New funny sayings

English is my second language, so hope you understand my story.
Long story short. MB owe me money for 150$ (basically she owe me more than that but I said 150$ is fine)
Its been 3 weeks now that she hasn't paid me. She kept saying this Monday or this Friday she's going to drop it by at my place or venmo me but it never happens. At this point I'm very mad. I even suggest her to pay me 50$ a week but she said she's broke and working on it. She recently just move to a new place which I have no idea where it is but I knew where she work.
So my question is should I just file her for a small claims court?
Anyone have any experience to share?

My internet keeps going down and I've run out of ideas on what it could possibly be. When I check my internet status it shows my computer is connected to my wifi but that the routemodem isn't connected to the internet. It goes down on all my devices at the same time and it takes about a minute for my router to reconnect to the internet. Sometimes it goes hours without going down, but other times it goes down 5 times in 10 minutes. The message when my internet goes down reads "Your device is connected and can access other devices on your local network, but may not be able to reach the Internet. If you have a limited data plan, you can make this network a metered connection or change other properties." I have Xfinity and, unsurprisingly, they're about as helpful as my computerless grandmother. They say everything looks good on their end when they run tests, so it must be an issue with my equipment. I've hardwired my desktop, replaced the coax cable, and purchased a new routemodem (now using Netgear Nighthawk C7000v2). Please for the love of all that is good, someone please help me to diagnose this issue!
For additional context I pretty consistently get 355Mbps download speed (59 ms download latency) and 24 Mbps upload speed (41 ms upload latency).

I need more friends to hang out with. I love the ones I have, but they're either too busy with family life or they take too much energy to interact with regularly. People grow apart sometimes, and that's totally fine. It has just left me pretty lonely. As introverted and protective of my me time as I am, I need good people in my life.
A little about me:
I'm very laid back and non-judgmental. It's impossible to know what's going on in someone's head, so I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, even if they piss me off.
I have been divorced since 2021, and I've been happier for it. I have always struggled with depression and anxiety, and my marriage certainly didn't help. Therapy and dedication to self-improvement has been immensely helpful, though. I still have my bad days, but I am light-years ahead of where I was just a few years ago. I'm currently single and would like to be in a healthy romantic partnership at some point, but I'm not in a hurry to be attached to anyone. It needs to happen organically.
I'm a firm believer in choosing kindness and empathy. Even if someone doesn't deserve to be treated with kindness, I do it anyway for my own sake. I come from a long line of hotheads, and I have been an asshole more times in my past than I care to admit. I try very hard to walk a fine line between not being a doormat while always being the bigger person.
I love science fiction. Star Trek, Star Wars, The Expanse, Dune... If it takes place in space and/or on other planets and involves weird but cool shit, I'll likely love it.
I love heavy music. Deathcore, metalcore, hardcore, nu-metal... If it's heavy, I fuck with it. I go to concerts regularly, mostly heavy bands. I do like other music, too, though. Love me some jazz and folk. I can definitely get down with some hip-hop and rap if I'm in the right head space.
I love going to the movies. I typically see at least one movie a week.
I love cooking. Admittedly, I tend to get stuck on the few recipes I already know, but I'm always willing to branch out and try new things.
I'm very introverted and can be pretty quiet, but I can carry a conversation. When I speak, I try to do so with intention. There are certainly times when I need to get stuff off of my chest, but I try not to just brain dump on people. I tend to be a homebody, but I get cabin fever quickly if I stay inside for too long.
I love art. I'm not much of an artist myself, but I have a soft spot for paintings and drawings.
I love animals. I have a cat named Chani. She's a brat, but I adore her.
I feel like that's a pretty good summation of my personality without giving too much away. If you think we would vibe, I would love to hear from you. The closer you are to me, the better, but I'm never opposed to driving an hour or so to see good people.
The final thing I'll say is please don't ghost me. If at some point you decide you're not feeling me or the chemistry just isn't there, just tell me. I promise I won't take it personally or make a big deal out of it. Thanks.

I recently got a new pixel after losing mine in the ocean (long story), I'm trying to activate it using the eSIM feature until my physical sim card arrives but when i go to activate it I get a message saying "unfortunately your Google Fi service cant be activated right now". After going to support and having them fail me miserably I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced the same problem and been able to fix it?

Hey everyone...first time poster on Reddit. I've cruised the history forums before in the past, but I've never dove too deep into what kinds of communities Reddit has to offer. I stumbled across this forum from Google while looking for step parenting advice. I had posted on a different parenting forum but was sort of ostracized when I mentioned I was in a step parent role. I haven't found many places for step parent support, so I'm glad to have found this one. My SO and I are only dating so I guess I'm not a step parent in a technical sense, but I'm on a path that could lead me there.
I'm still pretty new to all of this. I'm a male, in my early 30's. My SO is around the same age and has a son who is under the age of 10.
My SO and I have been together for close to 1.5 years. We don't live together, but we have talked about it.
The first 8 months of the relationship was pure bliss. I'm sure many here can relate to this. So much so, I was willing to jump in to dating a single mother without any hesitation. I didn't know what exactly I was getting myself in to, but I knew it wouldn't be like any of the traditional relationships I have been in prior. My SO is a very special person in my eyes and I have deep, passionate feelings for her. On the other side of that coin is what comes with a single mother. The child, the child's bio-dad, and bio-dad's family.
I'm just going to come right out and say it all. This is all starting to really wear me down. My anxiety is through the roof whenever I'm around her son and the other family that comes with him. The idea of going to watch him play sports sounds great, until I realize we're going to be sitting next to her son's dad's family. His Dad is engaged to a wonderful woman who is also very supportive and her immediate family also joins in. Plus the bio-dad's immediate family. So it's all of them, my gf, and then me. You want to talk about feeling out of place. Holy smokes. And it seems like no matter how hard I try, I cannot get comfortable. I have talked to a therapist who thought maybe more exposure could help. Maybe try putting myself in those uncomfortable situations and see if it eventually gets better. It sounded great on paper and in our sessions, but when I put it to practice it is absolutely miserable and it hasn't gotten much better.
I've gone to plenty of his games through various sports and I've gone to a couple of his school functions and each time it feels like a little more gets taken out of me. This past Saturday was kind of the boiling point for me. We had an early morning baseball game and then we were invited to bio-dad's family home for lunch. I knew deep down it probably wasn't going to be enjoyable for me but I wanted to support my SO and her son, and thought maybe it would help with the anxiety I've been experiencing. Yeah, not the case. I very much felt all alone, and miserable. I was able to converse with people and act like I was doing ok, but inside was a different picture. I literally had to sit their with bio-dad and his Mom while my SO played with her son, out in the yard. Probably the most awkward position I've ever been in. Having to watch bio-dad and my SO parent their son together was just kind of...I don't know...it was a shock and not a good one. I feel like a terrible person for not enjoying my time in this relationship. My SO is a great mom and bio-dad is a great dad. They are both very supportive of their son and have built a wonderful family unit for him to grow up and thrive in, even though mom and dad aren't together. I feel like anyone else would be enjoying this, but I just can't bring myself to be happy.
I don't know if I should wait it out and push through and see if it gets better and I can become mentally stronger. Or if I should consider removing myself from the situation. I'm still having what I've come to call "anxiety after shocks" from Saturday so I'm not in a good state of mind to make big decisions. I just wanted to come here and kind of talk about my experiences and see if anyone had any advice, or if anyone has been in this situation and was able to persevere while continuing their relationship.
Thanks

im 14 F and would like to be a boy, im not trans. i dont think men have easier lives than women, but i want to be a man. theres nothing wrong with women as a whole but i hate being one simply because of feelings and aesthetics, i think men are just better to look at, i see myself in the mirror i see an hourglass and narrow shoulders, but i want to be beefy and bulky built like a triangle, i want to be super tall and with the body of a man, i want a 5'o clock shadow and a moustache, i want clothes to fit me the same way they fit boys. even if i was a muscular woman i just dont like the way it looks, any talk of sexual dimorphism or biology really drives me insane which i know is bad but i hate the fact i was born as a woman, it feels humiliating for people to even look at me. i try to look like a man just so people will see me as one, even when it makes no difference. and when i say i want to be muscular i dont mean toned or fit, i mean i want to look straight out of a bara yaoi. ill see women who are comfortable in their bodies and i honestly feel confused and a bit angry, why are you happy and girly?? what is the appeal of looking like a girl. i really just dont know. last night my sister brought up the fact i was a girl and i kind of snapped at her i just hate talking about it it makes me sick. even if i was trans id never be a real man id never fully look like one, but im not trans. im a Christian and in a conservative family, so id never consider it. obviously im going to put my god over my feelings, but idk if the feelings will ever go away. ever since i was a little girl i would dress up like a boy, and not because i felt comfortable but because i truly felt like being one. there was countless occasions where i would tell someone i was a boy, i would tell my sisters friends im her brother, i would introduce myself with random boy names. on all my socials people think im a guy. its like being a girl is only okay when other girls do it. i used to think i was trans in 4th-5th grade but ik i was just young and going through a phase which is fine, i was just exploring new things. but really ive been tame my whole life about being a girl, i mean im normally pretty layed back, so i was kind of shocked that i got so upset after my sister reminded me of my biology. i still feel upset over it, i feel like lately the urge has been getting worse, a week ago i cut off all my hair and ive started working out again. i went to the movies with a group of unfamiliar people and tried my best to look like a guy. i think really its because i feel like i have a male brain(not to sound like a pick me) and it feels awkward having a masculine brain and appearing female, it just seems like being a man fits me so much better. my roblox avatars are always male, i have boards on Pinterest about how i would dress, style my hair, etc- if i was a man. i feel like being a woman sets me back, im pretty dumb, i dont like anything traditionally feminine, im a wrestler and know that my biology gives me a disadvantage and it makes me seethe daily, knowing men out there hate me so much for what i was born, that i'll never be taken seriously, and no one believes in me. but also i know lots of men dont really think about stuff like that, and i for sure seek out media to enable me. its not just the appearance and strength of men that i want but the experience, i want to be a chivalrous gentleman with male friends, i want to wear swim trunks to the beach instead of a swimsuit, i want to be waiting outside of a changing room in a clothing store with other men doing the same thing, i want to play on the boys team in sports, use the mens restroom, etc-. i want to go through male experiences and live a male life, i want to be raised as a boy. the main thing holding me back from being trans besides god is that boys like girls, and i really like boys and want to kiss and date them, i like everything about boys and everything masculine. i hate anything to do with gender roles or "male and female" which sounds so liberal and newgen but its true, it makes me so uncomfortable like i cant stand even hearing about it because i know ill end up getting a reality check, that im a girl and cant compete with boys. its just odd to me since most girls want to look like Adriana Lima or Megan Fox, but i wanna look like Jake Gyllenhaal with the body of Arnold Schwarzenegger. again im not trans because its not natural and im a Christian but has anyone else ever felt this way?? i mean do you think I'll ever grow out of this?

1) Captain America is very political. He is a New Deal democrat, who is hurt to see how his government has been infiltrated. This is not something we see in the movies, other than some vague references to WW2. He is for the common people and the American dream. His motivation is carrying on the spirit of the founders. This is a clear, well-defined motivation in the comics. In the movies, all we know is that he hates how SHEILD is evil. That’s it? No commentary on how big billionaires are running the country and how poverty is ruling the states? No commentary on how there are basically no more truly patriotic citizens left in America? This is bare minimum.
2) Captain America realistically should’ve served as a father figure to Spider-Man, in the same way as Tony. Spider-Man has the highest level of respect for Cap, and he thinks of Tony as kinda a douchebag billionaire. They based their entire MCU relationship on the Civil War arc, which is such a weird decision to make.
3) Nomad was so underwhelming. In the comics, Nixon was so bad a president that Cap decided to abandon his identity and become Nomad. He mirrored the same sentiments of the vast majority of Americans. It’s truly one of the most heartbreaking moments in comicbook history. And his return to Cap was so satisfying.
In the MCU, why exactly is he wearing the Stars and Stripes again? Did Thanos’s snap suddenly make Steve regain patriotism in his country?
4) There’s no scene of Cap admiring how far America has come. No scene of his learning about MLK, no scene of him learning about Apollo 11, no scene of him giving remarks on how his old pal General Eisenhower built the highway ststem…Oh, but they instead show that he has a list of movies to watch. Yeah, I guess it’s really important that the audience knows that he watched Star Wars.
5) Steve is never shown interacting with plain people, as Captain America. I think this is really unfortunate. The closest we get are those super duper funny gym videos in Homecoming, where Cap obviously doesn’t want to be there. How about a scene of him giving a genuine lesson on American History? How about a scene of him simply being a good person and talking to a firefighter?
Steve is the kind of person to visit a senior home for veterans and talk for hours and share stories. That’s what I consider cool. But sure, a super duper badass Commando scene of him being James Bond and doing karate is what the average audience wants to see. They don’t want a movie that inspires patriotism, they want to see a Rambo flick

Scam. She got an email saying it was from LifeLock for a “new membership”. She was partway through the download process (didn’t finish it, thank god). I showed her the email address it was sent from and how a company will have a company email address BUT that this, too can be spoofed.
I scrubbed her laptop. She has a new one and we’ll be setting it up.
I REALLY wish there were some sort of reverse parental control that won’t let her download anything until I can see it.
I’ve spoken to both parents (both mid to late 70s) about all the scams out there - from in person, over the phone, mail etc. My mom has the beginnings of dementia, so I printed out the “rules” about technology (don’t respond to unknown sender texts EVER, don’t give out random codes, etc etc.) and about in person stuff (I don’t care WHO is asking to use your phone or for what reason, etc.) and mail scams. I talked to them about AI calls from people who sound like a friend or family member.
If she’s on the phone giving any information out, I’ll hover and if she gives out anything at all, I’ll stop her and ask her about the call and confirm that it’s actually who they say they are. I make sure if, for example, it’s her bank, I ask her if she called THEM from a known source (back of the credit card, etc.)
I have access to their accounts, so I could see of there are charges that shouldn’t be there - I don’t though. Fortunately my dad is still pretty much with it re: money and he was a finance VP at a major financial firm for 25 years. His memory is slipping, but he’s better than my mom. She has her own account alongside their joint stuff which is pretty sizable so I feel like watching over her is more important at this point.
What a strange place to be in. Parenting your parents. 🫤

TW: abuse
Yesterday my ex (m35-ish) reached out to me (f28) via LinkedIn, roughly 8 years after we broke up.
Turns out he's been back in the area for a bit. He asked me to reconnect over lunch or dinner sometime. I turned him down because he can't be trusted.
The cliff notes of what he's done:

• Intentionally failed a drug test at work, resulting in his termination. Had me pay for everything, including his rent and car payment. Then had me lease a storage unit when his car was repossessed and he was evicted. I was barely making above the $7.25 minimum wage.
  
• Cheated on me and got the other woman pregnant. Successfully hid it until the baby was already 3 months old.
  
• Hacked my email account in an attempt to blackmail me so he wouldn't have to pay back the $1,000 he still owes me.
  
• Tried scamming desperate men on Craigslist out of their money by pretending to be a trans sex worker.
  
• Consistently accused me of cheating. Would ignore me for days if he knew I talked to a guy if it wasn't work related.
  
• Told his affair partner about how I was assaulted while at school. Blamed me for it and used it as a justification for his cheating.
  
• Thought it was fun to get me drunk to have sex with me.
  
• Tried to sabotage my birth control to get me pregnant.
  

I'm sure you're wondering why I put up with all of this. I was in my late teens/early 20s and I didn't know any better. I thought that's what it meant to be a ride or die and I was a hardcore people pleaser.
I found out he was cheating when his AP messaged me on Facebook. Him hiding his affair and his baby was what finally convinced me I needed to run. I haven't spoken to him since and I never thought I would again. Needless to say him messaging me has really thrown me for a loop.
I've been happily married to an amazing man for almost 3 years now and we've agreed it would be a risk to my mental and physical safety to meet up with my ex. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't wondering why the fuck he would reach out to me after all this time and all he's done.
Being the nosy person that I am, I have occasionally done a little social media stalking of my own and perused accounts belonging to the mother of his children. From what I can tell, they stayed together all this time and had two more children together. The youngest isn't even 2 yet.
I have zero plans to see this man, I've already told him it wouldn't be appropriate for us to meet up. I'm starting a new job soon and I plan to block him from LinkedIn before that so he won't know where to find me. But before I block him, I want to know what the hell he's thinking. I also want to know if I should warn the mother of his children if he's up to his old ways.
Should I talk to him? Should I message her the screenshots of him asking to meet up?
TLDR: Crazy ex asks me to dinner after 8 years. He has young children and I think he might be trying to cheat on the mother.

Heya people. I'm a bit new around here. Been on Reddit communities for ages but never joined groups before. I think it's time to be more active on Reddit now.
I joined LoL communities recently.
Here i have something interesting for Smolder and I wanted to share:
I've been frequently playing the lil dragon practically from the day he was released to the game. I've been trying lots of builds and runes for him but this champ is someway hard to make it become really strong in game.
I think the Full AP path is the better option for him so I've been trying and I think I have the definitive way to make him a explosive bully from the early to the end.
The main goal with this build path is to boost your magic power throughout the game while stacking your passive.
First rune, take Sorcery: Arcane comet + manaflow band + trascendence + scorch
Second rune, take Inspiration: magical footwear + cosmic insight
Shards: %10 speed attack + 2% movement speed + 10-180 health (based on level) (optional changes are +8 ability haste or adaptive force)
This combo runes will help Smolder a lot with the Trascendence + cosmic insight because of the CDR you get from ability haste and item haste (this work fine with some items)
With magic AP and the arcane comet you will literally become a early lane bully. At first get the Doran's ring and potions, then rush Nashor's Tooth first item (this will help a lot because of the magic damage on hit and the % ability haste bonus), it will make Smolder to farm and Q way better than AD.
The build path is intended to boost the magic power from the arly to late. Here's it:
Ionian Boots > Nashor's Tooth > Lich Bane > Cosmic Drive > Liandry's Torment > Riftmaker
(Lich Bane and Cosmic Drive both items have a movement speed passive that works fine with the 2% mov speed bonus from the rune shards).
Optionally you can swap Riftmaker to Rabbadon's Deathcap to get more magic power.
That's all I can say. If there's any idea to make the build more useful, all opinions are welcome.
Try it and thank me later.
See ya!

With Frieren having just aired, it soared to be my favorite anime of all time. I can get absorbed into something I like so can be biased but I always had some old classics that stuck as my favorite and no matter how much I loved another anime, I never let a new one surpass my nostalgia babies until Frieren. I obviously haven't seen all anime so I can't call Frieren the best anime ever but, knowing my tastes in media, I doub't there's anything out there currently that will hit me like Frieren. I think it's fair to say it stands among some of the most well-made anime around but so does AoT and I hated that show. So, clearly, this is so a subjective thing. So what's your personal Greatest of all time anime?
And, discounting your personal favorite, what do you think is the best contender for GOAT anime? No stand alone films like Ghibli or Akira.
I think Dragonball wins for most impactful but I'd be hard pressed to call it the best. So I'm curious what other people think.
inb4 everyone says FMAB lol

My father died about 2 months ago. He had a will that said his estate goes to his children. The executor has had most paperwork for 1 month.
Pops had an estranged wife. Wife and pop are on a small vacant property and main residence they acquired while together. Main residence is them on title but deed is a trust with pops lawyer and pops pop lawyer. Pop pop still alive.
Pops wife abandoned their residence about 15 years ago. Had a hokey agreement notarized saying she wouldn't be held responsible for any payments.
Pops also got a rental property after wife abandoned. It is just him listed on it.
Further, one of his sons has been living and taking care of him up until short. Recently the wife has filed an eviction on the son. Requirements for squatter are tall but he meets them.
What would be in the best interest of the squatter? File?
The rental property is about to end its tenant on both contract and would need us to spruce and list as we have been working with pops on it.
But it seems that VA marriage trumps the will and properties would go to the wife. However it can be appealed?
We have gotten nothing but lawyer vagueness so far. I would like to ask for an update and know where it should be. Should it be in probate? 6 months total maybe?
Honestly I'm not sure I have much trust in pops lawyer either, he's a 1 man show, old, and a bit country. Sorry, no offense, I'm sure the Mayberry lawyer is good somewhere, maybe not here. Is getting a new one a huge pain? Should I let it ride?
Help/advice appreciated.

i’ve only used the old formula and recently picked up the rose and birthday balms in the new formula.
i genuinely don’t understand the hate! i think it’s a great formula.
i will say it doesn’t last crazy long, but it’s still not bad.
i still hate the new applicators though, they really need to change them soon to something more like summer fridays or olehendrikson
am i the only one that likes this formula?

I've been sober and living in my childhood home. Got a new job, and made new friends. The other night we all went to denmys and talked for 2 hours. I can't believe how much my life has changed so quickly. I made sober friends quicker in 3 weeks than living 4 years on my own. I'm so happy to be sober right now. Watching a funny movie, browsing reddit and waiting on dinner.

Hi, I'm f(22) and I'm receiving texts from a coworker I used to work with before the restaurant we worked at was shut down due to covid. I used to work as a cook and this coworker was a waiter. I used to be friends with him until he; I guess the best way to put it would be snapping at me. We would talk on Snapchat a lot where he would tell me his life story, the latest on marvel or D.C comics and movies. He even lent me a few of his movies which I always return in good condition. I always like to talk to him or hang with him during our shifts. We were good friends and coworkers. Then one day he opened up about his life. I felt bad after he told me how his wife divorced him, how he lost his home, and his car. That he resorted to drinking when life got him down in the dumps. He made me feel bad for him and I tried to make him feel better. I told him that I'm sorry for what happened to him. That at least his family is supporting him now and that I'm here and happy to lend an ear. I told him I understood how he must've felt in that time but he got mad. He told me I don't understand anything cause I'm maybe ten or twenty years younger than him. (I was 18 at the time) He said I don't know what true pain is and that I'm joking if I actually understand shit. He made me feel awful and stupid for trying to be his friend. This was all on Snapchat and at the time I took screenshots of our texts (I don't have them now sadly) I had showed them to my exboyfriend who had a talk with the coworker. He apologized but it felt forced and either way I slowly stopped talking to him. When the restaurant closed down I stopped talking to him completely. Now years later he's texting me on Snapchat out of nowhere. Going off for being a bad friend. I haven't spoken to him in over four years on anything yet here he is just going off on me after I accidentally viewed his snap. I don't use Snapchat a lot but I mainly use it to talk to my family. I barely post on there and I'm not really sure how (not that I want to). He's still texting me calling me a bad friend and saying I'm funny cause all I know how to do is take screenshots. He sent emojis, telling me "oh no don't embarrass me!" I don't say anything in response instead I've been taking screenshots because his behavior is very odd. He's been getting angry each time I screenshot our conversation. I don't know how to respond to him but I don't know if I want to. We both live in a one party consent state and I know if I post our screenshots here he can't do anything to hurt me but should I post our screenshots here? I don't want him to know it's me but I also want him to stop. Should I just block him or answer back? He's at least in his late thirties early forties yet he's acting like angry teen. Did I do something to deserve this? All I can remember is accidentally viewing his snap story. I didn't leave a comment or messaged him in fact I don't know how he knew I viewed it. All I know is that he's angry with me for just screenshoting our messages and not actually responding but i know if I do respond he'll try to use whatever I say against me even if I'm super nice. So what should I do?

Guys I think I’m developing a crush on my friend…I never really payed him any mind but I always kinda had a feeling that I sorta maybe liked him. He’s super funny and such a silly guy and he has this charm to him…I fear that’s why he’s always talking to a new girl though. I’m not joking he always has a new girl. I don’t even know if he likes me but he’s always looking at me when he makes a joke like waiting for a reaction from me when we’re with our friends. I know his type and I would be a downgrade so I feel like I’m just hopeless and delusional. He also keeps posting things about a girl like not a specific one but like ugh i don’t know. He’s gonna graduate soon so I won’t see him cause the years almost over. I fear rejection too much and I value our friendship more than pursuing a relationship so I have no idea. Any advice?

January 29, 2384 - the day of the last total eclipse is when the raid began. “The day of the sun's false shadow” as people call it now. We, humans, were an unsuspecting victims in a universe habited by multiple vastly stronger existences. When it happened the world had been thrown into utter chaos and shock. The sun had been completely covered by the moon and this event was supposed to last only a short while however after two hours sunlight had still not shown its face upon the earth's surface. This was the beginning of humanity's greatest tribulation. After days of the sun's light not being shown the planet's temperature began to drop and to compensate for this people began to create massive fires but this did not stop the problem. Photosynthesis in plants began to stop, making it harder for humans to breathe. This made humans build labs and create artificial oxygen, which took care of that problem but humans still began to die from hypothermia, frozen oceans, and forced stoppage of blood flow. After two weeks, the sun finally revealed itself and all hope had been restored in humanity collectively only for half the population to be massacred in an instant. “The watchers” had been slowly waiting with armies to colonize our planet and technology beyond our wild comprehension. Technology we can only dream of had been shown and used right before our very eyes and for the first time in all of human history, we had been united as one in our mutual fear and horror. 2 months later, 90% of humanity has been wiped out and the few who remained were used as slaves to cultivate energy. With the use of a Dyson shell, nearly 80% of the sun's energy and heat had been directed into maintaining their energy. Amongst all this time, humanity had collectively agreed to fight back. This began the creation of the liberation group, “the Plague”. These groups of people were the last hope of humanity and carried an extremely large ambition and dream on their shoulders. While “the watchers” were extremely advanced this doesn't change the fact that they were fallible and this group of people were their scourge. They didn't have the military might nor the advanced brain to even keep up against “the watchers” but through slavery and forced labor, the human body began to develop into something stronger. They began to surpass their limits and break the barriers that the human mind had once placed on themselves. Through the selective farming of “the watchers” a new plant had developed that was essentially a stimulant to the human body and a limit breaker for their physical capabilities. At first, they began by using strong levels of acid to corrode the buildings and structures and then stopping their heartbeat to give the impression of suicide so they could not be caught, however, they did not die due to a new system developed from the human's newfound evolution. Due to the strict regimen that we had to follow, we knew all of the places where they would and wouldn't be, all the blind spots of the planet, all the places where they were in close proximity to a chasm, and all the places where we were at a disadvantage. We used the blindspots as bases and hideouts where we could plan our vengeance. After a year of just observing their behavior, habits, bodily functions, and even their schedules we developed a hypothesis that 24 seconds after 7:39 PM we have approximately 19 minutes and 53 seconds in Greenland where we are not being watched nor located. We used this small window of time to gather the fundamental items we needed to fight back and build the foundation for our organization. We gathered food, plants, water, armor, and weapons. We realized that they were immune to cutting/slicing damage and could only be hurt through blunt attacks. With this knowledge, we developed a specific fighting style and used that small time frame to train others in it. We adapted to the harsh conditions and created clothes using spare pieces from “the watchers” specially made for insulating heat, weighing less, and being less penetrable by outside attacks. After a year every person on the planet was a master at this martial arts and had fully developed a counter to all technology that “the watchers” had. However, we could not initiate immediate war on them so we needed a plan. We came up with the idea to have one of our strongest members report to the watchers about our activity and give away one of our bases. This created the false notion that not only did they have someone working as a double agent on their side but also they knew where we would be so they could catch us off guard. We were all there like they expected and they attacked like planned. We had all moved our weapons, armor, and vital items into a different base but kept some things where they attacked to make them think we had not gotten far but this was a dud. Eventually, we had all “died” and had our bodies left at that place as a sign of victory on their side. However, because of this, their ego had grown and they began to underestimate us. The surveillance had gotten weaker as they assumed their “double agent” would tell them everything as a trade for luxury living. We knew that physical power would not be enough so our smartest man collaborated to develop a virus specifically made for their genetic makeup which took about 5 years to extract small strands of DNA without them realizing. Once the virus had been created the incidence began and eliminated more than 60 percent of “the watchers” because of how they were too distracted trying to develop a cure and the vast amount of them dying, we had gained more time to develop our forces and we began to ingest various harmful substances but in small doses in order to gain resistance to any harmful poisons and acids. After new children start to be born this began the origin of a new human species. One massively stronger, smarter, more durable, and with all the immunities and benefits without the downsides. With the birth of this new generation, all of the human race had experienced a collective euphoria. We had begun to secretly train these kids for years and strengthen them in a way the human race had never been before. Due to the circumstances of their birth, they had also developed a strong ability for adaptation and healing factor which ultimately led to humans finally being able to physically compete with “the watchers”. However, we were still lacking in numbers despite the virus taking a vast majority of “the watchers” away. Some of us grew confident and because we were now physically capable some believed we could win the war while others believed we couldn’t yet. This created division within our ranks but did not necessarily break our ranks but that was all depending on your interpretation. We gathered our smartest men and women to make a plan to initiate war, and for 14 days they were stuck in ruminative thought. 2 years passed and we had finally built up the numbers, technology, and physical capabilities to contend with the watchers. Now on the day of the war, all of our strongest soldiers imitated the attack. But this time they were an unsuspecting victim on a planet habited by a stronger species. During the war we had counters for nearly everything the watchers could dish out but one thing we were not aware of was the fact that the watchers could transform into a smaller but faster, stronger, and more durable form. This form took the shape of humankind. So closely related that it struck fear into the hearts of many. Not only was this extremely off-putting but the revelation that came along with it had altered the perception of humanity as we know it. The war had been put to a halt, and all forced fighting in the war had directed their attention to one watcher and one watcher alone. All forces had been completely immobilized and fighting back was no longer capable. With this, the words that had been spoken out of the watcher were a revelation that humanity had not even considered possible. “We are not your enemies. We are you but from the future. In our original timeline, we have been attacked by a species even higher than us. We had been pushed to the brink of extinction and our last hope was only to go back in time in hopes that if we returned to our past selves we could help evolve even more to contend with the world-ending threats from the future. This siege we had laid on this planet and the forced evolution, progression, and tragedy among humankind also brought extreme progression in human capabilities. All of you are vastly superior to your previous forms because of our arrival. While we acknowledge our methods were not the ideal we had no other option. This was the fastest and most effective method to progress the human species although we could not allow the human race to have this win. It would boost the ego of your race and our all of you in a state of comfort and stagnation. With this being said we resign from our participation in this war and would greatly appreciate it if you allowed us to help humanity rebuild and donate technology.” Speechless as to what humanity has just heard we just stood there in utter shock and disbelief. Not a single soul knew what to say and all of humanity had stood in confusion. One man spoke “how do we know this is true” the watcher proceeded to show pictures and videos of them being massacred while some stood in human form and others did not. They showed is this along with the words, “we initiated this war as a way to put the human race through natural selection and eliminate all the weak human being who would not be able to contribute to our growth and success in any upcoming battle. So with that being said what is your decision?” Our leader, and the smartest woman among us had stated, “We humbly decline this offer as we would prefer to evolve by our capabilities and we have already surpassed you so what can you possibly teach us.” After this being stated the war had been started again and the watchers had been for the first time since the “great cleansing” began utterly defeated and annihilated. With the war being won, humanity being victorious, and newfound abilities being discovered humanity had been thrown into an era of peace and prosperity. All tragedies had been blamed on the watchers and for the first time humanity had an ever lasting peace and a perfect utopia where everyone agreed and benefited from each other. With this, we have been vastly improving and slowly but steadily rebuilding our planet and all of humankind. Our members started family’s and genuinely enjoyed the life they were living once again. Everyone acting coyly and with one another was a beautiful side to behold. Everything was perfect until the same monsters who killed the watchers, showed up to eliminate us due to fear of what we could evolve into this time we had no way to fight back and our ranks were already diminished or severely weakened. How would humanity be able to survive this time???Most people had been massacre and captures to be experimented on. Very few of us had actually managed to get away from them and we had only been able to do this through shadow banishment. It was a skill that we had acquired through the technology of the watchers. Living in the void was not the ideal lifestyle as it was ruthless, dirty, and unsafe but the chances of surviving here were massively higher than surviving on earth. Only a hundred of us remained and the human species were basically extinct. With this small group left we had resorted to instead of trying to repopulate and exact revenge immediately we would take the short route. In the void monsters had no sort of civilization and the only rule amongst these creatures were the strongest prevail. There was no sort of rule, order, or even a sense of respect between these monsters. The weak were prey for the strongest, and the strong were killed by the stronger. We took this as an opportunity to not only increase our strength by training and battling but also amassing an empire. The remind of humanity collectively agree that we would bring order and peace to the void. The best way to go through this was by entering the tournament. The monsters held tournaments to watch the strongest fight and kill each other for pure fun. We joined this colosseum and while at first we easily overwhelmed our opponents we had slowly been facing harder and harder opponents as we rose through the ranks. By the time even a single one of us was defeated we had made a name and gained the attention of multiple monsters within the void. We were not necessarily respected or followed but we were feared and simultaneously an opponent that monsters wished to fight. After this we had developed our own fighting ring in which monster could fight and battle against us and only us. We implied a set of rules in this ring. Rule 1; no killing Rule 2; reservations must be made to fight Rule 3; both parties must consent Rule 4; do not make the fight personal Rule 5; it must be between a human and monster. These rules created a sense of security amongst the monsters and while driven by their desire of battle they also abided by the rules. Eventually after fighting throughout the tournament and gaining more traction with the monsters in it. Eventually even the most high ranked demons had begun to make reservations in for our fights. Our strongest soldiers had been the ones to fight them as nobody else can really compete. The first fight had been with a demon who had the ability of immunity. This ability did not only revolve around internal status effects but also could be applied to his physical body. The fight had been the biggest one the ring had ever experienced and it did not disappoint. Eventually we had won and this through the whole entire void and everyone in it into an uproar. Monsters who never even bothered to fight had shown up to battle. The strongest monster in the void and the only monster with a sense of order, self, and purpose had shown up to fight all humans by himself. He agreed that if we win he would pledge allegiance to us all and work under our rule however if we lose we will be killed. This monster bore an extreme resemblance humans. The structure of his body and the contents of it were all human like however he claimed not to be. This monsters name was angel and he possessed the ability to manipulate and control all matter with the sole exception of any other organic material that resided outside of his own body. Our commander and strongest member amongst us was the person to fight him. His name was Alexander and despite the fact that we didn't have any singular special powers like him however our physical bodies were honed greater than any other species in existence. They were evenly matched in speed and strength and even in our capabilities to rapidly heal from damage. They had been evenly matched in all physical ability and the fight had ultimately come to hand to hand combat and who could last longer. Angel was unmatched in combat and had barely even been hit due to how experienced in martial arts he had been; however throughout the fight Alexander had been naturally adapting to his fighting style and developing counters to everything. Our natural ability to adapt to all attacks and effects placed upon us had given a clear win condition; however time was needed to actually see and fully understand how to possibly adapt to everything. The longer the fight took the higher the chance of Angel losing. Alexander had slowly but steadily been adapting and developing new combat styles to counter everything angle could do and even had grown to use his own severed limbs as projectiles and use his blood as a coat over all other objects to cancel his ability to use his field. Angel's main ability had been to control the air around him to increase speed, power, and even get a sense of what his opponent would be doing before it happened. After finally adapting to this his body had begun to heat itself in an attempt to turn it into vapor and due to blood being organic matter of another life form he would no longer have control of the air and the surrounding area. After this the fight had come down to solely base physical capabilities and for 10 minutes they had been mindlessly brawling and instantaneously healing through the damage taken. After a long period of time their healing began to slow down due to bodily fatigue. Biting, punching, scratching, kicking, anything you can think of, they did it. That fight was a bloodbath unlike anything else and in the end they both passed out on the floor with nothing left besides their bodies soaked and bathed in each other's blood. After they had both been knocked unconscious their bodies had been left there in anticipation for them to awaken. The ring filled beyond capacity as people argued and fought about who would awaken first. In anticipation for this once in a lifetime event the whole void had stopped with all its attention. Angel was the first to awaken and he had been exhausted and utterly stunned as to how he actually had gotten knocked out. He had the opportunity to kill his opponent as he had technically won the battle but out of respect for his opponents strength and capabilities he possessed. After the fight had finished Angel had left and was never to be seen again. After 2 weeks Alexander had awoken in a small shack being guarded by one other human and confused after everything had been explained to him he had went around looking for angel but he was not to be found. After awakening Alexander had been massively stronger than before. Due to the physical state his body was put in and all the damage that he had taken from Angel his body had adapted and become more dense in order to take all the attacks while sustaining the least amount of damage possible. After his awakening this began our political revolution. We had now implemented the ring with rules and gotten multiple monsters to follow by these rules and with them being accurate to filling orders more now we had decided to initiate a leadedictator in a sense. The top 5 strongest creatures in the void had been the leaders and this had consisted of Alexander at 1, 2 other demons at 2 and 3, and humans to fill the final spots. We began to implement laws and rules in order to stop the mass murder and destruction happening and within a small time frame we had created structures similar to the ones of the earth. Houses and gyms in order to train in hopes of becoming stronger and even professional combat sports. After 2 months time had passed we had developed a military with our best members in it and humbly had began to repopulate. All this had been done in hopes of regaining the earth and defeated our oppressors. Fast forward 1 months the and the siege of the home planet had begun. They had not been suspecting us however took the preparations in case we had come. Based and soldiers set up in every corner of the world to fight back when the time came we did come back. With this an all out war for the fate of humanity had began and the extinction of either race lay in the balance between life and death.
After the war had began all forces had been deployed to different areas of the planet. Groups that had worked together best being deployed to one part while our strongest being deployed to another. At first we had been nearly even in everything besides technology. They had everything that we lacked and this gave them the combative edge. However despite lacking in technology we made up for it in numbers. Most fights had consisted of large groups of monsters fighting against one or two of our enemy and this has convoluted till their forces had been somewhat deployed. The one on one fights had been more dragged out and heavily impacted the war. Our strongest soldiers fighting against their strongest soldiers in a one on one fight. Everyone has put their all into this battle and left nothing to spare. Our second and third strongest soldiers had the most impact in this war not because of who they fought but because of what they could do. They didn’t actually have abilities specific to them but instead they were born with a type of energy within their bodies in which they called “synergy”. This synergy could be used to amp all their physical abilities but also be used to crate and use techniques or even use techniques that are specific to the traits of the individuals soul. The strength and physical stats of the individual depended on how much synergy they had at their disposal and while some of them were able to gather strength from other life forms it was not a very common occurrence. Alexander fought someone with the ability to control and manipulate momentum. They used synergy and funneled it through all objects of their choice to increase or decrease of momentum of that. This didn’t do much on a wide scale and was a very basic ability but in a solo battle this made it extremely hard to land attacks and even when they were landed they did little to no damage. The most important one to kill had the ability to manipulate all probability. Meaning the likelihood of us even winning this war was less then .0001 percent with them being alive. Whether it was because of a collection of small losses or one major loss did not make a difference. All odds were stacked against us as long as this person remained on the battlefield. In simple terms the whole war relied on the defeat of that person. Our second in command and smartest soldier, “Cassandra” decided to take this upon herself. She was the only one among us who possessed an innate ability and was viewed as the most special soldier but this came at a cost. She gained a talent no other human possessed but in return she no longer had the natural ability to adapt to all circumstances. Her ability was to take the form and attributes of any and all creature she knew to exist. Mythical or not she could take the shape and ability of these creatures and use it as long as she desired. However she could only use one at a time and had to wait 30 seconds in between shifting. Our third in command, “Vladimir” had took the roll of fighting their head technologist. While his opponent had not specialized in battle he still was one of the most dangerous and this was because of his ability to create machines as small as molecular level that shared his thoughts and emotions. These machines were used to repair his body in case on injury, transport information, invade any opponents body and restrict movement, anything that he deemed possible could be done with the use of those machines. But he chose to mainly use them as sort of technological tools to help him further advance his society. The rest of our battles were not nearly as important and were mostly group battles. Afro the beginning portion of Alexander’s fight he had been losing severely and could barely land any attacks at all. After a few minutes of getting beat down and not being able to fight back the adaptation process began. The first adaptation was only a temporary solution to the problem but his body had been explosively shooting out sharpened pieces of his bones and even using tiny droplets of blood as weapons. However this was only a temporary solution because eventually those bones and blood just started being slowed also. The final adaptation and most effective one happened when his body created a function in which he can store kinetic energy and then release it at any given time. This allowed him to rapidly boost his speed whenever his momentum had been slowed and basically cancel out his opponent power. However this still did not stop how his opponent made himself significantly faster. After this the fight had been more tipped into Alexander’s favor but still not enough to actually win. Throughout the progression of the fight Alexander had been gathering more and make friction between the clothes he had and his feet running against the floor. After gathering as much friction and kinetic energy as possible he let it all explode and release all over his body. This altered the form of his body. His body and skin began to form cracks and let off steam. He began to turn dark red and his eyes became shot with blood. His body was slowly crumbling and deteriorating. He had 5 minutes left to defeat his opponent and if he did not then his body would crumble and he would die. Due to his rapid healing factor he had a chance of living if he was able to end the fight within 5 minutes and give himself some time to rest but this all depended on how much he could get done. The battle had been tilted all the way in Alexander’s favor and had no longer been a battle. It had turned into if his opponent could outlast him in those 5 minutes. Brutally beating his opponent and taking full advantage of the situation Alexander did not relent on his rampage. Stopping his momentum no longer mattered and it seemed like the more he tried the faster Alexander got. Steam had been blowing off him. In the end he had managed to kill his opponent within those 5 minutes and had been at deaths door. Cassandra had began her battle and had been absolutely obliterating her opponent. The ability to shape shift from dragons, unicorns, hydras, centaurs, and any mythical creature you can think of. At first she had taken the abilities of a dragon but throughout the fight she had been developing into stronger and more complex creatures. After a while her opponent had been decreasing the probability of her even landing attacks. This made it extremely hard for her to fight and maintain the advantage. She took the appearance and abilities of the mythical deity sun wukong. Due to sun wukong being a monkey that ascended into a higher power he is one of the only gods that she can transform into. After this she gained the ability to not only make clones out of every hair on her body but also multiply the power of each clone. While she does not possess every power sun wukong has she possesses some of them and the most prominent ones. This fight had been a one sided beatdown and only lasted longer than 2 minutes because the probability of each clone attacking each other had been raised to its maximum percentage. Despite this every 1000 punches that had been thrown at least 1 hit her opponent and this was more than he could handle from millions of clones. Vladimir had no special capabilities; he only possessed an extremely honed body and battle experience. At first they had been near equal but the battle began to take a turn when the tiny bugs began to infest his body and eat him from the inside. Due to his advanced healing factor he had been able to stop any significant damage and fight with mild discomfort but this did not change that if he continued in for a longer period of time then he would inevitably be defeated by these bugs and killed. This made the battle a race against time. Expending everything his body had to offer and leaving not a single drop of energy left. Pushing his body to the absolute peak and physical limit. Even going beyond the known capabilities of his body he began to evolve into a higher form. He did not develop any new type of power or gain a newfound power but he did increase and rapidly evolve his physical capabilities. He began to punch with such speed and strength that he created shockwaves from breaking the sound barrier. With this his punches became far more explosive and with every punch thrown he was exploding giant parts of his opponents body and everything within the perimeter. With no regard to his surroundings the battle had destroyed everything in sight and left them fighting in a bare wasteland. Basically erasing everything within line of his punches he began to annihilate his opponent with speed and strength unmatched. Due to all the tiny machines within his body he regrow limbs and was able to counter attack with near no fatigue or even lag in his action. While pushing his body to its absolute limit his body had given up on him. Rapidly healing from constant damage, pushing muscles to their utmost limit, moving, attacking at his highest speed, and even understanding/ perception of all attacks massively faster then he could ever before. Due to all this his body began to give out and in the midst of battle he fell and was unable to recover. No longer able to fight back and maintain the performance he had, he was defeated. Being eaten from the inside, limbs being torn from his body, and being damaged so much that not even his regeneration could keep up. His head had been ripped off his body and with this humanity had suffered its first major loss. After this all other forces began to gain support from all his other bugs and humanities forces had been rapidly depleting. With loss in sight humanity had lost hope and accepted defeat. Right when humanity had accepted defeat and all hope had been lost the king had shown himself once again. Like an Angel coming to bless all of humanity he had run through and obliterated all enemies of humanity. Destroying everything in sight and bringing all enemies to his feet he had saved humanity and restored hope and just like that he had disappeared into the void once again. There was no explanation as to how or why but in that moment all of humanity knew who we would be forever grateful and indebted to. Not many opponents had been left standing but the few who were, were extremely weakened and overwhelmed by numbers. After this decisive battle humanity had been in a state of joy and excitement out of their new victory. Once all the excitement and happiness from winning had worn off all the sorrow and remorse from the losses had come rushing in. All the lost family members, dead soldiers, limbs lost, and mental trauma had taken a toll on humanity. After we had gotten our planet back we did not spend our time rebuilding and trying to repopulate. We spent months mourning the loss of our loved ones and all our soldiers. We laid in depression and sorrow for our mutual loss and mental trauma. This brought humanity closer as a whole and we bonded over our suffering. Humanity had been one but at what cost. After years of processing humanity had finally been able to rebuild all of our structures, population, and even expand to different planets. After all these trials and tribulations we had finally evolved completely and after ages of loss we had finally entered a golden age of humanity. After all this we had begun to explore the deep parts of our planet and while exploring we discovered something far beyond our comprehension. Humanity had only been a small part of a vastly bigger world and a whole new world had now been exposed to us. We had breached through the ice caps of the north pole and had been greeted with hostility from a race on our planet we did not even know existed. After entering this “new world” humanity had found out the truth of our existence and creation. After finding out the truth of our creation and the prophecy of our faith we had all collectively regretted winning that war. Beyond our world laid horrors and truths we were not yet prepared for. After all this we had once again been thrown into a dark age with no will to fight. In the end this was the beginning of the end for humanity…

My husband (age 88) has Medicare and Tricare For Life. He was hospitalized, and while still in hospital, received a text message from "Sound Physicians". I asked his nurse, who told me that the attending doctor belonged to this group. They keep texting me, the latest one saying "Reply STOP to stop texts regarding your bill from our billing service and receive a paper statement."
My husband was just transferred two days ago, from the hospital after five days, to a care facility for physical rehab. In the past, when a similar scenario occurred, Medicare and Tricare paid for all costs. I never even saw a bill. I'm worried that I'm getting these texts, regarding billing, when Medicare and Tricare should pay the full amount, and obviously, not enough time has elapsed for them to have submitted their bills for payment by Medicare and Tricare.
With so many troubles attendant to his health and being sent to a nursing home (temporary, should be covered by Medicare/Tricare) I am starting to get really worried by these texts. Is this the new normal? Should I be alarmed? Should I be doing something? I'd be grateful for any advice...

I (23F) grew up in an extremely rural, non diverse area. When I was younger ( around 15) I moved to a more diverse area and started working at a chain resturant. One of my coworkers (25 Ish at the time) who was a black woman, always wore her hair natural but on this day she had straightened her hair. I am someone who compliments people a lot. If I see someone wearing something that I like, I will always go out of my way to give a quick “I love your shoes!” or “Your makeup looks beautiful!”. So, noticing that she had seemingly put in extra effort to do something new to her hair, naturally I said “You did your hair different! It looks pretty!” I didnt think twice of it, but she turned around, gave me the nastiest look, and said “Just an FYI, most black women actually DONT like it when you comment on straight hair.” I was taken aback, because I didnt mean to offend her, and because I didnt grow up in a diverse area, I had no idea that this would be seen as offensive. I gave her a quick apology, just saying “Im sorry, I didnt know that comment was offensive, thank you for letting me know.” I havent thought about that interaction in YEARS, seeing as Ive moved on in life, moved to a different city, and had many phases of life (graduating highschool, graduating college, starting my career, literally a lifetime) given its been nearly 8 years. Me and her are still mutuals on social media. I was scrolling through twitter when I saw that she had quote tweeted a post. The OG post was “What is the dumbest thing a YT person has ever told you?”, she quote tweeted the story, but added a lot of derogatory launguage about my weight at the time (I was nearly 200 pounds, I have since lost over 90 pounds), saying that the “fat white bitch needed to worry more about what she was eating than what I was doing to my hair.” I am genuinely confused. I understand now, as a woman in her early 20s with much more life under her belt, that its better to not comment on black peoples hair, but I really dont think this two second interaction that happened when she was in her mid twenties and when I was a sophomore in high school warranted this kind of hate. She also commented on my hair at the time (I went through an “emo phase”, deciding to dye my hair pink and black) saying that at least she could afford to go to a hair salon, instead of having to resort to “cheap ass” home methods. I am at a loss, we were pretty cool other than that small interaction and have not talked in years. AITA? Was my comment really that offensive?

In the United States. It’s extremely dejecting and I’m not sure where to go from here. I failed a polygraph for a corrections officer in a tiny town and also after completing alllll the other steps for a customs officer in Customs and Border protection. The weird thing is I failed the same section in both-“serious crimes,” like crimes where you’ve hurt someone. I’m not a liar. The only thing I can possibly think of is that I’ve been a victim of sa and domestic violence and being asked about it gets my heart rate up and whatever. What do I do? I’m very stressed and sad tbh. My parents want me to try to go to school for something else, my boyfriend says I should try to learn new skills I’m interested in, but I simply can’t find an interest in anything.