Doordash delivery driver pay
DoorDash Drivers
2016.10.28 22:25 fs8888 DoorDash Drivers
This is an UNOFFICIAL place for DoorDash Drivers to hang out and get to know one another!
2015.07.31 08:16 douglasg14b DoorDash Community
Unofficial DoorDash Community Subreddit
2019.02.13 06:09 Go-Jek mobile transport service
From easy, effortless bookings to reliably affordable fares, your ride-sharing days (and nights) are about to become a little brighter.
2023.03.25 17:15 tonnie_taller How much should you tip? Americans sound off as tipping culture continues to expand
People in the Sunshine State weighed in on how to tip for deliveries after a DoorDash driver went viral for refusing to hand over a man’s food after he gave her an $8 tip. “If you’re delivering food, a couple bucks, 10%, 15%. But if they’re delivering something bigger, like furniture, depends on how many … Continue reading How much should you tip? Americans sound off as tipping culture continues to expand
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2023.03.25 17:12 mumstheword_1 Being called selfish and I’m beginning to think I am one :/
My husband and I decided pretty early on in the relationship that we’d have one child only. All went according to plan and I went to experience the easiest pregnancy and delivery. Our son is 1y2m now. - I am an only child and had the most positive and memorable childhood, surrounded by friends and family. My husband has a brother with whom he doesn’t have a close bond and his childhood experiences weren’t as nice as he’d have liked it to be. - We do not come from affluent backgrounds and have to earn to make ends meet. Although we’re doing financially well now, it’s just enough to support our current lifestyle. - My husband is not a super hands on father. He runs his own business that requires his presence and attention more than we’d like. I WFH, have a nanny while I work and I’m more involved in the baby’s life than him. - As much as I love being a hands-on mother, I also love my job. It pays for our travels and our lifestyle and I’m passionate about it too. I’m up for promotion with a significant pay raise this year and cannot avail another extended leave (maternity leave etc.) - We follow a low waste lifestyle. Tbh I find this exhausting more than I’d like to admit but we try to stay committed to it as much as possible. This means cloth diapering, no plastic toys, no bottle feeding or pumping. I breastfeed and I also have an urban farm through which we eat homegrown and home made food, especially for the baby. It was a full time job, exclusively nursing my baby for 6m and then introducing solids etc. I don’t have the energy or motivation to go through phase ever again. These are the reasons for sticking to our decision to being OAD. However everyone we bump into recently has been commenting on how it’s time to prepare for the next baby, given how I’m 32yo already. Our in-laws have been guilting me into thinking that I had the easiest conception/pregnancy journey yet I’m just whining about unimportant things to delay the “inevitable”. In one of the recent family get togethers when this topic came up I mentioned that financially we cannot afford to raise another person, to which someone joked that maybe I should consider being a surrogate coz I was “blessed” by an easy labor. I just hate how everyone brings up that one point to make me think that I’m selfish to not birth another child. “Even mothers who had difficult pregnancies and labor birth multiple children. Once you birth a baby you can chill- formula and pacifiers can make your life easy. You’re being selfish”. I lost my cool there. How do I deal with these people? Is it wrong to prioritise one’s own well-being even at the risk of being called selfish?
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2023.03.25 17:11 emobanana_ Delivery drivers of Reddit: What’s the weirdest outfit you’ve seen someone come to the door in?
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2023.03.25 17:10 alexjonestownkoolaid Why does the last package have to be so far away? They're just punishing drivers that finish early.
It's becoming increasingly common that the last delivery will be well outside the range of the rest of the block. They know most people will finish the bulk of the deliveries inside the allotted time, but they throw on a hail Mary delivery at the very end for those of us who always finish early. If a slow driver doesn't get to it oh well, they finished everything else. If a fast driver finishes early they can fuck off to Narnia for one box. This often leads to a long deadhead return that puts your hourly on par with the slower drivers.
submitted by alexjonestownkoolaid to AmazonFlexDrivers [link] [comments]
2023.03.25 17:08 PritchettRobert506 [HIRING] 25 Jobs in MD Hiring Now!
2023.03.25 17:08 No_Competition4897 [HIRING] 25 Jobs in OK Hiring Now!
2023.03.25 17:07 Free_Criticism_5090 Cmon yall do better!
 | submitted by Free_Criticism_5090 to UberEatsDrivers [link] [comments] |
2023.03.25 17:06 Ochib Birmingham (U.K.) Bus drivers got a 16% pay rise
National Express initially offered 11% and then 14% just before the strike and after a week on strike they have now excepted a 16% pay rise
submitted by Ochib to WorkReform [link] [comments]
2023.03.25 17:05 Kindatiredofthis_ My first highest tip ever!!
 | submitted by Kindatiredofthis_ to InstacartShoppers [link] [comments] |
2023.03.25 17:03 esqqerv Bitchy Passenger Fucks Taxi Driver Instead Of Paying Cab Fare - Ava Dalush
 | submitted by esqqerv to Fundi788 [link] [comments] |
2023.03.25 17:01 AutoModerator [Share Course] Dan Koe – Digital Economics Masters Degree
![[Share Course] Dan Koe – Digital Economics Masters Degree](https://a.thumbs.redditmedia.com/um7xgA0fvEWNdA7MhSe_2uCFEJQWIZnSzVmKbJwmRD0.jpg "[Share Course] Dan Koe – Digital Economics Masters Degree") | Download Course link: https://www.genkicourses.com/product/dan-koe-digital-economics-masters-degree/ submitted by AutoModerator to Agency_Navigator_Gadz [link] [comments] [Share Course] Dan Koe – Digital Economics Masters Degree Size: 26.38 GB Delivery: MEGA Delivery Time : Instantly https://preview.redd.it/qksi5dusxroa1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=d4538317fe1268bcab3b4d3781f2911d5ece14fc What You GetPhase 0) Digital Economics 101The Digital Economics 101 module will open 1 week prior to the cohort start date.This is an onboarding module that will get you up to speed so we can get straight into the material.This will be required to finish before the start date.
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Phase 4) Marketing StrategyYou aren’t making money because you aren’t promoting yourself or your offer.That is literally the only way to make money. Have something desirable and consistently put it in front of peoples’ faces.In Phase 4, I will show you how to systemize, automate, and be consistent with simple promotions.You will be able to make money without having the chance of forgetting to do it (or letting fear of failure get in the way).
Bonus) The Creator Command CenterThe Creator Command Center is a Notion template that houses all of the systems.This is how you will manage your brand, content, offer creation, marketing strategy, and systemized promotions for consistent sales.Bonus) Live Product Build & LaunchIn the first Digital Economics Cohort, I built out my course The 2 Hour Writer.I have videos showing how I build it with the strategies in phase 3 and 4.There is a bonus module that shows how I had an $85,000 launch that resulted in my first $100K month.I did this to prove the strategies inside Digital Economics work if you stick to the plan.And, this past Black Friday, I blew my that monthly high out of the water in 4 days.That’s the power of these strategies if you stay consistent with your life’s work. |
2023.03.25 17:00 SnugglePuggle94 First time getting one of these. Nope not worth it to me unless over $50. Declined.
 | submitted by SnugglePuggle94 to doordash_drivers [link] [comments] |
2023.03.25 16:57 Runningaroundnyc My (31M) girlfriend (33F) broke up with me out of the blue after 3.5 years. It makes no sense to me. I feel she needs a break because of life. While I can't make someone come back, does it seem like she is throwing away a good thing? (This will be super long, so prepare yourself)
There are several things to this, so I'll try to give all the backstory, and while this will likely come off one sided, I'll try to give her perspective, as well. This will be very, very long, so thank you for reading it all. I want to be thorough.
Backstory: We met about 4 years ago now initially. We then started seeing each other here and there Summer of 2019, and officially started dating at the end of 2019. We went out a lot, had a great sex life, etc. During Covid, we were each others' quarantine buddies and we hung out a lot. We got along very well.
We both are runners, and would do races together. She is more into trail running, so she got me to do some trail races and come along with her around the state. We would go on mini trips to breweries as we liked craft beer. We both like going out and about, but both aren't party animals or anything. We like to be social with our small groups of friends, but also hang out at home. We did a lot of things together. We shared interests. There are so many things I love about her. We genuinely enjoyed each others company. I got along with her friends where we met and I got along with them in other places.
We could hang out and talk for hours. We enjoyed each others' company. We both have advanced degrees and could nerd out about different things.
We lived in the same city and were dating for a year and a half from August 2019-March 2021. She got a job in NYC. We were long distance, but made it work. Before then, and especially during that timeframe, we would talk on the phone daily. We could easily talk for a half hour daily. I visited her a lot. I finally got a job in the city at the end of 2021, so we were in the same city starting in 2022. (So at that point now dating around 2.5 years)
*This is a tiny bit important later, but she then started a doctorate program and would be working and doing a part time doctorate roughly September of 2021 (I forget exact dates- it all blurs together)
When we got to being in the same city again, we were like before: Hung out a good amount, went places together. We had regular sex, etc. There wasn't any issue.
Her family is in NYC. I get along very well with her family. She is incredibly close with her sister and mom. I get along with both of them (She talks to her sister 3-4 days a week and if in the same city, it isn't abnormal for the sister to stay over probably a total of 5-6 nights per month). In her occupation, she also works directly with her mom, and they get along great, and would talk regularly. She would also talk to her dad regularly. I got along great with both of them, I felt at ease with them. The mom would welcome me to dinners or into the house. I valued them. No conflict, and the values of connecting with family there for both of us.
Her lease ends at the end of May 2022, so we decide to move in together in June of 2022. Things aren't perfect at first, as expected, but I thought we settled into good roles. I assume that I take care of the apartment and cooking. We share laundry duties, and she takes care of bills/ being the heavy like calling a company when needed. I move in my crazy, but loveable dog. He lives with us after about a month of us living together.
Since she was doing her doctorate and would basically spend 2-3 hours of free time every night doing work when she wasn't at work or running, I always made dinner. (She probably made dinner once every 2 weeks- not a point of contention as I like cooking). I would clean the floors, help with cleaning the kitchen, and only I cleaned the bathrooms. I would get groceries, too. After cooking, she would clean up the kitchen. It seemed like we had a balance and were figuring out roles.
In our relationship, we would tell each other we loved each other regularly, we cuddled a lot, had great affection towards each other. She always called me her "sweet man", she would fall asleep lying her head on my chest literally every night.
I will add as a note: All of her family and friends live here. I moved totally away from my only family- I only had a couple friends here. I basically moved down for her, and sacrificed a ton. (I had to quit my job and find a new one. Lots of things were a struggle for me to come down to be with her)
Also this could be important later: If someone does something to wrong her, she really holds grudges. If you piss her off enough, she could cut people off. This isn't to say she is ever aggressive with me. She has a chill personality, and is easy to talk to. She went to burning man. She isn't aggressive and I never found myself bracing or modifying interactions because of this point. She isn't vindictive.
TL;DR: We got along, had similar interests, similar sex drives, similar values on money, being with friends, education, being active, and we could talk to each other easily.
Beginning of the problems/ backstory for the problems up to now:
Around this time/ within the first month or two, it seems like we are having sex 1-2 times per week versus 3-4+. I don't mind as that is a regular enough amount, and I was thinking we were just used to each other coming up on 3 years and she was busy with her doctorate. Honestly, she probably had the higher sex drive. She would literally initiate just as often or more than me, and she genuinely said she liked having sex that often.
So while we live together, we don't fight at all. (This can be a good and bad thing). We talk regularly, and she calls me daily when coming home from work. I think we are settling into our roles.
Around the end of June or July, we talk about future (in just one conversation, though- not continual talks): We both want to eventually have 2 kids. She wants to stay in the city, but be fully established in her work. We are largely on the same page.
Around July 2022, I start poking around at engagement rings. Around the end of August, she mentions in a side comment to me that she doesn't want a diamond on an engagement ring for ethical reasons and she didn't like the look. I take this as a massive hint that she wants to get engaged, so I start seriously poking around.
During this time, we go on two international trips: Germany end of September, and her mom's home country of Argentina at the end of November.
Things shift during this time. She is in the heart of her doctorate, she is working full time as well. And she had to redo her focus and annotated bibliography/ table of evidence, because her research led her in a different way. (It means that she has to get rid of at least half of what she did over the prior 6 months and now do a lot of it over).
For her doctorate: I am incredibly supportive. I ask her about her classes all the time. She bounces ideas off of me. I had literally read multiple papers of hers to give input and talked through her project and her frustrations consistently. I made a strong point to help her, and she had said multiple times she couldn't have gotten through it without me.
We now barely go out at all. She works half of Saturdays, so Friday nights are about her doing work. Saturdays after work are her doing work. We go to a bar maybe once a month at this time as she is busy. I'm *fine* with it, because I know it is temporary. I know that at the end of summer 2023, she will have time again. Plus I like having chill nights at home, so it isn't this big stretch.
Starting right around December or so, we now are having sex like once every two weeks. So that really drops off.
Now, a series of events happen:
Beginning/middle of December, her sister is fired. So right around the second week of December, she starts staying in our guest room, and basically lives with us 5 days per week.
Then a week or so later, her dad has a fall. (He was 74). He was in the hospital for about a week. Then they took out the feeding tube literally on Christmas Eve, and he dies on the 27th.
During the time he is in the hospital, I ask about his prognosis and how things are looking, thinking she needs to process all of it. We had 1 deep conversation about how she felt, but just one.
So during this time, she and her sister are at the apartment and are very stressed out. I make it a point to be around, and make sure that they don't have to do anything. I cook for them, and I assume they need some space, so I try to just be in the background, but I'm there the entire time.
On Christmas Eve, I am flying to Austin TX to see my brother. She calls me in the airport about the feeding tube.
*I screw up a bit here* Please don't harp on this- this isn't fully what I'm asking about:
When I answer, she tells me that, and I say "Wow that really sucks." and listen to her, in my mind, I think she wants a distraction, and I then talk about mundane things. She calls me back and says that she was really pissed. She says to me that she basically told me her dad died, and that's all I said. (Totally valid). I then tell her I'm sorry she has to go through this, I know that he means a lot, she has been going through a lot, and I wish it didn't happen, etc.
Over the next 2 days, he's still alive without the feeding tube. We talk, I ask her about how she is doing, how the family is doing. I knew I screwed up a bit in my initial reaction, but I made sure to ask how she was feeling and doing in those next couple days. I really care about her, and wanted her to be supported.
After he died, I then changed my flight and flew back to be with her for the funeral and new year. I was there the entire time for calling hours, etc.
Her sister then kept living with us.
Mid-late January comes around. Her sister has been living with us full time for about 5 weeks. I'm getting stressed because it is stressful seeing someone you love grieve. It is stressful having basically a new roommate. (Plus there was an issue with my dog and the sitter over the time I was away/ came back, and some destuction, so he was contacting me for weeks about paying him a ton of money on top of the money I already spent for boarding) And my job isn't amazing.
Her sister's natural hours are sleeping from probably 1:00am-9:00am or so. I have to regularly go to bed around 10:30/11 and wake up around 6:15 am.
After several weeks of literally not knowing if the sister was here temporarily or not (I knew it was going to be ongoing, but I knew no specifics) And feeling like I had to stay up as a host (I feel like you can't go to sleep before a guest). I was stressed and tired from a poor sleep schedule, and I just snapped one single night saying "Could we please turn off the TV before 11 and go to bed?" Or something like that.
I apologize the next day saying I was just stressed out by the uncertainty of not knowing who was going to be in the house on a given day and it was hard to bring up that I'm stressed as what is my stress compared to losing a parent. I feel like we have a good conversation about that and all is well. I say and mean it that I don't mind her sister coming by- I just want warning, and I want to know how long it will be. Her sister stays several times after, I get notified. It seems totally resolved.
Around this time (mid January) My girlfriend tells me she feels bad that we aren't having as much sex. She says she knows I have needs, too. Etc. I tell her I totally understand. (From December 1st-February 1st, we probably have sex no more than 5-6 times versus like I said before 3-4 times per week)
More time goes by, I have my birthday in mid February.
She seems to be getting back to normal. The uncertainty with the doctorate is over- she has gotten through all of the work she had to redo. She has gotten through the mess of dealing with lawyers after the death. She has started clearing out his place. She booked a session with a therapist.
I had purchased an engagement ring before her Dad died/ at the beginning of December. It came around the beginning of January. I had been holding on to it. She said earlier she didn't want a big display, she didn't want anything huge for a proposal.
End of February, since things seem better, I propose. I tie the ring around the next of a stuffed fox animal (which was the same kind of others I had gotten her before/ she loved. She loves foxes. I did it very low key in the apartment. She doesn't react negatively but not positively. But I tell her if she needs more time, I can wait. I'm fine.
The next day she tells me "I can't believe you thought so little of me to do something so casual". I put thought into it, and I thought it would be cute. But swing and a miss, I guess. (I specifically picked this time because I knew her doctorate would only keep ramping up- but I didn't want to wait until October) But: it was 2 months after her dad died. I realized that no time would quite ever be good. But yeah, probably too soon.
A week later: She has been thinking for a week, and she tells me she can't see herself with me in the future, and wants to break up.
Talking about the breakup:
This is totally out of left field for me. We hadn't been fighting. We had been talking and getting along. She initially says to me that she didn't trust me to react in the right way when it mattered most. (I understand, and I disagree, but if those are her feelings, I understand)
She said I freaked out on her sister for no reason and she didn't like that. It wasn't the best in the moment, but I apologized the next day, and it seems understandable to be tense about having someone living with you for an uncertain amount of time for over a month.
We talk a lot after this- really deep conversations. I ask her if she ever felt I wasn't there for her. She said no (as in she did believe I was there for her). She knew I was there for her.
But point 2: She said she realized that there were little things that were bugging her since June or July. Her response was she felt like she was telling me how to go through life. I sometimes get worked up when things aren't going great. I hate incompetence, so dealing with someone else screwing up isn't my best skill. I definitely get mad on those little things. And going back to before: In a relationship, someone usually is the person who lays down the lays down the law. In reflection, I probably asked her to fight some battles for me, and I got comfortable deferring to her in some instances, but she never complained about this to me.
Initially, I thought she was really upset with just how things were going the last month. But she told me she realized she was feeling this for a while, and how I reacted with her dad dying: She felt she had to tell me how to react. And she felt she had to tell me the proposal sucked. Those were the culminating events, but from talking with her, likely this may have happened anyway.
But like I said, she said she had been having issues before then. In talking more- it was those issues she felt she couldn't get past more than just the last events of the last month. The main reason was this: She didn't see herself with me in the future.
In talking, I realized we never really talked. But after that, we had probably 5 deep, 2 hour conversations. We talked about so many things. They were civil.
She had a list of things that bugged her:
After all of this: I realized that:
Even after she broke up with me, we still lived together for 3 weeks while we talked about all of this. We still got along. We were still civil. It's crazy that we could break up and still live together and talk and get along. That's how well we got along. She let me figure out where I was living next (I'm moving out in a week) since this was sudden. I am gracious for that. She didn't immediately kick me out, and I didn't freak out.
What I am confused about/ I think she is throwing it away:
She is emotionally burnt out now. I get it. I can see it. Dealing with working, doing a doctorate, grieving, etc. That's a ton to deal with. So I don't think she had the emotional capacity for me at this moment.
I mentioned the idea of a break, but she said a hard no. I asked if she would be willing to do therapy (she isn't averse since she went for her dad) She said we shouldn't need therapy after 3.5 years. I say that this is a totally normal amount of time to be going to therapy. This isn't early or a red flag. It is normal.
We were dating and all going well, without me knowing anything about something being wrong to her breaking up. I had no chance to try to improve. If living with me had issues and we tried to work it out for 2-3 months and it didn't work: fine. It happens. But we never had any time to work it out. She ended it and doesn't want to work on it.
I feel like in her grief and everything, she is ending this. Sometimes people just push away people when grieving. Sometimes people will get divorced or whatever.
I can wait and do the full break thing: Not talk to her for a couple months as she heals, but she has decided that after this, we're only going to be friends.
We had a good thing going. This was literally our one and only rough patch in 3.5 years. It feels like she is giving up without trying when things got tough. Both the timing, the suddenness of it and the unwillingness to try to work through it are mind-boggling to me. If little things were bothering her, why didn't I know?
Yes: Communication is a 2 way street. I could have been asking her more often how she felt about things. That is on me. But she didn't tell me how she felt about deep things like that. She said to me that she shouldn't have to tell me these things. But my response is the classic guy response of "I can't know what is bugging you if you don't tell me". There is truth on both sides.
She implied how she wanted a hyper independent partner. I assumed we both were sharing life and we both do things for each other, but she expects each other to have all of their things all together and not necessarily rely on the other.
In self reflection: While I tried to cater to her needs, she also ignored my needs of having some attention given to just me on occasion. I felt like I was pushed away at times. When she was too busy to go out, I never got undivided time with her. But she made time here and there to see her mom and sister.
From reading this, I hope that you can realize that I care about her, and while I may have fumbled the delivery at times, I was always there for her, and I showed her my support and affection consistently.
So: My main question:
After reading ALL of that. I hope you see how we had a good connection. We care about each other. We had great things going for years, but just hit one rough patch. I can see myself with her.
I think she doesn't have the brain power and emotional energy to deal with this now. But she was so definitive.
We lived through a pandemic, we went through so many things and got along so well, and it is ending in an instant.
I am not some stubborn guy who says they are always right and refuses to change. I can, will, and have been changing.
It feels like she is just throwing all of this away. I will let her have her break as we discussed. But we are good for each other. It's a shame this is ending like this. We don't have major red flags for each other plus at one point I know she did see herself marrying me. To add: Beyond the comment about a ring, we had many conversations of hypotheticals in 3-5 years or kids, etc. We talked about that regularly enough, and they were positive. She didn't change the subject. She definitely saw herself with me for the long haul.
To reiterate: She said she can't see herself with me.
What the heck do I do now?
submitted by Runningaroundnyc to relationship_advice [link] [comments]
Backstory: We met about 4 years ago now initially. We then started seeing each other here and there Summer of 2019, and officially started dating at the end of 2019. We went out a lot, had a great sex life, etc. During Covid, we were each others' quarantine buddies and we hung out a lot. We got along very well.
We both are runners, and would do races together. She is more into trail running, so she got me to do some trail races and come along with her around the state. We would go on mini trips to breweries as we liked craft beer. We both like going out and about, but both aren't party animals or anything. We like to be social with our small groups of friends, but also hang out at home. We did a lot of things together. We shared interests. There are so many things I love about her. We genuinely enjoyed each others company. I got along with her friends where we met and I got along with them in other places.
We could hang out and talk for hours. We enjoyed each others' company. We both have advanced degrees and could nerd out about different things.
We lived in the same city and were dating for a year and a half from August 2019-March 2021. She got a job in NYC. We were long distance, but made it work. Before then, and especially during that timeframe, we would talk on the phone daily. We could easily talk for a half hour daily. I visited her a lot. I finally got a job in the city at the end of 2021, so we were in the same city starting in 2022. (So at that point now dating around 2.5 years)
*This is a tiny bit important later, but she then started a doctorate program and would be working and doing a part time doctorate roughly September of 2021 (I forget exact dates- it all blurs together)
When we got to being in the same city again, we were like before: Hung out a good amount, went places together. We had regular sex, etc. There wasn't any issue.
Her family is in NYC. I get along very well with her family. She is incredibly close with her sister and mom. I get along with both of them (She talks to her sister 3-4 days a week and if in the same city, it isn't abnormal for the sister to stay over probably a total of 5-6 nights per month). In her occupation, she also works directly with her mom, and they get along great, and would talk regularly. She would also talk to her dad regularly. I got along great with both of them, I felt at ease with them. The mom would welcome me to dinners or into the house. I valued them. No conflict, and the values of connecting with family there for both of us.
Her lease ends at the end of May 2022, so we decide to move in together in June of 2022. Things aren't perfect at first, as expected, but I thought we settled into good roles. I assume that I take care of the apartment and cooking. We share laundry duties, and she takes care of bills/ being the heavy like calling a company when needed. I move in my crazy, but loveable dog. He lives with us after about a month of us living together.
Since she was doing her doctorate and would basically spend 2-3 hours of free time every night doing work when she wasn't at work or running, I always made dinner. (She probably made dinner once every 2 weeks- not a point of contention as I like cooking). I would clean the floors, help with cleaning the kitchen, and only I cleaned the bathrooms. I would get groceries, too. After cooking, she would clean up the kitchen. It seemed like we had a balance and were figuring out roles.
In our relationship, we would tell each other we loved each other regularly, we cuddled a lot, had great affection towards each other. She always called me her "sweet man", she would fall asleep lying her head on my chest literally every night.
I will add as a note: All of her family and friends live here. I moved totally away from my only family- I only had a couple friends here. I basically moved down for her, and sacrificed a ton. (I had to quit my job and find a new one. Lots of things were a struggle for me to come down to be with her)
Also this could be important later: If someone does something to wrong her, she really holds grudges. If you piss her off enough, she could cut people off. This isn't to say she is ever aggressive with me. She has a chill personality, and is easy to talk to. She went to burning man. She isn't aggressive and I never found myself bracing or modifying interactions because of this point. She isn't vindictive.
TL;DR: We got along, had similar interests, similar sex drives, similar values on money, being with friends, education, being active, and we could talk to each other easily.
Beginning of the problems/ backstory for the problems up to now:
Around this time/ within the first month or two, it seems like we are having sex 1-2 times per week versus 3-4+. I don't mind as that is a regular enough amount, and I was thinking we were just used to each other coming up on 3 years and she was busy with her doctorate. Honestly, she probably had the higher sex drive. She would literally initiate just as often or more than me, and she genuinely said she liked having sex that often.
So while we live together, we don't fight at all. (This can be a good and bad thing). We talk regularly, and she calls me daily when coming home from work. I think we are settling into our roles.
Around the end of June or July, we talk about future (in just one conversation, though- not continual talks): We both want to eventually have 2 kids. She wants to stay in the city, but be fully established in her work. We are largely on the same page.
Around July 2022, I start poking around at engagement rings. Around the end of August, she mentions in a side comment to me that she doesn't want a diamond on an engagement ring for ethical reasons and she didn't like the look. I take this as a massive hint that she wants to get engaged, so I start seriously poking around.
During this time, we go on two international trips: Germany end of September, and her mom's home country of Argentina at the end of November.
Things shift during this time. She is in the heart of her doctorate, she is working full time as well. And she had to redo her focus and annotated bibliography/ table of evidence, because her research led her in a different way. (It means that she has to get rid of at least half of what she did over the prior 6 months and now do a lot of it over).
For her doctorate: I am incredibly supportive. I ask her about her classes all the time. She bounces ideas off of me. I had literally read multiple papers of hers to give input and talked through her project and her frustrations consistently. I made a strong point to help her, and she had said multiple times she couldn't have gotten through it without me.
We now barely go out at all. She works half of Saturdays, so Friday nights are about her doing work. Saturdays after work are her doing work. We go to a bar maybe once a month at this time as she is busy. I'm *fine* with it, because I know it is temporary. I know that at the end of summer 2023, she will have time again. Plus I like having chill nights at home, so it isn't this big stretch.
Starting right around December or so, we now are having sex like once every two weeks. So that really drops off.
Now, a series of events happen:
Beginning/middle of December, her sister is fired. So right around the second week of December, she starts staying in our guest room, and basically lives with us 5 days per week.
Then a week or so later, her dad has a fall. (He was 74). He was in the hospital for about a week. Then they took out the feeding tube literally on Christmas Eve, and he dies on the 27th.
During the time he is in the hospital, I ask about his prognosis and how things are looking, thinking she needs to process all of it. We had 1 deep conversation about how she felt, but just one.
So during this time, she and her sister are at the apartment and are very stressed out. I make it a point to be around, and make sure that they don't have to do anything. I cook for them, and I assume they need some space, so I try to just be in the background, but I'm there the entire time.
On Christmas Eve, I am flying to Austin TX to see my brother. She calls me in the airport about the feeding tube.
*I screw up a bit here* Please don't harp on this- this isn't fully what I'm asking about:
When I answer, she tells me that, and I say "Wow that really sucks." and listen to her, in my mind, I think she wants a distraction, and I then talk about mundane things. She calls me back and says that she was really pissed. She says to me that she basically told me her dad died, and that's all I said. (Totally valid). I then tell her I'm sorry she has to go through this, I know that he means a lot, she has been going through a lot, and I wish it didn't happen, etc.
Over the next 2 days, he's still alive without the feeding tube. We talk, I ask her about how she is doing, how the family is doing. I knew I screwed up a bit in my initial reaction, but I made sure to ask how she was feeling and doing in those next couple days. I really care about her, and wanted her to be supported.
After he died, I then changed my flight and flew back to be with her for the funeral and new year. I was there the entire time for calling hours, etc.
Her sister then kept living with us.
Mid-late January comes around. Her sister has been living with us full time for about 5 weeks. I'm getting stressed because it is stressful seeing someone you love grieve. It is stressful having basically a new roommate. (Plus there was an issue with my dog and the sitter over the time I was away/ came back, and some destuction, so he was contacting me for weeks about paying him a ton of money on top of the money I already spent for boarding) And my job isn't amazing.
Her sister's natural hours are sleeping from probably 1:00am-9:00am or so. I have to regularly go to bed around 10:30/11 and wake up around 6:15 am.
After several weeks of literally not knowing if the sister was here temporarily or not (I knew it was going to be ongoing, but I knew no specifics) And feeling like I had to stay up as a host (I feel like you can't go to sleep before a guest). I was stressed and tired from a poor sleep schedule, and I just snapped one single night saying "Could we please turn off the TV before 11 and go to bed?" Or something like that.
I apologize the next day saying I was just stressed out by the uncertainty of not knowing who was going to be in the house on a given day and it was hard to bring up that I'm stressed as what is my stress compared to losing a parent. I feel like we have a good conversation about that and all is well. I say and mean it that I don't mind her sister coming by- I just want warning, and I want to know how long it will be. Her sister stays several times after, I get notified. It seems totally resolved.
Around this time (mid January) My girlfriend tells me she feels bad that we aren't having as much sex. She says she knows I have needs, too. Etc. I tell her I totally understand. (From December 1st-February 1st, we probably have sex no more than 5-6 times versus like I said before 3-4 times per week)
More time goes by, I have my birthday in mid February.
She seems to be getting back to normal. The uncertainty with the doctorate is over- she has gotten through all of the work she had to redo. She has gotten through the mess of dealing with lawyers after the death. She has started clearing out his place. She booked a session with a therapist.
I had purchased an engagement ring before her Dad died/ at the beginning of December. It came around the beginning of January. I had been holding on to it. She said earlier she didn't want a big display, she didn't want anything huge for a proposal.
End of February, since things seem better, I propose. I tie the ring around the next of a stuffed fox animal (which was the same kind of others I had gotten her before/ she loved. She loves foxes. I did it very low key in the apartment. She doesn't react negatively but not positively. But I tell her if she needs more time, I can wait. I'm fine.
The next day she tells me "I can't believe you thought so little of me to do something so casual". I put thought into it, and I thought it would be cute. But swing and a miss, I guess. (I specifically picked this time because I knew her doctorate would only keep ramping up- but I didn't want to wait until October) But: it was 2 months after her dad died. I realized that no time would quite ever be good. But yeah, probably too soon.
A week later: She has been thinking for a week, and she tells me she can't see herself with me in the future, and wants to break up.
Talking about the breakup:
This is totally out of left field for me. We hadn't been fighting. We had been talking and getting along. She initially says to me that she didn't trust me to react in the right way when it mattered most. (I understand, and I disagree, but if those are her feelings, I understand)
She said I freaked out on her sister for no reason and she didn't like that. It wasn't the best in the moment, but I apologized the next day, and it seems understandable to be tense about having someone living with you for an uncertain amount of time for over a month.
We talk a lot after this- really deep conversations. I ask her if she ever felt I wasn't there for her. She said no (as in she did believe I was there for her). She knew I was there for her.
But point 2: She said she realized that there were little things that were bugging her since June or July. Her response was she felt like she was telling me how to go through life. I sometimes get worked up when things aren't going great. I hate incompetence, so dealing with someone else screwing up isn't my best skill. I definitely get mad on those little things. And going back to before: In a relationship, someone usually is the person who lays down the lays down the law. In reflection, I probably asked her to fight some battles for me, and I got comfortable deferring to her in some instances, but she never complained about this to me.
Initially, I thought she was really upset with just how things were going the last month. But she told me she realized she was feeling this for a while, and how I reacted with her dad dying: She felt she had to tell me how to react. And she felt she had to tell me the proposal sucked. Those were the culminating events, but from talking with her, likely this may have happened anyway.
But like I said, she said she had been having issues before then. In talking more- it was those issues she felt she couldn't get past more than just the last events of the last month. The main reason was this: She didn't see herself with me in the future.
In talking, I realized we never really talked. But after that, we had probably 5 deep, 2 hour conversations. We talked about so many things. They were civil.
She had a list of things that bugged her:
- We got a dresser back in JULY. I took my time to build it- probably 3-4 days. And she got really upset that she got home from working on a Saturday, when I wasn't working and it wasn't done. I finished it. Yes- not ideal, I screwed up and should have been faster, but I didn't really know how annoyed she was with it. (But in dumping me, she mentioned something from this long ago)
- Like I said before: She felt she had to fight my battles. I should work on doing things on my own
- She was annoyed that I didn't call back the trainer for my dog sooner. She mentioned it a couple times, but I didn't immediately. Yes, I should have sooner (I was dealing with being annoyed to be forced to train him, but she wouldn't also attend the training)
- She said since I didn't have a connection with people here, and I should work on talking with more friends and maybe getting therapy myself
- She was concerned about my job and me making enough.
After all of this: I realized that:
- We didn't communicate as well as we thought. I told her I would be willing to talk almost daily for an hour if needed. I proved that immediately as we had good conversations
- We didn't establish good boundaries for each other
Even after she broke up with me, we still lived together for 3 weeks while we talked about all of this. We still got along. We were still civil. It's crazy that we could break up and still live together and talk and get along. That's how well we got along. She let me figure out where I was living next (I'm moving out in a week) since this was sudden. I am gracious for that. She didn't immediately kick me out, and I didn't freak out.
What I am confused about/ I think she is throwing it away:
- We have no issues on values
- We enjoy each other
- The issues of communication and boundaries can be talked through and worked on with therapy
- We had a good thing going and we were good partners for each other.
She is emotionally burnt out now. I get it. I can see it. Dealing with working, doing a doctorate, grieving, etc. That's a ton to deal with. So I don't think she had the emotional capacity for me at this moment.
I mentioned the idea of a break, but she said a hard no. I asked if she would be willing to do therapy (she isn't averse since she went for her dad) She said we shouldn't need therapy after 3.5 years. I say that this is a totally normal amount of time to be going to therapy. This isn't early or a red flag. It is normal.
We were dating and all going well, without me knowing anything about something being wrong to her breaking up. I had no chance to try to improve. If living with me had issues and we tried to work it out for 2-3 months and it didn't work: fine. It happens. But we never had any time to work it out. She ended it and doesn't want to work on it.
I feel like in her grief and everything, she is ending this. Sometimes people just push away people when grieving. Sometimes people will get divorced or whatever.
I can wait and do the full break thing: Not talk to her for a couple months as she heals, but she has decided that after this, we're only going to be friends.
We had a good thing going. This was literally our one and only rough patch in 3.5 years. It feels like she is giving up without trying when things got tough. Both the timing, the suddenness of it and the unwillingness to try to work through it are mind-boggling to me. If little things were bothering her, why didn't I know?
Yes: Communication is a 2 way street. I could have been asking her more often how she felt about things. That is on me. But she didn't tell me how she felt about deep things like that. She said to me that she shouldn't have to tell me these things. But my response is the classic guy response of "I can't know what is bugging you if you don't tell me". There is truth on both sides.
She implied how she wanted a hyper independent partner. I assumed we both were sharing life and we both do things for each other, but she expects each other to have all of their things all together and not necessarily rely on the other.
In self reflection: While I tried to cater to her needs, she also ignored my needs of having some attention given to just me on occasion. I felt like I was pushed away at times. When she was too busy to go out, I never got undivided time with her. But she made time here and there to see her mom and sister.
From reading this, I hope that you can realize that I care about her, and while I may have fumbled the delivery at times, I was always there for her, and I showed her my support and affection consistently.
So: My main question:
After reading ALL of that. I hope you see how we had a good connection. We care about each other. We had great things going for years, but just hit one rough patch. I can see myself with her.
I think she doesn't have the brain power and emotional energy to deal with this now. But she was so definitive.
We lived through a pandemic, we went through so many things and got along so well, and it is ending in an instant.
I am not some stubborn guy who says they are always right and refuses to change. I can, will, and have been changing.
It feels like she is just throwing all of this away. I will let her have her break as we discussed. But we are good for each other. It's a shame this is ending like this. We don't have major red flags for each other plus at one point I know she did see herself marrying me. To add: Beyond the comment about a ring, we had many conversations of hypotheticals in 3-5 years or kids, etc. We talked about that regularly enough, and they were positive. She didn't change the subject. She definitely saw herself with me for the long haul.
To reiterate: She said she can't see herself with me.
What the heck do I do now?
2023.03.25 16:55 SmooSat_Official [#SmooSatProTips] Electric Scooter vs. Car: How Much Money Can You Save on Your Daily Commute?
![[#SmooSatProTips] Electric Scooter vs. Car: How Much Money Can You Save on Your Daily Commute?](https://external-preview.redd.it/FJl_rZsO_GlnTxeYlNWxncvOVMTUuTc3O425jmXBkn8.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=296891d8c363068947ebc7860f7de7f2d9e75e94 "[#SmooSatProTips] Electric Scooter vs. Car: How Much Money Can You Save on Your Daily Commute?") | submitted by SmooSat_Official to SmooSat_Official [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/lnnve7ip0opa1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=ca03a05916b632ec9ed72b314152ede1a4bc6ab1 An electric scooter is much less expensive to acquire and maintain than a car. Hence, switching to an e-scooter instead of your ordinary vehicle could be a sage decision to save money if you use your automobile for short journeys like the daily commute. We are all aware of the high cost of purchasing a car, particularly if we are considering a new model. On the other hand, electric scooters are much less expensive and capable of performing the tasks that most cars are relegated to. People using lightweight electric scooters to do their grocery shopping is getting more and more prevalent. As such, for daily commuters, this new wave of transportation is indeed changing the game by saving them hundreds of dollars a month – and even more if you factor in insurance, parking, time, etc. Research published by Georgia Tech, supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF)– one of the leading research universities in the US, reported that It saves time that accounts for approximately $536 per year. But that is only the tip of the iceberg. Let’s dive in. Are Electric Scooters Cheaper than a Car in both Long and Daily Commutes? - Upfront Cost Differences - Gas vs. Charging - Parking - Insurance - Maintenance Costs - Which Electric Scooter is Right for you? Concluding Remarks Are Electric Scooters Cheaper than a Car in both Long-Term and Daily Commutes? It is crucial to consider many situations in which owning a commuter electric scooter is more affordable than owning a car that includes daily commutes. Only a portion of what you pay at the point of purchase is the actual cost of the vehicle. When you own a car, you have additional overhead expenses that don't apply to electric scooters. Let’s take a look at the details, supported by facts and figures. https://preview.redd.it/9ooz4xrq0opa1.png?width=1600&format=png&auto=webp&s=4bab60628aec4c3a7802c858298ccddc6b2c3d3a Image credit: WIRED Upfront Cost Differences If you don't already have one, you can pay between $20,000 and $40,000 to buy a decent car. That costs several magnitudes more than an adult scooter. To obtain an estimate of the budget, you can search on Amazon or check out our entry-level or flagship – the SmooSat MAX. For a deeper dive into how cheaper they are compared to cars with distinctive features, check out our blog covering every model in our lines. Electric scooters are more affordable than cars, costing roughly $200 and $3,000 – a whopping 1/10th of a regular car. They are even cheaper if you want a children’s electric scooter for your child or a loved one. Gas vs. Charging Unlike gas-powered cars, adult electric scooters can travel several miles on a fully charged battery. Your automobile can only travel for a certain number of hours on a full gas tank. An electric scooter battery, however, is not expensive; with a charging cord and a power source, you may quickly have a fully charged battery. Compare this to driving a car, where the cost of gas is $0.15/mile. According to one research from Electric Scooter Guide, an electric scooter with long-range costs around $0.45 to charge fully and comes out to roughly $7.30 annually, significantly less expensive than even filling up one gas tank. So, the cost plummets significantly for a daily and city commute. If you are concerned that a lightweight electric scooter may not have the range for city commuting, revered platform MicroMobility released a breakdown that almost half of the city commutes are under 3 miles making electric scooters an excellent option. https://preview.redd.it/r3d2noxr0opa1.png?width=990&format=png&auto=webp&s=3e90c2e8d52cec6132fe93dec2dc3298407687d8 Source: MicroMobility Moreover, one of the largest tech platforms – WIRED, wrote - “Part of the reason for that is that the cost of fueling an e-scooter is a little more than 1 percent of the cost of fueling even a car that delivers a respectable 28 miles per gallon. Over weeks, months, and years of commuting, those savings add up.” Parking Access to free parking spots is one of the benefits of using an adult scooter. While parking a car, you must pay a specific charge, but with an electric scooter, all you need to do is find a spot on the sidewalk where you can lock it securely. Getting a ticket for improper parking is always possible when driving a car, but it never arises when using an electric scooter. To park your finest lightweight electric scooter safely on the sidewalk during eclectic scooter city communing so you may go to your destination on your way to work, school, or the store, check for parking places there. And just like that – it’s free and safe. Insurance The typical monthly payment for a car is in the hundreds or thousands of dollars per year range. The cost of insurance for your electric scooter will be just a tenth of the price for your automobile if you choose to insure your electric scooter, which Amazon offers as an option. You could pay less monthly insurance premiums if you're a lucky automobile driver and never have to file a claim. Would it be much better not to spend even a small monthly insurance premium? Absolutely! Moreover, electric scooter insurance is optional, especially for children’s electric scooters, and most commuter scooters do not even need it. It is not even a consideration for that demographic resulting in zero cost in this domain. Maintenance Costs There will always be items to purchase, update, and fix, and these automotive additions are expensive for cars. Several regular examinations should be performed, some of which should be daily. Typically, you will need the services of a mechanic, which you must also pay for. You end up shelling out roughly $1,000 for these at the end of the month. For electric scooters, it differs. An electric scooter for city commutes boasts maintenance costs that can never equal the initial purchase price. You can even replace the adult electric commuter scooter from Amazon if you are inside the warranty window. Which Electric Scooter is Right for you? Now that you see that an electric scooter is a viable alternative for daily commutes with significantly less cost and much more savings. You should make an informed decision on which one to get. Not all commuter electric scooters are created equal, and your needs may not fit another person’s, let alone a children’s electric scooter. So, to make this incredible investment to save thousands of dollars in your daily city commutes, check out our buying guide for a comprehensive take on which would be the right choice for you. Moreover, if you want to get a family member or your children such a sustainable electric scooter, our gift guide is a beautiful resource. To see what the most prominent platforms and publications, including Tom’s Guide, The Miami Herald, and The Street, among others, are saying about SmooSat, feel free to check out our media coverage blog for a compelling read. Concluding Remarks According to one research team, a high-capacity battery electric scooter with a 93-mile range costs around $0.45 to charge fully. With typical usage, this comes to roughly $7.30 annually, significantly less expensive than even filling up one gas tank. All of this adds up to an estimate that one dollar of electricity can go between 350 and 900 miles, which is unfathomable to owners of cars. Most of the staff at our company use the SmooSat SA3 Prime adult scooter, purchased for one-twentieth the price of a vehicle. Hence, electric scooters make perfect sense in city commuting. Additionally, there are astronomical combined expenditures of parking, tax, and car insurance as opposed to electric scooters. |
2023.03.25 16:52 PritchettRobert506 [HIRING] 25 Jobs in MA Hiring Now!
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2023.03.25 16:50 AutoModerator [Get] Dan Wardrope – The Pay Per Lead Agency Blueprint 3.0 – Download Instant Delivery
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2023.03.25 16:46 _Eduardo_16 Drug Monkeys - Prologue - [OC]
I was happy that some of you guys enjoyed it! As you’ve wished, here’s another entry to this universe!
Though the previous one I did was nothing more than a concept, I was satisfied with how I’ve come up with this whole story.
I’m not going to spoil the story but let’s just say there’s more stuff in store for you guys!
Oh, and I guess this is officially a series now.
On with the prologue.
…
Drug Monkeys - Prologue -
…
It was Jim’s first experience living in a gardenworld, a world that harbors life and that death is not always present, he remembered how he was on Earth not too long ago, how life back there always seemed bleak but at the same time normal, filled with dangers and yet it still comforts him as a human, it was also his first debut here, he was assigned as a transfer student in a prestigious school, to learn about how space stuff works, more specifically FTL-ships and whatnot.
[Beep!]
His wristwatch snaps him out of his thoughts, bringing him back to reality, where he found himself in a spaceship harbored by the Federation, the interior looked nice and quirky, filled with commodities attuned to his race, water, food, and his specially-designed orange spacesuit designated for him, he finds it strange why he was required by his government to wear the suit the moment he lands because as far as he knows, there weren’t any problems being naked (well, not entirely naked, just with the suit off) in the gardenworld, but he shouldn’t be giving misassumptions on things he doesn’t know, perhaps there were species out there that are afraid of his racial features, or how some species doesn’t like the looks of their kind, either way, it was better to be safe than sorry and cause an international accident.
The suit itself had a more or less modern take and a tinge of futurism on the side, the torso part of the suit looked like it had one of NASA’s Oxygen Purge Systems installed at the front included with a portable life support system at the back, the systems are both upgraded and took less space for convenience, they were designed for controlling the outflow of oxygen coming into his lungs and the carbon dioxide that exited, including the pressure and temperature of that said oxygen and the atmosphere inside, the limbs of the suit looked comfortable to wear, so at least he wasn’t going to worry about ergonomics for a while, plus it had a layer of lightweight metal to protect himself from medium physical trauma, and a layer of an aluminum perforated sheet around the helmet to protect his skull from being mentally harmed by psychic-energy, he was worried at that last bit from the suits’ maker since it implies that there are psychic races out there that could probably possess him or turn his brain into slime.
Aside from the horrifying thought, the helmet or visor had the most futuristic style in it, along with the helmet having a respirator mask connected to the inside, it also had things like a HUD to display the time of day, his current location on the planet he was on, not to mention the solar system he was in too, his temperature, vitals, a facial-hide feature, a small display of the suits integrity system and the good ol’ compass system.
Although he doesn’t know the exact reason why he had to wear the suit, it made sense why he had to wear it since incidents and crimes are prone to happen, and so are injuries if you’ve found yourself to be caught up in one, plus identity theft is much more rampant since their entry in the galaxy, thank god for the facial-hide feature.
Talking about crimes and incidents, he did hear that there were some drug cartels out there, but that was next to impossible to meet them or encountering them since the Federation he was in, The Barlog Federation, was high-alert on any drugs being pushed around or sold by black market sellers, so he’s not worried at the very least, plus he was in a gardenworld so the chances are very slim, but never zero.
“Jim! Wear that suit ‘cause we’re about to land in just about a few minutes, you’ll see our destination outside the window.” The ship’s assistant said at the cabin’s doorway of the ship, revealing himself to be a man in his forties wearing the same suit that Jim saw earlier, the systems glowing a faint hue of blue as he worked the courage to stand and balance himself in the ship, using his hands to grab the poles in the ship’s loading bay, taking careful note of the supplies beside him as he helped himself to walk.
“Yeah, I’ll change in just a sec, Mark.” While walking, he took what the assistant said in mind and briefly looked out of the windows of the spaceship, seeing the gardenworld of Bartos in view, the planet itself looked similar to Earth, having a similar atmosphere and more or less the same gravity as his homeworld has, after taking in the view for a few seconds, he opted himself to move forward and take off the suit hanging on the wall, he goes in the bathroom of the ship, taking a good five minutes to change himself to be wearing the suit with his civilian clothes on from the inside, Jim tested his physical amenity in the suit, moving his limbs, twisting them, clenching his fists and moving his head, it was a perfect fit for a seven-foot man like him.
“Goddamn do you look like a giant in that thing, I’m not surprised if the world’s natives are scared shitless of you, dude.” He turned around to see the assistant from before, who he dwarfed in comparison, “Did you have a growth spurt or something? I bet you’re the top when it comes to basketball.” The smug assistant of the captain said to him, visibly seeing his smirk inside the visor of his suit.
“Ha, I guess you could say that, my family wanted me to join the golden state warriors but I don’t wanna, basketball’s not suited for me, I don’t like it,” Jim said to the assistant, walking past him and getting through the cargo bay of the spaceship to prepare himself for atmospheric entry, the assistant followed suit and picked a seat across from Jim to chat a little while longer until the announcement system in the ship blared for everyone’s attention, voicing a personal message from the captain himself.
[Hello everyone this is your captain speaking of the UNSF Jackal, we’re getting close to our destination of the gardenworld Bartos, please prepare your suits and seats for atmospheric entry, I repeat, please prepare your suits and seats for atmospheric entry, I will give you five minutes to prepare, until then, have a safe voyage!]
After the captain’s message was over, the two felt the ship halt in space and used the remaining five minutes for their conversation as they were already in their seats prior to the announcement, “You don’t like basketball?” Mark said to Jim, turning his wrist for the digital pad installed on the suit to tell the time, “Yeah, I flat out don’t like it, not because of the audience or the competition in general, just that my legs hurt like hell after doing rounds of basketball.” Mark could relate to that since he trained in physical fitness exams when entering the marine corps, yet Jim here could throw his men into outer space if he’d like to after taking the exams himself, “And how the heck did you get so tall in the first place? It’s quite rare to see a seven-foot guy in person.” Mark questioned, fascinated at Jim’s height as he lightly blushed at the indirect praise of his abnormal physical form, fortunately, his facial-hide feature hid that blush of his so Mark wouldn’t know he was embarrassed.
“Well, my father was quite the man himself, he was shorter than me, five-foot-six, as for my mother, well, she was two inches below him, maybe it was genetic luck or something? I’m not sure, but they’re very proud when they discover I’m as tall as a six-year-old boy when I was a year old at that time.” Jim gave Mark a short history of his parents, “Thank god it was during that time when everyone was at a great age where technology can solve almost all of our problems, I said almost because cancer is still a bitch in twenty-fifty-seven.” Jim said, wondering how that cursed disease still survives every time, “Hey, at least most diseases and whatnot are useless thanks to that, but at the very least, you are both stupidly lucky and at the right time to be born, ‘cause not only did you survive your challenge being a seven-foot guy, you also had a one in a lifetime chance to be in the spacefaring age, you’re so fucking fortunate man.” Mark said in an envious tone of Jim’s stupid luck, as Jim himself scratch the back of his head in light of Mark’s words.
“Well, what can I say? I’m glad and thankful my parents didn’t take abortions during that time, from what I heard, things are getting a little hectic thirty-five years ago, you know, the Great Recession, climate change, and other depressing stuff.” Jim said, feeling a little sad for what his parents had to go through during that time, “Yeah, some old peeps thought it’d be a great idea to do some horrendous law changes back then, like making children work, but back then competent leaders and sensible people were able to fight back, and all I can do is nothing but praise them for what they did during that time.” Before they could get further into their conversation, they felt the ship change speed, feeling the cargo’s floor becoming warm and the shaking of the ship’s body, after a few seconds of the crewmen, including Jim and Mark, bracing themselves for the hot entry, the warmth in the floor dissipated and the shaking stopped, then the speakers chimed again, the captains’ voice overtaking the speakers.
[Alright, people! We’ve landed on Bartos, please follow the orders of your superiors and proceed with extra caution, and remember to double-check if there are any, and I mean ANY orifices on your suit, if there are, please report to the ship’s technician suitmaker for repairs, until then, next planetary departure is in two weeks.]
Jim felt a little odd when the captain emphasized the suits, he understands the cost and danger, but what a little hole in your suit could do? ‘Maybe I should stop thinking about that, maybe they don’t want some alien rat crawling into those holes, ew…’ While others were unbuckling their seatbelts, including his seatbelts, he saw Mark standing in front of him when he was finished unbuckling, “I bet you’re not familiar with the ship, huh?” Mark sneered, prideful at his speed of unbuckling his seatbelt, “Ugh, just help me out with this, please?” Jim said, having trouble pressing which buttons to press.
While Mark helped him unbuckle his seatbelt around his giant body, the captain himself appeared in the cargo bay while the crewmen started to move the boxes out of the ship’s landing bay, approaching Jim and Mark who are still stuck on their seatbelt problem.
“Did you not press the green button? That’s the one that releases you, right?” Jim said, “I did! It’s not working, I uh-“ Mark said, frantically looking at the three colored buttons in front of him, “What seems to be the problem, boys?” The captain said, surprising Jim and Mark, “U-Uh! Hello, Captain Graham, sir!” Mark said in a strict posture and did a swift salute near his suit’s visor to respect the man in front of him.
“I bet you’re not familiar with the ship, huh?” The captain said in a joking tone, ironically using Mark’s line against him, “A-Ah, father-I mean, captain!” Jim said, cutting himself off to not accidentally reveal that the captain is his dad and to not make everything more awkward than it has to be.
“S-Sir! We’re uh… Having trouble with the seatbelts, we don’t know how to unbuckle them.”
As they said that they heard the sound of the spaceships’ engines dying out filling the cargo bay, reminding the two that they’d been stuck on the seatbelt problem for at least a minute now, which made them have second-hand embarrassment, Captain Graham gives out a short hearty laugh.
“I knew I should’ve told the engineers to set up some posters for instructions, I bet some fools have already shitted themselves.” The Captain said, going over to Jimmy’s belt and pressing the red, yellow, and green buttons in order, and with a click, the belt comes open, letting go of Jim and giving him back his freedom of movement.
“Huh, just like a traffic light…” Mark murmured to himself, feeling a bit stupid as Jim gets up from his seat, stretching and twisting his limbs to pop some joints as he lets out a sigh of pleasure, “Thanks, Captain.” He said to the man, dwarfing him in size, but the man didn’t react, only that he nods in reply, “You’re welcome, Jimmy boy.” The Captain returns his attention to Mark, the soldier assistant for the captain on the UNSF “Jackal” spaceship, gave him something, Mark glances at the things, and discovers it is a bunch of officer cards, identification papers, as well as a list of things on paper, and money to buy said things on paper for the soldiers.
“Go do some paperwork for me and buy some stuff for the soldiers, mainly ammunition materials and rations, report to me once you’re done.” The Captain gives his orders to Mark, he replied with a salute and a nod and went off the spaceship via the cargo bay doors, once he’s gone, Graham focuses his attention back on Jim, who is patiently staring at the old man for something.
“So… We’re finally on Bartos, where you’re going to learn a lot of spacey stuff,” Graham said, dropping his authoritative demeanor and switching it to a casual one, “I’ve never expected being the UNSF Jackal, and it was used to bring a father’s son to a space college in an artificial gardenworld, haha.” Jim lightly chuckled at the humor that came with his sentence, after all, it was not every day that a military vessel is used for nothing but transportation for a civilian like Jim, at least for this occasion, the excuse for resupply made it a perfect opportunity for Jim to arrive to his college’s dormitory on time.
“Hahaha, that I get. But you should get going now, all of the things required for education like books and holographic recordings are already there in your assigned dormitory for your convenience, should get you warmed up for the semester.” Graham said, patting Jim as he snapped his fingers, as a floating spherical bot with a cute holographic expression for a face appeared next to Graham, “Please lead citizen-class ‘Jim’ to his designated self-drivable car.” The bot’s eyes blinked then said in a robotic feminine tone, “Yes, sir Graham! Calculating route… Please, sir Jim! Follow me!” The bot said, using its gravitational rings to float itself out of the ship’s cargo bay as Jim said his last goodbye to his father, “I guess I’ll see you in a couple of months, dad.” Jim said, walking ahead of his father as he did a short wave, “Yep, do your best! You better give me high grades in all subjects, alright!” His father exclaimed, making Jim feel second-hand embarrassment yet again as he felt the awkward stares from his father’s crewman, who didn’t know he was the son of the Captain, “Oh, and don’t forget your number is 129, alright?!” He waved his hands, not wanting to be embarrassed any further.
“Are you ready, sir Jim?” The bot said, “Yes, please…” Jim said, his face lightly red flushed as he hurriedly get out of the landing pad and followed the bot to the road ahead, where a hovering car was waiting for them, the moment Jim got near it the doors automatically opened as another AI voice made itself known in the cabin, “Hello, are you recipient number #129?” The driver AI said, making itself visible in the cabin’s window visor, its pixel eyes focused on Jim.
‘That must be me, I guess?’ He remembered what his father said earlier and replied, “Yep, that’s me.” The driver AI showed a loading screen for a second then a camera appeared out of the side mirror, scanning his face, shortly after a checkmark appeared, “Recipient confirmed! Please assign yourself to the driver’s passenger seat! Sir Jim!” Jim waved at the bot that accompanied him before it shortly brings itself back to the UNSF Jackal ship, once the doors were closed, the car started to hover forward and bring Jim to his destination.
While the journey to his college dormitory remained silent, Jim was fascinated at the sight of alien structures so tall that they blinked the sun in and out of existence, not only that, there were also cars in sky highways, crossing paths with the skyscrapers as they narrowly avoided through the tight spaces of the buildings, at this point, Jim wondered if he and their parents are lucky to be born in the right time to explore the galaxy, he felt bad for the humans three and a half decades ago, as they were still in their modern age, unable and never to experience this sight ever again, only to be a vivid dream in their minds.
“We’re at our destination, sir Jim! Thank you for choosing Braekteel Taxi company for transportation, may we seek your next drive!” He failed to realize that he was already at the entrance to his dormitory, going out of the hover taxi, Jim had to readjust his body as he stand in front of the gigantic building that is the National University Bartos, or the NUB for short, the taxi left the place as Jim walked forward to enter through the entrance.
Inside was something Jim expected, the halls were futuristic yet still retained that rustic style, he was in the lounge of the building, and all the long chairs are fluffy in a way, including the table, he goes to the reception, and there was an alien that resembled a very, very fat orange cat, something near to Garfield except he was a chick that uses a filer to keep her claws up to shape, ‘A Kerkitril?’ Jim thought, taking in the sight of the orange-furred Kerkitril with smudges of light brown across her fur.
The alien spoke in a strange language that he couldn’t understand after she realizes he was staring at him, the translator near his ear lobe, which he didn’t even notice, crackled to life, with a robotic-like voice that alerted him of the translator’s condition, [Alien language detected, attempting to decode to human language…] The cat lady stared at him strangely as Jim had to awkwardly refer to the translator near his ears inside his helmet to work, [Language decoded! Which language do you like to set it to?] Jim had forgotten that his race had hundreds of languages, so he chose the most basic one there is, “English.” Instantly, the voice in his translator replied, [Confirmed! Language translated is set to “ENGLISH”, are you sure you want to set this as your preferred translated language?] “Yes…” Jim annoyingly replied, wanting to get this awkward moment to be over with, [Now you can speak with ease! Please try out the translator to the speaker.] After hearing that, Jim coughed to rid away the awkwardness and to garner the Kerkitril’s attention.
“Hello? Can you understand me?” Jim said as his words reached the Kerkitril’s feline ears in the reception, “Uh, yes. I was starting to wonder whether or not you’re going to speak or else I’ll call in the building’s guards to kick your odd race out.” She said as the translator worked its charm, relaying her words into something tangible his mind can understand.
“I’m here for my dormitory? Uh, my name’s Jim, Jim Graham is my full name.” The Kerkitril’s tail lightly pressed the strangely-shaped triangular button in front of her on the desk, then a holographic panel appears in front of her, she sets down her file and swipes through the lists of names registered in the University, and her expression turns to surprise when she saw Jim’s profile, “Uh, is this your name?” She turned the panel with her paws, “Yep, that’s me.” He replied, avoiding his stupid picture settled above his name, which was him being in an unclean state, his hair was rowdy, and his eyes had bags under them, in short, he was ashamed this was supposed to be his ID soon in the future.
“Your room’s number twelve, on hallway sixth, I assume you’re aware that you have a roommate, right?” This comes as a surprise to Jim as he never recalled having a roommate with him on the papers, er, well, more accurately the University’s dormitory manager, “Uh… No?” The Kerkitril blankly stared at him then sighed, “I’ll alert her of your arrival, in the meantime, you should let Mr. Guide over there help you accompany you to your room.” She referred to the bot, which looked more like a floor cleaner than a guide, to Jim, “Thank you miss, uh…” He trailed off, trying to find any context clues to her name, “It’s nothing, hun. Just call me Miss Erilm.” The fat Kerkitril said.
“Alright, Miss Erilm. Thanks for the help!” After following the futuristic cleaner roomba, Jim finds himself in front of his dormitory room’s metal door, “Twelve at hallway sixth, right?” He glanced at the number sign in the hallway to see if it was number six, “Okay, so I am in hallway sixth, I hope this one is correct…” Jim braced himself, preparing mentally for the person on the inside to greet him as he made sure his posture was professional, he was about to knock when the door silently opened up with a slide, revealing a female Kerkitril, he didn’t realize this as he proceeds to tap his knuckles forward, tapping the Kerkitril’s furry head by accident.
“Ow! What the…?” The Kerkitril said, Jim realized his mistake as he tries to apologize for his misbehavior, “Ah, I’m sorry! Did I hit you too hard? I-I didn’t realize the door was already open.” Jim started to fidget nervously, fearing that the may get kicked out on the very first day in this dormitory, “O-Oh! Are you the new roommate?” The female Kerkitril said as Jim took in her racial features, her fur is a bright brown color, full of black streaks on her entire body, aside from that, she was two and a half feet smaller than her, how he hit her head is a mystery.
“Uhm, yes! My name is Jim! Jim Graham, nice to meet you!” Jim says in an enthusiastic yet nervous filled tone, offering his gloved hands to shake her paws for a proper introduction, the Kerkitril glanced at his furless gloves and proceeds to shake hands with Jim, “Uh, my name’s Amirlyn, I guess you’re a… What kind of race are you?” She said, unable to see through his helmet’s facial-hide feature, “I’m a human! You know, the new race like six months ago?” He briefly disabled the feature to confirm his claim, which caught her off-guard.
“What? A human? Damn, I never thought I’d see your kind in this part of space, I thought y’all secluded yourself in your systems?” Amirlyn said, raising assumptions about his kind as Jim had to disperse her beliefs of his race, “Yeah, about that… We just wanted to prepare ourselves for more expanses, you know, like this suit to not scare the other races?” Jim said, which shattered Amirlyn ’s thoughts about the humans, “I guess that makes sense, so, uh…” An awkward silence enters the conversation as she tries to gather up more questions, Jim was the first to break the silence as he wanted to see what the room looked like in his eyes, “Can I get inside?” Jim requested, which made Amirlyn realize she was being outright rude to the human.
“S-Sorry! Let’s get inside.” Amirlyn stepped to the side for the bulky human to enter, his hair barely touches the door’s topside by a hair’s length as he entered his dormitory with his cat roommate, he finds it expansive, which is great for him since he’s seven foot tall.
The rooms themselves were outfitted to their specified roles, the kitchen has sets of knives, varying plates, silverware, a microwave, and a fridge.
The living room has a white-colored rug, with two soft sofas, a table on top of the rug, a TV hanging on the wall, well, more like levitating, below the TV were some drawers, beside the drawers are a pair of two pot plants harboring alien fauna, perhaps fauna familiar to Amirlyn?
The bedroom was the same, two beds, with one specifically elongated for him, there’s also a pair of computer stations for the two of them as well, same with drawers and desks, there’s also a balcony connected to the bedroom, which showed the city outside and the beautifulness of it all, then there’s the bathroom, you know, for convenience, and that’s pretty much it.
There’s also a strangely-designed automatic laundry machine settled near his bed, he knows it’s intended for the suit he was wearing since it’ll smell bad after a couple of hours, but he’ll have to do that later when he’s done setting up for today and getting familiarized with the university’s layout.
And that’s pretty much about it, Amirlyn did mention that there’s a storage area in the living room with a strange package she received yesterday, Jim decided to check it out, wondering if it was the educational materials his father bought, and his assumption was right.
“What? How is that in there?” Amirlyn inquired, finding it strange why a bunch of books, which mind you were outdated in this time of age, and a couple of holographic recordings were settled in the storage area of their room, “These are the educational materials that father bought, some of these are to help me to get me up to speed, seems like I’ll have to spend a lot of time studying and doing research for tomorrow.” Jim said, putting the plastic-covered book back in the box and carrying it back to his room.
“Hah, you should’ve told me about that! I was worried when some delivery guy yesterday told me to sign for some package that I didn’t even order, I thought I was letting someone’s stuff into my dorm, and this is my very first year in this university to add on top of that!” Amirlyn said, voicing out her concerns as Jim glanced over his shoulders at her, “Well, I should be thankful to you for doing that, or else I’ll have to opt for an empty dorm room, which is lonely now that I think about it.” He said to her as he lightly plops down the box near his bed.
“I-I guess you’re welcome?” Jim chuckled at her confusion, “Well, let’s get acquainted with each other in our entire freshman year, you ” He said, standing up and hunching over herself to get in close and personal with the Kerkitril, shaking her hands.
“Y-Yeah, let’s get acquainted…” She said, adding her force to the shake for confirmation.
.
.
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Whew, that’s the prologue finished!
I decided to flesh out some of the characters in the oneshot, I hope this is enough to make a background of what their past and their lives are, mainly Jim.
As for the ‘accident’ that will happen later on, it’ll arrive eventually, you’ll just have to be patient :)
Anyway, this is my first entry to the new series I’m currently working on Drug Monkeys, and it's thanks to some people demanding for MOAR chapters, seeing your comments filled me with happiness, and I thank you for that.
I hope you enjoyed today’s entry! Until then, I’ll see you in another post!
submitted by _Eduardo_16 to HFY [link] [comments]
Though the previous one I did was nothing more than a concept, I was satisfied with how I’ve come up with this whole story.
I’m not going to spoil the story but let’s just say there’s more stuff in store for you guys!
Oh, and I guess this is officially a series now.
On with the prologue.
…
Drug Monkeys - Prologue -
…
It was Jim’s first experience living in a gardenworld, a world that harbors life and that death is not always present, he remembered how he was on Earth not too long ago, how life back there always seemed bleak but at the same time normal, filled with dangers and yet it still comforts him as a human, it was also his first debut here, he was assigned as a transfer student in a prestigious school, to learn about how space stuff works, more specifically FTL-ships and whatnot.
[Beep!]
His wristwatch snaps him out of his thoughts, bringing him back to reality, where he found himself in a spaceship harbored by the Federation, the interior looked nice and quirky, filled with commodities attuned to his race, water, food, and his specially-designed orange spacesuit designated for him, he finds it strange why he was required by his government to wear the suit the moment he lands because as far as he knows, there weren’t any problems being naked (well, not entirely naked, just with the suit off) in the gardenworld, but he shouldn’t be giving misassumptions on things he doesn’t know, perhaps there were species out there that are afraid of his racial features, or how some species doesn’t like the looks of their kind, either way, it was better to be safe than sorry and cause an international accident.
The suit itself had a more or less modern take and a tinge of futurism on the side, the torso part of the suit looked like it had one of NASA’s Oxygen Purge Systems installed at the front included with a portable life support system at the back, the systems are both upgraded and took less space for convenience, they were designed for controlling the outflow of oxygen coming into his lungs and the carbon dioxide that exited, including the pressure and temperature of that said oxygen and the atmosphere inside, the limbs of the suit looked comfortable to wear, so at least he wasn’t going to worry about ergonomics for a while, plus it had a layer of lightweight metal to protect himself from medium physical trauma, and a layer of an aluminum perforated sheet around the helmet to protect his skull from being mentally harmed by psychic-energy, he was worried at that last bit from the suits’ maker since it implies that there are psychic races out there that could probably possess him or turn his brain into slime.
Aside from the horrifying thought, the helmet or visor had the most futuristic style in it, along with the helmet having a respirator mask connected to the inside, it also had things like a HUD to display the time of day, his current location on the planet he was on, not to mention the solar system he was in too, his temperature, vitals, a facial-hide feature, a small display of the suits integrity system and the good ol’ compass system.
Although he doesn’t know the exact reason why he had to wear the suit, it made sense why he had to wear it since incidents and crimes are prone to happen, and so are injuries if you’ve found yourself to be caught up in one, plus identity theft is much more rampant since their entry in the galaxy, thank god for the facial-hide feature.
Talking about crimes and incidents, he did hear that there were some drug cartels out there, but that was next to impossible to meet them or encountering them since the Federation he was in, The Barlog Federation, was high-alert on any drugs being pushed around or sold by black market sellers, so he’s not worried at the very least, plus he was in a gardenworld so the chances are very slim, but never zero.
“Jim! Wear that suit ‘cause we’re about to land in just about a few minutes, you’ll see our destination outside the window.” The ship’s assistant said at the cabin’s doorway of the ship, revealing himself to be a man in his forties wearing the same suit that Jim saw earlier, the systems glowing a faint hue of blue as he worked the courage to stand and balance himself in the ship, using his hands to grab the poles in the ship’s loading bay, taking careful note of the supplies beside him as he helped himself to walk.
“Yeah, I’ll change in just a sec, Mark.” While walking, he took what the assistant said in mind and briefly looked out of the windows of the spaceship, seeing the gardenworld of Bartos in view, the planet itself looked similar to Earth, having a similar atmosphere and more or less the same gravity as his homeworld has, after taking in the view for a few seconds, he opted himself to move forward and take off the suit hanging on the wall, he goes in the bathroom of the ship, taking a good five minutes to change himself to be wearing the suit with his civilian clothes on from the inside, Jim tested his physical amenity in the suit, moving his limbs, twisting them, clenching his fists and moving his head, it was a perfect fit for a seven-foot man like him.
“Goddamn do you look like a giant in that thing, I’m not surprised if the world’s natives are scared shitless of you, dude.” He turned around to see the assistant from before, who he dwarfed in comparison, “Did you have a growth spurt or something? I bet you’re the top when it comes to basketball.” The smug assistant of the captain said to him, visibly seeing his smirk inside the visor of his suit.
“Ha, I guess you could say that, my family wanted me to join the golden state warriors but I don’t wanna, basketball’s not suited for me, I don’t like it,” Jim said to the assistant, walking past him and getting through the cargo bay of the spaceship to prepare himself for atmospheric entry, the assistant followed suit and picked a seat across from Jim to chat a little while longer until the announcement system in the ship blared for everyone’s attention, voicing a personal message from the captain himself.
[Hello everyone this is your captain speaking of the UNSF Jackal, we’re getting close to our destination of the gardenworld Bartos, please prepare your suits and seats for atmospheric entry, I repeat, please prepare your suits and seats for atmospheric entry, I will give you five minutes to prepare, until then, have a safe voyage!]
After the captain’s message was over, the two felt the ship halt in space and used the remaining five minutes for their conversation as they were already in their seats prior to the announcement, “You don’t like basketball?” Mark said to Jim, turning his wrist for the digital pad installed on the suit to tell the time, “Yeah, I flat out don’t like it, not because of the audience or the competition in general, just that my legs hurt like hell after doing rounds of basketball.” Mark could relate to that since he trained in physical fitness exams when entering the marine corps, yet Jim here could throw his men into outer space if he’d like to after taking the exams himself, “And how the heck did you get so tall in the first place? It’s quite rare to see a seven-foot guy in person.” Mark questioned, fascinated at Jim’s height as he lightly blushed at the indirect praise of his abnormal physical form, fortunately, his facial-hide feature hid that blush of his so Mark wouldn’t know he was embarrassed.
“Well, my father was quite the man himself, he was shorter than me, five-foot-six, as for my mother, well, she was two inches below him, maybe it was genetic luck or something? I’m not sure, but they’re very proud when they discover I’m as tall as a six-year-old boy when I was a year old at that time.” Jim gave Mark a short history of his parents, “Thank god it was during that time when everyone was at a great age where technology can solve almost all of our problems, I said almost because cancer is still a bitch in twenty-fifty-seven.” Jim said, wondering how that cursed disease still survives every time, “Hey, at least most diseases and whatnot are useless thanks to that, but at the very least, you are both stupidly lucky and at the right time to be born, ‘cause not only did you survive your challenge being a seven-foot guy, you also had a one in a lifetime chance to be in the spacefaring age, you’re so fucking fortunate man.” Mark said in an envious tone of Jim’s stupid luck, as Jim himself scratch the back of his head in light of Mark’s words.
“Well, what can I say? I’m glad and thankful my parents didn’t take abortions during that time, from what I heard, things are getting a little hectic thirty-five years ago, you know, the Great Recession, climate change, and other depressing stuff.” Jim said, feeling a little sad for what his parents had to go through during that time, “Yeah, some old peeps thought it’d be a great idea to do some horrendous law changes back then, like making children work, but back then competent leaders and sensible people were able to fight back, and all I can do is nothing but praise them for what they did during that time.” Before they could get further into their conversation, they felt the ship change speed, feeling the cargo’s floor becoming warm and the shaking of the ship’s body, after a few seconds of the crewmen, including Jim and Mark, bracing themselves for the hot entry, the warmth in the floor dissipated and the shaking stopped, then the speakers chimed again, the captains’ voice overtaking the speakers.
[Alright, people! We’ve landed on Bartos, please follow the orders of your superiors and proceed with extra caution, and remember to double-check if there are any, and I mean ANY orifices on your suit, if there are, please report to the ship’s technician suitmaker for repairs, until then, next planetary departure is in two weeks.]
Jim felt a little odd when the captain emphasized the suits, he understands the cost and danger, but what a little hole in your suit could do? ‘Maybe I should stop thinking about that, maybe they don’t want some alien rat crawling into those holes, ew…’ While others were unbuckling their seatbelts, including his seatbelts, he saw Mark standing in front of him when he was finished unbuckling, “I bet you’re not familiar with the ship, huh?” Mark sneered, prideful at his speed of unbuckling his seatbelt, “Ugh, just help me out with this, please?” Jim said, having trouble pressing which buttons to press.
While Mark helped him unbuckle his seatbelt around his giant body, the captain himself appeared in the cargo bay while the crewmen started to move the boxes out of the ship’s landing bay, approaching Jim and Mark who are still stuck on their seatbelt problem.
“Did you not press the green button? That’s the one that releases you, right?” Jim said, “I did! It’s not working, I uh-“ Mark said, frantically looking at the three colored buttons in front of him, “What seems to be the problem, boys?” The captain said, surprising Jim and Mark, “U-Uh! Hello, Captain Graham, sir!” Mark said in a strict posture and did a swift salute near his suit’s visor to respect the man in front of him.
“I bet you’re not familiar with the ship, huh?” The captain said in a joking tone, ironically using Mark’s line against him, “A-Ah, father-I mean, captain!” Jim said, cutting himself off to not accidentally reveal that the captain is his dad and to not make everything more awkward than it has to be.
“S-Sir! We’re uh… Having trouble with the seatbelts, we don’t know how to unbuckle them.”
As they said that they heard the sound of the spaceships’ engines dying out filling the cargo bay, reminding the two that they’d been stuck on the seatbelt problem for at least a minute now, which made them have second-hand embarrassment, Captain Graham gives out a short hearty laugh.
“I knew I should’ve told the engineers to set up some posters for instructions, I bet some fools have already shitted themselves.” The Captain said, going over to Jimmy’s belt and pressing the red, yellow, and green buttons in order, and with a click, the belt comes open, letting go of Jim and giving him back his freedom of movement.
“Huh, just like a traffic light…” Mark murmured to himself, feeling a bit stupid as Jim gets up from his seat, stretching and twisting his limbs to pop some joints as he lets out a sigh of pleasure, “Thanks, Captain.” He said to the man, dwarfing him in size, but the man didn’t react, only that he nods in reply, “You’re welcome, Jimmy boy.” The Captain returns his attention to Mark, the soldier assistant for the captain on the UNSF “Jackal” spaceship, gave him something, Mark glances at the things, and discovers it is a bunch of officer cards, identification papers, as well as a list of things on paper, and money to buy said things on paper for the soldiers.
“Go do some paperwork for me and buy some stuff for the soldiers, mainly ammunition materials and rations, report to me once you’re done.” The Captain gives his orders to Mark, he replied with a salute and a nod and went off the spaceship via the cargo bay doors, once he’s gone, Graham focuses his attention back on Jim, who is patiently staring at the old man for something.
“So… We’re finally on Bartos, where you’re going to learn a lot of spacey stuff,” Graham said, dropping his authoritative demeanor and switching it to a casual one, “I’ve never expected being the UNSF Jackal, and it was used to bring a father’s son to a space college in an artificial gardenworld, haha.” Jim lightly chuckled at the humor that came with his sentence, after all, it was not every day that a military vessel is used for nothing but transportation for a civilian like Jim, at least for this occasion, the excuse for resupply made it a perfect opportunity for Jim to arrive to his college’s dormitory on time.
“Hahaha, that I get. But you should get going now, all of the things required for education like books and holographic recordings are already there in your assigned dormitory for your convenience, should get you warmed up for the semester.” Graham said, patting Jim as he snapped his fingers, as a floating spherical bot with a cute holographic expression for a face appeared next to Graham, “Please lead citizen-class ‘Jim’ to his designated self-drivable car.” The bot’s eyes blinked then said in a robotic feminine tone, “Yes, sir Graham! Calculating route… Please, sir Jim! Follow me!” The bot said, using its gravitational rings to float itself out of the ship’s cargo bay as Jim said his last goodbye to his father, “I guess I’ll see you in a couple of months, dad.” Jim said, walking ahead of his father as he did a short wave, “Yep, do your best! You better give me high grades in all subjects, alright!” His father exclaimed, making Jim feel second-hand embarrassment yet again as he felt the awkward stares from his father’s crewman, who didn’t know he was the son of the Captain, “Oh, and don’t forget your number is 129, alright?!” He waved his hands, not wanting to be embarrassed any further.
“Are you ready, sir Jim?” The bot said, “Yes, please…” Jim said, his face lightly red flushed as he hurriedly get out of the landing pad and followed the bot to the road ahead, where a hovering car was waiting for them, the moment Jim got near it the doors automatically opened as another AI voice made itself known in the cabin, “Hello, are you recipient number #129?” The driver AI said, making itself visible in the cabin’s window visor, its pixel eyes focused on Jim.
‘That must be me, I guess?’ He remembered what his father said earlier and replied, “Yep, that’s me.” The driver AI showed a loading screen for a second then a camera appeared out of the side mirror, scanning his face, shortly after a checkmark appeared, “Recipient confirmed! Please assign yourself to the driver’s passenger seat! Sir Jim!” Jim waved at the bot that accompanied him before it shortly brings itself back to the UNSF Jackal ship, once the doors were closed, the car started to hover forward and bring Jim to his destination.
While the journey to his college dormitory remained silent, Jim was fascinated at the sight of alien structures so tall that they blinked the sun in and out of existence, not only that, there were also cars in sky highways, crossing paths with the skyscrapers as they narrowly avoided through the tight spaces of the buildings, at this point, Jim wondered if he and their parents are lucky to be born in the right time to explore the galaxy, he felt bad for the humans three and a half decades ago, as they were still in their modern age, unable and never to experience this sight ever again, only to be a vivid dream in their minds.
“We’re at our destination, sir Jim! Thank you for choosing Braekteel Taxi company for transportation, may we seek your next drive!” He failed to realize that he was already at the entrance to his dormitory, going out of the hover taxi, Jim had to readjust his body as he stand in front of the gigantic building that is the National University Bartos, or the NUB for short, the taxi left the place as Jim walked forward to enter through the entrance.
Inside was something Jim expected, the halls were futuristic yet still retained that rustic style, he was in the lounge of the building, and all the long chairs are fluffy in a way, including the table, he goes to the reception, and there was an alien that resembled a very, very fat orange cat, something near to Garfield except he was a chick that uses a filer to keep her claws up to shape, ‘A Kerkitril?’ Jim thought, taking in the sight of the orange-furred Kerkitril with smudges of light brown across her fur.
The alien spoke in a strange language that he couldn’t understand after she realizes he was staring at him, the translator near his ear lobe, which he didn’t even notice, crackled to life, with a robotic-like voice that alerted him of the translator’s condition, [Alien language detected, attempting to decode to human language…] The cat lady stared at him strangely as Jim had to awkwardly refer to the translator near his ears inside his helmet to work, [Language decoded! Which language do you like to set it to?] Jim had forgotten that his race had hundreds of languages, so he chose the most basic one there is, “English.” Instantly, the voice in his translator replied, [Confirmed! Language translated is set to “ENGLISH”, are you sure you want to set this as your preferred translated language?] “Yes…” Jim annoyingly replied, wanting to get this awkward moment to be over with, [Now you can speak with ease! Please try out the translator to the speaker.] After hearing that, Jim coughed to rid away the awkwardness and to garner the Kerkitril’s attention.
“Hello? Can you understand me?” Jim said as his words reached the Kerkitril’s feline ears in the reception, “Uh, yes. I was starting to wonder whether or not you’re going to speak or else I’ll call in the building’s guards to kick your odd race out.” She said as the translator worked its charm, relaying her words into something tangible his mind can understand.
“I’m here for my dormitory? Uh, my name’s Jim, Jim Graham is my full name.” The Kerkitril’s tail lightly pressed the strangely-shaped triangular button in front of her on the desk, then a holographic panel appears in front of her, she sets down her file and swipes through the lists of names registered in the University, and her expression turns to surprise when she saw Jim’s profile, “Uh, is this your name?” She turned the panel with her paws, “Yep, that’s me.” He replied, avoiding his stupid picture settled above his name, which was him being in an unclean state, his hair was rowdy, and his eyes had bags under them, in short, he was ashamed this was supposed to be his ID soon in the future.
“Your room’s number twelve, on hallway sixth, I assume you’re aware that you have a roommate, right?” This comes as a surprise to Jim as he never recalled having a roommate with him on the papers, er, well, more accurately the University’s dormitory manager, “Uh… No?” The Kerkitril blankly stared at him then sighed, “I’ll alert her of your arrival, in the meantime, you should let Mr. Guide over there help you accompany you to your room.” She referred to the bot, which looked more like a floor cleaner than a guide, to Jim, “Thank you miss, uh…” He trailed off, trying to find any context clues to her name, “It’s nothing, hun. Just call me Miss Erilm.” The fat Kerkitril said.
“Alright, Miss Erilm. Thanks for the help!” After following the futuristic cleaner roomba, Jim finds himself in front of his dormitory room’s metal door, “Twelve at hallway sixth, right?” He glanced at the number sign in the hallway to see if it was number six, “Okay, so I am in hallway sixth, I hope this one is correct…” Jim braced himself, preparing mentally for the person on the inside to greet him as he made sure his posture was professional, he was about to knock when the door silently opened up with a slide, revealing a female Kerkitril, he didn’t realize this as he proceeds to tap his knuckles forward, tapping the Kerkitril’s furry head by accident.
“Ow! What the…?” The Kerkitril said, Jim realized his mistake as he tries to apologize for his misbehavior, “Ah, I’m sorry! Did I hit you too hard? I-I didn’t realize the door was already open.” Jim started to fidget nervously, fearing that the may get kicked out on the very first day in this dormitory, “O-Oh! Are you the new roommate?” The female Kerkitril said as Jim took in her racial features, her fur is a bright brown color, full of black streaks on her entire body, aside from that, she was two and a half feet smaller than her, how he hit her head is a mystery.
“Uhm, yes! My name is Jim! Jim Graham, nice to meet you!” Jim says in an enthusiastic yet nervous filled tone, offering his gloved hands to shake her paws for a proper introduction, the Kerkitril glanced at his furless gloves and proceeds to shake hands with Jim, “Uh, my name’s Amirlyn, I guess you’re a… What kind of race are you?” She said, unable to see through his helmet’s facial-hide feature, “I’m a human! You know, the new race like six months ago?” He briefly disabled the feature to confirm his claim, which caught her off-guard.
“What? A human? Damn, I never thought I’d see your kind in this part of space, I thought y’all secluded yourself in your systems?” Amirlyn said, raising assumptions about his kind as Jim had to disperse her beliefs of his race, “Yeah, about that… We just wanted to prepare ourselves for more expanses, you know, like this suit to not scare the other races?” Jim said, which shattered Amirlyn ’s thoughts about the humans, “I guess that makes sense, so, uh…” An awkward silence enters the conversation as she tries to gather up more questions, Jim was the first to break the silence as he wanted to see what the room looked like in his eyes, “Can I get inside?” Jim requested, which made Amirlyn realize she was being outright rude to the human.
“S-Sorry! Let’s get inside.” Amirlyn stepped to the side for the bulky human to enter, his hair barely touches the door’s topside by a hair’s length as he entered his dormitory with his cat roommate, he finds it expansive, which is great for him since he’s seven foot tall.
The rooms themselves were outfitted to their specified roles, the kitchen has sets of knives, varying plates, silverware, a microwave, and a fridge.
The living room has a white-colored rug, with two soft sofas, a table on top of the rug, a TV hanging on the wall, well, more like levitating, below the TV were some drawers, beside the drawers are a pair of two pot plants harboring alien fauna, perhaps fauna familiar to Amirlyn?
The bedroom was the same, two beds, with one specifically elongated for him, there’s also a pair of computer stations for the two of them as well, same with drawers and desks, there’s also a balcony connected to the bedroom, which showed the city outside and the beautifulness of it all, then there’s the bathroom, you know, for convenience, and that’s pretty much it.
There’s also a strangely-designed automatic laundry machine settled near his bed, he knows it’s intended for the suit he was wearing since it’ll smell bad after a couple of hours, but he’ll have to do that later when he’s done setting up for today and getting familiarized with the university’s layout.
And that’s pretty much about it, Amirlyn did mention that there’s a storage area in the living room with a strange package she received yesterday, Jim decided to check it out, wondering if it was the educational materials his father bought, and his assumption was right.
“What? How is that in there?” Amirlyn inquired, finding it strange why a bunch of books, which mind you were outdated in this time of age, and a couple of holographic recordings were settled in the storage area of their room, “These are the educational materials that father bought, some of these are to help me to get me up to speed, seems like I’ll have to spend a lot of time studying and doing research for tomorrow.” Jim said, putting the plastic-covered book back in the box and carrying it back to his room.
“Hah, you should’ve told me about that! I was worried when some delivery guy yesterday told me to sign for some package that I didn’t even order, I thought I was letting someone’s stuff into my dorm, and this is my very first year in this university to add on top of that!” Amirlyn said, voicing out her concerns as Jim glanced over his shoulders at her, “Well, I should be thankful to you for doing that, or else I’ll have to opt for an empty dorm room, which is lonely now that I think about it.” He said to her as he lightly plops down the box near his bed.
“I-I guess you’re welcome?” Jim chuckled at her confusion, “Well, let’s get acquainted with each other in our entire freshman year, you ” He said, standing up and hunching over herself to get in close and personal with the Kerkitril, shaking her hands.
“Y-Yeah, let’s get acquainted…” She said, adding her force to the shake for confirmation.
.
.
.
Whew, that’s the prologue finished!
I decided to flesh out some of the characters in the oneshot, I hope this is enough to make a background of what their past and their lives are, mainly Jim.
As for the ‘accident’ that will happen later on, it’ll arrive eventually, you’ll just have to be patient :)
Anyway, this is my first entry to the new series I’m currently working on Drug Monkeys, and it's thanks to some people demanding for MOAR chapters, seeing your comments filled me with happiness, and I thank you for that.
I hope you enjoyed today’s entry! Until then, I’ll see you in another post!
2023.03.25 16:45 MisterSnippy The Intermediate Self
In the small town of Zesceil, Kyssla Silverwing had dusted off the ethers of sleep, and with belayed horror, realized a certain undeniable truth.
The previous day, the Level 17 [Maid] had expected the weekend, and the coming week, to be filled with relaxation. The Terscales had taken a temporary reprieve from town, giving her ample time to tend to her own personal desires.
Kyssla had planned to do some gardening, as it was her great interest. She loved to tend to plants and care for them. There was a satisfaction in watching the seeds grow into a virile flowering plant, into helping all forms of life flourish and change. She had even levelled from her work, becoming a Level 6 [Gardener].
However, when she had risen in the morning, Kyssla had encountered a problem that was unsolvable.
On this day, she was no longer a Level 17 [Maid].
Kyssla Silverwing was a Level 52 [Spy of Becoming].
Kyssla took a glance around her humble place with fear and longing. The room she had cared for and loved now carried with it a sinister character. It was a simply furnished space, but she had enjoyed how the yellow walls twin'd her scales, how when it rained, it pitter-pattered softly against the glass windows, and how when it snowed, the glittering powder fell gently upon the colorful cobbled streets below.
A single tear fell from her eye, a crystal of emotion, bringing with it a coming storm.
"I'm real."
There was never a more childish, but uniquely cognizant statement to come from living beings. It was an assertion inviting no room for query. A declaration meant to reassure herself of her own being. To keep a fractured Drake whole.
"I'm not going crazy."
"I'm not going crazy."
Then a sudden pause cutting short her murmurs, brought on by realization.
"I am crazy. I am a crazy person."
The 28 year old Drake took a deep, shaking breath, raising her trembling claws to wipe away the tears that stung her eyes and sullied her dress. As if the action would make her stronger in this moment, giving her the strength to continue forward.
"A-Ancestors."
Was there ever a Kyssla Silverwing?
The Skills she had spent her entire adult life building had vanished. The joy of her level-ups and progress in her Class, smashed to naught. Kyssla had not even the 6 Levels in [Gardener] that brought her so much satisfaction.
Kyssla realized how dire her situation truly was.
Who was she, really?
She moaned with emotional pain. Trying to force air into her stricken lungs.
Was she just the product of a Skill?
The tremors in her hands refused to subside, adreneline eternal. The [Spy of Becoming] drew closer to the horrid thoughts, to the root of matters, the false core of things.
Was she even a Drake?
It refused to leave her, like a demon taking hold. The distrust of her reality grew ever stronger. The young woman spiraled further down.
She might not even originally be female. Every memory, every wonder about her life was most likely a flawed assumption.
"This is all an illusion, it has to be. I-I'm real."
There were now many Skills possessed by her, from being a Level 52 [Spy of Becoming]. But only one Skill made her shiver. That singular Skill terrified her, and she wished there were a way to deny it, to destroy it.
[Become New Identity]
She had to be real. The Drake looked around at her abode, at the history here. This space had been inhabited by her for a years time. She sent back letters to her parents, she spoke with friends. The seasons had changed, from winter to winter. These comfortable worn walls kept her safe and happy.
She had to be real. She looked fondly on the times she whiled away here, she enjoyed working for the kindly Terscales family. It was a great fortune for her to be able to be a [Maid] here. The pay was mediocre, and the work challenging at times, but the lodging and food were free and she was never refused a day off. The other [Maid]'s were nice, and she had levelled 3 times in the past year from her work here.
She had to be real.
She
Had
To
Be
Real
A [Monk]'s tranquility came over Kyssla Silverwing. She had parents. She remembered her parents. She knew where they lived.
The journey from the City of Color, Zesceil, to Reiln was a long one. Never before had she so desired to make that same journey in reverse. The memory was still there, of the adventure from her home city to Zesceil, of the winding roads the wagon went down, of the other towns she had passed. A journey where she transformed from the nervous Drake hailing from the small town of Reiln, into the Drake who was finally coming into her own.
Her feeling was of loss, as she truly loved this city. Her possessions weren't many, and the time it took was short, for her things to be packed. All emotions fit into her small suitcase. The walls of her fortress seemed to become grayer as she went, and a look of conflict took hold in her deep blue eyes.
Although her Class had changed, the Drake that it contained had not. For all the mystique and intrigue of being a [Spy] had grabbed her, she couldn't bear to leave without a word. Her lithe claws, worn from a [Maid]'s labours, took hold of the pen with an unnatural stillness, and she wrote a solemn letter apologizing for her coming absence.
Despite her desire, it was a herculian task for Kyssla to speak to anyone she knew in her current state. With her Skills, she could become anybody, but at this moment the only person she wanted to be was herself. And she found it unbearable to show those who had treated her so kindly that she was to potentially abandon them in a moments notice.
The pink letter was placed with care upon her wooden door, her uniform laid neatly on the bed, and then she took the first wobbling step of her journey.
The air had a harsh smell to it, as she stepped out of the manor and onto the streets of the City of Color. Her breathe created its own fog to accompany the empty silent mourning. The sun had not yet risen, and so it was of the hour when even ne'erdowells refuse to stalk the painted streets.
The recent snow seemed to absorb all sound, making her feel incredibly self-conscious as she plodded through the glittering stuff, towards her destination. The Driver's Guild. Normally she would follow the lines painted on the roads to get to her port of call, but these streets she had travelled well.
It was a day's journey to Reiln, and Kyssla remembered that it had felt like an eternity to arrive here the previous year. In fact, she now recollected that she wore the same clothing upon arrival, as if this were all a circle.
The City of Color was a city she would never forget. It hurt to even think about it. She still beheld the desire to stop and look closely at every mural dotted around the city, at every building painted with care. Everything was colorful here, including the people within.
She reached a trembling hand to her coinpurse to check for the fifth time. More than enough coin for her to make the trip to Reiln and back. Within her was the hope that she would be making the journey back. The Drake bit her lip nervously, nearly drawing blood. Reiln.
Soon enough the building for the Driver's Guild came into sight. It was a modest stone building, as they tended to be, and the orange stone invoked the rustic sensation of home, just to lay eyes upon it. Kyssla was sure that for many it invoked in them the same emotion. For most who needed to travel, the Driver's Guild was a way to get home, and home was always a welcome sight wherever one may find it.
Creak.
The Drake's claws pried open the door with a jitter. It was warm inside, and the [Maid] made sure to quickly and quietly shut the door, afraid the air would escape. At the desk was a young male Drake with bronze scales. He didn't recognize her, and it wasn't due to her Skills.
"H-hello? I'd like to make a trip to Reiln, fast. I can pay, please."
She plonked a few coins down on the desk and looked the man in the eyes. Her look must have been truly tragic, because the [Receptionist] gave her a startled glance, and then ran to get a [Driver] from some location closer to the stables.
In almost no time the Drake returned. She could tell that adreneline was rushing through his veins. Things were probably fairly slow here, and a request like this uncommon for a town like Zesceil.
"Follow me, Ma'am. This will be a priority, you'll be in Reiln as fast as we can get you there."
A wave of relief washed over her as she followed the man out to a carriage that was already waiting for her. Any number of Skills could have made her keep her composure, but instead, she climbed inside and started to cry.
The [Driver] was making quick work of the journey. What had been a day's time, seemed to be cut closer to 4-5 hours. By some means, the trip still felt longer than her first arrival. It was a smooth ride too, which made her nerves worse. Just her and the inside of the carriage, seperated from the world outside.
Scenery flew by the window, so different from a year ago. As the carriage travelled, she too travelled back in time. All of her worries started to meld together. Like broth for a stew, her thoughts percolated.
It was agony, to wait. The polite [Maid] didn't want to impose upon the carriage [Driver], to request him to go faster for her worries. Her parents. She would see her parents, or at least observe them from afar. It no longer mattered to her if they were her parents, or if she had taken the identity of someone else, she just needed them to exist.
Already she missed the painted brickwork of Zesceil. It was her ideal city. As a child Kyssla had heard stories, and more than any of the Walled Cities, it was Zesceil that called to her. Regardless of how this ended, she wanted to bring her parents back with her to the City of Color. It was a selfish desire, but that was all she wanted.
A pit positioned itself deep in her stomach. The [Spy] took a glance out the window and saw her destination was near. Her internal sundial moved closer to nightfall, as the Drake beheld Reiln. She had lived here for most of her life.
Getting through the gate had been no issue, the [Guards] hadn't even taken a look inside her carriage. The walls should have given her a feeling of safety, but instead it made the anxiety worse. Kyssla then realized with horror, that the [Driver] was taking her directly to her childhood home, not to the guild. He must have had a Skill for it.
Clip clop
Creak
The wagon came to a halt, then the door opened, a wall of rarefied light. The [Driver] said nothing, and at this moment that was all she desired. It pulled away, heading to the guild, she was sure. The shaken [Maid] felt silly as a feeling of unhappiness washed over her. That man had a schedule, and she had just ruined it.
Crunch
Crunch
Kyssla's legs involuntarily carried her through the snow, closer to that sacred destination. Then they stopped so suddenly she felt her knees pop, as she noticed her parents through the window, preparing for their day.
It hit her. She was Kyssla Silverwing. She had no memories of how she became a [Spy], no scars, no old injuries. No hidden letters, no old secrets. She was simply herself. All along, whoever she had been, she had really wanted to be the Level 17 [Maid] who did a bit of gardening in Zesceil. Who missed her parents and wanted them to come be with her there. Who had a sunny disposition and took whatever life threw at her in stride. She hadn't used [Become New Identity] to spy on the family or to be someone else. She had used it to become herself. To wipe away who she hadn't wanted to be, the [Spy], and live the simpler life that she had always wanted. She was the true Kyssla Silverwing all along.
With a deep breath her emotions steadied. The world made sense. Then, the [Spy] was gone, and the Level 18 [Maid] raised a claw to the worn wooden door, and she knocked.
Knock
Knock
Knock
It opened, and accompanying the expression of surprise and happiness on her parents' face, she spoke the simplest worlds in the world for her now.
"Sorry for the sudden intrusion, I've come home to visit."
submitted by MisterSnippy to WanderingInn [link] [comments]
The previous day, the Level 17 [Maid] had expected the weekend, and the coming week, to be filled with relaxation. The Terscales had taken a temporary reprieve from town, giving her ample time to tend to her own personal desires.
Kyssla had planned to do some gardening, as it was her great interest. She loved to tend to plants and care for them. There was a satisfaction in watching the seeds grow into a virile flowering plant, into helping all forms of life flourish and change. She had even levelled from her work, becoming a Level 6 [Gardener].
However, when she had risen in the morning, Kyssla had encountered a problem that was unsolvable.
On this day, she was no longer a Level 17 [Maid].
Kyssla Silverwing was a Level 52 [Spy of Becoming].
Kyssla took a glance around her humble place with fear and longing. The room she had cared for and loved now carried with it a sinister character. It was a simply furnished space, but she had enjoyed how the yellow walls twin'd her scales, how when it rained, it pitter-pattered softly against the glass windows, and how when it snowed, the glittering powder fell gently upon the colorful cobbled streets below.
A single tear fell from her eye, a crystal of emotion, bringing with it a coming storm.
"I'm real."
There was never a more childish, but uniquely cognizant statement to come from living beings. It was an assertion inviting no room for query. A declaration meant to reassure herself of her own being. To keep a fractured Drake whole.
"I'm not going crazy."
"I'm not going crazy."
Then a sudden pause cutting short her murmurs, brought on by realization.
"I am crazy. I am a crazy person."
The 28 year old Drake took a deep, shaking breath, raising her trembling claws to wipe away the tears that stung her eyes and sullied her dress. As if the action would make her stronger in this moment, giving her the strength to continue forward.
"A-Ancestors."
Was there ever a Kyssla Silverwing?
The Skills she had spent her entire adult life building had vanished. The joy of her level-ups and progress in her Class, smashed to naught. Kyssla had not even the 6 Levels in [Gardener] that brought her so much satisfaction.
Kyssla realized how dire her situation truly was.
Who was she, really?
She moaned with emotional pain. Trying to force air into her stricken lungs.
Was she just the product of a Skill?
The tremors in her hands refused to subside, adreneline eternal. The [Spy of Becoming] drew closer to the horrid thoughts, to the root of matters, the false core of things.
Was she even a Drake?
It refused to leave her, like a demon taking hold. The distrust of her reality grew ever stronger. The young woman spiraled further down.
She might not even originally be female. Every memory, every wonder about her life was most likely a flawed assumption.
"This is all an illusion, it has to be. I-I'm real."
There were now many Skills possessed by her, from being a Level 52 [Spy of Becoming]. But only one Skill made her shiver. That singular Skill terrified her, and she wished there were a way to deny it, to destroy it.
[Become New Identity]
She had to be real. The Drake looked around at her abode, at the history here. This space had been inhabited by her for a years time. She sent back letters to her parents, she spoke with friends. The seasons had changed, from winter to winter. These comfortable worn walls kept her safe and happy.
She had to be real. She looked fondly on the times she whiled away here, she enjoyed working for the kindly Terscales family. It was a great fortune for her to be able to be a [Maid] here. The pay was mediocre, and the work challenging at times, but the lodging and food were free and she was never refused a day off. The other [Maid]'s were nice, and she had levelled 3 times in the past year from her work here.
She had to be real.
She
Had
To
Be
Real
A [Monk]'s tranquility came over Kyssla Silverwing. She had parents. She remembered her parents. She knew where they lived.
The journey from the City of Color, Zesceil, to Reiln was a long one. Never before had she so desired to make that same journey in reverse. The memory was still there, of the adventure from her home city to Zesceil, of the winding roads the wagon went down, of the other towns she had passed. A journey where she transformed from the nervous Drake hailing from the small town of Reiln, into the Drake who was finally coming into her own.
Her feeling was of loss, as she truly loved this city. Her possessions weren't many, and the time it took was short, for her things to be packed. All emotions fit into her small suitcase. The walls of her fortress seemed to become grayer as she went, and a look of conflict took hold in her deep blue eyes.
Although her Class had changed, the Drake that it contained had not. For all the mystique and intrigue of being a [Spy] had grabbed her, she couldn't bear to leave without a word. Her lithe claws, worn from a [Maid]'s labours, took hold of the pen with an unnatural stillness, and she wrote a solemn letter apologizing for her coming absence.
Despite her desire, it was a herculian task for Kyssla to speak to anyone she knew in her current state. With her Skills, she could become anybody, but at this moment the only person she wanted to be was herself. And she found it unbearable to show those who had treated her so kindly that she was to potentially abandon them in a moments notice.
The pink letter was placed with care upon her wooden door, her uniform laid neatly on the bed, and then she took the first wobbling step of her journey.
The air had a harsh smell to it, as she stepped out of the manor and onto the streets of the City of Color. Her breathe created its own fog to accompany the empty silent mourning. The sun had not yet risen, and so it was of the hour when even ne'erdowells refuse to stalk the painted streets.
The recent snow seemed to absorb all sound, making her feel incredibly self-conscious as she plodded through the glittering stuff, towards her destination. The Driver's Guild. Normally she would follow the lines painted on the roads to get to her port of call, but these streets she had travelled well.
It was a day's journey to Reiln, and Kyssla remembered that it had felt like an eternity to arrive here the previous year. In fact, she now recollected that she wore the same clothing upon arrival, as if this were all a circle.
The City of Color was a city she would never forget. It hurt to even think about it. She still beheld the desire to stop and look closely at every mural dotted around the city, at every building painted with care. Everything was colorful here, including the people within.
She reached a trembling hand to her coinpurse to check for the fifth time. More than enough coin for her to make the trip to Reiln and back. Within her was the hope that she would be making the journey back. The Drake bit her lip nervously, nearly drawing blood. Reiln.
Soon enough the building for the Driver's Guild came into sight. It was a modest stone building, as they tended to be, and the orange stone invoked the rustic sensation of home, just to lay eyes upon it. Kyssla was sure that for many it invoked in them the same emotion. For most who needed to travel, the Driver's Guild was a way to get home, and home was always a welcome sight wherever one may find it.
Creak.
The Drake's claws pried open the door with a jitter. It was warm inside, and the [Maid] made sure to quickly and quietly shut the door, afraid the air would escape. At the desk was a young male Drake with bronze scales. He didn't recognize her, and it wasn't due to her Skills.
"H-hello? I'd like to make a trip to Reiln, fast. I can pay, please."
She plonked a few coins down on the desk and looked the man in the eyes. Her look must have been truly tragic, because the [Receptionist] gave her a startled glance, and then ran to get a [Driver] from some location closer to the stables.
In almost no time the Drake returned. She could tell that adreneline was rushing through his veins. Things were probably fairly slow here, and a request like this uncommon for a town like Zesceil.
"Follow me, Ma'am. This will be a priority, you'll be in Reiln as fast as we can get you there."
A wave of relief washed over her as she followed the man out to a carriage that was already waiting for her. Any number of Skills could have made her keep her composure, but instead, she climbed inside and started to cry.
The [Driver] was making quick work of the journey. What had been a day's time, seemed to be cut closer to 4-5 hours. By some means, the trip still felt longer than her first arrival. It was a smooth ride too, which made her nerves worse. Just her and the inside of the carriage, seperated from the world outside.
Scenery flew by the window, so different from a year ago. As the carriage travelled, she too travelled back in time. All of her worries started to meld together. Like broth for a stew, her thoughts percolated.
It was agony, to wait. The polite [Maid] didn't want to impose upon the carriage [Driver], to request him to go faster for her worries. Her parents. She would see her parents, or at least observe them from afar. It no longer mattered to her if they were her parents, or if she had taken the identity of someone else, she just needed them to exist.
Already she missed the painted brickwork of Zesceil. It was her ideal city. As a child Kyssla had heard stories, and more than any of the Walled Cities, it was Zesceil that called to her. Regardless of how this ended, she wanted to bring her parents back with her to the City of Color. It was a selfish desire, but that was all she wanted.
A pit positioned itself deep in her stomach. The [Spy] took a glance out the window and saw her destination was near. Her internal sundial moved closer to nightfall, as the Drake beheld Reiln. She had lived here for most of her life.
Getting through the gate had been no issue, the [Guards] hadn't even taken a look inside her carriage. The walls should have given her a feeling of safety, but instead it made the anxiety worse. Kyssla then realized with horror, that the [Driver] was taking her directly to her childhood home, not to the guild. He must have had a Skill for it.
Clip clop
Creak
The wagon came to a halt, then the door opened, a wall of rarefied light. The [Driver] said nothing, and at this moment that was all she desired. It pulled away, heading to the guild, she was sure. The shaken [Maid] felt silly as a feeling of unhappiness washed over her. That man had a schedule, and she had just ruined it.
Crunch
Crunch
Kyssla's legs involuntarily carried her through the snow, closer to that sacred destination. Then they stopped so suddenly she felt her knees pop, as she noticed her parents through the window, preparing for their day.
It hit her. She was Kyssla Silverwing. She had no memories of how she became a [Spy], no scars, no old injuries. No hidden letters, no old secrets. She was simply herself. All along, whoever she had been, she had really wanted to be the Level 17 [Maid] who did a bit of gardening in Zesceil. Who missed her parents and wanted them to come be with her there. Who had a sunny disposition and took whatever life threw at her in stride. She hadn't used [Become New Identity] to spy on the family or to be someone else. She had used it to become herself. To wipe away who she hadn't wanted to be, the [Spy], and live the simpler life that she had always wanted. She was the true Kyssla Silverwing all along.
With a deep breath her emotions steadied. The world made sense. Then, the [Spy] was gone, and the Level 18 [Maid] raised a claw to the worn wooden door, and she knocked.
Knock
Knock
Knock
It opened, and accompanying the expression of surprise and happiness on her parents' face, she spoke the simplest worlds in the world for her now.
"Sorry for the sudden intrusion, I've come home to visit."
2023.03.25 16:39 _Triple_ [STORE] 900+ KNIVES/GLOVES/SKINS, 50.000$+ INVENTORY. M9 Fade, M4 Poseidon, Kara Gamma, BFK Freehand, BFK Bright Water, Spec Gloves Kimono, Nomad Fade, M9 Doppler, Skeleton, BFK B.Steel, AWP Fade, Stiletto Fade, S.Gloves Slingshot, BFK Ultra, Kara Damas, Bayo Lore, Bayo Gamma, Flip Fade & A Lot More
Everything in my inventory is up for trade. The most valuable items are listed here, the rest you can find in My Inventory
Feel free to Add Me or even better send a Trade Offer. Open for any suggestions: upgrades, downgrades / knives, gloves, skins / stickers, patterns, floats.
All Buyouts are listed in cash value.
KNIVES
★ Butterfly Knife Freehand FN #1, B/O: $1867
★ Butterfly Knife Bright Water MW, B/O: $1098
★ Butterfly Knife Blue Steel BS, B/O: $907
★ Butterfly Knife Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $789
★ Butterfly Knife Stained FT, B/O: $695
⎯★ Bayonet Tiger Tooth MW #1, B/O: $888
★ Bayonet Gamma Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $727
★ Bayonet Doppler (Phase 2) FN, B/O: $608
★ Bayonet Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $521
★ Bayonet Rust Coat BS, B/O: $253
★ Bayonet Night FT, B/O: $251
★ StatTrak™ Bayonet Lore MW, B/O: $751
⎯★ Karambit Gamma Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $1343
★ Karambit Damascus Steel FT, B/O: $774
★ Karambit Rust Coat BS, B/O: $537
★ Karambit Boreal Forest FT, B/O: $488
⎯★ M9 Bayonet Fade FN, B/O: $1523
★ M9 Bayonet Fade FN, B/O: $1523
★ M9 Bayonet Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $1008
★ M9 Bayonet Blue Steel FT, B/O: $534
★ M9 Bayonet Rust Coat BS, B/O: $449
⎯★ Flip Knife Fade FN, B/O: $703
★ Flip Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) MW, B/O: $509
★ Flip Knife Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $406
★ Flip Knife Freehand FT, B/O: $228
★ StatTrak™ Flip Knife Bright Water FN, B/O: $332
⎯★ Falchion Knife Doppler (Phase 2) FN, B/O: $292
★ Falchion Knife Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $264
★ Falchion Knife Marble Fade FN, B/O: $258
★ Falchion Knife Bright Water MW, B/O: $133
⎯★ Stiletto Knife Fade FN, B/O: $822
★ Stiletto Knife Slaughter FN, B/O: $569
★ Stiletto Knife Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $530
★ Stiletto Knife Crimson Web FT, B/O: $396
★ StatTrak™ Stiletto Knife Scorched FT, B/O: $172
⎯★ Gut Knife Doppler (Sapphire) MW #1, B/O: $830
★ Gut Knife Fade FN, B/O: $204
★ Gut Knife Tiger Tooth FN, B/O: $138
★ Gut Knife Bright Water MW, B/O: $104
★ Gut Knife Freehand FT, B/O: $92
★ Gut Knife Urban Masked FT, B/O: $82
★ StatTrak™ Gut Knife Rust Coat BS, B/O: $93
⎯★ Shadow Daggers Fade FN, B/O: $258
★ Shadow Daggers Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $165
★ Shadow Daggers Blue Steel FT, B/O: $82
★ Shadow Daggers Bright Water FT, B/O: $82
★ Shadow Daggers Blue Steel WW, B/O: $80
★ Shadow Daggers Rust Coat BS, B/O: $74
★ StatTrak™ Shadow Daggers Marble Fade FN, B/O: $186
⎯★ Classic Knife Slaughter MW, B/O: $311
★ StatTrak™ Classic Knife Stained BS, B/O: $163
⎯★ Talon Knife Slaughter MW, B/O: $605
★ Talon Knife Scorched MW, B/O: $290
⎯★ Ursus Knife Marble Fade FN, B/O: $405
★ Ursus Knife Night Stripe MW, B/O: $162
⎯★ Paracord Knife Stained WW, B/O: $125
★ Paracord Knife Forest DDPAT FT, B/O: $97
★ Paracord Knife Safari Mesh FT, B/O: $96
⎯★ Navaja Knife Safari Mesh FT, B/O: $71
★ Navaja Knife Scorched WW, B/O: $71
⎯★ Nomad Knife Fade FN, B/O: $1015
★ Skeleton Knife, B/O: $909
★ Bowie Knife Boreal Forest MW, B/O: $106
★ Survival Knife Forest DDPAT FT, B/O: $97
GLOVES
★ Driver Gloves Crimson Weave FT, B/O: $335
★ Driver Gloves King Snake BS, B/O: $270
★ Driver Gloves Lunar Weave WW, B/O: $113
★ Driver Gloves Overtake WW, B/O: $88
★ Driver Gloves Overtake BS, B/O: $67
⎯★ Moto Gloves Transport MW, B/O: $171
★ Moto Gloves Polygon BS, B/O: $137
★ Moto Gloves Transport WW, B/O: $71
★ Moto Gloves 3rd Commando Company BS, B/O: $62
⎯★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Kimono WW, B/O: $1027
★ Specialist Gloves Tiger Strike FT, B/O: $654
★ Specialist Gloves Mogul FT, B/O: $295
★ Specialist Gloves Lt. Commander FT, B/O: $277
★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Web FT, B/O: $275
⎯★ Sport Gloves Slingshot FT, B/O: $796
★ Sport Gloves Amphibious BS #2, B/O: $699
★ Sport Gloves Omega FT, B/O: $656
⎯★ Broken Fang Gloves Unhinged BS, B/O: $60
WEAPONS
AK-47 Case Hardened BS, B/O: $130
AK-47 Bloodsport MW, B/O: $79
AK-47 Fuel Injector BS, B/O: $76
AK-47 Fuel Injector BS, B/O: $76
AK-47 Bloodsport FT, B/O: $70
AK-47 Neon Rider MW, B/O: $60
⎯AWP Fade FN, B/O: $864
AWP BOOM MW, B/O: $84
AWP Containment Breach FT, B/O: $69
AWP Containment Breach FT, B/O: $69
AWP Wildfire FT, B/O: $59
AWP Chromatic Aberration FN, B/O: $59
StatTrak™ AWP Hyper Beast FT, B/O: $65
StatTrak™ AWP Hyper Beast FT, B/O: $65
⎯Desert Eagle Blaze FN, B/O: $565
Desert Eagle Blaze FN, B/O: $565
Desert Eagle Printstream FN, B/O: $155
Desert Eagle Cobalt Disruption FN, B/O: $58
⎯M4A1-S Icarus Fell FN, B/O: $414
M4A1-S Printstream MW, B/O: $204
M4A1-S Printstream MW, B/O: $204
⎯M4A4 Poseidon FN, B/O: $1402
M4A4 The Emperor FN, B/O: $152
M4A4 Asiimov WW, B/O: $97
⎯USP-S Kill Confirmed MW, B/O: $65
USP-S Printstream FT, B/O: $69
StatTrak™ USP-S Kill Confirmed FT, B/O: $123
StatTrak™ USP-S Neo-Noir FN, B/O: $106
⎯AUG Flame Jörmungandr FN, B/O: $218
P2000 Ocean Foam FN, B/O: $139
Souvenir SSG 08 Death Strike MW, B/O: $81
CZ75-Auto Emerald Quartz MW, B/O: $61
Trade Offer Link - Steam Profile Link - My Inventory
Some items on the list may no longer be available or are still locked, visit My Inventory for more details.
Send a Trade Offer for fastest response. I consider all offers.
Add me for discuss if there is a serious offer that needs to be discussed.
2023.03.25 16:34 Gregdroidxu4 waiting on first time delivery.
I'm currently waiting for my first time delivery from the Flowery in Jacksonville to Palm coast. Currently I have 4 stops ahead of me and I'm curious, do you guys tip the drivers? Are they allowed to accept tips?
submitted by Gregdroidxu4 to FLMedicalTrees [link] [comments]
2023.03.25 16:33 TARubSpecific8453 Light not replaced in 8 weeks, can i refuse to pay rent until they fix it?
Hey everyone, so im England rent a studio apartment from a company that does a lot of apartment block renting. My issue being, The light in my bathroom went out end of January, i opened a ticket on their maintenance app 1st of February, i asked for an update two weeks later with a reply of " sorry this ticket must have slipped by us, send up a picture of the light and we will get it fixed asap"
two week later i look for another update and they said they had two deliveries, both the wrong size " There is a delivery on Monday and I've been told this is the correct size and the issue will be rectified then. " that was on the 8th of march. Im a very patient person but hot damn, almost 2 months to replace a lightbulb(i did offer to replace it myself but they didnt get back to me on it) Looking through the contract it states Landlords responsibility being " To keep in repair and proper working order all mechanical and electrical items belonging to the Landlord and forming part of the Fixtures and Fittings, unless the lack of repair is due to the negligence or misuse of the Tenant, his family, or visitors. " which I feel the lightbulb falls under.
My rent is due today and im wondering if i have a leg to stand on to refuse paying until the issue has been fixed. I also suggested that if its not fixed by the end of this week I will be looking at getting an electrician to do the task and invoice the company, again, an option?
It normally wouldnt be an issue, but if ive got friends around, its either to leave the bathroom door, go in the blackness or pull out their phone flashlight. I've even had a date have a shower in the dark..super embarrassing!
submitted by TARubSpecific8453 to LegalAdviceUK [link] [comments]
two week later i look for another update and they said they had two deliveries, both the wrong size " There is a delivery on Monday and I've been told this is the correct size and the issue will be rectified then. " that was on the 8th of march. Im a very patient person but hot damn, almost 2 months to replace a lightbulb(i did offer to replace it myself but they didnt get back to me on it) Looking through the contract it states Landlords responsibility being " To keep in repair and proper working order all mechanical and electrical items belonging to the Landlord and forming part of the Fixtures and Fittings, unless the lack of repair is due to the negligence or misuse of the Tenant, his family, or visitors. " which I feel the lightbulb falls under.
My rent is due today and im wondering if i have a leg to stand on to refuse paying until the issue has been fixed. I also suggested that if its not fixed by the end of this week I will be looking at getting an electrician to do the task and invoice the company, again, an option?
It normally wouldnt be an issue, but if ive got friends around, its either to leave the bathroom door, go in the blackness or pull out their phone flashlight. I've even had a date have a shower in the dark..super embarrassing!