Guys I can’t believe I watched most of Gypsy and Nick’s interrogation for the first time. I don’t know how I got through her’s, but both were quite interesting and telling. They were NIGHT AND DAY differences in Gypsy’s understanding and intelligence and Nick’s.
I’m just going off of memory so correct me or jump in and add details to discuss:
Gypsy: 1) They gave her a comfy sofa, pillow/stuffed animal, blanket. She was super polite to the officers and kept saying “thank you sir.” She made random small talk with them about movies and shows she was interested in. Idk how girlie kept it together knowing her mom was DEAD. I truly believe she felt her superficial charm and southern politeness would get her out of there and she’d “get it over with/behind them.” (something Nick said in his interrogation about her.) 2) At one point she says how people look at her in handcuffs and says, “I didn’t kill nobody, I don’t smoke, do drugs, drink. I didn’t do nothing! I’m a good girl.” Which seems like a normal sentence, but the way she said it you could tell she was trying to convey that SHE didn’t belong. She’s worried about how she appears to others. 3) She lies a LOT starting with her age. 4) She keeps saying she doesn’t know why she’s there 5) Once the detective says the mom is dead, she puts on a performance of shock and feigns concern. She is like omg did she have a heart attack? She has health issues. Omg don’t tell me it was suicide!!! She had bipolar disorder. Girl, WHAT?! 6) She doesn’t give up any information until the officer mentions Nick and he knows Nick did it. He still pushes her to answer “why.” She finally is like “he didn’t get along with my mom.” She didn’t let them be together, and “that’s why Nick hated her.” (Noting: no mention of abuse. She basically says it was to be with Nick, which Nick also says in his reason why.) 7) I skipped a lot and saw how she listens under the door. 8) the detective gives her MANY chances to come clean and basically in the end he says she might face murder charges and girly pop is SHOOK. He tells her he knows she pulled the strings and she is soooo offended and keeps denying. She cries some more and yells out “I want a lawyer, sir!” 9) They give her time to put her boots on and take her away in handcuffs.
Nick: 1) He hasn’t slept in however many hours they were detained. He said he was worried about Gypsy the whole time meanwhile his princess is taking naps on a comfy couch. I don’t know how long they had them there, but he’s handcuffed and has a desk and a chair. That’s about it. 2) They do both get the same food, but Nick didn’t eat it since he ate something before and he was worried sick about Gypsy. The way Nick starts describing it was my first hint that he may be a bit more “different” (intellectually) than Gypsy. He says something like “They’re called ham sandwiches. Sometimes they make those with Mayo.” 3) He doesn’t know what coercion means. He says it’s punishment and the officer says “yes, like trickery“ while reading him his Miranda rights. He clearly should’ve had a lawyer present during this. 4) He gives the clean version of events that she was kicked out of her home and they ran away together. 5) The officer clearly knows this guy loves her more than she loves him. She says “Gypsy told us everything and you’re not saying it. I know you love Gypsy but don’t put her in that difficult position.” So this is when Nick goes into detail about everything, at least his version of events. He talks about the events leading up to, during, and after. He says many times he loves her so much he did this for her and there’s no one else he’d do this for. 6) Basically Nick tells this officer everything, or in MUCH more detail, likely closer to the truth than Gypsy’s version. They take pictures like they did with Gypsy. What stuck with me is how this man can accurately remember numbers over everything else. He remembered his hotel room number, which I don’t think most people remember after checking out. His story consistently stays with 4 stabs and neck slash. 7) Towards the end, the officer leaves and he’s muttering to himself a lot. I skipped over much of it since it was repetitive, but it’s very sad and he’s clearly worried about Gypsy. At one point he questions to himself besides being honorable, where will the truth get him. 8) At the end of the video, he’s taken away in handcuffs barefoot. He asks to see Gypsy one more time.
My opinion: At first I was happy she was being released and getting a second chance at life. I didn’t know much about the case so I looked at her interviews. I soon felt like things were off with Gypsy, I just couldn’t put my finger on it. My bullshit radar went off when I finally heard her say she didn’t identify as a murderer and she pinned everything on Nick. Looking at the interrogation tapes, it’s my opinion that he struggles with something developmentally. His parents said he was diagnosed with autism in grade school. It disturbs me how he didn’t want to murder, but Gypsy talked him into it multiple times. I fully believe he was done dirty in the interrogation and outcome of the case. He did seem to tell much of the truth during his interrogation. Gypsy’s interrogation was lie after lie until she realized it wasn’t going to work with the detective who interviewed her. He knew and you could tell he was getting increasingly frustrated at her trying to manipulate and detail the conversation. If you haven’t, please go watch the videos. Let me know your thoughts.

As the month began and Delhi LG pointed his finger at Swati Maliwal for irregularities in employee recruitment, it was only a matter of time that they would come for Arvind Kejriwal too. I anticipated that they will try to drive a wedge using Swati Maliwal to point finger at AK for the recruitments in exchange of cash. Alas, I was wrong.

However, when the news broke that she was assaulted by Arvind Kejriwal's PA, it was clear that BJP is making it filthy game. It's not for the first time that such things have been alleged by Delhi opposition/officials. In 2018, they tried to sabotage the functioning saying bureaucrats were manhandled. There was another case where a "party worker" woman tried to walk up the dais to meet the CM but on being stopped by his guards, claimed that she was sexually assaulted. Interestingly, she claimed this when the room was packed with other attendees. BJP as opposition did try to rake up the issue back then as well. (I am unable to find the link, maybe my keywords are not accurate)
In politics and war, its a common strategy not to target the person at helm, rather the people around them. Fidle Castro employed this strategy(FC advised to snipe down the second in command of the camp instead of the camp leader), its depicted in movies too (Gangs of wasseypur-Definite and Faizal). Manish Sisodia the closest AAP member was arrested on unfound charges, and long ago AK's principal secretary too was charged with liquor smuggling:D
These attempts to malign an image by levying ridiculous charges makes me doubt Swati Maliwal's claim of being assaulted. Now, let me clear my stand that I am not downplaying victims of sexual assault per se, but this particular case at hand. Swati Maliwal is not a casual woman out for a stroll in the park when she was attacked. She was at the CM's residence. Mind you, she wasn't even "dragged 15 meters" in the middle of night either (though its good that she highlighted the issue of safety).
She knows what needs to be done incase of being assaulted:

make a video on her own phone. (ok, now one might claim that who would think of pulling out the phone to record one's assault) What about after the secretary went "out of the room after assaulting & tearing her clothes"? Why didn't she record herself & her bruises right after she sat comfortably on the couch.
She called the cops right? Cops should press release the call recordings and prove that she had been assaulted already by the time another bodyguard took the 50-sec clip.

Why didn't she go straight to police station and then to hospital to get herself checked. Isn't she aware that these things needs to be done ASAP? She deals with such cases day in and day out she can't claim innocence. Three days delay..? Seriously! Her claim that she was dragged by her hair, falls flat after the release of CCTV footage by AAP of her being respectfully escorted out by Lady police.
One might attempt to vouch that AAP gave press statement that she was misbehaved with. Mind you, misbehaved & assault are entirely different thing. When there is a verbal spat, he might have gave her back in her own language & even that is misbehaving, not assault ("Ganje saale, naukri kha jaungi" were her words after all).

Why can't AAP release the complete footage if they are innocent? Why should they do it before hand? Let her make more statements, let her make more follies only then the real footage should be released. Most of her claims so far had been proven wrong by strategic release of footage, so this should be continued.

It's time these "politically motivated assaults" are dealt strongly and AAP should remain strong on the face of such malafide charges. Truth will prevail & if Swati Maliwal is speaking the truth, then she should win this all cheers to her, but if not, she should be made an example to all those women who make others life hell through their false charges & she should be thrown back to the streets whence she came.

As the month began and Delhi LG pointed his finger at Swati Maliwal for irregularities in employee recruitment, it was only a matter of time that they would come for Arvind Kejriwal too. I anticipated that they will try to drive a wedge using Swati Maliwal to point finger at AK for the recruitments in exchange of cash. Alas, I was wrong.
However, when the news broke that she was assaulted by Arvind Kejriwal's PA, it was clear that BJP is making it filthy game. It's not for the first time that such things have been alleged by Delhi opposition/officials. In 2018, they tried to sabotage the functioning saying bureaucrats were manhandled. There was another case where a "party worker" woman tried to walk up the dais to meet the CM but on being stopped by his guards, claimed that she was sexually assaulted. Interestingly, she claimed this when the room was packed with other attendees. BJP as opposition did try to rake up the issue back then as well. (I am unable to find the link, maybe my keywords are not accurate)
In politics and war, its a common strategy not to target the person at helm, rather the people around them. Fidle Castro employed this strategy(FC advised to snipe down the second in command of the camp instead of the camp leader), its depicted in movies too (Gangs of wasseypur-Definite and Faizal). Manish Sisodia the closest AAP member was arrested on unfound charges, and long ago AK's principal secretary too was charged with liquor smuggling:D
These attempts to malign an image by levying ridiculous charges makes me doubt Swati Maliwal's claim of being assaulted. Now, let me clear my stand that I am not downplaying victims of sexual assault per se, but this particular case at hand. Swati Maliwal is not a casual woman out for a stroll in the park when she was attacked. She was at the CM's residence. Mind you, she wasn't even "dragged 15 meters" in the middle of night either (though its good that she highlighted the issue of safety).
She knows what needs to be done incase of being assaulted:

make a video on her own phone. (ok, now one might claim that who would think of pulling out the phone to record one's assault) What about after the secretary went "out of the room after assaulting & tearing her clothes"? Why didn't she record herself & her bruises right after she sat comfortably on the couch.
She called the cops right? Cops should press release the call recordings and prove that she had been assaulted already by the time another bodyguard took the 50-sec clip.

Why didn't she go straight to police station and then to hospital to get herself checked. Isn't she aware that these things needs to be done ASAP? She deals with such cases day in and day out she can't claim innocence. Three days delay..? Seriously! Her claim that she was dragged by her hair, falls flat after the release of CCTV footage by AAP of her being respectfully escorted out by Lady police.
One might attempt to vouch that AAP gave press statement that she was misbehaved with. Mind you, misbehaved & assault are entirely different thing. When there is a verbal spat, he might have gave her back in her own language & even that is misbehaving, not assault ("Ganje saale, naukri kha jaungi" were her words after all).

Why can't AAP release the complete footage if they are innocent? Why should they do it before hand? Let her make more statements, let her make more follies only then the real footage should be released. Most of her claims so far had been proven wrong by strategic release of footage, so this should be continued.

It's time these "politically motivated assaults" are dealt strongly and AAP should remain strong on the face of such malafide charges. Truth will prevail & if Swati Maliwal is speaking the truth, then she should win this all cheers to her, but if not, she should be made an example to all those women who make others life hell through their false charges & she should be thrown back to the streets whence she came.

So about 2 weeks ago my best friend (22F) from middle school got engaged to her college boyfriend. Which is very exciting and I’m (23F) very happy for her since we’ve known for a while she’d be engaged this spring. I was the first person she called to announce her engagement and we cried / screamed on the phone about it.
Growing up, despite her moving states away, we always stayed in contact / had FaceTime calls. We cried, laughed, and shared everything together. Since about 3 years ago, our phone topics changed to talk more about marriage / engagement. She’s an only child, so she told me for a while (let’s say at least 2 years) that I would be her maid of honor as her best friend of 10+ years. Naturally, as a type A person, I started mentally preparing for the role under this assumption. I only took it seriously when she got engaged where, during finals, I was drafting budget sheets, brand deals, bachelorette party details, etc to make her day perfect because I thought the role was mine.
As you can probably tell, a week later, the day before i graduated which she knew, on a phone call she asked me to be a bridesmaid. Not her maid of honor. She said she picked someone else because they are physically closer to her and they have been more part of her relationship. She also said I was a second choice. She also asked me to help with budgeting because I’m great with spreadsheets. In that time I said yes to being a bridesmaid bc I was in shock but still want to be part of her big day. But I told her no to helping with the budgeting because, from my understanding and research, that is the job of the MOH and I’m not going to do part of the job of a MOH without the title. This was all in one 7 min phone call btw where there wasn’t really any time to process. More happened during the call but that was the meat of it. She just seemed rushed and a bit dismissive of my feelings.
Now, I live in Pittsburgh and she’s in Nashville. This is also our very first experiences with weddings / bridesmaid situations. Logically, her reasonings are somewhat fair in my opinion. I also jumped the gun under the assumption that I would be her MOH and everyone I told said I’m very likely going to be her MOH. So she doesn’t “owe me” anything there bc I did work she didn’t ask for.
Overall, I’m feeling everything under the sun. I feel gutted and I feel like crying every time I think about it. Mostly because I feel betrayed. I feel like I was groomed into a role or that she threw 10 years of friendship down the toilet because I’m not physically there and being told I’m 2nd hurts like hell. I don’t feel like someone who’s 2nd would be the first person she told her engagement to, but here we are. I feel like she rushed the situation (she plans on getting married in the fall of 2025), bc long distance MOH can work, we have FaceTimes, texting, and digital documents. Now that I’m a grad I’ll have more money to visit and spend on her wedding as well. At the very least I feel like she could have had 2 MOH to split the work instead of a false binary as she isnt necessarily the most traditional person. There are ways to make a long distance MOH work. Or that it’s more than just planning, which we both know I’m excellent at, but I can handle her family well since I’ve known them for forever. Which is important bc she has struggled, at times, with her relationship with her mom. Granted ik I can still do that as a bridesmaid. This is a lot of word vomit and idk the point but I’m upset, angry, and confused. Overall just going through the stages of grief. I haven’t talked to her since besides when she congratulated me on graduating, she hasn’t reached out (not that she has too). I don’t want to reach out atm because I don’t want to say anything I will regret if I’m this emotional.
But more or less, with my clouded thinking, I don’t know if I want to be a bridesmaid or attend the wedding. This is dramatic, I know, but I’m really hurt and not thinking straight. Or if I still take on the role of a bridesmaid can I not take the box she wants to send? Bc I feel like I would feel upset and uncomfortable with the box and knowing that I don’t feel as important or important at all as just a bridesmaid. Or being reminded of the rocky state of our friendship (from my pov) and how she sees me as 2nd. The only thing I can think of to do is to have a honest conversation with her of what I’m feeling, but even then what will come out of that? Besides maintaining good communication between us. She can’t go back on her 1st choice MOH, not that I want her too bc if she did I would still feel bad because it isn’t genuine. I’m just sad and at a total loss. I still value our friendship and I still want to be part of her wedding. I just feel like I’ll be resentful of the MOH. Any advice on how to move forward, should I accept the box and deal with it, or anything would be greatly appreciated. I haven’t dealt with something like this before and I feel awful on many aspects. :/
TL;DR- My best friend from 7th grade picked someone else to be their maid of honor because they’re closer physically to her / more involved in the relationship and I’m upset.

I am new to the short squeeze stuff and this is actually my second post ever on Reddit so be kind :). After reading tons of posts in here, someone said we all simply need to buy and hold until the amount of shorted shares from the hedgies start falling in a huge way. Someone said there is a website you can go to that updates every 30 minutes that shows the total amount of shorted shares. In my simple way of thinking and to take emotion out of this and greatly lower the temptation to sell, wouldn’t it be a good idea for everyone to buy and hold and just mainly focus on that website to see when the shorted shares start falling a lot? If the strategy is really that simple, that is something everybody could rally behind regardless if they’re a complex trader or brand new at this. Please let me know if I’m missing something because if all I have to do is buy and hold until I start seeing the shorted shares drop substantially and then everybody can make their own decision after that, that seems like a very simple way for all of us to stay un-emotional and not be tempted to sell early and an easy way to encourage other people to join in who know nothing about this. Please let me know if I’m way off and what I’m missing. I was just thinking if I talk to my neighbor and explained why he should do this and he knows absolutely nothing about this, this would be a great way to explain it in 30 seconds because it’s super simple. Shouldn’t this logic be the main point talked about over all platforms since it focuses on why to hold in a very easy and specific way and it actually gives newbies a website to look at every day? Also what is the website where you can see all the shorted shares that updates every 30 minutes? Sorry if I repeated myself a little in this post. Thanks!

I'm thinking of a protolang mixing PIE with Proto-Taqva-miir.
PIE Consonants: m, n, p, b, bʰ, t, d, dʰ, kʲ, gʲ, gʲʰ, k, g, gʰ, kʷ, gʷ, gʷʰ, s, h1, h2, h3, r, l, j, w
Proto-Taqva-miir Consonants: m, n, ɲ, b, t, tʼ, d, c, cʼ, ɟ, k, kʼ, g, q, qʼ, ɢ, ʔ, s, z, ɕ, ʑ, ç, ʝ, x, ɣ, ħ, ʕ, h, r, l, ʎ, j, w
PIE Vowels: e, eː, o, oː(Though a, aː, i, iː, u, uː might've also existed with them.)
Proto-Taqva-miir Vowels: a, aː, i, iː, u, uː
For the consonants, I added the two amounts from each language, then divided by two, meaning that 29 consonants should be the amount for this protolang. Matching them, I could add whatever consonants from each set correspond the most neatly with whatever consonants from the other. PIE's syllable structure was (C)CVC(C), which allowed nasals and liquids in the nucleus alongside the vowels. PTM's structure was (C)V(R), meaning that only nasals and liquids, grouped as resonants, can end syllables and words. In terms of stress, PIE used a pitch accent, while PTM's stress system was the same as Finnish at first, with stress falling on the first syllable all the time, with the modern language's system being the same as Latin, meaning that stress falls on the third-to-last syllable by default, with the second-to-last one being stressed instead as long as it contains a long vowel or is closed.
For syntax, PIE word order is debated. Mixing the two hypotheses could lead to PIE having used a free word order still classified as strictly subject initial. PTM would utilize SOV as the word order, utilizing postpositions derived from verbs. PIE used prepositions, and adjectives before nouns, while PTM's adjectives are also derived from nouns. In terms of grammar, both PIE and PTM were going to share the same grammatical number system: singular, dual, and plural, though PTM, in the end, used singular and plural, which evolved into a singulative/dual/plural system with an inverse marker. I'm considering this mixture using an inverse marker alongside singular, dual, and plural markings.
Regarding the tense systems, PIE is said to have two tenses: past and present. It might've used an auxiliary as an indicator of the future tense. It also used three aspects: imperfective ("present"), perfective ("aorist"), and stative ("perfect"). There were also four moods, or five: indicative, subjunctive, optative, and imperative. An injunctive mood might've also been possible. PTM utilized an unmarked imperfective, a marked perfective via reduplication, and an infinitive. Reduplication plus the [i] vowel was used for the perfective converb, and an -in suffix was used for the imperfective converb, the -su suffix marking the infinitive. The standard copula, derived from "live", and the locative copula, derived from "stand", would be utilized to create a new tense system:

1. Imperfect + Standard Copula = Continuous
2. Perfect + Standard Copula = Past Continuous
3. Imperfect + Locative Copula = Future
4. Perfect + Locative Copula = Future in the Past

(A negative copula was also used.)
PIE only utilized one copula: h1es-. They might've also used others like the following: bʰuh₂-(maybe "grow" and "become"), h2wes-(maybe "live"), h1er-, and (s)teh2-("stand").
Regarding valency-changing operations, PIE is said only to use a causative, while PTM utilizes a mediopassive derived from "take/get" and a causative/commitative derived from "lead". At least that was the original plan. The modern form uses the following operations: detransitive, causative, reflexive, reciprocal, mediopassive (detransitive + Dative), and antipassive (detransitive + Genitive). And via morphology.
And speaking of morphology and synthesis, while Proto-Taqva-miir is somewhat agglutinative, the eventual modern language being fusional, PIE was fusional. At least I think so, though I need better clarity. PIE lacks a dominant order regarding comparatives(superlatives, sublatives, etc.). However, PTM utilized auxiliaries and later a morphological system to indicate everything: comparative, superlative, sublative, intensive, excessive, equative, and contrastive. Unfortunately, there is no paucative marking as far as I'm aware. I'd need to look at the other Conlang Case Study videos. Let me make a list, and I keep the following distinct and antonymous with augmentatives and diminutives, which relate to size descriptions of nouns unrelated to other nouns.
Comparative: ???
Superlative: highest degree
Sublative: lowest degree
Equative: equal value
Contrastive: different value
Intensive: stronger
Excessive: too much of something
???: weaker
Paucative: too few of something
What is supposed to go where the triple question marks are? I'd like to know. Here's a bonus question: Which of these have been reconstructed and are theorized to have existed in Proto-Indo-European?
I'm also thinking of looking into the question words of PIE, and seeing what I should do from there, as Biblaridion is thinking of auxiliary question words like "what+thing", "what+place", "what+person", etc. And I have ideas for the languages it could split into. It's for a hypothetical(either actual or fictional) D&D campaign.

I've never been good at school, and since elementary school my teachers have been having a hard time trying to teach me stuff and getting me to remember it. I'm terrible at basically every subject, especially math. I remember there was so many times my teachers had to talk to my parents about me not being able to add or subtract as fast as the other kids, and from 1st-5th grade i basically spent all of my time after school sitting at the table with my parents yelling at me trying to get me to understand my homework but for some reason i was just too dumb to understand simple math.
With stuff like reading and writing, I was pretty average up until sixth grade, now I have to reread things a couple of times to fully process it because it feels like I'm just looking at the words and writing things like essays is very difficult for me because I will get bored or find it too hard and get distracted.
I graduated high school a year late because I failed every single class sophomore year, passed 2/6 classes junior year, and I spent my senior trying to make up the classes I failed but couldn't complete them all on time because I found the work really difficult. Before the start of my senior year, I was sent to an alternative school that was supposed to make things easier for me but I never made any progress, so I got put in independent study as a second time senior. In independent study, you don't actually have a teacher so you have to teach yourself, I got very lazy and bored of having to do my classes so I ended up just cheating which is the only reason I didn't become a third year senior.
I've also never had any interests or hobbies. As a kid I would just play with my dolls when I had time during school breaks or the weekend, but I was never in any clubs. I have no hobbies because honestly I don't like anything, and I never really have. I secretly don't want to do anything with my life and would rather spend it rotting away in bed and on my phone, but I know that's just because I'm incredibly lazy and unmotivated.
I've had tutors, I've been put in support classes, and I've made no progress. I have no idea what I want to do with my life, or what career I could tolerate having. Most of my friends are in college and even if they've changed their majors they at least have had some idea from the start what they want to do, or they're not as dumb as me. Also, this isn't an insecurity thing where I just think I'm dumb, I literally am. Most people think I'm so dumb that I lack common sense and can't do things that anyone with a brain could do, like being able to order my own food or driving a car.
I don't think it would be a good idea to take a gap year because I'm already turning 19, and don't want to be a 20 year old freshman. I'm also incredibly embarrassed about this because my friends don't really understand how I could possibly not like anything or have literally no idea what I want to do with my life and everyone just thinks I'm lazy (which I am but I really don't want to be). I have no idea what to do because I don't want to waste my parent's money and end up dropping out because I'll be too stupid for the work, but they're making me go. My parents are acting as if this is an easy decision to make and keep saying I'm the only girl in the world who doesn't know what she wants to do.
tl;dr
never been good at school, never had any hobbies, i don't like anything, and i'm very dumb. i need to go to college, but i'm not sure what i should go for and i'm afraid of dropping out and wasting my parent's money.

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Synopsis:
Juliette Contzen is a lazy, good-for-nothing princess. Overshadowed by her siblings, she's left with little to do but nap, read … and occasionally cut the falling raindrops with her sword. Spotted one day by an astonished adventurer, he insists on grading Juliette's swordsmanship, then promptly has a mental breakdown at the result.
Soon after, Juliette is given the news that her kingdom is on the brink of bankruptcy. At threat of being married off, the lazy princess vows to do whatever it takes to maintain her current lifestyle, and taking matters into her own hands, escapes in the middle of the night in order to restore her kingdom's finances.
Tags: Comedy, Adventure, Action, Fantasy, Copious Ohohohohos.
Chapter 241: Until Now
The doors to the Hartzwiese Adventurer’s Guild opened.
Before, the sound of raucous laughter could be heard flooding the street outside, filling the quiet of a spring night with all the debauchery the local drunkards had to offer.
Despite the halls of adventurers not being formal drinking establishments, those within were ready to compete in boisterousness with all the taverns, inns and pubs of the town combined. And also win. Handily.
And yet–
The moment the doors parted and I stepped within, a hush as quiet as any grave fell over its inhabitants.
A woman balancing with her derrière upon the head of another became still, the alcohol in her cup the only movement as it dribbled onto a stunned face below her.
A man slurping from the communal cauldron stared wordlessly, the stew pouring in, and then out of his mouth as the muscles of his throat forgot the means to swallow.
A bartender asleep upon a row of kegs quietly rose, the sudden din of silence waking him where the sound of debauchery and those drinking from the taps beside him had failed.
Here, there, and everywhere, eyes widened as the sudden silence was filled with the sounds of my footsteps as I strolled past, my loyal handmaiden and my brother’s attendant in my wake.
And also–
Mreow.
Mrewowow.
Meww.
Cats.
Tabby cats.
Calico cats.
Ragdoll cats.
Cats with twirly whiskers. Cats with puffy faces. Cats with slightly rounded ears.
Behind me, skipping around my legs while taking turns to sit upon my shoulders and very occasionally my head, were a legion of cats of various shapes, sizes and colours.
But no matter the springiness of their whiskers, the shine of their coat or the liveliness of their tails, one thing to bring them all together was the anarchy they caused.
This was no neat line of ducklings following after their mother.
This was a barbarian horde.
With no sense of organisation other than a shared drive to claim everything as their own, they immediately skipped amidst the stunned adventurers, scavenging for all the copious scraps while still turning their noses away from the alcohol forming sticky traps upon the floor.
Saying nothing, I allowed their demanding cries to fill up the hall as I swept forwards, pausing before a wall plastered from end to end with faded notices and requests long gone unanswered.
One by one, I systemically tore every request featuring a crudely drawn image of a cat, gathering into my arms a pile of parchment large enough to reach my chin.
Then, I made my way to the wooden desk.
A receptionist waited with a smile at the ready.
“Greetings! Welcome to the Hartzwiese branch of the Adventurer’s Guild. I see you’ve removed several notices from the–”
Poomph.
Silenced but unperturbed, this latest clone watched as I dropped the stack of requests onto her desk, before promptly topping off the stack with a copper ring.
“Do what must be done,” I said, my voice defiant. “I am ready.”
The receptionist answered me with a smile more permanent than the wall the notices were torn from.
A moment later–
“[Identify].”
A green hue appeared in her clasped palms as she assessed the ring.
“Juliette. B-rank. Your registered branch is Reitzlake.”
The sound of several cups clattered against the floor.
“Welcome again to Hartzwiese. I see from your commission history that you have an extraordinary amount of completions for recovering lost cats. May I assume the significant number of cats now roaming the branch hall relate to the notices removed from the wall?”
I pursed my quivering lips.
“Maybe.”
“Wonderful. And how many cats is it that you’ve rescued?”
“... Lots.”
“I see. Please give me a moment while I confirm the requirements of our commissions.”
The receptionist swiftly retrieved a stack of parchment from a drawer.
As she flicked through, her eyes simultaneously went to every cat roaming, napping and clawing in the hall. A skill not even monstrous overseers from the abyss with their dozens of eyestalks could match. But that’s only to be expected.
Wherever these receptionists were found, it was from a level deeper than any monster dared roam.
Eventually, she gave a nod.
“Thank you for waiting. There appears to be an excess of cats in relation to the number of commissions we have available. We’ll endeavour to ensure that every cat is rehomed at the earliest opportunity through our partner agencies and charities. But unfortunately, I can only provide official acknowledgement for cats rescued through a formal commission.”
I sucked in a deep breath, hoping that patience was one of the things I accidentally inhaled.
“Fine. And how many commissions does that end up being, then? … 10? 15?”
The receptionist flicked through her bundle of parchments once more.
“94.”
“... Excuse me?”
“I can confirm the successful completion of 94 simultaneous F-ranked commissions. Congratulations. This is a new record, breaking what appears to be one earlier set by yourself. A remarkable achievement befitting a B-rank member of the guild.”
The receptionist’s professional smile never wavered.
I thought that would be the worst of it.
But then–
She slowly brought her hands together … and started applauding.
It was the leak which broke the dam.
At once, she was joined by all who were present to witness this crowning moment of regret.
I turned around in time to see a riot in motion.
“W-Wooooooooooo!!!!”
“In … Incredible …”
“A new record … I … I heard it was broken in Trierport … to think I’d witness it broken again!”
“A B-rank adventurer … ?! Where … Where did she come from … ?!”
There was no polite, respectful applause here.
It was the wild cheering of a crowd at a tournament. The whooping cries of theatregoers calling for an encore. The acclaim of my father as he elbowed others to delight in the poetry I’d written when I was 6 and thus now regularly attempted to burn.
Everywhere I turned, I saw and heard the acclaim mixed with shouts of horror as mugs of alcohol were spilled on purpose and by accident. The layabouts stomped on the floor, doing their best to murder decorum under the strain of unbridled emotion.
Only a few falling teardrops formed any hint of more dignified revelry, the glimmer of admiration running down cheeks as sniffles were hidden amidst the raucous cheering.
And then I bore witness to the most morbid sight.
Like a tidal wave of soiled clothes and snotty faces, they suddenly came as one, hands reaching out for me with dripping mugs still in their grips. Horror struck at my soul. And unlike a farmer who’d scarpered into the night, I had nobody who could heal a wound caused by hooligans accepting me as their own.
“A-Amazing!! Take my drink! Take anyone’s drink!!”
“So many cats rescued … even my allergies can’t believe it!”
“My gods, it’s a legend! An adventurer among adventurers!”
This.
This right here.
This was the lowest point of my life … were I not an unparalleled genius.
“Oho … ohoho …”
At once, the wave halted.
Faces which were lit up in unabashed delight turned to looks of mild confusion against the tinkling music of my laughter.
They needed to cycle through the expressions until they reached horror and shame.
“Ohhohohohohohoho!!”
… For I was no drunkard seeking to join their ranks!
No … I was Juliette Contzen, 3rd Princess to the Kingdom of Tirea!
And that meant every action I took, every word I spoke, and every cat I saved was for a reason beyond the hopes and dreams these hoodlums had of wanton debauchery and rusting swords!
Indeed!
A lesser princess than I may slink away into the night, cowed by the utter shame, humiliation and disgrace of completing so many F-ranked requests that I somehow broke a record I’d only just set!
But I was made of greater things!
Of schemes and subterfuges so deep that it would take too long to explain! The plots I weaved were a silken web more intricate than any cogs which made up Coppelia as she doubled up, desperately trying to stop herself from succumbing to more pain from laughter!
And that meant with every cat request now denied to these louts … they would finally do some work!
“Ohoho … ohohohohoho!! Behold and be afraid! Witness before you the coming of a new dawn, here to lift you from your days of boundless reverie! Unfurl the shutters and gaze upon a radiance so pure it brands your dallying minds! The scorching sun has come to test the snail’s back, and all that your bleary eyes see is a great salt lake to devour you whole! Shrivel as you cling upon the sweat which drips upon your brow, for that is the proof you’re yet alive!”
A sudden silence met my proclamation of their coming ordeal.
And then–
“Wooooooooooooooooooooooo!”
“I don’t understand! But what a speech!”
“If she can do it, so can we!”
I raised a hand to my lips, barely covering my smile.
“Ohhhohohohohohohoho … !”
Here it was!
Operation: Gainful Employment!
An entirely new strategy, as bold as it was uncharted!
By removing what was surely the vast majority of missing cat quests available to the adventurers of this town, they would have no choice, utterly none whatsoever, but to engage in actual work! The type of work adventurers openly advertised themselves as doing!
Monster subjugation! Crime prevention! Fetching artifacts from hidden dungeons and then succumbing to their wounds at the entrance while the Royal Treasury pocketed the treasure!
Yes, this was clearly a highly experimental tactic.
But what was I, if not a bastion of creativity?
At the very least, I utterly refused to accept the status quo! An organisation dedicated exclusively to rescuing lost cats or elbowing into my kingdom’s sovereign affairs was no good to me!
Thus … I could not cower like some towngirl nauseous from the smell of their revelry.
Instead, I would squeeze the Adventurer’s Guild dry until the day I replaced them with an army of trained poodles. Until that joyous day, I could never tear my eyes away when they waited to be robbed.
To do so was more than a dereliction of duty …
Why, I’d be an accomplice to their drunken escapades!
My vow remained unchanged. For my goal, I would brave any indignity. The ring I was hoping the receptionist would forget to return was proof of that.
And thus–
I stood tall as a summer reed, proud in the knowledge that I had no need to feel even an inkling of embarrassment over completing 94 simultaneous F-ranked commissions! …
“Pfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffft.”
“S-Stop at once! You are not to laugh!”
“Pffffttt~”
“C-Coppelia!!”
Clearly not seeing the angel of self-sacrifice who I was, Coppelia held one hand tightly around her mouth. Even so, she failed to stop either the sound of her amusement or the tears falling from her eyes.
My only salvation was that it came at significant cost to her. Even now, she careened between laughter and painful regret.
I decided to offer both her and myself mercy.
Turning to the receptionist, I found a modest pouch already waiting upon the wooden desk. As well as a copper ring waiting beside it.
“Thank you for your service to the Adventurer’s Guild,” said the receptionist, her professional smile undaunted by the commotion. “Your total remuneration is 102 gold crowns, 7 silver crowns and 9 copper crowns. I’ve taken the liberty to compile all your separate payments together.”
I took the pouch and ignored the ring.
The receptionist pushed the ring forwards.
A long moment later, I collected it, uncertain what a receptionist would do if I tossed it into the communal cauldron, but knowing it would somehow still end up on my finger regardless.
With my head held high, I bravely ignored the chorus of voices unknowingly cheering for their own hardship as I swept past. Renewed tears and applause filled the hall. A few cats attempted to follow me. I stopped to shoo them away.
And then I was outside, the door closing behind me.
“... Goodness, that was quite the sight,” said Renise with a bemused smile. “It reminded me somewhat of the inns of Reitzlake’s docks. I wonder if all the halls of adventurers are like that, or merely those which you frequent?”
“Please don’t insinuate I’m responsible for the debauchery which occurs wherever the Adventurer’s Guild is concerned. That’s something I can claim no credit for.”
“You say that … but to me, it seems that you caused quite a stir. That really is a remarkable number of cats you rescued, after all. Even I can tell that 94 simultaneous F-ranked commissions–”
“Miss Renise.”
The maid’s smile wavered against whatever fatigued expression I was making.
A moment later, it fell away entirely as she switched to her role as my brother’s attendant and the leader of whatever scoundrels he’d charged her with herding.
“... Yes, I suppose there’s time for idle conversation later. There’s a guardhouse nearby. We should report on all that’s happened tonight.”
I gave a nod of agreement.
Hopefully, the baroness hadn’t woken from her stupor yet. But if she had, I was certain the single portrait of myself I’d returned to the wall of her gallery to smile down at her gagged and bound state would calm her nerves.
Renise hummed towards the direction of Hartzwiese’s centre, before returning her attention to me.
“If you wish to keep your identity incognito, I can see guards sent to where they’re needed using my own authority, and arrange for the appropriate seizure of the goods and crowns we’ve discovered.”
I beamed at once.
My, so prudent! It’s little wonder she was chosen by Roland!
“A judicious offer. And one I’ll accept gladly, providing the burden isn’t too severe.”
“This is merely an administrative task, and little burden compared to what both yourself and Miss Coppelia regularly perform. In any event, it is only efficient. I expect I’ll be spending a significant amount of time at the baroness’s farmstead. It is quite extensive. If possible, I would like to make use of it for Rose House. I imagine having such a facility close to the Granholtz border would have its uses.”
I nodded, already forgetting the barn’s existence.
“I encourage you to use your discretion as required. My brother has put his trust in you, and so I both expect and know that you shall not disappoint in furthering the kingdom’s prosperity.”
The young woman smiled. One filled with appreciation, but also lacking ambition.
Good.
An excellent combination as far as retainers were concerned.
“Thank you. Although I worry you place too much trust in my abilities. In truth, those like Baroness Arisa would have made for a greater asset to the kingdom. Her resourcefulness must be acknowledged.”
“It is not resourcefulness my kingdom requires. It is loyalty. And hers is a pit so empty it drains others.”
“That’s true. But at least we were able to acquire some useful things from her nonetheless.”
Renise pulled out a tiny vial from the belt around her thigh.
A golden liquid was stored within, glimmering with an unnatural light.
“These were in her chamber,” she said, her eyes lacking emotion as she surveyed the bright liquid. “When we met, she actually attempted to purchase my loyalty with this.”
“A suspect vial. How quaint. And what miracle did she promise?”
“One that would wake my parents from their curse of eternal slumber.”
“... And is it?”
“I don’t believe so, no. This is one of many identical vials I found in her chamber’s desk drawer. All prominently labelled with instructions to only drink as required to stave off the effects of bloating.”
Renise returned the vial to her belt with a slightly embarrassed smile.
“It’s still useful,” she admitted. “But just not for what I require.”
I gave a simple nod as my reply.
Nothing else needed to be said.
She hoped to see her parents wake from their prison of dormancy. An understandable wish. And one I wasn’t required to supplement with the comment that no pair named the Smuggler King and the Smuggler Queen were likely to receive as light a sentence as their daughter.
I could not speak on behalf of Roland. Although I imagined that as a kind man, he would prefer not to pass judgements which were total. But as the Crown Prince, he did not have the luxury of kindness.
It would take much to change their fate.
But perhaps that’s why Renise was here, still proving true, and not accepting stomach ailment potions from a baroness.
A moment of silence followed.
Renise gave a short sigh. And that was that.
She set her eyes on the task ahead–at least until whatever words she’d parted her mouth to say were interrupted by Coppelia’s humming instead.
“Sooooooooooooooo … you just want to wake up two people eternally sleeping, right?”
A small smile met her optimistic voice.
“If a cure were readily available, I’m certain I would have found it by now. I believe one might be possible, but it would take skill and ingredients beyond any apothecary I know of.”
“Well, sure, you could go that way. But what about going straight to the source instead?”
“The source?”
“Sure. They’re asleep, right? So just ask the one in charge of where they are now.”
“I’m … not quite sure I follow?”
Coppelia clapped her hands together and beamed.
“The Spring Court is the realm of dreams. Chances are, they must have shown their faces around a few times by now. If you ask the Spring Queen nicely, she might do you a favour.”
“The Spring Queen? … The fae?”
“Mmh~ luckily, we have someone with connections here!”
Renise was startled out of her reply.
It was nothing compared to me. The one being pointed at.
“Coppelia!” I said, truly aghast at the suggestion. “The fae are not to be taken lightly. Why, I still have nightmares about my conversation with the Winter Queen! I learned a side to royalty that day which I shall never forget … and I’m quite poorer for it!”
“You met … the Winter Queen?” asked Renise, her eyes suddenly wide.
“Unfortunately, yes, but I had zero intention of meeting her, and I’ve just as little intention of meeting any other fae as well. Including the Spring Queen.”
I waved away the coming query to declare what was just as important as my lack of enthusiasm.
“Besides, I’ve not the foggiest idea how I would even hope to use these supposed connections I have.”
“Oh, that’s the easy bit,” said Coppelia, her casual disregard for what counted as ‘easy’ more terrifying than any lout I’d met today. “The hard part is getting them to do what you want. But meeting them? The fae are creatures of stories. If the time is right, they’ll speak to you–one way or another.”
“Then they must book an appointment. One which I can formally reject.”
“I mean, I don’t think you have much choice. You didn’t last time, right?”
“The last time, I was sat beside the Winter Queen’s crown. I see no fae artifacts to hook me away. And that means utterly no scenario in which I could be abducted without my express–”
I suddenly stopped, clasping my hands around my mouth.
A moment later, I raised my arms in a martial art I’d just invented, turning repeatedly on the spot.
Renise blinked at me.
“Excuse me, but what are–”
“Shhshhshh!!”
I paused, gazing intently around at the quiet, dark streets of Hartzwiese, all the while ignoring Coppelia’s giggling at my near miss.
That … That was close!
“O-Oho … oho … I almost invited something terrible. Truly, it’s perhaps best not to needlessly voice things which Fae Queens and their deviant brand of magic could use …”
Coppelia nodded at me, as proud as she was clearly disappointed.
“You’re lucky. If the Spring Queen had a sense of humour, she’d have snagged you right there and then.”
“No. If the Spring Queen had a sense of humour, she’d wait until–”
Click.
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We see a magical monster jump around a bloody building happily. It seemed extremely happy as it found the manager of the building who threw things like pencils, papers, and a chair at it but nothing in the office could harm this creature.
Creature: Nehehe! Kahahahahahaha!
Manager: HELP! HELP MEEEEE! HELP ME NOW!
The creature went to grab the man but its arm was cut off at impossible speeds. It gasped in shock. Even the man couldn’t tell what happened as he looked around the room and saw an older woman.
Woman: Heh… monsters like this have been popping up a lot. Tell me assassin what might be the cause?
The creature would regrow its arm and send a raw blast of pure mana at the woman who would easily step out of the way. A woman in a white multi-layered kimono with black hair appeared behind the monster and stabbed it through the throat.
Creature: NEGHEGharajafa!
It turned into dust being easily killed by the black haired assassin.
Assassin: I presume it’s the work of a servant and or master.
Woman: That’s correct! Good job!
Assassin: So you already know the cause behind this?
Woman: Correct! I even know the servant and master responsible!
Assassin: Alright then…
Manager: What’s going on?! What’s happening?!
Woman: Assassin.
Assassin: Yes master.
She threw her dagger into the manager's skull killing him in an instant. Assassin sighed at her order and the kill. She picked up the dagger before placing it back within the scroll she normally used to conceal the small blade.
Assassin: Master who did this?
Woman: I'm not telling~
Assassin: Ugh… fine then master.
The two women walked out of the office building the master smiling brightly.
Woman: Hmm… I wonder what Saber’s master is doing?
Assassin: Is he of interest?
Woman: I knew his father! Would you be a dear and spy on him for me assassin?
Assassin: As you wish master…
Assassin bowed and quickly disappeared leaving the woman all alone as she laughed to herself.

Leo was reading a comic book while lying on his busted-up blue couch. He didn't have a single thought on his mind aside from the words and the images placed on each page.
Just then Ky walked into the room with an immaculate keychain in his hand. He held it up and passed it towards Leo who grabbed it as it flew above his head.
Ky: Here it was made back in Japan’s Heien Era.
Leo: What is it?
Ky: A cursed chain. While you have low mana it converts the lack of mana you have into physical strength. Therefore-
Leo: I can be super strong!
Ky: Basically. Just keep it in your pockets. I had the pull a lot of strings to get this from my sensei.

Elegant: You want it? Beat Shine in hand to hand! No powers just skills!
Ky: HOW AM I MEANT TO DO THAT?!

Ky: Ugh…
Leo would shove the chain back into his hoodie pocket. He gave a bright smile and placed his comic book down crossing his arms and leaning over the back of his couch.
Leo: So! What is the plan to win this war?
Ky: We need to get you trained up preferably. And we need to exterminate every master in the war.
Leo: Can’t we just… let them all kill one another and pick the last guy off?
Ky: Nope. Most likely they'll come for you while you try this strategy anyway. Even worse is the possibility the final master and servant standing could be an extremely bad matchup for Saber.
Leo: I guess you're right…
Ky: Now then… GUNPOWDER!
Guns appeared behind Ky who shot at a wall next to the bullet manifested the black-haired assassin servant.
Ky: Assassin!
Leo: Oh shit!
Ky’s technique is “Mental Recreation” This powerful ability has him use up his mana to create objects based on certain topics. These topics are gunpowder, transportation, death, nature, and war. These objects are limited to what Ky subconsciously associates with these words whenever he hears them. He can summon these objects with a hand sign or by saying the topic of origin. However, he can not create actual life. But his technique is based on his own interpretation. So if learns to interpret his limits differently his technique will respond in kind!
Ky: Death!
Skeletons appear from the floor but Assassin cuts both their heads off in a moment using her scroll.
Leo: Woah… she's fast…
Ky: If I had to wager a guess… I would say she's faster than Saber and closer in speed to Lancer.
Leo: You can tell that just by her attacking once?!
Ky: I am good with my eyes…
Leo: Saber!
Saber from the front porch came rushing into the living room switching from her casual clothes to her armor and pulling out her misty blade ready to fight.
Assassin: It would seem I'm outnumbered.
Ky: Wow she can even count!
Leo: Why are you even hear?
Assassin: I am here solely on orders from my master. I have no intention of fighting but if you force me to…
Leo: Oh fuck that!
Leo went to punch her in the face and Assassin ducked under grabbing him by the throat and personally slamming him through a wall the sunlight now radiating through the hole made within the wall.
Ky: Gunpowered!
A canon ball appeared a mere 2 inches from Assassin’s face and the second the canon shot she managed to dodge out of the way within an instant. She ran up and shoved the scroll into Ky’s shoulder stabbing through and making him bleed as she jumped onto the coffee table.
Ky: Damn it… some kind of concealed blade…
Saber: I don't wish to destroy Leo’s home… but I want to take out Assassin as soon as possible!
Saber sighed and rushed forward at incredible speeds that still were outmatched by Assassin who managed to dodge each slice of her blade before kicking Saber in the gut before roundhouse kicking her in the face sending her into another wall and cracking it.
Assassin: Strong as you all are I'm simply too fast for you all.
Leo then just grabbed a potted plant in the corner of his room as she wasn't paying him any attention and hit her in the back of the head with it stunning her so Saber could get back up, run, and stab Assassin in the shoulder.
Assassin: AHHHH!
Assassin cut Saber’s arm and elbowed Leo in the face before running out of the hole in the wall she made earlier.
Saber: Master!
Leo: What did I say about calling- actually I do not care…
Saber ran towards Leo who'd been sent to the ground on his ass. He seemed fine as he stood up holding onto Saber.
Leo: I am fine don't worry ok?
Saber: If you insist master! But should I give chase to Assassin?
Ky: Would not recommend it. She's clearly highly skilled. Even if you are probably stronger than her chasing her down might be a bad idea.
Leo: Yeah what Ky said! But what am I gonna do? Am I not safe in my own home now?
Saber: I'm afraid it seems you are not Leo…

Assassin walked into a large mansion on top of a hill and entered a bedroom.
Assassin: Master!
The woman turned to her with a sly grin pasted upon her face. She was currently sitting on her wooden chair while writing something in a notebook.
Woman: Assassin!
Assassin: I am afraid they spotted me rather quickly.
Woman: Did you kill any?
Assassin: No master…
Woman: Perfect! I don't want them to die before they know my name… Isda!
Assassin: Why?
Isda: That is for me to know Assassin! Me and me alone!

Gilgamesh sat upon his throne. Among all masters and servants in the holy grail war, he alone stood as the honored one. He viewed through on of Pat’s crystal balls the events that transpired between Assassin and Leo’s group.
Gilgamesh: That Saber… she's quite strong. Even with the master holding her down. And the Assassin is quite boring to me.
Pat: A-Archer-
Gilgamesh: You know nobody is watching us use my true name peasant!
Pat: Forgive me Gilgamesh! But why are we sitting in this pocket dimension?!
Gilgamesh: Simply to protect you from getting killed. You are quite weak and well I won't have any fun if you die. Even I can't sustain myself without a master!
Pat: O-oh I see…
Gilgamesh truly was a king!

Hello everyone,
I am a recent graduate from the Master of Public Policy Program at U of C. I wanted to share my experience of this program for those who may be thinking about applying.
TLDR: The program offers some great opportunities for networking and jobs/internships, but it can be a difficult experience for those without an economics background or who may be working full/part time.
Quick background about myself. I did my BA in Sociology and Minor in Economics. I spent two years at the MPP program. Yes, the program is only one year long, but I took an internship with the Federal Government at Environment and Climate Change Canada, so I extended it to two years. This means I have been in two cohorts, and have therefore been privy to both cohorts' complaints about the program. What I write is a personal account as well as a summary of what I have heard from others.
First, the good stuff.
Networking This is where the program really shines. You will get an opportunity to meet some real heavy hitters in the policy field, ranging from ex-cabinet minsters, authors, and high-ranking public servants. Some notable people in my cohorts were Janet Brown and an exclusive event with the Governor General (sadly, I was unable to make it to that one).
The teachers themselves are also great resources, and many of them are really well respected and known in there field (for example, Duane Bratt, Blake Shaffer, and Trevor Tombe). The cohort size is small, so you will have lots of opportunities to develop relationships with the instructors.
As well, the program prides itself on admitting a diverse cohort from varied backgrounds. Both cohorts I was in were fantastic. Generally, everyone is really kind and get very chummy with each other by the end of the program.
Job Opportunities This is the second best aspect of the program. Quite simply, if you graduate, you will get a job/internship. I have not seen a single person struggle to find a position after the MPP program. You will get sent job opportunities daily in the winter term, and the program has access to the APIP program - an internship program with the Alberta Government that is exclusively available to the policy students at U of C and U of A.
On top of that, if you choose an interesting capstone project, it is not unheard of for a professor to want to work with you to publish it after graduation, and they will perhaps even recruit you as a research assistant.
Capstone Your experience with the capstone will be highly dependent on your supervisor. If you have an unresponsive supervisor, you will probably have a bad experience. However, the capstone itself is very open in terms of what you want to write about and how. There are requirements - it has to be policy-focused, has to use a methodology, etc. -, but I did not feel at all limited by these requirements.
The capstone itself is not very long either - spanning only 8,000 words maximum. This means you will have lots of time to start and finish. Make sure you establish a good working relationship with your supervisor early. I suggest meeting up in person the first few times, then moving onto zoom meetings and emails.
Now the bad stuff
Work Load This is probably unsurprising since it is a one-year program., but when I say workload is heavy, I mean it is HEAVY. You will be working all the time, and you will never feel caught up. If you are the type of student to do all the readings and show up to class always prepared, you will be miserable; the program is only survivable by triaging your work to the most important assignments and letting your grades suffer strategically.
The nice thing is that the cohort suffers together, which is great for bonding. Admin and the professors can sometimes be understanding, but they tend to not budge on the amount of work assigned. If you are working a job, or if you have any other large commitments, I suggest you do not apply, or you break those commitments prior to starting.
Classes Don't get me wrong, some of the classes are great. The communications class, the decision analysis class, the first semester political science class are all well structured and interesting. However, the vast, VAST, majority of classes are poorly executed. The professors are often unhelpful - expecting that you figure out things on your own and coming off as annoyed that you are asking for help - so don't expect to get a clear answer from them at any point.
Further, the program is VERY economics focused. Now, I did my minor in Econ, and there are lots of Econ majors that apply, but if you have not solved a math problem since high school, I promise you will be in for a rude awakening. I cannot stress this enough: if you go into this program you will be doing economics, and that means math. Further, if you did econ in your undergrad, you will probably find the classes to be boring.
Anyways, that sums up my experience. If you have any questions, I will answer in the thread. I hope this helps those who are thinking about applying to the program!

Long time ball main here, GM1 ~1,000 hours, pre OW1 player. Just wanted to chime in with my own personal ways on how I counter the usual characters (sombra, hog, brig, etc).
We’ve all been there. You steamroll the first team fight. You assassinate the widow. You win a 2v1 vs the supports in the backline. All of a sudden, you hear the sound of a translocator being thrown near you. Sombra rears her ugly little head to try and ruin your fun.
You’ll encounter three types of sombras: the overly aggressive one that goes for your team (easy), the overly defensive ones that babysit you and solely peels (medium), and the ones that do both (hard).
The first and most important thing you should do is decide which one you’re facing. The agro sombras are usually dealt with by your team but usually I like to provide extra peel for these. Killing these first makes the upcoming team fight an easy 5v4 but letting a good one loose in your backline might kick you in the shins and pick off a squishy.
The defensive ones will require patience and awareness. I like to snuff these out with soft engagements and good movement. I treat myself as bait and constantly lead her around until she puts herself in a bad spot. She’ll often throw her translocator towards you which leaves her vulnerable if you see where it went. If she’s away from her team, she’s as good as dead. With her team, it’s a 50/50 shot but I’d usually disengage depending on the circumstances.
The dual threat ones are found in the higher ranks and are the hardest to deal with. Since it comes down to who can win the mental battle, knowing when to be aggressive (just threw translocator) or defensive (has translocator) is the important thing here.
Second thing you should do is always mentally keep track of where she is and where she isn’t. When I’m playing against a sombra, it basically splits the field in half for me. When I’m in the half that she’s in, I’m playing defensively and waiting for her to show herself before I commit. When I’m in the half that she isn’t, I’m playing aggressively by pursuing supports or the other DPS so I can draw her to me. A large part of her strategy is to babysit you and peel for her team. By mentally keeping track of where she is, you control where she goes. A good rule of thumb is to never fully engage the enemy team if you don’t know where the sombra is. A good combination of soft dives and feints is crucial.
Third, sus out if a sombra is a solo or has a team with her. Solo sombras are often uncoordinated and overly aggressive. They put themselves in punishable spots and don’t peel for their team as much. I specifically target these solo sombras aggressively in 1v1’s.
A sombra with a coordinated team can be a scary thing. They peel for their squishys very well and makes any dive attempt risky. One minute you’re about to win a 1v1 against an isolated Zen then all of a sudden his sombra pulls up to ruin your day. My solution to this is a combination of soft engagements, trying to lure her away from her team and towards yours, and overall being in control of where she engages you (not the other way around).
Fourth is understanding that anytime that DPS switches to Sombra, it’s personal. Deep down, that player knows it’s the only option they have. They’re banking on either being able to control you or force you to switch. Be the problem, not the solution. Bully them into oblivion like the spineless coward that they are.
Finally, when it comes to the ult battle, the most important thing to consider is whether to use minefield before or after EMP. Sombra’s will often reactively use their ult as soon as you pop minefield but they’re not exactly holding onto it for you. Especially when your team has other more valuable ults. This means that baiting out EMP with mines is sometimes in your best interest.
Scenarios in which I like to use minefield BEFORE EMP include: I’m ult tracking and she definitely doesn’t have it. I’m away from my team and I use it to bait out emp, ensuring my team can use their more valuable ults uninterrupted. When I’m forced to use minefield for whatever reason knowing sombra has EMP but I’m in a position where her EMP only affects half of the minefield’s area of effect.
If sombra pops EMP first, then you have full discretion on when to use yours. Often, using minefield right after EMP is great for protecting your team since your team is vulnerable. Dropping mines on them adds a layer of protection and makes the enemy team think twice about pushing.
That’s pretty much how I deal with these annoying pests. Keeping a cool head, winning the mental game, and playing with a god complex usually gets me through. Remember, they switched because they thought it would work. Make them regret it.
I’d love to hear how everyone else deals with sombra. Do you agree with this list? Do you do any of these things? Let me know!
If this was helpful, I’ll do another post on some more common counters.
Also, if you made it this far, check me out on tik tok

manager might have a personal vendetta against me
so, fun fact about me, I suffer from both IBS & chronic constipation. I have since I was a child, in grade school i would have to start every year off with a doctors note to let my teachers know that if I were in need of a restroom break it was in everyone’s best interest to allow me to go without question.
Recently I’ve started a new job, & I really liked it at first since the pay was good & it worked with my college hours. I was hired on along with many others before the store itself opened, so we collectively helped with set up & organization for grand opening. We were all hired on as sales associates, part time, but a few employees were chosen for promotions such as keyholders, asm, & manager. I was offered a keyholder position but turned it down since it would require an increase an hours. The coworker of mine who was promoted to manager, I’ll refer to her as manager, seemed nice enough at first. I could tell she might be a bit prickly but I don’t have a history of issues with coworker & didn’t think it would become too big of an issue. I didn’t know her that well either so originally I took everything just at face value.
At one point while we were still setting up the store I asked to leave early & was granted permission by a different supervisor due to a flare up in my stomach problems. I went to the ER & returned with a non descript doctors note. I wasn’t asked to provide information on the situation, so I didn’t, because I find these problems pretty embarrassing to discuss & it never became a terrible issue at past jobs.
However, recently, at the age of 23 & after working for the past 8 years of my life, I got my first write up ever… For spending too much time in the bathroom. Manager held me back after close & brought a supervisor in to discuss the issue with me. I, flustered, explained my medical issue & how it had been a factor in my life since I was much younger but both supervisors still proceeded with the write up & warned me that I’d be under investigation regarding the matter. I was humiliated, especially since manager was smirking & giggling as I confessed my problems.
I was especially hurt because I couldn’t understand why she seemed to find the situation so funny. When I told her it hadn’t been mentioned to me as a disruption before, she was quick to retaliate & say that she herself had brought it up to me. In the moment I didnt understand what she was talking about, but I respected her as my boss & didn’t question it… until later. I recalled the first time she mentioned it to me, I had been under a lot of stress as I’ve dealt with a stalker situation for the last 4 years & he had broken into my house a few months prior. When he had resurfaced & made it known he didn’t intend to back off, I was extremely anxious that day & consequently had the shits. she questioned me about my bathroom usage by very loudly announcing that I had used the restroom twice within the span of an hour in front of multiple other coworkers. Being put on the spot & not very good with confrontation, I simply told her my stomach was upset. She just nodded. The second time, I was in the back room where we keep our backstock, looking for things to fill up empty space on the sales floor as was my assignment to do so on that day. When she saw me going to the back room, she yelled at me in front of our coworker about how I can’t be coming in & out of the back. I told her it was my job that day to work through backstock, an assignment she had personally given me, but she continued to reprimand me. I again just followed orders & found something else to keep myself busy.
On further retrospection after my write up (which I cried about in my car after receiving) I can also remember when she first became manager, we had worked together on St. Patrick’s day, & she pointed out a customer to me asking if I thought he was attractive. I told her I wasn’t sure, & she kept pushing, saying he had mentioned to her that he thought I was cute & that I should go & flirt with him. Again I told her I wasn’t sure about that since I’m not a very outgoing or flirtatious person in general. She became even more pushy, directing me towards him, but when I asked who he was or how she knew him or if he was even a nice person she couldn’t answer me. He ended up approaching me & asking for my socials, & since he seemed ok & maybe there was a reason she wanted me to pair up with him, I gave him my usernames. we talked for less than a day. afterwards she was asking me about it, how did it go, were we still talking, to which I told her no, then a coworker approached us saying “oh are you talking about the girl you set up with your ex?” manager then proceeded to go on a tangent about "see I knew I wasnt the problem, he aint shit, blah blah blah" I asked her why she would set me up with one of her exes then refuse to even tell me, & she didnt have an answer for that either. Turns out she didnt do it for me, she was using me.
For context, I'm half hispanic, & fair complected. There was another instance where we had an especially irate customer who talked down to & argued with manager, who is visibly hispanic, but when the customer was spoken to by a white employee she behaved differently. A terrible situation, of course, & manager was understandably upset. She was venting about the situation with another coworker during which she said several times "she didnt know what to do with a REAL mexican. she couldnt handle a REAL mexican." Keep in mind, I was not a part of this conversation, but manager separated herself from the conversation so she could turn to me & say "YOURE not a real mexican." I had not dealt with this customer or had any part in the altercation so the comment seemed spiteful & unnecessary.
Sorry for the long post, TL;DR I'm struggling now in the workplace because my bathroom habits are being turned into a spectacle despite having genuine medical reasoning, & Im afraid my manager has a very particular grudge against me as I'm continually on the receiving end of harsh critisism & worry she is looking for reasons to terminate my position. I'm even scared to ask for breaks or go to the bathroom because every mention of either one is met with passive aggression & spending this week knowing I'm under scrutiny & avoiding bathroom breaks is beginning to take an expected physical toll on me

wanted to share my experience as a 28 year old, F, on the very thin side, anxious, and autistic.
had to have colonoscopy due to positive fit test and anaemia diagnosis, and 6 months of heavily bloody multi-daily bathroom trips. I was starting to get very concerned about cancer.
I opted for no sedation because I'm extremely anxious about feeling 'out of it' or not in control of my body/brain or feeling dizzy.
The thought of waking up and not knowing what my body went through was also making me squeamish.
I did a lot of research, I watched full, unseated colonoscopy videos on YouTube, this post from this subreddit was also incredible and explains it all better than I could. but here's my detailed experience of each step.
Prep: The prep was not bad at all, I had Citrafleet.
I prepared the mixture and took it at 6pm (the leaflet said 5pm, appointment at 11am) It had a nice lemon taste and was pleasant. after I drunk it, my medication anxiety/dread kicked in, I was like, oh god, what did I just do to my body. (i've never experienced laxatives before) I was expecting it to be like a movie and to immediately poop lol. I did not have a bowel movement for 3-4 hours. then it was just on and off bathroom trips. Funnily enough the only time it bothered me was I had to leave a competitive computer-game mid-match because I suddenly had to go so bad LOL.other than that, didn't feel too different to my normal symptoms honestly.
then I slept at 3-4am, at 3am I started to suddenly feel queasy and shaky and awful, stayed up too late I think, but it passed and I drunk water and went to sleep.
I woke up at 7am for the second packet of prep, it acted faster this time and then I stopped my 2-hours-before water drinking, was totally empty and went to the hospital.
Hospital: I got lucky, I got a very nice NHS hospital. I had a lovely nurse. They started talking about sedation and I said "I've decided to do no sedation" She said "Ah, gas and air. alright" I said nono, no sedation at all. She was a bit like "ermmm, we'll see about that" haha.
but ultimately everyone was very very respectful of my wishes! they just didn't think I would actually manage.
My heart rate was really high for ages in the waiting/prep room when they took my pulse and honestly I was so stressed they wouldn't do the procedure because my heart rate was high, so I had no time to be worried about what lay ahead because I was so fixated on trying to slow my heart rate. So my advice would be just keep your mind occupied before going in.
I got given huge green shorts, a cozy disposable gown, an iv/canula thing (they assured me it was routine, but I wouldn't get sedation). I had to pee a bunch before and then in the surgery room and had a little blanket put over me.
I had a pillow that was super comfortable and was instructed into the relevant position.
Procedure: The nurses were ALL surprised I wasn't having sedation, they asked if I was really sure I didn't want the gas and air because it can be painful and stopping halfway would be very detrimental.
They said "I know you want to do it without gas and air, some people say say they will and then can't handle it. The nurses also said it's rare someone asks to do it no sedation.
I was mentally preparing myself for the pain of the gas(for inflating the colon). I will say imagining it and feeling it are two very different experiences.
once the camera was in and they inflated with gas. It kept feeling like it was never going to stop inflating. I felt at my bodily physical limit of gas, but it kept inflating, awful awful awful. I can't deny. about 8/10 discomfort, maybe 6-7/10 pain. I had the worst urge to fart that I've ever had in my life. like "If I don't fart I'm going to explode from the inside" levels of bad, which was a slightly panic inducing feeling. The nurses said to pass gas if I needed to, but I couldn't fart. Either because of the position I was in (on side, knees up to chest), the obstruction from the camera, the fear, or because I felt like if I tensed, I'd pop like a balloon.
so "if i dont fart i'll explode & die, if i tense to fart i'll explode & die" was basically my experience with the gas.
Next they said "You might feel a period cramp" and I did. BOY DID I.
I said: "Oh yeah, just like a bad period cramp" And she said "Yeah we can't really help the boys by telling them that" and I somehow managed a "haha"
I think they said "We're going to do some water" but I didn't feel that.
It just felt like just trying to survive and get through it, I was just breathing, I knew I could survive it once I knew the pain I was dealing with. It just stayed consistently awful and painful and terrible. with occasional very bad cramps and awful sensations in 40-50 second bouts in various places in the middle section of my body.
There was so much different noise too from the machine.
The sensations ranged from: Intense gas cramps, horribly inflated feeling, a sucking on my intestines feeling, stomach caving in feeling, terrible period pain, terrible stomach pain, and rippling sensations.
I could barely look at the camera screen because I was just so focused on getting through it. frankly I didn't care LOL. I think I glanced once I just couldn't handle looking on top of what was happening to me. side note: I'm now put off giving birth if its anything like this hahaha.
I fluctuated between tensing from the discomfort and trying to relax. sometimes the discomfort was so freaky and bad my body tensed just to deal with it. If you've ever had a dream where a zombie was eating your stomach guts alive, it was reminiscent of that.
side note: I'm like a cat when I'm in pain, I don't like to show it, and I didn't want the sedation. So I was so badly trying to play it cool.
The literal best way I can describe all of this, it was like the worst food poisoning of your life, the worst trapped wind of your life, and the worst period cramp of your life, all at once, x2 or x3.
A few times my stomach rippled really unpleasantly and I keep remembering that sensation and cringing today
I can also liken some of the feelings to someone sticking a henry hoover into my ovaries.
It wasn't anything I haven't 'naturally' felt in my body before, if that makes sense, they were "familiar" sensations, just not to that degree. I didn't expect it to be such a worse variation of familiar pains.
I also didn't expect to feel all of this SO HIGH UP IN MY BODY?! like the majority of it was felt above and around my belly button.
I don't understand how people say they knew what part of the colon they were in, I couldn't. but they did point when we were about halfway and I was relieved.
For the last part, turn or bend, I think it took 3 attempts, the nurse had to push onto my tummy to flatten something out, honestly, that made me feel so much better, the pressure was really relieving. and I swear to you, it poked my rib when it went through! it felt like it anyway.
There was no pain after that. I knew it wouldn't hurt going out, so my relief was immeasurable, I knew I'd done it.
the only feeling then was just "aughuhguhguh my insides" feeling, and slight gas bloating still. I just focused on my breathing.
They said "We're going to take the biopsies now." I didn't feel that (thank goodness) but I was mega-cringing at the idea. for some reason I felt hot and slight burning in my insides mostly towards the entrance. I'm not sure how they took the biopsies but I heard a tiny drill type sound, and it freaked me out lol. i imagined them frying it off with a tiny saw.
they took, either 6 or 12 biopsies, I'm not sure. it was a strip biopsy, on my report card it has 6 things and says "x2" for each one, so idk.
When the camera went out I asked "is it over?" I didn't really feel the camera go out and was in disbelief because it was quicker than I anticipated and I couldn't believe that I had done it and was feeling proud of myself, and they were all hyping me up so much, telling me I should be crowned as queen and that the nurse could never do what I did. I felt so on top of the world. I couldn't stop smiling with relief.
The nurse called me brave and I said I was only brave because I was so scared of the sedation. Everyone is brave in different ways! You're not any less brave than me if you opt for sedation or Entonox. :)
Genuinely the entire thing felt 10 minutes long, it was like they did a speed-run of my guts, and it FELT like that too lol. just absolutely crashing around the entire mario kart racetrack that was my bowel. I'm just kidding, the doctor was great, it's a baffling procedure and I admire any doctor that does it.
I'd be so curious how long it actually was.. I was mentally prepared for 44 minutes, but idk. I don't want to get your hopes up that it will be short. maybe the shorter, the more painful?
I walked to the bus stop with my mum, I was kind of in disbelief that I did that.
Post-non-sedated-colonoscopy-thoughts
I would do it again if I had to, un-sedated. It was worth it for me to avoid three types of sensations that make me panic (dizziness, sluggish or forgetful)
I'm also really happy that I was able to be there and experience what was happening to my body, personally, I feel like if I was sedated I would always be wondering what my body went through without me being present.
I liked being able to breathe, and follow any instructions.
I've spent the entirety of the following day cringing in reflection of what happened, feeling achy, and being embarrassed for doing it un-sedated (for some reason I feel like everyone thinks i'm crazy).
I hope this helps... someone.
My options of sedation were Entonox or Midazolam and Fentanyl through IV. Lots of people said those things made them so relaxed and the best relaxation they've ever felt. It made me remember the Lavender Liquid dispensed from SCP-294q-01, where they drank the perfect drink and afterwards said "I'm sorry, but at this point everything is just one big let-down"
My brain is immensely neurotic and always in 'go' mode, I was worried if I felt relaxation like that, I'd probably start chasing different drugs to recreate it lol.

Background Info: I (stupidly) got back with my abusive and cheating boyfriend. I had to move back in with my mom a few months ago so our physical contact has been limited. I was hanging on to the hope that if I stuck around that he would eventually pay me back the almost 10,000 dollars he owes me and to spend time with his dog who I love. I thought we could work through previous issues and things would improve. (I am an idiot)
Last week I had the opportunity to go over and spend time with the dog and see how the garden I planted last year was doing. I stayed overnight and the next day he spent mostly sleeping because he has been working overnights. I then (stupidly) looked through his unlocked phone. He had changed his passcode because of how I found out about all of the cheating in the first place. I saw it unlocked and I just went for it despite knowing that I would hate what I saw. Turns out it was way worse than I thought. Not only is he screwing many different men and women, buying drugs or attempting to, but also using pictures of us/me to do these things. The pictures I saw he used CLEARLY show my face and I have never ever consented to him sharing these pictures with anyone, let alone with STRANGERS ON THE INTERNET.
I took a picture of one message exchange but I was so sick to my stomach I couldn't look anymore. I read the law regarding Pennsylvania's revenge porn but I am not clear on whether this falls into that category. Can anyone clarify that for me? What would be the first thing I do if I wanted to pursue this legally? I don't particularly want to get near him again to obtain more evidence because I am honestly scared of him and his disgusting behaviors. Do I need a lawyer? Honestly any advice is welcome, I am a mess right now and need logical advice. I have no idea how many people now have access to these photos and I do not want anymore to be used. I am horrified that one of my many redditor friends will find me on one of the porn reddits.. Here is the info on revenge porn in PA:
§ 3131. Unlawful dissemination of intimate image.
(a) Offense defined.--Except as provided in sections 5903 (relating to obscene and other sexual materials and performances), 6312 (relating to sexual abuse of children) and 6321 (relating to transmission of sexually explicit images by minor), a person commits the offense of unlawful dissemination of intimate image if, with intent to harass, annoy or alarm a current or former sexual or intimate partner, the person disseminates a visual depiction of the current or former sexual or intimate partner in a state of nudity or engaged in sexual conduct.
(b) Defense.--It is a defense to a prosecution under this section that the actor disseminated the visual depiction with the consent of the person depicted.
(c) Grading.--An offense under subsection (a) shall be:
(1) A misdemeanor of the first degree, when the person depicted is a minor.
(2) A misdemeanor of the second degree, when the person depicted is not a minor.
(d) Territorial applicability.--A person may be convicted under the provisions of this section if the victim or the offender is located within this Commonwealth.
(e) Nonapplicability.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to a law enforcement officer engaged in the performance of the law enforcement officer's official duties.
(f) Concurrent jurisdiction to prosecute.--In addition to the authority conferred upon the Attorney General by the act of October 15, 1980 (P.L.950, No.164), known as the Commonwealth Attorneys Act, the Attorney General shall have the authority to investigate and to institute criminal proceedings for any violation of this section or any series of violations involving more than one county of this Commonwealth or another state. No person charged with a violation of this section by the Attorney General shall have standing to challenge the authority of the Attorney General to investigate or prosecute the case, and, if a challenge is made, the challenge shall be dismissed, and no relief shall be made available in the courts of this Commonwealth to the person making the challenge.
(g) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Law enforcement officer." Any officer of the United States, of the Commonwealth or political subdivision thereof, or of another state or subdivision thereof, who is empowered to conduct investigations of or to make arrests for offenses enumerated in this title or an equivalent crime in another jurisdiction, and any attorney authorized by law to prosecute or participate in the prosecution of such offense.
"Minor." An individual under 18 years of age.
"Nudity." As defined in section 5903(e).
"Sexual conduct." As defined in section 5903(e).
"Visual depiction." As defined in section 6321.
(July 9, 2014, P.L.1013, No.115, eff. 60 days)

2014 Amendment. Act 115 added section 3131.
Cross References. Section 3131 is referred to in section 8316.1 of Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure).

Here is a little context for what has been going onbthe for over half a year now, for over half a year I have been in constant pain, where everywhere in body will hurt all at once and the doctors can't figure out what is wrong, but it is causeing it to be almost impossible to do school work so I have actually failed my junior year of high school. Anyways, for years now, I've realized that my parents obviously favorited my sister over me even though they say they don't. (Me and everyone around me even my sister can tell she is the favorite.) I'm 16 about to turn 17 in a month and for the past couple years I have just been doing a party where we invite family and close friends, normally I only ask for money on my birthday, so I can spend it on something I want rather then have someone spend it on something I may not want. This usually leads to me getting like 50 dollars. But on my sister's birthday she has a party, gets a huge amount of expensive stuff, plus over 100 dollars, and recently got a truck. My sister is 18 now but was 17 at the time. But a few days ago I had ask my mom if I could get a car for my birthday so I could get a job since nowhere in my town is hiring and that would be the only gift for my birthday, I even offered to pay them back for the car and it was still a no. But today my sister graduated and got a huge amount of expensive stuff, everything she wanted, and a second vehicle. So I'm thinking, "Okay my sister has an SUV and a truck surely I'm gonna get her truck?" Nope. My dad is getting her truck. Oh also my sister never gets in trouble, ever, for anything. One time when I was younger I had a bad grade in a class and my dad got so made at me he was spanking me with a wooden spoon until it broke over me, then he got another one and kept spanking, and that was basically my punishment for anything wrong I did all the way up until I was about 11 or 12, also even at time my parents will go out with my sister then come home and I'll ask where they went and they will out right say they forgot I existed. Am I over thinking this?

I got called back for a second interview for an elementary position. It'll be a demo lesson taught to the panel of interviewers. They gave me the choice of topic/grade level. There are multiple positions open but the one I want is in Kindergarten, so I'll be doing a Kindergarten lesson. Any tips on how to stand out? I'll have access to a TV if I need to cast something, and I can bring any materials. Thanks in advance!

I got called back for a second interview for an elementary position. It'll be a demo lesson taught to the panel of interviewers. They gave me the choice of topic/grade level. There are multiple positions open but the one I want is in Kindergarten, so I'll be doing a Kindergarten lesson. Any tips on how to stand out? I'll have access to a TV if I need to cast something, and I can bring any materials. Thanks in advance!

Sorry about format, as I'm on mobile. I'd get some snacks and a drink, cause this is gonna be a decent sized one. This is pretty much about my entire life. Also, I have mental health and sometimes add too many details to things. I kinda over share, so apologise if that happens. Me(F) my mom(F) sister(F)
My entire life, I have felt less than when it comes to my mom. It's pretty obvious my sister is the favorite child. Ever since she was born, I was put on a back burner. Then my brother was born, and it got even worse. (My brother is an amazing man, so I don't fault him for anything at all. He's pretty much my unofficial child. I will die for him.) When I was 3, my bio dad died. I did get checks every month for survivors checks, but when I turned 18, I never saw any of it. I understand that she needed it for me while I was a minor, but once I turned 18, it was supposed to actually go to me. I was still in my last year of high school, so it didn't stop til I graduated. If I would have gotten those checks, I would be way farther in life. My mom got with my siblings dad when I was around 4 or 5. That's where the abuse came in. She got pregnant with my sister, and pretty much made me the clown. My sister's dad was a Dr*g addict, and would go on binges, leaving me home alone to watch my siblings, while Mom was at work. I was 6 at this point. Granted, she did call the police and he got charged with 3 counts of child endangerment. (My brother was born at this point). Then, she stayed with him, even though he left us like that. When I was 9 was when I found out about my dad. She wasn't even going to tell me about him, but she had to, cause my grandma filed for grandparents rights. Mom didn't even tell me. Siblings dad is the one to sit me down. That's when my mental health started to really show. I was 9 and finding out the man that I called dad, wasn't actually my dad, and my real dad is never meet cause he's dead. My soul broke that day. Fast forward a few months and I get a puppy for my birthday. It pooped in the house, and G(siblings dad) was so irate, he left the puppy outside in the middle of the night, during the winter... He killed my dog. It was maybe 15° F that night. I woke up the next morning to mom telling me the dog ate paint off the wall ... She did, but the bite marks were there from a week prior. I was 9, not stupid. I saw through her lies. Fast forward again. They end up separating. He had gotten upset, then kidnapped my siblings taking them to a completely different state. He finally came back, and was in jail for 6 months. After he got out .. she got back with him. The final straw happened a few years later. When I was probably 8-10 can't remember exactly how old, I was having issues with my math homework. I have major dyslexia with numbers(can't remember the actual name) and math was my worst subject because of that. I was frustrated cause I just couldn't understand the math homework, so I crumpled the paper. (I was a kid. I know I shouldn't have done it, but I did.) She got up, and started to hit me. She was smacking my arms, and had me pinned down to the couch. I turned my head and she hit my nose hard enough for it to gush blood. (Granted I could flick my nose and it'd bleed, but I digress). Then, I had "played" with a belt with her and G, and one of them(can't remember who) was hitting me with another one. I didn't understand at the time, but we was all smacking each other with belts, tryna hit the others the hardest. (My lord I just realized how bad that actually was.) I went to school the next day, and had a few welts on my arms. Went to the nurse for some ice, and got asked who did it. I explained what happened, and cps got called. I didn't know, but I got home and got screamed at by G. He was in my face, so close I could smell his breath and feel his spittle hitting my face. Then my mom said it wasn't them, but my sister who scratched me. (It wasn't a scratch. It was a welt clearly from a belt.) There's probably more, but my brain made me forget to protect my sanity. Fast forward, she is finally away from him. Then she gets with my now step dad. I was 12 at the time. He was an okay guy. He has 5 kids. Well, of course I was the built in babysitter. I am the oldest out of all 8 of us kids. I wasn't allowed to hang out with friends as much as I should have been growing up, cause I was always the one to be the second parent to them. That's when my mental health started to get severe. I started self harming at 13. It would get so bad. Nothing of significance really happened between then til I was 16. (That I can remember. Thanks brain for protecting me.) I get into highschool. Freshman year. I'm finally able to start hanging out with friends more often. I end up having sex(I was coerced, wanted to wait til I was on bc, but I finally gave in. Shouldn't have, but it's whatever. I'm over it now.) Wasn't on birth control and didn't wear a condom. Had a scare I may have been pregnant. Mom finds out, gets a test and takes me to my grandma's to take it. She berates me in front of my grandparent and my aunt and cousins. Thankfully it was negative. Fast forward to when I was 16. Got my first job. Finally I'm old enough to make my own money. Well, I can't even spend my checks the way I wanted to. Majority of them went to her. I gave her prob 85 percent of my checks. I wanted to save for a car. Couldn't. (Not that it mattered. Didn't get my license til I was 23... I'm 27 now.) Kept getting my temps, only to never practice. Yet, when my sister is 18, she takes her out to drive and helps her get her license. But, whatever. Finally I graduate, and all I get is a gift card(I'm thankful of course. I'm not stingy, I just have envy from all the things my sister got, that I didn't.) Sister got a full blown party. Every single person I have been romantically with, she would put in my head that they aren't good enough. So much so, I thought I would never be with someone who genuinely loved me. (I have that now, so shout out to my amazing fiance.) I'm still cutting on a daily basis at this point. Cut from the ages of 12 to 20. I'd still be, if I wasn't with my fiance. (I was didn't sewer slide myself and actually did it right this time, anyway. Tried 5 times. Thankfully I failed each time.) I have bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression and ADHD. Not once did she take me to get health. She always dismissed me when I would try and talk to her about it, so I just kept to myself. It took my fiance's mom to take me and get me the help I needed. I barely graduated cause I just didn't care in 9th and 10th grade. I felt like I wasn't going to live past high school anyway, so why should I care? 11th grade comes up and working had actually given me motivation to keep going. (Plus I started smoking the devil's lettuce, so I was feeling better mentally.) Turn 18 and I move out. Ended up losing my job I had then, and go down a spiral. I got addicted to alcohol and pills for a couple of weeks. Not enough for withdrawals, but it was still bad. Thankfully I woke up one day and realized what I was doing. (I'll give her this, I called and she immediately came to get me so I could get out of that situation.) Fast forward more, I move out again, but just down the street. I'm now 19 and start dating my now fiance. We have been together 8 years and I barely talk to her anymore. Esp this past year. I don't really message her first anymore. I've gone 6 or more months without talking to her. Shoot, without talking to anyone in my family. Fiance's parents get me the mental health I needed. Get diagnosed with depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder. I've told Mom I have bipolar since I was 16 and she just dismissed me, saying it's my hormones. (Jokes on her) About 4 years in, she starts telling me I need to find someone else to be with. He isn't good enough for me. (Yeah, like the rest weren't. No one is good enough for her.) It gets to the point I had to tell her and my sister both to stop, or I was gonna cut them out of my life completely. (Should have, looking back, but we learn.) They stop for a while. Sister is now showing her true colors. She's a narcissist and gaslighter, just like her father. She cannot own up to her mistakes, what so ever. She gets into an accident, not her fault. She gets into a fight she started, not her fault. Can't hold down a job, not yet fault. (I've had trouble holding down a job as well, but I'm getting better. I finally got diagnosed with ADHD and am in meds, so I'm not feeling impulsive as bad. Id switch jobs pretty frequently, due to the better sounding one. It's still affecting me to this day, but I'm seeing a change in my mind. Just gotta push through a bit more. Not blaming it on my ADHD, but the disease doesn't make it easier.) Mom has gotten sister a job with her at every single job she's had the past 4 years. Sister ruins it for mom, cause sister can't stand mom not paying attention to her, or doing everything for sister. Sister has bad anxiety, and uses it as an excuse to keep mom working. Sister wants all the pay of being a manager, without actually doing the manager duties. Sister always tells me I need to dress better. Says i "need to look more presentable and not like a slob". I wear skinny jeans and a Tshirt usually. Frequently, I'll wear sweats if I'm just going to moms and not going out. I like being comfy. Constantly criticizing me for every single thing I do. Finally mom says she realizes how bad she has treated me throughout my life. I forgave her a long time ago. Gets to the point mom says she wouldn't have anything to do with sister, if she wasn't her kid. Thought things were gonna change. Clearly not. Mom and sister both get another new job, the same job. Again. It's like nothing has changed since that conversation. Still barely talk to her, and everything. Last time I hung out with them, it was for only 3 hours. THREE HOURS. yet, I had anxiety and panic attacks from that small amount of time, for the next 3 days... I can't do this anymore, but I feel SO freaking guilty for even considering this. I love my mom and sister. I want them in my life, but I can't keep feeling like this. My mental health is always needing to be restarted after being around them. It's like I go back to that 12 year old me and want to self harm all over again. I'm now almost 10 years clean from it. There is no longer any scars, and I'm happier now. I just can't help but to feel I should just suck it up and "get over it". I know this is rediculously long, so if you've read this far, thank you. I just need some other people's perspective that isn't biased and I feel you guys are the best chance for that. I'm really struggling on what to do and feel so guilty for even typing this stuff out. My worst fear is disappointing her, yet I do every day. I also really hate confrontation. I'll do whatever it takes to avoid it, but I just can't anymore. I've always wondered how life would be if my dad was alive. I don't remember him, but I can still say I miss him. I miss the opportunities that I didn't get growing up.
Thank you guys. I'll take whatever you guys throw at me. I just want to see if my feelings are valid or not. This is literally causing me pain. I need help.

So if I get a 88% for semester 1 and a 92% for semester 2, do highshool Calculate the average grade? So like the average will be a 89.50 which is a A=4.00 gpa. Or do they just say I got a B first semester and a A second semester so my gpa is a 3.5?

Hello. I think over the past year I've made atleast 2 mistakes.
The first was taking IB in the first place, the second was taking Math AA HL thinking I was built for it. Long story short I was not built for it, and It's the only class i'm currently failing. My grades in my other classes are also subpar, Ds and Cs with a B+ in French B HL. I have 1 month before my finals, and I'm really worried about my math grade. However, you can probably tell that I'm procrastinating studying for those tests just because I'm writing for advice here.
I'm also a little worried about Uni, as I'm thinking my predicted grades and grade transcript would make my admissions officer immediately fold my application in half and slam dunk it in the bin.
So, what do I do in my position? Other than 'Study and somehow get a good enough grade in the final to pass math.' Essentially, all my chances of passing the year are riding on my math finals but I'm not confident in getting any score above a 4, so please give me some advice.

As I finished that second calculus problem, my ears quickly caught the noisy sound from outside my dorm room. Even as I closed the window, the air still rumbled; and as I peeked from the corner of my laptop, I noticed groups of students making their way towards one of the houses right across the street.
I sighed as I turned my gaze back to my laptop. To my calculus homework. And to all the schoolwork that'd brought me here in the first place. I didn't really expect that coming to the United States to take some courses as an exchange student would be so... Lonesome. The classes were great and all; but it all felt somewhat empty at the same time. As if something was missing from this experience as a whole. If only I could really know what was it. Because I knew I didn't need friends to have fun. Right?
... When I woke up the next morning, there was definitely something off. Because as I turned around, I quickly noticed that my phone had a bright pink case surrounding it. And my hands seemed softer than ever.

Hi everyone!
As this brief introduction may suggest, I'm looking for a potential partner with whom to do this college-set story about a rather lonely, nerdy, and shy exchange student - who unsuspectingly enrolled in one of the nation's loudest "party schools" - wakes up to find out he has been turned into your typical, gorgeous, popular, party girl.
A story about an introvert who slowly climbs out his shell.
An introvert who finds that life is more than grades.
And an introvert who learns that being popular... Might also take a lot of studying.
This story might involve mental changes and possible IQ Loss. But at the same time, growth in confidence and other skills my character was formerly lacking.
I'd love to hear from you guys, and possibly explore the potential for this even further!