2nd grade multiplication arrays

There’s no easy way to put this, and because I was raised in an environment of brutal honesty instead of watered down truth, this will be very difficult or uncomfortable to read so fair warning for the content below.
I only remember the first few years of my childhood barely, but the years following after the age of 5 were not pretty. I was quite an introverted kid mainly due to stupid kid stuff at the time, I remember elementary school where the big talk was about modern musical artists at that time and Wii was a huge thing, I was more interested in ocean life and life outside, and more interested in bands like ACDC, twisted sister, Motörhead, and Black Sabbath. I was picked on constantly, I never really dressed in basketball shorts and jerseys, I always stuck to what I grew up around Bikes, Bands, and my dear old mom and dad. My uncles was a chopper builder and felt like a big bro more than an uncle, my aunt the same.
Of course because I was raised in a Roman Catholic family, I got sent to religious instructions, it wasn’t bad yet, but I met my first ever like real friend a kid named Devin, he was a year older but we grew up together and made each other laugh, we did everything together to make each other laugh like we had nothing better to do, he was the ultimate brother from another mother. Because of these classes every now and then the local priest would show up and observe, there was guy who followed him around, I think he was like a priest in training or something like that. This sounds like a set up to a dark South Park joke, but it’s the real thing. Devin was my only friend, but he went to a different school, everyone else at my school picked on me or spread rumors to have people avoid me.
Every Wednesday I went to religious instructions, and this priest kept calling me out of class to go to his office, now I had learning disabilities and couldn’t sit still, so I ended drawing on my paperwork a lot and I would get called in for it, but instead of being mad at me for defacing Bible passages, he instead took an interest in my artwork, and it made me feel proud and I felt less introverted. These office visits became frequent and the priest kept encouraging me to keep drawing which I thought was great, it made me feel important.
That was like alcohol to an addict, it felt good to be noticed and it felt good to feel like you’re important until he started touching me. I know this sounds like a stereotypical dark joke, but most dark humor wouldn’t exist if there wasn’t some real life occurrence. It started slow, a hand on the lap, a hand in the shoulder, a hand moving up my thigh, a hand moving up my thigh and around my butt, before it became a sexual assault. Picture the worst thing happening to you, that can be categorized as a sexual assault or rape, and that’s what I was going through. I felt guilty, I felt ashamed, at the same time I felt addicted because I was getting special treatment in these religious classes, I felt good sometimes but at the same time I had a know in my stomach, I felt fucking pain all the time. I lost feelings for pain and instead it became a crutch, watching a 7 year old start scraping his arms with the blades of scissors in 2nd grade art class is not an image you want to see.
My parents became aware of my strange behavior and believe me when I say it took a lot to tell my parents what was going on every Wednesday.
They were livid, they responded like any parent who found out their kid was being raped by someone they trusted. I don’t need to get into the details of police officers asking me to go into detail about what happened to me. As for what happened to the priest, suprisingly the church defended him, and I was seen as a little liar, he never got to see life behind bars, because cancer took his life away 6 months after all of this came out. Though in my mind now I’d like to think he committed suicide because he was a coward and didn’t want to face consequences.
If not the act of being raped as a child is disgustingly awful, it’s the years following that are more painful, but somehow even at the worse times of it, I’m still here! I smoked, I drank, all at ages you wouldn’t even fathom, Devin was still around, and he was the only friend I confided in with this event in my life and he took it to his grave, he passed away in 2020, age 20. Years following after the priests death and the therapy I went through I felt like I wanted to die, I had to die, I hurt myself, sometimes I hurt others, I wanted that time back but now 17 years later I know I’ll never get it back.
Some kids found out around that time and thought it was the greatest joke, I must’ve heard the word faggot and queer a thousand times. But even more surprising is that the same kids that said that, ended up realizing just how bad it was, and gave me some of the most heartwarming yearbook signings when I graduated high school in 2018.
How the fuck I’m still here? I’ll never really know, the times where I was blindly self harming and feeling a shit load of pain, i really felt like dying but now it’s something I want to pretend never happened, but I accept it and like most things in life, I have to move on. It’s not easy, it never is but somehow I just do.

I remember being 12 and looking up unclaimed bodies around my area because I called my dad for 2 years straight and he never picked up.
My mother used to tell me that I’m worthless anytime I did something that she didn’t agree with. It could be over the stupidest things too. She was always deliberately cruel.
Like when my job promoted me to another store, and I was bragging to her about my accomplishments, she said “they’re just doing that to get rid of you. Nobody likes you”.
I’m turning 24 soon and it just sort of hit me that I could never be like either of them. It’s hard to be a good parent, but it’s not that hard to just be an ok one.
I want to reconnect with them so bad, because what am I doing that’s so bad that I don’t deserve parents?? I never argued with them as a kid/teenager. I never drank/smoke/ snuck out or talked back to them. I got excellent grades in school. But it’s like I got dealt a shitty hand.
I got a job at 16 and i was apparently deemed good enough to parent myself. My mom stopped grocery shopping so I had to spend my paycheck to buy groceries/food and then when I got home she would yell at me for hours because I didn’t “get the right food” and I must hate her because I didn’t buy the organic stuff she wanted. But I was only working part-time at a restaurant for $9 an hour and couldn’t afford it. She also gave me $600 a month bill that was also my responsibility with the rest of my paycheck.
Or when I graduated high school and needed to go college, she wouldn’t fill my Fafsa out (she did the same thing to my brother and he had to drop out and go to community college) and kept pushing it back. I had to get a 2nd job to pay my tuition, so I was going to school full-time, and then had a full-time and part-time job.
She figured out the days I got paid, and would drive me to a check cashing place and take most of my money. I couldn’t keep that life up of working 12+ hour days every day and flunked out of my college. I reenrolled in my local community college, but I was just so lost that I ended up quitting.
She brought a new house when I was in college that had a run-down in law suite. She told me if I fixed it I could live in there and pay rent and have some more privacy. I worked extra hours and got a 3rd job, found a plumber and electrician, and would spend hours every week to fix the place, and wouldn’t you know it as soon as I was done she sold the property and took all the profit. She did the same thing to a broken down car that she had, I paid $4k to take it to a mechanic and when we got it back, she “never said that” and still drives that car to this day.
When we were moving (again) i decided to just get an apartment with my boyfriend because I was getting sick and tired of being used. She found out and hid the leasing information that I got from a complex, and guilt tripped me by saying she wouldn’t be able to afford things on just her paycheck and would starve. So I quit looking, just for her to scream at me a week later that I was a useless burden and that I was the one financially abusing her.
So I packed my bags, slept on the dirty floor of my boyfriend’s parents trailer for 2 weeks, got a round of the stimulus checks, and moved out to our own apartment. When I went back to her place to pack the last of my stuff she was snatching things out of my hand, threw my boyfriend’s laptop and tried to choke him/throw him out.I pushed her away from him and she told the family that we both were hitting her, so they don’t talk to me anymore. She was also insulting him for his family bring poor, and making fun of his dead grandmother.
And as I’m getting older and my prefrontal cortex is developing I just don’t understand them. I can understand hurtful things being said in the moment, but to continually be like that means you are making a conscious effort to be a terrible person.
But I miss them so much. I want a mom to talk to about my day and complain about my co-workers with. I want to watch movies at her place again and eat junk food. But she doesn’t deserve it, and I feel like I do. I don’t know what to do. There’s plenty of more terrible and down right weird things that she does. Like she used to beat me and my brothers with electric wires as a kid. Or recently, she was renting out one of our old homes and my partner and I moved in and we were paying MORE THAN market rent. And she forced us to move out after only 6 weeks because I said no to helping her on a side project because I was busy. But I “owed her” because she could’ve “charged me more”.
Which I should’ve known it would end this way honestly.
My parents are divorced and my father lives in a different city. He only calls me when he needs something and honestly I have stopped answering.
I’m not sure what to do. Advice?

Hopefully no one takes this too seriously. But I sub for elementary school. And some times if there’s a really annoying 1st or 2nd grade class I can still hear their little voices as I’m trying to fall asleep. Just wondering if anyone experiences the same thing or has advice LOL. I think I may need to work on being in the moment a bit more as I learned to tune them out but then when I go to sleep it’s all built up.

Hello yall,
I have a house in Katy that I discovered some blackening spots on a wall in the garage. The contractor we hired tore open the wall and discovered mold/water damage from a drainage pipe that runs from the 2nd floor. It turns out the builders drove multiple screws into the PVC pipe from the other side of the wall and over time water has leaked out. The house is just about 10 years old. Way past the 2 year plumbing warranty and the building company is declining this claim. However, does this not go under Property Code 27? https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/Phtm/PR.27.htm If so (based on my limited understanding) shouldn't they fix it or do I have to file a suit? Or am I on my own on repairing this? Thank you very much for your help!

Hello yall,
I have a house in Katy that I discovered some blackening spots on a wall in the garage. The contractor we hired tore open the wall and discovered mold/water damage from a drainage pipe that runs from the 2nd floor. It turns out the builders drove multiple screws into the PVC pipe from the other side of the wall and over time water has leaked out. The house is just about 10 years old. Way past the 2 year plumbing warranty and the building company is declining this claim. However, does this not go under Property Code 27? https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/Phtm/PR.27.htm If so (based on my limited understanding) shouldn't they fix it or do I have to file a suit? Or am I on my own on repairing this? Thank you very much for your help!

I am losing my mind!!
I had cancer before my son started kindergarten and thought he would really struggle being away from me, but school started and he was fine.
1st grade had a rough first week but again, he was fine.. both years he’d jump from the car and run inside, stopping only to waive goodbye.
2nd grade started different because we ended up fostering my siblings’ kids. Two of them go to the same school as my son. It seemed great at first, he was getting better grades than before and was more active in class… then just after Christmas break something changed and for the first time ever he completely refused to go to school.
The last 4-5 months have been a roller coaster. At first it was once every 2-3 weeks he’d refuse. Then he started throwing fits when it came time to get out of the car. Now it’s a nightmare! Mondays he won’t even get dressed, throws himself on the floor and cries. If I can get him dressed, he won’t get in the car and has even tried stopping me from taking the other kids to school. For maybe 3 weeks he would get dressed and in the car, but wouldn’t get out when we got to school. He got sick and missed a week and now it’s worse than ever.
We got the school to help, they would pull him from the car and take him inside, letting him sit in the office until he was ready to go to class. Last week they said that they couldn’t do it anymore, that he had to be willing to go to school himself. Yesterday I sat in the office with him for 30 mins just trying to talk him into going to class.
His reasoning is that he doesn’t want to be away from me. He’s afraid that something will happen to me while he’s gone or that CPS will show up and take him (now he knows it’s possible because of his cousins). I’ve tried explaining that I’m okay, and CPS took his cousins because their parents weren’t being parents. It doesn’t matter what I do or say, he still won’t go.
I tried mommy and son dates, which worked for 3 weeks and then didn’t. I tried toys if he went to school each day and a larger reward at the end of the week. He gets no electronics if he doesn’t go and has to sit around doing homework all day but that doesn’t do anything. We’ve got him seeing a therapist and she says it’s separation anxiety but I still don’t know what to do. He’s got signs of stress from the days where we physically force him to go to school which makes it harder because I don’t want to traumatize him. School is almost out but his grades will drop if he keeps missing, I can’t keep doing this. Homeschool is not an option.
Posting here in hopes that someone else has gone through this and that there is a light at the end of this horrible tunnel.

I'm turning 22 this year and lately i've been thinking about how i even get to this point in my life. I never seem to be able to take anything seriously from school, career, to friendships.
At school i had the chance to be top of my class but never did cause i under estimate stuff too quick and get overwhelmed when the test day comes. Sometimes i get very good grades at the first semesters and fell off hard on the second one because i thought even if i failed the average cumulative grades would pass me and proceeds to mess around. When i get to uni i didnt study for my entrance test and got pretty poor result, i got in just because not many people sign up for my major. I go to a uni known for their comp-sci major and picked marketing just because its an easier path to a degree. While studying in uni i got an offer for an internship at a bank and a big food manufacturer from my cousin, but chose the job offered by my friend at an online retailer instead and talked my way to a pretty comfy position. I built a good relationship with my coworkers and made a name for myself. I promised to take on the jobs my supervisor gave me but i have some demands about the current system. My supervisor was a very good guy, he talked to the higher ups and actually made the changes. This was very good for me cause it meant i can register the company's name for my internship program on my uni while working flexibly with a full time position and pay. My supervisor even aced my internship scoring. Everything seems to be going perfect, too comfortable even. This is when things started to go downhill. I got too comfortable and started to mess up small things and it piled up into a bigger problem than i expected. I know everybody makes mistakes, but sometimes i managed to make the same mistakes multiple times. At this point my friend outperformed me and even got promoted. While working i spent most of my time at my job and my thesis got quite abandoned so i quit my job to focus on my thesis, but then my dad revealed that he wants me to work with him to run my family business after i graduate.
This is the part where i felt like a fraud and a scam, since technically i never perfom outstandingly well in anything. The only way i got ahead in my life is by doing favors and making sure the people that actually know what they're doing owe me favors. It's true that i never cheat, stole, or scam anyone in a literal sense, but getting to this point of my life without actually being able to do anything myself feels like a scam. Even in my friendships sometimes i'd hype up a day to hangout and cancel for no reason. One time a friend even tried to introduce me to a girl and i never followed up on it for no reason at all. Its like i progressed in life without actually progressing as a person.

Hey there. I recently got a ‘23 Softail. It was purchased from a Harley dealer with 28 miles on it. I keep hitting neutral when trying to shift from 1st to 2nd gear. It happens multiple times in a 20 mile ride. I’ve taken back to the dealer and had multiple people test ride it and no one can replicate the problem which leads me to believe that it’s me. I’ve ridden Harley’s before and never had a problem except for once or twice on an old Sportster. I’ve been riding road bikes for a little over a year now. I’m hoping someone can shed some light on what I’m doing wrong. I’m rolling off throttle, pulling the clutch all the way to the bar, shifting like I mean it into second, getting my foot out of the way of the shifter, roll on throttle, release clutch. Still often lands in neutral. I’ve moved the shifter down so I don’t have to pick up as far on the up shift, no change. I thought by shifting slower and harder it might not happen, still happens. Dealer inspected clutch cable for stretch, no problem. Seems to happen more once it’s hot. Thank you in advance for any advice.

I have 2nd grade gynecomaestia

Starting Career Mode w/ Manchester United and am attempting to keep it realistic as possible when it comes to transfers. I will simulate to the end of the first season without scouting and then start as soon as the last game ends. I will either have Michael Carrick be the manager or for funsies, will make Paul Scholes the manager and have him be rude in all interviews.
Formation switching to 4-4-2 (4-2-2-2). I will change the CAMs to LW/RW and the left CDM to CM.
Tactics (Custom):

• Defensive tactics
  • Defensive Style: Balanced
  • Width: 45
  • Depth: 75
• Offensive tactics
  • Build-Up Play: Balanced
  • Chance Creation: Direct passing
  • Width: 45
  • Players In Box: 7 bars
  • Corners and Free Kicks: 2 bars

Player Instructions

• STs: False 9, Stay Central
• LW/RW: Get Behind, Get in Box for Cross
• CM: Stay Central, Get in Box for Cross
• CDM: Stay Central, Stay Back While Attacking, Get in Box for Cross
• LB/RB: Overlap
• CBs: No Changes
• GK: Sweeper Keeper

I'm signing:

• ST: Jonathan David
• ST: Cameron Archer
• CM: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
• CDM: Manu Kone
• CDM: Ryan Yates
• CB: Oluwatoosin Adarabioyo
• CB: Jarrad Branthwaite
• RB Yukinari Sugawara
• RB: Joe Scally
• LB: Leif Davis

I am getting rid of/not bring back:

• GK: Tom Heaton
• CB: Lindelof
• CB: Maguire
• CB: Varane
• CB: Jonny Evans
• LB: Shaw
• LB: Malacia
• RB: AWB
• RB: Diego Dalot
• CAM: Bruno
• CAM: Pellestri
• CM: Eriksen
• CDM: Amrabat
• CDM: Casemiro
• CM: Van de Beek
• CM: McTominay
• CM: Hannibal
• ST: Martial
• LM: Rashford
• RM: Antony
• RM/LM/CAM: Shoretire

I'm keeping (at least for another season):

• GK: Onana
• GK: Bayindir
• LB: Alvaro Fernandez
• CB: Lisandro Martinez
• CB: Willy Kambwala
• CM: Kobbie Mainoo
• CM/CAM: Mason Mount
• Winger: Forson
• Winger: Amad
• Winger: Garnacho
• Winger: Greenwood
• Striker: Hojlund
• Striker: Ethan Wheatley

24/25 Lineup:
Main:

• GK: Onana
• LB: Alvaro Fernandez
• CB: Lisandro Martinez
• CB: Jarrad Branthwaite
• RB: Yukinari Sugawara
• CDM: Manu Kone
• CM: Kobbie Mainoo
• LW: Garnacho
• RW: Greenwood
• ST: Hojlund
• ST: Jonathan David

2nd:

• GK: Bayindir
• LB: Leif Davis
• CB: Oluwatoosin Adarabioyo
• CB: Willy Kambwala
• RB: Joe Scally
• CDM: Ryan Yates
• CM: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
• LW: Forson
• RW: Amad
• ST: Wheatley
• ST: Cameron Archer

2nd team plays all the English Cup and FA Cup games or if I have multiple games in a week. Mason Mount will be my super sub to change formation to 4-2-3-1 if it's not going well or inject energy into every game around the 60th minute. If he says anything about his play time or ticks me off at all - he's gone and sold for below his worth to anyone outside the Premier League. I might also sell Greenwood and replace w/ Olise or Kubo.
Following Matt10's Sliders: https://forums.operationsports.com/forums/ea-sports-fifa-sliders/1014656-ea-sports-fc-24-os-community-sliders.html
I will focus on only my Youth Academy to add in any more players and will prob have a loan army like Chelsea.
Wanted to get any thoughts or recommendations on what I'm doing.
Thanks in Advance!

6’5 mf from bumfuck nowhere COOKS
Kendrick>>>
Demographics

• Gender: male
• Race/Ethnicity: white
• Residence: Rural VA
• Income Bracket: upper-middle
• Type of School: public (somewhat competitive tho, usually abt 1 Ivy+ per year)
• Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): maybe location? Idk

Intended Major(s): Aerospace Engineering, MechE for places that didn’t have Aero
Academics

• GPA (UW/W): 4.0 UW/ 4.53W (4.44 at time of apps)
• Rank (or percentile): 4 (5 during EA)
• Honors/AP/IB/Duel Enrollment/etc.: 6 APs, 9 DEs, 11 Honors, no IB
• Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Research, AP Art History, DE Calc 1, DE Brit Lit, DE Aerospace Engineering, Honors Physics, Spanish 3

Standardized Testing
List the highest scores earned and all scores that were reported.

• SAT I: 1520 superscore (two 1510s with 760R 750M and 750R 760M on 3 attempts)
• ACT: Didn’t Take
• 4 on AP Bio and AP Seminar, 5 on AP Lang

Extracurriculars/Activities
List all extracurricular involvements, including leadership roles, time commitments, major achievements, etc.

1. Internship (12)- Research Lab at T25, Helped create STEM classroom curriculum
2. Debate (11,12)- Team Captain, Top 10 at states in first year (got 2nd place in state after apps 🫠)
3. Scholastic Bowl (9-12) - Team Captain, led team to regionals for first time in years
4. Tennis (10-12) - Team Captain, raised some money
5. Engineering Club (8-12, yeah it’s weird) - VP, member of competition teams
6. Athletic Advisory Board (11-12) - Represented on behalf of academic teams and did community service, raised some money
7. After-school STEM club/daycare? (12) - Voluntarily chaparoned kids, got offered and accepted real job
8. Powerlifting (9-12) - On varsity team in 10 and 11 before it got deleted, started training before and continued after
9. Beta Club (10-12) - Didn’t do much but that’s mostly the officers’ and sponsor’s fault
10. Mentor (11-12) - Mentored other students in magnet school program
11. additional info - Got Best Delegate at my first Model UN competition after apps as a side quest/practice for debate, mentioned on deferral and waitlist replies later

Awards/Honors
List all awards and honors submitted on your application.

1. Collegeboard Rural/Small Town National Recognition
2. AP Scholar
3. AP Capstone Diploma
4. Magnet School Diploma Seal (Regional)
5. School award for achievement in Aerospace Engineering class

Letters of Recommendation
Counselor: 7/10. New hire right before my senior year so not much rapport but spoke to her somewhat frequently
History Teacher: 9/10. Bsf. Had him for class in 9th grade and I was the only one who answered during Zoom classes, was my Scholastic Bowl and Debate coach in years following. His writing is not the best tho so not a 10/10
Engineering Teacher: 8/10. Had him for 3 years and was part of his club for all of them. Can speak to my abilities super well. He moved districts before my senior year so didn’t see him for a bit but still pretty good regardless
Professor: 9/10. Interned under him over the summer and he trusted my capabilities a lot. Wrote lots of LORs before and even asked me what I wanted in it.
Interviews

• MIT: 7/10. Virtual. Interested in my research and seemed to vibe quite well. Didn’t talk for very long tho and looking back I didn’t really make as good of an impression as I would’ve wanted or talk about all my stuff as much as I wanted to.

Essays:
Common App: 9/10. Displayed my ability to set really high goals and never be discouraged by failure. Reviewed by friends at Princeton and Stanford, as well as former CMU admissions officer and highly praised
MIT supps: 9/10. Some of my best work. Reused for so many other schools and scholarships because god damn were they beautiful pieces of writing.
General supps: 7/10. Mixed bag. Some really good, some just ok. Spent a decent amount of time and was pretty happy with all of them
Results
Accepted:

• Johns Hopkins (RD)
• Georgia Tech (Deferred EA, accepted RD - committed!!)
• Purdue (EA)
• UMD (EA)
• Penn State - Waitlisted Honors College (EA)
• VT - Waitlisted Honors College (EA)
• UVA (EA)
• Pitt - Honors College (EA)
• George Mason - Honors College (EA)

Waitlisted

• Carnegie Mellon

Rejected

• MIT

Reflection:
GO YELLOW JACKETS WOOOOO
Final record of 9-1-1 (yay!)
Genuinely shocked by CMU waitlist because former admissions officer loved my personal and my supps. Was probably due to lack of insane math talent (displayed on apps that is).
Didn’t really get huge aid from anywhere but was able to cover most of the cost through existing savings and external scholarships (apply for lots of them, especially local ones!!!!)
Start early!! Going EA was super helpful. If you need to miss a school assignment or 2, you can make that up. Sometimes to have to have to wager your present for the sake of your future. This process can really suck at times but it’s manageable in the end.

My girlfriend and I are both 21 years old. I had this friend since 4th grade, and we were extremely close. They have also been extremely close with my current girlfriend since middle school. About 3 years ago this friend and I had a big falling out, a year later we patched things up and moved on, at least I thought so. We would hang out all the time, we would play games, everything was normal. The friend went off to college and we started to drift apart a little, and I just assumed that was the reason. Then I found out from someone else that the friend told them that they don’t think I’m a good person, and they hope me and girlfriend break up because she deserves someone better than me.
This obviously really hurt, and I was really bothered by this. Again, my gf has been friends with this person for years, I understand them still being friends and I wouldn’t try to stop them from being friends, but it does bother me that she’s so ok with our friend saying that.
My girlfriend and I have had multiple talks about it. She doesn’t agree with our friend at all, we’ve even talked about it amongst other mutual friends and no one has any idea why they would’ve said that.
I wasn’t going through all this again after we already had a falling out. I don’t feel like patching things up again, just to get hurt again. We haven’t spoken in months, never even talked about what happened. Now my girlfriend wants to throw her birthday party at my house which I am happy to do, but she wants to invite this friend. I could be cordial, and the friend could be here without any problems, but I just feel like I have enough self respect for myself to not invite someone who said that about me, and about my relationship, into my home.
I feel like it’s important to add that this friend is interested in men, just to make it clear they’re not trying to end our relationship for personal gain
Is this petty? Should I just be ok with it?

Chance coma boy for Cornell sha-hotel
Chance me for Cornell hotel admin-SHA
CHANCE ME FOR CORNELL SHA-Hotel
CHANCE COMA BOY WHO SAW HİMSELF GETTİNG CHASED İN TEXAS TO CORNELL SHA/HOTEL ADMİNİSTRATİON ED1
Demographics:FGLİ,African(Parents moved to Turkey then moved to US right before my junior year),very rural in Turkey(village with 1000 population,almost no one goes to college),semi-feeder public school in America, US RESİDENT(green card)
Went from rural village public school in Turkey for middle school to a private school in İstanbul(biggest city in Turkey) because the school was connected to a university and agreed to give me full ride and also university housing to my family. Was the only kid there that came from a public school(public schools are horrible in Turkey)
Gpa(UW/W):9th grade: 92.13(top 5 percent), 10th grade selective ib program:83.17(missed like 40 percent of the year due to car crash/coma) 11th: 4.0/4.85 Class rank 1/494
Coursework: No ap/ib offered in 9th grade, 6ib classes in 10th, 11 AP classes in 11th-12th(so total of 17ap+ib)
İB HL MATH A&A in 10th, AP PRECALC AND AB İN 12th
Sat: 1540(800 math, 740 eng)-They're test blind tho
Major:Hotel Admin
**ECS:*\*
İnterim CEO(10th grade): Ran/fully managed former uncle's now family-owned business/motel 42 hours a week. Really small motel tho,6 rooms. Did school work when nothing was happening.
Founder of financial/educational based organizaton(11th-12th):**Raised 14.5 thousand dollars/475 thousand lira for my former elementary school through collective funding/raising money. Money went to renovations/additions.
(2 ecs in 1)Founder of Nonprofit/Owner of small shoe-reselling business(9th-12)th: Ran shoe-reselling business and made 20k and 10k/325k lira of the money went to buying shoes with the money and distrubuted kids at my old village shoes.
İntern at Divan Taksim(Hotel) in turkey, going back summer after 11th
Real estate internship in summer of 10th
Political İntern with Mayor of Turkish City(Elazığ)(CHP)(10th summer)): networked through the time when İ was a lobbyist around a bunch of rich people(you'll see below) Noted that İ want to be the minister of culture and turism in Turkey
Associate to Turkish Volunteering Agency/leader at school(10th grade): Personally volunteered 200 hours for earthquake. Raised 3.8k usd/70k lira throughout my school and district for relief efforts in Southeast Turkey
Student lobbyist for school renovations(10th grade): Was selected to be the only student lobbyist for my school's multi-million Lira expansion to increase class sizes by around 25% with an additional side building and a new library. Mayors son went to my school so thats where the internship came from
Published a book(11th grade) : on outsiders view on hospitality and finance(20k words)
Family responsibilities(11th-12th)(wont go into detail but valid)
Awards:
3.12 percent on LGS-Standardized test that is the sole factor of high school admission. Best score my middle school has ever produced. Only kid that was in the top 10 percent coming out of my middle school since 1998.
TBB National Finance Competition: 2nd out of 10k+ in national Financial knowledge competition ran by Turkish banking association
10th grade research project qualified for Tubitak(Turkish research council: project was about Corona's effect on reading habits throughout Turkish students)
Takdir 9th grade(top 5 percent of freshmen)
4th in national school based swimming relay in 9th.(Was varsity/ A team swimming in 9th grade)
LOR:Ap lang , AP cogo
Additiional info
İnjuries from car crash(coma)- not a joke, got in car crash right before 10th. Was in a coma for 4 weeks and missed like 40 percent of the year from pt, rehab and surgeries.
İ had to delay taking preclac because İ moved here late so İ took precalc and ab senior instead of ab and bc.

I am predicted an A*A*AA (Maths , Further Maths, Economics and Religious Studies) but my grades are 88887776666 (6s in Eng Lang, Comp Sci, Further Maths and French) which I know aren't great and that Cambridge focuses more on GCSES than non Oxbridge Uni's. I really am trying to boost my personal statement: I attended insights at multiple Banks, attended multiple lectures and read into my subject, coded data science projects that link to econ, entered essay and investment challenges as well as research projects - I have Cambridges 2024 Technology Development Work Experience Scheme in August and I plan to get work experience in finance during the summer. I know with the ratio of international to UK students at LSE applying there is completely out the window but it really would be a dream to study at Cambridge - is there anything more I could possibly do or would you consider I take a gap year and improve my application and grades.

For context I am a male 9th grader in high school (soon to be 10th) and I have a friend whose name I will not disclose but let’s just call him blonde (male). Blonde is in the same grade as me and a generally nice person who often hands out snacks. We were sitting with another friend who I will call highlights who was also male and in the same grade. We were sitting there with highlights friends and a girl I will call B (due to how she treated us.) I have been bullied multiple times before and don’t give a shit if you do it to me but not to my friends. Anyway B was sitting there and talking and when she was about to leave she tried forcing Blonde to take her and her friends tray. This isn’t a bad thing in fact I sometimes ask others to do the same and sometimes I do it. The thing was that when he politely said no and pushed it back B proceeded to say “but you’re my slave” and started calling him a D. I politely told her that he said no and that was that but she then proceeded to say in a snarky tone “well he does it other times” so I responded by saying that maybe before but he doesn’t want to do it this time. She got pissy and started raising her voice at me and trying to get me to do it. I was trying to defend Blonde and it was gonna be hard to with her near screaming at me so I retaliated by raising my voice at her and repeating that he doesn’t want to do it. Meanwhile highlights was just sitting there doing nothing. Then B yelled at me and said “do you really want to fight a sophomore? I’ll beat you up” and I retaliated back by telling her to try me and to f-off. It basically stopped after that and I tried to calm down with Blonde helping me but it’s hard to not stay mad with someone like that. So again may I ask AITAH?

My car's transmission is on the fritz, so it's in the shop and I'm working from home for at least today. Thank goodness I can even work from home, or things would be a lot more complicated. Anyways, that's just a bit of a vent. I've also decided that I might do little lore-esque prechapter bits for some extra flavor. Hope you guys enjoy them! I find them to be fun little thought experiments on how people might perceive the world I've created from within vs from my own perspective. Enjoy some crafting and some romance!
First Previous Next
We know that the spots that are caused by looking at a source of light are, in fact, damage of some sort to the eye. This is confirmed by the spots rapidly disappearing should someone be healed whilst experiencing them. But why? Is there a divinity within light, beyond what our mortal eyes can withstand? Is there some sort of invisible emanation that comes alongside the light that damages us in some way? The discovery of light damaging the eye has opened more questions for me than it has closed.
-Musings on the Relations of Light and Fire, by Jarwic Leftun
\***
Xander carefully opened the door, finding Gabrelle already asleep, and sat down on a chair. Maybe he could get that adaptive camouflage to work right on bright colors. Surely he had some colorful things in his inventory.
He did in fact have a few colorful things in his inventory, and he whiled the rest of the night away making small adjustments to the runic array that was embroidered into the cloth. He was satisfied before dawn, the cloth now performing as well with light colors as it had with darker colors. Now he just needed to make a cloak out of it. He briefly considered coating his armor with the array, but discarded it. There might be times where he’d want to be seen. Besides, a hooded cloak would better break up the outline of his figure, the ripples of fabric, especially if he were to crouch or lay prone, obscuring his outline even more. In little time at all, he had a long, deep hooded cloak of the color shifting, runed cloth in his hands. He stashed it in his inventory for now, as he had no particular need to sneak up on something right now. The rest of the time before dawn he spent silently sitting in the chair he’d chosen, trying to keep his thoughts to a minimum, just daydreaming. Night dreaming? He couldn’t sleep anymore, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t try to let his mind wander.
As the dawn came and the sun began to shine through the window of the room, Gabrelle slowly awoke, once more finding Xander sitting in a chair rather than in bed.
“Mmf,” She grunted as she stretched. “Morning, Xander. You got back late.”
“Morning, yourself,” Xander said, turning his head to look at Gabrelle. “Yeah... Yeah, I guess I did.”
“What were you doing, anyway?” She asked, curious. “You didn’t mention that you’d be out late, just that you were going to go to see Valteria at her shop.”
“I uh... went on a date.”
“I knew it! ‘Comparing notes’ was a date!” Gabrelle exclaimed triumphantly.
“It was not!” Xander complained. “But we went to a tavern in the evening and it sort of... turned into a date on the way there.”
“Awhh, that’s so cute,” Gabrelle said. “Did it go well? Is she nice? Did you kiss?”
“I think it went well. We talked a lot about different projects and ideas we had. I also got to meet another [Godsmarked] - he owns the tavern we went to. I think she’s nice. Maybe a little shy. I think she’s gotten used to being treated differently by people. I don’t think she really believed that I wanted to go on a date with her, at first. ...And yes. We kissed.”
“Ooooh, look at you! You’re growing up so fast!” Gabrelle teased.
“Oh hush. I’m older than you!” Xander huffed, then returned to seriousness. “But ah, if I’m going to be dating someone... we need to have a conversation, Gabrelle.”
“We need to stop sleeping together?” Gabrelle quickly deduced before Xander could say it himself.
“Yeah... It doesn’t feel right, even though it’s just platonic between us. I don’t think I would appreciate being in Valteria’s situation and knowing that the person I was seeing was sleeping with someone else at night.”
“Well, I figured this would happen eventually,” Gabrelle said. “Either you or I were bound to find someone eventually. Don’t worry, I’m not upset. Don’t get me wrong, the snuggles were nice, but like I told you a while ago, I don’t have nearly as much trouble sleeping when I’m with the team.”
“Thanks for not being upset, Gabrelle.”
“You know this means you have to start paying for your own room, though, right?”
“Ah, shit, you’re right. I forgot.”
Xander left the room to allow Gabrelle some privacy to get dressed and meandered back down the stairs to see if any other members of the team were already up. Looking around, he spied Graffus eating breakfast at at table and moved to sit with the dwarf.
“Mornin’” Graffus greeted Xander through a mouthful of bread.
“Morning,” Xander greeted back.
“Glad to see you made it back, we were wondering if you’d be out all night,” Graffus told him, after swallowing his bread.
“I was out a bit late, I suppose. I let the time get away from me.” Xander said, not really wanted to be teased again about going out on a date. “So what are you planning to do today?”
“Bah, Frazay has roped me into helping her do research for the drakeling. So reading is what’s in store for me.” Graffus tore himself off another piece of bread from his plate and slathered it with jam. “You going to be going back to that [Tinker] you’ve been spending time with lately?”
“Yeah, that’s the plan. I’m supposed to learn more about converting mana types today, and also help her fix the suit of armor that I wrecked.”
“Welp,” Graffus said, now on his last piece of bread, “I hope ya learn something new. Never had much to do with [Tinker]s – not saying I dislike them, just that I haven’t had much experience with them – so it don’t make much sense to me. Using a hammer is about the only overlap in our professions.”
“I think your hammer is significantly larger than the one most [Tinker]s would use,” Xander chuckled. Thinking about what he should be doing before he headed to Valteria’s, he asked Graffus, “Hey, I might need to buy some monster parts or elemental cores, something like that, for practice. You know where I would go to find stuff like that?”
Graffus shrugged. “Dunno. My guess would be an alchemy and reagents shop. That’s generally what we’ve sold monster parts to that didn’t go to a smith or leatherworker.”
“Thanks, Graffus.”
The two of them chatted for a while longer, catching up on what each other had been doing. Graffus excused himself to finish getting ready for the day, saying he needed to tend to his beard, leaving Xander downstairs. Deciding to be productive and proactive, Xander stood as well and headed out of the inn to find an alchemy shop.
It wasn’t long before he found one, a familiar scene of an eclectic collection of powders, liquids, crystals, and strange organic things floating in jars inside the building. The proprietor was a dwarf, seated at a workbench. They were grinding something into a powder as Xander entered. He received a distracted greeting before the dwarf returned to his work.
Xander wandered about the shop for a few minutes, looking at the various materials throughout the shop. He identified what he thought might be an elemental core, a jagged piece of crystal looking material that seemed to have an inner flame. As for the monster parts in jars, Xander had no idea what was what. He finally felt he’d waited long enough and moved closer to the worktable that the dwarf was still sitting at, working away at the mortar and pestle.
“Excuse me,” Xander said, grabbing the shopkeep’s attention.
“Mm?” The dwarf said questioningly. “Can I help you find something?”
“I was wondering if you had any elemental cores. Something small, I just need one to practice with.”
“Aye, I’ve a few of them around the shop. You want something to practice with? So a relatively weak core, then – not all the small ones are weak. Do you need any particular type?” The dwarf stood up and stretched, moving to one of the shelves.
“Uhm no, just whatever is cost effective, I suppose.”
The alchemist rifled through the various bits and bobs on one of the shelves nearby before producing a small chip of what looked to be a semi-translucent stone. It was tinged slightly yellow with streaks of white. “This here is a chip off a lightning attuned core. Pretty weak, but it does still produce mana.”
Xander could see the dwarf’s arm hair standing up as if from static electicity as he held up the stone. “How much?” He asked.
“Twenty gold.”
Xander shrugged. Twenty gold wasn’t an issue for him anymore, and he didn’t feel like haggling. He always hated haggling. “Sure.” He fished out the coin and handed it over to the dwarf.
The dwarf handed over the stone to Xander and the pop of a static electric shock could be heard as a tiny arc passed between the two of them. The dwarf grunted and shook his hand. “Thanks for the business,” he told Xander. “Anything else you find yourself in need of?”
“Not at the moment, but thanks for asking.” Xander waved goodbye to the dwarf and pocketed the tiny elemental core. He continued down the street in the direction of Valteria’s shop, thinking about how he was going to undo the welding job he’d done on Valteria’s armor. He’d need her to guide his repair efforts.
Xander returned to the inn momentarily to grab one of his golems. He settled on Atlas for now, as it was the most basic of the humanoid forms he’d created. No extra arms or weird feet on him, no sir.
Arriving at the building that contained Valteria’s home and shop, Xander knocked before opening the door. “Morning,” he called out.
“Xander! Hello!” Valteria called out. She was at the same work bench she’d been at yesterday. Jarrett didn’t seem to be in the shop at the moment, as Xander wasn’t able to spot the man.
Commanding Atlas to follow him in and closing the door behind him, Xander started walking towards Valteria. “How’s it going?” He asked.
“Good, it’s going good,” Valteria responded as Xander brought a stool over to her workbench. “How about yourself?”
“Not bad. The upside of not sleeping is that I never struggle in the mornings now. I used to hate waking up.” Xander laughed. “I even ran an errand before I came here! Picked up this.” Xander fished around in his pocket until he found the small chip of elemental core and held it up for Valteria to see.
“Core?” She asked distractedly, staring at Atlas. She tore her eyes away and looked closely at the small crystalline stone. “Lightning attuned?”
“That’s what the [Alchemist] at the shop said,” Xander affirmed. “Said it was a very weak one, but that it did still produce mana.”
“Mmm, a good practice piece, then.”
“I thought it would be, too. Not that I know what to do with it, yet.”
“Well, how about this: I teach you to set the stone and make some conduit, and then you can help me fix my armor. All the glue has turned to dust by now, thank the gods.”
“Sounds fair enough. So, how do mana conduits work?”
“Well, the concept is simple enough. It’s a tube which conducts mana,” Valteria began to explain.
“Mmhm.” Xander nodded along.
“What you need is a setting – usually of silver, as it has good mana conductivity – which will be the first step of conduction, taking the mana from the stone. Simply wrapping the core in silver wire can work well enough, drawing in the mana that the core puts out through its surface, but for a more effecient setting, small holes are usually drilled into the core to set the wire into as well, giving more surface area to draw from.”
“So we care about the mana conductivity of the material, then? That makes sense, I just hadn’t thought about it. I actually did a little experiment with my rune work to test which fillings were the most conductive.”
“Oh really?” Valteria said, interested. “What were your results?”
“Well, gold and silver were high up there in conductivity, and probably make the most sense for someone who has to physically manipulate material without use of a skill – both for a core setting and for inlaying a rune – but I did find that sapphires and rubies were even more efficient at transferring mana than gold and silver.”
“Mmm... interesting. I’ve heard of gemstones being used in very high-grade settings, as well as various other exotic materials. I read an account of one [Mechanist] who used tubes of mercury to conduct mana, though the relative effectiveness compared to silver wasn’t mentioned.” Valteria cleared her throat. “Uhm, now, where was I? Right, basic settings. Once you have your core – or monster organ, if you’re going that route – you connect it to the conduit. Usually, this is also silver wiring. I like to braid several smaller wires together, personally. I find it to be sturdier and hold up to flexing better. From there, it needs to be tied into a device. Which is a topic for tomorrow.” Looking around the shop, Valteria seemed to identify something on one of the shelves nearby. “I have a core that you could watch me set, and then you could try setting your own, if you’d like.”
“That sounds good to me,” Xander said. “I always love to see a master as work,” he added, opting for a little flattery.
“Follow me, then.” Valteria said, standing up from her stool and waving for Xander to follow.
Xander followed Valteria as she walked over to the shelf she’d been looking at earlier and took a palm sized, bright green stone from it. “Nature attuned core,” She explained, holding it for Xander to see. “I’m told it was taken from some kind of moving tree.” Valteria then moved to another worktable, on which were several of what looked to be drill bits to Xander. There was also an apparatus that look like it was designed to hold the bits, which was confirmed for him when Valteria slotted one of the small drill heads into the device. “This thing,” Valteria said, waving the drill a little bit, “is a life saver. I used to have to drill holes with a hand cranked one. Worth every single coin I paid for it to get an enchanted one.” She turned a dial on one side of the handheld device, which Xander was coming to think of as a magic dremel tool, and it began to come to life, the drill bit beginning to spin with a quiet whirring sound.
“Neat.” Xander commented. He watched patiently as Valteria drilled a series of shallow holes in the stone, the distinct screeching of metal on stone echoing through the shop floor. “So where’s Jarrett today?” He asked.
“Oh, he has the day off today. He asked for it about a week ago, not sure what for, though,” Valteria said distractedly. Soon she was finished with the holes she was drilling into the core, and moved to another workbench. “Now we create a setting for the core. This is a fairly simple way of doing it, mind you, but it is effective.”
Xander watched as she took sections of pre-braided silver wire and fitted the ends into the holes she had drilled. Once each hole was filled with a section of wire, Valteria began to pull wire from a spool, wrapping the stone until it was completely covered with silver wire and binding the braided sections to the stone in the process. “There,” she said, setting the stone down on the workbench. “A perfectly serviceable setting."
“So, if I understand correctly, you coat the core in a mana conductive material – the more surface area, the better, hence the holes – to create a setting?”
“Mmhmm,” Valteria said, nodding.
“Seems fairly straighforward. And then you connect the silver wiring that’s wrapped around it to more wiring, and attach that to your device? Why the distance? Why not just connect the setting directly to the device?”
“You absolutely can, if space isn’t an issue. Technically, the connection between the mana battery and the device, even if it’s just a single point with no distance, is still referred to as a conduit, though, so it’s considered a three part creation.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Do you want to try making your own, now? I don’t mind lending you a little wire.”
“Sure, but I should be good on material, I can produce it with my skills. Doesn’t last without a source of mana, but I guess the core itself might provide enough. Think this little chip is a bit small to put holes in, though.”
Xander looked at the small piece of crystal in his hand. If he just need as much contact as possible with a mana conductive material, his best bet would be to embed it into a sapphire or ruby. He decided on ruby, for no particular reason. Still holding the chip of core in his hand, he concentrated on his [Creation] ability. Valteria watched, amazed, as a ruby began to take form and grow around the piece of core until it was completely coated in a thin layer of gemstone.
“So, you can just... make things?” Valteria asked, sounding jealous.
“Well, it costs mana, and anything I make that isn’t provided a source of mana that leaves my person disintegrates in a day, but, yes. I can just make things with my skills. But,” he added, cutting off Valteria’s complaint of unfairness, “I have never received a skill that actually lets me improve a material. Sure, I have runes, which generally makes up the difference, but I don’t have any skills that improve the things I make. So, if you made a mana battery, and I made a mana battery the same way with identical materials, yours is going to be better, I assume, because you have skills that passively improve the things that you make, am I right?”
“Okayyy,” Valteria huffed. “I guess that does make it a little less unfair. But ugh! It would be so nice not having to source materials.” She looked at the ruby with a piece of core set inside it that Xander had made. “Well, I guess that about does it for making a setting... I thought it might have taken you longer to make one. I guess we can move on to fixing my armor even sooner! It’ll be nice to have it up and moving again.”
“Sure, sure, we can do that. Where is it, anyway?” Xander asked, looking around the shop again like he somehow would have missed the eight foot tall suit of armor.
“It’s in a shed behind the house,” Valteria explained. “I have it on a hoist so I can work on it.”
“Ah, that would explain why I haven’t seen it around.”
Exiting the shop, stopping for Valteria to put a small ‘closed’ sign on the door, the two of them made their way around the building, where Xander saw the small shed that presumably held Valteria’s armor. It looked like it could just barely hold the armor and one person – two, if they were comfortable with each other – inside it.
“So this is where the magic happens?” Xander asked.
“If by ‘magic’ you mean maintenance and upgrades, then yes,” Valteria agreed. She opened the door of the shed, which comprised most of the front of the tiny little building, revealing her suit of armor, which was currently hanging from several chains attached to pulleys on the ceiling. Plates of armor were laying strewn about the suite, leaving the joints and inner workings more exposed.
Xander whistled, looking at the inner workings of the suit. He could see gears, cogs, and joints, and throughout the entirety of the armor were running filaments of silver wire, which he assumed were mana conduits running to and from elemental cores and the various mana powered aspects of the suit. “This thing really is impressive. Almost as impressive as the woman who made it,” he said.
Valteria giggled, “Stop it! You’re supposed to be fixing this mess, not flirting with me!”
“Awh, can’t I do both?” Xander asked, trying to sound as saccharine as possible.
“Mmm, I suppose that if you are sufficiently skilled at multitasking, I might allow it,” Valteria said in a mockingly thoughtful tone.
“Well, I just so happen to be an expert, so flirt away I shall,” Xander replied. “Now, how about the beauty in front of me shows me exactly where the other beauty in front of me needs some repairs?”
Valteria sighed at Xander’s antics, but he could see the slight flush in her face. “Well, you welded the wrist joints, elbows, and knees. They aren’t welded all the way round, it’s more like you smoothed over a portion of it like it was wet clay. So if you could just... put it back? Shape it back to how it was, that’s should be all that’s needed.”
“Pretty straightforward,” Xander said, standing behind Valteria as she pointed out each joint. He could see the misshapen parts where he’d slapped a weld onto the metal. He leaned over her and put his hands on the elbow joint that they were closest to and began to shape the metal back to its original form.
“You’re... very close,” Valteria murmured to him as he formed the metal.
“Would you like me not to be?” He asked, carefully.
Valteria was silent for a moment before answering, “No...” quietly.
Xander carefully shifted to be a little closer, but still not quite touching, as he moved on to the wrist joint of the same arm. The process itself was simple, but he was enjoying taking his time. As he finished the wrist, he turned to look at Valteria. He found himself looking right into her eyes, as she was staring back at him. Unable to resist the temptation he leaned in a little closer, gauging Valteria’s reaction. When she, too, leaned towards him, he closed the small gap between them, drawing her into another kiss. Valteria pressed herself against him, the shed hiding them from any prying eyes on the street, and let out a small noise as Xander squeezed her tight. She was breathing a little bit harder than before the kiss as they separated again.
Valteria let out a breath. “You’re… a really good kisser.”
“Yeah?” Xander said, pleased with himself. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
“And you’re a tease, looming over me like that in this tiny little shed,” Valteria continued. “Now you’ve got me all flustered, how am I supposed to work now?” She mock complained.
Xander was glad to see that Valteria was comfortable enough with him to joke like that. “Forgive me,” he said formally, making a deep bow, “How ever can I make it up to the lady?”
“Oh stop it, I will tolerate no bowing and scraping, even in jest,” Valteria said, slapping him lightly on the shoulder, as he was still holding the bow. “You can make it up to me by fixing the rest of these joints! And by taking me out to dinner?” She added, hopefully.
“I think that can be arranged,” Xander said. “Is there anywhere you have in mind? I will admit, I haven’t become very familiar with the local restaurant scene, what with my… dietary restrictions.”
“It doesn’t… make you feel bad to go out to a restaurant, does it?” Valteria asked softly, watching his face for a reaction.
“Nah, don’t worry,” Xander said, waving off the question with one hand. “It doesn’t bother me too much. Sure, I miss the taste of a good cut of steak, but I was never that into food. Eating was more of a thing I did because I had to, so I’m not completely devastated by the loss. And I can still get some vicarious enjoyment out of watching someone else enjoy their food. Really the worst part is awkwardly having to refuse ordering anything,” he said with a laugh.
“Alright, if you say so,” Valteria said, letting out a slight breath of relief. “I was just worried that it might be upsetting to you, is all. I know I would miss eating.” She paused for a moment, something clearly on her mind. “What do you miss? If you don’t mind my asking. I just… well, I’m curious what it’s like for you.”
“Mmm, in a lot of ways, life is still the same, and in other ways, I’m technically doing better than I was before. I’m incredibly resistant to damage now, even without my armor. I do miss sleeping, though. I try to give my mind a rest and just sort of daydream and let my thoughts wander or do some meditation during the nights, but it’s just not the same. Also means I’m the one that pulls guard duty through the night,” he grumbled. “Let’s see, what else, what else. Ah, right. I can’t smell anything. Or taste. I haven’t worked out how to recreate those senses, yet. Though no sense of smell can be handy sometimes, I suppose. I don’t know if you’ve done much merc work – you mentioned being surprised that I’m not just moonlighting – but uh… the smells that you encounter on a battlefield are… unpleasant. To say the least. It was weird not having a sense of touch either, but I’ve resolved that. It’s a little bit different than my previous, natural sense of touch, but I’ve become accustomed to it to the point that I don’t much think about the difference anymore. I think I’ve even got the density of receptors down in certain areas compared to others, so I'm more sensitive in some areas than others now, just like I used to be. I’m still immune to being tickled though, so don’t even think about it – that’s a fight you’ll lose.” Growing a bit more somber, Xander continued on. “I think… the biggest thing I miss is just the feeling that I fit in more. Now I always worry about being different, there’s that nagging fear that anyone I get to know well is going to reject me once they find out what I am. Like I’m secretly lying to everyone around me with this façade I have going on.”
Valteria nodded sadly. “I get that. I’ve been… rejected before, too. At least it happens or not right from the beginning for me. I get to know if they look down on me for being different immediately instead of fearing they might later down the road.”
“Yeah,” Xander said. “People can really suck sometimes. But at least I can just, like, not tell people what I am if I so chose. You, my teammates, and the guild, since it’s on my status sheet, are really the only people who know. I keep it pretty private. You can’t do that, so I think you probably have to deal with a lot worse than I do. Not that I’d want you to hide what or who you are,” he added. “I happen to be quite enamored with who you are,” he said, teasing a smile from Valteria’s sad face.
“Sorry to bring up such a dour topic,” Valteria apologized. “I didn’t think much on it before I asked.”
“No worries,” Xander told her. “Honestly, I think it’s good to be able to talk about it with someone. It’s healthy to be able to get you feelings out there. And it helps that I feel like you understand where I’m coming from with it, though from a slightly different perspective.”
“You’re surprisingly thoughtful sometimes,” Valteria said, only half teasing.
“Only sometimes?” Xander asked with a faux expression of hurt on his face. “By the way, you didn’t react much to my comment about moonlighting as a merc. Do you ever go on contracts?”
Valteria shrugged. “I certainly wouldn’t describe myself as a professional mercenary. Moonlighter is an apt descriptor, for me, I think. I have gone on a couple, here and there, mostly on kill contracts that would net me a core or organ that would be useful for my work.”
“Mm, that makes sense. I suppose it could be handy having access to the ability to take contracts that would give you access to specialty materials,” Xander said.
“It’s also good for business,” Valteria explained. “Mercs tend to like to buy from someone who has at least been out on a contract or two before.”
“Ah, that makes sense. What kind of things do you sell to mercenaries, anyways? I saw Jarrett with a crossbow yesterday, but I imagine you make other things, too.”
“Oh all kinds of little things. Portable, flameless heaters for cooking. Water purification sieves. Mm, let’s see… I’ve made a few custom order devices, too. One customer wanted to be able to shoot a jet of flame from their gauntlet, that was a fun one.”
“Ooh, that does sound fun… reminds me of my flamethrower.”
“Your flamethrower?”
“Yeah, it’s basically a big tank with a hose attached to it. At the end of the hose is a pump that causes the flammable liquid – I use dragon’s tar – to shoot out. Add a flame that the tar passes over and bam! You’ve got a giant stream of flame that will coat anything it hits with sticky, flammable tar,” Xander said, excitedly describing the device.
“That’s… impressive. And kind of horrifying,” Valteria responded.
“Mm… I guess you’re right. I mostly use it on giant spiders. Blugh,” Xander shuddered. “But yeah, I suppose it’s not the nicest of ways to go. Very effective for area denial, though. Ah, actually I have an idea for crossbow bolt head that would ignite when it shatters! We should make that sometime and see if it sells.”
“Hmm, I think that would draw some buyers. A flaming bolt head you didn’t have to light first could be desirable to certain buyers.”
“Put that on the list and we’ll get around to it sometime.”
“We have a list?” Valteria said confusedly.
“We should!” Xander said with a laugh. “Now let’s get the rest of these joints done.”
The repair of the other arm and the leg joints that Xander had locked into position during the tournament was a short affair. Looking over the bare metal frame of the armor still hanging from the ceiling, Xander clapped his hands together, mimicking dusting them off. “Good as new!” He exclaimed. Looking over to Valteria he asked concernedly, “It is good as new, right?”
Valteria had been staring at the armor as well, lost in thought about how she was going to improve it next. “Hmm? Oh, yes. It’s right as rain again, ready for use. Thank you, by the way. For fixing it,” She said awkwardly.
“Well I’m the one who broke it, so it’s only fair that I fix it. So what do you want to work on next?” Xander asked. “I could do some rune work for you. Orrr… we could kiss some more?”
Valteria flushed at the question, but didn’t immediately say no.
A few minutes later, she found herself on her tip toes and lightly pressed against the interior wall of the shed, her lips pressed against Xanders.
Once the two of them were done acting like teenagers parked in a secluded parking lot, they made their way back into the shop. Stepping inside and closing the door behind them, Valteria let out a breath. “I think… you are going to have to do a lot of rune work to make up for how much you just kissed me, Xander.”
“What, you didn’t like it?” He said with a raised eyebrow.
“I didn’t say that,” Valteria said with a smirk.

No one else will understand why I was dying laughing, except the people here.
Why this was a question on 2nd grade online reading response test, I have no idea. But I for sure knew the answer!

Hello everyone.
It's been a frustration lately trying to figure out what to do. I (30 F) was diagnosed in 2nd grade, but we moved to a different state than the place I was diagnosed and my mother "conveniently" lost the paperwork. That's a long story, but my parents were abusive. It is what it is.
Anyway, all of the providers by me look like they only diagnose children and only treat adults who already have the diagnosis.
I don't have the paperwork and have no way of getting it. I called around the providers in my hometown and they either don't have records that far back or they don't have me in the system. In order to get accommodations at work, I need proof of the diagnosis and it looks like I'm going to have to get diagnosed again to get the proof.
Online services like Talkspace don't diagnose. The online services that do diagnose don't take insurance and want to charge $2K-$2.5K. I don't have that kinda cash
So, Reddit, ideas?

A bit of background we have multiple teachers in our rural district who are here on J 1 visas. They appear to be behind in the current thoughts on pedagogy. For example saying to students "Why don't you know this it is easy. If you don't understand you will lose recess time." This is a fifth grade class.

As the title implies I have been having some issues since joining Google Fi as a new customer and was wanting to know if anyone had some insight they could share or point me in the right direction. It's a long one but I'm pretty frustrated.
I ordered a new pixel pro 8 and paired it with the Google Fi service to get the new customer promo (700$ off pixel pro 8) This was done last Tuesday through the use of the credit line option offered. I was notified that my phone would arrive on Friday (5/10) and I couldn't of been happier. A few hours after the details were finalized I got an email stating I was no longer eligible for the promo (see picture) which I decided id give them a call when the phone arrived just in case this was an error (promo states the phone sim needs to be activated within 30 days) Friday rolls around and FedEx states it will be there EOD. It is now Tuesday the 14th and I still have not received my phone. The tracking on FedEx site states in in carol stream Illinois but when I called FedEx they said it was in Syracuse New York and they would open an investigation. I then called Google Fi customer support and this is where the true nightmare began. The customer service is absolutely abysmal, from getting disconnected multiple times (with no call back) to having one rep flat out be rude to terminating the call after I asked to speak with a supervisor. The 2nd time I called (and didint get disconnected) I got a hold of someone who tried to help and after putting me on hold for over 20 mins told me I needed to wait 48 hours with no update to tracking to be able to be helped further and they disconnected the call. The last shipping update was 5/11, so I was calling after 48 hours. My last and final time calling yesterday I got a hold of someone who was more helpful than the others (not saying much) and told me they filed for a replacement but couldn't help me expedite the process and told me I needed to wait 5 more days. She said she would send me over an email with confirmation which I still haven't received. I then got transferred to the Google Fi team and explained the promotion issue and the rep told me he escalated to the promotion team because as far as he could tell I should be eligible for the promotion and was unsure why I got the email. He too said I'd receive an email which I haven't. I called back in today to try and get these confirmations only to be told they had no record of me calling. After a 15 min hold he gave me my case number from the Fi team but told me there's nothing I can do about the replacement info.
Is there a way to contact a customer service that is not overseas and will actually give me assistance?
TLDR: the customer service absolutely sucks and I am looking for an alternative to the overseas option I have been provided over and over.