindless entertainment. There was no point to that, either.
What if Norman could just… end it all?
He'd thought of it on occasion. At first he'd contemplate it after particularly devastating fights with his parents. After returns of grades he thought were good but were never enough. At first it was out of misinformed revenge. He hadn't been valued by his parents. Only abused, treated like an investment more than a person.
Some people only appreciate things when they're gone.
Now, Norman had different reasons. He didn't really see a point to it anymore. He found life boring, and tiring, and annoying. Problems upon problems upon problems. For so long all he had done was deal with problems only to find more problems. He hadn't cracked under the pressure, but he had certainly changed. Deformed. Warped like an overstressed support.
He could deal with it all right now.
Norman didn't really know what happened after death, but whatever it was he wouldn't have to deal with all the fucking problems anymore.
At this point another person might have gotten help, or talked with someone. Norman didn't have anyone to talk to. All he had was his work and his problems. He had acquaintances at most. He hated people, because all they did was bring him more problems.
And a little part of him thought, "Huh. That's pathetic."
He considered it. That'd be weird if he went and offed himself on only his prerogative. As far as he figured nobody really wanted it. Nobody even disliked him that much except for his parents, and he'd cut them off long ago.
Other people have had depression. Maybe they could help.
A sensible part of him went, "No. All they'd do is give you more problems. And you'd have to deal with it."
“But a little more problems is a lot better than just ending it," said the first part of Norman. "Maybe if we exhaust all other options to find a reason to live, then we could go on happily, knowing we tried everything we could."
So Norman went and reached out for help. Even if it would give him problems. But it was the only option he had left.
Now, Norman was lucky. His boss lightened his workload immediately and referred him to therapy. He learned to spot when that sensible part of him wasn't being so sensible. To find the fallacies that part told him. To look at things a little better. To figure out which problems were problems and which problems were merely inconveniences. What problems should be solved and which ones could be simply evaded.
Many people aren't so lucky. They are simply pushed away, or their cries for help are seen as weird anomalies instead of something worse. So watch carefully if you feel someone might need help.
Norman began to do small things. He shaved once. He changed his tie. Washed the dishes. He went out on a walk in the park. And he began to see.
Norman didn't really pay attention to the world these days. He just kind of assumed everything was overcast and gray and dreary. He never really did appreciate the vivid diversity of color the world provided in even a public park, underfunded and bland as it was.
When Norman appreciated the little things in life, he appreciated the little problems as well. Sometimes there really was no problem at all, especially when talking to people. He began to open up to people, and slowly gained a network of friends in his coworkers. He went fishing again. He booted up Frankenstein again. He met people in his hobby groups and made more friends. He even ended up dating.
Describing the process only took a few pages, but for Norman it took months and months to even begin to change. The whole thing took years. At first it was a herculean effort to just keep going, like running through a minefield in the dark. Every natural instinct in his body told Norman that every step would be his last. It turned out, many of the mines in his field were simply water balloons. Some of them were just plates of metal with clickers in them, placed there by people whose opinions didn't really matter.
As he worked on himself, it was as if the sun came up, and he figured out that his minefield didn't really have that many mines in it. Those few mines that did exist were easy to see. And he had help. His friends let him know where the mines were, what to do, because they cared about him. They had fun with him. And Norman simply appreciated the act of walking, even if it was in a minefield. Norman was sure he couldn't have done it on his own.
Yes, people helped him. But it was Norman who started it. It was Norman who began his journey, like the primer that begins the explosion that has a bullet flying from a gun. And Norman learned that there are always people willing to help you, if only you reached out and asked. The real trick was finding them. The hardest part was mustering up the courage to ask.
Norman had read on the internet once that what some people considered the first sign of human civilization was an ancient leg bone that had once been broken, showing signs of having been fully healed. The reasoning was that for any animal, even for the herd and pack animals, even for the so-called eusocial animals such as bees, a broken leg was a death sentence. To survive a broken leg, someone would have to be helped. They would have had to have been a burden and a net loss on their companions, who bear the brunt anyway. Who helped each other. They say that helping each other for the sake of it is the first sign of civilization.
One day, Norman went to the park, the one where it all began. He was good friends with his boss, and had even been given a raise for outstanding work. He had a new pet rabbit. He didn't move on, go to school and get a "dream job" as a robotics engineer as he once wanted - he knew to never make your passion your job. He was fine with his tinkering hobby. He had recently made Frankenstein a set of legs and was working towards having it take its first steps.
He sat on a park bench with his girlfriend - now fiancée - and thought. He wondered. His brush with death had left him quite philosophical.
Humans, he thought. Humans are social animals. But that isn’t really what separates humans from animals. Herds, packs, hives, prides and schools exist in the animal kingdom. Not empathy, either. Rats, mice, dogs, cats and all kinds of animals used extensively as test subjects have been shown to empathize.
No, what sets humans apart is the drive to help each other. Wolves will leave one of their own to die if they suffer a broken leg. Bees that are damaged beyond repair are simply left outside the hive to freeze. Mice and rats will gladly leave an incapacitated fellow to their fate. But humans?
Only humans would risk so much to drag an injured friend back home. Only humans would spend weeks and weeks nursing a fellow back to life when the only probable result would be a death and a waste of resources. Only humans would stop to help one less fortunate when there is no benefit to themselves. They wouldn’t have a society otherwise.
Norman looked out on the park, his soon-to-be wife’s head on his shoulder, and a satisfied smile crept across his face, the first he had had in a long while.
And he was happy. Because he hadn’t been left behind.
This was humanity’s motto:
No man left behind.