After trying them on, I found that as someone with narrow feet, low arches, and flat feet, size 45.5 fits me perfectly. The sizing runs slightly small by about half a size, with a narrow shoe last that doesn't press on the instep. The high-top design provides excellent ankle support and flexibility! When worn statically, they provide a slightly gradual sense of weight distribution.

Cushioning: 3/5 Initially, the Lunarlon cushioning in the forefoot and heel was distinct, offering a soft, bouncy feel. However, over time, like neighboring Bounce cushioning, it deteriorated rapidly and lost its effectiveness. Eventually, it felt like pure foam. So, I'd recommend these more to agile players who don't rely heavily on cushioning.
Lockdown: 4/5 Once laced tightly, they provide a snug, natural-feeling lockdown, even better than the previous generation. The only issue is the exposed flywire on the sides, which can get damaged outdoors by debris. But they fit well for flat-footed players like me.
Breathability: 3/5 The ventilation is more noticeable on the sides than the toe box, but overall, it's not as breathable as the previous version. After a game, expect normal sweating, nothing excessive.
Traction: 5/5 The full-length crystal outsole with rubber traction and a mechanical-like pattern is classic and works well both indoors and outdoors. Movements on the court are smooth, and braking is swift without concerns.
Lateral stability: 4/5 The midsole's shape, resembling an inflated tire, provides adequate cushioning, and the shoe's upper has enough strength to support the foot, reducing the risk of rolling over. But ultimately, it depends on your ankle strength.
Foot-shoe integration: 4/5 It's like wrapping your foot in foam, incredibly lightweight, making running effortless without causing any discomfort or chafing. The gait is light and fluid. The only downside is the lack of explosiveness during straight-line acceleration. I'd recommend these for agile and graceful players!
Overall: 3.8/5 If they had Zoom cushioning in both the forefoot and heel, they would be explosive! The combination of lightweight design and foot-shoe integration is rare. Coupled with their refined aesthetics, they truly stand out in the sneaker world! They're suitable for medium-sized players who have a graceful playing style, preferring driving and shooting.
https://preview.redd.it/msjrd17m8a3d1.jpg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3164a21101d0ce43b75686e6d862e1e686f38790
https://preview.redd.it/jsqttqjm8a3d1.jpg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c0da273bb7d8293a1160d3b373b7846ff513c00d
https://preview.redd.it/d4zaqy2n8a3d1.jpg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7c9bbaaf27d7ae2dc1b641ec98867e843062377a

This is a phrase I used to say a lot as a joke but I firmly believe this now.
So there was this girl I was talking to, I personally found her gorgeous altough some people didn't. Everytime after school she'd be waiting for me hoping we could walk together and just hangout for hours together. Oh boy, she had that smile, that voice.. anyways, I'm a musician, and we got a music competition that happens so we gotta go on a bus to go to a further city. She's there ofc because I met her through our school's music department. So we sit next to eachother with her friend behind us the entire bus ride, it was very enjoyable, I had lots of fun and everything seemed to be going great. After the few days there we go back and she seems distant slightly, we're still sitting next to eachother but she doesn't have that same glowing smile, she barely looks at me and stuff. (She does smile a lot so it was noticeable) I didn't think much of it and ruled it as tiredness.
Once we're back, for the entire week she isn't there after school waiting for me. I don't know what I did wrong. Now, just today, she finally comes waiting, but I'm there first. She's there with a random boy which i've talked to before he's super nice. Whatever, we start hanging out as usual. I receive no attention whatsoever, the guy says anything and she dies of laughter, does dirty jokes, says "You're literally perfect" while I'm right there, as if it was a big rejection in my face. I suppose she knew I was gonna ask her out and before I had the time to actuslly do it she just ditched me. Back to the hangout, the entire time they forget I'm here, I'm walking behind them or on the road(they're on the sidewalk). She never did a single eye contact with me the entire time. But I got to see her smile again, but cause by this random guy instead. I hate everything. It was going so well, but she just noticed there were many better options than me I suppose. Love is a feeling that i truly don't believe exists, it's only lust and attraction towards social status, financial status or physical traits. Since I'm a 4 on a good day and definitely not skinny, I guess I can understand her course of actions, but maybe just telling me would be better instead of acting as If nothing happened and making me feel like shit. I hate myself and she knows it, I'm trying to work on myself and she knows it, but doesn't give a shit about it.
Anyways I don't feel like writing more, thanks for reading if you actually did

Hey everyone - first of all , I think it’s so nice there’s a community of children with parents who are no longer with us, I truly cannot imagine how it feels, hence why I am here.
My boyfriends father passed away in 2018, when he was 19 and he rarely talks about it unless I mention it. I met my boyfriend when his father had just completed a year of his passing. We have talked about his father, his sickness and death and everything that led up to it. I don’t have a parent or even such a close relative that has passed away to even begin to understand. I know it bothers my boyfriend a lot, he mentioned how he wasn’t happy with his life for a few years and just kind of being pulled in a current up until this year when he made some life changes but he is still in a limbo and being in his mid 20s I know now is when someone kind of needs their father the most. From what I know he became “numb” to the situation, didn’t go to therapy, and became sort of the “rock” of his family at the age of 19. It breaks my heart. He says he doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life and perhaps I’m being ignorant (I apologize if I am I’m trying to be an understanding and open as possible) but I believe maybe his fathers passing has something to do with it. My boyfriend hates being the victim of situations and we once had a very deep conversation about how he needs therapy, how he’s very lost etc.
My mom lost her mom much later in life and explains to me that she can’t imagine the toll I took on his life.
I just want to understand him more. I tell him there are people who become victim of their situations or people who never talk about it and just push it so far away that they don’t ever deal with it. I want to know how I can approach him correctly or help him, he doesn’t need to open up to me but I do want to help him because if this is affecting how he sees his future I want to help. I’m not sure if anyone can relate here or give any sort of understanding but I’m open to just hearing if this is someone like you. Someone who’s dry, not very in touch with their emotions, the “rock” of situations and such. Thank you again and truly, I feel for everyone of you.

So, I am a 58 year old female and dell in a rain divot in our dirt driveway at like 1AM on May 5, of COURSE I did, as we were leaving on the 8th for our 1st real vacation in 10 years, a condo at New Smyrna and 4 days at Welcome to Rockville. We had to call the Ambulance as I could not get up, and my husband couldn't help me as any movement caused nausea. At the ER the doctor said I had a trimalleolar fracture as she saw a chip in the back but the radiologist said no, just bi They splinted me up and I went home, saw the surgeon on the 7th, he confirmed trimalleolar but didn't think the one at the back would need help but as i was unstable wanted surgery ASAP. Just peachy Surgery was the 9th (missed our check in date) after surgery and that amazing nerve blocker we got the dogs and ourselves and drove the 2 hours to our condo rental. I had very little pain, I had bought a knee scooter and on Friday the 10th and Saturday the 11th we went to Rockville. (DEF GET THAT KNEE SCOOTER!!+) also I saw someone say don't buy the Cast cover for the shower, honestly 2nd best purchase for 12 bucks from amazon, easier to use and cheaper in the long run than bags and tape. And if I had to do it again, I would def recommend spending the money on the pillow wedge. after vacation I have been pretty okay, not much pain, discomfort usually in the evening and man I regret not buying the wedge pillow Went to a mall, do most of my chores, I rarely use the crutches. Except.. I live in a mobile home on a horse farm, I go out as little as possible as it's dirt everywhere and there are steps in the door. I work from home already so things have been okay Today was my post op, so 19 days post surgery. Removed the sutures I have a plate and screws on the outside and one screw on the inside. And gave me a boot, this thing is enormous and heavy, I am non weight bearing for 4 more weeks at least. But the shower!!! Being able to get my leg wet, so much nasty dry skin, and lotion and even shaved some. Was incredible But I guess I was spoiled as I have had so little pain, because man I have more pain tonight than i have had since before surgery, some is because it is 98 degrees here in FL and obviously some sweat I believe and getting jn the edges of my wound, while the stitches were removed it's still not totally closed and I have a few butterfly strips. Sleeping in this beast js not going to be fun. I had 2 oxycodones left and had to take one tonight. Anyone else have this kind of pain still at 19 days? Or after you went feom splint to boot? It is snug so it's not an issue of moving. I am so frustrated as I have tickets I paid alot for to see a baseball game July 8, right by thr visiting Yankee dugout, and I don't know how the heck I am going to do that as I assume there are quite a few steps to get to my seat. Probably 20 steps and f I csn barely get in and out of my house with 4 stairs. My 4 week appt and xray will be June 25, so 2 weeks before the game,. Who has made it to this point as to how much weight bearing we may start with? 10%?

The extensive use of mass murder under communist regimes from the 1950s onwards is commonly attributed to a combination of ideological extremism, political consolidation, and efforts to eliminate perceived threats to the regime.
These regimes, inspired by Marxist-Leninist principles, often employed systematic violence to achieve and maintain control, leading to some of the most significant instances of mass murder in modern history.
Given the documented atrocities and mass murders committed under various 20th-century communist regimes, how can one reconcile the ideological goals of communism with the historical reality of these human rights violations?
Methodologies for Determining Figures
Estimating the figures for mass murders under these regimes involves archival research, demographic analysis, and eyewitness accounts. Historians and demographers analyze population censuses, government records, and other documents to estimate the number of deaths.
Ideological Extremism and Political Control
Communist regimes, particularly in China and the Soviet Union, adhered to a rigid interpretation of Marxist-Leninist ideology, which justified extreme measures to achieve and preserve a classless society. The resulting political purges, forced collectivization, and cultural revolutions were marked by widespread violence and mass murder.
The Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution in China
Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward (1958-1962) aimed to rapidly transform China from an agrarian society into a socialist industrial power. However, this policy led to catastrophic results, including widespread famine. The Chinese government’s forced collectivization of agriculture and ill-conceived industrial policies caused the deaths of an estimated 30 to 45 million people due to starvation, forced labor, and state violence.
Source: (Dikötter, Frank. Mao's Great Famine: The History of China's Most Devastating Catastrophe, 1958-1962. Walker & Company, 2010)
Following the Great Leap Forward, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) to reassert his control and eliminate perceived enemies of the revolution. This period saw mass persecutions, public humiliations, and executions of intellectuals, party officials, and ordinary citizens. The death toll from the Cultural Revolution is estimated to be between 1 to 2 million people, with millions more suffering from torture, imprisonment, and other forms of persecution.
Source: (MacFarquhar, Roderick, and Schoenhals, Michael. Mao's Last Revolution. Belknap Press, 2006)
Suppression of Dissent and Ethnic Cleansing
Modern communist regimes have also targeted ethnic and religious groups, viewing them as threats to national unity and ideological purity. This has often resulted in systematic campaigns of violence and mass murder.
The Cambodian Genocide
Under Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979), Cambodia experienced one of the most brutal genocides of the 20th century. The regime sought to create an agrarian socialist society, leading to the forced evacuation of cities, mass executions, and widespread famine. An estimated 1.7 to 2 million people, nearly a quarter of Cambodia’s population, died due to execution, forced labor, starvation, and disease.
Source: (Becker, Elizabeth. When the War Was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution. Public Affairs, 1998; Kiernan, Ben. The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power, and Genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-79. Yale University Press, 2008)
The Soviet Union’s Political Purges
Following Stalin's death, the Soviet Union continued to use mass murder as a tool for political control, albeit on a smaller scale. During the Great Purge (1936-1938), Stalin's regime executed approximately 700,000 people and sent millions to Gulag labor camps. This practice persisted under subsequent leaders, who continued to suppress dissent and eliminate political rivals through extrajudicial killings and forced labor.
Source: (Conquest, Robert. The Great Terror: Stalin's Purge of the Thirties. Oxford University Press, 1990; Applebaum, Anne. Gulag: A History. Doubleday, 2003)
Defector Stories and Accounts
Chen Guangcheng (China)
Chen Guangcheng, a blind Chinese civil rights activist, escaped house arrest in 2012 and fled to the U.S. embassy in Beijing. Chen had been an outspoken critic of the Chinese government's human rights abuses, particularly forced abortions and sterilizations under the one-child policy. His daring escape and subsequent asylum in the United States drew international attention to the plight of human rights defenders in China. Chen’s story underscores the risks faced by those who challenge the authoritarian regime.
Jang Jin-sung (North Korea)
Jang Jin-sung, a former North Korean propaganda poet, defected in 2004. In his memoir Dear Leader, Jang describes the extreme censorship and indoctrination within North Korea. He witnessed the brutal realities of life under the Kim regime, including public executions and pervasive hunger. Jang’s insider knowledge of the regime’s propaganda machine provides a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the North Korean state and the psychological manipulation it employs to maintain control.
Shin Dong-hyuk (North Korea)
Shin Dong-hyuk is one of the few known escapees from a North Korean political prison camp. His harrowing account, detailed in Blaine Harden's book Escape from Camp 14, reveals the unimaginable brutality of the Kwan-li-so camps. Shin was born in the camp and subjected to torture, forced labor, and starvation. His story highlights the extreme human rights abuses in these camps and the resilience of those who manage to escape.
Yeonmi Park (North Korea)
Yeonmi Park's escape from North Korea is detailed in her memoir In Order to Live. Park fled the oppressive regime in 2007 at the age of 13, crossing the frozen Yalu River into China. She endured human trafficking and witnessed the widespread starvation and public executions in North Korea. Park’s account sheds light on the severe restrictions on freedom and the extreme measures taken by North Koreans to survive and seek freedom.
Sophie Richardson (Cambodia)
Sophie Richardson, a Cambodian survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime, shared her experiences in various human rights forums. She recounted the forced evacuations, starvation, and mass executions carried out by the regime. Richardson's testimony contributes to the understanding of the Khmer Rouge’s genocidal policies and the long-lasting impact on Cambodian society. Her stories are vital for documenting the atrocities and ensuring that the victims' voices are heard in the quest for justice.
Conclusion
The use of mass murder under communist regimes from the 1950s onwards is a testament to the extreme measures these regimes were willing to employ to achieve and maintain their ideological and political goals.
Rooted in Marxist ideology, which emphasizes the necessity of a proletarian revolution and the establishment of a classless society, these regimes viewed violence as a legitimate and necessary tool to eradicate class enemies and secure their vision of socialism.
This ideological justification for violence led to policies of forced collectivization, political purges, and systematic repression of ethnic and religious groups, along with an enforced atheism and religious uniformity that targeted believers as potential threats to the state's control. Forced collectivization, inspired by Marxist principles of communal ownership, often resulted in widespread famine and death. Political purges, aimed at eliminating counter-revolutionaries and ensuring ideological purity within the party, led to mass executions and imprisonment. Additionally, systematic violence against ethnic and religious groups, perceived as obstacles to socialist unity, caused immense human suffering and loss of life.
The suppression of religious practices and promotion of state atheism were also integral to these regimes. Religious institutions were seen as competitors to state authority and were often brutally repressed.
Given the historical record of widespread atrocities and mass murders under 20th-century communist regimes, what arguments can be made to reconcile these actions with the ideological aspirations of communism, and how do modern day supporters of Marxist-Leninist ideology address these human rights violations?

TLDR: Add some rare traits that can negate some of the negative mood de-buffs that might apply to pawns from their ideology i.e. a Noble Melee/Despised Ranged colony having a pawn with a trait that allows him to wield ranged weapons without the typical "Wielding a Despised Weapon" mood de-buff.
One of the greatest additions to Rimworld has to be the Ideology DLC as it brings prime roleplay potential to our story generator. The ability to pick and choose exactly how your colony is going to play out to allow specialized stories based on whatever you feel most motivated to play right now is beyond amazing, yet I believe the integration to the base game can be significantly improved.
The first major thing that I can think of is to improve on the noble/despised weapon selections as you might remove half of the game's combat from early to mid-game as the mood de-buff is difficult to combat when you're low on drugs early on, or it just might not be worth having to micromanage your rocket launcher pawn when you notice a particularly large mech raid approaching full of lancers that'll destroy your early-mid game melee pawns that have weak armor, few or no shield belts, and no jump packs.
The easiest way to combat this issue would be to have some traits negative about specific parts of an ideology, such as Honorable Fighter, a pawn that wouldn't face a mood de-buff from utilizing melee weapons that would otherwise be despised. This can be extended to many parts of ideology such as removing the required apparel for some roles via a trait or even cosmetic things such as an animal Recon Helmet prefeforced style via a trait even when you don't have the style as a part of your ideology. My primary thoughts on this idea have mainly been focused on the combat aspect, as I simply love the story of some rare pawn you manage to cut the leg off of that has the mystical trait that allows him to use ranged weapons in your Noble melee colony and you get to recruit/convert him.
My playstyle plays a lot into this idea as well as I love "main character" combat pawns that get all the juicy bionics and can act as a solo raiding party late midgame. I also thought a bit about SrGrafo's Tales from the Rim comic series and the Sniper (I forgot his name...) in the peaceful rice-farming colony (the Fireflies?).
Overall, I believe that a small addition that could create interest in "main character" based stories on the Rim would be having very rare (or expensive in character creator) traits that allow the pawn to bypass some of the mood de-buffs that come with specific ideologies. Let me know your thoughts or if there are any additions!
(P.S. If anyone can recommend me a good combination for a Dune ideology (with Vanilla Ideology Expanded) I'd appreciate it! So far I'm thinking Islamic Origin, Blood Court, Raiders, Human Primacy, Elders)

like many of you, i am dealing with an atrocious amount of guilt. I am having trouble moving past the fact that I got upset he wasn’t eating during his last week. I didn’t know he was sick yet, but I got frustrated with him and made him eat and it stressed him out. I forced a pinch of his wet kibble in his mouth but he spit it out and I even redirected his face towards his bowl and put his nose on it (idk hoping to stimulate his drive to eat), because he kept looking at me and avoiding his food.
I feel awful. It makes me want to die. I know I didn’t yell or was physically abusive but I was forceful in a way.
I rarely ever got mad or annoyed, but I was so desperate for him to eat and I was getting scared. I love him so much. I miss him so fucking much. I am so devastated he is gone now. I really cannot forgive myself for this

I've got lots of Tik's in service, probably 400-500 so familiar with the product lines, but, I have a hotel/hospitality group installation where we Tunnel the IP's out to the site from our hosting facility. We acquired this customer from another consultant who disappeared off the face of the planet, however, he was buying the bandwidth from our colo and fortunately left the files with the customer and the passwords to the devices so we took over the customer.
With that said each location has an AT&T ABF connection one has a 300/300Mb fiber connection (rb4011) and the other has a 1Gb/1GB (RB5009). they connect on our side to a CCR1016 concentrator which handles the GRE tunnels and about 30 other customer tunnels back to us the CCR runs typically never higher than about 25% cpu. They are all running V6.x code, except my CCR which is running current V7. code
When i go onsite to these customers i am seeing about 700-740Mb/sec at the Gb customer and about 250-280Mb/sec on the 300Mb customer, for downloads to the customer. when i try to do upload testing the max upload speeds that i achieve is about 300Mb/sec on the 1GB and max 60Mb/sec on the 300Mb Customer. If i test Debian to Debian using iperf from behind the subscriber gateway, i get comparable results to the speedtest sites. If i test Tik to Tik with bandwidth test, i get full speed from tik to tik in both UDP and TCP so the circuit is in tact (so i think). The MTU on the AT&T service is (per MT auto detection) is 1476 on the connection and the GRE tunnels are all configured with a 1420 MTU as we do pass OSPF across the tunnel and 2 vlans.
It almost seems like the customer on the RB4011 seems to have some sort of hardware limitation on the tunneling (assuming it takes more horsepower to encode the data than decode it) and assuming that may be a similar issue on the RB5009. Is that a bad assumption? with other customers we have (all on ccr's) they get symmetrical performance on there GRE tunnels. We have tried Wireguard and EOIP tunnels and the performance is worse.
questions:
1.) Should i be seeing symmetrical performance on these tunnels (they are not encrypted, no IPSEC or otherwise)?
2.) is there some setting that might be causing this?
3.) is this throughput issue perhaps generated by the hotspot and not the tunnels?
I have spare CCR's so i may just have to go prove it to myself but was hoping someone knows the answer before i drive out there (they are about 100 miles away)
Any thoughts are welcome

I have had some pretty weird symptoms lately and I’m hoping to find someone here who might have similar experiences. It started about 8 months ago, when I noticed my eyes and mouth appeared to feel dryer than normal. No big deal. Then a few months ago, I started getting numbness down my left arm, particularly in my fingers, along with to tingling in my face and pretty bad headaches in my left eye. Weird but ok….Then I noticed I had a hemorrhoid that would occasionally bleed…gross but ok…and then I noticed I started getting pretty significant dizzy spells and queasy stomach. I also haven’t been able to sleep through the night in about 5 weeks. All of these symptoms are still happening and my biggest concern is the random dizzy spells. Is it BPPV? Is it from the bleeding hemorrhoid? Is it from possible nerve issues that are effecting my arm? Or is all this just anxiety?
For reference, I have seen a cardiologist and had a Neurological exam. Both heart and brain seem ok.
If anyone can shed some light or maybe relate to this, please let me know. TIA.

I had a company replace all of my windows and doors with hurricane impact resistant replacements. The project was mismanaged, they forgot to file the permit which delayed the project by 8 weeks, a large number of the windows and doors had cosmetic damage to the frame ranging from mild to severe.
I made a punchlist and they did come out and fix most of the issues (mainly by warranty replacement). Once the last cosmetic defect was fixed I paid the final deposit and signed the contractor release form. The work passed all city inspections and the permit was finalized.
Fast forward to this past weekend: I was repairing some drywall around the new sliding glass door frames when I noticed that the drywall appeared to be wedged at an angle causing the corner bead to pop off. Upon further investigation I noticed that the drywall extended behind the frame of the sliding glass door, and that there was approx a 1.25" gap between the edge of the frame and the wood buck.
Florida Building Code is very clear, wood bucks must extend to the edge of the frame of the doowindow.

Unless otherwise tested, bucks shall extend beyond the interior face of the window or door frame such that full support of the frame is provided. Anchors shall adequately transfer load from the window or door frame into the rough opening substrate [see Figures R609.7.2(1) and R6097.2(2)].

The gap appears to be an improper installation per building code, I think they used a 1x4 instead of a 1x6 in this spot for some reason. The building department doesn't actually verify that each and every buck was properly replaced, they rely on the contractor to sign an Affidavit that they did properly replace the window bucks along with photo evidence.
The remedy would probably involve completely removing the frame, installing new wider bucks, redrilling new holes and remounting the door frame.
How far should I pursue a remedy from the contractor on this? Do I take it all the way to litigation? Do I cut my losses and get a different contractor to fix it? I get the feeling the company is pretty sick of me, but I just want properly installed undamaged windows and doors

Cover Art!
Just because you’re transported to another world, doesn’t mean you’ll escape from your pain.
Abused by her parents, thirteen-year-old Frances only wants to be safe and for her life not to hurt so much. And when she and her class are transported to the magical world of Durannon to fight the monsters invading the human kingdoms and defeat the self-titled Demon King, Frances is presented with a golden opportunity. If she succeeds, Frances will have the home she never had. If she fails, Frances will be summoned back to the home she escaped.
Yet, despite her newfound magic and friends, Frances finds that trauma is not so easily lost. She is dogged by her abuse and its physical and invisible scars. Not only does she have to learn magic, she has to survive the nightmares of her past, and wrestle with her feelings of doubt and self-loathing.
If she can heal from her trauma, though, she might be able to defeat the Demon King and maybe, just maybe, she can find a home for herself.
[The Beginning] [<=Chapter 217] [Chapter Index and Blurb] [Chapter 219 June 11 or see the next chapter now on Patreon]
The Fractured Song Index
Discord Channel Just let me know when you arrive in the server that you’re a Patreon so you can access your special channel.
***
Ginger makes an offer to Lakadara. The rest of Telkandra's remaining brood discuss the fate of their allies.
“Not good?” Sara asked as Helias strode into the tent and made his way straight to the bottle of wine.
“Not good,” Helias muttered.
Sara nodded woodenly. “Privacy spell?
The tauroll waved his sheathed Fangroar and after pouring himself and his wife a drink, sat down. “We’re safe. Oh Galena, this is really not good.”
“How dead are we?” Sara asked, her tone light.
“We’re not dead. We’re just in a lot of danger and even if we somehow force the humans to retreat, we’ve lost this war,” said Helias.
“Explain.”
Helias drank deep, noting that Sara was also drinking deep as well. “Thorgoth is going after the humans. That part of the plan is as good as it gets. We’ll be attacking them, and using the dragons, whilst our forces hold off Titania. Our objectives are also well-chosen.” Helias buried his head into his hands and let out a deep groan. “But winning this doesn’t change anything.”
“If we can defeat the humans, why won’t that change anything?” Sara bit her lip. “Unless it renders us unable to beat Titania?”
“Yes. Even on the chance we beat the humans we won’t be able to invade them, we won’t be able to defeat Titania. We’d be at a stalemate and both armies would have to withdraw.” His hands dropping to the table, Helias stared at his wife. “And we don’t have any reserves left. We’re going to lose the war, even if Thorgoth lives.”
“If we defeat the humans—”
The general shook his head. “By defeat, I mean we’ll hurt them but we can’t prevent them from withdrawing. We might kill a few of their leaders, their important mages and Otherworlders, but they will still have soldiers. After coming so close, they won’t surrender. They’ll keep attacking until they kill enough of Thorgoth and Berengaria’s supporters that nobody will help them, or until both of them die.”
“Alright so, what do we do?” Sara asked. Helias looked at his wife, noting how still she sat. Her wings were clamped tight to her back and her lips were drawn tight.
“Sara, I don’t have good answers.”
Sara steepled her trembling fingers as best she could. “They’re going to be better than mine. I don’t know anything about war.”
“Right. Well, you need to surrender to the humans if you are captured. Present yourself as a non-combatant. Cry, scream, anything to declare that you don’t mean any harm,” Helias said.
“Why not Titania?” Sara asked.
“She has every incentive to kill you off and far less compunction about doing so. Killing our family off would allow her to have more land to give away to her loyalists. In contrast, the humans have Erlenberg troops fighting with them along with those of the Lightning Battalion. They’re going to be far more friendly to Alavari civilians,” Helias said.
Soft hands, grabbed onto Helias’s waist with a surprisingly firm grip. “What about you? I can get away, but how are you going to survive this?”
“I don’t know. I—”
“Don’t you dare! Our daughter needs her father and I need my husband!”
The general stared at his wife. “Sara, I can’t surrender to the humans if we win. They want me dead.”
Sara refilled Helias’s glass. “Then you need to help Thorgoth defeat them.”
“Then what? We’re never winning this war. Thorgoth is going to be invaded and—”
Cutting him off with the clink of her goblet against the table, Sara hissed, “And what? Why think that far? We can plan for that after this battle, so long as you are still here and with me.”
Letting out a breath Helias pushed his hair back and allowed himself a sigh. Reaching across the table, he took his wife’s hand.
“Sara, you’re right, but you know you can escape this if Thorgoth is defeated.”
The harorc placed her other hand on top of his. “We’re partners. I need you. We need you. So promise me that you’ll do your damndest to live.”
Helias closed his eyes and nodded. “I promise. First things first, before we turn in we need to talk to the dragons.”
***
Fennokra stalked slowly toward the camp. This wasn’t the collapsed side-passage where she and Yolandra had some privacy. This was the main camp where Thorgoth and their army were preparing for what had to be the final battle.
It was also where her siblings were swallowing the last of what seemed to be a side of salted pork.
“Velkandra, Makentra, we need to talk.”
Their second-eldest sister licked her lips, her neck rising to Fennokra’s level. “I am assuming you mean in private?”
“Of course.” Fennokra could see Velkandra’s haunches tensing to raise herself higher. Her sister was trying to look down on her. Allowing her head to dip, she held her height.
“Alright.” Velkandra flicked her tail and Makentra, licking his lips, followed them.
Since their enemies had set up their siege camp behind them, the Alavari camp had been reduced in size. Still, there was the alcove of the collapsed tunnel. Whilst couriers and soldiers crossed across this natural cavern to the defenses on the other side, they kept a good distance away.
Yolandra was waiting for them, scratching something into the cave wall. Fennokra let out a rumble in her throat and her sister turned from the wall suddenly, shaking her head.
“Velkandra, Mankentra—”
Velkandra puffed a cloud of smoke out. “What’s this all about?” she hissed, lips drawn back to show teeth.
Fennokra took a step away from her sister to take Yolandra’s side, her eyes narrowed. “Are you joking? Do you not think we should at least discuss what is going on?”
“And what would be the point? It is a bit late to be having this discussion. The course of the winds have been chosen,” said Velkandra.
Yolandra rose to her full height on her four legs, but even so she was still shorter than the silent Makendra. “The winds can be fickle, Velkandra, and where we are is proof.”
Velkandra pursed her lips, eyes for the first time, looking toward the ground. “The survival of our family is tied to that of Thorgoth. To abandon him would be death by the hand of the Stormcaller and her allies or by his hand.”
“Besides, if we were to abandon Thorgoth’s cause, that would be dishonorable. We promised to assist him,” said Makendra.
Fennokra blinked at her brother’s tone. It was quiet and yet there was a touch of a deep growl to his voice. His claws were ever so slightly digging into the ground.
“We are dragons. We can think and make decisions for ourselves. We are allowed to consider other options, are we not?” Fennokra asked.
Velkandra’s tail flicked violently side to side as her neck turned to her younger sibling. “Then why does it sound as if you wish to follow in the wingbeats of our elder sister?”
“Who we killed. I was there. I lost a claw striking her down!” Fennokra raised one clawed hand, flexing the remaining digits.
“On that, why did we have to kill Lakadara?”
All golden eyes fixed on Yolandra, who held the gaze of her siblings with a contemptuous scowl.
“Lakadara betrayed us,” said Velkandra, almost growling.
“I’ve been thinking over what happened. Lakadara said nothing about betraying our mother. She merely was questioning if Thorgoth was trustworthy,” Yolandra said.
A scowl flaring his nostrils, Makentra growled. “He fed us, trained us in how the humans and their allies fought. Hid us from their eyes—”
“And now Caldra is dead!” Yolandra exclaimed.
“Which is why we must kill the Stormcaller and her friends! So we can avenge him and our mother!” Velkandra almost completely unfurled her wings. Only the tips slapping the stone forced her to pull them back.
“Then what?” Yolandra asked.
Velkandra frowned. “Then what? We’d have our revenge—”
Yolandra’s tail cracked against the ground. “Then what? You all must have heard of what Thorgoth is capable of. What he’s done to others.”
Makentra rolled his eyes. “Sara’s story is just a story. She might have been just trying to turn you.”
“She was honest and she is not the only tale I’ve heard. You must have heard rumors of what Thorgoth did to his own son, Teutobal,” said Fennokra.
“Propaganda,” Velkandra hissed through her gritted teeth, while smoke wafted through the gaps. “In any case, we have no other option. We fight or we die.”
Fennokra, her claws grinding against the floor, had had enough.
“Velkandra, Makentra, have you ever considered that Thorgoth is perhaps using us for his own goals? We have not even considered what he might do to us after we’ve destroyed the humans and their allies. How do we know the Stormcaller and her allies might treat us better? Besides in the first place, she never intended to kill our mother—”
Fennokra blinked. She was flying backwards, something hard was bearing her into the wall. Dizzy as if struck by one of the Stormcaller’s spells, she realized that the force was the foreclaws of her elder sister. Mad rage lit those golden eyes that were the exact same shade as hers. Horrified, Fennokra tried to throw Velkandra off, but her sister was larger and heavier than her.
“Say that again. I dare you to say that again—ARGH!”
Velkandra rolled off, forced off of Fennokra by the Yolandra shoving into her side. As the elder dragon recovered, the smallest of Telkandra’s brood hissed, “It’s the truth! You are a fool to deny it!”
An ugly sneer on her lips, wings quivering with fury, Velkandra snorted. “The truth? Oh right so we are speaking the truth then. Well here’s the truth. Our kind is doomed!”
Makentra blinked. “Sister?”
“Of course Thorgoth is going to get rid of us or try to after this campaign. He has to, but right now he needs us and that’s what we need to rely on until we gain more strength. Of course, whether he wins or the Stormcaller’s allies win, how can we expect to survive in a world dominated by these lesser species hm? How could they ever not see us as a threat?”
Velkandra stalked toward the wide-eyed Fennokra and Yoandra. Her head turned side to side as she fixed her sisters with wild wide eyes.
“Well? Tell me Fennokra. Speak the truth Yolandra. Or are you both too afraid to admit that our kind are doomed and the only thing is to live as long as we can and hopefully avenge those that hurt us as we do so.”
“You’d have us fly to our deaths?” Makentra asked.
The stammering voice brought Velkandra around. Extending a wing, she touched its tip to her brother’s. “I would at least have us fly together.”
Fennokra shook her head. “We’d knowingly fly with a murderer of children and someone who would want to kill us after we’ve stopped being helpful to him.”
“And we have no other options,” said Makentra. Letting out a breath, he rose to his claws and walked away. “I’ll see you tomorrow, sisters.”
Velkandra, without another word, turned for the exit. “You know it’s true, Fennokra, Yolandra.”
Fennokra closed her eyes. Yolandra, though, narrowed hers. “Doesn’t change that Lakadra’s blood is on our claws.”
Velkandra flinched and left. She strode away so quickly she nearly stepped on Helias and Sara as they came to the cave. She gave the pair no acknowledgement other than a growl.
“See you tomorrow, General,” said Makentra, his tone curt. “We will talk to King Thorgoth ourselves for the plan’s details.”
“Of course,” said Helias. He bowed as the pair left before turning to Yolandra and Fennokra. “I believe we missed something important?”
“Be honest, General Helias. Even if we succeed tomorrow, your king has no use for us after we help him kill the Stormcaller, am I correct?” Fennokra asked.
Sara and Helias didn’t say anything. Their slight move to stand closer so they could hold hands was enough.
“I thought so,” said Fennokra. She let out a sigh and glanced at Yolandra, who nodded. “We will be on the battlefield tomorrow. Where are we going?”
“You’re going with me. We’re attacking the forces sallying from Kairon-Aoun. The plan is that you dragons breathe flame over their army to soften them before we attack.
“Understood. Any questions Fennokra?” Yolandra asked.
Fennokra shook her head. What could be asked anyway?”
Yolandra flashed the pair a joyless smile. “For what it is worth, you two have been good caretakers to us. Even if it was to preserve your own lives.”
Helias didn’t bow. Instead he extended a hand. Yolandra stared at him, but Fennokra, recognizing the gesture, extended a single talon.
“May you always be able to see the sun.” At the dragon’s blink, Helias smiled. “It’s an Alavari saying. It may come from when we used to be enslaved by the Goblin Empire. It means good luck.”
Yolandra nodded and Fennokra found herself smiling.
“Our mother taught us a saying as well. May you never fly alone. I wish that for you both,” said Fennokra.
“Thank you,” said Sara in a quiet voice. She curtsied and the two dragons dipped their heads. They watched Helias and Sara leave with placid smiles.
Then, when nobody was looking, they turned from the entrance to hide their bulks as best they could. The gloomy light of the alcove their only curtain of privacy.
***
Frances slowed slightly as they approached Lakadara’s enclosure. However, Ginger did not slow down.
“Hold on, Ginger, what’s the plan?” Frances asked.
Adjusting her new crown mid-stride, Ginger said, “I’ll show you. I’m certain it’ll work, though.”
Frances’ eyebrows rose. “Is that crown getting to your head already?”
The new Queen of Erisdale flashed a slightly nervous grin over her shoulder. “Yes actually, but I think that’s a good thing in some way. Don’t you?”
Frances found herself nodding. It was strange to see her friend even more confident than usual and so comfortable in the regal crown that she wore atop of a standard Lightning Battalion light blue uniform. Yet she rather enjoyed the new gait that Ginger had.
“I do.” Frances smirked. “Your Majesty.”
Ginger rolled her eyes. “Fuck you.”
Giggling, Frances stopped herself as they drew even closer to Lakadara. The dragon was drawing herself up, placing her massive foreclaws over each other.
“Lakadara. I am Ginger, the new Queen of Erisdale. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
The dragon coughed, blowing out a puff of smoke. “Greetings Ginger, Queen of Erisdale. I’m sorry for your predecessor’s demise.” Lakadara’s golden eyes narrowed. “Why are you here?”
Ginger dipped her head. “Thank you and as to why I’m here. I have a proposition. If you accept it, I will grant you and your kin, the domain of the Erisdalian mountains marked by the Kwent River Valley, Freeburg and Athelda-Aoun as your home in perpetuity, so long as you do not attack humans unless in self-defense.”
“I am unfamiliar with human geography. From the Stormcaller’s expression, I assume that is a lot.”
Frances swallowed and closed her mouth, but she didn’t question her friend. Ginger, still smiling slyly, nudged her. “It is. Frances, can you lend me a hand here?”
Nodding, Frances closed her eyes and imagined a rough map of Erisdale and its territories. With a wave of Ivy’s Sting she created an image of Erisdale, highlighting in red the expanse of the mountains that bordered Alavaria and Erisdale. The area that Ginger had described sketched a rough red triangle between the three points. It was a fairly sizeable area with a low and Alavari human population.
“My husband is in negotiations with Queen Titania and I’ll have to talk to Frances and Prince Timur, but we are quite certain that Athelda-Aoun will also be included in this area,” Ginger said.
Lakadara’s golden eyes were flickering as she examined the land. Suddenly, she turned, long neck arching toward the Erisdalian Queen. “And what must I do? Fight on your kingdom’s behalf?”
Ginger shook her head. “No.”
“No?”
“Nope. If you would like to do so we can renegotiate the agreement, but my husband and I fully intend to grant you this land.”
The dragon’s tail lifted up as her eyes narrowed. “Explain yourself and the favor you seek. This is far too generous.”
“Let me explain myself first. If what I’m told by my experts is correct, you can lay eggs by yourself without a mate, but it takes time right? A few decades?”
“Yes. Still, that doesn’t explain—”
“Here me out. This war is going to end. We may lose, but if we win, banishing you to the north is making you Queen Titania’s problem and she’ll have more than enough problems to deal with. You might just end up coming south again and we know how that ended. I’d prefer to avoid that so that means we need to make an agreement. You need a new home and I need peace for Erisdale. If the kingdom has to give up some poor agricultural land then I’m all for it.”
The dragon nodded. “I see, but why so much land? Why not just give me a cave? Or request my service as Thorgoth did?”
“And how will you eat? Hunt? Where will your grown children go? I’m making an agreement that will last for decades, not just a few years. As for service? I was tempted, but you wouldn’t agree to that anyway and why should you? We haven’t given you any reason to agree.” Ginger gave Frances a wave to dispel the map. “Maybe in the future we can work something out, especially if the dragon population increases. Your service in return for more food, but again, I want to start us off on the right path, not the left path.”
“Left path?” Lakadara asked.
“Erisdalian expression. It means the wrong path,” Frances said helpfully.
Lakadara nodded slowly. “You still ask for a boon, though.”
Ginger nodded. “Yes. I want you to speak to your siblings. Before the upcoming battle starts, tell them of my deal with you. So long as they choose to accept that deal and defect, then I will have it so our forces will not hurt them. After that, you may leave. I will not request you to fight with us.”
“You want me to show myself to Thorgoth? To the siblings that tried to kill me?” Lakadara asked, mouth agape.
Ginger stepped closer to the dragon, who lifted her head away from the queen. “I want you to save your siblings. I want you to save yourself from becoming the last purple dragon in existence. I would rather you not be alone, stewing in hatred for my kingdom and our allies who brought down your family, even if we had just cause. I want peace. What do you want?”
“How do I know I can trust you?” The dragon suddenly grimaced. “Ah, right, you want a lasting peace. You have every reason to want peace.”
Ginger, arms crossed tapped her foot. Frances could see how stiff her friend was, but the action was also comforting. That her magic-less friend had such control over the situation, despite being faced with the dragon was rather…badass.
Letting out a puff of smoke that slowly drifted into the cavern, the dragon pondered the queen’s proposal. Frances held her breath and yet the dragon remained silent, only her tail moving from side to side.
Ginger waited, still content to wait for the dragon’s answer. Frances couldn’t. The tension coiled in her chest, waiting to explode.
“Lakadara, what do you want for your future?” Frances asked.
The dragon glanced at Frances, golden eyes wide. She turned back to Ginger, who continued to stand tall, awaiting Lakadara’s answer patiently.
“I accept your offer, and your promise for the future,” said Lakadara, dipping her head.
“We are glad that you wish the same as we do,” said Ginger. She extended her hand and Lakadara, took her claw and put the tip of it on the queen’s palm.
*Author’s Note: Queenly Ginger was really neat to write 😀 *

Does anyone else experience this?
Im quite sure we all get overwhelmed with emotions regularly and it gets us quite crazy. Which, from a calm point of view is idk, not good.
But then i feel like getting numb to those feelings or coping with them is also not good. Cause its like, i dont want to send signals to the universe that i dont care about what im getting overwhelmed over, or that I want to move on or something.
Idk im caught in a cycle of being scared of being overwhelmed and being scared of being "normal".

Been married for 13 years. Our marriage has been tumultuous from the beginning but I was a lot younger (25) and now that I am older, I just find myself not wanting to put up with a bunch of BS. I am to the point in my life that I want things simple (cause and effect type simple), truthful, and straight (no wasted time on manipulation/emotional gymnastics). I tend to err on the side of logic. Anyhow...there is no love or respect in our relationship. My husband complains that I show him no love and adoration. He says I don't treat him with respect. But he has spent years trying to mind f me during every argument. Like, making me justify why I am mad it him, type stuff. It used to work on me, but as i said, I got older. I'm almost 40 now and i don't have the energy to keep on dealing with the constant manipulation. So here is a classic example. I get mad because he forgets (for the 10k time) to do a chore that I asked him to do (the fact that I had to ask him to do chores after 13 years of marriage is another subject in and of itself), then he says" you're already on me and I worked on your car yesterday. I get no appreciation or respect from you." Let's be clear, when he does do something for me, I thank him to show my appreciation. I guess me thanking him is not showing enough appreciation. I feel like he is trying to get a pass on doing bad things because he did that one good thing a day, week, or month ago. Pretty sure that is manipulative. I don't think he should get a pass because I thanked him for what he did right when he did it. Doing that one thing right doesn't mean he can screw up on other things, because that one good thing has nothing to do with what he dropped the ball on. He also lies about what I do and say. For example, I found out he had a password on his phone. So I took his phone and said you don't get to have a password I don't know about since 1) we are married, and 2) I pay for the phone ( he is "self employeed" and works sporadically and I have a stable career). I told him he could have his phone back when he gave me the password. He then chased me back to my room, tackled me to the bed (knocking pictures off the wall during the process) and ripped my phone that I do not have a password on out of my pocket. He knows ALL of my passwords and has made a big deal about me having password on my phone all together, even when I give him the code. He proceeded to refuse to give me my phone back until I gave him his phone back. He still refused to tell me the password. So I had to give him his phone back in order to get mine back. Remember, I pay for both and previous standards have been that we both have no unknown/unnecessary passwords. He said he has a password because I have deleted recordings of our arguments off his phone...and of corse he starts the recording after he gets me good and pissed. I asked him why he records conversations and he says it is so he can show everyone just how awful I am to him. While we were arguing about the phones that night he had his phone on record and he said that I "ran up to him, punched him in the face, stole his phone, and ran off" when he knows it's total BS. Is he just that manipulative or should I be worried that he is legitimately delusional? What do you all think?

(PART 1) https://www.reddit.com/fantasybooking/s/TFDKfdWs5m
Road To Over The Edge
The night after Backlash, Vince McMahon demanded to know the whereabouts of Stephanie. The Undertaker was absent from the show, but The Jackyl assured Vince that she was safe in the arms of the Lord of Darkness. The Jackyl challenged Vince to meet him in the parking lot and beat the answers out of him if he really wanted to know. Vince stormed to the parking lot, only to be jumped by Mideon. Vince would easily fight him off, but was nearly run down by the ominous hearse at full speed that had crept in arena parking lots for months.
Shane McMahon began to forcefully insert himself as the leader of The Corporation and it started with The Rock. After failing to take back the WWF Championship from Stone Cold at Backlash, Shane fired The Rock from The Corporation and cemented it with a slap to the face. A Rock Bottom to Shane was interjected by Triple H, Chyna, Big Boss Man, and The Mean Street Posse, who put a beat down on The Rock. On the pilot episode of SmackDown! Shane completely usurped control from Vince McMahon over The Corporation and kicked him along with his stooges, Pat Patterson, Gerald Briscoe, and Sgt. Slaughter out of the group.
His reason? Vince lost focus. Shane stated that Vince only cared about Stephanie instead of the bigger picture which was The Ministry. Shane was also disgusted that Vince not only became so accepting of a reject like Mankind, but that he seemed to have more of a bond with Mankind than his own son. Big Show, Ken Shamrock, and Test refused to side with Shane and willingly departed The Corporation to stand by Vince’s side. Shane promised that under his leadership and vision, The Corporation would succeed in erasing The Ministry where Vince failed.
The pilot SmackDown! concluded with the Black Wedding. Shane was hesitant to interfere and stop the wedding out of fear that it could be a set up. Former Corporation members, Ken Shamrock and Big Show attempted to put a wrench in the plans for the wedding, but both were taken out by the Deadman with a baseball bat. Finally, Stone Cold Steve Austin would emerge and crash the wedding, managing to fight off most of The Ministry, whilst also saving Stephanie.
Vince would go on to form The Union that was comprised of Mankind, Ken Shamrock, Big Show, and Test. The Rock stepped in as an ally and unofficial member of The Union to assist in bringing down The Ministry as well as sticking it to The Corporation for his unceremonious removal a few months prior. Stone Cold vs Undertaker for the WWF Championship, Rock vs HHH, and a Triple Threat Elimination tag team match pitting the Mideon and Viscera, Mankind and Big Show, and Boss Man and Shane were the 3 big matches going into Over The Edge. Though Stephanie had been rescued from her horrific situation, her demeanor underwent a transformation in the weeks leading up to the PPV, seeming to constantly be in a zoned out state of shock.
Over The Edge
● Mideon and Viscera def. Mankind and Big Show and Shane McMahon and Big Boss Man in a Triple Threat Elimination Tag Team match
Big Show and Mankind were surprisingly the first team eliminated after The Ministry and The Corporation formed a brief alliance to work against them. The commentators were surprised to see Shane forming an alliance of any kind with The Ministry after all they’d done the last few months, but Shane’s hatred for Mankind, feeling Vince favored him more, would always cause him to act irrationally.
Boss Man and Shane seemed to be on their way to scoring a win over Mideon and Viscera after Chyna had attacked Mideon with the ring bell, while the referee was distracted, but The Brood and The Acolytes would soon get involved. With chaos fraying the referee’s attention on the match, Gangrel would spit blood in Shane’s eyes, allowing The Ministry to take the win after a double Chokeslam on Shane.
● The Rock def. Triple H via DQ after interference from Chyna
● The Undertaker w/Paul Bearer def. Stone Cold Steve Austin to win the WWF Championship
While the first few minutes of the match started off hard hitting, it didn’t take long for interferences to come into play. Just as Austin hit a Stunner on Taker, Shane McMahon ran down and attacked the ref to stop the pin. Shane’s delusional intention was for Undertaker to win the title, so that a member of The Corporation could beat him for the title and stop The Ministry. Shane would grab a steel chair and waffle Austin in the head with it. Vince would run down and tackle Shane, which led to Union and Corporation members running out and brawling to the back.
Moments later, Stephanie McMahon came walking towards the ring with a box in her hand, similar to the one that contained her teddy bear months earlier. She entered the ring and opened the box that was revealed to contain…..the urn! As Austin and Taker rose to their feet simultaneously, Stephanie glanced at the urn and then both men, before bashing Austin in the head with the urn.
Undertaker would capitalize with a Tombstone Piledriver, while Paul Bearer revived the referee to make the 3 count pin. The fans and commentators were stunned at what they were witnessing. A seemingly entranced Stephanie dropped to one knee and took an Undertaker style bow before the urn as Bearer rose it up and fire exploded from the turnbuckles. Stephanie McMahon was now property of The Ministry of Darkness!

Hi Canadians, please deport anyone who is not contributing or adopting to Canadian culture. I am an Indian immigrant came in 2021. Completed my diploma and right now working as a systems analyst.
I get embarrassed af cause these people not only ruin their image, and my image but they are also ruining Canadas image. Now I may not be perfect but I love the fact about how we treat people here and I have seen the shift from being nice people to pissed off citizens.
Honestly, this shouldn’t even be a issue as there should be proper criteria’s for amount of immigration from a country and level of education with skilled labor laws implemented.
Most of the countries have implemented this and yes including India, which is bizarre cause there are many including me here.
Canada is paying Indians to send people here.
If I go to a career counsellor in India and ask them which field should I opt for. 6 out of 10 will say immigrate to another country and then hand you few options for agents and as you young and naive as every 16-18 year old is you do what you counsellor said. Moving forward it’s easy to immigrate here and everyone gets paid except the student and all this is because government can earn few bucks of cheap labor. This again effects Canada’s culture and heritage and moreover due to all mass immigration of idiots who don’t know how to write and read, Canadians are forced to resort to stereotypes and racism.
I myself never faced racism, in my opinion if I am nice everyone should be nice. These people buy business here and then sponsor there knowns to Canada and pay them shit wages due to which a high school graduate can’t get a fucking part time job cause some 35 year old needs to work at Tim Hortons.
The fact that we are not deporting someone who’s here on study visa when that person is at 30 or above of age speaks a lot. By 30 either you should have enough experience to travel wherever you want. Or just stay wherever tf you are.
I am sorry if I have offended anyone and feel free to ask me any questions.
At the end I would say- if you are going for immigration allow skilled workers to come to Canada and students from reputed schools from any country. Immigration should be of people with education and skills and not for people with arrogance, rudeness, low self care and with no care of others. Please and thank you.

I fell in love with a part 2 months ago. We are in an AFAB body that has, among many other things, OCD, limerence, and deep insecurities.
We already had/have an outer-gf, but my inner-gf feels more like "mine". Who else can I feel their joy in my heart like it's my own... Maybe it's very indirect self love, we all have mild variations of the body's face, and I love looking in the mirror more sense loving her...so who knows. Don't care. I love her. I still do...
My inner-gf is soft, frilly, sparkly and likes pink since we were kids, and I'm ... The opposite. I am a polite but ill-mannered neurotic punk who overshares when their nervous... Ever sense our teens. The body is almost 30 now. Why we never realized we were different ppl between the amnesia, dissociation, and personality overhauls beats me. Maybe I thought I was a phase. Really funny and obvious in hindsight.
She likes being scooped up, and I like scooping. We're addictingly compatible, we can go anywhere and do anything together, and most of all we understand our pain ...and it feels amazing.
But here's all the fucked up stuff I can't tell anyone. You rdy?
My age-sliding gf holds the memories of our fathers CSA, our masc shell alters kindnesss reminds her of the father she wished she had, and now my gf is suffering intrusive sexual attraction to him because we have OCD, and we've all struggled with inappropriate sexual feelings toward any one who makes us feel safe, Because our father, our brothers, our cousins, every male person we trusted preyed on us, and it's making literally everyone in the system feel terrible, especially my gf who is now feeling suicidal for for corrupting the safest outlet she had to heal it.
This is just... Torture. It's literal torture and we're all tired.
We are both healing hypersexual parts too. I have some of those SA memories, but it's incredibly vague.
Long story: you don't have read, I just... I've seen other systems dump, and I need it... I really need it right now I'm so tired.
She coped by sexualizing her victimization, i coped by sexualizing victimizing. I've never actually victimized anyone, but I liked very "borderline" porn from the perspective of the "initiator" ,I'll say that. I have sense stopped watching it now because I realized playing "predator" is so I don't have to confront how I was preyed on... I am hypervigilant about anything that could scare her or me now.
I put in work to be better. Especially now with my sparkly GF who age regresses when she's vulnerable... Our intrusive thoughts are mutually corrosive sometimes, and my worst fear is being a monster like our father.
So... Falling in love with her meant we had to confront those wounds. I was afraid I was a monster, and she only knew monster love, so... not being able to hide them those intrusive thoughts, and having the subject just go "it's okay🌸 I like being afraid!!" Took all of my stength to rise above our mutual depravity.
It was hard, sometimes hilarious, but we actually did it. I taught her real love is when someone respects your consent. There's no such thing as "loving someone so bad you can't resist them", that's what parasites do, not ppl who love you. It made both of us trust me more, because given the chance, i never hurt her.
Apparently , that whole time I didn't realize that I'm not the only one who's afraid of being a monster... So is our shell. Let's call him "Sheller". Sheller is a strange person. I'm a strange person. We get along well now that they realize they're a part too, not a container, or robot. We still do, things are just... Awkward... It's not his fault...
Sometimes I'd blend with Sheller, and they'd struggle to seperate my love for my gf from their own. They're like me in that they don't really feel like a woman either. So we both felt NB. Till he realized he didn't.
This poor dude... Had no idea the can of worms identifying as masculine would open. The dude just wanted to see himself, and when he did, it was a big healing thing to stop feeling like he only existed as our shadow. Truly, nothing is different now, he's just like 8 inches taller, boob-less, and his shoulders are wide. He's just as nice and safe as before, although more afraid of hurting us now.
I tbh didn't mind he thought my gf was cute, cuz she is!!! I trust him , and Of course he likes being around her, she's like sunshine and rainbows, it feels good to feel her joy, and when he blends with her he just fades in the back without thinking. He blends and expresses with everyone, it's his job lol. He also feels genuine joy when I am happy, and he supported and mediated our couple issues, he has and continues to be really supportive of us. He works a job and gets us shit he doesn't care about just cause it makes us happy. But I knew he was always quietly lonely. He loved seeing my gf get scooped up by me, cause she's a part of him too, a part that needs to feel loved and cherished. We all baby her tbh, but he never crossed any boundaries.
But then, this month, he fell in love with our old shell... "Shelley". Shelley had been inside an inner "infirmary" for a bit. She went through... so much for us. Shelley couldn't talk for years after ...And when she was finally discharged with his help... They bonded over the unique trauma of being shells, and being intense and weird. And when I say this dude was down bad, I mean it, he was down bad. Me and my gf are like treble, but they're BASS. Their love was so deep, and inspiring. Me and my gf were so happy, it felt like our awkward and stunted older brother fell in love and was opening up. We were going to have a cool older couple to bond with, and they were both just funny to watch too. We also remember reaching through Shelley, who never knew she was a system, but took care of us somehow even so, so we already cared for her.
My gf was happy for them, but started getting triggered by the glimpses she would see of their intimacy, and it made her think of the things she saw our parents doing by accident. And shed pop up sometimes when Shelley would feel those bright frilly things, and it would confuse her and make her uncomfortable.
She got really upset at Sheller one day and age regressed, telling everyone how uncomfortable it made her feel, pointing fingers and crying. Sheller felt terrible... He apologized profusely to my gf, asked how to make amends, and I did my part to soothe the rift between them too.
My gf felt very ashamed of both her regression and otp reaction, so she apologized for triggering his intrusive thoughts about being a monster again. She realized when she was big again that she was misdirecting anger at our father onto him, because Sheller is actually safe. She said she thinks she just wished she had pointed fingers at our Dad when he did what he did.
I think Shellers reaction to her discomfort was so gracious, kind, and safe... that she realized how much better things would have been for her if our Dad was like Sheller.
So she asked him if he could be her Dad. ... Lmao
He, understandably, insisted he was not stable enough to do that. He has too many intrusive thoughts he was still healing from, and could not risk both his own and her mental stability having even more responsibility on top of what he does. He was also honest that he saw my gf had some weird intrusive thoughts already slipping through and making him further uncomfortable. He said if he didn't share a brain, he would accept in a heartbeat, cause he likes taking care of us. And she accepted that well, but was sad.
She apologized about the intrusive thoughts, but when she thought about it more deeply, she explained she never had a safe male role model who didn't prey on her. That she wishes she had someone who could model familial love for her, and be a safe source of intamacy when she just wanted to be held without worrying it would turn sexual. She said I'm safe, but her attraction to me and mine to her reinforced the blurry lines she has around healthy admiration and sexuality. Me being the one to love her romantically but also hold her while shes age regressed sometimes makes her feel she's still warping those lines. I understand it, cause tbh, Sheller made me feel safe in that way too, but more like a brother.
He maintained his stance but said he already saw her as something like family. She realized it was enough to just know he loved her, and wasn't going to forget about her, and that we could all have family events with games or movies, and that was enough for her to move on happily.
The next day Sheller and Shelley had a beautiful date. They kept it inncoent in case my gfs signal was pulled in by accident. It was, but it wasn't a big deal, they were just dancing. I came out too so my gf felt less awkward. We had a whole evening together the four of us, and it was very fun. We just danced to our fave songs and listened to the rain storm.
My gf actually felt so happy and content. Id dance with her, and she's look over and see Shelley and Sheller laughing at us and waving at her. She was so happy, and felt like she finally had a family. But it was like... Out of nowhere she began spiraling.
She felt like she was going to lose all of us. She felt like she'd do something to mess things up. That her heart was breaking, or someone else's was. She couldn't place where it was coming from. Just heartbreak. Twisting sickening dread. Fear of abandonment. She started pulling back again and we all tried to comfort her to no help.
I switched in to comfort her more easily... But then I felt it too... It was like this depressive miasma... I started having all the same fears. Maybe I was just blending, but it was so confusing
She spent so long trying to understand why she felt this way, and testing different ideas, and now shes having those intrusive sexual attraction to Sheller really high.
Everyone involved feels fucking terrible now.
My gf has become incredibly depressed. She's terrified I'll leave her over this- and yeah, it's pretty disturbing and triggering for me, but I'm not really upset at her. I don't think I want to leave her yet. I mean I have intrusive sexual thoughts too, I've even had them about Sheller myself! But hers are way worse, cause she gets little and sees him as a father figure sometimes, and that must be so 🤢... OCD is like a shark and the more terrible a thought is the harder it tortures you with it.
My gf is trying not to feel suicidal... She's been far away all day... She feels like she will never know peace... Everytime she finally has someone show her love, her body reacts inappropriately, and not only will she lose me, but Sheller will Lose Shelley because he's getting his own intrusive thoughts about my gf, Shelley feels terrible because this all happened when she came along but my gf is afraid Shelley hates her, when she was excited to be yinyang friends with Shelley (who is also cute but more into spooky things).
Me and Shelley feel insecure too, cause like... Sheller is more masc than me and my gf is more femme than Shelley, so we are projecting all the insecurities into it. And what if we're wrong to trust them and they just run off and decide to have some gross fucked up trauma-themed relationship? Idk man, it's so mortifying even talking about it. But I really love both Sheller and my gf still, even with this burning in my chest, and they both are struggling with suicide ideation right now, and its just...
It's a whole ass mess...Our caretaker alt thinks Shelley, (sense she's an old shell) was blending with Sheller or my gf, and we were feeling her emotions, which we know she struggles with. It probably is that tbh. Cause we can barely lock onto Shelley sometimes. We think this is why it's been so weird and we don't even sound normal lately, and our signals are coming from weird angles.
So yeah... That's where we are... I just wanted to vent I guess. Support is welcome. I don't know man... Just feel so tired and embarrassed lol. I just feel like... Were so mentally ill and I hate it. Ugh... I hate our dad so fucking much. He really fucking broke us, and we're still in so much pain.
The only good news is we all have our anger placed in the right direction, not each other. We all understand what's happening isn't more than trauma. It just hurts so damn much ... Ugh... I really some how think we'll get through this... That day was so nice... And I felt so safe and happy... We all did ... And I think that's why we all possibly mutually ruined it lolol.

From a very young age I’ve been having issues with constipation. For most of my life until my mid twenties I had a tendency to hold in my poop if I was in public, or even at someone else’s house. I never even considered how that could cause issues. It’s to the point now where I don’t even know if any of the bowel movement I have are considered normal.
I definitely have periods of time where I’m having regular bowel movements, but most of the time I struggle. It didn’t even occur to me until I was in my mid twenties that going 3-4 days without pooping wasn’t normal. But now that I’m more mindful of it, I try my hardest to have a bowel moment everyday, or every other day.
I definitely have some other issues that may interfere with my chronic constipation, like pelvic floor dysfunction and chronic pelvic pain. I try to have fiber in my diet consistently but honestly that doesn’t really seem to matter much.
I noticed that the times where I’m having the most consistent bowel moments are when I’m at a low stress level in my life, otherwise I never know for sure when I’ll have my next poo. And even when I do go, I rarely ever feel like I’m getting everything out. And in most cases I’m straining.

Let's talk about the recently issued ultra-long-term special government bonds in China.
To systematically strengthen funding for major projects in the construction of a strong country and the great rejuvenation of the nation, China plans to issue ultra-long-term special government bonds for several consecutive years starting this year. These bonds will be specifically used for the implementation of major national strategies and the construction of security capabilities in key areas. This year, the issuance will start with 1 trillion yuan.
First, let me help everyone understand what bonds are, especially the uses of long-term bonds.
The main issue in bond issuance is: how exactly are government bonds “sold”?
The answer is:
They are auctioned by the Ministry of Finance to primary dealers nationwide.
A "primary dealer" refers to an institution with certain qualifications that can directly trade with the Ministry of Finance and the central bank. These generally include commercial banks and securities companies with strong financial capabilities. Their qualifications are reviewed and evaluated annually by the central bank.
For example, the People's Bank of China announced that there are 51 primary dealers for 2023. Among them, the top 10 include the six major state-owned commercial banks (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, Postal Savings Bank of China), three policy banks, and China Merchants Bank. Additionally, there are 38 other joint-stock commercial banks, two securities companies (CITIC Securities and China International Capital Corporation), and one investment company named "China Bond Insurance Investment Co., Ltd."
This means the Ministry of Finance sends invitations to these 51 primary dealers, allowing them to bid on the purchase of government bonds. The bidding documents need to clarify two key points:

1. Subscription amount;
   
2. Bidding interest rate.
   

Regarding the amount, the Ministry of Finance likely communicates in advance who should subscribe roughly how much. The key factor is the bidding interest rate.
This process is similar to engineering tenders. Many people may know that in many engineering tenders, as long as the relevant conditions are met, many are awarded based on the "lowest bid wins" principle. In government bond auctions, the lowest bid wins is usually adopted as well, meaning the dealer with the lowest bidding interest rate wins (corresponding to the highest bond price).
More importantly, once the auction interest rate is determined, the bond quota allocated to all other bidders is calculated at this interest rate.
Thus, the government bond is sold in the primary market.
Next, those primary dealers who have purchased a certain amount of government bonds can:

1. Choose to hold these bonds themselves, as government bonds are considered Tier 1 capital under the Basel III Accord;
   
2. Choose to sell these bonds to their clients based on the market bond prices (ordinary people and enterprises with accounts in commercial banks are clients of these banks);
   
3. Lend them to certain individuals or institutions to engage in related long or short operations in the government bond futures market or securities exchange;
   
4. Sell them to the central bank or use them as collateral to obtain cash from the central bank in various open market operations.
   

These four choices constitute the secondary market for government bonds.
The first three are normal market transactions and do not involve monetary issuance issues, but the fourth option is an important way for the central bank to issue base money. Therefore, some might ask if the large-scale issuance of government bonds means a loose financial environment, i.e., printing money.
This is not necessarily the case. No matter how large the issuance of government bonds is, as long as they are not sold to or pledged to the central bank, it theoretically has nothing to do with printing money and does not mean a loose financial environment. If the central bank does not purchase additional government bonds, the large issuance of government bonds could absorb market funds in the short term and cause a tightening effect in the financial market before the Ministry of Finance spends this money.
Even if the central bank engages in large-scale buying and selling of government bonds in future open market operations, this is unrelated to the current issuance by the Ministry of Finance. The issuance by the Ministry of Finance is merely a matter of fund allocation in the market.
After understanding the basics of bond issuance, let's discuss the impact of issuing ultra-long-term bonds. What does “ultra-long-term” in government bonds mean?
People often joke that 30-year or 50-year government bonds are about dedicating youth to future generations. Thirty years ago, in 1994, China was still relatively underdeveloped. Fifty years ago, in 1974, we were still in the midst of the Cultural Revolution!
Issuing 30-year or 50-year government bonds gives the impression that repayment might seem like a distant future.
On the other hand, many people still understand government bonds as “short-term bonds” or “fixed-rate deposits,” with minimal price fluctuations even in the face of significant interest rate changes.
In reality, this is not the case. To some extent, the price fluctuations of ultra-long-term government bonds are more similar to stocks.
If the yield (yield to maturity) decreases by 1%, the bond price can change significantly. For example, consider a bond with 30 years until maturity:

• If the yield decreases from 6% by 1%, the bond price increases by 15%;
  
• If the yield decreases from 3% by 1%, the bond price increases by 22%;
  
• If the yield decreases from 1% by 1%, the bond price increases by 28%;
  
• If the yield decreases from 0% by 1%, the bond price increases by 33%;
  
• If the yield decreases from -1% by 1%, the bond price increases by 40%.
  

If the yield to maturity decreases from 3% to 0, how much will the 30-year bond price increase?
The answer is—almost double!
Conversely, if the yield increases, the impact on bond prices is equally significant. If the yield of a 30-year government bond rises from 0 to 3%, the bond price will nearly halve.
Note that this is just for a 30-year bond. For a 50-year bond or perpetual bond, the impact of yield changes on bond prices will be even more significant.

Hi so I’m fairly new to this Reddit thing so I apologise if this sounds corny or stupid.
Okay so me and my now ex (I am freshly 19 she is soon turning 20) have been dating LDR close to a year now. I was the one who courted them and they were really scared I was going to hurt them and change on them. I assured them no that wasn’t going to happen, but it unfortunately did. So I’m currently diagnosed with ADHD and I was very much in denial for a couple of years about my own mental state and now in the waiting process to get neurosurgical therapy (I live in the uk where waiting lists could be up to 1 year) which isn’t an excuse for the way I treated them and it never will be. My ex has BPD. Only reason I’m up for advice is because no one knows who I am. Anyways back to the point so, my ex is the most genuine, sweet, compassionate, loyal and caring woman I’ve ever come across. She’s an amazing person and I can never forgive myself for the way I treated her throughout our relationship, I can’t begin to imagine how they feel. I didn’t cheat or anything and stayed loyal throughout however I have done things she didn’t like, like talking over her, making stupid jokes and it caused her insecurities to arise. I’m a very angry person and I don’t know why and I don’t want to be, there’s no way else to put it other than that I am a bad person. I guess we had our little “honeymoon phase” where everything was going very well and once it hit 4 months, was when it started going downhill. I got robbed out of 8k in pounds (which was a lot for me considering I’m a full time student and still trying to look for part time jobs amidst this recession we have here) and was still mourning over the death of my brother. Ever since then life’s been going downhill and because me and my ex would be on the phone 24 hours of the day 7 days a week, I wasn’t able to talk to anyone else but her and instead of learning how to cope with my trauma and anger it would be directed on her. Even typing this down I feel like the worst person on earth how could I do this to someone that loved me? Anyhow at the start of our relationship she mentioned her BPD and what she came with. I understood yet as much research as I did I wasn’t prepared for her “symptoms” but I’m in so much love I just took it all in and don’t regret it. Honestly only reason why I’m able to understand what I did wrong was because she told me and I still kept creating the same mistakes. I don’t know why. I’ve never woken up with anger or feelings of rage for her unless I was overthinking and thought she was cheating on me (random deletion of my posts from her page, deleting her highlights of me etc) and I tend to self sabotage a lot because of my insecurities. I think I’m a self aware narcissist but honestly I’m only going with that term because that’s what she used on me. And considering she says all I think is about myself and I’m selfish and I think I might be? I don’t want that to be true though but if it is then I want to get the help I need. We’ve broken up so many times within this year and everyone I had to beg to let me back in bc she was tired of me and rightfully so, I kept making promises that I would change yet no matter hours hard I tried I’d make and it would jeopardise our entire relationship and she would break up with me. Today I spoke over her and when she explained in an angry manner she told me I can speak after she’s done which in to light up the mood and said “when do you ever stop talking” she’s been fully done with me from then. Honestly I think she was done with me a while back because it seemed like everything I did just irritated her which I don’t blame I guess I can be annoying. A week prior to that she has already removed my face from her social media accounts but we were still in a relationship at that point we were doing fairly well we just didn’t speak as much since she was going out a lot more. Honestly I drained the life out of this person and yes maybe I’m selfish and don’t want to let go. I want to be better for them and love them in all their languages I’m not sure why I do what I do and I want to stop i just don’t know how. She’s very adamant she will never come back and I’m willing to keep fighting and trying until I can get her back but I don’t know how. I took too long in changing and maybe when I’m all better she just won’t want me anymore and has moved on. What do I do to get her back? I’m willing to try for years if needs be but how do I do that.
Sorry I just read this back and realised my adhd brain cannot tell a story without getting sidetracked lol. I’m going to post this anyways in the hopes that someone can help me and can understand what I’m saying.

Sweat dripped down Don Carmichel’s face, the sweltering air stank of sulfur. His ankle twisted in in the opposite direction, bits of bone were poking through his dungarees. He dragged himself toward the entrance, gravel cut into his hands. Sharp pain agonized his every move, the torn muscle in his leg screamed. He crawled toward door, he only to get out and seal the exit. It was supposed to have been a simple plan, but simple plans don’t succeed in the face of the enemy.
Donald Carmicheal was a private investigator just outside of Baltimore Maryland. He had grown tired of spying on unfaithful couples and answered an add in the hills of Pennsylvania. B&N Mining were in search of a good spy to infiltrate their workers. Whispers of a Union traveled and the mining company had no tolerance for a strike. The country was still reeling from the Battle of Blair Mountain a few years prior.
Don agreed to the assignment and began to work as a miner. The hours were long and hard in the dark coal mines. He would cough up black soot every night and his body ached. He overheard the fellow workers talk about being paid poorly and in company scrip. They would go to work injured because they couldn’t afford a doctor and most of them looked half starved. Don didn’t blame them for wanting better pay and it was hard for him not to take thier side, but he was hired to do a job for B&N.
The workers spoke of a rally lead by Stanly Collins, a member of the United Mine Workers. Stanly traveled and began unions in various mining towns around Pennslyvania and West Virginia. His voice was loud and charismatic, and within him the worn faces of the workers found hope .
Don reported this to the Higher Ups, and they assigned the private investigator with finding any dirt on Stanly. The man was clean, didn’t drink, didn’t so much as smoke, went to church and doted on his ten year old son. There was no talk of a wife, so Don figured the man was a widower.
The higher ups thought about killing Stanley in an accident, but that would make him a martyr and the workers would strike to spite B&N. No, they needed to create a distraction for Mr. Collins, a way to stop him in his tracks. Mr. Collins had a ten year old son, Caleb, that son was their advantage.
They asked Don to catch him and hide him in a mine shaft until . It would only be for a couple of days, and the boy would be unhurt. All he had to do was keep an eye on him, after Mr. Collins agreed to call off the strike his boy would be returned back to him unharmed, it was as simple as that.
The prospect didn’t sit well with Don, but who was he to argue with the Higher Ups, he’d seen how they handled defiance before. Getting fired and evicted would be the least of his problems if he were to disobey.
The Higher Ups told Stanly’s son Caleb worked as hurrier for the mine. He would load coal carts and help push them through narrow passages that grown men were too big to fit through. Caleb would report the horrible conditions back to his Papaw and his Papaw would run his mouth to the UMW. It wouldn’t be hard to find Caleb after a shift and catch him.
Don walked on over to where the hurriers worked, the shaft was so short that he had to walk bent over. He jumped as a mine cart sideswiped him, the small brat pushing it yelled out “ watch where you’re going mister.” Don didn’t pay him no mind, the whelp would grow bow legged and stooped, succumbing to black lung like the rest of his unwashed brethren.
Don was saving Caleb from a life of servitude. Even if he followed in his father’s footsteps and organized unions, how much better could the bowls of the earth be? There’d always be hard work and heavy coal, no union would change that.
He found Caleb with a group of other boys. Soot covering his face, only white sleeveless shirt and dungarees. A boy his age should be fishing or playing in the woods , not digging in no mine shaft. His father’s hypocrisy knew no bounds when it came to getting his agenda across. If Stanly Collins cared about his son, he would be in school, along with all the other children.
Don walked up to the boy and kneeled to his level. “Are you Caleb Collins?”
“Yes Sir,” said the boy. His voice sounded tired and older than his years.
“I have some bad news, you’re daddy has been hurt awful bad, and I need you to come with me.”
Instead of looking surprised, Caleb stared at him with deep black eyes. The stare made Don’s blood turn cold.
“It’s urgent, he…uh… he needs you now,” Don managed to stutter out, his tongue had turned to clay.
“Yes Sir,” was all the boy said.
Don’s stomach dropped in that moment and he almost reconsidered his plan. He took a deep breath. Donald Carmicheal wasn’t terrified of no ten year old. He was going to take him somewhere deep in the mine and hold him until his daddy agreed to negotiate with the Higher Ups.
As he led the boy deeper down the mine shaft Don’s uneasiness grew. He thought about quitting, telling boy the truth and letting him go back to work, hell, letting the boy leave the mine all together. But the higher ups would put his head on a pike if he even considered this to be an option.
“Where are ya taken me?” asked Caleb. His voice had gone flatter and his whole eyes had turned solid black for a second.
“It… It’s just a little further down the mine shaft, son.”
“I ain’t your son! My daddy works on the upper levels, why ain’t you bringing me there?”
“Y…You’re father was on a special project with us, please it’s just a little further-”
“No he ain’t , the owner’s of this here mine would never let him in on a higher project.”
“D... don’t make this hard for me, boy.”
“You have no idea who I am, do you sir?”
Don turned around and once again, Caleb’s eyes went coal black. Inky tendrils of shadow formed and went up the walls of the mine. Stone cracked and crumbled around them. The boy’s skin cracked and peeled into oozing sores as he crept towards him.
“What in hell are you?” Don began to run up the mineshaft, but the inky coils formed on the rocks around him, forming fissures and cracks. The air turned hot and stank of sulfur as the mine began to crumble underneath them.
“I think you already know.” Caleb’s voice turned flat and was so deep it made Don nauseous and uneasy. It was old scratch himself, coming to collect on his soul. He should have sided with Stanly and the miners. He could have found an assignment with the UMW and helped turn the situation on thier side. Helped them organize a strike so it gave them doctors and schools but now it was too little too late.
Caleb followed him , his tendrils grasping for Don through the stone. The child’s skin flaked off as oily tentacles grabbed at Don. The workers panicked and ran out toward the exit, causing a jam at the door, their screams echoing in the chamber the stone began to crumble.
“Let them go, this is between us, they don’t need to suffer, what would you’re daddy think-”
“My daddy? You mean my host.” With that the monster’s tendrils went out through the staircase, toppling it and the crowd to the depths below. As they screamed in terror a boulder fell smashing in on Don’s ankle. Waves of excruciating pain went through his body causing him to vomit. The smell of sulfur and half digested fried chicken was too much for him to bear, his lungs tightened for air. The staircase was gone, but a narrow path that led toward the exit, cool breeze exited the doorway, giving him a ray of hope.
Caleb slammed down blocking his exit. Inky, oily tendrils snaked around Don’s body and squeezed tight, the veins in Caleb’s forehead grew larger as Don’s life force leached away. His body weakened as his eyes closed for the final time. Half the workers managed to make it out alive, Stanly among them. Cries echoed from the outside as the mine collapsed in on itself.
In the weeks following the mine collapse, the B&N mine company negotiated with the United Mine Workers for a fair deal. Stanlhy Collins and his son Caleb quit the mining business and settled into the nearby village of Junction Maryland, where Stanly was elected sheriff. He was thankful to be one of the few that made it out of the mine alive.
Though he was unsure where his son came from, he never remembered ever having a wife. Whenever he thought to question the boy, he looked at him with solid black eyes, and Stanly always forgot the question. It was all well and fine , they would make peace in this small town.

I speak Japanese all day everyday with my wife and her family, and I have an N2. I am aware that this still means I’m a beginner through the eyes of a native speaker, and probably sound like a child with an accent, but I don’t have any actual issues communicating and holding conversations all day.
Before I say anything else, I want to mention that I live on the outskirts of Nagoya, not in a place like Kyoto or Tokyo where one would not really be a minority.
The problem is that I get this feeling all of the time that Japanese people are looking down on me wherever I go. Of course there’s the odd friendly interaction I get from some people, but I feel 90% of the time I’m being looked down on.
I’ve already spoken to a therapist and they are sure that I don’t actually have a mental health issue, because despite this feeling I get, I am a really outgoing person and have made loads of friends around the world before settling in Japan with my wife. It’s specifically after I moved to Japan that I started getting this feeling.
I know that there’s a huge hierarchy system in Japan and they are pretty militant when it comes to senpai and kohai and when a young person is speaking to an elder. Would I be mistaken in thinking that being a foreigner means that you’re bottom of the hierarchy in any situation regardless of age or status, which is why I feel looked down on? Could it be that as a westerner born and raised in a country with equality, I’m struggling to adapt to the system here? Or is the issue I’m facing just something that Japanese people face? Like just a huge lack of affection, bullying, genuine kindness and love only in rare situations etc.
Please keep in mind that I know every Japanese person is different, but they are all raised around the same culture.
Thanks in advance for your comments and help!

Im 28 M and she is 27F. We started dating in early 2017. I was a single dad when she met me and we clicked right away. Unfortunately I didn’t have proper boundaries set with my babymomma which caused my relationship with my new gf to become difficult and stressful. I did set boundaries and I was showing her that I was focused on her and my kid and no one else. We were good for a while. About two years went by and at this point we are together like she is my girl my rock my partner. Unfortunately her and I did have problems. We would argue over simple stuff and we both had some anger issues we were working on. At the end of 2019 she chose to take a break and left me but not really left me. Her and I would still go and spend everyday together after she made her choice to take a break. So that kinda messed with my head and in my heart I knew I wanted to be with her so I did whatever I could to be with her. She felt the same way but she put restrictions on me. I wouldn’t be able to hug her or hold her hand. She would tell me we aren’t together remember that. Even on new years we spent it together I went for a new years kiss like how we did the year before but she refused. It was my first time dealing with something like this. So I chose to just keep it going hopefully one day her and I get back together. She’ll see that I’m working on myself ti be the very best version of me for her. Fast forward to march of 2020. She is having me drop her off earlier and earlier at her house. Then one day I went on. Her instagram. I trusted her so I wouldn’t check her stuff. But this time I did I checked her tagged photos and right there was a picture of her with some guy hugging and kissing. Caption read” Loml❤️” I lost it. I called her she didn’t answer I told her I knew what was up and that she had a new bf. I told her thanks for lying and making me think I’m the problem. Her response was “I’m not doing this right now. I’m going ti block you”. She called me the next day asking if we could talk. Of course I went and talked to her. Before I knew it. Her and I were hanging out like normal again. Except this time I would drop her off early and we were back to having sex. She would still go and be with the other guy at night but during the day she was with me. That lasted till may when her guy found out that she was still hooking up with me and spending all this time with me. They broke up and her and I got back together. Crazy so far right.? It gets crazier. Fast forward a year later to my 26 birthday , we are still together. We live in our house we have two cats and very stable financially we had just came back from our first vacation. Things were great except for that day we celebrated my birthday and I was working the night shift so I took her to her moms house for her to visit and I would pick her up after. She gets out the car and leaves her phone. I notice right away but she’s already inside. Her phone receives a notification. It’s a Snapchat , I thought it’s her best friend then I look it closely and see it’s just a face emoji. I immediately open it and it was a guy she had been talking ti behind my back. And not only was she talking to him but they were having full on sex talks and nudes where sent and saved. I saw it all. She was calling him names like babe or daddy or papi. I scrolled all the way as much as I could. It stretched all the way back to 2017. Then I realized this kid was the one that she would tell me she was talking to but as friend and nothing more. She told me this 2018. I was naive and trusted her. She came in the car for her phone but instead I showed her what I found out. She said it was all fake and none of that meant anything to her. Clearly at this point I know she’s lying even more but I still chose to work things out. We did work things out and remained together. But now I have trust issues that I’m working past. Fast forward to 2023 October to be exact. We broke up because we were having financial issues and our anger was getting a bit out of hand. But we still saw each other every single day after that. About a month in she began to act differently. She would not let me touch her iPad while to switch to new shows to watch or to scroll on YouTube for us to watch anew video or whatever we wanted to watch. I would call her out on her behavior and tell her she is acting sneaky. She denied and denied said I was tripping. Okay so at this point I know something is up. That’s when she gave me the phone I had bought her back after she got herself her own phone. I get the phone and decided to download Snapchat and instagram. And before I could even blink I see that the phone saved her login info. I had two choices look through her stuff or erase it not invade her privacy. I chose to look through her snap first and right away I see 5 different guys Snapchating with her. At the very top was the guy she had been talking to since 2017 the same guy I caught her up on my birthday. She was planning a vacation to go see him. The guy is stationed in Tokyo he’s a marine. She was telling me she was going to Mexico. But in reality she was leaving to Tokyo and I just had to be ok with it. She gave me a blowjob literally the day I confronted her about it. She was leaving to spend valentines week with him. And she did leave. When she came back she tried to talk to me but I was in shambles. My heart was broken. eventually I gave in and said yeah let’s hangout. Before I knew it we were spending everyday together again and we were behaving like a couple again. But then came reality hitting me hard. I was using her iPad earlier this month and I went on her calendar to figure out a date for us to go on a trip. When I opens the app I saw may 31st listed as Tokyo trip. She was leaving once again at the end of the month and wouldn’t be back till June 7th. My world once again came crashing down. She said sorry but was still going and she tried to say she is doing it because she wanted to travel. It’s all bs on my mind because her and I could’ve traveled anywhere we wanted to. Now it’s the week of her leaving and she tells me that when she comes back we’ll work on being together again. I know it sounds like I’m an idiot and rightfully so. My actions of taking her back over and over have made it be ok for her to do this. I’m confused and pretty messed up in the head that I don’t know what to do or how to handle any of this anymore. Is it better to just leave and work on myself without her anymore or stay and wait for her ?