The article is intended primarily for Game Masters who play games in systems inspired by Lovecraft’s works, such as Call of Cthulhu or Delta Green. However, I hope that other fans of cosmic horror will also find something for themselves here. The interesting facts presented here may also be entertaining for people who do not know the work of The Loner of Providence, but some of the references may be unclear to them. The article contains several anecdotes – either from real history or from beliefs that exist in the real world, and suggestions on how they can be related to the Cthulhu mythology. So read about:

• Sea Peoples, bane of ancient civilizations,
• a forgotten Eldritch abomination from Greek mythology,
• Jan Twardowski, the first man on the Moon,
• mathematicians and physicists who wanted to know the structure of reality and lost their minds,
• one of the most mysterious characters from the Bible and a dark, occult ritual that underlies monotheism.

Invasion of the Sea Peoples
Ancient, super-advanced, fallen civilizations are one of the favorite motifs of fantasy. And truth be told, something similar happened in real history. Of course, in reality, the fallen civilizations did not have sci-fi supertechnology at their disposal, but their collapse still led to great destabilization. We are talking about the invasion of the so-called Sea Peoples, which took place at the turn of the 13th and 12th centuries BC. The Sea Peoples are mobile and warlike groups of people of unknown origin. They caused the collapse of several advanced cultures, including: Mycenaean and Hittite. Only the Egyptians managed to defeat them in a great battle. Well, the material for Lovecraftian inspiration is obvious. A mysterious army, coming out of nowhere, called the „Sea Peoples”, leading to the fall of the most powerful human civilizations at that time? Let us add that, according to some historians, the descendants of the Sea Peoples destroyed by the Egyptians were the Philistines. Yes, the same Philistines, one of whose main deities was the well-known Dagon to Lovecraftomaniacs… Deep Ones say hello. Let us also add that, according to Egyptian records, the tribes of the Sea Peoples had names such as Ekvesh, Teresh, Lucki, Sherden, Shekelesh, Tekel and Peleset. Sounds suitably dark, blasphemous and filthy? If we want to dig deeper, one of the pharaohs who ruled Egypt was Akhenaten – yes, that heretic who tried to replace the worship of traditional Egyptian gods with the religion of the Aten and who is very much liked by conspiracy theorists. Let’s add to the mix that Middle Eastern cultures had quite a negative attitude towards the sea as such. Babylonian Marduk had to defeat the giant monsters of Chaos – Apsu and Tiamat, personifications of fresh and salt waters, respectively. The Bible also contains traces of the myth about the fight between Yahweh and Leviathan, and the Book of Revelation, describing the new, ideal world, emphasizes that „I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” Let’s assume that the players are researchers of an antiquity – historians, archaeologists, etc. They conduct research on the Sea Peoples. Of course, as common sense dictates, they assume that these were human warriors. However, as time goes on, more and more evidence appears that they were not completely human again, and the evidence of their monstrosity becomes increasingly difficult to put down to the demonization that Egyptian chroniclers used against their enemies… It becomes clear that an onslaught of inhuman and semi-human monsters came from the sea. , trying to conquer the world of that time. Moreover, after their defeat at the hands of the Egyptians, this species did not become extinct, but instead of open conquest it switched to cautious infiltration. Perhaps the Deep Ones have spies in academia who are tasked with eliminating historians who find the trail of truth…
Oh, one more interesting fact connecting the history of the Sea Peoples with Lovecraft. Well, as we know, HPL liked to use the term „Cyclopean” for huge, monumental buildings. At least he didn’t come up with it himself. Well, when the later (and at first more primitive) inhabitants, the Dorians, saw the ruins of destroyed castles left by the Mycenaean culture, they came to the conclusion that such huge buildings could not have been built by human hands, so they were probably the work of mythical giants – cyclopes.
Typhon – a classic but forgotten abomination
Modern works drawing on Greek mythology usually make Hades (completely senseless) or Kronos (a little more) the Big Bad, but they forget about Zeus’s greatest enemy – Typhon. After defeating the titans and then the gigants, the Olympian gods had to face the main boss on the way to dominating the world – Typhon. Here is an example of its description: It was larger than the largest mountains, its head touched the stars. When he stretched out his hands, one reached the eastern ends of the world and the other reached the western ends. Instead of fingers, he had a hundred dragon heads. From the waist down he had a tangle of vipers (yay, tentacles!) and wings at his shoulders. His eyes were shooting out flames. In other versions of the myth, Typhon was a flying, hundred-headed dragon. In any case – appearance and stature worthy of the Great Old One. Typhon attacked Olympus, and all the gods except Zeus fled in panic. The supreme god took up the fight… and lost it. Only in the second duel did he manage to defeat Typhon, but not kill him – he only imprisoned him, hitting him with Etna. In the sense of a mountain. A volcano – and volcanic activity is the result of Typhon’s anger, trying to break free. Typhon equaled the lord of heaven not only in strength, but in fertility. His wife was Echidna, about whom Hesiod wrote: „She also gave birth to another creature, invincible, huge, unlike neither men nor immortal gods, in a hollow cave – the divine violent Echidna, half a sharp-eyed young girl, with beautiful cheeks, half a huge snake, a great and powerful, spotted, cruel – in the depths of the holy land. This pair spawned many, if not most, of the monsters found in Greek mythology. Their offspring were very diverse and strange, as befits the spawn of enemies of the divine order, including: – Ladon, the hundred-headed dragon who never slept and guarded the apples that gave immortality, – Cerberus – we all know the dog guarding the gates of hell… but not all of us know that, according to some accounts, it had not three heads, but as many as 50, it was also covered with scales, and it had a snake by its tail… so what does this have to do with a dog? – Scylla – this lady inherited the most from the human, beautiful part of Echidna… at least initially, but eventually, as a result of various perturbations, she turned from a beautiful nymph to her siblings, becoming a six-headed sea beast, so hideous, according to Homer, that even the gods could not stand sight of her – she dwelt in a cave, from where she opened her mouth to devour the crews of ships, – Gorgons – I mean, those ladies with snake hair, not monstrous bulls. Medusa was one of them – the story that Athena turned her priestess into a monster as punishment for being raped by Poseidon is an invention of later poets, – Lernaean Hydra – a multi-headed monster with many reptilian or human heads. In place of each severed head, two others grew, and in addition, the main head was completely immortal – therefore, after chopping off the mortal heads, Heracles had to burn the stumps and bury the immortal, still hissing head underground. Hydra’s breath was poisonous. – various other creatures, such as the Sphinx, the dog Ortus, the Nemean Lion or the Chimera. Each of these descendants has the potential to be portrayed as an Eldritch abomination in its own right. To be precise – according to some accounts, the father of these creatures (and Echidna herself) was Typhon, but a monstrous, ancient (older than Poseidon) sea god, Phorcys. How to use Typhon? Well, Typhon clearly has the potential to be a Great Old One, imprisoned by… Nodens? Some other Elder God? Weak gods of humanity? Maybe his cult is trying to free him from Etna? What if he succeeds? What might distinguish Typhon from many other Great Old Ones? I would recommend focusing on his monster progenitor aspect – if he manages to reunite with Echidna, they will immediately start spawning various blasphemous beasts in series.
Jan Twardowski – the first man on the Moon
Jan (John) Twardowski, the hero of the legend, a Polish nobleman who allegedly sold his soul to the devil and became a sorcerer. Probably a historical figure, according to legend he lived in the 16th century and became famous for summoning the spirit of the deceased queen for King Sigismund Augustus. The ghost allegedly appeared in the mirror. This mirror is still kept in the church in Węgrów. According to legend, when the terms of the pact were fulfilled, devils came to kidnap Twardowski to hell. Interestingly, instead of taking the sorcerer’s soul after death, the most material demons appeared and grabbed Twardowski in order to kidnap him bodily, alive… and instead of heading towards the underground, which in legends is considered the traditional place of residence of demons and damned souls, they began to carry away up with him. At some point, Twardowski started singing religious songs, which caused the demons to escape, leaving him on the Moon, where he is said to have stayed ever since. Could the “demons” actually be extraterrestrials? Maybe mi-go? Maybe Twardowski was their agent and obtained secret knowledge and technology from them that gave him the fame of a sorcerer? As part of his studies, did he acquire knowledge of a system of sounds („religious songs”) that was able to drive away his masters when they decided that his usefulness on Earth had ended and it was time to transport him to a space base where he would be transformed into a brain in jar? Or was transportation to the Moon part of the deal from the beginning? Oh, one more interesting fact – according to legends, Twardowski used to use a rooster as a horse, which he enlarged with his magic. It’s easy to imagine an abomination that, in the eyes of laymen, might have resembled a large rooster… Examples of scenario hooks: – Twardowski’s secret mirror is still in the church in Węgrów. The local priest thinks it is just other „pagan” superstitions, but in fact it is a tool enabling contact with cosmic beings and higher realities. It may prove useful to players if they convince the priest to give it back or simply steal it. – Players are looking for Twardowski’s notes to gain knowledge about the „song” thanks to which he drove away mi-go (or other creatures that became the prototype of the „devils” from the legend). The so-called Twardowski’s „School” or „Cathedral” was located in a quarry near Kraków. In fact, at the end of the 19th century, during the construction of the church of St. Józef, a cave showing traces of alchemical experiments was discovered… And it was destroyed. But perhaps there is a second, secret laboratory under the cave that escaped destruction? And there lie Twardowski’s secrets… And again, potential obstacles may be placed by the local parish priest. But not only him. Maybe Twardowski’s legendary „rooster” lies dormant in the laboratory and was left by the sorcerer as a guard? – players are astronauts on the Moon. However, it turns out that someone lives here, someone who was not detected by previous expeditions and probes. Will Twardowski prove to be an ally in the fight against cosmic horrors? Or maybe their agent, or an independent villain? If he survived this long on the Moon thanks to blasphemous secrets, it’s possible that he had little humanity left…
The rest of the text is avalaible (of course, for free) here: https://adeptusrpg.wordpress.com/2024/05/13/some-lovecraftian-inspiration-form-real-life-and-beliefs/

Hi all,
23M here, white but coarse and curly enough facial hair and for the life of me, I can not get away from ingrowns/bumps
Months ago I switched over to Andis T Outliners. Cartridges and even DE with a variety of methods/supplies gave me razor burn, bumps, and ingrown hairs. The clippers definitely improved things but definitely didn’t solve them either.
My understanding is to keep the hair above skin level and that clippers don’t cut short enough to have to worry about that. But like I said, I’m still having the same issue with the T Outliners. What am I doing wrong at this point? I’ve been trimming every day, I used to trim every 3 but by then I have enough length that my hairs curl back into my face. It seems like no matter what I do I’m stuck with fucked up skin and it always goes back to my facial hair.
Please help guys, I feel so defeated. This shit just murders my confidence. Like I said I’m white and pretty pale at that so I constantly just have redness everywhere on my face from this. 23 looking like an acne ridden teenager.
I’ll also add that I have been to a dermatologist for acne related stuff, she did diagnose pseudofolliculitis barbae and recommended trimming, with the grain. Not shaving too close. But like I said, that’s not solving my issue either. Maybe the T Outliner is somehow still cutting too short? I’m just defeated here man
Thanks in advance

To start off, english is not my native language, so sorry if there's any misspelling.
Since september, I have had some problemas with my boyfriend because of our friends, I felt really left out and they never invited me to anything. I felt pretty bad because I'm not studying right now so I can't make any friends to hang out while he's out, I tried to stay at home but I really felt bad because they didn't want me there. They did some type of things that would make me uncomfortable, like one of them leaving when they heard I was coming, smoking weed while I was there, going to abandoned places late at night where I didn't feel secure.
That was going on since September, Christmas was crazy because I couldn't even get to see my bf or even my friends (my bf and me are in the same friendgroup, and his ex is also in that friendgroup), so at march I decide to just talk to all of them. Friday 1 of March, I decide to try to talk to them, my boyfriend knows about this and that same day he gets mad with me, I didn't knew why but he talked to me in a way I felt uncomfortable. I asked him to talk face to face and everything calma down a bit, but he said something that I didn't understand: He said he "Couldn't handle commitment", but he said it in a way I didn't suspect that much.
At the end of that day, I couldn't talk to them because they smoked and I didn't felt confortable talking with someone in that state. My boyfriend and I stayed talking a bit and we said we could spend the next day together. Now, 2 of March, he again gets mad at me and I don't know why, he said to me somethings that really hurt me but I asked him again to talk it in person so we could talk it out. Now, when I thought the conversación had ended, he said he was thinking again of "her" as he used to do. My mind was blown, I started to cry and I couldn't touch him, I was in such shock I thought I was going to vomit and almost did. A lot of things happened, I was so frustated I kept asking him "Do you like her?" and he kept saying he didn't. Even my mom calles me, thinking I was calmed down, asking if we wanted hot chocolate, and even tho he knew how I was at that moment he acted so calm that it just made me more angry.
At the end, I just hugged him and cried with him, telling him it was normal and that it would pass, I didn't tell anybody, I only told my long distante friend because I really needed help. The rest of the day was horrifying, I just cried while he made me dinner, ate what my stomach could bare and kept making questions, to him and to myself, saying like "Is this my fault?", "Do you still love me?", "She's better than me at everything", "Is this going to work?", and everything I said to, he said what I wanted to hear.
3 of March. I woke up with a pressure in my chest I had never felt, I slept about 6 hours, and I just ignored everything that happened to keep me sane. I called my long distante friend to help me calm down, and textos my bf as per usual. He started to talk again as he did all those days, I just asked him to stop, he was talking in a way I could tell that he just wanted to break up. (Something I didn't clarify, I was so scared that this was going to happen, that while he was making me dinner I told him that is he left me he could make out with anyone at any time and that he could break up with me per text, just because I knew this could happen) So I just told him "So do you wanna break up with me?", at what of course, he said yes.
He kept messaging me saying "no no no no", "I didn't want to destroy you in that way", "I'm so sorry". He called me about three times, the first one I couldn't answer because I was carlinga my mom to tell her because I didn't knew how to react. While I was emailing my therapist for help, he texted me he was going to my house. I told my mom and my sister all that happened before he arrived so they knew what happened with his ex.
When he came, I didn't knew how to act, I kept asking him all this type of questions about me or her or us, things like if he cared about out relathionship, or when did he started to feel things about her again. He answered sincerely to everything, which I'm glad, but I think I shouldn't have asked so much. So that day we broke up, I didn't knew how to tell my friends so I tweeted it in my private account, I told everyone so they could understand that even tho I broke up with him, I still wanted to be in the friendgroup and that I needed their support at that moment.
The next week was horrible, I couldn't eat, my period was so late I thought I was pregnant and had to take a pregnancy test, everything was going really bad. I had two sesions with my therapist, but they didn't help as I thought they would. I kept textil him every three or four hours, I didn't knew in who to rely on at that momento. The 6 of March, he decided to tell her his feeling, in which she had the same reaction as me because we didn't espect it. The 8 of March I decided to meet with all my friendgroup without my bf, me and his ex talked until it was really late, and when I came home I saw some messages from him, I answered him and we talked about a lot of things, about how I thought he maybe had a psychotic break because a lot of his friends were affected because of this thing, and he finally said it, he said that he still loved me and I didn't knew how to react.
Since then I tried to keep it as friends, we met some days after that and we talked about it, he wanted to be really near me but I tried not to. I still try to be carefull with what I do and I'm scared that our friends get angry with us or even, if we get together again. It's May and he still wants to be with me, a lot of his friends are still angry with him and now with me because I forgave him. It's really long and I tried to make it as short as posible, but I really need someone to just hear how it is affecting me and help me out.
If something isn't clear or someone doesn't understand, I apreciate it that you comment it so I can clarify :)

Cowboys & Aliens is a science fiction Western first-person shooter video game idea. The story is based on the 2006 Platinum Studios graphic novel of the same name, and the second adaptation after the 2011 film. The game is set during the Wild West in the year 1873, where Earth is facing an alien invasion by The Caste, a xenophobic reptilian species with superior beliefs and advanced technology. Players control gunslingers Zeke Jackson (primarily) and Verity Jones (secondarily) as they help lead a resistance against the alien threat along with human enemies and genetic mutants created by the Caste. The story would be told in a linear single-player campaign and important plot moments are shown during gameplay and cutscenes (both third-person and in-game first-person).
The gameplay combines first-person shooting with unique weapons and gadgets like the energy whip and the microwave-emitting pistol, combining traditional Western firearms and alien technology like revolvers, Winchester rifle, and a plasma shotgun. Players could journey through the linear chapters filled with combat, stealth, exploration, optional side missions, and puzzles. Key gameplay features include: a Caste gauntlet that Zeke steals and wears on his left arm which could shoot energy bolts, pulses, create a shield and much more, third-person horse riding/vehicle sequences, and a variety of weapons that could all be carried and customized. There're also skill points that could be earned throughout the single player game. The game could also feature a mini HUD and melee attacks. The player could have a health meter that decreases whenever they take damage, but they could restore their health by either waiting for it to regenerate, or by using med-packs to immediately heal themselves.

As cliché as that sounds, your mindset actually is more important than you might think.

Think about it, us funny little humans have a tendency to make decisions based on a myriad of emotions such as fear, anger, and frustration. These emotions can cloud our judgment and make it difficult for us to see things clearly. Taking a moment to step back and approach decisions with a calm and rational mindset is crucial, instead of allowing our emotions to control our choices. Deeply understanding what creates your emotions and being clear on what your values are, what's most important to you, and what create peace of mind will enable you to live your life from the inside out. Life will appear to be unfolding for you, instead of happening to you.

When we regulate our own emotions, taking ownership of them, we can make more informed and thoughtful decisions that are in line with our true desires and values.

Next time you're faced with a tough decision, take a moment to pause, reflect, and make sure you're making a choice from a place of clarity and understanding. If this seems hocus-pocus, or "hard to do" that's your sign to get help and support from a thinking partner like me. You can't fix what you can't see, and likely there's some thoughts, stories, beliefs and automatic thoughts that are preventing you from seeing your blind spots.

What's the antidote to feeling sad, lonely, and suffering? How do you develop a better mindset? By not focusing on who you currently are, but rather looking up to who you can be. We humans need and thrive in problem solving. Think about it, when you're sitting idle what happens? Our outdated brain loves to manufacture and create the illusion there is a "problem" often not in us, in other people, places, things, situations and circumstanced outside of us.
What's the truth?
There is no problem, there's nothing wrong with you either, it's a thought created illusion, story creating, distorted thinking issue because the brain loves to feel needed, important and most of all protect it's human from anything that might cause it harm. I wants to feel useful and it's best friend Ego comes to the rescue.
That's right your brain doesn't care if you are happy, successful, look sexy, if you're in love, have wealth, get that job promotion, or if you are in a high tax bracket. It only cares if you are safe and so it's constantly, twice a second in fact looking for danger.

Knowing how your emotions are created and how you simple your brain is, this will give you the crib notes to having a life that you dream of.

Want to train your brain to work for you rather than against your goals, I can help!

To see what it takes to work with me as your coach, click HERE

A little plot convinient coincidence never hurt anyone.
First
You know the drill: credit to SpacePaladin15 for the universe.
Thank you JulianSkies for proofreading.
Memory Transcription Subject: Gillab, Gojid Citizen, Husband and Father
Date [Standardized Human Time]: March 27, 2142
It was early in the morning, birds were chirping, and the air was still chilled from the night. It was a comfortable morning, especially considering what had happened yesterday. I could still feel the leftovers of a hangover in the back of my head, but it was more than manageable for me. A small headache like that wouldn’t stop me from visiting the memorial.
I still had a ways to walk before I got there, but I didn’t mind. It just let me take in the beauty of the new New York City that had been built. Even if I wasn’t a Human, I felt a sense of pride at the sight of the glistening towers and the clean streets. Despite only playing a minor role in the clean-up and reconstruction, it was certainly enough for me to feel that I had contributed enough to take pride in it.
I still cannot believe I ever even thought of hating Humans, the fact that I did still disgust me to this day. I wasn’t alone in that mindset either, billions of former soldiers, exterminators, or Human-phobes had woken up to the reality, with tens of thousands of them moving to Earth and trying to repay the Humans what they had taken. Many of them still struggled with coming to terms with their past.
It was because of them that I could become a husband to the most beautiful Gojid in the universe and father to the most rambunctious one. Without their help on the Cradle, I would have died long ago and never have been able to even see the love of my life. They inspired me to become more than just a father and husband, I was going to become just like them.
In my free time, I often worked for charities, volunteered for clean-ups, and tried my hand as a substitute teacher. Even if I wasn’t the best at it, I still enjoyed doing them. It let me feel like I was making a difference in the world, continuing the legacy that the Humans had set up. I would save as many people as I could, just like the person who saved me.
I had lost track of Billy ever since the Cradle, and the one time I had heard about him was from Naeriu telling me how Billy ended up surviving in a cabin in Alaska. It wasn’t like I didn’t try to find him, but it was a big universe, and finding one soldier seemingly determined not to be found made it frustratingly difficult.
After six years of on-and-off searching, I had finally given up on him. I had searched for his name several times on every memorial I could find, desperately hoping to find some sort of closure on his life, but in the end I was left clueless as to the fate of the man who did so much for me.
I sighed the thoughts out of my head, not wanting to have such a negative mindset when I was trying to visit some friends.
I passed under the familiar arch, taking a deep breath of the salty air as I did. After the bombs fell, the crater left behind quickly flooded with ocean water. The near-perfect bowl had become a new habitat for all manner of sea life, a symbol of how even the worst tragedy could be overcome. Surrounding the crater was a ring of stone walls, divided into sections corresponding to when and where a soldier was killed or went missing.
I navigated the massive monument with familiarity, having visited it many times before. I’ve always preferred to visit the day after the holiday, it was always almost empty as people had their fill the day before. Every year or so someone would have a similar idea to me, but it never drew from the experience.
And speaking of, a single man was standing in the exact spot I preferred to stand in. In one of his hands was a bag with the top of a bottle poking out and his other was clenched into a tight fist, his eyes were clenched tightly, his face was strained in pain and profound sadness. You didn’t need to be a detective to know that this man was hurting, whether for lost brethren in arms, lost biological brethren, or simply overwhelming sadness from the loss of life, this man was hurting.
I considered leaving the disheveled man to his devices, but some deep part of my mind told me to talk to him. He didn’t turn to face me as I got closer, he didn’t even open his eyes. It was as if nothing outside of his mind was real to him and it could all be ignored.
“Excuse me? Sir? Are you visiting someone you know?”
He still ignored me, but he loosened the death grip he had on his fist.
“It’s fine if you don’t tell me, but I find that it helps to talk about your feelings with someone else. Even if that someone else is an alien.”
Slowly the man opened his eyes and sluggishly turned to face me. Still, he refused to speak.
“It’s fine if you don’t want to speak, I can stay quiet. But if you won’t stop me, I’d like to speak at you. You don’t have to respond, sometimes it’s better to just listen anyway.”
To my surprise, the man actually spoke. His voice was rough and sad, matching the image in front of me. “Why are you here?”
I smiled and turned to face the wall of names. “I’m visiting some old friends, people who saved my life.”
I pointed a claw at the names. “Owen Oak and James Kle are the ones that I know here, but I know more at other points along the wall. Who did you know?”
The man was silent for a moment. “The same people.”
“Really? How did you know them?”
“I was a soldier. I worked with them.”
I started to nod when a thought flashed through my mind. If he knew the soldiers who worked with Billy, maybe he knew Billy himself. It didn’t seem like a stretch in my eyes, they were all part of the same squad after all.
So, despite having given up on actively searching for Billy, I decided to ask the question. “If you don’t mind me asking, do you maybe know a soldier named Billy Marsh?”
“That’s me.”
I blinked. “W-what?”
“I’m Billy Marsh.”
I stepped back and looked the man up and down. As I did, he finally looked me in the eyes. Once I saw his eyes, the color and shape, I knew with all my heart that this man was Billy Marsh. Even with the scraggly hair, patchy beard, dirty clothes, and brown-bagged drink in hand, there was no mistaking the eyes of the man who saved my life.
“Holy shit… It really is you.”
Billy took a deep drink of his liquor, barely flinching from what I could now see was Venlilian alcohol. He must have been drinking it frequently to be so used to the burning, and judging from his appearance that was no stretch.
“Yeah, it’s me. Billy Marsh, Human trash and parasite to the world.”
My mind tumbled at the words, causing me to stutter and hold out a claw in surprise. “N-now wait a second. You are anything but Human trash or a parasite. You’re a hero Billy, I know for a fact. You saved my life!”
“I’m no hero. I’ve killed so many others. It would have been better off if I never joined the military, maybe more lives could have been saved. Maybe Owen’s life could have been saved.”
He took another gulp of his drink as I spoke. “Now hold on, you saved plenty of-”
Alcohol spilled onto his shirt as he yelled. “I didn’t save anyone! Someone else could have saved so many more lives than I could! At the end of it all, when all was said and done, I was an idealistic fool and a failure and a horrible person. I’ve ended up killing more people than I’ve saved, and I’ve ruined so many lives.”
I took a stand. “Now that’s blatantly not true. Who’s telling you this? Billy, you are one of the kindest, most caring people I have ever met.”
“Was. I was one of the kindest and most caring. And you want to know why? It was because I hadn’t been woken up to just how terrible the universe really was. I mean, what could one young, dumb soldier do in the grand scheme, right? If I really wanted to help, I should have become a doctor or a fucking politician, right? But I chose to be a soldier, a useless fucking pawn that wasn’t even good at its job.”
He took another drink as I stood stunned at who Billy had become. I never could have expected the valiant, patient, caring soldier to become so volatile and angry. I had to help him. I don’t care if I have to miss a few classes, I’m rescuing this man from himself.
“Billy, can I visit sometime soon?”
He spilled a little alcohol as he pulled the bottle away quickly. “Fuck no. I don’t need to ruin your life too. Stay the hell away from me, I’m like a fucking bomb. You are just going to get hurt, it’s a miracle you didn’t the first time.”
“Well if you’re a bomb, then I’m going to disarm you. I don’t know how long you have been like this, but I’m going to heal you.”
He pointed a finger at my chest. “Then I’m just going to fight back. I’m not letting you anywhere near me.”
I pointed right back. “You don’t get to make that decision. It’s my life, and I am choosing to help you.”
“You are going to regret it. I say that with one hundred percent absolute certainty.”
“We won't know until we try.”
Billy took a step back, placed a hand on his head and growled. “You know what? Fine. Try your luck. It’s your life, right? But when you see just how helpless you are to help me, don’t expect to get your wasted time back. I don’t know what you think you can do, but give it a try! It’s still early in the morning, so why don’t we head on back to my place so you can work whatever magic you think you have.”
Billy didn’t wait for a response and stormed off to the exit without another word. I watched him for a long moment before sighing deeply. I don’t know the exact details of what happened to him, but with what Naeriu told me and the names on the memorial I could piece together some vague details. It sounded like Billy had gone through hell, and now he thinks he deserves it.
I clenched my claw in determination before jogging to catch up to Billy. I had some calls to make on the way over to his house knowing just how much work I was going to have to do to help the man who saved me.

Hi. I've had eczema all my life but it had always been very mild and could be kept under control. People have never asked if I jad eczema because it was never quite visible. Anyway, I've recently moved from a soft water city in Asia to Birmingham in the UK, and it's only been 3 months when I immediately started developing unusual skin conditions like seborrheic dermatitis - something I've never had before in my life. It started from my scalp, at first I thought it was just dandruff and that I wasn't washing my hair as frequently but it started to spread all over my face too, my face would develop red itchy patches, so serious I had to take a day or two off school. Although having eczema, I never had it on my face as they would just be on areas like behind my knees or behind my elbow. Then I went to the GP and he gave prescribed me Nizoral which helped with that massively. However, I am still experiencing these red rashes on my face which is EXTREMELY painful and I've used steroids + protopic and they would keep it under control for at most 5 days until I have to use them again. My arm, around my waist and my entire neck have also always felt itchy. I've cut all dairy products, seafood, beef and eggs since 8 years ago and have continued to do so so I don't think it's to do with the food. Now, I'm thinking it may have something to do with the water I shower with. I know that Birmingham had relatively less hard water compared to London or more down south but it's still a lot harder compared to the water I've used my entire life in Hong Kong. Could that be the cause? Does anyone have experiences similar to mine? Any advice on what to do now? Will installing a water filter help? Thanks!

Hello and TIA for any help!
So my 8 year old daughter started out with these symptoms 4 weeks ago: sinus pressure, nausea, headaches, dizziness. We waited about 4 days then I took her to her PCP who diagnosed a sinus infection and just said to do Flonase, Zyrtec (which we were already doing).
The nausea continued to worsen and she started having abdominal pain as well which caused her to miss a few days of school. I took her back to the doctor 2 weeks after her initial appointment. The doctor diagnosed constipation, treated the sinus infection with amoxicillin and said to give her prunes/prune juice. I suspected she'd need way more than that due to her symptoms so I gave her 5 doses of miralax throughout the morning, and she pooped 15-20x. Three days later we're at urgent care with suspected possible appendicitis. After an adb ultrasound and X-ray we are diagnosed with a belly FULL of stool, and given orders for a 3-day Miralax/senna cleanout with clear liquids.
After 2.5 days of this misery her poop looks like slightly cloudy pee (she was only having water and broth with miralax that day) so I let her eat applesauce and a small amount of gluten free pasta with olive oil. She tolerated dinner well but the next morning (yesterday) she was nauseous again after breakfast so I kept her home again and did liquids/BRAT foods.
Today she told me she had nausea and abd pain all night and couldn't sleep. She feels moderate pain all over her and (lower abd worse, especially LLQ), nausea and she's very dizzy. I'm afraid she's missing too much school but I can't send her like this. I'm starting to be doubtful it even is sinus issues because morning has helped her dizziness and headaches go away.
She's not faking symptoms because she enjoys school and she feels crappy even when doing something enjoyable like watching favorite movie. It's been 4 weeks of these symptoms with nothing helping. What else could it be that I should be watching for (differential diagnosis)?? She's not had a fever. I'm planning to go to urgent care again today probably for more imaging or blood work but any help would be appreciated!!

Hare Krishna. This post is to help educate those (some, not all) Smartas and Shaivas who lack knowledge about Hinduism, and who thus spread hatred against Vaishnavas.
Vaishnavas sometimes get attacked because Vaishnava denominations assert a difference between Shiva and Vishnu, and hold the position of Vishnu being greater than Shiva (in some way or another). We get hate by (some, not all) Smartas who think that ALL Hindus MUST hold to Hari-Hara Abheda (Oneness of Shiva and Vishnu), and also by (some, not all) Shaivas who falsely accuse us of hating Shiva. ISKCON especially gets attacked because they have the largest english language global presence among the Vaishnavas.
Criticism is fine, debate is normal, but we Vaishnavas face hatred and vitriol by those uneducated (some, not all) Smartas and Shaivas. We also face the false accusations that ONLY Vaishnavas do this (hold one to be superior to the other), but that is not true at all.
This post will show how a Shaiva Sampradaya, the Veerashaivas, do the exact same thing that Shaivas and Smartas (some, not all) accuse us of : Veerashaivas hold that Shiva is superior to Vishnu.
! Objection : You are using the wrong flair, you must use the criticism flair !
Rebuttal :
This is not a criticism. I am not criticising the Veerashaiva's philosophy. It's perfectly ok for different Hindu denominations to disagree. This post is to educate people that thinking one God is superior to another is perfectly acceptable in Hinduism.
It's an acceptable Hindu position to think that Shiva is superior or to think that Vishnu is superior or to think that neither is superior. All 3 of those positions are acceptable to have in Hinduism. None of them take you out of the Hindu fold. None of these positions is anti-Hindu or hateful.
This post is to educate those Smartas and Shaivas (some, not all), who hate Vaishnavas for holding Vishnu to be superior, who are uneducated that there are Shaivas do the same with Shiva.
This post is to spread knowledge about Hinduism in order to help end the hatred against Vaishnavas.
This post will use the Siddhanta Shikhamani, a Veerashaiva scripture, as evidence.
Note : I am NOT getting into the Veerashaiva vs Lingayata political debate. That is not relevant here. I have not spoken of Lingayatas. I am speaking ONLY of Veerashaivas in this post.
This post be divided into 4 sections :

1. Acceptance of the Siddhanta Shikhamani by Veerashaivas.
2. Veerashaivsim is the supreme interpretation of the Vedas according to Veerashaivas.
3. Equating of Shiva to the Vedantic Brahman by Veerashaivas.
4. Inferiority of Vishnu according to Veerashaivas.

Let us begin :
(1) Acceptance of the Siddhanta Shikhamani by Veerashaivas :
The Veerashaivas have 5 great peethas (panchapeethas), similar to how Smartas have their different Shankaracharya Mathas. The 5 Veerashaiva peethas are : Kedara, Kashi (Varanasi), Ujjain, Shrishail and Rambhapuri (Balehonnur).
Let's take even just 1 of the 5 peethas. For this example i will use Rambhapuri Peetha.
Source : https://www.rambhapuripeetha.org/
The peetha and it's jagadguru say very very clearly :

All these chronicles were collected by Sri Shivayogi Shivacharya and created the holy Sri Siddhanta Shikhamani Granth. This is the scripture of Veerashaivism today.

And they also say :

It goes without saying that Siddhanta Shikhamani, which is the crowning bead of valorisations, is always universal.

Thus the authenticity of the Siddhanta Shikhamani to the Veerashaivas is established through their own peethas and their own jagadgurus.
(2) Veerashaivsim is the supreme interpretation of the Vedas according to Veerashaivas.
A misconception some people have is that the Veerashaivas are not "Vedic", and that they don't accept accept the Vedas. This is false.
In the Siddhanta Shikhamani the sage Agastya asks Renuka to preach the Siddhanta that is expounded in the text. And in the question Agastya explicitly refers to it as the doctrine that is acceptable to the Vedas :

Hence I would like to hear from you the Siddhänta, which is acceptable to the Vedas. O omniscient one, please tell me the doctrine which is directly associated with Shiva, which is the means for attaining all rewards, which brings immediate achievement for the people, which is resorted to by all the best sages, which is not even smelt by the persons of illconduct, which is accepted by the knowers of Veda

And Renuka explicitly responds as follows, clearly stating that this Siddhanta of Shiva is the fullest following of the Vedas.

O Agastya, who is the lion among the sages and who is well versed in all the Ägamas, I shall tell you the Siddhanta which inculcates the knowledge of Shiva; listen to it with respect.
O Agastya, there are (many) Siddhanta which are well known, which differ according to aptitudes, which are associated with various practices and which propound various tenets.
Sankhya, Yoga, Pancharatra, Vedas and Pashupata, these are the Siddhanta which are quite authoritative and which should not be refuted with arguments.
O Great sage, among these, Sankhya, etc., Veda is predominant. The authoritativeness of these is decidedly on the ground that they follow Veda.
O sage, Pancharatra, Sankhya and Yoga are based on some parts of Veda, while Shaivasiddhanta is based on the entire Veda.
O great sage, compared to Sankhya, etc, which are based on some parts of Veda, the Shaivasiddhanta, which follows the entire Veda, is superior.

It goes onto say Vedas and this Siddhanta are the same doctrine

The Shivagama called Siddhanta is said to be acceptable to Veda because it advocates the Dharma that is taught in Veda and also because it opposes whatever that is outside or unacceptable to Veda.
Veda and Siddhanta are one because they propound the same doctrine. Authoritativeness of the two should always be grasped as similar by the learned.

And finally it talks of how the Veerashaiva doctrine is Supreme.

In the latter part of the great traditional lore called Siddhanta which starts with Kamika and which is taught by Shiva, the supreme doctrine of Veerashaiva is advocated.

Thus it is established that the Veerashaivas accept the Vedas and they they assert that the supreme fullest interpretation of the Vedas is their Veerashaiva philsophy, as indicated by their own scripture.
(3) Equating of Shiva to the Vedantic Brahman by Veerashaivas.
This one is very easy as it is one of the earliest verses in the Siddhanta Shikamani :
It talks of Shiva being the Brahman of the Vedanta

I salute the Supreme Shiva, whom the Vedanta philosophers call as the designation of Brahman and as the source of the world.

(4) Inferiority of Vishnu according to Veerashaivas.
And here we get to the crux of the matter.
It talks about Vishnu becoming bald and suffering 10 births due to insulting the devotees of Shiva

Having done wrong to two of my (Shiva) devotees called Bhagu and Shankukarna, Visnu became bald and suffered ten births (incarnations).

It talks about Vishnu being defeated by a devotee of Shiva (not even Shiva himself) and having his Sudarshana Chakra broken

Having fought against my (Shiva) devotee Dadhéca, in the past, Visnu suffered defeat with his disc having been broken.

And here references are made to the births of Vishnu, just so you are clear that it is talking about the same Vishnu, and that he is tormented under material afflictions and birth and death. This is indicative of Jeeva.

The great Visnu who took birth in the forms of fish., tortoise, boar, man-lion and man, suffered death.
Having been born in the castes such as Brahmana, etc., the being is tormented repeatedly by the heat of the great fire in the form of threefold afflictions.

Here again it talks of how affluences of Vishnu and Brahma are subject to waning and waxing, in other words they are subject to Samsara, they are NOT eternal. This is also indicative of Jeeva.

The Veeramaheshwara always considers with reason the affluences of Brahma, Visnu, etc., which are subject to waning and waxing, as similar to a straw of grass.

Here it talks of how Brahma and Visnu cannot understand Shiva

Who can understand that Linga (Shiva) which is of the nature of lustre and which even Brahma and Visnu could not decipher?

It talks about Vishnu and Brahman and Mahalakshmi and others serving Shiva.

Brahma, Visnu, Indra, etc., who had formed into rows adorning themselves with weapons, served all around him (Shiva), who had the authority of world-creation.
Mahalakshmi held for him (Shiva) the white umbrella which was of the form of white lotus, which was bright and which resembled the full moon.

So lets summarise this section :

1. Vishnu was cursed by Shiva
2. Vishnu suffered torment of material afflictions
3. Vishnu suffered 10 births and deaths
4. Vishnu was defeated and had is chakra broken by Shiva's devotee (not even by Shiva himself)
5. Vishnu's affluence are waxing and waning like a staw of grass, so they are NOT eternal.
6. Vishnu cannot understand Shiva
7. Vishnu and Mahalakshmi serve Shiva

Birth, death, suffering, torment, defeats, temporary and not eternal affluence, lack of understanding, these are all indicative of Samsara, indicative of Jeevas and NOT of God.
Thus it is clear that the Veerashaivas think of Vishnu as inferior to Shiva, as a Jeeva, and even cursed by Shiva.
Conclusion :
I hope this shows people that difference between Shiva and Vishnu, superiority of one over the other, is also an acceptable position to hold in Hinduism, both among Vaishnavas AND among Shaivas as well.
Let's all learn to accept diversity of philosophy within the Sanatana Dharma.
Let's all learn to not spread hatred and vitriol against Vaishnavas or Shaivas, just because someone asserts that Vishnu or Shiva is superior to the other.
Let's all learn to not hate people who assert a difference between Shiva and Vishnu (in some way or another)
Let's all remember that : It's an acceptable Hindu position to think that Shiva is superior or to think that Vishnu is superior or to think that neither is superior. All 3 of those positions are acceptable to have in Hinduism. None of them take you out of the Hindu fold.
Hare Krishna.

First: https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/14vo5lb/troublemakers_deaths_pity/
*previous:* https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/1crq34h/troublemakers_buried_secrets_bolster_the_weak/
......
Go'mon strutted around the command center, a cape of deep purple silk flowing about his shoulders as he wore his gilded armor. An ornate helmet underneath one arm, the faceplate forged into the visage of a snarling Rak'nal beast. He peered over the shoulders of drone pilots, observing the carnage on the streets in front of the mansion. His black scimitar hung at his belt, the palm of his war gauntlet resting on the hilt, eyebrow crests rising as he saw the expeditionary general's Buzzard explode.
"Casualty report on General Gra'vos?"
He stated to the small Geknosian woman who deftly piloted her drone closer to the wreckage to pull data from the onboard recorder. Her eyes sparkled, reflected in the screen as the data was streamed directly into her brain through a neural implant.
"Deceased, Just like you planned, his provided pleasure slave threw him from the craft and stole the det-sphere you clipped to his belt. You seem to know a lot about how these humans fight."
Go'mon touched the small grooves underneath the elastomer skin of his face where that parasite had shot him with a concealed gun. He laughed bloodily and purred.
"Failure is the greatest teacher in the universe, these parasites have taught me everything they know. Now we just need to see what their true fighting strength is."
"Understood sir, orders?"
"Get a view on the inner courtyard and report to the commanders of the second and third waves their positions and weaponry."
A young lieutenant called out.
"Sir! Twelve UHM-60 Blackhawks en-route to the enemy base! Advise!"
Go'mon stalked over, peering over the satellite observer's shoulder as he followed a chevron of twelve helicopters loaded down with ancient, obsolete human war-droids. He rapped the claws of his war gauntlet against the handle of his scimitar with a purr.
"Send orders to Commander Mar'tek to equip three of his Gallicks with anti-air weaponry, and orders for Commander Rak'don to equip his light attack craft with visual lock on missiles."
"Yes sir, relaying orders now."
Go'mon patted his subordinate on the shoulder hard enough to make them wince as he stepped back to gaze up at the massive map of Golgotha on the big screen. Small purple dots converging on a black dot that symbolized the human base of operations. He noticed that Mar'tek's forces were delayed, having only made it roughly halfway to their staging area. Walking over to the Comm's desk he asked.
"What's taking Commander Mar'tek so long to get into position?"
"A small group of human Saboteurs dropped a pair of buildings across the roadway, they're still clearing the rubble sir."
Go'mon nodded, picking idly at his metal teeth with the sharp point of his war gauntlet's index finger.
"Hm... I thought the parasite's response was oddly punctual, color me surprised they had the wherewithal to keep scouts. Move Mar'tek to the rear of the attack plan and tell Rak'don he's up next."
"Yessir!"
Go'mon chuckled haughtily, exiting the command room and returning to his field office. Setting his helmet on top of his desk he picked up the communication stick for sylva.
"Sylva, Would you kindly deal with that gate once you've landed?~"
There was a pause before.
"I'm too injured to follow that order sir."
Go'mon raised an eyebrow crest at the monotone voice that echoed back through the device.
"you've never refused a command before darling, would you kindly take care of the gate?"
The pause was longer this time, much longer this time. Then, a different, much younger voice came through, filled with fear, but also tainted with determination.
"Fuck you, Go'mon. These are our friends."
The sound of penny whistles and drums accompanied the words before the comms device popped in his gauntlet with the sound of a musket shot. Impossibly thick gray smoke pulsing from the speaker as he snarled and tossed it to the side.
"Bobby, Would you be a dear and retrieve your sister for me?"
The almost seven foot tall brute slowly nodded, eyes dull behind his ceramite mask as he stomped from the command center, bulky combat armor clattering and clunking with each step. Go'mon pressed his metal teeth together with a hiss. That damned warrior corrupted everything he touched with delusions of free will. Go'mon grabbed a fungal cigar from the box General Da'kos had given him as a thank you gift. The sweet, smoky flavor filling his maw as he lit it with the glowing hot blade of his gauntlet's thumb. He relaxed into his chair, flicking his cape out from beneath him as he enjoyed the cigar to relieve some momentary stress. His body suddenly flared with tingling power as the voice of Conquest growled in his ear.
"Kill that boy before he realises your plan. if he finds out your intentions he won't hold back."
Go'mon puffed the cigar and pulled it from his lips, letting it burst into purple flames and crumble away into cinders as he rose from his chair. He stepped out into the command center and commanded.
"Get me a buzzard to that battlefield, Order's from Conquest herself!"
There was a moment of silence as he let his aura roll over the command room, several of the comms officers immediately setting up a Buzzard for his departure.
...
Dust kicked off the ground as Drake's jump pack slowed his fall meters above the ground, He hit the ground and tore it from his back, whipping it into a group of soldiers and hitting it with a jet of pale flames.
The pack detonated in ball of orange fire that vaporized the soldiers, his cape fluttering in the backdraft before he whipped his sword from it's sheath, keen edges wreathed in pale flames as he took a Geknosian's arm off at the elbow as they tried to stuff a blaster pistol in his face. He snatched the blaster pistol from the air, using it to put a kinetic bolt into the faceplate of a powerarmored soldier with a Warhammer, Crumpling it inwards as he slid a foot back, another warhammer crashing into the ground where he'd just been standing. Another kinetic bolt tore off the soldier's pauldron as the hammer swung up at his face, making him reel back as another hammerhead caught him at the small of his back and knocked the air from his lungs. Another hammer slammed into his faceplate, forcing him to kick himself into a flip to land back on his feet. Ears ringing he deflected a Warhammer with his sword before putting another blaster bolt into the wielder's faceplate. But even as they fell back, another hammerblow hit the side of his helmet and smacked him down. Drake rolled out of the way as twenty millimeter high-explosive rounds shredded his assailants, allowing him to get to his feet as the war-bots formed a lethal semicircle, sending high explosive firepowerinto the rear column of the Geknosian assault at a blistering pace. Drake shook his head clear and vaulted over the back of one, hearing it's gun fall silent as he landed in it's cone of fire. Several flowing chops decimated a small squad of Geknosians as he tried to fight his way to the center of the column where the Gallicks hammered the gate with kinetic penetrators. The armored gate shuddering with each blow as Drake dodged war gauntlets and hammers, retaliating with fast slashes and blinding thrusts. Purple blood drenching him as his heart began to pound with battle lust.
He heard a mighty roar and crackle as one of the flying machines opened up with it's chin gun, harassing a gallick with 20mm High explosive rounds to get it's attention off the gates. It's shadow passing overhead with a Buzzard in pursuit as it slalomed low through the buildings to come back for another gun run. There was a ground shaking Boom! as something exploded beyond the rooftops, a Buzzard, smoking from one engine buzzing overhead and away from the battlefield. Drake quickly returned his focus to the battlefield, Smacking a Warhammer to the side with the blaster pistol before thrusting the blade right beneath the soldier's chin, twisting, and pulling free as a war-bot fell forward, a molten pit of slag glowing in it's back as he turned his head to face another column of armor and armored soldiers as they rounded onto the battlefield, a Buzzard painted the deepest, most royal purple he'd ever seen hovered low in front of them.
A geknosian in gold and purple armor fell from the open door, Cape of purple silk flowing behind them as they landed with one palm against the ground, Dark scimitar slashed out to the side as a crescent blade of purple energy was slung straight at Drake. Death's chosen slashed upward at the crescent, but it flowed around his blade, cutting across his chest and bringing with it a foul, draining weakness as a cold, familiar voice called out.
"That one's mine boys!~ all mine!~"
Drake hadn't recognized Go'mon in the ornate armor, but now there was no mistaking it. He tried to take a step forward but his legs buckled beneath him, sending him to his knees as a festering cold spread from the wounds made by the crescent blade that never touched his armor. He looked in confusion at his sword as the pale flames flickered out, then up just as Go'mons armored shin cracked into the side of his helmet, flinging him through a building as his mind reeled with confusion. He pulled himself from the rubble around him, stumbling to the side as a blade of purple energy sliced through the rubble he'd just been buried in without leaving a mark. He tossed the blaster pistol to the side, bringing the free hand to his mouth, intending to rip a ring off with his teeth. But as Go'mon slung another blade of purple energy with a cackle, He missed the ring, biting off his left index finger, ring and all as a boost of power burned the creeping cold away. He spit the severed digit to the ground as the ring still on it puffed into smoke.
"Feeling weak boy?!~ like your power's been drained?~"
Go'mon purred as he took a step forward, aura swelling with power as he held up the black sword.
"The blade of greed will do that if you let it touch you~"
Go'mon took an unfamiliar stance, Blade arched over his head and pointed down as he fell into a low, wide stance, one arm pushed forward as the blades on his war gauntlet's fingers glowed orange with heat. Drake fell into his peasants guard, gripping his sword in two hands as he glared at Go'mon. His gaze flickered off go'mon for a split second as he thought of everyone still in the mansion and the Geknosian chosen surged forward in a flash of purple light to run drake through before kicking him through the back wall of the building, Drake's power draining away like the blood pouring from the hole in his Lorica. He barely deflected Go'mons black blade as Conquest's chosen surged forward with a brutal slash, unable to focus for the split second required to dissipate a ring and refresh his power. Go'mons aura blooming with power with each blow of that black blade. Drake burst through a wall and into an empty street, tumbling ass over head as he desperately held onto his sword.
Angry red blood spilled from the hole in his armor as he got his elbows under him, a pair of golden boots clomping into view as Go'mon gloated, a softly flickering bloom of pale purple flames in his palm.
"All this power, and you don't even know how to properly control or wield it... Don't worry, you won't have it long~"
Drake manage to dissipate the remaining rings on his left hand, an intoxicating burst of power allowing him to launch himself back away from Go'mon as his wounds knitted closed, severed finger growing back with a crunching, fleshy noise. He could feel Go'mons grin behind the snarling visage of his helmet as he fell into a peasants guard, feeling far too weak for having removed five rings. The two stared at each other silently, one of the flying machines spinning to the ground before exploding into a fireball behind Go'mon. Drake fet a deathly calm fall over him as he twisted his sword up into a high guard.
He had to make it back to his people, no matter what. The thumb and pinkie ring on his right hand puffed into smoke as he felt those corvid like wings form at his back, a cold cage of festering ice around the burning sun of rage in his heart. Go'mon took a simple offensive guard, twirling the scimitar with obvious skill in a figure eight in front of him.
The two chosen launched themselves at each other, Drake wreathed in black smoke as Go'mon exploded with pale purple light; the pavement cracking beneath their feet with the violence of the action.
...
Martha tended to the mounting wounded in the infirmary as fast as she could, back splayed open as small gossamer arms allowed her to work on several wounded at once. Many of the ex-slave women helped, binding wounds with clean bandages and splinting broken limbs like they had back at the plantations. Hearing the large wooden doors of the ballroom infirmary slam open, she looked up as Destrier and Caz hauled in a pale remin and a Brutalized young woman. Keeping one hand holding a bundle of gauze against the bleeding wound she was attempting to close up, The young man looking up at her with fear, pain, and hope on his face as he helped hold the gauze down. Pointing to two empty beds she called out.
"Set them there! Where's Drake?! We could really use the walking embodiment of Death right now!"
Destrier hoarsely called back, setting Remin into a bed as the old man struggled to keep his eyes open.
"He's fighting his way towards us from the rear!"
Caz helped the battered young woman into a bed where she curled into the fetal position before the Markswoman swept back out of the infirmary, Huntress humming as she slammed a new flechette into the barrel. Martha continued tying off tattered blood vessels, trying to keep the young man from bleeding out as Cassius appeared next to her, shaking his hands dry after scrubbing them with antiseptic to help close up the gnarly gash in the stomach of the wounded man behind her. Martha's heart pounded in her throat as she finally managed to sew the wound closed before hitting the fighter with a sedative to ease his pain and knock him out. She wanted to cry but held in her tears as she turned around to focus on the same patient as Cassius, but even as she did, the young man placed a bloodied palm on her forearm. She felt a lone tear drip down her snout as she looked at the mans deathly stillness, eyes closed in quiet acceptance of his fate, a grim smile on his face.
Her legs felt weak beneath her as she leaned on Cassius, watching Destrier rush out of the infirmary out of the corner of her eye.
"we're going to need a miracle if we want to make it out of this alive..."
She whimpered as the din of battle echoed dully from outside. That was when a wounded man sat up, grunting as he held the bandages across his torso. She rushed over to stop him from tumbling out of bed when he simply fell through the floor, an odd superposition happening where he was there and not for a split second. But when it faded, there was a note left on the ground, scrawled in blood red, blotchy words.
"I'll be back, and I won't be alone."
Martha could only hope that was true as she turned to continue tending the wounded, Despair filling her heart as more wounded were brought in from the ramparts.
...
Halcyon held the gate, rifle spitting hatred from behind one of the wall's crenellations as one of his Hellions fell next to him, skull split open by gauss slug. Halcyon glanced down at the gate where Thomas and another hulking agri-droid held it against the wall, the gate rattling with each impact of a Gallick's kinetic penetrator, apples of sunlight spreading across the ground where they'd simply sailed straight through. The Geknosian reinforcements turning an already blistering hail of various projectiles and beams becoming an impassable force as several of their light cruisers fired on the helicopters that circled over the battlefield. Missiles streaking upwards and shredding the soft-skinned aircraft, forcing them to take evasive maneuvers and stop the pulse-pounding barrage of their rotary cannons. Halcyon's attention was drawn to the sky as an impossibly loud crash of steel on steel accompanied a streak of pale purple light and void black as they shot into the sky. The black streak getting slammed down by a brutal, unseen strike that made Halcyon's heart leap into his throat. What kind of monster could go toe to toe with Drake, and appear to be winning.
Halcyon, peaked past the cranellation he had his back against, a gauss slug taking his eye out and making him shout in pain as he jerked his head back. Ripping a bundle of gauze from his medi-pack, he rolled it out and bunched it up, pressing it against his vacant and shattered eye socket as a bout of lightheadedness turned the edges of his reduced vision dark.
One of his men crouched beside him flinching when chips of stone exploded from the crenellation they'd been taking cover behind, some sort of heavy weapon having been aimed at them as they darted for Halcyon. Halcyon looked into their eyes, face just as dismayed as he felt, their words barely audible over the din of battle.
"what do we do, sir...?"
Halcyon let out a sigh, shouting over the roar of gunfire.
"Pull back! secure the mansion!"
The fighters didn't need to be told twice as the ramparts were abandoned, leaping from the walls to sprint back to the mansion, The agri-bots forming a phalanx behind them to cover their retreat. But Halcyon couldn't help but feel this is exactly what the Geknosians wanted.
But even as the fighters swarmed into the Mansion, Two figures walked past them.
A hulking man in dark samurai armor wielding an lmg and a smaller woman with a flowing furred cloak and white mask, carrying an ornate rail rifle walked past them through the doors.
Halcyon watched in dismayed confusion as Caz and Destrier stepped out into the sunlight, a jump pack freshly mounted on Destriers back beside his kanabo. Another smaller figure appeared as if from thin air, Cassius spinning the weight at the end of a chain attached to a kama menacingly as the doors closed behind them, massive metal shutters sealing them out as the mansion was locked down. He couldn't help but smile grimly.
There was a reason they were Drake's friends, and it wasn't because they were the best fighters.
It was because when everyone else ran away, they ran towards the fight... regardless of their own safety.
......
Part 109: will be linked here upon release.

My (29F) husband (40M) wants to sell our family home. What do I do?
Hi Reddit,
I'm in need of some advice regarding my current marital situation and the potential sale of our home. To give you the full picture, I'll start from the beginning. Apologies for the length, but I feel all the details are necessary to understand the context.
I (29F) met my husband (40M) on Tinder four years ago. We dated for about eight months when my family had an opportunity to purchase a property. My then-boyfriend was also looking to be involved in a business deal of that sort, and he was interested in having his name on the property as well. My father supported this, seeing as how my boyfriend was a physician with a good income, and saw this as a way to bring him closer to our family. The opportunity came quickly, and we all signed the contract to purchase the house.
Trouble began shortly after this. My boyfriend requested that only he and I be on the title of the house, removing the rest of my family, as he saw a future with us and envisioned it as our potential family home. My father was very pleased to hear this and supported it, so we obliged. During this time, the property had increased in value, and I requested the other family members be paid off so we could buy out their shares. My boyfriend declined, feeling it was unfair.
To skim over some details, here are the highlights of the construction: My boyfriend paid more for the down payment than we initially realized would be required. Because of this, he paid no further construction costs. The construction proceeded with debt from my family until the construction loans came through. My family paid for the construction, and my father built the house for us without charging for his management services. My father was displeased with my boyfriend’s behavior and required him to pay more money for the construction due to inflation and the COVID shutdown. My boyfriend declined, and my mother and I secretly took out a line of credit to front the construction costs to my father, pretending it was from my boyfriend. Eventually, as we got the construction loans on a rolling basis after meeting construction milestones, my mother’s line of credit was paid off.
During this time, my family and I wondered why my boyfriend had not proposed. I decided that if he hadn't proposed by a certain time, I would leave him. Fortunately, he did propose on Valentine’s Day 2022. By spring of 2022, construction was coming to an end, and it was time for us to settle into the house. My fiancé felt uncomfortable with how much money he had put into the house and was worried I could leave him and make a profit. I promised him I wouldn’t leave him, but it wasn’t enough. He said he would believe me if I had a child with him, otherwise women would leave men if there were no ties. I told him I would have a child with him right when we got married. He suggested I come off birth control, as it takes months for a woman’s cycle to normalize after being on birth control for many years. I promised him I would come off birth control.
Coming off birth control was more stressful than I realized. I was very hormonal, breaking out, and felt unlike myself. This contributed to my fiancé and I fighting more than usual. In one particularly heated fight, I told him I would go back on birth control and even purchased the pills, but he told me he would break up with me if I did because he wanted to get to know the real me. I conceded, and then something switched in me and I became excited at the possibility of having a baby. I started tracking my cycle and figuring out my ovulation days. I shared this with my fiancé, and on one of those days, we got pregnant. I didn’t find out until the end of summer 2022. When I did find out, I told my fiancé and suggested we should probably get married.
My fiancé's first response was that we should wait to see if the baby sticks, and if it does, then we can plan a marriage but he wanted to wait until February 2023. I was very disappointed and angry and yelled at him. I felt alone and overwhelmed by the thought of having an illegitimate child. After discussing potentially getting an abortion, potentially breaking up, and potentially selling the house, I talked my fiancé into keeping the baby and getting married. He also wanted to keep the baby but was afraid of our situation. After many fights about when to have the wedding, we finally decided on December 2022. At that point, I was four months pregnant. During this time, my fiancé and I had major arguments that therapy couldn’t even remedy. We would yell at each other, slam doors, I would cry, and he would hold himself up in a room for hours. We had nice moments too, but they were heavily clouded over by the bad.
Finally, we got married, and things were good for a while. But then we faced some marital problems. My husband kept separate accounts and managed the finances himself. We had a joint credit card where I could pay for expenses without being questioned. He made all of the major investment decisions and major purchases. If I tried to disagree or speak up, he would get upset because this was not the submissive wife I had promised him I would be. I made significantly less money than him but lived a good lifestyle, buying almost anything I wanted within reason. Coming from a traditional family, I was upset that finances were kept separate. And so it continued that my husband would invest tens of thousands of dollars into our house so that his family from out of town would visit. We live in Vancouver, Canada, but his family is from Ottawa. In hopes of luring his youngest sister (of four) to Vancouver, my husband would make any modification to the house that his youngest sister showed the slightest interest in. This included a hot tub on the rooftop, a media system in the basement, a movie projector, and much more. After said sister got married, she made it clear that she would not move to Vancouver. Then a switch happened in my husband, and he suddenly wanted to sell the house.
Meanwhile, during all this time, I had my baby, and my husband and I were still fighting more than ever. I felt no support from him, and he felt drained by his work, our fights, and being away from his family. Recently, for the past three months, he has been consistently pushing for the sale of our house. This is where my dilemma lies. I am afraid to sell this house because my husband has kept finances separate, and the mortgage on this house has been serving as a way for me to feel secure. My husband contributes a monthly amount on a regular basis. He could have forced a sale in the past but didn’t, instead paying into the monthly mortgage on top of other bills. Now, he is considering forcing the sale of our house, but I am upset that he is citing financing as the issue when I have been begging him to save money instead of spending (his response is that $200,000 does not affect a $2M mortgage, and that he now feels burnt out and wants to retire sooner and live passively). If I agree to sell, I feel unstable about moving from our home given that my husband and I fight so frequently, and I am left alone to take care of the child. It is also worth noting that my parents live right across the street and come over frequently to help with the child, or I would go over to seek their help. My husband says that he feels abandoned and uncomfortable frequently because of our proximity to my parents, but I feel it’s only been helpful because there have been times when I felt truly alone, and my parents were my only solace and support. My husband would ignore me for days, especially when I was postpartum and vulnerable. My parents now see my husband as someone who doesn’t put his wife and child first. My husband says that the massive mortgage we have is too stressful for him, and he can’t take that burden. I am sad that my husband will not consider keeping this house for another three years so that I can get comfortable with the idea of selling the house and that potentially I and my family can all move to Ottawa so that we can allow my husband to be closer to his family. My husband says that he’s tired of the mortgage and feeling forced to work and missing out on spending time with our daughter (his job is very high stress).
I don’t know what to do at this point, Reddit. I’m currently on extended maternity leave, but it ends in six months. My husband and I will have to come to an agreement about the house, otherwise, it is likely that he will force the sale of the house even if I’m not ready to move. I’ve consistently felt rushed and overlooked in this relationship. I am tired of being the small voice that does not impact decision-making. My husband is now being nice to me and trying to show me a good time, but I see it as him turning on his charming mode so that I can say yes to the sale of this house. I’m not sure what to do. Our fights and disagreements are so bad and the marriage feels like doom sometimes (never any physical violence). I sometimes questions even staying with him, but I worry for my daughter. I’m afraid of her being an only child of divorce; I imagine it’ll be lonely and emotionally traumatizing. He is a good father to her, even though he is cold (but civil) with me.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
TL;DR:
I need advice. I met my husband four years ago, and we bought a house together with my family's help. Financial disputes caused issues. Despite getting married and having a baby, we fight often. My husband handles our finances separately, spent a lot on the house, but now wants to sell it. I feel insecure about selling because the mortgage is like an investment to me, and also I rely on my parents, who live nearby, for help with our child. My husband feels stressed by the mortgage and feels homesick for his family 3000km away. I feel overlooked in decision-making and am unsure whether to agree to the sale, or to stand my ground and not sell. Sometimes I question staying in the marriage for my daughter’s sake, or is it better give up on this unhappy marriage.

Exactly one year ago I was laid off from my dream job. Here’s what I’ve learned since then.
💡Resilience > Stability Stability is comfortable. But resilience is empowering.
Losing my dream job taught me that the ability to bounce back from setbacks is far more valuable than relying on the illusion of a stable path forward.
💡Balance doesn’t exist. But priorities do. Striving for balance is like chasing a mirage in the desert. An enticing vision, for sure - but permanently out of reach.
In dealing with the ramifications of my layoff, getting engaged, starting an AI startup, and a hell of a lot more in the last year - I realized that the best way to find “balance” is to ignore it altogether.
Instead, understand your priorities and then follow through on them. You’ll likely be surprised by how much fluff can be cut out. Less fluff = less distractions = more time doing what’s important to you = “balance”
💡The world owes you nothing I thought because I had gone to school, worked my butt off, and followed the “path I was supposed to follow” that I was entitled to a decent paying job with good benefits.
That belief was more limiting than I thought - and actually kept me from advocating for myself because it lulled me into a false sense of a set-by-step career trajectory.
What remnants of that reality that still exist are about to be wiped out thanks to AI (and people who integrate it into the way they live and work).
Stop thinking the world owes you something and start thinking about what you can bring to it.
💡Your job is not your identity I’ll admit, telling people I worked for a company that launched satellites into space using a rocket strapped to the wing of a 747 was pretty badass.
I relished in my ability to talk about it at cocktail parties, conferences, and even holidays with the family. So when it was ripped away from me, I found myself feeling hollow and empty.
My job was like the scaffolding on an old building - helped build it up externally, but did very little to strengthen the foundation it was built upon.
Having a healthy separation between who you are and what you do is key for performance in both areas of your life. (Yes, even in roles like being a founder where you live and breathe your work).
💡You don’t need a map. You need a Compass. Step-by-step plans are beautiful on paper and almost always fall apart in the real world. Plus, life just doesn’t work that way. The universe has too strong a preference for entropy and chaos.
However, the pain you’re feeling - the longing for a plan, a path forward, a sense that you’re headed in the right direction - is valid and real.
The world is more confusing and chaotic than ever. It’s increasingly important to have a deep understanding of your personal mission, a clear definition of your ambitions, and a system that you can rely on to translate those into a fulfilling reality.
Find someone or something that you can use as a general guide to keep yourself in the right direction - not a prescriptive step-by-step plan.
💡Look, losing a job (especially in this market) is tough. It’s absolutely awful out there right now.
But you’ve got this. Keep your head down, keep your chin up, and focus on the better things that come next.

It's been years of struggle. I finally sorted out my strategy and became (I thought) aware enough of my psychology that I had it under control. My 4th attempt at getting funded with a prop firm. This time I passed. I passed both phases in 3 weeks averaging about 4.5% per week. My eyes turned to dollar signs. I finally passed! I made it!
Now. About 2.5 weeks into being funded I am, and have been since starting, enduring the greatest drawdown I've had in years. It's my first time trading real money. It's the first time I actually have something real to lose. I've heard of how few people actually make it to their first payout. "Not me" I thought. Well, turns out that the real money does have an impact.
First my trading suffered then my mindset started to spiral. Oh, how the losses rolled in. I keep a journal and am very honest and critical of myself. It's been clear that the strategy is fine. I keep breaking rules. Exiting early, passing on good trades, revenge trading, over-trading. You name it.
I have been humbled. Fortunately, I'm still in it. I know my strategy works. I know it's me that needs work. I've started to focus on studying psychology with YouTube videos, articles, etc. I just bought "The Biggest Loser Wins" and I'm excited to dig into that.
I remind myself that this is just another step in developing as a trader. We don't get to skip the steps of the process. Sucks to have to slow right down and sit in drawdown for weeks. But I know these are just growing pains. I'm grateful to still have the account. I'm grateful to be aware of my flaws. And I'm doing my best to embrace these feelings and lessons. I remind myself that this is the struggle that all great traders endured to become great.
Just needed to vent. Slow and steady. I'll get there. We all will if we don't quit.

[prev]
As it stood, my crazy plan certainly seemed to resonate with the gathered leaders, though they did offer their own suggestions as to how best to implement improvements and contingencies. I of course welcomed each and every one of them, then debated their merits and as the hours flew by we weeded out the ideas that simply would not work and expanded on those that would.
It was quite honestly refreshing to not have to do all the thinking for once, it felt nice to do a little outsourcing as one might describe it. Besides, as many would say I only had one point of view, well, two if we’re being literal, that of a human and an arachne, the former coming from a world without magic and monstrous beings like those I had surrounded myself with.
Their unique viewpoints had offered a wealth of possibilities and were in their own ways invaluable to the war effort. I am glad that they all managed to get along as well. I had seen no hint of animosity or long held grudges between any of them, not even the age old and quite frankly stereotypical hostility between the elves and dwarves had reared its head. In fact, the two races had seemingly fed into each other's ideas with excited glee, and I had almost expected there to be a bout of mad cackling near the end of their ramblings.
Of course now the meeting was over and we were all starting our preparations. The basic prep wouldn’t take that long, ensuring our warriors were all well supplied, their weapons and armor at peak quality before the battle was paramount. It was everything else about the plan that would take time, time we must ensure we had if we were to succeed. And so I headed for the Aberrant Spire, a place I had not been in a long time.
As I followed the streets I was reminded of my first delve into this city, back when it was fully under the control of vile abominations. I paused, looking at a short building on my right, large claw marks scoring the wall near the lip of the roof. I remember one of those beasts had attempted to climb up to get me as I traversed the rooftops.
Remembering that I felt a shiver run down my spine and issued a silent word of thanks that such horrors no longer existed in my new home, that vibrant life had returned to these hallowed streets. It was a place of hope now, not terror.
It was with this remembering of certain facts that I began looking for a faster means of travel to reach the Spire, as walking would be a long and arduous task indeed. Thankfully this was something that was already thought of, for as I meandered through the streets in my search I came across a somewhat raised walkway, except this walkway had a pair of lines worked from crystal or metal, I couldn’t rightly tell which, running through it.
I paused, wondering how I had never seen this thing before and in doing so I bore witness to its purpose. A merchant with a large wagon approached a circular pattern on the walkway, ensured his wares were well secured and then spoke a destination. At once a ball of energy surrounded him and the wagon, raising it all off the ground and then sending him zipping along, following the right hand line. Even as I watched, another traveler came from the opposite direction, the magic wrought into the pathway depositing them gently off to one side and they continued on their merry way.
I had to wonder why thing wasn’t around the first time I had come here, though the more I looked at the construction the stone looked somewhat fresh, perhaps it was simply a new addition and not something from the city’s past. Either way, it looked mighty useful so I stepped into the circle and took a deep breath.
“The Aberrant Spire.” I spoke clearly, and felt myself go weightless. The magic ball of energy formed around me, lifting me off solid ground and leaving me floating, which certainly triggered a slight fear response from my arachnid instincts. I was moved into position and then shot forward. It took all I had to not scream, sudden fear turning into excitement as my human experiences harkened back to several amusement park visits as a kid and getting to ride the roller coasters.
Though instead of loop the loops and corkscrews it was naught but straight lines and gentle curves that weaved through and over the city streets. Everything was a blur and yet I hardly felt it, really all that I felt was a vague sense of motion in my gut and the wind pulling at my hair, but that was it. I did see the spire come into view however, and steadily it grew larger and larger till at last it dominated the skyline.
My breakneck pace started to slow and just as it had with the other traveler, the magic gently shifted me to one side and then put me down softly. I found my legs were incredibly wobbly and as such I simply stood there and waited for the wobbling to cease. Once it had I stepped off the platform and down onto the street proper, finally taking in the sights as it were.
If the areas around the palace and the rest of the city were for merchants, common folk and nobility, then this area was almost exclusively inhabited by those with magical talents. I saw robed figures flitting to and fro, some hovering along on disks of light or wind, one even walked into a shadowy patch and vanished, presumably reappearing elsewhere. And over it all loomed the Spire, still as pretty and strange as it had been, though it seemed to glow with newfound life and vigor.
The teleporter complex seemed in working order as well, though it would have to be since new mages had taken up residence in the spire above. I made for the complex, many mages who had been engrossed in walking and thinking doing double takes as I passed. I simply nodded at each in turn and continued on my merry way, entering the complex and getting bombarded by the sounds of a busy building. Pages and mages zipped about, conducting their various tasks as they did, stepping into or out of the teleporters as needed. It felt almost like that one time I’d visited Grand Central, boy hadn’t that been fun.
I decided that I should probably get some directions to the person that would be most suited to help me with my plan, really whomever happened to be in charge of this place would be perfect for that and so I stepped up to a circular desk that seemed to be staffed by a mixture of elves, dwarves, humans and even a slime person, the latter wobbling in place and simply shifting their features about to face anyone that spoke to them.
I stopped before an elf, the woman looking up and recognition dawning on her face as she beheld me.
“Y-Your majesty! What brings you all the way out here?” She stammered even as she made to stand and bow. I waved her back down into her seat with a smile, the elf sinking back down into her seat.
“I have business with whomever is in charge of the Spire and I have found that I have no idea who that happens to be. I was hoping to change that, and get directions as well.”
The woman nodded, still a bit frazzled thanks to an unannounced visit by royalty.
“I-I can do that, a moment please your majesty.” She said, hunching over a large book that sat before her and furiously flipping through it. Once she found what she needed, she opened a drawer and pulled out what looked like some sort of talisman, setting it down before me on the desk. “Firstly, this will identify you as not only an authorized visitor to the spire, but also as royalty. Granted we all know you are but the spire itself wouldn’t and so would treat you as an intruder if you didn’t carry this with you at all times. And considering your authority over us all, it will allow you to access areas that would be otherwise restricted to normal visitors.”
As she explained its function I picked the talisman up and looked it over. It was a simple thing, not too gaudy though I couldn’t help but notice a coat of arms upon it that had a distinctly arachne flavor to it. I could swear I’d seen it before somewhere else, perhaps that would have to be something else I looked into later.
“I can call an escort for you, they can guide you right to the Archmage.” The receptionist spoke, snapping me from my thoughts as I affixed the talisman to my breast.
“That won’t be necessary, a map will suffice. I am an adventurer first and a queen second after all.” Chuckling, I watched her nod and pull a sheet of parchment towards her, a hand hovering over the surface and magic flowing from her palm onto the page. What looked like ink appeared on it, which then took the shape of the current room I resided in. Words even appeared, informing me that I could use any of the teleporters I wished.
“The man you are looking for is Archmage Yesric. As far as I know he doesn’t have any pressing duties today so you should find him sequestered in his office.” The receptionist rose and bowed again, keeping her hunched over pose even as I started to walk away.
“Thank you, you’ve been most helpful.” I said. I took a subtle look over my shoulder and was relieved to see that she’d sat back down and was currently in the midst of furious conversation with her coworkers. Which was fair, not every day a member of royalty comes asking for help right?
Stepping into the teleporter I was promptly deposited into the halls of the Spire, which now bustled with activity. Mostly staff it seemed, though I spotted several gaggles of younger folk all dressed in something reminiscent of school uniforms rushing through the halls, their expressions belying a desperate desire to reach their destination as quickly as possible. I had heard nothing about the spire being used as some sort of school, though I suppose it only made sense to train the next generation of magic users in a place where magic was dominant.
Looking down at the map I’d been provided, I was pleased to see that my current position was reflected upon its surface. But now there was a handy dandy guiding line that pointed down a hallway to my right. And so without further ado, I followed it. People naturally got out of my way, though whether that was because I took up most of the hall or because they knew who I was I wasn’t sure, either way I did my best to not impede their progress too much.
Turning a corner I was suddenly met with an empty hallway, one that slowly began to fill with black smoke. My gut twisted and my head felt heavy, my eyes began to flutter and then I blinked, the hallway was bustling with people, no longer filled with the smoke. I licked my lips, trying to shake the ghosts of the past and move forward, though my legs couldn’t help but shiver slightly with every step I took.
Floor by floor I made my way closer to my target, till eventually I was directed through a door into what looked like every executive's office that I’d ever seen, just with a fantasy twist to it. Or rather, it was the little office for a secretary that I entered, which presumably meant that through the next door was what I was looking for.
A bespectacled goblin lass looked up from a large tome and blinked at me, her eyes rather enlarged thanks to the lenses that sat before them.
“Can I help you?” She drawled tiredly, and I stepped up to a good distance from her desk.
“Yes, I’m here to speak with the Archmage.”
“I do not recall setting any meetings today. May I ask who wishes for this audience?” She said, flipping through another much smaller tome that sat nearby.
“Safa Eventra.”
She continued to look through this smaller book, before freezing, her head slowly turning towards me. Now she really seemed to be looking at me and I could only smile politely back at her.
“A-Apologies your majesty, a moment if you please, I must inform the Archmage of your presence.” She said, hopping down off her chair and scampering hurriedly towards the other door. I didn’t say anything, instead just engaging in the arachne equivalent of rocking back and forth on my heels. She slipped through the door and I could hear muffled speech before several loud thuds and some not so muffled cursing ensued. The goblin secretary appeared, leaning against the door after closing it.
“The archmage will see you in just a moment, your majesty.” She said, resuming her post and doing her best to look professional for me.
“That’s quite alright, I’m in no rush.” I responded, humming softly to myself as I looked around the room. A moment later, I heard a voice call out from the office and since that was my cue, I bowed my head to the secretary and stepped through the door into the archmage's office.
[prev]

Hello everyone!
Today, we’re diving into an important topic - liver function tests. These tests help check how well your liver is working. Your liver is a vital organ that processes everything you eat and drink, filters toxins from your blood, and helps with digestion. Let's break down what liver function tests are, what they measure, and how you can keep your liver in top shape.

What is the Liver?

The liver is a large organ located in the upper right side of your abdomen. It performs many critical functions, including detoxifying chemicals, metabolizing drugs, and producing proteins important for blood clotting and other functions.

Key Liver Function Tests:

1. ALT (Alanine Aminotransferase)

• What It Measures: ALT is an enzyme found in your liver. High levels can indicate liver damage.
• Normal Range: Typically 7 to 56 units per liter (U/L).
• What High Levels Mean: High ALT levels can suggest liver inflammation or damage from conditions like hepatitis, alcohol use, or fatty liver disease.

2. AST (Aspartate Aminotransferase)

• What It Measures: AST is another enzyme found in your liver and other parts of your body. Elevated levels can indicate liver damage.
• Normal Range: Typically 10 to 40 units per liter (U/L).
• What High Levels Mean: High AST levels can also indicate liver damage, often used in conjunction with ALT levels to diagnose liver conditions.

3. ALP (Alkaline Phosphatase)

• What It Measures: ALP is an enzyme related to the bile ducts. High levels can indicate a problem with the bile ducts or liver.
• Normal Range: Typically 44 to 147 units per liter (U/L).
• What High Levels Mean: High ALP levels may suggest blockages in the bile ducts, liver disease, or bone disorders.

4. Bilirubin

• What It Measures: Bilirubin is a waste product from the breakdown of red blood cells. The liver processes bilirubin and excretes it in bile.
• Normal Range: Typically 0.1 to 1.2 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).
• What High Levels Mean: High bilirubin levels can indicate liver disease or bile duct problems, leading to jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes).

5. Albumin and Total Protein

• What They Measure: Albumin and total protein tests measure the levels of proteins made by the liver. These proteins are important for various body functions.
• Normal Range: Albumin: 3.5 to 5.0 grams per deciliter (g/dL); Total Protein: 6.3 to 7.9 grams per deciliter (g/dL).
• What Abnormal Levels Mean: Low levels can suggest liver disease or other conditions affecting protein production.

Why These Tests Matter:

• Detecting Liver Problems: Liver function tests can help detect liver inflammation, damage, and diseases early.
• Monitoring Chronic Conditions: Regular tests help monitor liver health in chronic conditions like hepatitis or fatty liver disease.
• Guiding Treatment: Test results can guide treatment decisions and monitor the effectiveness of interventions.

Tips for Keeping Your Liver Healthy:

1. Eat a Balanced Diet: Focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Avoid excessive sugar and processed foods.
2. Maintain a Healthy Weight: Obesity can lead to fatty liver disease, so aim for a healthy weight through diet and exercise.
3. Limit Alcohol: Excessive alcohol consumption can cause liver damage. Stick to moderate drinking guidelines or avoid alcohol altogether.
4. Avoid Toxins: Limit exposure to harmful chemicals and toxins. Use protective gear when handling chemicals and avoid smoking.
5. Stay Hydrated: Drink plenty of water to help your liver function properly.
6. Exercise Regularly: Physical activity helps maintain a healthy weight and supports liver health.
7. Get Vaccinated: Vaccinations for hepatitis A and B can prevent infections that cause liver damage.
8. Regular Check-Ups: Regular health check-ups and liver function tests can catch problems early and keep your liver healthy.

When to Get Tested:

• Routine Check-Ups: Regular check-ups, especially if you have risk factors for liver disease.
• Symptoms: If you have symptoms like jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain, or dark urine.
• Medical History: If you have a history of liver disease, alcohol use, or use of medications that can affect the liver.

Conclusion:

Understanding liver function tests is key to maintaining liver health. Regular testing and a healthy lifestyle can help prevent liver problems and ensure your liver is functioning properly. If you have any questions or personal experiences with liver health, share them in the comments. Your insights can help others who might be facing similar issues.
Stay healthy and informed!

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GBWhatsApp APK History & Why Should I Download It?

The Facebook company made all the basic files for WhatsApp Messenger available as open-source software in late 2016. Now anyone can use those codes to develop a messaging service that competes with WhatsApp. An Android developer from the Arab world named Atnfas_hoak, better known as Omar. Uses those codes to create a chat application that connects directly to WhatsApp’s native database. Although he created this mobile application for entertainment. But the interesting thing is that it provides more features than the initially released WhatsApp and that is why the number of people using this WhatsApp is increasing day by day.
After one year of use it has more than 100k users which indicates a substantial increase in popularity. Also if you are satisfied with the normal WhatsApp application and its built-in capabilities then you can skip the need of getting the GB WhatsApp APK. However if you also want to be persistent then you should download the latest GBWhatsApp APK version. So that you always get to see something new with every update.

• Even WhatsApp doesn’t currently enable you to send large files to just anyone. But GB WhatsApp allows you to do so. The maximum file transmission capacity on GBWhatsApp can reportedly increase to 2GB.
• The ability to completely alter the app’s design and theme.
• Integrated function to reduce the length of the WhatsApp document to save up memory
• There are no flaws or mistakes.
• Along with this, there are many reasons which force you to download this WhatsApp at any cost.

The Special Feature of GBWhatsApp

• Auto Reply:-First of all you can use this auto-reply feature in gbwhatsapp when you want to reply to any of your friends at any time. You can use it to promote your business by sending unlimited bulk messages to a chat or group. Through this feature you will not be able to forget any of your friend’s birthday or any other event.
  
• Filter messages:- GB WhatsApp Pro APK is designed with Filter Messages feature that provides the user with the option to clear chats which can also filter your messages. You will benefit from this that if you want to view any of your chats separately then you can use this feature. Which is a very amazing feature and is also very useful for the people.
  
• Download Status:- Another great feature of this app is that you can download status photos and videos uploaded by other contacts which is great. Now you don’t need to use any third party application, you can easily save any type of status from your contact list, that too in its original quality. If we talk about normal WhatsApp then no such feature is included in it.
  
• Send High Quality Image:- Sometimes we have to send Images in Original Quality, and for that, we use the Document Option. Now GBWhatsApp Pro Allows you to end Images in the Highest Quality.
  
• Bulk Sender:- GB WhatsApp This tool lets you send bulk messages. This means you can send unlimited messages to contact and prank your friends with this amazing tool. This tool helps you send personalized WhatsApp messages to multiple people, even if you haven’t added them to your phonebook. It works with WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business on your mobile phones and laptops and is 100% secure and free to use.
  

The Special Feature of GBWhatsApp

• Pop-up notifications:- Similar to messaging app WhatsApp, GB WhatsApp also offers pop-up notifications with response opportunities. You can hide these notifications from view by opening the app’s notification options and turning off pop-up notifications. So that no one can bother you by sending messages again and again and you can do your work without any interruption.
  
• Amazing Fonts:- If you have used normal WhatsApp till now, then you would know that only one font is given for use in it, after seeing which the person gets bored. But you do not need to worry, after downloading GB WhatsApp, you get many more fonts in it which you can use as per your convenience. You can change the huge amount of fonts available every day.
  
• Infinite Themes:- The main advantage of GBWhatsApp APK with stunning fonts is its imaginative appearance as it offers an unlimited number of themes that can be used to help make WhatsApp look great. By simply browsing GB WhatsApp Themes you will be able to download the themes using any web browser. Not only this, if you do not like your WhatsApp theme then you can download the theme separately and apply it on your WhatsApp.
  

Change Colors

• Universal Color:- Changes Color everywhere, including UI
• Universal ActionBar Text Color:- Changes the color of the Actionbar on all screens
• Background:-Change Color of Background. Default is White
• List Background:- Change Background of list Chats in One UI.
• Status Bar:- Change Color of StatusBar on Every Screen
• Navigation Bar:- Change Color of NavigationBar on
• Tabs background color:- Change the background color for the Tabs in home screen
• Page Title Text Color:- Change color of ‘CHATS’, ‘STATUS’, ‘CALLS’
• Page Selected Title Text Color:- Change Selected color of ‘CHATS’, ‘STATUS’, ‘CALLS’
• Unread message counter color:- Change the background color for the unread message

GBWhatsApp Other Features and Advance Privacy

• Anti-revoke:- GBWhatsapp comes with an anti-revoke message feature, which means that even if someone sends any kind of message and then deletes everything on your behalf, you can still see those deleted messages by default.
  
• App Lock:- App Lock allows you to require a pattern, PIN, password or fingerprint to enter apps and access your messages. This adds a layer of security, and makes your WhatsApp chats even more secure so that no stranger can access your personal chats. And also keeps your messages hidden from people who have access to your phone. If you want, you can show the PIN and password while typing.
  
• DND Mode:- It has an inbuilt Do Not Disturb mode. If you are using any other app on your Android phone and do not want to be disturbed by WhatsApp messages then you can use the DND feature to disable the internet connection only for GB WhatsApp Pro. can do. Through this feature you can pause your WhatsApp for some time. And you can use other apps without any problem.
  
• People Nearby:- Developers added People Nearby to WhatsApp to exchange contact information face-to-face. With this update, people nearby can help you meet new friends. This allows you to automatically connect with everyone around you without any contact.
  
• Anti-Ban:- Some users may have trouble using third-party WhatsApp mods GB WhatsApp developers have integrated anti-ban features to reduce the risk. This assurance means you can enjoy additional features without the constant fear of losing access to the account. Now you can use this WhatsApp for a long time, this time the developers have given anti-ban form to this WhatsApp.
  
• Hide Last Seen:- With GB WhatsApp you can hide your last seen status. This allows you to appear offline to others and also see their last seen status. Unlike the original WhatsApp where hiding your last seen prevents you from seeing the last seen of others. GB WhatsApp offers the ability to hide your own Last Seen while retaining the ability to view the Last Seen of others.
  
• Block and Restrict Calls:- Now restrict callers without blocking them with GBWhatsApp Apk download. This is an amazing feature of this app because you don’t need to block the person or turn off the internet if you don’t want to talk to them. Go to the calls section of the app and block the caller from calling you. He will be able to text you and share his voice notes with you, which you can listen to at your convenience.
  
• Show Double Ticks after Reply:- This is an exciting feature of this app that you can use to take your privacy to the next level. The messages will be delivered to you. But the sender will see a tick on his message. Double and blue ticks will be visible to him only when you reply otherwise he will think that you are offline or for some reason his message has not been delivered yet.
  
• No In-App Ads:- Despite being a free application, it is an ad-free app. Advertisements are the main reason to distract users from using any app. GBWhatsApp comes with an ad-free interface and just like the original WhatsApp, you will never see a single ad while using this app.
  
• Change Chat Names:- GBWhatsApp app will allow you to have maximum control over the chat. You can easily change the name of a chat without changing the name of the contact in the contact list. Set nicknames for your chat with this beautiful app and talk to them with more passion and love.
  

Other Features

• Forward messages to anyone without forwarding the tag.
• You can select all chats at once from the home screen of this app.
• Add new fonts and icons.
• Anti-ban feature, you will not be banned from using WhatsApp.
• Stickers from other apps can be added.
• You can select all chats at once from the home screen.
• Enable drag to reply in group call.
• Hide the last seen.
• You can send a private reply to groups.
• The ability to send a group message supported by photos and videos.
• One-time photo and video viewing.
• Feature hide visiting cases to your friends.
• Hide the two check marks (correct) when receiving the message.
• Get notified of deleted messages.
• You can now read the description of the group in the title as the normal case.
• Airplane mode has been added so that the internet can be locked off from the WhatsApp application only.
• The possibility of sending 100 documents at once instead of 30.
• The feature of uploading your friends’ statuses.
• Video Now you can send a file size of up to 50 MB.
• You can send a group message to up to 600 people at once.
• With the theme option you can easily change the appearance.
• Make a list of who can contact you.
• Send up to 90 photos at once.
• The possibility of making a lock for Watts GP against blocking.
• You can download gbwhatsapp for free with a direct link

Conclusion

In today’s article we have told you about some special features of GBWhatsapp. We hope that you have understood all this information well. As we have mentioned earlier that WhatsApp is a third party app which cannot be trusted blindly. Most of the people around the world are using it but some people also say that all the data of this app has been leaked. Actually GB WhatsApp promises its users that no WhatsApp user’s data will be leaked. But you have to use it very carefully so that you never face any problem due to which you have to worry. Apart from this, there are many other flaws in it due to which people have to get a little worried.
Therefore you will have to be very careful while using it. Although we have given you all the information about this WhatsApp, but if you have any doubt about this article then you can tell us by commenting. We will definitely solve all your problems. Apart from this, we write many useful articles on our website which are very useful for people. If you want to know more things related to this, then you will have to visit our website as much as possible. So that you can read our every post first. GBWhatsApp Pro is a great app for those who want a more personalized and feature-rich WhatsApp experience.

"Sometimes they don't ever come back..."
I've seen a few posts like this getting around. It's the truth. Sometimes they just don't. Do you have a conga-line of people, exs, past friends you fell out with etc that follows you around through all your days? I didn't think so.
A lot of times people just move in and out of our lives. In your fifties, you really see the patterns of your life laid out a little more clearly.
Six months now and we haven't spoken. Looking back, it was only ever painful being in that in-between space... will she won't she, are we on are we off, does she love me or not love me, are we doing this or are we finished?....
3 months, in hindsight, that's all I shouldve given it. 3 months and then, I MAKE THE DECISION... ITS OVER. AND THERE IS NO MORE 'US'.
No contact is a good thing, but set your time limit.... and once you've reached it...
...get back into life. Be done with them.

To preface, I have been working with my vet to figuring out what’s going on with my boy, but am looking for some opinions based on the info I’m able to provide. I’m not looking for specific treatment help or anything, just some takes on the situation.
My boy is ~13-17 years old. He’s a Maltese/Yorkie mix. He’s had some pretty serious gum disease and is missing a lot of teeth. His eyes are clouding, but most concerningly he has begun screaming and squealing at night time, he gets trapped behind doors, under tables (he is capable of getting out but is so anxious/confused that he can’t figure it out). No amount of consoling is helping him. He has hip issues and that is being treated with Gabapentin. At first I thought it was the pain, but he is now moving around a lot better, but the screaming/feaconfusion is only getting worse.
We believe it’s late stage dementia…he has shown signs for a couple years now and his quality of life seems to be dropping off dramatically. We’re beliving that it is time to put him down 😔 Neither of us has ever had to do this before and I’m wondering how the vet will respond. We don’t want to do all kinds of tests and treatments because it has become clear to us at home that he just isn’t there anymore. We’re calling the vet when they open this afternoon (it’s a surgery day so they open late). Any thoughts or advice on this scenario would be appreciated.
Additional info - these symptoms have been steadily worsening since the new year. He’s shown some signs of dementia for a couple years. The worst of it, the screaming and inconsolable nature of the issue has been ongoing for about a month.