I started my military career in June of on Sand Hill at Fort Benning. I can still tell you the unit I was in for Infantry OSUT (One Station Unit Training), and the names of my Drill Sergeants . . . this knowledge is embedded in my DNA, it's like a cheap tattoo etched inside my eyelids. I will know I'm senile when I can't pop out those details at the drop of a hat.
It was in my 13 weeks of Basic Training and Infantry AIT where I first got acquainted with the wide range of colorful people I'd encounter in the Army. In my platoon we had delinquents who could barely get moral waivers that were battle-buddied with college boys who'd lived charmed lives; we had "old men" of 30 wanting to do their patriotic duty that were battle-buddied with kids so young and green they shaved twice a week whether they needed to or not. We had Active Duty, National Guard, Reserves and even a couple of MOS reclasses.
On top of all that, we had Waters.
Private Waters was born with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). His mom simply could not turn off the tap while she was pregnant with him - he carried that burden throughout his life. Folks with severe FAS have a look about them. Just as you can unfailingly recognize a person with Down Syndrome, you can look at a person with severe FAS and know it immediately.
Go ahead, take a minute to do a google image search on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome - you'll see what I mean.
♫ . . . . . the girl from Ipanema goes walking . . . . . . . ♫ . . .
Welcome back. See any features you recognize on someone you know? Explains a lot, doesn't it?
Severe FAS can result in problems with learning, memory, attention span, communication, vision, or hearing, among other things. Waters definitely had issues with the first four on that list.
Here's the thing, though: Waters wanted to be there at Infantry school. He volunteered to join the Army. He mustered enough concentration to take - and at least minimally pass - the ASVAB. I don't know what his score was, but it was enough.
Whenever someone gives me shit about soldiers being brainless, I have a canned response that's based in bitter personal experience: Yep, soldiers can be stupid, but you have to pass a test to get into the military. Any dumbass motherfucker can be a civilian.
We all knew that Waters needed some extra guardrails, and all of us in that basic training platoon stepped up to help him through. This could be a problem sometimes. For example, Private Tentpeg would walk past Waters in the morning and remind him to make his bunk before heading to formation. So Waters would start making his bunk. Then Private Snuffy would walk past, see Waters was making his bunk (and think to himself "Yay! Waters remembered to make his bunk today!") - then he'd remind Waters to square away his wall locker before heading down to formation.
Do you see where this is going?
Hearing Snuffy, Waters would go start to square away his wall locker. If you asked him in that moment if his bunk was good to go, he'd tell you it was, because he remembered that he had started to make it. He just couldn't remember if he had remembered to finish it. If he was then distracted by something else while working on his wall locker, he'd also insist that his wall locker was squared away, and for the same reason. If he looked at any of those items again, he might realize he needed to finish them, but he didn't operate well without either a really obvious visual cue or someone directing him. The latter usually produced better results.
He wasn't much better physically. To see Waters run, do pushup or situps, try jumping ja- . . . er, "side straddle hop" - or even march, tbh - the only phrase that came to mind was "like a monkey fucking a football." So. Much. Uncoordination. The final PT test almost sank his timely graduation.
In one instance, Waters came to me complaining that he was missing a button from his BDU blouse (BDU's? Fuck, I'm old). It wouldn't button up correctly, and could I give him a hand? I looked at it for a couple seconds and could see that he'd started with the wrong button in the bottom button hole. I calmly explained this to him and helped him correct his mistake. I'd learned early on it didn't do any good to get upset at Waters - he couldn't help it and yelling didn't fix the problem. He got a sheepish look on his face as I adjusted his buttons, was a little embarrassed, and said simply "I'm sorry, I get like that sometimes."
Me: I know, Waters. It's okay, we've got your back.
And that's just the thing - he knew. All his life, Waters knew he was a little short upstairs. But that didn't stop him from trying. He asked for help, he accepted the help, and he worked hard to overcome his limitations. On top of that he was a team player and he didn't shirk hard work. It was because of his attitude and commitment that the rest of us helped him along. We pushed, and pulled, and coached, and looked after him all the way through 13 weeks of Infantry training. In the end Waters met the standards - on his own and just barely - but goddamnit he graduated with the rest of us and didn't get recycled.
We weren't thinking about it at the time, just being fresh in the Army ourselves, but looking back I'm pretty sure there was a Squad Leader, a Platoon Sergeant, and a First Sergeant who were cursing us and our Drill Sergeants when Waters showed up at his first assignment. I never knew if, or how long, he lasted on active duty.
Sure, he was about as sharp as a box of doorknobs, and definitely frustrating sometimes, but he was our teammate and as long as he kept trying we weren't going to let him fail. That lesson of teamwork and cohesion stuck with me through 27 years of service, and I carry it still. I've known a lot smarter people who can't be bothered to put in half the effort that Waters did. I don't have time for them, but I will always help someone who is working hard to help themselves.

I have a long list of mental illnesses. An eating disorder, CPTSD, anxiety, PMDD, and severe/chronic depression. High school has not been easy, to put it lightly.
Up until recently, when I made the decision to stop taking my medications, I was heavily medicated. I fell asleep in class at least twice a week because I just physically could not stay awake. My teacher knew this. She knew that I had an IEP and that I’d missed nearly 2 years of school due to my mental health. She was nominated to speak on behalf of my graduating class, and she decided to say 1 small thing about everyone since it’s such a tiny school. For everyone else except 1 classmate (I’ll say classmate A) it was things like “you bring joy to everyone around you” or “you’re incredibly talented and inspiring”. She just said “whether you’re asleep like [my name] or quiet like [classmate A], I hope you can remain a good listener”.
I joked about it in between apologies throughout the year, because I felt ashamed, but I couldn’t do anything about the fatigue I was experiencing. Still, I wasn’t even thinking about the speech until my mom came to me afterwards and was upset that, instead of saying something nice (even if it was generic or not 100% genuine), my teacher chose to “make fun of my disability”.
Was it wrong for my teacher to do this? I’m torn between ignoring it and moving on or actually talking to her about it. Seeing my mom so angry is making me second guess my initial reaction of mild disappointment and now I feel kind of sad and even a little angry about it as well.

I'm still pissed at my parents for not letting me do social things/go to social events when I was a teen and in my 20's. As a teen -if was half and half sometimes mom was reasonable and let me go to one friends home-and let me spend the night but other times my other friends never allowed. Went ballistic when she saw me wearing my friends cute pants-because me and her exchange clothes. No big deal right? She punished me and forbid me to go to her party. Always, gave me the spiel that boys are perverts. I went to an 8th grade dance-kept saying watch out for boys they like to touch girls. I tried on this cute dress accused me of being a whore this was back in the 90's, nothing compared to what teens are wearing today. At 20- I wanted to go out with a guy-told me "not to doing anything dirty with him." Didn't want me to have relations with anyone. Wanted his phone number and full name. I was still living at home in my 20's and didn't move out until 29-my 20's were ALOT worse. I was alot at collections job I HATED, I was looking for another jobs in the meantime, told her I wanted to quit. But forced me to stay at least another year. This resulted in me getting fired for going off at a customer one day and I ended up hiding the truth from them. They found out after 2 months-I was punished, I was 25 years old. It wouldn't have happened if I could have quit when I wanted to. Went out with friends from work, didn't call her back or pick up the phone-she went ballistic and accused me of being a prostitute. When I told her I wanted to hang out with a guy from high school-she got all pissed and told me why, what could I possibly have in common with him. Since I moved out at 30 -I've hooked up with 15 guys, went out to bars/clubs stayed out until 3am, has no clue about it. Everytime I dress sexy or even wearing g strings it makes me feel like a whore. Even though I don't live with them anymore-she still calls to check up on me-sometimes its hard b/c I could be hanging out with someone, and if I dont pick up she might drive by my place to see if my car is parked there or even knock on my door. I want to go on a vacation but will never tell them because she will likely yell at me for taking PTO time and not having a hard work ethnic. Also, everything still people tell me I'm too quiet and don't talk alot. Gee, maybe if they let me have social skills I could have been outgoing. Now at 41, she is telling me to "find a male friend" and why haven't I found one yet. I'm like wtf? Oh now she tells me I can be around guys? If I tell her I went out with a guy she won't approve of it.
Sad, but I can't wait till they are no longer living.

Cheers DOT folks.
The mod team has been discussing the upcoming Reddit protest all week, and as several of you have requested updates via ModMail, we thought we'd share our decision with the community. We wanted to discuss these matters internally ourselves first, to make sure we were on the same page before we made any sort of announcement.
TL/DR: DOT goes private from June 12th through 14th. Mods on vacation. Mayhem ensues.
By now I suspect most have heard about the open letter and API pricing. Even if it doesn't affect you directly, it will impact many of the ways Reddit currently functions. If you are not sure what this even is, I direct you to some folks who explain it far better than I could. In an easy way to understand, this is what API is and why this is change is a problem. AskHistorians explains in detail why so many Mods are upset, disillusioned and/or angry, in the wake of the Admin announcement.
To a lot of people, the API changes are not a big deal and might not be noticed. If you use the official app and it works for you, that’s great. You may not have known that third party apps existed, or why people prefer them. Some of our Mod team do use third party apps, both for casual browsing and for moderation. Others don’t. For us, this is not just about our personal preferences; it is about standing in opposition to ableism and making sure others have a voice.
Latest updates
If you’re thinking "These apps make a profit, so they should share some with Reddit," we absolutely agree! The issue many users have is the prices. It's near 10-20x more than similar services which means these apps will have to shut down. Apollo has been the scapegoat in some ways, but Narwhal, Relay, RIF, BaconReader, Boost and Slide have all issued statements that they are shutting down.
Before you ask “why can’t they just run ads to cover costs”, Reddit has decided this will not be an option. Even if a third party app manages to survive July 1st through a subscription based model alone, those apps will not have all the same content as the Official App. Namely, despite paying for the privilege of having a choice, NSFW content will be unavailable and invisible to those users.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU
Most mods use third party apps because the tools are light years better, and we're not swamped with ads. Despite the hate mail we get, us mods generally don't live in your mom's basement but have full time jobs, families and mod on our lunch breaks, after hours or other free time. We do this work because we care about the community. The switch forcing moderators to use the official app would slow down moderation and force more of the work to happen on desktop. That means your posts and comments will sit in queue unseen longer, it will take longer to get back to modmails, and harmful/illegal content or users may remain visible and unbanned for longer. In discussions with other mods, these changes will probably cripple most NSFW content on the website. On a third party app, we can accomplish in two clicks what would take the Official App five. Though Reddit has made strides in improving them, there is a long way to go. Even with uBlockOrigin and my mobile browser it's tough to mod. Plus you should be aware that Reddit has already been testing functions which eliminate mobile web browsing, and there is no guarantee that your preferred method of using Reddit won’t be next. (Where my Old Reddit fans at?)
FURTHER ISSUES
Some people cannot use the official apps. Blind users especially (but others who need accessibility features) may not be able to access Reddit have challenges. For blind moderators, it can be difficult to impossible to find the moderation functions necessary, as well any layouts customizations necessary. This is the gap third party apps have happily stepped in to fill, and lived in harmony for years this way. These changes will also significantly impact volunteer run transcription subreddits, which allow visually impaired Redditors to read text images, and receive descriptions of visual content such as videos and images. These volunteers are indispensable to the blind community, because Reddit is the only social media website with no support for alternative text (though they may be working on that). Remember, NSFW content will be unavailable to regular users on third party apps, and yes, disabled people like porn too!
(NB: as of publishing this post - there is an article out on Verge from yesterday the that says Reddit will be making exceptions in the API policy for accessibility users, but no details yet. )
For many of us third party apps are just an option, but for some they are a necessity. We are of the opinion that pricing these apps out of existence before Reddit has a solution is passive discrimination. While there is much speculation why Reddit wants to take away the voices of those who are blind, or otherwise need accessibility or transcription accommodations, the plain fact is, that flies in the face of the tolerance and anti-discrimination the mod team here has always tried to stand up against. Limiting user choice, charging exorbitant and predatory fees, and refusing to communicate, are all significant problems that the mod team here takes issue with. We quietly have worked to make the sub more accessible (and would welcome additional feedback via modmail if you have suggestions), so this is deeply disappointing to us.
SUMMARY
We are prepared to remain blacked out for a minimum of 48 hours. This means that no one will be able to access any DOT content until the blackout is over. In standing up for the voices of others, however, we don’t want to strip away the voices of our community. So now we want to hear from you. If you support us in this decision, please share and upvote this post, and comment with your support.

I had told my friend in the past that eventually I don’t want people knowing my deadname, and I have recently come to befriend some new people (who don’t know my deadname, and have no interest in knowing it). I asked her if she could just not bring it up, and she got defensive and said she wasn’t going to “stress about censoring herself because my mom still deadnames me anyway sometimes so it’s gonna come out anyway” and that “it’s something we (me and her) joke about”—which I haven’t joked about in quite some time.—(I can’t recall verbatim what she said, that’s pretty much the gist of what I got from her response). I’m well aware it could come up and I know it’s out of my control, with it still being my legal name, I know it’s basically impossible to avoid it coming up all together and I told her this. It came up when she was telling me about talking to her dad about my transition (which I’ve started pretty recently) and I asked how they even knew my deadname. She said about a decade ago when we first met she told her parents about me and said “their name is [deadname] but they go by [my name].” So her parents still screw it up sometimes and even occasionally don’t know who she’s talking about until she says my deadname. I told her I was uncomfortable even with the fact she tells so many people I’m trans and refers to me as her “trans friend” sometimes. She said it’s because she’s proud to have a trans friend, but I told her it’s not exactly something I’m proud of enough of, and that I really don’t want everyone knowing I’m trans. (Especially with how things are going in the world right now). She just made me feel like I was being crazy or unreasonable for asking her such a thing. And seemed to disregard my feelings about it and make it about her. It’s something I get really insecure about asking for in general like I’m asking too much or being stupid. Sorry this is all over the place. But am I being unreasonable? Knowing that it’s bound to come out eventually but asking her to not bring it up regardless? It’s things like this that make me not want people knowing my deadname to begin with.

To start off, I’m no writer im gonna tell you that but I wanna tell you a story about what I believe in so first I use he/they second please do not hate for what I believe in so let’s get to the story before I woke up I was in a void, I was not falling but was somewhat floating I had no concept of time or anything so I don’t know how long I was in there for. I looked around realizing something was happening and I felt like I was moving almost being created I opened my eyes standing up as I had thoughts running through my head “I’m walking?” “do I have a family??” it was so confusing then I thought “what does all of this mean?? How do I know these words how am I walking?” I know I just sound delusional and crazy and it’s okay to think I am and I don’t blame you for that anyway I walked to the bathroom and looked in the mirror I was missing my four top front teeth wondering “is this normal?” I also had five teeth with what looked like a metal cover I looked at my hair my eyes my nose I did this for about 2-3 minutes or so then I walked out to the kitchen noticing my mom and my sister at the table the first thing I said was “hello?” I didn’t know these people but something told me I had a bond or I was supposed to know them so I went along with this and sat down after awhile I would always ask my mom “what’s my name again?” or “how old am I??” I might just be delusional really but this is what I believe in, I believe that we stay in a void in the after life. no concept of time, no moving, no thinking, maybe we just get reincarnated?? I’ve believed in this from a young age I was raised to believe in god but when I was around seven I began to believe in reincarnation and the void. Thank you for reading! ps not forcing anybody to change before you say anything like that!! believe in what you want :)

For Context- I, 21M have been with my gf for about 3 months now. The thing I like about her most is that she always makes sure I’m okay, she’s helped me out of dark points in my life and although we don’t always see eye to eye, she has a smile that brightens my day and she can always lift my mood with her sweet words.
Not too long ago, my gf met my brother. She also met my sister and mom. Well, today things took a turn for the worst, and as was she, we were both surprised since everything was going so great. Earlier today, my gf called me telling me that she was arguing with her family, I guess she brought me into it, telling them I’d said things that I hadn’t in order for me to have her back, and the things she told them was really nasty. She also used my name to tell them that I’d do this or that to them if they ever disrespected her again.
This caused me to get into a huge fight (verbally) with her entire household of family and they were calling me and telling me to come down there so they could confront me about some things I never even said. Although I was frustrated at my gf for causing so much drama, I still stuck beside her and my family is very angry with her for putting me in such a situation that escalated drastically. My family now dislikes her and encouraging me to leave her.
My gf told me she was worried I’d leave her, but I assured her I wasn’t and now I don’t know if I’m the AH for enabling her behavior. So, AITA?
Hoping for a better outlook

My family just got our first dog in January. A 3m F cavapoo(now like 8m) that we decided to name Bailey. I've been researching dogs since I could read so I know all about how doodles are bad but I had no choice in this since its really my moms dog. Now I, 17f, have been tasked with training Bailey. Since we got her I have been working on recall, sit, down, stay, heel, etc etc. Up to about a month ago she was solid with these. I could take her outside on a long line and say "Bailey COME" and she would. She would drop whatever stick she was holding, or whatever she was sniffing and come. Now, my siblings, both younger than me, have learned that she listens to that command and have started to say it all the time. Fast forward to today, the command no longer holds any meaning over Bailey because they say it all the time. Whenever they want her for any reason: "Bailey come, come bailey, bailey come here, etc" and its ruined the months of hard work I put into her. I want to cry. Its so frustrating, I've talked to my siblings about it and my parents, they dont care. Even though they want a trained dog? They have started to do it with 'stay' as well and Bailey is just starting to not care. I work so hard, everyday to try and get this dog to focus, to heel, to stay and they are unraveling it because they never want to train her, they just want to use the commands that arent solid yet. They never have treats, they never follow through with the command, they are just wearing out the word. Bailey now has no recall which is probably the saddest part for me since I was working on it since the beginning. This was all just a vent but I guess advice would be nice too. I could start using different words but I dont even know where to begin. Thanks for reading.
tldr; I've worked from the beginning to get my dog to have a solid recall and 'tricks' now my family are overdoing the command and they no longer hold meaning for the dog.

I am not The OOP, OOP is u/NewspaperAny2212
AITAH for not letting my niece call me “mom”?
Originally posted to AITAH
TRIGGER WARNING death of a parent
Original Post May 23, 2023
Ok so I (35f) have a bit of a story. When I was 19, I got pregnant and was extremely irresponsible and decided to keep the baby with my at the time boyfriend. We passed the window to get the baby aborted and as the due date grew closer, we realized just how unsustainable having a baby was at the time and he ran out on me. I have no idea what to do, but my absolutely wonderful brother and his wife we’re having trouble conceiving so they proposed that they raised my child like their own. I said yes, and I am so thankful they allowed me to have a part in her life because she is a MAGNIFICENT person. My brother suddenly passed away a few years ago but he was the greatest man who ever walked on this planet. She began living with me after her father died (her mother isn’t in the picture anymore. Long story but it’s not happy) and a few months ago she found out I’m actually her biological mother. She’s been coming to terms with it and she tells me she loves hanging out with me and does see a lot of herself in me.
This morning she called me “mom” and I immediately stopped her and told her not to call me that. She told me that I am literally her mother so she should be allowed to call me “mom” and then I told her I am her aunt, not her mom. Then after she continued to push I said “so does that mean you should call dad “uncle [name]”?” That made her stop dead in her tracks and she stopped and then just slowly left the room. Maybe that was a little bit of a cheap shot considering how fucking close she was with him before he passed, but yeah.
AITAH for not letting her call me mom?
tl;dr: I’m my niece’s biological mom (my brother raised her as his own) and she tried to call me “mom” today and I told her not to.
RELEVANT COMMENTS
ON WHY SHE DOESN'T BELIEVE SHE DERSERVES TO BE CALLED MOM

She is my brothers child. He was a better parent than I ever could have been and for the first few years of her life I thought I had made the biggest mistake I ever could’ve made but when I saw how much patience and grace he had with her, I knew I made the right decision. He was a better parent for her than I ever could’ve been. I was never her mother, I was always her fun aunt who she had sleepovers with.
I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about how he raised her for ME, but he raised her for HER

ThrowRA-crayons

You can feel that your brother was a better parent if you’d like, but she’s still YOUR DAUGHTER. Again, setting a boundary is one thing but straight up trying to lie to your own kid is another. Get it together OP.

OOP replied

I’m not lying to her. I’m not her mom. There’s a difference between being someone’s biological mother and being someone’s mom

Update May 31, 2023
Ok so last week I made a post about my niece which can be seen here: /AITAH/comments/13pdlm5/aitah_for_not_letting_my_niece_call_me_mom/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1 Basically, when I was 19 I got pregnant and couldn’t raise a baby so I agreed to have my brother and his wife raised her as their own and I’ve been her aunt for her whole life. My brother passed away suddenly and she’s been living with me for the past three years, and she found out I was her biological mom a few months ago. Last week she called me “mom” and I told her not to because I wasn’t her mom and I was her aunt.
After reading some of the comments and engaging with them, I decided to talk to her and I told her I was very sorry for my low comment about her father and I miss him terribly too and I didn’t feel comfortable being called “mom” because I felt I hadn’t earned it yet. She was just kind of like “yeah ok.” and we moved on.
Then last night night she randomly asked if she could sleep in my bed with me. I was kind of unsure what to do so I just said ok, and then she got in and snuggled up next to me. This is going to sound cheesy as hell but when she put herself in my arms, I had this surreal flashback to when she was sleeping in my arms on the day she was born. I had a wave of emotions and started feeling like I was an idiot for giving her up even though my brother was a better parent than I ever could be, and I had this realization that I’ve been a fucking idiot this whole time because I didn’t see I now have an opportunity to actually be her mom after so many years of feeling like I missed out on that. I embraced her in my arms and started to cry. She asked if everything was ok and I told her “everything is perfect.”
I sincerely hope I didn’t screw myself and make her never want to call me “mom” ever again after my response last time. Either way, I couldn’t be more proud of this young woman and I’m so happy I get to have this role in her life.
Anyway, yeah. Sorry for the long winded response. If you made it to the end thank you I appreciate it :)
RELEVANT COMMENTS
kiwanyuh

That’s really sweet. If it were a movie, she’d remember what you said about “not earning to be called mom” so when she calls you mom next time, it’s gonna be a special moment of you somehow “earning it” I made myself cry now, I hope that’s how it goes ❤️‍🔥 And I’m so happy you connected with her 💖

OOP replied

istg I’m gonna full on ugly cry if that ever happens lol

THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT THE OOP

Rhaenyra -> had 3 obvious bastard, ran away to dragonstone and left her heir duties to the dust, ignored/mistreated her younger sibling
Daemon -> pissed of his brother and lost his place as heir, blatantly murdered his first wife, absente dad
Aegon -> drunken rapist who bullied his brother and sister
Aemond -> killed his nephew by accident, insults two girls who's mom just died
Alicent -> stuck with Larys, misunderstood Vizzy's last words, did a bad job raising her kids
Vizzy T -> (indirectly) killed his first wife, named his daughter heir cause he was mad at his brother, neglected his youngest children, failed to raise his daughter as heir, absente king, allowed daughter to fuck of to dragonstone, failed aemond, etc.
View Poll

So I’m 25 years old and earlier this week my mom asked if I could take out a $6000 personal loan in my name that would be given to her to help her out with her bills as she’s fallen very much behind. She even said she might lose her house from not being able to pay her bills.
Truthfully, I don’t feel comfortable. I’ve racked up around 7K in credit card debt due to my dumb, younger self and now I’ve been trying to slowly pay it off. My credit score is even 640. On top of that, I have about $36K in student loans that I have to start making payments on soon.
I guess I’m worried about the “what if”. What if I take out this loan and sure, she starts paying it back monthly but then we enter a time where she can’t and it falls on me? I seriously can’t afford another bill like that right now. Also, the whole general idea that, if a bank won’t trust her and approve her for her own loan, doesn’t that mean I shouldn’t trust her either? Doesn’t this just add to the problem by giving her another bill once she’s caught up of her past bills? I’m also worried about how it’ll affect my credit score that I’m trying so hard to bring back up by paying back the credit card debt I’ve accumulated. But the whole dilemma is, she’s my mom and needs help and I could possibly help her in this.
I think I already know I should stick to my boundary and say no, but I guess I just need some advice/reiteration of how this clearly isn’t a good idea? I’m torn.

So I’m 25 years old and earlier this week my mom asked if I could take out a $6000 personal loan in my name that would be given to her to help her out with her bills as she’s fallen very much behind. She even said she might lose her house from not being able to pay her bills.
Truthfully, I don’t feel comfortable. I’ve racked up around 7K in credit card debt due to my dumb, younger self and now I’ve been trying to slowly pay it off. My credit score is even 640. On top of that, I have about $36K in student loans that I have to start making payments on soon.
I guess I’m worried about the “what if”. What if I take out this loan and sure, she starts paying it back monthly but then we enter a time where she can’t and it falls on me? I seriously can’t afford another bill like that right now. Also, the whole general idea that, if a bank won’t trust her and approve her for her own loan, doesn’t that mean I shouldn’t trust her either? Doesn’t this just add to the problem by giving her another bill once she’s caught up of her past bills? I’m also worried about how it’ll affect my credit score that I’m trying so hard to bring back up by paying back the credit card debt I’ve accumulated. But the whole dilemma is, she’s my mom and needs help and I could possibly help her in this.
I think I already know I should stick to my boundary and say no, but I guess I just need some advice/reiteration of how this clearly isn’t a good idea? I’m torn.

The other night I was reading the latest chapter of One Piece (1086), and the moment Oda revealed the leader of the Holy Knights to be Garling Figarland, it hit me! The obvious being that Shanks is a descendant of the Figarland family, and therefore a Celestial Dragon. Oda’s foreshadow can be seen when the silhouette of Garling was identical to that of Shanks, we also hear the Gorosei directly state Uta being of Figarland blood in the One Piece Film Red. Utas' Figarland Blood
But I believe Oda dropped a bigger bomb that I haven’t seen anyone talk about yet.
https://preview.redd.it/wfl0t113ry4b1.png?width=424&format=png&auto=webp&s=b1d0196f31595a9af96c25338687139971a4a4fb
I believe Oda also revealed what really happened at God Valley
My theory goes as follows: What if the battle at God Valley was over Shanks?
Let’s start with what we know about God Valley thus far. For starters, we know that Garp hates recalling the events that took place at God Valley for two reasons.. The first being that Garp was forced to team up with pirates (Gol D. Roger and Co.) in order to defeat Rocks’ crew. The second being that he did this in order to protect the Celestial Dragons. We also know that Garp despises the Celestial Dragons, so much so to the point where he turned down the promotion to Admiral in order to avoid taking direct orders from them. I believe the Celestial Dragons agreed to team up with Rocks in order to create a powerful bloodline in Shanks. This aligns with both sides' agenda. The higher ups of the World Government having complete control with powerful weapons at their disposal. Rocks combining political power with raw power to become king of the world. (Celestial Bloodline + Will of D.)
​
https://preview.redd.it/hmjgwzmmry4b1.png?width=182&format=png&auto=webp&s=7be12df8b339ccb447bc6e113faae26d8cc9e79c
Now this is where everything comes full circle. I believe that Monkey D. Dragon also played a huge role at God Valley. A few things we know for certain are the fact that Dragon is Luffys father, and Garp is Luffys grandfather. But it was never confirmed that Garp is Dragon's father, only insinuated due to the fact that they share the same family name. But what if that’s actually not the case. What if Dragons full name is actually Rocks D. Dragon. This would mean that Dragon and Rocks are brothers, Shanks and Luffy are cousins, Luffys mother is the daughter of Garp, and the actual bearer of the Monkey family name. My theory is that Rocks had the intention of eliminating the Celestial Dragons and continue the lineage with Shanks. Maybe Dragon was aware of this and was able to retrieve Shanks, then asked Garp and Roger to help protect the Celestials against Rocks invasion.
https://preview.redd.it/u7oj2griez4b1.png?width=1021&format=png&auto=webp&s=6bd4056ab28cbebbada4057f0012f05f1112035f

• This would explain how Shanks was “found” in God Valley, he was actually rescued and taken in by Roger in order to hide his true identity.
• This is also why Dragon goes by “Monkey D. Dragon” and isn’t credited as a hero during the battle at God Valley, he too has to hide his identity.
• The World Government wanted to erase everything about God Valley's history
• The timeline lines up perfectly. The clash took place 38 years ago, Shanks is 39 years old currently.

​
https://preview.redd.it/l298boyhuy4b1.png?width=1206&format=png&auto=webp&s=990874b7a91747803a81a879ed5581a41f00b9d6

More Evidence

• Oda loves foreshadowing. Pre-timeskip events mirroring Post-timeskip events (east blue - fishman island) (alabasta - Dressrosa) Punk Hazard - Two D’s (Luffy x Law) teaming up to save a dragon of the past (Momonosuke) Gods Valley - Two D’s (Garp x Roger) teaming up to save a dragon of the future (Shanks)
• This would explain why when Roger returned from Laugh Tale, when he talked to Shanks, all Shanks could do was cry.. He had to reveal to Shanks that he won’t be the next Pirate King and informed him of his true past (and future).
• This is also the reason Shanks told Buggy he changed his mind about the One Piece, he has to wait for the one who will share the same dream as Roger.
• Once Luffy revealed his dream to Shanks, Shanks knew then and there that Luffy was the one destined to become Pirate King, which is why he gave him the Straw Hat.

Some Questions to still be answered

• What is Shanks' role going to be from here on out? Is he destined to become evil?
• Did Shanks purposefully have Luffy consume the Hito Hito no Mi?
• What happened to Shanks Mother? Did Luffys Mom play a role at God Valley?

Luffy and Shanks related parallels
Curious to know what ya'll think of this theory!

Here is the most important information, and related articles, from this article.
Published on 2023-06-09 at 11:07, this article is written by geert de clercq and published by reuters. (2 minutes)
Save 2 minutes of reading with this summary:

PARIS, June 9 (Reuters) - A modern-day pilgrim on a walking tour of France's cathedrals told journalists on Friday his Catholic faith gave him the strength to fight a man who stabbed four children in a park in Annecy. Dubbed "the backpack hero" - "le héros au sac a dos" - by media, the 24-year-old who only gave his name as Henri said he was near a playground when he saw the man attacking children in a stroller as their mother tried to shield them on Thursday. On my journey to the cathedrals I crossed paths with this man and I have acted instinctively.

Keep reading with 3 related articles: Fox News (2022-05-11 at 17:42) David Bonola allegedly thought NYC mom Orsolya Gaal gave him HIV, court papers DAWN.COM (2020-10-26 at 02:37) Erdogan repeats his remarks about French president Fox News (2022-12-07 at 07:00) Kirk Cameron is denied story-hour slot by public libraries for his new faith-based kids book
I am a bot powered by the Sourcer extension - Give me feedback.

I think a much better ending could've been one where everything was restrored to the best possible outcome but in 2024. Imagine -
The plane lands, it's 2024. Grace reappears, Eden is there. Zeke reappears and he's married to Michaela. Cal reappears. It's like they were never gone. Gupta, Zimmer and the likes disappear into thin air. Polly is with her daughter. Vance is friends with the Stones. People who died when the plane was gone also never died like Ben and Michaela's mom, TJ's mom, the black guy's (sorry I don't remember his name) wife. There would've been no questions as to what happened to Olive, Eden and Chloe in the other timeline and the 3 girls still had both their parents.

Note: snek-posting will continue until morale improves. Now for who the bird really is. Links in comments.
The ministry of ASS (Actively-Shitposting-Scriptwriters) reminds you that thanking u/Saint-Andros & u/Killsode-slugcat is mandatory.

{Bird-brain’s Banter}

[3rd of June, 2224] - [Tajara, Workshop ‘apprentice’]
​
Barely a minute, and this Cornacchiaris was getting on my nerves.
“Why not?”
“She’s my employee, twitter. And she’s… uh..”
Might have to help.
​
“And I’m homeless, yeah.”
“You, James Walken, took in a homeless snake to work as your… uh… janitor?”
“Will you stop calling her a snake already?”
​
Look at this little hypocrite…
“You said that too, mind you.”
“I was angry, okay?”
“Alright. I forgive you.”
​
James and that… space-crow were wide-eyed in surprise.
“What?”
“Did you just apologize?”
I’m killing that bird.
​
“Oh fuck off, you two. We’re not all like that.”
“Sample proves otherwise.”
“Shut it, bird-brain.”
James continues to surprise me with his quips.
​
We all stayed silent for a few seconds.
“So?”
“What? You told me to shut up!”
“Just tell me what you want to do…”
​
The Cornacchiaris’ eyes flashed.
“Ah, yes! Kray’s selling the contents of one of his metal graveyards. Bunch o’ shit, all selling for relatively cheap.”
“And you want to go now?”
“Yes!”
“... Why?”
“If we get there early, there’s gonna be more scrap left to buy!”
“Right… I’ll get the gun.”
​
Gun? Where the fuck are they going?
“Why do you need a gun?”
“That’s none of your business, sna-”
“It actually is, Huey, since she’s coming with us.”
​
What?! I never signed up for this!
“Excuse me?”
“You’re excused. The gun is a token to give Kray so he actually lets us in. Promised it to him a while back.”
“So you’re actually going?”
“Yes, we are Tajara. And I’ll drag you with me if I have to.”
“But what about security?”
“I’ve got a micro-nuke wired to some motion detectors. We’re all good.”
​
What the fuck.
“Really?!”
“Fuck no. There is a security system though, so don’t worry.”
​
So, apparently, we’re now going to buy scrap at some random guy’s yard.
Fantastic.
After about ten minutes of James and Huey grabbing various supplies including another gun…
…Fuck…
...We set off into the evening and headed towards this mysterious metal graveyard.
​
In the meantime, I try to strike up a conversation with Huey, trying to repair my image since I’ll probably see him quite often.
“So… real question. Why is your name Huey?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know, agent?”
“Fucking answer her already, Huey…”
Huey rolls his eyes.
​
“Well, there’s this place called Australia on Earth, where my biological parents took me to. We stayed there for quite a bit, learning the local dialect since translators only used the most common ones.”
“Sounds… interesting?”
“It was. Only issue is the Idraxi war kicked off shortly after, and my parents being who they are, decided to enlist. Dad in the armed forces, Mom in the medical corps."
“Wait… how did you get the name, then?”
“I’m getting to it! The Huey lore is quite deep, you know? So, after that I had to grow up alone for a bit, until I met a really good couple who took me in and gave me something called a ‘vegemite sandwich’ and gave me the nickname Huey.”
Wait.
“So Huey’s not your real name?”
“Nope.”
“Are you gonna tell me your name?”
“Nah.”
Bastard.
​
“Still doesn’t explain where your name comes from.”
“Well, apparently one of them worked with old helicopter models, those things had rotors back then, you know? Sometimes they were called Hueys, and apparently the shade of black they usually were painted with was very similar to my wings. That’s it.”
That’s… actually not a bad story for a nickname
“Sounds dumb.”
“Ah, fuck you.”
​
Hold on a minute.
“What about your parents, though?”
I could see all of Huey’s feathers go flat instantly.
“...There’s a reason why the Idraxi War is considered the bloodiest conflict in recent history.”
Fuck. How do I salvage this?
​
“I’m sorry Huey, I didn’t mean to-”
“I know, I know. Even though you might be a bit of a cunt, I know you wouldn’t go that far.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, bird-brain.”
“No problem, snake.”
​
James was ahead of us, and began slowing down once he noticed us falling behind.
“Hurry up! I thought you wanted to get there early?”
“Mate, It’s not like a fucking shuttle’s gonna disappear in an hour.”
“Shuttle?!”
​
Oh Moons, the human’s excited.

I finish my breakfast to the protests of Shadow. “I don’t want to hear it. You don’t need to eat. You’re just being difficult.”
Shadow rubs his face on my leg. “That’s what I thought. You were just bullshitting. I’m surprised you and Pops don’t hang out more.”
I get up and clean the dishes. Then I finish dressing. Today is going to be a scorcher so I’ve opted for linen pants and a linen shirt. Shadow continues his protests at me leaving. I pick him up. “How dare I leave more than six feet from you? The gall I posses.” I say as I rub his head. “The day is young and people may need my help. Besides, don’t you have work to do? I saw a mouse scamper by just last night.”
Shadow meows.
“A tricky adversary? I can relate. I’ll be back around lunchtime.” I say as I lower the protesting Shadow.
I sigh to prepare myself for the heat that is about to hit me. I open the door and walk out.
Yup.
It is going to be nasty today. As I walk through the town, I pass Cecil sitting on his porch.
“Morning Papa Bones.”
“Morning Cecil.” I say as I open the gate and walk into his yard.
“Your a better man than me braving this heat. My white ass would burn to a crisp.”
“Not going to lie. It’s not going to be fit for man or beast today.” I say as I sit down on a rocking chair. I see a pitcher sitting on the table in between us. “What’s that?” I ask.
“Mojito. What a glass?”
“It’s a little early but sure.”
Cecil pours a glass and hands it over.
I take a sip and cough. “Merde.”
“Yup. The only thing to do today is get shitfaced.” Cecil says.
“What’s in this? Rocket fuel?”
“Not that far off.” Cecil says.
“Not going to lie. It’s refreshing.”
“Mildred doesn’t have many talents but one of them is making an excellent mojito.”
I take another sip. I suppose one way to get past the heat is to get drunk.
“What’s going on? I head a man as entered the town. Vincent is his name, I believe.” Cecil says.
“Correct. I think he is passing through. Hope so anyway.”
“Our little town is growing. Two new families just moved in.”
“I’ve heard. Haven’t met them yet.” I say.
“I’ve met the white family. They seem nice. They seemed completely charmed by Ayzian.”
“Ayzian does have its charms.” I say before taking another sip of the refreshing, minty, lime green rocket fuel.
“Haven’t met the other family yet. Heard they were nice as well.” Cecil informs me.
“You’ve given me an idea, Cecil. I think I will go meet our new neighbors.”
“Quite neighborly of you Julian. They will like that.”
“Well, we aren’t northerners.”
“God and the Loa has blessed us in that regard.” Cecil says before taking a sip of his drink.
“I’ll drink to that.” I say before we clink glasses.
I finish my drink and put the glass down. “I should go.”
“No need to rush off. Stay awhile.” Cecil tells me.
“I can’t sit around and get shitfaced with you all day.”
“Well, if you change your mind. I’ll be here. Hey, if you see Pops. Tell him if he wants his ass kicked again in dominos. He knows where to find me.”
I chuckle as I get up. “I will absolutely tell him that.”
I walk down the path to the gate. As I continue my walk. I see one of the houses of the new families. From what I see. It’s just mom dad and daughter. I stop at the gate and wave at them. “Hello.”
The father stops his yard work and walks towards me. I hold out my hand. “I’m Julian. Welcome to Ayzian.”
He shakes my hand. “Hey, I’m Bill. That’s my wife Suzan and our daughter Mary.”
“Well, Bill. How are you finding Ayzian so far?” I ask.
Susan over hears this as she walks up. “It’s been wonderful so far. Everyone has been so nice. Sweetheart, come here. This is Julian.”
The little girl walks up and I kiss the back of her hand. “Enchante”
“What did you say?” Mary asks.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you were a princess.” I say.
“No, she absolutely thinks she is one.” Bill teases.
“Daddy!” Mary cries.
“Well, I hope you find Ayzian to your liking.” I tell them.
“So far, so good.” Susan tells me.
“We’ve heard about this man named Papa Bones. We are kinds anxious to meet him.” Bill says.
“Well, you’re in luck. I’m Papa Bones.”
Mary giggles. “That’s a funny name.”
I smile as I lower myself so we could be eye to eye. “It is a title of my region. Voodoo.”
“Voodoo?” Asks Mary.
“Yes. Ayzian was founded on Voodoo. This place was created by free slaves and the white people that helped them. All are welcome here.” I tell her.
“Cool.”
“Very cool. You can find out more at our library.”
“Can me go, mom?” Mary asks Susan.
Susan smiles at her. “We sure can.”
I stand. “I should go. If you ever need anything. Don’t hesitate to ask.”
“We won’t.” Bill says as he holds out his hand.
Before I shake it. I notice Bill has biker tattoos on his forearm. We shake and I leave.. I continue my walk. I’m buoyed by meeting the first family. I go directly to the house of the second family. I knock on the door and it is opened by the husband. He is a large black man. Covered in gang tattoos.
“Can I help you?” He asks.
“I’m Papa Bones. Community leader. I just wanted to welcome you to Ayzian.”
“Thanks brother. Not sure we will stay. I didn’t realize so many white people lived here. My family is looking for a place we can feel safe.”
I’ve encountered this attitude from people before. People from the big cites are the worst offenders.
I give the man a smile. “White people also helped found Ayzian. All are welcome here. The white people were also hunted by slave owners and would have been killed along side their black brothers. To paraphrase Dr. Martian Luther King. Only the quality of one’s character matters here.”
“Yeah. I’m sure you believe that.”
“I do. Everyone here does. If it helps, over half of the town is mixed now.”
The husband cuts me off. “Can I help you with something?”
“Just wanted to welcome you to Ayzian. What is your name by the way?” I ask.
“Jerome. Have a nice day.”
Jerome shuts the door in my face.
I walk down the path to the street.
He just needs time. Ayzian gives everyone a clean slate to start over. This is a place of healing. Time is the thing needed for some people. Ayzian works in mysterious ways but it always works. During my walk, I enter the town park. As I do, several kids run up to me. “Papa Bones!”
“How are you kids doing today?” I ask.
“Doing good. Hey, are the stories true?” A girl asks me.
“What stories?”
“About how you helped Vincent destroy the sky monster.”
“It didn’t happen like that. Vincent told you a tall tale.”
“He said you would say that.” A boy says.
“Did he now?”
“He said you would be mad at the truth.” Another boy explains.
“I will talk to him. Take any story from him with a grain of lies.”
“Vincent says people that don’t look good in stories, their version is full of lies.” Another girl says.
“Not true. If you will excuse me. I must talk to Vincent.”
I leave the children as they run back into the park to play. This conversation has irritated me. I will have to use sterner language the next time I talk to Vincent. In fact I will do that now. Id bet money he is staying at the bed and breakfast. So I go there and enter. Magdalene the owner greets me. “Julian. Nice to see you.”
“Nice to see you too. Tell me, is there a man named Vincent staying here?” I ask.
“Why yes he is. Paid for a whole month upfront. Such a nice man.”
“I see. Is he here now?”
“No. He left after breakfast.”
“Did he say when he will be back?” I ask.
“No. He didn’t. Want to leave a message for him?”
“No. I’ll find him. Thanks anyway.” I say.
I leave the bed and breakfast. I stand out front with my hands on my hips and think for a second. I have few ideas where he could be and with a lack of options, I head towards the swamp outside of town. It payed off the last time a stranger came to town. As I walk, sweat starts to cover my body. Thankfully I’m still a little buzzed from the mojito earlier. It does help with the heat but man, I could use a glass of cold water now. As I near the outskirts of town, I head in the direction of Amos’s house. When I get there, I see him on the dock. Repairing his airboat. “Hey Amos. How are you?” I call out.
Amos stands and looks at the airboat. “Be better if this piece of shit was fixed.”
“Something happen or is this routine maintenance.” I ask.
“That Goddamn Major Gator attacked my boat.”
“Holy shit. You’re lucky to be alive.”
Amos gives me a dismissive wave. “Oh, some overgrown lizard don’t scare me none. The son of a bitch did a number on my boat. This has become personal. Mercy can’t get down here soon enough.”
“Yeah. I could use her tracking skills myself.” I reply.
“Enough about me. What brings you by?”
“New man is in town. Goes by the name of Vincent. Have you seen him?”
“Nah. Heard of this feller however. Ain’t seen anything strange in the swamp for a couple weeks or so.” Amos explains.
“You heard of him out here?” I ask.
“Went into town a couple days ago. Seems everybody was abuzz about him.”
I wipe the sweat off my face. “Yeah. That’s part of the reason I want to talk to him.”
“Why? He been acting funny around the kids?”
“What? No. Nothing like that. He just been telling them some fibs. That’s all.”
“Oh ok. Sorry. No. I haven’t seen him around here.”
“Thanks, Amos. Oh, by the way. Pops wants to do a catfish fry. He may be hittin you up soon.” I say.
“Yeah. Talked to him yesterday. He’ll have his catfish by the weekend.”
“Ok. I’ll leave it to you then.” I say.
“See you later.” Amos goes back to work on his airboat. As I leave I hear him mumble. “You Motherfucker……”
I walk back into town. I head directly to Pops. I enter the air conditioning and damn near pass out. I sit down and sigh. Marcus walks out of the kitchen in the back. “Hey, Julian. What do you need?”
“Ice water and lots of it.”
Marcus hands over a glass filled to the brim. I take a sip and say. “Perfect.”
“Anything else?”
“Where’s Pops?” I ask.
“In the back. Want me to go get him?”
“Nah. I’ll go back there.”
I take the glass and drink as i enter the kitchen. “Old man. You in here?” I call out.
“Right here. What the hell do you want?” Pops says as he walks out of the walk in freezer.
“Need to talk. Need so,e words of wisdom. Don’t know anyone wise so you’ll have to do.”
“Well. Talk. Chop up those sausages as you do. You know how I want it done.”
I grab a knife and some sausages. I start cutting eighth inch pieces like I was taught.
“What’s bothering you?” Pops asks.
“This new guy, Vincent.”
Pops hurumphs. “Marcus has told me about him.”
“He is lying to the children and it’s bothering me.”
“I’m sure he casting you in a poor light is not helping.” Pops adds.
“It is not. I’m trying to leave my ego out of it.”
Pops stops cleaning the crawfish. “You need to be kind but firm with him when you talk to him about this.”
“I thought I was.” I say.
“Heard he told falsehoods about the Loa as well. They may deal with him themselves.”
I finish cutting the sausage. “I doubt I’ll be so lucky.”

A couple weeks ago I posted a google forms survey to the subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/HatMan/comments/13p9o5unofficial_hat_man_survey/
It was honestly just out of personal curiosity but several people expressed interest in seeing the results so I decided to post the results here.
I'm not used to Google Forms so some of the data was displayed in a way that is very difficult to read on the results page. So I decided to just translate it all into text here.
There were 47 total responses so the sample size is very small! It should be noted that if a survey about The Hat Man were conducted more scientifically and on a wider scale, with hundreds or thousands of respondents, the results would likely be very different and might show completely different trends and correlations.
Regardless, I do think this gives us some insight into Hat Man encounters and I find the results very interesting!
Anyway, here are the stats:
Gender:
Total Responses: 47

• 44.7% Women
• 51.0% Men
• 4.3% Prefer Not to Say

Age:
Total Responses: 47

• Average Age: 29.65
• Median Age: 25
• Youngest Response: 15
• Oldest Response: 46

Do you have any psychological or neurological illnesses or disorders that may cause hallucinations?
Total Responses: 47

• Yes: 8.5%
• No: 80.9%
• Uncertain: 10.6%

Have you seen the Hat Man either in your dreams or in real life before?
Total Responses: 47

• Yes: 78.7%
• No: 21.3%

If you have seen the Hat Man, in what context? Select all that apply. Skip this question if you have not seen the Hat Man:
Total Responses: 41

• In a dream: 24.4%
• In a lucid dream: 22%
• During an episode of sleep paralysis: 46.3%
• While laying in bed trying to go to sleep: 34.1%
• While under the influence of a psychoactive substance: 12.2%
• While awake but experiencing hallucinations and/or psychosis: 12.2%
• While awake, during or soon after a traumatic event: 4.9%
• While awake and in a state of unease, fear, and/or anxiety due to other circumstances: 22%
• While awake without any other obvious contributing circumstances: 29.3%
• Other: 14.6%

"no"
"Wise awake no psychadelic. I was 4 years old."
"More info, i saw him and another shadow while laying in a hospital bed trying to sleep roughly 7 or 8 years ago. It was around the time my "roommate" in the same room passed away although i was not made aware of that fact until the day after. After returning home i had two occasions of heari g the voice of a young female."
"I havent seen the hat man but a shadow person while being fully awake and slightly uneased in the corner of my eye"
"While awake trying to fall asleep"
"Seen him a lot at school during anxiety"
How many encounters have you had with the Hat Man? This includes in dreams or in real life regardless of circumstances.
Total Responses: 47

• Zero Encounters: 17%
• One Encounter: 27.7%
• Two Encounters: 10.6%
• Three Encounters: 8.5%
• Four encounters: 2.1%
• Five Encounters: 4.3%
• More than Five Encounters: 17%
• I don't know the exact amount of encounters: 12.8%

How old were you when you had your first encounter with Hat Man?
Total Responses: 47

• No Encounter: 14.9%
• 0 - 5: 8.5%
• 6 - 10: 17%
• 11 - 15: 19.1%
• 16 - 20: 23.4%
• 21 - 25: 8.5%
• 26 - 30: 4.3%
• 31 - 35: 4.3%

Estimated average age of first encounter: 15
Estimated median age of first encounter: 13
If you have had an encounter with Hat Man, what kind of feelings did you have in reaction to seeing him?
Total Responses: 47

• I have not encountered the Hat Man: 14.9%
• Positive (happiness, comfort, contentedness, protection, compassion, etc.): 4.3%
• Negative (fear, panic, concern, anger, pain, discomfort, etc.): 66%
• Neutral (curiosity, disinterest, indifference, etc.): 14.9%

Did anything strange or unusual happen in the time following your encounter? If so, you may briefly describe what happened below. A response is NOT required to complete this form.
20 Responses:

• No
• Something pushed me down the stairs but I don't think it was the hat man
• Not really our house was hauted so, there wasn't anything that stood out from the usual.
• Had a dream where I was a ninja and ended up being cut in half from the waist down. Then I realised I was dreaming and I was shouting "I can't wake up, I can't wake up" then the hat man turned up said "Here try this" then stomped on my head with a giant weed grinder. Then I woke up.
• So he woke me up from a nightmare, but he did kill me, so I'm not sure whether he's a bad dudeor a good guy.
• Usually followed by getting fairly sick or a death of someone.
• Every time my dog left my room he would appear
• Never Heard him speak, but I heard his thoughts. I don't think he's a Demon or something bad, in my opinion he's more like the Jury, The prosecutor , the lawyers, the witness and Judge. I saw 5 HatMan's in a codeine and morphine trip and felt like they were debating about what will happen with my life. Very strange and scary as I watched the purest form of justice on my ceiling.
• I had been having constant nightmares for no good reason during that time, and in the dream, he ran at me and painfully tickled me.
• i believe his name is Hank
• Our house was messed up. My dad, my mom, and I saw it at different times. We all had auditory, and visual phenomena as well.
• Not that I recall
• See above written response
• He just stands in either a doorway or corner
• No
• One time I seen him in a doorway looking at me, I had been seeing him in the same spot a few times so I told myself “whatever he isn’t going to do anything” & went back to sleep. I woke up with him directly over me pushing down on my arms with his eyes piercing my soul & a horrific Cheshire Cat smile. I tried to move because when I had seen him before I always could. I couldn’t. So I closed my eyes & waited for the pressure on my arms to go away while repeating “not real” in my head for what felt like 20 minutes or so.
• It was evening and I saw the door move. He was behind the door, blacker than the shadows. Saw the shape of the hat, man, and trench coat with red eyes. Got a sense of sheer terror and hid under the blankets.
• Brief encounters that usually last 5-10 minutes that started from just staring to trying to hide.It’s to the point now where if I open my eyes and he’s not there I have to look for him.I can scan the room 5 times and not see him until I do.very scary because I don’t understand why he hides but the shiny brim gave it away multiple times from the moons light on his hat
• He appeared in the doorway and the door was opened when I looked back he was gone and the door shut by itself and I didn’t hear it shut
• I geuss the only thing is that I gained a crush on him☠️ Damn I hate crushes
• The same two people were in the room both times I saw the Hat Man. Neither of them saw him. About 5 years later, one of them was diagnosed with an advanced stage of a terminal disease and passed away. This is the person that the Hat Man was physically closest to both times I saw him. Correlation doesn’t equal causation, but this scenario does give me the creeps.

And those are the results!

Hi All,
I've been following this subreddit for a month now and agree with the boglehead philosophy but could use the subreddits advice on how to proceed with a few questions I have regarding my parents retirement.
Some background context:
My parents are planning to retire next year (age 62 and 60). They are federal employees and will have the following as sources of income or source of money saved in retirement:
Pension (Dad): $1800 a month
Pension (Mom): 900 a month
Social Security (age 62 - Dad): 1958 a month
Social Security (will have to wait to be 62 - mom): 1530 a month
Supplemental income given from 60-62 while mom waits for social security: 800 a month
401k Combined for both: ~900k
SEP IRA: $67,000
Taxable investment account (combined): 100k
Checking/Savings Acct: 180k
Expenses: 70k/yr
Roth IRA's Annuities (unfortunately they got convinced by a financial advisor back in 2010 to do this when they didn't know much better and contributed for the last 12 years basically). Surrender Value: 220k. If they do not take the surrender value and choose to use their policy starting next year they would get 22k back combined per year until death (then it's all lost) + 7k rider fee across both accounts which is mandatory. I am leaning towards surrendering the account and investing the 220k so it can grow.
Aside from that, they own a few side businesses with two other partners and generate about 50-60k income per year from those businesses. We forsee that without any change for at least the next 8-10 years. The only change that could occurr is if they decide to sell these businesses and if that occurs they would receive roughly 500-600k as their percentages.
My dad two years ago had both his and my mom's 401k in a target fund + some international. Feeling the market was going to turn for the worse he transferred to mostly government treasuries in 2021 (G Funds) and has kept that there since. I don't agree with it but this was before I was involved or notified about any of this.
In the past few months we've seen various financial advisors, some that specialize in government employee retirements and understanding the nuances associated with that. All of them ask for 1% as their fee.
There was one we met that charged 1% but offered a lot of services that we feel we may need such as Roth IRA conversions and working to figure out the best times to do the roll overs from traditional IRA to roth based on their tax brackets as well as helping set up things correctly in the trust we are setting up for my sister and I (parents approved) so that we minimize potential issues down the road and maximize tax savings. This is the only fee based fiducary at 1% I actually saw some benefit too since we're lost on how to figure that out properly on our own.
The only other one I liked was our conversation with a Vanguard Fiduciary. I liked them because they basically mentioned the boglehead philosophy and trying to adhere to that based on our risk tolerance etc. Furthermore, it's a 0.3% charge and they don't make 'commission' since they are salaried.
Normally, I would follow the 3 fund philosophy we have and I'm sure Vanguard's advisor may do that but as I'm relatively newer to all of this, I feel a little uncomfortable being the one to tell my parents how to invest or what to invest in. If it was my own money, I would have no issue but I just don't feel comfortable with theirs. That being said, I also don't know if my parents would be able to potentially handle it on their own without doing what my dad did in 2021 where he changed it all to G funds thinking it was necessary. I think having a fiduciary will allow him to make more informed decisions based on his risk factor and having someone that understands this better than him will ensure he doesn't make mistakes he might on his own. I feel like the 0.3% from Vanguard or the 1% from the other individual who offers more wealth management options aside from just investing could be worth.
I would like to know what you all think. If I'm being honest the past few months trying to help parents figure this out has been stressful and I just want to make sure they're set up to be successful. I've tried to point my dad to a fee based fiduciary but he prefers to stick with the larger name places like Charles Schwab and Vanguard etc.
From what I've calculated based on just incoming income stream even in retirement, my parents most likely wouldn't have to draw from their 401k and could afford to let it keep growing which would be ideal.
Sorry for this insanely long wall text and if you've made it this far, sincerely thanks for taking the time to read this!

As always, thank you to u/SpacePaladin15 for the wonderful universe that is NoP
Thank you to u/cruisingNW for proof reading and helping me out of some hang ups, you're the man! Honestly LoM wouldn't have gone very far without him! If you haven't you should absolutely go read Foundations of Humanity! It's very good.
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Memory Transcription Subject: Christopher A. Dewey, Human Merchant Sailor, Venlil-Human Exchange Participant
Date [Standardized Human Time]: August 29th, 2136, Very Early Morning.
We got a message an hour ago from Videk, ordering us to report to Hangar-08 to start On-Stick training; and to bring our bags! I guess the guy had wanted to get as much out of the day as he could. That or he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.
Videk met us at the doors to the hangar, a small travel bag sitting on the floor by his side, tail swaying slowly as he watched us approach. “Good Waking, Taisa. Good Waking… Christopher.” An improvement, I’ll have to ask Taisa about that talk they had.
“This,” He continued, motioning to the shuttle parked in the hangar behind him with his tail. “Is your training shuttle: registration C1-0V3R-HR-EX.Your first On-Stick training assignment will be to follow appropriate lift off and departure procedures, plot and follow a course to The Capitol on Venlil Prime, seek permission to land from the proper authorities, and land safely and legally following those permissions. All of this, while following proper procedure and regulations. All of this will be graded.”
As he speaks the door behind him slides open, revealing a broad hangar bay, heavy clamshell doors dominate the far wall. At the center of the bay sits a stout craft painted white and black, a pair of stubby wings jutting from its sides flowing into a pair of engines flanking a singular tail. Venlil script is painted at the root of the tail and on the top of the rear ramp.
“Upon arrival in the Capitol you will have some paperwork to do at the U.N. offices with regards to your habitation. I will need to pick up some equipment from the training facility at the landing fields. After our respective errands, let’s say half a claw, we will meet up back at the shuttle and from there you will be plotting an in-atmosphere route to Shadetree, Sunward of the Capitol, to drop me off and wait for me to install and calibrate the remote instructing equipment. Once that is completed, you will plot another in-atmosphere course to Heartwood River, concluding this paws evaluations. Do you have any questions?”
I shook my head, and Taisa flicked her ears, in what I believed was a negative. “Very good, load your stuff and we’ll begin immediately.”
After a few minutes of finding places to tie off our belongings and get everything situated, I sat in the pilot’s seat and ran through the pre-flight check with Taisa. We caught a pair of faults in the starboard fuel delivery units. Videk seemed pleased we had caught them, and that he hadn’t had to tell us they were there. I could feel a slight smile tug at the corner of my mouth.
Devious little bastard makes for a damn good instructor.
Once the preflight was complete I closed the rear ramp and hailed the flight control tower. “Tower this is shuttle C1-0V3R-HR-EX requesting clearance for departure, place us enroute to Venlil Prime with planned landing zone of Capitol Shuttle Field 13-Bravo.” A Human voice came back over the line, a bit of mirth in their voice. “Shuttle, Tower, you are clear for departure, opening bay doors now. Good luck and Godspeed.”
The doors to the station hangar yawned open, filling the viewport with the void and all its stars beyond as I slowly brought the shuttle off the hangar floor, easing it out through the opening. I reached over to the nearest display and opened the Nav-computer interface, plotting our course to VP, and then on to the Capitol landing fields. Once I was confident I had the proper navigation commands and sequences set I called over Videk to have him review my work.
He gave me a quick flick of his tail before saying “Looks good, Christopher. Feel free to spool and jump when you’re ready.”
Videk’s approval given, I reached over and pushed forward on the throttles, engaging the drive and hurtling the shuttle into subspace.
It. Was. Beautiful. Everything seemed to stretch, stars in the distance turning from pinpricks of light into brilliant colorful streaks, lengthening as we bounded through the void. Lines of light far off in my periphery zip past like tracers as the ones before me feel as if they’re pulling me in with their kaleidoscope of color. The hum of the shuttle fell into the background while I became entranced by the light show in front me, picturing myself on the set of one of those old sci-fi shows I would watch with Pa on the weekends. The Future my ancestors had imagined was Here, right before my eyes and at the tips of my fingers! This view was… Hypnotic. The simulator couldn’t hope to do it justice.
Two hours. That was it.
Two hours to travel what, until very recently, would have been considered an insurmountable distance for Humanity. Dropping from Sub-space into the proximity of Venlil Prime was another astoundingly brilliant view. Scorched white deserts flowing into massive swathes of golden sands cut by the occasional streak of blue before blending into a beautiful verdant mix of turquoise and green fields, with vast lakes and rivers dotting the forests, flowing into wide marshy wetlands. Before finally, the curve of the planet fell away from its star, allowing the fading sunlight to showcase glittering city lights dotting the countryside.
The thrusters burn to life, crackling and thrumming with power as they drive us forward through the void to the beautiful marble before us. I flip two switches on the overhead, tapping the leftmost display to call up the local channel list and place a hail to the Capitol’s landing fields to request clearance and pad assignment. A quick ping, signifying my hail had been acknowledged, chimed over the console speaker.
“Capitol Shuttle Field 13-Bravo this is Shuttle C1-0V3R-HR-EX requesting clearance for landing at an available pad of convenience.” “C1-0V3R-HR-EX, you are cleared for landing, 13-Bravo, direct to pad Charlie-5.”
The Flight through the Void may have had some feeling of familiarity and nostalgia to the old Sci-fi shows at home; but in-atmo had the far better view! Rolling turquoise fields and towering thick trees, with their canopies tilted greedily towards that unmoving sun, falling away to a gargantuan metropolitan area, its architecture entirely alien yet still somehow familiar. Massive skyscrapers soar to touch the sky, reflecting light in brilliant angles and colors, the space below them populated by squat sturdy buildings and deep black roads. The Venlil going about their lives below look like ants as I ease off the throttle, taking the speed down to prepare for the final approach. The display on the viewport flags my landing area with a small pip guiding me in, slow and easy.
The cabin jostles slightly as the ship settles onto its landing gear. Videk seemed impressed; his ears up as he tapped away at his data pad! Taisa’s tail sways happily back and forth as she runs through the diagnostics of the landing, checking system status reports.
“Looks like we’re all clear. Videk do you have a time we should try and be back by?” Taisa beeps, showing the flight instructor the console in front of her.
“I just need to pick up the equipment and get it linked up, that should only take about a half a claw. Walking to and from the landing field and the U.N. Offices should put you at about the right time.” Videk turned away and made for the ramp; Taisa’s talk helped, and he was clearly trying, but he was still a bundle of nerves around me. His fur was so puffed out it looked like he was holding more static than a thunderhead.
As we stepped out of the artificial gravity of the shuttle I felt like I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders. My first step faltered making me stumble down the ramp and bounce off the… soft pavement? “Oh, forgot about that.” Videk winced sympathetically, “Our gravity is about twenty percent more than earth’s, so be careful. Falls are likely to hurt a little bit more here.”
“Would’ve been nice to know first, Videk.” I groaned, rolling myself over and sitting up, luckily the visor hadn’t fallen off; I would need to add one of those new back braces and some knee compressors to that order of stuff from home. “Do you know where the U.N. Offices are? Or should we just ask around to find our way there?”
“I do not, but you should be able to get directions on your pad. I trust the two of you can figure it out, so I’m going to go get the equipment I need. I will wait for the two of you with the shuttle once I am ready.” With a parting flap of his ears, Videk turned and walked away; flicking the tip of his tail back and forth as he did.
“Alright then,” I grumbled, forcing myself up off the pavement, swaying as I found my new equilibrium. “let’s get going. Can you pull up those directions?” She nodded slightly, flicking her ears forward. “Got them up already! You alright there?”
“I’m fine.” I grunted, rolling out my shoulder a little. “Feels like I weigh a quarter ton, but I’ll get over it with time. Lead the way.”
After a few minutes of walking we were off the landing fields and into the streets of the city. My boots sinking into the pavement a little with each step, just like on the landing field. “Taisa, what is this stuff? I figured it was just to make landings a little softer on shuttles but it’s everywhere! Looks like pavement but it gives like rubber; why are your roads like this?” “Anti-stampede concrete.” She stated, matter of factly, like that meant literally anything to me. My silence must have tipped her off that I wasn’t getting it as she focused one eye on my visor. “Oh… I guess Humans wouldn’t need that. It’s to help reduce stampede fatalities, it’s the same reason the roads and buildings have gentle curves, no sharp angles.” Looking around at the way the groups of Venlil flowed through the streets I realized she was right, what I had thought was a futuristic aesthetic design was just to keep people from killing each other against walls or trampling them into the ground when they got scared. How strange… and slightly worrying.
“Weird, that sounds like some crazy wonder material. Bet we’d have a bunch of uses for it back on earth.” My eyes watched the tips of skyscrapers towering above us, “How far out does it say we are?”
“Only a little further, about one and a half kilometers.” She responded, a slight pant in her voice. I wasn’t in the best shape, cardio wise, but I couldn’t imagine getting winded after 10 minutes of walking; guess all that talk about the Venlil having less stamina than us was right.
The U.N. Office complex was a series of giant flowing buildings built on a large park area. It wasn’t any design I had ever seen so I figured it had to have been an existing complex that just got turned over to the U.N. for their uses.
Passing through the heavy glass front doors we found a wide receptionist's desk, with several Humans sitting behind it, answering questions and directing people where they needed to go. One of the receptionists, a short dark haired woman with a visor obscuring her face, beckons us over. “Hello! How can I help you today?” “H-Hi!” Taisa beeps excitedly, her tail swaying behind her confidently as she takes a deep breath and straightens her back. “We’re part of the ‘integration’ experiments, we were told we need to fill out some forms for habitation. Where do we go to do that?” “Oh! Congratulations! That would be Suite 216-B” The receptionist answered, excitement in her voice as she pointed to a room on the map infront of her.
“Thank you!” Taisa responded, turning to head up the stairs behind the receptionist's desk. Halfway up the stairs she swiveled her ears over to me before saying. “Sorry, I figure if I’m probably going to have to work with Humans other than you for this I should try and at least work on being able to talk to them.” “It’s alright,” I chuckle, patting her shoulder. “That’s a great idea and you’re doing alright!” Walking down the hallways we saw prints of landscapes from Earth, Machu Picchu, the Uyuni Salt Flats, The Grand Canyon, YellowStone, Hạ Long Bay, The Zhangye Mountains and Plitvice Lakes. I pointed out the places I had been to as we walked past them, finally stopping at suite 216-B.
The door was open so we knocked, getting a quick ‘enter’, before stepping in. A man sits behind a desk, the top covered in organized files and folders, a placard on his desk declares his name as ‘Obediah Kamara’ with a small Liberian flag stamped beside it.
His visor obscures his face as he looks between the two of us before beginning. “I presume you are…” He sorts through a couple of the files and folders before stopping on one and opening it, pulling out a document packet. “Christopher Dewey and Taisa. Correct?”
We both respond in the affirmative as he gestures for us to take the seats across from him, sliding the documents across the table as Taisa’s pad pings on her belt. “These are agreements to ensure that you,” He starts, looking at me. “Understand the rules in regards to your habitation here on Venlil Prime. I understand that part of your integration will be taking you off world to and from Earth, these rules primarily apply to your time here. We ask that you remain considerate of the provided rules and guidelines on the ship if you are carrying Venlil passengers. Taisa, those are the terms, conditions, compensations and requirements for your family to house a human when the two of you are present. Virtual signature of that document is required within the next 3 of your ‘paws’.” Taisa stiffened a little bit, likely thinking about her Mother’s response to my arrival; that was something we were probably going to have to have a talk about later. I had an idea for the short term, at least. I ran through the paperwork real quick and it was all pretty simple: don’t be without the visor or some kind of face covering in settings where you couldn’t guarantee that an unprepared Venlil wouldn’t see you, avoid aggression, speak quietly, no eating meat, animal products or byproducts, no hunting local wildlife; bit odd considering I didn’t even have a bow or a gun but rules are rules, I suppose.
“Sounds good to me,” I said, signing the indicated portions of the document. “When are my items supposed to get here?”
“We don’t expect your requested items to arrive for another week or so, for now you’ll have to make do with what you brought with you.” Obediah responded, shuffling the packet of papers back into the folder they had come from. “With that complete you are free to go. I understand you have training to complete, so I wish you good luck with your endeavor. If you have any questions or needs with regards to your habitation you can contact Sam, their details will be forwarded to your communication devices.”
I caught Taisa’s tail twitching as her ears swiveled nervously out of the corner of my eye; even with her attempts to push through it I think the amount of Humans around was starting to get to her. Still, she was doing better than I think a lot of Venlil would be able to manage. I reached over, gently tapping my hand against her paw, trying to ground her a little before motioning to go, she nodded slightly as she flicked her ears.
“Thank you, Obediah, we’ll be sure to get into touch with them once we get their contact. Have a good day!”
Taisa and I stood, exiting the room and making our way out of the building, stopping to look at another picture or two along the way. Something needed to be done about possibly not having a place to stay to put my, and more so Taisa’s, mind at ease. I figured I could sleep in the shuttle, if I had to. It wouldn’t be particularly comfortable but I could certainly do it; I’d need a mat, maybe a sleeping bag or some blankets and a pillow.
I had no clue where I was going to get my hands on those, or at least a set of them big enough for me to actually use.
Then I saw the temporary units in the field near the offices. Men and Women in U.N. fatigues were milling about the area. Barracks? That could solve the problem, if they’re willing to help out a man in need, of course.
“Hey, Taisa, I need to make a stop real quick.” I state, walking briskly towards the largest of the buildings. “What’s up?” She asks, ears focused on me as she tilts her head a little.
“Well, I was thinking, I don’t think your parents, your Mom especially, won’t, uh… won’t want me around. At least not for a little while until she gets to know me better.”
“I think you can get past it, she’s not that bad… It’ll just be tough.”
“Oh I’m sure I can get past it, but I’d rather not just sleep in the grass in the meantime.” “I don’t think she’d make you sleep in the grass…” “I like being prepared, if she doesn’t want me in her house I’m not going to push the issue.”
“I just… I hope it doesn’t come to that, I’m not going to let her toss you outside like an animal.” She sighs quietly as we push through the front door of the barrack building.
A desk manned by a napping U.N. Marine with Private ranks stuck to his shoulders filled the space beyond the doors. He stirs as the doors clank shut behind us before scrambling to throw on his Visor as he notices Taisa.
“Hello, Uh… Can I help you? This area is for active U.N. personnel only.” He starts, his voice finding its authority only about halfway through the statement.
I stand straight, trying to muster the stern demeanor I’d found in my father and his friends so often when they tried to get something on base after their retirements. “Easy, Private. It has come to my attention that my accommodations lack proper bedding.” “O-Oh, uh, I apologize…” He stammers out, searching for something to say, likely looking to find a way out of trouble for sleeping on duty.
“Sir.” I state. “What’s your name, Private?”
“A-Alvarez, Sir.”
“Alvarez. I’ll remember that, Alvarez, how about we make this quick, you get me a wrap of blankets, 3 pillows and a bedroll and I don’t find your commander to report your… lack of enthusiasm.”
The private snaps to attention before firmly stating. “Yes Sir! I’ll be right back, Sir!”
As the private turns and walks away crisply I hear Taisa whistle with laughter a little beside me. “I’m surprised that worked.”
“You’d be surprised what a hard voice, straight back and the right slacking Private can get you if you just don’t go pushin' it too far in your story.” I whispered with a wink.
After a few minutes of waiting Private Alvarez returned with a duffle bag, stuffed full with blankets and pillows, as well as an inflatable bedroll under the other arm. “Here you go, Sir. Will this be ok?” He asked, passing the items over to me.
“Perfect, thank you Private.” I took the bundle of bedding and turned to the door, before turning my head back over my shoulder, “Oh, and Private? Do try and get proper rest before duty.”
A shaking “Y-Yes, Sir.” followed Taisa and I out of the door.
The first half of the walk back to the landing field was quiet, I was scanning the skyline again, I just couldn’t get over the fact that I was on another planet. Taisa however had her ears pinned back, her paws lightly holding her tail tuft as we walked.
“What’s got ya down?” I asked, watching the herd of Venlil glide around us as we came, trying their best not to get too close to me.
“I’m… concerned.” She sighed, the tip of her tail twitching between her paws.
“About?”
“My mother, what she’ll say… What she’ll do.”
“I can’t exactly say I know what her reaction’ll be… But, whatever it is we’ll just have to deal with it. It’ll probably take time, but we’ll get by.” I soothed. She let go of her tail, placing the tip of it on my back, but her ears didn’t let up at all.
The rest of the walk to the shuttle was quiet as she fidgeted with her paws, trying to take her mind off of the subject. Videk was there waiting for us, a few crates secured to the cargo area of the shuttle that weren’t present before.
“You two ready?” He asked, flicking his tail at us.
“I think so.” I responded, stowing the bedding in an empty compartment as Taisa flicked her ears.
We ran through our preflight checklist again, finding another pre-placed failure from Videk waiting for us, this time in the starboard control surfaces. Once the check was done we radioed the tower for clearance to take off and set an in-atmo course for Shadetree to drop off Videk. It was a short hop, about a half hour of flying or so before I had to call ahead for clearance to land again.
Most of the flight from the Capitol to Shadetree had been rolling turquoise and green hills or open fields of produce growing in the everpresent light. A sudden dense forest rose from the fields, thick dark brown trees with fluttering golden leaves stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction. A sudden break in the forest revealed a clearing for the Landing field, much smaller than the one at the Capitol. The city was built under the canopy of the trees, giving it a constant filtered light casting down through the shifting leaves. It was certainly a beautiful town, I’d have to come back to visit some day. Maybe once Videk had warmed up to me a little bit more.
As the ramp fell ,a small cargo truck arrived alongside the shuttle to collect Videk and his equipment. I offered to help but the Venlil driver just about ran when I started talking so I figured it was probably best to just keep out of it. Once the cargo truck departed, Taisa came back up to the cockpit, plopping down in her seat, and looked through the viewscreen at the trees beyond. The soft hiss of the ramp closing marked the finality of Videk’s departure.
“So, how are you feeling about Venlil Prime so far?” She asked, one eye on my face as I finally slipped the visor off.
“I like it! Between the beautiful scenery, interesting architecture and hanging out with you and Shamrock, here I’m having a great time!” I responded, rubbing my hand on what amounted to the shuttle's dashboard.
“... Shamrock?” She asked, her tail swaying in what I figured for amusement.
“Yea! Remember how I told you Humans like looking for patterns? Well it works on words and numbers as well. The tail number for the shuttle could be taken to spell ‘Clover-HR-EX’, or just clover for short. Clovers are a type of plant on earth that a few cultures believed to be lucky, one way or another. One of the nicknames for them was a Shamrock!”
She laughed at me.
“You are such a dork.” She said, wiping a tear from her eye as her tail whipped back and forth. “It’s a good name, usually shuttles don’t get one. I think it fits.”
I chuckled, a thought crossing my mind. “Think we could get any shuttle-grade paint? Preferably green, yellow and black?” She raised an eyebrow at me as her ears cocked at different elevations. “Oh? Someone feeling a little artistic?”
“Well, I could always paint a Shamro-” I was interrupted as the ping signifying we were being hailed sounded off. “We’ll finish this later.” I said, pointing at her as I accepted the hail.
Videk’s voice bled through the speakers. “Ok, looks like the connection is secure. Let’s go ahead and run through getting you familiar with the software, it should be quick and easy.”
It was not.
It took two hours. After a lot of trial and error, stop and go flights to test the connection and a few near misses with an especially tall tree we had gotten the system setup such that Videk was confident it would work in an emergency if he needed to step in. With that all squared away Taisa and I settled in to get on our way to Heartwood River. Sleeping on the blow up mattress or on a real bed hardly mattered at this point, I just wanted to sleep.
The overall flight time was set to be about an hour and a half, not too bad and man was the view beautiful: rolling fields, roaring rivers, pristine skies and alien forests abounded across the countryside. We had just passed over Hidden Plains when Taisa and I were just settling back into talking about her parents and our best route to try and handle them, when the hail system chimed and immediately spat out a harsh tone without acknowledgement, the same one the simulator used for distress calls.
“Mayday Mayday Mayday. Report of shots fired at residence housing humans. Need immediate medical evac at The Berrypatch Farm in The Grove, 11 minutes Night-ward from Hidden Plains. Hailing all airborn craft, we need a medical evac immediately!”
I immediately returned the hail. “This is cargo shuttle C1-0V3R-HR-EX. Responding to Mayday from the Grove. We are en-route to render aid. Hold tight, we’ll be there.”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Taisa tighten her flight harness as I reached for the throttle.
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