I've been using Duolingo for just over the last 4 months, but I'm not remembering most of the lessons and forget words all the time and my lessons are inconsistent.
I've read a bunch of posts of people saying that you can't become fluent in a language with Duolingo and even if you use it it doesn't teach you the proper grammar.
I want to become fluent in Norsk as I love Norway and I want to move there someday so I need help finding a good way to learn the language.
I'm tight on money and I don't want to spend a lot of money on things to learn a language which is why I started using Duolingo since it's free.
But I want to be correct with how I learn Norsk and as I stated before, I've seen a lot of people saying that Duolingo is good for the basics and not much else.
Any advice?

The campaign that I am in is the wild beyond the witch light. There are other party members they are a black chromatic Dragonborn wizard and a bearded vulture Aarakocra barbarian and the dungeon master their character is a Tiefling rogue character is not in the campaign and there’s also another wizard and lastly a bard which is weird because the dungeon master should never have their own character and the dungeon master was playing favorites with the Dragonborn player and the Aarakocra player right now we’re in the witch light carnival 🎡 when I was in clubs in the dungeons and dragons club I was so nervous/scared because I did not know what to do. I do not know what to say. I was scared and I was anxious. Because the other players got their characters done, but I didn’t and I was constantly changing my character because because I want to fit into the world the lore and the characters and I know in the wild and the witch is the Feywild however, when I tried to ask to the DM see which one would be the most spitting for their campaign however they said, and I quote I don’t want to spoil my campaign “” which I was like okay however every time when we had clubs in school and this was for dungeons and dragons, something always felt off or fishy even you can say odd The DM didn’t have the dungeon master guide only the players handbook The other players didn’t want to help me out or even the dungeon master And they said go figure out yourself and the thing was I was new to dungeons and dragons and I was trying to make a decision for what class and what race I want to pick however, I got so stressed that I did not know what to do and the dungeon master didn’t even help they just said just impulse and the thing was I can’t. I have to think and figure it out I can’t just act on impulse. Not to even mention, they were being rude the other players the Dragonborn wizard player and the A And they were being vulgar and using vulgar language and also mentioning inappropriate things wow, that is happening. They did not even want. To talk to me or even figure out what I’m doing even the DM do not want to either While we had clubs, I was so anxious scared, and even nervous like I said not to mention, I have anxiety players at the table, had ADHD and I had autism and you know what I’m proud that I am autistic but anyway where was I? Oh yeah. They were distracted and they didn’t even want to pay attention to me. or even acknowledge that I am at their table and in my mind I’m thinking do they even want me in their group at all? Because sometimes when we didn’t have clubs, they give me weird glances and looks and felt suspicious while we had clubs for dungeons and dragons it didn’t felt right you can even say strange and they are so many red flags and signs that I did not saw but now I’m realizing they did not even want to me in their group at all they were talking behind my back and secretly pacifically the Dragonborn and the DM, whispering I felt so frustrated and confused in my mind I was thinking what are they hiding and what are they not telling me? Because I am not stupid I’m smart. I knew something felt weird. I don’t have Tasha’s cauldron of everything abd Xananathar’s guide to everything The people at table said he is so innocent like a lamb 🐑 and I felt so used/manipulated not noticing what was truly going on and I love dungeons and dragons. I like it a fantasy role-playing RPG and you can make your own story and characters basically everything But I felt so sad because I wish I had a better First time experience playing D&D, but I sadly didn’t got that and I’m sad 😞 they were even lying to me but to all dungeon masters do you think it’s a good reason for my frustration? And the reason why I was constantly changing my character is because I wanted to know what my character was, and how it would fit in the story to Dungeon masters isn’t it? As a role to invite players into your table and introduce the lore the characters the plot, the plot twist the arcs And the campaign/the story and get more people into dungeons and dragons But anyway, let me know what you think. What race I should pick. Another thing is I will ask for commission I don’t know how you do that but any artist on this app especially on Reddit if you want, you can draw my character and honestly, I would love to see any artist to do that for me because listen I have a major respect for artist and animators or anybody that does drawing and also I have a huge appreciation and love for them because drawing ain’t easy Nor is animation and also I have a huge appreciation and love them because I feel like those jobs as a whole are often overlooked and underappreciated how much passion and how much work and dedication and creativity goes through drawings, art movies, books, and animation And if any artist or animator is looking at this post or page or animator I have so much respect and appreciation It ain’t easy but anyway, like I said, let me know what you think for my character and to dungeon Masters, do you think it is justified? To be frustrated. Thanks to anyone who looks at this post
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English is not my first language so maybe that’s why I felt weird when one of my friend said ‘RIP’ - I know it stands for ‘Rest in peace’ and they put it in graveyard but me and him plays games and we always use it casually when something unfortunate happens in game.
Me and him became friends because of our mutual friend where we all played video games together (we are all 24-26yrs old). we all hangout together as a group but i never really get along with him as he always say inconsiderate things (racist, sexist, high ego and pride). He is little immature sometimes but I always just turned a blind eyes as he was close friend with my other friends (they all know he can be immature and kind of gave up on tell him off as he wouldn't listen and get angry instead). There was one time he told me and my friends how he ate dogs before. (I understand different countries have different culture, but the way he talked about it was cruel!! He was laughing and almost bragged about it even though we told him that we don't want to hear it)
Having these background, I honestly don't know how to reply when he replied to my Instagram story( I posted a picture of my dog) and said 'RIP'. He could've find a better word if he really cared.

Loosely inspired by this prompt a few days ago

Chunky

Cyrus strained to remember Botaski body language. Hairtendrils poofed straight out matched... human eyes bugging out? Disbelief? "Gerrota, fess up - something about the Fleet Nine Task Order Roster is bothering you?"
"Yes, Ser-geant Cy-rus. Much I do and do not understand."
"It's okay to drop the rank with other noncoms, Ger - your navy's Corbindermander is about where I am on the food chain. But other than soul-crushing boredom, what's wrong with our Roster? I have to memorize the stupid thing - you exchange staff only need familiarization."
"Cy-rus, why is the number of vessel types the same as the number of ships?"
"Hmm. Well, technically they ARE all different. Look at column TG instead - the type-groups may make more sense."
"There are still forty-two groups, out of 311 ships. Why?"
"Your home fleet has what, four ship classes?"
"Yes, Cy-rus. Would not standardization benefit your war efforts?"
"They ARE standardized, just not at the ship level."
"Tell me more. Three-hundred-eleven unique ships... hurts my brains."
"Okay, let me tell you a story. You know this fleet links by chitter-fling methods?"
"Stutter-blink drives?"
"No, that's different. Still takes intermittent FTL field activation though, just moving through third underspace, not fourth overspace. Anyway - what's your acclimatization intro package say our next link is?"
"Gotorry-Beta - 148.45 light years in your units?"
"Ages ago we patrolled through here using chitter-fling, and this one link had us in and out of FTL maybe five thousand times in ninety minutes."
"Your quartermaster issued me a mouth guard for this reason?"
"Right. It's like riding a jackhammer as a pogo stick."

"Sorry. Cultural reference: it bangs us around. Did then and still does. But then, as separate ships, transit varied from 4500 chitters to 5200 or so, and inevitably we scattered over a tenth of the target star system. So back sixty years ago that 'normal' transit trashed three destroyers and nineteen of the Gotorry navigation buoys. Chitter-fling is WAY faster than... do your fleets use Torpal Compression Drive?"
"Yes."
"Well, fleets need maintenance all the time. No biggie, normal attrition, who cares - right?"
"Not right, Cy-rus. Our fleets never experience such casual damage."
"Hmm - right - just a tenth the speed..."
"Hu-mans take crazy risks. This I knew when I signed up for exchange duty."
"Risk, shmisk. Stuff breaks. But that fleet carried an entire Quartet of Imperial Auditors; senior ones. Their ship arrived not on top of a nav beacon, but just downstream of the destruction of one. Imagine a shrapnel shower while you're still transit-groggy..."
"I will agree that is a horror. Please let me forget the image before sleep cycle!"
"Whatever. Anyway, the Auditors got shook up, and they in turn shook down our Admiralty Engineering Division with a 'Fix Or Else' order. They did, and now you see the approach of the rest of the fleet on the screen?"
"Why are they crowding us, Cy-rus? How can your navigators fly in formation so tight?!"
"Heh. Not formation, buddy - contact. Big human fleets now do chitter-fling together. Look, you were wondering earlier why our frigate looks so - *blocky* did you say?"
"Or *chunky*, Cy-rus."
"No lie, our vessel morphology is nothing like your Navy's. You folks what, *grow* those streamlined shapes?"
"Yes. A Bo-taski ship-plant is not a *factory* plant, but an *organic* plant. Your language is odd."
"I hear you. But how often do you guys *need* aerodynamic smoothness - what, maybe every year or three you dip in-atmosphere? Anyway - the Auditors also dinged the fleet for excessive customization, so the solution wound up standardizing - I think 95% of our construction?"
"That failed obviously. **What Kind Of Standard Is 311 Ship Classes?!** "
"Wise guy. The chunky look explains that. Our standardization is at the functional module level. The machines and weapons and structure of this frigate could make four mostly-functional sloops. You could glom two of us together and get a nasty destroyer. Likewise if we salvaged a wrecked human cruiser, most of its bits would make spares, replacements, or enhancements for anything between a patrol ketch and an Uber Battlewagon. Maybe not a Lyft Battlewagon - those lean toward carrier duties so you'd fix one with pieces from slingshot brigs, transport barks, maybe escort cutters. The Lyfts can shatter into an overpowered keel and hundreds of fighter craft."
"Shatter... from battle damage?"
"Noooo - intentionally shatter: split or scatter. You noticed the blobs abeam our aft turret? Those are parasite missile cutters - they deploy the same way. We're classed F2/Gamma/Toroid-Blue/N40/Dry. An F2/Gamma/Toroid-Blue/N36/Wet like the Henderson there has more fuel stowage and one less missile cutter. Maybe they're a Toroid-Teal - I don't remember.
"See, the engineering division that was told to fix the problem was - still is - in Billund, Denmark. I know that doesn't mean anything to you - old city on our homeworld. The facility there, the Logistics & Engineering General Office, has been doing work on interconnectability for centuries. Supposedly since before humans went to space.
"Put your... ear frills I guess? up against the wall. Hear some clicks and thumps? We're now snapped onto the starboard stern of the flagship, Juggernaut Prime, and other vessels are still attaching. Once done, we will be one big vessel that will chitter-fling *without scattering*.
"You'll still need the mouthguard though. Let me 'splain 'jackhammer'. "

Hail Brothers and Sisters!
I just finished a meditation session and I am wondering if you could help me figure out what the vision(s) mean. Note: I am aware that it is up to me to interpret as it is different with every person I am just looking for a external point of view.
The moment I started the temple automatically formed as the gods eagerly awaited me. Before I could ask anything I felt the a flap of wings behind me and the hand of Freyja. I felt the presence of every god and goddess in the room. I asked to see what is to come. As my fate is not my own and I am a mere reader of it. The gods showed a vision of me in a tank in a field looking down the sights and firing soon after the glorious Valkyries came and took me with no time wasted. I then saw myself amongst those in Valhalla feasting at a table. And not the tables of our brethren but the table of the Gods next to Odin himself. I also asked when the cycle of me messing up will stop and they showed a vision of me currently meditating. As I finished my meditation the statues of Odin, Freyja and Thor that I had emplaced at a specific location where moved closer to me. I then looked at myself in the mirror and I saw myself in a different light. I was surrounded by Valkyries with a raven on my shoulder with runic markings and Viking paint on my face. Then I heard a voice say 'Glory to the Aesir, Glory to the drengr of Ragnarök!' before it all faded and I returned to my normal state.
I know the gods are near me at all times as I see ravens everyday each deviating from their path to follow my direction of travel. As well as I had one land on my shoulder and look at me. I extended my arm and it jumped to my arm. Its talons in my arm yet not painful. In the distance I could see Odin looking in my direction and smiling at me.
I have a feeling that this vision is tied to what the gods have taught me in the past. They had mentioned and showed me a unspoken goddess named Ylva Odinsdottir. And in visions where I stood in Valhalla I was in the body of that goddess. As if they were telling me I am that unspoken goddess(for more context look at the other posts I have made).
I have really gotten into Assassin's creed Valhalla recently and despite it not being fully Historically accurate I have a feeling of strong connection to Eivor. As if I am watching myself. Some of the visions I am shown correlate a lot to what I see in the game. I believe the gods are trying to show me the truth of who I am not only in celestial realms but here on Midgard and what purpose I serve down here. Also another thing that correlates to the game is how the gods talk to me during the day. Time freezes and I get taken to a darken place with all that are around with Odin, and Freyja walking around talking to me about things. I notice that I am no longer in my Midgard form but rather in celestial form during these talks. Once they have said what they needed to time would restart and continue as if nothing happened during that time.
I appreciate any who answer and give their view on what I shared. I will take any opinions on what I said into consideration in the meaning of the vision and what the gods have shown.
Glory to the Gods! Glory to Valhalla! Glory to Midgard!

My poor late boyfriend's evil older sister, "Queenie" (as she likes to be called🤮). I've posted about her here before.
She would get on some raging jag and send him texts, FB messages, call his cell phone and his house phone, berating him, or telling him how terrible her life is, or going off on how she's glad their other sister died or his wife died or... (Have you seen Baby Reindeer? Like that.)
I told him to block her. He couldn't. He needed to know what she was saying, and what she was saying about him on social media. She said some awful, mean-spirited things.
He felt he always had to keep track of her. She fed him lies and drugs. When she had an up day, she'd write some beautiful letter praising him for being the best brother ever, and giving him suboxones or whatever other drugs she had on hand.
Their sister (who took her own life in 2016) used to put flyers up all over town about how horrible of a person he was.
He truly wasn't a bad person. He had so much goodness and love that he just couldn't see, due to all the trauma...
At some point in the past few years, he stopped using social media as much, but still wanted to know what Queenie was up to. I made an extra account and have been tracking her and other unsavory family members for him. For several years.
I have screenshots that would make anyone go blind with rage.
My boyfriend, the absolute love of my life, my favorite, died at the beginning of February. Alcohol and drugs. Both things that Queenie introduced him to at an early early age.
When he died, she posted a happy video of herself and her family laughing it up at karaoke. Days after the funeral, she posted about how sad she is that she's the only one left alive in her family, and how she had to walk away because he didn't want to be loved and saved.
She made no effort to love him, ever. She made no effort to save him. She took out a restraining order against him and took him to court multiple times in the last couple years.
When he was at his lowest, drinking and having seizures in his house, she sent police to do wellness checks on him constantly.
This is not love. This is abuse.
And now. I can't stop tracking her.
Her house is up for tax sale at the end of the month because she didn't pay property taxes or her utility bills for the last two YEARS.
Today, she posts that the Universe gave her some "fun money" and she was going to have a blowout anniversary.
The taxes, Queenie.
But then says that her plumbing is fucked and she has to pay Roto-Rooter to come out.....
I... I need to get away from this. I don't know how. I don't even live there anymore.
But I have a righteous anger against her. I am writing what I want about her here and on tumblr, and even mentioning on my tiktok how her actions his entire life ended up killing my boyfriend.
I wish Karma would just SMITE her.
How do I get away? I know I could just ignore and forget, but I am still protective of my boyfriend's adult children too.... I don't want her to somehow ruin their lives....

I don't even know where to start with this. But please mind I am aware I did/was doing something risky and I am aware I fuqked up. So please, no haters. As time goes on this potential scam gets more complicated and I am so confused.
Anyways, I went into a FB group for Morgan Wallen tickets. I have been dying to go, and I figured I will take a look. I found this guy, who claimed he is a "ticket reseller agent" and that he has 4 tickets for every MW concert. I messaged him, he provided me with the ticket rate and info, and I asked him for proof.
His proof of tickets to me looked EXTREMELY legit. I messaged the moderator of the FB group and he said they were safe. I zelled him, and my payment was under review, and it eventually failed today.
I decided to proceed with Apple Pay since I was flagged on zelle since it was a new account on my end. I knew it was risky, I sent the money from APPLE CASH and it went through. THE STATUS stated that my transaction was complete. This is important to remember.
Time went on, and he was "figuring things out" on his end and that it was processing. A couple hours later the payment was canceled. I received no email regarding this, and I called Apple and they told me that this transaction went through and the recipient has it. They also told me that IF it was processing on his end, it would state that it is processing on my end. It was never processed on my end.
So, I told my concert ticket seller that on my end you have received my money and there is nothing I can do. I contacted the moderator about this and he said he will look into it and he said that "this is bad". I asked if there was anything I could do and he said he could have him arrested (??).
Then suddenly, the ticket sellescammer transferred the tickets to me. He did this out of "good faith" he said. But the email says I do not have access to add the tickets onto my ticketmaster. It says quote "Your ticket isn’t available to be accepted into your Ticketmaster account. Ticket to your event are on hold and not yet released. Because of this policy you won't be able to access your ticket directly into your Ticketmaster account. You should be able to accept your ticket transfer via button above as soon as they are released"
It gets worse. I received a text from "apple" that i will get refunded for my apple pay. I called apple again, and they told me there is no dispute under my transaction and they would never text me information like this.
I apologize for the wrong post. But this is so complicated.

Anyone know how to have a consistent sleep schedule. Ever since covid lockdown (also sometimes prior during like summer vacations between school semesters), my sleep schedule would be erratic and would sleep inconsistently.
Before i became a full out neet, i remember having sort of a ritual before I would get to bed: I would light up a scented candle ~2 hours before I planned to sleep, and also have a cup of warm chamomile tea. Before I got to bed I would brush my teeth and wash my face while listening to a relaxing playlist that I only listened to before bed. After all that was lights out, I would put my legs up in a 90° L-position on the wall while im in bed which was relaxing. It’s a yoga pose that I would hold for about 10-15 minutes and it feels really nice. After those 10-15 minutes was *supposed* sleepy time.
After all that ritualistic esque planning before I got to bed, BOOM, I CANT SLEEP. I did that ritual before bed for about 1-2 months yet I was struggling to sleep.
Actually the whole boiling point of me full out becoming a neet and dropping out of school was me trying to sleep for several hours tossing in bed and turning but absolutely couldn’t on a 4:30am Monday morning, and had class 3 hours later. That drove me fucking insane that morning, which turned me into a neet because i CANNOT function without sleep. Of course there were probably also other factors that drove me into a deep depression, but just not getting enough sleep was the thing that tipped me over the edge.
I’ve haven’t been to school for 7 months now (still don’t plan to go back) but i at least want to get my life back together at least a little. How the fuck do i tell my body to sleep when I want to? It’s ridiculous. I remember getting to bed at 9pm but didn’t actually get to sleep by like 2am. I’ve ignored my sleep schedule for 7 months now so my circadian rhythm is absolutely fucked since i sleep and wake up whenever i want

Let me tell you my history, I manage to get the Z Fold 4, after that I gifted a Z flip 4 to my wife, later we used the samsung warranty to change the internal film of the flip4 in our local ISP (altice dominicana), a numerous months later and after the expiration of the warranty the flex started to decay and frequently showed a black ⚫️ screen. After that bad experience she moved to iPhone and guess what, I started to feel attracted to iPhone too.
The thing is that after reviewing the benefits and so on, iPhone does not suit me, I use a lot the Samsung dex and the automated routines too.
So, my question and reason of this post, Fold4 users, how much time do you think our Fold 4 will last until reach the same destiny as the flip4? To start showing a black screen and fall apart?
Btw I treat my phone like a girl in terms, no dust, no dirty, always with its cover, cleanup both screen with microfiber towels, etc.
Btw in my country (Dominican Republic) the trade in sucks a lot, I checked the trade in and in DOP the amount of the fold4 is DOP$26,000.00, when I received the fold4 its price was DOP$104,000.00
Your advices please

I recently had an extremely vivid memory of a game. It was on the ps2. I am 14 (as of 3 days ago) so I know it is not too far off from this time. In the start of the game you are spawned in as a character, when you begin the screen loads with a small correction of the camera, as it was slightly tilted to the left, and reforests it to the center. at the same time there was a small (≤ 0.5 seconds) fade in. You are spawned in with a key and are in a bare hallway made of wood. the graphic design and movement is doom-esque for here and for the rest of the following descriptions. At the end of the hallway there is a wall with a large lock symbol in the center. You have the option to either open the door or, you can walk up to it but not put it in. Walking up to the door and opening it will open a new, smaller room inside of the already small hallway. At the end of said room there is some sort of entity or being, extremely similar to the secret room in ‘granny’ just entirely bare, a tad bit longer, and the walls are the same tan wood color. On the contrary if you decide NOT to open the door but, instead turn around and explore more, you will be faced with a new door. (For explanation the hallway opens up a little right before the door, sort of like a box surrounding the door with the end of the new hallway up against the back of the ‘box’) it is on the left side (turned around) so right side of where you originally came from. it also has a lock insignia on it. you can unlock it which leads to you falling through the floorboards into a dirt-y, skirting of the ‘hallway’ which is now revealed to be a house or at the very least a building. there are floorboards everywhere and mounds of uneven terrain. immediately after falling the space widens up (it is now a large room with no walls). it has a low ceiling and you are instantaneously met with a new creature, this time living. it is blue, a blob like creature not unlike the blob from ‘Monsters Vs Aliens’. it is around the same height as you and it floats very shortly above the ground. it moves in a grid like pattern, following squares to move. each square is roughly the size of the creature. obviously, you will want to stay away from it. if you alert it of your prescience it will follow you and if it touches you then you will have to restart. it is unaware of your presence and is instead walking through an opening in the skirting. exploring more you will realize you must go through said opening as the skirting is a large rectangle with nothing in it. following the blob through the opening results in a new room. the new room has multiple layers and is very open, it is reminiscent of a barn, yet abandoned. there are a few more of the blob things (4-5?) and they are roaming on the different levels of the barn, 3 + the scaffolds flush with the roof. there are a few more openings and a staircase. here my memory gets splotchy. you somehow find your way outside and are met with a grassy hill. there is nothing out here apart from a small gathering of blue and other colored birds of whom are extremely friendly and nice. their eyes are open and look similar to the Pixar short, ‘birds’ except that they fly, in a group together. somehow you are led back into the barn/ new cave (this is where I believe the game to become your own personal experience and less so a description of the game). in the cave you are in it is rather cramped (at least vision wise). there are birds (not chill ones) and other beings following you to the back of the cave. once again MORE OR LESS following the same grid pattern. you run from them and weave in between large groups of entities. you eventually see a small amount of sunlight and an occasional wide eyed friendly bird amongst the numbers of other beings. you follow the path out and encounter the sunlight, grass, a multitude less bad entities and a multitude more wide eyed birds. You run up to the hill and you are safe with the birds flocking, sitting on the hill. You cannot go past the hill fyi. anyway that is where my memory draws a blank. I am almost certain this was a ps2 game as it was the only software available when I was a child that could run a game like this. that is all, PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN goodbye, and thanks in advance ADDITIONAL NOTES: the key was held like the gun in doom as well as the room appearing similar in terms of layout and overall look.

About two years ago, I was in contact with a woman who wanted to write a book titled “Strong Daughters Of Bad Mothers”. She wanted to publicize both her own story and the stories of other women who were willing to share. So she made an online post and received quite a bit of backlash. Because of the term "Bad Mothers". The thread that developed was interesting, but also quite exhausting because of the obvious tunnel vision of some of the commenters. Rather than getting caught up in this useless discussion, I decided to write an article in support of her.
My mother died a few years ago, but being estranged from her years before her death, I know all the struggles someone goes through. I thought maybe, some of you might find my article helpful as well. Sorry, if the wording is a litttle off at times, I had to translate it for this sub. So here it goes:
MEASURABLE SUCCESS / FAILURE IN PARENTING?
So far I haven’t been blessed with the task of being a mother. From my own experience, I can only say what I wouldn’t ever want my child to have to deal with. But could I ever be competent enough to provide at least everything that seems important to me? Love and appreciation without expecting anything in return? The ability to love and care for themselves? Encouragement through weaknesses and promotion of strengths?
At what point does one become "bad" at parenting? Is there a scale? A scale that goes from “total neglect” = “terrible” to “raising a child to be a superhero” = “perfect”? ​​I hardly think so. And why is that? Because of human failure. There are no special categories for that. Though we feel most comfortable when we can put everything in its drawer and label it. But does that mean that once you reach a certain level of failure, you’re not allowed to call things by their name just because they’re not obviously "measurable"?
Imagine this: You trust your dentist to do a decent job, but on almost every visit they pull the wrong tooth or drill in the wrong place - would you say to yourself, "Well, maybe they haven’t had an easy life," or would you rather conclude that you chose a lousy dentist? Too trivial? Too far-fetched? After all, you can't compare a visit to the dentist to a family life, can you? Well, sometimes you can.
Let me further illustrate why the simple adjective "bad" should be removed from the taboo when it comes to parent-child relationships: Have you ever advised a friend/family membeacquaintance to distance themselves from someone? Because you realized that their relationship (developing or existing) clearly wasn’t doing them any good? Have you ever told someone: "This person is bad for you"? If so, did you try to think of a better word? Or did “bad” just roll off the tongue - because it was the truth?
Yes, some of you may be offended when we refer to ourselves as children of "bad" parents. How disrespectful. They gave us the gift of life - or they adopted us. Either way, a total no-go! Right? But maybe you should ask yourself WHY exactly it triggers you so much.
As the daughter of a bad mother, let me tell you this: People who have had difficult, perhaps even traumatic, childhoods are rarely interested in a "revenge" or "shaming" anyone. It's about finally being seen and heard. It's about no longer hiding our scars (physical and psychological). It’s about staying true to ourselves when others lecture us about "family values".
The level of respect and compassion that is undoubtedly given to BOTH bad and good parents is equally due to their children.
If something was "not good"... what was it? Open for improvement? Probably. Not quite ideal? Possibly. Mediocre? Perhaps. But these quibbles over words do not minimize the damage done. Especially when it was just that: BAD.
Awful. Horrible. Disastrous. Traumatizing.
We can add whatever suits our case. Whatever suits OUR FEELINGS. It is primarily a judgment of "parenting", not particularly of the people who dabble in it. For the greatest harm can be done with the best of intentions. Maybe they failed because they "didn’t know better". Maybe they passed on what was given to them. They too were once children, and perhaps they themselves were victims in some way. But do any of these possibilities or facts change the outcome? Or reverse our trauma? Sadly, no.
Deep down, somewhere, there is still is a child reaching out for help because they have been hurt. Don’t shut them up or push them away. Don’t yell at them or tell them “not to be so dramatic”. Instead, just listen. For healing also means acknowledging all the wounds that have been inflicted, both visible and invisible. Don’t belittle them just because you don't like their choice of words.
So please, just take that child's hand. Even if they're already an adult. Listen closely. Watch carefully. It doesn’t matter if you can’t fully grasp the implications of what you're hearing or seeing. Just be open and compassionate. And maybe your own inner child will speak up and have a thing or two to say.
June, 2022

Hello. I have just finished my freshman year of college and my main outlook is that I think I like OT. I have done a fair bit of research into it and understand the basics and some general ideas about it. But I have never met or talked to an actual ot So like, what are your thoughts? Is it as rewarding of a job as I imagine it is? Are you able to move around as an ot?(change locations/ travel) And the big thing. What should I do. I am at a community college and am looking to get an associates degree of science. My school does not offer an aot. And the 4 year school I plan on going to also doesn't have a distinct pre ot course either. Do I have to change my target four year? That school has all the classes required for pre ot but just not the actual thing. I was told by someone that getting a related major and getting all the credits would do but I am unsure and would like the advice of actual industry peoples. Anyway. Sorry for the long post. Thank you very much for your patience My name is rose btw :) nice to meet you.

It was so hard with the constant fighting and the fact we had just moved to a new city together and signed a lease. I just don’t care anymore. I’ll sublease or have her as a roommate but I will not let her take my happiness away like this. It got to a boiling point when she was ruining our vacation in LA and, once I snapped at her, there was a shift. We tried to have a decent day but when someone goes so cold it’s emptier than being alone, it’s hard to enjoy yourself. The last day of vacation I tried to keep myself happy and we no the actually had a good time together but at the end of the day she found something to get mad about (mind you what she got mad about was a slight thing compared to all the shit she put me through in the topic of what triggered her) and went cold again. Then today she’s been ice cold and barely, if at all, replying to me. I was in a good mood regardless because I decided to keep her misery away from my happiness. We went to the gym and she couldn’t have anything to do with me there. It’s like we weren’t a couple (this has been a fight in our relationship where I feel like she hides our relationship in public and she’s admitted to hiding it to her acquaintances in the past. We’ve even had fights recently about this happening at that same gym). I tried walking out next to her and she purposefully wouldn’t do it no matter how much I slowed down to walk together. I confronted her and of course she couldn’t listen to my feelings. Couldn’t even speak a single word. A wall would be more receptive than her. At one point she said it’s bc she didn’t want to talk to me all day. Then she finally said what I’ve been feeling with this crucial topic and just in general with the relationship: “I don’t care”. I want to be seen in public as a couple and she doesn’t want to and she doesn’t care how shitty it makes me feel. I couldn’t take it anymore at that point. I FINALLY LEFT. I feel a weird lack of emotions right now. It’s like this isn’t the outcome I wanted, nor how I wanted it to happen, but it was so necessary. She was a fucking zombie the last couple days and I SWEAR she was trying to bring my happiness down. I wanna let go of the anger I feel but I know with time that will go away. Thank you for reading if you got this far and I wanna say that I’ve read a lot of posts in this sub and wondered if I’d ever get the strength to do it. Believe that you can!

Hi, I (25f) have been going to the gym 2x week, soon to be 3x, since the end of March of this year. I occasionally come on here to try to learn more about /how/ I should be working out, but feel so lost when I read the posts because they all have so many terms that I don't know as I am soooo new to this. I know a few basic things and names of maybe 2 machines, but for the most part I have no idea what different exercises or machines are called and feel pretty clueless about the best way to approach choosing weight levels, rep #'s, and how to organize workouts to target different fitness goals. How can I learn these basics? I would love to check out some resources to learn about new types of exericises, propper form, best way to go about reps, how much time to spend on warm ups, wtf terms like progressive overload, going till failure etc. all entail, and other stuff like that. My goal is to gain a bit more weight (I'm 5'9, started at 123lbs in March and am currently 128) and get stronger. I'd love to be able to comfortably do a lot of pushups because I've never been strong enough to do more than 5.
My current routine is 1 arm day and 1 leg day a week. On arm day, I go around to different machines (don't even know what they are called besides the assissted pullup) and put the peg in a random slot till the weight feels heavy, but doable. I know the names are all labeled on the machines, but I still get them all mixed up and don't feel like I know enough about them to make informed choices about which ones to use. I add a few simple dumbell exercises into my arm workouts, too (10 lbs). Leg day is the same as far as the machines go, but I also do squats on the smith machine (I know I can do 4 sets of 8 at 80lbs) and do reverse lunges in the squat rack with the bar. I can also do at least 120 pounds on (*checks google*) the leg press machine. I barely know any of my stats because it seems like so much to remember! Do you all carry a pen and paper around with you or something? Please give me tips on how to be more intentional and organized in the gym, I am so impressed with you all!

I hope this post is allowed. This community is so warm and helpful so I'm hoping I can post this here. But it's not OAD related..
I wanted to ask if anyone lives in Colorado or is from there. We are in Texas and considering a relocation to Colorado with our only. I want to give my son the best childhood and life possible. I am really struggling with the Texas heat.
I enjoy being outdoors. I love nature, beautiful scenery water, literally anything outdoors. I guess I just want to get others opinions on raising a child in CO. Sometimes when you posy this type of thing in the Colorado groups, you're attacked because people don't want more people moving up their state...I was just hoping for some honest feedback from the parents in this group.

Hi all
So I’m riding my peloton 5 days a week 45 mins a day and in 6 months post op I’m at 225 down from 310 (6’2). I’m looking for something to start being able to work towards pushups chin-ups etc. I do have adjustable free weights and a bench. There are some programs on the peloton but it’s all weights.
Anyone have any recommendations for starting out with pushups etc. I’m sure I’ll fail miserably at the start but hopefully in a couple months things will improve.
Thanks in advance.

Hey guys. 4thWall here. Sadly, no episode to drop today. I am without power after a near miss on a tornado. Hope to get it out tomorrow.
I’m currently posting from a dying phone, and just wanted to let you guys know. Sorry for the delay.

It is a man, old and scraggy. He wears a jacket that lays over the red plaid button shirt and blue jeans. He wears an old baseball cap and a pair of glasses. He yelled something to Dad, holding his hands up like he was pleading, although we couldn’t hear it over the truck engine. They talked, but we couldn’t hear what they were saying.
“Hey, what are they saying”, I asked, while petting Matt’s hair, calming him. The old man then put his hands down and came close to Dad in a cautious way. They seem to start having some kind of conversation.
“I don’t really know, hopefully, something good”, Mom answered. They talked for a little while, with daylight beginning to disappear, giving us a sense of dread, and making me more worried about what weird creature was going to show up. Eventually, the old man turned and pointed toward what I think is the northeast. They then shook hands and walked back to their respective vehicles. “What’s going on”, Mom asked as Dad got into the truck.
“Well, our new friend here invited us to dinner at his farm”, Dad replied.
“Does he have supplies?”
“Well, he says has supplies for us to make the journey.”
“Should we even trust him? We just met h-”
“Relax, he’s just an old man, living alone at his farm, feeding his cows. What could go wrong”, Dad countered. The old man then entered the truck that was running and drove slowly, expecting us to follow him.
“Alrighty then, but we have to be cautious”, Mom said, with her suspicions of the old man. We then followed the old truck along the dark, frozen road. It just feels like something is going to show up along the road, but nothing happened. Matt did eventually stop crying, but he is still upset about the Joe escape thing.
“Where are we going”, Matt lamented, with the prior series of events in mind.
“I guess somebody is offering us dinner”, I answered.
“Why can’t we just go home?”
“It’s only going to be a stop, like a hotel. After that, we go to our new home, I guess”, I said, taking another look at Matt and cradling to comfort him. “It’s going to be okay.” I stared out into the darkness. I looked to the sky from the window and I faintly saw something in the clear, dark sky, lit up by the waning moon. They were brilliant, green auroras that defy the bright moon, dancing across the sky like ribbons in the wind. The truck eventually took a right-hand turn into another road, with us following suit. I can see a bright, orange light emerging from a patch of tree. When we passed by, it seemed it was a house, at a farm, burning in a massive flame.
“I guess those people aren’t so, uh, lucky”, Dad said, taking a quick look at it before looking at the road. Passing by, we went on and continued to follow the old man’s truck. We passed onto another intersection until he turned into a driveway to what I believe to be his farm. Going into the driveway, I can see an old house, along with a dilapidated farm further away, barely visible by the headlights. The old man parked by the house, where there were a few other trucks there. We parked alongside the truck and we got out into the cold, near-silent night.
“Welcome to sanctuary, where all are welcome”, the old man bellowed. This is the first time I’ve heard his voice. Matt was the last to get out of the truck, slowly and clumsily climbing out of the truck.
“What’s your name”, my Mom politely asked the old man.
“Oh, I guess your husband didn’t tell ya. My name is Steven, but you can call me Steve”, the old man said, with some crackling in his voice. “I am very proud to host a dinner for you and your family”, he continued. “What’s your name, ma’am?”
“Oh, my name is Janice”, Mom replied, quite pleased at his politeness.
“Hello, Janice, and what are their names”, Steven asked, pointing to me and Matt.
“That’s my daughter Kate and my son Matt”, Dad said to Mom.
“Oh, what wonderful names for a couple of beautiful children you have”, Steve grinned. “Come, it is dangerous out here.” We followed him to the house, which looked like it had seen better days. He entered through the double-set door, the first a solid door and a screen door behind. Entering the house, it smelled like what you’d expect, old man. Looking onto the floor is made of glossy wood and walls with cracks, likely caused by the earthquake. It is dark in there, lit by candlelight from many candles, yet it’s fairly warm here. I don’t know why we went into the house, but Dad was right, Steve is just a lonely, old man. Matter of fact, there seems to be nothing wrong here, other than the cracks in the walls. “Sorry, the power went out. Had to resort to the candles. I knew my wife would come in handy”, Steve explained as he took his coat off. “Oh, supper will be ready right away. Had to use the fireplace to cook. Also, can you take your boots off?” We took our boots and set them aside. We went into what seemed to be a living room, with dusty old-style furniture.
“So, where do we sit”, Mom asked.
“Oh, well, follow me”, Steve commanded, leading us to the dining room, with a long, wooden table and six wooden chairs, along with their corresponding old-fashioned plates, glasses and cutlery, lit up in the candlelight. We noticed that everything on the table was covered in a thin veil of dust. “My apologies, the recent shocks dropped a bit of dust on the table”, he explained as he noticed us looking at the plates and moved into another room nearby. “Take your seats if you like.” We all settled onto the chairs, and blew off our plates of the dust settled there.
“When will we eat”, Matt impatiently said.
“Once Steve comes out with the food”, Mom answered. Matt sat there with a tired look on his face. Dad seemed to be in a better mood than before and it looked like he wanted to start a conversation.
“Hey, should we talk about something”, Dad asked. I then see Steve with a bowl and a silver plate.
“Here we go, may not be much, but at least it’ll fulfil the soul”, Steve said, smiling when he served us mashed potatoes and meatloaf. “So, shall we pray?” That came unexpectedly, as we are not too religious, but we were in his house and gave us shelter and food.
“Sure, we can do that”, Mom said and we all bowed our heads and put our hands together. Steve cleared his throat
“Thank you, Lord, for this good food to feed the soul in these hard times. I shall pray, in the name of the Lord and Jesus Christ, that these hard times shall be over, so we can get on with our lives. Amen.” We raised our heads and grabbed whatever food there was onto our plates. “Oh, there’s no gravy, so we have to deal with bare potaters and meatloaf.”
“Oh, not to worry. Thank you for the food”, Dad thanked Steve. We began to eat the food once we got it sorted.
“So, what brings you here”, Steve asked.
“Well, there is an evacuation order in effect for this area, so we had to go to Regina”, Dad explained, with Steve taking in every word. “So, we came from Strasbourg, we tried going south towards Regina, but we hit an obstacle in the way and we had to take another route, leading us here.”
“And we encountered a few odd things along the way”, Mom added.
“Huh, interesting. What do you guys think is going on”, Steve inquired.
“By the things we saw, we have no idea. Dinosaurs, devil dogs, hell pigs, the whole deal. I shouldn’t forget the earthquake. They told us a pipeline leak caused by the earthquake”, Dad clarified to Steve.
“Hmm… is that so”, Steve wondered. “Wonder what I think is happening? The Rapture is happening. Do you know how the Bible tells us of the end times? Good people sent to be with God and his kingdom, the rest here to suffer the Hell unleashed by Satan.” By this point, he was beginning to rant, but we couldn't stop it as we all began to feel tired and powerless. “So, the Devil will send his demons in the form of these illusions so that they can torment the sinners. It is happening, it is-” Steve manically continued as I drew towards blackness and his voice becoming less coherent. My vision is now all black.
I saw those same lights, but more rapidly than before. I then emerged onto the same clear sky, but something felt different. I can smell something in the air. I can smell what seems to be chemicals in the air. Looking down, I was terrified. Dark, grey rock in the shape of ropes and folds, similar to those I saw of lava flows on a volcano in pictures. This went on as far as the eye could see. I can see no tree this time, just the cooled lava everywhere. I then walked, feeling every bump and crag. I thought I walked forever until I heard a rumbling sound and woke up.
I am in total darkness. It is cold and it smells like cow manure. I tried to move my hand, but it seemed to be bonded behind my back by a rope. I tried to move my feet, but they were also bound by rope to the legs I tried to speak, only to realise my mouth was agape by a cloth in my mouth. I heard shuffling nearby but I could not see. It was then shone in light when Steve entered the door, holding a candle, revealing all of us in the same situation. I then can see what we are in. We are in that same wooden dilapidated barn we saw earlier and seems to be more damaged than the house, wood creaking can be heard.
“These sedatives are more effective than I thought. Maybe I should use them more often”, Steve smoothly explained, like he’s some kind of agent and began pacing. “Wonder why you are here? Well, I wondered the same thing to myself, why didn’t God take me to his heaven? When I first heard of the government telling us of those evacuation plans, I thought it was that, a leaking pipe. I began to notice things I couldn’t believe myself, at least at first. Earthquakes, weird creatures showing up, people disappearing, the whole spiel. I connected the dots. The Rapture is happening, for sure, but why me? Why was I the one left here on this Earth”, Steve calmly ranted, pacing around the barn, but it seemed to sound crazier and angrier the more he paced. “I thought I had lost my way. I’ve been unfaithful to God and his son. But, I realised that God always has a plan and he left me on this Earth to serve a purpose. I wondered what my purpose was until I had a moment.” He then stopped in place and calmed down. He turned to look at Mom with accusing yet crazed eyes.
“I’m supposed to keep the sinners here in line, to earn a place in God’s kingdom, or suffer in Hell. I know you are a sweet woman, Janice, but your treachery with Satan is over and I am going to do what’s right.” Mom then looked at all of us, with assuring eyes like that of an innocent yet caring mother we all know knew. I began crying and trying to speak through the cloth, but I was helpless to watch by. “Forgive me, Father, for what I am going to do.” He then pulled a knife from his pocket and plunged it into Mom’s neck with no mercy. I looked away once he did that, trembling, with tears pouring out and my vision glazed and I fell limp. I could see my brother tearing up, but he did not look away. I can hear Dad behind me, with his screams of agony and anger covered by the cloth. It felt like I was in slow motion, taking in every moment.
I then heard the chair, screeching as Steve dragged the chair containing Mom’s lifeless body towards the door, leaving behind a trail of blood. I couldn’t bear to see my mother like this. I shut my eyes very hard and hoped it would go away. The door then shut, leaving us alone with a candle, fearing what would come next. I stared at the candle, seeing it dance in the flames like a woman dancing in the darkness. Is this how it’ll end, I thought. End up dying to this sick man? My Mom was killed in front of me. I sobbed with that thought, then I began to think about the inevitable death of me. I hope there’s something after I die. Maybe I’ll see Mom again.
It was silent for a while, nearly no sound other than our moans. Dad seems to be fidgeting at the back of his chair, rocking it slowly. Looking past him, I shuddered at the glistening pool of blood, where Mom was last alive, could be my fate. I then see Dad release his arms from the back of the chair and remove the cloth from his mouth. He silently stood up and bent down to untie his legs from the chair legs. He then went to me and removed my cloth.
“H-h-how did you do that”, I silently wept, fearing that Steve would show up at the door and kill us all.
“My binding is loose. The old man probably took a liking to me”, Dad whispered. “I should remove your binds.” He untied them, releasing me, doing the same for Matt. “Now, we need to be quiet.” We then walked, quietly, along the painfully creaking wood in the near dark, following the blood trail, glistening in the candlelight. We cringed and dreaded each sound we made and watched the door in case it began to creak open. A few silent steps later, we made it to the door and we slowly opened it so as not to make any noise. What was revealed to us is nothing new, other than the blood trail continuing in the snow directing towards the back of the barn. “Okay, Kate, Matt, you guys run to the truck.”
“What about you”, I sobbed.
“Don’t worry about me”, Dad responded, giving me his keys and forcing them into my hand. “If I’m not back in a few minutes, leave. Don’t look back, take care of your brother, okay? I love you, no matter what happens.” He then kissed me on the head and ran to follow the blood trail. We quickly walked towards the black truck, stranded there for maybe hours. Getting closer, freedom is getting closer. When we got to a fair distance to the truck, I heard footsteps behind me and, the next thing I knew, I was knocked over to the ground into the hard snow on my face. A hand turned me over to give me a glimpse of a crazed Steve, his eyes wilder than before.
“Oh, yes, trying to escape”, he bragged. I looked at him, frozen in fear, like a deer in headlights and he caressed my face with his bloodied blade. “You do have a pretty face, but I’m afraid you are just one of Satan's creations, made to pull me to lust.” He then raised his knife in the air when a familiar side emerged, out of the blue.
Joe came and bit him in the arm that was holding the knife. Steve screamed in agony the moment he realised what happened. He shook Joe off and stood up to stand his ground. I stood up as Joe hissed and walked around the crazed being he wounded, not in fear but in aggressiveness. “Is this one of your pets, demon”, Steve screamed as Joe came in for another attack, but Steve countered that with a slash to the snout. Joe then ran away, whining, into the darkness. This sequence of events gave me the chance to enter the truck on the driver’s side. I had some trouble starting it, besides this is my first time driving a truck.
Steve menacelily walked towards the when Dad came barreling and tackled him to the ground. Dad was on top when he went limp. I finally put the keys in the engine turned it on and backed out, with memory serving me the instructions on such a vehicle. Steve pushed Dad’s body and stood up, but by that time, we left the farm.
“Turn back, we have to get Dad”, Matt cried, but I was very emotional, accepting what happened. I felt that, without my parents, I feel… useless.
“Dad’s dead”, I screamed at Matt and he began gagging uncontrollably in tears. I began to feel sorry for him. “Sorry, I, I don’t know.”
“It’s okay”, Matt sniffled. “I guess Mom and Dad are dead anyways.” It was silence for a few more minutes, tears welling in our eyes.
“Hey, our parents are in a better place”, I said, trying to make the situation positive.
“But we are stuck here, without them? Don’t we deserve to go to a better place?”
“Don’t say that”, I huffed and I paused for a bit. “I know we are in the, uh, right place now. Let me tell you something, once we get to Regina, I will take care of you, no matter what life throws at us.”
“What about Joe”, Matt asked.
“He’ll be fine. He probably found his girlfriend already.”
“Hey, don’t you have a boyfriend?”
“I, uh, I don’t have one. That I know of”, I spoke, bringing me back to Sam, remembering that she’s the only friend that I ever knew, and I left her. Without her, I felt alone, no one would ever relate. I began to tear up. “I don’t have any friends. I am alone,” I sobbed.
“What do you mean? I’m your brother!” I looked at Matt, and smiled, happy that he acknowledged that we were in this together.
“Thank you”, I thanked him. I slowly stopped on the road, just to hug Matt hard, crying my eyes out. We then heard what sounded like an elephant in front of us. We looked up to see a walking snow-covered brown fur wall with four pillar-like legs in front of us. Its curved tusks gleaned in the light and the eyes reflected in the light. The furry trunk waved around like a searching snake from a tree. We both knew what it was.
“Hey, look at that, a woolly mammoth”, Matt said, excitement running through him. At this point, we weren’t surprised.
“Yep, that is a woolly mammoth”, I added. The mammoth turned to us on the road, seemingly confused about where it was. It looked at our truck and seemed to growl, like an elephant. We are starting to realise this thing is becoming aggressive.
“Uh, should we move”, Matt asked. I remembered hearing something about standing your ground in case of an encounter with an elephant. I hoped it would work for a bigger, furrier version of one.
“No, we have to stand our ground.”
“But, it’ll attack u-”
“Trust me!” I then honked my horn and it backed up. It then rushed, then stopped, a mock charge. Eventually, it moved out of the road, disappearing into the darkness. We sighed in relief.
“That was close”, Matt sighed. I then continued to drive in the night, headlights leading the way. The road is bumpy, as noticed by every ditch and peak we hit, but surprisingly, Matt was fast asleep. I began to get comfortable driving and used to the road by that point. It was silent for a while until we hit a smaller intersection. That is when the truck shut down, completely and stopped. I tried the gas many times but with no effect. There is no light, nothing. It is near-darkness here, shone only by the moonlight.
“Shit”, I yelled, desperate to turn the truck on without much success. Matt woke up, confused.
“What happened”, he yawned.
“The truck turned itself off. I can’t get it back on”, I fretted and at that moment, Matt was just as panicked as I am.
“Why?”
“I-I don’t know. One moment, we were driving, another it just-”, I quavered, when I heard something rustle in the distance. We stood still, hoping whatever it was didn’t find us. I looked around, hoping to see something in the moonlight. I then see a long, walking animal. It looked like some sort of alligator at first, except for a dinosaur-like head. Once I strained my eyes to the darkness, my fear levels rose as I could see it walk on its hind limbs, with its forelimbs dangling nearly touching the ground.
It was wandering around on the road when I heard a near-crocodilian growl at Matt’s side of the truck. Another of those creatures appeared, seemingly looking into the window like a hungry bear, giving us a chance to see its scaly head. Its exposed alligator teeth gleaned in the light like knives, but more terrifying was the eye. Its serpentine pupil shone brilliantly in the light like eyes in the dark. It then ducked down, gave a hiss, and moved towards the other one. A few more showed up and formed a group.
“What should we do”, Matt asked. “Should we stay?” I looked around, hoping for another way to escape them without them noticing. I further strained my eyes and mentally mapped out the area. There is a cemetery on my right-hand side, a grain bin storage yard on my left and a series of trailers on the other side of the highway, which is ahead of us, from the storage area. There, I see a series of white, storage buildings, something we can go to and wait it out inside.
“Okay, so slowly open the door”, I instructed Matt. The click of the doors opening cringed us. We looked at the group, but there was no response from them. We then, as slowly as we could, opened the door and stepped out. Still no response. Matt then quietly ran to the other side, towards me. “Okay, we are going into the storage yard and go to the other entrance”, I said, pointing to the other right-hand corner. I wanted to get as far away from these things as possible before making a safe crossing. “Then, we cross the highway on the other side, run into the buildings and stay there for the night. Are you ready?”
“I guess”, he whispered, looking at me in fearful doubt.
“We are going to do this”, I whispered back. We then silently ran over, having to rely on our night-adapted eyes, to the corner, walking past the bins. We made it and nothing behind us so far. “We’re good so far.” We then crossed the road and noticed nothing. We noticed a tanker truck, leaking some sort of fluid across the road. I easily recognized it as fuel, based on its distinctive, sickly smell. I wouldn’t be worried about it if it weren’t for a collapsed light pole that is somehow still flickering with electricity near the area where the fuel would be flowing. We quickly avoided the fluid when I froze to see the group of the walking alligators, running towards us. “Run!” Matt tried to run, but one of those things appeared and clamped its jaws at the back of his neck. He yelped in pain and it took him down to the ground. “Matt”, I yelled, helplessly watching as the creature tore into him.
Matt reached out his arm before the others came to him, then a flash of fire came. At this point, I knew what happened, but I couldn’t even think before it exploded. It blew me towards the building, far away. I was knocked out for a few seconds before I regained consciousness, groaning in pain on the ice. I noticed something especially painful just below my chest. I reached towards the area with my hand. I pressed on it, more painful than ever and raised my hand, only to see blood, brightened by the fire. I realised I was wounded, maybe by shrapnel made by the explosion.
I looked toward where the truck was and all I saw was a blaze. Those things weren’t there, at least. I also noticed something else, too, there’s no Matt. I tried to look around for something, some sort of sign of my brother within the fire, but I saw none. I then wept, realising I had failed. I have failed to keep him safe. I have failed to give him a better life. I failed him as a sister. I could’ve done better. The thoughts poured in as tears glazed my eyes. At that moment, I failed to look around me.
I noticed a dark thing beside the blaze. I thought it was Matt, preparing to greet him back, even though I knew he couldn’t survive the explosion. The image became clearer and clearer as I noticed it was one of the walking crocs that, glazed by the fire, was coming towards me.
“Just kill me”, I screamed, preparing to painfully die to meet my maker. The creature was about to attack me when something large, silent as the wind, came charging and clamped down its massive jaws, filled with conical teeth on the hapless creature and raised it. The crocodile struggled before going limp with a crunch within its strong jaws. The big, dark and scaly monster that it is towered over me and is as long as a bus, possibly longer. Its large legs are a contradiction to its small arms that hide beneath its scarred, bulky body.
It turned to look at me with an oddly bird-like expression, revealing in the firelight numerous scars from battles I could never know and looked at me with its beady bird-like eyes, breathing out wisps from its nostrils like a dragon in the cool air. I recognized it as a creature I know too well, a T. Rex. I breathed heavily and sickly, looking at the thing, nearly expecting me to drop the body and go after me. Instead, it simply walked away, carrying its bloody prize with it, and steadily retreated into the darkness.
I then lay down in agonizing exhaustion on my back, thinking of the next step of action like I'm on a suicide mission I would never come back from. I looked in the direction of the graveyard and had one thought. I guess I am dying. a graveyard will do. I struggled to stand up, noticing my blood-soaked clothes and felt a broken left leg. I grasped my wound, limping step by step and enduring the sharp pain while shaking in the cold. Every step I took, I remembered all the memories, good or bad, that I had with my parents. My brother. My friends. My family. I eventually reached the cemetery and slouched at a tree.
“Guess I’m joining you, guys”, I said, speaking to the snow-covered gravestones, only to hear something. A familiar sound of chirping emerged and, lit by the blaze, it was a sight I can hope for. “Joe, what are you doing here”, I depressingly cheered as Joe went to me and curled up in my lap as if he were a cat. I noticed the new-found scar he had on his little snout, but I paid no mind as I petted him. “I guess you came back. Thank you so much for what you did”, I thanked him, not expecting such a loyal creature would be with me, comforting me, to the end, like what my mother used to do when I was a newborn. I heard another noise, this time a deep rumble.
I thought it was another earthquake coming, but it got louder the closer it got to me, becoming more animalistic only felt small vibrations I barely felt. Joe stayed put, oddly enough, as T. Rex, different from the first one, came. It walked towards us until it stopped short of us. It began to produce a low-pitched, bird-like purring, attracting Joe. I realised something, that this T. Rex is Joe’s parent. He joined the rest like him, whom they showed up and all chirped around.
The grown Rex then brought its snout closer to me, not to kill me, but to look at me. It did not reveal its teeth and was still purring. I put my hand out and its nose came close to it. It rubbed it against my hand and started to pet its cold, scaly skin as it breathed through its nose and put it on my chest. I rested my head on it before it pulled away. It gave out a hiss, but I knew it wasn’t that of a threat, but more of a thank you for bringing its small, sometimes immature, child home.
That gave me relief, as it felt like I at least did something for once. They walked away, along with Joe, towards the darkness amongst the gravestones in the cemetery. I glimpsed one last desperate look at Joe before walking beside his parent. I looked up at the sky and I could see all the stars, twinkling, and the dancing green auroras. I began to feel limp and felt the cold embrace of death coming over me, tears pouring out of my eyes. The sky then grew brighter and brighter, the stars faded into the light and I could see my family welcoming me to a new home. It then slowly went black, darker than a cave.
You would think this is the end of me. It wasn’t, or else I wouldn’t be writing this right now. I eventually woke up in a hospital in Regina. I was told I was rescued by a team that transported me while I was in a coma. The doctors said I was very lucky to be alive, as the shrapnel narrowly avoided my vital organs. After that, I was adopted into a new family, but I was only with them for a couple of years before finding a new job and moving out.
As for Sam, I don’t know what happened to her. I would like to think she is safe, somewhere else. As for my family, I think of them all the time. I was in a depressive period right after that. Eventually, over the years, I accepted that they were gone and went to a better place. For Joe, I would like to think he is all grown up, like his parents, and becoming the king of the jungle. I hope we meet again.
As for the evacuated area, it wasn’t some pipeline rupture that caused an evaluation, but an anomaly, with the exact reason not known. There are excuses for the claims of weird stuff going on in there, from disease to chemicals, to eventually a previously unknown geological event, but I saw through it all.
You may ask how, it's because I've been there. Take it or leave it, this is the story I have. As the decade came by, cover-ups were made to hide it, even walls were put around it. Since the incident, the exclusion zone grew from a mere 80 kilometers in diameter to 460 kilometers in diameter, emptying entire cities of the likes of Regina and Saskatoon. I had to move to North Battleford, by the recommendation from the same government covering it up, making me think that time will tell before the floodgates of truth open.
The anomaly didn’t have a name initially, however, over the years, everyone agreed on one name in particular: The Saskatchewan Anomaly.

Hi everyone!
So some backstory, my best friend A (F22) and I (F22) have been best friends for almost a decade now. This past august she went into a depressive episode and unfortunately had to be hospitalized in November. A week after a release, she started dating this guy she met on Instagram via dms (M21). From the getco, I was worried because I felt like she really needed to focus on herself rather than getting into a relationship. But she explained to me that he “made her feel alive again,” so I didn’t fight her too hard on it. The issue is that this guy is just absolutely terrible to her. He checks her phone any time he’s with her, accuses her of cheating (by the way she’s never cheated before), calls her terrible names, on top of that, there would be months at a time where I wouldn’t hear from her (regardless of me reaching out) He would never do any of those things in front of other people which side note - none of our friends have met him including myself. Also side note, he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and doesn’t take his medication at all… (no shame to those who have bipolar) They would break up on and off here and there and each breakup she would tell me all these terrible things. I encourage her to block him, stop texting him, MOVE ON. But she has become so fixated on him that it’s like I’m talking to a brick wall. This most recent breakup has been the worse, and I just found out today that she got back together with him. I asked her what happened, and some way some how he has convinced her that she is the reason for all her previous breakups in the past, “bc she always wanted better,” (she DESERVES better). I can get into it much more, with more stories, but I believe most of you get the picture. It’s obvious he’s taking advantage of her vulnerability and manipulating her to the absolute max. I don’t know how I can make her snap out of it. She practically idolizes this man. Please help me figure out how I can talk to her and realize that healthy relationships aren’t supposed to look and feel like this !!

I am waiting on my first PVS 14 (L3 Unfilmed White Phosphor 24UA) to be shipped into my local gun store and recently found this sub.
I can’t believe the internet still has such a positive place to dwell. All of you guys are so supportive to one another and I can’t wait to join with my new super power!
I will usually open this sub first thing when I hop on and look through the recent posts. Thanks for being all that you are. I’m in Southeastern Idaho and it would be fun to connect up some time with members of the group.
You guys rock!