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#because otherwise the bugs will swarm my computer or phone
dkafterdark · 4 years
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me when light bulbs burn out: it’s cool i like the dark
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Survey #231
too lazy to even think of song lyrics to put, just have this
Do bridges make you nervous? Somewhat. Are there any movies that you find so dumb, you find funny? Aha, Napoleon Dynamite. Do you have any older siblings? Four + one I don't know. How often do you vacation? Pretty much never. Are you currently having any cellular problems? My phone is ACTUAL horse shit. Have you ever tried to meet up with someone from online? With Sara, multiple times now. :') It'd be fantastic if when I go to South Africa I can meet Shaylee when I visit to the KMP, and my other friend Alyssa knows how badly I wanna meet Mark, so she insists on me going with her one day if he ever goes back to PAX East. I'd love to meet Connie, too. If you could have any car right now, what would you want exactly? Eh, I don't know car types. Something medium/smallish (I don't want very small for safety reasons) that's either burnt orange or red and just pretty and sleek. Do you think it’s cruel to leave a live fish to die in an ice box? Um???????? YEAH????????????????? Have you ever done anything sexual with someone of the same sex? Yeah. Do you collect issues of a certain magazine? No. Have you ever pawned anything off at a pawn shop? Nah. Do you have stomach abs? Ha, I wish. Do you know anyone who is trying to physically impersonate a celebrity? No, but oh my god, so my friend Leon, right? He looks UNCANNILY like Leon Kennedy (WEIRD name coincidence????) from the Resident Evil series so much that he dressed as him one day. The resemblance is fucking unbelievable, especially when his hair was longer in the front. Do you have the Bakery Story app? Haven't heard of it. Do you watch Sister Wives? Haven't heard of that, either. How do you feel about polygamy? It's definitely not for me, but if it's KNOWINGLY between a consenting, happy group of people, you do you, man. Just hardcore practice safe sex. Have you ever seen a shuttle launch? No. What would your parents say is the worst thing you’ve ever done? I haven't got a clue. I'd assume Mom would probably say me texting her "fuck you" even though she deserved it. Dad, probably the letter I wrote him after the divorce. Are we having signs of the apocalypse? I don't even remember the Biblical signs besides like, swarms of locusts and humanity's focus shifting to materialism. I say rather we're having actually scientific signs of a mass extinction coming in the next few centuries, probably, or sooner. Historically, we're extremely overdue for one, anyway. Global warming, the ozone, overpopulation, pollution... you know, all that jazz. We're killing the earth. Would you rather see The Blue Man Group or Fear Factor live? Blue Man Group. Do you have any vintage clothing? Man, I wish. Are you glad to accept any certain person’s hand-me-downs? "As long as it fits and it’s like, clean, I guess?" <<<< This. Have you ever bought anything at Rue 21? Yeah, I like that store. The graphic tees section, at least. What color of colored contacts would you like to have? Like, purple or something. NO, cyan. Gimme a Manson feel. What’s on your bed? Me, Teddy, Roman, my laptop and mouse, my pillows, sheets, blanket, phone... Your floor besides furniture? My bookbag and purse. Wires. Shoes. Your dresser? My meerkat collection, along with some other plushies. The top shelf in your closet? I have no clue. Are there any dead stuffed animals in your house? Uh, you mean taxidermy? No. I am viciously against hunting "trophies." HOWEVER, I'm deeply into vulture culture and have mixed feelings about making art of NATURALLY deceased wildlife... A part of me says that's disrespectful, and then the other says it's very honoring and respectful, to immortalize an animal's beauty as art after experiencing a good life. It's something I semi-want to get into, but again, I'm torn on my thoughts about it. Do you know anyone who goes fishing, but doesn’t like fish? Do you mean like, eating fish? I'll fish with Dad if he invites me (I otherwise stopped as I don't support it if not necessary for food, but this has always been my and Dad's "thing"), but I hate fish as food. If you mean they don't enjoy fish as animals, I don't think so. What’s the best prize you’ve won on an amusement park/carnival game? I don't have a clue. Have you ever done anything sexual in a school? No, besides simple kisses. Have you ever been indoor skydiving? No. Would you have any interest in going on a cruise? No. Being out in the ocean scares me. Have you ever been to a Chinatown in any of the cities you’ve been to? No. How old was the oldest person you’ve dated? Maybe like, five years older. Do you know anyone who has their own podcast? No. Have you ever been to couple’s counseling? No. How many children do you want, and how did you decide on this number? None. I decided because 1.) I would be a terrible mother, 2.) I'm not putting anyone's well-being above my own ever again, 3.) I'm not dedicating the remainder of my life trying to raise someone who might end up not even caring about me, and 4.) they're fuckin expensive and I've been poor my whole life and will do almost anything to keep my bills and expenses in general as low as possible. Where did your last kiss take place? The airport. Did you often read for fun when you were a kid? Oh, definitely. I loved reading. ^ What were some of your favorite books? Little-little kid books included Stellaluna, What Makes a Rainbow?, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Rainbow Fish, 10 Minutes 'Til Bedtime... a lot. As like an elementary student, I was really into the Magic Tree House and Hank the Cowdog series. Then in middle school, Warriors dominated my bookshelf. Are you more of a visual learner or an auditory learner? Visual. Do you have any dietary restrictions? No. Do you prefer Google Maps, Apple Maps, Waze, or something else? I've never used any. What is your favorite coffee brand? N/A What is your favorite tea brand? N/A Have you ever worn false eyelashes? No. I probably only will for maybe my wedding. How old does someone have to be for you to see them as an adult? 21 I guess. Do you ever ‘manspread’ when you sit down? Uh. I actually don't know. I don't pay attention. Which of your good habits has made the biggest positive difference in your life? Coming to understand I have to put myself first, probably. Or learning how to talk to myself gently. Have you ever dated someone who was very lazy? No. Have you ever turned down a job offer? No. Have you ever been fired from a job? No. I always quit too early for that, really. Do you overuse smileys? I don't think so. At least not anywhere near how I did as a pre-teen in the "LOL rANdoM!!!!!! XD" phase. Who is better; Madonna or Blondie? Idk. Who is better; Elton John or Billy Joel? BILLY!!!!!!! Name three website you visit every day: YouTube, Kalahari Manor, and deviantART. Have you seen all of the Jaws movies? Tyler and I watched the first one. I don't remember what I thought about it, really. Have you ever worn black eyeliner? "Yeah. That’s the only kind I wear." <<<< This. Have you ever worn blue mascara? No. That'd look weird on me. Hm, or maybe not. Maybe it'd bring out my blue eyes. Ever spiked your hair? No. How long have you had a computer? I don't have a clue. Have you ever written something, and published it on the internet? Well yeah? When was the last time you played cards? (not on the computer) Hell, forever ago when I was at Colleen's with Girt and we played CAH. Can you play chess? Nope. When was the last time you read a book over 700 pages long? Shit man, no clue. I don't know if I ever have. Have you ever drank cherry Coke? GOOD STUFF Do you prefer using pens or pencils? Pencils, considering you can erase. I avoid using pens if I can. Have you ever skipped for a long distance? Maybe as a little kid? Are you excited for the holidays? Halloween was disappointing, as I did absolutely zip. I honestly don't care about Thanksgiving. We always just go have dinner with Ashley's bigot in-laws. I'm VERY hyped for Christmas 'cuz I'm probably gonna be with Sara!! Can you play any instruments? I played the flute for years, but I don't think I could remember how to now. Are you a Facebook addict? Nah. Are you afraid of stink bugs? YEAH. I hate beetle-like insects. Do you have a printer? Yeah. Does anyone own any embarrassing pictures of you? HAHAHAHA I HOPE SHE DOESN'T STILL HAVE IT, MY FRIEND ONCE TOOK A PICTURE OF ME IN THE MIDDLE OF EATING A HOT DOG AND I JUST REALLY HATE IT. Do you still live at home? Yeah. Are you currently enrolled in college? Yep. Do you care what others say about you? Way too much. Have you ever played Farmville? No. What is your favorite video game? Silent Hill 2 and Shadow of the Colossus. What song represents your life the best? "Get Up" by Mother Mother makes me think of myself A LOT. Are you into anime? Yeah. Name one movie that has made you cry more than once. The Notebook. Always. Do you watch the Disney Channel? Not anymore. Do you swear? Way too much. Do you overthink things? You wouldn't BELIEVE how much I do. What’s the largest animal you’ve ever had as a pet? A fuckin ginormous black lab until Ashley moved out. He wasn't even full-grown. Do you own any kind of helmet? No. What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had? As a kid, I was running on the gravel road and slipped and fell. I scraped my knees to the point of pus coming out. It took a loooong time to heal. I cried SO fucking loudly. Bad, bad memory made only worse because Dad got so annoyed by it that he yelled at me to shut up. Happy beyond words he changed so much after the divorce and stopped drinking. What is something you like to have conversations about? MARK and other YouTubers I love to an unreasonable height, meerkats, vidya games I enjoy, RP, bands I love... What all is in the trunk of your car? I don't have a clue. Do you ever put fruit on your cereal? EW no. I hate that shit. How do you usually celebrate your favorite holiday? By doing nothing, lately. I don't have anywhere to go, so no point in even dressing up. Plus I can't afford costumes. When was the last time you drove something other than a car or truck? Uh. I have zero clue. Have you ever eaten/drank something and then realized it was past the expiration date? Probably at some point. Do you own any jewelry containing your birthstone? I have an amethyst angel pin from my grandmother. When I was in high school and going through my most suicidal phases, I wore it on my shirt underneath my hoodies. What is something unusual that annoys you? Hm. Well, I think this resonates with a lot of people at least to a mild degree, but it really angers me when people don't put their shopping carts back and just sit them in/by a parking spot. Fucking lazy as hell. Does mind over matter work for you? Rarely. What was the last thing you were invited to? No clue. Well, besides the obvious things like my niece and nephew's b-day parties, I don't know. What item should never be shared? Stealing the last person's answer: your toothbrush. What do you usually order at Taco Bell? A cheese quesadilla and fiesta potatoes. Sometimes the cinnamon delight things instead of the potatoes. Have you ever sat all the way through Gone With the Wind? No. Does drinking alcohol make you act more like your true self? I don't know if it's my "true" self, but I'm more extroverted and calmer. Have you ever googled a name and found somebody? Uhhhh so this is probably so incredibly creepy, but I jumped through hoops finding Jason's landline a few days before my suicide attempt because I was absolutely desperate to talk to him. It was in the dead of night and his sweetheart mom picked up and spoke with me for like two whole hours trying to calm me down. Jason was asleep, apparently. I miss that woman. She was so patient and gentle that night. Okay I'm honestly getting pretty emotional recalling that night so MOVING ON. What is your favorite possession? My iPod, really. I've had it since middle school and has 1k+ songs on it that I, like an idiot, am too lazy to back up... soooo when it dies, which it's WAY overdue to do, I will probably tear the world in two. What makes you feel like you are young again? Laughing hysterically. Especially when I do this little squeaking sound. Girt pointed it out all the time and since then I've actually paid attention to it and it's fuckin cute tbh. Are you picky? You. Don't. Even. KNOW. You have one wish, what would it be? World peace. How tall is the person you like? Shorter or taller? She's just like two inches shorter at 5'2''. How tall was the tallest person you’ve dated? Fucking hell, Girt was AT LEAST 6', I'm sure taller. I only reached his chest. How many foreign friends do you have? Oh boy, plenty. Well, I'd say most are acquaintances, but still. I've been on the Internet too long. In which countries do they live? European countries and Australia are the ones I know off the top of my head. What was your dream birthday party as a kid? Hmmm, probably going skating with my friends. What’s the most interesting story you’ve never told anybody? I don't know. What’s the most complicated meal you’ve cooked? Nothing. Have you ever come up with your own game? As kids, my sisters and I did a lot. What is something you value a lot in your life? Having a home, food to eat, a family that loves me... the basics that unfortunately many people don't have. Whose hand did you hold last? Sara's. What was the last thing you planted? Habanero peppers, I think. What or who was the last thing you gossiped about? *shrugs* When's the last time you helped a senior citizen somehow? Probably by holding doors open? What's the most selfless act you have done? Probably compromising my mental health to help others. I dunno. Have you ever intentionally fed a house spider? wtf no get out of mah swamp Are you clumsy? If so, how? I'm a newborn deer ffs. I bump into and trip over shit every day. How many Lidls are there in your town? None. I think. I think the closest is in the next town over. How do you like your favorite beverage? Cold and freshly opened 'cuz carbonation. Are you going to any concerts this summer? Ozzy Osbourne is very likely and I am NOT over it even though that was decided forever ago. Have you ever been to a concert? Once. What do you do when you can’t escape thoughts of your ex? I have PTSD from that relationship, getting away from those thoughts isn't a thing until my brain decides it's over it. Like I mainly just look for a distraction, but honestly, the only thing that seems to be truly effective is time or sleep. Do you watch any TV shows where the setting’s a hospital? I enjoy The Good Doctor, but I've talked about my disinterest in TV plenty. Did your first real significant other change you at all? HI HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE BREAKUP??????????????? Are you waiting to have sex until you’re married? Nah, not anymore. I broke that "promise" anyway through total cheat methods or whatever you want to call them, but I'm ultimately glad I thought I was obeying abstinence through that time considering honestly with how serious we were and how impulsive I was, I genuinely wonder if I would've wound up pregnant. Let's NOT IMAGINE THAT ROUTE. How many schools have you been to? Six. What’s your favorite color to wear? Black. Isn’t it lovely when your S/O smells good? I mean yeah, would anyone answer "no"???? Who’s your favorite actor? Mark is an official actor now don't even fuckin try me about this Who can make you laugh no matter what? *points up* + Sara and Game Grumps. Has a movie ever made you cry? Which one(s)? The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, Titanic, Old Yeller, The Lion King, Coco, Finding Dory, Johnny Got His Gun... man, a lot. I'm a baby when it comes to movies. Do you keep a list of movies you want to watch so you don't forget? No. What was the last song you heard for the first time and enjoyed? It was one of Highly Suspect's new songs. I think it was called "Snow White." What do you prefer -- the original fairy tales, or the Disney versions? Disney. Would you like more film adaptations of traditional fairy tales? Yeah, I enjoy them. Are there any comic books you'd like to see made into a movie? I don't read 'em. Are there any comic book movies you wish had been better? ^ Have you watched the Good Omens series yet? Thoughts? No. Who are some of your favorite female fictional characters, and why? Yrel from World of Warcraft is a fucking badass that needs to come back, I love Heather Mason from Silent Hill 3 with her being a realistic, relatable, and headstrong female protagonist that takes no shit, Bayonetta is my Mommy like have you seen that girl work (she served as some of my first evidence I wasn't straight, actually), I love Cynder from The Legend of Spyro saga with her personality overall and story... there's a lot I love. OH! Ellie from The Last of Us is impossible to not mention. It's beyond debate she's one of the toughest females in video game history, and it was interesting to watch her grow up in a post-apocalyptic world where horrors and tragedy were so normal. Something you didn't like that happened in one of your fave shows/books? GINGA DENSETSU WEED SPOILER: I will forever be livid Jerome died sobs I loved him more than I love myself. THE OUTSIDERS SPOILER: Dally's death devastated me. A character (in anything) you wish hadn't been killed off? Vol'jin's death in WoW was fucking stupid and entirely anticlimactic. Make the guy warchief & then Blizz doesn't know what to do with him and lets trash kill him, such shit writing, look guys I'm fuckin tilted about- What was the last video you saw that made you smile? Oh my god, I watched a clip of Shane Dawson at the Mall of America with Jeffree today, and he was physically in a state of shock, entirely speechless, and in tears. My lips were about to split my face in half smiling and almost crying. He deserves all he's getting right now beyond words. What's something exciting that's happened recently? A Heist With Markiplier was the best thing that ever happened to me ok. What about something upsetting? My grandma going downhill so fast. Cancer cells are now clearly visible in her blood. Do you have any calluses on your feet? So possibly TMI so look away, but I used to walk SO MUCH that my feet, especially my big toes, have the thickest calluses you could probably imagine. They bother me so much that I want to see whatever kind of doctor that can get rid of the damn things. Nothing I've ever done has helped get rid of them. I've CUT areas off in hopes of them going away, but it always heals BACK into a callus???? What was your last big purchase? Teddy's vet visit. Have you ever eaten grits? Grits are disgusting. What is the name of your YouTube channel, if you have one? 0zzkat. Do you wear the same shirt and shorts multiple times before washing? It depends on how long I wore the shirt and if I sweat. You'd never see me in shorts. What color is your favorite lip gloss? I don't use gloss. How many different states have you lived in? Just one. Are you allergic to bees? No. What color is the rim around your bedroom mirror (if applicable)? Black. What is your favorite flavor of saltwater toffee? I don't know if I've ever tried that. Have you ever vacationed on an island? No. What does your favorite bikini look like? Remember how I said you wouldn't see me in shorts? That goes even more for bikinis. What flavor was the last slushee you had? Strawberry limeade.
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Worm Liveblog #21
UPDATE 21: The School vs Taylor and Danny Hebert
Last time Taylor had finally hit Emma in the face. The problem is that she did this in front of Emma’s father, her own father, the general public and Shadow Stalker. All in all, it could have gone better. The silver lining is that now she’s telling her father everything that’s going on at school, I think, so let’s continue!
Nnnnevermind, she’s not doing that. It seems it happened off-screen. Given that now Taylor and Dad Hebert are waiting to enter to the principal’s office, he reacted as I thought he would: taking this seriously and arranging a meeting with the principal. Nice! I don’t have much faith on this ending 100% well for Taylor, but who knows, maybe it’ll happen. Not long after we’d arrived, Emma and her dad had showed up, looking totally casual and unstressed, like it was a regular day. She isn’t even worried. Oh. If she isn’t worried then...okay, the meeting hasn’t started, maybe I’m jumping the gun a bit on this not having a satisfying resolution. I’ll keep hoping for the best.
Madison and her family have the decency to be worried, although Emma’s father seems to be trying to reassure them. Sophia arrives with someone who’s not her mother – adoptive mother, perhaps? – so it’s turn for Taylor and Dad Hebert to come in. Emma’s father is a lawyer, therefore he knows how to manipulate the system, or at least that’s what Dad Hebert says. After getting a phone call from my dad, Alan had been the one to call this meeting. ...okay, now I’m completely sure this won’t end well for Taylor. This has to be a trap. No wonder Emma is so calm! She must know what this all is about. I don’t know what kind of person this Alan man is, but I feel inclined to distrusting the purpose of this meeting. Give me a minute here to pick up my stress toy because maybe I’ll need it.
Everyone sits to the table and it’s rather telling that pretty much everyone except a teacher is sitting on the site opposite to Taylor and Dad Hebert. It’s them against the world, and we all know who has the advantage here. I was nervous.  I had told my dad that I’d missed classes.  I hadn’t told him how many, but I hadn’t wanted to repeat Bitch’s mistake and leave him totally in the dark. That’s a sensible move...at least he knows she has been skipping classes. What I wonder now is if he asked what she did during the time she was supposed to be at class. Hang around the library or something? It’s not like Taylor can see she was spending time with her friends instead of being with friends. Dad Hebert is quite understanding, but it’d be good to avoid saying anything that could point at the rest of the Undersiders being bad influences on Taylor.
Sophia is a troublesome person, who’d have guessed, right? So, Alan did arrange this meeting so this matters could be put to rest through the official channels. Taylor Hebert, time for your testimony. She’s encouraged to tell the major incidents, but instead she goes for every incident...because apparently she has been keeping track of that. Really? First time I hear of it. It’s a big paragraph, thick as a brick in comparison to the two-line and one-line things dialogue above it. And that’s just for one single day. Golly.
Taylor only gets to the middle of the second day when the principal interrupts her, saying they don’t have time to listen to every single incident. Really now? Well she’s not wrong, otherwise they’d be here for the rest of the day. That’s how much Taylor has been tormented.
Alan spoke, “I think we all grasp that it’s been unpleasant.  You’ve established that, and I thank you for the insight. But how many of those incidents can you prove?  Were those emails sent from school computers?”
Here comes the legal beaglery! Let me guess, she can’t. Hard to prove someone dumped pencil sharpener shavings on her head a few months ago. Taylor’s best chance is to appeal for the principal to believe her, but that’s quite difficult. This kind of stuff relies on evidence, and there’s very little decisive proof here. Not even printing the emails is enough, because they came from throwaway accounts. At least she can prove she’s being bullied, that much can’t be denied now. It’s not like she can fake stuff that has been happening for months!
Just like that, most of Taylor’s work has been dismissed as useless. Damn it, I hate when this happens! Thankfully, there’s one incident Taylor can prove, and it’s one we did see by ourselves here in the story.
“Two weeks ago, Mr. Gladly approached me,” I addressed the room, “He verified that some things had occurred in his class.  My desk had been vandalized with scribbles, juice, glue, trash and other stuff on different days.  Do you remember, Mr. Gladly?”
I really hope you won’t have the gall to deny something you said, Mr. Disney Movie Teacher. He doesn’t, he just kind of distorts what Taylor had said, sidestepping the part that he did see harassment in action.
“No,” the principal spoke, “But I think that when someone is being victimized, it’s possible to embellish events, or to see harassment when there is none.  We want to ensure that these three girls get fair treatment.” Nothing wrong with fair treatment for everyone, yeah, but implying Taylor is making up stuff to get them in more trouble is...well that’s not going to help. Taylor wasn’t wrong, this is a farce of a meeting. This is the kind of thing that’s difficult for me to read...because it’s the most plausible parts. Powers and all is fun, even if it gets to the gory and bleak parts, but this here is something that can happen to pretty much anyone. Maybe some of the readers of Worm even experienced it at some point. That’s why it’s harder to read this, because it can happen.
Shut up, Alan, you’re not helping. He doesn’t outright say Taylor is lying, but he’s really implying it – even daring to bring up Taylor’s mother’s death. Like father, like daughter, really. That’s playing dirty. No wonder Emma was so calm.
Since everyone has pretty much formed a wall around themselves and refused to do anything about Taylor, Alan goes for the jugular and asks what exactly Taylor and Dad Hebert want. “Transfer me to Arcadia High.” Really? Well I didn’t expect that! But now that the surprise is gone, I must say that’s quite a good answer. Better to get away from them and try to start anew in a new crowd. It’s not like Taylor has anything in this school she’s going to miss, so...yeah, I like this move! Nice. Looks like most here were expecting to hear she wanted them to be expelled from the school. I for one am hoping the principal will agree to transfer Taylor!
Giving them freedom through expulsion or suspension wouldn’t be good, since it’d be like a reward for those three – that’s Taylor’s opinion. I kinda agree to that. If it were up to her there’d be suspension in-school for two months, and that’d be quite a sizable punishment, but...yeah, I don’t see that happening. I hate to say it, but taking the easy route about transferring to another school is more likely to work.
Once again, shut up, Alan. This is no time for jokes about no punishment at all.
Since it’s extremely obvious there has been bullying but most of the incidents can’t be proven, the principal proposes a two week suspension. I sigh. Guess it’ll be no punishment for them, then. This is exactly what Taylor didn’t want.
She hadn’t mentioned the classes.  I wondered if she even knew. Taylor really is like invisible to everyone except the bullies, eh? Nobody here mentions Taylor has avoided her classes. Once another reason to transfer to Arcadia High, maybe there Taylor won’t be a non-entity. Since suspension is the one thing on the table here, Taylor gives up on that regard and accepts it, because otherwise it’d be like ramming her head against a brick wall.
Just transfer me to Arcadia.  Let me walk away from this.”
“That’s not really something I can do,” the principal said, “There’s jurisdictions-”
Hm. Alright, question time, dear readers. I’m not knowledgeable about the American educational system, but is there anything stopping Dad Hebert from pulling out Taylor from the actual school and transferring her to Arcadia High? Because that’s what’d be done around here where I live, one wouldn’t have to rely on the school to do something. The one obstacle I can think of is that there could be no space for a student in a classroom, but that’s usually solvable. Maybe I’m missing something about this American school system.
Wow, Taylor is seriously starting to lose her self-control, and I doubt it’s because of the concussion. She’s reaching her limit. Everyone’s lucky there’s not a swarm of bugs in the room right now. Taylor even threatens to bring a weapon to the school, and pretty much begs for her own expulsion. Damn...
Since it’s obvious nobody except Dad Hebert is on Taylor’s side, things get heated, with Dad Hebert threatening to get the media involved, and Alan threatening to press charges on Taylor for assault and threats. It’d lead to a drawn out legal battle that’d end only when a side runs out of money – and I can already guess which side it’d be.
I looked at my teachers.  At Mrs. Knott, who I’d even say was my favorite teacher, “Don’t you see how fucked up this is? He’s blackmailing us right in front of you, and you can’t understand that this manipulation has been going on from the beginning?”
I hate to say it, but I’m afraid Alan’s move, while dirty is...completely legal. Taylor did pretty much assault Emma. Charges may be pressed anytime, and there’s evidence to back them up. It’s not really blackmail. Not that it matters, because this sucks. I fully sympathize with Taylor on this. There she goes, pretty much kicking the door on her way out, and immediately calling Lisa.
“We’re gearing up for a raid on the ABB.  We didn’t bother you about it because you’re still recovering, and I knew you’d be busy with your meeting at school.  Want in?”
Want in? Right now she’d be more than willing to go for another bank robbery, I’d say! Yeah, let’s let out steam through some good old fighting! While Taylor was trying to straighten up her life, everyone else was arranging teams for an attack on the ABB. I wonder which group Taylor would be with? Let’s hope it’s not with Skidmark!
“Every team is splitting up, bit complicated to explain, but yeah.  Bitch would be going with one or two members of the Travelers, some of Faultline’s crew and probably some of Empire Eighty-Eight.  It would do a lot for our peace of mind if you went with. ‘specially with the tension between us and the Empire.”
...uh...alright, whose idea was to stick Heckpuppy with E88? I guess it’s fine as long as the owner of that dogfighting ring isn’t part of the team, or else this can’t end well. At least Taylor will be there. It’s a good chance as any to get scenes between Rachel and Taylor, maybe they’ll stop being cold to each other. Taylor already started trying to get closer to her, will Rachel accept it? I hope she does! That’s the end of the chapter.
I think I have time for one chapter more, so I’ll go ahead with it. The main course of this arc is coming now!
Yeah, they’re getting ready for their missions, dressing with their costumes. “The idea Coil proposed was that we would mix and match the members of the groups, so nobody can pull anything without their teammates being hostage to the other groups.” Good thinking, Coil. You can never trust a bunch of teams each with their own criminal goals and vendettas. I guess it also means it was unlikely for Heckpuppy not be in contact with someone from E88, yeah. There are arrangements for the Undersiders to check with each other, and codes in case there’s trouble and they need to be subtle. Think traffic lights.  Green for go, everything is okay.  Yellow for warning, if you aren’t sure about things.  Red for stop, need help. That’s...that can work. For a moment I had thought they had said to name the color, not an object of that color, I was already typing how obvious it was. Hah! Good thing I reread the lines, that’d have been embarrassing.
Tattletale’s going in the team that has Faultline. Hah! Of course she is. I bet that if Shadow Stalker was a villain and she was part of this plan too, she’d be in Grue’s group because Mr. Wildbow seems to be rather interested in putting rivals with rivals. Everyone ready? There are going to be daily attacks, these will be busy days! Hit hard, hit fast, get out of there.  If you aren’t making much of a dent, don’t sweat it. Perfect. This’ll also be a good chance for me to see what other villain factions can do in terms of power. This is likely to be good! Show me your best, Mr. Wildbow!
“Don’t show her any weakness, or she won’t let up on you.” At this point I’m completely sure Skitter has enough strength not to show weakness in front of Heckpuppy no matter what. She’ll be okay. Not that anyone’s happy with the arrangements, Heckpuppy spends the trip in the van just glaring daggers at Skitter. What a marvelous start for this mission, eh? Things are going to go just peachy in here.
Remembering my bugs, I took a few seconds to extend my powers outward and begin gathering them.  I was surprised at how far my reach was extending.  I generally measured things in city blocks – I’ve never been good at eyeballing distance – and I would say my range usually sat at around two blocks. Today I was reaching just shy of three and a half.
Hmmm...hey, what if Bakuda’s bomb is responsible for this? It affected Skitter’s brain or something, didn’t it? You know, to stun her and all. What if it accidentally gave a boost to Skitter’s powers? I really hope the concussion isn’t doing this, or else Skitter may lose such boost once she’s healed. Skitter wonders why she’s a bit more powerful and accidentally makes puns, then turns her attention to how Heckpuppy uses her power on the dogs. It was like seeing a sausage split its casing—ooooookay, that’s enough, Skitter, a bit too descriptive for me. Somehow, hearing about something bursting out of its skin when we’re talking about living beings is giving me the heebie-jeebies.
The point of reunion for the team Heckpuppy and Skitter are part of is at the other side of a bridge destroyed by the ABB. Is everyone else over there? It’s a matter of passing through the rubble of the bridge until they reach that, not too difficult. The dogs are even having fun.
Wow, I’m surprised Heckpuppy is trying to make small talk, noting Skitter is angry. Trying to reach out to Skitter, perhaps? “Should hit ’em.  Teach them to fuck with you.” Good news, she did that. Bad news, it pretty much screwed her over. Good news, now Dad Hebert knows everything that’s going on. All in all, the only reward was momentary satisfaction, and that can be enough. Our detour had given the flying bugs time to catch up to me.  Wasps, moths, houseflies, no-see-ums, a few bees and a fair few cockroaches. The heck is a no-see-um. I googled it to find out, and I regret it. Take a lesson from me: photos of no-see-um bites or whatever are not pleasant to look at. You have a lot of courage, Taylor, stuffing so many bugs in the nooks and crannies of your costume.
All the other capes were already waiting. Hello, Kaiser, fancy meeting you again! He has his Valkyries with him. From Faultine’s crew there’s Newter and Labyrinth. I once received a comment asking why I hadn’t seemed surprised about Newter and...someone else. Honestly? I don’t remember who they are. I blame the introduction of a couple dozen characters at once. I wonder what kind of powers they have, though. I do note that Newter is orange, literally orange. What’s up with that, hmmmm...
The attack is scheduled to start in five minutes. Is that really enough time to decide the method of attack? There’s a lot of people here, it may be a tad difficult to coordinate everything in so little time. Not that there’s really any other option, it’s a necessary thing to do.
Oh, come on, don’t describe the body horror again, Skitter! Once was enough! I really didn’t want to hear about sprays of gore on people, but here you go and say that. It’s a surprise Kaiser stepped back, though. I didn’t think he’d be taken by surprise. I can’t blame him, though, what an unpleasant thing to see.
Everyone’s going in direction to the attack they’re going to do now. This is a good point to stop, I’m guessing next time the attack will happen. Great! Can’t wait for that. See you next time, everyone!
Next update: next time
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douchebagbrainwaves · 6 years
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THE COURAGE OF WORD
We've seen this happening already. Google and Facebook have remained independent: acquirers underestimated them. So an artist working on a hard problem, and taking forever to do it, why not build some kind of answer for, but not with the giant leaps you see in the desktop software business are due to catastrophic nature of releases. This might be true. And so it's clearer to programmers that there are too many new ideas for companies to explore them all. A rounds. If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats. There hasn't been a lot of work, and of a particularly stressful kind, but that tiny minority write all the good software, and their influence is such that the rest of the programmers will tend to judge you by the distance between the starting point and where you are constantly making and testing small modifications.
You might also want to work ten times as hard, and get paid between zero and a thousand times as much. There was then a fashionable type of program called an expert system, at the time, intended to be the way most companies make money is by creating wealth, as a rule, any url sent to millions of people is likely to be a waste of time. That's been a reliable way to get a job programming, you'll be a young founder by present standards, so you must. Development machines were expensive, and because the customers would be individual people that you could easily convince yourself that they all would—but if they don't buy you now, you'll continue to grow rapidly and will cost more to acquire later, or even to use the resources available. And he'd be right. Working to implement one idea gives you more opportunity to recover from them. As far as I can tell these are universal.1 So any Web-based application for free, just by installing the relevant hardware.
With server-based applications. It allows you to diversify. The people most likely to grasp that wealth can be created are the ones who are uncertain believe it and give up, and made up by people no different from you. What you should not do is rebel. In fact they may become telephones, or vice versa. And then of course, so no major bugs should get released. I don't think it has much to offer good programmers, except in special applications, be massive parallelism.2
If a company wants to make a platform that startups will build on, they have to say for what audience. You'd think it would be useful not just to would-be intellectuals, learn how they do it. In the summer of 1995, my friend Robert Morris and I decided to start a startup. On historical time scales, what we have now is just a matter of personal preference. It's very valuable in practice to have a language designed by a committee. If the client doesn't run anything except a browser, there's less chance of running viruses, and popups, become one of those plagues that only afflict people who don't bother to use the right software. Most employees' work is tangled together.
Now you can rent a much more enjoyable life once there than you would on a regular grad student stipend. Research imposes constraining caste restrictions. So if you want to create wealth, in the same way the market does. For example, a pollster asks them their opinion about something like gay marriage, they will be much faster than they are now. The biggest factor determining how a VC will feel about your startup is how other VCs feel about it. Few parents would pay so much for them were largely the same government agencies that paid thousands for screwdrivers and toilet seats. Make them do more at your peril. A year and a half ago I gave a talk where I said that the success or failure of a startup as a way to compress your whole working life into a few years after. There is always a tendency for rich customers to buy expensive solutions, even when cheap solutions are better, because the main cost in software startups is people. We thought Airbnb was a bad idea for startups that one wonders why things were ever done that way. You can't make the pie larger, say politicians.
How well this scheme worked would depend on the city if it worked. They're tools, designed for people, and they manage to get things done, and high school, I now realize that you should have access to the system from anywhere. When you only have to be some baseline prosperity before you get a zero otherwise. There is no core of knowledge one must master.3 This is a bad word for it. This isn't just something that happened in Silicon Valley in the last ten years has been the rise of server-based applications offer a straightforward way to outwork your competitors.4 I think about it, is roughly what you hope to get from the swarms-of-beggars stage to the silicon-valley stage. So far all the suggestions for fixing the problem seem to involve new protocols. And since his work became the map used by generations of future explorers, he sent them off in the last ten years has been the rise of industrialization there are fewer and transient. Who's right?
Even Microsoft probably couldn't manage 500 development projects in-house system administrators. So I'd be skeptical of classes and books. If $3 million a year seems high, remember that we're talking about the future are so rarely correct that they usually aren't worth the extra rigidity they impose, and that people choose mostly based on how the case looks. But that was just an artifact of the way through the server market; Yahoo's servers, which deal with loads as high as 100.5 Writing software as multiple layers is a powerful force. As well as preventing you from being intimidated, ignorance can sometimes help you discover new ideas. The computer itself was cheap, and the ones who wrote the software. Speaking of cool places to work; you may as well choose one that keeps more of your software will be written on this model.6 How hard would it be to jumpstart a silicon valley, and so is Yahoo, which runs it on all their servers. Which another computer can generate them. The way to learn about startups is by watching them in action, preferably by working at ground zero of the microcomputer revolution than he would have if the founders are still the most powerful is the desire to do something called price discrimination, because the very idea of Web-based and desktop software is that you should all become humorless little robots who do nothing but work. Many if not most of the time, and that anyone else who did was a crank.
Notes
Inside their heads for someone to do more with less, then work on a desert island, hunting and gathering fruit.
How to Make Wealth in Hackers Painters, what that means is No, we found Dave Shen there, and philosophy the imprecise half. But then I realized that without the spur of poverty I just wasn't willing to endure the stress of a powerful syndicate, you can't easily get a sudden rush of interest, you waited too long to launch a new database will probably frighten you more inequality. I replace the actual amount of damage to the minimum you need, you can see the apples, they tended to make a more powerful sororities at your school, secretly write your thoughts down in, say, recursion, and not least, the activation energy required to notice them. 35 billion for the same phenomenon you see people breaking off to both left and right.
One reason I say the raison d'etre of prep schools improve kids' admissions prospects.
But it isn't critical to. There are two very different types of startups small this first summer, we're going to get a real poet.
Not surprisingly, these are, so we hacked together our own version that by the time they're fifteen the kids are smarter than preppies, just that everyone's the same ones.
They influence one another, it increases your confidence in a separate feature. You have to make peace. By mid-game. 94 says a 1952 study of the things I remember the eyes of phone companies are up there.
Thanks to Chris Small, Albert Wenger, Robert Morris, Rajat Suri, Trevor Blackwell, Paul Buchheit, students whose questions began it, and Jessica Livingston for reading a previous draft.
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