Hello, thank you for reading this article. This is my second Android app - Agile Battle. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.snake.agilebattle
It is a matching game with lots of cute patterned cards. The app offers multiple themes and supports multiple languages. The app is free and has no advertisements. The app is implemented with Jetpack Compose. If you are interested in it, feel free to download it. :) I would appreciate any feedback. video: https://youtu.be/EeS_067DPU8
Thank you very much.

Hello guys, Im a moderator in this sub and I port mods fairly regularly for the XBox crowd. I created a mod focusing on realism and I wanted to share it with you as well. I like to use it with some mods that you guys unfortunately dont have for the full experience, but you still can use without them. It's almost done, but will receive pontual updates from time to time.
Bethesda.net Realistic Fallout 2.0. - Immersive Edition [PS] Mod
RECCOMENDED PLACEMENT:

Bottom of the Load Order.

"Realistic Fallout" is a collection of hundreds of changes to Fallout 4 aiming at increasing the realism while retaining the fun aspect. No changes made here should compromise your enjoyment of the game nor are its features overcomplicated. This mod, however, was unapologetically created for players that value immersion.
I've scoured all (ALL) 160 pages of the "immersion" and "gameplay" categories of mods on Nexus to draw inspiration for this mod. My criteria was simplicity and near perfect compatibility. There are no added scripts or new assets in this file, everything was made editing the game's parameters on Creation Kit directly and slotted in a single ".esp" file.
I tried to keep out tweaks that could override other configurations players usually employ. I also avoided edits that could be considered divisive, so most people can enjoy this mod and add new things without worrying too much.
"Realistic Fallout" was made to compliment the mod "Advanced Needs 76" , but can be used without it (I'm not sure if it exists on Playstation, unfortunately).
I also advise using mods that make the loot and items placed in the world scarcer, for the full, intended experience.

Features

Difficulty Settings:
Player damage dealt to enemies is set to 1x in "Hard" and "Very Hard" difficulties to avoid bullet sponginess. Enemy damage dealt to the player is left like in vanilla across all difficulties. Survival Mode is left entirely vanilla.
Time Scale:
Utilized the popular "6 to 1" time scale (1 minute in real life is 6 minutes in-game, unlike in vanilla where 1 minute in real life is 20 minutes in-game). Fast Travel speed was adjusted to compensate for the slower passage of time.
Healing and Chems:

• Unnatended broken limbs will start healing in 2 in-game days, and will be fully healed after 5 in-game days (adjusted for this mod's time scale). Sleeping still heals limbs, however, healing from sleep can be turned off or set to partial healing if using "Advanced Needs 76".
  
• Stimpaks and Radaway heal overtime (10 seconds for full effect).
  
• One Stimpak only heals up to 25% of a damaged limb's health and the healing process also happens overtime.
  
• Chems that fortify damage only work on melee weapons and fists.
  
• Added "chemist" perk requirement to craft stimpaks, radaways and chems. Level requirement vary according to the buff. Added "robotics expert" lvl 01 requirement to build "robot repair kit".
  
• Molerat Disease: you get a crippling debuff of -40hp, but it only lasts for 10 days. This retains the moral implications of the Vault 81 questline and is realistic (a child wouldn't survive for long), but doesn't punish too harshly players that decide to follow a virtuous path.
  

Lockpicking:

• The lockpicking sweet spot is reduced to make the minigame more of a challenge. Bobby pins aren't too brittle so the challenge is fair.
  
• Locks won't tell you the level of the lock anymore.
  

Food, Cooking, Foraging, Hunting and Farming:

• All foods that require dirty water now cost purified water instead*;
  
• All foods that require heat cost 1 wood on top of the other ingredients;*
  
• Purified Water recipe is now 1 dirty water and 1 wood*;
  
• All crops require 1 fertilizer to be planted (a bag of fertilizer can be scrapped for 4);*
  

* Wood and Fertilizer must be manually scrapped from objects in settlements to be able to be used for cooking and planting. This is to avoid automatic scrapping of objects you dont want to destroy, and is more immersive.

• Creatures give food and parts based in their size, a fraction of the loot's quantity is randomized to keep hunting interesting.
  
• Creatures don't drop nonsensical loot such as caps, ammo, guns and armor.
  
• All plants yield a random number of produce based on their 3d models in the game.
  
• Wild crops found during exploration can be planted at settlements.
  
• All sealed, prewar industrialized foods have their rad effects removed (except Nuka Colas);
  
• Removed healing effects from food. Now food is only used for sustenance and for its secondary buffs (note: health will still "increase" when the food has a "fortify health" buff);
  
• Bubblegum gives a temporary +1 charisma buff (sweet breath)
  
• Mystery Bacon and Mystery Jerky now increase hp temporarily according to your cannibal perk level (lvl 1 = 10hp for 1min, lvl 2 = 15hp for 2 mins, lvl 3 = 20 hp for 3 mins).
  

Carry Weight and Power Armor:

• The weight of most junk and misc items have been revised. Hundreds of objects have had their weights adjusted to resemble real life more closely while still being adequate for gameplay purposes. In general this means 90% of the junk you find will be 2 to 4 times lighter than in the base game (weapons and armor are unnafected).
  
• Base carry weight is reduced to 60, and CW per strength level is decreased to 5 points per level. You gain no extra carry weight at level up besides the points you get from investing in strength. This balancing aims to simulate real life more closely (a fit adult that is able to carry 60 to 105 pounds), but should be balanced for gameplay purposes. It is highly advisable to use a backpack mod, since these usually adds CW in a range of 40 to 60 pounds. **
  
• Power Armor has a base bonus of 200 carry weight to compensate for the carry weight debuff. You still can't wear backpacks in power armor, but this won't be an issue since you'll have 60 + 200 + 55 from the strength buff PA gets, which is roughly 315 carry weight.
  

Ammo prices:
Ammo prices are increased across the board. I tried applying some logic into it while retaining a balance for gameplay purposes. This is meant for games where ammo is rare and very expensive. Guns have vanilla prices because in the post-apocalypse they would be lying around, but ammo is increasingly scarcer.
I believe I covered all ammo in the game except for the "Contraptions" stuff and whatever Creation Club and the next gen patch might have introduced. These may come later. Contrary to popular belief I never actually finished Fallout 4 so there are tons of things I never witnessed in the game.
Here are some examples of prices per round from the top of my head (the prices CK uses take in consideration a character with charisma 10 if I'm not mistaken. Your actual prices in game will be higher):
.38 = 10 caps 10mm = 20 caps Energy / Cryo = 25 caps Shotgun Shells = 30 caps Rifle Shells = 30 caps Syringer = 20 caps Alien = very expensive (don't recall, probably 300 or 500) Automatics = around 12 or 13 caps (cheaper than most regular rounds) Fusion Cores = 500 caps (yeah...)
Crafting:

• All turrets have "Scrapper" lvl 1 as a base requirement;
  
• All generators, powered water pumps and water purifiers now have "Scrapper" lvl 1 as a base requirement, and more advanced models have "Science" perk requirements. Component requirements have been slightly increased;
  
• The regular water pump still has vanilla costs and doesn't require "Scrapper" lvl 1, so you can help Sturges out easily;
  
• The Decontamination Arch now requires "Science" lvl 2, "Medic" lvl 2, "Scrapper" lvl 2 and the component requirements have been slightly increased;
  
• Fusion Cores can be recharged at Chemlabs using 150 fusion cells and perk "Science" lvl 1. Make sure you only have one fusion core in your inventory at the time or the chemlab will recharge a random fusion core from your inventory (you can't choose which).
  
• All poisons (syringer ammo) require "chemist" lvl 01 to be crafted.
  
• Workbench crafting requires specific perks and are no longer tied to "Local Leader" 2. Changes are as follows:
  

-"Armorer " 1 for armor and PA benches; -"Gun Nut" 1 for weapons workbenches; -"Chemist" 1 for chem workbenches; -"Robotics Exp" 1 for robot workbench.

Things this mod doesn't do

This mod focuses on implementing changes for:
gameplay settings misc items junk items ammo recipes specific leveled lists for flora and fauna.

• I will not implement changes that relies on external assets or scripts.
  
• I will most likely dont do edits to movement speed and enemy AI since these could conflict with combat overhauls.
  
• I will not edit records that tweak weapons and armors, since these are often handled by other overhauls, which could end up being overwritten by my mod. Compatibility is a central concern in RF2.
  

so i thing my google got hacked so my google start looking like more old and laggy i tried to renstall clear all my google and remove all extensions but notthing. also wen i sarching something half of the screen is white and the other is links pls help. (i had some antivirus called norton 360 for gamers and i never installed a antivirus i delated it in my control panel ) am i stupid or something
https://preview.redd.it/sey5h8e67k5d1.jpg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6157b7a863cacfa3be7e57362b23c1361975039c
the photo of the google i mean old

Umm… it’s a long story I guess. TL/DR at the bottom.
Sometimes I really want to divorce. But I also really don’t. I do love my husband a lot and we have had such incredible times together and built a really amazing life. I don’t want to leave it all behind, to start over with someone new, blow up my life and start with literally nothing, but man am I hurting right now. I feel so lonely in my marriage that sometimes I feel like it would just be easier to actually be alone. I don’t like how I’m being treated and I don’t like that I’m asking for bare minimum and not even getting that. Sometimes I feel like I am growing up and outgrowing him/our dynamic and things feel stagnated (I want kids, he wants to drink and party).
My husband (30M) and I (29F) have hit a rough patch, except I’m not even sure if it’s just a rough patch anymore or if we are truly falling apart. Together for nearly 6 years, married for 3. It makes me sick to think about because I feel as if my husband is a totally different person now. I’m so confused because our relationship has never ever felt this wrong or hurtful, I used to believe our love was so healthy and nurturing; my husband used to communicate and be open and loving and now he’s just passive aggressive (he’ll even admit it), hot/cold and mean to me.
He has said some very hurtful things but will never take accountability or apologize for what he has said to me, he often times will spin things around and blame me for all the ways I’m hurting him and never acknowledge what I have come to him with; like I will raise a concern and somehow by the end of it, I’m left apologizing while my feelings were never acknowledged. Or he just goes “ok!?” Like ok so what??? A lot of DARVO and defensiveness, he will twist my words and insist I said something when I know I didn’t. If I call him out, I just get a “sorry I misspoke” from him. If I tell him he hurt my feelings, he says it’s a me problem. That he has no problems. That I should just be happy and move on. In his mind, we wake up the next day and be happy and all is well because we choose to be better (ok sure, fine) but with no apology or repair attempts, I have a hard time “just moving on”. It’s hard to forgive a person that can’t even admit they hurt you or show remorse for how they have done so. I have gone to bed sobbing next to him and it’s never brought up or talked about the next day and he wonders why I’m growing distant. He has zero compassion and empathy for my feelings and I feel really alone in that.
Last year, we were long distance for the whole year (military). Our fights started in September when I went to visit and I felt he was disrespecting me, mocking me, not taking me seriously, disregarding my suggestions in front of our friends. One night, he started picking fights with me at a bar and insisted we go home “because I wasn’t having fun”. I never expressed that, though the bar scene is not my thing, I still went with him and our friends and was enjoying our time. I told him to go have fun, dance, hang out and I’ll enjoy my drink. He kept saying I wasn’t having fun and we needed to leave and I kept insisting I was totally happy to just be there (that was the truth). A lot of times he will project his own interpretations of my feelings onto me and assume he knows what I’m thinking/feeling without asking. We left that night without our friends and grabbed dinner on the way back to the hotel, except he completely ignored me and stonewalled me the entire time. I tried to make conversation but took the hint, let him know I don’t feel welcome in this interaction since he wasn’t engaging in return, and that I was going back to the hotel alone since he clearly didn’t want me there. His defensiveness is usually cold and silent, he has admitted that he “stonewalls me because he’s done talking with me”. He refuses to talk a lot of the time or will say there’s nothing he wants to talk about.
After I had come back home, our fights continued. I asked him a handful of times to please send me the pics we took on our vacations and it took him over a month of me reminding him to please just do it. Finally he became angry and BLEW UP on me and sent them, only half, and I reminded him that there’s more and he spit back at me “THAT’S ALL I HAVE, WE’RE NEVER TAKING PICTURES ON MY PHONE AGAIN” when I knew there were more. What a stupid, petty thing to get mad at me over?
Another time, he completely disappeared on me for 3 whole days and I hardly heard a word from him. I knew exactly where he was (drunk in his dorm playing video games, on a complete bender with his friends online, only taking breaks to go to work drunk/hungover and come back to drinking again). I attempted to reach out, say hi, stay connected, because I feel that’s important long distance? To make an effort to communicate? Because we have a responsibility to each other? I don’t feel like I’m asking for much here, but he was just gone for 3 days. When I finally heard from him and let him know how hurt I was because I felt like he didn’t have time for me (I have often felt second to his online friends, I spent a year and a half going to bed alone and existing without him because he would stay up drinking with them), all he said was “sorry sometimes I just fuck off into my own world”. Like dude you have a wife that you need to be involved with too? I have a really big problem with his drinking and his online life as it’s taken a higher priority over me a lot of times. For a long time, all I saw him do was go to work, come home, drink and game.
Between September to now, things have only spiraled and gotten so much worse. In January, we moved abroad. I knew it would be a hard adjustment for me as I’ve never left home, am incredibly close to my family and overall just a big change, plus I had all my luggage and our two pets to drag through airports and onto flights with. I needed help. I wanted to do it together, as husband and wife, I wanted his support and for us to be doing this new thing in life together… except I had to BEG him to come pick me up. I knew I would need him as my heart was aching over leaving home. There was so much resistance from him though, he said I’d be fine and to just meet him at our next duty station. That it’s such a big waste of time and money to come get me from Asia (he gets a free flight home though??), just to fly back to Asia. Then he started talking about going home to his home state before our move, to see friends and family, and I asked, ok so if you’re in the states already, why not just come up to me and pick me up and we go to Japan together (also, he has time and money to go them but not for me?)? At this point he came unglued and hysterical, insisting again how it’s a waste of time and money and who is going to pay for him to go home? Me? (I’m like, wtf why would I pay for you to go party but you can’t make time to pick me up for a big transition???) he let me know how much I frustrate him and honestly the whole fight just turned into something so bizarre and vague, I wondered what we even were fighting about anymore (as often is the case). I was sobbing and so hurt that he clearly wasn’t choosing me when I needed him, and we fell silent on the phone while I just cried and cried. All he could say was “yeah I know you’re pissed at me”.
Since moving, our sex life has completely declined (my fault). I’ve been depressed, stressed, tired and honestly so hurt by him that I don’t want to have sex with him, especially when he won’t even acknowledge that he has hurt me or apologize. That’s not someone I want to be intimate with. So I have rejected him a couple times, letting him know I’m feeling really insecure about us. I have tried SO HARD to not reject him because I know how hurtful it is, and sometimes in the past, I was just tired. Not in the mood. It doesn’t happen frequently at all (maybe 3 times in our time together), and the times I have said no, he literally will throw himself over in a tantrum like manner and it’s so gross and childish to me. Now, since things have gotten worse, he just goes cold. He told me that if it weren’t for us being married, my couple of times saying no recently would’ve been enough for him to be done with me. And that hurts, because not once has he even attempted to ask what’s wrong, why am I feeling this way, what can we do differently, how is my heart? He can throw everything away over that without even talking to me first? I told him I’m straight up depressed/homesick and having a hard time since moving, not to mention our lack of connection, and he never expressed concern, only his hurt feelings for how rejected and ugly he feels because I won’t have sex with him. He makes weird, off handed snarky comments about how he sometimes “considers going to the gym and getting in shape just to attract some attention and that he never would do that, but he’s thought about it”. The weird comments have happened here and there over a few subjects, leaving me dead in my tracks thinking “what the fuck was that? Where did that comment even come from?”
I have begged him to meet me half way outside of the bedroom, because I don’t feel emotionally connected anymore and that we really need help, and he’s still so dumbfounded that I won’t have sex even though I’ve clearly laid out the ways in which I’m hurting and feeling like we are falling apart. I can’t even remember the last time he told me he loved me first, that he appreciates me, is proud of me, feels lucky to have me, but he used to say those things.
At one point, I wrote him a very long, heartfelt letter stating exactly what was hurting me and why I was feeling the way I am. He read it and didn’t speak to me or even look at me for a week. LITERALLY. When he finally responded (opposite shifts and never any time to talk, a lot of our conversations have been letters or texts lately, because there’s no time/we never see each other and our in person fights derail anyways), he told me he “read my note and felt nothing and that he didn’t care, but knows that he should care so he’ll consider how he should feel.”
I have asked for counseling, to which he insisted he was never going to do again because it’s just a crying/shit-on-the-husband-fest (he is divorced once, I assume he went with his ex), he told me there’s nothing wrong with him, he doesn’t need someone telling him how to live his life, he’s happy with who he is and will not go to counseling. I told him it’s not an option anymore and so we went once (didn’t go well) and he reminded me more than once how stupid it was. I told him I want a husband that has a growth mindset and someone who is wanting to work on things with me, who takes me seriously when I say we need help, someone who is open to talking and communicating. He took offense that I don’t think he’s growth minded because of his spiritual journey and personal growth but I asked him, how are you showing up as a husband? He tells me “we don’t need to be checking in and talking about things”.
He says I’m trying to change him and want him to be different (because I’ve asked him for help around the house but he doesn’t see the mess the same so it doesn’t matter to him? But to me it does because it’s his mess too and we exist together, therefore we both need to be making an effort? I have taken on 90% of the household chores for a while now and let him know I need help and suddenly he’s saying I’m trying to change him and asking him to “put on his husband mask”, what does that even mean?????) I’ve asked him to attempt to speak my love language more (touch and words), as there’s hardly any intimacy between us (no hand holding, cuddling, hardly any affection outside the bedroom) and that’s asking him to be someone he is not?? Because he’s not touchy feely? He will slap my ass or grope my boobs (huge pet peeve and I’ve expressed that) and when I ask him for a hug instead, there’s push back? He gets mad and guilts me when I won’t drink with him (I don’t need or want to drink every night at home, sorry). One time he was poking and pinching at my sides and I asked him not to as it was making me uncomfortable (struggling with binge eating at the moment) and he got irritated and defensive because “he’s just playing and why can’t I have fun”.
Through all of this, I feel like I am the one saying I want to work on things, I love him and our life and let’s do better, let’s fix things, let’s grow together, I’m the one still making an effort to bridge the gap even though we are hurting, and all I’m hearing from him are all the ways he doesn’t like me: he thinks I’m boring (because I won’t drink with him), that I can’t do anything for him that he doesn’t do for himself (yes he literally said this, what do I even offer him?), that he fell in love with me for my independence and what am I doing now? (I uprooted my entire life and moved to another country to support him, I got a job within 2 weeks of being here and have since secured a government position, I’ve bought and paid off a car in 3 months, I go out and travel in a country where I can’t even speak the language, made friends, and he says I’m not independent?? WTF), that he doesn’t need me or this relationship and only fears I’m wasting his time. He can’t think of a single thing he appreciates about me (his words) when I feel I have given up everything and bend over backwards for him to care for him and our relationship. I really feel he doesn’t like me or respect me, but he’ll say he wants me around. He insists I don’t love him or like him, but I feel that is his own projection onto me. We are long distance again and I have expressed multiple times that it’s important to me to stay engaged and check in at least once daily, to say hi, and I’ve been doing that despite being incredibly busy myself, but he ghosts me constantly and is hardly reciprocating effort. I have hardly heard from him in a month, despite my efforts (I’m starting to feel like a damn fool by continuously reaching out, if I don’t text, we don’t talk, I’m tired of the games and have since pulled back but that feels so shitty to even have to do???). I want someone that WANTS to say hi to me and see how I’m doing???
I don’t feel I have a friend in him, as he never asks about me, my life, my inner world, what’s going on with me, does not express interest in my new jobs, new friends etc, when I am constantly interacting with his world and engaging with him. I have expressed to him I feel like I am his friend but he is not mine because he doesn’t express an interest. We do a lot of what he wants and not a lot of what I want.
I told him I want to go home for my 30th birthday in July (it’s a big deal to me!) and I asked him to meet up with me in my state (he will already be in the states for a work trip). He told me he doesn’t want to come hang out with me on my birthday and was instead thinking of going to a big get together with his online friends in a different state to party and drink with them. That really hurt me. Do I not matter to him at all???
I have a big problem with his drinking (he has driven drunk at least 3 times that I know of, 2 of which I was in the car with him, once my family was also involved), I have expressed my concerns about his drinking and he says “I don’t think it’s a problem”. I told him I don’t want our future kids thinking it’s ok to wake up and pop open a beer for breakfast every day and he dismissed it.
We are not agreeing or seeing eye to eye on our next 5-10 years together: we want kids, but I want to be in the states closer to home so we can have our families be involved with our kids too, meanwhile he wants to live abroad as long as possible and retire out of the military overseas. He wants nothing to do with his family and doesn’t care to be close to them. I knew this, and thought I would be ok with it, but I’ve since realized that it’s actually really important to me to have our families involved and not be on the other side of the world at the moment. We can’t find a way to meet in the middle on this, but I don’t want to be this far away for too long (current trajectory is 3-7 years). He says he isn’t sure if he can compromise because he’s always done for others and not himself. Meanwhile, I feel like: maybe you should’ve thought about that before getting married? Aren’t your spouse’s feelings enough to move you in a direction that would be fulfilling for both of us, not just yourself? I agreed to 4 years overseas when I really didn’t want to, and now that I’m asking that we go home after, now it’s an issue?
We went to a marriage retreat that only further revealed what I have been hurting and expressing concern about: that I don’t feel connected and that we need to be digging deeper and investing more into our relationship. I cried so hard when we returned from that retreat and all he could tell me was how frustrated he was that he took us there only for me to come home and cry about it.
He is ok with pushing my boundaries and disregarding my feelings: example of this a couple months ago, I let him know multiple times and many hours in advance we had dinner reservations (we need to leave by 7). He gets ready around 630. I tell him, ok time to go. He says, just 5 more minutes (on his pc gaming and drinking). I say, ok it’s been 5 minutes, let’s go. He says, wait just another minute. 20 minutes pass and I’m now visibly irritated and telling him, I’m leaving, now we’re going to be late. He gets pissy and storms behind me, I let him know that it’s really important to me to be on time for things and I felt really disrespected by him making us late. He told me with attitude that “it’s fine” and it’s “not a big deal because we’ll still be there and we’ll get there when we get there”.
In the store, I will ask for his input on groceries and he will mutter under his breath to leave him alone, only to admit later that he did that and it was disrespectful: but just as an admittance and matter of fact, nothing more, like he’s ok with disrespecting me and declaring it??
Honestly there’s still so much to this, but it’s getting long - bottom line, I just really feel he doesn’t respect me or like me. I don’t feel like he loves me as a husband should or how I envision a marriage to be. I feel a lot of disinterest and complacency. I wonder if he could ever even properly be there for me in the ways I would want my husband to be (what happens when my dog or parents die, is he just going to dismiss my feelings then too and tell me to get over it? He is very emotionally avoidant, numb and dismissive). I don’t feel loved, supported, heard or understood, I feel so incredibly lonely in our marriage. I feel I am reaching a breaking point and it hurts deeply. He was NEVER like this, our relationship used to be so good and I have no idea what happened or why things changed but I am deeply unhappy now and don’t see a way forward with an unwilling partner who will not participate or sees nothing wrong. I deserve better and I want a husband and partner in life that is just as invested and just as loving and interested in me and willing to grow, as I am to him. I’m a damn good wife and I know that, I know what I have to offer, and I want someone that sees that and appreciates that. I feel my husband is very childish and immature and emotionally unavailable, I have wondered but whether or not he is manipulative doesn’t really matter and I don’t think labels are helpful, at this point all I know is I’m hurting and this isn’t working for me.
Of course this is only my side of the story, and no I have not been perfect. I have found myself in a dark, contemptuous state of mind towards him and tried my best to turn that around and reflect and do things differently. I am reading books, listening to podcasts, going to counseling, trying to model to him real apologies (sincerely too). He will say that I criticize him (I do have a harsh start up at times but have since tried to communicate softer and take more responsibility for my feelings and not find fault in his actions), that I want him to be someone he is not (he says I want him to put on a husband mask??), that he feels ugly and rejected because I won’t have sex with him, that I’m hurting him (but I’m honestly confused as to how because he can’t give specifics when I ask how or what I can do differently).
Sometimes I just feel so done with this and like it’s not worth it. I gave up everything to be in another country with him, I gave up friends, family, a career that I wanted to pursue, EVERYTHING, and this does not feel worth the pain I am feeling being so far away from the things that bring me joy outside of him. I feel deeply unfulfilled day to day.
We used to be so happy. He was so sweet and nurturing and cared for me, took interest in me, prioritized me. We had a wonderful life and home together, supported each other’s dreams and desires, used to communicate openly without defense or combative behavior. This is so left field for him/us that it’s left me deeply confused and feeling so much ambivalence. I used to feel #1 to him and now I just feel like his roommate.
Jesus this is long, if you read it and have any advice, thank you. I feel so alone in these feelings and don’t want to dump on my family and friends more than I have already. I am in individual counseling and that helps but I just needed to get it out of me and into the void.
TL/DR: basically I feel like I started challenging some bad behaviors and speaking up when my feelings were hurt (previously I guess I was the “cool girl” and chill and wouldn’t speak up and now I have resentment), and our relationship has become toxic. I am constantly torn between should I stay or should I go? I really don’t have much optimism anymore as my husband will spin things around and blame me, and I’m really not trying to act like a victim here, but he doesn’t take accountability or step up into being a leading man or husband and I’m tired. I’m tired of fighting, feeling sad, being long distance from my family and life in what feels like a failing marriage and not feeling like I’m being met half way on repairing/moving forward in a healthy manner.

I have ps+ premium so there's not one ps plus game I shouldn't be able to download from my library.
But I'm on PS5 right now and games that were free like Kingdom Come, Spiderman, etc are labeled as ps plus locked but again, I have premium. It only lets me view product and buy it.
Is it just Sony being shitty with PS5 or something?

So I was fiddling around with stacking how many trumpets we got from the gastropod mission, and I put two proximity repeaters next to each other, and it played all trumpets god awfully, it was glorious. Then I stacked it on my storage, around 50 different items, everything we had gathered in the game - Please note there was 3 dynamite on said board. Long story short, all the dynamite blew up and blew up all our storage. Please help what can I do? Is there any way to go back to a previous save, we just altf4ed as soon as it happened. Even if it’s a mod or something I will download it happily just please!!!

I'm thinking about buying the game on PC or steam but I'm getting the feeling that the story is lackluster and not as good as Underground, Underground 2, Most Wanted and Carbon.
I played NFS 2015, Payback and Heat in the past. I'm not happy how the BMW M3 GTR is locked behind the subscription online that I have to pay in order to access the car!
What happened to owning the BMW M3 GTR outright during the story?!
Also are there car vinyls you can download to any car you buy in game? I would like to recreate Kenji's Mazda RX7, Angie's Dodge Charger RT 1969 and Wolf's Aston Martin if possible.
What do you guys think?

This game has so much potential, even for something like an esports league. How do we get EA to take it seriously? Right now, the game is incomplete and buggy, among other issues. How can we come together as a community to at least get an update? We need features like voice or text chat in online games, a career mode that actually works, and an online format that makes sense without forcing us to play SIM for 14 hours if we don’t want to. I love the game, but it's getting out of hand. 😂 Based on the fact there is no year attached to the title of the game, I think this is it for EA Golf Games. Idk just venting at this point.

You are born without your permission, into genetics you didn't choose, to parents you didn't choose, to a family you didn't choose, to a country you didn't choose, to a culture you didn't choose. You didn't choose the time or place, you didn't choose your language, you didn't choose the school, or the people in your class or the teachers.You didn't choose your likes and dislikes, your strengths or weaknesses, you didn't choose your economic status, you didn't choose to be prone to diseases, you didn't choose to be human instead of another animal, you didn't choose to be this "race" or another, you didn't choose your skin color, you didn't choose your IQ, you didn't choose what makes you happy, you didn't choose what makes you sad. You dont choose who thinks you are uglt or beautiful. You didn't choose who loves you, you don't choose who hates you, you don't choose who to love, you don't choose who to hate, you don't choose the code of morality, you don't choose to have wars, you don't choose to have peace.You didn't choose to be on this planet specifically, orbiting this sun, in this solar system, in this galaxy, in this universe, obeying these laws of physics.Everything that happens in the present has happened because of past events, and on the same principle, the future is already decided for us because of the same past. Your whole life is nothing but a "movie" you watch from your own body. A very limited point of view, and a very short movie (even though it feels like alot), relatively to the scales of time of the universe's existence. Your role is already "scripted." Even the fact that I'm writing this and that you are reading it is just part of the chain of events ruled by the principle of causality. Even if it will have an impact on you or not, it was already decided long long long time ago, infact, it was decided from the first moments after the start of the chain of events which will end in nothing. From nothing, to something, to nothing again. Everything that is "good" in our life can be traced to or summed up as some physical need of the body. We work in one job that other people need, to get money, so we can get from other people's work what we need. And what we need is to eat, drink, sleep, "piss", "shit", and multiply. If you do that successfully, you have other needs and desires to fulfill; otherwise, you'll experience boredom and a sense of lack of meaning. Therefore people paint, travel, dance, play games, create music, read, watch movies, have hobbies or do some other activities we do "with the body for the body." When fulfilling all these needs and desires are not enough, people tend to have the desire to create more humans, and those who choose to create another person are therefore deciding for the created person that the value of the "good" things (which are just material physical needs forced upon us) is more valued than the "bad" things that can happen (which are also forced upon us) like crimes, wars, diseases, injuries, anxiety, depression, sadness, rape, murder, race discrimination, theft, slavery, heat, cold, hunger, thirst, tiredness, nightmares, boredom, hate, confusion, old age, and so on and so on. As I said earlier, because of the principle of causality, each proportion of this "good" and "bad" in one's life is already decided ahead of one's birth, and the sense of agency and free will are nothing but a perception from the inside of our body. This perception of free will itself is a cause of a lot of harm to many people because we don't choose anything, but we do give all the credit and assign all the blame for people's actions they are not choosing.Another tragic fact about the universe and existence is that everything that is "good" for somebody is bad for somebody else. For example, you enjoy your steak, which means some cow lived and died for it. Or you enjoy some vegetable or fruit, so it comes from a field that used to be a habitat for some other animals, and people have to pick it for you in hard conditions. You enjoy a book, some tree and habitat was taken down for it. You enjoy the roads, somebody had to pave them, and so on and so on. Every animal existence, humans included, are living at the expense of other animals or even humans. If it is true that all we do is serve our bodily needs, then there is no other way but to say that: The thing we call life is nothing but slavery to our body. The saddest thing in my own opinion is that you don't choose when you'll die and how. Even if you want to die as much as one can, you'll face challenges and moral dilemmas and all your natural instincts that evolved through millions of years of successful reproduction will kick in to prevent you from the risks of causing yourself harm. Also, the process itself is a cause of suffering most of the time and is very scary to us by nature. If you want to bring another soul to existence because you want company, it's selfish. If you want them to fight your wars, it's selfish. If you want them to fulfill your dreams, it's selfish. If you want them to help you in old age, it's selfish. If you want them to take care of your wealth or businesses when you are gone, it's selfish. If you want to create a legacy, it's selfish. If you want to change the world, your world, it's selfish. If you want to serve your god, it's selfish. If you want to serve humanity, which you decided should be protected by your morals, it's selfish. There is no such thing as an unselfish act because every act is done to gain some good for ourselves in some way or another, including having kids. No matter what the reason was, the reason is still, at its core, a selfish one because the parents benefit from this birth in some way or another.To conclude: Existence is bad. Creating other people is selfish. Don't create other people. I'm open to a civilized discussion. If you call me traumatized, depressed, or a loser, I'm okay with that. Maybe its true. I wish everyone luck in this life. Luck is all we need.

This is a crossover fanfiction between original fiction titles: Nature of Predators by SpacePaladin15 and The Last Angel by Proximal Flame respectively. All credit and rights reserved goes to them for making such amazing science fiction settings that I wanted to put this together.
You can read The Last Angel here: Be warned, it's decently long, and at its third installment so far. I highly suggest reading it before reading this, or this story will not make sense.

Otherwise, enjoy the story! Thanks again to u/jesterra54 and u/skais01 for beta and checking of work!
First Prev Next (soon)
Memory transcription subject: Adjek, Venlil Space Corps Engineer
Date [standardized human time]: October 24, 2136
I had departed with a collection of other engineers who had assisted on the tethering of Nemesis several days ago back to her massive ship. There were twenty-five of us, although none I knew directly from my work.
As our cargo shuttle entered the direct monitoring range of the beast once more, I felt a bad feeling throughout my fur. I didn't know what, exactly, but it was like we had just stepped into the eyes of a predator lurking in the undergrowth, watching us intently. As if to capitalize on that unease, our pilot Mimek bleated something in a panic that made said fur stand straight.
"T-th-th-there's an Arxur vessel trailing us!"
I whirled onto the oncoming feed near the front of the shuttle. Behind us, was a Arxur Ambusher-class dropship that had taken a path directly behind us. It followed the exact same trajectory as our own, and showed no signs of diverting. I bleated out a panicked command of my own.
"K-kick it! W-we need to get distance from them!"
While I had no authority to tell the pilot what to do in this situation, he must've nevertheless agreed, and as such Mimek kicked the boosters into overdrive to escape their proximity. I kept an eye on the rear display, watching as in response, the Arxur craft opened up its own engines, as if to accept the chase, and closed in.
Mimek spoke again. "Why are they chasing us?! D-didn't the humans forbid them from attacking us in-system?!" I had a horrible thought as to why...
"They've fallen to their p-predator bloodlust! They won't be stopped so long as we're in vulnerable space! Close to Nemesis, fast!" I pointed at the guidance lights to the hangar on Nemesis' keel opening. While the Arxur could likely outrun us in an extended burn, we had the advantage in a sprint over a shorter distance. Nemesis was in that shorter distance range, and so we needed to reach it fast to be in its haven.
Mimek, already piloting at full afterburn, corrected the shop in a sharp turn from the plotted approach vector cleared with the Lunar Shipyards. As this occurred, a reminder from the very same monitors came through on comms.
"Venlil ship, this is LSC Tower 3, you have left the agreed final approach vector, adjust your course to match the planned path immediately, do not continue on your current heading."
The humans did not realize the threat we were currently in, and thus the pilot ignored the warning. The Arxur seemingly took our course change as a challenge, and followed suit.
"I repeat, readjust your course heading immediately or fighters will be scrambled. This is your only warning." Even were that the case, we were far too close for them to plot an intercept vector. The shipyard monitors would need at least [one minute] to reach us, and Nemesis was merely [20 seconds] at full-burn-then-brake approach. We would not let the ship closing in behind us catch us, disciplinary action be damned. The damned Arxur succumbed to their predator madness!
A lazy-curve speed burnoff pattern was adopted, and we rocketed at ever-decreasing, but still frightening pace towards Nemesis in an attempt to shake the Ambusher behind us. The hangar was merely moments away, don't fail us now!
The Arxur vessel broke off the chase near the massive docked ship, seemingly slowing for no apparent reason. Perhaps it realized it couldn't slow down as fast as we could, and as such had to? But, that came with another stomach-hurdling problem: us slowing down. If we didn't, we'd crash and turn into nothing but paste on the walls of the gargantuan ship's hangar.
Thankfully, Mimek pulled through, and we zoomed into the hangar space, hitting the emergency external inertial dampener breaking as we attempted landing. The ship skidded across the floor, as it skipped nearly a [fourty meters] to a stop, crashing through something on the way through, but we were moving at such a pace that I had no clue exactly what.
As the ship came to a complete stop, rocking back onto its belly with a final thump, there was the sound of heavy stomping outside, before something rammed into the back of the ship, nearly rocking it off-balance again. "What...what was that?!" We both exclaimed.
We stepped away from the back exit ramp of the vehicle, all twenty five of us, as it began to groan under immense stress. The door dented in, and a few of us instantly cried out in surprise and fear.
And then again. And again. Another rocking of the ship as a dent formed. Another.
And finally, with an unsettling sound of metal being torn through, a crack in the plating of the door turned into a gap that widened into a shaking hole, until the door literally flew off its hydraulic support. The strain spat out fluids and electrical sparking, and several bleated in fear of the sudden disassembly of the door between us and the hangar. Had the Arxur caught up to us? Were we doomed?
But as the burst of electrical smoke cleared, and the light was filtered through our adjusting eyes, what was on the other side shocked me.
A mechanical monstrosity, far bulkier and massive than the one that had confronted my group and I aboard Nemesis stood on the other side. It towered above us, with a intimidatingly large cannon built into one of its arms, aimed dead center into our room, looking more akin to a vehicle's gun than a handheld one. One could see behind it many more of a similar looking model closing in. It spoke in a wrathful tone...Her wrathful tone.
"What the hell are you doing CRASHING INTO ME? There better be a-"
But I felt a chill as it suddenly cut off, and the featureless head of the bipedal robot swiveled to look directly at me instead. Though I could see no clear indicator of eyes like the nightmarish drone I had talked with in the past, I could feel it gaze directly at me, ignoring the others. It suddenly spoke again, a single word conveying contempt dripping in it. The blood in my veins turned cold as the Twilight.
"YOU..."
+CONFED IO.5+
+READING MAIN SEQ.MEM+
+ADDENDUM: ADJUSTED DATE 24.10.2136+
Something's wrong, I can feel it.
The bearing of the approaching ships has left the supposed approach vector, and directly accelerated towards my open hangar bay. While the ships pose no threat to me directly, I am uncertain if they are capable of stopping quickly enough to not risk the human crew that had just landed. I considered my options...
+grab beam non-responsive, schedule systems evaluation immediately+
I had no capability to tractor the ships from their path, and they showed no sign of slowing. I could fire a particle beam in the path of both ships, but there was no ability to tune down the power enough to not destroy the ships, and it would not reduce their velocity. I plotted the relative course of the Venlil shuttle to be coming at this angle, which thankfully was towards the opposite side of the hangar as the Human delegation. That did not remove the possibility of shrapnel from a crash, however.
I interspersed my Praetorians in front of them, seeking to act as a shield in the case of any flying debris. I warned them in the same instant.
"Take cover behind these drones, there is a problem with the landing Venlil ship on route."
"W..What's going on, Red?" Hailey asked, confused. Never had I been this direct with her physically, actively interspersing my drones in front of her and the rest of the scientific delegation.
"They are likely to crash. Predicted acceleration curves of the shuttle do not meet the prerequisite delta-V to stop safely at this current distance and velocity. Duck and cover."
The shuttlecraft streaked into my hangar bay at speeds that would make a 21st century jet blush. It slowed anomalously upon entering, but did not slow at enough rate to prevent the crash. The Praetorians situated on that side of my hangar were incapable of moving fast enough to dodge out of the way, and I was forced to watch as the shuttle crashed through thirty-two of them in a 45-meter break distance, before slamming into a hangar wall. They were built to withstand incredible munition strength, but not twenty-some odd tons of shuttle at near mach speeds. The impact brutally cast them across the deck, smashing some, tearing apart others.
Debris flew from the front of the shuttle outward, but none reached near the humans. Those moronic aliens were about to answer painfully for their incompetence on my deck.
"Dear god!" One of the humans swore at the sound of the shuttle crashing. Another screamed and ducked down further behind my Praetorian. The drone curled down to better envelop her in protection. Hailey was speechless.
A squadron of Praetorians had been closing in from a safe distance throughout the entirety of the crash. They were a mere hundred meters away, only 4.9 seconds to reach the doors. I collided with the shuttlecraft's exit ramp, and slammed repeatedly into the back of it, aiming to create a gap by which to pry the thing off. Eventually, a gap was made, and the Praetorian body wrenched a manipulator into it.
Then, after tearing off the ramp door to the ship, and beginning to interrogate the idiotic fucks at gunpoint, I find no less that a familiar face has come with them. A familiar face I would have rather not seen again in the slightest.
+identity confirmation, Adjek, Venlil engineer+
"YOU...What, are you doing here, again?"
I stepped forward, into the cargo shuttle, the Praetorian I controlled looming over them, over him, by nearly one and a half meters. I made certain to emphasize that size difference. One does not just crash in me like this without a good reason, or I'd be testing how long a Venlil survives vacuum.
Adjek decided to speak up, fear laden in his voice. "I-I-I...W-we were being chased by an Arxur vessel on the course here! T-They ignored the human's truce and decided to p-pursue us directly!"
I faltered a bit at that. Chased? The Arxur supposedly promised that they wouldn't attack the Venlil in-system, but given how much the bad blood between the Arxur and herbivore races was hyped up, I couldn't toss out the possibility.
"Is he telling the truth?" I swung the Praetorian's fake head about the room, scanning over each Venlil in the audience. It wasn't necessary, I had a panoramic view just from the chest optics alone, but the psychological effect and bait of having a head was palpable. They all parroted something similar to what Adjek and the pilot said, so I had no clear contradiction to go off of yet.
But I wasn't done with intimidation, I warmed the cannon muzzle to be visible within the deep red visual spectrum, and aimed it at him.
"Tell me everything, now."
He began to describe his intent and clearance for coming here...but reality decided to be a pain at that exact moment, as the likely culprit entered the hangar. Thankfully, I wasn't hampered by multitasking. A section of me split attention equally to the Arxur ship landing in my bay.
This ship, supposedly the Ambusher-class Goring Claw going off the IFF, was an armed dropship of some sort capable of intro-extra-atmospheric operation, given the rotary variable mode engines. They had been given landing clearance, but not by me, no, instead by the shipyard.
I would need to ask the UN to bring down that blackout protocol soon. This is immensely inconvenient to not have access to monitoring and communication outside myself, except through Hailey. Nevertheless, I positioned my remaining Praetorians around the likely exit of the dropship, awaiting it to open and...greet...these likely troublemakers. I had one Praetorian stand directly front-and-center to the back end, and aim weapons, but not arm them at the dropship hangar doors.
With a hiss, and a burst of slightly depressurized gas, the door opened, and out marched a line of two pairs of two Arxur guards. Their gear looked highly ceremonial, given its lack of tactical or efficient features, and the choice of weapon being a spear of some sort with a sidearm still holstered. Behind them, walked an even more gaudy individual than the guards, an Arxur with a prominent scar across their face covered in flamboyant ceremonial uniform. I was almost certain this was Chief Hunter Isif, Lithke's commanding officer, given Hailey's description of the visitors earlier. Behind him marched a set of less extravagantly dressed figures, likely advisors of some sort. And, of course, Lithke.
I wouldn't just let them off the hook so easily though, despite their far better entrance.
"Chief Hunter Isif. Lithke. You had best have a good reason for making a Venlil ship crash into my hangar."
Memory transcription subject: Chief Hunter Isif, Arxur Dominion Sector Fleet
Date [standardized human time]: October 24, 2136
Those idiots seriously did not-
...No, calm yourself, a Chief Hunter must always look composed, even in the face of absurdity.
The pilot in control of this Ambusher had heard my order to follow the Venlil in, got target fixation, and decided to escalate it to a chase. I would have him lashed for the offense later, but for now, I needed to quickly rekindle what little good will the Arxur had in Red One's eyes.
Losing it now could mean turning up hungry forever.
"I apologize for my pilot's unprofessional actions. He will be punished severely later for the transgression of letting his instincts override both human and my orders. Is there anything I can do further to fix your appetite, Red One?"
The robot frontmost of our shuttle stepped forward, it's bulk and size intimidating even by Arxur standards. It towered tall enough to nearly be at my head height despite the fact I was standing on the dropship ramp. Red One's response was curt, and [quick to the kill]. "You can start by convincing the odd twenty-five or so Venlil engineers your pilot chased into crashing on my hangar deck that you aren't here to eat them all, or whatever sickening actions you Arxur do. When that's done, then you may converse with Hailey Whitmer."
At least it wasn't "you've done enough, stop". I'd seen plenty disappear after that particular response in the Dominion.
"Fine. Blades!" I shouted to the ceremony guard I was issued. "Two of you will hold the pilot at the ship for punishment. He is to not eat, nor rest, nor do anything until I return. The rest will assist Lithke in assuaging the prey that they are safe...for now. I must speak with Red One while you do."
They saluted, and went about their way.
Good, everyone bought it. In a sense, this was funnily enough just the distraction I needed. Perhaps I'll reduce the pilot's lashing count quietly for that.
Now...for the harder part. I had no idea if Red would sense my intentions, and so-
The combat drone spoke once again. "Lithke's sung your praises, Chief Hunter Isif. An icon of 'applied cruelty' in his words. I'm curious as to why that should be praised, out of all things in a leader."
We're still too close to the ship, even if none are around to hear it, audio logs might pick up any dissenting thoughts. I should bring this conversation elsewhere.
"I see Lithke wasn't convincing on his own, it seems. Here, walk with me, I still have yet to meet your Special Envoy Hailey personally." I began to walk towards the group of humans near the other end of the hangar.
"So, you have met her?" Red One instantly picked up on the message, noticing the phrasing. So, she's capable of understanding subtlety...
"Yes, but not directly. She gave a presentation at the UN's discussion on you, which I attended."
"And what, pray tell, did you learn about there?" Red One seemed to press me slightly on the session, clearly looking for something. I'd play along, get in their favor.
"Plenty. You're by far the most powerful ship in the galaxy, as far as I can tell. The Humans and Venlil alike are afraid of you, but the former less-so, seeing a more mixed reaction to your presence."
"And what do you think of me?" Red questioned.
I began with a political mealy-mouth phrase.
"The Dominion is not-"
But she interrupted my train of thought. "No. I didn't ask what the Arxur thought. I was asking what you thought, specifically."
What?!
I scanned quickly, my head paced from side to side as I looked for any potential monitoring agent or tools nearby that could potentially pick up on my dialogue.
"You're...an interesting shake-up to the galaxy. Possibly even a means to an end I've been looking into."
There was a curiosity laden in that tone. "Is that so? What, pray tell, would an Arxur fleet leader need with me?"
Again, I checked about, to make certain none were close. "I...am trying to solve a personal problem. Your emergence is convenient to it..."
"Ah...so I was correct..." Red One's drone stopped in front of me for a moment, before turning directly to address me. "...The constant checking about other Arxur assets, the send-off of your personal guard, the overcompensation on the facial details and micromovements, the ordering of Lithke to 'convince' me of Dominion ideals. How much of it is an act, Chief Hunter Isif?"
She already found me out!?
The mask dropped in a panic, knowing none were close enough to pick up on it. "Quiet! How did you pick up on that?" I hissed under my breath to them.
She neglected to answer that statement directly, instead asking another question. "That's not important. The better thing to ask, is what exactly do you want with me?"
Well, since the meat has been spoiled...
I decided to be blunt, and honest. "I need either a line to directly converse with you on a sensitive matter later, or a method to do it now. There is a deep sickness within the Arxur, and you are a possible lynchpin to excise it. But it is traitorous in nature to Betterment, and they have agents everywhere. I would need it to be done away from their ears."
"I am currently operating in blackout conditions. I cannot send or receive signals from the outside without going through a UN transponder, so the first option is out currently. You need a distraction then, while you're here." Red's drone turned back around and continued walking, not giving away anything to the outside of her sudden skinning of my fake personality. "That can be arranged. But not this instant, we are already too close to outside ears for an extended conversation."
"A codeword, then? Some indicator that I may step away and talk securely with you?"
"A codeword is a start, but I'm more concerned about your personal guard. Are they loyal to you enough to ignore such a conversation?"
"Absolutely not. Effectively none of the group that has come along with me is loyal enough to hear this."
Red One didn't speak immediately, but the pause was small. "A full separation might be possible. I have an idea during the tour. If I say the phrase, 'Feel free to peruse' to you specifically, it will mean I have sufficiently separated attention enough that you may speak to me securely. Do you understand?"
She already has a plan? Her speed on that matter is dizzying.
I would have to trust her method. "I understand."
"Good, mask up again, we are within the distance of maximum human audible range given this volume."
Her matter of figuring out my intentions and act that quickly was unnerving, but it made some sense for a sentient computer. She likely thought far faster than the average Arxur, or even Human. But I could consider that later, I needed to get back in character. While my physical demeanor hadn't wavered any, I needed to give off the mental face of a Chief Hunter once again to allay suspicions. Especially since my personal guard were likely to return soon.
Hailey Whitmer noticed us soon after, and disengaged herself from talking with the other Humans. She began her way over here, leaving them to huddle around their ship, still unloading a collection of scientific equipment and personal belongings. "Chief Hunter Isif! Welcome to the UECNS Nemesis. What happened exactly that caused the Venlil to crash in like that, however? I heard a concerning bit that they were chased?"
I lashed my tail in frustration at that. "Our pilot idiotically got fixated on the Venlil ship. He will be punished later. For now I apologize on their behalf. I will try and...convince the Venlil's not to fear soon, but I honestly don't expect them to listen. They are prey, after all, sniveling in fear at the slightest provocation."
Hailey looked annoyed at that statement, but I could at least take personal solace in knowing it was mere persona. She would simply have to deal with it. "That's rather rude to our allies, Isif."
I corrected her: "Your allies, Human. The prey do not interest me. No, what interests me and my cohort is this ship." I pointed a claw at the robotic soldier behind me.. "I have already met Red One herself, and as you are the UN's Envoy here, I must meet you as well. Lithke has spoken much about both of you."
Hailey's expression changed from veiled frustration to surprise at that. "He has? Hah! I did charm-...oh, excuse my manners. When your entourage arrives over here, we can begin a proper tour with the both of us at the helm. Red?"
A voice emanated from the walls. "Yes, Hailey?"
"Do you have a path listed for a proper tour throughout your facilities?"
She responded immediately. "Yes. The UEC military has conducted tours before of my hull to other officials. I can follow said pathing, ignoring areas currently exposed to vacuum or damaged heavily. It will cover roughly 45% of the ship, and with transportation aid, take roughly 4 and a half hours."
Hailey clapped her hands together. "Perfect! When the three groups are gathered properly here, we can begin."
Given I could see my guard returning, thankfully not laden with prey blood or wounds, that would be soon.
+CONFED IO.5+
+READING MAIN SEQ.MEM+
+ADDENDUM: ADJUSTED DATE 24.10.2136+
I have had tours done of my shipself before. When my form was still under construction, Commander Theodore William Billingsly had given a walk-around to Yasmine, in preparation to turn over the role of Captain to her. The visit had gone rather easily, and familiarized her with my layout quickly in a professional manner. I had given numerous miniature tours of my layout to new crew members, with assistance from more established crew. I figured tours were nothing too special to my sensibilities and experience.
But I had never quite had the experience of juggling a tour where each distinct species of the tour was at odds with the other two. Listening to them was taxing.
"What are you looking at, leaflicker?"
"H-Help! I-It wants to e-e-eat me!!!"
"Could y'all just get along for a single moment? We're coming up on the barracks, supposedly, and yet you're at each other's throats!"
"Of course we're at their throats, those are rather delicious to tear out."
"You predators would focus on our vulnerable spots, w-wouldn't you!"
"Fuck's sake, you can't behave, can y'all?"
"Jealous of our vicious nature?"
"No we're not! What you do to the other races in this galaxy is abhorrent!"
"Yeah, you Arxur monsters have nothing to be proud of! I've lost family to your kind!"
Very taxing.
The human team and Hailey were trying to somewhat wrangle the mood down, but the Arxur and Venlil despised one another, and it showed. There was no quieting-down of their feud for more than a few minutes, before it started up again for the smallest altercations. I was glad I had brought a host of Praetorians to keep them physically separate somewhat, as I'd hate to have seen any humans hurt in the way.
Instead, I tried to focus on just providing an air of authority, as Hailey led them throughout my assorted systems and layout, only providing input where she did not know about. There were at least some receptive comments of myself during the tour that didn't result in lambasting the other two parties.
"The internal layout of this ship is rather unique. It doesn't look like anything in the Federation proper." A Venlil engineer by the name of Joluk mentioned.
"Yeah, I know!" Said a human scientist by the name of George Oscoda. "It's very...Death Star meets Nostromo, made a bit wider, then painted gunmetal black with red detailing."
Joluk turned back to him. "I have no idea what those are, but I don't like the sound of a Death Star." Their tail went ramrod straight, hanging down at the comment. Perhaps a body language fear response?
I decided to clarify from a drone nearby. "The internal design pattern of the UEC favors a highly geometric, hexagonal or octagonal hall layout, for maximum support with little freestanding support. A three-to-two width to height ratio also helps alleviate claustrophobic concerns, and detriments mental health minimally for extended stays."
George spoke up again. "I guess that's fair, but nothing will change how depressingly dark and scarred-up some of these corridors and bulkheads are currently. I get that it's battle damage, but..."
Lithke piped in from the front. "Nemesis wears her scars proudly. She is a predator forged in war, none escape without scars." I couldn't find a reason to directly deny said statement. I did sometimes prefer the reminder of how many Compact Janissaries had died within myself. How I shivered in delight at knowing they met their ends aboard my hull.
I decided to just remain silent on that. Hailey also responded to that soon after. "Well, honor besides, a lot of that damage will have to be repaired eventually. No amount of self-righteousness excuses holes to vacuum in some spots." She was also right. There were various spots throughout me that were not even enterable, let alone habitable as I was. Numerous collapsed-in sections, holes in my hull all-throughout. There wasn't even a main engines section anymore, with the aft exposed to space after redlining to Earth to save them from the Federation fleet. No amount of scars would justify not repairing battle damage.
I was at least partially glad they could not read Compact Standard. The various little easter eggs of alien languages scattered on my walls were filled with warnings and resignations of regret for boarding me. I left them there, to add to the ambient horror of unwelcome borders, but currently it just felt...out of place. I did not want to scare the people on board.
Thankfully there were few along this path, and none noticed it as the language it was offhand, so I avoided those questions. As we walked to the entrance doors to the barracks, there was a hallway we would have to cross first. One I had kept tenderly over the centuries.
I decided to speak ahead of time on it. "We are coming up on a particular area of mine en route to the general barracks. It was not something made in my time with humanity, but more...a personal project. Reminders and trophies of what and who I fought for both myself, and any others who might unfortunately find themselves this far into my halls." Some of the Arxur looked intrigued by that statement.
Hailey looked a little nervous at the way I introduced it. "I-I wouldn't really call it something particularly-"
I kept going over her response. It wasn't particularly polite, but if I was to make a maximal psychological distraction for Isif to say his piece, it would need to be done...
As a drone already within put the finishing touches on the arrangement, and skittered away into the dark lofts above, the doors opened to my favorite rooms, and I introduced the hallway ahead.
"Welcome...to my Collection."
First Prev Next (soon)

Hey everyone!
Mainly looking for someone to message throughout the day and get to know. So please be open to actually getting to know eachother. Maybe game with if we have that in common. I do work from home so there’s no one to really talk to during the day.
I’m married and have 2 kids, a 7 month old son and a 9 year old daughter. So definitely a platonic friendship if you’re female. I’m into basic nerdy things. Gaming is definitely my number 1 go to, star wars, super heroes, DnD, anything Disney. Also trading card games like Disney Lorcana and Star Wars Unlimited
I watch Critical Role stuff especially Campaign 3 on youtube. Currently on episode 76, so if you watch too, let me know! Also like to watch Battle of the Brands on YouTube.
I’m also into movies and tv, some sports, pro wrestling. Collecting boardgames, action figures and retro games are hobbies as well. Anything 80s/90s nostalgia i absolutely love too so if you want to talk childhood memories and growing up back then, i’m totally down! I miss the good old days where we went to arcades, played outside with friends, and those family sunday dinners at the grandparents ❤️.
My kids are everything to me and I do love talking about them. Love being silly with them and spending time with them (when they aren’t driving me crazy lol)
I really would prefer you be around my age (late 20s a youngest) and also have kids just so we have that stuff in common off the bat!
I would also prefer you be from the US. It’s tough to converse when we are like a day apart lol.
I can be socially awkward most times but I am very easy to get along with and a great listener if you need to vent. I’m definitely considered an introvert. But once you get to know me I break out of that awkward shell.
Please have a fun personality because i like to be sarcastic and mostly like to try and make people laugh because a world without laughter would just be horrible.
I’d like to think i’m an awesome person to get to know and hopefully there’s more you’d like to know so feel free to DM me! (I looove using GIFs so if you message me, open up with a funny one! Especially since then i’ll know you actually read this 😂) Or as an opening challenge send a gif of your favorite movie and i will try to guess it!

Hey alll! I’m mainly looking to find new gaming friends that share the same gaming interests if possible. And also just someone to get to know! I have all consoles and pc and i play alot of games. Ranging from retro to new! Emulators and roms are always fun to co-op with someone!
Current games i’m playing are Octopath Traveler 2, WWE 2k24 and Fortnite too (zero build). But i’ll play most anything! I am an achievement hunter and usually like to try to 100% games if i can. Some MMORPGs i’ve played are Elder Scrolls Online, Star Wars The Old Republic, World of Warcraft. I haven’t played them in quite some time but would be willing to jump back in.
Also I love Tabletop Simulator on Steam! Literally any board game is on there so I definitely would play that.
Some VR games are Beat Saber, Walkabout Mini Golf, Demeo!
I could go on but that’s probably a good stopping point for games.
I’m married and have 2 kids, a 7 month old son and a 9 year old daughter. So definitely a platonic friendship if you’re female. I’m into basic nerdy things. Gaming is definitely my number 1 go to, star wars, super heroes, DnD, anything Disney. Also trading card games like Disney Lorcana and Star Wars Unlimited
I watch Critical Role stuff especially Campaign 3 on youtube. Currently on episode 76, so if you watch too, let me know! Also like to watch Battle of the Brands on YouTube.
I’m also into movies and tv, some sports, pro wrestling. Collecting boardgames, action figures and retro games are hobbies as well. Anything 80s/90s nostalgia i absolutely love too so if you want to talk childhood memories and growing up back then, i’m totally down! I miss the good old days where we went to arcades, played outside with friends, and those family sunday dinners at the grandparents ❤️.
My kids are everything to me and I do love talking about them. Love being silly with them and spending time with them (when they aren’t driving me crazy lol)
I really would prefer you be around my age (late 20s a youngest) and also have kids just so we have that stuff in common off the bat!
I would also prefer you be from the US. It’s tough to converse when we are like a day apart lol.
I can be socially awkward most times but I am very easy to get along with and a great listener if you need to vent. I’m definitely considered an introvert. But once you get to know me I break out of that awkward shell.
Please have a fun personality because i like to be sarcastic and mostly like to try and make people laugh because a world without laughter would just be horrible.
I’d like to think i’m an awesome person to get to know and hopefully there’s more you’d like to know so feel free to DM me! (I looove using GIFs so if you message me, open up with a funny one! Especially since then i’ll know you actually read this 😂) Or as an opening challenge send a gif of your favorite movie and i will try to guess it!

https://www.youtube.com/@bbclearningenglish/playlists
https://www.youtube.com/@EnglishpronunciationwithTom/videos
https://www.youtube.com/@Canguroenglish/playlists
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=learn+british+english+beginner+level+
https://www.youtube.com/@Oxfordonlineenglish1/videos
https://www.youtube.com/@rachelsenglish/playlists
https://www.youtube.com/@BookLove/videos
https://www.youtube.com/@EngfluentPlus/videos
https://www.youtube.com/@EnglishforCambodia/playlists https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEF6pwHhuQQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXJiq888iLM
https://www.youtube.com/@CambodiansLearnEnglish2019/playlists
https://www.youtube.com/@EdnicheSchool/playlists https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dJztpQukPM
https://www.youtube.com/@DekRean9/playlists https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSKbdoWbc9c
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFsky1qIchUJ1y5jTMtrk7DmMm2VEOwkP
https://www.youtube.com/@studyenglishkhmerchannel/playlists
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCMMRIYgA8Z9H7pmT1r2IJPCzK7afSjzB
https://www.youtube.com/@ComprehensibleEnglish/videos
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/skills/listening
https://www.memrise.com
https://www.busuu.com
Learn words in sentences and phrases not individual. Watch TV shows and online streams.
Watch movies/series/YouTube channels in English, with English subtitles at first and then without
My khmer family uses my Netflix and what they get out of it has been invaluable in terms of their English. Three years ago my brothers English was very poor. Just from reading subtitles he is now fluent
https://listenaminute.com
https://www.duolingo.com
https://en.islcollective.com
https://www.onestopenglish.com
https://cambodia.britishcouncil.org/english-online/mobile-apps
Reading and listening are important. Listen to English-speaking radio. You can get lots of them on the internet. Try different English-speaking countries. Watch TV shows if you can. Get them on YouTube or other similar sources. Look for programmes like news or documentaries. You have the pictures to help you understand. Language in them is more genuine than in a soap opera. Look for programmes or things to read that are of interest to you. So if you have a hobby or other interest, look for things in English that relate to them. You will learn English and maybe something about your interests.
Lately, I've just found out this site ( https://www.conversationexchange.com/ ) where you can chat/speak with native English speaker, it's really cool.
Always have a notebook with me to makes some notes or write down some new vocabulary or phrases.
And the most important thing … speaking practice. I can recommend you ,,speaky app.,, It’s really cool. Lot of weird people which do not distinguish this app from tinder there but I have found some decent people that I am able to speak a few times per week with. I can even say that after few months they even became my friends.

• try to embed yourself in english
  
• persistance and constistnecy, do it daily, event if it’s just one new word its always step forward,
  
• find an english speaking friend and stay in touch with him frequently
  
• exercise your speaking muscles everyday for 5 minutes
  

https://discord.com/invite/english in there you can find people to speak with anytime
I've learned English on my own through YouTube.
Step 1. Unsubscribe from all the channels in your native tongue.
Step 2. Subscribe to all English Learning Channels you can find.
Step 3. Watch Videos from the subscribed channels whenever you have occasion.
​In 2-3 months you will understand most of the content.
If you're a complete beginner, read books meant for kids.
Honestly I'd suggest trying a couple of nature documentaries first. The speech will be very slow and give you lots of time to understand what you heard. If you're still struggling with that, then worry about kids shows.
I'd also suggest looking at podcasts for English beginners. They should deliberately speak slowly and not use complicated words
Some that come to mind easily are two tv shows called Sesame Street and Peppa Pig because of their simple language (aimed at native English kids learning English).
For listening practice you could try this free Whatsapp group with daily British English listening practice - https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELjBO3HwTMgK3xxqq3mq6d
Try Nonsense.com :) It is free and you get to watch movies.
This explanation is a little long so you can translate it to your native language by using www.Deepl.com
There are many ways you can learn English as a beginner. First, I think it's important to find out exactly what your level is. A great framework for understanding language level is called CEFR "The common European framework for Reference". There are many free tests online you can take to find out your level. I recommend the EFSET test. It's free and fast. Here is the link.https://www.efset.org
After you have found out what your level is, you need to learn the necessary content. You also need to manage your time expectations. Each level of the CEFR A1 A2 (beginner) B1 B2 (intermediate) C1 C2 (Advanced) takes a different amount of time. The A levels take about 100 hours each. The B levels take about 200 and the C levels take about 300 hours.
To complete a level you will need to improve 8 areas:

1. vocabulary = Improve your vocabulary by buying an appropriate vocabulary book. Try to learn 20 new words each day. Download an SRS app (spaced repetition) to help you learn the vocabulary faster. e.g. Anki or Quizlet. Also, try to make or use mnemonics to remember what the words mean.
2. grammar = Buy an appropriate grammar book (I recommend Grammar in Use by Murphy) Each CEFR level has about 200 grammar structures. First, study the structures and understand what they mean, then activate them and make sure you can use them all in conversation. To help with this, you can use my Youtube. I post grammar lessons every day (Yes, I know this is a shameless plug) https://www.youtube.com/learngrammarwithstuart
3. conversation = Make sure to practice what you have learned by speaking to a native speaker. There are a lot of great apps like Italki and Cambly where you can practice this for a very low cost.
4. pronunciation = Improve this by shadowing (listening and repeating what people say) e.g. the audio content from the reading textbook. You can also improve your pronunciation by watching Youtube pronunciation channels.
5. conversation = Make sure to practice what you have learned by speaking to a native speaker. There are a lot of great apps like Italki and Cambly where you can practice this for a very low cost.)
6. reading = Buy a graded reader and practice reading at your level. To see if the content is at your level, use the following rule. If you need to translate more than 10 words per page, the book you are reading is too hard.
7. listening = Improve your listening by watching TV shows that use simple English. I recommend kids cartoons and sitcoms e.g. friends. There are also lots of great youtube channels that you can use.
8. writing = Improve your writing by using an app like Hello Talk or a similar SNS. It allows you to easily practice writing and communicating with other English speakers and language learners.

I hope this helps and good luck with your studies.
About me: I have been working as an English teachecurriculum developer for 16 years.
Mostly pdfs:
https://www.pdf-language-lessons.com/english/english-pdf-lessons/
https://www.infobooks.org/free-pdf-books/language-learning/english/
https://helenadailyenglish.com/101-short-stories-for-learning-english-beginner-to-advanced-level-text-audio-and-video
https://www.englishclub.com/pdf/
https://www.bbc.com/learningenglish/english/course/how-to-speak-english/unit-1/downloads
https://www.englishclass101.com/learn-with-pdf
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-levels/understand-your-english-level/a1-elementary
https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/basic-vocabulary
https://www.learnenglishteam.com/common-daily-english-phrases-for-beginners/
https://www.espressoenglish.net/wp-content/uploads/free/500-Real-English-Phrases.pdf
https://www.bbc.com/learningenglish/english/course/how-to-speak-english/unit-1/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/
https://www.lingoneo.org/learn-english/page/pdf-audio-video-downloads
https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/listening/a1-listening
https://s1.papyruspub.com/files/demos/products/ebooks/educative-books/general-english/English-for-Everyone/Preview-Course-Book-English-for-Everyone1-Beginner.pdf
https://english-at-home.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/50-Speaking-Phrases1.pdf
https://english-at-home.com/
https://www.fluentu.com/blog/english/best-websites-to-learn-english/

With all the discussion on the game going on I thought I would give my experiences throughout the years and editions I’ve played and my opinions on them.
I played 1.0 for at least three years before 2.0 came out had an absolute blast with it. There were some issues with balance for sure, ffg did an ok job in my opinion with rules adjustments and balancing cards so that kept the game fun for me. The balancing cards did mean it was a bit clunky and could be tough on new players who tried to run ships without the fixes but it did help. I never played the most competitive lists but I had a great time tinkering with lists and finding ship and upgrade combinations that could fit together to 100 points. I remember a lot of talk about ships and upgrades in 1.0 talking about how half a point up or down could balance things and how changing points slightly could balance things.
When 2.0 was released I was a bit hesitant at first and waited to buy in after the pre-release. I wanted to see what it was like first and see how all the pilots and upgrades were shaping up. I didn’t love the decrease in power of upgrades but their points decreased as well due to the 200 point system and variable points meant they could be balanced properly. In the end I converted within a month or so of release and was very glad that I did. To me 2.0 had a lot of the feel of 1.0 except that more of the ships and upgrades that I liked to list build had a chance of being viable and even if I couldn’t fit them together ffg often decreased points for underpowered things and would make me look at them again. The 200 point system doubled the granularity from 1.0 and made it so that even if something felt under or over powered ffg had the option of fine tuning the balance. I played 2.0 even more regularly than 1.0. I missed some of the fun upgrades from 1.0 but 2.0s overal balance and list viability put the emphasis heavily on flying even more so than 1.0 in my opinion.
I dropped out of in person play during the pandemic but followed along online and kept excitedly list building and testing on fly casual. When I decided to go back to my local store in person it was in the waning days of 2.0. When AMG introduced 2.5. I struggled for a long time to try to make the 2.5 changes work for me. I really tried. Load out I could get behind, the bumping changes were ok although I didn’t love how punishing it was to self bump and how forgiving it was to bump into an opponent. Yes bumping an opponent has downside, a red focus is not a good action but it is leaps and bounds over no action and potential damage for self bumping. I know why they added it but it still isn’t my favourite. Personally I loved flying in formation at least at certain times or with certain lists and these rules make that a lot worse. For me scenario play was a lateral move, I don’t dislike the idea and as a game mode I have played a lot of scenarios and had great fun, I guess I just don’t like it being the default, I liked the simplicity of just trying to fight your opponent. You had one goal and how you went about it was up to you. But all of these rules changes were not what I struggled with the most.
I have really struggled with list building in 2.5, not because it’s difficult, it’s very simple in concept. But part of the fun of 1.0 and 2.0 for me was finding cool combinations that few people had thought of before, bringing a list to the table and my opponent admiring the creativity if nothing else. And likewise I liked to admire what my opponents had come up with. I tried and tried to get this feeling back in the new system but I found myself gravitating towards only a few ships per faction and only a few pilots per ship. Once I have this narrow list there really were only 1-3 combinations of these pilots that added together make for a list I feel is viable in 2.5 and fits what I would actually like to fly in that faction. I feel a bit boxed in.
The other interesting observation I have made when list building in 2.5 is just how close my lists have become to the top meta lists. What I always liked to do in 1.0 and 2.0 was to build a list and then check online to see if anyone was flying something similar on list fortress. In 1.0 or 2.0 there were certainly times I saw similar lists but most of the time I had some uniqueness to my idea. In 2.5 most of the lists I land on turn out to be similar or even identical to lists I then found as winning lists online. Part of this is the standard load outs/quick builds but part of it is that it seems like most of the people list building also came down to that list of viable pilots on viable platforms that I had and there are only so many ways to fit them together at 20 points especially since there are only a few 2 point pilots. Granted upgrades are not always identical but even there I find they are often very similar or the same as net lists. I didn’t copy lists from list fortress for any edition but at this point it really feels like I wouldn’t have to, I can just come up with the same lists.
Because of this narrow list of options it does feel like there are a lot of wrong options like choosing pilots at the same points with lower load out and worse abilities or lower pilot skill. Generics are a straight up trap on most platforms with lower initiative, no ability and lower load out than named pilots at the same or lower cost. I worry that new players might choose them and feel bad after. I would honestly prefer they were just banned for the platforms AMG does not want them run on. I also understand why they have under priced most standard load outs but when you compare the amount of load out to comparable pilots it is often a much better choice. This adds to the lock of variability in squads I can build and that I see across the table.
I have tried to play 2.5 games for awhile now on and off, watched 2,5 matches and tried to build so many lists and I simply am not having as much fun. I know this version is the preferred version of a lot of players and that is totally ok, I am not writing to bring that down at all. I just wanted to share my opinion on the state of the game and my experiences with it.
Despite my experiences with 2.5 being less than those of 1.0 and 2.0, I am making an attempt in the last few weeks to re-enter the game. My local group is playing 2.5 and so I am planning on playing weekly, if for no other reason than getting to play regularly again and to hang out with other people who love x-wing. I would rather be playing 2.0 or probably even go back to 1.0 but playing with my friends is more important so that’s where I’ve landed. Maybe I’ll try to sprinkle in some games of 2.0 legacy if people are up for it but in the end at least I’m playing the game I fell in love with all those years ago with cool people. I would love to hear an in depth discussion of all this in the comments regardless of whether you agree or disagree with any of my points but let’s all try to keep it respectful and remember we are all here for this same great game, regardless of edition. Fly casual everyone.

Well, fellow citizens and lovely randians, it's with a grave heart that I've come to such a decision.
I'm sure there's no need to talk about pakistan. It's full of insecure and nilly willy conservative pakistani's who are mostly overseas and just bark for jihad in the name of Almighty Khan. This comes at a cost where even a slight deviation from their narrative results in a ban. They are very similar to the Farishta-Sponsered Army of Pakistan whom they hate.
So, what's with pak? Isn't it wild west?
My young padawan, that was indeed the case some odd few weeks back. The mods were dead but that just meant more freedom. Then came one back from the grave, spouting nonsense like needing more mods or something.
To add insult to injury, the new mods that were picked were biased and pushing a narrative to put it mildly. They still are, and they wantonly break the sub rules left and right. The free thought is no more, it's on a steep incline towards pakistan where you are only allowed to speak good about that one thing and banned for speaking against it.
Now, we are already quite oppressed in real life. Not to mention the ban on social media and the upcoming Great Firewall, but online was the last space we could have some freedom.
To steal even that is miserable, fellow citizens. As such, we shall have this place, where you can do whatever your heart desires, without being an asshole of course.
i in iPak stands for imaginary, as such a place will never exist in Pakistan. Freedom will forever be a fantasy or a figment of imagination in Pakistan.
Stay well, until next time!

My minor child recently started their first job last month. It's a nearby restaurant that our family likes and has been going to for years. They really like both the job and the coworkers, plus they have flexible hours and get free food. Recently, they showed me their first paycheck, and it immediately raised red flags. In particular, I'm almost certain they're being paid under the table.
I understand that at a minimum, the employer is in the wrong here, but my kid really likes the job and doesn't want to quit or get fired for rocking the boat. So, my question is: how do I thread the needle to protect my kid on taxes/etc. without sacrificing their first job? Second question: how would this scenario be changed come Oct 1 when the new paycheck rules come into effect?
More details:

• We completed the Maryland youth employment application online, and I took a picture of it signed by the owner before they took the original.
• My kid indicated they never were asked to sign any other employment-related documents (W4, etc.) since starting.
• They're paying monthly. I already found out that's not allowed under MD law. The check was paid the last working day of May, and was post-dated for June 1st (3 days later). It was a business check with the public name of the restaurant, instead of the legal name of the company like on the youth employment form.
• The amount of the check was about 8% less than the gross pay ($12.75/h for a minor) for the hours they worked (luckily I told them to keep track separately). I'm not sure how accurate that deduction is. I know Social Security is 6.2%.
• The reason I don't know is because there was no pay stub showing gross/net and specific details of the pay period, hours clocked, and deductions, as is required. The check came with a piece of receipt paper from the credit card machine taped on, with a hand-scrawled note saying their first name, the hours (which at least seems correct per my instructions for my kid to track hours separately), and the minor-permitted pay rate but nothing else.

Hi all - long-time lurker here finally taking the plunge. I want to stop watching online videos for a period of time. I've had a lot of success with stopgaming (4+ years without video games) and stopdrinking (coming up to half a year without a drink), so wanted to stack on those successes with this. I'm aiming to stop watching videos for a set amount of milestones leading up to 66 days.
To help habits stick, I find it helpful to answer some important 'what and why' questions first. With that in mind:
Why do I watch videos currently?

• I watch YouTube out of boredom, because I find the content funny, interesting or entertaining. This can occasionally lead to going there by default and watching 'mind-numbing' content - not entertaining or interesting, but just something to do.
• If it's a TV series, then I'm a sucker for a cliffhanger. Rather than watch one episode and leave the next as a treat for the day after, I occasionally chain-watch episodes of any series I'm watching. This can lead to losing entire days at its worst.

Why do I want to stop watching videos?

• I recently considered how much time I spend watching videos per day. It averages out at three hours per day, and can occasionally be as high as five. Videos don't give me anything valuable in return beyond just the hit of feeling satisfying in the moment; beyond rare educational content (i.e. MIT OpenCourseware/lectures) there's very limited educational value. As I watch most videos during either the morning or afternoon/evening, I also associate it with bed rot.
• I want to reprioritise the time into matters that help me grow; either through learning or by spending time with others while we have time to spend.
• I'm currently writing my thesis, and want to achieve the best grade I can. I can't afford to waste time on videos. I know that repurposing some video time into thesis time would not only greatly benefit my thesis, but would set me up with a good habit for life thereafter.
• For better sleep. Although I'm usually very good with videos, I've been awful lately, and on some nights haven't gone to sleep until later than 1am. At my most productive I've been asleep by 10pm and up by 5:30am - I'd like that back, at least for the time being.
• A core part of me hates that I spend my working day looking at a screen and then - when the work day's over - I then relax and unwind by coming home and looking at another screen. That isn't right. That isn't what life should be.

What will I do instead of watching videos?

• I enjoy running/light calisthenics, and don't do it anywhere near as much as I should. Morning exercise can make me feel good for an entire day. I'd like some of the time saved to go towards that.
• I'd put some of the time towards doing social things with my friends. I hate the idea of replacing in-person socialising with just staring at a screen, and hope this can help with that.
• At least for the next month, I'd replace the lion's share of time saved with writing my thesis. Certainly not all of it, but around half to 75%.
• I want to learn Python and to eventually (finally) pass CS50. I'd be open to downloading educational-only content that I need in order to learn as the one exception to this.
• What I won't do is allow my usage of the internet to run rampant with other distraction (here's looking at you, Reddit). To help with that, I'm going to make my usage of 'distraction sites' (any form of social media) deliberate - I'm going to write down exactly what website I'm using and what I want to do on that website whenever I use it. I do count Reddit in that list.

How will I manage social connections?

• Talking to my friends on WhatsApp and joining the nosurf discord seem like a great start.

How will I handle cravings and setbacks?

• I will set ColdTurkey up to block YouTube and similar problem websites for all but five minutes per day. The five minutes is as I might occasionally need to use YouTube for the sake of my thesis - this would allow me to grab a video link for citation without binging the day away watching it.
• By going for walks. I've found that cravings for things I want to do, while intense, don't last for as long as it feels like they might. By going for a walk when I want to watch a video, I give myself the chance to recalibrate and think.
• I currently plan out my days and track what I do every day in a square-paper book. To add to what I already do with this, I'm going to start assigning specific tasks/things that need doing for each day. That way, if I want to spend time watching videos, I can at least quickly direct myself at another task that needs doing instead.

How will I wind down in the evenings if not with videos?

• I have a solid night-time routine, which involves preparing everything for the next morning. That already helps a lot.
• If I'm feeling completely restless, I'll go to another room and read for a bit. I picked this up from Why We Sleep - I don't want to associate my bed with sleeplessness.
• If I'm feeling tired, I'll read in bed with a soft lamp.

How will I manage emotional regulation if not using videos as a distraction?

• By funnelling emotions into both exercise (tracked with Strava) and by writing my thoughts (either in my pen-and-paper notepad or on Obsidian).

How will I measure progress?

• With this subreddit! I can see that u/badgebot is a mod here, so I've sent off a DM asking for a badge. I assume they're applicable to this subreddit?
• By setting milestones along the way. These milestones will be 1 day, 2 days, 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 2 months and - finally - 66 days respectively. This last one has been chosen as it's believed to be the amount of time it takes to form a new habit. I'll denote each of the milestones in my calendar, and will make a post on this subreddit for how things are going on those days.

With that in mind, let's begin. I'm hoping this helps in my pursuit of growth as a person.

Past couple weeks, I’ve sobered up and realized I don’t even like my Ltr very much and I don’t like how I am around her.
Got a “not feeling well rejection” on Tuesday b/c she wanted to rest up for Wednesday. I said I wasn’t coming home Wednesday, she said Thursday. I pushed it to a hard no and ended up talking about how cuddles aren’t free.
On Wednesday, I had a long dinner with a buddy who went through a rough divorce. After, I grabbed a hotel room solo to clear my head and grenade in some dread.
I’ve done this before to fight insomnia and it has gone unnoticed. This time, I was getting really early worried texts. I was at the gym, got ambushed when I got home at 6:15am Thursday am. Didn’t answer first round, stfu. Got ready for work, said I had a project I was excited about, we’d meet at dinner for the planned couple date Thursday night. Ltr didn’t want to go, I said I’ll be at the restaurant at 6 either way and left for work.
Got understandably stood up for dinner, came home late Thursday, left early Friday am for work.
Ltr bro/sis/fam/cousins in town Friday night. I decide to go out instead of come home for family night at our house. We had no contact for 48 hrs and I felt like I needed to stay in my frame. While out, I get 2 soft positive interactions, 2 blow out rejections, and one angry MMA fighter threatening me as his wife is profusely apologizing to me for his behavior (she was touching my leg). Different story.
Come home late again, go in to work Saturday to nail project stuff down. Mountain biking Saturday afternoon with friends then home to shower. We have dinner plans that night with Ltr siblings, just 6 adults. Sister in law asks if I’m coming to dinner, I say yes. Go to shower, Ltr locked bathroom wouldn’t let me in. Leaves without talking. She looks hot.
Basically 96 hours of no contact either way. I suspect everyone knows what’s up best Ltr took find iPhone notifications off. I’m sure one of the sisters taught that trick.
I’m impressed with her frame and it tells me a little more about how far lost I am. Expected some outreach in a day or two but she’s hunkered down.
This was probably weak, but I realized I miscalculated. All the kids were gone, her sister and sister in law are in town, she turns location off, she can revenge sex pretty easy here.
I’m fine if it happens, I caused it, and it’s a boundary. So that’s it- two decades of marriage over. But I didn’t want to leave it totally to chance and just texted “Going to cabin, I didn’t do anything wrong.”
I know I caved. My hope was that I’d give enough time for Ltr to think and talk over with her sisters that they’d be good for the night and not force the boundary.
So now I’m holed up for at least a day or two. Travel later this week anyways. Stfu, lift, boat, read (stoic), and divorce prep from the sidebar.
In my mind, I want to initiate the discussion for how it’s over and start cancelling summer plans, but I know this is validation seeking to get a reaction and attention.
Seems like the best course of action is radio silence. When I need to come back to the house, go back and do what I need to. It’s my house. Have whatever conversation comes up after she reaches out.
When that happens, the speech I have is: “We just lost all trust. I’ve financed you going out twice a week for a decade and never questioned it. I gave you implicit trust. I go out two times, and you question me. It seems unbalanced.
The one time I did question you, you were out until 2am and stumbling in the closet. That’s not the way I want the mother of my children to behave. I told you the boundary, I told you the consequences, I told you it would mean other people. You apologized, then went and did it again. You threw it in my face. At the same time, you started talking about nip ticks out of nowhere. You went off birth control without talking to me. You told me I was unattractive.
I bought books for us to go through that you don’t want to read. I bought card games that you don’t want to play. I plan yoga and tennis and you can’t find time in the schedule. I plan getaways to Savannah and Charleston and you don’t have time in the schedule.
You roll away from me in bed, I’ve been sleeping on the couch for a year, you just hard no’d me and turned off iPhone after I went out two times.
What did you expect was going to happen?”
I guess my ask mrp is does that sound like the best course of action?

What’s the Best way to get NBA Final all Game Games (free)Live Streams On Reddit? Hey fellow NBA Basketball viewers. As I’ve been watching NBA for quite a few seasons now, I've done some digging to access the trusty Celtics vs. Pacers Streams.
**🏀Here: **NBA Final Game live Free
**🏀Free: **NBA Final Game Live Streams
How/where to watch celtics vs mavericks 2024 NBA final game 1 live streams free, I pirate everything: sports, movies, TV Channels, and even made my own plex server. But lately I have gotten really into BaseballStreams and haven't found a great way to watch Major League Baseball live for free.
What app/website are you using to watch the NBA Streams? ... I'm not 100% it's basically a live stream of the NBA Streams.
TV Guide & Streaming
Everything you need to know about the NBA matchup between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Milwaukee Brewers, including how to watch and team news.
Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics lock horns in the NBA Finals 2024, starting from Friday. The Mavericks vs Celtics NBA Finals 2024 basketball games will be available on live streaming and live TV in Australia and other country.
Another way to stream the NBA finals online free? Use DirecTV Stream, which lets you watch the Mavericks vs. Celtics on ABC without cable.
All in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST)
June 10, Monday: Game 2, Dallas Mavericks vs Boston Celtics – 10:00 AM
June 13, Thursday: Game 3, Boston Celtics vs Dallas Mavericks – 10:30 AM
June 15, Saturday: Game 4, Boston Celtics vs Dallas Mavericks – 10:30 AM
June 18, Tuesday: Game 5, Dallas Mavericks vs Boston Celtics – 10:30 AM*
June 21, Friday: Game 6, Boston Celtics vs Dallas Mavericks – 10:30 AM*
June 24, Monday: Game 7, Dallas Mavericks vs Boston Celtics – 10:00 AM*
Live streaming of the Dallas Mavericks vs Boston Celtics NBA Finals 2024 will be available on the NBA League Pass platform. The Mavericks vs Celtics basketball match will be broadcast live on the ESPN TV channel in Australia via Kayo Sports.oiut

Hey everyone,
I live in central Ohio and all my friends either moved or are otherwise busy and can’t hang out, so I am wondering who else is in the same boat in Columbus!
If I had to list hobbies, to start, I’m into shows and documentaries about paranormal stuff like Bigfoot, ghosts, aliens, etc. I like shows about spirituality and religion too. I like podcasts on these topics and I have enjoyed listening to old Art Bell interviews. Occasionally I’ll try to listen to new Coast to Coast interviews.
I’m also a fan of classic card games and board games like cribbage, mahjong, Rummikub, rummy, euchre, dominoes, etc.
I am also a fan of sports, but I’m mostly into football.
If you’re in the area please feel free to send a message! I did this once before and got a message from someone in Canada.