Management succession plan template

So I have begun to dip my toes into electroplating 3d prints. Ive read all the guides and have had some success, but not what I see from plating online, where the stuff comes out looking like its absolutely perfect and awesome.
Here is my setup. Its small, but this is experimental at this stage, and i wanted to make sure I could get good results before doing anything else.
Conductive paint. Ive tried spray paint stuff and home made stuff with mixed results. This is one I am still playing with because of cost.
Power supply that can go to 30a. It is a single dial, so i think it is CV and not CA. It does have an amp readout, so it should be able to function.
Copper wire from some romex. It seems to be good copper. I have cleaned it with rubbing alcohol, and it conducts.
Glass bowl that is a square container. Its about 2 gallons in volume. I only ever use about 3/4 of a gallon in it.
Pre-made copper solution that has a brightener. Had some success with home made, figured i would get the real deal to get a better result.
2 Anodes at opposing corners.
Bubbler to stir the liquid. This has helped get a much brighter shine on the plates. So i know it helped something.
I can get ok results, where it looks like copper, and bright, but the surface is rough and looks like it unevenly deposits. Looks like its sintered on the surface. Not a bad thing if that was what i was going for, but its not.
Process takes forever to plate a 3d printed coin the size of a half dollar. I have thought about a rotator thing, but dont want to buy another thing if it wont have any better results. What I need to know is what part of this process am I missing to get good results. This is frustrating as it takes for freaking ever to get the stuff to grow, and then it kind of peters out. At least I managed to get the solutions to stop looking like mud.
I suspect its the power supply, but at this point, I am just guessing, so I am turning to a community built on what I am trying to do. Please attempt to point me into the right direction on what I am doing wrong.

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CHAPTER 7 – SHAKEDOWN
DATE: DECEMBER 29th, 6 A.U. (AFTER UNIFICATION) LOCATION: SOL SYSTEM, ABOARD UTRN INDOMITABLE WILL, BLACK SITE S33
CAPTAIN HENRY O’TOOLE
A bead of sweat rolled down Henry’s brow while he watched Paul on the monitor. So far, the ship had performed every test admirably and each section chief had signed off that their systems were ready for service.
We're as ready to launch as we're ever going to be... Henry took a deep breath as the dry dock doors finally finished their painfully slow opening process.
"Alright, Paul, it's time." Henry spoke from his captain's chair on the systems map platform overlooking the rest of the CIC.
Off to his right, a screen displayed a small group wearing space suits on the primary observation platform over the hull of the Indomitable Will. Paul stepped forward, one magnetized step at a time, as he examined a champagne bottle in his suited hands. He looked back at the rest of the station leadership behind him before he turned back to the ship to speak.
"This project has been the subject of my every waking hour for nearly two years now, but for the men behind me it is the culmination of a lifetime of knowledge and five years of very hard, very fast-paced work. You have clearly, with plenty of help, out-done yourselves. I know there is normally much more fanfare around a ship launch but we've all decided against that, considering the circumstances. I still want to show our esteem for the hard work of each and every one of you who helped make this possible with at least a few words before we break this bottle over the hull. In another set of circumstances this would be a mission for the history books, with the eyes of a hopeful world upon us as we embarked on a mission of peace and exploration. Our enemy has robbed this possibility from us, replacing it with a desperate gamble for our very survival, should the worst come to pass. We all know the stakes both of success and failure, and I trust that we will embark upon this journey with the appropriate understanding of just how critical our own roles will be in the coming months and years. We have picked out the best crew we could find, and you have all proven yourselves ready for the responsibility that we are about to shoulder together. Our ship was named the Indomitable Will, as nothing less will be acceptable in the months ahead if we hope to succeed against the impossible odds we face. In the name of the North American Union and the United Terran Republic, I christen thee the UTRN Indomitable Will, SVM-001!"
Paul then threw the bottle toward the ship. A gasp emerged from below as the bottle bounced off the bow, rather than breaking upon it. Henry's stomach instantly tied itself in knots, and the mood in the CIC plummeted as the camera showed the unbroken bottle sailing off screen.
It's just a superstition, everyone, we'll be fine.... Henry pulled himself together as he saw Paul board the ship and seal the airlock behind him. Looking around the room at the scared looks and tense whispers, Henry decided that he needed to just proceed as if things were normal.
“Helm, activate Telekinetic drive generators and set them to hover. Disengage the docking clamps! Has STC forwarded us the asteroid drift charts for navigation yet?” Henry said with all the confidence he could muster.
Aye Captain!” their helmsman said.
“Asteroid drift charts are updated, awaiting orders, sir.” Navigation reported in.
"The lieutenant is on board, sir!" His officer of the watch stated.
"Excellent, let's get under way then." Henry said.
Henry coolly readjusted his balance as the ship began accelerating slowly out of its berth and into the blackness of space. Small glints were visible off the otherwise pitch black hulls of the eight frigates that waited a few hundred kilometers ahead. One by one, in a preordained order, each frigate fell in alongside their new mothership and docked themselves into their assigned saddle. There each ship would stay, ready to launch from embedded electromagnetic rails at a moment’s notice should the need arise.
As the last frigate settled into place, Henry steeled himself to give the next order. As much as he trusted his genius of a girlfriend and the massive amount of testing they had done, even she admitted that the first test fire of each individual system would be a risky endeavor.
Get it together, Henry, that bottle is just an old superstition. Henry shook his nervousness off and called Chantal’s station in between both of the C.L.A.P.P.E.R reactors.
Her smiling face greeted him. “Hiiii Henry! We are all warmed up and ready down here. Just give the word my captain, and we can fire at will.”
“Well then, no sense in beating around the bush, let's begin our space trials then. Looks like our capacitors are about full, so prepare to warm up the port side C.L.A.P.P.E.R reactor. Fire control, prepare a firing solution for the target I have marked on the system map.”
Well, here’s to not blowing us all up moments after launch….
Henry watched as the last few percentage points filled on their capacitor charge before he yelled out “Fire!” The lights dimmed as all available power was routed along with a full capacitor charge into the port compression fusion reactor. The infinite repulsive effect of the null matter fed into the system to squeeze the Deuterium charge together. The null matter forced mass particle collisions and raised the contained pressure and heat exponentially until it sparked a runaway fusion reaction. The lights returned to full brightness in the CIC as the negative mass field-collapsed. Powerful electromagnetic containment fields forced the fresh plasma from the reactor and then down the barrel in a tightly contained packet.
The moment the blazing plasma escaped the muzzle, it was captured within a new null barrier generated by a drone that launched alongside it. Together, they accelerated straight towards the asteroid Henry had designated for testing. At the last second, the drone cut the barrier and swerved to the side to return to the Indomitable Will, ready to fly again. The asteroid was atomized on impact as the plasma ball expanded into a bright cloud of charged particles. A cheer emerged from the CIC as the main screens replayed the scene from multiple angles. Henry looked over to see an ecstatic Chantal on screen.
“THAT ASTEROID JUST GOT CLAPPED!” She shouted.
She shrugged at Henry while she mouthed the words 'I had to say it' with a shameless wink. Henry just laughed,being well-used to her humor and antics by this stage.
“Charge capacitors to full and prepare the starboard C.L.A.P.P.E.R to fire!” Henry shouted, as he assigned their next target, a double-thickness section of alien hull plate which had been stealthily cut from the underwater portion of the downed craft in the heart of the Manhattan Crater Bay. He watched the display as the ship’s four LFTR cores worked at full capacity to fill the dedicated stacked and twisted graphene super-capacitors for the starboard C.L.A.P.P.E.R. The moment they read full, Henry yelled. “FIRE!”
Again, the lights dimmed as the starboard C.L.A.P.P.E.R released it’s contained plasma packet into the void which was captured by a fresh drone. Alien hull plate was notoriously difficult to pierce with most conventional weaponry, which was why the idea of working fusion plasma weaponry had been so attractive. The running joke was that Naval R&D was constantly five to ten years out from working plasma weaponry and always would be, as most of the technologies involved were the very same ones that were necessary for fusion power generation.
Once the C.L.A.P.P.E.R system could be proven to be viable, stable, safe, and effective without major maintenance headaches, it would forever change the balance of power in the favor of humanity. The prototype had already seen extensive testing and improvements, Henry hoped he would be able to come to rely upon the working models in his ship when it counted most. At least if they were to become a ticking time bomb, they could be rapidly ejected far, far away in a real emergency.
Just like before, the drone dropped the barrier at the critical moment to deliver its payload and returned to the ship. No matter how effective the exotic alloy blend, or how well the outer ceramic layers dissipated heat, there was a point at which physics would not be denied. Henry smiled as the super-heated plasma boiled its way straight through the double-thick hull plate piece. The insane difficulty of smuggling away a hull plate section for this test meant it could only be performed once, but the results were undeniable as the damage inflicted was utter and complete. The still-hot plasma dissipated in a cone shape into the void far beyond the initial impact point, implying that the damage to unlucky ship’s interior after a direct hit would be every bit as catastrophic.
“Dr. Washington, this weapon system might just change everything for us.” Henry said, beaming with pride.
“Thank you, my captain. I will work my tail off to keep my babies working as promised.” Chantal smiled without reservation. Henry was happy to let her bask in the feeling; she had more than earned it.
“Temperatures that high and pressures that extreme take a toll, we ought to save this thing for a really dire situation, to reduce wear and tear, if nothing else.” Paul said, spoiling the mood as he entered the CIC.
Henry stared daggers at the man. In spite of that, Paul remained stubbornly unperturbed with his trademark cocky smile plastered on his face.
“Yes, Paul, that has long been considered in the materials science, such concerns informed our alloy choices and helped us design the maintenance cycle. Obviously, all systems have a defined lifespan that reduces with use before we must to take them offline for preventative maintenance and parts replacement. It helps that we have plenty of other offensive options at our disposal that we could use first.” Chantal shrugged, shedding the negativity like water off a duck’s back.
That was one thing that Henry was truly beginning to appreciate about her above all else; she had a relentless positive mental attitude ingrained within her. This time, Henry smirked at Paul.
"Alright, enough, let's get back to the task at hand." Henry said in order to cut Paul off from a snark filled reply.
“I am satisfied with these tests here to say that the system is working as intended. Does my captain agree to certify the C.L.A.P.P.E.R system as ready for duty?” Chantal asked.
“I will agree to certify the C.L.A.P.P.E.R as ready for duty, pending a full inspection and report to be delivered in my quarters at the start of C shift.” Henry replied with a smile.
“Awesome! I had better get down there and inspect things while they are hot.” She said, “I can’t wait to give you the full and exhaustive report on the matter in your quarters later, Captain. I'm sure you'll find my report to be... most stimulating.” She then cut the feed with a smile that made Henry stiffen in anticipation.
With monumental effort, he snapped himself out of it and fired up the ship-wide intercom.
“All right, Helm, I am charting a course for you to guide us through, Should be around a three hour flight at one gee. Fire control, I want a full systems test of every laser battery on this ship in the meantime. Once we clear this cluster of asteroids and we have some room to maneuver we will test the drone launch and recovery systems as well as test our pilot’s response readiness times. Magazine control, I want you to test the feeding systems for our tactical missile inventory. We will test every major combat system on this ship by the end of today. If I haven’t mentioned your section yet, you can expect a visit from me soon, so be ready.”
Henry looked over his extensive list of tasks and systems he had to personally sign off on and resigned himself to a long couple of days. He then picked up his tablet and walked out of the CIC with the intent to waste no more time. He reached the quick lift and rode it down one level into deck one and then made his way over to engineering. He received salutes as he passed and exchanged words where needed to check systems until he reached the door that allowed maintenance access to their FTL system. He stopped dead in his tracks as he got a crawling, horrible sense of trepidation while staring at the door. Suddenly the lights flickered and died out; the room looked very different bathed in amber emergency lights. The effect lasted only a second before the regular lights came back and the feeling of fear dissipated.
What... in the fuck...? Henry shook it off, continued his checklist, and made a note to look into the lights. This whole deck is on the essential systems power bus...
Idly, he wondered how many other little technical gremlins existed in the ship's other systems. He shuddered at the thought, though was thankful that most technologies used in his ship were already battle proven in the rest of the fleet. There were some novel systems, though, and the launch of a new class of ship always required addressing unforeseen technical challenges. Those were the ones that worried him most.
He looked at the checklist again, a bit more thankful for the thoroughness of it and got back to work. Each of his frigates had been checked and had been flying drills and running supplies around S33 for some time. They were all relatively proven, simple designs and could be relied upon when the moment came. His own ship, was a different matter, and he was determined to catch every little issue he could before they left their home port and the possibility of easy repair behind.
It was going to be an intense few weeks, but Henry found himself to feel more excited by the prospect more than he felt overwhelmed by it. He took that as a good sign, and thus encouraged, got back to work. Next stop was electrical, which seemed destined be a source of trouble for him already. While it was true they had very little time to work out any issues before their official launch, Henry was grateful to have some say in pushing that back if need be.
Fighting back a headache, Henry opened his neural implant interface and messaged the electrician's mate to meet him immediately.
MEANWHILE…
DATE: DECEMBER 29th, 6 A.U. (AFTER UNIFICATION) LOCATION: SOL SYSTEM, S33
FIREMAN APPRENTICE ANDREW REESE
“The captain wants to meet with me any minute, and not a single one of you worthless lot have anything for me to report to him?”
Andrew felt the tension in the air as the question lingered. Never had he felt so at the bottom of the power dynamic before, and it infuriated him. The Chief had rank on him, and he had to continue to play the role of loyal crewmate if he wanted to remain above suspicion.
“What about you, NUB? We pulled you from the line at Liberty Station, or how about one of you two? You three are supposed to have college backgrounds. Anything?”
Reese felt very little tension himself, even as the chief briefly locked eyes with him. Beside him, the others seemed ready to crack under the pressure.
I'll have to be careful when I test that one.
Andrew then realized that he had been forgetting to blend into the background emotions of the moment; he had allowed himself to be seen as an anomaly.
Sloppy, time to turn this around.
“We've been at this for hours it feels like, I don’t know about an answer, but we can stall for time by blaming it on the mass power draw for the C.L.A.P.P.E.R being fired back to back. That should mollify the captain and buy us some time here to find the real answer.” Andrew said, hoping he had struck a perfect balance. The chief simply laughed for a moment before collecting himself.
“All right, I like it, simple, plausible, and nebulous enough that it should work as a delaying action. Now split up and look to your training partner for assignment. We will comb through every system and sort this issue out, or command will have our heads! Dismissed.”
Excellent, he just had to make himself just the right amount of indispensable without directly kissing ass while he continued to subtly probe the loyalties of those around him.
Unfortunately, his mission had borne little fruit thus far, as his opportunities to recruit had been rather scarce. He had met quite a few people who were clearly excited about the idea of being explorers and cared little about the obvious risks. Once the ship was underway, it would hopefully get easier. He simply needed more opportunities to flash his charm and to build enough trust to slowly sap some of these fools naive confidence to replace it with hard realism.
Andrew knew that he had to play the long game with each and every one of these people. The price of failure in any way meant death for them all, and Andrew planned on surviving this mission, whatever it took.
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Hey all, I'm thankful for any input or conversation. I'm a technical writer and have been one for many years. At this stage in my career, I feel successful in this job path and have been failing upwardly, so to speak, as a leader and recently as a manager. I do quite well professionally, but I've always felt very unfulfilled in my professional life. On the practical side, I've thought a lot about how transitioning from a senior role to a junior role in a new industry would affect my quality of life. I have a pretty good grasp of what that would mean for my salary, and that's something I'm okay with. In a previous life, about ten years ago, I moved from coding to tech writing and faced a similar type of change.
Like everyone here, my real passion is in games. I constantly read about how games were made, and, beyond that, I work on my own games in my spare time. About ten years ago I was messing around with creating games with Lua and LÖVE. These days I'm having fun with TypeScript and Phaser. I guess I'm trying to convey that beyond reading and watching fun interviews and retrospectives about how games were made, which anyone can do if they're obsessive, I also work on creating games and participate in game jams and have some experience actually doing things.
Does anyone have advice on the type of jobs in the industry most similar to tech writing? Because I have a lot of experience working in open source professionally—supporting various GitHub projects, hosting and supporting virtual events, and answering questions from the community—I feel like a natural fit might be community manager. The only issue is my experience is in managing software products, not games, and I feel like I'm so far removed from the game industry that no one takes my resume or job submissions seriously. I'm also of course aware that it's hyper competitive and extremely experienced people are losing their jobs more than ever. I guess... I'm just not sure what to do? Should I just find local meetups and network more? Keep submitting until someone finds my background interesting? Again, I appreciate any advice or mentorship.

Reddit (repost with additional details in spots)
I’m really unsure how to move forward.
My WS, B(f41) and I(m36) are currently taking it day by day. Know each other for 14 years, together and dating for 9, 8 years married. 12 years since we had our first kid.
Some back story, obviously there were issues in the marriage. Some I thought I was working on or making progress on. Others I was stagnant on.
We had 1 separation prior to this. It was the culmination of trying to have an open marriage and B falling for her partner, and me being me.
We got back together about a year and a half later, and have been together since(2021).
I thought we were moving forward until an ex gf of hers came back into her life. The ex turns into the AP.
So now I’m 2024 I think we’re doing okay. Rocky in some areas but okay. I was wrong. AP texted B in early Feb saying AP’s sister had died, someone who B had once been close too. AP and B would go out and I would be irritated or annoyed because AP also has a partner. I didn’t understand why APs partner couldn’t support her, why it needed to be my wife, when she’s(AP) an ex. It just made me uncomfortable and I let that boil over and accused her of stuff. She says nothing happened before 3/24 but I’ve found things that contradict that. That she may have actually cheated before they slept together after she asked to leave.
Long story short, APs sister had died but they were also talking about getting back together and how horrible and controlling I am etc. being physical. Kissing. Staying out late. Sexting.
Now I won’t deny and say I haven’t been a shitty husband. I have been. Even currently up to Feb, I was slacking. I was okay pretending I was making an effort. Doing 1 small step to her 10.
Likewise I was dismissive over the years and never really “heard her” until this whole situation happened.
So they start hanging out more and more and suddenly she wants a divorce and wants to go out with AP every other day. Planning a life. Looking at apartments. Etc.
There’s a few things wrong with this: AP has openly stated she doesn’t like kids. We have 3. AP has openly stated she doesn’t like most pets. We have several. AP is a drug addict. Her drug of choice are narcotics, Vicodin and Oxy. She says it’s for her chronic pain on which, her prescription of Tramadol does nothing. So she “supplements” by buying illegally (supposedly only from family friend).
Anyways, 3/29 I found a photo of the drug use(a text from AP to B that was a tin of pills. There were 8/9 Vicodin and 3 Oxycodone), sent to B, saying she has one to give her too. B is a recovering addict. 13 years clean. Almost accepted. Said “You’re so good to me.”
B and AP try to play off the drug use as pain and pain management clinics not being helpful. Which I can’t speak to. I don’t have chronic pain. So I spoke with Law Enforcement, showed them what I was worried about and asked about an Order for Protection/Investigation. I did this before confronting her or before asking her about it. I wanted to be sure that if things went sideways I had a plan in place to protect myself. So I couldn’t be blamed for the drug use. Etc.
Confront her. Ask her. She flies off the handle and turns it around on me. Saying that it’s my fault and that I went through her iPad. (She changed her passcode well before this so I don’t have it. She left it unlocked and it was one of the first messages I saw that evening.) and that I should’ve come to her first.
Fast forward and we’re planning the divorce (income split, kind of an idea what we need to do moving forward, etc) and I’m saying that because of what I found, I’m not willing to let AP be around the kids until she can pass a UA and is sober for at least a year. I’d like that in the divorce decree. At this point we had been working together and I hadn’t moved on the OFP. I had been transparent.
Which leads us to the issue. She wasn’t. She was telling AP basically that we’d be divorced and she’d be good. Once I told B, that this was going to happen, either through the courts or through us agreeing on something, but it wasn’t something I was going to move on.
She said I was threatening her and forcing her to do what I say. I said only in this regard. Move. Leave. Here’s a list of items you’ll have to pay for, Etc. but I’m trying to keep my kids safe, and that means not being around someone currently abusing narcotics.
Then she says I shouldn’t worry about the kids because she’s their mom and she’ll take care of them. And that I’m an asshole for even suggesting she would jeopardize them.
She called the cops. Told them I was controlling and threatening and intimidating. They came. I showed them everything I had, told them my concerns, expressed what I said to her. They said it seemed like I was doing everything right. Tho they advised I file the OFP and turn over names and dates etc.
They told B, at the end, that because of her job and the kids that she “needed to stop fucking around with this shit.”
Well I guess that may have struck something in her because she said she’s done with AP. Tho she has still been talking to AP, AP found out what happened and has been going pretty low contact. Often leaving B on read. I know this because B has shown me their messages because she wants me to know I can trust her. Including through today.
She admitted the night the cops came that she had actively been lying to me. That she had orchestrated a text message convo to look like I was going to be getting what I wanted (something previously both she and AP had been against, a drug test).
So she admitted to lying about that. To deleting shit. To gas lighting me. This isn’t something she’s ever done before. Admitted to lying to me. Even when she’s been caught mid-lie. It’s always been dismissed or played off. This is the first time she’s actually been honest with me. And since then she and AP have had low contact.
She’s told me she doesn’t know now if we’re separated or going to divorce. That she wants to take it day by day. She says that if in the coming months, the changes I’m making to myself stick, and things get better, that she may stay. I’m unsure how to feel about this. We have 3 kids. I love her more than anything. But? I don’t think she would be so cold that she’d use me until she and her AP could be together.
On that note. She and AP are talking still, but everything has been platonic. She’s shown me her messages and I know she hasn’t deleted anything. We even spoke today and she admitted that sometimes she slips up and says “I love you” or whatever. But that’s because of how quickly she let her walls down. Let AP back into her life. That hurts. You know. Because I feel even now taking it day by day, I’m not being chosen. I’m an option. Yet the fact she’s still here, being engaged, etc. It can’t be an act right? I mean it could but I don’t imagine she would with how serious I am about the kids and having things documented.
I’m in therapy now. I’m on new meds for my anxiety. I’m seeing another Dr. to hopefully get a diagnosis of ASD or something so I can learn to interact more appropriately with her and my peers. I’m listening to her. Actively. Keeping in mind that words are not always words and I should look at the context and possible emotional context in the words. That’s been difficult but I’m learning that sometimes when she says that she’s broken, it’s because she wants a hug or physical comfort. I shouldn’t need to ask if she wants one or what I can do to comfort her. I am trying to listen more and act versus asking questions and then acting on the answers.
She felt she was always needing to tell me what to do or say. it’s been a sticking point in our marriage at times. Even though I am truly unsure at times what the appropriate course of action is. Hence being in therapy now.
We’ve slept together 3 times this month. Which is crazy because before it was once every few months. If at all. I think that’s a good sign?
I’m trying to help more around the house. Did a deep clean and threw a bunch of shit away. I’m committed to this change. To being better for her but also for me.
But I also don’t know if she’s doing this just to appease me. She’s said thank you. She’s slept with me. She’s more talkative and engaged with me. More fun like we used to have. But on the flip side she had no where else to go. No backup plan. She just started working FT but she doesn’t think she’ll be able to afford anything on her own.
I’m not sure where I stand. Or if I should take it day by day. I know I say I want to be with her and I think, I know that’s true. Even if I don’t want to admit I may lose her, act like I’m okay taking it day by day, the thought of her not being in my life as my partner, is terrifying and sad. So I know, if she asks to reconcile, I will. Because I love her. Because I know that while I’m not responsible for her cheating or lying etc, I’m responsible for the way I behaved and acted.
Idk if we can’t survive this. I love her more than anything. Even now I love her. I don’t want to lose her. Still I don’t think I should have to be a choice. I understand how it came about, and I understand she was or maybe is even now, ready to walk, and I’m just being delusional.
Yet she’s trying. Or appears to be. (This is what’s so hard for me).
I guess on paper it looks like we should divorce. My mother says so. My therapist says I should consider it.
Yet it seems like there may be something here worth trying for. The things I’m doing around the home and for the kids seem to make her happier. To see I’m trying to be consistent. She says it’s helped taken the pressure off her. That in our talks she’s happy I finally acknowledged things. Apologized for things. Actually listened and agreed with her. She’s appreciated that.
My therapist says whatever I do I should do for me. My counter was a lot of the stuff we’re doing now (splitting income by % earned, me actively cleaning every night with her, laundry, etc) is not something I’ve done or we’ve done before. Nor have I made any moves on therapy until recently, or to control my MH more.
So if I/we try this and still fail? Sure. It’s doomed, but at least I can say I took all the steps I, me, the Betrayed, to fix myself for myself but also for my marriage and my family. But this seems like it’ll have a shot. Like it could work. If you’ve made it this far thank you. ANY advice would be welcome.
It’s a fluffin’ mess. I know that. But any advice. Thanks.
~Ish

Ok need some advice, 24F just got back into the serving industry again after 3 years of dealing with my mental health first and I’ve had this job for about almost 6 months. I got the busy section as most of the time I do, our manager wasn’t letting us use hand held tablets because someone didn’t return one the night before. I really didn’t think he was gonna go through with it so when I kept getting sat it was a little difficult because all of us had to use the computers as the tablets send it straight to the kitchen. I had gotten a 23 top. Instead of being understanding my manager expected me to input the orders without the tablet but it was a party that big I think the tablet would have been so much better and this problem wouldn’t have happened. So I messed up a lot of the orders because the tablets are my key to my work performance. It’s just so much easier. Instead of lending me one in the first place he had another server help out. Obviously I knew she was going to end up getting the whole tip. So he finally let me borrow the thing when it was too late. So he yelled at me in front of everyone saying I can’t take the 50s anymore because I kept messing up the orders. I never mess up until he took them away that day. I was so humiliated because it’s not the first time he yells at me like this about my work performance. I do my best to give it my all to get his approval or for him to just comment on how I’m doing. He has worked at other restaurants don’t want to say names but 🦉 🧡 Lol and so I didn’t think that was fair especially feeling all the tension in the restaurant so once I finished putting the dishes in the back I came back, different manager told me that if I wanted to just go home or what I planned on doing because they gave my section to another server instead without even letting me know. I was so mad and embarrassed I just wanted to go home. They had me pay for the food that they didn’t pay for and I still put the tips I had which was only $13 but I only came home with $4. I don’t think it was fair that he was gossiping about me and the mistakes I made even the cooks just said my name and that I’m always fucking up something. I knew I was going to mess up without that device but now he is denying my trades with other servers that want to trade afternoons with me and I don’t think it’s fair he still has me scheduled 5 days a week and I think I he just took advantage of me and I want to know what I can do before I look stupid bringing it up to him or another manager if I could. I still think he shouldn’t have done that when the day before that I did just fine and the other times before that. Do you think he did it on purpose to make it difficult for me?

Nic Chen, man, he's not just some TikTok dude who talks about studying🗣️. He's a lifeline ✊that buoyed me through tumultuous seas, guiding me from the depths of despair to the shores of success. As I navigated the tumultuous waters of high school, I found myself struggling to keep up with the demands of coursework while battling personal demons😈. It was during one of my lowest points that I stumbled upon Nic's videos, and little did I know, it would change my life. In the sea of social media content, Nic's approach stood out. His videos weren't just about memorizing facts or cramming for exams; they were about understanding concepts, finding joy in learning, and nurturing a mindset of growth📚🙇‍♂️. With his infectious enthusiasm and relatable demeanor, Nic transformed seemingly mundane subjects into captivating adventures of knowledge. I found myself drawn to Nic's channel like a moth to a flame. His tips on effective note-taking, time management strategies, and problem solving became my guiding principles. Armed with newfound techniques, I tackled my studies with renewed vigor and determination. Slowly but surely, my grades began to improve, and with each milestone, my confidence soared. But Nic's impact extended far beyond academic success; he became a source of comfort and inspiration during my darkest 😔moments. When I was getting bullied because I never showered, I looked to Nic and how he resiliently defied the haters and achieved his dream program at Waterloo. His unwavering belief in himself and his unrelenting resilience reminded me that no obstacle was insurmountable. As I approached the pivotal juncture of applying to universities, Nic's guidance became instrumental in shaping my future. With his advice ringing in my ears, I poured my heart and soul into my applications, striving to convey my passion for gender studies and social justice. When the acceptance letter from Brock 🥦University arrived, confirming my admission into the gender studies program, I knew that Nic had played a pivotal role in making my dreams a reality. Looking back, it's clear that Nic Chen's impact transcends the confines of social media fame. He's not just a TikTok star; he's a mentor, a role model, and my hero🦸‍♂️ .

Entom, for those unaware, is a popular Five Nights at Freddy's Twitter user. He's been a proven source for FNaF Movie leaks as well as someone who has managed to get a lot of the books early. Quickly reading or sharing the content of the pages before the book gets officially released.
He's even made a video on a early draft of the "Five Nights at Freddy's" movie. A draft that was quickly confirmed real as it shared a lot in common with the novelization which was stated to be based on an early draft by Cawthon.
He's also someone who has has pushed the controversial notion that the "Tales From The PizzaPlex" and the Stitchwrath stories from "Fazbear Frights" are canon to the mainline series of games. A statement that appears to be true as of Ruin and Help Wanted 2.
while I do have gripes with leaking material early, plenty of people and accounts do that. Usually someone has to seek out the leaks, making them pretty easy to avoid.
My main point is: Entom has built themselves up as a reliable figure for leaks and news.
There's always been something about this user that strikes me as VERY immature. Despite many considering him as a source, he seemingly will and has spread misinformation. Mudding the waters, and causing unnecessary arguments. He also has been known to bait arguments on Twitter.
Today, a project known as the "Talbert Files" leaked onto Twitter. The Talbert files was a project created by Entom and a group of his friends to fool the fandom into believing Entom got ahold of a early draft of The Freddy Files. This early draft was completely different to the book that would release officially. Being from the POV of a in-universe reporter. This leaked draft showed apparent character names for Phone Guy and Charlie's mother. It confirmed the identity of the ghost inside of Golden Freddy. As well as confirming a ton of other stuff. This early draft was topped off with a email sent to Entom by Scott Cawthon confirming the book as still being canon. This early draft ended up being nothing more then fanfiction created by Entom and his friend group before being scrapped and eventually being leaked by someone else on Twitter.
This plan to fool the fandom fell apart due to drama within the project's group of authors. It was his intention to mislead people by creating a very fake leak. He even teased on Discord he found an early version of "Freddy Files" back in 2022, before the project leaked. He has since taken to his Twitter account to say that he won't answer if the Talbert Files is real or fake, however, after plenty of people started putting pressure on the situation he has since deleted that original tweet and has said it is fake.
My overall narrative is that this whole fiasco is unacceptable and Entom does not deserve the platform he was given. Being a reliable source for news and leaks and then using that to spread a very fake hoax across the fandom shows how immature he is.
TLDR: Entom, a once creditable leaker in the fandom, plotted to mislead the fandom with a fake leak - Including faking a email from Scott Cawthon himself.

I’ve been suffering from somatic OCD for the past 5 years, and it’s made my life a living hell. My obsessions have been focused around breathing, swallowing, the position of my tongue, lips, and mouth in general while speaking and eating, the position of and sensations of my head, eyes, arms, fingers, legs, feet, and toes in relation to my body, and the sensation of my overall bodily posture, for the most part. The particular sensations and obsessions tend to fluctuate and change over time, seemingly randomly, and one day’s obsessions may be different from the next day’s obsessions, although the same obsessions tend to stick around for significant periods of time before altering. As you’d imagine, the symptoms tend to get worse when I’m under stress or experiencing anxiety, and there are times when it feels almost unbearable. It makes social, romantic and familial relations difficult, as I fear that others will notice my compulsions related to the obsessions and will judge me for it. These obsessions and their associated compulsions also make it difficult to be present in the moment with others, and I fear this will begin to take a drastic toll on my personal relationships with others. I sometimes feel as if I almost dissociate when experiencing the obsessions and associated compulsions, and it makes life so much more difficult than it already was. I plan to seek therapy and to begin seeing a psychiatric NP in the summer, as this is when my insurance kicks in.
Can any of you relate to any of these obsessions? If so, how did you manage them? What have been your experiences with medication and therapeutic intervention?

I recently had to properly kick my first ever player, things got a little intense between us for it and well left me on the all sorts of spectrum of emotions sides. I just had to get both feelings and my logic for the reasons for this removal of at the start, a good player and good guy and character that.. to me just started to not be. Maybe to just vent out, maybe to see if I was justified, but also to hope that, if there were points I didnt see or think of at the time that someone can help me think better if a scenario ever bubbles up like this, I have a better headspace to go about things right.
To start, I am more or less a newby forever DM (1 oneshot game to my belt under as a player), my current running campaign is only my second, going 2 years strong now. Its been bumpy recently do to my work schedule last few months but we are nearly up to our 100th session together and things have begun to heat up story wise and excitement wise by my players. Everything's in the story is homebrew more or less, both my own works and others I found and my players bring up to me.
At the start of the game, I had 5 starting players, and the one in question was one of them. We lost a few of them, first sadly I more suggested he leave, as much as he wanted to play, it was to the point he was playing while traveling via busses, planes and others (he traveled alot for his daily life events he couldnt get out of) an never mentioned when these would happen. That went smooth, we were both polite and I wasnt upset with them, just upset a good player like him will have hard times with finding a table. Better ways, would have been having a blast with them to this day. The second was starting to act up, I had to shoot him down a bit hard at times, more so when a new player, a girl, joined up an he started being a bit inappropriate and not act like the character he told me he would be. After I started blocking his more chaotic antics, he pretty much ghosted the group all together. Our third player who left is more on a prolonged hiatus cause of his work schedule, but he keeps in contact. So as far as the original party goes there are only two, with the first whom replaced our enthusiastic but unable to stay with us player being 'Miss 3 1/2's'.
With most of that out of the way, I can get onto the player in question. Again, he was there from the start, only second in my player search to start this campaign. Wanting to play a neutral good paladin who grew up a simple farmers life and was on a life walk-about to enrich himself before his turn to take over the family farmlands. At the start things were bit fine, he showed a general interest to hooks that kinda developed in the intro fight, making some good goofy aspects with his character and interactions and at least at first, an interest to some of the things in the world at the time. But looking back, I did likely trust him with a bit much, the other characters likewise were very 'go with teh flow' but they liked to investigate and get into things outside the city that they were given slight hero titles to after the start of things. With him though, he did 'actively' have his character go to get the town effective 'quest board' and ask around if people needed help with things... and.. not tell the other PC's about it or try an start the missions or plots.
While in itself it wasnt 'bad' people also trusted him a bit as 'the note taker' at first, so maybe we just expected him to go into things later or something, but, this became something I was concerned of with him on it. I mentioned his own story progression aspects from the start of the game, well, when given a lead that would let him undo a poor families ailment he showed interests too with time to go at least check it.. he suddenly invented a sister for his character.. who was getting married, back in his home country, that they 'had' to visit right then an there.
He had been vague about his characters history, he may have mentioned a sister 'in passing' but nothing ever set in stone besides his Grandfather being the true head of the farm and his dad. Not even anything about his characters mother, an now suddenly he wanted to spend a week or two travel via air ship to go see a 'new fiance' on top of it. I admit, I wasn't too happy but I also didnt outright pull him to the side to talk about that. Mark against me I know.
But it kind of worked out, as because no one could do much since he was kinda blocking the group from reaching the intended quest givers that he swore he would get with (2 of the other remaining characters at the time mostly had their stuff working on things they were trying to do that wasnt too crazy but at least progressed their characters in ways). And Miss 3 1/2 wasnt sure of her character at the time so played a temp one to feel out being another class and style for a bit. It helped her bloom a little. They ended up helping another little quest idea i had for halloween, late it was, but had fun with it an great action. But do to how that took an bad dice rolls which I do no flub or such, they got sidetracked from things an had to go back to go onto a quest 3 1/2 got them to.. an he wasnt exactly actively happy or doing the quest (guard a noblewoman on a quest to one of the countries for buisness matters. Kinda.. avoided the woman in weird ways.. like trying to push the hotel cooks asideto 'show them how its done'..).
When the crew finished with it, it was with another teaser to quest lines he was kinda pinning the group with. Again unfortunately the rest were 'kinda' okay with his choice on it but they were doing a bit more to be active now so it wasnt likely to work out for long. Around this time is when 'Work Haitus' had to sadly step away, so i started to put feelers out for new players again. During this time, he was still kinda pulling back on things as best he could, but he started to show a.. interesting trait. He wanted to start 'grinding' for EXP.. without going into the literal forest where some creatures could be faught, instead, he went to the city coliseum. Now this was explained since session one, I dont give any real EXP for fights there, quit literally if you have a fun sparing match or a more rough bloody match in it against a tamed or caught creature or class person, you'll only end up with 1 xp point. I did this cause I heard of a number of stories of 'those' players showing up, going to fight pits to make themselves stronger an not bother with rp time stuff. But I also tweaked it, so you could make bets for yourself, and the boon of prize and noterity (IE, people start being more favorable to you, seek you out that sort of stuff.. which considering he had so many 'hidden to activate quests' at this point wouldnt have mattered either way). He very quickly stopped after his 2nd or so solo attempt and made a passing comment on being upset of it. I overlooked that time.
During this, the entire party collectively was sought out, as the city knew 'all of them' roughly, so no reason only someone looking to the quest board would be involved alone. They were given a new quest by a neighboring kingdom, to deal with monsters they had ties with from the start as an already active side-story plot. He kinda 'backed' a bit into doing his characters 'im off to clean the broom closet' antics during some of this.. alot.. so looking back it feels he was upset not only was he not 'in charge' of getting the quests, but that the whole party agreed to be invovled with it regardless of anything else. I did try to bring him bback in, by having that Sister and her Fiance appear to meet them since he couldnt make the meeting.
There was some .. issues.. he kinda started to instantly mistrust the fiance, he litterally used 'every' detection spell he had on them trying to sus if they were demon, enregy or otherwise. An more or less ignored the sister even when she asked him his plans on things.. an since he 'left the sibling things to me besides she pranks him maybe' he didnt seem thrilled that she was upset the 'Lord title' brother, who won plots of land in this country an was going to open, I kid you not, an 'Pizzaria Inn petting zoo pet super plant farm forge and factory' on said plot of land with 'secret super caves our befriended monster friend will terraforming for us'. Short version of the monster thing.. monster had no such ability and at best had very tiny cute versions of itself digging out the cave, one pebble at a time.. this is when i noticed he sort of 'half' listened to details given.
I will admit, I wanted to have a moment where the sister was going to become some sort of 'rival', if she couldnt find way to convince the older men who are currently running the farm that big bro might have more important things to do as 'a Lordship hero paladin' maybe its time to break 'the men run the farm' tradition. In character he was warned 'she really wants your farm, and as someone whose seen people go extremes maybe you should reach out to her so its not so bad an no bad blood has to happen'... he kinda took it that she wants him dead, sorta. Took a bit with the informer to correct it.
He .. 'kinda' tried to 'make it up to her' i think by baking her favorite pie an admittedly as a nice act gave her his holly symbol which was the family's given by grandpa to him.. no biggy as the city hade a temple of his goddess to get a replacement soo.. yeah. Honestly I did talk with him a little on it.. but this is when another aspect started being apparent.
I hadnt mentioned, but I am not a fan of no call no show specially when we had a constant schedule, he had a few, but 'did' sorta apologize, at first. We do everything discord and roll20, so when he starts to not appear i would '@' the group and then '@' via DM's, and there maybe 'weeks' to 'months' if theres nothing 'important' to talk to me about response wise. And at the start of those times he started missing alot. An also, not apologizing or saying why. He doesnt always have to I know, but given we were having fewer players, wed have sudden 'we cant plays' cause it was 2 people only..
Then, we get introduced to not one or two but three new players. I kinda worried with them being prior friends and click group but its been working out for most part. Timing for ones admittedly stunk, an their on a personal leave Im not faulting but having their character background for now. They show up, an their characters, well starting at high level for at least 2 fresh faces an one long term one is a little odd, but its been fun. They instantly get into their characters mindsets, weird quirks that fit their upbringings and own style of things, but they also work as a functional communicating and asking questions group with slight airs of 'they are not lower class but deal with both from the noble side of things' air to them. Again its worked out, given they lost a litter hard hitter the three work great.
As the plot went, they were actually being lured away by a group who they helped bust antics an get called out on it in the city, the bait was just 'oh it might be the same type of monster you guys are looking for who might eat an entire city', done via a modified memory spell on the patsy. They were lead to a campsite the badguys set up to be a kill/trap spot.. It was a bit rough with things, but the group was doing 'amazingly' well. But I had an even bigger surprise for everyone, to take our game to a new level an give a 'big' meaty plot hook to hype and put every character on an equal 'i dont know anyone around here/dont have the same resources you do' foot from how the characters went, as an idea to build their bonds.
The trap, got ambushed, by a big honken monster I teased the first players with barely into session 4 that was a corps but came back. An this thing was a beast, CR minimal 20+ an higher (i suck at figuren the maths) but yeah, it was 'not' a winnable fight they could escape from that even the badguys said 'truce till were not monster food???'
It blew apart the trap-badguys, an sent the PC's hurdling into a space that was supost to be instant death, but plot armor I intended for em saved them if only 'barely' but now, their in ' a ocean like space between the outter realm and multi realms', with faint contact by the holly characters gods saying 'theres a way back, you must return'. including to the Paladin an 3 1/2 (who is cleric).. and honestly, everyones raved to me about it.. but looking back agian, given lack of Paladins communications 'out' of his appearances in game.. he hasnt said much, unless someone else starts it..an even then its.. barely a sentence..
The players were picked up by 'friendly pirates' an have been discovering things and gaining new strengths.. least, most of them again. 3 1/2 really bounded with the new NPC's an been expanding their character (shes been very creative that way an shes really gotten into the player bug, im sooo happy i could get her into the hobby) the new players had their growths too, the full slightly higher brow noble of them has come to terms 'hes mortal an can die, but people need his strength' too, as well as 'living is hard.. their not just 'dirty' or something by chance its just the efforts of their brow' to the sorceress of his friends being delighted to be sailing the seas with quirky merman, turtle an other type pirates with treasures an jerks to kick in the seat of the pants. Even the other first player has tried new character aspects, trying to be a 'new version' of himself till an event happened (which he half told me of, but it was more workable then 'sudden sister quest').
But.. paladin has been a bit more missing an sadly we have had spotty game times cause this is when my own work schedule has been bad. An again, he never gets back or says 'oh sorry cant make it' or whatever happened. I brought up a bit ago about his passing remarks of the exp thing for this point to make, he doesnt like to have his character have much of my homebrew stuff.. despite how many treasures hes had that hes just gone 'i sell it' or 'eh if you want it take it dont want it' that has been (a) a plot starter, or (b) a pretty handy if maybe OP item, hes just passed them off even from session z where I give every player chances to pick a unique thing for their character that helps tie them to the world. He opted out of it, an through everything they have done an gathered.. hes held onto a grand total of 2 homebrew things.. a sword, that after a 'certin point' he used as his hexblade warlock focus point with his goddess also being his patron, and 'one' spell that I had to reach out to offer him, well, technically '2' spells. One that he could use to turn a mundane object into a powerful magic weapon, an a ritual spell that he needs to cast to regain uses of the other spell.
The reason this ties to the EXP block from the coliseum bit, is because as part of the ritual to regain usages, he has to create a small 'choke point' of a ritual spell ring to fight an unending horde of monsters that the spell summons to fight just him. Now, the monsters are extremely low level, like 1/4 cr, an they wont try an kill him, as the ritual ends when hes KO'ed. It took a bit before he had to properly cast it in ession (big surprise, had him recharging it on some of the missing day's of his). But when eh did, an he finished it, he did instantly ask 'how much exp to i get?' an kinda grew hushed when I said 'you.. get your six usages of your spell back?'. I.. low key wonder if he wanted to try an use it as a cheat to grind or something..
This also does not help that, just prior, 3 1/2 managed to do our 'biggest' damage in a single round during a hord fight, literally between her spells an a new weapon with some seriously amazing rolls, did over 200 hp of damage on her own. To the point she KO'ed the boss monster leader. granted it was with a smart play and some literal crit hits, but thats when his vibe for games started kinda feeling off big time. An come now, to the more recent events before the kick..
I had a rare day off i could have a game completely unhindered, an we agreed to all have it.. sadly starter 2 forgot the US has Daylights saving, so we did loose an hour for him getten outta work. Eh it happens. An sadly the new 3 didnt get to join in so it was an agreed on one shot. Well, that 'was' the idea..
When we started.. when we 'could' have started, I gave them the quick plot of how they got to this place (this all happened just before the event with the pirates so they had their stuff but meta'ed they were still their current levels). Now, Im loose with my own OS's, so I used a module i bought that looked fun an it was interesting. I did have to build a bunch of rough doubles of the maps, since turns out the PDF didnt want to let me get the pics right at the time, so wasnt focusing too much on some details but for key point ones. Its important for later. But anwyay after the basic 'you did a hero thing an was invited to a small isle city by its noble ruler who has big parties every week an your the guests of honor', you know the usual kinda crud. Well i started to get into the start of it, about to go to details of the maps location.. when he, stopped me an blocked me to go 'oh i climb the building or whatever to get that gun!'.....there was unfortunately an image of a gun on the part of the token i used to build the maps clocktower..didnt notice it.. he sure did.. an kinda derailed me a bit more..reminder, we were an hour late into session.
I managed to get back on track, the security at the start of the party line stoppen the crew an saying 'sorry its a costume party, dont worry we always have spares, pick one' an they got to pick a set of masks for themselves. They rolled to take turns, he got first dibs, an picked one he 'really liked', but I do kinda wonder cause my tag name relates to what it was.. Well, I sent them the screenshot of the masks an their effects as an item/equip card... he started to.. get sour sounding.
In prior in between an pre game times, hes mentioned hes.. not exactly a fan of alot of stuff. Even some of the oldest movies an comics that are still being made now an are big on fandoms, hes got zero interests or cares for.. an on troupes, he is not big on mysteries. An sadly, the mask gave him an ability thats great in discovering secrets...
Well, I started to bring one of the moduels NPC's to start pointing out details, give them some hook bits an background to what goes on normally in the city... and.. he used that one use ability to check if she liked her mask.. literally stepping the entire conversation, then walked away to break into that clocktower.. that had the guns on it..
3 1/2 an second 1'st decided 'lets try an get on with the actual story regardless' an tried to go to the party which they did, trying to get him to come with too, crossing the small castle bridge to get to there an start mingling as they do.. paladin did 'eventually'.. but first he shimmied the bridge to use up his stealth abilities from the mask... then when 3 1/2 noticed, tried to get him to come in, he... started climbing to the top of the castle wall..
His character, never acted like this, in any OS we had before or in game before. Second 1'st did do a little weird, but it was stuff his character was infamous for, but not good for the long run. I admit.. I lost my cool, I didnt shout, yell, or otherwise.. but at this point, from when we 'late started', to paladins 3'rd athletic roll to scale the building he was invited for, we had lost over 2 hours of our usual session time an it was very apparent he was really not going to act like the character we were accustomed to.. so I said, 'sorry guys, see you next time'.. admittedly, I did kinda vent in our group chat text wise.. I was pretty upset an tired i cant lie on this, i had spent very early hours on the maps an looking over to familair most of the thing as best i could while having lack of sleep beforehand. But, I basically just said, if you dont feel up to a game please just say so cause putting all that time en effort for even a one shot was time an tiring thing an just frankly kinda rude antics for no reason just hurt.... didnt use cures or otherwise but that was about it..
It did help that, the group reached out to me about it, even both our Hiatus ones.. everyone but Paladin who kinda went back to basic no coms with me pretty much like norm.. he kinda missed a few more sessions between then to now.. so lets get to what became the last straws of the DM..
So, in the 'undersea' places, the crew realized that, the party had something they could use with their nations rulers to try an breach peace with the races that was locking everyone up in this space between the multiverse, to escape some big dangers thats happening here. This thing was second 1'sts 'tie in starting choice' i gave the first party options too an hes loved ever since, giving his character a level of importance. Of course there is the risk the guys could go 'we dont need 'them' for just 'that'. but thankfully its the nicer space sea folks side so thankfully its all negotiations. I rolled beforehand to see what outcome would happen.. not the best roll but it was one with surprising good results but the meeting was postponed with the intended target cause.. well the system got fragged as they sent the unintended invite back to the outer realms and their time slot to reach out to there was lost. So the party an the friendly pirate captain npc buddy was told 'come back in several months well try again'. The captain was telling the leaders 'oh sure no problem' while giving a 'if we dont find you guys a way back to your side of the world to stop that big bad monster for good first 'wink' to them..
An paladin.. confronted an tried telling the nation guys the details in a... weird way. I really dont know how to explain how he said it it still sounds weird to me. But he basically wanted too.. convince the nation that 'the party' could end all their troubles.. against a hord of demons an undeads effectively 'not understanding' the monster that threw them here was not one of the creatures in question. Which even after i pointed out 'if he couldnt do more than 13 points of damage to that thing, how would he think he can beat the monster he 'thinks' made it?'... which on that matter, he was told multiple times it wasnt.
Well, the rest of the gang tried to talk reason to him, even pull him aaway.. an i had made split choice of the captain decided to put a 'command bracelet' on him, effectively 'if you fight the order given you get zapped an paralyzed'. telling him 'please stop an lets talk about this somewhere 'safe'... because the party and them werent safe..
People in the sea space place, dont like people 'from their side' not that any survive coming down to there. Again, they survived via their plot armor's they dont even fully get yet. With the leadership litterally saying to him before the captain dragged him to the doors a bit 'let them hang for all we care'...
Well, paladin passed the check against the paralyze effect (again, i give honest rolls unless absolutely necessary which i dont like doing..) an.. he had his character chop his hand off, use every will save till he passed the players spells an use his tp abilities to get out of any grapple an ran into the building to more or less brow beat the leaders into listening to him...I made a choice as the captain npc... an ran for the ship to get the heck out before his crew would be arrested an maybe killed for hiding the PC's, an the other PC's likewise, ran for the hills too with them saying 'your mad if you do this'..
That is where that session ended, he made a passing comment 'guess ill reroll a character for the time being'... an he never showed up for the following one despite knowing 3 weeks in advance..though it turns out he 'did' roll stats for a character after I left the chat an roll20... an 'then' designed his character... which at first i was iffy but gave him a sheet to fill in to go ahead an start worken it, not knowing he had pre existing stat rolls for it or clearing that with me.. something I dont like..
Well, cant say i fault him for not knowing this, none of them did.. but there was a planned event for the city they were in. After the 'meeting the outsiders' event, they were going to be there during a siege by the monsters the leaders were worried about. I had the mechanics that, theyd get swarmed by mooks they could likely kill in a round or two at worst with a few higher level front line commanders thrown in, for each one of these theyd get a -5 to around -15 against a d100 roll (which I infamously roll low on all the time) on how much the city gets damaged up (multiple of the results for fyi), where either (a) they would stand their grounds just enough to cause the enemy to tempt pull back from the current onslaught, (b) the do enough damage an pull back gettin more then they need for now (long story) or (c) the party retreats for the time trying to pick up some survives they could fit on the ship an get the heck out as the city is torn up...
Instead.. I roll flat 3d100's as the party 'just' avoided the guards an lockdown.. which didnt add any bonses for the city guards chance to prep ships an counter attackk.. of the three, 2 in the ninties, one over fifty.. the city was whiped out.. I was 'devastated' that now i may have put the paladins character in a state he was just outright mamed and couldnt even give his player a 'last hura an fade to black'...because they never showed up or said anything...
I had to take a day or two before i sent the news to him, i did kinda phrase it a little angerly but i was 'where were you what happend'?... no response the entire week, right up to our next game session with nothing being done to that character sheet i gave him for a month..
And then came to our last bit of communication.. one hour before we started, he wanted to ask me about his character creation thing.. he stuck with the class i was iffy on to begin with but he.. went with a completely different class, an frankly he was maxing out the stats on the class too..
I confronted him since at least then he was 'finally' speaking to me. He was giving me the 'he would have convince them' speach of his characters plans.. I was just getting more confused by some of his responses of what that even was. The 'misunderstandings' of his character of what things are going on, why he did an extrem like 'why would he cut his hand off' an then he admitted no matter what, his character was going to leave. All on the fact his 'Paladin Alignment as Lawful good' wouldnt let him 'let a bunch of people die in the city'... his character has pulled back from fights an stuff before, while yeah if he saw a fight he would totally try an defend someone if need be, but, the abandon the party thinking they were doing wrong, knowing that the plan the group would be involved with after the outsider meeting, was to go search for things that might power them all up enough to be on the same playing field as the monster that beat them, or event he ones attacking the undersea side.. He even made a passing comment 'yeah i know they all talked about it for an hour'.. when.. he caused the conversation to las tthe hour by having them repeat it different ways several times.. something he also did alot im afraid when the quest was not one he started/invested in specifically of himself (the starting foot of it happened to one of the new players an 3 1/2 while he was on one of his missing days again).
He made a slight passing comment about me jus killing off his character an how they were acting as a 'what if someone wanted to play something else' .. which i did ask 'did you want to play something new why didnt you just ask?' to which.. he kinda ignored an went on. It was roughly at this time that he said he was trying to focus on his wizard spell list that i clicked to he was playing a new type of character all together.. one he admitted he wanted to play as 'weird and kinda crazy'.. it honestly sent chills to me given his 'sane' character did something extreme out of the blue for no reason an would never had done before was a bad sign what he considers 'slightly weird/crazy' would be.. but i was further made up set he made up a character only 'after' getting rolls he didnt get clearance from me with beforehand. I asked if this was the case which he confirmed and simply asked 'what want me to do point buy instead?'... an thats when I said i dont think he was set for my game again.. most so since all this all he focused on, again, an hour before game time, was only the basic mechanics an nothing else (given my honest mistrust of him springing something on me on this point with the sister visit 'quest').
I had literally given him my reasons, told him didn tlike how many red flags hes pulled lately. Including our game communities famed words by players who do things that tend to do things that.. kinda make things weird or bad or start to trail from how they start as.. When he first started missing the bulk of sessions, an losing plot interest, was when he 'lost his notes'. Then an most infamous last appearance, literally last bits hes said when he decided to have his character leave (which in hindsight i think he may have just wanted but again.. pardon me for guessing since he never communicated) 'Its what my character would do' when he had him cut his hand off.. Then during our conversation when i was trying to figure out what the heck was all that an what happend he said 'because my lawful good paladin couldnt let that under his oath'... his 'netual good' character whose hidden monsters under his house, stolen from a school of magic, made friends with an had sight powers from a devil an a few other shady things to say the least...so he was plannen or taking that his character should have a diff alignment without communing with me on it..who knows ont hat one..
I honestly did my usual, 'i dont think this game is for you' exit speech... an he said 'dont bs me with this over polite crap' an tried to make me say 'i want you gone'.. he was more or less animate on the specifics of the words.. and I think i know why..
Because, the players have a private text chat, not that hes much on there himself unless his character name is mentioned multiple times, but they do have it for funnies an stuff between em. I dont mind it, but.. at some point when I officially announced I'd be removing the player in our whole group chat.. he sent a very cropped two lines that was the tail end of us with me saying him in the groups not looken good, but told them 'i shouldnt be contacted about this'..
Tooo bad for him, I screenshot everything big like this. An further bad for him, the new guys an me talk alot too, like constant, and he forgot, 3 1/2 are friends for over a decade. 3 1/2 told me that... so i reached out to the rest of the group, shared the entire thing with them on the spot, saying 'i am sorry, its been bad with all these points' (i mention in here better more details after all, given how it was an hour of getting heated an trying to get him to tell me what his game plan is or anything else if need be given everything else sounded like he was flipping between wanting to be something new or... again i can only speculate since he just went offensive/defenses with no explanations or stuff to understand him the player). an sent them the entire conversation the two of us had as a screenshot.
While I was polite an just saying 'dont think the games for you' which yeah is a little over gentle.. after i pointed out one of them mentioned with a tiny screenshot of only me saying 'you should go' an the 'dont talk to me about it'. He honestly said 'i told them they shouldnt bother with it' like they should have just listened to him on the get go...an that 'he' would send it.. told him I already had. And for that level of honestly kinda manipulative tactic, both trying to isolate the party from me and only showing the 'closest' he would have of me saying 'i want you gone' comment, which he had stressed for a bout a minute i should 'say' in our private chat, i cant help but wonder if he was seriously trying to poison the well between me and the others.. an then said he would 'show them the whole conversation.... well he kinda got super silent with the private group and to me when i said 'i already sent the whole. I told him, good luck an goodbye, an then removed him from my DND group.. he suddenly for the first time in 2 years 'went offline', on my notice thing, so i think he made himself invisible but at first i thought he blocked me.. made a passing comment to test, but he went 'no' an was suddenly fully online an back to his MMO's that he 'usually' played too much an overslept some of our early day games on... not surprising..
The rest of the party were.. thankfully understanding, 3 1/2 suggested we didnt play but i pressed on but we did kinda vent.. helped one of the experienced newby of the three was a dm, an said 'hey its what you feel too, if he was making you feel uncomfortable at the table with that, your alright to feel it an remove him' which helped too..
But part of me does have to have that nagging feel since, he is the 'first' true kick i have done. ALl my other possible problem players ghost themselves from my games an he had been in for 2 years.. not that we done much since we are nearly at our 100'th session an only 'now' getting to the possible tea of the world i have been sitting on for 3 years since started working on the campaign over it. I left it openf or them to discover, an things started to click when the new guys came in an started being able to 'take lead' a bit on group choices.. not waiting for the paladin to lead them.. but.
of course, communication is '2 way street' i know, I said he didnt talk to me on things but likewise maybe i shoulda been more active reaching to him. To a point I tried, but, unless it was 'hey want a new power or something' ...he didnt respond back much. Again we had not much on similar things an it feel slike he was cluing in that many of my influences was from comics, movies games an anime that even if he was into the fandoms of, he didnt know alot as I have a broad and little known spectrum of series. Maybe a bit of it was lill mix of we didnt upfront what we expected, but also disinterests... but I do know at least 2 of his fave games.. tha has owning land, getting bonus in some way from that, an thats that.. an some other aspects, kinda in hindsight were what he wanted/expected for his character at times.
Again, my thing is full homebrew, an always say 'hey if you find something you like, lemme know an see maybe we can toss it in.', sadly some of the gang dont take that up too much, but the new players have lately an its been fun. He did at first 'start' suggesting something.. but with no set things, so when i brought up things that we can do for it he kinda.. shot em down, like not say full on no but.. just went silent.
In the end, Im upset with myself over not confronting the problem a bit more 'first', but i guess i just started to let him just 'be silent all the time is fine the problem goes away' as much as he did it when i reached out to him. Hell if he stepped away for a bit, sadly perfect since his first character might be KO'ed, i may have taken him back if he just said 'been dealing with things' or 'wanted to be something new' or, 'can i try something crazy'.. but in the end he only wanted me to respond in the moment to what he came up without double checking things an it can happen so sparatically, so 'railroady' for me an the other players I just cant anymore. An knowing hell honestly try an manipulate my words behind my back to the rest of the players.. yeah Im not trusting that player at any of my games ever again and wont ever trust one like that... but I hope it doesnt turn to that for just that factor an not because of other reasons that can be avoided...
Anyone who reads, thanks for your time. If you got tips or mindsets to consider for me here, like to help get them like a mindworm to maybe help me over things, given how my head is still lill swimmen on it both emotionally an thoughts. I guess maybe im looking to see if I was valid (I know for my 'mental health' i was, but want to know its not just my own head thinking it an maybe cases like this is at least partly justified). An hey, if you ever had a sitch like this, lemme hear how ya felt too, never helps bottling it in. Just typing this at first as a note to myself before it showed up anywhere helped me clear my head a fair bit, so theres always getting the words out there wither someone's ear or eyes take it is a nice way to get the happy feels in. Next order buisness to feel better... getten to those cursed die rolls (come on Dice Gods treat me an my players failry, ah dangit another 1! I thought i blotted it out!)

Hello. This is my first post on this forum. I am seeking some advice, especially from Senior engineers and managers, regarding what soft skills I need to demonstrate as a Senior engineer, and if I want to progress to higher technical and managerial roles.
Some background: I am a 38 year old software engineer in the semiconductor hardware/software industry. I am married, have a toddler and live somewhere in North America. I obtained my PhD from a well regardless research university in the US in Computer Engineering around ~7 years ago. I specialized in Computer Architecture. Since I graduated, I have been working for AI chip startups, where my role is to analyze/debug/tune deep learning inference and training code performance on the custom chip being designed by the company.
I believe I am pretty good at my job as a performance engineer. What I feel I am not good at is programming. I think I am an average programmer. However, the jobs I have held in my career so far has not required to be a great coder (there is relatively little coding required in the job). But this is something that really bothers me, and is a topic for another post in the future.
I am currently a Senior Engineer at my company. I want to try my hand at people management as well as technical management (functional) roles. However, I feel I lack some fundamental soft skills, for which I am seeking advice.
Let me try to paint a picture about my past and present situation. I have had a not-so-easy path during my PhD. I constantly battled with imposter syndrome. I failed my PhD qualifier exam twice in my 2nd year as PhD student, which was a huge blow to my confidence. You get only 2 chances. My advisor was visibly very disappointed, and really had doubts whether I am capable of continuing. I am thankful to him that he left that choice up to me. At that time, I still felt I can do better with time on the subject matter, as I thought I do "get" it, but I am just sloweless sharp than others. So I switched my department within the same University (my PhD subject as well as advisor were cross-listed in both departments fortunately). I passed the qualifier exam in the new department and continued my PhD with the same advisor. I successfully finished my PhD few years later. However, I couldn't publish nearly as many papers as other students. Also, my advisor used to have a aggressive/very direct personality. I have often been left shaken in my confidence during some conversations with him. That whole experience left me with low confidence.
Since then, in the last 7 years, I have had a decent career and for the most part, I have not felt the same level of imposter syndrome like I did during my PhD, but it is still there. I am pretty highly paid and have heard high praise from my managers during past projects. However, I feel I still make "stupid" mistakes sometimes and feel I am nowhere as sharp as many others in the company. I feel this very acutely in my current project. My current project is the "broadest" I have worked on, with a lot of technical responsibility and many avenues of mistakes. I am also working with a new manager and people I haven't worked directly with before in the company. I feel like I am being a laggard in the team.
Whenever I make a mistake, I feel really bad and I apologize profusely (to my manager). Also, I don't think I sound very confident when I respond to questions that come up in the meetings. I feel it's mainly because I am "really" afraid to be wrong, so don't sound confident. In my mind, for most questions, I just want to say "give me time, I will get back to you offline". But I can only do that some of the time obviously. In my previous job, my manager even pointed out this very thing in my performance review (I don't sound confident in my responses in meetings). So both these things - apologizing often and not sounding confident are critical skills I feel I need, in order to elevate to more senior roles in the company or going to the managerial track.
If anyone has words of advice or anecdotes to share, I would really appreciate it.
I wish I had a mentor with whom I can discuss. Unfortunately, I don't have a good relationship with my PhD advisor. I also don't feel I can discuss this topic with my current manager (I feel it will hurt my career growth in the company, and it feels too personal to discuss with current manager).

So I started working at my store at the end of February. In that time, I've had my hours cut for calling out and not finding coverage twice within 2 weeks because I was throwing up, berated for coming in while throwing up because now they "can't find coverage" (thought you said it was my responsibility??) written up for putting things I plan on buying during my break or after my shift on an unused register (literally every one in this store does this, including the manager that wrote me up) had my job threatened for simply looking out of the windows at a customer coming in, consistently berated and full blown bullied by coworkers and every single manager, including the SM, and most recently, being told I cannot go out of town for an important event (funeral) and I need to come in or else I will be fired. I don't get paid nearly enough to cover my bills, I'm losing my everloving mind working for this joke of a company, and I'm just so fucking over it. I have a second job lined up and as soon as I start working, I'm done with Dollar Tree. Fuck this shit, man. I'm a human being, not an emotional punching bag for managers who are having a bad day.

Hi! For the past year, I have been running a nonprofit that is centered around bringing equal-access robotics education to underprivileged communities. It’s safe to say that our curriculum is a success! Of the 18 workshops we’re running, we’ve managed to start ~5 new robotics teams and connect them to experienced mentors through FIRST. This project was driven by my own experiences in STEM, and I was determined to make a large impact. Now, we have the opportunity of hosting workshops and locations of our nonprofit globally, focusing on government schools in India, Taiwan, and Sri Lanka. As we continue to establish ourselves globally, we also aim to create more branches across the U.S.
If you would be interested in becoming a chapter lead of a chapter in your community or your country if you’re an intl student, please reach out to me! I would love to give you more details, and I look forward to working with you in the future! :)

Best piece of hardware I’ve ever laid eyes on let alone have the pleasure of playing on. Thing is absolutely gigantic and weighs like 100+ pounds lol.

I’m going to avoid trying to sound like a douchebag but I live in a city with major universities and subsequently there are a lot of social circles that make it difficult to enter because I went to a school out of state.
The circles I run in mostly consist of older women with extramarital affairs. (Athletic Clubs, driving range, weekend car shows or specific affluent neighborhoods)
I like nice things (cars, watches, real estate) but it seems like women in these circles are hyper focused on finding a man to solve all of their financial problems. I think the financial part should just happen organically.
Me: I have 3 graduate degrees so intelligence and a curiosity for all the things is important. I love traveling and discussing cultures and travel experiences. I plan on retiring at 45-50 but admittedly I love working so it may take the right person to get me to divest from my work.
I like having dinner at a nice restaurant or bar alone. I travel alone and spent a month in Italy alone this past October. I live alone in a house and live a private life mostly.
Question: It seems like I am invisible when I am out. When women do talk to me it’s usually transactional or the occasional “that’s a nice Car” but ends after that. I don’t notice women hitting on me or flirting.
I think I over indexed on wanting to be successful that I forgot how to learn how to flirt and court women? What are some tips you can give me to help me attract someone in their 20s or early 30s?
Where should I go? What should I do?
Sorry if this seems douchey or like word jugglery.

Overall, I'm not an overachiever. I'm happy because I'm always learning. Firm believer ako na everyday is a learning process at may iba't iba tayong learning curve kaya hindi ka dapat harsh sa sarili mo. I'm also not afraid to accept constructive criticism because I think if para sa ikabubuti ng lahat, I'm all for it.
Sometime last year, I applied to this company. After reading their job description, I was confident that I could do what was listed there. I applied, and fortunately, I was hired. The first 6 months were challenging but still fun. My colleagues are very supportive and great mentors. It's so enjoyable to learn with them. They are also open to feedback and ideas, making our work more efficient. They are so warm that even if you make a mistake, they will teach you to do better next time without judgment. They became my sort of safe haven. The job is hard, but it's so rewarding to work when you have them around.
Nag-iba ang lahat after being regularized. I was enrolled in their junior program where I was transferred to another department to become aware of other processes and tasks for the company. Meaning, we need to rotate for more exposure and experience. Ever since I moved to this department, I felt that their work culture is very different. In the new department, they are very individualistic when it comes to work. It's okay to ask if you're confused, but I felt afraid because there were instances when you'd be scolded or left alone to figure out the answer to your question. At first, inintindi ko kasi oo nga naman, maraming workloads and fast-paced talaga. Kailangan mo mag-step up para matuto ka talaga. Naisip ko rin na maybe their approach was different, so I made extra effort to study the processes on my own. Kapag nahihirapan na ako, kahit alam ko na masakit ang sasabihin nila, tinatanggap ko para lang matapos yung dapat gawin. Noong una mahirap na "pasok dito then labas sa kabilang tainga" pero kinailangan ko maging strong para maka-survive. Afraid of every move or action. I always overthink my work, wondering if there's a mistake because if there is, you'll be scolded again, or worst, lalaitin. Mapa-director or manager or senior, ganito ang approach.
Under ako ng isang manager sa department na ito. Siya talaga mostly ko nakaka-work. At first, okay naman lahat. But then napapansin ko na paiba-iba ang mood niya or direction niya sa mga output. Being the junior, ako na nag-adjust, iniisip na mahalaga na matapos ang output at projects. Kapag may chance na pinupuna niya mga mali ko, open ako na pa-explain sa kanya anong nangyari para alam ko sa susunod ang strategy ko para mas maging efficient lalo.
Pero nakakapuno rin. Recently, I just cried out of frustration because I was told that my output was not efficient. In short, it was all wasted, and I was even told that he stayed up for two days just to finish the output. Before he handed it to me, I stepped up to discuss the flow of the output that should be done. I even had references from our past outputs, and he agreed. Since ganon ang bungad niya sa akin, na-estatwa na lang. Pakiramdam ko, pabobo lang ako nang pabobo dito. I'm open to criticisms, but I thought we discussed what needed to be done, so why is it like this? I plan to resign because I can't handle it anymore. I've lost myself since I moved to this department. I'm not afraid to make mistakes, but now, I'm really scared.
Gusto ko lang ilabas itong saloobin ko. If magiging senior din ako in the future, ipinapangako ko na hindi ganitong approach ang gagawin ko sa junior ko. Team kami. Hindi ko siya hahayaan na mawala ang sarili niya sa proseso dahil lang iba ang learning curve namin.
Para naman sa manager ko, alam ko magaling ka talaga pero I just hope na sa susunod mong junior, hindi ganito ang trato mo. Walang junior ang gusto magbigay ng hindi magandang output. We are open to learning. Sana kung ayaw mo magturo, hindi ka na lang tumanggap ng junior under you.