This is my best guess as to why she broke up with me. I'm less heart broken as I'm just confused and don't know why in the first place. We dated for about 4 months. It was a little bit of a long distance relationship, 1 hr drive one way. But we were/are both very busy with work, kids, and both of us going back to school. Our days are packed. Yet we manage to text and call each other everyday. As far as I knew, it worked out. We would talk for hours, we had to make up excuses to end our phone calls. The sex was phenomenal. We both have kids, a house, and a car. I'm a little better off than she is but not drastically. She lives in a nice house in a rough neighborhood, I live in a rough house in a nice neighborhood.
Now to some of the weirdness. Maybe it's just that stereotypical "men don't understand women". She liked that I made more and during our dating, I paid for everything. Even treated her to a few nice things she never got to experience. I cooked real nice meals. I cleaned up. I doted on her when she was stressed and offered massages, that usually led to sex. She admitted she wanted someone to take care of her. So I was trying to do just that. Yet during the phone call when I realized she was breaking up. She didn't like that I never grew up POOR. I did to an extent, but not broken down and condemned mobile home or living out of a car poor. She almost gave a notion that she wants to continue living like that even. Not that she does now, but that's was she desires. I know, it's weird.
She often talked about Texas and where/how she grew up. I told her I appreciate her southern Texas strong girl attitude. I found it endearing, I'd also like to one day see where she grew up. I loved when her texan accent came out. Yet some how that was contentious. I wasn't Texan myself and just would never understand. She said Texan men dress a certain way. Even asked me to do so. So I did and she liked it, so I made note to always dress like that in front of her.
We both agreed to hold off on introducing the kids to one another. I felt that was OK. Yet, all she talked about was her kids. I would chime in and yet she got defensive about it one time. Worried about potential ww3, I more or less mentioned "omg your son is 17, he would have to sign up for the draft." It was a concerned thought on my end. She didn't like it nonetheless but didn't seem overly upset, just said her kids are off limits I apologized and made a mental note of it. She would still talk about her kids all the time though, no worries I just minded saying certain things.
Even up to the end. One day we planned to meet. She was a little hesitant to get together. She was going through a rough patch with some personal things. I was understanding so I didn't press it. She mentioned a friend was going out, I told her I would like for her to be with friends at least and have a good time. Just call me so I know she gets home safely. Which she did, and we talked for a solid hour at like 1am. It was that conversation in which she subtly very subtly said I should continue dating and try to date other girls. That was the hint. She was just going to not date anymore, and I should see other people. I said "but why I don't need to date. I'm dating you" to be honest I can be dense as a brick sometimes.
A few days later we have the actual talk about what's going on and she said it plainly then, we're done. She complained about a whole bunch of things that she used to like about me. I was just confused. It mainly was about money matters.
Like I said though, she wanted to be spoiled and taken care of. Which I guess I could only do so much. I don't make enough to just make all her troubles go away. But I also don't make too little that I could just drop everything and move in with her. Nor could i attempt to do so. Im in a decent neighborhood with a good school for my kid. She liked where she lives and didn't want to entertain moving near me, she did have to think about moving out of her house sooner than later. Even looked at apartments around her area. Which I understood, her split parenting situation is she needs to live where she lives. She can't do another court battle at the moment. Nor can I. But also, if she is just not going to date. She made it sound like she doesn't have time. Welll, we weren't exactly spending a lot of time together. Just every other weekend we would either meet up at my house or her house. For all intents and purposes, it was casual at best. Yet, I brought that up, just keeping things casual and, nope, we are done.
Dude, I really don't know. I'm motivated, going to school, hitting the gym, she liked my muscles. She would awkwardly say "I like your face" I dressed how she wanted me to. I cooked and cleaned for us when necessary. Gave her massages and would pamper her however I could. I paid for our nights out. We didnt see each other a lot so it wasnt like i was constantly feeding her attention and being overly submissive to her. I literally just don't get it. These were all good things then out of the blue, they were not. I'm heart broken, yet Moreso just confused by it all. It's literally like she flipped a switch and decided no she is done.

Credit to Blue for the wonderful cover art of Trilvri
Thank you to:
u/SpacePaladin15 for creating the Nature of Predators universe.
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EmClear, aspiring author, for proofreading
You, the reader, for your support. I love reading your comments.
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Memory transcription subject: Sawvek, Junior Extermination Officer
Date [standardised human time]: October 5th, 2136
Hard foam presses uncomfortably up against delicate pressure points situated across the length of my entire body, building up to an unbearable ache that makes me shift and turn against the thin mattress pad. I yank at the rough old blanket I’d taken out of storage and clutch it even tighter around my body, trying to keep out the chill. The best racks, the ones near the heating vents, had already been claimed long before I’d decided to move into the Guild House’s Barracks and it doesn’t seem likely that the current occupants will be giving up their spots any time soon.
My mind is still racing from the events of last paw, replaying the scene over and over again in my dreams and in my head. The way my brother had looked at me… That look on his face when he’d seen the real me…
My paw gives a sympathetic throb in memory, still aching from where it had met the wall, but at least I had been able to wrap it up a bit and stop the bleeding. I feel like I should take it as a small miracle that it isn't broken. More medical bills are the last thing I need right now.
I turn about in the bunk once more, rolling around in vain to try and find a comfortable position that doesn’t seem to exist. Through a conscious act of will I try to empty my mind and sleep, but the very act of trying not to think about things only brings them bubbling back up to the surface of my thoughts. My heartbeat echoes in my ears, a damnable drumming sound brought about by the exertion of my own restless tossing and turning. Out in the hallway I can hear the muffled shuffling of feet and murmurs of conversation. The Guild Hall never sleeps, and it seems that neither would I this paw.
Electing to abandon the attempt as hopeless, I cut my rest claw short and get up, venturing out into the hallway. If I can’t sleep anyway then I might as well start my waking claw early, maybe get in a little exercise. It’s not so bad when it’s self-directed, almost fun in a way. If our family had the money to support it then maybe I could have been an athlete of some variety growing up. I had always possessed something of a natural physicality.
“Stop wasting time with worthless questions about what could have been, Killer.” The voice interjects, early and active today by the sound of it. “You’ll never amount to anything more than a wild predator kept on a leash.”
There’s nothing to do but sigh and carry on. It was right after all. This is it. This is my life now.
Making my way down the hallway towards the gym I find myself walking past a row of private offices assigned to some of the more veteran officers on staff. Most are empty at this claw, their occupants either asleep or off doing other work. One room in particular catches my attention though, the one belonging to our newest PRED Team Commander.
The door leading inside is open and ajar, seemingly forgotten in the midst of more pressing business and granting me a look inside. The entire room is a mess, papers and binders strewn about everywhere with official looking documents littering the floor. A map of the city decorates the otherwise unadorned and impersonal space. On its face it hosts a variety of multicoloured pins, all connecting seemingly arbitrary locations as well as photographs of people and places from the records department. The face of the former PRED Team Commander, Vrienna, looks out at me once again with the same cruel eyes that decorate the memorial wall. Beside her photo are another pair of eyes, a pair I recognise, but not one I would have expected to see here.
Trilvri, my brother’s creepy coworker, the one who’d brought him home the night he’d drunk himself into a stupor, stares out at me from the wall. He was younger in this photo, barely of age, if even that, and dressed in a regulation space corps flight suit, but I could still recognise him. Trilvri’s eyes appear somehow more lively than when I had met him in person, though it does nothing to improve his overall disposition, looking, as they are, as if behind them resides only hatred and a feral desire to kill and rend. Come to think of it, he had mentioned he used to be in the corps hadn’t he? ‘Used to’ being the operative word. When I’d asked he hadn’t seemed particularly fond of his time in the service…
Situated as he is next to Vrienna like that, their pitch-black wool and evil-looking eyes bear a striking resemblance. It was the exact same sort of predatory expression that bore into your soul, the kind that made me feel weak and exposed, the same kind that was worn by-
“What do you think you’re doing in my office?” A voice asks from behind, nonplussed, but with a casual depth of power and authority behind it that makes me freeze on the spot.
“Commander Glagrig, Sir!” I turn about on the spot, fixed at attention in the doorway as I stare up at the man himself. “I’m sorry to intrude. I noticed someone had forgotten to close the door so I was just going to secure it.”
“I see.” Glagrig doesn’t seem to believe a word of it, but neither does he seem inclined to press the issue. “At ease. Tell me, do you recognise the man in the photo there? Have you ever seen him before?”
“No, Commander.” I lie reflexively as I shift to a parade rest, not fully knowing why, but knowing that whatever is going on I want no part of it, for me or my brother. It’s only after the fact that it occurs to me that lying might be worse than telling the truth.
“How… regrettable.” The prestige officer says plainly and I can’t tell whether he believes me or not. “If you do ever catch sight of this individual, then be sure to let me know immediately.”
“Y-Yes, Commander.” I subconsciously swallow with apprehension, hoping that he doesn’t notice. I want nothing more than to run away as quickly as I can, but I haven’t been dismissed yet.
“Junior Officer Sawvek, was it?” Glagrig carries on, looking me up and down, dissecting me with his eyes. “You have quite the interesting record on file and Officer Intalran is quite adamant about your potential. Your simulator results speak for themselves, even if they are just simulations.”
“Thank you, Commander.” I can feel myself growing dizzy as I answer with uncertainty.
“Don’t thank me,” the all-consuming void in front of me replies with no hint of warmth, “just remember that your performance is under evaluation. It’s in my interests to keep note of promising young aspirants who might someday join my team, and I would hate to see you squander your talents.”
“I-I understand, Commander.” I flick my tail in agreement, straining not to look away towards the floor.
“Dismissed.” Glagrig brushes past me as he enters his office, moving to shut the door behind himself.
“Um, Commander?” I ask just before the door shuts, feeling a beckoning call of curiosity that even the predatory prestige exterminator couldn’t crush. “If you don’t mind me asking… Why do you have all that stuff up on the wall there?”
The door opens again, just a crack, and I can feel my superiors' weighty presence bearing down on me, almost suffocating in its intensity. “It’s simply a personal matter. I have reason to believe that the prior investigation regarding the kelach incident was conducted according to… insufficient standards. The predator responsible was never found and I intend to remedy that deficiency.”
“How hard could it be to find a kelach?” I tilt my ears in confusion. “They're huge!”
“Despite initial reports,” he answers with an ominous, cold tone that sends a chill up my spine, “it may be possible that we're dealing with something far more dangerous than just a kelach.”
“T-Thank you, Commander.” I flick my tail in appreciation and the door closes.
I breathe a sigh of relief as the malevolent aura recedes. That was too close.
“And you’re a complete moron going back to ask him more questions afterwards, Killer.” The voice rises with amusement. “What? Do you want him to figure you out and turn you to cinders? Only a matter of time, Killer.”
“Ugh, shut up.” I mutter under my breath, quickly turning back around to make sure Commander Glagrig didn’t hear me, but when no reprisal comes I quickly depart. If I’m gonna be stupid I should at least try not to do so right in front of his office.
As the imminent threat of our in-house prestige exterminator dwindles so too does the energy driven by the adrenaline of the encounter. It figures that the moment I roll out of bed I want to take a nap again, but I know the moment I lie back down I’ll be back to full wakefulness in an instant. That’s just how that sort of thing works. With that in mind there’s really only one solution, a big, steaming hot cup of tea.
Making my way towards the tea machine I spot Jonsco, the feisty little primitive that mans our dispatch centre, smacking the top of the dispenser with a clenched paw while holding a mug underneath it.
“Is the tea machine fixed?” I ask as I pull out a mug from the cabinet myself.
Jonsco sighs heavily and shoots me a combative glare. “For the last time it’s not my brahking job to fix this damn tea machine! You got a problem with that then you can go pester someone else about it!”
I shrink back under the harsh rebuke. Jonsco may be small, but there was as much rage and fury condensed into that little package as anyone else in this department. Maybe more.
“I… I didn’t mean to imply…I just wanted to know if it was working again or not… Sorry.” I sputter out, feeling properly admonished as I look away towards the ground.
Jonsco looks at me quizzically, his hard glare softening somewhat as he seems to truly see me for the first time before returning to his usual scowl.
“Right…Whatever you say…” With one final smack the machine coughs and chokes, sputtering to life with a struggle, and a small trickle of freshly brewed tea begins to fill Jonsco’s cup. “The machine is on the fritz again as usual, but if you hit it just right, do a little percussive maintenance, then you can get it started again.”
“Thanks, Jonsco.” I lean back against the wall and watch as the mug slowly fills, impressed by the primitives know-how. “That's actually pretty smart of you.”
“For a ‘primitive’ right?” The words are barbed and spiteful, but lack his typical enthusiasm, more of a simple statement of fact than a real question. I couldn't exactly deny it, those had been my thoughts, and so the silence drags on awkwardly, marked only by the splash of tea falling into the steadily rising pool.
“What are you doing here at this claw anyway?” I eventually ask, dodging the question entirely. “We’ve still got at least another half-claw until our crew's shift is supposed to start.”
“I could ask you the same thing, you know?” The angry little dispatch operator retorts. “I'm here early working an overtime shift so I can afford to put food on my family's table. It's expensive feeding that many mouths. What's your excuse?”
“I had a fight with my brother…” I rub the back of my neck as I turn away abashedly, “moved out of the apartment and into the barracks full time… couldn't sleep…”
“Well then you should hurry up and work on patching things up with him.” Jonsco looks at me with an uncharacteristic hint of sympathy in his eyes. “Your family are the only ones who might actually care. This Gods-damned place is a slyther’s nest and no one here gives a speh about you or your problems. If you want my advice, you should do your best to spend as little time in this cesspool as possible.”
With his cup now full, Jobsco steps back from the machine and begins walking out towards the main hall.
“Thanks, Jonsco.” My words stop him in his tracks as he walks away from me. “I appreciate it.”
“... You're welcome.” He says after a short pause, glancing back to look at me one more time before leaving. “See you around, Sawvek.”
Taking advantage of the tea machine while it’s still mostly working, I fill up my own cup and drink deeply of the warm, fragrant beverage. The taste is bitter and unpleasant, just about the quality I would expect of this Guild Hall, but even at the first taste it’s evident that it’s been loaded with an extra strength dose of caffeine. I down the drink quickly and rinse out the cup before continuing on my journey towards the training hall. Fatigue begins to fall away as I walk, bit by bit as the drug makes its way into my bloodstream, blocking off sleep receptors and energising me. I know I’ll probably pay for it later, no amount of caffeine can actually replace sleep, but for now it feels good and I can see how some people can get addicted to the stuff.
A loud, metallic clanging emanates from the gym as I approach, something unexpected for this time of paw. No one's reserved space in the gym for this claw and not many people are industrious enough to sweat on their own initiative. Peeking my head inside the door I spy Bikim, the perfect, privileged, ‘holier than thou’ brahkass occupying the otherwise empty weight room. His irritatingly handsome face is taut with strain as he performs a series of weighted squats, his back and leg muscles straining underneath his short-cropped wool, and he pants heavily under the exertion.
I’m half tempted just to leave and go back to bed despite the fact that there’s no way I’d be getting any sleep with the tea running through my system. It’s too early in the paw to deal with Bikim’s speh. Before I can slip away unnoticed though, he spots me. I give a heavy sigh and continue my way inside. There's nothing to be done for it now. Trying to back out now would only make things worse later, a sign of weakness.
“What… Do you want… Predator?” Bikim asks between gulps of air as he reracks his weights, practically hanging off the bar to support himself on shaky legs.
“Good paw to you too, Bikim.” I say, forcing civility into my tone. “I’m here to use the equipment. Same as you. I'm allowed.”
“Whatever…” He eyes me with suspicion. “Just keep your distance… I don't want to catch any of your taint.”
“Believe me,” I flick my tail out in irritation, “I intend to.”
Looking around the room for available spots, I march my way over towards a cable machine on the opposite side of the room. Not nearly as far from Bikim as I would like, but the farthest I can get without leaving the weight area entirely. Bikim watches me all the while as I seat myself down and begin adjusting the machine. Eventually he grows tired of watching me fumble around with the machine and returns to his own exercises with a displeased flick of the tail, quite obviously judging me for my lack of experience with the equipment.
A tense sort of quiet settles over the room as we each go about our business, trying our best to ignore one another. Bikim slowly winds his way around the room, cycling from station to station to exercise all the different parts of his body in sequence before repeating it all again. He seems to bypass my corner of the room, glancing over at me with each repetition of his pattern. For myself, I stay put where I am, taking advantage of the varied exercises offered by the versatile machine to experiment with different muscle groups. Occasionally I slip up, dropping the weights with a loud clang that always draws Bikim’s ire. Every time he seems just a bit more disgruntled, a bit less patient. Eventually, the constant disruption reaches a tipping point and the pompous, self-entitled jerk walks over to confront me.
“Do you always do this?” He asks rhetorically. “If you keep slamming the weights like that you're gonna break it. Your form is speh so either fix it or lower the weight so you don't have to keep compensating. Better yet, just leave. You’ve been monopolising the cable machine for almost half a claw now. I don't know why you're even here in the first place.”
“Oh, look at Mr. Know-it-all thinking he can just go around telling us what to do, eh Killer?” The voice rises to the challenge. “Where does a guy like that who's been handed everything his whole life think he can get off with telling us how we should be doing anything?”
“Brahk off Bikim!” I don't even try to reign in the predator inside, feeling justified in letting it roam free for once. “I didn't ask for your advice and you don't get to kick me out of the weight room just because you can't wait your turn! I'm here because I don't have anywhere else to go! Ever since Intalran dragged me into this stupid Guild this brahking job has taken over my entire life! I don't even have a home to go back to anymore!”
Bikim's body tenses at my tirade and his tail flicks out aggressively like a whip.
“That's your own damn fault, predator!” He shouts back, eager for the excuse to vent his own frustrations. “Maybe if you weren't just some blood-starved beast out roaming the streets then you wouldn't be here right now! I’ve read your file! You got a history of herdless behaviour and physical altercations! Someone should have institutionalised you a long time ago, but someone took pity on you and let you slip through the cracks because of your poor dying mommy! They should have known it would come back to bite them! A normal, functional member of the herd wouldn't even think to pick a flamer up off the ground and burn another person to death with it! But you? You did it instinctively! You revelled in it!”
“You think that was easy for me!” I get up and walk towards him as I yell incredulously. “You think I asked for that to happen! You think it was fun for me to get choked out and almost eaten! That thing I burned wasn't even a person anymore! It was a predator in the middle of a feeding frenzy! So yeah, I did what I did, and you know what? It's a good thing I did! If I wasn't a freak of nature then that thing would have kept on going and kept on killing! Last I checked, preventing that sorta thing was supposed to be your job, but I had to be the one to step up! Now I have to live with the consequences of my actions every paw, knowing that I’m a Protector-damned killer that doesn't belong anywhere! Maybe you, in your infinite wisdom, would've known the perfect thing to do in that situation, but I’m not you! I’ve had to work and struggle for every little thing I have! Not just had it handed to me on a silver platter!”
“Oh, so you got me all figured out do you?” Sarcasm drips from Bikim's mouth as he looks down on me. “You don't know me. You don't know my life or what I’ve been through, how hard I’ve worked to get where I am. You just see the end product from cycles of effort and assume that it's always been that way, that it's always been that easy. It hasn't.”
“Yes, I’m sure you had it so hard growing up Bikim.” Saying it aloud almost makes me laugh. “You’re such a child of privilege that it drips off of you with every move you make and every word you say. I hate people like you, thinking that you're better than everyone else just because you were lucky enough to be born into wealth and status. Try living like the other side for a change, scrounging for every credit just so you can afford to eat, and then try to tell me how hard you had it with a full belly and a warm home!”
“You’re right, predator,” Bikim says contemptuously, “I am a child of privilege. My family has a long and decorated military tradition, my father is a captain for the space corps, a brahking hero, and I’ve reaped the benefits of that. That privilege came at a cost though, and that’s called expectations. Second best is not good enough and I've had to put in ten times the effort as anyone else my whole life just to meet standards! At least you grew up with a father who was there for you and loved you without the condition that everything you do is perfect!”
“All that talk about reading my file and you didn't even get past the first page did you?” I snap at him with a snarl. “ I didn't grow up with a father at all! He's been dead since I was in elementary school! Killed in action! I barely even remember him anymore!”
That one seems to give Bikim pause, but I’m not done yet.
“If you and your whole family are such a bunch of brahking heroes then how come you're here, working as a common garrison exterminator in a run-down backwater city like this?” I taunt. “Shouldn't you be out gallantly fighting the Arxur with one of the fleets or on a colony pacification force rather than making my life here harder than it already is?”
“That's the price for failing to meet expectations,” Bikim quiets down, drawing away from the world and into himself, “the price for knocking up a beautiful, wonderful girl right after graduation and refusing to get rid of it afterwards. You get cut off. You lose that privilege, and you do whatever you have to in order to provide and try to be a good role model for your son.”
Now that one threw me for a loop. In the short time I’ve known Bikim I’ve had a lot of thoughts about him, few of them good, but never would I have expected him to be the type to take responsibility… For anything. Still, there is one thing about his story that doesn't line up…
“Oh really?” I take a step back as I watch for his reaction closely. “I seem to recall Jonsco mentioned just the other day that your wife had left you for a Human.”
“Don't you bring that brahking primitive into this!” Bikim's anger flares in an instant before returning to a subtle simmer of regret. “We’ve just been having a… a rough patch in our relationship. I’m not giving up on us. I’ll win her back. She's just… confused and being taken advantage of! It's all that damn predators fault!” Bikim sighs and sits down on a nearby bench. “You're not the only one whose had something taken from them because of this job. You're not the only one without a home to go back to.”
Looking at Bikim now, a sad, pathetic man moping on the bench with nothing better to do on his rest claw than to try to externalise his inner pain… I find it hard to stay angry at him. He's still a narcissistic brahk ass and a complete jerk, but it's hard to truly hate someone when you actually know them. I had made quite a few assumptions about him when we first met, and he certainly hadn't helped my impression of him since, but… perhaps I was wrong to judge him so harshly?
“Nah,” the voice chortles, “he’s a piece of speh that got what he brahking deserves for being an insufferable prick.”
Overhead the intercom crackles to life and I can hear Jonsco's voice reverberating over the airwaves.
“Officers Vaesh and Sawvek please report to the briefing area for assignment. Repeat. Officers Vaesh and Sawvek please report to the briefing area for assignment.”
“Sounds like it's time for your first field assignment, Kid.” Bikim says, staring up at the intercom. “At least it gets you out of my wool. Try not to brahk it up and make the rest of us look bad.”
“Hmph.” I turn to leave, muttering to myself. “Stupid brahkass.”
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A/N - Hello! Sorry this one took a while. Like I mentioned before I got delayed working on my Ficnapping chapter as well as a crossover One-shot that's still in progress (but hopefully will be done soon). In other news we have new art of Sawvek's life-changing encounter in the Builder's Lane Bloodbath as drawn by Miglove and you can still find that and everything else Nature of Family in the new Master Post linked up above.
If you like the story then please remember to upvote, comment, and use the “!Subscribeme” function to be alerted to all new posts. I post as often as I can but real life has a tendency of getting in the way and my job makes it almost impossible to keep to any kind of schedule. Your engagement and support go a long way towards helping to keep me on track and motivated, so thank you very much for reading and I hope you'll stay tuned for next chapter!

I start my first federal position after getting out the military next week. is there a specific dress code or do I just arrive in business casual?

Ludonarratologist here!
I've seen a lot of praise for the tone of the game, and we're all having fun yelling MY LIFE FOR SUPER EARTH, but I'd like to take an actual moment to discuss how amazing the Narrative Design of this game is.
The storytelling of this game has been crafted with exceptional care, and I genuinely can't think of a game that goes this all-in with its narrative design - especially a non-story-driven game like Helldivers.
From the forced propaganda video every time you launch the game, to the uncanniness of being greeted with 'Hello Helldiver, and congratulations on completing your training' so often. In other games, that would just be chalked up to lazy writing, but it fits so well and it was 100% intentional. Helldivers are expendable, and everything about the game lets you feel that. It is reinforcing, not respawning. The casualness of friendly fire, and how it is communicated everywhere, from loading screens to strategem descriptions to videos on your ship.
The fucking markers on the map! Cold, clinical. They're codes. Not human beings, just a number in an excel sheet. And an expendable one at that.
The fact that just... no care has been taken to give these planets any actual value. Sure people live there, but they're all hellscapes that we have no business being. All missions are purely militaristic, no actual societal value - not even the scientist rescue. It's so well done, we're all collectively wasting our time.
Hell, the fact that your ship upgrades are done via samples, enemy material, it just reinforces the colonialism. But even then, we have ALIEN material and THIS is what we're spending it on? To get more offensive capabilities in the war we're fighting to... get more alien material? Which we then spend on improving our... offensive capabilities... to collect more alien material.
It's absurd on its face and I genuinely want to commend the work that's been done by the Narrative Team - a team that so often goes underappreciated in these games.

[H] Kilrogg-EU is recruiting!
Welcome to season 4!
The casual and crazy asylum is now open for business where both socials, M+ and Raiders alike are wanted. We are a crazy bunch of adults that likes to get away from reality, crack jokes and spend time together. Our humor is not for the faint hearted which is why our minimum age is 18.
But let's get down to business:
For Raiders: We have 1 day a week for raiding which is Saturday from 20:30-00:00 server time. We expect people to stay for the whole run unless an emergency (or unexpected circumstances) occurs. We are looking for:

• 1 reliable tank (Warrior, DH, DK, Monk).
• 1 reliable healer - preferable argumentation evoker but all applications are welcome.
• 2-3 DPS - preferable ranged but all applications are welcome.

For Socials & M+: We are always open for every class as it is more fun to run with friends/guildies. Though, a few more tanks would be awesome as we are low on tanks for M+ and more healers/dps fighting for the spots.
For more information or for an interview, please send a message to Neraka#6491
Have an amazing summer!

[H] Kilrogg-EU is recruiting!
Welcome to season 4!
The casual and crazy asylum is now open for business where both socials, M+ and Raiders alike are wanted. We are a crazy bunch of adults that likes to get away from reality, crack jokes and spend time together. Our humor is not for the faint hearted which is why our minimum age is 18.
But let's get down to business:
For Raiders: We have 1 day a week for raiding which is Saturday from 20:30-00:00 server time. We expect people to stay for the whole run unless an emergency (or unexpected circumstances) occurs. We are looking for:

• 1 reliable tank (Warrior, DH, DK, Monk).
• 1 reliable healer - preferable argumentation evoker but all applications are welcome.
• 2-3 DPS - preferable ranged but all applications are welcome.

For Socials & M+: We are always open for every class as it is more fun to run with friends/guildies. Though, a few more tanks would be awesome as we are low on tanks for M+ and more healers/dps fighting for the spots.
For more information or for an interview, please send a message to Neraka#6491
Have an amazing summer!

[H] Kilrogg-EU is recruiting!
Welcome to season 4!
The casual and crazy asylum is now open for business where both socials, M+ and Raiders alike are wanted. We are a crazy bunch of adults that likes to get away from reality, crack jokes and spend time together. Our humor is not for the faint hearted which is why our minimum age is 18.
But let's get down to business:
For Raiders: We have 1 day a week for raiding which is Saturday from 20:30-00:00 server time. We expect people to stay for the whole run unless an emergency (or unexpected circumstances) occurs. We are looking for:

• 1 reliable tank (Warrior, DH, DK, Monk).
• 1 reliable healer - preferable argumentation evoker but all applications are welcome.
• 2-3 DPS - preferable ranged but all applications are welcome.

For Socials & M+: We are always open for every class as it is more fun to run with friends/guildies. Though, a few more tanks would be awesome as we are low on tanks for M+ and more healers/dps fighting for the spots.
For more information or for an interview, please send a message to Neraka#6491
Have an amazing summer!

Hey all. Could use some input here. Been with my bf for 2.5 years and we live together. Recently I’ve noticed my boyfriend lying to me about random stuff. I saw him online playing a game while working the other day. So I asked him when I got home if he played anything today (not in an accusatory sense, I just wanted to hear about the game/hear if he had fun). He immediately said “No I didn’t, I’ve been too busy.”. I was confused, as to why he’d lie about something so casual. I saw him playing online. I’ve never bashed him for playing games while working even though I do think that’s irresponsible. He works from home btw.
Once he lied about that, I started to kind of keep tabs on him to see if he’d lie again. I can be a stalker when I need to lol I got practice from my cheating and secretive ex. Maybe I should have just asked why he lied, but I wanted to see if he’d do it again. Which did happen unfortunately…I saw him and our friend playing a game while working again. I asked him if he did anything while working today, and he did say he played with our friend, but only in the morning for a little bit. He was online, and played for hours in the afternoon. He then lied again about when he showered and other harmless stuff.
I find it odd he is lying about stuff that doesn’t seem to matter, it’s not like he’s lying about where he’s been or cheating. However, this does ring some alarm bells in my head. Recently, I found out he looks at porn often. This has caused some issues with our sex life. We’ve gone from having sex 3-5 times a week, to once. I’ve asked him if he jacks off too much (because my ex did have a problem with that) or I’ll often ask if he’s jacked off that day (in a kind and curious tone), to know if he’s in the mood/if he wants to have sex. He always says no, and now I’m thinking that is another lie as well. To me, unless someone is depressed or unhealthy, it’s odd for them to become suddenly not sexually active anymore.
Has anyone had experience with this? I don’t want it to make it seem like I’m stalking his every move to catch him in a lie and be a creep, but I feel like that’s the other way to catch him and have a conversation. Otherwise he’s going to just keep straight up lying to my face? I feel like I need proof. I want To trust him, but these lies worry me.
Thanks guys…

"Snoozydoodles! Get your Snoozydoodles here!" Himiko announced. Some students smiled kindly at her, but continued to walk. Other students scoffed or snorted at her, ignoring her completely. Himiko sighed. "It's no use." Three went up to her.
"Don't give up, Himiko!" she said. "Um...maybe it would help if you gave them a reason to want your cookies."
"What do you mean?" Himiko asked.

"Instead of waiting for customers to buy your cookies, do something to lure them in!" Three suggested. Three spied Kaito and Maki walking towards the school. "Ooo! There's some people! You know them?"
"Yeah, that's Kaito and Maki," Himiko said.
"Maybe there's a way for you to draw them in," Three said. Himiko took a glance at her glittery snickerdoodles, and thought the perfect way to convince one of them. She jumped right in front of Kaito and Maki.
"'Space...the final frontier!'" she announced dramatically. "'These are the travels of the starship, Booby Prize! Its continuing mission to explore strange new galaxies! To look for new life and new civilizations! To boldly go where no one has gone before!'" Kaito's mouth hung agape in amazement.
"Hey! You know the opening sequence to Cosmic Quest! " he exclaimed. "That was pretty good, Himiko!"
"Nyeh...if you liked that, then I think you'd like my Snoozydoodles!" Himiko said, gesturing to her cookies.
"Snoozydoodles?" Maki repeated, raising an eyebrow.
"You made space cookies?!" Kaito shouted excitedly.
"Come see for yourself," Himiko said with a sly grin. Kaito hurried over, pulling Maki along. Maki noticed Three standing next to Himiko's table.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Just a friend," Three simply answered.
"Whooaaaa!! Maki Roll, look at these cookies, Maki Roll!!!" Kaito shouted, holding up a cookie with both hands. "They look like stars, or somethin!'"
"But, why are they called Snoozydoodles?" Maki asked Himiko.
"Nyeh...I made those cookies special," Himiko explained. "You hafta eat them right before you go to sleep."
"What'll happen then?" Kaito asked.
"You'll have to wait and see," Himiko replied, grinning mysteriously.
"This sounds like a prank Kokichi made up," Maki mumbled skeptically.
"No, it's not a prank, I promise," Himiko assured.
"Ha! I believe her!" Kaito said as Three handed him a small baggie to put his Snoozydoodle in.
"What else is new?" Maki muttered. "But...if Kaito will believe you, I guess I'll be an idiot, too." She and Kaito both paid Himiko ¥500.
"Hey! Did you just call me an idiot?" Kaito said with a frown. Maki merely smiled and rolled her eyes. The two started walking away. "I'm serious, Maki! Is that what you meant?" Himiko turned to Three excitedly.
"Wow! I had customers who weren't my friends!" she squealed.
"Eeee! Yay!" Three said. "You really knew how to handle that guy!"
"It's not hard, really," Himiko shrugged. "All you gotta do is talk about space."
"Well, space is pretty cool," Three admitted, nodding her head. "But, in this case, it's good that that guy's so obsessed with it."
"Nyeh...I think I'm ready to try someone else now!" Himiko said, now feeling energized.
"Look! Here comes a girl! And, wow! She looks really cool!" Three said, pointing to Ibuki, who was skipping her way to the school.
"That's Ibuki," Himiko said. She thought she'd try matching Ibuki's energy. "Nyeh...hiiii, Ibukiiii!!" Ibuki noticed Himiko and went over to her with a big grin.
"Hellooooo, Himikooooo!!" she shouted.
"I hope you like lotsa color and sparkles!!" Himiko said. She was already feeling tired from talking like Ibuki, but she forced herself to keep smiling and talking in Ibuki's overly-cheerful manner.
"Of course! Color and sparkles make the world go 'round!" Ibuki cried.
"Then, how about you try my Snoozydoodles?" Himiko suggested, gesturing to her cookies. Ibuki gasped.
"GAAAASSSSP!!! THESE LOOK SO AMAZING!!!" she cried.
"You want one?" Himiko asked.
"Yeah! Can I have a pink one and a blue one to match?" Ibuki asked, pointing to her arms and hair.
"Nyeh...sure! That'll be ¥1000," Himiko said. Ibuki paid for her cookies, and opened her mouth to take a bite of the pink one. "Wait, Ibuki!!" Ibuki stopped.
"Huh? What's wrong?" she asked.
"Uh...b-before you eat that, you should know that they're called Snoozydoodles because you're supposed to eat them right before you go to sleep," Himiko said. Ibuki's eyes widened.
"Really?!" she exclaimed.
"That's right!" Himiko handed her two baggies. "There you go!"
"Yeee-haw!! I can't wait!!" Ibuki shouted. "Ibuki's so excited to eat these that she might not even be able to sleep!"
That's what you think, Himiko thought to herself.
"Well, thanks, Himiko! Good luck selling your Snoozydoodles!" Ibuki skipped away, leaving Himiko to sigh deeply.
"Hee-hee...she was a ball of energy," Three giggled.
"I know. I don't know how she can stand it," Himiko muttered tiredly.
"Hey, look! More people!" Three said. Himiko turned and spied Fuyuhiko and Peko. She rubbed her palms together.
"Nyeh...I think I know how to get them," she said. "I've always wanted to do this." She sat down on the flat end of school's front entrance's brick banister. She sat up straight, crossed her legs, and stared ahead, stone-faced while curving the corners of her lips downward. Fuyuhiko raised a brow, but smiled curiously as he and Peko slowly approached Himiko.
"Uhh...Himiko? What are you doing?" he asked.
"Fuyuhiko, my boy, thank you for coming here on this very...very important day," Himiko said in a raspy voice as she reached out to straighten Fuyuhiko's suit. Fuyuhiko uttered a small chuckle, realizing that Himiko was trying to imitate Vito Corleone from The Godfather. "Now, listen...I'm gonna make you an offer you can't refuse."
"Okay, dork, show me what'cha got," Fuyuhiko said, chuckling. Himiko hopped up off the banister. Using her two fingers, she gestured to Fuyuhiko and Peko to follow her.
"Come," she said, still putting on a voice. She gestured grandly to her cookies. "These are the greatest cookies ever known to man. If you were a dope, you'd leave right now. But, you're not a dope, are ya, Fuyuhiko?" Still smiling, Fuyuhiko shook his head in awe.
"No, Himiko, I guess not," he replied. Himiko picked up a cookie.
"Then, here, take a Snoozydoodle," she said before nodding to Peko. "And one for the dame, too." Fuyuhiko handed Peko the cookie, and took one for himself.
"I'll pay for the both of us, Peko," Fuyuhiko offered, and paid ¥1000.
"There's only a minor thing about the cookies," Himiko continued. "You're supposed to eat them right before getting conked." Fuyuhiko smiled quizzically at her.
"Getting conked?! " he repeated.
"Yeah...y'know, in other 'woids,' before youse guys go to sleep," Himiko explained. Fuyuhiko laughed and shook his head.
"Got it," he replied. Himiko handed him and Peko a couple of baggies for their Snoozydoodles. "Thanks, Himiko. Y'know, I can see why Kokichi digs you. You are pretty cute." Himiko blushed.
"Oh, stoooop," she said bashfully, breaking character. "Oh! Um, I mean...Don't call me cute, or it'll be 'coitans' for you, punk." Fuyuhiko laughed again.
"If you say so, Himiko," he said before waving goodbye to Himiko.
Part Ten
Two hours had passed, and Himiko earned a total of ¥9500. She wished she had made more, but it was much better than the day before.
"Nyeh...thanks for helping me out, Keiko," Himiko said with a grateful smile.
"Nooo problemooo!" Three replied. "That was fun! Maybe I can come by next weekend and help out again!"
"Heeey, that's a pretty swell idea for someone who's slacking on the job!" came Kokichi's voice. Himiko and Three turned to see him peering at them from over the brick banister. He walked down the steps and joined them. Himiko and Three glanced at each other frantically.
"B-Boss! I was, um...I-I..." Three stammered. "It's not what it looks like! I was just...dropping by, and I-"
"Yeah, Kokichi! She wasn't helping me, honest!" Himiko chimed in, coming to Three's defense.
"I was just giving her moral support, and maybe some advice," Three said. "But, I promise, I'll go right back to-" Kokichi held up his hand to silence her.
"Very well," he said. "Return to headquarters, Three."
"Okay, boss," Three said, pouting. She dashed off, waving goodbye to Himiko, who waved back. Then, Himiko turned to Kokichi.
"Kokichi? Are you mad at her?" she asked in a small voice. "Are you mad at me, too?"
"I'm not mad at either of you," Kokichi said. Himiko stared back in uncertain silence. "It's not a lie, Himiko. I'm really not mad."
"Oh, but...why do you seem...not happy?" Himiko asked.
"Because Three has business elsewhere," Kokichi replied. "She wasn't supposed to come here."
"Oh..." Himiko said quietly. Kokichi sighed and nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders.
"Seeing as she was assisting the Supreme Lady, though, I'll let it slide this time," he said. "But, I need to have a talk with her about shirking her responsibilities."
"Oh, but...with her support, I made ¥9500," Himiko said, showing Kokichi her earnings. Kokichi's eyes lit up.
"Really?! Way to go, Monkey Buns!" he said, nodding with respect.
"How much did you make?" Himiko asked, afraid to find out.
"Not as much as yesterday," Kokichi said. "Just ¥25000."
"Oh..." Himiko muttered disappointedly. Kokichi held her shoulders firmly.
"Don't be so down, Himiko," he said. "What you earned...it's a start. I'm sure you'll get better later."
"Well, it's just that...I don't understand how you make so much when nearly everybody hates you," Himiko sighed. "And, no matter how much they hate you, they'd still rather buy from you than me."
"Well, even though I'm annoying to most people, I'm always confident in my abilities," Kokichi said. "I know how to give people just the right amount of intrigue. You can do that, too, Monkey Buns! You did make ¥9500 after all! By the way, what advice did Three give you?"
"Well, she said that I should find a way to lure customers in," Himiko said, remembering Three's words. "That I should give them a reason to buy my cookies, rather than waiting around for someone to."
"She's right," Kokichi nodded. "And, how did you do that?" Himiko smiled modestly.
"Well...all I did was recite the Cosmic Quest opening to Kaito, hoping it would interest him enough to try one of my cookies, which kinda looked like outer space," Himiko answered. "Then, I imitated Ibuki as a form of flattery, and then I pretended to be that guy from The Godfather to appeal to Fuyuhiko's 'yakuz-y' nature. Nyeh...he even said I was cute for that."
"Ooo, so you have a crush on Fuyuhiko, now?" Kokichi teased.
"No!!" Himiko cried. "You're already my boyfriend!"
"That's right!" Kokichi said dramatically, wrapping his arms around Himiko protectively and kissing her cheek. "Mwah! You're my Supreme Lady. Mwah! And I love you. Mwah! So very much. Mwah!" Himiko giggled.
"Gross! You're getting your slobber all over me!" she exclaimed. Kokichi blew on her cheek, making a rumbly sound. Himiko laughed even harder. "KOKICHI!!" Kokichi chuckled and kissed her lips.
"I'm proud of you, Himiko," he said, patting her shoulder. "Were they the only customers you had, though?"
"No, Tenko, Angie, and Tsumugi also bought some cookies," Himiko said. "And after Fuyuhiko was Ryoma, Sonia, Celeste, Makoto, Mikan, Miu, and Gonta bought some, as well."
"Heeeey, look at you, being a salesgirl!" Kokichi said, giving Himiko a high five. Himiko blushed bashfully. "Sooo...ready to go?" Kokichi asked her, casually sticking his hands in his pockets.
"Nyeh...yeah," Himiko replied. "I've had enough funny business for one day." Kokichi's smile faded, and frowned.
"Did Three teach you that, too?" he asked. Himiko stood still like a deer in headlights.
"Y-Yeah...why? What's wrong?" she stammered. Kokichi sighed deeply shook his head.
"Three knows better than that. That should only be said to official members of the organization," Kokichi explained.
"Oh! But...I'm the Supreme Lady, I thought," Himiko said.
"Not officially," Kokichi pointed out.
"But...I don't understand," Himiko said, genuinely confused. "You tell me stuff about your organization all the time."
"Only the basic things you need to know," Kokichi said. "But, if you wanna know all the secrets in how we operate, you have to be an official member."
"Oh..." Himiko mumbled. "Nyeh...you really do take your job as Supreme Leader seriously, huh, Kokichi?"
"I do...which is kinda ironic, considering what we do," Kokichi said thoughtfully. "But, if I let everyone act all willy-nilly, the organization would go to pieces. What kind of Supreme Leader would I be if I let that happen?"
"Well, I guess you're right," Himiko said. "But, please, don't be mad at Three, Kokichi. She really helped me!"
"Alright, alright..." Kokichi sighed, holding up his hands in surrender. "But, I do need to have a serious talk with her. Aaaanyhoo, let's get ready to go back home." Himiko nodded, and the two cleaned up Himiko's area.
"Nyeh...I hope they end up liking my cookies," Himiko said on the way home. "Or even bothered to remember not to eat them until right before going to sleep."
"Well...you sold them a pretty interesting cookie, HimiCocoa Bean," Kokichi said. "I'm sure you've intrigued them enough form them to remember. We'll have to wait tomorrow to find out what they thought of them."

New to The Street TV Signs Greene Concepts, Inc. to a 6-Part Media Series, Contract Includes Digital Ads, Billboards, and Commercials
NEW YORK, May 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FMW Media Works' New to The Street will feature ~Greene Concepts, Inc.~ (OTCPink: INKW) ($INKW) ("Company") on its national television program. The series will span six months following the Company's business products in the bottled water and health/wellness beverage industries.
~New to the Street~ will produce and film interviews with INKW's Management and broadcast each segment as sponsored programming on ~Bloomberg TV~ and the ~FOX Business Network~. Viewers will hear and learn more about the Company's growing consumer demand for its brands, ~"BeWater™,"~ a premium artesian aquifer bottled water, and ~"Happy Mellow,"~ a CBD and vitamin-infused beverage. Management expects to talk about expanding/increasing its bottling plant's capabilities, strengthening its brand's marketing and awareness, hiring additional personnel, developing new products, seeking to add intellectual properties to its brands, and developing new business acquisitions or ~partnerships~.
All broadcasted shows will stream for 24 months on the New to The Street website, ~.~~newtothestreet.com~. New to The Street will provide social media marketing to further the reach of each broadcast. On a schedule, show previews and commercial ads will air on New to The Street's TV platforms. Digital ads will stream on New to The Street's billboard platform throughout New York City.
~Lenny Greene, CEO and President of Green Concepts, Inc., states,~ "Sales of our artesian spring water Be Water™ beverage, along with our immune-support CBD beverage, Happy Mellow, continue to grow through multiple retail and distributor lines as we continue to take portions of the thriving $303.95 billion bottled water and $4.4 billion CBD beverage markets. We are laser-focused on our business goals and always take action to meet or, better yet, exceed each of them. I am so proud of where we are going as a Company, our growth potential, and how we've overcome many obstacles placed in our path to continue toward our main company objectives. Finally, I want to say that I am very grateful to our incredible shareholders who have supported us over the last several years since we launched operations in 2020. The road to our success has not been easy, and various challenges have been thrown our way, but we have fought through and overcome them all. We have vast plans for nationwide growth, marketplace uplisting to NASDAQ, establishing foundations to assist those in need throughout the country and beyond, and, most importantly, creating products that provide tremendous health and wellness benefits to the masses. We are well on our way, and I thank each of you. I also thank New to the Street and its 'Game Changers' segment for helping us get the word out about our incredible Company. We are excited to expand the media relationship with New to the Street. We look forward to updating our consumers and shareholders with our latest developments and introducing our Company to a new, broader audience."
The Company is expanding sales and awareness of Be Water™ in areas within a 100-miles radius near and around its ~manufacturing facility~ in Marion, North Carolina, located at the foothill of the Pisgah National Forest of the Appalachian Mountains. Numerous online and retail locations, including ~Walmart~, Amazon, Whole Foods, Camping World, and other recognized outlets sell IKNW's beverages. Every label on a "BeWater™" bottle has the Company's uplifting slogan: "Now is The Time to Refresh Mind, Body, and Spirit." Be Water™ comes in 24-pack, 6-pack, and gallon-size configurations, and *Happy Mellow comes in 6-pack size configurations.
Vince Caruso, Founder and CEO of FMW Media and Producer at New to The Street TV, states, "During the next 6-months, we expect fantastic TV interviews with INKW's management team, giving us exciting business updates and developments. Many consumers reported that "Be Water" and "Happy Mellow" products have improved their health and well-being. I'm excited for our viewers to learn more about INKW product lines and how they might enhance health and wellness. We at New to The Street expect to maximize viewership interest in Greene Concepts, Inc.'s beverage business and share management's growth strategies and value propositions."
FULL PR....
New to The Street TV Signs Greene Concepts, Inc. to a 6-Part Media Series, Contract Includes Digital Ads, Billboards, and Commercials (yahoo.com)

Data:

• Brand: Nevados
• Style: Low-cut, hiking shoe/work shoe hybrid
• Construction: Leather (some type) outer, a dark mesh or fabric inner, onto which the mostly one-piece outer was stitched. The leather (or suede, or such) had a thin, deep cut behind the toe and two smaller 'tongues' up the loops, I believe.
• Color: Medium- or Dark Brown; dark hiking-treaded sole
• Model Name: I think it began with a "C" and was either a male name or similar to one, about two or three syllables.
• Originally seen at Shoe Dept (Encore), also on the website as I recall, on clearance.

If anyone has ideas how to find this, or any feedback on how to ask this question, say so please.

• are there forums that might have collected reviews of certain brands of hiking/work shoes, or known 'reviewers' that might have extensively tried out certain shoes?
  • is there a way to find a list of all makes of a certain brand, even if they are not in stock?
  • I have scoured, to some extent, eBay, uBuyIt (which appears to be aggregating from others), and Google Images.
  • There is not even a contact on the website: https://i.imgur.com/HcPPJq5.png
  • Any alternatives? Cost, durable, can pass in a 'business casual', support, range of movement, and weight (breathes)

Pictures for similarity: * * good fit, excellent combination of breathability, out-door ruggedness (for work or country), and appearance like a casual dress shoe

Hey all. I’ve been working on a framework to explain how “Life is a MMORPG” for a while now but whenever I try to begin to write it all out, something seems to keep holding me back and I think I’ve figured out what it is. It’s the very foundation of it itself because that seems to be the hardest thing for people to grasp and comprehend. So once I can get over a way of explaining this foundation, it seems like the rest of the framework might be a lot easier to share.
So what I’d like to do is share this foundation here with you now and get your feedback as to if this seems understandable to you or if it seems unbelievable and crazy. Honestly though, if it doesn’t feel like a little bit of both, I’m probably not explaining it right.
Ok, so to start with, the basis for most MMORPGs or even RPGs in general is level progression. So the roleplaying game is about your growth and development. But what does this actually mean though in life?
For some people, I’ve seen them describe this as though you are “levelling up” your technical skills (i.e. coding, web development, etc) but I think it goes much more deeper and broader than this. I think levelling up actually transforms the way you perceive your world and your self in turn (as the two are entwined).
A quick way to understand this would be to think of phasing in World of Warcraft which transforms your perception of the world around you based upon your level. So if you’re in a zone that has phasing enabled, you might be seeing something completely different to what someone else is seeing at a different level. What this means is that at an earlier level, you might see a creature as a threat and thus attack it, whereas at a later level, that creature may now become an ally that you gain further quests and resources from.
Now if people actually saw each other in these phased zones, it would probably look pretty weird. You’d have one character attacking these creatures and another person casually chatting with them. The creatures may even ask the one person to help them fend off the attack of the other person. So all said and done, it creates a really bizarre, conflicting environment. To get around this, World of Warcraft actually phased you out and made you invisible from other people at different levels, thus making this potentially bizarre environment make more sense and seem more normal to you.
But what if I told you that this is actually how our perception works in real life? That depending upon our life experiences, we create stories and narratives that act like coded programs of belief that determine how we perceive our world. So our perception metaphorically acts like VR glasses that both grab information from our senses but also filter them at the same time (kind of like Apple’s Vision Pro glasses). And based upon our “level” in life, the interface for these lenses / glasses will show less or more information to navigate life with, thus allowing us to potentially see things that might seem invisible to other people.
So to put this bluntly, what I’m saying here is that we aren’t actually seeing reality directly but instead we are seeing a mental map of it, kind of like a GPS for our minds, that helps us navigate life. What this is more commonly known as is a worldview.
Ya, crazy right? Now if you’re grasping the basics of this right now then the next leap you might be making is a realization that we are effectively living in a simulation, a video game. We are in a sense but it's not made by aliens, as some conspiracy theorists would have you believe. Rather it's one of our own evolutionary creation. In effect, metaphorically, we are playing within a virtual world like in a MMORPG and each of us, depending upon our level, are seeing similar things but also different things within this virtual world, just like phasing allows in World of Warcraft.
Now having said all that, I can now explain what levels within life actually mean which is an embodiment of everything I’ve described above. Levels within “Life as a MMORPG” represent levels of consciousness. You could simply think of consciousness as a greater sense of awareness but it goes well beyond this. It’s like being aware of yourself as you are being aware of the world at the same time. So it’s kind of like stepping back from yourself and seeing yourself living your life in the moment. Yes, just like when you see your character on the screen when you’re playing a MMORPG and you realize that you aren’t actually your character but rather the player behind the character that you are roleplaying.
And the more you level up, the more you’re able to step back and start seeing life from a much larger vantage point, a bigger picture if you will, seeing spaces of possibilities around you that may have been invisible to your before.
So that’s all I’m going share for now and again I’d like to get people’s feedback on this.
Does this seem plausible to you or does it sound completely crazy?
Because if this sounds plausible to you, this is only the beginning and I can share a lot more, taking you further down the rabbit hole (perhaps even seeing Alice along the way). But the main emphasis here is that I want to communicate this in such a way and using certain metaphors that it feels both familiar to MMORPG gamers (due to the metaphors I've used), yet also feels like something new at the same time.
BTW another word often associated with worldview is mindset. In effect, you may have heard of people talking about a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. So a mindset is like a worldview but usually in a smaller capacity or context of your life, where your worldview encompasses your entire outlook and perception of life as whole, even encompassing your perception of yourself (i.e. identity).
Also for those who are familiar with Chris Do, here’s a link to a video of his from a month ago that directly relates to this, where he mentions your mindset and worldview (and how hard it has been for him to explain this to people and for them to believe it). The primary difference between Chris and myself is that his background is in motion design building for major businesses and brands and my background is in building communities online around video games for major video game publishers and their game titles. This is why from my perspective, using “Life as a MMORPG” seems like the perfect metaphor for me to describe this deeper aspect of life that most people are completely unaware of, since RPGs and MMORPGs are the "lens" and "language" I've grown up with and experienced most of my life with.
One last thing that relates to this all. The future isn’t about learning to code. It’s about learning to recode yourself. (Think Ryan Reynolds in the movie Free Guy, whereby he gains new “sight” and learns to “recode” himself, shifting from an NPC to PC.) That's another way of looking at this all.

These brains have evolved for one major purpose: to have the simulation capacity to create internal worlds, tabletop models of reality, inside of which we safely test out mock-ups of our behaviours before acting on them.

Not only does this simulation capacity provide us with an edge in the competition for resources with other species, it is taken over and used to simulate our social worlds, including ourselves in that world as objects among others. This is the basis of ego, treating the representational object of our self in the landscape of the simulation as if it were what it represented, making the assumption that the map is the territory.
— Ronald R. Irwin, Spiritual Development in Adulthood: Key Concepts and Models

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A quick thanks to u/aMANTEIGAdo for the Liiry fanart

Transcription Subject: Fink, Landlord/Veln supporter
Date [standardized human time]: February 24, 2137
I idly waited in the empty restaurant for this mister Gilt. His secretary had sent me a message saying that he was underway. It’s weird how his secretary has refused to make any phone or face calls, and has only contacted me through messages. It shouldn’t matter though, so long as this Mr. Gilt is a level-headed and reputable leaser.
My train of thought was suddenly interrupted by the jingling of the bell above the entrance. Walking through the doorway had to be the most veteran-looking exterminator I have ever seen. He wore 3 exterminator badges, but far more impressive than that was how he was covered in scars. They were concentrated especially heavily around his neck, most likely from predators attempting to bite through his throat, and somehow he’d survived so many attacks. What did puzzle me further though was how unevenly his fur was shaven and the strange look in his eyes, one that I could not place. “Hello. Mister Gilt, I presume?”
“The one and only. I’m here for the interview and to see the restaurant.” I now noticed that he was wearing a pawsfree headset. Its green light was blinking, like it was on.
“I’m sorry, but are you having a call right now?”
“No! No, I am a very busy venlil and always wear this in case I get an important call.” A bit strange, but I suppose not too out of the ordinary.
“Well, could you tell something about yourself?”
“As you can see, Gilt, er, I have spend decades removing the taint of Venlil Prime and keeping the population safe,” Gilt said in a rather strange way, like he was reading it off a paper; maybe he had memorized the line, expecting the question during the interview. “Now that I’m retired from that lifestyle, I have begun investing my well-earned money in small businesses.”
“That all sounds good. Your secretary already gave me most of the information I needed, like how you’re going to turn this place into a salad-based restaurant; he called it a ‘salad house.’ And I’m sure that I don’t have to ask you what your policy on humans is.” I gave a small chuckle, imagining a veteran exterminator like him welcoming humans warmly into his restaurant.
“You don’t have to worry about me or any employee of mine ever accepting those tainted scum into my establishment. I can’t wait for Veln to be voted in, he will surely make sure that those filthy humans will be cast off our magnificent Venlil Prime,” Gilt said, again quite stiff. He might just be nervous.
“Rightfully said, he sure has my vote.” Speaking of humans, is that one across the street? Over Gilt’s shoulder, I spotted a human making a phone call in an old, rusted-up van. He was looking straight at me, up until he noticed I was looking back and quickly looked away. With relief, I noticed that a pair of exterminators were walking straight towards the car. The human seemed to end his phone call and opened up a window to speak to the exterminators. With that small problem solved, I turned my attention back to Gilt, who seemed to be panicking a bit. I suppose even someone with nerves of steel as him can get nervous over simple things like an interview. He pressed a button on the pawsfree headset, and the blinking light turned off.
Transcription Subject: Vuccen, Krakotl Exterminator
Date [standardized human time]: February 24, 2137
Another day, another pointless patrol. I wish they would give us something real to do. But with all those ‘animal’ welfare laws and us no longer being allowed to lock up anyone with predator disease, we have nothing left to do but roam the streets in the hopes we find something that we are allowed to do. My prayers were answered, because not 10 meters ahead of us, I saw a human sitting in the passenger seat of a terribly beat-up van covered in rust and algae. Weirdly enough, it had a sideview mirror on the driver’s side. Finally, something to do. “Come on Cuko, I see a human let’s see if it’s hiding something,” I chirped to my venlil partner.
“Please be nice to them, they hardly ever do anything wrong.” She’s so kind, too bad that she sometimes focuses it on the wrong kind.
I tapped against the window with the talon of my right wing, and the human quickly ended a call and began to crank the window open by hand. “Hey, if it isn’t Burny-bird, how are you two doing?” he said, switching glances between me and my partner.
All of a sudden, I recognized the human’s face; it was the same one that purposely angered me last month [chapter 2]. “Get out of the car,” I demanded while I unholstered my flamethrower.
The human casually placed his arm in the window and calmly asked, “Why, what have I done?” Cuko behind me signed with her tail in agreement.
“Random search, now get out of the vehicle.”
“Sure, ‘random,’ totally not out of some bias to antagonize a specific species,” he said sarcastically as he got out of the car with one hand raised while the other opened the door.
Cuko guided him to the front of the car for a pat down. “Please place your claws on the hood and spread your hindlegs.” If evolving into predators wasn’t enough, they had to be completely bald too. With all those false pelts, humans can hide so many dangerous items without anyone being the wiser.
I wretched when I looked into the car; the floor was littered with mouldy cans of vegetables, nearly empty save for the rotting scraps and overgrown utensils. “W-why?”
The human spoke up while he was being patted down by my partner, “I know what you’re looking at —ough, careful with those nails— and those are not mine, all that junk is from the owner, my friend. I have been urging him to clean it up, and I’ve even thought about doing it for him, but he really should learn to take care of himself.”
I began to sift through the junk, relieved that I am covered from talon to neck in a rubber fireproof suit, not having to coat my feathers in this filth. Outside, I heard that Cuko hadn’t found anything dangerous or illegal on it, and that its name was ‘Maarten.’ I was about to give up on finding anything until I pulled a lever on a small rectangular object I found in the glovebox, and a small knife flipped out. “Aha, got you now filthy predator. Why do you have this?”
“That’s a pocketknife, that’s just a tool. I have it in the glovebox with the rest of my tools to keep this hunk of rust running.”
My partner spoke up with a concerned look on her face, “It’s not illegal to own a knife that small. You probably have bigger ones in your kitchen drawer, we can’t arrest him for that.”
It looked away from me and continued looking at Cuko, as it did before I spoke up. I shudder imagining what predatory thoughts lie behind those binocular-eyes.
Transcription Subject: Maarten de Groot, Human Refugee/Meat dealer
Date [standardized human time]: February 24, 2137
Don’t pet her, don’t pet her, she has a flamethrower.
Transcription Subject: Vuccen, Krakotl Exterminator
Date [standardized human time]: February 24, 2137
Giving up on finding anything in the front, I slid open the side door, revealing even more junk. At least these look more promising…and not covered in mould. Why is there a dishwasher and 5 blenders in here? “I noticed that the wool on the top of your head is a lot more puffy then on most venlil,” the human carelessly remarked. Of course, it’s going to point out her insecurities, typical predators.
“It is, you don’t have to mention it,” Cuko replied in an annoyed tone.
“It looks good on you, it’s cute.” What?!
“Oh, er, thank you…very much.” I can’t listen to this, she’s to naïve to understand that it’s just tricking her. I continued searching the back of the van for anything, traces of meat, weapons, dead venlil. I opened up one of the 3 large boxes that were hidden behind a piece of plywood that was haplessly placed there. There was a cool box inside. Jackpot! To my disappointment, it was empty, and so was the next one, and the one after that. Stil,l though, why would anyone have these hidden away like this?
“Why are there 3 cool boxes hidden away in the back in back?” I asked, demanding an answer from the human and interrupting it from its conversation with my partner.
“I don’t know, why is any of that stuff in there? On our way over here, we saw a dishwasher on the side of the road and he threw it- well he asked me to throw it in the back.” This is going nowhere.
Transcription Subject: Fink, Landlord/Veln supporter
Date [standardized human time]: February 24, 2137
“And that is why you should never combine drain cleaner and aluminium in a metal canister,” Gilt said, finishing his strange explanation.
“Huh, I never knew how to make an acid bomb. Shall we begin with the tour?,” I asked, finally cutting off Gilt’s rambling about chemistry. What a strange person.
The dining area wasn’t much to look at, it was completely empty save for a bar that was bolted to the floor, hence why the previous renters didn’t take it with them. Gilt walked around seemingly at random, looking at the outlets and taking a glance at the empty shelves behind the bar. “Are these taps pressured by gas?,” Gilt asked while he pulled on a lever and being briefly disappointed by the lack of alcohol.
“Yes, I think there was room for 2 canisters, but I have to look that up. May I ask you something? Why do you know so much about chemistry as an exterminator?” Gilt’s tail suddenly began flicking nervously left and right.
“Uhhh, uhhh, I uhh, studied it, yes, I studied it, but I was better cut as an exterminator.” I was unable to get a proper read on him; he sounds like he’s lying or at least nervous about something.
“Shall we take a look at the kitchen?”
“Yes!” Gilt nearly yelled, and he instantly got up and speed walked through the kitchen door. When I walked through the door, he was fawning over the industrial freezer lined against the wall. “This thing is big enough to fit a body inside…hypothetically.”
“…Yes, it would be very useful for you for keeping your vegetables preserved. There is also plenty of counter space, and even a strayu-oven,” I said, doing my best sales pitch.
Gilt immediately took a liking to the oven. “Can this thing make other stuff too?”
“Well, it’s a strayu-oven. I don’t know what else you want to make with it, especially in a salad-house.”
“I don’t know! Perhaps other food that needs to be warm?” Gilt said dismissively, his tail nervously flicking left and right. I think he’s just very nervous.
“I am quite glad you’re an exterminator,” I said, trying to relieve the awkwardness. “I really don’t want to have any humans in any of my buildings, especially not after what I heard on the news not a quarter claw ago.”
He gave a confused ear flick. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s all over the news. Some humans blew up the front of the exchange program headquarters. Those dangerous predators should have never been allowed to stay on our planet.”
Gilt his ears folded back and showed a snarl, something hardly any venlil did and combined with the fact that he looked so dangerous made me instinctively back up. “Those sons of farsuls, I will make them pay! Humanity First is making the humans’ reputation even worse!”
“Calm down sir, you’re no longer part of the force.” He really takes this personally. You can take the exterminator out of the guild, but you can’t take the guild out of the exterminator. “Hey, you seem like a good leaser for this place.” And the only participant. I quickly said, hoping to change the subject. He was a bit intense before, but now, he was starting to scare me. It’s not like I trust this man, but I need to lease this place out too not go under. To many leasers and renters pulled out after going bankrupt, after Venlil Prime left the Federation. All because Tarva wanted to sleep with a predator.
Miraculoisly this seemed to work miraculously, “Oh, great, where do I sign?” His ears lifted up again into a happy expression, though only for only a short moment until his pawsfree headset went off and he immediately answered it. The green light began blinking once again. “What?...No…No…Yes…I already did it, without your help…bye…bye!”
Transcription Subject: Vuccen, Krakotl Exterminator
Date [standardized human time]: February 24, 2137
I noticed Cuko was looking a bit confused at a piece of paper with some venlilian writing on it. “What do you have there?”
“That human from just then, gave me his phone number for some reason.” She’s too naïve for this line of work.
A/N:
As always I really appreciate comments, it gives a lot more satisfaction than a few up arrows.
A special thanks to u/InstantSquirrelSoup for proofreading. Check out his fic: Arxur Hospitality
[First] [Previous]

Hi Everyone,
I have recently just passed my year in a real IT position (experience prior was GeekSquad) and I started casually applying to a few places to see if my resume could get any bites in my market.
One of the employers reached out and I went through both first and second rounds. They both went well and at the end of the second round the manager told me that he liked me and my experience and was leaning towards bringing me in for 3rd rounds where Id be meeting the rest of the team. This interview took place on Friday, 2 weeks ago, in which he said he would let me know Monday. He emailed me Tuesday (last week) and said schedules got busy and the team is still reviewing my interview and will get back asap. I responded confirming my interest in the company and thanking them for the time and consideration, I also said to let me know if they need anything else from me. I have not heard back. Ive seen mixed reviews on this sub about following up so im wondering what is the best course of action. I really like this company and I know it would be a step up in my career. Should I just leave it be and wait until they reach out? Should I wait longer before I reach out? What is the best course of action?
Thanks for reading!

Part 72 Gene mods (Part 1) (Part 71)
[Support me on Ko-fi so I can get some character commissions done and totally not buy more Gundams]
“Alright, calm down. It's really not that serious.” Though the holographic representation of War Chief Neshkaname, complete with ocean blue eyes and linear facial tattoos on his tan face, looked quite noticeably tired, his overall demeanor seemed fairly positive. “I just got out of a meeting with representatives from the different protesting groups and all of them agree with the general idea of what we're trying to do with our united defense fleet. There's just quite a bit of disagreement about how our Confederacy should approach the questions related to Earth, Mars, and everyone in Sol.”
“What kind of questions are we talking about here?” General Robert Andrews, the now former General of the US Army, was the first to speak up amongst the crowd of military leaders. “Nothing about invading Earth, I hope.”
“Well…” Though Rob was only half serious about his comment concerning Earth, the way the commanding officer of the Nishnabe Militia’s Blue Fleet began his response put a genuinely concerned expression on a few faces from Sol. “It's only a small percent of our population who are calling for war to reclaim land. A few million people at most, none of whom hold any positions of leadership in our military. Luckily, there are far more people calling for boycotts, embargoes, or blockades as opposed to anything direct.”
“War Chief, to many governments on Earth, an embargo, and especially a blockade, would be considered akin to a direct declaration of war.” General Renee Descartes, the former Chief of Defense Staff of France and Second in Command of the European Union's Unified Military, despite the dark bags under her eyes implying she hadn't gotten anywhere near enough sleep before this meeting, retained her rather elegant poise when adding that bit of necessary context. “You see, the economy of Earth is highly reliant on importing raw materials from space. With the climate being as delicate as it is, no one is willing to risk the kinds of planetside resource harvesting necessary to keep the thirteen billion people in the Earth’s Sphere of Influence employed, fed, and happy. More importantly, we are starting to run out of easily accessible mineral deposits in space.”
“Yes, the lunar mines and the near-Earth asteroid colonies still under UN-E control simply aren't producing nearly enough material to meet growing demand.” Admiral Nathaniel Adeoye, who had also given up his position as the Chief of Astral Naval Staff of the African Federation, chimed in with a clearly worried tone in his deep voice. “While I can understand the rage some of your people must feel, especially towards Americans, the many different people of Africa were in no way responsible for the colonization of America. In fact, we were subject to colonialism ourselves.”
“At least y'all still got yahr homelands!” Commandant General Daniel Chasinghorse, the former Commander of the entirety of MarsGov's Void-Marine Corps, didn't mean for his statement directed at Adeoye to sound as vitriolic as it did. However, the idea of him, his Lakota people, and all the displaced Native American Nations who were now mostly living in space or on Mars potentially being included in the Nishnabe’s reasonably negative reaction towards the people of Earth had put him on edge. “Sorry for snappin’ at yah like that, Nate. But the people livin’ on Mars ain't nothin’ done to deserve bein’ restricted by an embargo or blockade. We need all the extra-Solar tech we can get if we're gonna keep our population's health from declining even further. And I’m sure the African Lunar colonies could really use that medical and gravity tech too!”
“Nothing's been decided yet, and most people on Shkegpewen want peace, we just haven't reached a consensus on how that peace will look.” War Chief Msko Pkwenech, the commander of the Nishnabe Militia’s Red Fleet, interjected while making an open gesture with his hands to try to pat down the tension building up in this meeting room. “And if helps at all, we did take quite a few public votes concerning technology sharing for things we consider essential. But Maser probably has quicker access to the results than I would.”
“About ninety percent of respondents voted to immediately authorize and start sending out medical and gravity tech, including a production ship to come out and make things in-system, which is well above the seventy-five percent consensus needed to move forward.” As soon as the Light-born AI holographically representing their consciousness as an androgynous human began to speak in an incredibly soothing tone, the stress levels in the room began to fall. “There are currently a few councils debating the finer details and arranging logistics of what will be sent. However, the specifics of who gets what and when they get it will be negotiated between the respective governments in Sol and the Nishnabe Intergovernmental Council. Our job as the United Human Defense Fleet is not to interfere with diplomacy between nations, just to ensure that diplomacy is handled in a reasonable and non-threatening manner. Now, with that said, the vote to provide essential assistance was just one if a few taken over the last couple weeks. And while that poll was overwhelming and definitive, the ones concerning visas, immigration, galactic trade, and interspecies relations all fell below the consensus threshold for the Confederacy to adopt an official policy. When we say embargoes and blockades, we are purely referring to trade interactions between species, not between humanity and your economic exclusive zone. Once the relevant councils develop updated options for people to vote on, the next vote will be held.”
“An’ how long's all that gonna take?” Commandant Admiral Carol Nez, as the former head of MarsGov’s Astral Intelligence Collective and Councilmember in the Navajo Nation of Mars, was keenly aware of both the pressing urge of many on the red planet to live on a world with a breathable atmosphere and how just long it often took to for Native Nations to build a consensus. “Everaday we got at least a thousand babies born in Martian maternity stations an’ at least thirty percent ‘ave some kinda health issues. The sooner we get y'all's medical tech, the more kids that're gonna grow up to be happy an’ healthy!”
“We are well aware of the negative health implications of trying to raise children in low-gravity.” Msko already had his tablet out and was in the process of sending over the relevant information to his counterparts from Earth and Mars. “Our genetic modification technologies require individualized sequencing but they can be applied before or after birth to correct any serious issues. They can even be used well into adulthood. I got my eye color changed when I became an adult, so we can help anyone who hasn’t already gotten cybernetic replacements for affected body parts. All of our ships still in Sol are actively trying to produce as much of the base materials as they can and are working with doctors from your stations to get everything deployed as quickly as possible.”
“Why don’cha just teach our docs how to do it?” As soon as Carol got the question out, Msko and Nesh shot each other cautious glances before they both looked towards Maser.
“Well, Commandant Admiral Nez…” As soon as the hologram of the AI began to speak, it was clear their words were directed at everyone present from Sol. “To be completely blunt with all of you, we have reason to believe that the moment people from either Mars or Earth got full access to the genetic manipulation technology the Nishnabe utilize, someone would begin conducting experiments to turn humans into living weapons even more dangerous than the cybernetic ones you already produce. The cybernetics sported by many of your civilians would be legally considered military-grade combat modifications, and individuals with those cybernetics would be barred from entering many GCC standard space stations. We know there are doctors within both UN-E and MarsGov already working on projects to modify your species genome to produce what you call super soldiers, which something which is generally highly illegal under GCC laws. In fact, the genetic manipulation done to Sarah and Johnathan McAfree would likely be considered combat adjacent modifications according to GCC standards, and they would also be subject to various limitations due to their enhanced physiology.”
“Hey, now! Spooky an’ ‘er brother ain’t that scary!” Though he had been spending most of this meeting quietly sitting in his corner of the round table and trying to stay out of things he considered to be beyond his expertise, Professor Mikhail T. River felt compelled to say something now that his ex and her brother had been brought up. “Sure, she can bench press me. An’ Johnny can pick up the stove to sweep under it. But that ain't the gnarliest I ever seen! I mean, jus’ look at Comandante Harrison over here!”
/----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While the members of the United Human Defense Fleet Council were in their meeting and discussing the rumors of Nishnabe protests Sarah had also caught wind of, that was far above her paygrade. Despite a tinge of concern fluttering away in the back of the unusually tall and rather athletically built Scotswoman’s mind, she wasn't worried about the things she had no control over. At the moment, she, her rather short and somewhat pudgy mother, and her colossal but cognitively limited brother were relaxing in the stables of the opulent nature area aboard UHDF DS-1 and spending time with the unicorn-like kaehi'xito that Mik had gifted to them. Though the three gingers were each busy with different things most of the day, Donna and Johnny with their Nishnabemwin and remote job training courses while Sarah performed her role as an intelligence analyst, the small family from Glasgow truly cherished this time they got to spend together. And the fact they were bonding with the closest living creatures in the galaxy to unicorns only made this even better for all of them.
“Hey Sarah! There you are!” As soon as Miakorva's voice called out from the entrance to the stable building, Sarah, her family, and the three unicorn-like creatures turned to see the Qui’ztar approaching them with familiar canine at her side. “And look who I found wandering around the ship! Did you know that Mikhail lets her walk around unsupervised?”
“Hiya Mia!” Being the closest to the entrance, Johnny was the first to greet the lanky and seemingly muscular blue woman before he crouched down low and extended a hand towards the Cane Corso. “An’ Micky lets her roam cuz she's a good girlie. Isn't tha’ righ’, Terry?”
“Terry Good dog!” Terry’s soft but deep whine was translated by her collar while she approached the man with her tail vigorously wagging.
“Terry's a trained station guard dog, Mia.” Sarah added while shooting the Qui’ztar intelligence officer a cheeky wink and coy smile. “It's ‘er job to wander a station, ‘r in this case a ship, an’ be on the lookout for trouble. An’ now that she can talk, she's a perfect workin’ animal. But wha’s up? Were yah lookin’ for me?”
“Oh, yes. Yes, I was. But… uh…” Mia paused for a moment as she watched the massive beast of a dog place her paws on Johnny's shoulders and begin licking the man's face as if he had smothered some kind of invisible but quite tasty treat across his skin. “Isn’t there a concern that Terry may… Well… Hurt someone? Her species are non-sapient apex predators with strong hunting instincts, correct?”
“Tha's why she and most other workin’ dogs ‘re so well trained, love.” Donna replied with a giggle, the adorable display of affection between her son and Mik's dog forcing a massive smile across her freckled and slightly wrinkled face. “There's always a bit o’ risk with dogs, especially the biggins like Terry ‘ere. But if these unicorns aren't freakin’ out cuz o’ ‘er, then we don’ gotta be worried.”
“Kaehi'xito didn’t evolve with canine predators, so they likely don't even recognize her as a potential threat.” As Mia watched the beast of a dog lean more of her weight on to Johnny, she half expected the large and well-built man to fall over from the force. However, much to her surprise, the man stopped his energetic scratching on Terry's sides, wrapped his arms around her waist, and effortlessly lifted the gargantuan animal into the air, all the while it continued to lick his face. “But seeing you carry that creature like a baby would be enough to make almost anyone with caniphobia be cautiously curious about these creatures. And they must not be as heavy as they look if you can pick one up so easily.”
“Oh, Terry’s a thickin! At least fifteen stone!” In a motion that seemed in utter opposition to Johnny's comment, the man half-tossed the Cane Corso into the air so that he could reposition his hands to cradle the massive canine as if she were a literal baby. “But she's still a good lil pupper, ain't yah, Terry?”
“Terry, good baby!” Though Terry hadn't started flailing or showing any obvious signs of discomfort, she suddenly turned her head towards Sarah with a longing look in her golden eyes. “Pack-mother cuddle?”
“Yeah, sure, yah big ol’ lunk.”
Though Mia could believe a man as impressively large as Johnny may not have much difficulty in lifting a hundred kilo canine, she was completely flabbergasted by Sarah's ability to simply pull Terry from Johnny's grasp and continue to hold the animal up without even the slightest indication of strain. Not only had she just gotten confirmation that this creature was just as heavy as she thought, Miakorva was now being faced with the fact that the woman she had been cuddling with a night for quite some time was significantly stronger than she had realized. According to all the interspecies education she had received, which may have been slightly biased by the Qui’ztar professor teaching the courses, her own species had the highest ratio of strength to body mass of any Ascended species. And while she was aware that this woman she had formed a relationship with weighed about the same as she did despite being several centimeters shorter, Mia had yet to witness Sarah's capabilities demonstrated in such a casual manner.
“By the Matriarch, Sarah!” The lanky blue woman couldn't help herself as her bioluminescent freckles lit up at the shocking display of strength. “How are you that strong?!?”
“Gene mods.” Though Sarah didn't hesitate in her answer, she did wince slightly as she did so. “Me muscles’re almost twice as dense as the average human's. Tha's actually somethin’ I had to talk to Maser an’ NAN abou’ the other day. ‘Parently tha’ ain't a thing most species do for some reason. Bu’ I'm pre’y sure we talked abou’ tha’ already.”
“You did mention it but… Well… I didn't realize your people's genetic engineering was that sophisticated. But I guess that does confirm a couple of the rumors I've heard that I was going to ask you about.”
“Wha’ rumors?” Donna blurted out with a bit too defensive of a tone as her eyes fell upon her son who had gone back to brushing his vaguely moose-like unicorn. “An’ who's spreadin’ ‘em?”
“Well…” Mia hesitated for a moment, causing the two Scotswomen to shoot her suspicious looks. “I was assisting with the logistical planning with the Nishnabe in charge of the distribution of medicine to people on Earth and Mars, most of which involved genetic modification serums. And when I asked why there was no plan, or even consideration, of passing on the technology so it could be locally produced, the people I was working with told me there were rumors of… Well… My people would call it Qui'kijarto niko'txo, which would roughly translate to an enhanced soldier project.”
“Yahr people tried to make super soldiers, too?” Sarah asked with a laugh that implied a sense of relief.
“No!” The instant denial caused Sarah to cease her laughter and forced a slight frown on her rather pale and freckled face. “As soon as my people began developing genetic engineering almost thirty thousand years ago, our government and scientific community came together to completely outlaw any attempts to enhance our form in a way that would make us even deadlier in combat. Besides that, even after thirty thousand years of research, we have only recently mastered the ability to stabilize our genetics and guard against speciation due to diverse environmental conditions.”
“Yah really tryin to tell us yahr people never tried to improve themselves?” The older Scotswoman chimed in with a clearly doubtful expression. “No one ever tried to give their kids an advantage in life? Super soldiers experiments ain't the only thing we use gene modding for.”
“Well… No… I don’t believe we ever have.” Mia hadn't really put much thought into it, even when she and Sarah had talked about it before. But now she was starting to realize that an attempt to give a child an advantage in life by increasing their physical capabilities could directly translate to turning that child into an ideal soldier. “As far as I know, very few other species have engaged in that form of genetic modification. And the ones who have tried struggled to produce anything truly successful.”
“Gene mods ain't always successful, Mia.” Johnny didn't bother to look away from the unicorn he was brushing as he made the comment lest he see the sadness that suddenly appeared in his mother's eyes. “Bu’ I learned the other day tha’ Nishnabe gene tech is way better than wha’ we got on Earth. Maybe they'll ‘ave some stuff to teach us after they feel we're trustworthy enough to learn it.”

A little late for a mother's day gift.. But the old mom is retired and works at a little part time gig for fun at the mall so she's on her feet alot. She wears flats I think they're called. She complains about her feet hurting after a while. She's near 70 so they have to be pretty plush I imagine. Thank you.

Hi everyone! I’m returning to work in a couple of months from maternity leave to a higher position so I want to refresh my wardrobe. I’m wondering what you all wear to work that makes you feel good and like a lady boss. Unfortunately I work in a lab (gas chemist) so I can’t wear dresses without leggings and closed toe shoes so I’m a little limited. Let me know what you’re all wearing and your favorite stores/websites!

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I'd like to ride my bike on my hour lunch break, but we're a business casual office. I'd take off my dress shirt obviously, might change undershirts too.
The main thing is that my hair would be a bit sweaty and I'd probably be returning a little bit out of breath before I'm fully cooled down.

Sorry, it's a long one, but I could really use your advice 😞. I'm not sure if I'm being paranoid due to my insecure attachment style and past relationship baggage, or if my gut feeling is onto something and I'm slowly losing it... My partner (46M) and I (40F) have been together for nearly a year, but so far, I've only met one of his friends and not a single family member on his side. He has met several of my friends. I have no contact with my family since almost 6 years, so he technically also never met someone of my family.
We met about a year and a half ago on a dating app geared towards casual dating. At that time, neither of us were looking for a serious relationship; we were just in it for some casual fun. On our first date, he mentioned he was still technically married but separated from his wife for about a year, and they shared a 13-year-old son. Since the separation, he's been staying with his parents, while his wife and son reside in the adjacent house. He never spoke ill of his wife, which is something I really appreciate.
He claimed it was love at first sight for him when he first met me, but I didn't feel the same way. I found him intriguing and attractive, but the idea of a relationship didn't appeal to me at that moment, mainly due to our lack of shared interests. He never pressured me and always respected my space, but he did actively pursue me. For every date we had, he brought food and flowers, even though we were just friends with benefits at that point. He also went above and beyond, helping me with various tasks like gardening, fixing my shower and car, all at his own expense. And even insisted on me not paying him back. He even picked me up in the wee hours of the morning when I was stranded in a bar with friends and couldn't find my way home, had medications delivered to my doorstep when we both had COVID-19 and couldn't meet, and these are just a few examples...
Our physical connection is fantastic, and he is very attentive to my needs. Surprisingly, from the beginning we also had dates without sex, despite that being our initial intention. Things quickly became emotionally and mentally intimate, and we started sharing more and more of ourselves. He treated me with more care and attention than anyone ever had, which initially set off alarm bells in my head, but his gestures continued, I just found myself enjoying his company immensely, both in and out of bed, feeling incredibly comfortable and happy with him. He always made me feel valued and appreciated, never failing to be loving and attentive. And to this day there has never been a single negative word or action from him towards me.
Around four months into our dating, he had to travel abroad for work for a week. During that time apart, I unexpectedly found myself missing him dearly, which came as a surprise because I wasn't looking for a serious relationship. One evening during that week, he insisted on hearing my voice, and we ended up talking on the phone all night. A few days later, I confessed to him that I missed him more than I expected and that everything felt strange, especially since I didn't even know his last name. In response, he admitted feeling the same way and expressed his desire to come over and properly introduce himself when he returned. True to his word, he showed up at my door late that night, despite his delayed flight.
However, what followed was a bombshell. As he sat on my couch, he handed me his ID, revealing not only his last name but also a different first name, birthdate, and birthplace. I was so stunned and literally nearly passed out. He had lied about his first name and was actually two years older than he claimed. Even details about his son, whom he claimed was 13, turned out to be false; the boy was actually 17. This revelation shook me to the core because I had never suspected he was lying to me. Being the child of an alcoholic, I prided myself on having keen intuition, but I had failed to detect his deceit. While I had actually suspected he was still married to his wife, his lies about his identity blindsided me. He apologized profusely that night, explaining that he didn't know how to come clean after lying for so long. But when I confronted him about his last name, he realized he couldn't keep up the facade any longer.
He confessed that he and his wife had indeed been living separate lives for a while, even agreeing to see other people. However, a woman he had met on the dating app years ago had stalked him, leading him to adopt a new identity to protect himself. He never intended to fall in love with someone and only sought casual arrangements. Although they broke up, he maintained proximity due to familial and business obligations, leading him to remain close to his family, and he committed to fulfilling his responsibilities towards them. His wife suffered from cancer a few years ago, which apparently returned at the beginning of this year.
The day after this revelation, he came to speak with me during his lunch break, begging for another chance. The following weekend, I met his best friend for the first time. Despite my shattered trust, I believed that he was sincere in his remorse and transparency, so we decided to it another shot and shortly after even committed to an official relationship. Things seemed to go well afterward; we even went on a vacation together, and he started spending more nights at my place. He continued to be incredibly supportive and attentive to my needs. However, he never made any efforts for me to meet his son, which I tried to understand given the sensitivity of the situation.
About three months later, I broached the subject of meeting his son again, but he claimed that he and his wife had agreed to wait until their son had settled into his first semester at university before introducing him to me. I had no children of my own so I have no experience with this, but friends of mine with adult children suggested that it was unusual to wait so long. Despite my doubts, I trusted his explanation, although I wondered if his family even knew about me. He told me that he was committed to his family until the end of the year and planned to move out thereafter. However, when the year ended, his mother caused a commotion when he moved out, leading to our first crisis over Christmas.
His parents insisted that he drive them to a city four hours away on Christmas Eve to celebrate with relatives, which disappointed me, but I understood. I assumed he would want to spend Christmas Eve with his son, so I suggested that we meet on Christmas Day instead to cook and spend a nice evening together. He informed me that his son didn't want to celebrate Christmas with the family anyway, so my suggestion was fine. Although we spent the evening before Christmas Eve together, our plans were disrupted when he insisted on going home instead of staying over as originally planned, leading to our first argument. He received a message from someone, read it, and his demeanor completely changed; he began to repeatedly look at the clock. When I asked, he said he needed to go home. I asked if I could read the message because I immediately had a bad gut feeling, but he declined and drove off. Despite feeling uneasy, I let it go until Christmas Day, when he arrived two hours late without prior notice. Also, I only rarely heard from him the entire Christmas Eve and most of Christmas Day, which is pretty unusual for him. This pattern continued after Christmas, with him becoming increasingly unreliable with his timing. After pressing him on the matter of meeting his son and family soon, he admitted that his family was resistant to the idea of accepting me due to their loyalty to his wife.
Our relationship hit another rough patch on Easter when he spent Easter Saturday with his son, arriving at my place much later than expected. Frustrated that I still hadn't met his son, I confronted him, leading to another argument and him storming off to his best friend's place without contacting me for the rest of the day. His lack of communication left me feeling hurt and confused, but we eventually reconciled after a few days. Even today, we're still crazy about each other and often behave like teenagers. But for some time now, I haven't been able to enjoy our meetings. I question everything he says and does, wondering, can I believe him? Can I trust him? He lied to me so skillfully at the beginning. Is what he says about his family even true? It feels like we're not making any progress. He insists it's exactly as he says. But over a year has passed, and it seems like nothing has changed. I just have to keep being patient and endure.
Actually, he never really settled into his own apartment. Everything is makeshift; there's no functional kitchen, no chairs... not even a mirror in the bathroom. Yet, we still occasionally sleep there. At first, it was amusing, but we’re both two old for this sh*t and the student apartment adventure ended for me after five months of stagnation. I really tried to make the best of it, and I'm actually really self-sufficient and easygoing. But it has become draining... He also sleeps at his family's place more often lately, and less frequently at my place...
What are your thoughts on this? Am I overreacting? Should I give him and his family more time? I'm feeling exhausted and grappling with my trust issues. Am I being paranoid, or is my gut feeling accurate? What steps should I take? Extend more patience? Show more understanding towards his son and family for their reluctance to get to know me? Consider giving him an ultimatum? I'm feeling lost.