Applied for my son in December 2023. Things seemed to be moving a long quickly. Early April, I had the PERC phone interview. I have not been able to have a job for about a year now due to no childcare. I have been doing random tasks and opportunities online (swagbucks, freecash, etc), selling items on Ebay, donating plasma almost twice a week, every week, and other small things, to make ends meet. It's not an easy thing to document but I had everything written out and ready to explain/list for this interview. My case workerep didn't seem to care about being accurate at all. She didn't care about half of the income items, which I assumed was because they didn't count as income for SSI, but she wasn't interested in being thorough for the other stuff either. She kept classifying my online task work as 'online gambling' when there is no gambling involved and I kept correcting her. She got very pissy and short with me and kept saying "it's the same thing", when it most definitely is not and I don't want 'online gambling' on my paperwork.
Fast forward 3 weeks later, and I don't hear anything, when I was told to expect an award letter soon. I spend a week calling and leaving messages for her, and nothing. I showed up to the local office after that and although she was working from home that day, it took no time at all for her to call me as I was leaving the place. She said she couldn't 'read' the paperwork I dropped off and said she sent in a deposit request to my bank and it should take 2 days. 2 weeks later and multiple phone calls, I show up to the office again. I start to speak with a random person that called my number and my actual case worker pops in behind her and says 'I just need her to sign something". She tells me her mentor looked over the PERC paperwork and said it wasn't sufficient. So I get handed a piece of paper and told to fill it out with all of my income, going back to August 2023. This is exactly what I was trying to do from day 1 of this part of the process. Also, not sure why they need back to August now, when I filed in December, but I did it and filled the entire page with tiny handwriting, because that's what had to be done.
This rep has dragged this out unnecessarily and is obviously new or very bad at her job. If she would have been properly thorough during the first interview, my application process would have been complete a month ago. She won't call me and doesn't tell me something needs to be done until I walk into the local SSA office and speak to someone else or her supervisor.
Does anyone have any insight into this? Has any ever experienced something like this?

I recently bought a Wyse5070 extended for quite cheap, with the initial goal to make it into a replacement router. However, I have since realized that I am not quite ready to go down that rabbit hole, and that some storage is much more pressing.
I have now spent many hours searching and reading about this, but I am not getting much clarity and thought I would ask here.
To set the scene:

• I have about 400GB of documents/data I care about and would like to secure.
• In terms of services, I am thinking about Paperless ngx, Immich, calibre-web via docker.
• For documents, I am unsure whether I want to run NextCloud, Seafile, or just direct access once it is a "NAS", but that is tbd for now.
• No short-term plans for media hosting/ streaming, but I am sure it will come at some point (earliest next year).
• I have only 1G networking currently, and don't need crazy speeds at this point.
• Due to energy prices idle power efficiency is important.
• I am thinking about daily backups to backblaze, hetzner, or similar.

Basically, I would like to set up a small, power-efficient box with a few services, that keeps my data organized and save.
What I am now struggling with is how to get some storage space. From my research I can see a few options 1. Get 2 large SSDs (one via standard M2 SATA, one via wifi-slot adapter), and mirror them, using the built-in eMMC for boot/OS. + Easy, quiet, power efficient - Costly to get even 2TB drives (about 100£ each) 2. Get a large(ish) SSD for caching and plug in some USB drives (either multiple individual ones or USB multi-bay enclosure) + Easy and cheap - Low transfer speed, USB slightly less stable interface - Does not seem great, but can't quite say why. 3. Inspired by this, and this update, I could get an LSI HAB, perhaps like LSI SAS 3442 or LSI 9205-8e, and attach drives there, still with an M2 SATA SSD for caching (I think). + Should be robust, reasonably cheap - The posts above make me think that this will a quite complicated, with lots of worries about heat and power supply. - Unclear if the cards linked are actually compatible with the Wyse. 4. "Give up" and buy/ build another device, i.e. a HP Microserver, or board, case, etc separately.
I am leaning towards option 3, but even after a lot of search I am unsure how to start planning/ selecting components. Does it make sense to start with option 1 and smaller (1TB) drives to get started and set-up, and later add the HBA?
I would be very grateful for any comments or advice, and will happily update once I get "something" set up.

I just wondered how everyone got (back?) into tapes?
For me, I only started thinking about them again when Sinead O’Connor died and I realised I still had a small box of tapes languishing in the garage (including I Do Not Want).
Then it has gone in two directions: New music, in order to show support to artists And old school 80s classics, usually from eBay

Hello all,
I've posted here in hopes you could help me out.
I'm currently doing a master thesis in solar cells and I need to experiment on diferent types of solar cells.
I already bought a 3.0V 100mA Polycrystalline Solar Cell.
I still need to buy:

• Organic solar cells
• Dye-sensitized solar cells
• Polycrystalline solar cells
• Perovskite solar cells (if possible)

Does anyone know where can I buy these cells?
I've tried ebay, alibaba, small businesses and got no results.
Thanks for your attention.

Hey everyone, amidst the thousands of rants, in light of Nick's movement, I think it's time for me to say something, maybe no one cares, I don't have a major platform to get my word out, but I still think that it's good to get these things out here and perhaps the best thing all of this can do is change the way we perceive the game as a player base. This will be long, so those of you willing to, bear with me.
Let me tell you something from a point of view of someone who loved the game for a long time. We're a bunch of very versatile people from all over the place and maybe it can also teach us a lesson or two. On one hand, you have kids who play it for the same reason I played it some good 15 years ago, and you've got us, the older players, who loved the game for what it was growing up because it was the best football themed game out there in many aspects, although FIFA entries weren't the only good thing about that era (shoutout to PES 2006 and 2010). It's a game that I used to enjoy because I love football as a sport, I used to play it basically on a professional level, this is the best "active" form for me to engage with the game. I'm probably too stupid for Football Manager though I believe it's only a matter of watchin a few videos to get into it and understand the in-depth mechanics. I always tried playing it and got lost in the menus within 5 minutes. But for what it's worth, I understood FIFA, I understood FUT and the shell of what it once was, the grind was fun to me, using players from past and present that I like, well, until it all got burned to the fucking ground within a year. I was never an Elite div or Rank 1 or even Rank 2 player. But I had certain results, I would get 9 to 11 wins most of the time and with enough free time I could always climb to atleast div 2 in Rivals. Sure, many of you are better and I realize that, but it's not about that. To me it was always about getting better at the game for myself, on my own terms, there would be some progression to it and getting better throughout the years always made me happy. Adult life is adult life and it's very individual, some of us have more free time on our hands, others don't. In my case, I barely have time to do my daily play matches, some SBCs and play Champs on the weekend because of work.
But the question is - how can I consistently enjoy the game if:

• a) every single thing and tactic that I figure out, gets nerfed within a few months - and I'm not talking about ratty shit, I'm talking things like finesse shots, trivelas, some useful passes, just gameplay stuff
  
• b) they don't do shit to fix broken things in-game, like OP cutbacks, I came to peace with them, but still, it's too OP, or doing things to somehow nerf or balance situations when people pass between the GK and CB from the 70th minute onwards. Idk how many of you were around when they banned Kurt, but they pulled up a whole statement about policies regarding in-game toxicity for building towards a fun experience for everyone, yet they don't do shit with the game itself.
  
• c) the game itself wants you to feel bad about your gameplay and even tries to pass off DDA as skill issue. Of course, at times it really comes down to your skills, but how often do you hear the commentators praise you? At times even when you're leading, they keep repeating how it's a matter of time until you concede an equalizer. You know those graphics on the pitch itself? The win probability stuff. It shows up only when you're losing, even if you are let's say one goal behind and it's the 65th minute, they'll show you a whole statistic all over the fucking pitch, telling you that you have a 2% chance to win the game. To demoralize you. To make you feel like you need to keep upgrading and upgrading and upgrading and once you run out of fodder and luck, to go dump your money into store packs. And even that doesn't help you, the pack weight is shit, you just get quick fodder for unreasonable money, and the theories that spending money on the game improves your gameplay, it's all bogus. To put it simple, if you achieve something, you will not see anything positive. No congratulations screen, just infographics, but when you do something bad, God forbid, you will get fact-bombed about how shit you are. From a psychological point of view, this game is toxic to it's core and it's very, very, very unhealthy for one's mental health. If you're an adult, trying to relax after tons of stressful shit in your daily life, this is not the place for proverbial relaxation. If you're a kid who's going through your teen years, those years are stressful for many reasons and once again, this cannot possibly help you. I hold no grudge towards many players as I am aware that many players are very young (less than 18) and perhaps that generation is simply like that and there's nothing we can do about it. I'm talking only about FUT, I believe that Pro Clubs are probably way more lighthearted and fun and I treat Career Mode which has been abandoned, as a separate game basically.
  
• d) Obvious gambling issues. Enough has been said. I am one of the minority in thinking that there is nothing wrong with buying a pack here or there if you're an adult and if it doesn't impact serious aspects of your life. If you earn money, it's entirely up to you how you spend it. Some people like fine dining and dump money on food. Some people collect stuff and dump money on collectibles. Some people overspend to impress their s/o. So, in theory, there is nothing wrong with spending money on or within a game as a concept. But what is wrong is how it works in this game in particular. You get new packs over and over again, the store is full of things to spend money on, but the core game itself is neglected gameplay-wise. Content is okay, SBCs are okay, with exchanges and stuff, it's really good actually. I am one of those who actually enjoy both the menus and the gameplay itself, equally. All of it is a part of the experience. But you have really bad things going on with your games and the only thing that you do as a dev is dump packs? And even those packs, the pack weight is absolute shit, it's turned into a casino, a slot machine, because it's all rigged towards you ending on a loss, thus having the psychological effect of you not getting your dopamine shot of packing something nice, often you're not in a situation to buy another one, so this will linger in the back of your head, that you didn't complete the process and you need to see if next time you'll finally get something good. Or, you bought it with coins and now you lost a good amount of coins, so you think of buying the next one with FP, or even worse, you can afford it and you just successfully gave them twice the intended amount of money. This is a serious, self-destructive behavioral pattern, take it from someone who has some education in a field very close to all of that. Teach children that and you can legitimately ruin their lives. Say, if you knew what you're getting, exactly what, or atleast if you knew that there is a smaller pool of what you can pack, or guaranteed something for a symbolic amount of money, I'd say it is what it is, since we truly do live in an era full of microtransactions and that's just something that's a part of online gaming nowadays. The bad part is overspending on something that will just not reward you anyhow or grant you any sort of benefit. Even games with battle passes have better options in this regard. You're getting better progression in exchange for a symbolic amount of money.
  
• e) The game itself doesn't work properly! You're getting DNFs left and right, you can't even navigate through SBCs and your club without the game freezing multiple times. EA keeps fucking up with "unintended rewards" first it was Messi, I did the SBC, got nothing, life goes on. Several times I had issues where objectives didn't count, whatever, life goes on, it's a game. Or some rewards got bugged and fucked me over multiple times, whatever, life goes on. This most recent L1 red pick stuff, that was honestly the last straw, not even the fact that I didn't get them simply because I have a life and don't camp in front of my console each Friday to sweat my ass off for the very start of the Champs Finals, but because they finally spilled the beans, told us we were never supposed to get good cards out of it with a decent percentage and on top of that, they ruined the small amount of fun I had playing with Paletools between meetings at work (by that I mean killing the droprate and nerfing pack weight).
  

The whole situation is very stupid, because there is no viable alternative in terms of football games, and frankly, playing FIFA is a habit and something I've been doing for one half of my life. It's tough for me to get invested into an online competitive game, though I used to play League, Overwatch, stuff like that, but those games became shit over the years as well. That's why, though I'm only one of way too many, from my point of view, my actions bear some value, because as of today, I just don't want to feel like shit because of a game anymore atleast on a weekly basis. As things stand, dumping my time into this game is simply pointless. If I want to play Weekend League, I'll get shat on by the servers, or the gameplay will be horrendous and my cards will feel like freezers getting dragged across the pitch by a rope. Cards with great finishing, will feel like bronze cards, whatever. We're not supposed to get good rewards, and the game will call us out for being "bad" when we get DDAd. At this point, there is nothing positive about it. I will perhaps return for Futties, not that anyone cares, but building fun cards is kinda fun and good, so I'm looking forward to that. Otherwise, I will return only if all of this actually changes something. If the assholes from EA release a statement and actually change something, then I will return earlier, and even then, I'm not giving them a single euro this year. And maybe, for the first time in way too many years, I won't even preorder, maybe I'll play it later on, if it turns out to be better and different. Other than that... there's no point playing if the game is like this. I'm done with feeling negative emotions because of a game designed to gaslight and manipulate us into feeling like shit.
Sorry for the long post, I guess I just felt like I needed to tell someone.

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Day 0!
5/13, total lap, took uterus, cervix, tubes, and did a bladder check. Edit: both ovaries intact.
I checked in about 840, surgery about 1040. One final pregnancy test. The staff was amazing (except the anaesthesiologist was a bit of a dick to one of the nurses, I didn’t like that-I think I might be reporting that… but he was fine to me). Even my gyno who I wasn’t a fan of during our appointments, I could tell surgery is where she was meant to be. I met my OR nurse, anaesthesiologist, and my gyno/surgeon in pre-op where every single person (plus surgical day care nurse) went over everything with me again and again, and ensured I was comfortable with what we were planning to do, and confirmed that barring any issues, my catheter would be removed during surgery, and then a camera check up the urethra and into the bladder. There was a slight hiccup in something in the lab with my pre op blood work where they listed me as a c section (ABSOLUTELY NOT) and something in the test regarding transfusion expired within 3 days and I did my pre op Thursday. I was worried it was going to delay things but since I have been fortunate and never had a transfusion (and the surgeon believed me and didn’t want her day messed up, plus they had the Thursday results) they called the lab, they were there super quick, and it was drawn up then I was wheeled in to the OR. Once in the OR they had me transfer onto the table, got me situated, introduced the surgical team, and my surgeon went over everything one last time while I was still conscious and made sure everyone was on the same page and ready to go. I was given oxygen and told to take a few deep breaths, and then they started pumping meds into my IV and I was out.
From what I hear (my surgeon called my mom/pickup person) it all went like clockwork. I was out in under two hours, into recovery to wake up and when I came to, three nurses (or health care workers, whatever their role, but I think RNs) were chatting about me near my bedside on how I had a lack of requirements before I could be discharged. I don’t think they realised or expected me to be awake so quickly but I said I had been told that as soon as I could walk to the bathroom and pee on my own, I could leave. They looked a little shocked. Not sure if because I was awake or because I knew what I needed to do.
I did say in recovery to my nurse that I felt like I needed to pee, but they wanted me to wait until the hour was up in recovery and I was transferred back to surgical day care.
Once I was in day care I was given juice, digestive cookies and my phone and started texting my mom, who was right outside, and said I was back to where she could come see me. The person at the desk at the front tried not to let her in and said I wasn’t back yet (not sure if there was a lack of communication or no) but mom insisted I was texting her and telling her I was back, and the woman from the desk had to come in and check for herself that I was back… and asked my nurse-who was again nearby-and I heard the front desk woman muttering and said something about “her mom”. I piped up and said don’t try to stop her from coming in, she won’t go away and she would get in either way, I’m texting with her now. The woman didn’t like that much, but my nurse laughed and okay’d her coming in.
Nurse back in day care listened to me pretty quick, did her checks and made she I could sit/stand and disconnected my IV line. She walked me to the bathroom to make sure I was okay. I peed without issue-it was a bit tender coming out but no burning… but man. Maybe bring your own toilet paper. That rough stuff is even rougher when you’re sensitive😳
I felt immediately better cause now I knew they could let me out once my final hour in recovery was complete. Another glass of juice, some more post op checks done, and I was able to get my IV out. (I know most people wouldn’t like IVs but it was a huge hang up for me… my veins suck and it was tender and once they confirmed I could leave I wanted it GONE.
Passed the rest of the time chatting, going over discharge paperwork/instructions, then I was given the official go ahead to change and leave. Slow going, changing, and man the hospital pads are atrocious (and no wings?!). I peed once more, hating the toilet paper but loved the mesh ish shorts they gave me and asked for a couple more, and they gave me two or three more. I was allowed to leave just after 230pm.
I was able to walk out of the hospital on my own two feet. Slowly, but walking and being upright felt much better than sitting. The nurse said it was allowed as long as mom was right there (which she obviously was) in case I got dizzy. We walked out to the front entrance (elevator, no stairs of course), and I stood at a safe spot where I could sit if I needed to, while she went and got the car from the far side of the lot. I probably could have walked it, but it was slow and didn’t want to chance anything.
The ride home was a bit rough-I forgot my pillow and I think that would have helped. Held my hands/palms onto my lower belly for some support. It was manageable, I wasn’t crying out in pain or anything, but definitely internally felt every little bump despite mom trying her best to avoid them.
I’m staying in my own apartment, (parent’s offered me to stay at theirs but I’m far more comfy in my own place, and no stairs) my dad’s sleeping on the couch while my pup is at the house with my mom and their two dogs. So far I’ve been able to manage on my own but it’s nice knowing he’s here incase I need something. When I got home, much to my dad’s chagrin (he wanted to do it for me), I made myself buttered toast, had an ice cream sandwich, some arrowroot cookies, a Tylenol and after eating upright and walking in circles a bit, I went to my bed with my heating pad, pregnancy pillow and about 8462619 other pillows I adjusted as needed. I’m very happy I had a pregnancy pillow. I was debating getting the wedges but decided with the option of Amazon same day/next day delivery, if I changed my mind it wouldn’t be long without it.
Obviously there’s more internal room now, but a heads up-I’ve peed a few times since getting home (it’s near 1am) I have noticed that “hmm I need to pee” turns quickly into “YUP GOTTA GO” when I stand up. I think that little bit extra gravity assist hits when I stand. No burning, still just a bit sensitive, but I bought a peri care bottle with a nozzle on it and is it a game changer. The hospital gave me one but it didn’t have an angled nozzle, which to me is useless unless I want to climb in my shower every time or end up with water all over my floor. First time I used it, I just rinsed with cool water multiple times as it was soothing (not going into the vagina).
There’s been very little blood so far-some spotting but not much.
The pain? Feels like a concentrated day 2 of my usual bad periods, with low back pain (helped greatly with heating pad). Like most of us here… we’re used to heavy pain so it’s not all that unbearable.
I was given tramadol, and didn’t take my first one until 9pm. Didn’t love the feeling. And my limbs started tingling which was weird. That’s supposed to be a withdrawal effect. But my body doesn’t handle drugs well so could just be me. I’ll see what happens later in the night if I need something else, I’ll take it. But so far the pain/discomfort is reminding me not to sleep how i normally do-on my side with my leg up toward my abdomen.
I’ve got my naproxen and Tylenol that the pharmacy okay’d me to take instead of Advil and Tylenol.
Forgot to mention-my throat is a bit sore, but not nearly what I expected. Feels like I just spent some time around a campfire where the smoke randomly followed me. One Halls seemed to help, and of course, ice cream sandwiches 😂.
And now to wait for meeting the real me after 20+ years of being on oral birth control… should be some definite hormonal swings during recovery plus that, but can’t wait😂🤦🏻‍♀️
Edit: one thing I did that I haven’t seen posted otherwise in this subreddit is that I put a cooling cloth, soaked in water, in a ziplock bag, and stuck it laying down flat in my freezer before surgery. I don’t think I really needed to, but I had that laying (with clothing on and a tea towel wrapped around it) on my lower belly and it molded perfectly as it melted a tad, and felt great. I wasn’t told not to ice it, I wasn’t told to ice it, but I figure as long as it feels good, it’s not damaging anything or getting anything wet. Might be something for others to consider! I wouldn’t want the weight of a large ice pack or anything on me right now, but just that in the ziplock with a light pillow overtop was perfect.

Now this is the first time I’ve tried to make a jjk oc AND have a cursed technique but if I’m being honest I really wanted a character with abilities to summon shikigami based on the game Okami and the brush gods in said game
Cursed technique: Celestial Body
The user has the ability to summon 12 shikigami based on the Asian zodiac signs. The user is only able to summon one at a time and each shikigami has its own unique abilities
(Upon “death” the shikigami do not die, however it does take a long time for them to regain enough strength / energy to be summoned, so if one falls during battle it will be unusable the rest of that day)

1. Dragon: (ability: rejuvenation) the user can summon a large dragon. Upon summoning the user gets the ability to heal both themself and others as long as the shikigami is by their side. To heal the user must place a hand into the dragon as the shikigami transfers its energy into the injured. This shikigami takes the most as its both the biggest and in order to actually heal you have to use both your energy and the energy of the shikigami
2. Rat: (ability: slash) can summons one or multiple rats. Due to this shikigamis small size they can be used in stealth missions as they can remain undetected as on their own they give off little cursed energy. While having multiple out the shikigami cannot use its ability but having just one gives the ability slash, the small Rodent of summoning its own divine weapon, a large sword capable of slashing through most everything. The shikigami is only able to use this 3 times in a row, before it runs out of energy needed to wield the sword
3. Boar: (ability: bomb) summons a large boar capable of stampeding through groups of enemies. Its skin is the toughest out of the shikigami and as such can take more hits. The boar is able to spew a flint like substance from its nose that it can then ignite by scraping its hoofs to create sparks this creating explosives
4. Rabbit: (ability: crescent) this shikigami gets more powerful depending on what stage the moon is, full being this shikigamis most powerful. The user is only able to summon one but when summoned the rabbit (which looks like a larger wild hare) is able to thump its foot to get the enemies attention (and locking it into its ability) and based on the moons phase the rabbit will make illusions to trick opponents. That can be a worst fear, a lost love, etc.
5. Snake: (ability: water manipulation) upon summoning the snake the user can either make it large or small depending on what’s needed. The snake has the ability to expel water from its mouth in both fast jets and large bursts and manipulate as needed. The snake does have the ability to breathe underwater as well.
6. Horse: (ability: gale) just like a normal horse this shikigami can be used as a means for transportation. Its ability allows it to create gusts of wind. When running it can create a tornado that it can then send into enemies. On command it can create smaller gusts as needed. If using as transportation every time the horses hoofs hit the ground it can let out a small burst of air causing them to run at increased speeds
7. Roostephoenix/cockatrice: (ability: flame) a medium sized shikigami with the ability to produce flames from its feathers and breathe fire. When flying it can ignite itself at will and burn through its enemy. This shikigami however is weak to water and if its feathers get wet it can no longer ignite itself and loses the ability to fly.
8. Sheep: (ability: fog) when this shikigami is summoned it appears drunk, stumbling around and seemingly can’t keep upright. The sheep has a halter with a side belt holding a large flask, when the sheep drinks from it, it can then spew from its mouth a thick fog that can disorient and confuse enemies. The longer someone is in this fog the more disoriented they become, unfortunately this goes for the user as well
9. Cat: (ability: catwalk) the cat is the size of a normal house cat. This shikigami stands out as theirs nothing particularly special other then its ability which grants it and the user the ability to walk up any surface despite the angle and terrain. The cat has to be touching the user for them to be able to use this ability as well
10. Tiger: (ability: lightning) normal sized tiger with a large bow on its back. Using its tail the shikigami is able to pull the bow back and unleash torrents of lightning. One of the more aggressive shikigami and is always looking for a fight
11. Ox: (ability: freeze) a large ox with the ability over ice. From its two horns it can unleash a beam of straight ice onto foes. And from its nose it can express a thinner frost still capable of freezing anything around.
12. Monkey: (ability: nature) the user is able to summon 1 - 3 monkeys each capable of using an ability to summon vines that can be used for both transport and attacking.

Domain Expansion: Heavenly Mother (Still working on a better name)
The domain upon activation looks like a forest at dusk with an empty clearing full of flowers. In the sky is the constellation of all 12 of the shikigami are visible. In the domain they can all be called down from the sky to attack or they can all be combined into one to form a large wolf capable of all the shikigamis abilities. The wolf’s physical form is stronger than all of the shikigami individually but as separate entities it gives more opportunity’s for getting a hit
I’m not sure if this is to OP or not as I was going to make the OC physically weak and a better long range fighter using weapons like a bow or even a whip idk that part yet lmao

Hi everyone,
I'm about to undergo rotator cuff surgery and need some advice on finding a good wedge pillow. I've been browsing options on Amazon, but I have a hard time trusting the reviews. I'm hoping someone in this community has personal experience and can recommend one.
Currently, I'm using a "reading pillow," but it's not working out for me. I can't seem to fall asleep because sitting so upright is uncomfortable. I've tried stacking various pillows, but nothing seems to help, and the pain at night is pretty bad despite my best efforts with pain management.
I usually end up sleeping on my left, non-affected side, as it’s the least painful position for me. However, I know that after surgery, I’m supposed to sleep in a reclined position, and getting a recliner isn't feasible for me due to my low income.
I came across a wedge pillow on Amazon called the "Adjustable Bed Wedge Pillow." Has anyone tried this particular pillow? If not, do you have any other wedge pillow recommendations that might work well? I'm small-framed and thin, so I think a child’s size might even be suitable for me. One of the issues with the reading pillow is that it's much too big for my frame.
Thanks so much for your help!

I'm wanting to hook up a VCR to 24/7 stream VHSs on a small CRT. Some VCR's have a replay feature that replays a movie up to 100x. That's what I aim to do.
exact example of what im looking at:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/226087887814?epid=52127072&itmmeta=01HXTN6BVS86YE943RQ511PM72&hash=item34a3e363c6:g:5eQAAOSwY8VmGFv9
1) why do people RGB mod the JVC TM-A101G? it says it is a Color Video monitor? does it not play in color? this is confusing me.
2) does this support VCR hookup? specifically VCR's with that replay feature... if that makes any difference.
is there anything else I should know?
Thanks!

I recently got fitted in Nikolay 3007s, 4 xxx with a medium shank. I went to a fitter I trust (Victoria is her name I think, at The Leotard in Portland) who has a lot of experience doing fittings. She agreed that these shoes supported me well. My other shoes, Bloch Axiom 4.5 xx, caused me to metatarsal a lot. I showed my Nikolays to my ballet teacher today and she thinks they’re way too small and “will give me bunions”. She’s been teaching for over 50 years and usually has a lot of solid advice, so I want to trust what she says.
When I first got my Blochs, she “tested” them by sticking her index and middle finger under the vamp (kind of aggressively if I do say so myself). She tried this again with the Nikolays, and she concurred that they’re too small because she couldn’t fit her fingers in. I agree that they feel smaller than my other shoes… but with the other shoes, I have to add layers of lambs wool and paper towels for my feet to properly fit because they compress a lot.
Should I try to size up or get refitted for my Nikolay shoes? I got them off of ebay in the same size I was fitted in because I couldn’t afford the full price.. I’m not sure if I could return or resell them, but I don’t want to dance in a way that damages my feet. What should I do?

My baby will be 3 months tomorrow and I got my first period last month and the drop in my supply was crazy. I’m assuming I’m getting my period again in the next week because it’s happening again. I went from 30 oz to struggling to make 12. My baby drinks about 25 oz a day. Is there anything I can do or just keep up my 5 PPD and ride it out? I’m currently taking pump princess and cash cow by legendairy milk. Staying hydrated, oatmeal and coconut oil daily. Just ordered lactivist and it will be here tomorrow. I’ve just been dipping into my very small freezer stash in the meantime but looking for any tips. Thank you!

Okay so, this will probably be long so buckle in.
About a month and a half ago a friend of mine, we'll call them K. K recently found out that the apartment they had been staying in wasn't going to be renewing their lease and if they didn't move their things by the end of day that the landlord would be starting the eviction process. As someone who has faced houselessness before, I offered to hold some of their stuff at my place temporarily and get them to the hotel they would be staying at until they could move into their new place. No biggie right? Wrong. After helping them move their stuff and getting them to the hotel, they stayed in communication with them so we could help them move the stuff from our house to their new place, and the day before they were supposed to move they got let known that they opted to go with another rental applicant instead. K and their partner, who we'll call J, started really panicking about having to keep paying for a motel without on paper jobs and unreliable income. Keep in mind I actively live in a low income complex myself and, cannot have guests, for more than 14 days at a time according to my lease. J had just gotten a lead on a job closer to my house so I offered to let them stay for the 14 day limit I'm allowed to have guests, so that they could get a paycheck in and be able to go to a cheaper motel close by to their job. Another thing they agreed to was making sure that there was no evidence of them staying in my house, and that they had to be gone during the inspection window m-f from 8am to 5pm. I know, I'm probably going to be told more than once how stupid this is or I am, but I need to vent about this before I lose my mind more than I have already.
Carrying on, my partner is working at the same place as J, so J had a reliable ride to this job. My first red flag with J was that J used almost all of their points within their first week at the new job for a myriad of reasons. First time was because K didn't feel good and didn't want to be left home alone. Fine. I thought it was really ignorant to start off on the wrong foot with a new job but whatever. Second time was because J didn't have lunch to take to work and can't work on an empty stomach. After this absence J explained to their boss that they were struggling to work on an empty stomach, so boss agrees to reach out to a local food bank to get some lunches packed for J and my partner for work every day so they don't have to work on empty stomachs every day until they start getting paid. J declined bosses offer because they didn't want the food pantry food offered to them. Third time J doesn't go in is yet again for K not feeling good and convincing J to stay home. Well , and today we found out at the last minute before they were supposed to be at work that J had been fired for accepting an overtime shift on Saturday and then no call no showing that shift. J had been at this job less than 3 weeks. Which is 1 week longer than I agreed to. Here's the kicker, I live with and care for a disabled woman who has very very severe anxiety, and K & J keep going behind my back to talk to her and lie about things they'll do for her to keep being allowed to stay here. And I'm going to bullet point all of the just outright shitty things these people have done since they got here, and before anyone tells me to make them leave; involving the cops is out of the question as it risks our housing, and they should be gone in the next couple of days.
-they have harassed me over cannabis since the day we helped them move their things. I live in a recreational state but consume for medical purposes.
-they have repeatedly paid back other people that they owe money instead of me or my partner and admitted that to our faces
-they keep 'accidentally' mixing my partners clothes with theirs and then wearing them in front of me. Keep in mind they're a, size small and my partner wears a 3x there's no confusing their shirts
-I have a deep freezer that I've been working hard to stockpile since covid hid and inflation has made grocery shopping so hard, and they've eaten every single thing out of my deep freezer.
-they have raided my entire pantry as well.
-they've thrown out my leftovers without asking me because they themselves don't eat leftovers
-they switched their visitations with their child from 4 hours on Tuesday nights to entire weekends without asking
-they took my partners special broth he had bought specifically to make something, opened it, and didn't even read the packaging, put it open back into my cabinet and it molded. Im allergic to mold :
-they've been asked repeatedly not to knock on my doors after my bedtime hours because my partner works early mornings and has a hard time sleeping; then proceed to message me one time and wait precisely 0.2 seconds for a response and then knock on my door anyways.
-they use my shower and leave hair, clog my drain, and don't ask anyone if they have to use the bathroom before they use it to shower for over an hour. I have also repeatedly asked them not to leave their dirty clothes on my bathroom floor and they won't.
-they argued about having to leave for the inspections and promised they would help clean during them and then stayed in the area they weren't allowed to be in for every day of the inspections and didn't do anything they said they would do.
-they keep having blowout fights in my basement and as I already stated the woman I care for has severe clinical anxiety. She did agree to this arrangement but I guess it's true that even if you think you know someone you really don't till you live with them.
-K has been smoking my cigarettes for days and doesn't replace them but won't buy their own pack
-they've been asked not to come upstairs unless it's to use the bathroom (not shower) during our quiet hours and they won't stop doing that either.
I'm sure there's more I'm missing but I'll answer any questions about it I guess. These people have gotten me so stressed out that my stress induced seizures, that I've had under control for over a year now have come back with a, vengeance and are happening almost every day, I'm getting migraines with aura, my hair is falling out in clumps, and another stress induced ailment I deal with is ALSO flaring up because of the stress. Don't need advice or anything just wanted to vent how frustrated I am 🥲

The sky was dark, and she did not know what she did or why, merely acted. Her tired muscles slowed her, her leg a blaze of agony, and not understanding what she did she moved. There was something, a substance that came from somewhere, and with great effort she wove it together, wove it around herself, and had nothing left in her when she closed it from within.
Consciousness ebbed. There was a lessening of her pain, a fading of the need. The world itself faded, to dimness, then silent darkness until only memory remained. She dreamed then, nebulous things, unformed ideas and half remembered memories and long stretches of nothing. Then all at once there was light again. Almost still utter darkness, but compared to the oblivion she had known it was a world apart. The light slowly increased, then dimmed until darkness was all there was. Again and again and again it happened, and each time the light got a little brighter. Sound was next, at first only a gentle whooshing of fluid, but then there was a voice. Muffled. Not always there, but often. Even when there was only darkness around her.
As the light grew brighter, her hearing grew sharper, and eventually she began to discern words. The voice was her constant companion. It was there when her arms moved for the first time, when she first felt her legs twitch. It was there as the space around her grew smaller. It was there as the light grew brighter. When she first began to notice the warmth that came with the light, and the different warmth that accompanied the darkness. Her consciousness came and went, and sometimes when she woke the voice was gone, and sometimes when she slept the voice was there, and she had only the memory of it to know. Now there were sometimes shapes that she could see moving in the light, only vague outlines but it was a change. There were many, some small and some large, but she found the voice came only from the largest of the shapes, a shape she came to know. A comfort, even when the voice was silent, when she could see that figure moving she knew she was not alone.
The space she was in grew smaller and smaller, and she had to fold herself tighter and tighter. She began to feel afraid, her cramped limbs pressed against the walls. She remembered the impact with the ground, and she feared the pain when this world began to crush her, but the voice was there, calm and soothing, and she began to understand.
The change happened all at once. Tighter and tighter she was bound, her limbs wrapped tightly around herself, when an errant movement caused a tear, and light began to flood in, and there was a great rushing and a tumbling and she fell forward into a pool of fluid. She heaved and liquid poured from her lungs. Again and again, then it was over, and she drew her first breath.
There were strong hands beneath her arms, and she felt herself pulled to her feet where she stood on wobbly legs. The hands held her upright. With an effort she raised her head and saw with clarity the shape that held the voice. “Rise, child, and be welcomed to this world. I name you as queen, and as a queen you are my equal. I am Liamin. What is your name?”“Tisane” She replied before understanding the question. But she had already known it. Known it before that day in the sky. Known it when she first began to understand the words.
Tisane’s head began to loll forward again, the effort of keeping it raised too great. The hands left her for an instant and Tisane felt something settle onto her shoulders. “I wrap you in silk, that you might know dignity.” There was something placed upon her wrists. “I adorn you in gems, that you might know wisdom.” Something light was placed upon her brow. “I clothe you in flowers, that you might know joy.” Finally, something was looped around her neck, and she felt a weight on her chest. “And I give to you a piece of myself, a gift freely given, that you might know strength.” Tisane felt a mouth press against one cheek then the other. “Tisane, it is my honor that you have graced me with your presence. Come, leave your chrysalis behind, it is a relic of the past, a thing you have shed, and that you still live means you have already overcome a great trial.”
Tisane struggled to take a step forward and nearly fell. Only Liamin’s strong hands kept her upright. “I shall carry you in my own arms, as I hope to count you as a friend.” And Tisane was swept up. She struggled to keep her head up, but could only manage for a time. Her body limp, she was carried from the incubation chamber.
Since she’d woken, there had been a growing emptiness inside her. “I am hungry.” She said. Not a command, not a complaint, merely speaking to share information.
“I imagine you must be. Your incubation was quite long.” Liamin said, carefully threading her way through the building. “There is food waiting for you through here.”
Tisane was set in a seat, soft and comfortable, She felt the red velvet beneath her, marveled at the fineness of the carving. The table before her allowed her to support herself more easily, and then the food began to arrive. Tisane had never smelled before, and the aromas that came were indescribable. Food, and great quantities were set upon the polished table before her, and she began to eat. Anything and everything. Fruits and bread and fish. Vegetables and mushrooms and meat. To quench her thirst there was water, and wines, and juices. She ate, and she ate, and Liamin gave name to every dish set before her, though she barely noticed. Slowly Tisane felt strength suffuse her. Or something resembling strength. She felt strong enough to stand, but did not risk it. Instead she raised her head and gaped.
Tisane sat atop a throne, but Liamin sat in a simple wooden chair, only a small portion of simple bread before her. Smiling, the elder queen gestured to herself. “This is something I have chosen for myself, but I shall never foist poverty upon you. I grant you great finery, as that is your due.”
“I do not understand.” Tisane said, feeling her strength wane once more.
“I know. But for now you must rest. Tomorrow I shall begin to instruct you in the ways of being a queen.”

Hello,
Our baby is just over 2 months old and EBF. Around the 1 month mark she was diagnosed with silent reflux and uses a small dose of Pepcid currently. Around the 1 month time she also has mucus / green poops for a while. These then changed to yellow/orange and improved in consistency.
Today she had a big green mucus diaper with some blood in it. Her 2 diapers afterward have been green with mucus, some seeds etc but no blood. She is overall very happy baby, hardly ever cries. She does grunt sometimes, has had congestion off and on, seems to strain for pooping and farting but never cries out in pain. Good weight gain. Spits up a moderate amount (has good and bad days) that I would attribute to the reflux.
Communicated this with her pediatrician today who recommended eliminating dairy and soy from my diet at this point due to the bloody diaper. Unfortunately for me, I eat a lot of dairy and soy and worry if this will impact my supply as well as my sanity. I have a bit of an oversupply (have worked on this with LC) and very much want to keep feeding my baby. I feel sick to my stomach that my breastmilk freezer stash won’t be usable now??
Anyway, my question is for those with MSPI diagnoses - does this sound like your baby? Is it jumping the gun to do elimination diet with one bloody diaper? On the flip side I don’t want to cause my baby discomfort and understand the elimination diet is a small price to pay.
How soon can I reintroduce dairy and soy into my diet?
Thanks in advance for the help.

My family has always been of great minds. I hated it. Growing up and having to study day and night to try and live up to them was extremely exhausting when I couldn't care how things worked as long as I was happy. I gave up but somehow everything kept turning out to be true.
Over my lifetime I have become the Gorden Ramsey of the science world. Known for my temper and also for huge things like curing world hunger using play-doe and cancer with baby powder I got in a back street ally while drunk.
To get my family off my back I started making random ideas so they could see me as a failure and leave me alone but...they keep working. And soon people started to praise me. Fame has left me with nothing but more and more attention. So today I plan to make sure that everyone can just think I'm insane and leave me alone and not some king.
I chuckled like a kid who was opening a Christmas present as I heard the crowd of people chatting and talking loudly as I hid behind my stage in a grey tight suit that my sister had picked out. I sighed and was ready to walk out and make a fool out of myself but my brother stopped me.
" Jack... I just want you to know how proud I am of you. Dad would have loved to see you right now. "
I thought it was ironic because last night while chilling on the couch watching TV and eating chips I made this theory up. He dusted off my shoulders held them tight and looked me in the eyes taking in the moment.
" go give them hell man. "
He had a goofy smile just like Dad but spoke with confidence.
" you got it, man. "
I heard my name being called onto the stage and the uproar startled me for a second but I collected myself and headed out after giving him a nod just to entertain him.
The lights were blinding as I grabbed the mic and looked at the table in front of me with a small box with the ingredients I needed and a chalkboard behind me.
After I stood still for a minute the crowd died down. I had not told anyone what I was presenting so the whole world was watching without a clue of what I was doing this time.
"Hello everyone. Today I believe I have my most important presentation yet..."
The crowd grew silent and hung on every word. And I heard my voice around the room through the speakers.
" Today I have with me a box...and inside is spaghetti I had for breakfast. "
The crowd laughed thinking it was a joke
" shut up "
The crowd grew silent once more
"Behind me is a chalkboard and I will now present my new findings to all of you...I have found out how to make portals to other worlds. "
A man in the far back of the audience yelled bullshit in a heavy Indian accent but he was so far it was a faint sound for me. I smiled at that thinking I had finally found something that would make me lose my title and I could go ahead and live a life without people making me feel like an evil man for not helping others.
I opened the box got a handful of the noodles and threw them at the chalkboard. I then grabbed a paper towel on standby to clean myself.
The noodles hit the board and slowly moved and rested on a spot on the board. I made eye contact with my brother backstage and he had a look on his face showing he believed in me.
I spun the board dropping the noodles to the ground I then grabbed the chalk and drew around the sauce and noodles that stuck to the board then drew my attention to the others that had fallen on the floor and drew an outline of that.
After it finished I threw the chalk in the crowd violently hitting an old lady in the face.
" Quickly I want a show of hands who thinks I'm a crazy guy "
Everyone raised their hands and I laughed to myself
I then went behind the board and laid it horizontally. I grabbed a small knife in my pocket and poked my finger with it. The crimson blood fell and hit the chalk and then as more and more blood hit the chalk it started glowing.
" you have got to be joking. "
I said out loud as it started to spark an orange glow and it slowly grew color to the rest of the chalk in orange sparks.
Once the symbol was fully sparking with orange the sauce began to swell and move around in a counterclockwise manner. I stepped away from it in shock as small parts of the blood in my finger began to float to the parts where it fell on the floor I drew my outlines on and started sparking those as well.
It started to smoke and hiss as if lightning could whisper and the orange began to take shape and the sauce made a doorway. The parts that were not on the board began to grow ice around them and started to make designs on the floor circling me and the board. Suddenly it grew in size and a large booming voice was heard through the portal as I felt panic of people start to set in.
A huge claw came out and scrapped the sides of my table trying to crawl out from the world it had been trapped in. Cold winds hit me as they cut my skin and threw around my clothes. As I saw the table was now melting from its touch.
A slimy green claw with mucus like a face-hugger egg from the movie Alien carved through the floor and pulled the rest of its body out slowly. A beast stood at 12 feet tall adjusting to our world as goop grew and shaped its body as people screamed, ran, and stood frozen in fear.
As it looked around it locked its spider-like eyes and swerled around coming out from the portal and twisting and turning around the body as it made its way to its head finding a place to rest. It then locked its eyes with me and its jaw twisted slowly from an ant-like maw to mine and slowly shrunk and it soon took the shape of me and knelt on the floor and spoke to me.
" master. "
I stood in shock as everyone seemed to calm down and watched to see what I would do.
"...umm "My family has always been of great minds. I hated it. Growing up and having to study day and night to try and live up to them was extremely exhausting when I couldn't care how things worked as long as I was happy. I gave up but somehow everything kept turning out to be true.
Over my lifetime I have become the Gorden Ramsey of the science world. Known for my temper and also for huge things like curing world hunger using play-doe and cancer with baby powder I got in a back street ally while drunk.
To get my family off my back I started making random ideas so they could see me as a failure and leave me alone but...they keep working. And soon people started to praise me. Fame has left me with nothing but more and more attention. So today I plan to make sure that everyone can just think I'm insane and leave me alone and not some king.
I chuckled like a kid who was opening a Christmas present as I heard the crowd of people chatting and talking loudly as I hid behind my stage in a grey tight suit that my sister had picked out. I sighed and was ready to walk out and make a fool out of myself but my brother stopped me.
" Jack... I just want you to know how proud I am of you. Dad would have loved to see you right now. "
I thought it was ironic because last night while chilling on the couch watching TV and eating chips I made this theory up. He dusted off my shoulders held them tight and looked me in the eyes taking in the moment.
" go give them hell man. "
He had a goofy smile just like Dad but spoke with confidence.
" you got it, man. "
I heard my name being called onto the stage and the uproar startled me for a second but I collected myself and headed out after giving him a nod just to entertain him.
The lights were blinding as I grabbed the mic and looked at the table in front of me with a small box with the ingredients I needed and a chalkboard behind me.
After I stood still for a minute the crowd died down. I had not told anyone what I was presenting so the whole world was watching without a clue of what I was doing this time.
"Hello everyone. Today I believe I have my most important presentation yet..."
The crowd grew silent and hung on every word. And I heard my voice around the room through the speakers.
" Today I have with me a box...and inside is spaghetti I had breakfast. "
The crowd laughed thinking it was a joke
" shut up "
The crowd grew silent once more
"Behind me is a chalkboard and I will now present my new findings to all of you...I have found out how to make portals to other worlds. "
A man in the far back of the audience yelled bullshit in a heavy Indian accent but he was so far it was a faint sound for me. I smiled at that thinking I had finally found something that would make me lose my title and I could go ahead and live a life without people making me feel like an evil man for not helping others.
I opened the box got a handful of the noodles and threw them at the chalkboard. I then grabbed a paper towel on standby to clean myself.
The noodles hit the board and slowly moved and rested on a spot on the board. I made eye contact with my brother backstage and he had a look on his face showing he believed in me.
I spun the board dropping the noodles to the ground I then grabbed the chalk and drew around the sauce and noodles that stuck to the board then drew my attention to the others that had fallen on the floor and drew an outline of that.
After it finished I threw the chalk in the crowd violently hitting an old lady in the face.
" Quickly I want a show of hands who thinks I'm a crazy guy "
Everyone raised their hands and I laughed to myself
I then went behind the board and laid it horizontally. I grabbed a small knife in my pocket and poked my finger with it. The crimson blood fell and hit the chalk and then as more and more blood hit the chalk it started glowing.
" you have got to be joking. "
I said out loud as it started to spark an orange glow and it slowly grew color to the rest of the chalk in orange sparks.
Once the symbol was fully sparking with orange the sauce began to swell and move around in a counterclockwise manner. I stepped away from it in shock as small parts of the blood in my finger began to float to the parts where it fell on the floor I drew my outlines on and started sparking those as well.
It started to smoke and hiss as if lightning could whisper and the orange began to take shape and the sauce made a doorway. The parts that were not on the board began to grow ice around them and started to make designs on the floor circling me and the board. Suddenly it grew in size and a large booming voice was heard through the portal as I felt panic of people start to set in.
A huge claw came out and scrapped the sides of my table trying to crawl out from the world it had been trapped in. Cold winds hit me as they cut my skin and threw around my clothes. As I saw the table was now melting from its touch.
A slimy green claw with mucus like a face-hugger egg from the movie Alien carved through the floor and pulled the rest of its body out slowly. A beast stood at 12 feet tall adjusting to our world as goop grew and shaped its body as people screamed, ran, and stood frozen in fear.
As it looked around it locked its spider-like eyes and swerled around coming out from the portal and twisting and turning around the body as it made its way to its head finding a place to rest. It then locked its eyes with me and its jaw twisted slowly from an ant-like maw to mine and slowly shrunk and it soon took the shape of me and knelt on the floor and spoke to me.
" master. "
I stood in shock as everyone seemed to calm down and watched to see what I would do.

"...umm "

Part two of the noodle demon.
Now that this creature knelt before me I realized that the room I was in was so terrible quietly you could hear everyone's ass get tight in anticipation of what would happen next.
" ...what...are you. "
I spoke carefully to the being that had taken the shape of myself. It still took my breath away and my throat was dry.
The beast was a deep green. The color mixed with shades of grey streaming from it. The longer I looked at it I could see it getting closer to what I looked like shaping itself.
From small flowing green tendrils to an arm they grew as they twisted and made bone then muscle and finally skin.
It locked eyes with me and it smiled deeply at me. As it formed the face finally.
" Your vassle. "
My eyes had not moved to the crowd at all but even though the lights hit the stage so hard it was enveloped in smoke.
The creature's eyes glowed as it answered brightly, not figuratively. This thing's eyes were glowing.
"To serve you, We are bound by blood magic. I am a reflection of your desires, Master, " it said, its voice now a whisper in my mind.
It began to stand up as my grey suit began to form on it and by the time it stood fully up it had copied what I looked like.
" let me explain everything. "
My body frozen in fear woke up with adrenaline as I blinked and a flash of green smoke covered my vision as he teleported right to me face to face.
Its body turned to smoke and went into the slits of my eyes. I felt visions follow me in my peripheral vision but surprisingly no pain followed power filled me and it felt like one hell of a drug.
My body and mind altered.
I was now in a very dark place with no walls or light except my reflection on the floor which waved like water.
I took a step back looking around and back to the reflection of me on the ground.
Soon the water rippled and my reflection fell through the floor like gravity was inverted. he flew upright and water fell off of him as he looked at me as he now stood straight ahead of me. He was just reflecting in the water but now eyed me down.
Collecting my nerves.
I begin to speak.
" what do you want..."
He was still in my form and stood perfectly straight. Now with water dripping from his...my hair.
Slight stubble with hair that hung down and my hazel eyes were not present within him but I was greeted with a swelling acidic green that doubled the size of my pupil.
" to serve you. "
He made no other movement than putting his hands behind his back like a soldier at ease.
I could not tell if it was lying or not.
" ...is that it? "
" I am the embodiment of your fear desires and brilliance. You have shaped me. Your desire for solitude birthed me. I will aid you in shaping the world how you see fit. Your reality becomes mine. "
There was a slight echo in the room as he spoke.
" wait...where are we "
I questioned haphazardly
" your mind. "
An awkward silence was in the air until I spoke
" so...am I just standing on the stage not making a sound? "
He gave me a concerned look.
" no...time has frozen outside for you. You may sleep here without having to in the real world so to others you look as if you never rest and you may think and plan what to do in battle here. For them, it will be about two seconds...Do...do you not have any knowledge of what I am? "
Suddenly I felt bad like I had encountered someone famous and I had no idea who they were. A slap in the face like a popular kid meeting someone who had never heard of them. Ego shattered.
" ok sorry no. I...don't go around reading about...monsters?"
I felt like was I saying the n-word of the demon realm not knowing if that word was offensive.
He folded his arms a little upset.
"Are you not a warrior? "
" well...no I...just watch TV and cook here and there- "
The demon cut me off
" weak. "
" excuse me? "
" look. I am an immortal being and after a while you get bored. So I'm sorry if I may be a little upset after being bonded with some nobody. "
I got quiet and I was a little annoyed that I was being roasted by some demon that I just met.
Its form wavers and eyes begin to open on its skin. Cheeks forhead etc.
"After being a god for so long it's fun to play with limitations. Makes things extremely exciting. "
" what do you mean by that? "
" look. You can only be so entertained by the same things. Life gets boring and now...you are going to help me with this. I get to have pure entertainment while you get every wish you could ever want. A mutual bond no? "
He then closed his eyes annoyed and the other eyes meshed back to his skin.
" though... the TV is not that interesting...life is what gets the blood pumping"
I felt the need to quickly change the topic
"Are there others like you? "
The room began to take shape very slowly as the water floor turned to wood and walls went around us.
" of course. You may meet them one day "
Confused and curious I pressed.
"Meet them? "
" yes. Summoning one of us is considered a threat to them. "
He spoke while opening and closing his newly found hand except backward.
" hm...no that don't look right "
I quickly responded
" Wait! How is doing that a threat! "
"Well, one doesn't just accidentally Summon one of us to suddenly get powers beyond human control. "
I thought back to how I summoned him by accident with some food I made.
" well...funny story but I summoned you using my breakfast..."
I had never regretted speaking so much as in that moment.
" What... "
Acid dripped from his words. Literally. His pupils split in half and his bottom jaw ripped open like an ant and curved giving sharpness to the bone.
"Please don't kill me. "
The room began to look like a cozy cabin with a fireplace and he slowly went back to normal.
" I would if I could. I've never felt so disrespected. We are bonded by your blood. If you die...I die. "
Suddenly I felt at ease by this new information.
Then a thought came to my mind
" ...God's can die? "
" you did hear me, right? "
The SAS from this guy was unneeded and I was starting to miss him being on his knees as weird as that sounds.
" so...all that power gone.... in an instant... "
" well...no actually God's powers don't just disappear they transfer to whoever killed them...wait...hold up."
He suddenly had an epiphany.
A smile grew on his face and he grabbed my shoulders
" you! You are going to help me kill the other gods! "
He sounded proud but I let him down.
" ha! No. "
" oh come on! Don't be like that. "
He did a pout.
"Look, man. I'm not killing gods for you. Just because you are bored. "
" hey...they might send people to kill you because you bonded with me. "
"What did I ever do to them? "
"They have a system to this stuff. They like to build and watch things play out. You're a problem. That can mess it up. So...they kill ya...to be honest, I don't know any other way to explain it, man. You know people normally just use my power to kill people and become a king and know this already. "
"This is outrageous. "
" bro. Look if you do this I will be able to get their powers and you will be able to do so much more than what I offer "
I tilted my head
" what can you do? Know what never mind. I will just talk to them and figure things out. "
He groaned and his form melted down sagging and it shot back up reforming
"Is there not anything that you want? Anything in the world? Gods don't put themselves in physical forms. They give people power and can make beings to hunt you. And if they care enough to come down themself. Ha, good luck."
I stopped and thought about it trying to weigh the options of pissing off higher beings.
Suddenly. I found something.
"Can you bring back the dead..."
He stopped confused.
" well...no "
" then I don't want anything "
" wait! "
He threw his arms out pleading
"I don't...but another God does..."
He crosses his arms smiling. He had left the question hanging letting me reconsider his offer.
I stopped and thought for a while before looking back up to him.
I let out a sigh and looked him in the eyes
" ok...you are going to help me get my father back. "
The demon smirked.