First of all, I’m really sorry this post is so long, though I’d like to make sure everything is covered. I’m sorry that it’s probably not really exciting, but the issue has been causing me a massive amount of hurt, so any replies and advice would be immensely appreciated. I’ll try to give as much detail as I can. Obviously, you are only hearing this from my side, but I have been as honest as possible about the following, otherwise I don’t think any advice I receive would be helpful. This is written anonymously as well, so it’s not like the people involved are going to find-out. Nevertheless, none of the names I use in this are their real ones, just in case. If you have any questions or need further details on any part of this, please let me know.
I was good friends with a work colleague, I’ll call her Robin. We were (and still are) pastoral support staff in a large sixth form college. We’re part of quite a big team and each look after a caseload of students. Being about the same age, me and this colleague naturally spent time together on breaks at work, which usually involved going out for walks or just chatting in our office, which we shared with three other members of staff, all older women. I got on well with everyone in the team, but just wasn’t as close friends with them. Me and Robin chatted a lot and joked both in person and by messages on Whatsapp. I felt comfortable sharing lots of personal things with her, such as my poor mental health and at points I was worried I’d scare her off with how much I had said, but it never did. She opened up a bit about her own mental health as well, though now I realise to nowhere near the same extent. Looking back, she was not as comfortable sharing personal details as she was with her other friends. I’m not sure why I didn’t notice this at the time, was I too self-centred, or just subconsciously focusing only on the things she did tell me?
When Robin was struggling or upset, I always made an effort to go and help or comfort her. At one time she wrote on our office’s group Whatsapp chat that she had gone to our college’s wellbeing room as she was really upset. I immediately dropped what I was doing and headed over to sit with her. Of course, I checked if she wanted me there, but she was happy that she had some company. It’s easy for me to say this as I’m writing now, but at this point I had no actual romantic feelings for her, she was just a mate. She referred to me in messages as ‘mate’ a few times, so it was clear she wasn’t interested in anything other than friendship, which was absolutely fair enough.
This went on for most of the year and at the start of the next academic year, we were in different offices. Our workplace moves the team round every year for various reasons including to get us to build better working relationships with other members of the team. My new office had two people besides myself, one an older woman and the other a new colleague, who I’ll call Sam, also about my age, who had moved departments in the college and was just starting out in our role. She had been placed in my office so that we could support her in getting used to the job.
Robin and Sam already knew each other as before Robin started the pastoral role, she worked in Sam’s department. Robin warned me to “watch my back” with Sam. Robin was never specific with what happened, just that Sam had been a bully towards her. As Robin was my friend, I took her word for it.
A while later, I was called into my manager’s office and asked if Sam was always working on what she should have been. I told her that as far as I knew she was, though I never really looked too much at what she was working on as I was busy with my own stuff. I knew that in fact, Sam was working when she could on her assignments for the part-time degree she was completing. I didn’t want to throw her under the bus for this, though. We all have times where we aren’t completely focused on our work when we should be. Robin told me afterwards it was her who had reported Sam for doing her degree work. She apologised for not giving me a heads-up before I was called into the meeting with my manager.
Sam had a discussion with one of the assistant principals where she was told off. As Robin was my mate, I promised her that I wouldn’t tell Sam or anyone else at all that she had made the report. This was tricky as our other colleagues were commenting things like “who would do that to a colleague? We’re supposed to be a team”. Robin even told me at one point afterwards that she felt like a “bitch” for doing it. I told her then that she did the right thing and that I understood her frustration at another team member not working when she worked so hard herself. Looking back, this was an awful thing for me to do and I feel really bad about it.
After a while of working in the office with Sam, I got to know her. She wasn’t anything like Robin had told me. In fact, she was an absolutely lovely person, kind, funny and although she had a reputation for being the loud, chatty and boisterous one in the group, this was a bit of a façade and she actually had some real confidence issues, as well as some mental health issues, though she never said exactly what. I slowly began to regret taking Robin’s word about Sam and for not judging her by my own experiences. Me and Sam became quite close friends. I feel it’s important to note that Sam was married and was not at all my type for a romantic partner, but we became good friends. Perhaps surprisingly, Robin and Sam became very close friends at the same time. I felt comfortable sharing some quite personal things with Sam, including some issues I was having with my mental health.
As I was single, Sam made it her mission to get me a girlfriend, which I was a bit reluctant towards at first and not convinced anything would actually succeed. Sam was very interested in gossip and good at getting secrets out of people, so she eventually found out that I had developed feelings for Robin. My feelings had appeared at some point early in the academic year that I moved into the office with Sam. I knew that me and Robin would never work. Though we were good friends, we were too different. I was perfectly happy being just mates, but the feelings were still there. Very much a heart versus head situation.
Me and a few colleagues went on a night out to a few bars and a nightclub. We all got drunk and at one point in the evening I took Robin aside and told her that I liked her. I know it’s easy to blame the alcohol but I don’t think I would have said it otherwise. I knew we would never work, so what was the point in risking damaging our friendship? I didn’t remember her reaction at the time due to the alcohol.
The next day, I really regretted my decision to tell her this. For the next few days, I was really awkward around her. I tried to subtly ask if she remembered me saying anything to her that night, but she said she didn’t. I also tried asking another one of our work friends, Bethany, as well as Sam, both of whom were on the night out. I was good friends with Bethany and had been open to her about my feelings for Robin. Sam said that Robin really couldn’t remember much, as she was so drunk at the time. Bethany, however, said that Robin had told her that she thought I had “told me he liked me”, but that she wasn’t certain due to being drunk and having a patchy memory of the evening. During this conversation with Bethany, she advised I come clean as it was the right thing to do. I agreed and the same evening I wrote a message saying that I had said those things and that although I didn’t expect anything to happen as a result, I would understand if she wanted to distance from me. Robin replied after about half an hour, which I can tell you felt like an eternity.
The response was lovely, thanking me for my honesty and saying that she would never want to distance from me. “First of all, there is absolutely nothing to be sorry for. You didn’t upset me or offend me in any way. I honestly couldn’t remember if something was actually said or not. Secondly, I know that you’re such a kind and genuine person that I would never think you’re friends with me because you were simply trying to get into a relationship with me. I value you so much. This doesn’t make me annoyed in anyway at all. You haven’t damaged our friendship at all”. I replied “Thank you for that. You are really too kind-hearted for your own good”. She replied with “No need to say thank you. Thank you for telling me the truth and being honest. I really appreciate it. I would never want to distance from you”.
This made me feel much better. A few days later at the weekend we had arranged to go out as a group with colleagues. Me and another colleague, Carl, were the only two guys going and he ended up dropping out last minute. I got a Whatsapp message from Robin apologising and asking if it was okay for me to not go as well, as it was originally meant to be a girly night out anyway before inviting me and Carl. I told her that was absolutely fine with that and that there was no need to apologise and that I hoped they enjoy the evening. I was fine with this at the time, though there was naturally the worry that I was being uninvited due to Robin now knowing I had feeling for her.
However, when I told some of my non-work friends that I had been asked not to go, they immediately thought this was absolutely horrible of them towards me, regardless of if I was the only guy going with the group. I’ve told a few more people about this (as well as that I had admitted my feelings to Robin) since then and everyone has had the same reaction. At first, I tried defending my colleagues (as I genuinely would have preferred not to not go at the time), but I came to consider that my friends were right and this wasn’t an acceptable way to treat a mate. As I’m writing this, I still don’t know how I feel about what they did. Was I just blind to it due to my feelings for Robin and preferred to only see the good things in her? Was I just deluded in the belief that my friends would never do something horrible towards me?
The weeks and months after that, I gradually came to feel as though I was being left out of the group of my work friends. It is important to note here that at some point during this time, Robin got a new boyfriend, Jack. Of course, this was absolutely fine and really gave me a good amount of closure on the situation and any feelings I had remaining for Robin. I understand that some of Robin’s avoidance of me may have been to protect me from being upset by this, though it really was not necessary.
There were lots of things that happened to cause me to feel excluded in these months, of which the following are a few examples. I would see Robin, Sam and Carl often go out for walks during their lunch breaks, without inviting me. On one occasion they invited me out with them after I saw them leaving, but this felt like they were only doing it because I had seen them. They would have messaged me or stopped by my office to see if I was free if they actually desired me to be there. Another time, I was asked when I was free during the school holidays and after I answered, the group specifically arranged a meet-up time that I couldn’t make. On another occasion, I was very excited to go to a musicals-themed quiz night hosted at our college, as I love musicals. I said I would be interested in going, if others in our group were, but no-one said they did. However, Robin told me the next day that they did go, but it was last minute so they didn’t have time to ask me. They could have sent a message or came to my office, so I don’t understand how this was a problem.
Whenever I asked to go on walks with people or arrange things outside of work, either in-person or on our Whatsapp group, my colleagues never seemed to be available. What I noticed when other colleagues asked the same things, was that people were either more available, or if they weren’t available, they would suggest another time. They didn’t do this when I asked. I eventually gave up asking. It was pretty humiliating to be repeatedly turned down on a groups chat.
The college held an event one evening, which involved a meal at the site. My colleagues were going, so I decided to go along as well. I had been the previous year to the event and had really enjoyed it. However, this one ended up really upsetting me. Before the meal, there was a talk in our lecture hall. I was the first of my colleagues to enter and saved them a row of seats towards the back of the room (near the entrance). However, all seven of my colleagues who were there walked straight past me. If it was one or two it might be possible that they just didn’t see me, but all seven of them? I highly doubt it. For the meal, I was the first of the group to arrive again to the room, so claimed a table. When the others arrived, they all sat on the table next to mine. They said to pull our two tables together so I could sit with them, which we did, but the seven of them crowded onto their own table, whilst I was sat on my own. The colleague sitting closest to my table also fully turned their back to me, so it felt as though they were excluding me and making it difficult for me to engage in conversations. Throughout the evening, I tried to chat with each of my colleagues, but every time was either met with a one-word answer, or a quick acknowledgement, then they would move on to speak with someone else on the table. It felt like they asked to pull the two tables together so it looked like they were making an effort, but everything else indicated they wanted nothing to do with me. Carl was the only one who actually engaged me in a conversation, as we waited in the line for food, though it was just me and him at this point (the others had got their food already and were back at the table).
There was the occasional time where I was invited to something, but with the feeling of being avoided on the vast majority of occasions, it very much felt like it was just out of pity or an excuse to say that the group made an effort to include me. One time, we went out for coffee after work. I was invited by Sam, but when I turned up, Robin and Carl both seemed very surprised to see me there. On another occasion, we went out for food. On this event, it was very clear that Robin had feelings for Carl. She was quite ‘touchy-feely’ with him and was taking selfies with him, but no-one else. I wasn’t the only one of us to notice. In Sam’s words, she was “all over him” and she actually had to tell Robin to back away from Carl a bit, as Carl was already in a long-term relationship. Was this actually just Robin sending a message to me that she wasn’t interested in me? Or I am just being too self-centred there? It was certainly very hard and quite upsetting for me to sit there with them, bearing in mind I still had feelings for Robin at this point.
The difficulties with all these is that, on their own, each one of the examples of being left out can just be explained as bad luck, bad timing, or a one-off. However, the fact that these things kept happening led me to believe that the group were actively excluding me. This went on for a few months. This led to my self-esteem and mental wellbeing being completely wrecked. I thought I was a terrible person, a waste of space, a creep and that people would be better-off without me. I won’t go into details but I got to a really low point. I ended up speaking with my GP, going onto anti-depression medication and attending counselling sessions. I know I should have communicated with my colleagues earlier, but could never bring myself to. I have severe social anxiety and do whatever I can to avoid conflict, even if that means suffering myself.
Eventually I couldn’t take it anymore. Not being able to focus on anything but the worry and the almost physical pain of the anxiety, every single day, was horrible. On the advice of another work colleague and a friend, both of whom I had been very open with, I decided to speak to Robin. I asked if we could have a quick chat alone and she said that was absolutely fine. I saw her at the end of one of her lessons. It was really tricky at first, I could feel my hands shaking with the nerves. I told her that I didn’t mean to sound accusing, even though it would probably sound like that and that whatever was said, I wouldn’t get upset and didn’t intend for her to be upset, all I was seeking with honesty and clarification. I bluntly asked if the group were avoiding me. Perhaps being naïve, I honestly expected her to be surprised and say she wasn’t aware of how they had been acting towards me and the impact it was having. However, she told me that they were avoiding me.
She went on to say that when they were about to go on a walk on a lunch break a while ago, Robin had asked Sam and Carl if they should ask if I would like to go, but Sam had said “would Jack not be uncomfortable with that?”. After that, they made a point of purposely not inviting me on walks. Robin also said that she was close with Sam and Carl and they sometimes discussed things like their partners, which she thought might upset me. I reassured her that it wouldn’t, but I told Robin that these reasons were all absolutely fine and that I completely understood and thanked her for her honesty. She said that she had intended to tell me sooner, but hadn’t got round to it (yeah right, a whole year and not finding the opportunity?). I didn’t say it at the time, but I would have really appreciated if they had just told me, instead of letting me think I was an awful person and that they hated me. I’m sure anyone would feel like that if their friends started excluding them.
As we left the room, Robin said that she would like to start using the college gym and I said that I use it after work that day. She said she’d really like to join me, which made me happy and feel as though she would like to perhaps make it up to me a bit by spending time with me to show she was comfortable around me. After I met with Robin, she messaged me thanking me for my honestly and I replied thanking her for her honesty as well. Unfortunately, later in the day Robin asked to speak with me on my own. She said she had told Jack that she was going to the gym with me that evening and he was really uncomfortable with it and asked her not to go. I said that I understood and that it was absolutely fine. I asked if she had told Jack about me and that I had had feelings for her in the past, but she said she hadn’t. She said she wasn’t sure if she would tell him. I told her that I wouldn’t say anything for or against doing this as it wasn’t my decision to make, it was their relationship and that shouldn’t be influenced by what I say, though I said that it was important that you are honest with and trust each other in a relationship. She asked if I would still come to badminton with the group on Monday (which we planned for the first time that week, it wasn’t a regular thing) I did go to it and found that it was quite fun, though I was wary the whole time of the others and how they were acting towards me, so could never truly relax. It seemed as though nothing was out of the ordinary and we got on fine.
The next day, we got a message on our group Whatsapp chat from David (another colleague) saying he was going to the gym that night if anyone would like to join him. Immediately, Robin said she would come and Sam as well. I was absolutely heartbroken by this. Even though David was in a relationship and Sam was coming as well, there was either no consideration of how I would feel seeing this, or it was even possible (though I honestly don’t think likely) that it was intentional in order to make me feel excluded again. Why was Robin fine with going with Dan, but not me? Why was Jack comfortable with Dan and not me? People can still have affairs in relationships, so I don’t understand why David was safe for Robin to be around but not me. Though Sam was there as well, she only stayed for about ten minutes when we played badminton together, so was unlikely to stay long. I felt that, despite what was said to me by Robin, they still hated me and regarded me as a creep.
This, for me, was the final straw. Taken with the fact that I had it now confirmed that the group were actively avoiding me by speaking to Robin, I decided that I needed a clean break from the group. I had been thinking of doing this for months, but hadn’t seriously considered doing it until now. For once I was going to put my own wellbeing and mental health first. I decided that I shouldn’t care what the others thought of me. So, I left the Whatsapp group. I waited until the Friday of that week after work, so that people wouldn’t immediately come and speak to me, when I really didn’t want to see anyone.
I didn’t block individual people, but I received no contact afterwards. As of writing this (just over two weeks after leaving the Whatsapp group), they’ve left me alone. Hopefully they got the message that I was not interested in the group, or perhaps they were relieved that I had removed myself, rather than them having to keep secretly excluding me. Maybe they thought I just needed space. Maybe they just didn’t care. Sometimes the trash takes itself out. Like trash is completely how they’ve made me feel and to be fair, they’re probably right. I’m fine with whatever. I worried about being confronted by them, either by message or in person, as I wasn’t sure what I would say. Would I just be blunt and perhaps upset them by telling them how I really felt? Or would it be best just to say I didn’t want to talk anymore? I’m still not sure what the best response would be if it came to that. Anyway, as of writing this now, none of them have spoken to me. I’m absolutely fine with that. I’ve felt a lot better, though I still wonder if I do need to speak with them to get full closure, but I think I’m happy where I am now. Perhaps some time will help.
The only contact I’ve had has been a brief chat with Carl. It was a fairly normal chat about films we had seen recently, but I told him that I had left the group (I believe only group admins get notified if a member leaves). I said that I had no hard feeling towards him and that I’m still happy to speak to him and the others and say hi when I see them around, I just didn’t want to hang out with them anymore. He said there were no hard feelings from his side either and that I would be welcome to join the Whatsapp group again if when I was ready. He said that he has left groups in the past that were not right for him, so he understood. I’m honestly not sure what to think about Carl. He’s always been very friendly with me, but on the other hand has still gone along with the others in excluding me, without saying anything.
I was done with being a friend just when it was convenient to them. People don’t just exclude people for no reason. Even without any other information or things that have happened before, or to protect me from getting upset at Robin having a boyfriend, to purposely exclude someone you claim is your friend, without telling them, is a vile and horrible thing to do. I just wish they had been honest with me so that I knew what I could repair or change about myself that made me so unlikeable to them. It’s clear that the level of friendship I held the others in the group in was not the same as they held mine in. Even when taking into account that I may be overthinking things, my friends shouldn’t be making me feel the way I did. Likewise, they shouldn’t be ignorant to how their friend may feel because of what they say or do. Friendships work both ways and I feel this wasn’t happening here. I don’t feel comfortable trusting any of them again, because I think I’ll just get hurt again. I’ve opened-up about a lot of personal things with them in the past and honestly I really regret it now.
I’m so done with putting in all the effort to be friends with them, support them when they needed it, when it all feels one-sided. I am done being made to feel like I’m hated and that I’m a creep and that I’m just an expendable person. Even if it wasn’t intentional, there was no consideration to how their actions would impact me. I know I’m not the main character in other peoples’ lives. People all have their own personal things that they are dealing with and carrying around on a daily basis. However, I believe that you should at the very least think how what you do might upset people if they are truly your friends.
There seems to be some double standards going on here as well. Why was it okay for Robin to spend lots of time alone with Carl, even though she was single, clearly had romantic feelings for him and that he had a partner, but I wasn’t allowed to do the same as it would make Jack uncomfortable? I think there some insecurity in the relationship between him and Robin, but I understand that can be completely normal in the early stages of a relationship. It just saddens me that I am not seen as trustworthy enough to be alone with Robin, even though, as of writing this, Robin says that Jack still isn’t aware of my past feelings for Robin. Those feeling were long since gone before I knew for certain that I was being excluded. Perhaps I should not have trusted Robin after how she treated Sam, but is now best friends with her.
Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Am I just being pathetic and am actually in the wrong here? What do I do now? Do I do anything at all?

Welcome to our fifth discussion of Leviathan Wakes. Hold onto your cool detective hats or your environment suits, because we finally get some answers to our mystery! This week, we will discuss Chapters 34-40. The Marginalia post is here. You can find the Schedule here.
The discussion questions are below. One note - this is a very popular book series and TV show, but please keep in mind that not everyone has read or watched already, so be mindful not to include anything that could be a hint or a spoiler! Please mark spoilers not related to this section of the book using the format > ! Spoiler text here !< (without any spaces between the characters themselves or between the characters and the first and last words).
Now brace yourselves: here comes the juice!
Chapter Summaries:
Chapter 34 - Miller: Detective Miller and the crew of the Roci board the hidden ship (the one that captured the crew of the Scopuli before destroying it), wearing environment suits because the ship has no atmosphere - someone left the doors open. They stick together at first as they move through the ship, discovering signs of a struggle, zombie vomit, and twelve torpedo tubes big enough to destroy capital ships like the Donnager or the Canterbury. Miller uses his detective skills to determine that everyone but Julie retreated to engineering. Once there, they discover a truly grisly sight: layers of human flesh and bones are sort of fused around the reactor, which has been shut down. Naomi and Holden gasp in shock and disgust, Miller turns on his cop brain to suppress emotion and view it as a crime scene, and Amos seems… calm and able to ignore the gore. The team splits up to look for more clues.
Amos stays in engineering to start up the computers and get the reactor back online. Naomi works on the ops deck to run diagnostics. Miller and Holden head to the bridge, which wasn’t affected by the fighting onboard. Miller reviews the internal feeds and finds footage showing the captured Scopuli crew being led onto the ship, stripped, and put in restraints. Julie fights back viciously but is knocked unconscious and stuffed in a locker with a jumpsuit (which is where we met her in the prologue). The crew is left in the galley for 132 hours before they decide to make a stand, but it is quickly suppressed. One of the crew is thrown out an airlock and the others are heavily restrained as they scream and cry. Just as Miller gets to the first appearance of a vomit zombie (at hour 160 of footage), Amos yells that he’s been exposed to some radiation because the human flesh blob had damaged the reactor shielding. He decides to keep working while Alex monitors his health status from the Roci.
Then Holden calls Miller over to view one of the last feeds Julie accessed. It’s a corporate presentation video created for a man named Dresden and the board of Protogen. It features a man Miller dubs “the sociopath” because of his cold, practiced smile…and because of the content. The sociopath tells the board (and us) the history of scientific discovery on Phoebe, which was thought to just be a moon and a source of water, but became a research station when a survey found complex silicon structures in the ice. Protogen was tasked with investigating and discovered that Phoebe is not a moon but evidence of a galactic biosphere: it is an alien weapon sent towards Earth 2 ⅓ billion years ago, which never made it because of orbital mechanics. Protogen has discovered that this weapon is not alive per se; rather, it is something they’ve termed the “protomolecule” which has the ability to maintain structure while replicating other systems and manipulating them at scalable rates. Of course, they alerted the proper authorities and made sure… just kidding, they’ve secretly been doing tests. The sociopath believes that whoever controls the protomolecule will gain control of all political and economic power going forward. Chillingly, the sociopath urges them to pursue large-scale testing to understand the protomolecule and its human applications. That large-scale testing is Eros.
TL;DR - Julie found evidence that Protogen (her dad’s company) has discovered an alien weapon, branded it the “protomolecule”, and secretly tested it on the people of Eros (and probably other smaller tests). The entire war has just been a distraction.
Chapter 35 - Holden: Naomi explains that most of the messages on the comm logs have been coded, but the last one is in plain text: the captain informed Thoth Station that the ship was contaminated, everyone was about to die, and the “materials” had been secured. He also planned to send vector data so they could find the ship. The Roci crew put two and alien-symbol-for-two together: they figure out that the captain has locked protomolecule samples in his safe. They also decide that the tightbeam messages were being sent to a secret research station Protogen was using to monitor the Eros experiment. Even though the fact “Naomi is the best” is a proven concept on par with “space is cold”, she is NOT able to open the captain’s safe, so they decide to cut it out of the wall and bring it with them on the Roci. They also scuttle the ship so no one can a) recover the stealth technology and alien weapons, or b) get exposed to the protomolecule-human soup inside. (Amos would have preferred to hack the frozen dead body goo off the reactor with a chainsaw and salvage such an impressive and expensive ship, which is… another way to go.)
It’s clear that someone else with stealth tech is searching actively for this ship, but the Roci won’t see them coming so they decide to get the hell out of Dodge. Naomi jokes that their options include turning the safe over to the OPA (they’d be heroes), selling out to Mars (they’d be rich), or starting their own biotech firm (just kidding, that’s evil). When Miller checks in with Holden about a decision on where to go next, he drops a figurative bomb on him regarding actual bombs in the news. Since Holden did his best Edward Snowden impersonation and leaked the data that the mystery ships are from Earth, Mars asked a few too many questions and in response, Earth has blown up a whole bunch of Martian ships and destroyed the Deimos deep radar station. Miller ruefully gives Holden credit for sticking to his guns about his belief in “free information”. He also points out that Holden’s principles make him responsible for all those deaths and the destruction of the Earth-Mars Coalition… and possibly the universe as they know it.
Chapter 36 - Miller: The war between Mars and the Belt seems like no big deal now that Earth and Mars are fighting. Miller watches the news feeds as the conflict turns into a blockade, and he realizes he is steeling himself for an announcement of a planetary attack on Earth or Mars, but it never comes. He and Amos deal with the stress by having beer for breakfast.
Miller meets up with Holden in the med bay for their routine blood flushes and cancer treatments, and they reopen their debate about what to do with the data files and who is to blame for the war(s).

• Holden’s position: Broadcast everything to everyone! (I know, I know, so out of character, right?) People will understand that they’ve been set up and will turn their wrath on Protogen instead of each other. Also, these are ancient conflicts. The Belt has always hated Mars and the inner planets in general. Mars and Earth have always had animosities secretly brewing and they do military training for the inevitable showdown. Or as Miller puts it, “Not my powder keg; I just brought the match.”
• Miller’s position: Stop and consider what people will do if they hear an Earth company did this. Every other data leak has been used as an excuse to shoot at someone the other side doesn’t like. Also, people suck. They aren’t going to hold hands and sing Kumbaya just because Protogen is the bad guy. They’ll move on to shooting each other so they can be the ones to control the protomolecule. Or as Holden puts it, “Maybe Protogen is a little right. People are too dumb to be trusted with big information so we should keep hard, scary stuff a big secret. That’ll totally work out.”

Holden’s idealism starts to fade as he takes in Miller’s hard truths about humanity. To be fair, Miller loses a little idealism over his perceptions of the inner planets’ relationship which, to the Belt, seemed stable and friendly enough (and united against them). Miller encourages Holden to use Naomi’s judgment as a measuring stick for whether something is right (similar to how he uses illusion-Julie as his conscience and sounding board) and then he goes back to the news feeds to watch Ceres slowly collapse into chaos. Holden decides the only person and place he trusts - or at least doesn’t completely distrust - is Fred Johnson on Tycho Station, so they head there. Holden also wonders why they don’t just destroy the safe and make sure everyone stays away from Eros and Phoebe; Miller admits it’s because the protomolecule might just be the holy grail.
Chapter 37 - Holden: The crew of the Roci is taking a break from doom scrolling to cook fake space lasagna for dinner and bond over the food and conversation. As Holden watches the crew laugh at Amos’s belches and Miller’s wild story about cheese smuggling, he reflects that they represent all three prongs of the conflict: Naomi and Miller are Belters, Amos and he are from Earth, and Alex is from Mars. Yet they’re friends, and Holden knows this is what they have to fight for. The cheese smuggling makes no sense to Amos (why cheese and not drugs?), and Naomi points out that this illustrates how little people from the inner planets understand Belters. Earthers have free air and easy access to resources, while Belters know everything that sustains life is rare and their access to it is fragile. And this is why Protogen didn’t blink an eye before killing 1.5 million Belters on Eros: they’re “other”. Then Alex points out that this doesn’t make sense; it's a risky and unnecessarily complicated way to kill people just to satisfy prejudices. It becomes clear that Eros isn’t a hate crime, it’s a vacuum-sealed test tube to let the protomolecule learn how to do its job better by giving it access to a huge amount of biomass. The early transformations looked incomplete, as if it didn’t know how to work with human flesh yet, so Protogen was giving it a chance to train. Holden wants to know where they would even find enough people who would support an evil operation like this, and Miller promises to ask Dresden (the Protogen board member mentioned in the video) when they meet him. Something tells me that conversation won’t go well.
As the Roci approaches Tycho station, Holden and Miller take in the view of the Nauvoo, the partially constructed Mormon generation ship. When Miller says the Mormans may be in for a long and lonely death if they don’t find a habitable planet, Holden notes that this is the good kind of galactic exploration humans can accomplish (the protomolecule being the bad kind). Miller then asks Holden why he trusts Fred, and Holden explains that in addition to being the only person who hasn’t tried to jail them or blow them up since all this began, Fred is “real OPA”: he’s a politician and not part of the war-mongering factions who think they can survive indefinitely without the inner planets. When Miller points out that there isn’t a political solution to Protogen, Holden insists Fred has other skills, too. Later, Fred reads through all the information on the protomolecule and is incredulous that anyone could think to do this. Miller assures him that genocide is an old-school crime and it’s important that they stop it. Holden offers up the location of the observation station in exchange for enough OPA fighters to take down Protogen, and the right to retain custody of the safe and its contents. Fred agrees only after Holden points out that no one else can be trusted to do the right thing with a secret this big. Plus, he says Fred already knows what Holden will do with it.
Chapter 38 - Miller: It feels strange to Miller to explore the wide open spaces of Tycho Station, the fanciest place he has ever set foot on. He notices Naomi working on her hand terminal and letting her food get cold; she is too preoccupied with trying to figure out the location of the station to enjoy the amenities. As they talk, Miller is reminded of Havelock’s advice to just let go when he got pulled off a case, which jogs his memory that Havelock actually works for Protogen! (I’m surprised he didn’t get there faster; maybe everyone had a point that he was sort of a washed up detective.) He rushes off to make contact with his old buddy - probably his last real partner ever - in an encrypted drop site of a Ganymede server cluster. As he waits for a response, Miller is amused to realize he has started thinking like Holden: he feels like someone should warn the Mormans that they could potentially run into the alien creators of the protomolecule who may want to kill them. Havelock comes through, passing along the coordinates to a “very scary deep research and development lab” and asking Miller to be discreet never contact him again so he doesn’t get killed for betraying his employer. Miller sends him an encrypted warning to quit his job ASAP and not take postings at any black ops sites, before saying goodbye for the last time to the only person that still respected him as a cop. (I may or may not be sniffling a bit at this.)
Miller rounds up Naomi and Holden so they can bring Fred the coordinates. In Fred’s office, Miller starts lecturing him about the serious nature of the mission and the need to have a solid plan with adequate firepower, not the usual OPA shenanigans. Everyone’s a little confused until they realize that Miller doesn’t know that Fred is “the butcher of Anderson Station” and a former Colonel in the Earth Navy. Fred assures Miller he’s no amateur and will plan ahead. Miller then insists that he get to come along for the assault on Thoth Station. Eight days later, the plan is set in motion and Miller begins packing his meager belongings into a very small bag, figuring he’ll never see the Roci again. Even if he makes it off Thoth alive, he’ll have to figure out a way to make money and improvise a life plan of some sort. He tries to thank Holden and say goodbye, but the Roci’s captain interrupts Miller to ask where they’ll all meet up after the mission is complete. Miller is confused at first, then overcome with emotion when he realizes Holden considers Miller part of the crew! I’m not crying, you’re crying. Actually, it’s Miller who is weeping. But he pulls himself together so he can head to the assault ship.
Chapter 39 - Holden: The Rocinante needs to sneak up on Thoth Station, so they are pretending to be a loose cargo container that broke off the Guy Molinari (the Belter ship carrying the assault team, which is pretending to be a cargo ship). They fly with everything shut down so that it’s more convincing, hoping they can get close enough to the station to do some damage before Thoth starts firing back. As they approach and are able to reboot everything needed for battle, a stealth ship is spied hanging out near Thoth Station. Then, suddenly it becomes clear that there are two small stealth ships, which will be much harder to fight off. Everyone does their jobs efficiently on the Roci, but in the ensuing battle with the stealth ships, they start to take some damage. First, the Roci is hit by a gauss cannon that goes straight through the machine shop and galley. Holden mourns his coffee maker. Amos notices a leak in the maneuvering thrusters and heads to fix it between the inner and outer hulls, which isn’t an ideal place to be floating around during a battle. This stresses Naomi out, but Holden orders everyone to stay focused. They are able to take out one of the stealth ships, but the other gets close enough to do some impressive damage to the Roci. There is major hull damage as well as loss of four maneuvering thrusters, a PDC, their O2 storage, and the crew airlock. Alex is about to destroy the second stealth ship when the Roci’s point defense cannons (PDCs) detonate an enemy warhead up close. It knocks everyone out, punches holes throughout the Roci (narrowly missing Naomi), dislodges equipment, and fills the ship with debris. Holden marvels that they are alive at all, and Alex points out that is only because the ship’s anti-spalling webbing eliminates shrapnel. They make contact with Fred, who says he’ll find them a place to land, and the Guy Molinari prepares for the assault on Thoth Station. It’s Miller’s turn to shine!
Chapter 40 - Miller: On the Guy Molinari, Miller is talking to a Belter kid named Diogo as they wait for the assault to start. Miller realizes that while he has fancy Martian armor from the Roci and experience with gunfights in station corridors, he is surrounded by inexperienced young Belters with borrowed gear, and he will likely have to watch dozens of them die during the battle. But Diogo isn’t worried; he is confident and eager to get started. Fred announces that they are ready to start boarding since the Roci gave them the “all clear”, and Miller is happy to hear his friends have survived. The assault on the station starts off rough, with Protogen soldiers fighting them in the corridors and automatic defense lasers taking out some of the Belters in the first wave. But Fred knows how to command his OPA “troops” and keep them in line, and things start to go more smoothly as they slow down and maneuver carefully. Miller and Diogo are part of a group taking shelter at Fred’s direction and fending off Protogen counterattacks, and they start to talk during a lull. When two Protogen soldiers sneak up on them from behind, Diogo is hit and Miller chastises himself for chatting during a battle and not staying alert. He thinks Diogo is dead, but he pops up laughing and streaked with white goo from crowd suppression rounds, which Miller finds an odd choice of weapon. It’s the first sign that Thoth Station may not totally understand what’s happening. The OPA soldiers cut their way through the blast doors to get to the operations center, where they find Dresden (the dude mentioned in the sociopath’s Protogen video). Fred arrives to take command of the station, and Dresden offers to negotiate, clearly misunderstanding the reason for the assault. He offers to give the OPA whatever resources they need to go back to fighting their war (money, medical supplies, weapons, ordnance) if they’ll just leave and let the station get back to their very important work. Fred points out that they know about Eros, but Dresden insists no one knows what they did there, and there won’t be a better bargaining position for Fred when Earth sends its battleships. Fred basically calls Dresden Satan, but Dresden doesn’t understand the reference.

CBSE schools in Paschim Vihar is a well-built residential area located in Delhi. It is known for its lush green environment, new age amenities and comfortable living. There are high-rise apartment buildings as well as gated societies, which make it a great place for families. Therefore, the environment for children is good for studies. Paschim vihar in many CBSE schools which are very good for the future of children. It is necessary for studiesThere is a good network of paschim vihar roads and paschim vihar Delhi Metro to connect with the rest of Delhi. Due to this, main commercial and business centers can be easily reached from here paschim vihar .Paschim Vihar also has many parks, shopping centres, hospitals and recreational facilities. People living in paschim vihar enjoy a peaceful and safe environment and there is a sense of togetherness among the people in the neighbourhood. Furthermore, Paschim Vihar has many reputed schools, making it a great location for families who value their children's education.

Importance of Choosing the Right CBSE School in Paschim Vihar

Choosing a CBSE school for children is an important decision for parents in paschim vihar . These schools lay the foundation for children's education and development of their entire personality in paschim vihar . So that children have a good future, make a good career, get knowledge of every field and every subject, CBSE schools are very good in paschim vihar.

• Paschim vihar CBSE schools have a very good curriculum which not only provides good education but also prepares the children for further studies and competitive examinations. Good performance in board exams is important for both jobs and college admissions.
• Paschim Vihar CBSE schools have educated and experienced teachers who can teach children well and develop their thinking power. The number of children in the class and the method of teaching also affect the learning experience.
• Paschim Vihar Schools structure and facilities In schools which have buildings with new technology, good libraries, labs with latest equipment, play areas and smart classrooms, children get a good environment for studies. These facilities help in all-round development of children and motivate them to learn different things.
• Paschim vihar Top schools do not just teach books but also include things like sports, art and culture in the curriculum. This develops creativity, teamwork and leadership qualities in children.

Paschim Vihar best CBSE schools inculcate good values and discipline in children, making them responsible and good human beings.Only those schools are good which work closely with the parents and keep them involved in the education of their children. This relationship between parents and teachers is very important for the progress of children.

Criteria for Selecting the Best CBSE Schools

Choosing the right CBSE school for your child is an important decision that impacts their studies and their overall development. Let us see what to keep in mind while choosing the best CBSE school:1. Academic performanceGood education is the most important thing for any renowned schools. To ensure that the school will strengthen children's basic education, you should consider the following:

• Board Exam Results: Check out how the school has performed in the CBSE board exams over the years. If a good percentage of children pass every year and the number of students scoring good marks is also high, then it is an indication that the school pays a lot of attention to studies.
• School Rankings: View national and regional schools rankings published by renowned organizations. These rankings are often given keeping in mind things like the education of schools, qualifications of teachers, structure of the school etc.

2.Teachers and teaching methodsThe knowledge and commitment of educators have a major impact on the standard of education. When choosing a school, it is crucial to assess the instructors and their methods of instruction.

• Teacher Qualification: Verify whether the institution employs qualified educators with degrees and certifications in the teaching profession.Teachers who undergo continuous professional development stay abreast of the latest teaching methods. Such teachers bring valuable knowledge to the classroom and use effective teaching strategies.
• Student-Teacher Ratio: A lower student-teacher ratio means each student will get more individual attention. This ratio is important to meet individual learning needs and create a supportive learning environment. An ideal CBSE school has a low student-teacher ratio, which provides teachers an opportunity to connect more with the students and resolve their doubts.

3.Infrastructure and facilitiesThe well-equipped school provides an environment suitable for learning and all-round development. It is important to evaluate the infrastructure and facilities while choosing a school.

• Classrooms and Laboratories: Modern, spacious classrooms and well-equipped laboratories are important for effective teaching and practical learning.Science and computer laboratories should have the latest equipment and resources. Well-lit and ventilated classrooms create a good environment for learning.
• Sports and extra-curricular facilities: Apart from physical development and education, adequate sports facilities, playgrounds and areas for extra-curricular activities are essential to nurture talents. Check availability of courts, fields and equipment for different sports. A good school provides a balance of indoor and outdoor sports facilities.

Best CBSE Schools in Paschim Vihar: Doon Public School

Doon Public School is one of the top CBSE schools located in Paschim Vihar, Delhi. The school is known for its commitment to providing quality education and promoting all-round development. This school has established itself as a major center not only for being top in studies but also for building good character of children. Sports and dance take children to excel in everything, which helps children a lot in their future career. and takes the first step into the world of success

• Experienced teacher :

The school has a team of highly qualified and experienced teachers who are dedicated to nurturing the intellectual and personal development of each student. With a low student-teacher ratio, Doon Public School provides individual attention, giving teachers the opportunity to meet individual learning needs and foster a supportive and encouraging environment.

• Academic Excellence :
  In Doon Public School, children's education is given utmost importance. Every year the children of the school perform very well in the CBSE board examinations. This is proof that the standard of education in the school is very high and the methods of teaching are also very effective. The school's curriculum is broad and challenging, preparing children for the rigorous examinations and higher education ahead.
  
• State-of-the-Art Infrastructure
  

Doon Public School is equipped with modern facilities that make the learning experience even better:

1. Classrooms: Spacious, well-lit and air-conditioned classrooms with smart boards and audio-visual aids to promote interactive learning. These classes create a good environment for learning and help children concentrate.
2. Laboratories: Advanced science and computer laboratories provide students with hands-on learning experiences, fostering scientific curiosity and technical proficiency. Laboratories equipped with the latest equipment give students the opportunity to put theoretical knowledge into practice.
3. Library: A well-equipped library with a wide range of books, magazines and digital resources encourages a love of reading and research. This serene environment motivates students to study and gain knowledge.

• Holistic Development

Understanding the importance of holistic development, Doon Public School offers a wide range of extra-curricular activities:

1. Sports: The school has extensive sports facilities, including cricket, football fields, basketball courts and indoor games, which promote physical fitness and teamwork. Participation in sports competitions inculcates a sense of healthy competition among the students.
2. Arts and Culture: Regular art classes, music education, dance and drama programs provide opportunities to students to explore their creative talents. Cultural festivals and events celebrate diversity and promote cultural appreciation. These activities make students feel confident and comfortable on stage.
3. Clubs and Societies: Various clubs like Debate, Robotics and Environment Club help students pursue their interests and develop leadership and organizational skills. Participating in club activities builds cooperation, coordination and team spirit among students.

Conclusion

Choosing the right CBSE school in Paschim Vihar is important to ensure the academic success and all-round development of your child. Doon Public School stands as a premier institution providing high quality education, state-of-the-art infrastructure and a nurturing environment. With its experienced teachers, emphasis on academic excellence and a wide range of extra-curricular activities, Doon Public School prepares students for future challenges and opportunities. Investing in a school like Doon Public School is a step towards securing a bright and promising future for your child.

My wife’s best friend who I will call Sarah moved in with us about 1 month ago after her husband had her arrested for getting physical with him and scratching his face. I have been a mutual friend with both Sarah and her husband that I will John. Our kids are friends and we would often get the families together. We have been put in the middle of the feud. John has a restraining order out on Sarah and the only way she gets to see the kids is supervised visitation. John listed my wife as the person that has to be present while her kids visit in 3 hour time blocks. I thought it was weird that John only listed my wife on there considering I am the only one (between my wife and I) that directly communicates with him (text and calls). John and my wife were always cordial to one another but between all 4 of us, they are the only two that had no real friendship. My wife is prettier than Sarah, and I have caught John staring at my wife’s chest and ass in the past. It never bothered me. During one of John and Sarah’s last fights, he said that Sarah’s face looked much older than my wife’s (both are very into skincare and anti-aging, so this really pissed Sarah off). John is an incredibly controlling husband that treated Sarah very poorly and my wife has always said that he is such an asshole and that she can’t stand him.
This is where things began to get weird…
After Sarah moved in, John continued to call me to discuss his wife. My wife told me that I was being too kind to him after the way he has treated her so poorly over the years, and having her arrested. My wife told me that it was time to choose a side (Sarah’s) and to stop talking with John. She told me I was two faced for continuing to speak with him. She called him Satan because he was already running around with a few different women and their kids, all while taunting her in various ways and trying to destroy her life. Suddenly John starts reaching out to my wife to schedule visitations with their kids based on my wife’s schedule. He could’ve listed both of us on the supervision list but he only put my wife. I suspect that he felt like it would lead to an open line of communication between the two of them(previously my wife didn’t even have his number in her phone) My wife acted very annoyed that she was put in that position because he never asked beforehand.. basically if Sarah wanted to see her kids, my wife would need to be involved. Here is where things got weird…
We had a birthday party for one of our daughters and we invited his kids to her party. He brought the kids and oddly stayed in the area with his youngest and waited around, but didn’t join the party. Later that day I sent him a text thanking him for the gifts they got. The next morning(Mother’s Day), one of the first things my wife does is send him a thank you text that I felt was a “gushing” thank you. It was weird to me that he was not only the first thank you text that she sent, but she only sent 3 out of the 8-9 parents that were there.
Is this thank you a bit much?
“We had the gifts mixed up but Sarah later clarified the gifts with the flower wrapping paper were from y'all! But as you can see, she loved them. Thank you very much for going out of your way to get them and for bringing the kids out to celebrate with Tara(our daughter) and waiting so patiently with jane(his youngest daughter). It meant so much to us!”
Here was my thank you the night before …
“Thanks a lot for all the stuff for Tara. She loved it all. You got much more than you should’ve”
John’s reply to my wife’s thank you text and then wishing her happy Mother’s Day.
“You are so welcome, a bit sad we were not able to be there as a complete family. Praying next year is different.”
“Happy Mothers Day, the kids and Dave are so blessed to have you.” (Clearly a compliment to her and a dig at his wife)
My wife’s reply…
Sunday 1:56 PM Thank you! I am sorry for leaving you hanging about today. Would you like to plan for around 430-730? We are getting a slow start and I just hoped to go to the beach for a little bit.
(She just says thank you? I would’ve thought she would’ve also said that their kids are blessed to have her best friend as a mom as well)
-John’s reply- That sounds perfect. See you then. Sunday 2:58 PM
(Sarah then sent a screenshot of the family app that they are legally allowed to communicate on. She told him that he was intruding on my wife’s Mother’s Day, and it was stressing my wife out, which was true. After seeing what Sarah told John, my wife felt compelled to reach back out to John with the following…
“Hey John. I'm not stressed. It just took forever to get the kids ready and out”
Keep in mind that he has repeatedly verbally abused her friend, has been hanging out with other woman, kicked her out of her house without her belongings, reported her to the state licensing board for her “arrest” and caused her license to be suspended, told her that he hope she died during an upcoming surgery she was supposed to have, and insulted her by implying that she was a harm to her kids and her best friend needed supervision during the time she spent with her kids… I was called “two faced” and told I was betraying Sarah, simply because I would answer John’s calls and texts.
We get home and John brings his kids over with a Mother’s Day plant and card (same ones, for my wife and Sarah). I thought this was weird and another way of slighting at Sarah, putting the two of them on the same level. The next day, my wife (who doesn’t garden) was watering the plants and walking around with the plants looking for a place to plant them. (I mentioned to Sarah that my wife watered the plants and she seems very surprised and upset that she did that, considering it was intended to be a slight to her.). I was very surprised considering our 9-year-old got her a plant from Lowe’s a year or two ago and she simply let it dry out and die on the counter (never watering it) which really hurt our daughters feelings….
Two days later I looked at my wife’s messages with John and was very surprised. My wife knew I had looked at her phone and sent me a nasty text to stay off of it. I told her that I was surprised that she was being so chummy with John considering how he has been treating Sarah, and had previously called me “two faced” for continuing to talk to John. I told her that her thank you to John was “gushing” and clearly made him feel good as he gave her a compliment about how blessed we were to have her immediately after that. I told her I was also surprised that she didn’t just have me tell him thank you considering she knows we talk and are friends. My wife got really mad and said she did nothing wrong and called me a jealous psycho. She said she would show the thread to Sarah because she had nothing to hide and did nothing wrong. I told her that I would strongly advise against it because I think it would hurt Sarah’s feelings and cause her to be upset with my wife. My wife continued to call me a lot of mean names and told me I needed professional mental help. She then changed the password on her phone. She then told Sarah that it would prob be best for her and John to coordinate through the app because I was acting very bothered by her talking to John (implying jealousy).
My wife and I began talking about the situation again yesterday and I told her that I wasn’t dwelling on it but wish she would acknowledge the inappropriateness of the conversation, considering the circumstances. She refused and again began calling me a psycho that is destroying her life. I told her that if she felt like it was a completely appropriate conversation, then she should show Sarah. She refused. She then sends me the following :
“I deleted his thread and his contact information. Accidentally called his number while I was trying to figure out how and immediately hung up. I’m sure you’ll say I called him on purpose. I have a screenshot of the thread so you won’t accuse me of trying to get rid of evidence.”
As it turned out, she didn’t have a screenshot of the thread. I found it very odd that she deleted the conversation (she did it during this last argument we were having about the appropriateness of it and telling her to show Sarah..
The other things that bothered me was that I wrote a kind Mother’s Day message on her Facebook, which she saw but never acknowledged on Facebook or said anything to me, and she completely ignored my happy birthday post to our daughter on Facebook. She was so quick to acknowledge the person she called “Satan” but not to her husband. I am considering the possibility that I am overly sensitive these days. My wife just went through a real bad case of postpartum rage where she was verbally abusive toward me and I genuinely felt like she hated me. It has left me with what she believes to be ptsd and says she feels very badly about it. It was the worst thing I have ever experienced and it nearly ended our family. Am I over-reacting or was my wife out of line?
Why did she delete the thread when I pressed her to show Sarah?
Was her thank you “gushing” and a bit much, considering the circumstances?
Is my wife really the one that’s two faced?
What should I make of John’s actions with my wife? Should it rub me the wrong way!?
Was telling my wife that we were so lucky to have her flirtatious and should she have replied that they were blessed to have Sarah!?
Would Sarah be hurt by my wife’s conversation with her husband?
Why did my wife feel so anxious to be the one to thank him for the gifts directly and praise him for coming and telling him it meant so much that he brought the kids and waited around?
Thanks in advance

Hi, I’d like some advice on how I can cope while we try and move out of here, as my mental health is starting to get severely impacted. For some background I am a 23 year old f and my 24 year old boyfriend has moved into my parents home from England, I’m in Scotland. Before he moved here I warned him my parents house was bad, but he said he didn’t care and just wanted to get a job up here ASAP. Then the recession was announced lmao. We’ve been here a few months and the longer he’s here the more comfortable my parents get. It’s not that they’re massive hoarders, although we do have a huge accumulation of things that aren’t needed, you can walk around and use things without it being too messy. However, they are filthy. The last time the shower was cleaned was September when I last done it, I’m doing social sciences in uni, I’m their adopted daughter diagnosed with BPD, and they have two sons who are 25 and 29 who don’t help either. I try to keep the place clean, but it’s getting to the point of impacting my school work, if I want to eat, if I want to do anything, I need to clean up after other people first. My dad is obese and can’t clean himself correctly after the toilet, and will often clean himself in the shower and then leaves poo all over the shower floor. When I tell him about this he will get mad at me for bringing it up, and my mum will “clean” it by spraying water at it but it never gets cleaned. I constantly am scared of getting e. coli or something when I shower. We have even been encouraged to list as homeless by a local charity who was concerned for me, but I’ve been waiting for months now with no luck because of Scotlands housing emergency. I’m not sure what to do. I’ve done everything I can so far to get out, it’s just a waiting game. How can I cope?????

So me and my 5 friends (all 14/15) were on a small school residential trip to Paris and one of the days we went to disneyland.
We were in the queue for the Hollywood tower and its around 8ish. For context the ride is enclosed, 10 people in a room kind of thing. A man by himself jumps the queue by going under the railings and ends up infront of us. We immediately get bad vibes and notice how much he was staring at us and hung around near us.
We end up at part where you enter a room with lots of people and learn about the plot of the ride. He is standing at the back of the room and my friends and I stand near the front trying to keep away from him. The room goes dark and the TV turns on playing a video. By the end of it, the lights turn on again and he is wayyy closer to us than before.
At this point we were all nervous but we had been queuing for over an hour and didnt want to have wasted our time so carried on through to the inside queue. We hang back in the room before leaving so were not near him but he also hangs back in the room so he is near us in the queue again. We talk it through between ourselves and decide to go up the fast pass queue stairs to get away because we think "surely he wont follow us up here".
A few minutes go by and we think were in the clear but then behind my friends shoulder i see him walking up the stairs. My heart drops and I point him out and we all literally run through the queue to an employee and he lets us out the queue through a back door. We are all relieved and think we're fine. Walt Disney Studios closes and we leave, heading back into disneyland and to tell our teachers. I am constantly checking over my shoulder and then i see him behind us. i grab my friends and say "he's behind us, he's found us." We double back around and we lose him and we immediately go to where the teachers were hanging about.
After that a teacher stayed with us the rest of the night and thankfully didnt see him again. It was just a weird place to be followed considering you would assume its a safe place for kids.

mom has always been violent since she was a kid...when she got married she had problems with my dad and would obsess over him or any minor detail (since he would leave for day she'd lose her mind over him showing up to get me from school or something) ive had many bruises from her throughout my life but it never phased me until this year....i ran away before to my grandma's house which wasn't that far but it didn't help cz they let her take me that same day now she recently threw a medicine bottle on me and it hit my eye and gave me a nosebleed i couldn't accept how i look now with the bruises and everything and i wanna go live with my dad and force her to get a therapist since she said she didn't regret it and that she would do it again calling child services wouldn't be that big of a deal here in algeria but i already got my dad's house and its a safe spot as far as i know and she doesn't know where it is can y'all give me some advice pls?

Me (21M) and my best friend “I will call him Jason in this post” (20M) have been friends for almost a decade. And for the last few years, he’s mostly been my only friend. He’s not the most social person either so we spent a lot of time together. We always had mostly similar passions and interests, we have the same humour and therefore had a lot of great times. I experienced a lot of great things together with him, like some really cool trips, or experimenting a little with drugs etc.. Therefore I hold a lot of value to this friendship.
But now for why I’m making this post. For the past few months or maybe even for the last year and a half, things haven’t been the same. When I graduated from school and started at university I tried to use the chance and tried to socialise more. This isn’t easy for me but I found some friends at university that are really cool and I think they find me cool as well. Of course we’re meeting up sometimes, and sometimes I brought Jason along because I thought it’ll be funny and we would have a good time. But it wasn’t, he was quite for almost the whole duration of the meet ups. Even when trying my best to include him it didn’t work out and that made things a bit awkward tbh and I regretted bringing him with me. After multiple times of him not saying anything to anyone i just stopped inviting him, which maybe is uncool from me but no way he actually enjoyed being there. I of course still spend most of the time with him, just for when others are involved I don’t bring him with me. He didn’t say anything to me about wanting to come to such meet ups so that’s just how it is now. My Problem with this is that like I said I mostly didn’t have many friends as a teenager, it was just him. But now I’m a bit older and I don’t want sitting on a bench and smoking weed alone with him be the only thing I do when going out anymore. And he just doesn’t seem to be wanting the same. This of course is really far away from quitting a friendship that lasted a decade, but there has been something else that combined with what I described right now makes me doubt the future of this friendship.
The second Problem is his Attitude in the last one and a half years. In some Moments he is annoyingly sensitive. I’m not a bad guy, I don’t say stuff that may hurt other people just for my own amusement. But of course I, like everybody else, like to do some banter, normal things in a friendship I would say. But for quite some time he can’t take a fucking joke and it’s really unbearable. Like for example last week we wanted to play a shooter game which we played a lot a few years ago, yk for the good old times and stuff. We talked about it the whole week and organised when we would do it. We both are really busy with university right now so time for hour long gaming sessions is spare, we said let’s do it on friday and I was really excited the whole week. Then Friday comes and I was ready for gaming with my bro for the whole night, the first round starts and I die very soon, my skills were a bit rusty. He was still alive and when he got approached by enemies he missed his whole magazine without one hitting one bullet. In my opinion this was a funny situation and I laughed a bit and said something along the lines of "damn not even one hit", after that he didn’t say anything and after a few minutes he said that he wants to go off. We wanted to play for the whole night but finished after 20 minutes because he didn’t like my comment I guess? I personally think this is silly behaviour and this didn’t happen for the first time, I could give you even more examples but don’t want this to get too long. This change in attitude btw happened before I started having some other friends so I think there’s no connection. And I know for a fact that everything’s going fine at home, so no extra stress or something that bothers him. Therefore I have to assume that this is just the person he developed into and I’m going to be honest I personally can’t really stand it. I of course asked him if everything’s right when such things happened but he always said that everything’s fine and pointed to blame to me.
So this is the situation and like I said in the title, I don’t know if this is worth it anymore. I without a doubt wouldn’t wanna be friends with a person that behaves like this but we’ve been best friends for a long time and I feel bad for maybe ending this. Therefore I’m asking you for help, is there maybe something I can do or what would you do in this situation? Or should I just accept that it’s over?
Thanks in Regards.
tl;dr : Best friend makes it hard to be friends with him and I don’t know if the friendship is worth it anymore

A little back story, my sister is like a second mom to me. She always took care of me when I was younger, we had a little gap in our relationship once I reached my teenage years until I turned 22 I believe. She also helped me out a lot as an adult when I was doing bad, and helped with the kids, which I am very grateful for. I am doing 100% better financially and life wise thankfully and we grew very close. She comes over to my house daily and we chat. I love her very much. She is or was? My best friend.
On Friday, our mom had a gastric balloon inserted and the plan was that my sister will drive her to the hospital, and then she will drop mom off to stay with me and I will look after her for a week.
Unfortunately, or irresponsibly I kept postponing my oil change and drove 400 miles over and my plan was to get that done and a few other tasks on Friday before it was time to get kids from school and watch mom. Plans changed and my sister made an appointment on Friday at 10 AM and I had to go to the hospital and switch out with her. My mom and I left the hospital around 11:30 AM. I called my sister, asked her if she will be able to come keep mom’s company at 3, so I can get kids, change oil, and go get my bonus child “A” from an hour away. She told me no she cannot leave work, and I said ok. She asked me “why?” I answered and told her my to do list. She told me everything can be postponed till Saturday, and my husband can borrow her car and pick up “A” alone. I said “aww ok” she asked why do you wanna go anyways? I told her I enjoy it. She told me ok well u got a more important task which is take care of mom. I agreed and we hung up.
My mom overheard me mention my oil change. She said she was okay because of the strong meds and to go get it done because its bad for the car. I asked her are you sure? About three times before I turned away from the house and went to get it changed. Now, I know what I did was wrong. I should’ve just kept it to myself and drove us home. I was a bit stressed because of the over 400 miles and indeed could’ve waited till Saturday. I was selfish and very wrong for it and was unaware mom was being a mom.
My sister called me yelling and said angrily: “Where are you?! Ima come get mom! Screw my important work I’ll call in so u can go enjoy doing things” Me: “Take 5.” and she proceeded to yell at me extremely loudly bc I’m at Take 5 and about how selfish and unreliable I am. I asked her why is she talking to me like this? She said because I don’t want to watch our mom. I’m selfish, etc. I said to her that was not what happened and that I agreed to watch her and I have no issues. She accused me of gaslighting and that I am only watching her because she “blocked” all the excuses I had to not watch her by lending my husband her car for the long drive, and suggesting it can wait until Saturday. I said “that’s not what happened. You asked me why I was asking you to watch our mom.” (I thought I was talkin to a friend and told her whats on my mind..) Her “This is the first time I see a toxic trait from you!!” and kept interrupting me (the whole time yelling) “I’M NOT UR EFFIN HUSBAND I’M NOT GONNA GO IN CIRCLES WITH YOU. I’M ON MY WAY TO GET HER.” I said “ok I’ll see u” and we said bye then before hanging up she said in a disgusted tone “Gaslighting bich” I sent her the address and texted her that she was very mean.. She called me immediately yelling “You wanna fight?! I’ll fkin fight” and said many mean things yelling… I said “No. I’m not trying to” she kept going off and I repeated many Okay’s as I couldn’t let a sentence out.
The oil change was done, and I had to leave the area, so I called her to let her know. “Hey where are you? I just got done and left take 5” She started screaming at me even more “Are we playing games?!! I’m already effin here!“ Me: “I had to leave to the main road, Take 5 exit force-“ Her: “ ENOUGH WITH THE EXCUSES! COME BACK IMMEDIATELY! YOU SHOULD’VE CHECKED WITH ME BEFORE LEAVING.” Me: thats what I was doing… but no worries I am making a U-Turn, I literally just left.” She said many things and I just kept saying “ok” she called me disrespectful for saying many okays and hung up.
I immediately started crying because I felt so bad about myself. The whole time I was talking in a respectful tone and I felt so misunderstood.. she was not listening to me. Maybe I’m sensitive..I understand what I did was selfish, but I believe in effective communication and not attacking ppl.
Mother’s day comes up, she texts me abt a present at the door. She bought me a balloon and a teddy with flowers with a really sweet note. Mind you, I did not talk to her for almost two days. I was giving her space bc when I tried telling her she was mean to me she went off on me even more. I texted her thank u and cant wait for the day where we celebrate it together. (She wants to be a mom soon)
Monday, mom comes over and my sister calls her and finds out she is at my house. My sister called me and asked “why are you not talking to me?” I said because of Friday. The yelling and calling me gaslighter, toxic, b*ch really hurt my feelings. She yelled at me some more and said “after everything I’ve done for you, YOU cutting ME off?!! YOU?!” And listed a few major things she done for me and that she has a car seat in her car right now for whenever I needed help. Her: “WHO DOES THAT FOR SOMEONE? NOBODY!” Me: “I know you’re a great sister , bu-“ Her:“YOU UPSET WITH ME? WHAT U DID WAS WORSE! AWFUL AND SELFISH”
I couldn’t get a sentence out. She was crying, I was crying. I said please let me talk.. she said go ahead and right as I was starting my sentence she told me she wants nothing to do with me, or my kids. To not show up at her wedding or house or else cops will be called. Then blocked me.
I found out she forgot to block me on an app so I messaged her there but then she blocked me there too without reading any.
Yesterday, Friday, I was driving mom to DPS to get her D.L & sis called mom and asked her to put her on speaker. She indirectly was talking to me “Hey mom I think “M” is tryna come up with excuses to not show up, and using the cops as an excuse. She obviously has lots of grudges deep inside towards me bc no way all these feelings came out of nowhere. She is hateful inside.”
She said I have a victim mentality, and need serious mental help and that I knew she was all talk and sisters fight.
I responded: “I’m not used to being yelled at, disowned and blocked casually. Never happened before. Of course I took it seriously.”
Her: “Obviously I will not call the cops on u if u show up. There ya go. I did what I should do & invited u and ur welcomed but it makes no difference to me whether u show up or not bc now I know where I stand. What my “value” is to you. Obviously ur looking for a reason to not talk to me or show up to my wedding. Just know ur welcomed but idc if u come or not.”
I love her very much but my feelings were hurt badly.. She said I am unappreciative and “you know whats going on with me! I have many issues, the wedding, work/school, and just got my period!” then compared herself to my husband who yelled at me last week that “I kiss his a** and excuse him, but me, u dont excuse me and stopped talking to me for two days?”
Me: “that is not true bc my spouse and I didnt talk till he apolog-“
Her: u know that BS
Me: I always excuse yo-
Anywho she said “we will never go back to being close again.” and as a sister I am welcomed to the wedding. I said to her that I am too old to be yelled and screamed at like this, we’re not kids anymore. She said “Shame on u to say that. That’s exactly what a child would say. If you’re so mature you would’ve came and talked to me like an adult and let me know that you’re upset with me.”
Me: “that’s literally what I did and got screamed at and insulted, I gave you spa-”
Her: stop I’m not acknowledging what ur saying and ur not acknowledging what I’m saying so its best to not talk until you can comprehend what I’m saying. For tonight, lay in bed and put yourself in my shoes. Picture everything I’ve done for you and how you’re treating me.”
Me *sobbing: “BUT I ONLY DIDNT TALK TO YOU FOR TWOO DAYYYYSSS I WAS GIVING YOU SPACEEE YOU WERE YELLING ATT MEE. I SAID A COMMENT TO YOU AND YOU DIDNT TALK TO ME FOR TWO WEEKS AND I APOLOGIZED ALMOST EVERY SINGLE DA-“
Her: Yes and then I came over even cried and apologized for cutting you off for two weeks.”
Me: finishing my sentence I EXPRESSED TO YOU HOW YOU HURT MY FEELINGS U BLOCKED ME AND DISOWNED ME.”
Her: “Yes. and I apologize for calling u a gaslighting bi*ch.”
Me: U DIDNT.
Her “I am now! I just said I APOLOGIZE. And look at you I am talking to you all normal and look at you all yelling at me and I’m still cool and calm.”
Me: “ I WASNT YELLIN I AM SOBBING MY VOICE IS CRACKED IM CRYING AND MOM HAS YOU ON SPEAKER AND I AM DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY”
Her: “no u were yelling. Even ask “S” I have u on speaker she hears u right now. You have a victim mentality, bro. Seriously. If this is how u see it then u just got a victim mentality. I’m genuine ur sick u need that checked out thats very serious.” (S is my other sister, here for the wedding)
Me: “Idk maybe I do. All I know is this is how I feel. I’m very hurt.”
Her: “What broke me the most is that I got you a mother’s day present like an idiot and lost a part of my pride unknowingly while ur there upset. What? Ur waiting for me to come kiss ur a**?”
DetailsI said an insulting comment a few months ago. She spotted and I told her its abnormal and that preggos usually spot. I know she’s a virgin, and have no doubts. That’s why I said it is abnormal. She thought I was hinting she was pregnant, yelled at me and said “YOU THINK EVERYONE IS A WHRE LIKE YOU?!” and she didnt talk to me for two weeks. I cried and apologized to her many times at the time, but she was too angry. Which is why I thought in this current situation space would be a good idea because she seemed very angry at me, but I guess I was wrong.
I am losing my mind. I feel so wronged but she says I’m wrong?! She said I do not value or appreciate her bc I didnt let her know I was upset and that I purposely didn’t talk to her for two days? But when I said “it goes both ways! U do not value me u rather disown me and block me over-“
Her: “theres a big difference between u and me. I did a lot for u. We’re not the same.” Her: “go trauma bond with your husband over what I did and disrespect me together. Isn’t trauma bond the reason y’all together? You’re welcome”
WHAAAAT?!! HOW CAN I DISRESPECT MY SIS OR ALLOW MY HUSBAND TO DISRESPECT HER?!!
She was very angry that she bought me a mothers day present and said if she had known I was upset she wouldn’t have gotten me a teddy. I said “u didn’t know bc I’m the one that got yelled at..” she shut me up basically and said I am sick in the head and love to be a victim.. I’m so frustrated.
What should I do? I am very hurt but also don’t want to make it a bigger deal by not showing up. I felt like dirt.. I’m not a punching bag.. she doesnt yell at me often. Just this week.. Last week she yelled at me for parking her car wrong and I apologized then texted her and apologized some more bc she was furious and then she said its ok that she was just hungry… How is it my fault she’s hungry?
Do I show up to the wedding? Do I let our relationship die and just be casual sisters? Do I apologize to her for overreacting?
P.s. all the dashes are her cutting me off.
I wish it allowed me to upload screenshots of what I texted her

Please don’t come for me!! I’m a big fan and collect all her books and will always read them. Please don’t tell me “just don’t read them” the books were very comforting to me at a time I needed them but that doesn’t mean I can’t be open to discussion about her recent work and how her new direction or perhaps rush to put out books might be affecting quality.
I’m part of her Facebook group as well; which is strictly a fan page.
Spoilers ahead !
Here goes:
I guess I expected Sloane to be a character who looked like Bridget but with the personality of Jules. Instead she behaved exactly like Allesandra, Isabel and Vivian. Speaking of Bridget, the Queen was more icy than Sloan (the series' designated Ice Queen) and she was supposed to be Rhy's sunny counterpart. We were constantly TOLD how icy and emotionless she was and never really shown it. Instead, we find out she's actually insecure and has a lot of issues, which yes is realistic to how Ice Queens typically form their avoidant personalities, but it would have been great to see a few chapters of her being icy before we peel the layers and find out why she puts up these icy walls.
If the book was supposed to be about how she’s NOT the ice queen people think she is…that wasn’t exactly shown either. She does admit it herself that she is icy, just hates that she is and hates being called that.
Xavier is the Jojo Siwa of bad boys. He was a bad boy, he did some bad things. The things that made him Colombia’s biggest bad boy with a bad boy reputation known all over the word: Parties with other rich kids, spends his wealthy father’s money, refuses to behave at publicity events like galas, refuses to inherit his family’s company, gets into shenanigans that land him in a night in jail with other rich kids, got a tattoo of his family rival’ crest….this one’s more stupid than “sticking it to his family”, slept around with whether model/It Girl was around. In the words of Phoebe Buffay “Okay, who hasn’t?!” Even Jules, Ava and Stella have landed themselves in jail after some shenanigan gone wrong. It’s clear that despite being a “spicy” book, AH created a Disney character version of a bad boy.
I feel like Ana forgot how to write from the male's POV after the Twisted series ended. The point of the dual POV is that you feel like you're reading two different people's POV, and honestly it all just blends together. I think Josh's book (Twisted Hate) was the best example of a male's perspective and thoughts/dialogue that a guy in that situation would be saying.
I noticed since King of Greed at least, these Alpha males have been carrying dialogue that mention the most ridiculous things that "Alpha billionaire" males wouldn't even notice. Example: In King of Greed, when Dominic makes a comment about the expression a Chinese food delivery person makes when he realizes he just dropped off a ton of food for two people.....I think that was an Ana Huang thought, not a Domenic thought. While we’re at it, Domenic was just as bad a Xavier…. Dante was the last good “Alpha” she wrote and Kai was such a different character (modeled clearly after the lead in Crazy Rich Asians) that he was hard to mess up ..
The Spanish in King of Sloth was important given the character's background, but felt like it was written with Google Translate. It felt very formal and boring, and doesn't feel like a Spanish-language consultant was brought in to make sure the random sentences and random Spanish words made sense. It was giving the same energy as the Netflix original shows that are set in Los Angeles neighborhoods and the writer's idea of Spanglish is sprinkling random Spanish words into English sentences. There was a little Spanish dialogue in Twisted Games that was way less cringier- maybe because the Spanish was in full sentences and then translated right after….. Latino English speaking people don’t add random “Tios” or “hermano” to their sentences. Look up @Leogonzall “how Latinos talk in movies” videos to see a visual representation of how the Spanish dialogue in these books feel.
Neither Xavier or Sloane had to work very hard to get together. We've seen small bits and pieces of how Sloan is essentially his babysittePR person and he's a chaotic playboy and I get the
Some random things that appear in every single book: - "A thought niggling......" - A table groaning under the weight of food - The first kiss consists of the male's mouth "crashing" into the female's - Every single female character has parental and sibling issues of some sort. - Every male character has parental/abusive parents of some sort. I'm beginning to feel like AH cannot write complex characters that don't rely solely on parental drama, as relatable as it can be...not counting her "If Love..." series, we've seen this 7 times in a row, for EACH main character. - Ana Huang writes parents and siblings the way Amy Sherman-Palladino writes children in Gilmore Girls, just very one-dimensional and for the plot. - Except for Isabel's good relationship with one of her brothers, Alessandra (and Ava and Josh) every female character has severe sibling drama, usually a case where their sibling is an over-achiever and conforms to their parent's expectations (and that's horrifying because it affects the main character and not because that sibling is also a victim that may have used conformity to survive their abusive parents actions)
Things I wanted to learn more about Sloan other than the same repetitive things over and over - How she started her PR agency and the staff she hires- what a girl boss! We only get a vague background about how she started her agency but nothing about how she built experience prior, and how she managed to build a reputation to become one of the best PR agencies in the world. We just have to take the author's word for it, and there's been so much build-up of Sloan in the three previous books.

• I always imagined Sloane having a luxury apartment in NYC, something completely immaculate and stone-cold like her personality. We hear nothing about her apartment despite so many scenes taking place there.
  
• We didn't get that many scenes of Sloane doing anything by herself…anything she eats or wears or anything. I feel we got more of these smaller details about the heroines in the earlier books.
  
• I think Sloane got the Stella treatment- Both heroines's have been teased since the first book in the series but were a bit lackluster once the book came out. The both have parental and sibling drama….but they do yoga
  

The things I enjoyed about KOS and Ana Huang books in general - The world building in NYC and DC and other countries. - I love the scenes that take place in both DC and NYC - they feel so cosmopolitan but I feel we no longer get smaller details about the weather, street details, etc - we got plenty more of this in Twisted Hate and Twisted Games...even details about it being a misty or cold day, make a huge difference in creating imagery in the reader's mind. - The Valhalla scenes are typically entertaining and beautifully written, it's clear how lovely and gorgeous this country club is. - Any cameos where Alex shows up, are well-written. I think Twisted Love was one of her strongest books, so it makes sense he's one of her strongest characters who is stable and can carry any appearance.

Once you've imported an FBX file into a scene, say a cabin model inside of a forest scene, can you relink the same cabin model FBX and update it inside of the forest scene after you've made some changes?
I ask this because inside of Lumion there is an awesome feature where you can import COLLADA files of your model, make tweaks to your desires in Lumion to materials/add people/vegetation and if you drastically change the model you imported you can simply reimport a COLLADA into the scene and update it immediately whilst preserving the changes you made in Lumion with materials/people/vegetation. This is indispensable for architects and architectural firms, you can be ensured that once you place a model in one month, you can come back several months with heavy revisions and just replace the old COLLADA file with your new ones and everything updates/is preserved. I literally did this thing this week with a school model that I had worked on 6 months ago and I updated/reimported the school model COLLADA to my site model on Lumion and it updated things that changed/kept all of my changes like materials/people/veg in place.
Blender, to my knowledge, has nothing like this. It's an issue for me because I want to import FBX files from architectural programmes like Revit for rendering inside of Blender, and I'm worried that the FBX file I place will be good once and I can't swap it out with a new updated FBX file in the future much in the same way as I could if I had used Lumion. If I do place another FBX file to overwrite the old one, I have to re-do so many tweaks I made in Blender with materials or anything else, it just doesn't overwrite things that were changed and keep everything in position unaltered things like how Lumion can.
For that reason, Blender will always be lacking as a tool for architects in a long-term workflow since it isn't reliable as Lumion to easily update files. If Blender overcame this, of course it would become a titan and strong arguments for its usage in firms can be made finally. Until then, it's only good for specific points, not over the course of a long period of time. This is obviously a problem because Blender is amazing, you have so much available to you in terms of achieving advanced ArchViz work done compared to Lumion. I know some ArchViz guys get contracts to just to visuals for a specific end-specific project, and Blender can easily be deployed since these guys don't have to worry about receiving a new heavily revised model. I work on projects over the course of months/years so I'm constantly updating my ArchViz projects with new models and outputting visuals weekly/monthly, different needs.
What would be a solution to possibly overcome there this? Is there something like this available in Blender that could help architects?

So, a few months back, I posted the outline to my King in Yellow inspired Strixhaven campaign. Eight months and 20ish sessions later, we are finishing our First Year and SO much has happened. I am really happy with how things have fallen into place, and surprised even by how poetic some accidental events were. So, in these 22 sessions since I last updated, my players started to make friends with different groups of students, and really feel like they belonged here in Strixhaven. They have developed their own plans for their school years, and what they want to study. Meanwhile, bad things were happening. After investigating the mimic attack at the Biblioplex, they found out that the librarian who was on duty that day had disappeared. They searched for her, and searched for the origin of the Eldritch balm. They discovered that everything was being shipped from the Radiant Citadel (my campaign takes place there) into central Campus, specifically into a place known as the Tower of the Circle of Eight (Mordekainen and friends). There they found the lost librarian, being possessed by a mindflayer brain parasite. They tried to save her but ended up having a boss fight with a mind flayer. After that, things cooled down for a bit, and they pursued their own plot lines for a bit: my tiefling sorcerer got kidnapped by religious freaks hell-bent on using his magic blood to purify the world and they had to rescue him. They went on a two session trip to the Feywild, were they witnessed the War of the Seasons and found out what had happened to the other grimalkin (the race of my cat-like warlock). They robbed the Afterlife casino (from the Keys to the Golden Vault) trying to get the logbooks of the criminal organization that transported the Eldritch balm. Then, they discovered a strange door in the Sedgemoor, locked with an arcane contraption, which (they don't know it yet) holds the laboratory of the secret villain of the arc: Mavinda Sharpbeak. The last two sessions were really intense as well, because it started with them following some clues from their backgrounds (to keep it short: one of their mentors had assisted Strixhaven and gave them a list of people they could visit and talk to, and one of them had been murdered. So they investigated the murder) and ended up right up in the midst of the Cult of the Eldritch Eye (the Vecna adventure that just came out) having to fight the cultists and save one of their own from being taken as a thrall. Today we have our next session, which will be all about the End of the Year fair and the School Play (which, of course, will be a small reprised version of the King in Yellow play) while they have to heist the key to that door from Captain Dapple wing's manor AND give an end of the year presentation. All in all, really fun stuff.

Me and this girl from my childhood have been in contact since 2021. We stopped talking for around a year, but recently I contacted her again.
We always had a loose way of communicating, sometimes once a day, sometimes once every few days, sometimes more often.I would consider her one of my best friends however once when she was ranting she claimed only one girl is her friend(bear in mind in polish a friend is reserved for a deep friendship, we more often use acquaintances).But we always were very open with eachother, talking about our problems and feelings which to me always means a deeper connection, even platonically.
In middle school she had feelings for me but I rejected her quite harshly because I had another love interest at that time. I did apologise to her when we started talking again and she claims it's fine but she also claims that she remembers everything someone did to her. Which makes me feel worried she still has a grudge. However it's important since I feel I'm having a déjà vu with how she is behaving recently. Trying to make a move on me perhaps
Now I always thought of her as attractive , but during all this time we spoke I had a GF. But we broke up almost a year ago and I feel I recently healed this wound and I started seeing her as a romantic interest even more than before.
Recently our chats became more alive, I have noticed a shift in her behaviour, we talk for hours everyday, talk on the phone sometimes and the conversation never seems to end. She is very interested in my perspective on things and about me in general and vice versa, if the convo has a dead end she carries it further, some gentle compliments and remarks about what she finds attractive on men which is often similar to how I look. We support eachother etc.
We share a lot of similar views and interests but I'm very confused. Her behaviour makes me feel this is some emotional bond forming but I'm really not sure anymore. I would like to get closer to her but I don't want to make it awkward.
We can't really meet up right now as both of us are away, even then I don't want to get pushy as I have loosely proposed we meet up one day but never got a solid response, I do suspect she might be nervous cus she has some self esteem issues about her looks and we haven't seen eachother in ten years.
What are the obvious signs to look for when transitioning from a friendship to a more romantic interest? How can I tell she is interested in more than friends and it's not one sided?

Colovia long been a vital component of the Empire, its mineral riches and hardy people, ideally suited to serve in the Legions, complementing the Niben's vast agricultural output and advanced wizardry. This is for these very reasons that, during the Second Great War, the Aldmeri focused their initial assault on the region. But the devastation brought on by the fierce fighting would pale in comparison to the ravages brought on by the Silver Plague, often carried there from far-off lands by unsuspecting human Legionnaire or Elven soldiers. As a result the region suffered the highest death toll of the epidemic, with estimates ranging from three fourths to five sixths of the population dying. Ghastly tales abound of cohorts coming to the defense of specific settlements only to find them inhabited only by corpses showing the infamous pale sheen that gave the disease its name. In order to survive, the people fled towns and cities to the relative isolation of the countryside. While some gathered to the ancient Wayshrines of the Divines whose blessings seem to offer some amount of protection (in particular those dedicated to Arkay near Skingrad and Kvatch), most turned to banditry with a crueltry born of desperation. This period of lawlessness, colloquially known as "The Days of Lean Wolves", crippled any attempt at centralized governments and even today, almost two hundred years later, the Colovian city-states can only reliably control their close surroundings.
The largest and most powerful city of Colovia is Chorrol. Of all the kingdoms of the region it is the one who has changed the least from the days of the Empire. Indeed, Chorrol fancies herself the leader of reborn "Colovian Estates" and a rival of Cheydinhal for the legacy of the Empire of Cyrodiil, to the point that her monarchs have eschewed the title of king in favor of that of Archduke of Colovia. The greatest pride of the Chorrolinas is the Great Chapel of Stendarr, which has been continously expanded in size to serve as fortress to the Knightly Order of the Crusaders of Stendarr, which has swelled to numbers not seen since the Interregnum of the Second Era. More academically-minded visitors will no doubt seek the College of Whispers, seated in the Great Oak Plaza and whose advances in enchanting, though religiously controversial, have done wonders for the economy of the city, which relies mainly on lumber, tin and copper.
The second most powerful city in the region, and Chorrol's main rival, is Skingrad, the City of Julianos. During the First Great War, the city's count was revealed by the invading Elves to have been an undying vampire, Janus Hassildor, who had ruled the county continously since the late Third Era through intermediaries and passing himself as his own descendants. While he was saved in extremis from death by sunlight exposure in public by faithful servants, the visible toll the punishment had taken on him had made his nature undeniable and following the White-Gold Concordate, Titus II saw fit to name General Jonna Countess of Skingrad, as reward for her service during the Great War. Unfortunately for the people of the City, their new Nordic Countess was a soldier through and through and her main concern was preparing for the coming second conflict with the Dominion, all other matters be damned, and she became widely unpopular. Nonetheless, when the city found herself to be among the first urban center hit by the Sivler Plague just as an Aldmeri army marched on, Conutess Jonna recognized the impossibility of holding under siege and ordered the entire city to be evacuated while she lead her troops into a sacrificial charge against the Elves. It is perhaps then unsurprising that when Janus Hassildor made himself known again, his former subjects flocked to the one who they associated with their former Golden age. King Janus now openly rules the City as a vampire, a condition shared by several of his courtiers, though he insists that they only feed on those criminals sentenced to death and willing donors (indeed it is rumored to be a way of quick advancement within the Vampire King's court). Despite the best efforts of "the wine capital of Cyrodiil", this state of affair casts a gloomy image on the city, something not helped by the persistent rumors that the ghosts of the Elven army, who allegedly all died of the plague less than a day after taking the city, haunt the streets at night.
While her leadership has traditionally belogned to the Crown party of Redguards, descended from the Totambu aristocracy of Yokuda, the common people of Elinhir have always mingled with their Cyrodiilic neighbors to the East and adopted many trappings of their culture, to the point the city is now considered a part of Colovia rather than Hammerfell by her people, something that the Yokedate to the South-West objects to in the strongest possible way. As such, it is perhaps unsuprising that when the city's nobility fell victim to the plague, the Elinhirri turned to the Blackcasters, the ancient order of wizards who gave the "City of Mages" its epithet. While their remedies where only mildly effective in combatting the Plague, their potent destruction magic proved invaluable in defending the city against its various enemies. As a result the Elinhirri are now ruled by a concil of six Archmagisters, each specializing in one of the Schools of Magic, who serve for life (after which their surviving colleagues pick their replacement from the order's most talented wizards). Should the council be tied, a, elected representative of the common people, the Speaker, whose role is otherwise purely advisory, is allowed a deciding vote.
During the Interwar Period, the ancient city of Sutch, which had become nothing more than a ruin occupied by bandits was re-fortified to defend against and invasion from Valenwood. The old Great Chapel of Kynareth was rebuilt and commoners moved from the Highlands to support the Garrison. While it was undeniably fought over fiercely, it is unknown which side (if any) came on top as the belligerants were decimated byt the plague and all corpses found inside were burned by the town's new masters. Indeed when the Plague had abated and people moved to re-settle the city, they found it already inhabited, by goblins. Several tribes had come under the leadership of a particularly cunning warlord and taken the fortress as their own. As the humans prepared to make war, to free their homeland, the Primate of Kynareth, Andreas Jarrol, brokered a peaceful solution to the conflict, allowing humans and goblin-ken to co-exist as he spread the the teachings of Kynareth to the primitives, today the city is still lead by Goddess' Primate. Sutch remains the smallest of city states of Colovia, but it profits immensely from trade with nearby Anvil and the Freehold Republic.
Kvatch was long a successful example of a city re-ermerging from the Days of the Lean Wolves as the ruling monarchs took advantage of Bsomeri refugees fleeing the chaos of Valenwood to bolster their economy and even found satellite cities. Unfortunately a fringe movement of Ayleid Revivalists successfully overthrew them and created a "New Ayeleid Imperium" which spread over Valenwood, leaving the city a client state of Silvenar. Furthermore the Chantry of Akatosh was made to incorporate ever more elements of Almderi/Ayleid religion, now even referring to the Time God as Auri-El and open worship of the Daedric Prince Meridia. Despite this state of affair, many Kvatchians have kept ties with Colovia and a small but growing Akatoshic movement gathers regularly at the Wayshrine of Akatosh near the City.
The final city of note to mention is Sancre Tor, the Craddle of Empires. The Golden Hill had been abandonned and considred cursed since the days of Tiber Septim but in 4E 266, the many minotaur tribes of Cyrodiil congregated towards Sancre Tor, at the behest of the Cow-Queen Ahrzum, who had received a vision of her distant ancestor Morihaus, and proceeeded to rebuild the city with amazing speed. This was initially witnessed with worry by the neigbouring towns and the city of Chorrol in particular who clashed several times with the Manbeasts as they foraged for supplies. But in 4E 320, the largest nomad horde yet seen moved through the region, and both cities allied together to repel them, this alliance was followed by a trade deal, and soon enough the Kingdom of Sancre Tor became a recognized polity of Cyrodiil. It has even become a major pilgrimage site as people come to pray on the spots where Alessia, Reman and Tiber were granted the Amulet of Kings. The Minotaurs have allowed this although they keep their own religion, whose major figures are the Heavenly Bull, Morihaus, his mother the Storm, his wife Alessia and her father Shezarr.
As explained above, these cities only control a fraction of the region and many villages and small towns are de facto independent, while large stretches of lands remain unclaimed, their mineral and agricultural wealths dormant. However this sorry state of affairs is soon to be a thing of the past as the East Empire Company has vastly invested in the revalorisation of the region by re-establishing ancient roads (made secure by Company security forces trained by Legion veterans), connecting isolated villages, and sponsoring indepedent settlers. Colovia shall soon enough once more be a beacon of civilization for the rest of Tamriel!
Yzmul gra-Maluk: by "connecting villages" and "sponsoring settlers" they mean using predatory loans to trap them in debt and use them as cheap labor, at least until they can get undead to do it for even less. They are entire tracks of lands where the EEC might as well be the government. Makes sense, the Potentate's got some restrictions about how bad you can treat your people and that's already too much for the EEC fatcats. Also, most people I've talked to in Kvatch don't seem to mind having Bosmer, sorry Ayleid, rulers instead of humans. And the goblins of Sutch are on equal footing with the Colovians there, hell, it's their connection with the goblins of the Freehold that made trade possible.

F21
I have to share because it's so surreal.
I've been dating this guy for some time (~6ish months) and everything was going fine. For context, we began our relationship shortly after I ended a 2-year commitment with someone else and even told this guy (let's call him John) I wasn't ready for a new relationship- but accepted to be with him anyway, because I never learned how to be alone. Our plan was to break up in July, since I am moving for college and he will be moving to Estonia for school as well (Euro-wannabe spoiler).
Along the time of our relationship I realized John and I had almost nothing in common, particularly regarding our beliefs. I am F21, non-religious, pro-choice, lgbtq and just generally open minded. He was raised catholic and maintained his faith, wore crosses, and would pray before every meal. He was also a European wannabe, talking about Europe all the time and telling stories of his many trips (coming from a wealthy family, he's done some traveling). I didn't mind these things, but knew he was not the person for me.
Fast forward to last week. Because of life circumstances, about a year ago I ended up living in a 2Bed 1 Bath with a good friend of mine that is in his 30s, a friend whom I had known for a couple years before living together. He was the ideal roommate and friend, very clean, organized, honest. Totally platonic. We got along great, and he and John became friendly as well. About a month ago, my roommate decided he was going to do a seasonal job for the summer- and he was leaving in exactly one month. I was quite sad to find this out, but since I am moving for college in the fall I understood he just needed a head start. During that last month of him being here we made it a point to hang out, finish the TV series we had been watching, and just enjoy each other's company.
6 days before he left, we hugged goodnight for a little too long and it quickly turned into us hooking up that night. I will pause here to be a total hedonist. The sex was amazing.
We continued to have sex until he left. During this time I saw John once but didn't have sex with him, and lied about the whole thing (hiding is lying, right?). Anyway, my roommate and I continued because it was too good not to, and it seemed like a good way to end an era. On the last night, he mentioned something about the situation being unusual and said "I feel like a hypocrite, because I respect your game... but I also hate it"
That should have tipped me off, now that I think of it.
My roommate drove away one morning, with all his belongings in his car and a kiss on the lips. I had John over that evening, since it had been a while since last we saw each other. We smoked, watched tv, cooked, talked. We did all the things. Slept on the bed, which he routinely sweat on/theough the sheets. Got up at... you guessed it! 5am. John works at a grocery store and starts early. And the first thing he says to me is: "Hey babe? Your roommate texted me. He says you cheated on me."
I am guilty. I checked my texts, and sure enough my roommate had texted me that he couldn't believe just 8 hours after he left I needed to be with "someone I didn't even like" and that he was temped to tell John so that he would stop wasting his time. And he did.
I want to acknowledge that John is a good guy, be it as it may, and he did not get physically or verbally abusive at all. Coming from abusive relationships, that was a shock and made me feel even worse. On one side, I know that what John and I had happened to work for the both of us (he doesn't have a car, so I gave him rides to places, and he wanted company, which I also did) but I also know telling him right away would have been a better choice than hiding my actions.

Growing up I always had many friends. I was the type to be friends with the "popular" people and the "nerds." I was raised to treat the janitor with the same respect as the principle. My reputation speaks for itself, when asked from anyone in any chapter of my life. I got recruited on a soccer scholarship and gradated with my bachelor's degree in Chemistry. During these times I lived in a very popular city that was nonstop action, from boats, yachts, big name music events, music festivals, just 100% entertainment year-round.
A very expensive city, yet when you know how to network and socialize, the "expensive" city becomes literally free. As a male this is no common feat. But good things happen to good people, and I enjoyed every bit of it. So much so I was thinking of going back to school for hospitality, but I find being a chemist and working in this biotech/pharma industry helping people is much more my style.
That being said, working in the lab for 8+ years I could no longer expand on any knowledge, I was working so many side projects including micro testing and supervising the second shift to closing time with the few remainder chemists and microbiologists.
I know my salary was capped, and I was going to get a master's they would pay for but even then, the salary is lower for what I am reaching for. And as an extrovert I was not enjoying lab 40+ hours a week.
Which is why I had to make a move. I had an interview, and was accepted in flying colors, at another company as a pharmaceutical sales rep. I loved it because it was during covid, and I was able to be the first to find or debunk certain medications being push out on the news. What I wasn't too fond about was being forced to charge urgent life-saving medications sometimes way over 10-30x the actual price. (Yes, insurances pay a certain amount) I understand business especially when it comes to supply and demand. Other than that, I absolute enjoyed how receptive every client was to me, especially compared to my other sales reps (that did not have a chemist background). Creating these bonds with the top players in this pharmaceutical game is so much fun for me.
At the end of my time at the pharma wholesale distribution company, I realized I was never going to reach the goals they implied I could achieve (based on their payment structure.)
So as much I loved what I was doing, I felt I need a change.
I decided working at a CBD Inc., Alternate Products Health and Wellness company. As a sales rep/business development manager. The B2B sells was a different, more relaxed atmosphere and I was in charge to set up and manage one of the biggest booths offered, every time. We found out the bigger the booth at the tradeshows and conventions, the more attention, relationships, and ultimately more sales.
The market is so saturated and really difficult to make the right moves. However, I made sure before joining the team about provided the proper testing, ensure extraction methods were properly done, strategize on the newest strain coming out next etc... and of course representing the company as the most outspoken, well educated, and so respectful. Enough to leave a lasting impression. The trade shows for alternative health and wellness can bring a much different crowed with so many people with the same mindset, a lot more laidback and fun that's for sure. But I also have a lot of fun in the more professional settings as well.
However, my plan was to go into this Health Wellness industry, because yeah it was fun and I did really well as expected, but again the money wasn't where it needed to be. I am passionate about the future of medication. I've been researching every night and day since I was very young, just so I know what's new, what works, what doesn't work, which really intrigues me a lot, some would say it is my passion. So now I am stuck, frozen, and need to start making real money asap. The direction I've been applying for is to support and play a big role throughout the years in the psychedelic side of the industry. Don't necessarily want to get back in a lab after as I worked so hard finally to get outside, network, have a reason to hustle, create bonds and friends with other like-minded people.
I want to get back inro the world as the business development manager. Maybe even something similar. Am I doing anything wrong? Looking in the wrong places? What can I do differently? I am very receptive with constructive criticism so don't hold back! Gotta learn somehow. A perk of working my dream job in psychedelics is when one day I'll able to tell these stories to my grandkids. Showing how I dedicated my life to help positively change the medical industry! (Without going to jail for 50 years like chemists in the past)😒
In all seriousness, I need to make the money asap, and I need to create my own impact in the psychedelic space, which I have been waiting since real young. Due to the drug prohibition, we as a society, have lost many decades of research on psychedelics. We have to catch up.
Being a chemist isn't enough money, but to get my feet in the door I might do it. Business Development Management, Psychedelic Clinic Sales Consultant, Psychedelic Product Sales, Business Consultant, might be a good place to start.
Also I might just start an LLC and work contract jobs in the space or something? IDK it's late Plz. Help Thank I love you guys. ______________________________________________________________________________________
TLDR: Worked as a Chemist, As a Pharm Sales Rep, As a Business Development Manager for CBD Alt Meds company, and NEEDING To get in the Business Side of the Psychedelic industry. Gracias Amigos.

I've been fapping for almost 5 years and every single time that i relapsed i felt that im the most disgusting human alive . yesterday i saw one of my friends that we used to be buddy's .he was with his gf and when i saw him i was speechless. he was handsome and just casually looking like a REAL man . i wasn't even seeing myself close to his level to go and talk to him . today i actually got to talk to him . it was obvious that he has the manly energy and just overall being successful in life . i just can't get it. we used to go to same school same habbit same street we used to live in and now he's 100 times better than me . and the saddest part is i was aware of him being addicted to porn ( he knew that im fapping too ) before he leaves the neighbourhood for studying . in our conversation he actually mentioned how he became successful ( not directly to how he quitted porn but the things that he was saying were actually some porn quitting stuff ) . he said that after he moved he started new habbits such as reading book , gym, meditation, cold shower, studying hard and the most important he decreased the time being on phone ( that's the reason we weren't in touch anymore after he left ) . he talked about meditation a lot . he said that the meditation actually was the power of making him do all the stuff that i mentioned . all i got from our conversation is not being on phone actually make you overall a better person and if you just think about it for a sec if you dont use phone you just dont have to source for masturbating . im not saying stop using phone ( its impossible ) but saying decrease the time being on phone . after our conversation i cried for almost an hour . i really cant take being a porn addict anymore. not being a porn addict make people grow and i desperately want to quit who i am currently ( fapping at least 4 times a day ) . i wish you guys the best on this hard journey.

I was once very close like siblings to my best friend that well call Danny for a couple of decades, both of us early 30s. But when it came time to get married during the start of COVID (April 2020) instead of telling me in person or over the phone I wasn't invited to the wedding he sent a message on Facebook that my groomsmen gifts would be on the porch to pick up and maybe I could watch on socials. This shocked me because it was known that the wedding would be downsized and done at the home, but myself and a few other people were expected to still be there as of a couple days prior. There was a very minor chance I potentially had Covid which was the reason given, but that was 2 weeks prior and neither myself or our other friend involved in the ceremony totally bought it.
i told him that I felt like I was getting broken up with via text, asked why he couldn't have talked outside but a distance apart like adults. I'm not just anybody, I'm their oldest friend, they were my best man at my wedding, and I was helping with theirs. I got yelled at and disregarded, simply for asking why he couldn't have done it face to face. I decided to just stop talking at that point, I was pissed an d felt a little betrayed. Our other friend played middle man for weeks and eventually got us to meet. Then I found out that apparently because I got engaged shortly after him (a few weeks) he started to think I was copying him. Why is beyond me, as my relationship with my wife is one that everyone in our friend group and everyone we know claims is one of the strongest they've seen. Everyone had a blast at our wedding, thought it was beautiful and fun and the best they had been to (still get told this).
Our engagements had been 2 years prior, and he let this thought just fester the entire time. He can be a very paranoid person and quick to anger, so this didn't totally shock me. It lead to him thinking I was doing things only because he was, I was growing distant from our friend group (I wasn't he stopped inviting me),and changed attitude that apparently only he saw. I apologized for a few things I did he had issues with (that even the friend present agreed were minor) but he only apologized for his tone when I got pissed with him initially. Never said why he didn't bring anything up and acted very self righteous the whole time. His wife was there too and was in the background like the most ratchet cheerleader I've ever seen, chiming in every now and then with some white trash remark or sound.
I basically came to the conclusion that his paranoia and those around him (the wife and his family who are similar) were causing him to change drastically for the worst, and he seemed to legitimately believe my relationship was only moving towards marriage because his was. It didn't seem like we got anywhere, and he refused to apologize for anything aside from the tone he took. So at that point I decided I needed to just end things and step away from that friendship. It's been almost 4 years now, and he's never tried reaching back out. Last I heard the two of them divorced after she had a kid with him, which some saw coming a mile away. But I sometimes still wonder if I was the asshole for how I handled it and just abandoning him after decades of friendship. So am I the asshole?

TL:DR: I’m 17, applying to part time jobs for over a year and nothing is working because nowhere wants an introvert with social anxiety. Are there any jobs I can get which involve independent work?
(ENGLAND/UK-BASED)
I’m currently 17, been applying to jobs for over a year with no luck. I’m stressing because I turn 18 in November and I really need to get a job before then. I’ve done all of the suggestions: tailoring my CV, handing cvs out in person, targeting small businesses and supermarkets etc. and still nothing.
I currently volunteer at the BHF and have done since March because I wanted to improve my social skills and confidence (and get work experience to look like a better candidate) but it feels like I started out well with pushing myself in social situations, but now I’m back to my usual self: I feel so awkward pricing stock on my own and have to constantly ask what to price it as, I need mental scripts gained from observation of every little detail, and i suck at communication too.
I have social anxiety and im currently being assessed for ASD. Are there any jobs I could get which involve as little face-to-face interactions as possible? Something where I could sit at a desk and complete assigned tasks is preferable as I excel in doing this. I’m great at individual work, hard working and I’m motivated and this is reflected in school grades. But it’s team/interaction-based roles that are my weakness.
Are there any jobs I can get into at entry level (with no experience and at 17 yo) where I can complete individual work, preferably just being given tasks to do at a desk on my own? No job wants an introvert with social anxiety and regardless of how much I try to fake being extroverted and outgoing, it always comes out during trial shifts or training.
(Apprenticeships aren’t an option until I’m out of college next year in May - I just need a weekend job on the side of college)
I’d appreciate any help. x

my (f21) brother’s (m24) girlfriend (let’s call her S) has been living with us for over a year now. my family let S move in with us because she claimed she wanted to focus on school instead of making money to pay rent at her moms house. my mom has regretted letting S stay with us since. ever since S moved in, she has never made any effort to speak to anyone in the house. S will walk in the house, pass everyone in the living room and ignore them. i have tried to greet her but it’s hard when she ignores me completely to the point where she doesn’t even look at me. we live in an asian household where we value good mannerisms which she hasn’t shown that she has. that is only 1 of the reasons why my family and i don’t like her.
the second one is that S is inconsiderate of my family who lives in the house. she cusses loudly all the time and my mom has asked my brother repeatedly to ask her to watch her language because i have 2 younger siblings. she also gets into many fights with my brother late at night around 2-4 am where it wakes everyone in the family up and i or my mom have even had to get involved. this has happened probably 10+ more times since.
the third is that S has asked my brother to pay for half of a suite for her small business that he has nothing to do with. my brother is obligated to agree with it because he doesn’t want to lose her even though he has a shitty job with shitty pay. he pays/helps pay for her car payments, gas, food, etc. which there’s nothing wrong with except for the fact that he can’t keep up with all these payments and is constantly asking my mom or me for money. it got bad to the point where he had stolen hundreds of dollars from my little sister and i, and had even tried to lie about it when he got caught..
my brother had just quit his job and was in the process of searching for another and had asked my mom for $300 to pay for half of S’s suite payment, which she declined and got extremely upset. my mom overheard S yelling at my brother over the phone to get the money that he didn’t have. this led to my mom telling my brother that she’s using him for money, which S overheard on the phone. mind you, my brother had said this exact sentence during one of their fights, he’s well aware. and i understand it’s their relationship and my brother can do what he wants with his money, but it becomes OUR problem when he’s asking either my mom and i for over $100 a month since he can’t keep up. my mom and brother have not been speaking to each other since.
realizing that my mom has finally had enough, she tells my brother that he and S need to move out because she’s not respectful of the other people in my house. my brother gets angry at my mom and tells her that S doesn’t need to be respectful when my mom disrespected her first and made her cry.. he asked my mom to apologize which she refused to do and my brother called her fucking crazy. after that incident, i overheard S on speakerphone with my brother, actively calling my mom a bitch.. which isn’t okay with me. i immediately told my mom and she was very upset that S could be so disrespectful to the woman who gave her meals to eat, money for food all free, when she didn’t get a single thank you for any of this. apparently my mom had cried over her strained relationship with her son and S’s disrespect of her. my stepdad had learned about this and got extremely upset and told her face to face that she needs to leave.. my stepdad said something along the lines of “you’re going to let S call ur own mom a bitch” to which my brother replied, “yeah i am because she disrespected her first.”
i am not not speaking to my brother anymore because he’s lost all sense of his morals and i also sent S a long text basically telling her she needs to pack her shit and get out because no one likes her and no one wants her living here anymore. i told her that she is indeed a gold digger and she shouldnt cry about what my mom said when it looks like it’s true! she doesn’t even care that my brother is dirt poor so she can be happy! i also asked her how we’re supposed to like her knowing all the times she’s wronged my brother. she ignored my text. S is still here, refusing to leave. i’m upset that my brother is willing to ruin all his family bonds for his extremely toxic relationship with S.
AITAH for texting her that? not sure if i’ve overstepped any boundaries, but im sick of her being here. i guess im just not sure how to proceed from here on out considering she’s ignoring all requests to leave the house. any advice?

Clara Neal, from the richest family in Lokerten, left her family at the age of 18. She then went to school and lived on her own, never returning to her family again. After she got married, she didn't have a happy life. She did her best for her husband but he didn't give a damn about her.
How to read Daddy, Mommy's Getting Remarried Novel by Janie Long : Read Here

So I've been into these systems for three years now, but I've recently come to doubt my whole typology. I'm not going to say what I've been typed as before though, because I'd like to avoid bias. It'd be cool if you tried to type me in other systems as well, such as Enneagram, Socionics, Psychosophy/Attitudinal Psyche, Big 5, Temperaments, Jungian...

1. I'm a very closed off person who needs a lot of time to recharge since people wear me out, but I've been told I come across as a highly energetic, hardworking and overall as an inspiring and determined person. For instance, I always strive for the best, even if that means sacrificing my comfort (like going to one of the best universities in my country even if it's like over 100 km from home and I have to wake up at 5 AM everyday), and I'm always passionate about pursuing something to improve myself, because I'd hate to feel like I'm wasting time lazing around.
   
2. People see me as someone responsible to rely on, they have told me I'm a good listener and understand them well, I give honest advice while also taking into consideration their feelings and reactions (I don't want to come across as offensive and insensitive), and in general I like giving a good impression. I mean, I can't stand fake people, but I still feel it's important to portray yourself in a good light. I think you must treat others the same way you'd like to be treated, that is, with respect (but, of course, if they cross me, I'll act spiteful towards them, since that's what they deserve).
   
3. Despite trying to be reasonable at all times and doing my best not to come across as overly emotional, I'm very anxious and tend to catastrophize, so while it's not usual, when it happens, my outbursts are strong. Then, I feel like trash after it all happens, since I perceive it as me having made a fool of myself. My feelings tend to escalate quickly, and sometimes due to something that it's not THAT important, so it's helpful to have someone slow me down and help me see the big picture. I can also be too straightforward as well, to the point that I sometimes end up being reckless. For example, there has been multiple times where I suddenly felt the urge to insult someone because they did something that offended me; in those cases I fortunately had a friend to shut me up and distract me from it because they know I might not be able to wait until they're out of sight to complain about them.
   
4. While at a distance I might seem intimidating and stern, people close to me see me as innerly soft, sensitive and pretty much a romantic prone to sentimentality. I've always had a hard time with processing emotions, because since I was a kid I've been taught "emotions are for the weak", so I tried to repress them. It wasn't until I discovered my passion for poetry that I finally learned to come into contact with them and understand them without shame. Currently, I feel like I have an easier time expressing myself and I'm not as repelled of my own feelings like I was in the past... Many people have actually told me, to my surprise, that my face is amusingly expressive, like I'm transparent even if I try my best to hide myself from the world. That said, I communicate my feelings through poems, so while I'd like the other person to take the initiative in this regard, I'll try to reciprocate it my way.
   
5. However, I can also be quite passive and insecure when I feel oppressed and vulnerable in my environment (I feel like the whole world is against me in such circumstances), so I tend to walk on eggshells most of the time just in case. I'd say I'm mostly awkward, and I never know how to interact with my surroundings properly. If I've done it well, it's likely that I've just been lucky. This has led me to be isolated most of my life, and despite the fact that I currently have some connections with people, I feel like it's still not enough. I'm very private, secretive, and harbour trust issues; but I also crave intense connection with people I've taken a liking to (after a long time assessing if they're trustful enough for me to grow attached to them, since I place a lot of value on loyalty and suffer a lot when those close to me suddenly disappear from my life). I'm really compassionate with others, so some people have taken advantage of my kindness to then stab me in the back when I least expected it, which has made me become outwardly distant and unapproachable through the years (when the truth is that I'm just terrified of people). I've always had this impulse to help and protect those in need when they couldn't stand up for themselves, so it's curious how much compassion I could feel for others when I couldn't feel it for myself. Anyway, I still hold those around me to high standards, which I apply to myself as well.
   
6. On the other hand, I place a lot of value to my appearance too. Like poetry, my own style is a way to express who I am as a person, and I can't understand nor find myself attracted to people who don't care at all regarding this part of themselves... It's as if they're neglecting one of the most important ways to make themselves appealing to both themselves and others. For me, it's also a way to feel better about myself, since the attractiveness and health of the body is just as important as that of the mind.
   
7. Now, I suck at everything related to numbers or economics. They're so boring and uninteresting to me that my brain shuts down when something related to it comes up (I already suffer enough in law school whenever I'm forced to do subjects involving financial law or the like). I've always been more drawn to humanitarian subjects like languages, literature...
   
8. I'm highly impatient (I get easily frustrated when something doesn't go my way like "it's supposed to", and I can grow envious and resentful towards someone that did it better than me), irritable (I'm peaceful until something or someone crosses me), and pessimistic (if something remotely bad happens, then that means it's all doomed to fail). I can be intolerant as well, easily despising someone others might be indifferent to, and I've been told to be impulsive too when I fail to guard myself from what makes me react aggressively either to others or myself. In addition, I cannot deal with people that are too aloof to descifer, like it's obvious they're keeping something from me, but they will lie and tell me "it's okay" while it's obvious that it's not, and their facial expressions are so dull that I won't even be able to extract the minimum out of them. In such circumstances I might flare up to try to get them out of their shell in order to know whatever they're hiding away from me; but that typically ends up driving them away from me further (which pisses me off to no end). I like straightforward people who are not cowards and will make things clear from the beginning, even if it hurts.
   
9. Regarding my mannerisms, they're mostly stiff, instead of smooth or soft. As I said, I come across as energetic even if I slept 4 hours that day, I walk and talk VERY quickly (people who speak and move slowly get on my nerves), and I can be very expressive and loud if I'm feeling comfortable enough with the person I'm with (I can even look extroverted next to my quieter friends). I also don't have any shame at all when it comes to myself; I can talk about anything weird or rant about my nerdy interests and creepy fixations to the point of becoming obnoxious without giving a damn about the reaction of the other person. I may even enjoy making the other person embarrassed and teasing them, since it's hilarious. Fortunately, I'm good at eliciting interest in others, so oftentimes I can drag them into the abyss of my obsessions and teach them all about it.
   
10. Aside from poetry, my other interests are varied. For instance, I also love reading old books, writing stories, creating original characters and researching whichever area of interest I'm into at the moment. I like to maintain an active lifestyle too. In the future, I strive to become financially successful (that's why I'm in a career that is going to bring me a lot of opportunities), independent, and travel and learn as much as I can to improve both myself and my talents. I'm overall a very individualistic person, but I'd like to meet more people who align with my values as well; without at least someone by my side with whom I can share myself I become depressed.
    

I'd appreciate it if someone is willing to try to type me via chat too, if that's more comfortable for you.