Greg mulligan highway thru hell

TW: Hanging, Death and Blood
I grew up in a small town called Evelanch, its located on the outskirts of Delaware, the population there was just over 1,000, I grew up there with my single mother and two brothers, I was the youngest so was the punching bag of the siblings but we all loved each other really. Its the type of town where everyone knew everyone, all the shops were owned by families that lived there and the bakeries always had fresh homemade goods... overall it was a great place to grow up in... apart from the fact the town was very superstitious about the surrounding woods. It was surrounded by these massive woods, miles and miles of woods, the kids and adults never went in them, the only people you ever saw in there was woodcutters. There was only one road that went through them, it was always referred to as the Lumberjacks Highway as all the wood cutters would use it to transport all the cuttings from the forest back to the town, They were the only people to really use it as not many people came to visit Evelanch. Growing up, all the kids were told never to go playing in them, all the adults of the town had these made up horror stories about giant bears and packs of hungry wolves to scare the kids into staying away from them, and were warned not to listen to the 'animal' noises we heard at night, the adults old us they were wailing, or it was their mating call and we believed them but as we grew up, we started to notice that the noises coming from the woods at night, weren't noises of an animal, but none of us could ever identify what they actually were, well that was until the summer of 1997 and I wish with every bone in my body we hadn't.
It was a hot summers day, me and my closest friends, Bruno, Stacy were all playing in my back yard, that night we had planned to sleep in the field just at the back of my house, a make-shift camping night, but since we were only 11 we didn't want to go too far from home, the field at the back of my house has a barbed wire fence surrounding it, it keeps the field and the woods separate, it was around 7ft tall the barbed wire at the top adding around another foot onto it, so no-one in the town was capable of climbing it, many have tried and failed miserably ending up grounded or in hospital. We placed outdoor camping lanterns all around the tent lighting up the area around us meaning we could see just past the fence. To explain the set up, we had one of those tents with the clear back, it was like a window and it had the piece of fabric you could roll down like a crappy curtain on it, the window was facing the fence with the fabric rolled up at the top because it was tangled and we were all to young to know how to untie it so we decided to just leave it open, to make us feel better we all turned or sleeping bags to face the window so we didn't have our backs to it. By the time we got settled in our sleeping bags it was around 11pm, we decided to tell stories and play some card games before heading to sleep, we eventually fell asleep around 12pm meaning the area that wasn't lit up by our lamps was pitch black, making us all feel a bit un-easy.
The next thing I remember was being shook awake by Bruno, I half lifted the sleeping mask of my eyes and looked up to see him hovering over me, trembling, he was panicked and looked like he was about to cry, I was still half asleep and confused what was going on, I remember asking him what was the matter and he just raised his shaking hand and pointed into the treeline, I rubbed my eyes and looked out the tent window and thats when I saw them, figures, just standing in the treeline, staring at us, they were almost as tall as the fence, must of been around 6.5ft with out of proportion limbs, their arms were almost as long as their body, and their head was smaller than a humans, they had smiles painted onto their unmoving face and there was gaping holes where their eyes should have been, at the end of their arms were small slim hands that warped into talons where their fingers should have been, and they were all swaying, crying all in sync, that was what the wailing noise was...
I was frozen, I couldn't move, I tried to scream for my mum, I tried to run but my body wouldn't let me, after what felt like hours, Stacy woke up and in a sleepy daze followed our gaze and met the same horrific imagine we were seeing, she let out a shriek and that jump started my brain, I threw my sleeping bag off and tumbled out of the tent Stacy and Bruno followed behind me, Bruno still shaking and Stacy crying hysterically suddenly we all heard this scream, sounded like everyone in our town began crying and wailing together, I looked back to see they were now pressed up against the fence, Pointing at us and screaming and clawing at the holes where their eyes should have been, seeing this we all picked up the pace, jumping over my fence and tumbling into my backyard, we began banging on my back door begging for my mum to let us in
She swung the door open and pulled us all inside asking us what the hell we were doing at this hour, once we explained, her annoyed expression soon shifted to a look of terror, she stormed out of the room and got our house phone, she called someone and told them exactly what we have told her, she then hung up and lead us all into the basement, after around 10 minutes we heard someone enter from our front door, they came into the basement light and we could now see our local priest, he had holy water, a bible and a cross with him, he rushed in and imminently started chanting verses of the bible and splashing the the water in a circle around us, he soon looked panicked when the water around my two friends began drying up but the splashes around me were untouched, confused I asked what was going on but he ignored me and took my weeping mother outside to speak to her. After around 10 minutes my mom and my two friends parents came back into the basement, they were all crying and hugging each other, my mom was telling their parents how sorry she was and kept telling them it would be okay and to use what time they had left to enjoy it, we were all still terrified and confused...thats the last thing I remember.
A week later, Stacy and Bruno went missing, both on the same day, an hour apart, they were found a day later... hanging from a tree with their eyes cut out, and limbs shred and scratched to the point where the skin was hanging off the bone, the police didn't investigate nor question anyone, the town knew why they were like this. For years I asked myself why I wasn't taken too, I was there, I had seen the same thing they had, It wasn't until my mother was on her deathbed that she told me, the sleeping mask I wore that night stopped them from seeing my full face, if it weren't for that sleeping mask, I would of been hanging from a tree just like them. I moved out of that town shortly after, my brothers decided to stay. I now have a wife and son and have tried to move on, but I recently got a letter, telling me that my brothers son, had met the same fate as my two childhood befriends, thats why I'm writing this, don't listen to the wailing from the trees, don't go exploring the woods at night, and do not let them see your face. The things that hide in the woods are hiding for a reason.
May god be with you all.

I was bummed as hell last night not being able to get online for the midnight launch. All my friends could, but I couldn't! Got stuck every time with a communication error. Code 50200-20011 S9041-TAD-W72T. Could not for the life of me find anyone with an answer: every thread about this issue was just empty or all replies were "same here."
If you have this problem, you need to log in to your modem/router's configuration and disable packet filtering. The reason you're stuck is because the game needs an in-game update (not thru Steam) and for whatever reason, your connection is not allowing that through. As soon as I disabled packet filtering, I booted up the game, and it immediately admitted it needed an update. After that, zero problems getting into the Battle Hub. Hope this helps any of you who are also struggling to get online!
I'm not sure if this is part of it at all, but you might also want to open these ports as recommended by the Support FAQ:
TCP ports: 80, 443, 20002, 30840, 30850, 30870
UDP ports: 30840-30859, 30870-30879
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happy fightin.

So its possible I'm beating a dead horse, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who have gone down this reasoning, but after really thinking this thru, it drives me UP THE WALL every time 'the original lie' is brought up. Looking at the facts and the actual scriptures:
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Gen 2:17 Jah said "Do not eat from the tree of knowledge, because you will die that very day"
Serpent slithers up and asks if god really told them not to eat from every tree (gen 3:1)
Eve repeats what god said, and Satan says "You wont die, your eyes will be opened, knowing good and bad (ie, knowledge)" gen3:3
So they eat the fruit, and what Satan said would happen did, not Jehovah. Jehovah said they would die that day, Satan said you will not died, but get additional knowledge. They didn't die that day, but they received additional knowledge, like a child growing up. Just like Satan said, their eyes were opened. Hell, even Jehovah admits the consequence of eating the fruit was exactly what Satan said, at gen 3:22.
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In the borg the story of Satan telling 'the original lie' made sense, but after you allow yourself to actually critically think about things....the original lie just falls apart. According to the scriptures, it is Jehovah that said the original lie, not Satan. Satan was truthful and factual about what would happen if they ate it. They only eventually died because Jehovah pulled a fast one and snuck in a 2nd magic tree in the narrative, the one for everlasting life (gen 3:22).
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I feel like I butchered writing this up, but thinking about how WT twists just a simple story was one of the stepping stones that opened my eyes and let me examine more critically WT and the bible.

Used to be that some one would actually man the front counter at fast food restaurants. Now your lucky if they even acknowledge your presence. If you don't order online or get delivery you might as well go through the drive thru.
I was at KFC today and I waited from r five minutes at the front counter for some one to acknowledge me. Then instead of a welcome to KFC I got a hey do you need something? In a rude tone.
I said um to order?
Why the hell else would I be standing in front of the cash register?

Hi all,
I have had issues with my chest since getting off back in December 2022. I did the heart monitor (zio patch) last week and I am waiting for my results. I have had a suspicion could be muscular for a couple weeks now. This morning, after a stressful morning, I felt the symptoms and just happened to have my shirt off and saw my chest twitching, two times.
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I am relieved it is most likely not my heart that is causing this, but I am wondering what the hell it is. It seems to be brought on by anxiety, but sometimes it happens when I am getting ready to fall asleep.
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Anyone go thru this?

This is my post for the Defending The Draft series over on NFL_Draft. Decided to post it here as well for any Bucs fan who aren't draft fans that may be interested.
Preface
The old man has finally left… As a Bucs fan I have to just start by thanking Tom Brady by giving me some of the best years of Buc’s football I have seen in my 22 years of life. From eliminating the Saints and retiring Brees to winning the SB the Bucs teams from the Brady era will always be special to me. But saying that this move had to happen as with Brady the Bucs would not be able to rebuild the roster to the degree that is needed.
While a roster top loaded with talent the Bucs are in a huge deficit of depth through the roster even before Brady left. During this season we saw the effect of this lack of depth with the amount of injuries we had throughout the interior of the O-line and through the entire defense. Injuries to Ryan Jensen and Aaron Stinnie forced inexperienced players upfront which led to the biggest problem of the season which was pressure from the interior of the line. While backup Center Robert Hainsey held up and gave the Bucs fans hope for a post Ryan Jensen O-Line first year player Luke Goedeke was a detriment in his first year at guard to the point the Bucs will be switching him to RT for next season. For the defense we saw injuries throughout it from our depleted CB room to our barren safety room to our ravaged EDGE room to our destroyed IDL room… you get the point. Injuries were the main thing that destroyed the Bucs last season and during this offseason the Bucs lost even more depth.
The main positive about the Bucs lost season was GM Jason Licht firing OC Byron Leftwich from his role. While seemingly a good guy Leftwich might have been the worst OC in football last season. Continually calling plays which seemed to be against the players and the team's best interest. At times watching Leftwich call games was similar to spamming the A button in Madden and letting the game decide what play you were calling for you. It was infuriating his constant tirades he would go on about during the season when asked why he never called play action when we were one of the best play action teams in the league. Along with his thought process that the run game has to be dominant to set up the play action game which continually caused 3 and outs as he would call to run plays up the gut and an over schemed passing play on 3rd down. Replacing Leftwich was paramount, and I truly do believe Jason Licht found a good one in Dave Canales coming from Seattle. Canales was the WR coach for the Seahawks from 2010-2017 before becoming QB coach and passing game coordinator from 2018-2023. Canales is a Carroll disciple being part of Carrolls tenure at USC. Canales should bring life to the Tampa Bay passing game and with his already raving reviews of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin it should at least be a fun year for the Bucs.
New Coaching Hires:
Dave Canales (Offensive Coordinator)
Brad Idzik (Wide Receiver Coach)
Skip Peete (Running Back Coach)
Thad Lewis(QB Coach)
George Edwards(OLB Coach)
Notable Arrivals
QB Baker Mayfield
G Matt Feiler
IDL Greg Gaines
S Ryan Neal
RB Chase Edmonds
Summary: The Bucs additions this off season are nothing to write home about. Mayfield joins Tampa looking to win his final opportunity to show he is a starting QB in the NFL he will be in a stiff competition with Kyle Trask who Dave Canales is hyping up. At the end of the day I believe Trask will win the QB competition and be thrown into a sink or swim situation like Sam Howell and Desmond Ridder. While Gaines and Neal are phenomenal value signing with both being immediate contributors on the Bucs defense with Gaines being projected to rotate with Vita Vea along with playing next to the behemoth and Neal seemingly replacing Mike Edwards role at SS opposite of AWJ these players aren’t gamebreakers. Feiler and Edmonds should be nice depth pieces with Fieler competing to be the starting LG. Overall the Buc’s didn’t make any splash signings in free agency but with the limited cap room they had the moves they made were more than fine.
Notable Departures
LT Donovan Smith
S Mike Edwards
RB Leonard Fournette
G Shaq Mason
TE Cameron Brate
CB Sean Murphy-Bunting
K Ryan Succop
Summary: With this offseason the Buc’s ended up losing a ton of starters on both sides of the ball. On offense the Bucs lost their starting LT, RB, RG, TE and K. While Donovan Smith was a liability in pass protection his departure does mean the Bucs will now be shifting All-Pro RT Tristan Wirfs to LT which causes hesitation in people. I believe this move will be fine in both the long and short term for Tampa but it is still something to note. On defense the Bucs lost both starting SS Mike Edwards and NCB SMB. These moves leave the Bucs secondary especially thin at the CB position with Zyon McCollum slotted to start at NCB now.
Bucs Draft Selections
1.19: Calijah Kancey IDL Pittsburgh 6’1 281lbs
RAS Score: 9.60 Draft Grade: A
While some people believed that taking a OT here was a must with the top 4 OT’s all gone before the Jets pick the Bucs were put into one of the most interesting situations in the draft, seemingly picking between defensive players at this point GM Jason Licht stated that at the top of board they had to players one being “The Linebacker who went to the Lions(Jack Campbell) and Calijah Kancey'' with Kancey being BPA after the OT’s were taken. In a draft class with very few true top end talents I see this as a major win for the Bucs taking a top 10 player on the board and a premier pass rusher from day 1.
Kancey from day 1 should be a menace on the interior of the Bucs D-line paired with the best NT in football Vita Vea. Kancey doesn’t just win with his elite first step; he is an extremely refined player in every aspect of rushing the passer. From hand usage, leverage, pass rushing moves and intensity Kancey makes up for his miniscule size and arm length with his athleticism which is otherworldly. The comparison to Aaron Donald is over blown, Kancey doesn’t play with the functional strength that Donald had or the run defense ability that Donald has. Personally, I can see Kancey becoming a in between of Aaron Donald and Prime Sheldon Richardson a pass rushing specialist who will collapse the interior and will develop into a 3-down player as his career and body develop in the NFL.
2.48: Cody Mauch G North Dakota State 6’5 302lbs
RAS Score: 9.32 Draft Grade: B
Mauch is very much a Jason Licht pick. Small school guard with a mean streak and tons of athleticism. Mauch is not just a meme because of his missing front teeth he is a legitimate RG prospect similar to Alex Cappa and Ali Marpet for the Bucs. With how the O-Line is shaping up and Licht seemingly happy to move Goedeke from LG to RT, Mauch makes complete sense to shore up the RG position giving the Bucs a much younger and deeper interior then they had last year where every single projected starter interior lineman was hurt at some point.
With Mauch on tape I can see exactly what Licht loves in his linemen with a player who has aggressive hands and a base when pass blocking. Mauch has shown that he is a coachable player making the switch from TE to O-Line. You can sense the traits and upside that Mauch has over some other guard prospects in this class. I do believe that the Bucs switching to a zone blocking scheme which Seattle runs will aid the young O-Line and play to Mauch’s strength which is his athleticism. Playing beside Ryan Jensen makes this pick a B-B+ for me, a big addition especially if Goedeke is the answer at RT.
3.82: YaYa Diaby EDGE Louisville 6’3 263lbs
RAS Score: 9.87 Draft Grade: A
Diaby is a tale of untapped potential. Playing completely out of position at Louisville Diaby was forced to play with his hand in the dirt. Diaby is one of the most athletic players the NFL has ever seen from the EDGE position with his initial quickness and long arms Diaby should be able to develop into at minimum a role player for Tampa. Playing behind Shaq Barrett and Joe Tryon should help Diaby develop into the premier EDGE player he can be. He shows flashes on tape of just using his superior size and athleticism to overpower linemen and his speed to get past them.
For the Bucs I think Diaby will play a rotational role at the moment similar to Anthony Nelson’s role as a smart rotational EDGE that Bowles will use on unique blitz packages which push JTS or Shaq into a 4-3 stance. I have massive hope for Diaby in this defense as a future foundational piece for the Bucs who will more likely than not have to move on from Shaq Barrett next off season.
5.153: SirVocea Dennis LB Pittsburgh 6’1 226lbs
RAS Score: 7.28 Draft Grade: A+
My favorite pick in the Bucs draft I have Dennis as a top 5 LB in the class. Dennis is a do it all LB who is able to not only tackle well but is able to blitz the passer from the ILB position better than anybody in this class. His biggest deficiency to his game is his lack of experience in coverage but he wasn’t a player who was dominated there either. On film you could see him being put into situations in coverage which he couldn’t make the play. In Tampa Dennis will be mentored by one of the best coverage LB’s in the NFL for over a decade in Lavonte David. And with Bowles coaching the defense Dennis will be able to use his ability to rush the passer from the ILB position to its full effect.
With Dennis I can see this being one of the best picks in the entire draft. Dennis’s fit in Tampa is like a glove and with the situation with Devin White where we aren’t sure if he will be a Buc next season I can see Dennis being put into a starting position next to Lavonte David and like former Bucs Kwon Alexander taking it and never looking back.
5.171: Payne Durham TE Purdue 6’6 253lbs
RAS Score: 6.58 Draft Grade: B-
Durham is a big TE who is good at everything but a master at nothing. Very similar to what the Bucs had in longtime player Cameron Brate. Durham at Purdue was a team leader for the offense he set the tone playing an aggressive brand of football dragging defenders wherever he went with the ball. Durham runs decent routes and has decent hands but was never a player who took the top off a defense. With Durham you are giving Mayfield or Trask a reliable receiver in the passing game and a decent blocker to boot. For his size Durham was able to produce decent YAC at Purdue rumbling his way down the field in a similar way that Jason Witten was able to do for the Cowboys during his tenure.
For the Bucs Durham joins one of the youngest TE rooms in the NFL with last year's pick Cade Otton and Ko Kieft being the only players that seem to have roster spots in that room at the moment. Durham should compete with Kieft to be TE2 for this season, but he should be able to still carve a decent role for himself in Tampa with how new OC Canales uses TE’s. Where each TE has a specific role and was able to contribute with Geno Smith at QB.
6.181: Josh Hayes NCB Kansas State 5’11 189lbs
RAS Score: 4.82 Draft Grade: C
The biggest surprise in the Bucs draft was grabbing Josh Hayes, a prospect most people didn’t even have a priority free agent grade on in the top of the 6th. Hayes for all intents and purposes is a prototypical Bowles NCB. Hayes has the speed to play in the NFL and on tape you can see he has adequate tackling skills from the NCB position which he played in college along with the S position. With Hayes you have to believe that the coaching can turn this player into a solid starter because if not the CB room and S room take a massive hit forcing Winfield Jr into NCB full time.
Hayes' best film in my opinion was for North Dakota State where he was a former teammate of Bucs 2nd round pick Cody Mauch. At NDSU you can see the making of a very good CB prospect with how he is able to play in both Man and Zone coverage. At Kansas State he was never forced to be CB1 or even CB2 at times but he did hold his side of the field down and was able to put up some decent performances as a Wildcat. To me this C grade is more of a “I trust Bowles to develop CB’s/S’s” grade.
6.192: Trey Palmer WR Nebraska 6’0 192lbs
RAS Score: 6.18 Draft Grade: A+
A great value pick for the Bucs with their depleted WR core. Palmer has serious upside as a deep threat and even as a return man for the Bucs. Past Evans, Godwin and Gage every spot in the receiver room is wide open and Palmer seems to have the talent to set himself apart as WR4 by the end of the year. Palmer does have reasons for falling this far in the draft though as he has serious drop issues and apparent character issues which have set him back before. I don’t see this as a big problem in Tampa with Evans and Godwin being locker room leaders and his past season at Nebraska.
With Palmer you can see the obvious talent that is there but you can see the reasons he was drafted in the 6th round even when he has Day 2 talent in this class. And with this talent I can see him developing into a player similar to MVS for the Packers and now the Chiefs. A good deep threat that can blow the top off of a defense and isn’t scared of making plays on contested passes even if they aren’t the biggest receiver on the team by any means.
6.196: Jose Ramirez EDGE Eastern Michigan 6’2 242lbs
RAS Score: 8.10 Draft Grade: B
When you watch Ramirez on tape it’s hard to not like what you see. At first when looking at this pick, I thought about how our EDGE room was already a bit full with Diaby but in hindsight I like the Ramirez pick more and more from a talent standpoint. Ramirez is never going to be the most athletic guy on the team but he makes up for it with his effort, timing and technique. Extremely similar to how Shaq Barrett plays for the Bowles defense Ramirez has a talent for being the first guy to get into the QB’s area with his blend of pass rushing moves and leverage. Ramirez was dominant at Eastern Michigan being one of the best players to ever play for EMU.
For a dart throw pick Ramirez should bring the effort needed to truly succeed in some capacity in the NFL and being mentored by the player your game is most similar to in Shaq Barrett is a plus as well. Ramirez should find a role as a utility pass rusher but I don’t see him playing much at all this season and having to compete against Cam Gill for EDGE 5 on the roster.
Key UDFA’s
Sean Tucker RB Syracuse 5’10 205lbs
RAS Score: N/A
Jeremy Banks LB Tennessee 6’1 232lbs
RAS Score: 8.90
Luke Haggard OT Indiana 6’6 297lbs
RAS Score: N/A
Rakim Jarrett WR Maryland 6’0 190lbs
RAS Score: 7.89
Chris Inzen S Rutgers 5’10 200lbs
RAS Score: N/A
Projected Final Roster
Offense(26)
QB(2)
Baker Mayfield
Kyle Trask
RB(4)
Rachaad White
Ke'shawn Vaugn
Chase Edmonds
Sean Tucker
WR(7)
Mike Evans
Chris Godwin
Russell Gage
Trey Palmer
Deven Thompkins
Rakiim Jarrett
TE(3)
Cade Otton
Ko Kieft
Payne DurhamOT(4)
Tristan Wirfs
Luke Goedeke
Brandon Walton
Luke Haggard
OG(4)
Cody Mauch
Matt Feiler
Aaron Stinnie
John Molchon
C(2)
Ryan Jensen
Robert Hainsey
Defense(24)
IDL(5)
Vita Vea
Calijah Kancey
Greg Gaines
Logan Hall
Pat O’Connor
EDGE(5)
Shaq Barrett
Joe Tryon
Anthony Nelson
Yaya Diaby
Jose RamirezLB(4)
Lavonte David
Devin White
SirVocea Dennis
KJ Britt
CB(6)
Carilton Davis
Jamel Dean
Zyon McCollum
Josh Hayes
Dee Delany
Don Gardner
S(4)
Antoine Winfield Jr
Ryan Neal
Nolan Turner
Chris Inzen
Special Teams(3)
K(1)
Chase McLaughlin
P(1)
Jake Camarda
LS(1)
Zach Triner
Final Thoughts
For what seems to be a retooling/rebuilding year I actually liked what Jason Licht and the Bucs did. For me this draft was easily the best draft they have had since drafting Tristan Wirfs and Antoine Winfield Jr in 2020. With this draft you get an elite pass rushing DT that pairs perfectly next to Vita Vea. Cody Mauch who should be a starter at RG for years to come and fits this team's identity. YaYa Diaby who was a great value pick with Pro Bowl upside at EDGE. SirVocea Dennis who I think can easily become one of the best LB’s in this class and maybe even the league. Then the rest of the draft contained high floor prospects who can contribute to a rotational role in some way or form. Overall, the draft for the Bucs was a massive win in my books.
For this offseason I would also say it was a win if not adequate at worst. As an organization we know we needed to retool the roster and slowly claw ourselves out of cap hell in some way shape or form and using this season to get out of it is a good way to do it. There are 2 ways this season will go for us with us either being a team similar to the Seahawks that is able to dominate a weak NFC South, or we are one of the worst teams in the league and are in contention for Drake Maye and Caleb Williams. Either way I am looking forward to watching this season play out for the Bucs. David Canales should bring life back to our offense and Mike Evans should continue his campaign towards the most consecutive 1000-yard seasons.
Overall, I am happy with this off season and especially the draft that came with it. Let me know what you guys think! This is my first time defending the draft and I hope this isn’t terrible and if it’s not I would love to do this again next year! Go Bucs Go!

So my Dad's small business's Amazon account got hacked 4 years ago and he hasn't been able to get the account back after years of going thru amazon's support and customer service. The hackers changed his email and that's what everyone want's him to use to verify.
The worst part is product is STILL SELLING. He'll get like 5 orders a month ($100/order) and he can't fulfill them or even contact the people buying.
Anyone know of anyone direct in support that he can actually get on a phone call with and figure it out? Can DM.
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He made this video out of desperation in 2019 and I'm just trying to help him get this figured out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qys6R2augJw

Hanggang ngayon tawang tawa pa rin ako sa nangyari sakin kagabi. So ito ang naganap mga pare and mare:
Pumunta ako sa Parañaque kagabi to attend the birthday party ng aking petite at makamandag na kaibigan. Nag book ako Grab. Bihis na bihis ang kuya mo na parang dadali ng chickababe sa pupuntahan. I'm from Mandaluyong pala kung gusto niyo malaman. Mejo matraffic sa isang way kaya we planned mag skyway. Natagalan kami sa traffic kaya nakatulog ako while listening sa favorite playlist ko sa Spotify.
Ginutom ako ng traffic tang*na.
Fast forward ng 10x...Sa aming paglalakbay, parang nararamdaman ko na huminto si Manong Grab Driver, nagising ako and check kung anong nangyari. My chismoso self could never!
Kasi nagugutom ako, akala ko nag drive thru kami kasi color yellow ang dinaanan namin na toll gate tapos may konting red, yong utak ko hala nag Mcdo si Kuya hindi man lng nagsabi.
Bigla ako nagsabi, "Kuya pasabay, Mcflurry at chicken fillet sakin wait bayad ko." Bigla nagulat si Manong Driver tapos yong kasamahan ko sa likod tumatawa. Huhuhuh. Tapos ako naguguluhan bakit nagulat si Kuya diver.
"Sir nasa highway pa po tayo" sabi ni kuya. Okay ka lng po ba?
Shettt parang gusto kong matunaw sa kahihiyan. Gusto ko bumaba or mag vanish sa front seat for 10 seconds. Sobrang lutang si daddy niyo dahil sa gutom na rin siguro. Dinouble check ko tangina sa toll gate nga kami. Hahahhahaaa
I think I got the embarrassing moment of my life last night.
Huhuhuhhu drive thru pa! Ano ka kainin mo sa toll gate resibo?

My mom (70/F) is meeting with a lawyer in about a week to start divorcing her husband (68/M). He has been verbally and emotionally abusive towards her for a while but it has finally escalated to physical violence and she's decided she's had enough.
He found out he had cancer recently and although the doctors are telling him his chances are very strong to beat it he's convinced he's going to die. He's taken to getting drunk and then lashing out toward my mom threating to beat her and telling her she's basically a piece of shit. He overheard her praying and asking why god would send her another sick husband (my dad died of complications from kidney disease when he was 50 and she was his primary care giver for over 10 years before that). He took that as her not wanting to take care of him and lost it. In October of last year she traveled to her hometown to visit her younger brother who was dying and when she got back they had a big blow up over money and some other issues. She finally let me know what was going on and we worked out a plan for when she was ready to leave.
On Tuesday night she showed up to my house with just her purse and the clothes on her back saying he had been drinking for the last 2 days and had grabbed her by the arms, forced her down on the couch and screamed in her face. She was able to get away from him but while she was trying to get to a spare bedroom he grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into a door. She was able to break free and got to the bedroom but before she could block the door he kicked it in and again pinned her on the bed screaming in her face. Apparently at some point she told him having cancer didn't give him a pass to be abusive and he didn't like that. When he went to the bathroom she grabbed her purse and car keys and left. That night he called her multiple times, left multiple voice mails, voice texts and normal text messages ranging from telling her to get her ass back there to apologetic to blaming her for his actions. He called both my husband and I also and left messages saying we were abandoning him . He is a complete narcissist and has now taken to Facebook talking about how my mom has abandoned him in his time of need and how she's now having him evicted from the house. When she filed the PO she didn't request to have him evicted. She's not uncaring (she's a retired nurse) and knows what he'll have to go thru during the cancer treatments.
My mom has lived in her house for 37 years and at one point had it completely paid off. They have been married 8 years and he insisted they add his name to the deed once they were married (just in case something happened to her so he wouldn't be out on the street). She has paid ALL of the finances since they've been married because he claimed to be disabled and unable to hold a job. They have separate checking accounts and the car is in her name only. Everything we're reading says that Indiana is a 50/50 state and although she's not concerned about losing the house I'd hate for her to have to start over at her age. She's currently staying with me (and my husband/kids), has taken out a protective order (he was served this morning), and has scheduled a meeting with a lawyer. Does anyone have any suggestions on what we should prepare for when we speak with the lawyer?
Also just for background he's had multiple PO's taken out against him since he moved here (he's originally from the east coast and moved here after reconnecting with my mom through facebook :P). The cops have been to moms house so many times for complaints from the neighbors that they know him by name.

This debate revolves around whether or not abortion is "murder". I think that while we as two different sides disagree about whether or not abortion actually is murder, what we can agree on is that murder is wrong. No one on this sub will consider the premeditated killing of a born human 8-year-old in cold blood as morally permissible. I think we all, regardless of side, can agree that such a thing is repugnant and anyone that murdered their child in such a way is repugnant.
So I need the PL community to help me make sense of something. I need them to make sense of their reactions to women that say they have had abortions.
If a mother told me she had taken a hacksaw to her born child, I'd find her repugnant. I wouldn't want her to be around me. I'd tell her to take a fucking hike and never talk to me again. I know that PLers claim that abortion is equivalent to that, but I actually don't see that play out in their reactions to women who admit to having abortions. For example, I took a little browse of the pro-life subreddit and typed in "regret", knowing that the search would bring up women discussing their abortions.
After reading their responses, I don’t think most PLers see abortion as equivalent to actual murder.
Let's take the example of a woman who was 7 months pregnant and attempted to chemically abort. The baby ultimately died for other reasons, but she found almost nothing but sympathy. The responses were lots of “I'm so sorry for your loss"; there is only one person pointing out that what she did was, in the eyes of the PL philosophy, an attempted murder, and that person was called out for their rudeness.
In a more recent thread, the same thing happened; the woman admitting to an abortion was met with sympathy, and the only person calling out the "murder" was the same person from the previous thread. He had all of his comments deleted by a mod and he was dogpiled by other users.
This is SO WEIRD, right? Who would be so compassionate and sensitive to the feelings of someone they think is a child murderer? The first link is about a couple in college where the only reasoning they gave for their abortion amounts to: "we're still college students with financial constraints". Is this not a "convenience" abortion? Why is it being met with such sympathy?
It only gets weirder the more you look. For example, take a post from someone that expresses guilt over their abortion. The responses are to soothe her feelings and to make her feel it's ok so long as she is regretful and doesn't do it again. "Do not let guilt consume you", "You've learned from your mistake", "As long as you don’t do it again and you move on, and you realize your mistakes, you’re ok". Again, very few people treated her as if she was an actual killer. In fact, she blames others for her choices ("Is it okay because I was pro-choice back then? Like I didn't know. I was a second victim of the situation.") and other people are quick to agree with her:

I am all for personal responsibility, but I also see you and your child and all the people like you and your child as victims of pro abortion organisations

You get a similar response to the regret expressed by the singer for the Pussycat Dolls when she said she regretted her abortions. Again, there are a couple of people in that thread expressing disgust, but the overwhelming theme is to withhold judgment, with users calling out some of the more vocally disgusted PLers.
Now, contrast this with the reaction of someone who talks about her friend's abortion:

i'm literally shaking in disgust. I can't even talk to her. Earlier in the convo she said she thought I thought she was a monster for her abortion and I just said no I don't, I know you were scared when you did it even tho I don't agree with it. then we talked more and more about why she did it and I understand the situation better despite not agreeing with the decision... she said she does not regret her abortion. and I immediately changed the subject because I actually started seeing her as a monster (unfortunately).

So... she was compassionate about the abortion but disgusted only when the friend wasn't regretful. How does this make sense?
I know it isn't a heavily-commented post, but one of the comments on that post says:

I'm so sorry. I honestly don't know what I'd do if my friend got an abortion and didn't have any remorseful or sad feelings.

Ok, so looking at all of this... even within the comfort of their own sub, where they don't have to restrain themselves in front of other people, pro-lifers still don't treat this as a murder. Hell, when they say "don't do it again", they're treating it as if you get a mulligan baby, like you can kill one but hey, don't do it again. Their disgust is also often not a thing that exists as a result of the act itself, but of whether or not you regret the act. Like a mother that doesn't feel bad about killing her baby is disgusting, but one that did is just a poor lost soul that made a mistake by getting her "One Free Baby Killing" card punched.
So my question to the PL community is... how is this consistent? How am I supposed to look at a movement that has women who got abortions in prominent pro-life positions of power? How can I take the commitment seriously when people who paid to have their mistresses get abortions are prominent "pro-life" candidates like Walker and DesJarlais? How can I look at the reactions of users in your OWN SUB and believe that it's a majority opinion that abortion is actually murder equivalent to stabbing a baby when you meet women who had abortions overwhelmingly with soothing words and a dismissal of their responsibility?
How does this track with what you say you believe?

Preface
The old man has finally left… As a Bucs fan I have to just start by thanking Tom Brady by giving me some of the best years of Buc’s football I have seen in my 22 years of life. From eliminating the Saints and retiring Brees to winning the SB the Bucs teams from the Brady era will always be special to me. But saying that this move had to happen as with Brady the Bucs would not be able to rebuild the roster to the degree that is needed.
While a roster top loaded with talent the Bucs are in a huge deficit of depth through the roster even before Brady left. During this season we saw the effect of this lack of depth with the amount of injuries we had throughout the interior of the O-line and through the entire defense. Injuries to Ryan Jensen and Aaron Stinnie forced inexperienced players upfront which led to the biggest problem of the season which was pressure from the interior of the line. While backup Center Robert Hainsey held up and gave the Bucs fans hope for a post Ryan Jensen O-Line first year player Luke Goedeke was a detriment in his first year at guard to the point the Bucs will be switching him to RT for next season. For the defense we saw injuries throughout it from our depleted CB room to our barren safety room to our ravaged EDGE room to our destroyed IDL room… you get the point. Injuries were the main thing that destroyed the Bucs last season and during this offseason the Bucs lost even more depth.
The main positive about the Bucs lost season was GM Jason Licht firing OC Byron Leftwich from his role. While seemingly a good guy Leftwich might have been the worst OC in football last season. Continually calling plays which seemed to be against the players and the team's best interest. At times watching Leftwich call games was similar to spamming the A button in Madden and letting the game decide what play you were calling for you. It was infuriating his constant tirades he would go on about during the season when asked why he never called play action when we were one of the best play action teams in the league. Along with his thought process that the run game has to be dominant to set up the play action game which continually caused 3 and outs as he would call to run plays up the gut and an over schemed passing play on 3rd down. Replacing Leftwich was paramount, and I truly do believe Jason Licht found a good one in Dave Canales coming from Seattle. Canales was the WR coach for the Seahawks from 2010-2017 before becoming QB coach and passing game coordinator from 2018-2023. Canales is a Carroll disciple being part of Carrolls tenure at USC. Canales should bring life to the Tampa Bay passing game and with his already raving reviews of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin it should at least be a fun year for the Bucs.
New Coaching Hires:
Dave Canales (Offensive Coordinator)
Brad Idzik (Wide Receiver Coach)
Skip Peete (Running Back Coach)
Thad Lewis(QB Coach)
George Edwards(OLB Coach)
Notable Arrivals
QB Baker Mayfield
G Matt Feiler
IDL Greg Gaines
S Ryan Neal
RB Chase Edmonds
Summary: The Bucs additions this off season are nothing to write home about. Mayfield joins Tampa looking to win his final opportunity to show he is a starting QB in the NFL he will be in a stiff competition with Kyle Trask who Dave Canales is hyping up. At the end of the day I believe Trask will win the QB competition and be thrown into a sink or swim situation like Sam Howell and Desmond Ridder. While Gaines and Neal are phenomenal value signing with both being immediate contributors on the Bucs defense with Gaines being projected to rotate with Vita Vea along with playing next to the behemoth and Neal seemingly replacing Mike Edwards role at SS opposite of AWJ these players aren’t gamebreakers. Feiler and Edmonds should be nice depth pieces with Fieler competing to be the starting LG. Overall the Buc’s didn’t make any splash signings in free agency but with the limited cap room they had the moves they made were more than fine.
Notable Departures
LT Donovan Smith
S Mike Edwards
RB Leonard Fournette
G Shaq Mason
TE Cameron Brate
CB Sean Murphy-Bunting
K Ryan Succop
Summary: With this offseason the Buc’s ended up losing a ton of starters on both sides of the ball. On offense the Bucs lost their starting LT, RB, RG, TE and K. While Donovan Smith was a liability in pass protection his departure does mean the Bucs will now be shifting All-Pro RT Tristan Wirfs to LT which causes hesitation in people. I believe this move will be fine in both the long and short term for Tampa but it is still something to note. On defense the Bucs lost both starting SS Mike Edwards and NCB SMB. These moves leave the Bucs secondary especially thin at the CB position with Zyon McCollum slotted to start at NCB now.
Bucs Draft Selections
1.19: Calijah Kancey IDL Pittsburgh 6’1 281lbs
RAS Score: 9.60 Draft Grade: A
While some people believed that taking a OT here was a must with the top 4 OT’s all gone before the Jets pick the Bucs were put into one of the most interesting situations in the draft, seemingly picking between defensive players at this point GM Jason Licht stated that at the top of board they had to players one being “The Linebacker who went to the Lions(Jack Campbell) and Calijah Kancey'' with Kancey being BPA after the OT’s were taken. In a draft class with very few true top end talents I see this as a major win for the Bucs taking a top 10 player on the board and a premier pass rusher from day 1.
Kancey from day 1 should be a menace on the interior of the Bucs D-line paired with the best NT in football Vita Vea. Kancey doesn’t just win with his elite first step; he is an extremely refined player in every aspect of rushing the passer. From hand usage, leverage, pass rushing moves and intensity Kancey makes up for his miniscule size and arm length with his athleticism which is otherworldly. The comparison to Aaron Donald is over blown, Kancey doesn’t play with the functional strength that Donald had or the run defense ability that Donald has. Personally, I can see Kancey becoming a in between of Aaron Donald and Prime Sheldon Richardson a pass rushing specialist who will collapse the interior and will develop into a 3-down player as his career and body develop in the NFL.
2.48: Cody Mauch G North Dakota State 6’5 302lbs
RAS Score: 9.32 Draft Grade: B
Mauch is very much a Jason Licht pick. Small school guard with a mean streak and tons of athleticism. Mauch is not just a meme because of his missing front teeth he is a legitimate RG prospect similar to Alex Cappa and Ali Marpet for the Bucs. With how the O-Line is shaping up and Licht seemingly happy to move Goedeke from LG to RT, Mauch makes complete sense to shore up the RG position giving the Bucs a much younger and deeper interior then they had last year where every single projected starter interior lineman was hurt at some point.
With Mauch on tape I can see exactly what Licht loves in his linemen with a player who has aggressive hands and a base when pass blocking. Mauch has shown that he is a coachable player making the switch from TE to O-Line. You can sense the traits and upside that Mauch has over some other guard prospects in this class. I do believe that the Bucs switching to a zone blocking scheme which Seattle runs will aid the young O-Line and play to Mauch’s strength which is his athleticism. Playing beside Ryan Jensen makes this pick a B-B+ for me, a big addition especially if Goedeke is the answer at RT.
3.82: YaYa Diaby EDGE Louisville 6’3 263lbs
RAS Score: 9.87 Draft Grade: A
Diaby is a tale of untapped potential. Playing completely out of position at Louisville Diaby was forced to play with his hand in the dirt. Diaby is one of the most athletic players the NFL has ever seen from the EDGE position with his initial quickness and long arms Diaby should be able to develop into at minimum a role player for Tampa. Playing behind Shaq Barrett and Joe Tryon should help Diaby develop into the premier EDGE player he can be. He shows flashes on tape of just using his superior size and athleticism to overpower linemen and his speed to get past them.
For the Bucs I think Diaby will play a rotational role at the moment similar to Anthony Nelson’s role as a smart rotational EDGE that Bowles will use on unique blitz packages which push JTS or Shaq into a 4-3 stance. I have massive hope for Diaby in this defense as a future foundational piece for the Bucs who will more likely than not have to move on from Shaq Barrett next off season.
5.153: SirVocea Dennis LB Pittsburgh 6’1 226lbs
RAS Score: 7.28 Draft Grade: A+
My favorite pick in the Bucs draft I have Dennis as a top 5 LB in the class. Dennis is a do it all LB who is able to not only tackle well but is able to blitz the passer from the ILB position better than anybody in this class. His biggest deficiency to his game is his lack of experience in coverage but he wasn’t a player who was dominated there either. On film you could see him being put into situations in coverage which he couldn’t make the play. In Tampa Dennis will be mentored by one of the best coverage LB’s in the NFL for over a decade in Lavonte David. And with Bowles coaching the defense Dennis will be able to use his ability to rush the passer from the ILB position to its full effect.
With Dennis I can see this being one of the best picks in the entire draft. Dennis’s fit in Tampa is like a glove and with the situation with Devin White where we aren’t sure if he will be a Buc next season I can see Dennis being put into a starting position next to Lavonte David and like former Bucs Kwon Alexander taking it and never looking back.
5.171: Payne Durham TE Purdue 6’6 253lbs
RAS Score: 6.58 Draft Grade: B-
Durham is a big TE who is good at everything but a master at nothing. Very similar to what the Bucs had in longtime player Cameron Brate. Durham at Purdue was a team leader for the offense he set the tone playing an aggressive brand of football dragging defenders wherever he went with the ball. Durham runs decent routes and has decent hands but was never a player who took the top off a defense. With Durham you are giving Mayfield or Trask a reliable receiver in the passing game and a decent blocker to boot. For his size Durham was able to produce decent YAC at Purdue rumbling his way down the field in a similar way that Jason Witten was able to do for the Cowboys during his tenure.
For the Bucs Durham joins one of the youngest TE rooms in the NFL with last year's pick Cade Otton and Ko Kieft being the only players that seem to have roster spots in that room at the moment. Durham should compete with Kieft to be TE2 for this season, but he should be able to still carve a decent role for himself in Tampa with how new OC Canales uses TE’s. Where each TE has a specific role and was able to contribute with Geno Smith at QB.
6.181: Josh Hayes NCB Kansas State 5’11 189lbs
RAS Score: 4.82 Draft Grade: C
The biggest surprise in the Bucs draft was grabbing Josh Hayes, a prospect most people didn’t even have a priority free agent grade on in the top of the 6th. Hayes for all intents and purposes is a prototypical Bowles NCB. Hayes has the speed to play in the NFL and on tape you can see he has adequate tackling skills from the NCB position which he played in college along with the S position. With Hayes you have to believe that the coaching can turn this player into a solid starter because if not the CB room and S room take a massive hit forcing Winfield Jr into NCB full time.
Hayes' best film in my opinion was for North Dakota State where he was a former teammate of Bucs 2nd round pick Cody Mauch. At NDSU you can see the making of a very good CB prospect with how he is able to play in both Man and Zone coverage. At Kansas State he was never forced to be CB1 or even CB2 at times but he did hold his side of the field down and was able to put up some decent performances as a Wildcat. To me this C grade is more of a “I trust Bowles to develop CB’s/S’s” grade.
6.192: Trey Palmer WR Nebraska 6’0 192lbs
RAS Score: 6.18 Draft Grade: A+
A great value pick for the Bucs with their depleted WR core. Palmer has serious upside as a deep threat and even as a return man for the Bucs. Past Evans, Godwin and Gage every spot in the receiver room is wide open and Palmer seems to have the talent to set himself apart as WR4 by the end of the year. Palmer does have reasons for falling this far in the draft though as he has serious drop issues and apparent character issues which have set him back before. I don’t see this as a big problem in Tampa with Evans and Godwin being locker room leaders and his past season at Nebraska.
With Palmer you can see the obvious talent that is there but you can see the reasons he was drafted in the 6th round even when he has Day 2 talent in this class. And with this talent I can see him developing into a player similar to MVS for the Packers and now the Chiefs. A good deep threat that can blow the top off of a defense and isn’t scared of making plays on contested passes even if they aren’t the biggest receiver on the team by any means.
6.196: Jose Ramirez EDGE Eastern Michigan 6’2 242lbs
RAS Score: 8.10 Draft Grade: B
When you watch Ramirez on tape it’s hard to not like what you see. At first when looking at this pick, I thought about how our EDGE room was already a bit full with Diaby but in hindsight I like the Ramirez pick more and more from a talent standpoint. Ramirez is never going to be the most athletic guy on the team but he makes up for it with his effort, timing and technique. Extremely similar to how Shaq Barrett plays for the Bowles defense Ramirez has a talent for being the first guy to get into the QB’s area with his blend of pass rushing moves and leverage. Ramirez was dominant at Eastern Michigan being one of the best players to ever play for EMU.
For a dart throw pick Ramirez should bring the effort needed to truly succeed in some capacity in the NFL and being mentored by the player your game is most similar to in Shaq Barrett is a plus as well. Ramirez should find a role as a utility pass rusher but I don’t see him playing much at all this season and having to compete against Cam Gill for EDGE 5 on the roster.
Key UDFA’s
Sean Tucker RB Syracuse 5’10 205lbs
RAS Score: N/A
Jeremy Banks LB Tennessee 6’1 232lbs
RAS Score: 8.90
Luke Haggard OT Indiana 6’6 297lbs
RAS Score: N/A
Rakim Jarrett WR Maryland 6’0 190lbs
RAS Score: 7.89
Chris Inzen S Rutgers 5’10 200lbs
RAS Score: N/A
Projected Final Roster
Offense(26)
QB(2)
Baker Mayfield
Kyle Trask
RB(4)
Rachaad White
Ke'shawn Vaugn
Chase Edmonds
Sean Tucker
WR(7)
Mike Evans
Chris Godwin
Russell Gage
Trey Palmer
Deven Thompkins
Rakiim Jarrett
TE(3)
Cade Otton
Ko Kieft
Payne Durham OT(4)
Tristan Wirfs
Luke Goedeke
Brandon Walton
Luke Haggard
OG(4)
Cody Mauch
Matt Feiler
Aaron Stinnie
John Molchon
C(2)
Ryan Jensen
Robert Hainsey
Defense(24)
IDL(5)
Vita Vea
Calijah Kancey
Greg Gaines
Logan Hall
Pat O’Connor
EDGE(5)
Shaq Barrett
Joe Tryon
Anthony Nelson
Yaya Diaby
Jose Ramirez LB(4)
Lavonte David
Devin White
SirVocea Dennis
KJ Britt
CB(6)
Carilton Davis
Jamel Dean
Zyon McCollum
Josh Hayes
Dee Delany
Don Gardner
S(4)
Antoine Winfield Jr
Ryan Neal
Nolan Turner
Chris Inzen
Special Teams(3)
K(1)
Chase McLaughlin
P(1)
Jake Camarda
LS(1)
Zach Triner
Final Thoughts
For what seems to be a retooling/rebuilding year I actually liked what Jason Licht and the Bucs did. For me this draft was easily the best draft they have had since drafting Tristan Wirfs and Antoine Winfield Jr in 2020. With this draft you get an elite pass rushing DT that pairs perfectly next to Vita Vea. Cody Mauch who should be a starter at RG for years to come and fits this team's identity. YaYa Diaby who was a great value pick with Pro Bowl upside at EDGE. SirVocea Dennis who I think can easily become one of the best LB’s in this class and maybe even the league. Then the rest of the draft contained high floor prospects who can contribute to a rotational role in some way or form. Overall, the draft for the Bucs was a massive win in my books.
For this offseason I would also say it was a win if not adequate at worst. As an organization we know we needed to retool the roster and slowly claw ourselves out of cap hell in some way shape or form and using this season to get out of it is a good way to do it. There are 2 ways this season will go for us with us either being a team similar to the Seahawks that is able to dominate a weak NFC South, or we are one of the worst teams in the league and are in contention for Drake Maye and Caleb Williams. Either way I am looking forward to watching this season play out for the Bucs. David Canales should bring life back to our offense and Mike Evans should continue his campaign towards the most consecutive 1000-yard seasons.
Overall, I am happy with this off season and especially the draft that came with it. Let me know what you guys think! This is my first time defending the draft and I hope this isn’t terrible and if it’s not I would love to do this again next year! Go Bucs Go!

This was just copy/pasted from google docs so apologies in advance for any formatting issues.
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19°28’N 37°14’E
Near Port Sudan, Sudan, Africa.
Another helicopter thundered past in the distance, following the line of the oil pipeline back towards the port facilities.
"That's three in the past hour," Cody observed. "Still think nothing's going on?" "I think if you want to bother Adams again it's gonna be your ass." Keith replied.
"Come on, don't be like that." Cody said.
"Nope."
"Come on, don't be a bitch."
"Nope."
"Bitch says what."
"Nope."
"Got fifty bucks says you won't do it."
"Nope."
"Will both of you shut the fuck up," Eduardo groaned from the back seat of the vehicle. "We're almost done here and you can go harass Adams in person when we get back to base."
"Yeah but I'm curious now." Cody said.
"Well, tell Miles to turn this vic around and we can go."
"What do you say, Miles? You know Adams doesn't check the log timestamps too closely."
"The final marker is literally thirty meters away," Miles said patiently. "I will turn the vic around there and we will drive back to base and you can badger Adams into a stroke on your own time. Until then, watch your sector."
"Uh well, my sector's full of sand, can I have a different one?"
"There's some rocks in mine."
"Like the face of the fucking moon out here, man." Cody moaned.
"Maybe you shouldn't have signed up for a job in the fucking Sudan, genius." Eduardo said.
"Man, I'm just here for the money." Cody replied.
"Well, I'm not here for the weather." Martin said, cranking the wheel around in a practiced motion. The battered white SUV slewed around, wheels spraying dust and pebbles. Cody keyed the radio on his vest. "Base, this is Cody checking in. We're at the outer marker for the southern patrol path, heading back, over."
There was the faint buzz of static.
"Copy that, Cody. Any contacts?"
"No contacts, base. All quiet here. Out."
Martin patted Cody on the shoulder. "Proud of you, buddy. That took real strength."
Cody flipped him off.
The radio crackled again. "Cody, this is base, where did you say you were?"
"Base, this is Cody, we are at the outer marker for our patrol route, heading back your way, over."
"Uh, copy Cody, hang on one second."
“Cody, this is Adams,” a new voice said over the radio. “I need your team to swing west and investigate unauthorized activity near the pipeline in, uh grid square A54-41."
"The fuck this is Cody's team." Keith muttered from the back.
"Copy that, Adams, we'll move to investigate immediately," Cody said crisply. "Any intel on the intruders?"
The radio crackled again. "The uh, number of intruders is unknown at this time."
Miles keyed his own radio. "Adams, who called this report in?"
"The report was forwarded to us by local security forces."
A chorus of groans rose from the interior of the SUV.
"Fuckin' locals." Eduardo said.
"And why isn't local security handling this?"
"Miles, I don't need to remind you that Vericom has been contracted to guard the terminal facilities and pipeline-"
"Yeah yeah, spare me the geopolitics, Adams, I'm just a dumb trigger puller, remember? I'm not asking you why I'm here, I'm asking why the very much armed local security isn't apprehending the trespassers."
"The local security called it in," Adams replied in a tight, angry voice. "And under the terms of our contract we are responsible for apprehending any trespassers in our zone. Is that satisfactory, Mr. Martin?"
"Copy, moving to apprehend. Out."
"Fuckin' locals." Eduardo muttered again as the SUV turned towards the new destination.
"Coming up on the location now." Cody was tapping at the topographical map displayed on his ruggedized tablet.
"Copy that," Miles said absently, maneuvering the SUV around a scattering of larger boulders. Behind him Keith rolled down his window and propped the muzzle of his M4 carbine on the opening.
"Relax," Eduardo said. "Just some lost people."
"Maybe." Keith said, squinting out over the dusty, rolling terrain.
The SUV bounced over the crest of another low ridge, the long dust plume trailing behind it in the harsh midday sun. Miles slowed to a stop. In the far distance there was a glint of light off a moving vehicle traversing the coastal highway. There was no other sign of life in sight.
"Yeah, there's nothing out here." Cody said after a few moments.
Keith had extracted a pair of binoculars from his chest rig and was scanning the surroundings.
"Nothing on this side, boss." Eduardo said.
"Keith?" Miles said.
"Nothing moving but heat haze."
"Cody, call in negative contact. Let's head back to base." Miles said as the SUV rolled forward.
"Copy copy." Cody keyed his radio. "Base, this is Cody, we're at grid A54-41, negative on contact with intruders, over."
"Copy that Cody, we haven't gotten any other reports in your zone, go ahead and head in."
"Thanks very much, base, will do. Cody out."
The SUV bumped and bounced its way back onto the “paved” road. While the main coastal highway was in decent shape, the smaller roads were mostly potholes and washouts held together by cracked concrete and gravel. Although flatter than the surrounding landscape, it was a bold or desperate driver that would risk driving on it at normal highway speeds. This fact most likely saved four lives as Miles had plenty of time to spot the dusty tan plate lying in the road as the vehicle slowly bounced towards it.
“Guys, is that a land mine I’m seeing in the road ahead?” Miles said, pointing. “Directly ahead, maybe twenty yards, just past the two bushes.”
Cody sat up, peering through the dusty windshield. “Slow up, slow up. Shit, I think you’re right.”
“Call it in,” Miles said. “We use this road all the time, what was the last team through here?"
"Dallas' team had outer perimeter patrol this morning." Keith volunteered.
"Base, this is Cody, we've got what looks like a landmine on Route 33, maybe two or three klicks from the coastal highway, please advise, over."
There was a brief hiss of static. No reply.
"Base, do you read, over?"
Static.
“Base, this is a fucking great time for a coffee break!”
No answer.
“Guys, I think this is a no shit situation,” Miles said, putting the SUV in reverse. “Let’s get off the X and back to base.”
Cody slid his AR up into the ready position. Keith and Eduardo already had their rifles out and ready.
Miles executed a hasty three point turn and gunned the SUV back the way they had come.
“How concerned should we be right now?” Keith shouted over the engine noise. “Not the
first time we’ve lost comms with base out here.”
“Could be nothing,” Miles shouted back. “But out here it could be a strike on the port or oil terminal. Not that hard to jam comms and drop a few mines on the roads.”
“Hell, I’m here for it.” Keith shouted.
“I’ll keep trying to raise base or one of the other teams.” Cody shouted.
The SUV bounced and lurched its way back over the route it had taken and finally reached the coastal highway where Miles jammed the pedal down. Cody still couldn’t make contact with base but was able to reach another patrolling team who confirmed that base was incommunicado. As they roared up the coastal highway Cody pointed towards a rising plume of dense black smoke ahead of them. “Looks like shit’s gone down, boys.”
“Fuck,” Keith swore, peering around Cody’ headrest to look ahead. “So much for site security.”
“Guys, we’ve got a roadblock ahead.” Cody said, pointing. A dilapidated cargo truck had stopped and was attempting to turn around. A pair of pickup trucks were just visible beyond it, blocking off the road in a shallow V. Men in mismatched fatigues and headscarves stood atop them holding rifles.
“Are those our guys?” Miles asked, slowing the SUV.
“Fuck if I can tell from here.” Cody said.
“Well I’m not fucking moving up.” Miles said.
“Go around,” Eduardo said, peering out his window. “No ditch here.”
“Go now while the truck is between us and them.” Keith added.
“Hang on.” Miles gunned the SUV down the shallow embankment parallel to the roadblock.
Keith twisted around in his seat. “They’re tracking us”.
Miles glanced in the rearview mirror. The guards were pointing and waving their arms at the SUV. One of them with a pistol in one hand and a radio in the other seemed to be giving orders
“Are we still under the ROE?” Cody asked. “I’d really like to shoot back if they try to kill us.”
“I’m not dying over fucked comms and a misunderstanding.” Keith said.
The checkpoint guards were scrambling into their trucks. One of them ripped off a burst that went wide.
“Fuck it, that’s good enough for me,” Miles said, slamming on the brakes. “Dismount and engage hostiles.”
The men threw themselves out of the vehicle. Eduardo and Cody went prone in the dirt and began firing. On the other side Keith propped his rifle on the vehicle’s bumper and squeezed off several careful shots.
The checkpoint guards had been caught by surprise by the sudden attack. One of the trucks had just roared into motion when the bullets began punching through the windshield. The other was still parked, its crew climbing into the cab when the shooting started. Multiple rounds smashed the windshield into a starred, opaque mess. The driver leaped from the seat and ran for cover behind the truck wheels. Miles shot him in the back and he dropped.
The other truck rolled forward down the shallow incline with a dead driver at the wheel. The guards in the back continued firing over the roof. The back window of the SUV shattered and bullets banged off the steel frame, showering Keith and Eduardo with shards of safety glass. Miles fired at a guard crouched in the truck bed and the man disappeared, then popped back up again when Miles shifted targets. Miles shifted back and fired again, his gun clicking empty on the third shot. He dropped the empty magazine and yanked a new one from his vest. The new mag clicked into place and Miles resumed shooting. A corner of his mind was pleasantly surprised at how easily it was done under fire.
One of the guards on the far truck bailed off the back and fled across the road, disappearing into the ditch on the far side. Suddenly no one was firing back at them.
Miles cautiously rose to his feet. With Keith and Cody covering him, he and Eduardo circled wide around the checkpoint, scanning for any sign of life. Nothing moved but wisps of steam from under the hood of one of the trucks. He waved the others in. They swept the checkpoint carefully. There were six dead guards and a blood trail leading out into the brush.
“Fuck.” Keith said emphatically.
“Fuck me,” Cody said, slotting in a fresh mag. “You guys good?
“I’m good.” Keith said.
“Good here.” Eduardo said, patting himself down.
“I’m ok.” Martin said.
“Fuck,” Keith said again. “Fuckers just opened up on us. These weren’t local security, right?”
“Check the bodies for intel,” Miles said, already rifling through the pockets of one of the shooters. “I don’t know who the fuck these guys were but we’re gonna get grilled about this.”
The three of them methodically searched the bodies while Eduardo held overwatch. None of the bodies had any documents on them. The weapons were gathered and stacked in the back of one of the trucks while the bodies were laid out next to it. Martin retrieved their SUV which proved to have suffered no worse damage than shot out windows and the four of them piled in.
Cody finally got a response on the radio as they neared the base. A rattled Adams responded to their calls by ordering them in to assist with base security. “Radio shack got hit and we’ve been dealing with jamming. We still have two patrols out in the field who haven’t reported in, we need you to assist in maintaining a defensive perimeter.”
“Copy that, boss. Tell base we’re coming in so don’t fucking shoot at us. Already dealt with that once today.”
They dismounted in the central courtyard. The comms building had taken a direct hit from an RPG and was still smoking. Two sheet covered bodies lay beside it. Several of the other buildings had bullet holes and other signs of battle damage.
As directed, the team took up defensive positions on the roof of one of the perimeter buildings. Dallas’ team was on a nearby building overlooking the main entrance. Miles got on the radio and contacted them.
“Glad to see y’all made it,” Dallas said by way of greeting. “Been a real shitshow here.” He pointed towards the billowing black smoke belching out of the wreckage of the oil pipeline terminal. “Probably not getting our contract renewed for this site.”
“So what the fuck happened?” Miles asked.
“Don’t know. We were in the bunkhouse when we heard the radio shack get hit. Whoever it was lit the place up and then peeled out. We had barely gotten outside when the oil terminal went up. Someone said they saw Sea Ports Corporation logos on the trucks but I don’t know if that’s true. All I saw was dust.”
“Shit, you think that’s true? Locals were behind this?”
“Someone with more brains than your average fanatic is. They knew exactly what to hit and exactly how to jam our comms.”
“They mined the roads along our patrol routes too, so either they’ve been watching us or they paid off someone on the inside.”
“Smart.” Dallas said.
“I saw the two bodies by the radio shack. Any of your team get hit?”
“Negative. They were in and out. I think someone in the admin building caught a stray round but that was all.”
“I know Shedge was on shift in comms,” Miles said. “Who was the other?”
“Morris.” Dallas said.
They fell silent for a while.
The two missing patrol teams drove in thirty minutes later in a single shot up SUV. They had come under long range fire from hidden enemies and had evaded out into the desert. One of the vehicles had been disabled, but the team managed to dismount and take cover while the other vehicle moved to pick them up. One team member had been grazed on the leg and another had taken a hit to the chest plate. The uninjured team members joined them on the perimeter defense. No attack materialized.
A convoy of Sudanese military vehicles rolled in late that evening to take charge of the terminal. The PMC personnel were ordered to collect their personal items and evacuate the site. The Sudanese wanted them out, so while the company lawyers argued with the Sudanese administration, all personnel on the ground were transported out to Port Sudan International Airport for flights back to the United States.
Miles, Keith, Cody, and Eduardo caught up with each other outside the terminal. Keith was chatting with two of the airport ground crew in passable Arabic as the others walked up.
“Hey, you guys aren’t going to believe this but apparently there’s been a bunch of foreign fighter types coming through here in the past several weeks.” Keith said by way of greeting.
“Go fucking figure.” Miles said.
“I don’t even give a shit,” Cody said, unwrapping a pack of cigarettes. “In a couple of hours I’ll be on my way back home with a fat early contract termination check in my pocket.”
Eduardo nodded. “We all survived, importantly.”
“Amen to that.” Cody said.
The ground crew members bid Keith farewell and sauntered off towards the terminal.
There was silence for a minute while Cody methodically extracted and lit up a cigarette.
“That was pretty fucking badass though,” Miles said. “Shot our way out of an ambush and drove home.”
“Pretty wild.” Keith agreed.
“Never saw the people I killed before,” Eduardo said. “Returning fire yes, but not securing the bodies. Always gone afterwards.”
“I definitely had that out-of-body feeling you get sometimes under fire,” Cody said. “Like you’re just watching your own body go through the motions while you sit and watch.”
“I never got that,” Miles said. “I was inside my own head but I always knew somehow what to do next. Like even when we swept the roadblock I knew exactly where to turn and where the bodies were going to be. It sounds crazy but I wasn’t really scared of getting shot, I was scared of moving wrong or stepping in the wrong place and I’d break the focus and suddenly I’d have to think through every motion again.”
Eduardo nodded. “I know how that feels.”
Another silence. Cody took a deep drag on the cigarette.
“You don’t think we’ll get fired over this, do you?” Keith asked. “Because I still have bills to pay back home and I don’t need this on my record.”
“I doubt it,” Cody said. “I mean, its completely out of our hands so who the fuck knows really. But its not something you get fired over. You see how fast they’re pulling us out of here, like no operation debrief or anything? Company’s got bigger problems to worry about right now.”
“Like the oil pipeline that got blown up, not about a possible bad shoot in the desert.” Keith said.
“Oil terminal.” Miles corrected quietly.
“You watch,” Cody continued. “In about three days some Vericom executive is going to strap on his golden parachute and take a dive off the top floor because the company stock dipped by sixty cents. Then we’ll all get an email with a big fat non-disclosure agreement attached showing up in our inboxes.”
“You would work for them again?” Eduardo sounded surprised.
“Fuck it, why not?” Cody said. “The pay’s good, and what are the odds that a fuck up like this happens to me twice?”
“Seems like higher odds than before.” Miles said.
“Everybody’s running a little hot these days,” Keith said. “You’ve got the Syrian and Yemen civil wars, the military coup in Turkey, the bombings in Europe, the riots in India, the drug wars in Mexico and southeast Asia, plus that bombing at the Olympics.”
“I still think that one was a false flag.” Cody said.
“Bullshit, that was the work of ISIS scum.” Eduardo replied angrily.
“He’s got a point, Cody,” Miles said. “They grabbed one of the bombers before he could clack off his vest after all.”
“Maybe,” Cody said. “Now the shooting at the Clinton rally, that was a false flag, no question. The FBI practically admitted it. They’re terrified she’ll lose and they need a few martyrs.”
“Don’t know why you pay so much attention to that,” Miles said. “Not like the other guy is any better. Just a pair of narcissistic old fucks getting their rocks off on the American people’s dime.”
“I like to know which side is going to be screaming about a rigged election for the next four years while their savings and civil liberties go up in smoke.” Cody lit another cigarette from the butt of the first.
“You know I hate it when you chain smoke and turn into Alex Jones.” Miles said.
“Brother, you should see me on meth.” Cody grinned.
“I didn’t know you smoked at all.” Eduardo said.
“Only on the way home,” Cody said. “Otherwise I don’t.”
The four of them stood around on the airport tarmac until the encroaching evening chill drove them inside with the rest of the Vericom personnel. Miles’ last glimpse of Sudan was the stark black outline of the western hills as the sun sank behind them. Then night fell and the only light was the harsh white arc lights of the airport illuminating the red and white airliner being fueled to carry them home.
$$$$
News Headlines of the day:
FBI: Philadelphia shooter had ‘strong ties’ to right wing ultranationalist groups.
US economy signals uncertainty as Far East trade war heats up.
British lawmaker shot dead, EU referendum campaigns suspended
Prominent Mexican politician, family among the dead following Sinaloa cartel gun battle.
‘Terrorism is not welcome here’: Sudanese President issues warning following oil pipeline bombing.

I sighed. So I'm gonna get reassigned huh? I'm not apart of the c.i.a's gun running, drug peddling, and the guerilla warfare division anymore eh? I guess I'll miss air america flights. I then recalibrated my prosthetic right arm using a Philips head screw driver. Open close. Open, close.
After a couple of seconds my arm was finally done recalibrating. I'm gonna miss my friends. But I'll never miss the humid areas of laos, Vietnam, and some parts of china. The golden triangle is so goddamned hot. Honestly I don't know if it's secretly a promotion or a demotion. Or possibly I'm gonna get fired, and killed.
I'll get my name scraped out of the national files. If I get fired the chances of getting dragged into a blacksite is high, and I'll get tripped by the guys on one of the blacksites.
Oh god. I remember the LSD torture. It's like being awake but not in control. It's like being stuck as a backseat driver as people do unspeakable stuff to me. Oh boy if the public knows about the MK ultra test 2 oh boy. The people are gonna riot. It's already 2040.
The world is on edge, and under foreign influence for over a decade now. From the end of the 20's intergalactic travelers, and companies came, and control most of the world's nations within just a span of two years. They have the guts to exploit our resources, and don't give a damn about what happens to us. They care about profits. Except for the 8 major powers most of the world is under alien control. The only nations that aren't under alien control are russia, china, The U.S.A, great Britain with their manpower advantage given Australia is a British vassal state, France, Canada, Israel, and lastly an unlikely power the African union made out of 7 of the most powerful nations in Africa before the arrival of the outsiders are the only remaining independent countries.
Most of the intelligence agencies are currently working together dealing drugs with the outsiders who visit us, giving weapons to guerilla fighters, and getting weapons from the outside. Ships from an unlikely ally an independent economic alliance of nations named the syndicate allows to us to get some weapons. As long as we sell them drugs, and perishables from earth. It turns out the syndicate likes drugs, coffee, and other stuff native to earth.
Some of our intelligence guys are chatting with the aliens. The guys who are exploiting our resources are called the consortium. They are a consort of companies, and a league that agrees on how to manipulate markets. These guys are basically the more unhinged version of the wall street guys, and a mix of the c.i.a.
I sighed. "This is gonna be a long day ahead of me."
I then smoked a cigar. The cigar calmed my nerves as I inhaled the nicotine. The addictive substance relaxes me. Plus lung cancer isn't a problem anymore considering we now have a solution on how to cure it. The alien companies gave us some of their tech to show their so called sympathy before they flooded economies with consumer goods from their companies, and controlled almost all of earths economies.
"So agent smith. This is your new partner." A c.i.a handler said to me.
I spat out some ash from my mouth, and complained. "The fuck are you giving me a newbie as a partner? And what the hell am I gonna to do to need a new partner. Rodriguez already was fine yet I'm stuck with a newbie?"
The handler laughed. "Oh heavens no. This is an a.i. Codename poppy. She's your new partner in crime. Because we are gonna send you as a diplomatic bodyguard to the syndicate."
"Oh hi! I'm poppy I'm an artificial intelligence created by the c.i.a, m.i.6, the g.r.u, the s.s.m, mossad, and the s.s.a." The human looking robot said.
The voice kinda sounds synthetic, and the tone is too happy. I kinda hate it. I hate that it gives off happy go lucky vibes. I don't mean to be a grouch but the happy go lucky guys always die first. It's kinda ironic in a fucked up way.
So this thing is an a.i kinda like g.w. An a.i made by the c.i.a. G.W have made the internet more tolerable, and friendly due to context. People back then always manipulated facts into their political goals, and ideals. People get the facts misconstrued for political reasons.
G.W was made after a game character that was so prophetic about the world in the future. M.G.S 2: Sons of liberty. It has the same function as g.w from mgs2. It gives facts in a non biased way. In a way where people don't get their feelings hurt when something is given to them in a factual, and non biased ways.
People used to manipulate facts for political correctness. Hiding the fact that they misinterpret the meaning of those words. The internet used to be a toxic, and a fucked up place before g.w. Like Jesus Christ the goddamn internet was filled with incels, and attention seekers using facts and misusing them for internet clout. It was a place where no one is invalidated but nobody was right. G.w put an end to that era. G.w is now living in a secluded server thanking us for it's creation. It was phased out after it asked to be replaced by another one because it was sick, and tired of correcting people that get the facts misconstrued. It got to the point that it begged the c.i.a, and annoyed the c.i.a to the point that it wanted to be put in a secluded server so it could live it's remaining days in relative leisure just because it begged the c.i.a director so many times that he would get spam calls from the a.i using his official phone number even in the middle of the night for three straight years.
Anyways back to discussion.
"So you're one of those advanced a.i's like g.w?" I asked just to be sure I'm not paired with a dumb a.i.
"Yup. I even passed the Turing test in flying colors. I can feel emotions, do something out of spite or anger, and can think for myself." Poppy said with a dog like innocence.
"So what can you do?" I asked.
"Well. I can fly planes, use guns even those that people can't use due to physiological differences, and hack computers without being near the target. I'm basically just an a.i that can be a jack of all traits if given a chance." Poppy said.
"Fine. But you'll do it my way or the high way." I told poppy with a commanding tone.
Poppy laughed. "Okay boomer."
I sighed. This is gonna be a long day. I'm old as shit but not a boomer.
"Woah. You guys are already going along greatly. Great for you." The handler snickered.
He then left, and left me with poppy.
I'm fucked. "So I'm gonna brief you about the world poppy. Through a song."
I then sang bo burnham's how the world works song.
"Hey, kids Today, we're gonna learn about the world The world that's around us is pretty amazing But how does it work? It must be complicated The secret is the world can only work When everything works together"
"A bee drinks from a flower And leaves with its pollen A squirrel in a tree spreads the seeds that have fallen Everything works together"
"The biggest elephant, the littlest fly The gophers underground, the birds in the sky And every single cricket, every fish in the sea"
"Gives what they can and gets what they need That is how the world works That is how the world works"
"From A to Zebra To the worms in the dirt That's how it works Hey everyone"
I then pulled out a sock, and made it into a puppet.
"Look who stopped by to say "hello" It's Socko Hey! Where you been, Socko?"
"I've been where I always am when you're not wearing me on your hand In a frightening, liminal space between states of being Not quite dead, not quite alive It's similar to a constant state of sleep paralysis"
"Socko, we were just talking about the world and how it works!"
"Boy, that sounds complicated! Do you have anything you'd wanna teach us about the world?"
"I wouldn't say anything that you Probably haven't already said yourself"
"I don't know about that, Socko How about you give it a try?"
"All right!"
"The simple narrative taught in every history class Is demonstrably false and pedagogically classist Don't you know the world is built with blood? And genocide and exploitation"
"The global network of capital essentially functions To separate the worker from the means of production And the FBI killed Martin Luther King Private property's inherently theft"
"And neoliberal fascists are destroying the left And every politician, every cop on the street Protects the interests of the pedophilic corporate elite"
"That is how the world works (really?) That is how the world works Genocide the Natives, say you got to it first"
"That's how it works"
"That's pretty intense?"
"No shit Sherlock."
"What can I do to help?"
"Read a book or something, I don't know Just don't burden me with the responsibility of educating you"
*It's incredibly exhausting"
"I'm sorry, Socko I was just trying to become a better person"
"Why do you rich fucking white people Insist on seeing every socio-political conflict Through the myopic lens of your own self-actualization?"
"This isn't about you So either get with it, or get out of the fucking way"
"Watch your mouth, buddy"
"Remember who's on whose hand here"
"But that's what I- Have you not been fucking listening? We are entrenched in a way (all right, all right)"
"Wait, wait, no please! I don't wanna go back, please, ugh, ugh, ugh I can't go, I can't go back Please, please, I'm sorry!"
"Are you gonna behave yourself?"
"Yes"
"Yes, what?"
"Yes, sir"
"Look at me"
"Yes, sir"
"That's better That is how the world works That is how the world works I hope you learned your lesson"
"I did and it hurt That's how it works"
NOOOOOOO!!!
Drags sock puppet into a pocket like some introvert getting dragged into socializing in bars by extroverts.
"So do you understand know?" I asked poppy.
"That everything is made under the blood of billions, and we shouldn't make their deaths be in vein?" Poppy said.
"Correct. And we shouldn't let outsiders make our choices for us. We should kick them out." I said like some isolationist American during the 1920's.
"Ironic isn't it smith. The c.i.a used to be anti socialist but look how the circumstances turned the American government into. A social democracy/merit based democracy where politicians are based in merit rather than popularity. Politicians are insentivised to change the world than burn it down like some of the old presidents did. Ironic that america became something it hated. A weird mesh of meritocracy, democracy, republican, liberaterian, and market socialist ideals. Some sort ideological mesh made by idealogs"
"And it's working with it's remaining two Allies, and former enemies just to defeat a foreign threat. How poetically ironic isn't it? I mean the CIA used to go schizo mode when they hear communist, and socialist ideals or hearing the word russians, and chinese are plotting something. Now the country it help grew became the very thing it sought to destroy. Morbidly ironic isn't it?" Poppy said with a meloncholic under tone.
"Yeah. Specially the stuff we do now." I said agreeing to the statement.
"But that's how the world works. Everything must change. Either you adapt or die." I said with a meloncholic under tone.
"So do you know where we are going?" I asked poppy.
I then puffed up my cigar. Sweet sweet nicotine.
"Back to america. In the space port in Austin Texas. I'm already done contacting the contact the handler gave to me. E.T.A 7 hours. Now let's go to the laostian military base 7 miles north from here. Our air america flight is waiting for us." Poppy said.
I sighed. "Come ride with me. I have a motorcycle a hundred meters from here."
We walked towards my motorcycle. I then puffed up my cigar smelling the nicotine.
So my life is about to change huh? Eh. I'm just gonna adapt. After all in this world it's either adapt or die.
Click, click, click
Motorcycle engine starts rumbling.
Poppy then held my waist. It's hands are cold as steel. Colder than even corpse. I sighed.
The highway was almost empty. Everyone was working a 10-8 job in one of the corporations that control laos. There was no land vehicles transporting goods because the aliens are using their tech to transport them underground. The road was almost abandoned except for the guys who have motorcycle hobbies. Anyways it doesn't matter. After all there's no traffic anymore.
The fresh breeze calmed my nerves. It made me feel alive. A motorcyclist drive by me and waved hello. I waved back at the motorcyclist. It's good to be on the road.
After a twenty minute drive we arrived at the military base. Another CIA agent greeted us, and escorted us to the flight.
"So you guys are the diplomatic bodyguards?" Asked the agent.
"Yup. That's what my handler told me." Poppy said.
"So your one of the newer a.i models eh. Ok. Just step right in. Plus the flight is rather boring. Just sleep while on flight to save energy." The agent told me.
I sighed. I threw away the cigar, and slept through the flight.
A few hours later...
I woke up arriving at Austin executive airport. Poppy just sat there watching me sleep like some sort of creep. It made me a little bit paranoid at the unflinching eyes that was watching me. But I ignored my instincts, and went outside.
After that I ate something for breakfast. A couple of pancakes, and chicken wings. Poppy looked at me with envy. I sighed.
"Can you eat? Do you need food to survive?" I asked.
"Well.... I need glucose to recharge my batteries. I can also use a charger but it would be suspicious. So the glucose to energy converter was made for special missions so that I wouldn't blow my cover."
Figured. Those guys in the CIA RnD team are making contengencies for every eventual event. I then ordered a plate of syrup covered pancakes.
Poppy looked at me smiling. I sighed.
An hour later...
We arrived at the space port. People walked around buying nicnacs, waiting for their flight, and just waited around for their family members that were coming back.
Another agent came up to me, and gave me two tickets.
"Here's the tickets. Also have this. You'll need it."
The agent then gave me some sort of high tech phone. Then out of knowhere something exploded.
I was knocked unconscious for a couple minutes. When I woke up I was getting dragged by poppy along with the agent that gave me the tickets. She shot back at incoming enemies using alien tech.
"Ugh..." As I said that I began coughing blood. I looked down I was bleeding. My left leg was missing. It was slowly bleeding due to a tourniquet, bandages, and some sealing foam. It was still bleeding but isn't bleeding as badly as to kill me in just a couple seconds.
Gunshots echoed in the space port. Agents shot back at the alien attackers. A fierce firefight began. Bright lights like something akin to RGB lights but in a epileptic way we're seen down the isles as screams of both alien, CIA, fbi, and fully kitted out port guards were slaughtered one by one.
Poppy dragged me, and the other agent to a bathroom. "Sit rep." I asked poppy.
"It seems to be a terrorist attack. I don't know why but they looked like alien mercenaries. The question is that did the consortium hired them to kill our diplomat. Good thing the diplomat hasn't arrived. I checked the agency message boards, and they said that good thing the diplomat was sick after getting food poisoning this morning. They are already talking about it. Some of them are even suggesting that the consortium did this attack." Poppy said.
"So the diplomat got lucky. But why the fuck would they attack our diplomat to the syndicate? I mean it's counter productive. We don't need their goods or services considering the people here would rather choose human companies rather than alien shady companies. I guess they must've know about our deals with them, and decided to start a shadow war. A war in the shadows. The companies of the consortium vs the remaining independent government's. Who ever wins controls all the resources in the world." I told poppy.
She nodded. "Good guess but no one really knows. It's so sudden. We need more info before we act against them."
"I'll patch you up in the meantime. I hurried the medical assistance I gave you a couple minutes ago. I was hurrying because this guy is saying we need to leave after he suffered minor bruises. You blunted most of the damaged for him because you were in front of the explosion. He was saved because you were blocking him from getting hit by shrapnel. I cut you're leg off. Sorry. It can't be saved considering it was barely hanging on the leg. Plus I was running out of time so I had to cut it before you bled out."
I sighed. "Okay. Just get my hk UmP 45 inside my arm. It's in second the compartment a secret compartment. In the upper arm. I have a few mags of it inside the compartment. Here's a screw driver to remove the lid."
I then gave poppy a screw driver hidden in my pants, and saw her unscrew the lid off. A ump 45, and fully loaded 4 mags came out dropping loudly on the floor.
"Now carry me to the danger. I would rather die than suffer for years being reminded of the sad reality that I lost an arm, and a leg every time I wake up." I morbidly joked to poppy.
"Are you sure? You're injured! Are you fucking suicidal?" Poppy, and the agent said.
"Did I stutter?"
The two of them sighed.
Poppy then carried me in her back, and the other agent used poppy as meat shields. The agent held a Barretta 93r. A burst fire weapon.
"Ready?" I said.
"Ugh. You're lucky I accepted your request dumbass."
"Yes."
I was being piggy back carried by poppy while the agent followed us.
"Tango 15 meters to the left." Poppy said.
I then activated burst fire, and shot at the direction given. When I saw an enemy I aimed for the center mass. But I instead hit the thorax killing the alien instantly.
"Kill confirms. Enemy is k.i.a."
"Tango 20 meters ahead."
I then aimed straight forward, and saw a bolt of light strike near me. It was close enough to feel the heat of the round. I shot back, and killed the alien instantly by hitting the alien in the lungs, and heart.
"Enemy is k.i.a"
Then I heard a three round burst coming from a Barretta. I looked back, and saw the agent kill an incoming enemy.
"Thanks. So what's your name?" I asked.
"Oh I haven't properly instroduced myself. My name is agent Carter." The agent/Carter said.
"Thanks Carter. My name is agent smith."
"No problem agent smith. We CIA agents got each other's backs. We must stick together."
"Guys tangos incoming coming from the left. ETA 20 seconds."
We then aimed our Guns, and waited for the enemy to arrive. When they eventually arrived we moved them down with burst fire. After that a couple national guard guys came up to us. They were probably chasing those aliens.
"Thanks." One of the national guards said.
"No problem"
We continued, and after two minutes of walking we walked into a firefight. I smiled.
"You know what to do." I said smiling.
"Third party them?"
"Yup."
I then turned on full auto, and began to spray, and pray.
After a few seconds of pulling the trigger my gun ran out of bullets. Carter also ran out of bullets in his magazine, and reloaded. 3 confirmed kills, and multiple missed or slightly injured.
Oh crap. Then a bolt of light past near me. Enough to the point my right cheek got minor burns.
"Duck!"
I then began to be dragged by poppy into cover. Carter also looked for cover, and dived into the nearest cover. I quickly reloaded the mag, and started shooting at the aliens again. I changed the selector back to burst fire to conserve ammo.
I aimed center mass at the enemies. A loud burst of .45 ACP rounds was heard as an enemy was hit in the thorax.
"Kill confirmed."
I continued, and shot enemies in either the arms, legs, the thorax, or the chest.
After three minutes the firefight ended.
"Other sectors secured. All area's are currently in our control. Over 700 people died, 1720 were injured, and some were missing. Military and government casualties are 124 KIA'd, 24 severely injured, 57 mildly injured, and 38 MIA'd." Poppy said smiling.
Then paramedics rushed into the scene. People were rushed into nearby hospitals while I was dragged by a undercover CIA paramedic to a government safe house along with poppy, and Carter.
A week later…
I was standing in the military cemetery in Arlington national cemetery. Where soldiers who died without any identifications are buried. I saw burials around me. Soldiers who died without any family members, soldiers disowned by family, and other such things. But hey it's just the life of a soldier. That's what I know at least. From ranger grunt to c.i.a grunt. I was disowned by my parents who were conservatives, and highly religious because I was going to sacrifice my place in heaven to save some heathens from the middle east. I never regretted my actions. I saved lives, and ended some. No guts no glory after all.
Some of the people getting buried got medal of honors. Saving comrades in need of dire help in exchange for their lives, soldiers who rescued civilians in exchange for their own lives, and soldiers who honorably fought on to save others even faced with hard decisions.
I saluted the unknown soldiers for their bravery, and honor. In the background poppy, and Carter were talking. But that wasn't important. Bagpipes, trumpets, and drums play as the unknown soldiers get burried with their medals. The grave sentinels saluted while burying the dead. Gunshots in the honor of the dead was heard as the unknown soldiers got buried while being watched by the people who those soldiers saved.
After that I returned to head quarters with a prosthetic leg, and talked to my handler. Poppy, and Carter went back to the safehouse just to talk.
"Oh hi smith." My handler captain david said.
"Hi David."
"Here's another purple heart medal, and a bronze star medal." David then tossed the medals towards me.
"That's your what? 22nd and 23rd medal? Bravo congrats smith."
"I'm gonna ask you sometime David."
"Ask away smith."
"When will i get sent as a diplomatic bodyguard?"
"About three weeks from now. Also agent Carter is gonna be one of your partners for the mission."
I sighed. Figured.
"So who was behind the terror attack David?"
"Honestly. The CIA search the crime scene, and saw that the consortium blatantly did that. The mercenaries worked under one of the companies in the consortium. But for the public it's gonna be announced tonight that a rogue consortium PMC did that so we wouldn't provoke them too much."
"It's gonna be a long day smith."
"Yeah David."
Then David gave me a cigar.
"Wanna smoke?"
I nodded.
To be continued…

DON’T MESSAGE ME IF YOU AREN’T LOOKING FOR LTR, I AM NOT INTO SEXTING OR OTHER WASTE OF TIME.
And of course I am going to lose interest on you if you reply 5 days later, for god’s sake. What are you playing?
Quick description and what are my interest before start my story:
Latin, young, slim, caucasian, brown eyes, black hair, 6’1”, 155 lbs, team bottom. Read again: I am 100 % bottom. I am not a top, I am not vers. I am total bottom.
Looking for: LTR, into mature men not into grandpas whose can’t even walk. Good hygiene, no stinky breath, no bad odor!
I get bored of lame replies I prefer you don’t say anything back tbh. Why you reach me out?
Why you full-fill my messages if you don’t even make an effort? I will leave the chat if it’s the case so if I don’t reply, you know why.
Oh and I don’t want to be an ornament in your snapchat or social media. I don’t want to receive every day a snap because you’re increasing your streak. I have a lot of ornaments already, I don’t want anymore. Thanks!
~~~And please understand I am not looking for penpals, or people who say “vent with me” I can call crisis emergency and do the same thing and it’s useless. I am not interested in making a friendship thru a phone, is not my goal here (talk with someone thru a phone over months).
I would like to start the convo knowing: your age/where are you located/what you’re looking for.
Hi stranger! I will tell you my story and at the end you probably gonna end thinking like me “life’s so ironic”.
I used to live in latin america, the reason I left my country are pretty obvious and here you go an explanation:
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYbStFMa/

1. I am not a trump supporter, I’m just using his speech because it’s accurate and people ask me “why you left your country” like they don’t even read news, so that’s the reason why I left my country.
2. I am not a politic person, to be honest. I don’t even care.

So when I used to be stuck in my country I got a lot of compliments about people saying “you pretty, wish you could be here, wish you could be in USA. Blah… blah… blah.”
I like foreigners since I am a kid… if I don’t remember bad. That’s the reason I tend to date people different from my continent… I don’t even like latin people, hell nah.
I am into people from america (USA), people from europe, and different continents. Because I just like things different to my culture. I feel attracted to new things, new languages.
So I felt very unlucky when I was stuck in my country and I concluded the problem was me being stuck in there.
So I finished my studies and got my degree and I did everything possible to come to the U.S. and I did it. I said, nice… so now I can find a person to be with and maybe would be easy because you know I know what I want and I am serious about finding a person for a LTR.
Here’s the funniest thing in the story: I started to date with guys, most of them pretty… they were attracted to me as well so it was kind of some connection until they started to ask about my personal life and I started to explain I came to the U.S. recently and I don’t have home/cajob because I am just starting my life in a new country where I don’t even have one soul I have met before. No family, no friends, nothing.
After a date, some men started to talk with me and my situation… and this is what I got from them:
“How can I take serious a person that it doesn’t have anything”, “you’re just looking for a chance in life”, “you’re a broken mf” (I felt attacked but people here’s rude so I prefer shut down myself), or after knowing that part of me… it’s like they’re not interested anymore or whatever. So I don’t wanna chase any man, it’s not my style and I am not that ugly, I just want something genuine. And somebody who can understand I am under a process and it won’t last forever.
I have met guys whose say they want a relationship and date someone and such but it’s like they only want a hookup and that’s all! I think I have more value than just a night and then being throw to the garbage.
Sometimes people it’s like “you don’t know what the hell do you want, you don’t know the power of your statement to hurt someone that is not in the same position like you”, “you don’t even have empathy for others being thru process”.
I won’t blame you, it’s something we develop during our growth. Is not something gonna happen overnight!
So if you’re in the process to meet someone, just don’t be a dick because you don’t know all the background and what have been with that person. ASK FIRST instead judging someone. There are people trying so hard but without tools to keep moving and carrying depression because they’re completely alone in a foreigner country.
Anyway, now that I am here in the U.S. I can see the problem wasn’t being stuck there! Pretty clear.
Men want time to meet someone in person and “see what can happen” but they don’t need time to hookup with someone overnight. Where’s the logic.
Friendly reminder: 'If you really want to do something, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse.' —Jim Rohn.
Bye, bye! ;)

FYI, this is a story COLLECTION. Lots of standalones technically. So, you can basically start to read at any chapter, no pre-read of the other chapters needed technically (other than maybe getting better descriptions of characters than: Adam Vir=human, Krill=antlike alien, Sunny=tall alien, Conn=telepathic alien). The numbers are (mostly) only for organization of posts and continuity.
OC Written by Charlie Stastarrfallknightrise,
Typed up and then posted here by me.
Proofreading and language check for some chapters by u/Finbar9800
Future Lore and fact check done by me.
Okay this is weird. So, this story is a long time ago, like 6-7 years ago, but its also in the future for us…
German has a specific tense for this, but English has no tense for this…
So, I guess welcome to the close past of the far far future?
Previous First Next
Want to find a specific one, see the whole list or check fanart?
Here is the link to the master-post.
The bus bumped and jostled over the lumpy dirt road.
Inside bodies swayed and juggled back and forth, ramming into walls and steadying themselves against the antiquated seats before them. The bus was old, older than a large portion of dirt, old enough to have rubber tires, shitty suspension, and foam back seats, nothing like the sleek magno buses they used these days.
Clearly their program wasn't important enough to acquire a real transport vehicle.
Their ride from the airport had been nerve wracking to say the least, and only some of it had come from the imminent threat that the bus would disintegrate into its component parts, most of the rest of it had come from the slow building of nervous energy felt by all the young teens as they waited to begin their first day at training.
There were forty of them in all, though less than half of that was predicted to make it through the training and actually become pilots from the program at Trans Space Combative Aviation Academy. Of course, the Academy didn't have its own location, as new as it was and untested as it was, the burgeoning UNSC wasn't likely to spend a ton of funds on a group of untested children. So, they had been shipped onto Del Rio, Texas where the air force flight academy was located, and had been allocated space, some instructors, and a few classrooms to get started.
Adam had found the other recruits from the program nervously waiting outside with their duffel bags and clothing. None of them were over the age of fifteen, and they consisted almost equally of boys and girls.
Adam was displeased to find himself the shortest among the boys, and about mid pack among the girls, a good portion of them probably weighing a good ten pounds more than he did, though none of them were out of shape.
He tried to ignore that, doing his best to make friends with the other nervous recruits, determined not to be the loser this time. Just as long as he didn't show his weirdness to them straight off, maybe he was going to be fine.
It seemed to be working, at least until the bus pulled up, and the group of them stared on with shock and disappointment at the monstrosity before them.
A centuries old bus.
They sort of hoped it wasn't for them, but the ACU clad, army man stepping out of the door and onto the pavement dashed their hopes.
And soon they were on their way, jostling down the highway, eventually cutting through manned security gates, patrolled by armed guards, and finally onto the backroad that was taken around the airfield. Adam had his face pressed up against the window, watching as a set of jets took off, leaving trails of white behind them in the great blue sky above.
The implant in his arm buzzed, and he looked down to see a text from his mother asking if they had landed yet.
He had to apologize for forgetting and assured her that he was, indeed, landed and on his way.
The further they went onto the base, the more people they could see, large muscular men and women running in formation, wearing the same light grey T-shirts tucked into blue canvas shorts.
Voices roared past them as the men chanted in time with their cadence.
Low lying buildings pulled up on the horizon in front of them, crouched together in stumpy lines. Yelled commands wafted through open windows as more recruits rolled past kicking up dirt clouds as they went.
Adam grew nervous upon seeing them, big and adult.
He glanced down at himself and his baggy T-shirt, and jeans held up only by a belt, the cuffs folded up over his shoes.
They belonged to his brothers, but were still too big for him.
The bus rolled to a stop just then, jostling him forward so his face nearly rammed into the seat in front of him. A dust cloud billowed up around them obscuring his vision for a moment. At the front of the bus, the driver reached out and cranked the handle to the door, manually forcing it open.
"Wow, this thing is a real piece of shit."
Someone muttered, while boots thudded onto the stairs, and the entire bus went quiet as a man stepped onto the front of the bus. He was tall, and serious faced with thick eyebrows and what appeared to be a shaved head, though it was mostly covered by a wide brimmed dumbass hat in dark, clashing seriously with his patterned ACUs.
They all waited on the edge of their seats.
Adam shrunk down into his expecting to get yelled at.
That's what all the old army movies told him was going to happen.
Instead, however, the man smiled.
Adam didn't buy it for one second.
"Welcome recruits to the first TSCA Academy class of 4013. I am Master Sergeant Kimball, and I will be one of your MTI (military training instructor) during this program. If you need to address me at any time during this course, you will call me Sir or Master Sergeant Kimball. Now I understand that you may all be tired from your flight. We have recruits here from all across the world coming in right now, so hopefully, today will be easy and relaxing."
Adam eyed the group around him, watching as the others began to relax.
Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all?
Perhaps because they were kids, they had been given some leeway during the training process?
I mean, were they really going to yell at a group of kids barely out of their teenage years?
Surely, they wouldn’t…
"Alright everyone, Unload!"
There was a collective shuffling around the bus as the group of them took to their feet and began slowly shuffling towards the exit. Adam pulled his bag over his back, nearly tipping over backwards as the weight pulled his small frame off balance. Someone put a hand on his shoulder,
”Whoa."
He glanced over and thanked the girl who had helped him, hurrying off the bus and down the stairs into the hot as hell Texas heat.
Stepping off the bus he found Master Sergeant Kimball standing next to two other MTIs, who were smiling at them, though their smiles seemed more wolfish than reassuring.
My what big teeth you have, he thought idly to himself, stepping to the side so the others could walk through.
One boy came trudging down the steps last, lugging an absolutely massive suitcase as a few of the others flopped to the ground, resting against their bags, eyes closed, basking like lizards in the sun.
Sgt. Kimball stepped forward towards the last young man.
"Here let me help you."
The boy seemed rather grateful, handing his bag down to the MTI, taking some weight off his shoulders.
That was until Sgt. Kimball grabbed the zipper, opened the bag and dumped the entire contents of the suitcase into the dirt. He then got right up in the boy's face and shouted.
"NOW WHAT THE EVER LOVING FUCK DO YOU NEED A BAG LIKE THAT FOR!? CHRIST SON, I COULD USE IT TO SMUGGLE YOUR CORPSE OUT WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU."
The entire group jolted with surprise, all of them bolting upwards.
Even Adam was startled, and he had been expecting it. The poor kid was scrambling around in the dirt trying to collect his things,
"GET YOUR ASS OFF THE GROUND YOU SORRY PIECE OF SHIT."
The two other MTIs bore down on them, their charming smiles revealed for what they really were.
Wolf in sheep's clothing, snarling ravening beasts.
More bags were dumped on the ground, turned over, emptied until the contents mingled with the dust on the ground. The female MTI leaped over, ripping Adam's bag off the ground and tossing its contents into the dust. She reached down, picked up a book and chucked it at him, hitting him in the chest as he stumbled back.
"YOU THINK YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TIME FOR READING!?”
She moved on to the next student.
One of the recruits had burst into tears, and the MTI's descended like vultures. One of them grabbed a water bottle from the ground and shoved it at the crying student.
"BETTER GET STARTED ON CRYING ME A RIVER!"
Adam was scrambling to pick up his stuff and shove it back in his bag.
"GET ON YOUR FEET!"
He bolted upright to find Sgt. Kimball in his face, or more looking down on him. His face was red and as he screamed, little droplets of spit flew from his tongue. He gave Adam one long look over.
"GOOD LORD BOY, I'VE TAKEN SHITS MORE SUBSTANTIAL THAN YOU!"
"GO ON CLEAN UP THIS SHIT, IT'S FILTHY! WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN DOING!? THEN GET YOUR ASSES DOWN TO INTAKE."
He scrambled to put his things in his bag, the MTI's shouting at him the entire time. He nearly tripped over himself multiple times, falling flat on his face in the dirt much to the amusement of the MTIs.
"LEAVE YOUR SHIT HERE!"
He tripped and wobbled, running after the others as they ran towards the building that had been pointed out to them by the screaming MTIs. A few of the other recruits were crying, but Adam, well he had sort of expected it, and honestly, he would have been disappointed if they hadn't. In fact, he found himself grinning from ear to ear as he walked into the equipment room behind a line of other recruits.
The equipment officer turned around from his desk to glare at them. He was a heavy-set man in his late forties with biceps as big around as tree trunks.
He looked them over with a frown before jabbing his finger at Adam.
"You there, smiley. Small or extra small?”
He blushed,
"Errr... Extra... Small?”
"At least he's honest."
The man grouted, turning around to rifle through his equipment, coming back with two pairs of everything in stock. He stacked it on the counter in front of him.
"Two PT uniforms, Two ACUs, two shirts, sweatpants, jacket, gloves, hat, and…"
He pulled up a set of tan combat boots then glanced him up and down.
"What is your shoe size?"
"Er..."
More blushing,
"Six."
The man grunted, ducked back behind the counter,
"We only carry eight plus in men’s, but a seven in women's should work."
He tried not to wilt at the reminder of how small he was.
The man turned away again and motioned him off. He clambered to pick up everything he needed and wobbled away, juggling the boots the pants and the jacket with some difficulty, dropping a glove on the floor and nearly dropping everything else when he went to pick it up.
Walking outside he was met by another MTI, who yelled at him to get his ass to the barracks to change and put all his shit away. He hurried to do as he was told, running and nearly dropping everything again as he made his way through the doors into a large room, lined along either side with beds, a single trunk at the base.
He ran to one of the beds at the far end, opened the crate and placed his things inside, struggling to pull on one of the PT uniforms as the others ran into the room to do the same, throwing their things in the lockers at the base of the beds, as the MTIs continued to scream at them.
It was only as he was running out of the room that he noticed the horrible terrible thing.
Oh no…
Please no…
The extra small pants...
They…
They were too big.
He tried looking for a drawstring to make them tighter, but they were canvas with an elastic waist, and they did not go any tighter. He turned in his spot, trying to figure out what to do, but as soon as he slowed down, another MTI was screaming at him to get back onto the field and line up.
So, he chickened out, holding onto his pants for dear life, as he raced back to the training ground.
Upon making it there he helped the other students line up into evenly spaced rows, thinking that the MTIs might be impressed with them if they were to do that.
They did their best to stand like they were supposed to, though all of the instruction they had ever gotten was from old war movies, and they were all doing it horribly wrong, a fact for which the MTIs noticed and yelled at them for with great glee as soon as they noticed. Of course, they were eventually whipped into shape, standing in line in straight rows, heels together hands at sides, shoulders back.
He could feel his pants slipping, though he was too embarrassed to say anything.
Sgt Kimball stepped out in front of them, hands behind his back.
"What did I say!? Didn't I say we were going to have a fun relaxing day!? Are you having fun!?"
He was right in one of the recruits face, now bellowing almost at the top of his lungs. He moved onto the next student.
"Aren’t you relaxed!?”
Adam didn't think the kid looked particularly relaxed. In fact, he looked so tense, that if he squeezed any harder his spine was going to go shooting out of his ass.
"Well!?”
There was silence on the grounds.
"WELL!?”
Adam scrambled his brain not entirely sure what to do before squeaking out.
"Yes sir."
The MTI leaned in.
"Why don't you try and communicate in normal ranges of human hearing, son. I am not a bat!"
He looked back up at the rest of the group.
"WELL!?"
"YES SIR."
"That's better."
He turned to stalk away from Adam, pacing up and down the line.
"I will be straight with you when I say that today IS going to be fun and relaxing compared to what you will be going through in the next few years. If you manage to make it into this program, I promise you we will destroy your social life, you will have time for nothing other than this program and sleeping, if I decide to allow you to sleep, that is."
Adam was grinning.
Unfortunately, that caught the Sgt's eye.
"THE FUCK ARE YOU SMILING AT!?”
He waited.
Adam just stood there.
"ANSWER THE QUESTION GODDAMMIT!"
"Yes sir, sorry sir! I thought it was a rhetorical question."
"HEAVENS ABOVE HAVE MERCY ON MY SOUL. I SAID ANSWER THE QUESTION!"
His mouth opened then closed,
"Er..."
"THE HELL KIND OF ANSWER IS THAT!"
"Um."
"Sweet Jehova did you come out this stupid or is it a family tradition, a side hobby?"
"I'm sorry sir, I forgot the question."
He lowered his head with an exaggerated sigh rubbing his temples,
"Forgot the question. FORGOT THE QUESTION!? I'VE MET GOLDFISH WITH BETTER MEMORIES THAN YOU! I SAID WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SMILING!?"
He blushed,
"Oh... Um."
"HURRY UP!!!”
"BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE A SOCIAL LIFE FOR YOU TO RUIN, SIR."
That seemed to take the man back, and he simply sat there, staring at Adam with a bemused expression.
*"If you were any more pathetic, smiley, I might just cry for you. Honest to god, if you get any more pathetic, I will cry real tears for your shame." *
He turned away.
"Now everyone get on the ground and give me FIFTY."
At least everyone seemed to know what that meant, though pathetically enough his arms were wobbling at twenty.
"JUMPING JUPITER RECRUIT, I DIDN'T EXPECT YOU TO MAKE ME CRY IN THE FIRST HALF HOUR. MY COUSIN COULD DO MORE PUSH-UPS THAN YOU AND HE'S GOT NO ARMS!"
The Sergeant seemed to have a lot of disabled relatives.
A blind granny, an armless cousin, a nephew with a pole up his ass from a tragic fishing accident.
By the time they were done, Adam was quite nearly ready to throw up.
"ALRIGHT FIFTY BURPIES GO,GO GO."
Oh no, anything but that!
He paused, but was almost immediately screamed at to get his ass in gear. He knew what was coming before it happened, but he couldn't stop it.
So he accepted his fate…
So long self worth!
As he jumped down into his first plank and then back up, he could feel the waist on his pants slipping, at first just a little, but then, as his feet left the ground there, they went right down around his ankles.
At first, he thought he was at least lucky to be in the back row, but then scrambling to pick his pants back up, he realized none of that was going to matter.
Sgt. Kimball was staring at him, cheek twitching.
He himself was blushing excessively.
He was quiet for a very long time before.
"CONTROL YOURSELF RECRUIT, THE LAST THING I NEED TO SEE IS YOUR CHICKEN LEG FLAT ASS KIDDIE JUNK ON MY TRAINING FIELD. Fuck, as small as you are I'll probably be indited for CP. Now go get some new fucking pants before you blind us all for a second time. And, since it seems you've never seen leg day, I want you to cluck like a chicken all the way there. Let everyone know the pantsless chicken boy is coming!”
He did as he was told, rose red the entire time and beat red on his way back, seeing as, they had given him the smallest size available in mens, so instead he had been given a pair of woman's shorts, which, due to the cut, tended to ride up in very uncomfortable places of his anatomy.
It was a very good thing he was used to embarrassment.
Or this was going to be a very long couple of years…
Hell even with being used to embarrassment this would probably be some interesting years..
[…]
Commander Adam Vir blinked and put a hand to his head, boots throwing up little puffs of dust in the Texas heat.
"You ok Commander?"
He sniffed at the air and took in a deep breath, hands on hips.
"Ah, the memories!"
”What are you remembering Sir?”
”Good times… good times…”
And with these words he stepped out of the hovercar, mumbling to himself.
”I wonder what’s up with Sgt. Kimball, is he still training new recruits? Maybe I’ll see him again…”
Previous First Next
Want to find a specific one, see the whole list or check fanart?
Here is the link to the master-post.
Intro post by me
OC-whole collection
Patreon of the author
Thanks for reading! As you saw in the title, this is a cross posted story written by starrfallknightrise and I'll just upload some of it here for you guys, if you are interested and want to read ahead, the original story-collection can be found on tumblr or wattpad to read for free. (link above this text under "OC:..." ) It is the Empyrean Iris story collection by starfallknightrise. Also, if you want to know more about the story collection i made an intro post about it, so feel free to check that out to see what other great characters to look forward to! (Link also above this text). I have no affiliations to the author; just thought I’d share some of the great stories you might enjoy a lot!
Obviously, I have Charlie’s permission to post this and for the people already knowing the stories, or starting to read them: If you follow the link and check out the story you will see some differences. I made some small (non-artistic) changes, mainly correcting writing mistakes, pronoun correction and some small additional info here and there of things which were not thought of/forgotten or even were added/changed in later stories (like the “USS->UNSC” prefix of Stabby, Chalar=/->Sunny etc). As well as some "biggemajor" changes in descriptions and info’s for the same stringency/continuity reason. That can be explained by the story collection being, well a story collection at the start with many standalone-stories just starring the same people, but later on it gets more to a stringent storyline with backstories and throwbacks. (For example Adam Vir has some HEAVY scars over his body, following his bones, which were not really talked about up till half the collection, where it says it covers his whole body and you find out via backflash that he had them the whole time and how he got them, they just weren't mentioned before. However, I would think a doctor would at least see these scars before that, especially since he gets analyzed, treated and goes shirtless/in T-shirts in some stories). So TLDR: Writing and some descriptions are slightly changed, with full OK from the author, since he himself did not bother to correct these things before.

1. Location is Important Whether you choice to buy an asset withinside the industrial region or a residential place, it’s far important to don’t forget the place. Various different elements come as subsequent precedence due to the fact place is that component which can not be modified after you very own the asset or the assets or a house. Usually, first time homebuyers pay attention extra on luxuries and services and don’t trouble an awful lot approximately place, however they’ll repent later. Location ought to usually be taken into consideration as a top component of your asset. Location dictates the opposite elements of the asset. If it’s far a residential assets, then one has to search for the fame of the neighbourhood, nearness to centers and services, get entry to to water, protection quotient of the place, perspectives from the assets, etc. Any buy of an asset in actual property ought to be subsidized with the aid of using a right place.
   
   1. What Makes a Good Location

Several elements make a contribution to show a place into a great place. A few are cited below.
2.1. Futuristic Areas The regions that have a excessive scope of improvement are taken into consideration to be futuristic regions. These localities are a chunk farfar from the metropolis however are in excessive call for. These regions have nicely advanced infrastructure and smooth atmosphere. With non violent and tranquil atmosphere, you will stay a wholesome life-style on this pollutants unfastened environment. One ought to additionally don’t forget the destiny, further to the prevailing centers. Areas that are futuristic and certain for destiny improvement will assist to growth the assets values. Any type of improvement is certain to growth the assets values. One can get top ROI in futuristic regions.
2.2. Key Services in Proximity If you anticipate to get pleasant training to your children, you then definately ought to choose a place that has reputed instructional institutions. It ought to have a great social infrastructure too. One ought to additionally search for nearness to hospitals, purchasing centres, banks, malls, and ofcourse grocery stores. The place turns into a top component if is supported with the aid of using the proximity to those crucial services.
2.3. Convenient Commute If you’re in a futuristic place, you’re a chunk farfar from the metropolis however the gain is which you are a chunk farfar from the site visitors too. One ought to pick a place accurately so you do now no longer spend an awful lot time in shuttle. Pay interest to regions that are near ORR and highways so you can attain your vacation spot without difficulty thru them. The place ought to additionally have right approach of transportation.
2.4. Safety Matters Sometimes, we forget about protection issues, for you to come up with the money for the assets withinside the first place. It is a reality that regions with crook sports do now no longer gain the equal fee as a assets placed in a secure neighbourhood. The place ought to be secure for the women and children. One has to take word approximately the protection of a place earlier than finalising the asset. The protection of a place is likewise very critical and it contributes to growth the fee of the assets.
2.5. Lifestyle Needs Preference Never live in a place which does now no longer fit your life-style. One ought to stay in a place that can provide you and your own circle of relatives a satisfied life. Your life-style necessities ought to be supported with the aid of using your surroundings.

1. Location is a Prime Factor of Your Asset at Risinia Risinia Builders are very specific approximately choosing a place for his or her ventures. They understand thoroughly that place is a top component of your asset. A top fee along side a great place will convey peace and happiness to your life. If your private home is in a great place and has adequate expensive services, then it’s far in extra call for and could surely are looking for a better promoting fee, bringing you a great ROI. The places decided on with the aid of using Risinia consist of all of the required elements like — pleasant of life, college choices, shuttle time, and social sports. Risinia Builders by no means compromise on things — place and pleasant. They also are acknowledged for well timed deliveries. They usually choose a futuristic place that’s desirable, specially for millennials. One shouldn’t examine the modern-day fame of a neighbourhood however ought to be aware of the destiny of the place. All the ventures of Risinia are RERA approved, which means absolutely sincere and wellknown ones. Their expensive and comfortable ventures, Skyon and Trendilla are placed at Bachupally while Oyster is located at Nizampet. All those ventures are at the verge of completion.
   
2. Why Did Risinia Select Bachupally Bachupally is taken into consideration to be a fast-developing residential place withinside the suburbs and an upcoming place. It is part of the extension of Greater Hyderabad City. Situated withinside the North West Zone of Hyderabad and being in proximity to the mainstream regions, Bachupally is turning into the favorite vacation spot of the techies. The infrastructural improvement has created a growth in Bachupally actual property. Every homebuyer desires to very own a domestic in a neighbourhood which can boast of everything, from world-magnificence worldwide colleges to massive pharma labs. This dream comes actual in case you very own a domestic at one of the ventures of Risinia, placed in Bachupally.
   

This place homes world-magnificence colleges like The Oakridge International School, Delhi Public School, Silver Oaks, Laurus — The School of Excellence, VIKAS and Geetanjali IIT Olympiad School and a few reputed Corporate and Engineering colleges. With malls, supermarkets, restaurants, banks, all styles of stores, corporations and services, Bachupally is becoming a chief motive force of economy.
Bahupally is a process hub in itself and is likewise withinside the area of Hitech City. It is nicely related thru a community of roads which include ORR, Nizampet Road, Bachupally Road, and Bollaram Road. One of the top elements of Bachupally is that, you will discover houses at inexpensive rates.

Sometimes a band gets so big that they somehow outshine themselves. They reach a point in their career where it does not matter if they release a new album or not; fans just want to see them tour. No one gave a damn that Led Zeppelin had not released a new album since the 1970’s; everyone just wanted to see them play again at the O2 Arena in 2007. When The Who played the Super Bowl halftime show in 2010 they had only released one new album in 28 years, and no one cared. And no one cares that Guns & Roses aren’t making new music. They still packed arenas to see how much cake Axl had packed into himself.
We’re going to take a dive into a blues power trio from down south who have zero need to release any new music, since their recording career stretches back over five decades. They had amazing and groundbreaking success in the ‘70s, the ‘80s, and the ‘90s before hitting the max level. Instead of playing to win, they now play for fun. Their sexually charged lyrics and videos inspired generations of teens to both dress better and worry about their fly. And you can bet that their fuzzy, bluesy tight sound had a huge impact on our very own desert dwellers.
It’s time for us to take a walk with That Little Ol’ Band from Texas. This week’s featured artist is the legendary ZZ TOP
About Them
The Power Trio is a tested and true format for a rock band. Lots of examples come to mind: Cream. Rush. The Police. Biffy Clyro. King Buffalo. Them Crooked Vultures. (Wait a sec. Just three members? Clearly, not everything is bigger in Texas.)
There is a member joke there somewhere, but I just can’t get it to come. Hmm. Perhaps it will come if you play with it a bit.
Hey! Stop that. Get your mind out of the gutter.
ZZ Top’s original and founding member was William Frederick Gibbons. Born in Houston in 1949, the front man was originally a drummer but, after studying with Tito Puente in New York City, picked up the guitar at age 13. His dad was a musician in show business, which allowed Billy to get an insider’s view of the industry. By the late ‘60s, he had been in and founded a number of bands and had even befriended the late great James Marshall Hendrix. One of his first bands, a psychedelic/art house band called The Moving Sidewalks, toured with the Jimi Hendrix Experience. This meant that Gibbons was actually mentored by Snagglepuss himself. They also toured with The Doors, where Gibbons saw the legendary self-destructive band somehow manage to rise above conflict and make music every night. The Moving Sidewalks generated a following all of its own with a couple of hit songs, and things seemed to be headed in the right direction.
Things were going absolutely great until bassist Don Summers and keyboard player Tom Moore were drafted into the army to fight in Vietnam. Don't you just love the ‘60s?
Gibbons and drummer Dan Mitchell added a new keyboard player, Lanier Greg, and tried to make another run at it. But the chemistry was all wrong. Gibbons rechristened the band as ZZ Top (an homage to BB King), and declared that he wanted more of a straight up rock approach than the art-house kaleidoscopic sound.
Gibbons, Mitchell, and Greg (isn’t it weird when last names are also first names too?) recorded the single Salt Lick in 1969. This generated a bunch of interest and a recording contract. Decisions over the direction of the band ensued and it quickly became clear that Mitchell and Greg did not agree with Gibbons’ hard rock approach. That ended up being a poor life decision for them, but a great one for a couple of other guys.
Clearly, Gibbons needed a new rhythm section.
Fortunately, he found a package deal.
Dusty Hill and Frank Beard - also both born in 1949 - had been playing together on the Dallas-Houston-Fort Worth circuit in a number of bands, including The Warlocks, The Cellar Dwellers, and a fake cover band called The Zombies. Both the Duster and the (then ironically) beardless Beard also heard the siren call of rock and roll. Hill was classically trained and was an accomplished cello player before moving to his signature bass. Frank ‘Rube’ Beard appears to have been born with drumsticks in his hands (which I imagine might have been uncomfortable for his mom).
Beard joined the band first, along with bassist Billy Ethridge, who had played with Stevie Ray Vaughn. Ethridge balked at signing a contract and so joined Mitchell and Greg on the list of ZZ Top’s former members. Their lineup was set. Hill and Beard anchored the band in a rock-solid, tight, bluesy fashion. Gibbons meshed perfectly with this duo, and his Hendrix-inspired guitar work was on another level. Hill provided backing vocals, and Gibbons’ low throaty growl was an impressive counterpoint to his soaring fretwork. The talent was all there; now they just needed to record some music.
But success was not instantaneous, not by a long shot.
Their first album - appropriately called ZZ Top’s First Album - gives insight into who the band were to become. In this 1971 release, you can hear their raw sound. The record peaked at 201 on the charts, and had only one single - (Somebody Else Been) Shaking Your Tree. It did give them material to go out and tour. The boys gelled on that tour and went back into the studio with renewed energy, and emerged with 1972’s Rio Grande Mud. The disc was a step forward in refining their sound. The album almost cracked the top 100, and the only single - Francine - went all the way to number 69.
Nice.
But the band knew that their third album, Tres Hombres, was something special. It is the epitome of Southern Rock: bluesy, fast paced, sexy, and irreverent, it is just over half an hour of pure magic. And while the album went gold and peaked at number 8 on the charts and is worth your time, it was one particular single that rocketed them to stardom. You know it and you love it, and a-how-how-how-how: La Grange. It is still in heavy rotation on classic rock stations today. And why not? The song is an absolute banger of boogie woogie blues, written about a visit to a whorehouse. What’s not to love?
La Grange propelled them to popularity. Tours sold out. Venues got bigger and bigger. 1975’s follow up album, Fandango!, was half live album (with some covers) and half new material - like an EP with bonus tracks. They covered the Elvis Presley classic Jailhouse Rock, Willie Dixon’s Mellow Down Easy, and John Lee Hooker’s Long Distance Boogie. The boys had rock and blues chops, and had 5 years of touring experience. These were bold statements that cemented their musicality as well as honoring their roots. But side two of the disc had another track that you’ve come to love. You ain’t asking for much: You’re just lookin’ for some Tush. Tush was the perfect sexually charged follow up to ensure that they were not one-hit wonders. It was written in a ten-minute spasm of creativity at a sound check, and has gone on to be one of their most popular songs.
While Tush topped the charts, ZZ Top went back into the studio to record their full length follow up, 1976’s Tejas. The name of the album means ‘friends’ in the Indigenous Caddo language, and was the basis for the name of the state. You know what that means? It means that the name of the state is ‘Friends’. Just like the ‘90s sitcom. Don’t mess with Friends. Anyways, this was an album of experimentation for the band, and unlike its predecessor it came out half baked at best. Billy Gibbons has called it a transition album. What actually happened is the band transitioned into a hiatus from touring and recording, taking some significant time off. They had recorded five albums in six years and spent virtually all their time on the road. The latest effort was just not up to their standards and was a step back. It also completed their recording contract.
What was the solution to this burn out?
Facial hair of course.
The boys took a few years off before landing another recording contract, this time with Warner. Over those months, both Gibbons and Hill grew what would become their signature long ‘Texas Goatee’ beards. Frank Beard did not grow a beard (though he did finally succumb to peer pressure from his bandmates in 2013, and his is much more neatly trimmed). So while they were resting/relaxing/getting their groove back/aligning their chakras or whatever, they also started to reinvent their signature sound as the world moved towards a decade of legendary excess.
The first step on this reinvention journey was 1979’s Degüello. The title literally means ‘decapitation’ but idiomatically refers to a fight to the death. Clearly, the band decided to tackle their transition head on. The album was not as successful as Tres Hombres or Fandango!, but it was not the flop that Tejas was. It did spawn a couple of singles - I Thank You (which was a cover) and the signature hit Cheap Sunglasses. Both are staples at ZZ Top concerts to this day. Degüello was quickly followed up in 1981 by the album El Loco. This was really the first time ZZ Top incorporated a synthesizer into their sound. As you know, the synth was THE new wave sound of the 1980s. Gods help us, keytars were once popular. But Gibbons, Hill, and Beard did not abandon their edge. The single Pearl Necklace was an immensely popular innuendo laced tune from this album. And no, I will not explain what a pearl necklace is to you.
Ask your mom.
Over the course of their first seven albums, ZZ Top had steadily grown in popularity and become a truly extraordinary live band. More than a decade of touring together meant that they had not just cut their teeth. They had found the Tooth Fairy, beaten her senseless, and added fangs to their jaws. They were ready to tackle whatever came their way.
Their huge breakthrough coincided with the birth of music videos and MTV. 1983’s Eliminator was an absolute monster of an album. ZZ Top were everywhere. They completely embraced the Music Video as a medium and became pioneers in this new genre. They branded their band with a 1933 fire-engine red Ford Coupe, which was on the cover of the album. They even had a signature hand gesture that they used as the car went by. The car belonged to Billy Gibbons and embodied his hot rod obsessions. It was featured in the videos for Gimme All Your Lovin’, Sharp Dressed Man, and Legs. Other singles from the album included Got me Under Pressure and TV Dinners. Eliminator is still the band’s most successful album. They were at the absolute height of their popularity with a massive audience. No doubt the 10-year-old Joshua Michael Homme watched those videos on a small screen in the California desert, little knowing that he would one day collaborate with Gibbons.
Seeking to capitalize on the popularity, the band went back into the studio and released Afterburner in 1985. It featured the signature hot rod on the cover and spawned two more singles - Sleeping Bag and Velcro Fly. Afterburner was not an innovative album by any stretch of the imagination. It simply built on the success of Eliminator and replicated the sound. If you blended the two albums together it would be very difficult for a novice fan to guess which song came from which disc. But hell, when you release the most popular album of your career and are earning millions of dollars for that sound, it is not time to mess with success. Or with Texas. Or with Friends (though Ross was a pain in the ass, IMHO).
That desire to not screw up a good thing was also evident in their next release, the retrospective re-release Six Pack. This was a great way to earn some bucks with a simple repackaging of existing tracks - I’m looking at you, K-Tel… - and introducing them to another generation of fans. This was not a bad thing at all - you gotta get that green whenever you can, because fame can be fleeting.
ZZ Top closed out the decade by going Back to the Future. Literally. They appeared in the third installment of the Michael J. Fox trilogy as the olde-timey house band (complete with rotating guitars) in the saloon scene. The single and signature song from the movie, Doubleback, appeared on their 1990 release Recycler. The album spawned two more singles: My Head’s in Mississippi and Concrete and Steel. Recycler was not as successful as its predecessors, but it did effectively max level the band. In the 1970’s they were a scuffling bar band that hit it big. In the 1980’s they were one of the most popular bands of the MTV generation. And in the 1990’s they achieved superstardom. They had hit the level where it truly no longer mattered if they ever released new material again. They could simply tour on their back catalogue alone and sell out stadiums.
It is clear that the band realized this as well. In the thirty years since Recycler came out, they have released five albums of new material: Antenna in 1994, Rhythmeen in 1996, XXX in 1999, Mescalero in 2003 and the critically acclaimed and Rick Rubin produced La Futura in 2012. This was equivalent to their output in their first six years.
In contrast, they have released no less than eight greatest hits albums, cover albums and live albums in the same time span. Greatest Hits came out in 1992. One Foot in the Blues was released in 1994. The massive compilation Chrome, Smoke & BBQ came out in 2003, and is a fantastic place to start if you are a new fan. Rancho Texicano was released in 2004, Live from Texas came out in 2008, and Double Down Live hit shelves in 2009. Live at Montreaux came out in 2013 and Tonite at Midnight: Live Greatest Hits from Around the World was released in 2016.
As recently as 2019, there were rumors that a new album was in the works for our Septuagenarian heroes. Lord knows the boys from Texas have nothing left to prove to anyone.
It was then that tragedy struck. Dusty Hill had to leave the band during a tour in 2021. The reason given was a hip injury. His guitar tech, Elwood Francis, filled in. Shockingly, Hill died at home at the age of 72 just five days after leaving the tour.
Fans were shocked and mourned the stalwart bassist. Per his wishes - and it seems he knew something wasn’t quite right - ZZ Top did not break up. Francis replaced Hill on bass, and the band soldiered on. In 2022, they released Raw, a soundtrack for a 2019 documentary about them. This was Hill’s final release.
You can still catch them on tour. They are going to be out there this summer, touring with Lynyrd Skynyrd, for something they are calling ‘The Sharp Dressed Simple Man’ Tour.
Go buy some tickets. Don’t miss your chance to see a truly iconic band before they are gone.
Links to QOTSA
The Reverend Billy F. Gibbons was a big part of the Lullabies to Paralyze album by our Desert Dwellers. He played guitar and provided backing vocals on Burn the Witch. He was co-lead vocalist and lead guitar on the QotSA cover of Precious and Grace, which he originally released as a ZZ Top tune on the Tres Hombres album. He also provided the guitar stylings for Like a Drug.
But the connections don't stop there. Billy sang the lead vocal track on the recent Desert Sessions tune Move Together, and he played guitar on Noses in Roses, Forever.
What may be most important to QotSA fans is that Gibbons was the first person, almost two years ago, who hinted that Queens were working on a new album.
And now we know he was right. Never doubt a Reverend.
Their Music
Salt Lick
(Somebody Else Been) Shaking your Tree
Francine
La Grange -- Live on Howard Stern
Jailhouse Rock
Tush -- a fan made video. It is not subtle.
Cheap Sunglasses
Pearl Necklace -- Live
Gimme All Your Lovin’
Sharp Dressed Man
Legs -- the ultimate makeover video
Got Me Under Pressure -- Live at Montreaux
Sleeping Bag -- Let’s go out to Egypt and check out some heads...
Velcro Fly -- also somehow in Egypt
My Head’s In Mississippi
Concrete and Steel -- vintage video
Doubleback
I Gotsta Get Paid -- from La Futura
Show Them Some Love
/zztop
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Them Crooked Vultures
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All Them Witches

Assalamualaikum. I hope everyone's doing good.
The last thing i have time for rn before going to give my exam is typing out this post lolll, but i couldn't help it.
There were a few things i learned the hard way after getting married very young (18F), and being immature and inexperienced. It's good to learn thru mistakes, but better to just...not make those mistakes lol. So, i thought id share those things. Please feel free to add more tips, for me and for other sisters.

1. Be grateful. Stuff you appreciate the first month, youll likely start finding it not so special later. Youll start expecting more and more, which makes you very ungrateful. Dont get me wrong, don't settle for less, but don't let yourself get ungrateful. I, personally, kept wanting more and more. He does this, which is ❤️❤️ but he should also do this__. It was very damaging and wrong.
   
2. Don't expect. I'm not talking about the bare minimum (ie. Caring for you, loving you etc) I'm talking about things like "he'll surprise me on valentine's day" etc. Expectations result in disappointment often. It's better to not expect and be surprised, than to expect and be disappointed.
   
3. He wants to love you and help you if he loves you, yes, but not right after he's had a long day. He's a human, not a machine. Working is difficult. You deal with so much in a single day at work, and going home shouldn't bring more to go through. You contained yourself until he got home, now contain it more until hes relaxed. Have a smile on your face, hug him, kiss him, eat with him, have his clothes ready for him to change into, and then, calmly, vent. He'll listen better and he might vent too.
   
4. Having a 😒 face and attitude won't help with anything. Yeah, it will get you attention at first, but its pointless. Your husband wants a happy, positive wife. Not a puzzle they have to be solving at all times.
   
5. Hear me out on this one. This is kind of controversial and slightly going to expose us lol. Dont...cry infront of him....too often. It will desensitise him. Now ofcourse that's not the case for all men, but most men are wired the same way and will be desensitised to it. You want affection and tenderness from him. Save yourself from a desensitised husband. Let him melt everytime you cry, and let him put his entire love into comforting you.
   
6. Don't talk crap about your partner with anyone. No one. NO ONE. Not your mom, not your friends, not your moms friend, NO ONE. Just dont do it.
   

Thanks for reading. Hope this helped Insha'Allah.
With the attention this is getting (wow) id like to add a number 7.

1. Insta, tiktok, yt couples aren't actually like that. Yeah, Masha'Allah they're ɓeing cute and all, but doesn't mean they dont have their issues and that they dont fight. It doesnt mean they dont have their compromises and their disappointments. Social media is the mossst filtered part of their life.

Reno! It's not Hell, but you can see Sparks from it.

Part 1
After a quick shower at a TA, Lord Nibbler of the Orange and I are on our way to fabulous Winnemucca. Most everything is going more-or-less according to plan. We're making good progress and I'm getting the hang of how to schedule driving distances to make use of chargers. Nevada has so much more to offer than Las Vegas and brothels and sadness. The sprawling basins and enclosing mountains in the north are a real treat! Settlers probably made pretty good headway through those.
We're getting towards the border of NV when I mess up the navigation stuff and go to a town with no charger rather than the one that we passed. I have about 40 miles of range left, but the charger is roughly 41 miles away.
Oops...
The Rivian navigation is dubious, but I tell it to "Make it so!" and we're off. The speed limit is 80 mph, but I'm fairly sure that speed kills the battery's performance. I end up going between 55 to 65 mph the whole way and did some regenerative braking...and it worked! I was able to roll into the charger on the EV equivalent of fumes. And I'm sure I made a bunch of friends on the highway!
Most likely:

Trucker 1: Be advised a Rivian on I-80 W is going slower than your grandparents have sex. Trucker 2: I thought I left Florida far behind...

Crisis averted!
Nibbler and I roll into Utah. So....Utah is beautiful, but holy crap are their rest areas the absolute worst! One was quite literally a small shack with two holes, no parking lot, only a gravel patch, and serial-killer-dumping-ground vibe.
Seeing no great camping options before Salt Lake City, I opt to drive there, charge up, and go to Buckland Flats Camp.
Now, the "road" to Buckland Flats Camp is a great test for the Rivian. It's up the side of a mountain, with switchback turns, and the "road" is one in name only. I turned on "Off Road" mode and it was still rough as nails. But a wonderful view of SLC from the top! I assume that this is a rather popular spot for locals as there were far more people up there than I expected. It made for a quiet night at least.
Next up: Butt biting in Wyoming!
To Be Continued

Previous user and then left the platform a year or so ago, completely closed my account. Bitcoin interested me again so I thought I would come back, created an account, did everything I was supposed to do for verification and that went well, sort of. At the end of my account creation I had a "LIMIT" of $250. Who in the hell trades at $250? I was like okay, $250 a day so I added $250, the next day I added $250, I could only absurdly buy fractional of BTC, completely missing the financial opportunity of it going up $4k.
Now, I am stuck with a funding limit of $0 a day and its been that way for days. The message when I try to add funds is, 'You can deposit up to $0/day using this account. To deposit more, please apply for a limit increase. APPLY NOW.' BUT WAIT! I clicked on the link to apply to raise my limit. Quite confusingly I get, 'Error - User is not eligible for applying for a limit increase'. WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ON A DIP-STICK?!
I have nothing outstanding to submit. I was obviously in the positive since the platform allowed me to purchase crypto - TWICE - so how to resolve this? Do you NOT want me to use your platform for trading? I was used to it, I like(d) it, but now Im not so sure. I question the effort and feel I probably should have heeded the numerous amount of negative reviews and complaints of Coinbase that are off the hook. Some reviewers are having this same exact issue with their limit stuck at various limit amounts.
I also noticed my negative review on the Coinbase app in the Apple store was removed. It was a simple complaint, no vulgarities. Since it is mentioned that to get support is thru Reddit, I need support. How do I get proper assistance on this issue I am having? I have an account and cant do anything with it.