Name: Ad-Ad Fruit
Ability: The Ad-Ad Fruit (Kōkoku Kōkoku no Mi) is a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allows the user to create and manipulate advertisements around them. Making the user a Salesman Human.
Appearance: The Ad-Ad Fruit is a white head-sized fruit that has a long pointed nose-like protrusion that sticks out from the large amount of foliage from under the fruit that covers the whole fruit. Sticking out from the top of the foliage is a black stem that comes out of the top of the fruit, the stem form into a ‘G’ shape and then curls flatly similar to dots on both ends of the stem, strangely enough the stem’s coloration switches from black to bright red once.
In-Depth Description: Upon consumption the user is granted the ability to create and manipulate advertisements of any type and through any medium. Through coming into physical contact with an advert, the user is able to completely change the appearance of that advertisement and make it one of their [Ads]. Once that happens, the user is capable of remotely seeing through any of their [Ads] and allowing the user to see the current [wants and needs] of whoever is looking at the advertisement as well as communicate through them; and in-real time the user is able remotely change it’s contents to further appeal to the customer who might take the offer. If the customer were to take the offer on the advertisement through either verbal confirmation, signed documentation, or willingly shaking the user’s hand to officialize the [[DEAL]]. Depending on the few situations after a [[DEAL]] is made will the [true power] of the Ad-Ad Fruit take effect.
After striking a [[DEAL]] with a customer, the user must be able to deliver their end of the [[DEAL]] before being capable of receiving the customer’s payment. If the user is unable to fulfil their end of the bargain, then the [[DEAL]] will be immediately voided and any payment made by the customer will be returned in full back to them. But if the user possesses the [“intended product”], then the deal will proceed as normal with the customer receiving the product while the user receives the agreed form of [payment] while in person or through the [Ad] acting as a gateway for both [product] and [payment]. As to more favour the user, they are able to [[SCAM]] the customer so long as they don’t ask for the user to inspect the [product], sign the [“required”] documentation without reading it, or unconditionally accept the [[DEAL]]. While the user has to meet their end of the [[DEAL]], the quality and condition of the [“intended product”] does not need to meet such requirements as long as it looks like the [“intended product”] or it fulfils the purpose of [“intended product”]. The rules of both of these conditions are incredibly loose in interpretation, allowing the user to exchange a bad copy/bootleg of the [“intended product”] so long as it meets either requirements.
However, in the event that the customer does not possess the required payment either during the immediate [[DEALmaking]] or they fail to meet the steps of alternative paying methods, the user is then able to invoke special string-like green wires that rain down upon the [InDEBT Consumer] and attach themselves into their body from behind them. These [[Silly Strings]] are completely invisible to those who either aren’t indebted to the user or to a customer who hasn’t noticed anything, but if the user were to tell someone how this particular facet of the fruit works, then they will have the capacity to see these green wires. Once someone becomes a [InDEBT Consumer] the user is capable of slowly but surely manipulating them into doing what they want, with the more [[Silly Strings]] embedded into their body, the more overall control and sway the user has over them. So long as one green wire remains, the user will always know where the [InDEBT Consumer] is located. Just having a few green wires attached to you will make one susceptible to the user’s [“sweet words”] and [[Sales Pitches]], as well as being more blind to such actions of the user, to then end up with more [[Silly Strings]] attached onto their body. With a certain amount of green wires, the user is then capable of influencing a [InDEBT Consumer]’s actions through sleight hand movements and or verbal commands, after a few green wires after that stage, they will begin to become more reliant and gullible to such [“endearing encouragement”] from the user.
With enough [[Silly Strings]] attached onto a [InDEBT Consumer], their minds will become fully oblivious to any [“bad publicity”] of the user and do just about any of the user’s whims and bidding. However if a [InDEBT Consumer] were to become too indebted to the user and possess far to many [[Silly Strings]], then their mind will automatically start to deteriorate to the point of insanity, and become potentially become too unstable for the user to verbally manipulate them. When at such a stage, a [InDEBT Consumer] will fully acknowledge the existence of the [[Silly Strings]]. But just like all other [InDEBT Consumers], they themselves are unable to cut their own [[Silly Strings]], requiring the help of [“non-consumers”] to cut these green wires.
Back onto the [Ads] part of the devil fruit, the overall range the user has depends on the amount of [Ads] of any kind relative to each other. With the user’s pseudo-omniscience ranging far and wide as long as an [Ad] is in the relative range of another [Ad]. If a chain of [Ads] are all in relative range of each other and the user is at least in the radius range of one of the [Ads] making up the chain. Then the user will have complete and perfect vision through all of them. If the user is not in range of a mass of [Ads] then the viewing quality from them will begin to lessen. But if there are enough [Ads] in relative range from each other, then that will generally improve the user’s pseudo-omniscience. However the user themselves also possesses an effective range themselves, with the more in range the user and [Ad] are to each other the stronger the connection. The user’s range is able to be widened and increased with the more [[DEALS]] they make, which in turn slowly increases the range of the [Ads]. An individual [Ad] can have their own connectivity increased with the more customers they draw in and the amount of [[DEALS]] the user makes through that specific [Ad].
Now onto the last facet of the devil fruit, the user is capable of manifesting [Ads] from technological mediums such as [Pop-ups], [3D Models], [PNG/JPGs], and [Videos] into the real-world. Taking the same form as viewed on a Computer or Phone and appearing out of them into the real-world, where the user can telepathically move them around, enlarge them, shrink them, and stretch them. Whilst manifested they are very incredibly durable and can withstand any elemental attack as if it were all the same, however by tapping the close button the top right of these digital [Ads] will make them disappear. They function just like regular [Ads] of the physical world, possessing a relative range and can allow the user to see through them.
Weaknesses: The Ad-Ad Fruit is a devil fruit that is not inherently combat-based, requiring a lot of preparation before the devil fruit can be used in such a sense. As on its own it does leave the user with many options besides the primary facets of the devil fruit’s powers. While people who are obvious to the green wires or people who have green wires attached to them but don’t notice the effect they cause are completely unable to see these green wires attached to them and seemingly originate from the sky above. Non-affected people who have been informed by the user themselves of the green wires or have figured out themselves are capable of snipping the green wires. While the user can turn normal advertisable media into their own, allowing for further use of their devil fruit abilities, despite becoming more sturdy in terms of not flying in the wind if a gust came, they will all still possess the same durability and weaknesses as their normal counterparts.
The main demographic for the user are usually run of the mill people, people who aren’t observant enough to pick up the pieces of very slight things that happen to them. Such as the feeling of something latching onto them, their body doing something on their own, or feeling a certain way toward something all of a sudden. All manifested technology ads are the ads usable form combat, however they are at the same time the easiest to deal with. Just by hitting the top right “X” button to close the floating window. Most importantly, the user of the fruit must be somewhat capable of being a sales(wo)man or be willing to learn as a minimum to use this fruit at all or just be able to lie very well to people without feeling guilty.
Combative Info: The Ad-Ad Fruit in its entirety is not inherently for combative use, however it is capable of such use. Through coming into contact with any technological medium that adverts can be placed in, the user can make such ads manifest in the real-world. The windows from computer-like mediums are very durable, easily withstanding multiple cannon fire without such much as a crack. And are also capable of cutting someone by spinning it to further increase the windows cutting power. 3D polygon models act similar to props then anything that the user can telekinetically throw, if it so happened to be an animated model, then once manifested it will repeat its actions in a loop. The user is capable of raising the volume and brightness of video pop-ups to both blind and deafen opponents.
While the user ensnares more people in debt as well as deepening their staggering debt to the user for not doing their end of the deal. The user can forcibly take control of the user’s green wires and puppeteer them into fighting, operating in a similar fashion to Doflamingo’s Parasite technique. And the user is able to detach green wires from nearby indebted customers and manipulate to wrap around or attack the unaffected opponent while at the same time not attaching any debt onto them. However this not only allows the unaffected person to see the green wires, but also be able to cut them while they are in physical contact, even if they manage to snap a green wire, then that wire will not be reattached to their original indebted recipient. But can still be used by the user to attack opponents, but they can still be re-used for their intended purpose on another or an upcoming [InDEBT Consumer].
Non-Combative Info: Despite the absurdly greedy uses of the Ad-Ad Fruit, it is still an incredibly useful devil fruit for normal commercial uses or really any other form of normal trading uses. The user can easily create high-quality advertisements of any kind for any purpose on any advertisable medium. Being able to create a fully fledged security system by viewing through any and all [ads].
Techniques:
[Advertise]: The user physically touches a medium used for advertisement and transforms it into whatever form of marketable advertisement the user can imagine. When used on things such as paper or signs, the user erases whatever was written/printed on them before printing whatever they could think of. When used on a technological device, the user is simply able to instantly create pop-up ads and video advertisements. So long as it was possible on the chosen medium.

• [Limited Time Promotion]: The user creates a special ad under the guise of a promotional campaign, and whatever they are selling will be only available for a limited time. Increasing incentive for unassuming targets to quickly make a deal as the user reduces the time limit to add pressure on them.
• [Auction Sweepstake]: The user creates advertisements through any televised or radio broadcasting linked to a special advertisement that visually presents an auction sweepstake of multiple [“intended product”] that hypes them up and pretends to increase the bidding from a low price to make it look very valuable.
• [Wonder Trading]: The user creates numerous special ads that work off the basis of giving away a random item in response to a target donating a random item through this special advert. The value of the item given and received are completely, but the user can alter such values to weigh to their favour or someone else's. In addition to being able to see one’s wants and needs, the user can give out specific items to targets so that they are incentivized to donate more for similar items they desire.

[[Silly Strings]]: The user summons special string-like green wires from the sky onto the backs of a [InDEBT Consumer]. The more wires attached onto the back of a victim, the more susceptible they are to any of the user’s manipulations. The wires themselves become more durable and stronger the further the number of th deals the user makes, but will decrease the more deals get broken. While general training with them will make the base strength of the wires more stronger.

• [Sleight of Hand]: The user calls for a specific line of [[Silly Strings]] that are attached to a [InDEBT Consumer]. It will descend from the sky and wrap around the user’s finger, from there the user is able to completely control whatever part of the victim the wire is attached to. From making ever so slight hand gestures to weave the [InDEBT Consumer] to do whatever the user wants so long as they don’t make it apparent or obvious that they're being orchestrated.
• [Debt Termination]: The user manipulates all of the [[Silly Strings]] attached to a [InDEBT Consumer] and wrapped them in a dangerous sharp hold; particularly around the neck and in turn strangling them to death. Although when the user does this, the [[Silly Strings]] become visible to anyone around the victim who isn’t in debt, allowing them to snip the wires during this time.
• [Account Freeze]: The user summons all the [[Silly Strings]] attached to a [InDEBT Consumer] and simply halt the movement of the victim, for further entrapment the user wills the strings to wrap around the joints of the [InDEBT Consumer]. However once more doing such an action will cause non-[InDEBT Consumers] to witness the existence of the [[Silly Strings]].
• [Raining Green]: The user releases all the [[Silly Strings]] from a [InDEBT Consumer’s] body, causing them to each detach from that victim. The user then manipulates all of them to rain down upon a target and pierce them straight through. Alternatively the user can wrap themselves in a few of the [[Silly Strings]] to lift themselves off the ground and into the air. Similar to that of the [String-String Fruit].

[Manifested Windows]: The user focuses their [Ad-Ad Fruit] power on an advertisement off a technological screen. This causes the advertisement shown on the screen to begin to distort before literally coming out of the screen and assuming itself a 3d form. These manifested windows can be used in various ways from offence to defence. These 3d advertisements can be interacted with like advertisements the user creates. But the user is able to revert any of these manifests into 2d shapes and place them around like normal handout adverts, minimising them so that they maximise when someone is near, or make them float toward the nearest person and harass them.

• [3D Knockout]: The user creates manifested windows advertisements, and transforms them into 2d windows before having them slide underneath certain parts of a target’s body. And after they’ve slid under, the 2d windows instantly become 3d once more and collide into the target with excessive force.
• [[POP-UP Tabs]]: The user creates manifested windows advertisements, and transforms them into 2d windows before minimising them. The 2d manifested windows then sneak up on a target, and right when they least expect it, the windows maximise themselves and pop-up right in-front of the target.
• [Spam Mail]: The user or their [InDEBT Consumer] sets up many hidden pop-ups, minimised and scattered across every corner, door, window, device, etc and have them activated to the closest sentient being approaches its proximity. The Spam Mail pop-up will surprise and continuously annoy them by playing their own sound clips over and over again. And whenever they are closed, they will slightly shift out of the way.
• [Advertisement Block]: The user either during or out of combat grabs a manifested window and expands the window out to defend against attacks. But when expanded, the user can also turn the entire window 3-D, gaining a sudden immense amount of weight added to it. And crushing whoever the user drops it on, or they can use it as a shield or blockade.
• [Loud Notification]: The user creates a special variation of pop-up tab, that plays a loud and obnoxious-type of ringing noise whenever they are open. They can be programmed to follow targets and continuously play the same sound over again similar to spam mail.
• [Advertised Product]: The user reaches over and sticks their hand into an advertisement that’s showcasing an item and grabs it. Then the user pulls the product out of advertisement and into the real world. The user can use the product similar to the actual version, however it will be only half as effective. All that is left of the product from the advertisement is a white space shaped exactly like the item.

Awakening:
Once the user of the Ad-Ad Fruit awakens, catching up their body and mind to the levels of their own ability. The standard abilities given when first consumed are significantly increased beyond what they were before, the proverbial range of advertisements are increased, the strength and durability of [[Silly Strings]] improved, the intricacies of the [InDEBT Consumer]’s body that can be manipulated are heightened, and much more. The former weakness of the devil fruit where the user needed a pre-established advertisement or materials to use their devil fruit has been lifted to an extent*****. Now all the user needs to do to create an advertisement is to simply make a sales pitch of any kind, with the more grandeur the pitch, the stronger the advertisement. The user can even now conjure pop-up tabs and digital lettering in thin air to help begin a sales pitch, or enhance their own speechcraft. They can even be used in combat if the user desires, though they are not as potent as physical advertisements or manifested tabs.
However that is only half of the entire awakening, the other half focuses on the conceptual power of the devil fruit and what the user can exactly turn into an “Advertisement”. While in the pre-awakening state, the user is only able to bargain for and sell physical objects and beings. Now the user is able to wrap their [[Silly Strings]] on more intangible [products] such as a person’s soul, in turn granting complete control over an individual, or perhaps something that has yet to exist like a person’s first born. Or even something tied to their very being like their devil fruit ability, though [WARNING: ANY ATTEMPT FOR THE USER OF AD-AD FRUIT TO ABSORB INTO THE POWER OF ANOTHER DEVIL FRUIT USER THAT HAD [“willingly”] SOLD THEIR DEVIL FRUIT POWER TO THEM WILL SUFFER FROM SPONTANEOUS EXPLOSION OF THEIR ENTIRE BODY. THERE ARE NO REFUNDS\.]*
Lastly while the user is able to wrap their [[Silly Strings]] on more intangible [products], the user is now capable of extending what they can exactly turn into advertisement. Following more in line with a standard paramecia awakening, but in a thematic way, any land the user comes into [“ownership”] of and becomes their [“property”]. The wielder of the Ad-Ad Fruit is able to freely change and manipulate everything within and connected to the user’s square feet of land into advertisements. While the user is unable to manipulate the environment in the same way as other paramecia users due to the less malleable nature of advertisements. The esoteric nature of advertisements and how exactly the user can portray their power because of how broad an advertisement can be makes up for the lack of traditional control over their transformed land. But there is a singular weakness to this facet of the Ad-Ad Fruit, which is that if the deed or proof of documentation (and if there isn't any, one is automatically created every time the user assumes control of a lone land.) is destroyed or damaged, then the affected environment will either be completely reverted back or parts of it will instead.
Awakened Techniques:
[Deal with the Devil]: The user creates a [specil] one time only [DEAL], however compared to the normal advertisements the user creates, this one is created with the intention of the user trading for something not entirely physical but something that has value to a specific customer. This [DEAL] is more one on one than any other advertisement deal. Requiring the soon to be customer to either sign on the dotted line of a document to finalise the dealmaking, or by [“willingly”] shaking the user’s hand.

• [Deal for Another Life]: The user creates a [specil] one time only [DEAL] for someone who needs assistance in saving someone, be it that they're in a dying state or simply injured. By accepting the [DEAL] for the user to save the life of another, the recipient will have their condition ”heal” in a sense depending on the situation. If medical supplies are in the vicinity capable of mending them, then the Ad-Ad Fruit will use those supplies to instantaneously patch them up. If there are none, then the [“customer”] will have either their own life or a certain amount of years off their life to help save or extend out the recipient’s.
• [Devil for a Devil]: The user creates a [specil] one time only [DEAL] for the intent of trading the devil fruit abilities of two people between them. Once that either sign or shake each other’s hands with the user present to finalise the dealmaking. Both people will begin to convulse and scream from the pain of the swapping of devil fruits, what appears out from them appears to be the will or soul of their particular devil fruits which pass by each other before phasing into their new user's body.

[Ad Infinitum]: The user proceeds to make a literal one time only [DEAL] like no other to whom but the Ad-Ad Fruit itself, arranging a [DEAL] that will allow the user to gain a significant amount of power by absorbing all existing goods received through every [DEAL] the user has ever made. In turn however, once the user has finished with what they had intended to do with the power, parts of their own individuality is exchanged by the Ad-Ad Fruit itself with one perfectly lined with the devil fruit’s function. That of being a Salesman and their job of making deals. However once done, they themselves will be ensnared by [[Silly Strings]] with them even knowing, and secretly manipulating them into performing and doing things that allows them to make more deals and benefit them.

• [NEO]: One of two transformations the user can undergo once the deal has been made, and is mostly done through the intake of many material items the user has ["respectfully"] received from a ["customer"]. Granting them a physiology similar to that of a mechanical machine. Allowing to shrug off a majority of dangers that normally threaten a [MEAT PERSON]. They are able to fly at great speeds and ascend as high as they want due to the [[Silly Strings]] attached to their back once in this form. For combat they have many options, from blasting opponents with their arm cannon, opening their chest cavity for their own mechanical heart to spring out and shoot out white diamonds, and even increasing their own size to ram into and squish their opposition.
• [OMEGA]: The second and most powerful and the two transformations the user can undergo once the deal has been made, and is made when on top of absorbing material items, they also take into both the souls of people who gave them up and actual living people who sold their lives to the user. The main difference between the two forms is not only in power but also in sheer size and mobility being more slow. During both transformations, the user experiences a even higher boost in their ability of manipulating and transforming their [“property”] into anything advertisable.

P/N: I had created this fruit around the beginning of 2022, but never got around to actually starting anything. But then around the time Spamton Sweepstakes started I then, randomly out of nowhere, thought of the entire concept for the devil fruit.
I will say that I gave up at the end with the awakening moves, due to not feeling the best. But I just wanted to get this devil fruit over and done with. Any of the moves are up for interpretation.

When I first watched Heathers: The Musical, believe it or not, I fucking hated Heather Duke. My favourite character back then was Heather Chandler, because she’s a mythic bitch. Then, I realised I hated Heather Duke because she was too much like me.
But that’s not the point. My point is, Heather Duke is considered by many to be an extremely hatable character. The purpose of this essay is not to convince you to like Heather Duke more; it is just to defend some of her actions, as stated in the title. Though many of Heather Duke’s actions were inexcusable, she is ultimately one of Heather Chandler’s victims; an example of the victim becoming the bully. Most of this essay is written with the Off-Broadway production in mind, as well as the movie.

Heather Duke has a personality

Let’s start from the very beginning. While it is true that we have about 2 hours of musical content and 1 hour and 44 minutes of movie content to go off of, as well as deleted scripts, much can be gathered regarding Heather Duke’s personality.
Veronica describes Duke as having ‘no discernible personality, but her mom did pay for implants’. It is proven further on in the musical that yes, Duke does have a personality; a personality is defined by the Oxford dictionary as the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual's distinctive character. Duke is far from having no discernible personality; hell, you could even argue that Duke is the most in-depth character in Heathers.
The most prominent example of this is Duke’s interaction with JD before ‘Kindergarten Boyfriend’, Duke immediately knowing that “I now know thee, thou clear spirit” is from Moby Dick, and that’s not even the whole quote. Duke is shown to be an avid reader in the movie as well; reading Moby Dick even while playing croquet and in early drafts of the script, referencing The Catcher in the Rye (“Yeah, you know Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye wouldn’t put up with their bogus nonsense.”).
I read The Catcher in the Rye recently, and it’s a coming-of-age novel from an unreliable narrator perspective. The main character, Holden Caulfield, has a very warped worldview, classifying people as ‘phonies’, smoking and drinking while underage, his most notable trait being his red hunting cap; a physical manifestation of his different thinking and uniqueness from others. I interpret Duke liking this novel as her relating heavily with its themes of angst and alienation, often picturing herself as being alienated from the Heathers; with Chandler shown to treat McNamara better than her, and even treats Veronica better than her (to an extent). And as another Reddit user mentioned, curiosity is a sign of intelligence; her willingness to seek new information such as books makes her an extremely intelligent character (even managing to find a quote from a book with 135 chapters immediately).
I almost forgot to add how Duke runs the yearbook; and running a yearbook committee requires qualities such as good leadership abilities, good teamwork skills as well as a high level of creativity. High schools do not just let random people run their yearbook committees; unless Duke bribed the faculty to give her the position or intimidated the student body into electing her as yearbook committee head. In the movie, there’s a scene that Dennis, Peter and a random girl are discussing the yearbook regarding Chandler’s suicide, and the fact that Duke is allowing it to be included in the yearbook (as the head, despite not being in the scene itself) shows that not only is she a somewhat competent head, she also knows what’s best for the yearbook and what isn’t.
Duke comes up with many snarky remarks throughout the musical, some taken directly from the movie version of Chandler (“What? It’ll give her shower nozzle masturbation material for weeks!”) which implies how she models her behaviour after her though she does come up with her fair share of snarky remarks herself (“We all didn’t kiss on the kickball field!”, “Here comes the cootie squad! We should-“, et cetera).
Duke is insecure, described in the Off-Broadway script as being ‘the whipped beta dog of the three Heathers. Deeply insecure.’ A good example to show her insecurity is in the OOBC bootleg of ‘Beautiful’ on YouTube (Alice Lee is an amazing Heather Duke), when she tells Veronica “Of course, you could stand to lose a few pounds.” she grips her stomach area, heaving deeply as if she’s disgusted by herself, reflecting her insecurities on Veronica, but regains her composure quickly. Another Reddit user pointed out how Duke seems to adjust the bottom of her blazer after being placed in a situation out of her control; and control is a very important aspect of her character, which I will also be going into when talking about her eating disorder. After Duke gets SA’d by Ram in ‘Big Fun’ and suspended by Mrs. Fleming after ‘Lifeboat’, she readjusts the bottom of her blazer, and I do think this is symbolic; reminding her that after everything, the one thing she has control over is her body and her weight, which is why she specifically readjusts the area of her blazer covering her stomach.
Lastly, Duke is the only character in canon confirmed to have a disorder; bulimia nervosa. While some of you may argue that “JD has antisocial personality disordePTSD!” or “Veronica is depressed!” they are not confirmed. The diagnostic criterion for bulimia nervosa in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-V) are:

• Recurrent episodes of binge eating
• Recurrent inappropriate compensatory behaviors in order to prevent weight gain (like purging)
• The binge eating and inappropriate compensatory behaviour both occur on average at least once a week for 3 months
• Self-evaluation is unduly influenced by body shape and weight
• Disturbances do not occur during episodes of anorexia nervosa

While Duke’s bulimia is mentioned only once throughout the whole musical in ‘Beautiful’, and twice in the movie where it is shown that she started to make an attempt to normally after Chandler’s death (no, you can’t recover from bulimia instantly), it shows a lot about her character. The act of binge eating itself has a sense of lack of control, as stated in the DSM-V. It goes so far that during binges, individuals tend to eat foods they would otherwise avoid; continuing until they are uncomfortably full. The DSM-V states that experiencing multiple stressful life events can precipitate onset of bulimia, and bulimics tend to be ashamed of their eating problems, which can be triggered through multiple factors like interpersonal stressors, negative feelings related to body weight and body shape, boredom, et cetera.
Why am I telling you all this? Because Duke’s bulimia is a product of her insecurity. Heather Duke hates the way she looks; if she didn’t, her mom wouldn’t have paid for implants. Also, the minimum age to get breast implants in the USA is 18; implying that Duke’s mother and Duke got it through illegal means. Heather Duke mafia arc?! Bulimia is also seen by bulimics to be a way to maintain control over their own body. They believe that even if they can’t control anything else around them, they still have complete control over their own body; which is what leads to the development of an eating disorder. Duke wants control; shown by her jealousy of Chandler as well as her taking initiative to obtain the red scrunchie in the musical after Chandler’s death. When Duke doesn’t have control, she uses unhealthy coping mechanisms like her bulimia and phrases to reassure herself (like when JD blackmails her, she says “Nobody cares about the past. Nobody cares about Martha Dumptruck.” and it has a vengeful, angsty intonation to it; as if she’s saying it to reassure herself, perhaps?).
In conclusion, Heather Duke has a personality. She is highly intelligent, snarky, insecure, aching for control over her own life and the lives of others’. Which leads me to my next point.

Heather Chandler’s abuse

Many people speculate that Chandler is an asshole to Duke because she knows that Duke will go batshit crazy on McNamara if Duke gets the power (like she did after ‘Lifeboat’) and hence keeps Duke on a tight leash. In actuality, she does not just keep Duke on a tight leash. She abuses Duke, both physically and mentally. Chandler’s physical assault is shown in ‘Candy Store’, before her riff where Duke wails vocal ad-lib and Chandler fucking pushes her. It has come to the point where people don’t compare how good each individual Chandler’s riff is, rather, people compare how far each individual Duke gets pushed. Under no circumstances should you ever push someone to the ground, let alone your friend or someone who is part of your clique. That’s called bullying.
And if I could list every single instance that Chandler mentally/verbally abuses Duke, I’d be here all day. Which I already am. Some examples include:

• “Grow up, Heather. Bulimia is so ‘87.” Not only does Chandler not show a conscious effort to help Duke recover from her eating disorder, she mocks it, ridiculing Duke for being immature (as implied by Chandler’s words) in front of McNamara. Also, fun fact, excessive purging can lead to death. Either Chandler is extremely indifferent and couldn’t give 2 shits if Duke died or is ignorant of what bulimia is. In which case she is still an extremely shitty friend for not trying to help Duke.
• Chandler tells Duke to shut up a total of 4 times in the musical (first time in ‘Beautiful’, “How about prescriptions?” “Shut up, Heather!” second time before ‘Candy Store’, “What? It’ll give her shower nozzle masturbation material for weeks!” “Shut up, Heather!” third time during ‘Candy Store’ before the riff, “Woah! Honey, what you waiting for-“ “Shut up, Heather!” and last time during ‘Big Fun’, “Here comes the cootie squad! We should-“ “Shut up, Heather!”). And Chandler is alive for a grand total of 42 minutes. Notice that every time Chandler tells her to shut up, Duke always replies with a meek “Sorry, Heather…” (except for during ‘Candy Store’ because Duke’s on the floor but there’s a recording of Jessica Keenan Wynn, Elle McLemore and Kristolyn Lloyd performing the song at a Barnes and Noble where after Jessica as Chandler tells Kristolyn as Duke to shut up, she replies with a hasty “Sorry, Heather!”) which shows how Chandler has basically beaten this poor girl down into submission, silencing her and giving her no right to speak or even have an opinion. Which brings me on to my next instance.
• “You’ll need something to write on. Heather, bend over.” Chandler literally makes Veronica use Duke as a table. In the movie, there is literally a table right behind them; and in a deleted script, both McNamara and Duke bend over, and Chandler makes Duke go back down. The fact that in both the movie and the musical, Duke does it with zero protesting shows that she was acclimatised to her position as Chandler’s metaphorical (and literal) punching bag.
• “I am talking to my friend.” This is in the West End production, where Chandler directly addresses Duke after she says “You were totally throwing your panties at him!” to Veronica. Even within the Heathers, there’s a hierarchy at play; Chandler’s tone of voice is extremely condescending, addressing her as if she’s a dog or an insolent, disobedient kid. Which Duke immediately ‘steps back in line’ and responds with a “Sorry, Heather…”
• During ‘Big Fun’, after Veronica saves Duke’s ass (both metaphorically and literally) from Ram, Duke approaches Chandler who throws her hands up and gives her a patronising look. Even after being sexually harassed by Ram, and even after calling out (“Quit it jackass, get off of me!”), Chandler refuses to offer Duke help; leading to her responding to Veronica’s offers of help with spite and anger from being thrown aside by Chandler (“I didn’t need your help.”).
• “Heather Duke was such a sad little poser. Veronica, tell her to stop touching my stuff.” While this is arguable because this is Chandler’s ghost and it’s implied that Chandler’s ghost is a manifestation of Veronica’s guilt, it shows that even Veronica would subconsciously know that Chandler would say this about Duke. Chandler’s treatment of Duke is so bad to the point of Veronica knowing exactly what Chandler would say about Duke in that situation.

This is way too much for a 17 year old to handle. When Chandler says “Grow up, Heather. Bulimia is so ‘87.”, it’s also implying that they knew each other since/before 1987. Which is even more fucked up considering Duke has been constantly taking abuse from Chandler for 2 years or more. The worst part is, if Duke wants to remain a Heather, she can’t do anything. And she’s not allowed to do anything. Or she’d become an ex-somebody, and we all knew the consequences of that in the actual musical. After 2 years (or more) of suffering, what do you think Duke would do? It’s human instinct to feel like shit if you were abused like this. And instead of getting swallowed up by her pain like McNamara did, what did Duke do? Lash out at others. But before I go into that, I’ll go into a small sub-section.

Heather McNamara’s ignorance

Heather McNamara is not an innocent cinnamon roll. She is equally as bad as every other Heather; just that she is redeemable. As Janis Ian/Sarkisian once said, “There are two kinds of evil people in this world. Those who do evil stuff and those who see evil stuff being done and don't try to stop it.” And it is safe to say that McNamara falls under both categories.
She doesn’t try to stop Duke or protect Veronica when Duke spreads the rumor that Veronica had a threesome with Kurt and Ram; instead, she actively encourages it! In Blue (Reprise), she sings “I hope she rinsed it!” and actively joins in the singing in the West End production’s ‘Never Shut Up Again’.
Heather McNamara is a follower. She’s a lot like someone I know; she follows what the most influential person wants, and goes with it. After Chandler died, it was Duke. And before Chandler died… you guessed it!
You may argue that McNamara told Duke “Maybe you should see a doctor, Heather.” but that is kind of a given…? Someone with bulimia, as stated earlier, would not be open about their eating disorder at all. That is extremely shitty advice to give someone. She could’ve agreed with Duke, could’ve stood up for her or at least tried to interact with her or help her up when she was pushed down; but she didn’t (I think in the West End production she did? I’m not sure either; it looked more as if she was pushing Duke into place which is an even more asshole move to do). Naturally, Duke would associate McNamara as one of the people who wronged her, as well as Chandler. And when McNamara poured her heart out to TV cameras during ‘Lifeboat’… well…

Justifying Heather Duke’s actions

…Heather Duke was not having it. Many people take notice of the “And every morning on the bus I feel my heart beating louder and faster and I’m like ‘Jesus, I’m on the freaking bus again because all my rides to school are dead…’” and then they look at Duke’s line in ‘Candy Store’ (“And get in my Jeep!”) which could be interpreted many different ways. And I like to think that Duke walks to school because bulimics tend to overexercise in order to lose weight (especially considering Heathers occured in a relatively short time frame), but as I said, it could be interpreted many different ways. Bulimics typically have to go through cognitive behavioural therapy (or they can just… recover from their own, but it takes time) but that’s not the point. My point is, Duke didn’t necessarily refuse to pick McNamara up. It’s just a theory. A musical theory.
After ‘Lifeboat’, where McNamara is stuck in a trance-like state, Duke rushes towards her, confronting her. And here’s where everyone forgets that the TV cameras are still recording; why would Duke yell at someone who is suicidal on TV cameras? She wants control. She craves positive attention. The last thing that Duke would do would be to make herself seem like an asshole on national television. The whole sequence seemed as if it was out of rage and pent-up anger more than anything; it was almost immediate after ‘Lifeboat’ ended. Her tone was not dissimilar to Chandler’s before ‘Dead Girl Walking’; both extremely indignant. And here’s where some people also forget that ‘Shine a Light (Reprise)’ happened in McNamara’s head and Duke didn’t actually tell her to go kill herself. I interpret ‘Shine a Light (Reprise)’ not just as McNamara imagining Duke telling her to kill herself, but subconsciously encouraging herself to kill herself. Why would Duke use Mrs. Fleming’s song? In essence; Duke lashed out at McNamara in rage. It seemed more of an outburst rather than a premeditated action.
Sure, I can’t justify Duke spreading the rumor about Veronica having a threesome. I admit that Duke is an asshole for doing that. Which is why I like her. What I can somewhat justify is Duke usurping Chandler’s position as head bitch.
Duke had always been in Chandler’s shadow; and in this case, always been beaten up by Chandler. Naturally, what she’d want to do is issue a final “fuck you” to Chandler by firstly, usurping her position, her red scrunchie, raiding her locker, and blowing her boyfriend (I believe that’s in a deleted part of the movie script where she blows David. But people with EDs typically don’t participate in sexual activities because of their body image issues). Duke wanted to take what Chandler didn’t give her, and she wanted to make others feel how Chandler made her feel. Her actions were out of vengeance and rage.
After ‘Kindergarten Boyfriend’, Duke attempts to get Veronica and McNamara to sign the petition, and when Veronica tells her that “We were avoiding you.”, Duke lets out a gasp of bewildered betrayal. This implies that Duke didn’t understand the consequences of her actions (which again, I can imply that Chandler did it to her so many times that she thinks it’s okay) which is so fucking sad. Which also further leads me to believe that Duke lashed out at McNamara out of rage.

Conclusion

The saddest thing about Heather Duke is that in the Off-Broadway production, she does not achieve a happy ending. She is the only living character in the musical to not have a happy ending (JD reunited with his mom in heaven, Veronica, Martha and McNamara reconcile, the school as a whole reconciled) and instead goes back to being a nobody. She joins a random group and sings with them, showing how it’s so tragic that she didn’t even get to keep what she wanted for so long. Though, in the West End production, she reunites with McNamara and Veronica. But I don’t really like that ending because after what Duke did, I wouldn’t see McNamara and Veronica forgiving her, especially since Duke said that Martha was “Just another geek trying to imitate the popular kids and failing miserably.”
Heather Duke’s actions can’t be fully excused, but she isn’t inherently bad; I believe that her actions were mostly out of vengeance. And that is so relatable. What the fuck.
I like to think that after the events of Heathers, Heather Duke and Heather McNamara went to therapy together, explaining their actions and pushing past their past grievances and turning their trauma bond into a true friendship. But again, it never happened. Unless I write a fanfic about it.
If you’re reading this, thank you for coming to my TedTalk. And I’m so happy you managed to read through my Heather Duke essay. She just like me fr

Taiga v star- promo Green 2 cost [Main] If you have a Digimon with [Tyrannomon] in its name, you may suspend this Tamer to activate one of the following effects: • Trigger "Draw 1" (Draw 1 card from your deck.) • Trigger "gain a memory". Effect:[Security] Play this card without paying its memory cost.
Primal Impulse- Green 3 cost [Main] Look at the top 4 cards of the deck, add up to 1 green Tamer or Digimon with [Tyrannomon] in its name to your hand.Then, place this card in your battle area. Main: [Delay] Reduce the cost of the next digivolution by 2. Effect:[Security] Play this card in your battle area.
Agumon V rock 1000 dp Green 3 cost [On play] Look at top 3 cards of the deck, add up to 1 green Tamer or green Digimon to your hand. Then place the remaining cards on top or bottom. [Inheritable][ All turns] When under a Digimon with [Tyrannomon] in its name, it gains [Piercing].
Tyrannomon V gem 4000 dp Green 5 cost / 2 cost [On play] [When Digivolving] Play one 3 cost or less green Tamer from your hand without paying the cost. Then, if you did Trigger "Draw 1". [Inheritable] [Once per turn] When a Taimer is suspended, unsuspend this digimon.
Great Tyrannomon V crystal 7000 dp Green 7cost/ 3 cost [When Digivolving] [Once per turn] Suspend 1 of your green Tamer in play. Then Trigger "Draw 1" and "gain a memory". [Inheritable] [Your turn] When under a Digimon with [Tyrannomon] in its name, it gains [Jamming].
Ancient Tyrannomon V Jewel 13000 Green 13 cost/ 4 cost When one of your Digimon would digivolve into this card, reduce the digivolution cost by 1 for each green Tamer in play. [When Digivolving] Play 1 Green Tamer without paying the cost. [When attacking] Suspend 1 of your green Tamer; then gain +3000 dp for the battle. Then, if against a Digimon its +5000 dp instead.

My mother had a contractor about 2 years ago working on her master bath (cost= $5000-$6000). The contract included tearing out her old showefloors and putting tile on both the floors and the shower. The man that was contracted (under the contractor) to do the work, messed up the shower the entire time and kept doing little stupid stuff to fix it so my mom would get off his back. The man left her shower in horrible condition (tiles started coming up because he didn’t use water proof ingredients, there were pools of water where there shouldn’t have been, there were leaks in the plumbing he installed, and the tiles were all mismatched and cut horribly, and even more stuff). My mom was tired of him being in her house and having to get his boss to come back and talk to him that she decided to let him finish (to get him out of her house) and demanded to his boss that it be redone by someone else or refund her money. He never did either thing and has repeatedly ignored her. My mom ended up having to get it completely torn out and redone by another contractor a little while later. We were wondering if this is appropriate for a small claims case.
Edit: state of occurrence is in Georgia

So I finished this adorable Brimfield Block and really want to put it on this denim jacket, but I didn’t realize it was 1% spandex, so now I’m stressing about how to do it, or if it’s a terrible idea! I did a little googling for an alternate jacket, but I’m plus-sized, and am having trouble finding a good quality one for under $150, and this one was less than half that.
Ideas that I’ve had suggested so far: - Wash and dry the jacket on permanent press to fix the spandex some - stabilize the back of the jacket from the inside to minimize the impact of the stretch at the back - Attach the edges with a zig-zag stitch and hope for the best - All of the above - Spend the $$$$ on a different jacket
ETA: Appliqué is made up of Liberty Lawns around the Brimfield Awakening hexiform templates. (These are about the thickness and texture of a lightweight fusible fleece)

looking for something under 3,000 decent range above 30 mph using to commute around nyc choosing between new begode rs hs new gotway monster pro (while on sale) used veteran sherman feel free to send any other recommendations but right now i’m leaning most towards the monster pro for smoother rides in the city

For sale are 2 beautiful gold pieces.
1923 $20 Saint Gaudens double eagle. Bought from Liberty Coin that advertised it as AU -$2225
2021-W $25 1/2 Type 1 Gold Eagle. Graded PR 69 by PCGS with First Strike Designation and Gold Shield Label- $1250
Proof Obverse
Proof Reverse
Please message instead of chat as I do not always get notifications for chat.
Shipping: I will send either Priority Mail or UPS Ground with signature required. No charge for standard shipping (and signature), but will be a charge if you want expedited shipping or insurance (and assumes risk if declining insurance). Cost will be determined based on actual cost to insure (or expedite if buyer wishes).
Payment: I accept Zelle, PPFF (no notes, and ask first), Venmo, and Crypto (Bitcoin, Litecoin, ETH preferred, but am open to others if you want to ask and subject to 1% surcharge to cover my cost to liquidate). Title passes to buyer once tendered to shipper.

Hello,
I recently sold my distressed property to a home buying company. After escrow closed, I noticed that the deed filed under a name other than the home buying company I thought I was selling to. I called escrow and they explained that my sales contract was “assigned” to another buyer. It looks like a deed was already filed with the county but it is not available yet for viewing. My question is: how could it be possible that I signed a deed to party X but when the deed was recorded it shows under party Y’s name? Wouldn’t I have had to sign the deed over to party Y specifically? How did a real estate wholesaler assign this to someone else when party Y’s name was on none of the closing docs I signed?

Intro
I should start by saying that the search for a company like Enterprise began under the following pretense: I have a bearish view of where I think broad markets are going by the end of 2023 and wanted somewhere to hide out while still maintaining the potential to double my investment under any broad market scenario.
Enterprise Group fits that bill. The Company is a niche energy service company that provides site infrastructure services to remote western Canadian production sites for pipelines, construction and oil and gas sectors in western Canada. I believe Enterprise is a fantastic and deeply overlooked company fit for retail investors (like me) who have the ability to enter a position ahead of institutions catching hold of the name.
The core thesis on Enterprise is:
- Low correlation to broad markets
- High growth and 30% cash flow yield
- Healthy balance sheet providing ~$20M in dry powder for potential non-dilutive M&A
- Share buyback in place to support stock
- Unique low-emission fleet of equipment to grow market share
- Structural market expansion
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History
Enterprise was founded in 2004, though as it stands today, is a much leaner and higher growth business compared to what it was in the last bull market for energy in 2008-2014. Where many competitors went out of business during the bear market between 2014-2021, Enterprise wisely divested from lower margin business units, preserved its balance sheet and due to its unique fleet of equipment – was able to maintain cash flow positive during this time. M&A is part of the corporate DNA of Enterprise and has had a successful track record on that front.
While others were still reeling from previous years downturn or still trying to repair their balance sheets in 2020/2021, Enterprise was able to utilize the strength of its balance sheet and positive cash flows to countercyclically invest into new business units to position themselves for the eventual return of energy markets we are now experiencing. A great example of this is the launch of Evolution Power in 2022, which offers a fleet of low-emission microgrids that power the entire production site with natural gas, replacing diesel generators. In doing so, EP reduces CO2 emissions by 30%, gives Enterprise higher margins, is safer and more efficient for the customer. As one of the few “green options” in the energy sector, they are becoming the first choice for larger oil and gas clients subject to Canada’s “heavy emitter” penalties.
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Market
The large majority of Enterprise’s sales are derived from western Canadian energy producers, with a greater share of natural gas producers compared to oil producers within its book of clients. Though Enterprise profits have less commodity risk than their actual producing clients, the Company nevertheless is derivatively exposed to energy prices (though I believe there are some factors that reduce the correlation that I will get into later). After years of producers not investing into large exploration projects due to ESG mandates, regulations and low prices, the outlook on energy markets looks extremely promising for producers and has already begun to see a notable uptick in production levels that are expected to continue for a market that looks undersupplied in years ahead.
More specifically to Enterprise’s western Canadian market, there are some very visible demand drivers on the horizon based on new pipeline capacity that provide a near certain increase in demand for services like Enterprise. This demand is structured within tens of billions of dollars of sunk infrastructure capital to provide a roadmap of oil and gas (mostly gas) production expansion in western Canada. Beginning in 2023 with the completion of NGTL network expansion (gas) and TMX pipeline (oil), there will continue to be major new export capacity to come online nearly every year this decade, with recent first nations LNG projects advancing on the west coast.
For Canadian gas producers, the pipelines will allow them to access higher priced Asian markets, where prices are often multiples of those received in Canada or the US. You can bet there is going to be prompt increases to production to ship whatever they can to those markets, given the preferred economics.
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Financials
Enterprise just recently released their full year 2022 financials March 20, 2023, where they posted fantastic results. Rather than do a deep dive into financials today, will simply share some important highlights and suggest reviewing their financials below: (https://www.sedar.com/DisplayCompanyDocuments.do?lang=EN&issuerNo=00020838)
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https://preview.redd.it/ea50sup8ospa1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=5f5c7ac56063d95dcd54a4a3d5b09bb337cb12de
Additional items:
- Bought back 1.8M shares in 2022
- Secured US OTC listing to increase access to US investors
- Renewed buyback program
- Available tax losses of $0.17/share
- Purchased $5.6M of new equipment
- Subsequently signed one of largest contracts in company history in Jan 2023
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Share Structure
Enterprise currently has 50.3M shares outstanding, with another 5M options exercisable at $0.45. Notably, management/board were buyers in the open market over the last few years and now hold over 40% of all shares outstanding.
This is where I think it gets uniquely attractive for us retail investors.
Since the last energy cycle, nearly all of the research analysts that covered the sector have moved on, meaning the few analysts left covering the space are focused on large-cap players and there are none covering companies the size of Enterprise. There is a window for retail to build a position in a hugely profitable company with a tight share structure subject to a potential squeeze before institutions begin to take notice.
Finally – and maybe most importantly – 2022 saw a unique trading dynamic occur due to a large shareholder selling down their position. This shareholder accidentally accumulated a >10% ownership position, unknowingly triggering a requirement to file any purchase/sale of stock (see sedi filings to confirm). That shareholder then spent the entire year reducing their position below 10% but because there was not a large float of shares trading hands, effectively put a ceiling on the stock the entire year and single-handedly compressed the multiple. This does not appear to have been done with ill intent but explains why the stock bounced between a floor of around $0.38 (supported by the buyback) and $0.42 (where the shareholder was selling) despite everything going right for the company operationally. In January, the company bought back the final tranche of shares needed to get that shareholder below the 10% threshold, thereby clearing the way for share price to better track the improving cash flow of the company.
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Valuation
Enterprise is currently trading at a deeply discounted valuation and historically low multiple, which is ironic considering this may be the best market they've ever operated in. As a particular point of reference, a comparison below for the 2020-2022 periods for EV/EBITDA and some other metrics that could influence the deserved multiple such as growth, profitability, and credit risk. I’ve also already listed a few reasons to be bullish on their future market (pipelines coming online beginning this year), which is consistent with management’s outlook from their MD&A that “…customers have indicated they will continue to operate at increased activities through the remainder of the year”. Though a 10-11x multiple shouldn't be expected moving forward, you can see the impact of having a large shareholder exiting with a small float and how a lack of share price movement can lose investor attention. Over the course of a year, Enterprise added over $5M in EBITDA (+175%) and barely saw its valuation change at all!
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*2022 year using current share price
At a current 4.2x EV/EBITDA, Enterprise is trading far below the 6x it has traded in previous cycles and which seems very reasonable as a base case scenario. It would take very little notional buying for that re-rate to occur and for those able to establish a position at these prices, it would represent a 74% return.
https://preview.redd.it/8ra74fvbospa1.png?width=867&format=png&auto=webp&s=660dd45a56abdf0c798057de86fde7b49a02b6e4
Finally, if Enterprise is seen through a different valuation lens**, the company just released in their earnings that equity holders would be due $0.68/share ($0.39 current share price) if the company simply sold all of their equipment at book value.** Multiple arguments to show that Enterprise is undervalued.
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Outlook
Enterprise has a strong outlook on market fundamentals to support top line growth, increasing pricing power to maintain/increase margins and new revenue potential coming online with equipment additions.
Given history of M&A activity, balance sheet flexibility and the fact some targets are still not fully recovered from 2014-2021 period, it would be very surprising if the company did not make one or more acquisitions in the near-future. Management has said as much on their recent twitter spaces interview.
Fortunately for equity holders, management does not have to dilute shareholders while its equity remains undervalued. With $20M in unused credit at their disposal (their current market cap), they would have the ability to make a material acquisition without needing any equity at all. Even if they were to make an even larger acquisition, their debt providers are Ninepoint Partners (via Waygar Capital), who are home to none other than Eric Nuttall, who is the largest and most bullish energy fund manager on earth. You can bet that if the right target came along with the right assets/cash flow, Ninepoint would be more than happy to increase the size of that facility if they aren’t able to secure some seller's financing. If we assume a slight liquidity discount on a PrivateCo acquisition, $20M at 3x EV/EBITDA could buy around $6-7M of incremental EBITDA, effectively doubling the “cash flow” of the company before considering any synergies. Prospect of cross-selling new rental equipment would be high.
If something like this came to pass and they grew to a $15M EBITDA business, there would undoubtedly be a whole new supply of small institutions that would be interested and could be an attractive buyout candidate for private equity, who they’re currently competing with for acquisitions.
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Risk
Commodity Risk:
This being the most obvious risk to the company. If we were to go back to the dark ages (2014-2021), there would be a material impact on Enterprise financials. I believe commodity risk for Enterprise is mitigated for 3 reasons:

1. A decade of underinvestment in global energy supplies has the entire spectrum of energy prognosticators projecting supply deficits for oil and continued growth in global natural gas demand. Continued regulatory hurdles, ESG capital restrictions, end of US shale hypergrowth, and return-of-capital mandates by EnergyCo shareholders make it less likely we see reckless supply additions. Adding to that, we’ve now got China reopening, OPEC defending prices, and US supposedly refilling the SPR at some point (we’ll see).
2. Infrastructure Developments: Canada has abundant reserves, with some of the cleanest and lowest-cost natural gas in the world with a painful lack of export capacity. A number of pipeline and LNG export facilities are set to come online, incentivizing a production increase to fill that pipeline. To me, this is the most powerful reason why I believe Enterprise has much lower commodity risk and has been repeated by recent research put out by RBC on the prospects of NE BC natural gas outlook.
3. Tier 1 Client Book: Enterprise’s clients are some of the largest energy producers in North America, meaning they plan their development programs with a multi-year outlook that is less sensitive to short term price action. Further, many of its clients are actual providing the supply for LNG Canada (Sinopec, Petronas,

Market Downturn:
No doubt we are entering a period of uncertainty, with global liquidity being reduced and the risk of recession on the horizon. I think this should be viewed in two ways:

1. Operations: Looking back, more often than not a significant global recession is more likely to reduce the rate of growth in oil demand rather than actually reducing demand. Natural gas is mostly used for heating and electricity generation, making it relatively inelastic as well. Global GDP is also more evenly spread between OECD and non-OECD, meaning growing countries like India will be less responsive to tightening financial conditions.
2. Share Price: Enterprise is tracking towards a trailing 4x EV/EBITDA, with structural growth catalysts on the horizon (ie. pipelines) and excess cash flow available for buybacks. Even in a market panic, it is likely cash flows can continue to grow, providing continued support to the share price via buybacks.
3. Recent meltdown in energy markets had almost no impact on Enterprise share price and would suspect that increased buybacks would be there for support if share price were to slide further.

It is the risk-adjusted return with fundamentals to back it up that make Enterprise special within the micro-cap space.
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Summary

1. Operating conditions look very strong for the company based on energy cycle and the foundation of new pipeline-related production increases in western Canada.
2. Enterprise is a pure-play on western Canada with major well-capitalized nat gas clients poised for growth.
3. Small size and cap structure provide potential for significant torque in share price.
4. Enterprise has debt flexibility such that they don’t need to dilute equity at these valuations if M&A opportunities arise.
5. Extremely profitable with 30%+ cash flow yield and optionality for buybacks or further investment in expanding equipment fleet for evolution power.
6. Significant selling pressure from large shareholder has now ended after tendering shares to treasury in January 2023.
7. A single large new shareholder has potential to re-rate the stock to base case of 6x EV/EBITDA multiple.
8. Equity re-rate and M&A could see this company become very large, very quickly – drawing further flows of capital to the name at sufficient scale or be a prime takeout candidate for PE.

Disclosure:
I own shares in Enterprise. This is not financial advise. Please do your own due diligence.

So, I've noticed that armor that I'm focusing from vendors all have pretty low rolls (61ish and under) and the legendary armor from Xur has been trailer park yard sale quality now for two weeks.
Someone said that there was a TWAB before Lightfall that said that they were lowering it, specifically on Xur. I can't find it if they did.
Anyone know anything about this? I'm assuming it's another seasonal glitch like before

4:04AM EST
SSTURDAY APRIL 25TH, 2020
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Horatian: Horatian satire is tolerant, funny, sophisticated witty, wise, self-effacing and aims to correct through humor...
Juvenalian: Juvenalian satire is angry, caustic, personal, relentless, bitter, and serious...
SATIRICAL DEVICE

1. Humor:Exaggeration or overstatement: Something that does happen, but is exaggerated to absurd lengths...

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Genre of arts and literature in the form of humor or ridicule
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In fiction and less frequently in non-fiction, satire is a genre of literature and performing arts, in which vices, follies, abuses and shor... en.wikipedia.org
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Satire is a technique in art and literature that pokes fun at established artistic or cultural norms. Satirists practice their craft for the sake of social criticism, comedy, or, often, both. The different satire genres include spoof, parody, and classic literary satire techniques.
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Definition of satire
1: a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn
2: trenchant wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/satire
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The Culinary Roots of Satire
Satire came into English at the beginning of the 16th century, and the meaning of the word has not strayed very far from its original sense. The initial uses were primarily applied to poems, and the term now has a broader applicability. Satire has a semantic and etymological overlap with both farce and lampoon. Farce ("a light dramatic composition marked by broadly satirical comedy and improbable plot") came into English as a synonym for forcemeat, meaning "finely chopped and highly seasoned meat or fish that is either served alone or used as a stuffing." Lampoon ("a harsh satire usually directed against an individual") is thought to come from the French lampons!, meaning "let us guzzle!" And satire is believed to trace back to the Latin satur, meaning "well-fed."
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Examples of satire in a Sentence
By contrast, Martial's friend, Juvenal, learned to transmute Martial's epigrammatic wit into savage satire. Juvenal's fierce, if occasionally obscene, tirades against immorality fit easily into the propaganda of the new era.
— G. W. Bowersock, New York Review of Books, 26 Feb. 2009
Unlike late-night talk shows that traffic in Hollywood interviews and stupid pet tricks, "The Daily Show" is a fearless social satire. Not many comedy shows would dare do five minutes on the intricacies of medicare or a relentlessly cheeky piece on President George W. Bush's Thanksgiving trip to Iraq …
— Marc Peyser, Newsweek, 29 Dec. 2003 - 5 Jan. 2004
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In fiction and less frequently in non-fiction, satire is a genre of literature and performing arts, in which vices, follies, abuses and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement.[1] Although satire is usually meant to be humorous, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society.
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A feature of satire is strong irony or sarcasm —"in satire, irony is militant", according to literary critic Northrup Frye—[2] but parody, burlesque, exaggeration,[3] juxtaposition, comparison, analogy, and double entendre are all frequently used in satirical speech and writing. This "militant" irony or sarcasm often professes to approve of (or at least accept as natural) the very things the satirist wishes to question.
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Satire is nowadays found in many artistic forms of expression, including internet memes, literature, plays, commentary, television shows, and media such as lyrics.
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Etymology and roots
The word satire comes from the Latin word satur and the subsequent phrase lanx satura. Satur meant "full" but the juxtaposition with lanx shifted the meaning to "miscellany or medley": the expression lanx satura literally means "a full dish of various kinds of fruits".[4]
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The word satura as used by Quintilian, however, was used to denote only Roman verse satire, a strict genre that imposed hexameter form, a narrower genre than what would be later intended as satire.[4][5] Quintilian famously said that satura, that is a satire in hexameter verses, was a literary genre of wholly Roman origin (satura tota nostra est). He was aware of and commented on Greek satire, but at the time did not label it as such, although today the origin of satire is considered to be Aristophanes' Old Comedy. The first critic to use the term "satire" in the modern broader sense was Apuleius.[4]
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To Quintilian, the satire was a strict literary form, but the term soon escaped from the original narrow definition. Robert Elliott writes:
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As soon as a noun enters the domain of metaphor, as one modern scholar has pointed out, it clamours for extension; and satura (which had had no verbal, adverbial, or adjectival forms) was immediately broadened by appropriation from the Greek word for “satyr” (satyros) and its derivatives. The odd result is that the English “satire” comes from the Latin satura; but "satirize", "satiric", etc., are of Greek origin. By about the 4th century AD the writer of satires came to be known as satyricus; St. Jerome, for example, was called by one of his enemies 'a satirist in prose' ('satyricus scriptor in prosa'). Subsequent orthographic modifications obscured the Latin origin of the word satire: satura becomes satyra, and in England, by the 16th century, it was written 'satyre.'[1]
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The word satire derives from satura, and its origin was not influenced by the Greek mythological figure of the satyr.[6] In the 17th century, philologist Isaac Casaubon was the first to dispute the etymology of satire from satyr, contrary to the belief up to that time.[7]
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Humour
“ The rules of satire are such that it must do more than make you laugh. No matter how amusing it is, it doesn't count unless you find yourself wincing a little even as you chuckle.[8] ”
Laughter is not an essential component of satire;[9] in fact there are types of satire that are not meant to be "funny" at all. Conversely, not all humour, even on such topics as politics, religion or art is necessarily "satirical", even when it uses the satirical tools of irony, parody, and burlesque.
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Even light-hearted satire has a serious "after-taste": the organizers of the Ig Nobel Prize describe this as "first make people laugh, and then make them think".[10]
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Social and psychological functions
Satire and irony in some cases have been regarded as the most effective source to understand a society, the oldest form of social study.[11] They provide the keenest insights into a group's collective psyche, reveal its deepest values and tastes, and the society's structures of power.[12][13] Some authors have regarded satire as superior to non-comic and non-artistic disciplines like history or anthropology.[11][14][15][16] In a prominent example from ancient Greece, philosopher Plato, when asked by a friend for a book to understand Athenian society, referred him to the plays of Aristophanes.[17][18]
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Historically, satire has satisfied the popular need to debunk and ridicule the leading figures in politics, economy, religion and other prominent realms of power.[19] Satire confronts public discourse and the collective imaginary, playing as a public opinion counterweight to power (be it political, economic, religious, symbolic, or otherwise), by challenging leaders and authorities. For instance, it forces administrations to clarify, amend or establish their policies. Satire's job is to expose problems and contradictions, and it's not obligated to solve them.[20] Karl Kraus set in the history of satire a prominent example of a satirist role as confronting public discourse.[21]
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For its nature and social role, satire has enjoyed in many societies a special freedom license to mock prominent individuals and institutions.[22] The satiric impulse, and its ritualized expressions, carry out the function of resolving social tension.[23] Institutions like the ritual clowns, by giving expression to the antisocial tendencies, represent a safety valve which re-establishes equilibrium and health in the collective imaginary, which are jeopardized by the repressive aspects of society.[24][25]
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The state of political satire in a given society reflects the tolerance or intolerance that characterizes it,[19] and the state of civil liberties and human rights. Under totalitarian regimes any criticism of a political system, and especially satire, is suppressed. A typical example is the Soviet Union where the dissidents, such as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Andrei Sakharov were under strong pressure from the government. While satire of everyday life in the USSR was allowed, the most prominent satirist being Arkady Raikin, political satire existed in the form of anecdotes[26] that made fun of Soviet political leaders, especially Brezhnev, famous for his narrow-mindedness and love for awards and decorations.
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Classifications
Satire is a diverse genre which is complex to classify and define, with a wide range of satiric "modes".[27][28]
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Horatian, Juvenalian, Menippean
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"Le satire e l'epistole di Q. Orazio Flacco", printed in 1814.
Satirical literature can commonly be categorized as either Horatian, Juvenalian, or Menippean.[29]
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Horatian
Horatian satire, named for the Roman satirist Horace (65–8 BCE), playfully criticizes some social vice through gentle, mild, and light-hearted humour. Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) wrote Satires to gently ridicule the dominant opinions and "philosophical beliefs of ancient Rome and Greece" (Rankin).[30] Rather than writing in harsh or accusing tones, he addressed issues with humor and clever mockery. Horatian satire follows this same pattern of "gently [ridiculing] the absurdities and follies of human beings" (Drury).[31]
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It directs wit, exaggeration, and self-deprecating humour toward what it identifies as folly, rather than evil. Horatian satire's sympathetic tone is common in modern society.[32]
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A Horatian satirist's goal is to heal the situation with smiles, rather than by anger. Horatian satire is a gentle reminder to take life less seriously and evokes a wry smile.[31] A Horatian satirist makes fun of general human folly rather than engaging in specific or personal attacks. Shamekia Thomas suggests, "In a work using Horatian satire, readers often laugh at the characters in the story who are the subject of mockery as well as themselves and society for behaving in those ways." Alexander Pope has been established as an author whose satire "heals with morals what it hurts with wit" (Green).[33] Alexander Pope—and Horatian satire—attempt to teach.
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Examples of Horatian satire:
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The Ig Nobel Prizes.
Bierce, Ambrose, The Devil's Dictionary.
Defoe, Daniel, The True-Born Englishman.
The Savoy Operas of Gilbert and Sullivan.
Trollope, Anthony, The Way We Live Now.
Gogol, Nikolai, Dead Souls.
Groening, Matthew "Matt", The Simpsons.
Lewis, Clive Staples, The Screwtape Letters.
Mercer, Richard ‘Rick’, The Rick Mercer Report.
More, Thomas, Utopia
Pope, Alexander, The Rape of the Lock.
Reiner, Rob, This Is Spinal Tap.
Twain, Mark, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Ralston Saul, John, The Doubter's Companion: A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense.
Juvenalian
See also: Satires of Juvenal
Juvenalian satire, named for the writings of the Roman satirist Juvenal (late first century – early second century AD), is more contemptuous and abrasive than the Horatian. Juvenal disagreed with the opinions of the public figures and institutions of the Republic and actively attacked them through his literature. "He utilized the satirical tools of exaggeration and parody to make his targets appear monstrous and incompetent" (Podzemny).[34] Juvenal's satire follows this same pattern of abrasively ridiculing societal structures. Juvenal also, unlike Horace, attacked public officials and governmental organizations through his satires, regarding their opinions as not just wrong, but evil.
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Following in this tradition, Juvenalian satire addresses perceived social evil through scorn, outrage, and savage ridicule. This form is often pessimistic, characterized by the use of irony, sarcasm, moral indignation and personal invective, with less emphasis on humor. Strongly polarized political satire can often be classified as Juvenalian.
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A Juvenal satirist's goal is generally to provoke some sort of political or societal change because he sees his opponent or object as evil or harmful.[35] A Juvenal satirist mocks "societal structure, power, and civilization" (Thomas)[36] by exaggerating the words or position of his opponent in order to jeopardize their opponent's reputation and/or power. Jonathan Swift has been established as an author who "borrowed heavily from Juvenal's techniques in [his critique] of contemporary English society" (Podzemny).[34]
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Examples of Juvenalian satire:
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Barnes, Julian, England, England.
Beatty, Paul, The Sellout.
Bradbury, Ray, Fahrenheit 451.
Brooker, Charlie, Black Mirror.
Bulgakov, Mikhail, Heart of a Dog.
Burgess, Anthony, A Clockwork Orange.
Burroughs, William, Naked Lunch.
Byron, George Gordon, Lord, Don Juan.
Barth, John, The Sot-Weed Factor; or, A Voyage to Maryland,—a satire, in which is described the laws, government, courts, and constitutions of the country, and also the buildings, feasts, frolics, entertainments, and drunken humors of the inhabitants in that part of America.
Ellis, Bret Easton, American Psycho.
Golding, William, Lord of the Flies.
Hall, Joseph, Virgidemiarum.
Heller, Joseph, Catch-22.
Huxley, Aldous, Brave New World.
Johnson, Samuel, London, an adaptation of Juvenal, Third Satire.
Junius, Letters.
Kubrick, Stanley, Dr. Strangelove.
Mencken, HL, Libido for the Ugly.
Morris, Chris, Brass Eye.
———, The Day Today.
Orwell, George, Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Orwell, George, Animal Farm.
Palahniuk, Chuck, Fight Club.
Swift, Jonathan, A Modest Proposal.
Voltaire, Candide.
Zamyatin, Yevgeny, We.
Menippean
See Menippean satire.
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Satire versus teasing
In the history of theatre there has always been a conflict between engagement and disengagement on politics and relevant issue, between satire and grotesque on one side, and jest with teasing on the other.[37] Max Eastman defined the spectrum of satire in terms of "degrees of biting", as ranging from satire proper at the hot-end, and "kidding" at the violet-end; Eastman adopted the term kidding to denote what is just satirical in form, but is not really firing at the target.[38] Nobel laureate satirical playwright Dario Fo pointed out the difference between satire and teasing (sfottò).[39] Teasing is the reactionary side of the comic; it limits itself to a shallow parody of physical appearance. The side-effect of teasing is that it humanizes and draws sympathy for the powerful individual towards which it is directed. Satire instead uses the comic to go against power and its oppressions, has a subversive character, and a moral dimension which draws judgement against its targets.[40][41][42][43] Fo formulated an operational criterion to tell real satire from sfottò, saying that real satire arouses an outraged and violent reaction, and that the more they try to stop you, the better is the job you are doing.[44] Fo contends that, historically, people in positions of power have welcomed and encouraged good-humoured buffoonery, while modern day people in positions of power have tried to censor, ostracize and repress satire.[37][40]
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Teasing (sfottò) is an ancient form of simple buffoonery, a form of comedy without satire's subversive edge. Teasing includes light and affectionate parody, good-humoured mockery, simple one-dimensional poking fun, and benign spoofs. Teasing typically consists of an impersonation of someone monkeying around with his exterior attributes, tics, physical blemishes, voice and mannerisms, quirks, way of dressing and walking, and/or the phrases he typically repeats. By contrast, teasing never touches on the core issue, never makes a serious criticism judging the target with irony; it never harms the target's conduct, ideology and position of power; it never undermines the perception of his morality and cultural dimension.[40][42] Sfottò directed towards a powerful individual makes him appear more human and draws sympathy towards him.[45] Hermann Göring propagated jests and jokes against himself, with the aim of humanizing his image.[46][47]
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Classifications by topics
Types of satire can also be classified according to the topics it deals with. From the earliest times, at least since the plays of Aristophanes, the primary topics of literary satire have been politics, religion and sex.[48][49][50][51] This is partly because these are the most pressing problems that affect anybody living in a society, and partly because these topics are usually taboo.[48][52] Among these, politics in the broader sense is considered the pre-eminent topic of satire.[52] Satire which targets the clergy is a type of political satire, while religious satire is that which targets religious beliefs.[53] Satire on sex may overlap with blue comedy, off-color humor and dick jokes.
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Scatology has a long literary association with satire,[48][54][55] as it is a classical mode of the grotesque, the grotesque body and the satiric grotesque.[48][56] Shit plays a fundamental role in satire because it symbolizes death, the turd being "the ultimate dead object".[54][55] The satirical comparison of individuals or institutions with human excrement, exposes their "inherent inertness, corruption and dead-likeness".[54][57][58] The ritual clowns of clown societies, like among the Pueblo Indians, have ceremonies with filth-eating.[59][60] In other cultures, sin-eating is an apotropaic rite in which the sin-eater (also called filth-eater),[61][62] by ingesting the food provided, takes "upon himself the sins of the departed".[63] Satire about death overlaps with black humor and gallows humor.
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Another classification by topics is the distinction between political satire, religious satire and satire of manners.[64] Political satire is sometimes called topical satire, satire of manners is sometimes called satire of everyday life, and religious satire is sometimes called philosophical satire. Comedy of manners, sometimes also called satire of manners, criticizes mode of life of common people; political satire aims at behavior, manners of politicians, and vices of political systems. Historically, comedy of manners, which first appeared in British theater in 1620, has uncritically accepted the social code of the upper classes.[65] Comedy in general accepts the rules of the social game, while satire subverts them.[66]
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Another analysis of satire is the spectrum of his possible tones: wit, ridicule, irony, sarcasm, cynicism, the sardonic and invective.[67][68]
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The type of humour that deals with creating laughter at the expense of the person telling the joke is called reflexive humour[69].Reflexive humour can take place at dual levels of directing humour at self or at the larger community the self identifies with. The audience's understanding of the context of reflexive humour is important for its receptivity and success [69]. Satire is found not only in written literary forms. In preliterate cultures it manifests itself in ritual and folk forms, as well as in trickster tales and oral poetry.[23]
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It appears also in graphic arts, music, sculpture, dance, cartoon strips, and graffiti. Examples are Dada sculptures, Pop Art works, music of Gilbert and Sullivan and Erik Satie, punk and rock music.[23] In modern media culture, stand-up comedy is an enclave in which satire can be introduced into mass media, challenging mainstream discourse.[23] Comedy roasts, mock festivals, and stand-up comedians in nightclubs and concerts are the modern forms of ancient satiric rituals.[23]
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Development
Ancient Egypt
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The satirical papyrus at the British Museum
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Satirical ostracon showing a cat guarding geese, c.1120 BC, Egypt.
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Figured ostracon showing a cat waiting on a mouse, Egypt
One of the earliest examples of what we might call satire, The Satire of the Trades,[70] is in Egyptian writing from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. The text's apparent readers are students, tired of studying. It argues that their lot as scribes is not only useful, but far superior to that of the ordinary man. Scholars such as Helck[71] think that the context was meant to be serious.
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The Papyrus Anastasi I[72] (late 2nd millennium BC) contains a satirical letter which first praises the virtues of its recipient, but then mocks the reader's meagre knowledge and achievements.
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Ancient Greece
The Greeks had no word for what later would be called "satire", although the terms cynicism and parody were used. Modern critics call the Greek playwright Aristophanes one of the best known early satirists: his plays are known for their critical political and societal commentary,[73] particularly for the political satire by which he criticized the powerful Cleon (as in The Knights). He is also notable for the persecution he underwent.[73][74][75][76] Aristophanes' plays turned upon images of filth and disease.[77] His bawdy style was adopted by Greek dramatist-comedian Menander. His early play Drunkenness contains an attack on the politician Callimedon.
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The oldest form of satire still in use is the Menippean satire by Menippus of Gadara. His own writings are lost. Examples from his admirers and imitators mix seriousness and mockery in dialogues and present parodies before a background of diatribe. As in the case of Aristophanes plays, menippean satire turned upon images of filth and disease.[77]
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Roman world
The first Roman to discuss satire critically was Quintilian, who invented the term to describe the writings of Gaius Lucilius. The two most prominent and influential ancient Roman satirists are Horace and Juvenal, who wrote during the early days of the Roman Empire. Other important satirists in ancient Latin are Gaius Lucilius and Persius. Satire in their work is much wider than in the modern sense of the word, including fantastic and highly coloured humorous writing with little or no real mocking intent. When Horace criticized Augustus, he used veiled ironic terms. In contrast, Pliny reports that the 6th-century-BC poet Hipponax wrote satirae that were so cruel that the offended hanged themselves.[78]
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In the 2nd century AD, Lucian wrote True History, a book satirizing the clearly unrealistic travelogues/adventures written by Ctesias, Iambulus, and Homer. He states that he was surprised they expected people to believe their lies, and stating that he, like them, has no actual knowledge or experience, but shall now tell lies as if he did. He goes on to describe a far more obviously extreme and unrealistic tale, involving interplanetary exploration, war among alien life forms, and life inside a 200 mile long whale back in the terrestrial ocean, all intended to make obvious the fallacies of books like Indica and The Odyssey.
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Medieval Islamic world
Main articles: Arabic satire and Persian satire
Medieval Arabic poetry included the satiric genre hija. Satire was introduced into Arabic prose literature by the author Al-Jahiz in the 9th century. While dealing with serious topics in what are now known as anthropology, sociology and psychology, he introduced a satirical approach, "based on the premise that, however serious the subject under review, it could be made more interesting and thus achieve greater effect, if only one leavened the lump of solemnity by the insertion of a few amusing anecdotes or by the throwing out of some witty or paradoxical observations. He was well aware that, in treating of new themes in his prose works, he would have to employ a vocabulary of a nature more familiar in hija, satirical poetry."[79] For example, in one of his zoological works, he satirized the preference for longer human penis size, writing: "If the length of the penis were a sign of honor, then the mule would belong to the (honorable tribe of) Quraysh". Another satirical story based on this preference was an Arabian Nights tale called "Ali with the Large Member".[80]
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In the 10th century, the writer Tha'alibi recorded satirical poetry written by the Arabic poets As-Salami and Abu Dulaf, with As-Salami praising Abu Dulaf's wide breadth of knowledge and then mocking his ability in all these subjects, and with Abu Dulaf responding back and satirizing As-Salami in return.[81] An example of Arabic political satire included another 10th-century poet Jarir satirizing Farazdaq as "a transgressor of the Sharia" and later Arabic poets in turn using the term "Farazdaq-like" as a form of political satire.[82]
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The terms "comedy" and "satire" became synonymous after Aristotle's Poetics was translated into Arabic in the medieval Islamic world, where it was elaborated upon by Islamic philosophers and writers, such as Abu Bischr, his pupil Al-Farabi, Avicenna, and Averroes. Due to cultural differences, they disassociated comedy from Greek dramatic representation and instead identified it with Arabic poetic themes and forms, such as hija (satirical poetry). They viewed comedy as simply the "art of reprehension", and made no reference to light and cheerful events, or troubled beginnings and happy endings, associated with classical Greek comedy. After the Latin translations of the 12th century, the term "comedy" thus gained a new semantic meaning in Medieval literature.[83]
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Ubayd Zakani introduced satire in Persian literature during the 14th century. His work is noted for its satire and obscene verses, often political or bawdy, and often cited in debates involving homosexual practices. He wrote the Resaleh-ye Delgosha, as well as Akhlaq al-Ashraf ("Ethics of the Aristocracy") and the famous humorous fable Masnavi Mush-O-Gorbeh (Mouse and Cat), which was a political satire. His non-satirical serious classical verses have also been regarded as very well written, in league with the other great works of Persian literature. Between 1905 and 1911, Bibi Khatoon Astarabadi and other Iranian writers wrote notable satires.
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Medieval Europe
In the Early Middle Ages, examples of satire were the songs by Goliards or vagants now best known as an anthology called Carmina Burana and made famous as texts of a composition by the 20th-century composer Carl Orff. Satirical poetry is believed to have been popular, although little has survived. With the advent of the High Middle Ages and the birth of modern vernacular literature in the 12th century, it began to be used again, most notably by Chaucer. The disrespectful manner was considered "unchristian" and ignored, except for the moral satire, which mocked misbehaviour in Christian terms. Examples are Livre des Manières by Étienne de Fougères [fr] (~1178), and some of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Sometimes epic poetry (epos) was mocked, and even feudal society, but there was hardly a general interest in the genre.
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Early modern western satire
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Pieter Bruegel's 1568 satirical painting The Blind Leading the Blind.
Direct social commentary via satire returned with a vengeance in the 16th century, when farcical texts such as the works of François Rabelais tackled more serious issues (and incurred the wrath of the crown as a result).
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Two major satirists of Europe in the Renaissance were Giovanni Boccaccio and François Rabelais. Other examples of Renaissance satire include Till Eulenspiegel, Reynard the Fox, Sebastian Brant's Narrenschiff (1494), Erasmus's Moriae Encomium (1509), Thomas More's Utopia (1516), and Carajicomedia (1519).
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The Elizabethan (i.e. 16th-century English) writers thought of satire as related to the notoriously rude, coarse and sharp satyr play. Elizabethan "satire" (typically in pamphlet form) therefore contains more straightforward abuse than subtle irony. The French Huguenot Isaac Casaubon pointed out in 1605 that satire in the Roman fashion was something altogether more civilised. Casaubon discovered and published Quintilian's writing and presented the original meaning of the term (satira, not satyr), and the sense of wittiness (reflecting the "dishfull of fruits") became more important again. Seventeenth-century English satire once again aimed at the "amendment of vices" (Dryden).
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In the 1590s a new wave of verse satire broke with the publication of Hall's Virgidemiarum, six books of verse satires targeting everything from literary fads to corrupt noblemen. Although Donne had already circulated satires in manuscript, Hall's was the first real attempt in English at verse satire on the Juvenalian model.[84][page needed] The success of his work combined with a national mood of disillusion in the last years of Elizabeth's reign triggered an avalanche of satire—much of it less conscious of classical models than Hall's — until the fashion was brought to an

9:40AM EST - 9:55AM EST
4.21.2020

 THE MAIN LESSON I LEARNED IN MY TWENTIES WAS SOCIAL DISTANCING. BASICALLY. THEN, AS SOON AS I HIT MY THIRTIES, IN THE 2020'S, BOOM. SOCIAL DISTANCING IS NOW THE NEW NORM RIGHT? THIS IS WHAT THEY ARE SAYING. THEY HAVE BEEN SAYING MANY THINGS FOR DECADES NOW. SEVEN DECADES. IF NOT MORE. BRENDAN ASKED ME TODAY, VIA TEXT MESSAGE, WHAT I PLAN TO DO ABOUT THE MARKETING AND PROMOTION OF THIS ART PORTFOLIO? NOT THINKING ABOUT IT ALL REALLY. IN ALL ACTUALITY. IT WILL SERVE AS NOTHING MORE THAN A SERIOUS ROADBLOCK. AS A CREATIVE ARTIST, MY ONLY JOB IS TO MAKE THE FREE THROW. WHATEVER THE SHOT IS, MAKE IT. THE PROJECT IS THE SHOT. MAKE THE SHOT. ONLY THE SHOT MATTERS. THE SHOT, THE ONLY MATTERING FACTOR. AS AN ARTIST, I ONLY HAVE ONE JOB. MANY RESPONSIBILITIES I MUST HANDLED CONCERNING THE CRAFT. ALL RESPONSIBILITIES ACTUALLY. ANY OTHERS MUST BE DELEGATED TO THOSE ON THE PAYROLL. THE RIDDLE WASN'T HOW I WOULD GO ABOUT THE MARKETING. i WOULD GO ABOUT THE MARKETING BY HIRING MARKETERS. PUT THE SPECIALIST TEAM YOU NEED AROUND YOU ON THE PAYROLL. THIS SIMPLE. AT 25 YEARS OLD I WAS AT SUCH THOUGHT LEVELS. ONCE I WROTE "CFK" I WAS ABLE TO REALIZE I WAS GOING TO HAVE TO FUND THE PROJECTS MYSELF. HENCE THE FINANCIAL WORLD OF INVESTING I NOW FIND MYSELF EXPLORING. I AM SO GRATEFUL I AM STILL ALIVE. I THANK GOD FOR MY LIFE. I DON'T THINK ABOUT THE HOO RAH OF IT ALL. THE FLASHING LIGHTS. THE MEDIA. THE OSCARS. THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME. I FOUND A WAY TO SKIP THE LIGHTS AND THE MEDIA. STRAIGHT OSCAR STATUETTES AND THE STAR WALK POSITION. 

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7:18 AM EST - 7:54AM EST
THURSDAY APRIL 23RD, 2020
4.23.2020 -
4.24.2020 -
11:23PM EST - 11:55PM EST
FRIDAY APRIL 24TH, 2020
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CHAPTER SEVEN: THE DEPRESS IS MY BEST FRIEND

 I STARTED A NEW FILM SCRIPT YESTERDAY MORNING. "FROM THE GET GO" "NAIJAH FOURLEAF CLOVER" IS THE PEN NAME. THE PEN NAME IS CREATED IN HONOR OF NAIJAH GROVER SR. R.I.P. TO NAIJAH GROVER SR. THIS IS THE BEST I CAN DO. TO HONOR MY FALLEN COMRADES WITH MY ART. GIVING THEIR NAME THE CREDIT. MY NAME NEED NOT BE ON THE BOOK PENNED BY MY OWN. I GAVE AWAY THE CREDIT. THE SPOTLIGHT. I DON'T WANT THE SPOTLIGHT. I WOULD PREFER TO SHADOW OPERATE. THE SHADOW GOVEY DOESN'T REAR IT'S UGLY FACE...SO WHY SHOULD I? THE GOAL IS TO WIN. WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO WIN? CREATE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. CREATE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. SEEK NO SPOTLIGHT. UNDERPLAY ALL ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN ANY SPOTLIGHT. GIVE ALL SPOTLIGHT AWAY. SHARE ALL SPOTLIGHT. TOTALLY IGNORE THE QUESTION YOU CAN'T ANSWER WITH TALK OF SOMEONE DEAR TO YOU. PUT OTHERS ON WITH YOUR SPOTLIGHT. OTHER THAN THAT, DENY EVERYTHING. A MAN LIKE YOU CAN'T GO ON THE BREAKFAST CLUB. IF I GO TO ANGELA YE SHE'S GOING TO LOVE ME. I WILL GO TO INTERVIEWS AS AN ACTOR WITH SCRIPT. I WILL BRING AN ACTOR IN A SUIT, TO PLAY MY LAWYER. EVERY QUESTION I CAN'T ANSWER, I'LL THROW A SIGN. THEN HE WILL WHISPER IN MY EAR. THEN I WILL REPEAT HIS WORDS. "COUNSEL HAS ADVISED I DON'T VERBALLY ENTER SUCH TERRITORY." I ENJOY MY LIFE. I JUST WANT TO KEEP IT SIMPLE. I WAS WILLING TO SACRIFICE ANY SUCCESS FROM THE CRAFT I GAVE MY LIFE TO. I GAVE MY LIFE TO LITERARY HISTORY. I GAVE UP MY PERSONAL LIFE TO ATTAIN INCLUSION. LITERARY HISTORY INCLUSION. I GAVE UP EVERYTHING. I HAVE NOTHING ELSE. I ONLY HAVE TEN THOUSAND FILES. MAYBE 5000 HOURS. YOU CAN'T CONTROL ANOTHER PERSON. YOU CAN ONLY CONTROL YOURSELF. YOU CAN ONLY CONTROL YOUR FOCUS. YOU CAN ONLY CONTROL YOUR ATTENTION. YOU CAN ONLY CONTROL YOUR AMBITION. I CAN CONTROL MY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. SPENDING YEARS PUBLISHING BOOKS, I WILL NEVER REGRET. I CAN NOT RISK LOSING MOMENTUM WHILE INSIDE A DOOMED RELATIONSHIP. I AM MORE CURIOUS OF OTHER IDEAS THAN OTHER PEOPLE. I AM A MAN OF IDEAS. I AM DRAWN TO IDEAS. I WANT TO HEAR SOME IDEAS. WE AS PEOPLE ARE IDEA CREATORS. SO IF YOU HAVE NO IDEAS, WHY HAVE A BRAIN? 4.24.2020 - 11:23PM EST - 11:55PM EST THE DEPRESSION IS MY BEST FRIEND. IT IS ALL I HAVE. THE PAIN INSIDE, IS NOT REAL. IT'S REAL. BUT IT'S NOT REAL. IT'S INSIDE. THE INSIDE CREATES THE OUTSIDE. THE OUTSIDE AFFECTS THE INSIDE. THE INSIDE AFFECTS THE OUTSIDE. DO YOU KNOW WHAT I SAY? EXTERNAL EVENTS CAUSE MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL EVENTS. EMOTIONAL THOUGHTS FOCUSED AND DIRECTED, CREATE REALITIES. THE DEPRESSING THOUGHTS ATTACK ME. ONE PERSPECTIVE. PERSPECTIVE NUMBER TWO: THE DEPRESSING THOUGHTS CHASE ME TO THE PATH OF PROLIFIC ART PORTFOLIOS. IT ALL STARTED WITH THE DESIRE FOR THE LEGENDARY ARTISTIC PORTFOLIO. FROM 20 YEARS ON TO NOW. AT 30, THE FIRST PORTFOLIO IS DONE. THE CREATIVE PORTFOLIO IS DONE. THE NEXT PORTFOLIO, PORTFOLIO NUMBER TWO, IS THE NEXT DESIRE. THE ECONOMIC PORTFOLIO. THE NEST EGG. THE FINANCING OF CHADXZAVIERFILMS. DAVIDXCRICHTON PUBLISHING. VANESSA B. STALLONE PRODUCTIONS. CLOVER MEDIA. ROCKMAN INC. THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE TO DO. THE DEPRESSION MADE IT SO EASY. THIS MAKES EVERYTHING SO EASY. I FEEL SO MUCH PAIN, I CAN CREATE MY OWN REALITY. I PAY THE PRICE. EVERY DAY. EVERY SINGLE DAY. THE PAIN KEEPS ME HUMBLE. THE EGO'S AT BAY. THE EGO CAN ONLY THINK. EGO CAN NOT ACT WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. THE DEPRESSIONS MAKE THE EGO LESS APPEALING TO HUMOR. NEVER HUMOR THE EGO. BE AS NICE TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU FUCKING CAN. YOUR LIFE IS ON THE LINE. I AM GLAD I CAN LOOK AT SUCH A THING IN SUCH A WAY. ON SUCH A DAY. IT IS THE FEELING OF FEELINGS YOU WOULDN'T ALWAYS WANT TO ADMIT TO. HOW CAN I BEAR YOU TO CONTINUE TO LOOK AT ME, WHEN I ADMITTED HOW I TRULY FEEL ON THE INSIDE? DID IT AFFECT HOW YOU SEE ME NOW? I'M NOT ASHAMED OF HOW I FEEL BC I FEEL IT. IT'S ALREADY HERE. I AM ASHAMED IT EVEN CAME AT ALL. I AM ASHAMED OF WHAT TRANSPIRED EMOTIONALLY. IN EXCHANGE, MY BUCKET LIST WAS MY LIFE. I LIVED MY BUCKET LIST. I HAVE NO ANGER TOWARDS THE COSMOS. THE UNIVERSE. I AM AN ADMIRAL IN THE UNIVERSAL SPACE NAVY. IT'S JUST A HARD PILL SOMETIMES. I'VE BEEN AT THIS SO LONG, IT IS STARTING TO FEEL LIKE A MOVIE ROLE ITSELF. I AM PLAYING ME. I AM CHASING THIS ONE GOAL. THIS ONE FILM. ALL ABOUT THIS ONE MAN CHASING THIS ONE DREAM, IS IN ONE FILM. WHAT GENRE? DRAMEDY. YOU FEEL SO NOT APPRECIATED IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE. YOUR FAMILY LIFE. BEING 30. NO CREATED FAMILY OF YOUR OWN. YOU CAN LNLY SEEK APPRECIATION FROM YOUR EFFORTS IN YOUR CHOSEN INDUSTRY. I FEEL AS IF I CHOSE WRITING AND FILMMAKING. I CHOSE FILMMAKING. NOVELIST. FILM EDITING. DIRECTING. SCREEN WRITE. I WAS CHOSEN TO WRITE. I CHOSE THE FILM DIRECTION. PUNNING? PUNNING! I WAS THE BORN WRITER. MAYBE BORN FILMMAKER I DO NOT KNOW. I CHOSE FILMMAKING MYSELF. MAYBE IT WAS CHOSEN FOR ME TO CHOOSE IT. I APPRECIATE MY LIFE. THIS FILM ENTRY, SYRACUSE FILM FESTIVAL 2020 ENTRY, THE FIRST EVER FESTIVAL ENTRY. I HAVE MADE NO ACTS TO GET A DEAL. SPIRITUALLY I CAN ACCEPT NEVER SEEING RESULTS FROM THE INDUSTRY ITSELF. THE INDUSTRY CHOSEN FOR ME IS RUN BY THE DEVIL AND I AM A MAN OF GOD SO I HAD TO LET GO THE DESIRE FOR NOTICE. NO NOTICE. JUST ACTION. NO FLASHING LIGHTS. JUST TYPING A NEW BOOK FROM SCRATCH IN THE KITCHEN. SCRATCHING THE KITCHEN. CHICKEN SCRATCH IN THE KITCHEN. 

​
1:29AM EST - 1:52AM
5.1.2020
FRIDAY MAY 1ST, 2020
CHAPTER EIGHT: MY BEST FRIEND INDEED

 ALL I THINK ABOUT IS WORKING ON MY CRAFT. THE ONLY THOUGHT PRE DOMINANT WITHIN IS WORKING ON THE CRAFT. ENDLESSLY BEATING ON THE CRAFT. WRITING AND PUBLISHING AS MANY NOVELS AS I CAN PER YEAR. RECORDING AS MANY AUDIO FILES IMPROMPTU AS I CAN. READING AS MANY PROFESSIONAL HOLLYWOOD CLASSIC SCRIPTS ON TAPE AS I CAN PER YEAR. READING SHAKESPEARE ON TAPE. EDITING VIDEOS FOR MY TWO YOUTUBE CHANNELS. INVESTING $10 IN FOREX AND TRADING IT TO $1000 PER WEEK. INVESTING $1000 PER WEEK OR MONTH IN STOCKS AND CRYPTO. INVESTING IN REAL ESTATE WITH THE FOREIGN CURRENCY TRADING PROFITS. RESEARCHING FINANCE IS WHAT I THINK ABOUT AND DESIRE. WRITING NOVELS FROM THE RESEARCH ON FINANCE IS WHAT I WORK TOWARDS. WRITING HELPFUL MATERIAL AND PUBLISHING IT FOR POSTERITY AND LONGEVITY IS WHAT I DESIRE. WHAT I PURSUE? LITERARY HISTORY. A CINEMATIC LEGEND IN THE LITERATURE AND CINEMA INDUSTRY. I PUT ALL OF MY EFFORT IN MY SPARE TIME INTO THESE EFFORTS. THESE PROJECTS. THIS FILE CREATION PROCESS. THE DOCUMENTATION OF MY ADULT LIFE. MY PERSONAL TIME DIARIES. MY TIME CAPSULE LEFT TO THE WORLD TO WATCH ONE DAY. I USE THIS PROCESS TO SPEND MY TIME. TO INVEST ALL OF MY SPARE TIME INTO THE ACCELERATION OF THE MY SKILL SET. TO BEAT ON THE CRAFT. THE ART FORM. CINEMA AND LITERATURE. TWO CONNECTED INDUSTRIES. TWO CHALLENGES TO CONQUER. USING LITERATURE TO SOLIDIFY THE ENTRY ONE DAY INTO HOLLYWOOD. MY TEN YEAR OLD VIDEO FILE COLLECTION SHOWS MY DOCUMENTATION AND EDITING SKILLS. THE ABILITY TO CAPTURE INTERESTING FOOTAGE AND EDIT IT. THE PROCESS OF CREATING CONCEPTS FOR SKITS ND EPISODES OF NEW SERIES CREATED. THE FIVE YEAR DAVID X. CRICHTON LITERARY PORTFOLIO SHOWS THE ABILITY TO WRITE A PROFESSIONAL NOVEL AND FILM SCRIPT. THE FIVE YEAR AUDIO FILE AND AUDIO BOOK COLLECTION SHOWS THE IMPROMPTU SKILLS. FREESTYLING FILM SCRIPTS, IN FORMAT, ON AUDIO. FREESTYLING NOVELS, IN FORMAT, ON AUDIO. ON THE INSIDE, I AM JUST BROKEN INSIDE. I CAN'T DO ANYTHING TO KEEP THE DEPRESSION AT BAY BUT TO RELEASE ALL FRUSTRATION THRU THE PROCESS OF CONSTANT CREATION. NON STOP. TO PUNISH THE PAIN. TO PUNISH THE EGO. I SIT IN ONE SPOT AND FOCUS. I SHOW MY MIND WHO IS IN CHARGE. I HAVE TO STOP NOW TO SHOWER AND GET MY CLOTHES FROM THE DRYER DOWNSTAIRS. I HAVE TO WORK OVERTIME TOMORROW, CLOCKING IN EARLY. I HAVE TO WRAP THE CREATIVE SESSION UP EARLY TONIGHT. JUST THINKING ABOUT NOT CREATING FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT MAKES ME SAD. I HAVE TO FACE THE SADNESS WHEN I AM NOT CREATING. CREATING IS MY WAY OF FIGHTING BACK. I'LL BE BACK. THANK YOU ALL FOR MAKING IT THIS FAR IN THE PUBLICATION. 

​
​
​
5.2.2020
MAY 2ND, 2020
5.3. 2020
SUNDAY MAY 3RD, 2020
8:28AM EST - 9:12AM EST
TUESDAY MAY 5TH, 2020
5.5.2020
CINCO DE MAYO
1:51AM EST - 2:39AM EST
9:09PM EST - 9:41PM EST
​
CHAPTER NINE: SKIDLY DO

I HAVE GIVEN MY CHILDHOOD INTEREST, TO MY ADULTHOOD. THIS DOCUMENTARY IS A TIMESTAMP OF MY ADULTHOOD. MY TWENTIES. TWO YEARS FROM 2011 TO 2013, THIS ENTRY WON'T HAVE THAT FOOTAGE. FROM 2013 FOOTAGE ON I AM USING. TODAY IS SUNDAY. THE FOREX MARKET OPENS TODAY. 6PM. UNTIL FRIDAY AT 5PM. 120 HOURS. THREE TRADES ON THE LINE. THE MONEY LINE. GREAT BRITISH POUND U.S. DOLLAR. BUY. 24990. IN ONE ACCOUNT. THE OTHER ACCOUNT. TWO TRADES. BUY. AUDNZD. FOREIGN ON FOREIGN. EXOTICS. BUY ALL WEEK FROM HERE. SELL AT 500 POINTS OVER THE NEXT ZERO POINT UP. GBPUSD SELL UNTIL THE CURRENT ZERO POINT. 25. SELL TO 26 ZERO POINT. SELL AT 26900 TO 26150. SELL AT 27 ZERO POINT. AUDNZD. MUCH SIMPLER. BUY ALL WEEK. SELL AT 500 OVER NEXT ZERO POINT. UNTIL CURRENT ZERO POINT. WEEK OVER. BASED ON NOTES. THE DEADLINE FOR THIS ENTRY IS JUNE 2020. THE TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF TRADING CURRENCY. IN 2013, I PURCHASED FOR $88 A PIECE, THREE BTC. BITCOINS. I SOLD TOO EARLY. IMMEDIATELY. IN 2015, AFTER WRITING "CFK 1-6" I REALIZED I HAD TO FUND MY ART MYSELF. I DID NOT WANT TO RELY ON THE ART I CREATED FOR SUSTAINING A LIVING. I WANTED SUCH A FACTOR OUT OF THE EQUATION. I WOULD PREFER RATHER. INVESTING MONEY INTO THE ART INSTEAD. THE MONEY FROM THE BOOKS? INVEST IT. STOCKS. REAL ESTATE. BONDS. ASSETS. DIGITAL ASSETS. GIVE HALF OF THE PROFITS AWAY. TO PEOPLE WAY LESS MATERIALLY ABUNDANT. (TUESDAY 5.5.2020 CINCO DE MAYO 1:51AM EST - 2:39AM EST) CHAPTER NINE. HALFWAY THRU THIS PUBLICATION. VOLUME THREE. MONEY PROBLEMS. HONEY MONEY PROBLEMS. THE CHADFILMS ORIGIN STORY/ THE SYRACUSE FILM FESTIVAL ENTRY. 2020. AUDIO NARRATION. THIS IS NEARING THE END. THE BOOK CONTINUES. FOR ANOTHER TEN CHAPTERS MINUMUM. 15 CHAPTERS MAX. THE FESTIVAL ENTRY. THE DOCUMENTARY. CONTAINS THIRTY MINUTES OF FOOTAGE USING ON SCREEN AUDIO. THIS IS MY FIRST FILM FESTIVAL ENTRY. EVER. I WANT TO SUBMIT THIS, FOR MY OWN GRATIFICATION. FOR ME TO BE AT PEACE KNOWING I FINALLY SUBMITTED A CREATION. I'VE BEEN IN THE CREATIVE DUNGEON FOR A DECADE. IT'S BEAUTIFUL. CLEVERLAND IS A REAL PLACE. YOU CAN ONLY GET THERE ONE WAY. THRU YOUR MIND. THERE'S A THRESHOLD OF CREATIVITY WITHIN YOU. WHEN YOU BREACH THIS LINE, YOU ACCESS CLEVERLAND. BREACH THE LINE OF COURSE. TEACH THE FINER COURSE. IN 2015 I BREACHED THE LINE. THE COMMERCIAL PUBLICATIONS HAVE BEEN POURING OUT SINCE. SYRACUSE HAD A FILM FESTIVAL WHILE I WAS LIVING THERE. I ENTERED THE FESTIVAL. I LOOK FORWARD TO WATCHING MY ENTRY INITIALLY. R.I.P. TO FLIGHT KOBE. I AM GRATEFUL TO GOD I AM STILL ALIVE. I GAVE MY LIFE TO MY GOD GIVEN TALENTS. THE PURSUIT OF THE GIFTS. I'VE BEEN AN ARTIST STARVING FOR ONE DECADE. HALF A DECADE MORE AND I'M THE OVERNIGHT SUCCESS STORY. OVERNIGHT MY GRASS. 

(9:09PM EST - 9:41PM EST)

 HERE IS WHERE THE WRITING ITINERARY IS GOING. THIS IS VOLUME THREE OF HONEY MONEY PROBLEMS. THE VANESSA BUNNI STALLONE PEN NAME. THE VANESSA STALLONE PORTFOLIO. HER CATALOGUE. THE DEBUT PROJECT. THIS PROJECT. HER DEBUT. THE NAIJAH CLOVER AND JOSH ROCKMAN DEBUTS ARE NEXT. I WILL WRITE BACK AND FORTH FOR EACH CATALOGUE. FOR EACH PEN NAME. I WILL PUBLISH THE ANNUAL COLLECTIONS UNDER A COMBINED AND CREATED PEN NAME. CLOVER S. ROCKMAN. CLOVER STALLONE. THE 2020 COLLECTION ISN'T DAVID CRICHTON'S AT ALL. DAVID CRICHTON IS OFFICIALLY RETIRED. I GAVE AWAY DEBUTS FOR STALLONE TO CRICHTON. OR I LET CRICHTON KEEP THOSE IDEAS. FROM 2017 ON I WAS PREPARING TO RETIRE CRICHTON. THE TIME WAS JUST TAKING IT'S TIME PASSING. I FEEL AS IF THE DXC PORTFOLIO IS HALL OF FAME BOUND. I'M UTTERLY REASSURED ABOUT IT. EVERY PUBLICATION UP TO THIS ONE WAS DAVID CRICHTON. NOW VANESSA STALLONE HAS HER TURN. CLOVER ROCKMAN IS NEXT. NAIJAH CLOVER AND JOSH D. ROCKMAN ARE THE NEXT PEN NAMES. THE LITERARY DIRECTION. I DON'T LIKE DRAMA. I WRITE DRAMA. A GOTHIC LITERATURE PIECE IS NEXT. DAVID CRICHTON HAS A FILM SCRIPT "GOYLE". GOTHIC LITERATURE INSPIRED. AN IDEA GIVEN TO ME FROM A FRIEND TO SEE WHAT SPIN I PUT ON IT. I WAS RESEARCHING GOTHIC LITERATURE AROUND THE TIME. RECENTLY I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT IT AGAIN. I WANT TO WRITE SOMETHING WITH DESCRIPTIVE DETAILS. NOT JUST FIRST PERSON DIARY ENTRY PERSPECTIVE ANYMORE. THAT'S DAVID CRICHTON. NOW, LET US GO FOR SECOND AND THIRD PERSON PERSPECTIVE. BEING DESCRIPTIVE USING ANALOGIES. THE LITERARY ELEMENTS AND DEVICES. THE POETIC ELEMENTS AND DEVICES. A LIST OF ADJECTIVES. I WILL CREATE MY OWN BOOK OF PROMPTS TO USE TO CREATE MY NEXT PUBLICATIONS. THE DAVID CRICHTON FORMULA, IS ABOUT TO BE PUBLISHED IN ITSELF. 

​
CHAPTER TEN: EXTREMELY
​
11:19PM EST - 12:02AM EST
TUESDAY MAY 5TH, 2020
5.5.2020 -
WEDNESDAY MAY 6TH, 2020
5.6.2020
10:37PM EST -
SATURDAY MAY 9TH, 2020
5.9.2020
"NEEDS MORE DRAGONS"
​
: THE INTRODUCTION
HE WOKE UP IN THE CASTLE. DAY 30. THE SAME CASTLE. PECULIAR IN IT'S SMELL. FAMILIAR IN THE TASTE OF FOOD. THE BEDS. CHANGE. THE ROOMS CHANGE. THE WOOD SMELLED OF PAINT. FRESH PAINT. PAINTED RIGHT BEFORE HE WAS BROUGHT HERE. THE CASTLE ON THE ISLAND. HIT BY HURRICANES THRU THE NIGHT. TORNADOS DURING THE DAY. OUTSIDE OF THE CASTLES. THE FIELD. DON'T GO INTO THE FIELD. GHOSTS FLOAT ABOVE THE GROUND. THE BODIES OF THE GHOSTED, LITTERED INDISCRIMINATELY ALONG THE DUSTY LAWN. DRAGON BREATH. SCORCHED SALIVA. THE SMELL OF SUCH SEEPS THRU THE SPACED BARS. HE RARELY EVER GOES TO THE WINDOW SPACE. THE BARS. THERE ARE SCREAMS FROM THE OUTSIDE. A QUARTER OF THE TIME. THERE ARE SCREAMS FROM THE INSIDE OF THE CASTLE. HALF OF THE TIME. THE ROOM IS ONLY EVER WARM, FROM THE DRAGON BREATH. BOGS. THE ENVIRONMENTS CHANGE INBETWEEN SLEEPING. HE HAS BEGAN TO GET USED TO THESE THINGS. HE WAS USED TO ISOLATION. NE'ER THIS MUCH ISOLATION. NEVERTHELESS, HE IS IN MORE ISOLATION THAN ANYONE OUTSIDE OF OUR BOUNDARIES. I WATCH HIM ALL DAY. I AM PAID, TO WATCH HIM, DAILY. I AM PAID, TO SEE HIM THRU TO THE DAY, FOR WHICH HE WAS BROUGHT HERE FOR.

 DAY ONE: THE DOOR WAS OPENED LOUDLY. WITH NO REMORSE. THE BANG ECHOED. BY THE TIME THE RINGING STOPPED. HE WAS THROWN ONTO THE FLOOR. I DON'T KNOW WHO DID IT. I ONLY SAW HIM START TO GET UP. HE WIGGLED. THE CHAIN WAS ATTACHED TO HIS FOOT. THE RIGHT ANKLE. WITH A CUSHION. THE CHAIN LENGTH LONG ENOUGH TO LEAVE THE ROOM. HE DID NOT FOLLOW THE GUARDS BACK OUT OF THE ROOM AFTER THEY HAD LEFT. 

(5.9.2020 10:37PM EST- 10:47PM EST)

 HE HIT THE GROUND SO HARD, HE TOOK A NAP. A THIRTY MINUTE NAP. HE AWOKE. TO A FIGURE. IN THE SHADOWS. OF THE DEEPEST CORNER, OF HIS ROOM. HIS ROOM WAS VAST. HE NOTICED. AS HE LOOKED AROUND. OBSERVING. WHAT HIS NEW HOME HAD TO OFFER. WITNESSING THE SPLENDORS. OF THE CASTLE. WHATEVER THEY WERE. SO FAR. THE FIGURE APPROACHED FROM THE SHADOWS. HE EXTENDED HIS ARM TO BRUTUS. "I'M DRACO." BRUTUS (OFF SCREEN) 

DRACO TOLD ME. THE TRUTH. HE WILL ALWAYS BE WITH ME. HE WILL ALWAYS FEAST UPON MY GREATEST FEARS. MY GREATEST INHIBITIONS. HE WOULD ALWAYS EXPLOIT THEM. TO HIS FULLEST ADVANTAGE. THE VAMPIRIC PSYCHIC OPERATIVE. DRACULA. THE PSYCHIC VAMPIRE. MORE LIKE CALIGULA. IN THE FEELING. HE ADMITTED. HE IS HERE TO STAY. THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO TO RID MYSELF OF HIS PRESENCE. HE HAS BEEN AROUND ME ALREADY. FOR THE LAST TWELVE YEARS. HE HAS JUST BEEN UNCOVERED BY THE PYSCHE ITSELF, AFTER A 12 YEAR PERIOD OF SNUGGLING COMFORTABLY, INSIDE MY HEAD. HE AIMS TO DESTROY ME FROM THE INSIDE OUT.

BRUTUS WALKED TO THE WINDOW SPACE. THE WINDOW SPACE FILLED WITH BARS. HE STARED OUT THERE. CONTEMPLATING. ON THE WORDS. HE NOTICED FOG FEVERISHLY FLEEING THE FORTRESS. TURNING AROUND TO BURNING. NO SMOKE. NO JOKE. THE DRACULA BLOKE. SLIPPED AWAY ALMOST SILENTLY. EGG YOLK. 

​
9:21PM EST - 9:58PM EST
WEDNESDAY MAY 6TH, 2020
5.6.2020
10:50PM EST - 11:15PM EST
SATURDAY MAY 9TH, 2020
5.9.2020
SOUTHERN GOTH
SOUTHERN CLOTH
​
THEY ALL SAT IN THE LIVING ROOM. THE PLUSH, LIVING ROOM. THE WAR. THE WAR HAD JUST ENDED. OUR LABOR FORCE IS GONE. OUR LABORERS. OUR LABORERS ARE GONE. "THIS HAS BEEN THE WORST DECADE. FOR ME. FOR US. MY FAMILY. REPAIRING DESTRUCTION WITHOUT OUR PROPERTY". THE FAMILY. ENTERS THE LIVING ROOM. LILY LIVIDLY LENDED HER LIKENESS. THE SHADES WERE SHAFTED. RETRACTED. WITH REAL TACT. THEY WERE DISTRACTING. WE ALL STOOD IN THE CENTER. OVER THE CARPET. PERSIAN.
(5.7.2020 4:58AM EST - 5:48AM EST)

 LILY MAY. MARY TONNIE. SUSIE DEAN. LULA MAE. ANNE MIG. CONNIE. ALL SITTING IN THE LIVING ROOM. THE SHADES DRAWN. DARKNESS LAYING DEEP WITHIN THE LAIR. THE LAYERS OF TRUTH. EMANATING. FROM THE MOUTH OF CAESAR. CEASAR. KAISER. RICE. "THE SOUTH LOST THE WAR." LULA MAE - "THE SOUTH LOST THE BATTLE." CEASAR - "THE SOUTH LOST THE ENTIRE WAR, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? THEY SURRENDERED." LULA MAE STANDS UP. SWISHING THE BEVERAGE AROUND WITHIN THE CUP. SMELLS THE DRINK. LOOKS UP AT CEASAR. SMILING. "THE ENTIRE WAR YOU SPEAK OF, IS A MERE BATTLE IN THE ONGOING WAR." CEASAR. "YOU MEAN THE WAR THAT WILL NEVER END?" LULA MAE. "EXACTLY. THE NEVER ENDING WAR." LILY MAY. "SO IF THE WAR ENDED AND OUR SIDE SURRENDERED, WE, CONTINUING THE WAR EFFORTS IN A NEW WAR, WOULD HAVE TO BE DOING SO IN A WAR OF SECRET MISSIONS?" ANNE MIG. LOOKS AT LILY MAY. LOOKS BACK TO LULA MAE AND CEASAR RICE. "SO WHAT IS THE NEXT MISSION?" (5.9.2020 10:51PM EST - 11:15PM EST) CONNIE STOOD UP. "THE ONLY THING THAT WILL SEE US THRU THIS, IS TO REALIZE. TO REALIZE ONE THING. ONE THING ONLY. WE DID NOT LOSE THE WAR. OUR ALLEGIANTS. OUR ALLIES. OUR SOUTHERN REBELS. DIED AS FIGHTERS. SOLDIERS. FIGHTING ON THE FRONTLINES. OF AMERICA. OUR PRECIOUS AMERICA. NOW IN OUR OWN PRECIOUS LAND, WE ARE THE REBELS. THIS I CAN NOT TAKE. THIS I WILL NOT STAND FOR. NOTHING OF THIS SORT WAS EVER MEANT TO HAPPEN. THE PREVIOUS GENERATION OF ALLIES DIED AS SOLDIERS. THE WAR WAS FOUGHT IN OPEN WAR FARE. ACTUAL WARFARE WAS NEFARIOUSLY DECLARED. THE NEXT BATTLES. WILL NOT BE FOUGHT IN OPEN FIELDS. THEY WILL BE FOUGHT IN OPEN COURT. IN OPEN SESSIONS OF CONGRESS. THE SENATE. THE GOVERNORSHIP. THE LEGAL SYSTEM. WE WILL CONTROL THE HANDCUFFS. WE CONTROL THE BADGES. WE WILL CONTROL THE WEAPONS. THE FIREARMS. THE TASERS. THE BILLY CLUBS. THE STARS ON THE BADGE WILL NOT CHANGE. ONLY THE WORDS WILL. TO 'PROTECT AND SERVE THE PLANTATION'. EXTRACT THE WORD 'PLANTATION'. 'THE SLAVE PATROL BADGE' FOR THE 'SHERIFF'S BADGE'. WE WILL WIN THE WAR. THERE WAS A NEW LAW PASSED. PREVENTING CITIZENS FROM SLAVERY. UNDER ONE CONDITION. WE SHALL EXPLOIT THIS CONDITION. WE WON'T SEE OUR PLAN MANIFEST IN FULL. BY THE END OF THE DAY. WE WILL GET OUR SLAVES BACK. WE WILL ENSLAVE THE ENTIRE NATION. THE SAME NIGGERLOVERS. WE WILL ENSLAVE THEIR ENTIRE FAMILY. IT WILL TAKE SOME TIME. JUST TO FIGURE OUT THE POLICY. IN FULL. THE MASTER POLICY. 'MASTER POLICY?' THE RE ENSLAVEMENT POLICY. WE WILL CREATE JAILS. PRISONS. THREATEN THE VOTE GETTERS TO GET THE CRIME RIDDEN NEGROES OUT OF OUR STREETS. WE WILL INCARCERATE THEM. THEY WILL ROT IN PRISON CELLS. ALL ACROSS AMERICA. WE WILL PURCHASE PRISONS. JAILS. WE SHALL OWN THEM ALL. ONE PRISON EVERY THOUSAND MILES. UNTIL WE CAN DO BETTER. WE WILL WIN THE SHERIFF'S RACE. THE ELECTIONS. WE WILL WIN THEM ALL. DEMOCRATS. REPUBLICANS. MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES. FOR REPEAT OFFENDERS. OF CRIMES FOR MONEY. FILL THE POPULATION AREAS WITH CRIME. SO MUCH CRIME THE HOUSE VALUES PLUMMET. GET THEM ON THE STREETS. THEM PUT THEM IN THE PRISONS. OWN THE PRISONS. GET MORE INVESTORS TO BUILD MORE PRISONS. SHARE THE PROFITS TO INVESTORS. ALL OF THE LEGITIMATE NEGROES. WE NEED TO MAKE THE DOLLARS WORTHLESS. SOME HOW AND SOME WAY. WE WILL DETACH THE GOLD FROM THE DOLLAR. AND STEAL ALL OF THE GOLD. HIDE THE GOLD IN A BUILDING. HUNDREDS OF YEARS LATER. THEN BLOW UP THE BUILDING DECADES LATER. THEY ALL STARTED LAUGHING. HILARIOUS HILARITY WAS NO SCARCITY. THE WINTER CHILL FILLS THE ROOM. WITH GLOOM AND DOOM. THE FOG OF THE VISION. SUCH A CLEAR VISION. BUT A CLEAR VISION HEADING FOR DISASTER. WHY BE SO VAMPIRIC? 

​
8:19AM EST - 8:45AM EST
MAY 17TH, 2020
5.17.2020
SHORT STORY
​
THE INTRODUCTION: BAD HABIT MONEY

 WHAT YOU MAY NOT REALIZE UNTIL AGE THIRTY? YOU SQUANDERED YOUR YOUNG ADULT INCOME, YOUR CHANCE FOR WEALTH CREATION, ON HABITS. ROUTINES. BAD HABITS. BAD ROUTINES. BEER, TOBACCO, MARIJUANA, BEING A PILL POPPING ANIMAL, ALL HAVE SIDE EFFECTS. ADVERSE EFFECTS. FINANCIAL SIDE EFFECTS. FINANCIALLY ADVERSE BEHAVIOR. EVERY DOLLAR SPENT ON A PACK OF RELLOS. EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR SPENT NOT ON RENT OR FOOD IS A WASTE. A TERRIBLE. THE WORST KIND OF WASTE. HORRIBLE TASTING WASTE. HORRIBLY TASTY. TERRIBLY HORRIBLE. YOU'RE GOING TO WASTE EVERY DOLLAR YOU EARN ON BULL SPIT AND FUN. THE DOLLAR IS A GAME. A SICK GAME. ACQUISITION AND INFLATION. PURSUING THE OPPORTUNITY TO ACQUIRE SOMETHING THAT IS IN FACT INFLATING, BY NATURE. BY DESIGN. NATURAL PHENOMENA MY GRASS. PHENOMENA BY DESIGN. FRED HAMPTON. YOU WERE NEVER FORGOTTEN. WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW AT TWENTY, EIGHT TEEN, NINE TEEN, YOUR YOUTHFUL PRIME, WAS THE TIME PERIOD TO ESTABLISH THE FOUNDATIONAL SEEDS OF GENERATIONAL WEALTH. AT TWENTY, RIGHT OVER YOUR HEAD. IT IS SO SAD TO ME, I DO NOT EVEN WANT TO KEEP WRITING ABOUT THIS. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LISTEN. IF YOU ARE OVER 25, YOU ARE AT THE PRE FORK IN THE ROAD. THE FORK IN THE ROAD IS AGE THIRTY. IF YOU CAN BEND THE FORK PROPERLY DIRECTED BY AGE 25, YOU ARE AHEAD BY SO MANY YEARS IN THE TIMELINE. IT IS ALWAYS CHESS OVER CHECKERS. I LOVE CHECKERS. WITH CHESS HOWEVER, HE WHO CONTROLS THE MIDDLE FOUR SQUARES, CONTROLS THE GAME. FRESH OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL, YOU'RE MORE THAN LIKELY DESTINED TO MAKE DAM NEAR EVERY MISTAKE IN THE BOOK TWICE. THAT'S A BACK TO BACK REPEAT. THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONAHIP. THE NATIONAL DONKEY OF THE YEAR CHAMPIONSHIP. IT IS SIMPLE. REAL SIMPLE. REALLY SIMPLE. EXTREMELY SO. IF SOMEONE WANTS SOMETHING FROM LIFE, THEY WON'T SEEK ANYTHING ELSE. WHATEVER YOU SEEK, YOU SHALL FIND. I GET IT NOW. YOU WILL BE SHOWN BY LIFE, FROM EXPERIENCES, MEMORIES, MOMENTS, EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE IN FACT LOOKING FOR. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT INFORMATION IF OFFERED TO YOU, IF YOU'RE NOT LOOKING FOR THAT, YOU WON'T EVEN REGISTER THE OPTICALS. THE OPTICS. YOU WILL NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT. IT WILL BE AS IF YOU CAN'T EVEN READ THE LANGUAGE BUT YOU'LL SWEAR THE EXPERT. I GET IT NOW. THE ONLY PERSON YOU NEED TO HELP YOU SUCCEED, IS YOURSELF. IF YOU DESIRE SUCCESS FROM YOUR LIFE, YOU WON'T DESIRE A DAM THING ELSE. NOT ONE OTHER CIRCUMSTANCE. YOU DESERVE WHATEVER YOU PURSUE. IF YOU PURSUE NOTHING ELSE THEN DOUBLY SO YOU DESERVE IT. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PURSUE. MAK SURE IT IS REALLY IN TRUTH WHAT YOU WANT. WHEN YOU'RE READY FOR WHAT I CAN OFFER YOU IN THOUGHTS, THIS BOOK WILL APPEAR. IF YOU FIND THIS BOOK, YOU WILL CHERISH THE DAY. THIS BOOK IS AIMED TO BE THE MOST INFLUENTIAL STRATEGY GUIDE YOU EVER IMPLEMENTED ECONOMICALLY. EVERYONE STARTS AT THE BOTTOM ECONOMICALLY. IF YOU CAN REMAIN DEPENDENT FREE WITH NO ATTACHED BODIES TO YOU, YOU CAN RISE HIGHER AND FASTER OUT OF THE ECONOMIC PIT OF FINANCIALLY DECREPIT NESS. 

accidentally bought 2 extra GA on ticketmaster; miscommunication with the wife where she didnt realize i already got tix and then she bought 2.
lemme know if your're lookin! I know it's not sold out so I'll sell em under face if that means anything. thanks!!

My new manager and director (boss's boss) both used to be engineers. Before I met them I was thinking it would be nice and I could speak more technically and they'd understand my day to day better. Well, maybe all of that is true but on top of that I'm constantly getting implementation suggestions from them and having my designs criticized.
I've never had a manager care about what was "under the hood" before. Does this car meet EPA standards? You facing any roadblocks? You enjoying the work? Are you syncing with the sales team? You understand our vision for the next model? Do we need to cut any features to make our deadlines? These all seem like completely reasonably questions for managers to ask. I enjoy managers that are focusing on the big picture, filtering down information, and making sure my team has its priorities straight.
I've had very long meetings with my current managers trying to explain our process and how certain implementations were infeasible and also went against architects recommendations. I've basically ignored their advice on 2 or 3 occasions and did things how I thought best (asking forgiveness instead of permission).
I'm sort of midcareer right now and am not afraid to challenge my boss's misguided advice, but I'm pretty much "checked out" from this team. I could see myself switching teams or companies even but I'm a bit curious how common my situation might be. Is this another skill I need to learn (placating an armchair dev manager) or did I just draw a short straw somewhere?

noods
grips

Primary Arms 1x MicroPrism 5.56mm red illumination $195

Got this a few days ago, mounted it for a few minutes, took it off and put it back in the box. Awesome optic, have had them before, but I already have a decent prism on my rifle and could use a few bucks. I bought this right before the recent Simmons sale (RIP) but selling it for a few bucks under the sale price anyway. Not a mark on it, comes in the box with all the usual goodies and mounting options.

Magpul MOE AR grip, black $8

A few scuffs, unsure if it's been used or just been banging around the parts bin.

Magpul MOE K2 AK grip, plum $12

New in the box, never used.
No trades.