So my son attends a daycare/preschool. He’s in the upper age group and they have a preschool teacher. Today the teacher read “Miss Nelson is Missing”.
Basically it’s about a class of students who are so horrible their sweet teacher, Miss Nelson, disappears and is replaced by a mean one, Miss Swamp, who assigns a ton of homework and doesn’t let the class have any fun. The students learn to behave because they’re afraid of Miss Viola Swamp, and then she disappears and Miss Nelson shows up again. The class acts well behaved and Miss Nelson is happy (she disguised herself as Miss Swamp).
My four year told us that his teacher said if the class keeps being bad, Miss Viola swamp will come to the class. He’s terrified and keeps asking if that’s real.
We had to sit down and explain that that won’t happen and it’s just a book.
I’m an elementary teacher and it’s a great book, especially for upper grade when discussing behavior and classroom environment. I know four year olds are hard. I know my son butts heads with his teacher. We’re working on it. But to use this book to basically threaten four year olds?! What the heck?!
Any thoughts on this?

His ex sent me this message. Sorry it’s so long! Has anybody else gotten a similar message in the past? How did you react?
Message below: “It’s been over a year of me wondering whether I should just come out and ask you or message you… but being afraid that if I do, and I’m wrong, it’ll be a the biggest mistake of my life. I have begged and begged him to tell me what you are to him, and he denies having anything more than a platonic friendship with you.
I want to preface this message with, I have no ill will towards you, I just want some answers… answers I don’t believe I’m going to get from Jared. I don’t know if he’s mentioned anything about me. So here goes…
November 2022, I sent Jared an email, telling him I loved him, missed him, and though I didn’t require a response back, I wanted him to know how sorry I was for everything that had happened and things had ended. He responded with a lengthy email telling me he still fervently loved me and how he too was sorry for how things had ended. That email lead to the last year and a half of events.
December 2022, I drove down to Roanoke and surprised him at the Carilion garage. He left the hospital as fast as he could that night, and we spent the rest of that evening together, catching up, and he left for Key West two days later. Two weeks later, he came up to DC and we had a late birthday celebration for him at Clyde’s in Georgetown and went to see A Christmas Carol at the Ford Theater. A few weeks later we drove to Jersey to see Matchbox20, by now it was the end of January 2023. Almost every week off, for the last year, he would come up and see me, if even for only two days, or I would drive down to Roanoke and spend the week with him. We spoke about our past, the hurt, and future, he told me numerous times that when he pictured marriage and children, it was only with me, but he needed time. This part is important, and I’ll come back to it later. We celebrated my birthday at a restaurant in Navy Yard, two weeks before you guys left for London. Chris video chatted with that night while we were at the restaurant eating Wagyu, and they discussed the new shipment of sunglasses Chris had gotten for Miggieswear.
The weekend of the Super Bowl, he had come seen me earlier that week, the day after he left I came to Roanoke and left the day of the Super Bowl. He told me his parents were having a viewing party and he had to go home and cook. I’m now assuming he left my Airbnb and came to your place.
That February he planned a trip to London, with Nicole, Ryan and Chris, and what he told me were, Nicole’s “friends.” Nicole happened to post a picture of you guys sitting on the plane and I was shocked, why would Nicole’s friend be sitting between him and Ryan. I sent him a message while you were on that 6 hour flight, telling him that if he had been seeing somebody, then why didn’t he tell me? There was no point in us spending time together if he had moved on. His response to me was “do you even know what you’re looking at? I’m surprised you don’t recognize her, that’s Nicole’s friend. You’re jumping to a lot of conclusions right now and don’t know what you’re talking about.” Something in my gut didn’t believe it but I wanted to trust that, so I did. I put you out of sight, out of mind. When he got back, he told me how he wished I’d been there with him, we both love history and old buildings, it’s a place we would have found magical together. I don’t know who came up with the idea of going to London, but part of me always thinks I’m the one who put it there when I shared the pictures i had taken when I went there the year we had been no contact.
We went to a Kenny Chesney concert in Charlottesville that March when I got back from my family trip to India, and he got back from London. Between work, us both traveling with our families, we were excited to see one another. We were going to go to St Augustine, but because of the weather, we stayed in Roanoke and saw Kenny Chesney in Charlottesville. The original plan had been to spend the night in Charlottesville at a hotel, but we couldn’t get one last minute so we ended up driving back to Roanoke and sneaking into the basement at his parents house and sleeping in his bed at 3am.
A few months later, we went to Richmond, and stayed the weekend, exploring the city, and watched Hamilton at the Altria Theater. A few months after that, we went to Savannah and Atlanta, where he got a flat tire driving into the garage, and spent the rest of the weekend at a yoga retreat. July, he asked me to go to Boston with him and his brother, for 4th or July weekend, but I couldn’t because my siblings were in town. Every single week, he came down and either stayed with me, or made a quick trip to spend time with me…
This past September, I found out he took you to Justin’s wedding, and I broke. I needed more from him. I have known him, been intimate with him, shared my every fear, worry, I have brought him home cooked meals from DC and surprised him at work with dinner, I’ve made him care packages. I’ve made Ryan Easter baskets and sent him birthday presents and encouraged Jared to put him in academic classes, I’ve helped Jared look into private schools for Ryan, and weighed the pros and cons of the options. I had no expectations in return from him other than, at the very least, a mutual respect and HONESTY.
I’ve seen him quite a few times since September and I last saw him in Roanoke at the beginning of March 2024. We sat in front of each other, in his car before he went into work that Monday night, and he told me, again, that when he thinks of marriage and a future, I’m the only one he pictures a marriage and children with. I’m not saying this to hurt you, or to make a point, I’m saying it because i don’t know what to believe anymore.
I became suspicious of his relationship with you, when he mentioned going to Macchu Picchu and hiking through the mountains. As all women have the ability to find out details they might later regret, I did the same thing. Except I didn’t believe he had actually gone to Macchu Picchu. I knew his passport had been long expired since around or before COVID, and I knew he had renewed it before he went to London. But that was when I realized you were the girl in the photo that Nicole posted. When I confronted him about Macchu Picchu, he told me he had been joking and he had also already told me he’d been joking. He had NEVER told me it was a joke, he had actually refused to show me photos when I asked him for pictures from the trip… he had then proceeded to change the topic, which is what had even raised red flags in my head.
My point is, I have asked him point blank so many times whether you two have a relationship. You tell me you still love me, that you picture marriage and a family with me, but this girl is a part of your life, and you took her to a wedding with you, while I was on a trip with my siblings, you took her to London with you, and you continue to tell me she’s just a friend. I asked him again on Tuesday night/Wednesday Morning after he left work, if you two are dating, and he said no. He asked me why I’m so hyper-fixated on somebody who’s just a friend when he has a million other female friends.
In September, he told me he needed a month to clear his head, that he wanted to commit to me, but he was afraid and that he needed to get over the fear and roadblock of our past break up. I gave him grace and understood. So we took a 4 week break. Some time during that time period, he sent me a snap of doves, and said “doves, and swans mate for life.” He sent me Ed Sheeran songs telling me he wants to find his way back to me. “No Strings Attached… you are the one I love”
In November, he messaged me and told me he had a surprise for me and to look for something in the mail. He loves the Count of Monte Carlo, it’s one of his favorite movies, and he told me it was in reference to that. A few weeks later I got a candle, a silver 400 dollar Buddha candle from Thomson Ferrier. I didn’t understand the reference to the Count of Monte Carlo, but it was a beautiful gesture and present… especially because he knew how much little gestures from him mean to me.
Fast forward to January, I got another 350 dollar black skull candle from him, from Thomson Ferrier. At this point I was upset, angry and livid. I called my sister in tears that evening. I had come back to him because he told me he loved me, that he “has a fire that burns so deeply” when he thinks of me. If i had known that wasn’t true, i would have closed the chapter a year and a half ago. I don’t want $700 worth of gifts and candles, I want more. I want marriage, I want children, I want our lives to move forward, I want communication. Out of anger, I packed up the candle, his sweatshirts and clothes that he had left at my place this past year, and mailed them back to his house. I’m sure it’s sitting somewhere in his basement closet/ bedroom… along with his white Huq sweatshirt, a picture of us I had up in my house, and various articles of clothing.
What upsets me is that he didn’t just involve me this year, he involved my family. He sent my mom presents, my parents in return sent him gifts. My sister, parents and cousins messaged him asking him to come around more. There was no point in involving my family, if he was going to involve himself with you. There was no point in involving himself with me, if he was going to involve himself with you. Those leather Indian shoes sitting in his room, my dad bought those for him. That blue sweater, those green pants and that maroon shirt, my parents bought those for him just this last year.
I don’t know what he’s told you about me, but I will say this. I was your age when we started dating. I was 29 years old. He was single, that’s what everyone in our residency program thought. He would tell everyone how Shari left him one day, all of a sudden just got up and left. “I saw the look behind her eyes just change when she looked at me.” He would tell everyone his horrific dating stories. When i started dating him, there was no doubt in my mind he was single… but I was wrong. He wasn’t single, he was dating Devon, one of the nurses from Carilion, and he had been for the past 4 years prior to that. At one point when he moved to Norfolk, she had even moved in with him. Even Shari was visiting him in Norfolk during this time period. I would have never suspected it, nobody in our residency program did. It wasn’t until one day, when he told me his friends were visiting from home, and they were all going to a concert together, that I found out. Her profile picture was of the two of them together, and her Facebook relationship status said “in a relationship.” Out of my own naivety, i believed him when he told me she was crazy and obsessed with him. He told me, to him, they were just friends but she wanted more. Women do a lot of things, but no woman is dumb enough to think she’s your girlfriend when she’s not. When we moved back to our hometowns, Devon was there waiting for him. He disappeared one day for 24 hours, told me that he was helping his dad’s friend who was stranded in NC. A year and a half later, i would find out that was a lie and that he had been at a concert Florida Georgia Line concert with her. She had been visiting his grandmother with him, staying at his parents home. The irony is that a few weeks after he took her, he took me to the same concert in Scranton. Him and his family didn’t bat an eye when a month later, I showed up and was the “new girlfriend.”
Eventually Devon found out about his lies and left him, but again, stupid me thought she was a crazy girl who just wanted so badly to be with him, that she built their relationship up in her head.
Dignity, respect for humans, empathy, are the most important qualities in a human being.
What I don’t wish is for you to be in my spot in 5 years. He will paint you in his colors, make you fall in love with MB20, and take you to Augustana concerts, he’ll tell you that you understand him, and his heart in a way that nobody else does. He’ll bond with you over music, and send you songs that make you feel he’s talking about you. He is so good at making you feel seen, and involving you with his family. He’ll say he had a vision of a girl that looks like you, coming into his life, and here you are, his soul mate. And one day, the same way that Shari, Devon and I got lost in him, the reality of everything will come pouring down on you. Be careful, there are signs between the lines, and the smiles, and good times. Make sure you don’t miss those, whatever you decide.
My relationship with him, started off just like yours. Another girl on the periphery, and teetering the line of inappropriate. Everything you call him out on, will always have an excuse, and you will believe him because he’s the “good guy” who goes above and beyond for people.
I don’t wish for any woman to go through the pain I’ve gone through, the manipulation, the lies and the emotional abuse. I can’t tell you what to do, but I will say, be careful and don’t be blind to the small things that will one day become huge. The novelty will fade, and though Jared isn’t the devil, he has a lot of growing up to do at 40. It was not okay to toy with me and drag me through the mud this year. It wasn’t okay to minimize his relationship with you and lie to me about it. It’s not okay to, to this day claim to see a life with me and not commit to it. I deserve better, and you deserve better.
How men talk about their ex’s and other women is an indication about how they will one day talk about and treat you. That is the worst and best lesson i have learned. I’m 34, years of my life wasted, and he took another year of my life knowing full well, this is how it would end. He’s sat on the phone with me for hours talking about how stupid PA’s are and if you were going to not be a doctor, at least become an NP, who has better bedside knowledge. Why would he say that, because i suppose you’re a PA and it minimizes the significance of even having a relationship with somebody who isn’t as intelligent as he is. The lack of respect will always be there, you just have to look for it.
Dishonesty, and manipulation are a plague, and if that’s who you are at 40, it is who you will always be unless you recognize that something needs to change. Where there is no accountability, there can be no change. I’m not the exception, I’m the same as the two girls before me. He’ll show you text messages where he never responded to me, even though he replies on Snapchat where every thing is erased. I cannot believe i didn’t see the signs. He will make me look crazy and laugh at me, the same way he showed me messages from Jen, and Elisabeth, and Devon, and made them sound crazy to me. I guess that’s his MO. The same way he told me you were nothing to him.
I was going to send you this message, two months ago… i then decided not to because he convinced me he wasn’t dating you… I saw him less than a month ago in Roanoke, i begged him to tell me that he was in a relationship with you. He said he wasn’t, again, he told me he was going to a wedding alone with only Ryan and that he wasn’t taking you. I then begged him to tell me that we were done and that he didn’t love me anymore. His response was idk what’s going to happen a year from now, i know I’ll see you again. His response every time has been when im ready for a relationship, emotionally, do you want me to finally let you know? I don’t care to be with him anymore. I’m so over it but i really think you should know the type of person you’re dealing with.
He has put me through so much hell for a year and a half of my life, stringing me along acting like he’s doing me a favor while he works on his own mental health and claims to still love me when we are together.”
TLDR: my SO’s ex messaged me saying he’s been seeing both of us for the past year and a half. Has anybody experienced this before. She sent me pictures from the past year of them and their text exchanges

I'm in Canada. I'm 23
I graduated in Spring 2023 with an Hons BS in Computer Science. In August 2023, I secured a job as a Cloud Engineer at a small-scale company utilizing AWS, despite having no prior internship/Co-op/full time permanent work experience (didn't get any Co-ops due to Covid)
My cloud computing background at that time was a cloud computing course which I took in Uni which involved using EC2 Instances and basic cloud computing concepts.
My responsibilities at my present job have predominantly revolved around the infrastructure side, using infrastructure as a code (IaC), using AWS CDK with Python, server maintenance, renewing SSL Certificates, automations, assisting senior members in basic tasks (like following up), onboarding new team members, installing/updating software across various EC2 instances, migrating RDS/volumes /other resources to reduce costs. (Pretty much those tasks which an intern would do since this is my first ever tech job, never worked full time before).
I am planning to switch roles later this year, aiming to delve deeper into AWS and cloud related positions as I've found some interest in it and learnt quite many things. I noticed several jobs requiring good amount of experience (they all sounded like intermediate/senior level roles) while I only have close to 1 year of experience as time goes.
My only reason to leave this job is the pay (earning less than $40k/yr, again its my first ever job with no prior internships/Co-ops).
Looking for some Career Advice on how I can switch roles with the right amount of experience & guidance, How can I stand out during this job search/learning process, progress more in cloud computing or if I should really pursue cloud computing further:

1. Is cloud computing a promising domain to pursue further in Canada? Is the job market for cloud computing experiencing downturns as well? As I might like to continue with this job in case the market is really bad.
2. Should I aim for some other positions outside Cloud (like AI, etc). I see a lot of news regarding layoffs, market being too bad, people not able to find jobs, and it's making me worried to switch roles even after some experience in hand.

2a. (Continuation of point 2) Is there any other Cloud platform which would be more helpful depending on the market demand, if AWS isn't in high demand ? (Like Azure, Salesforce, GCP or anything else)
2b. What other fields/positions in Tech could I target if Cloud Positions are out of reach due to a good amount of experience necessary. I often hear about cybersecurity and AI but understand they can be highly competitive.

1. I am aware of AWS certifications but uncertain if obtaining certifications alongside one year of experience would suffice to transition roles. Given my junior position, I'm curious if starting with the AWS Cloud Practitioner certification is adequate or if pursuing multiple certifications alongside additional experience would be more beneficial.
   
2. Would AWS/cloud related projects (of any other platform) be helpful to show it to my prospective employer ? I'm worried about the cost of architecture as I don't want to pay a huge amount out of my pocket (I know Cost optimization is important and I'm gradually learning about this at work).
   
3. Is there a cloud related roadmap I can follow for AWS or for some other cloud platforms to advance my skills and career prospects?
   

Any Additional Career Advice/Guidance would be great.

trigger warning for: suicide and sexual assault mentioned
i(20F) and my friend(18F) have been friends for almost two years. i consider her my best friend. she’s been on and off with this guy(18M) since before we were friends, and he’s a complete asshole to her. he’s manipulative, toxic, narcissistic, and has even done stuff to her without her consent. overall, this guy is bad news.
recently, he broke it off with her and said it was for good, and blocked her. she attempted to overdose, called me, and i drove her to the emergency room and stayed by her side the whole time. she was discharged without being sent to a mental hospital, and i would try to check up on her everyday. this got very overwhelming for me, as i have PTSD from my own suicide attempt and it’s been triggering me. i’ve been having nightmares every night, and it seems it’s triggered a mental breakdown of my own.
she keeps trying to reach him through ways he doesn’t realize she’s not blocked on, then he says something mean and blocks her. she still defends him 100%, and through conversations with her she told me she’s never planning to move on and would rather die than be with him. i’ve done my everything to support her and be there for her, i’ve thrown my mental health in the trash to be there for her(i realize it’s bad).
recently, she found out that her ex found a new girl(not even a week after her attempt) and she told me that she was going to take every pill possible in her cabinet that night when everyone went to bed. i asked her multiple times if she was joking, if it was only a thought, but she said she was one hundred percent sure she was going to attempt and die that night. i asked if she was willing to come to my house, and she agreed.
as she drove over to my house, i called 911 and had police and an ambulance come to my house to do an intervention. she went to the emergency room, i went with her, and she was sent to a mental hospital where she’s been for around a week.
her mom was upset that i called 911, and i soon found out that she had lied to her mom about what she had told me. she told her mom that i had tricked her, that she just was having thoughts and wanted to talk, but i was sending her away against her will. i quickly showed her mom the texts she had sent, proving that this was much more serious.
i was like, okay, maybe in the moment she was just scared of her mom finding out and i got thrown under the bus, i can live with that. but i found out that her friends were calling my dad and i weird for calling 911. she had asked me to update one of her friends for her, and i did, he told me that she said she wasn’t going to do anything. i clarified again, explaining i was 100% sure she would be dead if nothing was done. she also posted on reddit, saying that “she didn’t even do anything” etc.
in the hospital she said she thought everyone was overreacting and was just annoyed. meanwhile i just cried my eyes out for thirty minutes because of PTSD and stress.
to everyone else she’s making it seem like i just wanted her to be sent away and she didn’t do or say ANYTHING that warranted this to happen. either she’s lying to me, or she’s lying to everyone else.
i feel hurt and betrayed, after all this she tells me i overreacted and made me out to be the bad guy to everyone.
i plan to talk to her when she gets out about what had happened and how i feel, but im not sure what to even think about this all.

Last post I mentioned I'm around Reverse Mountain and Whiskey Peak which I finished around January as well as Coby and Helmeppo Cover Story and Little Garden. Then Drum Island I finished around Late January and Early February. Alabasta started around February and I Finished around first week of April.
Afterwards I started Post-Alabasta which I also finished around April then started Jaya around Late April. Currently I'm in Skypiea.
New characters and Allies showed up such as Vivi, Karoo, Luffy's Brother Ace, Bonclay, Laboon and many more
The arcs in the Alabasta Saga, Everyone has their moments:
Zoro fought 100 Baroque Works grunts in Whiskey Peak, Saving Smoker from drowning in rainbase as well as a new ability by using One Sword to cut steel in order to defeat Daz Bonez.
Chopper Joining Luffy's Crew and his Fight with Usopp against Mr. 4 and Ms. Merry Christmas,
Nami's first fight against Ms. Doublefinger using her new weapon the Clima-Tact made by Usopp.
Luffy's fight with Crocodile were he got pwned at first but had rematch were he find out Crocodile's weakness to liquid which he used water at first but used his Own Blood as well as saved Robin and the King
Sanji is the MVP in these Arcs, I mean he beat up the Unluckies and Get Info regarding Mr. 0/Crocodile, Helped Luffy fought Wapol, Saved Luffy and the others from the Crocodiles and Drowning, and Fought Bon Clay.
Igaram Survived from Ms. All-Sunday (Robin)
And Robin joining the crew, as a favor for Luffy saving her back in Alabasta.
Overall, I say this is an Improvement in terms of story and character development as well as introducing new characters within the Grand Line.
This mostly on Alabasta Saga, Skypiea will come in soon Once I finished the Arc.

Timestamp and Photos - 8XV
Howdy, reposting this board after a sale didn't go through. Board is in excellent condition overall, but please note that there are some small scratches on the inside of the case by the escape key. It was also noted that there were some small black marks on the weight, which turned out to be residue from my stands; these were removed with an eraser. I've added photos and video to show this.
Lilac anodized, standard lavendelilac weight. Comes with two hotswap PCBs, and two screen modules.
The board will come with x108 Olivia Silk Switches, so bring your own keycaps, and you'll be good to go.
Asking $450 obo.
Shipping to CONUS is free. Will ship with the boxes it came in.
Timestamp and Photos - Botanical
Standard base, complete base kit.
Kit was used on and off on my Navi. No shine, texture is still there.
Asking $100 obo.
Shipping to CONUS is free. Will ship with the box (or in bags if you don't care for it)

I had an transvaginal ultrasound for some recurrent lower left quadrant pain. The results were basically normal. The right ovary had 3 follicles, the left one seemed hard to find but was there (based on what the tech said and was showing me on the screen). The report also showed nothing of concern.
My primary symptom is diffuse hair loss on the scalp, for about 8 years now. My estrogen has been low for years but all docs are hesitant to test me for literally anything else. HRT seems to help but I’m avoiding it right now. I was told 10 years ago that I was in premature ovarian insufficiency, and that I don’t ovulate. Edit to add: Vit D is always way low, cholesterol has jumped a lot in the last year or so, had hypoglycemia growing up not sure about now.
Is it possible to have PCOS but not like a bunch of cysts that would show up on the ultrasound? Also, what other tests could I take to confirm PCOS? Thank you

This is my last attempt for awhile. *Do Not message or add me just to unfriend me or ghost me. * Greetings future partner ❤️ I'm still searching for you. I have to be honest and say that I am losing hope trying to find you.Please be somewhere. I want my search for a partner to be over. I'm seeking adventure in my life with someone I can call a forever partner. I'm tired of the loneliness and the sheltered lifestyle that I've lived. It would mean a lot of you could read through this post so that I could make sure we are compatible. Even if we start off as friends that would be fine.
Here's to new beginnings and new connections. PLEASE make sure you READ through the WHOLE POST also please be respectful when messaging me * *If you're the type to be impatient, block, or ghost easily, then save both of us the trouble and DO NOT message me! I'm not trying to come off as mean but I'd much rather you not message me if you're the type of person to do that. If something isn't working just let me know. We're all adults.
Greetings, I am seeking a long term relationship monogamous with the end goal being matrimony. I am not one for playing around and being used casually as it doesn’t suit me personally. Ideally I'd prefer a man that has his life already in place so that I can be able to share life with him and for him to take care of me. I would expect my future man to have a fiscally stable job and be able to support me and our future family. I wouldn’t be opposed to being a housewife. There are few reasons why I would like to work or work part time: 1) Being abandoned with nothing, 2) I want to feel fulfilled and not bored. Happy to discuss possible dynamics, I'm flexible. I would love a synergistic partnership where we are both able to mold our minds and fill our hearts with warm affection. I will be there to support you throughout your journey and celebrate every moment with you. I want you to be proud of you just as you are with me. I want to show you that you are truly cared for and appreciated by gestures of love such as massages and other forms of entertainment. I would expect the same from you as well. Even if we are both working adults we can still make our relationship work in the best way possible. I have seen this come out well for people who are dedicated and willing to make their relationships work. For a strong relationship to occur I would expect effective (transparent) communication from you. If you are going to be busy just be honest and let me know you won’t be able to talk to me.Also, if you need your space both mentally and physically let me know. I understand that we all have our lives to attend to but it is incredibly important for people in a relationship to be transparent when circumstances arise in a timely manner in order to avoid future conflict. If this relationship isn’t going to work I would expect you to tell me and not ghost or block me before giving me a reason why. We are all adults so I would expect nothing but maturity. Starting out I don’t want the pressure of sex to be pushed onto me. I’d rather let time tell in all of its glory.
Now onto my true introduction
My name is Angie and I'm from Georgia in the United States. I've been lonely for quite some time and find it hard to find a soulmate in IRL. What I'm looking for is someone who I can connect with and have wholesome conversations with. I want to be able to treat my future soulmate well just as much as they do me. The biggest part of a long lasting relationship is the ability to communicate openly without worry. I'd love it if my significant other has a dark sense of humor and continues to crack me up non-stop. As cheesy as it may sound I long for those late night calls and cute texts. I want for us to drive out the very best in each other; become our support system. A little bit about me is that I grew up in Florida and not too long ago moved to Georgia. I'm currently in college to become an RN but I'm also passionate about cosmetic chemistry and nutrition so I may seek to build my own business in the future. I'm passionate about science and theoretical applications especially within the medical field. I'd appreciate it if my partner is open minded about varying topics and welcomes healthy conversations. Appearance wise I'm open to seeing if we have a connection and feel as long as you are well groomed and practice basic hygiene you are good. Although, I must say that attraction is key in a relationship so I will have to go off on that as well. To add on, I enjoy playing video games, exercising (I've been slacking off lately), cooking and baking (vegan), playing board games, reading, exploring nature, playing sports (basketball and soccer) for fun, and trying new experiences. I hope to save up and travel someday. It would be nice for my partner to be able to set up our travel itinerary.
My Physical Description:
I am a black woman who’s twenty five years old (almost 26 in December) with Afro-Carribean, Japanese and Swedish ancestry. I’d still consider myself black presenting since that’s more along the lines of what I appear as phenotypically. I have dark brown curly hair (Mainly 3c type curls) and brown eyes. I am 5 '4 on the thicker spectrum (not at all obese but thick boned and have thunder thighs). I am trying to exercise more to become fit. I used to weight lift when I was younger but since then have lost lean muscle mass. Having a partner that is willing to work out together sometimes is rather rewarding. A man who has drive and appeal is incredibly sexy. I would also like to point out that I am curvy and noticeable in certain aspects (I’ll leave it up to you to decide).
*You have to be MINIMUM 21 to date me *
If distance will be a problem and you aren't willing to make it work then DON'T MESSAGE ME!!
If you will be too busy to pursue a relationship then DO NOT contact me!! * *Again, No ghosters or blockers!! Seeking a person who seeks a relationship with God and/or is open to one Must be free from venerial diseases and must be willing to get tested(will discuss) Bonus points if you're vegan Ideally I would like someone that is taller than me (I’m 5’4) I prefer a man that is fit or trying to be. I'd prefer someone who is fiscally stable and able to support the both of us* A big red flag for me is smokers. It isn't good for your health nor is it sexy to me.* It's important for me to point out that I want children in the future and need someone who may want that as well. If you're interested in how I look and want to know more about me, message me. Although I don’t make it a huge deal, I do prefer White and East Asian men. But I do love all types of men and welcome them. As stated before I emphasize communication and would prefer you to be honest and say if something is wrong instead of ghosting or blocking without stating the reason. Fair warning if I can be socially awkward sometimes and don't know what to talk about so please be patient with me as I'm learning to be better conversation wise

This will mostl likely be my last attempt in trying to find someone for awhile. * Do Not message me just to ghost or block me! Think it through before you message me!! I don't want to get emotionally hurt again.*
Greetings future partner ❤️ I'm still searching for you. I have to be honest and say that I am losing hope trying to find you.Please be somewhere. I want my search for a partner to be over. I'm seeking adventure in my life with someone I can call a forever partner. I'm tired of the loneliness and the sheltered lifestyle that I've lived. It would mean a lot of you could read through this post so that I could make sure we are compatible. Even if we start off as friends that would be fine.
Here's to new beginnings and new connections. PLEASE make sure you READ through the WHOLE POST also please be respectful when messaging me * *If you're the type to be impatient, block, or ghost easily, then save both of us the trouble and DO NOT message me! I'm not trying to come off as mean but I'd much rather you not message me if you're the type of person to do that. If something isn't working just let me know. We're all adults.
Greetings, I am seeking a long term relationship monogamous with the end goal being matrimony. I am not one for playing around and being used casually as it doesn’t suit me personally. Ideally I'd prefer a man that has his life already in place so that I can be able to share life with him and for him to take care of me. I would expect my future man to have a fiscally stable job and be able to support me and our future family. I wouldn’t be opposed to being a housewife. There are few reasons why I would like to work or work part time: 1) Being abandoned with nothing, 2) I want to feel fulfilled and not bored. Happy to discuss possible dynamics, I'm flexible. I would love a synergistic partnership where we are both able to mold our minds and fill our hearts with warm affection. I will be there to support you throughout your journey and celebrate every moment with you. I want you to be proud of you just as you are with me. I want to show you that you are truly cared for and appreciated by gestures of love such as massages and other forms of entertainment. I would expect the same from you as well. Even if we are both working adults we can still make our relationship work in the best way possible. I have seen this come out well for people who are dedicated and willing to make their relationships work. For a strong relationship to occur I would expect effective (transparent) communication from you. If you are going to be busy just be honest and let me know you won’t be able to talk to me.Also, if you need your space both mentally and physically let me know. I understand that we all have our lives to attend to but it is incredibly important for people in a relationship to be transparent when circumstances arise in a timely manner in order to avoid future conflict. If this relationship isn’t going to work I would expect you to tell me and not ghost or block me before giving me a reason why. We are all adults so I would expect nothing but maturity. Starting out I don’t want the pressure of sex to be pushed onto me. I’d rather let time tell in all of its glory.
Now onto my true introduction
My name is Angie and I'm from Georgia in the United States. I've been lonely for quite some time and find it hard to find a soulmate in IRL. What I'm looking for is someone who I can connect with and have wholesome conversations with. I want to be able to treat my future soulmate well just as much as they do me. The biggest part of a long lasting relationship is the ability to communicate openly without worry. I'd love it if my significant other has a dark sense of humor and continues to crack me up non-stop. As cheesy as it may sound I long for those late night calls and cute texts. I want for us to drive out the very best in each other; become our support system. A little bit about me is that I grew up in Florida and not too long ago moved to Georgia. I'm currently in college to become an RN but I'm also passionate about cosmetic chemistry and nutrition so I may seek to build my own business in the future. I'm passionate about science and theoretical applications especially within the medical field. I'd appreciate it if my partner is open minded about varying topics and welcomes healthy conversations. Appearance wise I'm open to seeing if we have a connection and feel as long as you are well groomed and practice basic hygiene you are good. Although, I must say that attraction is key in a relationship so I will have to go off on that as well. To add on, I enjoy playing video games, exercising (I've been slacking off lately), cooking and baking (vegan), playing board games, reading, exploring nature, playing sports (basketball and soccer) for fun, and trying new experiences. I hope to save up and travel someday. It would be nice for my partner to be able to set up our travel itinerary.
My Physical Description:
I am a black woman who’s twenty five years old (almost 26 in December) with Afro-Carribean, Japanese and Swedish ancestry. I’d still consider myself black presenting since that’s more along the lines of what I appear as phenotypically. I have dark brown curly hair (Mainly 3c type curls) and brown eyes. I am 5 '4 on the thicker spectrum (not at all obese but thick boned and have thunder thighs). I am trying to exercise more to become fit. I used to weight lift when I was younger but since then have lost lean muscle mass. Having a partner that is willing to work out together sometimes is rather rewarding. A man who has drive and appeal is incredibly sexy. I would also like to point out that I am curvy and noticeable in certain aspects (I’ll leave it up to you to decide).
*You have to be MINIMUM 21 to date me *
If distance is an issue and you aren't willing to commit then DON'T MESSAGE ME!!
If you will be too busy to pursue a relationship then DO NOT contact me!! * *Again, No ghosters or blockers!! Seeking a person who seeks a relationship with God and/or is open to one MUST be free from venerial diseases (must be willing to get tested) Bonus points if you're vegan Ideally I would like someone that is taller than me (I’m 5’4) I prefer a man that is fit or trying to be. I'd prefer someone who is fiscally stable and able to support the both of us* A big red flag for me is smokers. It isn't good for your health nor is it sexy to me.* It's important for me to point out that I want children in the future and need someone who may want that as well. If you're interested in how I look and want to know more about me, message me. Although I don’t make it a huge deal, I do prefer White and East Asian men. But I do love all types of men and welcome them. As stated before I emphasize communication and would prefer you to be honest and say if something is wrong instead of ghosting or blocking without stating the reason. Fair warning if I can be socially awkward sometimes and don't know what to talk about so please be patient with me as I'm learning to be better conversation wise

The County budget. What's going on here?

I'm finding out something about writing about budgets. Having eyesight good enough to pour through these figures is vital. Sadly, my eye surgery won't be until July so a real time budget analysis will simply prove too big a task for me to do well. I can cover some highlights and ask a few pertinent questions though.
For starters is every Knox County employee outside of the schools really happy about taking a pay cut? This is six straight years they've gone backwards under Glenn Jacobs. While I understand that my platform which emphasized across the board raises until we got County employees up to a competitive pay level with living wages was soundly rejected, but are County employees really happy with getting screwed every single year? You have to wonder.
Second, what kind of feedback is the Sheriff's office giving about the Mayor taking back the raise that didn't even get the deputies up to professional standard? After this year, our deputies will once again be among the lowest paid officers with some of the worst benefits in the nation. I understand many of the culture problems and quality control issues in the Sheriff's department, but it's time we recognized that we get what we pay for in law enforcement. We won't provide full health insurance and we no longer have a pension for our deputies, at least not in any meaningful sense. We are just going to have to live with the quality level the Mayor is willing to fund. If all the Mayor is willing to shell out for is a group of jack-booted gestapo who depend on graft to make ends meet, then that's what we're going to get. This is still a market economy. Pay rates still determine the quality of our employees.
Third, are the teachers really going to fall for the same scam the Mayor pulled on said deputies last year? Their raise is only significant when viewed through a lens comparing it to the way Jacobs has been bending them over and screwing them for the past six years. The School Board is not only showing support for the local Nazis attempting to ban books, but now they've given the nod nod wink wink to allowing guns in schools. What kind of irresponsible self serving totalitarians can completely ignore the real long term needs and goals of our school system and just discount the need to recruit and retain teachers as superfluous. The leadership of this School Board acts completely in the interests of pursuing partisan political goals. That is the very definition of terrorism. We need dedicated public servants in the role of School Board chair, not terrorists. Unless we demand a change in philosophy, that change won't come. Partisan political goals have no place in our school system and allowing the local crypto-nazis to determine the path our schools take is definitely the wrong way to go.
When is the Mayor going to come clean on the Choto/Northshore improvements? We have not completed the projects Ragsdale started and frankly, what the County is in charge of, with the possible exception of some of the greenway work Larsen Jay has championed, that stretch of road looks like shit and is less than functional depending on the time of day.
Fourth, where is the covid response money at in this budget? Last week we averaged ten patients a day in the hospital with covid at an uninsured rate of somewhere north of 15%. That works out to 15,000 a day or over five million a year in indigent covid costs. This is a week when covid is under control. We currently are looking at less than eight weeks a year at this rate. We have roughly the same number of weeks at ten times that amount, so we are looking at about 35-50 million a year in uninsured covid costs and the fed has cut the money off to cover them. Our response to covid thus far has been about 20-100% worse than comparable cities who had a real covid response meaning the direct costs of Jacobs irresponsible incompetence in this area alone will cost the county between 10-20 million. You folks want to know where your raises went? Jacobs took them when he refused to mitigate covid and entrenched us at a disease rate that has kept us at pandemic levels longer than any other like sized city in America. I use Madison Wi. as the city I compare to. Compare for yourself.
What I am struggling with though, is where is Jacobs hiding this expenditure. We know he's paying for his covid policy rather than give the raises these loyal employees are earning, but where is he hiding it in the budget? That is the question. The figure I found for indigent care came to less than 250,000 a year. Where is the rest of these tens of millions? Is he just forgoing the County's fiduciary responsibilities and dumping these costs on us as consumers with higher charges for medical care and health insurance? It's time to pay the piper. We knew there would be long term implications to our covid response, and there are. The issue is that by not being upfront about these costs the Mayor Jacobs is doing nothing more than perpetrating a fraud against the citizens of Knox County and just stealing money outright from every single one of us.

TLDR; This guy I don’t really know clearly has feelings for me. He seems sweet but I’m hesitant because I’m trans and his parents are apparently conservative. Guy is also trying a bit too hard and recently tried to impress me by potentially lying about being a fan of theater.
Heya, so I’m curious to see what people’s thoughts are on a little… situation I’m in. I (transmasc Junior) realized recently that a classmate (male Junior) almost certainly has feelings for me. I’ll call him “Kay” for now. Let me explain.
In my 6th period, I don’t really interact with people much. I’m certainly not shy, but it’s one of those core classes that has a mix of everyone and non of your usual crowd, so you end up struggling to make friends. Theres this small group of guys that I get along fairly well with, they’re accepting of my identity, really chill, and just the kind of dorks that I love surrounding myself with. Because I’ve always sorta had those four, I’ve never breached out to the rest of the class. Which is why it was unusual when another guy (who istg I had NEVER interacted with) approached me while we were changing seats for assigned groups and suddenly said hi. This is Kay.
It was a simple greeting and I thought nothing of it. I asked if he was in my assigned group, and he didn’t really respond and awkwardly shuffled away. Alright, a little weird, but nothing harmful and I forgot about it.
Two days later, the whole class is waiting outside for our teacher to show up and open the door. Kay suddenly approaches me and asked how I was. Reminder that I DON’T KNOW THIS GUY. I didn’t even know his NAME until a week after our first interaction when I overheard the teacher call him. He knew mine though, and I ended up feeling ridiculously guilty for it for that week I was trying to figure out what was happening.
Anyway, I digress.
When he asked me how I was, I was honest and told him I was looking forward to going home because of how tired I was from rehearsals. He asks about what I was rehearsing for, and I explained that I’m in my theater classes’s final show where we host it entirely on our own. But because of how little time we were given, we’ve been hauling ass with rehearsals that last from right after school until 7:30 at night. Then he did something that no one has ever done to me before:
He asked me to save him a ticket. He WANTED to go to this play I was in. No one besides immediate family ever wanted to go to a production I was in. Like… fuck, okay, if that isn’t a sign, I don’t know what is. I told him that I’d let him know when tickets went live.
Flash forward to that following Monday, our teacher spontaneously decided to change up the seating layout in her classroom and told people to sit wherever they wanted that day. I took a random seat and Kay sits, not next to me, but like a table over. I guess trying to not be too obvious? But then he hits me with this ringer “Hey Evan! How was your weekend” It was alright “Did you go to prom?” (Prom was that previous weekend)
Woah.
Now that felt like he just asked me if I was single.
So I tell him “Nah, not this year. But I will next year, for sure.”
His response? “Oh! Well, if you’re not going with anyone, maybe we could go together next year?” Then followed by the quick backtrack of: “As friends!”
Oh. Oh he is stupid. But it’s a kind of cute stupid that I don’t actually mind all that much. It’s sort of endearing how silly it is.
We don’t interact too much after that, I would note that during a class debate where we were split into two teams, he and I happened to be on the same team. Really, I was the only one on my team debating (and, not to brag, but to totally I won my team the debate and I was arguing the opposite of what I actually believed in), but he was the only one who tried to pitch in. Now what he said was out of pocket and didn’t match the stance I was going with at all, but it was sweet how he tried to help. He even leaned over after everything was said and done and thanked for winning the debate for my team.
Really, he seems sweet, but I barely know him. All I know is that he’s in the Medical Technology classes (based on how he wears scrubs once in a while) and apparently plays Call of Duty because he asked if I played. I might download it, just in case he asks again. I’m not the type to fall head over heels quickly. It takes me time. Especially as a trans guy who needs to be careful who they befriend and date because I never know what someone’s opinions of me or my identity is. Or if they even realize I am trans. I dress rather androgynous, leaning towards masculine, and my hair goes down to my collar bone in a sort of wolf-cut mullet thing. I’m short. I don’t passes very well, a lot of people tend to think I am just a bit androgynous rather than transmasc. I should be starting hormone replacement therapy later this summer, but this guy doesn’t know that. Sure I’m not traditionally feminine in the slightest and he has to be okay with that if he’s got a thing for me now. But does he know to what extent that goes? Is he just hoping for a tomboy girlfriend and not a boyfriend? Fuck, man, I don’t know.
With Kay, I’m particularly concerned because when I brought this up in my Theater class, I got two different responses which were not… great. One of my classmates literally squealed “EW!” because apparently he wasn’t a great guy in middle school. But I’m willing to see past that since that was 3+ years ago. People change and middle school tends to bring out the worst in everyone (middle schoolers are VICIOUS). But then my teacher had this sort of “Oh no…” kind of look. She explained that he’s a sweet guy, but his family is also extremely conservative. However, his older brother is apparently gay, so there’s that. Does he take after his brother or his parents? I genuinely have no clue, but I am praying to whatever got that is out there that he’s the former.
So yeah. Terrified of giving this guy a chance. I’m not disinterested, I want to give it a chance, get to know him before deciding how I feel because I literally have no way of knowing until we can have actual conversations beyond “how was your day?”
Then there’s today. We had another short “how are you” conversation and I told him I was stressed (again, because of my show), and he laid it on heavy that he was hoping to go, and I told him “Yeah! I remember you asking me to save you a ticket, but I’m not confident in its quality right now. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a theater production, but if you haven’t I wouldn’t want this one to be your first.”
He responds with: “Oh no, it’s not my first time, I’ve seen Hamilton and the nutcracker and stuff like that. I like theater.”
I was so excited at first because I thought he genuinely had an interest in Theater, but then a minute later I realized we saw both of those shows in our history class: one was Hamilton on Disney+ and we watched it when we were learning about the Revolution and what not, the other was when we saw a Ballet troupe perform the Nutcracker in our theater because our teacher was a guest dancer in it.
This. Mother fucker. Pretty much lied to my face to impress me. I don’t know if I should feel flattered that he’s trying so hard or insulted that he thought I’d fall for it.
I don’t even know how I feel. I almost want to just call him out and tell him to just ask for my number instead of trying to be someone he’s not to impress me. I might just do that. I’ll think about it.
Anywho, give me your thoughts on the situation. I’m at a loss, and tbh, my friends aren’t being the most helpful. Meanwhile my mom is telling me to play hard to get, which just feels cruel considering how hard he’s already trying.

Hey there, dental hygienist here!
I get asked a lot what people should be using at home to clean their teeth and gums.
I can offer some generalized suggestions based on professional recommendations that I make daily both in and out of my clinic:
Floss, rinse, brush. In that order.
You can water floss some areas, string floss some areas, and change up the method a few times a week. Some of my patients will alternate days so they are using both methods each week for the best plaque and bacteria removal.
Rinse your mouth with a solution that includes cetylpyridinium chloride, sodium hypochlorite, or chlorine dioxide.
Brush gently with a soft bristle brush. Aim your bristles toward your gum line. Switch to an electric brush (Sonicare or OralB is best, Burst brushes are good if you’re on a tighter budget).
Continue to brush and floss daily. Your gums will start to get more firm and be able to tolerate the water pressure of a higher setting on the Waterpik, but it may take several weeks to build up to that.
I do share affiliate links so it’s possible I would earn commission if you decided to purchase any of these things. Here are some branded links for the products I’ve mentioned here though for reference at the very least:
OralB Genius Electric Brush: https://amzn.to/3x4rOfQ
Sonicare Electric Brush: https://amzn.to/3x0TKRH
Burst Electric Sonic Brush: https://www.burstoralcare.com/product/toothbrush-pro?color=white
BurstOralCare.com Probiotics
**If you ever buy anything from BurstOralCare.com use StinaRDH at checkout for a discount. I personally buy my own & my families whitening products, oral probiotics, sonic brush, and string floss from Burst. All the kids in my family use the Burst kids brushes and flossers.
Waterpik: https://amzn.to/3IQKfHy
TheraBreath Gingivitis Rinse: https://amzn.to/43AbfV7
Stannous Fluoride Toothpaste: https://amzn.to/3IRQyup
XyliMelts: https://amzn.to/4alA2hN
You can check the American Academy of Periodontology website and find that their clinical studies show flossing first and brushing last is the most beneficial. Floss, rinse, brush (in that order).
Good luck! Reach out to me here if you have any questions.
You got this!
Best, Stina, M.S.Ed., RDA, CDA, RDH
🫧🪥🦷

Republic 7^th Fleet, Centaurus Sector, 407 light years from Earth
RSS Vercingetorix, Independence-Class Carrier, 2174 A.D.
Vice-Admiral Mei Zhou had just finished making the final changes to the fleet’s reconnaissance patrol routes with her senior staff when the comm panel on her desk chirped, displaying an incoming comm request from Admiral Thompson. She quickly thumbed the pad being offered by her aide so that he could issue the orders they were just working on and turned to the rest of her staff. “Nice job, people. Let’s get to work. Dismissed.” As the staff filed out the door, she started entering the codes needed to decrypt the incoming comm channel and looked up to make sure the room was empty. She pressed the open channel icon, and Admiral Thompson’s holo image appeared in front of her desk, ending just below his waist and making it seem as if he was actually there, sitting.
“Mei, how’s your new ship treating you?” he asked, smiling. “She is an absolute beauty, Karl. I still can’t believe that she is mine.” She responded, returning his smile. “What can I do for you, Karl?” Thompson chuckled, and his holo image leaned back as he reclined in his chair. “Straight to business; I always liked that about you, Mei. Alright, here we go. We have received intelligence reports that the Commonwealth has begun evacuating one of their last remaining coreward periphery worlds that is now dangerously close to the expanded Insectoid border. We have also received an update from our spy drones in that same region that six Hive ships and almost four hundred cruisers that were patrolling their side of that border area have disappeared. This is too much of a coincidence, and I want you to detach a combat patrol and send them there.” Thompson finished speaking, and a flashing icon popped up on her comm panel, indicating that she had just received new orders. She tapped it and quickly scanned the new orders as the admiral waited. She looked up at his holo image. “Karl, I acknowledge receipt of the new orders and will implement them. Between me and you, why are we getting involved with this? The Commonwealth has a navy, and they should be fighting to protect their space. We can’t keep coming to the rescue and defending their members; we are already spread too thin as it is.”
Thompson nodded his head in agreement. “Mei, I agree with you in principle, but there are social and political considerations involved here. The near extinction of the V’rni has caused considerable turmoil among the citizens of the Republic. They know logically that we could not have stopped such an attack like that one, but the perceived failure to protect them or prevent the attack still weighs heavily on their souls. The Commonwealth is currently attempting to evacuate the Jaleen system, and they are one of the last surviving members that voted yes before our petition to join the Commonwealth was denied. It also doesn’t help that the Jaleeni are avowed pacifists and look like bipedal Newfoundland dogs. They are technically a bear-like species, but to humans, they look like humanoid dogs, and the government is unwilling to lose the popular support it currently enjoys by allowing the Jaleeni to be exterminated. I mean, look at these guys.”
Another flashing icon popped up on her screen a moment later, and she pressed it. It turned into a hologram depicting a typical Jaleeni family of a mother and father with a litter of six pups, and she couldn’t help but smile as she looked at the photo. They were wearing their traditional rough-spun linen clothes that made them look like dogs cosplaying as monks. They looked adorable, and she felt her heart melt while staring into their deep brown eyes, which looked sad. She understood the reasoning behind it, especially after the mass extinctions that occurred in Earth’s biosphere because of World War 3.
After the war, humanity had an awakening when they surveyed their destroyed world and came to terms with the disappearance of thousands of species and the near extinction of thousands of others. What followed were three generations of desperate measures to salvage what remained and a worldwide effort at habitat restoration and de-extinction efforts utilizing a wide array of methods such as back-breeding, cloning, and genome editing. Dogs were almost driven to extinction by the war as they were uniquely susceptible to the BioChem weapons that were developed and refined by the Eastern Coalition animal testing on poor innocent canine subjects. Between the Biochem weapons, owner deaths, abandonment, and starvation, almost 90% of the domesticated canine population and entire breeds were lost by the war’s end. Cats fared much better, but they still suffered a loss of almost half of their pre-war population, and a large percentage of the survivors reverted to a feral state. The result of all of this was an almost religious reverence for the preservation of sentient animal life on human worlds and a somewhat fanatical tendency of humans to take on the mantle of guardians for sapient alien species that resembled animals to them.
“Karl, I understand; I do. I just don’t like the fact that we are operating on so many fronts. Some of our fleets and task forces are patrolling areas far enough away that I worry about them getting reinforcements on time if they are attacked, and now my fleet is being partitioned to send a combat patrol almost three hundred light-years away from our current position. After the assault on the V’rn system, half of our combat power was recalled to Republic space to prevent the same thing from happening to us, and yet we are still being tasked with properly defending Eleani and Xenxin territory with half the ships we had before. Have they lost their damn minds at HQ?” She realized she was almost yelling at the admiral, and Mei took a deep breath, recognizing that her outburst was unbecoming of a Republic naval officer. She attempted to quickly apologize to Admiral Thompson. “Karl, I’m sorry that was uncalled for-“
The admiral raised a hand to stop her, an amused expression in his eyes. “Mei, I said the exact same thing to my boss as you did almost verbatim, and not as diplomatically as you, I might add. My concerns were addressed to my satisfaction, and I think yours will be when you get to your destination. There will be a task force joining you there, and I think you will be pleased. That is all I can say for now over the comms. You will lead the combat patrol to the coordinates listed in the orders you received, and the task force joining you there will fall under your command. I have a personal favor to ask of you. Please keep an open mind when you link up with the task force. You will rendezvous with Commodore Therax, and he is instrumental in our efforts to undermine the increasingly despotic Commonwealth government. More information about him and the Nekuli were added to your orders, make sure you review it. I took a big gamble on this, and I would be grateful if you did your best to make this collaboration work. That is all for now, and I wish you and your crews good fortune and godspeed, Mei. Take care of yourself.” The admiral finished speaking, and Mei noted the personal nature of his last few words, nodding an affirmative to his request.
“Admiral, I thank you for your words, and we won’t let you down. I need to issue the orders now to get there and link up with the task force on time. I’ll send a null space comm drone to the nearest relay to confirm our arrival and integration. Vice-admiral Zhou out.” As she leaned towards the comm panel to close the channel, she saw Admiral Thompson doing the same, and he gave her a wink and a mischievous smile before she pressed the icon, terminating the connection. She leaned back in her chair and blew out a deep breath. “Now what the hell was that all about?” She asked out loud to herself, as the confusing and secretive nature of her orders and the personal request of the admiral added to the uncertainty of what she was expected to do. She keyed her wrist pad and texted her aide to come back to her office for new orders. He was going to be livid that they just wasted half a day revising the patrol routes to maximize efficiency and increase their patrol range. A small smile crossed her lips as she waited. He had an obvious tell of his lower left eyelid spasming when he was mad despite displaying no emotions on his face, and she knew it drove him nuts that he couldn’t control it. Witnessing it was one of the small joys she had in her difficult job as vice-admiral, and she was looking forward to it.
Fifty-six hours later, her task force flashed out of null space at the designated coordinates and right on time. She felt a measure of pride as she watched her bridge crew go about confirming their location and verifying it with the navigational array and astrometric sensors. Once the navigator gave her confirmation that he verified their position, she turned towards the comms officer and ordered her to send a burst transmission with the pre-arranged code and waited for the response. A few seconds later, the comms officer raised her left hand and signaled receipt and confirmation of the code by the task force waiting in null space. An agonizingly long minute crawled along as she anxiously waited for her navigator to confirm the telemetry from his counterpart in the other task force as they verified their positions. The navigator activated the main viewscreen on the forward bulkhead as they waited. Suddenly, there were a multitude of exit flashes 200,000 kilometers from the bow of her carrier, and hundreds of warships appeared at a dead stop relative to her position.
Her jaw dropped as she took in the unexpected fleet in front of her. There were dozens of Commonwealth dreadnaughts, battleships, and heavy cruisers arrayed before her, as well as an additional one hundred and twenty light cruisers, destroyers, and missile frigates. On the flanks of the main formation, there were more exit flashes, and the bridge AI started categorizing them on the screen, and she saw that they were the new Eleani and Xenxin warships that she had been hearing about. They shared a design lineage with the Commonwealth ships, but there were definite differences that became obvious as they assumed their positions next to the Commonwealth navy ships. She was particularly intrigued by the Xenxin ships, as they seemed to be bristling with weapons, almost excessively so relative to their ship sizes. The Eleani ships seemed to have taken a different design philosophy, and they gave the impression of deadly speed and grace, and she was hard-pressed to spot any obvious weapons on their hulls despite the AI confirming that the ships were indeed well-armed.
There was another coded signal from null space that appeared on the comm station panel, and her comm officer turned to her. “Vice-admiral, we have received a coded message on the sigma frequency for your eyes only that requires biometric and voice verification to decrypt.” Zhou nodded and pressed a button on her arm panel, activating the privacy screen around her chair and feeling the pressure change as the bridge around her became opaque and silent. She pressed the biometric toggle on the panel, and a retinal scanner popped out of its alcove on the side. She leaned in and scanned her right eye first, then her left. An icon appeared on the screen, and she thumbed it as it flashed and confirmed the print. Finally, she spoke and addressed the bridge AI: “Suzy, please confirm the voice command for verification.” The AI answered immediately. -Of course, Vice-Admiral Zhou, please proceed.- “Zhou, one-red-seven-green-four-tango-alpha-zero. Execute.” -Voice command verified. Thank you, Vice-Admiral Zhou.-
A small holographic display popped up in front of her; the admiral appeared on the screen, and his pre-recorded message started playing. “Mei, I know all this cloak and dagger stuff seems excessive, but we couldn’t take any chances. The receipt of this message will activate a program in your bridge AI and allow it to take control of the new drone ships waiting for you in null space. They are a new class of upgraded null ships and are top secret. Your AI will anchor them to your task force, and they will follow you, remaining hidden in null space unless you absolutely need them.”
“There are also two troopships with them that are carrying a complement of two thousand Mark XII ATS Bio-Synths and an expeditionary brigade each of rangers and pathfinders in stasis. They are also to remain in null space unless circumstances require that you need them; they are an insurance policy for an ongoing mission in Insectoid space. The details of that are top secret as well and can be accessed with your AI. If the troopships are required for that mission, they are to be escorted by a detachment of null ships and sent there immediately. After you have met your task force counterpart, there are orders in this packet that are to be accessed by you both and executed. I have the utmost faith in you, Mei, and I can’t wait to take you out to dinner again when we can both coordinate our next leave together. Thompson out.”
The hologram message disappeared, and she waited a little longer to allow the blush from his last sentence to fade from her cheeks and suppress the smile that was trying to form on her face before she put on her command mask and lowered the privacy screen. The bridge crew was going about their usual tasks, trying hard not to seem interested in her top-secret message. “Comms, open a channel to the task force flagship, please.” The comm officer acknowledged the order, and a few seconds later, the Bridge of the Commonwealth flagship appeared on the viewscreen.
A Nekuli male was sitting in the command chair, resplendent in the uniform favored by Nekuli officers. He took a moment to look around her bridge before settling his eyes on her. He bowed his head slowly in a gesture of respect, which she returned in proper fashion. The proper courtesies having been observed, he raised his eyes to meet with hers and started speaking. “Vice-Admiral Zhou. May the ancestors grant you and your clan honor and good fortune. I am deeply honored to meet you, and I hope our integration is a successful endeavor. I now entrust the honor of myself and my crew to your safekeeping.” He remained stone still as he awaited her reply, and she tried to remember the proper return greeting that she had been studying during their trip here.
“Commodore Therax, the honor is mine, and I promise you that I shall never ask you or your crew to undertake any action that will bring dishonor to your clans and your ancestors. We are now joined as one; may our cause be just and pure.” She finished the response, and the gravity of what she just promised to someone she had never met before hit her hard; it felt almost sacred to her. Commodore Therax heard her proper reply, and he stood up, followed by the rest of his bridge crew. He addressed her again. “Our honor has been given, and we have received a promise to safeguard it in return. Our joining is now consecrated in the eyes of the ancestors, and you are now our clan leader. What are your orders?
She recovered from the ordeal of the emotionally charged exchange of vows and stood up to give her first order as clan leader to the Nekuli. “I request the presence of you and your senior staff aboard my ship tonight. I will prepare a feast to honor our new friendship and alliance. I have studied your cuisine, and I have found a selection of Earth cuisine that should suit your taste. It is called tartare and sashimi; I think you will like it.” Commodore Therax looked at her dubiously, and she had to stifle a laugh at his expression as she knew that he was imagining being forced to eat vegetables and overcooked meat out of politeness. She spoke quickly to assuage his fears. “Commodore, tartare, and sashimi are raw red meat and fish; I would never inflict vegetables and burnt meat on you or your crew; are we not friends?”
As his translator finished converting her words into his language, he smiled at her, baring all of his fangs in true happiness.

My now ex job(food factory)has fired me because I kept complaining about a line lead who has harassing me and calling me fat ass, weak man, unintelligent man and whole bunch of other out of pocket names in Spanish thinking I did not know what he was saying. He been doing it from day one I started working there and at first I let it slide because I try not start even more work hostilities even more than what is all ready there at work or respond to the bulling or better yet out of pocket thing someone be saying. However it got to the point where I wanted to hurt the guy because I told him many times to stop fucking with me but he wouldn’t listen so I reported him to the higher ups. Nothing was being done about it so I told the guy to his face one day that if he didn’t want to fight me stfu and stop fucking with before something terrible going to happen to you. He stop bothering me for awhile but then started it back up later on so I took it up even higher ups but when I did they said I was terrible at my job and I can’t do my job that I was shit at it and that I complain to much about others but can’t take responsibility for my own work and that is when I lost it. So I got into a heated argument with the higher up about showing me respect and you can’t talk to me like I’m a child we are both grown ass man who do you think you are? So I cuss him out about his behavior so he hit me with the power trip I send your fucking ass home and document you for your bad behavior. I look him in the eyes and respond with, so you going to write me up but won’t do anything about the other guy? For harassing me and making a hostile work place? Fuck you I’m going home for the day I’m not putting up with this bullshit! Got a call the next day saying I’m fired for cussing out a supervisor and a HR lady which I never did is one of the craziest part. The HR lady me and her have a very honest conversations so Ik the supervisor is a full of shit unless she lied to them as well idk anymore. I change the name of the company to factory below.
“You are not allowed on the property. They are going to cut your lock. They provided a very detailed report of what happened when they moved you from the dough room. That behavior really isn't acceptable at all. They noted you do not have take responsibility for any of your actions. You always blame someone else, or your tools, or the equipment. That is an issue in a work environment. Everyone messes up, that's how we learn.”
“The factory stated you got hostile with the HR coordinator and the production supervisor on why you were not in the dough room. Working with factory an associate can be moved around where they are needed. And using any type of swearing against any factory or temp associate is not tolerated.”
(Side note) I have high standards and I don’t like to joke or play around at work. I’m not there to make friends or make people happy I’m there to do a job make sure everything is running smoothly and go home. I’ve never apologies for who I am and been unapologetic for it all. I don’t take my personal life to work and work life home Ik how to separate the two once I hit the clock in and out machine. Lots of people hate me for how I am but I could care less as long as my job gets done. You are hired to get a job done so get it done. ( side side note) my grandfather always told me that A man should get a job done no matter what if he was hired for it. When he was on his death bed he told me to not stop going to work and keep moving forward don’t cry for him and be happy and just move forward. Yea it was really hard but that man kept me going. I understand not everyone can just move on and whatever but at least separate your lives Best you can. I understand what I said earlier will get lot of people mad but I’ll live with it tell I die. I’m looking to sue the company for loss of wages, emotional distress and hostile work environment. Maybe discrimination since they know I have a disability… talk to me people. How should I move forward!!?? Am I wrong?? I’ve never been so humiliated at a job before and felt betrayed that I just lost it.

My family has always been of great minds. I hated it. Growing up and having to study day and night to try and live up to them was extremely exhausting when I couldn't care how things worked as long as I was happy. I gave up but somehow everything kept turning out to be true.
Over my lifetime I have become the Gorden Ramsey of the science world. Known for my temper and also for huge things like curing world hunger using play-doe and cancer with baby powder I got in a back street ally while drunk.
To get my family off my back I started making random ideas so they could see me as a failure and leave me alone but...they keep working. And soon people started to praise me. Fame has left me with nothing but more and more attention. So today I plan to make sure that everyone can just think I'm insane and leave me alone and not some king.
I chuckled like a kid who was opening a Christmas present as I heard the crowd of people chatting and talking loudly as I hid behind my stage in a grey tight suit that my sister had picked out. I sighed and was ready to walk out and make a fool out of myself but my brother stopped me.
" Jack... I just want you to know how proud I am of you. Dad would have loved to see you right now. "
I thought it was ironic because last night while chilling on the couch watching TV and eating chips I made this theory up. He dusted off my shoulders held them tight and looked me in the eyes taking in the moment.
" go give them hell man. "
He had a goofy smile just like Dad but spoke with confidence.
" you got it, man. "
I heard my name being called onto the stage and the uproar startled me for a second but I collected myself and headed out after giving him a nod just to entertain him.
The lights were blinding as I grabbed the mic and looked at the table in front of me with a small box with the ingredients I needed and a chalkboard behind me.
After I stood still for a minute the crowd died down. I had not told anyone what I was presenting so the whole world was watching without a clue of what I was doing this time.
"Hello everyone. Today I believe I have my most important presentation yet..."
The crowd grew silent and hung on every word. And I heard my voice around the room through the speakers.
" Today I have with me a box...and inside is spaghetti I had for breakfast. "
The crowd laughed thinking it was a joke
" shut up "
The crowd grew silent once more
"Behind me is a chalkboard and I will now present my new findings to all of you...I have found out how to make portals to other worlds. "
A man in the far back of the audience yelled bullshit in a heavy Indian accent but he was so far it was a faint sound for me. I smiled at that thinking I had finally found something that would make me lose my title and I could go ahead and live a life without people making me feel like an evil man for not helping others.
I opened the box got a handful of the noodles and threw them at the chalkboard. I then grabbed a paper towel on standby to clean myself.
The noodles hit the board and slowly moved and rested on a spot on the board. I made eye contact with my brother backstage and he had a look on his face showing he believed in me.
I spun the board dropping the noodles to the ground I then grabbed the chalk and drew around the sauce and noodles that stuck to the board then drew my attention to the others that had fallen on the floor and drew an outline of that.
After it finished I threw the chalk in the crowd violently hitting an old lady in the face.
" Quickly I want a show of hands who thinks I'm a crazy guy "
Everyone raised their hands and I laughed to myself
I then went behind the board and laid it horizontally. I grabbed a small knife in my pocket and poked my finger with it. The crimson blood fell and hit the chalk and then as more and more blood hit the chalk it started glowing.
" you have got to be joking. "
I said out loud as it started to spark an orange glow and it slowly grew color to the rest of the chalk in orange sparks.
Once the symbol was fully sparking with orange the sauce began to swell and move around in a counterclockwise manner. I stepped away from it in shock as small parts of the blood in my finger began to float to the parts where it fell on the floor I drew my outlines on and started sparking those as well.
It started to smoke and hiss as if lightning could whisper and the orange began to take shape and the sauce made a doorway. The parts that were not on the board began to grow ice around them and started to make designs on the floor circling me and the board. Suddenly it grew in size and a large booming voice was heard through the portal as I felt panic of people start to set in.
A huge claw came out and scrapped the sides of my table trying to crawl out from the world it had been trapped in. Cold winds hit me as they cut my skin and threw around my clothes. As I saw the table was now melting from its touch.
A slimy green claw with mucus like a face-hugger egg from the movie Alien carved through the floor and pulled the rest of its body out slowly. A beast stood at 12 feet tall adjusting to our world as goop grew and shaped its body as people screamed, ran, and stood frozen in fear.
As it looked around it locked its spider-like eyes and swerled around coming out from the portal and twisting and turning around the body as it made its way to its head finding a place to rest. It then locked its eyes with me and its jaw twisted slowly from an ant-like maw to mine and slowly shrunk and it soon took the shape of me and knelt on the floor and spoke to me.
" master. "
I stood in shock as everyone seemed to calm down and watched to see what I would do.
"...umm "My family has always been of great minds. I hated it. Growing up and having to study day and night to try and live up to them was extremely exhausting when I couldn't care how things worked as long as I was happy. I gave up but somehow everything kept turning out to be true.
Over my lifetime I have become the Gorden Ramsey of the science world. Known for my temper and also for huge things like curing world hunger using play-doe and cancer with baby powder I got in a back street ally while drunk.
To get my family off my back I started making random ideas so they could see me as a failure and leave me alone but...they keep working. And soon people started to praise me. Fame has left me with nothing but more and more attention. So today I plan to make sure that everyone can just think I'm insane and leave me alone and not some king.
I chuckled like a kid who was opening a Christmas present as I heard the crowd of people chatting and talking loudly as I hid behind my stage in a grey tight suit that my sister had picked out. I sighed and was ready to walk out and make a fool out of myself but my brother stopped me.
" Jack... I just want you to know how proud I am of you. Dad would have loved to see you right now. "
I thought it was ironic because last night while chilling on the couch watching TV and eating chips I made this theory up. He dusted off my shoulders held them tight and looked me in the eyes taking in the moment.
" go give them hell man. "
He had a goofy smile just like Dad but spoke with confidence.
" you got it, man. "
I heard my name being called onto the stage and the uproar startled me for a second but I collected myself and headed out after giving him a nod just to entertain him.
The lights were blinding as I grabbed the mic and looked at the table in front of me with a small box with the ingredients I needed and a chalkboard behind me.
After I stood still for a minute the crowd died down. I had not told anyone what I was presenting so the whole world was watching without a clue of what I was doing this time.
"Hello everyone. Today I believe I have my most important presentation yet..."
The crowd grew silent and hung on every word. And I heard my voice around the room through the speakers.
" Today I have with me a box...and inside is spaghetti I had breakfast. "
The crowd laughed thinking it was a joke
" shut up "
The crowd grew silent once more
"Behind me is a chalkboard and I will now present my new findings to all of you...I have found out how to make portals to other worlds. "
A man in the far back of the audience yelled bullshit in a heavy Indian accent but he was so far it was a faint sound for me. I smiled at that thinking I had finally found something that would make me lose my title and I could go ahead and live a life without people making me feel like an evil man for not helping others.
I opened the box got a handful of the noodles and threw them at the chalkboard. I then grabbed a paper towel on standby to clean myself.
The noodles hit the board and slowly moved and rested on a spot on the board. I made eye contact with my brother backstage and he had a look on his face showing he believed in me.
I spun the board dropping the noodles to the ground I then grabbed the chalk and drew around the sauce and noodles that stuck to the board then drew my attention to the others that had fallen on the floor and drew an outline of that.
After it finished I threw the chalk in the crowd violently hitting an old lady in the face.
" Quickly I want a show of hands who thinks I'm a crazy guy "
Everyone raised their hands and I laughed to myself
I then went behind the board and laid it horizontally. I grabbed a small knife in my pocket and poked my finger with it. The crimson blood fell and hit the chalk and then as more and more blood hit the chalk it started glowing.
" you have got to be joking. "
I said out loud as it started to spark an orange glow and it slowly grew color to the rest of the chalk in orange sparks.
Once the symbol was fully sparking with orange the sauce began to swell and move around in a counterclockwise manner. I stepped away from it in shock as small parts of the blood in my finger began to float to the parts where it fell on the floor I drew my outlines on and started sparking those as well.
It started to smoke and hiss as if lightning could whisper and the orange began to take shape and the sauce made a doorway. The parts that were not on the board began to grow ice around them and started to make designs on the floor circling me and the board. Suddenly it grew in size and a large booming voice was heard through the portal as I felt panic of people start to set in.
A huge claw came out and scrapped the sides of my table trying to crawl out from the world it had been trapped in. Cold winds hit me as they cut my skin and threw around my clothes. As I saw the table was now melting from its touch.
A slimy green claw with mucus like a face-hugger egg from the movie Alien carved through the floor and pulled the rest of its body out slowly. A beast stood at 12 feet tall adjusting to our world as goop grew and shaped its body as people screamed, ran, and stood frozen in fear.
As it looked around it locked its spider-like eyes and swerled around coming out from the portal and twisting and turning around the body as it made its way to its head finding a place to rest. It then locked its eyes with me and its jaw twisted slowly from an ant-like maw to mine and slowly shrunk and it soon took the shape of me and knelt on the floor and spoke to me.
" master. "
I stood in shock as everyone seemed to calm down and watched to see what I would do.

"...umm "

Part two of the noodle demon.
Now that this creature knelt before me I realized that the room I was in was so terrible quietly you could hear everyone's ass get tight in anticipation of what would happen next.
" ...what...are you. "
I spoke carefully to the being that had taken the shape of myself. It still took my breath away and my throat was dry.
The beast was a deep green. The color mixed with shades of grey streaming from it. The longer I looked at it I could see it getting closer to what I looked like shaping itself.
From small flowing green tendrils to an arm they grew as they twisted and made bone then muscle and finally skin.
It locked eyes with me and it smiled deeply at me. As it formed the face finally.
" Your vassle. "
My eyes had not moved to the crowd at all but even though the lights hit the stage so hard it was enveloped in smoke.
The creature's eyes glowed as it answered brightly, not figuratively. This thing's eyes were glowing.
"To serve you, We are bound by blood magic. I am a reflection of your desires, Master, " it said, its voice now a whisper in my mind.
It began to stand up as my grey suit began to form on it and by the time it stood fully up it had copied what I looked like.
" let me explain everything. "
My body frozen in fear woke up with adrenaline as I blinked and a flash of green smoke covered my vision as he teleported right to me face to face.
Its body turned to smoke and went into the slits of my eyes. I felt visions follow me in my peripheral vision but surprisingly no pain followed power filled me and it felt like one hell of a drug.
My body and mind altered.
I was now in a very dark place with no walls or light except my reflection on the floor which waved like water.
I took a step back looking around and back to the reflection of me on the ground.
Soon the water rippled and my reflection fell through the floor like gravity was inverted. he flew upright and water fell off of him as he looked at me as he now stood straight ahead of me. He was just reflecting in the water but now eyed me down.
Collecting my nerves.
I begin to speak.
" what do you want..."
He was still in my form and stood perfectly straight. Now with water dripping from his...my hair.
Slight stubble with hair that hung down and my hazel eyes were not present within him but I was greeted with a swelling acidic green that doubled the size of my pupil.
" to serve you. "
He made no other movement than putting his hands behind his back like a soldier at ease.
I could not tell if it was lying or not.
" ...is that it? "
" I am the embodiment of your fear desires and brilliance. You have shaped me. Your desire for solitude birthed me. I will aid you in shaping the world how you see fit. Your reality becomes mine. "
There was a slight echo in the room as he spoke.
" wait...where are we "
I questioned haphazardly
" your mind. "
An awkward silence was in the air until I spoke
" so...am I just standing on the stage not making a sound? "
He gave me a concerned look.
" no...time has frozen outside for you. You may sleep here without having to in the real world so to others you look as if you never rest and you may think and plan what to do in battle here. For them, it will be about two seconds...Do...do you not have any knowledge of what I am? "
Suddenly I felt bad like I had encountered someone famous and I had no idea who they were. A slap in the face like a popular kid meeting someone who had never heard of them. Ego shattered.
" ok sorry no. I...don't go around reading about...monsters?"
I felt like was I saying the n-word of the demon realm not knowing if that word was offensive.
He folded his arms a little upset.
"Are you not a warrior? "
" well...no I...just watch TV and cook here and there- "
The demon cut me off
" weak. "
" excuse me? "
" look. I am an immortal being and after a while you get bored. So I'm sorry if I may be a little upset after being bonded with some nobody. "
I got quiet and I was a little annoyed that I was being roasted by some demon that I just met.
Its form wavers and eyes begin to open on its skin. Cheeks forhead etc.
"After being a god for so long it's fun to play with limitations. Makes things extremely exciting. "
" what do you mean by that? "
" look. You can only be so entertained by the same things. Life gets boring and now...you are going to help me with this. I get to have pure entertainment while you get every wish you could ever want. A mutual bond no? "
He then closed his eyes annoyed and the other eyes meshed back to his skin.
" though... the TV is not that interesting...life is what gets the blood pumping"
I felt the need to quickly change the topic
"Are there others like you? "
The room began to take shape very slowly as the water floor turned to wood and walls went around us.
" of course. You may meet them one day "
Confused and curious I pressed.
"Meet them? "
" yes. Summoning one of us is considered a threat to them. "
He spoke while opening and closing his newly found hand except backward.
" hm...no that don't look right "
I quickly responded
" Wait! How is doing that a threat! "
"Well, one doesn't just accidentally Summon one of us to suddenly get powers beyond human control. "
I thought back to how I summoned him by accident with some food I made.
" well...funny story but I summoned you using my breakfast..."
I had never regretted speaking so much as in that moment.
" What... "
Acid dripped from his words. Literally. His pupils split in half and his bottom jaw ripped open like an ant and curved giving sharpness to the bone.
"Please don't kill me. "
The room began to look like a cozy cabin with a fireplace and he slowly went back to normal.
" I would if I could. I've never felt so disrespected. We are bonded by your blood. If you die...I die. "
Suddenly I felt at ease by this new information.
Then a thought came to my mind
" ...God's can die? "
" you did hear me, right? "
The SAS from this guy was unneeded and I was starting to miss him being on his knees as weird as that sounds.
" so...all that power gone.... in an instant... "
" well...no actually God's powers don't just disappear they transfer to whoever killed them...wait...hold up."
He suddenly had an epiphany.
A smile grew on his face and he grabbed my shoulders
" you! You are going to help me kill the other gods! "
He sounded proud but I let him down.
" ha! No. "
" oh come on! Don't be like that. "
He did a pout.
"Look, man. I'm not killing gods for you. Just because you are bored. "
" hey...they might send people to kill you because you bonded with me. "
"What did I ever do to them? "
"They have a system to this stuff. They like to build and watch things play out. You're a problem. That can mess it up. So...they kill ya...to be honest, I don't know any other way to explain it, man. You know people normally just use my power to kill people and become a king and know this already. "
"This is outrageous. "
" bro. Look if you do this I will be able to get their powers and you will be able to do so much more than what I offer "
I tilted my head
" what can you do? Know what never mind. I will just talk to them and figure things out. "
He groaned and his form melted down sagging and it shot back up reforming
"Is there not anything that you want? Anything in the world? Gods don't put themselves in physical forms. They give people power and can make beings to hunt you. And if they care enough to come down themself. Ha, good luck."
I stopped and thought about it trying to weigh the options of pissing off higher beings.
Suddenly. I found something.
"Can you bring back the dead..."
He stopped confused.
" well...no "
" then I don't want anything "
" wait! "
He threw his arms out pleading
"I don't...but another God does..."
He crosses his arms smiling. He had left the question hanging letting me reconsider his offer.
I stopped and thought for a while before looking back up to him.
I let out a sigh and looked him in the eyes
" ok...you are going to help me get my father back. "
The demon smirked.

I want to start off by saying that I am aware that both Konami and Crypton Future Media are different companies with different businesses. The original intention behind my previous post was because I wanted it to be an empathy post where we could both share how we aren’t getting great things for 2024 this year, and possibly craft some theories of why this may be the case for one, or both companies if common problem and grounds could be found. That post was for people who love and know about DDR and Vocaloid.
For people who knew only about the DDR side, I apologize for having the post mainly one sided about Vocaloid at the very top. The reason for this was because, as I said in a comment on my previous post, I had been following the problems of the Miku Expo since day 1, and it got to the point where I could list many and possibly all the bad things off the top of my head.
DDR, meanwhile, I literally had 1 statement made, and I gave instructions to search up KAC 11th talk and you could find the video made by Dr. D Gaming on YouTube. I DID KNOW about what the content covered, but, because I had learned about it just yesterday, I would have had to sit down and type details on my post while rewatching the video because it’s not possible to instantly remember a near 30 minute video without repetitive watching for some people.
You can stop reading at this point because down below is the reason why I brought Vocaloid here. If you are still curious anyway, keep reading. I will also include DDR first this time unlike in my last post. It will be from memory without looking at the video again, but it’s better than nothing. Plus, you could always search for the video yourself to verify and get more information.
The reason why is because I was exploring the possibility that, possibly by coincidence, both Konami and Crypton Future Media did not like westerners, and they had pretty much gave the community watered down or no events at all.
For DDR KAC, such problems are:
You must know Japanese in order to be qualified for KAC because the final round will be in Japanese(this was shown and removed on their website as shown in the video. Note:It might have been a previous KAC year, but I’d have to go back and check)
You must pay for your own flight(literally had no problem flying overseas players from previous years)
iamchris4life along with 3 other people had their KAC entries called into question, and could be disqualified if not addressed. I imagine that they had very good and strong reasons, but was still turned down anyways. Konami even had the audacity to say to their face they appreciate and hope they continue to support them.
If you were disqualified from KAC ever, you’re never participating again.(That would pretty much narrow the event down to Japan only)
There was a KAC song that was region locked specifically to Japan
Various things here if I could remember them.
Last one I can remember. While not a problem, it’s an acknowledgment from the DDR champion of this year, HIBKI. They knew the technicalities is a bs reason to keep players outside of Japan from participating as kind of implied if you know the context behind his champion speech(seen in Dr. D Gaming’s 11th KAC DDR video)
For Vocaloid, a lot of things at the Expo went wrong. These things are:
Limited merchandise(100 glow sticks when literal thousands are coming to the concert)
No communication about the LED screen(It’s important to note that fans have pointed out that there is no difference between transparent glass screen and LED screen because it’s fine as long as the screen is integrated with the stage. When that happens, it can cause the same immersive effect that the Vocaloids are truly there and on stage.)
Unable to refund tickets(turned off by the organizer which would be Crypton).
Tickets for the Europe tour being released on the day of the concert, meaning, there was almost no way for Europe fans to know about the transparent glass screen switch before it was too late.
False advertising(the Vocaloids being projected on to the glass screen like years prior before this 10th anniversary)
The no glow stick rule other than the official ones by Crypton(this lead many to believe that the transparent glass screen + projection would be used, implying that it was not going to be an LED screen)
Crypton is not addressing the backlash until the NA tour ends, or possibly, until the Europe tour ends which would be the end of the year. If we assume we are getting a response at all(this could be a debatable problem. I can kind of see why they are waiting until the end of the tour)
As you can see, while these are very different events, and situations, it could come off as them hating westerners. Someone on my previous post had wrote an interesting theory that perhaps for Konami, there are 2 different management/team members. One goes for global expansion because they see potential. The other doesn’t want to take the risk creating mixed messages. Naturally, my reply would be that we had the team members who weren’t going for global expansion this year.
I also kept this insight in mind just in case if Crypton also has more than one management and is facing a similar problem.

Hi all,
Long story but I'll try to be brief. The short version is I have a wonderful soon to be 10 year old daughter that I have 50% physical custody of. Her mom and I have been broken up for 8 years. There are no feelings there. Please don't think this is a jealousy thing.
About 10 months ago my daughter's mom wanted to move our daughter to another city to live with her boyfriend. I asked how long they had been together... And she said 8 weeks.
I said she was free to move wherever she wants... But I would not support changing our daughter's school and uprooting her life for such a new relationship.
Mom wound up getting an apartment in my city and the boyfriend moved in there. I asked to meet him or for us all to do something together like we had with previous partners... But she said he didn't want to meet me and was very anti-social.
I asked mom for his name at least... And she said he didn't want it shared because he was a very private person. I was a bit worried because mom has been in several abusive relationships. One of them got her put in the ICU and caused a stroke.
There were a bunch of red flags. All I asked my daughter about him was if he was nice to her and if he was nice to her mom. My daughter became very reserved and said she wasn't allowed to talk about him.
Around this time I started noticing bruises on mom when I dropped our daughter off. Mom would say she fell or ran into things.
I reviewed good touch bad touch with my daughter and told her if there was every anything happening in the home that made her uncomfortable or unsafe... Then she needed to let me know. She said okay... But said she was scared she would get in trouble if she talked about the boyfriend.
The straw that broke the camels back was when my daughter pointed at a car and said that's the kind of car the boyfriend drove. It was just made in passing and I actually forgot she made it at all.
Then a couple weeks ago my daughter asked me to pause the movie we were watching and said she needed to talk to me. She said that her moms boyfriend was mean to mom and that he always made her cry. Then she asked me why mom was always with men who were not nice to her.
And then she said that her mom had found out that she had made that comment about the kind of car her drove and screamed at her for telling me. Then the very next day the boyfriend went and bought a new car.
At this point it became clear something was being hidden and this wasn't just enforcing boundaries or wanting privacy. So I hired a private investigator to reveal the man's name.
When I got his name, I looked for any court cases that involved him. I found that he was charged with several felonies in 2021 including assault with a deadly weapon, breaking and entering with a deadly weapon, battery against a household member, stalking and breaking and entering with a weapon.
There was also a battery on a household member charge from just a few months ago- when he was with my daughter's mom. This charge was also dismissed.
I requested the police reports for these incidents. In 2021, he broke into the home of an ex with a gun. He found her with her new partner and proceeded to beat both of them with the gun. Then he racked a round into the chamber and put the gun to the exes head before beating them some more. The man sustained a fractured skull and had to be life flighted to the hospital. The woman had a broken hand and lacerations on her head.
In the incident involving mom, he punched her in the face several times then he choked her. When she tried to facetime her dad for help, he took the phone from her, beat her with it and then dragged her across the floor by her hair, ripping a chunk out.
I confronted mom about this information and she said that she was the aggressor in the incident her was arrested for with her. She said he didn't do anything wrong and that she regretted calling the police. She said she knew about the incident in 2021 but said all he did was find a man in bed with his girlfriend and beat him.
I gave her a copy of the police report showing he did much more. And that she was his ex, not his girlfriend. She said she wasn't aware of those factors.
I asked her if she was going to allow this guy to have access to our daughter now that she knew. And she said yes because the police reports were exaggerated and she loved him and knew he would never hurt our daughter.
Upon hearing this, I scheduled an appointment with an attorney to get a consultation. Today the attorney told me that there was literally nothing I could do about the situation because none of them happened with my daughter present and there were no convictions.
She said the guy in the 2021 incident was injured badly enough to sustain brain damage and did not remember the incident. And the ex later got back with him so she refused to assist in prosecution.
So now my daughter is stuck in a home with an abusive person filled with guns who once held a loaded gun to a partners head.
And the attorney says until my daughter is harmed, I can't do anything. She says even if my ex is being beat in front of my daughter, if she will not speak to a CPS investigator then it will look like I'm just a jealous ex trying to weaponize CPS and it will hurt me.
Surely there has to be something I can do here? Please help me. This guy is going to wind up killing my daughter.

I love the Ashlands and it's already become my favorite biome, because it actually feels challenging. That being said, there are a couple things I dislike and I'm really hoping that these are either addressed before or after the update goes live.
1- Drakkar is the worst ship in the game. It's slower than the Karve for some reason, if you try to use it for sailing to older biomes, you can go ahead and kiss an hour and half of your time goodbye. Even with tailwind it feels painfully slow. Also I love sailing through narrow or cluttered waters, but why am I forced to bring the Drakkar (a ship that is 2x wider than the Longship), to a boiling sea filled with tall, wide jagged rocks. This could've easily been mitigated if we just had a ceramic plated Karve, but no, bigger is better apparently. Drakkar looks cool, don't get me wrong, but in practice it just sucks. Instead of just making a smaller boat, they just removed more of the rocks which wasn't the problem to begin with, you're still going to hit those rocks with the Drakkar.

1. They kinda lied to us. They said this biome would have over 30+ new weapons and they said it would be the most weapon diverse biome yet. This is a half truth, there is only 12 (14 if you count shields) unique weapons in this biome, that 30+ number is completely bloated by the gem enchanting. You can enchant your sword 3 different ways sure but at the end of the day it's still a damn sword. No new knife, atgeir, battleaxe, buckler and of course, no new fist weapon. The problem of weapon gaps in this game is starting to get really annoying and they said in their walk and talk series that they wanted the Ashlands to accommodate ALL playstyles. We know this now to be not true.
   
2. As someone who uses magic, in the Mistlands, it felt really nice and balanced. It didn't overpower melee but it also didn't underperform when compared to melee. It felt good to use and it's raw power was balanced out by the fact that it was a new skill you had to level up. Now that I'm in the Ashlands my sword and magic skills are pretty equal, but I never really need to use my sword because of how op magic is now. In the Mistlands, the terrain prevented you from kiting the bugs all over the place, but in the Ashlands the terrain is far more flat and less bothersome to traverse, so you kite all you want. This allows you to deal insane amounts of damage while staying almost completely safe. The new Staff of the Wild is a symptom of this problem, you just throw 3+ down on the ground and kite all the melee enemies through the roots while you recover stamina/eitr. Don't get me started on Fader, he's completely trivial with magic, which leads me to my next point.
   
3. The difficulty of this biome seems to be aimed more towards melee players. Fader for example gives you barely any time to recover stamina, attack or heal. Lord reto is cheese for ranged, but will 2 shot you even if you have full level 3 flametal and 300+ health. Thankfully the Valkyrie at least comes down to the ground to attack you.
   
4. The fortresses, oh god the fortresses. I've been hyped to do "fortress time" for so long and now that it's here it just feels bitter-sweet. It's awesome to bring the battering ram up to the door and bust it down, but the actual combat there is pretty easy. Just destroy the spawners/Skuggs and kite the remaining dudes outside to finish them off. It also feels disappointing knowing that the original concept art for the fortresses showed them looking like castles, but the ones we get in game are just glorified boxes.
   

In conclusion, I just want to say I love this game and I love this update, but it still feels like it needs more content/time before releasing to the live branch. I highly doubt that will happen though and I bet they aren't going to do a whole lot with the Ashlands once it does go live :(. I pray to Odin that I am wrong. Thanks for reading.

Proceed if you dare! I’ve heard that only the coolest of the cool will respond to this ad
Please read all, important warning included. Do not interact unless you can voice call right away ☺️🌸
So what’s up? My name is Angel. I’m a creative, empathetic girl with lots of love in my heart. You know what’s cool about you an I? We both happen to be humans walking on this earth and on reddit in this exact moment. So we at least have one thing in common. That means something, right?
So just some background a bit of a warning I recently got diagnosed with DID // multiple personality disorder. What this means to me is I have the regular me as well as a little kid both living inside the same body. To most I seem normal but if I feel comfortable and have my guard down, my other personality might wanna come out. Just be patient and respectful and ofc I’ll do the same! Or if it’s sounds too weird, just don’t interact ☺️ My voice will change and I’m just very much will change into a little kid overall. so pls just be nice.
That’s not the only thing about me though. I purposely left this post kind of vague so we’d have more to chat about. Today I went shopping and I’d love to show you what I got. I have a birthday coming up I’m really excited for too. Other than that we can talk about conspiracy theories, spirituality/religion, childhood/trauma, kinks/sexuality, unpopular opinions, play would you rather, talk about our best day ever, share our favorites -food, music, Reddit pages and more.
If you read all, please give me a short introduction and what you’d prefer to voice call on. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with responses so sadly ignoring anyone who just says “hey” or who didn’t read the whole thing.