Deluxe resort guests extra magic hours

[USA-OK] [H] TotK Joycons & Console Box, 97 Games, 9 Manuals (3DS-2, Atari 2600-6, Game Boy-1, Genesis-1, NDS-3, NES-11, PC-1, PS1-8, PS2-7, PS3-11, PS4-5, SNES-1, Switch-1, Wii-6, Xbox 360-32, Xbox One-1), Amiibos-20, 3 Consoles (3DSXL-1, PS2-1, PS3-1) [W] PayPal (F&F/G&S, Buyer's Preference)

2023.06.09 15:08 kainvinosec [USA-OK] [H] TotK Joycons & Console Box, 97 Games, 9 Manuals (3DS-2, Atari 2600-6, Game Boy-1, Genesis-1, NDS-3, NES-11, PC-1, PS1-8, PS2-7, PS3-11, PS4-5, SNES-1, Switch-1, Wii-6, Xbox 360-32, Xbox One-1), Amiibos-20, 3 Consoles (3DSXL-1, PS2-1, PS3-1) [W] PayPal (F&F/G&S, Buyer's Preference)

Newly added:
Version Item Condition Price (Includes Shipping)
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Limited Edition Console Joycons, Straps, Grip Brand New $160.00
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Limited Edition Console Box & Inserts Brand New (minor cut/damage in one spot on a corner) $60.00
About the above:

All images uploaded for this post will be included here:
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNv-U01HWODjMDJVo5l9VbVSGuClM8KIYj7jaFD65Vezu5L0mFVrSOfBJayrtaTiQ?key=b2VHWlcyMjhneUVQWjM0TW5XSjV2djR4Ym1wZHZn

Shipping is USPS Priority Mail. Items will be placed in bubble wrap and shipped inside boxes. Tracking and insurance are included. Add the following to all orders:

Tables:
  1. GAMES
  2. MANUALS ONLY
  3. AMIIBOS
  4. CONSOLES

Things of note:

1. GAMES
Console Game Condition Price
3DS Animal Crossing: New Leaf CIB - Complete In Box $14.00
3DS Disney Magical World CIB - Complete In Box $13.00
Atari 2600 Dragonfire CIB - Complete In Box $24.00
Atari 2600 Missile Command Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $4.00
Atari 2600 Space Jockey Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $3.00
Atari 2600 Space War Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $4.00
Atari 2600 Video Chess Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $4.00
Atari 2600 Warplock Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $4.00
Game Boy Asteroids Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $9.00
Genesis Columns Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $4.00
NDS Lego Batman: The Videogame CIB - Complete In Box $4.00
NDS Lunar: Dragon Song Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $8.00
NDS Spectrobes Boxed - Cartridge/Discs with Box (No Manual/Extras) $9.00
NES Deadly Towers Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $5.00
NES Donkey Kong Classics Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $15.00
NES Double Dragon Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $9.00
NES Gauntlet II Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $6.00
NES Gyromite [5 Screw] Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $5.00
NES Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $4.00
NES Karate Champ [5 Screw] Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $4.00
NES Ninja Gaiden Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $9.00
NES Section-Z [5 Screw] Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $6.00
NES The Bard's Tale Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $19.00
NES The Immortal Loose+ - Cartridge/Discs with Manual $16.00
PC Final Fantasy VIII Loose+ - Cartridge/Discs with Proper Disc Sleeve $10.00
PS1 Final Fantasy VIII Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $9.00
PS1 Gex: Enter the Gecko Loose+ - Cartridge/Discs with Manual $25.00
PS1 Spawn: The Eternal CIB - Complete In Box $20.00
PS1 Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $8.00
PS1 Tekken [Long Box] Boxed - Cartridge/Discs with Box (No Manual/Extras) - Box Damaged, Price Reduced $10.00
PS1 Test Drive: Off-Road CIB - Complete In Box $5.00
PS1 Test Drive: Off-Road 2 CIB - Complete In Box $3.00
PS1 Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation CIB - Complete In Box $7.00
PS2 ATV Offroad Fury 2 [Not for Resale] CIB - Complete In Box $4.00
PS2 Devil May Cry 2 Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $4.00
PS2 EverQuest Online Adventures Boxed - Cartridge/Discs with Box (No Manual/Extras) $5.00
PS2 Final Fantasy X Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $5.00
PS2 Final Fantasy XII Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $4.00
PS2 Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories CIB - Complete In Box $8.00
PS2 Ultimate Board Game Collection CIB - Complete In Box $3.00
PS3 Diablo III CIB - Complete In Box $4.00
PS3 Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition Boxed - Cartridge/Discs with Box (No Manual/Extras) $14.00
PS3 Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX CIB - Complete In Box $6.00
PS3 Mass Effect 2 CIB - Complete In Box $2.00
PS3 Mass Effect 3 Sealed $7.00
PS3 Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe [Greatest Hits] CIB+ - Complete In Box Including Extras $7.00
PS3 Red Dead Redemption Boxed - Cartridge/Discs with Box (No Manual/Extras) $13.00
PS3 Tomb Raider CIB - Complete In Box $5.00
PS3 Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Game of the Year) [Greatest Hits] CIB - Complete In Box $5.00
PS3 Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (Game of the Year) [Greatest Hits] CIB - Complete In Box $3.00
PS3 White Knight Chronicles: International Edition CIB - Complete In Box $7.00
PS4 Destiny CIB - Complete In Box $3.00
PS4 Disney Infinity 2.0 Edition CIB - Complete In Box $10.00
PS4 Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Sealed $15.00
PS4 Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 Sealed $15.00
PS4 Super Monkey Ball - Banana Mania (Anniversary Edition) Sealed $15.00
SNES WWF Super WrestleMania Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $6.00
Switch Harvest Moon: Light of Hope SE - Complete CIB - Complete In Box $13.00
Wii Disney Epic Mickey CIB - Complete In Box $4.00
Wii Donkey Kong Country Returns CIB - Complete In Box $10.00
Wii Donkey Kong Country Returns CIB - Complete In Box $10.00
Wii Elebits CIB - Complete In Box $5.00
Wii Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition CIB - Complete In Box $9.00
Wii Super Mario Galaxy Boxed - Cartridge/Discs with Box (No Manual/Extras) $12.00
Xbox 360 Alone in the Dark CIB - Complete In Box $6.00
Xbox 360 Batman: Arkham City CIB - Complete In Box $3.00
Xbox 360 BioShock Loose+ - Cartridge/Discs with Behind the Scenes Disc $3.00
Xbox 360 BioShock 2 CIB - Complete In Box $4.00
Xbox 360 Borderlands CIB - Complete In Box $2.00
Xbox 360 Borderlands 2 CIB - Complete In Box $5.00
Xbox 360 Burnout Paradise CIB - Complete In Box $5.00
Xbox 360 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $4.00
Xbox 360 Devil May Cry 4 Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $5.00
Xbox 360 Enemy Territory: Quake Wars CIB - Complete In Box $6.00
Xbox 360 Fallout: New Vegas CIB - Complete In Box $4.00
Xbox 360 Halo 3 Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $5.00
Xbox 360 Kinect Adventures! CIB - Complete In Box $3.00
Xbox 360 LEGO Batman: The Videogame Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $3.00
Xbox 360 LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 CIB - Complete In Box $4.00
Xbox 360 LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga CIB - Complete In Box $7.00
Xbox 360 Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $3.00
Xbox 360 Mass Effect CIB - Complete In Box $5.00
Xbox 360 Mass Effect 2 CIB - Complete In Box $4.00
Xbox 360 Mass Effect 3 CIB - Complete In Box $4.00
Xbox 360 Plants vs. Zombies CIB - Complete In Box $6.00
Xbox 360 Pure CIB - Complete In Box $5.00
Xbox 360 Rocksmith CIB - Complete In Box $7.00
Xbox 360 SoulCalibur IV CIB - Complete In Box $5.00
Xbox 360 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed CIB - Complete In Box $5.00
Xbox 360 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion -- Game of the Year Edition CIB - Complete In Box $7.00
Xbox 360 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim CIB - Complete In Box $2.00
Xbox 360 The Orange Box Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $14.00
Xbox 360 Turok Boxed - Cartridge/Discs with Box (No Manual/Extras) $9.00
Xbox 360 Unreal Tournament III Loose - Cartridge/Discs Only $4.00
Xbox 360 Viva Pinata Loose+ - Cartridge/Discs with Manual $3.00
Xbox 360 Your Shape: Fitness Evolved CIB - Complete In Box $3.00
Xbox One Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition CIB - Complete In Box $6.00

2. MANUALS ONLY
Console Manual Price
GBA Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Prophecy $7.00
GBA Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World $7.00
GBA Wario Land 4 $10.00
PS1 Brave Fencer Musashi $27.00
PS1 Breath of Fire III $21.00
PS1 Final Fantasy Origins $6.00
PS1 Intelligent Qube $12.00
PS1 Vagrant Story $21.00
PS1 Wild Arms $14.00

3. AMIIBOS
Note: All Amiibos are "loose". Images included in the link at the top of the post. Amiibos also require $15.00 shipping regardless of how many are purchased. Their bases are just too big for the $10 shipping box's size.
Amiibo Price
Diddy Kong $17.00
Donkey Kong $25.00
Dr. Mario $13.00
Fox $9.00
Link $31.00
Link - Majora's Mask $40.00
Link - Toon $24.00
Lucario $13.00
Luigi $17.00
Mario $13.00
Mario - 30th, Classic $10.00
Marth $11.00
Mega Man $15.00
Pac-Man $12.00
Peach $11.00
Pikachu $9.00
Princess Zelda $28.00
Simon $19.00
Sonic $26.00
Yoshi $21.00

4. CONSOLES
Console Notes Price
Nintendo 3DS XL Black & Red Comes with charging cable & grip. Boots directly into custom firmware. Will remove NNID prior to shipping. Will come with a 128gb SanDisk SD Card. $135.00
Playstation 3 Slim System Comes with power cable, HDMI cable, and at least 1 official controller (rubber in thumbsticks may feel sticky) and may include bonus official or third party controllers for free. System is loaded with CFW and boots directly into it. System has new thermal paste and rubber block installed that helps apply pressure to the CPU/Heatsink to additionally reduce temperatures and prolong system lifespan. $90.00
Playstation 2 System (Phat) Comes with power cable, PS2-to-HDMI adapter, HDMI cable, 1 official PS1 memory card, 1 official PS2 memory card, and 1 official controller (rubber in thumbsticks may feel sticky). System is modded and comes with 1TB HDD. Shell has an area on the side that is broken from a drop, but all internals are unharmed, and system has been tested and was found working as expected. May include additional memory cards for free. $90.00

submitted by kainvinosec to GameSale [link] [comments]


2023.06.09 14:55 Comfortable_Rise5653 Insights about an app to teach finances to kids?

Hi! I am a college student and as a final project I decided to create a product that I would have really enjoyed when I was a child (and I believe it would have helped me make wiser choices when I was younger). I decided to create wisekids.io, an audiobook app for children with stories to educate about finances and values such as compound interest, saving money through delayed gratification and the relevance of hard work when trying to succeed.
I created this project to test the interest of parents in this type of products and develop the app if the interest was validated. In the free demo, you can find the main tale called "Danny the Bunny and the Magic Carrot Field". The tale is narrated by a professional and besides the story, there is extra content, such as explaining the compound interest effect for children, 10 questions to think about after listening to the tale and 20 vocabulary words to learn.
I have put many hours in working on this project (writing the story, creating the website, building the concept itself of WiseKids) and I would like it work, so that many children can be educated in this relevant topics from an early age.
As a parent, would you like this product? Any ideas on how I can get feedback about the project, and how can I improve it?
Many thanks!
submitted by Comfortable_Rise5653 to Business_Ideas [link] [comments]


2023.06.09 14:42 VirtuousFool_ Instrument of Ill-Fate: A LitRPG Adventure [Chapter 02]


First

Chapter 02: Awakening

Zaire's heart pounded within his chest as he sprinted, his eyes fixed on the shattered skies, unleashing thunderous roars and jagged bolts of lightning.
Cold soil crunched under his boots, and dust and ashes flew on the frenzied winds, coating his cloak. The thunder rumbled, yet not a single drop of rain fell. This desolate land bore no trace of life. The churning clouds formed a vortex high above, while a chilling gust swept relentlessly across the land, frigid like the most haunting night of the fall.
Zaire ran, stumbling along the frigid path, occasionally casting wary glances over his shoulder. The absence of any pursuer didn't calm him down even a little. Only barren and desolate terrain, with the ominous outline of the black mountains and the swirling clouds, reigned in his sight. No soul could be found in this forsaken land.
However, an intangible presence pursued Zaire, an entity both eerie and malevolent, its deranged cries reverberating in his ears. Even as he rushed onward, the pursuer seemed to draw nearer, cloaked in madness. A step away from claiming him.
In his desperate dash, Zaire tumbled to the ground, the chill of impending horror creeping up his spine.
"You cannot hide," the voice hissed, its tone murky and ghastly. "Not then. Not now."
Zaire sensed the abyss beckoning below, threatening to engulf him, its unseen tendrils grasping at his limbs. His body convulsed, his muscles seizing under the weight of impending doom. The voice called out once more, luring him deeper into the drowning abyss.
As his willpower began to succumb, tears streamed down Zaire's face, his trembling fingers desperately clawing at the frigid earth. It felt cold and unyielding, slipping from his grasp.
Zaire awoke.
Zaire jolted upright, gasping for breath. Tremors racked his body, while his spine remained cold, drenched in a clammy layer of cold sweat. A searing pain lanced through his mind as if a sharp blade pierced his thoughts.
Gasps clawed their way out of his parched throat, as he stared into the thick darkness looming over him. Common sense assured he was safe, that it was all a dream, a wretched nightmare, but Zaire’s heart didn’t stop racing. The harrowing terror etched to his very core, it all held true in his mind.
Gathering his strength, Zaire sat up and leaned against the cold wall beside the bed. His body was weakened and weary, but he managed to calm his heart after going through the breathing exercise his mother taught him.
His heart stopped racing, but the foreboding feeling lingered in his mind.
Zaire rose from his bed, the creaking of the old furniture accompanying his movement. Proceeding cautiously, he made his way to the bathroom. He eventually found a lamp on the way, emanating a faint glow as he ignited it, tracing the switch upwards.
Guided by the lamp's glow, Zaire entered the bathroom and spotted a bucket of cold water nearby. Zaire seized it, acting on an impulse, and poured the entire contents of the bucket over his head. That brought some semblance of peace within him.
All worry and pain subsided, save for the unfamiliar chillness in his right palm. He put his attention on the palm to find a black tear mark across the palm. He peered deeper into it, pondering what could be the cause of that when a voice transmitted to his mind, followed by shimmering system text, glittering in a green light, stunning him completely
[Synchronisation completed.]
[Congratulations! You have awakened Emerald Aether.]
A surge of warmth coursed through his body. The relentless throbbing in his head softened, and just as Zaire prepared for the authenticity of this development, an influx of unknown information surged through his mind.
[Preparing the user interface…]
____________
Name: Zaire O'Leons
Title (s): Faithless
Route: None
Hidden Route: Mage (Restricted) - Level 0 (Progress: 0%)
Rank: None
Fate Points: 1000 Free Attribute Points: 0
Attributes
Health: 200 Aether: 2 Control: 370
Physical Power: 12
Mental Power: 27
Magic Power: 0
Constitution: 14
Intuition: 20
Resistance: 14
Abilities:
[Aether Binding]
Skills/Spells: None
__________
"This is real!?" Zaire muttered, his voice filled with disbelief. He unconsciously drew his palm towards the shimmering system window, attempting to grasp onto its ethereal shimmer. However, his fingers phased through the holographic text, though the text didn't dissipate.
"Did my second dip into the Ascendant Pool work?" Zaire cracked into tears, collapsing onto the damp tiles of the bathroom floor. Unconsciously, he clenched his palms into fists, pressing them against his face as the system window vanished into thin air.
Zaire opened his palm once again and peered into the cracked tear mark, only to witness the same System window expanding before his eyes. To dispel any doubts or delusions, he repeated the process of clenching and unclenching his palm, each time successfully opening and closing the system window.
He wasn't done checking out the system. Having waited his entire life, and even an extra year compared to others, he began to read its contents. He reached the end of the contents pretty easily, but his excitement was far from quenching. Zaire peered deeper into each tab, hoping to get more explanations of them.
Multiple system windows materialised before his eyes, expanding to unveil detailed information about various aspects of his existence.
[Title: Faithless
A soul adrift, untethered, faithless in the winds of doubt.]
[Rank: None.
Progress: 0%
Your previous circumstances hadn't let you accumulate or cultivate Aether. Now you’re ready to take your first step in Aether Binding.]
[Fate Points: 1000.
Fate points are gifted when an individual affects the world. Your existence in this Route world has influenced its fate. You have gained 1000 points from that.
PS: Acts of blasphemy against the orthodox and unorthodox gods will get you bonus fate points.]
Zaire stopped, his eyes lingering on the last line. Fate Points were the most necessary points to learn and grow Spells, Skills, and Abilities. He was delighted to gain 1000 points on awakening, which was an above-average number as far as he was concerned, but he wasn’t so sure about the last line.
Pissing in the temple doesn’t seem like something that will gain me fate points, not that I ever do such a thing. Even if he was Faithless somehow, his mother brought him up better to be considerate of people’s faith and belief. He simply wouldn’t do something unfaithful to her just for some momentary gain.
Of course, ignoring what he did to gain his Route yesterday.
That brought him back to the description of Faithless. That line was completely vague and meant nothing as far as he was concerned.
Zaire ignored all the tabs with information on all the attributes, as they were self-explanatory. He moved on to his abilities.
[Aether Binding:
Your Hidden Route Mage enables you to bind Emerald Aether and cultivate them.
Level: None (Progress: 0%)]
Zaire couldn’t help but sigh, finding only 2 points in Aether. With that, he couldn’t even try to learn the simplest spell. But his dejection didn’t remain for long. It was merely the start.
"I'd strip the freaking moons from the sky if I have to," Zaire said, clenching his palm into a fist.
“Zai, are you in the bathroom?” Ella’s voice broke him out of delight, bringing him back to reality.
“Yes,” Zaire replied, and got out of there, unaware that he was about to get an earful for his stunt at the temple.
He found her standing just a few paces away from the bathroom door. Tall, towering over him even though she was barely a few inches taller than him.
“How are you feeling?” She asked, her eyes scanning him.
“I’m good,” Zaire answered, his voice laced with delight. “Never felt this good in my life.”
Annoyance flashed across her face as she heard him. “Are you really alright?” she asked again.
“Yes.” His drenched form wasn’t making his case any easier.
“Fine, wipe yourself and change, we need to discuss something urgently.” Ella walked away, her demeanour showed she was particularly irritated.
Zaire had a bad feeling about this. Hoping that his success might quell her stifled fury, Zaire shouted at once: “Mum, I succeeded, I awakened my Aether.”
Ella stopped, turned and peered at him with narrowed eyes. “What are you talking about?” she questioned. “My [Inspection] tells me no such thing.”
“What!?” Zaire blinked, stupefied. Was it because it was a Hidden Route
“Zai,” Ella’s voice softened as she came forward to soothe him, “I understand why you did what you did. But in life, you need to accept the truth as it is.”
“Mum, I’m not really—”
Ella silenced him by embracing him, unbothered that he was drenched. “My boy, I understand.” Ella’s voice was soft and soothing, a stark contrast to her usual behaviour. “After I’m back from the trip, I’ll bring you to a special place. There will be people who can help you. Of course, you can’t be a mage, but you can be as strong as any regular Ranger or Knight, and even surpass me.”
Zaire didn’t struggle in her embrace and listened to her carefully. It seemed there was no way for him to prove his credibility as a mage unless he could cast a spell. But Zaire was still a few steps away from there.
“Wait, are you going somewhere?” he asked.
“I don’t know if you’re aware, but Faye awakened Dream Aether,” Ella said, releasing him of the embrace. “You know what that entails.”
“She has to join the Empire’s Academy,” Zaire said as realisation dawned on him.
“And ten years of service in the empire after graduation,” Ella added.
The rules were pretty strict for those that awakened Emerald, and Dream Aether, though the same rule applies to those with Gold, Red, or any other type of Aether if they joined any of the Empire’s academies. Of course, fighters with Red Aether had to qualify in the tests to be admitted into the academy, unlike in the cases of Emerald and Dream Aether, the number of people awakening them was so scarce that they admit whoever awakened them. While the churches had special demands for those with Gold Aether.
“Your sister is torn between delight and sorrow that she will be leaving,” Ella continued. “But you know her, she’s inclined to learn more about Aether and her power. And I cannot stop her, or the Empire, from taking her.”
Zaire nodded. “When are you two leaving?”
“Now,” Ella said. “The screening process has already started, but the people in the Snowfeather Academy will take her even if it takes two days for us to reach there. Go to your room and get ready quickly. The carriage will leave within half an hour."
Ella busied herself with the preparations. She had been making their meals before finding Zaire in the bathroom.
"Mum," Zaire eventually replied, "I think I’ll remain home."
Ella paused, turning to face him fully. "Are you certain?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.
Zaire nodded.
"You'll be fine, won't you?" Ella inquired. "I suppose Faye will understand, although she'll be disappointed."
"Yes, Mum.".
submitted by VirtuousFool_ to HFY [link] [comments]


2023.06.09 13:46 InternalEfficiency17 About to purchase, advice on what system?

I have a acer nitro 5 with a GTX 1650 4dr, 4 year old laptop with stock parts. I could run Returnal recently on low settings, Halo infinite on medium., Age of Wonder 4 on max. I think my laptop can handle drg? I'm assuming there is no monthly subscription charge to play on PC? Full xbox controller support like most steam games?
Or I have a 6 year old xbox S. Still runs like a champ. It's located in a more comfortable room then the 4k TV i connect my laptop to. But then I would have to pay for xbox online service and probably more expensive for the game?
I see the base game on G2A.com for steam as low as $14! The deluxe is like $10 more, I know nothing at this point other than I love PVE online shooters and this game looks cool. Which way should I go?
Extra question:
If I'm a competent gamer going into this game, I've played many games always at the highest available difficulty. Say after playing for 10 hours this weekend, would you expect me to be a contributing member to a team, or still a total noob who is screwing up other people's runs because I'm so new?
submitted by InternalEfficiency17 to DeepRockGalactic [link] [comments]


2023.06.09 13:32 wardXn 35 day solo itinerary check across western Honshu, Shikoku, Osaka/Kyoto, Kanazawa and Tokyo

Hello, I would like to seek fellow redditors opinions, input and recommendation on how I could better finetune my itinerary better. There's only so much I can think of, and plan as an individual, but with everyone's input and comments I can further refine and enhance the travel experience before I set foot into Japan. Do forgive me in advance for the theorycrafting wall of text.
I know it may be difficult to review the itinerary, so to make the review easier I have broken the itinerary down into specific sub-groups e.g. Shikoku, Kinki etc. Specific questions that I have are bolded.
Thank you in advance for taking your time to provide your opinions!
-------------
Baseline information

Specific goals/objective:
  1. Experience Shikoku in autumn (specifically the views at Iya Valley) and in other prefectures (thus making nature sightseeing more of a priority this time round)
  2. Experience Kanazawa for anime stuff
  3. Experience the Shimanami Kaido in full (including any sightseeing spots in between the 6 island chains)
  4. Bonus - try as many sightseeing trains as possible.
  5. Bonus - if weather, time and schedule permits, try skiing as an option in Nagano.
  6. Bonus - stay in as many onsen ryokans as possible, without breaking the bank.

Locked-in prefectures [i.e. I will definitely go to those prefectures no matter what]:
  1. Shikoku (as per above objective)
  2. Hiroshima (because its on the opposite end of the Shimanami Kaido)
  3. Kanazawa (for anime related reason)
  4. Tokyo (that is my starting and end point so it has to be included by default)
All other prefectures are basically float i.e. I am open to consider dropping said itinerary for something else based on your suggestion that aligns with my preferences/interest. Most of the other locations I added are prefectures that are often next to each other, or well-connected (apart from the initial Tokyo Kagawa jump via Sunrise Seto/Shinkansen).

Wait-list prefectures (prefectures that I want to go, but I don’t think I can realistically fit in without dropping other locations):
  1. Snow skiing at Nagano (depending on how cooperative the weather is in early-ish December (would 2 days be sufficient?))
  2. Ehime, Kochi expansion [spend 1-3 more days]
  3. Izu Peninsula (~2 days, via Saphir Odoriko)
  4. Nagoya + lower Nagano (Kiso Valley) (~3 days)
  5. Ishikawa expansion [1 extra day at Kaga]
I am open to dropping a few days in Tokyo/Osaka etc to make that trade off [currently kept 3 days free for further development]. Alternatively, if the planning can be better optimized based on your inputs I might be able to do one of those without compromising on the base set. I would like to hear your opinion on what locations you would drop in the itinerary to make time for one of the above.

General planning philosophy:
  1. My itineary adopts a breadth approach (cover as much area as I can humanely possible without rushing/touch-and-go) as opposed to depth (i.e. spending much more time within Shikoku than what I allocated); though I would be open to considering more days at selected locations if you have strong recommendations. My thought is to experience how different autumn is at various parts of the country (if possible), and maybe winter too (to a certain degree).
  2. Due to the nature of my travel, I note that luggage logistics is a critical consideration when moving between prefectures; my thought is to park that luggage at the next hotel as quickly as possible so that I can free myself for sightseeing within the vicinity, or leave the luggage at the hotel after I check out until I am ready to travel to the next location. I will need to send (quite a fair bit of) emails to the hotels to confirm on this prior to booking.
  3. I will attempt to minimize transit time between prefectures to no more than 2~3 hours a day to avoid having excessively long transport days (except the initial Tokyo Kagawa jump).
  4. Because of the long trip, I will also need to factor a bit of downtime at night for administrative stuff (e.g. catching up a little bit on work, laundry etc).
---------
Shikoku (~7 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:
  1. I will need to exploit Limited Express trains as much as possible to minimize downtime between the 4 prefectures. Fortunately, for the most part these train frequencies are almost hourly, thus missing one train isnt too deadly consequence-wise.
  2. The transfer between Kochi and Ehime [Matsuyama] is oddly quicker via express bus as opposed to trains (!)
  3. For Kochi, my opinion is that it is best explored on car instead of public transport [it’s a really wide prefecture]; I feel that 1 day may not do it justice, but it is probably adequate for exploring the city centre as a whole.
  4. There's a fair bit of uncertainties while planning this leg so I would deeply appreciate any advice you may have.
  5. This current iteration is unable to weave in the Shikoku Mannaka Sennen Monogatari sightseeing train [四国まんなか千年ものがたり] ; if you people think its something not to be missed do let me know and I will reshuffle my timetable as such.
Day 0: Tokyo Kagawa (Sunrise Seto) [Saturday, 11 Nov]
Day 1: Kagawa (Takamatsu) [Sunday, 12 Nov]
Day 2: Kagawa (Kotohira) Tokushima (Iya Valley) [Monday, 13 Nov]

Day 3: Tokushima (Iya Valley) [Tuesday, 14 Nov]
[Post-research note: I realized that there is NO public transport to Mount Tsurugi on a weekday. I will have to rent a taxi direct to Mount Tsurugi, make the 'climb', then thereafter take the taxi down to the other attractions. I am inclined to just go full hog on the private taxi and rent it (almost the whole day, probably 7~8 hours for 4300yen/hour) to save the trouble.
Otherwise, I will need to hike downhill which can be rather rough since its just a single lane road (looking at nearly 10++ km) so I think it wise not to penny pinch in the interest of both time and safety.]
Spend the day at Iya Valley.

Day 4: Tokushima (Iya Valley) Kochi (Kochi) [Wednesday, 15 Nov]

Day 5: Kochi (Kochi) Ehime (Imabari) [Thursday, 16 Nov]

Day 6: Ehime (Matsuyama / Imabari) [Friday, 17 Nov]
Day 7: Ehime (Imabari) Hiroshima (Shinamani Kaido) [Saturday, 18 Nov]
I am of the opinion that 1 day in Shimanami Kaido is adequate if I attempt just the main route which is about 80km [as a test run, I did 70km and finished it within 6-7 hours with lunch breaks included]. For now I will plan for two full days, however should I truncate it down to one day later, I will add an extra day to either explore Matsuyama or Okayama.

--------
Hiroshima + Yamaguchi (~4 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:
  1. Onomichi is a pretty good base to jump to Okayama to explore Okayama, Kurashiki or Tomonoura with the Shinkansen accessibility, but it is impossible to cover them all within a single day. If I finish the Shimanami Kaido within a single day or finish it early on the second day, I will have that extra time to visit those.
  2. There's another sightseeing train etSETOra from Onomichi to Hiroshima but it only operates on Monday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday. For now the schedule could fit the train timetable pretty nicely.
  3. Would anyone suggest visiting Miyajima in the morning or in the evening? This would help me determine the order for the Kintaikyo Bridge/Miyajima day trip. Watching the sunset at either destination is pretty good in my books.

Day 8: Hiroshima (Shinamani Kaido Onomichi) [Sunday, 19 Nov]
Ideally reach Onomichi just around lunch or earlier. Chill for the rest of the day, and if I'm still up for it, explore Onomichi, including but not limited to:
Retire at a guesthouse/hotel near JR Onomichi that I have forwarded the luggage to.

Day 9: Hiroshima (Onomichi, Takehara+Kure OR Tomonoura OR Okayama) Downtown Hiroshima) [Monday, 20 Nov]

Day 10: Hiroshima (Downtown Hiroshima) [Tuesday, 21 Nov]
Spend the day surveying Hiroshima proper.

Day 11: Hiroshima (with a day trip to Yamaguchi) [Wednesday, 22 Nov]
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Shimane + Tottori (4 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:
  1. Matsue becomes the main jump point for Shimane just because of the subsidized highway bus from Hiroshima, and ease of access towards Tottori later. There's no direct train between Hiroshima and Izumo/Matsue (!).
  2. Tottori is really wide size-wise, to the point that it feels more efficient to have two separate hotels in two nights (Kurayoshi/Misasa Onsen + downtown Tottori) rather than one hotel for two nights (i.e. downtown Tottori). Could be just me making excuses to get into an onsen ryokan however.
  3. Is there anything interesting at Yonago (Tottori) that I should take note of? Based on my initial survey nothing in particular pops up (other than the Tottori Prefectural Flower Park).
  4. Skipping Tottori Castle since it doesn’t seem to be interesting at first glance. Any other interesting things to at Tottori downtown (or nearby)?

Day 12: Hiroshima Shimane (Matsue) [Thursday, 23 Nov]

Day 13: Shimane (Izumo / Matsue) [Friday, 24 Nov]

Day 14: Shimane (Matsue) Tottori (Kurayoshi) [Saturday, 25 Nov]

Day 15: Tottori (Kurayoshi Tottori) [Sunday, 26 Nov]

-----------
Hyogo, Kyoto, Osaka , Nara, Mie (10 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:
  1. Kinosaki Onsen is intentionally designed to be a slow-paced leg to recover [and also to make time to enjoy the onsens].
  2. The limited express train between Kinosaki Onsen and Osaka stops by Himeji thus I thought of resting a night there instead of doing day trips via Osaka.
  3. Osaka itinerary does look sparse but that is in large part because I have already visited most of them in the past. Nevertheless, I would like to experience how different it is in autumn compared to summer [based on those few destinations that I loved going previously].
  4. I have kept one float day to decompress, OR shift to any of the other prefectures (TBC).
  5. There are (multiple) special limited express train by Kintetsu; they're not covered by JR pass but nevertheless I would love to ride on those as an experience. The Kintetsu pass covers the basic fare only but based on my preliminary cost estimate, it is still worth getting it.
  6. Is it feasible to compress Himeji and Kobe to a single day?
  7. The itineraries for Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Mie are flexible since they're literally beside one another - makes it particularly easy to shift around base on ground situation.

Day 16: Tottori (Tottori) Hyogo (Kinosaki Onsen) [Monday, 27 Nov]

Day 17: Hyogo (Kinosaki Onsen + Northern Kyoto (Amanohashidate) day trip) [Tuesday, 28 Nov]
Day 18: Hyogo (Kinosaki Onsen Himeji) [Wednesday, 29 Nov]
Retire at Himeji for the night.
Day 19: Hyogo (Himeji Kobe) Osaka (Dotonburi) [Thursday, 30 Nov]
Day trip to Kobe, before continuing further down to Osaka.
Day 20: Osaka [Friday, 1 Dec]
Osaka Nostalgia (acid) trip, speedrun edition: revisiting places that I want to go again
Day 21: Osaka (Nara day trip) [Saturday, 2 Dec]
Spend a day in Nara.
Day 22: Osaka (Mie day trip) [Sunday, 3 Dec]
Day trip to Mie.
Day 23: Osaka ('north' Kyoto day trip) [Monday, 4 Dec]
(north) Kyoto day trip.
Whichever choice, return back to Osaka for the night. Look out for Kyoto-specific food such as Yudofu, Saba Sushi, Warabi Mochi, Nishin Soba (にしんそば) etc.
Day 24: Osaka ('south' Kyoto day trip) [Tuesday, 5 Dec]
(south) Kyoto day trip edition (mainly Uji and Fushimi).
Head back to Osaka and retire for the night. Consider doing any other night activities in Osaka if time, and body permits.
Day 25: Osaka (wildcard) [Wednesday, 6 Dec]
Spare day to do whatever I feel like doing OR reallocate this to another prefecture. Intentionally left blank for later planning
-------------
Kanazawa, Gifu+ (4 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:
  1. Is it likely for the skiing season to open around 9~10 December at Shiga Kogen or Nozawa Onsen? Would very much like to try skiing for fun, but am uncertain if the snow condition would be satisfactory by then. Some of the skiing website indicates that these two destinations are usually the first to open. I would like to seek advise on this if possible [never skiied before].
  2. As an additional question to point 1, is 2 days adequate just to get a flavor on skiing?
  3. Kanazawa is a pretty solid jump point to Shirakawago/Takayama via express buses (~1 to 2 hour one way).
  4. My initial planning considered going to Kurobe Gorge (Toyama) but apparently the railways are closed from December onwards. Please correct me if I am mistaken.
  5. Another sightseeing train in Kanazawa that I can fit in nicely in my current plans (花嫁のれん), runs on Mon/Fri/Sat/Sun.
Day 26: Osaka Ishikawa (Kanazawa (Kanazawa cityside)) [Thursday, 7 Dec]
Any outstanding spots not completed today, to be rolled over to the next 2 days (if possible).

Day 27: Ishikawa (Kanazawa cityside) / Gifu (Shirakawago, Takayama) [Friday, 8 Dec]

Day 28: Ishikawa (Kanazawa cityside / outskirts) [Saturday, 9 Dec]
Side trip to Wakura Onsen / Nanao for anime-related sightseeing. (Insomanics after Class, Hanasaku Iroha)
Day 29: Ishikawa (wildcard) [Sunday, 10 Dec]
Spare day to do whatever I feel like doing OR reallocate this to another prefecture. Intentionally left blank for later planning
--------------
Tokyo (~6 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:
  1. Specific interest to target: anime/vtuber stuff, music (piano in particular), bookstores etc.
  2. This is the point in time I should go ham on souvenier purchase if I have not done so. I'll probably get an extra cardboard box or duffel bag to lug with me to the airport to store extra stuff.
  3. Would like to seek recommendation on where I should set my base for the 5~6 days here. For now I am planning to pit at Ginza, subject to availability and cost. My thought is that as long as its along the Yamanote line everything rolls I suppose.
  4. Hard pass on Golden Gai on the Shunjuku leg (I do not drink).
  5. There's way too many to list in terms of what I would like to do in Tokyo, but I have listed items that are of particular interest to me first within the available time frame. If you have strong opinions on specific locations do let me know.
Day 30: Ishikawa (Kanazawa) Tokyo (Ginza) [Monday, 11 Dec]
Day 31: Tokyo (Shibuya, Shinjuku and Nakano) [Tuesday, 12 Dec]
Explore ('west') Tokyo, namely Shibuya, Shinjuku and Nakano.
Day 32: Tokyo (Akibahara, Asakusa and Sky Tree) [Wednesday, 13 Dec]
Day 33: Tokyo (Kamakura day trip OR Ikebukuro) [Thursday, 14 Dec]
EITHER take a day trip Kamakura, OR explore northern Tokyo (Ikebukuro)
Kamakura leg:
Tokyo (Ikebukuro leg):
Day 34: Tokyo (wildcard) [Friday, 15 Dec]
Spare day to do whatever I feel like doing OR reallocate this to another prefecture. Intentionally left blank for later planning

Day 35: Tokyo Home [Saturday, 16 Dec]
END
---------------------
If you're still reading up to this point, here's my own personal ramblings/thoughts on JR pass usage:
I have thought of two ways of doing this for the first 21 days:
a. easy-mode : just get 21 days JR global pass before the price hike at 60450 yen, OR b. hard-mode: get a 7 day JR global pass (to cover the NEX fees, the basic fee on the Sunrise Seto to Shikoku, as well as limited express trains within Shikoku) (29650) + 5 days for JR Okayama Hiroshima Yamaguchi Area Pass (15000) + 4 days for JR Sanin Okayama Area Pass + 5 days for JR Kansai Wide Area Pass (10000) for a total of 59230.
The initial conclusion was to go with option A since that reduces the administrative burden, but I realized the individual passes do have its own perk which truimphs over the global JR pass. For instance, the Sanin Okayama Area Pass provides a (minor) discount for the Adachi Museum of Art; the Kansai Wide Pass covers the Kyotango route between Kinosaki Onsen and Amanohashidate which the global JR pass does not cover, JR Okayama Hiroshima Yamaguchi Area Pass covers JR buses within Hiroshima for free, therefore I am inclined to go with the hell option (option B) as it stands.
For the remaining 14 days, I could also get the global 14 day JR pass at 47250 yen but it is not worth it at all, because I will be relying largely on Kintetsu for the Osaka/Kyoto/Nara/Mie leg which the JR pass most certainly does not cover.
So all in all, there's quite little incentive to get the global JR pass after I worked out my schedule, apart from the initial 7 days for the Sunrise Seto jump which the All Shikoku Pass will not cover.
Through the hodge-podge of multiple area passes, it works out to around 102890 yen for the whole trip of 35 days, contrast with 107700 yen for a 21 + 14 global JR pass. While there's a minor cost saving doing the hard way which sweetens the deal, the additional minor perks associated with the area passes sells it for me, as I would had to pay more out of pocket to cover non-JR pass buses/rails and such which would add up to much greater cost than I would had anticipated. Also, if I did this trip post-price hike in October, the calculus becomes a no-brainer: avoid the global JR pass like the plague.
-----
Thank you very much for your opinions, suggestions and advice in advance!
submitted by wardXn to JapanTravel [link] [comments]


2023.06.09 12:23 ScribblingFox98 The Survivor Becomes a Dungeon (Chapter 81)

First
Ferodias POV / Ten Years Earlier
His heart was pounding in his ears, the thrum of battle lingering for longer than it needed to as he pants hotly. He looked around the wooded area, between the trees, and around the trampled grass, and all he saw were the mangled corpses of monsters. He forced himself to focus, and before long, he could sense and hear his friends and allies; they all seemed to be okay, if not reasonably exhausted. "Sound off!" He called out, wiping the blood off the blade on his pant leg before sheathing it as his tail curled and lashed behind him.
"Here and a'okay!" A voice called out; it was from Brasyl, a young half-orc archer who wielded a bow that was impossibly hard for most people to draw and used unique, heavy arrows. The grey-skinned fellow stepped out of some brush and into view with a toothy grin, his face, chest, and right arm coated in blood that wasn't his own as he used a dirty rag to polish off his knife. "Those bastards sure got the drop on us, eh, Rodi?" He mused cheerfully enough.
Ferodias couldn't help but smirk a bit at the half-orc, it was a very close fight, but they did slaughter the infestation of branch bugs that had been terrorizing the local farming villages. At the very least, they culled the population, and they shouldn't be an issue until next spring. His ears twitched as he heard the squelching of bug flesh, turning to see Monty, a human teen warrior who planned to open his restaurant when he saved up enough coin to retire. He was currently grabbing tokens from each branch bug for proof of their total kill count. Upon seeing Ferodias spot him, Monty smiled while waving a branch bug head. "I'm good over here!" He chirped, stuffing the head away in a large sack before moving to the next one.
"I hate bugs." A voice said as they came up behind Ferodias, though he didn't need to turn to know who it was. Regan stepped up beside Ferodias, the half-elf wiping the blood off the end of his magic staff. "All those extra spindly limbs and that disturbing screeching, ugh." He complained as he shuddered before stamping the end of his staff into the dirt and leaning into it. "I would have rathered gone after those grappler bears that were seen near that mining town; at least they have the good decency not to swarm and get gooey blood all over the place."
Ferodias couldn't help but smirk with amusement at his best friend's expense; before he could respond, Regan was nearly knocked over by Danica, a young dwarven teen with an impressive goatee and an equally impressive hammer, as she smacked Regan's back a few times. "Ah, quit your bellyachin Spells; I kept them off ya well enough." She mused mischievously before going over to join Monty with the monster butchering.
Regan scowled with vague annoyance before sighing as he turned to face Ferodias. "Are you absolutely certain you want 'all' of these individuals as your guardians?" He asked, lowering his voice to a near whisper as they spoke privately. "At least reconsider, Danica, if only for my sanity." He mentioned, not sounding serious but making his point.
Ferodias' ears twitched as he flashed a small smile, speaking softly to keep this conversation between themselves. "Why not? They're all good people, strong for their age too; I'm sure they'll be up to snuff by the time the trials are called to a close." They've had this conversation a few times now, but it was only this time that Ferodias really felt genuinely confident of the people he gathered. The members of their party had shifted around a few times over the last couple of years, with Brasyl being the latest member and Danica being the longest-standing member so far. "Besides, you're just jealous she's paying more attention to Monty than you nowadays, aren't you?" He teased mischievously, speaking normally as he waggled his ears while looking over at the half-elf.
Regan flushed, though a frown was soon on his face. "As if, like I would want a woman in the shape of a barrel." He retorted as he looked away.
Danica called out from where she was, ripping off some bark bug limbs with Monty, no doubt planning on adding that to dinner tonight. "Don't worry, Spells; you're too much of a twig for me anyways." She called out playfully, taking it all in stride as she grinned while the other guys chuckled at the scene.
Ferodias couldn't help but laugh at his friend's expense before joining the others as they rounded up the bug heads, all in all, they managed to kill around thirty-seven bugs, and for three silver a head and the reward for the job itself, it was looking to be a good payday for their efforts; not to mention some extra protein for their next few meals. The day soon turned to evening, and their party had set up camp among the trees during their trek back to the nearest guildhall a few towns away. Monty had got a firepit going and set about making dinner, which was comprised of fire-grilled and salted bug legs, some hard bread, and dried fruits. Danica meticulously tended to everyone's weapons, ensuring they were polished and free of any bug guts or blood that were possibly missed earlier. Brasyl had procured a hard case with a latch, pulling out a lyre which he began playing, the delicate looking instrument producing a sweet little melody as the group waited for the food to be cooked.
They had been resting around the fire for some time, the bug meat ending up giving off a rather delicious smell, admittedly. Monty still tending to the fire while turning the legs over a portable wire grill. It was peaceful and quiet, save for Brasyl's music, that was until Regan started shifting around his tent, stepping into the open while clutching his staff. He only had his pants on, but he looked serious as his eyes stared into the darkness around them. Well, it was dark for most of them; with the aid of the flamelight, they could peer fairly far into the darkness; only Monty was relatively blind to anything beyond the reach of the flamelight. "What is it, Spells?" Danica spoke up, tossing Ferodias his sheathed blade and passing over Monty's spear. Brasyl set his lyre down and collected his bow as he notched an arrow.
Regan looked around, his eyes darting side to side. "Movement, we have trespassers who crossed the first threshold of the security perimeter I set..." He explained in a hushed voice.
"How many?" Ferodias asked as he drew his blade, retrieving his shield from beside his tent and standing at the ready, his tail curling close as his ears twitched and strained to catch any sounds beyond the crackle of the wood in the fireplace.
Regan pointed his staff in a direction as the group turned and readied themselves. "We got three, and they're closing in on us; they must have seen the fire." He reasoned as he twitched. "They're sixty feet away; they just crossed the second threshold." He reported, though his brow furrowed as he tilted his head. "Hold on, four more trespassers just crossed the first threshold in the same direction as the first group."
"What does that mean?" Brasyl asked as he drew his bow, the weighty limbs bending in response to the half-orc's strength as he aimed into the grey darkness. Regan didn't answer at first as Brasyl narrowed his eyes. "Spotted the first set... It looks like people in dresses!" He exclaimed, confusion apparent in his voice, though he didn't let his arms relax.
Regan had his eyes shut for a moment before opening them. "Adjust your aim a finger to the left and down, fire!" He ordered, Brasyl making the slight adjustments as the heavy arrow was loosed with a 'thwum,' an animalistic yelp sounding out a split-second later.
In mere moments, the three figures Brasyl had spotted were now in range of the flamelight; there were three women, two looking relatively untouched, save for some bruising and torn clothes. It was the third woman that caught Ferodias' eyes; she was pummeled brutally, her lip split, and one of her eyes had swollen shut, her dress had been ripped to shreds, and she was absolutely drenched in blood. He wanted to say something, speak to her, but he heard howls in the air and remembered at least three more things were chasing these women.
Regan stepped forward, raising his staff and firing off bolts of lightning, the energy arcing through the air and colliding into what appeared to be an enraged hound, frying the beast; there were two more left, having avoided being caught in the blast of electricity as both Monty and Ferodias stepped forward. The human brought his spear low before deftly thrusting into the open maw of one of the hounds, while Ferodias brought his shield up and bashed the remaining beast in the middle of its lunge, stunning it for a moment when he followed up with a downward slash and beheaded it.
The whole ordeal was over before it really began, Danica stepping forward and examining the beast corpses as Ferodias looked over to the women. "What's going on here?" He said, doing his best to present a gentle display despite the fresh blood coating his blade and arm.
The trio of ladies, upon closer inspection, were just girls barely older than Brasyl but younger than Ferodias. Two of them were clearly shaken but doing their absolute best to maintain their composure. The third and worse off seemed more hardened and collected, yet her gaze was distant and not focused. While she certainly looked like she was beaten to shit, because she was, Ferodias realized that most of the blood on her body wasn't hers as it coated her right arm and chest. If he had to guess, she managed to kill someone with that blood-drenched dagger she was clutching. It took a few moments, but a wolfkin girl with mostly human features spoke up. "I am Lady Nerva Foundeli, daughter of Viscount Foundeli." She said before gesturing to the younger of the trio, who was a half-elf that was shuddering almost uncontrollably despite trying her best to remain stoic. "She is Lady Roche Ferdina, daughter of Baron Ferdina." She then gestured to the battered teen human and spoke up, her own voice shaky and faltering from whatever experience they had gone through. "She is Lady Historietta Blackstone, daughter of Count Blackstone." She explained, taking a moment to clear her throat before looking among her rescuers. "We had been kidnapped three days ago, coming from a banquet in the capital... They were planning on holding us for ransom, but we overheard them talking of... of... Using us..." She said, choking on her own words, trying and failing to maintain her composure as Danica went about getting the ladies to sit by the fire, though Historietta remained standing where she was. "They planned on having their ways with us before throwing us away once they got their ransom... It was a day later that Historietta got the attention of one of those vagrants and began insulting him and his mother. She... She seemed to be somehow accurate as she managed to enrage him to the point where he entered the room we were locked in." She said, shivering as she recalled the event. "We begged her to stop, not to make things worse; however, it was too late, and he started to pummel her... We could do nothing since our arms were bound, but somehow she managed to free herself in the midst of the beating and got her hands on his knife." She then glanced over at Historietta, a mix of fear and awe in her voice. "She spilled his guts and freed us and managed to get the jump on one of the other bandits, killing him in his sleep. We managed to escape, but after some time, we heard those foul beasts hot on our heels. We saw your fire in the distance and ran towards you, hoping for the best." She said, gratefully taking a wooden cup with water as Monty passed them to the two ladies, Historietta still standing off to the side.
Brasyl spoke up, having returned to the camp with a bloodied arrow as he looked among the others. "Those hounds were domesticated; someone sent these things after these ladies." He said, not having been there for the story.
Danica nodded at his words. "Yeah, we have a kidnapping situation on our hands; these ladies just escaped." She explained, Brasyl's eyes going wide before bobbing his head as he cleaned off the arrow and tucked it away in his large quiver.
Ferodias approached Historietta, reaching out to touch her shoulder but then thinking better of it. "You alright, Lady Historietta? Can I get you something to eat or drink?" He asked softly, his tail curling tightly behind in distress at seeing a young woman in such a state.
It took a moment, but she seemed to come out of her fugue and looked directly at Ferodias; she averted her gaze, seemingly looking at something before croaking out some incomprehensible words and curtsying. It was almost regal as she grabbed what remained of her tattered dress to do so.
Lady Nerva spoke up while watching this take place. "I'm afraid Lady Historietta cannot speak right now; that vagrant she antagonized had grabbed her by her throat before she had been slammed around. Frankly, I'm surprised she can even breathe properly."
Ferodias looked and felt distressed, worry plain on his face, even as Historietta offered a small smile and wincing as she did so. Regan soon returned from the shadows as he spoke out. "I've reinforced my security wards with more lethal charms; we shouldn't have any more uninvited guests of the unsavory sort." He explained, offering a bit of a smile until he got a good look at Lady Historietta and winced at her condition. "Oh gods, give me a second." He said, heading over to his tent and grabbing his pack; he soon returned with a small vial of red liquid and uncorked it. "Here, a healing potion; I just bought it last week." He explained before going around behind her and placing a hand on her back. "Don't mind me; I'm just gonna use some life magic to amplify the potion's effects." He explained gently, a faint blue light radiating from his palm as Historietta slowly downed the potion, wincing with each swallow.
Monty offered a smile as he set out some bug legs and dried fruits on some wooden plates and passed them to the ladies. "Sorry about the cuts of meat, but you should eat up and gather your strength; we still have a bit of trek before we're back in a major city." He explained. The two ladies certainly looked skeptical at their plates, but they managed to give their thanks. Despite their reservations, they were soon digging in, breaking the fire-charred chitin to get to the soft meat on the inside.
As the minutes ticked by, Ferodias procured a water skin, a change of clothes, a towel, and a spare set of shoes and came over to Historietta and Regan. The duo was now sitting on the ground, with Regan on his knees behind her, Regan's magical light still glowing as Historietta's skin gradually stitched itself back to gather, the bruising and swelling receding as she seemed to even breathe more easily. "Here, once you're done, I've set up some tarps and a light nearby, so you take these and change out of those blood-soaked clothes and rinse off with this water skin." He explained before holding up the water skin in particular. "It's enchanted with water magic to refill every six hours, so don't worry about using it all." He mentioned.
Historietta took a slow breath before speaking up, her voice still scratchy but nowhere near as bad as it was earlier. "Thank you again; I'll be in your care." She said, bowing her head again.
After a few moments, Regan pulled away and stood as he looked down at the Lady, Ferodias being quick to offer his hand to help her to her feet. "Alright, that is as much as I can do for now without overly exhausting you. Get some rest, and we'll do this again in the morning." He explained, shooting Ferodias a curious glance while Historietta got to her feet. Lady Historietta once again bowed her head before walking away with the things Ferodias had brought; Ferodias couldn't help but watch as she left, though that's when Regan poked him in the ribs and quirked a brow at him. "What do you think you're doing? You're smitten with her, aren't you? Don't you remember that you can't tell anyone who you really are?" He chastised in a harsh whisper. "Don't do anything stupid."
Ferodias winced before chuckling sheepishly; he hadn't realized he was being that obvious; then again, Regan could read him like a book. "S-sorry... I... I just couldn't help but admire how composed and capable she is and how she's handling herself right now, even more so than the other ladies." He replied as his ears waggled while he scratched the back of his head.
Regan nodded, seemingly agreeing with that. "You're right... It's almost as if she's gone through this before." He mentioned worriedly. "Just watch yourself, don't go compromising your trials when you've come this far." He warned quietly as he pats Ferodias' shoulder before rejoining the group.
Ferodias nodded, though he looked over at the changing area he set up, catching a vague silhouette of the lady as he felt his cheeks heat up. "I'll try... But gods... What a woman."
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submitted by ScribblingFox98 to HFY [link] [comments]


2023.06.09 10:41 Euphoric-Step-2059 I lived with "friends" for the past year and they were nightmare roommates

Throwaway in case they use Reddit. Long post too, but messier the more you read.
I (26 f) been trying to move forward now that my year in a nightmare living situation has come to an end but I'm still so resentful, so maybe this will help. After living with my parents during the pandemic, in 2022 I reached out to an old college roommate and we decided me, her, and her boyfriend would find a place. They didn't seem to care where, and I love the city. I warned them it was more expensive but they didn't protest.
Firstly, I did EVERYTHING to secure us the place. The boyfriend, let's call him Chris (M 27) was in the GM and never even answered once. While skimming listings I once asked my old roommate, let's call her Maggie (F 26), to send me 3 listings, and I'd have 3, for a total of 6 places to set up tours for. They were on the opposite coast so it was agreed I'd do the tours. Two of the three listings she sent were ones I'd already sent her. She clearly just looked up the first results and didn't even bother to look at what I'd found.
So after touring, emailing, giving my future roomies step-by-step instructions how to apply, getting my dad to co-sign, and reviewing/revising the lease a couple times (they tried to tack on extra fees as most building management companies do) I started setting up job interviews in the area for move-in the following month. I never once got a thank you, only ever "update?" texts from Maggie, or the occasional complaint when I wasn't working fast enough for them. It's not like I wanted validation or to even make all the decisions, I literally had to because they contributed nothing. I would have much rather taken some help over gratitude, but got neither. When I expressed stress that I was doing a lot, she told me she promised she and her man were 5x more stressed because they didn't have jobs lined up like me. As if job websites don't have location searches and Zoom interviews don't exist.
So we moved in. My parents fronted their portions of rent and the deposit for three weeks, and I was upset when I pushed Maggie about it and she told me her dad had her money but she had just been "too depressed" to call and ask him to wire it. Her words. They seemed to assume that my parents had money to spare, which they didn't, even for their own kid.
I started my job, and I was really struggling with alcohol. The city didn't help because there were quite literally over 100 liquor stores and bars less than half a mile from our building. They drank a lot too, but that's not my business. We kind of drowned in our misery together for about 6 weeks, during which time I lost my job for drinking and got another, but then started experiencing sleep-deprivation psychosis where I just completely broke down, so I decided to check myself into rehab for 30 days.
Two weeks prior that, Maggie came home with a puppy in her purse. A guy sold it to her for $50 at her job and she kept it in the break room till she was off. She'd told me several times before that she liked to go to work buzzed, so I assume that played a part.
I already had a cat who wasn't dog-friendly that I paid an extra deposit to be in the apartment, and they both agreed to have him there (they knew him from the college house). So even wasted, I told her absolutely not about this dog. She didn't ask me or Chris before bringing it home, and the two of them were constantly complaining to me about money and how we split the place evenly even though they shared a much larger room, and rent was still really reasonable for the area we were in ($900 each). Not to mention they didn't even read the lease, so they really had no grounds to complain they'd signed documents agreeing to pay an amount they claimed not to be able to afford. A dog on top of that, I pointed out, made no sense. The city is dirty, it would need shots to stay alive and we lived on a high floor with no balcony or patio for it to relieve itself. Pets also cost money.
Maggie agreed the dog was a bad idea and swore up and down she'd return it because she had the owner's number. A few days before I decided to go to rehab they went out all day and left the puppy locked in their tiny bathroom where it howled the entire time on my only day off, and I freaked out on them but they just gaslit me because I was drunk. I felt terrible leaving it in there, but I didn't ask to take on another animal. Ultimately, they were supportive of my choice to get help and even asked me to please come back instead of subletting and told me how much they'd miss me.
Well, while I was gone, things changed. A week before I came back, I texted Chris and Maggie to let them know the date of my return, and that I'd be bringing a sober companion because the first 72 hours out of rehab are notoriously difficult. Maggie texted back (never Chris, like I said) that they needed me to stay with my parents a few cities over for a while instead, because they weren't comfortable with me or a sober friend coming back so soon. Mind you, I paid rent the month I was gone. So I informed her that wasn't going to happen, and I'd be home the date I said above. She replied "sorry, that's just how we feel." As if they got the final say.
I came back when I said I would, brought my sober companion like I said I would, and Maggie lost her mind. My sober buddy and I watched a movie in my room, minding our business, but she heard a second voice and started texting me about how uncool it was to bring a stranger back. I told her she was welcome to meet them, but she refused.
I did't see either of their faces for two weeks after getting home. Chris was still unemployed and stayed home all day, but locked himself in their room 24/7. The first time I saw him, he'd thought I was Maggie locked out (they lost one of their key sets upon move-in and didn't want to purchase a second set, so this happened a lot) and once he realized it was me he practically ran back to their room. I said "hi" and he just said "I though you were Maggie" and slammed the door.
I don't know if they were resentful toward me for getting sober - maybe it was making them face their own problems - but one reason they hid from me was without question the dog. They avoided discussing it at all while I was in rehab, but I could hear it barking the moment I came home. The house reeked of dog urine. They'd taken my pee pads I sometimes put on the furniture when I think my cat might act up, and just pretended it wasn't there. Never paid me back for those either.
It was pretty soon after this Maggie came home with two men. She'd met them at her job, they told her she'd be good for their company, so she quit on the spot and invited them over to drink to celebrate. She actually opened my bedroom door without realizing I was home to "show them my movie poster" on my wall and explained the situation to me. So much for feeling unsafe having strangers in the house. I cringe to think about how it would've went if I wasn't home. It's worth noting that when she sent in her app to those guys' company, their boss didn't like her resume, so she was unemployed for the next 8 months.
Not long after rehab I began dating my current partner, let's call him Stan (M 28). He was great company because we met in recovery, and it can be lonely to be sober when all your friends partake.
Stan was over a lot, and pretty soon into the relationship we got eager to move in together. I asked Maggie about it (asking Maggie was like asking both of them, Chris never wanted to interact with me after I got sober) and she had nothing but good things to say, because that meant rent would be split four ways now. Stan and I didn't protest an even split, even though my room was barely enough space for one person and we learned pretty quickly how to climb around each other to function day-to-day.
I didn't have a sense of boundaries or standards before sobriety, but Stan encouraged me to strengthen that sense of self I'd previously forfeited to be drunk 24/7 and it made me start to realize some things about the household dynamic. Stan cooked for us a lot, and even before he moved in he was always cleaning Maggie and Chris's dishes along with his. He pointed out that they'd leave things, sloshy with sink water and food bits, for weeks in the sink. He also bought some nice things to cook with like expensive olive oil, and soda water for himself, which Maggie would either take and not say anything, or text me after already taking it promising to pay us back. Never once saw a penny. It upset me even moreso that she was so sneaky about taking it first, so we couldn't say no.
There was even a time when Stan and I went out of town for a wedding, and when we came back Maggie handed us a clean towel of ours. She explained they were out of towels while we were gone, so they went into our bathroom and took one of ours off the rack....I didn't say so until I blew up months later, but that was actually a towel used for clean up....that kind of clean up. Karma worked quick on that one, who goes into someone's private bathroom and takes their towel off the rack to use on themselves?!
I mentioned the common area was hardly used, but the exception was when Maggie and Chris's friends or family visited. It happened probably four or five times in the year we were there. Each time Maggie would give me about a day's warning before the guests would show up. Once, when her dad flew in, she informed me about his week-long stay as he was in his Uber headed to our place from the airport. Even worse, he was meant to take their bed, and they were going to sleep on an air mattress in the living room with the dog that barked at anything that moved. Stan gets up super early for work, and Chris got all grumpy that it woke him up as Stan left because the dog flipped out. Like sorry, should he have used our 15 story window to leave?
Funny enough, after the first night in their room Maggie's dad insisted he take the living room. It was pretty obvious to me he couldn't stand the smell in their room. They continued to use pee pads instead of taking the dog to the street to "go," and it often missed onto the carpet of their room. The smell wafted into the kitchen every time they opened their door, I can't imagine what being in there with the door shut all night would do to a person's nostrils.
It all came to a boiling point about 6 months in. Stan wasn't doing well with the constant stress of cleaning up after others and resentment that came with it. We decided the best course of action was for him to move out, which was confirmed by Maggie confronting us on a Tuesday afternoon, drunk as a skunk, about how the fridge smelled because our leftovers went bad. We went through the entire fridge, and threw out over half of their items that were months expired. They complained about money nonstop but wouldn't get jobs and switched to Doordashing every single day. There was molding cheese, and the kicker: deli meat 2 months past its expiration date, not only with several colors of mold but MAGGOTS. Now we understood why there were dead gnats in the fridge. They were born in there.
When we informed them of Stan's move-out, Maggie said that was fine with her as long as her and Chris's rent remained $650. They actually expected me to pay half the rent for a smaller room, where the kitchen was festering from their mess and the stuff I bought was taken by them with no reimbursement. That, or get a fourth stranger to share my room with me, which barely fit my full-size bed. Furious, I told them I'd be moving out as well, and subletting. They told me I needed to find two people, so I pulled *that* move and said since my dad was the co-signer and unwilling to vouch his credit for a lease his daughter wasn't a part of, we'd dissolve the lease entirely.
This somewhat scared them into moving, and they alleged a move-out date that came and went. Stan and I crossed our fingers they'd leave, we could take the bigger room, and sublet out our old one. We had no problem with rent split three ways, as that was the lease agreement anyway.
In the meantime, the one request I had out of rehab they'd agreed to went out the window. I was never going to ask them not to drink in their own place, but I simply asked that they keep it to their room and out of sight from Stan and me. They stayed in there most of the time anyway, and had a mini fridge. I'm pretty sure she drank every day in there, which again wasn't my business but it became obvious when she did stuff like leave the electric stovetop on for hours.
She had friends over again, and they not only filled up the living room with luggage and mattresses with just a few hours heads up to me, but drank out there while I was in my room. The house smelled like booze (and dog urine, always dog urine...) and they even had some full cans in the fridge when they went out. I texted her angrily, because the box of White Claws was shoved in so that my own food was squashed in the back of the fridge, and she blew me off like I had no right to ruin her night. I spent till sunrise on AA zoom meetings, shaking with anger. The texts must have made her angry too, because she brought back additional strangers to drink some more in the living room till dawn.
There were tons of incidents like this throughout the year, and even worse Maggie took it upon herself to try to mediate arguments in my relationship. She'd overhear and come out drunk to try to step in. She once confronted me about "not seeming sober" when I had over 4 months. I told her she had no place to comment even if I had relapsed, and she told me to "make sure I'm going to meetings." I so very much wanted to snap back that she should find some of her own.
This went on a whole year. Stan left, but when he did so and came back to visit the first time, Maggie cornered him and demanded he pay rent for that month. He was already moved into another place, and paying rent there. She yelled at him that she and Chris don't have money, Stan just told her that's not his responsibility to foot the bill for their laziness. Even so, he compromised and still paid utilities till our lease ended.
Up till the last couple days, they still disrespected me and my space. They'd let their dog eat my cat's food almost daily, sometimes more. They'd watch it urinate on the floor, and maybe if I was standing right there to see it, they'd wipe it down with a pee pad, no disinfectant. Once I did it myself and left the rag and cleaner on the floor by the puddle to make a point. The next day I found the rag on the sink; she confirmed she took it off the floor to wipe down our kitchen counters. Even if she didn't know what it was used for, who uses a dirty rag on the floor to wipe where they put food?
I let them know a few days before move-out that I would be cleaning certain common areas -- half, when it realistically should have been a third -- and that the rest was their responsibility. I also told them the couch was theirs to take down. We didn't have one for a long time, but when Stan was living with us Maggie found one freshly put on the street and texted us. Stan and I met her down there to carry it up, and she just watched us do it and made comments about "getting in our workout for the day." She didn't even help propping open doors.
On move-out, I had work in the afternoon in the next city over. I'd already packed all my stuff into boxes, they had one sitting in the living room. Not my business as long as they were out on time. They were up and moving on the last day, scrambling to pack, when I informed them my parents were coming to transport my stuff and help with my part of the cleaning since I had to be at my new job on time. They immediately holed up in their room, and stayed there for FIVE HOURS, not wanting to interact with my parents. They were the ones we paid rent to, and of course they'd heard my grievances, but they were always friendly and reasonable to Maggie and Chris as long as they sent rent on time. I have no idea what time they ended up leaving, since they stayed deadly silent too, according to my mom who stayed to clean after I went to work.
A week later, we got our bill from the building. Our whole deposit was eaten up, and an additional $460 was owed for the building to hire cleaners. My mom helped me, and we did more than our share, but clearly my roommates still didn't pull their weight.
I think they moved back with Chris's parents, I don't really care. If they did, I feel sorry for everyone involved in that situation. They have no decency or consideration, and mooch as much as they can for as little effort as possible. And on top of all that, still complain. As for me, I miraculously stayed sober, and Stan and I live together in the city where we both work.
I guess I can count on time to show them how awful they were, because we're getting older and not many people will put up with that moving forward. I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone, and don't intend to ever live with roommates ever again because of what they put me through. Stan, my cat, maybe a dog we acquire responsibly in the future, and some kids someday. That'll be acceptable.
submitted by Euphoric-Step-2059 to offmychest [link] [comments]


2023.06.09 10:16 JaymesKaat Advice please!

Background:
My puppy is named Tikaani, she's 4 months old and I've had her for two months. Shes a rescue husky mix (maybe some German shepherd?) And very clever.
She's been good about her potty training for a little over a month, only one accident that was entirely my fault for forgetting to turn my alarm back on. Previously accidents were dealt with with a stern no, brief kenneling while I cleaned up, and nothing else. She still gets treats every time she goes potty outside to cement the idea that outside potty is good.
I have the kitchen/dining room baby gated off because she's a trash gremlin and will attempt to tip the bin. She does not like it much when I am behind the baby gate, even when I'm standing right in front of her and leaning over it to pet her anyway. She often does 'no' behaviors when I am behind the baby gate which I'm assuming is a 'bad attention is better than no attention' thing? I'm trying to head this off using snack distractions and crate training.
Anyway, I usually eat behind the baby gate to keep her from ingesting people food that is bad for her. Before getting Tikaani I would usually eat in the living room.
Current issue:
I decided to try eating in the living room again. I thought maybe she'd like it better that I was with her instead of behind the baby gate, and also she should start getting used to people eating around her without getting anything herself because that happens in life.
The first time was lunch, I feed Tikaani about half an hour before I eat so our eating times are completely separated in her brain. Before I feed her, I take her outside to pee and she does. She drink a little bit of water when she comes back inside. Feeding takes fifteen minutes because I throw her food all over the room for her to chase and sniff out because it uses up some of her wild energy and slows her eating and she loves it. After I take her out again, she pees again.
I spend fifteen more minutes making my own lunch while distracting Tikaani with small bouts of training. When I have my food I decide to sit in a chair and put my plate on the ottoman. She's been really good about leave it, so I was pretty confident this would be fine, and for the most part it was. She didn't seem to like that I was eating, she barked angrily at my food and I had to resort to saying no and nudging her away from the ottoman until she understood that she was not supposed to get too close to my food.
About halfway through eating, she huffs (which she seems to do when she's frustrated or mad at me for something) and walks across the room, jumps on the couch, and pees on two throw pillows and the couch cushion while looking directly at me.
Obviously I shoot up and start no-ing as soon as I realize, but it's already done so I just sigh and kennel her so I can clean up.
(Side note: she also hates when I clean. It doesn't matter if it's vacuuming, sweeping, wiping up a spill with a paper towel, she despises it. She sees me using any of these things, she screams. I've introduced each of the things to her and she's fine with them when they're not being used (even the vacuum when it's on). So that's baffling to me.)
I crate her for dinner and later, after I kennel her for the night, I do an extra bit of cleaning for the couch just to make extra sure it's not gonna be a problem.
The next day I decide to try again for breakfast. Almost the same song and dance, she drinks a little water, I take her out to pee, she does, I bring her in, feed her, take her back out to poop, she does and also pees a little, bring her back in. I spend fifteen minutes making brakfast and this time, I sit on the couch to eat. To be clear, she has not had any more water since the first step. She barks angrily at my food, I gently nudge her away from it with no's and leave-it's. Halfway through she huffs, jumps up on the couch right next to me (approximately same place as last time, but thoroughly and enzymatically cleaned), and pees while staring me in the face.
So now I'm at a loss. Why exactly is she doing this? Logically I know that protest peeing isn't a thing, but damn if it doesn't feel like she's protesting me eating in front of her without sharing 😅😅
Anyway, can anyone give me ideas on why she might actually be doing this?
submitted by JaymesKaat to puppy101 [link] [comments]


2023.06.09 10:01 Comfortable_Rise5653 Insights about an app to teach finances to kids?

Hi! I am a college student and as a final project I decided to create a product that I would have really enjoyed when I was a child (and I believe it would have helped me make wiser choices when I was younger). I decided to create wisekids.io, an audiobook app for children with stories to educate about finances and values such as compound interest, saving money through delayed gratification and the relevance of hard work when trying to succeed.
I created this project to test the interest of parents in this type of products and develop the app if the interest was validated. In the free demo, you can find the main tale called "Danny the Bunny and the Magic Carrot Field". The tale is narrated by a professional and besides the story, there is extra content, such as explaining the compound interest effect for children, 10 questions to think about after listening to the tale and 20 vocabulary words to learn.
I have put many hours in working on this project (writing the story, creating the website, building the concept itself of WiseKids) and I would like it work, so that many children can be educated in this relevant topics from an early age.
As a parent, would you like this product? Any ideas on how I can get feedback about the project, and how can I improve it?
Many thanks!
submitted by Comfortable_Rise5653 to MiddleClassFinance [link] [comments]


2023.06.09 09:56 Comfortable_Rise5653 Insights about an app to teach finances to kids?


Hi! I am a college student and as a final project I decided to create a product that I would have really enjoyed when I was a child (and I believe it would have helped me make wiser choices when I was younger). I decided to create wisekids.io, an audiobook app for children with stories to educate about finances and values such as compound interest, saving money through delayed gratification and the relevance of hard work when trying to succeed.
I created this project to test the interest of parents in this type of products and develop the app if the interest was validated. In the free demo, you can find the main tale called "Danny the Bunny and the Magic Carrot Field". The tale is narrated by a professional and besides the story, there is extra content, such as explaining the compound interest effect for children, 10 questions to think about after listening to the tale and 20 vocabulary words to learn.
I have put many hours in working on this project (writing the story, creating the website, building the concept itself of WiseKids) and I would like it work, so that many children can be educated in this relevant topics from an early age.
As a parent, would you like this product? Any ideas on how I can get feedback about the project, and how can I improve it?
Many thanks!
submitted by Comfortable_Rise5653 to raisingkids [link] [comments]


2023.06.09 08:59 fryguypins The Magic of Disney Pins: A Collector's Guide

The Magic of Disney Pins: A Collector's Guide
Disney pins are not just small pieces of metal; they are tokens of magic that capture the essence of Disney's enchanting world. From iconic characters to memorable park attractions, Disney pins have become a highly sought-after collectible for Disney enthusiasts worldwide. In this collector's guide, we will delve into the fascinating world of disney trading pins, exploring their history, types, and valuable tips for both beginners and seasoned collectors.
disney trading pins
The Origins of Disney Pins
The tradition of disney trading pins originated in 1999 at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, drawing inspiration from the practice at the Olympic Games. This unique experience allowed Disney fans to engage in pin trading with Cast Members and fellow guests, creating a culture of collecting and exchanging Disney pins. The program quickly gained popularity and spread to other Disney parks worldwide, becoming a cherished pastime for Disney fans of all ages.
disney trading pins
Types of Disney Pins
Disney pins come in various types, each with its own allure for collectors.
a) Character Pins: These pins feature beloved Disney characters like Mickey Mouse,disney princess dolls, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, and others. Character pins often showcase different outfits, poses, or special editions tied to specific events or anniversaries, making them highly sought-after among collectors.
b) Attraction Pins: Commemorating Disney park attractions, disney pin collections capture the excitement and nostalgia associated with iconic rides like Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, or the Haunted Mansion. They allow collectors to relive the magic of these beloved attractions.
c) Limited Edition Pins: Produced in limited quantities, these pins often feature intricate designs, special finishes, or unique elements like movable parts or hidden Mickey symbols. Limited edition pins are highly coveted by collectors due to their exclusivity and collectible value.
d) Event Pins: Released during Disney-sponsored events or special celebrations like park anniversaries or movie releases, event pins offer collectors a chance to capture the magic of these exclusive occasions. Disney pin collections are often produced in limited quantities and feature event-specific designs.
Disney pin collections
Tips for Collectors
Whether you're a novice or a seasoned collector, here are some valuable tips to enhance your Disney pin collection:
a) Authenticity Matters: Ensure Disney pins you acquire are official Disney pins by purchasing them from reputable sources such as Disney parks, authorized retailers, or reputable online sellers. Counterfeit pins lack the quality and value associated with genuine Disney pins.
b) Pin Trading Etiquette: Familiarize yourself with pin trading etiquette if you're interested in this aspect of collecting. Approach Cast Members or other traders with respect and trade pins of equal value. Pin trading is about the joy of sharing and collecting, not just acquiring rare pins.
c) Displaying Your Collection: Showcase your collection using creative display methods like pin boards, frames, or shadowboxes. Disney pins allows you to enjoy and appreciate your pins while protecting them from damage. Organize them by theme or type for a visually appealing display.
d) Connect with Other Collectors: Joining Disney pin collector communities, both online and offline, can enhance your collecting experience. You can exchange tips, insights, and even trade pins with fellow enthusiasts, fostering connections and expanding your collection.
disney trading pins
Disney pins hold a unique place in the hearts of Disney fans worldwide, capturing the magic and nostalgia associated with Disney's timeless characters and attractions. This collector's guide has provided valuable insights into the world of Disney pin collecting. Remember, it's not just about the pins; it's about the joy, connections, and cherished memories they bring to your Disney experience. Happy pin collecting!
submitted by fryguypins to u/fryguypins [link] [comments]


2023.06.09 08:28 Plenty-Action7327 Luxury Outdoor Wedding Venues in Gurgaon: Embracing Nature's Beauty

Luxury Outdoor Wedding Venues in Gurgaon: Embracing Nature's Beauty
https://preview.redd.it/ts1qqlr3sx4b1.jpg?width=6720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=18968d5ed81a1f86c78c7986e0c7f71422f2ff9b
Gurgaon, also known as Gurugram, is a bustling city located in the northern state of Haryana. With its modern infrastructure, world-class amenities, and vibrant culture, Gurgaon has become one of India's most popular destinations for weddings. The city boasts some of the best wedding venues in the country, ranging from luxury hotels to sprawling resorts. In this blog, we will explore the best luxury Gurgaon's best luxury outdoor wedding venues in Gurgaon that embrace nature's beauty and create a magical ambiance for your special day.
The Westin Sohna Resort and Spa
The Westin Sohna Resort and Spa is a luxurious wedding venue amidst the Aravalli Hills lush greenery. The resort offers a range of indoor and outdoor venues for weddings, including a beautiful garden area that can accommodate up to 1000 guests. The resort also has a grand ballroom and several banquet halls that are perfect for indoor weddings. The Westin Sohna Resort and Spa offer world-class amenities, including a spa, swimming pool, and multiple dining options, making it ideal for a luxurious and unforgettable wedding experience.
The Ritz-Carlton, Gurgaon
The Ritz-Carlton, Gurgaon is a five-star luxury hotel that offers a range of indoor and outdoor venues for weddings. The hotel's outdoor venues include a beautiful lawn area accommodating up to 1000 guests and a rooftop terrace offering stunning city skyline views. The hotel also has several banquet halls and a grand ballroom that can accommodate up to 800 guests. The Ritz-Carlton, Gurgaon offers world-class amenities, including a spa, fitness center, and multiple dining options, making it an ideal choice for a luxurious and elegant wedding.
The Leela Ambience Gurugram Hotel and Residences
The Leela Ambience Gurugram Hotel and Residences is a luxurious wedding venue located in the heart of the city. The hotel offers a range of indoor and outdoor venues for weddings, including a beautiful poolside area that can accommodate up to 1000 guests. The hotel also has several banquet halls and a grand ballroom that can accommodate up to 1200 guests. The Leela Ambience Gurugram Hotel and Residences offer world-class amenities, including a spa, swimming pool, and multiple dining options, making it ideal for a luxurious and sophisticated wedding.
ITC Grand Bharat
ITC Grand Bharat is a luxurious wedding venue located in the foothills of the Aravalli Range. The resort offers a range of indoor and outdoor venues for weddings, including a beautiful garden area that can accommodate up to 1000 guests. The resort also has several banquet halls and a grand ballroom that can accommodate up to 800 guests. ITC Grand Bharat offers world-class amenities, including a spa, golf course, and multiple dining options, making it ideal for a luxurious and unforgettable wedding experience.
The Lalit Manger
The Lalit Manger is a luxurious wedding venue located in the midst of a beautiful forest reserve. The resort offers a range of indoor and outdoor venues for weddings, including a beautiful lawn area that can accommodate up to 1000 guests. The resort also has several banquet halls and a grand ballroom that can accommodate up to 600 guests. The Lalit Manger offers world-class amenities, including a spa, swimming pool, and multiple dining options, making it ideal for a luxurious and unique wedding experience.
Conclusion
Gurgaon offers some of the best wedding venues in the country, ranging from luxurious hotels to sprawling resorts. The city's natural beauty and modern infrastructure make it an ideal destination for couples who want to embrace nature's beauty and create a magical ambiance for their special day. The luxury outdoor wedding venues in Gurgaon that we have listed in this blog offer world-class amenities, stunning views, and unforgettable experiences that will make your wedding day truly special. Whether you are looking for a grand ballroom or a beautiful garden area, Gurgaon has something for everyone.
submitted by Plenty-Action7327 to u/Plenty-Action7327 [link] [comments]


2023.06.09 06:50 jtim2 Paladin: Oath of Order - A Mage Hunter Subclass

Paladin: Oath of Order - A Mage Hunter Subclass
Oath of Order
This is a draft of a mage-hunter paladin subclass I've been working on: the Oath of Order. I've been looking for an anti-magic inquisitor-style paladin akin to the Dragon Age Templars, but I haven't found an existing published or homebrew subclass that's quite right.
The subclass is designed to help a paladin locate and apprehend spellcasters, with a few control-oriented spells that can address non-spellcasters as well. The primary goal with its features was to give the paladin a way to neutralize spells, rather than add to the paladin's already considerable damage output.
This is still an early draft and I'm looking for any feedback or suggestions to help with tuning during playtesting. Let me know your thoughts!
[Art generated using midjourney]
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The full document is linked above, but here are the mechanics:
Channel Divinity
3rd-level Oath of Order feature
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.
Vigilant Mind. When a spell forces you to make a saving throw and you fail, you may expend a use of your Channel Divinity to reroll the saving throw. You must use the new roll.
At 18th level, your reroll automatically succeeds.
Chaos Sense. You can use your Channel Divinity to detect the chaotic strands of magical energy. For 1 hour, you sense the presence of magic and spellcasters (creatures capable of casting at least one spell) within 60 feet of you and wild magic zones within one mile. When you sense magic or spellcasters in this way, you see a faint aura around any visible creature or object in the area that bears magic. This aura gives you further information on the type of magic: for spells, items, or magical effects, you learn the school of magic, if any; for spellcasters, you learn the highest level of spell they can cast and the origin or nature of their magic.
Your Chaos Sense can penetrate most barriers, but is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.

Oath Spells
3rd-level Oath of Order feature
You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed.
Oath of Order Spells
  • 3rd: Absorb Elements, Command
  • 5th: Hold Person, Silence
  • 9th: Counterspell, Dispel Magic
  • 13th: Compulsion, Locate Creature
  • 17th: Hold Monster, Circle of Power

Aura of Order
7th-level Oath of Order feature
When you are not incapacitated an aura of order emanates from you and interferes with nearby spells. This aura has the following effects within 10 feet of you:
  • Subdued chaos. Spells cast within your aura cannot trigger wild magic effects.
  • Dampening field. Hostile creatures within your aura make concentration saving throws for spells at disadvantage.
  • Spell shield. Spell attacks against you and friendly creatures within your aura are made with disadvantage.
  • Reversal. A number of times per day equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of once) you may reverse a missed spell. When a spell attack misses a target within your aura, you can use your reaction to hurl the spell back at the caster, making a ranged spell attack.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.

Backlash
7th-level Oath of Order feature
When you use your Divine Smite feature to deal damage to a creature that is concentrating on a spell, you may deal an additional 1d6 psychic damage to the target per level of the spell slot used to cast the spell it is concentrating on.

Spell Interruption
15th-level Oath of Order feature
When a creature you can see within your melee range begins casting a spell, you may use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack against the creature. If you damage the creature as part of this reaction, it must make a concentration saving throw to continue casting the spell. If it fails, the spell has no effect, the spell slot is lost, and the target loses concentration on all other spells and abilities.

Spell Distortion
15th-level Oath of Order feature
Your divinely ordered nature distorts and weakens spells cast on you, giving you the following benefits:
  • Distorting defenses. You have resistance against damage from spells and advantage on saving throws against spells.
  • Distorted detection. You are aware of attempts to target or perceive you through divination magic or magical scrying sensors and, a number of times per day equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of once), may prevent yourself from being targeted or perceived in this way.

Bulwark of Order
20th-level Oath of Order feature
You can flare your divine power to increase your resistance to spells. As a bonus action, you may end any number of spells on yourself and gain the following benefits for 1 minute:
  • Nullify magic. Spells cast at 3rd level or lower do not affect you unless you allow them to.
  • Halt spell. You can cast counterspell at 3rd level without using a spell slot.
  • Mental fortress. Whenever a spell forces you to make a Wisdom or Intelligence saving throw, you may choose to instead make a Charisma saving throw.
Once you use this bonus action, you can’t use it again unless you finish a long rest.

NOTES
Who is the caster of a reversed spell?
When you reverse a spell that misses a target in your aura, you make a ranged spell attack to hit the caster with their own spell. Even though you are making the spell attack roll, the original caster is still deemed to have cast the spell for all other purposes.
Backlash and Spell Interruption.
If you deal damage with your Divine Smite feature as part of the reaction granted by your Spell Interruption feature, you may use your Backlash ability to deal extra psychic damage. If the target is both casting a spell and concentrating on another spell when you use your Backlash ability, use the spell cast using a higher-level spell slot to calculate the additional psychic damage.
submitted by jtim2 to UnearthedArcana [link] [comments]


2023.06.09 06:37 jy02521671 all Mythic path experiences

I just played through all mythic paths over the last 3 months including DLCs. The story is so rich, have to say I genuinely had a good time. For me, some mythic paths play throughs are more enjoyable than the others. Please share your Path/Build and your Epic Moment in comments, here are my experiences with each mythic path, my preferred class, and my epic moments:
Trickster - Gendarme
Mechanics - Perception2 increase critical multiplier, Trick Fate guarantees all attacks hit and crit (dualwield can achieve up to 10 crits in a row). On top of Gendarme's x3 x2 charge damage multiplier. World3 gives any feats you want, Persuasion3 makes enemies kill themselves, Magic Device3 makes metamagic rods infinite use. Nature3 can give unique items otherwise unobtainable any other way. Mechanically trickster can do anything and everything.
Disadvantage - None, Trickster is just too good.
Epic Moment - 1 round KO Deskari on unfair.
Demon - Kineticist
Mechanics - Demon Rage Kalavakus Aspect gives a free weapon hit on each CMB check. Kineticist has push/bowling infusion to trigger CMB checks on AOE attacks. Demon story gets to usurp Nocticula's city if so choose.
Disadvantage - Story is heavily skewed towards an evil Demon, even if you pick all the good choices in the game, Arueshalae still leaves you.
Epic Moment - Unfair Nahyndri is the hardest boss in the game, and Kineticist can just solo him. Also watching enemies walk into my AOE, get pushed away, then walk back in… again and again, while sipping on my tea and not having to control anything… is very amusing.
Swarm That Walks - Oracle Seeker
Mechanics - Swarm Clone copies your ability and spells, max 3 clones at mythic 9. Insane melee attack range, physical immune from mythic 9. Loses previous mythic spells unless you merged spellbook, Oracle offers Angel spellbook merge + pet progression, pet stays after your companions leave.
Disadvantage - no companions/mercenaries. Story is bare minimum, no ascension ending. No research in crusader mode, so Act 5 research items are inaccessible. No base building, no teleport around the map, meaning you have to waste time walking everywhere and get into random fights. No generals to lead your armies, so crusader mode becomes a dry and stale experience.
Epic Moment - the sheer quantity of attacks of opportunities when I can melee punch enemies from 2 screens away.
Angel - Shadow Shaman
Mechanics - Angel spells focus on buffs, and in this game pre-buffing before fights is overpowered. Can merge spell book, mostly buff spells plus irresistible damage spell Storm of Justice. Shadow Shamon can merge and offers pet + sneak attacks.
Disadvantage - Angel ending gives an extra fight with Deskari, sadly no extra fight with Baphomet. Angel story is really good, but needs to read a guide on it first otherwise very easy to miss characters/items.
Epic Moment - >! Iomadae came down and invited me to heaven !< , then I refused her like a boss!
Lich - Sylvan Sorcerer
Mechanics - Can raise dead NPCs as minions/companions. No limit to the number raised, can trivialise boss fights. Lich ignores Constitution damage. Vampiric Blade gives lifesteal on weapon hits. Can merge spell books. Overall has a good blend of buffs, debuffs, and damage spells. Sylvan Sorcerer can merge with lich spellbook and offers a pet.
Disadvantage - no real way to avoid the atrocities in act 5. Seela will leave you. Repurpose is glitchy, best not to use on important NPCs. Undead companions don't talk much.
Epic Moment - Walking around with balor bodyguards as if I'm someone important. The story is alright, was a little surprised when >! the crusade turned on me on the ending slides !<
Aeon - Divine Hound
Mechanics - Aeon Bane is a weapon buff that dispells enemy buffs on hit. Upon mythic level 6 all summoned units/pet get Aeon Bane. Divine Hound offers pet and free teamwork feats for your pet. Theoretically you can also spell summon nature allies to make full use of Aeon Bane. Edict of Invulnerability gives temporary physical immune. True Form can give massive stats buff. Interesting unique story with time travel.
Disadvantage - Spell summoned units can not be directly controlled and they require finicky maneuvering/positioning. Aeon Gaze requires manual activation every fight, it can get annoying. True Form can not be metamagic extended, there are ways to make it 24 hours, but takes a lot of work, and you only get 2 casts of it. Aeon ending is sad, makes you question why did you bother spending the last 100 hours to achieve a nothing ending.
Epic Moment - that one time I buffed to 80+ in all stats.
Azata - Overwhelming Mage
Mechanics - Overwhelming Mage gives +4 spell pen +3DC and is a Charisma caster, aligns with Life-bonding friendship. Favourable Magic gives your spell DC check roll twice. Zippy Magic makes your hideous laughtephantasmal killer jump to another enemy. The story revolves a lot around the dragon pet Aivu.
Disadvantage - Caster build falls off at higher difficulties. The DC just can't scale high enough to be relevant.
Epic Moment - meeting Arueshalae's ex in Act4 was pretty savage.
Devil - Crossblooded
Mechanics - Crossblooded can choose 2 draconic bloodlines with fire damage boost. Devil mythic 9 gets infinite hellfire ray, can set it to auto cast. Only Azata and Aeon can become Devil. Keeps previous mythic spells. Azata keeps Superpowers and Aeon keeps Aeon Bane.
Disadvantage - Infinite hellfire ray can not be metamagic boosted, which limits scaling potential. Story is OK, playing politics with Chilax, but for an evil character you never feel powerful, ending is mediocre. Can not recruit Galfrey.
Epic Moment - Decree of Never-ending War doesn't have mind-affecting descriptor… then I used it on mind-affecting immune enemies and it worked!
Legend - Fighter + Knife Master
Mechanics - Max level to 40, but per class is still capped at 20. BAB bonuses stack between classes, can achieve 10+ weapon hits in 1 round. Loses previous mythic spells unless you merged spellbook. Fighter is a given with the weapon training, and Knife Master offers 10d8 sneak attacks. Can also keep Trickster critical feats after turning Legend.
Disadvantage - no ascension ending. CL does not stack between classes, heavily skewed towards a weapon based build, as you can achieve 40BAB versus 28CL if you are going caster build. If legend offers 40 CL, it would put casters on the same level playing field.
Epic Moment - Giving away mythic powers, then regretting the fact that I could have ascended to godhood had I made different choices.
Gold Dragon - Oracle
Mechanics - 3 dragon feats can choose from any non-mythic feats. Loses previous mythic spells unless you merged spellbook. Uplift your BAB to 25. Oracle/Loremaster can merge and keep Angel spells, then the weak BAB gets uplifted at Mythic 9. Ideally at character creation you want to dump all other stats and pump one stat to 22, so at Mythic 9 all your other stats get uplifted to 18, and your one highest stat gets further +8.
Disadvantage - Dragon Breath is underwhelming, your weapon attacks do more damage. Requires a lot of planning ahead, once you become Gold Dragon, you can't respec otherwise you lose your merged Angel/Lich spells. The story is lackluster, no meaningful difference between corrupted and uncorrupted Dragon, Dragon ending is also mediocre.
Epic Moment - Finding out that there is a unique dialogue to stop Arueshalae from leaving by reforming from Demon to Gold Dragon… experienced that redemption moment… then promptly reloaded to continue Demon…
So that's my experience, comment below what is your Path/Build and your Epic Moment?
submitted by jy02521671 to Pathfinder_Kingmaker [link] [comments]


2023.06.09 06:36 deluxetaxistand Taxi Service In Chandigarh

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submitted by deluxetaxistand to u/deluxetaxistand [link] [comments]


2023.06.09 05:48 Slight_Feature_1679 Sunwing wants their money back??

My fiance and I went on a vacation with sunwing in December of 2022 (right when all the flights were being canceled and delayed). We were somewhat lucky and made it to our destination and back, however, that came with multiple delayed flights, canceled flights, and extra days stuck at the resort. When the vacation was over and we were home we filed for their compensation refund for having a flight delayed more than 3 hours or canceled. Come to find out Sunwing ended up refunded us for our whole trip! We thought, wow this is awesome. NOT. 6 months since the refund we get a notification from SunWing saying that we have to repay the whole vacation in full amount. My question is, can they legally issue us to pay them back when it was their mistake that they fully refunded us?

Any input would be great, thanks.
submitted by Slight_Feature_1679 to u/Slight_Feature_1679 [link] [comments]


2023.06.09 03:01 kyle53894 Shift changes with less than 16hr notice

I do shift work at a holiday resort and at 8pm tonight I was informed that I have an extra shift tomorrow at 12pm on top of my other shift that I start at 4pm. This wasn't on my rota and I have plans for that time as I was supposed to be off. Does 16 hours count as "reasonable notice". I'm now also being threatened with the unauthorised absence procedure if I don't cancel my plans and go into work.
Is there any argument I have to not go?
submitted by kyle53894 to LegalAdviceUK [link] [comments]


2023.06.09 01:25 AuthorInHell Sweet Cheeks

This is definitely a fanfiction, something to write when I need to get my brain off of my book! Enjoy it! Or don't, I'm not your mom.

I think I heard somewhere once that the worst days of your life start off the most mundane. Or maybe I just made that up to stop myself from overthinking every little moment that lead up to this one.
The morning started like any other (as I alluded to), birds were singing, annoyingly loud, and the sun was shining in a way that most people would describe as beautiful, but I'd describe it as sharp. Every beam of UV ray that fell from the sky jabbed into my eyes and back into my pounding skull.
"Doing alright there, Winnie?" A sweet voice asked. I looked up into Doris's eyes, full of a mixture of sympathy and amusement. I let out some kind of whine/groan and dropped my head back into my hands, where it belonged, shielding me from the offensively cheery woman standing in front of the offensively cheery light.
A loud clunk sounded and I peaked with one eye to see an empty bottle of tequila had appeared on the table in front of me. "I see you had quite the fun night," she laughed.
"Doris," I started, then stopped, wincing at the sound of my gravelly voice. I cleared my throat and started again. "Doris, woman of great kindness and wisdom, lady who hath helped raise me in this cruel and twisted world, I beg of you, get that goddamn bottle away from me, because if I catch one wiff of that stuff I'm gonna hurl."
"I'd be surprised if you have anything left in you to do so, considering the noises coming from the bathroom at 3am." The bottle was gone, tossed in the trash. I officially changed my stance on where my head belonged, picturing myself nestled in the white plastic alongside the empty carton of milk and the source of my shame.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. Polly and I were just so caught up in celebrating her graduation, I didn't even realize how much we had been drinking until-"
"Until it all came back up," Polly finished, stumbling into the kitchen. "Yeah, same."
Doris just shook her head at us, but there was a small smile on her lips. I grabbed her hand and looked up at her pleadingly.
"Forgive me, mommy Doris?"
"There's nothing to forgive, you two were just having some fun. But you are far too old to be giving me puppy dog eyes when you think you've done something wrong, Winnie!"
"Am I also far too old for you to keep calling me Winnie? I feel like I should be sitting here in nothing but a red t-shirt, sipping honey out of a bottle." I grumbled.
"Actually, I think you did that exact thing last night," Polly teased. "Except replace honey with tequila."
Doris laughed as I glared at her. "How in gods name are you not more hungover? You drank more than I did."
"Because she's 21, and you're 25. Old, Winnie dear, too old." Doris said as she walked out of the kitchen. My jaw dropped in mock outrage as I watched her go, glancing at Polly, who was trying to cover her chortles with a cup of coffee. It didn't go well.
"Okay, well this OLD LADY is going to go shower and get ready for work," I huffed.
"Don't forget to oil your knees, grandma."
I stole the coffee out of Polly's hands for that comment alone, and her protests followed me up to the shower.
**************
Okay, so maybe it didn't start out JUST like every other day. I don't wake up hungover all that often. More often than I should, yes, but hardly every day. Keeping up with a 21 year old is incredibly difficult.
Work, on the other hand, was exactly the same. Lights on at nine, jukebox playing some country song that was too sad to be playing this early in the morning, Richard shuffling in to get his Irish coffee before church so he didn't get the shakes in the middle of his sermon. Small country town, small country life, small country bar.
Small country girl.
Maybe not for much longer, though. I swore to myself years ago that I wouldn't be stuck in this town like everyone else, but then Jim died. Polly was only 14, and Doris was an old fashion housewife, staying home to raise her daughter. I, on the other hand, was 18, and when they had brought me into their home, Jim took one look at my temper and said he knew what to do with me. Taught me all he knew about hunting, guns, and even archery. He said he liked how the bow felt in his arms, and I did too.
Polly wasn't interested in any of it. She loved animals too much. I mean, I love animals too, don't get me wrong. Show me a puppy and I'm babbling nonsense with the rest of you. But there was always something peaceful about being in the woods, surrounded by nature.
Anyway, to get back on track, I became the man of the house. I got a job at the bar to start bringing in money, I fixed things that were broken around the house, sold deer meat and bear hides for extra money. Whatever I could to help them stay on their feet.
Now, though, now Polly had graduated. She already had a job lined up at the veterinarian office in town, where her fiancé also worked. She'd be able to take care of herself, and Doris, without my help. I could leave.
The thought sent a wave of both excitement and extreme bitterness through my chest.
I sighed to myself as I dumped ice in the well. Bad thing about working a bar on a Sunday, no one is coming in until after church hours. Which means I get to be alone with my thoughts until then.
"That's gonna be future me's issue," I said to the air, and busied myself with cutting fruit.
**************
Now, the GOOD thing about working the bar on a Sunday, or really any day, is that you know everyone who is going to walk through that door, and you know exactly what they're going to order.
Small towns like this, everyone old enough to drink is a regular. (Sometimes even people who aren't old enough to drink, but the sheriff doesn't need to know that.)
Preacher Richard is at the high top by the jukebox, drinking his Irish coffee that he tells everyone is just normal coffee, but no one believes him. I mean, I have a special pot I use just for him so no one sees me putting the shots in, but they can all still see me grab a different pot when I refill his cup. Plus, whiskey smells.
His wife is next to him, sipping ice water with EXTRA lemon, the surly old bitch. Tony the tire guy is playing pool with some of the guys from his shop, drinking round after round of Budweiser and whiskey shots. (Whiskey is very popular amongst us country folk.)
You have Mariah, the token rich girl, who married the quarterback. Or left fielder? Goalie? I don't know, but I know he drinks miller by the case while she sips on a vodka soda, pretending she's not too good for all of us.
Point is, I know everyone. Makes for a predictable day. What did I tell you?
Thirteen hour shifts are long, though, so when they're also mundane, you kind of start to feel like you're going crazy.
Until two extremely tall, extremely fit, extremely...(how do I say this politely?) fucking hot, strangers walk through the door.
I swear on Preacher Richards bald head, I'm not being dramatic when I say the bar went silent. Mariah's mouth was actually hanging open. So was Preacher Richards wife's. I had to stifle a laugh at that one.
They strolled up to the bar, so casually that you could tell they were trying SUPER hard to be casual.
"Well, I haven't said this in so long, I hope it comes out okay," I say, breaking the silence. "But what can I get for you gentlemen?"
Tony the tire guy laughs, and takes a shot, and the spell is broken. Mostly. You really can't completely break it, these guys were like six foot something and so beautiful I could weep. Also, there was the fact that they were glancing around like they expect Preacher Richard to stand up and pop them one.
"So...? Beer? Whiskey? Nuts?" I offered, waving a bowl of peanuts in front of them.
The man with the shorter...well, everything, let out a soft chuckle at that.
"I'll take a whiskey, double, on the rocks."
"You're gonna want to be a bit more specific, darlin, because if not, you stand the chance of me pouring you the whiskey that Tony the tire guy drinks, and I'm pretty sure we buy it FROM him. Like, he makes it in his basement."
The guy physically recoils. "You got makers?"
"Sure do, sweet cheeks." I turned to busy myself looking for the dusty bottle so he couldn't see the look on my face as I mentally chastised myself. Sweet cheeks? SWEET CHEEKS? I'm not some old lady working the counter at a diner in the 50's. I'm also not IN my 50's.
"Uh, ma'am. There's a bottle on the shelf right there." The man said, gesturing when I turned back to him.
"Well if you knew that, why'd you ask?" I tried to tease, hoping to pass that mortifying moment unscathed. I dropped a few ice cubes into a rocks glass, dumped a whole lot more than a double of makers in with it, and handed it to him. He looked mildly alarmed at the amount, but didn't comment. Smart man.
"And for your friend?"
"Uh, just a beer for me, thanks."
I raised my eyebrows at him.
"Right, right, specifics. Uh, miller is fine."
Pop goes the bottle. "Tab?"
"What?" The long one questioned.
"Do you want to start a tab? Cause I'm gonna need to hold a card."
"You hold cards here?" The whiskey drinker asked in disbelief.
"Well, normally, no. But to be frank with you, I don't know you two, and by the reaction of the half of the town currently sitting in my bar, neither does anyone else. I'd rather not have to pay the tab of some beautiful strangers when I'm probably already gonna have to cover Phil's tab, because I haven't seen him in like an hour, and he bought a round for everyone straight outta church."
Great, first actual vomit, then word vomit.
Both men were staring at me as if I was deranged, which I was starting to believe I might be, but Whiskey Man pulled out a card and handed it to me.
"Thank you..." I glanced down at the card, "Leonard??"
"He goes by Lenny." Long boy said. Lenny glared at him but shot me a sheepish grin.
At least I wasn't the only weird one. I went to type in their order and placed the card in the register.
"Question for you," Lenny said.
"Yeah?"
"Do beautiful strangers get discounts?"
My mind flashed back to my unintentional compliment and I felt my face start to flush, but I just shot back "Not when they go by Lenny."
Long boy laughed and Lenny looked offended. "Lenny is a good name!"
I winced and looked at his friend. "How long have you been telling him that lie?"
"Long enough for him to believe it." He said, taking a swig from his beer.
Just then, a loud, slurring voice sang out (incredibly off key), "Wiiiiinnnnieeeee." And Phil magically appeared from the bathroom.
"Winnie? Really? And you're making fun of my name?"
I shot him a glare and turned my back. "Well, Phil, I'm glad to see you're still here, cause you owe me about $70. Plus tip."
"Oh, Winnie, don't be like that. Another round!"
"Nope, no more rounds, Phil. In fact, I think it's time for you to head home." I made eye contact with Tony, and he put his pool stick down to walk over. "Will you grab his wallet for me?"
Tony stuck his hand down Phil's pocket, which used to make me laugh, but this happened so often that I just found it tiring.
"Here, Win. Keep the change," Tony tossed me a hundred.
Phil worked for him part time, when he was sober enough to get his head out of the toilet, but he had sold his dads farm off to some rich overlords, so he was rolling in dough.
As Tony lead Phil out, I noticed that the two newcomers had set themselves up at a table. I also noticed the deputy, who was off duty with a beer in hand but still had his badge on full view (probably because it was bigger than his dick. Seriously. I would know.), walk up to them with a swagger that only a small town cop could have. I wanted to spy, but Phil being escorted out is always the catalyst that ends the night. Preacher Richards wife pays for the "coffee", and no tip, though the man himself slips me a $50 for keeping his not-so-secret secret, Mariah pays for her husbands miller pack with a smile, etc.
I glance at the clock and sure enough, it's 9:30. I will never understand how these people spend all day at a bar. Regardless of the fact that, I, too, have spent my whole day here. It's different, ok? Anyway, by the time it was over, the deputy had warned the boys or puffed out his skinny chest or whatever it is he does, handed me a ten with a wink (ew) and left. I began cleaning up the trash, keeping an eye on the two.
"Was it something we said?" Lenny asked, sipping his whiskey.
"Well, they heard your name was Lenny, and they knew that this was no longer the cool spot in town," I wiped off rings on the bar, a little too aggressively, trying to stay calm.
"Really, Winnie?"
"It's Winsley, actually. Look, guys. Not to ruin the small town charm, but I close in 30 minutes. The gas station down the street is open til 11, if you wanna grab some beer for your hotel."
"Oh, yeah, that's our bad. Let's head out, Lenny."
"Oh, sure thing, Barry!"
A grimace crossed over Long Boys (Barry's?) face as I let out a surprised laugh.
"Lenny and Barry, really?"
I swiped their card and handed them the receipt.
"Yeah, our uh, our parents were stoners." Barry said.
"Oh, brothers. Couldn't tell if it was that or gay lovers."
"Yeah, I really wish we didn't get that as much as we do." Lenny said, signing the paper. "Anyway. You have a good night, sweet cheeks."
Goddamn, I thought I had overserved my way past that moment. I watched them leave with a tingle of disappointment. Excitement quota for the year in Lander has been met and just waltzed out of my bar.
I glanced down at the receipt. $100 tip. Well, hot damn. (Seriously, why do I keep talking like this??)
Authors note:
I should say that this is set somewhere in season 2. I'm going to follow the main storyline as closely as possible, but the hunts and such may be a bit out of order.
LMK what you think!
submitted by AuthorInHell to u/AuthorInHell [link] [comments]


2023.06.09 00:51 sandwich_with_a_hat i am sorry

NARRATOR: (Black screen with text; The sound of buzzing bees can be heard) According to all known laws of aviation, : there is no way a bee should be able to fly. : Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. : The bee, of course, flies anyway : because bees don't care what humans think is impossible. BARRY BENSON: (Barry is picking out a shirt) Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. : Ooh, black and yellow! Let's shake it up a little. JANET BENSON: Barry! Breakfast is ready! BARRY: Coming! : Hang on a second. (Barry uses his antenna like a phone) : Hello? ADAM FLAYMAN:
(Through phone) - Barry? BARRY: - Adam? ADAM: - Can you believe this is happening? BARRY: - I can't. I'll pick you up. (Barry flies down the stairs) : MARTIN BENSON: Looking sharp. JANET: Use the stairs. Your father paid good money for those. BARRY: Sorry. I'm excited. MARTIN: Here's the graduate. We're very proud of you, son. : A perfect report card, all B's. JANET: Very proud. (Rubs Barry's hair) BARRY= Ma! I got a thing going here. JANET: - You got lint on your fuzz. BARRY: - Ow! That's me!
JANET: - Wave to us! We'll be in row 118,000. - Bye! (Barry flies out the door) JANET: Barry, I told you, stop flying in the house! (Barry drives through the hive,and is waved at by Adam who is reading a newspaper) BARRY== - Hey, Adam. ADAM: - Hey, Barry. (Adam gets in Barry's car) : - Is that fuzz gel? BARRY: - A little. Special day, graduation. ADAM: Never thought I'd make it. (Barry pulls away from the house and continues driving) BARRY: Three days grade school, three days high school... ADAM: Those were awkward. BARRY: Three days college. I'm glad I took a day and hitchhiked around the hive. ADAM== You did come back different. (Barry and Adam pass by Artie, who is jogging) ARTIE: - Hi, Barry!
BARRY: - Artie, growing a mustache? Looks good. ADAM: - Hear about Frankie? BARRY: - Yeah. ADAM== - You going to the funeral? BARRY: - No, I'm not going to his funeral. : Everybody knows, sting someone, you die. : Don't waste it on a squirrel. Such a hothead. ADAM: I guess he could have just gotten out of the way. (The car does a barrel roll on the loop-shaped bridge and lands on the highway) : I love this incorporating an amusement park into our regular day. BARRY: I guess that's why they say we don't need vacations. (Barry parallel parks the car and together they fly over the graduating students) Boy, quite a bit of pomp... under the circumstances. (Barry and Adam sit down and put on their hats) : - Well, Adam, today we are men.
ADAM: - We are! BARRY= - Bee-men. =ADAM= - Amen! BARRY AND ADAM: Hallelujah! (Barry and Adam both have a happy spasm) ANNOUNCER: Students, faculty, distinguished bees, : please welcome Dean Buzzwell. DEAN BUZZWELL: Welcome, New Hive Oity graduating class of... : ...9: : That concludes our ceremonies. : And begins your career at Honex Industries! ADAM: Will we pick our job today? (Adam and Barry get into a tour bus) BARRY= I heard it's just orientation. (Tour buses rise out of the ground and the students are automatically loaded into the buses) TOUR GUIDE: Heads up! Here we go.
ANNOUNCER: Keep your hands and antennas inside the tram at all times. BARRY: - Wonder what it'll be like? ADAM: - A little scary. TOUR GUIDE== Welcome to Honex, a division of Honesco : and a part of the Hexagon Group. Barry: This is it! BARRY AND ADAM: Wow. BARRY: Wow. (The bus drives down a road an on either side are the Bee's massive complicated Honey-making machines) TOUR GUIDE: We know that you, as a bee, have worked your whole life : to get to the point where you can work for your whole life. : Honey begins when our valiant Pollen Jocks bring the nectar to the hive. : Our top-secret formula : is automatically color-corrected,
scent-adjusted and bubble-contoured : into this soothing sweet syrup : with its distinctive golden glow you know as... EVERYONE ON BUS: Honey! (The guide has been collecting honey into a bottle and she throws it into the crowd on the bus and it is caught by a girl in the back) ADAM: - That girl was hot. BARRY: - She's my cousin! ADAM== - She is? BARRY: - Yes, we're all cousins. ADAM: - Right. You're right. TOUR GUIDE: - At Honex, we constantly strive : to improve every aspect of bee existence. : These bees are stress-testing a new helmet technology. (The bus passes by a Bee wearing a helmet who is being smashed into the ground with fly-swatters, newspapers and boots. He lifts a thumbs up but you can hear him groan) : ADAM==
What's the difference? TOUR GUIDE: You'll be happy to know that bees, as a species, haven't had one day off : in 27 million years. BARRY: (Upset) So you'll just work us to death? : We'll sure try. (Everyone on the bus laughs except Barry. Barry and Adam are walking back home together) ADAM: Wow! That blew my mind! BARRY: "What's the difference?" How can you say that? : One job forever? That's an insane choice to have to make. ADAM: I'm relieved. Now we only have to make one decision in life. BARRY: But, Adam, how could they never have told us that? ADAM: Why would you question anything? We're bees. : We're the most perfectly functioning society on Earth.
BARRY: You ever think maybe things work a little too well here? ADAM: Like what? Give me one example. (Barry and Adam stop walking and it is revealed to the audience that hundreds of cars are speeding by and narrowly missing them in perfect unison) BARRY: I don't know. But you know what I'm talking about. ANNOUNCER: Please clear the gate. Royal Nectar Force on approach. BARRY: Wait a second. Check it out. (The Pollen jocks fly in, circle around and landing in line) : - Hey, those are Pollen Jocks! ADAM: - Wow. : I've never seen them this close. BARRY: They know what it's like outside the hive. ADAM: Yeah, but some don't come back. GIRL BEES: - Hey, Jocks! - Hi, Jocks! (The Pollen Jocks hook up their backpacks to machines that pump the nectar to trucks, which drive away)
LOU LO DUVA: You guys did great! : You're monsters! You're sky freaks! I love it! (Punching the Pollen Jocks in joy) I love it! ADAM: - I wonder where they were. BARRY: - I don't know. : Their day's not planned. : Outside the hive, flying who knows where, doing who knows what. : You can't just decide to be a Pollen Jock. You have to be bred for that. ADAM== Right. (Barry and Adam are covered in some pollen that floated off of the Pollen Jocks) BARRY: Look at that. That's more pollen than you and I will see in a lifetime. ADAM: It's just a status symbol. Bees make too much of it. BARRY: Perhaps. Unless you're wearing it and the ladies see you wearing it. (Barry waves at 2 girls standing a little away from them)
ADAM== Those ladies? Aren't they our cousins too? BARRY: Distant. Distant. POLLEN JOCK #1: Look at these two. POLLEN JOCK #2: - Couple of Hive Harrys. POLLEN JOCK #1: - Let's have fun with them. GIRL BEE #1: It must be dangerous being a Pollen Jock. BARRY: Yeah. Once a bear pinned me against a mushroom! : He had a paw on my throat, and with the other, he was slapping me! (Slaps Adam with his hand to represent his scenario) GIRL BEE #2: - Oh, my! BARRY: - I never thought I'd knock him out. GIRL BEE #1: (Looking at Adam) What were you doing during this? ADAM: Obviously I was trying to alert the authorities. BARRY: I can autograph that.
(The pollen jocks walk up to Barry and Adam, they pretend that Barry and Adam really are pollen jocks.) POLLEN JOCK #1: A little gusty out there today, wasn't it, comrades? BARRY: Yeah. Gusty. POLLEN JOCK #1: We're hitting a sunflower patch six miles from here tomorrow. BARRY: - Six miles, huh? ADAM: - Barry! POLLEN JOCK #2: A puddle jump for us, but maybe you're not up for it. BARRY: - Maybe I am. ADAM: - You are not! POLLEN JOCK #1: We're going 0900 at J-Gate. : What do you think, buzzy-boy? Are you bee enough? BARRY: I might be. It all depends on what 0900 means. (The scene cuts to Barry looking out on the hive-city from his balcony at night) MARTIN:
Hey, Honex! BARRY: Dad, you surprised me. MARTIN: You decide what you're interested in? BARRY: - Well, there's a lot of choices. - But you only get one. : Do you ever get bored doing the same job every day? MARTIN: Son, let me tell you about stirring. : You grab that stick, and you just move it around, and you stir it around. : You get yourself into a rhythm. It's a beautiful thing. BARRY: You know, Dad, the more I think about it, : maybe the honey field just isn't right for me. MARTIN: You were thinking of what, making balloon animals? : That's a bad job for a guy with a stinger. :
Janet, your son's not sure he wants to go into honey! JANET: - Barry, you are so funny sometimes. BARRY: - I'm not trying to be funny. MARTIN: You're not funny! You're going into honey. Our son, the stirrer! JANET: - You're gonna be a stirrer? BARRY: - No one's listening to me! MARTIN: Wait till you see the sticks I have. BARRY: I could say anything right now. I'm gonna get an ant tattoo! (Barry's parents don't listen to him and continue to ramble on) MARTIN: Let's open some honey and celebrate! BARRY: Maybe I'll pierce my thorax. Shave my antennae. : Shack up with a grasshopper. Get a gold tooth and call everybody "dawg"! JANET: I'm so proud. (The scene cuts to Barry and Adam waiting in line to get a job) ADAM: - We're starting work today!
BARRY: - Today's the day. ADAM: Come on! All the good jobs will be gone. BARRY: Yeah, right. JOB LISTER: Pollen counting, stunt bee, pouring, stirrer, front desk, hair removal... BEE IN FRONT OF LINE: - Is it still available? JOB LISTER: - Hang on. Two left! : One of them's yours! Congratulations! Step to the side. ADAM: - What'd you get? BEE IN FRONT OF LINE: - Picking crud out. Stellar! (He walks away) ADAM: Wow! JOB LISTER: Couple of newbies? ADAM: Yes, sir! Our first day! We are ready! JOB LISTER: Make your choice. (Adam and Barry look up at the job board. There are hundreds of constantly changing panels that contain available or unavailable jobs. It looks very confusing)
ADAM: - You want to go first? BARRY: - No, you go. ADAM: Oh, my. What's available? JOB LISTER: Restroom attendant's open, not for the reason you think. ADAM: - Any chance of getting the Krelman? JOB LISTER: - Sure, you're on. (Puts the Krelman finger-hat on Adam's head) (Suddenly the sign for Krelman closes out) : I'm sorry, the Krelman just closed out. (Takes Adam's hat off) Wax monkey's always open. ADAM: The Krelman opened up again. : What happened? JOB LISTER: A bee died. Makes an opening. See? He's dead. Another dead one. : Deady. Deadified. Two more dead. : Dead from the neck up. Dead from the neck down. That's life!
ADAM: Oh, this is so hard! (Barry remembers what the Pollen Jock offered him and he flies off) Heating, cooling, stunt bee, pourer, stirrer, : humming, inspector number seven, lint coordinator, stripe supervisor, : mite wrangler. Barry, what do you think I should... Barry? (Adam turns around and sees Barry flying away) : Barry! POLLEN JOCK: All right, we've got the sunflower patch in quadrant nine... ADAM: (Through phone) What happened to you? Where are you? BARRY: - I'm going out. ADAM: - Out? Out where? BARRY: - Out there. ADAM: - Oh, no! BARRY: I have to, before I go to work for the rest of my life. ADAM:
You're gonna die! You're crazy! (Barry hangs up) Hello? POLLEN JOCK #2: Another call coming in. : If anyone's feeling brave, there's a Korean deli on 83rd : that gets their roses today. BARRY: Hey, guys. POLLEN JOCK #1 == - Look at that. POLLEN JOCK #2: - Isn't that the kid we saw yesterday? LOU LO DUVA: Hold it, son, flight deck's restricted. POLLEN JOCK #1: It's OK, Lou. We're gonna take him up. (Puts hand on Barry's shoulder) LOU LO DUVA: (To Barry) Really? Feeling lucky, are you? BEE WITH CLIPBOARD: (To Barry) Sign here, here. Just initial that. : - Thank you. LOU LO DUVA: - OK. : You got a rain advisory today, :
and as you all know, bees cannot fly in rain. : So be careful. As always, watch your brooms, : hockey sticks, dogs, birds, bears and bats. : Also, I got a couple of reports of root beer being poured on us. : Murphy's in a home because of it, babbling like a cicada! BARRY: - That's awful. LOU LO DUVA: (Still talking through megaphone) - And a reminder for you rookies, : bee law number one, absolutely no talking to humans! : All right, launch positions! POLLEN JOCKS: (The Pollen Jocks run into formation) : Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! LOU LU DUVA: Black and yellow! POLLEN JOCKS:
Hello! POLLEN JOCK #1: (To Barry)You ready for this, hot shot? BARRY: Yeah. Yeah, bring it on. POLLEN JOCK's: Wind, check. : - Antennae, check. - Nectar pack, check. : - Wings, check. - Stinger, check. BARRY: Scared out of my shorts, check. LOU LO DUVA: OK, ladies, : let's move it out! : Pound those petunias, you striped stem-suckers! : All of you, drain those flowers! (The pollen jocks fly out of the hive) BARRY: Wow! I'm out! : I can't believe I'm out! : So blue.
: I feel so fast and free! : Box kite! (Barry flies through the kite) : Wow! : Flowers! (A pollen jock puts on some high tech goggles that shows flowers similar to heat sink goggles.) POLLEN JOCK: This is Blue Leader. We have roses visual. : Bring it around 30 degrees and hold. : Roses! POLLEN JOCK #1: 30 degrees, roger. Bringing it around. : Stand to the side, kid. It's got a bit of a kick. (The pollen jock fires a high-tech gun at the flower, shooting tubes that suck up the nectar from the flower and collects it into a pouch on the gun) BARRY: That is one nectar collector! POLLEN JOCK #1== - Ever see pollination up close? BARRY: - No, sir. POLLEN JOCK #1:
(Barry and the Pollen jock fly over the field, the pollen jock sprinkles pollen as he goes) : I pick up some pollen here, sprinkle it over here. Maybe a dash over there, : a pinch on that one. See that? It's a little bit of magic. BARRY: That's amazing. Why do we do that? POLLEN JOCK #1: That's pollen power. More pollen, more flowers, more nectar, more honey for us. BARRY: Cool. POLLEN JOCK #1: I'm picking up a lot of bright yellow. could be daisies. Don't we need those? POLLEN JOCK #2: Copy that visual. : Wait. One of these flowers seems to be on the move. POLLEN JOCK #1: Say again? You're reporting a moving flower? POLLEN JOCK #2: Affirmative. (The Pollen jocks land near the "flowers" which, to the audience are obviously just tennis balls) KEN: (In the distance) That was on the line!
POLLEN JOCK #1: This is the coolest. What is it? POLLEN JOCK #2: I don't know, but I'm loving this color. : It smells good. Not like a flower, but I like it. POLLEN JOCK #1: Yeah, fuzzy. (Sticks his hand on the ball but it gets stuck) POLLEN JOCK #3== Chemical-y. (The pollen jock finally gets his hand free from the tennis ball) POLLEN JOCK #1: Careful, guys. It's a little grabby. (The pollen jocks turn around and see Barry lying his entire body on top of one of the tennis balls) POLLEN JOCK #2: My sweet lord of bees! POLLEN JOCK #3: Candy-brain, get off there! POLLEN JOCK #1: (Pointing upwards) Problem! (A human hand reaches down and grabs the tennis ball that Barry is stuck to) BARRY: - Guys! POLLEN JOCK #2: - This could be bad. POLLEN JOCK #3: Affirmative. (Vanessa Bloome starts bouncing the tennis ball, not knowing Barry is stick to it)
BARRY== Very close. : Gonna hurt. : Mama's little boy. (Barry is being hit back and forth by two humans playing tennis. He is still stuck to the ball) POLLEN JOCK #1: You are way out of position, rookie! KEN: Coming in at you like a MISSILE! (Barry flies past the pollen jocks, still stuck to the ball) BARRY: (In slow motion) Help me! POLLEN JOCK #2: I don't think these are flowers. POLLEN JOCK #3: - Should we tell him? POLLEN JOCK #1: - I think he knows. BARRY: What is this?! KEN: Match point! : You can start packing up, honey, because you're about to EAT IT! (A pollen jock coughs which confused Ken and he hits the ball the wrong way with Barry stuck to it and it goes flying into the city) BARRY:
Yowser! (Barry bounces around town and gets stuck in the engine of a car. He flies into the air conditioner and sees a bug that was frozen in there) BARRY: Ew, gross. (The man driving the car turns on the air conditioner which blows Barry into the car) GIRL IN CAR: There's a bee in the car! : - Do something! DAD DRIVING CAR: - I'm driving! BABY GIRL: (Waving at Barry) - Hi, bee. (Barry smiles and waves at the baby girl) GUY IN BACK OF CAR: - He's back here! : He's going to sting me! GIRL IN CAR: Nobody move. If you don't move, he won't sting you. Freeze! (Barry freezes as well, hovering in the middle of the car) : GRANDMA IN CAR== He blinked! (The grandma whips out some bee-spray and sprays everywhere in the car, climbing into the front seat, still trying to spray Barry) GIRL IN CAR: Spray him, Granny! DAD DRIVING THE CAR: What are you doing?! (Barry escapes the car through the air conditioner and is flying high above
the ground, safe.) BARRY: Wow... the tension level out here is unbelievable. (Barry sees that storm clouds are gathering and he can see rain clouds moving into this direction) : I gotta get home. : Can't fly in rain. : Can't fly in rain. (A rain drop hits Barry and one of his wings is damaged) : Can't fly in rain. (A second rain drop hits Barry again and he spirals downwards) Mayday! Mayday! Bee going down! (WW2 plane sound effects are played as he plummets, and he crash-lands on a plant inside an apartment near the window) VANESSA BLOOME: Ken, could you close the window please? KEN== Hey, check out my new resume. I made it into a fold-out brochure. : You see? (Folds brochure resume out) Folds out. (Ken closes the window, trapping Barry inside) BARRY: Oh, no. More humans. I don't need this. (Barry tries to fly away but smashes into the window and falls again) : What was that?
(Barry keeps trying to fly out the window but he keeps being knocked back because the window is closed) Maybe this time. This time. This time. This time! This time! This... : Drapes! (Barry taps the glass. He doesn't understand what it is) That is diabolical. KEN: It's fantastic. It's got all my special skills, even my top-ten favorite movies. ANDY: What's number one? Star Wars? KEN: Nah, I don't go for that... (Ken makes finger guns and makes "pew pew pew" sounds and then stops) : ...kind of stuff. BARRY: No wonder we shouldn't talk to them. They're out of their minds. KEN: When I leave a job interview, they're flabbergasted, can't believe what I say. BARRY: (Looking at the light on the ceiling) There's the sun. Maybe that's a way out. (Starts flying towards the lightbulb) : I don't remember the sun having a big 75 on it. (Barry hits the lightbulb and falls into the dip on the table that the humans are sitting at) KEN:
I predicted global warming. : I could feel it getting hotter. At first I thought it was just me. (Andy dips a chip into the bowl and scoops up some dip with Barry on it and is about to put it in his mouth) : Wait! Stop! Bee! (Andy drops the chip with Barry in fear and backs away. All the humans freak out) : Stand back. These are winter boots. (Ken has winter boots on his hands and he is about to smash the bee but Vanessa saves him last second) VANESSA: Wait! : Don't kill him! (Vanessa puts Barry in a glass to protect him) KEN: You know I'm allergic to them! This thing could kill me! VANESSA: Why does his life have less value than yours? KEN: Why does his life have any less value than mine? Is that your statement? VANESSA: I'm just saying all life has value. You don't know what he's capable of feeling. (Vanessa picks up Ken's brochure and puts it under the glass so she can carry Barry back to the window. Barry looks at Vanessa in amazement) KEN:
My brochure! VANESSA: There you go, little guy. (Vanessa opens the window and lets Barry out but Barry stays back and is still shocked that a human saved his life) KEN: I'm not scared of him. It's an allergic thing. VANESSA: Put that on your resume brochure. KEN: My whole face could puff up. ANDY: Make it one of your special skills. KEN: Knocking someone out is also a special skill. (Ken walks to the door) Right. Bye, Vanessa. Thanks. : - Vanessa, next week? Yogurt night? VANESSA: - Sure, Ken. You know, whatever. : (Vanessa tries to close door) KEN== - You could put carob chips on there. VANESSA: - Bye. (Closes door but Ken opens it again) KEN: - Supposed to be less calories.
VANESSA: - Bye. (Closes door) (Fast forward to the next day, Barry is still inside the house. He flies into the kitchen where Vanessa is doing dishes) BARRY== (Talking to himself) I gotta say something. : She saved my life. I gotta say something. : All right, here it goes. (Turns back) Nah. : What would I say? : I could really get in trouble. : It's a bee law. You're not supposed to talk to a human. : I can't believe I'm doing this. : I've got to. (Barry disguises himself as a character on a food can as Vanessa walks by again) : Oh, I can't do it. Come on! : No. Yes. No. : Do it. I can't.
: How should I start it? (Barry strikes a pose and wiggles his eyebrows) "You like jazz?" No, that's no good. (Vanessa is about to walk past Barry) Here she comes! Speak, you fool! : ...Hi! (Vanessa gasps and drops the dishes in fright and notices Barry on the counter) : I'm sorry. VANESSA: - You're talking. BARRY: - Yes, I know. VANESSA: (Pointing at Barry) You're talking! BARRY: I'm so sorry. VANESSA: No, it's OK. It's fine. I know I'm dreaming. : But I don't recall going to bed. BARRY: Well, I'm sure this is very disconcerting. VANESSA: This is a bit of a surprise to me. I mean, you're a bee!
BARRY: I am. And I'm not supposed to be doing this, (Pointing to the living room where Ken tried to kill him last night) but they were all trying to kill me. : And if it wasn't for you... : I had to thank you. It's just how I was raised. (Vanessa stabs her hand with a fork to test whether she's dreaming or not) : That was a little weird. VANESSA: - I'm talking with a bee. BARRY: - Yeah. VANESSA: I'm talking to a bee. And the bee is talking to me! BARRY: I just want to say I'm grateful. I'll leave now. (Barry turns to leave) VANESSA: - Wait! How did you learn to do that? BARRY: (Flying back) - What? VANESSA: The talking...thing. BARRY:
Same way you did, I guess. "Mama, Dada, honey." You pick it up. VANESSA: - That's very funny. BARRY: - Yeah. : Bees are funny. If we didn't laugh, we'd cry with what we have to deal with. : Anyway... VANESSA: Can I... : ...get you something? BARRY: - Like what? VANESSA: I don't know. I mean... I don't know. Coffee? BARRY: I don't want to put you out. VANESSA: It's no trouble. It takes two minutes. : - It's just coffee. BARRY: - I hate to impose. (Vanessa starts making coffee) VANESSA: - Don't be ridiculous!
BARRY: - Actually, I would love a cup. VANESSA: Hey, you want rum cake? BARRY: - I shouldn't. VANESSA: - Have some. BARRY: - No, I can't. VANESSA: - Come on! BARRY: I'm trying to lose a couple micrograms. VANESSA: - Where? BARRY: - These stripes don't help. VANESSA: You look great! BARRY: I don't know if you know anything about fashion. : Are you all right? VANESSA: (Pouring coffee on the floor and missing the cup completely) No. (Flash forward in time. Barry and Vanessa are sitting together at a table on top of the apartment building drinking coffee)
: BARRY== He's making the tie in the cab as they're flying up Madison. : He finally gets there. : He runs up the steps into the church. The wedding is on. : And he says, "Watermelon? I thought you said Guatemalan. : Why would I marry a watermelon?" (Barry laughs but Vanessa looks confused) VANESSA: Is that a bee joke? BARRY: That's the kind of stuff we do. VANESSA: Yeah, different. : So, what are you gonna do, Barry? (Barry stands on top of a sugar cube floating in his coffee and paddles it around with a straw like it's a gondola) BARRY: About work? I don't know. : I want to do my part for the hive, but I can't do it the way they want. VANESSA: I know how you feel.
BARRY: - You do? VANESSA: - Sure. : My parents wanted me to be a lawyer or a doctor, but I wanted to be a florist. BARRY: - Really? VANESSA: - My only interest is flowers. BARRY: Our new queen was just elected with that same campaign slogan. : Anyway, if you look... (Barry points to a tree in the middle of Central Park) : There's my hive right there. See it? VANESSA: You're in Sheep Meadow! BARRY: Yes! I'm right off the Turtle Pond! VANESSA: No way! I know that area. I lost a toe ring there once. BARRY: - Why do girls put rings on their toes? VANESSA: - Why not? BARRY:
ADAM: Humans! I can't believe you were with humans! : Giant, scary humans! What were they like? BARRY: Huge and crazy. They talk crazy. : They eat crazy giant things. They drive crazy. ADAM: - Do they try and kill you, like on TV? BARRY: - Some of them. But some of them don't. ADAM: - How'd you get back? BARRY: - Poodle. ADAM: You did it, and I'm glad. You saw whatever you wanted to see. : You had your "experience." Now you can pick out your job and be normal. BARRY: - Well... ADAM: - Well? BARRY: Well, I met someone.
ADAM: You did? Was she Bee-ish? : - A wasp?! Your parents will kill you! BARRY: - No, no, no, not a wasp. ADAM: - Spider? BARRY: - I'm not attracted to spiders. : I know, for everyone else, it's the hottest thing, with the eight legs and all. : I can't get by that face. ADAM: So who is she? BARRY: She's... human. ADAM: No, no. That's a bee law. You wouldn't break a bee law. BARRY: - Her name's Vanessa. (Adam puts his head in his hands) ADAM: - Oh, boy. BARRY== She's so nice. And she's a florist! ADAM: Oh, no! You're dating a human florist!
BARRY: We're not dating. ADAM: You're flying outside the hive, talking to humans that attack our homes : with power washers and M-80s! That's one-eighth a stick of dynamite! BARRY: She saved my life! And she understands me. ADAM: This is over! BARRY: Eat this. (Barry gives Adam a piece of the crumb that he got from Vanessa. Adam eats it) ADAM: (Adam's tone changes) This is not over! What was that? BARRY: - They call it a crumb. ADAM: - It was so stingin' stripey! BARRY: And that's not what they eat. That's what falls off what they eat! : - You know what a Cinnabon is? ADAM: - No. (Adam opens a door behind him and he pulls Barry in)
BARRY: It's bread and cinnamon and frosting. ADAM: Be quiet! BARRY: They heat it up... ADAM: Sit down! (Adam forces Barry to sit down) BARRY: (Still rambling about Cinnabons) ...really hot! (Adam grabs Barry by the shoulders) ADAM: - Listen to me! : We are not them! We're us. There's us and there's them! BARRY== Yes, but who can deny the heart that is yearning? ADAM: There's no yearning. Stop yearning. Listen to me! : You have got to start thinking bee, my friend. Thinking bee! BARRY: - Thinking bee. WORKER BEE: - Thinking bee. WORKER BEES AND ADAM: Thinking bee! Thinking bee!
Thinking bee! Thinking bee! (Flash forward in time; Barry is laying on a raft in a pool full of honey. He is wearing sunglasses) JANET: There he is. He's in the pool. MARTIN: You know what your problem is, Barry? (Barry pulls down his sunglasses and he looks annoyed) BARRY: (Sarcastic) I gotta start thinking bee? JANET: How much longer will this go on? MARTIN: It's been three days! Why aren't you working? (Puts sunglasses back on) BARRY: I've got a lot of big life decisions to think about. MARTIN: What life? You have no life! You have no job. You're barely a bee! JANET: Would it kill you to make a little honey? (Barry rolls off the raft and sinks into the honey pool) : Barry, come out. Your father's talking to you. : Martin, would you talk to him? MARTIN:
Barry, I'm talking to you! (Barry keeps sinking into the honey until he is suddenly in Central Park having a picnic with Vanessa) (Barry has a cup of honey and he clinks his glass with Vanessas. Suddenly a mosquito lands on Vanessa and she slaps it, killing it. They both gasp but then burst out laughing) VANESSA: You coming? (The camera pans over and Vanessa is climbing into a small yellow airplane) BARRY: Got everything? VANESSA: All set! BARRY: Go ahead. I'll catch up. (Vanessa lifts off and flies ahead) VANESSA: Don't be too long. (Barry catches up with Vanessa and he sticks out his arms like ana irplane. He rolls from side to side, and Vanessa copies him with the airplane) VANESSA: Watch this! (Barry stays back and watches as Vanessa draws a heart in the air using pink smoke from the plane, but on the last loop-the-loop she suddenly crashes into a mountain and the plane explodes. The destroyed plane falls into some rocks and explodes a second time) BARRY: Vanessa! (As Barry is yelling his mouth fills with honey and he wakes up, discovering that he was just day dreaming. He slowly sinks back into the honey pool) MARTIN: - We're still here.
JANET: - I told you not to yell at him. : He doesn't respond to yelling! MARTIN: - Then why yell at me? JANET: - Because you don't listen! MARTIN: I'm not listening to this. BARRY: Sorry, I've gotta go. MARTIN: - Where are you going? BARRY: - I'm meeting a friend. JANET: A girl? Is this why you can't decide? BARRY: Bye. (Barry flies out the door and Martin shakes his head) : JANET== I just hope she's Bee-ish. (Fast forward in time and Barry is sitting on Vanessa's shoulder and she is closing up her shop) BARRY: They have a huge parade of flowers every year in Pasadena? VANESSA: To be in the Tournament of Roses, that's every florist's dream!
: Up on a float, surrounded by flowers, crowds cheering. BARRY: A tournament. Do the roses compete in athletic events? VANESSA: No. All right, I've got one. How come you don't fly everywhere? BARRY: It's exhausting. Why don't you run everywhere? It's faster. VANESSA: Yeah, OK, I see, I see. All right, your turn. BARRY: TiVo. You can just freeze live TV? That's insane! VANESSA: You don't have that? BARRY: We have Hivo, but it's a disease. It's a horrible, horrible disease. VANESSA: Oh, my. (A human walks by and Barry narrowly avoids him) PASSERBY: Dumb bees! VANESSA: You must want to sting all those jerks. BARRY: We try not to sting.
It's usually fatal for us. VANESSA: So you have to watch your temper (They walk into a store) BARRY: Very carefully. You kick a wall, take a walk, : write an angry letter and throw it out. Work through it like any emotion: : Anger, jealousy, lust. (Suddenly an employee(Hector) hits Barry off of Vanessa's shoulder. Hector thinks he's saving Vanessa) VANESSA: (To Barry) Oh, my goodness! Are you OK? (Barry is getting up off the floor) BARRY: Yeah. VANESSA: (To Hector) - What is wrong with you?! HECTOR: (Confused) - It's a bug. VANESSA: He's not bothering anybody. Get out of here, you creep! (Vanessa hits Hector across the face with the magazine he had and then hits him in the head. Hector backs away covering his head) Barry: What was that? A Pic 'N' Save circular? (Vanessa sets Barry back on her shoulder)
VANESSA: Yeah, it was. How did you know? BARRY: It felt like about 10 pages. Seventy-five is pretty much our limit. VANESSA: You've really got that down to a science. BARRY: - Oh, we have to. I lost a cousin to Italian Vogue. VANESSA: - I'll bet. (Barry looks to his right and notices there is honey for sale in the aisle) BARRY: What in the name of Mighty Hercules is this? (Barry looks at all the brands of honey, shocked) How did this get here? Cute Bee, Golden Blossom, : Ray Liotta Private Select? (Barry puts his hands up and slowly turns around, a look of disgust on his face) VANESSA: - Is he that actor? BARRY: - I never heard of him. : - Why is this here? VANESSA: - For people. We eat it. BARRY:
You don't have enough food of your own?! (Hector looks back and notices that Vanessa is talking to Barry) VANESSA: - Well, yes. BARRY: - How do you get it? VANESSA: - Bees make it. BARRY: - I know who makes it! : And it's hard to make it! : There's heating, cooling, stirring. You need a whole Krelman thing! VANESSA: - It's organic. BARRY: - It's our-ganic! VANESSA: It's just honey, Barry. BARRY: Just what?! : Bees don't know about this! This is stealing! A lot of stealing! : You've taken our homes, schools, hospitals! This is all we have! :
And it's on sale?! I'm getting to the bottom of this. : I'm getting to the bottom of all of this! (Flash forward in time; Barry paints his face with black strikes like a soldier and sneaks into the storage section of the store) (Two men, including Hector, are loading boxes into some trucks) : SUPERMARKET EMPLOYEE== Hey, Hector. : - You almost done? HECTOR: - Almost. (Barry takes a step to peak around the corner) (Whispering) He is here. I sense it. : Well, I guess I'll go home now (Hector pretends to walk away by walking in place and speaking loudly) : and just leave this nice honey out, with no one around. BARRY: You're busted, box boy! HECTOR: I knew I heard something! So you can talk! BARRY: I can talk. And now you'll start talking! : Where you getting the sweet stuff?
Who's your supplier? HECTOR: I don't understand. I thought we were friends. : The last thing we want to do is upset bees! (Hector takes a thumbtack out of the board behind him and sword-fights Barry. Barry is using his stinger like a sword) : You're too late! It's ours now! BARRY: You, sir, have crossed the wrong sword! HECTOR: You, sir, will be lunch for my iguana, Ignacio! (Barry hits the thumbtack out of Hectors hand and Hector surrenders) Barry: Where is the honey coming from? : Tell me where! HECTOR: (Pointing to leaving truck) Honey Farms! It comes from Honey Farms! (Barry chases after the truck but it is getting away. He flies onto a bicyclists' backpack and he catches up to the truck) CAR DRIVER: (To bicyclist) Crazy person! (Barry flies off and lands on the windshield of the Honey farms truck. Barry looks around and sees dead bugs splattered everywhere) BARRY: What horrible thing has happened here?
: These faces, they never knew what hit them. And now : they're on the road to nowhere! (Barry hears a sudden whisper) (Barry looks up and sees Mooseblood, a mosquito playing dead) MOOSEBLOOD: Just keep still. BARRY: What? You're not dead? MOOSEBLOOD: Do I look dead? They will wipe anything that moves. Where you headed? BARRY: To Honey Farms. I am onto something huge here. MOOSEBLOOD: I'm going to Alaska. Moose blood, crazy stuff. Blows your head off! ANOTHER BUG PLAYING DEAD: I'm going to Tacoma. (Barry looks at another bug) BARRY: - And you? MOOSEBLOOD: - He really is dead. BARRY: All right. (Another bug hits the windshield and the drivers notice. They activate the windshield wipers) MOOSEBLOOD== Uh-oh! (The windshield wipers are slowly sliding over the dead bugs and wiping
them off) BARRY: - What is that?! MOOSEBLOOD: - Oh, no! : - A wiper! Triple blade! BARRY: - Triple blade? MOOSEBLOOD: Jump on! It's your only chance, bee! (Mooseblood and Barry grab onto the wiper and they hold on as it wipes the windshield) Why does everything have to be so doggone clean?! : How much do you people need to see?! (Bangs on windshield) : Open your eyes! Stick your head out the window! RADIO IN TRUCK: From NPR News in Washington, I'm Carl Kasell. MOOSEBLOOD: But don't kill no more bugs! (Mooseblood and Barry are washed off by the wipr fluid) MOOSEBLOOD: - Bee! BARRY: - Moose blood guy!! (Barry starts screaming as he hangs onto the antenna) (Suddenly it is revealed that a water bug is also hanging on the antenna.
There is a pause and then Barry and the water bug both start screaming) TRUCK DRIVER: - You hear something? GUY IN TRUCK: - Like what? TRUCK DRIVER: Like tiny screaming. GUY IN TRUCK: Turn off the radio. (The antenna starts to lower until it gets to low and sinks into the truck. The water bug flies off and Barry is forced to let go and he is blown away. He luckily lands inside a horn on top of the truck where he finds Mooseblood, who was blown into the same place) MOOSEBLOOD: Whassup, bee boy? BARRY: Hey, Blood. (Fast forward in time and we see that Barry is deep in conversation with Mooseblood. They have been sitting in this truck for a while) BARRY: ...Just a row of honey jars, as far as the eye could see. MOOSEBLOOD: Wow! BARRY: I assume wherever this truck goes is where they're getting it. : I mean, that honey's ours. MOOSEBLOOD: - Bees hang tight. BARRY:
MOOSEBLOOD: I knew I'd catch y'all down here. Did you bring your crazy straw? (The truck goes out of view and Barry notices that the truck he's on is pulling into a camp of some sort) TRUCK DRIVER: We throw it in jars, slap a label on it, and it's pretty much pure profit. (Barry flies out) BARRY: What is this place? BEEKEEPER 1#: A bee's got a brain the size of a pinhead. BEEKEEPER #2: They are pinheads! : Pinhead. : - Check out the new smoker. BEEKEEPER #1: - Oh, sweet. That's the one you want. : The Thomas 3000! BARRY: Smoker? BEEKEEPER #1: Ninety puffs a minute, semi-automatic. Twice the nicotine, all the tar. : A couple breaths of this knocks them right out.
BEEKEEPER #2: They make the honey, and we make the money. BARRY: "They make the honey, and we make the money"? (The Beekeeper sprays hundreds of cheap miniature apartments with the smoker. The bees are fainting or passing out) Oh, my! : What's going on? Are you OK? (Barry flies into one of the apartment and helps a Bee couple get off the ground. They are coughing and its hard for them to stand) BEE IN APARTMENT: Yeah. It doesn't last too long. BARRY: Do you know you're in a fake hive with fake walls? BEE IN APPARTMENT: Our queen was moved here. We had no choice. (The apartment room is completely empty except for a photo on the wall of the "queen" who is obviously a man in women's clothes) BARRY: This is your queen? That's a man in women's clothes! : That's a drag queen! : What is this? (Barry flies out and he discovers that there are hundreds of these structures, each housing thousands of Bees) Oh, no! : There's hundreds of them! (Barry takes out his camera and takes pictures of these Bee work camps. The beekeepers look very evil in these depictions)
Bee honey. : Our honey is being brazenly stolen on a massive scale! : This is worse than anything bears have done! I intend to do something. (Flash forward in time and Barry is showing these pictures to his parents) JANET: Oh, Barry, stop. MARTIN: Who told you humans are taking our honey? That's a rumor. BARRY: Do these look like rumors? (Holds up the pictures) UNCLE CARL: That's a conspiracy theory. These are obviously doctored photos. JANET: How did you get mixed up in this? ADAM: He's been talking to humans. JANET: - What? MARTIN: - Talking to humans?! ADAM: He has a human girlfriend. And they make out! JANET: Make out? Barry!
BARRY: We do not. ADAM: - You wish you could. MARTIN: - Whose side are you on? BARRY: The bees! UNCLE CARL: (He has been sitting in the back of the room this entire time) I dated a cricket once in San Antonio. Those crazy legs kept me up all night. JANET: Barry, this is what you want to do with your life? BARRY: I want to do it for all our lives. Nobody works harder than bees! : Dad, I remember you coming home so overworked : your hands were still stirring. You couldn't stop. JANET: I remember that. BARRY: What right do they have to our honey? : We live on two cups a year. They put it in lip balm for no reason whatsoever!
ADAM: Even if it's true, what can one bee do? BARRY: Sting them where it really hurts. MARTIN: In the face! The eye! : - That would hurt. BARRY: - No. MARTIN: Up the nose? That's a killer. BARRY: There's only one place you can sting the humans, one place where it matters. (Flash forward a bit in time and we are watching the Bee News) BEE NEWS NARRATOR: Hive at Five, the hive's only full-hour action news source. BEE PROTESTOR: No more bee beards! BEE NEWS NARRATOR: With Bob Bumble at the anchor desk. : Weather with Storm Stinger. : Sports with Buzz Larvi. : And Jeanette Chung. BOB BUMBLE: - Good evening. I'm Bob Bumble. JEANETTE CHUNG:
KEN: In tennis, you attack at the point of weakness! VANESSA: It was my grandmother, Ken. She's 81. KEN== Honey, her backhand's a joke! I'm not gonna take advantage of that? BARRY: (To Ken) Quiet, please. Actual work going on here. KEN: (Pointing at Barry) - Is that that same bee? VANESSA: - Yes, it is! : I'm helping him sue the human race. BARRY: - Hello. KEN: - Hello, bee. VANESSA: This is Ken. BARRY: (Recalling the "Winter Boots" incident earlier) Yeah, I remember you. Timberland, size ten and a half. Vibram sole, I believe. KEN: (To Vanessa) Why does he talk again? VANESSA:
Listen, you better go 'cause we're really busy working. KEN: But it's our yogurt night! VANESSA: (Holding door open for Ken) Bye-bye. KEN: (Yelling) Why is yogurt night so difficult?! (Ken leaves and Vanessa walks over to Barry. His workplace is a mess) VANESSA: You poor thing. You two have been at this for hours! BARRY: Yes, and Adam here has been a huge help. ADAM: - Frosting... - How many sugars? ==BARRY== Just one. I try not to use the competition. : So why are you helping me? VANESSA: Bees have good qualities. : And it takes my mind off the shop. : Instead of flowers, people are giving balloon bouquets now. BARRY:
Those are great, if you're three. VANESSA: And artificial flowers. BARRY: - Oh, those just get me psychotic! VANESSA: - Yeah, me too. : BARRY: Bent stingers, pointless pollination. ADAM: Bees must hate those fake things! : Nothing worse than a daffodil that's had work done. : Maybe this could make up for it a little bit. VANESSA: - This lawsuit's a pretty big deal. BARRY: - I guess. ADAM: You sure you want to go through with it? BARRY: Am I sure? When I'm done with the humans, they won't be able : to say, "Honey, I'm home," without paying a royalty! (Flash forward in time and we are watching the human news. The camera shows
a crowd outside a courthouse) NEWS REPORTER: It's an incredible scene here in downtown Manhattan, : where the world anxiously waits, because for the first time in history, : we will hear for ourselves if a honeybee can actually speak. (We are no longer watching through a news camera) ADAM: What have we gotten into here, Barry? BARRY: It's pretty big, isn't it? ADAM== (Looking at the hundreds of people around the courthouse) I can't believe how many humans don't work during the day. BARRY: You think billion-dollar multinational food companies have good lawyers? SECURITY GUARD: Everybody needs to stay behind the barricade. (A limousine drives up and a fat man,Layton Montgomery, a honey industry owner gets out and walks past Barry) ADAM: - What's the matter? BARRY: - I don't know, I just got a chill. (Fast forward in time and everyone is in the court) MONTGOMERY: Well, if it isn't the bee team.
(To Honey Industry lawyers) You boys work on this? MAN: All rise! The Honorable Judge Bumbleton presiding. JUDGE BUMBLETON: All right. Case number 4475, : Superior Court of New York, Barry Bee Benson v. the Honey Industry : is now in session. : Mr. Montgomery, you're representing the five food companies collectively? MONTGOMERY: A privilege. JUDGE BUMBLETON: Mr. Benson... you're representing all the bees of the world? (Everyone looks closely, they are waiting to see if a Bee can really talk) (Barry makes several buzzing sounds to sound like a Bee) BARRY: I'm kidding. Yes, Your Honor, we're ready to proceed. JUDGE BUMBLBETON: Mr. Montgomery, your opening statement, please. MONTGOMERY: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, : my grandmother was a simple woman. :
Born on a farm, she believed it was man's divine right : to benefit from the bounty of nature God put before us. : If we lived in the topsy-turvy world Mr. Benson imagines, : just think of what would it mean. : I would have to negotiate with the silkworm : for the elastic in my britches! : Talking bee! (Montgomery walks over and looks closely at Barry) : How do we know this isn't some sort of : holographic motion-picture-capture Hollywood wizardry? : They could be using laser beams! : Robotics! Ventriloquism! Cloning! For all we know, : he could be on steroids! JUDGE BUMBLETON: Mr. Benson?
BARRY: Ladies and gentlemen, there's no trickery here. : I'm just an ordinary bee. Honey's pretty important to me. : It's important to all bees. We invented it! : We make it. And we protect it with our lives. : Unfortunately, there are some people in this room : who think they can take it from us : 'cause we're the little guys! I'm hoping that, after this is all over, : you'll see how, by taking our honey, you not only take everything we have : but everything we are! JANET== (To Martin) I wish he'd dress like that all the time. So nice! JUDGE BUMBLETON: Call your first witness. BARRY: So, Mr. Klauss Vanderhayden
of Honey Farms, big company you have. KLAUSS VANDERHAYDEN: I suppose so. BARRY: I see you also own Honeyburton and Honron! KLAUSS: Yes, they provide beekeepers for our farms. BARRY: Beekeeper. I find that to be a very disturbing term. : I don't imagine you employ any bee-free-ers, do you? KLAUSS: (Quietly) - No. BARRY: - I couldn't hear you. KLAUSS: - No. BARRY: - No. : Because you don't free bees. You keep bees. Not only that, : it seems you thought a bear would be an appropriate image for a jar of honey. KLAUSS: They're very lovable creatures.
: Yogi Bear, Fozzie Bear, Build-A-Bear. BARRY: You mean like this? (The bear from Over The Hedge barges in through the back door and it is roaring and standing on its hind legs. It is thrashing its claws and people are screaming. It is being held back by a guard who has the bear on a chain) : (Pointing to the roaring bear) Bears kill bees! : How'd you like his head crashing through your living room?! : Biting into your couch! Spitting out your throw pillows! JUDGE BUMBLETON: OK, that's enough. Take him away. (The bear stops roaring and thrashing and walks out) BARRY: So, Mr. Sting, thank you for being here. Your name intrigues me. : - Where have I heard it before? MR. STING: - I was with a band called The Police. BARRY: But you've never been a police officer, have you? STING: No, I haven't. BARRY:
No, you haven't. And so here we have yet another example : of bee culture casually stolen by a human : for nothing more than a prance-about stage name. STING: Oh, please. BARRY: Have you ever been stung, Mr. Sting? : Because I'm feeling a little stung, Sting. : Or should I say... Mr. Gordon M. Sumner! MONTGOMERY: That's not his real name?! You idiots! BARRY: Mr. Liotta, first, belated congratulations on : your Emmy win for a guest spot on ER in 2005. RAY LIOTTA: Thank you. Thank you. BARRY: I see from your resume that you're devilishly handsome : with a churning inner turmoil
that's ready to blow. RAY LIOTTA: I enjoy what I do. Is that a crime? BARRY: Not yet it isn't. But is this what it's come to for you? : Exploiting tiny, helpless bees so you don't : have to rehearse your part and learn your lines, sir? RAY LIOTTA: Watch it, Benson! I could blow right now! BARRY: This isn't a goodfella. This is a badfella! (Ray Liotta looses it and tries to grab Barry) RAY LIOTTA: Why doesn't someone just step on this creep, and we can all go home?! JUDGE BUMBLETON: - Order in this court! RAY LIOTTA: - You're all thinking it! (Judge Bumbleton starts banging her gavel) JUDGE BUMBLETON: Order! Order, I say! RAY LIOTTA: - Say it! MAN:
I didn't want all this to go to waste, so I called Barry. Luckily, he was free. KEN: Oh, that was lucky. (Ken sits down at the table across from Barry and Vanessa leaves the room) VANESSA: There's a little left. I could heat it up. KEN: (Not taking his eyes off Barry) Yeah, heat it up, sure, whatever. BARRY: So I hear you're quite a tennis player. : I'm not much for the game myself. The ball's a little grabby. KEN: That's where I usually sit. Right... (Points to where Barry is sitting) there. VANESSA: (Calling from other room) Ken, Barry was looking at your resume, : and he agreed with me that eating with chopsticks isn't really a special skill. KEN: (To Barry) You think I don't see what you're doing? BARRY: I know how hard it is to find the right job. We have that in common.
KEN: Do we? BARRY: Bees have 100 percent employment, but we do jobs like taking the crud out. KEN: (Menacingly) That's just what I was thinking about doing. (Ken reaches for a fork on the table but knocks if on the floor. He goes to pick it up) VANESSA: Ken, I let Barry borrow your razor for his fuzz. I hope that was all right. (Ken quickly rises back up after hearing this but hits his head on the table and yells) BARRY: I'm going to drain the old stinger. KEN: Yeah, you do that. (Barry flies past Ken to get to the bathroom and Ken freaks out, splashing some of the wine he was using to cool his head in his eyes. He yells in anger) (Barry looks at the magazines featuring his victories in court) BARRY: Look at that. (Barry flies into the bathroom) (He puts his hand on his head but this makes hurts him and makes him even madder. He yells again) (Barry is washing his hands in the sink but then Ken walks in) KEN: You know, you know I've just about had it (Closes bathroom door behind him) with your little mind games. (Ken is menacingly rolling up a magazine) BARRY:
(Backing away) - What's that? KEN: - Italian Vogue. BARRY: Mamma mia, that's a lot of pages. KEN: It's a lot of ads. BARRY: Remember what Van said, why is your life more valuable than mine? KEN: That's funny, I just can't seem to recall that! (Ken smashes everything off the sink with the magazine and Barry narrowly escapes) (Ken follows Barry around and tries to hit him with the magazine but he keeps missing) (Ken gets a spray bottle) : I think something stinks in here! BARRY: (Enjoying the spray) I love the smell of flowers. (Ken holds a lighter in front of the spray bottle) KEN: How do you like the smell of flames?! BARRY: Not as much. (Ken fires his make-shift flamethrower but misses Barry, burning the bathroom. He torches the whole room but looses his footing and falls into the bathtub. After getting hit in the head by falling objects 3 times he picks up the shower head, revealing a Water bug hiding under it) WATER BUG: Water bug! Not taking sides!
(Barry gets up out of a pile of bathroom supplies and he is wearing a chapstick hat) BARRY: Ken, I'm wearing a Chapstick hat! This is pathetic! (Ken switches the shower head to lethal) KEN: I've got issues! (Ken sprays Barry with the shower head and he crash lands into the toilet) (Ken menacingly looks down into the toilet at Barry) Well, well, well, a royal flush! BARRY: - You're bluffing. KEN: - Am I? (flushes toilet) (Barry grabs a chapstick from the toilet seat and uses it to surf in the flushing toilet) BARRY: Surf's up, dude! (Barry flies out of the toilet on the chapstick and sprays Ken's face with the toilet water) : EW,Poo water! BARRY: That bowl is gnarly. KEN: (Aiming a toilet cleaner at Barry) Except for those dirty yellow rings! (Barry cowers and covers his head and Vanessa runs in and takes the toilet cleaner from Ken just before he hits Barry) VANESSA: Kenneth! What are you doing?! KEN== (Leaning towards Barry)
You know, I don't even like honey! I don't eat it! VANESSA: We need to talk! (Vanessa pulls Ken out of the bathroom) : He's just a little bee! : And he happens to be the nicest bee I've met in a long time! KEN: Long time? What are you talking about?! Are there other bugs in your life? VANESSA: No, but there are other things bugging me in life. And you're one of them! KEN: Fine! Talking bees, no yogurt night... : My nerves are fried from riding on this emotional roller coaster! VANESSA: Goodbye, Ken. (Ken huffs and walks out and slams the door. But suddenly he walks back in and stares at Barry) : And for your information, I prefer sugar-free, artificial sweeteners MADE BY MAN! (Ken leaves again and Vanessa leans in towards Barry) VANESSA: I'm sorry about all that. (Ken walks back in again)
KEN: I know it's got an aftertaste! I LIKE IT! (Ken leaves for the last time) VANESSA: I always felt there was some kind of barrier between Ken and me. : I couldn't overcome it. Oh, well. : Are you OK for the trial? BARRY: I believe Mr. Montgomery is about out of ideas. (Flash forward in time and Barry, Adam, and Vanessa are back in court) MONTGOMERY-- We would like to call Mr. Barry Benson Bee to the stand. ADAM: Good idea! You can really see why he's considered one of the best lawyers... (Barry stares at Adam) ...Yeah. LAWYER: Layton, you've gotta weave some magic with this jury, or it's gonna be all over. MONTGOMERY: Don't worry. The only thing I have to do to turn this jury around : is to remind them of what they don't like about bees. (To lawyer)
MONTGOMERY: Oh, I'm hit!! : Oh, lordy, I am hit! JUDGE BUMBLETON: (Banging gavel) Order! Order! MONTGOMERY: (Overreacting) The venom! The venom is coursing through my veins! : I have been felled by a winged beast of destruction! : You see? You can't treat them like equals! They're striped savages! : Stinging's the only thing they know! It's their way! BARRY: - Adam, stay with me. ADAM: - I can't feel my legs. MONTGOMERY: (Overreacting and throwing his body around the room) What angel of mercy will come forward to suck the poison : from my heaving buttocks? JUDGE BUMLBETON: I will have order in this court. Order!
: Order, please! (Flash forward in time and we see a human news reporter) NEWS REPORTER: The case of the honeybees versus the human race : took a pointed turn against the bees : yesterday when one of their legal team stung Layton T. Montgomery. (Adam is laying in a hospital bed and Barry flies in to see him) BARRY: - Hey, buddy. ADAM: - Hey. BARRY: - Is there much pain? ADAM: - Yeah. : I... : I blew the whole case, didn't I? BARRY: It doesn't matter. What matters is you're alive. You could have died. ADAM: I'd be better off dead. Look at me. (A small plastic sword is replaced as Adam's stinger) They got it from the cafeteria downstairs, in a tuna sandwich.
: Look, there's a little celery still on it. (Flicks off the celery and sighs) BARRY: What was it like to sting someone? ADAM: I can't explain it. It was all... : All adrenaline and then... and then ecstasy! BARRY: ...All right. ADAM: You think it was all a trap? BARRY: Of course. I'm sorry. I flew us right into this. : What were we thinking? Look at us. We're just a couple of bugs in this world. ADAM: What will the humans do to us if they win? BARRY: I don't know. ADAM: I hear they put the roaches in motels. That doesn't sound so bad. BARRY: Adam, they check in, but they don't check out!
ADAM: Oh, my. (Coughs) Could you get a nurse to close that window? BARRY: - Why? ADAM: - The smoke. (We can see that two humans are smoking cigarettes outside) : Bees don't smoke. BARRY: Right. Bees don't smoke. : Bees don't smoke! But some bees are smoking. : That's it! That's our case! ADAM: It is? It's not over? BARRY: Get dressed. I've gotta go somewhere. : Get back to the court and stall. Stall any way you can. (Flash forward in time and Adam is making a paper boat in the courtroom) ADAM: And assuming you've done step 29 correctly, you're ready for the tub! (We see that the jury have each made their own paper boats after being taught how by Adam. They all look confused) JUDGE BUMBLETON:
Mr. Flayman. ADAM: Yes? Yes, Your Honor! JUDGE BUMBLETON: Where is the rest of your team? ADAM: (Continues stalling) Well, Your Honor, it's interesting. : Bees are trained to fly haphazardly, : and as a result, we don't make very good time. : I actually heard a funny story about... MONTGOMERY: Your Honor, haven't these ridiculous bugs : taken up enough of this court's valuable time? : How much longer will we allow these absurd shenanigans to go on? : They have presented no compelling evidence to support their charges : against my clients, who run legitimate businesses. : I move for a complete dismissal
of this entire case! JUDGE BUMBLETON: Mr. Flayman, I'm afraid I'm going : to have to consider Mr. Montgomery's motion. ADAM: But you can't! We have a terrific case. MONTGOMERY: Where is your proof? Where is the evidence? : Show me the smoking gun! BARRY: (Barry flies in through the door) Hold it, Your Honor! You want a smoking gun? : Here is your smoking gun. (Vanessa walks in holding a bee smoker. She sets it down on the Judge's podium) JUDGE BUMBLETON: What is that? BARRY: It's a bee smoker! MONTGOMERY: (Picks up smoker) What, this? This harmless little contraption? : This couldn't hurt a fly, let alone a bee. (Montgomery accidentally fires it at the bees in the crowd and they faint
and cough) (Dozens of reporters start taking pictures of the suffering bees) BARRY: Look at what has happened : to bees who have never been asked, "Smoking or non?" : Is this what nature intended for us? : To be forcibly addicted to smoke machines : and man-made wooden slat work camps? : Living out our lives as honey slaves to the white man? (Barry points to the honey industry owners. One of them is an African American so he awkwardly separates himself from the others) LAWYER: - What are we gonna do? - He's playing the species card. BARRY: Ladies and gentlemen, please, free these bees! ADAM AND VANESSA: Free the bees! Free the bees! BEES IN CROWD: Free the bees! HUMAN JURY: Free the bees! Free the bees! JUDGE BUMBLETON: The court finds in favor of the bees!
BARRY: Vanessa, we won! VANESSA: I knew you could do it! High-five! (Vanessa hits Barry hard because her hand is too big) : Sorry. BARRY: (Overjoyed) I'm OK! You know what this means? : All the honey will finally belong to the bees. : Now we won't have to work so hard all the time. MONTGOMERY: This is an unholy perversion of the balance of nature, Benson. : You'll regret this. (Montgomery leaves and Barry goes outside the courtroom. Several reporters start asking Barry questions) REPORTER 1#: Barry, how much honey is out there? BARRY: All right. One at a time. REPORTER 2#: Barry, who are you wearing? BARRY: My sweater is Ralph Lauren, and I have no pants.
(Barry flies outside with the paparazzi and Adam and Vanessa stay back) ADAM: (To Vanessa) - What if Montgomery's right? Vanessa: - What do you mean? ADAM: We've been living the bee way a long time, 27 million years. (Flash forward in time and Barry is talking to a man) BUSINESS MAN: Congratulations on your victory. What will you demand as a settlement? BARRY: First, we'll demand a complete shutdown of all bee work camps. (As Barry is talking we see a montage of men putting "closed" tape over the work camps and freeing the bees in the crappy apartments) Then we want back the honey that was ours to begin with, : every last drop. (Men in suits are pushing all the honey of the aisle and into carts) We demand an end to the glorification of the bear as anything more (We see a statue of a bear-shaped honey container being pulled down by bees) than a filthy, smelly, bad-breath stink machine. : We're all aware of what they do in the woods. (We see Winnie the Pooh sharing his honey with Piglet in the cross-hairs of a high-tech sniper rifle) BARRY: (Looking through binoculars)
Wait for my signal. : Take him out. (Winnie gets hit by a tranquilizer dart and dramatically falls off the log he was standing on, his tongue hanging out. Piglet looks at Pooh in fear and the Sniper takes the honey.) SNIPER: He'll have nausea for a few hours, then he'll be fine. (Flash forward in time) BARRY: And we will no longer tolerate bee-negative nicknames... (Mr. Sting is sitting at home until he is taken out of his house by the men in suits) STING: But it's just a prance-about stage name! BARRY: ...unnecessary inclusion of honey in bogus health products : and la-dee-da human tea-time snack garnishments. (An old lady is mixing honey into her tea but suddenly men in suits smash her face down on the table and take the honey) OLD LADY: Can't breathe. (A honey truck pulls up to Barry's hive) WORKER: Bring it in, boys! : Hold it right there! Good. : Tap it.
(Tons of honey is being pumped into the hive's storage) BEE WORKER 1#: (Honey overflows from the cup) Mr. Buzzwell, we just passed three cups, and there's gallons more coming! : - I think we need to shut down! =BEE WORKER #2= - Shut down? We've never shut down. : Shut down honey production! DEAN BUZZWELL: Stop making honey! (The bees all leave their stations. Two bees run into a room and they put the keys into a machine) Turn your key, sir! (Two worker bees dramatically turn their keys, which opens the button which they press, shutting down the honey-making machines. This is the first time this has ever happened) BEE: ...What do we do now? (Flash forward in time and a Bee is about to jump into a pool full of honey) Cannonball! (The bee gets stuck in the honey and we get a short montage of Bees leaving work) (We see the Pollen Jocks flying but one of them gets a call on his antenna) LOU LU DUVA: (Through "phone") We're shutting honey production! : Mission abort. POLLEN JOCK #1: Aborting pollination and nectar detail. Returning to base. (The Pollen Jocks fly back to the hive)
(We get a time lapse of Central Park slowly wilting away as the bees all relax) BARRY: Adam, you wouldn't believe how much honey was out there. ADAM: Oh, yeah? BARRY: What's going on? Where is everybody? (The entire street is deserted) : - Are they out celebrating? ADAM: - They're home. : They don't know what to do. Laying out, sleeping in. : I heard your Uncle Carl was on his way to San Antonio with a cricket. BARRY: At least we got our honey back. ADAM: Sometimes I think, so what if humans liked our honey? Who wouldn't? : It's the greatest thing in the world! I was excited to be part of making it. : This was my new desk. This was my new job. I wanted to do it really well. :
And now... : Now I can't. (Flash forward in time and Barry is talking to Vanessa) BARRY: I don't understand why they're not happy. : I thought their lives would be better! : They're doing nothing. It's amazing. Honey really changes people. VANESSA: You don't have any idea what's going on, do you? BARRY: - What did you want to show me? (Vanessa takes Barry to the rooftop where they first had coffee and points to her store) VANESSA: - This. (Points at her flowers. They are all grey and wilting) BARRY: What happened here? VANESSA: That is not the half of it. (Small flash forward in time and Vanessa and Barry are on the roof of her store and she points to Central Park) (We see that Central Park is no longer green and colorful, rather it is grey, brown, and dead-like. It is very depressing to look at) BARRY: Oh, no. Oh, my. :
They're all wilting. VANESSA: Doesn't look very good, does it? BARRY: No. VANESSA: And whose fault do you think that is? BARRY: You know, I'm gonna guess bees. VANESSA== (Staring at Barry) Bees? BARRY: Specifically, me. : I didn't think bees not needing to make honey would affect all these things. VANESSA: It's not just flowers. Fruits, vegetables, they all need bees. BARRY: That's our whole SAT test right there. VANESSA: Take away produce, that affects the entire animal kingdom. : And then, of course... BARRY: The human species? : So if there's no more pollination,
: it could all just go south here, couldn't it? VANESSA: I know this is also partly my fault. BARRY: How about a suicide pact? VANESSA: How do we do it? BARRY: - I'll sting you, you step on me. VANESSA: - That just kills you twice. BARRY: Right, right. VANESSA: Listen, Barry... sorry, but I gotta get going. (Vanessa leaves) BARRY: (To himself) I had to open my mouth and talk. : Vanessa? : Vanessa? Why are you leaving? Where are you going? (Vanessa is getting into a taxi) VANESSA: To the final Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena. :
They've moved it to this weekend because all the flowers are dying. : It's the last chance I'll ever have to see it. BARRY: Vanessa, I just wanna say I'm sorry. I never meant it to turn out like this. VANESSA: I know. Me neither. (The taxi starts to drive away) BARRY: Tournament of Roses. Roses can't do sports. : Wait a minute. Roses. Roses? : Roses! : Vanessa! (Barry flies after the Taxi) VANESSA: Roses?! : Barry? (Barry is flying outside the window of the taxi) BARRY: - Roses are flowers! VANESSA: - Yes, they are. BARRY: Flowers, bees, pollen!
VANESSA: I know. That's why this is the last parade. BARRY: Maybe not. Could you ask him to slow down? VANESSA: Could you slow down? (The taxi driver screeches to a stop and Barry keeps flying forward) : Barry! (Barry flies back to the window) BARRY: OK, I made a huge mistake. This is a total disaster, all my fault. VANESSA: Yes, it kind of is. BARRY: I've ruined the planet. I wanted to help you : with the flower shop. I've made it worse. VANESSA: Actually, it's completely closed down. BARRY: I thought maybe you were remodeling. : But I have another idea, and it's greater than my previous ideas combined. VANESSA: I don't want to hear it!
BARRY: All right, they have the roses, the roses have the pollen. : I know every bee, plant and flower bud in this park. : All we gotta do is get what they've got back here with what we've got. : - Bees. VANESSA: - Park. BARRY: - Pollen! VANESSA: - Flowers. BARRY: - Re-pollination! VANESSA: - Across the nation! : Tournament of Roses, Pasadena, California. : They've got nothing but flowers, floats and cotton candy. : Security will be tight. BARRY: I have an idea.
(Flash forward in time. Vanessa is about to board a plane which has all the Roses on board. VANESSA: Vanessa Bloome, FTD. (Holds out badge) : Official floral business. It's real. SECURITY GUARD: Sorry, ma'am. Nice brooch. =VANESSA== Thank you. It was a gift. (Barry is revealed to be hiding inside the brooch) (Flash back in time and Barry and Vanessa are discussing their plan) BARRY: Once inside, we just pick the right float. VANESSA: How about The Princess and the Pea? : I could be the princess, and you could be the pea! BARRY: Yes, I got it. : - Where should I sit? GUARD: - What are you? BARRY: - I believe I'm the pea. GUARD: - The pea? VANESSA:
It goes under the mattresses. GUARD: - Not in this fairy tale, sweetheart. - I'm getting the marshal. VANESSA: You do that! This whole parade is a fiasco! : Let's see what this baby'll do. (Vanessa drives the float through traffic) GUARD: Hey, what are you doing?! BARRY== Then all we do is blend in with traffic... : ...without arousing suspicion. : Once at the airport, there's no stopping us. (Flash forward in time and Barry and Vanessa are about to get on a plane) SECURITY GUARD: Stop! Security. : - You and your insect pack your float? VANESSA: - Yes. SECURITY GUARD: Has it been in your possession the entire time? VANESSA: - Yes.
SECURITY GUARD: Would you remove your shoes? (To Barry) - Remove your stinger. BARRY: - It's part of me. SECURITY GUARD: I know. Just having some fun. Enjoy your flight. (Barry plotting with Vanessa) BARRY: Then if we're lucky, we'll have just enough pollen to do the job. (Flash forward in time and Barry and Vanessa are flying on the plane) Can you believe how lucky we are? We have just enough pollen to do the job! VANESSA: I think this is gonna work. BARRY: It's got to work. CAPTAIN SCOTT: (On intercom) Attention, passengers, this is Captain Scott. : We have a bit of bad weather in New York. : It looks like we'll experience a couple hours delay. VANESSA: Barry, these are cut flowers with no water. They'll never make it. BARRY:
I gotta get up there and talk to them. VANESSA== Be careful. (Barry flies right outside the cockpit door) BARRY: Can I get help with the Sky Mall magazine? I'd like to order the talking inflatable nose and ear hair trimmer. (The flight attendant opens the door and walks out and Barry flies into the cockpit unseen) BARRY: Captain, I'm in a real situation. CAPTAIN SCOTT: - What'd you say, Hal? CO-PILOT HAL: - Nothing. (Scott notices Barry and freaks out) CAPTAIN SCOTT: Bee! BARRY: No,no,no, Don't freak out! My entire species... (Captain Scott gets out of his seat and tries to suck Barry into a handheld vacuum) HAL: (To Scott) What are you doing? (Barry lands on Hals hair but Scott sees him. He tries to suck up Barry but instead he sucks up Hals toupee) CAPTAIN SCOTT: Uh-oh. BARRY: - Wait a minute! I'm an attorney!
HAL: (Hal doesn't know Barry is on his head) - Who's an attorney? CAPTAIN SCOTT: Don't move. (Scott hits Hal in the face with the vacuum in an attempt to hit Barry. Hal is knocked out and he falls on the life raft button which launches an infalatable boat into Scott, who gets knocked out and falls to the floor. They are both uncounscious.) BARRY: (To himself) Oh, Barry. BARRY: (On intercom, with a Southern accent) Good afternoon, passengers. This is your captain. : Would a Miss Vanessa Bloome in 24B please report to the cockpit? (Vanessa looks confused) (Normal accent) ...And please hurry! (Vanessa opens the door and sees the life raft and the uncounscious pilots) VANESSA: What happened here? BARRY: I tried to talk to them, but then there was a DustBuster, a toupee, a life raft exploded. : Now one's bald, one's in a boat, and they're both unconscious! VANESSA: ...Is that another bee joke? BARRY:
VANESSA: I can't fly a plane. BARRY: - Why not? Isn't John Travolta a pilot? VANESSA: - Yes. BARRY: How hard could it be? (Vanessa sits down and flies for a little bit but we see lightning clouds outside the window) VANESSA: Wait, Barry! We're headed into some lightning. (An ominous lightning storm looms in front of the plane) (We are now watching the Bee News) BOB BUMBLE: This is Bob Bumble. We have some late-breaking news from JFK Airport, : where a suspenseful scene is developing. : Barry Benson, fresh from his legal victory... ADAM: That's Barry! BOB BUMBLE: ...is attempting to land a plane, loaded with people, flowers : and an incapacitated flight crew. JANET, MARTIN, UNCLE CAR AND ADAM: Flowers?! (The scene switches to the human news)
REPORTER: (Talking with Bob Bumble) We have a storm in the area and two individuals at the controls : with absolutely no flight experience. BOB BUMBLE: Just a minute. There's a bee on that plane. BUD: I'm quite familiar with Mr. Benson and his no-account compadres. : They've done enough damage. REPORTER: But isn't he your only hope? BUD: Technically, a bee shouldn't be able to fly at all. : Their wings are too small... BARRY: (Through radio) Haven't we heard this a million times? : "The surface area of the wings and body mass make no sense."... BOB BUMBLE: - Get this on the air! BEE: - Got it.
BEE NEWS CREW: - Stand by. BEE NEWS CREW: - We're going live! BARRY: (Through radio on TV) ...The way we work may be a mystery to you. : Making honey takes a lot of bees doing a lot of small jobs. : But let me tell you about a small job. : If you do it well, it makes a big difference. : More than we realized. To us, to everyone. : That's why I want to get bees back to working together. : That's the bee way! We're not made of Jell-O. : We get behind a fellow. : - Black and yellow! BEES: - Hello! (The scene switches and Barry is teaching Vanessa how to fly) BARRY:
Left, right, down, hover. VANESSA: - Hover? BARRY: - Forget hover. VANESSA: This isn't so hard. (Pretending to honk the horn) Beep-beep! Beep-beep! (A Lightning bolt hits the plane and autopilot turns off) Barry, what happened?! BARRY: Wait, I think we were on autopilot the whole time. VANESSA: - That may have been helping me. BARRY: - And now we're not! VANESSA: So it turns out I cannot fly a plane. (The plane plummets but we see Lou Lu Duva and the Pollen Jocks, along with multiple other bees flying towards the plane) Lou Lu DUva: All of you, let's get behind this fellow! Move it out! : Move out! (The scene switches back to Vanessa and Barry in the plane) BARRY: Our only chance is if I do what I'd do, you copy me with the wings of the plane! (Barry sticks out his arms like an airplane and flys in front of Vanessa's face)
VANESSA: Don't have to yell. BARRY: I'm not yelling! We're in a lot of trouble. VANESSA: It's very hard to concentrate with that panicky tone in your voice! BARRY: It's not a tone. I'm panicking! VANESSA: I can't do this! (Barry slaps Vanessa) BARRY: Vanessa, pull yourself together. You have to snap out of it! VANESSA: (Slaps Barry) You snap out of it. BARRY: (Slaps Vanessa) : You snap out of it. VANESSA: - You snap out of it! BARRY: - You snap out of it! (We see that all the Pollen Jocks are flying under the plane) VANESSA: - You snap out of it! BARRY: - You snap out of it!
VANESSA: - You snap out of it! BARRY: - You snap out of it! VANESSA: - Hold it! BARRY: - Why? Come on, it's my turn. VANESSA: How is the plane flying? (The plane is now safely flying) VANESSA: I don't know. (Barry's antennae rings like a phone. Barry picks up) BARRY: Hello? LOU LU DUVA: (Through "phone") Benson, got any flowers for a happy occasion in there? (All of the Pollen Jocks are carrying the plane) BARRY: The Pollen Jocks! : They do get behind a fellow. LOU LU DUVA: - Black and yellow. POLLEN JOCKS: - Hello. LOU LU DUVA: All right, let's drop this tin can
on the blacktop. BARRY: Where? I can't see anything. Can you? VANESSA: No, nothing. It's all cloudy. : Come on. You got to think bee, Barry. BARRY: - Thinking bee. - Thinking bee. (On the runway there are millions of bees laying on their backs) BEES: Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! BARRY: Wait a minute. I think I'm feeling something. VANESSA: - What? BARRY: - I don't know. It's strong, pulling me. : Like a 27-million-year-old instinct. : Bring the nose down. BEES: Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! CONTROL TOWER OPERATOR: - What in the world is on the tarmac? BUD: - Get some lights on that!
(It is revealed that all the bees are organized into a giant pulsating flower formation) BEES: Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! BARRY: - Vanessa, aim for the flower. VANESSA: - OK. BARRY: Out the engines. We're going in on bee power. Ready, boys? LOU LU DUVA: Affirmative! BARRY: Good. Good. Easy, now. That's it. : Land on that flower! : Ready? Full reverse! : Spin it around! (The plane's nose is pointed at a flower painted on a nearby plane) - Not that flower! The other one! VANESSA: - Which one? BARRY: - That flower. (The plane is now pointed at a fat guy in a flowered shirt. He freaks out and tries to take a picture of the plane) VANESSA: - I'm aiming at the flower!
BARRY: That's a fat guy in a flowered shirt. I mean the giant pulsating flower made of millions of bees! (The plane hovers over the bee-flower) : Pull forward. Nose down. Tail up. : Rotate around it. VANESSA: - This is insane, Barry! BARRY: - This's the only way I know how to fly. BUD: Am I koo-koo-kachoo, or is this plane flying in an insect-like pattern? (The plane is unrealistically hovering and spinning over the bee-flower) BARRY: Get your nose in there. Don't be afraid. Smell it. Full reverse! : Just drop it. Be a part of it. : Aim for the center! : Now drop it in! Drop it in, woman! : Come on, already. (The bees scatter and the plane safely lands) VANESSA: Barry, we did it! You taught me how to fly!
BARRY: - Yes! (Vanessa is about to high-five Barry) No high-five! VANESSA: - Right. ADAM: Barry, it worked! Did you see the giant flower? BARRY: What giant flower? Where? Of course I saw the flower! That was genius! ADAM: - Thank you. BARRY: - But we're not done yet. : Listen, everyone! : This runway is covered with the last pollen : from the last flowers available anywhere on Earth. : That means this is our last chance. : We're the only ones who make honey, pollinate flowers and dress like this. : If we're gonna survive as a species, this is our moment! What do you say?
: Are we going to be bees, or just Museum of Natural History keychains? BEES: We're bees! BEE WHO LIKES KEYCHAINS: Keychain! BARRY: Then follow me! Except Keychain. POLLEN JOCK #1: Hold on, Barry. Here. : You've earned this. BARRY: Yeah! : I'm a Pollen Jock! And it's a perfect fit. All I gotta do are the sleeves. (The Pollen Jocks throw Barry a nectar-collecting gun. Barry catches it) Oh, yeah. JANET: That's our Barry. (Barry and the Pollen Jocks get pollen from the flowers on the plane) (Flash forward in time and the Pollen Jocks are flying over NYC) : (Barry pollinates the flowers in Vanessa's shop and then heads to Central Park) BOY IN PARK: Mom! The bees are back! ADAM: (Putting on his Krelman hat) If anybody needs
to make a call, now's the time. : I got a feeling we'll be working late tonight! (The bee honey factories are back up and running) (Meanwhile at Vanessa's shop) VANESSA: (To customer) Here's your change. Have a great afternoon! Can I help who's next? : Would you like some honey with that? It is bee-approved. Don't forget these. (There is a room in the shop where Barry does legal work for other animals. He is currently talking with a Cow) COW: Milk, cream, cheese, it's all me. And I don't see a nickel! : Sometimes I just feel like a piece of meat! BARRY: I had no idea. VANESSA: Barry, I'm sorry. Have you got a moment? BARRY: Would you excuse me? My mosquito associate will help you. MOOSEBLOOD: Sorry I'm late. COW: He's a lawyer too?
MOOSEBLOOD: Ma'am, I was already a blood-sucking parasite. All I needed was a briefcase. VANESSA: Have a great afternoon! : Barry, I just got this huge tulip order, and I can't get them anywhere. BARRY: No problem, Vannie. Just leave it to me. VANESSA: You're a lifesaver, Barry. Can I help who's next? BARRY: All right, scramble, jocks! It's time to fly. VANESSA: Thank you, Barry! (Ken walks by on the sidewalk and sees the "bee-approved honey" in Vanessa's shop) KEN: That bee is living my life!! ANDY: Let it go, Kenny. KEN: - When will this nightmare end?! ANDY: - Let it all go. BARRY: - Beautiful day to fly. POLLEN JOCK:
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2023.06.09 00:40 Impressive_Garlic_46 Groomed by my teacher, but in denial. I need some validation that this really happened.

TLDR: He never did anything sexual with me as a teenager or as an adult, but he did intend on something happening as an adult.

He was 32 (m) and I was 15 (f) when we met. He was the assistant principal of my school. I had a crush on him as soon as I saw him. I already had a teacher fantasy (thanks pretty little liars) so I would day dream about him.
I chatted him up introduced myself and built an appropriate relationship. He was my confidant, my mentor, my friend. I never trusted an adult as much as I trusted him. I loved him in every way love can be. I would spend hours a day in his office skipping class to be with him and he'd let me. The only time I stopped flirting with him was when I was crying to him about my life and he was comforting me.
Eventually he started to playfully flirt back, not heavy but light. I could barely tell he was flirting with me. I knew he was, but I figured he would never flirt with a student. If he would have initiated anything with me as a teenager, I would have done it. I would have done anything he asked me to, no matter what it was.
A few weeks into my sophomore year I got taken into foster care because of my home life. He was at the school meeting where they came to get us. The whole time I could tell something was wrong with him, he was sad and withdrawn, but kept his eyes on me. He saw my heart break that day. I was sent to homes far from my high school, so I didn't see him for months. I was finally able to visit him, but security didn't want me on campus. We talked on the phone often.
Junior year I was enrolled in a new school in a different city. My first day was his first day too. As soon as we saw each other our faces lit up and we hugged, probably a little too long. He didn't want me in his office as much as he let me at the other school. He said it was because he didn't want to show me special treatment in front of everyone else. The other thing he said was that it would look weird if I was in there so much. If it wasn't anything more than a mentorship, why would it look weird? He would see me get into my adult boyfriends cars and never said anything to me about it. Is that because he didn't care if I dated men? Eventually I had to leave that school. He left the next school year and moved to a different school.
Throughout all of his different schools we always kept up. When I turned 18, he gave me his personal number. We would talk on the phone and text sporadically, nothing other than what friends would talk about. Every time we'd talk, he'd ask me if I was still with my bf.
A few years later (I'm 22, he's 41) I found him on IG and followed him, he followed me back and we started talking again. Much more often than before. We caught up on each other’s lives. Once there was no more catching up to do, we kept talking. Just talking about friend stuff still. Sometimes he would text me late at night. We made plans to hang out next time I was back home.
When I went back home, we decided to hang out. I wanted to get coffee or lunch. He said it would look weird if anyone saw us out together, and suggested I come over to his place. I was reluctant and red flags were going off in my head, but I ignored them and went over anyway. I could trust him. I told my sisters and I told them I would check in with them twenty minutes after I got there. I forgot to check in and they called, I should have texted her to make up an emergency. But I didn't.
We talked for hours. I was probably over there for 4-5 hours just talking. At some point he talked about how attractive I was and have always been. He told me that when me and my siblings got put into foster care, he tried to get my brother to live with him, but by time he decided to do it my aunt had got him. He told me he didn't try to get me because it might have looked weird. He asked questions about my relationship and somehow made it natural to ask about my sex life. I told him my problems in that department. Then he started to talk about his sex life and high sex drive. I was uncomfortable when he was talking about it but I let it slide. Like I said, I trusted him. He gave me a tour of his place; garage, kitchen, guest rooms, and ended the tour in his bedroom. I didn't think a single thing about that until years later, when I realized he groomed me. He was defiantly wanting something by showing me his bedroom, right? Hours later I left and we kept in touch often over text, again nothing nefarious. Looking back at it there might have been some light flirting on his side.
Next time I went back home we made plans to hang out. His place had flooded so he was living in a very nice hotel during renovations. The first time I went over everything was totally normal innocent even, until we hugged goodbye. It was a long hug.
I went over there to hang out the night after or the night after that I can't remember exactly. I hung out with him 3-4 times. Not realizing what was happening until the last time I went over there. The second time we hung out he moved to the couch I was on. We were opposite sides of the small couch. We talked for a while and then he put on TV in the background. I didn't think anything of it. I left and another long hug happened. Again, I thought nothing of it.
I went over to his hotel one more time and it was the last time I saw him. When I arrived the lights were low, a candle was burning, and there was music playing. That was the first time I really thought about the situation, but I buried that deep down... because I trusted him. Nothing happened other than us talking. After I left I texted him and asked if he was flirting with me, and he said he was but its innocent because that’s what you do with your adult friends. I knew that was bs when he said it. But of course, I buried that too.
Ever since I turned him down, he has hardly talked to me. Every time we talked, I was initiating it. We would send maybe 10-15 texts and then he would stop responding. He abandoned me, and it hurt. He was my rock during my teenage years.
I kept in contact with him for 4 years after the last time we saw each other. One day I finally realized that he had been grooming me. I started to question our entire relationship.
I messaged him innocently asking why he showed such an interest in me as a teen. He basically told me it was because my home life was shit and that I was vulnerable and special. I asked him why I was special. I don't remember his response though. I prodded more and then he stopped answering. I think he finally caught on to what I was really asking. A few days later and still no response. I decided to block him on all social media, and delete and block his number. I was so proud of myself. This was 4 months ago.
I thought of him a lot the first months or so. Then I forgot about him for a while. The other day I was putting a kitchen appliance away and it made me think of him. How he has literally nothing on his counter tops, everything is stored in the cabinets. Thinking about how weird that was turned my stomach. Then I started to think about everything he had done, good and bad. Both made me feel like I was going to throw up.
I started to think about the possibility that he never really thought I was special; that I was just easy prey. That I wasn't the only girl he had a close relationship with. Maybe he was doing this with other girls too. As a teenager all I wanted was to be special to an adult, and he gave that to me. But if I wasn't special and just another target that means that I wasn't special to anyone. I want him to have only done this to me for 2 reasons. 1) I don't want other girls going through this. 2) I want to have been special.
2) fucks me up. I shouldn't still want validation from this man. I crave the validation though. As a teenager I grew dependent on him. He built me up, gave me confidence and showed me love I'd never had before. But now after realizing everything he did to me I have no confidence. I am completely broken. I feel hopeless and confused. I feel sick to my stomach every moment of the day. I can't think of anything else but this. Regardless of all of the negative feelings he is causing me, I miss him. I miss our friendship and being able to lean on him when I'm going through a rough time. I could tell him literally anything and he wouldn't judge me. He had no involvement in my problems and was always in my corner. I still need someone like that, and I wish it could be him. I wish he never had any ulterior motives and that I could still lean on him.
I really hope that his affection for me when he started to get to know me wasn't just about taking advantage of me. I want it to be that he grew to have these feelings about me. It would mean I was special. Either way it's wrong and disgusting. But it would make me feel like he wasn't a total pos, just a confused man who made a huge mistake. It's still not acceptable.
I still can't accept that he groomed me. I know he did, but I keep telling myself that I'm over analyzing the situation. Nothing sexual ever happened, so it's not grooming. He always treated me with love and kindness. He was NEVER abusive, not even for a second. He didn't force me into anything. He just cared for me unconditionally, and he was the first person to care about me like that and actually give me the time and attention I needed. I also feel like this is all my fault because I had a crush on him before. Like I brought it upon myself.
I can't tell you all the number of times I've thought about unblocking him and messaging him. Or calling him and making up some excuse about needing a letter of recommendation. I tried to find the letter of recommendation he sent me a few years ago because I needed his validation, even if it was old.
I also want to reach out so I can call him out. Or accidently run into him when I'm back in my hometown so I can call him out. But I know he would gaslight me because that's what groomers do. He would never admit to it. I won't be able to make it through if he did that. I already gaslight myself enough. Hearing him deny or justify it would confirm my doubts. And if I didn't fall for his gaslighting I would be even more broken than I am now. If I did see him in public, I don't know what I'd do. I don't know if I'd run, ignore him, call him out, pretend everything is ok, or get sucked back in. At this moment I think I would get sucked back in. I would believe everything he would say. I would be the same teenage girl I was all those years ago, dotting on him.
I don't know what to do. I'm having extra sessions with my therapist and that’s helping in the moment. I don't want to miss him. I want to hate him and I want that hatred to eventually turn into indifference. I want to find peace. I don't want to love him anymore. (Just for clarification it's not a romantic love.)
It feels nice to share the full story with people other than my therapist and sisters.

If you've made it this far I whole heartedly appreciate it. It means so much to me. Thank you!
submitted by Impressive_Garlic_46 to groomingvictim [link] [comments]


2023.06.08 23:48 Nuttafux Guests lists?

Hi all! Engaged 4/23/23, slated for a Labor Day 2025 wedding (not yet booked).
I’m about to send out invites to an engagement party we are having on 7/9 and I bought about 12 extras to have wiggle room.
All my life, I’ve been a bit socially awkward due to extremely low self esteem. While I’ve grown much since then, I have definitely struggled still in the “just ask them to coffee, you’re friendly enough!”. I basically require everyone to make friends with me for fear I’m being weird/misread their friendliness/overstepping boundaries/ they don’t wanna hang out with me.
This is especially true now that I’m in the work force (I’m 27 if that helps with context… 7 years of higher Ed delayed my entry lol).
I have a few people I would like to invite but just don’t know if I should? I’m always afraid I like them more than they like me. I don’t want to make them feel awkward. The dreaded thought that they open the invite and say “ugh I really don’t want to do this” just breaks me all the time.
Examples: - the place I work has a community partner and I work almost daily with that community partner’s “liaison”. I speak to her more than I speak to any other coworker. We’ve been to some work happy hours together. Worked together for 2 years. However, she would not know more than 2ish people there. I also would like to invite another person I work with from that same community partner, someone a bit older around 50 yo. The two of them know eachother very well
This is an example situation. How did you guys handle the issue of who to invite? Am I just weirdly nervous or is this more normal than I think 🥲 Guest list is already over 100, family friends and family plus a handful of our friends.
Thank you!!! ❤️❤️
submitted by Nuttafux to weddingplanning [link] [comments]


2023.06.08 23:25 polar693 short little topster of 10s

short little topster of 10s submitted by polar693 to Topster [link] [comments]