Hey everyone, this is my first attempt at putting this story, or any story, to words. I hope you enjoy and thank you for reading!
When I entered the hotel where my wife was last seen, nothing seemed out of place at first. Children ran through the lobby, bellboys escorted new arrivals while pushing luggage trolleys, and a small line was gathered at the front desk. It seemed like any busy hotel would over summer vacation - full of life and warm, humid air from the continuously opening front doors. The hotel, named ‘The Oxman,’ was located near the southwestern national parks of the United States. School had ended and families now flocked here for reservations booked months in advance. There were also many young people in search of adventure in the desert.
My wife had been one such adventurer. We were part of a rock climbing club that planned a trip to the area to explore some popular climbs in the canyons. I had been unable to join due to work, so she joined in the group’s rental van while I stayed behind. I was going to join once the work week was over, otherwise she would have bunked with one of the single girls. Only she never met the group in the lobby the next morning and after the police came, the rest of the trip was called off.
That was three days ago. The police searched her room and found all of her belongings gone. The investigation has continued, but the hotel hasn’t provided any further information, and with a packed suitcase gone with her the police thought she had chosen to disappear. So I came here myself, knowing I wouldn’t find anything the police had missed, but not knowing what else to do.
It was strange to see the normalcy around me in the lobby. My life was shattered by events that happened here just this week, and yet everyone else continued with their own lives. But as I joined the line at the front desk, I started noticing small ways in which things weren’t right. At first I noticed that as I passed people, no one so much as glanced at me. I wasn’t expecting anyone to outright stare, but not a single person looked in my direction as I passed them. Then I noticed the way they all smiled, their faces strained in looks of delight. Even those just sitting alone in the plush lobby chairs grinned relentlessly. I started to make my way towards an elderly man just sitting there and smiling, to ask him anything that would get him to interact with me, when the concierge behind the desk called to me. I had already made it to the front of the line.
“Good morning, sir, and welcome to the Oxman. How can I help you?”
The young man smiled as did everyone else, but at least he looked at me. His eyes told a different story than the others’.
“Hi, I’d like a room just for the night.”
“Of course sir, just a single bed?” He started typing quickly on the computer in front of him.
“I’m surprised you have availability during such a busy time of year,” I said, “My friends stayed here recently and booked their rooms months in advance.”
He didn’t miss a beat. “We had a cancellation this morning! It’s your lucky day, sir.” He looked up from his computer. “Surely you didn’t come here not expecting to get a room?” He was right - the question made me look like the strange one. “I started to lose hope when I saw how busy the lobby was.” But as I turned to gesture towards the people around us, I suddenly realized they were all gone. It was a moment before the shock wore off and I gathered myself, in which time the concierge spoke again.
“Traffic ebbs and flows!” He proclaimed cheerily. “Once I see your license and put a card on file, I’ll be happy to take you to your room sir.”Goosebumps pricked my skin as uneasiness washed over me. Something was clearly off about this place. But I couldn’t turn back now. I didn’t know where else to look for her and felt the need to see this through. I passed him my information and received a traditional key on a ring.
“I see you didn’t bring any luggage. I trust you can escort yourself to your room, Mr. Flinton?”My eyes were back on the lobby as he spoke, searching for any sign of the life that was just here. “That’s fine. Thank you for your help.” I took my key and read the tag. Room 716. I made my way towards the elevator as the concierge called after me.
“Thank you for your business, Mr. Flinton! We hope you enjoy your stay at The Oxman!”I didn’t turn back as I pressed the elevator button. Hopefully my room wouldn’t be this unsettling. And hopefully, through some miracle, I would find a sign of my wife. As I turned and pressed the button for floor 7, the second highest floor, I looked into the lobby one more time while the doors closed. Now the concierge had vanished as well.

I feel like something is missing.
I know 99% of it is actually talking to others and getting a sense of their lives and wants and needs, something I currently haven't done because of my low-paying job as a flight attendant. I used to work at Restaurants and felt more connected to the world and society.
Social Media to me feels like.. picking up a Vogue Magazine. It's very limited in scope. I see hot models. I see ads for cologne and clothing. I see fancy cars and photos of travel destinations. That's like 99% of my Instagram right now - Vogue Magazine.
When I walk outside my home, the jobs I can physically see are those shitty ones. Barista, McDonalds, Wal-Mart. Those aren't the jobs to get, those aren't the jobs that will pay you enough to live.
I feel as though the real world, is somehow hiding from me (a direct result of my FA airline job I am certain).
The real world for me, is sitting at a bar having a beer with a microbiologist who is discussing the breakthroughs of addiction as it relates to Ozempic and how they are leading a team of junior researchers to find out why Ozempic and gut science have also shown reductions in non-food-related addictions also.
The real world for me, is having a discussion with the sales guy who deals with rhodium and palladium for pace makers at Boston Scientific, or maybe that QC expert at Bausch & Lomb Contact Lenz division.
Somehow I am not getting the 'right' news, the right stories, the right knowledge as to what is happening behind the scenes. I feel lost often, as though the bottom 90% of the population is now plugged into the matrix and the remaining 10% (where the good jobs and good money are) are now hidden from sight.
With inflation on the rise, like poverty, we are facing difficult times ahead. I am curious as to what areas have growth? What sectors show promise? I see AI but we are still a ways off before it actually moves society forward in a good way, vs a way to enslave and ensnare us.
SO my real question is how do you keep away from social media and get news that is in your field, in your discipline, and also in hot zones for future development? Walking through places like Rochester, New York, Main Street is Dead. Same for Utica, Geneva, Syracuse. Cities all along the upstate railway are rapidly collapsing into chaos. I am just not sure what the solution is for me, besides less social media and perhaps more magazines like Financial papers or Business Weekly.
How do you not get lost in all of this?

Hey Reddit,
I don’t normally post like this—hell, I never post with my porn account—but I’m especially lost right now. Two years ago, I got into a doctoral program for English lit, thinking it was what I wanted for my career. I’ve always excelled in school, so grad school would be a cinch! I got BAs in English and Creative Writing during undergrad, and it was some of the most rewarding work I’ve ever done. Grad school has been two years of (what feels like) a continuous mental health crisis, and today I may have wasted my last chance to get out with a degree.
I’ve dealt with anxiety and depression my entire life (medicated for six years), but after moving away to school, I very quickly spun off the rails. I was the furthest from home I had ever been, away from family and friends and my support network. My relationship with booze and weed, which had been casual, became habitual. I’m not the most social person to begin with, but the isolated lifestyle of grad school made it worse than I could have imagined. The only friends I had were in my cohort, and their being somewhere in between coworker and friend made it difficult to speak with them candidly about my struggles. After all, they had the same workload that I did, so complaining felt stupid, and sharing the extent of how bad shit had gotten seemed like it would be a one-way ticket to a grippy socks vacation.
Frankly, I should probably have gone on that vacation. I could still use one. There hasn’t been a day gone by since, like, October 2022 that I haven’t thought about killing myself. Most of the time it isn’t active, just your typical ideation like “Oh, grad school makes me want to die lol.” One of my favorite recurring ideations is hurling myself into an industrial woodchipper like in Fargo—it’s so ridiculously violent that it usually snaps me right out of my funk. Where would I even find an industrial woodchipper?
It’s gotten worse lately though. This winter was bad. I’d fantasize about finding the nearest Wal-mart and exercising my constitutional right to purchase a firearm, driving to one of the many nearby beautiful state parks that I was never able to find time to go visit during the semester, and blowing my brains out. When I realized that I needed to give my family some plausible deniability for my suicide so they could grieve my loss rather than my decision, I’d fantasize instead about “losing control” on the highway. I hoped the seatbelt would take my head and launch it straight out the windshield. Or I’d fantasize about pulling a Christopher Supertramp and just leaving without warning to fuck off and die in the woods—not violently, but by something that looked natural. God, what I wouldn’t give to be devoured by a bear.
All of these options were moot though, as I was too anxious to leave my house and drive for groceries for the entirety of March and April. Can’t drive yourself off a bridge if you’re too afraid to drive. Fret not though, friends—I’m back home with family now, stable and safe, and I no longer feel the pull of the void quite so strongly as I did at school.
Anyways, the workload was like nothing I had experienced in undergrad, and even though I knew it was going to be a lot of work, I thought I could keep up.
I was wrong.
I really gave it my best effort that first semester. I prepped each class I taught as a TA excessively, answered student emails within five minutes of receiving them. I started every other day with an anxiety vomit, but I went to class. I did my best to read everything assigned to me. I threw myself at Foucault and Derrida and fuckin Homi Bhabha and the 40 other opaque critical theorists they had us read, and I struggled through them to the best of my ability, but I never seemed to be on the same page as anyone else, so I found it more and more difficult to speak up in class until I stopped speaking entirely. Still, I wrote the 75 pages of critical writing they assign to us in the last week of the semester. I barely slept and hardly ate. I wrote what I thought they wanted, did my best to model myself after what we had read.
They told me that my efforts were disappointing, that my work “barely qualified” as critical writing. I think part of me died when I got that feedback. I got the impression, at least from the instructor who told me I barely qualified, that I had disrespected them on a professional and personal level. I come from a creative writing background, so I tend to inject personality and voice into whatever I write. Both my peers and other faculty I’ve discussed this feedback with agree that the paper (while definitely not fully formed) did not warrant that level of harshness, but it broke something in me.
I kept up for most of the second semester, but by the time those end-of-semester essays rolled around, I felt a writer’s block like I had never felt before. It wasn’t the sort that went away if I forced myself to write through it, like every other time I’d felt the block before. No, this was debilitating. I was paralyzed. I tried chipping away at it, and I tried tricking myself into writing by telling myself I was just taking notes. None of my old tricks worked, even that time-honored tradition of putting my back to the wall by waiting until the deadline and writing manic, anxiety-fueled bullshit. Every time I had ever faced something like this before—a mountain of writing that I didn’t want to do—I eventually slipped into gear and got it done.
It didn’t happen. For the first time in my life, I didn’t complete a final essay. I just couldn’t force myself to give a fuck. I couldn’t give a fuck about my work, about my grades, about my reputation at the university, about my future career, about my future continued existence. At some point, I became apathetic to my life and the world around me, but still, I pressed on because it was the only thing I thought I could do. One does not just get accepted into a fully-funded graduate program every day, you know, and I’d never forgive myself if I gave up on it so quickly. That’s what I was told, at least. Beyond that, I didn’t want to disappoint my friends and family and everyone who helped me get to grad school.
So I stuck with it, finished the essay and came back after the summer, and after forcing myself through the fall semester, I didn’t complete two final essays. My untreated burnout got worse. Imagine that! At the beginning of this semester, I made the decision to drop from the PhD track, cut my losses and get an MA. All I needed to do was finish one course this semester, one measly 25 page essay about the fucking kinetoscope, but I couldn’t do it. All I did this past semester was smoke myself stupid, play video games, and wish that I was dead. I spent months lying to my parents and my therapist, telling them both that while everything wasn’t fine, I was persevering and making progress. I’ve shared a little with my mom, now that I’m home and shit’s gone sideways, but all she did was cry and ask if I need to be taken to the ER. Nobody wants to make mom cry, and the last thing I fucking want is medical debt.
My deadline—the “missing this deadline will result in dismissal from the program” deadline—was today at noon, and I missed it. I have ten pages written, and I could finish it today if my brain wasn’t fucking broken, but instead I’ve written a confession to Reddit. I’ve emailed my DGS and will hear his verdict tomorrow morning, but honestly? I could fight for it, but don’t think I care anymore. I’ve been suffering for two years, and I don’t know if a master’s degree is worth it. This degree won’t make me happy—my depression brain says that nothing will, but I know that isn’t true. I wanted the MA so I could teach at a community college because that feels much closer to praxis than jerking off to Frantz Fanon until I get tenure, but I’m not even sure if I like teaching or if it was just the least of all evils I had to deal with as a grad student. (Lowkey, Fanon is probably the way to go if we’re jerking off to critical theorists, but I digress)
So Reddit, what do I do with my life? I’m a 25 year old burn out who 1) may have just lost their big shot at a slightly less worthless degree than the one they got in undergrad 2) just moved back in with their parents to a dead-end Midwest town 3) has few marketable skills and little job experience because they’ve been in academia hell for two years 4) has not had a relationship in even longer than that and 5) is generally a/pathetic.
Ending it isn’t on the table, so what do I do? Has anyone here gone through something like this? How can I rediscover my lust for life and letters? Where have you found your passion?
EDIT: forgot you needed two returns between paragraphs

Hey guys! I'm a rising Junior and I was accepted into the Questbridge CPS program not too long ago. I initially made this post on the Questbridge subreddit, but it was recommended that I ask here since it is probably more appropriate. If I become a finalist for the Questbridge National College Match, I am highly considering ranking Princeton as my #1. After a lot of research, I have become fascinated with its stellar academics, undergrad research opportunities, the beauty of the campus, and the rich history of the institution. However, I haven't found much info about the social life and general campus "feel" apart from what I've learned about the eating clubs and such. My question is: how is life at Princeton? What do you guys enjoy most about the social scene? How are your professors and peers in terms of character? I want to know more about what the atmosphere of Princeton is like apart from what I know to be top-tier education. I have already found so much to love about this school, but I just want some deeper insights into the day to day occurrences at the school and the factors that make it unique from a social perspective.

Your tolkienfans post (=analysis/exploration of Tolkien works and concepts) spiraled into 50+ pages or more, at which point you figured out it's just better to make it even more organized, with all the relevant quotations and annotations. Stuff like History of Middle Earth, Tolkien's letters etc. Or at the very least just as annotations, without direct quotations. And then release as a book. Not just a free ebook for everyone to grab but a paid copy so at least you got something for your time and extra detail put into it - like, these are hard times after all, especially in some parts of the world
Plus, maybe you've drawn your own art inspired by Middle-earth and want to make use of it, or... maybe you've done nice AI renders (yeah, I know it's controversial, but it's novel toolset and probably to become common amongst those who don't have a starting capital). In any case, a book with some images invoking imagination surely feels better, no?
Btw, I've never published an analysis type of book in my life, so yeah, I have no idea about the process.
But this conception just hit me and I've started to wonder... is that even possible with Tolkien works? Without connections, good lawyers and such? I assume one would need to request for copyright permission for every single thing they would like to mention/quote? And how likely is it that some rando from a reddit sub would be allowed to get it? (I suspect not likely, so basically welcome in this delightful, tightly copyrighted, capitalistic society?? )
PS: And yet there is stuff out there like David Day, which I think messed me up badly back in the day, so idk - does this guy need any permissions?

At the world’s top college of magic and technology, every day brings a new discovery -and a new disaster. The advanced experiments of the college students tend to be both ambitious and apocalyptic, with the end of the world only prevented by a mysterious time loop, and a small handful of students who retain their memories.
Surviving the loops was hard enough, but now, in his senior year, Vell Harlan must take charge of them, and deal with the fact that the whole world now knows his secrets. Everyone knows about Vell’s death and resurrection, along with the divine game he is a part of. Now Vell must contend with overly curious scientists and evil billionaires hungry for divine power while the daily doomsday cycle bombards him with terrorists, talking elephants, and the Grim Reaper himself -but if he can endure it all, the Last Goddess’s game promises the ultimate prize: power over life itself.
[Previous Chapter][Patreon][Cover Art]
“Four years on and the headache still sucks,” Vell groaned to himself.
Though most of the loopers had managed to make it to midnight alive, they had nothing to show for it but headaches. They had not succeeded in digging Cane out of the rubble, or investigating his apparent ghost theory in any other way. That was a complication, but not a fatal one. They had some leads to work with, at least, and Vell knew where to get started on the ghost angle. Vell gladly made the call that would get them started.
“Goooooood morning Mr. Harlan,” Harley chimed. “What’s happening?”
“Frog invasions, among other problems,” Vell grumbled.
“Oh, that’s a time loop headache if I ever heard it,” Harley said. She’d run into that affliction more than a few times.
“Yeah, it’s not great,” Vell said. “Listen, do you still have Garrett’s number?”
“Ooh, ghost problems, eh?” Harley said. “I’ll text it to you.”
“Thanks. I kind of got to get right to it, so I’ll have to give you the details later, alright? Love you, Harley.”
“Love you too, bud,” Harley said. “Say hi to Garret for me.”
Vell hung up the first call and braced himself for the second. He liked Garret, but he could also be a lot to deal with -a fact well-demonstrated by the phone call beginning with Garret’s theme music blaring over the phone. Once the bombastic rock and roll stopped, Vell was disappointed to hear a mechanical beep indicate the start of an answering machine message.
“Hi, you’ve reached Garret Geist, Ghost Getter,” the message said, in Garrett’s usual southern california drawl. “I’m currently on a long-term submersible mission to exorcise the ghosts of shipwreck victims who’ve been trapped undersea for centuries.”
“What?”
Vell knew it was a recording, but needed to voice his offense anyway. It was hard to truly be mad knowing Garrett was doing something so incredibly heroic, though.
“I should be back to the surface and ready to help in a few days, so please leave a message and I’ll get to you as soon as I can!”
The automated message clicked again and fell silent. Vell hung up the phone and let out a low groan of despair.
“Okay, we’re not screwed yet,” Vell said. “Just need to wait a bit.”
Vell brushed his teeth and rushed through breakfast, and then, right on cue, heard a knock on his door. He whipped it open to find a bothersome scientist once again at his door.
“Hi, good morning,” Vell said, as he opened the door. “You here to bother me about Quenay?”
“I- uh, I have some very interesting theories.”
“I’m sure you do,” Vell said. “If you can just hold on one second…”
Vell paused and waited. The bothersome student also waited, at least for a few seconds.
“What exactly are we waiting for?”
“This.”
Cane grabbed the student by the collar and yanked them away from the door. Vell invited him in and slammed the door shut behind them to really drive the point home.
“Thank you for that,” Vell said. “Did you need something?”
“Just to talk to you,” Cane said. “I was trying to get people together to hang out tonight. Figured you’d want in, if you’re not too busy.”
“I could probably make it, I just have to…”
Vell froze. He really should’ve come up with these lies in advance.
“You good, Vell?”
“I, uh, sorry, just losing track of things, mentally,” Vell said. “I’ve had a lot of people, uh, ask me for help with things.”
“What kind of things?” Cane said. “You need a hand?”
“Maybe.”
Vell contemplated how to proceed for a moment, and then figured he’d probably built up enough good will with Cane over the past four years he could just dive right in.
“You ever heard about frog ghosts?”
“Yeah,” Cane said, without so much as blinking.
“Oh, cool,” Vell said. “What about them?”
“Well, hold on, are you talking about frog ghosts as in the ghost of frogs, or a ghost related to frogs?”
“Either or, I guess?”
“Okay, because I don’t know anything about any ghostly frogs,” Cane said. “There is supposedly the ghost of a guy obsessed with frogs on campus, though.”
“Interesting. Tell me about the frog guy.”
“I don’t know all the details, it was kind of an urban legend even when my brother came here about a decade back,” Cane said. “All he ever told me was the this frog-obsessed sophomore died while studying, and he haunts the basement of the sophomore dorms, I guess. ‘Some say you can still hear faint croaking in the basement’ and all that horror story shit.”
“Interesting,” Vell said, again. “Let me look into that and we’ll circle back later, alright? I gotta go, see you.”
“Vell-”
“Sorry, kind of in a hurry, bud,” Vell said, as he left and shut the door behind.
“This is your dorm, dude,” Cane said.
***
“You were not exaggerating about this headache,” Alex said.
“We warned you,” Kim said. “Man, it’s almost better to die.”
“How do you have a headache, you’re made of metal!”
“It’s complicated,” Kim said. Her synthetic body did not spare her from the time loop headache, no matter how she rebuilt herself.
“Good morning everyone,” Helena said, as she whacked the door open with a crutch. “What did I miss?”
“Quiet down a little, please” Hawke said.
“Why?”
“Do you not have a headache too?”
“No, I died pretty early,” Helena said. “Got a frog on me.”
“You died from a frog touching you? What condition do you have that causes that?”
“Well it was a poison dart frog, so I guess ‘being alive’,” Helena said. Samson pursed his lips and said nothing. “What did you all get up to while I was busy being dead?”
“Vell found out the frogs were summoned by a weird frog-obsessed ghost,” Hawke said. “He apparently knows a guy who might be able to help.”
The loopers then proceeded to relax and chat about frogs, ghosts, and other miscellaneous topics for about seven minutes, which made it a lot less dramatic when Vell barged in and announced Garret would be unable to help.
“Oh come on,” Kim snapped. “What’s the point of knowing a ghost hunter if he never helps hunt ghosts?”
“He’s on some undersea mission to rescue lost souls,” Vell said. “Which makes it really hard to be mad at him.”
“And yet I manage,” Kim said. She didn’t begrudge Garret personally, but she had been hoping for their first easy win of the year. All the apocalypses thus far had been a major pain in the ass.
“Aren’t you people supposed to be able to handle things like this?”
“Yes, Alex, and we will,” Vell said. “Just would’ve been nice to have a professional on the job.”
“I’ll get the ghostbusting stuff ready,” Hawke sighed. He would’ve loved a chance to outsource their daily nonsense.
“Keep it on standby for now,” Vell said. “Ghosts have unfinished business or regrets. If we can help our ghost deal with whatever frog-related business he’s got going on, maybe we can fix this without having to bust anyone.”
“That’s your plan?” Alex said. “Be nice to the ghost that crushed a building and hope it goes away?”
“Yes,” Vell said, with a completely straight face. “And busting is plan B.”
“Bustin’ makes me feel good,” Hawke sang, as he grabbed all their various ghostbusting gear.
“True professionals at work,” Alex scoffed. Everyone else rolled their eyes and got back to work.
“Vell is an old pro at being nice to people,” Kim said. “Just ask Helena’s sister.”
“Don’t pat yourself on the back, Joan’s incredibly susceptible to manipulation,” Helena said. It was disturbing she’d say that, and even more disturbing she knew that. “That said, anyone dumb enough to get stuck as a ghost for decades will probably buy into your routine just as easily.”
“Thanks for your input,” Vell said. “I’m just going to go ahead and get started.”
He said that both because it was important and because it was an excuse to get away from Alex and Helena faster.
“Need any backup?” Samson asked, for similar reasons.
“I’ll check it out solo first,” Vell said. Historically speaking, he was the best people-pleaser, a dubious honor at best, but one that came in handy when dealing with a frog-summoning ghost. “I’ll let you know if I need backup.”
“Or busting,” Hawke said.
“Or busting,” Vell agreed. “I have to find out where the ghost is, for starters. I’ll be in touch soon.”
***
Finding the lair of the ghost was the first hurdle. As it turned out, the sophomore dorms had a lot of basements. Every building on campus had a lot of basements, so Vell was not all that surprised. At least these basements didn’t have booby traps or old experiment equipment in them. They mostly just had a lot of junk. Vell kicked aside some old food wrappers and scanned the room.
“Why do people treat these empty rooms like dumping grounds?”
“People are usually different when they think no one is watching.”
Vell whipped around and saw a transparent head poking through one of the nearby walls. A ghost if Vell had ever seen one.
“Oh, hi,” Vell said. “Uh, weird question, how do you feel about frogs?”
“I’m ambivalent at best,” the ghost said. “Are you looking for the frog guy? Because he haunts two rooms over.”
The ghost pointed to the right, down the hall, and Vell looked that way.
“Thanks,” Vell said. He took a few steps towards the door before spinning around to face the other ghost again. “Uh, do you need any help like, moving on? Finishing unfinished business?”
“Nah, we get wifi down here, so I don’t mind just chilling,” the ghost said. “Thanks for offering though.”
The ghost drew back into the wall and vanished from sight. While Vell was painfully curious as to how a ghost accessed wifi, he decided it was time to move on. The frog ghost was apparently close by, after all.
Vell followed the wifi ghost’s directions and hopped two doors down, barging into a subterranean room that was uncomfortably moist and smelled of mud and rainwater. Condensation dripped from the ceiling and onto Vell’s back, sending an unpleasant shiver down his spine. Unlike other rooms, this one was completely free of any garbage, but Vell took no comfort in that.
“Hello? Anybody home?”
A chill ran down Vell’s spine that definitely was not another drop of water. He waited two seconds, took a deep breath, and turned around.
“Hello.”
Vell was just inches away from another transparent face. This one had a slight green tint, with wide set eyes and a broad, flat mouth. Vell wondered if the similarities to a frog had been there during this person’s life, or if they just liked frogs so much their ghost had slowly shifted to reflect their passion.
“Hey! Hi, uh, nice to meet you,” Vell mumbled. “I’m Vell.”
“I’m Raine.”
“Neat, nice name,” Vell said. If Raine noticed the awkward hesitation in the compliment, he didn’t show it. “So, uh, I was wondering, well, I heard you were the guy to ask about frogs.”
The already wide eyes of the ghost got even wider, and visible excitement trembled through their spectral form. Vell began to think he may have made a mistake.
***
“So even though it’s the biggest frog in the America’s, the helmeted water toad is still only half the size of the Goliath frog,” Raine said. “Which must be wild for the helmeted water toad. Could you imagine crossing an ocean and finding out the people who live there are literally twice your size?”
“Must be pretty mindblowing, yeah,” Vell said.
“And that’s not even going into the real extremes,” Raine said. “Do you remember our pal P. Amauensis?”
“How could I forget,” Vell said, about something he had definitely forgotten.
“Not just the world’s smallest frog, but maybe the world’s smallest vertebrate,” Raine said. “Only seven point seven millimeters long, a literal fraction of the Goliath frog! Could you imagine meeting someone who’s only as big as your toe?”
“I actually did, once,” Vell said. “Shrink ray.”
“Oh. Was...was it weird?”
“A little,” Vell said.
“Wow. You almost know what it’s like to be a Goliath frog meeting a P. Amauensis,” Raine said. “I’m so jealous.”
“Yeah, I’ve done a lot of interesting stuff,” Vell said. “What about you, what’d you get up to when you weren’t studying frogs?”
Raine tilted his spectral head and stared blankly at Vell.
“You did do things other than study frogs, right?”
“Not if I could help it,” Raine said.
“Okay, uh...what did you like to eat?”
“Oh, I just ate food whenever I was hungry,” Raine said. “What I really liked to do was gather samples of different bugs and other frog dietary staples, so I could try to get a sense of their diet for myself.”
“Like, cooked bugs, or just raw, living bugs,” Vell said. He’d eaten a few different varieties of cooked bugs, just for the experience, but couldn’t imagine eating raw insects.
“If I could find them, yeah, live ones,” Raine said. “It got pretty hard after I got banned from the entomology department.”
“That’d do it,” Vell said. “So, did you, uh, go swimming a lot?”
“Oh yeah, all the time,” Raine said. “Until I got banned from the pools too. Trying to swim like a frog doesn’t work very well, and they got sick of having to rescue me, I guess.”
“You could’ve just swam like a person.”
“Why would I do that?”
“To...I don’t know,” Vell said. He was starting to feel like Raine’s entire life and unlife revolved around frogs. “Did you ever do anything, I don’t know, human?”
“Oh, I studied frogs,” Raine said. “Frogs lack the self-awareness to understand frogs. It’s their only flaw, really.”
“I see. So what’s your favorite frog?”
As expected, this set off a long rant, as Raine found it hard to pick a favorite and had to start listing pros and cons of various frog species. It was not exactly scintillating conversation, but it kept Raine talking instead of somehow summoning frogs. Vell kept reminding himself that was the real goal. He was not here to have a pleasant chat, he was here to prevent the frogpocalypse. Anything that kept Raine ranting was good. He was saving the world.
As Raine started ranking every existing frog species by maximum jump distance, Vell kept repeating that to himself. Saving the world, one frog jump strength at a time.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MHGw1v8tcO0
Sydney Pigden's father was a milkman who fought in WWI and didn't have much money. Both parents died when he was 15, forcing him to drop out of school (despite being top of his class) to find work.
His former headmaster was determined he get an education and funded him through evening classes, allowing him to get his school certificate.
Sydney became a spitfire pilot in the RAF and fought in WWII aged just 17. After the war he married Aileen, a girl he met at a dance when stationed in Scotland and they had a son, who died shortly after birth. Aileen died in 1968 when he was just 46.
Sydney became a teacher in 1949 and ended up teaching at Turnham junior school for 30 years. Later in life he donated his RAF mementoes to the Shoreham Aircraft Museum.
Ian Wright grew up in a violent home. His dad was absent, his mother was alcoholic and his step-dad was abusive.
Because of this, he was a difficult child at Turnham junior school. However, his teacher Mr Pigden taught him to read and write, "but most importantly how to keep calm and communicate with people instead of just flying off the handle".
Sydney took young Ian under his wing and taught him discipline and respect, saying that if he was naughty he wouldn't get to play football. He gave Ian responsibilities like being milk monitor and collecting the register from the teachers, something that made Ian feel valued and important.
Sydney was also Ian's first football coach and would encourage him not to blast the ball, but pass it into the net, "like Jimmy Greaves". Ian called it "a piece of advice that stayed with me my whole career".
Ian Wright went on to become Arsenal's top scorer in their 100+ year history with 185 goals, only surpassed later on by the legendary Thierry Henry.
When WWII ended, Sydney was chosen to do the WWII Victory celebration fly-past over Buckingham Palace, aged only 23. Despite this, he said that the proudest moment of his life was seeing Ian play football for England.
Sydney Charles Pigden died on Dec 27, 2017. Ian Wright unveiled an honorary plaque for Sydney at Turnham junior school to highlight his life and the importance of mentorship. Ian said getting to unveil the plaque commemorating Mr Pigden was "the greatest thing I've ever done in my life, to the greatest man in the world."

A Daily chronicle of AI Innovations May 14th 2024:
🚀 GPT-4o: 2x faster, 50% cheaper, 5x rate limits than GPT-4 Turbo
🗣️ OpenAI unveils GPT-4o and new voice capabilities
🔍 TikTok tests ChatGPT-powered search results
🎧 Meta explores AI-assisted earphones with built-in cameras
💰 Anthropic launches Claude in Europe in the hope of raising more money
🤖 UAE launches a new AI model to compete with big tech
🖥️ Japan team builds Gen AI foundation model using supercomputer Fukagu
⏰ Microsoft Places finds the best time for your next office day
🤝 U.S. and China to meet in Geneva to discuss AI risks
🎧 Meta developing AI-powered ‘Camerabuds’
Enjoying these daily updates, subscribe below for more: Read Aloud For Me - Recommend AI Tools For Me
OpenAI unveils GPT-4o and new voice capabilities
https://www.youtube.com/live/DQacCB9tDaw?si=J_jFlxvKZUOOIJoX
OpenAI just unveiled GPT-4o, a new advanced multimodal model that integrates text, vision and audio processing, setting new benchmarks for performance – alongside a slew of new features.
The new model:
GPT-4o provides improved performance across text, vision, audio, coding, and non-English generations, smashing GPT-4T’s performance. The new model is 50% cheaper to use, has 5x higher rate limits than GPT-4T, and boasts 2x the generation speed of previous models. The new model was also revealed to be the mysterious ‘im-also-a-good-gpt2-chatbot’ found in the Lmsys Arena last week. Voice and other upgrades:
New voice capabilities include real-time responses, detecting and responding with emotion, and combining voice with text and vision. The demo showcased feats like real-time translation, two AI models analyzing a live video, and using voice and vision for tutoring and coding assistance. OpenAI’s blog also detailed advances like 3D generation, font creation, huge improvements to text generation within images, sound effect synthesis, and more. OpenAI also announced a new ChatGPT desktop app for macOS with a refreshed UI, integrating directly into computer workflows. Free for everyone:
GPT-4o, GPTs, and features like memory and data analysis are now available to all users, bringing advanced capabilities to the free tier for the first time. The GPT-4o model is currently rolling out to all users in ChatGPT and via the API, with the new voice capabilities expected to arrive over the coming weeks. Source: https://www.youtube.com/live/DQacCB9tDaw?si=J_jFlxvKZUOOIJoX
GPT-4o: 2x faster, 50% cheaper, 5x rate limits than GPT-4 Turbo
OpenAI unveiled its new flagship model, GPT-4o (“o” stands for “omni”). It provides GPT-4-level intelligence but is 2x faster, 50% cheaper, has 5x higher rate limits, and enhanced text, voice, and vision capabilities than GPT-4 Turbo. It also matches GPT-4 Turbo performance on text in English and code, with significant improvements for text in non-English languages.
GPT-4o can respond to audio inputs in as little as 232 ms, with an average of 320 ms, which is similar to human response time in a conversation. It is available in the ChatGPT free tier and to Plus users.
Why does it matter?
GPT-4o is a step towards much more natural human-computer interaction. It accepts any combination of text, audio, and image as input and generates any combination of text, audio, and image outputs. GPT-4o will set a new benchmark for AI capabilities and pave the way for more intelligent and accessible AI systems.
Source: https://openai.com/index/hello-gpt-4o
TikTok tests ChatGPT-powered search results
TikTok is testing a new search feature that uses AI to generate results for some queries. For certain search terms, like recipes or product recommendations, TikTok will display AI-generated answers at the top of the results. These answers are powered by ChatGPT, and when you click on one of these AI results, it takes you to a page with a full response.
TikTok is also testing "search highlights," which appear at the top of some searches. However, it's unclear whether these highlights are AI-generated.
TikTok is also testing "search highlights," which appear at the top of some searches. However, it's unclear whether these highlights are AI-generated.
Why does it matter?
It could make search on TikTok more authoritative and reliable by providing factual answers from AI models like ChatGPT. This could greatly impact how people use TikTok for search and information gathering, thereby positioning TikTok more directly as a search engine competitor to Google, catering to younger users' preferences.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/13/24155875/tiktok-ai-generated-search-results-highlights-chatgpt
Meta explores AI-assisted earphones with built-in cameras
Meta is currently exploring AI-powered earphones with built-in cameras. The project is known internally as “Camerabuds;” however, it’s uncertain if the final product will be in-ear earbuds or over-ear headphones. The cameras let the AI take in surrounding information visually, allowing it to translate foreign languages, identify objects, and more.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly seen several possible designs but has not been satisfied with them. Outside of design, the major hurdle is fitting a camera and batteries in a tiny device like an earbud.
Why does it matter?
For the AI wearable space, Meta's development hints at a growing interest in AI-infused devices, potentially paving the way for more sophisticated and interactive wearables. Regarding earphones, this development suggests a potential shift towards more intelligent and feature-rich earphone designs, offering users enhanced functionalities like real-time translation and object identification.
Source: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/meta-explores-ai-assisted-earphones-with-cameras
🎧 Meta developing AI-powered ‘Camerabuds’
Meta is reportedly in the early stages of developing AI-powered earphones, known internally as "Camerabuds,” — aiming to compete with OpenAI and Apple as tech giants rush to infuse AI into wearable devices.
‘Camerabuds’ would map user surroundings, capable of identifying objects and translating foreign languages using built-in cameras.
Meta already has its AI-powered Ray Ban smart glasses, while OpenAI and Apple are also exploring similar AI wearable earbud tech.
Potential challenges include bulkiness, heat generation, and privacy concerns, especially for users with long hair that might obstruct the cameras.
Despite Meta’s shaky track record with hardware ventures, Mark Zuckerberg is investing heavily in a future that he believes includes AI embedded into every device. But will standalone devices like this be able to win over users if and when a fully AI-integrated phone hits the market?
Source: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/meta-explores-ai-assisted-earphones-with-cameras
New AI Job Opportunities on May 14th, 2024
🔍 Perplexity AI - Search Engineer: https://jobs.therundown.ai/jobs/59717759-search-engineer
📋 Shield AI - Project Manager: https://jobs.therundown.ai/jobs/59662354-project-manager-r2638
🌍 C3 AI - General Manager, ESG: https://jobs.therundown.ai/jobs/59647575-general-manager-esg
☁️ Scale AI - Software Engineer, Cloud Infra: https://jobs.therundown.ai/jobs/59597384-software-engineer-cloud-infra
What Else Is Happening in AI on May 14th, 2024❗
💰 Anthropic launches Claude in Europe in the hope of raising more money
Anthropic launches Claude in Europe with support for “multiple languages,” including French, German, Italian, and Spanish across Claude.ai, its iOS app, and its business plan for teams. The launch comes after Anthropic extended its API to Europe for developers. Both moves are part of its bigger push to raise more money for rapid growth. (Link: https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/13/anthropic-is-expanding-to-europe-and-raising-more-money)
🤖 UAE launches a new AI model to compete with big tech
Abu Dhabi's Technology Innovation Institute (TII) released Falcon 2 series: Falcon 2 11B, a text-based model, and Falcon 2 11B VLM, a vision-to-language model that can generate a text description of an uploaded image. This Gen AI model could compete with some of the biggest technology companies and make UAE a strong candidate in the Gen AI space. (Link: https://www.reuters.com/technology/uae-releases-new-ai-model-compete-with-big-tech-2024-05-13)
🖥️ Japan team builds Gen AI foundation model using supercomputer Fukagu
Tokyo Institute of Technology researchers and others have announced the development of an LLM that can serve as a foundation for Gen AI using the Japanese supercomputer Fugaku. Trained extensively on Japanese data, which accounts for 60% of the total training data, the Fugaku-LLM model is expected to lead research on Gen AI tailored to domestic needs. (Link: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/05/11/japan/ai-fugaku-language-model-japanese)
⏰ Microsoft Places finds the best time for your next office day
Microsoft has launched a new app called Microsoft Places that uses AI to help employees and managers coordinate their in-office days and book meeting rooms. The application integrates with Outlook and Microsoft Teams, allowing employees to view and share their office plans and get AI-powered suggestions on which days they should come in. (Link: https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/13/24155204/microsoft-places-ai-hybrid-office-feature)
🤝 U.S. and China to meet in Geneva to discuss AI risks
The U.S. and China will hold their first formal government-to-government discussion on the risks of artificial intelligence in Geneva. The U.S. side will be led by officials from the National Security Council and State Department, while the Chinese side will be led by officials from the Foreign Ministry and the National Development and Reform Commission. (Link: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/U.S.-and-China-to-hold-first-talks-on-AI-risks-in-Geneva)
Enjoying these daily updates, subscribe below for more: Read Aloud For Me - Recommend AI Tools For Me

I've never posted on Reddit before so apologies if this is too long. I just wanted to make sure I painted the full picture.
For background, I’ve (22f) had the same two best friends, who we’ll call G and K, since high school. The three of us have always struggled with severe mental illness our entire friendship, in fact we met at an adolescent mental health treatment center. Graduating high school was tremendously difficult for all of us given the circumstances, but we managed to do it anyway which is huge for us. G and K graduated high school in 2021 so they actually had ceremonies but I graduated in 2020 so I never had a real graduation before, which is why my college ceremony was so important to me.
G and I attend the same school however, she just transferred in this semester. She had a lot of credits from the last two colleges she attended so she only needed a few more classes to graduate which she’s taking this summer. There’s only one ceremony per year so if you’re finishing school in the summer, you still get to participate in the spring ceremony. I told G about this in January because I was excited that we’d be graduating together, and she explicitly said, “I don’t care about the ceremony,” then later said, “I care about your ceremony” (because I asked her if she would come to mine).
Yesterday was my commencement ceremony. I graduated with high honors, and as someone who skipped nearly all my classes in high school, had a 2.5 gpa, got a 1190 on my SATs, and attempted suicide, this was a HUGE deal for me. G also had similar struggles and would have graduated with high honors as well so this would have been a huge deal for her too. During the ceremony, G and K found out that G’s name was on the program because, as I said, she would have been a part of the ceremony if she chose to. When she texted me about it I jokingly said, “go throw on a cap and gown” and she said “no I told them(the school) I don’t want to.” Afterwards, G,K, and I met up and walked to our favorite restaurant to celebrate. As we were walking, G, once again, she didn't care about the ceremony and wouldn’t’ve walked, but kept talking about how she wished she got a cap and gown and the other grad memorabilia. I’d like to point out, for the past several weeks I have been talking about my graduation/my ceremony, while G said nothing about it until tonight when she saw her name on the program. I told her that I wish we would’ve graduated together. She said that during the ceremony she wanted to go and ask a staff member for one of those degree holders but said she couldn’t because K told her it was my day. G said she’d been receiving emails about graduation, ordering a cap and gown, etc., but she assumed they were “general emails” for the entire student body, so she never read them.
While we were sitting down, G talked about how much anxiety the ceremony gave her, that she'd had an anxiety attack about it all day, and that she almost didn’t come. Then she said that if she had work earlier that day, she wouldn’t’ve come. Like I said we all struggle with severe mental illness and I’ve also had times where my anxiety was that bad. So I was glad she came, but what she was saying made me sad because in my opinion she was essentially saying this was a giant inconvenience to her, which made me wish I just gave the ticket to someone else. We left the restaurant because they were really understaffed and it was taking a long time to order our food. We went to the next restaurant and on the way G was talking to K about how she wished K got her a graduation gift.
The next restaurant was also understaffed (no one’s fault, the whole world is understaffed) but we stayed anyway because we were all really hungry and tired and nothing else was open that late. The restaurant we were in was packed which made all of us anxious. K tried to get us to play a word game to pass the time and cut the tension and I suggested a different game. G said she hated that game and I begged her to play because I love it. I said, “please, it’s my day” and to that she snarkily said, “Seriously? You think because you walked across a stage it’s your day?” The vibe changed immediately so I just kept quiet and pulled out my phone. Then to change the subject she said that we should play a different game and asked me if I remembered a game our old teacher used to play. I genuinely did not remember so I said no but in the same snarky tone she used, then went back to looking down at my phone. It was silent for an uncomfortably long amount of time and then she finally said,“Don’t you think it’s my day too?” and I said nothing and kept looking down at my phone. No, I did not think the day of the ceremony she did not want to be a part of was about her. A few more silent moments rolled by and then she got up and left. Her boyfriend came to pick her up later.
The food came out and K and I were silent the entire meal and most of the drive back to my house. I told K that I feel like this is the last time we were all going to hang out because I was so upset. I tried to keep it in but I sobbed all the way home. I hate when people make me cry and I was just so upset that this was how one of the most important days of my life ended. G and I have gotten into a lot of fights over the six years we've been friends, but out of all the things that have happened between us this hurt so deeply. I was so excited for myself and she knew that. I’m trying to empathize with her anxiety and consider how she was feeling during that time and what feelings might have arisen after seeing her name on the program to try and explain/justify why she said what she said. But whenever I replay the scenario in my head, my heart hurts because I genuinely cannot believe she said something like that, and said it in the tone she did.
K texted me the next morning to apologize for not saying anything during the situation. I forgave them and said we should talk later in person, but I haven’t heard anything from G. I am genuinely confused if I did something wrong here. Obviously, I’d like an apology, but for some reason, I feel like I’m missing something here. Am I not considering her situation/feelings enough? I would’ve loved to celebrate G’s graduation, but just on a different date, considering she did not participate in the ceremony. The only reason we were together that day was because of my ceremony. K said that she could see how both sides felt, but that pissed me off because, to me, only one person is in the wrong here. I’d like to believe I’m right, but I tend to believe I'm right in every situation, which I know is not healthy, so that's why I’m posting this here.

Conspiracy theories involving “elite” pedophile rings have recently been dominating social media in a disorienting frenzy. They have been around for some time but in this century rose back to popularity during the 2016 Election cycle. This crop, at least, took root with what became known as “Pizzagate.” Promoters of that conspiracy theory in 2016 used social media platforms to make unfounded but viral allegations that Hillary Clinton and other prominent Democrats were running a pedophile ring out of the basement of a pizzeria even though that restaurant had no basement, or any ties to known politicians other than the typical flesh pressing (Phrasing I know) moments fit for a picture hung on the wall. Since then, the dark theme of Pizzagate has found new life with permutations forming part of the #Qanon conspiracy theory, incorporated under the umbrella term “pedogate.” The gist of the #pedogate conspiracy theory is that global elites (politicians, celebrities, and wealthy businesspersons) are covertly involved in a far-reaching ring that uses young children for sexual purposes. “What most of these conspiracy theories involve in one way or another is laying accusations of pedophilia or involvement in pedophile rings at the feet of people that they despise or hate, and during the 16’ election cycle, Democrats were a wide target for an opposing political movement that had hijacked the rival Republican party. Pizzagate originated with the “alt right” and “alt lite,” far right extremists who range from outright white supremacists to those who publicly shun racists but otherwise fall in step with their belief systems. Pizzagate jumped from the fringes to the mainstream because as it denigrated Hillary Clinton, it sucked in supporters of then-candidate Donald Trump. After the election all mention of pedogate seemed to be put on a simmer while other National outrages boiled over (#Covid #RussiaGate #BLM) and just like clockwork (heading into our next election cycle has been turned back up. The pedogate conspiracy and all associated stories employ a centuries-old tactic: playing on deep-seated human anxieties by conjuring images of imperiled children, the purest and defenseless victim of any manner of injustice. An example in the modern era of weaponized conspiracy was the satanic panic of the 1980s, in which a wave of hysteria over alleged child molestation at daycare centers swept the nation. But while that phenomenon was a moral panic attributable, at least in part, to social anxiety over white middle class women entering the work force en masse for the first time and entrusting their children to others, the current conspiracy theories about pedophile rings equate to similar propaganda. They carry a danger for stirring up violence. If you want to elicit violent action the way to do it is through hate and fear. Once you target and label a population as pedophiles, you can do anything you like to that population with full excuse being given to the myth you’ve wrapped around it. That’s not to say fears of child abuse or sex trafficking are unfounded. There are many as pedophilia has ancient roots and in many cases was encourage by many world cultures and religions a lot later into Civilization than we’d like to admit. The International Labor Organization reports that 25 percent of the world’s 40.3 million victims of human trafficking are children. The most vulnerable, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, are migrants, runaways, the homeless, and youngsters who have been victims of violence. Despite their obsession over the topic, conspiracy followers aren’t worked up about those children who are in true harm’s way. In the world of propaganda, it’s never about real children. Instead, it’s about what children represent. The children imperiled by conspiracy theories, in other words, are only metaphors. Children carry a vast amount of weight in any society, but especially modern ones when they’re expected to survive past the age of five. It wasn’t as intense before the 18th century when child mortality rates were really high. They represent the future, and all that is beautiful and decent and honest in a society, because they are innocent. For most people also, the meaning of their existence is rooted in their children. Children are eschatological, they represent death for us, and what is coming behind us after we are gone. They also represent the threat of loss, if they disappear, if they die, that is the death of society. That’s why they became so crucial and central to Cold War propaganda. The real terror of the nuclear holocaust would be the death of the children, because that’s the death of everyone. A recent example of this is in a recent police investigation into conspiracy claims of PizzaGate style accusation of Portland’s Voodoo Doughnuts. Detectives attempted to contact the person accusing Voodoo Doughnuts on social media of running a pedophile ring. The accuser did not cooperate with investigators and it’s been documented in other coverage online that they had become agitated and accused the Police with complicity when tracked down in person, even though they were attempting to investigate. The pendulum of conspiracy theories about systematic child abuse has swung back and forth for centuries. Examples such as blood libel, when Jewish communities were attacked over false allegations of murdering and consuming Christian children in the Middle Ages. In Europe, During the Thirty Years War, entire villages were put to the sword because it was believed they were abusing children of the other religions. One characteristic that helps Pizzagate-style conspiracy theories gain popularity is that they function like a puzzle game and give its audience a large level of involvement through social media. A lot of conspiracy theories are oracular, where the information comes from one source an oracle. Then there are others where there are a few people who promote the notions, almost like gurus or a conspiracy priesthood. But Pizzagate, it’s more of what one would call a participatory conspiracy theory. Participatory conspiracy theories lay out a scenario or situation and then they ask their audience, ‘what more can you find out about this, what more can you add?’ It turns the audience into willing participants, some knowing they are creating a destructive madlib and other (potential real victims) caking on mystical distraction to issues that have been unreported or scars that have not bee properly treated. The thing about participatory conspiracy theories is it can really create a devoted following because it gives people something to do, it makes them feel they can solve the whole thing or uncover new aspects to it. Once you get that energy going it’s almost self-sustaining. Followers of the Qanon conspiracy theory, call themselves “bakers” because their protagonist “Q” pops up on Internet message boards and leaves “crumbs” (i.e., clues), and they are tasked with picking up the crumbs in order to solve the puzzle. (“Q” is supposed to reference the character’s government security clearance level).
#Q followers believe an even more incoherent version of Pizzagate. This is largely a right-wing fantasy that originated in a series of incoherent posts on #4chan in 2017 by someone calling themselves #QAnon. Following on the heels of similar idiocy such as Pizzagate, it advances a fantastic web of deceit that wraps up Trumpism, deep state fearmongering, evil, satanic pedophilia rings controlled by the Democratic Party, investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 US election, the Las Vegas shooting, and New World Order paranoia into a package easily and wholeheartedly promoted by internet cesspools and far-right personalities such as Alex Jones. The premise is that President Trump is secretly working to take down a global ring of elite, cannibalistic, satanic pedophiles. And the investigation into Russian meddling into the 2016 election, led by former FBI director Robert Mueller, is actually an investigation into the so-called “deep state”, where a cabal of evil, globalists, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, are responsible for everything from a global pedophile ring to the mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017. According to the enlightened, when Trump awkwardly took a drink from a bottle of Fiji water at a press conference in November 2017, it wasn’t because he was thirsty; it was actually a secret signal to those in the know that the annihilation of deep state pedophiles had begun (or was about to begin). Because as everyone knows, Fiji is a hot spot for child trafficking. ( I could go on and on with this poorly thought-out shit, I will spare you ) The role the Internet and social media play in helping to spread such insanity can’t be underestimated. Just a few decades earlier, conspiracy theorists would identify each other using letters to the editor printed in newspapers and magazines. It was a lot harder to identify your fellow conspiracy theorists. You would have to physically meet to swap your stories or send letters or call. They would set up these groups that would communicate by newsletter. They would meet in a physical space, like someone’s living room. I personally witnessed people from my childhood, dutifully photocopying newsletters they had received in the mail to give to others (Primarily at my #JW congregation, how ironic). Now obviously it can go much more quickly, because you can identity people immediately. You can quickly share ideas and the data you’ve collected. The Internet allows such people to exist in bubbles where they rarely have their beliefs challenged. The extraordinarily polarized society we’re in right now has made people less willing to seek out other view points. Because of the internet you have less chance of doing this. There’s very little incentive to look outside one’s own bubble once they have become invested in a conspiracy theory. Once you start to act out on those behaviors you are forced to double down by repeating the act to prove it was a just act. Eventually you get caught up in a movement that totally defines your conscious and you can’t get out of it. The second you step out of that world view your actions go back to being reprehensible. Now the question becomes, “What’s the harm? If it sheds light on child abuse, then isn’t it still productive?” The answer in this case is a resounding NO. In my opinion and PAINFUL experience, the root cause and sustaining factors of institutionalized child sex abuse are all things that would counter your typical Conspiracy Nut’s world view, thus causing a complete blackout to the problems. The entity taking part in the harming of children on a local and tangible level aren’t some suit and tie wearing global elitist. It’s a guidance counselor, youth pastor, unvetted young substitute teacher, aunt/uncle/cousin/neighbor. It’s anyone who has been given routine private access to a child’s mind and body because of the social conventions that have been protected for generations by our relatives whether they themselves are guilty of abuse or not. In all the Qanon madness I also kept very close tabs on the pending prosecution of the Boy scouts of America and never saw any widely shared memes about their involvement in the abuse syndicate. Why is this? How is this so? Aren’t these people watching the news, seeing the court records and hearing the individual cases being brought against Scout Leaders (SOME OF WHO RAN THEIR OWN NETWORKS!!)? When I would find mention of accusation it was met with the ever scarce “skepticism” because if the media is covering it, it must be a plot to destroy the organization. There are now non-for profit organizations setting up victim funds and protections for people to come out with their stories and somehow THIS is the fake ruse. Some that know me know that I was a Jehovah’s Witness as a youth/teen/young adult. That chapter of my life could fill many chapters and the research on the organization, the real true black and white history of the religion would honestly surprise you. I saw what I now know was abuse, I personally experienced abuse in many forms. The perpetrators involved are either still Witnesses or are dead or have moved “away from the organization”. But one thing that was left intact in each situation was the secret that they prey on children. The parents, these organizations and the collective promise to keep up appearances are directly to blame for the suffering untold thousands, millions of children and broken adults. All for what? Pride and Vanity and a commitment to all involved to protect them from the “mean old world” despite allowing predators to eat their children from within. Being a #JW was a very interesting experience. It provides a very efficient form of insulation from outside society and allows people involved to view the chaos from afar. There is this persistent (albeit false) sense of shared peace that members have. It’s as though for three days a week you go to this meeting where no matter what, everyone has a smile and feels about things EXACTLY how you do. There is no cursing, there are no politics, there surely isn’t any destructive influences that would tarnish your chances of salvation. For a parent this is a refuge when raising a child in a world that is dangerously unpredictable. A Child that you are unable (or unwilling) to teach coping skills to get along by societal standards, A child you want to protect by hiding. This is problem #1. As an adult the congregation presents an avenue for which you can act and behave in a way that allows you to reconcile your past, a way to have less of those nights awake because you think about past wrongs you’ve committed against people. It’s the proverbial band-aid for a guilty, bruised, destroyed conscious of any size. Coming into the organization takes nothing more than the desire to change, publicly declaring your willingness to hand over your life to God (The organization). Bam, You’re in! No credit check, no background check. This is problem #2. A JW is taught that “every facet is an asset” (Ministerial Servants know what I’m talking about). What this means is that every facet of your life is an asset to the organization to spread its word. If the world see’s their product’s application into your life and thereby how much better it is than a normal person’s, then they’ve made an “Effective Witness” to the world. This causes Witnesses of any age to allow almost every facet of their life to be a tool by the organization. For a parent this includes their children. This is problem #3 When you get a culture that insulates itself from the real world, that allows you to enter without any coherent vetting, give access to children whose parents feel obligated to present as a “witness” to the lifestyle. You get a twisted corridor in which victims can get lost for a lifetime and predators can hide in plain sight. For any proponents of the “Save-The-Children” movement to not take a step back and really analyze their local community and lifestyle through these lenses only illustrates that child abuse is being weaponized politically at the expense of others whom you aren’t willing to save because it would look bad for ‘your side’. If you truly care, you wouldn’t be sharing email forwards about what evil unverified unmentionable thing you read some celebrity or politician did. Instead, you’d be drawing back on your experiences as a child. Even if nothing happened directly to you, I’m sure you know some one that had an experience that forever harmed their life. Who did it? Was there a pattern or social condition that allowed for this as was laid out in the JW example? How could it have been avoided? Would you have stopped it if you saw the signs? Are you willing to stop it in the future, knowing what you know now? If you can answer any of those questions with a yes, then you have all you need to WRITE your own material to reach real victims and their families. Does your action cause problems for your ‘side’? It shouldn’t matter and you know that. If it does make a difference to you then you are no better than the shadowy pedophilic cabal that you are so obsessed with.

So this is a long one. Like, I'm going back over it and damn. This is longer than I thought it would be. Throwaway account, I've only made one other post to this relating to what's going on. Instead of updating the other post, I figured I'd make a separate one about the whole shit show I experienced, and the shit circus I uncovered and avoided. I'll try to keep this in as chronological an order as I can.
As the title says, my abusive/narc mom and pos/delusional/golden child brother started trying to reach out to me a few months ago wanting to make amends and build bridges with me again. There were a few people that commented on my previous post in another subreddit that may be a little disappointed in me for how I handled this, and a few that might enjoy that I handled it the way I did. Someone commented to not let them use my good nature. My nature is dependent on who I'm dealing with, and when it comes to that side of my family, I'm more stick than carrot. So their attempts did not go ignored, and did not go unpunished.
Growing up, I was always closer with my Dad than my mom. My brother was the epitome of "pampered mamma's boy". He started having seizures as a child and was diagnosed with epilepsy, which I thought was why my mom babied the absolute fuck out of him long into adulthood. He would go a year or 2 without any seizures, and then there would be a few months where he'd be having them every other day. At Anytime he got in trouble at home or school, my mom would find a way to blame me, for not making sure he knew whatever he was doing would get him in trouble, or she would blame my dad for not being "involved enough in their baby's life." My dad was in the Navy and I remember any time he'd deploy, I'd dread every day until he came back. My brother would taunt me that he knew whatever he did, I'd be the one to get in trouble for it. My dad would always make things up for me when he got back from his deployments though. We'd often have weekend trips just the 2 of us. And then around my 12th birthday, my mom insisted on sitting us all down and explain to that she and my dad were getting a divorce. We got the whole talk about how they still love us and they just can't be together anymore, etc. my dad told us both that he still loved us and he would be there for us whenever we needed him. He explained that he would be moving out, but he would be by to pick us up to spend the weekends with us. I was nervous and honestly scared of what it would be like without him. But I was looking forward to the weekend when I got to see him again. That never happened though, and that was the last time I ever got to see him.
Right before his weekend with us, my mom explained to us that my dad didn't want anything to do with us anymore. There was some news story about a father that killed his kids when he had custody of them and she used that to terrify my brother and convince him that our dad wanted to kill us to start his life over. We left damn near everything behind and moved in with my mom's brother in Florida (from Virginia) a couple days before my dad was supposed to come get us. After that, she went to great lengths to make sure we had no contact from him.
Years went on, my mom seemed more indifferent towards me than ever. She never seemed interested in anything I did unless my brother also seemed interested in it. She didn't show any interest in my wanting to learn guitar until my brother also showed interest in it. Then we got one guitar that we had to share, I'd take lessons on the condition that I taught my brother whatever I learned in them. My brother eventually wound up breaking the guitar and I was blamed for not storing it in the case it came with. I had to share my N64 with him whenever he wanted to play it. I was playing perfect dark one day and having a hard time killing the skedar leader at the end of the game. My brother burst into the room saying he wanted to play his MegaMan game, to which I just replied "give me a minute, this boss fight is hard, once I'm done you can have your turn" He didn't like that. He left the room and came back with a hammer and smashed the console while I was still playing. My fault for not letting him play it. The only thing I had that he could not use was a pair of roller blades my aunt got me for my 14th birthday. I specifically asked for roller blades to get around instead of a bike because my brother and I had different shoe sizes, so he couldn't wear them Because of constant shit like that, I never really put much value in having things growing up. I didnt want to buy something or get something as a gift just to have it fucked up in a few weeks or months. At some point, my "little" brother became the larger one, so my clothes all became "hand-me-ups" as he outgrew everything. So, because I didn't really have any distractions at home, I turned into a high achieving student, rarely got in trouble. made the honor roll all throughout school. But that wasn't something to celebrate as it was expected of me. I had long since decided that I was moving out as soon as I could once I turn 18. I got a job working at a Walgreens as soon as I could and started saving up for a car. My mom however took issue with this and would never agree to take me looking for one and absolutely refused to ever have it put on her insurance. This is where my Aunt comes in. She and her son are the only 2 on my mom's side that aren't some sort of degenerate. She had her son young, but put herself through college while raising him alone and eventually got her MBA and a cushy upper corporate job. She told me to tell my mom I had to go in to work on one of my days off, that she would pick me up and she would take me car shopping. So that's what we did. I couldn't quite afford a cash car, but she helped me with the financing. I put down what I had as the down payment, the arrangement she made with me was that 1- as long as I was in school, she would cover the insurance and payments for me, however, if I got into an accident, I was responsible for paying the deductable. And 2- as long as i was living with my mom, the car remained in her (Aunt's) name. And if anything happened to it, to let her know so she could get the appropriate authorities involved. My mom was PISSED when she found out I now had a car. Her reasoning (that she said in front of my aunt) was that she didn't think it was fair for one of us-either me or my brother- to have something the other couldn't use. Due to him being 13 and having epilepsy, he couldn't drive, so why should i have a car if my brother doesn't? That turned into a long shouting match between my mom and Aunt that basically ended with my aunt explaining that since it was her car, and all paperwork on her name, I was just on the insurance for it so I could drive it. But if anything at all happened to it while I was living at my Mom's, that the police and insurance companies would get involved. My mom still kept track of all the miles on the car to "make sure I was only going to work and school and wherever she told me I could go". Most of the time, when I hung out with friends, I wasn't the one driving. From that that point though, my mindset was very much "keep my head down and nose clean until I can leave." I graduated a month before my 18th birthday. After graduation, my mom and i got into an argument about me contributing to her bills. I eventually dropped the ball that I planned on getting back in touch with my Dad and leaving. She started laughing. Something about that laugh made me really uncomfortable. She then said "well, you can certainly meet up with him whenever you want! I'll supply the gun if you buy the bullet!" And told me my dad had died when I was 15. That. Fucking. Broke. Me. Later that night, i called my best friend and vented everything to him. He was in the DEP program for the Navy and would be shipping out in a few months, he told me to come by first thing in the morning and talk with him and his parents about the whole situation. I basically packed up all of my clothes and left the day after my 18th birthday. I just left my house key and a note that said "I'm not your problem anymore." I couch surfed for a little while until after my best friend left for boot camp, then I was able to move in and live with his parents (chosen parents basically). My only real rules were keep the house and my space clean and make sure I had a job and/or going to school. I spent a few months mourning my dad and kind of in a haze. Since he was in the Navy though, that meant I was reliable for financial aid for school. My second dad helped me get everything put together to start receiving that so I could start college.
Well, after a couple years of this, my brother, who had spent his time at school more as "forced socializing" instead of learning, was expelled from public schools for allegedly setting off a fire extinguisher in a classroom. He had to enroll at an alternative school called "the drop back-in academy" that was specifically for dropouts or anyone that got the boot from the public school system. My mom reached out to me and asked me if I would drive him to this school in the mornings, she'd pick him up in the afternoons, and she'd pay me $20 a week.I agreed to it thinking this was out of character for her, but she surprisingly held up to that agreement. I drove him for a couple years until I was ready to start my bachelor program. My second parents were getting ready to move back to their hometown and I was going to start school on the other side of the city. So, I was moving to that side of town and couldn't really drive out of my way to pick up and drop off my brother anymore. He continued his enrollment at this place for another 3 years (5 years total) and it turned out, he was never attending. I would drop his ass off there every day and he'd just walk home immediately after I pulled out of the parking lot. He'd just tell my mom that he finished his work early and decided to walk home instead of wait around for her. One afternoon, I'm coming home early from work and my brother is just sitting on the steps to my studio apartment. He tells me that he and our mom got into a really big argument and he needs a place to stay. I (reluctantly) let him in. I'm stuck thinking he must be really desperate if he's coming to me for help. But I start thinking at this point, he's 24, jobless, and probably needs to learn some self discipline and responsibility, and our mom just never did that for him. So I try to help. I ask him what their fight was about and he tells me that he started dating this girl at his alternative school. She was 21 and got the boot from the school system for being too old to attend (we actually have several relatives that were kicked out of the school system for the same reason) and that he accidentally got her pregnant and our mom did not take kindly to that. I called my landlord and explained the situation to him. He was okay with it, so I let him crash on my couch for a little bit (until the end of my lease, then I'd be moving) and just told him to clean up after himself, take care of himself, etc until we could all work this out. He crashed there for a few months and did Jack shit. He would complain that I didn't have a computer for him to use (I only had a laptop I bought for school) and I didn't have any video game consoles for him to entertain himself with. So he was stuck there bored all day. I got tired of the complaining and lack of effort and told him he had to go back to our mom's if he wasn't going to be an adult. We started shouting at each other until he dropped this little bombshell. He yelled "I can't go back to Mom's!" And when I asked why, he just blurted out "because it's to close to that elementary school!" That stopped the whole thing. "And why is that a big deal now?" I asked him. I already knew why that would be the problem, but 1% of me was holding onto the hope that he was got jumped by a gang of 5th graders and the trauma was too much for him to bear. I told him he could either tell me what's going on, or I could make a phone call and get every last detail I needed. He confessed that he had been leaving that school and going over to his "girlfriend's" house and waiting for her to get home. And that one day, her mom ended up catching them in the act. I explained to him that he was leaving out important details if that was the reason he couldn't be near a school.
He told me she was 14, not 21. I. Lost. My. Shit. Everything after that is kinda fuzzy, but he was arrested, mom posted bail, and since she lived right around the corner from an elementary school, he couldn't stay there. So they told his parole officer that he'd be staying at my address until his court date.. his PO had swung by a couple times, but I was always either at work or school or out somewhere. At this point, I told him the lease was up in 6 weeks, I couldn't stand to be around him. I packed my stuff early, moved out into a storage unit, and I stayed at an extended stay hotel until it was time for me to move. Called my landlord and told him what was going on, and if my brother was still there the last week of the lease, nail him for trespassing. My landlord was a good guy. I never had any problems with him. I paid up the last 6 weeks and threw him since extra cash for his troubles as I knew I wouldn't be getting my deposit back. That was the last time I saw my brother. After I moved out of state, I cut all contact with everyone in that family except my Aunt who was the only one that ever helped me out or even had my back. But even then, it was just through email. We'd mainly email birthday and holiday wishes to each other. Updates from my side on how life and career are going.
I never had a myspace or a Facebook growing up. I either never had a computer to check it on, or I was just so accustomed to not having any online distractions that I just never got around to making one. I did finally make a Facebook and I did get in touch with my dad's side of the family and reconnected with them. I hadn't seem most of them since I was 4 or 5. Some of them had been in contact with my brother (he fucking knew our dad died) and was spinning some sort of web about how he graduated high school early, had gone to college for pre-med and then got some sort of full ride scholarship to some prestigious medical school in Florida. He told them I wasn't on social media because I had been arrested for selling drugs and that he was taking me in after I got released. He was also using my senior portrait as a profile pic. They were surprised when they saw me and how I "looked just like my brother!" I had set the record straight. They looked dumbfounded when I told them that he couldn't get himself out of the 9th grade in 10 years, and now would likely never complete his high school journey due to the fact he can't be within 100 yards of a school.
So, fast forward to last week. I checked my email for the first time since late January (for my aunt's birthday) and noticed a few from her saying my mom wanted to reach out, then several emails from a new address. It was my mom's first initial and last name. Subject lines usually read "please respond" and "let me know you're okay" and stuff like that. I'd copy some of them over, but holy shit this is already a novella. Basically she got my email address from sneaking my aunt's phone (aunt did not sell me out). She's trying to apologize for how she treated me growing up and trying to excuse it by saying I reminded her of my dad and then she was going through menopause and just any excuse to dishes full accountability it seems. She acknowledges that it was wrong to hold me accountable for my brother's fuck-ups but dismisses that by saying he didn't know any better and she needed me to be a good role model for him. Things have been hard for her since I left, since she "had" to take my brother back in (I would've left him on the street or in jail), she had to sell her house (she was only 10 years into her mortgage) and buy another smaller one further from a school for him. He never did get a hs diploma or GED because how can he? And she's been going through breast cancer treatment for the last several months and just doesn't have the energy to take care of her 33yo baby anymore. She asked me if I lived close enough to them to take him in for a little bit while she focuses on her health. I left Florida 8 years ago and haven't even lived in the same time zone in 6 years. She can only check her email at work since she no longer has Internet at home. She had to cancel her home Internet service because of him. So, I decided to just put my brother's name into a search bar and the first thing that pops up is a FDLE sex offender's page. And holy shit has he gone downhill. He had a second arrest when he was 27 for the same thing, and then was caught in communications with another girl (like Chris Hansen sting) and was released from prison at the beginning of the year. And the mugshot.... You know the pale lady from the scary stories to tell in the dark movie? Think that, but with a patchy beard. Beady eyes, bad skin and all. According to the sheriff's office inmate search, he's been arrested 5 times in the last 10 years. Twice for lewd and lascivious battery of a minor (aged 12-15), once for solicitation of a minor, and twice for probation violations.
The TL/DR: abusive mom took all her frustrations out on me, blamed me for everything my brother did, hid my father's death from me until I was almost 18, and reaches out after 8 years of no contact and wants me to take care of her pedophile son while she's in poor health.
I'm attaching my response to her below.
Hi. I'm alive. I'm well. I'm also not okay with you contacting me, especially under the circumstances that you violated the privacy of your own sister to get my contact information. I have read your apologies and excuses and I do not accept either. You say I reminded you of Dad? He spent more time with me and showed more interest in my well-being than you ever did, and that's including the 6 years he was absent from my life by your own selfish design. Menopause? I find that hard to believe as this went on for the better part of half a decade and not once in that time did your attitude towards brother change. You always treated him with the same coddling infantile obsession and patience that one would show a toddler. It was and is clear that you have a preferred child as that adult-sized pile of shit is still living comfortably with dear old mama. I'm guessing no one else is willing to take him in? Are Uncle and Cousins afraid of him doing something to their daughters or grandchildren? I do believe you when you say you want to rebuild the bridge that you nuked from orbit years ago, but I can't believe it's not for your own selfish desires. And I can't find any reason or way my quality of life could be improved with your presence. The reality is, my life has been far better without you than it could be with you. I've never said this to anyone, but if there is a sense of karma and balance in the universe, your current situation is proof of that. The next time I see your name on my computer screen, had better be for your obituary. But since you and the monster you raised both decided to keep Dad's death a secret from me, and remove any choice I had to mourn or pay my respects, I'll return that kindness to you.
Please die away from me.

I'll do my best to keep this concise, as I don't imagine people care that much, so I'll lay down the facts.
Im a 27 year old man currently working at a prominent University in Michigan. I make $28.18 an hour. I've been homeless for a while. Ive always been single and have no real hope of finding someone. Ive never had any friends. I severely injured my back at work when I was about 18 years old, I've been in pain ever since. My mom abandoned my sister and I when I was 15. my father is currently dying of colon cancer. My sister schizophrenic and unable to function in society ( she is staying with our mom but is likely to be kicked out soon)
Now that the facts are out of the way I'll get to it. How do I make my life worth living? I'm sitting at the abandoned wreckage of my father's house crying and wondering what I should do.
The Way Forward has never been less clear. I feel as though I'm in a dark cave up to my neck in freezing water .I feel that happiness is an impossibility. Every moment is physical pain, stress and loneliness. Everyday I feel less and less able to motivate myself.
I see others doing well with so much less and I wonder how I can be such a failure.
I've been trying to find a home or even an apartment but I fail at every turn. everything so expensive even living in a trailer park costs $2,000 a month. how do people do it? I try to save as much money as I can but I fall into "depression purchases" in an attempt to pull myself back from an edge but it's just making all my problems worse.
People barely tolerate my presence I do my best to be kind, helpful and funny but it must not be working. I gave up on a romance years ago.
I want to keep going I want to make other people happy I just don't know how.
I'm not expecting anyone to actually read all of this I just have no outlet and wanted to get it off my chest I'm going to lay down on the grass and sleep early tonight.

I (f, 25) have this friend (f, 26) that I’ve know since elementary. We didn’y begin to be friends until eighth grade, though. We went to different high schools, but still managed to grow our friendship and became best friends. When it came time for dating, she chose questionable guys. And anytime there was a new boyfriend, i felt pushed in the back, hardly talked to, and when we did hang out, he ALWAYS had to be there. It was hard to hide my hurtness, so rather than fight, i just kind of let it happen.
Everytime she’d get a new boyfriend, i saw her mentality hidden, and she would become a whole different person. It’s like she would take on the personality/persona of the boyfriend at the time. And each boyfriend, slowly started to not like me overtime (i would have the feeling but then after every break up, she would also confirm it and would say she didnt know why). She started dating one guy, and i would catch her telling little lies to me and started really questioning everything. One day, i caught her in a lie around these new friends (all friends of her boyfriend) and i kind of snapped and we got into an arguement and i finally told her i couldnt do it anymore. We went about a year or so of not communicating.
We eventually started hanging out again, and it was like going back to the beginning. I truly missed it. But then her energy would feel off. It was like she was always trying to one up me, or make me feel jealous about things that really meant nothing to me. With every boyfriend, it was like she would tell me all this stuff theyd do for her, and downplay my boyfriend (even when i knew she was always fighting with her boyfriends). She would go on and on about how so-and-so was so amazing, and then when i would talk about my boyfriend, it’s like she wasnt really listening. It’d always come back to her boyfriend. If i ever had anything to say, it was always her one upping me. And it was still, even as adults, could never have one-on-one time together. Her boyfriend at the time would always have to be there.
Anyway, she started dating someone new in say, 2019. He was older and very out of character for her. He seemed like the nicest boyfriend she’s had, actually. Again, she started morphing into him. They moved in together within a handful of months. I started dating someone in 2020. We went on trips together and hung out, the four of us, often. My relationship was thriving- i was in love, we did not fight, we were always laughing and having fun (we’re now getting married soon!) Anytime she’d see something he’d do to/for me, she’d point it out to her boyfriend and say “see! “So and so does that for her!” He seemed to get annoyed really quick. Their bad times really outshined their good. They dated for four years? And especially towards the end, it was nonstop fighting. I hated that for her, and would try to give advice.
I then found out he would dangle marriage and kids over her head. He planned proposals (once i was somewhat involved in, several times, from what i heard, that i didnt know about) and then over the littlest of things, he would say to her “you know, i was going to propose to you (tonight/this day coming up), but you just ruined it for both of us.” I was appalled. All she had ever wanted was to be a wife and mom. She has self image issues from being overweight and little confidence. I kept urging her to end it because not only was she miserable, but who does that to a person!!!? I even found out that he did try ending things a couple times, but she would fight him on it and theyd stay together (dont ask me why.)
So i distanced myself again. I tried urging her to get maybe a therapist for herself, or to talk to her parents… Or anyone for that matter. I couldn’t continue to lot her lifestyle and poor choices around myself, and I know she needed me, but I tried as much as I could to help, and it went left unheard. When I got engaged, my fiancé was hesitant to reach out to them, and invite them to the engagement party that happened the night of. He left it up to me, which was smart of him. I texted her the news (immediately) and told her to come out and celebrate with us, it took her a while to text me back, but she ended up declining it, saying that her boyfriend did not like the place that we were going to. I was beyond hurt their relationship ended up ending a couple months after that.
About a month after their relationship ended he got a new girlfriend and within a few weeks, the new girlfriend was pregnant. I knew that crushed her because that’s all my friend ever wanted after about a month of finding out that his new girlfriend was pregnant. She got a new boyfriend that she met on the Internet no no disrespect I know people find each other that way, but she told me that she was on the Internet looking for a roommate not a boyfriend. They ended up being friends with benefits and my fiancé, and I met him a couple months into their Situationship. We both couldn’t believe how much him and the old boyfriend had in common. They were basically the same person except he is in his 30s and has five young kids.
Me and my friend basically drifted apart again, and from what I saw on line, she was basically taking over as a mother for these kids. I didn’t know that they were dating until the fall.
I just saw online this morning that he proposed to her yesterday, less than a year or knowing each othedating. I am happy for her, but my heart kind of sunk because the one time that I met him a year ago, I saw the same patterns of her, losing her self, and slowly morphing into him.
No, my wedding shower is next week. I invited her because I knew that if I didn’t, she would come after me. I am inviting her parents and her to the wedding in a couple months. I had no intention of inviting her boyfriend because I only met him once and I know nothing about him. As shitty as it sounds, I was going to invite her to the wedding and then kind of cut ties. She is no longer somebody that I want or feel comfortable in my life. I know that her now fiance not being invited will cause another issue. I almost look at is as a blessing in disguise.
Shes told me countless times that id be her maid of honor (half because her sister distanced herself from her years ago because my friend (and ex boyfriend) both talked to and treated her poorly, and because from what i knew, was her only real friend. I dont feel comfortable standing up next to something that i know nothing about. After all the years of me and my life/accomplishments being diminished… I feel we arent even friends.
I guess… How do i go about this?

So basically I’ve seen people add their own takes on rewriting or rebooting the story of RWBY and here I’m going to give my take on how I would take the story. This will mostly center around the main four since I plan on building up with baby steps first.
First up is team leader herself: Ruby! For starters I would make sure we focus on her as one she is the main character and it made no sense for Jaune to come in and take the spotlight from her. Secondly it’s because she’s got those silver eyes which play a big role in the story but are completely redundant as she never gets to use them. Now for one thing I would keep her relatively the same like the show except instead when she makes a bad call no one will just automatically praise her like a hero. It always bugged me how she just got to mess up and ALWAYS got a pass for it. For this to work she needs to face real consequences for her actions so she can better herself as both a person and a leader. Next I would not include the EnD Of tHE WoRLd plot as it feels sooo unnecessary to the plot and story…but I might save it for the end. This would allow for PROPER world building which would allow for a proper way to explain and expand on these silver eyes. This way we as an audience can understand what and how this ability works and not feel like an after thought. Finally for Ruby I plan on keeping her original personality from volume 1-3 as she should’ve served as a beacon of hope sorta of the likes like Superman, Captain America, and Spider-Man: being optimistic despite the circumstances not being in their favor and never losing hope.
Now onto Yang. Let’s be real here: SHE WAS A BAD SISTER! Not only does she get worse through out the volumes but she practically let Ruby drink tea that killed her…and then took her to get some boba tea. So instead I plan on her being a fully fun loving elder sister who, after her biological mother left her and her stepmother passing on, decides to make it her mission to be there for Ruby and always be there for her: No mater what. I would also keep them same personality she had in Vol 1-3 BUT make her quite the smart and clever one. Using her looks and… ‘girls’ to make herself a persona she puts on, a mask if you will, and use it to get closer to enemies and make them lower their guard when in reality she’s quite intelligent and knows her way around people. She would always use this to help turn the tides in her favor and hit enemies when they least expect it. As for…bumblebee…I don’t see her getting into a relationship. I rather see her as the type who would occasionally swing around but not having long term relationships. She is a party girl after all.
Now onto Blake. Honestly I loved how it looked like it was setting up Blake as an orphan who was taken in by the White Fang and raised into a killing machine only to see the error of her ways and try to leave that life behind. HOWEVER as we all known they ruined it by not only revealing she has both of her parents but that SHE’S PRACTICALLY ROYALTY! With that it ruins the whole point of her and comes off as now…bland…not like she kinda was in the early volumes. So in my new take in this I plan on keeping the same thing for her and ACTUALLY making her an orphan taken in. By the end of Vol 3 she does the same thing and in the fallowing stories she finally starts to the White Fang for who they are. In fallowing volumes she starts to see the affect’s it’s caused to Faunus all over. Their island was a trash place but when she returns she sees it’s a paradise, but it’s become extremely crammed because so many of them are showing up to the island not wanting to deal with the White Fang as they’ve put a bad name to ALL Faunus. So yeah I plan on both her AND Sun (because that would make more sense) to take down Adam. With that I plan on her doing a Soundwave from IDW comics. Basically take over as leader of the group and try to restore SOME honor to the White Fang as she would know “Yes they were bad…but that doesn’t mean they can’t revert back to their peaceful ways.
Lastly we have Weiss and I’ll be honest there isn’t much for me I want to change as she was pretty okay for the most part but I would add some changes here and there. For starters I would like to have her slowly improve on herself as she has had some issues due to her family matters. So it would take a while for her to FULLY end her ways of being a bit cruel and cold to her team especially Ruby. Also I would actually change it and have to where her father is actually…A GOOD DAD. Sorta as his work keeps him in the office but he’s a good man, husband, and father to his family. It’s just the things he’s done to build the family name has not only hurt the family name but he can’t do anything as in the end of the day he’s running a business and he too wanted to provide for all of Remnant. In the end Weiss has to deal with these personal problems but still know her place as a member of team RWBY. Also I am not doing that thing where she ends up with Jaune as I just don’t her getting into a romantic relationship.
So yeah these are how I would reboot the characters and perhaps this might be seen as a my own take but whatever. I wanted to get my thoughts and ideas out there. So what do y’all think?

Pretty sure it's due to how lonely I've felt for quite some time now. It feels like I can't stand my own presence anymore so I just go and chat with strangers on the internet hoping that would fill this empty void.
Somedays it works and other days not so much. Sometimes I just want more than just a stranger to talk to. Somedays I just want real authentic human connection. Of course it would be great if I could meet actual people in real life but I've tried that too and that didn't really work in my favor because none of them have been on my level.
So I'm mostly just focusing on online friendships these days. People who aren't just acquaintances but who are real friends. People who I can really trust with my life. I don't know if those kinds of individuals exist on the internet. It's hard to find those rare unicorns these days. Not sure where they're hiding though. But come out, come out wherever you are... 👀
I feel like I'm too needy to the point where I keep having high expectations when it comes to online friendships. I keep expecting to have a friendship where we could watch movies, vent to each other, play games with each other. Have late night calls with each other. Just a lot of those really fun things but maybe that's not realistic enough and maybe I should just lower my expectations at this point since it hasn't happened yet. Actually, it did soet of happen not too long ago but then that friendships ended up being extremely toxic as well so that one didn't really count but I'd like to have a friendship that was similar to that one except without the toxicity of course.
I'd like to just be able to fully get along with someone and them also getting along with me. I hate how hard it is nowadays to form a real friendship. Because most people don't even want to make the extra effort anymore because they're "too busy" watching Netflix💀instead or focusing on their friendships. It's sad how it has become in society but let's not even get too much into that, shall we... 😃

I really really need a non judgemental comments on this post. If there are Indians out here who can advice me, it would be great as no one can understand our situation in the ridiculous society we live in.
I am an atheist through and through. But as an Indian and a Muslim it comes with a lot of pretending to be a believer for the sake of your family. I have grown out of the pretending phase a lot by being myself and having my own opinion. But somehow you do some pretending to keep them happy as aside from them being religious, they are the best people you have in your life. I had to sent my child to religious education as my family would literally go into shock if I decide not to and my husband wants to sent our child to keep the peace with family.
When I went to the institute to get admission for my child ( it's once a week class), I felt trapped and suffocated to be in that place. They wanted family's involvement in teaching the child to pray and do all the the shit that comes with being religious. I don't remember the last time I have prayed and I feel so anxious that I have to start pretending again and not be myself even in my own home now for the sake of my kid. I don't know how to navigate through this feelings. For some of you this might seem ridiculous as I am an adult and I can make my own decision. But I wish it was that easy.
I really need someone who has gone through to share their experience on how you deal with this. The feeling of suffocation is not easy to handle.

"Good evening, tributes, and welcome back to the stories of Panem. Before we begin, I would like to thank Christian Blanco, the original writer of "Tales of the Hunger Games," and Lauren from "Panem Reborn." Now, since I don't have too much else to say, let's go!
Game 114 (150):
District 1: Jacqueline and Facet
District 2: Malona and Crane
District 3: Darlene and Colt
District 4: Brook and Harbor
District 5: Unknown girl and Darian
District 6: Fifi and Atlas
District 7: Bloom and Amarylio
District 8: Scarlet and Carter
District 9: Zest and Mazin
District 10: Zulu and Mateo
District 11: Unknown girl and Lee
District 12: Dorothy and Hargree
District 14: Both unknown
A plethora of excitement crossed the capital over the past year, especially their beloved commentator Camilia Ravenstil's pregnancy, which resulted in her giving birth to twins named Amelia and Cyrus, to honor the past two Game Makers. Even Winnow's victory was still in high popularity.
As the reapings rolled around on July 4th, many of the capital citizens flew to their TVs and viewing parties. Winnow made her journey from district to district with her mother and entourage from the capital. When she landed in District 4 on the late morning of the third day of the reapings, she was greeted by Mayor Chigwell. After a rather long tour of the district's harbors and jewelry stores, they stopped at a nearby seaside diner for a brief lunch. Viewers in Snow Square laughed at Winnow's face of pure boredom as Mayor Chigwell ranted about the latest trends in the district's fashion. Winnow's face soon turned to relief as the mayor brought her back to the district's reaping square.
After a little bit of time, the light blue-catered youths were walked into the square by rather impatient Peacekeepers. Mayor Chigwell finished up his speech before welcoming Winnow to the stage. She gave out a rather tired smile at the district's population before talking about the joys of being a victor. She then asked if any of the girls wanted to volunteer. After hearing no response, she then took out the name of 17-year-old Brook Branachok.
Brook was found in the back of the 17-year-old section. Her platinum blonde hair made her quite noticeable to viewers in Snow Square. She sighed dramatically before flipping her blonde hair back in a dramatic manner as her piercing blue eyes even made some of her nearby peers shudder in fear as Brook arrived at the stage and shook Winnow's hand. "She was later described as a 'rich high school bully' by commentators. The girls in a mood," Winnow laughed before shaking Brook’s hand before walking to the male reaping bowl. After a brief silence, she thrusted her hand elbow-deep before taking out the name of 17-year-old Harbor Zanders. A brief pause soon followed by a discussion as a boy with dark brown curly hair with a smattering of light brown freckles on his face gave a guilt-ridden smile before walking up to the stage. However, as a group of teens his age giggled, Harbor turned back and glared at the giggling boys as they suddenly grew quiet. Harbor soon took out a flask of wine. Capital citizens laughed as Harbor found one of his friends and tossed it to him before walking back up to the stage. Back in the capital, both Camilia and Silca and even most of the audience had been surprised at the pair's striking attitudes.
Harbor then shook Brook and Winnow’s hand before they were announced as this year's tributes for District 4 before moderate applause followed. Winnow soon brought the two tributes to the drawing room before she made her journey to District 3 with her entourage.
Brook was visited by her mother, father, and four younger sisters clinging dearly onto their sister. After successfully removing her sobbing siblings, Brook’s mother calmed her daughter down as her father, Coral, gave the best advice he could offer. Peacekeepers soon came in to bring Brook to the waiting dock. She waved and said she’d "At least try to win."
As for Harbor, he was visited by his mother, father, and his younger and older brothers. As his siblings were saddened as well as his parents, Harbor embraced them all in a tight hug. Before he was needed at the dock, his girlfriend Melanie even joined in this hug causing Harbor to show some emotion.
After a few more minutes, peacekeepers soon brought Harbor out of the room to join Brook at the dock as the pair boarded the jet boat to the capital.
"Man, you've been through the ringer, haven't you?"
"Same goes to you, girl. Haven't seen you in a year."
The pair soon chatted with each other about their experiences at the academy and gossiping about old friends. Brook, in particular, laughed hysterically when Harbor mentioned how his ex-girlfriend got karma returned to her when she crashed a birthday party at Harbor’s dad's bar, resulting in the peacekeepers putting her in the district's jail for a month.
However, as the pair tried to dine upon the food provided, the boat hit a bump resulting in Brook, Harbor, four avoxes, the dining table, and nine peacekeepers to go flying up into the sky. Thankfully, no harm came between the fifteen as the peacekeepers then helped the two back up as a new lunch buffet was arrived. And so did their mentor, Sienna Shoreville, victor of the 105th Hunger Games, arrived in.
"I don't want you two to ally with the 2s, maybe the 1s, depends on how they are."
Brook looked curiously at Sienna before saying, "Didn't Anamaria get her neck snapped by the girl a year prior?"
Sienna groaned in annoyance at remembering this cringeworthy death before walking to the bar carriage before inviting the two to join. As Sienna asked the pair about their lives, she laughed while listening to Harbor telling some stories of working at his dad's bar and the customers who would frequent the place. However, when Sienna asked Brook about her life and possible skills, Brook sighed before saying, "I guess looking pretty’s a skill."
Sienna laughed before replying, "For getting sponsors, yes, but not when you're in a fight to the death."
As this reality check wiped the smile from Brook’s face, she and Harbor finished up their meals before listening more to Sienna’s lecture about the games. And as an act to see if her tributes were actually paying attention, she quizzed them on the dos and don'ts in the capital. As Harbor passed this quiz, Sienna laughed before allowing him some "Capital Goodies." However, as Brook blatantly failed the quiz, she laughed and called Harbor a "suck-up" before walking to her room.
Sienna looked at Harbor for a second before saying, "I guess she’s either related to the mayor or is a spoiled rotten brat."
"She usually brags about her rich family members, always thinks she's better than everyone."
"And trust me, the girl ain't pretty."
Sienna and Snow Square laughed as she then patted him on the back before""telling him to get a 'nap' in before they were to arrive in the capital."
He nodded before Brook returned. It is unknown what the two girls talked about for the remainder of the trip, but our historians have noted that Brook’s scowl from before had dissolved for the time being. As evening rolled around, the pair from District 4's boat landed at Mcaine dock as an excited crowd of capital citizens swarmed the pair from 4 and their very popular mentor, who had been giving out her new jewelry to some of her lucky fans.
Brook and Harbor performed rather well, with the capital citizens enjoying their "feisty sailor attitudes." Even some reporters from Golden 24 put up a most popular tribute poll with Harbor and Brook being in the top 3, narrowly beating Fifi from District 6.
Sienna then thanked the capital for their time before taking her tributes to the limousine. Once it arrived at the accommodation tower, they arrived at the 4th floor. After arriving, Sienna called their stylist, Orivile Cartwright.
Orivile embraced Sienna before showing his tributes his pre-made outfits, which were Sailor themed, which made Brook and Harbor smile. Due to them having a fair amount of time left, Sienna displayed the post-reaping commentaries before turning on the commentary for District 1 as Orivile worked away at the pairs' outfits.
Mayor Cassino greeted a very exhausted Winnow Fraiser. Also accompanying the mayor was Realm Jones, victor of the 101st Hunger Games, and Quintin Mahoney, victor of the 108th Hunger Games, joined Winnow on the initial tour. Winnow appeared to be star-struck sitting between both iconic victors. She even turned around to Quintin saying, "I can't believe I get to meet a legend like you."
Quintin laughed before giving Winnow some comic relief during the tour, telling her about his games and even asking a few questions about her own games. At the conclusion of the tour, Realm's eyes lit up in delight as he saw his own capital mentor, Narcissa Valentions, warmly embracing her mentee.
"So what're you doing here?"
"I had some time off. I figured I'd come by and see how you've been doing. Business at my shop has been bustling as ever, so I figured I’d take a break to see my first victor."
As Realm and Narcissa soon walked over to the talent demonstrations together, Quintin laughed as Mayor Cassino welcomed the scarlet youths. Winnow was then brought up to the stage. She asked if any of the youths wanted to volunteer, becoming surprised when 10 ladies and 8 gentlemen volunteered for the role of tribute for District 1. Silca joked with Camilia, saying, "It's normal for them, isn't it?"
With the ladies' many remarkable weapon displays and archery displays, 18-year-old Jacqueline Faywether had been announced as the final volunteer to try her luck. She smiled at many nearby cameras as even one enthralled boy in the audience fainted seeing the rather extractive career girl.
She shot 10 arrows blindfolded and threw 8 knives in the letter J form, causing even more ripples of laughter sounded in the square. The mayor announced the two passing tributes. As for the two tributes, Jacqueline’s only remaining opponent, Jewel, had almost won the title of female tribute but had a stroke leading to Jacqueline to win the title of female tributes.
As for the guys, 18-year-old Facet Elixithorn had made himself a crowd and capital favorite by his spear-throwing display and to ending in a handstand with wild applause following. Three guys made it to the debate round with Realm this time asking the questions. With poise and dignity, Lance’s strong mind and less nerves had won him the title of male tribute for District 1.
After the pair were bathed and stylized, they were then brought out to the square as they then shook Winnow’s hand before she announced Jacqueline and Facet were announced as the tributes for District 1.
And after a brief meeting with their families and friends with not too much emotion, Jacqueline and Facet were then brought to the train as the train began their journey to the capital.
Narcissa, Realm, and Quintin then greeted their tributes with Jacqueline and Facet being surprised seeing their district's first victor’s mentor. Quintin soon brought the four to the table having a brief dinner with Narcissa asking the two if they had any skills besides their ‘weapons of choice.’ Quintin was pleased to hear of Jacqueline's diverse skills of weaponry before bragging to her district partner about her achievements at the Kobayashi self-defense center. However, instead of being jealous, Facet asked his district partner about her accomplishments.
Realm and Quintin were pleased with their tributes getting along with each other before showing the past reapings in the districts. Facet and Jacqueline laughed hysterically at the District 2 reaping games even Narcissa let out a smile. Quintin then asked the pair if there had been “Other commendable allies besides the non-dazzling loonies from 2 besides Jade and Hermina, they are dazzling.” Realm also chimed in adding that they should “Look for others.”
However, as Jacqueline was going to ask why Realm shushed her and said, “The career pack has their on and off years.” Jacqueline nodded before Quintin continued talking to the pair about the past reapings. Facet and Jacqueline even suggested the girl from 3 and the pair from 4 as potential allies. Realm appeared to consider this before Quintin added in that “He would see what he could do.”
As the pair nodded, the pair from 1’s train arrived in the outskirts of the capital. Narcissa soon styled the pair up, quietly complaining to Realm of how Jacqueline's red hair and Facet's long blonde curls were impossible to tame. The train then arrived in the capital with the usual excited capital crowd marveling scarlet couture. Jacqueline and Facet were both outstanding hits with the capital citizens maintaining proper etiquette. However, two capital lights had to be removed from the audience after heckling Facet about his district partner. Narcissa then wished Jacqueline and Facet luck before kissing Realm and Quintin on the cheek. Realm and Quintin then thanked the capital citizens for their time before bringing the pair from 1 to the limousine as it brought them to their accommodation tower.
Once they arrived at their accommodation tower apartment, they were greeted by their stylist, Aurelia Heavensbee. She smiled at the four of them before whisking them to the dining table showing them her designs for the parade. Jacqueline in particular was marveling at her long ruby dress as Facet jokingly told Jacqueline that they looked like a “walking jewel.” However, Aurelia frowned as Realm glared at Facet as the smile was wiped from his face. The pair then groaned in annoyance at their stylist's bland outfits.
Before the pair were then brought to the parade moments later, Facet and Jacqueline were immediately approached by Malona and Crane, both from 2 introducing themselves. However, Facet cut the pair off from further words, saying, “the career pack is gonna be different this year.” As Malona protested, Jacqueline said, ‘thanks but no thanks.” Both Jade Heath and Herminia Gold looked at the District 1 mentors in bewilderment as they also reciprocated. However, the pair from 1 then came over to the pair from 4 chatting with their mentor.
“Darling, you look stunning.”
“Oh, thank you, you dazzling ruby.”
Brook and Jacqueline seemed to obtain an instant connection. As Facet complemented Harbor’s outfit. Harbor smiled good-naturedly back before chatting away with him about lives in their districts. Facet soon asked the pair if they would be interested in an alliance in the arena; however, Sienna leaned in this conversation asking “Where are the 2s?”
Jacqueline then replied that they were “trying something new this year” before pointing at the pair making fun of Mateo from 10’s cow-themed parade outfit. Sienna shrugged as Brook and Harbor warmly accepted the offer as Facet and Jacqueline smiled saying “splendid see you soon.” When the pair from 1 got back, Realm popped up asking “You with the 4s this year.” As the pair nodded, Realm smiled and nodded with Quintin and Aurelia doing their touch-ups to their tributes' outfits. Sienna commended the pair for “making friends already,” she still urged caution before re-adding in “The 2 mentors there are my ride or dies but still keep your eyes on them if needed.”
The pair then nodded as the parade then began. Regal applause and cheers sounded for the pair from 1, but Nico Anderson lead editor of Anderson Fashion applauded for their strong impression but said the dress was “So Basic.” The pair from 4 were given a large amount of applause as Harbor and Brook waved at the audience even performing an old dance known as a “Jig”. The pair were also given a boatload of flowers and chocolate resulting in both Brook and Harbor sneezing uncontrollably at the end of the parade during President Mcaine's speech. Best dressed was ultimately awarded to the pair from 4 with their sailor-themed couture.
When the pair from 1 arrived back in their district apartment, they were glaring daggers from afar at Aurelia,
“How did it go.”
“How did it feel getting harshly criticized on live TV.”
Quintin shot Jacqueline a disapproving look as Realm asked if there other worthy allies. Both mentors were pleased hearing their success with the pair from 4 before Realm reassured them that they still looked “dazzling” before sending his tributes to bed. However, with the pair from 4, Sienna warmly embraced the two of her tributes on a best-dressed win. As Orville also joined in the group hug has the 4 of them partied till around 11:30 pm until Sienna sent her tributes to bed as she and Orville stayed up a while longer.
Bright and early the following morning, the mentors ushered their tributes to the training center with a very frustrated Apollo Price. Unfortunately, during his speech about the rules of the training center, he tasered Mateo from 10 after he tried to make a break for the door after Price’s speech concluded. Mateo’s mentor Bianca Jr Ramon rolled her eyes before dropping her mentee at the knife station.
The newly made career alliance between the District 1 and 4 tributes conquered most of the training stations with Facet and Harbor bonding over dropping and throwing large weights causing Fifi from 6 to wet herself earning a smirk from the boys. When Mateo awoke from his unconscious slumber, he immediately ran to Mateo asking him to spare. Since Mateo was no older than 14 and he was the youngest tribute the careers laughed before Facet told him to “Buzz off”. However, as Mateo continued to pester the career boys, Harbor gave Facet a knowing look before accepting Mateo’s sparing request.
A short crowd of tributes went to the jousting stations as Mateo and Harbor were briefed on the rules before being allowed to go at it. It was no surprise that Harbor won all 4 rounds.
“Easy”.
Harbor smiled warmly before being tackled to the ground by the 14-year-old boy from 10.
“You think you're better than me HA you rotten career boy.”
As Price Facet Brook and even Sienna tried to step in Harbor held his hand up to stay back. Harbor then threw the boy off him before pinching the nerve on Mateo’s neck knocking him clean out. As training master Price and Sienna looked at him in bewilderment before Price smiled saying
“Good job kid”.
Harbor smiled before Facet and he returned to the weight station and survival, knife and axe stations even giving advice to Amarylio from 7 with starting fires.
As for the girls they mainly gossiped to themselves and having “Girl talk” at the aquatic station sword station and archery stations. When any tribute tried to use the archery station both Jacqueline and Brook would melodicaly but fiercely slam there weapons into the targtes.
At the end of the traing head master price brought the tributes to the asscors room. Due to the request of the new head game maker the tributes assesment scores were kept strictly confidential. However tabloid reporters manage to scoop out that Jacqueline Facet Harbor and Malona from to managed to score at the top of the pack with a 11. Brook and Amarylio scored a 9 and at the bottom of the pack was Mateo and Hargree from 12 scoring a 3 each.
Both Sienna Quintin and Realm were beyond impressed with there tributes scores before they’re stylist sketched up potential outfits with there mentors soon quizing the pairs on interview educate.
Camilia Ravenstil welcomed the excited capital audience modeling a rather gothic dress that made her look like a ghost tree by the audience. The audience even laughed good naturedly as Camilia shook for a second as leaves fell of her costume as if wind had hit her. She then exictedly welcomed Jacqueline from 1. She was adorned in a stunning pink and red dress with her hair put up in braids. The two had some gossip before reavling to the audience that she was a decdent of Emarld Rivelta victor of the 34th hunher games. Camilia slapped her knee and laughed saying “Thats who you resmbl I guessed right I knew it!”
As the girls chatted the audience loved her regal responses to Camilas questions as even mentoning the carrer alliance brought the crowd into rapsous cheers,even when she talked about her allies from 4 openly. She then kissed Camilia on the hand before bowing which caused even more cheers before she was dismissed back stage. Facet was welcomed in next marveling a sleeveless pink suit with ruby jeans making many of the capital audience to swoon over his physeigue. Even Camilia was taken aback by his charm and confidence as he spoke about his training experience and the strength of his alliance with Jacqueline. His witty remarks and easygoing demeanor captivated the audience, earning him loud applause and admiration.
Later on into the night brook was welcomed in next with wild cheers and wolf whistles sounding. With her hair being dyed a pure yellow with a light brown dress resembling sand following her. She proceeded to have the same amount of banter with Camilia as Jacqueline did however Camilia cut her off as she was finshing up talking about her dads money saying “Honey this is the hunger games.”
“Yeah and Ill live how I like before the games.”
As a few jeers sounded the rest of her interview was rather dull the only light being Camilia shooing the “Regina George” of the stage. As Camila then called Harbor loud cheers sounded again as Harbor walked on to the stage with his curly black hair and brown eyes making him quite attrauctive to many even his pirate themed coustume became an over night sensation with many fashion designers stating that they wanted this fashionable suit.
As Camilia asked Harbor about the games becoming pleased with his short but sweet responses. Even cracking some good jokes about the other competitors mainly about Bloom from 7 and Mateo from 10 . To conclude Harbor’s inteviwed he tossed his waist coat to teh crowd as an excited gagle of captial ladies clammered for this waist coat. As his interview ended on a high. Finaly after the interview of the boy from 14 the new head game maker Natellia Swan was welcomed to the stage. Head game maker swan was adorned in a regal black gown also sporting garish make up making her resmble more of ghost then human. After introducing herself to the excited capital audience Camila smiled before shaking her hand saying that “Game maker swan has alot to accept from.” She laughed before giving hint out to teh audience by pointing to both of the laides dresses. Curious osund sof inteirgue soon followed as game maker swan smiled and bowed as she then left the stage as Camilia then ended the interviews there. The next morning tributes were given a breif breakefst before being brought to the arena’s holding room.
This years outfits consisted of black coats with black jeans and snakers with there distristicts nymbers stickered on the back of there coats. Realm visited Facet before reminding him to stick with Jacqueline and Harbor and Brook. However before Realm finished Facet replied “That girl Brook might be problem.” Realm nodded and agreed before reminding him to keep an eye on her before shaking his hand as he went into his tube. Jacqueline was visited by Quintin the pair had a similar conversation as Realm did with Facet before Jacqueline embraced Quintin and thanked him joking “District 1 needs more ladys.” Quintin laughed before hugging her back before walking Jacqueline to her tube. As for Brook she was not visited by Sienna nor Orvilve a fact that suprised her the most but shrugged before patiently puting her hair up in a bun and waiting for the tribute call to sound. As for Harbor Sienna visted him. She embacred Harbor before reminding him to “ Keep an eye on all of them.”
Harbor smiled before thanking Sienna for her mentor ship before Sienna walked Harbor to his tube his tube and at mid day the podiums then arose into the arena.
Arena Ghosty lake Game 114

I will keep it short, I have Bachelor's of Commerce with a Major in Accounting from India (Nationality mentioned because it will a big role)
Right now I am in GCC, I am not working as a teacher but something else, I wanted to get into teaching as I am confident I can teach English & Other Subject or Primary levels
In GCC , they mostly accept from US, UK & Canada with ESL license, this is the reason I am not interested in applying here. I might be wrong tho!!!!!
I want to ask if anyone in this sub got job being in the same position as me, and if yes where was it & how?
Would be interested in Southeast Asia, but would love to hear your suggestions....
Thanks