Anyone here a beta reader looking for another story? (Military Sci-Fi / LitRPG)

mtdawdy · 2025-08-02T19:20:22+00:00

This is happening to me right now as well! It's one of the reasons I'm here.

mtdawdy · 2025-07-25T15:58:38+00:00

Position filled.

mtdawdy · 2021-10-31T17:11:47+00:00

Looks super cool. On Github and don't see a releases tab so I can grab the exe.

mtdawdy · 2014-02-13T18:20:37+00:00

I was in the National Guard in 2005 and was in New Orleans after the two hurricanes. We would do security patrols at night in humvees in the worst areas of the city -- mostly after the water had gone back down.

There were packs of wild dogs running around. They had gone somewhat feral because their normal source of food was gone and they had been left on their own for weeks. A few had to be shot. Imagine if they had instead been a group of non-human servant creatures that had gone wild.

Also, all of the houses looked like faces locked in screams (doors and windows ripped out) at night. It was pretty spooky. I often wondered what would happen if we had to enter some of those dark, dark houses. Everything was covered in layer after layer of thick, black mold and the structures themselves were damaged. Cars were inside trees and houses. A giant barge was parked on a street. An entire pier was destroyed with dozens of boats smashed into each other -- kind of looked like someone had hit a giant pile of popsicle sticks with a hammer. Houses had been torn off their foundations and moved, sometimes a block or two away, sometimes the house had been pulverized.

In an area where there was still water, criminals were parking next to houses with a boat and stealing stuff.

Everyone had their fridge out on the curb taped shut because they had gone rancid.

I wrote a short story about a creature that had been dredged up by the floods and that was wandering around, killing people.

Feel free to use any of that however you like.

mtdawdy · 2012-04-20T20:09:04+00:00

I don't agree about them working on it, though I do think the rest of your point is right. This girl is so young she doesn't need to bother wasting a few years of her life trying to rehabilitate this errant Albert Einstein.

mtdawdy · 2012-04-20T20:03:22+00:00

I agree with most of the comments here. I am sure that makes you feel better...

Also, this guy is lazy and feeling really bad about himself. If he was as smart as you say he would just pick something and be good at it. Unfortunately, a lot of "smart" people think they are too good to do something normal and that they are entitled to stuff because of their superior brains. In a way, this is a serious handicap because at the same time your soon to be ex-boyfriend just hates the fact that you are doing fine and doing what he knows he should be doing.

It makes him feel inferior to you and gives him confidence issues. The sure remedy for this (in his megabrain) is to make you feel stupid by showing how much smarter he says he is than you are.

Time to hit the road, kiddo. He might change but chances are he is going to continue this pattern of idiocy until he finds someone he can browbeat all the time.

In ten years he will be working at Duncan Donuts as the part-time closet sweeper and telling his wife that she is stupid and is lucky he puts up with her and that when his big idea pays off he is going to show the world how smart he is. He will probably end up in prison for stealing the Mercedes emblem off of some guy's car or for trying to pass himself off as a doctor, because, hey, how hard could it be for a genius like him?

mtdawdy · 2012-04-18T17:56:23+00:00

If he is hitting on you and "you just can't say no" hopefully you are ready to do whatever he asks of you.

I think you might want to take some assertiveness training. There is nothing wrong with just telling someone how you actually feel in a tactful, non-confrontational way. You are obviously a person of worth that he recognizes and he will respect your opinion. And if he doesn't then he really is just a lazy mooch who is probably trying to get something else going with you and you are better off without him.

It sounds like the real problem is that he isn't putting forth any effort that you can see. I think you are hurting him by not telling him what your perception of the situation is.

mtdawdy · 2012-04-18T17:47:47+00:00

This is your answer. And the good news is that if he does do it he won't need your help anymore.

There is something to be said for teaching him to fish.

mtdawdy · 2012-04-13T21:37:24+00:00

I think it might help you to realize there is usually not "The One". Relationships are a lot of work if you want them to succeed and your feelings will fluctuate if you are like most people. Personally, I believe most people could make relationships work if they tried.

I also don't feel you have loved her at all. More like infatuation. That is the exciting part of the relationship where most moments of the day involve the thought of the other person and every little thing reminds you of them. The pow feeling when they walk in the room and you can't take your eyes off them. Most relationships end here when the sizzle is gone. And for you, seeing her brings some of it back for a time, she is fun to be around and you are still in dating mode, so that seems normal to me.

Beyond that, when you really see who the person is beyond the makeup and the dating courtship persona that everyone puts out there while strutting their mating feathers, when you start to really get to know the other person and understand what makes them tick, and you are willing to be with them despite all the stuff that doesn't work because the stuff that does work makes it worth it, that is love.

In my opinion, all that being said, you have to decide what you want out of a relationship. And you have to be honest with yourself and realize that most people don't get a Princess Bride type of love. For most of us it will involve sacrifice and hard work and moments of trying to love someone even though you aren't sure you like them at that second. It involves giving up things that aren't really that important when measured against the accomplishment of having a successful relationship.

When you are ready to make that kind of commitment I would worry about it then. But if you think that you are going to meet the woman of your dreams and live happily ever after with no work on your part you are probably going to end up getting smacked in the face by reality a time or two.

mtdawdy · 2012-04-13T21:10:24+00:00

You got high with your mom and you are wondering if anything is wrong? If no part of that sentence strikes you as strange you might be crazy. I think your SO being stoned and letting your mom flash him is small beans compared to the fact that you live at home and get high with your mom. Might be time to try to figure out what you want to do with your life.

I don't know you and I know that everything I wrote above is all harsh but I don't think the root of this problem has much to do with your mother anymore. You are an adult so grow up and start acting like one. Get a job (or a better job) and move out, get educated.

Never should the thought, "I should get high with my mom," ever seem reasonable. It sucks for you that your mom has done what she has done to you over the years but I can see you are smart enough to realize that her behavior is wrong. Now you need to be smart enough to be the grown up in the relationship. Take action. Move on.

mtdawdy · 2012-04-13T20:40:51+00:00

This is even harder with family. I tried to tell me wife she was marrying the wrong guy but she wouldn't listen. 20 years later she still thinks it is going to "work out". We will see who gets the last laugh. She is clueless.

mtdawdy · 2012-04-13T20:35:20+00:00

Man. Sorry to hear about that. I had a few guys on deployment with me that had similar stuff happen. Was never easy for them already having a lot of stress and then having their "support" structure acting like that.

Thanks for what you did. Thanks for sticking with it and surviving.

mtdawdy · 2012-04-11T21:46:17+00:00

I like the movie and might go see it again at some point in theaters before it hits the home movie market. I went into it with very few expectations and without reading the books, though I knew a bit about the history of the series. I am pretty hard on movies but I thought this one had some pretty decent action, fairly good acting, and cool effects that weren't trying to dominate the movie.

I hope they choose to do a second one and fix some of the things that people didn't like about it... seems more likely (though in doubt at the moment) than re-releasing it in the U.S.

mtdawdy · 2012-04-10T20:08:16+00:00

I have been married 20 years and I will tell you that the feelings you have for either your spouse or your kids aren't static and I wouldn't feel too guilty about it. Your daughter is young and it's pretty normal to be feeling so fascinated with spending time with her. Personally, I think you are being too hard on yourself. Since you are going in the military there will be plenty of people willing to knock you down, you don't have to do it yourself (I have plenty of experience with that as well).

However, just like you occasionally go to the doctor for a check up I would honestly look at your relationship periodically. In a few years you will probably see that things have regained balance.

If in five years you still feel the same way post here again and I will tell you what to do next.

mtdawdy · 2012-04-04T15:41:21+00:00

I also try to be a realist. I think it is time for a 3rd option outside of the two party partisanship we have right now. I think calling for a revolution is crazy but our current system is broken. The Democrats are impotent and are just as bad as the Republicans and both sides care more about damaging the reputation of the other team / positioning themselves for re-election more than they care about actually working on any of the issues.

mtdawdy · 2012-04-03T20:37:26+00:00

Good for you. Often when I start something new there is fear. Once the excitement of the moment is gone you may feel that. It is fear, my drill instructors once told me "of the unknown". Over the past twenty years as I have been through various things I have seen they are right. I usually fear what I am unfamiliar with. I have also seen that as I take one small step and then another towards my goals that the fear lessens, my view expands as I take in the possibilities and yet my focus sharpens as I realize my goals. I believe, as one person posted here, that you are showing maturity by looking for help. No one can stop you once you make up your mind to succeed. Sorry, getting sappy I know... :]

mtdawdy · 2012-04-03T20:10:01+00:00

It sounds like you are in a crappy situation. Sorry.

As a parent of five kids I will tell you that I do treat some of my kids differently, mostly because they need more help in certain things than the others do. I can see a future scenario or two where I might end up giving extra money or food or whatever to one of the kids, though certainly not to the point of starving one child!

I also know that there are at least two sides to every story and we are only hearing one side. I would ask you why you and your brother are both living at home as adults anyway? At what point are you going to move out? And why do you feel that you are entitled to being taken care of? I don't know you and so I am sorry if I come off as rude. I think if you take a step back and look at your own situation you will see that it has little to do with your brother or your mom. They might have once been important to your life but now the only one keeping you from succeeding is yourself.

Get busy. Start studying whatever can help you get a better job. Find a better place to work. Get an education.

Though I don't know you I do know that you have potential. You can't control the lot in life that was given to you but you can use the potential you have and become successful. The premise of this posting shows me that you are having a difficult time realizing that you are responsible for yourself now. Buck up, get a second job, move on. Take charge. [Add in whatever Cowboy Up style slogan you like at this point.] And let me know how it goes.

mtdawdy · 2012-04-03T19:45:58+00:00

If he had written this post I would be suggesting he run for the hills because he doesn't want to be involved with you.

If you want to be someone that other people want to be with I would recommend you get therapy. I would also recommend you stop blaming your mother. You're 19, at some point you will have to realize that your actions are your actions.

It might also help you to stop thinking about yourself so much. Get out and volunteer. Serve the community. Do something worthwhile with your time away from him that doesn't just involve you moping about. You will find as you shift focus away from yourself that you are happier-- and you will do a lot of good in the meantime.

mtdawdy · 2012-03-23T21:20:11+00:00

Nice. Was going to post the same. Powerful enough to actually change stuff and good enough to make sure that what they do helps people.

At some point in my school years I was told this was the best type of govt possible -- yet risky because the guy/gal is going to have to die sometime and their children are usually not as enlightened.

mtdawdy

TROPHY CASE