Farmhouse front porch brick steps
[Share Course] Dan Koe – Digital Economics Masters Degree
2023.04.02 10:01 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.
Phase 1) Creating A Meaningful NicheEvery day I hear people going on and on about trying to find their niche.I also hear people talking about how they don’t know how to combine what they love talking about with what will sell.You already have the answer. You just don’t have the clarity.
Phase 2) Content StrategyThere is one thing that separates those who make it in the digital economy and those who don’t.It’s the quality, articulation, and perceived originality of their content.The content you post has to make sense to the people you attract.Everyone has a different voice and tone that they resonate with. That they are congruent with and trust.It has to change their thought patterns or behavior — that’s what makes you memorable.That’s what separates you from the sea of people posting surface-level copy-cat style posts.Example and putting my money where my mouth is:
Phase 3) Crafting Your OfferMost people are sitting on a goldmine of skills, experience, and knowledge (that they can use to help people 1-2 steps behind them).That is what people pay for.Considering 95% of the market are beginners… if you are good at something, you can help them get to your level (no matter how “basic” you think the information is).Do you not watch basic content all day anyway? People don’t want new information, they want to be reminded of what works.
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. |
2023.04.02 09:58 Toosilly4friends Someone help me figure out what to say too a friend who’s been making me uncomfortable
Hi guys, I don’t know if anyone will see this but if you do please consider reading. (On phone and I write very bad sorry if there is any mistakes)
(Be cautious this has mentions of harsh topics around mental health I put a spacer in between the seconds not containing it and the one that did)
I’ve been friends with this girl who I will call Jessica for about a year (we became better friends around October). She was very funny when I first got to know her but recently has been saying things that make me question how nice she is. There is so many things she’s done too me like make fun of me for getting trust issues and abused by a past partner. I have never once made a joke about her past relationships or anything along that line. She asked to play a game where we said things we didn’t like about each-other. She went first and called me a whore, bitch, crybaby and pick me. I never got my turn because she kept saying more things about me until I left the call we were in. I told a mutual friend of ours (who was still on the call) what had happened because she wasn’t there when it happened. She told me too join the call again and I did. Jessica told me she was sorry and wouldn’t say those things anymore. I forgave her.
— Later the mutual friend told me that the second I left the call Jessica started making fun of me again and calling me more names like before. Jessica also makes jokes about my mental health by saying things like “omfg shut up already I hope you relapse” “go to a mental hospital already” and more that I won’t say. —
There’s been so many times where I went to bed crying over the things they’ve said too me. When she was already in a five month relationship she decided to pretend to like one of our friends. That friend who I’ll call Sam ended up liking Jessica and confessed to her. Jessica and him started dating and when me and other mutual friends told you not to because it was mean you brushed it off and said “but it’s funny”. Jessica said “I’ll break up with Sam on Valentine’s Day” (10 days after they started dating) but instead never broke up with him because “it’s so funny” Jessica stepped over sams boundaries throughout the whole relationship. Whenever sam would ask a simple question like “can you delete that photo” or “can you not call me that” Jessica would say “Sam moment” and mock him for being upset. Jessica has made fun of me and said things like “I’m your only friend” and “go eat lunch alone and cry” after I asked them too delete a photo of me. Jessica would take photos of me and I would say “don’t send that too anyone” and they would send it too everyone they knew in front of me while I told her to stop.
Shes done so much more that I just don’t want too remember right now as jut writing this makes me sad enough. I already have a draft of what I would say too then but I’m worried I’m being too sensitive about this. Please give me any advice or opinions on this and if something is confusing please ask and I can explain. Again, sorry for the weird format and mistakes I’ve never written one of these before.
submitted by Toosilly4friends to Advice [link] [comments]
(Be cautious this has mentions of harsh topics around mental health I put a spacer in between the seconds not containing it and the one that did)
I’ve been friends with this girl who I will call Jessica for about a year (we became better friends around October). She was very funny when I first got to know her but recently has been saying things that make me question how nice she is. There is so many things she’s done too me like make fun of me for getting trust issues and abused by a past partner. I have never once made a joke about her past relationships or anything along that line. She asked to play a game where we said things we didn’t like about each-other. She went first and called me a whore, bitch, crybaby and pick me. I never got my turn because she kept saying more things about me until I left the call we were in. I told a mutual friend of ours (who was still on the call) what had happened because she wasn’t there when it happened. She told me too join the call again and I did. Jessica told me she was sorry and wouldn’t say those things anymore. I forgave her.
— Later the mutual friend told me that the second I left the call Jessica started making fun of me again and calling me more names like before. Jessica also makes jokes about my mental health by saying things like “omfg shut up already I hope you relapse” “go to a mental hospital already” and more that I won’t say. —
There’s been so many times where I went to bed crying over the things they’ve said too me. When she was already in a five month relationship she decided to pretend to like one of our friends. That friend who I’ll call Sam ended up liking Jessica and confessed to her. Jessica and him started dating and when me and other mutual friends told you not to because it was mean you brushed it off and said “but it’s funny”. Jessica said “I’ll break up with Sam on Valentine’s Day” (10 days after they started dating) but instead never broke up with him because “it’s so funny” Jessica stepped over sams boundaries throughout the whole relationship. Whenever sam would ask a simple question like “can you delete that photo” or “can you not call me that” Jessica would say “Sam moment” and mock him for being upset. Jessica has made fun of me and said things like “I’m your only friend” and “go eat lunch alone and cry” after I asked them too delete a photo of me. Jessica would take photos of me and I would say “don’t send that too anyone” and they would send it too everyone they knew in front of me while I told her to stop.
Shes done so much more that I just don’t want too remember right now as jut writing this makes me sad enough. I already have a draft of what I would say too then but I’m worried I’m being too sensitive about this. Please give me any advice or opinions on this and if something is confusing please ask and I can explain. Again, sorry for the weird format and mistakes I’ve never written one of these before.
2023.04.02 09:57 Cake_Eater26 Rifle and Knife: Ep.4 "Laboratory" part 2
Part 2, opinion/criticism into the comments, thanks. ---
Memory transcription subject: James Wilson, Private, 53rd Infantry Division, Squad "Thunderbolt". ---
“Take a deep breath, that should help.” He said I followed his advice. After some time we both recovered our breath as I stood up and looked at the door. I opened it, peeked out and looked around.
The hallway was even a bigger mess, ranging from dead bodies to broken doors and dried up blood on the walls and floor. I stepped in and slowly moved down the hallway, I looked at Ethan as he pulled out a C-5 and attached it to a wall.
“Are you sure it will make the whole facility explode??” I asked him, looking around for an enemy.
“Of course I do, we just need to install on several bearing walls then this whole facility will collapse under its and the mountain weight.” He checked the connection to the detonator then stood up and came to me.
“I’ll lead the way you will cover, move carefully and don’t fall again.” He said and moved forward, I followed him.
As we took the turn we spotted an Arxur at the end of the hallway then Ethan noticed an opened door on the right. We carefully walked inside this room and closed the door. I looked around the room and spotted another door which was leading to another hallway.
The room was cleaner than most of the laboratory as there was a dead Venlil body. I approached it, and this body looked identical to a Venlil, but something was off. I inspected the body as Ethan walked to the table and looked at various papers and documentation.
“I think this is one is interesting,” he said in half-whispering tone as he came closer to me and stood in front of me
"This is experiment number 47, the attempt to give predatory thinking and abilities, such as stronger jaws and claws, to a prey species. This one was diagnosed with some predator disease…blah, blah, the experiment was successful, but…its brain couldn’t stand…predatory feelings, which resulted in a heart attack and, later, death." He said and put the document on the table near Venlil's hand.
“Well that’s really interesting.” I said and put hand on Venlil mouth then I lifted his lip, Venlil teeth had quite large and sharp looking fangs.
“Alright, let’s move on. I hope they didn’t developed something here that can revive dead people.” I said and walked to the other door then slowly opened it and looked around. The hallway was clear and we walked out of the room then he placed another C-5 charge on the wall.
“Three more to go.” He said and walked forward then he came near the corner and checked the hallway on the right then peeked around the corner and checked the other hallway. He quickly came to another wall and placed the charge. I looked at the hallway and spotted Arxur then I patted Ethan’s shoulder and we moved.
As we took the turn we stumbled upon several of those damned creatures, it was clear that they spotted us and I quickly raised my shotgun and shot at one of them killing it then we both ran away from them.
One Arxur came out of the corner and I shot but missed him as Ethan took me by hand and we both ran through the room. We quickly moved as Arxurs broke down the doors and followed us, I could tell that it’s getting more of them. Ethan stumbled and fell down.
I quickly rushed to him and shot at Arxur his body fell on the floor as other Arxurs pounced on that body and began to rip it off and eat. Other one lunged at me and hit me in the chest. The hit ripped off my vest and badly injured me.
I managed to aim and pull the trigger, killing him as Ethan took me by hand and lifted me, placing me on his shoulder. He threw a C-5 on the wall, then quickly ran, taking several turns and searching for the staircase.
I felt shitty as I saw my blood flowing on his shoulder, painting it in my red blood. It feels hard to keep my eyes opened, I am fighting myself to not just die on his shoulder right now. He took the final turn and found the door to a staircase. He picked up a mop and ran inside, blocking the door with a mop and putting me on the floor near the wall.
“Aw fuck, that shit is painful.” I said and put my hand on my chest, Ethan took a look at my injury.
“You got injured pretty badly, I guess you won’t make it.” He said in a dead, cold tone looking at my face. He looked at his PDA and did something on it then connected it to my helmet.
—
Memory transcription subject: Ethan Smith, Corporal, 53rd Infantry Division, Squad "Thunderbolt".
Date [Standardised human time]: July 14th, 2137, 0220 a.m.
---
I copied James' last 24 hours memory transcription and put away my PDA, then I took off his helmet and put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.
“Thanks, I didn't know I would die here.” He said as I thought, remembering how we met in boot camp and our past missions.
“Well, then, take this one.” I reached into my bag and pulled out a C-5 and gave it to him, he grabbed my hand and looked at or I would say… looked inside my eyes and soul.
“Take my shotgun, send it to my mother, I want to surprise her with a gift…heh.” He said and coughed then grabbed the charge as I took his shotgun and put it inside my bag, he pulled out his pistol and put it out from safe mode. We nodded to each other as I heard Arxurs behind the door then I quickly started to run upstairs.
I ran past the 4th, 3rd, 2nd floors, arriving at the 1st floor. I quickly looked around as I remembered the path back. I heard loud roaring downstairs and shooting, then I ran down the hallway finding the way as I saw other squad mates and quickly approached them.
“Where is James?!” Sarge asked as I looked at him.
“Judging by his injuries, roaring sound and pistol shooting sound I think he’s already dead, however we managed to plant charges.” I said as I looked and saw Christopher raising his rifle and shooting at somebody.
I quickly turned around as Arxurs body fell on the floor at the end of the hallway and more of them started to approach. We quickly ran to the outside and I pressed the detonator button.
The charges exploded as their loud explosion noise could be heard even outside. The facility started to shake and eventually collapsed, killing survived Arxurs and burying the dead one. I stepped back and looked at the collapsed entrance. Looking at it made me feel empty, James was the one I’d liked for his rather stupid jokes but sometimes he could make us laugh.
My thoughts got consumed by guilt, that if I didn’t fall, he wouldn't have to save me yet it is still my fault that I didn’t shoot at least two of them. If I did he would be alive and standing near us, me…maybe telling a joke.
I pulled out his shotgun from my bag and inspected it, it was decorated with marks and some words that were slurs to federation troops. It also had a writing on the right side of a shotgun which read “Have a good day!” My thoughts suddenly were flooded with memories of him shooting enemies with it. I even sometimes looked at him and saw this writing.
I felt somebody put his hand on my shoulder then I quickly turned around and found no one closer to me. I looked at squadmates yet they are far from me. I slowly felt better as I pushed my dark thoughts away. I put the shotgun into the bag and quickly approached my squadmates.
“Gold Eagle respond….Red Rose respond…something is blocking the communications.” Sarge said, holding the radio on his vest. I saw John and Christopher being sad about losing James.
“Gold Eagle respond….Red Ro-”
“All UN troops on the planet proceeded with the plan ‘Sleeping Eagle’, the Federation fleet attacked our fleet, we must retreat however we will come and save you. All you need is to hold on till we come, if it goes very bad…you’re a heroes to us and Earth. Gold Eagle out.” The voice from the radio said, I recognised it and looked in the sky.
“What does that mean sir?” Christopher said as I looked at him.
“This means, we’re now a guerrilla unit and doing guerrilla warfare, it will be a tough time and situation for us…but we will stand and survive. We’ll be fine as long as we stay together.” He said and put hand on his shoulder.
“All present UN troops retreat to the rendezvous point, this will be our current main base. The point coordinates are sent to your PDA. Make sure you will survive, Red Rose out.” We heard from the radio.
“Sir, I suggest that we should get to the humvee, the sooner we get to the rendezvous point the better it will be for the remaining troops on the planet and for us.” I said, Sarge nodded and we followed him to the humvee.
—
[Prev]
[Next]
submitted by Cake_Eater26 to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]
Memory transcription subject: James Wilson, Private, 53rd Infantry Division, Squad "Thunderbolt". ---
“Take a deep breath, that should help.” He said I followed his advice. After some time we both recovered our breath as I stood up and looked at the door. I opened it, peeked out and looked around.
The hallway was even a bigger mess, ranging from dead bodies to broken doors and dried up blood on the walls and floor. I stepped in and slowly moved down the hallway, I looked at Ethan as he pulled out a C-5 and attached it to a wall.
“Are you sure it will make the whole facility explode??” I asked him, looking around for an enemy.
“Of course I do, we just need to install on several bearing walls then this whole facility will collapse under its and the mountain weight.” He checked the connection to the detonator then stood up and came to me.
“I’ll lead the way you will cover, move carefully and don’t fall again.” He said and moved forward, I followed him.
As we took the turn we spotted an Arxur at the end of the hallway then Ethan noticed an opened door on the right. We carefully walked inside this room and closed the door. I looked around the room and spotted another door which was leading to another hallway.
The room was cleaner than most of the laboratory as there was a dead Venlil body. I approached it, and this body looked identical to a Venlil, but something was off. I inspected the body as Ethan walked to the table and looked at various papers and documentation.
“I think this is one is interesting,” he said in half-whispering tone as he came closer to me and stood in front of me
"This is experiment number 47, the attempt to give predatory thinking and abilities, such as stronger jaws and claws, to a prey species. This one was diagnosed with some predator disease…blah, blah, the experiment was successful, but…its brain couldn’t stand…predatory feelings, which resulted in a heart attack and, later, death." He said and put the document on the table near Venlil's hand.
“Well that’s really interesting.” I said and put hand on Venlil mouth then I lifted his lip, Venlil teeth had quite large and sharp looking fangs.
“Alright, let’s move on. I hope they didn’t developed something here that can revive dead people.” I said and walked to the other door then slowly opened it and looked around. The hallway was clear and we walked out of the room then he placed another C-5 charge on the wall.
“Three more to go.” He said and walked forward then he came near the corner and checked the hallway on the right then peeked around the corner and checked the other hallway. He quickly came to another wall and placed the charge. I looked at the hallway and spotted Arxur then I patted Ethan’s shoulder and we moved.
As we took the turn we stumbled upon several of those damned creatures, it was clear that they spotted us and I quickly raised my shotgun and shot at one of them killing it then we both ran away from them.
One Arxur came out of the corner and I shot but missed him as Ethan took me by hand and we both ran through the room. We quickly moved as Arxurs broke down the doors and followed us, I could tell that it’s getting more of them. Ethan stumbled and fell down.
I quickly rushed to him and shot at Arxur his body fell on the floor as other Arxurs pounced on that body and began to rip it off and eat. Other one lunged at me and hit me in the chest. The hit ripped off my vest and badly injured me.
I managed to aim and pull the trigger, killing him as Ethan took me by hand and lifted me, placing me on his shoulder. He threw a C-5 on the wall, then quickly ran, taking several turns and searching for the staircase.
I felt shitty as I saw my blood flowing on his shoulder, painting it in my red blood. It feels hard to keep my eyes opened, I am fighting myself to not just die on his shoulder right now. He took the final turn and found the door to a staircase. He picked up a mop and ran inside, blocking the door with a mop and putting me on the floor near the wall.
“Aw fuck, that shit is painful.” I said and put my hand on my chest, Ethan took a look at my injury.
“You got injured pretty badly, I guess you won’t make it.” He said in a dead, cold tone looking at my face. He looked at his PDA and did something on it then connected it to my helmet.
—
Memory transcription subject: Ethan Smith, Corporal, 53rd Infantry Division, Squad "Thunderbolt".
Date [Standardised human time]: July 14th, 2137, 0220 a.m.
---
I copied James' last 24 hours memory transcription and put away my PDA, then I took off his helmet and put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.
“Thanks, I didn't know I would die here.” He said as I thought, remembering how we met in boot camp and our past missions.
“Well, then, take this one.” I reached into my bag and pulled out a C-5 and gave it to him, he grabbed my hand and looked at or I would say… looked inside my eyes and soul.
“Take my shotgun, send it to my mother, I want to surprise her with a gift…heh.” He said and coughed then grabbed the charge as I took his shotgun and put it inside my bag, he pulled out his pistol and put it out from safe mode. We nodded to each other as I heard Arxurs behind the door then I quickly started to run upstairs.
I ran past the 4th, 3rd, 2nd floors, arriving at the 1st floor. I quickly looked around as I remembered the path back. I heard loud roaring downstairs and shooting, then I ran down the hallway finding the way as I saw other squad mates and quickly approached them.
“Where is James?!” Sarge asked as I looked at him.
“Judging by his injuries, roaring sound and pistol shooting sound I think he’s already dead, however we managed to plant charges.” I said as I looked and saw Christopher raising his rifle and shooting at somebody.
I quickly turned around as Arxurs body fell on the floor at the end of the hallway and more of them started to approach. We quickly ran to the outside and I pressed the detonator button.
The charges exploded as their loud explosion noise could be heard even outside. The facility started to shake and eventually collapsed, killing survived Arxurs and burying the dead one. I stepped back and looked at the collapsed entrance. Looking at it made me feel empty, James was the one I’d liked for his rather stupid jokes but sometimes he could make us laugh.
My thoughts got consumed by guilt, that if I didn’t fall, he wouldn't have to save me yet it is still my fault that I didn’t shoot at least two of them. If I did he would be alive and standing near us, me…maybe telling a joke.
I pulled out his shotgun from my bag and inspected it, it was decorated with marks and some words that were slurs to federation troops. It also had a writing on the right side of a shotgun which read “Have a good day!” My thoughts suddenly were flooded with memories of him shooting enemies with it. I even sometimes looked at him and saw this writing.
I felt somebody put his hand on my shoulder then I quickly turned around and found no one closer to me. I looked at squadmates yet they are far from me. I slowly felt better as I pushed my dark thoughts away. I put the shotgun into the bag and quickly approached my squadmates.
“Gold Eagle respond….Red Rose respond…something is blocking the communications.” Sarge said, holding the radio on his vest. I saw John and Christopher being sad about losing James.
“Gold Eagle respond….Red Ro-”
“All UN troops on the planet proceeded with the plan ‘Sleeping Eagle’, the Federation fleet attacked our fleet, we must retreat however we will come and save you. All you need is to hold on till we come, if it goes very bad…you’re a heroes to us and Earth. Gold Eagle out.” The voice from the radio said, I recognised it and looked in the sky.
“What does that mean sir?” Christopher said as I looked at him.
“This means, we’re now a guerrilla unit and doing guerrilla warfare, it will be a tough time and situation for us…but we will stand and survive. We’ll be fine as long as we stay together.” He said and put hand on his shoulder.
“All present UN troops retreat to the rendezvous point, this will be our current main base. The point coordinates are sent to your PDA. Make sure you will survive, Red Rose out.” We heard from the radio.
“Sir, I suggest that we should get to the humvee, the sooner we get to the rendezvous point the better it will be for the remaining troops on the planet and for us.” I said, Sarge nodded and we followed him to the humvee.
—
[Prev]
[Next]
2023.04.02 09:54 a1209j I Fucked My step Brother Friend In Front Of Him
 | submitted by a1209j to NFKFN [link] [comments] |
2023.04.02 09:51 Lyaeth A flowchart on whether you have tied your shoelaces properly (REEF) or not (GRANNY).
 | submitted by Lyaeth to coolguides [link] [comments] |
2023.04.02 09:50 AutoModerator [Get] Aleric Heck – Alpha-AI Youtube Ads Course
![[Get] Aleric Heck – Alpha-AI Youtube Ads Course](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/M-dU0UAh45tzwuHfwzkroWPsfb8t21kM_At_7uxE6VI.jpg "[Get] Aleric Heck – Alpha-AI Youtube Ads Course") | Download Full Course Here: https://www.genkicourses.com/product/aleric-heck-alpha-ai-youtube-ads-course/ submitted by AutoModerator to Best_Courses23 [link] [comments] [Get] Aleric Heck – Alpha-AI Youtube Ads Course https://preview.redd.it/6lv602eic6ra1.jpg?width=768&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bcb97abaa1773374cc3defc47dbb32d4a0b3b12e WHAT YOU GET?Planning & Scripting Your Winning YouTube Ads
Producing Your Video
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2023.04.02 09:40 AutoModerator [Get] Csaba Borzasi – Breakthrough Conversions Academy
![[Get] Csaba Borzasi – Breakthrough Conversions Academy](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/5ApVAMN7LM_YykTBL77gG05ZevdC5Bi7jDom3ezHjRI.jpg "[Get] Csaba Borzasi – Breakthrough Conversions Academy") | Download course here: https://www.genkicourses.com/product/csaba-borzasi-breakthrough-conversions-academy/ submitted by AutoModerator to CoursesBestOf2023 [link] [comments] [Get] Csaba Borzasi – Breakthrough Conversions Academy https://preview.redd.it/oclo0doso8ra1.jpg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=771060199f9b28171a8bec70e4f6d9c585159502 What You Get:Module 1The Fundamental Principles of Direct Response CopywritingIn this foundational module, you’ll discover:
The Psychology Behind Persuasive Copywriting & Copy-ThinkingI promise you’ve never seen a more advanced masterclass in emotional response marketing before.In this module, you’ll discover:
The “No-Nonsense” 80/20 Marketing Research ProcessYes, yes – I know research isn’t the sexiest of topics out there…But it’s an absolutely essential aspect of creating winning marketing campaigns. So… To make this important topic as painless and swift as possible, I scoured through thousands of pages of my notes… Revisited scores of past projects I did with various clients… And analyzed how the best of the best copywriters did their own research… To come up with a totally UNIQUE blueprint for doing marketing research FAST, in a no-nonsense way. That’s why, in this module, you’ll discover:
The “Sacred Trinity”: Big Ideas, Headlines, LeadsThis is where the “rubber meets the road”…Because Module 4 is all about the highest-impact copywriting elements out there: Big Ideas, Headlines, and Leads… PLUS, how they actually relate to each other. So in this module, you’ll discover:
The “Golden Thread” That Connects Your Big Idea With Your OfferOnce you know the secrets of the “Sacred Trinity”, it’s time to connect these elements with your Offer.How? Module 5 reveals everything. Inside this game-changing masterclass, you’ll discover:
How to Make Your Competition Irrelevant by Using a Unique MechanismOur next topic is about Unique Mechanisms…Which are essential in today’s world of “high-market sophistication” audiences. During this module, you’ll discover:
Once Upon a Time, There Was a “StorySelling Masterclass” That RockedNext up, Storytelling on STEROIDS! (which I like to call “StorySelling”)In this module, you’ll discover:
How To Create An Offer So Irresistible… Only a LUNATIC Would Ignore ItOnce you have your “Big Idea”, Headline, Lead, Golden Thread, Unique Mechanism, and Stories…It’s time to finally create an offer they can’t refuse! So in Module 8, you’ll discover:
From “Master Structure” to Breakthrough CopyIn this strategic overview session, we’ll revisit the most important 80/20 principles of key topics like:
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2023.04.02 09:20 AutoModerator [Get] Dan Koe – Digital Economics Masters Degree Full Course Download
![[Get] Dan Koe – Digital Economics Masters Degree Full Course Download](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/4qevSf0xxID_IZtLVGuPvElLwqQDF1Ez50ZfrGwjoJg.jpg "[Get] Dan Koe – Digital Economics Masters Degree Full Course Download") | Get the course here: https://www.genkicourses.com/product/dan-koe-digital-economics-masters-degree/ Dan Koe – Digital Economics Masters Degree submitted by AutoModerator to Affordable_Courses [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/e5bm5i19z5pa1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b38f3d722558909f9bfa22127af1347efd52b4ef What You Get Phase 0) Digital Economics 101 The 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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2023.04.02 09:14 cesly1987 Despair's Peak (complete story chapters 1-4 linked)
The Restless God lies trapped, but not idle in its sealed off realm. It writhes and yearns for the day it may again take pleasure in the pain of mortals. To once again play in the blood and baske in the terror only finite creatures can produce.
Many worlds it's fed upon, but never satiated. But the world that fought back against its attacks long ago are the ones it wants all the more. It has become an obsession.
So it waits, and it feels, searching for weaknesses between the borders of our world and itself. Hungry and anxious it salivates at the thought of breaching into our world again. It will be its greatest decadence and pleasure, and our darkest days. Despite this, we must pray to Her Divine! We must beg for mercy and the return of Her light.
-Grand Mage Tellomon the IV on the prophecy of the Dark God's return (Second Age)
Pitch blackness. Pure darkness. A thick void of nothing completely swallowing me up, like a fish in the depths of an ocean.
I was crouched low in a ready position, using my right hand to balance by holding onto the wagon's wheel beside me. My legs burned from forcing myself to remain completely still. But pain had become a constant in my life now.
But I was grateful for the adrenaline burst that would always dampen the ever present burden of hunger and fatigue. At least it helped for a little. But the pain found its way back to me faster and faster each time.
It was hot and humid, almost like the swamps of the eastern bog a good 3 weeks journey from here. The cold wind stopped when the darkness befell our remote town. The breeze no longer ran its cold tendrils across the barren streets.
I grabbed the thin string tied around my neck and pulled out a heavy monocle hanging from it. I held the cold metal up to my eye, to look through the green tinted glass.
The magically infused monocle always remained cool to the touch, with a static shock feeling emanating from it.
I held it to my eye to see the world around me clearly, yet tented in bright shades of green. My eyes roamed across the quiet, motionless street.
Debris and bloated corpses littered the street. With no wind and the unnaturally heavy darkness, this somehow had a dampening effect on the stench coming from decaying bodies. They could only be smelled once you were almost on top of one of them or a meter away. But my dead kinsmen helped even in death, making good landmarks to navigate through the darkness.
There were monsters that accompanied the dark fog. Twisted figures that were the void itself. Maybe they were the cruel thoughts of the Restless God made manifest.
Humans long ago, in the First Age had named them rippers. We all hoped they were just a myth, not actual walking nightmares
The rippers swarmed the town in the blinding dark. They seemed to only kill for killing's sake. They never ate the people they killed, almost like it was just for fun instead of survival.
It made sense in some twisted way. The Restless God must have returned to our realm, and brought these hateful things with it.
Prophets had long told of The Restless One's return by it sending nightmares through the veil of reality, to infest in the minds of our leaders. Centuries of slowly chipping away at the barrier separating us, chipping away at our sanity.
The Restless One birthed itself into our reality like an already dead stillborn abomination. Like a newborn giant, deformed with extra limbs and already rotting from death.
But it was alive! As alive as this strange creature could be. Now it was free, and this did not bring the thing elation, just more anger and restlessness.
How do I know all these things? The nightmare visions sent to all mortals across the realm since the Restless One's returned. Actually there were nightmares for most of the town leading up to the event. I guess it was our omens for being so close to the epicenter of its invasion.
One omen would have been terrible enough, but something this perverse stacked on the misfortune.
Dark signs of its arrival showed themselves all over the Kingdom of Maldune. The signs stretched further across to the neighboring kingdoms. The wretched god's birth pains were so terrible, I wager they were felt thousands of leagues away on The Wild Continent.
But the other Kingdoms didn't have the vast magical communication network like us Modunians, so reports of bad omens tampered off dramatically outside of our borders.
The misfortune of my town was like I said, we were the closest to the epicenter of the entities push into our reality, closest to the cradle of the spoiled god.
An entire mountain range protected us from the shock wave of magical energy, but all livestock siezed up and died. All birds fell from out of the air. All rodents died in their holes. And our very young died in their cribs.
It was a terrible event to have the town's children instantly killed, but now I see it as a mercy for the little ones. The innocent children got to go to Our Divine in their sleep peacefully, or at least quickly. They didn't have to die in the suffocating dark, or by the diseased claws of the rippers.
The town's guard fell quickly. A group of 16 men on loan from The Capitol, to keep peace and protect the trade routes. Our peacekeepers were more used to using words to settle disputes among merchants, or occasionally throw a drunk into a cell overnight.
They were ill equipped to handle the inky blackness that engulfed the town, rolling down from the mountain like a fluid landslide. The confusion of the townspeople quickly turned to pandemonium as the screams began.
That's when we realized we were not alone in the dark. Things moved quickly in the blackness. The Rippers began to slaughter everyone in the pitch blackness.
The first few days are a blur to me even now. But that's how I remember the beginning of the horror, the beginning of the end. I remember the dark engulfing the town, the adrenaline of fear. My last sight was of silent death spilling down from the mountains like a boiling pot overflowing with a viscous poison.
When the black fog first swept over me, my first few breaths of the miasma burned my eyes and lungs. The taste of metal on my tongue. The smell of sulfur and something sweet. Something sweet and rancid. Decay and corruption.
But now I had to shake the fog out of my head and return to the terrible present. I had to embrace the hopeless situation without falling to despair.
My magical sight gazing through the monocle finally spotted the rest of my group. Jillsophie, Tagert, and Fellip. Tag and Fel carrying the heavy burlap sacks of animal feed, while Jill led the three of them through the darkness with her own magical monocle.
We spotted each other from across the corpse littered roadway. The General Goods store had caught on fire early in the supernatural invasion. Somehow the strange darkness had put out the fire, snuffing it out like a heavy blanket thrown over a weak flame. That's why we were back, looting the store, trying to keep from starving to death before the rippers could kill us first.
Jill gave me a series of quick hand signals I had recently taught her. They had scavenged three bags of feed. Fil was carrying two big bags and Tagert one of them, but they were heavy and we were all weak. Jill wasn't carrying anything. She was too busy leading the two of them by pulling on the corded string she had tied around both their waists.
Before I waved the three of them to hurry over, I turned to Caville, my partner in crime on this side of the road beside me. He blinked wide eyed in the darkness, one gloved hand twisting the ends of his graying mustache while the other held a death grip on the pommel of his sheathed short sword.
I had to remember I could see him clearly through my monocle, but he only saw and felt the oppressive darkness. He was just waiting for a claw or fang to strike him from the darkness.
Because of this I lightly placed my hand on his shoulder. The light touch didn't stop Caville from almost jumping out of his boots. He quickly calmed when he realized it was me. The old warrior steadied himself once more.
I place my hand on the flat of his chest so he could feel my finger placement through his light shirt. I signed the question to him through a series of light thumps separating the words.
"Another bag. 40 LBS. Can carry?" I finished my signing by holding the hand placement designating a question mark firmly against his chest. I saw his eyes widen and he grimaced in doubt. His old frame shook a little as he prepared his answer.
Of course he answered back that he could carry the load, but I knew the real answer. It's amazing how much we communicate through non-verbal cues, and how much more when we think we are concealed in darkness.
He was barely standing on two feet. Starving and aching. He was pushing his late 50's, and his joints and muscles carried the pain of being a veteran soldier for over 30 years. He would collapse under the weight of his light armor and newly added bag of feed. No way he could keep quiet or climb back up into the attic we were all hiding at.
But Caville's years of being a proud soldier almost assured me that he would take on the task regardless of his disposition. So I signed back to Jil, "Drop 3rd bag. Later."
I lied and informed Caville that I was incorrect in my assessment. There wasn't an extra bag of feed, and we would be returning to the relative safety of the windmill.
Jil quietly led Fil, with Tagert close behind, across the road. Her own magic monocle making it possible to maneuver around the maze of debris and bodies. They all moved slow enough for Jil to communicate with sharp tugs on the string fastened around both of them. Stealth was key.
When I first saw it I didn't know how to react. I knew what the rippers looked like through my monocle, and I knew the placement of all the dead town-folk. But as I watched my three companions snake around the bloated body of Mr. Dredge, the blacksmith, I saw the faintest quiver of motion within the corpse.
Normally, that would mean some sort of vermin or carrion feeder had nestled within the body. But in this nightmare world we lived in, the Rippers killed everything that wasn't already slaughtered when The Restless One re-emerged into our reality, sending out It's shockwave of death.
To my horror I realized something else. Upon closer inspection of Mr.Dredge's body. I noticed it had somehow moved a couple feet to the left since last time I had seen him. I could even see the wet smear marks in the dirt from where it dragged itself over.
My magical monocle could also detect other magic. It wasn't very good at it but still could. My vision was bathed in illuminating green, but magic showed up white.
That's what I saw rising out of Mr.Dredge's body. Four bright spider-like legs protruded out of the back of the corpse, and hooked into the ground, lifting the stiff dead body into the air slowly, quietly.
Jil in the others were completely unaware of the horror looming up behind them. The jaw of Mr. Dredge fell off with a soggy "plop" into the dirt. What looked like a large inverted scorpion's tail writhed out the body's mouth. The scorpion tale hung down around the body's bloated chest. The tail curling up to point a large stinger at the group.
I could see that Jil had heard the "plop" of the jaw falling off the corpse behind her. She raised her eyebrows, sniffed the air, and froze in an alert state, her two companions bumping into her.
I had temporarily frozen too. I had never seen a monster like this before. Its spider legs lifting the body up to let its human feet brush its toes lightly on the ground. The whole body was ridged from rigor mortis. The body's hands curled to its chest, making fists, stiff legs swaying like the awkward pendulum of a clock. Still bodily juices and blood oozed profusely from hismouth and ripped open guts.
A surreal thought came into my mind. Maybe it was my mind trying to make sense out of nonsense. Mr.Dredges stiff body reminding me of toy soldier from my childhood. They were always stiff jointed when brand new, not dead.
I finally snapped out of my daze when glowing white spikey tendrils pushed the body's guts out with another wet impact noise. The many spiked appendages snaked out slowly towards the back of the unaware Tagert.
"Jil!" my voice boomed out, breaking the silence like a cannon burst. Everyone jumped in surprise. "Run! Run!"
With my off hand I quickly dug into my pocket and produced a phlare, the phosphorus filled stick. I quickly pulled the cap off with my teeth, igniting the flame dangerously close to my face. I didn't care, and barely felt the heat.
Holding out the phlare to signal to Jil and the others, producing a blinding light in the dark. But the blackness was unnatural and dampened the burning flame into a muted orange glow. Regardless, the phlare was still bright enough to signal the unsuspecting trio crossing the street.
Through the monocle I saw all three of them lock eyes on the light and begin to hurry towards me. It was against human instinct to run unaware in darkness. This made them not fast enough, because the Dredge-thing shot out a torso tendril to stab Tagert in the upper back.
Tagert let out a cry of pain, but kept coming. The cry of pain causing all three to break out into a full run. The need to live finally overriding the need to see.
I dropped the phlare as Jill led the other two up to me. They almost ran her poor soul over as she braced to stop them. The Dredge monster seemed to be slow. Her Divine was still blessing us!
I grabbed Caville's shoulder and Jil grabbed the tail of my shirt. We all took off together, back to the windmill.
We tried to go as fast as we could the couple blocks back to our hideout, but It was hard going. Caville lagged beside me, with Tag and Fel huffing as they carried the 40 pound feed bags.
I looked back at Dredge to see it had fallen on its stomach and was skittering after us like a centipede. It was considerably faster now!
I lowered the monocle to put both hands on Caville's shoulders and push him in front of me. Even if I pushed him we still wouldn't be fast enough.
My mind raced, like it had so many times since the birth of the Restless One. My mind swirled with anxious thoughts of decisions and counter-decisions. My sleep deprived and starving brain hallucinated the faces of my people alongside the terrible silver teeth of the Rippers lunging towards me out the colorless backdrop.
But like always, I made a desperate choice. "Drop the feed bags! Its gaining on us!
I expected to hear the "Thump! Thump!" Of the bags hitting the dirt, but I got what I least expected instead.
"No Jack! Don't drop the feed! I'll buy you time!" Caville said as he shrugged free of my grasp on his shoulders and started in the opposite direction towards Dredge.
"I'm so t-tired of running away! A-and I miss my daughter and grandkids!" the old warrior declared, his voice cracking at the end of his statement.
He held out an outstretched hand and fingers. When the tips of them made contact with Jil's dirty clothes, he easily side-stepped around Jil and the other two with grace as they hurried past him in the dark. These were skills long honed from blindfold training to heighten a soldier's situational awareness level.
Jil was the only other to see what was happening. She reached out for him as the other two pushed her forward. She stifled a cry and pushed ahead.
I was glad Jil wouldn't see this, but I felt I had to watch. I had to witness his sacrifice in the depths of this hell.
I saw Dredge's corpse crawl its way up to Caville, one of its longer talons hooking into Caville's upper knee. Caville screamed and sliced horizontally instantly. The sword cut through the air harmlessly over the monster.
Caville took this information and countered quickly as more sharp tendrils stabbed into his lower body. He rose the blade high over his head and let out a final death blow, plunging the sword downwards to impale the monster, staking it to the ground.
The monster pulled the old soldier down and tore into him. Caville's screams echoed out as I turned to run. Worse is when his screams finally choked out and fell silent.
The group of us made it un-accosted for the rest of our journey. We hurried in silence just like we were in mourning. We made it to the edge of town where the river and the watermill stood.
We climbed up the stacked boxes on the side of the building to slide open a wooden panel into the attic.
The inside of the attic had the low glow of multiple lanterns and the stuffy smell of multiple unwashed people living in tight quarters together for a long time.
We piled in quickly to close up the entrance behind us. There were 8 of us now. Me, Jil, Fil, Tag, Mama Denise, her two kids, and Harper sleeping in the corner.
All eyes met mine as they counted the three of us. No one had to ask what happened to Caville. They all knew. I think even the kids knew.
By the best we could reckon, it had been a month since death swept over our town. The rippers patrolled the streets and buildings constantly, searching for survivors to kill in the beginning. They also destroyed any cache of food or weapons they came across.
There was a deeper intelligence behind the rippers. They were vicious and animalistic when encountered, but they would carry out complicated tasks relentlessly, like soldiers receiving orders. It had to be the malicious influence of the Restless One speaking to all of them, like they were the claws at the end of his corrupting grasp.
It was Jil that had the idea for the feed bags at the General Store. Yes, they were for cows and horses, but they had been magically enhanced and would give the human body what it needed also.
It would give us enough strength to try and escape this Divine forsaken town, and hopefully leave the darkness to flee to the safety of the Capitol.
I knew the thought of making it all the way to the Capitol was ridiculous. The longer we headed east, the more likely we ran into the army of rippers that left the town at least two days ago.
It had been hundreds of them! Me and Jil were out scouting the General Store for the feed bags we had just now retrieved.
The going was slow, because the enemy was everywhere. But we knew how to maneuver from rooftop to closely packed rooftop. And the grew closer togeher the closer we got to the center of the town.
From where we started, the watermill in the outskirts of town, it seemed like the town was suspiciously empty of the monsters. But we soon realized that was the opposite. We didn't see any Rippers on the outskirts because they were all gathering together in the town square
The bright figures of humanoid shaped demons clustered together in a giant group. The magical vision of the monocle causing them to glow from whatever evil sorcery created them. So many of them huddling together created a glowing sea, flooding the courtyard.
Rippers were rumored to have always existed. Even before The Restless One returned. But they were rare and only inhabited places of great tragedy and a history of dark magic. Now there was an army of them, amassing to March East towards The Capitol.
Some said The Rippers were phantoms created by The Restless One. They were his only way to reach through dimensions and torment the living.
More scholarly Old-timers theorized the Rippers came from the vengeful spirits of the long extinct elves, hunted to extinction by Man a millennium ago.
Ancient texts mention the long extinct Legacy Elves had a bad habit of dabbling in dark magic, causing The Restless One to specifically target them, repeatedly using the elves innate affinity with magic to breach into our reality to cause havoc.
Many believe Man's genocide against the elves was not entirely warranted, it had help seal The Restless One away. But not all elves worshipped the Restless One. Many of them worshiped Her Divine like we humans do. But relations between elves and humans had always been strained, and this was the excuse humans needed to eliminate their rival for dominance over the lands, once and for all.
"Why must we be punished?" I remembered Tehama asking when all this first happened, back whe. She was alive.
"It's not our fault! It's the fault of our long dead ancestors! The kingdom that commited the atrocity doesn't even exist anymore!" Tehama said in a fit of nervous mania.
We had to hush her for getting too loud. But the truth is, we had no answer. There was no clear reason why we were all being subjected to such anguish.
Like I said, Tehama didn't make it anyways. On a supply run she had grabbed a doll from her old home to bring to Mama Denise and her two girls, but had dropped it in the street when Jil spotted a group of Rippers scaling the rooftops a block away.
We all scrambled to hide, hoping the Ripper patrol moved along. But they spotted the dolly laying in the dirt. And some sort of supernatural intelligence recognized this wasn't here on their last patrol. They knew humans were moving around.
The five of the Rippers in the patrol circled the doll, all letting out a high pitched squeals, like an alarm calling to others.
Me and Jil hid in a nasty bale of hay next to a gutted horse laying beside it, hopefully masking our scent. Our terror rose as we watched more and more Rippers coming out of the shadows. They slid down buildings, out of doorways, from under debris, and they all were all screaming, almost deafening to us.
There were three magical monocle's during this time. All of us had one. And we could all see the count of Rippers going into the hundreds!
They would find us! By flooding every corner of the street, they would come across us eventually!
That's when Tehama made her decision. I didn't see exactly where she hid, but she wasn't hiding anymore. She broke cover and ran directly into the streets, into the crowd of monsters. She tossed her monocle behind her towards our direction, maybe for us to recover later.
Of course they glowed brightly through the monocle, but to the naked eye they were an inky black. A black blacker than their surroundings, making it almost impossible to see them.
When the Rippers got close to their chosen victim, they allowed their prey to see their shiny silver teeth.
The sharp protruding teeth stand out bright and glistening, almost like silver, against the backdrop of darkness. as they moved in to kill the hapless human.
This is all Tehama saw as she dropped to his knees and searched blindly for the dropped dolly. She screamed and cried as the teeth sank into her tearing off little bits of her flesh.
The Rippers began to whoop and laugh like hyenas as they snatched piece by peice of her away. From the little I knew, the Rippers didn't need to eat. They just bit her for the joyful cruelness of it.
Blood soaked, mostly skinless hands of poor Tehama found the dolly that had started all of this horror. She hugged it close to her skinless chest and let out a gurgling scream before tipping over, most likely dead from shock.
That very second! That truly horrid moment! I decided I wasn't going to die in this town. I wasn't going to "wait it out" like all the old-timers advised. They are all dead now anyways! They didn't wait it out.
The King's armies hadn't made it in time. No fireballs from battlemages to shatter the darkness, no royal purple knights lead by The Heroic Prince Julian, no salvation from Her Divine!
If we waited we would all die in the dark. No doubt the King was coming with his armies, but how many days, or years will it take to Him to reach our settlement?
No, I would not die here. I had promised myself this years ago! I would survive like I had also promised! I would save Jil the way she saved me!
Then the army of rippers moved out East towards the Capitol. But there were still wicked things left behind to kill us. But this was our best chance!
As I sat in the darkness of the attic my mind was free to visualize in wonderful colorful detail my last memories before the Restless One tainted our town with its sightless void.
I remembered walking through the town, going towards the training academy. I was going to climb the mountain behind it. I was going to climb it again and again until I graduated and became one of the Royal Warden's Squires. The academy started soon and I never made it to the top without resting and without dropping my pack.
This is why I was one of the first to see our oncoming doom. The inky blackness spilled out from around the mountain to flood towards the town.
I knew I had to run and give warning to the town's guard. I wasn't a Warden's Squire yet, but I still had a duty to protect the people.
Tears heated up my cheeks as I sat in the dark, greatfull Jil and the others couldn't see me crying, as I remembered the death that followed.
But one of my last memories gave me the tiniest blink of hope. I remembered the peak of the mountain stabbing through the blackness. The mountain was tall enough to escape the flood of hell filling the valleys and town around it.
There was a ceremonial watchtower at the top of the mountain, filled with supplies. It's where the academy cadets earned their badges and completed their training. The mountain was the last test to becoming a Warden's Squire. A grueling uphill climb with a nickname given to the mountain by past cadets that like to boast over their hard earned accomplishments.
The mountain was affectionately called Mt. Despair, and it would be our salvation.
Part 2 https://www.reddit.com/Ceslystories/comments/11q7xcw/despairs_peak_part_2/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Part 3: https://www.reddit.com/Ceslystories/comments/11ziluk/despairs_peak_part_3/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Part 4: https://www.reddit.com/Ceslystories/comments/12916odespairs_peak_4_finale/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
submitted by cesly1987 to SLEEPSPELL [link] [comments]
Many worlds it's fed upon, but never satiated. But the world that fought back against its attacks long ago are the ones it wants all the more. It has become an obsession.
So it waits, and it feels, searching for weaknesses between the borders of our world and itself. Hungry and anxious it salivates at the thought of breaching into our world again. It will be its greatest decadence and pleasure, and our darkest days. Despite this, we must pray to Her Divine! We must beg for mercy and the return of Her light.
-Grand Mage Tellomon the IV on the prophecy of the Dark God's return (Second Age)
Pitch blackness. Pure darkness. A thick void of nothing completely swallowing me up, like a fish in the depths of an ocean.
I was crouched low in a ready position, using my right hand to balance by holding onto the wagon's wheel beside me. My legs burned from forcing myself to remain completely still. But pain had become a constant in my life now.
But I was grateful for the adrenaline burst that would always dampen the ever present burden of hunger and fatigue. At least it helped for a little. But the pain found its way back to me faster and faster each time.
It was hot and humid, almost like the swamps of the eastern bog a good 3 weeks journey from here. The cold wind stopped when the darkness befell our remote town. The breeze no longer ran its cold tendrils across the barren streets.
I grabbed the thin string tied around my neck and pulled out a heavy monocle hanging from it. I held the cold metal up to my eye, to look through the green tinted glass.
The magically infused monocle always remained cool to the touch, with a static shock feeling emanating from it.
I held it to my eye to see the world around me clearly, yet tented in bright shades of green. My eyes roamed across the quiet, motionless street.
Debris and bloated corpses littered the street. With no wind and the unnaturally heavy darkness, this somehow had a dampening effect on the stench coming from decaying bodies. They could only be smelled once you were almost on top of one of them or a meter away. But my dead kinsmen helped even in death, making good landmarks to navigate through the darkness.
There were monsters that accompanied the dark fog. Twisted figures that were the void itself. Maybe they were the cruel thoughts of the Restless God made manifest.
Humans long ago, in the First Age had named them rippers. We all hoped they were just a myth, not actual walking nightmares
The rippers swarmed the town in the blinding dark. They seemed to only kill for killing's sake. They never ate the people they killed, almost like it was just for fun instead of survival.
It made sense in some twisted way. The Restless God must have returned to our realm, and brought these hateful things with it.
Prophets had long told of The Restless One's return by it sending nightmares through the veil of reality, to infest in the minds of our leaders. Centuries of slowly chipping away at the barrier separating us, chipping away at our sanity.
The Restless One birthed itself into our reality like an already dead stillborn abomination. Like a newborn giant, deformed with extra limbs and already rotting from death.
But it was alive! As alive as this strange creature could be. Now it was free, and this did not bring the thing elation, just more anger and restlessness.
How do I know all these things? The nightmare visions sent to all mortals across the realm since the Restless One's returned. Actually there were nightmares for most of the town leading up to the event. I guess it was our omens for being so close to the epicenter of its invasion.
One omen would have been terrible enough, but something this perverse stacked on the misfortune.
Dark signs of its arrival showed themselves all over the Kingdom of Maldune. The signs stretched further across to the neighboring kingdoms. The wretched god's birth pains were so terrible, I wager they were felt thousands of leagues away on The Wild Continent.
But the other Kingdoms didn't have the vast magical communication network like us Modunians, so reports of bad omens tampered off dramatically outside of our borders.
The misfortune of my town was like I said, we were the closest to the epicenter of the entities push into our reality, closest to the cradle of the spoiled god.
An entire mountain range protected us from the shock wave of magical energy, but all livestock siezed up and died. All birds fell from out of the air. All rodents died in their holes. And our very young died in their cribs.
It was a terrible event to have the town's children instantly killed, but now I see it as a mercy for the little ones. The innocent children got to go to Our Divine in their sleep peacefully, or at least quickly. They didn't have to die in the suffocating dark, or by the diseased claws of the rippers.
The town's guard fell quickly. A group of 16 men on loan from The Capitol, to keep peace and protect the trade routes. Our peacekeepers were more used to using words to settle disputes among merchants, or occasionally throw a drunk into a cell overnight.
They were ill equipped to handle the inky blackness that engulfed the town, rolling down from the mountain like a fluid landslide. The confusion of the townspeople quickly turned to pandemonium as the screams began.
That's when we realized we were not alone in the dark. Things moved quickly in the blackness. The Rippers began to slaughter everyone in the pitch blackness.
The first few days are a blur to me even now. But that's how I remember the beginning of the horror, the beginning of the end. I remember the dark engulfing the town, the adrenaline of fear. My last sight was of silent death spilling down from the mountains like a boiling pot overflowing with a viscous poison.
When the black fog first swept over me, my first few breaths of the miasma burned my eyes and lungs. The taste of metal on my tongue. The smell of sulfur and something sweet. Something sweet and rancid. Decay and corruption.
But now I had to shake the fog out of my head and return to the terrible present. I had to embrace the hopeless situation without falling to despair.
My magical sight gazing through the monocle finally spotted the rest of my group. Jillsophie, Tagert, and Fellip. Tag and Fel carrying the heavy burlap sacks of animal feed, while Jill led the three of them through the darkness with her own magical monocle.
We spotted each other from across the corpse littered roadway. The General Goods store had caught on fire early in the supernatural invasion. Somehow the strange darkness had put out the fire, snuffing it out like a heavy blanket thrown over a weak flame. That's why we were back, looting the store, trying to keep from starving to death before the rippers could kill us first.
Jill gave me a series of quick hand signals I had recently taught her. They had scavenged three bags of feed. Fil was carrying two big bags and Tagert one of them, but they were heavy and we were all weak. Jill wasn't carrying anything. She was too busy leading the two of them by pulling on the corded string she had tied around both their waists.
Before I waved the three of them to hurry over, I turned to Caville, my partner in crime on this side of the road beside me. He blinked wide eyed in the darkness, one gloved hand twisting the ends of his graying mustache while the other held a death grip on the pommel of his sheathed short sword.
I had to remember I could see him clearly through my monocle, but he only saw and felt the oppressive darkness. He was just waiting for a claw or fang to strike him from the darkness.
Because of this I lightly placed my hand on his shoulder. The light touch didn't stop Caville from almost jumping out of his boots. He quickly calmed when he realized it was me. The old warrior steadied himself once more.
I place my hand on the flat of his chest so he could feel my finger placement through his light shirt. I signed the question to him through a series of light thumps separating the words.
"Another bag. 40 LBS. Can carry?" I finished my signing by holding the hand placement designating a question mark firmly against his chest. I saw his eyes widen and he grimaced in doubt. His old frame shook a little as he prepared his answer.
Of course he answered back that he could carry the load, but I knew the real answer. It's amazing how much we communicate through non-verbal cues, and how much more when we think we are concealed in darkness.
He was barely standing on two feet. Starving and aching. He was pushing his late 50's, and his joints and muscles carried the pain of being a veteran soldier for over 30 years. He would collapse under the weight of his light armor and newly added bag of feed. No way he could keep quiet or climb back up into the attic we were all hiding at.
But Caville's years of being a proud soldier almost assured me that he would take on the task regardless of his disposition. So I signed back to Jil, "Drop 3rd bag. Later."
I lied and informed Caville that I was incorrect in my assessment. There wasn't an extra bag of feed, and we would be returning to the relative safety of the windmill.
Jil quietly led Fil, with Tagert close behind, across the road. Her own magic monocle making it possible to maneuver around the maze of debris and bodies. They all moved slow enough for Jil to communicate with sharp tugs on the string fastened around both of them. Stealth was key.
When I first saw it I didn't know how to react. I knew what the rippers looked like through my monocle, and I knew the placement of all the dead town-folk. But as I watched my three companions snake around the bloated body of Mr. Dredge, the blacksmith, I saw the faintest quiver of motion within the corpse.
Normally, that would mean some sort of vermin or carrion feeder had nestled within the body. But in this nightmare world we lived in, the Rippers killed everything that wasn't already slaughtered when The Restless One re-emerged into our reality, sending out It's shockwave of death.
To my horror I realized something else. Upon closer inspection of Mr.Dredge's body. I noticed it had somehow moved a couple feet to the left since last time I had seen him. I could even see the wet smear marks in the dirt from where it dragged itself over.
My magical monocle could also detect other magic. It wasn't very good at it but still could. My vision was bathed in illuminating green, but magic showed up white.
That's what I saw rising out of Mr.Dredge's body. Four bright spider-like legs protruded out of the back of the corpse, and hooked into the ground, lifting the stiff dead body into the air slowly, quietly.
Jil in the others were completely unaware of the horror looming up behind them. The jaw of Mr. Dredge fell off with a soggy "plop" into the dirt. What looked like a large inverted scorpion's tail writhed out the body's mouth. The scorpion tale hung down around the body's bloated chest. The tail curling up to point a large stinger at the group.
I could see that Jil had heard the "plop" of the jaw falling off the corpse behind her. She raised her eyebrows, sniffed the air, and froze in an alert state, her two companions bumping into her.
I had temporarily frozen too. I had never seen a monster like this before. Its spider legs lifting the body up to let its human feet brush its toes lightly on the ground. The whole body was ridged from rigor mortis. The body's hands curled to its chest, making fists, stiff legs swaying like the awkward pendulum of a clock. Still bodily juices and blood oozed profusely from hismouth and ripped open guts.
A surreal thought came into my mind. Maybe it was my mind trying to make sense out of nonsense. Mr.Dredges stiff body reminding me of toy soldier from my childhood. They were always stiff jointed when brand new, not dead.
I finally snapped out of my daze when glowing white spikey tendrils pushed the body's guts out with another wet impact noise. The many spiked appendages snaked out slowly towards the back of the unaware Tagert.
"Jil!" my voice boomed out, breaking the silence like a cannon burst. Everyone jumped in surprise. "Run! Run!"
With my off hand I quickly dug into my pocket and produced a phlare, the phosphorus filled stick. I quickly pulled the cap off with my teeth, igniting the flame dangerously close to my face. I didn't care, and barely felt the heat.
Holding out the phlare to signal to Jil and the others, producing a blinding light in the dark. But the blackness was unnatural and dampened the burning flame into a muted orange glow. Regardless, the phlare was still bright enough to signal the unsuspecting trio crossing the street.
Through the monocle I saw all three of them lock eyes on the light and begin to hurry towards me. It was against human instinct to run unaware in darkness. This made them not fast enough, because the Dredge-thing shot out a torso tendril to stab Tagert in the upper back.
Tagert let out a cry of pain, but kept coming. The cry of pain causing all three to break out into a full run. The need to live finally overriding the need to see.
I dropped the phlare as Jill led the other two up to me. They almost ran her poor soul over as she braced to stop them. The Dredge monster seemed to be slow. Her Divine was still blessing us!
I grabbed Caville's shoulder and Jil grabbed the tail of my shirt. We all took off together, back to the windmill.
We tried to go as fast as we could the couple blocks back to our hideout, but It was hard going. Caville lagged beside me, with Tag and Fel huffing as they carried the 40 pound feed bags.
I looked back at Dredge to see it had fallen on its stomach and was skittering after us like a centipede. It was considerably faster now!
I lowered the monocle to put both hands on Caville's shoulders and push him in front of me. Even if I pushed him we still wouldn't be fast enough.
My mind raced, like it had so many times since the birth of the Restless One. My mind swirled with anxious thoughts of decisions and counter-decisions. My sleep deprived and starving brain hallucinated the faces of my people alongside the terrible silver teeth of the Rippers lunging towards me out the colorless backdrop.
But like always, I made a desperate choice. "Drop the feed bags! Its gaining on us!
I expected to hear the "Thump! Thump!" Of the bags hitting the dirt, but I got what I least expected instead.
"No Jack! Don't drop the feed! I'll buy you time!" Caville said as he shrugged free of my grasp on his shoulders and started in the opposite direction towards Dredge.
"I'm so t-tired of running away! A-and I miss my daughter and grandkids!" the old warrior declared, his voice cracking at the end of his statement.
He held out an outstretched hand and fingers. When the tips of them made contact with Jil's dirty clothes, he easily side-stepped around Jil and the other two with grace as they hurried past him in the dark. These were skills long honed from blindfold training to heighten a soldier's situational awareness level.
Jil was the only other to see what was happening. She reached out for him as the other two pushed her forward. She stifled a cry and pushed ahead.
I was glad Jil wouldn't see this, but I felt I had to watch. I had to witness his sacrifice in the depths of this hell.
I saw Dredge's corpse crawl its way up to Caville, one of its longer talons hooking into Caville's upper knee. Caville screamed and sliced horizontally instantly. The sword cut through the air harmlessly over the monster.
Caville took this information and countered quickly as more sharp tendrils stabbed into his lower body. He rose the blade high over his head and let out a final death blow, plunging the sword downwards to impale the monster, staking it to the ground.
The monster pulled the old soldier down and tore into him. Caville's screams echoed out as I turned to run. Worse is when his screams finally choked out and fell silent.
The group of us made it un-accosted for the rest of our journey. We hurried in silence just like we were in mourning. We made it to the edge of town where the river and the watermill stood.
We climbed up the stacked boxes on the side of the building to slide open a wooden panel into the attic.
The inside of the attic had the low glow of multiple lanterns and the stuffy smell of multiple unwashed people living in tight quarters together for a long time.
We piled in quickly to close up the entrance behind us. There were 8 of us now. Me, Jil, Fil, Tag, Mama Denise, her two kids, and Harper sleeping in the corner.
All eyes met mine as they counted the three of us. No one had to ask what happened to Caville. They all knew. I think even the kids knew.
By the best we could reckon, it had been a month since death swept over our town. The rippers patrolled the streets and buildings constantly, searching for survivors to kill in the beginning. They also destroyed any cache of food or weapons they came across.
There was a deeper intelligence behind the rippers. They were vicious and animalistic when encountered, but they would carry out complicated tasks relentlessly, like soldiers receiving orders. It had to be the malicious influence of the Restless One speaking to all of them, like they were the claws at the end of his corrupting grasp.
It was Jil that had the idea for the feed bags at the General Store. Yes, they were for cows and horses, but they had been magically enhanced and would give the human body what it needed also.
It would give us enough strength to try and escape this Divine forsaken town, and hopefully leave the darkness to flee to the safety of the Capitol.
I knew the thought of making it all the way to the Capitol was ridiculous. The longer we headed east, the more likely we ran into the army of rippers that left the town at least two days ago.
It had been hundreds of them! Me and Jil were out scouting the General Store for the feed bags we had just now retrieved.
The going was slow, because the enemy was everywhere. But we knew how to maneuver from rooftop to closely packed rooftop. And the grew closer togeher the closer we got to the center of the town.
From where we started, the watermill in the outskirts of town, it seemed like the town was suspiciously empty of the monsters. But we soon realized that was the opposite. We didn't see any Rippers on the outskirts because they were all gathering together in the town square
The bright figures of humanoid shaped demons clustered together in a giant group. The magical vision of the monocle causing them to glow from whatever evil sorcery created them. So many of them huddling together created a glowing sea, flooding the courtyard.
Rippers were rumored to have always existed. Even before The Restless One returned. But they were rare and only inhabited places of great tragedy and a history of dark magic. Now there was an army of them, amassing to March East towards The Capitol.
Some said The Rippers were phantoms created by The Restless One. They were his only way to reach through dimensions and torment the living.
More scholarly Old-timers theorized the Rippers came from the vengeful spirits of the long extinct elves, hunted to extinction by Man a millennium ago.
Ancient texts mention the long extinct Legacy Elves had a bad habit of dabbling in dark magic, causing The Restless One to specifically target them, repeatedly using the elves innate affinity with magic to breach into our reality to cause havoc.
Many believe Man's genocide against the elves was not entirely warranted, it had help seal The Restless One away. But not all elves worshipped the Restless One. Many of them worshiped Her Divine like we humans do. But relations between elves and humans had always been strained, and this was the excuse humans needed to eliminate their rival for dominance over the lands, once and for all.
"Why must we be punished?" I remembered Tehama asking when all this first happened, back whe. She was alive.
"It's not our fault! It's the fault of our long dead ancestors! The kingdom that commited the atrocity doesn't even exist anymore!" Tehama said in a fit of nervous mania.
We had to hush her for getting too loud. But the truth is, we had no answer. There was no clear reason why we were all being subjected to such anguish.
Like I said, Tehama didn't make it anyways. On a supply run she had grabbed a doll from her old home to bring to Mama Denise and her two girls, but had dropped it in the street when Jil spotted a group of Rippers scaling the rooftops a block away.
We all scrambled to hide, hoping the Ripper patrol moved along. But they spotted the dolly laying in the dirt. And some sort of supernatural intelligence recognized this wasn't here on their last patrol. They knew humans were moving around.
The five of the Rippers in the patrol circled the doll, all letting out a high pitched squeals, like an alarm calling to others.
Me and Jil hid in a nasty bale of hay next to a gutted horse laying beside it, hopefully masking our scent. Our terror rose as we watched more and more Rippers coming out of the shadows. They slid down buildings, out of doorways, from under debris, and they all were all screaming, almost deafening to us.
There were three magical monocle's during this time. All of us had one. And we could all see the count of Rippers going into the hundreds!
They would find us! By flooding every corner of the street, they would come across us eventually!
That's when Tehama made her decision. I didn't see exactly where she hid, but she wasn't hiding anymore. She broke cover and ran directly into the streets, into the crowd of monsters. She tossed her monocle behind her towards our direction, maybe for us to recover later.
Of course they glowed brightly through the monocle, but to the naked eye they were an inky black. A black blacker than their surroundings, making it almost impossible to see them.
When the Rippers got close to their chosen victim, they allowed their prey to see their shiny silver teeth.
The sharp protruding teeth stand out bright and glistening, almost like silver, against the backdrop of darkness. as they moved in to kill the hapless human.
This is all Tehama saw as she dropped to his knees and searched blindly for the dropped dolly. She screamed and cried as the teeth sank into her tearing off little bits of her flesh.
The Rippers began to whoop and laugh like hyenas as they snatched piece by peice of her away. From the little I knew, the Rippers didn't need to eat. They just bit her for the joyful cruelness of it.
Blood soaked, mostly skinless hands of poor Tehama found the dolly that had started all of this horror. She hugged it close to her skinless chest and let out a gurgling scream before tipping over, most likely dead from shock.
That very second! That truly horrid moment! I decided I wasn't going to die in this town. I wasn't going to "wait it out" like all the old-timers advised. They are all dead now anyways! They didn't wait it out.
The King's armies hadn't made it in time. No fireballs from battlemages to shatter the darkness, no royal purple knights lead by The Heroic Prince Julian, no salvation from Her Divine!
If we waited we would all die in the dark. No doubt the King was coming with his armies, but how many days, or years will it take to Him to reach our settlement?
No, I would not die here. I had promised myself this years ago! I would survive like I had also promised! I would save Jil the way she saved me!
Then the army of rippers moved out East towards the Capitol. But there were still wicked things left behind to kill us. But this was our best chance!
As I sat in the darkness of the attic my mind was free to visualize in wonderful colorful detail my last memories before the Restless One tainted our town with its sightless void.
I remembered walking through the town, going towards the training academy. I was going to climb the mountain behind it. I was going to climb it again and again until I graduated and became one of the Royal Warden's Squires. The academy started soon and I never made it to the top without resting and without dropping my pack.
This is why I was one of the first to see our oncoming doom. The inky blackness spilled out from around the mountain to flood towards the town.
I knew I had to run and give warning to the town's guard. I wasn't a Warden's Squire yet, but I still had a duty to protect the people.
Tears heated up my cheeks as I sat in the dark, greatfull Jil and the others couldn't see me crying, as I remembered the death that followed.
But one of my last memories gave me the tiniest blink of hope. I remembered the peak of the mountain stabbing through the blackness. The mountain was tall enough to escape the flood of hell filling the valleys and town around it.
There was a ceremonial watchtower at the top of the mountain, filled with supplies. It's where the academy cadets earned their badges and completed their training. The mountain was the last test to becoming a Warden's Squire. A grueling uphill climb with a nickname given to the mountain by past cadets that like to boast over their hard earned accomplishments.
The mountain was affectionately called Mt. Despair, and it would be our salvation.
Part 2 https://www.reddit.com/Ceslystories/comments/11q7xcw/despairs_peak_part_2/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Part 3: https://www.reddit.com/Ceslystories/comments/11ziluk/despairs_peak_part_3/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Part 4: https://www.reddit.com/Ceslystories/comments/12916odespairs_peak_4_finale/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
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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. |
2023.04.02 09:03 Righteous_Fury224 Sympathy for a Succubus - Meridiana’s Story. Part 6
Ahh, dear reader, hello there! So lovely to see you once more... well figuratively speaking that is… or is it?
After all, I am exceedingly well versed in The Arts. Maybe I am watching you at this very moment, with Clairvoyance or perhaps a Scrying Spell or maybe an enchanted object like the good old fashioned Crystal Ball? The Magus has one you know…
Just teasing… or am I? …teeheehee…
Anyway, this latest instalment comes to you courtesy via a Voice to Text application my Magus recently acquired for me, as he said listening to me speak aloud while typing is too distracting for him. I find that interesting considering his immense mental discipline yet understandable at the same time. After all, extoling ones inner monolog to an uncaring audience would be tedious to experience. Hmm… I’ve just thought of a new torture for the souls of the dammed, specifically for writers who think they are better than everyone around them. How ingenious of me!
In any case, I would prefer to distract him in other ways, mark you.
I also must say what wonderfully inventive creatures you humans are! An application of mathematical code, the base language of reality. It is very much like a spell in its function and nature I would say, that it allows my phone, yes the Magus got me one, to record all I say and transcribes it into neatly typed words on its electronic pages. It’s like having a monk-scribe in your pocket! Unquestionably wonderful!
So as I relax in my fabulously hot, luxurious scented, oiled bubble bath, I can easily regale you with further tales of the adventures I have had thus far on this wonderous blue and brown spherical rock that is third in line from our star. And I do not have to type with two fingers either, which is a massive bonus let me tell you!
If memory serves… ahh yes, we had just returned to the car where I saw a sign of my Magus’s humour on display in the form of his licence plate.
I do have to admit dear reader, I was indeed highly amused. He knows he’s going to hell, he just insists that it be on his terms! I love it! Such confidence, such audacious willpower.
That is exceedingly… stimulating for Succubi.
Ok dammit, it makes me tremendously horny, and I’m not talking about the ones on my head either you know! We are incredibly lusty beings, us Succubi, after all.
I was already in a highly ‘excited’ state when we got to the car, so much so that I had to use my Cell Adjustment Psionic discipline to tremendously dull down my inflamed senses as I did not wish to leave the tell-tale mark of my inflamed passion on the lower back portion of my new dress and also not on the car-seat when I sat back down in the vehicle.
Ahem…
After a few moments, which caused the Magus to glance up at me with a slightly puzzled expression, of standing outside the car (he had no idea nor cared… hmmph!) I opened the door and folded myself back inside the vehicle and resumed my seat. I later learned that I could have mostly avoided this… embarrassment… by actually wearing what you call absorbent lined underwear! I wasn’t wearing panties at the time as I was totally unaware of their existence. I do so now as its much more comfortable in lots of ways and in addition, stops the shiver when an errant chill wind blows unexpectedly up your gusset!
Moving on…
Getting into the car, the Magus paused until I had done up my seatbelt before starting the engine, waiting for another car to pass us by before safely pulling out and sedately driving off. I later learned that we could have gone screaming down the road in a cloud of burning rubber if the Magus was of a mind to. I would have if given the opportunity! Something to look forward to dear reader.
Instead, we drifted slowly through the placidly moving traffic as I watched the sun descend below the horizon of the ocean. I had only been back here on Earth for a few hours but every second was total bliss. I do not think that most of you humans realize how good you have it here. Even those who do not reside in the more developed and advanced nations, being on Earth is special.
There are infinity more worse places you can be, let me assure you of that.
We drove back mostly the way we had travelled to this particular beach. This time though it was much later in the day, heading in the opposite direction, I became aware of many more things that had escaped my attention earlier on.
We passed by denser zones and clusters of buildings where I could see various shops, food outlets, restaurants and varying vendors, all brightly lit up now as the daylight was fading. I saw incredibly tall metal poles with blazing, glowing lights illuminating the surrounds with a warm yellowy orange glow making it still easy to see. Electric lighting will never cease to amaze me. Yes dear reader, I can experience a sense of wonder and joy at simple things, even beyond the act of slaughter and soul draining. Would it astonish you that I like flowers? Such strange lifeforms that had developed aromas they use as a method of propagation. Delightful.
Anyway… we shortly crested the hill that we had previous ascended westwards earlier on the way to the beach and then I saw it!
I was awestruck once again.
Towering edifices, glittering, shining buildings monstrously higher than Hagia Sophia was, the most immense human made structure in the world when I was last in it. These glistening towers of glass, metal and stone made that church look like a feeble children’s toy. I could see over a dozen of these buildings of varying size, clustered together in less than a square mile.
The Magus glanced to his left and saw me gaping at them.
“They’re called Sky Scrapers Meridiana. They’re generally office buildings, places of business where people daily work in their wage-slave jobs then go home at night. The buildings are left vacant but light up at night as you can clearly see.”
I turned and gawped at him.
“They’re empty at night?”
I could not comprehend why such space, that had amazing views, would be left empty of an evening?
“Yep. Well most of them are. There will be some that still have people in them, conducting various types of business overnight because its what they do for a living.”
“What do they do?” I asked in a murmur as I turned back to see the vista be obscured by a large set of commercial and residential buildings that we were currently passing.
The Magus shrugged.
“They’ll be doing all sorts of things, financial trading, working back late to do their jobs… various affairs of commerce and such. It’s not that important really Meridiana. I’ll take you into the city another day when we have time for you to be a tourist. Now, if I may, I want to know more about your Telekinesis. I got an idea of how much you can lift, probably over 1400 kilograms at least if my guess as to how much a warhorse in armour with a rider would weigh… maybe more? Probably more but we’ll test that later. Anyway, it’s your fine control skills I’m interested in.”
I turned back to the Magus who was looking ahead, driving us through the busy traffic that had become a factor. I later learned that it was a time of day called ‘rush hour’.
“I am capable of very delicate manipulation with my Telekinesis, especially in regards to the erotic arts,” I said to him with a husky, low, salacious purr.
“That’s cute but I really want to know if you could snatch out of the air and control a very small, fast moving bouncing ball, say the size of your thumbnail?” he asked in an offhand manner as he slowed down due to the traffic which was banking up in front of us.
I inwardly sighed once more. Such a challenge he was!
“Yes I can but why?”
He briefly turned to me and broadly grinned before returning his attention to driving.
“There’s a game that we will ‘play’ after dinner. It is called Roulette. The game features a spinning wheel with thirty seven little slots. Into the spinning wheel a little white ball is spun in and circles around, eventually slowing and bouncing into once of the numbered slots. The slots are alternately coloured red or black and all are numbered from 00 to 36. You can bet where the ball will land, either in red or black and specifically in a numbered slot. If the ball lands in a slot you bet on, you get a payout of thirty seven to one. Ever dollar you bet wins you 37 back. You can also just bet on which colour the ball will land in giving you your money back plus it’s value as a reward. Bet $100, you get your $100 back plus another $100.”
“Dollar... that’s money right?” I said as the implications slowly dawned on me. You could make a fortune from this!
“Yes Meridiana. Dollars are what we use as currency these days. Gold is still used but not in the way you were used to. It’s still valuable as are other precious metals but that’s going to take a long explanation which is a distraction for now. So, do you think you could perhaps catch the bouncing ball with your power, directing it into the number we bet on?”
I thought about it for a few moments.
“I will have to see how the ball moves but I think I could, yes.”
“Excellent. You stand to make us a lot of money tonight. There are other games like card games, slot machines which I’m uncertain that your powers would be able to mess with. Roulette is our hunting ground. We must be careful though.”
“Why?”
I was surprised by his tone of caution. We were power incarnate! What could possibly touch us?
“Casinos hate losing money. Roulette is going to be the hardest one they can prove that we’re cheating on if you use your Telekinesis. We will be closely watched the entire time we are in the casino. There are devices called cameras, similar to Crystal Balls, that observe everything they see, relaying the images back to people in other rooms whose task it is to spot potential cheaters in the casino. They also have people walking the floor, disguised as ordinary folk, always watching everyone else. And I want to avoid the eyes of any infernal beings who may be in the casino.”
“Ahh… I see… a healthy paranoia then, for them and us hmm?”
He nodded once, emphatically.
If you have a fortune, you need to protect it, especially from people like me. His caution in regards to our identity was also most prudent and he was correct that there was a possibility that there may be others of my ilk lurking in the shadows, walking in human form as we often do.
I have to confess dear reader, that I am a master thief as well as an expert assassin, in addition to being an accomplished warrior although I rarely fight in hand to hand combat, preferring seduction, subterfuge and skulduggery as my main methods of killing. Yet still, I can fight and kill extremely proficiently with many weapons, being skilled at one of the highest levels of melee combat, the use of weapons and ways of fighting with them. I’ve been around a while you know? You pick up on things like that if you wish to live as long as I have.
Besides… stabby, stabby, stabby, bash, slash and smite can be loads of fun when you’re doing the stabbing and bashing with a well-balanced blade or mace in your hands. But I digress…
“You have it Meridiana. Yes the casinos’ management are extremely paranoid. We will have to alter our appearance as well before we enter the casino. I shall use a minor low level spell while you can take a new face. We will do so after dinner.”
I nodded then a thought came to me. I asked,
“You said we were going to something called a buffet? I know what the word means as my abilities allow me to understand any spoken language, much like the enchantment known as Tongues. Yet I’m finding it hard to match the word with the concept.”
The Magus raised an eyebrow in interest at this revelation.
“Oh right. Just because you know a word doesn’t mean you automatically understanding it conceptually and in context either. Good to know. Well, a buffet is an enormous array of various foods, hot and cold, sweet to savoury, where you merely help yourself and consume as much as you wish. You pay for the privilege of course.”
“Truly? How much will this cost you?” I inquired wide eyed.
I noticed that we had moved through the traffic and had turned down a descending road and were now going into a massive concrete tunnel along with hundreds of other cars, all slowly moving in the same direction. It was quite honestly astounding that everyone was not smashing into one another. All the drivers were…well mostly were, attentive to their immediate surrounds and situation as we gradually merged our car into the main lane of traffic which was making its way under the earth via the huge yawning tunnel ahead.
Such staggering feats of engineering and construction which would have made the Emperor Justinian weep copious, bitter tears of pure envy. Oh how I wished I could make him see this and realise his idiotic boast was pointless when he finished Hagia Sophia. He bragged that he had surpassed Solomon himself with his church. He had but it wasn’t worth it. Justinian nearly bankrupted the Eastern Roman Empire, all for a useless church and his own vanity.
Moron.
Still, I shouldn’t care, his hubris ended up sending him to hell anyway so... yay! His actions also exacerbated the effects of the famine and plague that swept the through the empire and western Europe in the year 535 with his stupid desire to re-unify the Roman empire under his rule. You will be pleased to know dear reader, that he is burning in eternal torment for his multitude of sins so it is all good. My thoughts of deceased, vainglorious emperors and their fate were interrupted as the Magus spoke again,
“Hmm? … it should set us back about $80 each I’d should say? A small price to pay in all honesty when you see what is on offer. Drinks will be on top of that price, unless you just have plain water but tonight Meridiana, I shall introduce you to Champagne, one of humanities greatest achievements.”
This was enticing to hear!
“If you say so Magus. I completely believe you as you will not be lying to me,” I said, nodding and trying to think about Champagne.
So many new concepts were entering my mind, it was hard to keep my mind and thoughts in order. I understood that Champagne was a special type of wine, one which had a fizz embodied within it, making it highly regarded but that’s all I could deduce for now.
Also… I had a thought: the Magus could and would never lie to me. The feeling I had earlier, in being able to trust everything he said to me because of the oath he gave to me, was an unfettering sensation.
All my existence I have dealt with bare faced lairs, deceivers, misshapers of the truth who twisted words to suit their own selfish ends. With the Magus, all I had to be concerned with was his agenda, which actually had my interests aligned with his own. Truly remarkable.
I needed that champagne now!
We emerged from the tunnel, traveling with the traffic over wide dark river, again on another immense concrete bridge this time. There was a gigantic colosseum off to our right, all lit up with multiple coloured lights that ran around the circumference of the structure. It was like as though it was enveloped in a rainbow. Frankly, it was amazing to behold.
Beyond that, I could see many more large towers and structures, lining the sides of the vast road we were hurtling along now. The Magus had increased our speed as traffic had thinned out. Never in my life had I moved so fast, well unless I was using a Haste spell to briefly increase my physical speed, which I use in combat if necessary.
I barely had the sense we were travelling in the car at roughly 80kph. Such an odd experience to have for the first time. There was no rushing of wind, no press of air on my face, just comfort and air-conditioning. Marvellous!
After a few minutes later I saw our destination.
Again I was nearly stupefied by the gigantic structure. Multiple massive buildings, all surrounded by lush green, well-manicured and maintained gardens made my jaw go slack with disbelief.
“That’s Crown Casino, Towers and hotel Meridiana. I can see you are impressed. Let me just say that if you think this is amazing, wait until we go to Las Vegas…” he said as he turned the car into the driveway of the complex.
“There’s even more impressive structures than this?”
My mind boggled dear reader. It was almost too much to take in.
“Yep. My city is a small one compared to others around the globe. We will travel to them, in due course. I know you can use your powers of Dimensional Walking, moving through other planes of reality and appearing on a different part of the planet. However, there will be times when we will need to travel together conventionally. Perhaps one day, if I learn the right spells, we will be able to avoid having to fly in an aeroplane and by-pass the utter tediousness of baggage check-ins, airport security and so on…” he muttered darkly.
“HUMANS CAN FLY!?!” I said in a loud strangled astonished voice.
The Magus chuckled with genuine amusement.
“Think back Meridiana. I said humanity has been to the moon and back. I said we can travel safely and comfortably in a machine, called an aircraft, across the planet. Some ‘planes are huge while others are not much bigger than the car. Oh, that reminds me, we will have to construct an identity for you. We will begin that process tomorrow. You are going to need a passport soon enough,” he said as he found a relatively unoccupied parking area west of the massive structures.
He saw my puzzled expression and mistook it for wondering why we had parked here.
“It’s free to park here and there are hardly any security cameras in the vicinity.”
I nodded dumbly.
“But of course Magus…”
He saw my expression as he switched off the engine. A tiny look of… sympathy appeared on his face. He spoke to me in a soft, calm, soothing tone,
“Take a breath Meridiana. Close your eyes and focus upon the stillness within the vehicle. You are safe here with me. Nothing will harm us. Just breathe and relax, let each breath calm you. With every breath you are at peace within yourself and the world around you.”
I did as he said and instantly sensed my whirling mind begin to centre itself, become still.
I may be an ancient and powerful demon dear reader, however I have been imprisoned for nigh on a thousand years and now have been released into a world that I was unable to recognise at all.
The Magus later told me I was suffering from a psychological malady called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Yes dear reader, even us demons can get mentally fucked up. I mean, compared to the average human, we’re all demented, tormented psychopaths which explains a lot about ourselves but still… even a psychopath can suffer from mental trauma. Demons can go insane.
I breathed rhythmically, each exhaling breath calming me. With one final exhalation, I opened my eyes, turned to my Magus and softly smiled at him.
“Thank you,” was all I said. I meant it.
He nodded briefly, his intensely burning eyes boring into mine, deeply searching, looking for signs of any madness that may still be lingering within. Well, there’s always the hunger for sex and mayhem, but that’s natural for me.
“Come on, you look fine now, let’s go,” he said as he got out of the car.
I followed his example, releasing my seat belt and stepping out of the car. Closing the car door behind me, walked over to the Magus then I threaded my right arm around his left as we walked off like a normal couple, casually strolling through the car park towards the casino and hotel.
I could hear the noise of all the adjacent traffic all still travelling busily along the massive road that went past the enormous complex. There was the calls of various birds I’d never heard before, the waft of scented flowering plants and the heavy aroma of moisture in the air from the nearby river. I closed my eyes for a second just to let it all wash over me as I sedately walked along with my Magus.
Soon we came to the entrance. Huge dark glass doors magically opened for us upon our arrival. To my right I could see various coloured signage, advertising the types of ‘fast food’ eateries that people could choose to dine at. They were all brightly lit and mostly clean.
It was at that moment I saw my first wretch.
A dishevelled, unkempt, shabby man sat listless outside the fast food eateries upon the low stone wall that contained a small, well-kept garden. He looked up at us as we approached, his eyes full of misery and despair.
“Got any spare change?”
“Sorry mate, no one carries cash anymore,” lied my Magus to him with a conciliatory voice, a sad but brief compassionate smile appeared briefly on his face.
The wretched man’s face became even more resigned. He nodded back in understanding, returning his fallen face back to morosely contemplating the ground at his feet.
We kept walking, leaving the broken man behind us.
I was about to congratulate the Magus in his treatment of the beggar when I had to stop as I was confronted by an incredible sight.
Before us, in the huge well-lit lobby of the building, was a huge pair of MOVING METAL STAIRCASES!
One staircase ascended while another came down from the landing some 50 feet above us. On either side were normal, marble clad stairs that some people were using. Yet many other people were on the moving metal stairs, all just taking the experience of being raised or lowered completely for granted.
“It’s just an escalator Meridiana. A simple machine that makes life a little more comfortable. Take it, go for a ride. I’m taking the stairs as I need the incidental exercise,” he said to me as he pried my clutching hands from his arm. I had been unconsciously gripping him tightly in my amazement at seeing such a machine.
The Magus walked off to the left, climbing the steps briskly while I gingerly walked forwards, watching the metal stairs endless appear and ascend upwards. The hand rail also moved in synchronicity with the metal stairs. I observed as a pair of young women, chatting intently to each other, walked past me and up to stand upon a metal stair which was part of dozens of metal stairs it seemed. I saw them be lifted by the moving stairs, rising above and away from me.
Summoning my courage, I stepped forwards onto a moving stair, wobbled slightly as I was not used to the speed which it moved, making me grab the moving banister tightly to steady myself as I rode my way upwards. I let out a small laugh as it was such a novel experience. The young women in front of me turned around at my laugh, raising their eyebrows at me as well as actually truly seeing me for the first time. Their smiles faded as I grinned back at them.
The young women could see my infinitely superior beauty on full display. They looked hesitant, now uncertain of themselves as they mistakenly believed themselves to be beautiful. They were, passible, not ugly but not worthy of a harem to be perfectly honest. I later learned dear reader that many foolish young women, especially in what you call the western world, regard themselves as queens, rating themselves ten out of ten on a scale of dazzling good looks. These sad women are delusional. I mean, if they were that beautiful, why weren’t their faces on the covers of the glossy magazines I see in various ‘supermarket’ check outs? No matter, vanity and hubris are all ways to damnation and misery. So many people sending themselves to eternal torment simply because they were raised by idiotic parents who never properly taught their children the need for humility. It’s all win-win for the pits you know…
My Magus met me at the top of the stairs, holding out his hand to me and then leading me through the vast interior of the complex.
“That’s the casino,” he indicated to our right.
Looking, I could see dozens of people making their way inside into the brightly lit and noisy interior of the casino. I caught the whiff of desperation, despair, avarice, lust, elation and a strong aroma of human urine. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. Yes, even I have some standards dear reader.
“Magus, why does it reek of piss?” I asked as we strolled by and proceeded into the most immense, glass covered atrium I have ever seen.
“Oh, you can smell that?” He looked intrigued.
I nodded with a mild look of disgust.
“Hah… interesting. Well… some gamblers get stuck on a poker machine. They sit there for hours, desperately hoping that the machine they are playing on will pay out. The poor fools stupidly believe that if they play at the machine long enough, they’ll win big. So they stay seated, ignoring the need to relieve their bodily urges, to the extent that they prefer to piss themselves rather than abandon the machine that is draining away their money. The poor fools are incapable of understanding that the machine is designed to rarely pay out. Every time they play, it has a simple algorithm that calculates the chance of a payout. Most machines will payout a small amount of money occasionally, thus keeping the gambler hooked in the mistaken belief that the big one is just around the corner. It rarely, if ever, is.”
I stopped, stunned at what I just heard. The Magus stopped and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
“That’s… diabolically genius!” I stuttered as I considered the fiendish brilliance of the whole concept.
Someone had made hell on earth not only possible but also could make a fortune from it as well as breaking people’s souls and spirits in the process! The concept of dangling hope in front of a damned soul, then snatching it away was one of the oldest known tortures of hell. This was a magnificent, a culmination of the perfection of thousands upon thousands of years of the torture, all neatly packaged in a fairly simple machine designed to beggar it’s user and turn them into slaves to it. Gobsmacking was the only word I could think off that fully encapsulated the way I felt at that moment.
“Yes it is, isn’t it? I have always suspected that those machines were most likely invented by a demon. It makes perfect sense,” he said as he shrugged, then tilted his head, indicating we should proceed onwards.
I noddled dumbly as again, I had been totally overwhelmed by the latest piece of information the Magus informed of. I barely registered the hundreds of people all wandering around the massive lobby of the hotel atrium. Many were dressed finely while others, mostly men, were dressed casually. My Magus was one of them, still wearing his novelty T-shirt and hemp pants. They were clean though and his shoes, a brand known as Babuuk, made him look somehow better dressed then the other men who were similarly attired. Maybe it was just his subtle aurora of power, his sheer confidence and his towering Will that made him stand out from the mouth breathers all around us? I guess it was.
We arrived at the entrance of the restaurant and the Magus was greeted by a short Asian woman, dressed neatly in the hotels livery.
I started to realise that there were people from so many different races of humanity all around us. I had come from a time where only what was left of the Eastern Roman Empire was this diverse, and even then it was but a shadow of the heyday of the full glory that was Rome. Here were people from almost all the lands of earth, all happily co-mingling, getting on with having dinner with family and friends. Very surprising indeed.
The Asian woman at the reception counter spoke to us with a friendly smile,
“Good evening sir, madam. A table for two for you then?” she asked politely, her voice tinged with a broad accent I had not heard before. She spoke English yet I could tell that wasn’t her first language.
“Yes please,” politely replied the Magus.
This was something I did not expect. Despite his and my obvious power, he was respectful and even kind to the servants. All of them. He didn’t condescend nor sneer down at the servants of the hotel. It is still something I have difficulty reconciling. I said nothing, just observed. Oh, he has since instructed me not to call them servants, they are members of staff and will be treated with respect until they show they do not deserve it, then they are fair game. I can live with that.
“Table seventy one is ready for you both, have a lovely evening.”
She actually meant it! I could see it in her eyes, she was truly enjoying her task. She was smiling and joking with her fellow staff members, politely greeting the next people behind us with her cheerful friendly demeanour.
Astonishing.
In my prior experiences, servants and slaves were a miserable lot but then again, that was understandable. They had no choice as to their circumstances. They had to obey lest they suffer harsh punishment.
As we proceeded into the large dining room, with over a hundred tables of varying sizes, I could see off to my left where the food was.
I stopped again and stared dear reader.
I have been to banquets with Emperors and Kings, Popes and Princes, all sumptuous feasts but nothing was like what I saw before me. Dozens upon dozens of people had plates in their hands, all calmly wandering around the incredible cornucopia of varieties of food that were on display, all brightly lit up for them to simply help themselves to as much as their plate could hold.
Roasted meats, all neatly carved by expert chefs, freshly shucked oysters all seated in enormous silver ice-filled serving bowls, trays upon trays of cooked vegetables of kinds I had never seen before and… a dazzling array of sweet desserts and treats that made me almost go weak at the knees at the very sight of them.
“Come on Meridiana, you’re starting to drool,” whispered the Magus gently into my ear as he dabbed my wet lips with a soft piece of paper that he withdrew from his pants pockets.
Once again I nodded dumbly as I allowed him to escort me to our table. He even seated me, pushing me and my chair in one I had sat down. After he had taken his seat, a young man, quite a handsome one from the Indus I believed?... came over to us, again dressed in the livery of the hotel.
“Good evening, sir, madam. Would you care for something to drink?” he inquired ever so politely.
“And good evening to you sir. Yes indeed, may we please have a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, two glasses and a bottle of San Pellegrino sparkling water?” he asked with a real smile to the servant… no member of staff.
“Of course sir, I shall get that for you immediately,” replied the waiter with a pleased smile at being spoken to so politely.
“Thank you,” said the Magus then he turned to me and asked,
“Do you need a moment Meridiana? I understand this might trigger you again…”
I shook my head.
“No. It is overwhelming… but in a good way Magus. I have to ask, how can a place like this provide so many people with so much food? Even in the height of the Empire, there were magnificent feasts to be sure but… you say this happens everyday, that this is just a Tuesday and not a busy night?”
He nodded.
“This is the age of abundance Meridiana. Many of us, who live in what is known as The West, have dwelt in an age of such wealth and richness that almost all here never think on their incredible luck and privilege to live in such times. They do not know that it will come to an end. Maybe that is a small mercy. All golden ages end as you well know. So I say, let them dwell in ignorant bliss for now. We can enjoy it while it lasts.”
“Huh? Why do you believe that your golden age will end Magus?”
“It’s a long explanation and one I do not wish to go into detail here and now Meridiana but later, I will share my thoughts with you on this. Ahh, here comes our champagne.”
The waiter and another staff member had returned, with one carrying two bottles while the other had a metal bucket partially filled with ice. The waiter from the Indus placed both bottles on our table, displayed the label to the Magus who briefly nodded. Then, the waiter removed the cork from the bottle with an adroit twist of his wrist. It made a pleasing pop and I could see a little haze of cold… smoke? lightly emanate from the neck of the bottle. He poured the brightly bubbling and fizzing wine into both our glasses, carefully making sure the foam did not overflow them. He was very good at his task.
“Thank you good sir,” said my Magus to the waiter who beamed back at him with a happy smile. He placed the bottle into the bucket of ice and withdrew, leaving us alone, amidst the crowed dinning room.
The Magus took up his glass, holding it in front of him. I mirrored him.
“Here’s to a good dinner with interesting company and later, ripping the shit out of a casino Meridiana.” He pushed his glass gently forwards, lightly clinking it against mine. I wasn’t familiar at the time with that form of salute and toast but went with it anyway, after all… when in Rome as they used to say.
“That sounds… delightful Magus. I am eager for it all.”
I then took a sip of my champagne and was transported into a realm of heavenly bliss.
It was exquisite.
submitted by Righteous_Fury224 to u/Righteous_Fury224 [link] [comments]
Ahh, dear reader, hello there! So lovely to see you once more... well figuratively speaking that is… or is it?
After all, I am exceedingly well versed in The Arts. Maybe I am watching you at this very moment, with Clairvoyance or perhaps a Scrying Spell or maybe an enchanted object like the good old fashioned Crystal Ball? The Magus has one you know…
Just teasing… or am I? …teeheehee…
Anyway, this latest instalment comes to you courtesy via a Voice to Text application my Magus recently acquired for me, as he said listening to me speak aloud while typing is too distracting for him. I find that interesting considering his immense mental discipline yet understandable at the same time. After all, extoling ones inner monolog to an uncaring audience would be tedious to experience. Hmm… I’ve just thought of a new torture for the souls of the dammed, specifically for writers who think they are better than everyone around them. How ingenious of me!
In any case, I would prefer to distract him in other ways, mark you.
I also must say what wonderfully inventive creatures you humans are! An application of mathematical code, the base language of reality. It is very much like a spell in its function and nature I would say, that it allows my phone, yes the Magus got me one, to record all I say and transcribes it into neatly typed words on its electronic pages. It’s like having a monk-scribe in your pocket! Unquestionably wonderful!
So as I relax in my fabulously hot, luxurious scented, oiled bubble bath, I can easily regale you with further tales of the adventures I have had thus far on this wonderous blue and brown spherical rock that is third in line from our star. And I do not have to type with two fingers either, which is a massive bonus let me tell you!
If memory serves… ahh yes, we had just returned to the car where I saw a sign of my Magus’s humour on display in the form of his licence plate.
I do have to admit dear reader, I was indeed highly amused. He knows he’s going to hell, he just insists that it be on his terms! I love it! Such confidence, such audacious willpower.
That is exceedingly… stimulating for Succubi.
Ok dammit, it makes me tremendously horny, and I’m not talking about the ones on my head either you know! We are incredibly lusty beings, us Succubi, after all.
I was already in a highly ‘excited’ state when we got to the car, so much so that I had to use my Cell Adjustment Psionic discipline to tremendously dull down my inflamed senses as I did not wish to leave the tell-tale mark of my inflamed passion on the lower back portion of my new dress and also not on the car-seat when I sat back down in the vehicle.
Ahem…
After a few moments, which caused the Magus to glance up at me with a slightly puzzled expression, of standing outside the car (he had no idea nor cared… hmmph!) I opened the door and folded myself back inside the vehicle and resumed my seat. I later learned that I could have mostly avoided this… embarrassment… by actually wearing what you call absorbent lined underwear! I wasn’t wearing panties at the time as I was totally unaware of their existence. I do so now as its much more comfortable in lots of ways and in addition, stops the shiver when an errant chill wind blows unexpectedly up your gusset!
Moving on…
Getting into the car, the Magus paused until I had done up my seatbelt before starting the engine, waiting for another car to pass us by before safely pulling out and sedately driving off. I later learned that we could have gone screaming down the road in a cloud of burning rubber if the Magus was of a mind to. I would have if given the opportunity! Something to look forward to dear reader.
Instead, we drifted slowly through the placidly moving traffic as I watched the sun descend below the horizon of the ocean. I had only been back here on Earth for a few hours but every second was total bliss. I do not think that most of you humans realize how good you have it here. Even those who do not reside in the more developed and advanced nations, being on Earth is special.
There are infinity more worse places you can be, let me assure you of that.
We drove back mostly the way we had travelled to this particular beach. This time though it was much later in the day, heading in the opposite direction, I became aware of many more things that had escaped my attention earlier on.
We passed by denser zones and clusters of buildings where I could see various shops, food outlets, restaurants and varying vendors, all brightly lit up now as the daylight was fading. I saw incredibly tall metal poles with blazing, glowing lights illuminating the surrounds with a warm yellowy orange glow making it still easy to see. Electric lighting will never cease to amaze me. Yes dear reader, I can experience a sense of wonder and joy at simple things, even beyond the act of slaughter and soul draining. Would it astonish you that I like flowers? Such strange lifeforms that had developed aromas they use as a method of propagation. Delightful.
Anyway… we shortly crested the hill that we had previous ascended westwards earlier on the way to the beach and then I saw it!
I was awestruck once again.
Towering edifices, glittering, shining buildings monstrously higher than Hagia Sophia was, the most immense human made structure in the world when I was last in it. These glistening towers of glass, metal and stone made that church look like a feeble children’s toy. I could see over a dozen of these buildings of varying size, clustered together in less than a square mile.
The Magus glanced to his left and saw me gaping at them.
“They’re called Sky Scrapers Meridiana. They’re generally office buildings, places of business where people daily work in their wage-slave jobs then go home at night. The buildings are left vacant but light up at night as you can clearly see.”
I turned and gawped at him.
“They’re empty at night?”
I could not comprehend why such space, that had amazing views, would be left empty of an evening?
“Yep. Well most of them are. There will be some that still have people in them, conducting various types of business overnight because its what they do for a living.”
“What do they do?” I asked in a murmur as I turned back to see the vista be obscured by a large set of commercial and residential buildings that we were currently passing.
The Magus shrugged.
“They’ll be doing all sorts of things, financial trading, working back late to do their jobs… various affairs of commerce and such. It’s not that important really Meridiana. I’ll take you into the city another day when we have time for you to be a tourist. Now, if I may, I want to know more about your Telekinesis. I got an idea of how much you can lift, probably over 1400 kilograms at least if my guess as to how much a warhorse in armour with a rider would weigh… maybe more? Probably more but we’ll test that later. Anyway, it’s your fine control skills I’m interested in.”
I turned back to the Magus who was looking ahead, driving us through the busy traffic that had become a factor. I later learned that it was a time of day called ‘rush hour’.
“I am capable of very delicate manipulation with my Telekinesis, especially in regards to the erotic arts,” I said to him with a husky, low, salacious purr.
“That’s cute but I really want to know if you could snatch out of the air and control a very small, fast moving bouncing ball, say the size of your thumbnail?” he asked in an offhand manner as he slowed down due to the traffic which was banking up in front of us.
I inwardly sighed once more. Such a challenge he was!
“Yes I can but why?”
He briefly turned to me and broadly grinned before returning his attention to driving.
“There’s a game that we will ‘play’ after dinner. It is called Roulette. The game features a spinning wheel with thirty seven little slots. Into the spinning wheel a little white ball is spun in and circles around, eventually slowing and bouncing into once of the numbered slots. The slots are alternately coloured red or black and all are numbered from 00 to 36. You can bet where the ball will land, either in red or black and specifically in a numbered slot. If the ball lands in a slot you bet on, you get a payout of thirty seven to one. Ever dollar you bet wins you 37 back. You can also just bet on which colour the ball will land in giving you your money back plus it’s value as a reward. Bet $100, you get your $100 back plus another $100.”
“Dollar... that’s money right?” I said as the implications slowly dawned on me. You could make a fortune from this!
“Yes Meridiana. Dollars are what we use as currency these days. Gold is still used but not in the way you were used to. It’s still valuable as are other precious metals but that’s going to take a long explanation which is a distraction for now. So, do you think you could perhaps catch the bouncing ball with your power, directing it into the number we bet on?”
I thought about it for a few moments.
“I will have to see how the ball moves but I think I could, yes.”
“Excellent. You stand to make us a lot of money tonight. There are other games like card games, slot machines which I’m uncertain that your powers would be able to mess with. Roulette is our hunting ground. We must be careful though.”
“Why?”
I was surprised by his tone of caution. We were power incarnate! What could possibly touch us?
“Casinos hate losing money. Roulette is going to be the hardest one they can prove that we’re cheating on if you use your Telekinesis. We will be closely watched the entire time we are in the casino. There are devices called cameras, similar to Crystal Balls, that observe everything they see, relaying the images back to people in other rooms whose task it is to spot potential cheaters in the casino. They also have people walking the floor, disguised as ordinary folk, always watching everyone else. And I want to avoid the eyes of any infernal beings who may be in the casino.”
“Ahh… I see… a healthy paranoia then, for them and us hmm?”
He nodded once, emphatically.
If you have a fortune, you need to protect it, especially from people like me. His caution in regards to our identity was also most prudent and he was correct that there was a possibility that there may be others of my ilk lurking in the shadows, walking in human form as we often do.
I have to confess dear reader, that I am a master thief as well as an expert assassin, in addition to being an accomplished warrior although I rarely fight in hand to hand combat, preferring seduction, subterfuge and skulduggery as my main methods of killing. Yet still, I can fight and kill extremely proficiently with many weapons, being skilled at one of the highest levels of melee combat, the use of weapons and ways of fighting with them. I’ve been around a while you know? You pick up on things like that if you wish to live as long as I have.
Besides… stabby, stabby, stabby, bash, slash and smite can be loads of fun when you’re doing the stabbing and bashing with a well-balanced blade or mace in your hands. But I digress…
“You have it Meridiana. Yes the casinos’ management are extremely paranoid. We will have to alter our appearance as well before we enter the casino. I shall use a minor low level spell while you can take a new face. We will do so after dinner.”
I nodded then a thought came to me. I asked,
“You said we were going to something called a buffet? I know what the word means as my abilities allow me to understand any spoken language, much like the enchantment known as Tongues. Yet I’m finding it hard to match the word with the concept.”
The Magus raised an eyebrow in interest at this revelation.
“Oh right. Just because you know a word doesn’t mean you automatically understanding it conceptually and in context either. Good to know. Well, a buffet is an enormous array of various foods, hot and cold, sweet to savoury, where you merely help yourself and consume as much as you wish. You pay for the privilege of course.”
“Truly? How much will this cost you?” I inquired wide eyed.
I noticed that we had moved through the traffic and had turned down a descending road and were now going into a massive concrete tunnel along with hundreds of other cars, all slowly moving in the same direction. It was quite honestly astounding that everyone was not smashing into one another. All the drivers were…well mostly were, attentive to their immediate surrounds and situation as we gradually merged our car into the main lane of traffic which was making its way under the earth via the huge yawning tunnel ahead.
Such staggering feats of engineering and construction which would have made the Emperor Justinian weep copious, bitter tears of pure envy. Oh how I wished I could make him see this and realise his idiotic boast was pointless when he finished Hagia Sophia. He bragged that he had surpassed Solomon himself with his church. He had but it wasn’t worth it. Justinian nearly bankrupted the Eastern Roman Empire, all for a useless church and his own vanity.
Moron.
Still, I shouldn’t care, his hubris ended up sending him to hell anyway so... yay! His actions also exacerbated the effects of the famine and plague that swept the through the empire and western Europe in the year 535 with his stupid desire to re-unify the Roman empire under his rule. You will be pleased to know dear reader, that he is burning in eternal torment for his multitude of sins so it is all good. My thoughts of deceased, vainglorious emperors and their fate were interrupted as the Magus spoke again,
“Hmm? … it should set us back about $80 each I’d should say? A small price to pay in all honesty when you see what is on offer. Drinks will be on top of that price, unless you just have plain water but tonight Meridiana, I shall introduce you to Champagne, one of humanities greatest achievements.”
This was enticing to hear!
“If you say so Magus. I completely believe you as you will not be lying to me,” I said, nodding and trying to think about Champagne.
So many new concepts were entering my mind, it was hard to keep my mind and thoughts in order. I understood that Champagne was a special type of wine, one which had a fizz embodied within it, making it highly regarded but that’s all I could deduce for now.
Also… I had a thought: the Magus could and would never lie to me. The feeling I had earlier, in being able to trust everything he said to me because of the oath he gave to me, was an unfettering sensation.
All my existence I have dealt with bare faced lairs, deceivers, misshapers of the truth who twisted words to suit their own selfish ends. With the Magus, all I had to be concerned with was his agenda, which actually had my interests aligned with his own. Truly remarkable.
I needed that champagne now!
We emerged from the tunnel, traveling with the traffic over wide dark river, again on another immense concrete bridge this time. There was a gigantic colosseum off to our right, all lit up with multiple coloured lights that ran around the circumference of the structure. It was like as though it was enveloped in a rainbow. Frankly, it was amazing to behold.
Beyond that, I could see many more large towers and structures, lining the sides of the vast road we were hurtling along now. The Magus had increased our speed as traffic had thinned out. Never in my life had I moved so fast, well unless I was using a Haste spell to briefly increase my physical speed, which I use in combat if necessary.
I barely had the sense we were travelling in the car at roughly 80kph. Such an odd experience to have for the first time. There was no rushing of wind, no press of air on my face, just comfort and air-conditioning. Marvellous!
After a few minutes later I saw our destination.
Again I was nearly stupefied by the gigantic structure. Multiple massive buildings, all surrounded by lush green, well-manicured and maintained gardens made my jaw go slack with disbelief.
“That’s Crown Casino, Towers and hotel Meridiana. I can see you are impressed. Let me just say that if you think this is amazing, wait until we go to Las Vegas…” he said as he turned the car into the driveway of the complex.
“There’s even more impressive structures than this?”
My mind boggled dear reader. It was almost too much to take in.
“Yep. My city is a small one compared to others around the globe. We will travel to them, in due course. I know you can use your powers of Dimensional Walking, moving through other planes of reality and appearing on a different part of the planet. However, there will be times when we will need to travel together conventionally. Perhaps one day, if I learn the right spells, we will be able to avoid having to fly in an aeroplane and by-pass the utter tediousness of baggage check-ins, airport security and so on…” he muttered darkly.
“HUMANS CAN FLY!?!” I said in a loud strangled astonished voice.
The Magus chuckled with genuine amusement.
“Think back Meridiana. I said humanity has been to the moon and back. I said we can travel safely and comfortably in a machine, called an aircraft, across the planet. Some ‘planes are huge while others are not much bigger than the car. Oh, that reminds me, we will have to construct an identity for you. We will begin that process tomorrow. You are going to need a passport soon enough,” he said as he found a relatively unoccupied parking area west of the massive structures.
He saw my puzzled expression and mistook it for wondering why we had parked here.
“It’s free to park here and there are hardly any security cameras in the vicinity.”
I nodded dumbly.
“But of course Magus…”
He saw my expression as he switched off the engine. A tiny look of… sympathy appeared on his face. He spoke to me in a soft, calm, soothing tone,
“Take a breath Meridiana. Close your eyes and focus upon the stillness within the vehicle. You are safe here with me. Nothing will harm us. Just breathe and relax, let each breath calm you. With every breath you are at peace within yourself and the world around you.”
I did as he said and instantly sensed my whirling mind begin to centre itself, become still.
I may be an ancient and powerful demon dear reader, however I have been imprisoned for nigh on a thousand years and now have been released into a world that I was unable to recognise at all.
The Magus later told me I was suffering from a psychological malady called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Yes dear reader, even us demons can get mentally fucked up. I mean, compared to the average human, we’re all demented, tormented psychopaths which explains a lot about ourselves but still… even a psychopath can suffer from mental trauma. Demons can go insane.
I breathed rhythmically, each exhaling breath calming me. With one final exhalation, I opened my eyes, turned to my Magus and softly smiled at him.
“Thank you,” was all I said. I meant it.
He nodded briefly, his intensely burning eyes boring into mine, deeply searching, looking for signs of any madness that may still be lingering within. Well, there’s always the hunger for sex and mayhem, but that’s natural for me.
“Come on, you look fine now, let’s go,” he said as he got out of the car.
I followed his example, releasing my seat belt and stepping out of the car. Closing the car door behind me, walked over to the Magus then I threaded my right arm around his left as we walked off like a normal couple, casually strolling through the car park towards the casino and hotel.
I could hear the noise of all the adjacent traffic all still travelling busily along the massive road that went past the enormous complex. There was the calls of various birds I’d never heard before, the waft of scented flowering plants and the heavy aroma of moisture in the air from the nearby river. I closed my eyes for a second just to let it all wash over me as I sedately walked along with my Magus.
Soon we came to the entrance. Huge dark glass doors magically opened for us upon our arrival. To my right I could see various coloured signage, advertising the types of ‘fast food’ eateries that people could choose to dine at. They were all brightly lit and mostly clean.
It was at that moment I saw my first wretch.
A dishevelled, unkempt, shabby man sat listless outside the fast food eateries upon the low stone wall that contained a small, well-kept garden. He looked up at us as we approached, his eyes full of misery and despair.
“Got any spare change?”
“Sorry mate, no one carries cash anymore,” lied my Magus to him with a conciliatory voice, a sad but brief compassionate smile appeared briefly on his face.
The wretched man’s face became even more resigned. He nodded back in understanding, returning his fallen face back to morosely contemplating the ground at his feet.
We kept walking, leaving the broken man behind us.
I was about to congratulate the Magus in his treatment of the beggar when I had to stop as I was confronted by an incredible sight.
Before us, in the huge well-lit lobby of the building, was a huge pair of MOVING METAL STAIRCASES!
One staircase ascended while another came down from the landing some 50 feet above us. On either side were normal, marble clad stairs that some people were using. Yet many other people were on the moving metal stairs, all just taking the experience of being raised or lowered completely for granted.
“It’s just an escalator Meridiana. A simple machine that makes life a little more comfortable. Take it, go for a ride. I’m taking the stairs as I need the incidental exercise,” he said to me as he pried my clutching hands from his arm. I had been unconsciously gripping him tightly in my amazement at seeing such a machine.
The Magus walked off to the left, climbing the steps briskly while I gingerly walked forwards, watching the metal stairs endless appear and ascend upwards. The hand rail also moved in synchronicity with the metal stairs. I observed as a pair of young women, chatting intently to each other, walked past me and up to stand upon a metal stair which was part of dozens of metal stairs it seemed. I saw them be lifted by the moving stairs, rising above and away from me.
Summoning my courage, I stepped forwards onto a moving stair, wobbled slightly as I was not used to the speed which it moved, making me grab the moving banister tightly to steady myself as I rode my way upwards. I let out a small laugh as it was such a novel experience. The young women in front of me turned around at my laugh, raising their eyebrows at me as well as actually truly seeing me for the first time. Their smiles faded as I grinned back at them.
The young women could see my infinitely superior beauty on full display. They looked hesitant, now uncertain of themselves as they mistakenly believed themselves to be beautiful. They were, passible, not ugly but not worthy of a harem to be perfectly honest. I later learned dear reader that many foolish young women, especially in what you call the western world, regard themselves as queens, rating themselves ten out of ten on a scale of dazzling good looks. These sad women are delusional. I mean, if they were that beautiful, why weren’t their faces on the covers of the glossy magazines I see in various ‘supermarket’ check outs? No matter, vanity and hubris are all ways to damnation and misery. So many people sending themselves to eternal torment simply because they were raised by idiotic parents who never properly taught their children the need for humility. It’s all win-win for the pits you know…
My Magus met me at the top of the stairs, holding out his hand to me and then leading me through the vast interior of the complex.
“That’s the casino,” he indicated to our right.
Looking, I could see dozens of people making their way inside into the brightly lit and noisy interior of the casino. I caught the whiff of desperation, despair, avarice, lust, elation and a strong aroma of human urine. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. Yes, even I have some standards dear reader.
“Magus, why does it reek of piss?” I asked as we strolled by and proceeded into the most immense, glass covered atrium I have ever seen.
“Oh, you can smell that?” He looked intrigued.
I nodded with a mild look of disgust.
“Hah… interesting. Well… some gamblers get stuck on a poker machine. They sit there for hours, desperately hoping that the machine they are playing on will pay out. The poor fools stupidly believe that if they play at the machine long enough, they’ll win big. So they stay seated, ignoring the need to relieve their bodily urges, to the extent that they prefer to piss themselves rather than abandon the machine that is draining away their money. The poor fools are incapable of understanding that the machine is designed to rarely pay out. Every time they play, it has a simple algorithm that calculates the chance of a payout. Most machines will payout a small amount of money occasionally, thus keeping the gambler hooked in the mistaken belief that the big one is just around the corner. It rarely, if ever, is.”
I stopped, stunned at what I just heard. The Magus stopped and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
“That’s… diabolically genius!” I stuttered as I considered the fiendish brilliance of the whole concept.
Someone had made hell on earth not only possible but also could make a fortune from it as well as breaking people’s souls and spirits in the process! The concept of dangling hope in front of a damned soul, then snatching it away was one of the oldest known tortures of hell. This was a magnificent, a culmination of the perfection of thousands upon thousands of years of the torture, all neatly packaged in a fairly simple machine designed to beggar it’s user and turn them into slaves to it. Gobsmacking was the only word I could think off that fully encapsulated the way I felt at that moment.
“Yes it is, isn’t it? I have always suspected that those machines were most likely invented by a demon. It makes perfect sense,” he said as he shrugged, then tilted his head, indicating we should proceed onwards.
I noddled dumbly as again, I had been totally overwhelmed by the latest piece of information the Magus informed of. I barely registered the hundreds of people all wandering around the massive lobby of the hotel atrium. Many were dressed finely while others, mostly men, were dressed casually. My Magus was one of them, still wearing his novelty T-shirt and hemp pants. They were clean though and his shoes, a brand known as Babuuk, made him look somehow better dressed then the other men who were similarly attired. Maybe it was just his subtle aurora of power, his sheer confidence and his towering Will that made him stand out from the mouth breathers all around us? I guess it was.
We arrived at the entrance of the restaurant and the Magus was greeted by a short Asian woman, dressed neatly in the hotels livery.
I started to realise that there were people from so many different races of humanity all around us. I had come from a time where only what was left of the Eastern Roman Empire was this diverse, and even then it was but a shadow of the heyday of the full glory that was Rome. Here were people from almost all the lands of earth, all happily co-mingling, getting on with having dinner with family and friends. Very surprising indeed.
The Asian woman at the reception counter spoke to us with a friendly smile,
“Good evening sir, madam. A table for two for you then?” she asked politely, her voice tinged with a broad accent I had not heard before. She spoke English yet I could tell that wasn’t her first language.
“Yes please,” politely replied the Magus.
This was something I did not expect. Despite his and my obvious power, he was respectful and even kind to the servants. All of them. He didn’t condescend nor sneer down at the servants of the hotel. It is still something I have difficulty reconciling. I said nothing, just observed. Oh, he has since instructed me not to call them servants, they are members of staff and will be treated with respect until they show they do not deserve it, then they are fair game. I can live with that.
“Table seventy one is ready for you both, have a lovely evening.”
She actually meant it! I could see it in her eyes, she was truly enjoying her task. She was smiling and joking with her fellow staff members, politely greeting the next people behind us with her cheerful friendly demeanour.
Astonishing.
In my prior experiences, servants and slaves were a miserable lot but then again, that was understandable. They had no choice as to their circumstances. They had to obey lest they suffer harsh punishment.
As we proceeded into the large dining room, with over a hundred tables of varying sizes, I could see off to my left where the food was.
I stopped again and stared dear reader.
I have been to banquets with Emperors and Kings, Popes and Princes, all sumptuous feasts but nothing was like what I saw before me. Dozens upon dozens of people had plates in their hands, all calmly wandering around the incredible cornucopia of varieties of food that were on display, all brightly lit up for them to simply help themselves to as much as their plate could hold.
Roasted meats, all neatly carved by expert chefs, freshly shucked oysters all seated in enormous silver ice-filled serving bowls, trays upon trays of cooked vegetables of kinds I had never seen before and… a dazzling array of sweet desserts and treats that made me almost go weak at the knees at the very sight of them.
“Come on Meridiana, you’re starting to drool,” whispered the Magus gently into my ear as he dabbed my wet lips with a soft piece of paper that he withdrew from his pants pockets.
Once again I nodded dumbly as I allowed him to escort me to our table. He even seated me, pushing me and my chair in one I had sat down. After he had taken his seat, a young man, quite a handsome one from the Indus I believed?... came over to us, again dressed in the livery of the hotel.
“Good evening, sir, madam. Would you care for something to drink?” he inquired ever so politely.
“And good evening to you sir. Yes indeed, may we please have a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, two glasses and a bottle of San Pellegrino sparkling water?” he asked with a real smile to the servant… no member of staff.
“Of course sir, I shall get that for you immediately,” replied the waiter with a pleased smile at being spoken to so politely.
“Thank you,” said the Magus then he turned to me and asked,
“Do you need a moment Meridiana? I understand this might trigger you again…”
I shook my head.
“No. It is overwhelming… but in a good way Magus. I have to ask, how can a place like this provide so many people with so much food? Even in the height of the Empire, there were magnificent feasts to be sure but… you say this happens everyday, that this is just a Tuesday and not a busy night?”
He nodded.
“This is the age of abundance Meridiana. Many of us, who live in what is known as The West, have dwelt in an age of such wealth and richness that almost all here never think on their incredible luck and privilege to live in such times. They do not know that it will come to an end. Maybe that is a small mercy. All golden ages end as you well know. So I say, let them dwell in ignorant bliss for now. We can enjoy it while it lasts.”
“Huh? Why do you believe that your golden age will end Magus?”
“It’s a long explanation and one I do not wish to go into detail here and now Meridiana but later, I will share my thoughts with you on this. Ahh, here comes our champagne.”
The waiter and another staff member had returned, with one carrying two bottles while the other had a metal bucket partially filled with ice. The waiter from the Indus placed both bottles on our table, displayed the label to the Magus who briefly nodded. Then, the waiter removed the cork from the bottle with an adroit twist of his wrist. It made a pleasing pop and I could see a little haze of cold… smoke? lightly emanate from the neck of the bottle. He poured the brightly bubbling and fizzing wine into both our glasses, carefully making sure the foam did not overflow them. He was very good at his task.
“Thank you good sir,” said my Magus to the waiter who beamed back at him with a happy smile. He placed the bottle into the bucket of ice and withdrew, leaving us alone, amidst the crowed dinning room.
The Magus took up his glass, holding it in front of him. I mirrored him.
“Here’s to a good dinner with interesting company and later, ripping the shit out of a casino Meridiana.” He pushed his glass gently forwards, lightly clinking it against mine. I wasn’t familiar at the time with that form of salute and toast but went with it anyway, after all… when in Rome as they used to say.
“That sounds… delightful Magus. I am eager for it all.”
I then took a sip of my champagne and was transported into a realm of heavenly bliss.
It was exquisite.
2023.04.02 09:03 Righteous_Fury224 Sympathy for a Succubus - Meridiana’s Story. Part 5
OCOC
Back again dear reader?How lovely!
As I sit here in the well illuminated Magus’ office, I can hear the soft pattering sound of falling raindrops outside plus there is the scent of Petrichor in the air, gently drifting in through the open windows.
It is…gorgeous.
Such simple things that are part of the miracle of life on this planet that drifts along, circling a massive ball of nuclear fire through the inky black void of space.
Being with my Magus has made me ever so philosophical these days but I do still so much enjoy butchering people like bleating, terrified sheep. That can be so entertaining! The blood, the screams, the pleading and crying… all as wonderful as the sound of raindrops descending from the sky, landing on the roof with a pleasing resonance.
Oh I do wax lyrical at times… teeheehee…
Now then, back to my amazing story:
I had just sampled my Rum & Raisin Gelato for the first time, taking in the icy, milky sweetness and pungent flavour of the rum blended into the creamy concoction when… WHACK!
A ball flew out of nowhere, smacking me rudely in the side of my head, knocking my Gelato out of my heads, causing me a moment of stunned incredulity.
I felt no pain if that was your concern dear reader.
As my Magus said, it takes more than a surprise sneak attack with a leather clad football to harm me. Normally I would have plucked the offensive object out of the air yet I was so intent upon savouring my Gelato that my guard was down for an instant.
I spun around to see a group of six buff, fit, muscular looking young men, probably in their early twenties in age, all considering me and my Magus with derisive smirks.
One in particular, the one who had hit me with his ball, a tall, well-muscled, shirtless young man called out to us, with an arrogant snide tone in his voice,
“Hey, give us our ball back!” he demanded as I now had the offending item in my hands.
“Apologise to the lady and buy her a new Gelato,” said the Magus in a cold flat tone as he stood up, glaring daggers at the overly muscled moron.
“What? It was an accident man, don’t get upset, ok boomer?” the young offender laughed out aloud mockingly at us.
I was burning with fury at this point as was my Magus. I could feel his power itching to smite this fool.
The strutting, ignorant, puffed up idiot pushed out his muscular chest and strode the twenty or so feet towards us, trying to look threatening, thinking he could intimidate us and make us cower before him.
“What you going to do about it you, eh? Come on you fat fuck, you wanna have a go, do ya?” he called out as he stopped right in front of the Magus, daring him to act.
My Magus didn’t flinch an inch as the cretin had no idea he was seconds away from something extremely unpleasant. My Magus never took his eyes of the cretin but spoke to me,
“No but she will. Meridiana, remember what I said, no killing but everything else is fine. Teach this muscle brained mouth breathing imbecile a lesson he will never forget lest I butcher him...”
The arrogant young fool suddenly appeared apprehensive as I stood up, his ball now in my left hand. I extended my talons from the fingers in my hands, just enough to puncture and rip the ball apart into pathetic shreds which I tossed aside once done.
His eyes widened in total shock as he stumbled a step backwards.
“Tremens!”
I unleashed my power of Id Insinuation, a Psionic discipline of the mind which we Succubi possess that reduces our victims to apoplectic quivering wrecks, losing all control of their bodily functions from experiencing all-consuming pain, psychic misery and abject terror. I am a master at this Psionic Discipline if you are curious.
The arrogant, blustering fool had no mental discipline or defence against such an assault, collapsing down upon the ground with a low groan of wretched pain, his bowels and bladder immediately releasing as he began fitting uncontrollably, foam appearing from his mouth.
My Magus, went over to the now prone young man, rolled him onto his left side, removing a small leather-bound wallet (I learned the name later) from the back of his flimsy short pants and took out a colourful, small rectangle from it. Then he dropped the wallet back onto the spasming idiot on the ground.
“HEY! YOU”RE STEALING FROM WAYNO!”
“No. I am taking compensation from your inconsiderate dickhead who shall now be called Wanko as he owes the lady a Gelato. Pray that is all we take from your idiot friend,” my Magus said in a harsh growl.
‘Wayno’s compatriots were taken aback by the harshness of the glare from my Magus, not knowing what to do.
They had seen their leader felled with nothing but a word from me. I gave them a very wide, open smile, briefly showing them a glimpse of my fangs for just a second then made them normal human teeth once more.
Their eyes widened hugely in astonished fear.
I looked at my Magus with a beaming smile. This was how to use Power.
Reduce your enemies into snivelling, gibbering terrorised wrecks.
People started stopping and began staring at the scene that was unfolding around us. In a way I was a little sad as my perfect experience was ruined by an utterly inconsiderate, thoughtlessness of a bunch of overly charged testosterone filled idiots playing a stupid game with a ball when it was clearly obvious that there were many people about and one missed catch would result in… well a lost Gelato for a start!
The Magus focused his will, them waved his right hand with a small gesture saying,
“Sapiens Obscura!”
Everyone in the nearby vicinity all immediately stopped with a blank look on their faces, staring hollow eyed at the Magus.
“There is nothing to see here, you will remember nothing of this. Walk on, go about your business and have a lovely day.”
The crowd who had stopped to watch, were starting to get out their phones to film the incident, all suddenly did as the Magus commanded, just walking away with a faint puzzled smile on their faces as though nothing had happened.
Even the idiots’ friends walked off in a daze, leaving him still trembling and fitting in his own filth upon the ground.
I glanced back in almost adulation at my Maus.
What Power!
He saw me looking at him, shrugged and sighed.
“Here, you can have my Gelato, Meridiana. I shouldn’t eat it anyway, bad for my blood sugars. We should go as the glamour will not last and we do not want to attract more attention to ourselves.”
“That was wonderous Magus, to be able to influence so many minds like that…” I almost gushed at him.
He stared balefully at the still writhing, convulsing moron who had thoroughly soiled himself at this point, then shrugged.
“A simple use of The Will and The Way, combined with a hypnotical charm, makes it easy to do however I only had one prepared so we should not linger here. Let’s just walk away further down the path to a less crowded area and appreciate the sunset.”
I nodded in agreement, taking a small, tentative taste of the Magus’s Vanilla Gelato. Delightful!
Vanilla was far a more subtle flavour, not as bold as my now destroyed Rum & Raisin waffle cone. Perhaps a better flavour in the end as subtlety is a hallmark of refined taste. I enjoyed it immensely.
With my Gelato in my left hand, I took the Magus’ arm in my right, we gently strolled away from the scene of the destruction of my Gelato and the mind of a callous, bullying, cretinous idiot. He might recover… I hoped not. One less muscle bound thuggish oaf was what the world could do with right now. He would have made for a tasty snack though…
“I thought you said we should be careful, not use our power like that?” I asked after a couple of minutes of sedate walking.
I noted, glancing briefly to our rear, that there was no commotion behind us although after a few minutes some new passers-by had stopped to try to help the fallen fool.
“If he genuinely apologised to you for his oafish stupidity rather than try to bully us, I would not have done anything. Oxygen Thieves like that deserve a short, sharp shock. It is better than Percussive Cranial Adjustments.”
“What?”
“Punches to the head. If your hands are not conditioned and strengthened, you risk breaking bones within them by punching people in the head. There is a strong risk that you may render your foe unconscious, causing them to collapse, smacking their head on the floor resulting in them getting more damage to their already asinine cerebellums. Then the screaming and wailing starts, police are called, arrests are made, lives are ruined blah blah blah.. not worth the trouble no matter how tempting it is. However, in certain cases, a swift kick, punch or hard knee to the balls of the miscreant can solve a lot of problems extremely quickly and not result in a brain injury,” he added with a dark smile.
I erupted in evil laughter!
My demonic cackling drew some apprehensive eyes from passers-by but at this point I didn’t care. Even my Magus winked at me with a dry, faintly amused smirk.
“Oh Magus! That is most amusing. I shall use that tactic from now on as you are correct but you missed one minor detail,” I said with an infernal glint in my eyes.
“I did? Do tell,” he replied with a glimmer of mild curiosity.
“By ‘kneeing them in the balls’ as you so delightfully put it, you do damage to their second brain as almost all men think with their balls!”
The Magus stopped, then briefly chuckled at my cutting wit, shaking his head lightly.
“Very true Meridiana, very true. Come, here’s a free and clean enough bench for us to sit and watch the ocean and sunset,” he said as we came upon another empty park bench that looked out over the beach and sea.
I nodded and took my seat, focusing again upon my delightful, sweet snack while enjoying the ambiance of just being at the beach, watching humanity blithefully and ignorantly walking by, their minds closed to almost everything around them. Many had their faces glued to their phones, or had devices covering their ears, walking along at a brisk pace, ignoring the beauty that surrounded them. If I wasn’t a demon, I would had felt sorry for these people… but I didn’t. It made me despise them all for being such thoughtless idiots, so completely self-absorbed, locked inside in their pathetic little heads.
My Magus interrupted my musings,
“So what was that you did to that reprobate then Meridiana? I need to fully understand what powers and abilities you possess so we can properly plan for the missions ahead.”
“I see,” I replied primly as I crossed my legs, with them facing towards my Magus. I took another small bite from my Gelato then said, “How about you tell me what you think you know then I will… be honest with you Magus. Hmm… my that was difficult to say… no matter, I will fill in the gaps of your knowledge after you speak. I am so extremely curious as to what you think you know.” I sat back and observed him intently.
He shifted in his seat, turning more towards me, pausing in thought before speaking once more,
“Well… I know you can do the following: you can Shape Shift, altering your appearance to appear like different being, but does extend to animal forms?”
“No Magus but that is a good question! I can appear as other humans but there is a limit as I can only do so within a certain size range limit to the power. I cannot appear as a small child nor a giant man. I can appear as another type of demon, just not the massive ones like say a Pit Fiend or other large demons and I dare not appear as a Demon Lord or Prince as if they ever found out that a demon or someone was impersonating them… the torment they would inflict would be… beyond extreme for such an affront. Go on.” I took another little bite of my Gelato. So Good!
“Interesting… ok…your kiss will drain the life energy from your victim, reducing them to a crumbling lifeless husk?"
I nodded with a wide smile as I extended my long, deep red tongue, lapping and twirling around my Gelato seductively. He ignored it. Sigh.
“How long does it take for you to fully drain your victim?”
My eyebrows were raised at that question. My Magus was wise to ask this and it made me consider it too.
“I am impressed Magus, no one has ever bothered to ask that. I estimate maybe twenty to thirty or so resting heartbeats, perhaps a little longer? To be honest I never really paid attention as to how long the kiss took to drain my victim as I am normally in the moment, relishing the sensation of drinking a human’s lifeforce and energy but now I will. Thank you Magus. This makes me more aware of my abilities for my own purposes.”
“Hmm… I suppose we can time it in the future, but not here in this city. A withered husk appearing will attract too many questions for now. Next then, I understand that you can become Ethereal? Stepping into the that plane of existence briefly and becoming untouchable here.”
I nodded.
“How long can you maintain that ability, and how often can you use it?”
“Another excellent question Magus. I can use it at will as often as I like. As to maintaining it… you know I have never truly thought about that as I only use it to step away from threats that might actually harm me. Perhaps this is something else we can experiment on together Magus?” I said with a hopeful, demure smile.
This time I received the glimmer of approval from him which made me grin inwardly. His desire for knowledge! That’s his weakness! Oh happy day. And it included Gelato as well!
“That we must do as it may be vital for your own safety and survival. Knowing how long you can safely stay in the Ethereal Plane will be paramount. Next… I know you can Charm, use the power of Suggestion and Domination, that you have the power of Extrasensory Perception, which you used on me earlier on and you have the power of Clairaudience which allows you to listen in on your targets from a distance. Quite useful in combat and stealth situations I would say?”
“Yes it is Magus. I have used that many times to spy upon my victims and enemies, gaining much useful information without them ever being aware.”
I smirked once more as that power enabled me to ferret out so many secrets that were thought to have been spoken without anyone else listening. I now nibbled on the sweet wafer biscuit cone of my Gelato, oh how glorious that was.
“I know that you have Psionic Abilities, powers of the mind, but this is now where my knowledge falls short. I also believe that you are an adept in The Arts, capable of wielding magic and spells.”
I smiled broadly back at my Magus. He was indeed well informed.
“Yes, that is all true. Now I will tell you what I am fully capable of. Firstly I can walk… travel between the dimensions if I so choose. I do not need to create a Gate to travel between realms, I simply picture where I wish to go and I appear there. I can only do this for myself though. In addition, I must take care in not pushing to go beyond my limits, try to cross too many dimensions in one trip, as I could strain my mind and lose myself between dimensions. Next, I can go Invisible at will,” and did just that right in front of him, for a couple of seconds before reappearing once more. He nodded briefly and I was somewhat disappointed that I did not receive a bigger reaction. Oh well. There was still some waffle cone left.
With another little sigh I carried on,
“I can also detect the presence of magic within a thirty foot radius for over an hour or so but I have to maintain my concentration for this to continue otherwise the detection ceases after a minute. I have the power of Telekinesis…”
Now my Magus’s eye lit up with real interest. I stopped speaking as I knew he wanted to ask questions.
“Now that is an impressive ability. How much weight can you lift at your maximum exertion? What is your range? Are you able to use the power in a delicate, fine tuned way for minor manipulation?”
His enthusiasm was immensely gratifying. It was the most animated that I had seen him be thus far.
“Oh my Magus… so many questions! I had no idea that such an ability would intrigue you so much… perhaps I should have demonstrated that power when we first met?” I said with a teasing smirk.
He harrumphed but waited for me to continue.
“I know I am able to lift a war horse in full cataphract armour as I did so a few times during the campaign of General Flavius Belisarius against the Persians at the Battle of Dara, much to their shock and horror. It turned the tide of the battle I have to say with a little modesty. Empress Theodora was the one who summoned me and used me for a decade to help her favoured General. I liked her. She was utterly ruthless and exceptionally intelligent." I took a moment to have another bite of my Gelato before continuing,
"At the end of my service to her, I gifted her with Cancer which took her life painfully. And that leads us to another of my abilities, Cell Adjustment. I can, if I so choose, alter the very cells within mine or your body Magus, healing you and reshaping your metabolism. I also can do harm with it too, although that takes a lot more power and isn’t an instant way to kill people but it still can be fairly quick way to murder someone, often painfully so. I may cause a blood clot to form which travels to the brain or thicken the arteries of a victims heart making it have a seizure or perhaps flooding their body with so much adrenaline that they fit uncontrollably… so many options….” I mused openly as I tried to remember the ways I had killed with this power before.
I am a Master of Human anatomy by the way, having spent tens of thousands of years eviscerating my victims, inspecting their corpses afterwards as well as later studying under learned Greek physicians back in the early days of the Roman Empire.
My Magus gave me a cool assessing, calculating stare. I could see he had taken the hint, that I could completely alter his physiology, potentially removing the excess weight from his body, repairing the damage that such a condition had done to him. My hook was baited.
“I… see… go on Meridiana.”
There was a very cautious tone in his voice now. My inner smile only grew.
“Moving on, I can shield my mind exactly like you did with an Intellect Fortress and Thought Shield. The power I used upon the thoughtless buffoon, the Id Insinuation, I can also employ over a twenty by twenty foot area. All within will feel my wrath and despair as he did. Unless they are incredibly strong willed or have mental defences like we do. I can also let loose a Psionic Blast if I so choose but that is a wasteful use of the power in my humble opinion. And of course I have my spells,” I said as I used my power to open the tiny pocket dimension to where I had hidden my tome of magic and other priceless treasures.
A small tear in the fabric of reality briefly appeared in front of us and the Magus looked in, seeing my not insignificant horde of treasures, which included my priceless tome of spells.
“This is another of my abilities, Pocket Plane. It can access a tiny alternate reality, where I keep all my precious things. Only I can access it, no one else can,” I said with a pointed glance at the Magus. He understood instantly and was deeply fascinated by the pocket plane.
Everything was stashed carefully away from all who would covert its contents, including my Demon Lord who despite all the torture he and his minions inflicted upon me for nigh on a thousand years, was never able to break me, denying him from stealing my treasures from me!
I would rather cease existing than let that happen which he eventually learned thus giving up on the attempt as he preferred to keep tormenting me for eternity anyway, rather than end my existence. I quickly closed the portal lest it attract unwanted attention.
"Now as you mentioned earlier, I am an Adept in The Art, ranked at a power-level of fifteen I am proud to say. I suspect that you are a few levels higher than myself but do not have as many spells as I have, do you?”
I took one last bite of my waffle cone, casually dangling the prospect of more power to the Magus. Such a wonderful combination, frozen sweet cream and sugary crunchy biscuit. The Roman Byzantines would have gone mad for it. Ahh well.
“You are correct Meridiana. Spells and magic are extremely rare these days. I have some theories as to why that is however we can discuss them later. Sufficed to say, I will need more spells and that is also why I summoned you, to teach me as much as I am teaching you and I know full well you are going to try and ensnare me with that,” he said with another dry, cold laugh. “Instead of you trying to enslave me, how about we do deals instead?”
Now that was a language I could speak and my smile grew ever so wide.
“But of course my dear Magus, just give me control of what is left of your soul…” I laughed.
He had the temerity to laugh at me.
“Oh no Meridiana… you fail to grasp your situation. This is not you holding power over me, it is me holding power over you… oh you see it now don’t you? I have turned your face to alabaster, because you discovered that what you thought was your servant was all along, is your master. You are wrapped around my finger,” he said pointed to a shining band of gold around the third finger on his left hand. I stared in horror at it.
“Yes, not only are you bound to me body and soul, but your essence is bound within my wedding ring. My wife bought that for me with pure love in her heart. You know certain objects have power. This is one of them… one ring to rule you… “ he laughed chillingly again at my dismay. Oh how deliciously evil he can be.
I was stunned.
He had trapped my essence in a Phylactery. How, I did not know?
The wedding ring, an object that bound two hearts together, the circle a symbol for eternity, now held my essence within its golden circle of eternal love.
“Oh don’t look so pissed. You’d have done it to me, well not via a wedding ring that's for sure but still, you would have enslaved me. Again, I do not seek to control you but I am not stupid, I know the parable of the Frog and the Scorpion. You will always try to enslave and dominate me, it's who you are, it's your nature. Look, Meridiana and think before you lose control again. I am not your usual chump of a wanna-be Magus. Times have changed. I am prepared to unleash you upon the world to spread chaos and mayhem. If anything, you OWE me from getting you out of hell. And I am housing you, feeding you, clothing you, giving you knowledge and will protect you from other demons that WILL come looking for you. Oh yes, don’t think that your former lord hasn’t noticed by now that you’ve flown the coup! He will be furious. And that binds us together even more so because part of my plan is that we kill him and seize his throne for ourselves," said the Magus casually.
Dear reader… in all my existence, nothing has ever floored me with it’s sheer breathtaking audacity. My face was already drained of colour when he revealed his total control over me but more so, the scope of his plan… beyond incredible.
I bowed my head to him in total subjugation…for now.
“I am yours Magus. I will do as you say. Your plan to gain our…freedom… is audacious in the extreme. If we can achieve this…” I said breathlessly, my eyes alight with burning lust for him now. Again, to my immense disappointment, he ignored my sultry steamy gaze.
“Always aim as high as you can Meridiana. The Will and The Way will get us far, further than you can imagine but I need more knowledge and power as do you. Now do you see why I want you as a partner? We have a target painted on us and the clock is already ticking. Soon your former lord will start to try to send his minions through the void to retrieve you and drag me there as well. We don’t have time for games Meridiana, that is if you wish to stay here?”
“I do want to stay… I will do as you ask Magus but I must ask…why? Why take such a risk?”
“It’s better to rule in hell then serve in heaven don’t you think?” he said with a evil grin as he stood and offered his hand to me. “And your old boss needs his head blown off with a sawn-off double barrelled enchanted shotgun, filled with 12 gauge 000 buckshot made from the metal from the nails of The True Cross… right to his fucking face!” my Magus snarled savagely.
Oh how beautiful that sounded.
“Absolutely! I am all in. I have no real choice anyway do I?”
I took his hand in mine and ever so gently squeezed it.
“You do. I admit that I have forced this upon you but look at the alternative, spending eternity, eventually going insane from boredom, within your cell because Pope Sylvester II confessed on his death-bed. That wasn’t your fault. Mind you, you did underestimate the willy priest now eh?”
I nodded with a sigh and chagrin upon my face.
“Yes, that is true.”
“Your lord throws an epic tantrum, what I’d call “chucking a wobbly”, even though you were one of the top demons in soul possession and ruination. What a stupid cunt. Only a complete fuckwit throws away his best employee in a fit of pique like that.”
I burst out laughing at that dear reader. No one would EVER dare to call my former lord those things but my Magus did. I felt the ebullient elation once more. This man had an epic vision.
“Now then, I assume you are still hungry? And for food for now Meridiana.”
“Yes Magus,” I said with a small smile.
“Good. We’ll go grab dinner at the best buffet in town as that will be the the most effective way you can satisfy your appetite. It’s only Tuesday so it won’t be overcrowded. Then we can go to the casino next door where you can use your skills to steal a fortune from those rapacious bastards!”
My smile could not be wider dear reader. The promise of all I can eat (sadly not human souls or hearts) and the chance to steal from those who steal with their rigged games!
This was turning out to be the most amazing day in all my life.
We made our way back to the car when I noticed that all the cars had little metal plates on both the front and the back, inscribed with Arabic numerals and roman letters.
As we got to the car, I noticed what the Magus had on his metal plates:
HWY2H3LL
Oh rapture!
Part 6
2023.04.02 09:01 AutoModerator [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.
Phase 1) Creating A Meaningful NicheEvery day I hear people going on and on about trying to find their niche.I also hear people talking about how they don’t know how to combine what they love talking about with what will sell.You already have the answer. You just don’t have the clarity.
Phase 2) Content StrategyThere is one thing that separates those who make it in the digital economy and those who don’t.It’s the quality, articulation, and perceived originality of their content.The content you post has to make sense to the people you attract.Everyone has a different voice and tone that they resonate with. That they are congruent with and trust.It has to change their thought patterns or behavior — that’s what makes you memorable.That’s what separates you from the sea of people posting surface-level copy-cat style posts.Example and putting my money where my mouth is:
Phase 3) Crafting Your OfferMost people are sitting on a goldmine of skills, experience, and knowledge (that they can use to help people 1-2 steps behind them).That is what people pay for.Considering 95% of the market are beginners… if you are good at something, you can help them get to your level (no matter how “basic” you think the information is).Do you not watch basic content all day anyway? People don’t want new information, they want to be reminded of what works.
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. |
2023.04.02 08:56 userhasdied_ just had to put it down somewhere without the expectation that anyone would read or reply.
i guess it mostly stems from a place of false dichotomy, sort of an all-or-nothing fallacy. and it's a baseline, it's always been there. i live like this because it's all i've ever known; everyone hates me and nothing i can do will ever give anyone a reason not to. every mistake is dire, every success is picked apart by others until it becomes meaningless. the worst part is that it's always in silence, it's always a secret boiling hatred that one can only verbalize when i'm not around -- and they will as soon as they get the chance.
i could argue that the self hate caused the paranoia of being hated, but it could also be argued that the fear of being hated caused the self hate. as if trying to analyze all the ways myself or my intentions could be interpreted negatively has lead me to believe i am the person i fear others perceive me as. again, that's a baseline. i have lived in this headspace for almost as long as i can remember.
but to make matters worse, i have a lot of adverse reactions to adderall. if taken in a high enough dose to feel stimmed, i posses impeccable emotional regulation and logical attention to *only* the details that actually matter -- usually followed by a rough comedown plagued with irritation and even rage. sure, it's a double edged sword. but only one edge is serrated. if i only get super powers from a drug's high, and not the drug itself in its therapeutic dosage, then i don't really think it counts as medicine anymore at that point. i'm definitely more of a wreck without the meds, but in different ways.
without meds i lose things, forget everything, and struggle to complete tasks, but when i feel distressed it eventually passes. on the other hand, with the meds, i can keep track of the things i am using, remember which step of a process i was on, and see my tasks through to completion. the drawback here is that i cannot handle minor frustration -- let alone a variety pack of individually wrapped stressors -- and i cannot handle small changes in plans nor disappointment in place of my expectations.
the big shit bow on this shit wrapped shit sandwich is that i cannot shake emotions off once they have made themselves present. once i am sad, i am sad all day. once i am angry, i am angry all day. negative emotions long overstay their welcome, lingering until i can manage to get to sleep, which proves difficult with amphetamine intake and elevated cortisol.
all of this crams together to significantly increase my anxiety and suspicions of crowd-hatred. being aware of how it looks and how it affects others only makes me hyperfocus even more on the perceptions people have of me. an endless inner monologue narrating the possible negative thoughts of others brings my self esteem to record-breaking lows daily.
so, as you can imagine, the very first instance in which i catch shade, attitude, or any expression of dislike from another person, the confirmation bias kicks in to barrage me with how right i have been all along. which then continues to fuel whatever negative emotion happens to be caught in my horse-blinded crosshairs -- if i am sad, this awareness makes me very sad. i struggle to see the point in much of anything, and my motivation completely tanks. if i am angry, this awareness makes me feel indignant or even slighted. i begin to feel like everyone just *wants* to hate me, because it's easier that way, because they just don't care, or simply because it's justified.
suspicions and potential perceptions come in a wide variety of flavors depending on different variables, such as
environment: feeling that everyone secretly believes i do not belong in my field of work and therefore holds an immediate negative bias towards me for being out of place. also contains the belief that others assume i have ulterior motives by choosing a line of work that is not commonplace for a person of my gender, and that it is made more obvious by my petite stature. hand-in-hand is the belief that no one believes i actually enjoy this type of work or that it's all a front, which alludes to the presence of some weird motive. the fact that women facing more scrutiny in the automotive industry is a real piece of actual reality makes it very difficult to separate my delusion from the real world. this is especially true if i do not find little crumbs of "proof" that i am in an environment that respects me as a technician and my ability to grasp the work and/or the theory that fuels it. proof cannot come in the form of reassurance, compliments, or pats on the back for a job well done. those are mandatory and/or performative words that are "objectively" hollow. proof must be found where it is not being sought. proof is found only in happenings that were not preceded by any form of tip-off.
automotive isn't all of it, though. when i worked retail or food service, the fear was that customers came in and immediately saw me as a failure, a lowlife, or as too stupid to get a real career. this belief was heavily reinforced when the general public tended to behave as though i was beneath them, often talking to me like i'm stupid.
age: believing that anyone who is older than me can only regard me as young, naive, and ultimtely stupid beyond redemption, other than time and the wisdom it brings, of course. that i will never be taken seriously by adults and that i just don't "get" it. that anyone who is older than me will hate my music, and believe that i am stupid or tasteless for listening to it. also contains the belief that others hang on every word and every note of any song i play aloud, use its content to judge me, and daydream about stabbing their brain through their ears for every second they're forced to endure such torture. i have this fear about everyone, it's just kind of more prevalent when they're older than i am.
gender: similar to environment but ultimately different enough. believing that my male friends' girlfriends hate me because they distrust my intentions as his friend. believing that people will write off my emotions and/or reactions to things as "women 🍵" or assume i'm PMSing. assuming that mistakes or shortcomings of any caliber (hitting a curb, mistakes at work, car accidents, inability to lift heavy items or open tight jars, etc) are because of my inferior woman brain. inability to differentiate between when someone is "mansplaining" or simply trying to have a back and forth conversation on a given topic we both know about.
race: this one can pretty much be summed up with believing people of other races assume i am racist. being aware of this belief becomes a self-fueling fire. because the belief is targeted toward other races, it creates an inner monologue of telling myself i am, in fact, racist -- for believing others are thinking hateful things of me based on their race or mine. it becomes an infinite paradox.
for some reason i worry this with all races other than hispanics -- i assume everyone hyper-analyzes my behaviors to determine if i am racist, yet with hispanics i don't have that suspicion. i get to live in the blissful headspace of those who don't know or even wonder if someone thinks they're racist until it is vocalized. don't ask me why, either. i don't know why.
instead, i live in a headspace where everyone of a different race determines very quickly that i am racist -- either because of my awkward demeanor or solely because of my race -- and hold that fear until it is vocalized otherwise. fearing that eye contact will make a person believe im trying not to seem racist, but also fearing that avoiding eye contact will make a person believe i want to minimize interactions because i am racist.
fearing that struggling to understand someone's accent and/or asking them to repeat themselves multiple times will lead them to believe i am being intolerant of diversity and/or am harboring resentment for their accent/broken english. believing that i cannot bring up race-related topics in conversation with people of that race, for fear that they will assume i am only bringing it up to be performative in my allyship. that i will come off as attempting to be very loud about how Totally Not Racist i am in order to prove a point.
fearing that anti-racist remarks will be seen as performative allyship or that i just want to be seen as a good person, but also fearing that making neutral or dead-end remarks will render me "complacent" or "apathetic." believing that someone's experience(s) with other white people will lead them to believe that i am inherently racist because i am white, even if i don't know it or overtly behave that way. this one can definitely be attributed to all the far "left" spaces online that genuinely believe and seek to prove that all white people are racist even if they don't know it and even if it's on accident. also contains the fear that i am racist and do not know it, and the fear that vocalizing such an obscure concept would surely qualify as "white guilt" and be shamed, laughed at, and ultimately deemed racist. being afraid to ask someone where their accent is from. this is primarily because they probably get asked this question a lot, but also for fear that they will think i am asking because i am bothered by it. inversely, not wanting to say i love someone's accent for the same two reasons.
relationships: fearing that everything i do is toxic or abusive in some way. standing up for myself becomes equal to invalidating my partner, drawing boundaries becomes equal to being controlling or trying to change them. being unable to tell a partner when i think they are reacting too harshly, because it's still gaslighting even if it's true. this belief stands on the split-hair tightrope of subjectivity, and the belief that one thing can be true for me and untrue for them. fearing that my partner has settled for me, usually because it is quite clear that i am a loyal and long-standing partner, which creates a very Safe place for their heart. also contains the belief that they'd rather their heart be elsewhere but are fearful of losing confidence/certainty in a relationship with someone better. believing that every little thing i do which creates tension, division, or irritation is a slow chisel into the diamond ore of love and that my partner falls out of love with me a little more each time i upset them or inconvenience them. finding the line between compromise and sacrifice to be very blurry; struggling to determine whether one of us is demanding sacrifice under the guise of compromise. believing that any potential partner i have will always wish i had tits, and that they love me in spite of such an irrefutable, fundamental defect.
hobbies: i cannot enjoy hobbies, especially while in relationships. feelings of inadequacy quickly become feelings of embarrassment for not being excessively or immediately proficient in any given hobby, whether old or new. i cannot stand practicing hobbies in front of others, and i hate doing poorly in video games with others. i have always wanted to create a small, modest pop-up sound studio with which to record high quality audio of my voice, learning to sing and play instruments and eventually start recording music. but even the idea that someone in my home might hear me is enough to make me spend 15+ years refusing to chase that flame. and that's only an after thought. it comes right after battling with the notion that i must be bad at both of them before i can learn to be good at either, and tackling the fear of how long that learning curve is.
i am very much mentally ill and it seems impossible to put all my symptoms into one category. it is impossible to know what parts of emotional dysregulation can be attributed to medication side effects. it is further impossible to identify which of my perceptions reflect reality and to what extent my delusion has carried me. nearly 100% of the time, my reactions to stress, confrontation, or frustration are a result of one runoff of this larger delusion that propels my life and influences my decision making.
sometimes i get into my miata and put the top down and blast all the music i'm most ashamed to love, while driving down slow speed roads with lots of red lights, or even while pumping gas. i consider it practice in not caring what other people think, or at least in blocking out the part of my brain that incessantly tries to dissect their thoughts. i try to use the time spent as an opportunity to exercise rational self-talk.
submitted by userhasdied_ to u/userhasdied_ [link] [comments]
i could argue that the self hate caused the paranoia of being hated, but it could also be argued that the fear of being hated caused the self hate. as if trying to analyze all the ways myself or my intentions could be interpreted negatively has lead me to believe i am the person i fear others perceive me as. again, that's a baseline. i have lived in this headspace for almost as long as i can remember.
but to make matters worse, i have a lot of adverse reactions to adderall. if taken in a high enough dose to feel stimmed, i posses impeccable emotional regulation and logical attention to *only* the details that actually matter -- usually followed by a rough comedown plagued with irritation and even rage. sure, it's a double edged sword. but only one edge is serrated. if i only get super powers from a drug's high, and not the drug itself in its therapeutic dosage, then i don't really think it counts as medicine anymore at that point. i'm definitely more of a wreck without the meds, but in different ways.
without meds i lose things, forget everything, and struggle to complete tasks, but when i feel distressed it eventually passes. on the other hand, with the meds, i can keep track of the things i am using, remember which step of a process i was on, and see my tasks through to completion. the drawback here is that i cannot handle minor frustration -- let alone a variety pack of individually wrapped stressors -- and i cannot handle small changes in plans nor disappointment in place of my expectations.
the big shit bow on this shit wrapped shit sandwich is that i cannot shake emotions off once they have made themselves present. once i am sad, i am sad all day. once i am angry, i am angry all day. negative emotions long overstay their welcome, lingering until i can manage to get to sleep, which proves difficult with amphetamine intake and elevated cortisol.
all of this crams together to significantly increase my anxiety and suspicions of crowd-hatred. being aware of how it looks and how it affects others only makes me hyperfocus even more on the perceptions people have of me. an endless inner monologue narrating the possible negative thoughts of others brings my self esteem to record-breaking lows daily.
so, as you can imagine, the very first instance in which i catch shade, attitude, or any expression of dislike from another person, the confirmation bias kicks in to barrage me with how right i have been all along. which then continues to fuel whatever negative emotion happens to be caught in my horse-blinded crosshairs -- if i am sad, this awareness makes me very sad. i struggle to see the point in much of anything, and my motivation completely tanks. if i am angry, this awareness makes me feel indignant or even slighted. i begin to feel like everyone just *wants* to hate me, because it's easier that way, because they just don't care, or simply because it's justified.
suspicions and potential perceptions come in a wide variety of flavors depending on different variables, such as
environment: feeling that everyone secretly believes i do not belong in my field of work and therefore holds an immediate negative bias towards me for being out of place. also contains the belief that others assume i have ulterior motives by choosing a line of work that is not commonplace for a person of my gender, and that it is made more obvious by my petite stature. hand-in-hand is the belief that no one believes i actually enjoy this type of work or that it's all a front, which alludes to the presence of some weird motive. the fact that women facing more scrutiny in the automotive industry is a real piece of actual reality makes it very difficult to separate my delusion from the real world. this is especially true if i do not find little crumbs of "proof" that i am in an environment that respects me as a technician and my ability to grasp the work and/or the theory that fuels it. proof cannot come in the form of reassurance, compliments, or pats on the back for a job well done. those are mandatory and/or performative words that are "objectively" hollow. proof must be found where it is not being sought. proof is found only in happenings that were not preceded by any form of tip-off.
automotive isn't all of it, though. when i worked retail or food service, the fear was that customers came in and immediately saw me as a failure, a lowlife, or as too stupid to get a real career. this belief was heavily reinforced when the general public tended to behave as though i was beneath them, often talking to me like i'm stupid.
age: believing that anyone who is older than me can only regard me as young, naive, and ultimtely stupid beyond redemption, other than time and the wisdom it brings, of course. that i will never be taken seriously by adults and that i just don't "get" it. that anyone who is older than me will hate my music, and believe that i am stupid or tasteless for listening to it. also contains the belief that others hang on every word and every note of any song i play aloud, use its content to judge me, and daydream about stabbing their brain through their ears for every second they're forced to endure such torture. i have this fear about everyone, it's just kind of more prevalent when they're older than i am.
gender: similar to environment but ultimately different enough. believing that my male friends' girlfriends hate me because they distrust my intentions as his friend. believing that people will write off my emotions and/or reactions to things as "women 🍵" or assume i'm PMSing. assuming that mistakes or shortcomings of any caliber (hitting a curb, mistakes at work, car accidents, inability to lift heavy items or open tight jars, etc) are because of my inferior woman brain. inability to differentiate between when someone is "mansplaining" or simply trying to have a back and forth conversation on a given topic we both know about.
race: this one can pretty much be summed up with believing people of other races assume i am racist. being aware of this belief becomes a self-fueling fire. because the belief is targeted toward other races, it creates an inner monologue of telling myself i am, in fact, racist -- for believing others are thinking hateful things of me based on their race or mine. it becomes an infinite paradox.
for some reason i worry this with all races other than hispanics -- i assume everyone hyper-analyzes my behaviors to determine if i am racist, yet with hispanics i don't have that suspicion. i get to live in the blissful headspace of those who don't know or even wonder if someone thinks they're racist until it is vocalized. don't ask me why, either. i don't know why.
instead, i live in a headspace where everyone of a different race determines very quickly that i am racist -- either because of my awkward demeanor or solely because of my race -- and hold that fear until it is vocalized otherwise. fearing that eye contact will make a person believe im trying not to seem racist, but also fearing that avoiding eye contact will make a person believe i want to minimize interactions because i am racist.
fearing that struggling to understand someone's accent and/or asking them to repeat themselves multiple times will lead them to believe i am being intolerant of diversity and/or am harboring resentment for their accent/broken english. believing that i cannot bring up race-related topics in conversation with people of that race, for fear that they will assume i am only bringing it up to be performative in my allyship. that i will come off as attempting to be very loud about how Totally Not Racist i am in order to prove a point.
fearing that anti-racist remarks will be seen as performative allyship or that i just want to be seen as a good person, but also fearing that making neutral or dead-end remarks will render me "complacent" or "apathetic." believing that someone's experience(s) with other white people will lead them to believe that i am inherently racist because i am white, even if i don't know it or overtly behave that way. this one can definitely be attributed to all the far "left" spaces online that genuinely believe and seek to prove that all white people are racist even if they don't know it and even if it's on accident. also contains the fear that i am racist and do not know it, and the fear that vocalizing such an obscure concept would surely qualify as "white guilt" and be shamed, laughed at, and ultimately deemed racist. being afraid to ask someone where their accent is from. this is primarily because they probably get asked this question a lot, but also for fear that they will think i am asking because i am bothered by it. inversely, not wanting to say i love someone's accent for the same two reasons.
relationships: fearing that everything i do is toxic or abusive in some way. standing up for myself becomes equal to invalidating my partner, drawing boundaries becomes equal to being controlling or trying to change them. being unable to tell a partner when i think they are reacting too harshly, because it's still gaslighting even if it's true. this belief stands on the split-hair tightrope of subjectivity, and the belief that one thing can be true for me and untrue for them. fearing that my partner has settled for me, usually because it is quite clear that i am a loyal and long-standing partner, which creates a very Safe place for their heart. also contains the belief that they'd rather their heart be elsewhere but are fearful of losing confidence/certainty in a relationship with someone better. believing that every little thing i do which creates tension, division, or irritation is a slow chisel into the diamond ore of love and that my partner falls out of love with me a little more each time i upset them or inconvenience them. finding the line between compromise and sacrifice to be very blurry; struggling to determine whether one of us is demanding sacrifice under the guise of compromise. believing that any potential partner i have will always wish i had tits, and that they love me in spite of such an irrefutable, fundamental defect.
hobbies: i cannot enjoy hobbies, especially while in relationships. feelings of inadequacy quickly become feelings of embarrassment for not being excessively or immediately proficient in any given hobby, whether old or new. i cannot stand practicing hobbies in front of others, and i hate doing poorly in video games with others. i have always wanted to create a small, modest pop-up sound studio with which to record high quality audio of my voice, learning to sing and play instruments and eventually start recording music. but even the idea that someone in my home might hear me is enough to make me spend 15+ years refusing to chase that flame. and that's only an after thought. it comes right after battling with the notion that i must be bad at both of them before i can learn to be good at either, and tackling the fear of how long that learning curve is.
i am very much mentally ill and it seems impossible to put all my symptoms into one category. it is impossible to know what parts of emotional dysregulation can be attributed to medication side effects. it is further impossible to identify which of my perceptions reflect reality and to what extent my delusion has carried me. nearly 100% of the time, my reactions to stress, confrontation, or frustration are a result of one runoff of this larger delusion that propels my life and influences my decision making.
sometimes i get into my miata and put the top down and blast all the music i'm most ashamed to love, while driving down slow speed roads with lots of red lights, or even while pumping gas. i consider it practice in not caring what other people think, or at least in blocking out the part of my brain that incessantly tries to dissect their thoughts. i try to use the time spent as an opportunity to exercise rational self-talk.
2023.04.02 08:55 rizzlenizzle Jury Panel process expectations: what comes next after the lawyers have asked their questions when there's a significant amount of panel members sitting in the gallery?
This is my first time ever being called in for Jury Duty so I hope this makes sense:
My panel contains exactly 48 people, with the judge explaining that they like to conduct the voir dire process with the first (in numerical order) 24 prospective jurors: 12 sitting in the jury box, 6 in front of the jury box, and 6 more people sitting in the front row of the gallery.
The other 24 members of the panel, including myself, are spread out (in numerical order) across the 4 gallery benches.
The first, and only day in court so far consisted of every member of the first 24 prospective jurors going through both voir dire and questioning from the defense and prosecution lawyers.
I understand that the next step will be the dismissal of unsuitable jurors, but what I’m not understanding is whether or not once someone is dismissed is their place taken by the next person in the gallery, or is it the next person who is not in the jury box from the next 12 jurors?
Also, if people from the gallery are used to fill up any of the dismissed 24, they will have to go through voir dire and lines of questioning from the lawyers, right? That seems like it will take ages haha!!
Anyway, apologies for my ignorance - I’m genuinely curious and looking forward to doing my duty 👍🏻
submitted by rizzlenizzle to Ask_Lawyers [link] [comments]
My panel contains exactly 48 people, with the judge explaining that they like to conduct the voir dire process with the first (in numerical order) 24 prospective jurors: 12 sitting in the jury box, 6 in front of the jury box, and 6 more people sitting in the front row of the gallery.
The other 24 members of the panel, including myself, are spread out (in numerical order) across the 4 gallery benches.
The first, and only day in court so far consisted of every member of the first 24 prospective jurors going through both voir dire and questioning from the defense and prosecution lawyers.
I understand that the next step will be the dismissal of unsuitable jurors, but what I’m not understanding is whether or not once someone is dismissed is their place taken by the next person in the gallery, or is it the next person who is not in the jury box from the next 12 jurors?
Also, if people from the gallery are used to fill up any of the dismissed 24, they will have to go through voir dire and lines of questioning from the lawyers, right? That seems like it will take ages haha!!
Anyway, apologies for my ignorance - I’m genuinely curious and looking forward to doing my duty 👍🏻
2023.04.02 08:50 AutoModerator [Get] Aleric Heck – Alpha-AI Youtube Ads Course
| | Download Full Course Here: https://www.genkicourses.com/product/aleric-heck-alpha-ai-youtube-ads-course/ submitted by AutoModerator to Best_Courses23 [link] [comments] [Get] Aleric Heck – Alpha-AI Youtube Ads Course https://preview.redd.it/6lv602eic6ra1.jpg?width=768&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bcb97abaa1773374cc3defc47dbb32d4a0b3b12e WHAT YOU GET?Planning & Scripting Your Winning YouTube Ads
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2023.04.02 08:49 neomancr Since a lot of people may be biking for the 1st time including people or all ages and genders, I figured it'd be helpful to cover metro mode: 1st ebike vs escalators.
https://youtu.be/dBYU_aVgipo
The major fear I always have with escalators is that it'll roll back and kill several people. This wasn't a big deal with regular bikes since they're light so I'd just place my legs on the handle or do the same thing here. You can also place your front wheel sideways but I find that rude since it covers the entire escalator so peope can't walk past you. So I didn't turn my wheel but if you feel safer and the escalator is clear you can also set the front wheel sideways so the escalator would drag the front wheel up preventing the back wheel from slipping but in EITHER CASE. KEEP YOUR HANDS ON THE BRAKES.
And I you aren't confident I've never seen a metro without an elevator. In that case I was planning on being a body cam but you would manual the back up against the back corner so you only take the same amount of space as if you were a larger or 2 people...
But in this demo I'm starting of where right as I catch the front wheel I lock the front break and hold the bike by both brakes, as the second wheel embarks though its not completely necessary I lock the back brake too and the the bike is as solid as if you were escorting a pony along with you. A solid metal pony.
https://youtu.be/dBYU_aVgipo
Another odd part about escalators is that they sloped up unevenly from level, then level off unevenly, so a little bit of timing is needed but it's completely more scary than it seems. As long as you hold the brakes even if you hit the break early just take a step up, if you go late take a step back so you're safely standing next to the bike with both hands on the bars.
It's really not much different than using a bike the only difference is the weight which does make it feel more uncomfortable, but as long as your brakes are in working order its entirely psychological. A brakes bike stopped object and will not roll as long as you hold the breaks.
Here's how it looks from the bikes perspective:
https://youtu.be/Jss8GXxoZlI
I didn't find any escalators down nearby but I can append that here when I find /happen to find one.
Taking an escalator down may seem scarier but it's the same thing, it's the leveling that is what makes it feel scary. That and I suppose the "don't look down" aspect.
I would NOT try to carry your ebike on an escalator unless it's light enough and you built a strap that secures it to your body. The fear here isn't even really about the rider or the bike, it's about how the thing has wheels and if dropped will roll become a bowling ball and escalators don't have gutters, so you'd be playing bumper ball with people below you facing the opposite direction.
In that case shout "April fools" while you calculate the hospital bills vs the how much the credit card insurance will cover.
Going down it is possible lift then place the front wheel sideways to make sure it's secure on a step, then pinch the front brake, the back wheel will drag behind you and as soon as its on the slope pinch the rear and if you don't wanna be rude you can now straighten your tire since the front and the rear wheels are now locked.
If anyone has a better way go ahead and chime in and I'll add it but this really is a piece of cake. I can carry the bike up and down the stairs, if you can do the same thing and feel more secure you can do that too. I'm that case I just place the bike on my shoulder and think back at how much I miss having pegs on my old BMX.
Thanks for reading.
Wrap up:
Ebikes might as well be called equaliser bikes since it allows anyone to ride a bike. I can ride mine without a seat, without pedal, or sitting sideways on the seat (which is not a good idea, I was just doing that to teach someone the faster a bike goes the more it basically rides itself similar to how you can hop off and ride the pedal then step off versus stopping and getting off.
If I just gave you a terrible idea, remember you can swing back over of you're afraid you're gonna fall backward. Don't panic and slam the brakes. Sitting on a bike sideways when it's in motion is actually a terrible idea.
submitted by neomancr to ebikes [link] [comments]
The major fear I always have with escalators is that it'll roll back and kill several people. This wasn't a big deal with regular bikes since they're light so I'd just place my legs on the handle or do the same thing here. You can also place your front wheel sideways but I find that rude since it covers the entire escalator so peope can't walk past you. So I didn't turn my wheel but if you feel safer and the escalator is clear you can also set the front wheel sideways so the escalator would drag the front wheel up preventing the back wheel from slipping but in EITHER CASE. KEEP YOUR HANDS ON THE BRAKES.
And I you aren't confident I've never seen a metro without an elevator. In that case I was planning on being a body cam but you would manual the back up against the back corner so you only take the same amount of space as if you were a larger or 2 people...
But in this demo I'm starting of where right as I catch the front wheel I lock the front break and hold the bike by both brakes, as the second wheel embarks though its not completely necessary I lock the back brake too and the the bike is as solid as if you were escorting a pony along with you. A solid metal pony.
https://youtu.be/dBYU_aVgipo
Another odd part about escalators is that they sloped up unevenly from level, then level off unevenly, so a little bit of timing is needed but it's completely more scary than it seems. As long as you hold the brakes even if you hit the break early just take a step up, if you go late take a step back so you're safely standing next to the bike with both hands on the bars.
It's really not much different than using a bike the only difference is the weight which does make it feel more uncomfortable, but as long as your brakes are in working order its entirely psychological. A brakes bike stopped object and will not roll as long as you hold the breaks.
Here's how it looks from the bikes perspective:
https://youtu.be/Jss8GXxoZlI
I didn't find any escalators down nearby but I can append that here when I find /happen to find one.
Taking an escalator down may seem scarier but it's the same thing, it's the leveling that is what makes it feel scary. That and I suppose the "don't look down" aspect.
I would NOT try to carry your ebike on an escalator unless it's light enough and you built a strap that secures it to your body. The fear here isn't even really about the rider or the bike, it's about how the thing has wheels and if dropped will roll become a bowling ball and escalators don't have gutters, so you'd be playing bumper ball with people below you facing the opposite direction.
In that case shout "April fools" while you calculate the hospital bills vs the how much the credit card insurance will cover.
Going down it is possible lift then place the front wheel sideways to make sure it's secure on a step, then pinch the front brake, the back wheel will drag behind you and as soon as its on the slope pinch the rear and if you don't wanna be rude you can now straighten your tire since the front and the rear wheels are now locked.
If anyone has a better way go ahead and chime in and I'll add it but this really is a piece of cake. I can carry the bike up and down the stairs, if you can do the same thing and feel more secure you can do that too. I'm that case I just place the bike on my shoulder and think back at how much I miss having pegs on my old BMX.
Thanks for reading.
Wrap up:
Ebikes might as well be called equaliser bikes since it allows anyone to ride a bike. I can ride mine without a seat, without pedal, or sitting sideways on the seat (which is not a good idea, I was just doing that to teach someone the faster a bike goes the more it basically rides itself similar to how you can hop off and ride the pedal then step off versus stopping and getting off.
If I just gave you a terrible idea, remember you can swing back over of you're afraid you're gonna fall backward. Don't panic and slam the brakes. Sitting on a bike sideways when it's in motion is actually a terrible idea.
2023.04.02 08:40 AutoModerator [Get] Csaba Borzasi – Breakthrough Conversions Academy
| | Download course here: https://www.genkicourses.com/product/csaba-borzasi-breakthrough-conversions-academy/ submitted by AutoModerator to CoursesBestOf2023 [link] [comments] [Get] Csaba Borzasi – Breakthrough Conversions Academy https://preview.redd.it/oclo0doso8ra1.jpg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=771060199f9b28171a8bec70e4f6d9c585159502 What You Get:Module 1The Fundamental Principles of Direct Response CopywritingIn this foundational module, you’ll discover:
The Psychology Behind Persuasive Copywriting & Copy-ThinkingI promise you’ve never seen a more advanced masterclass in emotional response marketing before.In this module, you’ll discover:
The “No-Nonsense” 80/20 Marketing Research ProcessYes, yes – I know research isn’t the sexiest of topics out there…But it’s an absolutely essential aspect of creating winning marketing campaigns. So… To make this important topic as painless and swift as possible, I scoured through thousands of pages of my notes… Revisited scores of past projects I did with various clients… And analyzed how the best of the best copywriters did their own research… To come up with a totally UNIQUE blueprint for doing marketing research FAST, in a no-nonsense way. That’s why, in this module, you’ll discover:
The “Sacred Trinity”: Big Ideas, Headlines, LeadsThis is where the “rubber meets the road”…Because Module 4 is all about the highest-impact copywriting elements out there: Big Ideas, Headlines, and Leads… PLUS, how they actually relate to each other. So in this module, you’ll discover:
The “Golden Thread” That Connects Your Big Idea With Your OfferOnce you know the secrets of the “Sacred Trinity”, it’s time to connect these elements with your Offer.How? Module 5 reveals everything. Inside this game-changing masterclass, you’ll discover:
How to Make Your Competition Irrelevant by Using a Unique MechanismOur next topic is about Unique Mechanisms…Which are essential in today’s world of “high-market sophistication” audiences. During this module, you’ll discover:
Once Upon a Time, There Was a “StorySelling Masterclass” That RockedNext up, Storytelling on STEROIDS! (which I like to call “StorySelling”)In this module, you’ll discover:
How To Create An Offer So Irresistible… Only a LUNATIC Would Ignore ItOnce you have your “Big Idea”, Headline, Lead, Golden Thread, Unique Mechanism, and Stories…It’s time to finally create an offer they can’t refuse! So in Module 8, you’ll discover:
From “Master Structure” to Breakthrough CopyIn this strategic overview session, we’ll revisit the most important 80/20 principles of key topics like:
|
2023.04.02 08:39 pikeypaigepoems Devil at My Door
Fuck…
When I was 14
Well let’s go back to when I was 10, I guess.
I was a big fan of John Lennon and David Bowie and Elvis Presley.
But I had a condition..
Dexterity/motor skill problem.
I still have it to this day.
my hands are always shaking, And I exhibit the penmanship of a toddler to this day
I found an old guitar in my grandma‘s closet while we stayed with her in Los Banos before we moved to Reno Nevada From San Jose California.
My grandma and grandpa did not know how the guitar even got there in the first place, but they were old and maybe one of them bought it at one time and forgot.
I asked Grandma If could take the guitar.
I think the guitar was called “Aslin Dane. Ariel Pro III…”
This unique strat-style guitar seemed older than the redwoods my family had recently said goodbye to.
That was when I was 10….
We lived a normal life in Reno after that and we all loved the high dessert and mountain air.
I was 14 and now and we were assimilated in northern Nevada.
I had spent four years trying to even play a chord or a note on this mysterious guitar and ground my fingers away on it daily, but my hands were too shaky.
I couldn’t write a song.
I couldn’t do anything.
I prayed to God, even though it was a joke.
I didn’t believe in angels or God or the Bible.
My parents are both atheist my father is a man of science.
I grew up as an atheist I had no religious disposition at the time.
Subsequently, I got into heavy metal, dark hair, dark music and occult Ouija board shit. Not because I believed in anything really, but because I thought it was cool.
I was like: “there’s no god anyways so I might as well just be dark as I can be”.
it was a phase.
It was a fad.
So, arrogantly, I came home one day.
I still could not even pretend to play the guitar and I was angry because I thought I deserved talent.
So…. midnight one night, I decided to take every family album; every picture of myself that I could find in the house, my yearbooks throughout the years. I took these pictures and I drew pentagrams on my forehead and crossed out my eyes.
I then lit some candles and I said: “I know there’s no god, because if there was a god I would be able to play this guitar”
….I swore allegiance to the devil if he would come right now and show himself and make me able to play.
Maybe five minutes after I said this out loud and had lit the candles and did the séance…
Well, i should say that it must’ve been 2004 and there were zero electric vehicles at the time.
Though there weren’t electric vehicles in those days, I would describe what I heard and five minutes later; slowly prowling up to the front of my house, as an electric car.
It sounded like a heavy piece of metal moving with no engine.
Almost like how the Jetsons ship sounds.
And then I immediately started to sweat cold sweat.
The candles were still lit and I swear…across the wall in front of me, I saw an anthropomorphic face… A devilish face, cast a shadow that spread across my closet doors in front of me.
I was like “well at least the car stopped and they went somewhere else” because another five minutes later it was silent.
Just when I thought the coast was clear, I heard the rickety glass screen door being pulled open from our front door. It was an incredibly heavy and loud outer-door… But I didn’t hear the actual wooden front door, or anything like the locking mechanisms, nothing like that. So I thought it was just the wind blew this the heavy glass door wide open, so abruptly.
After five minutes or so, I heard heavy footsteps in the house, spaced between at least 30 or 40 seconds.
They were coming up the stairs to the second floor where my bedroom was.
I used to sneak out and smoke pot with my neighborhood friends, so I knew the spots on the staircase to avoid and it seemed like whatever was coming up there, purposely stepped on the loudest parts of it…like they knew the house as I did.
Another five minutes in silence, I just think that I’m imagining it all, but then….I start hearing footsteps 30 seconds apart.
Heavy footsteps, taunting me, by stepping on the loudest parts of the sub-floor underneath the carpet of the second landing.
I tried to convince myself it was a dream, but I was too alert and conscious of what I was trying to summon.
I could not have slept that night if you paid me $1 million dollars.
I was wide awake and terrified.
So…these footsteps came down through the hallway, to my door and they stopped loudly
I’m thinking to myself “why won’t my dad get up? I want my mom get up.
Nor did my brothers awake nor my sister…aren’t they terrified too?’
10 minutes passed. I didn’t hear anything.
Then just as I was saying “phew” and wiping the sweat from my forehead; I heard three loud knocks; “boom, boom, boom.”
I was like ‘this is not happening right now!’
I tried to get up to turn the candles off and shred the Satanic photos I made of myself, but I’ve never been so afraid and I was unable to move.
“Boom boom boom!’
it was always three knocks… each set louder and louder, until at least 6 or 7 AM.
The next day, of course, I was still awake and only opened the door when I heard my family having breakfast.
I went downstairs and I literally shoved my older brother while he was sitting having eggs and hashbrowns at the table and I accosted him and I said “what the hell man? Why were you banging on my door all night?
He genuinely had no idea what I was talking about.
My dad‘s room was only 5 feet across the hall from where I was, and my sisters room was literally a foot away from my door to the left.
Nobody heard anything and they looked at me like I was crazy.
I felt I was crazy.
I had just stayed up all night listening to this thing pounding like a fireman or policeman at my door and that was when I first genuinely Said a prayer to God.
Two or three weeks later I casually picked up the old creepy guitar that was still in my closet….And I could play.
I mean, oh, boy could I play.
But there was nothing inside of me that was cheerful about this new gift that I was given.
And I always knew from then on out that it was a curse.
Since then, I have become a protégés guitar, bass player and singer.
But every time I write a new song, there is a shadow of my soul standing over me.
I try to think that, since I didn’t open the door for Satan; that God has rewarded me with the gift to play, but I know that my gift is a curse and I may either already be in hell or I am going that way soon.
submitted by pikeypaigepoems to nope [link] [comments]
When I was 14
Well let’s go back to when I was 10, I guess.
I was a big fan of John Lennon and David Bowie and Elvis Presley.
But I had a condition..
Dexterity/motor skill problem.
I still have it to this day.
my hands are always shaking, And I exhibit the penmanship of a toddler to this day
I found an old guitar in my grandma‘s closet while we stayed with her in Los Banos before we moved to Reno Nevada From San Jose California.
My grandma and grandpa did not know how the guitar even got there in the first place, but they were old and maybe one of them bought it at one time and forgot.
I asked Grandma If could take the guitar.
I think the guitar was called “Aslin Dane. Ariel Pro III…”
This unique strat-style guitar seemed older than the redwoods my family had recently said goodbye to.
That was when I was 10….
We lived a normal life in Reno after that and we all loved the high dessert and mountain air.
I was 14 and now and we were assimilated in northern Nevada.
I had spent four years trying to even play a chord or a note on this mysterious guitar and ground my fingers away on it daily, but my hands were too shaky.
I couldn’t write a song.
I couldn’t do anything.
I prayed to God, even though it was a joke.
I didn’t believe in angels or God or the Bible.
My parents are both atheist my father is a man of science.
I grew up as an atheist I had no religious disposition at the time.
Subsequently, I got into heavy metal, dark hair, dark music and occult Ouija board shit. Not because I believed in anything really, but because I thought it was cool.
I was like: “there’s no god anyways so I might as well just be dark as I can be”.
it was a phase.
It was a fad.
So, arrogantly, I came home one day.
I still could not even pretend to play the guitar and I was angry because I thought I deserved talent.
So…. midnight one night, I decided to take every family album; every picture of myself that I could find in the house, my yearbooks throughout the years. I took these pictures and I drew pentagrams on my forehead and crossed out my eyes.
I then lit some candles and I said: “I know there’s no god, because if there was a god I would be able to play this guitar”
….I swore allegiance to the devil if he would come right now and show himself and make me able to play.
Maybe five minutes after I said this out loud and had lit the candles and did the séance…
Well, i should say that it must’ve been 2004 and there were zero electric vehicles at the time.
Though there weren’t electric vehicles in those days, I would describe what I heard and five minutes later; slowly prowling up to the front of my house, as an electric car.
It sounded like a heavy piece of metal moving with no engine.
Almost like how the Jetsons ship sounds.
And then I immediately started to sweat cold sweat.
The candles were still lit and I swear…across the wall in front of me, I saw an anthropomorphic face… A devilish face, cast a shadow that spread across my closet doors in front of me.
I was like “well at least the car stopped and they went somewhere else” because another five minutes later it was silent.
Just when I thought the coast was clear, I heard the rickety glass screen door being pulled open from our front door. It was an incredibly heavy and loud outer-door… But I didn’t hear the actual wooden front door, or anything like the locking mechanisms, nothing like that. So I thought it was just the wind blew this the heavy glass door wide open, so abruptly.
After five minutes or so, I heard heavy footsteps in the house, spaced between at least 30 or 40 seconds.
They were coming up the stairs to the second floor where my bedroom was.
I used to sneak out and smoke pot with my neighborhood friends, so I knew the spots on the staircase to avoid and it seemed like whatever was coming up there, purposely stepped on the loudest parts of it…like they knew the house as I did.
Another five minutes in silence, I just think that I’m imagining it all, but then….I start hearing footsteps 30 seconds apart.
Heavy footsteps, taunting me, by stepping on the loudest parts of the sub-floor underneath the carpet of the second landing.
I tried to convince myself it was a dream, but I was too alert and conscious of what I was trying to summon.
I could not have slept that night if you paid me $1 million dollars.
I was wide awake and terrified.
So…these footsteps came down through the hallway, to my door and they stopped loudly
I’m thinking to myself “why won’t my dad get up? I want my mom get up.
Nor did my brothers awake nor my sister…aren’t they terrified too?’
10 minutes passed. I didn’t hear anything.
Then just as I was saying “phew” and wiping the sweat from my forehead; I heard three loud knocks; “boom, boom, boom.”
I was like ‘this is not happening right now!’
I tried to get up to turn the candles off and shred the Satanic photos I made of myself, but I’ve never been so afraid and I was unable to move.
“Boom boom boom!’
it was always three knocks… each set louder and louder, until at least 6 or 7 AM.
The next day, of course, I was still awake and only opened the door when I heard my family having breakfast.
I went downstairs and I literally shoved my older brother while he was sitting having eggs and hashbrowns at the table and I accosted him and I said “what the hell man? Why were you banging on my door all night?
He genuinely had no idea what I was talking about.
My dad‘s room was only 5 feet across the hall from where I was, and my sisters room was literally a foot away from my door to the left.
Nobody heard anything and they looked at me like I was crazy.
I felt I was crazy.
I had just stayed up all night listening to this thing pounding like a fireman or policeman at my door and that was when I first genuinely Said a prayer to God.
Two or three weeks later I casually picked up the old creepy guitar that was still in my closet….And I could play.
I mean, oh, boy could I play.
But there was nothing inside of me that was cheerful about this new gift that I was given.
And I always knew from then on out that it was a curse.
Since then, I have become a protégés guitar, bass player and singer.
But every time I write a new song, there is a shadow of my soul standing over me.
I try to think that, since I didn’t open the door for Satan; that God has rewarded me with the gift to play, but I know that my gift is a curse and I may either already be in hell or I am going that way soon.
2023.04.02 08:37 Snigaroo In Defense of Peragus: it's not just well-designed, it's a uniquely good level too
I'm going to take a provably unpopular stance and go into detail explaining why I think Peragus is not just a fun and thoughtful level, but also why I think it was designed and executed well. This is stupidly long, so be prepared.
Game levels are not always (or even often) just a calculus of "will this be fun?" Often, their design is imbricated with the game's themes, pacing and tone. This can range from the obvious--there is a reason Dead Space takes place on a run-down, damaged vessel with bad lighting, for instance--to the subtextual: is the reason Dragon Age: Origins concludes on the top of Fort Drakon, the very simbol of the King's power in Denerim, meant to represent the player overcoming the forces in Ferelden which stood against them and rising to the heights of power? Or is it meant to be a nod to Alistair, and the future which is intended for him?
However, between the obvious and the subtextual is, I would argue, a third category which often represents major design decisions which nevertheless are not directly tied to core gameplay components (such as movement, combat, or the plot of the game at large) and are focused instead on achieving a specific and narrow design objective, such as the creation of a unique tone or atmosphere. For simplicity's sake, I will refer to this as Structural Design, and this is the level at which I believe Peragus operates.
With this in mind, what is Peragus's design intent, and what is that design intent intended to accomplish? Let us first examine, in broad strokes, what Peragus actually does to the player, and from there we can work to extrapolate the broader intent of Peragus as a level. Peragus:
Yet a stunning amount of the remainder matches with shocking--and repeated--closeness to the game's themes:
Operating under the assumption that our thesis is correct, I would issue an emphatic yes. In my most recent playthrough of KOTOR 2 I did not skip any dialogue, even alien VO; fully unlocked all holo-records and terminal entries and read them in their entirety; and defeated every enemy in the area (including every stealth group aboard the Harbinger), as well as doing some crafting. I did all that, and I was still off of Peragus in 3 hours, 30 minutes. The level manages to condense almost every single major theme of the game into a runtime of 210 minutes. And that's an example from me being slow.
People often complain about Peragus being unbearably long, and I understand those complaints, but viewed from this perspective, doesn't it seem incredible Peragus is as short as it is given the sheer thematic density it presents? It does to me; I often wonder if it even could be shorter and still succeed in the all-important attempt to subvert the player by constantly forcing them to fail in their efforts, breaking down their hope into hopelessness. Again: you might not like that, but is it not masterfully accomplished?
To me, Peragus feels like a master-class in design, constructing a compelling, localized narrative which leaves the player thirsting for more information about the uncertain and seemingly dangerous immediate past--both of the Exile and of the galaxy more broadly--while also managing to tie in almost all of the game's critical themes and introduce the player to what they should expect to see going forward. I can't think of a single tutorial level which accomplishes an introduction to the tone and themes of its product better than Peragus does for KOTOR 2. The closest is probably Dark Souls, but I hope it won't be controversial for me to say that it doesn't exactly deal with the same kind of heady themes KOTOR 2 does.
Still, success in objectives, as we've already noted, does not automatically mean a fun design. There are plenty of games that accomplish their goals admirably, but their goals suck, or the moment-to-moment gameplay and plot through which these goals are conveyed is unfun or tedious. Before we get to why I think Peragus is not just a successful but a good level, let me take a moment to acknowledge the criticisms frequently leveled against it.
Confusing design is a common complaint here on the sub, in that you frequently switch areas and characters, running in circles and often with only half-answers about what's happening. This issue is, I feel, more an artifact of initial impressions than a real point of failing for Peragus. A lot of people here now played this game as children. Jumping between the Exile and T3 then back without seeing T3 again for hours could easily be disorienting to a 12-year-old thrown into an unknown setting, but less so to an adult. Peragus does have you going in circles at times, especially when you later retrace T3's exact steps down the fuel depot, but I would not say that it is at any point structurally confusing.
The absence of many RPG elements is also noted. Despite playing a roleplaying game, Peragus is not just a zone where the player has barely anyone to interact with, it is also an extremely linear experience with barely any alternate means of achieving objectives (most of what little exists in that vein is token--bashing terminals to open doors instead of using conventional unlocks, for instance). The latter issue I fully agree with and believe is one of the few major failings of Peragus, though I would suggest that it's possible that alternate options were cut to avoid additional confusion for new players by overloading them with alternate routes, or bloating an already-long tutorial level. The former issue, however, we can see is a core component of Peragus's design, not just to establish the isolating and disconcerting atmosphere of the station, but also to introduce that the player will frequently need to operate alone throughout the course of the game. Thus once again, while this criticism is valid, so too is Peragus's rationale for its design choice.
Bad combat design is also often discussed, however this is very subjective and perhaps even outside of the scope of this analysis. I think that the mix of droids and assassins is interesting enough and the stealth teams add tension and threat as a welcome break in the monotony of droid combat at the 2/3 point of the level, but I understand many might not agree. That said, bad fights can contribute to disliking a level without contributing to a failure of its design intent, so even in the event that players don't like the combat, there's still the possibility to appreciate what Peragus sets out to achieve.
Among the most frequently-mentioned criticisms of the zone is a lack of replayability. This is understandable: Peragus is, at its heart, a massive murder-mystery, and when you already know the answer much of the tension that drives the level is no longer present. I fully acknowledge this as another problem with the level, though I do also want to note the same problems exist for virtually every other game which is designed around a mystery.
There is also a final--and, in my opinion, critical--complaint one often hears, but because of how important it is to my conclusions, I will save mentioning it for last. First, I want to explain why, despite its problems, I think Peragus is not just a triumph of design, but also simply a fun level.
a buzzword subjective, so I can't just say "Peragus is fun, fuck you haters" and leave it at that. At this point I'm 18,000 characters and 8 hours in to this post and regretting my life choices, though, and holy fuck I really wish I could.
Ignoring my poor decision-making, we have touched on whether Peragus succeeds in its intent already, but not how it succeeds in its intent. When you wrap all of the themes contained within up in a Peragus-shaped box, what do you get?
The absence of NPCs or companions, while perhaps unconventional from the perspective of an RPG, leaves the player free to experience the mystery of the station without the risk of growing distracted or having their expectations muddled by other characters' perspectives. However, the main thing that the absence of NPCs achieves, and the reason I love Peragus even after 30+ playthroughs, is the punishing isolation which the player is made to feel virtually from the first moment. It is this isolation which leaves me coming back for more, and which more than lets me ignore the fact that I know where every enemy spawn is, know the mystery of the station, know just what every log says. I respect Peragus's design. I devour Peragus's atmosphere.
This atmosphere is, I think, actually part two of three in the Unholy Trinity of why people dislike the level. Aspect #1 is its length, but the atmosphere is, I think, an oft-overlooked bit of first impression that leaves a consistently sour taste in players' mouths. Because I would go so far as to say the atmosphere of Peragus is almost crafted too well.
Peragus is not a conventionally enjoyable level to play. You are alone. There are no people around you, but by all appearances there should be. Your "friends" are suspect, there are threats around every turn, and your attempts to escape are constantly, meticulously thwarted. And throughout all this, you are alone. We have spoken of all of this before in the context of design intent, but not in terms of the effect that actually has on gameplay.
I previously saw a user call Peragus a survival-horror experience, and another user said they were out of their mind. I don't think they were--I think that's exactly what Peragus is. Peragus is a horror game, complete with its own lumbering monstrocities hounding your every step in the shapes of HK-50 and Sion, and like all horror games, it is patently uncomfortable to experience. You are constantly looking over your shoulder (metaphorically and, perhaps, actually as well), constantly on alert for an ambush, constantly, desperately hoping that the next door you open will finally have someone behind it. But you are ALWAYS alone. Your attempts to escape are ALWAYS thwarted. The monsters are ALWAYS one step in front of you. You literally do not feel safe and confident that you've escaped until you finally see that hyperspace window open in front of you.
That is a triumph of design. And that is also, I am confident, the root of why so many people dislike Peragus. It isn't just the individual elements like the length, the constant defeats, or the ambush teams that make people hate Peragus. On their own, those are annoying but not damning, and even in aggregate without a total failure of all other aspects of design they could not, in my opinion, explain the hate which Peragus consistently earns. I am not dismissing the criticisms which I addressed above, nor their place as a component of the dislike for Peragus. For some people, I'm sure that really is all there is to it, and the atmosphere of the zone has minimal effect, if any whatsoever. But for more, I'm sure that it's left some deep-seated scars.
I say this because I was among that number. When I was younger, I hated Peragus. Even before TSLRCM I loved KOTOR 2 more than the original, but I always tried to speed through Peragus. I didn't like it. I couldn't talk to anyone, and it wasn't fun. I just wanted to rush through it to get to Telos, because there were people there, and that's where the story really began.
All that's true, of course. But though I didn't have the vocabulary for it at the time, the main reason was because I felt uncomfortable playing Peragus, even after I learned what the mystery was. I always felt like a rat in a cage made just for me, alone and hunted, even when I knew what to expect. Maybe for other users, once they finally suss out the story of the station that sensation goes away. It's certainly diminished for me by now. But it's still powerful, and the recognizance of just how masterfully the level had to be designed to construct that intentional feeling of helplessness consistently impresses me and leaves me wanting to experience it again. But for many of those who were kids when they first played KOTOR 2, I'm sure that just like me, a terribly unexpected impression was left, the remnants of which might manifest themselves still today in a deep-seated dislike for the level.
And that finally begins to touch on the final reason which I think helps explain why Peragus is hated.
KOTOR 2, in many ways, both benefits and suffers from being a sequel: while it gains an established universe, history, set of characters and guidelines for its plot, it also inherits expectations about its structure, themes and tone from its predecessor. People went in to KOTOR 2 expecting a continuation of KOTOR, and instead they got a horror level that makes them feel extremely uncomfortable while it systematically subverts every major theme of the original game. And then it kicks the tone of KOTOR in the 'nads for good measure.
In other words, people had expectations, expectations which were inherently impossible to meet within the confines of the themes of KOTOR 2 as a whole and the design intent of Peragus specifically as a level. I do not say this to put the blame on those who went in with those expectations; after all, a sequel is meant to share much of the DNA of its antecedent even when it innovates, and especially for those of us who first played as children there was no reason why anyone should have believed differently. Rather, this is merely to acknowledge the implicitly obvious fact that people almost always play KOTOR first, and that leads them to anticipate something wildly different than what they receive when they start KOTOR 2. And, when what they receive is not merely different but disconcerting, it is--I would argue--natural to react viscerally. The whiplash is normal, if not necessarily by design.
But here I will ask my final question: is it be by design?
I would argue that yes, it is. KOTOR 2 is a game which is so wildly different from the original in structure, themes, tone and even relevant historical events that an introduction to prepare players for that difference is not only beneficial, but nigh-mandatory. Peragus is the amalgamation of all of the common themes of KOTOR 2 not just as a matter of coincidence, but, I would argue, a very conscious acknowledgement that the game needed an introduction which would make it abundantly clear to players that the experience they were in for was not like the one that they should be expecting. Peragus is, for lack of a more elegant way to put it, your alarm in the morning. You might well hate the little son of a bitch, but it serves a critical purpose. Once it goes off, you know what to expect.
Put another way, Peragus walks so the rest of KOTOR 2 can run. With all of the shock and frustration at dashed expectations and unexpected design decisions out of the way within the player's first hours, by the time they are on the Ebon Hawk and speeding to Telos, they have been reshaped into a blank(er) slate that is primed to accept the much different story of KOTOR 2 without as visceral a negative reaction.
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Peragus Viewed Through the Lens of Design Intent
Before beginning to talk about why I enjoy Peragus and why I think others often do not, I think it's helpful to establish what Peragus actually attempts to do in order to analyze whether it is successful in its goals, and also why its design intent strongly impacts how people perceive the level as a whole.Game levels are not always (or even often) just a calculus of "will this be fun?" Often, their design is imbricated with the game's themes, pacing and tone. This can range from the obvious--there is a reason Dead Space takes place on a run-down, damaged vessel with bad lighting, for instance--to the subtextual: is the reason Dragon Age: Origins concludes on the top of Fort Drakon, the very simbol of the King's power in Denerim, meant to represent the player overcoming the forces in Ferelden which stood against them and rising to the heights of power? Or is it meant to be a nod to Alistair, and the future which is intended for him?
However, between the obvious and the subtextual is, I would argue, a third category which often represents major design decisions which nevertheless are not directly tied to core gameplay components (such as movement, combat, or the plot of the game at large) and are focused instead on achieving a specific and narrow design objective, such as the creation of a unique tone or atmosphere. For simplicity's sake, I will refer to this as Structural Design, and this is the level at which I believe Peragus operates.
With this in mind, what is Peragus's design intent, and what is that design intent intended to accomplish? Let us first examine, in broad strokes, what Peragus actually does to the player, and from there we can work to extrapolate the broader intent of Peragus as a level. Peragus:
- Unceremoniously dumps the player into an unfamiliar situation with no known allies, where the only two living beings they encounter are of suspect natures and loyalties;
- Continually suggests the possibility of further human interaction to the player, only to continue pushing it further and further away, eventually revealing it was never possible at all. This also serves to make Peragus into a 'ghost station', where your only human interaction besides Kreia and Atton are the holo-logs of people you will never meet--because they died before you even awoke--speaking with great anxiety about the terrifying last days of their lives;
- Goes to great pains to ensure that every victory is immediately followed by a defeat: you open the holding cells, but the admin terminal is cut off; T3 unlocks the mining tunnels, but is immediately ambushed and eliminated; you get through the mining tunnels, but the airlock is shut against you; you breach the airlock and enter the dormitory level, but the miners are all already dead, and the turbolift is sealed against you; you unlock the turbolift and can use the Harbinger to get to the fuel depot, but now you are on another ghost ship, with Sith present and hunting you; you reach the fuel depot access, but Kreia is badly wounded en route. At no turn do you feel in control of anything, often feeling as if you're just barely staying ahead of disaster;
- Systematically removes pillars supporting the player, including the "death" of T3, the revelation that the HK-50 unit which was supposed to be your property was the architect of your capture, and Kreia's departure from the party and wounding by Sion;
- Sequentially ambushes the player with unexpected encounters at extremely high threat for their level, eventually moving all the way to stealth ambushes by Sith Assassins.
- Trauma and wartime PTSD, with an emphasis on redemption and/or coming to terms with one's past
- Isolation from an in-group (Jedi), society as a whole (you are treated like a Jedi, even though the Jedi refuse to claim you), and the self (the loss of the Force and the Exile's inability to grasp what happened to her)
- The failure of authority figures and systems to adapt to change or challenge without repression
- Betrayal, both of ideologies and individuals, by superiors and juniors/inferiors, and also the self (Atris is queen here)
- Self-Reliance and Actuation
- Despair and Hopelessness
- Disdain and/or disregard for common people's suffering
Yet a stunning amount of the remainder matches with shocking--and repeated--closeness to the game's themes:
- There is hardly a module in Peragus where we don't see a betrayal. Excluding the ubiquitous presence of mining droids--whom we are constantly reminded betrayed their handlers through the presence of corpses, blaster scarring and holo-logs--there is also HK-50, who betrays the crew of the Harbinger, as well as the station administration and Coorta through his play-acting as the maintenance officer, as well as his "master" the Exile; Coorta, who betrays the station administration and his own boss, Sien, whom he indirectly murders; and Sion, who betrays Kreia once more on the Harbinger (though of course, their exact relationship is not known to the player at the time). Although no direct betrayal occurs through them, Peragus also contributes to an overall atmosphere of uncertainty and mistrust by cultivating a mysterious veil around the pasts of Atton and Kreia, forcing the player to question whether or not their own companions can be trusted.
- Virtually the entirety of Peragus is done entirely in single-player, placing the Exile (or T3) alone against the unknown, and often truly dangerous, threats of the station. Even during those sections where you play as another character or gain additional party-members, these companions are lost suddenly twice: once when T3 is ambushed by HK-50, and once when you are ambushed by Sion. It also focuses somewhat on actuation, with the Exile starting to recover her connection to the Force, beginning her journey to come to terms with her past almost from the moment she awakes.
- Despair and hopelessness is the big one. Peragus is deliberately devoid of human life, but the station was almost paralyzed by indecision and concern even before the fatal mining accident occurred, with different staff at each others' throats; mounting casualties from sabotage; and even more mundane (yet still consequential) concerns about the fate of the Republic and their fuel shipments to Telos. The hopelessness of the people on the station before they died well-complements the player's own hopelessness, as they are continually thrust into situation after situation where, despite their best efforts, matters always seem to be beyond their control. The almost endless sequence of "just one more try" attempts to resolve your situation hammers that hopelessness home fiercely, to the point that, when you encounter all the miners already dead, you might want to just sit down and give up yourself. It helps (or doesn't, depending upon your view) that Peragus is deliberately designed to encourage the player to think that absolution is just around the corner: everything is brightly-lit, well-maintained and clean, excepting those few areas where droids have damaged equipment. You keep thinking that you will find other people any minute, but they're never there. Instead, you just have an eerie, empty, doomed station filled with enemies and constant, mounting failures to escape it.
- While not necessarily obvious, I think disdain for common people is another major theme of Peragus. HK obviously cares nothing for the miners and kills them all to get to you, as does Sion for the Republic soldiers on the Harbinger, but I would argue these are only the most obvious readings of the situation. The sleeper angle here, I think, is the Peragus administration: they don't care about their own mining staff enough to stop drilling, even as they are dying left and right. They constantly try to memory wipe the droids even when it's clear it isn't working, and issues are only mounting. They start to pull double-shifts to keep quotas up as more people die, instead of going into lockdown to try to salvage the situation. It's the first time we don't see clearly "evil" forces casually throw people away, but simply misguided, fatally aloof people. It's an important strike against the black-and-white morality system of the original KOTOR, and it comes nigh-instantaneously.
Does it Work?
Here I want to make the somewhat obvious but nevertheless important point that you can really, really dislike something and that thing can still succeed at what it intended to do--it might not be what you'd like it to have done, might not be done in the way you would've preferred it to be, and might just be downright unpleasant to you, but it can still achieve what it set out to. With that in mind, does Peragus stick the landing?Operating under the assumption that our thesis is correct, I would issue an emphatic yes. In my most recent playthrough of KOTOR 2 I did not skip any dialogue, even alien VO; fully unlocked all holo-records and terminal entries and read them in their entirety; and defeated every enemy in the area (including every stealth group aboard the Harbinger), as well as doing some crafting. I did all that, and I was still off of Peragus in 3 hours, 30 minutes. The level manages to condense almost every single major theme of the game into a runtime of 210 minutes. And that's an example from me being slow.
People often complain about Peragus being unbearably long, and I understand those complaints, but viewed from this perspective, doesn't it seem incredible Peragus is as short as it is given the sheer thematic density it presents? It does to me; I often wonder if it even could be shorter and still succeed in the all-important attempt to subvert the player by constantly forcing them to fail in their efforts, breaking down their hope into hopelessness. Again: you might not like that, but is it not masterfully accomplished?
To me, Peragus feels like a master-class in design, constructing a compelling, localized narrative which leaves the player thirsting for more information about the uncertain and seemingly dangerous immediate past--both of the Exile and of the galaxy more broadly--while also managing to tie in almost all of the game's critical themes and introduce the player to what they should expect to see going forward. I can't think of a single tutorial level which accomplishes an introduction to the tone and themes of its product better than Peragus does for KOTOR 2. The closest is probably Dark Souls, but I hope it won't be controversial for me to say that it doesn't exactly deal with the same kind of heady themes KOTOR 2 does.
Still, success in objectives, as we've already noted, does not automatically mean a fun design. There are plenty of games that accomplish their goals admirably, but their goals suck, or the moment-to-moment gameplay and plot through which these goals are conveyed is unfun or tedious. Before we get to why I think Peragus is not just a successful but a good level, let me take a moment to acknowledge the criticisms frequently leveled against it.
Criticisms of Peragus and their Validity
I already touched above on the idea of length as a problem, and why I believe it is virtually impossible for Peragus to achieve its goals while being any shorter. This is not to entirely dismiss length as an issue; between Peragus and Telos, for those who aren't fond of the tone, structure or story of Peragus the intro to KOTOR 2 must feel like pulling teeth, even as compared to the terribly long Taris and much more bite-sized Dantooine, K1's cognates. Yet I do think that, with the objectives of Peragus in mind, the rationale behind the length is understandable. Peragus is not just long for the fun of it; its length gives it the ability to dangle sequential objectives in front of the player only to wrest their victory away each time, a critical component of its design intent.Confusing design is a common complaint here on the sub, in that you frequently switch areas and characters, running in circles and often with only half-answers about what's happening. This issue is, I feel, more an artifact of initial impressions than a real point of failing for Peragus. A lot of people here now played this game as children. Jumping between the Exile and T3 then back without seeing T3 again for hours could easily be disorienting to a 12-year-old thrown into an unknown setting, but less so to an adult. Peragus does have you going in circles at times, especially when you later retrace T3's exact steps down the fuel depot, but I would not say that it is at any point structurally confusing.
The absence of many RPG elements is also noted. Despite playing a roleplaying game, Peragus is not just a zone where the player has barely anyone to interact with, it is also an extremely linear experience with barely any alternate means of achieving objectives (most of what little exists in that vein is token--bashing terminals to open doors instead of using conventional unlocks, for instance). The latter issue I fully agree with and believe is one of the few major failings of Peragus, though I would suggest that it's possible that alternate options were cut to avoid additional confusion for new players by overloading them with alternate routes, or bloating an already-long tutorial level. The former issue, however, we can see is a core component of Peragus's design, not just to establish the isolating and disconcerting atmosphere of the station, but also to introduce that the player will frequently need to operate alone throughout the course of the game. Thus once again, while this criticism is valid, so too is Peragus's rationale for its design choice.
Bad combat design is also often discussed, however this is very subjective and perhaps even outside of the scope of this analysis. I think that the mix of droids and assassins is interesting enough and the stealth teams add tension and threat as a welcome break in the monotony of droid combat at the 2/3 point of the level, but I understand many might not agree. That said, bad fights can contribute to disliking a level without contributing to a failure of its design intent, so even in the event that players don't like the combat, there's still the possibility to appreciate what Peragus sets out to achieve.
Among the most frequently-mentioned criticisms of the zone is a lack of replayability. This is understandable: Peragus is, at its heart, a massive murder-mystery, and when you already know the answer much of the tension that drives the level is no longer present. I fully acknowledge this as another problem with the level, though I do also want to note the same problems exist for virtually every other game which is designed around a mystery.
There is also a final--and, in my opinion, critical--complaint one often hears, but because of how important it is to my conclusions, I will save mentioning it for last. First, I want to explain why, despite its problems, I think Peragus is not just a triumph of design, but also simply a fun level.
Fun?
Fun isIgnoring my poor decision-making, we have touched on whether Peragus succeeds in its intent already, but not how it succeeds in its intent. When you wrap all of the themes contained within up in a Peragus-shaped box, what do you get?
The absence of NPCs or companions, while perhaps unconventional from the perspective of an RPG, leaves the player free to experience the mystery of the station without the risk of growing distracted or having their expectations muddled by other characters' perspectives. However, the main thing that the absence of NPCs achieves, and the reason I love Peragus even after 30+ playthroughs, is the punishing isolation which the player is made to feel virtually from the first moment. It is this isolation which leaves me coming back for more, and which more than lets me ignore the fact that I know where every enemy spawn is, know the mystery of the station, know just what every log says. I respect Peragus's design. I devour Peragus's atmosphere.
This atmosphere is, I think, actually part two of three in the Unholy Trinity of why people dislike the level. Aspect #1 is its length, but the atmosphere is, I think, an oft-overlooked bit of first impression that leaves a consistently sour taste in players' mouths. Because I would go so far as to say the atmosphere of Peragus is almost crafted too well.
Peragus is not a conventionally enjoyable level to play. You are alone. There are no people around you, but by all appearances there should be. Your "friends" are suspect, there are threats around every turn, and your attempts to escape are constantly, meticulously thwarted. And throughout all this, you are alone. We have spoken of all of this before in the context of design intent, but not in terms of the effect that actually has on gameplay.
I previously saw a user call Peragus a survival-horror experience, and another user said they were out of their mind. I don't think they were--I think that's exactly what Peragus is. Peragus is a horror game, complete with its own lumbering monstrocities hounding your every step in the shapes of HK-50 and Sion, and like all horror games, it is patently uncomfortable to experience. You are constantly looking over your shoulder (metaphorically and, perhaps, actually as well), constantly on alert for an ambush, constantly, desperately hoping that the next door you open will finally have someone behind it. But you are ALWAYS alone. Your attempts to escape are ALWAYS thwarted. The monsters are ALWAYS one step in front of you. You literally do not feel safe and confident that you've escaped until you finally see that hyperspace window open in front of you.
That is a triumph of design. And that is also, I am confident, the root of why so many people dislike Peragus. It isn't just the individual elements like the length, the constant defeats, or the ambush teams that make people hate Peragus. On their own, those are annoying but not damning, and even in aggregate without a total failure of all other aspects of design they could not, in my opinion, explain the hate which Peragus consistently earns. I am not dismissing the criticisms which I addressed above, nor their place as a component of the dislike for Peragus. For some people, I'm sure that really is all there is to it, and the atmosphere of the zone has minimal effect, if any whatsoever. But for more, I'm sure that it's left some deep-seated scars.
I say this because I was among that number. When I was younger, I hated Peragus. Even before TSLRCM I loved KOTOR 2 more than the original, but I always tried to speed through Peragus. I didn't like it. I couldn't talk to anyone, and it wasn't fun. I just wanted to rush through it to get to Telos, because there were people there, and that's where the story really began.
All that's true, of course. But though I didn't have the vocabulary for it at the time, the main reason was because I felt uncomfortable playing Peragus, even after I learned what the mystery was. I always felt like a rat in a cage made just for me, alone and hunted, even when I knew what to expect. Maybe for other users, once they finally suss out the story of the station that sensation goes away. It's certainly diminished for me by now. But it's still powerful, and the recognizance of just how masterfully the level had to be designed to construct that intentional feeling of helplessness consistently impresses me and leaves me wanting to experience it again. But for many of those who were kids when they first played KOTOR 2, I'm sure that just like me, a terribly unexpected impression was left, the remnants of which might manifest themselves still today in a deep-seated dislike for the level.
And that finally begins to touch on the final reason which I think helps explain why Peragus is hated.
The Poison Pill: The Divide Between Expectations and Intent
The final piece of the Unholy Trilogy standing against Peragus is none other than KOTOR itself. That final complaint you hear so often (so often that it almost boggles my mind) is that Peragus feels nothing like KOTOR. In some ways that's true, certainly--what other KOTOR level is a horror experience? But users who make this complaint take it beyond that, often suggesting that Peragus is almost the root of all evil, because it's the "start" of KOTOR 2 becoming a radically different game than the one they wanted it to be.KOTOR 2, in many ways, both benefits and suffers from being a sequel: while it gains an established universe, history, set of characters and guidelines for its plot, it also inherits expectations about its structure, themes and tone from its predecessor. People went in to KOTOR 2 expecting a continuation of KOTOR, and instead they got a horror level that makes them feel extremely uncomfortable while it systematically subverts every major theme of the original game. And then it kicks the tone of KOTOR in the 'nads for good measure.
In other words, people had expectations, expectations which were inherently impossible to meet within the confines of the themes of KOTOR 2 as a whole and the design intent of Peragus specifically as a level. I do not say this to put the blame on those who went in with those expectations; after all, a sequel is meant to share much of the DNA of its antecedent even when it innovates, and especially for those of us who first played as children there was no reason why anyone should have believed differently. Rather, this is merely to acknowledge the implicitly obvious fact that people almost always play KOTOR first, and that leads them to anticipate something wildly different than what they receive when they start KOTOR 2. And, when what they receive is not merely different but disconcerting, it is--I would argue--natural to react viscerally. The whiplash is normal, if not necessarily by design.
But here I will ask my final question: is it be by design?
I would argue that yes, it is. KOTOR 2 is a game which is so wildly different from the original in structure, themes, tone and even relevant historical events that an introduction to prepare players for that difference is not only beneficial, but nigh-mandatory. Peragus is the amalgamation of all of the common themes of KOTOR 2 not just as a matter of coincidence, but, I would argue, a very conscious acknowledgement that the game needed an introduction which would make it abundantly clear to players that the experience they were in for was not like the one that they should be expecting. Peragus is, for lack of a more elegant way to put it, your alarm in the morning. You might well hate the little son of a bitch, but it serves a critical purpose. Once it goes off, you know what to expect.
Put another way, Peragus walks so the rest of KOTOR 2 can run. With all of the shock and frustration at dashed expectations and unexpected design decisions out of the way within the player's first hours, by the time they are on the Ebon Hawk and speeding to Telos, they have been reshaped into a blank(er) slate that is primed to accept the much different story of KOTOR 2 without as visceral a negative reaction.
Conclusion
Peragus is a level which is intentionally designed to present the player with the core themes of KOTOR 2, and often multiple examples thereof. Parts of the level suffer as a result of these design decisions, but most of the problems users take issue with can be traced back in some capacity either to bad memories of the level or design compromises that were made intentionally as a result of the level's intent as an introduction to the themes and tone of KOTOR 2. This decision was made, I argue, due to how different KOTOR 2 is from the original game, as a conscious effort by Obsidian to ensure that the player was prepared from the beginning to experience a radically different game than the original title and to ensure that subsequent levels would not suffer from consistently missed expectations from users continuing to assume the game would eventually become similar to the original title once again. In the process of achieving this goal, Peragus also achieves a unique atmosphere which I argue is akin to a horror game, which sets it apart from any comparable level in either game, and indeed in Star Wars more typically.2023.04.02 08:21 tectuma The unique issues with buying a well KNOWN 200yr Queen Anne Victorian house.
Sorry long post... By a reg on centuryhomes... More or less just sharing... And need help....
To get a image of the house this post is about go to https://tectuma.com
Please note, I have just about killed my self work on this house today (like I do every day), and I decided to have 2 rum and cokes. Works better than Advil to kill my back and joint pain at 50+. That and sometimes it is good to unwind rather than go crazy.
When we bought this house we knew it had a lot of history. After being a fraternity for over 100yr how could it not. A few people in town told me that 1/2 the town may have been conceived in this house. After seeing the house the first time, we did not care. She is a huge 8,000 sp ft house that had been sitting vacant and at risk of getting to the point where it could not be saved. Worst yet be split up in to apartments or a over size cheep B & B by some flipper.
Living here for the last 5 months I have kind of gotten in to a rut. I get up at 6am and put a bath robe on, then get my youngest son off to school. Being a father of 5 you have to be a good dad. Then plop down on the couch watch the news and relax before I have to remote in for my job. Thank god my job went remote other wise I would not been able to move into this house. Get dressed and showered after the morning meeting. After work I pick something to work on in the house and kill my self till 1 or 2 am, go to bed and repeat. Over and over.
Well this Wednesday I was going thru my normal day. My youngest had already left for school and I was taking my, ME time waiting for the time I would have to fire up the computer for my job morning meeting. When there was a lot of NOISE on my front porch!!! I jumped up right in front of the huge picture window. And there... on the other side.. Where 4 older people on my porch taking selfies, and on the other side of the glass was some old 50+ guy in a open bath robe!!!! Yes that was me in the bath robe. I do not think I have ever seen so many shocked people in my life!!!
Not sure how anyone else would of handled it. I just went up stairs and waited for them to leave. From now on I make SURE that I get dressed first thing in the morning. I put a sign up on the outside of the house that we do not mind photos on the front porch and to wait till 11am and they can ring the door bell and we will let them in and show them the house.
That is one of the biggest reasons that we bought the house. It is a 12 bed room, 8,000 sq ft mansion!!! Read below and you will understand.
I am not rich. I have never had a lot of money. I am your avg blue color joe that has gotten everything by blood sweat and tears. I lived in a small shoe box and would turn on the TV and see people living the good life. My mom died and I ended up razing my younger brother. It was something right out of the outsiders. I meet my better 1/2 she had 4 kids and was about to be homeless. The good old boy in me just said "Hold My Beer!". Even bought a small 5 bed room house that they said should of been torn down. By paying rent on a place that did not even have running water or heat, fixing it up to the point that I could get a loan on it. Long story.
This house was my line in the sand. To take something from the privilege and share it with the masses. To set it up to share with everyone! 12 bed rooms! 5 bed rooms used by the family, a streaming room and a theater room. The rest would be set up for gust rooms. I wanted to share the entire house. Movie nights for collage students, weddings, birthdays and bands. This house NEEDS to be shared. If you went to tectuma.com you would know what I am talking about. It is HUGE and I could finally give to others something I never had. A leg up in the world, no question asked.
In 5 months I have gotten 2 gust rooms done but I do not have any beds or furniture. The center of the house (grand foyer, stair case and most of the hall ways) are on the way to being done. It is a on going issue of patching holes in this house to the outside. The bills have stacked up to the point I want to cry! I no longer have time to stream or just about do anything else. I try to look at what I have gotten done each day but it seems like a scratch on the surface. So much to do.
I feel like the house is beading me dry. I am working on the small projects like stabilizing room by room. When big things need to be done like the outside of the house painted, pocket doors need to be opened up and the only bathroom needs to be redone. How in the hell can I help others when I can not help my self. Normally I am all rainbows and sunshine. After a few drinks tonight, maybe I need to be in the mood that I am F-ed. I do know some way, some how, I will make it from point A to B. But it is the in-between nightmare I find my self in tonight.
If you made it this far THANK YOU. Sorry for the long rant. I know I will find a way to keep my eclectic on, heat and still keep moving forward on the repairs. Maybe, just maybe figure out how to make this house --- this Wonderful house... work for everyone! Not just for my family.
OK - Getting some sleep.... 2 rum and cokes is my limit... Besides I have the back hallway to paint tomorrow.
submitted by tectuma to centuryhomes [link] [comments]
To get a image of the house this post is about go to https://tectuma.com
Please note, I have just about killed my self work on this house today (like I do every day), and I decided to have 2 rum and cokes. Works better than Advil to kill my back and joint pain at 50+. That and sometimes it is good to unwind rather than go crazy.
When we bought this house we knew it had a lot of history. After being a fraternity for over 100yr how could it not. A few people in town told me that 1/2 the town may have been conceived in this house. After seeing the house the first time, we did not care. She is a huge 8,000 sp ft house that had been sitting vacant and at risk of getting to the point where it could not be saved. Worst yet be split up in to apartments or a over size cheep B & B by some flipper.
Living here for the last 5 months I have kind of gotten in to a rut. I get up at 6am and put a bath robe on, then get my youngest son off to school. Being a father of 5 you have to be a good dad. Then plop down on the couch watch the news and relax before I have to remote in for my job. Thank god my job went remote other wise I would not been able to move into this house. Get dressed and showered after the morning meeting. After work I pick something to work on in the house and kill my self till 1 or 2 am, go to bed and repeat. Over and over.
Well this Wednesday I was going thru my normal day. My youngest had already left for school and I was taking my, ME time waiting for the time I would have to fire up the computer for my job morning meeting. When there was a lot of NOISE on my front porch!!! I jumped up right in front of the huge picture window. And there... on the other side.. Where 4 older people on my porch taking selfies, and on the other side of the glass was some old 50+ guy in a open bath robe!!!! Yes that was me in the bath robe. I do not think I have ever seen so many shocked people in my life!!!
Not sure how anyone else would of handled it. I just went up stairs and waited for them to leave. From now on I make SURE that I get dressed first thing in the morning. I put a sign up on the outside of the house that we do not mind photos on the front porch and to wait till 11am and they can ring the door bell and we will let them in and show them the house.
That is one of the biggest reasons that we bought the house. It is a 12 bed room, 8,000 sq ft mansion!!! Read below and you will understand.
I am not rich. I have never had a lot of money. I am your avg blue color joe that has gotten everything by blood sweat and tears. I lived in a small shoe box and would turn on the TV and see people living the good life. My mom died and I ended up razing my younger brother. It was something right out of the outsiders. I meet my better 1/2 she had 4 kids and was about to be homeless. The good old boy in me just said "Hold My Beer!". Even bought a small 5 bed room house that they said should of been torn down. By paying rent on a place that did not even have running water or heat, fixing it up to the point that I could get a loan on it. Long story.
This house was my line in the sand. To take something from the privilege and share it with the masses. To set it up to share with everyone! 12 bed rooms! 5 bed rooms used by the family, a streaming room and a theater room. The rest would be set up for gust rooms. I wanted to share the entire house. Movie nights for collage students, weddings, birthdays and bands. This house NEEDS to be shared. If you went to tectuma.com you would know what I am talking about. It is HUGE and I could finally give to others something I never had. A leg up in the world, no question asked.
In 5 months I have gotten 2 gust rooms done but I do not have any beds or furniture. The center of the house (grand foyer, stair case and most of the hall ways) are on the way to being done. It is a on going issue of patching holes in this house to the outside. The bills have stacked up to the point I want to cry! I no longer have time to stream or just about do anything else. I try to look at what I have gotten done each day but it seems like a scratch on the surface. So much to do.
I feel like the house is beading me dry. I am working on the small projects like stabilizing room by room. When big things need to be done like the outside of the house painted, pocket doors need to be opened up and the only bathroom needs to be redone. How in the hell can I help others when I can not help my self. Normally I am all rainbows and sunshine. After a few drinks tonight, maybe I need to be in the mood that I am F-ed. I do know some way, some how, I will make it from point A to B. But it is the in-between nightmare I find my self in tonight.
If you made it this far THANK YOU. Sorry for the long rant. I know I will find a way to keep my eclectic on, heat and still keep moving forward on the repairs. Maybe, just maybe figure out how to make this house --- this Wonderful house... work for everyone! Not just for my family.
OK - Getting some sleep.... 2 rum and cokes is my limit... Besides I have the back hallway to paint tomorrow.
2023.04.02 08:20 AutoModerator [Get] Dan Koe – Digital Economics Masters Degree Full Course Download
| | Get the course here: https://www.genkicourses.com/product/dan-koe-digital-economics-masters-degree/ Dan Koe – Digital Economics Masters Degree submitted by AutoModerator to Affordable_Courses [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/e5bm5i19z5pa1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b38f3d722558909f9bfa22127af1347efd52b4ef What You Get Phase 0) Digital Economics 101 The 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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