we've been together just over 10 months. Over that time some odd things have happened which made me question my trust in her and I like her but have been slightly wary of her since. I've been staying with her at her apartment for the past couple months or so and lately nothing too weird has happened and she seemed to be much better overall. But she recently asked if I wanted to move in and I just felt like I wasn't ready for that kind of commitment at this point as I was still trying to regain her trust and wasn't fully over some of the stuff that happened, and so I ended things. She is completely heartbroken, says she's in love with me and wants me in her life. And I question whether I made the right choice and whether I overreacted to some of the stuff the has happened.
I wanted to write out all the situations but the post got way too long too quick. But one of the bigger incidents was once (before I was staying there consistently) we were texting throughout the day and then suddenly she stopped replying, And I didn't hear from her for the rest of the day. I tried again the next morning and then finally she replied that afternoon but it was a very short response that's very unlike her. Then that night she texted saying a guy had gotten stabbed outside of her apartment while trying to help her with something. So she brought him up to her apt and tended to his wounds and had him stay the night there (she says he stayed out on the couch). I didn't know what was going on and was a little bit angry as well and then she called me. She acted like it was no big deal but she could tell in my voice I was not in a good mood (I was trying to figure out what was happening) and she said I was being rude and hung up on me, and also said the guy had left.
She called again moments later (or I did I can't remember) and there was some guy talking in the background who I thought was one of her roommates but she said it was the guy. I said "I thought he left," she said "he came back." I didn't know what to say and then she's like "ooooh you got real quiet" in a mocking type way. The guy is super drunk and she's pretty drunk too I think. They were both being a little disrespectful to me and he mentioned how they played cards together the night before (something that was a thing her and I had started doing together recently which I really enjoyed) and they mentioned they were going to play a game this night too. He was telling jokes and in one of them mentioned the town and street I live on which was really weird. Also mentioned at one point that his son or sons came over as well (I think to check on him but also it sounded like they hung out for a bit too).
It seemed like he was going to stay the night again. I didn't know what to do but my instincts were going wild and while it was late and I had to go to work early and it's like a 35 min drive to where she lives, I said I was coming. We also facetimed and the dude was chilling laying back on her bed. I stayed on the phone the whole way there. Once I said I was coming she got a little quiet and the guy started acting nervous and at one point said "you didn't mention you had a boyfriend" (she says she did mention it) and "at least we didn't have sex". He kept saying he's got to go but she said stay and meet my boyfriend. I get there and they're in her room with beer cans and tobacco everywhere and then he leaves. She said to him "you can stay but we are taking the bed," (she may have said "room" but I'm pretty sure she said bed) which shouldn't that go unmentioned?? Once he was gone she's like "are you breaking up with me?" I wanted to in that moment but I pictured her just calling up that guy and having him come back if I did right then plus I was still in shock as to what just happened so said "no."
We talked a little about it in the following days and she knew I was not happy with what happened but we didn't have any huge in-depth discussion about it. Since that day she makes random comments here and there like "you're the only guy I want in my room," or "you're the only guy who would be anywhere near my bed" little comments like that in conversation.
There was a point where she was trying to get off of a certain medication, without a doctors help and was struggling with it big time and acting extra crazy due to it and I can't remember if this was during that time or not, but either way it's a bit messed up right? And even though she's been way better lately, I can't help but still be disgusted by this.
There are a few more incidents in the past I'd like to share but this one's probably the worst. And it's too bad because she seems to have changed for the better lately now that she's getting proper medication and whatnot from a doctor but not enough time has passed to where I have regained my trust on her and not think of incidents like this.

Hi everyone! I’m a prospective 2026 applicant dedicating this summer to writing my personal statement (materials are due in December to receive a letter packet + portfolio from my school). For background, I was diagnosed with hEDS, Pain Amplification Syndrome, POTS, and a lot of other issues after sustaining my first concussion eight years ago. As a result of my experience, I decided to become a chronic pain advocate several years ago— currently, I serve on a peer advisory board and guest speaker for a pediatric pain rehabilitation workshop program, and I also serve as a panel member for a NIH HEAL initiative. These two experiences are major parts of my journey to medicine. How do I go about talking about chronic pain advocacy without focusing too much on my personal pain and disability? My personal experience has also been important, but advocacy has been the most fulfilling part of my life.

Hi redditers I really need help wigh this one I'm an international student, doing master of public health at a so called "very reputable Russle group university " My experience has been nothing bad terrible Our department is run by a teacher who cares more about sociology than public health bcoz of his background That teacher never listened to me, always tries to skip my question with a nonsense response or discrediting what I argue In the first semester, i failed in 2 modules bcoz of plagiarism (which is something I had no idea about) Just to give you a background about me, I'm a clinical pharmacist with very strong clinical knowledge and experience in public health and training with the WHO back when I was working, no experience whatsoever in academic writing or plagiarism First formative assignment of 100 words, i got bad comments and nothing explained well, just vague comments and high plagiarism and that teacher didn't help me when I asked and I even asked to write it again as it was formative and only 100 words (i know silly but it was to see how our writing was) but his answer was that he doesn't have time for it First proper assignment of the course, got very low grade with no feedback or comment about it and I didn't know that I'm supposed to get one but it was too late for that Then I got failed in 2 assignments, one for plagiarism in the introduction (it was statistics and epidemiology and my data analysis was very well appraised by another teacher but I was failed bcoz of 20% plagiarism and it was smoking and COPD so i have good background info about it but didn't know how to check plagiarism and what to do about it) Another module I failed at and since then things started breaking down The comments didn't make any sense (I literally wrote about a strategy that's being implemented in the UK and they said that's not a strategy) or they mention something I should've added but when I went back to it, it was already there .... that kind of nonsense feedback I did these assignments again and things looked way better at first Today i got the marks and that teacher failed me in one assignment. His feedback was as follows: around 15 "missing citations" ..... but it was literally there.... a paragraph of 4-5 lines with 1 citation which included the exact word he highlighted Evaluation plan... very clear and step by step plan and he seems to "not understand it cuz it's "not well explained" One of the sections of the assignment was "the strategy to be used" with all relevant information about it, then he mentions pointd claiming I didn't include but they were literally in the first paragraph Justified everything really well then he says he doesn't see how my intervention would help solve the problem (intervention was farmers market in food desert areas where they don't have enough healthy choices and these markets have subsidized pricesand explained how everything works) my strategy is directly tackling the issue and it wasn't my first time working on strategies cuz I have good experience in the real world "Objectives of the strategy not clearly stated" but they were explained to the point a 5 year old can understand, yet he says not clearly stated "The strategy wasn't placed at a local authority" while it says in the first paragraph that the local authority is doing the whole thing It's not the first time he's done that, even when I try to ask he rushes to interrupt me and listen to someome else (a UK student) asking sometimes the same question but he answers them in a good way with patience and listens to them carefully without any interruptions Whenever I need help he starts blaming me for not coming to welcome week even tho I told him a million times the embassy took 2 weeks to send me my passport even tho I got visa approval in a week Never helped or listened, he even suggested that I quit at some point this semester, that's instead of supporting me through my studies I had a group presentation this semester and got marked very unfairly, mentioning things that are missin but actually were there in the presentation or saying things irrelevant to the presentation
In the past, I achieved really well in my studies back home, did really well in my work , always dedicated to my studies and work My past studies weren't easy at all, even in UK standards they were hard
Now, I need advice 😫 What should I do? I hate the arguments of him being racist and passive aggressive towards me bcoz of where I come from I literally checked every point in the assignment when I got the feedback He's the director of the department and he's marking another module I have this semester I know I'm in a disadvantaged position and he can easily fail me again with vague nonsense comments I'm really stressed and Idk what to do I'll be going to the guild of students tomorrow and ask for advice on this But I really want advice frkm you guys
Ps. Sorry for the long post but I just needed to let it out If anyone wants to see my assignments and tell me what they think, pls do text me and I'll send you everything for you to see

I’ve been googling to try to find out the common practices of ‘dingy orphanages ’ in the 20s/30s but maybe someone with a better grasp on history could help me out. I was just wondering what life may have been like for Tom prior to Hogwarts. Looking for general ideas and theories anyone might have/what the ‘norm’ would have been.
Would he have been taught to read/write? Would he have possibly been working already, helping out on farms like a few programs I’ve seen were developed in that time period for orphans? Was his ‘magic’ possibly a bad omen to some around him - would excorcisim/religious intervention been attempted or possession suspected?
It’s for a FF, so I know I could be a bit creative, but it’s not the main plot by any means so historical accuracy is something I am interested in following. I mostly am curious about how much education Tom may have had prior to Hogwarts; obviously he was very gifted and excelled in later years, but during the first few months would he have been playing ‘catch up’ given his background?
Thanks!

All of you unconsciously prune information. Forget it. Feed off it at your own convenience. I remember everything. Everything. Constantly. The pain of losing my comrades. The sadness. All of the information that composes those moments…never leaves my brain for a second.

Nico Vorgeil is the head of Union's science division. An atheist turned anti-theist, he was recruited for his one of a kind skill in pioneering the understanding of the universe. The only thing that could push him even further was his own union with a woman that had intellect to match his own. However, when she died in childbirth, his Negation manifested, dooming him to suffer endlessly. He died in regret, having betrayed everything he stood for in exchange for a few fleeting moment with his late wife.
But now, Fuuko Izumo's on a quest to give everyone a happy ending. And Nico's the one she wishes that for the most…

Key

Scaling

• Andy & Victor / Undead
• Chikara Shigeno / Unmove
• Creed Deckard / Undecrease
• Fuuko Izumo / Unluck
• Gina Chamber / Unchange
• God / UMAs
• Ichico Nemuri / Unsleep
• Isshin XIII, Haruka Yamaoka / Unbreakable
• Juiz d'Arc / Unjustice
• Mui
• Phil Hawkins / Unfeel
• Shen Xian / Untruth
• The Superior Master Rules
• Tatiana / Untouchable
• Tella / Untell
• Top Bull Sparx / Unstoppable
• Void Volks / Unavoidable

Notes

• Feats are listed in order of appearance. Hover over a link to see the chapter(s) of origin.
• Feats from chapters up to 132 are from the 100th Loop.
• Feats from 133 on are from the 101st Loop, with this RT leaving off at 206.
• Character profile.
• Huge thanks to NegativeGamer and doctorgecko for creating threads that contributed to this one.

Strength

• Beat Mui and Shen; Shen was pounded into a wall and you can see a barbell bent in the background
• Tears the Union emblem out of his skin
• Strikes Andy five times using Shen's technique
• Breaks UMA Ghost's hold on him after losing his identity
• Rips Fuuko's caged soul out of his chest

Durability

• Electrocuted
• Fuuko's One-Inch Punch left him nauseous for days

Speed

• Dodges Victor's finger bullet

Skill

• Fought Tella offpanel
• Creates a dust explosion using iron residue blown around by wind and struck by lightning while taking on Language
• Harnessed his soul
• Speaks to Fuuko across the globe telepathically after harnessing his soul
• Learned Feng's method of harnessing chi (soul energy)
• Transmits design schematics into Ichico's head through a soul cable
• Forms the Super Dreadnought Union Lethal Weapon Superior Buster Soul Version in Lan's shiritori game with Ichico's help

Inventions

General Union Things
Note: Ichico matches his number of inventions, much higher than the other lab members, so it's possible some of these belong to her.
Memory-Wiping

• Memory-wipes the people of NYC who saw a Spoil Junior
• Erases all memories of Chikara in the public consciousness
• Reprograms the public consciousness to accept Fuuko as Void's title defense challenger
• Made Chikara's school forget about the ten Union members that infiltrated it for a year

Network
Reach

• Comms network
• Satellite
• Presumably fast delivery, as Gina is able to acquire her beret after calling in for it
• Teleports Spoil's core out of Victor's hand
• Tracked a mob auction that Andy was unable to find
• The Union jet can travel from Japan to Canada in five hours
• Tracks Under's spatial gate method
• Has so much money
• 100,000+ employees

Other

• Goons with handcuffs and spheres meant to catch Undead
• Runs an orphanage
• UMA food cubes are hypercondensed nutrients
• UMA containment cells are indestructible
• Almost certainly created the little drop-pod things since they zoom out of his lab later
• Union communicators

Single-Person Gadgets
Loop 100

• Anti-aging tech
• The neckties of Union suits grants the wearer access to a number of public services and organizations and it also functions as a universal translator which even works with writing
• The insignias on Union suits can play recordings and function as comms with other insignia wearers
• Fake IDs
• Created the Union's anti-cherry blossom cloaks to resist Spring's transmutation
• Heating pads
• An electric chair
  • It reconfigures her brain to make her eyebags appear above her eyes and thus they function as natural eyeshadow

Loop 101

• Adrenaline epi-pen
• Thermal vision
• Spacesuits with verniers
• Anti-shake camera holders
• Created a dress for Latla that would morph into a bridal dress
• Insulated spacesuits for sunwalking capabilities
  • They also have bone conduction, so Fuuko can talk to Andy by jabbing her thumb into a hole in his skull

Weapons

• Fighter jets
  • With remote self-destruct
• Electrical cables, cooling agent, and the Unbreakable pile cannon all are weapons that Union HQ utilizes against Burn
• Developed the Astral Dolls with Ichico
• Developed the Super Dreadnought Union Lethal Weapon Superior Buster as the Union's ultimate weapon with Mico

Specific - Others'

• Void's power armor
• An alloy that, smithed using Isshin's Unbreakable, can expand along with Shen's Nyoi-Kinko staff
• Designed a helmet to save Zack from a respiratory disease
• Created Tatiana's ball mech
• Gave Billy spurs for his echolocation-level senses to work
• Built Chikara's goggles
• Probably made Juiz a prosthetic arm
• The UN-ST Tachyorizer, which basically gives Top everything he needs to reach maximum speed
• Performs a field blood transfusion between Andy and Fuuko
• Souped up Andy's bike
• Loop 100 Nico was the best of any Loops Fuuko saw through artefacts
• Nico-dedicated restraints (while he didn't invent them himself, another member of the lab did and he's the smartest of them
• Repelling bullets for Creed's minigun to use in space

Specific - Own
Astral Dolls

• Using Psycho Pods as power sources, these are copies of members of the Union that even possess pseudo-Negations
• Astral Void punches Andy's head off
  • Punches Andy into the ground
  • Punches harder after the UMA Ghost fusion
• Astral Gina slams Andy's body to the ground
• Created Astral Chikara and Astral Juiz as well
• They get stronger after Nico fuses with Ghost as well as more durable, but only the two that are dead, Gina and Void
• Andy's finger bullets bounce off amped Void
• Gina gums up Andy's limbs while electrocuting him

Psycho-Pods
General

• He can use them to fly
• These are controlled via brainwaves
• Nico can control eleven at max, with Chikara barely able to control one
• When he fuses with Ghost, his Psycho Pods become ghostly
• They store memories

Durability/Shields

• Reflects Phil's laser into a Victor clone
• Traps Gina inside a cube as her Negation activates, preventing her from killing 40,000 via asphyxiation
• Forms a stretcher to carry Fuuko on
• Makes a shield to deflect Creed's grenade
• Traps some of UMA Color's paint
• Encases Sick's Juniors
• Forms a shield around Fuuko's ER
• Only Isshin has ever been able to break this material, until fighting Lan in a game of shiritori

Lasers

• Defends Nico from Andy's finger bullet
• Bisects Victor and cauterizes the wound to slow his regen
• Lasers Andy into giblets using ten, slicing through metal as well
• Lasers holes in the lab floor to reduce the strength of the eruption about to explode, as well as cools down the lava with a refrigerating agent
• Forms a 5x5 grid to dice Language's Sun and Luna

Other

• Treats Top and Isshin's wounds
• Conks Tella
• Hacks into the Union's network, killing its captive UMAs and lowering their defenses
  • Shuts gates to direct Andy down a certain path
  • Gasses his lab members
• Treated Shen's wounds

Negation: Unforgettable

Type: Self-Targeting Compulsory Activation
Tragedy: Ichico Nemuri's death in childbirth is the only memory he has of his wife
Nico's Negation prevents him from forgetting anything his mind has processed since acquiring the Negation. This in turn crushes out the memories he had from before the Negation awakened.

• After all the world's languages were unified into English and Mui lost the ability to speak Chinese, she starts teaching herself how to speak it using only a book written by Nico
• Memory wipes fail on him
• Beat UMA Language solo
• Withstands Apocalypse's memory bombing, meaning he is stronger in Loop 101 than Loop 100, and Loop 100 Nico was already better than any previous Nico.
• Only Unforgettable is capable of perfectly reviving someone from the dead in shiritori due to its absolute crystalline memory of them
• Likely knows Spanish and Lithuanian

Other

• Determines which of the quests the Union should go after
• Defeated UMA Language himself and UMA Past with the help of other Negators
• Fused with UMA Ghost

I couldn't forget even if you told me to. Those words. Those memories. I've ingrained them into my soul!!

Happy Tuesday, Barkada --

The PSE gained 92 points to 6604 ▲1.4%

Shout-out to Atot for saving the Inside the Boardroom special [MB link] for their "lunch read" (at least it's not a porcelain chair?), to Trina Cerdenia for retweeting the ITB episode with highlights, to Tenkan Sen for noting the bloodbath that has been the recent (and even not-so-recent) IPO market, to Just'n for recognizing that in most cases a secondary IPO is for exit liquidity, to Enrico P. Villanueva for mentioning the ITB article as a jumping-off point for further research and analysis, to Jonathan Burac for providing interesting background on auditors and former-auditors as Independent Directors, to kalel.RON for having their mind blown by my reveal that I'm not Matteo Guidicelli (deep cut for the OGs), to Tirador for the straight-forward review ("pangit an ipo yan"), and to arkitrader for the Monday vibes GIF.
Thanks also to the many readers who wrote in privately with praise, follow-up questions, and comments about yesterday's Inside the Boardroom special episode with OceanaGold PH's President, Joan Adaci-Cattiling. I won't list your names because you didn't choose to make your comments public, but I appreciate all of the notes that I've received and it's encouraging to see the interesting in the ITB series. Thank you!
Just for background, the Inside the Boardroom series takes a lot of extra work to organize, conduct the interview, and write the content for each episode. MB does not receive anything in return for an Inside the Boardroom interview; I only ask for direct access to the c-suite executive and the understanding that all questions that I ask will be direct (not trying to avoid unfavorable parts), to-the-point (not flowery), and without honorifics or deference (no titles or fawning).
I have a great amount of respect for companies and executives that agree to those terms, as there are many companies here that would never in a million years allow their executives to speak publicly, let alone on topics that are not 100% positive and dripping with marketing talking points.
OK, enough of that, let's get to the new stuff!

▌In today's MB:

• COMING UP: This week
  • PH: OGP 1st week
  • PH: BSP rate decision
  • PH: UBP SRO start
  • INT'L: US April inflation
• OceanaGold falls 6% in 1st day of trading
• CREIT, MREIT, and FILRT declare Q1 divs
• FMETF halted due to broken price tracker

▌Daily meme Subscribe (it's free) Today's email

▌Main stories covered:

• [COMING_UP] The week ahead... PH: While we had the OceanaGold PH [OGP 12.50 ▼6.2%; 100% avgVol] IPO yesterday, the biggest waves will be made on Thursday when the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) meets to evaluate our interest rate situation. The Union Bank [UBP 34.60 ▼6.0%; 83% avgVol] stock rights offer period will also start on Thursday. International: The only datapoint that I’m following for this week is the US April inflation report, which we should get early Thursday morning.
  
  • MB: The inflation metagame is where my mind’s at these days, and that’s all about inflation expectations. Not so much where inflation “is”, but where people (and companies) think inflation “will be” in the future. Inflation expectations matter because they can cause dramatic changes. For individuals, expectations of higher inflation can lead to changes in purchasing behavior and higher wage demands. For corporations, expectations of higher inflation can cause companies to increase their prices. I think you can see why the US Federal Reserve and the BSP are most afraid of these expectations; they’re something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. There should be a lot of analysis to consume on this point after the US CPI report is out on Thursday morning.
• [UPDATE] OceanaGold falls 6% in first day of trading... OceanaGold PH [OGP 12.50 ▼6.2%; 100% avgVol] [link] dropped a little over 6% in its first day of trading, falling ₱0.82 from its ₱13.33/share IPO price to close at ₱12.50/share. The highest the stock traded was ₱13.34 in the first 20 minutes of trading before consistent selling pressure pushed OGP price to an intra-day low of ₱12.46 around 1:30 PM. The stock mounted a significant recovery to around ₱12.90/share before a massive amount of late-day selling pushed it back down to the ₱12.50 level at the close.
  
  • MB: Since this is the first IPO of the year, the questions in my inbox tell me that we need to quickly cover a few points before we move forward. First, yes, OGP does have a stabilization fund, but it’s important to remember that a stabilization fund isn’t supposed to entirely prevent a stock’s price from falling. A stab fund is best thought of as a discretionary pool of money that a paid agent (in this case, BDO Capital) can use to buy shares on the open market to provide some artificial demand for the stock. It has a limited amount of money (usually around 10% of the value of the total IPO) and a limited amount of time (30 days), and once either of those is gone, so is the fund. The other thing to remember about stab funds is that it’s entirely up to the agent to deploy the limited resources of the fund. They might be hands-off for days before suddenly smashing the market with a swarm of buy orders to soak up the selling pressure, or they might constantly drip artificial buy orders into the market. Or they might employ a chaotic mixture of those strategies. Stability funds are a little bit of short-term downside protection and a handy pool of exit liquidity, but they shouldn’t be seen as IPO Investing insurance or a protection against loss! Be careful out there!
• [DIVS] CREIT, MREIT, and FILRT all declare Q1 dividends... Citicore Energy REIT [CREIT 2.83 ▲0.3%; 345% avgVol] [link] and MREIT [MREIT 12.96 ▲0.1%; 96% avgVol] [link] declared their Q1 dividends on Monday, while Filinvest REIT [FILRT 2.93 ▼2.0%; 47% avgVol] [link] declared its Q1 dividend on Friday. For CREIT, the dividend will be ₱0.049/share (stable), payable on July 9, representing 101% of CREIT’s Q1 distributable income (DI). For MREIT, the dividend will be ₱0.246 (stable), payable on June 14, representing 93% of MREIT’s DI. For FILRT, the dividend will be ₱0.062/share (falling), payable on June 7, representing 99.9% of FILRT’s DI for the quarter.
  
  • MB: The name of the REIT game is stability. While REITs cannot help what happens in the macroeconomic world with interest rates (all REITs got smacked when rates rose to fight inflation), what separates a good REIT from a bad one (in my opinion) is the management team’s ability to effectively worry about everything else to protect the income stream from loss. Bonus points should be awarded to teams who grow their dividend over time. Between these three companies, both CREIT and MREIT have shown the ability to deliver a stable dividend. CREIT has even managed to grow its dividend 11%. That leaves FILRT, which has continued to deliver giant turd after giant turd to its bagholders in the form of smaller and smaller dividends. FIRLT’s first three quarterly divs were at the ₱0.112/share level, and their most recent div was just ₱0.062. That’s a 44.6% drop. I don’t have a thesaurus within reach capable of accurately describing to you just how bad that is for a REIT. It’s not like the company suffered some major trauma that nearly halved the dividend; the div level has fallen four times over the past twelve quarters and in each of the last three.
• [NEWS] FMEFT halted due to broken price tracker... FMETF [FMETF 105.20 ▲0.9%; 5% avgVol] [link], the PSE’s only exchange-traded fund, was halted by the PSE at 1 PM yesterday after it was discovered that its iNav had failed to update since 11:30 AM. FMETF said that it would “coordinate” with its “service provider” to implement a fix, but as of this writing, FMETF has not advised that a fix has been implemented nor has the PSE lifted the halt.
  
  • MB: This problem happened six times last year, and while it’s great that we made it into May before we had our first FMETF outage of this year, it’s still discouraging to see “iNav not calculating” as a problem that we need to contend with in 2024. For those who are unfamiliar, FMETF is an exchange-traded fund, so FMEFT’s per-share price is derivative of the per-share prices of all the shares that FMETF owns/represents. The “iNav” that keeps breaking is the number that represents the current value of FMETF’s holdings, expressed as a “NAV per unit” or “NAV per share”. So, if the iNav isn’t updating, then traders are not getting the kind of information they need to place FMETF stock trades. “We need more ETFs” is something that I’ve heard traders say for years now, and while I still count myself as part of that group, I wish we could see some forward progress in the maintenance of FMETF before we introduce anything more exotic to the market.

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Hi fellow SLPs, I’m in a really tough place and wanted to seek advice. Pronouns have been changed to protect the privacy of the student. Sorry if this is long-winded, I have a lot to think about.
This is my first year working in public schools. I work with a population of students with complex, high support needs. Mostly AAC, ID, autism, ASL. So far, I’ve had really collaborative parents. They’ve been so open to round table discussion. Lately, I’ve been butting heads against parents who still want to keep their kids in the sub-separate classroom or in therapy services when it is not indicated anymore. I feel this is a denial of FAPE and LRE.
One particular student (ASL is their first language, Deaf+) I’ve had this year has met all their goals (they only had one). The story I got from their staff was that the parent wanted to keep them in speech so they can learn to “speak.” My student has expressed within my speech sessions early on in the year that they do not want to speak. Their language is ASL and they are part of Deaf culture. Their ASL interpreters have affirmed my confusion about why we were working on an “maintaining pragmatic skills via interpreting figurative language” goal when that type of language gets lost in translation. However, they have done spectacular carrying over skills given exposure to figurative language and background knowledge (e.g., Translation of English idioms to ASL, teaching of figures of speech via video examples in ASL) and teaching it back in their own words in ASL. Staff have mentioned their previous SLP expressed frustration about how S/L services have not been appropriate for a while. Previous triennial testing indicated that they could not finish certain tests (e.g. GFTA-3) because they expressed they had a hard time producing sounds.
In a recent meeting for this student’s new IEP, the parent rejected the IEP because I proposed moving to a consult model. Student has met all goals, there are no language or pragmatic concerns, but the parent said they need to stay in speech because “(student) expressed they love speech” and the parent has concerns about communication outside of school in the community. These communication breakdowns occur in unfamiliar places (e.g., not paying attention to surroundings, eloping, not using the restroom or eating in unfamiliar places)…but would this not be a behavioral/psych target if their increased anxiety results in these concerns?
I do not want to give up on this student and want to support them the best I can. I do not think they will continue to benefit from direct therapy (plus having a TOD/ABA on top of speech in the mainstream classroom would be A LOT for this kid who already has anxiety and is a budding teenager who is intelligent and aware of their differences). I have loved and thoroughly enjoyed working with them. Of course I don’t want to let them go - I would work with them forever if I could. I just do not want to overstep my expertise. The student has expressed that they enjoy speech a lot, but this is not a reason to keep them in speech and I feel it is unethical (violation of LRE). Yes, I can target utilization of alternative means to communicate with hearing peers and adults in the community (I already baselined some data and student has fantastic communication repair skills, communicated beautifully via writing and typing). Student already uses the phone to communicate via text with adults and friends.
My ultimate concern is why the team is stepping around this issue to appease the parent when this is no longer in my domain of expertise? Yes, I can work on this skill via a push-in model, but to stretch it a whole year (like the current goal) when they already demonstrate the foundational communication skills at baseline? In addition, student expressed that communication needs in the community setting (e.g., ordering at a restaurant) are done by their family (hearing individuals). In order for this goal to have any impact (again, I am only a school SLP) the student needs the room and opportunity to be independent communicating with hearing individuals outside of the school in order to carryover this skill…
Honestly, I feel like I would be wasting their Medicaid, keeping the student in a more restrictive environment, and we are stuck in the same cycle again.
I appreciate whatever input I get deeply. Thank you for reading.
Note: Using my non-personal account for privacy reasons.

I'm 30 years old with a liberal arts degree from a top university (haha, I know). My motivations are changing and I want to move to a different industry, but I'm not sure where to start.
Up until now, I've always been driven by my desire to make a creative/artistic mark on the world. I worked as an expat in China for several years as a founding member of a major media start-up. I achieved a lot there as a journalist, producing interesting articles and documentaries about life and culture overseas. I drove much of the company's qualitative and quantitative success as a core team member, I loved my work, and I felt connected to my coworkers.
Then the pandemic came, and I got locked outside of China when the borders closed (I'm in Texas, where I don't have a car and I don't have a good professional network). I had to suddenly leave my job and all my possessions, and I entered the beginning of a terrible swing of uncertainty and internal change. I went from being the happiest guy I knew who aspired to greatness, to really being very sad and just wanting to get through each day. That went on for about two years, before eventually, I ended up returning to Asia to work at my old company.
However, when I returned, I had fallen out of love with the work. All the passion and love I'd felt for it had dried up to nothing, and it felt torturous to get up each day and write meaningless clickbait for the surging sea of Google-searchers.
Now I've left the company again, and I feel like I'm not following any path at all. I don't think I want to be a journalist or a writer anymore, the whole industry is in crisis. I'm also feeling more pessimistic about the state of art and creativity in general. While I have plenty of personal passions and interests like martial arts, writing, magic tricks, and adventure travel, none of them offer much in the way of a professional direction.
I don't need to be rich. I feel like I just need to get a job that has the best ratio of effort investment to financial return, so I can spend more time doing the things I enjoy. My liberal arts degree is obviously completely meaningless and my hard skills are limited. My soft skills and social skills are significant:
PROS - I produce excellent quality work which generates strong results (in my last job, this was measured in terms of traffic and views). I'm great in interviews. I'm a strong communicator. I'm good at creating rapport with others. I'm good with words and persuasion.
CONS - I don't have many specialized technical skills. It's hard for me to stay "locked in" for a full 9-5 work schedule. I don't feel any genuine attachment to work now, it's just a way to make money. I don't want to go above and beyond at work.
My question is, how should I go about finding a new industry, and does anyone have any tips for roles to consider? I just want to be paid for delivering a specific, predetermined product, not an endless stream of solutions and performative excitement. Since there's no longer any genuine interest or passion powering my search, I've found it difficult to generate momentum. It may sound silly, but it's a very new feeling for me.
I just feel tired of fighting for a life and a career that "genuinely" interests me, I think I'm ready to just resign myself to the slow monotony of a more standard career path. I want to "give up" while avoiding as much pain as possible, and I'm definitely open to leaving the United States again in order to do that (for instance, if there is a relatively painless work option where the pay is not high enough to continue living here. For example, a low-volume, commission-based sales role where I take a few calls per day would be perfect in that situation.)
TL;DR My success and strategy as a writejournalist/digital content strategist has always been driven by passion and my aspirations, and those things have now dried up for me. The only driver left is money, and I've had difficulty generating momentum in the job search since I have very little network here. What roles or industries could I consider given my background, and given that I'm no longer interested in working hard for the sake of the work itself?

Or rather, in a dedicated repost, because silly me couldn't read the pinned post and wait a few hours before posting my text the first time.
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After giving a proper rewrite to Ayano, it's now time to do the same for her love interest. But first, I must give my apologises. The title of my post is "Reworking Taro", but it's actually misleading because there was barely any work to redo to begin with. Ok, there was the easy jab at the original character. Reading my previous rewrite posts isn't necessary to understand this one, but would allow you to grasp the differences with the official game better. If you're too lazy to do so, just keep in mind that my rewrite is a bit more social-focused. Anyway, here's my full-fledged take on our senpai.

Just an ordinary upperclassman: Daiki Tanaka (田中 大樹)

Although Taro Yamada is a perfectly valid Japanese name, it's literally the Japanese equivalent of John Doe. This name just gives me the impression that nothing really matters about him, and that it isn't even worth the effort thinking about a proper name. That might have been the dev's intention, given Taro's characterisation in the game, but I personally can't consider being so lazy about the second most important character. So, rather than keeping this name that makes Senpai seem like some background character, I chose names that actually are very common in Japan in order to keep the "average guy" feeling. The most common Japanese surname is Sato (佐藤), but that sounded a bit too generic for me, so I opted for Tanaka (田中), another widespread name that you might already have seen in some anime. Surprisingly, despite also being common, Yamada (山田) doesn't even come close. For his first name, "Daiki" (written like this: 大樹) means "big tree". It's a fairly popular boy name during the last decades and doesn't refer to anything particular, except maybe the fact that he is a big brother.
Just like many other mediocre harem MC, the main problem with Taro is that he is extremely bland. There's literally nothing worth noticing about him. Now don't get me wrong, making one of your main characters an Average Joe isn't a bad thing in itself, and I know that a yandere having a crush on ordinary people is nothing uncommon in modern Japanese media. However, even the most boringly average person that you can think of still has defined personality, goals, and passions that makes them at least more interesting than a slice of stale bread. In our case, you could replace Taro with a random object and the story would still make as much sense, which usually isn't a good sign for a story meant to have a serious tone. Just like my name choice suggested it, I wanted my version of Taro to stay ordinary. However, I tried to flesh out the little characterization he originally has to make him stand out in his own way, so that the numerous girls' interest in him would feel a bit less unbelievable.
This is Daiki Tanaka, a 17-years old Japanese boy living with his parents and his little sister. Like many other Japanese high-schoolers, he goes to high school from Monday to Friday, attends classes, studies for his tests, and hopes he will be accepted in a good university. And just like many other teenagers, he is is having interrogations about what he wants to do after graduation, how his classmates view him, and whether he'll find himself a girlfriend. Clearly, he's just an average student. Among the typical students you can find in a school, Daiki is a hard-working one. Pressured both by his parents and himself to get the best opportunities he can to settle his future, he is self-conscious about his academic performances and is always trying to improve his grades. Thus, he preferred to remain clubless and spend his free time alone to focus on his studies. Most of the time, he is seen studying at the school library, or reading a book of classic literature next to the fountain. But behind this ordinary reserved bookworm loner appearance is a kind and cultivated boy with a strong sense of justice and a clear passion for the old texts he's reading, making him actually quite a charming person to spend time with for those who can see past his plain exterior. Ayano, of course, is one of those few people, but little did she know that she won't be the only one interested in her dear senpai.

Gameplay role

According to the wiki:

Gameplay-wise, Taro is more similar to a "moving obstacle" rather than a regular interactive student, as he cannot be interacted with normally.

And you see, to me, that's a big problem. You spend the entire game keeping rivals away from Senpai by killing them, making them uninterested in him, or ruining their reputation, and after all the bad experiences he had with those (rather) normal girls, you expect me to believe that the girl Senpai, the perfectly normal guy at all levels, ends up choosing is the creepy lonely student that he has barely spoken to? Nah, I don't buy it. This is why, in my rewrite, my Senpai would be (most of the time) considered as a regular student that you can actually interact with. That means, first, that Ayano wouldn’t get immediately flustered by him when approaching him. I understand that people, especially teenagers, can act shy, nervous, or a little clumsy when their crush are at sight, but seriously, the depiction of this behaviour in the game is completely ridiculous. So, in my hypothetical game, you will have a small amount of time where you will be able to act normally near Daiki and talk to him before your heart starts beating louder and the screen gradually turns pink. Past this point, things pretty much happen the same as in the official game, since Ayano is emotionally unstable. Naturally, the more you interact with Daiki, the longer you will be able to remain calm in his presence.
Now that Senpai can be interacted with, it’s time to explore the potential of this addition by giving him another feature regular students have: tasks. Even if you can withstand his aura a bit better than in the official game, most of the conversations you’ll have with him won’t be long due to Ayano’s shyness. So, if you want to befriend Daiki, those little errands are the key to increase your affinity with him. For a more immersive narration, Daiki's tasks won't be your usual fetch quests that you can accept or refuse, but small talk where you must pay attention and figure out what to do to by yourself. The tasks will be at first very simple, like bringing him his schoolbag that he forgot in his classroom or gifting him the book he wanted to buy. Then, as he feels more comfortable around you, he will start talking a bit more openly about his life and his preoccupations, naturally leading to more complex tasks with more vague formulations and less obvious solutions, such as helping him become less invisible among his classmates. What would be the point of doing all that, will you ask? Having a higher affinity with Daiki will allow Ayano to make him follow her if you need to tactically move him for one of your eliminations. He will also be more likely to reject the rivals’ love confessions in case you don’t have the time to deal with them yourself. Moreover, narrative-wise, I think having the main character interact with their love interest would be a more realistic and healthier depiction of romance in the story. Well, as “healthy” as a yandere can be. But of course, you could also completely ignore this mechanic and focus on eliminating if you want to.
Finally, I would like to improve the reactions he has regarding students' disappearances. Despite all those things happening near him, he is shocked for a bit and then just kinda... accept it like nothing strange happened? The second most important character of the game, ladies and gentlemen. I get it, Senpai is a loner, he is passive, and he is dense. But at this point, that's not being passive anymore, that's being a wooden plank. So, this is my take: Daiki's sense of justice and passion for literature gave him a natural curiosity for crimes because of its depiction in novels. When facing murder, he will mostly act according to the loner archetype. However, if too many deaths or disappearances near him stay unresolved by the police and his sanity is high enough, he will find the courage to take a more active role and investigate on the crimes himself. Obviously, Daiki won't be able to arrest anyone by himself, but he has the advantage of being directly at the crime place and closer to the people at school than the police. Thus, he could report them additional details that they might have missed, like a student acting stranger than usual, missing tools or places cleaner than usual. This could put you in trouble unless you cover your tracks very well, or just prevent him from investigating. And of course, I would also implement Senpai's sanity meter that has been promised for I don't know how much time (but honestly, are you still hoping for it to be implemented after all that happened?), although slightly reworked. Daiki's sanity would decrease with any person dying. The closer the person is to him, both physically and figuratively, the lower it would drop. The deaths that would affect him the most would thus be those of his sister, his childhood friend, or anyone murdered right in front of him. On the opposite, a random student dying at the other side of the school would barely have any effect. A low sanity would have various effects on Daiki depending on its value and the amount of time he has spent with the other students. Those effects could be taking private lessons due to his grades dropping, joining a certain club to feel safer, or shutting himself in at home in one of the worst scenarios. In any case, this would affect his routine. Just like in the official concept, he would be able to recover sanity with a long enough crimeless period or giving him gifts. Only now would the rivals also be able to use the later method to gain affection, making them act a bit more like romantic rivals. I hope you don't mind actually caring about your senpai's mental health.

Relationships with other characters

The rivals
Obviously, a reworked senpai means reworked dynamics with your main targets. Since detailing everything would be way too long for a single post, I'll just link here my take on the romantic rivals that I decided to keep in my hypothetical game, and here, what I'd do with the discarded ones. Since they are Daiki's closest people, and the most likely to affect his mood in the game, I'll still put here what I have in mind for my version of Osana and Hanako.
His sister
Just like his canon counterpart, Daiki loves his sister very much. A feeling that is reciprocated a bit too much. Unlike her brother who has a balanced lifestyle, the middle-schooler is a very clingy girl who can't imagine being away from him. She has the bad habit of leaving her school during lunchtime just to visit him, which greatly embarrasses Daiki. Even if he appreciates the time they spend together in the end, he knows that this behaviour is unhealthy, and hope that, one day, his sister will find the confidence to become more independent. In my rewrite, the little sister isn't a romantic rival, but someone that I'd call a "big obstacle", as her role is mainly to appear at random (or maybe not, I haven't decided yet) days during lunchtime and potentially mess up your planification for the day. You wouldn't want to kill someone in front of your crush's beloved sister, right?
His childhood friend
Daiki and his sister have known their neighbours' daughter for more than a decade. All three of them used to play together during their childhood. The neighbours' daughter is a brash and impulsive girl, whose personality clashes with Daiki's quieter nature. Despite frequently being at odds and arguing about trivial things, both of them deeply care about each other and would be the first person to help the other if they were having problems. Daiki and his friend didn't have many occasions to see each other since elementary school, until the girl coincidentally transferred to the same high school as him. Even if he is now more serious and reserved than before, deep inside, he is still the same kind boy that she knew. Now that they can once again spend much time together, the girl has come to realize she was in love with her dear friend, but her internal turmoil and her personality make it difficult for her to act sincere and confess her feelings. She stays otherwise pretty similar to Osana, except for the greater consequences when dealing with her by using lethal eliminations, and maybe the fact that she won't be the first rival to appear.
Budo (or whatever name I'll end up giving him)
Yes, you read it right. That guy that overshadows Senpai among the fans is one of his friends in my rewrite. Because even the most introverted individuals are able to develop relationships with people that aren't potential romantic interests. The leader of the martial arts club is an outgoing action-oriented boy who is pretty popular at school. Unlike Daiki, Budo always knew in his heart that his place would be in a dojo, and thus doesn't have much interest in academics. But despite having such different backgrounds and personalities, both boys share the same sense of justice and admiration toward heroes. When he's not attending classes, studying or reading, Daiki hangs out with Budo, and is sometimes invited to watch the martial arts club members practicing. If too many dangerous events happen around Daiki, Budo, as an aspiring hero and good friend, will propose to escort him at certain periods, becoming basically a part-time bodyguard.
Ayano
Nothing much to say here. Daiki unknowingly reminded Ayano, who has locked her heart for years, how great it is to have feelings when they first met, and now she wants to make sure nothing stands between them. How she will reach her ends is your decision. If she decides to spend time with him and do his tasks, he will think of her as a peculiar, but well-intentioned girl. Just like in canon, Daiki is oblivious to Ayano's feelings, but it's more due to the fact that they barely know each other.

Trivia

• Regarding his career choice, Daiki is hesitating between becoming an author, a lawyer or a criminologist.
• Like Taro, he also likes nature and gardening, but to a lesser extend.
• Sometimes, instead of a book of classic literature, you can see him reading the latest crime novel at the fountain. With a pen and a writing pad, because he's just that invested.
• Since he is friend with Budo, he sometimes feels too plain and boring compared to him regarding romance. If you use matchmaking to eliminate a rival, his self-consciousness will grow a bit stronger.
• He has never bought a panty shot from Info-chan, but honestly, do you really find this surprising, or even relevant? He has never even contacted Info-chan.
• I had quite the choice among popular Japanese boy names. Daiki could've been named "Yamato", "Daisuke", "Hiroto", "Yuto", "Yuu", or even "Satoshi" instead.
• In the official game, if Ayano commits a crime in his sight while wearing a mask, Taro will rip the mask off her face with no regard for his safety or his character consistency. I would like to get rid of this behaviour for Daiki, except for one specific circumstance.

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And that was my full-fledged take on Taro. When you have an ordinary person as a character in the middle of very colourful ones, the key to make the public care about him is to give them tangible preoccupations that, even if they aren't always relatable, make this character at least feel like a real person with human struggles and dreams, and not just a barebone plot device. And that might seems obvious, but if you have to write a love interest, make sure you actually show your public what your main character likes about him. That's even more important in the case where many people are attracted to this character. I tried to take those two things into account when rewriting Taro, and I know it's far from perfect, so don't hesitate to tell me what I should improve. In any case, if you made it to the end, thank you for taking the time to read this long post. I hope I'll find the motivation to do the same with other characters.

In the annals of gaming history, few titles command the reverence and adoration as the legendary Doom franchise. Born from the minds of John Romero, John Carmack, Adrian Carmack, and Tom Hall, Doom would go on to lay the foundations for just about every modern video game that exists. It was a true tour de force, a success story few could scarce ever imagine.
Released in 1993, Doom was an immediate smash hit, thanks in no small part to its shareware format, which allowed users to experience the first few levels of Knee Deep In the Dead, and then order the full game via the phone number included. Players could then share the floppy disk with their friends, and so on, and so on. It was a truly revolutionary system, and within a single year, Doom had sold over 2 million copies.
The history of the Doom franchise is one of innovation, ultra violence, and controversy (1999's Columbine High School Massacre), and that reputation is one that continued with 2016's DOOM. DOOM was officially revealed at Quakecon 2014, ten years after Doom 3. Players had long resigned to Doom being considered a dead franchise. A reboot had been in the works for a number of years prior, but never got released, having been quietly cancelled by id in 2010. The future was bleak, but the 30 second long teaser ignited a spark that had been burning dimmer every passing year.
Then came E3 2015.
The hype was unreal. The trailer had everything that fans could possibly want. Gore, intense violence, insane run n gun gameplay, a rip-roaring soundtrack and the MFING CHAINSAW. But fans had been let down before. Would it really hold up its promises?
Yes. Yes, it would.
PART I: Presentation
When DOOM burst onto the scene in 2016, it did so with a visual and auditory spectacle that left players awestruck. From the moment the game boots up, players are made aware that this is not your average shooter. You are greeted with a deep, commanding voice. "Rip and tear, until it is DONE."
Immediately, players are greeted with a scene of carnage and the Doom Slayer chained to a table, which, of course, he instantly breaks free from. A zombie attempts to relieve the Slayer of his life but is beaten to the punch with a prompt skull smashing. After putting the other zombies to rest, he interacts with the panel in the corner, is greeted by one Dr. Samuel Hayden, who attempts to justify the outbreak, and decides he would rather kill shit than listen to excuses and destroys the monitor.
That is the introduction to this game. It never wastes the player's time. We aren't here to listen to long droning monologues or watch MGS style cutscenes. id Software knew their audience, and knew what that audience wanted, and they deliver in spades. This introduction sets the tone for the entire experience: relentless action, unapologetic violence, and a protagonist who is as unstoppable as he is uncompromising. The Doom Slayer's disdain for exposition and his single-minded focus on annihilating demons resonate with players who crave a pure, unadulterated gaming experience.
By eschewing lengthy cutscenes and exposition-heavy dialogue in favor of fast-paced gameplay and visceral action, id Software delivers a game that respects the player's time and delivers exactly what they came for: non-stop demon-slaying action. In an era where many games are criticized for padding their runtime with unnecessary filler, DOOM stands out as a shining example of how to create a focused and engaging experience that keeps players coming back for more.
Rather than bombarding players with lengthy exposition or intrusive cutscenes, DOOM opts for a more environmental storytelling approach. Throughout the game, players can discover audio logs, read text-based terminals, and observe environmental details that provide context and background to the events unfolding around them.
The story of DOOM revolves around the Doom Slayer's mission to stop a demonic invasion unleashed by the Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC) on their Martian facility. As players progress through the game, they uncover details about the UAC's experiments with Hell energy, the origins of the demonic invasion, and the Doom Slayer's own mysterious past.
While the story may not be front and center in DOOM, it nonetheless adds depth and richness to the game world, enhancing the overall experience for players who choose to engage with it. And for those who prefer to focus solely on the action, the story remains secondary, allowing them to enjoy the game on their own terms.
That's all well and good, but what about the actual gameplay? Simply put, it is exhilarating. From the moment you are given control of the Slayer, players are thrust into a frenzy of blood and violence, and it never lets up. At its core, DOOM is a first-person shooter that harkens back to the genre's roots while injecting it with a healthy dose of modern flair. The gameplay is fast-paced, frenetic, and utterly unapologetic in its brutality. You're not just a player – you're the Doom Slayer, a force of nature hell-bent on eradicating every last demon in your path.
Central to the gameplay experience is the game's combat loop, which revolves around a delicate balance of aggression and strategy. In DOOM, there's no hiding behind cover or waiting for your health to regenerate – you're constantly on the move, strafing, dodging, and leaping across the battlefield as you unleash a torrent of bullets, rockets, and plasma upon your enemies.
Weapons include the iconic shotgun, heavy assault rifle, plasma rifle, rocket launcher, and the devastating BFG 9000, among others. Each weapon offers different firing modes, such as single shot, burst fire, and continuous beam, providing players with tactical options in combat. A key aspect of combat is the Glory Kill system, which allows players to perform brutal finishing moves on staggered enemies. Glory Kills not only provide health and ammo but also contribute to the flow of combat by encouraging aggressive play. It is incredibly satisfying to watch the Slayer rip an imp in half or stomp their head into the pavement, and doing so rewards you with a large return of health.
The Chainsaw mechanic is another integral part of combat, allowing players to instantly kill most enemies and gain a large amount of ammo in return. However, Chainsaw fuel is limited and must be managed carefully. Like Glory Kills, watching the chainsaw tear demons apart is incredibly satisfying. Certain demons require more fuel but provide the player with more ammo in return. Balancing which demons you chainsaw and which ones you choose to Glory Kill is an important part of combat.
Exploration is key to progression and is rewarding to those players who choose to do. Hidden throughout the levels of the game are Argent Cells, Praetor Tokens, and Rune Trials. Each of these provide upgrades to your health/shield/ammo, suit, and passive abilities respectively. Also hidden throughout the game are levers that lead you to classic levels from Doom 1 and Doom 2, which then unlock the full level of its respective game, playable from the main menu. You can also find toy models of the Doom Slayer, which unlock various character models to view. On some of these models, the Doom Slayer will perform a unique action when picking it up, such as fist bumping the classic Doomguy. It's a nice and cute little touch added by the developers that does a little to add character to the Slayer, who is a silent protagonist.
id Software masterfully blends modern game design with a deep reverence for the classics, paying homage to the series' storied history while introducing new elements that propel the franchise forward. Central to this approach is the game's character design, which strikes a delicate balance between nostalgia and innovation. At its core is the iconic protagonist, the Doom Slayer, whose design pays homage to the original Doom Marine while incorporating modern updates that make him feel both familiar and fresh. With his battle-worn armor, imposing stature, and silent demeanor, the Doom Slayer is the embodiment of raw power and unrelenting rage.
The game's roster of enemies is a veritable who's who of classic Doom foes, reimagined for the modern era. From the lowly possessed soldiers to the hulking Cyberdemon, each enemy is lovingly crafted to capture the essence of its 1990s counterpart while introducing new mechanics and behaviors that keep players on their toes. Whether you're facing off against the agile Revenants, the relentless Hell Knights, or the grotesque Cacodemons, every encounter is a nostalgic trip down memory lane, punctuated by the satisfying sound of demon flesh being torn asunder.
But the main story is not where it ends. DOOM has an arcade mode, where players can run through the levels again, this time trying for high scores and medals while collecting 1 Ups. It's important to move fast and have accurate aim; the more kills you chain together, the bigger your score is. Getting hit reduces your score. At the end of the level, your score is tallied against others on a leaderboard. It's a great way to incentivize players to keep playing, in order to get a better and better score.
There is also multiplayer, where players compete in various game modes such as classic deathmatch, warpath and free for all. Players can become demons by collecting runes on the battlefield and this gives them a distinct advantage; demons are larger, stronger and more resilient. Players are bizarrely restricted to only two weapons and a loadout in multiplayer, which blew my mind. Loadouts. In a DOOM game. The demons are also massively unbalanced and if one team manages to get a particularly powerful demon such as a baron of hell, then it's a guaranteed win. All in all, the multiplayer just isn't great. You are better off replaying the story or arcade mode, or even SnapMap.
SnapMap is id Software's proprietary level editor, and it puts every other editor on the market to shame. SnapMap is an incredible, intuitive, easy to learn system allowing players to create their own multiplayer, co-op and single player maps. There is an extensive tutorial system that teaches users the basics, and goes up in depth, covering how to use AI triggers, switches, combinations, object layering, actions, recalls, audio cues, etc. Never have I ever seen such an in-depth interface on a console game before. While it is only surface level in the grand scheme of things, SnapMap is a great introduction to teaching users how game development works, and I urge everyone to try it out at least once.
Part II: The Music
In DOOM, the music isn't just a background accompaniment – it's a driving force that propels players forward, electrifying every moment of the gameplay experience. Composed by the incredibly talented Mick Gordon, the soundtrack of DOOM is a relentless onslaught of metal and electronica that perfectly complements the game's fast-paced action and visceral combat. From the moment you boot up the game, you're greeted by the iconic strains of the main theme, a haunting melody that sets the tone for the epic journey that lies ahead. As you traverse the game's environments, the music shifts seamlessly between atmospheric ambience and pulse-pounding metal.
But it's not just the composition of the music that makes it so memorable – it's also the way it's integrated into the gameplay itself. Mick Gordon's dynamic scoring system ensures that the music evolves in real-time based on the player's actions, ramping up in intensity during combat encounters and dialing back during quieter moments of exploration. This creates a sense of momentum and flow that enhances the overall pacing of the game
One of the standout features of the soundtrack is its use of unconventional instrumentation and sound design. Mick Gordon's signature sound combines distorted guitars, pounding drums, and industrial noise to create a sonic palette that is as brutal and unforgiving as the game itself. From the deep, guttural growls of the synth bass to the ear-shredding shrieks of the guitar solos, every element of the music is designed to evoke a sense of chaos and destruction, mirroring the relentless carnage unfolding onscreen.
Of course, no discussion of the music in DOOM would be complete without mentioning the iconic tracks that have become synonymous with the game. From the adrenaline-fueled "Rip & Tear" to the bone-crushing "BFG Division," each track is a masterpiece of composition and production, perfectly capturing the essence of the DOOM experience and elevating it to new heights. Mick Gordon's composition for the DOOM soundtrack is a tour de force in heavy metal and industrial electronica, meticulously crafted to evoke the essence of the game's frenetic gameplay.
The backbone of the soundtrack is the distorted guitar, which provides the driving force behind many of the tracks. Gordon's use of extended-range guitars and custom-tuned instruments gives the music its signature low-end punch, while his aggressive playing style adds a raw, visceral energy to the sound. In addition to guitars, Gordon incorporates a wide range of electronic and synthetic elements into his compositions, including synthesizers, drum machines, and sampled sounds. These elements are used to create atmospheric textures, rhythmic patterns, and dynamic effects.
One of the most innovative aspects of Gordon's sound design is his use of audio manipulation techniques, such as granular synthesis and spectral processing. These techniques allow him to deconstruct and manipulate audio in real-time, creating complex textures and effects.
Perhaps the most revolutionary aspect of Mick Gordon's composition for DOOM is his dynamic scoring system, which adjusts the music in real-time based on the player's actions. This system, known as "MIDI-controlled dynamic music," allows the music to seamlessly transition between different layers and variations depending on the intensity of the gameplay. Gordon achieves this dynamic effect by dividing each track into multiple stems or layers, each representing a different element of the music (e.g., drums, guitars, synths). These stems are then triggered and mixed in real-time using MIDI data generated by the game engine, allowing the music to adapt and evolve dynamically as the player progresses through the game.
Part III: Building a Legacy
All too often in this industry, legacy franchises are either left in the dust to be forgotten, or brought back to a limp fanfare, only to be thrust back into the shadows of the past. This happens for a myriad of reasons, and I believe the biggest one is that they don't respect their legacy, and they don't respect the players who engage with them.
At its core, DOOM is a game that understands what players want: fast-paced action, engaging gameplay, and a sense of empowerment. By focusing on these core principles, id Software created an experience that resonated with players old and new, capturing the spirit of the original games while pushing the series forward. Central to this approach is the game's unwavering commitment to respecting the player. From its minimalist storytelling and streamlined level design to its intuitive controls and dynamic difficulty system, DOOM prioritizes the player's experience above all else, ensuring that every moment of the game is engaging, immersive, and satisfying.
One of the most notable ways that DOOM respects the player is through its approach to difficulty. Rather than imposing artificial barriers or punishing players for their mistakes, the game encourages experimentation and mastery through its responsive gameplay mechanics and adaptive enemy AI. Players are given the freedom to approach encounters in their own way, whether it's through brute force, cunning strategy, or a combination of both.
Another key aspect of DOOM's player-centric design is its emphasis on accessibility. From its difficulty settings and intuitive user interface to its robust accessibility features, such as colorblind modes and customizable controls, the game ensures that players of all skill levels and abilities can enjoy the experience without feeling excluded or overwhelmed.
But perhaps the most important way that DOOM respects the player is through its commitment to fun. At its core, DOOM is a game that prioritizes the player's enjoyment above all else, delivering a seamless and exhilarating experience that keeps players coming back for more. Whether you're blasting demons with a shotgun, exploring hidden secrets, or rocking out to Mick Gordon's pulse-pounding soundtrack, DOOM is a game that never stops prioritizing YOU.
DOOM's legacy is one of respect – respect for the player, respect for the franchise, and respect for the medium of video games as a whole. By prioritizing fun, accessibility, and player agency, id Software created an experience that not only honors the legacy of the original games but also sets a new standard for what a modern first-person shooter can be. And for that, we owe them a debt of gratitude.

Hello. I am wondering if anyone else has struggled with this or has advice. It is often said that we autistics 'live in a world that was not made for us' and that just existing requires conforming to standards that don't come naturally for us. Very often, people can be very mean, dismissive, or outright hostile, judging us as lazy or self-centered or simply unworthy of love before even knowing us, and even those that are close to us in life can be a consistent presence of rejection and exclusion. It hurts. It isn't the heart of God for his children to be abandoned, but this is often what happens, even in the church.
I am currently struggling with two aspects of that: with my parents (who have made comments since I was little writing off my 'differences' as impractical, overdramatic, and not worth considering - telling me that I just need to try to be 'normal') and with the church (where people have tried to forcibly cast demons out of me and told me that I am rebelling against God for struggling to process things the way that they do). Added to that is the subtle rejction that happens even if nothing is said - just the background knowledge that others find burdensome and uncomfortable to be around, and don't relate to me the way they relate to each other. It hurts so much to feel like the outcast in both my biological and spiritual families, and to know that they see me as failing them because I am not trying hard enough to be the way they want me to be.
And I have to confess I struggle with a lot of resentment and bitterness towards both of those groups. The reason I'm posting here instead of one of the larger autism subreddits or groups is that secular groups would likely tell me that I don't have to forgive them. But Jesus tells us to. I struggle a lot with the scripture that 'if we don't forgive others then God won't forgive us'. My parents especially - who are not Christian - I live with them, and it takes more energy than I have to constantly put up with dismissal of me (whether it is overt or not). I feel the burden of, 'what if I don't forgive them, don't show them enough grace, don't witness properly to them, and they die unsaved? what if their salvation relies on me giving to them the grace that they have hardly ever given me? and what if my salvation then relies on that? how can I trust God to love me and save me if he withholds forgiveness unless I can forgive them?' I feel trapped in self-hatred and depresssion spawned by their view of me and I just can't get past it even for my own preservation, much less in order to 'minister to them'.
And with society in general - it's the same picture. Every day I creep along on the sidelines, feeling as though nobody wants me. So many times (jobs, church communities, housing situations, etc) I have ended up pushed to the outside because I don't know how to interact with people, or because they don't like me and scheme against me behind my back. How am I supposed to be a light of God's mercy to the world if the world rejects me for something that has little to do with God? This isn't persecution for being a Christian, but for being autistic. If it glorifies God to be rejected for his name's sake, I don't think it glorifies him the same way to be rejected because of the limitations of my neurology. If anything, people think less of him because they see that all he could bother to send was an awkward, overly sensitive weirdo.
I'm sorry if I'm soapboxing a little. Like I said, I have really been struggling with bitterness towards everyone around me because of this - and it also leads to insecurity before God, because I feel like I am failing him like I am failing everyone else. My question is - how do you process forgiveness (showing grace towards others as well as myself) regarding the struggle and rejection of being autistic in an allistic world, in a way that honors Jesus? I would love to hear from anyone who has overcome this and what God has spoken to you.

Decant Reviews Part II: The Revenge! This batch came to me from the most excellent u/Hype_Moments, who thoughtfully reached out to me to inform me of his services after I expressed dismay at my inability to obtain samples directly from Montagne. The decants arrived promptly and packaged securely enough to withstand a nuclear blast! I also appreciate the attention to detail when it comes to labeling: matching Montagne's font and including the notes makes the sampling process feel very deluxe. Great experience, would order again!
On to the fragrances. Unless stated otherwise, I have not smelled the inspiration fragrances, so I am judging these on their own merit. For your reference, I typically prefer unisex fragrances, but I decided to roll the dice and included three feminine scents this time. I'm 29, and I work in both office and classroom environments. Let's get into it!
Eau Vanille: This one is not for everyone, but it's definitely for me. The rich, deep vanilla combined with the guiac wood and incense smells like going to mass at a grand Cathedral. Sophisticated, solemn, mysterious. I imagine that Notre Dame smells like this on Good Friday. Honestly, it kind of reminds me of my confirmation. I swear, the oil the bishop puts on your (greasy, 13-year-old) forehead smells a lot like this. That said, I love this because it reminds me of a positive moment in my faith formation, but it may evoke complex or negative reactions in others. The incense calms down after a couple of hours, which allows the vanilla to shine. Definitely not too sweet, and reads straightforwardly unisex to me. If you're a vanilla-lover looking for something a bit different with some oomph, this could be for you. Maybe not the best choice for the heat of summer, but I will be looking to purchase the full bottle come autumn. Would wear to my arch-rival's funeral.
Strawberry Milk: The wildcard of the bunch. I did not think I was going to like this because I thought it was going to be extremely juvenile and sickly sweet. I ordered it out of pure curiosity after hearing about the ungodly sums folks were shelling out to get their hands on a bottle. While it's definitely a sweet gourmand, it's not syrupy sweet. It's kind of fruity and powdery and just a bit herbal. There's something in here that comes off a little minty to my nose, which is baffling considering the notes. I'm not getting anything particularly strawberry-like, though. Maybe a hint of something lactonic, like malted milk powder, and a burnt-sugar note that could be caramel. Very wearable if you like sweet scents. Not obtrusive, kind of like if you gave a your-skin-but-better scent some moxie. Certainly not your typical celebrity scent. I could see a lot of women liking this. The longevity wasn't the best on this one, though: I think I got about four hours out of it. I'm not personally in love with it, but I'm glad I tried it.
Pink Rose Exclusif: Good Lord, y'all. This THE hot girl perfume. The most attractive woman you can think of probably wears this. It's a really beautiful, sweet, creamy, powdery rose wrapped in a veil of incense and supported by vanilla and woody notes in the base. There's some fruitiness in there too, particularly in the opening. Despite the powderiness and incense, it's quite edible smelling; like a fruity sponge cake that's also drenched in rose syrup, served immediately after the Confirmation service (callback!). I recognize this scent because I have encountered it in the wild on women wearing Delina Exclusif or its dupes, and it definitely... affects me, shall we say. This will turn heads for sure. It also lasts forever with excellent projection. I put on 3 sprays, wore it all day, went to sleep, and then my pillow and sheets smelled like Pink Rose Exclusif for DAYS, just from coming into contact with my arm. You absolutely do not need much of this. As much as I love it, I'm on the fence about whether to buy it, because I'm not sure how often I would actually wear it. It's a little more femme than my personal style usually calls for, imo. Plus, I'm not sure I want all the attention this would garner. That said, it's a 10/10 frag, I'd go for it today if I were single and ready to mingle. UPDATE: After writing this review, I got the opportunity to test the OG in-store, and I can confirm that this is a 1 to 1 dupe. I don't detect any difference whatsoever. Nice work, Montagne!
Pink Rose: This one humbled me. I had already tried the Exclusif version, and figured this was the more wearable, daytime version. I did my normal application (1 spray each on wrists & inner elbows, 2 sprays on the neck, 1 on the front of my shirt) and then headed to the office. When my coworker told me I smelled good from 6 feet away, I knew I had overdone it. I was smelling this all day long, from the 8:30 AM application until bed time. And not just little whiffs here and there, I'm talking constant presence in my olfactory organ. A little distracting, if I'm honest. Luckily, it's a beautiful fragrance. Florals are hit or miss for me, but I have a soft spot for rose. Whereas the Exclusif smells like rose dessert, this smells like a living rose growing fresh and vibrant in the garden. The litchi and rhubarb bring in a little sharpness, and there's a green accord in there that's really refreshing. This is rose done in a modern, interesting way, and I dig it. Feminine, but in a way that feels manageable for my typical presentation. Despite my initial blunder, I do think it's more every-day wearable than its sister as long as you are conservative with your application. Will buy for sure, and probably sooner rather than later.
Carnal Gray Extrait: In a word: exquisite. This smells like being wealthy, well-traveled, and the hottest person at the function. Charisma in a bottle. Effortlessly sexy without being provocative. It's well blended, but not linear. We start with a spicy, herbaceous opening; you get the cardamom right away, with some sweet green undertones. Then, a beautiful dry down. It becomes more powdery with a bit sweetness thanks to iris, tonka, and vanilla. The woodiness from cedar and sandalwood and earthiness from vetiver and patchouli keep it from going gourmand, and the result is something deep, dark, and complex. Perfect for special occasions where you want to dress to impress, this would be the ultimate companion to a well-tailored suit or a fancy cocktail dress. Apparently folks are somewhat divided on whether Gris Charnel Extrait leans feminine or masculine, but to me, CGE is perfectly unisex. Great performance; three sprays lasts me all day with moderate projection. This is my favorite fragrance from Montagne so far, and in the running for my favorite fragrance of all time. It's probably not the best choice for the hot, humid summer that's coming my way, but I don't even care, this is going to the top of the queue. 12/10, I am writing in my will that I want this sprayed on me before I go in the casket.
Brooklyn Jazz: At last, a fragrance that I can compare to its inspiration! I have smelled and fallen in love with Maison Margiela's Jazz Club, and was super excited to see how the wallet-friendly version from Montagne stacks up. Indeed, it's a very close match. We have a nice peppery opening that gives way to boozy, rum tobacco heaven. It's not in the notes, but this definitely comes off leathery to my nose. It smells like sitting in a leather armchair, sipping on dark liquor, and smoking... some kind of tobacco product. I want to say a pipe rather than a cigar, but neither is my vice of choice, so I can't be sure. Either way, old school badass. Think Ron Swanson in Duke Silver mode. If anything, there is perhaps more of an herbal accord here that I didn't notice in Jazz Club, but that could be due to the translation from EDT to EDP. Masculine leaning, but still suitable for ladies who appreciate smokey scents. Altogether, a lovely warm and cozy scent. Decent longevity, but the projection could be better (maybe needs maceration). I do like it, but I'm more motivated to get my hands on Carnal Gray Extrait and Eau Vanille, both of which are certainly different, but occupy a similar region of the fragrance family tree. I may pick it up after I make it through the summer.
Thanks for reading my reviews! And special thank-yous to both u/Hype-Moments and u/AyybrahamLmaocoln for supplying this community with decants and saving us from the anxiety of blind-buying. Let me know if you have any recommendations for my next decant order, particularly more masculine scents that are good for summer; I want my collection to have a little of everything. What do y'all think of Afternoon Dive and Torino 2021? That's all, over and out.

Yet another long noob career advice post, sorry in advance. Any help is graciously appreciated.
Context
I got my undergrad degree last year with a double-major in history and computer science. I’m now working full-time as a software engineer and it’s a pretty good gig, but I don’t think it’s the right career for me in the long run. I really miss using the critical thinking, investigative, and storytelling skills I used for the history part of my degree.
I think my ideal fit would be some flavor of using technology to do journalism and/or doing journalism about technology, as a way to blend both skill sets I’ve developed. I just need to figure out how to start bending my career path in that direction.
Deeper background (skip if desired)
I only started thinking about this path during my senior year so didn’t have time to develop a portfolio for the school newspaper or anything like that. I did publish one op-ed in the school paper junior year that had some bearing on this technical beat, but I also recognize the difference between opinion and journalism, so I’m not sure how much that’s worth.
For my senior thesis I wrote about the history of the commodification of personal data (basically a deeper look at how we developed an economy where your information is worth money to Facebook, Google, etc) which gets at that space of covering technology and society. I’m really proud of it and it got summa cum laude honors, but it’s not published anywhere.
I also got another history paper published in an undergrad history journal which isn’t super relevant but hopefully at least shows that I can write and go through an editing process.
It seems like the value journalism grad school is fairly divisive. That’s an option I’m considering for a couple years down the road, but would also appreciate any advice relevant to my situation that would help set me up for success there (both in admissions and then actually getting it done).
The ask
The advice I’ve seen very often on here is to build up clips, which makes sense. But how do I start that from zero? I don’t imagine I’ll have much luck pitching freelance stories without some portfolio to back them up, so it feels rather chicken-and-egg. I could start a blog or something like that, but it again feels like it might be tough to get sources to take me seriously without a real “name” backing me. Any advice or insight here?
Then there’s also the fact that with no journalism training I don’t really know what I’m doing, and I’m concerned that putting out bad work, even unintentionally, will put me in an even worse situation than having no work. How can I mitigate this concern?
Lastly, I’m also concerned about my pace of output. With my actual job and other commitments, I don’t think I’ll be able to put out more than one piece a month, if even that. These would hopefully be more substantial articles rather than short-form breaking news sort of stuff. How much would slow/sporadic output matter if I’m doing this as a side project?
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

Hey everyone,
I could really use the advice of the sysadmin community on the next steps for hiring someone to help clean up an IT environment that is the result of multiple decades of organic growth and management by the same solo IT person, a person whose IT knowledge and curiosity peaked a long time ago.
Anyway, my situation is as follows. I was originally going to write an even longer history of our IT situation, and would be happy too if people are interested, but here is the gist of my situation. I'm sorry if anything is a bit disjointed, but I'm trying to refrain from writing a case study.
I have worked for the last 15 years at my family's business, and Harry has been managing our IT for the last 40 years. Harry was one of my father's first employees, had gone to school for music-related majors, took a non-IT job at a new manufacturing and retail company, then became our IT person as we developed IT needs.
Fast forward after a few decades of organic IT growth with Harry reporting to our prior CFO for the last 20 years (a CFO who was territorial, unpleasant to work with, and terrible with technology), and the state of our current IT environment is bad. I believe that is mainly due to a horrible combination of Harry not doing a great job at anything IT-related, and being our sole IT person, and having a tech-illiterate CFO managing Harry. Our CFO would also occasionally find small-time/hacky consultants to work with, but never wanted to listen to my input. After a few years of being at the company, I suggested we needed a ticketing system, but our CFO wanted to keep managing projects using a Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet...
After our CFO retired, we brought in a new CFO, and she came with a referral to an MSP her husband had used at the company he was at. That company had sold to a larger holding company since the CFO's husband started using the MSP, one that seemed to mess around in the crypto space, and I thought the lead was bad (based on a variety of things I saw). Over the last 15 years, a large part of my job has been doing due diligence on vendors, software solutions, web developers, and various agencies. Regardless, we spent a few months doing due diligence and a paid audit with that MSP. By the end of the audit, we decided not to move forward with that MSP.
In addition, our company decided Harry should start reporting to me rather than our new CFO. I have 15 years of experience at the company overseeing all of our internet properties, digital marketing, and was kind of a third wheel of the IT department when I first started at the company. I went to undergrad for Management Information Systems, have a graduate business degree, and basically consider myself an IT person who isn't pursuing an IT career. I know our internal companies well, what our users do and don't need, and understand the costs and opportunity costs to bringing (or not bringing) in new systems and technology.
I have also been tinkering with computers and technology for almost three decades. I build my own computers, built my own NAS running Unraid, run updates on our VMware-based servers, can read and modify code, wired my own home with CAT 6, had a brief stint as a Sharepoint developer, moved 100+ employees from our original POP3 email system to Google Workspace (when I started at the company), set up a UniFi-based dedicated WiFi and surveillance network, specced out and racked our new Dell servers, and have helped replace and migrate dozens of our users off of old Windows 7 machines. I also have personally undertaken onboarding our endpoints in NinjaOne, installing Defender for Endpoint, and bringing our various Fortigate firewalls up to date. My point here is that while I am not a Sysadmin myself (and definitely am not suggesting I'm an expert at ANY of those things), and definitely don't have depth when it comes to Active Directory, Azure, etc., I am a bit of a jack of all trades IT person, and am very well-suited to work with a real Sysadmin. For almost everything I do, I either find what the best practice is, know that I or we aren't meeting best practices, or will happily let our team/company know when I can't expertly speak to something.
With that backstory out of the way, here are a few extra points:

1. Harry basically works half the week, has health issues, wants to retire in a year or two, and I can't count on him to come up with any new or current solutions. Harry has been loyal to the company, and I consider him a friend, and there is still work and value he can add until he is ready to retire. That said, he is our "IT Director", but whoever we hire will not be reporting to Harry. I will figure out the structural and human/social aspects of not having our new hire feel bad having to comment on things Harry has or hasn't done, as well as figuring out work Harry can do a good job on that won't create extra work. I expect I would probably have Harry do work on the legacy ERP system he has helped support, which is something I don't expect our new hire to have much to do with.
2. There will probably be some people out there who feel there has been mismanagement, that Harry sounds incompetent, that we were understaffed, or that the ex-CFO did a bad job, etc. Most of that is probably true, but that is the past. As someone who generally knows a fair amount about IT, I HAVE known that our IT situation isn't great, but as I said, the situation is complicated.
3. Our current IT environment is a bit of a mess. We are just now finishing up replacing remaining Windows 7 machines, have a brand new ESXi cluster (set up pre-Broadcom acquisition) but have to set up a few new virtual machines to replace Server 2012 R2 (or worse) virtual machines, have to remove local admin privileges from almost all of our users (this is decades in the making), and have loads of best practices and management systems I'd like to see us have in place. There are way more projects than just this, but this is just a sampling. Outside of lots of overdue overhaul, I don't think we have a tremendous amount of break/fix at the company.
4. I am so understaffed right now with my original responsibilities at the company, basically being our main new IT person, and trying to plan for our next major ERP systems. I don't have enough hours in the day and am killing myself emotionally. I need to hire someone full-time, but I need advice on if that job title should be a Sysadmin, and how I should go about presenting this opportunity. I am NOT expecting whoever we hire to be an expert in everything, which is a common complaint I've seen in sysadmin. I would like to strategically hire partners (or continue to work with a person or two we already work with) when it comes to things like firewall expertise. Our new hire would work directly with me to start overhauling our IT systems as needed. I have no expectations someone can come in and clean everything up in weeks or months, but I'd like to find someone talented who will seek out right-sized, best-practice-based solutions and systems, and work with me to transform an IT environment that was basically built under one person's watch. When hiring for the position, I'd like to be upfront that there is initially going to be a lot of project work required.
5. I have been looking through sysadmin for probably the last two years, and I often seem complaints about management not getting IT, managers being too frugal, etc. While our IT situation is messier than I would like to bring someone into, I feel confident I can give whoever we hire a collegial, bureaucracy-free environment. I am practical, am great at knowing what I do and don't know, understand project management (I'm used to working on year-long projects), and am very familiar with the common joke about "anything that plugs into the wall being IT". While the job I'm looking to hire for won't be turn-key, my goal and plan is to hire someone who won't be expected to know everything or work all the time, and that as we continue to improve our systems, that it won't need to be a rigorous IT job. I am planning to work closely with whoever we hire, will help cover any non-business-hours issues, etc. I love the idea of someone smart coming in, helping whip things into shape, and developing the job into a cushy one. I am willing to pay for someone talented, and one of my highest priorities will be to provide a great work environment.
6. In my original post, I mentioned that our IT situation has been complicated. By that I mean Harry transitioning into an IT role decades ago, bad management–especially by our prior CFO, a lack of awareness on how bad the IT situation was–from Harry himself, as well as management. There are lots of reasons our IT situation is what it is, but intentional understaffing to save money wasn't one of them.

Finally, after all the points above, I would appreciate any constructive advice on who/what job title to hire for, what I should be looking for, etc. Do I look for five or seven plus years of experience? I want someone who has enough experience that he/she at least knows about deploying software using AD and Group Policy, making sure our fleet of machines is up-to-date using Microsoft-provided or paid tools available, etc.
Whenever I read through posts and replies on this subreddit, I see people who provide good answers (or who are smart enough to come to this subreddit to seek advice), and I think to myself how I'd like to work with someone like that. I don't know if that seems weird or like a low bar, but right now I'm used to working with Harry, and he definitely doesn't know about this Subreddit, struggles to use Google Meet, isn't big into 2FA.
Thanks to anyone who read all of this, and to anyone who posts any tips or advice!

The song or rather sample I suppose has also been used in loads of memes before. I just heard that snip bit just now but all google gave me was "sopranos by 222 pretty prod. Lain"
You can hear the saxophone loop in the background but I just can't figure out how to get to it.. Does anyone know the name?

The abundance of dwarves, humans, and elves in The War Within thus far has ignited a whole new wave of debate across WoW social media on the supposed faction favoritism of the devs. This is a tale as old as time. Whether it was BfA showing "Horde favoritism" by repeating the Horde-centric story of MoP where the Alliance are just sort of along for the ride of a Horde rebellion, Legion showing "Alliance favoritism" for the prevalence of humans, elves, and draenei throughout its core themes, or hell, how BfA's "Horde favoritism" wasn't the "favoritism" the Horde needs because it makes them out to be irredeemable monsters regardless of player input, so BfA was actually "Alliance favoritism" and round and round it goes.
So now we come to TWW and the arguments have started up all over again. But both sides of this debate tend to overlook what exactly is going on with the story, and in the process being vocal about the wrong kind of problems with the storytelling that need to be addressed. What's been happening isn't any kind of faction favoritism. It's race favoritism.
The only playable races that get consistent advancements in story from expansion to expansion are humans, orcs, and elves. Anyone else typically spends their time waiting around for the devs and writers to glance in their general direction and hopefully toss them a crumb of content. A patch that uses their race's aesthetic. Possibly even an expansion that puts them at the forefront. And they just have to pray that whatever story they are given is good, because they won't be getting any more for years after. Otherwise we get something like the retaking of Gilneas: A story Worgen players had been begging for since Cataclysm that ultimately ended up being incredibly short and barely focusing on the Gilneans at all.
Generally what this means is that a race will suddenly get that aforementioned crumb of story, only to be surrounded by people of the opposing faction calling out faction favoritism, when the race in question has not had any story in years. It's happening currently with dwarves. TWW is finally doing something with story threads that were sewn and then left to dangle all the way back in Cataclysm. Dagran is no longer an infant. Dwarven politics are being explored. And a new tribe related to the dwarves is at the forefront of marketing. Again, this is the first time since Cataclysm that dwarves have been given anything to work with, but their role here is being decried as "Alliance favoritism" as if the dwarves had been getting story all along.
Often even when the story would theoretically be most suited to a certain non-human/orc/elf race, we will get new lore making them fit in, or otherwise attach a main character of those races to the story so that players don't get too "lost." The return to Argus, the home of the Draenei, should have been a huge deal for Draenei everywhere. And Velen himself was prominent. But we didn't really get any other Draenei stepping up to play major roles in this Argus storyline. Instead, we reintroduced Turalyon and Alleria. Turalyon is now the leader of the otherwise-Draenei group known as the Army of the Light. He actually is the one who introduced Elekks to their army. Meanwhile Alleria's connections to the void take center stage in Eredath: The zone that is the former main hub of Draenei civilization. Or look at TWW. An expansion entirely underground calls to mind none of the three "main" races WoW likes to focus on. Instead, it makes sense to shift the focus to dwarves, goblins, gnomes, and also other non-playable races. But a whole expansion not focusing on the faves of the writers is unthinkable, so we have to introduce Hallowfall: An underground civilization of humans, elves, and half-elves who have immediate ties to the main plot and quickly take over the focus of the story from the Earthen and Kobolds of the first two zones. Notably, every press release on TWW has said Anduin and Alleria are the main characters of the expansion, not Moira, Dagran, Magni, Gazlowe, or others.
It's also worth noting how the only allied race leaders who have consistently gone on to appear in important story roles after their introduction are the humans and elves. Turalyon and Alleria continue to be important, while Captain Fareeya (I'm sure you're asking "Who?") still has yet to get a defined personality. Thalyssra of the Nightborne immediately went on to play a major role in the Naz'jatar zone of BfA, and has since married Lor'themar, while Mayla occasionally shows up with glazed over eyes to say "Hey, Baine is pretty cool, right?" Talanji actually got a book after BfA, but then disappeared in the actual game in the following expansions. Her appearance in the background of the first TWW trailer turned some heads, only for it to be revealed that she was a placeholder for a new race that seem to be more tied to the Night Elves than anyone else.
There are a few different ways in which an underutilized race can get a story boost:
1) Human/Elf/Orc ties:
Often times we'll start to see a race appear more if they are given explicit ties to one of the three races I talked about. Genn Greymane did appear in many stories beginning with the Legion expansion, though none were really about the Worgen people or Gilneas. Genn himself prefers to stay in his human form, and he is far more invested in Anduin's story than the plight of his people for most of his run as a recurring character. The retaking of Gilneas saw Genn even abdicate the throne to his daughter, Tess, who does not even have a Worgen form. I would not be surprised if Gilneas became a much more prominent part of the story moving forward now that their figurehead is more human. Notably Darius Crowley, someone who is very important to Worgen lore, consistently stays in his Worgen form, and is canonically the leader of the effort to retake Gilneas from Cataclysm to Dragonflight, has been on the bench since his debut and was not even included in the ultimate culmination of his work.
Or how about the Forsaken? Most Forsaken story was not about them, but about Sylvanas Windrunner: An undead High Elf who by virtue of plot is able to not have any visible rotting or traditional Forsaken traits on her body. When BfA and Shadowlands happened, there was some hope among Forsaken players that future Forsaken story could actually be about the average undead, only for them to immediately be tethered to Calia Menethil, another undead who by virtue of plot is able to not have any rotting or traditional Forsaken traits on her body. And we all know how much people love Calia.
2) Complete separation from their race:
Sometimes a character from a race not usually focused on will rise to main story prominence, but only because they no longer have strong ties to their race. Therefore, they can get some story without having to also advance the story of their race. We've already talked about Genn staying in human form most of the time and acting as Anduin's advisor, but he's not the only example. When Magni returned as the "Speaker of Azeroth," there was no shakeup in dwarven society to address. The only place we actually saw some acknowledgement of the shakeups this could cause was in a short promotional comic for Legion where he wakes up, tells Moira he won't want the throne back, and leaves. From Legion to now, Magni has not had a hint of a connection to his people, and we're only now addressing that in TWW.
Baine's biggest roles in the story never have anything to do with him being a leader to his people. Instead, it's when he needs to play the diplomat to Jaina and Anduin. The uncertain foil to Sylvanas or Garrosh. Baine, and the Tauren as a whole, exist as supporting characters in stories not their own. In fact, there's a long history of races only existing to prop up the story favorites. They had to write into the lore that Gelbin Mekkatorque specifically chose to ignore his own people's plight and support the wider Alliance in the hopes they'd one day return the favor. They never have.
3) The story of their debut expansion is focused on them:
Finally you sometimes get an expansion that is dead set on tying its new playable race to the story of its expansion. I speak primarily of the Pandaren and the Dracthyr. Two races introduced in expansions focused on the introduction of their people to the Alliance and Horde, and the problems erupting in their homes. Unfortunately, as we saw with the Pandaren, the buck stops there. Once Mists of Pandaria ended, so did any drive to tell the Pandaren's story. They have remained playable. They remain able to occasionally appear as a background NPC who is drunk or something because that is the one characteristic they're now known for. But any focus on them as a people is gone. Time will tell if the Dracthyr will see the same fate once Dragonflight officially ends, but I don't like their odds.
Conclusion:
All of this is to say, I hesitate to paint with a broad brush and declare something like "Alliance favoritism" or "Horde favoritism." Because that would be to ignore how stagnant the stories of so many of the races in those factions have been for so long. To ignore that Dagran, the supposed next ruler of a united Dwarven people has only just now graduated from a generic baby dwarf model despite being introduced in 2010. To ignore that Gazlowe was casually handed leadership of the Bilgewater Cartel with one line of dialogue while humans and orcs get whole expansions dedicated to a transfer in power. To ignore that "For Gnomeregan" has been the battle cry of a still homeless Gnome population since Vanilla WoW. To ignore that the Draenei, introduced in 2007, are finally confirmed to be thinking about building a new home in our current year of 2024.
I'd like to believe things have changed. I'd like to be excited that Dwarf storylines are being told at the start of Khaz Algar, and there is seemingly setup for a Goblin-centric patch in our future. But I know this franchise's history.

Recently I decided to gave sobriety a real chance and now I have thoughts looking back on 6 months of sobriety, which I want to share. More recently, I started drinking again, which I'm afraid of. For some background, I have had around 15 years of what I would call “higher-than-normal” alcohol use, often peaking to very high levels and sometimes what I would call crisis levels. Sometimes I wish the crisis levels would have been higher so that I could have better identified them earlier. I generally enjoy alcohol and strive to be in a state where I am completely altered from my sober self: which is a person who is funny and a joy to be with. I think my sober self is rather harsh and negative, and not someone that anyone would want to spend time with.
I believe that a lot of my personal negativity came from my studies in International Realtions, and readings on wars, slavery, and colonialization. Utlimately you will have to decide based on the account below. My alcohol use would average around 5 pints of strong beer (~7.5%), or about 2 bottles of red wine. Sometimes it would get higher than I could count.
Alcohol use starting in 2023
Early in 2023, around march, I decided to stop drinking for a reason I can’t remember, and I had a good 2 months being alcohol-free. During that time I also decided to try out Betterhelp (tm) for a month or two and find a counselor with experience in addication. However, I had already set my mind on sobriety before I sought out the counselor, and she was just there to support my journey.
After 2 sucessful months of soberiety I received some bad news about a job I was excited about, and I was back to drinking for about 5 months. I would drink on average my usual quantity about 3-4 times per week, which was actually an improvement from before. In late September, the 5^th month, I started to read something that would be very important.
*Below I am about to summarize poorly a book by an expert on a subject which I am not an expert on. Please consult this book or other experts on sleep if you have any questions.
When I finally read the book Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, something finally clicked about the damage alcohol was doing to my sleep, and why quality sleep was important for both phsyical and mental health. Most importantly, according to Walker, because of alcohol’s quality as a sedative, it puts you into a state of sedation, but this is only the first stage of the very important sleep pattern that our minds have evolved to use. The most important stage of our sleep, the NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep, which is our particular variant, is blocked in a state of sedation. During a sedated state, you are only experiencing a very low state of sleep that is ultimately useless and will result in feeling tired and a lack of sleep the next day.
Have you ever heard anyone say any variant of: ‘I can’t sleep without alcohol’? They are sedating themselves, and ultimately the lack of good sleep will catch up with them. But they probably can’t perceive it at that moment.
So finally I decided to stop in early October of 2023. What happened during those 6 months? During the first 3 months I started dreaming again. I started fairly well as far as work is concerned also. After only a few weeks, lo and behold, my sleep improved drastically and I began to dream like I had not for a long time. No longer did I think about how tired I was all the time, and finally I was able to devot time to the things that I wanted to.
Alcohol use in 2024
Eventually, January came around. January started great (and I actually regularly hit the gym during this time), but something else was missing. I began to feel a real absence in my life, and I wasn’t hesitant to tell those around me about it.
After the death of an aunt and a week of getting involved in an old past-time of video games, I was lost. A game by an independent developer with passion for his craft created Songs of Syx, which lets you build and manage a city of thousands of people with several different races of different creatures with their own preferences and personalities. Who could resist?
I love art. I love (some) video games, and consider them a form of art, but now I cannot deny that games can become a sort of addication as well.
But this and other less interesting distractions came at the cost of my personal growth. Soon I was lost in distractions again whether they be good or bad. In March I started having dreams where I would drink again, albeit mildly. In April, we had the first very nice day in a very long time. I was finally feeling better, and I desired a beer.
I spent months in these distractions, thinking of calling out to the people who had supported by sobriety but too ashamed to tell them the reality of what I was actually doing. ‘Well, this is better than drinking,’ I had told myself. And in a way, it was. In another way, this replacement deprived me of what I really wanted. I started painting, and listening audiobooks while I painted. All this was great, but I still somehow felt empty inside.
In mid-April, I had a beer for the first time in six months. I had lost 10 kg, the alcohol was much more effecitive on me in producing creativity. Everything felt right again! Until the next morning, when I essentially lost a day, which would be a prelude to several upcoming lost days…
So why did I start drinking again? A bit due to genetics, I’m fairly certain. In part because the weather was nice, and the thought that having a beer would be nice. In large part I’m certain that I wanted to be released from the negative thoughts that I have to deal with by myself. In my situation, there’s nothing better than seeing smiling faces and shaking a bunch of hands, and alcohol helps me feel that joy on my end, so that it’s not just a forced smile from my end but a genuine one. And that is a nice feeling.
My own health be damned for the moment, I suppose. But the feeling of connection is enough to keep me going. My only current hope is that I have at least demonstrated that I am sincerely commited to joining my lacent sober desire for connection with my my stupid drunk execution of it.
Appendix: On drinking and creativity
I’ve always told myself that I have the ‘Mark Twain’ syndrome when it comes to drinking. Mark Twain is a considered a classic among American authors, and he was known to drink a lot, especially while writing. I also like to drink and write, and I often do while my sober self is less productive. Now I have to ask myself at this point in my mid-30s, where are the publications? Where are the books? I have one co-authorship on a publication in an economics journal.
Was this ‘Mark Twain’ syndrom a lie that I told myself to continue drinking? As for Mark Twain and other writers who were infamous drinkers, were they brilliant because of or in spite of their drinking? Does the same hold for other drug use like pot smoking?
My personal thoughts are that any drug, whether it be alcohol or methanphetamine, gives its primary benefits near the start of use, but when an addiction starts to develop the creative potential of the drug drowns in just desire for the drug. Some people are apparently able to keep themselves in the state of "desire for the drug" which they are able to harness for creativity, but I have come to think the more likely outcome of the drug use is addiction and waste of creative potential.

For context, I’m a 25yo female, that comes from a mixed background (my mother 56F is a white woman from southern Europe, my father is from the Balkans and migrated to my country when he was younger). This is relevant and you will understand later.
I moved away from home as soon as I could when I was 18 after a not so good childhood, and currently live in another European country. My parents are divorced, my father is not really in the picture, I keep in touch with my mother on a daily basis and come visit her and the rest of the family once or twice a year. We never had the best relationship but since I moved out it improved a lot. I’d say we get along better when I’m far away from home.
Anyway, back to the reason of this post. I’ve been seeing this guy for more than a year, he’s great, we’re slowly getting to know each other and see where this is going. We are not in a rush but of course this is a relationship and I felt it was time to tell something more to my mother. I’ve always been quite open about my relationships and people I was dating, however since getting older I started being more private as I don’t think it would be good to mention every failed date to my mother (lol). We come from a typical small town in southern Europe, where people are bigots and close-minded. The news on the tv are constantly complaining about immigrants coming to our country and jadajadajada. The government is mostly right wing. So yeah, I didn’t really mentioned much about this guy, first of all cause I’m trying to keep it private but also because I could imagine her reaction, since she’s the standard average middle age woman that you find on Facebook without much culture. She is ignorant not as an insult but as in the real sense of the word: she ignores, she doesn’t inform herself and just believes whatever the media tells her.
Anyway, she suspected I was seeing someone for a while, I never really said much but I’ve been giving her a few hints in the past weeks and now that I came back to my hometown for a week she started being very curious. The day after I arrived we were casually talking before bed and she just kept asking “C’mon, don’t you have a pic of this guy? Show me! C’mon c’mon! I’m your mother!” so, one side of me didn’t wanna show her, the other one was excited cause at the end of the day I’m proud of my relationship and I was happy to tell her more (maybe naively hoping for a good outcome…). So without thinking much I showed her one of the best pictures of him. Literally in the millisecond while I was showing her the picture she said something like: “hope it’s not a n****” (WHATTT???).
At that point the phone was already on her face. It was done. She said it, and at the same time she saw the picture. She was speechless and I was too. I was ashamed of her. And sad.
She didn’t say anything more for the following 10 minutes, she went to her room and I went to mine. Afterwards she just asked “does he even work?!” And I told her “don’t worry about it, he’s better off than the both of us” just to make her shut up about that question that I found so disrespectful. This made me just so sad, and disappointed.
But the worst had yet to come. We didn’t speak much about it at all until today.
We were having a casual conversation during the afternoon when the relationship topic came out. In particular, we were talking about how your partner should improve your life and not making it worse, meaning he should make you happy, he should bring good positive vibes, get along etc. that’s what I was thinking and referring to. But she started being very materialistic, she asked me “so, in which way is he improving your life?!” in a very aggressive sassy tone “I don’t see anything changing“ she said. I was mentioning that he makes me happy when the conversation degenerated. All sort of things came out of it.
She started by saying: “well, I truly hopes this will be just a friend and you will keep it like that” then she continued with: “please take birth control precautions before you regret it” “don’t come to me later saying I didn’t stop you” and the cherry on top was: “I would have preferred if you told me you were a lesbian cause at least that is cool nowadays”.
I was speechless and I still am.
I asked her what is it that she doesn’t like and what is she basing her opinions on, since she literally knows nothing about him. She couldn’t answer. She kept repeating the same things over and over and she also said she would never want to meet him. I have to mention that the few guys she met that I was dating were of different cultures, but she never had a problem with them, I guess because the skin color was the same… and in her mind there are probably foreigners of Class A, B, C… I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I neither expected such a bad reaction. All this hurts me so much. I don’t know what to do. In my mind it neither makes sense cause she married an immigrant but it seems like she never really came to terms with it, she never really accepted it. For instance, I know nothing about my father’s culture, I never learned the language or interesting facts about it because nobody ever thought me anything about it. I only learned about my mother’s side culture of the country I lived in. And I always felt out of place because this country is extremely racist. The fact that my father was not a good husband or father has nothing to do with where he comes from. If a person is an idiot, is an idiot no matter what. And I told her this when we were talking. The fact that she had a bad experience doesn’t mean that I will, just because I’m seeing someone from a different culture. I also explained to her that I am myself an immigrant, since I’m living in another country. But it doesn’t seem to click in her head. And when I told her, to her face, that she is indeed racist, she obviously denied it, because how can she be racist if she married an immigrant herself?
And of course during today’s conversation there was some victim behavior on her side, because every time I come back here it’s certain that we are gonna fight and every time it happens I say stuff like “let’s see when and if I will come back again!”. So she was bringing that up cause the other day I said “the first racist comment I hear I’m gone”. She mentioned that, saying I don’t care about her, that she has to beg for me to call her (mind you, we write good morning, good night, text here and there during the day and we talk on the phone 3/4 times a week…). She even said that “she lost me already the moment I left”. Honestly, I don’t know what else more than this she expects from me if what I do is not enough already.
So I don’t really know how to handle this anymore. And I’m also just venting and need some support.
TL;DR: my 25F mother 56F doesn’t approve of my boyfriend 28M just because of the color of his skin. Her opinion is based solely on a photo I showed her and claims she lost me cause I don’t do enough for her.

I am reporting a lovescam that I was a victim of through Vika , over the course of about four months we sent about 144 letters. I should have listened to my gut which said it felt fake. I am going to share some details with you from some of the letters. These are only a small sampling of the letters we wrote to each other, given that 144 letters were written.
Not saying AFA is bad, just Vika is bad. And maybe some corruption at a local office. I desire to continue to use the AFA service since I believe that Vika is a bad person within a legitimate company. I also believe she was cut in with the letters income for a local office, though I can't prove it. Here are some of the letters.
On January 3rd, Vika wrote. "You know, Kenneth, sometimes I think we live in a world where people are afraid of their feelings. But I'm not like that. I am ready to accept you as you are, with all your fears and desires. I believe that we have something special that can bind our souls forever.When was the last time you thought about what really matters to you? What dreams and desires occupy your thoughts? And most importantly, Kenneth, do you sometimes feel the same spark that I do? I would like to spend time with you, learn more about your interests, share my dreams and hopes. I dream that our hearts will beat in unison, creating harmony in this chaotic world. Think about it, Kenneth. Maybe we should give our feelings a chance, give them the opportunity to flourish and grow? I am ready to walk next to you, give you my support and love."
And as you can see, she was laying it on super thick. saying she wanted to walk besides me. Of course its pretty obvious no one talks this way, and these are red flags for a scam. I should not have ignored my gut instincts. On the 8th of January she wrote , "Let's continue to build our story, delving into our feelings and understanding each other even better. I dream of the day when I can take your hands in mine and introduce you to my family. You are special to me, Kenneth, and I hope our future will be as magical as our correspondence. Let's move forward, enjoying every moment that fate gives us. With warmth and romance, Vika " . . She went so far as to talk about her wedding dress, and pushed potential marriage hard. I also feel embarrassed for talking about my beliefs in regards to family and marriage since it was just a scam. I made plans to come to Ukraine which I did. I will share her letter from May 1st. I was in Kiev at the time. Titled "there is very little time left before our meeting." "Hello Kenneth! There is very little time left before our meeting, and I can’t help but share my emotions with you! The first meeting is always so exciting, right? I'm already starting to feel a storm of emotions when I think that we will see each other soon. By the way, how are you doing? How is your time in Kyiv going? I'm very interested in how you spend your days there. Do you like Kyiv? Is there anything special that you have already noticed or loved about this city? Tell me, I'm looking forward to your impressions! I hope you are doing well and are looking forward to our meeting as much as I am. Can not wait for your reply! With love, Vika."
When I finally showed up in Dnipro, which I did at the risk of my own life. I even heard drone explosions outside of my hotel, and the electricity went out , Vika fully disappeared. She pushed our date from May 4th I believe to the following Monday. Then she cancelled that one as well. Blamed both on family issues. Then she started ignoring all messages and phone calls from the agency. The agency said they were confused about what was happening. I did not see her once while in Ukraine. After all the promises, and letters she straight up ghosts me when I come to an active war zone.
It was incredibly rude. I did try to give some forgiveness when I came back, and to move communication off of the platform if she wants to talk. This was obvious a mistake since scammers don't care about their victims. I was also looking for clarification on why she did what she did. She is overly vague and refused to sign the forms, another thing that was very suspicious and screams "love scam". I should not even have talked to her after the fact but you have to understand I was deeply hurt to be ghosted after showing up in Ukraine. It was extremely hurtful and vicious.
Dear Kenny, I received your letter and feel obligated to answer it. First, I want to express my gratitude for your sincerity and openness. I understand that this has not been easy for you and I appreciate your honesty. I understand that you have difficult feelings about our relationship, and I am sorry that they led to disappointment. I would like to clarify a few points from your letter. I didn't mean to cause you disappointment or offense in any way. If there was anything in my actions or words that caused you negative emotions, I apologize. Regarding my feelings, I feel the need to be honest with you. I would not like to impose false hopes or illusions. We both deserve clarity and honesty in our relationship. Thank you for your letter and the sincerity in it. I would like to share my thoughts regarding the signing of IMBRA. I understand that this is an important step for you, but I feel that in our current situation I cannot take this step. I realize that my actions and words may have caused you offense, and for that I am very sorry. You showed a lot of strength in writing this letter and I appreciate your sincerity. That's why I decided to answer you - it will be right. Sincerely, Vika."
I am not going to write to her again obviously. I shouldn't have tried to get clarity. She is a cold-hearted shark. Who never had any real interest in me.
This is the only letter that is actually distant emotionally. She says she wants to "clarify a few points" but she does not clarify anything. She does not clarify why she pushed wanting a relationship, including marriage hard for four months, and then just ignored that I existed once I showed up. She also says she doesn't want to give me "false hopes or illusions" which is a bunch of nonsense as you can see from her previous responses. Funny, that she did not say this before I came to freaking Ukraine and she didn't even have the dignity to meet me. And even not wanting to sign the forms because I was willing to forgive given correspondence was off the platform is HIGHLY suspicious. It shows she only wants to correspond if the company is getting money, and the fact that she pushed letters so often makes me think she is incentivized.
I believe I was a VICTIM of a love scam 100 percent. I believe that Vika misled me , and then freaked out once I was in her city. . Given the context of what has happened , I believe that Vika is probably getting a cut of the business that the office is generating. I have suffered emotional and psychological consequences from being hurt and used so thoroughly. The viciousness of having some one come all the way to your country and then ghosting them is REALLY bad , especially in light of her previous responses.
I would be interested in anyone's thoughts, and what you think after reading my post. Be careful out there, not everyone is sincere.

WARNING: I talk a lot.
Quick background: 2021 was the year I first listened to BNL. All I heard were their big singles from Gordon, Stunt and Maroon (One Week, Pinch Me, It's All Been Done, etc.). But in 2022, I listened to Gordon in full, and it impressed me. Then I checked out Stunt, and let me tell you, from the bottom of my heart, I ADORE that album. I also listened to Maroon, and while good, I'd honestly rather pick the other two over it.
Last year I listened to MYSD, BoaPS and Rock Spectacle to feed the itch. And this month, I listened to EtE and BLAM (can we call this a double album?).
Here's my basic rundown on all of them:
context: this is from the perspective of a Gen-Z'er. Can confirm the quality crosses generations.
Hopefully I don't piss too many people off with my opinions.
1). Gordon: very good
-Best tracks: Grade 9, Brian Wilson (duh), Wrap Your Arms Around Me, What a Good Boy, Box Set, I Love You, The Flag, Million Dollars (classic)
-Weakest track: probably New Kid (on the Block). It's the one song I rarely revisit for some reason. Probably because it sounds too much like Enid and Box Set.
=More jazzier than I thought
=Very uncommon to see a band take off running on their debut record. Each of these songs can stand firmly on their own with few exceptions, which is something I always value in albums. This is required listening if you want to know what BNL are all about (at least, in their earlier days, sonically speaking).
2). Maybe You Should Drive: not bad. Pretty good.
-Best tracks: Jane (feels like a song this Spanish artist my dad loves named Jose Luis Perales would make), These Apples, A (I love the drum outro), Am I the Only One?, Life in a Nutshell
-Least favorite track: I will be Waiting (too twee for me. I feel like I'm listening to Hey There Delilah, and I actually like that song).
=probably the one I come back to the least. Not because it's bad by any means, but their other albums feel more memorable. Sitting next to Gordon, this doesn't really compare. There's also more electric guitars, compared to Gordon being very acoustic-based.
=There's some other songs I remember loving like Great Provider, but idk, this feels like a middle-of-the-road type of album. Still a good 7 or light 8, however. It does also have some of Tyler's best drum tones.
3). Born on a Pile of Pirate Ship: damn good
-Best tracks: This is where it ends (Jesus, Steve), When I Fall (Jesus Ed, I didn't expect this to be about a suicidal window-washer), I Live with it Every Day (Jesus, Steve.......), Break your Heart (Jesus Christ, Steve.....), Same Thing (really somber for a song that references the Fantastic Four), Shoebox
-Weakest tracks: Straw Hat and Old Dirty Hank, and I Know. Both are alright, but they scream "B-Side" tbh. Definitely could've been cut out.
=Overall, as you could probably pick up from my favorite tracks, I think I love this album because of how somber and introspective it gets. Some of their most crushing songs are on here. Though Shoebox does close it out on a more light-hearted note (at least sonically).
4). Stunt: my favorite
-Best tracks (so many!): Call and Answer (one of the greatest songs I've ever heard, which is something I don't say lightly), It's all been Done (my favorite BNL guitar solo), In the Car, Who Needs Sleep (that chorus is the most earwormy thing they've done), Some Fantastic, When you Dream
-Weakest track: if we're including the bonus tracks, definitely She's on Time. Feels very samey and borderline uninteresting.
If going by the normal track listing, Alcohol. And even then, it's only really because I haven't revisited it as much as the others. That, and I don't think it works that well as the song that precedes Call and Answer.
=Like I said, I dunno man, there's something magical about this record that makes me swoon over it. Probably not their overall best, but definitely my favorite. It's an album I can describe as one I'd like to take with me on a desert island.
=It's bright, loud, but also tender.
=That said, my one peeve is the track listing isn't perfect. Mostly speaking, It's all been done honestly could work amazingly as one of the closing tracks. And Call and Answer I feel would work better if it was placed after Who Needs Sleep or something, instead of being the smack-dab middle song. There's a reason this was a live staple and show-closer.
=Still, as a whole/unit, I love Stunt.
=I think I have 80-90% of the verses to One Week memorized.
5). Maroon: Good, but I prefer some of their other albums.
-Best tracks: Pinch Me (this BNL song means a lot to me, lyrically. I tend to spin it whenever I'm going through a tough time mentally. It's also a good guitar warm-up), Never do Anything, Falling for the First Time, Off the Hook, Helicopters, Tonight is the Night......, Hidden Sun (Kevin knows how to do lullabies)
-Weakest tracks: Too Little Too Late, Go Home, Humor of the Situation (catchy as it is)
=Like Pirate Ship, the strongest moments lie in the serious tracks.
=This is my "hot" take: I don't love Maroon as much as everyone else does. Big reason is because Steve sings lead on most of the album. And look, I love the man as much as the next guy, and his voice is undeniably godlike, but ngl, there's something about Steve and Ed sharing vocals (or having an equal number of songs they sing lead on) that I really love. Another reason I love Stunt, they each get a good number of songs to shine in. I know the trade-in is Steve & Ed had a whole Lennon-McCartney/Collingwood-Schlesinger writing credit thing to my knowledge, but still, maybe Ed could've sung lead on at least 1 or 2 other songs (Steve still absolutely slays the performances on all his songs, no doubt).
=Even then, I can't call Maroon a "Steve Page solo" album either, as that sort of BNL signature quirkiness and cleverness that comes from the Page-Robertson duo is still found (Never do Anything, Sell Sell Sell).
=I also sometimes think it's not as interesting sonically. I liked Stunt because of how distinct nearly every track was, but Off the Hook and Helicopters, great songs as they are, can feel samey. I feel Maroon lacks some of that extra energy and punch.
=But still, a really solid record. And I definitely don't blame anyone for saying it's their favorite/BNL's best. Pinch Me is still one of the most intimate and personal BNL songs for me, as someone who struggles with anxiety and occasionally, self-harm (hope that wasn't too TMI, but I'm very well right now).
Alright, these next three I barely listened to for the first time this past weekend, so these are my quicker, fresh thoughts. We'll see how they change by next year.
6). Everything to Everyone:
-best tracks: Another Postcard (Ed's verses are too damn catchy), Testing 123 (a fantastic meta track that leaves me smiling. It's weirdly uplifting, if introspective), Next Time, Shopping, War on Drugs (I feel I'm only going to love this more with time), Aluminum (pretty somber), the last three songs
-least favorite: Unfinished. And it's literally only because I can't remember how it goes again. Again, I just listened to this album on Saturday. Give me time.
=I hyped myself up for this album a bit. It feels pretty ambitious
=I'd listen to this over Maroon because of the more varied sounds. Shopping has some nifty electronica, For You is more softer and acoustic-laced, and Maybe Katie leans more on Old Apartment style guitar power.
7). Barenaked Ladies are Me: very simple, but in a perfected way.
-best tracks: Easy, Home (this is I will be waiting, but infinitely better), Peterborough and the Kawarthas, Maybe you're right (the emotional climax of the record in the key of C), the last 4 tracks (a lot of the track listing is a home run).
-weakest track: Everything had Changed
=I can't remember when, but at what point, I couldn't help but smile and think "God I love this band!"
8). Barenaked Ladies are Men: still good, but Are Me was undeniably better
-best tracks: Serendipity, Down to Earth, Beautiful (I love those whispered lines Steve does), Half a Heart, Maybe not, I Can I Will I Do, What a Letdown, Fun and Games (really neat tone that treads on black humor)
-weakest tracks: Something you'll never find (it ends great, but overall, the song goes for longer than it should), Angry People
=Definitely not as great as Are Me. Biggest reason is it's too long. Cut out a few songs, maybe rearrange the track listing, and it would work better. But even then, are Me had a better streak of top notch songs. Are Men feels at times like a bonus album, as opposed to being an equal to are Me.
=Still worth listening to, but again, it didn't need to be 16 songs.
=Of course, with almost 30 songs recorded, I'm not going to remember all of them. Come back to me maybe next year when they've all sunken in for me.
So yeah! That's my two cents on all of the main Steven Page BNL releases! There's something great in each of these records, and I wouldn't take back any of it. My new favorite band.
My ranking from best to weakest

1. Stunt
2. BNL are Me (admittedly, mostly due to recency bias)
3. Born on a Pirate Ship
4. Gordon
5. Everything to Everyone
6. Maroon
7. BNL are Men
8. Maybe you should drive

All that's left is to listen to Snacktime and As you Like it.
I'll listen to the Post-Steven albums next year. I'm more than certain they're not as great, but I liked Daydreaming, Odds Are, and Get Back.
I listened to the Vanity Project last year, and I thought it was alright. Page One tho......OH MY GOD IT'S SO GOOD YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!! Clifton Springs is another "tough times" song I come back to.
Random side-note: I will always associate BNL with Evangelion. Don't ask (or do, idk).

for some background- I live in Israel and racist/extremist Ideas are quite prevalent within my family and city as a whole, one of which is that there are little to no innocent Palestinians and almost everyone in Gaza are Hamas... I know this probably isn't true and I wanna try to combat these sentiments but I dont know exactly how... So I decided to write down some statements I've heard + my own thoughts and hopefully get answers on them:

1. "Why aren't there any groups in Gaza that are acting against Hamas or working with the Israeli military? In ww2 there were groups that rose against fascism" basically what I got from this is that because there isn't any significant opposition to Hamas everyone in Gaza supports and are inseparable from Hamas. I know this is complete bs but I dont know how to respond to it effectively...
   
2. Because of videos of Gazans parading dead bodies/hostages brought into Gaza and the presence of civilians during the oct. 7 attack, does this mean everyone in Gaza is aware of the atrocities and are involved with them? If most Gazans supported attacks against Israeli civilians, does that "strip them off" their innocent status?
   
3. Considering that Hamas stores its weapons in civilian houses, schools etc... are Gazans aware of this? If yes then wouldn't they understand these are valid military targets? If most Gazans think this practice is ok does that mean they're all involved?