Part 1
Context: You were a DJ for a strip club. At least, you were before you met the mobster Donovan Greywater aka 'Donnie'. You met him during a tense shift at the club, and he's been hung up on you ever since. He's crazy, there's no questioning it, but he's got a lot of redeeming qualities! He's even taking you out on a fancy cruise for your first big couple's activity. Doesn't that sound nice?
Setting: A distinctly reptilian island
Tags:[M4A][Unhinged Mafioso Speaker][Brave Listener][Definitely Not Yandere][Reverse Comfort][Dom to Sub][Shipwreck][Rescue][Being Vulnerable][Supernatural?][Protective][Possessive][Super Loving][Lore Drops][Comedy?][Oh No He's Hot][CW: Hate Crimes Against Lizards]
Usage: You may tweak or record this script. Gender flipping is OK! Please credit me if you use this script in any of your projects. If you would like to use this script for a paywalled recording, please note:
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Other Donnie appearances:
Sweet as Honey Pt. 2
Breaking the Bad Boy
The Prince of Crows
Check out the rest of my scripts by using the Script Directory
[Scene opens in…???]
[SFX: Faint hissing/tropical forest ambiance/ocean waves lapping sand nearby]
[...You were on a boat, you’re sure…]
[SFX: Faint sounds of a boat collision/crash/people screaming]
[...You were on a boat with your boyfriend before it hit a reef]
[Pause…]
[You were with… Donnie]
[SFX: The Listener falling into the water before the memory fades and they begin to wake]
[...Donnie…?]
Ba-y!
[SFX: Reptilian hissing]
BABY! HANG ON, I SEE YOU, HANG ON!!
[Your eyes open slowly. Everything hurts]
[SFX: Louder reptilian hissing]
“BABY, GET UP, THAT’S A FUCKIN’ KOMODO-!”
[Your brain runs through your love of animals encyclopedia. Komodo dragons currently are ranking in the “fuck that” section]
[SFX: Donnie sprinting]
“Godamnit, you giant septic tank of a fucking monitor lizard, back off my BABY!”
[That’s about when you get to see your mobster boyfriend full-on suplex a ten-foot prehistoric middle finger]
[SFX: Confused, panicked hissing]
[P-Pause…]
[Donnie throws the poor creature aside, panting]
“...It’s OK… Ship crashed, we’re on a fucking Komodo island, I just suplexed a Komodo dragon, it’s fine…”
[SFX: A LOT more reptilian hissing]
[Your boyfriend snarls through his teeth, clenches his fist, and whips around]
“...Or I’m going to have to make you fuckers extinct in the sanctity of your own fucking home… C’MON, YOU KNIFE-TEETH HIDIN’, CHEAP-CAMPIN’, GRAVE-ROBBIN’ muddaFUCKAS!”
[You curl in a ball, trying to protect your twisted ankle while your boyfriend squares up with near-literal dinosaurs]
[...]
[This is it. This is how you both die, you’re sure of it…]
[Pause - Break]
[Somehow, you both still live. About an hour after the initial confrontation, Donnie has you riding on his back as he hurries through the dense jungle]
[...]
[Donnie laughs as he carries you on his back]
“Shit, I didn’t expect to take out twenty of ‘em either! Guess boxing with Enzo is actually doing me some good. Told you we weren’t dying today!”
[Pause]
“Yeah, the one that doesn’t understand memes. Nice guy. Kind of a dumbass, tho.”
[...?]
“Hell yes, I’m gonna tell him I beat up twenty Komodo dragons with my bare fucking fists! And teeth, a little…”
[Pause]
“Hey, One-Eye bit me first. Fucker.”
[...]
[His voice softens]
“Hey, hey...We’re gonna be OK, Baby, don’t you worry. This ain’t my first ship-crashing scenario. How’s the ankle…?”
[...]
[He sighs]
“...First vacation together as a couple and the ship sinks… My fuckin’ luck… Just wanted to take my sweetheart somewhere nice and BOOM! Fuckin’ Komodo Island. Komodo my fuckin’ ass.”
[...]
“...Hey. You wanna hear the greatest love story never told?”
[...Pause?]
[He chuckles, still hefting you with ease]
“Well, it begins with a man named Lucien Greywater and a little bellhop at a hotel. A mobster staying at a nice hotel when someone ran in to try and gun him down and this little sassy minx named Milly charged the guy with a suitcase! Knocks him clean out!”
[Pause!]
[He laughs, maneuvering through the brush]
“I know! And then Miss Milly turns back to look at Mr. Greywater, who is in absolute awe, by the way, and says, ‘Dang Mister, don’t you know how to protect yourself? You outta get you a bodyguard’.”
[Pause????]
“What did he say? Well, as Dad liked to recount it, he put on his most devastating romantic smolder and said, ‘Yeah? You’re hired’.”
[Pause!]
“Oho, I don’t think Ma was expecting him to be that confident either, especially not after that display. But… for all of his faults, Pops always knew what he wanted, and that feisty little bellhop had just stolen his heart, right in front of him!”
[Pause <3]
“Heh… Yeah. Dad wasn’t always warm… He didn’t always have a kind word… but I knew he loved Mom, and Mom loved me, so… I think that’s enough, you know?”
[...]
[SFX: Him continuing to jog]
“It’s been a while since I been out here but I think I have a spot for just such a disaster as this.”
[Pause???]
[Donnie laughs]
“Baby, I’m psychic, remember? I have a lot of shelters, bug-out plans, weapons, and various other means to keep my business from crashing pretty much worldwide, and, yeah, crashing on Komodo Island was one of those. Didn’t expect I’d be piggybacking my partner during, hehe. Ah! There we go. See that little cabin there?”
[Pause]
“Eyup, all ours, and Komodo free… Well, it better be. I don’t mind putting more lizards in the ground but I also don’t wanna get yelled at if the fuckers are endangered or something.”
[Pause…]
[SFX: A lock being fiddled with and a door swinging open]
[He manages to get the cabin open and carry you in, setting you down on an immaculate couch]
“There we go… You sit right here for a sec, Baby, OK? I’m gonna wrap your ankle.”
[Pause]
[SFX: Cloth ripping]
[To your shock, he rips his expensive jacket for strips of cloth and wraps your ankle]
[Pause!]
“Huh? What about my jacket?”
[Pause!!]
“Pfft, yeah, it’s expensive. Who cares? If it was sentimental, I wouldn’t wear it, and I can always just toss on a damned muscle shirt or somethin’. Your ankle’s hurt… and Donnie wants to take care of his Baby, alright?”
[...]
“Heh… God, I love that smile. Sit still, OK?”
[Pause]
[SFX: Extended cloth shuffling/ripping mixed in with some Donnie grumbles/swears]
“There we go… Phew, honestly? Being shirtless is a lot nicer in this heat, sheesh.”
[...]
“...Someone’s ogling me.”
[Pause…]
“Hey, you’re allowed to! C’mon… How come you won’t look at me for more than a second or two?”
[...]
[He sits next to you, listening while you explain]
[Long Pause]
“...Partners in the past were richer than you and treated you like property, so you’re leery about not being able to take care of yourself…”
[...]
[He nods, more to himself than anything or one else]
“...Anyone I’d know?”
[...]
“You want ‘em dead?”
[Pause!]
[He huffs but nods again]
“...I get it. I have a lot of power and a lot of money and I’m a scary guy. I’d be fuckin’ scared to trust me, too…”
[...]
[He tenses as you rest your head on his shoulder but immediately eases]
“Oh? Resting your head on my shoulder, huh?”
[...Pause]
“Heh… Yeah, I don’t doubt you don’t know a lot of people that’d fight a dinosaur for you… but I would. I know most of those assholes would have left you there to be food, but when Donovan Greywater says he loves someone more than his own life, he means it.”
[...Pause <3]
[He giggles a little with that raw chaos energy]
“Ooh, you never noticed how buff I was? Oh no, not my Babydoll flirting with me while we’re both delirious off of adrenaline.”
[You share a little kiss, at ease]
[<3]
“Hmhm, mwah. I do love kisses from you… But, ah, before we start acting like randy idiots, let me go ahead and put in a request for emergency rescue. I saw a bunch of people swimming for another part of the island, but I doubt everyone made it off the ship…”
[...]
[He stands with a sigh, running his hands through his hair]
“...I’ll make you a strong drink while I’m a it. Gotta take care of my Baby, eh?”
[Pause <3]
“I’d love a back rub when I get back, Sweetness. You hear any hissing or lizard sass, you know what to do.”
[Pause?]
[He tosses his head back and laughs]
“Godamn right! Aim for the throats and insult their ancestors!”
[With that, he heads off into what you presume is the kitchen. It’s not exactly how you saw your first vacation with your new boyfriend going but… fuck it, right? He beat up dinosaurs for you and he’s hot]
[To be continued?]
Note: The Only Thing Komodo Fear is Donnie.

DC Next Proudly Presents:
TOTALLY NOT DOOM PATROL
In: Tales from the (Totally Not) Doom Patrol
Issue Four: Tense Toiling Tale
Written by u/Geography3
Edited by u/AdamantAce
Previous Issue > Terrifically Tasty Tales
Next Issue > Coming Next Month
————————————————
Arani Desai was wracked. By pain, emotional turmoil, and agitation. She sat in a rickety chair that creaked with each rocking motion of her shaking body. She looked at the floor with the tense brow of someone on the verge of throwing up, although she couldn’t even tell if nausea was one of her current sensations. A cool breeze drifted in from the vents that did little to soothe her. It was the only comfort afforded to her, as the large glass panels making up one wall of the room didn’t allow for much natural temperature control. On the other side of the room, a locked door faced her. It only ever opened to invite her tormentors in.
Arani thumbed a scar left on her leg from a recent encounter. It was small, but scars like that trapped Arani not just in the house, but within her own body. They made her feel small, and she loathed the powerlessness. She stared at her hands. If she figured out the searing power within her, she could destroy everyone around her and never have to live this life again. The thought process was simple. She couldn’t take it anymore. She ran.
Sound grew harsh, then warbled as she jumped through the glass window and into the pool below. She had hit the window full force but miraculously only had minor cuts, the flimsy glass stinging her skin as it was exposed to chlorine. She was wearing light clothing, but she still felt weighted. She surfaced above water, and turned to see the blurred image of a guard jumping in the pool after her, like a brown smear on a canvas.
Arani propelled herself through her amateur swimming skills, trying to cross to the shallow end of the large pool. As the guard closed the distance, Arani slapped her hands towards him, splashing up water that froze into sharp ice. His face was hit by a wave that crashed into ice just before it reached him, disorienting him. Soon the ice began to spread, surrounding the man and encasing him in a shell of cold.
Arani scrambled to the top of the rapidly forming layer of ice that was replacing the pool. Only the guard’s head was exposed, the rest trapped in glacial agony. Seizing the opportunity, she kicked the man’s head repeatedly. Rage had overtaken her, and all she wanted was to burn it out of her. She was brought back to the real world by her senses, which told her that others were coming. She looked around and realized that the luxurious backyard space was still an extension of her cell. She needed to get off of her father’s land.
She climbed over the railing on the edge of the property, hoping to shimmy down one of the support beams that held the complex aloft over the forest floor. In her haste she made a misstep and clumsily fell, grasping out for branches that only whacked at her on her way down. She landed gracefully in a pile of leaves, now on the ground of the jungle. After a moment to regain her bearings, she was spurred onward by the sounds of armed men swarming above her. People were yelling and moving, their intentions to follow her clear. She stole into the jungle, running as fast as she could.
After some good distance was put between her and her pursuers, she came across a creek, an open wound in the earth. She slowed her pace to descend the minor slope into the creek, but it wasn’t slow enough as she walked straight into a trap. One fateful footfall triggered a large net to snatch her into a tree, sending her hanging like a loose tooth.
As she pressed against the coarse rope of the net, a familiar boil returned to her hands. Her touches fried the cables to a crisp, allowing her to begin to free herself from the impromptu prison. It probably wasn’t set up to catch her; more likely, she had entered a poacher’s range. Still, it was an obstacle, and she was almost clawing at the netting to escape it.
She was helped by gunfire that pierced certain weak spots, sending her tumbling to the ground. Her salvation quickly turned to doom, as five guards from her father’s estate surrounded her, guns smoking. Arani stood up and looked around, their faces familiar. One of them was an old good friend of hers from childhood, who grew up to perpetuate her father’s regime. He came up to her, his gun slung over his cocky chest.
“Easy, Arani. No one here wants to hurt you. We’re required to bring you back unharmed, so why don’t you just come peacefully, okay?” He approached her slowly.
Her response was spitting in his face. Enraged, he grabbed onto one of her wrists, slapping her across the face. After a moment, a devilish look crossed his face. “If you’re going to make this difficult, I deserve some compensation. Maybe we can have some fun before your dad locks you away forever…”
“Never,” Arani grunted as she swiftly grabbed the weapon hanging on his chest. She broke his grasp and switched their positioning, pointing the gun at his head. She faced the rest of the men with raised rifles, eyeing her hostage.
“Get lost, or I kill him,” Arani stated, adding after a few seconds of inaction, “Put your guns down!”
When the guards weren’t complying quick enough for her liking, Arani marched over to the creek, kicking her old friend to his knees. His protests were muffled as Arani dunked his head into the water, holding it there. “Lay down your weapons, now!”
The men slowly put down their weapons, Arani’s eyes flickering rapidly between them to make sure they wouldn’t make any sudden moves. By the time the last man had disarmed himself, Arani felt a disturbing lack of movement coming from her palm. She looked down, at the man face-down in the water, not moving. As the men took stock of what happened as well, their looks became furious. Not knowing what to do, Arani made a break for it, using a fallen tree to quickly traverse the creek.
Gunfire followed a few seconds after, forcing Arani to duck and weave. The heat of the jungle and the buzz of insects around her faded into white noise. She only heard her thudding heart, quick breaths, and feet falling beneath her. Bullets whizzed around her haphazardly, until one struck her in the leg. She tumbled down a small incline she was cresting, her only instincts to cover her head. At the bottom of the hill she became face to face with a large hollow tree laid across the ground. She scurried into the husk for shelter, hoping for refuge from her pursuers.
She sloughed her cloth jacket off. She took a look at her leg, a hole in the back leaking blood. With an amateur knowledge of survival medicine, she wrapped her jacket around her leg tight, trying to contain the bleeding somehow. It was uncomfortable, but the more pressing matter came as she heard the men shouting and surrounding the tree. Arani kept as still as possible, but through a hole in the top of the log she made eye contact. She was spotted.
She heard the men hypothesizing on where in the downed log she was as she scurried around, trying to arouse visual and sonic confusion. After a few moments of silence, she popped through a hole in the top. With the gun she had taken, she shot at random and then ducked back under the moss to avoid the returning counter fire, like a sick game of whack-a-mole. Through the opening she had crawled in she shot at one guard’s feet, landing a hit and sending him falling backwards.
The vessel then shook from the opposite direction, as Arani rolled around to see one crazed guard crawling inside the tight space to try and grab her. Swatting his hands away, Arani’s skin flooded with heat. A torrent of flame flew from her hands, scorching the man as the air filled with the stench of frying flesh. However, this action also compromised her haven, making it burn bright quickly. She burst through the fragile hollow, displacing a man who had stood on top of the log for a better vantage point. Flames quickly spread and she ran through them, using the smoke as cover from gunfire.
The terrain sloped back upwards, Arani having reached the other side of the squished valley. As she struggled up the hill, Arani found herself next to a large tree whose branches reached out to her. She hoisted herself into the tree’s arms, climbing upwards to hopefully avoid the men. She hopped from branch to branch, swinging around the tops of the heavily forested area. She watched as the three remaining armsmen gathered below her. They shouted insults at each other as they disagreed over where she could be.
As Arani leaned back against a tree trunk to hide, a flimsy branch she was resting her arm on snapped and clattered to the ground. Her position was compromised. The men shot into the trees, and Arani got the sense that they no longer cared about her making it back alive. Luckily they had a poor idea of where she was, and Arani narrowly avoided being hit as she jumped to another treetop.
Having found a new vantage point, she had a good look at those below. She breathed into her hands, cupping a chill gasp. The frost coalesced into three daggers of ice, stinging her hands. Hurriedly she threw the daggers downwards, hoping to hit each of the men. Her aim was off, and they all plunked into one man. One in his shoulder, one slicing past his neck, one splitting his eye socket open. Seeing his comrade’s body fall, another guard began to climb upwards to get to Arani directly.
Amidst the desperate rustling and dizzying height, Arani lost track of the man. He got the jump on her, tackling her carelessly. They both careened towards the ground. Luckily for Arani, the man’s reckless comrade shot at the falling pair, hitting Arani’s attacker in the back. This allowed Arani to shift their positions so the man was below her, using his body to break her fall as they thudded to the ground. Arani shook to her feet. Her and the final man stared at each other in a silent standoff. The silence was pierced by the man receiving a phone call, giving Arani the distraction needed to run off. The man lightly jogged after her as he took the call, no doubt from her father.
As she ran on, Arani heard the sounds of civilization. Beeps, honks, whirring wheels. She found herself on the edge of the wilderness facing a busy road, a highway to the dockyards that might hold the key to freedom. There was a resting bike on the other side of the highway, one that Arani could hijack. As she strategized how to cross the roiling sea of vehicles, she saw the last guard approaching behind her. She ran.
Horns blared at her as she made her way perilously. The woman stopped and started, the cars stopped and started, the man stopped and started. All parties, willing and unwilling, engaged in a deadly dance. They played a dangerous game of chicken, where Arani would dash past a car just in time for it to block the man’s path. Arani’s foot caught a rock. She stumbled into the path of a truck. She flattened herself against the ground. She survived. She got up. Right into the grinning face of her tormentor. He grabbed her. But he wasn’t paying attention. A car slammed right into him, sending him flying across the asphalt.
Arani miraculously made it to the other side, ignoring the chaos behind her. Her mind blanked out as she rode towards the dockyard, a place she often went as a child. She was surprised how much she still remembered the route. Sweating and panting, she let her stolen vehicle clatter against the ground as she took sight of a boat, waiting and ready to take her to freedom. She could sneak aboard with the cargo without notice, she was sure of it. There was a loading bridge set up, and no one was around. She ran.
But then she heard vehicles pull up behind her, and the slam of closing doors. And she heard her father’s deep, commanding voice, ordering her to “Stop!” She complied, stopping dead in her tracks. Arani turned around, seeing her father flanked by two men in suits holding pistols. Her father wore a business casual outfit as if he had just stepped off of a yacht. A scarf wrapped around his neck, and Arani wished she could run up and tighten it.
Instead, she blasted ice at the two men’s hands, but in her panic it only manifested as misty snow. Arani ran and hid among the various elements of the dockyard, weaving around crates. She raced towards the bridge that would help her further hide among the cargo. As she stepped onto the bridge, she felt strong hands grab her by the ponytail, yanking her back.
“Little girl,” Ashok Desai glared at his daughter, forcing her to look at him. “You have caused me much trouble.”
Arani was too tired for any clever response. She looked back at him. An exhausted but still defiant look was in her eyes. Her expression communicated, ‘Yeah, and…?’
Ashok sighed deeply. “For years I tolerate your evil, and then I have to grapple with your demonic powers that back up your evil. And this is the thanks I get? You should be glad I didn’t bash your head in with a rock as an infant. Why I don’t do that now, gods know…”
“You’ve made enough of a public mess. It’s time to come home. You have to face the consequences of your actions, little girl,” Ashok tried to pull Arani, but she stood firm.
It was time to burn the bridge - literally. She tensed for a moment as pain rocked through her body. All the uses of her powers that day made her feel like a tingling husk, and this was the most taxing yet. She cried out in pain and rage as a wave of fire erupted from within her. Its force set her father ablaze, his screams filling the air as he grabbed at his already scarring face. He toppled into the water, steam rising as he plunged under.
Arani climbed aboard, watching as the two goons scrambled to help their suffering leader. They now had more pressing matters than stopping her. She hid among some of the crates, finding a nook that kept her hidden and allowed her to rest her head for a moment. Sleep didn’t come easy despite her exhaustion. Hours later when she felt and heard the ship moving around her, the soft rocking of the ocean lulled her to sleep. It had been bloody, but she had fought for her independence and made it out to the other side. She would see another day - and perhaps even become alive within it.
——————————————
What Arani really shared with the others was, “Actually. I grew up in India. My dad is evil. That’s all you really need to know.”
NEXT: What The Hole?!

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Marvel Comics! Here’s options for downloading or watching Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse streaming the full movie online for free on 123movies & Reddit,1movies, 9movies, and yes movies, including where to watch the anticipated anime movie at home. Is Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse available to stream? Is watching Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse on Disney Plus, HBO Max, Netflix, or Amazon Prime? Yes, we have found an authentic streaming option / service.
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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's Locking Up) was one of the most awaited fantasy adventure anime by director Makoto Shinkai. Nanoka Hara was chosen to be the voice of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse with an open audition. The novel adaptation of this movie was written by the director Makoto Shinkai himself which was released on August 24, 2022.
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After the much-deserved popularity of his earlier projects, fans eagerly awaited the return of the maestro. To the delight of many, 2022 saw the limited release of the much-anticipated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse [known as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in Japan], Shinkai’s latest creation. Makato Shinkai developed the concept for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse while touring Japan to give speeches about his previous works. On his tour, he noticed that more locations were becoming vacant or abandoned due to Japan's aging population and dropping birth rate. From there, Shinkai had the idea to write a story about "mourning deserted places." As a result, the film inevitably turned into a road movie about visiting places.
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As Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse makes its way to North America, fans across the globe will be able to check out the film for themselves. Here’s everything you need to know about Makoto Shinkai’s next film, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Release Date
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse first premiered in Japan on Jun 2, 2023 and since then has sold millions of tickets in Japan alone. The online release date of this dark fantasy anime is not yet known but it was reported that it will be distributed by Crunchyrolls in the earlier months of 2023.
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The film premiered in North America at the New York International Children's Film Festival on March 5. The movie finally has a US release date, hitting theaters on April 14, 2023. In theaters across the US, an English dub will be screened along with the original Japanese version.
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Is Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) Streaming or in Theaters?
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was only released theatrically due to its huge success. The studio did not want to divert the revenue.
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The global distribution rights of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse have been bought by Crunchyroll excluding Asia where Crunchyroll will be partnered with Sony. It was reported that distribution of this dark fantasy anime will begin in the early months of 2023. Date of Suzumi's online release is yet to be given by the Crunchyrolls.
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Otherwise, you’ll just have to wait for it to become available to rent or purchase on digital platforms like Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Apple, or become available to stream on Crunchyrolls.
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Is Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse available on Crunchyroll for streaming?
No, it is currently not available for streaming on Crunchyroll or on any streaming platform.
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That being said, the film is being distributed internationally by Crunchyroll and Sony, and they were responsible for bringing the movie to theaters. The movie saw its theatrical worldwide release in April 2023, but fans still have to wait for streaming it online.
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Since Crunchyroll holds the rights to the anime and currently has the Demon Slayer: To The Swordsmith Village anime series available for streaming, it is believed that the movie as well will eventually find itself on the platform. However, Crunchyroll is yet to give any official confirmation or details regarding the specifics, making the fans restless.
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It will not be available on any streaming platform, nor will it be available to rent or buy via any digital or VOD service.
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Is The Pope’s Exorcist Available on Streaming?
There’s no word on the streaming release of The Pope’s Exorcist yet. As of now, the film is slated for only a theatrical release. So, if you are expecting to watch it on your couch hiding behind your pillow, then you might have to postpone that plan and head to the theaters. However, since this film is a Sony production, it falls under the production company’s deal with Netflix, where all theatrical releases by Sony Pictures end up on Netflix a few months after the premiere. So, The Pope’s Exorcist might also follow suit. So, stay tuned for the latest update/s on the streaming release of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
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Presently, there’s no news on the VOD release of The Pope’s Exorcist. Neither is there any update on the physical media release of the film. The only available option to watch this movie is to head to your local theaters.
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Where To Watch Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Online:
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Otherwise, you’ll just have to wait for it to become available to rent or purchase on digital platforms like Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Apple, or become available to stream on Netflix.
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Will Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Be On Netflix?
Let’s start with the United States, where we know for a fact that the movie will drop on the service and likely by the end of 2023. Thus far, we’ve seen movies drop from Sony onto Netflix US anywhere between 120-225 days following its exclusive theatrical window.
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Assuming the same happens here again, The Pope’s Exorcist, at the earliest, will hit Netflix US on August 12th, 2023. If the worst comes to pass, the movie won’t hit until September 2023. Once arriving on Netflix, The Pope’s Exorcist will stream for 18 months.
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Will Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Be On HBO Max?
No, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is not on HBO Max since it’s not a Warner Bros. movie. Last year, the company released its films in theaters and on the streamer on the same day. However, they now allow a 45-day window between the theatrical release and the streaming release.
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Viewers are saying that they want to view the new horror movie Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse on Hulu. Unfortunately, this is not possible since Hulu currently does not offer any of the free episodes of this series streaming at this time. It will be exclusive to the MTV channel, which you get by subscribing to cable or satellite TV services. You will not be able to watch it on Hulu or any other free streaming service.
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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Movies Cast and Characters
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was written by the director Makoto Shinkai himself and stars the following actors:

Hi folks: I'm a relative newbie to Forms.
Is there a way to re-start numbering the questions in Forms? The first part of the form I'm developing is basic demographic information; I don't really care whether those are numbered, or how. But when I get into the meat of the questionnaire I'd like that part to start with number 1. So can I get Section 3 to begin with Question 1?
Also, there appears to be a character limit in the subtitle area, which appears to be the only place where I can add directions for each section. Is there a better solution than typing the directions into a Word file, then screen-shotting that and uploading the image?

2nd Corinthians   Chapter Twelve  

Visions and revelations
[verses 1-10]  

...
-2. I am acquainted with [מכיר, MahKeeYR] a man in Anointed, that, before fourteen years, was taken [נלקח, NeeLQahH] unto the firmament [הרקיע, HahRahQeeY`ah] the third;
I do not [אנני, ’ahNehNeeY] know if in his body or from out to his body; the Gods knows.  

“As verse seven shows, Paul was the ‘man in Christ’ … because they are not his own achievement, he chooses to refer to them in this indirect way … since ancient Jewish writings varied the number of heavens pictured (three and seven were the most usual suggestions, we cannot be sure; it generally means the place of the blessed, or the state of separate spirits.” (Adam Clarke, 1831, VI p. 352)  
“The Jews talk of seven heavens: and Mohammed has received the same from them; but these are not only fabulous but absurd. I shall enumerate those of the Jews. 1. The velum or curtain, וילון [VeeYLON], ‘which in the morning is folded up; and in the evening stretched out.’ Isai. [Isaiah] xi.22 ‘He stretched out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in. 2. The firmament, or expanse, רקיע [RahQeeYah*], ‘in which the sun, moon, stars and constellations are fixed.’ Gen. [Genesis] 1:17 ‘And God placed them in the firmament of heaven. 3. The clouds, or ether, שחקים [*ShahHahQeeYM*], ‘where the millstones are which grind the manna for the righteous,’ Psal. [Psalm] lxxviii.23, ‘though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven; and had rained down manna.’ 5. The dwelling place, מעון [*MahON], ‘where the troops of angels sing throughout the night, but are silent in the day time, because of the glory of the Israelites’ … 6. The fixed residence, מכון [MahKhON], ‘where are the treasures of snow and hail; the repository of noxious dews, of drops and whirlwind; the grotto of exhalations’ … 7. The Araboth, ערבות, ['ahRahBOTh], ‘where are justice, judgment, mercy, the treasures of life; peace and blessedness; the souls of the righteous which are reserved for the bodies yet to formed; and the dew by which God is to vivify the dead … Psal. lxvii.4 “Extol him who riddeth on the heavens בערבות ba-araboth, by his name Jah.  
All this is sufficiently unphilosophical and in several cases ridiculous.  
In the Sacred Writings, three heavens only are mentioned, the first is the atmosphere, what appears to be intended by רקיע rakia, the firmament or expansion, Gen. 1.6. The second is the starry heaven; where are the sun, moon, planets, and stars, but these two are often expressed in the one term שמים [ShahMahYeeM, “skies”] shamayim, the two heavens, or expansion; and in Gen. 1.17 they appear to be both expressed by רקיע השמים, rakia hashamayim, the firmament of heaven. And, thirdly, the place of the blessed, or the throne of the divine glory probably expressed by the words שמים השמים shamayim hashamayim; the heaven of heavens.  
Much more may be seen in Schoetgen, who has exhausted the subject; and who has shown that ascending to heaven, or being caught up to heaven, is a form of speech among the Jewish writers, to express the highest degree of inspiration.” (Adam Clarke, 1831, VI pp. 351-352)  

-3. I know a man like this - I do not know if in his body or from out to his body, God knows - 4. that was taken unto Garden of ’ayDehN [“Lord”, Eden],  

“The Jewish writers have no less than four paradises: as they have seven heavens … The Mohammedans call it جنت الفردوس jennet alferdos, the garden of paradise: and say that God created it out of light, and that it is the habitation of the prophets and wise men.  
Among Christian writers, it generally means the place of the blessed; or the state of separate spirits. Whether the third heaven and paradise be the same place we cannot absolutely say; they probably are not.” (Adam Clarke, 1831) VI p. 352  

and heard words [מילים, MeeLeeYM] that are not to be spoken [לבטאן, LeBahT’ahN], that are forbidden to ’ahDahM to word [למללן, LeMahLeLahN].  

“The Jews thought, that the divine name, the Tetragrammaton יהוה Yehovah, should not be uttered; and that it is absolutely unlawful to pronounce it; indeed they say that the true pronunciation is utterly lost, and cannot be recovered without express revelation. Not one of them, to the present day, ever attempts to utter it; and when they meet with it in their reading, always supply its place with אדני [’ahDoNah-eeY, “My Lords”] Adonai, Lord.” ((Adam Clarke, 1831, VI p. 352)  

...
-7. And in order [וכדי, OoKheDaY] that I not be lifted [אתנשא, ’ehThNahSay’] because of [בגלל, BeeGLahL] the revelations the ascending, was given to me a thorn [קוץ, QOTs] in my flesh – a messenger of the Adversary [Satan] – to smite me [להכותני, LeHahKOThayNeeY], in order that I not be lifted.  

“What must he have suffered on account of an eminent Church being perverted and torn to pieces by a false teacher?” … Satan, the adversary of God’s truth, sent a man to preach lies … and turn the Church of God into his own synagogue.” (Adam Clarke, 1831, VI p. 353)  

-8. Upon that I implored [התחננתי, HeeThHahNahNTheeY] three times unto the Lord to remove him [להסירו, LahHahÇeeYRO] from me.  

“‘I besought the Lord’ That is, Christ, as the next verse absolutely proves: and the Socinians^v themselves confess. And if Christ be an object of prayer, in it is a sure proof of his divinity; for only an omniscient being can be made an object of prayer. (Adam Clarke, 1831, VI p. 353)  

...  

…………………………………………………  
Worry of the sent-forth [Apostle] to Corinthians [verses 11 to end of chapter]  

…
-12. Lo, signs of the acquaintance of the sent-forth were done in your midst [בקרבכם, BeQeeRBeKhehM], in his full [במלוא, BeeMeLo’] forbearance, in signs, and in wonders [ובמופתים, OoBeMOPhTheeYM], and braveries.  

“The study of the N.T. [New Testament] miracles may best begin with this passage, Rom. [Romans] 15:19, and Gal. [Galatians] 3:5. Writing to churches that would have challenged him had he falsified the facts, Paul refers unhesitatingly, to such miracles; he knows that even his enemies cannot deny their occurrence … Moreover this verse implies clearly that other true apostles were doing similar mighty works.” (Filson, 1953, X. 411)  

...
-15. And I in happiness give also [את, ’ehTh (indicator of direct object; no English equivalent)] what that have to me, and also [את, ’ehTh] myself to sake of your souls.
If I love you in measure [במידה, BeMeeYDaH] more [יתרה, YeThayRaH] will you love me in measure less [פחותה, PeHOoThaH]?”  

“If I be asked, ‘Should Christian parents lay up money for their children?’ I answer – It is the duty of every parent, who can, to lay up what is necessary to put every child in a condition to earn its bread. If he neglect this, he undoubtedly sins against God and nature. ‘But should not a man lay up besides this, a fortune for his children, if he can honestly?’ I answer, Yes, if there be no poor within his reach: no good work which he can assist; no heathen region on the earth to which he can contribute to send the Gospel of Jesus; but not otherwise. God shows, in the course of his providence, that this laying up of fortunes for children is not right; for there is scarcely ever a case where money has been saved up to make the children independent, and gentlemen, in which God has not cursed the blessing. It was saved from the poor; from the ignorant; from the cause of God; and the canker of his displeasure consumed this ill saved property.” (Adam Clarke, 1831, VI p. 355)  
“From St. Paul we receive two remarkable sayings of our Lord, which are of infinite value to the welfare and salvation of man; which are properly parts of the Gospel but are not mentioned by any evangelist… The first is in Acts xx.25 ‘I have showed you the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, “it is more blessed to give than to receive”’… the second is recorded in the ninth verse of this chapter, ‘He said unto me, “My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”’… of these two most blessed sayings, St. Paul is the only evangelist.” (Adam Clarke, 1831, p. 356)

...   FOOTNOTES   [v] Socinianism is a form of Antitrinitarianism, named for Laelius Socinus (died 1562 in Zürich) … one of the founders of a religious society that had to operate secretly in order to avoid persecution. In 1574 the Socinians, who referred to themselves as Unitarians, issued a "Catechism of the Unitarians," in which they laid out their views of the nature and perfection of the Godhead, as well as other principles of their group.  
The group became more widely known in Poland and began to prosper, opening colleges and publishing literature, until 1638, when the Socinians were banished from Poland by the Catholics.  
Socinians held views rooted in rationality only and rejected orthodox teachings on the Trinity and on the divinity of Jesus, as summarised in the Racovian Catechism. They also believed that God's omniscience was limited to what was a necessary truth in the future (what would definitely happen), and did not apply to what was a contingent truth (what might happen). They believed that, if God knew every possible future, human free will was impossible; and as such rejected the "hard" view of omniscience. They are to be differentiated from Arians, who believed in a preexistent Christ. The Socinians held that the Son of God did not exist until he was born a man.  
The Socinians congregated especially in Transylvania, in Poland …and in the Netherlands. They were driven from their seat at Raków in 1643.  
Socinianism is considered to be an antecedent or early form of Unitarianism and the term is still used today to refer to the belief that Jesus did not preexist his life as a human.  
Note: In Christianity, Socinianism is also called Psilanthropism, the presumed etymology of "psilanthropism" stems from the Greek psilo (merely, only) and anthropos (man, human being).  
Psilanthropism was rejected by the ecumenical councils, especially in the First Council of Nicaea, which was convened to deal directly with this. Beliefs similar to those of Socinianism continue today in Christian groups such as the Christadelphians and the Church of the Blessed Hope.  
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  An Amateur's Journey Through the Bible

I'm re-watching Beyond the Headlines: The Watts Family Tragedy on Hulu. Maybe this has already been discussed. But I saw it in a new way this time.
One of the questions that bothered me was about CW taking Tammy's suggestion and running with it. As though he didn't think of that explanation, that "SW killed the girls so I did the same to her" until Tammy put it in his head. That's what I 'used' to think. After re-watching this documentary, I'm seeing something else.
Again, I'd thought he didn't think of that until Tammy suggested it. Bear with me as I explain where my rambling thoughts took me. And btw, there are interviews with Tammy, Rourke and some of her friends in this documentary.
Tammy asks "did she hurt the girls" then says "I had mentioned that maybe Shanann had done something to the girls and his eyes immediately lit up and I thought to myself 'this is the one he wants to go with' ..." in other words, she gave him a story he could use, to save face.
Except now because of this re-watch (and I hadn't heard Tammy say that before, about his eyes lighting up) I view it this way.
His eyes lit up, not because it's the story he wanted to go with but because his eyes lit up in surprise, shock, relief. He didn't think anyone would believe what really happened and when she spoke it out loud to him, his brain went 'omg, how does she know what really happened!? I need to tell my dad first!
Rourke says: "there was never a point in time where we thought she (NK) had a hand in what happened, she may have very well been the motive in the defendant's mind but she had no role." He says while shaking his head no.
Cut to NK being interviewed "this shocked me just as much as I think it shocked the rest of the world ... a lot of people are going to assume that I was the catalyst for his movement but why would you wipe out your family to be with me!?" I have so many reactions during her interview but when she said that with emphasis on ME, I thought 'confident much NK'!? And what does she mean by "his movement"? It seems reasonable that most people in her situation would say "why would he wipe out his family over an affair", if she had phrased it that way, she may have been viewed in a better light. (His movement??)
The documentary caption: "Watts continues to deny he killed his daughters" after that polygraph, while he's being walked to squad car. Tammy says "we didn't actually get to the actual truth that day."
But then, while he's walking into court, orange suit, handcuffed, the caption reads "facing the death penalty, Watts accepts a plea deal" (under caption, the news feed reads 'Triple murder suspect claims wife strangled kids'.) So, he denied killing his kids, LE didn't get to the real truth and CW had a movement (little levity there ;-).
In the beginning I viewed Tammy Lee as simply the polygrapher, as LE, as a player among several, she didn't stand out to me as to having an integral role (not counting the polygraph). But she enjoys her '15 minutes' in this documentary, even saying how afterwards 'everyone wanted to buy the cardigan I was wearing' as she smiles and laughs. (I'd thought she remained professional, non-judgmental but she takes full credit for her part, pats herself on the back, laughs a little, then tells of how she went home and cried, there's something disingenuous about her in this documentary.)
She then says "it was so important for us to get some closure for all of us, family, investigators, everyone involved ... we needed the truth to come out and we felt like we had left Chris with such a good rapport that we felt like he would talk to us again" so they went to Waupun, WI to 'interview' him again, secretly.
"We wanted to kinda talk to you a little bit more about everything." Cut to Rourke: 'he admitted to her he was having an affair'. CW: "she was like, I knew there was somebody else but then she said you're never going to see the kids again ... I told her I didn't love her anymore and that's when it happened."
"What happened?" (I think it's Coder) "She told me to get off her and I put my hands around her. I felt like time was standing still, I saw my life disappearing before my eyes but I couldn't let go."
On screen caption: In this interview, Chris Watts admits to killing Shanann, putting her body in his truck, then driving with the girls to the worksite, where he killed them too.
What I took away from this re-watch is how much importance Tammy put on his reaction, but we can't see his face bc his back is to the camera. But if you watch that part of the interview or this documentary, you'll see how CW quickly looks up when she gives him an out, per her, but I see relief, surprise. He may have thought, I don't have to say it, they already know. As to the WI interview, he still begins with his original confession of how he killed her and why. The documentary doesn't go farther into that interview but we know he tells them he killed the girls too. Why? If he was relieved they knew then why did he tell them he did all of it? Guilt, pressure, inevitability, all of the above or something else? He not only denied killing the kids but LE agreed they didn't get the whole truth and what do they do about that, even though he took that plea in court? They go to him again to have his 'confession recorded' bc they dropped the ball somewhere but I'm still trying to figure out what they needed to cover themselves.
Sorry, this is so rambling, I watched last night and today I'm attempting to put my thoughts in order, so anyone needing to point out my mistakes, feel free!

They were supposed to be safe, Rickard was a warrior in the company of other warriors, his wife innocent, their girls doubly so, but the savages had cared none. It didn’t give Lucamore any comfort knowing that his son had died defending his wife and daughters, that it’d taken three at once to strike down his eldest son, but the attack’s sole survivor had told him anyway. He’d expected Bethany Dustin and her daughters to be stolen by the Wildlings, held as hostages, or worse as prizes, but no, their heads had been put on spears like all the others.
The anger burned in his heart whilst the sorrow tried to drown his lungs, but the worst of it all was the twisting guilt in his stomach. The Warden of the North had nearly ignored his wife, nearly chosen to simply call his banners and march without sending the king more than a raven, but she had been right. This was something he had to do himself, to prevent misunderstandings if nothing else. Jon would ready the men, his new heir was capable and wise, it was the fair-haired lad on the horse next to his own that worried Lucamore.
Theomore was usually more talkative, he’d wanted to return south as long as Lucamore could remember, but his flippant attitude and self-indulgent behaviors had been absent this trip. He’d scarcely drank, never once had the boy slunk off with some whore, he’d only sat around the fire honing a blade. Theomore had never taken his duty seriously, thinking himself too far down the line of succession to warrant taking any responsibility, and had driven a wedge between father and son because of it.
But now, Lucamore almost missed the unserious boy, with his sly smiles and sharp tongue, the stranger in his place worried him. Lucamore could handle a wolf that too often indulged his impulses, such could be fixed with time and age, but a rabid wolf was something else. The father let his gaze linger on his son for a moment more, then turned his eyes back to the road as the spires of the Red Keep continued to rise as they drew nearer.
He was not eager to converse with the king born to a usurper’s line, one that according to rumor and hearsay had a grip on reality that was slowly slipping. But the dances were done, and with a few generations more they would be all but forgotten. Lucamore would stomach it all, for his son, for his granddaughters. If the Olds Gods had any mercy left for him, he’d never have to come south again.
But his Gods were not known for mercy.
—————
Theo let his eyes linger on the Red Keep’s rising towers on the horizon as the sun began to set behind them, the orange glow of sunset shining between them as the day began to die. The last time he’d been so far away from home, it’d been in search of adventure, not of war. But last time he’d had two sweet nieces, one just beginning to use words much to the pride of her father, his eldest brother, and now he had none of them.
As his mare trotted beneath him, he thought of the little girls who’d sat at his knee and begged for their uncle to tell them more stories with wide eyes, and then of their fate. Children’s heads on spikes alongside their parents, it was despicable, it was vile, it was savage. He’d always been the one to smile, the one to laugh, it had been for his brothers and sister to carry the grim seriousness of the North.
But it was different now.
He still wasn’t like them, wasn’t right, where Jon and Gilliane had taken the news with faces of stone and words of ice, Theomore had been the opposite. They were subdued, mournful, cold, but he was not sorrowful, he was angry.
His father had never said it, but Theomore knew it all the same; he’d been taken south to stop him from striking out on his own, not because of his ‘familiarity’ with the warmer half of Westeros. But even Lucamore Stark could not keep him forever.

(Referring to Sweet Dee from IASIP)
She starts off as the intelligent one. The one most likely to function outside the gang. Has her own career and goals. Has romantic ideals about love, etc. Optimistic future. A very normal person in comparison to the others.
Then we sort of see that she's delusional in almost every area.
Abuses the men in her life because she thinks she's a trophy wife material.
Racist and misogynist rich dad who spoiled her but also neglected her in favor of "chosen one" son who is equally but differently incompetent and ill suited for the real world.
Increasingly makes worse and worse decisions that come back to bite her almost immediately as all the s1 intelligence sort of gets erased.
Ceases to function in the real world and is immediately absorbed in the gang's idiocy and immorality. Gradually becomes even more bizarre and unhinged than they are to the point where they are often confused as to what she'll do to disrupt whatever scheme they're running. The wildest card among the wildcards.
Vocally progressive in words when she's trying to go high horse over the others but will abandon all morals for any reason that suits her. "Female misogynist" steadily becomes her most consistent trait.
Always hanging out with the gang because she likes being the sole girl in the boys club but also deeply hates and resents the boys in the club and will betray them for a handful of chips.
The whole final season - divorcing the husband she's been gaslighting, making her Big Play For Success, failing, crawling back to the husband over the bridge she just burned down in hopes they just magically get over everything they said and did only 5 minutes ago - I feel like that's pure 100% Sweet Dee self-sabotage except with less hysterical screaming and stretched to fill 10 episodes instead of 20 minutes.
Forty episodes isn't a lot of time for flanderization, but her persistent downward spiral just made me think about it because it felt so familiar. Like I'd seen it on loop before but I couldn't place where exactly and then I just saw Kaitlyn Olson in a YT clip and it clicked "Oh, she's Sweet Dee."
Sweet Dee's antics are still somewhat funny and it's kinda amusing seeing her schemes backfire but with Shiv it's just sort of sad. Like when she's talking to Mattson in the finale, gleefully throwing her brothers and Tom under the boss and the audience can see him actively thinking, "Okay, nope," but she can't read a room and has zero awareness of how it's coming off... It was so cringe, I started wondering exactly when she became this out of touch with reality when she was the most in touch in the beginning.
They have multiple characters voice that she's not qualified... Kendall has to explain to her how Mattson isn't on board and she's pure Pikachu face like it hasn't occured to her at all. Kendall's not supposed to be explaining reality to anyone, least of all Shiv. I haven't rewatched the show but wasn't she competent at her job? She got that on her own without Logan pulling strings. She did political science or something? Communications? A rhetoric class at least. Even Greg can read Mattson and Greg is the "so it be" guy. Mattson wasn't being subtle.
That was Sweet Dee levels of second hand embarrassment.
I remember S1 Shiv as being the smartest, most independent sibling by a mile, and by the end, she's voluntarily signing up for a barefoot and pregnant storyline. There was no need to have her be pregnant and falling down in S4. It's not done for slapstick laughs like with Dee, but that's still so much Sweet Dee-ness.
Wasn't even a Shiv fan, but I feel like it was sort of baffling to double down this hard and play it for tragedy instead of comedy. I mean, she didn't step on a garden rake but she might as well have.
Well, anyway. I'm not a superfan. Not gonna rewatch. I just like character archetypes and "failed girlboss" is uncommon imo. I guess I just wanted someone to confirm that Shiv devolved over the 4 seasons since I don't clearly remember s1. I just remember Tern Haven in S2 as the first step in her descent.

***I think Ryan and Katie had great energy with each other in this episode so give it a listen if you have time or want to!
Beginning Chit Chat with Katie - Ryan wanted to interview Katie before even Scandoval broke the world - Katie wasn’t scared going into season 10 and she thought her and Schwartz were in a good place - Katie said that her and Tom really wanted to be friends because they were on a show together, they have the dogs, and the same friends. There was also still a lot of love between them - Katie said that with her and Schwartz relationship, she was aware that he was the likeable one but the internalized misogyny became very apparent to Katie later on - Katie thinks women have impossible standards put on them. When women are assertive and Ryan said and when woman speak their mind they almost get punished for it. - Katie says people have “himpathy” meaning empathy for only the men
How sick of Scandoval is she or is she getting sick of all the heat that is coming at the show right now? - Katie said she wouldn’t say she is getting sick of it. There are certain theories she is sick of hearing - To her it’s still fascinating that people are still fascinated about it
Katie and Raquel - Ryan talked about how Katie was expressing her feelings about her divorce and Raquel was like, “I still wanna make out with Tom.” - Katie said that was a difficult moment because the audacity and she thought Raquel understood. - After a conversation with herself, Katie and Lala, Lala left and Katie and Raquel shared an Uber home and she thought they had a bonding moment and a breakthrough moment - Katie said that not everyone can know what she was going through because she didn’t share everything or would tell everybody everything. She was already talking about all the stuff she was going through in therapy and didn’t want to have to keep repeating it. - Ryan and Katie don’t see how Raquel’s processes information - It was weird that Raquel got in Katie’s face when Katie and Schwartz were in the sur back alley because Katie told Raquel that she was done with her and that the conversation was over - And then Schwartz and Raquel started to having a jokey moment and Katie was like you got to be fucking kidding me - She said the joke between them was that there was absolutely nothing going on between them but Katie didn’t realize that there was something else entirely different going on (aka Sandoval and raquel)
Season 11 - Katie isn’t thinking about expectations going into season 11 and just always tries to be true to herself. The best thing she can do is authentically be herself
Katie saying her standard for friendships - Ryan discussed how Schwartz at the reunion got all upset when Katie said she needs honesty, respect, and integrity and Ryan laughed about that - And Katie was like yeah these are my standards for a friendship
Katie’s mom Teri - Teri checks in on Ryan - Katie wasn’t surprised people love her mom because she is the best - They talked about how the show didn’t show the whole fight between Katie, Raquel, and Teri’s mom. They didn’t show how intense it got with Sandoval getting into Teri’s face. - Katie said maybe they didn’t show all of that due to time but she wish they would have
New goals that Katie has for herself for the next 10 years - Katie said that no one goes into a marriage expecting a divorce - She wants happiness and to put herself first. She is excited that anything can happen - She has bigger goals for the sandwich shop like having multiple locations
Something about her - something about her now has a Tik tok - They were hoping to open at the end of May. But they will be open this summer. The design and build will be done by end of May
Ken Todd - When Ken came in and talked about Sandoval and Raquel, Katie was like, “is this for real? Are you just starting a rumor.” - And then Lisa was like oh no this happened. - Katie said that Ken’s humor is dry
Everything being fake - Katie said it does bother when people say Scandoval is all fake because it diminishes people’s real feelings and their lives
After the show wrapped - Again she noticed some things like Raquel going to one of Sandoval’s show and not telling anyone but again there was no hardcore evidence - Right before the news broke, Katie was supposed to go to WWHL but production put a pause on that, instead had Lisa do it, and didn’t tell Katie at first why she had to stay in LA - Katie started to think about what it could be about and thought it possibly could be about Sandoval and Raquel because of her suspicions but still didn’t learn about what happened until the Friday the news broke and they started filming that day.
Scheana and Katie - Scheana said she is going to do some behavioral modifications and Katie is giving her the benefit of the doubt there
James Kennedy - Ryan was so surprised that we all saw the day where Katie went to James apartment - Katie has seen growth with James
Jo - Katie text Kristen when she found out about Schwartz and Jo living together and asked Kristen if she knew - Kristen had no idea so tried to get a hold of Jo, and Jo would not answer her and Kristen and Jo had hung out like a week or so prior to that which was weird for them because usually they spoke every day but Jo was going through something. But it didn’t make sense why Jo didn’t ask to move in with Kristen if she needed help
Trusting people - Katie said she doesn’t find it hard trusting people because she feels like she is a good judge of someone’s character. She said she can get a read on people right away
Lisa at the reunion - Katie was a little bit frustrated with Lisa. She gets trying to be diplomatic and protective of them because they are business partners but Katie thought this was not the time for that
The big reveal - Katie said with the whole big revelation, she thinks it was worded in a way that there is going to be some new information that is going to come out of the one on ones that they aren’t aware of that might change peoples perspectives or point of view - But Katie doesn’t know and she doesn’t know what could be so scandalous that this is going to rock their world - She doesn’t think that is so horrible but it is something that will leave a bad taste in people’s mouth. They think people are running wild with this.
Tom getting upset about Glamour magazine talking about his white nail polish - Katie and Ryan said he is getting upset at the wrong things
Random information - Katie is watching succession and the new season of the ultimatum - She is listening to a lot of screamo emo from back in the day
Past cast coming back - She does think it would be an interesting time to bring back people if it would work - She does think they need new additions with the cast, they need some fresh blood.
Podcast - Katie and Dayna (from season 8) are working on developing a podcast together

Are you gonna roleplay a character with a specific background story or are you just gonna jump in and go with the flow?
Since the d&d experience BG3 will offer us seems mechanically unprecedented for, I hope it'll be also on a mere level of character interpretation and roleplay.
I'm curious to know your Tav's stories, if any.
Here's a couple of concepts I'm considering for my first run (I'll go into details a bit):
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• Callya. Human, cleric of Bhaal. A young woman born in a family of cultists, her father was the city guard captain of a small Amn village. Her grandfather's family was tortured and slayed during the siege of Murann. Ogres and orcs slaughtered her grandpa's family and at that cost he managed to flee the siege. Swearing revenge for what he suffered, it was that lucky to meet a Bhaal cultists cell that managed to convey his anger into the practice and worship of murder. With Bhaal's dogmas is how he then raised his son, Callya's father. Settling up in a small village and working in the city guard, he eventually got promoted to lead it. When Callya was 18, she joined the guard too and also took the first steps to become a sworn priestess of Bhaal, following the murderous advice of the cell her family was in contact with. Callya grown up considering murder as a form of art and committed her first one before the Day's Farewell ritual, she washed her hands in a bowl of blood and proceeded to sacrifice the poor man that was abducted. There she felt for the first time the pleasure of committing homicide, she fell in a sort of trance and the cultists around her, sociopaths and not-so-smart hopeless people, considered that as a proof of divine intervention and started revered her as someone directly being under the influence of the God. From then on she would begin her path to become a cleric. Working as a city guard in a small village, it was also quite easy to find new sacrifices every ten day, be it arresting innocent people with false accuses, or even real criminals at times. Blood-hungry, if it wasn't a trivial tavern brawl in which she could slay a drunk or two, it was by planting false evidence and lead some innocent to the gallows. In any case, it was for Bhaal. Callya's intellectual and emotional horizons don't go any farther than her family teachings, the cultist cell chaotic efforts and Bhaal's dogmas. Growing rather aseptic and apathetic, murder and its ritual forms are the only things that excite her anyhow. One day, the cultist cell leader demanded for a unusual sacrifice; yet revered as a young priestess, she still had to prove herself and raise through the ranks, so for whatever reason in their contorted mind, they asked her to sacrifice her cat. There for the first time flickered a glimpse of moral compassion, and Callya refused to that, her pet being the only actual relationship she ever had outside the cult of Bhaal, and probably her only friend, if only had known the meaning of such a word. Things got tense with her family and the cell and at one point it was made clear she had no choice. Not knowing what to do, she decided to flee the village. She wandered for a while until someday, somehow, she was abducted.

(Fun fact: I tried this concept in BG1 once. As per Bhaal's dogma you should murder someone at least every 10 day, so I started murdering NPCs in the wilderness of the first areas. The game then became totally unplayable as Flaming Fist officers would spawn every city transition, slaying my party. I'm actually excited to try this on BG3, as in roleplaying a Bhaal cultist and see where the game will bring her. It's a rather simple character with a banal story, I hypocritically put some don't hurt animals in a murderous sociopath for I just liked the dissonance, and it adds a bit of depth/possibilities also for future in-game interactions. Or even redemption, who knows. I actually wanted to roleplay a cleric of Cyric I used in many roleplay settings, but sadly we can't pick Cyric as divinity, and I like to follow what the game offers.)
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• Dynnara Do'Unna, Lolth-sworn monk from Menzoberranzan. Born in a minor house desperately willing to rise and win the Goddess favor, the family matron along with her sisters decided that Dynnara had no talent and was a threat and an obstacle, for they believed she could never gain Lolth's favor and decided to sacrifice her, hoping that the Spider Queen would notice their faithful acts. They sent her on a suicide mission in the Underdark, Dynnara being a young drow and newly sworn cleric, unaware of the plot behind her back and willing to show herself, went on cluelessly. She wandered a bit, the party she was with was slaughtered in a rather short time and at that point she decided to flee. That's when probably Lolth abandoned her and Dynnara lost her priestess powers. But it seems the Spider Queen decided not to take the sacrifice anyhow and Dynnara didn't die that day. Perhaps it was just a matter of time, like a trapped mouse, but somehow, with no spells and no equipment, she began to learn how to defend herself anew, with her bare hands. She reached the surface, leaving the treacherous Underdark behind. There she ended up being abducted in a rather short time, eventually ending up in a Illithid pod. Before the adventure begins, Dynnara understood she was sent to her own end by her family, despite losing her clerical feats, she still hasn't lost her faith in Lolth nonetheless, being sure she could regain her favor and take revenge over her mother and sisters. She's sure it's Lolth who saved her from her fate, and that the Spider Queen somewhere is amused watching the entertaining possibilities of her being still alive. Yet in a Illithid pod.

(I'll probably go for this as a first run. I've always liked unusual choices, and a female drow monk surely is. I should probably go for warrior instead, but we'll see.)
I'm curious to read your stories and your characters!

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Hello and welcome, to the second task of Taskmaster (Reddit)! Your task is:
"Come up with a sandwich recipe that symbolises a person, place or event. You may use any type, amount and combination of bread, cheese, meat, vegetables, sauces, and condiments. Describe it in detail and be sure to note what you are symbolising at the end."
In 24 hours a new post will contain the next task and the top five upvoted comments from the previous task will then be judged and awarded points accordingly.
Good luck and your time begins when you've read your time starts now.
(Remember: All the information is on the task)
It's time to reveal the scores for our five contestants from the previous task. Let's just remind ourselves of the task.
Task: Invent a swear word and provide its definition and origin story.
In joint last place with ZERO points it's u/glasshomonculus with "Dildango" and u/kacey3 with "Fliz". As fun as they are to say, you did not provide an origin to your swear words and are DISQUALIFIED. Them's the breaks unfortunately!
We jump ahead now to third place with THREE points, it's u/ThisIsDrLeoSpaceman with "Cunny funt"! Says it all really, three points, BOSH!
And in second place with FOUR points, it's u/AcmeKat with "Equinefecal"! An excellent origin story.
And that leaves in first place with FIVE points, it's u/LennyComa with "Hopkins"! A word I truly hope gets popularised. Congratulations!
That's all five scores! Thank you to all the cunny funts that submitted their swears! Take part below for your chance to be crowned the Taskmaster (Reddit) champion.
If you have any suggestions for future tasks, be sure to leave me a message in my inbox, where they'll be swiftly deleted!

Hello. Actually he’s my ex now. We had been only a half year. Recently he dumped me suddenly without closure. So at this point, I’m trying to make my self understand what happened between us and if there’s anything I have to fix, I want to know. So I’d like to hear general opinion about this matter.
We met through dating app. in the early stage of relationship, I set boundary and he agreed with it. The boundary is “flirting or messaging, going out with girls (alone together) whom he met on dating app in the past (he fucked almost all girls met on app. He was changing those girls every 2 or 3 weeks and they are on his Instagram)
So one day, he randomly showed me some funny video so we were enjoying watching it. Then, he got message from a girl. I usually think “maybe she’s just his friend” and would not react. But this time, I asked about her cuz I saw he has received a lot of messages, reels from that girl a couple months ago (when his phone was randomly on the table I saw notifications) so I casually asked what kind of friend she is. Then he said “she is a girl met on dating app 2 years ago. And she has been texting me and sending me pictures everyday. I text her back but not every day” So for me, if woman is texting a guy everyday for more than 2 years ago, it means she has a thing. (Yup he ignored boundaries we set in the beginning of the relationship but my mind was kinda full to process what was happening). Just because I couldn’t understand why he was letting her do that, I asked whether she knows he has me (gf). Well, he didn’t tell her that he was dating me. So I asked him to tell her that you have gf. Then he told me “no I don’t want to”. I got upset but at the same time, if he has legitimate reason, I can’t get mad. So I asked him why you can’t tell her. Then he said “cuz I don’t wanna hurt her feeling”
I felt tears rolling down my face. Maybe I was overreacting. He ignored me crying.
He got so mad and told me with contempt “this is enough. I’m so frustrated. If you trusted me, you wouldn’t have felt that way. This is all about your insecurity you have to get over it. I’m sorry you feel that way”
He started crying because I was too frustration for him. But I still needed to tell I was hurt by his word. He chose her feeling not my feeling. So I told him how it hurt me. Then he got so upset and told me “I’m not hurting you !!!!!!”
My heart has ripped out. I couldn’t sleep and was crying the whole night because every time I closed my eyes, his mad face, hurtful words shows up in my head. He went to bed while I was crying. After 1 or 2 hrs, he woke up (cuz of sobbing) and told me to stop crying cuz I can’t sleep.
I really didn’t (still now) know what to do atm.
Maybe I was overreacting since he never apologized for it.
This kinda thing never happened to me in my past relationship. But since I’ve been told I ruined this relationship, I think there’s something I need to fix.
Any opinion is appreciated!! (I’m not an native English speaker so my English is kinda trash I’m sorry!)

A lot of people are super vague about what they want, or they just don’t know, so I figured I’d spell it out as best as I can. I’m looking for a girl to talk to on a regular basis and hopefully form a long lasting connection with. I’m tired of jumping from person to person due to them not wanting something long term and not communicating that from the beginning. I’m ready to find my “person” and make them the center of my world. Bonus points if you speak fluent German, as I’m hoping to start learning it very soon.
A little about me: I'm male, 26, fit, caucasian 5 feet 11 inches tall (about 180cm,) 150 pounds (about 68kg,) brwn hair and eyes, and from the US (North Carolina.) I'm big into things like D&D, Star Wars, Marvel, Harry Potter, anime, video games, music, animals, Disney, and a whole lot of other things that are too many to list here. I'm open minded and laid back, I can talk to anyone about anything. I don't discriminate against anyone, regardless of things like age, gender, orientation, ethnicity, religion, nationality, political views, body shape/size/weight, or anything else. I think it's really cool that everyone is different from each other, and I love getting to know people and seeing just how unique everyone is. I'm looking for someone to form a genuine connection with.
My love language is mostly words of affirmation and praise, but I love a healthy mixture of all love languages. I love to compliment people and make them feel beautiful and to help them realize that they’re beautiful just the way they are.
If you decide to message me, please send more than just “hi” or three word messages. Send me a description about yourself, what you’re looking for, and what in my post stood out to you.
I hope to hear from you :)

be me; ex LizarDM
be also me; Adonis Valintellis (Tiefling Paladin), Thalia Milakos (Human Ranger) and Zaahir Kehmet (Earth Genasi Wizard)
turning the corner at speed, Zaahir ploughed into a market stall, throwing an array of fruits and nuts into the air as he struck
pain shot through his hip and back, but before the merchant could even raise their voice, Zaahir was up and running again, tossing a few loose coins over his shoulder in the process
left, right, then left again
he tore through the streets like a man possessed, pumping his arms and legs as he sprinted
his lungs burned and his heart pounded, but he knew he couldn't stop
if he stopped, they'd catch him. And he'd have to start all over again
the amulet he’d stolen slapped against his chest, burrowing a hole into his ribs with each strike
he’d tried to toss it before, get rid of it and all that followed
but no sooner would he try, the amulet would appear back on his person, as if he’d never attempted in the first place
and then there was the old man
that decrepit figure that clung to his mind like a tick. A relentless presence that refused to leave
Zaahir didn’t recognise him. There was very little he recognised
he was in Syracae, that much was certain
but the identity of the old man. The amulet around his neck. The reason he was here in the first place
he knew none of it
it was like a dream. The more he tried to remember, the more he forgot
Zaahir stopped at a corner, gasping for breath as his heart thundered against his rib cage
he had tried to take a different path. Tried to change the outcome
but he recognised these streets. These buildings
in spite of all he had done, he was in the lower agora again
it was as if the world itself were reshaping to fit a certain narrative
a narrative that he was forced to act in, even if he didn’t know the script
he observed the slope of the street, noting the downward decline to his right
muttering a foreign curse under his breath, he turned to the left, and began running
the upward slope burned his quads, but even as he ran, he could feel the world changing
the burn in his quads shifted to his calves, and now he was moving downhill
he stopped in place and turned, glancing in either direction
no matter which way he looked, the road always seemed to move downward
down to the lower agora
he was reflecting on this reality bending phenomenon when he became aware of the subtle changes in the wind
the air around him became hotter, and with it came the distinct odours of a foreign land
sand, salt, myrrh and oil of balanos and cedar
the shadows began to bend, and Zaahir felt the prickle of hairs on his neck begin to rise
a figure appeared at the end of the street, towering and gaunt
he had just the time to make out a bestial head, like that of a jackal, before he took off running
the world shifted around him once more, bending to fit the narrative in which he had no say
and Zaahir continued to play his part, ever the unwilling actor in a story he did not recognise

the rain cascaded down like a flood, running off the makeshift tarp and pooling at the adventurer’s feet
Thalia led the way, scanning what little area she could make out amidst the rain and gloom
behind her, Adonis held up his shield, bearing the weight of their meagre shelter without complaint
5 kilometres was not far to travel. In ideal conditions, the pair could cover that distance within under 45 minutes
but these were not ideal conditions, and their shambling gait slowed their progress to a crawl
peering through the storm, Thalia made out a silhouette in the near distance; pale against the darkened surroundings
beckoning Adonis to follow, Thalia led the way over, guiding the pair in an uncoordinated shuffle towards the figure
the rain parted and the silhouette manifested into the body of a woman, her head lowered as if in grief
dark hair clung to her face like a curtain, the clothes on her back soaked to the bone
Thalia gave a defeated sigh, already steering them away
this woman was the most recent in a long line of unfamiliar faces; giving the ranger just enough hope to cling onto, but not enough to keep the growing dread at bay
try as she might to ignore it, the ever shrinking thread on her wrist served as a terrible reminder of their fading chances of escape
by now, the thread had shrunk to 3 inches. A quarter of what they’d started with
even if they found Zaahir at this very moment, they wouldn’t have the time to escape the Underworld before their entrance closed
observing his partner’s fading willpower, Adonis rested a spare hand on her shoulder, and raised his voice to be heard over the downpour
“shall we try out the spell again? See what we can muster?”
Thalia slowed in her advance and gave a half hearted nod; unconvinced of their chances
the pair came to a stop, and Adonis stepped closer so as to bring them both beneath the full protection of his shield
safe from any wayward droplets of rain, Thalia closed her eyes and began to focus, calling on the ever shrinking well of magical power within her
imitating Zaahir’s spell had proven more difficult than expected
on top of the immense pressure and unforgiving environment; Zaahir’s style of magic couldn’t be further removed from her own
a strict academic approach to the arcane, his magic was brought about through years of careful study and hundreds of hours locked within a dusty library
her own approach was far less refined
to her, magic was less a thing to be studied and manipulated, and more a force to be reasoned with
a wild creature, that if you weren’t careful in your handling of, could just as easily harm you as the target you intended
wielding magic required both patience and care
two attributes that she found herself lacking as of late
drawing on the magic within her, she began to cast the spell, honing in on Zaahir’s unique life force
her perception expanded out like an aura, alerting her to the presence of several souls within the vicinity, each shining with its own distinct light
if she focused, she could begin to make out details. What they were wearing. What they looked like
but before she could begin to search for Zaahir, Thalia was met with an all too familiar resistance
an interference that hovered in the air, blurring her magical sight until each soul was indistinguishable from the next
letting loose a cry of frustration, Thalia released the spell, and her senses returned to her body
“I still can’t do it,” she meekly explained. “I always feel like I’m so close to getting it, but no matter what I do or how hard I try, I can’t make him out in all of... this-”
she waved her hands about frantically, gesturing to everything and nothing at all
giving a weary sigh in response, Adonis squeezed the young woman’s shoulder reassuringly
“it’s not your fault. With the rains and their effects, there may be too much magical energy floating around. It’s no wonder you can’t lock on”
“so what are we supposed to do? Keep walking and hope we stumble across him?”
Thalia pulled away from the paladin’s grasp and turned to meet his gaze, her once brown eyes now a steely grey
“I’m out of my depth here, Adonis. I know I’m meant to stay strong and be brave, but I’m not sure how much longer I can keep pretending that I’m not scared out of my mind”
“a demon almost killed me earlier and we've barely had a moment to stop and think. A few hours before that, you pulled me out of a flaming river of hell, and now, we’re standing on Chaon’s front lawn trying to steal one of his garden ornaments. Everything is moving so fast, and yet, I know we’re not moving fast enough”
she glared up at him, her body taut with anger and frustration
but after only a few moments, all of the strength in her body seemed to fade away, taking the anger along with it
her shoulders slumped, and now she looked up at him with tired eyes, searching his face for any hint of the guidance or wisdom she’d learned to rely on so heavily
“I just need to hear you say that you have a plan. That when all of this is over and done, that things are going to be okay. Because I can’t see the big picture anymore”
Adonis met the young woman’s gaze; her once bright, hopeful eyes now dull and so full of defeat
her will was hanging on by a thread
one wrong word, and that thread would snap
Adonis’ lips curled into a sad, tired smile, and his hand lifted to cradle her cheek
it was cold against his fingers, the last remnants of heat in her body having been stripped away by the rains
he held her for a moment, his mind working overtime to think of the right words. The inspiring phrases. The rousing speeches
but as he looked into her eyes, he knew that they weren’t what she needed right now
“when I first met you on that boat, I saw a scared, frightened young woman, taking her first steps into the wider world. A farmer’s daughter, trying her lot as an adventurer. You were clinging to Namira so tight, I was afraid you’d blow over if you let go for even a moment”
Thalia stared up at him, not saying a word in response
Adonis took that as his sign to continue
“you looked at the world like every little thing in it was a terrible threat. Every wave on the sea, every cloud in the sky. Even an old fool like me. You seemed so sure that the world was out to get you. And that first night, when the harpies came swooping in, I was sure you’d run. Take shelter or hide below deck”
his eyes glazed over as he spoke, as if he weren’t looking at the woman in front of him, but somewhere else. Somewhere far away from here
“imagine my surprise when instead, this frightened, shaking twig of a girl steps out onto the bow of the ship, and begins shooting these harpies down one after the other”
he began miming the arrows, an unconscious smile creeping across his face
“and I looked at you, thinking; where did that frightened girl go?. Who is this…doppleganger that’s taken her place?. Throughout the fight, I continued to watch; and eventually I figured it out. She wasn’t gone. Even then, as she took down harpy after harpy, I could see that she was still afraid”
his eyes focused on Thalia’s face, and the smile faded to a warm, proud expression
“and I knew from that very moment; That’s someone I want at my side. That girl is going to become a hero. Not because you weren’t frightened. But because you were. And you fought anyway”
he gave her shoulder a squeeze and gestured to the terrible rains around them
“now I’ll agree, things look dire. When I look forward, the big picture can be hard to see. But I look at the little picture, and I see what we’ve overcome to get here. No, we haven’t found Zaahir yet. But we know he’s in here, and every step we take, is a step closer to finding him”
Adonis rose to his full height, holding the shield high above his shoulders
“now, I’m ready to keep looking. No matter how long it takes. Are you ready?”
in spite of herself, a smile touched Thalia’s lips, and she felt a warm tear run down her cheek
“yeah”
stepping forward, she wrapped her arms around Adonis’ midsection, holding him tight as the rain pelted down around them
“thank you”
Adonis smiled down at her, feeling the corners of his eyes begin to well up in tears
he wiped them away with a finger, and Thalia pulled away, steadying herself with a long, shaky exhale
the paladin raised an eyebrow, giving her a wry grin
“so how about it. Want to give that spell one more shot?”
a nervous laugh escaped Thalia’s lips before she steeled her nerves and nodded
“yeah. I think so”
Adonis gestured for her to go ahead and Thalia took a deep breath in, closing her eyes as she let the world go quiet around her
when the rain had all but faded away, she dipped into the well of magic and felt the familiar buzz of energy that awaited
she tapped into it, feeling the energy race up her spine and cause her fingertips to tingle and her tongue to go numb
when the buzzing had settled, she began to reach out into the void, expanding her senses to the souls around her
the air hummed with arcane interference, the magic of the Fields hovering all around her
they blurred the essences around her, causing the individual souls to meld together into an incomprehensible soup
Thalia prepared to let the magic go, and then a thought entered her mind
don’t look at the big picture
just before the spell faded from her control, Thalia recalled it, coercing the magic back under her command
this time, when she cast her senses into the void, she didn’t focus on the souls, letting them drift to the peripherals of her vision
she needed something smaller. Something only Zaahir would have
a unique item?
no
any items he possessed would have remained with his physical body
her brow furrowed in concentration, her mind conjuring up an image of her friend
it was blurry and imperfect, but she held it all the same, inspecting him in her mind’s eye
after a moment of careful observation, she was struck by a glaringly obvious feature
the gold in his skin
having been around the mage for so long, she’d almost forgotten how unique his appearance truly was
she nodded to herself, preparing to redirect the spell to seek out the nearest source of gold
but just before the spell could leave her fingertips, a sudden thought entered her mind
Adonis still had his coin purse
what were the chances that he didn’t have a single gold coin on him?
she supposed that she could throw his purse into the bottomless bag, but the thought had scarcely passed her mind before she dismissed it
she didn’t understand how the bag worked, and it wasn’t worth risking the few scraps of magic she had left on a hunch
giving a disappointed sigh, Thalia went back to brainstorming
what was unique to Zaahir?
what did he have, that no one else would?
she thought for several seconds, working over her mental image again and again, searching for something to focus on
her eyes passed over his body, his unique appearance and foreign clothes
his clothes
Zaahir had several sets of clothes. They all did
but the ones he wore that day were distinctly Khoprisi in design
“do Melanteans go to the Isle?” she blurted, her mind racing
“what?”
Adonis’ voice reached her ears, but it sounded far away, as if she were hearing it through a thick wall
“Melanteans. What happens to their souls if they’re evil?”
she fought to maintain the spell, balancing her attention between it and Adonis’ response
“I don’t entirely recall. Melantean faith wasn’t my area of study”
uttering a curse under her breath, Thalia reigned in her intrusive thoughts, and recontained the spell that had begun to slip under her absence of concentration
without Adonis’ confirmation, she’d be taking an immense risk
but what else was she supposed to do?
resigning herself to the possibility of failure, Thalia cast the spell, refining her search to Khoprisi made clothes
her field of awareness expanded, passing over soul after soul
it grew wider and wider, with no hint of pause or recognition
and just as she was beginning to give up hope, the spell locked onto an object, and Thalia’s heart rose into her throat
not 300 metres away, right on the edge of her vision, was a layered cloth robe, cut from dyed Khoprisi linen
Thalia’s eyes shot open, and she turned to Adonis with a wide smile
“you found him?” Adonis asked, his eyes brightening with hope
“I found someone. I can’t make promises, but…”
in spite of her efforts to curb her enthusiasm, Thalia practically radiated a sense of renewed hope
his own reserved smile widening to a grin, Adonis gestured with his arm
“lead the way then”
giving an energetic nod, Thalia raised their cloth shelter and began to shuffle in the direction of the skirt, fighting every urge to not go running off into the rain spattered fields
it would be a rather pitiful end to wind up trapping themselves right before they found their friend
and so, forced to move at a crawling pace, Thalia led the way, projecting her thoughts out as if they might reach Zaahir somewhere within these Fields
hold on just a little bit longer. We’re on our way

Zaahir collapsed against the brick wall, gasping for air in between bouts of dry retching
his vision swam before his eyes, his heart pounding so hard in his chest he feared it would give out
not that it would matter
were he to die, he’d merely wind up right where he started, and be forced to relive this all over again
fighting to regain his breath and recompose himself, Zaahir closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the cool brick wall
but where his brow should have touched hard brick, he instead felt the smooth texture of polished cedar wood
opening his eyes, he let out a long, exasperated groan; recognising an all too familiar door
even without this bizarre realm of scripted encounters and indefinite loops, he would have recognised Alekos’ storefront in a heartbeat
yet again, in spite of his best efforts, the world had reshaped itself to fit a certain narrative
a narrative where, after evading the local guards, he wound up at Alekos’ door, seeking to trade away his stolen goods
Zaahir contemplated walking away, as little as that would achieve, but the changing winds and the rising scent of sand and oils quickly dissuaded him
before he could change his mind, the Khoprisi mage flung the door open and darted inside, slamming it shut behind him
the winds died in an instant, and Zaahir was left to stew in the brief serenity of silence for a few grateful seconds
but only a few
for that silence was quickly broken by a voice that had begun to grate on him like no other
“Syphaeus? Archons above, is that you?”
rolling his eyes to the heavens, Zaahir turned to face the diminutive figure of Alekos, glaring down at him with an expression of pure contempt
“oh but it is!” the halfling cried, outstretching his arms to embrace the gold encrusted genasi
Zaahir brushed him off, keeping the deceitful shopkeeper at an arm’s length
Alekos retreated a step or two, raising his hands in apology. “Not a hugger, got it”
slipping into a smile as easily as one might slip into a pair of new sandals, Alekos recovered swiftly. “So, what brings you out this way? What can I do for you?”
knowing that the conversation would go by quicker if he complied, Zaahir slung the amulet off his neck and tossed it into the halfling’s hands
Alekos caught the amulet, and after a moment of inspection, his eyes widened in surprise
“where in Chaon did you get this?”
Zaahir didn’t answer, instead taking the opportunity to browse the wares around him
an enchanted spear, a pair of gnarled wands, a set of bracers
he wondered what poor souls had to die in order for these items to appear on display
behind him, Alekos continued the conversation, responding as if Zaahir had answered him
“I see. No need to worry. I’m no stranger to the odd spot of mischief. Don’t ask questions you don’t want answered, I always say. I take it you won’t be wanting receipts for this then”
he placed the amulet on the counter, then turned back to face Zaahir, watching the genasi with a gaze that felt almost predatory
a flash of light on the mage’s hand caught the halfling’s eye, and his expression lit up as he noticed it
“my, my. Well isn’t that a pretty thing on your finger”
Zaahir unconsciously glanced down at his hand, spying the cold metal ring adorning his middle fingertip
a band of polished silver, the ring was capped with an unknown symbol. Perhaps the signet of some noble family or another
pretty, but in the way that a viper was pretty
and Zaahir knew all too well the danger that lurked beneath its unassuming exterior
“enchanted no doubt. What sort of magic does it hold?”
once again, Zaahir said nothing, but Alekos flinched as if he’d been struck
“of course not, no,” the halfling said with a chuckle, that easy smile slipping back onto his lips. “Besides, I wouldn’t have the money if I did. As it stands, I doubt I even have the gold for this amulet. How much are you looking for?”
Alekos paused, nodding in response to some unspoken phrase
“well that’s awfully vague. Ships to Thessylae are cheap this time of year. You could buy yourself passage and a couple month’s lodging. Start a new life”
Zaahir had stopped listening by now, returning to browsing the store’s various wares
Alekos’ voice faded into the background, and Zaahir entertained himself by inspecting the goods on display
he was inspecting a spool of golden thread when a soft whisper brushed past his ear
quiet and practically incomprehensible, he might’ve mistaken it for wind
but then it came again; louder, and clearer
Zaahir
the genasi turned on the spot, scanning the room with wide eyes
but it was just as he had left it
Alekos continued to speak, acting as if nothing had happened
“I tracked them to a cave a couple days from here, just off the eastern road. I was about to commission the Guild, but now…”
Zaahir. Can you hear us?
the whisper came again. Undeniable this time
ignoring Alekos’ words, Zaahir honed in on the whisper, spinning in place as he searched for its source
we’re here. We’re finally here. Please, Zaahir
the voice was soft and feminine, and more than anything, incredibly familiar
he tried to remember. Tried to put a face to the voice. A name even
but just like everything else, it was like recalling a dream
wake up. We came all this way...please, Zaahir...just wake up
they sounded pleading. Desperate
in spite of the fog surrounding his mind, his heart began to ache for this woman
he was hurting her. He didn’t know how or why, but he was hurting her
Alekos had fallen silent now, and as Zaahir continued searching for that voice, he began to hear something else
something completely foreign to this world he’d found himself within
rain
the warmth of the shop drained away, and a cold chill swept in to take its place
his clothes, once dry, now clung to his body like rags, soaked through with water
the store seemed to fall apart around him; breaking away into tiny fragmented pieces
a different voice came now. Older and deeper
booming from above like a terrible god
ZAAHIR. WAKE UP!
and with a heaving gasp for air, Zaahir was dragged screaming out of his crumbling world
rain pelted down around him like a storm, falling to the earth with droplets as thick as oil
the ground beneath him was made of a dead, black soil that resembled charcoal more than dirt, stretching out as far as he could see
he became aware of a presence above him, right before he felt a pair of crushing arms tighten around his ribs and squeeze the life from him
the air fled his lungs so violently that his vision began to cloud and darken
right before he thought he’d pass out, the arms abruptly let go, allowing him to breathe once more
when his sight finally recovered, he began to make out a face in front of him
pale and grey eyed, the figure appeared almost corpse-like in complexion. But beneath the ghastly visage, Zaahir recognised the familiar face of Thalia staring back at him, tears streaming down her cheeks in spite of the beaming smile across her face
he hardly had a moment to comprehend what he was looking at when Thalia pulled him into a second, even tighter hug
this time, he felt for sure that his ribs would crack beneath the pressure, and when he was finally released, he was light headed and woozy
“not too hard,” a voice warned, “you don’t want to kill him, do you?”
Zaahir groggily turned to follow the voice, and found himself staring up at the towering, horned figure of Adonis, beaming down at him with a wide grin
“wouldn’t want to have to go through this all the trouble finding him again, now would we?”
Adonis extended a hand, and lost in a state of foggy confusion, Zaahir blankly stared at it for a few seconds before thinking to take it
with a great, heaving motion, Adonis hoisted the genasi to his feet, and pulled him into a crushing, one armed embrace
“it’s good to have you back”
a smile spread across Zaahir’s lips, but it was a tired, thin lipped attempt
his legs felt unsteady beneath him, as if they might collapse at any moment
in fact, had it not been for Adonis holding him up, he feared he might do just that
feeling the limpness in his friend’s body, Adonis slung an arm beneath Zaahir’s own, bearing the young man’s weight onto his shoulders
“easy now, I’ve got you”
the paladin turned his head to look at Thalia, meeting her concerned gaze with a stern expression
“start leading the way out of here. We need to get him out of the rain”
with a task to distract her from Zaahir’s poor condition, Thalia set to leading them out, choosing a direction and marching away in a slow, shuffling gait
Adonis followed closely behind, holding Zaahir close so as to keep him beneath the protection of his shield
the genasi slumped against his arm, unable to bear his own weight, mind still reeling from the effects of the spell
Adonis stared down at his younger companion, curbing his relief with a heavy dose of concern
he hid it behind a smile, taking one tentative step, and then another
“come on, then. It’s high time we got you out of this place”

First Post: https://www.reddit.com/CradledDnDStories/comments/x8zwpv/athos_1_a_new_world_of_opportunity/
Last Post: https://www.reddit.com/CradledDnDStories/comments/13duv0v/athos_21_broken_bones_and_fractured_hearts/
Next Post:

Good evening. Today, I am presenting a puzzle to urbanplanning in which we can discuss, contemplate, and perhaps develop a solution to an urban planning challenge in the Republic of Mauritius, namely Hillcrest Ave - in what I dub "The Hillcrest Puzzle".
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Note: This is not a university/school/work project. This is not a violation of Rule 8, nor is it a violation of Rule 7.
I am an auditor (accounting) who has been driving on this road to work every day for the past 2 years, and I believe good urban planning and design could significantly resolve the many pains that I and my fellow motorists endure at Hillcrest Ave on a daily basis.
This is a "thought experiment" or "urban planning puzzle" that I am inviting you guys to join in with me. I appreciate that many of you here may not be familiar with Mauritius, however for the purposes of this puzzle we need only simply understand 2 things:
1) Public transportation is not an affordable solution - driving can be assumed as the sole mode of transport; and
2) The driving system and laws are British (driving on the left-side of the road).
I have a profound respect for urban planning, having been an avid reader of this subreddit, and to match this, I have tried my utmost to put plenty of thought and effort into this post. I deeply appreciate your audience.
Should this be the inappropriate subreddit to post this content, I humbly apologise and deeply appreciate if you could point me toward the appropriate subreddit for such content.
I have tagged this post with the "Discussion" flair, for the reason that I want to seek your knowledge and discuss urban planning concepts with you, in the context of this specific junction (like a case study).
I hope the above clarifies. Many thanks, and I hope you appreciate my post.

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~ Let's begin ~
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About Hillcrest Ave

Hillcrest Ave is a 4 lane road with a median (2 lanes on each side). It connects a major suburb to the M2 highway, the major highway of Mauritius, which connects the various municipalities of the island to the major workplaces in the north (Ebene and Port Louis).
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Coordinates: -20.26450289818951, 57.4915383287291 (Google Maps link)
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• I consider Hillcrest Ave to be an arterial road.
• I do not consider Hillcrest Ave to be a collectodistributor road on the basis that Ave Des Tulipes, Sodnac Link Rd and several other roads feed a lot of traffic onto Hillcrest Ave itself.

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The peak traffic at Hillcrest Ave is experienced on weekdays, during the morning rush (around 8am to 9am, sometimes longer).

• I typically spend a minimum of 45 minutes on Hillcrest Ave each morning as a result.
• A primary cause of this is the backing up of the M2 highway (northbound), which is often occupied with bumper-to-bumper traffic, leading to the Hillcrest Ave - M2 onramp to get backed up, affecting the rest of Hillcrest Ave and the connecting roads as a result.

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However, I do not believe this to be the sole reason behind the traffic, on the basis that:

• Traffic on the onramp flows pretty well. Typically there is a traffic policeman on the M2 highway (a 3 lane highway) directing the left lane traffic onto the middle lane. This frees up the left lane for the onramp traffic to merge rather seamlessly onto the M2.
• Hillcrest Ave gets mostly utilised during the rush hour. If I imagined that M2 was empty, I do not think that the onramp traffic flow would increase more than 2-3x its current flow state.
• On the other hand, outside of rush hour, traffic at Hillcrest Ave is non-existent. This is the primary reason why the urban planning of Hillcrest Ave has never been revisited in the past decade. I believe that good urban planning should be able to better handle traffic at its worst.
• I have observed times when traffic policeman have been around, directing the traffic, that the queue times on Hillcrest Ave drastically reduce (typically a 45 minute wait reduced to 10 minutes).

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The direction of the traffic and the drivers on Hillcrest Ave

Let's begin at the Hillcrest Ave - M2 onramp. Traffic here comes from 2 paths, both passing through the Hillcrest Ave - Ave Des Tulipes junction:
1) Hillcrest Ave
Cars line up on the left lane of Hillcrest Ave to go onto the onramp when the traffic light turns green. Please note that the right lane of Hillcrest Ave is meant to continue straight, however 80% of drivers on this lane often "cheat" and use the right lane to skip traffic, merging onto the onramp slip road after the junction. Police enforcement is non-existent in this regard.
Traffic from the opposite direction of Hillcrest Ave is not allowed to make a u-turn at the Hillcrest Ave - Ave Des Tulipes junction.
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2) Ave Des Tulipes
Ave Des Tulipes (north) has a slip road connecting to Hillcrest Ave slightly after the junction. This provides a window for cars to merge and enter the onramp when the traffic is red or blocked (or when Hillcrest Ave left lane drivers give way).
Ave Des Tulipes (south) also has a smaller amount of traffic that heads towards the onramp when their traffic light turns green at the junction.
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I have observed several things in regard to the above and the dynamics of the drivers on Hillcrest Ave, including myself:

• Once, a taxi driver on Hillcrest Ave blocked both lanes (occupying the middle of the 2 lane road), effectively stopping the right lane drivers from "cheating". This led to better traffic flow on the left lane of Hillcrest Ave and Ave Des Tulipes. Notably the drivers on the right lane were annoyed at him, but being a taxi driver he didn't care.
• Several times, I have observed right lane drivers, and on several occasions Traffic Police trucks themselves, "cheating" and causing a back up of traffic.
• I used to not cheat, but having observed Traffic Police do it, and watching many others do it, I realised I was stupid to not do so. I now regularly "cheat" and save around 20-30 minutes in my morning commute at the expense of everyone else who are not "smart enough" to "cheat" like me.
• I say "cheat" with inverted commas because the lanes are defined by broken white lines. This means, technically, you are not really breaking any rules. It's not "right" but it's not unlawful to do so.
• The Hillcrest Ave - Ave Des Tulipes junction does not have a yellow box. This means, you are not breaking the traffic laws if you are caught in a standstill in the middle of the junction. Very often this is a major reason why traffic flows get backed up. Opposite direction traffic on Hillcrest Ave cannot turn right onto Ave Des Tulipes (north) because the Hillcrest Ave traffic is blocking the way (courteous drivers will make space though, at the expense of having someone horn/"cheat" around them).

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My diagnosis of the Hillcrest Puzzle and my proposed solution

I believe there are 3 major issues, that if resolved, could solve the Hillcrest Puzzle:
A) The use of the right lane on Hillcrest Ave to merge onto the onramp
My proposed solution: Build a physical concrete divider between the left and right lanes of Hillcrest Ave before and after the Hillcrest Ave - Ave Des Tulipes junction. This will eliminate the use of the right lane of Hillcrest Ave to merge onto the onramp.
However, this will likely result in drivers using the right lane and merging with the left lane before the physical concrete barrier OR merging within the Hillcrest Ave - Ave Des Tulipes junction zone itself. Whilst the former may be manageable, and in many ways it is just a transfer of the issue from one location to an earlier location, the latter could be highly unsafe and dangerous. Therefore, I identify the 2nd major issue below.
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B) The absence of a yellow box at the Hillcrest Ave - Ave Des Tulipes junction
A yellow "you should not get stuck here" box is necessary. This would ensure the flow of traffic in other directions does not get obstructed. I do think this needs to be implemented in tandem with an adjustment to the timing of the traffic lights (this may be something I have overlooked - however I am not well versed in the urban planning aspects of traffic lights and their timings, I would appreciate your kind inputs on this area if it is relevant).
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C) The M2 highway (northbound)
The elephant in the room. If there was no northbound traffic, Hillcrest Ave would be traffic free (as it is outside of rush hour). Unfortunately, I do not think this is case (as I had outlined above). I may be wrong, and therefore I consider this as an issue. However, I do not have a solution for this. There is ALOT of traffic on the M2 highway (northbound), but it flows.
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~ What do you think? ~
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Anyway, it's taken me almost 2 hours to get this post written. It's tough putting this into words, I wish I could take you guys physically here and show it to you. I will edit this post and share more details in the comments should you guys ask for it.
Again, I deeply appreciate your audience and I am keen to learn more from you guys. Thank you so much and may the force be with you.

Obsessive Compulsive empathy ruined me. It's like becoming entirely of that person. Of that person's thoughts. Even those person that I hate. that I find repulsive. Especially of those person . those person that was in proximity of me ( if I couldn't get away from those people, it would certainly kill me. and it did) Those thoughts that I find repulsive, those opinions. the ignorance of it. those thoughts that , if I have them, would almost certainly destroy me . Destroy everything I've built.
I couldn't control my empathy (for the lack of better word). It's like I couldn't tell myself apart from other people, despite I like them or not. So if I meet somebody that I dislike (worse, that I was repulsed by them) and if I couldn't pull myself away from that situation, that was the beginning of hell for me. And yes. It had already happened. the worst of the worst. the things you could not imagine. the things I could not imagine. it had already happened. And for how long. You could not imagine. For how long that I could not find where the problem is (and I still couldn't, this is just one of the reasons I suspect, that OCD had anything to do with it. and tbh , the situation I'm talking about, the environment I was been put in in that period of my life, such a place that I doubt even a healthy person could stay healthy in there for long) And I've taken in so much pain.
for context, I have OCD. But that was a long, long time ago. all the usual stuff (that you would expect from OCD). but that was past. and that , was just in its initial stage. Back when it's manifested as a more tangible, physical form, that you could tell. I thought I'd won over it. I thought I'd grown out of it. But I've been living with it this whole time. It's been buried so deep, it goes underground, and it went spiritual.