Im a 21 yr old female that’s an EMT. The other day I was at work, but I had about an hour till my coworker and I had to transport our next patient, so we were allowed to go to the gas station to get food and relax. When my coworker & I got to the gas station and decided that we were going to get out to get snacks. I got out the ambulance and closed the door, but I only made it two steps out before I felt someone run into me, put their hands on my shoulders, and stand behind me. I screamed and looked up to a 40-50 yr old male running straight towards me with his fist raised. I didn’t know if I was going to punched, robbed, or all of the above but one thing I did know is he wasn’t coming in for a hug. Turns out the person behind me was the older male’s son and that he was only 15. The 40-50 yr old did not end up hitting or touching me in any type of way. There was a phone on the floor, which belonged to the child’s father. The father picked up the phone and was shouting, I just can’t remember exactly what he said, before walking away. To my understanding, the 15 yr old grabbed the fathers phone “without the fathers permission” which resulted in the father chasing his child through the gas station parking lot to our ambulance. When I turned around I saw the 15 yr old crying, he wasn’t wearing any shoes just socks. The dad ended up getting in his car and driving back towards us to give the 15 yr old his sandals back before telling him “you’re on your own” and leaving. I noticed there was another teen in the car and she looked scared. The 15 year old called his mother from my coworker phone and we asked him if we should involve PD to get him some help, which was accepted. My coworker called PD and I called to our dispatch to let them know what was going on. We also let him sit in our ambulance while this was going on. About 5 minutes after, his father speeds back into the parking lot and asks me “where the fuck is my son” as I’m on the phone with our dispatch, where they advise us to call 911 for PD as he started to get more aggressive even though we were on the phone with 911 already. As this is going on, my mind goes back to what they taught me in EMT school, which always starts with “is my scene safe” . My mind was screaming that it was not. My coworker was the one who was talking to the father at this point as I was trying to process what was going on. The dad realized his son was in the ambulance and took him out by the hood of his sweater. My coworker grabbed the 15 year old gently and told him that he didn’t have to go with his father if he didn’t feel safe. The teen wanted to go with us and I saw him head towards my coworker before his dad grabbed him again to shove him in the car again. My coworker told the man to calm down and that PD was on their way before the man got into his car and drove a few feet away before slamming on the brakes. He ended up getting out of his car and wanting to fight with my coworker but realized how big my partner was compared to him, my partner is 6’5 in comparison to me being 5’1, so he ended up getting in the car and flooring it away. A bystander that realized something was wrong ended up flooring it out the gas station and following them for two miles to get the license plate. Once PD showed up, we explained the situation to them and presented them with all the information we could. My coworker also remembered that the 15 year old called his mother from his phone, to which we provided the number to PD. In the end they just said that they would follow up with the family after talking to the mother. All three of us were in disbelief as to why they wouldn’t do more, especially since my partner mentioned to them that the 15 yr old had bruises. We were in shock for the rest of our shift. Everything happened so quickly that we didn’t even get the name of the kid. The night that everything happened and I fell asleep I ended up reliving the situation in my dream, I see the fear in that boys eyes. I have a heightened sense of my surroundings and I feel like wherever I go that situation is going to happen again. I ended up going to the store by myself earlier and had an anxiety attack because I was fearing that I would end up in that situation again. I’m fine in locations that don’t have that many unknown people, but if I’m somewhere where I can’t keep track of everyone I lose it. Some of my coworkers have told me to get the security footage from our ambulance. I just don’t know what to do, it has been a week but I find it harder and harder to live my life as every day goes by.

Hello fellow Gilmore Girls fans… I’m loving your discussions here, and wanted to share some observations from the original series, 2000s to then rewatching this year:

1. Lorelei and Luke’s relationship never really evolves, or shows true growth, especially in their dialogue. They can’t seem to really sort through conflict, and many exchanges are written for wit rather than to show the characters building on opportunities for growth. And, Luke does an awful lot of yelling.
   
2. I see Christopher as more of a man-child than before. Ugh! Yet, the dialogue between him and Lorelei is seemingly written to show more lessons that the writers want us to recognize. More meaningful? Some of that writing is quite engaging!
   
3. Has anyone here ever broached the idea that ASP & writers named Gigi as a tribute to the show itself: GI-LMORE GI-RLS. See what I mean? A cute little clue… the show is paying tribute to itself!
   
4. I find Lorelei to be incredibly opposite to her parents. Who gave her that unusual wit? Was humor just a mode of survival?
   
5. Would I be friends with Lorelei? I’m not so sure now. Would I want to be in a mental tug-of-war with someone like that, non-stop? Yes, she is capable of having meaningful convos with Rory and Sookie, but she struggles at times with other characters.
   
6. Coffee! Did the writers make the Gilmore Girls love coffee so much, as an explanation, or just a starting point in the initial character development, of all of the rapid-fire dialogue between them?
   
7. Jason! I feel like the writers didn’t like the actor or the chemistry between him and Lorelei, creating a quick and weird exit. I forgot how much I liked him.
   
8. All those extras… wow! They must have had a huge roster. Most episodes have at least one crowd scene, not to mention all the town’s folk in the background.
   

Note: I was in my 30s during the original run. I was drawn to the show mainly because of Lorelei and Emily’s dynamic, which reminded me of my own mother. I still love the show, but it’s interesting how differently I see things now. I’d love your thoughts!

A - ANGELS OF PASSION 😲😱
B - Back to Bed
C - Curly Toes (and Carl92, you freaky bastard!)
D - Digital Girl 💔
E - EVERYONE KNOWS THAT!!!!
F - Fond My Mind
G - Give me a Nah Nah Nah (I believe this one was just solved)
H - How Long by Paula Toledo (How Long Will it Take)
I - It's Alive (lostwave that was solved years ago)
J - Just a Game
K - Kenya Dance
L - Like the Wind
M - Man on the Hill by The Defended (There's a Man)
N - No Le Gusta Que La Toquen
O - On the Roof, the OG lostwave
P - Poor Christmas
Q - Quiero Encontrar
R - REALLY?!!!?! THAT'S WHERE EKT CAME FROM!?!??!?!!?!?
S - Stop Making me Cry
T - Try to Smile Again (Beatboy - Bravely)
U - Under the Stars (a.k.a LCDA)
V - Vocal (Potaty 3D)
W - Waste My Time
X - The rating of the source of EKT
Y - You've Got My Heart (solved a couple years ago)
Z - Zoltan

Began with Chloe being Chloe and standing in front of the train then jumping off last second. Of course 😂 first thing I noticed was the way she sways side to side when she walks. She seemed so happy. I sure hope some tragic shit doesn't go down and her best friend has to sacrifice her in order to save a town from a huge storm, that would suck!
I like the 'superpower' they gave her, you have to make good insults until she gets her way. She used it to get past the big security guy and into the event. She wanted a shirt but it was too expensive, so I stole it, and the cash. I know stealing is not a very morally correct thing to do, but Chloe likes to fuck around, she's rebellious and I think she would do that if I wasn't the one who was controlling her.
I talked to Frank. She still owed him money. It was nice to see another familiar face though.
Into the mosh pit I went, except Chloe bumped into two men and one of them spilled their beer. I apologised and walked away, not sure if Chloe knows how to fight but I'd rather not have to find out. Went upstairs for a better view and then those same two men cornered her. But then Rachel comes in and is like "Hey, Dickhead!" then I ran. Rachel held Chloe's hand and pulled her along and Frank stopped the men. I hope I get to have a deeper dive into Frank's character in this game.
Chloe woke up in her room and I checked her journal. There's a letter to Max, talking about how she's a loser and Chloe's doing great without her. She's lying to herself so she doesn't have to feel the weight of her problems. I know how that feels. There's also another unwritten letter to Max which is a bit friendlier. It ends with "Chloe, the unfriended". Know how that feels too. I think her whole journal is just a bunch of unwritten letters to max. Nice. I get to go even deeper into who she is. I love when games let you do that. Although it'll probably make me feel really bad for her and give me another case of "post-Life is Strange depression" by the end of the game 😁
I knew very well Joyce would realise Chloe was out somewhere she shouldn't be if she wore the stolen shirt, so I just chose the raven one. Found Chloe's phone and looked through her messages. Seems Chloe wanted to hang out but Max ended up not answering her messages after a certain point. I know that feeling all too well. And there's a dude named Eliot, wonder why Chloe never mentioned him to Max.
Downstairs Joyce and Chloe quarrel about David and school. For fucks sake, I wish they gave me and option to be calm! I mean they do, only at the end though. I chose to be understanding.
Went outside and of course Chloe and David didn't get along very well. I just wish I could go in there and tell them their future, if that's what it takes for them to finally be nice to one another. Although I could see David was trying to be nice. Failing, but trying. Anyway, after all that David comes up to Chloe and holds his fist in the most awkward fucking position imaginable, took me a bit to even realise he wanted a fist bump. I accepted, not before pausing and laughing for 5 minutes at his blank ass stare and wonky ass fist 😭 glad they had a little bonding moment though.
In the car David says "We don't have to like each other, but you WILL respect me." I mean, true, but how about come off a bit friendlier? A bit more like a loving, gentle father? I wish he had said something like "Hey, I know you don't think I'm a the best dad, but I genuinely love this family. I really wanna build a healthy relationship with you Chloe, whether you believe it or not. I care about you." But I think after being in the military David's gotten used to people giving orders. I understand. I just made Chloe ignore, no point in fighting.
She dreamed about the crash. William was just singing and them BAM. This is why I can't stand people who speed. I'll be on the road and see some fuckass teenagers goofing around going at lightspeed. They don't know, all it takes is a single mistake to kill so many people. I pray that one day we invent cars that break automatically before a collision. Cuz humans are so immature.
Anyway, at the school Eliot tells me about how everyone knows about the incident with Chloe and Rachel at the concert. I wonder if Joyce will end up finding out.
I then walk up to the fountain and read what it says. "The future needs excellence? The future's an asshole." Chloe said. You haven't the faintest idea Chloe...
I went up to Victoria and talked. She was nice to Kari Chloe, at first. I think that's only cuz Chloe was around Rachel, who's popular, so she's now seen as popular by association. And you know, popular kids in school are basically Demigods.
Then I talked to Samantha, who seems to be very similar to Kate. The same gentle nature. Bit of awkward interaction with her, since she accidentally talks about how a lot of people say Chloe is bitchy.
Chloe played DnD with Steph and Mikey. They seem so nice, they remind me of some of my friends. Again, I wonder why Chloe didn't mention them to Max. Maybe they're not as close as her and Rachel? We'll see.
After defeating Duurgaron, I signed Evan's petition for a fire safety assembly. Maybe this'll actually be useful. Maybe it'll just get Chloe out of class. Time will tell.
To my surprise I came across Nathan Prescott himself being bullied. I decided to step in. Can I just say Chloe's insults are top notch? "Congrats, you've actually got me feeling sorry for Arcadia Bay's most spoiled brat." Perfect. Samantha thought so too, she found it pretty funny. Even told him to stfu! But of fucking course Nathan was insulted by our help. I guess he was going through some tough shit too though. If only he wasn't a future psychopath, I would try to befriend him.
Fast forward to when Chloe and Rachel ditched class and jump onto a train. Now the adventure begins. While Chloe was sitting with Rachel she felt nervousness for the first time. I might be wrong but I sense a crush, was Chloe interested in Rachel before Max? I mean she even trips on her words! 😂 "It's nice Rachel we're having." Idk about you but to me this seems like what people do around others they find attractive. Later they gave me an option to flirt too, and Rachel calls Chloe pretty, so I guess that confirms it.
I just have to say the 2 truths and a lie thing was so awkward cuz Don't Nod decided to put random scenes of the two just staring at each other not talking in between lines. Maybe it was another hint that they like each other? Idk.
Cool thing I noticed while they were playing the game was that Chloe got "hella" from Rachel. Man they write these games so well.
I felt so peaceful while the two listened to music together, the soundtrack of these games are masterpieces alone. I would pay just to listen even if the games were shit.
After the two played the viewfinder game Rachel suddenly walked away and then when I walked up to her and talked. She seemed pissed...I wasn't sure if she was joking or not. Did she not like the prostitute joke?
Later at the junkyard, after stealing some wine from innocent people, the two argued later and Rachel was about to leave. But Chloe asked her to stay, so Rachel asked why. I chose "something more..." cuz I feel like after all that it definitely was something more...but Rachel can't? Is it cuz of Frank? I thought. In LiS I found out that Frank was in a relationship with Rachel. I was so confused. Why go on this whole adventure and then say you can't at the end? What was the point of it all? I felt so bad for Chloe in this scene. I know what it's like to be ditched like that. I still wasn't upset with Rachel, I knew there was something happening behind the scenes.
Chloe started smashing everything in the junkyard. She was frustrated that Rachel left. *staring at mannequin* "You know she's fake yet you can't take your eyes off her. Who else do I know who fits that description?" "I've never understood your hard-on for cameras Max. You took a million pictures of us, and not one of them showed that you were gonna leave me when I needed you most." The writers conveyed the emotion really well. And I relate 100%, I always go to my room and start beating my pillow when I fuck up. The feeling of your gut tightening and your cheeks getting hotter and hotter, the sound of your internal monologue berating you with insults, while your senses of the outside world fade away as you fall into a deep trance of self-hatred. I feel her pain.
Now, for the second time, Don't Nod has made me cry. When Chloe took a step back and saw that she had beat her dad's car. Then in the midst of her regret, the anger sparks again and she continues to smash it, and then falls to the ground crying...fuck man. Holy shit. She probably feels it's equivalent to hitting William himself. I can imagine the guilt. Countless times I've gotten lost in rage and hurt loved ones. Countless nights I've spent lying in bed thinking over my actions, wishing I could just fucking re-wind. I wanted to go in there and give Chloe a hug. We both need it.
Back to the dream world in her dad's car. Except this time, I feel it really is William. His spirit. Giving his girl some words of advice. Not even death can break the bond between father and daughter. This bit was peaceful in a way. Yeah it ended with a burning Rachel and a truck crashing, but I strongly felt that really was William. Those words of encouragement can only come from a father. We all need a William in our lives.
Chloe woke up in the Junkyard. Imagine being Joyce in this scenario. Poor woman. I noticed a crow fly by. Same one that was in the dream. What does it mean?
Chloe and Rachel talked near a big tree. Same big tree that they caught two people kissing at. Turns out the man was her dad...I knew something was up. This is why it's important not to judge so quickly. I know a lot of people out there would be bitter towards Rachel if they were to be in Chloe's position. But we have to remember, behind every mistake is a fellow human being, with their own struggles and reasons behind why they fuck up. It's never black and white. I'm glad Chloe was wise enough to not wanna end the evening on a bad note. I'm glad she went looking for Rachel and comforted her. The conversation in this scene was beautiful. It's these moments that show who Chloe really is. A kind, loving soul.
The burning of the forest conveyed so much emotion. I said it once, and I'll say it again. These games are masterpieces, even the characters are masterpieces on their own. Anyway, they are in deep shit! Burnt down a whole forest! The whole time I just thought what is Joyce gonna do...
At the end there was a blond girl smoking...she seemed to not care about the fire. And I'm not entirely sure but it looked like she had the same tattoo that Chloe has in LiS. Wonder who that is. We'll see eventually.
At this point, I thought about the ending I chose for the other game. I wouldn't say I regret it, but the pain of the ending just gets stronger and stronger as I learn more about the person I sacrificed. I'm already so invested. What a vast range of emotions, and this is only episode 1!
Also, I do have one question, why is the loading screen an illuminati symbol? (Don't answer if it's a spoiler)

In a mystical world where the air sparkled with magic, The Fool embarked on an extraordinary journey, guided by the whimsical energy of The Fool card. The Fool, a carefree wanderer, stood at the edge of a cliff, a small dog at their side, oblivious to the potential pitfalls below. It marked the beginning of an adventure, a blank canvas waiting to be painted with experiences. With innocence as their guide, The Fool ventured forth, stepping into the unknown with boundless curiosity.
The Magician awaited, a masterful sorcerer who revealed the secrets of manifestation. Through the Magician's guidance, The Fool learned to harness the elements, discovering the power to shape their destiny with intention and will. The journey continued as The Fool encountered the High Priestess, a mystical guardian of ancient wisdom. In the quiet sanctuary of her temple, The Fool delved into the depths of their subconscious, discovering the hidden realms that shaped their inner world.
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TW: mention of drug use/talk, alcohol use, SA, physical abuse, self harm; cutting, razors
I’ve never posted anything about this before, and have never discussed my trauma in detail outside of therapy, so this might be long.
Some context/backstory: This happened years ago, starting when I was 19, off and on up until I was 22. I’m AFAB and at the time I Identified as female. For the sake of avoiding confusion I’ll be referring to myself using she/her pronouns, however I use He/Him pronouns now. My abuser (let’s call him Eric) was the same age(s) as me.
Our “relationship” was complicated. He was in a long term relationship with another girl, and I (having extensive trauma prior to meeting Eric) refused to commit to anyone at all by that point.. so we kept it on the DL (and no, at the time I didn’t care that he was dating someone. Only that he was attractive, so I pursued him.)
We were volatile to say the least. Jumping at any opportunity to scream, argue, throw things, and even put hands on each other. It was all foreplay to what the foundation of our relationship was really built on; sex. We both regularly picked fights almost every time we hung out just to segue into long aggressive “sessions”. It was plain to both of us that we were using each other as a destructive and aggressive outlet for our own past traumas. We knew what it was. But seeing as we both partied hard (Coke, weed, molly, and alcohol mostly), and didn’t ask prying questions about each other, it was a match made in hell and clearly destined for disaster.
I want to specifically say that during this time in my life I felt completely numb and dead inside. I was using coke to feel alive, drowning the nasty thoughts late at night with liquor, and self harming (cutting) daily to “manage” the war in my head.
I was the party girl, the one who demanded attention and flirted with everyone. I was invited to most parties and kickbacks because I was a social chameleon (masking) and got along well with anyone.
The only time I felt alive was when I was using with Eric. We would buy a couple 8 balls and go through it all in a weekend. When I eventually decided to quit, Eric was pissed and unsupportive to say the least. He regularly bought more, and pressured me -often times until I gave in- because that was when we both really “let go” and got into kinkier things.
The night our situationship ended was one of the nights where I adamantly refused to get high.
Eric was having a small party, and his girlfriend was out of town, so naturally I took my place by his side. I was drinking and having a good time just buzzing around from group to group, but he kept pressing and pressuring me to do some lines with him and his guy friends. First of all, I had never met these friends. Secondly, I was trying to stop using as it was, I didn’t like to get high around other people if they weren’t close friends, LET ALONE people I didn’t know. So I refused, and things escalated to where we were yelling at each other and causing a scene. He took my phone, so it then escalated even more to where we were SCREAMING at one another. He yelled for everyone to leave and I thought at this point we would either fight or fuck our way back into an agreeable place.
I was drunk enough to not be able to drive, or even entertain the idea of a dramatic exit. I had also planned on spending the night partying pretty hard and sleeping over, so I was dropped off and effectively stranded without my phone. I wasn’t drunk enough to forget though.
When Eric announced that everyone needed to leave, I stormed away, went into his room, and waited for him to come in so we could finish this. I waited and waited until finally Eric came into the room holding a rolling tray with A LOT of coke on it, accompanied by three of the men he was trying to get me to party with earlier in the evening. He said to me that he wasn’t asking, he was TELLING me I was going to get high with them. I was terrified, so I railed the fat line he made for me. The four of them then did their lines. After that, Eric told me to take my clothes off. All of the anger and confidence I had died away the second he confirmed my suspicions. I just melted and started crying and begging him to stop this and to just give me my phone back. Instead he walked toward me, and I walked backwards away from them until I was pressed against the far wall. He grabbed me, and they all ripped my clothes off. I was tied to his workout equipment on the wall standing with my arms tied above my head. At first they were just standing around me, describing the things they liked about my face and my body and how they were going to hurt me. They were telling me awful things about myself. They little amount I HAD opened up to Eric over the years was weaponized and twisted and used to degrade me. I was sobbing before they even started. They hit me and slapped me and then they took turns using me. I was moved to his bed, and forced to do more lines with them before they continued. At some point Eric grabbed a razor blade and dragged it across my back several times (we had experimented with knife/blood play in the past that ended with disastrous results, and we never tried it again). When I cried out one of them slapped me in my thigh where I had self harmed. They mocked me and made fun of me for hurting myself. They made it seem like this was something I was used to and even enjoyed. They made me tell them I did enjoy it. They made me say a lot of things.
The absolute worst part for me though, was that I had an orgasm. I had never felt more disgusted with myself than in that moment. I felt utterly betrayed by my own body. I can’t even begin to describe the pain and turmoil that I felt. I couldn’t even rely on myself. I truly wanted to die. And worse, when I finished, they all laughed at me. The second it happened they paused and just laughed at me. As if it confirmed to them that I actually WAS enjoying myself like the twisted slut they said I was all along.
I don’t know how long I was in the room. It carried on like that for awhile I think, moving me around, mocking me, making me do even more coke. At one point they forced me to look at myself in Eric’s bedroom mirror and repeat what they said while they used me. After forever had passed, the 3 friends left and I was alone with Eric. I saw his feet across the room by his closet, but I wouldn’t look at him anymore than that. I don’t know why, but he said nothing. I said nothing too. I just kind of laid there collecting myself in silence. After a while he just up and left too. Nothing ever said. No explanation or even acknowledgment of what had just happened. Eventually I got up, threw on clothes I found in his closet and walked out. My phone was out in the livingroom on the table, and I remember thinking to myself that it was positioned almost mockingly close to the front door this entire time. I walked about a half mile away until I was at my old elementary school and then called as many people as I could until someone woke up and came to get me.
I never told the friend that picked me up what happened, just sat mostly in silence and then paid him for the ride once I was home. After that, I went inside cooked and ate an entire bag of chicken nuggets and watched Moana until the sun rose and my roommates were waking up. I wasn’t able to sleep for several days following that. I spent most of the time in bed with my dog, or sitting in the shower for hours at a time.
~ I don’t want to get into details about why, but I never pursued legal action. His fathers job made it near impossible to pursue without a huge fight and even then it wasn’t something that i thought would work out in my favor. ~
I’ve spent the last 6 years of my life trying to piece myself together after that. I had experienced awful things in my past, but that moment was the moment that truly broke me. It made me feel like I was worthless. Below worthless, utterly and irredeemably disposable. I hated myself to my core. I hated every single thing about myself separately and individually. I especially hated my body for how it responded, and it took me years of faking orgasms with partners and intense therapy for me to let myself feel like I deserved to finish. simply put: I was completely undone.
I couldn’t stand silence after that anymore. Anytime I caught myself in a quiet place my heart would race and my mind would bring myself mentally back there in Eric’s bed. Used and discarded. Wondering why my body betrayed me, why did I walk in his room? How else did I think our relationship would end? There was a pattern, I was the only constant and it was my fault. Everything was my fault.
I couldn’t stop thinking.
I don’t think I ever DO stop thinking. Almost obsessively thinking and rethinking my life choices and decisions. How it’s going to effect my future. Always have a plan, always have a backup plan. Always have a backup plan for the backup plan. It’s just easier to quiet down my thoughts with music or some kind of distraction.
Circling back to my initial question; even now that I’ve been hard at work addressing and unpacking what happened to me, and even though i’m in a safe place with a wonderful family and a partner who is very supportive and understanding..I feel like a part of me was left behind in that room that night. I feel like it effortlessly pulls me right back there whenever it gets the chance no matter how much I unpack it. Sometimes I think that i’ll feel this way forever.

A little brother in Christ posted earlier about how he just got recently saved and God is using him to heal and wow…Me and so many other brethren were praying for so long because God revealed to them, like He did to me, that as the nations get consumed by evil, God will allow us to face shaking that will shock so many and cause sooooo much sorrow. Its one reason I had hated the church. I blamed the church for so many who I presumed in my ignorance would have no chance to know Christ.
When God had lead me to fast, and he broke porn, homosexuality, and that hatred, and rebuked me in church for 60 minutes straight. He then later after that, in time, showed me such a marvelous, truth.
As the darkness hits, God’s people would be called. A global, stirring and out pouring of The Spirit. Streets flooded with people who want, who need Christ. That the selfie generation would be the selfless generation. And though embers and fires of revival keep occurring, I…idk….got scared, doubted, God even told me to go preach in Hartford after he used me to do amazing things. But in my fear and lack of faith I ran. I loved fasting and still do it, but…sigh.
The little brother has truly been a blessing today. I see the promises of God so many brethren who prayed for 40+ years, some who passed away believing what God showed them and me, I see it in Him. Its different when a new believer is literally walking as first church did. I am excited…..Oh Lord…….Great things are coming. As the darkness hit, His light shall shine. Prodigals are returning home.
God showed a brother in Christ that when someone in a dream he had obeyed God and prayed in public for someone, God’s spirit would cause that prayed for person to rejoice and praise. And as they praised, God’s Spirit would fall on all around.
And these past weeks, He’s used me in so many amazing ways.
The time is now, its time for the prayer warriors to cry out, time for the pastors and teachers in love to shine His wisdom, for us to lay down our lives. I want all my friends and family and enemies in Heaven too. And if we would say yes, to do His will, I know He will save them. If God’s people would turn from sin and all idols, would repent, and cry out to Him, before this nation falls, I am convinced by The Spirit, A mighty change would flood our streets.
That little brother is evidence of it. God is willing. What excuse do we have, when a little who just met Jesus, is doing more than many of us? What are we doing lol? Where is our priority.
You know what, I keep making excuses fearful of going to Hartford because of the magnitude of His calling. I will go to Hartford today. I wont run away. I do not want to see my countrymen suffer anymore. I will fight. Lord, I will stand in the gap. I wont run away anymore. Even as I say that, the enemy tries putting fear. Man, that loser is so scared. I will go, in Jesus name. Lest God take my life for disobedience, in Jesus name. Let every one of you be witness.

I’ve always heard people say “it’s your wedding, so don’t feel like you have to invite the family you haven’t seen in years”, but what about when you want to invite them, and you do invite them, and they don’t come. When “your side” of the wedding won’t even fill a full row at the ceremony, a single table at the reception.
As a child I learned to live with the disappointment of quiet holidays as the family that was willing to make the trip or extend the invitation lessened each year until eventually I stopped missing them around the holiday table. But for some reason I thought my wedding would be different. After all it happens once in a persons life. Holidays come every year, I had 4 graduations- that’s a lot of times to have to show up- but I’m only getting married once. A one time commitment, a single day to show up.
Sure, he’s the only man I ever knew as my pop pop, my last living grandparent figure, but we’re not related by blood and grandmama is dead, so why would he come?
Sure, he was my favorite, and only living, uncle who taught me how to play guitar, who I looked forward to seeing at holidays for my first 14 years, but he and my aunt broke it off and he’s not related by blood so why would he come?
Sure, she’s the aunt that watched me when my mom was recovering from surgery, and they’re the cousins that we would drive 6 hours to visit, but I haven’t seen them in years and they don’t get along with my mom, so why would they come?
Why would I think any of them would come? I guess because deep down I was hoping that they would remember loving the little girl who used to visit every thanksgiving and Christmas, and they would want to see her happily ever after. But I guess I’m the only one that remembers…

I’m trapped. I can hear that thing lumbering through the hallway. My God, what the hell is it? I’m trying my best to keep quiet but I can’t help but whimper. The soft scratching of my pencil on this notepad sounds deafening in the quiet of this tiny closet. I’m almost certainly gonna die in this place. I just hope someone can find this, maybe it will do some good. Or maybe it already doesn’t matter. I’m not sure how long I have until that wheezing thing finds me. Oh God, or that grey stuff might ooze under the door and dissolve me. Oh my God! What it did to Benny, Bill, Jonesy and Donald! To all of them! Even if I don’t survive, the world needs to be warned!
Long story short, I was a cop but I got shot in the head. The doctors said I was lucky, that it went straight through without hitting anything vital. However, I still needed three steel plates to hold my fragmented skull together. Also ended up with permanent tremors in my right hand from brain damage. So it’s no surprise that my cop career didn’t thrive. Just a year later I was a “retired” 45-year-old cop, living on scraps. After a few months, I started to get desperate for work. One evening at my pub, my friend, Graham, mentioned an acquaintance who was looking for employees for some private research institute in the Mojave Desert. “What, are they still blowing A-bombs out there?” I scoffed, eyebrows arched with bemused incredulity. Graham stared down at his beer, “Not sure what the hell they do. But they pay super well, so who cares,” he took a long sip of beer, foam clinging to his lips, “I think it would be a good fit for you”.
Turns out this facility, and it really is known as the “Facility”, was located in the middle of nowhere. When I looked it up online I couldn’t find any information. Later that week I called the number that Graham had scrawled down for me on a beer stained napkin. My right hand was useless to me if I wanted it to do anything that required fine motor function, so when I dialed the number on my phone I had to use my left hand. The phone rang twice before a metallic feminine voice answered and said to hold for an operator. After a few seconds of muted elevator music, I spoke to a soft voiced man who told me my skill set was perfect for their current vacancy: a security management position. He said if I filled out some forms they would pay for me to fly on out for an interview in person.
One month and several NDAs later, I was employed again! By the time I started my new job I realized I had no idea what research went on down here. During the interviews my duties as a security manager had been discussed but any mention of their actual research interests had been carefully avoided, redacted or omitted. The security staff were also told to avoid fraternizing with anyone not from their own department, including security personnel from other sections of the Facility. On my first day I asked others about the nature of the Facility’s research, but no one had any interest. “Just stick to your contract. No point in rocking the boat,” my new boss, Bill, said to me curtly. So since then I’ve not discussed it with anyone else.
If only I had, maybe I would have seen this coming. The section of the Facility which I managed was section B.15. This area, like most of the core Facility, was located several hundred feet below the sun scorched surface of the Mojave Desert and comprised many green painted corridors peppered with tall, wide doors made from dark, stainless steel. The rooms inside were large and sterile. Artefacts were cleaned and studied in these rooms after they were brought from the excavation sites (sites E.1 through E.27). Of course, whether we wanted to know the nature of the research or not, eventually, after patrolling some of the research labs for weeks, it wasn’t difficult to figure out that the scientists were mostly archeologists or paleontologists. I would often find objects of different sizes and shapes lying around in various states of cleanliness. Some looked like ancient amphoras, or large stone bird baths. Others were less identifiable: a chipped statue, a melted lump of some unidentifiable metal or large chunks of a glass-like material. I found this all extremely curious because, as far as I knew, the Mojave Desert didn’t have much in the way of ancient architecture. At least of any ancient civilization that I know.
As the months went by I started to get friendly with the other guards, most of them ex-cops too, and we started playing cards and drinking Irish coffee in the evenings. My two main colleagues consisted of a jovial, short man with orange hair named Jonesy and a much older much grumpier and much balder man, Donald. They were good men and we had a lot of laughs together. My stomach twists when I think about where they are now. Though I grew fonder of my fellow guards, I found myself developing a severe dislike for the white coated researchers. Most of them were pernicious and arrogant. The only scientist my security buddies and me could stand was a scrawny man named Benny. Our favorite thing about Benny was that he never talked about his work.
It was earlier today, at around 1400h, when all the scientists were running from their rooms. They must have received some message a few minutes before and we watched them from the surveillance monitors as they got all excited and leapt up. Their lab coats flapped and flowed around as they jumped to their feet and made for the main exit. Soon after this the large red landline phone near my video surveillance desk began to ring. Expecting the call, I picked up the receiver before the first ring finished, “Hey boss, what’s all the excitement about?” Bill’s voice was uncharacteristically hesitant “The diggers have found a friggin’ huge object out here! The biggest thing they’ve ever dug up, it’s really irregular. They want to bring it to B.15 and I need you to organize the logistics and security”. My brow furrowed, “I guess it’s too big for the main entrance? Maybe we could bring it in via the big doors of the auxiliary hangar?” Bill grunted with agreement, “Yea, we’ll have to improvise a bit but should be manageable. I have no idea what it is… well you’ll see for yourself. I’ll get some of the boys from B.14 to help you out. And just, well…” He paused for a moment, “just be careful.” I grunted, my eyebrow arched from surprise; why was he so afraid? “Um thanks, appreciate it, see you guys soon”.
Donald, Jonesy and I had coffee in the office and called the guards at the hangar doors to arrange clearance. About an hour later we were at the platform near the doors waiting for the cargo to arrive. The massive metal hangar doors had been opened, which was rare. What was more irregular was that nearly every staff member from sections B.11 to B.18 were all gathered together in a silent knot of people. Despite the silence the air sizzled with anticipation, as well as the searing heat. I stood transfixed from curiosity at the massive doorway, waiting in the shade of the hangar as the relentless sun beat down outside. In the distance I saw a black speck grow larger against the bright blue sky. Slowly it took the form of a helicopter which was carrying a large rectangular shaped mass below it.
Within less than a minute the helicopter made its cacophonous approach toward the hangar and gently lowered the object onto an enormous wooden scaffold. I barked orders and signed forms as the guards rushed about, making sure the other personnel stayed a safe distance away. The air was blaring with the sound of the helicopter blades and sand rocketed into my face, forcing me to splutter. “Alright, let’s get this thing processed!” I yelled over the sound of the helicopter as its engines powered down, my colleagues and I wiped dirt from our faces. Bill emerged swiftly from the chopper and shook my hand. We quickly reviewed the paper work he gave me and then he made his way back downstairs to his office in section B.1. He was keen to get away for some reason.
“Alright, it’s officially in my care now. Show’s over. Get the non-essential personnel out of here immediately and secure the object. I want to get Benny up here to analyze it ASAP.” As my colleagues cleared away most of the staff and the excitement died down I was finally able to take a moment to inspect the object. It had been lowered onto the wooden scaffold fitted with wheels just outside the hangar and had been pushed slowly into the center. The few aircraft in this hangar were all currently under repairs and were non-operational, therefore there was plenty of space. As soon as I saw the sheer size of the object, I knew it would be difficult to transport, but not impossible. The object was a wall. Or a large fragment of a wall.
It was about twenty feet long, eight feet thick and ten feet high. At first the wall appeared made from some sort of boring grey stone. However, when I looked closer the wall was… alive. The wall’s surface bubbled slightly. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I stepped closer. When I was only a few inches away from it I felt cold. A bead of sweat ran down my cheek and I thought I heard something. It sounded like someone far away calling my name.
I felt a strange pressure around my head. A sudden invasive thought wormed to life: throw yourself into the wall. I shuddered and held myself back despite the sudden strong desire. I heard the faint voice of Benny and crashed back to reality. My eyes snapped open and I found my nose an inch away from the wall. It radiated cold like an open freezer and it smelled like rotting clay. The surface of the wall simmered ever so slightly. It reminded me of the fizz of some grey effervescent medicine. I paled as I took a large step backward, “I.. uh, what is this?” I turned to face Benny who stood with another scientist. He glanced at her briefly before he approached the wall to apply more straps. He was careful to avoid touching the wall with his bare skin. “Honestly, we have no idea”.
I got Donald and Jonesy to help Benny transport the wall down to room 278B via the service elevator. Donald grumbled about how badly the wall smelled and Jonesy had eyes as large as saucers when he saw it up close, “It looks so unreal!” Once downstairs I returned to my office to get some more coffee and file away the paperwork. I tried to put the strangeness of the wall out of my mind, but it had truly unnerved me. I felt so tired, my forehead drenched with cold sweat. I had been working extra shifts lately, but I had never been hit by such exhaustion so rapidly. As I sat at my desk facing the surveillance monitors I was unable to fight the sleep forcing my eyes shut.
I’ve had many hangovers in my life, most of them unpleasant, but when I woke up at my desk I’d never felt quite so singularly awful. My clothes were soaked with sweat and my whole body felt exhausted. My arms felt like molasses as I attempted to move. My forehead throbbed and I felt bruised. I also felt a pressure squeezing my head from all sides. It was quite peculiar. I sat back in my seat and rubbed my eyes.
Then I froze.
A hand was lying motionless on the floor just behind the table in the center of the office. I leapt to my feet and rushed forward. I gasped from horror as I saw Donald lying on the floor, his chest sliced to ribbons. Gallons of crimson red stained his blue uniform and his eyes stared up empty and terrified. Pallid and shaking I went to my office landline to call for backup immediately. As the receiver met my ear my stomach dropped into my feet.
The line was dead.
The sole means of communication within the core Facility is done through landlines. The landlines are monitored at all times and any interruption results in an immediate response from security. We had many protocols and fail safes to ensure communication remained enabled, but the line was dead and there was no sign of any response. In fact, how long had I been asleep? What was happening? I rushed back to the monitors. I hadn’t noticed it before but I couldn’t see anyone. The cameras were all operating normally but not a single person could be seen. The corridors were just as green and bare as most late evenings. I looked at the clock, it was only 1817h. I had slept for about two and a half hours. Where were the janitors? My heart was hammering in my chest and I couldn’t catch my breath. Meanwhile my head was throbbing and my eyes were burning. Suddenly I heard an indistinct whisper. Gooseflesh bloomed all over my back and arms.
I’d heard this voice before.
I’d heard this voice from the wall.
I turned to the monitors and searched for the wall. It had been brought back to the surface; the hangar! It sat upon the bare ground right by the massive doors. However, the doors were all sealed. The wall itself looked different. It was enormous! Almost three times longer and taller and wider. Just then, I realized that the titanium blast doors had been sealed as well. My heart rate doubled as I noticed large dents, scorch marks and scratches all over the doors. Someone had tried to break them down. The hangar floor was covered in blood and ash as well as abandoned weapons. My God, I even saw a rocket-launcher lying blackened and fractured near the doors. What the hell had happened?
I spun my head to look at the security control panel on the wall to my left. My heart, already blaring, felt like it leapt out of my mouth. My eyes grew wide as I realized someone, probably Donald, had activated a quarantine procedure. This meant that the entire Facility would be sealed airtight. The only way to open any doors now was from the outside. My God! Why had he done this? Where was everyone? Did he try to wake me? Did I really sleep through all this? I looked back at Donald, my heart still hammering from seeing his dead eyes stare into mine. I sighed sadly and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was currently 1831h. I returned to the monitors and began to rewind the security footage.
Surveying the screens, I watched my past-self enter the security office at around 1600h. By 1610h I had passed-out on my chair, drool dangling from my mouth. “Ok, so let’s see where the wall was at that time. Should be room 278B.” I thought to myself aloud as I clicked on the button that would display the footage from that room as well as the surrounding corridors. The screen was black as the footage loaded and I was about to hit the play button but hesitated. Did I really want to see this? I closed my eyes and took a few slow breaths. I can’t figure my way out of here if I don’t know what’s going on. I have to know. I hit play.
The camera was located opposite the door giving a full view of the room. At first everything seemed normal. Benny and some other scientists had transported the wall into room 278B. It was 1623h when they were taking the straps off the wall. A loud popping sound was heard and the researchers spun around. The lights in the room dimmed and flickered. Suddenly something long and slimy exploded from the wall, curled around Benny, and pulled him in. He screamed in terror as he vanished, his cries immediately silenced. My jaw dropped open and a small yell escaped me.
Without realizing it, I was instantly on my feet, shaking my head in pure denial. My heart burst. What the hell was that? What the hell? What the hell? My head was full of static. I felt tears in my eyes as I watched guards and researchers rush into the room. The wall shimmered, it’s simmering surface began to boil and bubble and it grew three feet higher. I saw it reshape itself so that intricately carved figures appeared on the wall’s edge. I leant in closer and gasped. One of those figures looked just like Benny, his mouth stretched open wide into a permanent scream. I didn’t want to continue watching, but I had to. The guards and researchers were horrified by what they saw before them. Suddenly, without warning, their body postures relaxed, their eyes grew glassy, and their arms fell slack at their sides. Those within the room moved as if sleepwalking. Some stayed still while others left the room. Brow furrowed from confusion and fear, my eyes swiveled to the footage of the corridor outside. The guards and researchers that had just exited 278B immediately began attacking and grappling those around them. I yelped as a vacant-eyed guard lazily shot another man in the leg. The thrall then dragged the wounded guard into room 278B. The mad guard held the wounded guard’s leg fast as he casually walked into the grey wall, pulling the struggling man in behind him. During this altercation I noticed Donald for the first time, he was hiding behind the corner of the corridor at the far end and was firing his gun at the madmen. He didn’t manage to hit anyone though. He then ran over to help a stray researcher to their feet and then they both ran down the corridor and out of view.
I can still hear the cries of pain and pleas for mercy as those who fell victim to the thralls were each dragged into that horrifying wall. With every person it swallowed, the wall wriggled and grew and grew. More and more ghastly decorations began to bloom on its surface, all of them made from the bones or likenesses of those who had been absorbed. The bigger it got the stronger its psychic influence became until it seemed to reach nearly everyone in the Facility, turning them into thralls. I looked on in horror as one by one, all janitors, researchers, guards, diggers, admin staff, everyone gradually stopped what they were doing, mid conversation, their eyes emptying. The janitors dropped their mops and buckets. Researchers dropped precious materials and equipment without care, letting them smash to pieces. In unison they all slowly, with vacant expressions, moved toward room 278B. Among the horde of thralls, I saw Bill and Jonesy, and so many others I knew by face. A guy who’d held the door for me once, a researcher who always slurped her coffee at lunch. Hundreds of people! What filled me with an unnamable dread was that I knew what was gonna happen. I knew what was coming. I tried to shout at the monitors, “Stop! Wait!” I grabbed the monitors and shook them with frustration.
A terror began to fill my stomach, deep and cold and aching. Suddenly I noticed Donald reappear on the screen. He was trying to hold back the researcher he’d helped earlier, but it was useless. I saw Donald, chest heaving from effort, stare with incredulity as he sat defeated on the ground. Everyone else around him stumbled dreamily toward their doom. But Donald refused to give up. I saw him run from corridor to corridor, trying desperately to stop them. He threw chairs and tables in their way but they simply pushed them aside or jumped over them. I saw him run toward this office. I saw him enter, saw myself slumped on my chair still completely unconscious. I saw Donald try to shake me awake, he slapped me a few times and was yelling in frustration. He gave up with me eventually and ran over to activate the quarantine lockdown. I saw him tear down the hall back toward room 278B, pistol in hand.
My best guess was that he saw what was happening in room 278B and decided he was gonna stop it. However, as soon as he got close to the door a long pale tendril burst through the door directly into Donald’s chest. The tentacle had a hooked end and it slashed at him. I saw blood spurt out of him, saw him stumble and fall from the ground in fright. However, he still managed to get a hold of his gun and fired multiple shots at the tendril. It writhed and flailed. Donald took the opportunity to climb to his feet. He grimaced and clasped his chest as crimson leaked to the floor. He moved back down the corridor, much more slowly than before. Eventually he got back to the office. He locked the door and then collapsed. I cried out in frustration. That whole time I was completely useless!
My mind felt like static again for a few seconds. I couldn’t work out what my next move should be. A thought hit me hard, one I should really have thought of before. Why had Donald and I not been psychically affected by the wall? Everyone had been enslaved, everyone had been forced to walk into that wall. Why not Donald? And me? I knew it must be connected to my horrendous sleepiness. My eyes grew wide with sudden realization. “Shit, the steel plates in my head!” Donald had a single steel plate in his skull because of a rock-climbing accident he had in his 20s. When I got close to the wall, had it sensed my resistance? Had it tried to incapacitate me? If so, it means this thing possesses sentience.
While I pondered this, I noticed some thralls re-strap the wall in room 278B. They transported it to the elevator and back up to the hangar. Once there, the thralls moved the wall off the scaffold onto the floor and began to beat heavily on the large metal doors with bare fists. Some even shot at the doors with their handguns. The ricochets killed a few of them but not one single person seemed to even notice. Some of the guards even used a rocket launcher! I yelled with shock as they fired at deadly close range, lazily blowing themselves up, leaving the doors scorched. After this proved futile, the thralls all grew suddenly rigid. Next, they all formed a line in front of the wall and one shambling step after another, all the remaining employees were - assimilated. Even the dead and wounded were not spared. Those still alive carried the corpses of their fellow thralls into the wall.
It was 1705h when the last employee disappeared forever into the grey horror, and the wall expanded to its current size. Without warning, a large writhing mass of twisted limbs emerged from the wall. I gasped from horror. I couldn’t tell exactly what it was because the lighting in the hangar wasn’t good enough, but it definitely wasn’t human. Its silhouette was about seven feet tall and thin and stretched. It had too many legs and it didn’t seem to have a head. This thing lumbered over to the doors and began to strike them with a strength and ferocity one would only find in a starving polar bear. I could tell that the doors were taking strain, and they began to bend, but even then, they would not yield. After about half an hour of smashing the door, the creature stopped and slowly shambled toward the stairs. My heart froze. It was coming here! Or was it here already?
My eyes swiveled back to the main monitor and I was surprised to see Donald still alive. He was scratched and bleeding badly as he shakily pushed himself from the floor. He then looked up at the ammunitions cupboard and began to search through his keys. I saw him curse. He couldn’t find the key with his trembling, bloodied fingers. In the next instant his eyes bulged and he heaved as if vomiting. His body doubled over and long grey tendrils oozed from his mouth and wriggled furiously. He grabbed his throat and fell forward onto the floor. Frozen in horror I watched as his body squirmed and he wriggled as if his intestines were filled with snakes. I continued to watch absolutely transfixed as three long grey tendrils emerged again from between Donald’s lips. Slowly they wriggled free of his mouth. They were about half a foot long, dull grey and thin like spaghetti.
I watched as they slithered toward my unconscious form on the monitor. I bit my lip and stood up. Slowly my brain put two and two together. Bile rose in my throat. I yelled at myself to wake up and see the worms. Just then my stomach dropped and I could feel an itchiness in my belly. I could feel the wriggling itch of a thousand grey eels in my gut. Or was I imagining it?
My stomach writhed and I was about to puke when I saw myself awake and stretch in my chair. The worms somehow realized I was awake and they moved out of view towards the –before I could watch the screen any longer, I heard a hiss and something slimy and long wrapped itself around my throat so tight I couldn’t breathe. I gasped with surprise and strained my neck to look at the monitor that showed the room in real time. I saw from the camera behind my head that something thin and grey had wrapped itself around my throat. I saw two more of those things coming at me from behind as well. They were about to come wriggling up my chair when I grimaced with anger and grabbed my gun from its holster. The thing around my neck was hissing and making awful clicking and guttural noises. Its small worm head had a mouth that bit and it latched onto my neck to suck my blood. I pulled at the leach and pressed my gun up against it. I pulled the trigger. With an earsplitting bang and a sound like a water balloon popping the leach was reduced to sticky goo. I pulled the remnants of the leach off my neck and spun around just in time to shoot and kill the others. I grinned with a mad-joy and yelled with relief. Immediately, a wave of nausea and exhaustion hit me and I fell back onto my chair. “What the hell was that? What the hell do I do now?” I sat still for a moment and tried not to lose my mind completely. I swear I could hear Woody the woodpecker laughing somewhere in the distance. I needed to keep it together. I took a long deep breath and tried to think of a way out.
Summarizing the details of my predicament, I realized I was trapped alone inside the Facility with an otherworldly force. Also, even if I found a way out, I’d potentially be letting an evil into the world that could destroy all life. At once an old thought returned to me, one I’d often experienced as a cop. “If I need to sacrifice myself to save others, I will do so without complaint.” A wry smile spread over my face. “Once a cop, always a cop.” My smile vanished as a I continued to think. “But my God, if this thing gets out. If it gets into the minds of other people. If it gets larger and larger. Could it swallow the world? The solar system? What other monstrosities would it unleash?” I was talking aloud now; the sound of my voice gave a new reality to my situation that made me shudder. I turned back to the monitor. It seems I was all caught up with what had happened. I stared blankly into the screen while I watched my past-self continue to wake and wince from pain. I switched the monitor off and saw my reflection in the blackness of the screen. I was pale and my eyes were wide and unblinking. “What do I do now?” I turned in my chair to look at Donald’s body. Were all those worms gone? Could some still be hiding? And what should be done with his body? Probably best to have it burned. “Poor Donald, he didn’t deserve this”, I muttered softly as I examined his corpse, making sure there were no unexplained twitches beneath his skin. My eyes moved from his body up to the ammunition’s cupboard just above. “Wait, why was he trying to get into the cupboard earlier? We don’t have much…”, my eyes grew large with realization. “Holy crap, he was trying to get the bomb! Me and Donald were gonna use a left-over bomb from the excavation site to blow some random shit up!”
I sighed sadly and heavily. We never got around to it. I stood up quickly and walked up to the cupboard. I pulled out my keys and quickly found the key I’d need. I opened the cupboard with little effort and found the ten kilos of plastic explosive inside. It had already been set up with a sixty second timer and a remote detonator by a colleague. I sat at the table with the explosive, a vague plan forming in my broken mind. “Maybe if I somehow get this wall-thing to eat this bomb then...”
Before I could formulate my thoughts fully, the lights flickered, and the entire Facility was plunged into darkness unceremoniously. My nerves were burning with fear. What had happened? Had that thing knocked the power out somehow? The next few seconds that past were some of the longest I’d ever experienced. However, dim green light bloomed to life and the reserve power kicked in. Then I heard slow, shuffling footsteps in the corridor just outside the office. I froze once again, my insides turning to mush. My mind raced. Had I remembered to lock the door? My stomach leapt into my feet as I heard the shuffling get louder and louder. I heard hoarse, wheezing breaths, as if the thing struggled to breathe. I jumped from fright but remained absolutely silent as whatever the thing was banged on the door with a deafening blow.
BANG! The door shook and bent slightly.
BANG! Silence for a moment.
BANG! BANG! Again silence. My heart was hammering in my ears and I sat deathly still. I could hear that thing breathing louder. After a few moments I heard it shuffle away. My entire body was shaking as relief washed over me. Whatever the thing was, it had walked away and I could no longer hear it. I turned to look at the monitors. Dare I turn them on and check what it was? After a few seconds of consideration, holding my breath, I turned to the monitors and switched them on. I waited in nervous anticipation as the screens flickered to life showing me that all the corridors between me and the wall were currently empty. I didn’t bother checking the corridor I suspected the shambling thing was in. I didn’t want to see it unless I needed to. I’d had just about all the stress and terror I could take and by this stage I felt weirdly calm. It must be shock. A thin sigh escaped me as I stood. The fear in my blood began to feed a furnace of anger in my heart. I thought about all those who I had lost. I felt my expression turn to granite, “It’s time to kill this thing.”
I opened the door slowly, my fully loaded gun in my good hand. Spare ammo along with the explosive and a shotgun was stashed in my backpack, and the remote detonator was tied to my belt. I held a heavy-duty flashlight in my shaky right hand. I moved cautiously through the dark green corridors. I’d never thought of how creepy this place could be until this moment. Gooseflesh crept up my arms and neck as I continued. All I could hear were my soft footfalls and shallow anxious breaths. I cleared the corridors one by one until I made it to the stairs that would lead me to the thing that looks like a wall. I walked up the stairs slowly, my ears honing in on any sound. That’s when I heard it. I heard the soft sound of crying.
Someone was crying. I stopped dead in my tracks. My entire body shook from the adrenaline surging through me. I took one step. Then another. Slowly, I climbed. Once my head could peek over the top, I froze. Jonesy was squatting on his knees, naked. He was between the wall and me, with his back facing me. The terrifying thing loomed enormous before us. It was now framed intricately with the skeletons of hundreds of people, all twisted and screaming in agony. Writhing, tortured souls fused together. Then came the sound of crying and moaning from the wall. I could hear them all. They were all screaming. Screaming for me to help them. To join them. I felt that pressure squeeze against my skull tighter and tighter. I shook my head in defiance. “No! You bastard! NO! I will not join you! You’re not Jonesy!” All at once the moans and wails stopped. I suddenly found myself at the top of the stairs without knowing when I’d finished climbing them. “But we are Jonesy” came a voice that was not human. It was a voice made from all those it had swallowed up. It was as though something had made a distorted copy of the voices of all those people and then just used them all at once to speak. It didn’t understand the concept of individuality. All of a sudden, the wall rippled and grey tendrils squirmed from the flesh of the wall, curling around Jonesy as they teased his face and slowly pulled him in. As he disappeared there was a horrendous sucking, squelching noise. “We are Jonesy. We are all. We can be all. We will be all. All and all and more than all.” The voice was chanting this over and over. Louder and louder.
A deafening blast came from the wall and a slithering, writhing mass of tangled human limbs emerged. It had four legs and several arms. It looked like the bodies of eight or more people shuffled and glued into an otherworldly horror. Its multiple mouths screamed a high pitch squeal that was more horrifying than the screams of the damned, and its sharp pointed teeth gnashed and chomped. I only had a second to dodge this monster. I leapt to the side and fired multiple shots at the thing’s center of mass. Its horrifying body of fused torsos wriggled and bled black ichor. It screamed with pain and jumped at me, grabbing my leg. It tossed me into the air and I almost lost my gun as I slammed into the floor a few feet away. Before I could catch my breath, it was upon me again. From the ground I fired several shots at it. This made it jump away and scuttle down the stairs. With it momentarily out of sight, I quickly got to my feet and kept my eyes on the stairs.
After a second, I decided to kneel and take off my backpack as fast as I could. I pulled out the bomb and started the timer. I also decided to get the shotgun out and get it loaded. I needed to do this now or never. As the final shell clicked into place I heard a roar coming from the stairs. The thing was back. Before I could react, it leapt at me and knocked me to the ground. The bomb flew from my grasp. It bared down on me, grabbing at my throat ready to tear me apart. My reflexes saved me though and I managed to use my shotgun to hold the thing at bay, but it was too strong. Desperate, I kicked it hard in the chest and it let go. I used this moment to grab the bomb that lay behind me; only 37 seconds to go! Terrified and crazed, sweat pouring down my face, my mind in pieces, I rammed the bomb into the creature’s mouth and kicked it back again as hard as I could. I heard it yelp like a wounded dog and it lost its footing. It fell sideways and in that second, I took my shotgun and fired at it in the chest. The force of the close-range blast sent me flying. At the same time the creature was hurled back into the wall where it was enveloped quickly.
My head was fuzzy. I was dizzy and the wind had been knocked out of me. Was the bomb going to work? I felt something warm and wet drip into my ear and touched the side of my head. My fingertips came away soaked in blood. My head was spinning. With a foggy mind I grabbed my bag, collecting my weapons and flashlight. As I stood up I heard a low rumbling sound. The ground beneath my feet shook and for a moment I was confused. Then I looked up at the wall. Its surface was roiling and boiling like I’d never seen before. It was shaking and growing. I turned to run when suddenly there was a massive blast from inside it, and the entire wall exploded into hundreds of small grey chunks. These chunks rained down all around the hangar, smashing several aircraft. The blast knocked me off my feet and this time I definitely passed out because when I awoke I could see daylight through the tiny cracks in the blast door. Where the wall had once been now stood a small blackened crater. I turned around to inspect the wall pieces and found that they – my eyes grew wide and my mouth opened. They were melting. As I approached a fragment of wall, a horrible twisted hand shot out at me. I yelled and jumped away. It was still alive! I watched in dumbfounded horror as the pieces continued to melt and began to merge, just like that scene from Terminator 2.
It was rebuilding itself. Then I heard a groan. My blood became ice. I turned slowly in terror to find the shambling, wheezing monstrosity behind me. Like the creature I'd shot, this one seemed made from bits and pieces of human limbs knitted together randomly. This one had legs which came out its mouth, its head positioned within its torso where the bellybutton should be, and it wheezed in pain. I almost puked from fright but my legs were already carrying me away. I sprinted down the corridors, ignoring all the pain and fear and exhaustion and anger and frustration I had inside me. Without thinking, I leapt into the first janitor's closet I found and locked the door with a dull clunking sound. After catching my breath, I found this notepad and pencil, and have been writing this report in the sterile glow of my flashlight. Hopefully, I have left some useful information for anyone who may find this.
Now I lie in wait for that thing. Now I lie in wait for that grey ooze. What is that thing? Is it truly indestructible? If it can survive a bomb like that, what hope do we have? It’s no wall at all. It’s a membrane. An interface. Somewhere very different is pressing up against us. It has torn a small hole, and was now prying it open further. I should blow up this whole damn place! I should burn it! But would it matter? Or would it just be buried, to be rediscovered? I think even if I survive this, nothing can help us. So here I wait, hoping to be saved, but even as I write this I can hear that thing walking past the door. With a soft click I turn off my flashlight. I try not to breathe. I can hear the snuffling, it’s right outside! I can smell its ugly breath.
Oh God! I hear the jingling of keys. The door is unlocking! How? How?
Oh God! The doorknob is turning...

Warning for sexual topics! If any of that makes you uncomfortable, please keep scrolling! :) Hi everyone! I am a 20 year old straight asexual man from Maine. Being straight and asexual means that I am attracted to women romantically, but I’m not sexually attracted to them in any way. I love women and all, I just don’t want them sexually. Even though I am asexual, I am a very loving person, and I really enjoy engaging in romantic relationships with others. Anyway, this isn’t a profile for a dating website. Just wanted to explain for anyone who may not understand what I mean when I say I’m straight and asexual. My asexuality combined with my autism makes me feel really alienated from society. I really don’t understand sex. For the longest time, I thought sex was just a guy sticking it in a girl for a few seconds, no thrusting or anything like that, and then a baby was made. I was absolutely flabbergasted when I was 13 and I learned that people have sex for reasons other than procreation. I had accidentally stumbled across nude images online, but the first time I ever saw actual porn, I was 13. (Actually, the first time I saw porn was when I was like 8, but I didn’t understand what I was seeing, and my little 8 year-old brain didn’t register what I saw as genitalia. I had stumbled across it because I thought it would be funny to type butt.com into the search bar. I only found out that what I had seen was pornographic when my mom and I were talking about it, and I was 15 at the time.) Anyway, I know that no one here really cares about my life story. I came here to ask: is there anyone else who is like me in this subreddit? I have only ever met one other asexual person in real life. Most of the people I engage with happen to be involved in some way with the LGBTQ community, so it’s surprising to me that I haven’t met more asexual people. However, there are also some asexuals who don’t really consider themselves to be a part of that community. Anyway, is there anyone else here like me?

It was in the early 80s, and we were aboard ship, going from one place to another. I was just considering whether it was a little earlier, in 1979, but realized that would not be correct. Mason and I hardly saw the outside of the ship’s scullery on that particular earlier crossing. We’d been bad, and our Platoon Seargeant Hardass was mad at us again. He’d have reason to be a lot madder at me in particular in a matter of days, but that was in the future yet.
We had a peculiar relationship, did he and I. Both from Back Home, the only two hillbillies in the unit. So understandably, both stubborn as mules. We hated each other when we weren’t best buddies.
He was a Mean shit. Gave me one of two bad concussions I’ve had. A steel pot helmet slammed upside your head can do that. He’d barked, and I hadn’t jumped quick enough. But “I didn’t go down, Ray! You never got me down!” 😂😂. I was inordinately proud of that. No matter how hard I got hit, I always stayed on my feet.
A week of blurred vision, a doozy of a headache, and throwing up whatever I tried to eat, and I was good to go again. A week after that, and we were out drinking together again. Got him out of trouble again that time, too, as I’d done before.
Another time I’d saved his bacon during a particularly brutal bar fight. By the simple expedient of jumping in and getting four of the eight guys who were whooping his ass busy whooping Mine. They were a little pissed at him - he had that effect on people.
We assisted each other back to Base, and I half-dragged, half-carried him into the barracks after he passed out, and tucked him in nighty-night. He eased up on me a little for a while after that - guess he figured he owed me.
So it would have been later, in the early days of the eighties. That would have been the voyage when we nearly capsized in a storm - don’t recommend the experience.
Marines are extra cargo, essentially, during an ocean crossing. Not much to do, and so you find your entertainment where and when you can.
On this trip, there was a route we took each morning from our berthing area to get to morning chow. Traversing the labyrinthine maze of passageways, stacked decks, and ladder wells.
And each morning at that same time, one particular passageway had at that point in time just had a new coat of wet wax laid down on it by a Sailor assigned the duty. Always the same man. We assumed he’d been bad, too.
And down the middle of it we would all traipse, spoiling his work each morning. You could actually slide for a pretty good distance if you tried.
He was understandably unhappy with the situation, if the screaming, foul language, and name-calling were any indication. But we forgave him - no hard feelings on Our part. Just smiles, nods, and compliments on the great job we all thought he was doing.
After a few days of this, he devised a way to correct what he somehow saw as an untenable situation. Benson was the first in line that morning, as we ascended the ladder well toward the passageway in question. And our way was now blocked. He hesitated.
A length of masking tape had been strung across the head of the ladder well. And hanging from it a hand lettered sign on a sheet of notepaper: “Restricted: Keep Off.”
Wet wax had again been freshly laid. And it was a Good job. Nice and shiny, just waiting to dry so it could be buffed to a high gloss.
And the swabjocky (said with great love and affection) was standing sneering at us in triumph.
What to do, what to do? To break the tape would be disrespectful. Benson considered for a moment. Then ducked low and went under it. And down the middle of the freshly-waxed deck of the passageway. We all followed suit. Johnson was figure-skating from one side to the other down its entire length. We thought he had admirable form - fluid in motion; made it look natural.
Our Sailor began to scream incoherently and to beat the bulkhead with his swab. Uh-oh; gonna have to get a new one. He just broke the handle.
Tbh, we could easily have gone another way, but it was fascinating watching our newfound friend slowly lose his mind from day to day.
We could be assholes sometimes.
Why he didn’t realize before he did that it would make sense to wait until After we came through, since he’d have to go back over it anyway, I have no idea. We could have told him that.

1968-69: You enter the league alongside the Milwaukee Bucks and proceed to go 16-66. One of the worst records in NBA history. On the bright side, you might be the #1 pick.
1969-70: You lose the #1 pick to a tiebreaker coin toss to the Bucks. That #1 pick becomes the 2nd-greatest scorer in NBA history. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. You get a consolation prize though. Getting beaten in 7 games by the Lakers.
1970-71: Settle into mediocrity to change the decade. Enjoy this middling futility for the next 5 years
1975-76: Holy shit you did it. Inside a decade of your young existence, you make the NBA Finals.....In which you get smoked in 6 by the Celtics juggernaut. Next year is your time though
1976-77: Your time to go 34-48 and miss the playoffs.
1977-78: Rebound into a first series 2-0 best of 3 loss to those fucking Bucks
1978-79: The best season in franchise history at this point. 50-32 and you breeze past the Kansas City Kings in the semifinals. All that stands in your way is the Seattle SuperSonics......Who go on to rip your heart out in Game 7 and then smoke Washington in 5 in the Finals.
1979-80: You are even BETTER this year! 55-27! and holy shit the Lakers clap your cheeks in 5. Remember that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar guy you got screwed out of? Yeah, the Bucks traded him to the Lakers back in 1975 thus making it your problem.
1980-81: For the first time in your history you win your division and take the 1 seed. 57-25! Nothing can stop you.
1980-81 Semi-Finals: You lost. In 7 games. To the Mickey Mouse organization known as the Kings
1981-82: You are in decline now and get swept by the Lakers in the Semis. Bet you wish you'd won that coin toss right about now.
1982-83: This is probably your last real chance at a championship for a while. 53-29 and just have to beat the Nuggets for a date with the Spurs. In typical Suns fashion you fucked it up.
1983-84: You are 41-41 and somehow crash-landed in the playoffs again. Just take the first round loss and get out.
1983-84 First Round: Wait what? You beat the Trail Blazers 3-2?
1983-84 Semi-Finals: AND you beat the Jazz in 6 despite them owning you in the regular season? A trip to the Conference Finals is in your future
1983-84 Conference Finals: The clock strikes midnight on the Cinderella story as the Lakers make you their bitch for the 3rd time in 5 seasons.
1984-85: Make that a 4th time in 6 seasons and they sweep you a 2nd time.
1985-88: You are trash after a decade of chasing a championship. But it won't be long before a new chance arises
1988-89: Alright fuck this shit you are here for BLOOD THIS TIME. 55-27!
1988-89 First Round/Semi-Finals: You destroy the Nuggets and Warriors. Now is the time
1988-89 Conference Finals: TIME TO GET SWEPT BY THE LAKERS AGAIN
1989-90: Another 54 win season and another shot at glory! THIS TIME IT WILL BE DIFFERENT!
1989-90 First Round: You squeak past a Jazz team and your prize is. Oh dear god not them again. NO!
1989-90 Semi-Finals: You DID IT. You finally beat those cocksuckers from Los Angeles in a series! In 5 games no less!
1989-90 Conference Finals: You turn this triumph into misery by being eliminated in 6 games by the Portland Trail Blazers. Fuck.
1990-91: You squander 55-27 again by being beaten 3-1 by the Jazz. It must be nice to have this many years of talent and not get a damn thing out of it.
1991-92: You sweep the Spurs. Remember that name. Course now Portland is back and bitch slaps you in 5.
1992-93: Shit needs to change! Heres a Charles Barkley to lead you to the promised land and by god does it work. Barkley wins MVP and you go 62-20
1992-93 First-Round to Conference Finals: You slay your sleep paralysis demon in the Lakers and edge past the Spurs and the team that robbed you of a championship back in 78 in the SuperSonics. For the 2nd time in your history you are going to the NBA Finals
1992-93 NBA Finals: You run into the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls 3peat buzzsaw and lose in 6. This definitely won't be the end of your window though
1993-94: It was the end of your window. Hakeem knocks you out in route to a ring.
1994-95: Last year was brutal for you guys. You get consolation though. Losing to the Rockets again. They win the championship again.
1995-96: You have a new sleep paralysis demon. It's name is the Spurs. Charles Barkley fucks off for the Rockets via trade.
1996-97: The SuperSonics also crush your balls in a vice because this is Phoenix and if you aren't regularly getting beaten by Seattle you are the Diamondbacks and you've won a championship unlike the other 3 teams in Phoenix. But at least you drafted Steve Nash.
1997-98: Lose to the Spurs in the first round again for reasons of Texas owns this franchise.
1998-99: Trade Steve Nash to the Dallas Mavericks after the 1998 NBA Draft because you are fucking idiots. Your reward for this incompetence is being swept by Portland
1999-2000: You actually beat the Spurs in a playoff series. Only to then lose to WHAT DO YA KNOW! THE FUCKING LAKERS. Least you drafted this Shawn Marion guy.
2000-2001: The Jason Kidd experiment ends as you lose another playoff series to your other overlords from California. The now Sacramento Kings.
2001-2002: You can't lose in the first round if you don't even make them!
2002-2003: Heres this Amar'e Stoudemaire guy. Oh and another First Round exit to the fucking Spurs
2003-2004: 29-53. You are trash. Something needs to CHANGE NOW!
2004-2005: The answer is to ask the Mavericks to give you Steve Nash back and make Mike D'Antoni the full-time head coach. He wins MVP and for the 2nd time in team history you go 62-20
2004-2005 First Round-Semi-Finals: You swept the Grizzlies and made Dallas pay for giving Nash back. Only a brick wall could stop you.
2004-2005 Conference Finals: It's name is the Spurs
2005-2006: It's ok because you came back on strong and have another shot at the crown with Nash winning his 2nd MVP in as many years.
2005-2006: First Round-Semi-Finals: You barely survive a double attack from the Los Angeles duo of the Lakers and Clippers and all that is in your way is the Mavericks team you crushed a year before
2005-2006 Conference Finals: Revenge is a bitch as the Mavericks assblast you in 6
2006-2007: 61-21. 1st seed for the 3rd straight season. For the love of god this has to be the year
2006-2007 First Round: You beat the living shit out of the Lakers in 5 games! The dragon is dead!
2006-2007 Semi-Finals: YOU LOST TO THE FUCKING SPURS AGAIN???????
2007-2008: It's time to make a move. Shawn Marion is tired of being dangled over the trading block like a juicy steak. SEND HIM TO MIAMI TO BRING IN THE WASHED UP REMAINS OF SHAQ
2007-2008 First Round: You didn't lose to the Spurs in 6 games this time! You lose to them in 5.
2008-2009: Miss the playoffs entirely as the most notable thing Shaq does is win All-Star Game MVP
2009-2010: Trade the malignant cancer to the Cavaliers and rebound to a 54-28 3 seed in the West.
2009-2010 First Round/Semi-Finals: You channel dark magic to slay your demons in the Spurs and Trail Blazers. Dare we hope?
2009-2010 Conference Finals: YOU. LOST. ANOTHER. FUCKING. SERES. TO. THE. LAKERS.
2010-2020: The wheels completely fucking fall off as Steve Nash leaves and you wander the desert until at last a new core forms behind DeAndre Ayton, Devin Booker, and a MASSIVELY overpaid poorly aging Chris Paul
2020-2021: To no real surprise after barely being under .500 the season before you charge into the playoffs as the 2 seed.
2020-2021 First Round-Conference Finals: You allow the sports world to laugh at LeBron James crying like a bitch, obliterate the Nuggets and the league MVP, and then survive a series with the Clippers where Patrick Beverly tries to assassinate every member of the starting lineup. For the 3rd time in team history. You are going to the NBA Finals.
2020-2021 NBA Finals: You proceed to become one of less than 35 teams to blow a 2-0 series lead and you do it to the team that got Kareem instead of you all those years ago. The Milwaukee Bucks.
2021-22: You are destroying teams left and fucking right. Devin Booker is an MVP candidate. Monty Williams wins Coach of the Year. The hunger drives you to a franchise-record 64-18 record and no team that has been 8 games better than the rest of the league has EVER failed to win it all. AT LAST THE SUNS WILL RISE AS CHAMPIONS!
2021-22 First Round: Ok that series against New Orleans was a little disappointing but it's ok. The 8 seed is a tune-up series 99% of the time and Monty broke momentum by resting the starters. You'll be fine. It's only the Mavericks next. Beat them and worry about whoever wins the 2 seed-3 seed series.
2021-22 Semi-Finals: What ensues is perhaps the greatest travesty this franchise has ever committed against its fans. Up 2-0 the Suns proceed to be obliterated the rest of the series before a 43 point loss in Game 7. All the hype, statistics saying it was a LOCK, broken records, and everything is destroyed before your very eyes. Worse this might've been your last chance as Chris Paul's albatross of a contract has you deep in the shit and unable to pay guys like DeAndre Ayton. YOU BLEW IT!!!!!!!!!
2022-23: Congratulations! Robert Sarver has been removed from power! Celebrate this by massively overpaying DeAndre Ayton and then looking like you are running in place like a hamster on a hamster wheel. Jae Crowder is being a little bitch about Cam Johnson being on the team. It's time to make a move. Trade Crowder, Johnson, and Mikhail Bridges to the Nets in exchange for Kevin motherfucking Durant. He immediately gets injured 2 games after showing up. The end result is a 45-37 record and a team that wouldn't have made the playoffs if the Western Conference didn't shit itself.
2022-23 First Round: You expended all your luck to barely win every game you won causing the most unconvincing 5-game series win in recent memory against a Clippers team that had no Paul George and no Kawhi Leonard. You are going to do it again aren't you?
2022-23 Semi-Finals: ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? You can't win in Denver. The refs hate you the entire series. The NBA refuses to suspend Jokic because fuck you that's why. AND YOU GET BLOWN THE FUCK OUT AT HOME TO LOSE THE SERIES A SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR? DO YOU HAVE NO FUCKING SHAME?
2023-24 Offseason: The fans are justifiably pissed at Monty Williams. This guy just stands on the sidelines being carried by high-end talent and turns into a potato when shit hits the fan. Get fucking fired and replaced by the massively overrated clown and ex-LeBron puppet that is Frank Vogel. Then send a bag of 2nd round picks and more bench pieces and the King of Choking to the Wizards in exchange for Bradley Beal.
If you'd stopped here you might've won something. Instead, you listen to the cry for blood again. The fans are pissed at DeAndre Ayton. He is a bum they say. After so many years he should've become an elite big man they say. They aren't exactly wrong but what you do is ASININE. GET IN ON THE THREE-TEAM TRADE THAT SENDS AYTON TO PORTLAND, DAMIAN LILLARD TO MILWAUKEE, AND JUSUF NURKIC TO PHOENIX. CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE GOTTEN A BIG MAN WHO IS ALMOST 50% WORSE AT SCORING AND REBOUNDS AT ABOUT THE SAME CLIP.
2023-24 Season: What ensues is entirely predictable. You have no defense. Your bench is being carried by Grayson Allen doing his best bargain-brand Steph Curry impersonation. Bradley Beal is clearly getting old and Durant and Booker simply cannot score enough to consistently drag this team to victory resulting in a 49-33 season where you barely avoid the new-fangled play-in bullshit
2023-24 First Round: You get mauled by a Minnesota Timberwolves team that is somehow good and are swept in the first round. Half the fandom is blaming Devin Booker again like its somehow his fault that the front office thinks NBA team structure is a math problem they are only allowed to give wrong answers for. Another chunk of it pretends the writing isn't on the wall that this team is about to collapse. Then there's the realists that know its OVER. All the hopes. All the dreams. Lying in ruin yet again.
I've been critical of this team in the past as this is the 3rd or 4th year I've updated this Legacy of Failure but this may truly be the end of the window. This was it. All-in or bust. A team that hit 20 at blackjack and said "hit me" instead of taking their winnings. Now where are they. A team WELL over the cap sinking endless cash into 3 players without the skill pieces for it to matter. There is no defensive prowess. No bench depth. There isn't even a quality big man unless you count rebounding as all a center should be doing. It's just Booker, Durant, Beal...and Durant will be 36 next year and Beal is about to be 31 and in VISIBLE DECLINE. The only option I see at this point is to just launch the nukes into the rotten structure. Trade Durant and Beal for whatever you can get and tank your asses off in the hope you can form a more decently built core around Booker...course even if you pull that off you'll still have to contend with a multitude of resurgent teams like the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder. You blew another golden window for success doing the same old shit that always costs you in the end.
and as a long-time fan of this team who knows damn well the Suns are the NBA equivalent of the Atlanta Falcons with the winning history of the Minnesota Vikings. I may legitimately cry if Oklahoma City, Denver, or Minnesota win this years Finals. The Thunder haven't won since they were the SuperSonics. Denver would be a repeat champion despite a history of being trash. Minnesota would be yet another fucking team leaving the championshipless club while the Suns remain entrenched in it despite having so many chances to win that they should probably be a top 5 team in terms of championships won. I can't take anymore of watching team after team finally win while the Suns keep punching us in the dicks.

I’m once again back with some numbers, let’s see which champions were the stars of the April Monthly Challenge!
First, I would like to thank all the people who contributed, the effort of the community made this possible! This data is based on 57 reports.
So the only champion that was top 10 in January, February, March, but not in April is:

• LeBlanc: 6th, 4th, 2nd and now 11th, looks like she wasn't really needed this time!

The champions, who are consistently top 10 are:

• Aurelion Sol (1, 1, 9, 3)
• Jinx (3, 2, 1, 2)
• Annie (9, 8, 8, 9)

I'm going through the top 10 most used champions in a decreasing order, indicating the average count of successful usages of the champions by players. This means that the maximum number would be 3 if every player would have used that champ 3 times successfully this month. Then I show the change compared to last month. I also highlight the challenges where they were the most common winners

10. Elise (1.77, -0.06)

After constantly rising, last month just missing the top 10, she made her debut here. She has some very good applications as she can fill the board quickly and deal a lot of damage fast. This month she was 1st pick in 1 challenge: 70 Unnatural Selection (The player’s units have Evolve.)

9. Annie (1.77, -0.10)

She is still a strong pick where spell and skill damage are boosted or spells are copied (Hello Dreadway Chase Gun!). This month she was 1st pick in 3 challenges: 1 Arms Race (Game Start: ALL players summon 2 Funsmiths.) 5 Repetition (When ANY player plays a spell, they copy it with the same targets.) 21 Blinking Flames (ALL spells and skills deal 1 extra damage.)

8. Lux (1.98, +0.28)

Another mage, the OG Lux, seems like we had many mutators this month liked by mages. She, unlike the previous ones, doesn't focus on throwing cheap damaging spells, but rather on some big ones, so she likes to have some extra mana at hand. This month she was 1st pick in 5 challenges: 12, 33, 64 Arcane Emissions (Game Start: ALL players start with 3 spell mana.) 37 Power Of Observation (Game Start: ALL players summon a Hextech Observatory.) 47 Nautical Nuisance (Round Start: Refill ALL players' spell mana.)

7. Nidalee (2.02, +0.32)

Our ambusher is back in the top 10, but this time she didn't have a special use apart from Small Stuff (with a 2nd place), she was rather used as a generalist. This month she was 1st pick in 0 challenges.

6. Diana (2.16, +0.12)

We had Forest Workout challenges again and Diana was ready for them! This month she was 1st pick in 3 challenges: 15, 26, 42 Forest Workout (ALL units have "Strike: Double my Power.")

5. Garen (2.18, +0.60)

The man is leaping back to action, while he did his part for Demacia, he was rather a generalist this time. This month he was 1st pick in 1 challenge: 11 Dutiful Service (Each round, the player's first Demacia card costs 1 less to play.)

4. Tahm Kench (2.19, +0.42)

Yeah, he likes Frenzied Fighting, and we like him there so much that Elise, Evelynn or Darius, some other good candidates, couldn't beat him in either of the occurrences. This month he was 1st pick in 4 challenges: 20, 30, 41, 62 Frenzied Fighting (The player's units have +2/+2. Round End: Deal 2 to all the player's units.)

3. Aurelion Sol (2.30, +0.45)

He is back in the top 3 now, used the most in the two challenges I deemed the two hardests. This month he was 1st pick in 2 challenges: 48 Vicious Kai'Sa with tentacle spawns and recalls 57 Vicious Undying Rage with Fiora and Yasuo

2. Jinx (2.35, +0.12)

Jinx had a higher use than last month, but this was only enough for 2nd place this time. Against some harder challenges many people used her to ensure victory. This month he was 1st pick in 2 challenges: 35 Let's Rock (Round Start: The Foe summons a Rockfall Path if they don't have one.) with Kai'Sa and Zed 65 Mercy Killings (Round End: Kill ALL damaged units.), Noxian Might II (Each round, the first time the Foe summons a unit, grant it +4/+0 and Overwhelm.) with Lee Sin and Katarina 68 Mercy Killings (Round End: Kill ALL damaged units.)

1. Master Yi (2.40, +0.98)

A new guy in the top 10 (26th, 14th, 25th previously) and he jumped straight to the 1st place. With the right mutators and build he can win round 1 or 2, and not a lot of champions can do this. This month he was 1st pick in 2 challenges: 51, 60 Vestige Of Helia (ALL spells cost 1 less, ALL units have SpellShield.) 53, 66 Natural Magic (All cards cost 2 less.)
My spreadsheet, where you can learn more: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bTf-RDkkw0uHkigrnuwxvLcsxfFIKNFLlwGuyDpwFJg/edit#gid=1693669316

My online friend whom I fell in love with…We broke up today.
Hey guys, I need all the support and love. Please and thanks!
💙❤️💜💛💚
So gimme some of that good old virtual hugs! Send me the most loving quotes you got. Gimme some that sugary saccharine sappy vibes! I need it.
Listen you guys, my problem is that I’m too loyal for my own good. I love way too much. I try too hard to be like Usagi from Sailor Moon. Or rather Usagi is like me. Guys, I believe in one true love. Believe me, I ain’t doing it again! Because love hurts.
A little bit about me, I’m an idiot. Number two I’m an softie. Number three, I’ve dealt with more heartbreak than anything. But this is my first romantic heartbreak!
Long story short, our tragic love story started on January 20th, 2024. He requested to chat with me. I said yes. I didn’t fall in love with him immediately. To me romance and love takes time. But I began to fall for him. He was really smart and kind. I thought I was special to him. I thought he was special. But then today it was hard for him to wait for me. I understand. I live miles away. But at the same time I thought we were going to be something special.
I stood up for him online when people were being rude.
I called him out for not being loyal. I should not have done that. That’s what I get for being like Sailor Moon. However, I was stupid to expect so much from him. Yes, I was stupid. Yes, I told him my real first name, which state I lived in, and shared photos and videos of my real face. Yes, I am a big fat moron.
I say goodbye with Sailor moon sad pic the one where she in the balcony. I was about to delete my Reddit account, but the system won’t let me. It must be a sign from an angel.
I was about to add a message “My line is open. God wanted me to stay”. But he blocked on everything. Ugh….😩
What the?! I was about to tell him that my line was open just in case. Just in case, he wanted to speak to me again.
I was crying all day. We’ve only know each other for three months! THREE MONTHS! It ended before anything happened!
But it hurts. It hurts dammit! 😢 I wish he hadn’t blocked me. I deleted my instagram pics because I felt stupid.
Again I know I’m at fault for being so loyal. I hurt myself. I’m my worst enemy. I was too kind for my own good. Sometimes, I wish my life were like a sitcom. The happy kind of sitcom where every single time there’s a happy ending.
I miss my friend already!! 😭 Why does this always happen to me!? Adding onto this, I remained loyal through and through. I did not talk to any other dudes. That’s just the way I am.
Thank-you, beautiful people ! All you sad people who had their hearts crushed! You all are beautiful you hear me?! Beautiful!
So in Sailor Moon fashion! “Moon Crisis Power! Make UP!” Lend me your strength and kindness! I really need it. 🦋🦋🌷🌷🌷🦋🌷🌷🌷🦋🦋🦋
No private messages please. No slipping in my DMs unless you are the one I’m talking about! When I do get those messages I get unsolicited yucky messages! I maybe stupid, but not that stupid to jump to another relationship!
I believe in what Usagi said “You are my first love, my only love... Even if we're reborn in another life, we'll find each other, and then we'll fall in love again." I’m going to stand by my strong morals.

My girlfriend have been together for almost 3 years, and have been toxic since two months into our relationship. I met her on tinder. She was in her last few months of a nursing program in the local college in my town, but was originally from a town two hours away.
She’s Indian, I’m half Black half white.
Anyways we continued to talk on tinder and couple weeks later met up in person where we really hit it off. She let me know right away that she had to go back home for awhile after school and that her parents probably wouldn’t approve of me because I’m black and don’t have a degree (first red flag), even though I come from a good household and make good money as a tradesman.
Because of this, we both approached it as a fling at first, but quickly fell in love and became a serious relationship within weeks. Two months later, she had to leave. We handled it well at first and it wasn’t too toxic yet, until one late night, probably 2 weeks after going back home, she FaceTimed me with marks on her face claiming to have been beat by her parents. I came to her rescue right away.
It was late as we were driving back to my place and I was starting to get tired, so I let her know I was going to pull over on the highway to get some sleep, but she insisted on driving as she was worried her parents were following us. I stupidly let her, and she ended up crashing my car. Turns out she had alcohol in her system as well, and she was arrested for drunk driving. She went back home shortly after so her parents could give her car interlock, and ever since then (the past two years or so) we’ve been mostly long distance, besides a couple of months when she rebelliously ran from home, but ultimately ended up going back.
The long distance has been hard on me, she’s a very rare beauty that I assume many admire, and has given me no reason to be secure in the relationship at all. She always tells me about guys sexually assaulting her both in the past and present, being a sex worker in the past, going into detail and everything. The amount she’s explained these times it’s almost hard to believe her, except she is gorgeous so I do believe it. I’m already naturally jealous though, so this information really selfishly impacts me deeply at times.
This is the part where I become toxic. I’m so into this girl that I’ve been traumatized by her. Her leaving me for so long, giving me dates on when she’s coming back to me and ending up staying home instead with excuse after excuse, telling me about guys harassing and obsessing over her but playing it off like she’s innocent, cheating on me multiple times that I know of, lying to me all the time and I’m still somehow with her. My toxic trait is the obsession.
Usually I would easily let a girl go after all this disrespect but I’m so physically attracted to her that I don’t even want to try to wife anyone else up. I’ve broken up with her so many times just to go back to her because despite all this toxicity, she’s always insisted on staying together and I feel like I’d be stupid to dump such a hot babe.
So yesterday was really bad. Since the last time she cheated on me (about a month ago), I’ve been trying to break up for good but still don’t have the balls to let her go. She went to a religious Indian event yesterday, didn’t message me all day until about 5pm when she claimed to have been sexually assaulted yet again. I blocked her on everything.
She ended up calling me with an extra instagram account she has that I forgot about, and went into detail about the assault, saying a guy embraced her back in a big crowd and was “hard as a rock”. I crashed out hearing this and started talking mad shit. I told her she’s brought stuff like this up so many times that I almost think she has a kink for it (I regret saying that),but her sister was there and I didn’t know. I heard her sister start talking shit about me the hang it up for her, and she hasn’t answered me since.
Who’s more in the wrong throughout our relationship? I feel it’s her, but at the same time I’ve stuck around for everything due to infatuation and definitely said some things I shouldn’t when I could’ve just manned up and left instead of putting someone down with my words. Just needed to vent, if anybody has some advice that’d be great.

Hey there.
First play through here. I’m enjoying this much. I’m at the point of siding with a faction, and I’m leaning towards yes man. That said, been to the Fort, spoke to Caesar who asked me to destroy mr house’s stuff. But instead I took out the guards in the weather station, thinking I would have the chip on me still.
But now in my quest log I have two contradictory objectives : - get the chip from Benny at the Fort. - take the chip to Mr House.
So it seems like the game assumes that I both have and don’t have the chip at the same time. What do I do ? (Do I even care about it lol?)
My plan was to work for everybody a little bit to see (and understand the story better) and then side for yes man/indie..

Okay so I broke up with my x a couple months ago . He was in jail came out last month called me tried to hook up . I was down just for a hook up long story short he ended up dissing me telling me not to go over . (I think he was just trying to make me feel how he felt when I broke up w him ) . Whatever that’s fine I told him not to contact me again . Fast forward a week to a drunken day of mine I called him on fb msj . Got a lovely message back from him “leave me alone bitch “ … & from his new girl . She was insulting me calling me out my name and talking out her ass . Told her the only reason I called was because he hit me up right after he got out … blocked them moved on . 🤷🏻‍♀️ once I find out you with someone I will never want u . Anyways he tried to request a $1 on cash app a couple days later 😂 saying in the note part to come over and he will go half on a bottle “ (I ignored him ) . Got a lovely message from his girl the next day talking all this shit to leave her man alone and to stop bothering people in relationships 😂 when in fact “her man “ been bothering me !!! She’s oblivious and blindsided . I can’t help but feel sorry for her now . But she will see the real him one day . Anyways I guess he just got a new number and been trying to call me and when I would call back he lets it ring and doesn’t answer when I ask who’s this . (I looked up that number in cash app and I saw it was him ) . He ended up texting & calling me yesterday … I picked up and he asked if I missed him (I said no I don’t but I know you miss me ) just basically told him to leave me alone “bitch “ just as he called me . So my question is WHY , WHY IF HE has a whole girlfriend he’s happy there good , whyyy does he keep bothering me playing games with me . I came to accept we will never work out . It could never be in a healthy relationship with him . But I feel like he’s obsessed or something like leave me alone ? Why would a guy keep bothering someone while having a girl ?!!!!! I don’t understand

I recently discovered this interview from the TIME magazine's archive - it's from 1999. It's hard to believe they actually published this in TIME magazine.
It's an interview with the leader of Falun Gong, a Qigong cult from China:
https://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2053761,00.html
Excerpts:

TIME: Why does chaos reign now?
Li: Of course there is not just one reason. The biggest cause of society's change today is that people no longer believe in orthodox religion. They go to church, but they no longer believe in God. They feel free to do anything. The second reason is that since the beginning of this century, aliens have begun to invade the human mind and its ideology and culture.
TIME: Where do they come from?
Li: The aliens come from other planets. The names that I use for these planets are different . Some are from dimensions that human beings have not yet discovered. The key is how they have corrupted mankind. Everyone knows that from the beginning until now, there has never been a development of culture like today. Although it has been several thousand years, it has never been like now.
The aliens have introduced modern machinery like computers and airplanes. They started by teaching mankind about modern science, so people believe more and more science, and spiritually, they are controlled. Everyone thinks that scientists invent on their own when in fact their inspiration is manipulated by the aliens. In terms of culture and spirit, they already control man. Mankind cannot live without science.
The ultimate purpose is to replace humans. If cloning human beings succeeds, the aliens can officially replace humans. Why does a corpse lie dead, even though it is the same as a living body? The difference is the soul, which is the life of the body. If people reproduce a human person, the gods in heaven will not give its body a human soul. The aliens will take that opportunity to replace the human soul and by doing so they will enter earth and become earthlings.
When such people grow up, they will help replace humans with aliens. They will produce more and more clones. There will no longer be humans reproduced by humans. They will act like humans, but they will introduce legislation to stop human reproduction.
TIME: Are you a human being?
Li: You can think of me as a human being.
TIME: Are you from earth?
Li: I don't wish to talk about myself at a higher level. People wouldn't understand it.
TIME: What are the aliens after?
Li: The aliens use many methods to keep people from freeing themselves from manipulation. They make earthlings have wars and conflicts, and develop weapons using science, which makes mankind more dependent on advanced science and technology. In this way, the aliens will be able to introduce their stuff and make the preparations for replacing human beings. The military industry leads other industries such as computers and electronics.
TIME: But what is the alien purpose?
Li: The human body is the most perfect in the universe. It is the most perfect form. The aliens want the human body.
TIME: What do aliens look like?
Li: Some look similar to human beings. U.S. technology has already detected some aliens. The difference between aliens can be quite enormous.
TIME: Can you describe it?
Li: You don't want to have that kind of thought in your mind.
TIME: Describe them anyway.
Li: One type looks like a human, but has a nose that is made of bone. Others look like ghosts. At first they thought that I was trying to help them. Now they now that I am sweeping them away.,
TIME: How do you see the future?
Li: Future human society is quite terrifying. If aliens are not to replace human beings, society will destroy itself on its own. Industry is creating invisible air pollution. The microparticles in the air harm human beings. The abnormality in the climate today is caused by that [pollution], and it cannot be remedied by humans alone. The drinking water is polluted. No matter how we try to purify it, it cannot return to its original purity. Modern science cannot determine the extent of the damage. The food we eat is the product of fertilized soil. The meat we eat is affected. I can foresee a future when human limbs become deformed, the body's joints won't move and internal organs will become dysfunctional. Modern science hasn't realized this yet.

​
It's interesting that he said aliens provided us with science and technology to divert our focus from spirituality. Tolkien said the exact same thing - the rings in the LoTR symbolizes technology. The interview also mentioned Military Industrial Complex as the ones who passed these tech to the commercial sector.
According to him, aliens are here to clone us - because they want to be us. This has been mentioned in some alien abduction cases (read 'Masquerade of Angels' by Karla Turner). Their method of invasion is not war but by slowly becoming us. There seems to be a concealed truth in the movie "Invasion of the body snatchers".

"If aliens are not to replace human beings, society will destroy itself on its own."
"The abnormality in the climate today is caused by that [pollution], and it cannot be remedied by humans alone."

These sentences revealed a lot, if you have read other esoteric materials, you'll know that this "alien invasion" was approved by the so called "galactic federation".
(Even NASA pondered their existence: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19800014518/downloads/19800014518.pdf)
The federation argued that mankind is going to destroyed itself and the planet anyway, so why not replaced humans and save the planet. It's like watching a movie with a twist in the end to find the protagonist to be the bad guy. We humans are the bad guys, they (the aliens) are coming here to replace us and save the planet. There you have it - the truth hurts.
The government is never going to revealed the truth.

Buckle up, buttercup! Once I knew this information, I should have vacated the marriage (I did escape, eventually.)! My ex-step-MIL was a monster! My ex told me she once force-fed him peas with a wooden spoon when she was a kid, and only stopped beating him when he got big enough and finally hit her back. Yep! I knew that BEFORE we got married! My self-esteem was THAT bad! Wait! Wait! Don't get up yet! She was the sickly-sweet, "aren't I the best", on her best, "I'm perfectly reasonable, so how could you believe anything bad about me" behavior around the neighbors. You know the type? But get this: I once met two women from my ex's hometown and told them I was engaged to "Hugo", the preacher from Poltergeist II"'s Dad and horse-tooth grin evil step-monster's kid. Bit of pertinent info, here, horsey face (futurely known as "B" for her name and nature) was a county nurse, which meant she traveled to rural parts of the county and "cared" for elderly people in their homes. I say "cared," because that's what they're supposed to do. Back to the two women: they got this horrified look on their faces and one lady's mouth fell open. Oh, yeah. They knew who I was talking about. I looked at them with a "what do I do?" look, shook my head and said, "I know." They then proceeded to tell me patients B took care of have complained of her abuse. What those complaints were, I don't know, but I already didn't like B from all the crap that I heard, and the fact that she called me by my ex's ex-gf name the first time we met told me she was ugly. 😆 No big deal then, but as I got to know her, I realized it was deliberate. P B had a two-year-old grandson who came to visit. We're standing in the living room (B, Preacher Man (he really did look like him) ex, me, 2-y-o and his parents, who were B's daughter, "Ditz" and her husband, "Wetfish." We were admiring the lake out of the floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, when the 2-y-o walks up to the glass and puts his hands on it. What would you do? No biggie, right? B went into a rage, grabbed the kid's arm, yanked him away and said, "Stupid!" Ditz and Wetfish didn't say a word, and I was honestly shocked (and still intimidated) by her actions! 😳 Finally, down to some messed-up tea. There's more, but we all have lives to live. When I found out this mess, I should have backed away. BTW, you may want to get a pencil and some paper to graph this out. My ex had an elderly grandmother (S). Her husband had passed away, and she found love again in her later years. She married L. L had a daughter and three sons. The daughter was B. Are you thinking ahead yet? My ex's father was married to my ex's mother, until, like a creepy cartoon from "The Wall," B came creeping in. She wrecked the home and married my ex's dad. So, we have a "Greg marries Marsha" type situation, right? 🤔 Oh, hold on, it gets better. Do you remember B has three brothers? One of her brothers is D, and he has a daughter. If you recall, B has a daughter. Can you even imagine what B's ex ended up doing? He married D's ex!! So, not only are the two daughters cousins, they're step-sisters! The ironic thing is, I'M the one who moved to Arkansas! 😂