I want to get out of America. I can learn any language. Idc about that.
I have no college degree or higher education because I don't have time. Everytime I look for options I am meet with "go back to school you idiot" and if I explain I don't have time they make up some study about how they went to school by foot while fighting off a dragon on a broken leg.
Im not looking for pity and I'm not looking to hear about your struggles of how you got out of a bad situation by working hard.
I'm just looking for options with what I have. Doesn't matter the country. If you know of a program or internship or job I'm all ears. Please share.

I am working on an idea for a service review site that will be free for a company to list on and create a profile. The service company can’t pay to be listed first or recommended, it simply shows their ratings. By listing on that review site the company agrees to the chance that their reviews could be audited for authenticity ,the site would use various methods to prevent fake negative and fake positive reviews from being given. The review a customer completes is actually a 20 question thorough satisfaction survey, the service provider can see those results to determine the specific areas of their service that could use improvement instead of hoping a customer will complete a survey out of appreciation/kindness.. This site would treat a small company the same as a large company, they simply need to do good work. This is just a very high level summary of the contractor side of this business but I was curious if this is something a business owner would be interested doing. Remember there is no charge to be listed, period. The company isn’t our customer , regular homeowners would be, your company is a partner in providing thorough reviews and in return you get reliable information and as a company who agrees to those audits, you have a free way to stand apart from the crowd by being confident in your work.
Is this something you would be interested in using? feedback on this is appreciated thanks.

You are patrolling a city park that has a posted curfew of 10pm. You see a car parked and can tell there are occupants inside. You tap on the window after seeing a girl on the lap of the male passenger. She has her top off so you give them a moment to get situated and step outside. You ask for their id’s. The female has no ID because she is 15. The male is 20. Although no intercourse was happening, you still caught a minor, with her top off, making out with a grown man in his car. The girl is shaking and obviously embarrassed/scared she got caught. You call the girls parents, inform them “do you know your daughter is in the park with a 20 year old man?” Give her a curfew ticket and tell the male to drive the girl home. Girl gets a fine and community service for the curfew violation and man gets no consequences. Is this how most officers would handle this situation?
This happened to me when I was 15. I think about this situation a lot because yes, I was doing something wrong by breaking curfew (I didn’t know about the park being closed), and I should have consequences for my actions, I also think about why was it not more of a big deal that a minor was in a state of undress with a grown man/making out with a grown man? This happened in a state where the age of consent for intercourse is 17. I was a child and I eventually got out of that relationship when I was 16 and he was 21 (🤮🤮) and I think about how obviously there was something wrong with this dude and how many other girls did this happen with? maybe things have changed but I feel like nowadays you would not feel ok letting this girl go home with this guy and that was exactly what happened. No guarantee he would have taken me to my parents. I don’t blame anyone but myself but like I said, it is something I think about a lot.

TLDR: Despite a decade of being out and having relationships, falling for guys always ends in emotional turmoil as guys often shy away from commitment, even when its a natural next step. They act serious, "seeking long term" but end up running after significant time and effort together. Therapy helps me, but the cycle of disappointment is exhausting and disheartening, however giving up isn't how I want to resolve this. How do you keep optimism? And why do guys say they want this but then run? Trying to navigate this recurring pattern without losing too much hope.
Longer (really sorry for the essay this is typed out as i'm dealing with the most recent one and it helps to get this out here in long format): Maintaining optimism is tough as hell. Despite being out for over a decade and having a fair share of both long and short term relationships, most seem to end painfully, leaving me emotionally wrecked. I've mastered generally being level headed and maybe even stoic for most life situations like in work, family, friends, etc, stemming from a background of being the "best little boy in the world" but nothing throws me into turmoil like falling for guys. It's a love-hate dynamic—I cherish immensely moments with a guy I care about, yet they also bring a same level of immense pain and it is incredibly difficult for me to pick the pieces up each time afterwards. Its the only time I feel as happy as I can get but also when I feel the worst after its done...
For background I tend to date within my 25-35 age range, guys with good career paths, seemingly kind, attractive in a compatible way, etc. In all of the broad brush stroke life things, we tend to align. I will say I know this age range is already tough; most of us are still navigating emotional maturity, which I understand... i've been/going through it myself.
I try to guard against falling for toxic or fuckboys but it's tricky - I can pick out the red flags pretty easily when it surfaces in the first few weeks (love bombing, negging, trauma i'm not equipped to handle, substance abuse, etc). But with alot of these guys, all seems like a green flag but then true intentions often surface after weeks or months of implicit commitment. While I dont mind the hookup or short term dating culture, I also dont feel like I run away from a possibility of serious if I think it is worth it or headed in a positive direction, and I'm willing to share that vulnerability, but so many otherwise green flag guys seem to get too scared to at least confront that possiblity. They say "seeking long term", appear ready for something more serious, and then bolt when they start to see it actually happening and a more emotional connection happening.
I know open communication is key, but if you know gay dating then you know most of the time as soon as you vocalize anything the other guy isn't ready for, they dont face it or try to discuss, most of the time they run- so I try to ride a fine line of communicating that I appreciate the person being in my life but being careful not to go too far...I'm also not talking first week of meeting someone, this is on a regular normal dating timing, a couple months to 6 months type of thing. And then when I communicate I want more at that stage, more common than not they jump ship and aren't even willing to give it a shot.
I would say a response I might expect is that I'm the common denominator in this, maybe that i'm "too much" or they can't handle me or dont see me as dating material which is also tough to confront and I do so with therapy and friends etc, but that type of stuff normally shakes out in the first few weeks of dating and that really hasn't ended up being a stated reason for why these guys leave.
Instead, these guys are with me for extended amounts of time, and doing stuff only couples do....Think like several weeks of spending nights and weekends with me or monthly trips together out of state and country or meeting all my friends, movie lists that we are gonna watch together, etc. AND THEN they end up running, ghosting, or acting like it was never that serious to begin with and getting back on the apps the day after, which is just cruel... Not kidding, these are all guys I'm spending weeks and months doing these things. I get it if it is a fast burn 1 week hookup but these are significant amounts of time especially in gay dating....
When they leave, these heartbreaks hit me harder than anything else, reverting me to a naturally emotional super low state despite my efforts to keep it level emotionally. I take breaks, and spend time with family and friends afterwards but its easy to get stuck in my head, and this pseudo almost dating just seems cyclical as opposed to one offs.
Just not understanding why these guys are willing to pretend like everything is so good, then wreck someone by running away or being too weak to move forward. Therapy helps, but the cycle of picking myself up after each disappointment is exhausting. These guys seem great on paper—gentle, fun, successful career wise, handsome, good sex—yet its all ended the same way. It's disheartening; there are no easy wins in gay dating, and it's wearing me down. Giving up isn't in my playbook because I know how happy it can make me when it does seem to be working, even though it feels like an uphill battle. I dont want to become cynical or to get to a point where I cant offer my vulnerability and love to someone who does merit it but this process makes it so hard to figure out.
Guys who have still managed to keep your optimism, how? And the guys who run, why? Not trying for a pity party genuinely trying to navigate this as it keeps happening.

Genocide Reigns
(note: I'm an indie game developer making an action/horror title called Phantasphere. This story is a spin off set in the same universe)
Year 2480X Ryze County Police Department
He's coming. The ensuing panic spread like a virus infecting all present with symptoms of looming dread. Officers worked steadfast to prepare also taking what time remained to train the few combat hardened civilians whom had fled to the station earlier. If only they knew. This demon that presented itself as a man had led a string of senseless massacres across the country. Only recently had it begun to prioritize police stations and army bases as a means of breaking the will of civilians who knew they would be next. Officers from several counties across the states were transferred here for this last stand. This Genocide must not continue. Gracia checked her pistol. Some 20 bullets remained. "I can do this", she thought, "I have to". She had dealt with similar cases before. Some poor soul is overtaken by some inextricably evil force and makes it their life's work to propagate death. Gracia had killed quite a few already. Live arrests weren't always possible. Beyond saving, careful interrogations of the scarce live catches yielded a startling connection. These killers all alluded to a well of overwhelming hatred and despair that consumed them after making eye contact with...Pale, black eyed entities. Some type of demon? Ghost maybe? The idea seemed nonsensical, but there was evidence nonetheless that some outside force was using them to fulfill some unknown purpose. At the present time, all they could do was stop the killers after they had killed. It was always too late by then and more would appear randomly elsewhere. What good could be done here in an isolated station hoping to stop one guy out of possibly hundreds? "The guy we're waiting for is different from the others," detective Evans spoke from the center of a crowd nearby. Gracia moved in closer. "The others typically strike from the shadows, hide their faces behind masks, and prefer to get up close and personal with their victims. What we're dealing with is on a completely different scale. The trail of bloodshed this guy leaves is too difficult for the media to cover up. He loves the spectacle. Headlining the news. We can't keep using the burst pipeline excuse for 6 stations being destroyed in a row. We have to stop him before the world at large finds out. You wonder why we need so many people here? Its simple. We're gonna out-man this one man. He always attacks stations through the front door. Like other killers he's fast, strong- you know the usual, but he also uses guns." "What!", a voice rang out from the crowd. "They aren't supposed to do that!" another gasped. Officer Lary spoke with a cheesy grin" Ya tellin' me we just gotta deal with a regular ass gunman eh? That's a welcome change of pace init? Heck I'm too old to be running around being chased like I'm in some scary movie". The detective rebutted" You don't get it. He uses guns. Not a handgun, not rifles, not boom sticks, not rpgs, not knives not grenades but ALL of them. He uses guns. Plural. It'll take essentially an army to match his arsenal. He used to be a man named -redacted-, but in his pursuit of chaos he has become Genocide." A dark form manifests from the night outside the station. Genocide is coming.
Bang! something slams into the front door. Everyone freezes. Officer Tatum edges slowly to it, shockgun in hand. By no means lethal, the shockgun was lighter, easy to control, and could stun targets temporarily. If Genocide was here, Tatum could stun him and duck for cover leaving the station free to light him up like a Christmas tree. That was the plan they came up with. He got closer to the glass door and peered outside. He was met with hate filled bloodshot eyes framed by an unkempt beard and wild straggly hair. Tatum felt some relief. He knew the man outside. It was Jim Jimenez. Jim was a former drug dealer turned informant. He was found out and had to flee from his old life. He became homeless, hiding in plane sight. This allowed him safety at the cost of his mental health. Tatum knew the man, but those eyes were not his. Tatum blinked and saw that the look of malice had vanished. What he instead saw was a helpless, wounded man, bleeding from the right arm pleading for help. Tatum looked behind Jim, eyeing the empty lot. The coast seemingly clear Tatum unlocked the door and let Jim in. Jim had been roaming the town looking for shelter and tried squatting in an abandoned looking apartment complex. There he found that the building contained several murdered families some succumbing to gunshots but the majority having met their end to fire and suffocation. Jim had decided to make his way to the station to tell police what happened and met trouble on the way. He described getting stabbed by a man wearing a trench coat with long dark hair. Despite the injuries, Jim could move surprisingly well and seemed to ignore the pain. Jim insisted that the man had spared him on the condition he deliver a message. "What message?" Tatum asked. Jim beckoned him to come closer. Tatum leaned in and Jim whispered, "Tell them. Tell them that Genocide is coming closer." The following events were a blur. Jim had concealed the knife he was stabbed with. He stabbed Tatum 4 times in the chest and wrestled his shockgun away. Using Tatum as a shield, Jim engaged everyone in the lobby. Jim wasn't himself. He was stronger. He was faster. He was tactical. He would stun an officer in place only to stab them and use their as a body shield. No one could get a clear shot without hitting a colleague. Gracia watched the scene unfold. In minutes Jim had acquired a magnum from the holster of one of his victims. In seconds 3 officers had their heads exploded. The magnum rounds coated the walls red with those they hit and stained the clothes of those they missed. Gracia felt fear rising in her chest. She calmed herself and tried to think. She saw the bodies on the ground. The blood. She saw how dismissively Jim stepped over them. Like they were nothing. Like trash. She saw the man firing erratically into groups of people, not so much to kill but as to cause panic. That's it! As Gracia contemplated her next move it hit her. She was knocked backwards and landed on the ground. She weakly clutched her chest. Her breathing grew shallow. Jim mad his way deeper into the station. The officers were retreating from their standoff. Jim stepped over her body and saw red staining her uniform. Just another casualty. He moved on. At this point the civilians began panicking. Everyone gave up trying to save their allies and fired blindly at the madman. "Don't shoot the messenger," Jim laughed as he stripped his latest meat shield of an automatic rifle. Detective Evans took cover behind an overturned desk. To his left Larry struggled to light a cigar. "You still think this is a cakewalk?" Evans shouted firing 2 quick shots from his gun before ducking back down. Lary lost hold of his lighter and it clattered on the ground." Crap." He reached for it and looked in the corner of the room. A mirror. He looked at it for what seemed like ages and his smirk returned " Y'know that mex'n gal with the short hair. Where is she? I didn't see her get shot." Evans glanced a peak at Jim spraying lead in all directions. Behind him was a corpse. Evans blinked. It seemed to be getting closer. Its her. Gracia painstakingly inched her way into Jim's blind spot. She was roughly 6 feet away from him. Flanking him seemed like a brilliant idea but waiting idly by for the right moment as the people around her died filled her with anger. Worse still, she had to steal a blood soaked shirt from one of the deceased officers to keep up the facade. Inching ever so steadily she mad it within 3 feet of Jim. She reached behind her belt and unclipped a pair of handcuffs. Screams could be heard as more people were hit. Gracia couldn't wait any longer. Fluidly she got to her feet and rushed Jim. She kicked the back of his knee causing him to stumble as she put the handcuffs on him. Figuratively. The handcuffs were around Jim's neck. She yanked him back causing his gun to drop. "You don't know what you're doing." Jim spat. "We all need to accept it. The end of days is upon us. Death rides his horse through these forsaken lands. We must serve or be sacrificed in turn. Accept it!"He elbowed Gracia in the ribs causing her to let go. He spun around and lunged at her. She landed on her back, Jim steadily choking her. Gracia thought fast. She couldn't struggle. Jim was too strong. She delivered a precise chop to the center of Jim's neck which was exposed. Jim lurched back to catch his breath. A clean shot. A bullet pierced through Jim's back. Weakened, Gracia rolled him over and began punching him repeatedly using the handcuffs as brass knuckles. The sound of Jim's skull cracking echoed through the station. This would go on for nearly 20 seconds before Gracia stopped, checked his pulse, confirmed Jim was still alive, then finally put the cuffs on Jim's wrists.
Click. Bodies are wrapped and moved to a makeshift storage room. Click. The available weapons are gathered and redistributed. Click. Officers are assigned to sniping positions on neighboring buildings. Click. Police cruisers circle the lot outside. Click. In the holding cell, Jim opens his eyes. Click. Lary flicks his lighter. Click. Gracia sips coffee from a paper cup. Click. Shells hit the ground at the feet of Genocide. Click. Genocide walks outside a cafe and looks at the station in the distance. Click. Lary clicks his lighter.
"All ya'll gon' fall," Jim ranted." You can't drain the ocean. You can't put out the sun. Evil will always exist. That there Genocide is proof . I saw him. Saw myself within his eyes. Saw the evil in me that I could no longer try to hide. He taught me to embrace the darkness within. Its in all of us begging to be let out. Can you hear it!" Lary clicked his lighter and got up from his chair. He grabbed a cup of liquor from another officer mid sip and walked over to Jim. He doused it on Jim, the liquid stinging his open wounds. Jim yelped. Across the station, radios blurred to life. Several of their lookouts on the outside had been killed. "He's gon' get ya," Jim smiled imitating Lary's signature grin. "Genocide! Genocide! Genocide!" The other inmates saw the chance to irritate Lary and joined in all shouting in unison,"Ge-No-Cide! Ge-No-Cide! Ge-No-Cide!" The chanting grew louder. Unbearable. They invoked upon the name of the beast, and so it came.
Genocide is upon us. A wave of dread spread across the officers. They could feel its presence. Gracia knew the sensation. The awful aura that the other killers gave off. This was different. Far more oppressive. She struggled to breathe as the air got colder. Her instincts screamed for her to run. She could only imagine what the others were going through. Its time. Across the lot Genocide stood. A siren blared over the intercom. "Everyone get into positions!" Evans yelled. Wayne finished setting the last of the c4 near the station entrance. "That's the last of them. Have remote triggers set around all the major hallways. I'll be in the security room ready to pull the switch." Wayne acted as an explosives expert. His job was to detonate bombs placed throughout the station to slow down Genocide should it enter the building. He would stay in the security room, monitoring the cameras and giving real time updates on the officers' positions. From the holding cell, inmates chanted for Genocide. Lary got off his phone" That bastard mixed us up. How did we not notice?" Evans asked what he meant. Lary, dumbfounded, said that most of the town was already dead. Genocide had broken his usual pattern. He went on a killing spree across a defenseless town BEFORE attacking the police station. They had let everyone down. The people they swore to protect. This Genocide was a monster, but he was still a man. Capable of learning from his past actions. Planning. Adapting. It wasn't in his style to stealthily kill his victims or even use a silencer on any of his guns, but an exception had been made for tonight. An exception that would cost them. Gracia was stationed on the second floor. She peered out the window. Her heart skipped a beat. Two cruisers made slow donuts patrolling the lot and standing unmoving between them was a man all in black. Gracia called in to Wayne asking if he saw anything outside. Wayne said the monitors were all clear then checked again. He cursed. He noticed small details were off. The cameras showing the outside of the station were wrong. Sure they showed the same scenery and weather but cars passed by on screen too frequently for a dead town. Too many to make sense for the quarantine they had set in place. Wayne concluded that the cameras had been hacked. Different prerecorded footage was being shown on the live feed to misdirect them. Gracia saw the man look up at her. A light rain started to fall. The officers patrolling outside were contacted. From the holding cells, inmates called for genocide.

I (23M) work full time and my younger brother (21M) doesn't work. He has a very strong anti- work mentality and doesn't believe in the typical 9-5 job. He wants to be a business owner and has started his own catering business with help from my mom and I. His business hasn't picked up yet because it's still very brand new. In the meantime, my mom and I have been giving him money to help him buy things for his business and for himself.
When he asks me for money, I am more than happy to give it to him, but then a few days later he spends it all on food or other things, which is fine. But, every few days he is always complaining he doesn't have any money. I asked him why he doesn't get a job to help pay for his business, but also save some money too for the future in case he wants to buy a car or pay off his student loans, and his response is always "I will never work a 9-5 job."
Yesterday, he was complaining again about how he's broke. I sat him down and told him that his spending habits are not the greatest and that he should try budgeting, so that he is not spending everything at once.
Really quickly, this turned into a big argument. He called me greedy and said that I was trying to control him and that he can spend the money how he wants. I told him that way of thinking is wrong and you can't be spending somebody else's money however you want, especially if it was given to help you.
I told him that he doesn't want to end up in a position in life where he is in need of money, but doesn't have it. Then he said, " I am not going to take life advice from an employee like you."
My mom constantly enables him and gives him money whenever he wants, but then complains to me that my brother is wasting the money he's getting from her.
Both my mom and brother ganged up on me. They said they I am selfish and controlling for telling my brother, I don't want to give him money if he's going to waste it the same day. Obviously he's my brother and I want to help him as much as I can, but I also want to him to understand that his financial decisions can impact his future.
AITA?

I’ve (19M) been talking to this girl (18F) for almost 2 months now, met about 4 months ago. We’re both in our first years of uni. Our interactions have been really good and we click really well when we’re together and also on text, and we’ve been out 3 times so far. We didn’t call them dates but two of them were basically kinda like dates (coast walk and museum/kbq).
Right now we’re on a short 2 week break for uni (not a talking break). I’m and international student so I’m going back home for the break and she’s a domestic so she’s staying there. We’ve been chatting quite a bit, almost everyday. Most of the times it’s me initiating the conversations but she did a few times as well. But once we start we just hit it off and can chat for hours and deep into the night too, I try to text in the evenings usually because during the day one of us are typically busy either working, studying, or just having me time.
Three things I need some advice on -
One is how can I spend more time in person together because I feel like we interact on text way more than in person, which is something I’d like to change. But the thing is we’re in completely different faculties so it makes it slightly more challenging.
The second thing (probably the most major one) is whether or not I should just ask her out on a date and call it a date, instead of just “hey do you wanna grab dinnedo this, do that”, just straight up “hey we’ve went out a few times but we never labeled it, would you like to go out on a date with me”. I don’t wanna let this drag and go into an awkward stage where we’ve just been in the perpetual talking stage.
Finally, how long is long? I understand that for different situations long is subjective. So for me it’s more of how long is long to not text each other for a while. And how long is considered long before getting into a relationship (conventionally).
I’m taking this time back home as a time to step away a little bit and gather and process my thoughts, and I want a little insight.
TLDR: Been talking for 2 months I (19M) and (18F). Three questions, how to spend more time together? Should I just ask her out on a proper date? How long is considered long for not talking and officially getting into a relationship?

For the past few years I like to play my Xfinity App on my FireStick all day/night for white noise or to entertain my dogs when I'm not home. But lately it keeps asking "are you still watching?"
I've clicked "yes" and "don't ask me again" but the app randomly shuts off now and I can't get it to stop. I've left my house for a few days before and let the app continue to play and when I get home its still playing. But I doesn't do that anymore. Just a blank screen after a couple hours of letting the app/channels play.
How do I get it to stop shutting off by its self so I can let the channels play for as long as I want? TIA!

I’ve been in a numb state lately. Just rotting in bed thinking of old memories. Life has started to feel like an old mystery movie. The gray ambiance, sharp camera twists, turns, and a shocking revelation with a loud cymbal and discordant piano keys. It was 7:00 pm and my mind had decided to replay a particularly strange memory. I was up late (9pm-ish) reading a book. It felt so big in my hands and I found it annoying to turn the pages. The story was just too good, the scenes were flashing and flowing so quickly in my mind. It felt like I was there crawling through small cupboards and reaching new worlds. All good things must come to an end though and my eyes were heavy and dry. I turned off my book light and put my book underneath the unused pillow beside me.
And everything drifted away.
I walked out of my front door and down the sidewalk. My neighbor was working on something in his garage. The area was a nice little suburb, lots of neighborhood kids and friendly people to talk to and play with. He waved me over and his words didn’t make any sense. They were gibberish. As I got closer I realized there was nothing on his face. Not literally nothing but it was an ever adding and subtracting hodgepodge of features. I didn’t understand why it suddenly got so loud. The noise dragged on and on and on in a monotonous slog. I couldn’t understand why it was slowly getting darker. The garage became pitch black and I didn’t recognize the 2 glass marbles floating in the dark above me. They were filled with dark reflected light. There was no more strange gibberish, only quiet ambient buzzing. An invisible force guided, twisted, pulled and forced me down. Now everything was smooth and it was so very dark. Pressure pulled and pushed into me while whispers and breath filled my ear.
Eyes wide open now I can feel it in my room. Slowly I turned, trying desperately not to make a sound. So so so very slowly, pulling the twisted blanket down and off of my head. I didn’t even notice the tears being wiped off onto it. It was completely and utterly dark. I could see them again. the two floating glass marbles. They stared at me. And I stared back into that old dark recycled light for far too long. It reached out to me. It told me it was sorry. It screamed for me. It bled into me. It wept at me. It yelled at me. It laughed because of me. It needed me. It made me. It loved me. It hated me. It devoured me. It cared for me. It fed me. It punished me. It dressed me. It was me. It told me I was always going to be it’s…
But the light was cold, dim, and dead.
And I
I saw you walk out of my room!

Hello! I've been experimenting with the new Meta-Llama3-70b-Instruct model in Silly Tavern and it works great for solo characters. But when you convert it to a group and add another character.
Character A will try and speak as Character B. This can be solved by switching off Include Names in the Instruct Mode Template but then what happens is the characters lose track of who is who and don't retain any of their knowledge.
I am using Virt-io's SillyTavern presets for Roleplay-v1.8
https://huggingface.co/Virt-io/SillyTavern-Presets/tree/main/Prompts/LLAMA-3/v1.8
No other model struggles with group chats, but has anyone found a way to get it to work?

I am working on an idea for a service review site that will be free for a company to list on and create a profile. The service company can’t pay to be listed first or recommended, it simply shows their ratings. By listing on that review site the company agrees to the chance that their reviews could be audited for authenticity ,the site would use various methods to prevent fake negative and fake positive reviews from being given. The review a customer completes is actually a 20 question thorough satisfaction survey, the service provider can see those results to determine the specific areas of their service that could use improvement instead of hoping a customer will complete a survey out of appreciation/kindness.. This site would treat a small company the same as a large company, they simply need to do good work. This is just a very high level summary of the contractor side of this business but I was curious if this is something a business owner would be interested doing. Remember there is no charge to be listed, period. The company isn’t our customer , regular homeowners would be, your company is a partner in providing thorough reviews and in return you get reliable information and as a company who agrees to those audits, you have a free way to stand apart from the crowd by being confident in your work.
Is this something you would be interested in using? feedback on this is appreciated thanks.

CHARACTER AGENCY

It's ridiculous how passive and honestly "NPC" the other characters in the world are. For an installment in the series that wanted to dip deeper into the "Roleplay" side of things, it's absolutely crucial that CK3 find a way to make the other characters in the world feel like real, living, breathing, and independent people, and it currently falls flat on that.
Here are just some ways that you could improve character agency in the game:

• Characters should be able to push for appointments, regularly. How am I a god that just comes in and names every single knight and court position in the land with not a breath of reaction from my entire court. Do you know how many people would've had the king's ear in this time and been pushing for themselves or their friends or family for these appointments? Think of the court intrigue you've seen in shows like Game of Thrones or Shogun or Succession, now think how well the game captures that feeling. The -40 opinion penalty for major vassals not being on your council is a boring static modifier that doesn't take into account personality and context and only applies to your council, not to court positions or knighthoods. The random events in your Royal Court where people push for appointments are infrequent, pretty random, have little consequence, and are actually entirely optional if you never Hold Court. People should be pushing to fill your different roles regularly and react positively or negatively if you pick people they like or don't like. Here are some examples:
  • People should be able to push for themselves to be appointed, for their friends, for their family, for people they respect, for people of their culture and/or religion, for people with similar personalities to them.
  • People should oppose the appointment of their rivals, people from families their family is feuding with, people they dislike, cultures or religions they oppose, etc.
  • Personality traits should affect who people push for. Deceitful characters may want you to purposely appoint incompetent knights, bodyguards, food tasters, etc. if they dislike you. Zealous characters prioritize religion far above other qualities. Diligent characters prioritize the most competent candidate. Vengeful characters highly oppose their enemies being chosen. Greedy characters prioritize appointments for themselves or their family. Impatient characters will get upset if you leave the position vacant for too long. Trusting characters will only push for candidates they really know well.
• Characters should be able to refuse appointments, or resign from positions. Maybe the talented firstborn son of the king does not wish for the duty to rule and refuses the election to King and instead wishes to spend his days frequenting brothels and fighting in tournaments. Maybe a martially gifted vassal that has huge estates and is living comfortably in his manor off of his rents doesn't want to be appointed as my Marshall and chase and stamp down peasant revolts for a living, so he comes up with an excuse to refuse the appointment. Perhaps I need to change his mind by paying him a visit to persuade him in person, or by hosting a great feast in my hall with him as the honorary guest, or by arranging a marriage between our families. Perhaps my masterful Steward is offended at the lowborns and heathens I have hired into my council, and resigns out of protest. Perhaps my Marshall is ashamed at how badly the last war went under his purview, and resigns out of shame. Perhaps my Chancellor just heard news that his son was killed in a hunting accident back home, and resigns to go spend time on his estate with his family.
• Characters should react to actions the player takes.
  • Won a great battle? Maybe a knight approaches you after the battle wishing to enter your service after hearing of the tale. Maybe your marshall approaches you and congratulates on your generalship. If it was against heathens, maybe the Pope writes you a letter congratulating you on the victory of Christendom. Maybe a vassal approaches you and offers to build a statue in his domain to honour your victory.
  • Declared a new war? Maybe a vassal refuses the call to war citing some excuse, withholding his levies and giving you a reason to punish him in the future. Maybe another vassal joins with his personal troops as well because he is personally interested in success in this war.
  • Built a building in your vassal's land? Your vassal should thank you and like you more.
• Characters should regularly ask for favours from the player, and the player should be able to ask them in return. Maybe a an existing councillor asks that you hire him to another position for which he thinks he is better suited. Perhaps a vassal approaches you with a marriage offer, and in return offers to build a church in your honour. Perhaps a vassal approaches you and asks that you declare war on the country that is raiding their lands, and in return offers to increase his obligations to you. Perhaps a vassal asks that you raise his children with the greater learning available in your court, and in return he will send you his brother to serve as your knight. Perhaps the pope asks you to build a church and in return offers to send you some learned monks and an artifact.
• Characters should regularly travel to visit each other or do things. It seems like the only thing characters beside me do is lead armies, and go on hunts. Why don't my councillors go back to visit their estates? To see their families? Why don't distant family members travel to see each other? To host family reunions?
• The player should be able to consult decisions with other characters. What is the point of my councillors if they never give me counsel? If I am planning on giving out land to new vassals, each of them should be there with suggestions on who I should give it to, or whether I should even give it away at all. And it should not just be my councillors, sometimes these decisions are leaked and my entire court will find out, in which case many courtiers would have their own opinions on what should be done! Maybe one of my guests approaches me and begs I give the land to them due to some ancestral claim. Maybe my food taster during dinner tells me he thinks it should go to my existing vassal X because he manages his current estates so well. And what if I want to host an activity? I should be able to ask my councillors or courtiers which activity they wish for or think would be best to host next. Maybe they have suggestions for where to host it, how to plan it, who to invite, etc. Maybe my marshall wants a tournament but my chaplain wants a pilgrimage. Maybe in my feast, my Steward wants me to invite vassal X but my wife despises him and wishes me not to.

The fact that almost none of these features exist in a meaningful way in the game is kind of ridiculous, for a game that tries so hard to be role-play centered and story-driven. Think about how much we are missing out on because of the lack of agency of characters in the world. Imagine if other characters in the world acted like us as the player character. Think of the story opportunities if features like the above were implemented to make for more independent AI characters.

Hi everyone!
I wanted to give a detailed review of my experience with sm global package for taemin’s metamorph concert in tokyo at the nippon budokan. I am months delayed in posting this (thanks to grad school) but I initially wrote it out of post-concert depression prior to returning to the states back in March.
buying the global package, twin ver:
the package was announced sometime in december 2023 if im not mistaken and I stayed up until midnight (pst) on 1/22 to book a twin package for ‘course c’ which was 2N3D (sunday concert 3/10) for my friend and I. The packages that included all three nights (5D3N) of the show sold out the quickest, but there were still packages available for individual show days. As a tip to make things easier, make sure to have your friends’ passport info to input in advance so the booking goes easier if you are booking a twin package. If you are the one making the booking, make sure to have the global package app downloaded as they will send you notifications along the way about day of show schedule, merch preorder, etc. They ask that you relay this info to your partner when you purchase a twin package, as you are the primary reservation holder. You also cannot split the cost while booking, it must go on one card through paypal. When booking, you have the option to request extending your stay at the hotel through sm c&c, but since we were planning to go to Kyoto after the concert, we just checked out the day after the concert as planned. Also we didn’t have any ACE memberships, but if I remember correctly, you can enter that info to get an exclusive MD benefit.
merch preorder:
Prior to arriving in Japan, we got a notification at around 6pm pst on 2/28 (11 days prior to the show) with our exclusive merch preorder links which went live at midnight that same night. The prices were in yen and you pay using paypal. I had no problem getting the MD I wanted, however since there were limits on the amount of MD you could purchase (including the 2 different pins, which were 1 per order) I had to ask my friend if I could purchase an additional pin through his MD preorder link since there were 2 different pins in this specific concert MD. The day of the show (3/10) at around 10am, we picked up the MD we preordered with ease and pulled our concert seat tickets and received our global package exclusive gift (a mag safe wallet) and let the staff know which transports we would be taking (round trip bus or one way to/from the venue). I was a ljttle disappointed in the global package benefit MD as I had seen what the metamorph show in Korea had received (I think it was a handwritten letter from Taemin and a little lego figurine of him 🤧). Everything was smooth and efficient. Even after the concert, I was able to get into the MD line to purchase more, even though most of the MD was sold out.
checking in/out of the hotel & hotel review:
We stayed at the Hotel Monterey Hanzomon which was really close to the venue and across the street from the Hanzomon subway line, so it was very accessible by public transit. My friend and I both flew into Haneda and it took a little less than an hour to get to the hotel from the airport via public transit, but after a 12.5 hour long flight it was exhausting. When I asked the people at the airport if there was an airport limousine to the area, they said it wouldn’t take me close enough to the hotel and recommended I take the subway. We had met a few people in line for the MD pickup who said that we (allegedly) had a nicer hotel than those who did the NCT 127 global package for their Tokyo dome show (same weekend) but all in all, Hanzomon was an economy hotel with nothing to write home about. I will say the breakfast buffet included was really nice and I’m glad we didn’t skip out on it. When we checked in the day before the show, we just showed our passports and checked in like any other hotel. In the lobby there was a whiteboard with all of the concert info (opening times for md pickup, bus schedules, and concert schedule) displayed in english, korean, chinese, and japanese. I was a little bummed to find out that the concert (which took place in the middle of the afternoon) was only going to be an hour and a half maximum, even though NCT’s concert was almost 4 hours (!!!) in length.
day of show:
We had breakfast in the lobby around 8:30/9ish then after that we got to the sm desk at 9:45am to pick up our md and pick our tickets for the show (thanks to the tip from another fan on reddit, well worth getting there a little before the booth opened). I did notice the ACE membership MD benefits were nice, but neither me nor my friend have any fanclub memberships. It was relatively straightforward, they checked our passports and handed us a lanyard that acted as our bus pass and then one person per twin package picks the pair of tickets at random (in sets of 2 so you sit with your friend) and we got seats in section A3 (floor) which were great. They asked us if we wanted a seat on the bus ride round trip or one way and we originally said only one ride to the venue, but my friend decided to take the bus back too once we got to the venue so we notified the SM staff and they added us to the roster for the ride back easily. When we got to the venue (an hour and a half-ish before doors) they escorted us to the front and we were let in immediately. The efficiency was incredible. They didn’t check my bag prior to entering like how they would for a concert in the US so I didn’t bring a water bottle into the venue but thankfully they had vending machines inside and concessions on the top levels of the venue. We also went to a booth upstairs to pair our lightsticks for the show, since the Japanese Shinee Lightstick app is only available for Japanese phones, so we showed our ticket locations and they were able to calibrate. The show was short yet sweet, we did not see anyone ejected for taking photos/videos but we were too scared to risk it. If you are caught filming or taking photos they will make you delete the photos/videos and kick you out with no sign of return, but I think because it was the last day and we were in the middle of a crowd, it was a little easier to get away with. There was a sadness in the air because it was Taemin’s last concert as a soloist under SM, but overall the show was incredible. One thing of note though is Japanese audiences are very quiet, they tend to clap rather than scream in between songs and there were times where you could hear someone from the rafters sneeze and it would resonate, so be prepared for that cultural difference. We still screamed when it felt appropriate to do so and the fanchants were loud but it was definitely strange to be golf clapping in between songs, especially in comparison to shows in the US where fans are barking 💀. It was nice to be able to hear Taemin speak uninterrupted during the ments, without pick-me fans interjecting their screams. He spoke exclusively in Japanese and there was no translator so we were left to guess what he was saying. A K-fan next to us was live Papago-ing his ments to Korean and I would peek and read what the translation was. Also shout out to this lovely K-shawol because she let my friend borrow one of her lightsticks! Once the show ended, everyone queued up to leave the venue in an orderly fashion and we cleaned up any trash we saw and we went out to the MD booth to buy any last minute MDs before going to the bus. On the bus, they gave us each a (unthemed) bag with some strawberry cookies and a waterbottle and we had a fun time air-dropping photos and videos from the show with other (braver) global package attendees. Everyone we met was so lovely and everything about the global package went very smoothly and efficiently.
closing thoughts:
the day after the show, we took advantage of the free breakfast and checked out with ease. The SM C&C staff left the whiteboard in the lobby and left a nice note for us and we wrote our thank yous on there. Overall, the package cost was $1559 for 2 people ($779 ea, 2 twin beds for 2N3D) and even though it was pricey it was so worth the convenience of not having to try to buy tickets locally, which I heard sold out entirely during fan club presale. Please note that this cost did not include airfare or transit to/from the airport. The concert coincided with my spring break and Taemin is one of my ults, I just wrote a paper on him for grad school so it was a no brainer, I had to be there no matter what lol. I was a bit disappointed in the lack of theming (I heard the concerts in Korea come with themed rooms, themed snacks, etc) and the lack of transportation to and from the airport (which I heard is sometimes an option for shows in Korea and would have been a great benefit). But otherwise the hotel was clean and convenient (a little small, but that’s how it is normally in an economy hotel in Japan), breakfast was good, SM staff were helpful and nice, and we made some new Shawol friends in the meantime :)
overall, I would absolutely book with global package again, but I would definitely want to see a show in Korea to compare the benefits. It was an unforgettable experience to be apart of the pearl aqua ocean 💎
if you have any questions ask away! prior to booking this package, I took the advice of another fan under and it was really helpful so I wanted to offer any insight based off my experience.

I truly don’t know how much more ghosting in the market I can take. It probably hasn’t been as many times as some others because I was so used to a reliable job market up until my unemployment era where I have been looking for a job for the last 7 months and it’s truly been a soul crushing shit show.
As of recently, I applied for a contract position that had a high chance of going permanent with an employment agency and the interview was extremely bad. From technical issues during the virtual interview to my vague responses to behavioral questions, I called the agent after (as per her request) to let her know how it went and that I didn’t think it went well. I was naive and didn’t know that you are not supposed to be truthful to these agents as you are their product they are trying to sell to employers. I had a pre screening before that panel interview that also wasn’t my best and I told her. After the panel interview I sent over a ‘thank you email’ through the agent, along with an answer to an interview question I messed up on and addressed it. She told me she would contact me when she heard back from them, in the interview the interviewers also told me they would be letting the agency know the following week what they decide (it didn’t sound like I would get it). I never heard back from the agent, I emailed her the following Thursday asking if she had heard back and also expressing my interest in other positions in the field. No response. Up until our last point of contact she had been very prompt with all her responses. It’s now been almost 2 weeks since the interview and I think it’s safe to say I’ve been ghosted. I never expected to be ghosted by an employment agency and it’s been a serious blow to my confidence that has already taken a hit since I’ve been unemployed. I used to be so confident in job interviews and would get almost all of them, now I have panic attacks during them cause they come so far and few and I need them to survive.
Should I call the agent directly at this point?
Should I forget about the agency and move on?

I was a gym rat, I'm not now because of other commitments. So I have something to tell my brothers from my own experience.
Women don't care about your body. Most beautiful female friends of mine are with 5/10 looking guys. Couple are with outright short and fat guys. (I'm not judging anybody here but simply pointing at two major insecurities - height and weight). So don't be that guy who cribs about his body type for being single. Now that this fact is out of the way, how can you increase your attractiveness?
If you're a gym goer, don't go into major bear mode if you're doing it for aesthetics. Girls simply don't value what your other gym bros value. So trying to be the biggest baddest guy in the gym is futile. Other Men's respect won't earn woman's love.
Fat is a bigger turn off than muscle is a turn on. It's better to not have muscles than to have chubby face. (This advice comes from personal experience - my mother, sisters, ex told me I looked much better with sharp face with less muscles than with chubby face with more muscles). Face massaging for a minute everyday while washing face, drinking plenty of water, reducing salt and sugar intake, fruits for breakfast instead of simple carbs, enough sleep - basically avoiding anything that causes water retention and tired eyes helps in this.
In the gym focus on side delts (because visible), triceps (because bigger than biceps ), back (because bigger than chest).
Your attractiveness comes almost completely from your personality. Girls are wired differently in these matters. So invest your time and money on things that make you interesting fellow instead of buying 6000rs whey betting solely on physique which anyway won't work. Remember even with physique you'll get sex which doesn't guarantee love but personality guarantees love which guarantees sex.
Who are interesting guys : 1) Knowledgeable. Know more than people around them on various matters. 2) Well spoken. Your words are your resume. Develope vocabulary, be eloquent. 3) Passionate. Serious about the things that they love. 4) Courteous. No crass jokes. No bitching or whining. (Modern women this, modern women that comes into this category) 5) Planned and organised. Signs of reliability. Lets her know she can shut off her brain around him. 6) Aware but not self serious. Is funny, childish at times but with awareness of said childishness.
At the end of the day a girl chooses best of what is available to her. If she finds two idiots with no personality either she'll choose none of them or the one with means or looks. She won't choose an idiot who is also broke and ugly. Don't be that guy.
PS: This is for somebody who is going to gym for singular purpose of being more attractive physically to other gender. Don't be that idiot who waltzes in telling me how he does it for himself and all other things.

So I’ve had panic disorde agoraphobia coming up 2 years now, I’m that time the severity has ranged from being bed bound to being able to drive 25 minutes away from my house and even bus to local shops. My anxiety got a lot worse in February/ March again which was so frustrating and DPDR was kicking my ass but I really needed to get my wisdom teeth out. The consultation I ended up having to cancel due to getting there and freaking out and having to leave, canceling again and then finally making it using half a lorazepam and freaking out the whole time and my surgery to get teeth out for in 4 weeks time. In that time I worked really hard on acceptance, getting active again (a genuinely massive help to brain) and exposure stuff I even drove to and from the dentist 5 times before the day to get more comfortable, this made especially tricky cause I had to take the motorway which has very few exits and the dentist is 15 minutes away. Anyway! A few days before I was seriously considering postponing to have more exposure time but forced myself to try. Cut to day yesterday morning and I was shitting myself about the impending procedure so I called my dentist and made a plan so I wouldn’t have to wait and could take 1/2 Loraz in the morning and that I’d be able to go straight in and also had therapy in the morning to talk about it all. WELL yesterday (morning of surgery) I was my surgery I was literally shitting continuously out of fear of it but I was so committed to doing my best and knew I’d have to do it some point anyway and best not to extend my suffering, I just kept telling my anxiety that we won’t do anything that feels genuinely too much. I ended up literally shitting my pants a tiny bit off the way there which I think honestly helped due to the hilarity and ridiculousness of it all. Anyway I got there and I found having an icey pack to hold super helpful for grounding and brought my fav teddy(pack a happy sensory bag!) and basically signed the consent form and immediately got shuffled into the room and got the iv, the nurses distracted me whilst he gave me a sedative which made me feel a bit itchy I then asked to be immediately put to sleep and next thing I remember is waking up to my mum trying to feed me an ice block and asking to go home which I did super soon after. It’s super helpful bringing a support person and truely do your best to communicate with your team and advocate for yourself and your needs. Anyway it’s almost 2 days after the surgery now and obviously it’s not comfortable but I find pain easy to deal with as long as im snuggled up in bed with medication. I promise promise it’s not as scary as you think you can do it too! Happy to answer any questions if anyone has an upcoming appointment but I really wanted to share this MASSIVE win 💕💕🎉🎉

Been using this monitor for just over a week now. It replaced an AOC 34" UW VA that I used for personal and WFH (I'm 100% remote), and I'm still using a secondary Acer 27"1440p IPS monitor in portrait mode. Some thoughts:

• I read through the internetz for all tips and tricks on using QD-OLED monitors as the primary screen and initially tried them all with the intention on disabling/reducing any that were very annoying for my work flow even before setting up the monitor:
  • Windows 11 Dark mode: lots of thoughts on this one. See below.
  • Auto-hiding task bar and using TranslucentTB to make it transparent (auto-hiding was annoying at first, but got used to it
  • Removing all icons from OLED desktop (easy enough since I don't like icons on my desktop)
  • Setting monitor to sleep at 3 minutes idle (used to be 5 minutes, so wasn't too bad to adjust to)
  • Using Wallpaper Engine (I don't know why I didn't use this sooner. Used Razer Axon before but wasn't a fan so I went back to regular ol' Windows wallpaper picker)
• I set up the monitor using TFTCentral's suggested settings (https://youtu.be/dpYfk6LmUOM) and mostly kept them except for the brightness. They suggested 42, I turned mine down to 37 as I found 42 still too bright for my office (2 small windows perpendicular to my desk, not much directly sunlight at all; LED floor lamp bouncing light off my wall and ceiling for even lighting) and it better matched the brightness set on my secondary and old primary VA.
• Did all the obligatory testing of SDHDR content (web browsing, videos, Doom (2016), XCOM 2, Death Stranding, Vampire Survivors, AC: Odyssey, among others) pre- and post-Windows HDR Calibration and it all looks predictably good. Won't retread all that since you can read it elsewhere.
  • For SDR, I keep APL Low and for HDR (I don't use the other HDR profiles) I keep APL Medium
• So far, Pixel Clean has only run 3 times in the 38 hours of logged time. I thought it runs after 4 hours of use and when screen is asleep for at least 5 minutes? The only time I've turned off my monitor was at the end of the night. But there are several portions of the day where my monitor is in sleep mode for an hour or 2 at a time. Shouldn't the Pixel Clean run then?
• About Windows 11 Dark Mode:
  • I set both my personal PC and work laptop to dark mode all day about 3 days before I set up the new monitor with the intent on getting used to it by the time I had it up and running. Normally, I run light mode during the day and then it auto-switches to dark mode at sunset. By day T-2, I noticed that everything I looked at on my monitor and in real-life started to look a tad blurry and my eyes always felt tired. I tried to ensure that there was minimal contrast (set all apps/websites to dark mode, etc) and kept office lighting consistent, but still had issues with it at day T-1.
  • I kept dark mode going 24/7 for the first 3 days of using the new monitor but still had the same blurry/fatigued eyes feeling.
  • So now, time to test the burn in boogieman and 3 year warranty! In the days since I've switched back to my original routine of light mode during the day and dark mode after sunset, my eyes feel normal again.
  • Everything else I did to protect the monitor lifespan is still in place.

Still loving the monitor and now that I'm at peace with my decision to go back to light mode, I'll have a lot less Reddit opinion paralysis.
Let me know your thoughts are!

I was given a gift card for Xmas and decided to try it, just to use it.
Had a bad experience and I won’t be coming back. Yes. I understand. It is a novelty and I am not saying it cannot be fun. But for golf practice? Really?

• I got a second floor bay and it was horrible. I could not swing properly as my brain was freaking out about that yellow warning strip and the safety net and it stopped me cold of swinging forward and shifting my weight to the left knee. Anybody else had this issue? It felt completely unnatural and put a huge strain on my knees, so far as to be sore after. Of course almost all my swings were at most 70% power and hitting every long club felt horrible and unnatural.
  
• The lack of customization. I can’t move the plastic tee. I can’t move the mat. I really disliked the lenght of the tee.
  
• The deceiving business practices. All over my town they advertise that they have Monday through Wednesday half off. I get there on a Monday and it turns out it is only Tuesday. Shame!
  
• The fact they force you to book for two hours. After a while, and because of the above, it gets boring.
  
• Very overpriced for what they offer.
  

In conclusion, I will take a big bucket at my local municipal any day of the week.

hi! i recently had an mri and went to get the results today. long story short doctor was useless & didn’t end up telling me anything so i requested a copy of the results. unfortunately he didn’t include actual copies of the mri itself and he accidentally cut off a portion of the page so i can’t read everything
the report states:
‘Patchy marrow high SI in femora and pelvis are attributed to re’ and then it cuts off there and the next line follows with ‘should be correlated with hemopoietic parameters’
for reference im 18 and female, does anyone have any idea what this could mean or what the cut off part (‘re’) could say?
the rest of the report seems fine i’m just so confused with the patchy marrow part. when i google it i can only find stuff about bone marrow edema and i’m assuming ‘high si’ means high signal but i’m still lost for what that actually means
i will be contacting another doctor as soon as possible who will be able to access the whole report i just thought i’d try my luck at getting some information here in the mean time!