Cool lettering for xat

Hello Everyone,
I have really found this /r helpful, and I really appreciate everyone here. I'm an unusual applicant, and I'm really unsure how I should proceed. I am 33, and when I was in Undergrad I experienced some terrible, publicly documented abuse of a novel type (at least in the academic literature). This caused me to have a 2.3 UGPA, I also had to work full time, and am a URM, 1st gen college grad, had to work to support my immigrant wife who couldn't work, (we're still married lmao), etc.
Since then, I have 2 master's degrees, one of which has a 4.0 GPA. As a part of that second 4.0 masters degree, I conducted the largest qualitative/quantitative research on the population that I'm a part of (survivors of this type of abuse), and produced a 100 page thesis on the topic, with some pending submissions to academic journals. A part of it was categorized under legal theory, which is so cool! I also created the first publicly listed college course on that type of abuse as a professor at the university I'm at. I teach on the topic here in the USA, and I do Collaborative Online International Learning on the same topic in Japan & Costa Rica. I have won a few faculty awards for excellent teaching, helped found an academic certificate and now manage it as a faculty member, and have spoken at two huge academic conferences on my research. I'm also a part of the two largest (to my knowledge), advocacy groups for this type of abuse, one of which I founded and manage as well. I teach like 9 different courses at my uni.
I'm looking to get a JD because a big part of my research involves survivors taking legal action as a recourse for this type of abuse. I'd like to be a professor of Law one day, and I know that's hard as hell, but I know I want to teach, because I do in my area, and I love it. I'm also genuinely interested in being an attorney. My LSAT practice is 174-178 consistently (AUG and on). I'd like to go to any top 14 school.
I was wondering if anyone had first hand experience with those admissions counselor networks from last cycle? What was your experience like? did it help? anyone or anything to avoid?
I can get amazing letters of REC from deans, chairs, academic committee members and others that have seen my work. They can all attest that my 2.3 from 15 years ago isn't representative of me. I think I have a really cool story, going from survivor, to advocate, to scholar on my topic. Even defining it with social science evidence and some publications/conferences etc. But I honestly don't know if top schools care. It's been a journey and truly hard as hell to do, but I'm happy I've done it, and this is the next step for me any my family.
Also, am I just screwed due to my low GPA?

Timestamp and Videos
Graham GMT Razel GT - $450
Original owner of this knife. This is a midtech I purchased back in 2019. I hopped on this quickly as I missed out on the original GMT Razels back in the day and wanted something from Jon. I could never bring myself to carry or use this knife, just had so much appreciation for the design and creativity behind it. Has the classic Graham pocket clip that allows it to slide discretely into your pocket.
Graham GMT Rhino - $450
Original owner of this one as well. While this is a midtech, I did purchase this from Jon’s website as a “Pimped Out Rhino Shorty.” These were midtechs that Jon did some extra work on to make them just a little more special than your run-of-the-mill GMTs. This never saw any pocket time or cut anything, I just really appreciated Jon’s creative designs.
Scorpion 6 Mektig - $500
This is a custom Mektig from Scorpion 6 Knives. I’m the original owner of this knife and actually had some input on the design of this specific knife. I spoke with Shane back in 2016 and gave him my ideas on how I would like to customize my Mektig and this was the result. Super cool knife with rattlesnake scales and Loki finish on the blade. The blade is heavy and while the blade does come out with the flipper, giving it a little extra wrist motion makes this thing fly out. This is #76 from the first run of Mektigs. Comes with original box, papers, and certificate of authenticity.
Kershaw Skyline - $50
Second owner of this knife, bought it off somebody here on K_S a few years back. I’ve used it to open a couple letters and packages here and there, hasn’t seen much use in the last few years. Didn’t realize it was discontinued until I searched the subreddit to get an idea of what these go for nowadays. Centering is good, lockup is decent, still holds a nice edge, and flips out quickly.
LynchNW All Access Pass - $60
Original owner of this V1.2 All Access Pass from LynchNW. Has a birthday of December 2016. Bought this back when BladeHQ had a big restock, but never did find a reason to carry or use it. Super cool in concept, just never really needed it since I have my Leatherman most of the time.
All knives (and the All Access Pass) come with original boxes and papers (pouches for the GMTs).
Not looking for any trades at this time. Yolo in comments get priority.
PayPal G&S - US shipping only
Thanks for looking!

All names were changed for the sake of anonymity.
Context: When I moved to Canada 4 years ago, I got a local phone number. Soon after, I have received at least 1 call a month asking for John Doe, and asking if he wanted to talk about Crpyto or banking stuff, or possible loans. I normally tell them they have the wrong number and hang up.
On Sunday, 9pm (London UK time), I recieved a phone call from the UK. I was running late for work so I just assumed it was another John Doe call. A british man (which surprised me because normally i get strange accents) on the line asks me if i've been recieving calls regarding John Doe! I say yes? and he asks me to answer some clarifying questions. I ask what this is regards to, and he tells me that there has been a lawsuit started against John Doe, and that they're trying to collect evidence. To be completely honest, it sounded cool, and I wanted to put an end to the random phone calls I receive, so I agreed. He asked for my name, I gave only my first. Answered a bunch of questions, and then requested he send a legal document for consent via email if he wants any further information.
Here is where I feel I messed up: I gave my personal email, which, while running late for work, I didn't realise could possibly be used against me as it contained my first name, middle initial, and last name. When he asked me to confirm the email, he even used the NATO alphabet to confirm, which seemed professional to me, and then when i said "yep" to the last letter, he asked to put me on hold, but the line disconnected. I assumed he would call back but never did. And I've called the number and it's been switched off.
The last 4 days I've checked for emails or missed calls, worrying that I had given away more than I had realised. Maybe a sign-in attempt will be made. Not sure. So far, nothing. Also realised I never asked for the law firm's name or number. Tried to check if the number was associated with anyone, its just a private number from the uk.
What can a scammer do with my first name last name email and phone number?
Is this even a scam? Or just a bad lawfirm?

SOS what do I do with my insane parent in laws
In 2016, I met my husbands parents for the first time, and initially, everything was great. His mother, seemed particularly cool, sharing my interests in fashion and design. However, during a subsequent visit, a friend of his mother mentioned that she was speaking negatively about me, which puzzled and upset me.
Kevin's father later explained that the mother said she felt uncomfortable with me, citing my happiness and upbeat American-ness as issues. Despite this, I was just being my normal self, which might have clashed culturally since they are German and French.
Over the years, the mother in laws behavior oscillated between being nice and giving me gifts, to being jealous and attacking me verbally. She even made inappropriate comments, like accusing me of having a liking for older men due to my father's death and saying that I was looking at her husband. It felt very clear she was just incredibly jealous and insecure woman and my husband told me of how many issues of jealousy that has happened so many times with the father. Every time my husband would ask his mother why I make her uncomfortable or why she doesn’t like me, she has no answer, and can’t come up with any concrete but says “she’s so American” and “I just have a feeling she is bad”
The breaking point came during a stay when we were visiting them, where the mother in law’s spiteful comments culminated in a hurtful email randomly accusing me of ingratitude and insensitivity when I brought her a gift thanked her for anytime but it was not the root of the problem. . My husband and and I responded firmly, expressing our disappointment and setting boundaries against their emotional manipulation.
Despite our efforts to address the issues, the mother in law continued with baseless accusations, including claiming I made advances towards my husbands father. Which absolutely freaked us out, we received a random email saying the the father was looking at me, because I was begging for attention and that he never wants to see me again because I was the cause of all the problems. Which is sick and was very untrue . It was disgusting that they manipulated me being causal and totally appropriately nice as something in their favour to play to their negative image - but keep in my these fact accusations came 7 years later after for 7 years she “studied” pictures of me in the background and saw a time I hugged her husband or stood next to him in a photo - taking things completely out of context.
This led us to distance ourselves and eventually move to America.
2 years later after cutting off all contact, my husband met them, they fought it out and ended in well we will have to get everyone to get her and talk it out.
6 months later we slowly decide to plan a trip to Europe, the mother in law questioned whether I would be coming (we’re married) and threw a fit saying they will not see me and made further unfounded accusations and suggesting I needed therapy and that I am manipulating my husband and I was trying to hurt the mother in law and was hitting on my husbands father.
My husband tried to mediate, but their refusal to acknowledge their hurtful actions and refusal to believe the truth. They just ignored us and said we won’t respond.
They prefer to live in this web of lives because it serves them. They have constantly served narcissism throughout the years but this has gotten sick and really disgustingly twisted.
I'm now left wondering if sending them a letter would make any difference, considering the deep-rooted issues and continuous toxic behavior from my husbands parents SOS! Please I would love your advice

Dear brothers and sisters,
Next week it will be two months since earning my CCNA. I have reached out with my resume wherever I could, applied to every entry-level networking job I saw - and still nothing. I haven't received a single job interview call so far. Nothing. Zero. Bummer.
It's unlikely this is some kind of cardinal resume issue. I have tinkered with my cover letter and resume a lot, and everything looks clear, concise and truthful.
Since I blew last of my money on getting this cert, I kinda live in a squalor now. Every day I must deal with anxiety, fear, self-destructive thoughts and there's nothing I could do other than watch how my life is becoming one big Trailer Park Boys episode.
Not everything looks bad though as I understand networking so much better and this has helped me a lot with my little hacking hobby I enjoy. I have obtained many great books on hacking and each day I learn something new. It's not just about techniques and tools, I have also developed a strong curiosity about code (mostly scripting for now). This is the only thing that keeps me going.
Although I still like networking a lot, I would love to become a mainframe administrator someday. IBM has great free books on that so I will definitely give it a try as soon I am done exploring everything that wireshark can offer (MATE looks like a useful thing).
Well, this is how it goes for me right now. I love technology but being stuck in such a dark place just sucks (I'm from the Balkans region).
Guess I'll see you around guys. Stay cool, drink plenty of fluids and keep learning <3

I read this short story in high school and it has always stuck with me. I cannot remember the exact details, but the man has written a letter in some sort of autocratic state where mail is read over and censored (letters destroyed that go against laws or something of the sorts). He wants this letter to be sent very bad (I think it is a love letter but I cannot remember?) but worries it will be thrown away by the people who are maintaining the censorship, so he gets a job reading the mail hoping to come across his letter and make sure its sent. But he becomes indoctrinated in the job and by the end comes across his letter but throws it away because it breaks the law! Such a cool story but for some reason cannot remember the title even though it has stuck with me for so long.

this is sort of a different one as our situation was really unique. we (20nb, 20f) were distant friends for a year and then were talking/dating long distance for 3 months (it moved incredibly fast and was very intense) before i broke it off saying i wanted to be friends but neither of us really took the space for that to be able to happen and our relationship descended into something really emotionally dependent (both ways) and obsessive, with her attachment issues spiralling out of control. it ended (or more like paused) on a confusing note of me asking for space a month after breaking up and not being able to give a reason why when she asked because i had basically shut down. it’s not until now that i’ve really felt ready and that she has my trust back (as she did violate my boundary a few times with messages and letters, varying in content and emotion, resulting in us blocking each other. she has me unblocked now but i still have her blocked). i really want to give her the benefit of the doubt and try to make a friendship work or at least be civil now that, hopefully, things have cooled off, and i’ve finished my intense final year of uni. it may be a really stupid idea but has anyone been in a remotely similar situation before? what do i do?

Update: Basically as expected, they’re reviewing the marketing function as a whole and my role is under threat. Made it sound like I have the opportunity to “turn things around and come up with some ideas on how to make it effective again” but if they’ve gone this far the decision is made and that’s just a legal mumbo jumbo process. Follow up meeting on June 4 and then redundancy I assume. I managed to stay calm and not cry but I did go very red
OP:
I am pretty sure. I've been invited to a meeting with my manager and one of the women in HR is attending as a "note-taker" i.e. witness. The letter inviting me to the meeting was very formal and says they want to have "an open conversation about the structure of the department" and that I can bring a work colleague with me if I want. So reading between the lines I think it has to be redundancy.
It's not a group of redundancies, it's just me (afaik) and I am not surprised. There's been what I think is a mutual feeling there for a while that they don't want me there and I don't want to be there. My performance has been poor although I have never had a warning or anything based on it so I don't think they can sack me on performance. Their management has also been poor, effectively ignoring me with zero communication, no annual review, no targets, KPIs or deadlines.
My goal now is to handle this process with as much dignity as I can and hopefully leave on good terms. I did not fit in at this company but I don't think they're bad people.
I've been here for 21.5 months and statutory redundancy only kicks in at 24 months but I am hoping they will offer me a month's salary anyway.
Even though I know what's coming I hope I can handle it, I'm very nervous and have a tendency to go all red and blotchy in these situations or worse cry. I've worn more makeup than usual to try and temper the redness and I just hope I can keep my cool in this meeting.
Wish me luck...

I saw both the Lucas and Flint headcanon threads, so I'm doing one for Jeff Andonuts (and Tony)!
This will mostly be based on Earthbound, but I'll also mention some based on late-game or even as far as Mother 3, but I could only tag for one series. I'll try my best to block out what *would* be a spoiler, but let me know if I missed something. It's a long post, sorry.
Jeff Andonuts (beginning + middle of the game):

• Despite his name, he really likes cookies more (he TOOK Tony's birthday cookies)
• Jeff doesn't mind the cold of Winters.
• Jeff likes working alone, but he doesn't like to *BE* alone
• Jeff *did* call his father "dad" at one point, before he was left at the boarding school
  • He met Tony on said day
• Jeff isn't a robot, and he's not a clone either
• Not only is Jeff near-sighted, but he may be getting far-sighted as well - in other words his vision isn't great at all
• Jeff tolerates Maxwell Labs.
• He wasn't religious or spiritual at all initially, but after Giygas, he believes in some sort of higher power - not necessarily a specific religion, but definitely felt that *someone* or *something* saved them.
• He knows some Dalaam-ese, but isn't a fluent speaker.
• He did have some sort of "feud" with Poo regarding science vs belief, but then they become close friends
• Ness thought that Paula would be more interested in Jeff, as he's smart and somewhat of a gentleman
  • He took "finishing" classes at Snow Wood
• He doesn't understand why Ness and Paula stare when he mentions getting swatted at school
  • He got swatted often
• Jeff is confused with American Eagleland dialect. The same goes for Ness and Paula and Jeff's dialect from Winters. (ie. ground floor vs first floor, chips vs crisps, herbs vs **h**erbs)

Jeff Andonuts (endgame + post-game) - more spoilers here

• Dr. Andonuts took longer to put Jeff's consciousness into the robot body than the rest of the 3.
• >! Jeff repairs his relationship with his father, but it takes longer than he realizes!<
  • Until he is taken by Porky, which leads to his appearance in Mother 3.
  • Jeff falls into a deep sadness for a while because of this, but gets encouraged by Tony and uses an improved Phase Distorter to find him again.
• Jeff DOES fix Ness and Paula's appliances (including a toaster) after they get married
• Jeff accepts that not only does Tony like him, but the realization that he likes him back!They get serious about dating when they're older, and eventually marry as well!
  • Dr. Andonuts is indifferent to their relationship, and nearly forgets when the wedding is because he's a bit absent-minded when it comes to social functions

Tony (beginning + middle of the game)

• Tony has asthma, so he carries a rescue inhaler with him
• Tony is of Italian (whatever the equivalent is in Earthbound) heritage - he knows some words and talks with his hands but not as advanced as a native speaker
• Tony plays soccer (football) in the school's team
• Tony realized that he was gay fairly young, but he's not very open for his safety. Even Jeff doesn't know.
• Tony is more of the "sensitive" one of the two friends. Also more of a romantic, and more artistic than Jeff. He's good in school too, but not Jeff-level.
• Tony is popular in school - he was getting birthday gifts! The other kids don't understand why he'd be close friends with someone as reclusive and aloof as Jeff
• Tony likes Maxwell Labs, except when he's doing a prank
• Tony>! stood at the gates when Jeff jumped over and left, and stood long enough to get some frostbite!<
• When>! Tony calls you, he *wants* to tell Jeff that he loves him, but is terrified to do so!<
  • Even when he sees him again at Stonehenge Base.
• While Jeff is away, Tony prays every night. He is a practicing Catholic, so he uses a rosary.

Tony (endgame + postgame)

• When Paula>! is praying for help, Tony is not able to "hear" her, but he only can get a "feeling", since he doesn't have PSI!<
• When Jeff returns to Snow Wood, Tony admits to him that he is gay, and that he did like Jeff this whole time! He's scared, but Jeff accepts him, and also his feelings for him.
  • Dr. Andonuts thought for about a minute when Jeff brings Tony over to meet him, but he doesn't say anything negative about it - he only asked him to get a wrench for him. Jeff tells Tony that this is actually a positive response
  • Tony's family, on the other hand, accept Jeff - either immediately or eventually. Jeff doesn't know what to do regarding their family customs when he's invited over
• Jeff and Tony get married when they're older!

Bonus: Maxwell Labs

• Maxwell is known as the "cool teacher"
• Maxwell teaches science classes
• Maxwell get irritated by Jeff's behavior sometimes (basically when Jeff gets bored and starts building a bottle rocket or something)
• Maxwell is also a DM for the school's Dungeons and Dragons club, which both Jeff and Tony are members of
  • He laughs at the players' pain as he explains that the roll failed
• Maxwell comforts Tony when Jeff leaves, and encourages him to try calling or writing to him.
  • Tony wrote more in a journal than actually sending the letters
• He attends Jeff's and Tony's wedding. He bawls

This is what I'm able to remember for now, since ideas come and go. I would like to hear other people's theories, and if you want to comment on mine, go for it!

I’ve seen the numerous posts warning going back to a pwbpd. Mine broke up with me a month ago (while living with me) and went and had sex with someone and made a tinder all while sleeping next to me every night. Also while leaving me in financial ruin and mental and verbally abusing me daily, going into rages telling me the most vile things about myself such as no man will ever love me, he thought of other women every time we had sex, I was disgusting pitiful cancerous pathetic the list goes on. It was probably the most traumatic month of my life, I lost 15 pounds, have insomnia and visibly am still in shambles. He told me he thought he had bpd about 6 months ago and I started reading up on it and everything made sense. He had a traumatic childhood, in short term foster homes his entire life. I love him so much and knew that he was sick and had been through unimaginable pain. I knew he had to protect himself and was always left and I wanted him to know I would protect him always and would never leave him.
After this month of horror and dealing with someone who I didn’t recognize, after one night of raging on me I guess I said something that struck a chord finally and he broke down. He took down the mask and cried to me for hours. Telling me about how he knows he’s sick and he’s been in these cycles his entire life and ruined every relationship. He said he’d do anything to stop living like this. He said he didn’t mean anything he said that he only wanted to hurt me because he was hurt. He even told me he believes he has narcissistic traits which i definitely had thought before but thought i was being too harsh. I told him he needed to start therapy and remember this night and hold on to that clarity, that he couldn’t revert after this and be in denial. I then spent a few days writing out a letter that I read to him detailing my boundaries and that I would stick by him through whatever but that I couldn’t accept abuse or cheating.
I was so nervous to bring it to him because I thought he may not take it well and as you know we walk on eggshells with these people but I had studied up on ways to communicate with your partner with bpd and put a lot of thought into it. His response was pulling me close and telling me he loved me. I decided that I was giving him a fresh clean slate to be the best him he could be, who he wanted to be, I thought. I didn’t treat him as if he just cheated on me 2 weeks prior. We had a great week. 2 days ago I had an important exam and woke up anxious and told him. He was trying to make me feel better but I guess I didn’t respond to him in the way he wanted and he changed his tone and I asked him why he was being rude to me, this upset him so he walked outside without saying anything to leave. I followed after him which I shouldn’t have, and he told me to shut up and leave him alone. My exam was in one hour, I was crying and a mess, he tried to quickly make up for it and move past it and prepare me for my exam but I definetley failed. I let it go and didn’t let it ruin the day. Things were good but in the back of my mind I wondered did he subconsciously intentionally try to mess up a day he knew was so important to me, but I was sweet and let it go. Yesterday morning things felt off. He wasn’t as cheery as he had been the rest of the week, and left to work and didn’t message me the entire morning or afternoon. When he got home i let him know that I felt like things were off and was sad that he didn’t kiss me when he came in or talk to me throughout the day. I’m an anxious attachment style anyways and my love language is definitely touch. Besides that I was just cheated on and told by the man I love how awful I am, so despite me playing it so cool I do feel insecure and distrusting of him and when he will switch.
To make a long story short, he doesn’t take it well. I try to communicate calmly and tell him that these things don’t need to be turned into this, that he could have simply hugged me and let me know nothing was wrong and that I made it clear it was his responsibility to help reassure me through this process. He flips everything on me, somehow is the victim who isn’t enough or doesn’t do enough and says he’s done and this isn’t worth it to him. Goes to sleep, wake up at 7 leaves doesn’t say a word to me all day. Gets home at 5 and acts like nothing really happened but still no kiss or I love you and of course no recognition of what’s happened. At this point I’m so tired of the weird games. I ask him is he comfortable with this weirdness. That he could have just hugged me today and apologized and moved forward. But his pride doesn’t allow him to do that. It turned into a huge ordeal and I tried to remind him of our conversation where he had a moment of clarity, everything he told me, and it got no where. He denied everything and tried to flip it all on me. Said he thinks I’m being emotionally unstable because I just got off my birth control not because I’m being gaslit cheated on and manipulated by the man I’ve given my everything to. Took no accountability and just ends it with what’s easiest, that this isn’t gonna work. I tell him I took him back after the biggest betrayal of my life because I believed him that he was aware of his issues and that he needed to work on them and couldn’t hurt me anymore. He tells me no, he took ME back. He doesn’t live in reality and it’s honestly terrifying, for him and for me being in love with him. I’m not crying right now. I don’t even know what’s real anymore. My life just feels like a bad acid trip. Words couldn’t describe how I feel. I question if it’s rubbing off on me. I feel an incredible emptiness and confusion now from going through this manipulation and trauma. I have my second therapy appt tomorrow. I can’t make sense of anything in my life. I’ve just tried to be a good person and love him and it seems he is incapable of giving me that back. I’ve accepted that this won’t work but still feel guilt and pain that he will continue to suffer through life. I don’t want him to be alone. I wanted to be that one person that never left him. But it feels like he cannot care for me or think of me in the same capacity and sometimes that he wants to actually destroy me.

The following is my ideal start to the sequel. I apologize in advance for the parentheses.
The MC is awakened by a knock at the door.
Either Amit, Poppy, or Gareth (depending on the MC's house) enter the room, saying something along the lines of
"Sorry, I didn't wake you did I?"
We discover that the MC has been staying at one of the above characters' houses for Summer Break, due to the MC being an orphan (set up MC backstory).
The MC and other character go downstairs for breakfast with the other character's family. (A lot of this takes inspiration from Harry's time at the Burrow) An owl arrives with a letter for school supplies.
It is decided that they will all go to Diagon Alley the next day. However, first things first- house chores!
Depending on the house of the MC, the chores will vary. I even imagine de-gnoming could be a possibility if with the Weasleys.
After completion of the chores, the player is given the option to explore the house and yard before ending the day. The next morning the player and family go to Diagon Alley via Flu Powder. The player is free to explore Diagon Alley, including Gringotts, where they may set up an account. There will also be an option to buy a broom and/or a wand, each with varying potentials (speed, power, etc.) However, the funds will be limited, so choices will have to be made. There will be some unique products available for purchase in Diagon Alley, which the player may have a second chance to buy during the Winter break, when they will have the option to stay at the Leaky Cauldron or at an empty Hogwarts, each with their own possible benefit.
Upon returning to the house from Diagon Alley, a bit of fun begins.
Depending on which house the MC is staying at, this bit will differ.
If staying with the Weasleys, MC will play a 2-on-2 quidditch game (with just a quaffle, I believe)
If staying with Amit, perhaps a flight to a nearby hill for some star gazing.
If staying with Poppy...maybe like following unicorn tracks, ending in a unicorn ride through the woods??
Alas, thus the fun ends and it is time to prepare for the next day's journey to Hogwarts.
(It would be cool if each family had a different way to get to Kings Cross- broom flight, portkey, floo powder? This could also be a quest in itself)
The MC walks through platform 9 3/4 and gets the opportunity to wander around briefly, before the train whistle and a voice warns of its nearing departure.
The MC, along with the other character, boards the Hogwarts Express. After checking around various compartments and perhaps getting refused by some antagonizing students, the MC finds an open compartment to sit in. After a brief conversation and perhaps some new character introductions, the MC gets the chance to buy some things from the trolley and can wonder around the train. There could be some sort of quest (finding a student's lost belonging? Stopping some older students from bullying anxious first years?) before the train begins its approach to Hogsmeade Station (Ideally the player could control how long or short the train ride lasts).
The students exit the train and the camera might show a mysterious hooded figure watching from a bench on the other platform. We might get a cut scene of the carriages trek to the school (and in said process, we might see/hear a glimpse of something worrisome through the trees.) We enter the great hall for the sorting ceremony. We watch the ceremony and notice something unusual with one of the students (perhaps something sinister even--random thought, what if the student were actually a powerful dark wizard who had used the polyjuice potion to take on the appearance of a student in order to infiltrate Hogwarts), like the hat announcing the student's house before the student even sits down (eg. Draco). This student may or may not be a potential antagonist.
We get the chance to converse with just about all of our housemates, with more lengthy conversations with students in our own year. (Along with the train ride, this is an opportunity for relationship building) We also get to eat the variety of foods that have appeared on the table. We then get some school announcements from the headmaster, including but not limited to the try out dates for Quidditch. After the announcements, the feast is brought to a close, and house prefects guide the first years to their respective houses (and in this process, the MC might catch the unusual first year looking at them as they exit the Hall).
The MC then heads to their common room along with the other students. The player gets to explore the common room and interact with it magically (lighting fireplace, accio-ing books etc.), maybe eventually getting scolded by some older students, a ghost or a prefect. Also, the bulletin board lists some possible quests to be done on a later date. There are also NPCs with whom the MC can play exploding snap and wizards chess with in the common room. (Gobstones would be available to play outside)
The player is free to stay in the common room, but with all of the other students eventually heading up to their rooms, the player will naturally wish to do so as well. Upon going up to the bedroom, they will join in on a brief conversation with their roommates about the next day's classes etc. Then, the player will get to sleep in their bed, to get some rest before the start of a new school year.

Hello there,
I'm a film student from Germany doing his bachelor project at the moment. For my project I am making a short film and music video based off of "Madeleine" (Personally, my favourite Good Kid song) but I'm in need of support for the project.
I don't love doing advertising like this, nor begging, but I feel this is a really cool project that I want to make for the band I enjoy listening to and if I want to do it well, I will need support. This is also a great opportunity for the community to come together in order to get this done.
I have set up a GoFundMe and if you can share it or support it, it would mean the world to me:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/Fund-Madeleine
The money from the project will go primarily into locations, catering, costume and transport since I do have the fortunate situation where I can borrow film equipment from my university.
I also want to say if you want to see an example of my prior work, I recently completed my universities diploma program to which I uploaded the trailer of my last project "The Price of a Man" on my reddit page. (Can't show the full film yet due to film festival rules)
But yeah, I hope we can bring the community together in order to make this love letter to Good Kid.
Thanks all,
Chris

Song Lyrics I connect to
I listen to a LOT of music, so I’ll just go with some I really connect to
All the lyrics from Fire Drill by Melanie Martinez but I’ll pick a few
“Crying inside cause nothing I say ever comes out right” -Fire Drill
“I’ve never fit into any category Always deemed an outcast” -Fire Drill
“I’m bad at public speaking But I’m speaking now so hear me out I personally believe that everyone is fully capable of more than what they’re doing All of the bullying All of the screwing around with people they don’t really know” -Fire Drill
“I am not apart of anything that is hateful Love is seeping out my pores, I don’t feel anger anymore, even for people who hurt and betray me” -Fire Drill
“I’m just another teenage tragedy And life keeps draining my batteries” -Teenage Tragedy- Rory Webley
“You don’t want to know me, I will just let you down” -Castles Crumbling- Taylor Swift
“Now they’re screaming that they hate me Never wanted you to hate me” -Castles Crumbling
“I’ve got a smile cut into my cheeks I hide things when I speak Looks like I mean it I guess I’m a joker My hairs burnt from the bleach I hope you like what you see Need you like me I guess I’m the joker Why so serious?” -Joker, Rory Webley
“The thoughts in my brain, I’m going insane I’m somebody Arkham Asylum could never contain” -Joker
“Seems kind of dumb to worry bout good grades when this generation’s dealing with its own black plague”—Everybody Dies, Rory Webley
“It’s kinda sad to watch your superheroes fall from grace”- Everybody Dies- Rory Webley
“Feels like I’m dead before I’m even in the casket” -Everybody Dies
“Telling me that the end’s getting closer While I’m sitting on my phone scrolling TikTok turning my brain into a toaster” -Everybody Dies
“Your heart’s too big for your body That’s why it won’t fit inside You pore it out where everyone can see” -Crybaby, Melanie Martinez
“So what if I’m crazy, all the best people are”—Mad Hatter, Melanie Martinez
“You and I’ll be safe and sound” -Taylor Swift, Safe and Sound
“Why do I always spill? Feel it coming out my throat Guess I better wash my mouth out with soap” -Soap, Melanie Martinez
“Why’d I put my heart on every cursive letter?” -Melanie Martinez, Pity Party
“Why not me?” -Washing Machine Heart, Mitski
“What was I made for?” -What was I made for- Billie Eilish
“Loving you was lethal, guess that makes me evil” -EVIL, Melanie Martinez
“If you bite my hand again I will never feed you” -Melanie Martinez, EVIL
“I like shiny things but I’d marry you with paper rings You’re the one I want And I hate accidents Except when we went from friends to this”-Paper Rings, Taylor Swift
“I see things that nobody else sees”- Dollhouse, Melanie Martinez
“I’ll try not to starve myself Just because you’re mad at me” -Tv- Billie Eilish
“It’s you that I lie with As the atom bomb locks in”—As The World Caves In- Matt Maltese
“I’m not cool and I’m not smart and I can’t even parallel park 🤪” -brutal- Olivia Rodrigo
“Who is in control?” -Control, Halsey
“Go on and step on me” -Step On Me- The Cardigans
“You’re perfectly imperfect, You’re hurting but you’re worth it You don’t know why I would waste my time But I’m falling and I mean it I want you like I need it There’s nothing you could try to change my mind Cause I’m In Love With You” -Perfectly Imperfect, Declan J Donavan
“Your body is imperfectly imperfect Everyone wants what the other one’s working” -Orange Juice, Melanie Martinez
“My heart just burst like the glass balloon I let it fly too high and it shattered to soon” -MARINA, Hermit The Frog
“I’ve been chosen last since the kindergarten” -Chosen Last, Sara Kays
“I’m so sick of myself” -jealousy jealousy- Olivia Rodrigo
“The world will feel the fire and finally know” -The World Will Know- Newsies
“Just an appendage live to attend him so that he never lifts a finger” -labour- Paris Paloma
“Im more than my body” -Body, Jordan Suaste

In 2016, I met my husbands parents for the first time, and initially, everything was great. His mother, seemed particularly cool, sharing my interests in fashion and design. However, during a subsequent visit, a friend of his mother mentioned that she was speaking negatively about me, which puzzled and upset me.
Kevin's father later explained that the mother said she felt uncomfortable with me, citing my happiness and upbeat American-ness as issues. Despite this, I was just being my normal self, which might have clashed culturally since they are German and French.
Over the years, the mother in laws behavior oscillated between being nice and giving me gifts, to being jealous and attacking me verbally. She even made inappropriate comments, like accusing me of having a liking for older men due to my father's death and saying that I was looking at her husband. It felt very clear she was just incredibly jealous and insecure woman and my husband told me of how many issues of jealousy that has happened so many times with the father. Every time my husband would ask his mother why I make her uncomfortable or why she doesn’t like me, she has no answer, and can’t come up with any concrete but says “she’s so American” and “I just have a feeling she is bad”
The breaking point came during a stay when we were visiting them, where the mother in law’s spiteful comments culminated in a hurtful email randomly accusing me of ingratitude and insensitivity when I brought her a gift thanked her for anytime but it was not the root of the problem. . My husband and and I responded firmly, expressing our disappointment and setting boundaries against their emotional manipulation.
Despite our efforts to address the issues, the mother in law continued with baseless accusations, including claiming I made advances towards my husbands father. Which absolutely freaked up out, we received a random email saying the the father was looking at me, because I was begging for attention and that he never wants to see me again because I was the cause of all the problems. Which is sick and was very true . It was disgusting that they manipulated me being causal and totally appropriately nice .
This led us to distance ourselves and eventually move to America.
2 years later after cutting off all contact, we slowly decide to plan a trip to Europe, the mother in law questioned whether I would be coming (we’re married) and threw a fit saying they will not say me and made further unfounded accusations and suggesting I needed therapy and that I am manipulating my husband and I was trying to hurt the other in law in person and was hitting on my husbands father.
My husband tried to mediate, but their refusal to acknowledge their hurtful actions and refusal to believe the truth. They prefer to live in this web of lives because it serves them. They have constantly serves narcissism throughout the years but this has gotten sick.
I'm now left wondering if sending them a letter would make any difference, considering the deep-rooted issues and continuous toxic behavior from my husbands parents SOS! Please I would love advice

In 2016, I met my husbands parents for the first time, and initially, everything was great. His mother, seemed particularly cool, sharing my interests in fashion and design. However, during a subsequent visit, a friend of his mother mentioned that she was speaking negatively about me, which puzzled and upset me.
Kevin's father later explained that the mother said she felt uncomfortable with me, citing my happiness and upbeat American-ness as issues. Despite this, I was just being my normal self, which might have clashed culturally since they are German and French.
Over the years, the mother in laws behavior oscillated between being nice and giving me gifts, to being jealous and attacking me verbally. She even made inappropriate comments, like accusing me of having a liking for older men due to my father's death and saying that I was looking at her husband. It felt very clear she was just incredibly jealous and insecure woman and my husband told me of how many issues of jealousy that has happened so many times with the father. Every time my husband would ask his mother why I make her uncomfortable or why she doesn’t like me, she has no answer, and can’t come up with any concrete but says “she’s so American” and “I just have a feeling she is bad”
The breaking point came during a stay when we were visiting them, where the mother in law’s spiteful comments culminated in a hurtful email randomly accusing me of ingratitude and insensitivity when I brought her a gift thanked her for anytime but it was not the root of the problem. . My husband and and I responded firmly, expressing our disappointment and setting boundaries against their emotional manipulation.
Despite our efforts to address the issues, the mother in law continued with baseless accusations, including claiming I made advances towards my husbands father. Which absolutely freaked up out, we received a random email saying the the father was looking at me, because I was begging for attention and that he never wants to see me again because I was the cause of all the problems. Which is sick and was very true . It was disgusting that they manipulated me being causal and totally appropriately nice .
This led us to distance ourselves and eventually move to America.
2 years later after cutting off all contact, we slowly decide to plan a trip to Europe, the mother in law questioned whether I would be coming (we’re married) and threw a fit saying they will not say me and made further unfounded accusations and suggesting I needed therapy and that I am manipulating my husband and I was trying to hurt the other in law in person and was hitting on my husbands father.
My husband tried to mediate, but their refusal to acknowledge their hurtful actions and refusal to believe the truth. They prefer to live in this web of lives because it serves them. They have constantly serves narcissism throughout the years but this has gotten sick.
I'm now left wondering if sending them a letter would make any difference, considering the deep-rooted issues and continuous toxic behavior from my husbands parents SOS! Please I would love advice

On May 15th, I wrote a letter to myself in 3 years time, I'll get an email on September 15th 2027.
As I was finishing, I realized: "I'm scared to send this letter".
In 3 years time, will I be better? Will reading this letter bring me into a spiral, erasing years worth of work and hardship? Will it bring me closure of some kind? Will I even be alive to read it?
Sending that letter felt like saying goodbye to something I'm not yet aware of.
Maybe it was me letting go of the past by expecting the future? That might be the case - I've always been scared of forgetting what I was, who I was. This might be a good thing, who knows? I wouldn't, I'm in the present - which intertwines with the past if you think about it - which intertwines with the future if you let it.
This message is the past, the letter is the past, but it is made for the future. Is that hope? Cowardice? Stupidity? Not that there's a difference between any of them.
I am 14 years old, it will be my 18th birthday when I retrieve the letter I had (undoubtedly) forgotten about. I wonder what will happen!!
Thinking about it now, I can't help but be excited. I hope my hair looks cool

Hello Reddit! I’m six months along with boy and girl twins. My husband and I have quite liked the name Nathaniel for a boy for quite some time now, and we’ve settled on the name Nathaniel Roger for him. However! We never discussed girl names before we got pregnant, but since we’re having twins I wanted to give them names that are similar in some sort of way so I wanted it to start with the same letter.
I like the name Nirviane for a girl. Pronounced ner-veen. I think it sounds very lovely and like a cool girl’s name. However! The times I’ve brought this up to my friends, they haven’t reacted positively. I do know it’s a somewhat unusual name. My husband suggested the name Norma which I don’t like as much, but he said Nirviane would be alright with him because it isn’t too common and sounds proper to him. If it helps, our last name is Khlat (my husband is Cambodian, I’m white) and we live in Arizona. I plan to name her Nirviane Janet. Although nobody I know seems to agree with this, so what are your thoughts on it? I feel everyone in my circle is exaggerating about it being a bad name because one of my friends who vetoed it has a daughter named Priscilla (which I don’t like, it sounds like prissy), and another has a daughter named Marigold who goes by Golda.
What are your thoughts on it?
EDIT: Please stop with the harsh DMs! I thought this was a harmless, pretty name. I asked my husband what he thought of some of the names that have been suggested to us, and we both decided our favorite name combination was Nirvana Jane :) we are going to go with this! thank you to everyone who made suggestions and apologies to all that found this post offensive in some way. I hope you all have a lovely day.

This is the first time I have written something of this length, and is more of an exercise in self-therapy than anything else. Disclaimer: This story contains conversations about child abuse. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy it.
Nathan’s number appeared on my phone screen. I debated whether or not to answer it. We hadn’t been on speaking terms for a while, and while we did keep in touch sporadically, it was usually because of important family issues. I didn’t know of anything happening with mom or dad, nor with Talia or Rio, so I let it go to voicemail. I could always call him back later. I placed the phone back in my pocket, and returned to cleaning my camera. The phone buzzed again. A text message came through. I read the preview line from the home screen. “The city declared eminent domain on the house” I unlocked my phone, read the full text message, and dialed my brother.
I wasn't able to get any closer to the house than a few blocks. Most of the area was blocked off with chain link fencing and construction equipment in preparation for the demolition that was supposed to take place within the coming days. The barriers didn’t prevent people from walking in to the neighborhood, but it hindered scrappers from coming in and stripping the houses of copper wiring and plumbing.
I grabbed my camera bag out of the trunk of my car along with my tripod. I shouldered it and hooked the tripod to my bag. I pulled my water bottle out of the center console and shut the door. I stood next to my car surveying the neighborhood. 12 city blocks of old single family homes comprised the neighborhood where I grew up. Some of the houses had been empty for months, others for years. There was an eerie silence that permeated the still air. I could not hear the familiar sounds of people, pets, or cars. I locked the car and put my keys in my pocket. I patted my jacket down to ensure I had what I needed. After a quick check, I started my walk.
The sidewalk of the old neighborhood streets still bore the familiar cracks and grind marks from years of buckling and remedy. Leaves dropped by the trees still lay scattered all along the pathways and sidewalk. Korina’s house was the first house I encountered as I made my way through a gap in the fence. The yard was overgrown with tall grass and thistle. I could see the faded blue paint of the old house contrasting the green and browns of the lawn. The chain link fence that marked off the corner property was nearly invisible through the thick brush. As I continued walking west towards 110th, I started to feel something was off. The streets seemed wider than I remembered. It took me longer than I’d like to admit, but eventually I realized what was different. There were no cars.
The streets here typically had cars lined bumper to bumper in any spot available, and were visible from block to block. The absence of all these vehicles made me realize just how deserted the neighborhood really was. House after house, yard after yard, the telltale signs of desertion reinforced what I could see from the moment I passed the construction fence: This was no longer my neighborhood. There were no signs of life, and no one I could expect to find still here. Abandonment was the new normal here. I continued on, glancing at houses and recalling memories of summer bike rides, and daily walks with dogs I used to have. I remembered walks home from school, and chasing after ice cream trucks when they passed our houses. I smiled a bit as I remembered more and more of my years spent here. I don’t quite know just why I was smiling. There were plenty of bad memories here too. Fights, yelling, being beat up, being robbed. I could remember failed friendships, lost loves, and bitter feelings of failures too.
Still, I felt a certain amount of nostalgia despite the weight of these negative feelings. I almost wanted to experience everything again, although I wasn't sure why I was feeling this way. Concrete, asphalt, billboards and liquor stores were the normal vistas of everyday life. Occasionally, after a good rainstorm, the grey haze of smog would lift, and the mountains would be visible to the north. At least, they would be visible until mid-morning when the exhaust from a million cars covered them behind a veil of pollution.
It wasn’t until the first time I travelled out of the city that I realized there was more to see. Traveling up the coast north along the Pacific Coast Highway introduced me to scenes of deep blue ocean water spanning the width of my vision. Driving up Highway 3 introduced me to the permeating scent of Pine and Fir trees. The two-lane stretch of highway from Portland to Tillamook introduced me to lush green forests that I had only ever read about. When I came home to the same old dirty, dusty concrete and boiling summer asphalt, I had made up my mind. I would do everything it took to leave this place. I would not spend another day longer than was necessary living in cramped quarters and fighting for parking space.
I arrived to the house, and paused at the gate. The house sat in contrast of what the rest of the neighborhood looked like. Instead of overgrown grass and tall weeds all over the place, the landscaping showed signs of relatively recent work. The guava tree in the front lawn still had some fruit ready to be picked, and the avocado tree on the other side of the pathway was still weighed down by its own fruit. Flowers still bloomed in the raised bed in front of the house. My brother had clearly tried to keep up on things until the last possible moment. The house, too, looked better than what I expected after walking up 4 blocks and seeing nothing but dilapidated houses and unkempt yards. I opened the gate and walked up to the small porch. The metal gate that enclosed it was gone having been removed by my brother when he took over the property. It looked nice to see it open instead of the cage it once felt like.
I turned the knob on the door, but it didn't give. Ever a creature of habit, my brother had locked the door when he left. Of course, he did. I sighed and prepared to find another way in when I remembered my parents hiding a spare key. I wasn’t sure if it would still be there, but after running my hands along the back side of the gutter downspout, I was rewarded for my efforts. I unlocked the front door and stepped into the front living room, the sounds of my footsteps and the closing door echoing in the empty space. The room felt both larger and smaller than I remembered it. I suppose it was lack of furniture that made it feel larger, but it still felt smaller than I remember. The result of growing taller throughout the years I suppose. I slowly walked along the slate tile floor towards the central hallway that connected the front of the house to the back bedrooms. I wasn't entirely sure that just because the front door was locked, that there wasn't some squatter looking for a little temporary shelter within the back rooms. I carefully and silently crept step by step towards what used to be the bedroom shared by my sister and me. I stuck my head in and gave the room a cursory glance. It was empty, thankfully. I moved back into the hallway and peered into the bedroom across the hall. This is where both of my brothers had shared a room. It too, was empty save for a few boxes holding hardware and doorknobs from the closet doors of the bedroom. I walked back towards the back of the house where my parent's bedroom was. The walls in the hallway bore the dusty signs where picture once hung. The bedroom door was open. I stepped inside, and looked around. The old avocado paint that my mom had picked out years ago still adorned the walls. Walking further towards the addition that was the small room my grandma and grandpa lived in showed that there was no one here. I breathed a sigh of relief as I set my bag down and set up my tripod. I reached into my bag a pulled out an envelope of old photos. These were old snapshots that we had all taken at some point in time in the house. There were pictures of all of us sitting at the dining room table playing a game of Monopoly. There was a picture of my brother and sister sitting on a couch in the front living room. There was a picture of me hanging on the bars of the front porch. I looked through them all and held them in place in front of me as if I were holding a window to the past.
Each picture made the lump in my throat grow as I started to struggle to control my emotions. There was history here, and soon it would all be gone. This is the place where my parents had raised four kids. They had taken care of my grandparents in their twilight years here. My Aunt and my grandmother had both died in this house. Birthdays, graduation parties, and anniversaries had been celebrated here. The echoes of life had reverberated within the walls of this place. Now, the house sat silent. It would never again know happy screams of kids having a water-balloon war out in the front yard, nor would it hear the cries of anguish as the matriarch of the family passed away surrounded by her family. What once was a home full of life was now just an empty house made of drywall and paint. I sat there for a moment contemplating just how much family history was actually made here. As I thought hard about my siblings and my parents, I felt pained at the thought of our strained relationships. We had all scattered once we had the opportunity to be free of each other. My oldest brother had married and moved away as soon as possible. My sister now lived in northern California. My parents too had moved away. I was now living in Utah. Only my older brother had remained behind. The lump grew larger in my throat as tears welled up in my eyes. I held back sobs of anger and pain. Why was I hurting? Hadn’t I dealt with these issues already? I walked back to my old bedroom and sat down under the window. I pulled my head down into my knees and cried. I could hear yelling and screaming in my head. Shouting matches between siblings and parents, brothers and sister, rattled inside my brain, making the pain grow. I sat there and cried. I hadn’t cried like this in a long time. Eventually I ran out of tears and tired gasps of sorrow and regret washed over me as a blanket of drowsiness enveloped me. I leaned my head back and fell asleep.
I woke up to the sound of footsteps. It took me a moment to realize what I was hearing and hurriedly stood up. Had someone followed me? I knew the police were patrolling the area sporadically. Had they seen me enter the house? I knew there would be a possibility of getting a trespassing citation, but I figured I could either talk my way out of it seeing as to how I was a former resident, or I could probably fight the citation in court if the judge knew why I was there in the first place. Ultimately, passing through the gate had been a calculated risk that I was willing to take for the sake of my art. I got up from my corner of the room and moved towards the door. If there was someone in the house, I needed to know. I didn’t want my gear to stolen, and if there was a cop in the house, I wanted to ensure I didn’t get shot.
I was greeted by the sight of a startled chubby boy standing on the other side of the door. His round cherubic face was crowned by a head of short curly hair. His hazel green eyes stared widely back at me. He clearly didn’t expect someone to be here in the house. His body recoiled in fear as he cowered back towards the hallway. “Wait, what are you doing here?” I asked as non-threateningly as I could. The boy muttered something that I couldn’t quite make out. “What did you say? I couldn’t hear you” I replied. “Are you here to rob us?” he timidly responded. “Rob you? What are you talking about?” I asked as confusion set in. “What are you doing here?” It was his turn to be confused. “Uh…I….live here?” he replied. “What do you mean you live here? No one lives-“I stopped midsentence. I hadn’t noticed in my initial shock but the room wasn’t the same. A familiar blue couch caught the corner of my eye. In front of that was an old console TV with a partially broken antenna hanging on the wall behind it. I walked further in to the living room to notice wood paneling on the walls. A large mirror hung on the wall to my left. Familiar yellow lamps sat on round drop-leaf tables on either side of the couch. A large hutch sat in one corner, a collection of letters and bills, mail advertisements, and a phone book covered scattered over it. “What just happened?” I asked out loud to no one in particular. I was thoroughly mystified by what my eyes were seeing. I had walked into the house from the front door and had stepped into an empty white room with slate floor tiles, but somehow now found myself in a furnished room with brown carpet that was all so familiar to me, yet was nothing but a distant faded memory. I turned to look at the boy still startled by the intrusion of a strange man looking wildly around the room in total shock.
“You can take what you want, just please let me go. I don’t want problems.” He stated his voice still shrill with anxiety. I blinked a few times as I tried to process just what the heck was going on. I gathered my thoughts as best I could and tried to reassure him. “Kid, I’m not here to rob anyone. I was just-“I shook my head “Where the hell am I? Am I having a dream?” I asked myself. “I must be dreaming. I’m just tired and still sleeping. This is all a dream. Yeah, that’s it.” I needed to sit down. Being back in the old house must have overtaxed my senses, I told myself. I’d having a dream about an old memory. I walked over to the chair next to the couch and sat down. I sunk into it and rested my head back towards the wall.
The boy kept his distance, but sensed I wasn’t there to hurt him. He looked me over with anxious curiosity. He stood at the far end of the couch, examining me while he played out scenarios in his head in preparation for a quick exit. “Why are you in my house?” he asked me. “Dude, this is all just a dream I’m having. I’m not really here.” He reached over to the couch and picked up a pillow. He reared his arm and threw it at me. It landed in my lap. “I don’t know, man. You sure seem to be here.” He said to me. I opened my eyes, startled. I looked down at the pillow he tossed and examined it. I ran my hand over the fabric and felt its texture. I remember this pillow. This was the pillow I would roll under my head as I lay on the couch and watched TV as a kid. A sudden realization hit me as I looked around the room with fresh eyes. No longer was I blinded by the fog of confusion. I knew exactly where I was.
I was home.
I looked at the boy still standing at the edge of the couch. I looked him over and realized who he actually was. I stared in disbelief as I smiled and tried to put him at ease. “It’s ok Johnny. I’m not here to hurt you. No one is going to hurt you. Please, sit down” I told him. I motioned to his end of the couch. “Who are you, and why are you here?” he asked me.
“This will be hard to believe, but I’m you” I said with an incredulous tone, “I’m not sure how I ended up here, but I’m here.” He looked at me as I had grown a second head. “That doesn’t make any sense. How could you be me? Did we invent time travel? Oh! Are we secret government agents with the CIA?”
I chuckled. “Wait, wait, wait. Let’s start at the beginning. I’m you at 38 years old. You’re…what, 11… 12 years old? It makes sense. I fell asleep under the window in my- our old bedroom. I didn’t come here on purpose or in a machine. And no, I’m not a government agent.” His face contorted to display understanding, disappointment and finally suspicion. His eyes narrowed as he leaned in towards me. “How do I know you’re really me?” he asked. I thought about it for a moment. How could I prove to him that I was who I said I was? A few seconds of silence settled between us. I stroked my chin, thinking of a solution.
“I have a better idea. Ask me questions that only you know the answers to.” “Okay” he responded. He glanced around the room trying to come up with something. His eyes fixated on the Nintendo sitting under the TV cabinet. “What game do me and Nathan have a map of?” I looked over at the NES. I hadn’t thought about this for years, but I knew instantly what he was asking. “YOU don’t have anything. Nathan is the one that made the map for Section Z” His jaw dropped. He tried to trick me, but his plan failed. He knew well and good that Nathan never let him play. It was always ‘I’ll let you play when I die’ or, ‘you can play when I’m done’. The problem was that he never followed through. Usually by the time Nathan was done, the NES was overheated, and the game would no longer load until it cooled down. By that point, it was time for bed.
“How do you know that?” he asked in astonishment. “I know these things because I’m you. Just like I know that you wear t-shirts to the pool because you’re embarrassed by what others will think of your body. I know that you used to think that people that die off in movies were prisoners that were set to be executed from death row, so they used them for making movies. I know all about you because I’m you”
Johnny sat on the end of the couch in bewilderment, his mouth slightly agape. He had never told anyone any of this. He didn’t have any close friends to talk to about such things, and those friends he did have were more acquaintances than friends. There was only one way he could possibly know these things. He was talking to his future self.
I could see Johnny’s mind completely explode. There lay endless possibility and the answers to a million questions he could ask about his own future. He started to ask a question, only to stop, close his mouth, and try asking another. I knew if he kept this up he would have a stroke or something. “Dude, calm yourself. Let’s talk this out rationally, otherwise you’ll end up stroking out or something.” I told him. He took a deep breath and I could hear him muttering quietly. I knew he was trying to form a coherent sentence before he actually spoke it. I did it all the time. “Ok, first of all, are we rich?” he asked with tempered expectation. I chuckled and grinned back at him. “No, not at all. If I was rich, would I be dressed like this?” I replied as I motioned to my beat up brown Vans and worn out jeans and T-shirt. “We-, I – make enough to get by. I’m not poor, but I earn enough to pay the bills.” His face grew a smirk as he commented “Yeah, I figured. What do I do for work? I mean, what do you do for work?” I thought about it for a second. I wondered how much information I should divulge to a younger me. I still didn’t think this whole situation was really happening, but if it was, I probably should proceed with caution. “Well, it’s complicated. I do a little bit of everything. You know how you’re constantly taking things apart? Let’s just say that it’s good to put them back together in order to keep them working. Take good notes on paper if you need to, and make sure you have a clean work area so you can keep track of all the parts.” He gave me a sheepish look. He knew exactly what I was talking about. I had spent countless hours sneaking dad’s tools to my room so I could figure out how something was built and try to figure out how it worked. I had gotten myself into some pretty bad trouble with dad over a drill, his timing light, and other stuff I had taken from his room. His belt had become quite familiar with my butt cheeks.
I gave him a knowing smile. “What else do you want to know?” He thought about it for a second. “Do we have a girlfriend?” I laughed, probably a little more than I should have because his face contorted into a sour frown. “You don’t need to be a jerk about it” he scowled. I continued to chuckle. “Yeah we have a girlfriend. We have more than a girlfriend” I could tell he was irritated with my vague indirect answers. I knew what he was asking. I remember the crush I had on my neighbor across the street. We had been friends since kindergarten, and had been classmates for 1st, 2nd, and 4th grades. We got along really well, and I knew from around 12 or 13 that I wanted to be her boyfriend. Unfortunately, things never progressed beyond the ‘just friends’ stage of things. It wasn’t from lack of effort on my part. We had just grown up together most of our lives that she didn’t see me as anything more than a brother and friend. “Dude, look. You just started to go through changes and you are starting to notice girls, but that doesn’t mean that you need to love every girl that shows you a little kindness or subtle interest. You need to slow down and let things happen naturally. You can’t force a relationship with someone.” Johnny pondered these words for a moment. I sat back and put my feet up on the coffee table. I looked around the room some more while I waited for another question. There was so much I had forgotten, but being back here had unlocked more and more memories that continued to wash over me. I was trying to hold on to my cool as not all those churned up recollections were pleasant. I stood up and walked over to the front door to peer outside the small central window embedded into the center of it. I could see the old neighborhood as I remembered it all those years ago. The lot across the street that served as a parking area for those that worked at the wheel works at the end of the block was empty of cars. I furrowed my brow as I thought for a moment. An empty lot meant it was afterhours or the weekend.
The gears in my own head started turning. “Wait, where is everyone?” I asked Johnny. Johnny turned to look at me still processing my last response. “Uh..oh, Mom and dad are out of town. They took a trip east this time. I think Rio said they are in Arizona right now. Rio and Nathan went out to get some food and to rent some movies from Video Showcase. Knowing them they’ll eat out first. Talia is staying over at Tia Rosie’s place today with her friends.” I grunted at his response. My mind was wandering as he mentioned Talia and Tia Rosie.
A sudden sharp pain pieced my heart. The pain of a thousand memories now unsealed spilled out from the box I had locked them away in. Tears welled in the corners of my eyes as I turned back to look at Johnny. He felt it too. He stared at the floor with an intensity that made me think it would burst into flames at any moment. I walked back over to him and sat next to him. He didn’t move. I placed my hand on his shoulder, and he threw himself into me. I could feel the tears dripping onto me as he sobbed intensely. “Hey man, its ok. It’s going to be ok.” I said as my own tears started to flow uncontrollably. I pulled him close and draped my other arm around him.
I knew the pain he was feeling. It was such a heavy burden, and I knew there was no one he felt he could talk to. I remembered it all so vividly. We sat there for what seemed to be an eternity. When we finally stopped sobbing, and our noses ran dry, we tried to breathe our way through to calmness. I got up and knelt in front of him. “Johnny, listen to me and remember what it is that I’m about to say to you. You are stronger than you think. You are stronger than you believe. NO ONE should ever have to go through this. Just because it happened to Talia, doesn’t mean you have to put up with it any longer. I know you didn’t think it was wrong, but I’m telling you that what she is doing to you is wrong. Talking to mom and dad isn’t going to make them hate you. You are not doing this to her, she is doing it to you. I’m not making excuses for her, but she is also more damaged than anyone realizes, and she is also dealing with the same level of pain you are. Remember that we do unto others what has been done to us. That doesn’t mean we need to continue the cycle of abuse” The lump in my throat grew immense at my own statement. I swallowed it as best I could and continued “You are going to deal with this pain a little bit at a time, and you’ll slowly get over this. It’s like a broken bone. When it happens, you don’t realize how bad the pain is until the adrenaline wears off, but then the immense pain is there. Just remember that this will pass. Just like a broken bone, you will heal over time, and one day, you will realize that the pain is gone and the bone is no longer broken. You’ll remember the pain, but it won’t hurt anymore.”
Johnny sat there in stunned silence. I knew he didn’t have anyone to help him through this. He couldn’t talk to Rio or Nathan about what was going on. Mom and Dad were constantly working to keep the family fed and sheltered and while they provided materially for their kids, emotional help was less available. Perhaps it was due to their energies being divided into 4 kids, a mortgage and multiple jobs, or perhaps it was also the culture of not talking about problems. Either way, they needed to know what was happening. They wouldn’t be able to fix it otherwise. “They’re going to be mad at me” he finally said after a few moments of silence. “No they won’t be. They love us all. I know you’re not used to hearing it, but they do love you. Everything they do is because of their love for us. This isn’t your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong. Telling them isn’t going to cause them to be angry.” I thought for a moment to find a good analogy. “You love Odie and Lady, right?” He nodded in agreement. “Ok, how would you feel if you knew someone you trusted was coming to the house and beating up our dogs when we weren’t around?” He thought about it for a second before his face changed to anger. “I’d want to kill them!” “Yes, but would you also feel sad that you weren’t there to try to protect them?” I reasoned. His face changed again. He understood what I was saying. Mom and Dad would be angry, but not necessarily at him. They would also feel a great sadness knowing that someone was hurting their child.
I smiled at him. He understood. I nodded. “Dude…You’re going to come to understand that life is not what you think it will be. Life is messy and can change in an instant. The plans you make today may not make it to next week. A lifelong goal can be derailed because of something out of your control. Mom and dad have spent their life protecting us with the goal of keeping us safe, but circumstances out of their control have affected their kids, and now we- you all have to deal with the fallout. Just remember that you are not the culprit. Yes, mom and dad will be hurt and angry, but not at you. Trust them. They don’t do things to hurt us” Johnny hugged me. I- He didn’t have many people he could trust and open up to. He liked to talk a lot about everything going on in his life, no matter how trivial. Everything, except this. This was a shameful topic, and he didn’t feel like anyone would understand why he didn’t go to an adult sooner. The problem was simple. He simply didn’t understand that it was wrong. Now that he had an adult that he could talk to, himself no less, he wanted to lift this burden off his shoulders. He was happy to have found someone and he hugged me tightly. I hugged him back just at tightly. It wasn’t every day that I could meet my younger self and help to comfort them. “Thank you” he said to me.
The world darkened, and everything faded to black.
I lifted my head out of my knees and looked around. I was sitting under the window in my old bedroom again. Had I fallen asleep? I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked the time. I was emotionally drained and incredibly tired. I hadn’t had sleep like that in years. I got to my feet and looked around the room briefly before walking out to mom and dad’s old room. I grabbed my camera and slowly walked the house, snapping picture after picture. The only sound to be heard was the sound of the camera shutter and my soft footsteps. I thought about my dream as I took pictures.
Upon entering my room, a random memory hit me.
The stash.
I was pretty sure I had taken the hidden box when I moved out all those years ago, but since I was here, I should double check. Heading into the closet, I pushed the panel that led to the attic space out of the way and peered in. I couldn’t see anything, so I reached up there to feel around. The box was indeed gone. I felt around for a few more seconds and was surprised to feel what felt like a thick envelope. I didn’t remember leaving anything up there, but after pulling it down and giving it a cursory glance, I figured it was an old envelope of lost love letters. It wasn’t until I blew off the thick layer of dust that I realized what I was holding. It was a letter. Not just any letter. It was addressed to me.
Under the now semi-cleared layer of dust were the words “To be opened by future me”. I looked at it for a few moments before opening it. I couldn’t remember making this at all, much less storing it up in my secret hiding spot. If ever I hid something, it was in the stash box. My hands shook a bit as I started to open the envelope and pulled out the yellowed pages inside. I started reading.
"Dear Future John. I have spent the last few years remembering a dream I had when I was younger. Life was…difficult at that time, and I spent a lot of time escaping my reality by reading a lot of books and watching a lot of TV. On the off-chance that what I think is a dream really happened. I wanted to write some things down in an effort to give you my thanks. I merely consider myself a conveyer of thanks, although I will pile on my own thanks to you for your words of encouragement. I remember finding a stranger in the house one day while I was home alone. I was afraid he was there to hurt me at first, but after a few moments, I came to realize I was meeting myself. Well, I was meeting me, but from the future. I think he said he was in his 40’s, but I couldn’t tell you with any certainty. Either way, we talked. We talked about life, and what the future held in store for us…
Mostly though, we talked about the abuse. Well, Talked is being generous. We cried, and then we talked. I don’t remember exactly what he told me, but I remember how he made me feel. He made me feel safe. I felt like I could trust him. Trust myself. In the end, he gave me the courage to stand up for myself both at home and at school. He also gave me the courage to talk to mom and dad about what was going on between me and Talia. I do remember being afraid that I would be punished, but he reassured me that they wouldn’t, and that they loved me.
It was a difficult and awkward conversation, but in the end, arrangements were made for me to share a room with Rio and Nathan. I didn’t have much of a relationship with Talia for a long while, but after some years, we managed to patch things up. She apologized to me, and I came to understand the abuse she herself was subjected to by so-called family friends. She didn’t tell me this in an effort to excuse it, but to merely help give me closure to a difficult time from my own childhood. Mom and dad promised to be more attentive to us and we sort of established what I guess you would call an open door policy. We talk more about stuff that’s happening in our lives. Mom is much easier to talk to now. Dad is a little more patient with us too. I apologized to them for not coming to them sooner, and dad gave me a “nugget of wisdom” that I think I’ll live by: We can’t fix what we don’t know is broken. I’ve tried to make sure I talk to them when something is wrong, and I’ve tried to implement that in my life so I don’t have problems with other people.
I’m trying to grow up to be a good guy. I want to have good relationships with people. Nathan says I’m turning into a people pleaser, but I don’t necessarily see that as a terrible thing. I know when to say no to someone. Well, either way, I wanted to make sure I thank you for the help you gave us. I probably won’t remember writing this, but I hope I do find it again someday. Here’s hoping I turn into the man I feel you are. -John Age 16."
I stared at the letter, the words blurring as tears welled up in my eyes. I quickly brushed them away as I quietly spoke to no one in particular. “Thanks guys. I hope I live up to your expectations” I folded the letter, placed it in my pocket, and walked out of the room. After picking up my backpack and tripod, I silently walked towards the front door, my footsteps echoing in the empty house. I turned to look back at the empty living room one last time, and after a moment, I walked out.

Hello Reddit! I’m six months along with boy and girl twins. My husband and I have quite liked the name Nathaniel for a boy for quite some time now, and we’ve settled on the name Nathaniel Roger for him. However! We never discussed girl names before we got pregnant, but since we’re having twins I wanted to give them names that are similar in some sort of way so I wanted it to start with the same letter.
I like the name Nirviane for a girl. Pronounced ner-veen. I think it sounds very lovely and like a cool girl’s name. However! The times I’ve brought this up to my friends, they haven’t reacted positively. I do know it’s a somewhat unusual name. My husband suggested the name Norma which I don’t like as much, but he said Nirviane would be alright with him because it isn’t too common and sounds proper to him. If it helps, our last name is Khlat (my husband is Cambodian, I’m white) and we live in Arizona. I plan to name her Nirviane Janet. Although nobody I know seems to agree with this, so what are your thoughts on it? I feel everyone in my circle is exaggerating about it being a bad name because one of my friends who vetoed it has a daughter named Priscilla (which I don’t like, it sounds like prissy), and another has a daughter named Marigold who goes by Golda.
What are your thoughts on it?
EDIT: Please stop with the harsh DMs! I thought this was a harmless, pretty name. I asked my husband what he thought of some of the names that have been suggested to us, and we both decided our favorite name combination was Nirvana Jane :) we are going to go with this! thank you to everyone who made suggestions and apologies to all that found this post offensive in some way. I hope you all have a lovely day.

I wanted to share my experience with the entire Carvana package now that our car is paid off and all monetary transactions with them are over.
This will get long, as it started in 2019.
We bought our 17' Rogue from Carvana in April of 2019. I was researching vehicles for close to 3 months before finally pulling the trigger on this particular model. It was about 34k miles, 2.5 years old, located in Illinois. I liked the geographic area for chances the vehicle hadn't seen a lot of snow for the first 2 years of it life as Carfax activity showed it was most likely in the southern part of the state.
I also chose this specific Rogue as the VIN indicated the vehicle was made in South Korea, as opposed to Tennessee. The difference is all Rogues made in South Korea received engines and CVT's from Japan, while US made models had engines from Japan or US, and CVT's from Mexico which was a no go for me. I will also go one more and state Korean labor for assembly is far more disciplined than what you find in the US and especially mexico. Fun fact for those still paying attention - The Nissan Rogue's that have the flat Nissan logo on the grille behind smoked plastic were made in South Korea. They stopped production there in early 2020.
What interested me in Carvana was-

1. Buying a car is the sleaziest most frustrating process from a dealer
   
2. I could hand pick from an inventory of cars across the country willing to pay for delivery
   
3. They offered me 500 dollars off the final price of a car in a letter campaign, as they were still growing
   

I started looking over inventory for a month, and decided to sign up and go for the soft credit pull to see what terms Carvana would offer. I was prequalified for a used car loan through my credit union, so I wanted to see Carvana's terms would be. The loan and term tools were pretty damn cool at the time, you could just jiggle those sliders and almost completely tailor a lending solution to fit your needs.
After the soft credit pull and a single pay stub, Carvana pre-approved me for any car up to 90k, with zero money down. I laughed. Hard. I had decent credit but wasnt going to bury myself.
After I settled down to a few models, I worked through the trade-in portion of the site, and found it was real easy to get a quote to trade in our 2005 Escape XLT which was a great car, but in Ford fashion the frame was rotting away. I had a fair offer for the trade in, described it honestly.
We also opted for the SilverRock warranty. Nissan, CVT, etc.
The big sale!
After watching how quickly some cars came and went early on, I got everything I needed for the trade in. Scan of the title, picture of the milage, car pictures. We were putting 2k down on the car, so the cash was waiting in my account, ready for transfer or cashier check if we were going to go with Carvana final loan offer.
The day I pulled the trigger on our Rogue, the entire process took all of 20 minutes. I was amazed, and honestly thought at the time "This should be illegal for how easy that was".
The offer for Carvana finance was within a couple tenths of my credit union, so I opted to simplify the process and go with them. Carvana performed a hard pull on my credit, confirmed the terms, and required confirmation from my bank that the money for deposit was in my account. I provided my bank login credentials and the process was done in minutes.
I had to provide a copy of my license and items related to the trade in, and it was done, in literally 20 minutes. I wondered if I was making a mistake..
It was an amazing deal, every dealer in the area was selling the same model for well over 2k of what we paid, so the SilverRock warranty was pretty much free after the additional 500 discount off the final price of the car.
Delivery - Trade in!
It was delayed. Twice. Pretty disappointing. Some pretty lame excuses. Honestly I should have expected a reasonable delivery date as the I knew the car I bought was 1500 miles away, but Carvana makes unrealistic delivery promises and is my biggest gripe regarding them.
When delivery day finally came, the Rogue was everything I had hoped it would be. While on the delivery truck I asked to inspect the undercarriage, and the driver was super friendly and allowed me to take my time. I looked it all over, looking for rust, oil leaks, you name it and I found nothing nothing, including nothing suspect like it had been cleaned. It was a 2-ish year old car with light dirt and surface rust where you would expect.
Once the Rogue was unloaded I was free to look it over with a fine comb, pop the hood, check the fluids, look for dents and dings, paint issues, interior issues, you name it. I found nothing major, just some minor things like paint polish slag in small corners and what not. Interior was very clean and detailed.
While I was looking over the Rogue, the delivery driver was loading the trade-in. He took some pictures, verified the mileage, checked the "check engine" light was off and started loading it on his truck.
I live in Massachusetts with very strict license and registration requirements. A few days before the delivery, someone from the Danvers site reached out to me about the registration details. I was transferring the plates from the trade in and they were finalizing the paperwork. I was provided the new registration, and the delivery driver had the new registration in hand so we could just put the plates on the Rogue and be ready to roll.
I took the Rogue for a 20 minute test drive, signed off on the purchase and trade. Driver headed off with the trade in and that was it. Carvana never called or questioned what they gave me for the trade.
Post delivery!
The very next day I brought the Rogue to work, I work in transportation/logistics and my site has ASE mechanics that I know very well. I asked him to go over the Rogue with the white glove and let me know if they think anything is wrong, as I have 6 days to return the car. They did so and they didnt find anything, just amazed at how clean the undercarriage, engine, and fluids were.
If I didn't have access to an ASE certified mechanic in this situation that I really trusted, I would have paid for a purchase inspection from a Nissan dealer. I did pay for the trusted inspection, just not in dollars lol.
After the personal vehicle inspection, my wife and I took off for a long weekend road trip roaming the White mountains of New Hampshire. Three days across many miles that easily blew out the initial vehicle 7 day warranty mileage. The Rogue was amazing through the mountains getting a ridiculous 30mpg through the entire trip. I wasn't concerned as people I trust cleared the car, and I also had the SilverRock warranty to cover the rest..
Speaking of warranty..
SilverRock!
The first, and pretty much only issue with the Rogue, was at about 48k miles. Massachusetts has a comprehensive yearly vehicle inspection program. At about 48k miles, the Rogue failed inspection for a bad inner tie rod, passenger side. Contacted SilverRock, and they gave me the local network shop here in Massachusetts, Monro.Monro is a regional repair shop here in MA with many locations. I take the Rogue to them and they diagnose that indeed the passenger side inner tie rod has gone bad. Repair tech states he has never seen one go bad on a Nissan at the current mileage.
The service manager starts looking around for the parts, called about 5 places, then calls a Nissan dealer. The Nissan dealer informs him the inner tie rod is not available for the 17, the only way to to repair the defect is replace the entire electric steering rack which comes with the inner and outer tie rods complete.
I call SilverRock with the service manager. I provide my name and vehicle make, SilverRock knows who I am right away. SilverRock rep asks whats wrong, service manager laid it down. SilverRock rep transfers us to a manager, manager asked about a few more details and then asked the service manager of Monro to send the estimate.
I get a call from the manager of Monro the next day, he said he went back and forth with SilverRock for about 20 minutes and got the entire job covered, throwing in a free front end alignment, for 1500 dollars using a genuine Nissan OEM steering rack.
SilverRock paid everything but the 100 dollar deductible. I picked up the Rogue 2 days later, paid 100, and went back for inspection. It passed.
Anyone reading this that knows about car repair, an inner tie rod costs maybe 150 dollars OEM. The fact it wasn't available and they had to replace the entire rack was absurd, yet they did it with a new OEM rack. At the time SilverRock could have required a rack used from a salvage yard, but they didn't.
I have nothing but positive things to say about SilverRock.
Bridgecrest!!
The silent partner.
I have NEVER spoken to someone at Bridgecrest. I have never called them. They have never called me.
I have NEVER emailed Bridgecrest. They have emailed me every single month for the life of my loan, after making a payment.
They fronted me the money, and expected it back. I paid it back, as expected. On time.
5 stars, and they will return the favor on my credit now that the loan is clear.
WHY YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY
Do your homework - buying a car is a capital investment in your future that loses money. You need a car to be reliable for your job, your family, your life. You need to spend money on a regular basis to keep that car reliable, on top of your car payment.
Know your budget - Dont fall for finance traps. Only buy what you can comfortably afford, again, owning a car costs you more money than what's on the final loan payment.
Get your car inspected ASAP - Pay a dealer for a purchase inspection. Schedule it ahead of time. Inform Carvana of the issues within 3 days of delivery and ask them to pick up the car. Carvana will make the car right, as they dont want to take the car back from qualified buyers. Keep on top of them until the car is what was expected.
Why Carvana may be bad for you
You have bad credit - Better know what you are signing on for. The majority of complaints in this sub are from people that have bad credit, cant read, and cant learn from past mistakes. Thats a personal problem, not a Carvana problem.
Closing
Aside from some delays in delivery, We have had an amazing 5 year journey with Carvana and associated companies. Our Rogue is now at over 100k miles and still drives and looks like new. We perform all maintenance as required, without question.
Living in MA, the last 5 years our Rogue has taken us thousands of miles over the White Mountains of New Hampshire, all through the Mountains of Maine, and multiple trips to Canada to visit the iconic Niagara Falls.
My wife travels every day for work, and the Rogue is her daily driver putting 3k miles on the clock every 2.5 months. We change the oil every 3k miles, perform the required CVT services at the dealer, and keep the tires rotated every 8K.
The tires that came on the Rogue from Carvana were in fact new, but the kind of tires that have a 30k mile treadwear warranty. The first snowy New England day we slipped through a stop sign in light snow, the next week we replaced the tires all around with BF Goodrich Advantage TA sport tires and the Rogue has been amazing in the snow ever since.
After getting our Rogue, my coworker was so impressed he bought not 1, but 2 cars from Carvana. Bastard got both cars delivered on time, on the same day, from different parts of the country.. I was so jealous lol. His cars had some minor issues, but Carvana took car of them.
My daughter bought a Nissan as well from Carvana. It had a few front end issues, but ultimately was taken care of through constant communication with Carvana during the 7 day test drive.
Will I use Carvana again? Yes.
Will it be soon? Not really.
Our other car is a Hyundai and running strong.
Hope some of my diatribe will be useful to anyone considering Carvana as usually is all bad mouth drival posted here.