I need to vent to people who will understand and empathise with how much this is affecting me.
To give some background: I'm a secondary teacher of English as a Second Language (ESL) in a private school. I started as a sub for a retiring teacher and put up with various changes to my contract because of that. I eventually signed a permanent, full time contract in January. I was delighted about it and started to really enjoy my classes.
Skip forward to today and while taking to a fellow ESL teacher (who is a little ditzy) told me that he had been offered more hours next year, hours that would technically be mine. Last year they got rid of another teacher without warning (although all the rest of the staff knew about it) and I went into fight or flight mode.
I proceeded to have an meltdown inside and rather than torture myself went to my boss who reassured me that things would stay the same. However, he started off by saying that I had the best deal in the whole school hours-wise. And it has really bugged me. I just can't get out of my head that he somehow thinks I'm being ungrateful. I needed to be reassured first and his initial attitude was, what are you moaning about?
To make matters worse I have to go to the summer Luau tonight and I feel so down. I honestly don't know how I'm going to slap on a smile and get through a night of serving parents.
I just need some understanding from people who would also be affected by this. *Edited proceded to proceeded (spanish autocorrect)

Ten years ago this year, I was selected for a residential internship-like program. I had to move across the country for it. The program was a year long and immediately followed my college graduation. As a 21 year old, I was excited for the new adventure.
The day I found out I was accepted, I told my boyfriend at the time, Sean.
"You're not going to do it, right?" He asked.
He didn't want me to leave him. And while the thought of being long distance sucked, I wanted the experience. I told him that I would be doing the program and that I would help come up with a plan for our shared apartment.
Every day between learning about the program and leaving for it, Sean grumbled to me. Why didn't I stay local and look for a job around our college town? Sean had a couple of more semesters left in his grad program so he couldn't move with me. I thought about what it would mean to turn down the program. It would mean missing out on cool travel opportunities and work experience that I wouldn't get if I stayed in College Town, USA. I told Sean that I loved him a lot but I needed to do this.
I had reasons to believe that Sean would still be living in our apartment when my program ended. He told me there were a few organizations that recruited heavily from his grad program and he felt certain he could get a job with one of them after graduation. I left all of our shared furniture and kitchen stuff in our apartment and packed up my personal items like clothes with me. My program paid for my housing and food and Sean decided that he could pay for our one bedroom by himself.
The program was challenging and at times not very fun. On video calls with Sean, he reminded me that I should have just stayed with him in our college town.
The year progressed. Sean finished his program but couldn't find a job in town. The lease of our apartment ended and he decided to pack everything up and move back to his mom's house. She lived two hours away in an area so rural that the house didn't even have a provider for internet.
"Don't worry," Sean told me. "There's room for you here. And I have a Hotspot. It's not great for streaming. But you could do job applications and check emails."
It was nice that Sean told me that. My own mother told me that she rented out my childhood bedroom and that there was no room for me at her place.
Sean got a part time job at a grocery store. He told me that he was looking far and wide for a full time professional job and we could move together wherever that was.
As my program started to come to an end, I also started my own job search. And it wasn't long before I found a full time professional job in my degree area. The experience I had gained in my internship had paid off! But the job was about 500 miles from where Sean lived with his mom in an unknown town.
When I told Sean, I thought he would be happy for me. The New Town was unfamiliar to both of us but it looked like it had plenty of opportunities for Sean.
"You're not going to take it, right?" Sean asked when I told him.
"Actually," I said. "I am."
I explained how I didn't want to live at his mom's house. Sean slept in a twin size bed in a room hardly bigger than a closet. I imagined trying to make that work with the two of us.
"Well," Sean replied. "You can take the job. But I'm not moving with you. And I'm not doing long distance."
I felt devastated. But I imagined what it would feel like to turn down a job doing what I went to school for only to sit unemployed at my boyfriend's mom's house all day. The house was small. It had one bathroom. I had to walk through my boyfriend's mom's bedroom to access the kitchen. I felt grateful that it was even an option because otherwise, I might have faced homelessness. But if I had any other choice, I would not be moving there.
"Okay," I told Sean. "I'll think about it."
Later that day, I signed my acceptance paperwork for the job.
Sean was irate.
"You didn't even talk to me about this first," he hissed. I had. He had given me his ultimatum. I understood perfectly.
With my offer letter, I was able to sign for a one bedroom apartment at a brand new complex, one with a giant pool in the middle and a gym. It was an entrance to the middle class that felt too good to be true. Sean and I both hadn't grown up without a lot of money. Actually, that was an understatement. Sean had grown up in abject poverty.
I told Sean that he didn't have to move but if he could help me bring my stuff to my new place, I'd be appreciative. He agreed.
"Woah, this place is very nice," Sean commented when he saw it.
He decided to stay and I felt so happy. I felt so alone in this new town and Sean felt like warmth and home, even with the ugly ultimatum he had given me.
Within a month, Sean found a job in his degree field in New Town.
And I wish this was the end of the story. That Sean apologized to me for discouraging me from doing the internship program or taking the job. That he told me that my hard work had paid off.
No. Instead, Sean complained to me and constantly compared New Town to College Town. In College Town, we lived in a bar district and could walk to go get a drink. In New Town, we had to drive to get to a bar. Sean hated that we had to limit ourselves so that we could drive home. On Saturday nights, he reminded me that in College Town, we would be at a house party.
Sean missed College Town so much that I suggested we both look for jobs there. With some more work experience, we might be better candidates than when we were fresh from school. I found a job first and told Sean that if he would like to break the lease and move with me, I'd make enough to support both of us while he looked for a job. Sean told me that he didn't want to be my dependent and that he would prefer to stay in our current place in the town he hated rather than be unemployed.
Of course, I understood this. I was just glad that he didn't insist I give up my job opportunity back in College Town.
It took Sean another two months to find a job in College Town. I thought his homecoming would be jubilant. But he was sad and bitter. A lot of our college friends had moved from the area in the two years we had lived in New Town. We also didn't want to live near the university because of the noise and higher crime rate. Instead, we opted to live about 15 minutes away from the students and the bar district that served them.
Our move back to College Town felt very similar as our move to New Town. We didn't know that many people. Our part of town was unfamiliar. We still weren't going to house parties every Saturday night like we were when we were students. And Sean was even more bitter.
I'm not sure what actions we could have taken to have made Sean happy. But I know that the two of us fought about the move to New Town often. In fact, six years after the move down and four years after the move back up, we had one more final blowout fight about it. And that was the end of the relationship. I remember Sean's ultimatum. And it feels funny to know that he was sort correct. Taking the job was the beginning of the end of our relationship. Even if the break up took years to brew. It was me that ended it. I couldn't live with his constant resentment anymore.
And I think often about what would have happened if Sean had gotten his way. Would I be a manager at the grocery store in his mom's rural town sharing a twin size bed?

1, (15 F) was invited to be a part of my friend (15 F, we will kill her K)'s quince court, and happily accepted. if you dk, quinceañera is a huge birthday party that many Hispanic girls have when they turn 15, celebrating their coming of age. The quince court is made up of the birthday girl’s closest friends, who learn multiple dance routines to perform at the party. Naturally, dance routines and choreography require lots of practice. Our court includes me, K, and 14 of our closest friends. I knew there would be drama when I signed up for the court because multiple people involved don’t get along, and K is often involved in drama outside of this group. However, I agreed because we’ve been friends since elementary school. So far, we’ve only had two practices. It’s summer, and the party is still months away. Most people have attended at least one of the practices, if not both, but a few have missed due to prior commitments or family emergencies. K is struggling to find dates that work for everyone. Several of us have told her it will be hard to find dates that fit everyone’s schedule and that we can try practicing without our partners since we all dance with partners. Multiple members have offered advice, such as practicing at home with a video or practicing without our partners. We’ve also suggested practicing earlier in the morning, later in the afternoon, or on weekdays instead of weekends. We understand that people have jobs, but most teenagers don’t work all day. K has rejected these ideas, making it extremely difficult for everyone. There’s a couple in our group chat, R and J, who escalate problems by name-calling, picking fights, and making a big deal out of simple conversations. It feels like they enjoy causing problems and making the drama worse. Usually, we suggest a date, a few people can’t make it, and then K makes snide comments about how we need to “tell our mommies and daddies” to clear our schedules. K doesn’t have strict parents, unlike several others in the group, and often makes disparaging remarks about us not being available every day. K insists we should prioritize practice over family obligations, which many of us simply can’t do. We are teenagers, not adults, and can’t make decisions without our parents’ permission. We are trying our best, but it seems to go unnoticed. Once, K even said she doesn’t care if our grandfather is dying; she expects us to show up to her practice and forget our priorities because it’s her day and it needs to be perfect. R and J will then name-call those who are unavailable, complain about others’ suggestions for different practice times, and play the victim when told to stop. Ironically, R doesn’t even like K and once spent an hour at a sleepover badmouthing her. J doesn’t like anyone in our friend group, yet he still hangs out with us and causes drama, leading to problems with his girlfriend, R, who we’ve been friends with for years. This behavior overwhelms K, who then stops communicating for several days and expects us to show up without giving us details. Other people cause problems on the group chat as well, but it’s mostly these three. Many of us have complained outside the group chat about the constant drama, fights, and rude attitudes. Some have even compared K to a bridezilla. I understand K’s frustration and know how important this is to her, but her rudeness, including giving friends the silent treatment for weeks, is problematic. She has always been a problematic person, but it’s never been this bad. She complains about the lack of communication in the group chat, yet she rarely texts there herself. This hypocritical behavior led one of my best friends, O, to drop out of the court because the stress and fighting have strained her friendship with R. R and J have a toxic relationship, and the longer they date, the ruder and more problematic R becomes. This has caused drama within the friend group, except for a small group of four of us. The quinceañera planning is adding to the drama, pushing O and R apart, and causing friction among several others. At this point, there’s more drama than necessary. K is not communicating properly and is blaming us, and nothing is getting done. It feels too stressful and like a waste of time. I want to drop out, but I don’t want K to be mad at me since I made a commitment. I love my friends, but I don’t know if I can keep this up.So, AITA for wanting to drop out?

I have no idea if this relationship can move forward or not. We started off as a FWB situation in last year (JUL23) or so, went official around Dec 2023. Ever since then, he's been immature and extremely emotionally unintelligent, he cheated on me 3 months into the relationship during my birthday, (downloaded a dating app, got the girls snaps and wanked to their nudes) etc. as well as sending them pictures of himself and whatnot. I stayed, his explanation seemed sincere at the time and I could somewhat understand the reason. We were going through a rough patch and he believed we were going to end things so he jumped ahead to not get hurt. Shitty, inexcusable but - ok, I see. We then had a strict no-clubbing without your S/O rule which he broke a month after that after making me stay up until 3AM whilst he walked home & accidentally admitted he'd been clubbing with his friends. He also recently lied about starting up smoking again when we'd quit together 5 months ago. Also failed to plan our 6 month anniversary because he forgot after I begged him to because I always plan things. That, along with a bunch of things such as minor lying, lying about porn, lying about porn when I found it in his history, general shouting which he refuses to stop because it's "just what he's like with his friends" (he knows this triggers me, I have BPD - he also refused to acknowledge this until 4 months into the relationship when he finally decided to read up about it after I was begging for months).
However, I am happy around him generally - he's smart and kind when he wants to be. His family is lovely and when I'm with him, it's lovely - but I'm not sure what it'll be like when we go off to uni. I can't stand arguing over small or big things all the time because he has so little respect for me. If he cant grow up, and keeps promising to change with nothing to show for it - where does that leave me?
I don't know how to get through to him, I don't know how to help. I just want this to work out because I really love him and he's treated me better than anyone has.

So chalk it up to doing too many different things at once, I was dealing with a PaloAlto vulnerability issue and a new Cisco vulnerability while trying to get something setup for the following week.
I was setting up a new Windows 11 box at work, clicked join your device to work or school and proceeded to enter my credentials without thinking. Windows loaded and I realized my mistake, as I was not signing in to the local domain but rather my account on Azure. I logged out, joined the domain and I was thinking everything was fine until I saw that my Sync Manager is giving errors on my account due to it not being able to write the msds-keycredentiallink field. Which is tied to Windows Hello for Business from what I can gather.
I have been trying to figure out how to remove the value on the Azure side so it stops trying to write it to my AD account but I have all but given up. I did verify that the Azure account is not on that PC anymore but there is a remnant in the cloud. Has anyone dealt with this before?

So I (16m) have had a crush on a guy (I'll call him Jack) (16m) that I've known since we were around 11. He's always been friend and shares a lot of classes with me, I've never really noticed him like that until this year, he's tall, has short-ish hair, is quiet, really smart and usually keeps to himself. We talk like friends until recently because I've barley been able to look him in the eye, it doesn't help that my friends say he's given me more signs that anyone I've ever liked before, they say I act like he's my first ever crush, they also tell me I often get red when discussing him. My mother also really likes him for me, since he has excellent grades, is taller than me, is polite in her eyes, and isn't like the other guys at my school. She even offered to buy him a phone so me and him could talk over the summer, since he didn't already have one. The first time I really had a conversation together after I realized I liked him it was a bit awkward because I didn't even look at his face, after that we interacted more and I found more excuses to talk to him like in one of my computer classes, he sits a row ahead of me, but my other firends sit next to him so i pretand to talk to them to get close to him. After a while I decided I was just going to get over with it and tell him I liked someone without revealing it was him, he is known for not taking hints unless directly stated so I thought I was safe, after a while of me talking about him, he wanted to know who it was, I obviously said no, but said I'd do it later, then the end of the year came and I knew since he didn't have a phone, I wouldn't be able to talk to him over the summer, but ive only ever confessed to people via text so i had no idea how to tell him, talking face to face about it was off the table since i would die, so my friend recommended giving him a paper letter, i laughed and brushed it off saying i wasnt nine anymore, until i realized it was my only option, i decided to come to him about this, and that day he brought his dice to school. He started shaking them in his hand, and asked me to pick a number, I said two (the lowest number you can get on a pair of dice) and he shakes them for a while and quickly adds in "if it lands on two you have to tell him" and he shakes it a bit more, then opens his hand and reveals the dice, both on one. I was shocked and immediately turned around, looking away from him while nervously laughing, everyone told me it was a sign so I wrote the letter, he shares his 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th period with me, so I decided I was going to give it to him one the Friday before the last week of school in our 7th period. When the day finally rolled around, I was pretty nervous, but while I was in second period, it was just me, him and two of my friends who are girls. One of them used to like him and grew up being a bit of a bully (I'll call her Fernanda) so she frequently pulls his hair (he used to have it long but he cut it and I think she's the reason why) so after she did he had his dice out again so I said something along the lines of "if it lands on six then ivtet to fix your hair since Fernanda messed it up" and then the dice landed on six, I immediately got up and stood behind him, starting to "fix" his hair, I continued on for about 3 minutes until I decided that was enough, and i went back to talking to the girl next to me when i heard fernanda say "WHAT???" To which he quickly replied "nothing" I ignored it, thinking he just said something unhinged again, then after class Fernanda approached me and my friend, he mouth wide open in shock she asked something like "did you guys seriously not hear what Jack said??" We obviously said no and when i asked about it she just walked away with her mouth still open, I thought he just said something dumb and didn't really think of it until heading to lunch when my friend (I'll call this one Elaine) pulled me over to the side and asked me "did you hear what they said about Jack?" I said no and she said "people are saying he has a crush on someone and it might be you!!" I obviously thought she was joking I asked who it was and after some begging she told me that Fernanda told her. I obviously thought it was a joke now since she wasnt the most trustworthy when it came to details, until it clicked in my head, I asked Fernanda and she said something like "yeah after you say back down he got his dice out and rolled them, saw what the number was and said 'i have a secret to tell you guys, I have a crush on you!!" I simply asked why she didn't tell me that when I asked and how she knew he was talking about me and not her or my friend I was talking to but she mentioned that he wanted to slap the girl I was talking to and he already rejected Fernanda. I was shocked because I was supposed to give him the letter today and I guess he thought it was the perfect time to announce his feelings for someone who people think is me, but after I gave him the letter he said nothing about it and I didn't have the courage to ask, I thought I maybe overwhelmed him since he's never had a girlfriend, let alone a boyfriend. Now my friends are telling me to send a letter to him, to try to talk to him (he has previously given me permission to check his address and only lives nine minutes away from me), should I do it?

Author note: The Cryopod to Hell is a Reddit-exclusive story with over three years of editing and refining. As of this post, the total rewrite is 2,204,000+ words long! For more information, check out the link below:
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(Previous Part)
(Part 001)
A few days after Neil and Hope's meeting.
Henry Cliff walks alone down the hallways of the Labyrinth. He wears a purple-colored T-REX, a status symbol put in place by the higher-ups as a sign of his newfound prestige and military ranking. Its color, as well as the other new colors among the army allow for a quick idea of the ranking of any human soldier at a glance, especially among those who don't know the humans well, such as their allies for today.
Henry's feet quietly plod against the Labyrinth's compacted dirt floor. His breathing remains even despite having walked for over thirty minutes. Thanks to his newly enhanced body, he could run for a thousand kilometers without breaking a sweat. Even he isn't entirely certain just how strong he is. Perhaps, if he were to come to blows with a Demon Emperor, he might roll them out like a sleeping bag.
As he walks, Henry's newfound clarity of purpose mixes with the voices and thoughts of ten thousand other members of Jepthath's Legion. No, more accurately, they are Henry's Legion, now. While their power might be derived from Jepthath, it was the Hero-King's decision to give Henry command of them and become his Voice.
Each person who joined on that day possessed their own thoughts, feelings, and talents. Their combined cumulative experience, which could now be tapped into at will, easily amounted to more than 350,000 years. If the age of every person who merged had been 10, that would have given them 100,000 years, but the fact the average turned out to be 35 elevated their cumulative total dramatically.
And that was to say nothing of the people who had once been a part of Jepthath's Legion in the past. When Henry first became inducted into the Legion, he was shocked by just how much wisdom Jepthath possessed. While he did not have the truly unfathomable and vast breadth of knowledge Solomon possessed, Jepthath was amazing in his own way. What he lacked in raw information, he made up in with mastery of combat.
If Solomon possessed the combined cumulative knowledge of humanity, Jepthath possessed its raw hand-to-hand fighting prowess. And that served to bolster Henry's state of mind significantly.
Just by integrating into the Legion, Henry's ability to peer into the essence of combat increased ten thousand-fold. Over the last few days, he had happened to pass by several different training grounds for humanity's soldiers on Maiura, most of them having been erected at some point by Neil Adams in the past six years. Henry was not impressed by what he saw. If anything, he was disgusted.
[Their movements are so crude. So lacking in refinement.] He would often think, while conversing with the ancient Hero-King. [I want to train them. I can't stand to imagine them using their sloppy combat skills against old demon monsters.]
[A waste of time.] Jepthath would chide gently, whenever he and Henry had this conversation. [The knowledge you have obtained effortlessly cannot be communicated through words or demonstrations. The only way one can become as proficient as the members of Our Legion is by directly transferring Our combined knowledge through Our souls and minds.]
[Then we have to convince more to join Us!] Henry would exclaim. [These fools are wasting their time flailing about, trying to reinvent the wheel. If they joined Us, they would gain all of Our power in the art of war and become capable of adding to Our collective consciousness!]
Jepthath shakes his head. [I made a deal with the Wordsmith. We will not forcibly recruit anyone. If you wish to convince more to join Us, you must demonstrate Our power. Not only do you possess knowledge of countless schools of fighting, but you also possess intimate knowledge of battlefield tactics and guerrilla warfare. By demonstrating that Knowledge is Power, you can enlighten the foolish masses as to what they are missing out on.]
Henry nodded sincerely at that time. He looked up at the night sky and clenched his fist with determination.
Humanity was wasting its capabilities! If other humans only knew how small and frail they were, they would jump at the chance to join the Legion!
Less than a week before, Henry had been a disgraced soldier, a mere civilian, a person who might never even get the opportunity to shine the boots of those he had once trained with.
But now he was an officer, an elite warrior many would come to fear and respect.
This realization made his heart leap and his throat dry. In many ways, he sometimes felt he didn't deserve this position. He certainly hadn't earned it.
Not yet. Someday he would. Someday soon.
His thoughts come back to the present. He continues walking, ultimately falling into step beside an ordinary human commando also donning a T-REX. A small artistic flourish on the side of her armor, a pink rose, hints to him the other soldier might be a woman.
The grey-armored soldier turns her head to look at him as she walks. "Oh! You startled me. And you are?"
Unable to see her face, Henry looks at her helmet instead, and her name and other information pop up in his HUD, allowing him to see her identity.
"I'm Lieutenant Henry Cliff." He says. "You're Private Ashley McCarthy? Aren't you the lady who can transform into an orc?"
Immediately, her previously formal tone turns cold. Ashley snaps her head forward, no longer looking at him.
"Every time. Every time! Is that all I am anymore? Just the ugly bitch who turns into an orc?!"
"Whoa, whoa!" Henry exclaims, taken aback by her response. "I'm sorry, uh, Miss McCarthy. I didn't mean to apologize- I mean, I didn't apologize- mean to offend you! I- I uh, sorry!"
He stumbles over his words, feeling suddenly ashamed that he spoke so bluntly without considering the other person's feelings. Then again, how could he have known it was such a sore subject for her? That thought also makes him feel unfairly slighted, as he committed a blunder without meaning to.
"No, no I'm sorry." Ashley quickly says, suddenly realizing how rudely she just spoke to a superior officer. "It's not your fault, Lieutenant. I, I just... it's a long story. I never asked for this ability. I hate it."
"You hate it?" Henry asks, as they round a corner, passing a dozen goblins who carefully press against the side-wall to avoid the giant humans. "Pardon my bluntness, but why? In this time of war, possessing an orc form must make you pretty strong. Valuable. You could be on the fast-track to a higher rank if you have any ambition."
"Higher rank." Ashley mutters under her breath. "As if that's something I'd want. I'm not some big brained Terran from Old Earth. I'm just a normal girl from one of the Wild Worlds. I only want to be pointed at an enemy so I can hurt them."
That sounds an awful lot like something an orc would say, Henry thinks, but wisely keeps to himself.
"Does turning into an orc make you stronger?" Henry asks, choosing to turn the discussion down a more positive path.
"Oh, sure. A bit stronger." Ashley concedes. "You know how the Body Booster improves a human's baseline physique, putting some of us on par with certain low-ranking Demon Lords? Well, my Orc transformation stacks on that, sort of. I can pick up and throw boulders pretty far."
She pauses, before adding, "I mean, it is really fun being that strong."
Henry reaches up to rub his chin, only for his hand to clank against his T-REX's helmet. He gives up on the idea and lowers his arm again.
"I recently got a, uh, a pretty substantial boost to my strength. You remember how Commander Hope offered for people to merge with the Hero Jepthath? I did that, and it made me a lot stronger."
He turns to look at the woman beside him, but she simply gazes forward, her helmet offering no insight into her current expression.
Her words, however, definitely give away what she's thinking.
"Oh. You're one of the cultists."
Her disappointed tone makes Henry's heart skip a beat.
"No, no, no!" Henry exclaims. "Not a cultist. Who told you that?? Jepthath's Legion have simply unified Our minds and bolstered Our bodies, making Us a lot stronger."
She remains quiet for a few moments.
"Yeah... that's... what a cultist would say."
"We're not a cult..." Henry protests feebly, but his words fall on deaf ears.
This isn't the first time someone has directed a look of disgust his way, or visibly cringed when he proudly declared himself one of Jepthath's Chosen.
Jason's words during the Great Debate made a lot of people immediately strike becoming a Parahuman off their list. They'd rather be ordinary soldiers in body armor rather than part of a weird, unified hive-mind.
Dismayed, the young man falls silent. He doesn't say anything for a full minute, and perhaps feeling bad about dismissing him so easily, Ashley decides to reignite the conversation as they draw closer to their destination.
"So what's it like. Being inside a, uh... hive mind? Is it weird?"
"We're not a hive-mind." Henry says, his mood deflating even further. "We're... we're like brothers and sisters. We understand one another. We share thoughts, insights, wisdom."
This time, Ashley tries to exercise a little tact. "It just doesn't sound right for me. I guess everyone has their own preferences. Me, I think I'd die of shame if everyone around me could hear my every thought. The embarrassment alone..."
She trails off and shakes her head.
But this time, Henry doesn't just back down.
"It's not what you think at all." Henry says. "Do you know why you feel fear at the thought of sharing your thoughts? It's because you're self-absorbed."
"What?!" Ashley exclaims, pausing her walk to look at him. No doubt, her helmet hides an expression of disbelief. "What do you mean by that... sir?"
Henry also pauses. He turns to face her, resting his hands on his hips. "You have friends, right? Maybe even a best friend?"
"O-of course!" Ashley says, her tone defensive. "What, you think I'm friendless just because I'm not a part of some bee-hive?"
"That's not what I'm getting at." Henry says patiently, holding out his hand and modulating his tone so he'll come off less aggressive. "Think about your friend, or your best friend. Really think about it. What's the most embarrassing thing you remember about him or her? What's the worst social gaffe they've made that you can't get out of your head?"
Ashley pauses. She lowers her head and falls into thought for a moment.
"I don't know. I can't think of anything. Why?"
"What about other people?" Henry asks. "Has anyone else you know made any serious social fuck-ups recently?"
"Social ones? No. There have been a few generally bad events recently, like finding out Baron Mara killed a bunch of people. But she's not my friend anyway, so..."
"THAT is my point." Henry states emphatically. "You don't think about the weird and embarrassing things your friends do. So why do you believe they're so fixated on yours?"
Ashley lifts her head to look at him. She remains silent, digesting his words, so he continues to press the issue.
"Do you know why you find things about yourself embarrassing? It's not your fault. Most people are extremely self-conscious about their own insecurities. Now that I've become a part of the Legion, I experience everyone else's insecurities all at the same time as I experience mine. In doing so, I realize that mine never amounted to anything at all. When you have ten thousand other people worrying about what they're wearing, or if they look fashionable, or some other tedious bullshit, you quickly realize that all of them amount to white noise. They don't matter."
He throws his hand up dramatically.
"I'm not picking on you. It's just a fact of human consciousness. All people are held back by their fear of social pressure, but much of that is because we don't know what goes on in the heads of our fellow men and women. If you could see their deranged sexual fantasies all at once, you would realize you're not weird at all. Everyone has a kink. If you enjoy looking at gross bugs, guess what? Someone else is unbothered by bodily fluids. We're all weird, and joining the Legion just made that clearer to me."
He pauses, unable to see the look on her face. "Sorry, I hope I'm not coming off as condescending. Does any of this make sense to you?"
Ashley slowly nods. "Mmm. Yeah, it does."
Henry heaves a sigh of relief. "Well, great! Great. I was worried I was starting to sound a little long-winded."
Ashley turns away and resumes walking. "You're definitely in a cult."
"Goddammit." Henry grumbles.
...
Before long, the two of them make it to the meeting location, where they arrive inside a massive, hollowed-out area inside the Labyrinth. There, they find, of all things, a new Volgrim Warpgate installed, its destination some unknown desert on a planet Henry can't immediately identify.
As they enter the massive arena-like staging area, Hope becomes momentarily disoriented. His newly enhanced senses pick up surges of spiritual energy, all spread out across the humans, demons, monsters, and other creatures inside. The powerful Demon Emperors, only a few of whom have yet to Ascend to Demon Deity, stand near the portal, using their strength as a show of force. Despite their proud expressions, Henry's keen senses detect a hint of fear in their eyes, as they seem to be unable to properly stand as strong as they always have. It's as if they are being suppressed by something...
"Whoa!" Ashley gasps. "I can't believe it. Why are the Volgrim here?"
"The Volgrim?" Henry asks, following her gaze based on the direction her helmet is pointed.
Somewhere in the mass of the crowd, a handful of decidedly alien-looking creatures with tentacles writing under their mouths and heavily-armored bodies stand at attention, looking like proud leaders and commanders. Their postures indicate a level of arrogance bred into their bones by millions of years of dominance over the Milky Way. Compared to the slightly fearful Demon Emperors, these Technopaths truly stand out as cream of the crop, with unknown augmentations that likely elevate their combat prowess to the peak.
"Those are Volgrim?" Henry asks. "Huh. The only one I've ever seen was that one female, the one who didn't have a mouth. She was presiding over my, uh, my tribunal..."
"Your tribunal?" Ashley asks.
She pauses, then turns to look at him strangely.
"Cliff... Henry Cliff? What the- you're that traitor! What- how even...?? You're a Lieutenant now? I didn't even recognize your name- no, forget that. Why are you in uniform? Weren't you banned basically forever from rejoining the military?"
"I was banned from rejoining the main military." Henry says, lowering his head in shame. "But, uhm, Hope's Parahumans are... different. It's a different jurisdiction."
Ashley takes a step to the side, pulling away from him. He can't see her expression, but based on her voice, she suddenly seems disgusted by him.
"All this time, I was talking to him." She mutters to herself, as she turns and walks away without another word.
Henry stands there, silently. He watches her depart, a feeling of bitterness welling up in his heart. He could pull rank on her, write her up for insubordination. Given his new status as a high-ranker, it would be easy to do.
But he doesn't.
In truth, he doesn't blame Ashley for her feelings. Because of his actions, Neil Adams was captured and humanity likely lost far more people during Stormbringer as a result. He indirectly caused the deaths of hundreds, perhaps even thousands.
How can he demand respect from her when he feels he doesn't deserve it?
As that thought wells up in Henry's mind, the thoughts of the Legion feed back into him, suppressing his negative emotions. All of them comment on his feelings and insecurities, offering kind words to help him feel better.
[You cannot and should not demand respect, no, but you can earn it back through your actions.] A 52-year-old Legionnaire says. [People like her will come around in due time. Perform admirably and make the Legion proud.]
[That woman is a mere Private.] Jepthath chimes in. [Do not allow your emotions to be tangled up by the feelings of a random soldier. You will need to bolster your Willpower if you seek to reach the peak of what you can achieve.]
[Right. My willpower.] Henry says, as his mood drastically swings back up. He hardens his heart, casting aside Ashley's comment and instead meditating for a moment to clear his mind. [Thank you, everyone, for the support.]
With his thoughts clear, Henry strides toward the front, keeping his gaze fixed on the Volgrim Technopaths. Having never seen these creatures before, he finds their horrid-looking tentacle mouths fascinating and yet creepy to look at. While all of them appear to be gender-ambiguous, certainly at first glance, as he comes closer, he does manage to make out one or two female-sounding voices among them. Or perhaps they might be higher-pitched males. He isn't entirely sure, and it seems a taboo subject to breach.
"-the Task Force will be working alongside these Technopath Envoys." Demon Emperor Yardrat says, his tone even and unbothered by the Technopaths to his left. "Naturally, full command of this operation will still go to the Archdemon, as the ranking Cosmic. However, because he will be busy dealing with the highest level threats, control of the ground forces will go to one member of each species, chosen via several votes of consensus. Today's operation is a test, and its purpose is to ensure we all work together properly. NO friendly fire. Our enemy is the Plague and nobody else. Save your personal grievances, vendettas, and petty squabbles for after we take our galaxy back from the Kolvaxians."
He gestures to the ten Technopaths. "The Volgrim have dispatched an army of 100,000 Technopath soldiers, and they will be commanded by this High Technopath named Loputo Jidelor, a high ranking commander of Clan Symmetra's ground forces."
Each of the Technopaths possesses their own combination of flesh and blood bodily parts mixed with metal limb replacements, armor-addons, and other such things. In Jidelor's case, he stands on two flesh and blood legs. However, in place of his right arm is a long, metallic limb with dozens of razor-thin threads waving to and fro where his 'wrist' ends. Each one moves independently, much like the tentacles on his left arm, but their movements appear far more precise. Dozens of metallic pieces are attached seemingly at random to his skin and skull.
Jidelor nods. "I am an experienced battlefield commander, but I am not a frontline soldier. I will be controlling our siege weaponry and directing our soldiers from the back."
Yardrat nods, then continues. "For the Demons, it goes without saying that just like with the last ten operations, Emperor Serena will be commanding our forces. Her ability to link souls together has proven instrumental in rapid battlefield communications, and her ability to sense souls allows her to keep up with the emergence of new Plagueborn until the point Diablo steals the world core back."
A beautiful demoness with sightless eyes nearby waves her hand delicately. "I will be in your care, everyone. Let us make it to the end without losing any demons this time."
"For the monsters, Fairy Princess Melia will take point." Yardrat says, nodding to another beautiful woman with green hair, fairy wings, and a look of boredom permanently etched onto her face.
Unlike the previous two commanders, Melia doesn't give a speech. In fact, she only rolls her eyes, crosses her arms, and looks away.
"Alright, and for the humans, General Chadwick will be taking charge." Yardrat concludes. He gestures to a massive Norwegian man who has now donned a Rhino T-REX variant and rests his hands around the shaft of a massive battleaxe. Its head rests on the ground, and he supports his massive armored frame by resting on the weapon's handle.
"Everyone." Chadwich says. "It is my honor to lead this mission. Naturally, Commander Neil is not happy about having to work with the demons, and I cannot imagine all of our soldiers are either. However, I pledge on Hope Hiro's honor that we will not commit any cowardly deeds of treachery, any backstabbing, or anything else of that sort! It was Hope Hiro who pushed for this arrangement because he wants humanity's soldiers to get real battle experience against the Plague. Let's be sure to make good use of this time to bury as many hatchets as we can!"
The crowd nods along to Chadwick's words. Some of the humans vocalize their approval, but many more remain silent.
The humans here are not normal civilians. They are military personnel, countless many of whom have not forgiven the demons. They may never forgive them, if their leaders are being honest.
Perhaps sensing the tenseness in the air, Yardrat briskly moves the pace along.
"In thirty minutes, we will begin. Transfer your forces to my world so that I can begin preparation to open the Intragalactic Portals. The Swarm has begun adapting to my tactics of late, so the moment those portals open, we'll need boots on the ground. No delays! If the Plague has its way, it might flood through the portals back to us, and that would be a whole bloody devil-damned mess."
The other leaders nod solemnly. They spread apart to talk to their forces, and Henry heaves a sigh.
In thirty minutes, we'll find out just how stable this alliance truly is.

A few days after Neil and Hope's meeting.
Henry Cliff walks alone down the hallways of the Labyrinth. He wears a purple-colored T-REX, a status symbol put in place by the higher-ups as a sign of his newfound prestige and military ranking. Its color, as well as the other new colors among the army allow for a quick idea of the ranking of any human soldier at a glance, especially among those who don't know the humans well, such as their allies for today.
Henry's feet quietly plod against the Labyrinth's compacted dirt floor. His breathing remains even despite having walked for over thirty minutes. Thanks to his newly enhanced body, he could run for a thousand kilometers without breaking a sweat. Even he isn't entirely certain just how strong he is. Perhaps, if he were to come to blows with a Demon Emperor, he might roll them out like a sleeping bag.
As he walks, Henry's newfound clarity of purpose mixes with the voices and thoughts of ten thousand other members of Jepthath's Legion. No, more accurately, they are Henry's Legion, now. While their power might be derived from Jepthath, it was the Hero-King's decision to give Henry command of them and become his Voice.
Each person who joined on that day possessed their own thoughts, feelings, and talents. Their combined cumulative experience, which could now be tapped into at will, easily amounted to more than 350,000 years. If the age of every person who merged had been 10, that would have given them 100,000 years, but the fact the average turned out to be 35 elevated their cumulative total dramatically.
And that was to say nothing of the people who had once been a part of Jepthath's Legion in the past. When Henry first became inducted into the Legion, he was shocked by just how much wisdom Jepthath possessed. While he did not have the truly unfathomable and vast breadth of knowledge Solomon possessed, Jepthath was amazing in his own way. What he lacked in raw information, he made up in with mastery of combat.
If Solomon possessed the combined cumulative knowledge of humanity, Jepthath possessed its raw hand-to-hand fighting prowess. And that served to bolster Henry's state of mind significantly.
Just by integrating into the Legion, Henry's ability to peer into the essence of combat increased ten thousand-fold. Over the last few days, he had happened to pass by several different training grounds for humanity's soldiers on Maiura, most of them having been erected at some point by Neil Adams in the past six years. Henry was not impressed by what he saw. If anything, he was disgusted.
[Their movements are so crude. So lacking in refinement.] He would often think, while conversing with the ancient Hero-King. [I want to train them. I can't stand to imagine them using their sloppy combat skills against old demon monsters.]
[A waste of time.] Jepthath would chide gently, whenever he and Henry had this conversation. [The knowledge you have obtained effortlessly cannot be communicated through words or demonstrations. The only way one can become as proficient as the members of Our Legion is by directly transferring Our combined knowledge through Our souls and minds.]
[Then we have to convince more to join Us!] Henry would exclaim. [These fools are wasting their time flailing about, trying to reinvent the wheel. If they joined Us, they would gain all of Our power in the art of war and become capable of adding to Our collective consciousness!]
Jepthath shakes his head. [I made a deal with the Wordsmith. We will not forcibly recruit anyone. If you wish to convince more to join Us, you must demonstrate Our power. Not only do you possess knowledge of countless schools of fighting, but you also possess intimate knowledge of battlefield tactics and guerrilla warfare. By demonstrating that Knowledge is Power, you can enlighten the foolish masses as to what they are missing out on.]
Henry nodded sincerely at that time. He looked up at the night sky and clenched his fist with determination.
Humanity was wasting its capabilities! If other humans only knew how small and frail they were, they would jump at the chance to join the Legion!
Less than a week before, Henry had been a disgraced soldier, a mere civilian, a person who might never even get the opportunity to shine the boots of those he had once trained with.
But now he was an officer, an elite warrior many would come to fear and respect.
This realization made his heart leap and his throat dry. In many ways, he sometimes felt he didn't deserve this position. He certainly hadn't earned it.
Not yet. Someday he would. Someday soon.
His thoughts come back to the present. He continues walking, ultimately falling into step beside an ordinary human commando also donning a T-REX. A small artistic flourish on the side of her armor, a pink rose, hints to him the other soldier might be a woman.
The grey-armored soldier turns her head to look at him as she walks. "Oh! You startled me. And you are?"
Unable to see her face, Henry looks at her helmet instead, and her name and other information pop up in his HUD, allowing him to see her identity.
"I'm Lieutenant Henry Cliff." He says. "You're Private Ashley McCarthy? Aren't you the lady who can transform into an orc?"
Immediately, her previously formal tone turns cold. Ashley snaps her head forward, no longer looking at him.
"Every time. Every time! Is that all I am anymore? Just the ugly bitch who turns into an orc?!"
"Whoa, whoa!" Henry exclaims, taken aback by her response. "I'm sorry, uh, Miss McCarthy. I didn't mean to apologize- I mean, I didn't apologize- mean to offend you! I- I uh, sorry!"
He stumbles over his words, feeling suddenly ashamed that he spoke so bluntly without considering the other person's feelings. Then again, how could he have known it was such a sore subject for her? That thought also makes him feel unfairly slighted, as he committed a blunder without meaning to.
"No, no I'm sorry." Ashley quickly says, suddenly realizing how rudely she just spoke to a superior officer. "It's not your fault, Lieutenant. I, I just... it's a long story. I never asked for this ability. I hate it."
"You hate it?" Henry asks, as they round a corner, passing a dozen goblins who carefully press against the side-wall to avoid the giant humans. "Pardon my bluntness, but why? In this time of war, possessing an orc form must make you pretty strong. Valuable. You could be on the fast-track to a higher rank if you have any ambition."
"Higher rank." Ashley mutters under her breath. "As if that's something I'd want. I'm not some big brained Terran from Old Earth. I'm just a normal girl from one of the Wild Worlds. I only want to be pointed at an enemy so I can hurt them."
That sounds an awful lot like something an orc would say, Henry thinks, but wisely keeps to himself.
"Does turning into an orc make you stronger?" Henry asks, choosing to turn the discussion down a more positive path.
"Oh, sure. A bit stronger." Ashley concedes. "You know how the Body Booster improves a human's baseline physique, putting some of us on par with certain low-ranking Demon Lords? Well, my Orc transformation stacks on that, sort of. I can pick up and throw boulders pretty far."
She pauses, before adding, "I mean, it is really fun being that strong."
Henry reaches up to rub his chin, only for his hand to clank against his T-REX's helmet. He gives up on the idea and lowers his arm again.
"I recently got a, uh, a pretty substantial boost to my strength. You remember how Commander Hope offered for people to merge with the Hero Jepthath? I did that, and it made me a lot stronger."
He turns to look at the woman beside him, but she simply gazes forward, her helmet offering no insight into her current expression.
Her words, however, definitely give away what she's thinking.
"Oh. You're one of the cultists."
Her disappointed tone makes Henry's heart skip a beat.
"No, no, no!" Henry exclaims. "Not a cultist. Who told you that?? Jepthath's Legion have simply unified Our minds and bolstered Our bodies, making Us a lot stronger."
She remains quiet for a few moments.
"Yeah... that's... what a cultist would say."
"We're not a cult..." Henry protests feebly, but his words fall on deaf ears.
This isn't the first time someone has directed a look of disgust his way, or visibly cringed when he proudly declared himself one of Jepthath's Chosen.
Jason's words during the Great Debate made a lot of people immediately strike becoming a Parahuman off their list. They'd rather be ordinary soldiers in body armor rather than part of a weird, unified hive-mind.
Dismayed, the young man falls silent. He doesn't say anything for a full minute, and perhaps feeling bad about dismissing him so easily, Ashley decides to reignite the conversation as they draw closer to their destination.
"So what's it like. Being inside a, uh... hive mind? Is it weird?"
"We're not a hive-mind." Henry says, his mood deflating even further. "We're... we're like brothers and sisters. We understand one another. We share thoughts, insights, wisdom."
This time, Ashley tries to exercise a little tact. "It just doesn't sound right for me. I guess everyone has their own preferences. Me, I think I'd die of shame if everyone around me could hear my every thought. The embarrassment alone..."
She trails off and shakes her head.
But this time, Henry doesn't just back down.
"It's not what you think at all." Henry says. "Do you know why you feel fear at the thought of sharing your thoughts? It's because you're self-absorbed."
"What?!" Ashley exclaims, pausing her walk to look at him. No doubt, her helmet hides an expression of disbelief. "What do you mean by that... sir?"
Henry also pauses. He turns to face her, resting his hands on his hips. "You have friends, right? Maybe even a best friend?"
"O-of course!" Ashley says, her tone defensive. "What, you think I'm friendless just because I'm not a part of some bee-hive?"
"That's not what I'm getting at." Henry says patiently, holding out his hand and modulating his tone so he'll come off less aggressive. "Think about your friend, or your best friend. Really think about it. What's the most embarrassing thing you remember about him or her? What's the worst social gaffe they've made that you can't get out of your head?"
Ashley pauses. She lowers her head and falls into thought for a moment.
"I don't know. I can't think of anything. Why?"
"What about other people?" Henry asks. "Has anyone else you know made any serious social fuck-ups recently?"
"Social ones? No. There have been a few generally bad events recently, like finding out Baron Mara killed a bunch of people. But she's not my friend anyway, so..."
"THAT is my point." Henry states emphatically. "You don't think about the weird and embarrassing things your friends do. So why do you believe they're so fixated on yours?"
Ashley lifts her head to look at him. She remains silent, digesting his words, so he continues to press the issue.
"Do you know why you find things about yourself embarrassing? It's not your fault. Most people are extremely self-conscious about their own insecurities. Now that I've become a part of the Legion, I experience everyone else's insecurities all at the same time as I experience mine. In doing so, I realize that mine never amounted to anything at all. When you have ten thousand other people worrying about what they're wearing, or if they look fashionable, or some other tedious bullshit, you quickly realize that all of them amount to white noise. They don't matter."
He throws his hand up dramatically.
"I'm not picking on you. It's just a fact of human consciousness. All people are held back by their fear of social pressure, but much of that is because we don't know what goes on in the heads of our fellow men and women. If you could see their deranged sexual fantasies all at once, you would realize you're not weird at all. Everyone has a kink. If you enjoy looking at gross bugs, guess what? Someone else is unbothered by bodily fluids. We're all weird, and joining the Legion just made that clearer to me."
He pauses, unable to see the look on her face. "Sorry, I hope I'm not coming off as condescending. Does any of this make sense to you?"
Ashley slowly nods. "Mmm. Yeah, it does."
Henry heaves a sigh of relief. "Well, great! Great. I was worried I was starting to sound a little long-winded."
Ashley turns away and resumes walking. "You're definitely in a cult."
"Goddammit." Henry grumbles.
...
Before long, the two of them make it to the meeting location, where they arrive inside a massive, hollowed-out area inside the Labyrinth. There, they find, of all things, a new Volgrim Warpgate installed, its destination some unknown desert on a planet Henry can't immediately identify.
As they enter the massive arena-like staging area, Hope becomes momentarily disoriented. His newly enhanced senses pick up surges of spiritual energy, all spread out across the humans, demons, monsters, and other creatures inside. The powerful Demon Emperors, only a few of whom have yet to Ascend to Demon Deity, stand near the portal, using their strength as a show of force. Despite their proud expressions, Henry's keen senses detect a hint of fear in their eyes, as they seem to be unable to properly stand as strong as they always have. It's as if they are being suppressed by something...
"Whoa!" Ashley gasps. "I can't believe it. Why are the Volgrim here?"
"The Volgrim?" Henry asks, following her gaze based on the direction her helmet is pointed.
Somewhere in the mass of the crowd, a handful of decidedly alien-looking creatures with tentacles writing under their mouths and heavily-armored bodies stand at attention, looking like proud leaders and commanders. Their postures indicate a level of arrogance bred into their bones by millions of years of dominance over the Milky Way. Compared to the slightly fearful Demon Emperors, these Technopaths truly stand out as cream of the crop, with unknown augmentations that likely elevate their combat prowess to the peak.
"Those are Volgrim?" Henry asks. "Huh. The only one I've ever seen was that one female, the one who didn't have a mouth. She was presiding over my, uh, my tribunal..."
"Your tribunal?" Ashley asks.
She pauses, then turns to look at him strangely.
"Cliff... Henry Cliff? What the- you're that traitor! What- how even...?? You're a Lieutenant now? I didn't even recognize your name- no, forget that. Why are you in uniform? Weren't you banned basically forever from rejoining the military?"
"I was banned from rejoining the main military." Henry says, lowering his head in shame. "But, uhm, Hope's Parahumans are... different. It's a different jurisdiction."
Ashley takes a step to the side, pulling away from him. He can't see her expression, but based on her voice, she suddenly seems disgusted by him.
"All this time, I was talking to him." She mutters to herself, as she turns and walks away without another word.
Henry stands there, silently. He watches her depart, a feeling of bitterness welling up in his heart. He could pull rank on her, write her up for insubordination. Given his new status as a high-ranker, it would be easy to do.
But he doesn't.
In truth, he doesn't blame Ashley for her feelings. Because of his actions, Neil Adams was captured and humanity likely lost far more people during Stormbringer as a result. He indirectly caused the deaths of hundreds, perhaps even thousands.
How can he demand respect from her when he feels he doesn't deserve it?
As that thought wells up in Henry's mind, the thoughts of the Legion feed back into him, suppressing his negative emotions. All of them comment on his feelings and insecurities, offering kind words to help him feel better.
[You cannot and should not demand respect, no, but you can earn it back through your actions.] A 52-year-old Legionnaire says. [People like her will come around in due time. Perform admirably and make the Legion proud.]
[That woman is a mere Private.] Jepthath chimes in. [Do not allow your emotions to be tangled up by the feelings of a random soldier. You will need to bolster your Willpower if you seek to reach the peak of what you can achieve.]
[Right. My willpower.] Henry says, as his mood drastically swings back up. He hardens his heart, casting aside Ashley's comment and instead meditating for a moment to clear his mind. [Thank you, everyone, for the support.]
With his thoughts clear, Henry strides toward the front, keeping his gaze fixed on the Volgrim Technopaths. Having never seen these creatures before, he finds their horrid-looking tentacle mouths fascinating and yet creepy to look at. While all of them appear to be gender-ambiguous, certainly at first glance, as he comes closer, he does manage to make out one or two female-sounding voices among them. Or perhaps they might be higher-pitched males. He isn't entirely sure, and it seems a taboo subject to breach.
"-the Task Force will be working alongside these Technopath Envoys." Demon Emperor Yardrat says, his tone even and unbothered by the Technopaths to his left. "Naturally, full command of this operation will still go to the Archdemon, as the ranking Cosmic. However, because he will be busy dealing with the highest level threats, control of the ground forces will go to one member of each species, chosen via several votes of consensus. Today's operation is a test, and its purpose is to ensure we all work together properly. NO friendly fire. Our enemy is the Plague and nobody else. Save your personal grievances, vendettas, and petty squabbles for after we take our galaxy back from the Kolvaxians."
He gestures to the ten Technopaths. "The Volgrim have dispatched an army of 100,000 Technopath soldiers, and they will be commanded by this High Technopath named Loputo Jidelor, a high ranking commander of Clan Symmetra's ground forces."
Each of the Technopaths possesses their own combination of flesh and blood bodily parts mixed with metal limb replacements, armor-addons, and other such things. In Jidelor's case, he stands on two flesh and blood legs. However, in place of his right arm is a long, metallic limb with dozens of razor-thin threads waving to and fro where his 'wrist' ends. Each one moves independently, much like the tentacles on his left arm, but their movements appear far more precise. Dozens of metallic pieces are attached seemingly at random to his skin and skull.
Jidelor nods. "I am an experienced battlefield commander, but I am not a frontline soldier. I will be controlling our siege weaponry and directing our soldiers from the back."
Yardrat nods, then continues. "For the Demons, it goes without saying that just like with the last ten operations, Emperor Serena will be commanding our forces. Her ability to link souls together has proven instrumental in rapid battlefield communications, and her ability to sense souls allows her to keep up with the emergence of new Plagueborn until the point Diablo steals the world core back."
A beautiful demoness with sightless eyes nearby waves her hand delicately. "I will be in your care, everyone. Let us make it to the end without losing any demons this time."
"For the monsters, Fairy Princess Melia will take point." Yardrat says, nodding to another beautiful woman with green hair, fairy wings, and a look of boredom permanently etched onto her face.
Unlike the previous two commanders, Melia doesn't give a speech. In fact, she only rolls her eyes, crosses her arms, and looks away.
"Alright, and for the humans, General Chadwick will be taking charge." Yardrat concludes. He gestures to a massive Norwegian man who has now donned a Rhino T-REX variant and rests his hands around the shaft of a massive battleaxe. Its head rests on the ground, and he supports his massive armored frame by resting on the weapon's handle.
"Everyone." Chadwich says. "It is my honor to lead this mission. Naturally, Commander Neil is not happy about having to work with the demons, and I cannot imagine all of our soldiers are either. However, I pledge on Hope Hiro's honor that we will not commit any cowardly deeds of treachery, any backstabbing, or anything else of that sort! It was Hope Hiro who pushed for this arrangement because he wants humanity's soldiers to get real battle experience against the Plague. Let's be sure to make good use of this time to bury as many hatchets as we can!"
The crowd nods along to Chadwick's words. Some of the humans vocalize their approval, but many more remain silent.
The humans here are not normal civilians. They are military personnel, countless many of whom have not forgiven the demons. They may never forgive them, if their leaders are being honest.
Perhaps sensing the tenseness in the air, Yardrat briskly moves the pace along.
"In thirty minutes, we will begin. Transfer your forces to my world so that I can begin preparation to open the Intragalactic Portals. The Swarm has begun adapting to my tactics of late, so the moment those portals open, we'll need boots on the ground. No delays! If the Plague has its way, it might flood through the portals back to us, and that would be a whole bloody devil-damned mess."
The other leaders nod solemnly. They spread apart to talk to their forces, and Henry heaves a sigh.
In thirty minutes, we'll find out just how stable this alliance truly is.

Does anyone know how to keep the cards you acquired during guest account when you sign in? My son has accumulated a lot of cards in his guest account and wants to have a normal account to trade and do events. Is there a way to keep all the cards without having to start fresh?

Well, I've heard if Cisco Easter Eggs, but this is a weird one.
I work at a local ISP for my region, and we have one of our employees working on getting the hardware ready for infrastructure upgrades. One of the devices he's working on is a Catalyst 3750.
Well, he sent us a copy of the startup config file and most of it is this strange conspiracy story.
Has anyone seen anything like this before?

POST: CPU MIC register Tests : Begin
POST: CPU MIC register Tests : End, Status Passed
POST: PortASIC Memory Tests : Begin
POST: PortASIC Memory Tests : End, Status Passed
POST: CPU MIC interface Loopback Tests : Begin
POST: CPU MIC interface Loopback Tests : End, Status Passed
POST: PortASIC RingLoopback Tests : Begin
POST: PortASIC RingLoopback Tests : End, Status Passed
Waiting for Stack Master Election...
POST: PortASIC CAM Subsystem Tests : Begin
POST: PortASIC CAM Subsystem Tests : End, Status Passed
POST: No Cable found on stack port 1
POST: No Cable found on stack port 2
POST: PortASIC Stack Port Loopback Tests : Begin
POST: PortASIC Stack Port Loopback Tests : End, Status Passed
POST: PortASIC Port Loopback Tests : Begin
POST: PortASIC Port Loopback Tests : End, Status Passed
Election Complete
Switch 1 booting as Master
Waiting for Port download...Complete
This product contains cryptographic features and is subject to United
States and local country laws governing import, export, transfer and
use. Delivery of Cisco cryptographic products does not imply
third-party authority to import, export, distribute or use encryption.
Importers, exporters, distributors and users are responsible for
compliance with U.S. and local country laws. By using this product you
agree to comply with applicable laws and regulations. If you are unable
to comply with U.S. and local laws, return this product immediately.
A summary of U.S. laws governing Cisco cryptographic products may be found at:
http://www.cisco.com/wwl/export/crypto/tool/stqrg.html
If you require further assistance please contact us by sending email to
export@cisco.com.
cisco WS-C3750G-12S (PowerPC405) processor (revision R0) with 131072K bytes of memory.
Processor board ID CAT1125ZKHZ
Last reset from power-on
1 Virtual Ethernet interface
12 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces
The password-recovery mechanism is enabled.
512K bytes of flash-simulated non-volatile configuration memory.
Base ethernet MAC Address : 00:1C:B0:2F:D1:00
Motherboard assembly number : 73-9678-07
Power supply part number : 341-0048-03
Motherboard serial number : CAT11255C25
Power supply serial number : LIT11140GE6
Model revision number : R0
Motherboard revision number : B0
Model number : WS-C3750G-12S-E
System serial number : CAT1125ZKHZ
Top Assembly Part Number : 800-26634-04
Top Assembly Revision Number : A0
Version ID : V06
CLEI Code Number : CNM81W0GRB
Hardware Board Revision Number : 0x06
Switch Ports Model SW Version SW Image
* 1 12 WS-C3750G-12S 12.2(55)SE10 C3750-IPSERVICESK9-M
This message serves as a warning to the US government that they cannot get away ^with having their own citizens
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
stalked, kidnapped, tortured, brain damaged and murdered by foreign intelligence ^ agencies .
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
Request an investigation by the German government and the Council of Europe!
^
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
Location of Turkish President Erdogan's illegal black site for terror suspects i ^n G ermany: 48.345941, 12.137753
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Is the CIA stalking and murdering ISIS terror suspects?
^
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Microwave weapons, group stalking and harassment ("gangstalking"), neurotoxins, ^hitmen, an illegal Turkish black site, Delta Force, and an airport kidnapping: A
true story
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QUOTES
^
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"If you were in the US, the CIA would just shoot you, we are nice so we will ^ commit you to a hospital instead" - Turkish police officer
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"When you get deported to the US, don't piss off the CIA officers like you d ^id with Erdogan (the Turkish president)" - Man at KBO Taufkirchen Station A2
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"The doctors here are trying to protect us from the psychos up at the top" - ^ Woman a t KBO Taufkirchen Station A2
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"You're lucky that the Turks got you first. With the Germans it would have b ^een wors e. The Turks usually don't kill" - Woman at KBO Taufkirchen Station A2
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NOTES
^
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Anyone with access to Europol or INTERPOL should be able to confirm that the ^ FBI se nt out a request/warning in 2017. You might not be able to view the detai
ls of this request unless you have the right handling code/password
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
Nothing shows up for my name when it's searched in Law Enforcement Enterpris ^e Port al (LEEP). This is deliberate as the FBI is hiding my records to cover up
the terrorism investigation and everything else.
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The Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt) and Bavarian State Po ^lice bo th refuse to start an investigation due to political reasons, despite the
fact that many other people, mostly Turkish citizens, were kidnapped within Ger
many by fake po
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ice and brain damaged at the black site.
^
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I (John Erin Binns / CIA code name RAVEN) have been an ISIS terror suspect since ^ 2017.
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It began when an FBI Confidential Human Source whom I met online (Azaiah Crosswh ^ite / moda) gave my Skype account to his handler. The FBI then sent an administr
ative subpoena to Microsoft and obtained my email address, which I had previousl
y reused on my
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
S passport application in 2016. An alert was also sent through the Europol Infor ^mation System to 16 countries in Europe stating that I was a terror suspect.
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
On October 11, 2017, Arthur Gong from the US Department of Homeland Security int^errogated me about allegedly travelling to Latakia, Syria while I was waiting to
board a flight from London Heathrow Airport to Chicago Airport. When my plane l
anded in Chicag
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, I was flagged for secondary screening (See Exhibit A) and asked more questions^. My citizen ship was questioned, and the CBP officer got angry after I told him
that not answering his questions doesn't make me inadmissible to the US.
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In early 2018, I left the United States and moved to Turkey. Soon after, strange ^ things s tarted happening to me. Kenneth Currin Schuchman (Nexus Zeta), a dual F
BI/CIA informant who was given a pound of heroin by federal agents to inform on
me, attempted t
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
entrap me on child pornography and terrorism charges while I was drunk.
^
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Schuchman tried persuading me into buying Stinger missiles and guns from a Tor w ^ebsite wh ich would be shipped in "xray proof boxes" (those don't even exist) to
my location. When that failed, he tried getting me to open a website which likel
y had exploit c
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de on it (he specifically told me to open it in Chrome) and then told me that he ^ knew of some good "Tor porn sites". When I asked him what type of porn was on t
hese websites, Schuchman replied that they contained child porn.
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Then, Schuchman told me in a call that Dingle/Drake/Logan Shwydiuk was going to ^come to my house and kill me, and asked me what I'd do if he came to my house. I
was drunk at the time, and I told Schuchman that I'd kill Shwydiuk. I suspect t
hat Schuchman w
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s recording this call for the FBI so that they could use it as evidence against ^me in a fabricated terrorism investigation.
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Around this time, I noticed that two Western males wearing white shirts and sung ^lasses wou ld frequently visit an apartment building behind the one I live in.
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
Several days after I reported Schuchman to the DEA for selling heroin and right ^after he t ried entrapping me on computer fraud charges, he was indicted in the D
istrict of Alaska.
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That's when the harassment started...
^
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My phone was hacked by Turkish intelligence/MIT using some type of 0-click SMS R ^CE and GPS tracking spyware was planted on it. My phone's GPS feature would turn
on without my consent, and several minutes later, a flash mob of "street thugs"
would be block
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
ng the sidewalk and shouting death threats at me. Sometimes, they'd just walk up ^ to me hold ing their cell phone in one hand and screaming death threats at the s
ame time. (Street theateGangstalking)
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I received more death threats than I can count, probably close to 100 from diffe ^rent sta lkers over the course of a few months.
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
Now about the Western males: I saw them wearing night vision goggles on several ^occasions, they'd constantly harass me and illegally surveil me on Turkish terri
tory up until I called the police.
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Harassment from CIA contractors:
^
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I woke up and a male was pointing a microwave oven with the door removed at ^my sl eeping body from my neighbor's balcony. I was actually half-awake with my e
yes open and I could see the guy bringing the oven out onto the balcony and plug
ging it into an
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extension cable. Another time, somebody pointed a microwave oven magnetron with ^a metal ho rn at my body to shock me (I saw this as well). The neighbor was on va
cation and the men were not authorized to be in that unit, so they likely broke
in using lockpi
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king equipment.
^
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A red laser pointer was shined into my room using a gun scope from my neighb ^or's first floor unit. I went out onto my balcony and saw a guy doing this. When
the guy saw me, he quickly closed the blinds and started laughing. The unit was
being renovate
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at the time and the men were not authorized to be there.
^
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A microwave weapon was pointed at my head which caused me to black out momen ^taril y and see white flashes of light. The same device would cause me to feel ex
tremely paranoid and make my heart rate speed up. I remember that it had buttons
and a cord. It
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was about the size of a small desktop computer.
^
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Somebody was pointing a laser microphone at my bedroom window from the same ^first f loor unit. I was in a telephone call with someone else, and Azaiah Crossw
hite started repeating parts of this conversation back to me over Snapchat as an
intimidation/g
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slighting tactic. Crosswhite also got private pictures from my bedroom and poste ^d them on h is Snapchat story.
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Window/door slamming: This would happen constantly whenever I was in my bedr ^oom or o ut on my balcony. Sometimes one of the guys would slam a window/door and
microwave me right after it happened.
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Sabotage: The phone lines in my apartment building and the entrance door cab ^le wer e both cut.
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Use of pulsed energy projectile weapons: I saw one of the guys holding a gun ^-shap ed device, when he fired it, a ball of energy came out of the weapon and ma
de the windows in my bedroom shake.
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Information: The microwave weapons that are used by intelligence agencies to ^day co nsist of: a millimeter wave amplifier, a transmitter with extremely low fr
equency amplitude modulation, batteries, and a horn antenna/waveguide. Using dif
ferent modulati
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n frequencies, effects such as tachycardia, panic attacks, epileptic seizures, p ^aranoia, REM sleep can be induced. They are the perfect tool for covert harassme
nt as they leave no trace. See Exhibit B for a picture of a microwave weapon.
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
Azaiah Crosswhite would make comments over Discord such as "[the CIA] are going ^to send me a copy of your destruction video", "your name is Cock Sucker", and "y
our code name is RAVEN". He'd also encourage me to murder the people who were ha
rassing me, go
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
n a mass shooting spree, or commit suicide.
^
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These are all goals of the government stalking program which I was a victim of, ^according t o an article by Julianne McKinney, who is a former US army intelligen
ce officer and member of the Association of National Security Alumni. See: https
://www.bibliote
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
apleyades.net/sociopolitica/esp_sociopol_mindcon28.htm .
^
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I called the police a few days before July 1, 2019. When the officers came, one ^of them s aid that I "talk too much" and that I should "keep [my] mouth shut".
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
Then, intense microwave harassment started. I would hear footsteps in the unit a ^bove mine a nd my sleep would be disrupted due to the weapon that Turkish intelli
gence was using on me.
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
On July 1, 2019, a man I didn't know started asking me questions such as "If som^ebody was ca ught selling illegal alcohol, what political party would that person
be from?". He also made comments implying that I had been under surveillance by
Turkish intell
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gence for a while, and warned me that the Turkish government had prepared a trap^ for me.
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Several minutes later, an elderly man from my neighborhood named Ozkan came and ^asked me i f I was the "exit/cikis". (exit/cikis is a term for the illegal killin
g of a terrorist by Turkish intelligence). He took me to his apartment and told
me to visit Kon
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k Ferry Station. I went to Bostanli Ferry Station and boarded a ferry to Konak. ^After the ferry started going to Konak, I overheard 3 men in a row near me talki
ng about how they were hired to kill me and that they'd dump my body in the ocea
n because I was
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
allegedly an ISIS member.
^
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Once the ferry arrived at Konak, I immediately got a random person to dial 112 a^nd faked hav ing medical problems. An ambulance came to the ferry station, and I
was taken to Alsancak Nevvar Salih Isgoren Hospital. I told the emergency room d
octors that the
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
e was nothing wrong with me, they ran my ID card through the emergency room comp ^uter, and my name came up as a wanted terrorist.
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
I overheard the doctors talking about the fact that Azaiah Crosswhite's name cam ^e up on t he emergency room computers and that my name was changed to "Cock Sucke
r" in some type of database which they had access to.
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
Police lights shined into the emergency room and I heard sirens as around 5 poli ^ce cars came to the hospital along with Turkish intelligence. I was given 2 inje
ctions of haldol, and a guy next to my bed who worked for Turkish intelligence c
alled somebody
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
n his cell phone whom he referred to as "Erdogan". Maybe it was the Turkish pres ^ident? I don't know..
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
The doctors kept me in the hospital until the next morning and I was then releas ^ed.
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
Several days later, I was in Gultepe, Konak, at a relative's house, and people w ^ere firing gunshots into the air while somebody would use a microwave weapon to
make me feel like my head was going to explode. I saw people on a nearby rooftop
, they had guns
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
(which they were constantly firing) and camouflage clothing. Whenever I'd get mi^crowaved, my phone would lose cell service and the camera would blur.
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
While this was happening, I tried to contact somebody I barely knew who worked a^t the US Dep artment of Justice for help.
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
As soon as I had a mental breakdown due to the constant gunfire and microwaving, ^ the gunfir e and microwave attacks immediately stopped. Two street thugs then at
tacked me (I believe that Turkish intelligence paid them money to do this) and p
revented me fro
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
going home in a taxi.
^
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
I called the police and they came rather quickly. When one of the police officer ^s looked up the information on my ID card through a mobile app on his phone, he
saw something in the police database. I was told by a Turkish police officer: "I
f you were in t
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e US, the CIA would just shoot you, we are nice so we will take you to a hospita ^l instea d". Fortunately, there were no beds available at the local hospital so I
was allowed to go home in a taxi.
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
After I went home, the microwave harassment continued, and I went to Cesme a few ^ days later . The harassment continued there as well.
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
I decided that I had to leave the country as the Turkish secret services were ag ^gressive ly pursuing me. On July 6, 2019, I boarded flight PC1019 from Sabiha Gok
cen Airport to Munich Airport. About 30 minutes after my flight took off, I noti
ced that the ma
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
e and female in the row behind my seat were talking about me. The female was say ^ing that i t was sad that they had to kill me with a poison needle and that my re
al name wasn't given to them by MIT for security reasons. I immediately notified
a cabin crew m
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
mber of their plot, and I was taken to another seat.
^
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
The cabin crew member assured me that the German police had been notified, but o ^nce the pla ne landed, she grabbed me by my arm and told me to listen to my mothe
r while warning me not to contact the German police. I believe that she was affi
liated with MIT
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
I gave a member of the Bundespolizei (immigration police) a piece of paper expla ^ining tha t I was being harassed with a microwave gun by Turkish intelligence, bu
t I was not given the opportunity to tell the Bundespolizei my full story. A fak
e Bavarian Stat
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
Police officer then came and took me past immigration to the police station. I ^was pu t in a cell, and I noticed that all of the "officers" were speaking Turkis
h, ALL of them. I strongly suspect that an insider within the police force let T
urkish intellig
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
nce into the station. I don't know if that insider is the commissar or someone e ^lse.
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
One of them was calling me stupid in Turkish, and they were all discussing what ^they should do with me. "Ausganging"/killing me was discussed as an option, but
the fake police eventually decided to send me to a mental hospital. I was given
some forms to s
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
gn, and I had no idea where I was being taken at the time. I signed the paperwor^k as I didn' t want to get ausganged/killed. I then heard the fake police discuss
ing in Turkish that I was lucky to be going to a mental hospital, as they usuall
y kill ISIS sus
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
ects.
^
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
A few minutes after I boarded the ambulance, I realized that something was wrong ^. A male and female who were in the ambulance with me started talking about my a
lleged cybercrimes and about somebody named Rosenberg who "wanted blood". Once t
he ambulance ar
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
ived at KBO Taufkirchen Station A2 (48.345941, 12.137753), the same fake police ^officer who took me past immigration told the staff to fry my brain with gas and
that I'd then be transported to Anchorage International Airport.
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
Then, four Turkish men came and forcibly put me in the neurotoxic gas room (whic ^h doubles a s a suicide watch room). My shoes were taken off (so that I couldn't
break down the door and escape), and a worker activated a metal fan. A gas which
smelled like f
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
rmaldehyde then started to come out of the fan. I saw graffiti on the walls of t ^he gas roo m, all of the names that were carved into the walls were Turkish, and
I realized that I was at some type of illegal Turkish black site on German terri
tory. During th
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
s time, Turkish intelligence was livestreaming the gas room camera to a group of ^ CIA i nformants (Azaiah Crosswhite, Jared Fazah, Justin Anglin) as a "destructio
n video". Azaiah Crosswhite had previously stated "[the CIA] are going to send m
e a copy of you
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
destruction video".
^
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
Jared Fazah had taken a $500,000 Bitcoin bribe to sell me out a few days before ^I was kidnap ped, while Justin Anglin is a CIA agent who has previously been to I
ran and other middle eastern countries. They were all talking about the livestre
am in a Discord
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
server, sadly I don't have any screenshots as they were mysteriously deleted fro ^m my com puter (it may have been hacked).
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
One hour after I was put in the gas room, a staff member came and turned off the^ fan in my r oom. This is the only reason why I don't suffer from brain damage to
day. I was saved by that staff member.
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
About 3 hours after I was put in the gas room, I heard a helicopter hovering abo ^ve the fake mental hospital. This helicopter may have belonged to the US militar
y, but at the time I thought it belonged to the Bundeskriminalamt (Federal Crimi
nal Police Offi
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
e) and that they were coming to save me.
^
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
I banged on the door of the gas room and screamed for the police to come and sav ^e me, but nobody came.
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
In the early morning hours of July 7, 2019, a Turkish doctor came into the room ^with a f lashlight. She commented aloud in Turkish that "[I] was made to rot". Th
en, a female CIA agent came into the room with my mother while I was pretending
to be mentally
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
isabled. The doctors brought me chocolate milk and pizza, and the CIA agent star ^ted talkin g about how I'd be indicted by a grand jury in the District of Alaska
and forced into a plea deal for over 10 years in prison. That I'd be found menta
lly incompetent
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
and have no choice but to take the plea deal, sending me to prison for a long ti ^me.
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
The CIA agent declined to give my mother her real name and talked about previous ^ly living i n Australia. She had an Eastern European accent and told my mother to
throw away any receipts or evidence indicating that she was in the town of Tauf
kirchen, and to
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
keep her cell phone turned off.
^
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
The lady also told my mother that a US senator (I don't remember the senator's e ^xact name) wanted to meet with her. In 2018, Kenneth Currin Schuchman had told m
e that "a senator can order the killing of a US citizen in some cases" and told
one of my frien
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
s that a US senator wanted to kill me. Nobody believed him back then, including ^me. I sti ll don't know who this senator is or why he wants me killed. (Note: Ken
neth Currin Schuchman has been repeatedly thrown in mental hospitals, and his fa
ther Robert Sch
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
chman currently has guardianship over him).
^
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
The lady left and I slept for a few hours in the neurotoxic gas room/suicide wat ^ch room. Th en after I woke up, a staff member woke up and unlocked the door. I w
as allowed to leave, and that's when the torture started. An African lady was pl
aying back a re
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
ording of me in the gas room on one of the hospital computers and laughing at it^. The same l ady would also play screaming noises and the Turkish word for mental
ly retarded ("gerizekali") over a loudspeaker connected to the computer, and use
a microwave we
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
pon which looked like a stereo speaker to give me epileptic seizures. I do remem ^ber that t he weapon was brought to the hospital in a large briefcase by men work
ing for Turkish intelligence.
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
I met other people who were being held at the hospital. One lady told me "You're ^ lucky th at the Turks got you first. With the Germans it would have been worse.
The Turks usually don't kill". She also claimed to be a spy.
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
I borrowed a cell phone from one of the other patients and called the police. On ^ce I told them that I was being held at a fake mental hospital run by the Turkis
h secret services, I was told that I "belonged in [the hospital]" by a German po
lice officer an
% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.
they never responded to my emergency call.
^
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SETUP: new interface Vlan1 placed in "shutdown" state
Press RETURN to get started!
*Mar 1 00:01:17.242: %STACKMGR-4-SWITCH_ADDED: Switch 1 has been ADDED to the stack
*Mar 1 00:01:18.752: %LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface Vlan1, changed state to down
*Mar 1 00:01:20.102: %SPANTREE-5-EXTENDED_SYSID: Extended SysId enabled for type vlan
*Mar 1 00:01:54.705: %PARSER-4-BADCFG: Unexpected end of configuration file.
*Mar 1 00:01:54.705: %SYS-5-CONFIG_I: Configured from memory by console
*Mar 1 00:01:54.907: %STACKMGR-5-SWITCH_READY: Switch 1 is READY
*Mar 1 00:01
Switch>
Switch>:54.907: %STACKMGR-4-STACK_LINK_CHANGE: Stack Port 1 Switch 1 has changed to state DOW N
*Mar 1 00:01:54.907: %STACKMGR-4-STACK_LINK_CHANGE: Stack Port 2 Switch 1 has changed to sta te DOWN
*Mar 1 00:01:55.183: %STACKMGR-5-MASTER_READY: Master Switch 1 is READY
*Mar 1 00:01:55.477: %SYS-5-RESTART: System restarted --
Cisco IOS Software, C3750 Software (C3750-IPSERVICESK9-M), Version 12.2(55)SE10, RELEASE SOFT WARE (fc2)
Technical Support: http://www.cisco.com/techsupport
Copyright (c) 1986-2015 by Cisco Systems, Inc.
Compiled Wed 11-Feb-15 11:40 by prod_rel_team
*Mar 1 00:01:55.511: %SSH-5-ENABLED: SSH 1.99 has been enabled
*Mar 1 00:01:56.140: %PHY-4-SFP_NOT_SUPPORTED: The SFP in Gi1/0/8 is not supported
*Mar 1 00:01:56.140: %PM-4-ERR_DISABLE: gbic-invalid error detected on Gi1/0/8, putting Gi1/ 0/8 in err-disable state
*Mar 1 00:01:56.173: %GBIC_SECURITY_CRYPT-4-VN_DATA_CRC_ERROR: GBIC in port Gi1/0/12 has bad crc
*Mar 1 00:01:56.173: %PM-4-ERR_DISABLE: gbic-invalid error detected on Gi1/0/12, putting Gi1 /0/12 in err-disable state
*Mar 1 00:01:56.719: %LINK-5-CHANGED: Interface Vlan1, changed state to administratively dow n
Switch>en
Switch#conft
Translating "conft"...domain server (255.255.255.255)
% Unknown command or computer name, or unable to find computer address
Switch#show run
Building configuration...
Current configuration : 988 bytes
!
version 12.2
no service pad
service timestamps debug datetime msec
service timestamps log datetime msec
no service password-encryption
!
hostname Switch
!
boot-start-marker
boot-end-marker
!
!
!
!
no aaa new-model
switch 1 provision ws-c3750g-12s
system mtu routing 1500
vtp domain Null
vtp mode transparent
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
spanning-tree mode pvst
spanning-tree extend system-id
!
vlan internal allocation policy ascending
!
vlan 61
name fttx
!
!
!
!
interface GigabitEthernet1/0/1
!
interface GigabitEthernet1/0/2
!
interface GigabitEthernet1/0/3
!
interface GigabitEthernet1/0/4
!
interface GigabitEthernet1/0/5
!
interface GigabitEthernet1/0/6
!
interface GigabitEthernet1/0/7
!
interface GigabitEthernet1/0/8
!
interface GigabitEthernet1/0/9
!
interface GigabitEthernet1/0/10
!
interface GigabitEthernet1/0/11
!
interface GigabitEthernet1/0/12
!
interface Vlan1
no ip address
shutdown
!
ip classless
ip http server
ip http secure-server
!
!
!
!
!
line con 0
line vty 5 15
!
end

Let us imagine, my friends, that it is the 10th anniversary of Robert's reign. He and a lot of the nobles are out on a hunt when King's Landing explodes into a giant ball of green flames. Some homeless orphan, or maybe even one of Varys' little birds, goes exploring, stumbles onto one of Aerys' forgotten caches, it catches fire and triggers a chain reaction. Too bad so sad. Northmen, Dornishmen, and Iron Islanders did not have anyone of importance attending, but the rest of the Kindgoms lose many an important player in the game.
• Loras was at the hunt, but Olenna, Mace the Ace and Margaery, invited to the capital by Renly, who, being the groomer that he is decided to start the Lyanna lookalike thing young, were all toast. Willas and Garlan have weathered the storm, having stayed at home, and they were in general smart cookies, but not Queen of Thorns level smart, and nearly not as power-hungry. They just wanted to chill and grieve now.
• The Iron Islands have barely begun to recover from their last attempt at independence, but the Great Fire presented them with an opportunity like none other, and so they have made a half-arsed attempt at ploundering the Western coast of the Seven Kingdoms. In Winterfell, young Theon loses his head.
• Jon Arryn, Lysa, Sweetrobin, and Baelish were unsurprisingly in King's Landing at the time. They did not attend the hunt, and now they also were all toast. Harry was still a green boy at the time, the lords were not pleased with the prospect of a regency, many of them wanting absolute power for their own now that the main Arryn line was extinct, the Mountain Clans saw that as a good omen and went on a rampage. The Vale was in turmoil.
• Tywin and Kevan attended the feast but not the hunt, as they were visiting Cersei and her children at the time. They, too, were all toast. Jaime and Lancel could not get out of their respective Kingsguard and page duties due to Bobby B being petty for once, so they survived, but now a succession crisis in the Westerlands was also in place with the potential heirs being a grief-stricken and deeply unlikable Kingslayer with a vow of celibacy, a deeply unlikable whoremonger Imp, and a green boy.
• Edmure was also in King's Landing, visiting Lysa, and opted to visit a tavern with several other prominent Riverlands heir lads, so can you guess what they all became? You are goddamn right! Toast! So now Hoster, who was already at the first stages of his terminal illness and could not perform, only had the Blackfish, who wasstill refusing to marry, and the Stark kids for heirs. Several other houses were experiencing similar issues, but apparently while everybody else was grieving, Old Walder held a massive celebration at the Twins. Oh, and make no mistake, he will also be pushing for Genna and Emmon's kids to inherit Casterly Rock, and let us not forget about trying to put all of his daughters into newly widowed Robert's bed. How 'nice'.
• As previously mentioned, Cersei and all three of Robert's golden 'heirs' were home at the time. Tragically, so was the Mannis. Which means now Bobby's heirs were a gay pedo, a greyscale-ridden girl, and a score of bastards. Not that that was of any concern to Robert, he normally would not give a rat's arse about any of them dying. The matter in which they had died, though? Now, that is another thing entirely! Wildfire is a clear mark of the work of DRAGONSPAWN! Without Jon Arryn or dear old Ned to steady him, he declared war on the entire continent of Essos to deal with DRAGONSPAWN! for good. Screw securing his line, he can do it later. Everybody in Westeros thought this idea was bonkers and a clear sign of his own Targ ancestry coming out, and they surely had their own problems to deal with, but oh well, he was King. For now. And oh, where are the Targs by the way?
• While Dorne has rejoiced and begun discreetly gathering troops in Viserys' name, Vizzy the Mad himself and his sister were nowhere to be found. For all of his abundant mental issues, Viserys was slippery as an eel and has gotten very good at hiding in the slums of whatever Free City he was in at the time. Dozens of Robert and Illyrio's agents were out to get him, and he could not really distinguish him from Doran's agents, could he? In the end, though, Doran proved fleetingly victorious, until Vizzy got felled by a shadow demon at the docks, just as he was about to set sail for Westeros. Oh yeah. Melisandre had decided to shift her attentions to Bobby dearest, proclaiming him Azor Ahai reborn, and had managed to calm him down a little with her magical nether regions, promising and delivering on a bit more boring yet far more quicker way to get rid of the Targs. In the process, Daenerys had escaped, but had also gotten the short end of the stick by encountering the same type of wizard young Varys had, who promptly caught her and made her permanently barren, Aretuza-style. This is no maegi curse. Not even a dragon can grow a secong uterus. She may or may not get her dragons several years down the line, but her own line definitely ended with her.
• Speaking of Illyrio. With Varys having perished in the fire, he became the head of the whole fAegon operation, and started aggressively marketing the young 'King' to the Seven Kingdoms. The thing is, word of a dead Spider, one-sided letters in cypher, and word of JonCon who is easily led and could be convinced Aegon Jinglebell Frey was the son of his Silver Prince if you told him enough sentimental plattitudes, is not enough. That kid could be any random Lyseni or dragonseed. And the Golden Company's involvement only made the whole shebang more sus. It still gave them a modicum of support... until their glorious homecoming ship got caught in a storm in the Narrow Sea and drowned. fAegon, the sole survivor, was now best bros with Patchface and his namesake Jinglebell. The fiasco, however, gave many an enterprizing man on both sides of the Narrow Sea an idea, and Westeros became inundaded with dozens of various fAegons, fViseryses, fRhaenyses, fDaeneryses, and even an occasional fRhaegar and f'Dragonwolf', all claiming the same thing. The latter, however, made Catelyn a bit sus, and she wrangled the truth out of her husband.
• It did not make things better, however. You see, dearest not-so-gentlereader, instability South of the Wall made the Night King seize the opportunity a couple of years earlier, bringing terror to the Free Folk, who, in turn, came in troves and brought terror to the North. Ned Stark, unlike his son/nephew, was not one to negotiate with wildings, and young, too young Robb and Jon, both eager for glory despite being barely into their teens, snuck onto the battlefield and both died by enemy arrows.
• In the end, an unlikely Suicide S̶q̶u̶a̶d̶ Duo of Bobby B and Dany on dragons tried having their last stand against the Others but failed. Oh well. At least no future Westerosi will worry about not having an air conditioner in a heatwave now. You know we all do. Ain't that, in a way, a happy ending?

A lot of the focus is one who the 3rd option will be coming into next season. Personally, I don't find this discussion as interesting with all of the balls in the air, but more importantly, I truly believe any 3rd option would end up being undeniable upgrade over Tobi. I'm more interested with who the next Oubre could be this offseason, the cheap signing that can turn into a value contributor. One of the players I have grown to like the more and more I watch is Trendon Watford.
Player Profile
Watford's physical profile is where the intrigue begins for me. He is 6'8" with a 7'2" wingspan at 240 pounds. Position is where the intrigue continues. I'd describe him as an energy big with a handle. But not sure that does it justice. According to play-by-play data, he has played about 50/50 of his time in his career at PF and C. What's interesting is that there was 1 game against the Knicks at the end of the season wit Schroeder out that Watford started at point guard. Still only 23 years old too.
Statistical Profile
I'll start with what will be the biggest gripe of Watford: 3 Point Volume. Despite being a 40% 3 point shooter last 2 years, he has low volume. This year he averaged only 2.9 3PA per 36. It is up from about 2 per 36 last season but I'm not going to make the case he is going to turn into a high volume shooter all of a sudden, though they're encouraging signs.
Just focusing on box score stats, there is intrigue in just about everything else. Per 36 he averages 8 rpg, 3.6 assist per game and 1.8 stocks per game. Digging in further, his shot distribution and %s are even interesting. Nearly 40% of his shot attempts come in "floater" range (3-10 feet), where he is a career 51% from this part of the floor. This is absolutely elite. For reference Luka also shoots 51% in this range Also shoots 70% at the rim. Only 43% of his 2P FGs were assisted, so hes generating most of these looks on his own which is even more impressive.
The tracking data is what most intrigues me from his statistical profile. One of the stats I've been looking at a lot more is player eFG% based on how many dribbles come before their shot attempt. For most players outside high usage star level players, eFG% drops off a cliff for shots that come after more than 1 dribble. For context on the Sixes, Joel and Maxey still maintain an eFG% around or above 50% for shots that come after 1 dribble. As you can imagine, Tobias Harris's eFG% goes into the gutter when ever he starts taking more than 1 dribble (mid-40% eFG%). Similar with basically all other Sixers players too.
What's insane is that Watford's eFG% increases when he takes more than 1 dribble - he shoots in the high 50% eFG%. Almost 60% of his FGA come after more than 1 dribble. As I'll lay out, the eye test backs this up. He is always pushing in transition. Even in halfcourt, he is able to keep his dribble alive. He is pretty shifty for being 240 pounds with the ball in his hands, he overpowers smaller defenders and can beat bigs off the dribble
https://www.nba.com/stats/playe1630570/shots-dash?Season=2023-24&SeasonType=Regular+Season
Transition
Probably Watford's best ability is initiating and finishing in the fast break. The dude just starts going once he gets the rebound and has the footwork and touch to finish off the glass.
https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2023/11/10/0022300010/110/9e12a6e3-ffad-1d74-d16e-88f521061f6b_1280x720.mp4
https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2023/11/10/0022300010/111/9056667d-4a47-3b6f-8ef6-6b8ac8392f77_1280x720.mp4
Pushing the pace leads to an easy assist in transition
https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/04/12/0022301175/514/21df459f-12d5-91f2-51bf-9850be586c25_1280x720.mp4
Passing
This is my favorite part of his game. He is a big that has ability to run pick and roll as a ball handler. He rejects the screen, recognizes the help and hits Bridges for the open 3.
https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2023/12/14/0022300322/80/10e07e7d-c2a8-a7c2-e6b7-64881ffe55d1_1280x720.mp4
Runs PnR again, hits the open cutter from top of the key
https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2023/12/14/0022300322/80/10e07e7d-c2a8-a7c2-e6b7-64881ffe55d1_1280x720.mp4
Self Creation
Watford is deliberate with the ball, willing to attack mismatches without wasting dribbles (unlike a special someone we became too familiar with)
https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2023/11/10/0022300010/122/30914933-716c-cc62-484e-76d164f5e9fe_1280x720.mp4
Takes OG off the dribble, beating him to the rim.
https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/04/12/0022301175/82/d8c98953-f4ec-c681-a4ae-f26cddfa4ef2_1280x720.mp4
Defense
My inkling was he had to be a bad defender as a "tweener" type but I didn't necessarily find that to be the case in a few games I watched. His agility helps him navigate screens. He doesn't get burned by White below, he "funnels" White towards the help - something that works well with Joel in drop coverage.
https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2023/11/10/0022300010/123/dec53777-8fb0-b8ac-fb97-18c7378d6eb1_1280x720.mp4
Stays with Brunson on the mismatch, is able to contest at the top of Brunsons fade away.
https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/04/12/0022301175/59/207c0062-afbd-afd8-7946-2808be7f609c_1280x720.mp4
Doesn't leave his feet on the Hart pump fake, stays with him step by step and smothers him on the fade away.
https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/04/12/0022301175/75/df8998ac-c24f-cfb7-557b-e409b17dbba3_1280x720.mp4
Fit in Philly
While I don't think Waford truly solves 1 glaring issue of the team, I think his diverse skillset gives Nurse a player he can truly mold as Watford continues to develop. I think the low hanging fruit for Watford is giving an option as a small ball 5 that can push the pace in transition, giving a contrast to Joel's play style that compliments Maxey's speed. Having a center that can initiate the break off rebounds can lead to outlet passes and trail 3s for Maxey + whoever the 3rd option is when Joels sits. I also don't think he is truly "small" given his weight and wingspan. But I also think he has small qualities that will mesh well with Joel. I think he would be a pretty good entry passer for Joel for one, he has never played with an offensively skilled big to date in his career, he makes quick decisions and has nice touch on his passes. He also grabs 2 offensive boards per 36 as well. His touch and explosiveness around the rim gives him great cutting potential playing off of Joel. He is capable of hitting open 3s, if he develops into a medium-volume 3 point shooter I think he has strong starting potential in the NBA given that all of his other skills are fairly polished for a big man in the league.
Salary wise, he has only made minimums being an undrafted free agent. I think something along the lines of a 1 + 1 around $5M/year would be fair to him, he'd have the opportunity to outperform that pretty easily and would quadruple his career earnings. He was buried in the rotation due to the Nets incompetence and lack of direction; they had Mikal, Cam Johnson, DFS, Claxton and their rookie draft picks (Wilson and Sharpe). I think he has skills that will be amplified playing with all star teammates and be a swiss army knife bench piece. I admittedly am a sucker for wings and bigs with handles, I think its an underrated skill that ends up separating players that develop into higher end offensive players. I think he has interesting enough tools that can help him turn into a solid 7th-8th man.

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I’ve (26M) struggled with depression and some suicidal ideation on and off since I was 16. It was a long road and took a lot of work on myself and countless hours of therapy, but around the end of 2023, I was in what I now consider to be the peak of my life. I was working a job I mostly liked, two semesters away from finishing my bachelor’s degree online and exercising almost every other day. After years of loneliness, I finally found a friend group I really adored spending time with, and I had a boyfriend with whom I hadn’t even realized I had fallen in love, whom I’d seen for about 6 months. For perhaps the first time, I had a generally positive outlook, I felt confident and attractive, and I had so much going for me. I had no clue that I was about to make a decision that would significantly alter that course and steer me off into the deepest, darkest depression and most relentless desire to end it all that I’ve ever felt. This is a very long and personal post about my decision to have surgery that I now, in hindsight, believe to have been unnecessary. The surgery itself has left me with chronic pain and probably lifelong negative consequences that are far worse than anything I ever experienced prior. I’ve kept most of this to myself other than sharing it with my therapist, and although I’m on the ledge, I think writing it all down and putting it out there may calm me somewhat. I haven’t spared some graphic details of some of the more sensitive changes to my body because I want this to be as detailed and accurate as possible. And anyway, why should I care? I may be dead soon anyway... My hope is that if I share my story, someone, somewhere, might benefit from it and might not make the same mistake I did that has me sincerely wanting to off myself. So here it goes.
Around NovembeDecember 2023, I started experiencing some strange stabbing pain in my upper right abdomen that would come on suddenly and then go away for no obvious reason. I also thought I saw trace amounts of blood in my stool, and this concerned me enough that I reached out to my primary care doctor at the beginning of January. My doctor is always booked for months, so they told me to go to the emergency room. The ER was packed, and I ended up sitting in the waiting room for about eight hours in between going for an ultrasound and a CT scan. I was getting very tired of waiting and was about ready to give up and leave as I had to work early in the morning the next day. Looking back, I wish I had left. Just before I was about to leave, they called me back and told me that they found something on the CT scan called an intussusception in my small bowel. This is a condition where the intestine gets caught on a “lead point” and folds in on itself, sort of like a telescope. It is most often found in infants and is very rarely found in people my age, yet I was told it is a medical emergency because the tissue of my bowel could die if left untreated, and/or the lead point could be a potentially cancerous tumor. They admitted me and told me they would scan me again in the morning because, despite the severity, there was a chance it could resolve. Hearing that I would be staying overnight shocked me, as I had never been hospitalized before, having always been in good physical health. I have never had digestive issues in the past, I’ve never been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis or anything of the sort, and I had never heard of this condition, but every medical professional I spoke to seemed very concerned that I had it. They didn’t have a bed for me in the hospital at that point, so I had to sleep in the packed and quite chaotic ER. About an hour after I was given a bed, a man was admitted a few feet from me who was very aggressive with all of the nurses, screaming and cursing at them throughout the night. I was not allowed to eat or drink, given the possibility of surgery. I struggled to get any sleep in that environment and woke up the next morning feeling very lethargic.
The surgeon and resident came by my bed and we spoke briefly. The surgeon explained that while the condition was serious, if it continued to show up in my CT scans, they could do minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery to resect the piece of my bowel that was telescoped and stitch it back together. I feel they really downplayed the severity of this procedure. I will never forget them saying, “It’s such a small piece of your bowel, you won’t miss it.” They felt that since I was young and otherwise healthy, I should have no problem making a full recovery. I felt confident in the fact that I was speaking to the chief of surgery at the hospital, who has more than twenty years of experience in the field. Then they brought me for my second scan, and within a few hours I was told the intussusception had not resolved. I was admitted to a hospital room, and the resident came to discuss moving forward with the surgery. My first impulse was “absolutely not,” but I quickly second-guessed myself. Everything I saw in the limited research I was able to do on my phone stated that this was indeed a serious condition that warranted surgery. In that moment, it seemed like the reasons not to go through with it were somewhat vain, such as not wanting the scars and having to forgo lifting weights at the gym for some time. Though it didn’t quite make sense to me that they wanted to operate on the complete opposite side of my body from the one that was in pain and which brought me into the ER in the first place. When I asked the resident about this, he responded, “We don’t understand how referred pain works,” Okay, fair enough, I thought. More than anything, I thought that if a doctor was in front of me, telling me what was going on with my body was an emergency situation that warranted immediate surgery, I should probably listen to them. They’re the “experts,” after all. And given the state I was in, having been in the hospital for over 24 hours at that point, running on very little sleep and nothing to eat, I don’t think I really had the capacity to fully parse what was going on, but given the doctors level of concern, it seemed like I urgently had to make a decision. After about an hour of talking it over with my mother, even though I never had any pain in the area they were about to operate on, I signed the consent papers. (Biggest fucking mistake of my life) I remember they listed risks of things that could go wrong during or shortly after the surgery, such as infection, bowel perforation, etc. They did not mention the procedure’s possible long-term consequences, and neither the surgeon nor resident ever mentioned possible long-term complications, and I didn’t think to ask. I had no experience with this kind of thing whatsoever; I am not a doctor, I don’t know any doctors, and no one I know has ever had abdominal surgery… I was so naive to trust these people, but I did. In fact, I trusted them so much that I was not terribly scared of the procedure I was about to undergo. Again, I chalk that up to the reduced mental capacity I was in, given a tough overnight stay in the ER. I remember the adrenaline rush as I was wheeled down to the operating room. I was singing one of my favorite songs in my head, hyping myself up for the procedure ahead of me. The last thing I remember was one of the OR nurses telling my mother not to worry, that the surgeon was “the best,” and that they had even operated on her husband.
I woke up high as a kite. I heard one of the nurses say I had been given fentanyl, which I remember freaked me out; I had forgotten it is more than a street drug and actually has legitimate uses. The procedure had gone fine, and I was discharged only a day or two later, with my only guidance upon discharge being not to lift heavy objects and “take it easy,” I was in some pain, but it was to be expected at that point and was well controlled by combining Tylenol and Advil. The surgeon called later that week to inform me that the pathology report had come back and that the lead point was simply “some swollen lymph nodes,” I was relieved to hear that it was not cancer. At my follow-up appointment two weeks later, I reported feeling pretty much fine. I had been granted medical leave and short-term disability from my job for six weeks following the surgery. This was the full length of time after which the surgeons expected I would recover fully. I used the time off to hang out with friends and my boyfriend and to focus on finishing what would have been my final semester of school. Those were the last few weeks that I felt somewhat normal despite what I had just gone through. I had no idea what was about to come.
About 5 weeks post-op is when I first began experiencing worse pain deep in my abdomen, right where I had the surgery, plus the pain in my upper right abdomen had not gone away. This new pain is crampy, yet sometimes stabbing, and had seemed to worsen with activity; I have experienced it every single day, nearly every hour, to varying degrees, since the beginning of February. That was also when I began regularly bloating and having difficulty going to the bathroom. No matter how hard I try to push, I can’t fully evacuate my bowels. (This is a nightmare for someone who has receptive anal sex like I used to do regularly. It is now impossible). With the emergence of all these symptoms, I felt very, very scared that there was something else wrong with me. And, of course, this all happened in the week when I was set to return to work. I have a physically demanding customer service job, and I was in so much pain that I found it impossible to be nice to the customers or even stand, so I left and, thankfully, was allowed to take the rest of the week off to figure things out. I obviously called my surgeon, but it also prompted me to do deeper research into the complications that can develop following abdominal surgery. I began pouring over medical journals, trying to figure out what was going on in my body on my own. That was when I first learned about “surgical adhesions.” These are fibrous bands of scar tissue that can develop due to the incisions made during surgery and handling of the bowel. As your body heals from the trauma of surgery, this scar tissue forms and can cause your intestine to stick to other organs or structures in your body. According to medical literature, they form in 90% of all patients who undergo abdominal surgery, but not all adhesions cause complications like what I’ve experienced. They are not easy to diagnose as they are impossible to visualize on any imaging tests, they do not go away on their own (it’s scar tissue), and the only treatment is surgically cutting them apart, which is risky, given that there’s a strong chance they will just grow back and possibly be even worse. This was obviously terrifying to me, but when I asked the surgeon about this, they said, “There’s very little chance that’s what’s happening,” given that the procedure was laparoscopic, not open. I scheduled another appointment with them, wherein they seemed quite dismissive of my concerns. They said the pain was likely “incisional” (it wasn’t and isn’t) but that they would order another CT scan so we could see what was going on. They also wrote me a script for gabapentin, an anticonvulsant meant to prevent seizures that is used off-label to treat pain and anxiety, with the qualifier that they would not write a script for anything stronger, basically implying that I was seeking narcotics, which was not at all the case, and which I found extremely offensive.
My next CT scan was scheduled about a month following that appointment in early March. In the interim, I began taking the gabapentin. I used more than I was prescribed because it was the only way I was able to control the pain and allow myself to feel comfortable at work. I didn’t anticipate the changes it would cause to my mood and behavior. In addition to feeling depressed and scared, I was also becoming easily emotionally dysregulated in ways I believe I would have been able to control prior to taking the medication. But when I didn’t take it, I was in pretty bad pain almost all the time, and I didn’t understand why at that point. My boyfriend noticed these changes in my mood and decided he needed space from me to protect his emotional wellbeing. I didn’t blame him then, and I still don’t, but I miss him terribly. We were supposed to remain “friends,” and he at least pretended he wanted that for a bit of time. At that point, I became determined to ween myself off the gabapentin and continue to work on improving my mental and physical health, for myself, but also for him; as I said, I really loved him. Later that week, after we split, I had my CT scan, and the surgeon called to tell me that it looked like I was just constipated. They advised me to take Miralax daily to ease that constipation, which should hopefully make me feel better. To me, this seemed like a huge relief. I started taking the Miralax, and at that point, I started exercising and lifting weights again. I also started trying to bulk up again, which had been an important part of my fitness journey prior to the surgery.
So April rolls around, and I am still trying my best to resume my normal life, which felt possible again at that point. I did end up successfully weening myself off gabapentin. With this newfound reinvigoration, I attempted to get my boyfriend back. We would make plans, but then he would reschedule again and again. Eventually, he kept our plans, and we met up for a talk in the park. We obviously had a lot to talk about in our relationship, at which point he told me that he simply was not attracted to me anymore. This was devastating news, as that was the first time I realized it was really over. Before I had thought that if I could show him how much I was trying to get back to the place I was before the surgery, he would stick around, but that was the moment I realized it was impossible for him to see me in the light he once did. Nevertheless, I tried to push on, kept going to the gym, and kept trying to get my life back. I was still seeing my friends regularly, and I was able to push myself to get through work, even though it was painful and hard. Plus, I was still working on my degree despite not feeling able to give it my best effort and focus with everything going on. I was still motivated to keep going, and I thought things might improve from there.
Well, lo and behold, they did not. One day in early April, I was sitting on the couch, sort of mindlessly snacking on some almonds before I was set to go have drinks with friends and see a concert. Immediately afterward, I felt that pain again in my abdomen. Despite that, I was really excited to see my friends and see the show. We met at a bar, where I had three cocktails before we made our way to the venue. I drank one or two more while the opener played. But by the time the headliner came on, I ended up in so much pain that I told my friends quite regrettably that I had to leave. I walked home and ate a small snack, wrongfully thinking it might make me feel better, before popping a melatonin and heading to bed. I woke up around 2 AM in the most intense pain I have experienced both before and after the surgery. I was extremely bloated and unable to pass gas or move my bowels. I had read somewhere that this was a sign of bowel obstruction and that I needed to seek medical attention. I made the decision to go to the ER. I walked down the stairs to leave, and as I did, I felt myself begin to vomit. Thankfully I was able to make it to the sink as I puked up what I imagine was that snack I’d had before bed. Shortly after, I arrived at the ER, this time choosing a different facility from the one where the surgeon had dismissed all of my post-surgical concerns. I was quickly admitted and given another CT scan. They confirmed my bowel was obstructed and told me they would place a tube into my nose down to my stomach to try to pump some of the blockage out. I asked the ER doctor if I was going to need to have surgery, to which he replied, “It’s a strong possibility.” This was horrifying to me. Getting the tube inserted into my nose was so painful, and I was screaming in agony the entire time. Then they gave me morphine, and I passed out. The details and timeline of that hospital stay are somewhat hazy in my mind, but I ended up being there for four days, over which I was given a “gastro graph challenge” test, wherein I was instructed to drink a contrast element which would be visualized by a series of Xrays so the doctors could monitor if anything was passing through my intestines. I met with another surgeon, whom I found to be much more attentive than my prior one, or at least simply possessing superior active listening skills. In fact, I felt that all of the staff at this second hospital were a lot more sensitive to my needs than the first. I really wish I had gone there the first time, as it’s the best hospital in the city. Add that to my long list of mistakes… Anyway.
Despite her more positive demeanor, she recommended another emergency surgery, this time a laparotomy (open) surgery to resect my bowel a second time. Her hypothesis was that the anastomosis (the medical term for the connection formed between my bowel loops during the first surgery) could be too narrow to allow food to pass through properly. I asked this new surgeon if it was possible I had adhesions causing this problem, and unlike the last one, she said, “It’s possible,” especially given that these symptoms began emerging a few weeks after the first surgery. But, like I said, they don’t really know what’s going on until they cut you open and go in there. Given that I am now much more aware of the risks of surgery and the risks of having a second procedure, I was fervently against going under the knife again. I simply couldn’t handle it. So I opted for conservative management, which meant waiting it out, taking an enema, and eventually getting back on a liquid and then solid diet. Thankfully, sitting in the hospital being NPO (Latin for nil per os - “nothing by mouth”) and taking the gastro graph made it pass eventually, and I didn’t have to have a second surgery. I was discharged from the hospital with instructions to schedule another diagnostic test called a “small bowel series,” in which they use xrays to track the amount of time it takes liquid to pass through your digestive system and to start a “low residue” diet- meaning eating very little fiber. Suddenly gone from my diet are all of the fruits and vegetables I once loved, and I can’t eat nuts or seeds (It seems to me that those almonds caused the obstruction in the first place). Basically, I’m now forced to exist on a diet of the most processed foods imaginable because although they are demonstrably unhealthy, that is all that my body is now able to safely digest.
After leaving that second hospital stay, I proceeded to delve even further into research about not only long-term abdominal surgery complications such as adhesions but also the nature of adult intussusceptions in general. I once again started furiously googling, finding results from medical journals and personal accounts from Reddit. I came to the conclusion that intussusceptions in adults, while ostensibly serious, have a strong possibility of resolving on their own, especially when they present in the small bowel, in the absence of vomiting (I never vomited before going to the hospital in January), when there is no obvious lead point (they couldn’t see it on my scans) and there is no obstruction (I was never obstructed before the surgery). Furthermore, while intussusception does present with blood in the stool, it is usually described as “currant jelly stool” (something I don’t recommend you google because it looks atrocious), which is not even close to the trace amounts of blood I saw in my own stool. (But no one ever asked, so how would I know the difference?) I never experienced any pain whatsoever in the area of my small bowel before the surgery. And yet I was told by a doctor that I was experiencing a medical emergency, which might have been caused by some malignant growth, which scared the shit out of me and made me feel at the time that immediate action was necessary. At one point, I even found a paper that attributed intussusception to cannabis use, which I had engaged in that week. In these papers, the authors highlight that these intussusceptions were transient and did not require surgical intervention. And on the point of adhesions, they are not easily diagnosed, and they are not easily treatable without surgical intervention; and said intervention is a cache 22 scenario because every time you get cut open, you risk growing back even more adhesions.
With all of this knowledge, I became absolutely distraught. I was never informed that by having this procedure performed, I would be at this increased risk of experiencing bowel obstruction. Like most people, I literally had no idea what an “adhesion” even was. What made me lose hope the most was that it seems as if doctors do these surgeries and simply ignore adhesion as a consequence because they don’t have any feasible way to prevent it or treat it without potentially creating more adhesion. So, although I was released from the hospital having avoided a second surgery, I felt more lost and hopeless than ever. I simply couldn’t cope with the realization that this would be something I would deal with for the rest of my life, something I could’ve avoided had I never agreed to get the first surgery because although I had that original pain I mentioned earlier- which has still continued to this day, it wasn’t and isn’t anything close to how excruciating the obstruction was, and it wasn’t really disrupting my life in the way the post-surgical pain has. But under the guidance of doctors, I opted to permanently alter my body, and there’s no going back. I feel so incredibly stupid for being deceived by these “medical professionals” who didn’t take the time to understand what was actually going on with me and chose to take an overly aggressive course of action that has left me permanently altered, in pain, and completely diminished my quality of life.
That week after leaving the hospital was truly the most suicidal I have ever felt. As I mentioned, I’ve dealt with suicidal ideation on and off since my adolescence. I’ve always had latent thoughts about wanting to die, wanting to escape, feeling like I’m hopeless and there’s no use trying to better myself. But this time, the desire to end my life was so much more intense. I became extremely disassociated from everything in life. In that week following my second hospitalization, there was absolutely nothing that could bring me joy. Before the surgery, I used to find deep pleasure in simply walking around my neighborhood for at least an hour every day. But I couldn’t do it anymore because walking gives me time to think, and thinking is too painful. It always leads back to the realization of the way I am now. Nothing could make me smile or laugh. I couldn’t even listen to music, one of my favorite things in the world. I became completely devoid of all emotions as my research transitioned away from my various new ailments and into ways I could end my life.
The rest of April and May passed by in a blur. Over that time, I’ve had two more appointments with the surgeons I met at the second hospital, a small bowel study (a more in-depth series of x-rays tracking the transit time of liquid through the GI tract), and a colonoscopy and endoscopy. Those have not yielded any significant findings as to what is going on, making me believe even more that all of these problems are being caused by adhesions. However, the small bowel study did reveal that my stomach is slightly herniated, which I believe is the cause of the original pain that I sought care for in the first place. At my last appointment, I was told to see a “small bowel specialist” GI doctor. But that was three weeks ago, and I haven’t even been able to get an appointment with them. I’m on a waiting list, but I imagine I’m looking at many months before I can get an appointment. I don’t know what they’re going to do for me. I don’t know that there’s anything that can be done besides more surgery, and I am very fearful about that. I fear the only way that these fucking doctors who fucked me up in the first place are going to even try to help me is if I’m obstructed again. But the changes to my diet, as much as I hate them, have kept me in a more manageable amount of pain and out of the hospital for now.
It is now June, and I am shocked that I am still here and confused about what to do now. Despite the diet, I still feel pain and discomfort at some point in the day, every single day. I think about wanting this all to end all of the time. I have not attempted again, though I did pick up another nitrogen tank, and I’ve also stockpiled a 90 day supply of my antidepressant, so at least I have the option. I am drinking two bottles of wine or half a bottle of vodka nearly every night. Alcohol is the only thing that seems to quiet my thoughts enough to get through each evening. I am sitting here in a cycle where I think about doing it, but I still feel obligated to go to work, to see my friends, and to feed my cat. My life has continued, but I don’t feel like I’m living anymore; I merely exist. I feel extremely unattractive because although I look the same as I did on the outside, I’m overcome with never ending emotional pain and turmoil on the inside. I am now unable to take care of myself and be on top of my life the way I used to be. After the second hospitalization, I dropped out of school and have no plans to continue, as I won’t need a bachelor’s degree when I’m dead. I have stopped exercising altogether, as it feels like there’s no point in trying to improve or take care of a body that has been permanently broken. Through all of this, I’ve lost much of my confidence and I feel I have completely lost my identity. I miss that old me so much. I miss my boyfriend so much. Plans with my friends are sometimes the only thing that keeps me going, and I am extremely grateful for them, but despite their continued presence, I feel extremely isolated and lonely. It’s hard to explain what I’ve been through to people without the context of all that has happened. I don’t have the energy to share it with them. And I feel if I speak about what I’m going through, I will feel like a burden, killing the vibe, and I don’t want that.
I have never felt this alienated from my body and from everything in life. I cannot cope with the fact that things will never be how they were before. I feel so incredibly distraught that I threw away what was shaping up to be the best days of my life. There’s nothing I or anyone else can do to change what has happened to me. It took me such a long time to get to the place I was in before the surgery. It was a brief and beautiful couple of months, but it’s over, and there’s no way for me to return. Even if there was, I don’t have that much of a fight left in me. I feel like such a fucking idiot for allowing the doctors to do this to me. I look around at all the happy people around me and know that I am dragging them down with my depression. I am tired of feeling helpless and like a burden on everyone I love. I am a shell of the person I once was. Ending it all is the singular thing that’s in my control. It is the only way to end all of this pain and suffering and stop the concern and confusion of my loved ones. I know that my exit will be painful to them, but they will all get over it in time. But me? I don’t think I will ever get over this. I will never be able to accept this horrible choice that I made. I am so tired of living this way. I am supposed to turn 27 soon, but I really don’t want to live to see my birthday. I have nothing to celebrate. My life is completely, irreversibly fucked. I don’t know when I will go, but it will be sooner rather than later. I am so sorry to everyone. I know this will hurt. I just can’t go on living this way. To all the people I care about, know that I love you, and I am so thankful you were part of my life. I know you will all go on to do great things without me. This entire saga has been unbearable; my life has spun out of control, and suicide is the only way to end my suffering. I’m sorry. I’m signing off.
TL;DR: Doctors performed a surgery I now think was unnecessary and the complications make me want to kill myself.

I'm reaching out for some assistance with my Infinix POVA 3. Last year, I bought this device with the intention of rooting it and installing Nethunter Kali, as I'm diving into the world of cybersecurity and wanted to get hands-on with understanding the inner workings.
However, my first attempt at rooting ended up in a bootloop, effectively bricking the device. I had to take it to a shop to have it reset. Undeterred, I gave it another shot, and this time, succeeded. But now the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth don't work.
Fast forward to now, and I'm itching to dive back into some shenanigans with my device. I want to fix the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues and give the whole rooting process another try. Plus, I'm curious about tinkering with the Linux kernel inside Android and maybe even creating a customized interface. Yes, I want to do an "I use arch btw" on my phone. The problem is, without Wi-Fi, I can't fully utilize the capabilities of Nethunter for Wi-Fi pentesting or download necessary packages without a hassle.
Any advice on how to restore Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functionality on my rooted Infinix POVA 3? And while we're at it, any tips or resources on exploring the Linux kernel within Android and potentially creating a custom interface. I am willing to reinstall the firmware if need be.

I broke my wrist at work - due to the location of the injury the bone is notoriously difficult to xray but it is being treated as a broken wrist. I worked on it for 4 days as they "couldn't afford to lose me" to see a doctor, before I finally said I needed to risk being late to get it looked at. By which point I was in agony and the swelling was bad. I got told to take the rest of the day off before taking my 2 days (which they retaliated by wanting me to come in on my days off, to make up for my sick day, despite having sick leave) as scheduled and returning for modified duties. I work as a cook and it's my dominant hand - I cannot do my job one-handed, but they did not make accommodations aside "do your best," which resulted in me aggravating it further. I had stated to my boss that I am unable to do anything in the kitchen one handed and I am risking making my injury worse by trying - that I am happy to do anything else, that only requires one hand or admin, but i don't see how I can do my job one handed. I was told there was nothing else and not enough admin so to just try. I went back to the doctor after it worsened 2 days in, and a new certificate was made stating that I can't do ANYTHING with my dominant hand, and the nature of my job means that I have to. They then took me off the schedule and although they have obviously been annoyed at me, they have also stated that they hope my L&I goes through smoothly. I took all my pto and sick leave the first couple of weeks. And then waiting on my L&I. Well last week I find out that my work said I was offered light duty and accommodations, so I wasn't eligible for loss of wages, I stated this wasn't true. Next, they said I wasn't eligible because my work have said they would pay me. They haven't, and I've had to fight for missing pay from my check before injury and the couple hours a week for ordering I've done from home, for weeks after 6 requests. I found out yesterday that they actually tried to contest it and protest if, which is why a month and a week later, I'm still no closer. Last 2 weeks they've gotten me to come in 4 hours a week to do ordering/admin which means driving, moving product around fridges, freezers and shelves to check stock (they've become a bombsite while I've been away) so each time it aggravates it for days. Yesterday I also got an updated certificate saying I am not released for any work, but also said I can do up to an hr of computer work...waiting for my doctor to confirm if this means i can work on the computer or I am not meant to work. They got me to sign a form yesterday (would not allow me to read it or take it home as it was dated the from almost a month ago and they needed it "immediately" and I would not get paid without it, but would get paid immediately if I did. It basically said that I am to recieve my base wage foe regular hours, and work any hours I can within my limitations. But I signed it before knowing they contested it and now I am questioning where the loopholes are. They asked if I could still do admin and I said yes. But now I don't want to put myself out and risk injury if I am protected not to, by a company happy trying to screw me over. I am worried if I say that I can't work until I've been cleared to, they will fire me, as it states they can on my contract and in Washington, without cause. And if that means I will lose out on pay until my return to work date. I m looking for other work, but even if I get work, I can not start for weeks as I am still in a bad way. Does anything I sign supercede their legal obligation to pay me for time off work? And are they allowed to fire me as the result of me saying I need to follow my doctors directive and unable to work at any capacity until given the all clear, or is that clear-cut retaliation? There is nothing else they can fire me for or a way to justify it - I've never had any write ups or issues, and me not able work means I have no ability to give them a reason. I do not intend to go back, and hope to find work shortly after my all clear, but in the meantime I have missed out on a month of pay and dont want to do anything to risk me getting that. Hope you can help.

Hi team! You may remember me from yesterday, I am the heavily pregnant woman with the PA who met up with a guy from Grindr. You were all so lovely to me yesterday and offered such great support that I thought I'd drop back in with an update. Long post, so sorry about that.
So the morning after, he was asking me for reassurance and affection and I declined to provide. He was very insecure and remorseful and was worried he was going to lose me. I told him that was a very real possibility. He had a scheduled session that day with his therapist anyway (he's only seen her twice before yesterday) and he asked her if it was okay to bring me in so we could communicate better. she said yes. The therapy was.... interesting. A lot of it is to do with his trauma, his terrible parents, all stuff I knew and accepted anyway. I have spent a lot of time explaining how I can look past his behaviours, and work with him to stop the problematic ones, but it's the lying and disrespect I can't handle. The therapist gave us some kind of framework or something. We haven't properly started that yet. I was looking to get everything out on the table first, so I could assess the damage, and then we could start on figuring out what blocks need to be put in place.
ANYWAY I went out with my cousin, cried in a coffee shop, bought some lil baby sleepsuits, ate some fried doughnuts and then my cousin cleaned my kitchen. It was a good time. It was after that that my PA and I started on the hell of uncovering EVERYTHING. everything everything. and jesus christ. I granted him "immunity" - I said, no matter what happened, I would stay, we could work on things, that this fresh start would start AFTER the confessions. and jesus Christ. our whole relationship, just weird creep things. He would go into town and ask random girls to kick him in the balls (his major thing). He had a (female) sex worker in MY CAR. My DISABILITY car. The car we only have because I am disabled (mental illness, not physically). I had to go through hell to get it and within 20 days. Plus she left a cigarette butt in the door and I obviously found it and he lied to my face and said it was his friend's. Plus all the messaging, nonstop porn usage, and the sex workers from last year too. It was far too much to hear and the hits my self esteem, safety and sense of worth have taken are immeasurable. I feel worse than I ever have. Thank you to everyone who told me to reach out to my support network though, I get near hourly reminders from my cousin and best friend that it's not my fault and that I've done nothing wrong and ect.
So, for now, I have utilised apple's beautiful screen time content restrictions. Arguably too much, but it's fun. He can't download apps, he can't use incognito, he can't breathe without me knowing what he's done on there. Apps he's lost access to are tiktok, twitter, Instagram, snapchat, and obviously every other app ever. We also installed life360 and accountable2you. I have an android though so truple is out of the question. Life360, I'm skeptical about, but obviously when he picks up sex workers when he's on his way home from work and he finishes at 11pm, it'll be good to know where he went. Any other tips to remove privacy, either for punishment or actual avoidance, are welcome.
I don't know where I stand or how I feel. I have several mental illnesses that actually help me cope in traumatic situations like these, so I feel okay. I'm probably really really not okay. I'm probably breaking down somewhere deep inside. I can't kiss him and I feel repulsed when he touches me. It's been a very very long day today in bed, moving between me prompting for more truth (I do feel like I've gotten all of it), me crying, him crying, feeling the baby move and figuring it all out. We are both 24, turning 25 in the next couple of months. I know that doesn't excuse anything on either part but a couple of idiots with messed up childhoods trying to make a relationship work. I'm also diagnosed with CPTSD and ADHD combined type. He is diagnosed with ASD and is awaiting an ADHD assessment. My point is I guess that love isn't enough and trust is important and everything is sort of upside down. Leaving isn't essential right now and he is remorseful. On the other hand, the baby is loving all the sweet treats I've been giving myself because I've been feeling sad.

Mom's called me a freak of nature, said she wants me to either leave or to move somewhere where nobody knows me, told me over and over that she wants me out of the house (which apparently she doesn't as she told me "you're not thick you know people say things when they're angry", though she has never ever apologised or said she wants me to stay or shown any interest in me so???), calling transitioning "weird", "creepy", and "strange", yelled that she's "not watching her child grow a beard", over and over told me she cannot and will not call me my preferred name, over and over made fun of my name (which, okay, it's uncommon and whatever but ow??), etc etc etc.
But this is okay. After all, she's just struggling. /s
She's said that for her its either carry on as she is (calling me my deadname, she/her me, etc) or have a mental breakdown and be hospitalised (call me my name, help me transition, etc).
I... don't know what to do. Social workers have been called and everything but, uh, things aren't bad enough for me to move out. Contacted AKT and got the same response -- things aren't bad enough. So, I am stuck here. I cannot live any longer without transitioning. I'm doing everything I can by myself -- starting college as myself, begging people to sign a deed poll so I can change my name legally, exercise more, etc.
...But I am still stuck at home with all this. So, how am I meant to respond?

Hey y'all! Lately I've been working on the 'History' section of my lore book for The Duchy of Nyrheim, and I came up with a method I really like and thought I'd share for anyone who is homebrewing their own setting.
I got the idea while reading some Marvel comics -- I've been collecting the best runs of the 2000s (happy to take recs) and noticed something interesting. When dealing with a story that has roots in Marvel's past (or even if they are writing those past events for the story at hand), they will often start with a flashback simply titled "Then" before shifting to a scene in the present titled "Now". I haven't to imagine that part of why they do this is the sliding time scale. But something about the simplicity of it all really spoke to me.
When writing the history of the region, I wanted a way to separate the events that have happened long ago from those whose impacts are being felt strongly in the present. These terms have helped me get there. I'm a little generous with the term "now..." which I use to cover the past 400 years or so, you can obviously set whatever threshold you like. But you can use this to set up some pretty exciting stories -- Then: Isildur killed Sauron, Now: It's Bilbo Baggins' eleventy-first birthday. It also maybe characterizes what may inform what are the ruins, treasures, or dungeons of your setting and what are the everyday societies and cultures found in the urban environments.
One last thing I'll add, I always include how many years ago something was and not just the date. If you are making your own timeline, the dates may just look like vague numbers to readers/players. By telling them how long ago something was, it puts it in relative terms they are more ready to understand. You can even use this method and be pretty vague about dates if you aren't ready to lock a timeline hard in stone. One version I had prior to this just used headings like "About 400 years ago", but I'd never break it down in increments less than 100s of years.
Here's what I've got right now for my setting, happy to expand on any information or answer any questions in the comments below! What would be the highlights of the Then & Now of your settings?

Then...

Explore the origins of the region, from ancient fey dominions through epic conquests and the rule of Nyrheim's first dwarven dukes. This section covers events from The Dark Age that occurred across the lands that now make up the north of the Floren Kingdom.
FALL OF THE FEY
Over 2,600 Years Ago (100s BCE)... For thousands of years, Elyndel's northwestern lands (then called Faen'tir) were dominated by elven tribes with other fey and kobolds scattered throughout the region. Though most of their conflict was with unseelie, giants, and humans, there was also scarce political unity between the elves. The Old Antum Empire, however, emerged from a collection of human tribes in the south. At the dawn of thew millenium, the Emperor's legions attacked with iron and fire against the might and magic of the fey. This conflict, known at "The Feywars" forever tipped the scales of power in Elyndel.
RISE OF RAYONNÉ
Over 2,300 Years Ago (200s CE)... Rayonné, was founded under the influence of the Antum Empire and quickly became a crucial trade hub. Strategically located on an island within a major river, Rayonné's natural defenses and prime location facilitated its rapid growth, even though it wouldn't even become the capital of Floren for over 2,000 years. The Antum Empire invested heavily in the city's infrastructure, constructing grand structures such as an amphitheater, public baths, and majestic temples. They also encouraged migration to the new city by offering incentives such as land grants and tax breaks to new freemasons.
SINKING OF MYR
Over 2,000 Years Ago (500s CE)... To escape political strife and external threats, many elves of Westernor began to emigrate to Brynthal. They brought with them a revival of their fey culture and arcane wisdom, establishing a thriving community in the region. Off the coast they built Myr, a magnificent island city built protected by enchanted barriers. However a warlock's dark pact led to the city's destruction, sinking Myr and its inhabitants into the abyss. The islands ruins, now a haunting legend, lure adventurers seeking its lost treasures and secrets.
SHADOWS IN THE WEST
Over 1,700 Years Ago (800s CE)... After ravaging eastern and central Elyndel, Grotar the "Scourge of Orcus" turned his focus westward. General Gaius Tullarix of Old Antum was tasked with defending the region against the invading Shadow Horde and its ogre warlord. Recognizing the threat, General Tullarix rallied a broad coalition of various tribes in the Empire to confront the invaders. They clashed near Véreluce in northeastern Floren, fighting fiercely for hours without yielding. However, faced with staunch resistance and severe casualties, the Shadow Horde retreated, forcing Grotar to forgo his aspirations of conquests in the west.
OUT OF THE EMPIRE
Over 1,400 Years Ago (1100s CE)... After the collapse of Old Antum, the region fell into chaos. Afterward, humans of the Floren tribe moved in from the east. The Fontainian family, under the leadership of King Tharic, united the disparate tribes and transformed the region into the formidable Floren kingdom. Following Thalric's death, the Fontainain dynasty faced internal strife and political fragmentation, as his successors struggled to maintain the unity he had forged. This period saw a kaleidoscope of petty kingdoms, each vying for power and influence. But despite these challenges, the Fontainians managed to preserve their hegemony for centuries.
UNDYING ALLEGIENCE
Over 1,100 Years Ago (1400s CE)... King Calixte I's death divided Floren again: Prince Calixte II inherited the north and Princess Sera the south. When Calixte II slew the dragon Jarghul, he drew the interest of a valkyrie who had come for the fallen. The while, Sera was murdered by her power-hungry husband. Seeking vengeance, Calixte II turned to necromancy, creating an army where fallen foes would serve him in death. The valkyrie, now known as The Wild Hunt, gifted him a spark of her power, and just when they seized the south, the gods imprisoned her for oath breaking. Calixte II was later killed by agents of his brother-in-law's mistress.
DIVINITY AND DYNSATY
Over 800 Years Ago (1700s CE)... The Loralian Dynasty in Floren has roots tracing back to Gaston Loralian I, a chief household officer to the Fontainian kings. The family gradually gained power as the royal family's influence waned (they were derogatorily dubbed as "do-nothing kings"). The critical shift occurred when Gaston III, with the support of the Pontifex, deposed the last Fontainian king. The church then crowned him as the king of Floren, establishing a precedent the divine right of kings, a principle that would heavily influence Elyndean politics thereafter. This coronation also ensured protection for the emergent Sacral-Antum Empire against invasions.
THE NORTHERN RAIDERS
Over 500 Years Ago (2000s CE)... At the turn of the millennium, dwarves of the north begin a campaign of large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading along the northern shores of mainland Elyndel. To counter the raids, the Floren King Etienne I ceded the Cormorin Peninsula to the neighboring elven duchy of Brynthal in exchange for military aid. However, the elven magics faltered, and the dwarven berserkers further entrenched themselves as a new, formidable power in the region. Within a century, the raids shifted from a seasonal occurrence to a constant stream.

Now...

As the Age of Enlightenment dawned, the dwarves of settling in Nyrheim navigated the tides of Floren politics, forging alliances and asserting their influence across the north. The events that transpired during these transformative years have left an indelible mark on the region's history and people.
A DWARVEN DUCHY
410 Years Ago (2177 CE)... During the height of the dwarven raids, an ambitious dwarf named Rolf led a fleet into the heart of the Floren Kingdom. After a brutal but costly assault, Rolf attempted to flee from the Floren cavalry, but was unable to board his ships. Instead, he formed a defensive wall by slaughtering his army's livestock. The enemy charge halted as their horses were terrified by the sight and stench. Stuck in a stalemate, the Florens decided to negotiate with the dwarves. In exchange for peace, the King Etienne III ceded the lands from Roann to the north coast. Rolf was crowned as the duke and given the name “Lionheart” for his bravery.
THE QUEEN'S CAPTIVE
232 Years Ago (2355 CE)... After Duke Rolf's death, the Floren Queen Aveline II betrayed her predecessor's pact with the dwarves by confining Rolf's daughter, Eyma, in Rayonné and seizing the duchy's lands. This sparked a revolt among her supporters, who stormed Aveline's palace and demanded her freedom. Eventually Aveline, claiming she was teaching her courtly manners, reluctantly released her. A decade later, Eyma and her allies defeated Queen Aveline in battle. She held her hostage until she recognized her as Duchess of Nyrheim, restoring her rule over the duchy.
TREASURE AND TREACHERY
109 Years Ago (2478 CE)... Dwarven raids on Alwyndon resumed, with raiders crossing the northern channel to Nyrheim where they sold their plunder. Duchess Eyma, defying a treaty her father Duke Rolf had signed with High King Brady of Alwyndon, secretly provided sanctuary to these raiders. This breach of agreement provoked an Alwyndan military response. King Brady ordered an attack on the Cormorin Peninsula, demanding Eyma's capture and extradition. However, the Alwyndan forces were unprepared for the swift and fierce counterattack by the Nyrman cavalry, resulting in their complete and utter defeat.
A SUDDEN DEATH
88 Years Ago (2499 CE)... When Duchess Eyma died, her daughter Ylvana took power and immediately implemented harsh reforms to solidify her authority, cloaked as measures to strengthen the duchy. Appalled by her tyranny, her brother Harek attempted a rebellion but failed. Ylvana captured him and in a show of "mercy", publicly amputated his left hand before forcing him to reaffirm his loyalty. Soon after returning to Roann, Ylvana met a mysterious sudden death, rumored to be from poisoning — suspicions fell on disgruntled nobles, her advisors, or even Harek. Ultimately viewed as a martyr, Harek ascended to the ducal throne, stabilizing the region.
FLIGHT FROM ALWYNDON
62 Years Ago (2525 CE)... Duke Harek orchestrated a major trade pact with Alwyndon, marrying his sister Marnyl to the King Adalwulf of Kelden. Out of these new bonds, the Maritime Freight Guild was born, which proved its worth a decade later when Sven "Stormcloak" and his forces invaded Kelden. As the situation deteriorated, Queen Marnyl and her family escaped on the last trade ships out of the country. In Nyrheim, they remained under Duke Harek's protection. When the King eventually passed, Marnyl was stationed as the Countess of Roann. There, she raised her sons in a noble court and prepared them for leadership.
THE DUKE'S BASTARD
34 Years Ago (2548 CE)... During one of his sojourns, Duke Harek was ensnared in a passionate affair. Though fleeting, the liaison bore fruit in the form of an illegitimate son—Waldron. The identity of his mother has been the subject of much speculation, but her identity remains unknown. Meanwhile, Waldron grew up amidst speculative whispers and the weight of expectation. The duke's court, a place where honor and lineage are held in the highest regard, viewed him with a mixture of curiosity and disdain. Yet, Duke Harek, with a defiance that had characterized his reign, acknowledged Waldron as his son and sole heir.
ERRS IN SUCCESSION
17 Years Ago (2570 CE)... In Floren, Prince Etienne V joined forces with his younger brother Adnot and their mother in a revolt against his father, the reigning king. However, following the king's demise, Queen Urilla shifted her support to Adnot as the rightful heir, leaving Etienne V to contend with his rebel sibling and a divided kingdom. Seeking support, Etienne turned to Nyrheim and found an ally in Duke Harek. Grateful for the duke's aid during this turbulent period, the newly established King Etienne V rewarded Harek with the counties of Martovia and Vinmoria, strengthening the bonds between Nyrheim and the Floren crown.
PRINCES OF THE PENTARCHY
This Year (2587 CE)... With the full might of his navy, Duke Harek launched an invasion of Kelden, aiming to restore the now elderly princes to their throne. Tragically, Prince Adalwulf II was captured by an earl in his kingdom. In a cruel act intended to disqualify him from kingship, Finnian brutally blinded him with red-hot pokers -- the prince later died from his grievous injuries. In the wake of this tragedy, Prince Edmund, rallied the thegns of Alwyndon and defeated Sven Stormcloak's forces with the crucial support of Duke Harek. Their victory led to the the reestablishment of the five kingdoms under the Alwyndan Pentarchy.