I work in the restaurant industry and I fell at work last week due to a grease spill that was not cleaned up. My restaurant is smaller and owned by a new owner who has never run a restaurant in his life, but likes the idea being a restaurant owner. After I fell, I needed stitches, ended up having a sprained wrist and a broken bone in my finger.
I was given paperwork to fill out for workers compensation and gave it back to my employer. They sent me to patient first with their credit card which I was not going to use and did not even end up needing to use since we put it under workers compensation. Over the weekend my employer called me and got me an appointment at a hand specialist with whom he is acquainted with here in my area.
This is where things get weird. When I was leaving this appointment I was told that this was not being done under workers compensation when I asked and that I would have received up to four weeks pay, but it seems like this is being worked out on the back end between my employer and his acquaintance doctor friend. The doctor even said when I was all casted “Ok, what are we going to tell (MY EMPLOYER) about you and working?” which made no sense to me.
Today I am going back to the patient first to get all my paperwork that was sent and will be calling the specialist to do the same. I just want to know if this is as illegal as it feels and what my next steps should be? They are calling me from the restaurant today to give me hours for the rest of the week doing “admin” work. Should I go in for those shifts until I know what is happening with he workers compensation? I have a lawyer friend who does family law and have reached out to some family members to see if anyone else can hear about this as well. Just trying to exhaust all options and I have always seen others post here.

Some shills here like Mafco post propaganda article after propaganda article where they claim that the economy is "strong" "and the best evar". They then claim that "the data" is supporting it while everyone else is just too stoopid to comprehend that they have it better and are feeling wrong.
These are lies and gaslighting based on manipulated economic data in an attempt to get Biden reelected. The facts are very different.

1. The economy is NOT the stock market or the rich - its the people. And most people are struggling - far more than 5 years ago. Over 60% of Americans dont have 1000 Dollars in case of a financial emergency. Household debt hit record heights, so did credit card debt. House prices, rent, groceries, insurance, inflation etc etc are the highest they have been.
2. Right now consumption is driven by some people going into debt but mainly by the top 20% who have as much cash as the bottom 80%. So if you see fully packed restaurants or concert halls its mostly the wealthy and rich and some Middle Class/Poor people going into debt. Ordinary people spend most of their cash on necessities just to survive.
3. No amount of manipulated data and gaslighting can defeat financial reality.

If I could afford 100 things and have 500 Dollars left at the end of the month - and 5 years later I can afford just 90 things and have just 100 Dollars left at the end of the month - I am doing objectively worse. No amount of propaganda or lies can convince me that Im actually doing better. And people see their wallets - they see their finances. Despite reducing their consumption - they still have less than 5 years ago. Because the economy is horrible. Thats the economic reality.

My manager was very excited to have me on board, now I kind of understand why. We work in the office of the Chief Medical Officer, who is the head of 30+ health clinics in the country. Big deal.
But we are actually divided into different departments, our department's work is very specialized, the Chief has her own internal administrative team including an executive assistant. But you see, I'm drafting some of her emails. It's not the concept, she's unbelievably busy and needs help to take care of lower priority (yet still important) emails, I'm just surprised that it's coming down to me, a new hire and not even permanent I am on a contract.
What foreshadowed this is my manager always compliments my 'perfect' English, occasionally sends me things to proofread. It's not an English-speaking country, I am fluent in both the native language and English. I get it, she recognizes that as asset, I also get that as the only project coordinator in the department, getting loose ends sent my way comes with the territory. The work itself is a semi-breeze, I have a strong background in this sector and strong writing skills, I am just trying to work out whether the expectations on me are higher than others due to my language abilities and where this may start to affect my actual job description on paper. Since joining I've been given a few bigs task like creating a manual for the entire organization on a subject and my manager is pushing me to finish it, I look at an old file and figure out this has been on their to-do list for 5 years. Let's just say I am taking my sweet time.
Her and the chief had a fallout a few years ago, and now her sole mission is to regain her trust and eventually get promoted. Cool, that's most people's aim. This organization is full of power grabs, I'm sure my manager is not the worst of it.
Because of a bunch of work done by our department in the past 6 months (keeping in mind half are new hires), the chief started to trust our department more and defers more responsibility to us. My manager has been elated and feels she is on the best terms. Last week the chief sent her an urgent request which is slightly beyond our scope and my manager was away, she calls me frantically and asks me to do this request. I draft the emails and finish the report by the expected deadline. Then, all this week, the chief is asking my manager (which is me, de facto) to do similar things like draft emails and collect feedback. I took that as a job well done last week. No one knows I am doing this but my manager. See I kind of get where she's coming from, her English is not broken or anything it's just low vocabulary, I think she prefers the person with the strongest English to do these emails. It's an awkward position for everyone, she can't say no to the chief, and I am a coordinator so I am expected to do what's urgent in our department at the moment and pick up other tasks for later.
I do have major imposter syndrome, and never give myself credit. My manager can be a sweet lady, I'm just taken aback by how impressed she gets with the most basic things, maybe the work standards are drastically different from where I used to work. But I am starting to wonder if I should look elsewhere/seriously think about a writing career of some sort.
What would you do in this situation?

I was standing at the copier at the Staples sending brochures from my phone to the copier. In my periphery, a person walked up to the work station table next to a different copier and stood there. I'm scrolling through my Google drive getting everything I need, and the man cleared is throat.
In glanced up and smiled politely. The old guy kinda glared at me, so I just went back to my documents. I could feel him huffing to himself. Finally he snaps " would you get off your damn phone and help me with this!" I look up and realize he's talking to me. I looked around and said "oh, me?". In a mocking tone he said "yes. You! Playing around during work hours!"
I respond "Sir, I don't work here.". "Then why are you behind that desk!?" "Umm, this table is for people to organize their papers on. I can probably still help you with the copier if you want." "Fine. I need 100".
I walked over to his copier. He had a hand written a sign, in ball point pen, about a yard sale. I showed him how to place the paper, asked him what type of paper he wanted to print on and made sure it was loaded. I used the chart to show him how much it would cost. And then said he just needs to swipe a credit card to get started. A little window popped up stating there would be a $5 hold on the card for the print job. He. Was. Outraged.
"How do I know if that money's coming back! I don't know what this machine is hooked up to! You could be making copies of my card and selling it to China!" At this point an actual Staples employee came over to and tried to help, so I went back to my copier. There was no convincing him that it wasn't a scam.
The guy ended up leaving without even making copies.

Hi everyone!
I`ve been lurking here for a bit and I figure, now is my time to shine! 😅😭 First of all, I`m nearly 40 and I have only recently learned of the language to describe my upbringing and my relationship with my mother. Has this happened to anyone else? I thought my parents just sucked. I had no idea I was being parentified, gaslit and taken advantage of(and still am by my mother).
Little background: I`m the eldest child in my family. My brother is 5 years my junior. My parents married young (17&19) and my mom divorced my dad when I was 12. Also note: I grew up in a Hispanic American household, which added to the situation for me, as if you know, the sons in these households are often doted upon and the daughters are second class citizens who at the same time get dumped with a lot of responsibility.
Before my parents divorce, my mom confided in me at about age 10-12 about her marriage with my dad, how she wanted to leave, abuse, etc.(then after the divorce confided in my about her dating life, abortion, other personal matters). I encouraged her to divorce him and she eventually did. These days she says that none of that ever happened, that she credits her divorce to her male friends at the time(oh yeah, my mother is a lowkey misogynist). Ever since the divorce, I`ve had to sort out my mom's finances because she is irresponsible(bankruptcy, prone to overspending, prone to being scammed). She has borrowed money from me since I started working at 15. I made the mistake of one time co-signing for her on a purchase and had to end up paying for it all to avoid messing up my credit because she refused to pay.
I moved away when I was 24 and was away from my mom for 13 years, during which time she still borrowed money, came to me with her problems, asked me to do things for her, stressed me out by trying to figure out her life from another state. I recently moved back after going through my own divorce and living with her has been a big challenge. I`m hoping to move out sooner rather than later(getting my life together to leave a very expensive California), but in the interim, it is very frustrating. Today I feel like I`m on the verge of tears still having to be the parent in this relationship. I still have to handle events that she cannot herself, read paperwork, make sure she isn`t getting herself into deeper issues with her finances. All of this while trying to remain calm while I deal with her because she gaslights me and makes me feel like I`m the one with the bad attitude. I have to speak to her gently and like a child so that she doesn't get upset.
Anyway. Sorry for the rant. I wanted to come here to vent and also connect with people who understand. At this point, I know it will never change. I have accepted that. My goal is to move on with my life and help when I can but not overextend myself when I move out. It's unfortunate that I didn`t get parents who were reliable(haven't spoken to my dad in about 15 years. That is its own bullshittery). The end.
Thanks for reading.

I a single (29m) and no kids have been thinking about this a lot lately, I don't know if it's trauma from a failed engagement or what. I've been working Monday through Friday 5am to 4pm. (30-45 min) Commute and 6am to noon on Saturdays. so about 13 hrs a day is dedicated to work. Leaving very little time for anything else. I make $20 USD an hour and get time and a half after 40. I also receive a VA payment so at the end of the month I am bringing in about 5700 bucks I don't have that many bills, no truck payment. End of the day my monthly obligations are about 2200 bucks (mortgage, utilities, payments towards credit card debt (5,000), student loans). My friends don't live near me, so we don't hang out. I haven't taken time off other than to go to a doctor's appointment, in over a year and a half I really don't have an excuse to not work as much as I do. So I feel obligated to work as much as I can. I also feel like I haven't earned time to have fun. People work 80's all the time. My question is how do you change your thinking from "as a man you're useless if you're not making money or being productive" to I can take some downtime, I have earned it.

A week ago I received an email saying that "We charged $1,130.00 to your credit card ending in XXX to fund your OpenAI API credit balance." My account spending limit was set to $100 and I did not receive any notification about my limit being increased.
Meanwhile, I lost access to my own organization in the dashboard so I can't even see the details how the heck I was charged $1,100 while my actual spending in the past was about $50 tops. My first reaction was that my account was hacked. I still have no clue how it happened. All of my login credentials are 2FA'ed and I do not otherwise see any sign of hacking.
Contacted OpenAI's support and it's been nearly two weeks, and they simply stopped responding to my message asking for an update.
I had no choice but resort to the credit card dispute process, because my bank recommends filing any dispute within 30 days of the actual occurring of the charge.
Looks like OpenAI is busy with their big launches and simply ignores the good old mantra of keeping customers satisfied.
Guys, protect your account, and be careful signing up to services. I don't know but maybe set up some credit card limit from your bank's side to defend against a situation like this.

Been with my BF for nearly 4 years. He bought a house in 2021 due to being kicked out by his old roommate/longtime friend to make room for the roommate/friend's GF. When he bought the house, his other roommate (they're all high school buddies) was SOL with the whole predicament so he moved in with my BF. I understood this and wholeheartedly accepted it. During this time, I was renting an apartment for myself. We tried long distance for about 6ish months when I took a job opportunity in another state in mid 2022. Moved back in early 2023. Got back on my feet later in 2023 and rented another apartment for myself; this time I'm even closer to my BF which is awesome. We continue to spend our weekends together and go our separate ways Monday morning. When I came back to our hometown this time, I wanted pure stability as moving across the country in such a short window wore me down. Finally got my finances in order and am actively working on improving my credit score even though it's in a good spot as is. Had plans to paint my apartment (landlord approved) and make it a home for myself for the coming years because at this rate, BF's roommate is still living there and has plans to buy his own place down the line. I know saving up that kind of cash for a down payment on a house is no easy feat, but the roommate is working hard and saving up!
Now, fast forward to now. I've been in my apartment for almost a year and it's falling apart. Ceiling is leaking during every bad rain storm in my bedroom and the water heater is leaking into the hallway. The landlord has yet to send someone out due to his illness, not due to plain neglect. He'd like to be present for any inspections since these are major issues for the structure of his property. This has been going on for 2 weeks. I do trust that my landlord will tend to things as long as I keep hounding him to (which I will) or I'll just file a formal complaint against him but doubt it'll come to that. However, the more I'm thinking about it, the more I rather just buy a condo/house on my own at the end of my lease in November and deal with things myself than keep having to run interference with a landlord. Plus the rental market in my area is just abysmal. Paying a ton of money for a poorly-kept 1B1BA unit. I know home owning is no walk in the park, but my neighbors are piling up junk cars on the street, my bedroom ceiling's leaking, and I'm just not getting a kick out of apartment living anymore. I want something with permeance. With my BF, I'd love to move in with him, but we basically agreed that I'd move in when his roommate moves out. He's had conversations with his roommate in the past about this and he's told my BF that it'd likely be about 2-3 years before he's saved enough to buy a place. That conversation took place when my BF bought the house in 2021. I'm not rushing the roommate whatsoever especially since their old roommate kicked them to the curb for his GF. But I also refuse to renew my lease this fall or keep bopping around apartments until his roommate's ready to leave as it looks like it's going to be at least a couple more years until then. I basically want to nest and plant my roots somewhere. I would love to move in with my BF but then I'd be encroaching on the roommate and I honestly don't want to go into another roommate situation after not having a roommate since college. I'm not asking for marriage. I'm not asking for babies. I'm not even asking for a pet rock. I simply would like to live with my BF of 4 years. In our future, we both see the whole nine yards, but we obviously have some other things to accomplish such as sharing a household together. If his roommate can't move out this year, I'd be willing to share a house with them even though it wouldn't be ideal. But I really don't want to. Feel like we're just too grown to do all of that...or at least I am. So would I be wrong to propose living together as a trio even though we essentially agreed to not do that? Or do I just consider buying a place of my own? Or do I just keep renting until the magical day comes where I can move in without the roommate there?
TLDR: want to live with my BF, he has a roommate who still lives there. I want stability. Do I move in with them until roommate eventually moves out or strike out on my own?

Melina is an intriguing character because she is connected to many of the game's fundamental themes and secondary characters.
The character most similar to Melina is Millicent: they both wear the same robe and are in search of their destinies. However, Millicent's quest is driven by her lost memory, which she slowly regains, while Melina's motives are more ambiguous. I believe Melina lies about forgetting her purpose, as there are numerous inconsistencies in her statements throughout the game. For example, she initially says that seeking the Elden Ring involves violating the Golden Order, but then she takes us to the Round Table, where the Two Fingers instruct us to restore that very order. She claims not to know her purpose but already knows we should oppose the Order, which we do by burning the Erdtree—a task she helps us accomplish by enabling us to pass the thorns after she discover the purpose. The inconsistencies don’t stop there. Consider the famous issue of “what it means to be born of a mother”... Both Melina and Millicent head towards the tree where their mother is, but upon reaching Elphael, Millicent reveals that she is actually a blood relative of Malenia, while Melina never explicitly states who her mother is, if she even has one. You might think it’s obvious, yet the game doesn’t shy away from redundancy on key topics. Returning to Millicent, both characters understand their missions once they reach the base of the tree, and their sacrifices are necessary for us to fulfill their purposes. For both characters, this purpose becomes deeply subjective, driven not from above (by Gowry and ‘Melina’s mother’) but by their own set of values, closely connected to their nature. Both must rectify a mistake made by their mother, which led them to lose something. Both of their stories have double endings, one of which requires our betrayal. It is peculiar how betrayal reveals their true nature or their 'element.' Respecting their will also preserves their humanity. Even in the endings, there is a difference: Millicent's death is much more emotionally painful than Melina’s, who remains impassive even when burned by the flames of ruin. Melina, as usual, plays a role and is not entirely honest: she pretends to be the maiden and pretends to trust us but actually tests us, whereas Torrent trusts us immediately (despite initial appearances).
The second character who shares similarities with Melina is Ranni. They both have closed eyes, though opposite ones: the left for Ranni and the right for Melina, if considering Ranni's spiritual half. The parallels are subtle but clear: both have dual natures typical of the Empyrean and bring death back to the gods, believing it necessary to free the Lands Between from stasis. This contrasts with becoming the Lord of Chaos, which implies ruling an immutable and lifeless world. There are also notable differences between the two: Melina is a spirit who can physically manifest and fight, while Ranni is a soul who needs a puppet. We could almost say Melina is of the same substance as Torrent, connecting us to the third character, Miquella. However, until the DLC is released, it would be best to avoid further speculation about him.
Melina shares the same role as the Gloam-Eyed Queen. Bringing death to the gods. In the frenzied flame ending, the left eye finally opens. It’s not just the fact that Melina has a purple eye that is relevant; it’s the entire cinematic and narrative construction of the game that compels us to give importance to that eye. The last scene in the game before the end credits is a sequence where Melina finally opens her sealed eye—a detail that has intrigued us since the first trailer; this eye happens to be a gloam-colored eye, framed in close-up within a scene practically devoid of colors except for the eye itself; a fading that darkens the entire scene until it reaches a black screen, but the eye remains brilliant; at last, she says "Destined Death" and the game ends. Blaidd and Maliketh share the same shade of purple eyes, although the texture differs. Both are shadows of an empyrean. Their purpose is to ‘stop’ (kill) a god when it acts against the Greater Will. Thus, the Gloam-Eyed Queen and the shadows of the empyrean share the same role as godslayers. Vargram, aspiring to become a shadow, wields the godslayer greatsword. Melina comes back when we become the lord of the Frenzied Flame, which means to be its vessel; similarly, Marika serves as the vessel of the Elden Ring, so we can say we share the same level of 'divinity' as Marika, who is also killed by us only thanks to Melina; so, Melina's purpose lead to death of a god anyway.
In conclusion, for me Melina is an ambiguous and 'unfinished' character because she is the result of a broken bond between Marika and the Gloam-Eyed queen. A bond that is therefore impossible to reconstruct with certainty (and consequently perfectly coherent with the characteristic narrative of From Software games, in which the player is required to become an active participant), but necessary to bring balance to the Lands Between.

Hi all. Just wanted to sense check something, and thought this might be the best place to find out.
Say you have a credit card with 0% on purchases for 18 months. You make a purchase, and pay off the minimum each month. At the end of the 18 months you have £5000 balance remaining, which will accrue interest at 24.9%. Your credit card also allows money transfers, at a 5% fee but 0% over 18 months.
Could you make a money transfer of £5000, raising your balance to £10250 (including fee), and then use this £5000 cash to pay down the balance - which would pay off purchase offer portion, thus saving the heaps of interest?

I'm trying to pre-write secondaries and I'm not sure how to go about for the prompts that ask about any inconsistencies in MCAT scores or grades/irregularities/academic hardships. Should I address these two concerning parts about my application?

1. My 124 CARS score with an overall score of 516 (131/124/130/131). If I were to mention this, I could explain that being ESL and not growing up speaking English made CARS especially hard for me. I'm worried, though, about it sound like I'm giving excuses because I know there are plenty of other ESL students getting good CARS scores.
2. No credit (which is basically C- or lower) I received for an engineering physics class I decided to take to challenge myself during my freshman year. Although I struggled quite a bit in the course, I didn't want to give up by dropping it so I gave my best efforts until the very end but unfortunately ended up getting no credit. I did get B+ and A in subsequent non-engineering physics 1 and 2 class.

I want to avoid highlight the negatives in my application, but for the essays that specifically ask about inconsistencies or areas that are concerning, should I bring these up?

I highly recommend InboxPounds for anyone looking for a good source of beermoney. They are a ‘GPT (Get-Paid-To)’ website which rewards you money for completing games, sign-ups and various other offers.
https://www.inboxpounds.co.uk?rb=143241391&ref_src=link
The most popular game offers payout up to £70 for completion.
They end up being easy to complete with a few of the tips known beforehand, so would strongly advise briefly reading through the games guides posted on the site before starting any game offer.
Here is a summary of the best offers available:
Game offers
Club Vegas (£70.20) - Level 100 within 21 days
Star Trek Fleet Command (£57.50) - Level 21 within 30 days
Bingo Blitz (£55) - Level 70 within 7 days
Yahtzee (£24) - Level 34 within 30 days
Coinmaster (£30) - Village 20 within 7 days
Puzzles and Survival (£40) - Level 18 within 21 days
Sign up offers
Remitly (£25) - Make a transfer of £100
Phemex (£25) - Deposit and trade £60
This is important to know but there can be times when an offer can fail to track but if you contact the support team with screenshots, they credit the money within a few days. They will usually request screenshots for proof such as your transaction history for the sign up offers, or a game screenshot revealing the level you have reached.
I would appreciate anyone signing up through my link below! Thank you very much.
https://www.inboxpounds.co.uk?rb=143241391&ref_src=link

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

Yelena watched the doorway through which the young Ashfield scion had just left for a few moments more as she pondered over the meeting they’d just had.
*Precocious indeed,* she thought with a smile.
A smile that only grew as her gaze flitted over to her childhood friend’s… complicated expression.
It seemed young William’s decision had come as much a surprise to his instructor as it had come to Yelena herself.
“He said no,” Joana said after a few moments.
Yelena nodded slowly as she reclined into her friend’s surprisingly comfortable chair. Given what she knew of Griffith, the Queen had half expected the thing to be harder than mithril when she first sat down - but it was surprisingly plush.
“Not without good reason,” Yelena said as she shifted about.
“Good reason?” Joana scoffed. “You offered him your daughter’s hand.” Her eyes narrowed slightly. “You offered *all* of your daughter’s hands.”
Yelena rolled her eyes at her friend’s tone. “And if he’d accepted I would have considered it a bargain.”
A minor scandal and the loss of a number of future marriage alliances was ultimately nothing compared to the ability to raid Kraken nests. And that was ignoring that a hypothetical means to slay kraken in deep water would undoubtedly have other applications.
Applications that would be incredibly useful in the months to come.
Though, perhaps, if young William’s plans came to fruition that coming storm could be delayed by a few years.
“…Are things truly that desperate?” Joana asked quietly.
“They’re not great,” Yelena admitted, massaging the bridge of her nose. “The Blackstones… I knew they’d resist the reforms, but to threaten open rebellion?”
She’d not expected that. Not even in her wildest dreams. Lindholm’s only human ducal house had ever been wilful, and their antipathy towards the Orcs who dwelled in the Sunlands was well documented, but surely even they could see why Yelena was doing what she was.
Regardless of what her critics said, her decision to end the slave trade in Lindholm was most assuredly not the result of ‘useless sentiment’.
Far from it.
Oh certainly, Yelena had no love for the institution of slavery, for reasons both moral and financial, but that wasn’t why she’d created the abolitionist movement.
With each passing year, the Homeland’s view of Lindholm grew ever more covetous. More and more the Sun Empress and Desert Khan’s rhetoric centred less on their ongoing deadlock with each other and more on the idea of ‘recovering wayward territories’.
Certainly, that could have been a reference to Old Growth as much as Lindholm, but Yelena doubted it.
Lindholm might have scared the Solites and Lunites into retreating by choosing to engage them over deep water, but ultimately those victories were borne of a lack of conviction on the part of her foes.
Had the two disparate fleets been willing to risk the permanent loss of a small portion of their mithril cores in order to achieve victory and push towards the mainland, they may well have been able to flip the allegiances of a number of Lindholmian houses.
Oh, certainly, the high elves and dark elves of Lindholm might have prided themselves on maintaining the strictures of equality that defined the Old Empire – but with either Solite or Lunite airships hovering over their family castles, she couldn’t help but wonder if some might reconsider their stances on their fellow elves.
No, while an invasion of Lindholm would certainly be costly, it was entirely within the realm of reason.
An invasion of the Old Growth however?
There was a reason the Wood Elves – as they named themselves – had managed to remain independent of both the other two, much larger, nations despite sharing land borders with both of them.
Their strange magics might have been muted and weak beyond the borders of their home, but within their territory they were nigh invincible.
No, if there was to be any ‘reclamation’ of any territory belonging to the old Aelven Imperium, it was likely to come from Lindholm.
To that end, the kingdom could ill afford to keep feeding people and iron into the meatgrinder that was the Sunlands. Could ill afford to keep orcs that might otherwise be valuable mages laboring in the fields under the eyes of watchful taskmasters.
Lindholm needed every mage-knight it could get – regardless of the color of their skin or the shape of their ears.
Yet after year and years of negotiations and attempts to shift public opinion on the matter, the North still remained willfully ignorant of that truth.
“Surely they know that even if they win, any kind of division between us will just see the Homeland sweep over them?” Joana said.
Yelena shrugged. “I have a feeling that Duchess Blackstone’s victories over both the Lunites and Solites has left her confident of repeating the fact should it come to that.”
Foolhardy, in her eyes, but no one had ever accused the Blackstones of being meek. Nor being incapable of backing up their sometimes insane claims. What other House could lay claim to an ancestry that had once beaten back the Old Imperium at the height of its power?
Where other human nobles had been sworn into the Old Imperium on their knees with their battered armies scattered to the winds, the Blackstones managed to resist long and hard enough that the Imperial Legions had been forced to come to the negotiating table.
Ultimately, the Blackstones had still been absorbed into the Empire, but they’d done so on their terms with their heads unbowed.
…Though it was somewhat ironic that nearly a thousand years on, it was now those same humans in the position of the old Imperial Legion while it was the free orcs who now utilized the same strategies as the old Blackstone tribes – right down to the Wyvern riders.
“I could imagine that,” Joana muttered.
“Is it strange that I think she might pull it off?” Yelena said – though only because she was sure that no one beyond her friend and silent guards was listening.
“Part of me wants to argue that, but… do you think it’s a human thing?”
Yelena thought about the Blackstones and the young man who’d just turned down a chance to be king one day.
“Perhaps,” she admitted.
Personally she thought it was because humans didn’t live as long – and there was more of them. When your life could be measured in but a single century, perhaps you were a bit more inclined towards taking risks that might make an elf balk?
…Risks like trying to take your first year team up against a third year team in the name of trying to avoid a war.
Or at least delay it.
“I still can’t believe he said no to your offer,” Joana said, something… complicated in her friend’s expression.
Yelena grinned at the sight, though she wrestled down the urge to ask a number of probing questions of her normally straight laced friend, who seemed to have a childish crush on a young man nearly ten years her junior – and her student beside.
Normally she’d be all over a scandal that delicious.
Alas, right now was work time. “I can. He gave me his reasons and they were solid.”
Well, solid enough. If you squinted a bit. And tried to think ‘human’.
Rather than all-but guarantee a war by having the Crown break off his betrothal, he intended to do it himself.
Loudly and publicly.
And if he won – and that was a big *if* – he’d all but destroy any kind of excuse the Blackstones might have to declare war in response. Indeed, by being ‘shamed’ in such a public manner they’d need to spend a few years at least regathering lost support.
After all, who would want to follow a house into a civil war just after their heir was publicly humiliated by a team of cadets two years her junior?
Academy fights weren’t just schoolyard squabbles. They were civil conflicts writ small. A microcosm of the constant jostling and jockeying of Lindholm’s houses.
In other words, they held weight.
If Willaim could beat his fiancée, Yelena knew she’d owe him more than she could ever truly repay. A few more years of preparation would turn an almost guaranteed defeat into something *much* more even.
Especially if she could scoop up who knows how many mithril cores that were otherwise just littering the ocean. Ninety percent of them would be of limited use immediately, but a few years would give her time to construct at least a few more airship hulls to house the devices.
All that was required was for William to win.
“Solid,” Joana scoffed. “His plan is to go up against a group of third years with a team of firsties.”
Yelena tried to keep the intensity she was feeling out of her tone as she leaned forward. “You don’t think he can do it?”
Joana opened her mouth before hesitating. “I… normally I’d say no. Talented as they are, the gap in experience is just too wide.”
“But…”
The dark elf rolled her silver eyes behind her glasses. “But, with William’s newest invention…” The woman paused. “Son of a bitch.”
For just a moment Yelena was treated to the rare sight of her friend laughing. “I can’t believe I thought he ‘just wanted to use it in a schoolyard fight’,” the Instructor said.
“Well, he sort of is, in a way.” Yelena shrugged. “It just so happens to be a very important schoolyard fight.”
Joana laughed. “I suppose it is.”
“Still, do you think he can win?”
Joana straightened up. “I genuinely don’t know. With his new invention he might be able to catch her off guard. If he can skew the numbers in his favor at the start, they might have a chance.”
Yelena frowned. Not exactly the ringing endorsement she wanted to hear, but that was part of why she valued Joana’s friendship.
Always had really, even when the girl had first come to court at the age of ten as a potential playmate for Yelena’s daughters and told her that her dress made her look like some kind of tropical bird.
Something Yelena realized upon closer inspection was true.
Ever since, the Queen had made a point of checking in with the girl from time to time, if only for the occasional shot of unvarnished truth.
It was a strange ‘friendship’ from the outside looking in, but one that got less so as time went by and the age gap became less stark.
“Well, let’s hope the human capacity for the nigh impossible isn’t relegated entirely to the Blackstones,” Yelena muttered.
Because if it wasn’t, the boy would either have to marry one of Yelena’s daughters or die.
She *could* *not* afford the knowledge in his head to reach the Blackstones. To that end, he’d either accept her offer – rolling the dice on the onset of war and all that might come with it – or he’d suffer an accident.
As much as it pained the royal sovereign’s heart to see such a bright and enterprising soul be snuffed out before its time.
Being forced to make such decisions was simply the price of wearing the crown.
“Still,” Joana said, and Yelena was grateful for the distraction as she looked up. “Will you actually leave him alone if he pulls this off?”
Yelena scoffed.
“Of course not. If anything I’ll up my offer.” She shrugged. “I’ll give him you, myself and half my court if it means getting my hands on what’s in his head.”
It was actually a little amusing how Joana flushed at her words, even as she shook her head.
“Yes, that sounds a lot more like you.”
Yelena nodded. Damn right it did.
Though as she did, a thought occurred to her. “Hey Joana?”
“Yes?”
“In your reports to me, didn’t you mention the Ashfield boy having some kind of nickname.”
The dark elf pondered the words for a moment before stiffening. “Hmm, he does actually. A rather apt one considering. Apt enough that I’m wondering if whatever he used to kill Al’Hundra is related.”
“Well, don’t keep me in suspense. What is it?”
Joana leaned back, her head craned upwards, as if seeking strength from above.
“Kraken Slayer.”
Yelena laughed. She couldn’t help it.
“Of course it is.”


“You killed Al’Hundra.”
William was still reeling a little from the conversation he’d just had, so he was actually a little caught off guard by a finger being shoved into his face the moment he stepped back into his teams quarters.
*Ah,* he thought. *I promised answers.*
Though it seemed that in his absence his team had managed to figure out some of those answers without him.
Glancing past Olzenya’s outstretched arm, he saw Marline shaking her head – as if to vehemently deny she’d told them anything.
She needn’t have bothered, her geass precluded it as an option. Hell, even once everyone found out it would preclude it as an option.
Which was for the best for the moment because now he wasn’t so much trying to hide what he’d done as *how* he’d done it. Admittedly, Marline didn’t know anything beyond the broadest details, but she knew enough to know that it was some kind of enchantment combined with alchemy.
Now it was possible the forces working against him – or rather simply to profit off him – had already figured that out and he’d hear the alchemy lab exploded any moment now, but he’d sooner put it off for as long as he could.
To that end, he turned to Olzenya – though not before politely lowering her pointing arm.
Something that, to her credit, the high elf allowed – actually looking a little embarrassed by her outburst and thus rudeness.
“Honestly, I was expecting something like that to come from Bonnlyn, not you,” he said to the slightly flushed high elf.
As he glanced over toward where the dwarf was sitting, she shrugged. “I realize I may not be the most classically polite individual around, but I’ve been a merchant long enough to recognize when someone’s got a trade secret they want to keep close to their chests.”
If anything, Olzenya flushed harder, as while she might not have been familiar with trade secrets, she was most definitely familiar with the notion of house spells that needed to be kept secret.
“I also thought ambushing him at the door was a little rude,” Verity murmured from the back of the room.
Olzenya coughed, before backing up. “Of course, I apologize for that William.”
More bemused than anything else, especially as the elf curtsied, he waved a hand dismissively. “It’s fine. Or, understandable, I guess.”
“Good,” Ozlenya smiled, glad for his acceptance… before she shouted again. “Because you lied to us.”
“I did?”
“He didn’t,” Marline said. “He said he had something to bet against Tala.”
Indeed he had, something he’d kept hidden under a sheet. After all, he’d not wanted his big surprise to be spoiled by the rumors of his coming beating him to the cafeteria.
And they would.
Rumors in the academy somehow managed to move at light speed.
“He implied it was gold,” Olzenya shot back.
“And you said Tala wouldn’t go for it, but you came with us anyway,” Bonnlyn said.
Indeed, he had implied it was gold. Or ‘something valuable enough to catch her interest’.
“To comfort him after she shot him down,” Olzenya said. “Instead I damn near tripped over my own feet in front of everyone when he pulled an honest to goddess mithril core out of his ass.”
William was actually a little thrown off – and amused – by the sudden display of crassness from the noble girl.
“But he didn’t lie.” It was actually a little surprising – and heartwarming – to hear Verity speaking so forcefully.
And that Olzenya didn’t immediately snap at her for doing so. The team really had come a long way in just a few months.
*Ah, the joys of shared suffering,* William thought as he watched the girls bicker amongst themselves.
“As I’m sure you’ve all guessed, I have indeed been less than open about a few things,” he said, silencing all of them – except Marline who’d yet to speak in the first place. “With that said, I’ve never once lied to you about my end goal.”
“Breaking off your betrothal,” Marline said finally.
“Breaking off my betrothal *without* starting a war,” he said. “If it were that easy, the Queen would have done it for me just now.”
“You met the Queen?” Olzenya sounded a little faint.
“I did.”
Oh, how he did.
“Oh ancestors, please don’t tell me you hit on the queen!?” This time Marline sounded a little faint.
And he actually felt a little offended. “What!? Why would you think that.”
“You’re doing the same thing you do when we talk about Instructor Griffith,” Bonnlyn said with studiously neutral voice. “Or Instructor Morline. Or Instructor Flen. Or some of the guards.”
“Or that one cafeteria lady,” Verity chimed in, a little red in the face.
“Or the-”
“I do not!” He’d finally had enough of these aspersion on his character.
Across the room, a number of sighs rang out, even from the elves.
“At least now I knew why he never checked me out,” Bonnlyn said. “He’s got mommy issues. And I’m not old enough to tickle them.”
“Still, the Queen?” Olzenya hissed.
“I mean, have you seen her?” Marline muttered back. “I mean, I don’t agree with him… but I get it.”
“I didn’t ‘perv’ on the Queen.” Some part of him died on using such childish language. “We had a meeting about my plans and… what occurred with Al’Hundra. Needless to say, the fact that I’m here means she’s agreed to go ahead with them and I’m also to keep quiet about anything I may or may not have had to do with any Kraken going missing. Or their cores.”
He deliberately left out the royal marriage offer.
Still, with those words the room went silent. After all, if the Queen had told him to say nothing, he was expected to say nothing. Just because the North in general didn’t have much respect for royal authority didn’t mean the rest of the kingdom did.
Quite the opposite.
“Well, if the Queen has commanded you to *remain* silent, I suppose there’s nothing to be done,” Olzenya muttered. “Though I would like answers some day.”
“Hell, I’d like to know why you brought Marline in on your plans,” Bonnlyn said, glancing at the Dark Elf. “You know, and not the rest of us.”
There was no missing the hint of hurt there – which he understood.
“I can promise you it was purely a matter of convenient circumstance,” he said. “And I can promise you, I didn’t confide in Marline for free.”
All the girls glanced up as the dark elf nodded slowly. “He’s not lying – though I can’t say anymore. Literally. It’s a price I paid willingly, but one I doubt any of you would be interested in.”
Almost as one, he could see the lightbulbs turn on in everyone’s brain simultaneously – except for Verity, who took a few seconds.
*‘Geass,’* thought none of them said it.
This time though, when the girls looked between him and Marline, there was a definite sense of wariness to it.
“Well, I suppose there’s nothing else to say then,” Bonnyln said. “I guess we should…”
“…Go to bed,” Olzenya nodded warily.
William grinned. “Good idea. Big day tomorrow and all that.”
That was an understatement, and he could tell everyone was thinking it as they made their way over to their rooms.
Still, it was true all the same.
They’d need their rest if they wanted to stand a chance tomorrow.
Indeed, they’d need every advantage they could get.
To that end, William could only hope he’d stacked the deck in their favor enough to matter.
…It took him a long time to get to sleep.
When he did awake, in the early hours of the morning, it was to the sound of an explosion.
*In the direction of the old alchemy labs if I’m not wrong,* he thought with a grim smile.
It seemed someone had decided to investigate his storage room even sooner than he’d anticipated.
Annoying, but it hardly mattered at this point in time.
All that really mattered was going back to sleep.
He had a big day ahead of him, after all.
[Previous](https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/1clev2n/sexy\_steampunk\_babes\_chapter\_twenty\_five/) / [First](https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/187xaj0/sexy\_steampunk\_babes\_chapter\_one/) / Next
**Another three chapters are also available on Patreon:** [**https://www.patreon.com/bluefishcake\*\*\](https://www.patreon.com/bluefishcake)
**We also have a (surprisingly) active Discord where and I and a few other authors like to hang out:** [https://discord.gg/RctHFucHaq\](https://discord.gg/RctHFucHaq)

The internet is a strange place, inadvertently designed to bring out the best and worst in people. People can be whoever or whatever they want to be. For predators and malignant narcissists and who live in their own delusions to begin with, it's like a hunting ground. They can create whatever persona they wish, fill their victims' heads with lies and half-truths that paint them out to be someone they are not, and by the time their victim actually meets them, it's too late - they've already created an image in their mind of this perfect person the narcissist has convinced them they are, and it usually takes time before the curtain comes down, the lies fall apart, and the mask breaks away.
I'm no saint, and I've learned my own tough lessons from the internet. I grew up under not-so-great circumstances, only getting 5 years of education before I turned 18 and was largely raised by a computer screen. Along the way, I catfished a woman in her mid-20's when I was 14-16 years old. It wasn't intentional at first, I told everyone that I was in my mid-20's and I worked as a bouncer at a bar in NYC. I never meant any harm, I was just raised by a computer and spent all my time alone playing MMOs and learned quickly that if I told people how old I was, they'd stop playing with me. So a bouncer seemed like a job I could bullshit about easily enough, and I was a big dude at 6'1 260lbs so I figured I could maybe pass it off as legit if it ever got hectic.
I started playing with this woman in her 20's and her husband frequently. We became friends fast, and soon we were virtually inseparable on the game. Her marriage ended up not working out, and after they separated she told me she had feelings for me. I should've admitted I wasn't who I said I was then, but I was young and dumb and she was the only real friend I had, so I kept up the ruse. Eventually I did come clean, and she broke it off with me not long after. We stayed friends, albeit with my heart hurting pretty bad, for a few months afterwards - until she met Jack.
When she first told me about Jack, he sounded like a great catch. He had his own IT business in Canada, was a couple years older but not by much, and she was infatuated with him. Obviously I was crushed and didn't handle it well, being a practically feral teenager at the time, so not long after they started getting serious she ghosted me altogether. I was around 17 at the time, and shit started going off the rails for me. After I got out of juvie, I started drinking heavily on a near-daily basis and selling and doing drugs. This led to a lot of pathetic, inebriated, desperate attempts to contact her and apologize for how I acted.
After months of being ignored, eventually grief and regret turned to anger, and finally acceptance. When the pain passed and I came to my senses a bit, I had an epiphany and realized that if I loved her as much as I thought I did, the best thing for both of us would be to let her go. I was a high school dropout with no job, selling drugs to get by. She had 2 kids, and what kind of life could I provide for them? She made the right choice, my age and the fact I made a grown woman fall in love with a teenager not withstanding, and as bad as it hurt I realized it was selfish of me not to accept the way things were and leave her alone, so I did.
10 years or so later, I had gotten my shit together. Worked my way up from cleaning dead shit out of swimming pools, to an entry level position at an environmental consulting firm, to a Project Manager at one of the largest firms in the field in the DC area. I'd met someone, got her pregnant, and for some reason I felt a pull to contact her again. Not to rekindle an old flame, but because she had been a tremendously positive influence on my life in a time where I had few. She was the first good thing I had in my life at a time when I was sleeping on old blankets on a hard floor in an abusive home, and what I'd held onto from our time together wasn't our romantic relationship, it was the best friend I'd ever had. And something made me want to tell her that all that work she put into getting my head right wasn't in vain, and I'd finally made it out of the gutter.
So I messaged her on Facebook, and to my surprise she actually responded. We started talking again, and soon it was back to every day. When my baby mama got back on drugs and turned abusive and was putting my daughter's life in jeopardy on a near-daily basis, she was the one who convinced me I could fight for custody - that I had to fight for custody. So I did, and I won, and I've had full custody of of my daughter since she was 6 months old and for the 10 years since.
But eventually we parted ways again. I'd started seeing someone, and part of me knew I couldn't commit to another woman while I was still carrying on with her. Our relationship had started turning romantic again, and she had dropped some hints about old Jack that would come to the forefront later, but she wasn't ready to leave him and I didn't want to be that guy, so I sent her a message explaining why we had to stop talking, apologized, and ghosted her.
7 more years went by after that night. The relationship I abandoned her for soured quickly when I found out that chick was a carbon copy of my baby mama, and I quit dating to focus on my career and raising my daughter. But on the long, 2+ hour commutes each way from work, I often found myself stuck pondering the "what ifs". What if I hadn't ghosted her? What if our age gap wasn't there, and we'd never had to split up to begin with? I knew in my soul I was never going to find someone like her again, but I made peace with it. I imagined her happy life, her kids with Jack, and convinced myself I made the right choice.
Then COVID hit, and near the start of it, I stumbled on a post on reddit about this dude who sent his high school sweetheart a message many years later apologizing for how he treated her and telling her how her presence impacted him, and I thought to myself, "Hey, I did that!". So I started writing a reply, and for the first time told the story of this girl and I. I'd never told a soul about what happened with us, not even my family or closest friends. Maybe it was the stigma of having an online relationship back in those days that carried over, or maybe it was just too personal to share with my friends or family. It got long, so eventually I just decided to start a new thread. When I was done, it was so long I figured no one would ever read it, but I hit submit anyway and put my phone down and got back to work.
Well, I was wrong. People did read it - a lot of people. Soon my phone started blowing up. Thousands of comments, hundreds of DMs, people offering me book deals and asking if they could have the rights for a screenplay or have me on their podcasts. It was fucking surreal, and being generally a private person who tries to fly under the rader, it got overwhelming fast. Eventually I reached out to her again on Facebook, warned her about what happened, and apologized for putting her business out there.
She didn't respond for a couple weeks, and when she did we started talking again almost immediately. And then in mid-April 2020, she told me that she needed to talk to me. She spilled everything, and told me exactly who Jack was. How he would hack into her devices to spy on her, threaten to kill her and her partner if she ever left him, say vile things to her and her daughters, calling the young girls cunts and bitches. How he alienated all her friends and family, and kept them all isolated in the house her parents bought them that he would rarely leave.
And I felt deceived too. All those years I'd convinced myself that she was happy, that she got together with Jack and was living the life she deserved. In reality, Jack intentionally got her pregnant not long after he flew out to her state the first time. He quickly moved into her house, and refused to work or provide not only for her kids or their kids, but for the other 3 children he abandoned in Australia and Canada who he had no relationship with, with 3 different women he victimized in the same manner. When she was 8 months pregnant with their first kid, she was working nights doing hospice care while he sat on his ass playing videogames all night and talking to his ex. In 17 years, this fucking loser with 7 kids by 4 women worked a grand total of 5 weeks, quit his job, claimed he got PTSD from the experience, and somehow manipulated his way into getting SSDI for it. They survived off SSDI and her parents' charity for years.
But Jack was reading all of this, because like I mentioned earlier, he was hacking her devices and watching us talk remotely. Jack knew the jig was up, and slowly started to unravel. She told him she wanted a divorce, and that she was not going to sever her friendship with me again. And he pretended to take that well, going as far as to try to befriend and manipulate me. He tried every trick to keep her he'd done for years - telling her he was going to get help and would change first, then when that failed he made suicide threats and somehow got his therapist to call her and tell her as long as she didn't leave him he wouldn't kill himself, and then he tried to intimidate her. Eventually he went off the rails completely and sexually assaulted her when he thought she was sleeping.
She called me from her parents' house crying the night it happened, and I convinced her to file a police report. She did, and a couple weeks later Jack got removed from the home, served with a protective order, and charged for sexual abuse. This of course did nothing to stop Jack - he broke into their house a couple days later when she and the kids were out to upload a folder of revenge porn to his Google Drive under the guise of wanting to drop off a cake for her birthday.
Then the stalking started. Jack would relentlessly message her all day and night on Facebook, switching between rage, trying to garner sympathy, convince her he would change, and threatening self-harm. We later found out via a cyber forensics report that he was hacking into the laptop she had taken with her while she hid at her parents' and had been so bold as to steal her Victim Impact Statement and send it to all his World of Warcraft buddies as a joke.
And he didn't just stalk her, he came for me too. Constant unauthorized attempts to access my accounts for everything from Windows to my bank, spam calls and emails - shit, the wormy little fuck even got his friends to stalk my social media and pretend to be strangers to gaslight me. I ignored all of it, and he got desperate enough to send me a lovely message attempting to extort and blackmail she and I, claiming he had "all my posts" but wouldn't do anything with them if I called him. The tipping point for me is when he subscribed to my small YouTube channel - which had nothing on it but 3 videos of my daughter. That veiled threat wasn't lost on me.
But Jack fucked up. I don't know if he thought his insane nonsense would scare me off, or if in his delusions he really thought he was the bad mother fucker he convinced himself he was, but Jack didn't know jack about me. I'm a crazy fuck too, and while he was sitting on his fat ass playing World of Warcraft all day every day for the past couple decades, I was selling drugs and hanging with some of the grimiest mother fuckers Baltimore had to offer. I've seen and experienced a lot of real violence outside a computer monitor, and the prospect of a violent resolution to this saga didn't phase me a whole lot. I'd spent years trying to be a better person and avoid conflict, but I sure as shit wasn't afraid of it either. Leading up to this point, I was already trying to calm myself down and talk myself off the ledge and not pack my guns and drive out there to keep watch until the police did their thing and put him away, which took a lot longer than it should have - this fucking guy violated his protective order 80 times in just a couple weeks.
So I called him, and he spent the next 26 minutes crying over the phone like a drunk little bitch, while I tried my best to be kind and to talk him off the ledge. And yes, I did record it, and yes it is hysterical listening to it now in hindsight, and yes I still have the recording. Anyway, I told him he was scaring the shit out of her and the kids, and he promised to leave us alone and I told him if he could chill the fuck out I would try to talk her into giving him more access to the kids. The next day, she got an email from her first ex-husband - Jack had reached out to him with a link to my reddit post trying to get help from him to come after me, which he promptly shut down and sent to her.
The next few weeks were terrifying as Jack descended further into madness and became more scared and desperate. He knew she was gone and not coming back, and he was facing real charges and real jail time, and while Jack is a fucking moron in a lot of ways, I'm sure he knew a fat, greasy computer nerd with a sex offense conviction wasn't going to have a good time in County. Jack was a murder-suicide waiting to happen, the police were doing nothing to stop his stalking, and I felt powerless to help her. Eventually after he sent her $50 over PayPal at 4:00am with what appeared to be a suicide note, I had enough. I called the DA's office, asked them why the fuck this was being allowed to happen, and promised them I'd been taking meticulous notes and if anything happened to her I would be taking it straight to the media. The DA told me if I was going to make threats the conversation was over, but sure enough he was finally arrested not long after.
Ironically we had remained platonic friends through most of this, but the shared experience of dealing with this psycho brought us closer together and things quickly changed. We knew he wasn't going to stop when he got out of jail, I felt responsible for her safety after my stupid reddit post started this chain of events that led to Jack's unraveling, and with the world seemingly coming apart during COVID, decided if we were ever going to meet it felt like it was now or never. So I booked a plane ticket across the country, spent a week with her and her family, and a few days after I came home she flew out to visit me and meet my family.
We went into it with no expectations. I fully accepted we might not click and our relationship would go back to being platonic. For my part, I just wanted the closure of finally meeting this person who had such a profound impact on my life before COVID mutated or something and killed us all.
But we did click, and the next two weeks were life-changing. I met and cooked for her entire extended family the day after I arrived, and it went well. While I was there I got her mom's email address, and after I went home I had an idea. I knew her parents had met in DC, so I emailed her mom and asked her for a list of places that were special to her, and she told me about the church her parents had met in. I asked her to keep our conversation secret so it would be a surprise, and she did.
So when she comes out to the east coast, I take her on a tour through DC and park the car a few blocks down the street from the church. As we're walking by, she notices the church and comments on how beautiful it is.
I keep it cool and respond, "Yeah, that's a pretty important place.".
She looks at me and says, "Oh? Why's that?".
"That's where your parents met.".
She audibly gasps, giddily bounces a bit, starts to cry, and we pulled down our masks (fuckin covid) and kiss. Her reaction is easily one of the greatest memories in my life. What I didn't know at the time, was that her parents had told her about that church since she and her siblings were kids. When the church changed denominations, the church took the angel statue off the top and brought it back to her home state, and her parents had taken them to see it a few times throughout her childhood.
Anyway, getting sidetracked here, the sappy love story stuff is a different story altogether.
A month after we met for the first time, I had quit my job, sold everything I couldn't fit in my sedan, and she flew back out and drove across the country with my daughter and I.
Sounds crazy as hell, and it was, but it worked out better than it should have. I got a good job making more than I did back home right away, her kids loved me, and my daughter loved her and adjusted to her new home fast. And by the time Jack got out of jail for felony cyberstalking, sexual abuse, and Intimidation of a Witness in a Domestic Violence case, we had cameras all over the house, and I had taught my fiancee how to shoot - which she quickly became better than me at.
But Jack's time in jail didn't slow him down, and the 2-10 year suspended sentence didn't deter him at all. As a matter of fact, on his first day out one of the first things he did was start trying to hack her accounts again. He managed to con an elderly couple he knew threw World of Warcraft from a different state into letting him live with them, and from there he spent a lot of time and energy stalking us and hacking our devices to the best of his ability. He also convinced these poor, very stupid elderly people from his videogame to bankroll a lengthy, expensive divorce. Somehow a man who hadn't worked in almost 20 years managed to run us into over $50,000 in legal fees in two years. How a marriage with zero assets turned into a two year battle when both parties were officially in poverty before the divorce, or how the family courts never saw through the bullshit is beyond me.
To Jack's credit, he did a pretty good job remaining a thorn in our side. Largely due to the complete and utter ineptitude and indifference of the police and District Attorney who could and should have put a stop to his bullshit at any point in that time. Old Jack got hit with a permanent criminal stalking injunction and a 10-year protective order along with his probation, and no amount of effort on our part would get the police, DA, or probation to put a stop to it, despite mountains of evidence.
He successfully managed to draw the divorce out right up to the wedding we planned a year and a half prior, with his attorney putting in motion after motion to delay the process. With all our family and friends coming from all over the country and as far away as Japan, we accepted our wedding would just be a celebration and not an official wedding. Until the night before the wedding, she got a call from her attorney - he had made a call to the clerk's office at the court and got her to move the paperwork to finalize the divorce to the top of the pile, and she was officially divorced. Our wedding would be a real wedding after all, and despite Jack's best efforts, he lost again. We had the wedding on a remote ranch that we rented for a week, and foolishly decided to cater and decorate ourselves, which would have been a colossal undertaking without the extra 4 hours to drive into town and get our marriage certificate at the courthouse. But we pulled it off and it was everything we could have hoped for and then some, and we were officially married.
Jack of course didn't stop after the divorce was finalized. The list of shit he tried to do to us before and after that is too long to spell out in an already too long post, but here are some choice bits:
He wrote a demented letter to the oldest of his kids with her who severed her relationship with him, calling my wife and her mother "vipers and cowards" and promising we would "answer for what we've done sooner or later".
He continuously hacked our computers, miscellaneous accounts tied to our emails, and any other devices he could get into - dropping in remotely via Amazon Alexa, phones, etc.
He set up bots to send us thousands of spam emails, sign us up for dozens of international newsletters all at once, and requests for consultations for things like solar panel installations.
He told the kids vile lies about my wife and I, although the most egregious was when he used a court-ordered therapy appointment with his second oldest daughter to accuse me of distributing child porn, told the therapist I am an "evil man", and told him I wasn't safe to be around his daughters. This led to her being forensically interviewed by the police, where she spelled out what happened, but of course they did nothing.
He gave the two youngest children cell phones to sneak into our house, with Google accounts activated and location tracking turned on.
He sent packages to our house 5 times in the space of a few months, one of which was addressed to himself and contained nothing but a bag of Stevia and a pack of gum. These packages generally came to our door the day before his scheduled visitation with the kids.
During this time my bank account was hacked four times in the span of just a few months with nearly identical fraudulent charges. In each of these instances, I had completely changed my bank account information.
He filed false reports with CPS twice, alleging we were beating the children, locking them in the closet, and not feeding or bathing them. This led to a CPS agent coming to our house to investigate.
We brought all this to the police over and over as it happened, and they did nothing. The DA running the case wasted 5 months subpoenaing a fake email address that we told them when we reported it was fake and spoofed. After finding out about that, we went to the DA's office to find out what the fuck was going on. A Victim's Advocate met with us, and was horrified about how the case was handled, looked up the prosecutor assigned to the case, rolled her eyes and said "Oh...it's Stephanie", confirming what we already knew - this prosecutor was completely incompetent, an elect3d politician moonlighting as a prosecutor. She called us the next day to tell us the actual DA called a meeting and a warrant was put out for Jack's arrest. For some inexplicable reason, they pulled the warrant back, and the advocate told us it was because the DA was pursuing more serious charges.
Then, they stonewalled us. The Victim's Advocate we had met with that actually tried to help us was moved off our case, and the new one assigned refused to talk to us or return our calls. The few exchanges we had with her, she made it abundantly clear she had the DA Office's interests in mind and not ours. We decided to just stay quiet and let the process play out and hope for the best, up until we received an email on Friday night before Election Day from the Detective telling us Stephanie had closed the case. I assume she didn't want her incompetence coming to light, and didn't want to shut the case down before Election Day knowing we would be on the warpath.
Eventually, Jack caught wind that he was officially under criminal investigation, but clearly had no idea they were never going to press charges. He got quiet for a bit, until he was ultimately let off probation early. We still get the occasional reminder he's out there watching, but his fear of going back to jail and the belief it might happen cowed him a bit. So instead he harasses us through the family courts, filing constant bullshit motions with no evidence to support them, and for some reason the courts let it continue. Somehow a man who makes ~$800 from SSDI and is only paying $30 a month total to support his 3 kids with my wife is able to fund tens of thousands of dollars worth of legal proceedings every year, and no one in the family courts has ever stopped to ask how he is paying for it or why all this money isn't being spent on supporting these children.
But despite Jack's best efforts, his bullshit hasn't worked. My wife and I have been together for four years soon, and married for two. His kids call me dad and hate his guts, only seeing him because the courts force them to. I continue to advance in my career, landing two major promotions in the past 2 years and now running a division in one of the largest companies in my field in this part of the country. I just enrolled in college to go back to school and get a degree in family law with a focus on domestic violence. The most frustrating part of the whole experience with ol' Jack was having no one to turn to when all the institutions who were supposed to keep this from happening ignored us, and even though I'll be well into my mid 40's before I accomplish my new goals, I plan to advocate for domestic violence victims and do everything I can to lobby for change to these laws to keep as many people as I can from going through what my wife and I did. I learned that the only way to beat these people at their game is to play on the same field right along with them, and that's what I intend to do.
My wife went back to work too once she healed from some of the trauma, making $30 an hour as a personal assistant for a fella who's had two movies made about his life. Our kids struggled a bit with school and dealing with all their biological parents' issues, but they quickly turned it around and have been excelling. We're all happy, healthy, and doing better now than ever.
As for Jack? Well, he's pushing 50 and still spending his days alone, playing World of Warcraft and jerking off in this old couple's basement. Nothing has changed there, and now he's too fat, old, and visibly an enormous fucking loser to victimize women in the same way he did in his youth. I have no doubts he'll find another victim eventually, probably when these old weirdos bankrolling his life now finally wise up, but one thing Jack forgets is that karma is a mother fucker, and I have a giant database of evidence that I can and will send out to whoever I please to help pull that mask down and keep him from doing this to someone else. Nothing is more appealing to a potential love interest than hearing their man cry like a drunk bitch for 26 minutes to the man he claims stole his wife, while simultaneously admitting to sexually assaulting said wife.
As wonderful as it would have been for Jack to go to prison where he can't hurt anyone again, there is some catharsis knowing Jack will forever be in a prison of his own making. His children want nothing to do with him, and he'll never see them graduate or walk them down the aisle. Jack will die miserable and alone, and in his narcissistic delusion will still be blaming everyone else for the colossal failure of his life, while continuing to fail to grasp the one thread that ties all his misery together - himself.
And since he somehow manages to find and stalk most of my social media, I'd wager Jack will end up reading this too. I hope he does in all honesty. And Jack, if you are reading this, I want you to know that you can kick, flail, manipulate and lie, cry and complain until you're red in the face. None of it matters. You don't matter. You'll leave this world alone, as sad and bitter as you are now, and the world will be a better place for it.

I am at my wit’s end. I haven’t had Chipotle in about five years and had a ridiculous week. I figured that they’re one of the more reliable and pleasant fast food experiences, so I ordered dinner for two on Sunday via the website. What has happened to me next since has been nothing short of Sisyphean. For anonymity and clarity, I’ll be referring to anyone from the customer chat as ‘Pepper’, including Pepper.
The staff was running behind when I got there but handed my bag to me directly by name. The sticker has my name on it. Got home — and the order was wrong. Someone else’s entirely. The vegetarian in my household suddenly had no dinner. Pepper gives me one entree, guac, and queso, via chat. That’s nice!
I go to order again, this time for delivery, and they aren’t able to process any online payments. So I order from Qdoba and I let Chipotle know there is a technical error. A few hours later, I receive two coupons for two more entrees. So now I have three entrees, guac, and queso. This is great and unexpected!
At this point, I’m very happy because I felt I was properly helped despite a rough few orders. But it was another busy week, so last night, I fired up the app and ordered from a different location. And this is where things collapse into pure burrito chaos.
I order my same order as before and apply an entree voucher with a tip. Hmm. The codes are all expired, even though the expiry date is a month in the future. Pepper and Pepper’s CS helper tell me that as a “one-time courtesy” she has placed a credit on my account for two free entrees. Which is great, but I didn’t need that, I needed new coupon codes for the vouchers I had. But — fine. So now I have four entree coupons.
It’s a different location. A brand new experience! I am told that upon arrival, they say that they accidentally made one order wrong, and are remaking it — they’re paying attention!! They care!! I am relieved and excited and very hungry.
The orders are wrong again. It is 11pm and I am once again, speaking with my new best friend, Pepper. But this time, Pepper’s helper is absolutely telling me that I am fucking with her for free food — she informs me that there are actually several vouchers in my account, which I knew, and she cannot add more. Okay, I get that, system limitations. Fine.
Can you refund my order? She cannot! But she can let the “leadership team” know how disappointed I am and ominously informs me that “the next time I am at that location, I will certainly not be disappointed,” but at this point, I’m looking at going to a third and new Chipotle if I absolutely must. She tells me to place the order in-person next time, which was not feasible for this particular two occasions. But, fine, Pepper, I’ll kiss Brian Niccol’s billionaire booty if it means my burrito bowl is correct.
I try to break the situation down further, and let Pepper know that the free vouchers are actually for several prior issues, and that I’d like to know what can be done on this occasion, given that once more, 50% of my household is again unable to eat the dinner I ordered. She repeats her stance on the leadership team in increasingly bizarre non-sequiters.
When will they get back to me? She has no idea! Will they reach out to me? Rest assured that your feedback is heard! Pepper, that doesn’t tell me if they’ll reach out to me. I finally release myself from Pepper after an earnest 45min of back and forth, trying to determine if there is any resolution beyond paying Chipotle money to randomly generate food for me, and I eat a bagel and I go to bed. I make the bagel for myself and unwrap it. To my surprise, it is exactly what I made when I made it, which confirms that I am not stuck in a strange, Chipotle-mutating reality.
So what’s next? Chipotle clearly thinks I’m bilking them one $20 burrito at a time, and I am absolutely astonished at the level of insanity that I have had to jump through to simply let someone know that I need a complete and correct order placed so that I can pick it up, digest it, excrete it, and move on with my life. I have spent more time communicating with Pepper this week than I have with my own parents.
I need to be released from this hellish Chipotle time loop. I don’t even want Chipotle anymore. I don’t want free Chipotle or compensated Chipotle or randomly-generated Chipotle. I want real currency so that I can purchase food at a completely different place and never, ever think about Chipotle again.
Chipotle: this is systemic and clearly affects you on a corporate level. Disciplining your underpaid workers for issues occurring on a corporate level will not suffice. Four issues on the website, mobile app, and at two separate store locations is so embarrassing to see. We used to love you in grad school. This is disgraceful and depressing, and I wish your leadership team a lifetime of incorrectly-cooked steaks and badly assembled sandwiches.

Dear Stremio Team,
I kindly request improved integration with the Vimu Media Player. As you may know, Vimu is one of the best media players available on the Google Play Store, boasting a plethora of features, including correct subtitle display for anime. Currently, the app functions excellently as an external player, allowing me to play all media on my device (a Shield TV Pro 2019). However, there are some features that are currently missing:

1. Episode markers in Stremio
2. Trakt playback synchronization
3. Skipping credits at the end of an episode

Regarding the first point, the Vimu app already has an API that returns viewed statistics, so this should be manageable for Stremio. It would be fantastic to have official support for this player.
Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter. I hope this post reaches you well.

I(M22) just entered final yr mbbs with 25K per month and I had a 500rs gift coupon on sbi credit cards so I ended up ordering a cashback card on sbi
Now I completed the online verification and proof submitting.
After which it said an sbi official will call and verify my proof
This is my first time ordering a card so what are the generally asked questions and what are to be expected ??