Hello
I am currently accounting and MIS major. I want to pursue a career that utilizes accounting and MIS skill sets. I don’t have a background in these more technical courses but have A’s from MIS 325 and 322. I learn quickly and am excited to continue learning more.
Can someone please relay what this course was like, as far as the workload out of class, what the biggest takeaways for this course were and if there are any group projects. I want to maintain a high GPA as well. I currently have a 3.88 as I plan on applying to graduate school.
I do want to take this course as it seems interesting, but I want some more information on this course. Any input would be appreciated!
Thanks in advance

I have an early (Vin high 2000s) GT. I got my car back tonight after the second round of fixes (Lucid calls them 'campaigns').
The big things they replaced were the 900V battery, the wonderbox, and the connections between, but only the battery had anything wrong with it. They changed the wonderbox and updated battery design at the same time, so you have to replace them both at once as well as the connectors. I was told to expect a small increase in efficiency.
Sadly, they would not give me the old wonderbox nor the old battery.
Other stuff inspected/adjusted:
Charge port door
Wiper harness
EPS harness
Rear DCU
Cabin battery negative terminal retorqued
Brought all tires to factory spec inflation
Other stuff fixed/replaced:
Key fob battery (they do this every time your car goes in)
Coolant hose bracket
Read door harness (they found this during the visit - the harness had come loose so they replaced the whole thing)
So mostly minor stuff outside of the main battery replacement.

Wassup fellow carAV enthusiast, looking for some ideas and suggestions on replacement speakers in my 2006 MDX, I am running a pioneer AVIC x950bh to the stock Bose speakers I may throw in my 5 channel TI 1600.5 just for mids and highs, my pioneer 10's are on a rp800.1.

Hey y’all,
I’m sure everyone’s alllllways asking about this, but oh well.
I grew up in the foothills of the ADKs, and have done plenty of hiking up there—mostly within the West Canada Lake Wilderness and around the Northern Sacandaga Lake/Lake George area. I’ve been out of the game for a while, especially since my friend and closest hiking partner moved away. In her absence I got out to the pacific west coast, and have pit-puttered around the Catskills (so I haven’t been completely celibate). But now she’s moving back!!!!! We were reflecting on some of our more challenging hikes together (getting lost along the Sacandaga River, dodging rattle snakes on the Tongue Mountain Range, hiking Snowy Mountain in the rain, ripping my hands up on the summit of Wright Peak, questioning why we keep hiking Hadley because it’s an absolute bear…. Anyway, long story long, we started talking about doing Marcy. From what I have read, it’s the length that is challenging, rather than the climb; this idea was sparked by a comment I read here starting that “Hadley Hill is more difficult than Marcy”, which I found so funny because we would take field trips to Hadley when I was in school… but it is a friggen difficult climb. Short, but it’s a pain.
So, is this all true??? Is Marcy actually doable for us?! We’re looking to do it in September so that we can be prepared, and so all the black flies and other blood sucking pests are gone. What should we know? Should we split it up and camp out for a night, or is it better to do it in one day? (Tongue Mountain Range in Lake George is about 16 miles, and we did that in 10 hours) Are we allowed to build a fire as long as we’re below 4000’? Is there scrambling? Are there any dangerous parts to know about? I wanna know everything!

Hi everyone,
I was recently accepted into Berkeley as a spring 2025 transfer student. I am currently an OOS community college student. I got admitted as a sociology major. I also got accepted into my state school, the University of Colorado Boulder. I got admitted as a marketing major. I know the majors are so different, but I took a lot of courses in CC that involved both business and sociology. I am more interested/passionate in sociology, but I feel like there are more opportunities in marketing. I used to live in California before I moved, so it has always been my dream to go to college in California. I applied my senior year in high school and got accepted into UCI, but because it was too expensive, I decided to go towards the CC route. I never dreamed I would get into Berkeley (especially as an OOS CC student), so I feel like turning it down would be stupid. I would have to take on student loans if I went to Berkeley, but my parents told me they would help me pay them off. Comparatively, my state school is free for me to attend. What should I do? I'm so lost, and I have to make a decision soon.

My high school only offers wrestling during the winter season. However I'd like to do it year round. Are there any places I could go to that offer wrestling year-round? Or should I do a martial art that has a lot of wrestling/floor work in it?

(My brother 18m graduated over the weekend. He also turned 18 1.5 weeks ago.) So, I 16m have autism. It was diagnosed 5 months ago, but we suspected it for a couple years. I have a hard time being social, and sometimes I have a breakdown if I am overwhelmed by it. I've learned to mask it over the years, but sometimes it's impossible to control. My brother turned 18 on May 2nd, and I wanted to get him a gift. So I sold all my expensive Pokemon cards(worth over a hundred dollars) at vintage stock for ten dollars. I've had them for my entire life, and cherish them to my core. They held a lot of memories of my past, and it was hard to give them up. But I pushed through it, wanting to make his 18th birthday special. Fast forward a week, and he's graduating. It's his graduation weekend, and I'm determined to make it special as well. I've been practicing his graduation music in band, even though I don't play anymore because of my social anxiety. Playing a trumpet kinda feels like yelling in a room where everyone else is only talking. On Saturday, we hold his graduation party. I'm woke up by my mom, and I spend the entire morning cleaning the house while being yelled at by my panicking mom. I then spend 3 hours decorating for him, all while he wanders around dwadlleing. People start showing up, and I retreat to my parents room where I proceed to babysit my dogs. The few times I did leave, they didn't stop barking until I came back. After a couple hours of sitting there, I get bored. I asked my brother if he is going to be on his vr headset. He tells me no, but says I can't play on it anyways, as he wants me to socialize. I tell him I'm going to play on my Xbox, only to be told not to. I'm kind of surprised, as it's my Xbox. There's no reason why I shouldn't be able to play. He then says I can either sit with the dogs or socialize. I'm taken a back, as he doesn't usually have the right to order me around. I shrug it off, and go back to sit with the dogs. I don't want to ruin his graduation party. I sit there for the rest of the party, only coming out to say goodbye to everyone. The next day, I'm woken up by mom again. This time though, I can tell is going to be a bad social day. But I play along, getting dressed so I can play for the graduation ceremony. Once I get to school, I try to avoid all contact with people. I mostly make it to the gymnasium, where the ceremony is being held, without losing my shit. That's when I see the seating arrangements. The entire band is shoved in a corner. Luckily though, some people didn't show up. This left a big gap, letting me sit two seats away from the people on my right, and four seats away from the people on my left. Then the principal decides he doesn't like how we look, and squishes us further into the corner and putting everyone shoulder to shoulder. I'm borderline breaking down now, but I get through the agonizing hour without breaking down completely. Eventually, we're let out. I walk over to my parents car, where my brother is standing with them. I ask if I can go home with him, because they're going shopping. Remember, I mask very well. They tell me that I'm coming shopping with them, and that my brother wants the house to himself. I tell them that I can't take going shopping right now, and I need to go home. They ignore my pleas, insisting that I'll come with them. Then they try a different tactic, saying the choice is up to my brother. He recognizes it's not fair for me, and says I can go home with him. They then try to pull every card in the book. "You used to be mean to him when you guys were home alone!" I haven't done that in over a month. The only reason I did it was because I was frustrated that my brother just got to order me around. I told them that I haven't done that in a month, but they go onto the next excuse. "It's his graduation day, it should be special" at this point, my mask is falling apart. I start raising my voice trying to convince them that I can't go with them. They then try bribing me with the offer to go to Petco so I could look at the animals, but my breakdown couldn't be fixed with that. Eventually I get in the truck, throwing my trumpet in and slamming the door behind me. Then dad, who is stubborn and petty, turns on the music at a very high volume. When we had first set out, mom told him to turn it off because it was too loud. Now she sat in silence, content with making my ride hell. I then curl up in the backseat, with my fingers in my ears. Eventually, they get out to go shopping. I stay in the car without argument, because we all know it would get worse if I was forced to go with them.When they come back, dad turns the radio on full blast again, and I go into a full meltdown. I start screaming at them to shut it off, and mom decides it's time to shut it off now. But dad, wanting to instigate me, decides to turn it back on at a slightly lower volume. Even mom recognizes this as instigating but before she can do anything about it, I open the car door. Keep In mind, we're still moving at about 30mph. I'm fully prepared to launch myself out of the car, and the only reason I don't is because I have to unbuckle my seatbelt. In that timeframe of me unbuckling myself, mom yells at me to shut the door. That snaps me out of my tantrum enough for me to shut the door. Mom then yells at dad to take her home. I yell at him to take me to the mental hospital. Both of them refuse because of how much money it takes. Once we get home, I get on my phone and calm down. Then I get on my Xbox and start playing powerwash simulator to calm me down even more. After I'm calm enough, I start playing multiplayer games. Today, mom wanted to take away all my electronics for the way I acted, saying that I was super selfish. I eventually argued my way into getting my phone back, leading to me making this. Her reasoning behind me being selfish is that I "made my brother feel guilty". She also brought up the fact that Sunday was mother's day, and that I shouldn't have acted that way because it was her day as well. Are my parents right, or should I take this situation to medical professionals?

Can someone point out an advantage I'm missing or disagree?
Castle has the edge in handle, passing, playmaking, finishing, I think he has better mechanics and more repeatable form. Also point guard experience in high school. I also think the UConn program matters.
Holland is the better athlete, explosive, younger, line driver, better in transition, taller
Both seem to have a greater motor and are tough.
For those with Holland higher than Castle what am I missing?

I will remain anonymous but I am related to this school.
A student I know was recently given in school suspension for a full day with no prior warning or email because they placed sticky notes on a wall. (It was originally planned to be three days of in school suspension, but was cut down to the one.) Only one of what I estimate to be around 15 of these notes had any obscenity, the obscenity being the word 'damn'. One of the students involved had previously had a conflict for wearing a fox-tail keychain that was mistakenly deemed an 'animal costume'. Three days of in school suspension is significant on a student's record, especially with no warning.
Later on in the day, I receive an email from the school's principal with a paragraph detailing why students cannot wear animal costume to school, and eventually saying "This includes masks, animal ears or tails (who would've thought)". Completely unnecessary, and this email was obviously sent knowing that student would read it. Extremely unprofessional for the principal of a high school to intentionally single out and shame a student for wearing an accessory (especially considering fox tail keychains are not particularly uncommon).
A later paragraph details how it is against policy to hang things on walls without staff permission (referring to sticky notes on a windowsill by the way) and states that anyone guilty will have a week of in school suspension (it's finals week). After this, he thanks the '99% of students who do the right thing all the time' (still singling out students who put sticky notes on a windowsill).
I think this is extremely unprofessional on the school's part and thought I should let parents know.

Long time lurker, first time redditoposter. I've been listening and reading a lot of these horror stories and figured it might be fun to share mine.
I haven't actually played a game of DnD or DnD adjacent since about 2020/2021, mostly because of what transpired during the games I actually did play before that. I love the concept, I love creating characters and stories and worlds, but I get a pit in my stomach when I actually try to play again.
I had my first opportunity to play DnD my freshman year of college. I dropped in on the campus tabletop club and I was quite anxious. I was the only girl in the room, everyone seemed to have known each other or clicked well, but I wanted to branch out of my comfort zone. The first night went well! We played a very quick heist one shot where we made a character with one flaw and one interesting trait. Through unfortunate rolls and circumstances, we had a TPK, but it was a fun time. I was invited afterwards to join a Pathfinder campaign that a few of the members were going to start up for the new semester, and so I scheduled a time to meet with the DM and create my first full fledged character.
Now, the DM was kind of eccentric, a little whack if you will but very excited to help me make my first character. I thought he was just goofy and really into the game. God I wish I picked up on all the red flags that would come.
He first asked me what kind of race I'd like to play as. I had always been drawn to tiefling characters because I liked the aesthetic. His eyes lit up at that for some reason. Then he asked what class I'd like; if I'd like to be primarily a support or tank or what have you. I didn't want to get overwhelmed in my first game and thought support might be nice. I could watch how combat worked while just keeping everyone going and buffed. I said let's try bard! The grin that crept up on his face...
He immediately started talking about how saucy that would be, how my character would be so flirty and fun. I expressed some discomfort in having my character immediately fall into the "h*rny bard" category I had seen meme'd on so much, but he laughed and waved it off by saying he "was a theater kid in high school! Everyone was super h*orny and making out backstage all the time. It just comes with the environment!" Being a new player, and wanting to fit in, I pushed down my discomfort and thought okay, I'll play her as a joke character I guess.
For awhile it was fine, I got to play her as a dancelyre player who was part of a traveling circus. Nothing weird was coming up the first few sessions. Most of the other PCs either joined together by taking quests from the town job board, or had ties built in to their backstory. My first red flag should have been that the DM, despite constantly raving about all his planning, was frequently skipping around the story. He would suddenly decide the plot point we were on wasn't interesting enough for some reason, and just throw us into another scenario. We left so many lose ends because he just didn't feel like finishing them, regardless of if we were engaging in it or not. But hey, he's the DM right? That's what I thought, he had the right to change it. I had no prior experience to see this was just bad DMing.
We ended up joining an archery competition as we were tempted by a mystery grand prize. At the sign up table, out of nowhere, the DMPC attending to registration suddenly starts flirting with my character. I got flustered in a negative way because this DM got very into character (giving me looks, leaning in as he spoke to me, the whole shebang). I panicked, all of a sudden being the focus of a room full of men seeing how I'd react to it. I again, stupidly, went along with it. I had her (nervously) flirt back lightly, and I was relieved it didn't go much further at that point. Skipping to the end of the archery competition, my bard ended up in the final two and sabotaged an assassination on the town's mayor mid competition. The party was invited to a celebratory dinner at the mayor's house afterwards, where we once again ran into the NPC that flirted with my character at registration. He invited her to bed, and again I got extremely uncomfortable and flustered. None of this was discussed beforehand, nor was I even asked if I was comfortable with such topics before joining the campaign. The guys at the table were egging me on, and I felt pressured to accept. With a few hoots and hollers, we had a fade to black scene (thank god). I went home feeling very icky, but convinced myself I was being a wimp. And the table had enjoyed my antics that night, so I should be grateful.
I had the thought between sessions to write in a childhood friends to lovers interest for my bard to try and avoid any more unexpected encounters like that again, thinking if the DM had another character to play as with some personal tie to my bard, that would make be feel better about the interactions. He was brought up once, where I milked the f*ck out of my character's attachment to him, hoping to drive home that this was juicy potential relationship to build over the campaign. He never came up again during that campaign. The DM also completely disregarded many of the notes I gave him detailing this love interest's personality, and took many 'creative liberties' with him, but not enough where I would decide to say something.
Another few sessions happened where we struggled through the DMs inconsistent storytelling and jumping around to whatever plot point had his interest at the moment. He was constantly putting us in fights we could not hope to win, way too challenging for our lvl. 1-3 party. We often sat around the table in disappointment and defeat as we got absolutely destroyed by monsters (no one being able to land hits for sometimes 3-4 rounds at a time because of how high the AC or CR was), while the DM laughed and basked in the dreary nature of the table. He would usually eventually fudge rolls to give us an out when we were close to TPKs. He even gave us a deck of many things and insisted our PCs "felt compelled" to pull cards despite the players disagreeing they that wanted to. He attempted to force my character to drastically change her alignment to an evil one for shits and giggles because of one card pull (later allowed me to ignore it because I didn't even WANT to use the deck), and got three of us killed by having them pull a card that summoned the highest CR monster you could use.
One night he texts the group chat that he decided he's done running that story, and wants to run another one shot instead. We had one last session to "close" that first campaign and discuss the one shot options. During our meeting, he gleefully admitted to me that he had planned for my bard to get PREGNANT in that one night stand with the NPC from the archery competition. Not only did he plan to do that without my consent or knowledge, he had planned for it to be a HAG baby that would have entirely f*cked my PC up (he explained it as the man having been a witch in disguise or something?? And said that's how hags are made? Which to my knowledge is entirely incorrect. Maybe it was a homebrew rule, but regardless, I was mortified. And now very grateful he lost interest in that campaign).
Moving on to the one shot, another player decided to try DMing, and so the Problem DM had a chance to be a PC, yay! He privately messaged me and asked if I'd be interested in connecting our characters and their backstories. I said yes and we got to work. We spent a few nights discussing their dynamic and I was really excited to go into this game. Well, come the night of the session, we were going around the table introducing our characters. The Problem DM went before me, and introduced an entirely different character than the one we discussed, and one that would often almost kill us during the one shot (to which the guy would cackle and mock us for getting upset each time). I asked him what happened to our plan, and he said earlier that day he decided he wanted to do something different. I sighed and let it go, because at least it was just a one shot and my character could still function without his connection to the other PC. Another one shot where the Problem DM got to be a PC, he seemed to make it his goal to be the biggest asshole to everyone else's character. My PC was an archaeologist, and when she excitedly discovered some old pottery in a dungeon, he had his PC run up and smash everything and laugh in her face.
The next campaign we tried that had issues was a Starfinder campaign. Our party was considered its own crew for a space ship, plus one DMPC that was placed into the mix supposedly to help us if we fell short, since we were all unfamiliar with Starfinder and spaceship battle mechanics. She was honestly a really cool character! And we had one or two sessions to establish the story and how the crew interacted. Now, this was my mistake, not taking any of the other creepy habits of the DM into consideration, but I offhandedly mentioned to the table at large that my PC (a woman) might be developing a crush on this DMPC (also a woman). They had gone through a lot together in-game at that point and it felt natural. The next session, you'll never guess, the DMPC started flirting hard core with my character. I was confused and asked the DM what that was about, as we had never had any interactions between those two that would be read as romantic. Even if I mentioned my character was crushing, she had never let it on, and the DMPC had never indicated she felt a similar pull as well. The DM didn't really have an explanation, just that apparently in-universe, the DMPC had been flirting more and more with my character since their last adventure together alone. I thought, okay, I guess...
Honestly? What transpired would have been an insanely cool plot twist if we had had the time to actually roleplay and develop the relationship between my character and the DMPC, as well as the crew at large and the DMPC. She ended up being part of a cult that wanted to steal an artifact we had acquired. She was apparently trying to 'romance' my PC because my PC was the one who often guarded the artifact, and needed her to let her guard down. It would have been a super impactful betrayal, but it was literally only a handful of sessions between the first meeting, and the plot twist. We just had to trust the DMs word that we had all gotten super attached to her between actual session meetings and we all should feel like we were stabbed in the back by this trusted individual. And I especially should feel heartbroken because she never really was interested in me anyway.
Later on down the line, despite some very interesting story points, it got creepy again. Our PCs ended up being sucked into a death game show, and isolated from the outside world while being broadcast to universal TV stations. At some point we were all given access to the internet after a few weeks in isolation to search up anything we wanted. Everyone searched up their names among other things. The DM described us finding our newly formed fanbases. He described the other PCs fanbases (men played by men) as having hot debates on their intelligence and decisions during the show, or bets on if they'd be the last ones standing; that sort of stuff. He described my fanbase as leering creeps saying the most unhinged things about what they wanted my PC to do to them s*xually, as well as some spreading photos of my PC without her face covering (she was a Kasatha, which canonically keep their mouths covered. But she had been forced to remove it briefly when it almost waterboarded her after she fell into a river).
Eventually, we weren't able to meet consistently enough to warrant running campaigns anymore, and I fell out of touch with all involved. Oh, we also lost a player at some point right after he confessed to me and I declined his interest.
I went another year not playing before another friend group of mine invited me to play as a guest character. I thought this would be a nice way to ease back into the game slowly after my horrid experiences before. Rather than make an entirely new character for one or two sessions, I brought back my tiefling bard because I still really liked her character, and had started to reshape her personality without being pressured to have her be a s*xual chess piece. The new DM dropped my character in a labyrinth their current party had been trapped in for awhile. I was made to be a level or two higher and be an ally they encountered to help them escape. We did, it was fun! But I was only there as a guest, and had only planned my character to be in one to two sessions before leaving. I was consistently mentioning to the party that my PC would be leaving as soon as they get to her major city, but either they didn't think I was serious or didn't remember. I may have been convinced to come on full time, but unfortunately, history repeats itself. We got to a session where the party got to a tavern and drowned their sorrows and nursed their labyrinth bruises with beer, and the idea of a threesome was thrown in the air between my PC and two others. Now, half of this group were dating someone else in the group, and seemed very comfortable roleplaying casual s*x between their PCs because of it. They started a damn chant pressuring me to say yes, already trying to roleplay it, and I felt sick. I was too anxious at the idea of saying no with how aggressive everyone was for me to agree, so I tried to "roll for yes or no" as an out; the dice failed me, and it rolled a number assigned to yes. I was very quiet the rest of the session, and afterwards messaged the DM that I want my character to leave at the beginning of the next session.
The DM then tried to convince me to stay, despite me saying a clear no multiple times within the same conversation. They begged me to stay saying the party loved my PC a lot, and they would hate to lose me. When they finally relented, they then tried to smoothly transition to talk of making me a new character so I could permanently stay with the party, without compromising my bards story and decision. I kind of got on their case about that, and told them to stop pressuring me and I did not want to play with that group anymore. Eventually, they gave up, but not without some low key guilt tripping.
I tried playing with one more group after this, and while it didn't get creepy, it was also a disappointment as none of the players seemed to care besides me and the DM, despite everyone having encouraged starting the game because they wanted to learn how to play for the first time. Players slowly started ghosting us, drama happened between two players that joined just to have an excuse to talk and try and date (which ended up very messy and they both left), and the new players would get angry at me or the DM if they got confused with the rules or combat dynamics (the wizard rushed ahead of me, the tank barbarian, and then acted like it was my fault when they nearly got killed in the first round because "the tank is supposed to protect the damage dealers").
The DM and I stayed in contact after all the other players ghosted the chat, and ended up bringing over some other new players who had also played before, and re hauled the campaign. This one had so much promise...then quarantine hit, and we couldn't keep up with regular meetings.
At this point, with all my games ending with creeps, messy player dynamics or falling through, I decided maybe these kinds of games weren't for me.
I have new friends now inviting me to play, who have very functional groups (experienced professional DMs, closeknit friend groups, long-running campaigns), but I am too wary to accept any more offers for games, despite deep down really wanting to try again and be part of something I know can be amazing. Maybe I will one day, but until then, I just have these horror stories to think about.

Hello! I'm planning to apply to the UCs this fall with data science as my major. Since DS is an impacted major for most UCs, I'm kinda scared that I won't get accepted since I have a high GPA (4.0 rn) but I don't have much ecs. I'm planning to put Statistics / Cognitive science as my alternate major depending on the school, is it possible to get into UCSD / UCI / UCD as alternate major if I don't get in for DS?
Also I'm planning to TAG UCD for statistics, so when I apply do I have to put stats as my main major? Or can I just put DS and stats as my alternate?
Thank you!!

🍇.+ introduction +.🍇

i know i mostly give a lot of informative based shifting posts and i absolutely love doing that, however, i also genuinely find shifting to be one of my main hobbies. and so, i decided to take it upon myself to write about and share with all of you my drs. some fandom, some based within this dr, and some all over the place!
i will include scripts, relationships, personality, time, and duration. i do have some that i plan but have not yet shifted to however i am only including the ones i have shifted to as the ones i would like to shift to are just wishful thinking and not me actively trying to shift there. though, i may make a separate post about drs that i desire to shift to one day.
this post will be also talking about drs that i shifted to in the past as well going in chronological order.
side note; when i talk about time spent in dr, i mean how long i spent in it in total. when i use a date like xxxx-xxxx**, i am talking about in this time period. how long it was since i had scripted and focused on this dr for. there will be plenty of overlap here.

๋࣭ ୨🪞୧ ๋࣭ waiting room ๋࣭ ୨🪞୧ ๋࣭

november 2021 - now (with a two year break in between)
time spent in dr; six months
i honestly don't use this dr as much since my forest dr is much more nicer to relax in. i never used my waiting room for its original purpose. my waiting room was small with multiple doors surrounding it. it was more cozy though some would consider it claustrophobic.
the waiting room itself was my bedroom. for context, my bedroom has a walk in closet. inside that walk in closet is my dr. inside that closet is my waiting room where it is not a closet. honestly, idk why i didn't just permashift there but i find the process of shifting to be very relaxing for me as well haha.
it still has my other drs that i used to shift to but don't anymore. i just don't open the doors to it cuz i'm too focused on two of them. one that i don't even shift to the waiting room to and one that i do shift to it.
i shifted here using the raven method the first time and later the adhd method.

𓍢ִ໋🎧♫⋆｡ k-pop dr 𓍢ִ໋🎧♫⋆｡

december 2021 - october 2022
time spent in dr; five years
i have talked about this dr of mine before in a couple of comments and i think maybe a post. i haven't really blabbed about all of it. i remember about it just as a memory. i never dreamed in that reality though simply because it is hard for me to dream in this reality too and i never cared to script in 'i can dream in this reality.' however, now i make it a point to add that in.
i did not spend five years straight. it would make me too disoriented. i shifted to it consistently for a total of five years.
my k-pop group was pretty small tbh. at least compared to other groups i listen to. i scripted that i would not know who was in my group and i would find out after auditions and meeting them for the first time. we had five members and it was pretty average. it was not crazy popular but it wasn't very small either. it was one of the most successful of our record company though.
we were a mixed gender k-pop group. meaning some girls, two guys, and me, agender nonbinary. each member had a separate persona. i will give a quick run down of each member, their persona, and my relationship with them. though i was close with all of them. it's just that i was closer with some more than others.
♫⋆｡♫⋆｡♫⋆｡♫⋆｡♫⋆｡♫⋆｡♫⋆｡♫⋆｡♫⋆｡
we had me, i suppose you can call me tato since that was the name i had in that dr. i was known as the nerdy one. the smart one who would info dump and talk very formally while most of the members talked casual. i was mostly a dancer but also was good back up vocals.
my best friend was the pessimistic black cat of the group. i knew her from training and we grew close since then. i give her a five out of five on the closeness scale. her name was ga-young. she is a tan skinned korean girl. she was dancer and singer.
the bubbly girl. she sometimes acted bratty for the sake of cuteness. the cute bubbly girl was used interchangeably for her. she's very sweet both on and off stage. all of the group members were. she probably had the highest social media following due to her aesthetic photos and content. all of them looked like they belonged on pinterest. she was also makeup savvy and had a lot of skin care so got many promos and sponsorships from that. her name was banyen and she was an international idol from thailand!
then we have the soft girl of the group. her name was jae-eun. she was pretty short and kinda chubby but very shy and soft spoken. she was main singer and rapper.
the tough boy. his name was shik. shik is a sweet heart off stage. one of the rappers and dancers. he was actually pretty soft outside of his persona.
the jokester. another boy of the group. he was half black half korean. i found him to be very nice. he did struggle in the industry in the beginning but his mother had connections made through networking that allowed him to make it into the group. he hopes to have a solo career one day under a bigger company. his name is hwan. he was one of the main dancers and main vocals.
♫⋆｡♫⋆｡♫⋆｡♫⋆｡♫⋆｡♫⋆｡♫⋆｡♫⋆｡♫⋆｡
some basics of this dr are that stalkers, sasaengs, diet culture, and general toxicity in k-pop do not exist. i do not wish to deal with the drama and struggles of that and hate to see other idols go through it. i did not want for my friends to go through the same as well. he did not get one however across the five years though. i scripted that i spoke korean and english.
also those were the only things i ever scripted about this dr. i wanted it to be as exciting as possible so everything was left up to chance.
i shifted to this reality using the adhd method.

🌊˚.༄ h2o dr 🌊˚.༄

july 2022 - october 2022
time spent in dr; seven months
i don't often see people write down, talk about, or script this dr. this was my very first fandom drs. even though k-pop itself is a fandom, i personally would not consider it a fandom based dr since it does not belong to any specific group, just the general industry of it.
i got the idea for this reality because i was in a summery mood at the time and binge watched this show and mako mermaids with my cousin on his birthday. we watched this show together and i came up with the idea lol. after that, i kept it going for a little bit longer in my dr until i kinda forgot about it. i was honestly too tired switching between this dr and my k-pop dr and another dr on top of this and decided to take a break with this one. i may revisit it. i still have the script in a google doc.
my merfolk power was substanciakinesis. this granted me the ability to harden water almost as if it was like glass or crystallized. it would be strong, sturdy, and indestructible. if i so choose, i can let it revert back to water after a bit, or keep it crystal like forever.
a bit of a con about this reality was that it was actually pretty annoying. that and having to keep such a secret. i did have some lore to it however. it is a coming of age thing when someone in the family turns thirteen. i shifted to when i was thirteen and did the ceremony then shifted again the next time to when i was seventeen to eighteen as that was my age at the time. i had a single dad that i lived with and one ten year old sister who was later fourteen in the story. she was really sweet and honestly i miss her.
i will say though that the powers made it worth it. the ability to breathe underwater is honestly so cool and such a strange sensation. like you don't take notice on how strange a sensation it is to breathe air either until you've breathed underwater in a dr where you can.
i also shifted to this reality using the adhd method.

˗ˏˋ꒰ 📝 ꒱ hogwarts dr ˗ˏˋ꒰ 📝 ꒱

february 2022 - february 2022
time spent in dr; one week
i wasn't even a fan of harry potter haha. i just shifted there because everyone else was and i decided 'hey, why not?' and such.
to decide what house i would script myself into and get sorted in, i went onto a buzzfeed quiz of which house i was. i got ravenclaw and therefore, i was a ravenclaw. i didn't associate myself with the cast too much aside from the teachers and professors because i kinda had to there. the food was pretty good though even if it was kinda out there. it was fun while it lasted but honestly it felt so crowded and overwhelming to me and i'm unsure why. i guess because of the classes that i had to take.
i only shifted there once.
i shifted to this reality using my waiting room.

☄. *. ⋆ alien dr ☄. *. ⋆

march 2022 - april 2022
time spent in dr; three months
this was the last dr i shifted to before my shifting break. it was a pretty fun one. my main ability was anti gravity. alien me in this dr is slightly humanoid. in most of my drs, i look like how i look in this reality here but for this one, i looked much more different and dressed even more different. it was a cultural based clothes for the home planet i was from. think kinda star wars based but not a star wars inspired reality.
in my dr, i had antennas which basically acted as eyes to see from 360 degrees. hair isn't hair but made from a liquidy slime of bright neons. the neons change colors depending on emotions.
though i did spent quite a while in this reality, i don't have too much to say about it. this is because the most i can say is just different greetings, food, and general culture from aliens than humans. it's from another galaxy and obviously planet. and life span on this planet is much longer. we are more durable than humans.
when an alien passes away, their energy becomes one with the stars, turning into star dust and watching over their people.
i shifted to this reality using my waiting room.

💥✧࿐ mha/bnha dr 💥 ✧࿐

april 2024 - now
time spent in dr; twelve days
this was my first shift i did since my two year break! well, technically it was my waiting room but i used my waiting room to shift here immediately after and spent a week there.
i plan on going back to it but not much of my script was done to it yet. i prefer to be spontaneous in my scripting and just choose to cover the basics. i don't even script future upcoming events.
i'll be honest, it was a bit trippy having this as my first animated dr ever. if felt so real but the lines surrounding my hands made it all feel crazy. i think next time i will try realistic instead, haha.
my quirk in this reality is prediction. i can predict the actions and attacks of my opponent. think of it like the attacks in the video game undertale. a warning sign shows up for certain attacks that alerts the player to move out of the way.
one of my friends in this dr's quirk is extensions. her nails can grow into sharp nail extensions that cut like steel.
i am in the hero class of class 3a along with the big three. we spend a lot of time together. i am closer with nijere since she's the most friendly of them.
i shifted to this reality using my waiting room which i shifted from using the astral projection method.

⋆｡ﾟ🌖 wolfblood dr 🌖 ﾟ｡⋆

april 2024 - now
time spent in dr; eight months four months each shift
wolfblood is an english/british teen drama live action series about what are essentially werewolves known as wolfbloods. a wolfblood is born human and looks human up until a certain age and moon. once they reach that age, their blood changes and they become a wolf. they can then interchange between wolf and human however they please except on a full moon. unless of course it is a blood moon. on a blood moon, a wolfblood looks the exact same except their mind transforms.
there's no unique feature of a wolfblood. they can be any race, religion, etc. the thing that holds them all together is being a wolfblood. in my dr.
in my dr, i looked the exact same as here. i came from a small family of wolfbloods. i decided to take my family in my h2o reality and put them here as well. it has a similar coming of age theme. at a certain age, a wolfblood transforms just as in my h2o dr, once you are a certain age, you can go and become a merfolk. in this dr, i lived in england my entire life there and attend the same school as the main cast. however, i am not friends with the main cast nor enemies.
i can sense something is up with them as they act weird in class but can't put my finger on it. i scripted it so i was unaware of the identities on my peers.

‧₊˚🌿 forest dr ‧₊˚🌿

april 2024 - now
time spent in dr; two months
copying this from a previous post here, don't mind me.
'so a bit about my dr that i am shifting to. it is not any fandom related dr but instead an alternate reality where i live in the forest in an advanced tree house. think of the houses in trees type. i spend a lot of time there meditating, practicing spells, and spending time with the animals there but especially wolves. i still have internet connection but irl i don't live close to nature so this is just perfect for me. i'm happy in both this reality and my dr. i switch between the two whenever i feel like it.'
i also shifted to this one first astral projecting. but now i just meditate until i shift. when i shift, i am also in the same meditating position as well. i wanted this to instead be connected to my waiting room, to become a sort of escapism for myself. just in a different way.
you can see the posts i made about the outfits that i wear in this dr here if you want! you can also see more of my outfits in that reality here as well. :)
i shifted to this reality using my meditation method.

⋆🔗 ˚⟡˖ ࣪ conclusion ⋆ ˚⟡˖ ࣪🔗

this is all i have for today! i hope you enjoyed it. perhaps this gave you all motivation or some scripting and reality ideas. i may have forgotten some things to include and add. apologies if some stuff didn't make sense. i hope you enjoyed the read though!
i will say this as well and leave you off with some general scripting ideas
: ̗̀➛ you cannot die
: ̗̀➛ you cannot get hurt
: ̗̀➛ you always get a good night sleep
: ̗̀➛ if you have chronic illnesses like me, you can script that your chronic illnesses are more manageable or you simply just don't have it.
that is all i have for now and happy shifting! ᥫ᭡

I just just bought the G9ii after years with the GH5. I'm a very amateur sports videographer (a hobbyist at best) and I've mainly shot with the standard color profile and managed the highlights and shadows with the ISO and aperture adjustments (and shutter speed unfortunately for night games). I'm thinking that the high contrast moments with outdoor sports (baseball particularly as players sometimes come in and out of shadow or are going into the dugout) may be helped with a color profile that provides a greater dynamic range. I'm pretty new to color grading in post, so I'd like to avoid vlog. Is there a color profile that only requires minimal grading in post that has better dynamic range than the standard profile? When I've looked around online (usually not specific for outdoor sports, TBH), the common profiles that come up for my situation are CineD, Like709, natural, and HLG. I was curious if anyone has advice or experience with my scenario. Thanks!

When it comes to mountain biking, having the right tire size can make a huge difference in how your bike performs on the trails. The three most common tire sizes you'll see are 26, 27.5, and 29 inches. But what do these numbers mean, and how do you know which one is best for you?
Let's break it down, starting with the smallest of the bunch: 26 inches.

26" Tires: The Classic Choice

Back in the day, 26" tires were the standard for mountain bikes. These smaller tires were lightweight and nimble, making them a popular choice for cross-country racing and technical trail riding. The smaller diameter also meant the tires could be made with a higher volume (wider and taller) to provide more cushioning and traction.
Pros:

• Lightweight and responsive
• Good for technical riding and tight trails
• Higher volume options available

Cons:

• Smaller diameter means less rollover ability (harder to roll over obstacles)
• Can feel twitchier at higher speeds

These days, 26" tires are becoming less common as the bigger sizes gain popularity. But they're still a great option for riders who prioritize agility and want a more traditional mountain bike feel.

27.5" Tires: The Goldilocks Zone

Next up is the 27.5" tire size, also known as 650b. This size struck a nice balance between the small 26" tires and the larger 29" options. The 27.5" diameter provided better rollover capabilities than the 26" while still maintaining a relatively low weight and nimble handling.
Pros:

• Good balance of rollover, weight, and agility
• Widely available and used on many modern trail bikes

Cons:

• Doesn't excel in any one area compared to 26" or 29"

The 27.5" size quickly became a favorite for trail and all-mountain riding, offering a great all-around package. If you're looking for a versatile tire size that can handle a variety of terrain, this is a solid choice.

29" Tires: The Big Rollers

Last but not least, we have the 29" tires, also called 29ers. These big boys have been gaining serious popularity in recent years, and for good reason. The larger diameter means they can roll over obstacles more easily, maintain speed better, and provide more traction and stability at higher speeds.
Pros:

• Excellent rollover ability
• Smooth and stable at high speeds
• Increased traction and grip

Cons:

• Heavier and less nimble than smaller sizes
• Can feel sluggish on tight, technical trails

29" tires really shine on open, flowy trails where you can take advantage of their momentum and rollover capabilities. They're also a great choice for enduro and downhill riding, where speed and stability are key.

So, which size should you choose?

Ultimately, the best tire size for you will depend on your riding style, terrain, and personal preferences. If you're focused on cross-country racing or technical trail riding, the 26" or 27.5" sizes might be the way to go. For more aggressive trail and enduro riding, the 27.5" or 29" sizes are popular choices.
And if you're just getting started with mountain biking, the 27.5" size is a great all-around option that can handle a variety of terrain and riding styles.
Remember, tire size is just one piece of the puzzle. Tread pattern, compound, and tire pressure all play a role in how your tires perform. But understanding the differences between these three main sizes is a good starting point for choosing the right setup for your rides.

I have started getting quotes from several contractors and sub-contractors like plumbers and roofers.
From sub-contractors I am getting quotes in text messages. I don't have any visibility to the distribution of labour.
Eg: there were few copper pipes that were capped due to leaks and need to reconnect them. There were 4 locations that needed fixing. The estimate I got for that was 1200 labour only. So, I saw the plumbers who capped it using a wrench like device and a device to cut the copper pipes, only took them 15minutes each. Their hourly rate was 180.
So when I do the math assuming $200/h high end hourly rate, they are going to work 6h on it. I understand if they change 500-600 for the labor and material separately. Not trying to lowball or anything like that. This does not sit right with me.
Can anyone give an idea how you should read an estimate.

I'm in 8th grade but taking Algebra 2 Honors at a nearby high school, and I don't understand why we can have negative lengths in the unit circle while finding sine, cosine, tangent, etc. I might've missed something being taught or misremembered something but I thought the length of a line couldn't be negative. I want to understand this better so I do good on my final in a few weeks. Thanks!

I was recently sent $83 in USDT trn20 to a Trustwallet account I made. I mainly use metamask as my wallet. The issue I have is I have no idea how to convert, move, or swap this USDT trn20 into a coin I work with nor how to move it to Metamask. Does anyone know the process to convert this to something on ETH chain, or into some coin I can actually use for transactions and gas fees? If there is a way to convert it to coin I can use on the Coinbase exchange that could also work.
To add to this I tried using MoonPay and also Binance but they will not work in my State so they are not options I can use. I also tried Coinbase but it seems like that exchange does not work with trc20 either. I'm not sure of any other exchanges I could try.

I was recently sent $83 in USDT trn20 to a Trustwallet account I made. I mainly use metamask as my wallet. The issue I have is I have no idea how to convert, move, or swap this USDT trn20 into a coin I work with nor how to move it to Metamask. Does anyone know the process to convert this to something on ETH chain, or into some coin I can actually use for transactions and gas fees? If there is a way to convert it to coin I can use on the Coinbase exchange that could also work.
To add to this I tried using MoonPay and also Binance but they will not work in my State so they are not options I can use. I also tried Coinbase but it seems like that exchange does not work with trc20 either. I'm not sure of any other exchanges I could try.

Hola! vengo a intentar conocer gente. Tengo 21 años y hace como 3 años que perdí mis amistades al mudarme a Montevideo y acá no he conocido a nadie. Me gustan los videojuegos, sobre todo retro, los vtubers, el basket y ping pong, el streetwear, el anime y Spiderman. Pero no soy un friki, se puede ser una persona relativamente normal y aun así tener esos gustos. Soy fan de los perros y gatos.
Me gusta el arte, con eso me refiero a la ilustración y a la música, yo mismo soy dibujante y me gustaría aprender a tocar la batería o guitarra eléctrica algún día. Tambien tengo un interes por las armas de fuego pero no soy un school shooter lo prometo
No me gustan las drogas, alcohol, ni los bailes. Soy un tipo tranquilo y preferiría encontrar gente con mi misma "onda". Tampoco me gusta hablar de política ya que no se casi nada al respecto, me desagrada todo lo relacionado a lo "woke".
Busco gente que sea mas o menos cercana a mi edad. (18 a 30 ponele)
Mi idea es poder conocer gente un poco por mensajes y o llamada y luego coordinar un día para salir a algún lado, necesito salir de mi cueva un poco y ya me aburrió salir solo xD
Aunque no tengo casi ningún amigo, las personas cercanas a mi o que lo han sido todas han dicho que soy muy bueno escuchando y aconsejando. Puedo ser tu psicologo si agarramos confianza (?
Hace poco me compre una compu así que podemos jugar a algo online si quieren. Bueno eso es todo, hasta la proximaaa

I finally published for the first time. Not the first time I've finished a novel, but certainly the first time I have actively published one .. one that I've been a little proud of. I know it's a long process to get noticed, or even start to see some traction in sales & downloads, but how do you go about promoting your novel? I feel like I'm stuck. 😕
Beginning of chapter one below - if anyone would like to provide feedback that would be lovely. 🙂
[2,310] It began like a surreal haze, a fever dream dancing with unknown figures swirling around her like a languid tornado, their movements seemingly slowed by some unseen force as she awoke to a world spinning out of her control. She found herself surrounded by strangers who moved like spectres in a dream, fragmented flashes who assaulted her consciousness - a woman gently pressing a cloth to her throbbing head, another offering sips of water while she coughed and struggled to swallow, a man peering down at her with a furrowed brow, and a mysterious figure lingering in the doorway with an unsettling glint of desire in his eyes.
The room buzzed with a quiet urgency as they hovered around her, their faces etched with concern and something else she couldn't quite place - an undercurrent of tension that seemed to pulse in time with her own racing heart. These disjointed images flitted in and out, creating a mosaic of fragmented reality. Awake, her body throbbed with pain; asleep, she plunged into a black abyss, time slipping away unnoticed. Each awakening brought the desire for oblivion as her mind plunged back into the depths of darkness.
Beth jolted upright, startled by the sharp bang of a car backfiring. A cry of pain escaped her lips as she attempted to sit up, her back and legs resisting her will. A woman, the same from her fleeting visions, hurried into the room with a damp cloth and a glass of water.
"Easy now," the woman spoke gently, her mild Spanish accent adding warmth to her sharp words as she pressed the cloth to Beth's forehead and helped her sit up, "you're weak, rushing won't do you any favours. The sooner you regain strength, the sooner you can move."
A man, the one with the odd expression in her visions, appeared in the doorway once again; "and the sooner we can leave this place, I'm sick of it." He grumbled, striding away with urgency and frustration. His steps were heavy and fraught with agitation, each one seeming to leave a deep imprint on the ground beneath him. His grumbling was like distant thunder, punctuated by the clenching of his jaw and the tightening of his fists.
"Don't mind my brother," the woman interjected sharply, "it's not you - he hates everyone." Hate, Beth pondered, wondering what she might have done to earn his disdain.
"Are you hungry?" The woman stood, walking to the other side of the room to adjust another pillow behind Beth's back. Beth nodded; "I'll get you some soup."
Left alone, Beth surveyed the room - beige walls, a shattered TV, torn brown curtains. She squinted at the notepad on the side table, revealing the branding - Mill Village Motel Eatonville. The coffee pod machine at the room's far end, covered in dust, hinted at a neglected past.
"You're awake," startled, Beth turned to find the man with the furrowed brow at the door - tall and dark, with piercing brown eyes, he appeared softer now, "how are you feeling?" Beth managed a brief smile before adjusting herself, wincing in pain. He rushed to offer a hand, and she took his arm to shift as he adjusted the pillow.
"Want to give walking a try?" The man's warm, brown eyes crinkled at the edges as he smiled down at her, his features etched with concern, his furrowed brow now smooth and his brown eyes sparkled with an unfamiliar kindness.
She shook her head, and the woman returned with soup and water; "she needs to eat before attempting to walk, Austin," she said, setting the tray before Beth.
"Then we'll try again tomorrow," Austin expressed, heading towards the door, "the sooner we leave, the better - we've been here for too long." His footsteps echoed with determination and authority, less frustrated than the other man's but equally resolute.
"I apologise if it's cold. Heating options are limited here. Need a hand?" The woman offered. Beth shook her head, the pounding of her headache resonating through her body.
"Well I'll leave you to it then. Shout out if you need anything, if you can talk at all." Beth glanced down at her bowl of soup, parting her lips as if to speak, but no words escaped. A deep sigh escaped from the woman's mouth as she turned and left the room, leaving Beth alone with her cold, untouched meal. The silence in the room was deafening, broken only by the sound of muffed chatter outside.
The days stretched longer as Beth's need for rest diminished. Boredom and confusion settled in, intensifying as the people from her visions became tangible presences, moving in and out of her room. They attended to her needs but seldom engaged in conversation. At night, their muffled voices in the adjoining room became a distant comfort, and the faint echoes of their arguments a source of intrigue.
"We need to leave," a frustrated male voice pierced through the thin walls, "we have to head further south before winter traps us with little supplies and an extra mouth to feed - considering you're all so intent on keeping this girl alive."
"This woman," a familiar female voice retorted, likely the one who had been caring for her, "needed help - I distinctly remember a time when I wasn't doing well and needed it too."
"You're my sister, of course, I wasn't going to leave you behind."
"I'm not talking about you, Luis," she yelled, "I'm talking about before you came back from Minnesota and found me."
"Why can't we just leave her here with some supplies and a gun. Why do we need to bring her with us?"
"Jesus Christ Luis we're not leaving her here alone and you two can have it out later," intervened another man, "but Luis is right - we need to leave before the snow settles in."
The argument faded into muffled voices again, and Beth strained to catch the words exchanged between the trio. A knock at the door startled her.
"May I come in?" A young girl, the same from her visions, had opened the door quietly without her even noticing. "I thought the yelling might have woken you." Beth nodded, maintaining her silence.
"I'm Chantelle." Her soft Southern accent flowed like a gentle breeze through a cornfield. She pulled up a chair beside the bed. "Luis can get into it with everybody, but he means well. Well, no, that's a lie. I don't know why I said that. He's a dick."
"I gathered," Beth whispered and laughed a little, suddenly overtaken by a violent cough.
Chantelle rushed to hand her water; "so, you do speak. From the way Austin and Val were sayin' it, it sounded like you were mute. I thought, you couldn't be deaf because you've been nodding and smiling like a dang puppet."
Beth laughed and took another sip; "I didn't really have anything worth saying until now. No one has bothered to make conversation."
"Your accent, where are you from?" Chantelle sat down on the wooden chair, her long dark hair cascading down her back in gentle curls. Her bright brown eyes sparkled with kindness as she looked towards Beth.
"Australia," Beth paused, realising she hadn't thought about home for a while, "I'm from Australia," she repeated.
Chantelle pulled out a deck of cards; "well, I figured you might be bored and needed a little human interaction that didn't make you feel like you were in a hospital."
Beth's eyes lit up, and Chantelle smiled; "what do you want to play?"
— — —
"What do you think you are doing?" Austin stormed into the motel room.
"We're leaving. Today," Luis' words cut through the air.
"The van's still in bad shape, and we won't survive this winter on foot." Austin's arms were folded tightly across his chest, the muscles in his biceps and forearms bulging with tension. His jaw was clenched, and his brows furrowed in frustration.
"Then fix the damn van!" Luis yelled, the sound piercing through the walls and resonating outside the motel room for others to hear the heated exchange.
"Oh, sorry, I'll just take it down the road to the mechanic, shall I?" Austin raised a quizzical eyebrow, smirking at his friend. The men paused their argument, exchanging laughter.
"Luis, what's going on with you?" Austin softened his tone, taking a seat on the other bed. "We've been friends since high school, grew up together, served in the army together. This isn't you."
"I don't know, man." Luis sat on the other bed, facing his friend, his face buried in his hands. He rubbed his face hard, threw his head back, and sighed heavily. "This just isn't—" he paused.
"Isn't what?"
"Isn't life." Luis gestured around the room.
"We'll get to the coast, find a boat, just like we planned." There was a slight taste of bitterness in the air, as if Austin's mild frustration was tangible.
"And then what?"
"Do the best we can," Austin stood up, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder, "we all have our dark moments, brother. You helped me get through mine, I'll help you get through yours."
Austin walked out of the motel room into the crisp morning air. The atmosphere was fresh, with a subtle scent of dew and grass. The sweet aroma of winter's imminent arrival filled the air, mingling with the faint scent of burning oil from their broken down van across the parking lot.
"Ben thinks he can fix the van by tomorrow. He found the parts we need on the other side of town." Val caught Austin as he had walked outside.
"He went scouting alone?" Austin looked across the lot at Ben, deep into the hood of the black church van they had found a while back.
Chantelle bounded up before she could answer; "Beth seems much better today. She's eatin' and drinkin' more. I think she could try walkin' today."
"Beth?" Val and Austin remarked in unison.
"Mmm, she speaks - she might have a lot more to say if either of you bothered to converse with her instead of just talkin' to her." She walked off towards Ben, a light air in her hopeful stride.
— — —
Austin found Beth sitting on the edge of her bed, her feet bare and dangling idly over the side. Her toes were curled, squeezing them tightly as she wiggled them back and forth. Her face was tense with concentration as she tried to alleviate the tingling sensation in her feet.
"Beth." His voice was soothing and calming, his words spoken with a gentle tone as he tried to ease Beth's discomfort.
"Chantelle?" She looked up at him, as he nodded, smiling gently. "She's a good kid." She smiled and looked back at her toes.
"Do you want to try walking today?" He walked towards the chair on the other side of the room and sat down as it creaked underneath the weight of him.
"The sooner I can walk, the sooner you can get out of here." She said with a sarcastic air, mocking Luis.
"The sooner we can get out of here." He repeated sarcastically with a smile, a light spread of jest washing over him as he joined her in mocking his friend.
"Your friend Luis seems to be very against bringing me along with you." She looked back at him.
"I'm not in the business of leaving people behind. Especially in Washington in the middle of October," he sat forward, leaning his elbows on his knees, "you wouldn't survive the winter."
"Then maybe you should have just left me to die." She turned her body to face him abruptly. He opened his mouth to speak, but she interjected before he could respond.
"Why did you help me? You don't know me, why did you even bother?"
"Like I said, Beth," he stood up, his wistful tone switching back to cold and dry, "I'm not in the business of leaving people behind." He walked over to her slowly.
"I've lost too many people. I've watched people kill others over a can of soup. I've seen friends leave friends behind to save themselves," he sat down on the end of her bed, "I don't leave people behind."
His brown eyes cut through his words like a thunderstorm. She looked at his face, tired and weathered from sleepless nights with one eye open to ensure his group's safety. She pegged him as their leader - strong and determined with clear military training.
"What happened to you?" She asked softly.
"What happened to you?" He countered; "I refuse to believe you survived a pandemic alone for six months in a foreign country."
She said nothing and looked back at her feet. They sat in silence for a while before he stood up and headed for the door.
"We're leaving the day after tomorrow. We need to head south before it's too cold, and we don't know how long the van or the car will last, so part of that might be on foot."
"I'll try walking today." Beth nodded obediently.
"I'll send Val and Chantelle in to help you." He replied, his voice maintaining the cold cadency.
"Thank you." She smiled, wriggling her toes as the numbness started to dissipate. Before he could leave, she looked up at him again.
"Austin?" He stopped at the door and turned to her. "I know you've all done a lot for me, including putting your friendship with Luis on the line, so thank you. But I have a favour to ask," her voice grew quiet, "before we leave."
"What is it?" He asked sternly at her audacity to ask for another favour.
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. He noticed her green eyes glisten with the added layer of acridity and the change in her demeanour; "before we leave, I need you to help me bury my husband."