Thank you for this universe!
And many thanks to for being a full co-writer on this project!
Kaeden and Vichee belongs to and I thank them so much for working with us! It was an honor!
Sven belongs to Bjorn the Copper Paladin from Discord. I hope to do more with them in the future, and have tons of fun!
And don’t you worry about that final in the title! We have some news at the end!
[First]- [Prev]- {Next Story!!}

{Is the reason that everything happened to Tarlim in the first place?}

{Only up to the ramps, mostly. Trying to impress upon people the importance of accessibility for those with extenuating circumstances. At least according to the records I have access to.}

{The average person knows as much about his friends as they do about Mike Collins.}
<...Who?>
{Exactly. 20th century human spaceman, was there for their first lunar landing. Didn’t get to put boots on the ground, and nobody remembers his name now.}

{Hell, I didn’t even know about him until I put in a search query of niche historical figures just to give you an example. Yeesh…}

(Program Selected.)
(Resume Selected Media? [Y])
(Playing…)
Archived Closed Circuit Security Video - Establishment: Exterminator’s Office - Dawn Creek Division - Subbasement - Date Recorded (ST): OCT 31, 2136 - Timeframe (ST): 11:42 - 11:45
The parking bay is silent. Vans are parked neatly in their spots which frame the hallway to the armory and fuel storage for the camera. A ding is heard and something moves in the hallway. Five fully suited Venlil and a Zurulian step out of an elevator and run towards a van. The sound of a door slamming open comes from the hall roughly 6 seconds later. A stream of Exterminators pour out into the hall from the stairwell.
Their voices are indecipherable as they speak over each other. A Sulian runs into the armory and reappears with a huge flamer tank on their back. Another Zurulian can be seen with an extinguisher tank, but a Venlil bleats at them and tosses it aside. They drag the quadrupedal alien quickly into the parking garage before physically throwing them into the back of a van.
From the back of the hallway, a fluid can be seen spreading across the ground. A trio of Venlil back out of a room while holding their flamers up. They are unlit, instead spewing fuel out of their nozzles. The trio twirl around in an overly animated manner as they walk down the hall to the parking garage. A van pulls out of its spot with windows down so the passengers could let out a cheer.
A black-suited Venlil runs up to the spraying trio while waving their arms to get them out into the garage. The microphone just barely manages to catch him saying, “We need to save some for the predators!” One of the other Venlil replies, “Yes sir, Mafchi!” A short flurry of curses is heard as the gathered exterminators pile into the three other visible vans. Two of the vans speed out of the garage, forcing some other Venlil exterminators to dive out of the way in the process.
The black-suited Mafchi picks up a fuel canister that had been dropped and twists off its cap. He slings it under his shoulder and pours a line of fuel. He marches straight to the final van and hops up into the open rear. The van backs itself up to turn out of the garage. The fuel canister clatters to the ground as it pulls away. Before it clears the view of the camera, the Black-suited Venlil is seen standing in its open back. He is holding what appears to be a flare gun.
The flare sails through the air shortly after the van leaves the frame and impacts the ground. It bounces and rolls until it touches the fuel and ignites it in an instant. A small wall of fire proceeds down the provided trail into the hallway, igniting more fuel as time passes. The hallway is quickly engulfed in vividly red fire. Thick black smoke begins to pour out into the garage as the fire inches closer to the primary fuel tank.
Movement can be seen in the hallway between the flickering flames. The silver form of a Venlil Exterminator is seen rushing out of the stairwell and fighting to head towards the fuel storage room. Before they reach, a white flash fills the screen. The feed goes dead, the error code consistent with electrical interruption.
(Specified Media Concluded.)

{Who was what? Mafchi?}

{Hmmm, there aren’t any tags embedded for them. The suits do a rather good job at making the officers anonymous. Let me see…oh.}

{The, uh… the employment records for that Office were…terminated.}

{It looks like…yes, here. Record wipe in 2497. Media with less than 1 bistandannual visit were removed to save space on the university’s central server. It’s…they’re gone, gone gone.}

{Maybe, but that’ll do us no good if we don’t know their name. And because of the chaos of that incident, nobody has been able to accurately reconstruct where every individual was in that office. We’d have to already know who they were to find them.}
<...I guess that’s another person I’ll have to remember then, huh?>
{...Guess so. Speaking of remembering, perhaps you should check out Tarlim’s view again? Seeing how we were just talking about him.}
<...Sure. At least people remember his name, right?>
(Command: [exitprogram])
(Are you sure? [Y])
…
{-Program Selected-}
{-Restart From Last Playback Point? Y/(N)-}
{-[USERID-11229KMD]: procViewHist -}
{-Retrieving Transcription Viewing History…-}
{-List Retrieved - Select Desired Subject: (Tarlim)-}
{-Restart From Last Playback Point? (Y)/N-}
{-Playing…-}
Memory Transcription Subject: Tarlim, the Venbig. Date [Standardized Human Time] October 31st, 2136
No matter how much Sven and Anso griped about it, having them leave and return with the trailer was a great idea. The humans who had gone with them the first time were, to my dismay, excited to try and ride in the back. I had at least been able to impress on those four that I couldn’t let anyone else ride like that, and that they were to help with rigging a trailer with some seats.
I had to admit; they did a good job!
Several couches sat bolted to the floor of the covered trailer and even had some ropes that could be hooked across the armrests as impromptu belts. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but it would work as well as any bus or short train ride! Certainly superior to jumping in the bed of a truck.
I strode out into the parking road and swayed my ears to greet Anso. Sven had stayed behind here to meet with the humans and entertain the kids, a job which he was slightly less unenthusiastic about compared to last time. “Greetings, Anso! Have you made the necessary preparations for the humans to leave with you?”
The Yotul hopped out of the truck bed and bounced to me. “We have! I have to say those humans were great workers to have helped get this whipped up so quickly! I hope Sven has been behaving himself?”
I let my tail wag behind me remembering my last glimpse of him. He should really secure his sheath straps! “He has! Been entertaining the refugees while I made sure they all had their belongings ready to go. Come on inside, let’s go gather them.”
I guided him with a wave of my arm as we turned back to the door. To be truthful, I hadn’t expected Sven to win the humans over as quickly as he did. Needless to say, his primitive attire seemed to spark joy within them, a joy sorely needed amidst the sadness of recency.
As we entered the building I noticed something, or rather, the lack of something. When I had exited only a few [minutes] prior, the building had been full of life and noise. Now, it was almost dead quiet, save for the sounds of a holovision coming from the lobby. Rather heated sounds, at that.
“I didn’t think it was already main rest claw,” Anso mused as he, too, recognized the aggravated voices coming from the lobby. “And what are they watching in there? Sounds…angry.”
“Yeah…” I trailed off as I followed the noises. As I approached the lobby, the sound of what I assumed was a Gojid yelling. “You know nothing about my family. TALK, JUST FUCKING TALK, NOW!” My ears pinned back at the foul language at play, hoping that Sven and the children were somewhere else.
As I entered the room, I saw that I was only half right. The children were thankfully nowhere to be found, but Sven was obviously present, as was most of the facility staff. I was about to ask what was going on before another voice drew my attention to the holovision, the same as everyone else. The voice of none other than Chief Nikonus.
“There were three of us who laid out the groundwork for the Federation. When Kolshian explorers came in contact with the Farsul, more than a thousand years ago, the galaxy was young. We were the first in this sector to escape our gravity well. You know about the founding of this institution, but I reiterate it just in case.”
“The Krakotl were the third,” another voice piped up from behind the camera. I thought it might’ve been another Gojid, but the voice was far too breathy. Harchen, maybe? I wasn’t given a chance to consider it further as Nikonus continued. “Yes, they were a problem from the start; aggressive, disagreeable. We tried to identify the problem, and why they were so ill-equipped for spacefaring.”
“We learned they were scavengers, who would occasionally go for fish as well.”
His next line was rendered inaudible by the shocked gasps of both the refugees and residents in the room. I was no different, drawing in a sharp breath at the abrupt admission. I remembered that Arvi had said some aliens were revealed to have eaten meat in the past, but was this the way it was decided to be revealed? With such abject callousness?
Nikonus continued to speak, looking not just proud, but smug with his words. He went on about how the Federation had saved these aliens with their manipulations, but the entirety of his body language seemed to indicate he reveled in how devastating this information would be to the people he was speaking to. How they manipulated an entire culture, a RELIGION!
What if they did the same to ours?
That horrifying thought struck through my mind like a derailing train. I had relied upon the Tenets in some of my darkest moments. Found comfort in them when there was none elsewhere to be found. To have such a comfort revealed as a lie in its entirety, used only for some other group to control you…
The voice of Nikonus hit my ears again. “Oh Sovlin, I already told you. For the small minority of species who don’t find herbivory alone, we teach them the right way. Doesn’t the religion against predators sound familiar?”
The Kolshian was insufferably proud of those words. There was no doubt in my mind now; this was mocking. Mocking a Gojid for following The Protector. For being a predator. For being different, but expecting to still be treated as a person. The Gojid were predators, they couldn’t help it, and they were already being mocked for it.
What might happen to all the other species?
I shifted my focus away from the screen to the crowd, searching for one in particular. Vichee, a Krakotl already so different from everyone else, and now my concerns for them were multiplied with every word that fell from Nikonus’ mouth. Were they okay? They had come in here to see Sven, I had seen them. Where are-
I spotted Kaeden in the corner of the room. Next to him, slumped against the wall, was Vichee. The dual colored Krakotl’s eyes were glazed over as they stared at nothing. I strode over quickly, my instincts wanting to comfort them. Kaeden was simply standing there, it was confusing that he didn’t seem to be comforting Vichee at all. As I got closer, their head tilted up to me, regarding me with an unfocused eye.
“He was right.” They said quietly. My implant almost didn’t pick it up over the sounds of the lobby. “Kaeden had asked me soon after our first meeting if Krakotl had once been meat eaters. Said it was the shape of our beaks. ‘More suited to capturing small wriggling prey than filtering algae’. He told me. I nearly flew away right then… If I had, I would have been alone with this news.”I listened, kneeling down to be closer to their level. “You’re not alone, your herd is here. Right Kaeden?”
He looked over at me and nodded. “Vichee was there with me when Earth was attacked. I’m here for them now. Kaabra and Venik are… together, elsewhere at the moment. But they will be here too.”
I flicked my ears in understanding. “Then I hope they may help in hugging Vichee until their tears are dry.” I turned an eye to Vichee. “Please, I just want you to know that you are still you. What your body does has no effect on your personhood.”
Vichee still sat, their mind still likely whirling with the new information. They lifted their differently colored wings. “I’m well aware. This lesson I already learned. But thank you, I understand what you mean.” Kaeden nodded slowly and Vichee returned to their thoughts.
“There’s going to be trouble soon, Tarlim,” Kaeden stated gravely. “News like this? Nothing good will come of it. I can already tell this won’t go over well. Keep your eyes open.”
As if in response to his words, the sound of clanking metal hits my ears. They shoot up, pivoting to locate its source. There, dashing towards the door, was the armored figure of Sven. I didn’t know him enough to know how this broadcast would affect him, but running was never the best sign. I flicked my ears goodbye to my friends and rose, following after the metal man. In my periphery, I saw the television screen had shifted to show Rolem moving onto the stage. I would have to miss whatever it was he had to say, so ducked through the doors and continued to follow the sound of metal.
As I exited, I saw that I wasn’t the only one to see Sven’s actions. Anso was bounding behind him, shouting something I couldn’t hear. Sven didn’t seem to either as he kept running, but his gait wasn’t one of fear. He looked purposeful, sprinting in a straight line. A line pointed right towards-
Towards the observing Exterminator Van.
The metal Venlil didn’t even hesitate at the presence of the fence. He leapt up in a display of strength and agility, vaulting over the barrier and continuing his beeline into the van. It was like phased through the doors with how fast he moved. There were sounds of commotion that followed his entry, and soon two Exterminators fell out of the van. One Venlil…and one Krakotl. I wonder how Kalek is taking things.
I, too, cleared the fence with only a high step and reached the van, peering in to see Sven at the controls. “Sven! What are you doing?” I asked, the Krakotl officer shivering on the ground in my periphery.
“They got my girl!” He huffed, “She’s a Gojid, they got her, I can’t let them do anything worse to her!” He tried to activate the vehicle to no avail, but his words brought up something that I hadn’t thought much over. I remember hearing about temporary emplacements that were being set up. Paly had texted me about exterminators bringing people there. Her too. And that would mean-
-THOOOOOOOMMMMM-
The wind hit me like a truck and rocked the van I was standing next to. Sven even stopped trying to fiddle with the controls to see what had just happened. In the distance, near the center of town, an enormous black cloud rose into the air, the vestiges of fire still burning in the suspended embers. I couldn’t look away from it as my mind raced with horrible possibilities as my mind tripped over itself trying to concoct a plan of action.
I wasn’t given long to think before the radio in the van crackled to life, startling both Sven and myself. “Attention all True Exterminators! The truth has come out about the taint in our midst! For too long we have lived with its danger in our presence! If any of you still hold the safety of The Herd in your hearts, come join us so we may burn ALL the predator taint from this District! Rendezvous at Vulen’s apartment complex, we shall start our cleansing there!”
The name of one of my landlords sparked familiarity in my mind. They had been working to build a series of new apartments to add to his old, and if I remembered, had agreed to house the Gojid refugees. The Gojid! Paly was housed with them!!
In an instant, I reached into the van and grabbed Sven by the arm. He tried to pull away, but my grip was too strong. “Sven! They’re gonna kill the Gojid! They’re gonna burn Paly!”
He finally managed to shake himself free as my paws became jittery from stress. “I gotta save my girlfriend! She’s in a facility! I gotta save her!”
“But they’re gonna burn people here!” I protested, “we have to do something! We need- We need People who can fight them! Kaeden! I need to get Kaeden! We can save them!”
I pulled myself away from the van and spotted Anso nearby. He must have had to go through the gate, but this was good timing. I pointed a claw at him. “Do Not Let Him drive off before I get back!”
I didn’t give him, nor the Exterminators who had recovered from their shock, time to ask questions. Paly was in danger, as were who knew how many others. I faintly heard my data pad chime from within my shoulder bag, the signal my heart was beating too fast, but I couldn’t deal with it right now. I could get the heart rate under control during the drive. Right now I needed Kaeden, he knew how to fight! How to save people when others were trying to kill them!
My paws guided me and I was back in the cafeteria before I knew it. Some of the crowd had dissipated, but Kaeden and Vichee were still in the same corner I had left them in, but with their Venlil friends now joined. Without leaving time for protest, I grabbed Kaeden’s arm and pulled him away. I heard Vichee squawk behind me, but I was in too much of a hurry. I can’t let her get hurt. I Won’t.
Kaeden started to slap my arm as I dragged the soldier across the lobby. “Tarlim! What the fuck are you doing?? What’s going on?”
“No time, they’re going to burn everyone,” I breathlessly said as I burst the facility doors open to get him to the van.
“What? Who?” Kaeden questioned, still resisting my pull. I could hear a tinge of worry in his voice, and I knew he would understand. Anso looked back from his position as he heard my approach, and upon seeing me dragging Kaeden along, he grew visibly concerned.
“On the radio, something about True Exterminators,” I attempted to explain to him as we neared the gate doors. This time, I simply spread them apart with my free paw, metal screeching against itself as the gate was forced open. “They’re going to burn every cured species they can find, and That Means Paly. I Won’t Let Them.”
Kaeden had stopped struggling as I explained the bare essentials to him, and once we approached the van, he finally had enough sense to ask the right questions. “So what exactly is the plan to stop them? We’re strong, sure, I could probably take most of them. But just two of us against a wall of those flamers?”
“Not two,” I corrected, letting go of his arm and throwing open the back doors of the van. Still seated in the drivers side was Sven, who looked back once he heard me permit entrance into the back. “We have him too.”
“Wh- the LARPer??” Kaeden asked incredulously. I wasn’t familiar with the term he used, but his tone told us all we needed to know. Sven’s eyes narrowed at the perceived insult, but Kaeden continued. “Do either of you have any formal military training?? Rushing down there is only going to get you both killed along with the others! For fucks sake, slow down! We need a plan!”
“T-There won’t be t-time f-for one,” a voice peeped in from behind us. We all turned to face the source, and we found it was the Venlil Exterminator. They recoiled under the sudden gaze of our entire party, but they managed to continue. “I-I recognized the v-voice. It w-was one of the n-new recruits. They m-might as well be Y-Yulpa. If you w-want to stop them, it’s now or n-never.”
We all stared at them for a moment in disbelief that they’d willingly hand over that information to us. They were Exterminators, weren’t they? They should be allied with the voice on the radio! Kaeden, after considering the information, gave voice to my confusion. “And why are you telling us this? You’re an exterminator, shouldn’t you be trying to help them?”
“M-My husband is the Krakotl that was in the van with me!” They yelled back, stamping their footpaw on the ground in agitation. “I-I don’t care what his ancestors did a t-thousand years ago, I will not stand for those zealots burning who knows how many people! We’re not all the same, h-human!”
I was taken aback by their words. I had given up hope that there were any redeemable souls amongst the ranks of those silver-suited brahkasses, but living proof of the contrary stood before us. Their breathing was only matched by mine as my pad continued to chime in my pack. Maybe there’s hope after all.
Kaeden started frantically looking all around, his focused gaze falling on the facility, the exterminator in front of us, and the rising smoke in the distance. After a moment's hesitation, he growled to himself and shook his head. “Fine! Fucking- if you want to prove you’re different, you and your partner stand guard at the gate! They’ll probably try to send a division here, so keep on guard! And for the love of God, go ask for help if that happens!”
My tail wagged behind me as I interpreted what that meant. “So you’ll help us, Kaeden?”
He paused for a second, an agonizing second as he fully took in the situation in his mind. But ultimately, he nodded. “Let’s go, we can figure things out along the way.”
Seizing the moment, Anso quickly jumped into the van and pushed Sven out of the driver's seat, much to their visible frustration. Kaeden quickly hopped into the passenger seat, leaving me with the problem of finding a space that would fit me. I stepped over to the back of the van and threw the doors open.
The flamers and their fuel tanks were useless to us, easy to toss all three sets out onto the ground behind me. I made sure that the flamers were disabled first, of course. Just had to snap the pilot lighters and slice a hose with my claw. Even if these two said they weren’t like these “True Exterminators” I didn’t trust them one bit. I crawled inside the cramped vehicle and wiggled myself to close the doors behind me.
As I got myself settled, I watched as the Venlil Exterminator started to inspect the destroyed remains of their weapons. I squinted a glare at them and positioned myself so they couldn’t enter with me. “You two aren’t coming,” I hissed. “You know why you’re not. Try anything with the humans, and they will stop you.”
I slammed the doors shut as their expressions fell, just in time for Anso to get the van into gear. I curled myself up against the wall of the van, watching out the back window as we sped down the road. We were on our way now. On our way to save Paly and all the people gathered because their ancestors ate meat. My heart hammered in my chest, but I would need to control it for what we were about to do. I needed to focus. I needed to breathe. I needed to be calm.
Focus. Breathe. Calm
Focus.
Breathe.
Calm…
{-ALERT: Automatic Annotation Detected - Switching Transcription Subject-}
{-Loading…Playback Ready-}
{-Playing…-}
Memory Transcription Subject: Sol-Vah, Fleeing Predator. Date [Standardized Human Time] October 31st, 2136
My legs couldn’t carry me anymore. I had to keep going, but I didn’t have the strength. My pants became wheezes as my body struggled to keep up with the physical exertion of running almost halfway through town. I hadn’t even looked up before now, at least with eyes not blinded by tears. The pain of Mute’s rejection still stung in my soul, a pain so visceral it threatened to rip me apart worse than any Arxur. Protector, what did I do to deserve this? Is there even a Protector, or did the Federation just- just make that up?
I didn’t have time to think about that now, I needed to get to the office. From what little I caught of the broadcast, Nikonus had said they saved us before. I knew what it likely was, but…I was desperate. I just wanted to go back home and have him embrace me like he did before. The safety and love I had felt from him was still fresh in my mind, and if there was any chance I had to get it back?
I’ll happily take it.
As I approached the office, however, something seemed off. I could smell soot in the air, but not the kind of soot that came from our flamers. This was- was…dirtier smelling, as if the fuel had been impure. Upon looking up, however, I saw something that made my stomach drop. A huge plume of smoke, billowing up into the sky. It shadowed the sun itself with its immensity and hate. Did the Exterminators burn more drugs? Or…or…
I felt a renewed vigor as I started to run towards the plume, hoping against hope that I was wrong. As soon as I turned the corner, though, my worst fears were realized. Where the office once stood now sat a burning stack of glorified rubble, every single window in sight shattered and multiple holes in the outer walls. The building was split, it was as if a giant knife had come down and sloppily sliced off its front half to spill flaming debris everywhere.
I stood in front of the building I had once called my home, surrounded by screams and the awful sound of flames roaring. I knew now there was no hope of salvation, no way this could ever be undone. I would never be able to go back to the way things were, never feel the happiness I had for that brief time. I was doomed to this life, abandoned by my love, and forced to live as an abomination devoid of a home.
I suppose that’s all a predator like me deserves.
[First]- [Prev]- {Next Story!!}
You read it right: This is going to be the final chapter of "Of Giants and Journalists." With the conclusion of Sharnet and Vekna's adventure, we will now take the time to show how this announcement has affected our characters and the galaxy at large. We're excited to announce our new series, Nature of a Giant: Aftermath! This series will not be quite as in-depth temporally as Of Giants and Journalists was, mainly because not as much will be happening in as short of a time. Rest assured, though, there will still be plenty of action across the board! You just won't have to deal with over half the story only covering a week of time!
In that vein, we are also excited to announce we are working on another bonus series, one that was teased a long time ago, Venric Lawven: Legal Legend! It will be filling the gap for content while we work on the first few chapters of Aftermath to make sure the scenes are as quality as they deserve, but will have a reduced upload schedule to once a week to accommodate for writing two series at once. On behalf of both of myself and , we'd like to thank all of our readers for sticking with us on this journey. It's hard to believe this series has been going on for over a year in one form or another, but I wouldn't have it any other way! Thank you all again for your continued support, and we look forward to seeing you again with Legal Legends! And then...
The Aftermath!!

Full Story → https://PiQSuite.com/reuters/americans-divided-as-supreme-court-weighs-abortion-pill-access-reutersipsos-poll-finds
Americans are divided on whether women should have to see a doctor in person before receiving abortion pills, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found, as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs whether to reimpose that restriction on medication abortion.

Hello all!
I was wrongfully deactivated from the Hinge dating app. I have never acted inappropriately or violated any of their terms as far as I am aware of. When I requested an appeal I was denied and never told the reason why I was banned or why my appeal was denied. My best guess was I made my profile after a sour breakup, and my vindictive ex might’ve seen my profile and reported it to get revenge.
I kinda just shook it off and moved on to another app but then I saw this story of a person who I suing Lyft in small claims for wrongful deactivation, so it kind of reminded me of this.
I think the reason it bothers me the most is that it was a false allegation that I want to be exonerated from. Also, as a 27 year old in a major city, people don’t meet new people in person as often anymore. I am a social person and do occasionally have those experiences, but I miss having the option of Hinge as well.
My question for y’all is this: could I file a case in small claims to get hinge to review my profile again? What kind of damages could I claim and what grounds do I have? I have paid for memberships with the app in the past, but I don’t remember if I had an active membership at the time of deactivation. Would sending a demand letter be a better option? Is this even feasible?
Constructive criticism is appreciated, please don’t be a dick. Ty in advance!

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If this is what you want then give it to yourself, spoil yourself and be selfish because there is no other person in this world capable of meeting your needs when it comes to love. Give yourself the attention you are expecting from someone else, listen to the sound of those cries and pay attention to your heart, soul and mind,grant their wishes and reward your successes while learning from your failures.
Failing does not mean it's the end, it means you are learning and with each try you are getting better and in the end you will succeed. Start small and be persistent, If you fall just get up and dust yourself and keep going.
The amount of failures determine the amount of skills and successes you will acquire in the long run just don't give up before you begin. This is your story the plot twist is all about how you will win, keep going the world wont end even if you stop moving time will flow.

I'm not sure if it's more of a venting or perhaps seeking guidance.
I used to love writing so much. Even during high school, I used to write and have my fantasy running wild. Even had a nonverbal agreement with one of my teachers that I get to write my stories quietly and in return she gets a student who doesn't disturb her class in any way. It was better than just playing on the phone.
After I got to college, something changed. There were some bad things in my personal life, a lot of stress from uni and suddenly I had trouble with writing. I get these spurs of energy and will and my mind goes full into the writing world. I write a book-worthy story in two months and then bam, again nothing.
Lately, I started preparing the world a bit more. Started writing short stories to build it, preparing my own Wikipedia-style thing and it went good for a while. I was writing regularly, be it I became a bit neglectful towards other things. And once again the slump is here. The last time I had the energy spur I wrote the whole creation mythos, now I can't even write a simple few-page long story. I can't even write a Wiki entry for a random thing I had thought about.
I want to write, I want to share, I want to discuss the matter of my world. It always upped my motivation immensely. Now I don't even know how to write a single paragraph of a story that I had practically laid out in front of me.
I hate these periods of not being able to do anything, I hate the fact they can last for so goddamn long. Sometimes weeks, sometimes more than a year. I always wished to make my world, to have something extensive, a vast creation filled with wonders built. I don't want to be some new Tolkien or whatever, I just want to have that world, even if it's just for me. I don't know why I can't continue.
I guess it is a rant after all. Not sure it's even in the right sub. But here we go. I wish I could just make it through and create more.

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Ive never read the ulimate iron man series, but now that the ultimate universe is coming back I kinda wanna give it a go.
The only problem is personally, I really dont like xmen or the whole mutant concept.
That being said is ultimate tony a mutant? I dont wanna waste my time with a story I wont like so thats why im asking.
Also I read ultimate spiderman (the new one that just came out) and there was a guy in there like iron man, but I heard it was his nephew? I guess ill find out if I end up reading it but im not very familiar with the ultimate universe outside of the maker and miles morales.

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."
Rev. 1:8
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. In order for someone to be the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, he would have to know every little thing from eternity, and also every little thing from eternity. the future, including eternity, who can know such a thing but God? Of course, someone could say that it is, but that would be a lie and it would not be true and only God can claim: "I am the Alpha and the Omega the Beginning and the End" because:
God is omniscient
“Lord! You taste me and know when I sit down and when I stand up; You know my thoughts from afar; When I walk and when I rest, You are around me, and you see all my ways on my tongue, but You, Lord, see, You have already covered me behind and in front and placed Your hand on me. Your knowledge is strange to me, I cannot understand from Your spirit, and where would I flee from Your face, You are there. To descend into hell, to rise on the wings of the dawn, and to move to the end of the sea: And there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me darkness hides me; but even the night is like light around me. Even the darkness will not be eclipsed by you, and the night is as bright as the day: darkness is like light, you created me in my mother's womb, that I am wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and not a single bone of mine hid from You, although I was woven in the depths of the earth, she saw my embryo all written, and the days were recorded, when they were not yet, how unfathomable are Your thoughts, God! How great are their numbers”
Psalm 139:1-17
In this psalm we see how many facts God knows about us, but that is only a small part because God has far more knowledge about us, but it is practically impossible to express it in words, and here we see that God knows when we sit down, when we stand up, what we do, how we work, he knows all our ways, all our words that we have spoken, he writes that he knows even our thoughts, we can further see that God knows the past, present and future, knows everything about us even before our birth, etc. This clearly indicates that we cannot do anything without God's knowledge, and this applies only to us humans, who are only a small part of God's omniscience.
Here are a few examples that are close to us from life, something that everyone can understand because not all people are scientists or academic citizens, there are far more "ordinary" people, especially throughout history, and the Bible is written in simple understandable language so that everyone can understand him.
And from this it is clearly seen and everyone can understand that God is omniscient.
"There is none holy like the Lord; for there is none other than Thee; and there is no rock like our God. Speak no more haughtily, and let it not come out of your haughty mouth. for the Lord is God who knows everything, and he executes the purposes."
1 Sam.2:2-3
Here, these verses confirm again that the Omniscient God had a practical lesson here, a friendly advice from God, and it applies to our life, it applies to what we do, how we do and what we say, because God knows everything he does to me, so if we persist, we refuse to live according to the will of God, it is our own fault and one day we will bear the consequences for it. Of course, God does not want to force us to do something, it is our choice, but it is great wisdom to listen to the advice that God gives us because God does not want us to perish so that all may live, and that is the meaning of the word "repentance" from 2 Peter.
"The Lord is not late with His promise, as some think He is late, but He is patient with us, because He does not want anyone to perish, but for all to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9
God is present everywhere
We said that God is not limited by earthly laws, nor can the essence of God be fathomed. creation, knowledge, giving, forgiveness, salvation, etc.
"But will God really live on earth? Here, the sky and the heavens above the heavens cannot contain You, let alone this home that I am building".
1 Kings 8:27
"For His eyes are turned to the ways of men and He sees all their steps. There is no darkness or shadow of death where those who do iniquity can hide."
Job 34:21-22
"Where would I go from Your spirit, and where would I flee from Your face? If I go to heaven, You are there. To go down to hell, there you are. To rise on the wings of the dawn, and move to the end of the sea: And there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will hold me. To say: Yes if the darkness hides me; but the night is also like light around me. Even the darkness will not be darkened by You, and the night is as bright as the day: darkness is like light. For You created what is in me, you formed me in my mother's womb. I praise You, that I am wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and my soul knows it well. Not a single bone of mine has hid from You, even though I was created in secret, woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my embryo, in Your book it was all written, and the days were recorded, when there were none of them yet."
Ps. 139:7-16
"The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, seeing the bad and the good."
Proverbs 15:3
"Am I God from near, says the Lord, and am I not God from afar?" Can someone hide in a secret place so I don't see them? Speaks the Lord; do I not fill heaven and earth? Speaks the Lord.”
Jer. 23:23-24
"If they bury themselves in the lowest part of the earth, from there my hand will take them; and if they go up to heaven, I will take them down from there; And if they hide on the top of Carmel, I will find them and take them from there; and to hide before my eyes at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent to bite them"
Amos 9:2-3
"And there is no substance unknown before Him, but everything is naked and exposed before the eyes of the One to whom we speak."
Hebrews 4:13
God is almighty
In the Bible, we find through different time periods and different manifestations of God's omnipotence, so we will mention some.
We see from the Bible that Abraham was 99 years old, but that he had no offspring, and on one occasion God appeared to Abraham and said:
"And when Abraham was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said to him: I am God Almighty, live according to my will, and be honest. And I will make a covenant between me and you, and I will greatly multiply you. And Abraham fell prostrate. And the Lord spoke to him again and said: From me here is my covenant with you that you will be the father of many nations."
Gen.17:1-4
We further see that Avram was not really sure about that, so he thought that he would never have children with his wife Sarah
"Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, saying in his heart: When will a son be born to a man of a hundred years? And Sarah? Will a ninety-year-old woman give birth?"
Gen.17:17
And here we can see God's omnipotence, because he told Abraham something that was not very clear to the human mind, but it was very clear to God, that's why he said it to Abraham. We later see from the Bible that this promise was fulfilled, and it was fulfilled because God is omnipotent because He possesses all the knowledge and then it is no problem to fulfill the given promise. This or a similar promise can only be given by God because he is omnipotent, and let's imagine that now we humans make a promise about something that will happen in the future. That promise may happen by chance, or only one part of it may come true, or it may not happen at all, we don't know, but God is omniscient and omnipotent, and when he makes promises, he fulfills them.
We can see the fulfillment through the Bible, but here is just one verse.
"The tribe of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham"
Mtt. 1:1
Next we have the event when the Lord sent Moses to Egypt to lead the people of Israel out of slavery.
Here we can see that God appears to Moses as God Almighty and not under some other name.
"God is still speaking to Moses and said to him: I am the Lord. And I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by the name God Almighty, but by my own name, Lord, I would not be known to them."
Exod.6:2-3
The next example is from John's revelation, where we have a scene in heaven where four living beings praise the Almighty God, and in order for someone to be omnipotent, he must possess the power that sustains everything, and such power is possessed only by the Almighty God.
"And after this I heard a great voice of many people in heaven saying: Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power to our Lord;
Rev. 19:1
,, And I heard as the voice of many people, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of strong thunders, saying: Hallelujah! For the Lord God Almighty reigns."
Rev. 19:6
It says that the Lord God is glorified in heaven, who is omnipotent and who reigns, and in the Gospel of Luke we can see from where the Lord reigns.
"The Son of Man will sit at the right hand of the power of God."
Luke 22:69
Therefore, the Lord is on the right side of the power of God and reigns from there, it is written about this:
"...All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."
Matt. 28:18
The Lord reigns because He is El Shaddai or God Almighty. God possesses infinite power or power that is eternal and has no end, and the part of the prayer "Our Father" reminds us of this.
,,...Because Your kingdom, power, and glory are yours forever. Amen"
Matt. 6:13
God can use this force at his discretion without any trouble or difficulty to create something as in the past when he created the earth and everything living on it or as he is creating today or as he will create in the future.
"Ah, Lord, Lord! Behold, You created the heavens and the earth with Your great power and Your uplifted arm; nothing is difficult for You."
Jer. 32:17
,,He made the earth by his power, established the world with his wisdom, and scattered the heavens with his understanding; When he utters his voice, the waters roar in the heavens, he raises steam from the ends of the earth, he sends lightnings with rain, and he brings forth the wind from his stables."
Jer. 10:12-13
Humans are very intelligent beings and practically they can create anything they want up to certain limits, but in creation we read that God used only a word and it was created, he did not need any material like we need to create something and there is another proof that God is almighty.
,, And God said: Let there be light. And there would be light"
Gen.1:3
"By the word of the Lord the heavens were created, and by the spirit of His mouth all their hosts"
Psalm 33:6
In the Gospel according to Matthew, we read about how only the word of God is needed to heal a person and the disease is defeated, God does not need to be
,,.And the captain answered and said: Lord! I am not worthy that you enter under my roof; but just say the word, and my servant will be healed"
Matt. 8:8
Although God with his power has unlimited possibilities, he will never use his power in such a way as to be in conflict with other attributes of God. We have an example in the confrontation of the Lord Jesus with the cross where Jesus could only say a word and angels would be there who could destroy the whole world and not just the enemies who nailed him to the cross.
"Or do you think that I cannot now beg my Father to send me more than twelve legions of angels?"
Mtt. 26:53
If it had happened that way, it would have contradicted the Father's will and the intention with which the Lord Jesus came to earth, and then Jesus would not have been able to say:
"I glorified You on earth; I've done the job you gave me to do"
John 17:4
Here we see that God uses his almighty power for his glory to fulfill God's plan because what he intended must be and nothing but the will of God can change that plan.
"The Lord of hosts swore, saying: Indeed, it will be as I have planned, and as I have planned it will be done."
Isaiah 14:24
God has planned in advance how the nations will receive the Word of God and it is written about in the Acts of the Apostles where it is said that the evangelizers will receive the power of the Holy Spirit and then practically no one will be able to stop them in that work until they fulfill the activities that God has planned.
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit descends on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and there to the ends of the earth."
Acts 1:8
And finally, let's mention something that hasn't happened yet, but it will happen when the Almighty God will say the Word again and it will be what is written in the revelation and after that what we read in Isaiah.
"And out of His mouth came a sharp sword, to slay the Gentiles with it; and He will strike them down with a rod of iron; and He treads on the cauldron of wine and hearts and the wrath of God Almighty."
Rev. 19:15
"For, behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth,"
Isa. 65:17
Let us also mention that with this power the Lord Jesus defeated Satan in the desert
"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting for forty days and forty nights, he finally got hungry. And the tempter approached Him and said: If You are the Son of God, say that these stones become bread. And He answered and said: It is written: Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Then the devil took Him to the holy city and placed Him on top of the church; So he said to him: If you are the Son of God, jump down, because it is written that he will command his angels for you, and he will take you in his hands, so that you do not trip over a stone with your foot. And Jesus said to him: But it is also written: Do not tempt the Lord your God. Again the devil took Him and took Him to a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of this world and their glory; And he said to him: I will give you all this if you fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him: Get away from me, Satan; because it is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve Him alone. Then the devil left Him, and behold, the angels approached and served Him."
Mtt. 4:1-11
Finally, here are a few more verses that confirm that God is almighty:
,, And God said to him: I am God Almighty; grow and multiply; a nation and many nations will become of you, and kings will come from your loins."
Gen.35:11
"For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, a great, mighty and terrible God, who does not look at who is who, nor does he accept gifts;"
Deut.10:17
,,And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?"
2 Chron. 20:6
"From the north it comes like gold; but in God there is a more terrible glory. He is Almighty, we cannot reach Him; he is of great power, but with judgment and great justice he does not torment anyone"
Job 37:22-23
"Look, I am the Lord God of all flesh, is there anything difficult for me?"
Jer. 32:27
"And Jesus looked at them and said to them: With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Matt. 19:26
,,And Jesus looked at them and said: With men it is impossible, but not with God: for all things are possible with God."
Mark 10:27
"Because with God everything is possible that he says."
Luke 1:37
We have seen several examples of God's qualities that confirm the verses that the Lord Jesus gave John to write down. The only "Someone" who possesses the qualities that we have studied can say that he is the Almighty, and that is God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
"I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord, Who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
Rev. 1:8
The verses we have studied should strengthen us in our faith because if God promises something, He surely fulfills it, and in this case it refers to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in glory.
God reveals the fulfillment to us in 21 chapters where he says:
,, And he said to me: It is finished. I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give the thirsty from the spring of living water forever."
Rev. 21:6

Greetings, comrades! My name is Tim, I’ve been running campaigns 1-2 years long for a while now. We just started one recently and lost a couple players due to scheduling/personal reasons. We are looking for 1-2 new players!
What to expect: Leftist politics, fairly detailed homebrew landscape with an entirely new homebrew story and canon for each race, very welcoming and passionate players of various experience levels (all welcome!), DM involved in making your backstory, some limitations in race/class (until the story permits), tons of flexibility (as long as we have a good story for it that, we can make it happen - players change classes every so often, based on how the story goes!), and most of all, good company!
We currently have Levi, an angsty cleric; Lucien, a werewolf ranger, gwynith the werebear, mischa the battle-seer (custom class), and other unique characters who will play depending on availability.
Looking for someone with a lot of availability, or at the very least weekends off and preferably the ability for tuesdays off. We play whenever we can but aim for sundays and tuesdays at 7am mst, but totally subject to change. Those of us that can make it work are pretty dedicated! We have a ton of fun and currently need a voice of reason type character, or a natural leader, but if that ISNT YOU please don’t be shy, someone will naturally take the role on eventually!
Thank you! DM or comment for more info!
PS: If you can create a PERSON before you build a character around it, you’ll be a great fit!

Would I be the AH for cutting my mum off?
Sorry but it's a long one I'm a 25 year old female and I don't know what to do in my situation with my mum, I've been going over this in my head and idk what to think I'm wondering if it's the right choice to do it or not so let me know
When I had my daughter my mum was(and still is) a very controlling, manipulative and narcissistic person. My partner and I told both of our parents that they have 1 chance with our daughter and if they messed up they'd be cut off from our lives ( both of us didn't have the best upbringing and had people in and out of our lives and we don't want that for our child)
Now onto the story
My partner (26M) and I have been together for 9 years and when my MIL (his mum) passed away we got a bit of money in an inheritance (not saying how much) now my mum wanted to borrow a big amount of money to buy a car and we said that she could but she'd have to pay it back as it was for our child (8F) future schooling fees or for whatever she needs for school in the future. Now my mum(47 yr old) said she'd take full responsibility for paying it in full as she borrowed it when she was married to my step dad (64M), now she's trying to back pedal and say that both her and my step dad are responsible for paying back the amount by going halfs in it but when we told her that she took it and said she'd be the one to pay it back as she borrowed it (from me and my partner) my mum than bought a car off FB market place anyway when mum split from my step dad she kicked him out of the house and kept the car for herself as it was in her name and her responsibility. She wouldn't let my step dad borrow the car at all as she said it was hers not "theirs" so she said no to him but now she's not even paying back the "loan" that we gave to buy said car she's paid a very small amount in 2 years not the point but still it was a lot of money that we gave her. About 18 months ago she told me she had sold the car for $1,800 cause of the transmission or something other and she couldn't afford to fix it so my mum sold the car and kept the money for herself (didn't give money to start paying my partner and I back) than took the money and moved to another state to be with her new boyfriend and his kids didn't tell anyone where she was for 1 month eventually she only told her kids (myself and 2 of my siblings) where she was cause we said we'd call the cops so mum told us. Anyway when I try to talk to her about paying us back she says that she is going to pay for half of the "loan" and my step dad would have to pay back the other half, mum only caused myself and my family distress when she said this now I'm trying to get her to understand that she needs to start paying more often and not just $20 every 4 months. I've tried to tell her that it's unacceptable and mum won't accept the fact that my partner and I aren't going to be pushovers and take her crap anymore so she threatened us with lawyers to try to get out of paying it. Mum is acting like an absolute child and not even having an adult conversation with me about the "loan" and acts like she has all the time in the world to pay it back but it's not the case it's been 2 years and we've received maybe $350 off her. I'm not one to post about my crap on social media but the pain and hurt that mum has cause not only me and my partner but our daughter over the years isn't on.
I'm trying to act like an adult in this situation but she's not making it easy on me so I've decided to cut her off from our lives (but kept her on messenger so she can tell me when she's paid) but hasn't been acting like the mum I grew up with. Mum is a different person and acting very selfish and I don't want that in my daughters life it's heartbreaking to see my mum act like this. Mum went on a rant calling me selfish, self-centred and stagnant in the way I'm acting towards her but I'm trying to be civil and be an adult about this whole thing but mums not making it easy.
So I'm wondering if I'm the AH for cutting her out of our lives and wanting nothing to do with her and her new "family"?

so yesterday after watching a story driven game, i got so sad about how it ended.
The characters and even NPCs were full of personality. I loved even just the shop-keepers, let alone two of the side characters. The ending broke me finding about the backstory of one of the side characters and what happened to the main character; and then later during the scene before the credits and during them.
Thus making it like the first game to actually make me cry, and me truly-truly wishing i could be friends with the cast of characters, not like a ha ha, these guys seem chill, i'd be cool with them type feeling.
problem is, afterwards, my mind starting making up scenarios and what if's, it also did what if i were in the MC's shoes? would i act differently? how would've i replied differently? and along with the ending making me sad, my brain itself was making itself even sadder making up these scenarios. listed above.
is this normal for people ADHD? or is my brain just fried and im the weird one here?

Hey!
Im looking for a roleplay that’s long term. 26 yr female here. I want it to have plot twist, story based, and dark romance, and manipulative, betrayal. Too make it more interesting. I can write 2-4 sentences to a paragraphs to two paragraphs. I expect my partner to write the same amount. It can be detailed but not too detailed. This will be in first person for both parties. Strictly roleplay. No one liners. No incest or anything taboo. So don't even ask.
What I’m looking for in a partner, that is aggressive, assertive and dominant male between the ages of 26-29 only. Seeing if we can try to make a fun and interesting roleplay. I have a few plots in mind or I'm interested to see what thoughts you have. I'm been roleplaying for ten years.
I'll only respond to dms and to have an interested opening. With age and ideas if you have any.
Idea
A job was opening up at your company. It was a rare opportunity to work for you, but you needed a new assistant. It was hard enough to find a good job, now. I checked out who owned and it was a surprised it was you. We never got along, having arguments. Now years later, I apply for the job and ended up getting it after agreeing to the terms. What ever worst are the business trips

I just read an article about chronic disease or illness fakers. I am thoroughly disgusted that even more people are more ignorant than I thought possible beyond my immediate family.
Right before the age of 40 I passed out waiting for a table at a nice restaurant, slowly drinking a beer. Luckily I had not been a heavy, medium, or even light drinker for almost 10 years. All I really had physically wrong with me at that time was testosterone therapy, come shoulder surgeries, and chronic,sometimes horrible pain. Oh, I was also told I had a great, really great bronze California tan.
After that incident right before age 40 I had every test I could have done to explain what happened. Witnesses said, im 6'3 195+ lbs, I just turned white, became instantly soaking wet, and fell straight backwards like a 2x4.
After all the tests were completed I discovered my Iron(its really called ferratin) was at a level of 3,900 (normal safe levels are 50 to 200 roughly. I was given a genetic test for hemachromatosis, which is pretty common, and not a super big deal when treated early. In fact, anyone with hemachromatosis cam firmly state that we people,all people, black, while, whatever are related. Black people have a genetic disease called sickle cell disease. If not treated and allowed to run rampart sickle cell turns into hemachromatosis. Nuff said.
The main treatment for hemachromatosis is bloodletting, the amount of blood you need to get out of your body and how much at a time and how often is usually dictated by the level of your ferritin in your blood at time of diagnosis. Most people, fortunately, get detected and treated by 700 to 1500 level of Ferratin. The body is basically killing itself, "rusting away" to say at levels if 1,000 plus of ferritin.
Now five leads later, testosterone implants every 3 months or so, bloodletting (phlebotomy) treatment 4 times a year now ( I started giving over 550 grams of blood 2 times a week for 4 months, and then once a week 4 or 5 months, and so on and on. I have had a pretty extensive cervical neck surgery, cages, holes drilled in arthritic areas and nerve openings opened up, both hips totally replaced, a knee replacement on left knee coming up soon, always a pain in my ass,, literally,, lol. There's other things, I have to get liver biopsies every year, heart tests performed every year, no alcohol, low Vtamin C diet, no more liver and onions, and reduced use of cast iron and other high iron cooking and eating utensils.
Thing is,, if you see me just see me, you'll see a big, strong, agile, balanced man. But what you dont see is how hard it is for me to just get up and drink a cup of coffee some mornings, or how bad both legs ache, hurt, throb, and sometimes especially feel totally exhausted 2 hours after I wake up. Or a serious neck, nerve issue that I just keep massaging and turning my head.
I don't take opiates, except after surgeries, I can't take much Tylenol or ibuprofen and related. Mostly ice pack/machine, heat pads, hot hot bath soaks, stretching (carefully), keeping moving, and pushing myself everyday or at least 6 days a week harder than the day before.
I have half siblings, 17+ years older than me, with bone spurs, maybe knee replacement, obesity related issues, lack of movement/ exercise issues, and on and on.
I'd happily trade places with them, but keep my age, and very few people I imagine get what I'm about to say next . I decided after the first 6 months of diagnosis I was going to "break and fall apart before I rusted and rotted away".
Do you get that? Understand ? I am happy, no I get exited and thrilled inside when I see people with obvious issues, obesity, laziness, bad diet, drinking, etc struggle, not do, or unwilling to do things they should do, much less want to do to make this life more,, make this life better for themselves. I say F' u all those ignorant dumb lazy scared people that say things, think things, act differently when they interact with you, not knowing you closely and really knowing you, when they see this person that looks, moves, and does lots of physical things better than they can,, and they think your faking or putting on or playing poor pity party me,,, no screw you guys,, try, literally walking 10,000 or more steps in my shoes each day and more, yet sometimes not able to even crawl or move for 2 or 3 hours after 4 or 5 or less some days just living life.
Anyone else have similar stories ? Or experiences? I still can't get over the fact that had a been a normal,, or whatever you call a person who drinks a six pack a week, alcoholic drinker I would definitely for sure have had cirrhosis or liver cancer by now for sure and probably be dead. Anyway,, let me know thanks.
P

Yuji has had multiple characters have dream-like imaginations about him across the story.
With Yuji's claw in Sukuna, him seeing a ghost is not an actual person but a delusion, something like the main character's self-delusion of success, that Gojo didn't actually die.
It might even be a way to introduce the sorcerer Sukuna was afraid of, through a delusion/illusion of the person who beat him back in Heian era.
Also it's unclear who actually said "domain expansion". Sukuna has the hand sign, but we still haven't seen Yuji's domain.
To be even more specific, it could be the illusionary manifestation of Gojo as the executioner that would have killed Yuji after they collected all the fingers. Like how Yuji hunted down Mahito with a pack of wolves, this illusion of Gojo is the inevitability of death that Yuji would have faced with a successful collection of all of the fingers.

i spoke with a friend this morning who is still working at Drala Mountain Center in CO. sounds like this place is going down quickly. i worked there for years as well...stuck with them through all their covid challenges, the fire, sunshine report, bankruptcy, and they fired me last year without so much a warning or cause. my friend said about 20 employees have left in the last 2 months and they are left with only 15 or so employees now. no volunteers are showing up due to the recent reviews and same with new employees. and today starts their busy season where they will have hundreds of participants on the land for the next six months. apparently with dhi and all other directors/managers gone now their staff meetings are with the governing council. sounds like they are a joke and highly abusive to the little staff they have left. threatening the staff that because they are burned out they better not scare off new employees. qnd apparently told all the staff they need to pick up the slack and get through the busy season since its their fault they cant hire new employees. sounds like all the current staff are working 80+ hour weeks trying to keep this place goin. iwas trying to find out who they are hiring as the new executive director and the council doesnt even have a backup person planned. im guessin with their money situation they cant even afford one at this point. im worried and sad for everyone there even though I dont know many people left, seems like all current employees havent been there very long. they said staff members are breaking down left and right, crying in meetings, theyve heard some expressing suicidal intentions. apparently recent participants and retreats have made comments about the staff looking like ghosts and having horrible experiences when they are on the land. governing council has no game plan for how to get through this other than torturing the staff thats left. ihope people find a way out of there. this shit hole deserves to go down. cant be to much longer with no staff and no money and hundreds of participants about to see it all. just hope no one hurts themselves or someone else while this goes down. warn others in the area not to support this place. a local news station in Foco needs to pick this story up and blast it all over. truth needs to be heard

We had a big meeting with Susan yesterday. Kitten and I reconstructed some of the highlights. Of course, Susan reads everything here in our blog.
"So which 911 should we talk about first: 'Heidi's (Non)-Suspense Hearing Hissy Fit' or 'Lita's Let Me Decide the Future of My Life at the Young Age of Sixteen'"?
We all just had to laugh!
"People think that therapy is like filling potholes on the FDR Drive," Susan said. "Got a hole? Throw in some asphalt. People can still drive on it, although it will always be bumpy and the filling will come out during the next storm. What do you think? Agree or disagree?"
"I disagree," I said. "I think a good counselor should try to develop strength and resiliency in her client so they can design and rebuild an entire new road."
Kitten said I was right. "The first case is the 'deficit' something-or-other. The second is the 'asset' something-or-other."
"Exactly," Susan said. "The word you were looking for is 'mindset.' A 'deficit mindset,' an 'asset mindset.' A lot of times, instead of 'asset' you hear 'abundance mindset.'"
She went on. "Let's look what happened. Lita, you had the strength to bring Heidi and all of your parents into the discussion with Benjamin so you wouldn't leave yourself alone and isolated. Good for you! That's social engineering. You were like Debbie Evans..."
Kitten was curious and had to interrupt, "Uhmmm. Who is Debbie Evans?"
Susan said, "Look her up. She was the stunt motocycle rider in the 1970's TV show Wonder Woman. You, Lita, rode on your supercharged motorcycle into your past and scooped up the gems, swerved around pitfalls and delusions from your recent history, wrote a dissertation about education and schools, and outlined your plans for your college search. Very impressive!"
Susan was only getting started. "And you, Heidi, made two game-changing plays, whether or not you were aware of it. You butted in to say something that Lita taking the job was 'no sacrifice' for you. Then you picked up your guitar when you felt Lita was feeling vulnerable."
"It wasn't planned or anything. That's how I really felt!" piped in Kitten.
"I know. Let's move to 'Heidi and the Dean.' Sounds like the title of a sitcom, doesn't it? You made a mistake because you overreached on your running without following the Coach's protocols. It was a double whammy because Lita had been punished for doing the same thing a couple of weeks earlier."
Susan paused for a few moments to sip some water. I think it was really drama to announce that something important was coming up. "That's life! We make mistakes and take the consequences. But here is the important thing. You didn't just collapse but stood your ground. Okay, maybe a bit awkwardly, but doing it more effectively and, as your mother said, 'reading signals,' are just some skills you will pick up with life experience. I would be far more worried if you had only caved in. Not only that, but you were dealing with a wild card, a testosterone-loaded dean."
"No, I see him differently now," Heidi said. "It's been two days since I've volunteered after school in his office. I'm already feeling why he is the way he is."
"Good, why don't you write about that in your blog? I just don't want to get sidetracked right now."
Some more dramatic pauses. Then she turned to Kitten but I knew she was talking to both of us. "We are a lot more than solitary human beings. We are also our social connections. In effect, you are Team Heidi. Just look at that meeting. You had Coach and your guidance counselor rooting for you, most likely conspiring beforehand to get you through the dean experience. You had mother there shutting you up before you got yourself into deeper trouble. Then you had your friends sending you, from what I gather, text messages making sure you didn't go into self-victimizing mode and instead, in the words of one person, 'turn poison into medicine.' You used faith to gather presence and make a plan. Pretty impressive."
Then Susan got very serious. "I don't think it is ever wise to carry the burden of secrets. They tend to come out anyway, and the longer they fester, the more trust is broken. Let me be blunt. I don't believe the story that you guys met playing volleyball. I don't see how it is humanly possible for both of you to have developed the bonds between you and grow so much in a single year. What's the real story?"
Kitty and I looked at each other absolutely shocked.
"Your expressions say a million words. But we are out of time, aren't we? Also, I don't think I should be the first person to hear the Big Reveal. I think both of you need to set up a lunch date with your mothers and then put all of your cards out on the table. We can talk next week about what happened. But for now, let me say how much I deeply respect both of you!"
Kitten and I worked out of Susan's office hand-in-hand. It's a beautiful morning and we are heading out now to run.

(for some added context I am a cis man and the other person in the story isn't)
I've made a new friend (yay) on twitter and they responded to one of my posts with what I was fairly sure was the set up for a raunchy joke but I wasn't 100% certain. I couldn't respond, my brain had locked up between the ever present compulsion to be cracking jokes at all times and the absolute need in my soul to not creep people out. If they weren't actually setting me up for the joke I would be a creep for taking things in an nsfw direction and I couldn't take that risk.
After about half an hour of laughing at myself but also rocking back and forth and holding my face in my hands I just ended up privately messaging them I'M PRETTY SURE YOU'RE SETTING ME UP FOR A GOOD JOKE THERE BUT IDK IF I SHOULD SAY IT and thankfully that broke my brain deadlock
Interacting with people, it's fun huh? (And yes they were setting me up for the joke I had in mind)

Sorry if this is not allowed, didn’t really know where else to post and have a few thoughts and wanted to see if anyone else has been following along recently -
Basically, long story short, Dom and Ella from a previous season (both of whom I was a fan of during their stint!) have their podcast - Sit With Us. They did some interviews with the most recent MAFS cast, including Jack and Tori. I don’t really listen to their podcast at all, but I was intrigued by how they would handle the Jack and Tori stuff and the “muzzle your woman” comment given that Dom was very outspoken around her edit and the onlyfans stuff etc.
I was pretty disappointed at the episode - the “muzzle your woman” comment was brought up, but I felt it was kind of brushed over as well as I think Ella saying something like “you were pushed” which… kinda of insinuated that Jack was PUSHED to say something so vile which I don’t agree with.
So it’s kind of blown up, and Abbie Chatfield (whom I personally really admire) spoke out (commented on some of Sit With Us’ clips, posted some stories and did a podcast ep on it ) explained how/why she was so disappointed etc and why it was wrong to give Jack a platform and her disappointment and disgust in how the interview was handled. I agree with pretty much everything Abbie had to say about it and felt she eloquently/articulately explained why I felt so icky about the episode.
ANYWAY, So Dramatic has been posting her commentary on it which is fine - she is a pop culture/reality tv content creator I guess, but she’s kind of spun it into a “this is why I backed off from Dom, I’m glad people are finally realising” etc
And now Olivia has started chiming in with the same kind of commentary and sort of saying stuff on her stories like “this is my redemption arc” which… ok.
I think at this stage Dom and Ella haven’t really addressed it properly or taken ownership of how poorly the interview was conducted I guess.
What are people who have been following this thoughts on it? My are -
• Dom and Ella massively dropped the ball here. They were ill equipped to interview Jack properly and made light of a really, genuinely misogynistic comment that Jack made. And I get that sometimes people say things they don’t mean or regret in the heat of the moment, but what Jack said doesn’t come from nowhere. I think he has said things like that before. It was the language chose to use that was the issue. You are not “pushed” to say things like that. And in light of the recent DV incidents highlighted in the media, it was just so tone deaf to air this episode. I work in a field where we see a lot of DV cases and it’s just… fucked. The amount of ADVO listings at your local court everyday is fucked. Language matters.
• I feel bad that Abbie continually has to be the one to call this stuff out.
• I kinda feel like So Dramatic and Olivia using this as their way of saying “see! Dom IS bad!” Is icky. It takes away from what the actual issue is and turning into something more … trivial. I think the abuse Olivia received online was horrendous tbh and she didn’t deserve it but I think it’s a bit eh to post stories about how karma caught up with Dom etc.

So sorry to waste your time...

This is gonna be a lot, and you, of course, are not force to read this. I was just looking for something, if anything, regarding an answer to a question I am going to have to face because of my own actions. I understand that if you do choose to read all of this and reply to me, you may wish to berate and insult me. By all means, do so, I deserve it. I don't mean to write a sob story so people will sympathize will me, I don't need people's attention, I'm not coping.
For a bit of context, I am and always have been a burden on myself and those around me. I've been nothing but lazy and useless my entire life. I was the kid that never did his homework, ever. I thought it was stupid and that was my justification to not do it. I was that kind of garbage. I hated when things imposed on my happiness and freedoms, and I resented things that did that to me, like homework. I have always been told that I am full of talent and that I'm so smart or whatever, but it has never translated in my studies. I have always gotten low marks in my courses, always because of homework. If there was a way to flunk out of high school, I would've flunked out a long, long time ago. I'm so pathetic, all I've ever cared about are the things that I enjoy and not the things that are important.
So like the idiot I am, I chose to go to college knowing the kind of person that I am, telling myself I would change because college is serious and what not. Spoiler alert, I didn't. I'm a piece of garbage and all I've ever done is waste the time and resources of those around me. I'm so fortunate that my parents paid for my college, but they said they would kick me out if I failed and all. I believed in my talents, but not in my work ethic. Sure enough, coming out of my first semester in college, I failed two out of the 5 courses I took and that put me on academic probation. Why did I fail? Well, I failed because of my crappy work ethic. I could've passed these courses with high marks if I had done my homework given that my test scores were always high or solid. As you would expect, my parents wanted to kill me, I was mocked and laughed at by my siblings, and I really didn't have a support system, not that I deserved one.
Miraculously, I was given a second chance to fix my predicament, and I honestly felt I was doing better. I was struggling to get my work in on time, but I was still making the effort to do it (Nothing to be proud of considering it wasn't on time). This semester, although spent in the comfort of caring friends who wanted nothing but the best for me, was extremely depressing and part of me wants to blame my shortcomings on that. Mentally, this semester was really rough for me and even though nobody knew it, I was going through a really, really hard time. The other part of me knows that blaming my mental health on my shortcomings is nothing but a cop out and I would just be making excuses for myself like I always do. Anyways, looking at my grades coming out of this semester, once again, I have failed two courses, one of which was inevitable, and the other, I am currently fighting for despite grades being posted. I want to really cling to the hope of the mark being changed even though my situation really won't change much, but if it is impossible, then I will give up right there.
As you can see given what I have provided above, it should be clear how much of an idiot I am. I have been nothing but a failure, a disgrace, a sloth, and a piece of trash. I have wasted the money of my parents, the energy of everyone who believed in me, and my own time. I should've known I would never amount to anything. If I want to keep living, I'll be homeless and left with only the few thousand I have saved from working my summer job as a lifeguard. I have been nothing but pathetic my entire life, and honestly writing this all out makes me tear up a bit. It kind of hurts that I want to cut my life short not because I hate my life, but because it feels that there is no other options left for me to progress forward. I have given myself nothing to use to go forward because I have been nothing but my own worst enemy. I am lazy and a waste of air. I truly wish to apologize to everyone whoever believed in me, I wish I could man up and just tell it to their faces, but I am too ashamed to even turn off my computer screen and see my reflection. The grades will come in soon, and my family will know, and that will be the end of me. Right now, I plan to run away from home soon and either try and find somewhere to go or just jump off a bridge, I guess (I haven't really thought it out, it's not something I really want to think about).
Some of you, who may be nice enough to reach out, may say that my best bet would be to negotiate with my family, or perhaps seek a job in trades, or maybe even consider community college. I can only refute those as my parents are not the negotiable type, even if some of you insist they will be. As for trades, it is something looked down upon by my family, by my friends, and it's rubbed off on me too and I have come to loathe the idea of it. Perhaps it will be my only option, but something I've never wanted for myself was to work day in and day out breaking my back in physical labor like that. As for community college, I would not be opposed to it despite friends and family looking down on it too, but even if that was the route I decided to go down, how would I do that? Once my parents see these pathetic grades, I will be kicked out and maybe even disowned right after I get beaten half to death. Some of you should now be realizing the piece of garbage that I am for saying that, and you have every right to take back any sympathy you may have had for me. I do not deserve any help, any support, and sympathy, or advice. Honestly, I'd rather the option of suicide be validated so I can just get on with it. I think it is finally time to put my pathetic life behind me and release the burden of knowing me off of so many people. All I have ever done is hold myself back and hold others back too. All I've ever done is wish I could be better but then never would I act on it. I wish a work ethic came naturally to me like everything else, because that's the one thing that has kept me from ever succeeding. But because I'm pathetic, I could barely bring myself to succeed at having a good work ethic for more than a week. I hate myself, I truly do.
Despite how I feel about myself and my life, I do want to clarify that I don't hate my life. I am so grateful and thankful that I have met the people that I have and I am thankful I had parents who were willing to support me. Everyone around me is better than I am and I'm so happy I got to be around such amazing figures, I just wish I could've been like that and committed to that. I'm pathetic, I have no more excuses. But I do have the question that I propose to any who have read this far: Do I stick it out, or do I just end my life already?
For all who read all of this, I appreciate you more than you will ever come to realize, even if you read it to laugh at me or so that you could have the knowledge of my story to berate me. You guys are everything, and I can only hope the best for you all. Please never end up like me, you're all surely so talented with bright futures ahead of you, I'd hate to see you be like me. Love you all!
I'm sorry for the giant wall this post is, and I'm also just sorry in general. So yeah, sorry.