Air return cover decorative

SMEG TSF01WHUS

2023.05.28 14:27 Xxyz260 SMEG TSF01WHUS

https://i.redd.it/74ae26krwk2b1.jpeg
​ SUMMARY Italian-based SMEG is known for its '50s retro-look appliances designed in collaboration with some of the world's top architects. This toaster combines iconic midcentury style with modern features, so you can count on perfect toast or bagels every time. Choose from a selection of luscious colors that match other SMEG appliances for a coordinated collection.
Two extra-wide slots. Six browning levels offer precise control of browning. Backlit chrome knob with four functions: Reheat, Defrost, Cancel, Bagel. Self-centering racks hold toast upright for even browning. Removable stainless-steel crumb tray.
DIMENSIONS & MORE INFO Model #TSF01WHUS. Steel with powder-coated enamel finish that resists scratches, stains and corrosion. Anti-slip feet. Built-in cord wrap for safety. 12 1/4" x 7 3/4" x 7 3/4" high; 5 lb. 4 oz. Slot width: 1 1/4". 950W. This product is intended for use in the United States and Canada and is built to U.S. electrical standards. Made in China.
USE & CARE CARE Wipe clean with damp cloth.
SHIPPING & RETURNS SHIPPING INFORMATION This item will be shipped directly from the manufacturer and is not eligible for rush shipping. Please allow one to two weeks for delivery.
SHIPPING RATES The shipping rate varies depending on your order total and shipping destination. View Shipping Options and Charges.
RETURN POLICY At Williams Sonoma, we take great pride in the quality and craftsmanship of our products. Attention to design, materials, safety and construction are our priority. Upon receipt, please inspect your purchase and notify us of any damage; we will arrange for a prompt replacement.
Within 30 days, you may return most items for a refund of the merchandise value. An original receipt or gift receipt is required for all returns and exchanges. Returns with a gift receipt will be refunded in the form of a Merchandise Credit for the amount indicated on the gift receipt. Returns with original receipt will be refunded in the original form of payment, cash and check refunds over $100 will be issued as a company check (may take 14 business days from time of request). Please note that returned items must be in new condition.
Cutlery returns (knife sets, single knives, cutting boards, knife sharpeners and knife storage) may require extra information and safety instructions. To initiate your return, please contact us at 888.922.4108 or visit us at your local store.
We cannot accept returns on monogrammed, personalized, special-order items, custom upholstery, food or on items damaged through normal wear and tear. Final sale items ending in .97, .98 or .99 cannot be returned. We also cannot accept returns of any food products, which are considered final sale items.
Made to Order and Final Sale Furniture items are non-returnable and cannot be cancelled once the order is placed.
For returns of items purchased from your Williams Sonoma Gift Registry, we will gladly provide a refund or exchange for the merchandise within 90 days of your event or within 90 days of purchase, whichever date is later. View Full Returns Policy.
TOASTED BREAKFAST SANDWICH RECIPE Toast the bread in a toaster and spread the butter on one side of each slice. Top 4 of the slices with the cheese, dividing evenly. Set aside.
In a 12-inch nonstick griddle or fry pan over medium heat, warm the oil. Break 2 eggs into the pan and cook until the whites are set and the edges of the yolks are just beginning to set, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining 2 eggs.
Place 1 egg on top of each cheese-topped bread slice, followed by 2 bacon slices. Arrange the arugula on top. Cover each sandwich with one of the remaining bread slices, buttered side down. Serve immediately. Serves 4.
See full Toasted Breakfast Sandwich Recipe.
submitted by Xxyz260 to copypasta [link] [comments]


2023.05.28 14:27 Boba918 Sizes when copping in the UK

I've hit some Air Forces on SNKRS earlier this year, ordered UK 11 and got my size delivered. But recently I went for the Toro Bravo 6s and hit on them in my size, and they arrived as a US M size 11 (UK 10) instead of UK 11 meaning I'll have to return them and try to get another pair off GOAT/Stockx.
Is this an issue on Nike's part or should I order in US sizes in the future if I hit again?
submitted by Boba918 to SNKRS [link] [comments]


2023.05.28 14:23 queenliz2fr Headcanons you have about the lesser known parts of Tom Riddle's life

So throughout my posts and comments I have already shared a few of mine.
This particular one covers my headcanon on his pre-Hogwarts and summers during his first four years at Hogwarts: https://old.reddit.com/HPfanfiction/comments/13gfgtx/tom_riddle_discovers_his_love_for_reading/
Some other ones that I have:
That's it for now. If you have any other headcanons about the lesser known deeds of Tom Riddle, feel free to share. As for me, I have developed a biography for him a while ago, but seeing that I am too old to write fanfiction anymore, feel free to borrow also any of the ideas.
submitted by queenliz2fr to HPfanfiction [link] [comments]


2023.05.28 14:19 TheDoctor_E Very weird and creepy movie from my childhood [unidentified media]

I'm new in this sub reddit so maybe I'm doing this wrong and this isn't the right sub to post it but the blood won't reach the river sooo...
I recently remembered watching a movie when I was 10 or 11 that really struck me as weird. I'd like to find it because I'm a collector of weird movies and this movie really creeped me out as a kid.
For context, I watched the movie on 2017 or 18, I believe. I vaguely recall the movie being religious. It had a very creepy and stillted CGI animation, so it maybe was from the early 2000s, or maybe it just had a small budget. The movie was in Spanish (I'm from Spain) but I'm pretty sure it was not a Spanish film.
So, the movie started with the two protagonists as kids. One of them (I'll call him Man-A) was a white rich kid and had blue eyes and blond hair, while the other one (Man-B) was dark-skinned (I think middle-eastern but he could have been black) and was the son of one of the maids in Man-A's house. The Maid told a story to the two kids about a mysterious artifact (I can't remember what it was), that was protected in a faraway island by a lion and a giant bird. The artifact was locked behind three rooms: The first room was full of fire, the second one full of poisonous gas and the third one full of knives. If you got past the two guarding animals, you'd have to use three keys to put away the fire, ventilate the gas and retract the knives. The two boys were fascinated with the tale but (and this I might be misremembering) the father didn't aprove of the Maid filling his son's head with fairy tales and fired her and her son.
The movie continues some years ago. Man-A is already an adult and he has shipwrecked in an island, which coincidentally is the same from the tale (I don't remember if he shipwrecked in it by accident or if he deliberately was searching for it and just shipwrecked and had luck). He decides to talk to the people living them but they alll run away from him, except a beggar, who wore goggles and had red skin (not in a racist kind of sense, his skin was literally red or pink), who explains in the island they are afraid of people with blue eyes. The beggar proposes Man-A to cover his eyes with a blindfold and pretend to be a blind man, and since he is much younger and handsome than he is, he must help him beg, and in return the Beggar will guide through the island. Man-A accepts, and is able to get some coins, which the Beggar tried to con him out of them but he is smart and isn't fooled.
From here forward I only remember parts of the movie: Man-A found one of the keys in the rubbles of a house. He also finds out Man-B is trying to find the other keys to get the artifact. At some point he meets a 10 year old princess, who proposes a deal: If he can sneak her out of the palace and show her the real world, she'll give him a magic candy that makes him able to speak with the lion and calm it. At some point the Beggar reveals he had blue eyes all along and was covering them with the goggles. Man-A found another key and decided to attempt to enter the pyramid in which the artifact was found. On the sky, Man-B was flying with the giant bird, because he had previously gotten a feather who made the bird obedient. Man-A and B had a fight but they eventually reconciled and used Man-A's two keys to open the rooms, and Man-B reveals that he had the third key. They find the artifact.
As a kid this movie really scared me. I didn't usually get scared by films but this one really affected me for some reason. I mostly remember the lion being very scary, due to outdated CGI and having a roar so off-putting that was uncanny. The characters were all very uncanny, looking like plastic dolls (or somethign straight out of cryptoland) and the knive room was so violent that unnerved me.
Please help a poor bastard find this movie, I want to rewatch it again due to just how utterly weird it was. i've tried googling it or even using ChatGPT but I couldn't find anything. I'd be really thankful if you found it. Maybe you could enjoy it too.
submitted by TheDoctor_E to lostmedia [link] [comments]


2023.05.28 14:15 Sea_Flower_4689 MSI GPU SCAM

MSI GPU SCAM
(TLDR AT THE BOTTOM)
  • So 3 weeks, my MSI SUPRIM X 3070ti abruptly stops giving a display during a game. The card was in a absolute pristine condition. Idk why it happened but suddenly the display goes off. I decide okay let's RMA it since I have 1.5 years of warranty remaining as well as the original box.
-I head to the service centre (F1 infoserve Pune) and the card is completely inspected by the person. Even for minute scratches. After inspecting everything, And all being OK, he approves it and accepts it for RMA. He told they will send the card to Delhi as they don't repair it here (Pune) i told okay, and the max time frame he gives me is a week. And then I leave. I told him to keep the box and send it in that but he refused and told me to take it away.
-After a week to my surprise a receive a mail saying the card is damaged completely and will not be accepted for RMA. I was COMPLETELY HORRIFIED TO SEE THE PHOTOS. the card was completely DESTROYED. Broken PCIE SLOT, BENT BACKPLATE, BENT IO sheild. And they are saying it won't be accepted for RMA.
-I rushed to the service centre, they tell me that please remain calm we have made a video from here before sending it to Delhi and the issue will be resolved please wait. Damage was done in the courier. Now again after a week, these asshole send me the same broken card back. With no replacement. I am completely devastated. I told them I will not accept this. I want a complete replacement. Now again they are saying to wait a week. Idk wtf to do.
TLDR - Msi broke my card that i bought for 80k and now denying warranty for their fault.
submitted by Sea_Flower_4689 to IndianGaming [link] [comments]


2023.05.28 14:12 ColdBlackWater Late-night pool party, mid-winter


My spouse & I had just moved into an apt complex in Ontario, Oregon, a month prior & were sitting in our living room, reading. We're middle-aged, and interested in paranormal, but never thought something this bizarre would occur in such an nondescript spot.
The complex was set up with the four buildings facing the center where the fenced-in pool area was. It being winter, the pool was emptied as winters in eastern Oregon are frigid at BEST, and brutally cold.
This was in late February-early March of 2012. The air was crisp and clear, the temperature around the 20s Fahrenheit. It was approximately 10pm, and we heard conversation outside. Paying no heed, we continued reading.
But as time went by, it seemed more people were appearing to 'join in' the conversation. After 1/2 hr, it seemed a lively 'party' was taking place. We looked up, quizzically commenting on the oddity of the time and temperature, but soon returned to our books.
After another 10-15 minutes, it grew exponentially louder & louder. It sounded as though 15-20 people were outside, talking and laughing and generally having a good time.
We sat there frowning at one another until, finally, my husband got up and walked to the door and stepped outside. Oddly, as soon as the door opened, all went deathly silent. He stepped out, and shut the door behind him to keep the warm air in and the frigid air out. He was gone for a few minutes, and walked back in with a look of incredulity on his face.
He thought maybe someone had been on a balcony and we'd heard the echoes, so he walked out to the fenced-in area of the pool, and looked all-around at the darkened apartments of our obviously sleeping neighbors. No people, no doors open, no light-on, even. It seemed that we were the only people even awake at that time.
Was this a residual 'haunting'? A replay of a summer's evening from the past going through the motions of a time-gone-by? We never experienced this again, but I found it worthy of retelling here in this forum, and my hair tingles as I type...
https://www.yourghoststories.com/real-ghost-story.php?story=18107
submitted by ColdBlackWater to timeslip [link] [comments]


2023.05.28 14:08 No_Eight Lifestyle of the Zonowōdjon

Lifestyle of the Zonowōdjon
She held her breath as the clinker nosed onto the island. It was barely more than the size of two houses, covered in tall grass and reeds, but she hadn’t set sights on it for its size. It was hard to tell, so far from the coast, but it did not appear to have the sloping beach of a sandbar island, and even seemed to drift gently with the wind, as would their ship if the oars were docked. If she was right, this was one of the wandering islands.
Her grandmother had told stories to all the children of the village, of her own time on fishing voyages aboard the longboats, and of finding a wandering island herself. Assembled through the will of a powerful spirit, wandering islands were as much life as land, imparting some of the lost vigor of the first generation unto the soil and allowing it to again wander the lakes.
To weather the night here may not seem practical, small as the wandering islands typically are. But the spirits of these islands are kindly if offered due respect, and always protect those who sleep on their backs. And to return to the village with such a story… when she too became an elder, she could regale the next generation with her own story, not just the one she carried from her grandmother.
She teased the land with one foot, and finding it solid hauled herself over the strake and onto the land. It bobbed slightly as it took her weight, and she felt her heart soar as the remaining crew disembarked behind her. As some of their number began fetching the poles and reed mats that would make their lean-tos for the coming night, she watched one of the oarsmen reverently offer a prayer to the ship-shrine, before taking a pinch of sacred ash from the urn within. He took slow, measured steps to the center of the island, before beginning his observances to the spirit who would watch over them that night.
She almost wished she could help, but this was his role, and a spirit prefers to commune with only one regardless. He scattered the ash into the grass of the island as he shook a small chime, two strings of small shells tied on both ends to a T-shaped stick, and filled the quiet air with a gentle percussion. She could not hear his prayers; they were silent after all. But she could witness his devotion in his bearing, and imagine the honor he felt at getting this chance.
It felt strange to see the wild shrine rituals without a shrine, or even an urn, but in truth it would be impossible to erect a shrine here. The proper observances could not be carried out should the island drift and never again be found. To build a shrine, a promise to a spirit that could not be kept, would be a cruelty that the village would not be forgiven for. Perhaps they would instead leave some of the reeds they carried, shredding their mats the same way old thatch is returned to rot in the marshes, for even a spirit powerful enough to set an island adrift must respect the cycle of death and rebirth, and could make use of their gift.
But for this night, they and the spirit would share a kinship, and they would depart on the morrow with a story and a blessing.

The Zonowōdjon

Claim Map
The Zonowōdjon (families of the lake, originally from family.lake-ɢᴇɴ), also known to call themselves simply the Wōdjon, live in the coastal forests and shallow hills along the shores of the southern Titonean lakes. They comprise a collection of small villages, most constructed within reach of waterways with access to the lakes, if not on their very shore. More than anything, the Zonowōdjon are united by their animistic practices and sense of shared identity through language, as well as their predisposition to fishing and wetlands forage over the paddy agriculture predominant elsewhere in Tritonea.

Subsistence, Industry, and Lifestyle

Agriculture practiced by Zonowōdjon is more akin to horticulture. Long domesticated crops of the region such as zizania have made their way into Zonowōdjon hands, but large dedicated irrigation systems are largely not in use. Opportunistic replanting of common forage goods is frequent, typically in gardens just outside the circle of houses. While a fair amount of village labor is tied up in the planting and tending of these gardens, they do not provide a majority of Zonowōdjon caloric intake. Rather, the quantities of vegetable matter their relatively small population sizes demand are served well by a mixture of forage and horticulture, the former seeing many villages built within reach of the freshwater marshes where their most harvested good, cattail, is found.
Cattail is employed for a variety of purposes, both culinary and industrial. Young shoots and narrow leaves are consumed as vegetables, while the root is harvested seasonally, dried, and processed into flour. Tubers found in the root system are also consumed as a vegetable, as are the immature flower spikes. The bast fiber of the stem is processed for use in textiles, as are the leaf fibers, though the former are more productive and make up a greater share of Zonowōdjon textile goods. Lastly, the stems are harvested whole for the production of wicker, thatch roofing, and reed boats.
Beyond cattail, Lotus is commonly foraged for use as a vegetable, particularly its root. Nuts, fruits, and herbs also comprise a major element of Zonowōdjon food culture, though many are sourced exclusively from forage. Wild alliums are the most prevalent aromatic the Zonowōdjon harvest, while cranberries are one or the more prevalent fruits, used both fresh and dried in cooking. Hemp, both foraged and gardened, serves as a secondary source of textile fiber, and its seeds are heavily employed in cooking. Oil is pressed from seeds and nuts, with pecan being the most common source, but is not produced in great quantities by the Zonowōdjon themselves, and some oil comes by trade with their more agriculturally developed neighbors. Lastly, mushrooming is a major tradition among Zonowōdjon, comprising a significant portion of their diet during seasons when mushroom forage is plentiful.

Fishing

The true backbone of Zonowōdjon subsistence is fishing. Fish, shellfish, and crustaceans are caught through a mixture of open-water net fishing, sunken basket traps, river and stream weirs, and manual forage for shellfish in shallower waters. Crayfish are one of the most common catches in the basket traps and are prized more as a delicacy than a staple food, while larger fish from open-water fishing comprise the bulk of seafood by weight, and enable villages closer to the lake shore to grow larger, and their descendants to found new villages more frequently. Both canoes and wading fishers deploy seine nets and cast nets.
The development of more sophisticated nets, the need for more hands to operate them, and the weight of increased hauls have all driven the development of Zonowōdjon shipbuilding significantly. While traditional reed boats and birchbark canoes are still frequently employed, particularly in rivers and streams and for more coastal operations, open water fishing trips make use of larger and far more sophisticated sewn-plank longboats with proper oar locks. Even large villages may only have one or several such boats, and their construction and maintenance is a significant expenditure of labor and point of clan pride. Crews on these boats often leave their village for days at a time, camping on small islands or distant shores. The reed-mats used to construct their temporary lean-tos are carried on the ship itself, chosen for their low weight. These larger longboats typically manage drop nets, though they may also be used to deploy seine nets with the aid of smaller outriding canoes, as the longboats are better able to transport a large catch.

Cuisine

Zonowōdjon cuisine centers zizania, cattail flour, and fish as staples. A common preparation of fish involves slicing the fish crosswise and stewing in an aromatic and seasoned stock. Both the flavorful broth and the flesh of the fish are fully consumed, with the aid of a lumpy flatbread produced from cattail flour. A flat stone atop a stone tripod, constructed above a fire, is the main method for production of flatbreads. Fish may also be dry roasted whole or sliced, with seeds and herbs pressed into the flesh if it has been sliced first. When catches are in excess of what can be consumed, which is common for coastal villages with longboats, fish will be smoke-cured for preservation and hung in a store hut. Smoke cured fish may still be cooked in a broth as above, or eaten as is. Regardless, at family meals it is common for older family members to pick the flesh of the fish from the bone after cooking is done, and distribute it to those younger than them. Another common dish is zizania pilaf, cooked in a thinner stock than fish. This dish often includes dried fruits, nuts, root and vegetables, and sometimes smaller seafood like shellfish and crayfish, with what is included owing more to seasonality and availability of forage than strict recipe. One more dish of note is a vegetable fritter, formed with shredded leaf and vegetable matter, mixed thoroughly with cattail flour, water, and seasonings before being fried. As oil production is marginal in many Zonowōdjon villages, this forms a less frequent component of the diet, but as a result holds a certain prestige. Ceremonies such as weddings, feasts when hosting representatives of other villages, and spiritual observances and festivals are more likely to see production of fritters. Notably, a vegetable fritter is a common burnt offering at shrines due to its status as a festival food.

Architecture

Villages are typically constructed of permanent dwellings. All buildings are single-storey, and roofed with cattail thatch. Most buildings are single room, and constructed of wattle-and-daub between upright wooden posts, though additional standing posts may support the roof in a longhouse. The clan patriarch lives in a longhouse, which may also be used as a storehouse and hold clan shrines. Cookstoves and fires are typically built outside during fair seasons, shielded by low reed mat walls and thatch lean-tos, though they are often moved to interior firepits during cold weather. Flooring is predominantly woven reed mats, which are easily pulled back to expose bare soil should a fire be constructed inside. Some homes feature bunk beds constructed flush with the wall.
A village never contains more than three clans, and most frequently consist of only one. Houses are generally communal sleeping spaces, so many villages contain few buildings, and some may be devoted entirely to stores. Houses are generally arrayed so that all doors face the center, which is a beaten earth area free of plants and used for celebrations and ceremonies, as well as being used daily for the practice of industry such as processing cattail and weaving. Doing daily labor indoors is frowned upon during fair weather.

Tools

The Zonowōdjon make use of knapped stone and jade tools, reed wicker baskets, hemp or cattail-fiber sacks and ropes, and primarily burn wood for fire. Western obsidian infrequently permeates Tritonia through trade, so many villages are able to make use of obsidian knives, and some use obsidian in jewelry as well. Shells and bone feature prominently in jewelry and ornamentation, and shells are also the primary material used for shrine chimes. Wood carvings are frequently used for ornamentation, particularly on shrines, and those chimes which are not shell are often carved wood. Wooden chimes that can create clear ringing tones are particularly prized, and make auspicious gifts to other villages. Stone-tipped spears are the most common weapons wielded by Zonowōdjon villagers, though clubs with a flat wooden handle and a setting of a fist-sized smooth stone are also common. Obsidian is rarely used in weaponry.

Spirituality and Mythology

The Father Moon is seen as the shepherd of souls and the patron of reincarnation. He is also the father of men and fish, and fish scales are said to shimmer like moonlight on the surface of water because of his blessing within them. Moonbeams contain souls of the deceased returning to the world both as spirits and to enter new flesh, and the Father Moon travels to the edge of the world every night to collect those souls that have traveled the dark rivers beneath the earth to reach him.
The Mother Sun is seen as the patron of flowers and plants, particularly the cattail. Filled with both warmth and rage, she begat the first life in the world, but cares little for the cycle of souls overseen by the Father Moon after the two generations she directly birthed died or otherwise left the lakes.
T’sawayda is a psychopomp and the mythological ancestor of the Zonowōdjon. They are depicted both as a giant man and an enormous fish, or with elements of both such as the head of a pike on the torso of a man. They are a member of the Zonowōdjon third gender, leaning to masculine expression, and are a member of the second generation of life. They are seen as the first of the second generation to climb from land to shore, and thus their descendents are all the Zonowōdjon. T’sawayda urged all their descendents to reap the Mother Sun’s bounty on land, but stay close to the shore to partake of the Father Moon’s bounty. T’sawayda is said to now make their home in the depths of the lake, with one door of their longhouse opening to the waters of the lake, and another to the bank of the dark rivers beneath the world. They find and guide lost souls, such as Zonowōdjon who die on the water and risk becoming demons, freeing them from their flesh and offering them hospitality before sending them on their voyage to reunite with the Father Moon.
Zonowōdjon believe the world is full of spirits, souls without constraining flesh who embody much of the natural world or protect those within it. There are believed to be local spirits both of locations, such as hills, marshes, and groves, as well as spirits to things within, such as the spirit of fish in a given marsh, or the spirit of a particularly ancient tree. Further, all villages and even most permanent buildings have venerated tutelary spirits.

Shrines

The core of Zonowōdjon spiritual practice is composed of maintaining shrines and holding public festivals. Shrines are dedicated to a local or tutelary spirit, with the latter also often seen as an ancestral spirit from a member of the clan in that village. For those spirits within buildings, a shrine is a simple as a clay urn which bears a pictorial representation of the spirit, into which offerings are placed. For spirits of larger areas, a shrine is constructed, usually from wood, either sewn or assembled through joinery. These shrines contain the urn which venerates the spirit proper. Most shrine urns feature a lid, often a wicker lid which is replaced annually during the vernal festival observances. Shell chimes are often hung from the roof of freestanding shrines, should there be enough clearance, or from poles erected around the shrine or the boughs of nearby trees. Similar chimes are held and shaken by shrine tenders during their observances, whether or not a shrine itself bears standing chimes.
Spirit urns often contain permanent offerings, with obsidian, bone, shell, and jade beads being common. Beads may initially be on a string, but the burning of offerings often leaves the beads free within the ash. During festivals and days of spiritual observance, offerings of food are placed within the urn. Offerings in distant shrines may be permitted to rot, but typically the offering is burned before being placed within the urn. Should an urn break, the shrine tender is expected to go into a period of grief and observance, and produce a replacement urn before interring the shards at the base of the shrine. Beads and other permanent offerings are transferred.
With the small population of most villages, a single man may be expected to tend multiple shrines, but the most important shrines may have a single tender. The clan patriarch is seen as symbolically responsible for the shrine to their clan’s guardian spirit, and the patriarch leading an entire village for the village spirit’s shrine as well.
Clinkers, the prized sewn-plank boats used for open-water fishing trips, hold a similar importance to homes, and thus contain a shrine. Typically the shrine is a small cavity constructed in the prow of the ship, containing a spirit urn. It is commonly believed that new ships are guarded by the returning spirit of an ancestor, so placing family ash or even bone shards within the shrine urn is often part of dedicating a new clinker.
Souls are believed to descend to the world starting on the full moon, so dedications of new homes and boats are usually practiced on the night of the full moon, that the soul of an ancestor might find the shrine and become a guardian for the new structure.

Creation

All the world was one lake, stretching to the ends of the world, and no souls lived within it. Thus, the Mother Sun and the Father Moon came together to cast the first life to the earth. The first life was enormous, and as it died, the massive corpses divided the world into smaller lakes. The Mother Sun was grieved, but tried again. The next generation was composed of smaller beings, but the world was still unable to bear their weight. Most voluntarily climbed to the sky, becoming stars, though some today choose to return to a world that is too small for them, creating disasters that terrorize the third generation. The third generation was the last attempt, and still lives upon the world, birthed by the giants of the second generation before their exodus, but blessed with life by the sky. After so many generations, the seed of the Father Moon was spent, and he went dark for the first time. It is only when many of the third generation died their first death and returned to the edge of the world that the Father Moon gathered them back to himself, and once again began to shine. Thus, the Father Moon became a shepherd of souls, gaining and losing his light as the cycles of death and rebirth flow.

The Afterlife & Funerary Practice

The Zonowōdjon do not believe in an afterlife as such, but rather in the eventual return of souls, though some may claim the dark rivers of the underworld amount to some form of hell or purgatory. The Zonowōdjon believe that the soul resides in the bones, and is constrained by the flesh. The soul must sink into the Earth to travel the great rivers under the Earth to its edge, where it will be gently collected by the Moon after a long, dark voyage. Souls embraced by the moon are returned to the lakes in the form of gentle moonbeams, souls ready to find new life. Souls of animals likewise find themselves returned to the lakes by the Moon. A soul may become the new guardian spirit of a home or village, or find itself embodied in a new human life. Those souls who return as tutelary spirits are particularly venerated, and it is believed that important ancestors return to protect the homes, boats, and villages of their descendants. Conversely, a soul lost in the dark rivers who never returns to the moon may find itself twisted by the dark, and eventually claw its way up through the lakebeds as a demon. Demons may also spawn from a soul trapped in the darkness of its own dead flesh, a fate seen as especially common for those lost to the waters of the lake. Thus, prayers for the deliverance of the missing to the Father Moon are common.
By far the most common funeral practice is cremation, as it is believed the soul cannot be liberated while flesh still encases bone. After a cremation, bones often remain. Many villages maintain ossuaries composed of shallow earthen mounds beyond the circle of homes in which bones are interred, sometimes alongside carvings, clothing, or even jewelry. Smaller villages without ossuary mounds have simpler burial grounds further outside of the village, with skulls alone being instead interred at the foundation of family dwellings. In both cases, carvings may be made on the forehead of an intact skull before burial, and a shrine urn decorated to match, in hopes that the soul of the deceased will return to grace the village as a tutelary spirit. Some ash from every burial is placed in the spirit urn of a family home, some in the village longhouse, and often distributed to important shrines of the region surrounding the village, with the latter being obligatory for those who served a particular spirit. Remaining ash is stored in a communal family urn, and on the construction of new homes, some ash from this urn is ritually placed in a small pot or basket which is buried at the foundation to consecrate the ground, and allow the descending spirits of ancestors to find and protect the site.

Culture and Gender

Zonowōdjon clan names are matrilineal, but the ruling structure of clans and villages is more patriarchal, with each clan having a patriarch who serves as both the face of the clan, and the arbiter of important decisions. However, there is a strong cultural importance put on the opinions of elderly women, who hold a similar social importance to clan patriarchs as the retainers of oral history. They wield de facto authority in villages, especially those containing multiple clans. Most villages contain 1-3 clans, with one clan’s patriarch holding primary authority, extending from their role as the face of the village when meeting with outsiders or people from other villages.
Gender roles are not particularly strict among younger individuals, especially the unmarried, with only clan patriarchs and village elders taking on especially gendered roles. Both men and women participate in fishing and forage, as well as cooking and food processing and preservation. Older women tend to perform most weaving, as it is a position of some prestige that does not require them to leave the village. A major exception is during mushrooming seasons, when elderly women are trusted to identify safe forage, and often leave the village alongside the typical younger foragers. The main gender differences observed are that it is seen as a more womanly role to plant and tend a garden, while it is seen as a more manly role to perform observances and burn offerings at a shrine (though at major ceremonies, it is still elderly woman who recount myths and tales for those in attendance, while a man performs the actual shrine observances).
Zonowōdjon culture also observes a third gender, though it is mutable and can express as leaning to either male or female gendered expression based on the individual. The Zonowōdjon believe the third gender to be an expression of the returned soul of another life in a differently sexed body. Visibly intersex children are always identified as belonging to this gender, but individuals who are not visibly intersex may also find themselves identified through other means. Commonly, showing early aptitude with reading the stars is seen as a sign that a child is of the third gender, as is a child showing both interest and aptitude in the weaving usually practiced by elderly woman. Regardless of birth sex, members of the third gender identified in this way tend to lean to some feminine aspects and gain some of the prestige granted elderly women, while those identified by their intersex characteristics tend to lean masculine. Members of this third gender are respected, but not particularly venerated. A member of the third gender can be a shrine tender, just as a man might, and participate in any labor, but are usually seen as beyond the institution of marriage and thus live their lives unmarried.

Festivals

There are several seasonal festivals observed by the Zonowōdjon, though precise timing varies heavily from village to village, with each usually choosing a phase of the moon, timed from the start of a season, to begin and end observances. Most festivals are multi-day affairs, With each day being dedicated to the observance of one particular god or heroic ancestor. Typically only one day features a full feast, and while spiritual observance happen on every day, the last day of a festival week usually sees a large communal observance. For multiple festivals, the decoration of the village is an important observance. Slender cloth drapes hung from the roofs of buildings and the boughs of trees mark the largest vernal festival, while wreaths of zizania stalks and cattail reeds hung on walls and poles mark the autumnal zizania festival. Some festivals call for decorations to be placed on poles erected in the common areas. While for some villages these poles are a temporary fixture, in other towns they remain year-round, but only feature their festival decorations during the week of observance and otherwise remain bare.
A major feature of several festivals, including the zizania festival in autumn, is circumambulation around a temporary shrine or ritual fetish constructed in a village center. Though circumambulation is practiced elsewhere in Zonowōdjon spirituality, here it persists for as long as two hours, described as beginning as the sun sets and ending when the moon is fully ascended to the sky.In addition to festivals, many clans have other non-festival observances. It is a common practice for most families to forgo the eating of fish on the new moon, and to fast during the daylight hours of both half-moons.

Techs

Key:
  • Celestial Navigation
Main:
  • Drop Net
  • Sewn Plank Boat
Minor:
  • Fishing Trap: Sunken Basket
  • Hand Fishing Net: Cast Net
  • Hand Fishing Net: Seine Net
  • Oar Locks
  • Smoke Curing
submitted by No_Eight to DawnPowers [link] [comments]


2023.05.28 14:07 CurlyAvocado Insulation in cold air return duct

Hi all,
Recently removed the cover plate to the cold air return duct in our future nursery. When we opened it, we thought it was major dust bunnies - realized after trying to remove it that it's insulation!
We live in Northeast Ohio, so I know homeowners will do funny things with insulation and air systems. Never seen this one before though! I'm sure it's not meant to be this way?
Anyway, I feel like I should remove it. Any thoughts? TIA
submitted by CurlyAvocado to HomeImprovement [link] [comments]


2023.05.28 13:58 SNAPEKILLSDUMBLDORE Help with circuit breaker that keeps tripping

I have a circuit breaker in my house that keeps tripping. There appears to be no rhyme or reason as to what is causing it. Sometimes it won’t trip for a month, other times it will trip 10 times in a day.
I have an old 12,000 BTU AC hooked up that will sometimes work for an extended period with no issues. I replaced it with a new AC that worked for 24 hours, also 12,000 BTU and then started tripping every 5 minutes. I returned that AC in case it was causing the issue since the old one has continued to work. I then bought another AC, different brand but also 12,000 BTU. Same thing, worked for about 24 hours then tripped every 5 minutes.
Sometimes I can run the AC, 2 computers, and a router with no issues at all. Other times it will trip and not work unless I shut the AC off. I tried the AC in multiple different outlets and locations throughout the room to see if it was a specific outlet and there was no change in what was happening.
My next step was going to be to swap the breaker with another one on the panel that was the same but I have minimal electrical experience and I could not find any kind of main shut off for the panel so I didn’t want to touch anything to risk injury or death. I’ve attached photos of the panel with the cover off and circled the breaker that keeps tripping. Any advice would be super helpful.
Thank you!
submitted by SNAPEKILLSDUMBLDORE to AskElectricians [link] [comments]


2023.05.28 13:57 Colt_Leasure The family next door disappeared. The answer to their vanishing is in the woods.

1
I live in a suburb surrounded by forest. My house is in a row of other properties built next to a tree line. The neighborhood was always quiet. The sounds of crickets, birds, and sight of black bears were routine on most summer days.
The scenic area was something I was always grateful for. I lived completely alone since the death of my parents. An accidental fire took both of their lives. Once I collected my inheritance, I relocated to a much more peaceful region. I had always fantasized about moving there.
I tried to start a relationship with Samantha. I had gone to High School with her sixteen years before. She had gone on to become a respected Detective. My attempt at something long lasting with her failed. She was too career oriented. I was reeling from grief. Focusing on building something meaningful with her was a pipe dream.
Things around my community changed once the Murphy family went missing.
The first sign that something was off on that Wednesday was how their blinds had closed. Their silver Chevy Chrysler remained parked in the driveway.
A tennis instructor at the country club noticed the wife of that house did not show up for the program. He called their number to make sure everything was alright. When no one responded, he notified the authorities. Rumors abounded immediately among the home owners association about an alleged affair. The gossip only furthered when the married couple and their three kids were not found in the abode.
I watched from my balcony as the patrolmen roped the place off with caution tape. The domicile was a three story building with brick chimney’s and a few peaked roofs in the style of English towers. They were beige, light blue and crimson.
On the morning of the Murphy’s desertion of society, the architecture became a hollow image. It was one that was once filled with activity and life.
The law did what they could. Any success they may have had in the investigation was secret. A few months passed by and they removed the caution tape.
I followed the on-line police logs. The weather was pristine and clear the day they vanished. The fact that there were no witnesses to what direction they may have gone disturbed me.
I had heard how the man, Frank Murphy, had a bit of a temper and always had a bourbon in hand. I had heard mutual friends describe him as an alcoholic in denial of his servitude to liquor. He was an indignant individual who knew no true repercussions for his behavior. He always had bail money from a software company he founded and sold a long time ago.
I was never close to that family, but I peered out at their vacant house far more than I ever had. I was in need of an answer. What could have happened?
2
I called Samantha one evening as I sat on my bed, wondering how she would respond to my reaching out. We were never argumentative or on bad terms. I still worried about her reaction, and hoped it would not be a dismissive one.
I heard her say hello. Her voice still impressed me. I had almost forgotten how silky her tone was. I knew it could change to a much firmer pitch when she was interviewing a suspect.
“Hi, Sam. I’d like to know if you’d be free tomorrow for a cup of coffee. We can go to that place, The Bean Field, off Pond road. It’s been a while and I know you have a lot to tell me about what’s new in your life.”
There was a pause on the other end, and for a second a bout of anxiety hit me. I judged my own words as robotic, stilted, and sure to push her away. I reasoned she was summoning an excuse to get out of having to interact with me. How dare I presume she would even entertain the notion of having a meeting.
“That sounds great,” she said. “Tomorrow is my day off, luckily for you. I’m in the middle of an incident right now. It’s a five car pile-up about forty minutes from where you live. I’ve gotta run. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
When she hung up, I was triumphant. I looked at our old text conversations. I realized we had not been in communication with each other for over twelve months. Now was my opportunity to reconcile that gap of unintended avoidance. I knew it would be an undeserved opportunity.
3
I sat outside of the cafe the next morning at a black metal table. I had a view of rolling hills dotted with trees. A highway with multitudinous shrubberies sat on either side of it. I sipped a piccolo latte while waiting for her.
When she arrived and stepped out of her hatchback in the parking lot, her appearance floored me. She had not dressed up for our supposed date, but that did not make a difference. She had arrived from the gym and wore shorts and a top set. She donned a gray and green hoodie.
She sat across from me and reached for the menu.
“Can you go to the front and order me avocado toast?” Samantha asked. “I’ll also take a mocha with a few shots of espresso. Please.”
I did exactly that. When I returned with her items, she apologized for consuming her meal in less than two minutes.
“I hadn’t eaten since five PM yesterday,” she said between sips.
“I understand,” I said. “I doubt you ever have a consistent schedule anymore.”
“You’re right, but that’s why I have to enjoy my free time when I can.”
We settled into talking about what had happened since we last saw each other. I referenced my trying to learn another language (French) with the hopes of moving to Europe or Canada.
After fifteen minutes of small talk, I asked her about work, but I did so with caution. It started with me wondering about what the call she was on when we were on the phone was about.
“A drunk driver blew a stop sign and hit two other vehicles,” she said. “It was ugly. A few people died. We’ll see if the man in silk pajamas gives him the proper sentence or a traffic citation.”
“You know, I’m curious about what happened to the Murphy’s, if they’re hurt or not.”
“You and everyone else,” she said. “We’ve been getting so many witness accounts, and so far they’ve all been bogus. All I know is what I saw when I got there.”
“I didn’t know you were one of the responders,” I said.
“Yeah. Something about the place was off from the moment I walked in. I found heavy items in placed they should not have been in. The toolbox was not in the garage but on the second story. A disassembled snowblower lay scattered everywhere in pieces. The oven door was on their bed. Frank Murphy was not the strongest guy in the world, either. For him to cause the kind of property damage I saw doesn’t make a lot of sense. At the risk of sounding crazy, inexplicable things happened when I was there.”
“Like what?”
“I was under the impression that something was playing a trick on me. Electrical outlets sparked a few times out of nowhere. The ceiling fan would go from still to spinning when I looked up at it. Books would fall off of the shelves. A volume on black magic, of all things, almost hit the top of my head when I walked on by. Another book about fairies collapsed with it.”
“So the home intruder set up a bunch of weird diversions,” I said. “I’ve heard of that before. These killers or kidnappers want the victims to think there was more than one of them. It’s so their account’s disputed in court.”
I’ll tell you right now,” she said, “we didn’t find any outside DNA.”
“So it’s a case of family annihilation,” I said as I took a long swig of my beverage. “I don’t know if you can substantiate the facts, but a few people have said that Emily had a big life insurance policy. Frank knew about. He may have been using steroids and having an affair, and that could have contributed to-“
It occurred to me that she eyed me with suspicion, as though I was digging too deep. I could also tell she regretted letting information about the forensic results slip.
She stood up and stared at me with a flash of anger in her eyes.
“I thought you wanted to piece something back together with me,” she said. “I didn’t know you wanted to play armchair investigator like every true crime fan. You know, your parents were kind. I wish you’d follow their example. I’ll let you get the bill.”
She walked back to her vehicle and I knew it would be a while before we conversed again.
Later that night, I stared out my window at the Murphy home. I saw a star shoot across the sky, and it almost seemed ready to plummet into the side of their house.
4
The next evening, I took a walk around the suburb. I spotted a thin line of dried red fluid along a path which led into the woods.
I was attempting to get in some movement to get my mind off of the events of the day before. Negativity and self-deprecation were all-consuming. I felt the need for a long saunter to try and release some of the meandering and pessimistic energy I accrued.
When I saw the carmine ribbon along the dark soil, a sense of worry filled me. I was not that far removed from a cul-de-sac with palatial manors a block away. There was no way I could speculate on me being the first to see it.
Could it be a hint where they are? I thought.
The notion seemed absurd, a reach.
I had read in the local newspaper that there was an uptick in bobcat sightings due to recent wildfires. The animals relocated during prior summers. I reasoned it could have been a house pet which became a victim after it got snatched away into the overgrowth.
I followed it, and the uneven road of red stretched on past many bushes and over logs. A shrill chirping in the background became louder. I moved between two conifers with petrified wood and found myself in a part of the forest I had never been in.
There were so many branches that it blacked out the falling sun. Ahead of me was a clearing. A swarm of gnats and mosquitos descended upon it. The sea of insects soared together in chaotic unison as a wave among the sedges and lichen.
I looked towards the right of the meadow and saw a ramshackle tree house. I trailed the red line towards it. I peered in through one of the windows and saw a statue of a woman with wings. I knew she was not an angel. There was no halo, nor were her organs of flight feathery, but rather they were thin and bat-like.
I entered the place knowing the danger I was putting myself in. I had tracked mud in and was oblivious to the incriminating actions I partook in. I was trespassing and risking stumbling into whoever may have owned the land. My curiosity got the better of me and caused me to keep moving forward.
The room was sparse but decorated. The walls had carvings of men and women, also with wings. Their bodies held yogic-like positions as they reached out to one another mid-air.
A piece of parchment with a few words sat in the corner. I picked it up and read it:
‘Humans are the greatest living beings to play tricks on. Especially when they go through a time of drought and extreme cold.’
I sat it down where I found it, unsure of what to make of it.
I touched the central figure’s neck. The chiseling was not only cold, but below freezing, as though I had submerged my hand in a polar pool.
The noise of some kind of bird attempting to escape a confined space reverberated below me.
Something brushed against my leg. I looked down and saw an army of glow bugs float up between the cracks, and they circled around me. They were like dragon flies. At the time I had labeled them as such, but in reality their shapes were far too humanoid.
I walked back home. I went to bed and slept. I was still perturbed at the wine-colored avenue and cabin.
I awoke in the middle of the night after something tapped at my walls from the outside. I peered out and saw the Murphy home, and observed how the blinds over their casements were wide open. A hive of mites filled every inch of the interior.
5
I found the decomposing body of a chipmunk stuffed into the tailpipe of my vehicle the next day.
This horrified me, because the deliberation of the act was too evident to ignore. While I did have a surveillance camera on my porch, the coverage of my vehicle was non-existent. I calmed myself down by thinking it was likely a tempestuous child. I retrieved a pair of medical gloves and disposed of the creature before going on with the errand. The rotting body had a horrible smell. It was like an onion left out in humidity for days, and my stomach turned as I sealed it off in the garbage with the lid.
The next morning, I looked in my closet. Some of my favorite shirts had disintegrated. Holes and patches of destroyed fabric littered them. I found it odd, and even searched on-line for possible answers before I decided it had to be a moth infestation. I sprayed lavender. Information on a website statEd that was a cure-all, but the problem persisted. It bothered me that I had not seen a single aphid, but I pushed that concern away.
A few days afterward, when I had tossed my disheveled pieces of attire, the power in my house went out. This was not such an unusual occurrence during the heavy winter months. For it to occur in the summer was strange.
It was a rolling blackout. Once my house had electricity again, I noticed how someone moved items around.
Something turned my kitchen table on its side and stuffed into a part of the kitchen I would have never placed it in.
I grabbed a butcher knife and did a sweep of the premises, and I did not find anything. There were no footprints or signs of anything else tampered with. When I got to the second story, birds nested along the tree tops, and the repugnant odor of fish attacked me.
My allergies became insufferable over the next month. Nothing purchased over the counter which helped it.
6
I went to the beach on an overcast day. After roughly half a mile of walking, I saw an illustration someone had drawn in the sand with a stick. It was of a being with airfoils.
A light precipitation had fallen earlier. As I trailed along the former part of the sand, a glint in the corner of my eye caught my attention. I looked out at the water and saw what appeared to be a light blue outline of wings beneath the surface.
A phosphorescent wall of creatures surrounded me.
As the days march on, I know I am stalked by something I cannot rebel against, let alone have any agency or autonomy over. My pillowcases have shredded, the pipes in my basement have burst, and someone left me a gift at my front door. When I opened it, I saw mice scurry away. It was a book, and it was one about the history of fairies.
I picked it up and had to blow the dust off of it. Someone had stolen it from a musty subterranean chamber and brought it here.
I theorized that it was Samantha, passive aggressive with her disappointment in me. Yet I flip through its pages and find it all too familiar. I cannot help but wonder if this is a sign of something far more dangerous.
submitted by Colt_Leasure to Colt_Leasure [link] [comments]


2023.05.28 13:55 Colt_Leasure The family next door disappeared. The answer to their vanishing is in the woods.

I live in a suburb surrounded by forest. My house is in a row of other properties built next to a tree line. The neighborhood was always quiet. The sounds of crickets, birds, and sight of black bears were routine on most summer days.
The scenic area was something I was always grateful for. I lived completely alone since the death of my parents. An accidental fire took both of their lives. Once I collected my inheritance, I relocated to a much more peaceful region. I had always fantasized about moving there.
I tried to start a relationship with Samantha. I had gone to High School with her sixteen years before. She had gone on to become a respected Detective. My attempt at something long lasting with her failed. She was too career oriented. I was reeling from grief. Focusing on building something meaningful with her was a pipe dream.
Things around my community changed once the Murphy family went missing.
The first sign that something was off on that Wednesday was how their blinds had closed. Their silver Chevy Chrysler remained parked in the driveway.
A tennis instructor at the country club noticed the wife of that house did not show up for the program. He called their number to make sure everything was alright. When no one responded, he notified the authorities. Rumors abounded immediately among the home owners association about an alleged affair. The gossip only furthered when the married couple and their three kids were not found in the abode.
I watched from my balcony as the patrolmen roped the place off with caution tape. The domicile was a three story building with brick chimney’s and a few peaked roofs in the style of English towers. They were beige, light blue and crimson.
On the morning of the Murphy’s desertion of society, the architecture became a hollow image. It was one that was once filled with activity and life.
The law did what they could. Any success they may have had in the investigation was secret. A few months passed by and they removed the caution tape.
I followed the on-line police logs. The weather was pristine and clear the day they vanished. The fact that there were no witnesses to what direction they may have gone disturbed me.
I had heard how the man, Frank Murphy, had a bit of a temper and always had a bourbon in hand. I had heard mutual friends describe him as an alcoholic in denial of his servitude to liquor. He was an indignant individual who knew no true repercussions for his behavior. He always had bail money from a software company he founded and sold a long time ago.
I was never close to that family, but I peered out at their vacant house far more than I ever had. I was in need of an answer. What could have happened?
*
I called Samantha one evening as I sat on my bed, wondering how she would respond to my reaching out. We were never argumentative or on bad terms. I still worried about her reaction, and hoped it would not be a dismissive one.
I heard her say hello. Her voice still impressed me. I had almost forgotten how silky her tone was. I knew it could change to a much firmer pitch when she was interviewing a suspect.
“Hi, Sam. I’d like to know if you’d be free tomorrow for a cup of coffee. We can go to that place, The Bean Field, off Pond road. It’s been a while and I know you have a lot to tell me about what’s new in your life.”
There was a pause on the other end, and for a second a bout of anxiety hit me. I judged my own words as robotic, stilted, and sure to push her away. I reasoned she was summoning an excuse to get out of having to interact with me. How dare I presume she would even entertain the notion of having a meeting.
“That sounds great,” she said. “Tomorrow is my day off, luckily for you. I’m in the middle of an incident right now. It’s a five car pile-up about forty minutes from where you live. I’ve gotta run. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
When she hung up, I was triumphant. I looked at our old text conversations. I realized we had not been in communication with each other for over twelve months. Now was my opportunity to reconcile that gap of unintended avoidance. I knew it would be an undeserved opportunity.
*
I sat outside of the cafe the next morning at a black metal table. I had a view of rolling hills dotted with trees. A highway with multitudinous shrubberies sat on either side of it. I sipped a piccolo latte while waiting for her.
When she arrived and stepped out of her hatchback in the parking lot, her appearance floored me. She had not dressed up for our supposed date, but that did not make a difference. She had arrived from the gym and wore shorts and a top set. She donned a gray and green hoodie.
She sat across from me and reached for the menu.
“Can you go to the front and order me avocado toast?” Samantha asked. “I’ll also take a mocha with a few shots of espresso. Please.”
I did exactly that. When I returned with her items, she apologized for consuming her meal in less than two minutes.
“I hadn’t eaten since five PM yesterday,” she said between sips.
“I understand,” I said. “I doubt you ever have a consistent schedule anymore.”
“You’re right, but that’s why I have to enjoy my free time when I can.”
We settled into talking about what had happened since we last saw each other. I referenced my trying to learn another language (French) with the hopes of moving to Europe or Canada.
After fifteen minutes of small talk, I asked her about work, but I did so with caution. It started with me wondering about what the call she was on when we were on the phone was about.
“A drunk driver blew a stop sign and hit two other vehicles,” she said. “It was ugly. A few people died. We’ll see if the man in silk pajamas gives him the proper sentence or a traffic citation.”
“You know, I’m curious about what happened to the Murphy’s, if they’re hurt or not.”
“You and everyone else,” she said. “We’ve been getting so many witness accounts, and so far they’ve all been bogus. All I know is what I saw when I got there.”
“I didn’t know you were one of the responders,” I said.
“Yeah. Something about the place was off from the moment I walked in. I found heavy items in placed they should not have been in. The toolbox was not in the garage but on the second story. A disassembled snowblower lay scattered everywhere in pieces. The oven door was on their bed. Frank Murphy was not the strongest guy in the world, either. For him to cause the kind of property damage I saw doesn’t make a lot of sense. At the risk of sounding crazy, inexplicable things happened when I was there.”
“Like what?”
“I was under the impression that something was playing a trick on me. Electrical outlets sparked a few times out of nowhere. The ceiling fan would go from still to spinning when I looked up at it. Books would fall off of the shelves. A volume on black magic, of all things, almost hit the top of my head when I walked on by. Another book about fairies collapsed with it.”
“So the home intruder set up a bunch of weird diversions,” I said. “I’ve heard of that before. These killers or kidnappers want the victims to think there was more than one of them. It’s so their account’s disputed in court.”
I’ll tell you right now,” she said, “we didn’t find any outside DNA.”
“So it’s a case of family annihilation,” I said as I took a long swig of my beverage. “I don’t know if you can substantiate the facts, but a few people have said that Emily had a big life insurance policy. Frank knew about. He may have been using steroids and having an affair, and that could have contributed to-“
It occurred to me that she eyed me with suspicion, as though I was digging too deep. I could also tell she regretted letting information about the forensic results slip.
She stood up and stared at me with a flash of anger in her eyes.
“I thought you wanted to piece something back together with me,” she said. “I didn’t know you wanted to play armchair investigator like every true crime fan. You know, your parents were kind. I wish you’d follow their example. I’ll let you get the bill.”
She walked back to her vehicle and I knew it would be a while before we conversed again.
Later that night, I stared out my window at the Murphy home. I saw a star shoot across the sky, and it almost seemed ready to plummet into the side of their house.
*
The next evening, I took a walk around the suburb. I spotted a thin line of dried red fluid along a path which led into the woods.
I was attempting to get in some movement to get my mind off of the events of the day before. Negativity and self-deprecation were all-consuming. I felt the need for a long saunter to try and release some of the meandering and pessimistic energy I accrued.
When I saw the carmine ribbon along the dark soil, a sense of worry filled me. I was not that far removed from a cul-de-sac with palatial manors a block away. There was no way I could speculate on me being the first to see it.
Could it be a hint where they are? I thought.
The notion seemed absurd, a reach.
I had read in the local newspaper that there was an uptick in bobcat sightings due to recent wildfires. The animals relocated during prior summers. I reasoned it could have been a house pet which became a victim after it got snatched away into the overgrowth.
I followed it, and the uneven road of red stretched on past many bushes and over logs. A shrill chirping in the background became louder. I moved between two conifers with petrified wood and found myself in a part of the forest I had never been in.
There were so many branches that it blacked out the falling sun. Ahead of me was a clearing. A swarm of gnats and mosquitos descended upon it. The sea of insects soared together in chaotic unison as a wave among the sedges and lichen.
I looked towards the right of the meadow and saw a ramshackle tree house. I trailed the red line towards it. I peered in through one of the windows and saw a statue of a woman with wings. I knew she was not an angel. There was no halo, nor were her organs of flight feathery, but rather they were thin and bat-like.
I entered the place knowing the danger I was putting myself in. I had tracked mud in and was oblivious to the incriminating actions I partook in. I was trespassing and risking stumbling into whoever may have owned the land. My curiosity got the better of me and caused me to keep moving forward.
The room was sparse but decorated. The walls had carvings of men and women, also with wings. Their bodies held yogic-like positions as they reached out to one another mid-air.
A piece of parchment with a few words sat in the corner. I picked it up and read it:
‘Humans are the greatest living beings to play tricks on. Especially when they go through a time of drought and extreme cold.’
I sat it down where I found it, unsure of what to make of it.
I touched the central figure’s neck. The chiseling was not only cold, but below freezing, as though I had submerged my hand in a polar pool.
The noise of some kind of bird attempting to escape a confined space reverberated below me.
Something brushed against my leg. I looked down and saw an army of glow bugs float up between the cracks, and they circled around me. They were like dragon flies. At the time I had labeled them as such, but in reality their shapes were far too humanoid.
I walked back home. I went to bed and slept. I was still perturbed at the wine-colored avenue and cabin.
I awoke in the middle of the night after something tapped at my walls from the outside. I peered out and saw the Murphy home, and observed how the blinds over their casements were wide open. A hive of mites filled every inch of the interior.
*
I found the decomposing body of a chipmunk stuffed into the tailpipe of my vehicle the next day.
This horrified me, because the deliberation of the act was too evident to ignore. While I did have a surveillance camera on my porch, the coverage of my vehicle was non-existent. I calmed myself down by thinking it was likely a tempestuous child. I retrieved a pair of medical gloves and disposed of the creature before going on with the errand. The rotting body had a horrible smell. It was like an onion left out in humidity for days, and my stomach turned as I sealed it off in the garbage with the lid.
The next morning, I looked in my closet. Some of my favorite shirts had disintegrated. Holes and patches of destroyed fabric littered them. I found it odd, and even searched on-line for possible answers before I decided it had to be a moth infestation. I sprayed lavender. Information on a website statEd that was a cure-all, but the problem persisted. It bothered me that I had not seen a single aphid, but I pushed that concern away.
A few days afterward, when I had tossed my disheveled pieces of attire, the power in my house went out. This was not such an unusual occurrence during the heavy winter months. For it to occur in the summer was strange.
It was a rolling blackout. Once my house had electricity again, I noticed how someone moved items around.
Something turned my kitchen table on its side and stuffed into a part of the kitchen I would have never placed it in.
I grabbed a butcher knife and did a sweep of the premises, and I did not find anything. There were no footprints or signs of anything else tampered with. When I got to the second story, birds nested along the tree tops, and the repugnant odor of fish attacked me.
My allergies became insufferable over the next month. Nothing purchased over the counter which helped it.
*
I went to the beach on an overcast day. After roughly half a mile of walking, I saw an illustration someone had drawn in the sand with a stick. It was of a being with airfoils.
A light precipitation had fallen earlier. As I trailed along the former part of the sand, a glint in the corner of my eye caught my attention. I looked out at the water and saw what appeared to be a light blue outline of wings beneath the surface.
A phosphorescent wall of creatures surrounded me.
As the days march on, I know I am stalked by something I cannot rebel against, let alone have any agency or autonomy over. My pillowcases have shredded, the pipes in my basement have burst, and someone left me a gift at my front door. When I opened it, I saw mice scurry away. It was a book, and it was one about the history of fairies.
I picked it up and had to blow the dust off of it. Someone had stolen it from a musty subterranean chamber and brought it here.
I theorized that it was Samantha, passive aggressive with her disappointment in me. Yet I flip through its pages and find it all too familiar. I cannot help but wonder if this is a sign of something far more dangerous.
submitted by Colt_Leasure to nosleep [link] [comments]


2023.05.28 13:48 The_Lord_Of_Death_ Why are the shrines THIS easy ???!!

I'm 40 hours in and done 56 shrines and I'm generally shocked at how fucking easy they are. I would say out of the 56 shrines I've done there puzzles / solutions are...
• 4 starting shrines, these are fine
• 4 shrines that teach you basic mechanics like throwing weopns or shooting arrows. These are all 1 minitue long and have no challenge
• 3 shrines that are mini eventide islands, these are to easy but still enjoyable
• 3 shrines that have interesting puzzles / obstacle courses actually fun challenges.
• 6 shrines that are blessing shrines. I know most people don't like these but I thought they where ok the challenge to enter them was ofter good.
• The other 34 are failed attempts at puzzle shrines. All of these shrines suck due to 1 fatal flaw in the game... using ultra hand to move something somewhere and then standing on the object and use rewind on it. I'm not joking all of these shrines just require that basic set of moves to complete. It's a shame to some of them clearly have good puzzles. 1 I just found WANTED me to use blocks and stone tablets to build a catapult, but I just picked up one of the stone tablets moved it to the end and rewinded it... boom problem solved. There was another one that had me building a Minecraft to get through an obstacle courses but I just picked up the Minecraft, moved it in the air, rewinded the Minecraft, and jumped to the end. All of the shrines are like this and there awful.
Attentive mathematicians will notice there's still 2 more shrines to cover which are.
• 1 shrine that also involved building Minecraft that I just sheild surfed on and again that was it. Took less the 30 seconds
• And finally the siwakama shrine. I have no idea what the shrine is suppose to be challenging you on. You see this shrine has 3 gaps you can't jump over and you have to move some stone spheres to do.. something. However there's 1 problem, I lied those 3 gabs can be jumped over easily. That's the shrine you jump over 3 gaps took about 10 seconds to do and I no joke had to put my controller down to think about how that ended up in the game.
I have to ask, what happend here? Did nintendo not know you can use rewind on objects you ultra handed. No they must of known, Right? Honestly if nintendo was going to allow us to break shrines so easily using rewind+ultrahand it brings the question of why didn't nintendo just allow us to use ultra hand on things we are standing on (maybe with a time limit so it dosnt break the game TO much) realy there's no reason not to since you can use rewind to get the same results.
And thoese other 2 shrines that are so ridiculously easy it's not even funny. How did they get passed play testing. How did any of the shrines get past play testing?
I've noticed the 2 dungeons i've done have had 1 or 2 puzzles that are bad but are mostly well designed.
Sorry for the long rant, Loving the game so far 10/10 I just realy hate the shrines ( and the way the story's told ) I just needed to rant a little.
submitted by The_Lord_Of_Death_ to TOTK [link] [comments]


2023.05.28 13:45 The_Lord_Of_Death_ [TOTK] Why are the shrines THIS easy ???!! ( Mild game spoilers )

I'm 40 hours in and done 56 shrines and I'm generally shocked at how fucking easy they are. I would say out of the 56 shrines I've done there puzzles / solutions are...
• 4 starting shrines, these are fine
• 4 shrines that teach you basic mechanics like throwing weopns or shooting arrows. These are all 1 minitue long and have no challenge
• 3 shrines that are mini eventide islands, these are to easy but still enjoyable
• 3 shrines that have interesting puzzles / obstacle courses actually fun challenges.
• 6 shrines that are blessing shrines. I know most people don't like these but I thought they where ok the challenge to enter them was ofter good.
• The other 34 are failed attempts at puzzle shrines. All of these shrines suck due to 1 fatal flaw in the game... using ultra hand to move something somewhere and then standing on the object and use rewind on it. I'm not joking all of these shrines just require that basic set of moves to complete. It's a shame to some of them clearly have good puzzles. 1 I just found WANTED me to use blocks and stone tablets to build a catapult, but I just picked up one of the stone tablets moved it to the end and rewinded it... boom problem solved. There was another one that had me building a Minecraft to get through an obstacle courses but I just picked up the Minecraft, moved it in the air, rewinded the Minecraft, and jumped to the end. All of the shrines are like this and there awful.
Attentive mathematicians will notice there's still 2 more shrines to cover which are.
• 1 shrine that also involved building Minecraft that I just sheild surfed on and again that was it. Took less the 30 seconds
• And finally the siwakama shrine. I have no idea what the shrine is suppose to be challenging you on. You see this shrine has 3 gaps you can't jump over and you have to move some stone spheres to do.. something. However there's 1 problem, I lied those 3 gabs can be jumped over easily. That's the shrine you jump over 3 gaps took about 10 seconds to do and I no joke had to put my controller down to think about how that ended up in the game.
I have to ask, what happend here? Did nintendo not know you can use rewind on objects you ultra handed. No they must of known, Right? Honestly if nintendo was going to allow us to break shrines so easily using rewind+ultrahand it brings the question of why didn't nintendo just allow us to use ultra hand on things we are standing on (maybe with a time limit so it dosnt break the game TO much) realy there's no reason not to since you can use rewind to get the same results.
And thoese other 2 shrines that are so ridiculously easy it's not even funny. How did they get passed play testing. How did any of the shrines get past play testing?
I've noticed the 2 dungeons i've done have had 1 or 2 puzzles that are bad but are mostly well designed.
Sorry for the long rant, Loving the game so far 10/10 I just realy hate the shrines ( and the way the story's told ) I just needed to rant a little.
submitted by The_Lord_Of_Death_ to truezelda [link] [comments]


2023.05.28 13:34 throwawaytongues546 Major career decision and opportunity but I am considering rejecting it due to housing ladder aspirations. What would you do in my situation?

I'm 25 and I've been offered a very rare opportunity to train in my dream field for 3 years starting in the end of September.
Last November I started saving for a deposit and currently have £13.5k and I will have around £6-7k extra to save/spend between now and my course start date.
For the first month of the course I'm unpaid but I will be for the rest. By the end of the 3 year training programme working in a qualified role my salary will go from it's current 30k to 45k-61k (the latter being more likely if I go to Oxford University).
Here's where it gets complicated. I've been offered this programme at two universities.
The programme at a London University:
I could live rent free but unfortunately in a toxic relationship dynamic that is not good for my mental health. But I would have a great support network around which is really important for my mental health.
While at this uni all my work placements are within a 30 minute radius. I also don't have to learn how to drive immediately before the course starts this September.
I would be on a 42k salary (£2600 after tax, NI and SFE) so I would be able to save a very large deposit over 1-3 years. But there is no guarantee this living arrangement will be permanent and I could end up renting in London after the 1st year.
I could comfortably save anywhere between 24k (1 year of savings) to 70k (3 years of savings) in that time for a deposit. This doesn't include a small wage increase half way through the programme (to 44k), LISA bonuses, interest or stocks and shares returns.
The programme at The University of Oxford:
I really want to go. There are so many things I like about the course which I won't delve into here. It was my first choice.Being able to have this opportunity is a big deal. An added bonus is I will be able to leave my current toxic living situation - the fresh start here on this course is really exciting.
But I will lose some of my support network though they are not far in London. Another caveat is the pay will be 35k (£2162 after tax, NI and SFE). I have to learn how to drive by the end of October and I will have to pay some kind of rent/housing expenses. On top of car costs and learning to drive and a deposit for a rental contract (which I could deduct from the 6-7k).
Rent costs could be anywhere between £850-1200 depending on whether I flat share or location. Which would reduce my deposit savings over that 3 years to 14-17.5k.
This is ssuming life doesn't come at me too fast and I can live a very minimal spending lifestyle, an old banger with no holidays. This doesn't include a very small wage increase half way through the programme (to 37k), LISA bonuses, interest or stocks and shares returns.
I was debating getting a shared ownership property (probably new build) property in Oxford as it works out about the same as renting and I'd be able to put down a 20% deposit with what I current have. But I'm not familiar with the process. Legal fees, surveyors and sorting out my driving will eat into the 6-7k I'll be getting between now and September.
Some of these properties are 2 beds with one ensuite. I know some fellow prospective course members looking to flat share to stay closer to the city centre. So I could have a lodger at discounted rent to cover the service charge and ground rent.
Even without having a lodger my ground rent service charge and mortgage combined are the same as just renting further away from work in a smaller property (with out accounting for any potential rent/service charge rises or repairs).
I would also be losing my FTB status and potentially 3k if I waited 3 years to buy with my LISA. but on the other hand I'll be building up some equity. An important caveat to all of this is I'm not sure how mortgage lenders would take my current 1 year contract, then 3 year paid training programme contract and an understanding of my qualified role pay increases.
And if I take too long to close a home ownership deal before September I still have the option to store my stuff for free and I can get a short lets for a few months in Oxford (around 600 a month) which I don't mind.
As generation rent I'm butthurt that huge housing prices has to be factored into rejecting my dreams. I know it should be a no brainer to choose my mental health and my dream course in Oxford, but equally a no brainer to choose the housing ladder but I don't know if I can have both.
I'm caught between whether I should stomach my current scenario for a bit longer for a larger deposit, rent in Oxford or try to buy a shared ownership property in Oxford to build up some equity over at least 3 years? What would you do in my shoes?
submitted by throwawaytongues546 to HousingUK [link] [comments]


2023.05.28 13:33 affinityow Stone Tablets Transcribed

Just figured I put these down in writing. You can find the stone tables in the sky [Islands that look like flowers, some you need to zoom in to see.)
I'm putting down both how they're written and Wortsworth's own translation:
  1. Account of a Celebration
"So swete the song of kyng Rauru ond so grete the beaute of his susteres daunce, that wer min eies ond eres captif. Ond so hende quen Sonias gasen on us alle so felt y min herte als captif fallen. Seruantes lyf, tho moche laboursum, han moche jolitee as welle. Longe be the lyf of the roial familie y love so."
Wortsworth's Take:
"This is an account of a party from those days. It says King Rauru and his older sister sang and danced together while Queen Sonia looked on. We think of royalty austere and reserved, but these nobles amused themselves with song and dance. But what a vivid recounting of a scene never before related in any history book...The descriptions of their personalities and expressions made this ancient past feel alive again. This stone tablet is a first-class find. Well done, dear Chamberlain in leaving behind this account for us."
  1. The Strong Queen and the Receptive King
"Sonia, quen to Hyrule's kyng bi birthe Hylian preesterresse, hirself yborn of londe, nat of skie aboven. Speken she with open herte, eornest to alle, euen even to the Zonais kyng. This kyng ythinke it gode aventure so to lerne of the londes folke. To sen his hed ybent to listenen is swich plesaunce."
Wortsworth Take:
"This one looks to be about Queen Sonia. it claims that Sonia was a priestess before marrying Rauru. Despite his status as Zonai, a people popularly thought to be gods, she would counsel him without any trepidation. Moreover, Rauru heeded this counsel. This account gives us firsthand knowledge of the nature of Queen Sonia and King Rauru's relationship."
  1. The Harmonious Couple
"Oft wys Rauru, kyng of kene blade, weyve his werk real in favor of the hunte. Ond oft queynte Sonia, quene of kene insight, seke out him and repaire this kyng to kyngly besynesse. in hir sapience semes she divin, that she cunne him ever finde and for hes folly semes him the mor humain. Ond the kyng? O, he laughe, Nat him hir equal for hir wit, he kunne. Ond the quen, she laughe to, als even she scolden."
Wortswoth's Take"
"This is a tale of King Rauru. Apparently, he would vacate his offical business from time to time in order to go out hunting. I had the impression he was a stricter, more serious king, but I guess he had a lighter side as well. However, Queen Sonia was always a step ahead. She would put a stop to King Rauru's hunts and bring him back. We rarely get a glimpse into the down-to-earth side of royalty i this way. It's an important find, to be sure."
  1. A Pilgrimage of Light
"The kyng was late y-come this aven, so maked the quene to sharen tales of hir lond, of shirines al grene yglouen. Of erli daies sinnes Hyrules funding have diverse monstres hir reaume biseged ond assayllede. Uncesinge in striffe, thei broughte to despeir folkes lyfen. Kyng ond quen ysete thamselue to bringen scurge to ende. With might of light od pouere, driven abak ybeen, ond the roial couple made thes shirines to selen hem awei. These holi selen ben yclept Shirines of Light. Gret kyng, grete quen, y thank ye. Ye foughte whan y wer maiden-child, that y kude pes toknouen."
Wortsworth Take:
"The subject here is the actions of King Rauru and Queen Sonia undertook not long after Hyrule's founding. With the kingdom established, they were worried for their people, so they set out to eradicate the monsters troubling them. They created structures called Shrines of Light to seal the monsters away so that they could never be revived. There's more here about light...and tie too...The sense I get is that the to of them may have had supernatural powers. Though it's part of ancient history, it's a feat those of us living today should still be grateful for. Truly an important discovery."
  1. The Researcher Mineru
"Queynte Mineru, the kynges elder suster, falles so dep in hir bokes swich that she oft foryetes to eten. In min wieried wei don I what much I con, but y fer haven that it ben litel avail. Of late treteth she of 'contructes,' thinges did she make with hir hondes as vessel for spirit whan bodi-lich failen. So seyde she, micht she liven longe, in spiret yhused within this construct.' Though Mineru ne semes to holden ani deceyte,,,Bi my feith, y kan nat als trouthe thes wordes bileven."
Wortsworth's Take:
"Here, we learn a bit about Mineru. It says that she neglected to eat or sleep while making something called a...construct? It was part of her research into a means of returning to life as a spirit possessing a new body, should her original one die. To you or I, this sounds less like history ad more like some sort of ghost story. But remember who we're dealing with. They may have had unfathomable powers that made such things possible. The revelation that Mineru was a fellow researcher makes her feel like a kindred spirit to me, and yet...The chamberlain who inscribed these tablets treats Mineru with such care and kindness that it warms my heart.
  1. The Foreign Princess
"Ful fyn is the weder this morn, ond have y audience with theos princes seyd ben kin bi fer distaunt yeres to quene Sonia. Bi gras has she bee given a name most swete, of Zelda she been yclept. In certain folk stered suspecioun, for straunge wer hir garnementes ond sodein wer her aparaunce. Yet wolde hir contenonce ond bering maked proof of hir right blod and bond to quene Sonia. Als be Zelda to remainen for a wile with us, y wil mi-self als hochmayde offre ekein hir servis."
Wortswoth's Take:
"This is another fascinating entry. If my translation is correct, the Zelda described here is Sonia's distant relative. According to this, she arrived in Hyrule unexpectedly from another kingdom. It seems she was a beautiful princess. Her strange clothing perplexed the people of Hyrule, and many were suspicious of her at first. But this Zelda had such an undeniable air of nobility that those who doubted she was of royal birth were soon silenced. Note how clearly this convey's the writer's feelings regarding Zelda. Once it was clear Zelda would be staying, she applied to be chamberlain to the princess. That suggests real admiration."
  1. The Free-Spirited Zelda
"Princesse Zelda recent comes to sen Mineru, the kynges older suster. I co eck, for hir to seruen. Todai cam hit ipassen that Mineru sheued to Zelda construct althergrettest y hav ysen. Zelda, she much desired on hit to riden, ond ne conne nat y seien coust hir stoppen. Though I dyde protesten. Loudli. Neuer the lesse she made to sitten heighe upon the constructes sculdres ond to riden like an hors, al ful of grace. Min lausion, so graunt alredy, dyde grouen al the mor."
Wortswoth's Take:
The subject here Zelda and Mineru. Zelda apparently visited Mineru often to assist with her research. I have no idea what kind of thing this 'construct' that allowed people to ride it was. But Zelda rode it so well that our author the chamberlain was again impressed by her skill at everything she tried. That's the long and short of it here. But more than the narrative, what strikes me is the back and forth between the chamberlain and Zelda. The chamberlain tried to warm Zelda of the danger, but Zelda pushed past her and rode the construct anyway. It's short, but so evocative of both the level of technology found in this era and the character of their visitor Zelda. The 'treasure' found in these stone tablets is the pearls of wisdom and nuggets of personality contained within."
  1. The Latest Trend
"Faciou nou favereth garnementes adourned with muscheron patrons, ond fer ond wid beon thei wern. This tast for muscheron com of the casteles seamestre, who sogte to seuen clethes for princesse Zelda to plesen. This facioun, Zelda telled to the seamestre, waere in hir treu hom wel loved. in hir time werd everichon patrons of bright hewes, in the shap of mucheron. Anou our hende seamestre set herte on these patrons copien, which sele to main happi persoune. Y seche after som for min on but ne coude nat an on yfinden."
Wortsworth's Take:
"Here we learn something about the fashion trends of that era. The story's catalyst is their Zelda tellng a tailor about the mushroom-patterned outfits becoming popular in her homeland. Intrigued, the tailor fashioned some clothing in that vein, and it caught on in ancient Hyrule. Do you know Cece from Hatenon Village? Imagine the look on her face if she were to find out! They say that trends go in cycles, but...I didn't expect mushroom patterns to have been in fashion so long ago! One last thing about the chamberlain...Her interests in fashion shows there was more to her than devoted service. She was just like anyone else in the kingdom."
  1. An Ancient Ghost Story
"Of late have y herd it told a straunge ladi walkes around the castel in the derk of night. She ond princess Zelda semes ala twinnes two, but this on nadda ne light in hir eien--or als a ded thing than not. When She is asked about thes walkes, princesse Zelda of that ben no-thing remembren. What monstre, or spirit of darknesse, be this visioun? So afeard y am of min imagaenninges that I con nat slepen."
Wortsworth's Take:
This one is an ancient ghost story. My understanding of ancient Hyulean isn't perfect, but I know a ghost story when I see one. It's a firsthand account of a ghostly or maybe corpse-like woman who appeared each night looking just like their Zelda. No matter the era, it seems, people can't resist sharing a good ghost story. A bit like how there have been eyewitness accounts of our Princess Zelda in the newspaper, even though she's missing...Could our Zelda be a ghost too? No...of course not."
  1. For the Hero's Sake
"Sith hire founding has Hyrule swich hardshippe ysene, but that is onli smale moment of time. Mineru, the kynges elder suster, seyes of this kyngdom that hit ne mot nat awaren aye be ycaccht, nat evenforth fer futur. Princesse Zelda tells hire that this futur be wrat alredi, that a champion bith form t he skie comen. Bitwee the two, thei imaked to finden a wei this champion in that distaunt time to helpen. Her min treuthe, sogte thei to up-reisen the Temple of Time, into the skie to warden hit onyenes ivil. Al dyden so in fer distauntdai, our kingdo mighte b e safed. In min herte y woot y helpen mot, ond y asked of Mineru, canst yow devyse the menes to upreisen in the skie thaes stane. Min wordes iseie nat enow, but thei thaes memorie safen, of the roial familie, heigh in the skie for that future time."
Wortswoth's Take
That one is all about the feats Zelda performed for the sake of the hero. The details are unclear, but essentially, the chamberlain trusted in Mineru and Zelda's predictions and wanted to help. She put forth the suggestion that could make her stone tablets float in the sky. Which I take it are the very tablets you foud, Link? But it doesn't end there. If my translation is correct, it suggests that their Zelda worked with Mineru to raise the Temple of Time into the sky! The idea of the Temple of Time--a grand edifice built in that ancient era--being lifted to the skies to await a hero...Althought given the appearance of the sky islands after the Upheavel, perhaps it's not so far-fetched as it seems. What must it have been life for the chamberlain to live through such miraculous times?"
  1. The Day the Land Rose
"Swich wondrous sight y hav behelden that ne con hit nat justli be described. The Termple of Time y sawe, ond al londe yheld it, reise to the skie, both ferful ond majestatic. As princesse Zelda itold mi, in fer distaunt future comes a champion to that place, the hope that Hyrule safen. For that champion be hit that y thes grete stane inscriben. The kygnes elder suster, Mineru, sendes nou thes stane to the skie, that the champioun mount hem ireden."
Wortswoth's Take:
"This is an eyewitness account of the day the Temple of Time floated into the sky. It's a landmark discovery for the history of Hyrule. It may be one of the tip 10 most important discoveries of all time! Even among all the breathtaking displays of power, we knew of from the era, to raise the land and its buildings into the sky...That was a feat impressive even to those accustomed to wonders. Yon can tell as much from this account. Zelda predicted that a hero would appear in the land they raised into the sky and that he would save Hyrule. The chamberlain took this on faith and wanted to know how she could help. So she inscribed these records on the stone tablets that Mineru set into the sky. Give me a moment. I need to view these accounts as a historian and not get so swept up in personal sentiments...
  1. A Parting Resolve
"Rauru, Hyrules kyng. Sonia, hir quen. His elder suster Mineru. Ond eek princesse Zelda. Al whom y served, ond loved. al whom thurghgon. Alon kerv y thes wordes yoin this stan. This stand, ond all thritene, serven als roial families recorde, min werk final, ful-wroht for al age. Mani the mark made bi thes much biloved peples--som eth-sene, som unsene. Whan y make remembraunce of hir markes, fele y flaume of hope, though ful small, within mi. Hit be als though thes markes som graunt design describen. I ne con nat met princesse Zelda hir love for hir londe. What mor than, ask y, can y, do for Hyrules peples. Let min lyf lede mi fro hennes-forth an answere ful-worthi to this questioun.'
Wortsworth's Take:
It seems this is the last of the records. The royals whom the chamberlain served so faithfully were gone, one by one...It's heartrending to read. Her pain comes across so clearly in her words. What's less clear from these entries is the cause of all these partings...Well, each new mystery is an opportunity to do more research. If I keep digging, someday I'll unravel it."
I'm curious who this chamberlain was, considering they took care of the royal family could it haven been a Sheikah of those times? Just speculating of course.
submitted by affinityow to TOTK [link] [comments]


2023.05.28 13:25 kylexyz001 23 [M4F] [Relationship] Ohio/Worldwide- Let's Be Each Other's Everything (Longest post ever?)

Brace yourselves, this is gonna be a long one.
Table of Contents
1…… The Main Goal
2…… What I’m Seeking
3…… Personality
4…… Interests
5…… Physical Characteristics (with pics)
6…… Expectations of You
7…… Living Situation
8…… Deal Breakers
9…… Closing Remarks
(1)
The Main Goal:
Well if you’re browsing this subreddit then much like me, you were alone this weekend and I’m sure you’d like to change that as much as me. I won’t lie, I am going through a rough part of my life right now. It’s difficult for me to find the energy for anything at the moment and I’m just really seeking affection in general, anything that will give me a push. I don’t want to be that person who brings everyone down but I could really use someone to talk to right now. I’d really like to find someone who’s similar to me so much to the point that we do everything together and talk about everything while not having to pretend to be interested. I want someone with whom we can mutually spew our emotions onto and have those feelings reciprocated. Not an emotional punching bag, but an emotional teddy bear to hug and cuddle until everything feels better as many times as we need. There’s people who I’m sure have told you the same, they’ll be there no matter how many times you need the support, no matter how many times the insecurities and bad thoughts come back but they don’t mean it. I will be the exception, I’m not so ignorant to think some nice words and tales of relating to you will magically forever heal whatever ails you then get mad when you seek the same support again. Mental ailments are rarely temporary and I don’t care about someone because they’re perfect, caring about someone means being there no matter how many times they need you to be. It doesn’t feel like a chore, it doesn’t get old, and it never will.
(2)
(2.a)
What I'm Seeking:
I will upfront let you know if I’m clicking better with someone else or if you’re the one, I’m not here to tread the sea of fish or keep my options open, I’m here for one singular person.
(2.b)
Relationship:
A relationship is difficult for me right now, it’s been nearly half a year since I got out of my last relationship and the reasons for it ending are partially responsible for how I’ve been feeling and why it’s so hard for me to seek the comfort I so desperately crave. I will tell you about it but for the sake of not treating the entirety of the internet as my therapist, it’ll be in private. I really need the comfort of intimacy and the warmth of someone who cares. I'm not going to feel better if I just sulk and don’t move on. This is my attempt to get better, I’ll admit I’m not great right now and I don’t expect you to be either. If we can help each other heal, then I’d be more than happy :) A relationship isn’t just being there for when someone’s at their best. Even if a relationship is hard at the moment, I do want a life partner and I don’t want to be alone. Things aren’t going to get easier without you so I don’t want to hesitate. I view my other as an equal, I don’t like categorizing us into specific roles. We take care of each other and treat each other how we like to be treated, whatever that is, it's as simple as that. I don't care if you're "successful" or not, living simple lives with our days filled with love is the ultimate measure of success to me.
(3)
Personality:
(3.a)
On the Surface:
As you can tell I can be rather… stoic but that’s largely due to my current stressors, I truthfully am goofy and fun loving but I just can’t find it in me right now. I want to return to that but without someone to light up my world it’s been difficult to just have fun and enjoy stuff. I’m definitely more introverted, you won’t catch me at any parties or really outside at all. I definitely prefer being home though the occasional outing is not out of the question and one day I’d like to travel to other countries because I think that kind of perspective is important.
(3.b)
The Core of My Being:
I like being a spectator to it all and if we bear witness to humanity burning or its miraculous recovery, I want to watch it with you. I enjoy watching humanity advance, less so when it devolves but I want to watch it to the end nonetheless. I’m both a realist and someone who lives with my head in the clouds dreaming of scenarios or worlds that don’t exist. I’m saying that I enjoy a good narrative and can suspend my disbelief to enjoy something but you won’t catch me refusing vaccines or ignoring blatant facts for the sake of some pseudo science or witch doctor’s remedy. I’m an atheist but I do not rule out existence after death, not because I’m agnostic but because due to the nature of potentially infinite time at some point after how many googol years with a googol amount of 0s after that, something’s bound to replicate your consciousness perfectly at some point. It’s actually a really fascinating topic I like talking about. If infinite time and infinite possibilities exist, does non existence exist? Though that’s an awfully existentially dreadful thought process considering the ramifications of infinite existence and infinite possibilities during said infinite existence. I would say I’m confidently left leaning and I don’t think I could truly get along with anyone right leaning, at least America’s definition of right leaning. Left and right seems to have just become; do people deserve to suffer or do they deserve to live good lives? Being political is not something I expected to become but how can you not be when crimes against human rights are being passed on a daily basis and at the end of the day, everything’s political. Oftentimes I imagine the perfect moment as relaxing with my significant other playing games or cuddling in a cold room under blankets.
I value that special someone above all of the existential thoughts, the bad of the world, the good of the world, they practically become my world. So many worries wash away when I’m with them. I don’t know if that’s the defense mechanism my brain created to not feel bad 24/7 but if it is, I’m currently without it.
(3.c)
Insecurities:
I talk of philosophy and politics here but really I spend most of my time just playing games, watching stuff, and trying to not be sleep deprived. I’m also nowhere near as well spoken, heck sometimes I feel like my speech is broken. I won’t claim to be something I’m not, I sit at home while I complain about the world doing nothing about it wishing I had someone here with me. I’m not noble nor do I really want to be, I have morals I uphold but much like most other hypocrites I acknowledge that my comfortable life is built on the suffering of others without doing anything about it. Why? My sleep problems? Am I depressed? Is that why I have no energy to do anything? Do I just think nothing I could do could help? I can’t nail it down myself, maybe it’s a mix of everything, maybe I’m just a bad person. I have always told myself that if I had wealth I would help people but if I get that kind of wealth will I just become a wealth hoarder who tries to justify my riches as something I earned rather than something given to me through incredibly lucky circumstances? If I do help people is it because I’m a good person or out of guilt? Will I die alone? I feel like I drive everyone away with my clinginess, I get paranoid often and need reassurance often. It’s something I want to work on, something I’ve been trying to work on. Hearing that someone cares about me just never gets old. I value self awareness even if it’s painful.
(3.d)
Socializing:
I’m definitely a socially anxious/awkward mess, especially around strangers. I do feel a large amount of anxiety in public, people can’t tell by looking at my face since I kind of go stone faced in an attempt to block everything out but yeah you’ll notice that if we go out in public. Growing up my pediatrician said I was probably autistic, never got a formal diagnosis so that’s just great. But yeah that explains why I can’t make eye contact with people, I kinda just stare at the ground and avoid their gaze at all costs. A lot of these social struggles go away to a great degree once I know you for a bit but yeah I apologize for how terrible I am at socializing at first. Don’t let my social struggles fool you though, I love cuddling and being close with my person.
(3.e)
Sexuality:
I am a heterosexual male, though I’m not very masculine like at all. I may even be a bit feminine sometimes. Not that I believe any activity or manner of acting belongs to a gender but I don’t know how else to describe it. I’m definitely super affectionate and love it when my partner is too. I am open to dating demi people but I do have a libido so I don't think asexual would work out.
(4)
Interests:
(4.a)
Video Games:
As stated before, I do spend a lot of my time playing video games. It’s been hard lately with me having no energy but I really do want to play more games and have a good time playing them with you! I primarily play on PC though I do have a switch. I’m primarily into platform fighters, roguelikes, open world, survival, and sandbox games. As for single player story games, I enjoy watching them through twitch or youtube but for the most part I don’t play them myself. I’d watch you play them though!
Here’s a list of games we can play:
-Minecraft (Java)
-Risk of Rain 2
-Gunfire Reborn
-Roboquest
-7 Days to Die
-Phasmophobia
-Rust
-Unturned
-Bloons TD 6
-Platform fighters: Super Smash Bros. Melee, Slap City, Multiversus, Flash Party, Fraymakers
Whatever you want to play I’ll give it a shot! I will say that League bores me to death but I’ll play it for you :) I try to avoid MMOs, not because I don’t like them but because of how addicted I can get to them. I enjoy learning games in-depth so MMOs can be a fast track to addiction.
I recently got Kerbal Space Program 2 and ehhh not really worth it right now but hopefully later it will be? I’m super excited for Tears of the Kingdom! In the far off future I’m excited for Rivals of Aether 2 which is a platform fighter releasing in 2024, let me know of your most anticipated releases and I’ll see if I could play them with you!
Also I never got into FPS games but I could totally see myself playing like CoD with you or Escape From Tarkov. Any FPS really, I’m down.
I am a fan of Pokemon but with how things have been lately I don’t know how long that will last. Pixelmon is a common Pokemon mod I play for Minecraft if you want to play that! Also if I say I want to play something with you I mean it but there are often times when no matter how much I want to I'm just drained and can do little more than lay in bed so please don't think I'm making an excuse.
(4.b)
Science:
I really enjoy keeping up with the latest advances in pretty much everything, it could be biology, technology, astronomy, anything! I love seeing progression and I love talking about it! Really I could go on and on about what I’m obsessing about that day. I particularly love technology, ask me for my laptop specs I dare you. When I was little I always wanted to be a scientist of any kind but then insomnia and fear of college stuff hit me like a truck aaaand that’s the end of that dream.
(4.c)
Anime:
You got me, I like anime but I’d like to think my tastes are benign.
Here’s some of my favorites I can list from the top of my head:
- To Your Eternity
- Vinland Saga
- Spice and Wolf
- Re:Zero
- Mob Psycho
- Dr. Stone
- Attack on Titan
- Spy x Family
- My Hero Academia
- Ranking of Kings
- Demon Slayer
Okay I can go on and on but I will say I don’t like pointless fan service and the spamming of cliche anime moments. I mostly enjoy action and anything well animated if it doesn’t have a potato story. Heck Demon Slayer could be my top 3 out of season 2’s animation alone. I don’t watch slice of life often or romance but I would with you!
(4.d)
Misc:
I’m not going to go on and on about the tiniest little things when the main ones are covered but I’ll watch pretty much any show with you and anything really. I like random youtube videos that explain some kind of lore or mystery, sometimes mini documentaries too.
As for food I looove sushi and I’m a sucker for fast food. Okay and candy, definitely candy.
I used to play tennis but haven’t really had the opportunity nor friends to play it with and I’m way too socially anxious to seek it out. Also I will say that when we move to something like discord I type waaaay more casually. I’m not going to expect long paragraphs back and forth like we’re writing English papers for each other, I do enjoy long conversations but seriously don’t worry about having to put the utmost effort into every response, I just like making good first impressions I guess.
(5)
(5.a)
My Physical Characteristics:
I’m 5’8 (172cm), 128 pounds (58kg), with curly brown hair and blue eyes. I like keeping my hair long in the winter and cutting it in the summer. I’m pretty slim in general so if you’re looking for someone large, that’s not me. I don’t work out but my work is pretty physical so at least I’m not totally inactive. I don’t have the urge to work out or gain muscle but I do want to maintain my slim figure so if I start losing control of that I’ll work out. I like to keep my face shaved because I don’t think I look good with a beard/mustache so if you’re into those I apologize. I have an average amount of body hair? I’d prefer to be completely shaved but it’s easy to lose motivation with that battle, if you prefer shaved then I’d have no problem complying. Anyways here’s what I look like: https://imgur.com/a/MZZgf2t
(5.b)
My Physical Preferences:
Having physical preferences makes me feel shallow, if I could make myself not have them I would but unfortunately that’s now how that works. I don’t care if you’re shorter or taller than me and I don’t care if you weigh more or less than me. All I ask is that you’re slim-average weight. I would never ask for someone to be something I’m not. I don’t care about tattoos or piercings.**(6)Expectations of You (Relationship Only):**I am not looking for someone “exciting” or someone to “keep me on my toes” I’m not looking for someone to cater to my every whim or anything like that. I don’t care if you’re “boring” or if you aren’t “successful”. I know it’s a common thing for people to not want a “boring” relationship and to seek something argumentative or something with constant challenges but I just want to be with you. During the exciting times, the boring times, and everything in-between, all of it will be great with you! Maybe we do argue sometimes or maybe there will be challenges but that will never be something I purposefully seek out and I don’t want that to be something you seek out either. I will not play tricks on you and I will not play mind games, I expect the same from you. We all have personal measures of success we may or may not have lived up to but what I care about most is our commitment to each other. If we have each other we can get through tough times, near the ends of our lives I want us to look back and feel that this life together was worth more than anything. That’s not saying I want us to be haphazard, I don’t want us to make poor decisions for the sake of yolo and I want us to always be rational, especially with each other. I want you to be someone I can trust to make decisions and weigh the options with a level head, I’ll try my best to live up to the same for you. Most of all I want empathy, understanding, someone to feel the utmost comfort and trust in.
(7)
Living Situation:
Currently my life is pretty relaxed, I work 3 times a week as a night shift stocker. I currently live in a 2 bedroom apartment with my roommate but we’re looking to move into someplace larger by the end of the year if everything works out. The internet is weirdly great for Ohio too like I have fiber and later this year we’re supposed to be getting dedicated fiber so that’s neat. I’m not attached to Ohio so the ultimate goal living location wise is probably moving to a country that won’t send you into a lifetime of dealing with the repercussions from one medical emergency.
(8)
Deal Breakers:
Might as well make this simple and make it a list.
- Anti-vaxxers
- Unironically believing astrology
- Right wingers
- Hard drugs (occasional 420 and alcohol is fine, may even join you)
- Wanting children, there was a time when I was younger when I wanted children but with the state of the word that’s a definite no and I feel like I wouldn’t be able to handle the stress. I’d love a stress free life with as much time with you as possible.
- Homophobic
- Transphobic
- Racist
- Super Religious
- Don’t be a bigot and don’t deny facts.
(9)
Closing Remarks:
Well you made it, I was thinking that finding someone I’d be willing to put a lifetime of effort into at least required this much effort. If I think of anything more I’ll update the post. Also about timezones, it really doesn’t matter where in the world you are. I don’t have a sleep schedule and I have most of the week off from work so it really doesn’t matter.
I request that in your response you do put effort into it, it doesn’t have to be anywhere near as long as this but at least enough so I know that you read this and enough about you so I know why you saw potential compatibility. I will seriously read all of it and respond the best I can. I do also request a pic included in your response (sfw please) or one soon after we start talking to prove identity, I’ll send identity proving pics too. As long as this post is up, you can send a reply!
submitted by kylexyz001 to MeetPeople [link] [comments]


2023.05.28 13:20 megaboto shared knowledge

Lydia gives off a soft groan as she turns, no longer asleep but wishing that she was. There were no duties today, she thought to herself, so why wake up early? rubbing her face on the pillow she smiles, enjoying the comforting warmth of Caldera. It is not long ago that she started sleeping in the dungeon, but she cannot think herself stopping anymore, being outside now feeling cold and empty compared to the feeling she gives her. Lydia stretches, knowing she cannot lie in bed and enjoy the feeling forever, even if she'd like to, and opens her eyes, ready to great Caldera a good morning

for a mass of eyes and meat to greet her instead

jumping up immediately, Lydia's instincts took over and delivered a knee kick to the mass, for her leg to simply sink into the malleable mass, the strike not yielding any results except stopping the eyes from looking at her. shaking, she looked around the room just to find it an amalgam of flesh, sinew and bone, somewhat resembling the shape of the room she fell asleep in, her bed itself being a tumour whose warmth she confused for that of her partner. dashing towards the exit, her Ki enhanced jumps leaving plopping and squelching sounds in her wake, she found herself outside, her short lived hope that the aforementioned room was an exception shattered as she looked upon Caldera's territory.

The whole area was covered by unnatural growths, stalks consisting of multiple sinewy bones with a bulb of opaque liquid as well as meaty tendrils writhing towards the sky making up most of the "flora", if it can be called as such, every one of them different than the last, the lake that was once filled with frogs and lunar lilies now a putrid pond of gastric juices with a mix of brown, red and green, an occasional bony star floating above it, like a solidified explosion. She turned around, her horror only growing as she saw where she just came out of.

A tree of meat stood tall, the eyes that replaced it's leaves gazing at it's surroundings lazily, bright red spores dispersing from it's bursting pustules, the sickening miasma spreading throughout the air, covering the sky in a red mist. the light of the pulsating red stars in the night sky left just enough light for Lydia's enhanced eye sight to make out the veins that covered the tree, all running toward it's center, her improved ears picking up the pulsating that permeated throughout the tree, the ground, and the world as a whole; the stars themselves beating in unison with the expansion and contraction of the veins, the pustules syncing their release with each beat.

whatever this substance is, it is in the Air, and though she cannot feel any direct effects on her body, she does not want to find out what will happen to her if she gets more of these spores inside of her so she slows her breathing, her ki flow slowing down as well, in an attempt to buy time from whatever was happening potentially happening to her too.

Lydia slowly starts to walk around in search of anything familiar, something or someone to ask what was going on, how to change her partner back - if she even was still in Caldera's dungeon, that is. but how could it not be? it is all in the same forms and places, though twisted beyond anything but recognizing the most basic semblances. What if this is how it would remain? what if that is what Caldera became? What if she was dead or subsumed? or even worse, what if this is what she became, unrecognizable and without a way to return?

Lydia wipes the tears off her face, her professionalism focusing her on the task at hand: to find anything with a semblance of reason. continuing the walk that her train of thought stopped, she walked along the Lake of fluids, the smell of digestive acid, sweet rot and decaying blood making her want to throw up, each breath as shallow as can be. walking along it, she notices the two forms in the middle above the lake, the former twin scions swimming in the air

one of them was covered in diseased scales, the green infection that permeated their whole body leaving them a bloated whiteish green carcass that yet moved, the infectious substance decaying with proximity to the other form, which had it's flesh melt and fall of in chunks and drip off in a brownish-black liquid, yet always regrowing just as fast as it fell off, the two continuing their existence in an unholy balance of growth and decay.

reaching the spa that now had burning blood as it's water, with hearts beating in the aforementioned synced pulse to pump the liquid corruption, she found the corpses in it, still in a form as if they were just conversing in a casual talk, with some showing signs of panicked exits. there were no expressions on any of them, their eyes and mouths covered in scar tissue as if someone gouged and cut them out just to leave them regrow. unable to hold it in, Lydia vomits on the ground, the nightmare only worsening - whatever this was, it was not just a twisted version of Caldera, but it also was murderous - or had a sick sense of humor replicating that scenario.

"This isn't funny, Caldera!" Lydia shouted shortly after emptying whatever her stomach had. "If this is another one of your weird horror attractions, then you really went to far with this one!! please, just stop, if you can hear me...". yet her only answer was the continuous pulsating of the place, uncaring about the tears streaming on her face or the sobs from within her chest. so she cried for some time, before breaking up to continue her search.

just as she walked out, she saw Jackie, staring at the dungeon entrance. with renewed hope, Lydia sprinted towards the Jackalope, the tears that flew now being those of relief, as she called out to her. right before she reached her though, one of her legs sunk into the fleshy ground, and any attempt at pulling it out failed. "Jackie! help me, please! what is going on with this place? " there was no answer, the hope slowly turning into doubt and suspicion, as the jackalope which was staring at the ground slowly raised it's head, the front still not visible.

"We...we have to save Caldera! you see the flesh too. don't you have any Idea how to free her from it? why are you not doing anything?"

The Jackalope simply turned to face her, And Lydia's blood froze. staring at her was a skull only half covered with flesh, some of it melting and some spreading out from the eye sockets, as a gurgling, deep voice came from within it. "Why...Would I Want To Return To What I Was Before..?", no comprehensible sounds being heard yet the meaning still blasting through her mind. She tried to run away, panic holding her mind prisoner, but she just sank deeper into the molasse made out of fat and muscles, restricting her movement further and further as the jackalope started slowly approaching, each step consisting of tendrils forming between her and the ground, pushing and pulling her where necessary to allow the unnatural movement.

"NO! DON'T COME CLOSER! GET AWAY!! GET AWAY!!!!" the screams doing nothing to stop Jackie's approach, she now stood above the body of Lydia, the lower part of it being swallowed by the ground. reaching out, the fur peeling back to let her uncovered flesh hold Lydia's face gently, the touch burning marks into her cheek, she spoke It Is All Right. There Is No Need To Be Afraid. You Will Join Us Too, And We Will Be One" Lydia simply screamed and trashed around, as the paws started melting together with her face, Jackie standing above her with her melting flesh flowing upon Lydia, Threatening to drown and burn her at the same time as Lydia's world spun, the eyes, The very stars pointing their looks at her and piercing her with their glares, a chorus of "Join Us" and "We Will Be One" filling her ears and heart, her whole body aflame, Her spirit feeling like it was being pulled from her body as "Lydia!" joined the chorus, repeating and repeating, "Lydia!" "Lydia!" "Lydia!!"

"LYDIA!!"

I Scream, my lungs feeling hoarse as if that is all I was doing, My body aching all over as I jump towards the corner with a battle ready stance. green, white, light brown, colors in my blurry vision as the only Instinct is just survival, fight against the enemy. the enemy. what enemy? I shake my head to clear my vision, My Brain in too much turmoil to focus my Ki willingly, and see a fearful and the dungeon core, the one meter diameter Emerald giving off a green light in pulses, it's focus entirely on me as her panic bleeds through, though said panic is about me and nobody else. An Involuntary Whimper comes out of my mouth as my body tries to speak yet my brain is frozen in shock as my legs give out and I collapse on the floor of the hollowed out tree trunk, feeling the hot tears flowing on my face as I bawled, the terrible feeling still inside my chest.

In my peripheral vision, I see the beast moving towards me, wrapping it's paws around me - and immediately having my knee land in it's face as I push the monster away. no, nonononono, not again, you will not do that to me! the panicked thoughts stop as my mind seems to catch up with reality, as I see the somewhat malformed snout of Jackie covered in blood from my strike, a mix of surprise, shock, worry and hurt together on her face. I just hurt her. she probably was trying to comfort me, and I just retaliated by trying to kill her. oh shield, what am I doing? what happened to me? The sickness in my stomach now makes itself even more noticeable and I find myself sitting on the floor, still in the corner, bawling my eyes out as my body tries and fails to say something, only making some unrecognizable noises like those of a dying animal. I see Jackie standing up, approaching me carefully, as if still trying to comfort me, but feel myself tensing up and trying to back away even further, an unnatural panic holding me prisoner in a way that even my training cannot keep up with. seeing this, she stops, a wounded yet mostly worried expression still on their face, their mouth moving yet no understandable sound being processed by my head, as if hearing itself was dangerous to my very being.

this went on, as I sat in the corner and continued to cry as my body produced sweat without end, the lingering sensation of being burnt alive enough to cause it to go into disarray, my coarse, dry throat signalling me that it was strained before hand and is strained even more now as I waited, unable to do anything else against the panic except let it wash over me, a loss of control I hated but had no choice in, as any attempt at saying something or moving towards them was met with incomprehensible noises or another wave of panic as my tense, shaking body refused to move, instincts triumphing over logic as emotions, which I thought I had in check, overpowered me instead. their gazes remained on me, not being distracted by anything else for a second, worry, sadness and anxiety remaining throughout the whole time.

at last, I eventually was able to get up, moving towards the core and Jackie slowly as my body burned through most of the energy it could have used to holding me in the state of panic, and I fell into the arms of the mostly healed Jackalope, her magic having mostly patched up the wound I inflicted upon her, her paws immediately wrapping around and holding me. I was still shaking, though now just as much due to exhaustion, and simply let Jackie comfort me in silence. That was a terrible nightmare, and I was quietly wondering how it even came to be, considering that I never saw something like that before nor read about such a thing, neither as an account of reality nor even fiction. and why did it feel so real - why why do I still feel as if it actually happened, as if my body is about to melt? and...could it ever become true?

Would Caldera ever do something like this? _Could_ she ever do something like this? I want to answer yes, but something tells me that what I was was the result of a life affinity too, though I do not understand, actually, how a life affinity, something associated with plants and balanced eco systems could turn into flesh, since flesh does not even fall into the domain of life. I look upon Caldera's core, which is glowing with a reassuring green light, as if she never could do serious harm upon anyone who did not deserve it through their own actions.

yet while my head told me it could physically not be, my emotions still harboured fear, the affinity acquisition by her scions already being a development not speaking favourably for the impossibility for such a happening.

As I thought this, I felt myself drifting away, becoming more tired by the second. I guess being in such an emotional state leaves you exhausted, no matter how much endurance you have... I should...probably ask her... if the dream.....has any........meaning.........

***

deep inside the trunk, Alexa and Giorno were discussing the details of the latest development. "We cannot bring her into the network again" stated Giorno, Alexa nodding in affirmation. "She got knowledge and information that she should not be able to after being connected through us. We cannot take what she has seen, and it is likely that she only saw it subconsciously, but we cannot reveal anything more to her, especially considering the importance she has for the Don". thinking for a moment, he added "and the Don herself cannot know about it either, if possible. it's best if she continues her life as is, without having this to occupy her mind" "that is what we are here for" agreed Alexa, sharing the order to keep quiet to everybody except the core and Jackie, the voice being too connected to Caldera to hide information that the Jackalope herself has from her master.
submitted by megaboto to u/megaboto [link] [comments]


2023.05.28 13:05 d4gge5 May

Just assume that what I just said is true. You always thought I was a cheating whore so that's what I told you in the songs I put out. I thought the way to get you to let me go was to say that every word of truth I had previously spoken, was a lie. I thought that would finally get you to take down the playlist. But it's still up. It'll be easier if you just hate me so that I can move on. You don't have to hide the fact that you love her. If you're openly speaking to her in letters now, there's no need to cover your tracks. I guess I wanted to see if I “admitted” to cheating, what would come out and I guess I found my answer. I understand that I was the one standing in between "fate". I get it. I was the mistake, the distraction, and the placeholder until she could return. You're free to think of me that way and you're free to want them to be the one to return. If you think I'm the one standing in the way, why don't you give me the closure to have me exit and leave you to two to face each other? I think you're waiting for them to officially return before you end me. You want to hold me on the line so that I see you two back together happy. Maybe this is all just to drag out my pain. That's my guess.
Just please take down our playlist. Can you do me this one favor? I have been trying to get mutual closure for I don't know how long and I have gone down every avenue I could think of now including saying I had another man and that I've been living a life of debauchery. Basically feeding into the kind of person you believed me to be when I came back. I think I know why you think that, but I'd rather be misunderstood now. I don't care anymore. Take it as the truth instead and continue your story without me. Just have the decency to bring this to full closure with me. I am trying to move forward but I just can’t knowing our things still stand. I am asking you to take it down. If you plan on waiting for them or you always were waiting for them you will eventually have to take it down. So you might as well do it sooner than later. Things have already devolved into something unrecognizable. Let’s both agree to lock this door so that it doesn’t get any worse. I don’t want to feel like I have to grow hatred for you to gain distance from what was always going to be heartbreak for me. I don’t want to remember us this way. I want to keep at least one good memory.
submitted by d4gge5 to u/d4gge5 [link] [comments]


2023.05.28 12:54 jrcroom Single Room including utility bill at Indah Villa, Bandar Sunway

Single Room including utility bill at Indah Villa, Bandar Sunway
Martin 60193333084
Whatsapp: https://appoin.me/martin_2oxK
Room Detail: https://appoin.me/rooms_SDfPs
Fully furnished bedroom for rent in Indah Villa Condo, Bandar Sunway. This spacious bedroom comes with: Air conditioner, Fan, Bed & mattress, Study table & chair, Wardrobe. Bathroom comes with hot/cold shower. Rental price cover water & electricity bill except AC
About 13 minutes walk to Monash University & Sunway Medical Centre. Less than 10 minutes walk to Sunway University, Sunway College & Sunway Pyramid shopping mall.
...
submitted by jrcroom to u/jrcroom [link] [comments]


2023.05.28 12:52 RedRumRainbow Painting on top of contract paint

So have an all white interior on a house I just brought. It won't be staying that way, eventually I will decorate.
In the meantime just to get in I am going over the white with white just to freshen up and be livable.
But I accidently brought contract paint rather than emmulsion.
I've only just realised while painting a room and it not covering quite like I expected and being a chalky.
Can't really take the paint back now. So will I be able to just decorate over the top as per normal with emulsion when I decide on the final colour or do I have to do something different as contract paint has been used?
submitted by RedRumRainbow to DIYUK [link] [comments]


2023.05.28 12:41 Obesity-Won-Kenobi Nature of Abandonment (1/?)

Feeling Xenophobic lately... time for a story!
(First Fanfic on the sub! Feedback appreciated.
Memory Transcription Subject: Harold K. Clarkson, UN mobile headquarters comms officer
Date: [Standard human time] October 17, 2136
It wasn’t enough… for days our forces hounded away at this nightmare trying to stop it from reaching us… in and out of warp constantly, needing to stop at checkpoints where we blasted all the ships we could. But despite all our best efforts nothing we did was enough… and now? We have genocide approaching our doorstep.
There are so many of them, and they’re closing in fast with the intent to kill people that have done nothing but want to help them… they claim that this is all “Inatala’s will”, a “Righteous act against the predator menace”. I can’t believe this is happening, I can’t understand how the universe decided to simply go about and give us this fucking filth…
I didn’t like the response I saw at Noah’s Summit of Aafa. There were too many species.
Not the fact that there was 300
Sorry… 299...
Species that saw humanity as so much of a blight… that 24 of the entire collection of species are going to slaughter us, for all their “empathy”, are going to attack us intending to bring us to ashes…
Oh God, please be with us… They’re closing in, but all our guns are trained on them they’re gearing up their plasma lances to attack us, but they’re not too high in terms of numbers, we might stand a fair chance against them, it’s not like we’re alone… The Venlil, or at least their government, have sent us support in aiding in our defense… they were fearful folk, but they had the potential to really help us kick those bird-brain’s beaks straight into the-...
… No…
This isn’t happening…
This comms chatter is absolute chaos right now, Ladar detection systems are showing that 67% of the Venlil’s forces are breaking away from formation… Reading the chatter I see messages like, “I’m not fighting the Krakotl for a predator’s life”, “This isn’t worth it”, "We're meant to defend the republic! Not the predator savages!”

The exterminator’s fleet has us within their firing range, and unleash their plasma Lances full force into our formation, the blasts are visible from our viewport, and we return to sender all we can… but with the Venlil’s forces gone, we are far more outgunned than was acceptable… We launched everything we had in the magazines, we fired our railguns as fast as we physically could, but no matter how much we tried, bombs were beginning to run through our defenders.
We couldn’t do anything about it, we were outnumbered 2-1…
Well, looking at the comms chatter we were actually outgunned even more… the 33% that didn’t flee with the other Venlil Forces were practically flailing about, I could hear them screaming in fear through the comms chatter. They barely resemble anything coherent enough for the translator to properly… translate.
This is so much worse… so much worse than anything I could ever conceive… The terminal was beginning to flood with information regarding where bombs were dropping on our capitals, our major cities, our bunkers… they targeted the largest populations with each bomb. They were determined to see us extinct, rather than the actual predators responsible for all of their problems. They thought it was oh so genius to rally behind the flag of their WORTHLESS GODDESS and see us fall despite us not doing ANYTHING TO THEM!
So many bombs… so many cities… Our surface to air defense isn’t enough to stop all the bombs dropping! Soon enough there won’t be any surface to air defenses! Why us?! WHAT DID WE DO TO DESERVE THIS?! I can’t take this!
This shouldn’t have happened when the Odyssey’s grand journey took place! Extraterrestrial life shouldn’t be this moronic! This is illogical! To think all predators were evil when they only met one? ONE? And to use them as an example? The worst of the worst… comparing us to those baby-eating-Nazi-Gators?!
I can’t help but cry, others join me as we watch as all our achievements, all our culture, our history, is being wiped before our very eyes…


Why is it like this?
WHY LIKE THIS!
This whole situation could have gone so much better! I’m not even talking about how our first contact could have been actually competent ETs! If those Venlil weren’t such cowardly brainwashed fucks! If they weren’t such racist fools! If they weren’t so… so…
Herd-like…



I hope all this filth burns in a hell of our own making… that is what they all deserve…
Burn! BURN!!!
BUUUURRR-
Error: Memory transcription Failure… Emotional imbalance disruption…
Likely emotion for failure: Wrath
(It's shorter than I expected for a first Chapter... Sorry, I'm still trying to figure out my Rhythm...)
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2023.05.28 12:39 dubikish Pissed in the sink at my father's funeral - finally, I am one of you

Hi Everyone,
I'm seeking some advice, as a new sink pisser and ecological warrior.
Let me start from the beginning. To understand my journey you will need to understand the origins of my sink pissing obsession.
I was born in the dark, cold hinterland of northern Scandanavia - a fishing village. I won't give you the name for fear of my anonymity being compromised. During the lighter months, fishing boats with tough, hardy men used to come and go at our small harbour, and the fishermen would unload their hauls of salmon; and then unload their piss into the sinks in the local taverns.
The locals called them savages. When I was a boy - old enough to be influenced by what I saw - I went into the toilet at my local public house, and there I saw a great big man, with a huge, hairy back and, leathery skin... He was standing on his tiptoes, completely naked, groaning with pleasure as he pissed heartily into the sink, the golden nectar from his member letting off a gentle steam that wafted delicately through the air, juxtaposed with the harshness of his body.
"SEVEN LITRES" he groaned, as he finished up, and started putting his clothes back on, stuffing his newly-relieved dong back into his overalls. I didn't know what he meant, but I didn't have time to ask, as he shuffled past me and back to the bar, spitting blood on the floor as he went.
I ran home right away.... "Mama, Papa!" I shouted, "Brothers, Sisters..." I gathered everyone in the toilet, eager to show them my new trick. I took off all my clothes, grabbed my boyish penis, white and untouched like the rest of my body, and began to piss in the sink. "Edgar, what are you doing?!" shouted Papa. He slapped me around the cheek and I was sent to my room for a week, only to eat bread and water. My family told me I was shameful, and that I must never do this again.
Years passed, and I left home. I studied to become a plumbing engineer. I left home and went to work for bathroom company in the USA. I invented new toilets, sinks... showers, with more efficient effects. I got married, and had two children.
I was obsessed with pissing in the sink, but I could never bring myself to do it. Even in my own home. The shame was too much. My father shared my shame. On my wedding day, he couldn't look me in the eye.
My wife thought I loved her, but how could I love another when deep down I felt this overbearing shame? I looked at my kids. "Do you love us, Papa?" They asked. I looked away in disgust.
Therapy was no help.
"Why don't you just... piss in the sink?" One of these $200-an-hour-charlatans asked me." I spat in his face, threw my money on the ground, and walked out... "It's not that simple."
I didn't sleep, but when I did, I dreamt of the burly man in the fishing village, butt naked, pissing into the sink. So eco-friendly, such as good way to save space in the bathroom... but requiring such confidence and freedom. That I did not have. I broke every mirror in my house in a blind rage. I got drunk and sang sea shantys and hit my wife.
Then, one day I got a call. "Edgar, it's your father."
Heart attack. The funeral would be held two weeks later.
I gathered my family, who cowered in fear under my fists and alcoholic rage, and told them to pack their things. My children, whose names I could not often remember, were glad to be out of the house.
On the plane over, I drank ten beers and locked myself in one of the toilets. I heard a knock on the door after an hour or so. "Excuse me, are you okay in there." It was a woman's voice. I told her to go away. I was in floods of tears, looking at the sink, willing myself to piss. But I couldn't. I smashed the mirror with my forehead and heard more knocks. "Leave me alone, I yelled." Eventually a woman opened the door. I smacked her around the face with the plastic cup I was drinking from, causing a bruise. I was immediately apprehended by several passengers and the flight was diverted. I spent several days in an airport holding facility before finally being let out again.
Luckily, we were already back in the fatherland, so we could continue via train. My family cowered next to me as I drank an entire bottle of vodka on the six hour journey northward, listening to Genesis on my phone and spitting at any of the other passengers who tried to tell me to turn it down. "What have I become?" I said to myself, as Invisible Touch reached its crescendo on the tinny sound of my scratched iPhone 11.
We arrived at the funeral in poor spirits. I was becoming increasingly consumed with the idea of pissing in the sink, and my tragic inability to follow through. I spoke loudly to the other guests about my failing marriage and disappointing children, making sure they were in earshot. "Just look at her," I said, motioning to my wife, as I told my Uncle Olaf about our intimacy problems.
I continued to get drunk throughout the funeral, drinking heavily throughout the morning, into the main proceedings. I vomited heavily during the ceremony, dropping to all fours and spitting chunks all over the floor. "Don't look at me!" I bellowed at my mother. What an embarrassment.
I went to the toilet. I looked into the mirror and saw myself - a shadow of a man - looking back at me. But hang on a second, there was someone else there. A burly, hairy hand gripped my shoulder. It was the sailor, from all those years ago. But he looked like he hadn't aged a day. Still naked. Still strong and proud.
Without a word, he grabbed my penis from inside my vomit-soaked trousers. He pulled it out, and motioned towards the sink. "Now... you can," he said. I pissed... slowly at first, and then; the dam broke. I hadn't pissed all day. My vision was blurry, I was shaking uncontrollably and swaying too and fro because of the booze. But my sailor held me steady, guiding my excited member into the sink... The feeling of liberation was instant. I saw the ghosts of my forefathers standing by me. My father was there, he was nodding with pride. He looked my in the eye, his ghostly figure glancing between my eyes and my stream of piss.
My wife was there too, in all her natural beauty, and my children! And, I remembered their names. Little Kobe and Le Bron - my brood. And they were beautiful too, and I loved them. I felt the weight of years of failure and shame lift off me as the flow of my de-hydrated piss filled the sink, skimming the outside of the rim like a beyblade which has just been let rip, and then dancing towards the plughole with joy.
At the end, I was done. I collapsed in a heap. Soon after, my wife came to find me.
"Oh Edgar..." she saw immediately in my eyes that I was healed. She came to me and held me close on the floor, covered in piss and vomit. My penis had again flopped out of my trousers and immediately became erect at my wife's touch. "I am going to make you feel like a woman" I said, slurring through the alcoholic daze and elation, as the sailor watched over us both. I mounted her right there on the toilet floor, and my children gathered around, and all of my extended family, watching and cheering as we climaxed together. After we were done, I got up, spat on the floor, a mixture of vomit, blood and whiskey, and walked out of the bathroom, standing taller than ever, holding one arm in the air like a champion.
"Did you see him?" I asked my wife as we walked past the procession.
"Who? There was no one in there but you, Edgar"
I smiled... My guardian angel, I thought to myself.
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