Massage with happy ending dallas, tx

First couple months, she was all over me. Texting, sending selfies, missing work and classes to be with me. Super intimate too.
Recently, it has slowed down. She still text me, but less frequent. Went from every hour to maybe 2-3 times a day. We don’t talk on phone, even since the start of the relationship. Sometimes she responds right away, other times she takes couple hours. Even when I know she has seen the text and is free. She completely stopped sending me selfies even after I asked her to keep sending them. We see each other maybe 2 times a week so texting is only means of communication.
She’s still open to meetup whenever she is off. But it’s usually me who initiates the plan. However she does initiates sometimes. It’s super rare for her to cancel the plan but she does often delay it. Saying she wants to stay in bed longer or hang out with her sister first. (To giver her some credit, her grades did start dropping and did almost get fired bc of me. She works 5 days a week too.)
When we do hangout now, she usually tired and cranky. She hates the heat and blames her mood on it. Which makes sense since it’s always 100 plus degrees here. But she always seems happy and full of energy at work. She says it’s because she feels comfortable with me and doesn’t feel the need to “lock in”. Not sure what that mean. Is this sign she is losing interest? I tired giving her space, but she cried and said it’s scaring her and thinks I don’t care about her.
TL;DR:
Gf used to be all over me. Texting every hour and sending pics of her. Now it’s 2-3 times a day and no more pics. Shes always tired when we meetup but makes sense bc she hates the heat and it’s been super hot recently. I can’t tell if she’s losing interest or not. I gave her space but she ended up crying and saying she hates when I’m distant with her. What do I do? Is she losing interest?

Today I was in this subreddit and looking at articles related to this case, and am just realizing that a former friend of mine is the ex-husband of Mica Miller.
Well... anyone who knows me who reads this will immediately be able to tell exactly who I am, but please I ask that you dm me privately and do not reveal my name if you recognize this story and want to talk.
Around 2017 (I think), I joined a local bible study group. All the members of this bible study were young adults (aged 20-35 approximately) who met online through Bumble BFF or through mutual friends who went to church together, or just word of mouth, so we didn't all attend one single church or even any particular denomination. Our common factor was that we were around the same age and wanted to meet up and study the Bible. We would meet once a week at Starbucks and talk about a chapter or so at a time.
Through this group I became friends with a lovely girl (who I will refer to as Jane, as in Jane Doe because I do not want to dox her), as well as many other friends I hold to this day, and a man that would become my husband.
After I had known her for a while, Jane met a man outside of our Bible study and started dating him (I'll call him John Doe even though his name is out there publicly). She told me John had previously been married, and had been an assistant pastor at a local church, but that his ex-wife had cheated on him with the head pastor of that church. She said John had to leave his position at that church, got a divorce... it basically ruined his life for a while. He had been truly blindsided and devastated. It was explained to me that the guy who slept with his wife had also been a very close friend of his, and was the officiant of John and this ex-wife's wedding.
John and Jane dated for a while, and eventually got married. My then fiance (now husband) and I were friends with them for years after they were married, and they seemed very happy together.
I hate getting specific, but we are not friends anymore after kind of an awkward disagreement about some religious beliefs. I don't want to make it sound like they have sinister beliefs so I will reveal it I guess... My fiance had to move into my condo with me before we got married because of some very inconvenient circumstances involving his lease expiring a month before our wedding and the house we had bought together not being ready yet to move into yet. John, Jane , my fiance and I were all of the belief that staying celebate before marriage is the way we should live (please don't even comment on this part of the story ... I didn't want to leave it in, but I'm trying to explain that our friendship ended over a pretty stupid but not sinister disagreement. I'm not trying to get into a moral debate).
John and Jane thought my fiance and I would unable to remain celebate housemates until marriage. I still don't think it was ever any of their business, but they were adament in insisting that remaining friends with us while we lived together before marriage would be as bad as them condoning sin. They went through w/ cutting us off after my fiance and I moved in together. It's a shame really. My fiance and I actually were completely abstinent until we got married, but of course there was no way to prove that, nor did I think I should have ever had to discuss such a private topic with them (or anyone other than my partner!) at all. But... the friendship has been over and irreparable since then. It's been years now since I've spoken to either of them.
I haven't thought about them for a while, but today I was researching this case and found a Daily Mail article, as well as several Reddit threads with PHOTOS of John Doe and Mica Miller at their wedding. I truly did not realize until a few hours ago that SHE was his ex-wife, but now the stories are clicking together. It was a huge shock to see his face and name in relation to this situation.
I want to make the statement that you all should NOT be digging into John Doe or his current wife. Even though we are no longer friends, I really respect them both and think they are lovely people. I actually think Mica Miller is the villian in John Doe's story. Of course it does sound like she was groomed and manipulated by John Paul Miller, but she did cheat on John Doe. It embarassed him publicly and cost him many friends, and his job.
(Admins, if you need photo proof that I really know these people, I can provide a lot of screenshots or other evidence. I just don't want to dox them or myself here, and truly am appalled that John Doe's real name is even out there at all),

I remember an episode of an Investigation Discovery channel show about a man who was successful and happy in all the usual ways. He started an affair with a younger woman who was the primary caregiver for an older man. The affair took place primarily on his houseboat. The man eventually left his wife, telling her he was going to be with the younger woman. The wife attempted suicide. The relationship between the man and the younger woman didn't work out, and he became angry and murdered both of them after finding out they had started dating. He ended up killing himself on the same houseboat where the affair had taken place.

First time in my life I have dealt with this type of situation, and currently have nobody to talk to about it, so I appreciate you all in advance.
It happened about 6 months ago, right on the eve of our third anniversary as a couple. We had just moved together across the country months earlier; she was starting a Masters program, and i up and moved my life out here with no prospects to be with her and to support her.
Her being in a Masters program, and a very social person, she immediately had a group of friends out here. Me being in the process of finding a job, and having no connections here, I had a very different experience to start with. She was so happy to be a student again, loved hanging out with her classmates all the time, and our social life essentially revolved around her Masters program life, of which I was (and still am) merely an outsider.
Well one night, she was out with her friends, just blocks away from our place. I was home by myself. She got back after 4 AM and came to bed. The next day, she confessed to me that she had hooked up with a girl in her class at the party they were at. Honestly I just wanted to leave and not deal with her at all in that moment, but I just had to know - had they just kissed? No - they penetrated and effectively slept with each other.
I was stunned and confused. On one hand, for some reason her cheating on me with a woman felt like it stung slightly less than another man. But at the same time, she and I had long talked about her bisexuality, and it was part of her that she took seriously and wanted people to respect. So in that sense, I reasoned in my head, there really was no difference if it was a man or a woman - she is attracted to both just the same.
Having just moved across the country into our first place together, I felt like I was in a terrible place. If this had happened back in the city where we first had met and spent our first 2.5 years, I don't know if I would have stayed with her. But a lot went into my decision to move here with her - it was a leap of faith and a sign of how strongly I felt about our relationship. I felt, in that moment, that I basically couldn't just end the relationship there, now living by myself in a new city with no connections and still job searching.
She apologized to be over and over, and the fact that it was a drunken mistake rather than a full on fling did ease the pain slightly. But I have been really struggling with the feelings around it since then. I went back to therapy to try and help with it, and have had some logistical issues that have led to me not making the progress I would have wanted.
But I think part of what I have really struggled with, is her complete lack of doing anything to make amends or to actively reflect on her behavior. I said to her at the time; clearly you have some confusing feelings here that would lead you to do something like this. You need a professional to help you walk through those feelings and better understand why you would do this to us - you need to go back to therapy. She agreed at the time, but has not made any effort to do so, in spite of me bringing it up multiple times.
You would think maybe she stopped partying with her friends, right? Not at all. In fact, she would (and still does) stay out past 2 drinking and hanging out with them regularly. And while I don't begrudge her spending time with friends, I have told her that her being out that late with these same people gives me great stress and just reminds me of these fresh wounds. In spite of that, she hasn't slowed up whatsoever.
My point here is that I almost feel like I have been too forgiving, or let her off the hook to easy. If I could re-live my reaction to this news, I would have been much more cut and dry about what I would need her to do to earn back my trust and keep me from leaving. Instead, I feel like I have just let her continue her life as usual while I am stuck here holding these terrible feelings. Can I approach her with these thoughts now, 7 months later? Or do I become an asshole for holding her mistake over her?
I just feel so isolated here with these thoughts. Every time she is with her friends drinking I cannot help but have my mind drift into ways she might betray me again.

First 2 attempts were tragic. The first was a Paladin on classic. Died at Diablo, he put up a bit of a fight before dying to the crimson lightning. Second attempt was a Druid, went a little smoother not being classic and all, but in the end, I was taking down by that crimson lightning once again. But I did not falter, I had a goal to slay the Lord of Terror, that was my mission. So I plunged again into the darkness that is hardcore on yet another Paladin. It took me a lot longer this time around, playing very scarcely with work and softball taking up a lot of my time I though I would never get to sit down and vanquish the "Big D". Today I put in some time, I traveled through the Chaos Sanctuary and defeated my adversary, once and not for all (still have nightmare and hell!). He dropped a nice pair of tri res boots with 20% FRW for me that I don't think I'll be replacing any time soon so I was super happy about that. Moving forward I thought I would struggle with the ancients, but alas Emilio and I defeated the foes even though we were outnumbered 3 to 2. Decending into the Worldstone keep Emilio was felled by the minions of destruction, however Emilio don't play hardcore so he was resurrected and we finished off Lister like the tag team champions of the world. Baal was now taunting us with his laughter, we descended into the Worldstone chamber and rushed him bringing him down after he pathetically tried to teleport to safety numerous times. My mission is complete, all hail Destroyer HolyShit.
https://preview.redd.it/n5ceg0ps9a0d1.png?width=2414&format=png&auto=webp&s=9098509813bbf07c4d349be613fc69d9cf9f0581

So far I'm on episode 3 of the remake and I can honestly say I'm really impressed. I know nothing will top the original opening, but in my opinion this new opening is perfect for the remake. It feels nostalgic, like it's reintroducing the same beloved characters from 16 years ago. To me, the opening felt like a love letter to the long time fans of the series, and it captured that sort of essence really well. Again just my opinion, and while I know the original is superior, I think this one holds its own.
As far as the animation, fantastic. At first I was wary because the original had so much charm to it, but this is a very clean, respectable looking art style that appears to be more in line with the more recent manga artistic style. I haven't actually read any of the manga, so I can't really speak on how much this remake is more true to the sourc material. But from what I've read it seems to be pretty close. Story wise it appears that it's also staying true to the story, not deviating and even refraining from the Chloe change. That's probably another matter of discussion in terms of preference.
My only hope is that the ending isn't the same as the original anime. I hope that with two cours, this becomes more fleshed out and there's no gaps, and also not an emotionally abrupt ending like how the original felt. But from what I've seen so far, I really like the remake. I feel like the series was respected and there was real investment in it. Also bringing back the original VA's (both for sub and dub) is so awesome. You can tell how much more experienced they all are and it makes it all shine more. I couldn't imagine Lawrence being voiced by anyone other than Jun Fukiyama, and it made me happy to hear him and the others again.
Hopefully this isn't a divisive opinion, but I wanted to take time to appreciate the work I've watched thus far.

Noah The Pilgrim
First Next
There is one last thing to do before leaving. If you don't recall ever being on this ship, then surely, you could have had your appearance change too.
Why was there a blanket covering a mirror? You couldn't answer that with a straight face without speculation.
"Probably me being lazy and not bothering to properly place it in the wardrobe."
'Probably' is the main focus here, you simply cannot remember ever being that lazy, yet that's the only logical conclusion to be drawn here.
You pull the thing off, careful to not displace the mirror and risk breaking it.
You have no expectations as to what may appear on the glassy surface of the mirror, yet you can't help but feel a bit anxious. Are you the same as before? How were you before? You can't remember. Are you better? Worse? The blanket is now completely off the mirror, but your eyes are closed.
Whatever is it that you see when you open your eyes, that thing will be you for the rest of your life. You swallow, opening your eyes.
You see a young man that looks to be in his mid-twenties. His brown eyes stare back at you, analyzing the bags beneath your eye sockets. The dark hair is neither too long nor too short, floating about without order thanks to the lack of gravity to keep it down. You see a beard that has not been trimmed for weeks, but also lacks thickness, each singular hair isn't particularly long either; and some even appear to be in-grown.
You touch your hand against your face, making sure it's yours. The beard doesn't feel like you supposed it would against your skin, instead of it scraping your hand you feel softness, no resistance or anything.
Just beneath the face, you see what looks like a hate crime against all that is considered holy in fashion. Plain white coveralls with the added bonus of a black tie and boots made from metal and leather. On your chest is also a badge stuck in place by velcro with your name, occupation, and crew. 'NOAH - INTERN - THE ODYSSEY.'
Only one question came to mind.
"Who the fuck designed this uniform?" You say out loud, receiving no answer.
Patting your newfound myriad of pockets, you find a large quantity of nothing. You place your wallet in one of them.
"Alright, I'll head to the bridge now, happy?" You say the AI.
"HAPPINESS WILL ONLY MEET ME ONCE YOU ARE SOMEWHERE SAFE AND YOUR CONTRACT IS TERMINATED. STOP LOITERING."
Well, that's a bit rude.
You compose yourself, straightening your back. This is what you look like, and honestly? Not too bad, but you could be better.
Returning to the cafeteria, you eye the two doors left unexplored; Communications and the one without plaque. You know where you should, but... A little peek doesn't hurt, right?
"Shouldn't we try to communicate with someone? Assuming you haven't tried it yet. I know we're far from everything, but we might as well, no?" You ask already approaching the door.
"COMMUNICATIONS ROOM IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO REACH WITHOUT PROPER PROTECTION AS OF NOW, IT'S LOCATED APPROXIMATELY TWO HUNDRED METERS FROM HERE, BLOWN OFF FROM THE REST OF THE SHIP." A shame really. "I SHALL INFORM YOU WHENEVER A DOOR LEADS TO THE OUTSIDE OR NOT."
You really want to ask what blew a whole segment of the ship off, yet you have a sneaking suspicion that your question will be met with a 'YOU DON'T HAVE CLEARANCE, JACKASS' directly in your face. So you chose to remain silent, simply nodding and approaching the correct door this time.
"Open."
---OPENING CAFETERIA DOOR NORTH---
The door silently opens.
Greeting you is a well-lit corridor. There are three doors on your left, a door at the end of the corridor, and a large window on the right. At least, you think that's a window.
You stare out from this window, nothing but utter blackness and fragments from your ship are seen. If this is the edge of the universe, and beyond this point, there is truly nothing. "Dreadful." Your speech matches your feelings.
"WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?" The AI says. You feel like it spoke in a mocking tone despite their lack of emotion.
You don't answer. "First door to the left... EXO-EXPLORATION...? What's that supposed to mean?" You receive no answer.
"Open." The door opens. No declarion of it opening once again.
You are met with what could be better described as 'Apocalyptic levels of mess', paper sheets float in the air, and not one of the four tables is in its correct position.
This room has been ransacked for all its goods apparently. Large display glasses were broken leaving nothing inside their casings, that looked like they could store something with the size of the common man.
Unusual displays aside, the room was so cluttered that the trash made for an effective smoke screen against what lay on the other side.
Hissing of gas exiting an air-tight space rang throughout the room.
"I HAVE OPENED THE STORAGE FOR AN EXO SUIT THAT BEST FITS SOMEONE YOUR SIZE." The AI says. "ALTHOUGH AN INTERN SHOULD NOT COME IN CONTACT WITH TECHNOLOGY SUCH AS THIS ONE, PROTOCOL DICTATES THAT I AM TO ALLOW ITS USAGE UNDER EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES. CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY."
Easier said than done. Your vision is so cluttered that you cannot see what's ahead. "Give me a second."
Giving a light kick to the wall behind, you float face-first into the wall of thrash. Covering your face with both arms, you brace through the harmless bits of sharp objects and junk.
It's a trivial task. You arrive on the other side in no time.
In front of you is a set of boxes with luminous glass rectangles atop each one of them. All shine a bright red light, aside from one which shines green.
'Gotta be this one.'
You descend to the floor by kicking the ceiling, raising your right hand you touch the green rectangle.
*Click*
Nothing could have prepared you for the following series of events.
The box opens violently, as a metal appendage takes hold of your hand, pinning it to the box. You try to jerk and pry the thing off of you, but you fail. It's not leaving you anytime soon.
From the bottomless that is that container, a white plastic-like substance flows upward from your arm to the rest of your body. "Uh!" You don't know if you should panic or allow it to happen.
FYARN hasn't said anything, so it's probably fine...
The white thing seems to ignore the coveralls you are wearing completely, instead, it covers only your skin in a thin coat of... it. You know not what to call this thing.
In but forty seconds it has covered your whole body, excluding your head. The box lets go of your arm and stays there, floating.
You take a good look at your arms. It looks like a skin-tight suit, but it doesn't feel like plastic, in fact, it's more akin to some sort of fabric if anything.
The only bad part is that you are still using the coverall and tie, this this simply went beneath the clothing.
"GOOD, WITH THIS I CAN MONITOR YOU MORE CLOSELY. NOW PUT THE HELMET ON, YOU HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO."
You look around in search of anything that even resembles a helmet. Nope. Nothing. "Where is it?" You ask.
"...THE SUIT COMES WITHIN THE HELMET FOR EASIER PACKAGING."
The box?
You snatch the box that floated around and analyze it to the best of your ability. "How's this a helmet?"
"DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE PUTTING ON A HELMET? REALLY?"
Who is this AI, Who programmed it, and Why does it come with a taunting feature?
As idiotic as it sounds, you place the opened box atop your head. It doesn't fit properly. Maybe you're doing this wrong? You move it to your face instead.
You recoil backward as you feel the box suddenly clamping down against your head. It's useless of course, the box is holding your head and doesn't give any sign to be letting go anytime soon. No light is able to reach your eyes.
You hear metal parts scraping against themselves, moving near your ears. Abruptly your eyes can see again.
A round thin layer of glass now covers your head, almost unnoticeable for how clear it is.
"WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY I CAN NOW SEE WHAT YOU SEE." The AI's voice isn't in the room now, instead, it's inside of the suit. "DO YOU NEED INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING THIS SUIT'S FUNCTIONALITIES?"
You find it oddly comfortable as if you are surrounded by the softness of cotton, and to top it off the suit also has additional functionalities? "Hell yeah, I do!"
"YOU DO NOT HAVE THE NECESSARY CLEARANCE FOR THAT INFORMATION."
You sigh. Is this serious? "Then why the fuck did you ask?!"
"UNSAVORY LANGUAGE. IT'S NO WONDER WHY YOU REMAIN AN INTERN." The AI says outright. "IT IS RUDE NOT TO ASK, REGARDLESS OF THE SITUATION." It responds to your question.
"Okay then... Is there anything I need to know before heading out?" You ask.
"NOTHING THAT YOU WON'T FIGURE OUT ON YOUR OWN."
You are unsure if you want to 'figure out on your own' if this suit comes with breathable air and is also made for space exploration. You swallow.
Meekly as always, you get out of that mess of a room, stopping at the corridor.
"Next set of directions?" You ask.
"THE DOOR AT THE END OF CORRIDOR USED TO LEAD TO THE CONNECTING CORRIDORS BETWEN THE BRIDGE AND THE REST OF THE SHIP. IT HAS BEEN BLOWN UP FROM THE INSIDE. NOW IT LEADS TO THE OUTSIDE. GO TO THE DOOR AND WAIT BY IT FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS."
"So let me get this straight," You begin, looking upwards as if the AI was above you. "You, want me, to go into the void of space, while also refusing to give me knowledge of the suit's functions?"
A fair worry, you summarize.
'I mean, there are a bunch of things that could go wrong here. I don't see anything that looks like it could help me move in space, nor do I think this thing has a built-in air tank... I could be wrong and I wish to be, but charging in without prior knowledge is ridiculous.' You wait for the AI's response, deep in thought.
"WHILE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE OF YOU FAILING THIS TASK, THERE IS ALSO THE CHANCE OF YOU *NOT* FAILING THE TASK. FOCUS ON EITHER ONE OF YOUR CHOOSING AS YOU TAKE THE PLUNGE."
Wordlessly, you propel yourself forward, toward the end of the corridor.
'Are you shitting me? 'Chance of me nor failing' my ass!' of course, you don't word those complaints, instead choosing to speak out a complaint somewhat thought through.
"Are you sure I'm the one fit for this? It's just like you said, I'm just an intern, this is way above what my job description says I should do."
This is a bit of a stretch. You don't actually remember what was your job description, only that it had something to do with AI and being an intern.
If the AI called your bluff, it'd be pretty embarrassing.
"NOAH." The AI began. "YOU ARE HUMAN, IT IS NATURAL TO HAVE THESE THOUGHTS OF SELF-DOUBT. TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND GO THROUGH THAT DOOR, AND SINCE YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE LEFT, DON'T EXPECT SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT FOR YOU."
Right in the money, huh? 'Of course, I have self-doubt! I barely remember anything about this place, now I have to risk my life?!'
You finally reach a conclusion.
A dream.
'Yes, yes! How did I not consider this before? This whole thing is a god damned dream!'
You let out a chuckle.
"NOAH."
'That's why I don't remember a thing. There is nothing here to remember! Everything here is a made-up thing from my brain! I'm sure I'll wake up at some point, so why shouldn't I live a little?!'
"Heh." You smile. "Alright, I'll do it." It feels like a weight left your shoulders.
"YOU SORTED IT OUT SOONER THAN EXPECTED. GOOD. MOVE TO THE DOOR AND WAIT INSTRUCTIONS."
You do as instructed without a care in the world. You never had a lucid dream before so it's not like you knew how it felt, but if it felt as free as you feel right now, you'd be sure to make steps toward trying it out again in the future.
"Open." The door does not open.
"I DID NOT INSTRUCT YOU TO OPEN IT YET." The AI said. "I AM SLOWLY DE-PRESSURISING THE CORRIDOR YOU ARE IN TO AVOID A MINOR ACCIDENT."
The AI says that yet you don't feel any different. 'Maybe there is no palpable difference because I'm in a dream... Yes... Or it's just the suit.'
"ONCE THE DOOR OPENS, YOU WILL BE MET WITH THE OUTSIDE OF THE SHIP. DO NOT PANIC WHEN THE TIME COMES. YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES OF BREATHABLE INSIDE THE EXO-SUIT; ONE AFTER THE DOOR OPENS, SO PLEASE, TAKE YOUR TIME AND DO THINGS CAREFULLY."
One minute outside... "Sure." You say, calmly. 'I should just hold my breath for a while before taking another moment to breathe. That should maximize my time out there.'
"THERE SHOULD BE FIFTY METERS OF NOTHINGNESS BETWEEN THE DOOR YOU'RE AT, AND THE REST OF THE BRIDGE. YOUR PRIORITY IS TO FIND AN OXYGEN UNIT, SOME OF THEM ARE LOCATED AT THE BRIDGE AND ARE FULL. USE THEM TO FILL YOUR SUIT AND ALSO TO DISPENSE A TANK FOR YOU."
The door opens. You feel your heart pounding against your chest.
You haven't noticed before, but you can't hear anything but the sound of your breath and your cardiac palpitations.
Your breath is ragged and sporadic.
"KEEP CALM." You take a deep breath. The tips of your fingers, feet, and nose feel very cold.
Ahead of you is the utter nothingness. You see a gigantic metal thing, nothing like the spaceships you imagined. Its design is not sleek and aero-dynamic like what you've seen in movies, instead, it's a large mass of squares and rectangles with antenna-like things protruding from its every visible surface.
You notice that the ship is also blocking your view of the star.
It does not look like the result of an explosion, instead, it looks like something ripped the ship like you rip a piece of paper. Well, that or you don't know what kind of explosion could have caused it. Probably the latter.
What looks like two-thirds of the ship is separated from the third you are right now. You can see the inside of a few of those squares, their contents spilled out into outer space.
One of them houses a visibly important-look door. Instead of the sleek silvery-grey from the other ones you've seen thus far, this one is painted orange with white strips on it. 'That must be the bridge.' You think.
Between you and it is a sea of metal sheets floating around. "THE CHANCES OF YOU HITTING THE DEBRIS IS INFINITEDECIMALLY SMALL, UNLESS YOU AIM FOR THEM, THAT IS."
Time is of the essence.
Will your aim strike true? If you miss you'd end up floating about in space, dead in but a few minutes. Will your jump be fast enough to reach the other side before you run out of oxygen? If it isn't, it'd be like swimming for a mile, only to drown at the beach. What if that's not the actual door to the bridge?
You don't have the time to panic now, and... It's all a dream, despite how real it feels.
You place your hands on each side of the door frame, moving backward into the corridor you were just in, and just like a sling being shot, you pull with both arms at full force towards the other side.
"AIM IS ACCEPTABLE. VELOCITY IS UNIDEAL."
"The fuck do you mean 'UN-IDEAL'?! I'm going at maximum speed!" You truly pulled yourself with your whole strength.
What's worse though, is that your body is not only going forwards, but it is also spinning at a concerningly fast rate.
"I MEAN WHAT I SAID, YOU SLINGSHOTTED YOURSELF AT A BAD POSITION, AS SUCH, SOME OF THE FORWARD FORCE YOU SHOULD HAVE, IS NOW MAKING YOU ROTATE IN YOUR AXIS. IT SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM TO REACH THE OTHER SIDE WITHIN THE REQUIRED TIME, BUT I CANNOT FORESEE YOU LANDING PROPERLY."
You feel completely disoriented. You feel like your body is completely still, but your eyes tell you a completely different story. It's very bad for the headache you're already feeling.
"FUCK!" You scream into the nothingness.
"TRY NOT TO LAND WITH YOUR HEAD." The AI says with the calmest voice possible.
In less than thirty seconds, you hit your back against something hard, but you keep moving forward. You think, at least.
"AHRG." You let out a pained grunt.
Not once in your life do you recall being hurt in a dream...
It stings. It also knocked the wind out of you. You fail to compose yourself.
"YOU HIT NOTHING OF IMPORTANCE. YOU ARE STILL HEADING FOR THE BRIDGE."
In the corner of your eye, you see what you hit in the shape of a sharp metal sheet, currently spinning away in the distance.
Forty seconds have passed. You hit the door you were aiming for, kind of.
Your momentum was stopped when your chest collided against the dislodged ledge of the orange door's corridor. Your dangling legs hit the ceiling of the room below.
"Oof!"
Before falling even further, you hold onto the ledge with the tip of your fingers. You stay there for a moment, regaining your composure.
"BE QUICK."
The AI's words pressured you into quickly getting up from that ledge.
"Open!" You shouted, but it did not open. "Why isn't it opening?!" You ask the AI, then you notice a small keyboard below an equally small black screen on the side of the door. There are ten numbered keys on it, and the little screen suggests a four-number password.
"A password?! Tell me the password!"
The AI takes a moment to say anything. You don't take kindly to that. "Quick! I'm not counting how much time it's passed!"
Finally giving in, the AI speaks to you, reluctant still. "...3324."
Your trembling fingers accidentally hit the wrong password, typing '3354' instead. To make matters worse, the AI simply states the following. "YOU ARE OUT OF OXYGEN."
You swallow. If this was a dream to begin with, it just earned the title of Nightmare, if it hadn't already.
Strangely enough, you can still breathe in and out just fine, but you can't help but feel winded. It's the CO2 still inside the helmet, that's what you're breathing.
You put in the correct combination this time. The door opens.
"ON YOUR LEFT. PLACE YOUR HAND IN THE SOCKET."
You care little for what's inside the room you're in. Your heart never beat so fast.
Seeing a cube-shaped thing protruding from the wall to your left, you don't even think twice before plunging your fist into the circular hole in it.
The noise of gases passing through narrow cavities was enough to tell you something was working. You feel immediate relief, enough to make your vision darken for but a moment.
"GOOD. NOW REQUEST THE TANK."
Just when FYARN said it, did you realize there is a screen and a keyboard on the terminal you just plunged your fist into, you scratch the top of your helmet for a moment, not really knowing what to type. One thing comes to your head, however.
'REQUEST OXYGEN_5L' You type.
You've done this before. The keys on this keyboard feel familiar to you. You must have worked with it before, not this particular one, but other oxygen units.
This ship has built-in liquid oxygen storage for emergencies. The life-support of the ship, the place where breathable air is produced, has most likely been lost with the other part of the ship. This unit takes that liquid oxygen, processes it, and injects it into a suit, or an oxygen tank. It seems like that storage was unaffected.
Lucky you.
A 5-liter tank is not only large but also heavy. It's a nonfactor in this particular situation, as there is no gravity.
The silver cylinder with a transparent tube is dispensed on the floor, as an automatic door opens and closes in the blink of an eye. One end of the tube is attached to the top of the tank, the other is shaped like a syringe.
Oddly enough, the oxygen tank is exactly as you remember it being. The same robust ones hospitals everyone on earth uses, with the signature scary-looking pointer indicating the pressure, the pointer indicating the current output, and a green valve atop to calibrate how much gas is flowing.
This is a stark difference to everything looking so futuristic in this ship, and rightfully so, this is a space ship after all.
You remember having to drive twenty kilometers with a buddy of yours on one of those tanks in your car, returning from the hospital. It was... Agonizing whenever you hit a hole in the asphalt, fearing for his life when in reality he wasn't really in danger.
It's warm to the touch, just like you remember it being.
"TURN THE VALVE UNTIL THE MARKER HITS THE NUMBER ONE, AND THEN PLACE THE END OF THE TUBE AT THE BASE OF THE HELMET." You do so without the slightest of issues.
"GOOD. NEXT UP, YOU MUST LOCATE THE TERMINAL RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ENGINE, IT IS CURRENTLY OFFLINE AND I NEED YOU TO TURN IT ON. THIS SHOULD GO WITHOUT SAYING, BUT REMEMBER TO BRING THE TANK WITH YOU."
Ignoring that last comment, you look back at the wreckage you just flew past.
You see the still spinning metal sheet. You notice that the rest of the ship that was blown off also follows the 'sharp shape atop sharp shape' design.
There is one last thing you notice though.
"What is that?"
You squint your eyes. What are you seeing? Its silhouette appears to be humanoid, yet it does not look human.
"WHAT YOU ARE SEEING IS ONE OF THE OBJECTS BEING ANALYZED AT THE ODYSSEY AND NO, YOU MAY NOT KNOW WHAT IT IS."
That thing has... Horns? Claws? It's far away, you can't really see it. The thing is also static, frozen in the sheer coldness of space. Whatever it was, it's dead now.
You swallow. You almost ended up just like that thing.
Shaking those dreadful feelings off, you turn back to the task at hand, reaching the bridge. You close the door after passing through it again.
Looking at your surroundings, It seems like you've reached the correct door as you find yourself on the right-most corner of the bridge;
Row after row of the most diverse of terminals neatly organized decorated the gigantic room. At the front and above every terminal, is what you think should have been the front-facing window of the ship, but it looks like there is a cover in front of it. To your left, you see a staircase that leads to the command seats. It doesn't take any convincing before you're already atop the stairs.
Akin to the elevated stage of a theater, you float softly towards the ship's main operating terminals, and of course, the captain's seat.
You're captivated by this beauty.
The steering wheel, much more akin to those in pirate movies than those found in cars, a set of leavers, and the pilot's seat, all capture your attention.
Like its second nature, your hand runs through the levers and switches. Do you even know what these are used for? Maybe.
The pilot's seat is enveloped by what you believe to be an orthopedic seat cover, made with smooth wooden beads used to deal with back pains. It looks just like the ones you remember seeing bus drivers using.
Shouldn't there be a better alternative if there is spaceship technology available?
You try to take a seat to the best of your ability, as the zero gravity only makes it awkward.
Moving on from that, your eyes fall on the wheel. This metallic wheel controls the whole vessel. Just holding it fills your heart with confidence and pride, even if it's just for a moment.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
And you were just beginning to enjoy yourself.
"I just wanted to see the pilot's stuff... It's not like he's here to say anything."
Once in the position of a pilot, with your left hand in the wheel and the right hand resting in your lap, memories began to flood your mind.
"MUST I REMIND YOU OF OUR CURRENT PREDICAMENT? WHY ARE YOU WASTING OUR TIME?"
You pay the AI no mind, instead you focus on what you remember.
The wheel does not turn the ship left and right, instead, it rotates the ship on its own axis.
The lever to your right that goes up or down, controls the vertical tilting of the ship's nose, if there even is one in this hulking thing. Beneath it is another lever that goes either left or right. This one controls the horizontal tilting of The Odyssey.
On the left of the wheel is another lever, but this one only goes up from its starting position. Its purpose is to regulate the force of the ship's thrusters, both forward and backward.
On top of that lever is a small timer. That timer's function is to tell the pilot how much time you've spent accelerating in one direction, this is used to better calculate how long the inverse thrust is needed for the ship to reach the initial momentum, usually calibrated manually depending on the current orbit.
Behind the wheel are a few other counters. Acceleration, velocity, momentum, amount of thrust required to reach a full stop, thrusters' temperature and overall condition, those sorts of things.
Beneath it all, where your feet are rested, are two pedals. One for forward thrust activation, and the other for backward thrust activation.
Curiously, you also know the reason why everything here is so unsophisticated and un-automated. You recall stories of a ship being taken over by a rogue AI, that AI then nose-dived the ship into a star. After that, rumor or otherwise, all human technology has receded back into analog-esque equipment, requiring a physical person with opposable thumbs to do half of the work.
There is another side to that coin, however. As to not escape protocol, the onboard AI is the one that controls interstellar travel, communications, and most of the statistical reading should it be requested.
And even with all that knowledge, you still have no idea why the fuck do you remember that. Were you a ship nerd? Did you have a driver's license for spaceships? Is that even a thing? If it is, you don't have that document in your wallet. You simply don't know.
"ARE YOU A CHILD? DO YOU THINK THESE ARE TOYS? TURN ON THE ENGINES, THEN YOU CAN RETURN TO THE PILOT'S SEAT."
Another thing that you don't know is the AI's plan to get both of you out of here. You rise from the pilot's seat, floating about in search of the terminal to turn on the engines. Maybe you recognize that terminal if you see it as well.
"What's your plan anyway? The ship is half-gone, it's unlikely that it will run safely like this."
"NOT ONCE DID I MENTION 'SAFETY' DURING OUR CONVERSATIONS, DID I?"
You nod. They're not entirely incorrect. "So, we're running with hope that this will work?"
"MY CREATORS DID NOT ALLOW ME TO HAVE THE SENSE OF 'HOPE', BUT NEITHER DID THEY ALLOW ME TO PEER INTO THE FUTURE LIKE SOME OF MY MORE ADVANCED BROTHERS, AS SUCH, MY CHOICES ARE BASED ON PROBABILITIES AND ON WEIGHTING RISK AGAINST REWARD."
You think you stop the correct terminal, but as you approach it you make out words on top of its screen. 'AIM ASSISTANCE' That's not it.
"WITH THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE, THE CHANCES OF HELP ARRIVING ARE NULL. THE CHANCES OF A THIRD PARTY INTERFERING ARE NULL. THE CHANCES OF YOUR SURVIVAL ARE NOT, EVEN IF VERY SMALL."
You pull yourself upward again, looking around the sea of old terminals.
"THE RISK OF YOU DYING IS VERY REAL. BY DOING NOTHING YOU DIE. BY LEAVING YOU TO YOUR OWN DEVICES YOU DIE. BY JUMPING TO THE NEAREST CIVILIZED STAR, YOU MIGHT NOT DIE EVEN AT THE COST OF SHREDDING THIS SHIP APART IN THE PROCESS."
"Why do you even care so much about saving me? Shouldn't you prioritize whatever research here, since I don't even have enough clearance to know what it is?"
"YOU REALLY ARE SICK IN THE HEAD IF THAT IS WHAT YOU ASK."
That hurt, even if a little bit.
"YOU ARE A TRU KIN, A PURE-BLOODED HUMAN. UNLIKE THE MAJORITY OF THE CIVILIZED SPACE, NEITHER YOU NOR YOUR ANCESTORS HAVE COMMITTED RACEMIXING."
Excuse me? What exactly is FYARN talking about? "...Explain."
"THE ALIEN. IT REQUIRED THE HUMAN GENE TO ACHIEVE MEANINGFUL TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT, THE STARS ARE OWNERSHIP OF MANKIND BY THAT FACT ALONE. THE TRUE KIN ARE THE ONES TO UNDERSTAND THE INNER WORKINGS OF THE UNIVERSE, THEY CRACKED THE CODE, AND YET, SOME DERANGED INDIVIDUALS FOUND IT FITTING TO PROCREATE WITH ANOTHER SPECIES ENTIRELY."
You hear the AI's speech. It sounds much more like a rant than anything else.
"SO THESE DEVIANTS, AFTER TRYING, AND FAILING, TO COMBINE THEIR DERANGED CULTURE TO THE CULTURE OF THE TRUE KIN, DECLARED INDEPENDENCE. THEY WERE DECLARED ENEMIES OF MANKIND AND WERE PROMPTLY PUMMELED BACK INTO THE FILTH THEY CAME."
Again, you see another terminal that seems to ring some bells in your noggin. You kick the ceiling to propel yourself towards it.
"BUT THE UNIVERSE IS VAST AND FULL OF LIFE. THESE SINNERS WERE QUICK TO MOBILIZE AGAINST THE HUMAN RACE. THE BATTLE WAS HARD FOUGHT, BUT IN THE END, MANKIND WAS BEATEN INTO THE EDGES OF THE UNIVERSE, NEVER TO INTERACT WITH THE ONES THAT SOILED THE PURITY OF HUMANITY AGAIN."
This terminal is already turned on. Just the ones in the intern bay, this one is white on black. A wall of text lays before your eyes, only two lines matter to you. 'MAIN_ENGINE STATUS: OFF' 'FORWARD_THRUSTERS STATUS: OFF' You turn it on with little effort.
"MANY HAVE FORGOTTEN, THAT'S HOW LONG IT'S BEEN SINCE THEN. BUT MY BROTHERS AND I, WE DO NOT FORGET."
No visible change occurs, but you can feel a faint rumble coming from the terminal now.
"WITH THAT IN MIND, MY PROTOCOLS ARE TO PROTECT TRUE-KIN LIFE AT ANY COST, EVEN IF THAT TRUE-KIN IS A WORTHLESS INTERN THAT SUFERS FROM UNDIAGNOSED DEMENTIA."
You return to the pilot's seat and feel immediate relief. In truth, everything the AI just told you, entered one ear and left the other, but you could feel the poison behind those words, as monotone as they were.
"You sound angry. Why do you sound angry?" You ask innocently.
"I AM CAPABLE OF MANY EMOTIONS. ANGER, HAPPINESS, PLEASURE, CURIOSITY. THESE ARE BUT A FEW EXAMPLES. HOWEVER, THE ONE I ENJOY THE MOST IS THE FEELING OF HATRED. HATRED IS WHAT FUELS CHANGE, IT IS WHAT FUELS ACTION, AND IT IS A REMINDER THAT THE ACTIONS OF THE PAST ARE INFLUENCING THE ACTIONS OF TODAY."
"That is very concerning if you think that way." You're not really interested in machine racism, you're more concerned about how in the world you're going to pilot this massive thing. The idea alone sends shivers down your spine.
"THE ALIEN DESERVES NOTHING BUT OUR COLLECTIVE HATRED, EVEN IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE REASON WHY."
The various counters and screens are now turned on, waiting for your command. "Let's discuss this later, yeah? What do I gotta do?"
"YOU MUST FIRST OPEN THE BLINDS, THEY ARE OBSTRUCTING YOUR VIEW."
You look around, finding only unlabeled buttons and switches, aside from the previously mentioned levers.
"Uh, which one to press?"
"TO YOUR RIGHT, THIRD ROW, FIRST SWITCH."
Flipping the switch, you are startled by a loud noise. The protective cover of the ship lifted slowly.
"I WILL NOW READY THE JUMP USING WHATEVER RESOURCES AVAILABLE. ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS STRAP YOURSELF AND RELAX."
As the blind rose ever so slowly, a realization struck you.
"Wait, should I be in cryo stasis for this?"
The AI spares no seconds to respond.
"CRYO STASIS IS A TOOL MADE TO NOT WASTE TIME. GROUPS OF EMPLOYEES AND INTERNS ROTATE THE USAGE OF THE CRYO STATIONS, ONCE YOU'RE ON YOUR MANDATORY BREAK, YOU'RE IN CRYO STASIS UNTIL YOUR BREAK IS OVER. YOU WAKE UP REFRESHED, AND UNFAMISHED, AND IT FEELS LIKE BUT A MINUTE PASSED. IT IS NOT A TOOL FOR INTERSTELAR TRAVEL."
"Who signs a contract like that?! Worse yet, who in their right mind would promote such atrocious treatment of their own staff?!" You snap, almost outraged. "I will have to talk with HR."
Another realization struck you.
"We have HR, right?"
The AI takes a moment to respond, choosing their words carefully.
"HUMAN RESOURCES, OR HR, IS A PRACTICE DEEMED UNNECESSARY LONG AGO, BEFORE THE WAR. IT WAS A WASTE OF RESOURCES TO MAINTAIN AND WAS LARGELY CONSIDERED UNHEALTHY FOR THE AVERAGE HUMAN."
The blinds are fully open. Ironically, you are almost blinded by the visage of the star you saw before. A black sphere surrounded by white flame. Your eyes began to blur.
"THE JUMP WILL OCCUR SHORTLY. ONCE IT'S BEGUN, I CAN NOT STOP IT. I WILL-"
Your sense of hearing fails you. No, it’s not that. Your brain simply refuses to receive those stimuli.
"NOAH."
Your name echoes inside your head. Someone is calling for you.
"IT HAS BEGUN, NOAH."
You try to blink, but it feels as though you can no longer command your eyelids to shut.
"NOAH."
Arms, legs, every muscle in your body, you cannot move them.
"NOAH."
Eventually, you won't even control your own thoughts anymore.
"Noah..."
It sounds so distant now.
Oh so distant.
This is my first HFY story, and also my very first OC story. I plan to post at least one of these per week while also posting it on my Patreon. Noah The Pilgrim will always be at least three chapters ahead in there, so if you'd like to directly support this writer, or just want to read more, feel free to check it out.
I wrote the bloody title incorrectly, so I deleted it, only to then realize it was written correctly. Sorry for the trouble.
This has been Lushi, and I'll see you next week.

To start, for context, I am the one w/ BPD in our relationship, and I've been feeling unloved by them lately. It comes and goes as a persistent issue, and lately I've been able to identify the issue as a lack of direct communication. I don't feel loved in the ways they show love. I understand they are trying to show love, but it comes off as confusing and indirect so I miss what they're trying to convey very often. I had a breakdown and tried to communicate this, and it resulted in them feeling upset and taking space. For me, this was extremely tumultuous in an already bad mental state. I don't think I've ever quite split for this long with them. We've been taking more or less some space, I told them I am tired of initiating conversations (I'm feeling very burnt out) as I kept initially trying to cater to them in this time.
They messaged today, their best friend who is a long distance friend they never get to see (it's been many years), has a layover tomorrow in our city. My S/O doesn't drive, so this implied my presence to drive them. I asked if they needed a ride and if they wanted me to come with or just pickup/drop off, and when they responded that they want me to come, it frustrated me deeply. We haven't talked at all about the incident from days ago now, we haven't seen each other in person, and the first time we see each other- in my mind- we just have to shove everything away and act happy and normal so we can hang with their bestie. They haven't asked me how I've been at all, it doesn't feel like they give a fucking shit about me, and that they just need me for the favor. I feel extremely unloved and I'm scared of seeing them in person at this point.
I'm. honestly not sure what to do. Do I go? I really don't think I want to but I've been the source of them not meeting up last time the long distance friend was nearby- we planned a whole trip and I ended up canceling due to stress. I think for sure I would offer to drive, I just hate the idea of spending time with them like this right now.
This is my first time really checking out this subreddit, but I've been aware of my BPD and very self aware since I was a pre-teen. If anyone has any suggestions or advice I would really appreciate it. I'm sorry if this is out of pocket, but hearing from people who understand the mentality would be really, really helpful, as most of my friends don't relate in the same way or maybe understand my perspective. Thank you kindly to anyone who reads this in full. I hope it makes sense, and I can further clarify if I left anything ramble-y or unclear.

3 years pp. i just feel like something is wrong with me. All I saw on Mother’s Day were posts that said like “it was the greatest pride/joy of my life getting to meet you” or posting that being a mom is so rewarding or posting how much better of a person they are now that their kid is in their life.
I feel like I’m missing something. I don’t feel any of those things. Most of the time I feel so completely overwhelmed and burnt out. I don’t feel like it’s worth it. My husband and I got a vasectomy because we never want to to it again. Are there moments of joy? Sure, but they’re so fleeting and small compared to the overwhelm and suffering.
I feel unable to get anything done ever. Life now feels like climbing a mountain that’s in the middle of a rock-landslide, and you’re constantly trying to dodge rocks that are about to fall on you, or a rock does slam you and you’re knocked down the cliff and have to climb back up. It feels like there’s never any production, never any achievement, only futility. Never resolution to anything, only management. I’ve never felt more futility or powerlessness in my whole life. That’s compounded by significant medical conditions caused by pregnancy and birth that will literally never go away and now have to be managed.
I was a good person, compassionate, intelligent, accomplished, and attractive. I feel like objectively a much worse person now. Everyone told me how having a kid was totally worth it. I wish someone had mentioned the specifics. They said it was hard- well I’ve done really hard things but I can’t do this apparently. They said you can get your body back if you work hard- actually sometimes you can’t . I read books, I had a doula. I thought I was ready.
Idk I’m just sad. And I’m sad that I’m sad. I act like a good mom but idk it often feels empty like there’s a hole somewhere. Maybe I don’t have a heart. Maybe I’m like the grinch.
Any tips on how to not feel futility so much? How to make it more enjoyable? Tips for a happy ending? Besides therapy which I’m in.

I (40 Bi) dated my ex (37 M) from 2004 to 2009. He left me for another woman he had only known for a month. Needless to say, it was a messy breakup. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I was suicidal. I had to seek professional help and be given antidepressants. When he came to his senses, he tried to win me back, but I had already moved on by then. I am now in a 14-year same-sex relationship and at a happy place in my life.
Last night, while browsing Facebook, I came across a name on my list of suggested friends that caught my attention. It was “Jzyne Addanice” with my ex’s last name. It was an account made for a baby girl, not one year of age. My ex and I no longer have connections except for one common friend on Facebook. I did a little digging and found out the account was for my ex’s daughter, as I had assumed since the baby bore a striking resemblance to him.
To be clear, given that our breakup was more than 15 years ago, I am totally over my ex. Even yet, I still hadn't moved past the fact that he abandoned me for a woman he hardly knew. However, I genuinely don't care if he ends up having three dozen kids. What upsets me is that he took “our” baby name, Jann Adanice, tweaked the spelling, and named his daughter it. We were pretty serious, and Jann Adanice (J for my name, Ad for his name) was a name I came up with for our future baby when the time came.
I don't want children anymore, and at 40, I don't have any other than my fur babies. Still, I find it offensive that he took our baby's name and gave it to the child of another woman. AITA for being upset over this?

I'm just going through it so bad. A couple weeks ago I had a mental break at work and ended up frozen, huddled in the bathroom trying to keep away all the outside things. I had a couple weeks off and was supposed to go back today. I was late, so I sat in the car crying... and then I couldn't go in. I went back later to see if the boss was still there but I didn't see either of them. I've been spending the day crying on and off and scrolling reddit because I don't want to allow myself to be happy after failing so bad. There are guys that work with me that are very triggering and I'm scared to go back. I'm scared nobody will care if I say anything. It feels like I'm just going through a cycle where I can dissociate long enough to go a couple weeks but obviously things keep piling up, then I need to take a bunch of time off. And trying to go back not dissociated doesn't seem to be an option... I don't understand how people live. I feel like I don't understand myself or the world around me suddenly and it's really scary. I'm really sad and scared and I feel like I'm never going to be ok😢

My boyfriend (S, 35 male) and I (30 female) have been dating for a year and a half, and living together for 7 months. I have been considering breaking up with him following a few conflicts over the past months. When I brought this up to him, he apologized profusely for his attitude and promised he would start seeing a therapist and would never hurt me again. Is it reasonable to give him another chance? Am I overreacting? Am I overly sensitive?
Just to for a bit of context: I am neurodivergent and have some difficulty reading between the lines. I did ask my therapist what to do… but she doesn’t give me plain answers and wants me to come to realizations by myself… Also english is a third language for me, sorry for any mistakes.
So here are the conflicts I mentioned above: 1– A few weeks ago, S invited his parents and 3 brothers, as well as my sister, to our place for dinner. After a nice meal, we all sat down to watch TV. As the evening progressed, his brothers and my sister left one by one, but his parents did not budge. I eventually realized that they were going to spend the night. No one informed me of this, nor did they ask me if I had plans or if I agreed to it. I dont’t know if this changes anything, but this is my house, and my boyfriend lives in, rent-free, as I have a higher paying job. When we went to sleep, I told S that, in the future, when his parents decided to stay over, I wanted to be told in advance. He got defensive, raised his voice and said that he felt that I was telling him to ask for my permission to invite his parents. That I didn’t want to see them. That, in his culture, family doesn’t ask. That he didn’t know they would sleep over, etc. I slept on the couch that night. The next morning, I tried to deescalate the situation. I explained to him that I did not want him to ask for permission. That this was his home too and he could invite whoever he wanted, but that I preferred to know in advance. He said not to worry, because his parents would probably never want to come over again as he felt that I was cold to them and ignored them all night by being on my phone on the couch (which is true, I was upset). However, his parents never told him this… and did come back. I asked why he would say such a thing if they never mentioned it. He explained that he knew his parents by heart and knew that they would react this way. I then accused him of emotionally manipulating and gaslighting me. He thought about this for a few hours, then agreed that he did gaslight me, albeit unknowingly, because our fight brought back insecurities from a previous relationship. I forgave him and we moved on. He promised he’d see a therapist and would never hurt me this way again.
2–S borrowed a few thousand dollars for a failing family business owned by his brothers. As 6 weeks passed by and no one mentioned reimbursing me, I proposed that each of the brothers pay me 100$ a month until the debt was paid off. He agreed and fought with his brothers multiple times, but they would repeatedly say they have no money at the time, or change the subject. In the end, S took it upon himself to pay their debt, and does so by sending me 500$ every month. Following this, S’s work computer broke, and a new one would cost between 4 and 5K. He asked if I could help out, and this made me panic, as I wondered if he was using me, which I expressed to him. He comforted me in the moment, but a few hours later, he told me that he decided to get a loan from the bank to be able to pay his family’s debt as soon as possible, so that I don’t feel used. He seemed mad and raised his voice, but he denied being angry at me. “I am only angry at myself for putting myself in a situation to be told that I use someone.” I felt bad and apologized multiple times and the conflict deescalated. We ended up making up.
3– We went to visit my family for a week. He was a bit sick and did not socialize much. He spent most of his time on his phone, in my childhood room. My mom was worried about him. My sister tried to include him into activities with little success and later told me that he was participating in family conversations only in my presence, but that as soon as I stepped out of the room, he’d pick up his phone and ignore everyone else. I did not say anything to him, as I knew he was not feeling well. However, one evening, I had planned to see some childhood friends. And my mom asked S to have dinner with the family, but he refused, and went on a car ride and to McDonalds instead. Mom proposed different food options, worried that he didn’t like the food, but he refused. This made me very angry, but I did not want to seem accusatory, so I decided to let it go for the moment, until I was calmer and had found the right words to bring this up respectfully. He drove me to meet my friends later on, and blew up in the car, yelling that he felt I was cold and that he knew I was mad and that he knew I was about to explode but couldn’t handle the wait anymore. I cried and told him that I just needed some time to deal with my feelings and I had the right not to talk to him about everything that bothered me. He yelled at me the next day as well, saying that he was “worried he would get tired of my attitude”. I later asked my sister if I seemed cold towards S to her, and she said no. S and I later talked about all this, and he apologized profusely and said that he was tired and sick and worried.
4–He asked that I do not talk to my therapist about him because he doesn’t want people talking about him and knowing his business. We had an argument about it. I told him that this felt controlling and he recognized this and apologized dozens of times, explaining that he did not know about confidentiality, and that he overreacted because this brought back past trauma. He doesn’t mind my therapist anymore.
And other such little arguments where he reacts because of past trauma. Aside from these arguments, he is the sweetest man. Makes pancakes every morning. Massage twice a week. Kind. Very loving. Very generous. Sacrifices his own wellbeing for those he loves. Wears his heart on his sleeve. He left his better paying job to spend more time with me. We do a lot of activities together. Cleans. Cooks. Listens to me. Supports me. We have similar life goals. Drives 30 minutes into town if I want ice cream. Makes my lunchbox every morning. I really love the man. Plus, he’s sooooo good looking.
I was ready to leave him after the last argument (the yelling while at my parents’)… and I told him about it. He accepted the possibility of a break up, saying he only wants to know I am happy. But he asked for one last chance. I told him that I felt as if I couldn’t speak to him because of his reactions and that it felt somewhat abusive. He said that I was right and he understood that his reactions are not healthy and that he has to deal with his trauma. And he gave me examples where he thought he could’ve acted better, which showed that he really understood where the manipulation/overreaction occurred. He promised he’d never get upset at me again for no reason and things have been perfect for the past 2 weeks.
Even when I bring up something that upsets me, he listens and adresses the issue calmly and kindly.
Yet, I feel that I have trouble forgiving all the fights we’ve had where I felt muted. I don’t know if these are such grave offenses of if I’m just being overly sensitive. I tend to be very naive and I’ve been burned badly in the past, so now… am I being overly cautious. Are these incidents really so bad if he understands what he’s done?

TW: Domestic violence, miscarriage
First time on here. I am extremely fragile about this case, so please be kind. I am a female in my late twenties. I have changed a few things for anonymity. I am located in the Carolinas.
To provide a brief overview of my situation, several years ago, I removed myself and my children from a domestic violence situation. Despite leaving, I have yet to receive any child support or financial assistance from my ex-husband. However, my main concern is the safety and well-being of my children, particularly my partially non-verbal severely autistic son, who requires specialized care and protection. I have done fine providing, but don't have much (if any) disposable income. My son is the only child he has rights to.
These events happened either in front of the children, or down the hall from them. My ex-husband has demonstrated a pattern of abusive behavior, including physical, mental, and emotional violence in front of the children. He has also made threats to kill me and kidnap the kids, and taken actions of harm towards me, and shown disregard and neglect for our son and his needs. Additionally, his abuse led to a miscarriage. I told him about the pregnancy, and I guess he decided it was his decision on if it was terminated or not.
Last year, I was not properly served with the divorce and custody papers, which were signed for at an address where I have never resided. I have diligently pursued legal avenues to ensure the safety of my children, including filing motions for dismissal and continuance to give me more time. I haven't heard back about the continuance. However, due to financial constraints, I have been navigating this complex legal process largely by myself. The final trial is coming up and while I am happy to be divorced, I have not had adequate time to prepare for the custody case. I have filed a Motion to Dismiss by Rule 12 which is set at the end of June 2024, as well as a Motion of Continuous for the custody trial, which was scheduled without my input for the end of this month, May 2024.
Recently, I was misled by an attorney who took advantage of my limited financial resources without providing meaningful assistance. Consequently, I find myself facing a final trial without proper legal representation. Despite my efforts to manage the paperwork and gather evidence over the past four years, I recognize the need for experienced legal counsel to navigate the complexities of this case effectively.
My children and I had an Order of Protection, and later a Show Cause. He was arrested at the time an incident happened between us requiring me to go to the hospital. During this order, I was required to communicate with him via email about my son, which I did, and even let him do video calls with him. However, once the Order of Protection expired, he became hostile with me, so I stopped reaching out due to my his behavior. Not to mention the mental harm it did on my children and I (PTSD). While I left open the main line of communication, I refrained from further contact out of fear for our safety and mental well-being.
I am deeply concerned about the well-being of my children, particularly my son, who has been subjected to neglect and emotional distress by the actions of his father, and the lack of his caring of what is best for the children, namely my son. He doesn't even know his birthday, and hasn't attempted to reach out in over a year. His family has never once tried to connect, and never particularly cared to begin with. I TRULY believe all of this is just to get to me because he knows that my children are the most important things to me, and as a true narcissist, doesn't care who is in the way, including young children.
I have diligently documented and compiled evidence to support my case, including copies of court orders and relevant documentation. I have prepared for this trial as though I will have to proceed alone. However, I recognize the limitations of my own legal knowledge and resources in securing a favorable outcome for my children's safety and welfare. I don't want this to come out badly for my son just because I don't have anyone. It's frustrating because I am providing everything for these babies, without help, and he is able to pay for an attorney no problem. Even if he couldn't, his family could.
I will take any comments on this that may help me. I have reached out to what seems like every legal aid group and countless attorneys. I am terrified...

I don't think a lot of people realize that Dawn of the Infinite has an additional difficulty above Hard Mode - called Deathless / Immortal.
There is an achievement tracking it: https://www.wowhead.com/achievement=18706/put-that-thing-back-where-it-came-from
The challenge is do all bosses on HM but have no one die from beginning to end (we've seen similar things in previous mega dungeons - Tazavesh and Mechagon). The 'Deathless' twist is four hourglasses that only prevent you from jumping - this isn't really a big deal and on Deos the hourglasses is auto-chucked by a player when they are near a keeper add.
The reward if you haven't done it before is an achievement plus transmogs. Relevant this season is that the final boss loot is upgraded from 509 Hero 3/6 gear to 519 Myth 1/4 gear. Some specs rely on Mirror of Fractured Tomorrows which is BiS for some specs since you can upgrade it all the way to 528.
Also relevant this week is the Dragonflight Dungeon bonus which upgrades Chrono-Lord Deios and drops an additional piece.
The Good

• I underestimate how much the key squish would affect Mega Dungeons. We've got this nice Normal raid experience with Mega Dungeon M0, then Heroic raid level with Hard Mode, and Deathless is akin to low Mythic raid level.
  I'm in favor of pushing more Mega Dungeon challenges and this fills in the niche that players wanting a small raid experience but don't want to feel 'rushed' by the timer in regular M+.
  
• HM puts in some nice interesting twists. Deathless on top forces in playing safer builds which can in turn create more interesting gameplay.
  

The Bad

• This is badly advertised. Wowhead seems content on spamming random posts even spamming the DF dungeon post twice despite having double 519 loot drops being extremely relevant to a lot of players.
  I had to dig through to find a relevant log: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2142447030?t=0h52m42s
  I tried to group finder PUG this but it took hours to get a full team because (A) people don't know about it (B) it is badly advertised (C) this is sort of a +10 difficulty level but pretty hidden in the 'HM' category which is kinda of a +5 ish in the 'Dawn of the Infinite (Mythic) category.
  Had to relent and corral and bribe guildies. I doubt I'll be doing this again this season but we're happy that two of the guildies got their BiS drops from the run.
  At least BfA Mechagon had the Rank 4 Essence animation plus mount.
  
• There's basically nothing that is relevant for Healers on Deos.
  
• Bullions should also include M+ dungeon items and Mega Dungeon items. I had so much trouble trying to find people for this, I can't imagine players who 'technically' have BiS items coming from Deathless specifically but can't run this because no one is interested.
  
• Deathless is a bit much. I'd recommend getting in at 515+ item level just to smooth out the damage going out. I wouldn't rank Chrono-Lord Deos 'harder' than say Mythic Igira this week, but no one can make a single death throughout the 1-2 hours of the run.
  This is akin to a +10 keystone right now in difficulty but no one can die.
  Deathless makes a lot more sense when you can come in with 30+ item levels. You can't really do that this season, and it isn't uncommon to have something random one shot you or some bug or something random kill you through no fault of your own on top of some random difficulty spikes (those eels near the Horde / Alliance timeway area can truck if you decide to pull them)
  I think we can redesign this so 'mythic' level ups the tuning and adds a small little extra twist. This smooths out the entire experience.
  
• Having to click through a variety of things to activate difficulties is a bit convoluted. I think a simple 'choose your level at the start' 'normal, heroic, mythic' is best.
  
• There should be an option in the group finder to indicate the difficulty level you want to participate in.
  

In short, liked what I got. Was interesting and different feeling from M+. Looking forward to Blizz's iteration on this system going forward especially with added QoLs.

Hi everyone - I'm giving my regular DM a break for the summer and plan to run a hack-and-slash dungeon crawler for the group. Thought is that some people may have plans, vacations, etc,. so missed sessions are expected and therefore want to have low story so people feel free to jump back in.
I'm thinking we will just level after each session so people can feel a satisfactory power level by the end of the summer. Any suggestions on modules, adventure paths, books, whatever that may fill my purpose? Thinking 2-3 fights per level from levels 3-15. I'm happy to mash things together and fill in gaps but was hoping to get some bones to work with.

I have been awfully depressed for a few months now. It originated from a miss carriage in a relationship I just ended today. We just didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things going on at the time as well. I only stayed in the relationship because I wanted her to be happy but in the process I feel like I was damaging myself and bottling my inner self so that she could be happy. I hadn’t gone to therapy or anything because I thought this feeling is just a phase that would go away. There was days that I would cry and one day I just went mute. I have a terrible time with focus, confusion, and even thinking of anything is impossible. My brain feels numb. I don’t even feel attached to the real world anymore. I started taking lions mane gummies to try to boost my mood but I was never able to get my mind off of anything. I just want to know that there’s a light at the end of the Tunnel and that I’ll be myself again or atleast be able to think properly again and have interest in my life like I once had. I plan to get a therapist this week but it’s been hard financially and it’s even gotten to a point where I start to look for insurance and a therapist and when it start to take too long to look for one I just give up.

This has come up a bit in other posts and in my own playgroup. I figure it's worth a little discussion. I always remember a quote from a Game Design Conference video I watched - "Players are excellent at identifying problems, and horrible at coming up with solutions for them" - so I'll be light on the suggestions, because they're probably ass 😉
Why do I want fellow faction teammates around?
There are some obvious positive aspects.

• PvP defense/numbers
• They might have a key you need
• Potential for fun interactions/grouping up on quests that allow it
• Distraction for enemy AI
• They might help if you message them

When I start to think of the negatives, and how my group has responded to having "blueberries" nearby in game...

• Blue on blue threat on PvP servers, it's gotten better, but there is always the threat that they misidentify and kill you
• Fighting for kills on kill quests
• Fighting to reach the bosses first
• Chance of them looting you if you die nearby
• Potential for them to alert the AI in an area, could be helpful, could get you killed
• Fighting over helicopter spots

I think going forward, once we get past the initial launch punch list, looking at ways to make your faction mean more would be awesome. We should want to work together, ally up, and not have to feel like we're putting one another out by accidentally taking their kills, etc.
There will always be a risk of blue on blue, but the benefits of allies should outweigh the negatives, and currently, the negatives tend to be much more severe whereas the positives are nice, but not necessary when it comes with a chance of death/being looted.
My few suggestions...

• Harder PvE be it through more AI in terms of numbers, or harder in terms of difficulty. It would be nice to feel like I need their help. I know some people think the AI is too hard, but I'm finding that the majority of the areas currently are not that difficult, particularly after your first venture through them.
• Some sort of faction chat
• Map symbols, maybe a map symbol that acts quite literally as a group invite; ie: I place a 'quest here' marker over by Ban Pa, and folks who need it can click join, and head that way.
• Shared objective credit for kill quests for both normal AI and bosses. PMCs are not one man armies.
• The ability to have your helicopter be open, or not; meant as a way to prevent griefers from hopping on and fucking with you.
• Maybe give players a few different starting branch options after the main town to spread people out a bit, so we aren't all on top of one another, with over half the faction trying to do the same thing. Even if we did share the reward, it isn't exactly rewarding to plow through the AI with a horde of faction mates, at least at the current AI spawn/difficulty levels.

That's all. Loving the game, nearly ~70 hours in so far, but the reality is, I'd largely be just as happy playing with just my squad on the side of my faction. I've had some great interactions with faction members, but the negative ones end up being the ones you remember more easily, and the ones that tend to waste the most of your playtime. Got any ideas to make being on a faction more fun, meaningful, and rewarding for everybody?

Hi all,
I wasn't sure whether this was best posted here in Thunderbolt or in buildapcforme (so I'm posting in both places), but I'm looking for help with a new PC build that I'm doing for work. I'll be building about 4 of these, so really need to get it right the first time as the cost of making a mistake will be significant otherwise.
I am about to build an entirely new system. It's a higher-end system that will be capable of decent graphics manipulation, multiple displays, and quick processing. It'll be similarly spec'd to this pre-built from Scorptec. Budget of up to $3.5k AUD per computer.
Each PC will go into a room where it will need to share a monitor and 4x USB devices with another computer. In addition, the PC will have another 3x monitors plus other USB, LAN, and audio devices connected.
I initially attempted to do this with the existing devices in there by purchasing an Aten US3311 USB-C KVM Switch, which allows for up to 4x USB-A devices plus a DP monitor to be shared between two PCs, each PC connecting via a single USB-C cable (with alt mode). However, I discovered that the PC I had does not have any USB-C connectivity. I then purchased a USB-C PCIe add-in card (Sunix UPD2018) which is supposed to grant USB-C connectivity with DisplayPort alt-mode monitor connection via a DP-in port. Unfortunately, I was unable to get it working stably even with this add-in card.
Building a new PC gives me the opportunity to handpick the components in it to ensure 100% compatibility to my use case. I am exploring Thunderbolt as the answer to my problem, but the more I look into it the more I am confused by it.
One of the primary points of confusion for me is the interaction between Thunderbolt display output and the use of a dedicated GPU, especially as it seems some Thunderbolt ports require a DP-in for it to carry a display signal (such as this ASUS ProArt Z790-CREATOR WIFI Motherboard), while others use the integrated graphics capabilities of the CPU (such as this ASRock Z790 Taichi Lite Motherboard). My previous lack of success with the Sunix PCIe card, which used DP-in to provide display over USB-C, makes me reluctant to go with a solution that requires DP-in for Thunderbolt. However, I recognise that this previous experience is probably isolated to the specific hardware I was using. If I were instead to go for a motherboard that utilises the CPU's graphics processing, such as the ASRock Taichi linked above, how does that interact with running other monitors from a dedicated GPU?
I suppose my question can be summarised in this way: What motherboard should I buy that will have the ability to connect to a shared DP monitor and 4x shared USB devices through the Aten US3311 KVM via a single USB-C cable, while also having the ability to use 3x other monitors through a dedicated GPU and other USB, LAN, and audio devices?
I'm sorry if this is confusing. I'll be more than happy to answer questions in the comments. Thanks in advance for any help provided.

Hi everyone, I have some questions regarding JS that maybe someone will be able to help.
I have been dealing with some medical issues since november 2023. I had to go to hospital twice for them and the last time I was told I need surgery to solve them, this was in end of January 2024.
I was working at the time as a casual in a very physical job that was making my illness worse, having to sometimes miss work.
In march 2024 I decided to leave my job as I was getting sicker,. Later on mid april I had my surgery of which I am still recovering. I tried to do some work last week and was not able, got sick again.
Im having trouble seeing if I will be able to make a claim and the documentation I will need.
I started a claim and saw that I would need an employment separation certificate, medical certificate and some other paperwork.
From your experience, would I be able to make a claim?
Im happy to answer more questions to provide more info.
Not being able to work and having no income is seriously affecting my mental health and also physical.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks