Palm tree tattoo on forearm

I've never wanted a tattoo but I hate my scars (from cutting a few years ago), so I've been seriously thinking of getting a tattoo to cover them. Is it worth it for anyone that's done this? I know the answer is different for everyone but I just can't decide. I'm worried I'll regret getting a tattoo but I just can't handle my scars on my arms being visible to everyone all the time. I'm also really worried that someone will say something to me about them when I'm with other people, but thankfully that's never happened to me yet. So yeah, I'd just like to hear from anyone that's had a tattoo to cover their self harm scars or anyone that's thinking about it. Thank you!

Salutations friends! Platform: D&D 5e, Avrae Format: Play by post (text only, no voice chat) A lone, moss covered stone about the size of your palm has suddenly appeared beside you. A low humming sound and an electrical sensation builds as you move your hand closer to it. Steeling your nerves, you would grip the stone and with a whir of arcane energy you would find yourself outside the gates to a city built inside of an impossibly large tree that soars through the clouds. Laughter would echo out from within and sweet scents would waft through the wind, there are many curious and exciting new friends to meet inside of Luna Pines. Click the invite link below to explore our fey/forest themed discord server - Macguffins, Ltd. This server is a living West Marches Post by Post community that is primarily based on RAW 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons with a few tweaks to properly cater to the player base. Features of Macguffins, Ltd:

• Numerous flexible RP environments
• A group of helpful and friendly DMs, Helpers and moderators that will offer aid to new players.
• Frequent quests that emphasis fun narratives that players can interact with.
• Long form server story arcs where players can work together towards a common goal.
• The colosseum (both PVP and PVE) for our more combat orientated brethren.
• An expansive downtime system that includes exciting complications
• RP XP for those who enjoy interacting with the community.

Our server is welcoming to all levels of experience. Whether you are a hardcore veteran or wanting to dip your toes in for the first time, our group of moderators, helpers and DMs are here to help you seamlessly transition from introductions to dungeon delving and role playing in no time. Come, stay a while as while being able to give meaning to your characters story and make many fun and exciting friends a long the way! https://welcome.macguffins.org/

Theme: Tribal Psyker Outcast.
You first manifested your power to save a friend's life, but your tribe fears the magic you used so they cast you out. Will you build a safe haven for Psycasters or turn your back on the powers that caused your banishment?
Start: One Tribal Pawn. Pawn Skills: Any will do. Items: As many or as few neuroformers and psytrainers as you'd like. Research: - Ideologies: Fluid, Any will do. Totemic Style.
Theme: Beast Master.
Abandoned from birth you were raised by the beasts of the forest. One day when picking berries you came up on a creature that looked just like you. You then decided to find and befriend these creatures who shared your shape.
Start: One Tribal Pawn. Pawn Skills: High Animals, Medium Plants, Low Social. Items: Short Bow. Pets: One bear, one wolf, one panther. Research: - Ideologies: Fluid, Animal Personhood, Animalist style.
Theme: Space Pirates.
Your ship was destroyed while you were raiding a merchant fleet. You gathered what you could of your crew and hit the escape pods. Will you start a new life or rebuild your band of raiders?
Start: 3 - 5 pawns. (Use tribal start because raiders aren't really the thinking type and will have to research tech, or steal it.). Pawn Skills: High Shooting, Melee, Medium Social, Medium Medical, Low Intelligence. Items: Charge Rifles, Marine Armor, Basic Clothing. Ideologies: Fluid, Raider, Spikecore/Morbid style.
Tree Singers.
Theme: Your ancestor's colony ship crashed on a forgotten forested world, so they turned to nature for survival and began to worship the trees that provided for them. A millennia later, when mankind found your lost world and brought with them ships, your people saw a chance to spread their love of the forest to among the stars.
Start: 3 colonists crash landed. Pawn skills: High Social, High Plants, Low Melee, Low Shooting. Items: Gauranlen seeds, standard crash landed items. Research: Tree Sowing, Devilstrand, Psychite Refining, Cocoa. Ideologies: Tree Connection, Proselytizer, High Life optional. Totemic style.

I know there have been watch partied announced for the away games, but what if anything is going on outside of the arena or elsewhere in the area for fans to gather for home games?
I know Vegas does a lot outside in toshiba plaza, like silly vegas things like weddings and vow renewals, and also free tattoos and a big screen to watch outside the arena. Is anything like that going to be happening if game six is necessary?
Also where do you get the rats?

Just checking on everyone’s social media in the void after finishing episode 8. Personally most invested in the Yoly/Xander storyline.
Here’s what I noticed. • Xander has a sunflower in their bio • Yoly put a single sunflower emoji in her recent story (with no other text) where she was singing along with the lyrics “and I’ll still tell the world I’m in love with you, cause I ain’t ashamed of shit” • In their IG post from April 24, Xander has a sunflower tattoo on their right arm that I do NOT remember seeing in the show 🤔
This feels like spoilers. Like after seeing these things it feels like there’s no way they’re not together. Join in my obsession, what do you think? Do these facts make a good case?

Height: 6ft
Weight: 250
Medical issues: just got over COVID, GAD, PTSD, PCOS, RA (not currently active)
Current meds: Buspar, Slynd, Gabapentin 300mg for back pain
Alcohol or drugs: I vape nicotine, have a drink like twice a year (January was the last time) 20-25mg Hemp CBD once per day (helps with anxiety)
​
I just got over COVID for the first time - started taking Paxlovid Thursday, finished Monday. During that time I stopped my birth control and stopped taking CBD and have only been taking half does of Buspar, all per doctor's orders. I'm supposed to stay off them until Friday. Yesterday and today I've felt fine, no coughing or anything, a little fatigued, but every time I start to do something I feel like my brain is vibrating, like how when you're holding a steering wheel and the car is going fast, except my brain instead of my hands. It's extremely irritating and it seems to be on exertion or too much stimulus...like walking to the backyard to let my dogs out caused it, so did trying to listen to a podcast and knit at the same time. It's not brain zaps from taking less meds, I've had those before and this is different. Is this something I should be concerned about? I'm hesitant to message my doctor because this sounds insane but it's really making it hard for me to do anything at all.
EDITED TO ADD: I'm pretty sure it's not anxiety. I don't feel anxious, my heart rate isn't up, no sweaty palms or anything like that

I'm looking at the newest offerings from DJI. My last bird was a Phantom 3 4k, it was a great drone and performed awesome in adverse conditions. Sadly I no longer have the drone.

• Hiking
• Land Surveying or recon ( I live in the Pacific Northwest with rolling hills & trees and mountains)
• Photos/Videography

I've looked into the Mini 3 Pro, and despite its smaller size I've seen videos during wind tests with gusts up to 20 mph, it's still capable of flying and the gimbal is stabilized and the sensor quality seems decent. Seems like a versatile little drone.
Overall, it seems like the Mavic 3 is the " do it all" drone and the hasselblad camera looks amazing for HDR or dynamic range and quality. Do you think it's worth getting the Mavic 3 with the X28 zoom? I think that's a pretty neat feature having a telefoto lense for far away shots or taking a shot without having to crop a photo or video in post process. Plus the flight characteristics are superior including flight time. Only con is cost $2,000.00 It's been awhile since I've flown, it seems anti-collision technology is pretty " idiot proof". I did everything manually on my old P3 4K.
There's also the new Air 3 coming out soon... Decisions hmmm

The animated special I'm thinking of has two specific scenes that I can remember. The first, and biggest one, is of an elf seeing some children not having anything for Christmas so he takes off his own stockings and hangs them up for him, resulting in his toes turning blue out in the cold.
The second is a scene of a black singer singing 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree' and I think the same elf is in that scene as well.
This would have been aired in the early to mid 00s, most likely on Toon Disney, around the holidays of course.
Note: This was traditional animation, not stop motion like the Rankin / Bass specials.
Thanks!

Hi! I'm new to Reddit so I apologize if this post is out of place.
My family has a Red Tick Coonhound, and she has an incredibly high prey drive. She will spend hours barking up trees and obsessing over a glimpse of a potential prey item. Despite this, she's incredibly sweet and is gentle with small kids and tiny dogs.
Im 16, and I got my first pet around 5 months ago, unexpectedly after a relative passed. She is a very small grey cat and I love her to bits. My bedroom is on the 2nd floor, and we have a gate separating the 1st (where the dog is) and 2nd floor. This wasn't an issue for a few months, and I even swapped blankets between the two animals to get them used to each other's scents. The dog was excited but she didn't get overly focused after smelling the cat.
Around a month ago, we had an incident where my cat got too adventurous and squeezed through the gate to go downstairs. The dog spotted her and went crazy! She chased her and nearly caught her, it was incredibly scary. After the cat escaped she was foaming at the mouth and jumping at the gate, she wouldn't stop barking. I had never seen this side of her before. After this, we have had 2 other times where the dog has snuck upstairs while the gate is opened and attempted to look for the cat. I believe that in the dog's current state if she caught the cat, she would kill her. My entire family is very vigilant in closing the gate, and the cat has numerous hiding places that the dog cannot access.
So here is my question: Is it worth it to continue to try to socialize them with each other? I'm worried that continued interaction will increase her obsession with the cat. I also understand that not decreasing this hostility could result in a situation where my cat could get hurt.
Please let me know what you think. If you think I should continue to socialize them please include methods because I want to do this the right way.
I am also willing to implement more safety features if you guys can think of any.
(no I'm not getting rid of my cat or my dog)

Chapter 1 The Villager’s Warning
In the North near the tempestuous mountains and the groves of the Relum trees, which grow relum, which are like sweet pears, was a prosperous village called “ Alestra”. Alestra is a medium-sized village known for its cloying relums and its soft and crumbly soil perfect for the trees and gardens. They lived a humble and healthy life supplying themselves with veggies and meat from the boars they hunted. The water from Rivenile was the source of their agricultural success and survival. The sound of little children having fun exploring the fields of grain while their family works diligently on the farms. Most of the children spend their time outside either helping with their family's farm or playing near the grains and on the trees playing fun games. All except one particular boy who will spend his days indoors writing stories and reading about the fascinating creatures he wishes to discover. His name was Aran, a 12-year-old with red hair living with his parents who helped the village by transporting their food and veggies to nearby villages. Aran eagerly followed his father, perpetually saying “Father, can I hear the story about the Rift Creators of the Coliseum again please?”. The father replied, “ How about tonight when your mother is back for dinner, is that alright?”. “ Yes Father,” said Aran. Aran rushed to his room whose walls were covered with sheets of drawings and a portrait of his family right in the center of his room. His desk was piled with books and maps slightly torn and dirty. His bed was big enough for him, and a little chest lay at the end of the bed to store the items he cherished. Aran sat on his chair and picked up a book labeled “ Creatures of the Night” and he sat on his bed and read from where he began. Meanwhile, the Father went near his stable and put the ponderous goods on the wagon when he smelled a putrid stench of a rotting corpse. The father looked around to find the smell and discovered a Villager riding a horse carrying a wagon with numerous dead bodies disfigured and all missing body parts. “ What happened to them!?” stuttered the father in shock. “ To be honest I don’t know?” said the villager. “It might be a wolf or a bear,” said the villager. “That can’t be bears since it's winter,” said the father. “We might have to stop shipment to other villages,” said the villager. “Why, though, it's only a few animals we can take care of,” said the father. “Well, that depends if the mayor agrees,” the villager says. “Shouldn’t we mail this to animal control, maybe they can control these beasts,” the father said. “Already mailed it to them, should be arriving in a few weeks or so”. The villager rode his horse to the village square leaving the father worried. When it was nightfall the family was at the dinner table eating their food. They had a hot and warm meat pie filled with lamb and pork all mixed with gravy with a side of pan-fried spinach. After their dinner, Aran rushed towards his room with his father following him. “ Are you gonna tell me the story Father?” asked Aran. “ Alright, hold your patience,” said the father as he sat down on the bed. “ The story of the ..colosseum begins with the Greater wills, gods who judge the realms and serve as the way of evolution”. “When these gods see someone they love they give birth to the demigods. “ Each demigod ruled the realms and served as a ruler for their realms,” asked the Father. “ They had abilities like gravity, time, War, pestilence, and even death, while others had less powerful abilities like sand,” said the father. “ Each of the demigods is known to be the best and the most revered in their worlds.,” said the father in a Joyous mood. '' “All had everything they could need in their lives, but some wanted more”. The father looked outside the dark knight. “ Well it's getting late. The father replied with a tired tone “ Sleep well Aran”. “Can you finish the story tomorrow? " asked Aran, resting his head on the pillow. “Of course,” said the father. Aran closed his eyes and dreamed of himself in the stars, seeing the planets go by as he feels the 5 years later Aran who was now 17 got off his bed with his room no longer having the drawings he used to have and the desk he still had an accumulation of books. He passed his parent's room and went into the kitchen to make his parents some breakfast. Aran's parents were always tired of the number of resources needed for other villages and Aran’s mother sprained her knee when running back to the village. Aran grabbed a few thick pork slices and chopped them to put on the ardent sizzling pan. Aran proceeded to crack a few eggs, mix them with scallions, and place them on the pan with the pork bits until they were cooked well. The sound of the sizzling food awoke the father as he peeked through the kitchen to see his son cook. The father asks” Son it's still dark outside why are you up this early”. “I wanted to give you something to eat while I’m gone with the delivery for the next town,” said Aran. “ Alone, you can’t be alone when Wendigos are out on the road”. “ Let me come and help you deliver the food..” but as the father said that he was cut off and the Aron said, “ It's alright I brought a knife with me and I’ll be cautious”. Aran exited the house and went near the stable to ride his horse carrying the fruits and vegetables on his side. Aran rode his horse down the road to the village square. The village square had big houses with markets surrounding the houses and farms surrounding the Relum trees growing ever so long behind the village. The villagers look depleted and worn out. Aran rode his horse to the other houses to ask for resources and food they offered them all saying “ Tell Newberry to stay strong”. After Aran was finished taking the villager's supplies for Newberry he went to the village chief to gather his resources. He knocked on the door of the Mayor's house and saw him with a pile of water buckets, a few bags of gold, and Packs of wood. “ Ah Aran, please put this on your cart and tell Newberry to stay safe and have hope”. “Of course chief,” said Aran. Aran rode his horse to the village gate next to the tower post. When Aran was next to the post a Knight went outside of the tower replying “ What is your business of leaving Alestra '' . “ I’m transporting my family’s food to the village of Newberry, “ said Aran. “ The village of Newberry isn't doing well since the Wendigos raided them, they're going to need those supplies” said the knight. Aran was permitted to leave Alestera and Aran continued his journey on the path. Aran passed through from a few corpses to an abundance of them until Aran saw the village. The village was burned and ravaged with dark smoke covering the sky and the stench of burning flesh still in the air. Aran rushed to the village to see if anybody survived but found none survived. When Aran was about to leave he saw smoke coming out of the forest, Aran rode his horse swiftly and came to the source of the fire. He saw a few villagers and a small number of children near the fire scared and tired from the raid. “ Are you the villagers of Newberry?” asked Aran. “ We used to be until the Wendigos attacked,” said an elderly lady. Aran with a shocked look on his face asked: “ What about the knights”. “ Most of them died fighting while some died running,” said the old man next to the lady. “ Some more knights tried to help but those insidious beasts forestalled ”. Aran was worried for the villagers of Newberry and shouted“ I have resources from the town of Alestra and we have come for your help!!!”. All the villagers looked at Aran as he continued to shout “ Please gather any resources you need and help yourself to the food you need to survive with!!!”. The Villagers filled with hope and joy rushed to the cart and gathered all the supplies. They were all eating and drinking and covering themselves with blankets making them feel just a little bit safer. “ We don’t know how to thank you, young sir,” said a man with his children next to him. “ Please sir you don’t have to do anything, but if you and the others need help we're just a few miles away south,” said Aran. Aran left with an empty cart and a feeling of beatitude when he saw the villagers of Newberry full of bliss and hope. Halfway through his trip back to his village the horse instantaneously stopped and nearly threw Aran off the horse. “ Stay here Becky,” said Aran smoothly. He jumped off the horse and looked all around to see if anything would jump out and attack him. Suddenly he heard a large screeching sound mixed with screeching. He heard rustling and sticks being broken. He heard the noise again except it was teeth chattering and the sound of a loud sharp horn was closer. “ We have to go, Becky,” said Aran urgently as he jumped on his horse and rode as fast as he could. Aran heard the sound come closer and faster towards him. Aran had the sudden urge to stop the horse midway. Aran stopped his horse and soon after a dark wendigo jumped out in front of him and crashed near some trees and was unconscious for a few seconds. Aran used that time to ride away while horrified by that chase. The wendigo screeched in anger as Aran was out of its sight. Aran returned to the village sweaty and scared and opened the doors only to be on his knees. The father rushed up to him with the mother following him slowly. “ Aran what happened to you?!” asked the father in a frightened manner. “I escaped from a wendigo,” said Aran panting. “ How in this world did you survive?!” asked the father. “ Raranold, let the Aran rest now,” said the mother. “ Aran is traumatized enough for today, we can ask when he is ready but for now let him sleep and rest”. The father took a deep breath and said to Aran “ You can go upstairs and we’ll cook something for you, is that okay ''. “That's okay,” Aran replied. Aran went upstairs to his room and went to his bed to sit. Aran heard voices from downstairs wanting to hear what his parents were talking about. Aran opened the door quietly, walked on the stairs sneakily, and peered through the kitchen to hear what they were saying. “ 7 people died on that road and were eaten, there is no way our son could survive one of their attacks,” said Raranold. “ I think it's time for us to leave the village”. “But where will we go, Raranold,” asked the mother. “ We could go to the city of Elistar and maybe there we can be safe,” said the father. “I don’t know what to do now Elizabeth”. “ We can leave tomorrow when we pack all our stuff and leave while we still have light, and maybe we can reach an inn,” said Elizabeth. “ But what about Aran, how will he handle this?” asked Raranold. “He might be upset about it but I’m sure he’ll love the big city and all its fancy buildings and all the new stuff he’ll like”. “ Plus we have a good amount of money to survive in the city”. “ Now then, we should be cooking dinner at Raranold”. “ Please pass me the mushrooms on your right, we're going to be making some skewers” Aran walked to his room quietly shocked by the fact that he will move from the village he grew up in. Aran looked out the window gazing at the village thinking about how he will never get used to the city. Aran suddenly saw something big and tall in the bushes. It was the same wendigo that was chasing him through the path. Aran quickly fell over in terror and when he got back up, the wendigo was suddenly gone in an instant. “ Oh lords,” said Aran. The wendigo rushed deep into the forests crossing through the dry trees and the murky puddles towards an abandoned camp. The abandoned camp was full of wendigos either resting or fighting each other for food. Near the big stump sat a tall wendigo with various skulls and aches full of bottles and ashes on his sides. The wendigo held a staff with a large skull. The wendigo went towards the large wendigo and shrieked “ Shouldn’t we attack the village now”. The tall Wendigo stood up and said “ We attack when the sun is dim”. They heard horses coming through the road with knights packed with weapons passing by them. The tall Wendigo screamed in the sky letting every Wendigo know that they would attack the village of Alestra.
( This is only chapter 1 and I'm 13 )

Hi! I'm new to Reddit so I apologize if this post is out of place.
My family has a Red Tick Coonhound, and she has an incredibly high prey drive. She will spend hours barking up trees and obsessing over a glimpse of a potential prey item. Despite this, she's incredibly sweet and is gentle with small kids and tiny dogs.
Im 16, and I got my first pet around 5 months ago, unexpectedly after a relative passed. She is a very small grey cat and I love her to bits. My bedroom is on the 2nd floor, and we have a gate separating the 1st (where the dog is) and 2nd floor. This wasn't an issue for a few months, and I even swapped blankets between the two animals to get them used to each other's scents. The dog was excited but she didn't get overly focused after smelling the cat.
Around a month ago, we had an incident where my cat got too adventurous and squeezed through the gate to go downstairs. The dog spotted her and went crazy! She chased her and nearly caught her, it was incredibly scary. After the cat escaped she was foaming at the mouth and jumping at the gate, she wouldn't stop barking. I had never seen this side of her before. After this, we have had 2 other times where the dog has snuck upstairs while the gate is opened and attempted to look for the cat. I believe that in the dog's current state if she caught the cat, she would kill her. My entire family is very vigilant in closing the gate, and the cat has numerous hiding places that the dog cannot access.
So here is my question: Is it worth it to continue to try to socialize them with each other? I'm worried that continued interaction will increase her obsession with the cat. I also understand that not decreasing this hostility could result in a situation where my cat could get hurt.
Please let me know what you think. If you think I should continue to socialize them please include methods because I want to do this the right way.
I am also willing to implement more safety features if you guys can think of any.
(no I'm not getting rid of my cat or my dog)

So I had a dream and in that dream I realized I was in a dream and I was talking to people while I was there (people I haven’t spoken too in years I was never great friends to begin with) and I said “this is a dream right?” To which they responded “no you’re tripping” then talked about adding me to their friend group (hanging out all the time, group chats etc. )
I was very aware of the situation because it’s not something I would put myself in, I’m not antisocial but it wasn’t my crowd or environment . It was nothing bad just hanging out with a large group of people I don’t associate with.
So I start arguing almost with the people there saying things like “there’s no way this is not a dream” and they were laughing saying I was “bugging out” Eventually I came to the conclusion that if it was a dream I wouldn’t feel pain so I started hitting myself in the forearm very hard to see if I could feel it and then I was without doubt, the people there were worried I was hitting myself. Shortly after that I remember a drunk feeling (which is something I don’t do anymore) and it’s hazy after that but we were on my way back to my old apartment where I don’t live anymore late in the AM and I had to work the next day.
Why would my own body create such random people then try to convince me I’m not dreaming? It happened awhile ago and I think about it often. Ps. I don’t self harm nor have I ever psychically

Synopsis:
It's kill or be eaten.
Jenny has enough problems: her overbearing mother, graduation and prom, and an embarrassing crush on her best friend.
But when a freak earthquake rips her high school out of New York, none of that seems to matter. Instead, Jenny comes face to face with a nightmarish threat: Angels that want to feast on human flesh.
Welcome to the Veil
Human Population Remaining: 851

First / Previous
Jenny looked back at the gloomy English wing hallway. The bodies on the floor. The bloody smears along the wall. It was quiet, but it was that thick pregnant sort of quiet right before something horrible happened in a movie.
She guessed that more angels had come in through the windows of the other classrooms, and while she and Susan had fought the one in their room, the others weren’t so lucky. Most people must have run for the stairwells, the way they’d practiced for fire drills. But after the earthquake and with these angel things… it must have been a blind panic.
Where would they even run to? The first floor? Could anyone even exit the building? They clearly weren’t in Manhattan anymore. Jenny couldn’t help looking at the girl on the floor.
Her head was at an awkward angle with a few glistening strands of muscle still attaching it to her body. Her eyes stared blankly, her mouth parted in lifeless shock. She must have been a freshman. Maybe a sophomore. Jenny pictured the younger girl tripping in the mad rush to escape, screaming as an angel grabbed her leg while all her friends and classmates and teachers kept running.
“I don’t see anymore out there,” said Susan, who peered through the double doors.
Jenny took a breath, and together they pushed through the doors and left the English wing behind them. Slowly, they stepped into the main area where every wing of the floor met. This led to the central stairwell. Down the hall across from where they stood, a light flickered in the Biology wing.
“Let’s not take these stairs,” whispered Jenny. She barely dared to breathe. Those things seemed to be attracted to sound. Maybe their empty eyes couldn’t see clearly?
Susan agreed. “Let’s cut through here,” she said, pointing to the Foreign Language department. It was a narrow hallway that led away from the central stairwell to another smaller one.
They turned the corner slowly, trying not to look at the bodies that were thankfully facedown on the floor. Susan stepped in blood.
The Foreign Languages hallway was clear, but Jenny still held her breath as they walked towards the stairwell at the end. Something rattled one of the classroom doors hard. Jenny whirled around ready to attack. “Someone’s in there,” she whispered, holding her hatchet with both hands.
Susan clicked her cattle prod on. Its static sound was almost comforting.
Jenny inched forward slowly trying to get a look through the little classroom window. It was dark inside with most of the shades drawn, but she recognized it was the French class that Susan had taken last year. A shadow moved through the gloom, rushing towards the door. Jenny stepped back just in time as the glass window shattered and an angel's head burst through, screeching and hissing. Its cries echoed throughout the hall.

Tarnished Angel (Level 4)

Susan reacted first, thrusting her prod against its face. The prongs made contact with its nose, and it stopped screeching. It violently jerked with its head struck through the door, and Jenny took the opportunity to bury her hatchet in its forehead.

You’ve defeated Tarnished Angel (Level 4)
Experience has been awarded
+10 Energy gained

​

Leveled up!
Jenny Huang Level 2 -> Level 3
+2 Stat Points

Breathing hard, Jenny stepped back wanting to study the angel. What was the difference now that it was level 4? But they heard shuffling and hissing echoing down the hall. It came from the direction of the biology department, and it was getting louder.
She glanced at Susan whose eyes went wide. Then Jenny spotted the boy’s bathroom. They’d never make it to the stairwell, but maybe they could hide. She grabbed Susan’s arm and pulled her inside, carefully shutting the door so it wouldn’t make a sound. There was no knob, no lock. It was a push-to-open door.
The stench of the bathroom was thick and miasmic, and she clenched her teeth to keep from gagging. Susan gasped, and Jenny turned around, keeping her back pressed to the door, and saw what was causing the smell.
On the floor beside the urinals was another blonde angel glistening in the dim white glow coming in through a small window near the ceiling. It wasn’t moving. Neither were the three boys lying beside it, bloodied and torn up.
Jenny gripped her hatchet tight when she heard shuffling in the hall. She ground her heels against the floor, wondering how long she’d be able to hold them off if they pushed. She applied the 2 stat points she’d received for leveling up to Power hoping it would help keep the door shut.
One of the boys on the floor coughed, and Susan dropped down with an alarmed look on her face. She quickly pressed her hand over the boy’s mouth, trying to stifle his coughing.
Jenny could almost feel one of the angels outside the door, breathing down her back. She bit her lip to stop it from trembling. She didn’t want to die in a boy’s bathroom. It seemed like they hadn’t heard the coughing.
Susan struggled with the boy on the floor. Blood gushed from his neck. His arms moved feebly, trying to resist Susan’s hand clamped over his mouth. His eyes were wide, and Jenny recognized him as Mark. The boy in her gym class last year who’d been nice to her when she had nothing to do during free-play time. He’d shown her how to shoot a basketball.
He was a junior now, and they didn’t have any classes together this year, but they’d still say hi when they passed each other in the hall.
“Please,” whispered Susan, bringing her face close to his. “They’re right outside.” She looked up at Jenny with a desperate expression on her face. Mark either couldn’t hear her or he was beyond understanding. He kept trying to pull her hand off his face.
We have to kill him. The thought made Jenny’s stomach lurch. He was clearly suffering, and if he exposed them, they’d all die.
She remembered what the guidance system had said. Equipment tools, and weapons. Could she summon something to heal Mark?
She looked at the angel lying dead on the floor with its head in a urinal. She didn’t recognize the two other boys beside it. They must have fought the angel together with their bare hands. But since they killed it, did that mean Mark had his First Blood bonus? Which meant he had points he could use, if only they could get him to calm down so they could explain.
She had to use her imagination, right? She had to imagine what she wanted and the system would apply a cost. Alright. She shut her eyes, tried not to think about the angels scurrying up and down the hall outside, and pictured a potion. Something like the ones she’d pick up in games to restore her health. She pictured a glass vial of red liquid. Red signified health, that much she was certain of.
A Minor Potion of Recovery will cost 100 Energy. Insufficient Energy.
Fuck, she thought. She was 25 short. She knew Susan wouldn’t have any to spare after making her cattle prod. But Mark might. Now how was she supposed to explain that to him while still holding the door?
She thought about the other angel she’d fought, the one in the French classroom. Angels didn’t seem to understand how doors worked. It couldn't turn the handle and it attacked the door mindlessly. So maybe if she tiptoed, she could get to Susan and Mark and explain how he could craft a potion to save his life.
If they’re quiet enough, the angels won’t hear them and try to get in. It was risky, but they could manage it. And if it worked, they’d have three people instead of two to fight them.
Just as Jenny worked up the courage to step away from the door, a loud crash made her freeze. A deafening hissing filled her ears, and Jenny realized there were way more creatures than she’d initially thought. But there was another crash, followed by a shrill scream that made her blood run cold.
She glanced at Susan who looked just as terrified as Jenny felt. The walls shook. Violent sounds and hissing and screeching came from outside. Dust drifted down like snow on Susan's blue hair. Something slammed against the wall just beside the door. Jenny shut her eyes and braced herself for the worst if whatever commotion was happening outside forced its way into the bathroom.
It sounded like a fight. Something else was fighting these angels. Throwing them around. Cutting them down. Was it another student? Maybe one of the teachers?
Hope made her heart pound hard against her chest. Maybe someone else had figured out how to make use of this system thing and leveled up enough to fight these creatures head-on. She felt dizzy with relief. Were they saved? Praying, she listened as best she could, trying to figure out what was going on.
She heard a pitiful mewling followed by a thick snap. Then there was silence. No hissing or footsteps or anything, and Jenny couldn’t take it anymore.
“I’m going to check what that was,” she mouthed slowly to Susan who shook her head no, looking frightened. Jenny bit her lip, but turned anyway to pull on the door slightly, just a sliver.
Cool air from the hall tickled her nose. In the pasty white gloom, she saw what had caused the commotion. Her heart sank.
Several angels lay strewn about on the floor. None of them were moving. On all fours was something bigger than the angels she’d seen before. Its back was broad and more defined and wasn’t just exposed skin. Instead, it was green and glossy, like an insect’s exoskeleton. And it held one of the angels like a rag doll while it chewed on its face.

Imperfect Angel (Level 12)

It turned its head as it snapped off the thinner angel’s skull. The Imperfect Angel’s face was covered in that same green scale-like thing. It had long dark hair that bounced while it chewed, and, while it was still slim, it wasn’t as ragged and bony as the other angels.
It dropped the now headless angel corpse and moved to another. Its movements were strange, even though it was on all fours like the other angels had been. It favored one arm over the other, and as it moved, Jenny saw a nasty gash across one of its green shoulders. It was hurt from the fight.
The Imperfect Angel… was that some sort of evolution then? Did it level up as well then? From killing people? Killing other angels?
Jenny realized with a chill that the angels were in the system too. They were partaking in the Survival Challenge. She nearly dropped the hatchet. Her palms were sweating. The angels were also getting stronger. She realized it was only a matter of time before it noticed her or ventured into the bathroom. And if they wanted to get to the stairwell, to get to Oliver, they’d have to fight it or something like it at some point.
And she didn’t want to fight it in the bathroom where there’d be no space to swing her hatchet. She took a deep, shaking breath as she listened to it eating the other angels. Sweat ran down her back. She bit her lip. There was one thing that was for certain: if she wanted to live, she’d have to get much, much stronger.
This was so unfair. All she’d wanted was to get on with her life. Graduate. Get away from her family. Get away from her mom.
Her mom’s voice filled her head, screaming at her to find Oliver.
She wondered what her mom would do in this situation. How would she handle all this carnage and death? Jenny just wanted to sob and scream and pull out her hair. She wanted to break all the mirrors in the bathroom and smash everything she possibly could. But what good would that do now?
It was oddly familiar to how she felt at home. Fighting with her mom, slamming the door, sobbing into her pillow, wishing she wasn’t here.
But she was here. Stuck in this nightmare. And she was at least getting stronger. She’d killed a bunch of them already. This wasn’t like home. She wasn’t powerless. She wasn’t just going to hide in her room and cry and play video games until she passed out. She shut her eyes and sucked in a breath and made her decision.
She clutched her hatchet, feeling the tiniest bit comforted by having it in her hands. She looked back at Susan who had Mark’s head on her lap, trying to console him, still pressing her palm down on his lips as he struggled.
Without a word, Jenny stepped out into the hall. She didn’t want to see Susan’s reaction. She didn’t want to second guess her decision to fight this thing. At the very least, she resolved to lead it away from the bathroom so Susan and Mark could figure out a way to get out.

Hey everybody so I help run a small family Christmas tree farm and we've recently had someone come in and offer to buy out all of our trees. They've offered to use their machine to pull them out of the ground and all that, but we've never had someone try to buy so many and with the roots (usually we sell cut trees) so I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this type of thing. The majority of our trees are Norway Spruce and are approximately 10 ft tall on average and most are quite wide, also to give you an idea of the overall quality of our trees are practically as good as it gets. Thanks in advance guys :)