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delayed-affection · 1 year

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Chapter two

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"Look, for nine months, everyone’s tried to get me to believe that my dad's dead. They say I'm in denial. Whatever. Denial's underrated. You should try it sometime. It's highly effective, and it's only denial if you're wrong."

" It doesn't make any sense. My dad is the last guy who would ever get lost a sea. This compass coming back to me, my father's compass, which was passed down for generations, it's a sign. My dad's still alive, and I'm gonna find him."

•

John b slips into the Cameron's yacht, scuba gear in hand. Sarah lies about four feet away from him, that means he has to be quieter than he anticipated.

She puts her hand on her face, "Wheezie, shut up."

He bumps into something making her gasps.

She looks up to find John B and not her sister, "God. You're not Wheezie."

He sighs, "Correct. Yeah. I'm sorry."

“What are you doing?" She asks

"Uh... I'm just dropping off some scuba gear." He answers, "What are- what are you doing... here?"

She makes a face, "It's our boat. It's also the only place with air conditioning. Did you, um... top up the tanks?"

"Uh..." he pauses, "No. No, power's down, so the compressors were off."

"So, you're sneaking onto our boat at 5am with empty tanks?" She questions, "I'll make sure to tell Ward."

He nods setting down the gear, "Okay. Okay. Cool. Cool. Just drop these off."

"Yeah, yeah, the middle of the room is fine." She snarks

"Yeah, this is pretty much what he told me to do." He claims

"Bye." She says

He goes to walk away but stops, "Actually, you know, what- what exactly were you going to tell your dad?"

She shakes her head, "Nothing much. Just that you poached our scuba gear."

He huffs, "Okay, fuck. I borrowed it for a few hours. Okay? And then I brought it back intact and unharmed."

"Minus air." She adds

"Look, please don't tell me. Okay? He'll fire me." He tells her

"So what are you gonna do?" She asks, "Pull a gun on me?"

"Okay, I didn't know JJ would do that." He confesses

"That's convenient to believe." She scoffs, "Maybe you should get better friends."

"Well, maybe you should get a better boyfriend." He argues

She chuckles, "Like one who doesn't poach?"

"Look, please, just don't tell him." He begs

"Relax." She says, "I'm not gonna tell him anything. Your secrets safe with me, John B. Okay, you can leave now."

"Right. Yeah. Uh.. I'll leave- I'll leave that right there." He tells her walking out

Little did they know a little someone was listening to them the entire time.

•

JJ pounds on the door, "DCS! I know you're in there!"

John B rolls over on the couch getting jumped scared by JJ at the window.

JJ laughs, "Gotcha, slick. You should have seen your face. Your face was like..."

Y/n smacks JJ's arm, "Stop being such an ass."

•

"I'm just saying, I don't understand why you don't at least try with Kiara. She clearly likes you. She's like, 'Oh, John B.' She's sketching about you diving then she kissed you." JJ says

JJ turns in his seat, "Y/n, please tell him that Kie likes him."

She shakes her head, "I can't."

"Why not?" He asks

She shrugs, "Cause I don't know."

He narrows his eyes at her, "Yeah right, she tells you everything."

John B doesn't see the big deal, "Look, she kissed me on the cheek. It's not like we were makin' out."

"Low hanging fruit." He tells him, "Don't pretend you don't notice. I see it in your eyes. You're like, 'I kinda like that.' and you start blushing and shit."

"I blush?" He asks

"Yeah." He answers trying to pick up the compass.

John B starts grabbing at him, "Hey, don't-"

"I was just looking at it." He justifies, "I gotta admit, your father's compass in Scooter's boat, that's freaky."

"Yeah. That's why we're going to talk to Ms. Lana, figure this whole thing out." He replies

"I'm sure she would just love to talk to us. It's not like her husband drowned or anything." He quips

•

"You know what this house looks like?" John asks getting out of the car.

"Whoever lives here smokes too much weed." JJ answers

Glass shattering inside the house puts them on edge, they slow down.

A man yells from inside, "Bullshit!"

"Maybe we should come back." Y/n says

"Yeah, it's a little too soon." JJ adds

"No, no, shut up." John B tells them

"Tell me where it is, or I'll fuck you up." The man threatens

Lana gasps for air are loud.

"I'll sink you in the fucking-" the man can barely finish his sentence before he hits slams something.

Lana screams, "You're hurting me!"

The trio crouches down and John B ushers them to get closer.

"Where the fuck is it, you bitch?" The man continues to shout.

They make it to the side of the house, pressing themselves against the wall.

Lana sobs, "I don't know!

"Is it here in this house?" He asks, "Is it somewhere else?"

Lana tries to plead for mercy, "Please! I- I didn't-"

"You still think we should stay?" Y/n whispers

"The compass wasn't in the boat!" The man bellows, "Where is it, Lana?"

"I don't know!" She answers

Paint chips fall into their hair with every crash that comes from the house.

JJ ruffles his hair, "Is that paint?"

John B does the same, "Yes, it's paint."

"Let's get the hell out of here, man." The man orders

"We should just go. He's got smuggler... smuggler written all over him." JJ whispers

"Shut up." John B says moving to the corner of the house.

He falls back to the side when he spots a man walking out of the house, peeking around to watch the other leave as well.

They all watch as the get into a boat.

"Dude, those were the guys that shot at us." JJ points out

"Go back, go back, go back." John B tells them

They all scoot back to their original position, right under the window. They wait for the men to drive off and quickly head for the door.

Lana's sobs fill the beat up house.

"Ms. Lana?" John B calls leading them into the house.

They find her in the floor.

John B flies to her, "Ms Lana? Hey. Hey! You okay?"

"Dude, she's tweaking." JJ comments

Y/n smacks the back of his head, "She's scared you asshole. Do you need a doctor?"

John B looks up to his friends, "Let's call the sheriffs department."

"No cops, please." She cries

JJ reaches for John B, "Mm. That's not good. Come on, dude. Let's just go."

"You shouldn't be here." She tells them

"That's enough for me. Come one." JJ declares

John B waves him off, "Wait, wait. What do you know about these guys?"

"They were looking for something." She croaks

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the compass, "Does it have anything to do with this? Do you know anything about this? This is my father's, and Scooter had it. Why?"

"Scooter didn't have it, okay?" She says, "Don't tell anyone you have it."

"Okay, that's enough." Y/n voices

JJ pulls at John B, "Come on."

"Why?" He questions

"They can't know that you have that!" She exclaims, "You've gotta get out of here!"

"What do you know about the compass?" He asks

JJ pulls him up, "Come on. We gotta go. Let's go."

"Go! Get out!" She shouts

•

Topper and his two friends walk into a yard.

"Jeez, man, this is nuts." Topper marvels

"Agatha's a bitch." boy 1 comments

Boy 2 chuckles, "Damn right, she is."

Topper wipes his face, "I mean, I just- I can't get it out of my head. It's just on repeat. 'Your move, broski'."

"Bro, he had a semiautomatic pointed at your head." Boy 2 tells him

"That's what I'm saying. It's insane." He says

"Safety off." Boy 2 mentions, "That Pogue."

"They're freaking Pogues, man." Boy 1 chimes, "You know you should get a piece."

"What do you mean?" Topper asks

"You gotta fight fire with fire and defend the homestead." He replies

Boy 2 taps Toppers chest, "It better than being caught without one."

"Listen, guys. I-I'm gonna get him back, all right? I'm making a little project of mine." He tells them

Boy 2 looks off into the distance, "Yo, that Sarah."

Sarah is talking to a little girl, "Oh, so you left her in the boat. Okay, can you tell me what she looks like?"

"She has a trunk and blue ears." She answers

"Okay. I'm gonna get her for you." She assures

"Be careful of electricity." The little girl cautions

Sarah stops of the board walk, "Don't worry. I'll be okay."

"What is she doing?" Topper asks

"Watch her fall and make a big drama out of it." Boy 1 mumbles

"Hey, there's 14,000 volts in those wires." A woman yells from the house.

Sarah smiles trying to balance on the fallen tree.

"Hey, Sarah, be careful!" Topper shouts

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me, Sarah, get down now!" Another woman orders

"Rose, come down. I'm an athlete. I got this." She assures

"You're gonna get electrocuted! Get down!" She commands

"She just wants attention." Boy 2 comments

Sarah starts to do a little dance to poke fun at the people that worrying.

"Oh my... No." Rose groans

"Sarah, that's not funny." Topper informs

"When I tell your dad about this, Sarah..."Rose threatens

Boy 1 takes off his sunglasses, "Little fried Sarah."

"Rafe, your sister's crazy, man." Boy 2 states

Sarah gets to a tipped over and inside she spots the girls toy, "I see her!"

She steps into the boat and slips. She screams, causing everyone to freak out. She lays in the boat with her hair a mess.

Topper runs over, "Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!"

She turns her head and waves around a cable. Boy 2 and the little girl find this very amusing. Topper and Rose feel like they just had a heart attack.

"It's disconnected." She laughs, "Absolute sucker. Topper you should see your face."

"Yeah. Okay, yeah, I'm sorry that I care. All right guilty." He stresses

"Congrats, pussy, you're officially her bitch." Rafe tells him, "Officially, did you know that? You're officially her bitch, all right?"

•

Wheezie walks with Topper, "You're worried, like a normal person. I mean, she could have died. She does scary stuff like that all the time. If you say something, it'll be like you're trying to tell her what to do, and you'll end up like Denny."

"Wait, Denny? What are you talking about? What happened with Denny?" He asks

"She cheated on him." She claims, "And the guy before that. You know what that means? You're next. You're the next sucker up. You should have seen her flirting with John B this morning."

This information shocks him, "John- John B? The guy that works on the boat?"

She nods, "Yeah. Yeah. She caught him stealing stuff off the boat. Did she tell anybody? Nope. She was all, 'John B, what are you doing here?' "

Sarah walks up to them, "What's up, Top? Hey, sneezie."

"That's not my name." She replies

She stands in front of Topper, "No way. Hey, been looking all over for you."

She gives a kiss, one he does not return.

Wheezie walks away, "Ugh. God."

•

JJ stands outside the Château, playing out the situation for Kie and Pope, "And we were right outside like this. And all we hear is just, 'Bam!Bam!Bam!' Knocking paint off the wall, G! From the inside. All right? And I'm just looking at him, like-"

He cuts himself off and takes off his hat, "Wait, first off, look at this shit. Look at it."

He runs his hands through his hair, shaking out any remaining paint chips.

Pope scoots away, "The house."

Kie looks at him with disgust, "That's dandruff, disgusting."

Pope pushes his head away, "Okay, thank you."

"Look at all that. All right?" He says, "That's paint. At that point, I was just like... I'm waiting for death."

"Oh, okay, so you saw the guys that shot at us, right?" Pope asks

"Did you get a good description of them?" He questions, "What did they look?"

"Anything. Anything is helpful." Kie adds

"Anything we can bring to a police report?" Pope asks

"Burly." He answers

"Burly?" Pope repeats

He tries to explain, "Yeah. You know, like-"

"That's not very helpful." Kie tells him, "Y/n?"

She leans forward in her seat, "Two white guys, one was taller than the other. I couldn't see much, sorry."

"They were like the type of guy at my dad's garage. I mean, you guys know he made cargo hides for smugglers." JJ chimes

Kie nods, "Yeah. Yes. No, we know."

"I can tell you with full confidence, guys, these boys, these killers... they're square groupers." He assures

Pope puts his head in his hands, "Square groupers, like narco square grouper? Like Pablo Escobar square grouper?"

He nods, "Yeah, man."

"You guys, not everything is a kingpin movie." Kie says

"Okay. So, what does this square grouper look like? Specifically?" Pope asks

"You weren't there, bro!" JJ snaps

"Apparently you don't know what to look for." He argues

JJ taps the side of his head, "Dude! I wasn't taking little mental Polaroids the entire time, man! I was under duress, okay? But I can tell you..."

He pauses, "I can tell you by the way that Ms. Lana was screaming... that these guys were serious, serious hombres, man. It's a heavy vibe right now, okay? Im not liking this very much."

"Why would they want the compass?" Kie asks

"It's a piece of shit. You couldn't pawn it off for five bucks if you wanted to." Pope says

That earns him a light elbow to the side from Y/n.

"No offense, John B. I know it's in your family." He adds

"The office." John B blurts

"What?" Y/n questions

"My dad. My dad's office." He answers walking into the house making everyone follow, "He always kept the office locked because he was worried about his competitors stealing his Royal Merchant research. We used to laugh at him like he was going to find it. But now that's he's gone, I've just kinda... I just left it as he kept it."

He stops in front of the door, the others surrounding him.

"Yeah, for when he gets back." Kie says

He unlocks the door and tries to find what he's looking for. The others walk in not going too far.

"I've slept over here like 600 times, and I've never seen this door opened." Pope confesses

He grabs a board and places it on the table, "Here, look. This is the original owner, right here."

"Robert Q. Routledge. 1880 to 1920." Kie reads, "There's the lucky compass, right there."

"Actually, um... he was shot after he bought it." John B admits, "Then the compass was shipped back to Henry. Henry was killed in a crop dusting accident when he had the compass. After he died the compass was given to Stephen. Stephen had the compass with him when he died in Vietnam."

"Let me guess, he died in action, right?" JJ asks

"Sort of." He answers, "Uh, a-actually, he was killed by a banana trunk. In- in country. Anyways, after that, Stephan passed the compass down to him, my dad."

JJ hums, "Sounds like there's a reoccurring theme here."

Pope agrees, "Yeah, you have a death compass."

"I do not." John B replies

"Well it's not a lucky compass, I can tell you that." Y/n comments

"Get rid of it." JJ insists, "It's cursed, and it's made its way back to you."

John B sighs, "Look, my dad used to talk about the compartment in here. Soldiers used to his secret notes."

He twists off a piece of the compass, shaking it to see if anything comes out.

Kie notices something on the piece he twisted off, "What's that?"

He faces it towards him, "That wasn't there before. This is my dads hand writing."

"How can you know that?" Pope questions

He shows him, "Because he does these weird Rs with the- See it?"

"Can I see it?" JJ asks taking it, "Red- Rout- No, I think that's an A."

Y/n looks at it, "It says Redfield."

"Right." He says

"Okay, well, what's Redfield?" Kie asks

"Besides the most common name in the county." Pope replies

John B looks up to his friends, "Maybe- maybe it's a clue. Maybe it's a clue to where he's hiding."

They all murmur in response.

"A clue? Come on, thats-" Pope pauses receiving glares from the two girls, "But if it is a clue maybe it's an anagram?"

John B shoots up, "Yes. Perfect. Anagram. You need paper. Here you go."

"How can you concentrate with that thing crowing at you?" Pope questions, clearly fed up with the rooster outside.

"JJ loves the rooster." He answers

"I love the rooster." Kie adds

John B writes at a desk letting his friend question this so called anagram.

"What about Ritalin?" JJ suggests

John B sees a car pull up to the house, "Guys. Guys! Somebody's here."

They all stop talking and walk over to him, looking out the window.

"Guys, guys, is that them?" Kie asks, "Is that them."

"This is suboptimal." Pope comments

JJ walks away from the window, "John B, told you. Why does it always-"

John B grabs him, "JJ! Hey, look at me. Where's the gun?"

"Gun? I, uh, I can't-" JJ sputters

"Now you don't have the gun, the one time we need the gun?" Kie chides

John B taps him, "You're backpack."

"It was in my backpack, and then I-" he tries to remember what he did.

John B points out the door, "On the porch."

He agrees, "It's on the porch."

He goes to runs out the room to the porch.

Man 1 swings open the porch door, "John Routledge! Come on out now!"

JJ only makes it down the hallway before he turns back, running into the office and closing the door.

"Where's the gun?" John B asks

"They're on the front porch, guys." He informs

Y/n wraps her arm around the distressed Kie, "We gotta get out of here."

"Get out here!" Man 2 shouts

Man 1 walks into the house, "Routledge! Were you at, boy?"

"Guys, window. Window." Kie tells them

JJ and Pope pull up on the but it doesn't budge.

"Sack this place!" Man 2 orders

"What- what's happening? Why is it taking so long?" Kie worries

"It's painted shut, okay?" JJ snaps

"I'll check the kitchen." Man 1 calls

Kie starts to pace around the office, John B keeps his back against the door, and Y/n rummages through draws for something to help them.

She pulls out a pair of scissors, "Okay, guys. Guys. Here, I got it."

Man 1 absolutely trashes the kitchen, "Where the hell's that compass? Hey, check the back room."

Kie takes the scissors and starts to break the seal.

"Come on, come on, come on." JJ rushes

"I'm going as fast as I can." She says

John b hushes them, "Be quiet."

Man 1 grabs the door knob, trying to get it to open, "You better not be in there!"

He starts to kick at the door making John B bounce. The frame falls off and the door starts to give way. John B and Pope move away from the door.

The man shoots at the lock, the other draws his weapon and meets him at the door. He kicks it in and finds no one.

They look through Mr. Routledge's things.

Man 2 pulls out a map, "Ratter, check out these blueprints of the ship. The mother lode."

They take every piece of information he has collected and piles them into their truck.

John B watches them from the chicken coop, the rooster crowing just as loud as it was earlier.

"Do something, Pope. Shut him up." JJ urges

"What do you want me to do?" He asks

"Pet it or talk to it. I don't know." Kie cries

"Just please get it to shut up." Y/n whispers

Ratter shuts the bed of the truck and takes notices loud crowing. John B backs up from the chicken wire onto the wall.

Ratter draws his weapon slowly creeps toward the coop.

"Do something." Pope urges

JJ grabs the rooster by its neck, he starts to strangle it. Until he unfortunately breaks its neck.

The crowing stops and so does Ratter. John B places a reassuring hand on top of Kies.

"Ratter, the hell are you doing? Let's go." Man 2 shouts

Ratter walks back to the truck, tucking away his gun.

JJ has yet to let go of the lifeless bird, Kie tries to silent her sobs as Pope and Y/n breathe heavily in the corner. John B watches as the two men drive off with his dad's work.

•

Sarah sits on top of the roof of her house, "You're lookin' a little unstable there."

Topper carefully sits next to her, "All right. It's worth it for this view right here."

She points to the water, "Oh, you mean, that?"

"Oh, you too. No, you too." He flirts, "Oh, man. Hey, uh... I heard you had a Pogue kinda sneakin' around here this mornin'."

"Who told you that?" She asks

"Oh, it doesn't matter. Um..." He pauses, "It's just like, you gotta be careful. These Pogues are all just lowlifes, I mean..."

"Don't say that, Topper. You don't know them." She scolds

"Oh, okay. I'm sorry. I'm sorry that, uh... I'm sorry that they put a gun to my head." He chuckles, "You know what that feels like?"

She rolls her eyes, "No, I don't. But to be fair, Topper-"

He cuts her off, "They're dangerous."

"To be fair, you threw the first punch." She argues

"Oh. That's my bad." He says, "That's my- I deserved that."

"I didn't say that." She clarifies

"Shit. You realize I'm just trying to protect you?" He voices

"I know, and I appreciate that. I get it." She assures

"I don't think you're gettin' it. You just gonna go hang out with them?" He questions

"Topper, John B works here." She reminds, "What do you want me to do?"

"John B. Yeah, yeah." He marvels

"What do you expect from me? Hand signals?" She asks

"I don't know. I'm sorry that I just- just care about you." He replies

She shakes her head and gets up to go back inside.

"Yeah, just- you're just gonna walk away." He chides

She climbs into the window, "Yeah, I am. I can't deal with this."

•

Topper walks through the Cameron's yard.

"Hey, Top?" Ward calls, "How'd your family come through? Is the house okay?"

He walks over, "Yeah, we're doing all right, sir. We, you know, had a few leaks and a tree come close to the house, but, yeah, we're doing all right."

"Glad to hear it." He smiles, "Hey, listen, what's this I hear about a, uh... kid with a gun at the point? Did that happen?"

"Yeah. Yes, sir." He answers, "Uh... You know how those Pogues are. You just gotta watch 'em. Hey, sir, sir. Actually, one of the, um- I just want to say , one of these kids you gotta watch for, he works for you."

"What are you talking about?" He asks

"It's- it's that John B kid." He says

"What ab- He's not the one that had the gun, is he?" He questions

"No. No, sir." He assures, "I heard he likes to kinda help himself to gear. So, I'm just-"

Ward interrupts him, "What gear, Topper?"

Topper grunts a chuckle, "I don't want to be tellin' stories, sir. It's just, you got a lot of nice things layin' around. I'd just make sure everything's nailed down. Good to see you, Mr. Cameron."

Topper drops the conversation and walks away, leaving Wards mind racing with thoughts about what John B could have possibly taken from him.

•

"I mean it's obvious, right?" John B asks driving down a dirt road, "A family heirloom. What better place to hide a message? He had to know it was going to get back to me, right?"

Kie nods beside him, "Yeah. It's possible."

Pope dangles the compass in his face, "I could also be possible that you're concocting wild theories to help, you know, deal with your sad feels."

"Bro, you know how I process my sad feels." JJ states

"Dank nugs and the stickiest of ickies." Y/n replies almost as a question

He pats her leg, "You know me so well."

"Guys, I'm not concocting, okay? My dad's trying to give us me a message." John B asserts

"If it helps you believe, John B." Kie soothes

"Look, I- I don't need a therapy sessions, okay? Im not trippin' out." He tells them

"It's okay to trip, bro, but-" JJ comments

But John B sticks to his guns, "Look, my- my dad is missing, okay? Missing. You don't know what it's like to have the person closest to you vanish and then have no idea what happened. Just wake up every morning wondering."

Kie glances at the others, "It's been almost a year."

"Hey, he could've been kidnapped. That's definitely a possibility." JJ suggests

"Yeah, could be in a Soviet sub getting interrogated by the KGB somewhere." Pope chimes

"Absolutely." Y/n agrees, "Or taken by Pirates... and he's helping them find their own gold."

"Look, what do you think the message is?" Kie asks

"Redfield." He replies, "Redfield lighthouse. That's my dad's favorite place."

•

Coming to a stop, the teens file out of the van.

John B points to JJ, "Okay. Here's what's going to happen. Right. You're gonna post up and look out for bogeys, okay."

JJ looks around, "Wait... why me?"

"Because you're not coming." Pope answers

"Why?" He questions

"There are independent and dependent variables. And you're an independent variable. We don't know what you'll do." Pope states

The two of them start to bicker.

"Shut up!" John B, "Listen to me for a second. Just listen. Pope and Y/n, you stand look out with JJ. Okay. If we get split up, we meet back a JJ's house."

Y/n rolls her eyes, "Great. I'm stuck babysitting."

"It's not babysitting if you're having a good time." JJ winks

She looks at John B and Kie, "Just hurry back, please."

Kie gives her a nod and walks off with John B.

"I'm gonna work in my merit scholarship essay, and I'm trying to keep felonies to a minimum." Pope tells them

JJ plays with a happy sack, "All right, would you just shut up already?"

Y/n huffs, "Come on, Pope. Maybe you can read me your essay?"

He smiles walking to the van, "Really?"

•

Kie looks up to the never ending spiral staircase, "Remind me what we're looking for again."

John B follows her gaze, "We'll know it when we see it."

They start trudging up the steps, until they reach the top.

John B knocks the light keepers door, "Nobody home."

A man opens the door slightly and stares at them.

"Um... we're here for the lighthouse." He says

"The lighthouse is closed." He informs going to shuts the door in their face.

"Actually, we... we aren't here about the lighthouse." He reveals, "We're here about the, uh... the Royal Merchant."

With that he opens the door again, "You came to the right place."

He leads them to the outside rail of the house, "I know more... Watch your step here... about the Royal Merchant than anyone else in Kildare County. Now, the Merchant disappeared in the graveyard of the Atlantic in 1829."

"With four hundred million." John B comments

"Correct." He replies, "You're a bit of a Merchanteer yourself, huh?"

He looks to Kie, "Uh... somethin' like that."

"Well, follow me." He says, "I wanna show you somethin'. I've been workin' 30 years up here. The views never changed till two days ago."

He points off to the distance, "The Point's almost gone. One more storm like that, it'll take the lighthouse. I'll go with her. Now, the trick to knowin' where the merchant is... is knowin' whether she was on the north end or the south end of the storm."

He continues, "Now, most experts believe that she was on the south end. Now, she's on the south end, the bend from the hurricane would have pushed her back out to sea. But I don't believe that. I think she was on the north end of the eye."

He chuckles, "Which means the bands would have pushed her..."

"Closer to shore." John B chimes

He nods, "That's right. Now, by my calculations, the Royal Merchant is about ten miles thataway. Come on. Come on."

He leads them back inside, "Right here is where the point used to be. My calculations say the Merchant's right about there."

He points to map on the wall, "And down about a thousand feet."

John B taps the wall, "That's what my dad used to say. Yeah, I- I know this is weird, all right? But do you know anything about this?"

He pulls out the compass and the man's demeanor completely changes.

John B twists off the cap, "Look, it- it says Redfield in the back in my dad's handwriting. And, I don't know why I'm here, but I feel like I'm supposed to be here. Do- do you have anything to give to me, or to..."

The man suddenly walks away.

"Where are you going?" He asks

The man pushes up an opening and climbs up.

John B follows, "Wait a minute. Look... Look, man, I know this is weird. I just thought, hoped, maybe you would know something about this, all right?"

Kie is right behind him, "Sir, you wont believe what he's been through in the past 24 hours. I mean, threatened, shot at, home invaded."

"Home invaded?" He asks

"My rooster was killed. Look, man, my dad wanted me to talk to you, okay? So if there's anything you could think of that would help us, please, just tell us, okay?" He pleads grabbing him, "Look, man, Please!"

"John B." Kie worries

He continues to beg, "If you know anything, just- just-"

The man picks up a walkie, "Wanda, I got two kids on drugs up here at the lighthouse. Call the police."

John B freaks out and grabs his hand, "No, no, no!"

"Let go!" He yells

He smashes his hand into the glass.

"What are you doing?" Kie asks

"I was an accident, okay?" He replies

"John B, we have to go." She tells him

He looks at them man, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

They rush down the flight of stairs and the man picks up the walkie, "Wanda, I'm bleeding. I've been assaulted."

•

Police sirens make the now happy friends rush into van. Kie and John B come out just in time to see them driving off.

"Seriously?" Kie pants, "Shit. This way. This way."

They jump over the short fence and into the tree line. Running until they are in the clear.

"Hey, look. You've- you've got to admit, that was kind of promising." John B says, "I mean, my dad, the Royal Merchant, the ranger, the Royal Merchant. I mean, coincidence? I don't- I don't think so."

"It's his job to know about shipwrecks." She argues

"Okay, but the Royal Merchant?" He asks

"That's like the most famous shipwreck of all time." She answers, "Redfield's one of the most common names in Outer Banks. That could mean anything. Look, as wild goose chases go, this was a really good one."

He stops in his tracks, "Look, I don't know. Maybe we missed something at the lighthouse. We- we should go back. You believe me, right? Right?"

She looks down, "I think there might be some light to moderate concocting going on at this point. Look, uh... I get it. You miss your dad. I know. I just don't understand why he would put a clue on a compass."

"Cause he knew it would come back to me." He replies

She pulls him into a hug, "You're losing it. You gotta pull it together."

She goes to pull away from him but he makes a quick decision and kisses her.

She pulls away, "Uh... What was that?"

"You." He states

He shakes his head, "Shit, I'm- I'm sorry. I- I-"

"It's okay." She claims

"Oh, god, I'm an idiot." He tells himself

"No, it's okay. No, it's okay." She assures

He fumbles with his words, "It's just- I'm- It's because I'm freaking out... about my dad and the DCS stuff. I can't breathe sometimes."

She tries to calm him down, "No. Stop. It's okay. I get- I know. Look, I don't even mind."

He drops his tense shoulders, "What?"

She smiles, "It's the rules, you know? No Pogue on Pogue macking."

He nods, "Yeah. Yeah. Right, rules."

Tires scrape the dirt and man calls out, "Routlegde. I got you, son. Now, why don't you just be chill and not make me chase you."

Kie moves behind him and he slips her the watch.

"Hands were I can see em." He orders

•

"I feel for you, kid. I really do." Sheriff Peterkin says, "I know since they never found your dad, a part of you think he might walk through that door someday. I don't blame you. But goin' on fandangos ain't gonna bring him back. He's been missin' at sea for nine months. Your father's dead."

John B lightly shakes his head, "You don't know that."

"Yeah, I do." She replies, "And as hard as it is, it'd be best for you to accept it and move on. You've been runnin' around gettin' caught up in things, that do not involve you. And now you in a heap of trouble. It's not just foster care we're talkin' about. It's assault, battery, JD time."

She walks around him, "I can still help you out, but we gotta do a little tit for tat. And this time, you gotta tat a whole lot better. I know you've gotten hold of a compass."

He keeps his head low, "I don't know what you're talkin' about."

"I know you took it off the wreck." She informs, "There ain't much that happens in the OBX that I don't hear about eventually."

He finally looks at her, "Okay, what do you want with this compass?"

"It's evidence in an investigation." She responds, "I'm gonna need it, son. Otherwise, I'm charging you."

He stares forward, "I don't know what you're talkin' about. I don't have a compass."

•

Kies dad walks them out of the station, "If you skip out on your bail and I lose my money, I'm gonna hunt you down and skin you."

"Dad!" Kie scolds

"Cut it." He chides

"Thank you, Mr. C." John B chimes

"Don't thank me." He tells him getting into his truck.

Kie and John B stand to the side, she gives him the compass back. Her dad rushing her to get in the car.

When she gets in he scolds her, "I told you. You hang out with trash, you get dirty."

•

John B washes himself off with a hose.

A man calls to him, "Hey, employee of the month, where the hell you been? You takin' some me time? Ward C's lookin' all over for you. You know he don't like to wait."

•

Ward sits across from John B on his yacht, "You dotted your eye?"

"Surf- surfing accident." He claims

"You've had a hard year, John. A very heard year. I feel like I've done what I could to help you. Would you agree with that?" He asks

"Yeah. Yeah. Yes, sir." He answers

"I told you, you could always come to me if you ever need anything. Is that true?" He questions

"Yeah. I mean, you said you'd help me with my DCS case." He replies

Ward sighs, "I need you to answer a question, and I need you to be straight with me. Did you take gear off the Druthers yesterday?"

John b thinks before answering, "Yes, sir, I did. Look, Mr. C, I'm - Im not a thief, okay? It was two dollars' worth of air. You don't want your daughters..."

He cuts him off, "John. It's the principle of the thing. I cannot have employees that I cannot trust. I don't want to do this, John, but you have made me do this. I have to let you go."

•

"Hey, John B." Sarah greets

However, she gets no response, he just brushes past her.

"I'm- I'm sorry, that's it?" She calls, "Not a, "Hey, how you doin'? Or 'Kiss my ass'?"

He walks back to her, " 'Your secret's safe with me'?"

"What secret are-" she pauses, "Oh, that secret."

"I just got fired because of you." He informs, "And I know you can't imagine that, but some people need jobs so that they can eat."

He smacks the bag she was holding onto the floor.

"What the fuck?" She shouts

He seethes, "You are exactly who I thought you were, Sarah Cameron."

•

Now on the streets of figure eight, a black truck pulls up next him.

The passenger rolls down their window and it's the two guys that shot him and raided his home.

The passenger cocks his gun, "Time's up, boy."

John B looks at the gun and takes off, the passenger jumps out of the truck and chases after him.

He runs down the street and into someone's front yard. He goes into the back yard and tries to jump the fence but it falls over sending him onto the ground.

He groans getting up, the man close behind. He grabs the back of his shirt and John B flings him off.

He makes it back into the street, the brakes of the truck squeal in front of him.

He turns onto the connecting street with the truck and man chasing after him.

He jumps onto a metal fence and it sparks, shocking him. He falls the ground still feeling the electricity surging through him.

The man on foot puts his gun away and walks over to him, "You gotta watch those live wires after a storm."

He stands over him, "Now, you're gonna give me what I want."

A police siren whirls and the sheriffs van pulls up, and out comes Peterkin.

The man moves away for from him and walks back to his partner.

•

Peterkin looks at John B, "So, how's it workin' out, kid? It's a whole lot safer if you give it to me than anybody else."

He reaches into his pocket, pulling out the compass and placing it in her hand.

"This thing probably saved your life. Concentrated the shock. Lucky." She tells him

He steps out of the van and watches her drive off.

•

"Maybe my friends were right. I should let it go. Move on. Pull myself together. Pick up the pieces. Stop living in denial. Leave the past behind. And bury the dead."

•

John B sets fire to dads things but sees something on the cork board. He grabs a stick and slides it out, flames still live.

He stomps it out and looks at a name, 'Olivia R. Redfield'.

•

He honks his horn at Pope and JJ, who sit on the side of a building.

"Let's ride." JJ says

"This better be good." Pope chimes

•

Y/n walks out of the wreck, "She said she's not coming!"

"Why not?" Pope asks

"What'd you do to her, John B?" JJ questions

"Shit. Hang on. I'll deal with it." He replies

Y/n heads to the van, stopping at JJ's window, "What's up with him?"

"He fucked up." Jj responds watching his friend.

"What'd he do?" She asks turning to see him walk into the wreck.

JJ sighs, "I have no clue."

•

John B nervously runs his hand through his hair, "Hey, uh, what- what are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" She answers

"Spackling can wait." He assures, "We're- we're about to make history."

She jumps down from her stool, "Are you concocting again?"

He follows her as she walks away, "Yes. Yes, I'm concocting. I'm concocting more than I've ever concocted in my life. Look, I know you're just being a good friend, and- and I know you're not trying to enable me in my delusion, but... And I know your dad doesn't want you to see me, but listen to me, please."

He grabs her shoulders, "Look, you are my best friend, and I need you right now. And I'm sorry about the kiss thing. That was super weird, and I feel awkward about it, and... Listen, I need you and I'm begging. I'm begging you. I am begging you. And I just wanna talk-"

She finally cuts him off, "Oh, my god. Shut up! I get it."

She kisses him on the cheek, "Friends?"

He nods, "Friends. Yeah. Back in the friend zone."

They do a little handshake and head out.

•

"You mind if I just relax on this one?" JJ requests, "It's been a long day, and a lot of weird stuff's gone down. I'm just gonna lay low."

He holds his joint out to Pope and Y/n, "Oh, did you want a hit of this?"

"I keep the signal clear." Pope states

"You know I think you should relax on this one." Y/n tells him

"Yeah?" He questions

She pats his leg, "Yeah, I think you're feeling a little tense right now."

He puts his hand on his chest, "You care about me, that’s so sweet.”

“Look, I- I know I was wrong about the lighthouse, all right? And wrong about everything else going on. But I- I was right about one thing. Okay? My dad was trying to tell me something.” John B voices

•

John B ushers them into the cemetery, “Come on, hey.”

“I’m coming. This place is scary.” Kie tells them, “John B, what are we doing?”

He shushes her, “Shut up. You know how you’re trying to remember a song and you can’t remember who sings it? So, Redfield. This whole time I thought it was a place, right? But it’s not a place. It’s a person.”

He shines his light onto mausoleum that reds ‘Redfield’.

“Voi-effing-là” JJ says

“See, my great great grandmother Olivia Redfield. That was her maiden name.” He informs

They all stand in silence just looking at it, wondering what on earth does John B have planned.

“Help me with the door. Come on.” John B beckons

Pope sighs and goes to help, but to no avail the door doesn’t budge. JJ moves in to try to help but it doesn’t move.

“We didn’t come this far to get this far, all right?” JJ groans, “We got this.”

“Maybe there’s another way in?” Kie theorizes

A snake pokes out from a crack and hisses at them, making them jump back. It slithers to the ground.

Kie laughs nervously, “Or not.”

“That’s a moccasin, all right.” JJ states, “Ye olde Dr. Cottonmouth. Death in tall grass.”

JJ then starts to bark at it as it slithers away.

“JJ, shut up. Shut up!” Y/n scolds

Pope slaps his shoulder, “You’re gonna wake the dead, man.”

“They’re afraid of dogs. Everyone knows that, man.” He argues, “Wait, hold on. If there’s one, there’s probably dozens.”

“Stop. You’re scaring me.” Kie complains

JJ starts to barking again.

“Stop barking at the snakes.” John urges

He tries to justify himself, “Just making sure it’s clear.”

“Shut up. Shut up.” Pope stresses, “John, Look. We’re not gonna get in there, all right? It’s not budging. We should probably just go.”

“I can get through.” Y/n notes

“What?” John B asks, “No, no, no, no. You think you’re going to fight through the hole? That hole?”

Y/n nods “Look, this is about your dad and you deserve to know the truth. And if I die, hey, I’m already at the cemetery.”

She moves in front of the boys, “come on.”

They help clear the way for her and JJ kneels down to help her up.

He cups his hands together, “I’ve seen it in the movies several times. Ready?”

“What are we looking for again?” She asks

“You’ll know when you see it.” John B answers

“Right.” She sighs stuffing her flashlight into her hoodie pocket.

“All right, so put your hands right there.” JJ directs, “Your foot. All right, on three.”

“Be careful.” Kie tells her

She pushes herself up on JJ’s count and drops into the mausoleum.

Pulling out her flashlight, she sweeps the area.

“You alive? You got like, a- a heartbeat and everything?” John b worries

“I’m fine, B.” She assures moving forward, “I need some more light.”

He puts a lantern into the hole, “Yeah, yeah, here. I gotcha.”

“Did you find something?” JJ asks

Her eyes land on something, “Oh, my god.”

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preyunit · 2 months

Text

Little robot who has agreed to go on a trip, despite knowing they'll have to be vacuum wrapped and put in the cargo hold of the plane. They know their partner really wants to go, and loves and supports them, the robot wants to get over its fears.

Sir asked months ago how comfortable we would be going on a plane. It scared us then but we agreed. We love them so deeply, and understand how very important this trip is.

Usually they drive us places, it is so kind of them. We could be left at home, or packaged, or any number of other solutions other owners use when they bring their toys with them. But instead they take us on a road trip. We even are allowed to sit in the passenger seat, and at hotels they let us walk in with them. They are so kind, it is why we know we have to do this for them. It will just be new, and new is always scary. With no stored data it's hard to even try to process the concept.

We have been becoming more and more scared as the day draws nearer. Every time we think of asking sir to leave us home or do something else, it makes us feel even more determined to see this through. There are only a few days left.

Three days away, the shipping crate has arrived, it is so sturdy. Unlike the unfinished pine crate we arrived in, this one is very smooth, and it's color is a deep natural red wood. Inside is are three pieces of foam with a cavity that looks very familiar. Sir explains to me as they unpack it, that it was made by our dear friend who sir has lent me to on occasion. They want us to feel safe in the cargo hold. We agree it looks very secure.

Two days away. Sir is packing their luggage, they make a joke that they are leaving out their toothbrush and their sex toys till the last minute. Our fans audibly spin and we confess to them we are so glad we aren't getting packed tonight. They gently take our hand, and reassure us we are getting packed last of all, right before we leave.

One day away. Sir is gone to work today. Finishing up everything at the office to make sure they won't be disturbed on vacation. We busy ourselves completing the list of items sir uploaded last night. Making sure the house will be in a state to be left for a little while.

Kneeling in front of the door we await Sir’s arrival. With nothing left to do for the day, and the anxiety of the following morning gnawing away at our insides, we can do nothing but watch the door and wait, like a good little bot.

The morning is finally here. We get used just like usual, their hands as gentle as ever across our plush farm. Everywhere they linger just a little longer than usual. An unspoken understanding that they wouldn't see me until we landed. We are so glad they didn't voice it.

When they finish washing us they put us on to charge, and begin loading their truck. Somewhere deep inside we are a little sad we don't get to ride in the cab today.

It's time.

The straps lock us into shape, if there is turbulence we don't need to be shifting around. The foam pieces encircle us on 3 sides and we stare up into our owners eyes. They gently kiss us on the forehead, before sealing the bag. We hear the compressor kick on, and the bag shrinks around us, sealing us from contaminants and squishing the foam into place around us. The lid closes and we are left in the dark. The latches snap shut, and before we know it the truck is rolling out of the driveway. We are more scared than ever, but there is no going back now. We feel so proud and excited, we did it! But also so terrified and uncertain, we did it.

#dronification #robot girl #PreyunitxSir #t4t #dehumanization #pet pl4y #nblnb nsft #gender neutral nsft #I haven't written anything in a while and missed it.#I might write a part two if someone wants a fantasy about being in the cargo hold of an airplane

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disco-elysium-via-polls · 1 month

Text

🎵 Disco Elysium, Pt 1

"Good morning."

Let's get the smallest things out of the way first.

Protorave

NOID - "Yo, man. What's on your mind?" He drops a bolt into his toolbox.

6. [Conceptualization - Godly 16] Internalize the hard core aesthetic. Don't just nod along, really *feel* it.

+1 Hardened up your ledger. +1 Necktie is on. +1 Analysed the beat. +1 Perikarnassianism is Love.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Godly: Failure] - Aggressive. Monotonous... but also somehow sacral. Primitive, yet futuristic, like a machine man. Nothing exists, but the here and now. All are one, one purpose... All you've managed is a list. The parts don't form a whole.

7. "Take care, Noid." [Leave.]

EGG HEAD - "Good morning, comrade! Yeaaaaaah!" He waves his hand in the air. "Harder core!" The words echo magnificently throughout the nave.

7. [Interfacing - Godly 16] The audio onslaught can be tamed. Connect the dots.

+1 Andre's compression algorithm. +1 Fiddled with some knobs.

INTERFACING [Godly: Success] - SIDE-CHAIN THE BEAT!

*Side-chain*? What does it even mean?

INTERFACING - Listen, you can use the compressor to select between which track it's compressing, either the auxiliary signal or the main input from the tape. Make it alternate between the signals.

The compressor controls the gain based on the level of the signal on the aux side-chain input. It will allow maintaining a loud sound without peaks that fill up all the headspace.

"Okay. Egg, you need to start side-chaining it." (Explain the concept to him.)

EGG HEAD - "Side-chaining it, you said?" He turns down the music, his hands moving deftly across the mixer, setting up the necessary controls...

The music stops.

Then he puts on his headphones and his eyes go wide, wider than they've ever gone on drugs. He starts jumping up and down with bliss, in total silence -- still listening to his headphones.

ACELE - "Hey..." Acele looks up from her microphone. "What did you do to Egg Head, cop-man? Did you *break* him?"

"I'm… not sure."

"Just wait and see." (Nod at Egg Head.)

EGG HEAD - "ARE YOU READY, POSSE?!"

NOID - Noid straightens his back, ready for the beat...

ANDRE - "I was born ready, Egg!"

Give him a thumbs up.

EGG HEAD - The audio assault is glorious. The speedfreak dances on the stage, intensely waving his hand in the air.

"THIS IS BEAUTY, THIS IS LIFE!"

🎵 Ecstatic Vibrations, Totally Transcendent

Task complete: Make van Eyck's jam harder core

+30 XP

ACELE - "What in the world is going on?" Acele looks on, amazed at the display. "The way melody and bass flow together... it's unnatural."

PAIN THRESHOLD [Medium: Success] - Your body is taking a beating from the low frequencies crashing over you. It's making you feel... alive again.

"THIS ONE IS FOR THE ANODIC GENERATION!"

"We have... tamed the sound. Made it our own."

EGG HEAD - "INTRODUCING THE ULTIMATE SOUND!"

"We have... tamed the sound. Made it our own."

ANDRE - "God damn it," you hear Andre say to himself over the thumping beat, "this dance club idea might just work out."

EGG HEAD - "DOLORIAN CHURCH -- THE PLACE TO BE!" Egg's losing himself in the sound. "Pump it, pump it!"

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] - This is it... this is a new era. The fabric of the world has been irrevocably altered.

INLAND EMPIRE [Easy: Success] - Who will be the innocence of hard-core anodic dance music?

7. "Alright. Goodbye, Egg Head." [Leave.]

As you might expect, finding the bassline is going to make it easier to dance. We're not *quite* ready for that yet, though. (Also that will almost certainly have to be another video.)

🎵 Polyhedrons

NOVELTY DICEMAKER - "Oh, it's you again. Are you looking for a die?"

"I came back to pick up my die."

NOVELTY DICEMAKER - "Very good. That will be seven reál for one custom die."

(Give her the money.) "Here you go."

"Actually, I don't have the money on me right now."

NOVELTY DICEMAKER - "One universal die for *Wirrâl Untethered*," the dicemaker opens her desk drawer and hands you a die.

Item Gained: Standard Anti-Wirrâl Die

Task complete: Pick up dice from the Dicemaker

+10 XP

Look at it.

NOVELTY DICEMAKER - It feels icy. Just holding this die in your hand sends a jolt of cold down your spine. Through the dark resin, you can make out a nugget of bone hewn from an alligator's jaw.

2. "Can I order another die?"

NOVELTY DICEMAKER - "I'm sorry. I'm a bit overloaded just now so I can only produce one die per customer."

Thanks anyway, Neha.

6. [Leave.]

STANDARD ANTI-WIRRAL DIE

This standard 24-sided role-playing die can be used to get results for several dice. It's made of alligator jawbone cast in acrylic resin and embellished with frost motifs. Looks like a minuscule blizzard is stuck in there. NOTE! Look at the MAP tab in Journal to see which White Checks have opened.

#disco elysium #harrier du bois #acele #egg head #noid #andre #neha the novelty dicemaker

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seat-safety-switch · 2 years

Text

All the world's a stage, and we are merely the folks who drive past it at high speed because who has time to stop and watch a bunch of people sweat in the middle of a park trying to put on a Shakespeare play? My musical-theatre production of The Fast and the Furious is reaching near-universal acclaim, mostly because of the practical effects.

You can thrill to the adventures of Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, and the street scoop on top of the Charger. Yes, there are lots of Honda CRXes, but due to cost they are mostly made of construction paper by the local art school, and strapped to dogs. Don't worry, the dogs are union. Feel free to talk during the show: this thing is such a "high-octane thrill ride" that is "nearly deafening at full trot" that your date won't even hear you snicker about how a Volkswagen Jetta doesn't have seventeen forward gears. We provide ear protection at the door.

What you read in the paper is true, however. OSHA did climb entirely up our asses and set up a little campsite because it turns out that it's not "healthy" to run a high-compression Mitsubishi Eclipse race engine inside an enclosed space for several hours. Not healthy, that is, if you believe in the whole carbon monoxide myth perpetuated by Big Oxygen. Nevertheless, the engine took care of the compliance issues on its own, throwing a rod on the big final race scene and scattering oil on the audience. Read your handbill: the first few rows may get scalded by chunks of compressor wheel!

And nothing brought the house down quite like the big final musical number, where we set up next summer's big production of Tokyo Drift. Due to noise complaints and a couple pesky fires, the venue has told us that we need to find a new site for next year, unfortunately, and it may well be at the very same park that the Shakespeare folks are "at." Which will be difficult for some of our background actors, because they are not allowed to go off-leash.

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regular-lord-reckoner · 4 months

Text

i went with my mom today to get her mri done which went really well. the guy doing it was really nice and even though it took a while he made sure she wasn't uncomfortable which was good

we'll have to wait to see what the next step is but this was a big move forward so fingers crossed it doesn't end up having to be a major surgery or anything like that

also, not for nothing, but i did not realize it was the same imaging place that i used to take my dad to so he could get his chest x-rays and whatever else done so that made me a bit sad

we went to the grocery store after to get a few things and i hit overstiumulation city about ten minutes into that so after we got home and everything was unpacked and put up i took myself outside with some music, some reading and a journal to hit the reset button

also!

the plumber guy wasn't able to fix the water heater last night so he came back this morning and was able to fix it. turns out it doesn't need to be completely replaced just yet although it's on it's way out so we'll keep an eye on it, but the fix he did today should keep it running for a while longer

sometime next week they should be coming back out to fix the ac compressor issue which ended up still being under warranty so that was a win as well

i think now everything is all done for this week and i'm going to enjoy my weekend and hopefully sleep in real late tomorrow because boy oh boy do i need it

#nothing bad just a post about today's activities

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joezworld · 2 years

Text

The Devil in Disguise (2/5)

Traintober 2022 Day 28 - Last Stop

Summary - Time for one last ride...

⅖

The 47 screeched with fury and fear as her own motor was turned against her. “What are you doing?!”

“I’m taking you for a ride.” The 307 said as he kept pushing. Inside both locomotives, alarm horns were sounding as traction motors were pushed past their safe operating limits. “You always liked that, didn’t you? Having someone else do all the work for you?”

They rattled across a set of points linking the up and down lines, and the 47 shrieked as she rocked back and forth like a drunk. “You’re going to get me killed! Hell, you'll get the both of us killed!”

“I don’t know if you noticed yet, but that’s the point.” He said firmly, his pantograph sparking wildly as they passed seventy miles an hour.

“To get us both killed?!” She said, shocked. “Over something that happened thirty years ago?!”

He said nothing more, silencing the warning horns that blared when they raced past his top speed of seventy-five.

Stevenage station suddenly loomed large in the distance, and he could feel the 47 try to put the brakes on as they hurtled towards the platforms. In response, he reached up through the multiple unit connectors and found the circuit breaker for the diesel’s brake compressor.

Click-pop!

With a horrifying sound, the 47 suddenly found her air brake compressor powering down. Unlike the multiple unit, who had listened very carefully when the men had taken his systems to bits in anticipation for the multiple unit trials, she had no idea what a circuit breaker was, let alone how to turn it back on. She tried frantically to apply emergency braking with the now-limited amount of air she did have, but the 307, having disabled his own air brakes, reached through his own systems and opened up an angle cock located between one of his articulated sections.

With a whoosh, the air came shooting out of the opened valve, and the 47 screamed in terror as all of her brake shoes went limp and unresponsive. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!”

“I finished what you started.” He gave her a savage bump as he poured more power into his traction motors. They began to get warm and uncomfortable, but he didn’t care.

Stevenage station came and went in a flash, and a panicked stationmaster made the first report of the runaway as it thundered past him. “They’re going onto the Hertford Loop!” He yelled, as the train rocked through a low-speed crossover at nearly ninety miles an hour, bound for the diverging track.

The rocking and rolling was causing chaos inside the 307’s empty compartments, and testing equipment and personal belongings began to fly all over. In the forward-most compartment, the computer had already gone onto the floor, its screen shattering into shards, but the printer was more resistant. It was very heavy, and had rubber “feet”, so it couldn’t slide - a truly enormous force was required to make it move, and when the train hit the crossover, it got it. From the printer’s perspective, the table dropped out from under it momentarily, as the car rocked, dipped, and rolled. Inertia working the way it does, the printer hung in the air for a moment, at which point the table rose up under it and fired it across the carriage like a cannonball. It slammed into the opposite wall with a tremendous smash, before landing mostly on top of a knapsack sitting in the seat below.

The force of the printer landing on it made the bag spring open, and its contents, including a portable radio, fell to the floor. The radio was very light, and quickly slid all the way to the back of the compartment as the train kept accelerating. It hit the wall with a bang, jarring its cheap controls so much that it turned on.

- music in the air

I should have been away

But I knew I had to stay

Last train to London

“Looks like they’re playing my song…” The 307 muttered to himself as they whipped under the bridge that carried the ECML over the Hertford Loop.

Farmland raced by on either side of them. They were past a hundred miles an hour now, and it was readily obvious that neither one of them were going to make it much further.

Just heading out

Last train to London

Just leaving town

But I really want tonight to last forever

His traction motors actually hurt by this point, and the gauges in his cab were pegged at their stops. The alarms kept ringing, even as he kept ignoring them.

The 47 wasn’t in much better shape. She was trailing smoke from one of her traction motors, and there was a clatter from her motor that was only getting louder.

I really wanna be with you

Let the music play on down the line tonight

Underneath a starry sky

Time was still but hours must really have rushed by

A station appeared in the distance, which one it was he didn’t know. They were on it in an instant, screaming past the platforms like a comet. Their passage caused anything not nailed down to go flying, and a few waiting passengers were thrown off their feet.

I didn't realize

But love was in your eyes

The 47 had given up on reasoning with the insane lunatic 307 she was yoked to, and was now trying anything she could to get the train to stop. Her brakes were useless, and she couldn’t get her aching motor to do what she wanted. She tried making it stop - one of her fitters had said she had a fuel pump? - but she didn’t know what to do.

She tried calling for help from passing trains, but the stupid little multiple units looked at her like she was crazy when she raced past them.

I really should have gone

But love went on and on

Oh this was hopeless. She could really die! She had to do something!

Quickly, she wracked her mind for anything she could use. “I’ll tell you what happened to her!” She cried, desperately.

“Beg pardon?” That didn’t sound like idiotic blind devotion. Didn’t he love that thing?

“Your girl! I know what happened to her!”

“She died.” He snapped, sending a painful burst of electricity down the multiple unit cabling, ending that particular line of bargaining.

Last train to London

Just heading out

Last train to London

“Don’t try and stop this.” He said, after a moment’s silence. “There’s no point. Either we get put in a siding, or we go all the way to London and have the smashup to end all smashups. Either way, I win.”

Just leaving town

But I really want tonight to last forever

I really wanna be with you

Let the music play on down the line tonight

“But I want to stop! Please!” She wailed.

“I wanted to grow old with her.” He said icily. “Now stop your crying and keep your chin up. I lived my life, and I’ve got plenty of regrets, but you know what? I’m going to the end with my pantographs held high. Can you say the same?”

But I really want tonight to last forever

I really wanna be with you

Let the music play on down the line tonight

She didn’t answer, and a raucous drum and bass line picked up as the song came to its end.

A mile or so ahead, the end was waiting for them. A group of workmen had been performing work to the embankment next to the line with a dump truck and a sizable Volvo wheel loader. They’d been given the call to clear the line as soon as the runaway had blown through Stevenage, but as it became clear that the train wasn’t able to stop on its own, “Control” had called back with drastic instructions.

“Park that thing on the line and leg it!”

“Seriously?”

“Yes! Do it now! You’ve only got a few minutes!”

The foreman had very quickly fired up the loader, and hurriedly parked it astride both lines, before fleeing the area. He and his men ran for their lives, clambering into the dump truck and driving away as fast as it could go.

The Volvo loader had been left with the motor running, and so the giant, non-sentient machine sat on the rails like a growling beast, a yellow sentinel, intent on protecting London from imminent peril.

And peril was just around the corner.

For a moment, the rails sang, the metal warping minutely as a train traveled over it. With slow trains, it could give almost a half-minute’s warning that a train was coming.

With a fast train, it was only a few seconds.

The 47 rounded the corner at ninety-six miles an hour. By the time she registered that there was a giant object in front of her, she was only a few hundred feet away.

She opened her mouth to scream.

In the dump truck, some quarter of a mile away, the collision rattled the windows, before a fireball bloomed, rising into the sky.

#traintober2022 #traintober 2022 #traintober #ttte #fic #sentient vehicles #sentient vehicle headcanon #trains #british rail #dark

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angelic-writer · 2 years

Text

Can You Fix My Broken Heart?

((Hey! I know I should be working on the second chapter of Anything is Worth the Risk, but my brain decided to be mean and come up with this scenario. The plot of this is Jonah decides not to leave the house and get Adam, but his heart might have been through too much...))

Jonah sat in the driver’s seat, gripping the steering wheel tightly as tears streamed down his face. This is it. They did it. The alternate got Adam and he told him to leave. The things he said to him... He can’t take it back now. He said the most horrible thing he could think of. He knew how much Adam wanted to look for her, how he wanted to be reunited with her, despite him knowing the truth. And yet, he threw the fact that she was gone directly in his face, causing him to blow up at him. The words Adam said to him were like poison, rendering his whole body paralyzed. His heart felt like it was being squeezed by a compressor and he couldn’t stop his hands from shaking.

He could barely breathe, his lungs refusing to function. He chalked it up to him having an intense emotional reaction to losing his best friend. But he couldn’t ignore the fact that he was starting to feel a little discomfort in his arms. That was not normal, he thought. He was feeling a cold sweat on his skin and he felt nauseous. He should be running in there. He should be getting Adam out of that basement instead of sitting in the car. Why isn’t he doing that? Why is he acting like a coward now?! He felt useless. Nothing had changed since they started BPS. Adam and Sarah had to do all the hard work while he sat back and watched. He thought he would get braver the more he went on his jobs with Adam, but he hasn’t gotten braver. He was still the same pathetic wimp he was since high school. All those kids were right.

He was about to turn the lever to reverse when he heard the radio crackle to life. And then, a voice he thought he would never hear again.

“Jonah...? You there...?”

He had to do a double take at that. Why is Adam calling him on the radio? After what he said, after what he did, there was no way he could be calling him. Was it the alternate in the house trying to mess with him? Jonah couldn’t think. He tried to think, but it was difficult with this pain in his chest.

“Jonah... Please talk to me... Please let me know you’re there!” Adam shouted.

Well, it did sound like him. And he sounded... scared? Why would he be scared? Adam has little to no fear. He wasn’t scared of anything! Jonah knew him best! Hell, even Evelin knew that! Did the alternate finally break him? What were they planning on doing with him? The thought of that thing hurting him made Jonah want to rush into the house and destroy everything that could serve as a hiding place for them. He couldn’t leave him. Not now. Not ever.

With a trembling hand, he picked up the radio, fingers nearly missing the buttons before he turned it on. “Adam, I-I’m here...” He wheezed. Shit, he could barely get any words out. He needed to calm down. He needed to breathe, but it was getting more and more difficult.

“Jonah, are you okay?! You sound a little-”

“Don’t worry about me. What are you seeing right now?”

“I-I see a TV... It’s asking me if I understood something... I don’t think I want to understand.”

“Adam, I need you to listen to me. I need you to get out of that basement right now. If it is what I think it is, then you’re in great danger.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I think I need to leave. I don’t like this at all.”

Jonah barely breathed a sigh of relief. Good. He’s still here. “Okay, i-is the door locked?”

He could hear shuffling footsteps go up the basement stairs before he heard the doorknob turning. “I-It’s unlocked... Why would it be...?”

“It doesn’t matter. Just come outside. I really want to see you.” That came out a bit more desperate than he meant it to, but the pain was beginning to get unbearable now. He put his hand to his chest to try and massage it, but that only made the pain worse. He can’t let Adam see him like this. He already had to deal with being tormented by an alternate. He can’t have another incident happen right after. He just needs to stay awake.

Through his blurry vision, he could see Adam exit the house, radio in hand. He would’ve sobbed with joy if he wasn’t on the verge of losing consciousness. He tried his best to act normal and wave to him, signalling him to get in the car. Adam gave him a look of concern as he approached.

“Here. Let me drive. You don’t look so hot.”

“Hey, I’m fine. I’m just...”

“Just give me the steering wheel, Jonah."

He hesitantly got out of the car on shaky legs and almost stumbled to the passenger seat. Adam was about to ask him if he was okay, but Jonah just flashed him a small, albeit pained smile. He was sweating bullets now despite the cold weather. Now feeling uncertain, Adam drove away from the house, unaware of the hooded figure smiling at them through the window.

----------

As Adam drove down the road, hoping to see a sign that says “Leaving Mandela County”, he could see that Jonah’s condition was getting worse. He was wheezing audibly and he was grabbing at his chest. “Dude, are you okay?! A-Are you having a heart attack?! Do I need to call Sarah?!”

“No! Y-You don’t have to! I-I’m fine.”

“Jonah, you’re not fine! You’re grabbing at your fucking chest! You need medical help!”

“Adam, y-you know a hospital i-is not an option. Remember, w-we’re on the run.”

“Shit, just don’t talk, okay?! I’m gonna get you to a place where you can rest. Hopefully, I can find a doctor that can help you. God, I’m so stupid! I shouldn’t have went back in! This is all my fault! I shouldn’t have-”

Jonah touched his arm and weakly squeezed it, giving him his attempt at a comforting smile. “Hey, d-don’t apologize. This isn’t your fault... The alternates are s-smart bastards... T-They almost got us, but luckily... W-We’re gonna get out of here soon...” His eyes started to flutter. “Whoa... T-The lights look so pretty... They’re just like stars...”

“Jonah, just keep your eyes open! We’re almost there! Just hold on!”

“Adam.... I-In case I don’t wake up from this.... I want to let you know that I...... I-I love you.....”

That was the last thing Jonah said before he slumped over, hand falling limp in his lap.

“Jonah!!!” Adam slammed on the brakes and shook him. He remained motionless and he noticed that his chest wasn’t rising. He put his fingers to his neck, desperately looking for a pulse. He felt his own heartbeat speed up when he couldn’t find his at all. “Oh shit! Shit, shit, shit, shit!!” He was already opening the driver’s side door and getting out, running to the other side as quickly as possible. He opened the door and dragged Jonah out, trying to ignore how heavy he was. Lying him flat on the ground, he tried to take deep breaths. His dark skin was already turning ash grey and his lips were worryingly turning blue. Oh god, what do I do?! Okay, calm down, Adam. Remember what Sarah taught you. You can do this.

He put his hands on Jonah’s chest and started pumping. He didn’t know how deep he was supposed to go, but he thinks he’s pressing down deep enough for his heart to be compressed. His body shook slightly from the rapid compressions, but he didn’t respond. Of course, he didn’t expect Jonah to. This isn’t a movie. After he counted in his head thirty times, he tilted his head back and pinched his nose. He had to swallow before pressing his lips to his and blowing air into his lungs. His chest expanded, telling him that he did good. He repeated the cycle of thirty compressions and two breaths for a few minutes. Jonah still didn’t respond. His head fell to the side as Adam continued to press down.

“C’mon, Jonah. You gotta wake up. You gotta breathe. C’mon!” He muttered. He was already starting to feel the exhaustion, but he can’t stop. If he did, Jonah was as good as dead.

He could hear crackling static from somewhere. Then, a voice spoke from the car.

“You killed him, Adam.”

“Oh god...”

“What will you do without him?”

“Shut up...”

“His blood is on your hands.”

“Leave him, Adam. He’s already dead. You can’t save him now.”

“You’re already being punished for resisting our message.”

“Open your eyes. Open your eyes. Open your eyes.”

“SHUT UP!! He’s not dead!! I’ll bring him back!! I will!!” He continued CPR for another few minutes with no luck. Jonah laid still in the snow with a peaceful expression on his face. That peaceful, cute expression that Adam would see when he would wake him up in the morning.

“C’mon, please... Don’t do this to me, Jonah... Please...” He knew compressions alone wasn’t working. He knew his heart had entered a dangerous rhythm, so he needed something to jumpstart it. He didn’t have a defibrillator with him so he had to make due with what he got. He raised his fist high in the air, aiming for the center of his chest and slammed it down, causing Jonah’s body to jolt slightly from the force. He did this a few more times, hoping that his chest blows would be enough. He checked his pulse again. Nothing.

As he continued, he thought back to simpler times with him, Jonah and Evelin. The three of them were practically inseparable. It always had been ever since high school. Despite him being the third wheel while Adam and Evelin went on their dates, their friendship always remained strong. He would always tease them and act like a child when their parents showed affection whenever they showed their young love. After the creation of BPS, Adam and Evelin’s relationship started to grow strained. Jonah always made sure to be the mediator whenever he and Eve had their problems. He didn’t know why he stayed with him when he pretty much was in the wrong for everything.

He and Sarah were the only people he had left after Evelin left. He wanted to be better for them. He wanted them to know that he had changed. What he said to Jonah was absolutely inexcusable and he didn’t know why he stayed. He guessed it was probably God or something else trying to mess with him. Jonah basically dropping dead in front of him was just twisting the knife in even deeper.

He wouldn’t admit it to him, but despite Jonah annoying him, his voice always seemed to calm him down. He was actually looking forward to getting pizza with him after all of this was over. The way he smiled at him, the way he attempts to make him laugh with his jokes even at the most inopportune times, and the way he holds his hand whenever he’s in a silent mood... He liked that about him. It always made his chest feel warm. He wanted to keep him here so he could feel that same warm feeling.

Even though the body beneath him was cooling, he continued to make his heart beat for him. All while the voice from the GPS continued to mock him. This torture, this madness... They were trying to break Adam’s resolve, trying to force him to give up and leave Jonah for dead. But he won’t let them get to him. He won’t let them win. He’ll keep the blood pumping and keep Jonah’s brain alive. He’ll keep his best friend, no, he’ll keep the person he loves alive, no matter the circumstances.

Finally, after another agonizing minute of trying to revive him, Jonah took a sharp breath and began coughing. His heart leapt with joy as Adam immediately turned him onto his side and rubbed his back. Jonah was heaving, struggling to get his failing lungs to work.

“Hey, Jonah, it’s okay. You’re okay, just breathe.” It all came out in one breath as the exhaustion hit him full force. His hands were like pins and needles and his own heart was racing. Even though it should be impossible for him to restart his heart on his own, he actually did it. He brought him back. He turned back to the car, smirking at the GPS. “Heh, how do you like that?”

Jonah vomited on the pavement, the contents from his stomach spilling out onto the snow. Adam continued to rub his back, whispering comforting words to him. Eventually, his breathing gradually grew normal. Adam held him in his arms, hoping to warm his body back up. That road was really cold. It was not good for someone who almost died of a heart attack. No, that couldn’t be right. Jonah was healthy. He couldn’t have possibly-

He took in a sharp breath. The stress from the past three days... The argument...

“Oh god... Jonah, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize...” He stroked his hair, hoping his words would reach him. He kissed his forehead and lifted him up, legs trembling. As he carried him back to the car, he saw the snow beginning to fall.

#the mandela catalogue #adam murray #jonah marshall #jonadam #apple fish

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bluastro-yellow · 8 months

Text

updates from the second time my friend plays! very slow progress

vomited even with the ammonia so he's internalizing Volumetric Shit Compressor. he thinks Kim is good at his job and very kind because he lets human disaster "I really don't remember anything, I'm afraid it's a serious medical condition" Harry open his car like nothing. he also finds the motorcarriages very weird, said out loud "how the hell are cars made in this game?!" (hehehe it's true that deathtrap is fucking weird)

he opened Cuno's shack with a very low percentage?! "wait, does that mean I stole that kid's money?" "you *can* pick up stuff, nobody's *forcing* you to do it :)"

but he could not make the jump to get his coat back, Immense disappointment. he still doesn't know about the white rectangles and wonders how people know they're cops

looks like the Kim Kitsuragi effect is working, he did not even think about snorting that speed (but I should probably mention the drugs mechanic, I'm not sure he got that)

he hates Cuno and Cunoesse lol, asked them about the crime scene but got nothing

I got the impression the long intercom's button list intimidated him because it would take too much time, so I pushed him to see his reaction to the non-answers. he "talked" to the woman in the intercom. he's confused but thinks it's an important piece of the story (I told him that even if I can't say anything about it, I do think everything is important in this game)

he keeps running around without talking to people! like full in the middle of the strike protest, no questions. picturing Harry doing it is very funny. and he keeps trying white checks without clicking the other options before! I scream internally every time (dude the modifiers!!! he also missed the crane convo with Kim and likely will miss it again :/). but has shifted from "what would I do" to "what do I want my character to do?" ("well, I am an alcoholic, it makes sense if I say some childish stuff *clicks I don't want to get better*")

he thinks the music fits the game very nicely, and likes the art style, but sometimes finds the map confusing, like that crumbling building's floor near Cuno's shack, it's not clear it's a building floor and not on the ground (tbf I was also confused by that)

he got a very improbable history lesson from the statue (the Sensitive type has 1 in Intellect!?). sounds like what a King would do! he doesn't know how the political stuff works, I'm sure he'll be baffled by the fascist point he got by saying that lol

he found the Frittte bag! "what do I even do with money in this game" "uhm. you have a debt with Garte" "ah you're right. how much was it again?" "130 real" "*looks at his 2,00 real* oh 😬"

now he's picking up bottles. he runs around but still hasn't found Roy, he knows he can sell stuff but now wonders how he'll manage to repay Garte (unfortunately I had spoiled him that Kim can sell something he likes to help him, but I also told him it's only one of the ways you can solve the problem)

I pointed out that he hasn't checked what points the clothes he's already wearing give him, so he did. and removed his pants and shoes because they put his Savoir Fare at 0. he doesn't have another pair yet

I asked what he thinks about the skills talking to him, and he said it's weird. I answered that yeah it's supposed to be weird. he's not sure of what to say (he hasn't read their description at the beginning either)

"*looks at Renè* how the hell is that man dressed?" "see if you can ask him if you want" "oh ok *ignores him*" "(screaming internally Why Aren't You Detecting Or Dying but not saying anything because player choice is important)"

the Kim building's door bug pierced our ears but I warned him about it. talked to the smoker, got the key, aaand we stopped here because his eyes were killing him

#disco elysium #pointless microblogging

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crislorencreative · 1 year

Text

Guitar and Bass DI Shootout notes!

Put this together to shootout Direct Input options for recording guitar and bass, as well as get better with my critical listening while getting acquainted with my new interface. I might be making mountains out of molehills, I might be making strides in my audio engineering and songwriting journey- either way I have way too much time on my hands.

Hardware;

RME Babyface Pro FS Audio Interface

Radial Stereo PROD2 Direct Input Box

JHS Pedals Buffered Splitter V1 Signal Splitter Pedal

Land Devices PRE Guitar Preamp Pedal

TECH 21 SANSAMP Bass Driver DI Bass Preamp Pedal

Mogami GOLD Guitar Cable

Lava Cables Solderless Patch Cables

Gibson ES-335 Electric Guitar with stock pickups

Fender Jazz Bass with Seymour Duncan “Quarter Pounder” pickups

Guitar Center retail store picks (lol)

Software;

Logic Pro X digital audio workstation

Logic Pro X stock Limiter (+3dB on Master Bus)

Drums-

Native Instruments KONTAKT virtual instrument host

RoomSound Jay Maas drum library

Bass/Guitar-

FabFilter EQ3 equalizer plugin

STL Tones Howard Benson guitar and bass amp simulator (w/CLA Expansion)

Logic Pro X stock Compressor plugin

Logic Pro X stock Single-Band EQ plugin

I aimed to make a simple verse at 150 tempo in D minor with a low down bass pattern, mute-canceling strumming rhythm guitar part, and bouncing lead guitar melody in my arrangement at the end which these sections and parts cumulate to at the end of this demonstration. I imagine it as a lead into a driving chorus where a future vocal line can begin to wail out after a chilled-out verse- as my inspirations in songwriting originate from Nirvana and independent bands of the modern day. Using the STL Tones Howard Benson Plugin, I sought out a lightly driven Ampeg style amp for the bass tone, a Tubescreamer-fronted Vox AC30 style amp for rhythm guitars, and a pushed Fender Tweed style amp for the lead guitars. Only modifications were using the plugins’ internal reverb and delay sparingly, and added the aforementioned Single-Band EQ plugin for a subtle high shelf on the Lead Guitar.That’s it- no parallel processing, aux sends, or anything funny with the mixing. Nothing too fun until I can determine which method to record my Direct Input Guitars.

Audio Timeline - Total Length 3:44

Three routing methods described as;

RME Direct Input - RME DI

Radial DI Box into RME XLR Input - DI box

Preamp into RME 1/4th” Input (Sansamp for Bass, Land Devices PRE for Guitars) - PRE

Section 1 - 8 Bars testing

Three 8 bar instances of the riff, with 3 stages of testing (with drums, no drums, no plugins) - 0:06-2:04

Part I

Drums, Bass, Rhythm Guitars, and Lead Guitars - 0:06-0:44

RME DI - 0:06

DI box - 0:19

PRE - 0:33

Part II

Bass, Rhythm Guitars, and Lead Guitars(w/EQ+Amp Sim) - 0:44-1:26

RME DI - 0:48

DI box - 1:00

PRE - 1:13

Part III

Bass, Rhythm Guitars, and Lead Guitars(No Plugins) - 1:26-2:04

RME DI - 1:26

DI box - 1:39

PRE - 1:52

Section 2 - 4 Bar testing

4 bars of each DI, followed by 4 bars with added EQ and Amp Simulation - 2:04-2:24

Bass (DI, then EQ+Amp Sim);

RME DI - 2:04

DI box - 2:11

PRE - 2:17

Rhythm Guitar (DI, then EQ+Amp Sim);

RME DI - 2:24

DI box - 2:30

PRE - 2:36

Lead Guitar (DI, then EQ+Amp Sim);

RME DI - 2:43

DI box - 2:49

PRE - 2:56

Section 3 - Which did I prefer? 35 Second Demo 3:05-end

Now, time for my favorite. I’d like you to guess which one my favorite is of the three routing methods with a 35ish second arrangement I made for this test. I used the same DI method for Bass, Rhythm Guitars, and Lead Guitars in this final example. I thought it sounded nice for what it was while not going deep into processing to keep the integrity of direct signals and keeping this test close to its roots, how a DIY musician approaches songwriting at the first step- plugging in and playing your instrument with minimal nor no outboard processing, other than maybe your favorite preamp pedal.

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nathank77 · 1 month

Text

5/17/24

10:15 p.m

I got my hdcp bypasser to work yesterday.I did absolutely nothing special but fuck with wires for over 45 minutes and all of sudden eurica.

The only trick I learned was load the game up. It can bypass it but when you have the ps3 menu up and then load the game it goes to a black screen and then the Hdcp error gets thrown up bc it disconnects to the tv i guess..... but I can't tell you what I did special to get it to bypass it beyond that with the wires.....

Idk if I'm going to keep it. I took full advantage of it just bc I still may return it. Sure it bypasses it but only after 45 minutes of fucking with wires and the screen between the menu and the game loading breaks the handshake....rendering it useless unless you load the game first. Once I turned the game off it said no video lmfao

I have until May 30th to return it... I may just fuck with wires and enjoy it until then... as it should be plug and play... but I want to play my old silent hill games... so I mean idk... something smelled like it smoked... that's what bypassing hdcp is like despite it not being illegal.... thank you PS3! anyways I'm glad I got to record the greatest hits version of silent hill 2. Despite being all the clicks but one on each video I posted... I'm also the likes too.. I'm getting desperate bc click rate matters all my videos get filtered to invisible land bc I get hardly any views..

I took 1MG of Xanax, 25MG of Hydroxyzine and 2MG of Melatonin at 3:30 a.m... I passed out around 5:20 maybe. I woke up at 7:51 a.m needing to pee wayy too bad to ignore it... so I took Benadryl 25MG and fell back to sleep after eating a Think Protein Bar. I slept until 12:30 p.m. I kinda woke up a lot but kept falling back to sleep... I know I shouldn't have to drug myself so much just to sleep but this is my life now and I don't get the best quality sleep but I sleep.. so that's all that matters..

Anyways- I did my disability appt the close out letter was a error which infuriated me. I didn't show it to the representative though.. and now I am scheduled out into July... she told me to call every week and see if he got his final determination... I'm annoyed af. Cause like the drugs I got to take to sleep just to wake up at that fucking time.... anyways it won't happen again cause I'll call weekly.

I tried to get a hold of the licensure department to confirm they got my report. I can't get anyone to pick up after 30 minutes of waiting...so I emailed them tonight referencing my tracking number and when I shipped it and when It said delivered I provided the tracking number and everything asking for a confirmation from the department.

I also went to New Hampshire and got cigarettes. I cleaned out my car when I was there. When I get my oil change I'm getting a full car wash and detailing to clean up the leaves and dirt and shit and wipe down my dashboard and shit. I also have to figure out how to put freon in my car. It's coolish. The compressor is working and once I replaced the fuse the air started coming out of it but- it could be cooler and nicer...

So I already have freon I guess I'll figure it out. In June I've had Beauty for a decade. So I'm going to get that oil change and the car wash. I might do a tune up depending on the cost... if it's like 80$ and what they replace of course.. I got to call and ask but I'm looking to do that the 28th. Hopefully I can do the freon before that.

The drive was okay. Going home I cried hysterically about Nala. I ugly cried. Hardcore as I drove home. I guess I still got to cope with it. I don't want to say more I want to cry typing about it.

I also had some mental images of her dead. So that's great.

I'm starving. I still got to check my car. I made dinner, veggies burgers with vegan bacon its really good actually the bacon and the veggie burgers lol and then I'm going to do that and maybe shave my head. I got to set up my sleep pill too which is stressful with ocd and the hallucination....

So the rest of the night will be fun lol not really.. I'm worried about sleeping on the half MG of xanax bc I had to do the 1mg last night. I also had 2 Red Bulls to get me through the day.

I have to go grocery shopping tomorrow, and do laundry.. so that's cool but Sunday I can relax and hopefully use my HDCP bypasser and play silent hill something. Idk what yet.

I took some photos of myself in the bathroom bc I'm wearing this white shirt and I look good as fuck. I have like 9 or so and I like all them but they all look the same lol the self love and overconfidence is overflowing.

I had a weird mental picture on the car ride home of a naked trans guy who was buff but it was rather segmented. I knew what it was but- like it was very unclear..

It was psychosis trying to say no matter how buff I get I will never have a dick. Cause I'm hardcore considering working out and also fun fact I have no desire to get bottom surgery. At all.

What's so great about cis penis? The image made me horny a little of the naked buff transguy like I could look like that..of course there was some self hate but not really cause it's hot.. like 1 out of 10 for self hate and 9 out of 10 for horny lol

The only thing a cis penis is good for is babies and penetration.. I get it some girls like it, and the g spot and all that but the majority of cis gendered relationships the girl doesn't cum.... every person I've ever been with cums every single time and my next girlfriend will too if I ever find one..

I mean also what can't a dildo do that a cis penis can? Move and pulsate. So I get that that might be awesome but some fancy dildos can do that but I wouldn't wear anything like that anyways. You take my body as it is or you don't have to. I like my body.

The whole biological children thing sucks but I mean- if I wanted to go through procedures technically I could get a girl pregnant and or carry myself but I'd never do either especially carry.. but both never ever. And I've thought about it- my genetics are broken. Idk if we need anymore of us. There are so many kids in broken homes and orphaned and they need love and I have a lot to give.

I'd love to see my eyes or my nose but depending on my partner I'd love to see her eyes. Like Elise for example if somehow she could carry a child that is biologically mine I'd be disappointed if they had my eyes.... something I love about her children despite the fact that I may never meet them is they have her eyes and they look like her. And yea. So I don't need a child to be biologically mine although if I end up with Stacey I mean- one of the only pluses is my name being on the birth certificate. Skin cell babies aren't really a thing but being involved in the whole pregnancy would be cool although it doesn't matter. I just want kids to love me as much as I love them and be seen as a father figure.

I feel like when I wrote that about Stacey It made it sound like I wouldn't be happy if I ended up with a mother who didn't want more kids. That is not even remotely true. It would be a plus to be on the birth certificate/be apart of the pregnancy. I can't lie. It would be great to have a skin cell baby or to help pick a donar who looks a little like me, a short Italian with glasses lol I feel like the glasses at a young age are required but yea. Idc honestly.

All I want is to be apart of a family to be needed and loved and receive a father day card and be depended on and loved. I would like to be called dad but it is not required the father's day card would be a dream. I tear up thinking about it. Nathan is good enough I never get tired of hearing it.

Anyways I just wanted to clear that up. As when I think about being with Stacey I try to see the very few, "positives." And when I imagine a mystery girl it's like tbh idc if she wanted to get pregnant or already has kids. I JUST WANT KIDS. That's all.

Whelp I got to check my car and then take a shower at least. I hope I fall asleep easily. I am truly worried. Tomorrow I'm going to have a red bull day with silent hill if I can get home from the stop and shop quickly enough.

When I go to the dentist I'm going to get an estimate for the teeth sealant regardless of back pay since it still isn't a thing. I'm hoping it's affordable enough cause I'd go through with one of them to start at least and the second a few months later... although I likely won't get a 6 month cleaning... but I won't need it as badly if that stupid groove wasn't plaque central. The other one isn't too bad...but one is brown and it drives me crazy with all the stuff I do to take care of my teeth...

I'm also worried about getting to my bloodwork/t shot on Wednesday but I guess I'll worry about that later...

Erin can see me until at least the end of May. She doesn't know if she can after due to her losing her license. At that point I may just go to two days a week with Mike so I don't have to look for another therapist and get rejected by so many therapists due to being trans and having auditory hallucinations...

I'm probably going to join planet fitness the 1st of the month, the start up is expensive but I'm going to hit my super prime. 👌

June I only have the cardiologist minus my biweekly t shot. So yea. I hope the complaint for Kristen is taken seriously and isn't thrown out bc I'm "crazy."

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multimediamac · 7 months

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MINECRAFT: MODERN INDUSTRIALISATION

This was played on minecraft 1.20.1 with the following mods:

Modern industrialisation and all associated library mods

JEI and all associated library mods

To forward this i feel it is essential to say this is not my thoughts on Minecraft itself, i have played Minecraft for over a decade and perhaps one day i will talk about Minecraft in itself and modded Minecraft in itself but this post specifically is only encompassing my journey with modern industrialisation, (hence forth i will shorten it to MD and Minecraft as MC)

I really love MD, over my years i have played a lot of MC, and especially modpacks, over the years i have strayed away from modpacks and much prefer to either create my own mini modpacks of sorts or play mods as standalone as possible only containing said mods and as little else parse JEI, REI, NEI, as i feel it gives the most contained and upfront experience to the mod possible treating it like its own game using MC as a engine rather then a base i feel MD fails on using MC as a engine in some regards, i think my biggest flaws-

Before i go any further, normally i format these things when i am finished or for now am done with something, this is an exception, i am still playing MD and i am writing this as i let some things process in the background as i have thoughts i want to get out.

-Is that the jetpack controls are lacklustre, really being more of a nuisance then a, well, jetpack the same goes for the chainsaw and diesel drill by the time you get to the point in MD where you can craft them they do nothing, you will still be using the copper drill and just avoid the jetpack due to its finicky controls, the chainsaw then becomes the only upgrade i could see myself using, but even then its just a upgraded axe and if you have a good axe by that point then there is no use to it additional things, diamonds are treated weirdly in this mod, you can get an amount you will never run out of via the steel drill but MD treats them as such like you wont have that untill you get to the stainless tier allowing only for you to process them into the actual diamond at that tier but by then you can produce an obscene amount of diamond ore and just mine that, yes its not automated but you still get as many diamonds as you need so i feel its utterly silly that MD treats it like its such a accomplishment once you get the explosion compressor, id say a simple fix to this would be to move diamonds away from the steel drill and put them into the stainless steel drill, a similar problem exists with uranium you can mine it and get alot of it, but it will have no use until the end game where ores such as platinum that have similar functions do not generate at all a smart decision that doesn't apply to uranium for some reason, i would add uranium to the "doesn't generate naturally" group of ore for this reason i guess if im positing fixes to both of them i can add, make the chainsaw mine like the classic lumber jack mod and allow the drill to vein-mine and 3x3 and rework the controls of the jetpack to either be more so like the classic jet pack or have it be more toggle-able.

Those in short sum up my problems with the mod, one more is that the mod offers neither a way to automate rubber nor food production but these im more okay with as one can be solved by playing in peaceful even if i do think there should be some way to automate food since the mod likes to pose itself as a automate everything mod there in lies the relation to sugar cane too, as you can build a regular sugar cane MC farm as i did but i find it strange the mod wanted me to do that when it structures itself to make you automate it, you can automate rubber but by the time you can you need rubber, a fix to this would just be allowing the assembler to use synthetic rubber to craft capacitors and analogue circuits, i have no idea why it doesn't honestly but it would eliminate the need for sugar cane cleanly food wise im not sure where i would add it as much of the automation of resources comes from the quarry and oil drilling rig, i could be silly and say maybe allow for bronze drills in the oil drilling rig to find a liquid that can be processes into the mods own food, though i think a liquid being processed into a capsule of some kind could be a fun way to solve hunger and for the peaceful mode to not make it useless give it another use such as biofuel.

One more small criticism im mixed on is, items being useless, i feel this one is more future proofing though, wanting these items to exist as such future *things* can use them like the lapis plate and other such examples of items that have zero use outside of clogging JEI, though again i feel its more future proofing, still, its annoying for some items and MD doesn't do it in all such cases like rods.

Overall MD uses MC as a engine okay id say, it wants you to automate everything but some things go against that or are structured oddly with the problems i mentioned that i personally had now i have aired out my problems i had i can move onto what i loved so far.

MD does a absolutely fantastic job at guiding the player, though advancements, the book to the chains it establishes, i loved the early game building bronze machines to getting the quarry to building a few drills to then automating those drills, everything you do is impactful, you are the one building these systems not just looking up a guide on Youtube on how to build a ender men farm because these systems have been created carefully as to guide you in neither a too simplistic sandbox such as vanilla MC nor to complex a system I've been having a grand time working on my own ways of automating things and creating my factory, my Mac-tory if you will, it feels like there is more you can do more you can add but not in a dissatisfactory way but a genuine love of the system that can be expanded, my only gripe with it is as i said before hand i do wish it utilised MC's systems better as once you get to the quarry you never need to venture into MC's systems again with exception to sugar cane as i mentioned before i feels a bit like it wants the cake of you can stay in this room and theoretically do anything inside this room, oh but you still have to venture out sometimes for small stuff, i do not mind venturing out, i like it, i just wish its cake accounted for that and either made it so you didn't have to at all, or, it was more rewarding to do so.

As i said i have not finished the mod yet, i do intend to though as its been wholly rewarding and fun for me, i just wanted to type this stuff out as it was on my mind and although i was bigger in my criticism of it, i do not want to dismay saying how much i love MD, im just poorer at saying it, i love this mod im having a blast, on blast, im currently nearing the explosion compressor , that's where i currently am in the mod sitting in my little room building up my factory all on my own!

The mod can be found here: https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/modern-industrialization

#VIDEOGAME

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alternative-snake · 8 months

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been playing. extra planets + planet progression galacticraft and wow this is intensely Not Worth It like every fuckin step of this thing is designed to be a massive drag every time i have to go to the moon but nooooo i apparently have NEVER seen the moon in the sky i have never heard of the moon

[read more for a long and painful rant; part one.]

so i have to build a satellite white is like 32 or something solar panels which is a whole process of making cells which costs many diamonds. and then i have to get it into space which i have to get a whole rocket to do but thats ultimately nothing whats something is the thing that allows you to research the moon which takes 2 satellites to craft for no fucking reason. and then you get a scrap of paper than you stick in a telescope {cool block, takes 2 diamond blocks to craft though]

but you cant charge the telescope like a normal galacticraft machine you have to individually charge batteries and put them into the telescope. and one battery doesn't even research the whole thing it gives you 99%. so you have to put in another battery. which is one less battery to work with to research all these paper scraps you end up with.

anyway turns out i knew where the moon was all along but i did have to research everything else anyway.

anyway i get to the moon [read: he crashes, and reloads a backup of before the crash and gets there the second time.] rude. i get to the moon and thats all fine and cool. the ship needed to get to mars which is next in the galacticraft progression needs a lot of meteoric iron which at this point is only found as moon dungeon loot and in these tiny little rocks that randomly hit the moon. so i sit and find moon dungeons for like an hour or so not the worst overall by my standards i go to mars and its basically more of the same except the next ship tier requires desh and thats easier to get its just in the ground its fine but i also need more meteoric iron so i get to do that again. still fine, you get some enrichment along the way i guess and at least you can pull up something to listen to in the background.

and honestly the vanilla galacticraft stuff? isnt that much of an issue its just a matter of getting metals for the ships and grabbing meteors for a bit. you actually get a lot more meteors later in the asteroid belt. we're swimming in it now its great.

whats the real issue is the extra planets. so to start off we forgot to mention the space suit. you craft a basic thing out of aluminum and then prepare it with shit for radiation and pressure. the armor and radiation is fine nothing to discuss a bit of lead but thats fairly easy to get ahold of. the pressure layers take two oxygen concentrators.

if you are normal about things and lucky enough to be asking why this is a problem let me fucking tell you. In each concentrator is 4 compressed tin [two tin each, put in a compressor], 3 compressed steel [two iron each also compressed, then compressed again with two coal], {though maybe the tin and steel are swapped} a tin canister [7 tin makes two of them], and a vent thing [one compressed steel, three compressed tin]. you need 12 concentrator s if you want a full space suit [which is absolutely required]. do the math if you want, you also have to repeat this whole thing multiple times if you want to upgrade the suit; there are what 4? 5? tiers of space suit im pretty sure, we are currently on tier 3 not looking forward to when the fourth one becomes available.

that aside when you have a high enough rocket using the shit from the moon and mars and the asteroids {which we haven’t complained about as they're actually pretty interesting} you can go to mercury, which is. lets just reblog this with another wall of text to let this one breathe a little.

#i am likely typing more out as you read this #💥#⚙️#matt why did you get us into modded minecraft again

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hapserv · 1 year

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How to Keep Your Refrigerator Running Efficiently

Maintaining an efficient refrigerator is a must for any homeowner. Unfortunately, many people don't realize the importance of this task until their refrigerator stops working properly.

In this blog post, we'll look at some easy ways to keep your fridge running smoothly.

There are two types of stores in the world, those that care about their customers and those that spend a bit of everything. Therefore, dear reader, we strive to make Salves Market your reference store and there is nothing better than informing you to improve those day-to-day things that sometimes you need to solve instantly.

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Regardless of the weather outside, it's important to keep your fridge perfectly cold as it always works to keep food cold and safe to eat. But for your refrigerator to work efficiently, it's important to maintain it well.

This will not only help keep your food fresh, but it will also help you save money on your electric bills and prevent unexpected repair costs.

Whether you're a homeowner, a renter, or just want to brush up on your refrigerator maintenance skills, keep reading.

Here are some tips to follow to keep your fridge up and running efficiently........ check the temperature

The ideal temperature for a refrigerator is 4 to 6°C and -18°C for the freezer. If you think that your food can last longer if you put the fridge on the coldest setting, think again! Keeping the temperature above 6°C is a bad idea, as it can spoil the food

The higher the temperature, the longer the compressor will run. This can not only increase your electricity bill, but can also shorten the life of the compressor.

Did you know that the coldest part is at the rear and at the bottom of the coolant?

The back because that's where the cooling element is and the bottom because that's where the hot air rises.So the next time you notice something freezing, remove it from the back of theGodrej Fridge Service in Coimbatore

Check the condenser coil once a year

The refrigerator's condenser coil releases heat, which causes the compressor to run longer hours. When dust and dirt get trapped around the condenser coils, the system overheats and heat does not flow properly from the coils due to dirt. This heat remains inside the refrigerator and reduces cooling. In fact, the coils need to be cleaned more frequently if you have a pet that will be moving.

If you notice that the fridge is not cooling like it used to, call an expert and check the condenser coil.

Avoid placing the refrigerator too close to the wall

Whether you place your refrigerator in the kitchen or dining room, make sure it is an inch away from the wall, so air can circulate around it.

This helps dissipate the heat created by your refrigerator and keeps it running efficiently. Having too much space can greatly affect the performance and life of your refrigerator.

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Always keep food covered

Sometimes we leave too much in the fridge without exposing. It is always good to store food in airtight containers, as if the food were to be exposed, the moisture in the food would be released into the air and the refrigerator would be forced to work harder to keep the food dry.

One of the biggest mistakes that most of us make is that we fill the fridge more than necessary.When food blocks airflow, it makes the refrigerator work harder and leaves certain parts of the refrigerator warmer than others.

In fact, restaurants and drinks like wine, etc. they can be placed on the upper shelves, since they are used more often than other items. The upper shelves usually have the most constant temperature. This is good for easily destroying food. If you have containers left, do not put them in the refrigerator while they are still warm.This can raise the temperature of the refrigerator, making the compressor work harder to cool the refrigerator. If you let your food cool to room temperature before putting it in the fridge, you'll relieve your fridge by taking some of the pressure off.

Close the refrigerator door properly

Every time you open the refrigerator, be sure to close it properly to expel cold air. The unit's compressor heats the air and it takes longer to cool down if the refrigerator door is left open. Plus, it burns more electricity.

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Replace door gasket if necessary

If you notice that your refrigerator door isn't closing tightly, it's time to replace the gasket. It may seem small, but that little rubber around your refrigerator door frame is important in helping your refrigerator run efficiently.

The door gasket can become dirty or worn over time. You can try some warm water with a mild soap on a sponge or an old toothbrush to gently scrub the dirt off the door seal. If the rubber door seal still appears to be loose or sticky, it should be replaced immediately.

Check the accumulated frost

If you don't regularly defrost your refrigerator and freezer, it can be difficult for the appliance to maintain a colder temperature.

To maintain the efficiency of a manual defrost freezer, it should be defrosted whenever it develops a quarter-inch of ice buildup on the interior walls. This frost buildup can waste energy and add to your monthly bills.

On the other hand, an antifreeze freezer is equipped with a heating coil and a temperature sensor to prevent frost buildup inside the refrigerant. However, if it is not frost free, frost may continue to build up.

Ice makes it difficult for your freezer to work efficiently. In fact, if you live in a hot and humid climate, you should regularly defrost your manual or automatic refrigerator.

We recommend a double door without a freezer

Side-by-side refrigerators have automatic freezing and are best for large families. They have separate compartments for the freezer and fresh food. These are typically frost-free models and circulate a continuous flow of air to prevent ice buildup.

The vegetable tray is inside the fridge and since they are larger than single door fridges they are good for families of four or more.

They have more shelf space than single-door refrigerators and are also adjustable shelves, so you can have the space you need to store your bins. The freezer can be up or down. The sizes of this type of fridge range from 200 liters to 500 liters, and the prices are mid-range, but can be higher on a larger size.

Top-mounted freezers are still the most common type in side-by-side refrigerators, and as the name suggests, in this case, the freezer sits on top of the fresh food compartment.

These are more energy efficient than any other type, because the compressor is located away from the freezer, meaning there is no heat source near the unit. Since there's no heat, the freezer doesn't have to work harder to stay cool. But it's an obvious drawback, because the fresh food compartment is lower, you have to bend down or step back to access that part.

Since most refrigerators are the most used part of fresh food, people with back problems may find it difficult to use them.

The bottom freezer is a newer design, with a bottom freezer unit and some fresh food on top. They are best for seniors and those who have a hard time bending over because most things are easy to find on top.

However, bottom-freezer refrigerators consume more energy because the compressor is located very close to the freezer and as a heat source, this means that the freezer has to do more work to cool. Also, if you don't use a lot of meat/fish etc, it may help to have fresh food and vegetables at a level that is easier to access.

Star Rating and Power Consumption

The energy efficiency rating tells you how energy efficient your refrigerator is. A higher star rating means more efficiency. Always look for a logo to ensure the authenticity of an energy rating.

If you're worried about your electric bills, choose a higher-rated refrigerator (because it costs less to run), even if it seems a little more expensive at first. Before you buy, find out how many units of electricity a refrigerator uses per year (measured in kWh).

But remember that the amount of electricity your refrigerator actually consumes will depend on your usage patterns. For example, keeping the door open longer than necessary will consume more energy while the refrigerator works to maintain the temperature inside.

Also, if you fill the refrigerator to capacity, it will require more energy to circulate the cold air and therefore it is recommended that the refrigerator be kept 20% empty at all times for optimal air circulation.

A digital compressor or inverter makes a refrigerator more energy efficient, so check the type of compressor when shopping for a refrigerator.

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Your cleaning method

The larger the refrigerator compartments, the more cleaning time you will need. Also, check the shelf material. A wire shelf will require more mobility than a solid tempered glass shelf. And it's not just the interior.

The exterior should also be easy to clean. If you're particularly concerned about keeping your appliances spotless, avoid buying stainless steel exteriors, as they generally make it easy to stain. Instead, choose a colored exterior or a stain-free finish.

Things to Consider When Buying a Refrigerator

When shopping for a refrigerator, there are some things you can skip, but there are also some features you definitely need:

Adjustable shelves are a big plus. This means that you can modify the interior space to accommodate larger containers by adjusting the position of the shelves.Also look for shelves that have a spill-proof feature, and in the event something is spilled, it won't spill into the rest of the fridge.

Shelves and deep door pockets help you store more and more containers.

A high energy rating will help you save electricity and therefore money over time.

A cool pad is also a nice feature. This is a gel filled pad that will maintain the temperature inside the fridge even in the event of long power outages, thus keeping food fresher for longer.

Buy a voltage stabilizer if the power situation in your area is not very stable. Most refrigerators today come with built-in surge protection, but they can also cost more. If you don't want to spend more on that, a stabilizer will help a lot.

An extended warranty plan that will take care of any service/repair as soon as the manufacturer's warranty expires.

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These steps can increase the efficiency of your refrigerator, as well as help you reduce your energy use and save money on your monthly electric bill.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift, that is why it is called the present. Try to be happy every moment of your life.

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