https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/relationships/5092772-i-need-advice-from-older-wiser-people-i-think?reply=135883541

i need advice from older wiser people i think

36 replies
youngandstupidxox · Today 01:08
hi, so i know this is a website for mums but ive read it for years (i was a strange kid lol) and this has finally made me post.. i'm a 17 year old boy (your probably all thinking fuckoff somewhere else but pls just give me a chance) and basically ive met this boy and need advice. backstory is i went to visit my great auntie in the next council area and was going for the bus home but i missed it at the stop and had to run to the next stop and this boy was at the stop i ran to and he stopped the driver from driving away so i could get on and when i got closer he went "are you ok gorgeous" and that was that i sat up the back of the bus with him talking until he got off at the next town and before he got off he asked for my snapchat and that night we were talking most of the night. 2 or 3 days later there was a family row and i went to stay with my great auntie for the weekend and i snapchatted him a picture of the big main street and he went oh im in the pub so i went down to the pub and he came out and we were sitting in the bus stop for ages and i was so upset about the row but he made me feel better then he kissed me (17 and never kissed anyone before him🙈late to the party i know) and i knew then i was falling inlove with him. that weekend was honestly the best weekend of my life being with my great auntie and all my second cousins plus him aswell (the dog got walked more than ever🤣) but he works constantly so i havent seen him since... he goes hot and cold and sometimes doesnt talk for a day or two and i feel like he isnt as into me as he was but he always says im reading too much into it. a few things to note:

1. im 17 hes 21 (age gap doesnt seem to make much of a difference though)
2. he takes drugs at the weekend
3. hes friends with my second cousins and didnt want them to know at first
4. hes so loving and nice one minute then dry the next
5. he was obsessed with my hair then went a bit distant when i dyed it
6. he keeps telling me to take it slow and slow down bc he doesnt want to fuck things up cos he really likes me/ he doesnt want to get hurt (i think he had a bad ex but when i asked him he said thats the past this is the present and ur the future)

basically ive been told hes lovebombing me and playing me for money (even though i gave him a lighter and he tried to give me money for it and wouldnt even let me buy him chips) and my mum and auntie (different auntie to my great auntie) and my friend and one of my cousins think i should get rid but hes showed me so many times he cares about me and he told one of my cousins he really likes me and i just want advice from a outside older wiser perspective thanks. if anyone has any questions or that just ask.
(i know im in the minority being a 17yearold boy so i can delete my account if im not wanted but i just want the advice)

Hey everyone! I'm applying for a cabin crew position with Emirates. It's been a dream of mine to work with such a prestigious airline and travel the world. Any tips on what to include in my CV(like what all do i mention) or advice for the interview process would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance! ✈️😊

Salam everyone, using my throwaway acc for this. So, I've started searching for my potential spouse. Growing up, I was always on the chubby side. Unfortunately, I've noticed that people treated me differently depending on my physical appearance. When I started eating healthier and working on my body, the amount of people interested in befriending me or making plans increased. Even the men would go out of their way to help me, and it made me question why they were treating me better all of a sudden.
I'm proud to say that I've learned from that experience and I now know how important it is to surround myself with people who appreciate me for my personality. I'm a hijabi woman, and I thought that people would be interested in getting to know me for my mind and values, but I've learned that physical attraction is important as well to most people.
So, after all that experience, I'm considering using a more "chubby" picture on Muzzmatch or when exchanging pics with potential spouses. I'm afraid that using my current "great shape" picture will attract people who only care about my physical appearance which will fade soon.
I once worked with a guy who was very popular and attractive, he confess that he like me but I knew from working with him that our personalities wouldn't match. Even though he was tall and attractive, the fact that he vapes was a deal breaker for me. I think it's important to be true to yourself and not compromise on your values, especially when it comes to choosing a potential spouse.
Even though I might get rejected by some potential spouses because of my chubby appearance, I do think I'm dodging a bullet. I genuinely want to find someone who loves me for my personality, and using my chubby picture might be the best way to attract the right type of person. So, what do you think? Will you get angry or mad if we meet and turned out I'm not chubby and I kinda lie to u by using my chubby picture? Am I wrong to do this? Please share your thoughts! JIA

Business
Ixigo, started in 2007, as a flight comparison website enabled travellers to research and compare relevant price information and book their preferred flight in a cost-efficient and informed manner from OTAs. Ixigo later graduated to OTA( Online Travel Agent) in FY20. Ixigo is the 2nd largest OTA( Online Travel Agent) in terms of revenues, with 6% market share.
They operate through 4 different apps Ixigo flights,Ixigo trains, ConfirmTkt and AbhiBus. Ixigo is the largest Indian train ticket distributor in the OTA rail market with largest market share of around 51%, in terms of rail bookings, among OTAs. Their bus-focused app, AbhiBus, was the second largest bus-ticketing OTA in India, with a 11.5% market share in online bus ticket bookings in FY23. They had a market share in India of about 5.2% of the total airline OTA market by volume in H1 FY24. They have the highest app usage among OTAs with 83 million Monthly Active Users cumulatively across our apps. However, within each of their apps, they integrate and cross-sell all services they operate to ensure that users may not necessarily require another app ,like users can book a flight on the ixigo train app or ConfirmTkt and a bus journey on the ixigo flight app, and a train ticket on the AbhiBus app allowing them to discover and buy multiple travel services.
Product segments
1. Airline ticketing
Ixigo commenced operations in 2007 in the flight vertical by launching a travel meta-search website - providing aggregated comparison of deals and accurate travel information. Later in FY20, they transitioned to an OTA.
2. Rail
They launched the ixigo trains app for android in 2013 as a utility app with the objective of improving the experience of Indian train travellers by allowing them to search for train related information and providing utility services. Subsequently, in 2017, Ixigo started selling train tickets through their Ixigo trains app.
3. Bus tickets
Bus accounts for 70% of transport modes in India. Ixigo sells bus tickets by partnering either directly with operators or source inventory from bus ticketing aggregators in the country.They acquired the business of AbhiBus in 2021 to further consolidate their position.
4. Hotels
In December 2023, Ixigo have launched a hotel booking section on their website and apps to allow users the ability to search, compare and book hotels on their own platforms in India and across the world. They offer properties across domestic and international hotels, spanning budget, mid-range and luxury price points.
90% of users of Ixigo are organic users. Ixigo has market share amongst OTAs in terms of volumes - flight 5.3%, rail 53%, bus 13%. In July 2023,Ixigo became the first OTA in India to launch a Generative AI based travel planning tool named PLAN to help travellers plan their trip, get itineraries and real time information and recommendations based on input criteria.
https://preview.redd.it/cc7d8rv38i5d1.png?width=577&format=png&auto=webp&s=4b668adeeb8b9632de2bdd4683f59d442009f1bc
Industry overview
The Indian travel and tourism market for air, road, air and hotels accounts to around 3,80,800cr, expected to grow at a CAGR of 9%. In the overall Indian Travel market, 54% of all travel spends were made online in FY23, expected to reach around 65% in FY28.
Within the overall budget of ₹ 24 billion allocated to the Ministry of Tourism, a significant portion of ₹ 17.4 billion has been earmarked for the enhancement of tourism infrastructure.
Online penetration is 66-68% which is expected to go to 73-75% in FY27.
OTA (Online Travel Agency) industry in terms of net revenues is 11000cr, expected to grow at 14-15%
B2B OTA is at 4500cr(expected CAGR 14-15%).
In FY23 online penetration of the air segment stood at 70% of all air travel, expected to increase to 80% by FY28. Share of online hotel booking is low at 32%.
The Bus segment is highly underpenetrated by OTAs and represents an increasing segment in terms of volume. Long haul intercity bus services have good revenue margins for players like RedBus, AbhiBus (ixigo bus business), PayTM and RailYatri. For middle market OTAs, this represents the next frontier of growth from Tier- II & III cities and provides the bulk of their top line and growth. Bus along with the air is the fastest growing online travel segment, with a forecasted CAGR for Fiscal 2023 to Fiscal 2028 of 18%
Breakup of the travel industry ( by revenues)
Airline ticketing 44%
Hotel booking 26%
Rail ticketing 16% Bus ticketing 14%
Growth drivers
With per capita income growth, discretionary spends on travel to increase, leading to growth in OTA industry, along with further increase in share of online booking will drive the growth. Convenience of booking with OTAs, making luxury destinations affordable to fit into middle-income consumer budget , workation ( working during travelling)- all these are fostering growth of travel industry.
The surge in affordable smartphone users is expected to reach 1 billion users by 2026, according to TRAI. This, coupled with high speed internet connectivity( launch of 4G/ 5G) will drive online bookings.
The ability of OTAs to offer value added services that offer additional protection and refund guarantees such as zero cancellation fee programmes, fully refundable and flexible ticket types, price protection, travel insurance etc. and their ability to bundle in multiple types of services in one transaction.
A shift in demographics of overall travellers to the age group of 18–35 years who are dominating the Indian travel scene, comprising almost 66% of the overall trips.
Market leader is MakeMyTrip with 24% market share, and other players are Ixigo, Easemytrip, Cleartrip. Ixigo’s market share of the overall OTA market (flights, trains, hotels and buses) by GTV stood at 6% in FY23.
https://preview.redd.it/5lohlijrhi5d1.png?width=738&format=png&auto=webp&s=3f121266147e862945611dcf70df70ec736b9b11
https://preview.redd.it/i3fwx0vvhi5d1.png?width=463&format=png&auto=webp&s=5427dfbb9b7a4a8a933c09de83973e06593b7cb4
Operating metrics
Gross booking revenues is Rs 7450cr (Makemytrip Rs 53790cr). Gross booking revenues is total ticketing values. Revenues for FY23 is 500cr. Contribution margin was 220cr, at 44% in FY23. Though highly fragmented, contribution margin for bus segment is highest at 61.9% Gross take rate is 8.15%.
Comparison of metrics vs FY22, FY21 will not yield correct picture as travel was highly reduced due to covid during those years.
Segment wise revenues (Total revenues 500cr)
Airline ticketing 100cr (20%) Rail 300cr (60%) Bus 100cr (20%)
With the overall improvement of travel and internet infrastructure in India, it is expected that increased travel from / to non-Tier I cities to drive growth in trains, flights, buses and hotel bookings. Transactions booked through Ixigo's OTA platforms involving either origin or destination as non-Tier I cities were 94%.
To gather more tier II customers. Ixigo has run Hindi language outdoor media campaigns at non-Tier I railway stations and target audience in such regions through multilingual digital ads. Their mobile apps are available in multiple regional languages, and have several voice-based features. In FY23, 97.7% transactions are done through the Ixigo apps , rest website. Ixigo's brand presence and loyalty amongst users is evident from the growth in Monthly Active Users, which has increased from 21.59 million in March 2021 to 62.83 million in March 2023. They had a repeat transaction rate of 85% in FY23. Ixigo took 9 hrs to process a complaint, a total of 191576 complaints received in FY23.
90% traffic to Ixigo is organic. Ixigo operates through house of brands approach like Makemytrip. Ads & sales promotion expenses stand at 18.6% of revenues.
https://preview.redd.it/2k5dnhb2ii5d1.png?width=793&format=png&auto=webp&s=986e64cc2f7ebc215bdf5d19e0d25cb1d08f0efc
Financials
Annual revenues of Ixigo is 500cr. PAT 23cr.Revenues for 9M FY24 is 490cr and PAT for 9M FY24 is 65cr.
Take rates ( Operating revenues/ Gross booking revenues) of Ixigo is 8.15% (Yatra Online 5.7%, Makemytrip 9.1%, Easemytrip 6%)
EBITDA margins 8.7% (Yatra 17.6%, Makemytrip 10.2%) PAT margins 4.6% (Yatra 2%, Makemytrip is loss making Rs 90cr loss)
Balance sheet as on Dec '23
Borrowing at 43cr ( short term)Current debt/ equity ratio at 0.01
Trade receivables 33 cr.Cash equivalent of 52 cr. Cashflow from operations 30cr for FY23.
Points to consider
Market leader Makemytrip is still loss making, despite having 24% market share and 10 times revenues of Ixigo, indicating there is significant cash burn involved in terms of customer inducement/ customer acquisition cost which is 39% of revenues for Makemytrip.
Hotel & package booking is higher margin business, but Ixigo has just entered the segment in Dec '23.
Ixigo has a good hold in bus segment , which is still underpenetrated, and has higher take rates and contribution margin.
Transactions booked through Ixigo's OTA platforms involving either origin or destination as non-Tier I cities were 94%. Most of the future growth will come from non- Tier I cities, which places Ixigo in favourable spot. Given the growth drivers discussed , OTA industry is expected to grow at 14-15% CAGR.
IPO size /Promoter holding/ Market cap
Total offer ~ 720cr Fresh issue 120cr OFS 600 cr OFS sellers are SAIF Partners India IV Ltd , Peak XV Partners Investments V, others.
QIB- 75% NII 15% Retail 10% Funds raised from anchor investors is 333cr.
Price band- 88-93 Market cap post listing ~ 3635cr
Purpose of IPO
to fund working capital 45cr Technology & data science 26cr rest amount to fund inorganic growth
Valuation
Ixigo is valued at P/E of 56 and P/S of 7x. Yatra online is valued at P/E of 267, and P/S of 4.8x, whereas similar sized listed peer Easemytrip is at P/E of 48, P/S of 12.5x

Just got the game last Sunday and it's addicting. So many great things about the game. I wish it was a little more punishing traveling to the harder areas though. I literally pushed from one end of the map to the other just upgrading my weapon everytime I killed a new npc with a better gun.

Hi everyone,
first of all, this MAY be a bit long. I don't know though, so... i warned you. Also, i am going off memory and cutscenes of youtube (no way i'm replaying the whole story on a warlock/titan) so i may not report what people say verbatim, but bear with me.
I don't know if others made a similar post, but i FELT i had to. The theme of the whole expansion kinda resonated with me and i think bungie executed it perfectly. Also, i though about writing "underlying them", but this word makes me feel like it's something in the background, while it really is front and center. It's a main part of destiny but this time is really prominent. The theme i'm talking about is: life, death and moving forward.
I can already hear you say: duh, of course it's the theme of destiny, we die and keep reanimating! Yeah, but in the other expansions' campaigns there wasn't such a focus on this. For example, Forsaken is obviously about revenge and how it affects us and others (see one of my favorites lore pages, thin line. Chills everytime). Well, onto the main thing.
Of course, the whole life, death and moving forward thing can be seen in the TFS plot: the witness wants to freeze everything in our best moments, we want to live our lives. Let's go by steps anyway.
We start with meeting Cayde. He's been brought back to life by a wish of Crow, expressed through Riven. Now, Cayde himself says that he felt he was in a "peaceful nothing", there was even Sundance, then he was ripped by that. He felt whole while dead and already knew we were inside the traveler. It could be said that the traveler is like a god, when we die we go back to it,at least the guardians and the ghosts. I say this because Zavala in a cutscene while he's despairing says that this afterlife is not good if the people he wants to see aren't there.
There are the scenes of the reunions of Ikora and Zavala with Cayde: to be fair, our guardian's reaction is the only one i felt was "off", the Vanguard acts WAAAY more realistically when meeting a guy thought dead for like five years.
The scene at the campfire, all together, talking about Amanda. This is a great, great moment. Crow talks about her, can't finish the sentences, trembles. He still can't believe she isn't there anymore. And Cayde here acts like a guide, he says: "life isn't about holding on. [...] Eventually, you have to let go". I think he knows he's not staying forever, that he's an anomaly, held together somehow, not really "alive". We don't even know if he can leave the pale heart. After his words, we are given a moment of silence to reflect on them: Zavala feels them more than others because he still has regret about Safiyah and Hakim (hope i wrote them correctly).
This is the fate of all living things and for guardians, it's even worse: they don't age, don't die of sickness, are forced to watch their human friend get old and die. Being able to mourn and moving forward are necessary.
Talking about Zavala, he was tempted by the witness, given the choice to stay together with his wife, frozen in time. His character got a lot of development in the last 3/4 years, starting with stasis, then the lucent hive and the nightmares. Now, his desperation has reached the tipping point: he gives himself to darkness, ends up losing Targe. Another sacrifice in order to defeat the Witness, another loss. Remember what Sundance said? "what comes from the light returns to the light". Targe is back with the traveler, Zavala is human again, forced to come to terms with the perspective of his death. And yet, this time he manages to get back on his feet: he asks Ikora to help him learn Stasis, something he had not used until now. He accepts what happened, moves forward.
Another point is the mission Wild Card where Cayde forgives Uldren for killing him: they were dealt a hand and played as best as they could. Now he has got a new one. Crow becomes the new hunter vanguard, a new generation taking over after the old one is gone.
Cayde didn't want to stay forever i think. He wanted his life to have meaning and to end it on his own terms. In the final cutscenes, when he brings our ghost back to life, he lets us know that. What he does is his choice, the light connects all so he can revive our ghost. He is part of him and Cayde is part of our little light. Our ghost can feel him, Sundance too. We just have to move on, don't stop here. (Props to bungie for giving Cayde the line "nobody makes my fate but me")
The Witness too is a part of this. He sought to give order to the world, to end suffering, to "save" everyone by creating a world that stays still, where we're in our best moments: triumphs for the guardians, a loved one for zavala... And he doesn't understand. He cannot understand why people would oppose this fate (i didn't choose this word randomly). Why would people fight him, choose a life that is imperfect, filled with sadness and death, instead of an eternity of "happiness" (i guess???).
But this is the point of TFS. We're humans (yes, even the guardians). Life and death are part of our life. Those reborn in the light come back to life and die countless times, but have to deal with the passing of their mortal friends. When a guardian, a ghost dies, they go back to the traveler, where we'll find those gone before us. This is a reassuring thought.
And i think this all here is something beautiful.
END OF THE RANT: i know, it's a mess. There were so many things i wanted to say, in my head they all sounded good, but putting them "on paper" is hard. I apologize if i don't make sense but i felt the need to put these thoughts down. Maybe it's just for me, maybe i'll give others a new perspective. Anyway, i'll leave with the two sentences that in my opinion complete this whole post:
"guardians make their own fate"
"eyes up guardian"

Hi,
I would like to share the demo of a game I have been working on called FACEMINER, where the name of the game is to build and manage a data harvesting empire for a shady A.I. megacorp. Part management sim, part narrative-driven clicker thriller, it is hopefully at the very least one of the more unique games about biometric data harvesting that you will play today. This article on Rock Paper Shotgun probably explains it better than I can.
Steam - Trailer - Itch (for Linux build)
The demo is completable, and takes roughly 30-60 minutes to finish. And you even get a printable certificate at the end! We’ve recently pushed a big update in preparation for Next Fest tomorrow, so it’s a great time to play.
There's a lot left to do, but it's slowly coming together for a full release some time later this year. Any feedback on how to make this as good as it can be is more than welcome. I really hope you enjoy playing it!
Brief bio:
Build a biometric data processing empire from scratch in FACEMINER, the hardcore thriller clicker set in 1999. Classify data, upgrade mining infrastructure, and scale up your A.I. surveillance empire to obscene ends in this narrative-driven incremental management sim with a dystopian twist.

So this is my first ever Reddit post and I thought I’d share my ex story and maybe seek advice or some wisdom on the whole situation…
So to how we met it was actually at my job she at the time got a job there ( I know I broke the first rule …) but I’m usually not good with meeting new people so when she started to work there I kept my distance maybe a hello here and there she would even have this running joke cuz she thought I didn’t like here she would come in and say “did u miss me ?” And I would just say no or just laugh. A month goes by with that and one day I decided to talk to her and even offer to get delivery on some food and during that day she ended up finding my Instagram and my Snapchat and we started to talk there after our shifts we talked in snap chat for a couple day and ended up getting our phone numbers exchanged and started to text and FaceTime each other. At this pinky she became the only person I started to talk to talking late into the night on face time even falling asleep on the phone. She told me about her past and her up bringing (which wasn’t good but out of respect I won’t go into details ) . After a week or so of talking she invites to her place to hang out I accepted and went over I was nervous of course but I went anyways we ended up talking like we normally do and we played the board game mancala ( switch I never played in my life ) and I told her about some fidget sword toy I got in the tik tok store and she ended up scratching her initials into it but overall it was probably the best experience I had with someone for a long time especially since it took me 2 years to heal and move on from my ex before her. So after a couple weeks of talking hanging out etc she ended up making the first move and told me she loved me . I was in shock I didn’t know how to process it but all I could do was smile (I eventually said I love you back after the none stop smiling lol) so we started dating…. And at the start things were amazing FaceTiming all night talking all day every day etc etc then one of my triggers from my last ex before her came up ….. I was a jealous person and she was spending a bunch of time with a different coworker at the time and it would cause fights …. To the point where it was every day but when I would try and communicate how I would feel it was always responded with stuff like “I’m not ur mother it’s not my job to sort thru your feelings “ which she was right i should of had a better handle of my emotions at the time …. So after 3-4 months of constant fighting and name calling and arguments we ended up splitting up ….. and she ghosted me …..me being the person I am cuz I really liked this person I constantly would call her text her leave voice messages begging her to at least here me out or to At least send a message back all she would do is call me crazy or leave me on read …. So after a week of doing that I ended up giving up I didn’t text her I didn’t call her nothing during this time we still worked with each other ther so I tried to be civil at work but it was also hard because we weren’t talking also during this time I found out she started to see someone new a guy she met on a dating app and started to date him one day I confronted her at work and asked who he was etc etc and she told me who he was and that she wanted to be with him and “ that’s it’s not her fault I couldn’t get my shit together “ and that she wanted to be friends with me so I just let it be after a while we continued not talking and I gave her her space then one day she called me early in the morning like 4am she left his house and wanted to talk just like we used to at first I was hurt saying how can u call me right after leaving ur boyfriends house ? She then told me that they aren’t dating they were just friends and that she was using him for sex …. Even then I was still shocked I would say things like isn’t that not fair to him what if he actually likes you ? She would then say that he is probably doing the same thing to her and that she didn’t care after that conversation I just hung up and put my phone on DND and went to bed…. Well those 4 am calls started to become more and more frequent as and I started to be ok with just talking to her and that’s all it was for a while just talking ….. but we started getting close again and started to spend time with each other hanging out etc then started relationship type of stuff started to happen again and things were great again ….. till I found out she was still seeing that dating app guy saying the same thing that they aren’t together and that me and her weren’t together and that she can’t wait forever for me to get my shit together …. After I found this out my mental went down hill I started checking her phone for messages when I went to her house started more arguments cuz one night she would see me and the next she would seee him but she like tell me things like she loves me and wanted to be with me and say they are friends but would say the same thing to him slowly I felt like I was losing my self never knowing what to believe and what not to ….and for a while that’s how things were …. We would fight she would ghost me for a day have him come over and the next day talk to me like nothing happened then would see if I wanted to hang out for the day …. And during this time I was providing for her I would give her money buy her whatever she wanted I would build things she would buy on Amazon I would fix her car etc the list goes on and on and after a while I told her I was done cuz it just seems like she was using me and of course she would tell she wasn’t and that the money and everything didn’t matter and I couldn’t believe her so we didn’t talk for a week or 2 during this time this guy called me from a random number and told me things like she slept with our boss that she told him that she’s only talking to me cuz of the money and things and I was extremely hurt by this so I confronted her about this and at first she denied it but when I told her I was done and to never speak to me again she then came clean about the boss thing saying it was only one time she was alone and stuff he gave her the right attention and she took it . I didn’t know what to say so I hung up and just continued with my day she continued to text and call me but at first I would just read it or decline the calls then eventually I gave in and started to talk to her again and hang out with her even after everything and even knowing that she’s still seeing the guy still providing for her and doing a bunch of stuff for her ….. but the same problems always came up we would fight cuz she was spending time with the guy felt like she was using me etc etc and after a couple months of that we stopped hanging out all together she told me it was cuz her grandma and her kids moved in (which they did she didn’t lie about that) but what I later found out was that the guy from the dating app was seeing her almost every day while she would tell me things like “the house was too full and messy for me to come over “ once I found this out I was done I told her that and then she dropped a bomb on me which was that she was getting abused that he would show up banging on the door going in and fighting with her even hitting her and she even showed me proof of it like photos and conversations with family members about the abuse …. She said her family wouldn’t help her and she was scared so because I cared and loved her I stayed I offered to keep her company and keep her safe which she declined she said she needed to figure it out on her own which I understood and I just tried to be there for her the best way I could while still providing for her helping her with bills food money etc but it got to a point her all she would talk about is him saying he’s crazy his this he’s that and after weeks of that I got so mad that I did some name callin and said some hurtful things that to this day I still regret but I know I can’t take them back and she said I’m just like him and we didn’t speak for a couple weeks or if we did it just be a fight then little over a month ago we started talking again and u know started up again providing for her being there for her helping her with random problems and we started to move forward until recently … she’s been going on a lot of vacations which I never complained about I’m always down for enjoying life especially after what she’s been thru so I just told her have fun text me whenever u get there stuff of that nature then of course I don’t hear from her or if I did it was just short messages which I didn’t think to much of it at the time just thought she was having fun and was busy then a day or 2 before was suppose to be back someone old me whose was the guy that she posted on her Instagram story I said idk and they showed me once again I was hurt so I contacted her about it and she told me it was a friend that she reconnected with from her hometown that she grew up in and that she’s not gonna stop living her life and wait for me to get my life together so later that day we been talking still and I looked at her Facebook story to see a bunch of pictures of them being together hugging kissy faces etc even one with them at a house together being “super close” and I was back at square one with me being hurt …. So eventually she comes back and we start talking again things are a bit awkward but I still try and prove to her that I love her and that I want to provide for her … so her car had a problem and of course I’m the guy that always worked on her car so I offer to take it and she says yes we set up a time to meet for the next day and continued to talk the next day come I get there early gave her some money and she told me that her aunt found someone to look at it for cheap which I was ok with so I got her Starbucks and got in my car when I was about to leave I saw the guy from the vacation which at this point I wasn’t able to control my emotions and I stormed inside and told her how could she lie to me and I asked for the money back and left the next day she told me who the guy was it was the ex she was with before she was with me (mind u this is the guy she told me was a manipulator controlling psychological abuser )and she told me she wants to take the relationship seriously that she sees her self marrying him in a year or at the very least engaged and asked if we could still be friends and cool but I couldn’t accept that cuz I was still in love with her and it wouldn’t be fair to me or her new relationship and I took a step back now she says she’s happy and he makes her happy etc which part of me would be ok with that if I didn’t find out he was gonna work at our job lol so not only do I have to keep my distance from her out of respect for her new relationship I now have to work with her boyfriend while hearing how happy she is and that she wants me to leave her alone lol ironic ….. well the reason I’m posting this here and not some other relationship Reddit is cuz we are kinda in a no contact we only text about work no calls no personal text just work and that’s it
If u took the time to read this I appreciate it and any advice or thoughts on the situation is welcomed !

Hey everyone! Can you please suggest a good day trip from Edinburgh for a family (including kids)? We ideally want to avoid a 12-hour trip since it may be too much travel for the younger kid. We want to see the Scottish highlands, mountain cows and primarily the great natural beauty of Scotland (e.g. we're not interested in the Whiskey tours). We'll be traveling from out of the country and will be in Edinburgh (in June) for 2 nights (including 1 full day for the day trip), so driving is not preferable (a tour bus would work great, we think).
Thanks for your suggestions!

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- - - - -
It had been a few weeks since Altier was brought to the run-down shack that his black-scaled companion likely called home, and he could now comfortably say he was accustomed to the…household’s routine. The kobold typically left at the crack of dawn, returned a little after noon, and occasionally left again to forage until nightfall. When the weather was bad or there wasn’t a particular need for something, they half-heartedly chased their rabbit around for a bit, which usually ended with a bout of quiet petting while everyone got ready for the night. It was always amusing to see the energetic side of what he had come to know as a relatively lazy loaf of an animal. As for the routine of the ferrorabbit in question… Well…it was at least more interesting than expected.
Hoppit would begin his own series of activities as soon as his caretaker left—the first of which being a check of every nook and cranny in the shed. He sniffed at anything that caught his interest, varying from morning to morning, but he gave every object or corner its due attention. Once he was satisfied with that, he would eat some of the ragged plants that made up most of his diet, take a drink from his bowl, then jump onto the tro— table and plop himself down, his ears pivoting towards the door. It was hard to say if the lounging spot had been established before Altier’s arrival, but it was somewhat amusing to pretend that the little rabbit was standing guard over his core—if it wasn’t for one particular part of the morning ritual, that is.
Indeed, the ferrorabbit had a habit of licking the obsidian orb that sat in the middle of the room, which thankfully didn’t seem to perturb the system enough to give Altier a headache. He was confused when it first happened, but it was commonplace enough now that he barely acknowledged it. A part of him liked that he was getting attention as a core, even if it was delivered via a strange grooming method. The closest he got to being acknowledged as something other than ‘the dungeon’ was through an unfortunate misunderstanding that he could never properly rectify. He supposed that was hardly worth thinking about now, though; too much time had passed for there to be anyone left to correct. The little oddity of his mornings would have to suffice.
There wasn’t much to comment on as far as the rest of the day’s happenings. Hoppit would end his loafing by shaking his head and ears in a way that filled the silence with soft clacks, give the core a customary tongue bath, then jump off the table to nose his way out of the shed through a hole that was hidden by the storage cart against the wall. Where the rabbit went was anyone’s guess, but he always returned before anyone noticed he was gone, and often did so while covered in small cuts and scratches. Any blood from the lacerations was quickly licked off before it could be seen by the kobold, and in the event that the scaly caretaker happened to return earlier than expected, Hoppit would scurry over to the bundles of blankets to finish the cleanup in secret.
Today looked to be following the usual pattern. The kobold left bright and early with various gardening tools and a wooden pail, and Hoppit had since set off into the great unknown for one reason or another. Hopefully, he returned less injured than usual. It was frustrating to admit that Altier had begun to grow rather fond of the fluffy creature, and seeing the thing come back hurt was bothersome. Was it off looking for food? There wasn’t a whole lot given to it, so that was a possibility, and it could be getting into fights over whatever it found. That still didn’t explain why the animal was so thin, and Altier didn’t have enough to go off of to think of a potential solution. He wanted to help it in some way, like by summoning a creature to act as an escort, or maybe just by manifesting something edible like he once could. No, he could only stare at the ‘Synchronizing…’ that occupied his menu, wishing he had more information to work with.
He never thought he would miss the bombardment of notifications and their lingering presence that filled the edge of his mental vision; at least with that he could surmise enough to hazard some kind of action. Even knowing why the menu was acting the way it did would be a start. Yet, try as he might, there wasn’t a history for him to reference anymore, and he had nothing to work with. He was confident the last message had asked him to ‘accept’ something, then took his befuddled ponderance as an answer, but he was no closer to an explanation for what it wanted, nor why it prompted him in the first place. He just didn’t have another experience to compare against, since nothing like that had ever happened before. Not that he was ever in much of a position to allow it.
The entire purpose of having Altier inhabit a core was for him to become a dungeon of Decay, which entailed all the skeletons, poisons, acids, and whatever else came to mind when one pictured the concept. ‘Living’ creatures were something he only had the chance to experiment with near the beginning of his new existence, though he never dabbled past the first few insects before transitioning to the mindless undead. Having a thinking, feeling, breathing entity touch his core was a rite reserved only for the adventurers and soldiers that bested his trials, and that was usually a painful experience. Now, he had spent what he could only guess was hours being held by a kobold, followed by having a rabbit bump against him, and neither felt like what he came to expect. Instead, both had led to a completely novel reaction from the system. The strange circumstances put him at a bit of a loss as to what it all meant for him.
Sure, he could dismiss the deluge of errors from his companion’s involvement by pointing to the numerous ‘corrupted’ messages before it, and Hoppit was a part of mostly unexplored territory, but the lack of clarity nagged at the back of his mind constantly. Being exposed to activity after potential decades or centuries of unchanging solitude made him despise the informational dead end. If he couldn’t make sense of the rabbit’s circumstances, then he didn’t have much hope of deciphering the reason for why his system was misbehaving so terribly. He also didn't know much about the one who owned the decrepit holdings he was housed inside.
He still wasn’t sure what drove the kobold to take him from the cave. His suspicion of becoming traded goods fell flat after the first week or so, and he hadn’t noticed any cult-like behaviour, which was promising. Granted, a lack of nefarious behaviour didn’t mean there was a lack of nefarious intent, but he didn’t get the impression his companion held that either. The kobold itself didn’t seem quite settled on an opinion of his core, though it was up for debate if the hesitation was due to knowing what he was or not. They seemed to mull something over before bed each night, yet never reached a satisfactory conclusion, staring at the obsidian orb through weary grey eyes until they eventually forced themselves into sleep.
Whatever the underlying reasoning for his abduction was, he had observed enough to know that the kobold didn’t deserve to live in destitution. As beaten as the shed might be, they cared for it as best they could, and did so without a single groan or grimace of complaint. The floors were cleaned with a tattered rag and fresh water, dust was removed regularly, and any stray mess that Hoppit made was dealt with promptly. They even took the time to wipe off his core, which was possibly where the ferrorabbit got the idea to start licking him. The only time Altier had seen discontent from the kobold was when they didn’t find much during their foraging, and thus couldn’t give any treats to the excited and bouncy herbivore.
He wasn’t aware that a creature’s face could make such a painfully broken expression, and he was quick to decide that he never wanted to see it again.
Vexingly, his metaphorical hands were tied; a dungeon could only influence their Domain, and given the state of his system, not even that option was available to him. All he could do was glare at the rotting wooden beams that held up the roof and remember when such an issue didn’t exist. It would have taken a mere flicker of thought and a paltry sum of mana to mend the struts when he was a proper dungeon. He could even outright reinforce the structure by weaving in other materials, leaving the appearance as it was while making everything stronger than iron. Well, he once could. Working with other affinities was something that came to him after absorbing the coloured motes left behind by adventurers, and the accursed stone that stole his mana had taken that ability as well.
An attempt was made anyway, his will ordering the deteriorated wood to absorb any trace metals from the ground, but it was no use. He couldn’t feel the iron or stones beneath the shed like he would have been able to before, all but confirming his suspicion that his connection to the Earth element had slipped away. Nature was much the same; the only way he knew when Hoppit had returned most days was from the subtle noise and the essence of injury. The other attributes—Air, Flame, Luma, Shadow, and so on—were ones he never experimented with to any real extent, so it was less noticeable when he lost his grasp on them. Perhaps they faded early. Either way, all he had left was a waning cognizance of his own alignment, and that wasn’t of much use to him. If he had any appreciable mana income, then perhaps he could do something, but he wasn’t even sure what the upkeep of his current Domain might be. It was entirely possible that he was running on a deficit, which would offer a reason for why his system had been so—
[Do#$@n Ex@#d$%^&d! CRe@#r H-H-H-HoPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP—]
[Errrrrrr—]
[Sy$%^hroni%^$zing…]
[Creeee-tu— Hoppit ha@$ esttttb-hed terrrrrrr-ity f^#% t$e dun@&$n!]
- - - - -
“Well then,” he mumbled to himself, taking in the strange scene behind the shed. For one, he could actually view a small distance beyond the structure now, and two, there was a rather proud-looking Hoppit sitting on his haunches before a pair of significantly less prideful examples of the species. They looked quite a bit bigger than the lazy loaf Altier had come to know, yet they were more cut up and dejected than his furry friend. That answered where the injuries had been coming from, he supposed. Hoppit was probably running off to bash heads with whatever animal population existed here beforehand, and they had only just reached a consensus on who was in charge. Impressive.
One of Hoppit’s ears turned back towards the shed, his head following suit as he gave a lagomorph’s approximation of a ‘Look what I did!’ smile. Altier blanked out mentally, but didn’t have time to question anything before the new leader of the local rabbits imperiously pointed a paw towards the surrounding forest, which was equally surreal to witness. Most surprising of all, the…subordinates? The other ferrorabbits did as commanded, keeping their forms small as they took off into the foliage. Soft clacks came from Hoppit’s pleased shake of his head, then he too left the area with only a slightly lopsided bounce to his stride.
The man-turned-core could only gape at what he saw. Were animals always so…expressive? Had Hoppit heard him? What in the world was happening? Why had Hoppit’s personal conquest led to Altier’s Domain expanding?
He lamented not having fingers, nor temples to rub with them. His system was a garbled mess of errors and inconsistent messages, his residence was falling apart at the seams, his companion was someone who abducted him from the dungeon, yet never did anything past that, and his first real experience with an animal was turning out to be more confusing than he thought possible.
All of this was after an unknown amount of time spent commanding legions of undead to strengthen the very people who he would later learn had lied to and manipulated him, making him into a nightmarish entity just to bolster the power of their forces. He almost missed the days spent gazing out of a mossy window. At least then he knew what to expect.
Nothing made sense anymore.
= = = = =
The soft sound of roots ripping free from soil suddenly stopped, only to be followed by a dull thud of Ceele’s palm slapping against the ground to catch her fall before she landed on her rear. She righted herself with her tail and tossed the stubborn weed into a pile with the others. No matter how many mornings she did this, they always seemed to replace themselves faster than she could remove the pesky things. A sigh slipped from her muzzle as she set about grabbing the next one embedded in the vegetable garden.
Aches and spreading stiffness flared up, but went ignored as she neared the end of her duties, though she was well aware that they would come back with force once she tried to settle down for the day. The impending soreness was an inevitable byproduct of spending so much time working. Still, she knew that if it wasn’t for the kindly old couple that allowed her to call their shed home, she would still be sleeping beneath the stars while making sure nothing tried to get at her Hoppit. Even if it was just a part of the deal, they were owed this much in return, and she would see it done properly.
The sun bore down on her back as she did her usual tasks, which was a departure from the slightly overcast weather as of late. It looked somewhat promising when she checked in the wee hours of the morning, yet as her gardening duties dragged on, so too did the intensity of such a clear sky. A disappointed glance at the empty wooden bucket on the edge of the field was quickly corrected. She hadn’t thought to refill it at the river after watering the crops, and her parched throat was making its protests known, while also reminding her that there wasn’t much water left at home either. One more thing to take care of when she was done.
A gruff cough brought her attention towards the old kobold resting his back against a tree some distance away, safely shaded from the unforgiving rays beaming down. Her displeasure at having yet more to do was hastily wiped away. She was undecided on what to think of the detached audience, but looking so sour while upholding her side of the agreement wouldn’t reflect well on her. Hopefully, he hadn’t seen it. Not that she could tell if he did; he always had the same expression when he watched her work. The elder kobold’s arms were crossed, a finger tapping absently against his bicep, while his tail sat motionless on the grass, the muddy red colour of his scales standing out amongst the greens and browns. ‘Makis,’ was his name, assuming her memory served.
Makis had taken to observing her every so often, usually propping himself against this or that at a distance, the unwavering scowl being as unnerving as it was belying of his age. Somewhat loose skin sagged a bit around his jowls and neck, yet the rest of his face was still taut from how much time he spent examining red-hot metal, and his arms were marred with countless burns and cuts from his profession. He held an oppressive aura, though the crinkles around his eyes and muzzle suggested he smiled as frequently as he glowered, even if Ceele was yet to see the former. There was only the same judgmental expression aimed at her when he was around. She could only hope that he didn’t take offence to some unintended slight, but she didn’t know him well enough to say what might be considered one.
They hadn’t spoken since she took up residence on the outskirts of his land. His wife was the one to introduce them, but it was quickly established that he had no intention of being a chatty individual. He led Ceele to the shed hidden amongst the trees on the edge of the property, then dismissed her with only a grunt coming from the elderly kobold. She supposed that it was for the best. Her experience in socializing was centred around convincing others to employ her, and there hadn’t been much of an opportunity to expand her horizons while living a life on the road. If that had been the end of their interactions, she would have swiftly written the terseness off, but he appeared every few days, taking up residence beneath the shade as he watched her work, never speaking a single word. At least he didn’t openly protest her presence, yet she figured that would be easier to manage. He wouldn’t be such an enigma then.
There wasn’t a whole lot she knew about him besides his penchant for ‘supervision,’ and anything beyond that was what his wife had volunteered during the rare opportunity they had to chat. She was told that Makis worked the smithy out front, and although he had retired from doing so in an official capacity, she could still regularly hear his hammer as she tended to the garden, so she figured he kept himself busy most days. It made her wonder what was so interesting about a vagrant like herself, but when there was so little else to do, she could see how anything could be made worth the attention. It was just him and his wife living in the once bustling home, after all; the couple’s children had long since grown up and made families of their own.
She noticed his gaze shift elsewhere as she tugged yet another stubborn intruder from the soil, his arms falling from across his chest and the perpetually worn displeasure melting to that of curiosity. He wandered off shortly after, and she had to make an effort not to fall onto her tail as the pressure on her shoulders unexpectedly evaporated. Did something happen?
Ceele shook her head free of the distracting thought. It wasn’t her business if he grew bored with watching her work. As long as no one voiced any complaints, she could only assume that she was doing a satisfactory job. Maybe he finally decided that he didn’t need to be so watchful because she was doing well! That could be it, right?
A glance at the somewhat sloppily maintained garden erased the false confidence from her face, but she was just as quick to focus on finishing up, unwilling to allow darker musings to fester. Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be anything else that needed her intervention. The weeds were all uprooted, the soil was appropriately dampened, and her check for pesky insects or wildlife turned up nothing to worry about. She was free for the rest of the day!
…Or she would be free—as soon as she finished the last of her tasks, anyway.
The black-scaled kobold got up from her crouch unsteadily, shivering and wincing from the pins and needles in her legs. She would have to remember to stretch more often; it was far too easy to forgo that kind of thing just to make the overall work go slightly faster. Her hand reached out to grab the pile of weeds and put them into the bucket as she ran through what needed to be done before she could properly relax. Hoppit’s food needed to be washed, she needed to bathe, and they were running low on water anyway, so she would have to visit the river. Just the thought of dragging herself into the forest again made her muscles protest, but she wouldn’t have the energy to do it later. She forced the smile that had started to fall and took the first of many steps.
- - - - -
The river wasn’t too far away, only taking a few minutes of traipsing through the dense woodlands until she reached her destination. It was an idyllic little spot. The trees thinned out to allow a grassy bank along the water, and there was an appreciably gentle slope from shallows to depths, making for a convenient place to take care of various needs. She had discovered this place during her travels, and it was where a kind older woman found her.
Ceele was washing off at the time, with Hoppit safely taking shelter from the outside underneath the bundled blankets while he waited. The trickle of the stream brushing against rocks covered the sound of footsteps, so she was rather surprised when an aged voice called out to ask if she was okay. Her first reaction was to distance herself and apologize—the why didn’t matter, but she had learned that most people were more lenient of her presence if she seemed apologetic for it, and she usually was. The elderly kobold just laughed at her scrambling, tacking on an assurance that there was no need for modesty. The woman was blind, apparently, which explained how Ceele’s blackened colours hadn’t deterred her.
Strangely enough, there was a comforting sense of ease around the one who introduced herself as Hira. It was a sort of presence that Ceele could only vaguely remember, and it drew her close enough to speak as she finished bathing. The conversation wasn’t anything profound, of course—they hardly delved deeper than surface-level small talk—but Hira lost her smile as she listened to the younger kobold. By the end of it, the old woman posed a series of questions with a dark inflection to her voice, and Ceele struggled to find an answer.
‘Are you tired of looking for something that only slips away? Are you tired of running? Do you really want to be scared and alone?’
If the silence bothered Hira, then it didn’t show. She had simply held out a hand and offered Ceele a way of life that didn’t involve wondering where she would be spending the night, nor entailed cowering in the brush while fearsome predators roamed freely. It would be a simple existence of few fortunes, but it was safe, and it was honest. All she had to do was say yes.
Ceele denied it at first, partially because she knew most people despised Hobbit's species, and partially because she couldn’t shake the offer being too good to be true. Hira was quick to propose a compromise; Ceele could take residence in the gardening shed that had fallen from use, and to satiate the nagging sense of an unfair deal, she would be put in charge of maintaining the garden itself. All Hira wanted was to ‘see’ her favourite space bloom again, since she couldn’t take care of it anymore. The black-scaled kobold stared longingly at where Hoppit was, his little body shivering from the prolonged cold and fear that he would be hurt if he left the blankets hiding him. It was with a heavy guilt that she accepted Hira’s offer, keeping quiet about her true reason for doing so.
That was in the past, however, though she thought about it every time she stopped by and saw the smooth rocks where she and Hira first met. Eventually, she might gather the courage to admit that she was housing a ‘pest’ and beg for forgiveness. Until then, she would just work her hardest to prove it wasn’t a mistake to give her a home. That her endless efforts weren’t meaningless. That Hoppit deserved to be more than a ‘pest.’
That Ceele was more than something she had no control over being.
She cleared her head a bit and started on the reason she came all this way. Her dress was rather easy to wash in the meandering water, and the trees provided a suitable place for it to dry in the sunlight and light breeze. The weeds were fine with a thorough rinse near in the shallows, but taking care of her own hygiene required her to wade farther in, though it only came up to her chest in the middle of the rill. Still, she could scrub off the soil and grime, which was all she really needed. Perhaps some simple soaps would help rid her of the pervasive black that stained her skin and scales, but that was beyond her meagre means for the time being, as well as being mere wishful thinking.
She worked past the dreary mindset that settled in when she allowed it, focusing on how serene the river was. The soft birdsong from the trees helped make for a peaceful experience, and she could feel the somewhat chilled liquid basically pour into the aches and pains throughout her body, washing away the stiffness from spending so long under the unerring sun. It was nice to escape reality and let thoughts drift while held buoyant by calmer waters.
Yet the bliss was short-lived. Even if winter was gone, spring was still far from warming the waters enough for her to laze about for too long. She dragged herself from the soft current and fetched her dress from the low-lying branch she left it to dry on. It was still a touch damp, but it wasn’t anything a bit of time in front of the fireplace wouldn’t fix.
Ceele was only a short distance away from home when she heard a gravelly male voice, but it was the flicker of sight between the trees that made her drop what was in her arms and lunge into a sprint.
Makis stood just outside the gardening shed, a ferrorabbit held at arm’s length by rusty crimson hands placed on the scruff and haunch, the rabbit’s little ears flattened as fear filled its tiny face. Her eyes widened further when she noticed the small stains of blood in his light brown fur. They found out about him. Ephemeral claws of blackness clutched at her soul, ripping the very fabric she was made of as an unseen beast smiled, eager to take yet one more thing from her. Her Hoppit. Her baby. Her everything.
“Hoppit!” she shrieked, her words all but tearing out of her throat in desperation. Frozen blood coursed through her veins, yet poured into exhausted limbs. She broke through the treeline with no regard for the branches slashing against her flesh, panic making each sting fade before it could be processed. The grizzled glare of the older kobold snapped towards her, his usual scowl picking up an actual air of intensity that she never thought could be absent, the promise of violence lurking in his eyes. She skidded to a stop a few paces away, the lump in her throat threatening to clog her airway. “S-stop hurting him!”
“Didn’t,” he barked back, his tone even yet firm. “Cuts ain’t me. I’d’a done worse if’a had ta mind ta.”
The blatant declaration snapped her from blind panic, although his apparent anger didn’t do her fear any favours. “B-but… Then how…”
“‘Hoppit.’ Named it, did’cha?” he grunted, ignoring her confusion and bobbing the rabbit to get her attention again. His gaze shifted back to the animal, the flames of ire cooling slightly. “I was wonderin’ why yer plots ain’t dead yet. Suppose this critter’s why.”
One of her hands hesitantly reached out until she pulled it back, while the other clutched at her chest to stop her heart from hammering against her ribs. She couldn’t act rashly. Not while her baby was in his arms. “I—”
“Soft thing, ain’t it,” the elder kobold commented curiously, cutting her off.
“Y-yes?” she returned reluctantly, struggling to stop herself from lashing out to reclaim the ferrorabbit in his grasp.
“Like fine silk.” Makis tipped and tilted the animal, inspecting this and that with a deep-seated frown, all while Hoppit silently looked to her for help. The pit in her stomach grew. She needed to get him back, but how?
Ceele swallowed the dense dread as she tried to formulate some sort of plan, stumbling over her words and forced smile. “I-it’s nice! Isn’t it nice?”
His eyes snapped back to burrow into her own with hatred. “Wasn’t a compliment, girly.”
“B-but you—”
He released Hoppit’s lower half to jab a claw at the various spikes around his body, plying them with minimal force. “Look. See this? These’r suppose ta break bone. ‘Specially when he’s stiff like this. Ain’t no way I should be able ta bend ‘em. He’s barely more than a walkin’ carcass—all skin ‘n stick. He’s gonna get picked up by a wandering pecker if he keeps pissin’ about out ‘ere. It’s a wonder he’s still kickin’. What’cha feeding ‘em?” His gaze dropped from her face to the rest of her, disgust curling his muzzle into a snarl. “N’ver mind. I can guess.”
She felt the dampness build at the edges of her vision, unprepared to not only worry for Hoppit's immediate health, but also to face such harsh criticism while she was so vulnerable. “I… I try to make sure he has…”
Makis crouched to release the ferrorabbit onto the ground, Ceele dropping to her knees the moment he did. The terrified lagomorph wasted no time, bolting towards his adoptive mother and leaping into her arms, shaking uncontrollably. The rust-coloured ‘bold stared as she started soothingly stroking the animal’s back.
“Yer given’ em the weeds, aren’t ya?” he stated rather than asked. She gave a teary nod when her voice wouldn’t respond for her. The old kobold drew a breath, letting it go in an exasperated sigh as he stood back up, his expression becoming more impatient than antagonistic. “What else?”
“I— Um…”
“What. Else?”
“W-whatever I c-can find!” she sputtered out. Hoppit tried to hide against her neck, prompting her to tighten her hold. She couldn’t stop herself from shrinking, the guilt and confusion pulling her head down. “R-roots, vegetables, fruits… I give them as often as I can.”
His glare continued unimpeded, his cadence cold. “That it?”
There were a million things Ceele wanted to say. A part of her wanted to beg him not to kick them out of the first safe place she had in longer than she could remember, but she couldn’t find the words. She wanted to deny the judgmental tone that stabbed into her insecurity surrounding how good of a job she was doing with Hoppit, but the deadened void in her chest swallowed her pride whole. She knew he was right to critique her. That she was failing in the only thing that mattered anymore. That the feeling of loss would return.
“I try,” she whispered through the beginnings of a sob. “I try to find more, but he needs someone around, and I have to work the garden, so there’s only so much time I can spend looking. He won’t even eat all of what I bring back…” Tears dripped off her cheeks as she aimed a desolate smile at her furry friend. “He wants to make sure I have some too.”
“Yer killin’ em,” Makis pointed out plainly, crossing his arms. “He’ll be dead ‘fore the summer at this rate.”
“I know!” she shouted, forcing back the memories of insidious murmurs that lurked in the back of her mind, eager to creep into her ears again. The hate-filled stares that followed her, the rumours that arrived in towns before she had the chance to make an impression, and the guilt that loomed over her like an executioner's axe… “I know I am… I just… I don’t know what he needs. I don’t know how to make him happy…but I try. I’m trying…”
“…Yer an idiot, girly.”
She looked up to see the elder kobold walking away without another word. Her eyes fell to Hoppit, the ferrorabbit pressing himself against her as much as he could. He was small, thin, soft, and growing weaker by the day, but he never let it keep him down for long. No, he always showed his best for her, giving her joy that wasn’t provided anywhere else. She saw the thin cuts and dried blood, though she didn’t know where they came from, nor how he got out of the shed in the first place. But that was okay. Hoppit was okay, and she had Hoppit, so everything was okay, right?
…But how much longer would everything stay okay? How much longer until her efforts weren’t enough, and she was left desperately reaching for fading memories of what once was? How much longer until she killed her baby too?
How much longer until she was alone again?
Soft footsteps drew near, pulling her from the spiralling thoughts that threatened to gnaw at her soul. Damp, blurry eyes fell on Makis returning with a small wooden crate, the older kobold stopping a few steps away. He dropped the box, a deep, rattling thud produced as it impacted the ground, making Hoppit flinch in her arms. Ceele blinked as she kept him calm, then blinked again, looking up at the man for answers.
“The name, girly,” he spat in irritation. “Ferrorabbit. Ther’ Earth aligned creatures; they need metals. They don’t care where they get it, but they need lots of it. Iron, copper, tin, lead—raw crystal, if they can find it. You name it, they’ll take a chunk out of it. It's why they bother farmers so much; the best soil’s usually top’a gem deposits, ‘n the little bastards have no issue burrowing deep to get it. Dries up the element’s energy ‘n makes the crops weak.”
Ceele’s mouth opened and closed, each unsuccessful attempt to speak making her feel smaller and smaller. More and more lost. Why was he telling her this? How did he know? What was in the—
He kicked the crate with the side of his foot. “Scraps. Don’t’cha look at me like that. I’m a smith, girly. I might be old and retired, but I still work a forge. Now, this ain’t anything pure—it’s just slag and hunks—but I’m sure the critter won’t mind. Your little gardenin’ project pays off, ‘n I’ll see which of my contacts can get in some better ore.”
She ripped her eyes away from the box and met the perpetual scowl of the old kobold, seeing a warmth behind the hostility that she had never noticed before. “…Why?”
He scoffed in amusement, which looked somewhat menacing on such a hardened expression. “Yer a touch stupid, girly, but the missus adores ya, ‘n yer a good worker.” A shadow of a smile formed on his face. “Hira spent more evenings asking ‘bout how the plots are doin’ than I got time in the day. She’d bite my head off if I noticed a critter like that sufferin’ and didn’t lend a hand. ‘Specially when it’s obvious you ain’t tryin’ ta hurt the thing.”
“B-but the garden… Isn’t he a problem?”
Makis rolled his eyes, turning with a dismissive wave of his hand. “If he was, he’da killed it by now. I’d say he’s been keepin’ the others clear ‘n got scratched up for the trouble. That’s more reason to feed ‘em right in my eyes; pay the poor bastard his dues.” He paused after a few steps, shooting her one last incredulous glance. “‘N the rabbit’s right. You’re not much better off than he is. Eat. Before the missus takes my head, preferably. I ain’t need ta hear her worryin’ over you more than I already do.”
And with that, he walked off back to the house, leaving Ceele to sit stunned on the ground with Hoppit quietly nuzzling into her.
“Hoppit…?”
The ferrorabbit perked an ear and gently licked her collar. Fresh tears ran rivulets down her face, yet they didn’t weigh her down. They felt freeing. She adjusted her hold on the rabbit and held him out, taking in the small cuts and numerous other injuries she had never noticed before. He stared back at her with worried eyes.
“You’ve been busy, huh?” she cooed quietly, doing her best to keep her voice from cracking. He shrunk in her hands. “I told you to stay home, baby. What if something happened to you? I wouldn’t know where you went, and…”
Her protests died out as she saw what was unmistakably guilt on his little face. She brought him back to her chest and cleared her throat.
“It’s alright, Hoppit. If… If you want to help momma, then we can work together, okay? Just…please don’t go off getting hurt… I don’t know what I’d do without you…” The rabbit didn’t reply, and she was pretty sure she had never heard him make any sounds that weren’t his happy little ear clacks, but she chose to interpret the nuzzling as an agreement. “Such a smart boy…”
She took a breath and wiped off the excess moisture from her cheeks, setting Hoppit down on the ground. “Let’s bring Mr. Makis’ gift in, and then I need to go get more water so we can clean you up, okay?”
He bounced his way to the door of their home, waiting patiently for her to lug the surprisingly heavy crate into the shed. He was even still behaving himself by the time she returned from picking up the things she dropped in her haste. There wasn’t a single protest from the ferrorabbit as she washed over his wounds with warm water, nor when she asked him to wait as she cut up a small salad for him using an extra portion of her rationed vegetables. Finally, once everything else was gone, she tentatively sifted through the box until she found a chunk of something that didn’t look so sharp, then offered it to Hoppit skeptically.
As startling as it was to see him bite through metal without issue, she couldn’t help but tear up again at how pleased he looked with the bizarre addition to his diet. He munched through the first piece, then stared at the box while pawing at the air, asking for more. She obliged through wet laughs, feeling lighter than she had since he first gazed at her from his burrow, alone and afraid, just like she was.
Her little baby was happy, and that made it okay.
Next
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A/N: Thank you to my Patrons, new and returning! No Thanks, Emmanuel, and Megathor join the others who get to read 1 chap ahead!

Hello!
Travelling to Italy in a few weeks and will have 4/5 days free where I'm wanting to hike hut to hut around Aosta Valley (No car, will have to use public transport) Looking at possibly a section of Alta Via 1, looking for great views and good hikes. Any advice on routes and huts to stay at would be appreciated :)

Hey Games!
We are Envision Entertainment, an indie game studio of 20 people based in Germany. We would like to give you an update on our city builder game Pioneers of Pagonia.
Pioneers of Pagonia is a wholesome build-up strategy game made by the original creator of The-Settlers-Series Volker Wertich.
Backstory:
In a world of countless islands populated with scattered villages, you travel and lead your people as a visionary to forge alliances with the inhabitants, after helping each other and gaining their trust. Send out your pioneers to discover untouched soil, find hidden resources and explore secret places.
News:

• Our next major content update, the Mining Update, launches on June 25th!
  • Subsurface Mining / Steel & Gold Production
  • Combat Improvements
  • New Enemies: Scavengers
  • New Steel Combat Units
  • Geologist!
• Watch the updated Early Access Trailer (Mining Update Teaser) here!
• Check out our Steam-Page! (and get 15% off until June 12th)

What can you expect?

• Wuselfaktor! Thousands of units hustling and bustling around the map.
• WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) Every transport of goods, manufacturing process and discovery is comprehensible and presented with lovely animations in the game world.
• Complex Production Chains: over 70 resources and 40 buildings
• Procedural Maps: Provide endless possibilities and a vast variety of game experiences
• Relaxing Atmosphere: Focus on building a flourishing economy and discovering the mysteries of Pagonia.
• Shared Co-op: up to 4 friends can play together!

What has happened so far?
Early Access Launch
Pioneers of Pagonia has launched into Early Access in December 2023. Currently, we are working on continuously improving the game with major content updates.
Economy Update
In March we have released our first major update including the Fishing Hut, Warehouses and Production and Unit Statistics. Read the Patch Notes on Steam.
Shared Co-op Update
In April our first multiplayer mode Shared Co-op has launched! We had so much fun in our test rounds that we decided to move this feature forward and release it much earlier than originally planned! Get ready to play Pioneers of Pagonia with your friends. Read the full patch notes here.
What's next for Pioneers of Pagonia?
We have updated our roadmap! Have a look at our steam page to see all the features we have planned for the upcoming months. The next two content updates will be major!
Mining Update coming soon!
Our next major content update launches on June 25th! There will be a Beta test starting very soon. If you want to be one of the first people to test the new features, join our Discord or have a look at our Steam Community Hub for more information on how to participate!
Thanks to everyone who has been following our journey so far! We have a lot of fun working on this project. It wouldn't be the same without so many amazing people in our community. <3
Visit our Steam Page and wishlist the game for updates and notifications.
Social Media Discord / X / Facebook / Instagram / Threads / TikTok

TLDR: Cashed out my 401k. Spent $10k planning a trip. RINSED.
I want to post this as a warning for any prospective SDs who struggle like me with self esteem, self confidence, self worth and are “nice guys”. I guess I’m venting here, I am alone and have no one in my life to talk to about this, and I am hoping by writing this it gives me a clearer picture of just how I got here - what happened and what are the red flags I missed. If you are like me, I cannot implore you enough to get out of the bowl ASAP. It will leave you in a much worse position than when you joined. Just…like…me. I’m currently on that $10k trip in the RV right now by myself writing this. Where do I even begin?
I joined the bowl because I was not looking for anything too serious, tired of my age group of women in the vanilla world, and to help my confidence and self esteem. I was married to my ex wife for 12 years. She had a multi year long affair in which I forgave her the first time. She swore it was over - HINT: it wasn’t. Divorced the 2nd time. Dated a few girls vanilla with the last one being 10 months - and she wanting marriage and kids asap after me being honest and upfront about my future wants. No thank you.
Then I joined the bowl. Yikes - it was rough at first. Talked to a lot of women. The first one I met one actually robbed me and took off on our first date. I chalk that up to karma from acting like a John - I honestly just wanted to get the “first one” out of the way in the bowl before it’s someone I can see a longterm SR with. But there were so many red flags that I refused to see through at the time - and I promise you…you will miss the red flags too IF you are like me. Just hope you don’t get hurt and it’s just money.
But one SB always stuck out. We talked for a few weeks before we met. And when we met I was mesmerized. It’s not often you met someone that looks better than their pictures. A reverse catfish. We had a few platonic M&Gs. Got tested. I gifted her a low XXXX gift on our 2nd date. Sent her low XXXX before our 3rd date because she was moving and I wanted to help her. I wanted her to know I was serious. I had an issue with my initial STD test but got it resolved and we were supposed to make our SR official on our 3rd date. But - that night came and of course Murphy’s law - things failed spectacularly. We actually both posted about it on here believe it or not. But we worked through it. I tell her after this if I ever think she is going to bail leading up to this - I will just communicate with you and we can talk through it. She says good! This is important for later.
For the first 6 months we did PPM. And it was absolutely amazing. As beautiful as she was, I was completely falling for the girl on the inside. It seemed we always had an amazing time together. Even her. She said so. It seemed like it. And I foolishly let myself believe it. If you are like me…this will happen to you too. I never thought I would be able to fall in love after my marriage, and here I was falling in love with my SB. Never did I want that. It wasn’t my desire. I wasn’t expecting it. But damn - it felt so good just to know I could. I started trusting her. Slowly. More and more.
I remember I would consistently have some rough mornings at work. But damn the second I got that good morning text - things seemed to get instantly better. We actually spent Valentines Day together. Gifted her a laptop mid between 1-2 XXXX. I wanted her to know how much our first few months meant to me. What she gave me at the time was invaluable (if only it didn’t end up like it did). I am by no means a whale - and I didn’t even spoil my ex wife like I did with her.
Recently, in April, she told me she lost her job. She didn’t formally ask for anything. But I’ll be damned if I don’t give the shirt off my back to someone I love. She knew I would. She knew me. In retrospect, she preyed on my weakness. At this point I am unsure if she really even lost her job. I have no idea what to believe anymore. I have a major business financial situation approaching quickly so my financial situation is unfortunately dire. As in I’m going to have more debt than cash. It wasn’t the best time for her to lose her job. But that didn’t stop me. I tell her I will cash out one of my 401ks and provide her a mid XXXX allowance for May June and July. Ends up around thirteen thousand total to her. I ask if she would like it monthly or lump sum. I trust her. Completely. She said lump sum. I’ll be honest - it wasn’t until physically writing these checks out is when it hit me. That caused me to freak out internally. At that point my trust issues are screaming. She can take off right now. Crap. In my head I’m asking myself what am I doing. But I wanted to prove a point to myself. I can trust again! Not EVERYBODY is going to screw me! And I would have bet my life this girl was not like that. How pathetic of me and foolish.
So I see her the first weekend of May for a weekend trip we had planned. Amazing weekend. Things are great. On the way back I write her the check. Lump sum but she request it in 3 different checks - weird I think but ok. Here is one for May, one for June, one for July.
As I look back, it was almost instantaneous the change and frequency in her communication. I remember thinking it at the time - but considered it could be me and my insecurities so I looked past it. We hang out ONE more time after the checks. Her vibe was VISIBLY OFF. She did not want to be there but it’s like she forced herself too - it was so obvious in the moment.
The following weekend, she goes to a music festival with her friends. Before, she would text me her outfit pictures, how things were etc. this time I didn’t get any of that. But I was honestly ok with it as it was a large festival. Things get crazy - I get it. It wasn’t until AFTER the festival that we didn’t talk at all for 2-3 days. I’m thinking - what in the hell is going on. This is the first time we haven’t spoken in days since our very first text messages. Now I am freaking out.
For the past 3 months, we had been planning a cross country RV trip to another music festival. Months of planning. It was actually going to be her birthday. So…what do I do? I decide to plan a cross country country scavenger hunt with all her favorite things. It’s so detailed I have multiple shops ALL across the country participating in this with me. She loves music as do I. So I not only started writing her a song about the magic she offers, I even produce a song. It’s terrible - make no mistake - but damn I probably spent 60 hours on it. I am going to make this a birthday she remembers forever!
Back to us not talking for a few days - I freak out and text her that I am not feeling good, I think she is going to bail on this trip, and if she is to let me know so I don’t waste a bunch of money buying more stuff then needed. She text back that she is hurt and she ask why I am thinking this why, and that she doesn’t care if I go or not because she’s gonna go herself (wtf?!?). So I tell her exactly why I’m feeling this way which in short was things do not feel real or authentic anymore, something has changed, and I’m trying to figure out wtf is going on. I even tell her - I understand if you met someone - just be honest with me so I can plan accordingly. She blows up, says I’m rude and an asshole, and she can’t dare speak or see me for the time being (meanwhile she has always reiterated she will give me any reassurance I need). Here is the kicker, THE VERY NEXT DAY, I get the alert she cashes the last and final check. So outraged with me, so upset with me, but she has no problem cashing my check. FOR JULY. Deep down, it was that very moment I knew I was going to get rinsed. I don’t respect myself for not walking away then. I followed her like a pathetic broken dog following their owner. For the next few absolutely mentally draining weeks. It was bad. After a week she agrees to meet with me for 10 minutes to chat. We chat, and she says she will go on the trip.
Great! Maybe this will get us back on track and back to normal. I know she will love the scavenger hunt. We text periodically and chat about the trip. The day before the trip she asked if we can push it back a day. Sure I say. The next day, the day before, she says she will not drive with me but prefers flying in for the festival, it makes her feel more safe. I am crushed. I have no idea what to say. Some texting backing and forth and somehow I agree to it (no respect for myself…ugh). How pathetic am I. I text her asking if we can chat on the phone for a quick 5 minutes to coordinate logistics. I get a text back 12 hours later to “drive safe!”(read: I ain’t got time for you). Log in to see she blocked me on instagram and yep, that was all she wrote.
I am relieved it’s now over. The last few weeks have been so mentally draining. In the end, the only thing I can do is learn from my mistakes. If I just blame her for the rinsing, I will NEVER get better. I made so many mistakes. I could have been better. My therapist THROUGHOUT warned me, told me I will regret it, and I refused to listen. He became extremely concerned when he saw how my feelings were developing. He doesn’t know about the 401k yet. That will be a fun conversation next time I see him.
But damn, she has destroyed me. I am beyond crushed because of the WAY she did it. She ruined EVERYTHING we had….even the amazing times. They do not mean anything anymore. They do not even register in my head. It eats at me that she took that from me. I deserved that at least - but she didn’t have enough respect for me to let me keep the good times. That is going to take so long to get over. I really was good to her. I was honest. I was so caring. I would have done anything for her. I was needy. I was insecure. I am not good in the bedroom (stamina issues) but very giving. Not a whale. But very generous. I just don’t understand how she can do this. I mean, I was getting ready to have her meet my family - YIKES. In the end, how can I fall in love for someone that could do this to me? This is a major concern.
For the “nice guy” SDs, use this as a warning. Don’t think what you have here is real - it ain’t. This is sugar. At some point, you are going to get rinsed. Don’t let it be for as much as me. Stick to PPM.
Ultimately, this is all my fault. How irresponsible of me to cash out a 401k. I’m not in the financial situation to afford this. I have always been very logical, emotionally stable or numb (depression), and this SR brought out the 2 complete opposites in me. I have so many things that need fixing. And now it starts. Brick by brick. Step by step. I will now depart from the bowl, for good, and wish you all the best. Be careful.

Ok, so I was sleeping and was thinking about black holes and how they do not let light escape and all.
So light travels at a high speed, fastest thing in the universe. As we know it, if anything with mass had to move at the speed of light then it would need acceleration. However to produce such a massive acceleration you would need infinite energy.
Here's the part where I go delusional.
If something takes infinite energy to accelerate then it would need infinite energy to deccelerate or produce -ve acceleration. So as black holes can bend light do they have some kind of massive energy that can produce such a great -ve acceleration as to make light change it's path?
I'm not sure if this is true and I'm in school so I don't understand that advanced mathematics and this thought has been on my head for long someone help me correct it. I hope I'm wrong cause this shit is crazy.

https://bgodinspired.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1717922300.png

Understanding Mercy Through the Lens of the Bible

Have you ever experienced a moment when someone showed you grace when you least expected it? Mercy, a concept deeply embedded in the Bible, offers us a transformative path toward understanding and compassion. This article explores the principle of mercy within the biblical context and its relevance to our daily lives.

What is Mercy in the Bible?

Mercy is God’s loving and compassionate concern for humanity, especially when we are undeserving. The Bible defines mercy as an unmerited favor that goes beyond justice.

• Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV): “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

These verses remind us that God’s mercy is renewed every day, emphasizing its everlasting nature.

Parables That Illustrate Mercy

Jesus frequently used parables to teach about mercy. Two well-known parables serve as prime examples:

1. The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37):

• A Samaritan helps a wounded traveler, showing mercy while religious figures pass by.
• Key Lesson: True mercy transcends societal prejudices and is shown through tangible actions.
  
  1. The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32):
• A father welcomes his wayward son back with open arms despite his past mistakes.
  
• Key Lesson: God’s mercy is always available, no matter how far we stray.
  

Reflect on these stories: How do they challenge your perspective on mercy?

Mercy in Action: Biblical Characters

Several biblical characters serve as beacons of mercy.

• Joseph (Genesis 45:1-15): Joseph forgives his brothers for selling him into slavery.
• Jesus (John 8:1-11): Jesus shows mercy to a woman caught in adultery, advising her to “go and sin no more.”

These examples are a testament to the life-transforming power of mercy. Can you think of moments in your life where showing mercy made a difference?

Applying Mercy in Our Lives Today

Mercy isn’t just a biblical concept; it’s a life principle that can transform our relationships and communities.

• Forgiving Others: Emulate God’s mercy by forgiving those who wrong you, just as He forgives us.
• Helping Those in Need: Like the Good Samaritan, provide assistance without expecting anything in return.
• Empathy and Compassion: Understand the struggles of others and offer support in their times of need.

As you incorporate mercy into your life, ask yourself: In what ways can I be more merciful in my daily interactions?

Interactive Reflection

Let’s take a moment to reflect:

• What area of my life could use more mercy?
• How can I show mercy to someone today?

Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!

Conclusion

In a world that often feels harsh and unforgiving, mercy offers a beacon of hope and healing. Embracing it not only aligns us with biblical teachings but also enriches our lives and the lives of those around us.
Call to Action: Share this article with a friend who might need some encouragement. Comment below with how you plan to incorporate mercy into your life!
By understanding and practicing mercy as taught in the Bible, we open our hearts to profound experiences of grace and compassion. Embrace this timeless principle and watch how it transforms your life and relationships.
Keywords: Mercy in the Bible, biblical mercy, Good Samaritan, Prodigal Son, forgiving others, showing compassion, Bible teachings.
If you want to want to research more Bible Answers on your own, please try our Bible Answers GPT. It’s easy to get lost in the interesting responses you’ll find… every search is like a new treasure hunt 🙂
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Currently coming to the tail end of our baby moon in Mallorca and wanted to note a few things/recommendations.
Flew out at 31 weeks pregnant, flight was direct and just under two hours. Over 28 weeks pregnant so I got a fit to fly certificate 5 days prior to flying. Extra long compression socks to be on the safe side.
Husband and I have been to Mallorca before for our mini-moon when we got married two years ago.
ACCOMMODATION: We decided to get self-catered accommodation and are staying in the north-east part of the island this time. Last time we were in Santanyi which is more south-east. Our rental last time had a pool which we’ve really missed having this time around. It was nice to start or end the day with a chunky dunk.
TRANSPORT: We got a car rental when booking through the airline and that rental company ended up being Goldcar. They aren’t great and feel a bit scanmy. We paid 60 eur ahead of time to get full insurance, but on arrival you have to have credit card only in the bookers name to be able have that full insurance option, otherwise if it’s a debit card you need to pay 300 EUR extra for full insurance (even though you’ve already paid for full coverage via the airline). I took my belly seatbelt adjuster that pulls the belt below the belly for comfort.
FOOD: Breakfast/brunch has always been at the rental, then we’ll take a picnic to have on the beach as lunch. Dinner we either cooked or ate out.
BEACHES: It’s quite cliff-y around here so we were worried about beach accessibility and walking. Our first beach day we did Platja Cala Gat which is super easy to get to. Steps down to the beach, there’s a little cocktail bar and paid toilets. Perhaps our fav beach this trip.
Another day we did Cala Torta. You used to be able to drive down a lot closer to it but they’ve closed off the access and the last 1.5-2km until the beach is only accessible by foot. It was hot, but we took several breaks along the way down. Very windy though. There was a signpost saying that the beach was unsupervised/unmanned which had me a little worried in case something happened, but when we got down there, there were actually two lifeguards posted who were there until 5pm. At the end of our beach day we found a restaurant/hotel atop the hill and it had the most insane view (Agroturismo Sa Duaia).
WEATHER: Last time we came here end of April/beginning of May and the weather was very Goldilocks - not too hot, not too cold (22’C). Definitely needed a cardigan in the evenings. This time around we’re here at the beginning of June and it was pretty hot by Northern European standards (think 28’C at its peak), but still a little cool and windy in the evenings.
SLEEPING: I’ve definitely missed the comforts of my pregnancy pillow and some nights have been ROUGH with my worsening pregnancy rhinitis and post nasal drip, consistently waking up one or two times a night around 3am in a sneezing/coughing fit but the lazy days, sandy beach snoozes and the weightlessness I feel in the water is so dang worth it!
SKINCARE: I made sure to pack extra sun screen, after sun body lotion and a travel size version of bio oil.
Might come back to edit this as I think of more things to add.

I do want to point out that this dream isn’t necessarily very funny or weird, it’s kind of just odd…
So basically it all started with me standing in the middle of a field in what I assumed was the middle of nowhere. However I wasn’t alone, because there were multiple other people there, ranging from people my age to around Danny and Drew’s age. Both of my parents, my brother and my ex-English teacher was there for some reason. Oh yeah and Danny and Drew were there as well.
I think they were making a video (which I’d already seen even though it had ent been released?) and it was about a haunted house someone made for Danny and Drew, in which they sort of swore to curse them and ruin their lives or whatever.
For some reason none of the other people there reacted to their presence, despite being there because of the video. But being a fan of them I decided to go up and talk to them.
Drew was a bit strange and refused to take a photo with me until I asked “Can you take a photo with me?” Rather than “Can I take a photo with you?”, and Danny was even stranger since he left the second I approached them even though I was talking to both of them. Complete ignored me when I greeted him, turned around, and left with nothing but a stale smile on his face.
But it didn’t really bother me, I figured they were only joking, so I got my photo with Drew (which my English teacher helped take) but as I turn to look at Drew a wild Danny appeard! I wasn’t upset though, because I’m a fan of both of them and the picture turned out great. It did look a bit odd since Danny was standing a bit to the side, arms and legs completely straight, staring right into the camera while me and Drew stood closer together with our arms crossed.
We started talking a bit, I tried to make a few references but couldn’t remember anything, we watched a few kids scamming each other, Drew attacked me with a pencil as Danny just sat and watched, I told Drew I’d started watching Lost because of his video and then I had to leave.
I’d say it was a 10/10 meeting and it feels like this is how they normally react to meeting a fan. Was very disappointed when I woke up.
TLDR: I met Danny and Drew in a dream. Danny avoided me and Drew attacked me. No regrets.