Period: 0.95 days

	Submissions	Comments
Total	68	301
Rate (per day)	71.23	302.86
Unique Redditors	28	83
Combined Score	2466	1218

Top Submitters' Top Submissions

1. 529 points, 20 submissions: Idz4gqbi
   
   1. My Modest Celebration of Nijika's Birthday (182 points, 14 comments)
   2. 20th May Nijikaposting #15 (Defamation Industry Edition) (58 points, 6 comments)
   3. 29th May 2023 Nijikaposting #2 (@kuro_u) (28 points, 1 comment)
   4. 29th May 2023 Nijikaposting #19 (ft Kessoku Band) (25 points, 3 comments)
   5. 29th May Nijikaposting #14 (Super Onion Cutter Edition) (21 points, 1 comment)
   6. 29th May 2023 Nijikaposting #3 (Cut the Onion Edition) (20 points, 3 comments)
   7. 29th May Nijikaposting #18 (19 points, 2 comments)
   8. 29th May Nijikaposting #20: Ten Days of Drawing Nijika by @aikatsu0702 (18 points, 1 comment)
   9. 29th May Nijikaposting #9 (@SANBA1_icecream) (18 points, 1 comment)
   10. Nijika Birthday Tributes by @riokasen94 (18 points, 1 comment)
2. 365 points, 12 submissions: Gotoh_Naoki
   
   1. "P-please, c-can I m-marry Kita-chan..?" (messyCode& on Pixiv) (67 points, 4 comments)
   2. Bocchi the Hammer (@tyunnyunn on Twitter) (57 points, 4 comments)
   3. this bocch reminds me of the black haired girl on some of the "chad memes" (kebodohan7347 on Twitter) (41 points, 1 comment)
   4. Maid Kikuri (@gomibako606 on Twitter) (38 points, 3 comments)
   5. @lowlifescore's new doujin cover (33 points, 16 comments)
   6. CUTENESS OVERLOAD @SGYmyhumo on Twitter) (32 points, 4 comments)
   7. Bocchi the Birthday Sergeant (@partenlafratev on Twitter) (23 points, 2 comments)
   8. Nijika dances with... a cactus?! (@ogasanart on Twitter) (19 points, 1 comment)
   9. Nijika found another label?! (@goumonsha on Twitter) (18 points, 1 comment)
   10. Bocchi's gift to Nijika (@hanyu_desu on Twitter) (14 points, 1 comment)
3. 363 points, 2 submissions: whatdoilemonade
   
   1. A broke friend's present [pixiv@黄緑なっぱ] (278 points, 14 comments)
   2. A clueless sister's present [pixiv@天狗まい] (85 points, 5 comments)
4. 156 points, 6 submissions: Stand-on-Toilet
   
   1. Kana_Taka11's Nijika Birthday Set-Up (37 points, 3 comments)
   2. Nijika Rehydrates You (@arumis3961) (37 points, 3 comments)
   3. To u/Spell_PhD, Hope This Will Help You with Uploading on Here (28 points, 7 comments)
   4. Nijika Illustration (@ZinMountain) (25 points, 1 comment)
   5. Happy Birthday Nijika! - Dancing Doritos (@wata9mm_no) (17 points, 1 comment)
   6. Happy Birthday Nijika! (@Kana_Taka11) (12 points, 1 comment)
5. 121 points, 2 submissions: KikuriHiroi
   
   1. Bocchi the ugly ass dead rotting fucking floorcarp!! (80 points, 12 comments)
   2. Just the two of us - Playboi Carti (41 points, 9 comments)
6. 115 points, 1 submission: GenericLoser12
   
   1. Oh dear. (115 points, 12 comments)
7. 88 points, 1 submission: Spell_PhD
   
   1. Happy Birthday Nijika! (88 points, 18 comments)
8. 83 points, 1 submission: Hamazi__
   
   1. Happy birthday Nijika-Chan!!! (83 points, 11 comments)
9. 80 points, 2 submissions: caloyagin
   
   1. nani ga warui in 4k (61 points, 12 comments)
   2. Empty MV (19 points, 3 comments)
10. 60 points, 1 submission: Dylaniskool
    
    1. Never know that Ryo plays (stupid) Fortnite (60 points, 2 comments)

Top Commenters

1. Mukaido (118 points, 18 comments)
2. Idz4gqbi (96 points, 29 comments)
3. YUZUtry (64 points, 21 comments)
4. Gotoh_Naoki (59 points, 21 comments)
5. lostWayZERO (56 points, 12 comments)
6. -Nijika_Ijichi- (52 points, 8 comments)
7. Pundarikaksh (51 points, 15 comments)
8. Pete-zaTime (48 points, 4 comments)
9. Spell_PhD (38 points, 3 comments)
10. Farguad (37 points, 2 comments)

Top Submissions

1. A broke friend's present [pixiv@黄緑なっぱ] by whatdoilemonade (278 points, 14 comments)
2. My Modest Celebration of Nijika's Birthday by Idz4gqbi (182 points, 14 comments)
3. Oh dear. by GenericLoser12 (115 points, 12 comments)
4. Happy Birthday Nijika! by Spell_PhD (88 points, 18 comments)
5. A clueless sister's present [pixiv@天狗まい] by whatdoilemonade (85 points, 5 comments)
6. Happy birthday Nijika-Chan!!! by Hamazi__ (83 points, 11 comments)
7. Bocchi the ugly ass dead rotting fucking floorcarp!! by KikuriHiroi (80 points, 12 comments)
8. "P-please, c-can I m-marry Kita-chan..?" (messyCode& on Pixiv) by Gotoh_Naoki (67 points, 4 comments)
9. nani ga warui in 4k by caloyagin (61 points, 12 comments)
10. Never know that Ryo plays (stupid) Fortnite by Dylaniskool (60 points, 2 comments)

Top Comments

1. 38 points: Pete-zaTime's comment in A broke friend's present [pixiv@黄緑なっぱ]
2. 25 points: Farguad's comment in A broke friend's present [pixiv@黄緑なっぱ]
3. 23 points: Mukaido's comment in Oh dear.
4. 22 points: A_Weakling's comment in A broke friend's present [pixiv@黄緑なっぱ]
5. 20 points: whatdoilemonade's comment in A broke friend's present [pixiv@黄緑なっぱ]
6. 18 points: Idz4gqbi's comment in My Modest Celebration of Nijika's Birthday
7. 16 points: Stand-on-Toilet's comment in To u/Spell_PhD, Hope This Will Help You with Uploading on Here
8. 15 points: DomoandFinch's comment in Trying Doritos For The First Time (GONE WRONG)
9. 15 points: Mukaido's comment in nani ga warui in 4k
10. 14 points: -Nijika_Ijichi-'s comment in Happy Birthday Nijika!

Generated with BBoe's Subreddit Stats

Join the Fort Worth discord to connect w/other folks in FW, chat & check out different meet ups: https://discord.com/invite/9KUdWdQVdJ
Thought this post would be the first w/o the PSA, but need to include it again: If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
[Tuesday May 30th]
Pickleball Clinic 8:30-10:30 a.m. Chisholm Trail Community Center Free Learn the rules and the basics of playing pickleball.
Free Yoga Burnett Park 5:30-6:15PM bring your own mat
Silent Book Club 6:30-8PM Hotel Dryce free Silent Book Club
Geeks Who Drink T&P Tavern 7:30PM
Geeks Who Drink Trivia Night University Pub FW 8-10PM
Dallas Sports & Entertainment Career Fair 3-5 p.m. College Park Center $30-$44 Learn about open positions and internships with the Wings, Mavericks, Rangers + other sports teams around the metroplex.
Trig44 presents Trig Tuesday ft. Dalton Torres, Taylor Ochs, Matt Gumley Tulips FW doors 7, show 8PM
[Wednesday May 31st]
Nature Hike 10-11:30 a.m. Nature Center, 9601 Fossil Ridge Rd. $5 Take in the beauty of the Texas countryside during this morning hike surrounded by blooming flowers.
Lunchtime Music Series Burnett Park 12-1PM Grab your lunch & enjoy the beautiful weather paired w/local artists
We Run Wednesday’s The trailhead at clearfork 6:30-8PM
Fort Worth Film Club May Signature Screening: Lucas before Luke The Stage West Theatre 7-10:30PM
No Pressure w/ Koyo, Illusion, & Fleshwater Tulips No Pressure, Koyo, Illusion, Fleshwater Tulips FW 7PM
Tekken 7 weekly meet 6-11PM, 21+ after 8PM Electric Starship Arcade $10 for the night/ $20 monthly pass Can bring your own wired controllefight stick or they’ll have some for public use If enough people, casual tournament bracket @ 9
BettySoo and Pat Byrne The Post at River East 8PM An intimate acoustic performance $20+
[Thursday Jun 1st]
Happy HouCrazy Crowler Sale 4-9PM Salsa Dance Lessons 7-8PM Neutral Ground Brewing Company
Erick Willis LIVE Rusty Nickel IceHouse 6PM $10+
Summer Menu Tasting Taste Community Restaurant 6-8PM
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra’s Concerts in the Garden Festival Gates open 6:30 p.m. start 8:30 p.m. Grab your picnic baskets & enjoy Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Greater Tuna Downtown Cowtown at the Isis June 1-3 8PM 2-man comedy show
Geeks Who Drink Trivia Night HopFusion Ale Works 8-10PM
Crimson Wine Tasting at Neighbor’s House Grocery complimentary wine tasting for sipping & shopping. Guests get to try 4 different wines from Napa’s Crimson Wine Group Drop by anytime 4:30-6:30 pm
[Friday Jun 2nd]
First Fri-YAY All day Fort Worth Bike Sharing Stations Free Explore the city on wheels with a free bike rental courtesy of Fort Worth Bike Sharing and the Blue Zones Project — promo code “92020APP.”
Kimbell Happy Hour Kimbell Art Museum’s weekend happy hour 5-7 pm beverages & bites w/live music by the Allegro Guitar Society.
National Donut Day TX Whiskey 6 p.m. a donut + cocktail pairing, burgers, live music, on-site engraving, & a donut hole bar $35
FWSO’s Concerts in the Gardenl Gates open 6:30 p.m. start 8:30 p.m. Grab your picnic baskets & enjoy symphony sounds Radio Highway Performs the Music of the Eagles *The orchestra does not perform on this concert.
Locals Only Hip Hop Haltom Theater 7-11PM
Live Music on the Plaza, Sundance Square 7-10PM every Fri-Sun
Dial Up - A 90's Party Experience Dial Up Tulips FW 8PM $15
Rhett Miller Tannahill's Tavern & Music Hall 8PM $44+
D.L. Hughley Arlington Improv Jun 2-4 times vary
That Texas Meskin Tour - THAT MEXICAN OT Ridglea Theater $40+
Special E.D w\ Dude-Man & MORE Doors 7:00pm, Start 8:00pm Lola's Fort Worth
[Saturday Jun 3rd]
Drag with Me! The Show: Brunch Located upstairs at The Red Goose Saloon the ONLY interactive Drag Show of its kind: 2 audience members will be selected each show to be transformed into a Drag Queen themselves, lip sync battle, & win their very own Drag with Me! Crown! Ticket price inc Meal & Show! 18+
FWSO’s Concerts in the Gardenl Gates open 6:30 p.m. start 8:30 p.m. Chicago Nights featuring Jason Scheff
Zumba Sundance Square Plaza 9:45am - 11:00am
Goat Yoga Bedford! Generations Park at Boyd Ranch 10-11AM $20+
Catalina Canned Wine Mixer Truck Yard Alliance 12PM themed after the 2008 hit movie Step Brothers. Wear your best tuxedo t-shirt for a wine tasting, photo ops, food trucks, and a Step Brothers cover band. Admission is free, but a $15 wine tasting is offered from 7-9 pm, featuring six wine samples and a souvenir glass filled with frose. Costume contests will be held at 5 pm & 10 pm.
Random Direction artist pop up 1-6PM Love Sammy's chef popup 2-7PM Neutral Ground Brewing Company
CyberPunk w/ APT 75 + P!xel Ampersand 5:15-9PM
Miracle Nights Allmo$t Music US Tour Fort Worth Ridglea Theater 6PM
Ill Nino with Through Fire, Dropout Kings and more The Rail Club Live 6:30PM
WOODEYE (One Night Only) w/ Brave Little Howl + Vacation Dad Lola's 8PM $15
FANCY: Queens of Country Party - 21+ Tulips FW 10PM $15+
WOODEYE (One Night Only) w / Brave Little Howl + Vacation Dad Doors 7:00pm, Start 8:00pm Lola's Fort Worth
[Sunday June 4th]
Panther Island Beer Yoga Panther Island Brewing 10:30AM $20
Sunday Supper Club: Courtney Patton and Bri Bagwell The Post at River East 6PM $25+
The Damn Quails Fort Brewery & Pizza 7PM $10
FW Symphony Orchestra’s Concerts in the Gardenl Gates open 6:30 p.m. start 8:30 p.m. Grab your picnic baskets & enjoy symphony sounds Classical Mystery Tour: A Tribute to the Beatles**The orchestra does not perform on this concert
Summer Afternoon Tea at Indulge Enjoy three courses inc chicken tarragon sandwiches, roasted vegetable phyllo cups, and street corn crostinis, scones with clotted cream and jam, cream puffs, madeleines, and shortbread cookies. Tea choices inc black or herbal blend. The tea service is $65 & begins at 2 pm.
[Ongoing]
Riders of the Purple Sage Hip Pocket Theatre until June 11 Fridays-Sundays 9PM $10+ Featuring action, adventure, & romance in the wide open spaces, it’s a classic Western of the silent film era
“Lives of the Gods” until Sept. 3 Kimbell Art Museum $14+ Explore the divinity of Mayan art at this exhibition of nearly 100 rarely seen masterpieces & discoveries

We all have problems as kids, right?
But they’re not adult problems. Those come later.
Kid problems are much easier to deal with. Kid problems might seem ridiculous now, but back then they were practically the end of the world for some of us. Playground politics was a thing—who was friends with who. If we didn’t wear nice clothes, kids would laugh. If we didn’t like the things other kids liked, we were weird. We were a hive-mind, obsessed with being liked, being appreciated and accepted. High school sucks, sure, but elementary school is just as bad. Nobody says it these days so I will.
Kids can be fucking cruel.
I remember my biggest problem that morning being that I hadn’t gotten the new Pokémon game—Diamond and Pearl, I think it was called. I’d begged my parents for a Nintendo DS when it came out and had opened up a brand new light pink DS Lite on my 10th birthday, the day before. I wanted the game that all the other kids were playing, but according to mom it was too expensive. Instead, I got Barbie Horse Adventures: Summer Camp.
Needless to say, I wasn’t thrilled with it.
It was raining that day.
I remember watching big, fat raindrops run down the classroom window, my head pressed to my desk and turned towards looming grey clouds. I liked pretending the raindrops were racing each other and mentally cheering them on.
I was too embarrassed to pull out my DS practically burning a hole in my skirt. I’d made the stupid mistake of telling everyone I was getting the new Pokémon game for my birthday, and the idea of admitting to them that I actually hadn’t—instead having some stupid Barbie game that I was pretending I liked—was making my stomach twist.
Still though, the rain was nice to watch. Since the weather wasn’t that great, we’d been strictly told to stay inside, though some kids had decided to ignore the teacher and go outside anyway so the classroom was mostly empty. I was watching one particular raindrop dance across the glass, when a laugh startled me out of my thoughts. When I lifted my head, I saw the usual suspects gathering around Lily’s desk.
They were bullying her again.
Licey Lily. That’s what everyone called her. Mom told me to stay away from the girl—though I think that was a universal thing all the parents told their kids. Lily came to school with clothes which didn’t fit her and holes in her socks and her shoes falling apart around her feet. When I sat behind her, sometimes I’d glimpse red markings on her wrist and her ankles. Lily didn’t wear winter clothes when it snowed. I remember when she came in late one day and wasn’t even wearing a coat. I’d heard from other kids her parents didn’t look after her, while others spread a rumour that she was an orphan. Lily had thick blonde curls that fell in front of her face in tangles and knots. Mrs Lewis tried to help her. She was maybe the only one who cared.
Mrs Lewis made sure Lily had a thick, woolly coat to play outside in. When Lily walked into class with her hair looking like a bird's nest, Mrs Lewis made it look pretty again. I liked Lily’s hair when it was brushed and in ribbons.
In kindergarten I was convinced she was a princess because her hair, despite being messy, looked like it was glowing, caught up in ethereal light from the sun.
I was sure the other kids were jealous. That was why they bullied her.
That day Lily’s hair didn’t look pretty—she didn’t look like a princess. The bright red ribbons Mrs Lewis had put in on Friday were still clinging to clumpy tangles of blonde, and she was wearing the same knitted cardigan she was wearing on Friday over a creased skirt and shoes that were too big for her. Though it wasn’t her clothes, or even the state of her hair that had attracted her usual tormentors. Lily had been scratching her head all the way through class. It wasn’t like normal though. Usually, she idly scratched maybe once or twice, but that day it had been a constant scratch, scratch, scratch all the way through class. Of course Scarlett Maine noticed.
The girl had waited until Mrs Lewis left the classroom before sidling over to Lily’s desk.
“Do you even wash your hair, Licey Lily?” Scarlett had dark hair pulled into pigtails that bobbed when she giggled. She leaned towards Lily. Scarlet acted older than she was—probably because she had a sister in high school. “My mom said only dirty kids like you get lice, and your hair is so gross.”
Lily didn’t move, her mess of blonde curls hanging in front of her face.
“Hey.” Scarlett grabbed a handful of her hair and tugged violently, “Licey Lily, why aren’t you talking to us?” She jumped back suddenly with a choked laugh. “Urgh, you can see them! They’re wriggling in her hair!”
“Scarlett.” I said. “Cut it out.”
I was ignored. If I tried to stop it, I knew what would happen. It always happened. Anyone who tried to help Lily, or told Mrs Lewis about the bullying, either got outcasted or bullied too. I opened my mouth to speak again, louder this time, but the others were in their own world—like tormenting Lily was their own personal fantasy and nobody could penetrate that little bubble of theirs. Freddie Caine who had been hovering over Scarlett with an identical cruel grin let out a disgusted snort. He grabbed Scarlett’s arm and the two of them stumbled back.
“I can see them!” He pointed, his eyes wide. “They’re all over her back! There are so many!”
More murmurs. Giggling. Some kids jumped up from their own desks and joined the growing crowd surrounding Lily. Freddie edged forwards like the desk was teeming with crawlies. “Did you make friends with them?” He whispered in Lily’s face. When the others laughed at that, Scarlett being the loudest, he shoved Lily hard.
“I bet you did.” Freddie grinned, “That’s why you’re always scratching. They’re your only friends.”
Scarlett nodded. Giggling, she rushed to her desk and grabbed her bag, pulling something out. The kids laughed harder. It was a water bottle—but it definitely wasn’t filled with water. Lily seemed to notice this too. She came back to life, lifting her head, glistening eyes widening in panic. I already knew what Scarlett was going to do, but nobody could stop her. Scarlett rounded Lily’s desk and held the bottle up high over the trembling girl’s head.
“Bath time!” Scarlett giggled, tipping the bottle.
I was aware of something that wasn’t water splashing down on a squeaking Lily’s head. She cried out, trying to shield herself. When she tried to jump up, tears welling in her eyes, Freddie and two other girls held her down. Scarlett didn’t stop until the bottle was empty and Lily was soaking wet, her cardigan glued to her, a huge wet patch on her skirt. When Lily lifted her head, her sopping knotted curls hung in clumps in front of her eyes. The bottle hit the ground and Freddie picked it up with a frown.
“What is that?” He sniffed it and pulled a face. “That stinks!”
The other kids murmured in agreement, and Scarlett shrugged. Her gaze pierced Lily, who was crying, her entire body trembling with the force of her sobs. “It’s apple juice, dummy! “ She said, “My mom wouldn’t let me fill my water bottle and my big sister was in the shower, so I got some apple juice from my dad’s office. It was on his desk.”
Freddie pinched his nose. “That’s not apple juice!” His voice was all nasally, “It smells like old socks! And it’s green!”
“You’re going to get in trouble.” Jasper Parker spoke up. He sat across from me and barely ever spoke- unless it was to brag about how smart he was. He’d been organising his gold sticker collection, though the splash had made him jump. He wasn’t smiling, though the muscles in his face were gradually contorting into one. Jasper wasn’t fooling me. I knew he only pretended to be nice so he could maintain his position as best student. He found it funny. I could see it in the sparkle in his eyes, his smirk when Scarlett and Freddie shoved Lily into her chair.
“Yeah?” Freddie’s gaze found Jasper’s. “Are you going to tattle, Goody Two Shoes?”
Jasper shrugged. “No.” He went back to his gold sticker collection, though his voice had softened a little. Goodie Two Shoes was his nickname in 3rd grade. Not just that—Jasper was obsessed with being the teacher’s pet. He had been as unpopular as Lily before bringing in Pokémon cards one day, and suddenly he was cool. Jasper had all the special sparkly ones he happily traded, so naturally the other kids had decided he wasn’t so bad after all. “She needed a bath. She stinks.”
“Stinky Lily!” Isabel Hades laughed, the others joining in – including Jasper, bowing his head further.
Ignoring them, Scarlett’s attention was on Lily, who had stood up, her hair dripping. All of her was dripping. Her clothes, her face—her eyes. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and yet they still laughed, pushing and shoving her. “See?” Scarlett’s voice was sugary sweet. “I’m so nice, Licey Lily! I even gave your friends a bath!”
Lily didn’t speak. She only ran out of the classroom, the others laughter chasing her all the way down the corridor. When the girl was gone, the other kids returned to their desk and Scarlett acted like nothing had happened. Jasper grabbed a mop from the janitor's closet, lying that Lily had spilled her water and cleaned up the mess on his own. He always did that— always helping someone or doing something helpful for his own gain.
When Jasper was mopping up the mess, I was frowning at him.
Well, not him. Because we all knew if you looked at a boy for too long you would explode or get cooties.
I wasn’t looking at Jasper, or the giant spot on his chin. No. I was staring at the liquid pooling at his feet which definitely wasn’t water. It was a funny green colour, and it was maybe a little thicker. It reminded me of Nickelodeon slime if it had been watered down. The green so-called water was giving me the creeps. I was looking at it for maybe a little too long, because Jasper noticed my gaze when he looked up.
He didn’t look happy.
It was an unwritten rule that boy’s and girl’s didn’t talk to each other unless they wanted a song being made about them. I could still remember when Sara Jacobs and Josh Simons had been caught talking to each other together in the playground. The next day, everyone was talking about it—and Scarlett was skipping around the two of them, singing that stupid rhyme that always got stuck in my head.
“Sara and Josh sitting in a tree! K. I. S. S. I. N. G.”
Jasper bugged out his eyes. “What are you looking at?”
“What’s that you’re cleaning up?”
“Apple juice.” Jasper said, not sounding sure.
“Uh-huh.” I folded my arms. “And why are you cleaning it up? That’s Scarlett’s mess.”
He stuck out his tongue, going back to mopping up. “None of your beeswax.”
I scoffed. I’d picked up the other kids' taunts over the years—and they felt natural coming off my tongue, slick like honey. This is where I admit I was no different from the others.
“You’re just being a teacher’s pet as usual.”
Jasper didn’t lift his head, but I noticed his mopping slowed a little—his fingers tightening around the handle.
“I know your secret.”
“My secret?”
Jasper nodded. “You have a Barbie game.” He giggled. “I saw you playing it under your desk.”
“And?”
He scrubbed a little harder. “If you call me that again I’ll tell everybody you play Barbie games.”
Jasper had won.
I stood down.
Lily came back before class started again. Since it was raining, she matched a bunch of other kids who had gone outside to play in the shower. So she too had been yelled at by Mrs Lewis. The teacher had handed out towels so they could dry themselves, and it hadn’t been long before Freddie had snatched Lily’s and screwed it into a ball, throwing it to the back of the classroom. Lily trembled all the way through math. At first I thought it was because she was cold, but when I lifted my head from my drawing, I saw her body was quivering—her pale hands gripping her scalp, fingernails scratching at her forehead. She was whimpering to herself, hiding behind her book.
The scratching got worse until she curled into herself, her fingers clawing at her curls.
It was endless. The noise didn’t stop all the way through class.
When I was trying to answer questions, all I could hear was scratch, scratch, scratch. “Lily?” Mrs Lewis stopped explaining multiplication. “Are you okay?”
The girl’s head bobbed up and down in a sharp nod, and Mrs Lewis went back to teaching.
“Licey Lily.” Scarlett, who had insisted on sitting behind Lily, kicked the back of the girl’s chair.
“Her friends are dancing.” She said, loud enough for us to hear, but not the teacher.
Everyone giggled, and Lily scratched harder—until she was squeaking, scratting at her scalp.
I caught Jasper staring, his eyes wide. He wasn’t smiling or laughing like the others.
Instead, he was frowning at the floor where the mess had been.
At lunch it had stopped raining and I was relieved to get out of the classroom. I ate my lunch in the cafeteria before heading outside. There was a game of Tag happening, but the last time I’d joined in I’d ended up with skinned knees. Instead, I headed to the jungle gym—and there I found Lily. She was sitting on the very top, her legs dangling off the edge. Lily wasn’t wearing a coat and I remember feeling a chill down my spine when I noticed how pale her exposed arms were. The girl was shivering, her head of blonde curls pressed into her lap.
She was scratching again, scratching, scratching, scratching – and I swore when her fingers left her hair, I could see flecks of white stuck in her nails. Lily lifted her head. She wasn’t looking at me, her gaze on something else far away. It was the first time, I remember thinking—the first time I’d seen her face in a while. She always had her head bowed and was hiding behind her hair. Her cheeks were white, her lips twisted into a pained cry. “They won’t stop.” She was whispering to herself, her hands like claws going back into her hair and grasping at clumps of ratty gold and ragging violently. Her whole body shuddered, “They won’t stop.”
“They’re mean.” I said, “Don’t listen to them, okay? I like your hair. It’s really pretty!”
Lily didn’t respond, raking her fingernails down her face. “They won’t stop. Won’t stop. Won’t stop!”
Swallowing hard, I took slow steps towards her. “Lily?” I reached into my pocket to pull out my DS. My first thought was to let her play it. Maybe that might make her feel better. When I was pulling it out, though, Lily startled me with a shriek. “Stop!” Her hands balled into fists and she slammed them into her head, her sobs growing progressively more hysterical. Lily was running her hands through her hair and then staring down at the palms of her hands with a look of fright of terror. It hit me, then—that she wasn’t talking about Scarlett and the others. I felt myself take a slow step back. Lily was talking about the lice—the bugs crawling in her hair.
“Mommy.” Lily whimpered, her shaking fingers entangled with knotty curls. “I want my mommy.”
“I’ll get Mrs Lewis.”
But Lily wasn’t listening. She was swaying slightly, squeezing her eyes shut.
When I ran back inside, lunch had ended and everyone was heading to class. I flew directly into Mrs Lewis in my rush. Normally, I’d squeak out an apology or run away, but the words were already streaming from my mouth before I could help them. I could still see Lily in my mind—swaying back and forth, her eyes flickering, the red staining her fingernails. “It’s Lily!” I shrieked. “She’s outside, and she’s crying,” I gestured with my hands, pointing to my own head. “She had bugs in her hair. Like, humongous bugs, and she keeps scratching and the bugs are really big—”
“Miri.” Mrs Lewis cut me off, “Calm down. First of all, we don’t say bugs. They’re called lice, and they’re completely normal. All kids your age will get lice.” Her eyes found the end of the corridor. “Where is Lily now?”
“She’s on the jungle gym.” I said, “Is Lily going to be okay? Is she going to give us all lice?”
The teacher’s eyes turned sharp, and I automatically knew I’d said the wrong thing.
“Okay, Miri. Tell everyone I’m going to be a little late. I’ll go and find Lily.”
When I went back to class, someone had drawn a stickwoman on the board with a giant bug on her head.
I slumped in my chair and turned to Jasper, who was organising his crayons in order of shade.
“Hey.” I pointed to the board. “Who drew that?”
“Scarlett.” He muttered. “I’ve already wiped it off three times.”
I was daydreaming, counting clouds in the sky—trying to ignore Freddie and Scarlett singing about bugs, when Mrs Lewis came back. She was hand in hand with Lily, who looked better. I wasn’t sure how, but the girl seemed different. The way she moved, holding her head high as she skipped to her desk. Lily was skipping. She was smiling. Her eyes were bright—a glitter in her demeanour that none of us knew. We only knew the girl who stared down at the floor, peering through straggly hair. It’s not like her hair was better. It was worse, matted to her back.
When she found her seat, giggling to herself, her hands went back to her hair—scratching.
But she was smiling, giggling, laughing, as her scratting got more intense, raking her scalp. Her fingernails—I thought, something slimy creeping up my throat. Lily’s fingernails were still red, and the white flecks had turned fleshy pink. It was like jello, stuck to her nails and splattered on her palms. I didn’t want to think about what the goop was. I was squinting at the wooden grains of my desk to avoid barfing, when a shadow loomed.
I looked up to find Mrs Lewis glaring down at me.
“Miri, I am very disappointed in you. Lily is perfectly fine. If I hear you saying things about other children I will be talking to your mother. Do you understand me?”
I opened my mouth to protest, but she cut me off.
“Would you like it if some of your friends said mean things about your hair?”
“But Mrs Lewis,” I whispered, “She did. I saw the bugs. They were making her cry.”
The teacher shook her head. “I combed through Lily’s hair several times. She does not have lice.”
If Mrs Lewis had combed through her hair, it wouldn’t still be a mess.
Why was she lying?
“She does though.” Jasper spoke up. “I saw them crawling in her hair.”
“Jasper!” The teacher’s voice hardened. “Of everyone in this class, I didn’t expect you to join in this bullying.”
“It’s not bullying!” He said, “Mrs Lewis, she has lice! Like, crazy lice!”
The teacher ignored us and went back to the front. I was surprised that Scarlett hadn’t spoken a word.
“Get out your workbooks.” Mrs Lewis told everyone.
“I was going to let you write stories today, since it’s coming up to the holidays, but since all you can do is make mean remarks against your friends, I want you to work in silence. Do the activity on pages 5, 6, and 8. Jasper, put your hand down. Yes, I know you’ve already done them—you can turn to the back and do question 10.”
Mrs Lewis cleared her throat. “Is that understood?”
“Yes, Mrs Lewis!” Lily chirped.
I heard the collective breath from everyone.
It was the first time in days that Lily had spoken without being forced to. There was something strange about her face. When I looked at the girl for long enough, she didn’t move, didn’t blink, her lips splitting her mouth apart into a smile. But her hands kept going—kept scratching, even when the fleshy pink built up in her fingernails. The teacher smiled, seemingly failing to notice the state of Lily. If she did, she didn’t care.
“Well done, Lily.”
I went through my workbook, struggling with the questions, especially when Lily would not stop scratching at her head. It was driving me crazy and knowing the damage she was doing to her head, seeing her wearing that unnerving grin—she was scaring me. I wanted to tell Mrs Lewis there was something wrong, but the words wouldn’t form in my mouth. I didn’t want to get in trouble again, but Lily’s scratching was unbearable.
When we were done, Mrs Lewis went around the class asking for answers.
Only two hands shot into the air.
Jasper, as usual— and to my surprise, Lily. Mrs Lewis looked equally baffled. Still, she nodded and smiled at the girl. “Lily, do you have the answer to—” she flicked through the workbook. “Question two?”
Lili shook her head. “No, but I have the answer for the one you’re doing.”
“Hmm?” The teacher looked confused, and Lily giggled, pointing to the red notebook on her desk.
“That one! The question you’re looking for is X=2. If you divide—“ Her words didn’t make sense to me, just like gibberish. I’d never heard of that kind of math. We were doing division, and I was still struggling with the basics.
Lily had never answered a math question, though I’d noticed her workbooks had always been coloured in green marker pen and glittery stickers. I guess it made sense that she was smart at math, but I didn’t understand how she’d somehow gotten the answer to the problem in Mrs Lewis’s private notebook.
“Lily, that’s not the question I’m asking. What’s the correct answer to question two?”
“Three.” Lily said. “Duh. You just divide 21 and 7.”
“That’s right.” Mrs Lewis’s lips pricked into a smile. “However, we do not say that word.”
Lily nodded and sat down with a bounce, her hands going back to scratch at her hair.
Behind me, Jasper grumbled. "I knew that."
When the day was over I was ready to get home—away from Lily and the smile that was stuck to her face.
Lily was packing up her stuff when Scarlet shoved past her.
“Get out of my way, Licey Lily! Don’t touch me.”
To my surprise, Lily laughed. She reached out her hand, giggling, and tucked a straying strand of Scarlett’s hair behind her ear. Beaming, Lily’s expression glittered with something I couldn’t and never would understand.
They looked strange—her eyes, I mean. They looked like they were moving, her pupils growing larger and then smaller, bouncing up and down like in cartoons. I had to blink to see if I was seeing things. When I turned around, Jasper was staring too, his mouth open, gaping.
Lily tugged her pigtails—hard.
I’d never seen Scarlett look scared. She always looked happy, always gleeful.
And yet then, I only saw terror. I saw a whole new shade of her personality bleeding through.
“They like your hair, Scarlett.” Lily murmured. “They’ve been talking to me and they want to eat it all up! And then they want to eat up your brain too!” Still laughing, Lily pressed her head to Scarlett’s. The girl didn’t move. Freddie, standing nearby, looked shaken, his lips twisted in disgust. And then I knew why. Because when I looked at Lily properly, I saw that her hair was moving. Twitching. I could see them, I could see bugs skittering across her head. I saw tiny legs peeking from her hairline. Freddie hissed out. “Hey.” His voice was shaky.
“Stop that.”
Scarlett stumbled back, clinging to Freddie.
“You’re so gross.” She managed to hiss. “Get… get away from me.”
Lily’s pupils shrunk to a dot. “I’ll see you tomorrow!”
She was skipping away before any of them could respond.
That night I told mom to wash my hair three times just in case.
A sicky feeling had followed me to the Elementary school gates the next day.
I kept my head down for most of the morning. Scarlett was quiet and Lily had stopped scratching—she’d stopped everything though. Lily didn’t raise her hand to answer questions or work in her books.
She just sat there staring at nothing and smiling. Like she could see something I couldn’t.
I noticed scratching during reading period. When I lifted my head though, it was Freddie scratting his curls.
The scratching spread like a virus. By the end of the class it was everyone. Even Mrs Lewis.
At recess, I went to the bathroom to hide from Lily, who was eagerly dancing across the classroom and pressing her head to other kids.
They didn’t run though. They just stood and let her. When I was washing my hands, a stall creaked open, and Scarlett came out. She didn’t look like she usually did. Her hair was a tangled mess, no longer in pigtails, instead hanging in her face. Scarlett’s eyes didn’t find me, instead flicking to the mirror. Taking slow steps, she went over to the mirror and clawed at her hair, yanking and pulling at it.
“Make it stop.” She whispered, nails like claws scratching at her head, and then her face. Her eyes were red, and when I looked closer—I had to swallow a cry. Scarlett’s hair was moving. Just like with Lily. I saw them, bulging black bugs sticking to her hair and scuttling across her forehead. The girl’s arms were wild, trying to dig and claw and pull them off, but they were merciless, sticking into her skin and not letting go. She lunged forwards, her body swaying like she was dizzy before slamming her head into the mirror with a wet splat. My body froze up.
Blood, I thought.
There was blood.
“Stop.” Scarlett’s head hit the mirror again. Splat. More blood. More blood smearing the glass. I felt my legs give way and my knees hit cold tiles, my eyes glued to the bugs burrowing under her hair, clawing into her skin.
“They’re in my head.” She whimpered, her eyes flickering. Her pupils were bulging, growing bigger and then smaller, and the skin of her face contorted, like they were under there too. They were everywhere, I realised.
They were in her hands, bulging bumps writhing under the skin of her flesh when she tried to claw at her hair—but her hands fell limp by her side. Like they were stopping her. Puppeteering her.
“I can… hear them.” Scarlett’s contorting pupils found mine. When she opened her mouth to scream, I spied tiny holes on her tongue. “They’re in my head,” her voice was light, almost dreamy. “I want my… I want my mommy.”
Scarlett held out her hands, staring wide-eyed at fleshy pink covering her skin.
Mommy. Her lips moved, but no sound came out.
When I saw tiny black dots writhe across the whites of her eyes, bulging into her pupils like it was taking over—
I screamed.
I just remembered screaming, and the BANG when Scarlett’s head hit the mirror again, and again.
Until her head didn’t look like a head.
“Miri?”
The familiar voice made me cry harder.
Jasper stumbled in, one hand covering his eyes, the other grasping at the wall to balance him. “This is the girl’s bathroom! I could get a disease here,” He groaned. “Why are you screaming? Is there a spider?”
“Scarlett!” I managed to whisper when the girl flopped to the ground. “It’s Scarlett!”
“What’s wrong with her?“
“Miss Lewis.” I backed into the wall, watching her body flailing. “Get Miss Lewis!”
Staggered footsteps.
The door shut, and I was alone with Scarlett.
And it was the first time I heard it.
Staring down at my lap, I refused to look at Scarlett, at the smear of red on the mirror. I was counting my breaths when I heard it—skittering and twitching. I heard them burrowing into Scarlett’s head, dancing across her hair.
SKKRR. CHH. CHH. CHH.
I was sobbing when Mrs Lewis hurried in, Jasper at her side. His hands were still over his eyes.
“Miri!” Mrs Lewis hissed out. “What’s going on?”
“Scarlett.” I whimpered into my dress. “She’s—”
I opened my mouth to speak, but then my eyes caught Scarlett standing in front of the mirror. She looked normal again. There was no splash of deep red painting her face, no dent in her head where she’d smashed her face into the mirror. I noticed there was dripping toilet paper tinged red balled in her fists. She’d wiped it off, I thought. Scarlett had cleaned the mirror. When the girl faced the teacher, her eyes were funny—like Lily’s.
“Yes, Mrs Lewis?”
I squinted, catching movement on the shrinking crack in the mirror.
Tiny black dots— like ants— crawling across the glass. They were fixing it, I realised.
Like the dent in Scarlett’s head.
Had they fixed her too?
Jasper peeked through his hands. “Is it okay to look?”
Mrs Lewis was red-faced. “This is the second time, Miri!” She yelled. “This isn’t an isolated case, this is crying wolf!”
I didn’t know what that meant.
Slowly, I got to my feet. I was trembling.
“Miss Lewis.“ My voice was shaking. “Scarlet had—“ I reached into my own hair. “Magic… magic bugs—"
“Lice?” The teacher finished. “I’m going to talk to your mother. This is unacceptable behaviour.”
She gestured to the door. “Girls. Get to class. Jasper, stay behind. I’d like to talk to you.”
Jasper squeaked. “Me? Why?”
“Just a talk, Jasper.”
“But—I didn’t do anything!”
I didn’t want to leave Jasper—but I didn’t have a choice.
On the way back to class, I considered going home. I wanted to run away—back to mom. Someone’s hand clawed in my hair, entangling in my ponytail. I cried out, pulling away. It was Scarlett with eyes that weren’t hers anymore. “Pretty hair!” She sang, tugging on my hair. “Pretty, pretty, pretty hair!”
I was the only one not scratching my head when I went back to the classroom. The other kids continued playing, laughing, talking—scratting at their heads. Lily sat at her desk—as did Scarlett and Freddie. They didn’t move. They didn’t join in. Freddie’s fingernails were red, but he didn’t care, scratching and scratching and scratching.
I pressed my hands over my ears to block out the noise.
When Jasper sat back in his seat, his eyes were red. I turned to him quickly. “What did she say?”
The boy glowered at me. “I’m not the star student anymore,” He mumbled. “Mrs Lewis said I can have my stickers back when I stop being mean to Lily.” His eyes narrowed into slits. “This is all your fault, Miri. You’re the one who keeps saying there’s bugs in kids' hair. You made me go in the girl’s bathroom, so now I’ve got girl cooties.”
Jasper rested his head in his arms. “Mrs Lewis was weird too. She kept touching my head.”
“What?” I hissed, leaning my chair against his desk. “Jasper, what happened?”
“I don’t want to talk to you anymore.” He grumbled into his arms. “Go away.”
Jasper wasn’t lying. He ignored me for the rest of the day. Even when I offered him the cupcake my mom had packed me. He ate it in one bite and went back to glaring at his own lunch. I wanted to talk to him, because he was the only one who wasn’t acting weird. The other kids started to follow Lily and Scarlett and Freddie. They stopped playing, stopped talking and laughing, and just sat in silence. I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t stand the scratching. I wanted to go home. When I told Mrs Lewis I felt sick, she just smiled and told me I was crying wolf.
It was only much later on when I realised I was the only one left. I was writing about panda’s when I heard it coming from behind me. It started slow, soft, and then grew louder. When I turned around, it wasn’t Ella or Jack or Sara scratching their heads. Instead, I glimpsed Jasper attacking his dark brown curls with his nails.
He wasn’t doing math problems like usual.
I should have noticed sooner.
I should have noticed his heavy breathing, panicky breaths coming out in hysterical sobs that the rest of the class and teacher ignored. I know, looking back, I didn’t want to. I was in denial that it had spread to our side.
“Jasper?” I said with a tangled tongue. I wanted to ask if he was okay, but when he lifted his head, I saw the exact same—that look of fright and pain I’d seen in Lily and Scarlett. Fear—the kind of fear I’d never expected a kid to feel. His whole body was quivering, contorting. His skin looked like it was rippling, like something was underneath. I caught something moving behind his ear, far more visible on short shaggy curls. Legs. But not tiny ones. I could see them scuttling down his neck. When I leaned forward, I could see them. But they weren’t in his hair, they were in his skin. They were twitching in his nose and trickling from his lips, choking his panicked sobs.
“Miss Lewis.” He finally whispered, spitting out writhing black. It hit the desk, crawling across his book.
“There’s something… in my head.” Jasper sobbed. “Something… in my… in my head.”
Mrs Lewis didn’t stop writing on the whiteboard. “Don’t be ridiculous, Jasper.”
I couldn’t move. If I did, I was scared I’d catch them too.
That my head would start scratching.
“But there is.” Jasper’s voice was strange. Dreamy. “They’re telling me they’re going to eat my brain.”
Like Lily, like everyone else, his eyes found nothing.
And he smiled—like he was seeing something beautiful.
When my teacher exploded I was writing.
I didn’t want to look at Jasper, whose eyes were funny, or the others—who had turned to Jasper like they were waiting. I didn’t fully register my teacher being there one second and then gone the next. I saw it as an explosion.
Not like fireworks, sizzling colours streaming across the night sky.
More like a bang. A sudden bang that sent my world spiralling. My pen dropped from my hand. I’d been writing about— about pandas. And for some reason I wanted to continue. I wanted to write more. I wanted to write pages and pages and pages of panda facts, and maybe if I was lucky, things might go back to the way they were. Maybe if I wrote enough Jasper would stop screaming. Maybe he’d stop scratching.
I didn’t register something warm hitting my face. It was the same colour as Freddie’s fingernails.
Red blurring my vision and spattering my desk and workbook.
Nobody cried out.
Jasper was the only one screaming, pulling at his hair, stumbling and staggering. But I was too busy staring at the writhing pieces of Mrs Lewis on the ground. Moving. Bugs streaming out of her and crawling across the floor. I wondered if I was one of them. If I was infected too. Because I sat too- staring at what was left of Mrs Lewis. The bugs worked in harmony, crawling across desks and streaming into my classmates' ears.
But when I looked at Holly Henderson and Nick Jacobs, they were laughing.
“That tickles!” Lily squealed when one wormed its way through her lips, and nose. And then Lily started to come apart slowly, still smiling. It was like the bugs—the lice—were folding her inside out like she was one of my dolls.
Bugs erupted from her grinning mouth, her eyes, tiny legs coming from her head, before she, like Mrs Lewis—
Popped.
That’s what it sounded like.
Pop! Lily sounded like a balloon.
I didn’t look. I squeezed my crimson eyes shut.
But I still heard her. Them. I heard them writhing through the speckled pieces of Lily.
SKRRR. CH. CH.
When I lifted my head, kids started to pop like Lily. I was so busy staring, watching them disappear in shades of red, I didn’t notice Jasper had grabbed me and pulled me to my feet. The world spun around me and I blinked.
I felt like I was floating—flying, my feet slipping on the floor.
Jasper’s cry.
“Get them off me!”
When he opened his mouth to cry, there were holes on his tongue.
And the bugs came popping from his lips like maggots, gagging his cries.
Jasper was grasping hold of his head, cradling it, because he knew.
He’d seen what had happened to the others.
I didn’t want to look. I didn’t want to look. But I found my gaze flicking to the back of his head, which was— twitching. There was something there, something fighting to get out. The boy moaned, falling to his knees.
“Get them out of my head! Get them out!”
Jasper was crying, slamming his head into his desk, his trembling hands going to his neck— and I realised he was trying to choke himself, or more accurately, choke the crawlies bulging in his throat.
I remember grabbing hold of him, wrapping my arms around him. I don’t know what I was trying to do.
I think I was trying to pick them off him in the hysteria building and building—- I remember he hit the ground and took me with him. I was picking bugs from his face, trying not to look at his eyes, dancing pupils multiplying into ones and twos and threes expanding and shrinking.
I was staring at him, trying to choke out his name when I knew it wasn’t really him anymore. It couldn’t be. Jasper didn’t have three pupils.
“Jasper.” I was saying his name over and over again. “Why do you have funny eyes?”
I said it like a mantra.
I wouldn’t stop until he answered me.
That was before the bright red. It was hitting me in the face, and my hands were in front of me trying to find Jasper, but only clawing thin air. At my feet I knew he was there, like the others, glittering scarlet contorting beneath me.
And the bugs that had spewed out of him.
But I didn’t want to think about that.
I was going to pick the bugs off of Jasper. I was going to save him from Lily’s lice.
I was still trying to find Jasper when men in white came and pulled me away.
Away from my classroom filled with writhing black.
I was still trying to find him when they sprayed me with ice cold water.
When I was in my mom’s arms, she wore a protective suit, my face pressed against her visor.
“Mom, where’s Jasper?”
She didn’t reply, hugging me tighter. I could feel her gloved hands in my hair, feverishly flitting through strands.
When a man shaved all my hair off I didn’t complain.
The school was shut down, and mom and I moved to Canada.
I was 16 when I started growing my hair out again.
When I was 19, I caught someone scratching their head in college class.
I excused myself and went back to my dorm.
I spent hours going through my hair.
Checking.
I’m 23 now. It’s been 13 years and what happened to my fourth grade class—I’ve mostly suppressed. It was a virus, I was told. Except I knew exactly what it was. Lice. Lice that had turned my classmates into squiggling red.
I just remember squiggling red.
Yesterday, I was on the Subway to a friend's place. It’s the first time I’ve been in the US since I was 10. I could barely keep my eyes open and the light rocking of the carriages was sending me to sleep. I was squashed between a guy in ray bans with his head bowed, probably asleep, and an elderly woman with a dog. I was staring down at my lap when the guy lay his head on my shoulder. I wasn’t a fan of touching people in public, but he was warm and wouldn’t move when I tried to shove him off, so I left him.
I drifted off myself.
When I heard it.
SKRRRRRR CH CH CH.
My head jerked up, slivers of ice sliding down my spine. The train was still moving. I wasn’t dreaming.
I could hear people talking around me, a kid crying, and a teenager’s music blasting.
But it was still there. I could hear it. So close.
It was so… close.
SKRRRRRR CH CH CH.
Looking up, I realised something.
I’d never looked at the guy sitting next to me.
That was my first mistake.
My first mistake—and I can’t stop thinking about it— even now. Almost three hours later.
I can’t get his words out of my head.
As I scratch.
I keep scratching.
I can’t stop.
Because the guy sitting next to me wasn’t a stranger. Without his raybans when he slid them off, I recognised those eyes, and that stupid smile from all those years ago. His face had been carved with age—and adulthood had been good to him, a bedhead of messy light reddish curls falling in flickering eyes that drank me in feverishly—pupils that expanded and multiplied in twos, threes and fours. Jasper. When I jumped up, he reached and pulled me back down with strength that sucked the breath from my lungs.
“Well, would you look at that? We finally found you.” He said, his voice a mixture of a child and an adult—as well as an insect-like chitter. I could only stare at him, a scream clawing at my throat.
In the corner of my eye, I glimpsed blonde curls.
Another chitter, which Jasper reacted to.
Like a signal.
“Ten minutes.” He murmured, snuggling into me with a sigh. His whole body was writhing with them. I felt them tickling my ear. When I looked down, scuttling black dots ran across my shoes. “That’s how long it took for them to put us back together.”

I (25f uk) and my boyfriend (25m uk) have been together since August 2022. We now live together and whilst most of the time, everything is fine, his behaviour is becoming increasingly more erratic (if that’s even the right word idk) and I’m not sure what to do.
When we go out drinking with friends, he has flipped a couple of times randomly, the most recent time being last night. I went to the toilet, came back and he was screaming at me that we’re done, swearing at me repeatedly and kept announcing his departure, took my keys and said “good luck getting home because I won’t be letting you in”, in a busy bar where I know all the staff. He said he was leaving 4 times, and kept coming back and sitting next to me in silence. I kept saying let’s just talk about this tomorrow and he demanded I speak to him immediately and persisted for about 5 minutes. One of the staff members witnessed and had informed the door staff, who asked if I wanted him throwing out, I said no and went outside and said I think he needs to leave because this has come from nowhere again and it’s embarrassing. I was then getting texts all night that were all over the place, one minute apologising and then the next minute being spiteful and nasty again, so I didn’t reply which lead to a stupid amount of phone calls. My friend said I could stay with them for the night, so I let him know I wouldn’t be going home and I didn’t engage further.
Previous to this, we went round to my best friends house a few months back and we were all dancing and having a great time, he flips out crying, screaming and swearing at me and threatening to walk home (about a 40 minute walk) and saying we’re finished. I told him he was being unreasonable and to have some water as he’s probably had too much to drink because I don’t understand where this has come from. He threw his phone and smashed the floor tiles, hysterically crying and again taking the keys and threatening to walk home so I apologised to her profusely and we left swiftly because I was mortified.
Previous to this, we had been out and my friend wanted to go to McDonald’s, so I told him 3 times we were going to get food and asked if he wanted to come with us, he said no so we went. I then got multiple texts and phone calls “how dare I leave him” etc and I simply said I told you we were going to get food and cut off contact.
I’m going to Bordeaux on Friday with my step-dad for a few days just for a break and he didn’t like that, blew up at me and was offended I wasn’t going with him, but he can’t get the time off work. I feel like I can’t go on holiday with my family unless he’s there? I’m going anyway. I also asked if I could see the best friend previously mentioned on my own before she went to work away, as he has always been with us and I just wanted some time with her before she left for months, and he blew up and was furious that he “wasn’t allowed to come with me”.
He constantly says things to try and embarrass me in front of my friends or people we don’t know, which I’ve said multiples times I don’t like.
I don’t know if it’s me that’s the problem. I’m also not stupid to know when someone is trying to manipulate me, which is why I just cut contact and don’t engage. He wants me to text 24/7, do everything together, and I don’t want to do that, I’m very independent and I’m happy in my own company and doing my own hobbies etc.
I spoke to my mum about it today, and she said that if I thought enough of him I would work on a solution and he’s clearly just very insecure, so now I feel that I’m being unreasonable, but I don’t know how many times I have to have the conversation with him that his behaviour is unacceptable and although he is very sorry, which I’m sure he is, and keeps saying he will change, this happens often.
He is actually a nice person, when he’s not like this, so I don’t know what I’m doing wrong or what happens for him to behave like this, especially in public, and I just think it’s really embarrassing. He does his share of chores and he is very attentive and we do have fun together. I spoke to him earlier in the week and suggested that he maybe takes up a hobby, so that he’s not so reliant on me because I feel that it’s suffocating me.
I feel that I now wouldn’t want him to go out with my friends, out of fear that something like this will happen again as a good portion of my friends have witnessed this now and last night was the first time it’s really blown up in public. I have tried to speak to him today and explained that I think this is toxic and it’s not working, but he just begs me not to leave him and repeatedly expresses that I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to him etc.
He has had a few stresses in the last few months, he lost 2 jobs but now has a stable job which he says he enjoys and it pays better than what he was in before with more sociable hours, so he has a better routine. We also have had lots of problems with the neighbours but that’s gone to court last week and we won, so that’s also now stopped. I’ve gone through these stresses too, and more like losing family members to cancer and friends to suicide, but I wouldn’t dream of behaving in such a way towards him, so I struggle to rationalise it.
I’m scared though that should this go on, I’m potentially putting myself in danger, but also fearful that if I leave, he might do something stupid. I really don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I do care about him but I also recognise that this is a toxic environment. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong or why this keeps happening. I don’t even really know what me posting this will achieve or why I’m doing this. I think I’m too embarrassed to talk to my friends/family about it, and feel that my mum is somewhat sticking up for him so I need to do something differently? Sorry to dump.

I get married this Friday and for some reason the Gods have decided that every day surrounding that day will be bright and sunny, but on that one Friday scattered thunderstorms...I'm trying to keep a 'sunny' disposition because out of all the things we can truly control, the weather is not one of them. But I can't help but feel like I'm battling this sense of looming dread. It's an outdoo indoor wedding so that part is fine, but there was an after party that was planned outside after the reception for all the friends and family. Any advice or calming words to keep me from feeling so helpless?
Edit: yeah, I'm feeling a little silly and a little goofy. We've got an indoor plan and at the end of the day I'm not supposed to worry about other people's feelings, just the ones my best friend and I share! If the people coming are truly there for us, then we'll all have a good time and share in the joy that a little rain can bring. Besides, if people are getting married in bunkers and fields, I'll be fine! Love is where the heart is, not the dance floor

I quit full time designing years ago but managed to keep creative friends. That involved dance parties with dancers, jam sessions with musicians and for fun only photo shoots. Going to art galleries used to mean drinking free wine, chatting to the artist and gallery hoping to the next gallery with free food or wine
Now I’m out of a creative industry, being creative is more enjoyable. But, since I moved here I have no creative friends! Art galleries here are just looking at a canvas with no artist, no next gallery. My friends here do art classes, passing by numbers vibes, that are boring as hell to me.
I’m dying for a K-pop or hip hop adult dance group. I want to randomly write songs with a friends on a Friday night. I want to store someone’s photo shoot for free.
Where are my people?

Hi! Here is this week's list - I'll be at Bug Jar on Thursday for Shy Tooth, BB + Club Drugs, and other highlights include Kinloch Nelson, Kind of Kind, Live Emo Night, + more.
Also Pizza Wizard will have thin pies this week.
Enjoy the week! Follow us on TheSoundRoc on IG.
​
Tuesday 5/30
Neutral Snap / Goalkeeper / Rematch / Patient Basement (rock/pop punk) - Bug Jar, 9P ($12, 18+)
Wednesday, 5/31
Legendary Shack Shakers / Dex Romweber / Viva Le Vox (roots/rock) - Bug Jar, 9P ($20, 18+)
Crossmolina (Irish folk fusion) - The Little Theater Café, 6:30P (FREE, all ages)
Bret Levick / Sally Louise / Jackson Cavalier (songwriter showcase) - Abilene, 6P ($5)
The Hochstein School Rock Bands (rock) - Lovin’ Cup, 8P (FREE, all ages)
The Mighty High and Dry (Rock/soul) - Record Archive, 6P (FREE, 21+)
Thursday, 6/1
Shy Tooth / Bad Bloom / ClubDrugs (shoegaze/indie rock) - Bug Jar, 9P ($10, 18+)
Now Playing: Born This Way - Lady Gaga Dance Party (DJ) - Photo City, 9P ($7/$5, 18+)
Maria Gillard Trio (folk/jazz/swing) - The Little Theater Café, 6:30P (FREE, all ages)
Nikki Hill (soul/roots/rock) - Abilene, 7:30P ($35/$40)
RAWL / Unguent / Seek the Black Goat / Conduit (noise/experimental) - Rosen Krown, 9P ($10, 21+)
Friday, 6/2
Subsoil/ Moses Rockwell / Keets (hip hop / DJ) - Photo City, 8P ($10+, 18+)
Foot & Mouth Disease / Kaiser Solzie / The Grinders / Electric Duchess - Bug Jar, 8P ($10, 18+)
De-Auth / The Ill - Rosen Krown, 8:30P ($5, 21+)
Kinloch Nelson (solo guitar) - The Little Theater Café, 6:30P (FREE, all ages)
Nikki Hill (soul/roots/rock) - Abilene, 7:30P ($35/$40)
Aaron DeRuyter (singesongwriter) - Lovin’ Cup, 6P (FREE, all ages)
David Jonathan & Inner City Bedlam (jazz-inspired/rock) - LUX Lounge, 10P ($5, 21+)
Saturday, 6/3
Make It Stop / Trophy Husband / Kind of Kind (math rock/ indie) - Bug Jar, 9P ($10, 18+)
Live Emo Night with Cut Me Up Genny (emo/pop punk) - Photo City, 8P ($10+, 18+)
Silent Disco (DJ) - Radio Social, 8P ($10/$15, 18+)
Laura Dubin Trio (jazz) - The Little Theater Café, 6:30P (FREE, all ages)
ROC Star Academy Showcase ft. Guilty Pleasure (rock/misc) - Abilene, 7:30P ($10)
Chris Trapper (classic pop) - Lovin’ Cup, 7P ($20/$30, all ages)
Nightmares / Unwill / Divine Fallacy / Feed the Addiction / Allegiant / Perelandra (metal) - Montage, 6P ($12, all ages)
Culture Clash (DJ’s w/ reggae/hip hop/R&B) - Water Street Music Hall, 8P ($10+, 21+)
Noah Kahan / Richy Mitch & The Coalminers (folk/rock) - Beak and Skiff, 7P ($32+, all ages)
The Devil’s Pension / Thurlow / Blue Envy / Shades of Gray / Timothy Mitchum / Briand Lindsay / Infrared Radiation Orchestra / Moving Mountains - House of Guitars, 1-8P (FREE, all ages)
Chris Wilson & Brian Ayers: A Tribute to Simon & Garfunkel - JCC CenterStage, 7P ($34+, all ages)
Sunday, 6/4
Joe & Tony’s Sunday Sauce (house music/DJ) - Pizza Wizard, 3-8P (FREE, all ages)
Classical Guitar Night - The Little Theater Café, 6:30P (FREE, all ages)
Drag Me to Dinner (drag show) - Lovin’ Cup, 6P ($30, 18+)

Just saw it on IG, here is the link to the full post: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs1HVVGuMNZ/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Please let me know if you're interested in bundle deals, willing to work price down for multiples. Cash App/Venmo/Paypal (No FF unfortunately) accepted! Price firm for single codes
Prices and format are listed in the post and can be hard to view if you are viewing from the mobile app, please scroll over to view them
My Universal Rewards movies available at $3 a piece or 2 for $5, please check here for the available movies, this changes monthly.

Name	Price	Format	Redemption Site
1917	$3	HD	MA
3:10 to Yuma	$5	4K	Vudu
31	$3	HD
A24 Horror 5 Film Collection (Hereditary/ X/ The Witch/ Green Room/ It Comes At Night)	$15	HD	Vudu
Addams Family 2	$3	HD	iTunes
Aladdin (2019)	$5	4K	MA
Aladdin (1992)	$4	HD	MA
Alien	$3	HD	MA
Aliens	$3	HD	MA
Alien 3	$3	HD	MA
Alien Resurrection	$3	HD	MA
Alien: Covenant	$3	HD	MA
Prometheus (Alien)	$3	HD	MA
Amsterdam	$6	HD	MA
Anchorman 2	$3	HD	MA
Apocalypse Now	$3	HD
Aqua Teen Forever Plantasm	$5	HD	MA
Avengers Age of Ultron	$3	HD	MA
Avengers Infinity War	$3	HD	MA
Avengers Endgame	$6	4K	MA
Back to the Future Trilogy	$9	HD	MA
Bad Boys	$3	HD	MA
Bad Boys for Life	$3	HD	MA
Bad Grandpa	$3	HD
Banshees of Inisherin	$6	HD	MA
The Batman	$4	HD	MA
Batman The Doom That Came to Gotham	$6	4K	MA
Batman and Superman Battle of the Super Sons	$4	HD	MA
Beast	$5	HD	MA
Belly	$5	4K	Vudu
Black Adam	$5	HD	MA
Black Panther Wakanda Forever	$7	4K	MA
Black Panther Wakanda Forever	$5	HD	MA
Blacklight	$5	HD
Blues Brothers	$5	4K	MA
Bob's Burgers Movie	$4	HD	MA
Bohemian Rhapsody	$6	4K	MA
Boss Baby	$3	HD	MA
Boss Baby 2 Pack	$6	HD	MA
Boss Baby Family Business	$5	4K	MA
Boss Baby Family Business	$3	HD	MA
Bullet Train	$4	HD	MA
Casablanca	$5	4K	MA
Call Jane	$4	HD	MA
Captain Marvel	$3	HD	MA
Captain Marvel	$5	4K	MA
Cars 3	$5	4K
Clerks 3	$5	HD
A Clockwork Orange	$5	4K	MA
Cocaine Bear	$7	HD	MA
Coco	$4	HD
The Commuter	$4	HD
Cruella	$5	4K
Cruella	$4	HD
Daddy's Home 2	$3	HD
Day After Tomorrow	$3	HD	MA
DC League of Superpets	$4	HD
Deadpool	$3	HD
Deadpool 2	$3	HD
The Dentist (1996) & The Dentist 2 Brace Yourself (1998)	$6	HD
Devotion	$5	HD	MA
Die Hard With A Vengeance	$3	HD	MA
A Good Day to Die Hard	$3	HD	MA
Divergent	$3	HD
Django Unchained	$3	HD	MA
Doctor Strange	$3	HD	MA
Doctor Strange Multiverse Of Madness	$6	4K	MA
Doctor Strange Multiverse Of Madness	$4	HD	MA
Dolittle	$3	HD	MA
Downtown Abbey A New Era	$4	HD	MA
Dreamwork 10 Movie Collection	$20	HD	MA
Dumbo (2019)	$5	4K	MA
8-Mile	$4	4K	MA
80 for Brady	$7	HD	iTunes/Vudu
Elvis	$4	HD	MA
Empire of Light	$5	HD
The Expendables 1-3 Movie Collection	$8	HD
The Fabelmans	$6	HD	MA
Fast & Furious 8 Film Collection	$15	HD	MA
Fast and the Furious	$5	4K	MA
Fate of the Furious	$3	HD	MA
Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy	$6	HD	MA
Flashdance	$5	4K	Vudu
The Forever Purge	$6	4K	MA
Free Guy	$4	HD	MA
Friday the 13th (1980)	$4	HD
Frozen	$3	HD	MA
Frozen II	$3	HD	MA
Game of Thrones House of the Dragon Season 1	$6	HD	Vudu
Gentlemen	$3	HD	iTunes
Ghosts Season 1	$6	HD
Ghostbusters	$3	HD
Ghostbusters II	$3	HD
Ghostbusters Afterlife	$4	HD
The Good Dinosaur	$4	HD
Guardians of the Galaxy	$3	HD	MA
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2	$3	HD	MA
Halloween (2018)	$4	HD	MA
Halloween Kills	$4	HD	MA
Halloween Ends	$5	HD	MA
Hitman's Bodyguard	$3	HD	MA
Hitman's Wife Bodyguard	$3	HD	MA
Hunger Games 4 Movie Collection	$10	HD	MA
Incredibles 2	$3	HD	MA
Independence Day Resurgence	$3	HD	MA
Jesus Revolution	$4	HD	MA
John Wick 1 & 2 Combo Pack	$5	HD	MA
John Wick Chapter 3 Parabellum	$3	HD	MA
Jumanji 2 Pack (2017/2019)	$6	HD	MA
Jumanji Trilogy (1995-2019)	$4	SD	MA
Jungle Cruise	$5	4K	MA
Jurassic World Dominion	$4	4K	MA
Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom	$4	4K	MA
Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom	$3	HD	MA
Jurassic World 6 Movie Collection	$15	4K	MA
Jurassic World 6 Movie Collection	$12	HD	MA
Justice League x RWBY Super Heroes and Huntsmen Part One	$8	4K	MA
Justice League x RWBY Super Heroes and Huntsmen Part One	$6	HD	MA
Justice Society World War II	$4	4K	MA
Kin	$5	4K
Kingsman: The Secret Service	$3	HD	MA
Knock at the Cabin	$8	HD	MA
Knives Out	$3	HD	MA
Legion of Super Heroes	$5	HD	MA
Leon the Professional	$3	HD	MA
Lightyear	$6	4K	MA
Lion King (2019)	$5	4K	MA
Lion King (2019)	$3	HD	MA
Lion King (1994)	$3	HD	MA
The Little Mermaid	$3	HD	MA
Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow	$3	HD
The Lost City	$4	HD
The Lost City	$6	4K
Love and Monsters	$5	4K
Luca	$5	4K
Mad Max	$6	4K	Vudu
Mad Max 2/ Mad Max 3/ Mad Max Fury Road	$15	4K	MA
Magic Mike Last Dance	$7	HD	MA
Man on the Moon	$4	HD
Matrix Resurrections	$6	4K	MA
Men	$5	HD
Minions The Rise of Gru	$4	HD	MA
Minions 2 Movie Collection	$6	HD	MA
Miss You Already	$3	HD	Vudu
Mitchells vs the Machines	$4	HD
Moonfall	$4	HD
Morbius	$3	HD
Mortal Kombat Legends Snow Blind	$4	HD
Mulan	$3	HD
Mulan 2	$3	HD
Mulan (2020)	$5	4K
Mummy	$3	HD
Mummy Tomb of the Dragon Emperor	$3	HD
007 No Time to Die (iTunes only)	$5	4K	iTunes
NOPE	$5	HD	MA
The Northman	$4	HD
The Old Way	$6	HD
Onward	$6	4K	MA
Pitch Perfect	$3	HD	MA
Pitch Perfect 2	$3	HD	MA
The Pirate Fairy	$3	HD	MA
Plane	$8	4K	Vudu/iTunes
Plane	$6	HD	Vudu/iTunes
Dawn for the Planet of the Apes	$3	HD	MA
Rise of the Planet of the Apes	$3	HD	MA
War for the Planet of the Apes	$3	HD	MA
Pocahontas 2	$3	HD	MA
Predator 4-Pack	$12	HD	MA
Prey for the Devil	$5	HD	MA
Puss in Boots The Last Wish	$6	HD	MA
A Quiet Place	$3	HD
Rambo 5 Film Collection	$15	HD
Raya and the Last Dragon	$6	4K	MA
Raya and the Last Dragon	$4	HD	MA
Reservoir Dogs	$6	4K	iTunes/Vudu
Rock Dog 3 Battle the Beat	$2	HD
Rocky 4 Film Collection	$20	4K	MA
Ron Gone Wrong	$4	HD
Scream (1996)	$6	4K	iTunes/Vudu
Scream (1996)	$3	HD	iTunes/Vudu
Scream (2022)	$4	HD	iTunes/Vudu
The Scorpion King	$3	HD	MA
Secret Headquarters	$4	HD	iTunes/Vudu
Secret Life of Pets	$3	HD	MA
Silent Night, Deadly Night Collection	$10	HD
Smile	$7	4K	iTunes/Vudu
Smile	$5	HD	iTunes/Vudu
Sonic the Hedgehog	$4	HD	iTunes/Vudu
Sonic the Hedgehog 2	$6	4K	iTunes/Vudu
Sonic the Hedgehog 2	$4	HD	iTunes/Vudu
Soul	$6	4K	MA
Snake Eyes GI Joe Origins	$6	4K
Snow White & The Huntsman	$4	4K
Space Jam A New Legacy	$4	4K	MA
Spider-Man	$3	HD	MA
Spider-Man 2	$3	HD	MA
Spider-Man 3	$3	HD	MA
Amazing Spider-Man	$3	HD	MA
Amazing Spider-Man 2	$3	HD	MA
Spider-Man Homecoming	$4	HD	MA
Spider-Man Far From Home	$4	HD	MA
Spider-Man No Way Home	$4	HD	MA
Star Trek Into Darkness	$3	HD
Star Trek Beyond	$3	HD
Star Trek The Motion Picture	$6	4K
Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan	$6	4K
Star Trek III The Search For Spock	$6	4K
Star Trek IV The Voyage Home	$6	4K
Star Wars The Last Jedi	$4	4K	MA
Straight Outta Compton	$3	HD	MA
Strange World	$4	HD	MA
Tar	$5	HD	MA
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)	$3	HD
Thor Ragnarok	$3	HD	MA
Thor Love and Thunder	$6	4K	MA
Thor Love and Thunder	$4	HD	MA
Ticket To Paradise	$6	HD
Till (iTunes Only)	$5	HD
To Kill A Mockingbird	$3	HD
Top Gun	$3	HD
Top Gun Maverick	$6	4K
Top Gun Maverick	$4	HD
Toy Story 4	$6	4k	MA
Toy Story 4	$4	HD	MA
Training Day	$6	4K	MA
Transformers	$6	4K	Vudu/iTunes
Transformers Age of Extinction	$6	4K	Vudu/iTunes
Transformers Dark of the Moon	$6	4K	Vudu/iTunes
Transformers Revenge of the Fallen	$6	4K	Vudu/iTunes
Transformers The Last Knight	$6	4K	Vudu/iTunes
Trolls	$3	HD	MA
Trolls 2 Movie Collection	$6	HD	MA
Turning Red	$6	4K	MA
Turning Red	$4	HD	MA
Uncharted	$6	4K	MA
Uncut Gems	$4	HD	Vudu/GP
Underwold Rise of the Lycans	$3	HD
Venom	$3	HD	MA
Voyagers	$5	4K
The Walking Dead Season 11	$6	HD
Wayne's World	$6	4K
West Side Story (2021)	$3	HD	MA
West Side Story (2021)	$5	4K	MA
The Witch	$4	HD
Wolf of Wall Street	$3	HD	MA
The Woman King	$7	4K	MA
The Woman King	$5	HD	MA
Wreck It Ralph: Ralph Breaks the Internet	$6	4K	MA
X-Men Trilogy (First Class/DOFP/Apocalypse)	$9	HD	MA

The following movies are the current Universal Rewards and are $3 each or 2 for $5

Assault on Precinct 13	HD	MA
Being John Malkovich	HD	MA
The Black Dahlia (2006)	HD	MA
Fifty Shades of Grey	4K	MA
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry	HD	MA
Larry Crowne	HD	MA
Snow White and the Huntsman	4K	MA
This is 40	HD	MA
12 Monkeys	4K	MA
Welcome to Marwen	4K	MA

4/16/07
Radio Bam episode #116
Bam Margera – Brandon “Dico” Dicamillo – Buddy Bill – Mark ‘Fannah’ Hannah – Murray – Missy Margera - Linden 'Black Aquaman'
- Dico loves Fannah in the new movie MingHags. He borrowed a pair of Dico’s underwear so he could film a few scenes. The scenes he filmed were soo good that Dico requested the underwear back so he could add it to his movie collection.
- Bam has been telling everyone he knows about the movie; he’s been showing clips to everyone too.
- ‘Who would you rather’ questions with Fannah, involving his two brothers. “Which brother would you rather a horse fuck soo hard they die?”
- Linden ‘Black Aquaman’ has entered the studio dressed as a white man with his face painted white.
- “Compton Ass Terry is selling out Black People”, a claim made by Chad I Ginsberg after Bam says he wants Terry in the new movie. “All black people kinda do!” Bam responds.
- Chad goes further to say that he smoked Terry out a few times before too. “He’s not special just because he’s the black guy on bunch of white people’s bus!”
- Bam randomly says the N-Word quoting a random black guy he has heard while skating. “Damn N***a I got some hard motha fuckin boogies!”. - Chad wants a picture of Lindon in ‘WhiteFace’.
- “Steak! It’s what’s for Dinner!” Dico’s steak commercial.
- Bam plays audio of a scene from MingHags that he’s currently working on involving his grandfather ‘Pop-Pop' and Jimmy Pop’s retarded friend Mark the Bagger.
- Dico felt odd screaming in Marks the Baggers face because he would just blankly stare through Dico like he had no inner thoughts going on.
- The guys explain who Mark the Baggers is and how Jimmy Pop ran into him while he bagged groceries at a grocery store. Jimmy Pop eventually got him on The Stern show.
- Sidenote: In an old episode of this show, not knowing Bam would be working with Mark the Bagger in the future, Bam discloses that while working at the grocery store, Mark was caught luring a child into the back and having the child perform oral sex on him. There were no charges filed because, “He’s Retarded”.
- Bam plays more audio involving the Bagger and Pop-Pop. “Daddy Noooooo!”
- Bam and Dico reflect on how thankful they are deciding to film this movie themselves instead of getting Corporate Backing from Hollywood (Though they tried in the previous episode and failed).
- Instead Bam uses some of his rich connections to get private funding on top of the tens of thousands Bam’s already going to be paying to make this film.
- Bam’s release date goal is four months from now in time for kids going back to school in fall.
DEADZY – CARRYING OVER
- Bam plays another audio clip from the movie MingHags.
- Bam and Missy left the bar the other night with Buddy Bill to take him back to their house so he can pick his truck up.
- Police notice Buddy Bill getting into Bams car and pull them over. They immediately get Buddy Bill out and arrest him without even checking if Missy or Bam were drunk or not.
- Buddy Bill has another boxing match happening this Friday. He gets really excited when he starts talking about it and starts getting amped up in studio, soo much that he starts squeezing Chad’s cheese steak he had lying on the console.
- Linden and Buddy Bill got into a small scuffle the other day resulting in Buddy Bill’s nose getting broke again. “He’s cheesing my Squeeze-Steak!”
- Buddy Bill stories that have been said here before.
- Bam starts questioning Buddy Bill about a crazy lingerie party from 2 years ago that he went to with Rake Yohn. Buddy Bill is hesitant about saying what exactly happened live on air.
THE SOUNDS – TRACK 2
- 80’s vice vaper wave intro
- The guys play HD female moans and sucking sounds, which turns Bill on as he starts looking around the studio to see which girl made those noises. “I’m a very emotional person!”
- Dico starts handing out small snacks that he's brought from home, Bam doesn’t normally eat at home due to his Bulimia.
- “Let me guess: some sort of experiment?” “Spearmint? I’d rather have Wintergreen!”
- Hanna’s Hilarious Laugh from the first film Haggard is played.
- Gina Lynn, the porn star featured in Bam’s new film, brought a whole bunch of her sex toys and porn she’s featured in. Bam likes to scatter them around the castle for fun along with the tranny pornos he’s gotten from his Hustler interview.
- Gina Lynn and her husband Chad have open and graphic conversations about their sex lives and personal lives including domestic violence resulting in hospitalizations.
BLOODHOUND GANG - ????
- While shooting Johnny Knoxville’s cover for the rolling stone, Dico and Bam were cornered by ‘some faggot’ promoting an internet soap opera, he even demanded they take some of his autographed posters.
- The guys promptly threw the posters in the thrash can closest to the front door so the guy could see it in the way out.
- Bill gets amped about the fight and squeezes Chad’s Cheese steak again. - ShitGoose was overheard by Buddy Bill telling Bam’s Mom April that Bam was snorting too much Adderall and drinking too much.
- When confronted by Bam, ShitGoose denies these allegations, but once Buddy Bill heard his denials, he tells ShitGoose he overheard the conversation between him and April.
- ShitGoose begins to cry and confess stating that he was just worried about Bam’s drug and alcohol consumption.
- Later that night though, after mixing alcohol and Klonopin, ShitGoose was seen rolling in hay and attempting to break dance.
- Seth Meisterman and his girlfriend Salina have some goats on Bam’s property. While ShitGoose was fucked up on Klonopin and alcohol, he let his large dog 'White Fang' loose and it ended up killing one of the baby goats.
- Chad believes the last episode of Radio Bam was too harsh on ShitGoose. “you gotta love the guy”.
- Gina Lynn was covered in stripper pole bruises and wore a skirt that was soo short that it was ‘above the ass line’ according to Missy. Her tits also kept gaming out during filming so Bam is considering making the movie rated R instead of PG-13
- Gina needed underwear because her pussy kept popping out as well (doesn’t wear underwear). So Missy let her use one of her sexy pair of boy shorts underwear, but after she returned them to Missy someone stole them.
- While filming for MingHags, Dico pissed in lindens drinks most of the evening and he had no idea.
- The guys discuss how they will be individually screening the movie at their houses once it is finished.
- “I have a nose problem!” buddy bills breakable nose and the drugs that have been through it to cause his brain aneurysm.
- After playing video games all night on cocaine with a lady, Buddy Bill went to the bathroom to piss, next thing he knew he was on the ground covered in piss and couldn’t see colors. Turns out he had a brain aneurysm.
- Linden starts instigating Buddy Bill to see if he can hit him in his nose again.
- Buddy Bill plugs his boxing match at the double tree hotel this Friday! He’s fighting a buddy he has a motorcross grudge against.
- Buddy Bill had heard awful things about this particular boxing organization if they don't get their fighter money back, or the ticket money back.
GNARKILL – GAY FAGS
End of show

Welcome to the /hiphopheads daily discussion thread!
This thread is for:

• objective questions with right/wrong answers (e.g. "Does anyone know what is happening with MIXTAPE?", "What is the sample in SONG?")
• general hip-hop discussion
• meta posts...e.g. ideas for the sub

Do not create a separate self post for these types of discussions outside of this thread - if you do, your post will be removed, as stated in the guidelines.
Weekly/Monthly Threads

• Top Ten Tuesday
  
• Hype Tuesday: Post songs by artists that haven't gotten more than 50 upvotes on HHH
  
• Billboard Chart Discussion
  
• Last.fm Thread: What Have You Been Listening To This Week?
  
• New Music Friday
  
• Recommended If You Like
  
• Smooth Sunday
  

Other ways to interact
There are a number of other ways to interact with other members of HHH:

• HHH JQBX room (Spotify premium required)
  
• HHH Official Instagram Account
  
• HHH Official Twitter Account
  

New to /hiphopheads or hip-hop in general?
Check these out:

• Essential Albums List
  
• HHH Favourites List
  
• Essential Mixtapes List
  

Drop Watch: THIS WEEK

5/30:

• DJ Smokey - Nuked Out Dance Party
• Kelly Moonstone - I Digress (w Navy Blue + more) [Indie Rap]

6/2:

• Metro Boomin - ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE OST (w Future, 21 Savage, Travis Scott, Chris Brown, Coi Leray, Don Toliver, James Blake + more) [Soundtrack]
• Toosii - Naujour (w Future, 21 Savage & Khalid) [R&B, Capitol]
• Ashnikko - WEEDKILLER (w Ethel Cain)[Pop Rap, Parlophone]
• Jelly Roll - Whitsitt Chapel (w Yelawolf, Struggle Jennings + more) [Country Rap, Broken Bow]
• BOJ (🇳🇬) - Gbagada Express Vol. 2: Moving Mad (w Knucks, Arya Starr, Tay Iwar + more) [Afrobeats]
• HAŁASTRA - Kombinatoryka [Polish Rap]
• RealYungPhil - Victory Music (w Gud + more) [Plugg]
• Speakers Corner Quartet (🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿) - Further Out Than The Edge (w Sampha, Confucius MC, Kae Tempest + more) [Electronic, OTIH]
• Factor Chandelier - Moving Like a Planet (w AJ Suede, Eligh + more) [Producer Album, Fake Four]
• McKinley Dixon - Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!? (w Ghais Guevera, Anjimile + more) [Hip Hop, City Slang]

Full Calendar

Hey everyone,
I've been single for a little while now and have been doing no contact since we broke up (though I did send a letter in response to her sending me my stuff back in a box. Like drawings and paintings and shit I made SPECIFICALLY for her and I have zero use for myself), so with that in mind it's been about 12 days almost.
Anyways, the reason I'm posting rn is because my birthday is coming up in a little over a month and me and friends are planning to go out and celebrate on July 1st. We gonna be going to clubs a few towns over, which are really the only places to go out since COVID shut down a lot of local bars around here.
Me and my ex met at one of these clubs that we're going to and she usually goes out with a friend once a week on Fridays to them as well. Occasionally she'll go out on Saturday depending on availability and what the vibe is.
I'm not worried about running into her or anything super dramatic. Cause if I do I'll just say "hi, hope all is well" and then go dance like I'm there to do.
I just don't know what she'll do. I'm not worried about how she'll feel tbh tho. She's been kinda harsh with this whole break-up thing. I'm blocked by her so I have no way of knowing whats going on in her head or how she currently feels, but I honestly don't care either lol. According to my friend, she's still upset with me about things I said to her during the break up (I was drinking and am in recovery, relapse and such), which is understandable I wasn't nice.
Anyways, I've been doing me. Working out, running, meditation, and staying sober so that's all worked out in my favor as I'm taking this breakup p well. Even though my feelings for her are really intense and won't go away soon, I'm over the breakup just not her lol
Anyone have any advice or words of wisdom? I guess this post is kinda all over the place. My bad, I have that ADHD brain p bad lolol ❤️❤️❤️

This isn't some complete list, I just provided a quick rundown of some Friday bands and folk seemed to find it useful so here's a few more. It's not exhaustive, probably terribly inaccurate, but might help you decide where to start with some lesser known bands. Feel free to add your own in the comments:
Thursday Halestorm hard hitting rawk
Skindred party vibes, bit of funk bit of metal
Jinjer hard female fronted metal, for fans of Arch Enemy and Spiritbox to an extent
Hundred Reasons old school pre-emo for fans of InMe
Punk Rock Factory pop punk covers of Disney songs, some laugh
Friday Architects are kinda like BMTH. Good, melodic, hard rock with a mixture of growls and singing. Listen to their latest stuff.
Within Temptation are a bit like Evanescence, melodic female vocals, operatic rock.
Pendulum are INSANE live, drum n bass with real instruments. Good if you like The Prodigy.
Neck Deep are great, boppy pop punk like Sum 41 and Blink 182.
As December Falls and Hot Milk are similar pop punk vibes but with female vocals.
Pup is straight up pop punk. Listen to "Kids".
The Blackout are anthemic early screamo, like Funeral For A Friend, the two vocals playing off each other.
VV is Vile Vallo. He was in HIM. Melodic male vocals, sad songs that predate emo.
Taipei Houston sounds a bit like Jack White.
On the heavier side you have Empire State Bastard, a supergroup who have only released one song, and Pupil Slicer have also got you covered for extreme metal. I think Ingested are similar vibes? Not sure.
GWAR will be good for over the top theatrics. If you remember Lordi from the Eurovisions a while back then it's a similar vibe.
Elvana is an Elvis tribute act except they cover Nirvana songs.
Nova Twins are funky bass based nu metal newcomers. Kinda.
Saturday alexisonfire used to be screamo with battling growl vocals vs clean vocals but have become more mellow as time goes on
Bambie Thug is sorta rap, sorta some dance elements, very magick themed imagery, for fans of Dana Dentata who played last year
Blackgold is proper old school nu metal but almost leaning towards pop rap, I get Goldie Looking Chain doing covers of Linkin Park vibes
Bob Vylan folk rap metal, very angry, political, fantastic
Sunday Bad Religion despite being around over 40 years some to be lowkey to a lot of people, proper fast old pop punk listen to 10 In 2020 to get their vibes, for fans of early Offspring
Hatebreed are GOAT hardcore with very positive messages listen to Perseverance, I Will Be Heard and Never Alone for their vibes
Crashface are like hardcore indy I guess, for fans of Idles or SLAVES (now known as Soft Play)
Dinosaur Pile-Up are sorta pseudo grunge, more Silverchair than Nirvana vibes, Back Foot is their big hitter but I vibe with Pouring Gasoline
Graphic Nature are Meshuggah esque doom math metal
Jazmin Bean kinda trap rap from what I've heard
Hawxx are like Halestorm but, imo, more rawk less catchy but more raw
Joey Valance & Brae, do you like Beastie Boys? Then you like JV&B
The Meffs proper oi oi punk but very good and very loud for a 2 piece
Set It Off have that early Panic, Fall Out Boy vibe but without the insufferable whining, just catchy bops

"The Battle of Algiers" is a critically acclaimed faux documentary inspired by “cinéma vérité” and directed by Gillo Pontecorvo. Released in 1966, it depicts a crucial phase in the Algerian War of Independence (1954-7). The film portrays events such as the FLN's (Front de Libération Nationale) bombings, assassinations, and the French military's efforts to suppress the insurgency.
The film received the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1966 and was nominated for three Oscars (Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Foreign Language Film). Over the years, it has continued to earn accolades, including being listed among the greatest films of all time by publications such as Sight & Sound and The New York Times. Edward Said famously claimed that “The Battle of Algiers” and “Queimada” (1969), Pontecorvo's next film, were the two greatest political films ever made. They indubitably paved the way for films such as Costa-Gavras “Z” and Theo Angelopoulos’s “Days of “36”.
The film was released a mere four years after the end of the Algerian War of Independence; it immediately became a subject of fierce controversy in France. The French government, under the conservative President Charles de Gaulle, was not supportive of the film due to its critical portrayal of French colonialism; as a result when Pontecorvo won the Golden Lion in Venice, the French delegation left in protest and the film was not screened in France until 1971. Even then, death threats by nationalists deterred cinema owners, and it was only through pressure from Louis Malle and other intellectuals that the film was eventually shown in French cinema.
The film portrays the profound repercussions that arise from challenging popular will through colonial means, such as military force and institutional discrimination. "The Battle of Algiers" emerges directly from the liberation movement it vividly captures. Following Algeria's independence in 1962, former fedayee (guerrilla) and captive of the French, Saadi Yaceft, approached Pontecorvo to adapt his memoirs into a film. The authenticity of the film’s foundation helped it to exude a striking realism rarely seen in political movies. The film's mournful tone and journalistic approach enabled Pontecorvo to reconstruct events on a grand scale, capturing the essence of the urban landscape of Algiers while also depicting intimate moments of ordinary people.
What adds to the power of the film is its ability to maintain a balanced and impassioned perspective by addressing the concerns of both sides of the war. The French colonel, who himself fought against the Nazis during the resistance, wonders why some intellectuals and the artists of France side with the Algerian rebels. However, there was a time when the colonel did not have to question why the Germans were unwelcome in his own country.
In Pontecorvo’s own words: "So many critics see “The Battle of Algiers” as propaganda, but in the scenes of death, the same religious music accompanies both the French and Arab bombings. I am on the side of the Arabs, but I feel compassion for the French even if historically they were at fault. I do not say the French were bad, only that they were wrong. [...] My subject is the sadness and laceration that the birth of a nation means in our time.” Undoubtedly, Pontecorvo, an Italian Jew who had previously been affiliated with the communist party and had fought as a partisan during World War II, did not garner favor among conservative circles.
Pontecorvo intricately wove together the technical aspects of the film, utilizing handheld cameras and black and white cinematography to convey an immediacy that plunges viewers into the heart of the conflict. The film's stark urban landscapes and the raw emotions etched on the faces of its characters are expertly framed, thanks to the cinematography of Marcello Gatti.
Gatti, the film's cinematographer, bore a leftist ideology and had endured imprisonment under Mussolini's dictatorship for defacing a portrait of Mussolini. With consummate skill, he adeptly captured the raw and captivating ambiance of the urban conflict portrayed in the film. His remarkable ability to navigate the labyrinthine, serpentine streets of Algiers and aptly depict the fervor of the clashes between the FLN and the French military heightened the film's tension.
Pontecorvo's approach to working with amateur actors is equally noteworthy. The performances of actors like Saadi Yacef, the aforementioned former FLN leader who portrays himself, are captivating in their authenticity. Pontecorvo's mastery in bestowing the film with the appearance of newsreel and documentary was so profound that American releases bore a disclaimer stating that "not one foot" of actual newsreel footage was utilized.
Jean Martin, a French actor who had only a modest number of screen credits to his name, was carefully selected by Pontecorvo to be the sole professional actor in the film, chosen for his relative obscurity and professional expertise. In his interactions with untrained performers, Martin occasionally faced challenges stemming from the disparity in experience. Pontecorvo, on the other hand, expressed apprehension regarding potential disparities in acting styles and their potential impact on the film's overall coherence. Nevertheless, Martin ultimately delivered a commanding portrayal as Colonel Mathieu, exuding the chilling resolve of the French military and effectively capturing the complexities of the conflict and the moral ambiguity surrounding the actions of the French military.
Indeed, Colonel Mathieu is the key figure of the movie and a complex anti-hero. Tasked by the French government with suppressing the Algerian uprising, he epitomizes the archetype of a resilient and seasoned professional soldier. Having earned his stripes as a veteran of the French Resistance, Mathieu exudes an unwavering demeanor devoid of any trace of irony. The film's most remarkable sequence revolves around Mathieu's commanding presence as he leads a triumphant parade along Algiers' main street. His intentions are twofold: to reassure loyal citizens of the French army's might in quashing the terrorists and to confront the terrorists themselves. With an air of casual ease, he radiates unwavering confidence, fully immersed in the spectacle he has orchestrated. Bathed in a dance of alternating shadows and sunlight, skillfully captured by Pontecorvo's masterful utilization of natural light, Mathieu's countenance becomes an indispensable component of the film's "newsreel" aesthetic.
Possibly the most cherished trivia about the movie is that it was screened at the Pentagon in 2003, prior to the invasion of Iraq. American generals were captivated by the film's unwavering candor in delving into subjects such as counter-terrorism, counter-insurgency, and the contentious employment of torture as a means of gathering information. General David Petraeus, who held command of the 101st Airborne Division at the time, lauded the film for its portrayal of the intricate complexities entailed in urban warfare and counterinsurgency. While this screening undoubtedly revitalized the film's iconic status, it appears that the attending officers failed to fully absorb Pontecorvo's profound insights, as evidenced by the course of the war in Iraq. Perhaps a revisiting of the film is in order for them.
"The Battle of Algiers" offers a cinematic odyssey that reaches far beyond its portrayal of the Algerian war. Its profound impact transcends the boundaries of that particular conflict, embracing a universal frame of reference that allows audiences to connect it to any war or struggle. The film's resonance stems from its profound ability to delve into timeless truths about the human condition and the harrowing ramifications of armed conflict, solidifying its status as a film of enduring relevance.
Pontecorvo's film has become such a powerful symbolic representation of the Algerian struggle that the untold stories of grassroots resistance can sometimes fade into the background, lost in obscurity. I'd like to suggest two more films which lack the laurels and recognition of the “Battle of Algiers” but shed light to lesser known aspects of the anti-colonial struggle in North Africa: “The Chronicle of the Years of Fire” and “The Lion of the Desert” (infamously funded by Libya's Colonel Gaddafy). If you're open to exploring movies that challenge your perspectives and offer historical insights, these two could be an interesting choice.
“The Chronicle of the Years of Fire” is an Algerian movie by Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina that won the Palme d’ Or in 1975: it shows the conflict through the eyes of a peasant while carefully depicting tribal life on the mountains of Algeria. “The Lion of the Desert” is an epic historical film directed by Moustapha Akkad with an impressive array of Hollywood stars, portraying the true story of Omar Mukhtar, a Bedouin leader who fought against Italian forces during the Italian colonization of Libya in the 1930s.
If interested in further discussing this film, you can join our Zoom discussion this Friday: https://www.meetup.com/the-toronto-philosophy-meetup/events/293060025/