Short rompers for juniors
Exogamous - a standalone short story
2023.06.04 23:48 Morzo_Voidmaster Exogamous - a standalone short story
Warm light from the fireplace pervaded the one room cabin, turning from orange to red as it creeped into the open loft where Chi lay restless under her covers.
"Mom," said Chi. Mom didn't answer yet was in the bed right below the loft. Maybe a little louder. "Mom. Mom. Mooom."
"Yes, sweety," said Mom.
"I can't sleep."
A rustling noise as Mom untangled from layers of bedding. She climbed the ladder and was soon at Chi's bedside. "Did you have a bad dream?"
"No."
"Do you need a snack?"
"No."
Mom put one hand on Chi's forehead, another on the girl's neck and a third on her wrist. "You're not running a temperature, again, thank God. What's wrong?"
"I miss Dad."
"I miss Dad too, but he's off doing very important work."
"Doctor work."
"Yes, doctor work. He's trying to heal grandma and grandpa."
"They got sick too?"
Tears welled in Mom's big black eye. "Yes, but it's a different kind of sick."
"Not numb nonya?"
"No, not pneumonia."
"We should go see them. I can cheer them up. We can play furry face."
"They can't play furry face."
"What about horsy?"
"They can't play horsy either."
"What about—"
"THEY CAN'T—they can't—they can't shape shift anymore." Mom regained control and let out a long sigh. She then kissed Chi on the forehead. "I'm so sorry for yelling, sweety. It's just that, grandma and grandpa are my mom and dad, and I don't like seeing them ill."
"What's wrong with them?"
"Their bodies have rebelled against them."
"Why?"
"Age. Chance mutation. Dad knows far more than I, ask him when he gets home."
"Okay."
"Okay? You gonna go to sleep now?"
"Can I have a story first?"
"Sure. Which story would you like to hear?"
"The one about how you and Dad met."
Mom smiled as she straightened Chi's covers. "You really like that one."
"Mhmm."
"Alright, here goes. Dad and I met, oh, eight years ago now. He was fresh out of medical school and on vacation. I had just moved back here after living as a human in Denver, Colorado."
"Why'd you move back?"
"Why does anyone move back home? I missed my family. I missed the local humans in the nearby town. I missed nature. I missed the privacy of nature, of being able to change whenever I wanted."
"Humans don't like us changing, do they?"
"No they don't. And they like our natural form a lot less."
"They think we're scary."
"Yes."
"Scary," Chi repeated as she unhinged her jaw, pulled her lips back to reveal two sets of human teeth and unrolled her tongue until it stretched to the foot of the bed.
Mom rolled Chi's tongue back up, closed her mouth with two fingers and gave her another kiss. "But that's what was so beautiful about your father. He caught me in the act and he didn't run away."
"Ooh, I know this part! You were behind some bushes, changing from a human into a deer when Dad poked his head in and you said 'Do you mind?'"
"Yes, and he just stood there with his blue eyes bugged out." Mom generated two bugging blue human eyes on the gray skin between her own black eye and mouth.
"'Do you mind?,'" Chi repeated and laughed hysterically.
"Okay, it wasn't that funny."
"'Do you mind?,' that's the funniest th—"
"Chi Maria!"
"Sorry Momma."
"Thank you." Mom tucked her tail under her legs in self disappointment; she never liked scolding her daughter. "Anyway, Dad caught me in the middle of changing and—"
"Tell how goofy you looked."
"Oh, you wanna hear how goofy I looked as a half-human and half-deer?"
"Yeah!"
"Well I'll tell you. I had just thrown off my stone-washed jeans and tye-dye tank top, deer ears had just popped out of my long blonde hair and I was standing on two hooves and two hands."
"And what did Dad do next?"
"He turned bright red and said, 'Sorry, Ma'am,' in a squeaky little boy voice."
"That sounds just like Dad! Then he ran away, right?"
"Like a scared puppy. I held in my laughter until he was out of sight but I know he heard me. I thought that'd be the last time I saw him. But I was wrong. The next day he showed up with flowers.
"I was lying by a stream, relaxing as a deer, and your father wades across the waist-deep water to with a full bouquet in hand. I asked him how he found me. He said he'd recognize me anywhere. I said 'wanna bet?' and pranced away."
"And then he found you again, and again, and again, and—"
"Maria."
"Sorry—again."
"But, yes, he found me four more times. I tried hiding as a sheep. He climbed the mountain and found me. I tried hiding as a wolf. He chased me on a BMX bike. My last attempt saw me hiding as a black bear. He came with a lunch of fire roasted potatoes and insects . . . for two.
"I finally asked him how he did it. He said that it was the way I carried myself, that I was unmistakably me no matter what form I took."
"Awww."
"That's what I thought. So I told him to wait right there, that I'd be back in an hour."
"You came back as a human."
"I came back as the most gorgeous woman I could imagine. We started to kiss, but he stopped short. Then he said these words: 'I don't know you, but I can tell that this isn't your true form. If we're to continue, you must shed all disguises.'"
"And you did."
"I did, sweet Chi Maria. And he loved me. Though we only did so that summer, we were content to spend the rest of our lives in that flower decaled van of his."
"Why didn't you?"
Mom pinched Chi's snout. "Because of you, silly. Three's too many for such a small space. I became pregnant in July and your father toiled from then until December to build this log cabin for us. We were all snuggled in by the time I had you on Christmas Day."
"I'm sorry I ruined your fun."
"Nonsense! You coming along made us even happier. Now get some sleep."
Mom pulled the covers up to Chi's two beady black eyes, twirled the little girl's silver curls and kissed her one last time on the forehead. Mom then descended the ladder and returned to her and Dad's bed.
Only a few minutes passed before the cabin door opened and Dad stomped in in his hiking boots. "I'm home!," he said. "Where are my girls?"
"Keep your voice down," said Mom. "I just got her to go to sleep."
That wasn't true; Chi was just being quiet so she could eavesdrop.
Dad undressed in his usual noisy manner, unzipping, rezipping and unzipping his coat, tossing his boots with a KATHUD.
"Joseph!," Mom said in a shouting whisper.
"Sorry, Carmen," said Dad.
Chi heard him crawl into bed. Mom and Dad started to whisper in earnest now so the little girl enlarged her ears to pick up more sound.
"It's not good," said Dad.
"Worse than last time?," said Mom.
"Your mother is about the same, but your father has lost more weight."
"It's only been a month since you last went up there. How much did he lose?"
"Ten kilograms."
"No, Joseph, no."
"He can't hold any shape shift. I made them both form a patch of fur on their backs. His degenerated in just two minutes."
"Can you save them?"
"Carmen, I'm honestly out of my league here. My medical degree is practically useless. The whole of medical science tells me that their inability to mutate—that is, to shape shift—is a sign of healing. Yet my eyes and experience know that that is the opposite of the truth. I'm pulling information from studies of hydra, octopi and insects. I'm having to pioneer a new branch of biology every time I check up on your parents."
"But can you save them?"
"I'm going to try."
"And that's why I love you."
"Awww," Chi squealed.
"Go to sleep, Chi Maria," said Mom and Dad in unison.
(END)
submitted by Morzo_Voidmaster to HFY [link] [comments]
"Mom," said Chi. Mom didn't answer yet was in the bed right below the loft. Maybe a little louder. "Mom. Mom. Mooom."
"Yes, sweety," said Mom.
"I can't sleep."
A rustling noise as Mom untangled from layers of bedding. She climbed the ladder and was soon at Chi's bedside. "Did you have a bad dream?"
"No."
"Do you need a snack?"
"No."
Mom put one hand on Chi's forehead, another on the girl's neck and a third on her wrist. "You're not running a temperature, again, thank God. What's wrong?"
"I miss Dad."
"I miss Dad too, but he's off doing very important work."
"Doctor work."
"Yes, doctor work. He's trying to heal grandma and grandpa."
"They got sick too?"
Tears welled in Mom's big black eye. "Yes, but it's a different kind of sick."
"Not numb nonya?"
"No, not pneumonia."
"We should go see them. I can cheer them up. We can play furry face."
"They can't play furry face."
"What about horsy?"
"They can't play horsy either."
"What about—"
"THEY CAN'T—they can't—they can't shape shift anymore." Mom regained control and let out a long sigh. She then kissed Chi on the forehead. "I'm so sorry for yelling, sweety. It's just that, grandma and grandpa are my mom and dad, and I don't like seeing them ill."
"What's wrong with them?"
"Their bodies have rebelled against them."
"Why?"
"Age. Chance mutation. Dad knows far more than I, ask him when he gets home."
"Okay."
"Okay? You gonna go to sleep now?"
"Can I have a story first?"
"Sure. Which story would you like to hear?"
"The one about how you and Dad met."
Mom smiled as she straightened Chi's covers. "You really like that one."
"Mhmm."
"Alright, here goes. Dad and I met, oh, eight years ago now. He was fresh out of medical school and on vacation. I had just moved back here after living as a human in Denver, Colorado."
"Why'd you move back?"
"Why does anyone move back home? I missed my family. I missed the local humans in the nearby town. I missed nature. I missed the privacy of nature, of being able to change whenever I wanted."
"Humans don't like us changing, do they?"
"No they don't. And they like our natural form a lot less."
"They think we're scary."
"Yes."
"Scary," Chi repeated as she unhinged her jaw, pulled her lips back to reveal two sets of human teeth and unrolled her tongue until it stretched to the foot of the bed.
Mom rolled Chi's tongue back up, closed her mouth with two fingers and gave her another kiss. "But that's what was so beautiful about your father. He caught me in the act and he didn't run away."
"Ooh, I know this part! You were behind some bushes, changing from a human into a deer when Dad poked his head in and you said 'Do you mind?'"
"Yes, and he just stood there with his blue eyes bugged out." Mom generated two bugging blue human eyes on the gray skin between her own black eye and mouth.
"'Do you mind?,'" Chi repeated and laughed hysterically.
"Okay, it wasn't that funny."
"'Do you mind?,' that's the funniest th—"
"Chi Maria!"
"Sorry Momma."
"Thank you." Mom tucked her tail under her legs in self disappointment; she never liked scolding her daughter. "Anyway, Dad caught me in the middle of changing and—"
"Tell how goofy you looked."
"Oh, you wanna hear how goofy I looked as a half-human and half-deer?"
"Yeah!"
"Well I'll tell you. I had just thrown off my stone-washed jeans and tye-dye tank top, deer ears had just popped out of my long blonde hair and I was standing on two hooves and two hands."
"And what did Dad do next?"
"He turned bright red and said, 'Sorry, Ma'am,' in a squeaky little boy voice."
"That sounds just like Dad! Then he ran away, right?"
"Like a scared puppy. I held in my laughter until he was out of sight but I know he heard me. I thought that'd be the last time I saw him. But I was wrong. The next day he showed up with flowers.
"I was lying by a stream, relaxing as a deer, and your father wades across the waist-deep water to with a full bouquet in hand. I asked him how he found me. He said he'd recognize me anywhere. I said 'wanna bet?' and pranced away."
"And then he found you again, and again, and again, and—"
"Maria."
"Sorry—again."
"But, yes, he found me four more times. I tried hiding as a sheep. He climbed the mountain and found me. I tried hiding as a wolf. He chased me on a BMX bike. My last attempt saw me hiding as a black bear. He came with a lunch of fire roasted potatoes and insects . . . for two.
"I finally asked him how he did it. He said that it was the way I carried myself, that I was unmistakably me no matter what form I took."
"Awww."
"That's what I thought. So I told him to wait right there, that I'd be back in an hour."
"You came back as a human."
"I came back as the most gorgeous woman I could imagine. We started to kiss, but he stopped short. Then he said these words: 'I don't know you, but I can tell that this isn't your true form. If we're to continue, you must shed all disguises.'"
"And you did."
"I did, sweet Chi Maria. And he loved me. Though we only did so that summer, we were content to spend the rest of our lives in that flower decaled van of his."
"Why didn't you?"
Mom pinched Chi's snout. "Because of you, silly. Three's too many for such a small space. I became pregnant in July and your father toiled from then until December to build this log cabin for us. We were all snuggled in by the time I had you on Christmas Day."
"I'm sorry I ruined your fun."
"Nonsense! You coming along made us even happier. Now get some sleep."
Mom pulled the covers up to Chi's two beady black eyes, twirled the little girl's silver curls and kissed her one last time on the forehead. Mom then descended the ladder and returned to her and Dad's bed.
Only a few minutes passed before the cabin door opened and Dad stomped in in his hiking boots. "I'm home!," he said. "Where are my girls?"
"Keep your voice down," said Mom. "I just got her to go to sleep."
That wasn't true; Chi was just being quiet so she could eavesdrop.
Dad undressed in his usual noisy manner, unzipping, rezipping and unzipping his coat, tossing his boots with a KATHUD.
"Joseph!," Mom said in a shouting whisper.
"Sorry, Carmen," said Dad.
Chi heard him crawl into bed. Mom and Dad started to whisper in earnest now so the little girl enlarged her ears to pick up more sound.
"It's not good," said Dad.
"Worse than last time?," said Mom.
"Your mother is about the same, but your father has lost more weight."
"It's only been a month since you last went up there. How much did he lose?"
"Ten kilograms."
"No, Joseph, no."
"He can't hold any shape shift. I made them both form a patch of fur on their backs. His degenerated in just two minutes."
"Can you save them?"
"Carmen, I'm honestly out of my league here. My medical degree is practically useless. The whole of medical science tells me that their inability to mutate—that is, to shape shift—is a sign of healing. Yet my eyes and experience know that that is the opposite of the truth. I'm pulling information from studies of hydra, octopi and insects. I'm having to pioneer a new branch of biology every time I check up on your parents."
"But can you save them?"
"I'm going to try."
"And that's why I love you."
"Awww," Chi squealed.
"Go to sleep, Chi Maria," said Mom and Dad in unison.
(END)
2023.06.04 23:47 No-Jaguar1028 Day 91, had a short conversation with my old best friend
I sent my old best friend a short congrats letter for her graduating her school, and pursuing what she loves, and basically told her shes gonna go far and keep on proving the people who put her down wrong (because a lot of people do that), she responded with a thank you and said she hopes my family and I are doing well, and I responded with hoping her and her family are doing well, and she thanked me. It was such a short conversation, but, it was the most emotional conversation ive ever had. I actually took my bike out and went for a ride just to let myself cry, as I hurt her when I blacked out, and, she was genuinely wishing my family -- and myself the best. I genuinely wish her the best, and while I hope some day I can be friends with her again, I also know that after my actions, thats probably not going to happen, and understandably so. Im honestly hoping shes doing good. I have to keep moving forward, and bettering myself to make sure I dont do this stuff. Drinking at first is fun and games, but blackouts slowly will get worse. things you never thought you were capable of, things you truly despise, things you yourself are not okay with, you slowly allow yourself to do when your in the bottle. to anyone lurking, or thinking of cutting back, thinking of quitting -- I reccomend trying 3 weeks sober. Just try it. if your on the fence try 3 weeks to 4 weeks, maybe even 5. just see how you feel, and really reflect on said feelings. you will notice some key differences, and you should reflect on them. anyone whose sober rn -- Congrats, and for everyone -- keep up the good work. you all can do it. im boutta have a coffee, so have a sober drink with me in spirit! some of us come from more grim realities when drinking, some come from less, but, your life doesnt have to keep going down that path. you can turn it around and rise above the things youve done while under 'toxic influence'. You all got this!
submitted by No-Jaguar1028 to stopdrinking [link] [comments]
2023.06.04 23:47 IndomitableSpirit9 Help! How to keep a Hybrid’s battery charged when it can’t be used for a year
Hello, I really need some help with this and was hoping that Reddit could come in handy.
So, in short: a family friend died and in his last wishes left me his Toyota Prius. But he didn’t make a will, or at least didn’t end up signing it.
I’ve got the car, but the title is going to have to go through all the legal troubles and they say it’ll take around a year before the title is transferred to me so I can get it registered & plated.
Really I just want some advice on how to keep the car in good condition so its not damaged or the battery dies just sitting in a garage for the next 12 months.
I figure that starting it about once or twice a week is a good start, but I’m not quite sure where to go from here.
Car is a 2016 Toyota Prius, I’m not sure what submodel, he didn’t leave the manual haha.
Anyways anything ya’ll can tip me or point me towards something to buy to keep it maintained so I can keep my friend’s final gift to me in good conditioned would be sorely appreciated!
Thank you!
submitted by IndomitableSpirit9 to MechanicAdvice [link] [comments]
So, in short: a family friend died and in his last wishes left me his Toyota Prius. But he didn’t make a will, or at least didn’t end up signing it.
I’ve got the car, but the title is going to have to go through all the legal troubles and they say it’ll take around a year before the title is transferred to me so I can get it registered & plated.
Really I just want some advice on how to keep the car in good condition so its not damaged or the battery dies just sitting in a garage for the next 12 months.
I figure that starting it about once or twice a week is a good start, but I’m not quite sure where to go from here.
Car is a 2016 Toyota Prius, I’m not sure what submodel, he didn’t leave the manual haha.
Anyways anything ya’ll can tip me or point me towards something to buy to keep it maintained so I can keep my friend’s final gift to me in good conditioned would be sorely appreciated!
Thank you!
2023.06.04 23:47 Throwdotaway1 How do you start dating?
I’m 26, never been in a relationship
Relatively short but not fat. Not really physically attractive.
Kind of still have this fantasy that I’ll meet a girl, become good friends, and then start dating. Preferably also never dated and we would enjoy our cluelessness together.
The idea of meeting up with a person from an app that you don’t know for a date just seems so odd to me, but I’m guessing it’s really the only way.
submitted by Throwdotaway1 to TooAfraidToAsk [link] [comments]
Relatively short but not fat. Not really physically attractive.
Kind of still have this fantasy that I’ll meet a girl, become good friends, and then start dating. Preferably also never dated and we would enjoy our cluelessness together.
The idea of meeting up with a person from an app that you don’t know for a date just seems so odd to me, but I’m guessing it’s really the only way.
2023.06.04 23:46 TipsReshape Why Successful Leaders Must Prioritize Decision making 4 (Tips Reshape) ...
Why Successful Leaders Must Prioritize Decision-Making (Tips Reshape)
In this video, we explore why decision-making is critical to effective leadership and why successful leaders must prioritize it. We discuss how decision-making impacts the success of an organization, the importance of making quick, informed decisions in a fast-paced business environment, and the key characteristics of effective decision-makers. We also highlight how successful leaders create a culture that values and supports effective decision-making and take responsibility for the outcomes of their decisions. This video provides valuable insights for aspiring leaders and anyone interested in improving their decision-making skills
"Decision-making is an essential component of leadership. Successful leaders understand the importance of decision-making and prioritize it above all else. In this essay, I will explore why successful leaders must prioritize decision-making, the impact of decision-making on leadership effectiveness, and the key characteristics of effective decision-makers."
#tipsreshape #leadership #decisionmaking #success #priority #leadershipskills #management #responsibility #accountability #business #strategy #organization #adaptability #proactivity #collaboration #innovation #training #learning #selfimprovement #motivation #inspiration #growth #development #careeradvancement
Thanks Tips Reshape Team
Social Media:
Youtube - https://bit.ly/TipsReshape
Personality Development - https://bit.ly/PersonalityDevelopment-TipsReshape
Shorts - https://bit.ly/TipsReshape-Shorts
FaceBook - https://bit.ly/TipsReshape-FaceBook
Medium - https://bit.ly/3Me2qYQ
Rumble - https://bit.ly/3OrNDg1
Blog - https://bit.ly/41SeB3E
Instagram - https://bit.ly/43gp7mn
Related Videos:
Why Communication is Key to Successful Leadership (Tips Reshape) https://youtu.be/2DJPo4Zjjvc
The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Modern Leadership (Tips Reshape) https://youtu.be/g-p9RYS4Np0
How Adaptability Drives Leadership Success (Tips Reshape) https://youtu.be/aEx27sIghjg
How to Lead with Creative Mindset for Successful Leadership (Tips Shape) https://youtu.be/E0YQDtduXBc
How Strategic Thinking Can Transform Your Leadership Style (Tips Reshape) https://youtu.be/hJnchnbe4OY
The Power of Vision - How it Drives Successful Leadership (Tips Reshape) https://youtu.be/jKSalFMPjdE
submitted by TipsReshape to u/TipsReshape [link] [comments]
In this video, we explore why decision-making is critical to effective leadership and why successful leaders must prioritize it. We discuss how decision-making impacts the success of an organization, the importance of making quick, informed decisions in a fast-paced business environment, and the key characteristics of effective decision-makers. We also highlight how successful leaders create a culture that values and supports effective decision-making and take responsibility for the outcomes of their decisions. This video provides valuable insights for aspiring leaders and anyone interested in improving their decision-making skills
"Decision-making is an essential component of leadership. Successful leaders understand the importance of decision-making and prioritize it above all else. In this essay, I will explore why successful leaders must prioritize decision-making, the impact of decision-making on leadership effectiveness, and the key characteristics of effective decision-makers."
#tipsreshape #leadership #decisionmaking #success #priority #leadershipskills #management #responsibility #accountability #business #strategy #organization #adaptability #proactivity #collaboration #innovation #training #learning #selfimprovement #motivation #inspiration #growth #development #careeradvancement
Thanks Tips Reshape Team
Social Media:
Youtube - https://bit.ly/TipsReshape
Personality Development - https://bit.ly/PersonalityDevelopment-TipsReshape
Shorts - https://bit.ly/TipsReshape-Shorts
FaceBook - https://bit.ly/TipsReshape-FaceBook
Medium - https://bit.ly/3Me2qYQ
Rumble - https://bit.ly/3OrNDg1
Blog - https://bit.ly/41SeB3E
Instagram - https://bit.ly/43gp7mn
Related Videos:
Why Communication is Key to Successful Leadership (Tips Reshape) https://youtu.be/2DJPo4Zjjvc
The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Modern Leadership (Tips Reshape) https://youtu.be/g-p9RYS4Np0
How Adaptability Drives Leadership Success (Tips Reshape) https://youtu.be/aEx27sIghjg
How to Lead with Creative Mindset for Successful Leadership (Tips Shape) https://youtu.be/E0YQDtduXBc
How Strategic Thinking Can Transform Your Leadership Style (Tips Reshape) https://youtu.be/hJnchnbe4OY
The Power of Vision - How it Drives Successful Leadership (Tips Reshape) https://youtu.be/jKSalFMPjdE
2023.06.04 23:46 Emotional_Pen_285 Recruiting dates
I know https://youtu.be/cT4qMLtr2qw is considered the gold standard for recruiting strategy, but I wanted to ask:
What are your preferred date ranges for:
• Playing Style scouting
• Strengths / Weaknesses scouting
• Skills Assessment scouting
• Potential / Comp scouting
I always come up short with this dudes default date ranges.
I think some of the players are preprogrammed by rng or something to give trash botched scouting reports until EITHER scouting them 10 times or waiting until after a specific date.
Example: Nate Danielson, BWK; Cam Allen, GUE
submitted by Emotional_Pen_285 to EANHLfranchise [link] [comments]
What are your preferred date ranges for:
• Playing Style scouting
• Strengths / Weaknesses scouting
• Skills Assessment scouting
• Potential / Comp scouting
I always come up short with this dudes default date ranges.
I think some of the players are preprogrammed by rng or something to give trash botched scouting reports until EITHER scouting them 10 times or waiting until after a specific date.
Example: Nate Danielson, BWK; Cam Allen, GUE
2023.06.04 23:46 JulianSkies Blackriver Cases - Season 5 “Exotic Pets” - Episode 2 “Night’s Touch”
[ [FIRST] [NEXT>]
Season 5 “Exotic Pets”
Episode 2 “Night’s Touch”
He stares at her as Keya’s voice starts to slowly grow louder “I know you have people who can deal with this. This is supposed to be a priority line, as well!” her tone was still flatter than it should be, it was loud but lacked inflection giving it a false impression of cold anger.
“We have arranged previous protocols for similar situations”
“You can’t possibly be so unwise as to not be ready for nonstandard behavior”
“Please find someone with authority or at least knowledge of the situation”
“Yes I am the-”
“I am very much aware of the limitations of our deal, I am asking about a similar but new situation”
“The chief of an exterminator precinct is calling you because an endangered exotic animal requires some form of acceptable solution. I am calling you despite a clear lack of protocols in this specific situation. I am calling you because I have no real solutions and if there’s one species, one government left in this brahking galaxy that CARES it’s you so please, please give me something, ANYTHING” it was disturbing, incredibly so, to watch her inflection just waver and shift like that.
“Very well, I will put you on speakers” finally a reprieve from hearing a one-sided conversation, Keya sets down her holopad in the table at the center of the couches. Santos comes closer, still with one of the hensa snugly stuck inside his shirt while Orran slowly walks over to look, but he doesn’t sit, still holding the female protectively.
In the screen is another human, she is dressed in a very plain black suit with a necktie that’s been loosened and her short hair is disheveled. Clearly, Keya’s conversation had managed to stress her out. The dark-skinned woman scans her light blue eyes through the three visible people across from the call, her direct sight quickly stopping on the small beast in Orran’s grasp “They’re like tiny panthers” she says, softly
After a few more moments she continues “Alright, call me Janice. As I’ve told your boss” she says, presumably trying to aim her gaze at Santos, which isn’t quite possible through a video call “We might have a good solution. But that’s a maybe on the good solution, depends on if I can call on people here. And we have an okay solution, but that depends on what you’re willing to do, Mister…”
At that, the yotul recognizes it’s his turn to speak “Orran, my name is Orran”
“Mister Orran. So, here are the two possible solutions. The worst of them is to simply arrange a transfer for them to Leirn, but that is not an optimal solution. Not only would it take time, as we don’t currently have the logistic means to expedite transport in official vessels and we do not have the funds to find a quick and safe civilian willing to make the trip, we currently have no ongoing deals with the planetary government regarding fauna returns”
“I’m sure I could find a good transport to get there, ma’am.” Orran interrupts “I got them here, I can get them back if I need to”
“That might be true” the woman on the video continues, waving dismissively as she visibly slumps down on the seat “But we still have no official deals with their government regarding wildlife rescues. We have ongoing negotiations but nothing concrete, so in order to get your little fuzzballs over there we’d need to divert personnel we do not have available at the moment to secure a proper location, hopefully a wildlife shelter or similar”
“I could-” Orran tries but he’s interrupted
“Yes, you could go and uproot the entirety of your life again for the sake of those. Which is what we’d ask of you in this case, the best we could do for this worst-case scenario is some bureaucratic facilitation for your travel.” then she moves closer to the camera and puts her elbows on, presumably, the desk and rests her chin on her hands “But we might have a better solution”
“You better not be about to rope this man into some weird quasi-legal scheme” Santos interrupts “Your track record has been real spotty when dealing with anything at this scale”
Janice sighs, rubbing her eyes as she pulls a holopad off from the side “Yes, yes I know. You would fucking know wouldn’t you, Mr. Exterminator. But no, no, the plan is to take advantage of an ongoing research project to find far safer shelter right here on Venlil Prime.” she returns to her slacked pose as she brings her pad up with her, sharing her attention between the two “There’s a variety of projects researching the possible introduction of new species to this planet to increase the resilience of the biomes near the core of the habitable zone, an offshoot of the Cradle restoration research, as well as a bit of a hare-brained little project researching the feasibility of shipboard pets to increase soldier morale” she offers a hand to the camera “We can have your hensa housed in the facilities of any of such projects. This way we don’t need to redirect any voidborne assets, which as you know are all completely committed to the ongoing war, and you don’t need to give up your life here, Mr. Orran”
Santos turns to watch the yotul, who now has a contemplative look. It was always weird when he realized he could read alien expressions that well, a closed eye with the head slightly tilted the same direction and both ears flat towards the same direction read the exact same way as a human looking upwards in thought, apparently he’d grown accustomed to them very much. “And what would being housed here require, and how would they be treated”
Janice takes a deep breath, and can be seen pulling a second holopad from somewhere offscreen “IF I can make this work, and this is an if because it depends on finding a receptive project lead, for now they’d just be housed in the animal shelters those projects have for their studies. Currently the studies are only observational in how they relate to local species, with periodic medical checkups, being held in a few biome-isolation facilities. Should they prove suitable for the goals, and hell that depends on the projects being feasible to begin with, then they’ll be added to acclimated breeding programs.”
Orran looks down at the heavy female on his arms, then looks back at the screen “And should they not be?”
Janice grins “That’s the trick. At that point the UN will have taken over responsibility for them, and now they have an endangered species on hand and a million and one laws on how to treat them. So they’ll be forced to keep them in a wildlife shelter until they can be safely relocated to their natural environment. Which is something that will likely only happen after the end of the war given how bureaucracy works” then she looks down at the holopads and types something down in one of them “And if the war takes longer than that to end, I don’t think any of us will be around to worry anymore, so”
“Isn’t that a bit pessimistic” Santos adds with a raised eyebrow
“You would be, sitting here in this chair” she retorts
He looks at Orran, ultimately the choice is his, given it’s both his little creatures and his life in the line. The yotul spends a few moments thinking “Then please see what you can do. How long until we have an answer?”
“Hah!” Janice exclaims triumphantly, startling all three “I wouldn’t be in this job if I couldn’t multitask this well. I already have an answer, seems like the local fauna reintroduction project has shown interest. Can’t have only one pestkiller species in the same niche, it seems they want to have some competition to keep populations controlled or something” she still has a wide smile when she directly addresses Orran “If that project pans out, your kitties’ descendants will wind up in a competitive space with ours. But that’s for multiple generations from now, it seems. Currently, those two would wind up in an observation shelter to see how they interact with a population of voidpins as well as how they interact with terran cats. Is that acceptable or should I try to find another project?”
At that Orran laughs lightly “Ooh, nightside? That’d be perfect, most hensa are twilight creatures but nightweavers are nocturnal, that’d be the best for them” he gently caresses the feline in his arms “Hear that Lodestar? You get to have some darkness again”
Janice nods on the screen “Alright, then… Let’s see… Oh, oooh that’s convenient” she is tapping at the holopad “How much time do you need to prepare them for a trip? Would you like to come along for the handoff? CnT Freight -that’s an unfortunate name- seems to have a pickup of carbon in the next town over for us, we can have someone take advantage of the trip and come pick your kitties up”
Santos tilts his head to the side “Carbon? That might be over in Long Cliff if I remember the surrounding towns correctly. That’s almost a two hour trip”
Janice nods “Yep. I’ve sent a message to that project’s lead, they’ll get someone in our already-scheduled resource pickup trip and they’ll meet up with you. But we’re working with already existing schedules so… They should be over there in, let’s see… Fifteen hours or so” she takes a deep breath “So if that’ll be all? I got more calls in the queue”
“This will be enough” Keya’s voice is still weird
And with that the other human unceremoniously ends the call “That’ll be around three claws, Orran” Santos offers “I hope you don’t mind if we wait over here?”
The yotul is surprised, taking a step back “W-wait here? Why?”
Santos sighs “Three things. You already panicked once, and fled an entire planet over it” he gives Orran a side glance, which now that he thinks about it wouldn’t read the same for an alien would it? “Don’t want to risk you panicking again and messing yourself up”
Orran looks sheepish for a moment “Second, I want to have a look outside for some things. This place was the location of something very suspicious a few paws ago and this is the only chance I have to properly look for evidence around here” he gives the yotul a shrug “None of it is your fault, to clarify. I just want to figure out where that nixa came from”
And finally, he stands up and grabs Keya by the shoulders “And third, this woman did not sleep and is five seconds away from a mental breakdown” he lifts her off the ground with great effort, takes a couple of steps to the side and forcibly shoves her into the largest couch “And I want her to try to get a full rest before we need to deal with the delivery, because we will invariably be involved”
Despite the annoyed position of her ears and thrashing tail, Keya doesn’t move from the position she’s been put into “Santos, I’m fine”
“No you’re not, you started screaming an hour into your sleep cycle and never went back to bed. Try to get some sleep, I’ll be here” he turns over to Orran “Yes, I’m taking a bit of advantage of your situation, I’m sorry.”
If the yotul had eyebrows, he’d be raising one of them right now “I take it this isn’t a normal situation. If that’s why you need to stay around it’s fine.” he takes a deep breath “Turns out I owe her, apparently, so consider yourselves guests”
And so they waited. It did not take long for Keya to fall asleep, meanwhile Santos sat down on the couch and started fiddling with his holopad. It wasn't a random distraction, however, as he was reviewing the calls on Orran’s little project. Maybe it was just human pareidolia speaking, but something about the calls had been nagging him. It did eat at him doing this to Orran, however. The man was already stressed out enough as it was, and here he was taking complete advantage of what is essentially a hostage situation so his boss could sneak some sleep during a work shift.
As the hours passed he'd periodically get pulled out of his work as he watched Orran come and go, doing whatever his job was. Turns out an agriculturalist’s job also involves a lot of paperwork, it seems, for the man at some point had three holopads out doing who knows what, presumably data comparison. Himself, he eventually found what his instinct had been nagging him about. All of the calls on those little beasts, aside from the very first, were not made from within Blackriver. If his understanding of comms-codes in this planet was right, and if he wasn’t just seeing patterns where they did not exist, those anonymous calls were all from a number in a nearby town. But before he could start making more connections he heard something he was hoping not to hear. He hears Keya’s breath quickening.
He quickly sets down his pad and, after a bit of effort, manages to dislodge the two alien felines that had decided his lap was the correct place for a nap. Then he heads over to Keya and kneels down beside her, causing Orran to focus on him. “Don’t do anything, Orran” he instructs
“What? What’s going on?” he sounds worried, as he should be
“I was hoping she’d wake up to a normal nightmare but it seems like it’s a bad one again” he stares at his boss, whose breathing is getting faster and faster. She opens her mouth and starts making a noise.
Orran steps closer “Shouldn’t you wake her up?”
It’s now that Keya starts screaming, familiar screams of fear “No, not yet. Wake her up too early and she’s going to be in a state of panic for multiple claws.” Keya’s screams start getting worse as she grabs at the couch and digs her claws in, her legs and tail thrashing wildly as if she were running. And suddenly her creaming stops with a choked noise as she brings her hands up to her chest.
Orran takes a step back as the next stage of Keya’s nightmare makes itself manifest in her noises, a choked scream that brought a chill down his spine, a scream that was eerily reminiscent of the sounds he’d heard in an ‘instructional’ video about the greys a long time ago. “Wake her up too late and she’s not going to have any of her emotions left” the human comments, as the venlil frantically claws at her own chest.
She screams for just a little while longer, until Santos forcibly puts his hand over her chest “Boss, I’m here” he says with an authoritative voice “The only predator in this room is me, listen to my voice” he puts pressure in her chest “You’re alive, listen to me” he lowers his body closer to her “Wake up and listen”
The distressed hensa had been staring up at the venlil from the ground, emitting a low, bassy growl all this time in a sign of worry. But when Keya sits up suddenly they both run back behind Orran “I… Am awake” she says mechanically.
Santos sighs, stares at her for a while, then stands up and offers his hand. Keya ignores him and stands up, looking around the house “Cold bastard woke up this time, eh?”
Santos and Orran watch as Keya ignores the question as she looks around, eyes seemingly staring off into the distance. She finally stops “Yes” and then turns her entire body towards a small desk near the front door, and turns her head to face it.
Santos raises an eyebrow at her motion, and he notices Orran’s tail started lightly thumping on the floor and his body was shaking slightly. He’d seen people getting unnerved at the cold bastard, but he had the feeling that if he were a human right now he’d be sweating bullets. He follows the direction Keya is facing, that was such a blatantly human motion she had performed it was obvious what she intended, and sees something.
“Haven’t seen a proper paper letter in a long, long time” he comments a technical lie, a few seconds after Orran had moved to pick up said letter from the desk and shove it into a drawer. But he had already seen what Keya wanted him to.
“Y-yeah I’m… Still fond of some traditional things” the man says, still looking nervous.
He takes a deep breath. He’d already seen it, in the letter, the mark of three crossed leaves. “Alright… Me and Keya are going to go outside to check something. And when we come back, you’re going to tell me the truth, right?” he stares directly at Orran
“What do you-”
“AFTER we’re back” he interrupts “Because this is either nothing worth worrying about, or you were saved from death by the power of ignorance” but he doesn’t let Orran answer as he and Keya step out into the yard.
He looks around at the yard, already predicting this would be a difficult mission. A physical letter with a familiar symbol, Orran mentioned he had a way to bring his felines to this planet and could use it as a way out, those were carnivores as far as he knew so he had to get food somewhere, and the man had those kept in here since before humanity’s first contact so it wasn’t some cloned meat he was using.
Keya grabs his shoulder and turns him towards the shed, every house in this place has the same general structure, including the shed in the backyard. The two of them start heading over there and study it. Those are wooden windows, closed, barring any sight from the inside and the front door had a lock in it, but it was slightly ajar. He looks at Keya, who seems to not notice his stare, and then gently opens the door.
The light from the outside streams in, and the sight is somewhat heart wrenching. This was, at some point, pretty much a cat house. There were shelves along the walls with nothing in them for them animals to walk about, wooden towers and other acrobatic toys, there were plastic toys scattered around and most tellingly some bowls on the ground. He kneels beside the bowls, there’s a tiny scattering of kibble indicating which ones were likely kibble and which ones were likely water, but they were marked with the same signs as the rest of the toys and furniture, deep marks of a nixa’s claws.
“Here” Keya’s toneless voice calls him out, and as he arrives he finds the proof of what he expected. There’s a rather crude metal box sitting there, full of scratch marks and bloodstains, inspecting it closer he finds tufts of dark fur and… Fabric.
Before he can inspect closer Keya hands him something- A plastic bag “Always prepared aren’t you?” he kneels closer to look at it, it’s definitely fabric, torn fabric in fact, with a fragment of the nixa’s claw attached to it. Gingerly he puts it in the plastic bag, looking at it.
“It is not good for my mental health, but it is useful in situations like those” Keya offers, before turning to the door to leave.
Santos stands up and takes a deep breath. Those calls all came from outside, and everything’s starting to make sense. He speeds up to move ahead of Keya as they enter Orran’s house, to find the yotul sitting on a couch, seemingly staring at something but in truth his eyes were distant in thought. “Alright, Orran. The first question, where did you get food for your hensa?”
Orran nearly jumps out of his skin, before turning an eye to Santos “I… I have an offworld contact. They, uhm… They can get some stuff shipped from Leirn for me”
Santos nods, and sits beside the man. Keya, on the other hand, walks behind him and simply looms over, causing the agriculturalist to shrink “Next question. Who brought you here?”
“It… It was the same people”
He crosses his arms “I’m going to take a wild guess and say that your hensa have suddenly decided that they don’t want to leave the house anymore since a few days, I mean, paws ago, right?”
At that Orran gasps “How did you know?”
He leans back on the couch “Your little ones saved your life, just so you know. Whoever it is you’ve got your trip, and the food from… You still owe them, right? And they’re the kind that comes collect” he’s looking at the ceiling right now
“C-collect? What do you mean?” he can see Orran trembling in his periphery
“Fifty seven of the calls on your hensa were from outside town” he turns his head slightly to give Orran a side-eyed stare “And we figured out where whoever it was dropped a very angry and very hungry nightside predator a few paws ago. You know, at the same point in time where I can only imagine your little friends stopped going to their playground out back”
“Wait” Orran seems frozen “That… That was because…”
Santos shrugs “I don’t know who they are. I doubt they’d like it if you talked, so i’m not asking. I’m just going to ask, how much do you owe them?”
The yotul looks down “Five hundred and twelve thousand credits… But I’ve been paying, I swear-” he grabs at Santos’ arm
“Chill out” he takes a deep breath “None of us are related to them in any way, before you get the wrong impression”
“It should be doable” Keya has brought up her datapad, causing the other two to look up at her “It is possible that I can organize a donation drive able to reach the nearby towns. Coupled with a secondary source I have available it is plausible acquire the amount of credits to clear his debt”
Orran stands up quickly in surprise “Y-you’d do that for-”
“Those people have shown themselves capable of causing serious collateral in their attempts at punishment and have shown to be a threat to the safety of the town.” she continues with a toneless voice “You, also, are part of this town. A group capable of smuggling contraband across planets is not a group we are capable of protecting the town from, therefore, the only measure left is appeasement.” she explains like it was a lecture, causing Orran’s ears to droop.
“The condition of this aid is as follows. You will hand over that letter, as I recognize it is their method of contacting you. You will, also, follow the humans to wherever the delivery will take place and you will only return to this town once I have contacted you to do so and you have paid your debts.” she turns her head sideways to direct one of her eyes at the yotul, he takes a step back cowering from the icy stare in a way Santos could never cause “If they make any further attempts at you, they will not endanger this town”
Santos sighs “Yeah, that looks like a wise choice” he pats Orran gently on the shoulder “I know the cold bastard is a lot but that’s a good plan. We’ll help you out, get your kitties a safe new home and nobody gets hurt”
To say the mood in the residence was soured by the experience was an understatement. And yet they were forced to wait even further in the collective company, Santos gently trying to coax some unrelated small talk out of Orran for the sake of the man’s sanity while he could not keep himself from continually building up more and more stress as he watched Keya silently stare down at her datapad nearly motionless.
Ultimately, Santos breaks the stress spiral by convincing the yotul to prepare for the trip. The lack of clothing articles, he noticed, made packing very much easier than it would be for a human. But a few cleaning articles, the remaining kibble for the hensa, a carrier cage that was uncleverly hidden under the bed and a few more moments spent preparing some travel snacks and there’s a knock on the front door.
Who’s behind the door is a distressingly short little Nevok, sent as the person to pick up the hensa. It took a bit of convincing, but under the cold gaze of Keya the woman eventually relents to allow Orran to accompany his animals, just to facilitate the handoff and to ensure the team’s knowledge of them is correct.
Santos and Keya see the two off, but as they return to the car that had been waiting for them for hours, she stops him. She opens the driver’s seat and points him there, takes the back seat herself and immediately brings out her datapad. Santos looks at the strange car, bites down his lower lip in thought and sighs. There’s no use discussing with the cold bastard.
-^-
[Excerpt from the social site Bleat]
#BadParents - A thread for bad parents with unruly pups
[email protected] - Hey guys, I need some help. The guests’ kids brought some weird candy home, what do I do
[email protected] - What kinna candy, is it tasty?
[email protected] - Does it smell funny?
[email protected] - Try it, it’s real good. I think I know what it is. Your kids are gunna get real loud about it.
[email protected] - hay guys, one of the neighbors broke some of the other guys’ toys and now he has to pay it back. But i’m kinda broke, you know how dad is, so I can’t help out. Can we get a pot rolling here?
[email protected] - Oh dear, think I can just give one of my toys up to make up for it? It wouldn’t be a bother.
[email protected] - I can help out, i’d ask my pups to help out too but they haven’t been listening to me for a while.
[email protected] - Same deal but at least I can get something going, I think the guests here would be up to help.
[email protected] - Oh, oh, I think I can get my pups to help, i’ll help out too. They’ve been trying to do good!
[email protected] - Me and the pups can help out too, they’ve been behaving a lot since last time.
[email protected] - Sorry guys, gotta sit out of this one. You know why.
[email protected] - It’s fine, it’s fine. Only help if you can. And no need, [email protected], just help out with the pot.
---
What? Did you thinking smuggling a pair of little predators off a planet currently ongoing purge across the stars and keeping carnivores fed in a planet where the mere mention of that kind of food could get you killed was possible without the aid of people you don't want to cross?
Sometimes you do what you have to do.
This is the end (mostly) of the "Exotic Pets" season! Thankfully our little hensa get a proper home, and maybe their descendants might help save a planet. This isn't the last adventure involving a pet, however, but the next season "Fighting Fire" might not end quite as peacefully.
Also I know I got zero schedule, never pretended i'd ever have I know myself. But don't expect anything next week, life sure is hard.
submitted by JulianSkies to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]
Season 5 “Exotic Pets”
Episode 2 “Night’s Touch”
He stares at her as Keya’s voice starts to slowly grow louder “I know you have people who can deal with this. This is supposed to be a priority line, as well!” her tone was still flatter than it should be, it was loud but lacked inflection giving it a false impression of cold anger.
“We have arranged previous protocols for similar situations”
“You can’t possibly be so unwise as to not be ready for nonstandard behavior”
“Please find someone with authority or at least knowledge of the situation”
“Yes I am the-”
“I am very much aware of the limitations of our deal, I am asking about a similar but new situation”
“The chief of an exterminator precinct is calling you because an endangered exotic animal requires some form of acceptable solution. I am calling you despite a clear lack of protocols in this specific situation. I am calling you because I have no real solutions and if there’s one species, one government left in this brahking galaxy that CARES it’s you so please, please give me something, ANYTHING” it was disturbing, incredibly so, to watch her inflection just waver and shift like that.
“Very well, I will put you on speakers” finally a reprieve from hearing a one-sided conversation, Keya sets down her holopad in the table at the center of the couches. Santos comes closer, still with one of the hensa snugly stuck inside his shirt while Orran slowly walks over to look, but he doesn’t sit, still holding the female protectively.
In the screen is another human, she is dressed in a very plain black suit with a necktie that’s been loosened and her short hair is disheveled. Clearly, Keya’s conversation had managed to stress her out. The dark-skinned woman scans her light blue eyes through the three visible people across from the call, her direct sight quickly stopping on the small beast in Orran’s grasp “They’re like tiny panthers” she says, softly
After a few more moments she continues “Alright, call me Janice. As I’ve told your boss” she says, presumably trying to aim her gaze at Santos, which isn’t quite possible through a video call “We might have a good solution. But that’s a maybe on the good solution, depends on if I can call on people here. And we have an okay solution, but that depends on what you’re willing to do, Mister…”
At that, the yotul recognizes it’s his turn to speak “Orran, my name is Orran”
“Mister Orran. So, here are the two possible solutions. The worst of them is to simply arrange a transfer for them to Leirn, but that is not an optimal solution. Not only would it take time, as we don’t currently have the logistic means to expedite transport in official vessels and we do not have the funds to find a quick and safe civilian willing to make the trip, we currently have no ongoing deals with the planetary government regarding fauna returns”
“I’m sure I could find a good transport to get there, ma’am.” Orran interrupts “I got them here, I can get them back if I need to”
“That might be true” the woman on the video continues, waving dismissively as she visibly slumps down on the seat “But we still have no official deals with their government regarding wildlife rescues. We have ongoing negotiations but nothing concrete, so in order to get your little fuzzballs over there we’d need to divert personnel we do not have available at the moment to secure a proper location, hopefully a wildlife shelter or similar”
“I could-” Orran tries but he’s interrupted
“Yes, you could go and uproot the entirety of your life again for the sake of those. Which is what we’d ask of you in this case, the best we could do for this worst-case scenario is some bureaucratic facilitation for your travel.” then she moves closer to the camera and puts her elbows on, presumably, the desk and rests her chin on her hands “But we might have a better solution”
“You better not be about to rope this man into some weird quasi-legal scheme” Santos interrupts “Your track record has been real spotty when dealing with anything at this scale”
Janice sighs, rubbing her eyes as she pulls a holopad off from the side “Yes, yes I know. You would fucking know wouldn’t you, Mr. Exterminator. But no, no, the plan is to take advantage of an ongoing research project to find far safer shelter right here on Venlil Prime.” she returns to her slacked pose as she brings her pad up with her, sharing her attention between the two “There’s a variety of projects researching the possible introduction of new species to this planet to increase the resilience of the biomes near the core of the habitable zone, an offshoot of the Cradle restoration research, as well as a bit of a hare-brained little project researching the feasibility of shipboard pets to increase soldier morale” she offers a hand to the camera “We can have your hensa housed in the facilities of any of such projects. This way we don’t need to redirect any voidborne assets, which as you know are all completely committed to the ongoing war, and you don’t need to give up your life here, Mr. Orran”
Santos turns to watch the yotul, who now has a contemplative look. It was always weird when he realized he could read alien expressions that well, a closed eye with the head slightly tilted the same direction and both ears flat towards the same direction read the exact same way as a human looking upwards in thought, apparently he’d grown accustomed to them very much. “And what would being housed here require, and how would they be treated”
Janice takes a deep breath, and can be seen pulling a second holopad from somewhere offscreen “IF I can make this work, and this is an if because it depends on finding a receptive project lead, for now they’d just be housed in the animal shelters those projects have for their studies. Currently the studies are only observational in how they relate to local species, with periodic medical checkups, being held in a few biome-isolation facilities. Should they prove suitable for the goals, and hell that depends on the projects being feasible to begin with, then they’ll be added to acclimated breeding programs.”
Orran looks down at the heavy female on his arms, then looks back at the screen “And should they not be?”
Janice grins “That’s the trick. At that point the UN will have taken over responsibility for them, and now they have an endangered species on hand and a million and one laws on how to treat them. So they’ll be forced to keep them in a wildlife shelter until they can be safely relocated to their natural environment. Which is something that will likely only happen after the end of the war given how bureaucracy works” then she looks down at the holopads and types something down in one of them “And if the war takes longer than that to end, I don’t think any of us will be around to worry anymore, so”
“Isn’t that a bit pessimistic” Santos adds with a raised eyebrow
“You would be, sitting here in this chair” she retorts
He looks at Orran, ultimately the choice is his, given it’s both his little creatures and his life in the line. The yotul spends a few moments thinking “Then please see what you can do. How long until we have an answer?”
“Hah!” Janice exclaims triumphantly, startling all three “I wouldn’t be in this job if I couldn’t multitask this well. I already have an answer, seems like the local fauna reintroduction project has shown interest. Can’t have only one pestkiller species in the same niche, it seems they want to have some competition to keep populations controlled or something” she still has a wide smile when she directly addresses Orran “If that project pans out, your kitties’ descendants will wind up in a competitive space with ours. But that’s for multiple generations from now, it seems. Currently, those two would wind up in an observation shelter to see how they interact with a population of voidpins as well as how they interact with terran cats. Is that acceptable or should I try to find another project?”
At that Orran laughs lightly “Ooh, nightside? That’d be perfect, most hensa are twilight creatures but nightweavers are nocturnal, that’d be the best for them” he gently caresses the feline in his arms “Hear that Lodestar? You get to have some darkness again”
Janice nods on the screen “Alright, then… Let’s see… Oh, oooh that’s convenient” she is tapping at the holopad “How much time do you need to prepare them for a trip? Would you like to come along for the handoff? CnT Freight -that’s an unfortunate name- seems to have a pickup of carbon in the next town over for us, we can have someone take advantage of the trip and come pick your kitties up”
Santos tilts his head to the side “Carbon? That might be over in Long Cliff if I remember the surrounding towns correctly. That’s almost a two hour trip”
Janice nods “Yep. I’ve sent a message to that project’s lead, they’ll get someone in our already-scheduled resource pickup trip and they’ll meet up with you. But we’re working with already existing schedules so… They should be over there in, let’s see… Fifteen hours or so” she takes a deep breath “So if that’ll be all? I got more calls in the queue”
“This will be enough” Keya’s voice is still weird
And with that the other human unceremoniously ends the call “That’ll be around three claws, Orran” Santos offers “I hope you don’t mind if we wait over here?”
The yotul is surprised, taking a step back “W-wait here? Why?”
Santos sighs “Three things. You already panicked once, and fled an entire planet over it” he gives Orran a side glance, which now that he thinks about it wouldn’t read the same for an alien would it? “Don’t want to risk you panicking again and messing yourself up”
Orran looks sheepish for a moment “Second, I want to have a look outside for some things. This place was the location of something very suspicious a few paws ago and this is the only chance I have to properly look for evidence around here” he gives the yotul a shrug “None of it is your fault, to clarify. I just want to figure out where that nixa came from”
And finally, he stands up and grabs Keya by the shoulders “And third, this woman did not sleep and is five seconds away from a mental breakdown” he lifts her off the ground with great effort, takes a couple of steps to the side and forcibly shoves her into the largest couch “And I want her to try to get a full rest before we need to deal with the delivery, because we will invariably be involved”
Despite the annoyed position of her ears and thrashing tail, Keya doesn’t move from the position she’s been put into “Santos, I’m fine”
“No you’re not, you started screaming an hour into your sleep cycle and never went back to bed. Try to get some sleep, I’ll be here” he turns over to Orran “Yes, I’m taking a bit of advantage of your situation, I’m sorry.”
If the yotul had eyebrows, he’d be raising one of them right now “I take it this isn’t a normal situation. If that’s why you need to stay around it’s fine.” he takes a deep breath “Turns out I owe her, apparently, so consider yourselves guests”
And so they waited. It did not take long for Keya to fall asleep, meanwhile Santos sat down on the couch and started fiddling with his holopad. It wasn't a random distraction, however, as he was reviewing the calls on Orran’s little project. Maybe it was just human pareidolia speaking, but something about the calls had been nagging him. It did eat at him doing this to Orran, however. The man was already stressed out enough as it was, and here he was taking complete advantage of what is essentially a hostage situation so his boss could sneak some sleep during a work shift.
As the hours passed he'd periodically get pulled out of his work as he watched Orran come and go, doing whatever his job was. Turns out an agriculturalist’s job also involves a lot of paperwork, it seems, for the man at some point had three holopads out doing who knows what, presumably data comparison. Himself, he eventually found what his instinct had been nagging him about. All of the calls on those little beasts, aside from the very first, were not made from within Blackriver. If his understanding of comms-codes in this planet was right, and if he wasn’t just seeing patterns where they did not exist, those anonymous calls were all from a number in a nearby town. But before he could start making more connections he heard something he was hoping not to hear. He hears Keya’s breath quickening.
He quickly sets down his pad and, after a bit of effort, manages to dislodge the two alien felines that had decided his lap was the correct place for a nap. Then he heads over to Keya and kneels down beside her, causing Orran to focus on him. “Don’t do anything, Orran” he instructs
“What? What’s going on?” he sounds worried, as he should be
“I was hoping she’d wake up to a normal nightmare but it seems like it’s a bad one again” he stares at his boss, whose breathing is getting faster and faster. She opens her mouth and starts making a noise.
Orran steps closer “Shouldn’t you wake her up?”
It’s now that Keya starts screaming, familiar screams of fear “No, not yet. Wake her up too early and she’s going to be in a state of panic for multiple claws.” Keya’s screams start getting worse as she grabs at the couch and digs her claws in, her legs and tail thrashing wildly as if she were running. And suddenly her creaming stops with a choked noise as she brings her hands up to her chest.
Orran takes a step back as the next stage of Keya’s nightmare makes itself manifest in her noises, a choked scream that brought a chill down his spine, a scream that was eerily reminiscent of the sounds he’d heard in an ‘instructional’ video about the greys a long time ago. “Wake her up too late and she’s not going to have any of her emotions left” the human comments, as the venlil frantically claws at her own chest.
She screams for just a little while longer, until Santos forcibly puts his hand over her chest “Boss, I’m here” he says with an authoritative voice “The only predator in this room is me, listen to my voice” he puts pressure in her chest “You’re alive, listen to me” he lowers his body closer to her “Wake up and listen”
The distressed hensa had been staring up at the venlil from the ground, emitting a low, bassy growl all this time in a sign of worry. But when Keya sits up suddenly they both run back behind Orran “I… Am awake” she says mechanically.
Santos sighs, stares at her for a while, then stands up and offers his hand. Keya ignores him and stands up, looking around the house “Cold bastard woke up this time, eh?”
Santos and Orran watch as Keya ignores the question as she looks around, eyes seemingly staring off into the distance. She finally stops “Yes” and then turns her entire body towards a small desk near the front door, and turns her head to face it.
Santos raises an eyebrow at her motion, and he notices Orran’s tail started lightly thumping on the floor and his body was shaking slightly. He’d seen people getting unnerved at the cold bastard, but he had the feeling that if he were a human right now he’d be sweating bullets. He follows the direction Keya is facing, that was such a blatantly human motion she had performed it was obvious what she intended, and sees something.
“Haven’t seen a proper paper letter in a long, long time” he comments a technical lie, a few seconds after Orran had moved to pick up said letter from the desk and shove it into a drawer. But he had already seen what Keya wanted him to.
“Y-yeah I’m… Still fond of some traditional things” the man says, still looking nervous.
He takes a deep breath. He’d already seen it, in the letter, the mark of three crossed leaves. “Alright… Me and Keya are going to go outside to check something. And when we come back, you’re going to tell me the truth, right?” he stares directly at Orran
“What do you-”
“AFTER we’re back” he interrupts “Because this is either nothing worth worrying about, or you were saved from death by the power of ignorance” but he doesn’t let Orran answer as he and Keya step out into the yard.
He looks around at the yard, already predicting this would be a difficult mission. A physical letter with a familiar symbol, Orran mentioned he had a way to bring his felines to this planet and could use it as a way out, those were carnivores as far as he knew so he had to get food somewhere, and the man had those kept in here since before humanity’s first contact so it wasn’t some cloned meat he was using.
Keya grabs his shoulder and turns him towards the shed, every house in this place has the same general structure, including the shed in the backyard. The two of them start heading over there and study it. Those are wooden windows, closed, barring any sight from the inside and the front door had a lock in it, but it was slightly ajar. He looks at Keya, who seems to not notice his stare, and then gently opens the door.
The light from the outside streams in, and the sight is somewhat heart wrenching. This was, at some point, pretty much a cat house. There were shelves along the walls with nothing in them for them animals to walk about, wooden towers and other acrobatic toys, there were plastic toys scattered around and most tellingly some bowls on the ground. He kneels beside the bowls, there’s a tiny scattering of kibble indicating which ones were likely kibble and which ones were likely water, but they were marked with the same signs as the rest of the toys and furniture, deep marks of a nixa’s claws.
“Here” Keya’s toneless voice calls him out, and as he arrives he finds the proof of what he expected. There’s a rather crude metal box sitting there, full of scratch marks and bloodstains, inspecting it closer he finds tufts of dark fur and… Fabric.
Before he can inspect closer Keya hands him something- A plastic bag “Always prepared aren’t you?” he kneels closer to look at it, it’s definitely fabric, torn fabric in fact, with a fragment of the nixa’s claw attached to it. Gingerly he puts it in the plastic bag, looking at it.
“It is not good for my mental health, but it is useful in situations like those” Keya offers, before turning to the door to leave.
Santos stands up and takes a deep breath. Those calls all came from outside, and everything’s starting to make sense. He speeds up to move ahead of Keya as they enter Orran’s house, to find the yotul sitting on a couch, seemingly staring at something but in truth his eyes were distant in thought. “Alright, Orran. The first question, where did you get food for your hensa?”
Orran nearly jumps out of his skin, before turning an eye to Santos “I… I have an offworld contact. They, uhm… They can get some stuff shipped from Leirn for me”
Santos nods, and sits beside the man. Keya, on the other hand, walks behind him and simply looms over, causing the agriculturalist to shrink “Next question. Who brought you here?”
“It… It was the same people”
He crosses his arms “I’m going to take a wild guess and say that your hensa have suddenly decided that they don’t want to leave the house anymore since a few days, I mean, paws ago, right?”
At that Orran gasps “How did you know?”
He leans back on the couch “Your little ones saved your life, just so you know. Whoever it is you’ve got your trip, and the food from… You still owe them, right? And they’re the kind that comes collect” he’s looking at the ceiling right now
“C-collect? What do you mean?” he can see Orran trembling in his periphery
“Fifty seven of the calls on your hensa were from outside town” he turns his head slightly to give Orran a side-eyed stare “And we figured out where whoever it was dropped a very angry and very hungry nightside predator a few paws ago. You know, at the same point in time where I can only imagine your little friends stopped going to their playground out back”
“Wait” Orran seems frozen “That… That was because…”
Santos shrugs “I don’t know who they are. I doubt they’d like it if you talked, so i’m not asking. I’m just going to ask, how much do you owe them?”
The yotul looks down “Five hundred and twelve thousand credits… But I’ve been paying, I swear-” he grabs at Santos’ arm
“Chill out” he takes a deep breath “None of us are related to them in any way, before you get the wrong impression”
“It should be doable” Keya has brought up her datapad, causing the other two to look up at her “It is possible that I can organize a donation drive able to reach the nearby towns. Coupled with a secondary source I have available it is plausible acquire the amount of credits to clear his debt”
Orran stands up quickly in surprise “Y-you’d do that for-”
“Those people have shown themselves capable of causing serious collateral in their attempts at punishment and have shown to be a threat to the safety of the town.” she continues with a toneless voice “You, also, are part of this town. A group capable of smuggling contraband across planets is not a group we are capable of protecting the town from, therefore, the only measure left is appeasement.” she explains like it was a lecture, causing Orran’s ears to droop.
“The condition of this aid is as follows. You will hand over that letter, as I recognize it is their method of contacting you. You will, also, follow the humans to wherever the delivery will take place and you will only return to this town once I have contacted you to do so and you have paid your debts.” she turns her head sideways to direct one of her eyes at the yotul, he takes a step back cowering from the icy stare in a way Santos could never cause “If they make any further attempts at you, they will not endanger this town”
Santos sighs “Yeah, that looks like a wise choice” he pats Orran gently on the shoulder “I know the cold bastard is a lot but that’s a good plan. We’ll help you out, get your kitties a safe new home and nobody gets hurt”
To say the mood in the residence was soured by the experience was an understatement. And yet they were forced to wait even further in the collective company, Santos gently trying to coax some unrelated small talk out of Orran for the sake of the man’s sanity while he could not keep himself from continually building up more and more stress as he watched Keya silently stare down at her datapad nearly motionless.
Ultimately, Santos breaks the stress spiral by convincing the yotul to prepare for the trip. The lack of clothing articles, he noticed, made packing very much easier than it would be for a human. But a few cleaning articles, the remaining kibble for the hensa, a carrier cage that was uncleverly hidden under the bed and a few more moments spent preparing some travel snacks and there’s a knock on the front door.
Who’s behind the door is a distressingly short little Nevok, sent as the person to pick up the hensa. It took a bit of convincing, but under the cold gaze of Keya the woman eventually relents to allow Orran to accompany his animals, just to facilitate the handoff and to ensure the team’s knowledge of them is correct.
Santos and Keya see the two off, but as they return to the car that had been waiting for them for hours, she stops him. She opens the driver’s seat and points him there, takes the back seat herself and immediately brings out her datapad. Santos looks at the strange car, bites down his lower lip in thought and sighs. There’s no use discussing with the cold bastard.
-^-
[Excerpt from the social site Bleat]
#BadParents - A thread for bad parents with unruly pups
[email protected] - Hey guys, I need some help. The guests’ kids brought some weird candy home, what do I do
[email protected] - What kinna candy, is it tasty?
[email protected] - Does it smell funny?
[email protected] - Try it, it’s real good. I think I know what it is. Your kids are gunna get real loud about it.
[email protected] - hay guys, one of the neighbors broke some of the other guys’ toys and now he has to pay it back. But i’m kinda broke, you know how dad is, so I can’t help out. Can we get a pot rolling here?
[email protected] - Oh dear, think I can just give one of my toys up to make up for it? It wouldn’t be a bother.
[email protected] - I can help out, i’d ask my pups to help out too but they haven’t been listening to me for a while.
[email protected] - Same deal but at least I can get something going, I think the guests here would be up to help.
[email protected] - Oh, oh, I think I can get my pups to help, i’ll help out too. They’ve been trying to do good!
[email protected] - Me and the pups can help out too, they’ve been behaving a lot since last time.
[email protected] - Sorry guys, gotta sit out of this one. You know why.
[email protected] - It’s fine, it’s fine. Only help if you can. And no need, [email protected], just help out with the pot.
---
What? Did you thinking smuggling a pair of little predators off a planet currently ongoing purge across the stars and keeping carnivores fed in a planet where the mere mention of that kind of food could get you killed was possible without the aid of people you don't want to cross?
Sometimes you do what you have to do.
This is the end (mostly) of the "Exotic Pets" season! Thankfully our little hensa get a proper home, and maybe their descendants might help save a planet. This isn't the last adventure involving a pet, however, but the next season "Fighting Fire" might not end quite as peacefully.
Also I know I got zero schedule, never pretended i'd ever have I know myself. But don't expect anything next week, life sure is hard.
2023.06.04 23:46 xartux Feeling lost, sad and unheard lately…. Could use some positivity and encouragement that things will get better. I’m too young to be dealing with these sorts of health issues especially on my own. Liver disease and cirrhosis are no joke…. Please be safe.
For context, I’ve explained here a few times about my journey of alcohol abuse that led to hospitalization and organ failure last spring May 6th of 2022. I was 26 years old and am now 27 currently.
I have recently finished my outpatient treatment goals with the initial hospital I was treated at and am left feeling…. Well… the same I guess. I still don’t have the answers I need and it’s impossible it seems to find doctors who care enough to do their due diligence on making sure I get the best treatment from them possible. I’ve been ignored at times and let down over and over again.
Im almost 400 days sober and my quality of life has seriously improved, but damn that little addiction bug gets me all the time. I have remained sober since the day I showed up to the hospital here. Countless imaging, blood work and test done. Seeing multiple doctors constantly, it’s hard to keep track of it all and the 10 different medications I take daily.
I drank myself around a full liter of vodka/ 1.75 liter each and every day for the past 6 years. I feel as if i went into a hazy coma at 21 with no world experience and woke up a full grown adult who had to get his shit together.
My parents are useless as well. Mom depressed and dad a full blown alcoholic as well. Im tired of the treatment I have gotten and have taken in the past from those two.
I live in Minneapolis Mn and I’m working on getting set up at the Mayo Clinic to have a second opinion and try my hardest to get the treatment and answers I yearn for. I just want to gauge just how bad my cirrhosis is and I haven’t had any luck with receiving that info via the post office or online.
I miss being young and filled with energy, I miss all the friends I’ve made just bye attending dinner.
Anyways, the other purpose of this post is to share a photo that I have never shared with anyone else. I want to share it now. I hope this can change at least one persons mind or scared feelings they might be having and to properly address their relationship with alcohol sooner rather than later. This is what alcohol did to me in such a short amount of time. 😕
Picture attached below of myself jaundiced and wildly sick. This group means so much to me. Thank you for all your kind words.
https://imgur.com/gallery/lf5xKdl
Thanks for listening 🙂
submitted by xartux to stopdrinking [link] [comments]
I have recently finished my outpatient treatment goals with the initial hospital I was treated at and am left feeling…. Well… the same I guess. I still don’t have the answers I need and it’s impossible it seems to find doctors who care enough to do their due diligence on making sure I get the best treatment from them possible. I’ve been ignored at times and let down over and over again.
Im almost 400 days sober and my quality of life has seriously improved, but damn that little addiction bug gets me all the time. I have remained sober since the day I showed up to the hospital here. Countless imaging, blood work and test done. Seeing multiple doctors constantly, it’s hard to keep track of it all and the 10 different medications I take daily.
I drank myself around a full liter of vodka/ 1.75 liter each and every day for the past 6 years. I feel as if i went into a hazy coma at 21 with no world experience and woke up a full grown adult who had to get his shit together.
My parents are useless as well. Mom depressed and dad a full blown alcoholic as well. Im tired of the treatment I have gotten and have taken in the past from those two.
I live in Minneapolis Mn and I’m working on getting set up at the Mayo Clinic to have a second opinion and try my hardest to get the treatment and answers I yearn for. I just want to gauge just how bad my cirrhosis is and I haven’t had any luck with receiving that info via the post office or online.
I miss being young and filled with energy, I miss all the friends I’ve made just bye attending dinner.
Anyways, the other purpose of this post is to share a photo that I have never shared with anyone else. I want to share it now. I hope this can change at least one persons mind or scared feelings they might be having and to properly address their relationship with alcohol sooner rather than later. This is what alcohol did to me in such a short amount of time. 😕
Picture attached below of myself jaundiced and wildly sick. This group means so much to me. Thank you for all your kind words.
https://imgur.com/gallery/lf5xKdl
Thanks for listening 🙂
2023.06.04 23:46 potatomari Dashwood - Regular vs Short?
I'm looking at the Dashwood pants and I'm not sure whether to get the regular or short.
I'm 5'1, inseam 26", 95lb. I don't want it to be too cropped but also don't want it dragging. In Conan pants I go for Tall 00 and it hits my ankles, the Carrot pants I take short 00.
Anyone have any tips? TIA!
submitted by potatomari to Aritzia [link] [comments]
I'm 5'1, inseam 26", 95lb. I don't want it to be too cropped but also don't want it dragging. In Conan pants I go for Tall 00 and it hits my ankles, the Carrot pants I take short 00.
Anyone have any tips? TIA!
2023.06.04 23:45 TalkinToABrickWall DAE want to crawl in a hole and die when you see your ex unexpectedly?
I broke up with my ex boyfriend last week because he put minimal effort in the relationship while i gave everything. He made a habit of ghosting me for days at a time, a week straight, even, leading up to our breakup. i texted him that i was breaking up with him, he read it and said nothing.
Today i was at the gym with my dad and about an hour after we got there, my ex showed up. I had no idea he was there until i was walking out of the women’s room and BOOM. Ran right into him while he was setting up a machine. The terror and pure nausea i felt at that moment was enough to make me want to immediately leave. He saw me, i saw him, we said nothing, he gave me a short glance that i could read— “holy shit”. I thought the same thing.
When i say that i had a heart attack, stroke and brain aneurysm all at once i am not joking. I wanted to get crushed by a heavy weight and never see the light of day again. Almost an hour of us acting like total strangers made me sick to my stomach.
My dad found this incredibly too funny and i did not appreciate it.
submitted by TalkinToABrickWall to DoesAnybodyElse [link] [comments]
Today i was at the gym with my dad and about an hour after we got there, my ex showed up. I had no idea he was there until i was walking out of the women’s room and BOOM. Ran right into him while he was setting up a machine. The terror and pure nausea i felt at that moment was enough to make me want to immediately leave. He saw me, i saw him, we said nothing, he gave me a short glance that i could read— “holy shit”. I thought the same thing.
When i say that i had a heart attack, stroke and brain aneurysm all at once i am not joking. I wanted to get crushed by a heavy weight and never see the light of day again. Almost an hour of us acting like total strangers made me sick to my stomach.
My dad found this incredibly too funny and i did not appreciate it.
2023.06.04 23:45 voidpunk_ is it bad to use my chair for short outings
i have a wheelchair and i love it. helps a lot with pain, falling, fatigue, pretty much everything.
however, my family gets irritated when i use the chair for short things, or things like dinner, as i can walk and its "not that far"
but sometimes i feel its safer to use it, whether because im already feeling bad or since dinners take a lot out of me with an addition of overstimulation, i always have trouble afterwards. i do not want to fall in the middle of a restaurant.
but i hate being an inconvenience. i hate adding the additional layers of have to find a accessible parking space, have to get chair out of car, have to wait for me to fit through small spaces and help me get there. i feel bad and like im ruining it all.
my family does get irritated, especially my (also disabled and ambulatory wheelchair user) sister. she gets irritated about whenever i use my chair, as she doesnt use her chair for small things. sometimes i feel she doesnt believe me, as mine started after her and she downplays it. it hurts.
submitted by voidpunk_ to disability [link] [comments]
however, my family gets irritated when i use the chair for short things, or things like dinner, as i can walk and its "not that far"
but sometimes i feel its safer to use it, whether because im already feeling bad or since dinners take a lot out of me with an addition of overstimulation, i always have trouble afterwards. i do not want to fall in the middle of a restaurant.
but i hate being an inconvenience. i hate adding the additional layers of have to find a accessible parking space, have to get chair out of car, have to wait for me to fit through small spaces and help me get there. i feel bad and like im ruining it all.
my family does get irritated, especially my (also disabled and ambulatory wheelchair user) sister. she gets irritated about whenever i use my chair, as she doesnt use her chair for small things. sometimes i feel she doesnt believe me, as mine started after her and she downplays it. it hurts.
2023.06.04 23:44 DueDiligenceis23 What to expect for DKNG going into THIS WEEK (Must Read)
We are DISCUSSING $DKNG here https://discord.com/invite/bullishraid
The very first Due Diligence Based + Friendly Community for Stock Investors (27,000+ people, free to join) Open to all levels https://discord.com/invite/bullishraid
For short squeeze / premium alerts check here https://www.patreon.com/bullishraiddiscord?fan_landing=true
submitted by DueDiligenceis23 to shortsqueeze2023 [link] [comments]
The very first Due Diligence Based + Friendly Community for Stock Investors (27,000+ people, free to join) Open to all levels https://discord.com/invite/bullishraid
For short squeeze / premium alerts check here https://www.patreon.com/bullishraiddiscord?fan_landing=true
2023.06.04 23:44 CarefulJellyfish7 Looking for a fit and flare dress like this
 | It's sold out from old navy. Any tips on where I could find something similar? Any color is fine. submitted by CarefulJellyfish7 to PetiteFashionAdvice [link] [comments] |
2023.06.04 23:44 fishburt Mid-Thigh, Cotton/Denim Gusseted Crotch Shorts DO THEY EXIST??
Hello!
I'm trying to find the perfect shorts for summer. I want a denim or cotton short that goes like mid-thigh, maybe a 4"-5" inseam. I really want to find some that have a gusseted crotch so it doesn't like dig into me whenever I want to be a little active in them, but damn I don't know if such a thing exists. I'm also looking for a-line if possible as my waist is much smaller than my hips. Does anyone have any affordable brands or shorts that worked for them?
submitted by fishburt to womensfashion [link] [comments]
I'm trying to find the perfect shorts for summer. I want a denim or cotton short that goes like mid-thigh, maybe a 4"-5" inseam. I really want to find some that have a gusseted crotch so it doesn't like dig into me whenever I want to be a little active in them, but damn I don't know if such a thing exists. I'm also looking for a-line if possible as my waist is much smaller than my hips. Does anyone have any affordable brands or shorts that worked for them?
2023.06.04 23:44 montauk_phd Astros Rookie Autos and Chromes in Need of Good Home
 | I need these re-home this Astros set in a loving Astros home. Let me know if you are interested. I am looking for $400 or OBO. The real gems of this are the Chas Gold Auto out of 50 and the short print Gilbert Mojo Chrome Auto. I can throw in some other chrome mojo rookies like Adley, Corbin, Carroll, Nolan Gorman to sweeten the pot. submitted by montauk_phd to Astros [link] [comments] |
2023.06.04 23:44 SistaSaline Those of you who work from home with noisy inconsiderate roommates, what workarounds have you found?
My roommate is selfish, noisy, and inconsiderate. She talks super loud on the phone (like, you can hear her from across the house) and will have the person she’s talking to on speaker at the loudest volume. She does this (usually while cooking) at all hours of the night and during the day while I’m working.
For work, I teach webinars to clients some days of the week, usually for about an hour. I work in my bedroom and I use a headset. I text my roommate group chat to let them know to keep the house quiet (voices low, no blasting music/videos from their phones because the walls are thin and the common area is right outside all of our doors) until the time my class is over. This roommate doesn’t respect that though. She’s made noise during my classes several times and I’ve gotten into several arguments with her about it.
I’ve explained to her numerous times that I could lose my job if clients hear her and complain to my boss that my class is noisy and unprofessional, and long story short, the bitch doesn’t care. I’ve tried to talk to her nicely about her noise levels in the past, but she got offended by the fact that I said anything at all, and even tried to deflect blame by saying I’m the only one in the apartment who complains.
Anyway, I’m at my wits end and I’m done having the same argument over and over. I’m also not about to lose my job over this bitch. I’m ready to move on and would honestly love to never speak to my lowlife roommate again. So, those of you who deal with something similar, have you found any workarounds? I’m done with the situation.
submitted by SistaSaline to badroommates [link] [comments]
For work, I teach webinars to clients some days of the week, usually for about an hour. I work in my bedroom and I use a headset. I text my roommate group chat to let them know to keep the house quiet (voices low, no blasting music/videos from their phones because the walls are thin and the common area is right outside all of our doors) until the time my class is over. This roommate doesn’t respect that though. She’s made noise during my classes several times and I’ve gotten into several arguments with her about it.
I’ve explained to her numerous times that I could lose my job if clients hear her and complain to my boss that my class is noisy and unprofessional, and long story short, the bitch doesn’t care. I’ve tried to talk to her nicely about her noise levels in the past, but she got offended by the fact that I said anything at all, and even tried to deflect blame by saying I’m the only one in the apartment who complains.
Anyway, I’m at my wits end and I’m done having the same argument over and over. I’m also not about to lose my job over this bitch. I’m ready to move on and would honestly love to never speak to my lowlife roommate again. So, those of you who deal with something similar, have you found any workarounds? I’m done with the situation.
2023.06.04 23:44 No-Town-7929 Any idea of a value? Can't find one like it.
 | submitted by No-Town-7929 to hockeycards [link] [comments] |
2023.06.04 23:43 TipsReshape Why Successful Leaders Must Prioritize Decision making 3 (Tips Reshape) ...
Why Successful Leaders Must Prioritize Decision-Making (Tips Reshape)
In this video, we explore why decision-making is critical to effective leadership and why successful leaders must prioritize it. We discuss how decision-making impacts the success of an organization, the importance of making quick, informed decisions in a fast-paced business environment, and the key characteristics of effective decision-makers. We also highlight how successful leaders create a culture that values and supports effective decision-making and take responsibility for the outcomes of their decisions. This video provides valuable insights for aspiring leaders and anyone interested in improving their decision-making skills
"Decision-making is an essential component of leadership. Successful leaders understand the importance of decision-making and prioritize it above all else. In this essay, I will explore why successful leaders must prioritize decision-making, the impact of decision-making on leadership effectiveness, and the key characteristics of effective decision-makers."
#tipsreshape #leadership #decisionmaking #success #priority #leadershipskills #management #responsibility #accountability #business #strategy #organization #adaptability #proactivity #collaboration #innovation #training #learning #selfimprovement #motivation #inspiration #growth #development #careeradvancement
Thanks Tips Reshape Team
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How Adaptability Drives Leadership Success (Tips Reshape) https://youtu.be/aEx27sIghjg
How to Lead with Creative Mindset for Successful Leadership (Tips Shape) https://youtu.be/E0YQDtduXBc
How Strategic Thinking Can Transform Your Leadership Style (Tips Reshape) https://youtu.be/hJnchnbe4OY
The Power of Vision - How it Drives Successful Leadership (Tips Reshape) https://youtu.be/jKSalFMPjdE
submitted by TipsReshape to u/TipsReshape [link] [comments]
In this video, we explore why decision-making is critical to effective leadership and why successful leaders must prioritize it. We discuss how decision-making impacts the success of an organization, the importance of making quick, informed decisions in a fast-paced business environment, and the key characteristics of effective decision-makers. We also highlight how successful leaders create a culture that values and supports effective decision-making and take responsibility for the outcomes of their decisions. This video provides valuable insights for aspiring leaders and anyone interested in improving their decision-making skills
"Decision-making is an essential component of leadership. Successful leaders understand the importance of decision-making and prioritize it above all else. In this essay, I will explore why successful leaders must prioritize decision-making, the impact of decision-making on leadership effectiveness, and the key characteristics of effective decision-makers."
#tipsreshape #leadership #decisionmaking #success #priority #leadershipskills #management #responsibility #accountability #business #strategy #organization #adaptability #proactivity #collaboration #innovation #training #learning #selfimprovement #motivation #inspiration #growth #development #careeradvancement
Thanks Tips Reshape Team
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Related Videos:
Why Communication is Key to Successful Leadership (Tips Reshape) https://youtu.be/2DJPo4Zjjvc
The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Modern Leadership (Tips Reshape) https://youtu.be/g-p9RYS4Np0
How Adaptability Drives Leadership Success (Tips Reshape) https://youtu.be/aEx27sIghjg
How to Lead with Creative Mindset for Successful Leadership (Tips Shape) https://youtu.be/E0YQDtduXBc
How Strategic Thinking Can Transform Your Leadership Style (Tips Reshape) https://youtu.be/hJnchnbe4OY
The Power of Vision - How it Drives Successful Leadership (Tips Reshape) https://youtu.be/jKSalFMPjdE
2023.06.04 23:43 Canopus_3 Some Questions About False Morels
So, I went out exploring today in a Colorado forest and I was just wandering around trying to find some mushrooms to identify as I have been trying to get into the field of mycology. I am not super educated about the subject, especially not cultivated fungi, so I was just getting some pictures and grabbing a couple samples to investigate when I got back home. Long story short, I picked up this tan-brown, brain looking fungus that I wanted to look at later. I ended up carrying it in my hand for like 20-30 min back to my car and brought it back home and it felt kinda wet. From what any identification software says, it seems to be a false morel, which, by further research shows, contains some deadly toxins like gyromitrin. I now realize that my ignorance could be leading me towards some potentially deadly consequences.I don't really know what to do. I have read that it can kill you if consumed, which I don't plan on doing, but I did hold it in my hand while it was basically sweating on me (it felt kinda wet). But, I had to drive home after taking it to the car, so the moisture from the mushroom ony hand completely either absorbed or evaporated off my hand on like a hour or so drive back home. I have heard that it can be absorbed thought the skin. Now, I realize that I could be dramatizing the situation, especially since I have a history of paranoia and anxiety, but I don't really know what to do. Like, should I be worrying about dying right now? Is this the situation where I need to seek poison control? (I also tried smelling it to find any clues as to what it was while I was out there if that makes it worse)
I realize now that I probably ignored any safety measures when forging, but I can't really fix that part now. Any help would be nice, because I am currently freaking out and I don't know what to do.
2023.06.04 23:43 Terrible_Ad3503 Very serious post. I need to stop my 2-week Benzodiazepine binge and get back to normal in the next week
For the last 2 weeks, I've been taking 150-200mg of Benzodiazepines most nights (long story, stressful period in my life, etc. I had only tried them a few times before (20-30mg a time, not sure if this'll help me).
I NEED to stop them and get back to normal in the next week.
I don't drink or take any other drugs apart from Propranolol, Ashwagandha, and pot.
I need to stop this stupidity and get back to normal ASAP. I don't enjoy my mind being fried all the time or depending on anything).
Is it possible to get back to normal in a week? Should I use any of the other drugs I have to help me?
I should also mention I have 300mg Valium coming on Tues, Can I use this to taper? Part of me is afraid I'll binge them as soon as they arrive.
I desperately need advice from those who know about these things. I can't contact a Dr because they are in very short supply where I am.
THank you
submitted by Terrible_Ad3503 to benzorecovery [link] [comments]
I NEED to stop them and get back to normal in the next week.
I don't drink or take any other drugs apart from Propranolol, Ashwagandha, and pot.
I need to stop this stupidity and get back to normal ASAP. I don't enjoy my mind being fried all the time or depending on anything).
Is it possible to get back to normal in a week? Should I use any of the other drugs I have to help me?
I should also mention I have 300mg Valium coming on Tues, Can I use this to taper? Part of me is afraid I'll binge them as soon as they arrive.
I desperately need advice from those who know about these things. I can't contact a Dr because they are in very short supply where I am.
THank you
2023.06.04 23:43 Danjelthemanjel Day 14 CT, alot of thoughts..
My mom n dad was probably the best parents a person can have, they did everything for me. I had a super safe childhood with a very loving family and we did everything together, but they were always very strict to when it comes to alcohol and we never really had a talk about drugs. They ofc said dont do drugs but thats about it.. I got in to the world of drugs since a young age. When i was 13 i had to do surgery to my shoulder, it was quite a big surgey tbh. I remember it as it was ysterday, i was being taken down to the room where i would be sedated, i was so nervous that i literally was shaking like a leaf.. and then this nurse shot me up with something to make me calm down, i felt this cold feeling in my arm and then my body just melted in to the bed, i will never forget that feeling. It was amazing and i think that was the moment that opened the doors to the world of drugs. I knew that there ws things out there that could make you feel a certain way.
i started using weed and tried drinking when i was 13y old, i hung out with ppl who were 4yrs older than me so when they started partying i did too.
Weed was probably the first thing i rly got into, from the age of 14-17 i smoked alot and i always went to partys on the weekend with my friends. Alway getting drunk and smoking.
One party when i was 17, my friend at the time was selling amfetamine. Long story short i tried some, and that marked the starting point of a very heavy partying period. I was finishing culinary school at the time and it is known that ppl in that biniss party.. so party i did. I was out 5 days a week just drinking doing alot of cocaine and basicly every other drug i could get a hold of like ecstacy and lsd and all sorts of things. I used to go to these underground raves. And sell cocaine and ecstacy to support my own habit, wich meant the volumes were high. A normal rave night i took about 4-6 e pills during 2-3 days of partying. And after that i just took a shit ton of opiates and lay in bed for about 4 days.
This went on for a few years, untill i hit the wall and got super depressed, i was 23 at the time and i have had that lifestyle for 6 yrs.. the way back was hard. I quit everything and just foucused on my health and exercising, after 6 months i felt like myself again.
I am now 24, i have applied for a school were u study tv and movie production. Super exiting, i was living at home waiting for the school to reply. During this time my mother got diagnosed with rly serious cancer. And that hit me like a ton of bricks from nowhere. She started chemo right away and she started getting a huge amount of pills. And me being the addict i am ofc i took a few one time, just once… i have been doing great i deserve it. So the pill i tried was morfine. I chewed it and i got that similiar feeling when the nurse gave me the shot… i melted in to my bed and felt like i ws inside a cloud. And that was it, i got stuck bigtime.
I started to steal alot of pills, dont think she noticed bcus she was also out of it. I took a pill everyday. And then i had to move away to start the tv/movie school. So i took my stash of pills with me, and wasted no time finding a dealer when i got there, 1,5 yrs almost 2 of consistent opiate use. I knew i was in deep deep shit. I had to find a way out, what will i do…
In to my life came….. yh u guessed it. Kratom… it worked great. I stopped taking the pills and started to take this great natural plant instead. Fast forward 2,5 more years of being a fking slave to this shit i am free.
14 days clean i feel great, i sleep again i have no symptoms of wd. But im taking one step at the time.
Im on a new path in life, I CHOOSE BEING SOBER!!!
On day at the time Thnx for reading
submitted by Danjelthemanjel to quittingkratom [link] [comments]
i started using weed and tried drinking when i was 13y old, i hung out with ppl who were 4yrs older than me so when they started partying i did too.
Weed was probably the first thing i rly got into, from the age of 14-17 i smoked alot and i always went to partys on the weekend with my friends. Alway getting drunk and smoking.
One party when i was 17, my friend at the time was selling amfetamine. Long story short i tried some, and that marked the starting point of a very heavy partying period. I was finishing culinary school at the time and it is known that ppl in that biniss party.. so party i did. I was out 5 days a week just drinking doing alot of cocaine and basicly every other drug i could get a hold of like ecstacy and lsd and all sorts of things. I used to go to these underground raves. And sell cocaine and ecstacy to support my own habit, wich meant the volumes were high. A normal rave night i took about 4-6 e pills during 2-3 days of partying. And after that i just took a shit ton of opiates and lay in bed for about 4 days.
This went on for a few years, untill i hit the wall and got super depressed, i was 23 at the time and i have had that lifestyle for 6 yrs.. the way back was hard. I quit everything and just foucused on my health and exercising, after 6 months i felt like myself again.
I am now 24, i have applied for a school were u study tv and movie production. Super exiting, i was living at home waiting for the school to reply. During this time my mother got diagnosed with rly serious cancer. And that hit me like a ton of bricks from nowhere. She started chemo right away and she started getting a huge amount of pills. And me being the addict i am ofc i took a few one time, just once… i have been doing great i deserve it. So the pill i tried was morfine. I chewed it and i got that similiar feeling when the nurse gave me the shot… i melted in to my bed and felt like i ws inside a cloud. And that was it, i got stuck bigtime.
I started to steal alot of pills, dont think she noticed bcus she was also out of it. I took a pill everyday. And then i had to move away to start the tv/movie school. So i took my stash of pills with me, and wasted no time finding a dealer when i got there, 1,5 yrs almost 2 of consistent opiate use. I knew i was in deep deep shit. I had to find a way out, what will i do…
In to my life came….. yh u guessed it. Kratom… it worked great. I stopped taking the pills and started to take this great natural plant instead. Fast forward 2,5 more years of being a fking slave to this shit i am free.
14 days clean i feel great, i sleep again i have no symptoms of wd. But im taking one step at the time.
Im on a new path in life, I CHOOSE BEING SOBER!!!
On day at the time Thnx for reading
2023.06.04 23:43 SurrealmsShorts Is it worth promoting videos?
I started up a surreal/horror channel a month or two ago and have been uploading shorts regularly and squeezing in longer videos when I can.
However, one of my recent shorts and one of my videos, which I feel are actually some of my best work, are stuck at 16 and 75 views respectively. Meanwhile, my lowest effort videos are reaching between 8.5 - 5 thousand views.
Even though these numbers aren’t crazy high, it’s bothering me that the videos I think are lower quality are performing so much better than videos I think could do really well. Is it worth trying to promote the videos I believe in? Instead, should I try editing them a tad to make improvements and reupload? Or should I stop overthinking it and just ignore the poor performance?
Any tips would be greatly appreciated! If you’d like to check out my channel for reference you can find the link in my bio.
submitted by SurrealmsShorts to NewTubers [link] [comments]
However, one of my recent shorts and one of my videos, which I feel are actually some of my best work, are stuck at 16 and 75 views respectively. Meanwhile, my lowest effort videos are reaching between 8.5 - 5 thousand views.
Even though these numbers aren’t crazy high, it’s bothering me that the videos I think are lower quality are performing so much better than videos I think could do really well. Is it worth trying to promote the videos I believe in? Instead, should I try editing them a tad to make improvements and reupload? Or should I stop overthinking it and just ignore the poor performance?
Any tips would be greatly appreciated! If you’d like to check out my channel for reference you can find the link in my bio.