Black evening handbag

Braavos

2013.05.20 15:23 Knickersniffer Braavos

A subreddit for friends and people of Braavos.
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2015.09.11 09:08 jackgrealish Gregory Alan Isakov

Anything to do with the musician, Gregory Alan Isakov. It can be sharing music, discussion, memes or anything else. New to his music? Check out: "That Moon Song", "Virginia May", "The Stable Song", and "Master and a Hound". He has also recorded a beautiful set with the Colorado Symphony. In 2019, Isakov was nominated for (and deserved to win) a Grammy for best folk album for Evening Machines
[link]

2021.07.23 08:14 KelysianAudio KelysianAudio

Welcome to the black parade, Can I interest you in our specials? This evening we have daddy issues, slow roasted for decades. Some spicy self-deprecation, and a lovely, sharp selection of sarcasm. All served with a side of microphone whispers. Feeling daring? Or would you like a few minutes to look at the menu?
[link]

2024.05.15 15:08 WhatCanIMakeToday Operational Efficiency Shares: Rehypothecating 🐇🐇🐇🐇 And Breaking Free Of Chains [WalkThrough] (4/n)

Operational Efficiency Shares: Rehypothecating 🐇🐇🐇🐇 And Breaking Free Of Chains [WalkThrough] (4/n)
From the prior DD in this series [1], we know that ComputerShare can “give” the DTC registered DSPP shares to hold onto for operational efficiency which are then “given back” as shares beneficially owned “for the benefit of” (“FBO”) DSPP Plan Participants at ComputerShare, as illustrated in this diagram:
From The Prerequisite DD
It’s time to explore what “operational efficiency” benefits may be gained by DSPP shares going around this roundabout. At first glance, shares are basically just going in a big circle from DSPP Plan Participants with registered ownership DSPP shares at ComputerShare heading to the DTC, who hands shares to ComputerShare’s broker who maintains those shares for the benefit of ComputerShare who holds those shares for the benefit of Plan Participants. While I think it’s unlikely that shares just go around in a big fat circle for no reason, I do remember people getting onto flights to literally go nowhere a few years ago [CNN, NYT]; so maybe these operational efficiency shares simply miss hanging out at the DTC?
Let’s look more closely… While title is held by a registered DSPP Plan Participant, ComputerShare is giving the DTC possession [1] of registered DSPP shares to the DTC to hold for operational efficiency which then ultimately end back in the possession of ComputerShare’s broker (who isn’t lending out shares) for the benefit of ComputerShare for the benefit of Plan Participants. If we treat the DTC’s operations as a big black box, we see registered shares going into the DTC black box and beneficially owned shares coming out of the black box to ComputerShare for Plan Participants.
DTCC Black Box: Inputs vs Outputs
Investopedia says that shareholders have rights, with a list of 6 main rights including:
  1. Voting power on major issues.
  2. Ownership in a portion of the company.
  3. The right to transfer ownership.
  4. Entitlement to dividends.
  5. Opportunity to inspect corporate books and records.
  6. The right to sue for wrongful acts.
By contrast, beneficial owners only need to have or share 2 of those rights (bolded) according to the definition of beneficial owner in Rule 13d-3: the power to vote and the power to dispose of the security (e.g., sell).
§ 240.13d-3 Determination of beneficial owner.
(a) For the purposes of sections 13(d) and 13(g) of the Act a beneficial owner of a security includes any person who, directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship, or otherwise has or shares:
(1) Voting power which includes the power to vote, or to direct the voting of, such security; and/or,
(2) Investment power which includes the power to dispose, or to direct the disposition of, such security.
ComputerShare basically confirms this list (except for the right to sue as that’s probably not one their issuer customers would emphasize) and adds that beneficially held shares may be lent by brokers generally (but not by ComputerShare’s broker).
Registered Shareholder Rights vs Beneficial Owner Rights
Maybe you’ve had different experiences from me, but I’ve never known Wall St to deliver more than the bare minimum they’re contractually obligated to. Which means the DTC black box is very likely watering down shareholder rights from the 6 that go in down to the 2 which come out. (And yet, we’re supposed to believe that all shares are equal. 🙄)
Dividends (#4 on the list) [2] may be the clearest example of a watered down shareholder right. Registered shareholders have the right “to directly receive share dividends” [CS FAQ] which means if a company (e.g., GameStop or OverStock) issues a dividend, registered shareholders have the right to directly receive the dividend as issued. If the company issues a crypto dividend (as OverStock tried to do), registered shareholders have the right to directly receive the issued crypto dividend. Beneficial shareholders would get an issued dividend, if available, or a cash equivalent if not. Historically, stock and other dividends to beneficial shareholders could easily be delivered as a cash equivalent, a watered down form. Crypto dividends don’t scale well with shorts (both naked and legal via, for example, share lending and borrowing) because crypto tokens are unique which makes it abundantly clear why a crypto dividend was nixed for a heavily shorted idiosyncratic stock like GameStop; especially given GameStop’s particularly active shareholders.
Ownership (#2 on the list) may be the second clearest example of a watered down shareholder right as more security interests to shares exist in the DTC’s beneficial ownership system than there are shares; with the SEC saying beneficial shares get a pro rata interest in the securities of that issue held by DTC. [See End Game Part Deux: Problems at the DTCC plus The Bigger Picture, particularly the section “The Pie Is Shrinking: Get Out (And DRS) While You Can”]
Voting (#1 on the list) is also an example watered down shareholder right; this one having a long history on this sub with, for example, BroadRidge tossing 7B votes and bragging about it. (Beneficial owners only need to get shared voting rights per Rule 13d-3 above so those 7B “shared” votes just lost out to who they shared with.) Unlike other beneficially held shares, voting rights for DSPP shares are not watered down as ComputerShare sends registered holders their voting forms.

Operational Efficiency Shares, Whatcha Doing In There?

A big black box is a pretty good description of the DTC which does not want us to know the ins and outs of what’s going on. Black holes are a pretty good example of a big black box and, most importantly, we know a lot about black holes even though they can’t be directly observed. Just as we learned about black holes without direct observation, we can similarly learn a lot about the Operational Efficiency shares even though we can’t directly observe them in the DTC habitat.
Even though we can’t look inside the DTC’s big black box, it turns out we don’t really have to in order to identify some benefits from these operational efficiency shares taking their roundabout trip to nowhere.
Locates A few commenters have suggested that OE shares could be used for locates so I’ll address this first. Possible, yes. But I don’t view this as the most interesting use for OE shares. Brokers are supposed to “locate” securities available for borrowing before short selling. [Wikipedia)] Basically, before selling short a broker is supposed to find a source to borrow. The “locate” requirement does NOT require the security to be borrowed before short selling which can result in a legal naked short.
You may be wondering why I don’t view “locates” as particularly interesting for OE shares if short sellers need to locate shares to borrow before shorting. Well, market makers are also exempt from this requirement as long as they’re market making. 🙄 On top of the market maker exemption, remember House Of Cards? In House Of Cards 3 [SuperStonk], we learned about the now 🤦‍♂️ hilarious F**3 key **- yeah, the one on a keyboard. Brokers like Goldman found the locate requirement simply too much work so they would press the F3 key and their system would auto-approve the locate requirement based only on the number of shares available to borrow at the beginning of the day; regardless of whether those shares were still available to borrow or not.
House Of Cards 3
Meaning as long as there were some shares available to borrow at the beginning of the day for their share copying system, brokers could just smash the F3 key to make as many copies of shares as they need. Even if only 1 share was available to borrow at the beginning of the day, a broker could simply smash the F3 key 100 times to approve the locate requirement for 100 shares.
So while OE shares could be used for locates, they wouldn’t need many shares each day to make an unlimited number of copies - even just 1 is enough.
Lending shares on the other hand…
Rehypothecation Rehypothecation is the reuse of customer collateral for lending. Per a 2010 IMF Working Paper, The (sizable) Role of Rehypothecation in the Shadow Banking System,
Rehypothecation occurs when the collateral posted by a prime brokerage client (e.g., hedge fund) to its prime broker is used as collateral also by the prime broker for its own purposes.
This IMF paper defined a “churning factor” to measure how many times an asset may be reused; and then estimated a churning factor of 4 noting that it could be higher because international banks (e.g., HSBC and Nomura) were not sampled. This IMF paper found a single asset may be lent and borrowed 4 times, or more; an average which could be higher globally.
https://preview.redd.it/ymr3j03zri0d1.png?width=795&format=png&auto=webp&s=1555314cefd520658a4f78dc4745867063e3bf34
Churn Factor Could Be Higher Globally
How much higher? We may have seen a churn factor as high as 10 for a less idiosyncratic meme stock per my prior post, Estimating Excess GME Share Liquidity From Borrow Data & Churn Factor. Presumably, the idiosyncratic meme stock would have a higher churn factor (but not that important for this post).
More recently (2018), the Federal Reserve published this Fed Note on ​​The Ins and Outs of Collateral Re-use studying how often collateral is reused (i.e., rehypothecated) for Treasury & non-Treasury securities [3] with a beautiful figure illustrating how “for any given moment in time, one security can be attributed to multiple financial transactions” where a share could be posted multiple times through Security Financing Transactions (SFTs) and sold short. [4] Sounds familiar, right?
https://preview.redd.it/zsztmji4si0d1.png?width=1530&format=png&auto=webp&s=f222dfe50929f668af8f8f0b39514a7d862db9c9
Figure 6c of this Fed Note shows a Collateral Multiplier over time illustrating how “PDs [Primary Dealers] currently re-use about three times as many securities as they own for non-Treasury collateral and seven times as many securities as they own for U.S. Treasury securities”.
AKA \"Money Multiplier\"
The Fed Note describes their Collateral Multiplier as a “money multiplier” (Seriously, I couldn’t have made this up in a million years.),
In a sense, our Collateral Multiplier is akin to a "money multiplier," as it compares private liabilities created by a firm with the amount of specific assets held to create those liabilities. [​​The Ins and Outs of Collateral Re-use]
And, of course, the Collateral Multiplier aka “money multiplier” ratio goes up when there’s less collateral available and down when there’s more collateral available. (Can I get one of these multipliers?)
Intuitively, we expect the ratio to increase when collateral is scarce and to decrease when collateral is more abundant.
Which means Primary Dealers [Wikipedia has a list of familiar names including Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Nomura, BofA, Citigroup, TD, UBS, and Wells Fargo; amongst others] can simply kick securities around a few extra times (e.g., with SFTs and short sells) to effectively multiply the amount of money and/or collateral they have any time they need it. (Within limits, I hope…)
Thus, rehypothecation is a very interesting use of Operational Efficiency shares from ComputerShare as various primary dealers can simply “multiply” the number of shares they have – a concept that we’re already quite familiar with. As rehypothecation, short sells, and securities financing transactions are all perfectly legal, rehypothecating more GameStop shares provided to the DTC via operational efficiency satisfies Ground Rule #2 [defined in (1/n) in this series],
  1. All parties involved are all generally attempting to operate within the bounds of the laws and regulations wherever possible. (I know we often scream “crime”, but why break a law when money can simply [re]write laws to make activities legal. Regulatory failure is the reason why something that should be criminal, isn’t. And regulatory failure happens when armies of lawyers are paid to create and exploit loopholes so that actions which should be criminal, are instead legal.)
We can update our conceptual model to include rehypothecation to more clearly illustrate how Operational Efficiency shares held in the DTC can be rehypothecated (e.g., with SFTs and short sells) until a watered down share is delivered to ComputerShare’s broker to hold FBO ComputerShare, who holds the watered down share FBO DSPP Plan Participants.
https://preview.redd.it/bt3gnx99si0d1.png?width=4764&format=png&auto=webp&s=7b0b72b935f740e8a3036f88e1a4e1dfb57dd46c
You might notice from this illustration that ComputerShare has been telling the truth satisfying Ground Rule #1 [defined in (1/n) in this series]. Neither ComputerShare’s nor their broker lend or need to lend shares. All the rehypothecation happens “upstream” amongst other DTCC and NSCC Participants until shares are finally delivered to ComputerShare’s broker at the end of the “Churn Chain”. ComputerShare has made no representations about what the DTC can or can not do with the shares in their possession. And, realistically, ComputerShare is in no position to make any representations about what happens within the DTCC system – ComputerShare is only responsible for themselves and, to some extent, their broker.
The Fed Note and IMF paper found assets may be churned and reused 3-4 times (overall market average) which means the end of the chain is typically around D3 or D4. (If my prior DD estimates are correct, there were signs a less idiosyncratic meme stock may be churned up to 10 times ending the chain at D10 which suggests a potentially longer chain for GME, the idiosyncratic meme stock.) If there is no collateral reuse for an asset, the chain would have zero length meaning Operational Efficiency shares go straight from the DTC directly to ComputerShare’s broker. (Programmers almost certainly understand zero length chains very well – go find one if you need an explanation.)
GameStop is idiosyncratic, thus atypical. Per the IMF paper, collateral reuse increases when collateral is scarce and decreases when collateral is abundant (quoted above). If we consider GameStop investors have been direct registering shares (i.e., DRS) and registering shares (e.g., DSPP) thereby removing title and/or possession of shares from the DTC/DTCC/Cede & Co, then GameStop share availability has been becoming more scarce and the “Churn Chain” for GME should be longer than average representing a higher collateral multiplier and churn value.
While we may not know the exact length of the Churn Chain for GameStop shares, we can pretty well surmise that it’s not a zero length Churn Chain where there is no collateral reuse based simply on scarcity. After all, a shortage of available shares is, by definition, required for any short squeeze (including MOASS). Requests by brokers to enable Share Lending [5] is another example indicator that GameStop shares are scarce.
In addition, according to Investopedia [6], “Banks, brokers, or other financial institutions may navigate a liquidity crunch and access capital by rehypothecating client funds” and we’ve seen indicators showing us banks are in deep trouble:
The downside to rehypothecation is the higher leverage increases risks of default and a single collapse can start a chain reaction knocking down others like dominos.
There are also leverage considerations that increase that risk of default. Overleveraged investments often face covenants; when specific conditions are met, trading accounts may receive a margin call or face debt default. As a row of dominos fall after a single collapse, a single margin call may cause other debts to fail their account maintenance requirements, setting off a chain reaction that places the institution at higher risk of overall default. [6]
This risk for rehypothecation sounds exactly like what the Options Clearing Corporation was complaining about to the SEC when the ​​OCC Proposed Reducing Margin Requirements To Prevent A Cascade of Clearing Member Failures [SuperStonk] early 2024. If the OCC can eliminate margin calls, then no dominos get knocked down. (Thankfully, apes have done a phenomenal job in convincing the SEC that this OCC proposal is a very bad idea. Support the SEC’s rejection of this as Simians Smash SEC Rule Proposal To Reduce Margin Requirements To Prevent A Cascade of Clearing Member Failures!)
Most importantly, it may be tough to regain possession of an asset when someone in the rehypothecation chain defaults. Remember from the prior DD the expression about possession: Possession is nine-tenths of the law.
Clients must be aware of rehypothecation as it is technically their own assets that have been pledged for someone else's debt. This creates complicated creditor issues where an investors shares may longer be in their possession due to their custodian's default. [6]
We know assets are rehypothecated 3-4 times on average, GameStop shares are scarce, banks are in trouble, stock loan volume is skyhigh, and the risks of rehypothecation are real. So it’s pretty clear that rehypothecation is happening generally with pretty darn good reason to expect GameStop’s Churn Chain is at least of non-zero length (i.e., GameStop stock is being rehypothecated).

Breaking The Chains

While some may like chains and being tied up, I’m not one of those apes. Especially as a Churn Chain waters down my shareholder rights and may make regaining possession of DSPP stock difficult in the event of a cascade of defaults, as warned by the OCC. (If you like chains, feel free to skip this section.)
As it turns out, we don’t need to know exactly how long the Churn Chain is for GameStop stock. Simply knowing a Churn Chain exists with non-zero length means there is a chain. Where there is a chain, it’s possible to break the chain. (Even if you don’t know how much health) your enemy has in a game, you still try to take your enemy out. Right?)
A churn chain that starts from ComputerShare holding DSPP shares in DTC for operational efficiency can easily be broken as “[a]n investor can, at any time, withdraw all or part of their shares in DSPP book-entry form and have them added to their DRS holding”. [ComputerShare] See also [7]. Quite possibly one of the easiest chains in the world to break as the Churn Chain is weak to DRS. Simply DRS the DSPP shares to take away the head of the chain and the rest of the chain falls apart. (And, DRS-ing "street name" shares cuts chains into pieces too!)
One side effect of breaking a Churn Chain is that all shares attributed to transactions in a broken chain (e.g., SFTs and short sells) need to be reallocated to other chains, effectively making other chains longer and increasing the risks from a default.
Analogy: Think of the shares as a deck of cards. If you deal 52 cards to 4 players (A, B, C and D), each player gets 13 cards. Each stack of 13 cards is basically a Churn Chain. But if you take out a stack by removing the bottom card from A and distribute the remaining 12 cards from A to B, C and D then B, C and D each now have 17 cards. If at any given time a card can cause a player to lose the game, it's better to have fewer cards than more. And, the players who get out early won't lose.
Any party in the Churn Chain who defaults will make it hard for the original owner to regain possession. Longer chains include more transactions and more parties so there’s more risk of default on longer chains than shorter chains. Thus we see another vicious cycle setup where incentives are aligned such that DSPP and beneficial shareholders may want to avoid the impending default and rehypothecation risk from their shares being held in DTC. In order to avoid the impending default and rehypothecation risks, shareholders are incentivized to Directly Register shares to ensure having both title and possession. (Shares held in “street name” have little or no protection from rehypothecation risk and simply registering shares in DSPP doesn’t guarantee possession [1].) As with the other vicious cycle, any remaining shareholders in DTC share a shrinking pie of diluted ownership so it is in their best interest to get out and DRS; thereby shrinking the diluted ownership pie even more which is more reason for remaining shareholders to get out. These vicious cycles will eventually leave few, if any, remaining shares at the DTC for beneficial shareholders. Nobody knows what will happen if this ♾️🏊 happens.

Footnotes

[1] If you haven’t already, please read the prerequisite DD in this WalkThrough Series to understand how ownership of property is separated into two concepts: title and possession. [See, e.g., StackExchange] Understanding the differences between title and possession are particularly important here where it’s worth being extra careful identifying how an entity is in control of an asset.
  1. DSPP is technically different from DRS [WalkThrough] (1/n)
  2. Definitely DIFFERENT "DRS Counts" [WalkThrough] (2/n)
[2] Dividends have been heavily discussed on SuperStonk with many DD posts, including for OverStock and the precedent OverStock set which would have allowed GameStop to issue their own crypto dividend, possibly as an NFT.
[3] Footnote 16 of the Fed Note itemizes various classes of non-Treasury collateral which includes equity which, per Investopedia, is a synonym for stocks.
[4] While short selling is pretty well known, Security Financing Transactions (SFTs) may be more obscure despite discussion of them in the past so here’s some historical SuperStonk links for you (where you may notice some well known OG DD apes):
[5] Simply search SuperStonk for share lending. Don’t make me Google That For You.
[6] https://www.investopedia.com/ REMOVE_FOR_AUTOMOD terms/r REMOVE_FOR_AUTOMOD /rehypothecation.asp
[7] Withdrawing whole DSPP shares into DRS seems to make a lot of sense as doing so guarantees possession. Selling fractionals, less so. If you intend to keep buying, I would think adding to the fractionals to later withdraw whole shares makes more sense. As for the concern about fractionals tainting the whole account, I’ll cover that in another post. For now, you do you.
submitted by WhatCanIMakeToday to Superstonk [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 15:06 SkyhuntL [CHAT] Using blank fabric for the first time is HARD

Hello,
I'm a beginner trying to use Pattern Keeper for my new project. I'm having a really hard time knowing WHERE to stitch, plus my fabric is black which isn't helping. I'm trying to mark some areas with a pencil but I'm not even close to figuring out how to properly count the stitches. I'm using 14CT and I think one stitch is 3mm, so I'm trying to divide my fabric using 3cm squares, but finding where I should stitch within the square still seems impossible. Help would be immensely appreciated.
Thank you! :)
submitted by SkyhuntL to CrossStitch [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 15:01 SharkEva AITA being pissed at what my wife said to our niece - Wife responds 10 months later

I am not the OOP. The OOP is u/aitata8482828(Husband) and u/No_Card9780(Wife)
posting in AmItheAsshole and AITAH
Concluded as per OOP
2 updates - Long
Original - 10th July 2023
Update1 - 11th May 2024
Update2 - 14th May 2024
​
AITA being pissed at what my wife said to our niece
​
My sister and bil were abusive parents to my niece, Charlotte. I always tried to protect her, but my wife and I were only able to get custody threw years ago. We adopted her, and she's a good kid at heart, but she still struggles a lot. She's still in therapy and has come so far, but finds it difficult to accept unconditional love and that kids don't have to be perfect. While she's usually fine with my wife and I, she still sometimes tends to see our daughter (Chloe) as ungrateful and spoilt. I've worked really hard on this, and it's a LOT better, but sometimes it comes up in their teenage squabbles. It's not perfect but the girls generally get along.
Last Friday they had an issue. I was at work, so this is based on what I was told after. Chloe was refusing to do any of her chores, and arguing about it with my wife. Charlotte jumped in and basically called Chloe lazy and said that she should be a better daughter like her. Apparently my wife got pissed off and told her off. She 'reminded' her that she was 'lucky' we were taking care of her and to stay out of it. From there it got bad.
My wife says that Charlotte was extremely rude about Chloe. But she also admits she told Charlotte that we 'didnt have to' take care of her, and that basically unlike Chloe, we can send her back to her parents if she keeps it up. Ignoring the fact we legally cannot, that's just completely fucked up. They ended their fight with Charlotte just going to my parents for that night, and she's been really upset and withdrawn since.
When I got home my wife filled me in, and I was honestly pretty furious. The first thing that came to mind was 'what the fuck is wrong with you?'. Which admittedly wasn't a productive response but I was honestly just floored. The issue is that Charlotte doesn't get that a kid deserves unconditional love even if they're not perfect, so you fucking tell her that you'll kick her out if she doesn't behave? All the progress I worked with her for is gonna be shut back again.
I was mad and we fought about it. I get she can be difficult, but that was inappropriate. However she's still refused to apologise or anything. I've tried to talk to her and explain that we love her, and that it wasn't meant the way it was said. But my wife is just accusing me of babying and favouring Charlotte. Apparently I'm being unreasonable thinking what she did was disgusting. That I should care more about Chloe, as if this is a competition.
I am still honestly pretty pissed at her. While she just claims I'm unreasonable and being a shit dad to Chloe.
​
Comments
​
Ok-Arachnid-890
NTA your wife said a fucked up thing and really messed up with Charlotte. Your wife needs to apologize and looks like you're gonna have to have individual long talks with everyone
Husband OOP: That's exactly what I think. I honestly don't know how she could say it, let alone keep defending it. I've been trying to talk to the girls about it, but Charlotte is still icing me out other than apologising repeatedly.
​
[deleted]
I hate to have to tell you this, but I think your wife could say a thing like that because that's how she actually feels about Charlotte, a charity case who should be grateful for scraps. That reaction wasn't a woman mediating a fight between her two daughters, this was her defending her child against this hostile kid she took in. If she spoke in the heat of the moment, she would have been horrified afterwards, not doubling down. It's possible she never wanted Charlotte.
​
poeadam
NTA
You are correct here. It doesn't sound like you are favoring Charlotte at all. You aren't condoning or excusing her behavior. You issue is with how your wife dealt with the behavior, which I agree was completely inappropriate.
Your wife (and you) ADOPTED the child. She is your child. She can't be given back. And threatening to return her to an abusive situation is basically abuse in and of itself. Your wife should never suggest such a thing and should be ashamed that those words came out of her mouth.
Husband OOP: I agree, thank you. There's no world where I would ever give her back. I love her way too much to ever do that. I honestly don't know why she doesn't see it like you said
​
Accomplished_Two1611
Your wife is only going through the motions with Charlotte. I am sure she and Chloe have made sure that Charlotte knows her 'place'.
Husband OOP:As far as I know this is the first time it's come up like this. Charlotte definitely would have reacted obviously in the past.
Chloe and her do get along mostly. I definitely don't think Chloe is a problem, beyond being a typical teenager
​
l3ex_G
Other comments from op apparently shows that he threatened to divorce her if she didn’t adopt charlotte with him.
B3Gay_DoCr1mes
Oh, and there it is. OP's wife is a bubbling cauldron of resentments and it finally came out in the open. So, all theories that she does in fact view this as her daughter versus the charity case they took in are 100% accurate. They took Charlotte out of a blatantly toxic environment and brought her into one with simmering toxicity beneath the surface. With that kind of ultimatum underlying Charlotte's adoption a moment like this was inevitable.
l3ex_G
It feels like OP wants to be the saviour but not do the work. The fact he brought this child into a situation that started with an ultimatum is upsetting. Charlotte doesn’t stand a chance if these are the adults in the situation.
​
**Judgement - NTA*\*
​
Editor's Note - In the wife's post Charlotte becomes Kelly and Chloe becomes Sarah. There is now also a son. There is some age differences as well.
​
AITAH for waking out on my “adoptive daughter” and telling her everything is her fault - 10 months later
​
So I (36f) have two kids a boy Tom (5) and a Sarah daughter (18) plus my husbands late brothers kid (16f) Kelly who lives with us
14 months ago my husband came home with Kelly and said she would be staying with us for a while, I barely knew kelly because since her father passed away 10 years ago her mom has been struggling with mental health and addiction. Apparently Kelly was in a bad situation at home due to her mother’s new boyfriend being a let’s say not so nice person.
He told me it was only for 3 months while his parents who recently moved aboard got settled than it went to 5 till his sister had her baby just excuse after excuse till I stopped asking. as time went on my husband just acted like she was our daughter even bringing up adoption a few times which I refused even when he threatened divorce. I know I sound like a monster but you have to realise Kelly isn’t easy to deal with and my husband doesn’t allow her to face any kind of consequences
Kelly acts like she is the golden child and my daughter is the black sheep, she has violent meltdowns, she’s threatened our son that my husband will leave us if she tells him because he loves her more which traumatised Tom. she has tried and failed her mind games with me pretending to be a saint, her main target is my daughter she is extremely cruel towards her verbally like she’ll slut shame her for everything little thing like wearing make up or tell her she’s lazy/good for nothing for stupid reasons like sleeping late at the weekends
She’ll take her things ether will loss them or destroy them than cry to my husband who will excuse her behaviour even tho he spends 70% of his time at work. We are all in therapy which isn’t working like group sessions when someone points out Kelly’s behaviour or adoption usually end up with everyone fighting
It all came to a head last month Kelly was in a mood all week because Sarah had a big 18th party with all the attention on Sarah especially from my family which Kelly said mentioned in therapy. myself and Sarah were having a stupid “fight” over a non issue because Sarah used all my shampoo which she didn’t replace or let me know I was out of. Kelly came out of nowhere screaming at Sarah calling her a moocher, lazy, trash and spoiled she than said Sarah was an adult now and she didn’t pull her weight she’d get kicked out
I lost it I told her Sarah was my daughter and If she didn’t change her attitude she’d be the one kicked out, Kelly didn’t say anything just went into her room about an hour later my husband came back than started screaming literally i my face calling me names telling me he wants a divorce so he can protect Kelly. so I said ok I want a divorce and 50/50 custody I get my son he gets his niece now get the fuck out of my house with his niece
They left and have been staying with his brother since, husband now has to deal with Kelly all the time he wants more therapy to fix our issues so we can get back together and be a family again. They both came over yesterday to collect the last of their stuff and Kelly asked me was it her fault I said yes it was just as much her fault as her uncles (husband)
Husband told me I’m being a monster and Kelly is my daughter whether I admit it or not and I’ve abandoned her when she finally had a stable home that she doesn’t mean to lash out due it’s just due to her trauma and if we work together we can help her work through it
Honestly now I don’t know what to do and feel like an asshole
​
Comments
​
teresajs
NTA Your husband only wants back with you to dump Kelly on you again. She's a troubled teen and needs some serious help. Your husband is more interested in feeling like he's helping Kelly (not actually doing the real work involved) than in protecting his own kids.
Hire a good Divorce Attorney. Ask about getting child support for your son and possibly to help your daughter with higher education costs, if that's possible. Also, ask about getting a court order that your husband can't have Kelly around your son, given her past threats against him.
OOP Wife: I will be pushing for supervised visits with Tom as of now he had only had him with me or his sister in law present
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teresajs
But specify that these are to be supervised visits without Kelly present. Your husband seems to have blinders on and can't be trusted to make good decisions without a specific court order.
OOP Wife: In my country supervised visits happen in a centre with a social worker and security present I can call multiple witnesses to make sure she won’t be allowed in
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knittedjedi
In my country supervised visits happen in a centre with a social worker and security present I can call multiple witnesses to make sure she won’t be allowed in
I'm glad you live somewhere where they take child safety seriously.
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Update - 3 days later
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So yes the divorce is going forward even tho my husband has begged me to stay because he can’t handle the consequences of his actions and yes he is aitata8482828 he did change a few details and yes this isn’t our first follow out with me blowing up kelly isn’t my daughter and I wanted her out due to THEIR mistreated of Sarah we nearly got divorced last year but he used therapy and my emotional abuse as a tool to manipulate me to stay
Sarah hasn’t spoken much to her father since the first fall out because as people mentioned even on his post leaving a lot out about Kelly and just putting down Sarah it was clear who he only cares about. Sarah said she wants nothing to do with him and has warned family to but out. I’m sick of his emotional and mental abuse towards us for his niece and his threats of divorce to get his way so I hope he makes this easy on everyone
Yes Kelly has had a bad childhood and has suffered but she isn’t my problem anymore I want zero contact with her and will make sure she won’t have contact with my son. I’ve plenty of evidence and witnesses to make it happen I can sound cruel but she can fuck right off she isn’t my kid so I don’t owe her a relationship and regardless of how bad her trauma is she has no right to traumatise others. She could of had a life in America with her grandparents but she refused to learn English
As for my husband being her real dad that’s irrelevant to me because I won’t get the truth and would only cause more issues for my kids who’ve been through enough
Thanks to everyone for the advice I won’t be logging in after tonight and as I’ve said in the comments English isn’t my first language
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Comments
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dessertchef11
Your ex husband can now deal with Kelly and all her trauma. Good for Sarah for cutting off her father, he clearly sucks at being one for his kids.
Tabernerus
So did you legally adopt her or not? That’s a critical detail.
OOP Wife: No he claimed we did I didn’t want to adopt even when he tried to force me
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I am not the OOP. Please do not harass the OOP.
Please remember the No Brigading Rule and to be civil in the comments
submitted by SharkEva to BORUpdates [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 15:00 aznpersuazion Is Software Engineering a Good Job in 2023?

To preface this post, I want to give the disclaimer that like many things, there is not a black and white answer the question. I'm writing this as an experienced tech professional, and the information provided is based on opinion.
To start with. A little bit of history..
The golden age of software engineering(and similar jobs) is over. At least for the next 5 - 10 years. I don't think this is an unpopular opinion. The reason why between the years of 2010 - 2022, these jobs exploded, was because of the boom of the internet for commercial and personal use.
This is different from the dotcom boom of 2000s, where the internet was just starting and most of the products being created were for basic things like: putting banking on the internet, putting videos on the internet, etc.
The boom in the 2010s was related to the widespread popularity of commercial and personal products. Things like Uber, Spotify, and Salesforce. With the sudden increased usage of the digital world, there were MILLIONS of companies rushing to create digital products.
However, we're starting to see the rise and fall of some of these products, millions of startups failings, and less VC funding. In case you don't know, VC stands for Venture Capital, which are basically investment companies that give money to other companies to help them grow and develop, in return for partial ownership of the company.
As the industry began to mature, successful companies started to emerge, and many more started to fail.
The present day..
Software engineering and like jobs will continue to be important, and there will be a high demands for these engineers. Nearly every company will still need a website, a place to manage their data, and people to manage their hardware. BUT.. the basic technologies they need to run their company will become more efficient. AND there will be less research and innovation because the a lot of the trial and error already occurred.
We're in a weird spot where the demand for workers is now decreasing from it's recent peaks, and the supply of workers is now increasing because of how all the benefits of being a software engineer in the past decade.
This has really unfortunate consequences for any recent graduates or others trying to break into the tech field. There are WAY more beginning career people than jobs available. Which is made even worse with the amount of layoffs there are, where mid-level employees are now having to settle for entry level jobs.
What can we do?
I have two pieces of advice for people interested in the topic, or wanting to break into the field but can't. Try breaking in from a adjacent field, where you can get some exposure to tech. Things that data entry, analytics(this can be finance, supply chain etc). Then try to learn as much as you can from the tech people at your company.
The second piece of advice. Go into a different field. Software engineering is not for everyone. You have to learn and understand some relatively complex topics, and it's becoming harder and harder to be competitive in the industry. Healthcare, supply chain, and many other industries are booming right now.
Understanding history, you can see that certain industries will rise and fall. For the near future, technology might be one of the harder careers to break into. Something like healthcare would be that's expected to grow exponentially. The average population of the world is getting older, as less and less people are wanting to have kids. There will be higher demand for healthcare professionals and healthcare technology.
Do your best to review and understand these trends, and hopefully you can create a good life and career. Best of luck!
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**If you found any of this helpful, consider checking out a referral link. You get additional sign up and welcome bonuses. Signing up and using Rakuten for cash back is free!*\*
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submitted by aznpersuazion to dataengineeringstuff [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 15:00 ExcitingTrust888 Are there any games like Fallout Shelter/Elder Scrolls Castles but slightly more robust?

Hello everyone!
I have always liked Fallout Shelter with the way you Build a vault, watch it grow, assign people to work in different workstations, customize them with equipments, upgrade them to make them work more efficiently, make sure to keep your citizen’s happiness in check, and then you get to go out, do missions, and explore the world outside your vault and uncover a story, but it lacks the option to make your vault look nice.
Now comes Elder Scrolls: Castles. It is basically the same game on the surface but now you can decorate your castle to make it look unique from other castles. The downside is that it lost a few things and replaced them with something else. You can’t train your units anymore to make them stronger, you upgrade their gear instead to give them better stats, and they replaced the “exploration” part of the game with an auto-battler minigame which doesn’t even have a real story tied to it.
The fun part though is now you get a ruler that decides on the affairs of the land, with decisions making your subjects happy or disappointed depending on your choice, and it can even lead to assassinations between your subjects or to your ruler. Problem is that this is very repetitive, I’ve only played the game for two weeks and I’ve seen most if not all of the decisions a ruler can make already(I’m level 115, it’s not hard to level up in the game).
Speaking of subjects, they can like/hate one another depending on your choices and just their personal gripes based on their “traits”. And these traits can be good or bad, and no character will be perfect. This is another thing they added that makes the game just slightly more interesting over Fallout Shelter. In Fallout Shelter you can basically turn everyone into a super soldier through training, but here you have to luck it out by breeding to get a character with good and multiple traits, and you can only do it once a day per couple so it does take time.
So if anyone can suggest a game that has these things listed below, or any game that is a “better” Fallout ShelteES: Castles clones, please comment them. And please no tower defense games like Dungeon KeepeClash of Clans, you get the idea.
The game should have most if not all of these:
Some other games that I played and enjoyed with some of the mechanics listed above:
Can’t think of other games but those are the ones that I played at the top of my head. Hope to hear from you guys, thanks!
submitted by ExcitingTrust888 to gaming [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 14:59 crimsontape This week's grocery review - Sales for May 16th to May 22nd - Lots of BBQ items and excellent corn deals! But, cucumber pricing is down quite a bit. Nice spread of sales on tomatoes. LOTS of blueberry and strawberry deals around! Some good mango and cherry sales, too. Fewer sales on fresh chicken an

(As always, flyers are out Wednesdays, most store sales for the new flyer start on Thursdays)
Adonis
Farm Boy
Farmers Pick (can be a little late on their flyer) (https://www.farmerspick.ca/flyer-specials)
Food Basics
FoodLand
Freshco (price matcher)
Giant Tiger (*note the VIP prices; sales begin today) (price matcher)
Green Fresh Supermarket (Vanier) (check https://greenfreshottawa20.wixsite.com/greenfreshottawa)
IGA (price matcher)
Independent
Loblaws
Provigo
Maxi (price matcher)
Metro
No Frills (price matcher)
Produce Depot (usually a little late on the flyer) https://producedepot.ca/
Real Canadian Superstore (price matcher)
Sobeys
Super C
T&T Supermarket https://www.tntsupermarket.com
Walmart
Costco (Note that these are the online/shipped prices - reduce each item by $3 for in-store pricing)
Jean Coutu (new sales start Fridays)
Shoppers Drug Mart (new sales start Fridays)
Some additional references!
submitted by crimsontape to ottawa [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 14:59 Sure_Ad_2140 Is my GPU broken?

I recently upgraded my GPU to a 3080 about a month ago and ever since then, I have been running into problems. At first, I had the blue screen of death or something and it would pop up while playing warzone. After about a week, I decided to remove two of my four ram sticks which apparently resolved the bsod issue. However, now, my monitor would shut off while my PC is still on. I would have to restart my PC for my monitor to start working. This issue started around a week ago, where my monitor would turn black when booting up games, but yesterday, it happened while I was on google. Now, my monitor doesn't turn on anymore even if I turn on my PC. I think its a GPU issue but I am not sure. I updated my graphics drivers but nothing has changed. Any help would be appreciated!
Specs:
GPU: EVGA rtx 3080
CPU: intel i7-8700k
motherboard: MSI z370 gaming plus
ram: trident 4 32g of 3200?
PSU: I'm not sure but I think it has 650 watts
(Most of the parts were given to me by my brother and I do not know much about computers so I do not know the parts very well)
submitted by Sure_Ad_2140 to PcBuild [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 14:58 hawaii1999 Does agoraphobia cause insomnia?

Been wondering if agoraphobia causes insomnia. For the past year my sleep schedule has been absolutely fucked. I'm only able to sleep when my body is completely exhausted which is usually between 10~11 AM. I wake up at 5 or 6 PM. It's also not unusual for me to sleep 14 hours. There's nothing in my life that could be causing insomnia. No stress, my meds don't cause it. But then I thought it could be agoraphobia messing up my body.
The reason I think it might be causing my insomnia is because agoraphobia has messed with my body badly in a lot of other ways. I'm on year 5 of severe agoraphobia now, only leave my house once a week for 30 minutes at most to get groceries at a place 5 minutes away. Because of agoraphobia my vitamin D levels dropped to nearly 0, to the point my doctor said she's "never seen anything like it". I also recently lost all my muscle mass nearly overnight. I went to a wellness doctor last week and she said I had no muscle mass. My hair also started falling out because I don't go outside and don't exercise, plus have nutritional deficiencies.
I'm wondering if the lack of sunlight, lack of activity, and normal routine are the cause of my severe insomnia. I was okay at first but after 5 years of this my health is starting to go down the drain. I don't get even the tiniest bit of sunlight - my bedroom window is boarded up with black construction paper and black duct tape. I'm sitting for 95% of the day. All my windows are closed because I hate sunlight. Before I had agoraphobia, I had no troubles sleeping at all. I would fall asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I was outside doing stuff the majority of the day.
Does anyone else experience insomnia as an agoraphobe or know if it can cause it? I know it can lead to a lot of other nasty stuff so this doesn't seem too far off.
submitted by hawaii1999 to Agoraphobia [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 14:57 pohltergiest Mountains all around

Mountains all around
Stupid stupid sleeping mat why won't it just have all the holes at once instead of having a new one each night. I've cut my remaining patches such that I'll have enough to cover 20 holes if necessary. I'll go to war with this thing before I give in and buy a new one. I patched the thing on the roof of the tent by dribbling water on it til I found bubbles. I'll do it again tonight and probably find more. Nasty holes. Terrible holes.
Anyways I slept fine, just a little interrupted. Every day I feel like I'm not sick and every morning I still am. Maybe today's the day. I dragged my ass in the morning, not moving too quick. The spot we picked was nice and chilly to let us sleep a little longer, nobody bothered us under the bridge this time. Last night we had a real treat in the form of a golden sunset over the mountains, hues of orange and pink lighting up the evening sky. It was very lovely. I forgot to mention we met another person doing a long distance ride, we've seen this person a few times since leaving Tokyo. Japanese travelers love pinning a piece of paper on their back that says where they're off to if they're traveling some ridiculous distance, for this person it was Tokyo to aomori. A respectable distance, but he nearly fell over when we showed him how far we've gone.
Eventually we got moving and did some sightseeing. The castle in aizuwakamatsu was rebuilt in the 60's as a museum, so we read about the history of the area. In a nutshell, it used to be called Aizu up until the local clan sided with the shogunate during the Meiji restoration and caught the wrong end of a brutal smackdown. In a way it felt framed in such a way that they didn't deserve it, and the subsequent suppression of the local people has left a simmering resentment. The city was renamed Wakamatsu, but is now aizuwakamatsu, and many t-shirts for souvenirs just say Aizu. The history of the city prominently includes the story of the Byakkotai, the "white tiger unit". They are hailed as heroes, but were teenagers who rushed into battle unprepared and were either slaughtered or committed suicide after hiding in a cave. Only one survived after a failed suicide to tell the tale. I guess things were different in the past, but poorly trained child soldiers killing themselves out of clan loyalty just strikes me as a tragedy, not a heroic epic. You know who disagrees? Fascist Italy and the Nazis, both of which donated monuments to the shrine for the Byakkotai and both of which remain to this day.
Alongside this bizarre tableau was the hexagonal shrine with a wooden spiral staircase, the only Edo period wooden structure still around and one of the oldest in the world. Honestly I'm surprised they let people walk through it, it felt so old. But they managed to build a double helix tower many hundreds of years ago and I was duly impressed. The ancient rafters and walls were covered in paper pasted to the walls to indicate a particular pilgrim was there. None of the old timey stickers looked new, as I imagine if people still did it the shrine would be covered like feathers on a bird. People did feel the need to scrawl their names in the wood of the wall directly, though. The whole place looked like it is in need of refurbishment and maybe someone to scold people with pocket knives.
After the shrine, we stopped to get some sandwiches at a conbini and then a drug store to get me better meds. The bufferin just wasn't working and I needed something to help me clear the congestion in me. We found some better meds and in took those. The feelings of having taken meds that really didn't work well and the stress of the heat of the day got to me and I had to stop and have a big cry. I hope I get better soon. We'll be stopping for a few days soon, I'll plan to just rest in bed. Doing a whole week of craziness followed by a week of biking in hot weather while a cold racks me has brought me to a low.
Naturally, when I get real low, that's when I feel the need to do big emotional processing. I knew it would happen eventually, though I'm impressed I could avoid it for three quarters of the trip. I wanted time and space to do some thinking, some crying, and some healing. The topic is private, of course. There was a bike path that led from aizuwakamatsu to kitakata to the north and we followed that, the depths of my thoughts so severe that I barely even acknowledged I was moving at all. Bryce told me later we were going pretty fast, so I guess it's good we were somewhere I could be on autopilot. The views in the valley were lovely, the panoramic mountains ringing the bowl shaped valley we were in. We biked towards snow capped mountains, but I was fully turned inwards, my process taking all of my focus.
Before too long we were in kitakata, a city that reminded Bryce of Roblin in Manitoba. It was a pretty quiet place, and rural too. It was known as one of the big three ramen regions in Japan, the second of which we've seen. We found the place that is most well known in Japan for kitakata ramen and got in line there. It was busy, as to be expected, but we got in relatively fast. We got the usual, whatever was the house special with extra chashu for protein. While the noodles were excellent, we both found the broth a bit boring, a pork on pork experience. It didn't taste particularly deep or complex, and was almost simple to a fault. Perhaps we've reached the limits of our tastes here, but it was just okay to our palate.
We got back on the bike route north, hoping it would continue a bit further before we had to get on the mountain highway. We would have to eventually, as no other roads led through the mountain pass. The bike route wasn't listed on the map, but was in front of us, so we pressed on. Much like the previous section it was a raised lane with gentle curves, likely an old rail line. This path eventually spit us out near an onsen, and then we were on our own. The road we wanted to take onto the highway was unexpectedly closed, so we had to detour up a road that went on top of a dam nearby. We enjoyed seeing some more wisteria, the ones around here growing wild and festively adorning trees in pale purple blossoms.
The dam was big, and had a road on top to ride on. I wanted to see the penstock and the spillway, the latter far below the road we biked on. Below in the shadow of the dam was a defiant onsen, oddly juxtaposed against the huge forward wall of the dam. We took some time to figure out what road would take us up to the highway which was some 100m above the dam. One road went into a tunnel and seemed a sure bet from the road signs near it, the other wound around the dam reservoir and disappeared into the woods. Looking at our maps, one said the road would continue and join up later, the other two disagreed saying the road ended. I voted for the sure bet, Bryce agreed but bet me a rice ball the road went through.
The tunnel indeed brought us up to the road, which was less of a road and more a series of bridges interspersed with tunnels piercing the mountaintops. It felt like we were on a great arc that hit the tips of every mountain, the gentle gradient of the road more important than anything else. We appreciated the easier climb, but the tunnels were tricky. Many of them had construction ongoing, so we were escorted through one set of tunnels to avoid stopping traffic in the single lane that switched directions periodically. At each tunnel entrance we worried the construction worker would bar our way but most were friendly, apologizing but firmly telling us where to go. As we approached a very long tunnel, an excitable construction worker stopped us and told us many things, but the best parts we could gleam were that the tunnel ahead was very long and we needed to have lights on inside.
The tunnel was indeed long, the longest we've been permitted in this far at 4km. The tunnel was completely straight too, giving a bizarre feeling of being in an infinite tube, perspective lines perfectly converging. The perspective made it feel like we were going uphill, but my speed told me it was downhill. Very confusing. Eventually we made it out and begun a very long and coasting descent, the grade again just gentle enough that we could coast at full speed and not tap the brakes. Usually we bike up the mountain just to waste the energy on brakes on the way down, here we could coast a lovely 10km, perhaps getting a little chilly from the lack of pedaling.
Yonezawa was our destination for the day, and despite really wanting to take it easy we still somehow did 100km. Tired and dirty, we took our biking clothes to a laundromat and went for dinner at a Chinese place. We had a black bean pork dish that was sticky and good, a chili fried chicken dish that was delicious but full of bones, and a fried rice that was mediocre at best. Waiting for our laundry to come out of the dryer, we had some snacks and commented that this city was extremely quiet at night. Not much activity going on here.
Bryce had a park in mind for camping, so we went there. We landed up making our way to the back of the park and found a spot to camp behind a few trees in a weedy area. Nobody should care we're here, but we're near a train line and every so often a passenger train roars by with big booming noises. Hopefully it doesn't run too early, but we might get woken up.
With the new meds, this evening is feeling better than days previous, though I have a lot on my mind for processing right now. A good sleep will help with that.
submitted by pohltergiest to RainbowRamenRide [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 14:57 RickNO504 Black Waxed Flesh back in stock

Black Waxed Flesh back in stock
I've been waiting for these to restock since they last sold out. Last week when the Olive Waxed Flesh dropped I noticed that these weren't even on the website as "sold out" anymore. I thought that meant they weren't restocking any time soon so I ordered the O.W.F. I don't have a pair of black boots, every man needs a pair of black boots. That's my justification, makes sense to me. Anyone have any pictures of worn in B.W.F. should I get these and return the O.W.F.?
submitted by RickNO504 to trumanboots [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 14:57 hayema7 June Swap Preview (better late than never!)

May ROTMs have landed and a few of us are waiting on some mystery bundles. The records I've seen on the most tables are Little Richard with it's slick jacket and Earl Sweatshirt. Clint Black, Alice Coltrane, and Don Blackman are all spinning around as well.
A reminder for ROTMs: Moving forward, newly released ROTMs are going to be exclusive to memberships and swaps for 3 months. For example, our May ROTMs will not be available in store until August. With this in mind, anything within 3 months of release is a "good deal." Other titles can be used with store discount codes, so you may be able to get them cheaper in the store. We're getting our first release of ROTMs with way, with January titles hitting the store.
Bonus records are now gone, but referral codes can get you discounts on multi-month memberships if you're interested in joining. Don't forget to check the referral thread to grab a code or reach out to some individuals if you're considering a 3 ($20 off), 6 ($40 off), or 12 month ($80 off) plan. It's a win-win for everyone.
This month's preview focuses on the June Swap Preview. Remember that not all swaps are "good deals." Some titles cost less than the price of your subscription. Prices for store titles will be included, while past ROTMs range from $37 for some 1LPs to $41 for other 1 and 2LPs and $49 for other 2LPs for members. You can also click "Learn More" and see the member price in your swap preview. With the new titles in swaps, we're seeing values a lot closer to your monthly prices.
All value is based on the new add-on price ($36). If you previously bought a 3, 6, or 12-month subscription, you're at that price on your main track until that subscription ends (I think this is the last month for this). Swapping for credit will get you that old price, which is something to keep in mind at this point. Know your price and know your value. Your price may vary, depending on what subscription level you're at, so be aware of how much you're paying each month before swapping. In no way is this a judgment on the music, but I'm just trying to make sure members don't pay subscription prices for a record that is significantly cheaper in the store.
Titles are broken down into 4 categories (New/will go quickly, solid recent options that are good value, questionable value, and do not swap) themed for September ROTMs with examples from the current swap preview. There are still some great deals to be had, even if we aren't seeing the crazy anthology value.
As always, feel free to post questions about specific titles you may be interested in. The community is very knowledgeable about pressing details and sound. I'm sure a lot of members would be willing to share their reviews of the pressing quality, even if it's in a category that you may not agree with:
Isaac Hayes - Swap Moses: Let Swap Moses part the seas and guide you to the promised land. These titles are the best of the month. Be on to grab them ASAP! They could be a repress of past ROTMs that have been long gone or store titles that aren't around anymore. They're some of the community's favorites. Waitlisted titles under $36 are a gamble. Some stock could've been pulled back. Get them while you can!
Essentials: N/A
Classics: Nina Simone (waitlisted)
RHH: Wu Tang (waitlisted)
Country: N/A
Rock: Little Richard (was locked down from adding toward the end of last month. I'd lock this one in if you want it because I don't forsee it lasting past this month outside of TBT)
Dolly: New Harvest
Store Titles: The Story of Memphis Rap ($269), Yuji Toriyama ($35 but waitlisted), Sampha Unnumbered ($37 but waitlisted), Tony Rice ($35 but waitlisted), The Story of The Comedy Store ($199), Ted Lucas ($27 but waitlisted), ATCQ - Love Movement ($80)
Harry Nilsson - A Little Touch of Swaps in the Night: You won't have to be on quite as fast as other titles, but a touch of these swaps will make for a great month. We're starting to see them selling out a little faster, so if you're interested in something, it's probably a good idea to grab them in swaps. You may have had your eye on and now have some reviews to base your decision on. I don't expect a rush for these titles, but keep an eye on them as the swap window goes on and they may move to low stock. These are recent ROTMs (Past 6 Months Listed), recent represses you may have missed, or in-stock store titles listed for more than the price of your subscription or an add-on track that may be on your wishlist. I also added some that have been popular with VMP subscribers. These are pretty safe bets for the value of your subscription and our frequent swappers.
Essentials: Alice Coltrane (swap exclusive), Harry Nilsson (swap exclusive), Willie Nelson P&S (swap exclusive until July), Fleetwood Mac (now in store), Labelle (now in store), Herbie Hancock, Ray Charles, Ray Barretto, Santigold, Bone Thugs, Stevie Nicks
Classics: Don Blackman (swap exclusive), Oliver Nelson (swap exclusive) Gary Bartz (now in store), La Lupe (now in store), Hector Lavoe, The MarKeys/Booker T, David Porter, Hound Dog, Wynton Marsalis, McCoy Tyner, Thelonious Monk
RHH: Earl Sweatshirt - Doris (swap exclusive), O.C (now in store), Boogie Down Productions (now in store), Masta Killa, Lupe Fiasco, Run DMC, Aesop Rock, Atmosphere, Q-Tip, Goldlink
Country: Clint Black (swap exclusive), Alan Jackson (swap exclusive) Rodney Crowell (swap exclusive until July), Billy Joe Shaver (now in store), Guy Clark (now in store), Wille Nelson (& Family), John Prine, Bobbie Gentry, Waylon Jennings
Rock: Little Richard (swap exclusive), Stevie Ray Vaughn (swap exclusive), Heart (swap exclusive until July), The Replacements (swap exclusive until June)
Store Titles: Chromeo ($45) La the Darkman ($42), Usher - My Way ($53), Kronos Quartet ($40), Willie Nelson - I Don't... ($39), Kiefer ($42), Oneohtrix Point Never (Again $45), Sarah Evans ($39), JOHN ($40), Alicia Keys (Girl on Fire $43), Euphoria S1 ($42), Busta Rhyme ($40), First Choice ($40), Rexx Life Raj ($40), Wayne Shorter Live ($46), Moses Sumney (L@B $40), Alan Braufman ($58), Euphoria S2 ($42), T-Pain ($41), Saba - FGT ($46), Altopalo ($44), Fly Anakin ($41), Black Milk ($40), Mariah Carey - Butterfly ($48), Atmosphere ($43), Joe Bataan ($40)
Charlie Worsham - Swapperband: Like a rubberband, going for these titles is a stretch. You don't save any money (or very little), so be sure to think it through. Have you had your eye on this title for a while or are you just considering them due to the fact that they're in swaps? These titles are close to the price of an add-on track, so don't dive in without considering if you REALLY want them. Think twice about these titles and ask yourself "Would I buy this if it wasn't in swaps because I'm not saving money?" These are often labeled "Swap exclusives" and store titles around $36. It may be a tough decision to swap for these.
Store Titles: Jules ($35), John Glacier Surf Gang ($35), Honky Tonk Angels ($35), OFFAIR: Dr. No's Lost Beach ($35)
Big Pun - Swapital Punishment: Don't punish yourself (or your wallet) by going after these titles. These are titles that I'd encourage you to look elsewhere to purchase, wait for a sale, or buy for less on discogs. This is my personal Do Not Swap list. As an alternative swap for credit and buy in the store, go to Discogs to look for the same pressing at less than the price of your subscription (most applicable for past ROTMs), or wait for a sale. Take your time to find a deal, as these aren't going anywhere. Most of these titles have been around for a long time, and this is VMPs way of getting rid of extra stock while making a few extra bucks. This includes in-stock store titles under $35 and older ROTMs which have been around for years.
Essentials: Aaliyah, Torres, Lapsley, The Books, Kevin Morby, Silvertones, Townes Van Zandt, Experience Unlimited, Sleater Kinny, Jim Sullivan, Dirty Projectors, Beverly Glenn Copeland, Grizzly Bear, Caroline Rose (all showing for less than an add on track in US on Discogs)
Classics: Sarah Webster Fabio, Leon Ware, Frederick Knight, Isaac Hayes, Abbey Lincoln, Teddy Pendergrass, Charles Musselwhite, Sylvester (all showing for less than an add on track in US on Discogs)
RHH: Open Mike Eagle, Queen Latifah, Da Brat, Lord Finesse, Big Boi, Future, Nappy Roots, Eyedea & Abilities, Young MC, E-40, UGK, Gang Starr, J Dilla (all showing for less than an add on track in US on Discogs)
Country: Reba McIntyre, Sam Hunt, Loretta Lynn, Brad Paisley (all showing for less than an add on track in US on Discogs)
Store Titles: Blvck Svm and Pilotkid ($28), Babsy Konate ($25)
submitted by hayema7 to VinylMePlease [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 14:56 Ecto_88 Help with Fan Disconnect Error on Ironwood 885

Have a 2 year old IW 885 that has worked flawlessly up until yesterday. The screen keep displaying 'Fan Disconnected'. I removed the lower panel under the hopper and can see the large black fan spinning? I checked all wiring, everything looks good. Tried multiple times unplugging the grill, clearing out the messages but every time we try to start the grill, it acts like it wants to ignite and even starts to smoke but then we get the fan disconnected error. I know traegers "support" is trash and I can't find anyone local to come look at it. Any help is appreciated!
submitted by Ecto_88 to Traeger [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 14:54 Pinkmanhardmantofind Margot Robbie just an average chick compared to chick's on IG

Like you see Margot Robbie who has no Ass, can't twerk, and doesn't have that great of a chest, get called "sexiest Woman on Earth" get the fuck outta here, she's a very Pretty Woman no doubt but there's Women on IG who have big Asses, better Chest, more beautiful faces even, and are just overall way Sexier, but because these are just IG hoes and not A List talented Celebrities? They won't be put on the level of Margot Robbie, or Emma Watson, and all these Harry Potter Wands
Some of the Black chicks I have seen on IG put Margot Robbie to shame
submitted by Pinkmanhardmantofind to TrueUnpopularOpinion [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 14:52 Fox_Croissant That Backrooms videogame from the memes

Hey everyone! You might’ve seen those funny meme videos a while back where people would basically play a horror backrooms game and were followed by something completely random, sometimes even with custom songs/sounds??
I’m looking for that game!
Most of the videos I have seen had a (pretry scary imo) monster that basically just looked like a big pile, fully black with only two eyes. So basically the game with that monster specifically! If anyone knows what it’s called or if it’s part of another game (such as roblox or whatever) please let me know including how to play it!! Thank you :)
submitted by Fox_Croissant to HelpMeFind [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 14:50 _Spirit00_ ♥️Your Heart’s A Black Hole♥️

♥️Your Heart’s A Black Hole♥️
Honestly Magnetics are so cool. I can’t wait for the rest of the ones I bought in the sale to arrive!
1 Coat Hardcore Base Coat 1 Coat Getting Even Nail Primer 2 Coats Your Heart’s A Black Hole 1 Coat Speed Demon Top Coat
submitted by _Spirit00_ to mooncatpolish [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 14:49 PTB_683 writing my first non-fanfic storyline, any advice.?

Well, I started writing this like today, any advice is appreciated :)
here's what I've written so far:-
"" The world swirled in a maelstrom of colors and sensations, As Vector plummeted through a cosmic expanse, his Mind was in fragments, filled in uncertainty and in total dispute.

He felt Sensations and Emotions he never knew he could feel, Oblivious of his fate and future as he transitioned through realms bundled together in a kaleidoscope of hazy memories and uncertainty.

Vector suddenly found himself sinking in his own thought and sensation, though he was unable to fathom the reason behind it, he found himself drowning in guilt.
Every moment that passed, his eyes grew heavier, as if his body wished for him to die.

Then he came conscious, under the shade of a tall tree, shimmering under the moon’s glow.

He felt A warm breeze blew upon him, enveloping his torn white robes.
Vector felt, nor saw even a speck of similarity in the realm before him and the realm that he once called home.
Ahead of him lay a dense forest, tightly in the grip of nature.
Distant howls of creatures that Vector could not name echoed through the forest.
The moon, that shine through the forest roof, formed an intricate pattern on the forest floor.

Vector wandered ahead, every step he took, drawing his vision hazier.
Yet again, lost in thought, and unable to comprehend anything ahead of him, he could not notice the once muddy forest path, transitioning into a smooth cobbled street, lit dimly by grand old lanterns.
Then, everything went black, as if he were in a vast void.

Vector woke up, finding himself in quite a cozy bed, with the occasional chirping of birds.
The sun’s rays lit up the room.
Vector looked out the window, admiring and observing everything he could. But soon, he felt the presence of a man behind him.
Was he the reason Vector was in this abode?
“Who could you be?” Vector asked, as he scowled at the man.
Vector hazily recalled from where Vector was from, he was taught of “mortals” as heartless creatures, who were cold hearted murderers, and were exiled into this world, why would this one be any different?
This led him to another thought, why was he here?
Vector was soon broken out of his mind, when the man replied,
“I thought you would be more grateful; I guess I was wrong” He continued; “I found you in the middle of the street, I think I should be the one asking you; so, say, who are you?”
Vector blurted, with a hint of hesitance, as he stormed off; “It is not of your concern!” ""
submitted by PTB_683 to writers [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 14:47 MollieG2010 Welcome to the Shit List Crusty!

Please excuse any errors, I had 2 strokes last year and sometimes struggle with words and typing.
This story involves my youngest son. He is currently 8 but has always been head strong and outspoken. I call him the bully's bully at school because he sticks up for people who are being bullied by other kids. He is very protective of what is "his" (ex. friends, family, toys). He can hold a grudge like nobody's business.
This story happened when Jude was about 4 or 5. Jude was not your ordinary 5 year old. He had an amazingly advanced vocabulary and used it wisely. He gave (and still gives) absolutely no fucks for what people think. He is a very black and white type of person. He has no filter and at times has 100% no chill, especially if he thinks someone is in the wrong or has wronged him. You know when you make it to his shit list because he let's you know. He's blunt... and hilarious. Ok.. onto the story..
Jude wanted to spend some of his Christmas money on a few toys. He picked out a pink dinosaur, a blue dinosaur, a pink travel hair brush with mirror, a rainbow notebook with pink pencil, a pink ball and a pink plushy unicorn. Can you guess what his favorite color is? After he is finished, we head to the registers. We have to go self-check out because he's 5 and wants to do everything for himself. 🙄😂 We get the scanner closest to the line. While Jude is scanning away, an old, creepy looking, dried up shrivel of a man walks up behind us. (Seems like a mean description but stick with me). Jude is chitter chatting away (again, because he's 5) when this POS old man says, "You ain't gonna let him get them toys, are ya?" (We are from a city in central Ohio and yes, people really talk like that.)
Me: with a who-are-you atritude, "He wants them, he has enough money, so yes, if you need to know."
Old man: "Well, ain't ya afraid they'll turn him... you know... frou frou?" And does a bent wrist motion.
Now Jude has heard my tone, so he knows somethings up and has been listening. Jude whips around with an intense are-you-a-dumbass look on his face. He says, "Umm... a color doesn't make you gay..."
Now the old man turns to Jude: "Don't you want a boy toy? Like a truck or something that's not for girls or pink?"
Normally, I am a mild mannered person who takes a lot before I get super pissed, but mess with my kids... Welcome to your worst nightmare. But I was not needed, Jude had it covered this time.
By this point, Jude is pissed. No one attacks his favorite color and toys! Congratulations, Captain Crusty! You've made it to the shit list!
Jude: in a very stern, loud voice, "Pink is my favorite color and my mom said I can like whatever color I want! Leave my toys alone! You're very rude! My mom always tells me to think before I talk. Maybe you should try it."
Giving zero fucks as to who is hearing him talk to this man. Jude returns to scanning his toys.
The man looks at me as though I should correct Jude's outburst, I just look at Crusty with a matter-of-fact look, "I can only correct him if he's wrong. But I agree with his advise. And who are you to care if he is or isn't gay? Good thing you're not his parent, huh?"
The old turd walks to a different area of the store to get away from the 5 year old who just lit into him. Jude yells as he's waving, "Kay, byyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeee! Try using your brain when you talk!" And I feel a sense of victory all while trying to contain my laughter. Does it make me an asshole for not saying something to Jude for talking that way to an elderly man? I don't think so but also don't care.
Jude proceeds to scan and purchase his toys. The store employee supervising the self-check out comes over to Jude and me. He asks me, "Can he have a little candy bar?" I nod. He looks at Jude, "I am so proud of the way you stuck up for yourself. You keep doing that and don't let people tell you who you are." He tells me he wished his mom had been accepting of his life (he was gay). Such a bittersweet moment, my heart felt full and broken at the same time because of his words. This was a very proud mom moment for me.
I have so many Jude stories. He keeps life interesting, for sure.
Note for Charlotte: I don't know if you'll see this but thank you for doing what you do. I had 2 cerebral strokes in March 2023 (I was 35). You have been a huge part of my recovery because you help me see the funny in things. I have needed lots of laughs to get through this and you have been a great part of them. So thank you and keep doing what you're doing! You rock! And Jude loves watching your videos with me. And it opens up conversations of the right way to act/react to people. I told him I was posting his story and he hopes you read it, even if you don't put it in a video.
submitted by MollieG2010 to CharlotteDobreYouTube [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 14:43 LazySnake7 From Under the Ice - Chapter 2

(Thanks to SpacePaladin for creating NOP)
[Previous] [First] [Next]
Memory Transcription Subject: Elder Researcher Slira of the Vyr Exploration Initiative
Date [standardised Vyr time]: Day 102/321, Year 110
I remembered when they drilled to the top of Rime.I had been studying to be a computer engineer at the time, only a single course away from graduating. My home city of Frozen Perch had been chosen for the project, something that no local really paid any mind to. Almost no one believed there was anything to find within Rime’s depths, for she didn’t have any of the gifts her Sisters did. There was no ore or soil like Stone had, no warmth or light like Glow’s magma. Even Abyss held corrupted treasures of Tide’s life which members of her Second and Third Church used with enthusiasm to survive and thrive in places were the very water would crush you to nothing.
We all knew they’d give up after drilling up for a few kilometres and Vyrkind would be content that nothing lay above our heads up Rime’s endless ice, that reality was only so big and that we had explored almost everything that exists besides for some patches within the dark deeps.
I admit, I didn’t have much passion for my career of choice. I’d likely end up as a system admin somewhere, managing networks and improving what we already had, never creating anything new because we already built everything we needed.Born too late to explore the world…
When the engineers working on the drill reported that the ice was thinning, that they were getting faint signals from beyond… curiosity and passion ignited in my soul, in the soul of nearly every vyr that lived and breathed.The drilling project went from a boring little science project only a choice few geologists and industrialists held any hope for to a global event which caught the eye of all vyrkind.
I remember lying in my nest, surrounded by pillows and swaddled in blankets while my eyes were glued to a livestream of drill’s progress. My tail was playing with a tassel of a stuffed toy, which if I remembered rightly was modelled after my first pet, a grumpy but sweet crab named Admiral Cookpot.I remember the smell of burnt squid, because my father had been cooking a meal at the time and got distracted by world events, same as me. The only sound in my room was the tideheater’s propeller whirring softly.
I was too scared to breathe, worried that if I was too loud I’d scare away the most interesting thing that had ever happened in my entire life.And when the drill finally pierced the top layer of Rime I and every Vyr caught our first sight of a world beyond our little planet. The sky a black void so unlike that of Abyss, my eyes filled with the light of thousands, millions of…
Stars.
A luminous field as beautiful as any glittering reef or magma vent, uncountable jewels and embers. I stared at them for over an hour, until the blazing personification of Glow herself arose from beneath the horizon, which I’d later learn… no, discover was our own personal star.
I knew what I’d dedicate my life to then and there. My life’s mission would be to uncover the secrets of this strange new realm beyond Rime, which scientists named and priests baptised as Space.
-][-
It has been many rotations around our star (now named Beacon) since I was a young college student. I got a degree in physics and with my computer simulations I managed to not only chart the movement of celestial bodies, but predict their movements as surely as the currents. I hadn’t intended to become one of the founding mothers of the field of Astrophysics but I was more than happy to lead the charge, to explore this new frontier as thoroughly as possible.
Now I was being invited to a meeting of some of the most important people in my country, perhaps of vyrkind. Sure, I had spoken to some of them before, but only over text or video chat. Only ever about theories and possibilities.
Now it would be in a physical location, all in one big room, still about theories but now much more tangible, life altering things. And I wasn’t going to be an advisor or a consultant. Just as some people were seen as leaders of armies, planners of cities or managing agricultural regions, I was being invited as our foremost expert on… Space.
It was funny and terrifying how one can wake up one morning and suddenly realise you are a world leader, responsible for guiding the fates of every creature you or anyone else had ever met.
As scared and nervous as I was, this was no time for imposter syndrome. I was one of the oldest, most experienced astrophysicists on the planet. Of course I was, I helped invent it dammit! I was still as passionate about Space as the day I started, because it was the first time we realised what a day was. I had worked with members of fields related to mine for so long I was practically an expert at those too, including engineering.There is no one more qualified to do this than I, Elder Researcher Slira! Vyrkind needed me!
…
Great, now I also feel nervous about being too arrogant. Still, I managed to clear some of my self-doubt and packed my bags. I had an elevator to catch.
-][-
Castle Yarshu was absolutely filled with people, busier than I’ve ever seen it before. Normally it’s just a museum, filled with old relics from the time of the last Forge Lords. Technically it’s owned by the Ka’lai Militia though and their leader has made sure to keep it well renovated. It is that very leader, General Taraksus, that has invited us all to the Castle’s massive Roundhall, filled with trophies and spoils of conquests that exist only in memory.The hall’s centre stage was covered in posts, perches and seats for the over one hundred representatives the General had invited, with boxy camera drones jetting here and there to capture the discussion for all to see.Around the hall Vyr crowded and swarmed to get a look at us, even clinging to the pillars and ceiling to see the “action”. The castle and our meeting was open to the public after all, and anyone could enter as long as occupancy allowed and they brought nothing dangerous with them besides their claws and fangs.
From my perch I spy Taraksus sitting atop the old Forge Lord’s throne, on its headrest to be precise, discussing something with a fellow general curled up on the armrest and an aide lying at the foot. The seat itself was filled with a sponge-stuffed dummy dressed to fit any monarch, albeit with a sign around its neck with a slur word written on it in a language few speak anymore.
Taraksus themself wasn’t too impressive a sight, well below the size average for females and decently above it for males. Their only ornamentation was a black stripe painted over his head to create a striking contrast as it went over their eyes, and a chain which held a few dozen metal strips, each with the name of a fallen comrade written on it. Or so I hear.
Taraksus ends his conversation and takes up a spear from a guard, the rear of which he uses to stamp the ground.
“Pipe down you lot! I’m calling this meeting to order!” Their voice pierced through the cacophony with a clarity that surprised me.
“As ridiculous as it feels to say, we’ve been contacted by aliens. You all saw the translation broadcasted live from our friends over at the VEI. Suffice to say the contents of their message to us is… concerning. I’ve already forwarded recommendations to our R&D sectors to start working on designs for military spacecraft. Certainly not something I or most anyone else here thought or hoped would ever be needed. I’m hoping that the consensus we reach here will keep that true. Before any of that however I call upon one of the most prominent members of the aforementioned VEI, Elder Slira, to clue us in on the nature of what we face and go over her team’s conclusions.”
I quickly check the notes on my portable computer which my assistant Neeran had so kindly organised for me before erecting myself on my perch.
I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, coupled with the near oppressive silence. I took a steady breath, trying to gather my courage. “You can do it Slira!” echoed a voice from the back of the hall. The chuckles that followed was evidence enough that I hadn’t imagined it, and I felt some of my fears dissipate.
“Greetings, vyr from across the world. I’ll jump right to the meat of the issue and start with an analysis of the ‘Sivkit’ that spoke to us. One of the most startling discoveries we uncovered in our investigation was the incredibly high possibility of them breathing… gas.”
I spotted the ears of more than a few vyr shoot up in shock, including those of the stout administrator of the Vrental Commune’s heartlands, Ireni.
“Gasbreathers? Surely such a thing is not possible?”
“The footage clearly indicates a lack of liquid, and the sivkit’s chest is clearly contracting and expanding in a manner that indicates breathing. We could be wrong, but likely we are looking at an organism that defies our current understanding of how complex life can develop.”
I typed away at my computer, bringing up my second point.
“Next we have their next statement, something about us being Arxur…”
A delegate I do not recognise raises a claw.
“Do we know who these Arxur are? The Sivkit seemed ready to bolt at the idea of them.”
“We currently have no information on the Arxur. All we can extrapolate is that they are another sapient alien species, that we resemble them somewhat except for our eyes and that they represent a clear threat to the Sivkit. Also, for whatever reason, the sivkit mistook us for a prey species because our eyes are on the side of our heads…”
…
“That’s… no, I don't have a way to soften that, that’s stupid as shit.”
“It’s… not scientifically correct, no. But it made them mistake us for fellow kindred among the stars, their captain even going so far to gift us translator technology.”
“Was it a mistake?” Taraksus asks, seemingly in thought. “I mean clearly they mistook us for something we are not, but is it impossible for us to be kindred?”
I understood his question, and sadly had no real answer.
“I don’t know General. The kind of friendship you describe is a two-way street, and if they are not willing then there is nothing we can do. But that does not mean we can’t do anything about it. Diplomat Zhara, your turn.”
A vyr across the stage from me straightens herself. Her body is wrapped in colourful fabrics and her various bits of jewellery show a clear love of ornamentation and precious stones.
“Thank you Elder. The Sivkit Captain promised to return at a time less than [3 weeks] away. Irrelevant of any bigger picture, he seems to care mostly about establishing relations with us and getting access to the deposits on our planetary neighbour Turqo. Whether for personal wealth or aiding his kin, who’s to say. He seems to assume we are part of a larger civilisation, likely unable to sense us underneath all the ice and mistaking our surface city for some kind of local outpost. Whatever the case may be, our diplomatic strategy is simple: lie through our fangs and trade metal.”
An uneasy murmur fills the hall.
“I know, lying may come back to bite us. But we need to be cautious, we know nothing about these aliens and if pretending to be a larger civilisation of peaceful herbivores will put them at ease then so be it. In addition my friends in the industrial sector tell me we don’t have any need for such a vast amount of heavy metals, so mining the deposit and trading the resources to the Sivkit for what they have in abundance seems good business. It will also help further the ‘small mining outpost’ facade and aid us in getting more information about who these ‘meat-eating humans’ are.”
“Excellent! We’re right on time!”
A gasp passes through the crowd. My eyes dart around and my ears swivel every which way, trying to identify the source of the shout. The crowd of onlookers to my left were making way, clearly shocked at… some new arrivals? What under Rime…?
Two vyr had entered the hall.
The first was a small male, their body wiry and covered in scars. Even the tip of their flat tale had a V-shaped chunk cut out of it. A sash of black cloth covered in white pictograms was wrapped around his chest, and attached to the sash was a broad, bladed weapon almost comically large for him. The second was a rather average female, still almost twice the size of the male. Black robes and a hood hid her form, though I noticed a pair of silver reading glasses sitting on her snout and a… by Glow, was that a fucking tome? An actual book, with thick kelp-fibre pages and bound in Nesis bark.
My brain almost refused to recognise the two, but finally sense overruled logic. The male was Krattron, and the female was Kahltrak. The highest authorities of the Second and Third Churches of the Abyss respectively.
Krattron swam up to the stage, eyes brimming with what I could only describe as maniacal glee.
“Greetings, children of Vyrkind! When do we set out to hunt the demons of Void?”
Kahltrak follows shortly behind. I would have been able to hear her sigh from the surface.
“Hello delegates. We’ve come to pledge our aid, and to discuss how we shall be dealing with our enemies.”
[Previous] [First] [Next]
submitted by LazySnake7 to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 14:42 throwaway09052021 PSA: Don’t disclose ANYTHING during the interview process that can jeopardize you being hired

Not sure who needs to hear this, but I keep seeing stories of people on LinkedIn who get to or near the offer phase of job hunting and reveal that they’re pregnant, have a disability, etc., and instantly get rejected or even have their offers rescinded. Even doing something subtle such as asking about a company’s maternity leave policy or putting graduation dates on your resume (potentially revealing your age) has the same effect.
Remember, if you can avoid revealing anything about your personal life or identity to a company, then avoid it. It will never redound to your benefit.
You may be thinking: “Isn’t it illegal for a company to reject me because I’m pregnant, disabled, old, black, or whatever?”
Yes. 100%. But companies do illegal things all the time.
If anything you didn’t disclose ahead of time causes issues on the job, you can deal with them then. Check a company’s mat leave policy on Glassdoor or when you get the job, ask for a reasonable accommodation after you’re in the role, etc. You may think you’re just being courteous by revealing things upfront, but In an economy where people are desperate for work, you should focus on getting that paycheck rather than being auto-rejected.
Your interview process should be laser-focused on how you can accomplish the tasks required in the job description. Of course you should try to be personable and interesting, but don’t put yourself at risk of being disqualified by mentioning something you’ll regret.
Disclose as little as possible.
submitted by throwaway09052021 to LateStageCapitalism [link] [comments]

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submitted by ShoppAround to ShoppAround [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 14:36 Angel466 [Bob the hobo] A Celestial Wars Spin-Off Part 1012

PART ONE THOUSAND AND TWELVE
[Previous Chapter] [The Beginning] [Patreon+2]
Sunday
Lucas stretched and yawned in bed, taking a moment to enjoy the complete lack of needing to rise before his hand stretched out in search of Boyd.
And once again, that side of the bed was empty.
Biting back a whine of dismay, Lucas rolled until he was face down on Boyd’s pillow, breathing in the cologne they both now wore. The detective in him quickly deduced that Boyd had been gone a while based on the chill in the sheets. He curled his hands around the pillow and hugged it tight, wishing it was the big mountain of a man himself instead of this weak substitute.
As thrilled as he was about Boyd finding a new career that he was so passionately driven about, he was equally happy that his fiancĂŠ took his responsibility to his clients seriously. Still, would it have killed him to sleep in just one morning instead of abandoning their wrecked bed the morning after their engagement party?
After several minutes of wallowing, he finally accepted the inevitable that no amount of wishful thinking was going to make Boyd appear and climbed out of bed. He removed his snore rings and took a quick shower.
Once he was dressed, he felt a little better.
The next thing he had to do was strip down the bed and remake it. They’d been very busy last night, which was why he’d only just woken up at—his gaze fell upon the clock— DAMN! It’s nearly lunchtime!
“I’m gonna kill him for letting me sleep in so long,” he muttered under his breath, carrying the linen through the apartment and into the kitchen, which doubled as a laundry on their end. After nine years of living in this layout, he didn’t need to see over the pile in his arms to know precisely where he was, and with the load balanced on one arm, he turned at the right moment, opened the massive frontloading washing machine and stuffed it all in.
“Hey, Unca Luke!” Maddy’s shrill voice had him leaping into the air, slamming the door shut and swivelling around in front of it to hide the evidence. “Didja pee the bed?”
His brother and his niece were sitting at the island, Maddy with her breakfast of honey-and-cream-covered waffles, which were only half-eaten, and Levi patiently waited for her to finish since the plate in front of him was empty. The latter was grinning at him as only a brother could.
He’d forgotten all about them staying over.
It took a hot second for what Maddy asked to register with him, and when it did, his mouth dropped, and he glanced at his brother, who was twisting himself into a pretzel to avoid laughing out loud. Asshole. “No, Peaches,” he said, glaring daggers at Levi for not even trying to help him out. “Boyd and I like clean sheets every day, and it’s not fair to make somebody else wash them for us, is it?”
Bright red ringlets of hair swayed as the little girl shook her head. “Daddy makes me fix stuff too.”
Lucas moved the three feet between the washing machine to his brother sitting in Mason’s seat at the corner. “That’s because Daddies always know what’s best.” He wrapped an arm around his brother’s neck in a loose chokehold and gave him a noisy morning kiss on the cheek. “Ain’t that right, Daddy?” He said that last word in a sultry purr the way Robbie would, and the reaction from Levi was priceless.
“Fuck off with that shit, you prick!” his brother swore, shoving Lucas away with all his might.
“DADDY!” Maddy squealed in horror, and Lucas clapped his hands together once behind Maddy’s chair and raised his clenched fists in victory. He’d been angling for one swear word, maybe two to distract young Maddy from his not-so-discreet linen run. Three was a veritable home run.
Snickering quietly to himself, he went back to the washing machine, loaded it up with soap and softener and turned it on. Then, he walked over to the wooden box under the window. ‘Just think what you want,’ Charlie had told him at the party. ‘It’s a Nascerdios box that Robbie fills up throughout the night.’
He stared hard at the box while he considered his options, settling on a plate of breakfast tacos with seasoned mince, fried eggs, tomatillos, shredded lettuce, and cheese wrapped in soft tortillas buttered with a thin spread of mashed avocado.
After the last month, it didn’t surprise him in the least when he opened the lid and found that exact meal sitting there, waiting for him. Maybe the quantity, since they were piled three high, but not the meal itself.
The same could not be said for Levi when Lucas turned around with the plate in his hand. “Robbie had that ready for you too?” he asked, as Lucas grabbed a glass from the cupboard and placed it and the plate in his regular sitting place adjacent to his brother before sliding into his seat. He knew Levi wasn’t questioning Viola since the box itself was made and gifted by someone with the last name Nascerdios.
The veil was an ass.
“I told you; he did most of the catering yesterday, too,” Lucas said, reaching for the jug of juice. He was curious what it would be today. Yesterday, it had been orange and mango juice, with apple the day before.
A quick sniff made it most likely grapefruit.
He tightened the roll on the first taco and lifted it to his lips, enjoying the flavours that exploded in his mouth. Because Levi had finished whatever had been on his plate, he was watching him eat as if he’d never seen it before. It finally clicked why. “You want to try one?” Lucas asked, nudging his plate towards his brother. “There’s plenty here if you want one. Too many, if anything.”
Levi didn’t need to be told twice and reached over, using his fingers just as Lucas had. “How did he learn to cook so well?” Levi demanded, almost fitting the whole thing in his mouth.
“He’s always cooked,” Lucas answered, fudging things slightly. “When he was growing up, cooking was his chore while his mom was at work. He only stopped because Mom refused to let him help in the kitchen.”
“I would’ve fought that a lot harder if I’d have known he could produce this.”
“Yeah, you and me both, bro. Even when we were upstairs, he was forever watching the cooking channels for new ideas.” Lucas didn’t want to mention that these days, Robbie only did so to critique the so-called experts. “Have you seen Boyd?”
Levi shook his head. “I was assuming he was still in with you. If I’d known you were in there alone, I’d have sicc’d Maddy onto you.”
“I can wake Daddy and Unca’ Austin good!” Maddy said proudly. “I gets me a dolla’.”
“Ssshhh, Peaches. That’s out secr—wait. Does Uncle Austin pay you, too?”
Maddy was adorable the way she looked at Lucas like he would intervene for her. “Sorry, baby girl,” he laughed, eating another taco. “You’re on your own.”
The two brothers bantered as Lucas ate, with Levi stealing another taco, bringing Lucas’ total number down to five. Maddy told them both about wanting to be a vet, and Lucas knew precisely who to blame for that. Still, it was better than her previous choice of ‘stripping’ the way Robbie and Angelo used to. Levi’s meltdown over that revelation had been priceless, even if he, too, was firmly in the ‘fuck that noise’ camp.
When he polished them and half the juice off, he poured the last into Maddy’s cup and put his things and the jug in the dishwasher. “You can hang out here if you want,” Lucas said. “The guys and I are heading out this afternoon to play some ball over at Angus’ place, but if you call Austin and find out Pepper’s roommate is still with him, the TV over there has…”
“Every cable channel imaginable, I know. Charlotte—”
“Charlie.”
“Charlie told us last night.” Levi sat back in his seat and stared at his brother. “What do you make of Larry, Luke? Does he have kids?”
“Why?”
“He watched Maddy for me last night while I was having a shower, and Maddy loves him. You know how picky she is about people she doesn’t know.”
“I know he’s married to a career soldier and was one too before being assigned to us. I’m not sure about his past, but he’s a good guy and ridiculously protective of those either in his charge or that he happens to care about.”
Levi grunted. “Charl—lie said so too. He certainly knows his Spongebob.”
Lucas squinted. “Why all the questions?”
“Just thinking out loud. If he’s going to be here all the time with Robbie, and Austin and I get called into the house together, it’s always been a struggle figuring out where we can leave Maddy on short notice. We don’t exactly have time to drive all the way over to Queens to drop her off at either Mav’s or Mom and Dad’s. I mean, so far, we haven’t needed to, but it’s a constant concern.”
Lucas frowned at him. “We’ve been here for years. Why didn’t you ask before now?”
Levi seemed suddenly uncomfortable. “You know…” he said, gesturing to the ceiling without finishing that sentence.
And just like that, Lucas did understand.
Six men, all sharing one shoebox-sized apartment with two of them being sex workers, was not where anyone would want to drop off a little girl. Even if Lucas did vouch for all of them and swore they’d all be protective as hell over little Maddy. “Look, I can’t speak for them specifically, but Charlie’s here under house arrest for the next ten months, and Boyd now works out of his studio, so technically, someone will be here all the time. There’s not a chance in hell we’ll turn you away.”
“I’ll ask her and Miss W before we go.”
Lucas looked at what the two of them were wearing. “You know, I could duck out and grab you and Maddy some clothes just as soon as I check in with Boyd, if you like.”
He watched Levi look down at the shirt and boxers that were a little big on him width-wise and across at Maddy, who still wore Charlie’s favourite Giants’ shirt.
“That’d be good, thanks,” he admitted.
“I’ll get extras, and that way, she can have a few changes of clothes here. Actually, do you want me to grab you some spare stuff too?”
Levi stiffened in his seat. “I don’t need you to buy me clothes.”
Lucas wanted to slap him in the back of the head (and would’ve if Maddy wasn’t there). “Stop,” he commanded instead. “I’m already going to a clothes shop. It’s not going to be anything fancy, and if you hate it, you can swap it out with your own stuff later.”
Knowing his brother was still uncomfortable, Lucas waved his hand at the kitchen. “Seriously, Levi, look around. Look at how I’m living, and I’m not paying a dime in rent. Llyr won’t let me since we’ve been looking out for Sam for years. Let me do this for you, so you’ll always know you and Maddy have somewhere safe to go.”
Levi glanced around, his lips tightening before he finally nodded, unwilling to say the words out loud, and Lucas clapped him on the shoulder. “We’re family, dumb-ar—dumb,” he amended, with little ears sitting on the other side of his brother. “Dumb-dumb. I meant Dumb-dumb.”
Levi chuckled and patted his brother’s hand. “I appreciate it, bro. We’ll chill here until you get back. Don’t rush … apparently, you have a gazillion cable channels to choose from, and Maddy doesn’t want to leave until she’s seen them all.”
“I don’t think you’ll live that long,” Lucas laughed and headed back to his room to grab his gear since he was now leaving the apartment. As he clipped and slid everything from sunglasses to his wallet, keys, phone, badge bifold, and ankle-holstered BUG, he almost envied women with carryall handbags that could be grabbed on their way out the door.
Almost.
* * *
((Author's note: going out tonight, so I put this out before I left. Enjoy!! 🥰😘💕 ))
((All comments welcome. Good or bad, I’d love to hear your thoughts 🥰🤗))
I made a family tree/diagram of the Mystallian family that can be found here
For more of my work, including WPs: Angel466 or an index of previous WPS here.
FULL INDEX OF BOB THE HOBO TO DATE CAN BE FOUND HERE!
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2024.05.15 14:34 querulous_hierarchy Pragmatic Play slots

As a newbie gamer, I was drawn to Pragmatic Play slots because of their impressive graphics and heavy advertising.
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