I actually got diagnosed with bipolar at 17 at a mental hospital and the doctor really encouraged me to file for disability as I would “never lead a normal life.” I somehow managed to be approved incredibly quick. After 5 years of bed rotting, I worked my way up to becoming a full time lead and felt very empowered. After 2 years of full time work my benefits ended. I’ve struggled a lot mentally but I stayed working full time. Now that I am a single mom to an autistic child and life + my psyche has forced me into doing immense inner work, I just don’t know if I can do it anymore… or at least right now. I am jobless currently but secure as my son receives ssi and we’re living with my grandma. But we can’t stay here forever and I cannot survive on only his ssi. I keep telling myself “life is hard. Suck it up.” But I’m so tired of being sick mentally. I do want to work part time but I also want the financial security if that doesn’t work out. It’s so hard to heal when you live in poverty.. I spent 3 years in poverty before we left my abusive ex and I never want to experience that scarcity of resources again…
So I’m just wondering basically how long/hard the process is. I worry me working full time for so long and now being in a shitty situation will come off like I’m looking for an easy handout and won’t get it..

Hi, there!
My name is Shay, and I’m going to be honest: I’ve been a freelance writer for the past 7 years trying to fund my dreams of a music career. I’m finally touring across the continent, but my main writing client of 5 years just decided they were retiring.
I’m now unexpectedly struggling, just when I could taste my musical success. I’m determined to not let this be the reason I give up.
I’m looking for a new client (either long-term or short-term) looking for an experienced writer who really cares about their goals.
A bit about me:

• I’m a native English speaker
  
• Experienced in SEO/Surfer, WordPress, and more
  
• I pride myself in my attention to detail AND quick turnaround time
  
• My clients have all been with me for at least 3 years. I have a 100% success rate on a certain freelance platform as well, if you’d like clear references
  
• I’m available at any time for revisions
  

Here are a few of my articles:
1. Best Beach Wheelchairs
2. 18 Best Dutch Bros Drinks
3. Best Mario Kart Tours in Tokyo
Please feel free to DM me with any questions you may have!
Thank you so much for your time, and I hope to chat with you soon! Shay

So when I started this souls-like run back in January, I thought 30 Souls-Like games would take me at the very least a year to complete. I started at the beginning and worked my way through the years. But now I am down to the final 9 Souls-Likes on my list. Here is what I've completed so far.
Dark Souls, Lords of the Fallen (2014), Dark Souls 2, Dark Souls 3,
Salt and Sanctuary, The Surge, Nioh, Immortal Unchained, Sekiro,
Remnant, The Surge 2, Ashen, Code Vein,
Hellpoint, Nioh 2, Bloodborne, Mortal Shell,
Thymesia, Steelrising, Little Witch Nobeta, Last Hero of Nostalgaia
and tomorrow I will be posting Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty.
So many games. 301 hours and 34 minutes of playtime and 743 deaths.
I have 9 games remaining on my list but each one either has a DLC or possible future content so I'm reaching out to you all to ask which would be best to do next. I am also open to suggestions for Souls-Likes you would like me to put on the list and play. Anything I missed that is truly a souls-like and not a metroidvania. Here is what remains:

1. Another Crab's Treasure (just released and want to wait for any content drops to get the full exp)
   
2. Black Myth Wukong (doesn't release till August)
   
3. Bleak Faith (is supposed to get one final content addition and bug fix patch between now and July 1st)
   
4. Demon's Souls (still working on getting a PS5 or emulator to play)
   
5. Elden Ring (DLC releases next month.)
   
6. Enotria: The Last Song (doesn't release till August)
   
7. Lies of P (DLC releases in second half of year)
   
8. Lords of the Fallen 2023 (can't confirm if there will be future content or if I'm safe to play)
   
9. Remnant 2 (Final DLC releases in second half of year)
   

With only 9 games left I am open to suggestions to games I missed or which game I should play next. Thank you all again for sticking with me.

Line Score - Game Over

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	LOB
TB	3	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	5	10	0	6
BOS	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	8	0	5

Scoring Plays

Inning	Event	Score
T1	Amed Rosario triples (3) on a line drive to right fielder Wilyer Abreu, deflected by center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela. Yandy Díaz scores. Harold Ramírez scores.	0-2
T1	Richie Palacios singles on a line drive to center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela. Amed Rosario scores.	0-3
B1	Tyler O'Neill homers (10) on a fly ball to left field. Wilyer Abreu scores. Rafael Devers scores.	3-3
T4	Jose Siri out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Jarren Duran. José Caballero scores.	3-4
T8	Amed Rosario doubles (6) on a line drive to left fielder Jarren Duran. Josh Lowe scores. Austin Shenton to 3rd.	3-5

Highlights

Description	Length
Kutter Crawford against the Rays	0:11
Zach Eflin against the Red Sox	0:09
Bullpen availability for Boston, May 13 vs Rays	0:07
Bullpen availability for Tampa Bay, May 13 vs Red Sox	0:07
Fielding alignment for Tampa Bay, May 13 vs Red Sox	0:11
Starting lineups for Rays at Red Sox - May 13, 2024	0:09
Bench availability for Boston, May 13 vs Rays	0:07
Fielding alignment for Boston, May 13 vs Rays	0:11
Bench availability for Tampa Bay, May 13 vs Red Sox	0:07
Breaking down Tyler O'Neill's home run	0:12
Breaking down Zach Eflin's pitches	0:04
Zach Eflin's outing against the Red Sox	0:25
Breaking down Kutter Crawford's pitches	0:04
Kutter Crawford's outing against the Rays	0:22
Amed Rosario's two-run triple	0:30
Richie Palacios' RBI single	0:17
Tyler O'Neill's three-run homer (10)	0:29
Josh Lowe lines out to left fielder Jarren Duran.	0:12
Zach Eflin fans Jarren Duran in the 1st inning	0:08
Kutter Crawford strikes out Alex Jackson in the 1st	0:07
Jose Siri's sacrifice fly	0:19
Kutter Crawford's six strikeout performance	1:03
Amed Rosario's RBI double	0:24
Jose Caballero's double and stolen base	0:38

Throwaway account because the subject matter is cringe and id rather not get bullied on my main, thanks.
TLDR: My boyfriend thinks the romantic codywan RP I'm doing with a friend is emotionally cheating and wants me to stop RPing and to stop engaging with the fandom. AITAH?
I (f27) am in an argument with my bf (m29) of two months concerning a text based roleplay I'm doing with a friend.
I'm a cringey fandom roleplayer. Fandom and RP have been an enormous part of my life since I was 13. It is my most beloved hobby, two of my best friends in the whole world, I meant through RP. Roleplaying is basically like creating fanfiction with another person. You each play a character, you write a couple of paragraphs, then the other person responds. It's a game. It's fiction. The things my character says or does are oftentimes not things that I would say or do or endorse, because I'm playing as a character. The relationship I have with my RP partner is not the same as the relationships our characters might have with each other. We DO NOT bring our real lives into the RP. I promise, this is relevant so keep it in mind.
I know it's not everybody's cup of tea, I know a lot of people see it as childish and cringey, and I'm okay with that. It was something that I was deeply ashamed of and was bullied for for a long time, but I've come to accept that it's something I don't have to be ashamed of, but it's still a sensitive topic for me and something I really don't like to disclose. Growing up, I felt a lot of pressure to keep this hobby a secret, or to abandon it entirely because people who found out about it were mean about it. When I was 17, one of my closest friends emailed large potions of my "Mermaid Destiel mpreg RP" around the school. So, I'm sure you can imagine why I'm having such a hard time looking at this situation rationally. It's all caught up in my feels.
In 2019, I started doing Codywan (Obi-Wan x Commander Cody, if you're a casual Star Wars fan and know nothing about the fandom, I am so sorry.) rp with a friend, and we're still doing that RP to this very day. She is one of my closest friends. We have written thousands of pages together. The RP is most definitely romantic, but it isn't smutty. We tried writing porn a couple of times years ago, but it never went anywhere because I didn't enjoy it. The old threads have long since been deleted.
My boyfriend absolutely hate the RP. I have never, ever tried to hide it from him. I told him about it when we first started dating, before we were official, because he asked what my hobbies are. He's a Star Wars fan, not really into the fandom thing, and we had a good laugh about it. Sure, he's made a couple of snide remarks about how cringy it is, but I'm not going to pitch a fit about that because, yeah, it is cringy. I'm self-aware enough to know that. But yeah, it's never been a secret. He's never been very interested in it, and that's fine by me. Every once in a while he'll ask me questions, and I'll answer them. I guess that's why I feel so blindsided about this whole thing.
Recently, he asked to read a couple, just out of curiosity, and I let him, and he was fucking furious! The section he was reading was romantic, describing the characters holding hands and kissing because they were on a date. He accused me of emotionally cheating on him with my RP partner. I think that's ridiculous. Like I said, the role play is fiction. I have never felt romantic feelings for my RP partner, we've never kissed, we've never even met in person. Yes, we chat about all kinds of things outside of the RP because we're friends. Outside of the rp, we do not flirt. We do not talk about our sex lives. I have never come ever said anything bad to her about my boyfriend. I've never hidden the fact that I have a boyfriend from her. I do not see her out as my primary source of comfort. We talk about fandom, other hobbies, life, things like that.
I just feel so fucking confused. I pulled up our "out of character" thread and begged him to read it because I felt like that would prove my innocence, but he absolutely refused because he "already saw everything he needed to know". I asked him if married actors are cheating on their spouses when they have to kiss other people in movies, and he said that wasn't the same. I asked him if it was cheating for an author to write about a romantic relationship, he said that it wasn't the same because authors work alone. I asked him "what about people who co-author books together?" I mean, christ, were Terry Pratchett and Neil diamond having an affair without each other when they wrote Good omens? That's fucking ridiculous. But he got absolutely furious and told me to "shut up and stop trying to defend myself!" He told me I ruined Star Wars by doing this to him, and he wanted me to delete discord and Tumblr. I told him absolutely not, I hadn't done anything wrong. It still makes me so fucking mad because he was talking down to me like I was a fucking child, and my punishment for disobeying him was taking away my social media.
He was mad at me and gave me the cold shoulder for a couple of days, but yesterday, he sat me down because he wanted to have a talk with me. He apologized for freaking out at me, he said that his behavior was irrational and unacceptable, and he did agree that he had no right to try to force me to delete discord and Tumblr. You told me that the role play made him really uncomfortable, and that he felt I had betrayed him by hiding this from him, which is absolute bullshit and I called him out on that, because I hid nothing from him. He tried to tell me that I never told him it was a romantic RP, and I told him that he knew from the start that it was a ship RP, what did he expect? Then he said he doesn't mind if I kept RPing, but he doesn't want me engaging with the Star Wars fandom anymore, and he wants me to block my friend. I told him that he's talking down to me again, that he is punishing me without even bothering to hear my side of things. I asked him, again, to read the OOC thread, because if he genuinely thinks our relationship is inappropriate, I need to know. The characters we play are fictional, the relationship is fictional, there's a line between fiction and reality and we do not cross it. The RP isn't going to give him an accurate representation of my relationship with my friend. If he wants to judge that relationship, he needs to look at the OOC thread. Well, when I suggested it, he blew up at me again and told me I wasn't listening to him. He told me I was being petulant, fucking petulant, and unreasonable. He hasn't spoken to me since, and he's still absolutely fuming.
Look, I'll be honest, there's no way in hell I'm staying in this relationship. I do not want to being a relationship with somebody whose first response is anger. I want somebody who respects me enough to have an adult fucking conversation with me. If he had just talked to me instead of accusing me of cheating and blowing up at me, things would be different. But he didn't and I don't do second chances, not for stuff like this.
But this is the first long-term relationship I've had since I was a teenager, so some part of me feels like maybe I misstepped. Is doing a romantic RP with someone "cheating"? Was I in the wrong? AITAH?

The garage door shut with a groan behind us, closing us in the gloom of the single bulb hanging over the car.
Mother took a drag off her cigarette and sighed as she exhaled, the smoke filled the cabin of the Ford and stung my eyes.
“You really disappointed me today, Julianne," she tapped her cigarette in the ashtray below the dash, "you embarrassed me in front of the other mothers at the Ice Cream Social, shoveling down seconds and thirds like a pig. I thought I raised you better than that.”
She took another drag, daintily holding the cigarette between her perfectly manicured fingers.
“I'm going to have to tell your brother about this," she continued, “he'll have to come up with a punishment fit for a pig."
I felt my stomach drop. My kid brother, Thomas, was only six, but could be exceptionally cruel. Mother seemed to encourage him and was deferring to him more and more frequently for how the house was run, especially concerning my upbringing.
"Mother, please, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you. I'm sorry I was a pig and ate so much ice cream. I promise I won't do it again, I'll never eat any ice cream again," I was pleading with stone, unyielding.
“Hush your mouth. Go to your room and wait for Thomas," she put out the cigarette and got out of the car, I had no choice but to follow.
It felt like walking to the gallows as I stepped inside the house and headed towards the stairs to go to my room. Thomas had grown fond recently of physical punishment, he obviously delighted in Mother whipping me with a belt or, recently, Mother had allowed him to start beating me with a wooden spoon. He would squeal and giggle like a normal child watching bubbles in the wind while I screamed. I was dreading whatever was going to happen tonight, I chastised myself for eating that ice cream, I should have known she would show up. My sins were always laid bare.
Down the hall, I could hear Thomas watching television in the den. I only got to watch TV for half an hour on Saturday morning and new episodes of Happy Days with Mother and Thomas. Thomas got to watch all the TV he wanted. He could listen to the radio and turntable as much as he wanted, as loud as he wanted. Thomas had an entire room just for his toys.
I entered my bedroom, it was a space I occupied, but it didn't feel like mine. Mother kept it spartan, white walls and white bedspread. A crucifix over the bed and a painting of Jesus over the door. I had my desk and chair and a dresser with some of the porcelain dolls Daddy gave me before he died that Mother let me keep. That was it.
I placed my book bag down and sat on my bed, waiting for Thomas. It was a while, sitting there with nothing but my own thoughts and staring at the open door. I felt humiliated, I was almost thirteen and my entire life was dictated by my brother. Mother kept the house in constant lockdown to keep Thomas a secret. No outsiders were allowed in. I couldn't have friends because she was afraid I would mention him or sneak a friend in to gawk at my brother and tease him for being different.
I would never make fun of him, I was terrified of him. Terrified of what he was and what he was becoming.
Eventually I heard his heavy footsteps coming up the stairs and I felt my heart start beating faster and my palms began to sweat. I kneaded my skirt in my hands, trying to calm myself and dry my palms. His slow arrhythmic footsteps came down the hall and I watched him as he entered the room.
I couldn't help but internally recoil at his appearance, even though I'd known him since he was born, I could never adjust to how unnatural he appeared. Thomas had been born at home and had never seen a doctor, but he was obviously unwell.
He was six years old and was barely over two feet tall, but very squat and wide. His skin was thick and gray, the whites of his beady eyes were yellow and his hair was wispy and white like an old man's, spreading out like a halo around his gargoyle face. A slight odor of decomposition hung about him, it reminded me faintly of garbage cans on a hot summer day. I hated when Mother made me help him with a bath, his skin felt like old brittle leather that flaked onto my clothes in gray flecks. His body was dense like concrete, I could barely lift him into the tub. Picking him up forced his hair into my face where that smell of rot would fill my nose, causing me to gag, silently, so as not to offend him and draw any ire from him or Mother.
Today, Thomas was wearing bib overalls with a red and green striped sweater underneath, reminding me of a grotesque doll.
“Mama says you acted like a piggy today at the ice cream social,” he spoke up to me in his unsettlingly high pitched, yet raspy voice, like a child that smoked as much as Mother, "you need to come down for dinner right now for your punishment for embarrassing Mama."
He turned and walked back down the stairs and I had no choice but to follow his toddling form downstairs to the dining table. We entered the kitchen and the table was placed with two settings. Mother was already seated and Thomas clambered up into his booster seat at his normal spot next to Mother. She took a drag off her cigarette and motioned vaguely to the floor without even looking at me.
Neatly situated on the linoleum was my dinner, not on a plate, but directly on the floor. A pork chop, scoop of mashed potatoes, and a small pile of peas. No utensils, either.
Thomas giggled with glee upon seeing my face.
“You have Mama's permission now to eat like a piggy, now. No hands! Piggies just use their face!” He stood up in his chair and reached out for Mother’s ash tray and flung it out over my meal, peppering my dinner with cigarette ash and butts.
"Oops! Piggies don't mind trash though, do they, Mama?” he giggled and the sound filled me with rage.
"No, they don't,” Mother replied coolly while maneuvering her ashtray back in place and carefully putting out her cigarette before saying prayer.
As angry as I was, I got down on my hands and knees and did my best at eating what I could without using my hands. I knew if I refused, it would be far worse. The whole meal, Thomas made pig noises and would reach down and poke me with his fork, making comments about what a fat piggy I was and how he wished he could roast and eat me. I doubted Mother would even object if he actually did kill me and eat me.
Gagging my way through another bite of ashy pork chop, I felt a warm splat over my head and heard Thomas giggling. I reached up and felt he had dumped mashed potatoes into my hair.
Choking down tears, I asked Mother if I could clean the floor and bathe. She rolled her eyes and excused me to clear the table for them as well while she changed Thomas into his pajamas. Picking him up, she walked out of the room and Thomas stuck his putrid little purple tongue out at me before they made it out the kitchen door.
I silently cried while I cleared the table and washed the dinner dishes. Tears splashed down as I mopped up the mess from my food on the floor. I hated how awful Thomas was. I hated how they treated me. Ever since Daddy died and Thomas showed up, I was their punching bag. I missed Daddy so much.
Mother was kinder then, too. She was still severe, but Dad kept her tempered. After he died, there was a change that came over her. I was only six, so I didn't remember her too much from before, but I did remember her gushing on and on when she was pregnant with Thomas. How the baby was a gift from Our Heavenly Father, that it was going to complete our broken family.
My sixth birthday happened right after Daddy died and I remember sitting on the patio crying while the house was full of people after the funeral, normally he would have gotten me a new doll and a chocolate bar, instead I was forgotten. No doll. No chocolate. Just funeral potatoes and a house full of cigarette smoke from the adults.
Nobody remembered. The closest thing I got was my dad's sister, Aunt Judy, sitting next to me on the patio step for a few minutes of comfortable silence before giving my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. I don't think she knew her brother was memorialized on my birthday. Next year, Thomas was born the day before my birthday, so it was completely eclipsed as Mother had just birthed her new love into the world…
I stopped mid mop as a lightbulb finally went off. I had never put much thought into the dates before.
Thomas was born a full year after Daddy died. He couldn't be his dad. Who was Thomas’ actual father?
Washing mashed potatoes out of my hair that evening, I ran over and over the timeline. No matter how I parsed it out, Thomas was only my half brother. Going to bed that night, I kept myself awake, going over and over again to make sure. I couldn't remember any men being around at that time, but that didn't mean much. Adults can easily hide things from children. Tension began throbbing through my head and I felt queasy. Mother had always known all of my secrets, able to sniff them out like a bloodhound out or using Thomas to spy. Now I had one of Mother's secrets and I didn't know what to do with it.
First I wanted to confirm it, but it would mean snooping, which was difficult in a house that was rarely left empty. I would have to try finding Mother's calendar book or journal to see if she mentioned any dates or men.
But when could I attempt such a daring maneuver? Thomas hardly left the house. As proud as Mother was of him, she was very cognizant and protective of his differences and didn't want to draw attention to herself or Thomas like that. Mother herself had few social engagements throughout the week and mostly stayed home to watch her golden child.
I finally decided I would take the risk and fake sick on Tuesday, grocery day, so I could stay home from school while she went shopping. All Thomas did all day was watch TV downstairs, so that should give me about an hour to look through her room for clues. I decided to tuck my head down, try to behave as best as I could to avoid their wrath, and wait for Tuesday.
That weekend limped along agonizingly slow. Thomas was in a fine mood and was constantly seeking out a reason to poke me, punch me, slap me… he'd laugh while calling me a piggy with his off-putting wide mouth. I tried to mostly stay in my room and it seemed like neither of them cared.
School on Monday was a relief, but my anxiety ramped up. The consequences would be dire if Mother caught on that I was faking sick to stay home. I didn't even want to imagine how off the leash she'd let my half-brother become in his punishment for that level of insubordination.
I stayed up all night, my stomach was in knots, but I was committed to my plan. Throughout the night, I screamed as hard as I could into my pillow. Screamed until my throat was raw and I could barely talk. It felt cathartic in a way. When it was close to school time, I put on my heaviest flannel pajamas and began doing jumping jacks until my face was flushed and my scalp was soaked with sweat.
Looking in the bathroom mirror before heading down to talk to Mother, I thought I looked pretty convincing, my skin was flushed and sweaty, my eyes had circles under them from lack of sleep, and my voice croaked like a frog.
Heading downstairs, Mother was already feeding Thomas breakfast. I hesitantly stepped into the kitchen and stood there awkwardly for a second, pawing with my pajamas to keep my nerves steady until she noticed my presence and looked up.
“Why aren't you dressed, Julianne?"
"I don't feel well. My throat hurts and my tummy hurts.” My voice graveled out more than I was expecting, I really had hurt my throat.
She strode over to me and placed a cool hand on my sweaty brow.
"You do feel warm. Take an aspirin from the medicine cabinet and go lay back down. I'll check on you later," with that she turned back and walked over to Thomas, who was frozen in place, glaring at me over a forkful of scrambled eggs. The sharp glint of malice in his beady eyes made me shiver before I shuffled out of the kitchen.
I laid in bed, trying my best to look miserable until I eventually heard the faint sound of the television playing in the den as Thomas settled in for his normal daytime routine and the garage door opened as Mother headed to the grocery store. I bounded out of bed and watched the car back out of our driveway and head up the street.
My heart began to pound as I tiptoed down the hall to Mother's bedroom, a place I rarely even caught a glimpse of, let alone entered. I very slowly opened the door, taking great care to not make any noise to alert Thomas downstairs that I was out of bed.
Creeping into the butter yellow room, I could feel my heartbeat pounding in my skull, this was the naughtiest thing I had ever done by far. I stepped onto the rug to help disguise my footsteps and slowly made my way past the brass bed and towards her desk. My hands shook as I opened the top drawer, I pawed through rapidly and found nothing. I checked the next drawer down and again found nothing of interest, just stationary and envelopes.
Finally, the bottom drawer was what I was looking for, a stack of journals from the past decade. I flipped through, trying to find entries relevant to when Daddy died and who Mother slept with afterwards.
I've never fully recovered from what I read.
July 6, 1968
Edgar died today. Car accident. I cannot believe this is real. My light, my life, my anchor... Dr. Benson gave me a sedative at the hospital and I feel so tired. So very, very tired. Why has my Lord forsaken me so?
July 9, 1968
I feel like I am in a very bad dream, I feel numb and disconnected. All the consolation and pity from everyone makes me feel sick. After the memorial, it took everything in me to not break dishes and to scream at everyone to get out of my house. Julianne was moping about crying and I wanted to throw her out, too.
If I hadn't seen my dear Edgar's body in the hospital and held his urn in my own hands, I wouldn't believe he was really gone. I still don't entirely believe it.
I have prayed to God every night asking him to show me why he took my husband from me and I have gotten no answer.
I skimmed over the next few months, as it was more or less similar sentiments repeated night after night. I finally got to an entry that caught my eye.
September 17, 1968
My battle with my faith has been fraught the past few months, but Hallelujah! I feel I can see the Lord again in all his glory and might, for he has given me a way to reconnect to my Edgar!
I was thinking about the night Julianne was born, right in this very home, it was a difficult birth and she struggled to breathe at first. Ingrid, my midwife, made a comment to me that if the baby had failed to wake up on her own, that Ingrid had ways to make sure she would have made it.
I remember asking if it was a medical methodology and she made it clear to me that in certain circumstances, it was a mystical property she used to bring the air of life into a struggling baby's lungs. She gently alluded to being a practicing member of the dark arts. At the time, I felt quite scandalized to have someone like that in my God fearing home. Now I see her as the answer to my prayers! My angel!
On a whim, I called her and asked if she still practiced such techniques. She hesitantly confirmed that she did. I asked, if she could turn breath into the lungs of a child without, could she turn breath into a child that did not exist? Could she magick into existence another child of my beloved Edgar? She told me she had to do some research and she'd be back in touch.
Ingrid just called back after a few hours and said there was a spell she found, but it was dangerous and might have unpleasant results. I said, yes, of course! I trust my Lord and I believe he sent this woman of blessed magick to me for this purpose.
She says we will have to do it soon, in a few days during the new moon. She has a potion to brew, but it is happening! Praise God!
September 23, 1968
The ceremony was last night, and Ingrid believes it was a success, but we will have to wait. It did not take long, only an hour or two. Ingrid lit my bedroom with many beeswax candles and she had me drink a thick and bitter tea that caused me to become quite relaxed and foggy.
From my inner thigh, she cut me and collected my blood in a chalice, with which she mixed quite a lot of Edgar's ashes and other ingredients which I could not glean from my supine position and groggy wits. Ingrid began to chant, calling upon a higher power, as I pleaded with my Lord to let this work. To give me any piece of my Edgar back. She came to the bed and worked the paste between my legs into my womanly chamber, which was very uncomfortable, but manageable with the numbing effects of the tea.
She continued to sit with me and chant, her hand placed over my womb, until she decided at which time it was complete. She left and I fell into a deep sleep. When I woke up this morning, I felt quite uncomfortable, my body ached and when I used the restroom, a yellow fluid like pus poured out of me, but no sign of any ashes or blood, which gives me hope it was absorbed into my womb.
November 3, 1968
Praise be to our Lord, Ingrid just confirmed for me that I am with child, I had been hoping so, I had not gotten my cycle in October, but I wasn't sure if that was because of the discharge like pus that was still coming. She told me that was common with this spell and a side effect that would stop after the baby came.
I feel like I am floating on air, for the first time since Edgar left, I feel-
I suddenly became very aware of the feeling of eyes on the back of my head. I had become too engrossed in what was written before me and I had lost track of my surroundings. Very slowly, I turned around and my heart began pounding again as I saw Thomas standing in the doorway holding his wooden spoon in one hand. How had I not heard him?
He pointed at me with his empty hand and screamed, just a pure guttural screech from somewhere deep inside his disgusting little body. He charged at me from across the room, his horrible feet thumping solidly along the rug. He began beating my legs ruthlessly with the spoon, causing my legs to buckle. I crashed down to my knees in front of him, and he began lashing at my face, pulling my hair with one hand while wailing away at my head with the spoon.
I had dropped the journal I was holding and was desperately trying to get a hand on the spoon or push him away. All I could hear was him screaming. My arms flailed and I reached around on Mother's desk and grabbed onto the first thing I found and sank it into Thomas’ neck.
The end of Mother's gold letter opener protruded under his jaw. He went silent and he looked at me with utter shock. He dropped the spoon and collapsed on the ground, clutching at his neck as his thick black blood oozed out from his wound, letting out a stupendous odor of rot that filled the room. He didn't really say anything or make any noise. He just twitched for a moment and I saw his eyes glaze over.
In shock, I stood over his little body for a moment and I watched as he seemed to mummify in just a few minutes, like an ash person from Pompeii dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt. Even his blood that looked like shiny oil a second ago became like potting soil on Mother's rug. Reaching out to touch his hand, it crumbled away like sand.
Panic ran through me like a rabbit caught in a snare. Not knowing what to do, I ran. I ran down the hall, changed my clothes, put an extra change of clothes in my backpack and the last doll Daddy had ever given me and I ran. Mother would absolutely never forgive me and I was genuinely afraid she would kill me in retaliation for taking her beloved Thomas away from her. Her precious gift from God. My feet flew over the pavement and took me away from that house.
I called my Aunt Judy from a payphone outside the five & dime, and told her Mother had kicked me out and asked if I could stay with her. She had always had a strained relationship with my mother and it didn't take much convincing that she had kicked out her “only” child. Only Mother, Ingrid, and I ever knew about Thomas.
She gave me a home and took care of me. She never beat me or humiliated me. Even with her love, I was far from okay. For years I would close my eyes and hear Thomas scream, then the sudden silence. I'd see him fumbling at his neck and turning to ash. But I would also remember all the ways he would hurt me and how bad he was becoming. I could never talk to anyone about it, especially not the silent relief I felt I refused to admit to myself. Over time, however, Thomas' screams became a whisper and his silence faded into dust in my mind.
I moved on with my life. I went to college and became a photojournalist, getting to travel the world and watch history unfold. By choice, I never married, but was quite blessed with many beautiful friendships for companionship over the decades. I found balance in my life and a sense of happiness, if not peace. I never could quite stomach mashed potatoes again, though, they always taste ashy to me.
Mother never made any attempts to reach out to me or find me, at least that I'm aware of. Ten years ago, I was contacted by a hospital and they said my mother had been admitted earlier after falling and was about to pass, so she must have kept some tabs on me to know my phone number for her emergency contacts. Apparently she had collapsed in the driveway and a neighbor called an ambulance. I got there and her only words to me were, “take care of him," as she placed a locket in my hand. I opened the locket, Jesus was on one side, Thomas on the other. I didn't say anything to her, just held her frail old hand with nicotine stained nails until she passed in the night. My mother was gone and I felt nothing except a vague sense of relief.
When I got to her house, it was like a time capsule. Other than a newer television, it was just like it was when I'd fled so many years ago. The smell of tobacco smoke hung like incense in the air. It felt oppressive, like a tomb.
I wandered the house in a bit of a daze. The one place I didn't want to go was upstairs. I didn't want to see my old room, or Thomas' room, or Mother's. Putting it off, I went to fix myself some supper, realizing I hadn't eaten in almost a day. I took a pause when I opened the fridge and saw a baby bottle on a shelf. Silently praying she had been babysitting for a neighbor, I fixed myself some toast with sardines and sat eating in the den watching TV. It had been almost forty years and it still felt rebellious not eating at the table and watching TV without permission.
My eyes grew heavy and I finally mustered up the gumption to head upstairs to go to bed. The stairs creaked in a familiar way under my feet and I was taken back to the feeling of dread hearing either Mother or Thomas climbing up. My old room was at the top of the stairs, I saw the door was nailed shut and had rambling quotes about Judas copied from the Bible in my mother's handwriting taped to the door. I sighed gently and turned from the door to head down the hallway, deciding Mother's room was probably the best place to sleep.
I passed by Thomas’ toy room and I heard a murmur from the room. I stopped, curiosity got the best of me and I entered. In Thomas' old toy room was a crib with joyful clown sheets. Dread swelled up inside me as I heard more murmurs and saw the sheets move. Approaching slowly, I peaked under the sheet and gasped.
Tucked inside was what looked like a baby gargoyle, gray and papery looking. Pus leaked out of its milky, bulbous eyes. I pulled back the blanket and saw it had no legs and its arms bent back, like wings on a bird. It was wearing just a cloth diaper, overflowing with tarry looking stool that took my breath away with its pungency, it smelled like Thomas’ blood, but somehow worse. My heart broke for this poor creature, Lord only knows how many years it has been in this crib suffering from its unholy existence.
So this is who Mother had wanted me to take care of…
Not knowing what else to do, I gently scooped him up. Like Thomas, he was shockingly heavy for how small his body was. Placing him on the changing table, I cleaned him and rewrapped his bottom in a clean diaper cloth. It was difficult, he fussed tremendously, crying and flopping around as much as his flipper-like arms would allow. I tried wiping off his oozing eyes and he snapped his mouth, which I saw was full of disturbingly square yellow teeth, trying to bite me. I carried him to the kitchen and rocked him while I heated up his bottle and he became furious with me, almost barking like a dog when my hand would get near his face.
He settled a bit as he fed, but he would still sometimes suddenly spit out the bottle and attempt to bite me. I laid him back in his crib, this abomination in a clown sheet, and I walked down the hall to Mother's room letting out a long sigh.
Combing through my mother's journals in the early hours of the morning, it looked like she tried the ceremony again shortly after Thomas died, but she either lacked Ingrid’s help or didn't have enough of my father's ashes left. Something went terribly wrong. She was vaguer than she had been about Thomas’ conception, but I suspect she had used some of Thomas' remains. The resulting birth she named Isaac.
Mother's journals told a sad tale of her and Isaac's suffering. She never mentioned me, but lamented the loss of Thomas and Dad relentlessly. She was hyper protective of Isaac, as that was all she had left. If her world had been small before, it became microscopic after he entered her life, requiring nearly constant care. According to Mother, he was blind and colicky, sometimes going years at a time without sleeping through the night. She had breast fed him for years, but she had to stop after he grew teeth and began biting her intentionally and feeding on her blood.
I spent a lot of time over the next few days pondering what to do. I had to get her estate in order, she had left me the house, in an obvious attempt to get me to continue caretaking for Isaac, but I didn't want it. I had my own cozy home an hour away from here, filled with happy memories and my possessions acquired traveling the world. Mother's home had a heavy energy I couldn't shake. Her and Thomas were both gone, but the memories of the scoldings and beatings hung in every corner, like cobwebs that would never sweep away.
So, I fed Isaac and kept him clean and tried to keep him company, although he seemed to hate me passionately. I took care of him, all the while thinking about what I was going to do. After a week, I felt resolute in what had to be done.
Gathering up all of Mother's journals in a tote, I made my way to Isaac and picked him up and carried everything to the living room.
The ancient logs in the fireplace meant for display ignited instantly. One by one, I fed the journals into the fire, burning away years of my mother's consuming sorrow. Isaac fussed and moaned next to me the entire time. When the last pages shimmered away into lacy ash, I took a throw pillow off the couch and gently cradled Isaac in my other arm. It didn't take long before he stopped struggling and I felt his little body relax after decades of suffering.
I gently wrapped up a bundle in a clown sheet and placed it in the fire. It burned furiously, like the paper in my mother's journals, and was soon gone. Nothing but ashes and embers.
“Don't worry, Mother,” I said purely for my own sake, "I took care of Isaac for you."
And finally, I felt at peace.

The Silver Companions, a warrior group of the Commonwealth, are primarily based out of the Aalto, where they maintain a mead hall and small fleet of longships on the White River.
This itinerant band of warriors claim descent from the Companions of Whiterun, an ancient and storied brotherhood, that appears to have nearly disbanded during the Silver Plague. Alongside the Silver Companions, the Dragon Monks and the Hunt of Jorrvaskr both claim descent from the Companions.
The Harbingers of the Silver Companions are chosen - or perhaps claim the title - from among the ranks of their fellows, as the first among equals. These Harbingers are often exemplary in some way - combat prowess, cunning, fleetness, marksmanship, drinking capability, silver-tongued, or all of the above. They often speak for the mead-hall, but do not dictate their actions.
A true list of the Harbingers would likely be impossible to assemble, at least from an outside perspective. Harbingers are often not announced to the outside world, and indeed there may be long stretches of time when the Silver Companions have no Harbinger at all. Instead, a rough list may be assembled from fragmented accounts, historical notes, and records of triumphs.
THE WANDERING YEARS
The formative years of the Silver Companions, beginning when the last of the original Companions left the city of Whiterun during the Silver Plague. The brotherhood appears to have dissolved to a large extent, merging with the wandering groups during those days.
-The Brothers: The earliest attested Harbingers, allegedly a pair of brothers who shared the title of Harbinger.
-The Duelist: Known to have been Harbinger at least a decade after the Brothers. Believed to have been a deserter from the Imperial Legions.
-The Thunderer: A berserker, who appears to have been able to use the Voice.
-Sylgja of Greymoor: Claimed to have been the best horsewoman ever seen in the Commonwealth.
-Trull the Spearman: First known Dunmer Harbinger, exceptionally skilled with a spear.
-Uhtred the Bold: Disinherited nobleman from the Kingdom of Greater Wrothgar & Karth.
-Orgnar of the Axe: Last of the Wandering Harbingers, first Orsimer Harbinger. Wielded Wuuthrad against the Falmer at the Battle of the Shore. His impassioned speech the the Great Moot convinced the assembly to begin collapsing all entrances to the realms of the Falmer. Under his tenure, the Silver Companions were granted land in the Aalto, ending the Wandering Years with the construction of their new mead hall.
THE SETTLED YEARS
-Sigurd the Silver-Handed: First Harbinger to attempt to retake Jorrvaskr from the Hunt. Slain in battle.
-Agelmar Twice-Felled: Harbinger immediately after Sigurd. Rallied the Silver Companions after her death to prevent a rout. Began the tradition of secrecy of the identity of the Harbinger.
-Ignatius the Navigator: Led a fleet to the Niben.
-Gwynhyfar: Former priestess of Dibella.

Huge shout out to & for helping with Brainstorming and Co-Writing this.
As always, all credits for the original Nature of Predators and it's content goes to Space Paladin15, thank him for allowing artist and writers to use his original work of art for their own uses.
Gaian Ref Sheet-Here, Done by the artist
As well as a *Huge* thank you for Julian Skys for filling in for the editor for this chapter. I'll post a comment as to why I haven't been posting too much, safe to say though, kept ya waiting huh?
[FIRST] [PREV] [NEXT]
[Subject Memory Transcription: Rux Limpbut, Venlil News Anchor and TV Show Host]
Date [Standardized Galactic(?) Time]:August 1st, 2136
Now I'm regretting not taking that transfer last week. This just keeps getting better.
I was in my car outside of the Network’s station. I was at my wits end yesterday and was trying my damnedest *not* to freak out on air. Now? Now I had the pleasure of my network telling me they needed me to come in way early to report on some breaking news. Just as I was about to leave for Solgaliks sake!
I took a small sip of the “coffee”. Now this was a blessing, coffeehouses on Gaia were open paw around, no matter what. I was giving a small prayer to those “ancestors” for their love of anything strong. Well, anything strong that wasn't alcohol. They could stomach one drink or two but after that? They were out.
Slurrrrrp
I let out a relieved sigh as the warm liquid flowed down my maw, the reward of caffeine soon following after this. Hopefully in time for the recording. With that I opened the door, grabbing my briefcase as I greedily drank the rest of the coffee as I approached the wide doors of the Networks station.
They creaked a little as they always did as I appeared in the doorway, a sleepy, overworked ghost. I tossed the coffee cup into the trashcan by the door as I nodded over the after work plans that I had to either postpone, or completely not do.
No bar time, going to be too tired. Not going to have enough time to do more digging in what that Farsulian diplomat released, even after it's been nearly two months. Brahk. Still need to be ready for the shift tomorrow-
“Rux?” The front desk secretary pulled me up and out of my thoughts as I blinked a couple of times, my ears raising as one of my eyes focused on her, a bit frizzled from the overtime I was clocking at the moment.
“Hm? Oh. Hey Liakal, caught me off guard almost as bad as the padcall I got. What's up?” I rubbed my eye as I fully focused on her, making my way over to her.
“Well, whenever you're ready for them they'll give you all you need, apparently, when you get into the studio. What they told me is uh, it's not a pleasant amount of news.” She nervously played with her claws and her headset, her lips quivering a bit.
“That bad? Speh. What about that uh, guest? She gets off-”
“O-oh! Mrs Tarva. She got off the planet easily. I can't say anything else though Rux. They said whatever they have to tell is very, very pertinent not to be let loose until you broadcast it… sorry Rux.”
I patted the top of the semi circle desk that Liakal was sat into, before giving her a quick, albeit small smile with a finger gun before I quickly deflated. It was that bad. With a nod from me I departed into the hallway to the left of the front desk, approaching one of the elevators.
A button press, a chime and the feeling of gravity and anxiousness about to make me hurl later, I was on the floor with the studios. I retraced the steps I had taken only claws before to mine. The green sign saying “Predator Problems” told me I hadn't failed as usual. Something had to be done with our program and segment name, if for nothing else there was apparently much more juicy stuff to talk about.
Opening the door, I expected the hustling and scrambling of the cameramen, the lighting crew, audio specialists. But nothing except a small huddled group of uniformed men. Brahk, I was hoping this wasn't the case but I was never that lucky. I resigned myself to fate as the group finally paid attention to me, and the door clicking and shutting behind me.
“Mr. Rux. Please come over here and sit. You're all good, we just need to go over what we need you to announce in this upcoming impromptu broadcast.” Why the hell were the Gaians on Prime? Wait no. That's not the problem. Why are officers from their military here? Oh stars.
However I could feel my body coming towards the oval shaped table. Eventually knocking into a chair and pulling it out, resting my briefcase onto the ground and taking a seat, pulling up to the desk. I rested my paws on it as I gave a look to the group assembled around it.
All were wearing roughly the same uniform, their fur patterns one of the only differing things between them. Aside from the one at the end of the table. They wore a green beret atop their head, nestled in between the horns that adorned it. They cleared their throat and slid a small packet of papers towards me, startling me a tiny bit.
“While I wish to be polite and respectful, there's simply no way to say this without being blunt. Sole Speaker Jikem is dead. With the current atmosphere on Gaia we thought it'd be best to announce the formation of an emergency government and a leader to head it. All of which has been done in a roundabout manner so as to not alert any radicals or terrorists.”
I had only taken a cursory glance at the front of the small packet before that bombshell of an information was dropped onto me nonchalantly. My paw was halfway to the front page to turn it before my gaze looked up at the Gaian at the end of the oval table who had done so.
“What? Sorry can you-”
“Rux. Come on, you know what I said. Now, I know it isn't everypaw that you get to report on the death of a head of state, let alone be the first one to do so. I'll most certainly give you that. So, we'll give you some time alone…well mostly, to get acquainted with the packet and once you and your crew are roaring to go we'll release the news to the Commonwealth.”
I took a small lookover of the second page but had to pause for a short moment again as I took it in. Yes, yes I did have some questions. Half from the large info dropped on me and the other half that I was now reading with my very own eyes now.
Before they could fully get up I had worked up the courage to get a short clearing of the throat and read out of the lines in the packet out aloud after I had decided it would be better to ask now rather than after. “In conjunction with recent attacks the Armed forces has decided to-” I put down the packet in its entirety now.
“What in the stars could you possibly mean by “safeguarding” democracy? This just seems to be some type of justification for a military takeover. I mean, who's going to fall for this?”
The chairs of the small clique of officers seem to find themselves filled once more as they returned to their positions, most of them now gazing between me, some random crew member scurrying near me and the head honcho with the green beret.
The intensity of the stare of the Gaian at the opposite end of the table seemed to intensify, seemingly his gaze looking through me. “Mr. Rux, I can assure you any such speculation to that matter and that, frankly, justified if albeit imaginary fear is going to be the last thing people on Gaia are going to worry about. Alright?”
I anxiously nodded back, sighing. “L-look I'm just-”
The Bereted officer seemed to nod while holding up his paw, my line of reasoning and thought being stopped by the intrusion. “Worried, you ancestors are always worried. It's why we're here, yes? Anything too dangerous or otherwise unsafe we've always volunteered for so as to save our more cultured self from such. Think about this announcement like that. A warning and an update from our side of the Commonwealth about current affairs, nothing more, nothing less.”
With that it seemed settled for the time being, as the small clique once again rose, and this time was actually able to depart to the booth that overlooked the studio, keeping what I was sure to guess a keen pair of eyes to observe anything.
I settled into my seat more as I gave the small packet a read. It was general stuff as of this point when it came to announcements. Why it's happening, what happened in more details, what they planned to do in the upcoming future, all that juicy stuff. Overall a very plain, if very informative script to go by. Still, being the first to announce the death of a head of state via “Unnatural Causes” would make even some of the most resolved Gaians a bit jumpy, yes?
Once I finally gave the entirety of the packet a quick read over I sat it down giving a glance to my, by now, very familiar set that we used for “Predator Problems”, the entire reason for why I had started it had been to educate and warn people about what to do with predators and the like. Now I was going to have to educate them, apparently, about the fact that our “brothers” in species so to speak were having a bit of topsy-turvy time on their capital planet. Now I was kinda hoping I was one of the more conspiracy theorist nut jobs just so I didn't have to get contacted.
Resigning myself to fate, and the fact that apparently I of all Vens was the most level headed to announce this, I looked over the studio, eventually finding the small group of uniformed men again. I got up and out of the chair as I made my way over to them, flicking my tail into a questioning sign as I did so, my approaching presence quickly noticed.
“Seems like you've got some questions, you read the packet though yeah?” One of them said, I simply signaled a yes with my ears to respond.
“So, is this immediately being aired? Or is it being aired later on tomorrow-well, this paw? Should it be the first thing or the last thing or is it the only thing I'm doing for this one?” With these questions the small clique seemed to talk in-between themselves, small glances were made in my general direction, they seemed to come to some type of conclusion though as they turned back to me, the bereted one now taking center stage again once more.
“Yes. It's being immediately aired. You do realize you are a bit of a celebrity on Gaia, yes? A special breaking news from you would certainly draw the right eyes. Then it'll spread from there. We do have other stuff for you to read, but it'll appear on the prompter. Other than that though we'll take our leave once everything is said and done.”
I gave a small thanks to Solgalik, as that would mean I would be able to go back home and get at least a claw or two of rest. Speh, if I just slept here I could get an extra one easy. But I didn't have much time to dwell on that, instead I apparently had a job to do right now.
With that bit of information I decided to go around, talking to the crew, who as of this point has finally settled down and has stopped scattering from the Gaians. A small conversation with each helped us plan out the next few tantalizingly painful minutes that were about to unfold live on air.
With everything and everyone in place, I took my seat at the curved table in the middle of the cameras, getting my little tie ready. With a countdown from 3, I settled into my on screen persona as the red lights of the cameras went on.
“Good Paw to everyone tuning in! I'm your host as always, Rux Limpbut, and this is Predator problems. This time though, we do have some breaking news that we need to get to. So with that being said, I suppose it's time for me to get to it.”
I straightened my back, placing my paws firmly as I closed my eyes, breathing in and then opening my eyes again.
Alright. Just gotta break the news that the head of state of the other half of our Commonwealth is dead and their Army just decided to seize power for democracy's sake.
“I have some sad, and what some can and should be saying is unsettling, news. Sole Speaker Jikem of the Gaian Cooperative, has died earlier this paw. Details are scarce and hard to come by as of this point, but from preliminary reports and investigations, it seems as though he *may* have been assassinated while at a checkpoint. As many of you know he was elected on a lockstep ticket with the current governor of Venlil Prime, Veln. He oversaw the last closing years of the Dominion-Federation war, as well as the beginning of closer federation ties. Many people are bound to ask as of this point what is going to happen, and the easiest and most truthful answer is…we don't know.”
I shuffled some papers, discarding the packet to the side of the table before continuing on with the information I was to spout out.
“Already reports are coming in that the Armed Forces of Gaia have declared a state of emergency and already there are rumblings that they have formed… an emergency government?”
I gave a bit of a confused look before continuing, I could see the group of uniformed Gaians nodding as I did so, apparently that was good enough for them.
The rest of the news report was generally a bit unsettling, or at least info packed by many people's standards. Updates on the federation at large, some reports on the status of the Venian Commonwealth and what was the plan going forward and before I knew it the red blinking light on the cameras had vanished, and the lights overhead had dimmed.
“Alright, that's good for us. We'll have one of our guys stay over the paw to help your team edit it but other than that? You can head on home.” The bereted one informed me, before signalling to one of the clique, most likely the one to stay here and “help” us edit.
I rested back in my chair and closed my eyes, I think it was time for me to get some shuteye.
—----------
Smoke billows out from the mouth of the Uniformed figure, a lit cigar cradled in his claws. He takes a survey of the trio gathered in front of him.
“So.” The figure grunts out, leaning back into his chair.
“So, what?” One of the trio asks inquisitively, shifting in their seat.
“So now what? Not many paws you get to make a masterstroke of a situation like this. Sole speaker is dead, people are looking to any type of stability and we perfectly fill the slot.” The Uniformed figure takes the cigar up to his mouth, smoking it lightly.
“Well there are numerous concerns.” The most center of the trio speak.
“Like what to do with those brahking predators that apparently still exist.” To the right of the first speaker.
“I vote we integrate them posthaste!” And finally the one on the other end.
A thick billowing cloud of smoke escapes the lips of the Uniformed figure, fidgeting for a moment before rolling forward. His face now fully lit.
“Gentlemen. Calm down. We have plenty of problems with plenty of solutions. But that's why you put me in charge of this little emergency government anyhow right? Levelheaded, warhero, clean political record.”
The trio murmur for a moment before returning a nod, the middle one piping up as he did so.
“Yes, that is why we decided to throw our towel in with you Marshal.”
The Uniformed figure now places his elbows on the table, his paws bridging each other while the cigar is still in-between in his paws.
“That's Marshal-at-Arms Jyuvernik to you. Now where were we? Ah right. The Dark corner. I want you to send a diplomatic team to assess the cattle debacle.”

Today we are comparing two of the final boss blinds, [[Crimson Heart]] and [[Verdant Leaf]] and how Crimson Heart is always going to be more difficult to beat.
Crimson Heart disables a random joker each hand
Verdant Leaf disables all playing cards until a joker is sold
First let's analyze the play patterns available against Verdant Leaf. Obviously one option is to sell off your worst joker, which has an impact on your score equivalent to Crimson Heart picking the ideal option with each hand. Already this should be raising some eyebrows -- the worst case for Verdant is equivalent to the best case for Crimson.
But the imbalance grows, because there is another option against Verdant Leaf -- you can simply ignore the card debuffs if your jokers are sufficiently strong and not based on when-scored triggers.
So then, what are your options against Crimson? There is only one: hope for the best. Even with 3 scoring jokers and 3 utility jokers (a very generous scenario, I think), your run is determined by coin flips. With 4 hands there is a 1/16 chance that you lose each flip, which can easily end your run in a way that Verdant never can. And heaven forbid that you need two hands to win, because now you need to win 2 out of those 4 flips -- a 50% chance of failure. Meanwhile against Verdant you would have simply sold off your worst joker and cruised by.
The only edge that Verdant Leaf has is in the scenario where you MUST sell off your worst joker to rebuff your cards, AND that joker is not easily replaced while being critical to your run, AND you care more about Endless mode than beating ante 8. In this case you lose some long term potential from losing your worst joker, where Crimson would only have reduced your score against in that one blind.
When compared this way, a conclusion emerges. Crimson Heart is considerably harder to beat in the majority of cases, and the downside of Verdant Leaf only matters to players chasing Endless antes in trigger-based builds. Additionally, Crimson being as dependent on RNG as it is means that there are limited ways to play around it.
In order to bring Crimson in line it would either need a rework to be a certain degree of predictable or have an alternative way of dealing with it, similar to just playing your debuffed cards against Verdant. Otherwise, it will remain the most frustrating and least fun ante 8 boss.

So when I made my appointment months back, I didn’t take into account fasting for my blood work (my doc does in office). My appointment is at 2pm on Wednesday and while I’ve gone that long without eating before, I’d just rather not lol I know I can still have labs done if I don’t fast but I haven’t had true fasted labs done in over a year so I’d like an accurate lipid panel.
Anyone know how long you should be fasted for? Online is saying 8-12 hours.. if 8 would be okay I could manage to wake up early for breakfast before and be fine for the appointment but 12 hours seems undoable for me so I’d want to reschedule I suppose. Any thoughts or opinions are appreciated! Thank you!!

hi! i’m just starting out rping as humans (have been doing warrior cats rp for ages..) and these are my rules, my about me, etc!

ABOUT ME - my name is scott - i am a minor - i’d rather only rp with people under 18!! - i’ve been rping for 4 years - i’m interested in rp from various sources, along with original worlds!
RULES - please don’t dm me with just one word! tell me about yourself!! - i cannot stress this enough, do not dm me if you are older than 18!! - no nsfw, full stop - i don’t really write novella length, and i don’t expect you to. just at least be 1-2 paragraphs!!
WRITING EXAMPLE - so this is a warrior cats thing, so you’re missing some lore and context but like.
Pixiedust got sent on a border patrol, alone. Pixie doesn’t necessarily mind, when she came to the clowder she basically agreed to keep the peace and do whatever’s needed. They stop at a river, carefully watching their own reflection in the rushing water for a moment. “No, no. Can’t get distracted.” Xey mumble to themselves. She makes the decision to cross the river and see what lies on the other side. They step onto a rock nearby, and they scan around them for another close rock.
They find one that seems close enough to jump to, and she readies xemself. “Calm down Pixie. What’s the worst that can happen, you drown?” They chirp before making a wide jump. Their claws scratch against the hard rock as she pulls herself up, soaked but still standing. They look around, not seeing any rocks close enough to jump to. She could swim to a rock that’s only a tail length too far to jump, but that seems like a death sentence. She doesn’t know how deep the river is, for all they know it could be deeper than the camp.
She decides “fuck it, it can’t be that deep” and carefully dips a paw in the water. It’s cold, and seems deep enough Pixie can just walk across, with some small discomfort, mind you, but still alive. She takes another tentative step into the water, her thick fur doing nothing to help them not be freezing. Seriously, why is this water so cold? Either way, they continue to wade through the river.
But.. she was off with her estimate of how deep it is. She pauses, feeling the river’s floor dip under one of her paws. She’s only a quarter through the water, who knows how long they’re gonna have to swim for. They are in thunderclan, xe isn’t a strong swimmer! Pixie could turn back, but then she got wet for nothing. They decide to just go for it, and hope the deep bit isn’t too wide, and that she can go back to wading soon. She closes her eyes as she begins to swim. What she didn’t count on is a stupid fish swimming underneath her.

So when I made my appointment months back, I didn’t take into account fasting for my blood work (my doc does in office). My appointment is at 2pm on Wednesday and while I’ve gone that long without eating before, I’d just rather not lol I know I can still have labs done if I don’t fast but I haven’t had true fasted labs done in over a year so I’d like an accurate lipid panel.
Anyone know how long you should be fasted for? Online is saying 8-12 hours.. if 8 would be okay I could manage to wake up early for breakfast before and be fine for the appointment but 12 hours seems undoable for me so I’d want to reschedule I suppose. Any thoughts or opinions are appreciated! Thank you!!

I've owned a Scarlett 2i2 3rd-gen for four years now without issue. A couple of months ago the audio stream would randomly get some pops and fizzes, but return to normal. Over time those pops and fizzes became more frequent, and then turned to outright distortion (as if I had misconfigured my bitrate), until eventually once issues started they wouldn't stop until I disconnected and reconnected the interface; at which point it could be good for a few hours or the rest of the day.
It happens nearly every day after at least four hours of uptime. Today it happened after 12 hours of uptime. A day without the issue occurring is becoming more uncommon.
To remedy the issue I've, of course, updated drivers; I have also restored factory settings, unplugged device, uninstalled drivers and Focusrite control, rebooted PC, installed the latest software and drivers, rebooted, and then reconnected the device; and I've even completely reinstalled Windows. None of these have fixed the issue.
I am starting to believe maybe the device is just on its last legs now; and maybe I should consider purchasing a new interface.
I've included a video of the issue arising just before posting this. I've tried doing a screen capture in the past of the issue, but the audio sounds normal in the screen capture. I can only record the issue externally; such as with my phone.
I appreciate any help. Thank you.
Example of audio glitch and temporary remedy

Hi, 17m from the USA, California! Would prefer someone in the US, where is not important. I'll do international too but I'd prefer to keep mail costs low-ish if we were to move on from email. So, USA is preferred but not needed. Anyway, some hobbies and various info:
-My hobbies are motorsports/cars (this is the big one), film photography, writing, movies (favorite movie is das Boot, if you know what that is at all then kudos!!), Baseball (watching, not playing. Favorite time is SF giants), music (classic rock, favorite band is eagles), guitar (have 2 acoustic and one Mexican made strat that I love). I'm sure there's more but that's all I can think of rn!
-i'd really love to occasionally set up online movie watching, did that in covid with family across the country and it was really fun!!
-looking for super long term and frequent, I recently moved to CA so tbh I have little friends. Would love to change that!
-would prefer someone in my age group, 15-20 or so.
-gender does not matter!
-nothing is really a deal breaker, but the most important things for me is age group and having at least some similar interests!
-if we do snail mail eventually, expect photo prints, Polaroids, and some other lil things!
-introverted irl but doesn't transfer at all to online!
I'd really love to get started soon, so please shoot me a reddit DM anytime introducing yourself!! I'll edit this post if I find someone!

TODAY'S RECAP

Sheila loves that she got to spook Li and delights in anticipation of revealing herself to the Forresters. We see the aftermath of Steffy, Ridge, and Liam accepting the truth. Neither Finn or Deacon knows their partners as well as they think they do.

Deacon and Sheila at Deacon's

Sheila: I'm glad I went to the hospital. Nothing was more fun than scaring the bejesus out of Li! 😄 (Sheila can't stop giggling). It couldn't have been more perfect -- Li being there. Hahaha!
Deacon: She was furiously attacking you, tryna send you to the grave, for real.
Sheila: I know! It was so much fucking fun! More fun than I've had in a long time. 😆 Poor Li, she was just jealous that Finn couldn't let me stay dead and felt compelled to save me! Hahahaha. Li couldn't take it! (💭 Suck it, Li!)
I know. I know. People wish me dead all the damned time. IDGAF. I'm used to it! 😏
Deacon: This is going to keep happening if you keep popping up 👻 and surprising people. 😛 You're going to get a similar reaction to Li 🤯😡😤💥 Hey, how about trying subtle?
Sheila: Fuck that. I like to go BIG! 😆 I expect people to react like Li. I'm looking forward to it. 😏 I can't wait! Hahaha. 😂🤣
Who will be most shocked? Brooke 😫 or Ridge 😡? Oooh, I sooo wanna roll on up into Eric's place. 👏👏👏 Whoooey! Fun! 🎉 Donna is a screamer! 😮 (💭 These bitches will all freak out beautifully in a perfect combination of shock 😳, fear 🫣, loathing 😠, and disbelief 😦. Hahaha. Yay! 🤸‍♀️).
It was so perfect how Li was just there. How can I orchestrate my reveal to the Forresters for maximum shock? 😀 I can pop in at FC and be the model who walks in to see Ridge for alterations! Hahaha! HAAAA! 🤭
Deacon: Does "changed'" Sheila just wanna shock people? (💭 Sheila Sheila Sheila. Gotta try to control the crazy 😵‍💫).
Sheila: OMG! You're no FUN! It's just a little SHOCK 😱. Not HARM! 😏 (💭 I'm not going to chop up 🪓, hang or tie up ➰, stab 🔪, drown 🌊, or shoot 🔫 anybody. I'm not going to set anyone's house on fire🔥 or chain ⛓️ them up in a dungeon ⛓️! I'm not going to kidnap any babies children 👦👶👧, or trick anyone into getting my face 🙂. I'm not going to break in to anyone's home 🏠! That was the old Sheila! No one will end up murdered, kidnapped, bloody🩸, or otherwise injured 🤕, ffs! Gah! Calm down! It's just a little mischief 🙄😏).
I just want to have a little fun 🥳. Come on! Nothing nefarious 👿. Just prankster fun 🤪😝!
Deacon: So remember the nice, chill, mellow, 😌 happy, calm, quiet life we discussed? (💭 Imagine being a stoner and our biggest stressor is getting the munchies 🍕🥪🍚🍪🍰🥯🍟🥨when we're out of snacks and our favorite places are closed.) No fantasies about scaring 👻 people and getting reactions from the Forresters. Let's get back to us, our engagement, and our nice, quiet life. (Deacon, Reddit wonders if you actually KNOW Sheila 🤔).
Sheila: Ppffrrtt. (💭 Alright, fine, we'll seeeeeee😏.)
(Sheila and Deacon laugh 😄😀 and smoochy smoochy kissy kissy 😍🥰. Then Sheila is snuggled up with Deacon getting a shoulder massage.)
Sheila: I missed this. 😍 I missed you and thought about you the whole time. I didn't think I'd be back here. I was thisclose to 💀.
But, here I am! With you and my imaginary ring. 👋💍 😀 WOW!
Deacon: 🙄 No more pretending. I want everyone to know in love 😍💕 I am with you. 🥰 (More smoochy smoochy 😘🥰.)

Hope, Ridge, and Liam at FC

Ridge and Liam: Sheila! Changed? 🤨 Wha? 😦Nah. Nope. No. No fucking way! 😠 Is Finn crazy? 😵‍💫 Delusional? Stupid? Wtf is his problem? 😤
Ridge: You must have gotten it wrong. It can't be.
Hope: No. Sheila is--
Ridge: NOOOOOOO! Grrrr. 😠 Gah! 😦 Not about SHEILA. I know. I KNOW. 🤨 I get it. I heard you. Sheila's alive. Fuck. But whatever. No. I mean about the other thing -- Finn idiotically thinking this is GOOD news. Growl! Huff! Puff! 😤On what planet could he POSSIBLY believe this is good news? How clueless is he?
Liam: (quickly hopping on the anti-Finn 🚂) Yah. Yah. I mean, seriously. Hope. How could Finn POSSIBLY think,💡🤔 with NO ❌ evidence, that psychopath Sheila 👿 is reformed 😇? Wtf?!
Hope: He has reasons. He--
Ridge: REASONS!? REASONS?! 😮 Snarl! 😡 What fucking READINGS?!
Hope: He says she's changed. He's seen her growth. 🌱 He's seen her sprout angel 😇 wings. He's seen a new and improved Sheila.
Liam: Give me a fucking break! It's pure foolishness 🥴 and personal bias! 😦 Gah! Just because the BABY MANCHILD has a childish need to have a relationship with his birth mommy, he's latched onto a fantasy that this demon 👿 psycho has reformed. (💭 Don't worry, Steffy 💕. I'll be your fall back guy.).
It's NOT REALITY! (💭 I'm really postering now, showing off to Ridge, matching him huff for puff! 😤).
Ridge: Yah! Grrrr. Harumph! 😤😡 What's gotten into this guy? 🤨 Growl! 😦 Sheila is an ANIMAL! Grrr! 😦 Animals don't change! Snort! 😤 Spiders 🕷️, snakes⚕️, reptiles 🐊, monsters 🧟‍♀️👺👿 like Sheila never change!
Hope: I felt the same way. (💭 I even gave up on a relationship with my dad ☹️ when he wouldn't break it off with Sheila.) But after seeing 👀 them together 💕, maybe we should keep an open mind 😐.) People said the same thing about Thomas, that he--
Ridge: 🤨 You DID NOT. You DID NOT just FUCKING GO THERE (💭 bitch!) Growl! 😡 Snarl! 😦 Snort 😤! Grrrr. You DID NOT just COMPARE my TALENTED, KIND, LOVING, REFORMED SON (some Redditors say you forgot enabled, entitled, obsessed, dangerous, and consequence free son) to that PSYCHOPATH SHEILA?! OMFG! 🤬
Hope: I'm not saying they're the same. 🫤🙄 (💭 Gah. Eye roll. Patience with the neanderthal. Deep breath.) I'm just saying people can change. So we could just possibly, maybe open the door a teeny, tiny 🤏 bit and entertain the possibility that Finn could possibly be right.
Ridge: You AGREE with (💭 the loser idiot) FINN about that psycho 🫨 Sheila?! What the fucking fuck, Hope?! (💭 Are you crazy and stupid too? Where's Brooke? I can't deal with you, ffs.😠)
Look, Finn has a weird ass connection to Sheila. But WTF, Hope. What's up with YOU? 🤔
Liam: 🤨
Hope: I explained. Sugar was planning to harm 🪓➰🔪🩸 Steffy. Sheila tried to stop her.
Liam: Hearsay. This story of Sheila fighting Sugar came from the least reliable source -- Sheila! (💭 Reddit hates to admit it, but Liam has a point). Sheila told you this story. You, Finn, and Deacon just accept it at face value.
But all we know for sure is that SHEILA didn't attack 🔪 Steffy. Sugar did. That doesn't mean Sheila has changed. It just means there were TWO psychos! 😵‍💫🫨 (Reddit really doesn't want to give Liam credit but kinda gotta suck it up and admit, he's making good points.)
Hope: Deacon and Finn think she HAS changed.
Ridge: Hope. (💭 Whooo boy. I have no patience under normal circumstances. 😑 This is WILDLY FRUSTRATING AF! 😡). Everything Sheila says is a LIE! It's all for show. Gah! 😦 Come ON!
Hope: For--
Ridge and Liam: FOR FINN! FOR FINN! OMFG! 😨
Ridge: She's feeding him the fantasy HE WANTS! Now, she's supposed to be mother of the year, ffs?! Growl! Snarl! 😡 Nah!
Hope: I'm not saying we just accept it. I'm just asking that we keep an open mind, for Finn's sake. (💭 Reddit wonders why Hope doesn't just wrap it up and extricate herself from this whole thing! She should just say ' I gave you the news. Talk to Finn. Byeeee.' Reddit says get out of there, Hope. It's been a looooooooooooooong af day!)
Look, I'm starting to see Finn's side. If indeed Sheila has changed, why shouldn't he want a relationship with her?
Ridge: NOT gonna HAPPEN. 🤨 😡 (Reddit thinks Ridge must have taken a few pointers from Victor Newman only Ridge is way louder.) Finn wants Sheila in their lives. Steffy's not gonna allow it.🫸❌ Absolutely not. ❌ No way. ❌ No how. ❌ Never. Ever. Gonna happen. ❌ Nope. ❌ Nah! ❌ Forget about it! ❌
Liam: Ohhh. Yah! Righ! After what she's endured being MARRIED to this guy who has some bullshit, primal connection to his psycho 🫨 birth mother. Now he wants to invite Sheila into her life? Well, he doesn't GET STEFFY! Steffy will NEVER allow it. She'll draw a line ➖in the sand. The stop 🛑 sign will go up. The hands will push 🫸 back 🫸 hard 🫸.
FINN DOESN'T KNOW STEFFY -- like AT ALL! (💭 Not like I know Steffy and love 😍 Steffy, and will protect Steffy 👩‍❤️‍👨.)
Ridge: 🤨
Hope: 🙄

Finn and Steffy at their home

Steffy: (it all sinks in) It wasn't Sheila I stabbed 🔪. 😣 It was a look-a-like, Sugar. 😖 I stabbed a Sugar -- some woman who was tricked into plastic surgery to look like Sheila. What?! 🤯
Finn: Yah, babe. Isn't that a good thing? 🙂 Isn't that GREAT? 😀 Isn't that a relief? 😀 Isn't that a HUGE weight lifted? 😃 Aren't you thrilled 🤩, happy 😁, and bursting with joy 😊? I know I am. We thought you killed my birth mother, but you stabbed a totally different psycho! Pretty cool, huh? 🙄😃
Steffy: 🥺😠😡 (💭 Wow. OMG. Finn thinks I should be relieved? WTF?!)
Sugar kidnapped ➰⛓️ Sheila. If Deacon and I hadn't gotten there to SAVE her, she might not have survived, honey! This is SUCH AMAZINGLY AWESOME 👍 NEWS!
Steffy: So YOU think I'm supposed to be THANKFUL this monster 👿 is alive?! Are you fucking serious?! 😖😟
Finn: Nah. But yah. Isn't a small 🤏 part of you thankful? 🙄
Steffy: No. 😕
Finn: Relieved? 😀
Steffy: No. ☹️
Finn: Happy for me? 🙂
Steffy: No. 😣
Finn: Honey, babe, sweetheart, listen. We were struggling with the fact that you killed my birth mother, but we don't have to anymore. (💭 I know if I reframe this the right way, Steffy will have an ah ha 💡moment 😀 and feel relief. I just have to find the right words. I have faith 🙏 in us. I'm not even a little bit delusional.🥴 I know Steffy has a good and forgiving heart ❤️. She's just in shock 😳 and horrified 😱 and her mind is blown 🤯. But this will subside. 🙂 I'll just keep talking in a soothing voice. Yah!)
You killed someone who hated Sheila. Sugar was crazy. She wanted to hurt YOU to hurt HER. Get it? (💭 Sugar was the REALLY bad 👹 one. Sheila is a RECOVERING psycho! Big difference! 😀)
Steffy: So I'm supposed to be ooooh all happy and shit that psycho A is dead and psycho B is alive? 🤔 Nah! Finn, I'ma speak slowly so you can understand me when I tell you, NO I'm not happy or relieved or whatever tf you want me to be -- because the DANGER IS BACK! (💭 This man has the THICKEST, HARDEST HEAD! Fucking hell. He's freaking me out so badly that Dawn can't even find any emojis to express the emotional wreckage on my face! Anger, disbelief, confusion, fear, stress, anxiety, frustration -- all the feels!)
Finn: Nah. It's not back! That's the glorious, wonderful, amazing, beautiful, exciting, magnificent 😀😃😄😁 thing I'm just not adequately conveying to you, my love! No fear or danger! Sheila tried to PROTECT YOU. She tried to SAVE YOUR LIFE! She's your best friend ever! She wants to get pedicures together, not shoot us and leave us for dead! She's past that nonsense now. No more danger, honey! ☺️💕
She offered her own life to save you! She tried to fight Sugar. She loves us!
Steffy: Look. 🤨 Sugar's scheme was to blame Sheila. So, Sheila was just selfishly protecting HERSELF from getting blamed. That's all it was! (💭 If I just reframe this the right way, Finn will have an ah ha 💡 moment. He has to! I just have to find the right words to get through his thick skull and penetrate his delusional thinking. He's really worrying me and pissing me off. Wow. Just wow.)
Finn: Nah. She offered her own life! She cares more about us than her own life. SHEILA'S A HERO! Super Sheila🦸‍♀️ to the rescue, only she was chained up ⛓️ and fighting at a disadvantage, but she tried!
Steffy: Hero? HERO? 🤢🤮 You're calling SHEILA fucking psycho CARTER a HERO? Are you on crack? 😮 She tried to KILL🩸us. (💭 He's gone off the deep end into LA LA land 🤪.)
Finn: When Sugar told her--
Steffy: (Angry 😡 and frustrated 😖, Steffy Slams a chair 🪑💥 hard on the floor.) I DON'T GIVE AF ABOUT SUGAR!!! I don't CARE her!!! 😦😣 She means NOTHING TO ME!!! (💭 STFU Finn! OMFG! Ahhhh! I have NO PATIENCE LEFT for his delusional BULLSHIT! I can't seem to get through to him! Why tf won't he LISTEN??!! 🤬)
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SHEILA! 😠
S H E I L A !! 😡
We've been over this a ZILLION TIMES how she had terrorized my family for generations! How do you not GET IT?
Finn: I do. I underst--
Steffy: NO YOU DO NOT FUCKING UNDERSTAND!!!! 😡😤 GENERATIONS! GENERATIONS! That vile bitch is a LUNATIC! 😵‍💫🫨😈
(Steffy pleads 😫 with Finn in frustration 😖😣 to comprehend.)
She tried to KILL ME! And my MOTHER! And my GRANDMOTHER! 😩
I lost TIME with my mother! 😩 I lost TIME with YOU! 😫😣
She's tried to POISON people. So, even if she did try some feeble attempt to get that other stupid psychopath friend not to hurt me, SO FUCKING WHAT?!
NO! NO! NO NO NO NO! 😡 She's NO HERO! I NEVER want to hear you say that AGAIN! (💭 La La La La I can't hear you! I won't hear you! NO!)
Finn: 😑😞 (shakes his head. 💭 She's not getting it.)
Steffy: 😡😖 (shakes her head. 💭 He's lost his mind.)
Steffy: Do you hear me? She's vile. She is in no way a HERO! 😠 She left us in an ALLEY to DIE! What are you thinking? 😩
Finn: Yah yah. I knoooow. I know her past sins. She's made some mistakes 😒, some bad judgement calls🙄, she's been kind of a mess 🫤. She hasn't always put her best foot forward. She hasn't always been super thoughtful. Sure, she's wanted a lot of people dead 💀, but that was THEN and this is NOW! She's been working on herself. She's very into self help these days, and yoga and shit. The fact is she tried to save you!
Steffy: Don't CHALLENGE ME on FACTS ABOUT SHEILA! I'll give YOU the fucking FACTS Mr. Man! 😡 You will lose.
Finn: How about the handy dandy fact that she's alive and you didn't kill my birth mother? ☺️ That matters to me! I'm your husband (takes Steffy's hand). You're the most important person 💕 in the world 🌎 to me. But my birth mother was a mystery. I almost lost her. I just want to help her. I don't want to turn my back on her. 😟 (💭 She's kind of a hoot too, and stubborn and strong, kinda like someone else I love! ❤️)
Steffy: (looking miserable 😖) But you have to. I love you. 😢God, I love you! ❤️ (💭 And my heart is breaking 💔 right now.) You are SO GOOD! But Sheila is EVIL 👹. You are naive (💭 delusional) to think she'll change, that she won't devestate our lives.
Sheila is NOT going to be IN OUR LIVES, no where near Kelly or Hayes.
You can't have BOTH. 😟
It's either HER.
Or ME. 😐
Finn: 😕I hear you. Of COURSE it's YOU. It will always be you. ❤️ (Steffy and Finn share an emotional embrace, both with weary 😞, teary 😥, worried 🥺 expressions. They hold on to each other, emotionally spent.)
The end.

🚀 Unlock Exclusive Insights on NVDA: Get deeper analysis and expert views on NVDA's latest market trends before you read on. Click Here to Dive In 🌟
Technical Analysis of NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA)
NVIDIA Corporation (Ticker: NVDA) closed at $903.99 on May 13, 2024, reflecting a daily increase of 0.58%. The stock has been experiencing volatility within the range of $885.29 and $909.96 on the trading day, signaling an active trading session. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at 63, indicating a somewhat overbought condition but not yet into the extreme territory which usually surpasses 70. The 50-Day Moving Average of $876.74 and the 200-Day Moving Average of $600.12 show a strong upward trend, suggesting sustained buyer interest over the past months.
The Price to Earnings (PE) ratio at 75.65 is high, indicating a premium valuation by the market, which may be justified by anticipated growth but warrants caution on valuation grounds. The negative MACD value (-4.843127) could suggest that recent momentum is slowing down, possibly predicting a consolidation or a slight pullback in the near term. The ATR (Average True Range) of 4.28 denotes moderate day-to-day price variability, aligned with a typical trading pattern for high-tech stocks.
Fundamental Analysis
NVIDIA's substantial market cap of approximately $2.26 trillion classifies it as a major player in the tech sector, particularly within the semiconductor industry. The expectation for the earnings announcement on May 22, 2024, is particularly significant, as it could either justify the current high valuation or lead to corrections based on the company's performance relative to market expectations.
The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) value of $530.17 is significantly lower than the current trading price, suggesting that the stock might be overvalued based on its intrinsic cash flows. However, analyst sentiments are predominantly positive with 37 analysts rating the stock as a "buy," and only 1 rating it as a "sell." Consensus estimates for the stock price range widely from $133 to $1,350, but the median target of $700 and the consensus target of $694.46 suggest that some recalibration of market expectations might be in order.
Short-Term Outlook and Predictions
For the next trading day on May 14, 2024, considering the technical indicators, one might expect NVDA to trade within a tight range close to its previous close with potential slight movements either towards the support level of $875.28 or up towards the resistance at $908.88. Over the upcoming week, market reactions may primarily focus on anticipations around the earnings announcement, with potential volatility increases.
Intrinsic Value and Long-Term Investment Potential
In terms of intrinsic value, the considerable disparity between the DCF and the current market price could be a point of concern for long-term investors. This suggests a market premium driven by high growth expectations which may not align with the more conservative cash-flow evaluations. However, NVIDIA's strong market position and its pivotal role in growth sectors such as AI and data centers could justify a more optimistic long-term outlook.
Overall Evaluation
Given the current analysis, NVIDIA is deemed a 'Hold' candidate. The reason for this is twofold: fir [...]
👉 Dive deeper into our analysis and predictions! CLICK HERE NOW

One of my family members has crippling OCD and I recently found out that, due to the specifics of his symptoms (which I won’t get into) he has been running the shower in his bathroom at the hottest temperature for one year. The shower has been running constantly, as in 24/7 and is never turned off, for at least one year straight. The water is so hot it is steaming. The apartment is in a large complex that has unlimited hot water. Last time I was over, I snuck into the bathroom to take a photo. I was understandably horrified by what I saw.
My main question is whether or not this appears salvageable to clean on our own, or whether outside professional help is needed? Additionally, although I know this is not a space for professional advice, I am speculating as to whether this is mildew or mold.
I am looking for thoughts from people familiar with this stuff, as my family told me it is “not that bad.” They are saying I am overreacting and it is just water damage, but I can’t imagine this not having long-term effects on them and I am worried for them. My family member with OCD is in this bathroom most of his days every day.

I just did an at home sleep study and got my results back. My AHI is literally 110. I'm shocked by how bad it is. Last time I did this some quack doctor wrote me off as having a low AHI not worth treating. The fuck? I've been struggling with extreme fatigue if I don't sleep 12 hours a day. At least now I know the cause. For those who had similar numbers, how long did it take for cpap to help you? I'm hopeful I can finally get some rest.

Started in 1960 and it was rough. Heating issues, water cuts, backed up sewers... but I made it to 10k people. In 1968 I had to enable cheat mode for a one time "loan forgiveness". I built up debt into 1980 but finally turned the profitability corner. So here's what I'm going to try to do in my next play:
Macro Layout
Pollution is king. When things ramped up, 400 meters wasn’t enough. Put the edge of housing a full kilometer from industry and waste handling.
Rail is important early. Lay in a single rail line to pull gravel for construction, coal for a heating plant + bricks, and connecting the farm to the industry. Build your construction industry on one side of the border and your manufacturing industry on the other side of it.
City layout
Start with a bus stop and building your residential buildings 200 meters max away from it. Put paths parallel to roads. Create redundant paths to everything so upgrading to gravel, asphalt, etc. doesn’t break things. Build all your housing on one side of the bus stop initially.
Put city services based on vehicles (police, fire, etc.) outside the core of the city. They’ll only be walkable to half of the city compared to the bus stop but the city can be larger. Same with university and schools. Schools, kindergartens, etc. may become overcrowded as the city grows. Build the large hospital in the core as despite having ambulances it is primarily a walking building.
Transfer for big waste (large) should be at the edge of your city and connected to a rail line. Technical services delivers to there. From there, a rail line eventually exports it for handling. Until the rail station is built, use a distribution office to export waste. Sorting is key and should be researched early. Use Stand for big waste containers (small) attached to roads to collect waste whenever possible. Stand for small containers (large) can be used when footpath access is the only option but it’s remarkably less efficient. Citizens produce about 1:3 biological waste to mixed waste so allocate containers accordingly. Within the city only hospitals create hazardous waste and nobody creates aluminum waste.
Build the small party headquarters to start, then the large technical university. You'll need the numbers for faster education and faster tech tree climbing.
Import 3rd world immigrants once you have a minimum educated base to staff your schools. They're way cheaper. Quality housing > dense housing. Dense is great but dense and poor quality = high resource intake and low productivity. Densify in your second city, or rework.
Monuments only get your to 40% loyalty so don't lose your mind on it.
Water and Power
Redundant and parallel. Every time you place a transformer, place a high six way high voltage splitter with it. You will branch your power network to more places over time and need to reroute wires which you can only do while online with open switch ports. Never use the last switch port without building another chained switch.
Similarly, always branch your water and sewer. Unfortunately you can’t have multiple inputs to a line, but you can at least make sure that you can keep branching until the upstream has nothing left to give. Pay attention to pressure. Build the large water tower to supply the town.
Intake water quality is key. Your wells must be placed where pollution won’t reach. Industry should be fed directly from a well so you’re not spending chemicals purifying water. The more polluted the water is, the more chemicals you’ll have to spend to clean it up and that gets expensive very quickly.
Treating wastewater gives a massive reduction in pollution but also takes an expensive amount of chemicals. Best to put your outlet far away if possible instead of trying to treat the water. Drop a sewer switch (remember, always an empty outlet on every switch for infra changes!) before the outlet in case you change your mind.
Roads
Vehicles use the same amount of fuel as long as they’re in motion. If your vehicle top speed is a fraction of your road speed, you’re wasting money. Road stretches of ~500 meters need to be paved and should probably be divided highways. Tight industrial roads with lots of turns can be gravel because you won’t accelerate much anyway. Panel roads are also pretty good as intermediates here. If you’ve got advanced roads on, make sure to set give ways at every highway intersection or your vehicles will drop down to 50 km/h at every one.
Your center of town road probably gets congested and you can help that by banning heavy goods vehicles except supply.
Industry
Focus around one large long warehouse with a train connection at the end and factories directly connected around the warehouse. Central warehouse should have:

• Food factory
• Fabric factory
• 2x Clothing factory
• Chemical factory (possibly 2x)
• Livestock farm

The livestock farm is a bit of a wildcard. It consumes a lot of water and generates a lot of wastewater. Plan for this and consider whether it should be located near your farm or near your factory. I lean towards keeping it with the factory for the sake of concentrating your workforce on one high-throughput passenger line. We'll see how the next playthrough goes.
Mining
Steel is my highest cost and getting to a steel mill that runs even at 5% of capacity seems highly worthwhile. Find coal, colocate with coal mining, attach to train line. Attach transfer to large waste and manage as needed. General separation on site may be reasonable.
Farms
Grow locally. Farms are basically the one thing that doesn’t require people to produce profit or at least reduce cost. As the input to one of your early money makers (clothing)
Economy
Clothing is a top export and accessible early which is key. Build for it, use your own crops, and fill in the rest of the supply chain as you can (chemical plant). Same for steel after some time: find the iron, move it over… but start with making the plant run even with imports.
The republic runs on steel. Want to move something efficiently? You need rails and steel. Want to store it? More steel. More efficient building or process? Going to take steel.
Find coal, make steel. When you have steel, get the radio station going. Yeah, that's not an industry but the productivity boost from loyalty boost is huge.
Now that you have clothing and steel going, make a refinery.
From this point, find the most expensive import and produce it locally until the most expensive doesn’t matter. From there, climb the tech tree into autos and nuclear power. Expand to new cities.

So, long story short I tried to install Windows 11 (tiny 11 specifically) on an SD card while following a YouTube tutorial that was meant for a USB drive. After getting tiny11 on the sd and booting it up, the video showed the guy deleting all available partitions because he wanted to start fresh with unallocated space. Stupidly, I didn't think that windows on an SD card was able to even interact with steamos or the internal ssd, so I thought nothing of it chose to delete everything on the list.
Unfortunately it turns out I just turned my whole 512gb ssd into unallocated space, so the steam deck literally has nothing to even boot to.
If there is anyway to undo what I have done, someone please help me out. Otherwise any info on reinstalling steam os to get this back to factory settings at least would be greatly appreciated!