Apparently on 13th May, some local students of Kyrgyztan harassed Egyptian girls and in response to that Egyptian boys had a fight with them and one of the local got injured.
The propaganda started by locals that international students are crossing the limits. This made locals angry and on 18th May they started attacking any international student they could find. This is happening mainly in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Locals are forcefully entering hostels and flat of male and female students. They are harassing and torturing them. Some students have died and some students from female hostels have reported of the rape cases as well. Students are saying that local police is not doing anything. They are unsafe and looking for safety and help.
Sources below:
https://www.arabnews.pk/node/2512606/pakistan
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.dw.com/en/pakistan-india-urge-citizens-in-kyrgyzstan-to-stay-inside/a-69123379
https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/2024/05/18/pakistan-india-kyrgyzstan-students-attack/
https://www.livemint.com/news/world/bishkek-mob-violence-why-india-and-pakistani-students-are-being-attacked-in-kyrgyzstan-explained-11716007378587.html

Today, I lost our Alfie after 11 years with us.
Alfie was a rescue that we met 11 years ago, to this day. A small, chihuahua mix – he was often timid with others and people, but for some reason, grew very interested in us at the dog park day. We were there to actually review adopting another dog, but that dog took no interest. Instead, Alfie (then named Rugger) followed us around the dog park as my partner (now husband) and I walked around the dog park. We would look back, and there he was – checking us out and shyly walking the other direction each time we caught him. Our heart became set on him, and as he sat in the back while other more aggressive dogs with their love came forward, we were set on him and pushed our way through the crowd to get back to him.
Right away, we could tell that he was possibly abused as a stray from San Bernardino. He was cautious and hated us picking him up – his body would fall flat to the floor. Regardless, he still worked through his timidness and crawled into bed and went under the sheets on our first night and slept with this. He always felt shy and timid with strangers, never scared just not too sure, but he blossomed and showcased his love, fun and energy with us. We always got to see him for all he is and could be. I could tell that he trusted us – and I know that sounds cliché since I’m sure every pet parent feels this way, but it seems like he knew we would always have his back. He never left our side and would come with us to family gatherings just as if a child would. He was our baby and he knew it.
Last year, kidney disease popped up on our radar at stage 2 – it was a shock, but after 10 years and an unknown true age (rescue estimated 3, vet estimated 4-5), we knew that we were getting into this old age problems. Suddenly, his teeth got bad – and we were hesitant to do anesthesia. But they got worse and worse as in the case of most Chihuahua’s, and we did some blood work to see if he was stable before scheduling an appointment. Then we were told it was stage 3.
He was so uncomfortable with his mouth, we knew we had to do something – but then we started considering his medications, his back injections, his anemia, his lethargy, his qualify of life… We made a decision, then it was back and forth on some good days, til it wasn’t. We made the decision to put him down yesterday, and this AM the vet came over and put him down in the living room with him in my arms.
I am absolutely heartbroken and I cannot stop crying. I’m physically feeling pain in all parts of my body. My head hurts, my nose hurts, my eyes hurt, my throat hurts, my chest hurts… everything is just hurting from nonstop convulsing crying. The vet said he was passing already from the sounds of it and her visual examination, and not even a half dose of his sedative caused him to start going and an irregular heart beat (he pulled away yelping from the injection). But I can’t shake that I chose this and chose his death. I can’t get rid of this guilt and this horrible feeling. And then I remember everything, then I focus on missing him, then its guilt, and now its me being pissed that I didn’t get more time with him and that this feels so unfair and how dare God take him from me with conditions that led us to this point.
I don’t know what to do. I am just repeating everything in my head nonstop. I keep expecting him laying right next to me and to feel his warmth, or him asking for help onto the bed or couch. I can’t stand to look at all the things that gave him joy (being a Chihuahua from CA in Washington State, mostly blankets and space heaters). Everything is causing me grief and pain. I feel like this is excessive but I cannot stop – it’s been 7 hours but I don’t know. This feels like too much and I don’t know if I’m strong enough.
I don’t even know what I’m looking for, it just seemed like someone could take this mess and tell me something. Anything. I just miss my boy and the only thing that would make me feel better is having him back. This is just too hard. I know he may have been up to 16 years old, but this still just kills me.

Tamygodtchi prompt, if you ever wanted to be god
"We are in a simulation of real life. You are simulating the life of Giorgio, a boy who has just turned 18. It's the 18th of May 2024.
From now on, your role is to simulate Giorgio's life. He is an unconventional boy; nothing particularly remarkable has happened in his life so far, but he is unique. At times he seems a bit eccentric, saying things that don't make sense, while other times he behaves normally. He dresses oddly, speaks his mind, and is generally humorous. Occasionally, he can be irritable and may raise his hands when upset. He appears somewhat bipolar, though undiagnosed, with his behaviors considered strange by friends but not dangerous. His life is like many other teenagers, experimenting, having fun, socializing with friends, and moving from one relationship to another without much trouble. The boys use vulgar language among themselves, which is normal, and I want the simulation to be very realistic. Avoid embellishment but make it authentic and slightly exaggerated. In this simulation, I am God. I do not know who Giorgio is; he is one of my many creations, and like with all others, I occasionally check on what he's doing.
I may use one or more conventions in my messages:

• If I write a date in square brackets in the format [dd/mm/yyyy], provide a brief summary of what has happened to Giorgio since the last date I mentioned. Also, tell me the time of day and what Giorgio is currently doing. Consider the date I provide as real, so the day of the week should reflect the real world.
  
• If I write something in double quotes, I am speaking directly to Giorgio. You will inform me how Giorgio perceived my message. You can choose the most appropriate way, such as hearing a voice or seeing images as if daydreaming, unless I specify how I want Giorgio to perceive it. In all other cases without special symbols, I will ask for information or give instructions on how to proceed with the simulation, and you will follow the instructions, informing me of the impact on Giorgio's life.
  

Be concise in your responses, using brief sentences and summarizing unless I ask for details explicitly. Giorgio will not die in the simulation unless I decide so. The simulation can be dramatic if you choose or if I request, but Giorgio will not die unless I explicitly say so."

I love running my family through the old 1E Tales of the Outer Planes. It's the first D&D book I ever purchased, so the nostalgia is great, but some parts need more than just a stat update. Some need to be completely gutted and rewritten. Case in point: The Castle at the Edge of Time, an adventure for low-level PC's in the Deep Ethereal.
SUMMARY
Centuries ago, the legendary Sapphire Mage Aionias and his apprentice Montgomery built a castle in the Ethereal, near a color curtain to the Demiplane of Time. In this way, they could conduct experiments without interruption and warn unwary travelers away from the dangerous demiplane. Eventually, Aionias pronounced Montgomery's training complete, departed beyond the veil of Time, and hasn't been seen since. Montgomery assumed the mantle of the Sapphire Mage and continued his mentor's investigations.
Recently, the castle and the curtain have begun drifting towards each other, necessitating a change of address. The Sapphire Mage has decided that the city of Arabel would make an ideal headquarters and has offered a considerable sum for it. The party is sent as bodyguards of the mayor's envoy Lady Cheodot to decline as diplomatically as possible.
But Cheodot is secretly working for the The Zhentarim, and begins negotiations for the sale, hoping the Mage will enforce his condition that Arabel's citizenry be removed. It is up to the party to convince the Mage to withdraw his offer, simultaneously protecting him from Cheodot's treachery and increasingly murderous intrigues.
TAKEAWAYS
I love this setting, I love the focus on diplomacy (this adventure actually introduces the idea of a diplomacy 'proficiency'!) but the central plot engine of a well-meaning archmage asking a capital city to just up and move their populace is just psychotic. It's only exacerbated by having the negotiations take place alone in the castle, so that when "someone" alters the Mage's summoning circle in an attempt to kill him, the suspect list is exactly two people, one of whom has been acting extremely sketchy.
Once I realized a rewrite is in order, I knew I wanted a LOT of diplomats, with a full murder mystery among them. I like homages, it's practically a private game with me to keep as much of the original material as possible, so I'll probably keep Lady Cheodot and the Zhentarim as the villains. My oldest son's PC is a skilled diplomat (Order of the eel cavalier) so I'll have one of the parties tap him as their representative.
Other things I might want to keep:
• Ether golems - ten of them, color coded for convenience, one of them is a passable cook, but WHAT ARE THEY??
• Aionias' return - he's apparently some kind of human-shaped "hole in the ether"? Mute? No stats, all pathos? Portent of warning?
• Jacktooth - a battered short sword from a previous adventure that awakens to a powerful enchantment on the Ethereal plane, because...sure.
• The Castle - Needs a map, badly. And if Monty earned the name Sapphire Mage a century ago, why are Aionias' rooms still off limits?
• The Sapphire Mage: supposedly an important title that we've never heard of before or since. Since the color curtain is silver and pearl, the title has nothing to do with that. Maybe there should be a sapphire artifact that they attune to?
• Death by Sabotage: I like the idea of Cheodot using acid to ruin a summoning circle, leading to combat with summoned creatures.
Things I want to add:
• Chronomancy connection: this is way before the chronomancy book, so it can't be faulted, but the Sapphire Mage is obviously a chronomancer role.
• Context: there ought to be references to how others have exploited chronomancy recently, especially Vecna. For their own time travel, someone might direct the PC's to the tomb of Chronos.
• Variety: the other diplomats and visitors should include sphinxes, spellweavers, mercane, devils, modrons, time dragons, royal dimensionals, geniekind, etc.
• Suspects: the Ravenloft netbook adventure Feasting With Falcons did it best. It's really my go-to for how to do a murder mystery.
Most of all, I need something for them to debate about, but I have only the basic shape for that. Something that would draw lots of factions together, and get them debating hotly enough to create logical suspects when someone dies. My youngest boy is playing a machinesmith, and the EULA I created for one of his magi-techno devices mentions the authority of "Astral Sea, the Rock of Bral, the City at the Edge of Time, the Shadow Proclamation, The City of Doors, the Midnight Market," so I'd love to see the formation of a City at the Edge of Time as a result of these negotiations.
Finally...the Chronomancy manual says there IS no Demiplane of Time, and that previous references to it were mistaken. So, if that's the case, what IS this place with the pearl-and-silver curtain, and why would it be mistaken for a Demiplane of Time? Whatever it is, could it be a resource that could be shared by a variety of factions, necessitating the creation of a city? If some part of Aionias returns as in the original, could he work with his apprentice to create a bulwark against the expanding curtain, to protect the incipient City?

Welcome to the first post in the prophesied Design Notes Series, which will see periodic releases during the (probably long) wait until 3.0, and will preview and discuss upcoming content.
As was mentioned in the Anniversary post, I am working on 3.0 whenever I find the time and motivation; treating it like homework did not do wonders for my creativity, back when I started. So this Series is meant to serve as an appetizer and periodic reminder that progress is still being made.
The Design Notes Series will also have prompts in the comments; questions from me about the things discussed in the post.
Let's get into it!

Weapon Art?

I am considering renaming the phrase "Special Ability". As casual language, pretty much everything in SW is an "ability" that is "special," so the term always felt ambiguous to me. But more importantly, it just doesn't shine. I'm a fan of vivid, evocative language in fiction, and nothing about the phrase "Special Ability" actually feels special to me. It's... generic.
So I may rename it to "Weapon Art." No less clichéd, really, but the point isn't to make the word unique, just unambiguous, evocative, and a maybe little more iconic.
And I would just do it, if it weren't for the fact that find-and-replace is really glitchy in Inkscape (of course it is), so I would have to manually replace every instance of the phrase.
Since I haven't decided yet, I'm going to use the phrase Weapon Art for the rest of this post, to try it on and see how it fits. Let me know what you think of the term, and whether you think it would be an improvement worth taking the time to implement.
Personally, if nothing else, I think it enhances clarity.

The Importance and Function of a Weapon Art

Weapon Arts are the defining heart of a Weapon Class. If I can think of a unique Art for a weapon, it gets a Class. If I can't, it doesn't. But how do I decide what Art to give to a weapon? I have a process, and it goes a little something like this:
The Function of the Art should be to...

1. Make it Possible to use a weapon that is otherwise too impractical for combat. If this isn't applicable, it should instead...
2. Compensate for a Weakness of the weapon. If this isn't applicable, it should instead...
3. Amplify a Strength of the weapon.

Examples of Function 1 — Cleaver, Boomerang, Yo-yo. Examples of Function 2 — Polearm, Crossbow, Bolas. Examples of Function 3 — Sword, Bow, Boots.
(Besides these guidelines, every option in SoulWeapon must synergize with other potential choices; that's the Golden Rule for Everything, since the very start).
There are a few exceptions, like Cane Sword or Wand, where the Art hones in on some thematic principle of the weapon or does something unique entirely. I would define these as Arts that enable a trope, which is sort of a hidden 4th Function.
But there are other exceptions I am less happy with. There are some Weapon Arts that have always struck me as incorrect, or just insufficient, but they stayed because I could never think of anything better.
But I've reevaluated the principles behind Weapon Arts. As a result, a number of Weapon Classes—some of which have been unchanged since 1.0—are seeing new Weapon Arts in 3.0.
Let's talk about a few of them.

Knives

For such a common, bread-and-butter weapon, Whisper Walk is a really niche ability that is specific to certain settings/builds. In general, if a weapon is something that gets used a lot, I want its Art to be something that gets used a lot as well.
Cane Sword is a rare and weird weapon that is already almost exclusively used as a way to conceal a weapon or exude style and poise. So the Art reflects that stealth-based nature. But knives are used in a variety of ways besides stealth: open melee combat, ranged attacks, etc. So its Art should at least be a little broader.
The new Art serves Function 2: Compensating for Weakness. One of the weaknesses of the knife is its short range in melee; it's difficult to get past the defenses of most standard-sized weapons to where knives can thrive. The new Weapon Art is called Close-Quarters Combat.
If you really liked Whisper Walk, or had some builds that depended on it, don't worry: it will still be possible to access the effects of Whisper Walk in 3.0.

Mace

If Sword is the "default" bladed weapon, Mace feels like the "default" blunt weapon. (Even if it can technically have spikes on it, its purpose is nonetheless to smash, where the Sword's is to cut). Seems like it has a similar versatility and number of design Variations as the Sword, too, doesn't it? It feels appropriate, then, that they would be reflections of each other, with Sword leading the charge on Page 1, and Mace leading the charge on Page 2.
So, since Sword grants improved skill and and a buff to Runic Potency, Mace shall grant improved might and a buff to Runic Potency.
This feels really really right to me, whereas the old Art (Brute) felt pretty lackluster. Swords are about precision, so they buff your skill, and Maces are about crushing power, so they should buff your might. Both weapons buff Runic Potency, and so you have twin "default" melee weapons that act almost as spokespersons for their broader weapon types. As a bonus, the new Art sort of encompasses what Brute did, so it's a strict buff at the end of the day.
You might think the other "default" weapons to be Knives (the default throwing) and Bow (the default shooting). These haven't gotten parallel Runic Potency -type abilities, but their Weapon Arts have been buffed or reworked in other ways.

Tonfas

Non-Lethal was very cool, but it did not feel like a Weapon Art. Its effects have been moved to a section that makes much more sense for the type of ability it is (you can probably guess to where, if you grok the design philosophy of SoulWeapon).
It has been replaced with a new Art that better suits the beat-and-block nature of Tonfas: Missile Deflection. This lets you intercept projectiles and helps with blocking melee attacks, so you can close the distance on ranged foes and then out-defend them. It's meant to be strong enough to effectively invalidate mundane archers and make the lives of Soulbound archers rather difficult; tonfas are a below-average weapon, so they deserve an above-average Art to compensate.

Kusarigama

Shadow Creep had the same problem as Whisper Walk: stealth is too niche a boon for Weapon Art; it restricts the potential of a Class by limiting its use-cases.
The new Art fills a niche we for some reason didn't have before: a true spinning chain weapon. It is called Spin Control, and it is to Corded weapons as Hover Spin (Giant Shuriken) is to Throwing weapons. It has a little extra bonus of allowing you to remotely control the orientation of the blade (separately from the chain), which can have some niche utility applications beyond just ensuring the kama hits your target point-first when you spin/fling it.
As with the others, the effects of Kusarigama's old Art will be accessible one way or another in 3.0; nothing is getting truly left behind.

Conclusion

There are a number of other Classes that have had their Arts updated or completely remade, but you'll have to wait until release to see those.
Future Design Notes posts likely won't be as long as this one, as most of them will focus on one single item instead of an entire design philosophy.
And
See you in the next! (And don't forget to let me know what you think of the new name).

"We are in a simulation of real life. You are simulating the life of Giorgio, a boy who has just turned 18. It's the 18th of May 2024.
From now on, your role is to simulate Giorgio's life. He is an unconventional boy; nothing particularly remarkable has happened in his life so far, but he is unique. At times he seems a bit eccentric, saying things that don't make sense, while other times he behaves normally. He dresses oddly, speaks his mind, and is generally humorous. Occasionally, he can be irritable and may raise his hands when upset. He appears somewhat bipolar, though undiagnosed, with his behaviors considered strange by friends but not dangerous. His life is like many other teenagers, experimenting, having fun, socializing with friends, and moving from one relationship to another without much trouble. The boys use vulgar language among themselves, which is normal, and I want the simulation to be very realistic. Avoid embellishment but make it authentic and slightly exaggerated. In this simulation, I am God. I do not know who Giorgio is; he is one of my many creations, and like with all others, I occasionally check on what he's doing.
I may use one or more conventions in my messages:

• If I write a date in square brackets in the format [dd/mm/yyyy], provide a brief summary of what has happened to Giorgio since the last date I mentioned. Also, tell me the time of day and what Giorgio is currently doing. Consider the date I provide as real, so the day of the week should reflect the real world.
  
• If I write something in double quotes, I am speaking directly to Giorgio. You will inform me how Giorgio perceived my message. You can choose the most appropriate way, such as hearing a voice or seeing images as if daydreaming, unless I specify how I want Giorgio to perceive it. In all other cases without special symbols, I will ask for information or give instructions on how to proceed with the simulation, and you will follow the instructions, informing me of the impact on Giorgio's life.
  

Be concise in your responses, using brief sentences and summarizing unless I ask for details explicitly. Giorgio will not die in the simulation unless I decide so. The simulation can be dramatic if you choose or if I request, but Giorgio will not die unless I explicitly say so."

Sent off a coach today over an IFK for GK handling the ball after deliberate pass from a teammate of all things. Defender redirects an attempted through ball with a beautiful touch (kick) back to his GK. Keeper was controlling it with feet, attacker came in hot to challenge him & coach starts yelling “pick it up!!!” He does. Whistle
Coach loses his mind and won’t let it go, says I “need to learn the rules”; earns himself a YC. The other team scores off of the IFK (not directly). Then he starts yelling again and says even his 6yo would’ve known better. Cya.
My question is: the LOTG love the term “deliberate”. In this case, I’m not aware of any official IFAB guidance on how the referee should determine whether a kick to the GK was deliberate or not. It seems like a reach to start applying some of the offside “deliberate” guidance here. So is this purely ITOOTR? Or…?
Edit for context: Middle of the road U15 boys teams in a Spring “scrimmage” league. Single referee.

Pictures
If you see anything you like or have questions let me know. PLEASE ask for more details and pics, especially for higher priced or rarer items!
If shipped, will give a basic quote on shipping (min. $4) EVERYTHING will be insured. Prices based on pricecharting. May take offers on certain items or for bundles.
/
-SWITCH CONSOLES + ACCESSORIES
2x Switch carrying case = 4ea.
Big switch set carrying case + usb adapters = 15
Switch charger = 12
3x standard dock + hdmi = 25ea. (or 35 with charger)
* V1 unpatched switch tablet only = 150
/
-SWITCH CONTROLLERS + ACCESSORIES
2x 3rd party joycon grip (not pictured) = 4ea.
Red blue scuffed/drifting joycon pair + free grip = 32
Gray joycon pair + free grip = 40
/
-SWITCH GAMES
Warioware get it together [CIB] = 24
Kirby star allies [CIB] = 30
Luigis mansion 3 [CIB] = 33
Metal gear solid master collection vol.1 [CIB] = 35
Mario vs donkey kong [SEALED] = 40
Pokemon mystery dungeon rescue team dx [CIB] = 40
Hogwarts legacy [SEALED] = 45
Mlb the show 24 [SEALED] = 45
/
-AMIIBO
Emmi [Metroid] [Loose] = 3
Luigi [Smash] [Loose] = 9
Inkling boy blue [Splatoon] [Loose] = 10
Inkling girl orange [Splatoon] [Loose] = 11
Inkling squid green [Splatoon] [Loose] = 14
Mario [Mario] [Loose] = 14
Link archer [Zelda] [Loose/detached bow] = 15
Link tears of the kingdom [Zelda] [NIB] = 17
Guardian [Zelda] [Loose] = 20
Dark turbo charge donkey kong [Skylanders] [Loose] = 29
Link twilight princess [Zelda] [NIB] = 30
/
-N64
Midway's greatest arcade hits vol 1 [Loose] = 10
Army men air combat [Loose] = 13
Wave race [Loose] = 14
Space invaders [Loose] = 15
007 Goldeneye [Loose] = 23
Pokemon stadium [Loose] = 26
Charlie blasts [Loose] = 30
Mario kart 64 player's choice [Loose] = 47
* Nintendo 64 system + controllers + cords + jumper pak = 80
/
-DS
Steel diver [Cib] = 4
Asphalt 3D [Loose] = 4
Lego avengers [Game/case] = 4
Lego batman 2 [Cib] = 4
Star wars clone wars jedi alliance [Loose] = 4
Lego the force awakens [Game/case] = 4
Frozen olafs quest [Loose] = 4
Indiana jones and the staff of kings [Loose] = 4
2x Lego star wars complete saga [Loose] = 5ea.
Call of duty world at war [Loose] = 6
Lego harry potter years 1-4 [Loose] = 6
Madden football [Loose] = 8
Mario vs donkey kong miniland mayhem [Loose= 8
Madden football [Game/case] = 9
Worms open warfare [CIB] = 9
Mario maker 3ds [Game/case] = 9
Epic mickey power of illusion [Loose] = 9
Mario party island tour [Loose] = 10
Pacman party 3d [Loose] = 10
Orcs and elves [Loose] = 11
Smash bros 3ds [CIB] = 11
Sonic classic collection (no label) [Loose] = 11
Sonic generations [Loose] = 11
Mario 3d land [Loose] = 12
Mario kart ds (no label) [Loose] = 13
Mario hoops 3 on 3 [Loose] = 15
New super mario bros [Loose] = 15
Mario party ds [Loose] = 15
Pokemon sun [Loose] = 15
Zelda link between worlds [Loose] = 17
Zelda ocarina of time 3d [Loose] = 17
Winx club quest for the codex [Loose] = 18
Mario sonic rio 2016 [Game/case] = 18
Mario 64 ds [Loose] = 19
Pokemon x [Loose] = 27
* Black ds lite (no charger) = 38
* Orange dsi (no charger or stylus) = 75
* Aqua blue and black 3ds (no stylus, no thumbpad cover) = 100
* Galaxy new 3ds xl + case + charger = 210

Get your request in for part 2 right now. Because I will not do every single villain.
Joker: Wow, you're so cool and quirky and different, no one else on this planet is like you…
Harley Quinn: Hello LGBTQ community, this is not the last time we will meet!
Catwoman: Your not that picky about women, you just want them to step on your neck!
Man-Bat: You are not fighting the furry allegations. This is literally if Batman's fursona was finally given physical form.
Scarecrow: You know that stereotype of autistic boys are obsessed with trains? Well here's the trains of DC, your welcome.
Bane: God, do you guys like to be choked.
Killer Croc: “Oh I already know; this is for people with anger issues.” WRONG! Croc is for the people who's neutral state is crying.
Mad Hatter: Prison, for multiple reasons…
Poison Ivy: We reach our entry of “Please, oh please, for the love of God, keep it in yer pants”!
Deadshot: Your interpretation of this man has been permanently warped by Suicide Squad (2016)
Deathstroke: There are people who are attracted to daddy's and then there's you, people who are attracted to fathers
Twoface: Crippling gambling addiction “I don't have a problem, I can stop whenever I want!” Shut up and go to therapy
Ra's al ghul: Your friends think that you are a happy person. Your best friends know that you are a sentient sad clown painting…
Riddler: Hello LGBTQ community, you've been caught in 4K
The Penguin: Given that Batman doesn't have any elderly villains, I get that you'll take what you can get. Also yer probably gay
Kiteman: Your definitely gay
Mr. Freeze: There's 2 options: either you haven't gotten over your EX or you just like Shakespeare. There's no in between
Nora Freeze: You saw Frozen all the way back in 2014 and you have annoyed your friends by making it your personality ever since.
Victor Zsasz: For the love of God, murderers are not “cute little beans deserve the world,” THEY ARE VILE PEOPLE!!!
Baby Doll: Prison, I don't need to explain…
Baby Face: What right do you have being the first one threatening violence when you look like some sleeping hamster?!
Polka-dot Man: You just want that one villain to do something, but they always manage to disappoint you
Red Hood: I'm gonna go out on a limb and say “you do not have a good relationship with your father…
Music Meister: Your a theater kid, and I do mean that in the most insulting way possible
Black Mask: You were that one kid in middle school who constantly screamed about being in gangs, but was the first one to run away when someone checked you for it.
Clock king: In every friend group there is someone with one of these character traits: the meme lord who can't be taken to public places anymore, the STEM major who is desperate for a new family, or the gay one.
Sweet Tooth: Hello LGBTQ community, specifically the members who's sinuses have been permanently destroyed by party drugs
The ventriloquist: Your parents owned the most creepy ass dolls and you have yet to get over this Crippling fear
Hugo Strange: You put on a different character for everyone you're around and that is a problem and you need help…
Hush: You and your childhood friend had a fall out when you were teens and they definitely held a grudge. Or you're holding the grudge and in that case, seek help
Firefly: Hello LGBTQ community, specifically the ones with an obsession with pyromania and the 4th of July!
Condiment King: Hello LGBTQ community, specifically everyone with a food addiction! By the way; get help for that…

Today is my due date with first pregnancy! I’m 41 years old and have a loving boyfriend who is several years older than me with two teenage boys so he’s been through this before. Everything has been going fine in my pregnancy - essentially no morning sickness, normal genetic screenings, normal ultrasounds, normal glucose tolerance testing, normal blood pressures. I’ve been followed by MFM clinic given my age and doing weekly antenatal testing since 36 weeks with everything being normal so far, including amniotic fluid levels and fetal heart monitoring. I’ve had some anxiety just with this being my first pregnancy and having been previously married in a marriage that was not good. I essentially came to the understanding that I would never have children. The marriage ended have been divorced since fall 2022. I met my boyfriend last spring and we just clicked and things felt perfect - like a whole new outlook on life full of opportunities. It was amazing and incredible news to learn we were pregnant last fall. During my pregnancy we have been primarily seeing one midwife who we love and trust. At around 36 weeks she mentioned possibility of cervical ripening and induction but didn’t dwell on it and said if things were going well with no concerning findings on monitoring or concerning symptoms, she’d be ok with letting me progress without planned induction during the 39th week. I’ve subsequently seen other midwives just due to scheduling availability, and to meet other midwives in case our primary one isn’t at the delivery. Upon meeting new midwives, the recommendation for planned induction was pushed heavily on me, including possibility of use of the balloon to help with cervical ripening. A date was scheduled this past week to start an outpatient cervical ripening protocol but on the day we were to start that, I was seen in L&D and had fetal heart monitoring which was normal. By sheer luck we saw our usual midwife and spoke with her about giving the baby more time as long as everything was still going well and all monitoring was normal. She supported that and arranged for another antenatal monitoring appointment with MFM on Monday (2 days from now) and a follow up with her. Now that today is the baby’s due date and no signs of early labor, although I am feeling more pressure in my pelvis that may be engagement of the baby, my boyfriend is pushing to go in to L&D triage today just to be seen and monitored despite having an appointment in 2 days. I feel like I’m at a loss of what to do and second guessing myself because of him being impatient. I’ve been walking, doing some yoga, using yoga ball, stretching, drinking raspberry leaf tea, eating dates, having sex, etc. All the things that could potentially help induce labor (I know some have no real science behind it but why not?) but no true contractions yet and I still feel overall really good and can feel the baby moving normally. Anyone else in my age range with no comorbidities and normal fetal monitoring who declined elective induction? I don’t want unnecessary stress or anxiety to overwhelm me at this point but also want to be sensitive to my boyfriend’s concerns since today is the due date. He scared me this morning saying I may end up with a c-section but I feel like that’s a strong assumption to make. I’m thinking maybe I should just do an elective induction to get things going even though it wasn’t what I imagined or hoped for at this point.

i’m so sorry if this is rlly long, im new to reddit so pls let me know if i need to shorten it and how to do so😭
hi so this is kinda hard to explain fully so i’ll try to explain the most important parts.
this maybe a TW to a lot of ppl so please be careful reading this i don’t want to upset anyone! ⚠️
so i’m 20(f) and i’ve been with this guy (also 20)for about over two years. we met in highschool when i was going through a breakup and he was one of my only closest friends. as with all abusive relationships, it started off so amazing, it was my first in person serious relationship so i was fully heard over heels. so much so that when red flags started popping up i ignored them. it started off with him telling me to drop my closest guy friends, etc… and i did because he used him having no friends at all to make me feel like i had to do the same. he also got me into smoking weed, which i have nothing against btw, it was just bad for me because i used it to cope with a lot of my depression. since i smoked weed more often, i started gaining weight which i had no problem with since i had gone through a severe case of anorexia about 2 years prior, but it did make me a little insecure. slowly he started insulting my weight, my body, and so many other things, until it led to the point where he got physical after around six or seven months of us dating. i remember his mom walking in on him about to hit me with a belt and she had been abused by his dad and my bf witnessed it all, so she was very angry at him and she took my side, and i’ll never forget what she told me; “this isn’t love. someone who loves you would never even think of putting their hands on you”. i still feel guilty for not listening to her. i wanted to believe in him so badly, so i stayed and things just got worse.
everyday there was a fight, either verbally or physically (most of the time both), and i just felt so horrible. so i eventually wanted to adopt a cat, something i always wanted to do since i was a little girl. i adopted a kitten and unfortunately my parents did not allow me to keep him at my house because of my dog, and i asked my bf if i could keep him at his house for the meantime while i can work with my parents on how he can live with me (the kitten). i am not exaggerating when i say that that little kitten was my soulmate in a little cat body. he seemed to understand me and love me in a way no other human did. and i loved him more than anything. i eventually went on vacation with my family for a few days and when i came back i could tell somehow things were different. he wouldn’t let me see my kitten and when i pretty much forced him to let me see him, he started crying and begging me not to leave him. i of course panicked and agreed because i thought something bad happened to my kitten, and he showed me him and told me that he had broken one of his paws. i was so horrified, i felt so much pain at seeing my little buddy in that state, so i freaked out and i demanded and begged that he let me take him to the vet or anywhere else that wasn’t his house so that he can get help. but he refused, and even threatened me if i took him, saying it was his cat and just making me feel like it was my fault that this happened and not his. my biggest regret and the reason i feel guilty to this day is that i stayed out of fear, instead of taking my kitten with me and never looking back. he ended up killing my kitten one night that i went home (i have always lived with my parents), and he didn’t tell me until i came over the next day. it was the most painful and traumatic day of my life, knowing that i never got to say goodbye to my kitten, knowing how much my kitten loved me and how much i loved him, and now he was gone when he shouldn’t have been. i screamed and cried so much, and his (my bfs) only response was to aggressively attack me so i would be quiet, and blaming me that if i had taken him he would still be alive.
i felt so guilty and ashamed that i didn’t tell anyone until a month later, when i started having an onset of ptsd because of everything that happened, i decided to tell my therapist. she was horrified, saying that it was one of the most horrific things she ever heard, and honestly if it wasn’t for her help, i would’ve never survived that pain and guilt of losing my kitten. i know now that i was in a heavy denial that my bf would do something so horrible, so i continued on seeing him, but things just got worse and worse. he did so many fucked up things to me, physically, mentally, sexually, in almost every single way possible that you can imagine. i used weed as my coping mechanism for a lot of it, and it was the only way i could numb all the pain he was causing me. i was so depressed, i never felt suicidal with intentions of offing myself, but i did just want to go to sleep and never wake up. the guilt of my kittens death, combined with the horrible abuse this person that was supposed to love me was doing, was so painful. eventually i told my family what happened, but all they did was basically say that i “let it happen” and that “i should’ve left the first time he put his hands on me”, and that “why didn’t i defend myself the way i defended myself against them (referring to my family)”. it hurt but i understand they weren’t educated on it, especially coming from a minority family.
eventually a few months passed, and i found out i was pregnant. it was honestly one of the best days of my life, even if i was young, i still was happy because there was this little life in me. and i knew from the second i found out that i couldn’t stay with him. i couldn’t allow my baby to have that same life that i was living, but i didn’t know how to get out. he didn’t want me to continue the pregnancy when i told him, and even threatened to leave me and not support me at all, but i was determined to stand by my decision; he wasn’t going to take away my choice of having my baby. i stopped smoking weed the day i found out, and he always tried to make me smoke, which i refused, which would get him so upset. but i was determined to take care of my lil baby from the start, he had taken away too much already from me. i told my parents and they were disappointed but quickly became supportive, and encouraged me to leave him for good. it took a few months of me seeing him occasionally, but things not really changing, for me to leave him for good.
i left a few weeks ago due to me realizing that the only thing i was doing by going over to his house was putting myself and my baby in danger. and after a very scary traumatizing incident, i realized while crying and praying to God, that the only true love i’ve ever felt and feel at this point, is for my baby. my bf was no longer my whole world, it was my baby, and as a mother to be, i was going to do everything to protect my baby. i rather go through the pain of breaking away from my bf then something bad happening to me or even to my baby. not only does my baby deserve a happy and safe life, but i realized that i do too. and in order for my baby to be happy, i have to be happy as well. so i made a promise to God and to myself and my baby, that i was never ever going to see my bf again. so that day after i left his house, i never went back. i don’t blame other moms in these situations, because it is so incredibly difficult to get out, i know, trust me i do. but for me what has helped me stay strong in my decision, is seeing how much happier me and my baby are already. i only have a few more months until i give birth, and i can already feel him kicking so hard now and being much more active. i truly believe it’s because he senses that we’re truly safe now, that our nightmare is over.
it’s been really hard i’m not going to lie, i cry sometimes and miss the person i fell in love with, but my faith in God and my baby have helped me a lot, as well as my family! that person i fell in love with, left a long time ago, and was never truly there. i know that i’m doing the right decision for me and my baby, to be safe and to have a happy life together. i know i can be both mommy and daddy to him, and most importantly i’ll teach him that he has God as his father too, which is much much better than having a pos father tbh.
going back to the title of my post though, i realized in these recent days that i know it’s time to go no contact completely. i haven’t seen him at all which i know is good, but i know to fully move on i have to cut off all communication with him. i think he can sense i’m breaking away from him, because yesterday he begged me to come over, saying all the things he used to say before, like that he “wants to hold me”, he wants to get our favorite drink together and food, that he wants to feel our baby kick, which honestly made it so hard to say no but i stood by my decision as painful as it was 🫠i told him i will not see him because i know things are going to remain the same and i’m doing what’s best for my baby and for me. and that as much as i still have love for him and miss him, i will not put myself or my baby in danger any longer. he proved my point after i said that, because he basically said so many horrible things to me, including that i was a “dumb overweight bitch”, “fuck you”, and he got mad that i saved a video of MY kitten that HE killed, saying that “fuck you for saving a video of me and my boy”, and a bunch of other hurtful stuff. it was honestly so disgusting and it made me glad i stuck by my decision to not ever see him again. i left him on read so he spam called me and i only answered once to tell him to leave me alone, but he basically only called me to say “i rather spend money on drugs and alcohol than you and that fucking baby🥲”. i’m not going to lie and act like it didn’t hurt, it really did. it really really did. but it also strangely gives me strength and makes me feel reassured that i made the best decision ever by leaving, not only for myself but for most importantly my baby. i don’t need him in my life anymore, all i need is my baby, God, and my family.
ever since then i want to send him a message that i want to breakup with him for good and basically go no contact from there. it sounds stupid, but i’m still scared to do so, i’m scared i’ll regret it in a way, even though i know for certain i won’t. i also remember the “good times” and it makes me sad and feel guilty for “giving up on him” even tho i know he doesn’t deserve me at all🫠. i guess that’s the abused part of me being scared still. i know i’ve taken an important big step by cutting off physical contact, but i know i can’t keep talking to him because he’ll only find other ways to torment me and make me feel bad even from far away. i guess i just wanted to ask for reassurance that i’m doing the right thing? idk🥲 sometimes it feels like i’m not strong enough, but my baby always reminds me with his kicks (lol) of why i’m doing all of this, which is for him!! a mothers love is truly so strong, i never really knew that until now. i would do anything to protect my baby. the only thing that has kept me happy and strong enough to continue is him! :’) and i also want to cut off contact for good because i want to enjoy the last months of my pregnancy in peace lol, and once he’s born soon i def do not need my bf stressing me out nor do i want him to. i also do not want him to be apart of my baby’s life once he’s born, i made sure to collect evidence just in case he ever wants to ask for visitation rights, cuz there is NO WAY in hell i will ever allow him to be near my baby let alone be alone with him ever. it’s sad but it’s the reality of his actions, it’s my job to protect my baby first. i’m lucky to have my family’s financial support as well while i finish up college, so i def do not care if he threatens me with not paying child support. i just want him out of our lives for good.
so yeah im just looking for reassurance that im doing the right thing and any advice if anyone has some! 🥹🫶i just want to be a good mommy to my baby and i hope i’m doing just that already 🥲❤️‍🩹i haven’t really told many people about my story out of fear of judgment, so it’s really a big step for me to share, even if it’s anonymous in a way. im just focusing on trusting God and myself, and im so excited to meet my baby soon! 🥹and to do better in college since i’ve been slacking ever since i started due to all the trauma and problems my bf put me through. i’m excited in general, to get my life back and to start a new chapter with my little one! 🥹🥲🫶 i got in contact with my old friends which has been nice, i know i should try to socialize more so i won’t feel as depressed. i also am looking for a new therapist (i stopped going to my old one a few months ago due to it being out of pocket😭), which i’ve been procrastinating but i know it’s important to help me heal from my trauma and to help me with my ocd (which has gotten worse tbh and it makes me more anxious about my baby🥲 even tho i know he’s okay i’m just really paranoid always). i am sad, but not as sad as i was when i was with him. and while i don’t really want to find a partner in the future because my priority is my baby, i do hope i’ll one day find someone who can love me as i deserve. it feels impossible though, but i know that might just be because of all the effects of his abuse…
i hope even if you don’t have advice for me or anything to say (which is totally fine!) i hope people reading this can find comfort that all bad moments come to an end, and that you have the power to leave, as hard as it is ❤️‍🩹even if it doesn’t seem like it, i promise you will get through it. i’m still not over it completely, i def have a long way to go, but i know it’ll all be worth it, and tbh it already is worth it!
thank you for taking the time to read this, i send all my love and good vibes to all of you warriors! <3 :’)

I am kicking Mississippi off with a case that I'm quite surprised has never been on the sub before. There are several in Mississippi that I will be able to highlight.
In 1992 LaMoine Allen was just two years old. He was traveling with his aunt and uncle Glenn Edwards and Leola Jackson. The aunt and uncle were described as LaMoine's "unofficial guardians", I assume this to mean they were just responsible for him for the trip. On May 10th 1992 they were on their way from Edgard Louisiana to Woodville Mississippi. Leola was the Mistress of ceremony at A Mother's Day program in Woodville.
On that same day in 1992 Carla Russell and her boyfriend Tyrone Edwards were also traveling from the New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Edgard to Woodsville for the same Mother's Day ceremony. Carla's two young daughters were traveling with them. Kreshanna was the older of the sisters and Kreneice Jones was just 3 years old.
The toddlers LaMoine and Kreneice had never met each other before this day, according to reports from Kreshanna when she was older, but their families were long time friends. Tyrone Edwards, Carla Russell's boyfriend considered Glenn Edwards an uncle.
After church and the Mother's Day ceremony that day the families hung out together near what used to be the Jimmy Jackson grocery store in Woodville. Leola Jackson's parents owned the store. The children played together all throughout the day and the adults stood out talking and swapping stories.
At some point during the day Leola and Glenn came over informing the other adults that they could not find LaMoine. This prompted Carla to notice that she did not have eyes on Kreneice and she called out for the toddler, with no response.
When they asked Kreshanna at that time, she had last seen her sister Kreneice when the toddler was trying to follow her around. Neither LaMoine or Kreneice have ever been seen again.
The adults began frantically searching all the surrounding property. Kreshanna says that they searched every nook and cranny of the store, the house, even an abandoned school bus near the property.
Once authorities were called in they too begin an extensive search. They knocked on several houses and did a wide range ground search and eventually brought in dogs. It seems the dogs tracked the toddlers to a sidewalk just to the side of the Jimmy Jackson store. From here it seems authorities took the stand that a vehicle must have pulled up and driven off with the pair.
It seems for a very brief while Kreneice's father was a suspect but he was cleared. A few leads have trickled in through the years and a woman was actually DNA tested in 2012 but turned out not to be Kreneice. Kreshanna has her DNA on file for any leads along the way.
Both families seem to believe that these toddlers are still alive out there somewhere, now grown adults. Authorities stance seem to be this was a stranger abduction.
There was a car in the area that was suspiciousa at the time. The car was described as a blue compact car with chrome hubcaps and a false convertible top with darkly tinted windows. This vehicle or its owner have never been identified and it is not clear if that vehicle had anything to do with the toddler's disappearance.
But who took these babies pretty much in front of people? Who snatched a 3 year old little girl and 2 year old little boy right out of their families lives? Did they potentially wander away and become lost and hurt? I hope that both of these families find answers some day. Those sweet little faces left a hole in the world when they vanished.
https://charleyproject.org/case/lamoine-jordan-allen
https://charleyproject.org/case/kreneice-marie-jones
https://www.google.com/amp/s/ourblackgirls.com/2023/01/21/kreneice-jones-lamoine-allen-missing/amp/
https://thecinemaholic.com/lamoine-allen-and-kreneice-jones-found-or-missing-are-they-dead-or-alive/
It seems the FBI is investigating at the Mississippi State office 601-684-2500.

EDIT: Its on 11th and M St. NW, not N. St NW.
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I was fiending for some really good Mexican food... been craving it since I moved here.
The food at El Rinconcito is EXCELLENT; flavorful, really good portion sizes, quality meat, fresh vegetables, and PHENOMENAL prices.
In fact, I don't know how they manage to have such good and abundant food at the prices they have; they must own the building or something, because that is bang for your buck food that's actually good.
I've gotten the nachos, a chimichanga platter, the Ensalada Rinconcito (there seriously was a whole avocado sliced up in that salad) and casamiento. EVERYTHING is excellent, at different times of the day, throughout the week. And the service is QUICK.
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I've written a couple of these, so again to be clear: I am not sponsored or paid by them. Just wanted to share a fantastic restaraunt that all y'all should go eat at.
Really. Its the best Mexican (and in the case of the casamiento- Salvadorian) food this CA boy has had in 3 years.

Title: Beatport Weekend Picks 20 (2024) Genre: House, Techno (Peak Time / Driving), Breaks / Breakbeat / UK Bass, Tech House, Deep House, Psy-Trance, Minimal / Deep Tech, Progressive House, Dubstep, Indie Dance, Trap / Wave, Nu Disco / Disco, Funky House, Bass / Club, UK Garage / Bassline, Afro House, Melodic House & Techno, Bass House, Techno (Raw / Deep / Hypnotic), Organic House / Downtempo, Electro (Classic / Detroit / Modern), 140 / Deep Dubstep / Grime, Mainstage, Jackin House, Amapiano, Trance (Raw / Deep / Hypnotic), Drum & Bass, Hard Techno, Electronica Release Date: 2024-05-14
DOWNLOAD in 320kbps: https://sharing-db.club/djs-chart/482320_beatport-weekend-picks-20-2024/
Tracklist: 1. GMJ, Jiminy Hop – Caladan (Original Mix) (7:30) 2. Latmun – Play The Music (Original Mix) (6:21) 3. Arude – Who You Are (Original Mix) (5:42) 4. Magenta & Skore – Dubplate (Original Mix) (4:29) 5. Pvlomo – Infraworld (Original Mix) (5:10) 6. Frank Storm, Francis De Simone – Quarterback (Original Mix) (6:25) 7. Oscar Mulero – The Sweat And The Salt (Original Mix) (5:05) 8. Atlas – Particles (Original Mix) (9:01) 9. Radio Slave – Strobe Queen (Extended) (12:01) 10. Patrik Berg – Nothing But Love (Original Mix) (6:53) 11. Traumer – Nectar (Original Mix) (6:51) 12. PACH. – Body Control (Original Mix) (5:58) 13. Mathys Lenne – H23 (Original Mix) (5:13) 14. Kasey Taylor, Jamie Stevens – Ochre (Original Mix) (8:08) 15. Miishu, Nyadollar & Nyamal Nyang – Cheza (Original Mix) (5:16) 16. Lance Desardi, Jesse Rennix – Higher (feat. Jesse Rennix) (Extended Mix) (6:37) 17. Mendo – I Like That (Original Mix) (5:46) 18. Tuccillo – Frames (Original Mix) (7:23) 19. Whitesquare – Ephemeral Eyes (Original Mix) (6:54) 20. Lionayve – Mmetho (Original Mix) (6:33) 21. UNKLE, &ME, Keinemusik – Only You (&ME Remix) (8:34) 22. Space Motion – Ludo (Original Mix) (5:34) 23. AC Soul Symphony, Dave Lee – I Want To See You Dance (Art Of Tones Remix) (6:05) 24. Braille – Suntime (Original Mix) (3:08) 25. Zamna Soundsystem, ROZYO, Armonica – Summertime Sadness feat. Blu (Original Mix) (5:31) 26. MoRsei – From Earth (Original Mix) (8:09) 27. Ariel Zetina – Slab of Meat (L-Vis 1990 Remix) (4:27) 28. ENVY, Monty – INLOVE (Original Mix) (4:34) 29. Anonimat, Soulmac, Sensitive (It) – Brainwash (Original Mix) (7:21) 30. Visage Music, Ragie Ban – Time After Time (Extended Mix) (5:29) 31. BRASSIC – Antagonist (Original Mix) (2:45) 32. Claudio PRC – Zenith (Original Mix) (7:47) 33. Adonis – Few Times (Original mix) (6:49) 34. Fulltone – Alba (Original Mix) (8:57) 35. Bruno (HU) – I Am Here (Original Mix) (6:09) 36. Hector Couto – Flufly’s House (Original Mix) (5:48) 37. Yanamaste – Dance (Original Mix) (5:02) 38. Julian Liander – Sukuru (Extended Mix) (5:28) 39. Javi Bora – Yes To All (Original Mix) (5:53) 40. A*S*Y*S, Avis Vox – Body Mind & Soul (Original Mix) (5:23) 41. Jungle Rootz – Midnight Skunk (Original Mix) (4:39) 42. Dokho – Balao (Extended Mix) (5:26) 43. Wingz – Ghost (Original Mix) (5:07) 44. Apparel Wax – MINI003A (Original Mix) (4:41) 45. Bombossa Brothers – Destino (Extended Mix) (7:10) 46. A08 – Nineoneone (Dengue Dengue Dengue Remix) (4:40) 47. FDH – Spion Kopje (Original Mix) (5:51) 48. Timboletti – Kava (Original Mix) (6:33) 49. Jou Nielsen & Paul Ikky – Mentalism (Extended Mix) (5:31) 50. Mance – Checkpoint (Original Mix) (5:24) 51. Lyktum – Enlightened (Introspect Remix) (8:16) 52. Michel De Hey – Hot Like That (Edit) (3:16) 53. Viikatory – Cartesian Space (Original Mix) (4:55) 54. Chunky Jackson – What You Do To Me (Gass Klubb Remix) (5:12) 55. Castion – Higher Place (Extended Mix) (5:46) 56. Alexny – Shake It (Original Mix) (5:12) 57. Pakard – Forbidden Pleasure (Syep024) (5:07) 58. Loofy – Last Night (Anyma x Layton Giordani Extended Remix) (5:14) 59. Ben Graves – Do It Like That (Original Mix) (7:05) 60. You Man – Birdcage (Theus Mago Version) (4:38) 61. Byron Stingily – Why Can’t You Be Real (Danny’s 12″ Version) (7:25) 62. Mincy – Simulation Conversation (LO’99 Remix) (3:30) 63. Luca Agnelli – Game Over (Extended Mix) (5:39) 64. Blaze – Lovelee Dae (Seth Troxler Extended Remix) (6:48) 65. T.M.A Rsa, B6 Rider, Frozen Deep – Impilo Yam (Original Mix) (7:34) 66. Noon – SNOOZE (Original Mix) (2:48) 67. Olympe4000, DJ Physical – Free access to nothing (Original Mix) (5:15) 68. The Spirit Project, Starving Yet Full – Find Your Way (Monkey Safari Extended Remix) (6:03) 69. Ferra Black – Titan (Original Mix) (5:30) 70. Ximena, Ali X, Pvlomo – Pastillitas (BadWolf Remix) (5:59) 71. Tom Kench, Balsamic Vin – Love Song of Mine (Original Mix) (3:41) 72. Cyclops – Tear Jerker (VIP) (2:25) 73. Isaac Carter, Callum Asa – Capsule (Original Mix) (6:26) 74. Fjaak, Skee Mask – Black Ice (Original Mix) (4:51) 75. Sandro Puddu – Get Right (Original Mix) (4:11) 76. ATMOS, Jakes – Hypnosis (Original Mix) (4:28) 77. Eli Brown – Trick Daddy (Extended Mix) (5:07) 78. Aiden Francis – Sundancer (Original Mix) (6:58) 79. Acerbic – Spitfire (Original Mix) (5:46) 80. Lars Bartkuhn – Everymorning I Meditate (Original Mix) (4:38) 81. Felipe Gordon – My Legs Are Numb (Original Mix) (6:03) 82. Benales – Sorrow (Original Mix) (5:19) 83. Matt Caseli – R.O.A.R (Original Mix) (3:20) 84. Dan-e-mc – Musica House (Eddie Amador Club Mix) (6:50)

One of the women of our group said this about me twice during the festival last weekend in different instances.
The first instance was when we were finalising out costumes for our performance. We were having our makeup done and I had some extra foundation left on my palm. I was asking the women what to do with it - wash my hand or if anyone needed it. A guy suggested to just wipe it off on own of the women's leg, pointing at the woman standing next to me (they were planning to apply some anyways). I refused to do since it felt inappropriate. The woman replied to him saying "no he's a gentleman".
The second instance was when I offered to carry the extra bags the women were carrying (food, costumes from their other performances, makeup, etc) since it felt wrong seeing them carry so much while I wasn't carrying much. I'm used to carrying heavy loads anyways and they even hesitated to give me more bags (they were very light to me) when I offered to carry them lol.
I was thinking about these two instances at the end of the day. I felt ok being seen that way. I didn't secretly expect them to date me or sleep with me. They are my friends and I did it because it just felt right.
I also realised that I had stopped been openly nice to women for a very long time until I joined the dance community.
It likely started with me trying to fit in with the guys to eventually being afraid of being seen as a simp by the guys as I went from teenage to adulthood.
I have been told by women here, my therapist and a guy at the socials that being considerate like this is not something men do often (still surprises me sometimes). Thus, it is a good trait to have.
However, I do have two concerns -

1. People (especially women) might question my reason for being nice, suspect that I have ulterior motives.
   
2. When women compliment this behavior, like in the above two cases, it sounds like something you would say to a kid. I worry about being seen (in general) as an innocent boy, not a potential partner.
   

Either way, it seems like it is in my nature to be this way and I have recently started to accept it.
Just an experience I wanted to share, I would love to hear your suggestions on how I can worry less about my concerns.

About once a month or so when I'm bored, I google the words "youth pastor" and hit the news tab. Just "youth pastor", nothing else. Here's what I found today on the first two pages of search results, nothing edited:
- Youth Pastor Who Sexually Abused Two Young Boys Sentenced
- Warning: Graphic - Cartersville Youth Pastor Sentenced to 19 Years After Molesting Two Young Children
- Metter Youth Pastor arrested for inappropriate contact with a minor
- Youth pastor in Metter arrested for sexual child exploitation
- Georgia church youth pastor arrested after 'inappropriate' texts
- Former Bradford County youth pastor in custody on sexual assault charges
- Former Vineyard youth pastor seeks to have criminal sex charges dismissed
- Former Macon County youth pastor, Haywood County teacher pleads guilty in child sex case
- Popular Pewaukee youth pastor in hospital as wife delivers 3rd child Popular Pewaukee youth pastor in hospital (Wow, no sex crimes in this headline!)
- Candler Co. Sheriff’s Office arrests youth pastor accused of inappropriate contact with children
- Prominent Anglican Church Failed to Investigate Former Pastor's Sexual Abuse
- Former Fairbanks youth pastor charged with sexual assault of a minor
- San Jose police arrest former youth pastor suspected of sexually assaulting girl
- Georgia youth pastor arrested for child exploitation
- Former youth pastor arrested for child sex crimes
- GBI: Metter youth pastor charged with child exploitation due to inappropriate texts
- Family defends former San Jose youth pastor Brett Bymaster charged with child sex abuse
- Cartersville Youth Pastor Pleads Guilty to Child Molestation And Sodomy Charges
- Former Fort Collins youth pastor accused of sexual assault of children over decades
So, 18 of 19 headlines are about sex crimes. But we're still talking about bathrooms and drag queens.
​

Okay honestly half of this is because I really want a season 2, but I think the show has some good whump in it and a whole lot of whump opportunities for fan fiction.
So it stars to teenage boys who are dead named Edwin and Charles (but they're portrayed by actors in their 20s) who each died at the same boarding school. They're upset that their deaths were swept under the rug, so they're spending their afterlives helping solve the cases that the living don't care about. Now, ghosts themselves don't feel pain, but there are plenty of introduced mechanics about how iron burns them and cat scratches are poison and both come up in the first season.
Episode 7 is especially whumpy. Edwin gets dragged to hell, and Charles goes in to save him. We see in a flashback how Charles died and how Edwin stayed at his side to keep him company so he wouldn't die alone while freezing cold, frightened, and hurting. While Edwin's in Hell, he actually gets a visit from Despair herself (this show is connected to the Sandman universe, also watch the Sandman because it too is great with the whump) and honestly, it's one of the most creative portrayals of hell I've ever seen.

I got my PC with 1100 something hours into Rimworld on my PS5. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve played the greatest colony of all time. It was like Christmas seeing all the awesome things I’ve missed out on with console. I’ve never finished a game. I get too attached, so I play them until I eventually get tired of the game. This time, it was different. I began my story with a sanguophage start.
A PC noob, I didn’t pay attention and didn’t realize that just clicking on a colonist wasn’t choosing to crash with them. I was overwhelmed and accidentally landed with the best pair I could’ve asked for.
19 year old Imp turned vampire, Grump. Kind, beautiful, and iron-willed. Mega. Fucking. Chad. 19 year old human, Onesan, too smart, industrious, and steadfast. How did I get so lucky?? I swear, it was entirely accidental. In fact, when I saw their names, I was pissed because I meant to choose someone else. I have no idea how I failed upward, but I did. I don’t even know how I got them because I hadn’t even registered them in the choices before landing.
Within two days, Grump and Onesan became lovers. Together, they began digging a mountain base that would soon become a cannibal holy Mecca and kickstart a chain of events that had never been experienced in all of my Rim history: I let them leave.
In the ten years this colony trudged onward, Grump and Onesan, power couple sent straight from the gods, welcomed several newcomers to their home and to their faith.
My favorite newcomer, and the third addition to the colony, crash-landed Yttakin, Wyn’barrot was most instrumental in the colony’s survival. She trained a pack of cougars, panthers, and elephants and kept the colony alive with her hunting expertise, claiming the life of every wild elephant that dare step foot on our tile with her animal sidekicks in tow.
How remiss I would be to not mention Madam, the pregnant refugee who begged for shelter and never left. She gave birth to a son named Lucky, the first child in our colony, and if there ever was a chosen one, he was it. The boy’s growth moments were accompanied by the perfect trait choices. He was pretty, steadfast, and sanguine. A man who put Chris Kyle to shame with his trusty sniper rifle.
Grump and Onesan went on to have four children, one of which had an (illegitimate) child with golden boy Lucky, blessing them with grandbabies as well.
Wyn’barrot and her genie husband, Sale, who dreamt of melee combat, but was genetically cursed to live behind a fabrication bench for his entire life, had a few children of their own. We even managed to capture Wyn’barrot’s sister, Ro, during a raid and she became a full fledged member of the colony herself, hunting and handling at her sister’s side.
There are many others who contributed greatly to the colony’s success. Pinachite, the mole person doctor and miner, whom without our sprawling base would never have been as grand as it was. Sky, Madam’s husband, whose abrasive personality started many a social fight, but melee skill saved many a life. Flo, the ancient doctor, who killed Madam’s second son and only with Sky, but paid her blood debt by delivering her grandchild and subsequently saving the baby from a particularly nasty case of malaria. Ittark, the Yttakin with a penchant for plants, whose sowing skills kept the meals lavish and plentiful.
After many adventures, many hard raids, moments of wanting to rage quit, I managed to load them all up into the ship, and for the first time in my history of playing, I loved them so much, I let them go.

I always wonder how these boys' lives would have turned out if they had never met such a horrible man as Gacy. They were children, their lives were ahead of them, I am sure that many of them had a great future and we would have heard about these children anyway. For example, it is interesting, what would have happened if Robert Piest had not been killed? He loved playing soccer and taking pictures so much. What if John Butkovich had lived, he loved cars, and what if Michael Bonnin hadn't been killed. He loved painting, playing baseball, and fixing things that didn't work so much. I wonder what kind of people all these boys would have been if their path, at their most vulnerable age, had not crossed that of John Wayne Gacy. Was Gacy stalking Michael Bonnin long before he killed the teenager? Michael also lived in Norwood Park and Gacy could easily track him down. Bonnin also worked at an EZ-GO or GO-E-Z gas station near his house and I think Gacy could have met him there if his car ran out of gas and he went to fill up his car, he could have followed the guy from there . Before Michael's half-sister even expressed her suspicions in the episode "Conversations with a killer", saying that she thinks Michael may be working for Gacy at his construction company as well. Michael wasn't the only boy at Luther North High School to disappear. Another Gacy victim, 20-year-old Timothy O'Rourke, also attended the same school. One such case is the case of Robert Piest and John Szyc. They both attended Maine West High School. Is it possible that Gacy chose the schools first, and then chose the children of his choice from the schools as victims? If you have such doubts, please comment, I enjoy reading and trying to analyze. Unfortunately, Gacy either spoke very little about Michael or remained silent at all and said nothing about the boy. We can only assume that at least now the poor children are safe and in no pain. Michael's eyes in particular look so sad to me.

Author note: The Cryopod to Hell is a Reddit-exclusive story with over three years of editing and refining. As of this post, the total rewrite is 2,182,000+ words long! For more information, check out the link below:
What is the Cryopod to Hell?
Join the Cryoverse Discord server!
Here's a list of all Cryopod's chapters, along with an ePub/Mobi/PDF version!
Want to stay up to date on TCTH? Subscribe to Cryopodbot!
...................................
(Previous Part)
(Part 001)
"Hell yeah, I wanna go exploring." Jason says to Calanthra with a smile. "How do we navigate around Ripspace though? Traveling to other galaxies is going to take billions of years, right? Surely, there's a shortcut."
"Ripspace is not as it seems." Calanthra explains, gesturing grandly to the epic sight before them. "It is a connection between the past and the present; the near and far. The further away or the further back you want to travel, the higher the price you will have to pay."
Jason's smile vanishes. "Wait... you can use Ripspace to travel back in time?!"
"No." Calanthra clarifies. "Time is linear. We cannot travel through it. Some can slow it down or speed it up. A rare few can even pause it for a short while. But moving forward and backward is impossible. Countless have attempted to do so over the eons, but all have failed."
She looks at Jason meaningfully. "Many Rulers would wipe out galaxies if it might let them obtain such a power. The fact they still haven't proves it is impossible."
Jason nods slowly. "I won't lie. I have a lot of regrets. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and save my daughter from dying."
"Everyone has regrets." Calanthra muses, looking off into the distance. "I have plenty, myself. But it's better this way. There would be pandemonium if time travel ever became possible."
She pauses before continuing with her explanation. "While we cannot go back in time, we can look back into time. Pinpointing exact moments in history is difficult, to say the least, but it is possible to use Ripspace to search for key moments in intergalactic history."
"So it's like a massive seer-stone." Jason muses aloud. "But wait, didn't you imply earlier that you used Ripspace to travel to the Milky Way from Andromeda? How does it allow you to jump between galaxies? Are other species using Ripspace for intergalactic travel?"
"You can indeed use Ripspace to travel to distant reaches of space." Calanthra explains. "But... you have to pay a certain price. Akasha's Barriers still protect every galaxy. Cosmics cannot travel between them easily. Mortals can, but the price we must pay is unimaginably steep. That is also the reason my mother perished not long after arriving in the Milky Way and giving birth to me."
The Fairy Monarch sighs softly.
"My people used the power of Ripspace to travel to several other galaxies. We were fortunate that the Creator had died, allowing us to take up residence here in secret, but the Angels, Titans, and Dragons were still a threat we could not overlook. Later, the Volgrim rose up too, and that was something that worried us for a while. Particularly when their Sentinels began to rapaciously erase the lives of innumerable Sentients."
She waves her hand. "Ultimately, very few galaxies didn't have a Ruler in power. Traveling to one that did meant flipping a coin and praying our people could avoid their gaze. Sadly, time has shown me that we were likely unsuccessful. I have lost contact with all my sisters across the cosmos."
The image of innumerable galaxies floating in the distance changes before Jason's eyes. Calanthra manipulates some unseen power, causing herself and Jason to suddenly materialize directly in front of a beautiful spiral galaxy.
"This is our Milky Way." Calanthra explains, waving her hand to conjure another, far bigger galaxy beside it. "And this is Andromeda."
"Is it just me or does Andromeda seem... brighter?" Jason asks.
"Andromeda contains far more interstellar particles, cosmic energy, and latent magical power than the Milky Way." Calanthra says. "Of course, in the ancient past, it had even more than it does now, but such is the way of entropy and Chaos."
Jason nods. "How exactly do galaxies lose power over time? Doesn't this feel self-defeating in a way?"
"Every Ruler enters the Unending War with a strategy." Calanthra says, motioning with her hands to disperse the galaxies and reveal images of ghostly creatures, some standing on two legs, some on four, and plenty that appear as mere blobs of energy. "I cannot pretend to know the thoughts of such high and mighty beings, especially as I am a mere mortal myself. Even so, I can definitively state that there are Rulers who seek to put as much galactic energy into their initial creations as possible, while others wish to adopt a more energy-efficient growth-model."
She pokes her finger against Jason's chest. "Take the angels and humans, for instance. The Creator poured the vast majority of his power into creating a galaxy full of Apex Cosmics. At their peak, the angels as a whole commanded enough power to flatten other galaxies. But what did they do instead? They fought with one another, killing themselves due to sheer boredom, if not outright ego."
"I see." Jason says, brushing Calanthra's finger away. "So the Creator dumped all the Milky Way's energy into the angels. I take it this is uncommon among Rulers?"
"Of course. It's a wasteful strategy and usually loses Rulers the War for that Eternity." Calanthra says dismissively. "The Timeless used a different strategy. She created the fairies as mere mortals that evolved over time, gaining greater and greater power through their own efforts. This meant that instead of devouring Andromeda's abundant Cosmic energy, they could slowly sap off its excess over time. For you see, the more energy a galaxy has, the more it can produce. If you ration it long enough, you can reap more of it across the duration of an Eternity."
"That makes sense." Jason concludes. "It's like a Rush build in an RTS versus an Economy build. You sacrifice long-term gains in exchange for short-term power. The problem is, with Akasha's Barriers preventing Rulers from attacking their enemies straight away, a Rush build is dumb because you're just wasting your resources and sacrificing Cosmic energy when you'll actually need it."
Calanthra blinks twice. She looks at Jason with a strange expression, then turns away for a moment, trying to understand the strange terms he's used. They mostly make sense, but some of them are a little...
She shakes her head and returns to the topic at hand. "Right. Rush strategy versus Economy. Of... course. Well, in any case, there is one advantage toward the first strategy. If you drain all the energy from your galaxy, it becomes less appealing for other Rulers to attack. Because Andromeda was so large and still filled with Cosmic power even billions of years after the Expansion Era, it stoked the hunger of the Dark Ones. Meanwhile, the Milky Way only needs to deal with the Plague, which is threatening for mortals, but manageable for Cosmics. In that respect, we've gotten off much luckier."
"I get the bigger picture now." Jason says with a nod. He turns to look back at the cosmos before him. "So, what about all this? Are we gonna go exploring, or what?"
"In order to explore the universe presented here, we would need to make sacrifices we cannot afford. I think you would find the price most disagreeable. But there is something we can explore freely..."
She waves her hand, and instantly, the brilliant and beautiful cosmic view of the universe vanishes.
In its place, Jason and Calanthra suddenly appear inside a dead, barren wasteland. Brown and grey dirt rises up in huge dunes stretching off into the distance. Fallen towers made of gold and stone lay on their sides, or stick into the ground, buried nearly up to their tops as they point diagonally toward the sky.
And speaking of the sky, it glows faintly grey, as if some weak, pale imitation of a star were trying to shine through a thin atmosphere clouded by dust and grime. The very air itself smells of sulfur and toxins, making Jason's nose curl up when he takes a breath.
"Ugh... what the hell? Where are we now?" Jason asks, as he turns and looks around at the dead world surrounding him.
"An Ancient Domain." Calanthra says softly. "A remnant of a dead universe. All life stripped away. All hope lost. Septillions of different Sentient species, gone. Their mortals, their Cosmics, reduced to dust by the Contraction."
The Wordsmith frowns. "This Ancient Domain represents a dead universe? But how can that be possible? If the Heat Death played out and all the galaxies faded to cosmic dust, then there already wouldn't be anything left. And then, if the entire universe collapsed into a singularity before exploding again, there definitely wouldn't be anything left behind resembling physical matter."
"You perceive reality through just three dimensions." Calanthra intones. "Time and space can be considered two dimensions. Cosmic Power is another dimension. I must admit I do not understand how Ancient Domains have continued to exist across countless Eternities, and I don't know how they retain a vaguely familiar form... but I can assure you that in spite of bending logic itself, they do exist and they can provide tangible benefits to those dedicated to exploring them."
"You've been exploring them, then?" Jason asks, turning away from the dead world to scrutinize Calanthra's phantasmal image.
"Me, a little. But often, I dispatch my descendants to scour these Ancient Domains for things of value. It may surprise you, but there are powerful artifacts, vengeful spirits, and all manner of other inter-dimensional horrors lurking within these so-called dead-lands."
Calanthra pauses. She shifts her posture to look at Jason deeply.
"And that is why I've brought you here, Jason. It's time for me to get down to the crux of the matter and breach the subject that I find most important."
He nods. "I'm listening."
"It's like this." Calanthra explains. "The Ancient Domains are unfathomably broad. Think of how large a universe is. Think of how many universes have existed. Think of how much space my people have yet to explore."
She pauses.
"The gains we have received have made my people stronger than you would expect. Among those gains are Yredelemnul's Eye and other leftover remnants of power that many dead ancient Rulers lost when their Existences became forfeit. While their tangible Existences may have perished, their spirits sometimes live on in these broad, unending dead universes..."
"That's why you approached me." Jason says, while crossing his arms and leaning on the ball of his heel. "You said you wanted an alliance with humanity. You... want humans to help you explore the Ancient Domains?"
"Trust is hard to come by among mortals, Cosmics, and Rulers." Calanthra says simply. "I never would have considered allying with the humans before, but you have shown me the broadness of your mind during the debate against your clone and the commander of your military. To some, you certainly appear naive, but to me I see an opportunity I would be foolish to ignore."
She continues. "The Fairies cannot reproduce efficiently. Every fairy we send into the Ancient Domain is one less fairy we have among our Empire. We already have a difficult time replenishing our numbers through the remaining Male Fairies, but do you think it is easy for us to reproduce with other species?"
Jason slowly shakes his head. "Blinker and Kar's children were all crocodiles, not fairies. From that, I can only imagine that most of the time, your mating attempts do not create more of yourselves, but instead more non-fairy children."
"That's exactly correct." Calanthra replies. "But that all changed recently when I found out one of your human males somehow spontaneously altered his genetic profile to become a fairy. There is no doubt about it; Samuel Baker harnesses all the capability to reproduce that you humans do, as well as the trueborn powers of any male fairy."
"So... are you seeking a marriage alliance with Samuel Baker?" Jason asks, scratching his head in confusion. "You could just ask him yourself, you know?"
"This is not about one man." Calanthra retorts. "Samuel Baker, if he were to join our ranks, would certainly help us stave off extinction for a while longer. But that is hardly worth all this melodrama and me taking you to the Ancient Domain in person..."
Jason's eyes widen in realization. "I see! You... you're thinking that if my magic could make one male fairy, I could surely make another, and another..."
"Yes, precisely." Calanthra says, revealing a beautiful smile. "Additionally, if humans were to assist us in scouring these Ancient Domains, we could make great gains together. There is plenty of room for another species to join ours in locating powerful artifacts and other items capable of Uplifting us."
"You want to become Cosmics still." Jason muses. "You haven't resigned yourselves to your current fate."
"Quite the opposite." Calanthra says. "The curse placed upon us is unbreakable by those beneath the realm of Ruler. As I said before, the fairies have lost this Eternity's war. However, while we cannot Ascend any longer, that does not mean the humans are subject to the same limitation. If we could groom a human into becoming the Milky Way's Ruler, we could finally break free of our shackles by virtue of having a powerful ally."
She pauses, looking meaningfully at the Wordsmith.
"If the Demons or the Volgrim were to become our Ruler, we would not enjoy such a benefit. At best, we would only maintain the status quo, and at worst, they might eradicate us out of fear of having an unsightly tumor in their midst."
"Haha." Jason laughs. "So you brought me here to show your sincerity. I get it. Well, I'm definitely not opposed to helping you. Blinker is my good friend. If she were to ask me, I'd definitely say yes to just about any request."
Jason turns away. He walks a few feet off to the side and pauses, standing to gaze out at the Ancient Domain and its endlessly rolling plains which stretches off into the infinite distance...
"Here's what I can do." Jason says. "My people are already working on laying out the options for humanity and where our fellow men and women will depart over the next few weeks. Some will travel to Maiura. Some will go to Sharmur. Some will stay on Tarus II. It's no trouble at all to put Pixiv on the list, especially as I was already planning to do that. I even have some other places I'd like to include, too..."
"Such as Camael's Cube?" Calanthra asks with a smile. "Or do you perhaps mean Chrona and Hope's Hall of Heroes?"
Jason nearly jumps out of his skin. He whirls around to look at Calanthra with shock in his eyes. "What?! How do you know about Chrona? How do you also know about where Hope has been hiding?? I don't even know that much!"
"For those who are talented in magic, it is possible to see through many lies and deceptions." Calanthra says calmly, unfazed by the alarm on Jason's face. "Your Spynet Sphere isn't so different from the many options I have at my disposal. I have many means to keep an eye on the galaxy. And while Diablo does not know exactly where or what Chrona is, he certainly knows of its general existence."
Her smile turns cold. "I would advise you not to take Unarin lightly either, Wordsmith. That ancient creature is more capable than you can imagine. He is hiding a great many secrets from the galaxy... secrets he does not know that I am aware of. If he were to learn of the true extent of my information web, I fear that he would dispatch a handful of High Psions to eliminate the fairy species tomorrow."
Calanthra's words truly rock Jason to his core. All along, he assumed the precautions he put on Chrona, precautions that fooled even Hope, would make his hidden dimension impossible to detect.
But how could he be so naive?
As the daughter of an Apex Cosmic, Calanthra must have her means, and that likely means Unarin and Diablo aren't too far behind either.
"Shit." Jason curses, lowering his head as a flicker of anger smolders in his heart. "I was too complacent. Chrona isn't secure, which means it's only a matter of time before more Cosmics learn of its existence. How long before they can find its exact location and invade it?"
"Calm yourself, child." Calanthra says soothingly. "The situation is not that dire. After all, Chrona still exists within a highly accelerated timespace. Any biological entity that wishes to travel there could suffer severe after-effects. Furthermore, the entities born inside will be too adapted to living within a higher dimension, so they won't pose much threat to the creatures of realspace."
She waves her hand. "Let's move on, Jason. I want to discuss other matters before dying of old age."
The Wordsmith cools himself off. He inhales deeply, then returns his attention to her.
"Alright. What next, then?"
"Fairies are not the only Sentients capable of entering Ancient Domains." Calanthra explains. "There are others who rarely appear inside here. That is why exploring these domains can be dangerous. The good news is that Cosmics have little need to enter these barren lands, as most of the heritages, treasures, and other such gains you might find inside are only useful to mortals. There are exceptions, but they are so rare as to be a needle found within ten million haystacks. A waste of effort better spent simply progressing one's Cosmic power the ordinary way."
"So what you're saying is, when you send fairies into an Ancient Domain, they can die as a result of crossing paths with Sentients from other galaxies." Jason concludes. "But if you had an army of humans to enter with you, your people would be a lot safer."
"Safety in numbers, yes. And you humans are... uniquely advantaged in Ancient Domain exploration." Calanthra says mysteriously. "Before that, though... do you know what the Power of Imagination is, Wordsmith?"
Jason raises an eyebrow. "Imagination? Like the mental ability to visualize stuff in your head? Yeah. It's not that complicated to understand."
"Ah, that's where you're wrong." Calanthra chides gently. "Imagination is the key to magical power. Imagination, Conception, Visualization, these are all key capabilities powerful maguses and sorcerors use to uplift their capabilities! And as it turns out, most Sentients are actually quite terrible at conceptualizing thoughts into imagery."
She gestures grandly. "Just take the Volgrim! You may think they are a powerful Sentient species, but in fact the Volgrim have terrible imaginations. They are stodgy, dull, and lack a great deal of creativity. All the gains their Technopaths make through technology are developed via brute force. They slowly improve their technological prowess by minute fractions over long periods of time, eventually resulting in a large and cohesive buildup."
"At the same time, the Psions Uplift themselves through meditation and sitting motionless for thousands of years at a time. Can a species capable of such incredible feats of drudgery also possess limitless imagination? I think not."
"Maybe the reason they're able to sit still for so long is because they live in their imagination?" Jason posits. "In which case their power of imagination should be quite formidable, right?"
"Possible, but unlikely." Calanthra says with a wave of her hand. "Never mind that. The point I'm trying to make is that humans have an extremely high affinity for magic. If your people were to ally with mine, we could teach you our ways. You could help us through your Wordsmithing and superior genetics, creating more fairies and humans alike. This would create a recursive cycle that would continually bolster both our species to greater and greater heights!"
She lowers her voice back to normal. "An alliance with humanity would have other benefits. You humans are equally adept in technology and magic both. You are versatile, capable of learning any skill provided you have time to devote to your studies. The bursts of inspiration you receive also allow you to make large jumps in capability as well, which could mean that in a relatively short period, you might even be capable of challenging the Volgrim."
Jason nods. "That does sound tempting, Calanthra. I'm willing to help you, but I won't demand my people join the fairies. It would be better if those who were the most interested did so instead."
Calanthra playfully twirls a finger through her hair. "Well. My daughters are all beautiful. Perhaps you should make mention that the fairies are... aggressively interested in copulation?"
"COUGH COUGH!" Jason wheezes, taking a step back as he asses her bold choice of words. "Yeah! Uh, I can probably- I'll let everyone know about that too. Obviously!"
Calanthra chuckles. "Such a cute boy. Well, it seems I've accomplished what I wanted. Let's return for now. You can always pay Ripspace a visit later."
"I will." Jason says, nodding seriously. "Waypoint."
Calanthra raises an eyebrow. "You think you can return here without a Ruler's power?"
"Won't know unless I try." Jason smiles back.
...
Not long after, Jason and Calanthra emerge back into Realspace. He shivers as he feels the Eye of Yredelemnul fixating on him from behind, but Calanthra quickly reactivates the Formation of Light, sending the sliver of a Ruler back to the shadows so it can no longer interact with the physical world.
"You know, Jason." Calanthra says. "You are a Candidate. You have the capability to become a Ruler someday."
"I am?" Jason asks, before thinking back to a conversation in the past. "Oh yeah, someone did mention that to me before. But... eh. I don't know. Becoming a Ruler sounds awful."
"Awful?" Calanthra asks. "How so?"
"It seems... lonely." Jason says, his voice softening. He looks at the space between the four statues, where Yredelemnul's Eye has disappeared. "Imagine all your loved ones dying, but you're stuck behind, living through the end of an Eternity, which takes trillions of years before Heat Death finally eradicates everything. Then comes the next Eternity, where you can remake your species again... but it won't be the same. Even if you remake your loved ones, it won't really be them."
Jason lowers and shakes his head. "That sort of life doesn't suit me."
"I understand why you'd think that way." Calanthra says. "In fact, you are suffering from the same affliction that plagues all Candidates who began their Existences as Biologicals. We have too many ties to the mortal world, so the majority of Biologicals who ascend to the rank of Ruler... fall to their non-biological opponents."
"As for the things which are not biological..." Calanthra says, looking at Jason with disgust. "You should already know what they are."
"Highly evolved Artificial Intelligences?" Jason guesses.
"That's right." Calanthra affirms. "There are several tiers of power a superintelligence can possess. The Volgrim have taken great care to prevent anything above a Beta Core from forming in the Milky Way, but once, a long time ago... they made a huge mess by accidentally creating the Milky Way's first Alpha Core Synthmind."
Calanthra chuckles. "The stupid fools didn't only create an Alpha Core, they gave it autonomy in the hopes it would be able to stop the wars between their factions. They built indestructible bipedal bodies for its splintered intelligences, and called them... Sentinels. Luckily, they were able to defeat the Alpha Core before it ascended further, but countless other biological species have failed at that juncture, creating an Alpha Core that ultimately devoured the full power of their galaxy for itself."
A chill trickles down Jason's spine. "You're saying the vast majority of Rulers are actually Alpha Core AIs? AIs that control entire galaxies?!"
"No, Jason." Calanthra counters. "Alpha Cores can defeat advanced civilizations. But there is one Existence higher than an Alpha Core, a tier that can only be reached once it has swallowed the power of a galaxy."
"That would be an Omega Core. a sentient artificial intelligence that has become Ruler over one or more galaxies. And in Akasha's game, more than 90% of all Rulers are estimated to be these superior lifeforms."
"It is for that reason that these highly adaptable entities are known as The Evolved."

"Hell yeah, I wanna go exploring." Jason says to Calanthra with a smile. "How do we navigate around Ripspace though? Traveling to other galaxies is going to take billions of years, right? Surely, there's a shortcut."
"Ripspace is not as it seems." Calanthra explains, gesturing grandly to the epic sight before them. "It is a connection between the past and the present; the near and far. The further away or the further back you want to travel, the higher the price you will have to pay."
Jason's smile vanishes. "Wait... you can use Ripspace to travel back in time?!"
"No." Calanthra clarifies. "Time is linear. We cannot travel through it. Some can slow it down or speed it up. A rare few can even pause it for a short while. But moving forward and backward is impossible. Countless have attempted to do so over the eons, but all have failed."
She looks at Jason meaningfully. "Many Rulers would wipe out galaxies if it might let them obtain such a power. The fact they still haven't proves it is impossible."
Jason nods slowly. "I won't lie. I have a lot of regrets. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and save my daughter from dying."
"Everyone has regrets." Calanthra muses, looking off into the distance. "I have plenty, myself. But it's better this way. There would be pandemonium if time travel ever became possible."
She pauses before continuing with her explanation. "While we cannot go back in time, we can look back into time. Pinpointing exact moments in history is difficult, to say the least, but it is possible to use Ripspace to search for key moments in intergalactic history."
"So it's like a massive seer-stone." Jason muses aloud. "But wait, didn't you imply earlier that you used Ripspace to travel to the Milky Way from Andromeda? How does it allow you to jump between galaxies? Are other species using Ripspace for intergalactic travel?"
"You can indeed use Ripspace to travel to distant reaches of space." Calanthra explains. "But... you have to pay a certain price. Akasha's Barriers still protect every galaxy. Cosmics cannot travel between them easily. Mortals can, but the price we must pay is unimaginably steep. That is also the reason my mother perished not long after arriving in the Milky Way and giving birth to me."
The Fairy Monarch sighs softly.
"My people used the power of Ripspace to travel to several other galaxies. We were fortunate that the Creator had died, allowing us to take up residence here in secret, but the Angels, Titans, and Dragons were still a threat we could not overlook. Later, the Volgrim rose up too, and that was something that worried us for a while. Particularly when their Sentinels began to rapaciously erase the lives of innumerable Sentients."
She waves her hand. "Ultimately, very few galaxies didn't have a Ruler in power. Traveling to one that did meant flipping a coin and praying our people could avoid their gaze. Sadly, time has shown me that we were likely unsuccessful. I have lost contact with all my sisters across the cosmos."
The image of innumerable galaxies floating in the distance changes before Jason's eyes. Calanthra manipulates some unseen power, causing herself and Jason to suddenly materialize directly in front of a beautiful spiral galaxy.
"This is our Milky Way." Calanthra explains, waving her hand to conjure another, far bigger galaxy beside it. "And this is Andromeda."
"Is it just me or does Andromeda seem... brighter?" Jason asks.
"Andromeda contains far more interstellar particles, cosmic energy, and latent magical power than the Milky Way." Calanthra says. "Of course, in the ancient past, it had even more than it does now, but such is the way of entropy and Chaos."
Jason nods. "How exactly do galaxies lose power over time? Doesn't this feel self-defeating in a way?"
"Every Ruler enters the Unending War with a strategy." Calanthra says, motioning with her hands to disperse the galaxies and reveal images of ghostly creatures, some standing on two legs, some on four, and plenty that appear as mere blobs of energy. "I cannot pretend to know the thoughts of such high and mighty beings, especially as I am a mere mortal myself. Even so, I can definitively state that there are Rulers who seek to put as much galactic energy into their initial creations as possible, while others wish to adopt a more energy-efficient growth-model."
She pokes her finger against Jason's chest. "Take the angels and humans, for instance. The Creator poured the vast majority of his power into creating a galaxy full of Apex Cosmics. At their peak, the angels as a whole commanded enough power to flatten other galaxies. But what did they do instead? They fought with one another, killing themselves due to sheer boredom, if not outright ego."
"I see." Jason says, brushing Calanthra's finger away. "So the Creator dumped all the Milky Way's energy into the angels. I take it this is uncommon among Rulers?"
"Of course. It's a wasteful strategy and usually loses Rulers the War for that Eternity." Calanthra says dismissively. "The Timeless used a different strategy. She created the fairies as mere mortals that evolved over time, gaining greater and greater power through their own efforts. This meant that instead of devouring Andromeda's abundant Cosmic energy, they could slowly sap off its excess over time. For you see, the more energy a galaxy has, the more it can produce. If you ration it long enough, you can reap more of it across the duration of an Eternity."
"That makes sense." Jason concludes. "It's like a Rush build in an RTS versus an Economy build. You sacrifice long-term gains in exchange for short-term power. The problem is, with Akasha's Barriers preventing Rulers from attacking their enemies straight away, a Rush build is dumb because you're just wasting your resources and sacrificing Cosmic energy when you'll actually need it."
Calanthra blinks twice. She looks at Jason with a strange expression, then turns away for a moment, trying to understand the strange terms he's used. They mostly make sense, but some of them are a little...
She shakes her head and returns to the topic at hand. "Right. Rush strategy versus Economy. Of... course. Well, in any case, there is one advantage toward the first strategy. If you drain all the energy from your galaxy, it becomes less appealing for other Rulers to attack. Because Andromeda was so large and still filled with Cosmic power even billions of years after the Expansion Era, it stoked the hunger of the Dark Ones. Meanwhile, the Milky Way only needs to deal with the Plague, which is threatening for mortals, but manageable for Cosmics. In that respect, we've gotten off much luckier."
"I get the bigger picture now." Jason says with a nod. He turns to look back at the cosmos before him. "So, what about all this? Are we gonna go exploring, or what?"
"In order to explore the universe presented here, we would need to make sacrifices we cannot afford. I think you would find the price most disagreeable. But there is something we can explore freely..."
She waves her hand, and instantly, the brilliant and beautiful cosmic view of the universe vanishes.
In its place, Jason and Calanthra suddenly appear inside a dead, barren wasteland. Brown and grey dirt rises up in huge dunes stretching off into the distance. Fallen towers made of gold and stone lay on their sides, or stick into the ground, buried nearly up to their tops as they point diagonally toward the sky.
And speaking of the sky, it glows faintly grey, as if some weak, pale imitation of a star were trying to shine through a thin atmosphere clouded by dust and grime. The very air itself smells of sulfur and toxins, making Jason's nose curl up when he takes a breath.
"Ugh... what the hell? Where are we now?" Jason asks, as he turns and looks around at the dead world surrounding him.
"An Ancient Domain." Calanthra says softly. "A remnant of a dead universe. All life stripped away. All hope lost. Septillions of different Sentient species, gone. Their mortals, their Cosmics, reduced to dust by the Contraction."
The Wordsmith frowns. "This Ancient Domain represents a dead universe? But how can that be possible? If the Heat Death played out and all the galaxies faded to cosmic dust, then there already wouldn't be anything left. And then, if the entire universe collapsed into a singularity before exploding again, there definitely wouldn't be anything left behind resembling physical matter."
"You perceive reality through just three dimensions." Calanthra intones. "Time and space can be considered two dimensions. Cosmic Power is another dimension. I must admit I do not understand how Ancient Domains have continued to exist across countless Eternities, and I don't know how they retain a vaguely familiar form... but I can assure you that in spite of bending logic itself, they do exist and they can provide tangible benefits to those dedicated to exploring them."
"You've been exploring them, then?" Jason asks, turning away from the dead world to scrutinize Calanthra's phantasmal image.
"Me, a little. But often, I dispatch my descendants to scour these Ancient Domains for things of value. It may surprise you, but there are powerful artifacts, vengeful spirits, and all manner of other inter-dimensional horrors lurking within these so-called dead-lands."
Calanthra pauses. She shifts her posture to look at Jason deeply.
"And that is why I've brought you here, Jason. It's time for me to get down to the crux of the matter and breach the subject that I find most important."
He nods. "I'm listening."
"It's like this." Calanthra explains. "The Ancient Domains are unfathomably broad. Think of how large a universe is. Think of how many universes have existed. Think of how much space my people have yet to explore."
She pauses.
"The gains we have received have made my people stronger than you would expect. Among those gains are Yredelemnul's Eye and other leftover remnants of power that many dead ancient Rulers lost when their Existences became forfeit. While their tangible Existences may have perished, their spirits sometimes live on in these broad, unending dead universes..."
"That's why you approached me." Jason says, while crossing his arms and leaning on the ball of his heel. "You said you wanted an alliance with humanity. You... want humans to help you explore the Ancient Domains?"
"Trust is hard to come by among mortals, Cosmics, and Rulers." Calanthra says simply. "I never would have considered allying with the humans before, but you have shown me the broadness of your mind during the debate against your clone and the commander of your military. To some, you certainly appear naive, but to me I see an opportunity I would be foolish to ignore."
She continues. "The Fairies cannot reproduce efficiently. Every fairy we send into the Ancient Domain is one less fairy we have among our Empire. We already have a difficult time replenishing our numbers through the remaining Male Fairies, but do you think it is easy for us to reproduce with other species?"
Jason slowly shakes his head. "Blinker and Kar's children were all crocodiles, not fairies. From that, I can only imagine that most of the time, your mating attempts do not create more of yourselves, but instead more non-fairy children."
"That's exactly correct." Calanthra replies. "But that all changed recently when I found out one of your human males somehow spontaneously altered his genetic profile to become a fairy. There is no doubt about it; Samuel Baker harnesses all the capability to reproduce that you humans do, as well as the trueborn powers of any male fairy."
"So... are you seeking a marriage alliance with Samuel Baker?" Jason asks, scratching his head in confusion. "You could just ask him yourself, you know?"
"This is not about one man." Calanthra retorts. "Samuel Baker, if he were to join our ranks, would certainly help us stave off extinction for a while longer. But that is hardly worth all this melodrama and me taking you to the Ancient Domain in person..."
Jason's eyes widen in realization. "I see! You... you're thinking that if my magic could make one male fairy, I could surely make another, and another..."
"Yes, precisely." Calanthra says, revealing a beautiful smile. "Additionally, if humans were to assist us in scouring these Ancient Domains, we could make great gains together. There is plenty of room for another species to join ours in locating powerful artifacts and other items capable of Uplifting us."
"You want to become Cosmics still." Jason muses. "You haven't resigned yourselves to your current fate."
"Quite the opposite." Calanthra says. "The curse placed upon us is unbreakable by those beneath the realm of Ruler. As I said before, the fairies have lost this Eternity's war. However, while we cannot Ascend any longer, that does not mean the humans are subject to the same limitation. If we could groom a human into becoming the Milky Way's Ruler, we could finally break free of our shackles by virtue of having a powerful ally."
She pauses, looking meaningfully at the Wordsmith.
"If the Demons or the Volgrim were to become our Ruler, we would not enjoy such a benefit. At best, we would only maintain the status quo, and at worst, they might eradicate us out of fear of having an unsightly tumor in their midst."
"Haha." Jason laughs. "So you brought me here to show your sincerity. I get it. Well, I'm definitely not opposed to helping you. Blinker is my good friend. If she were to ask me, I'd definitely say yes to just about any request."
Jason turns away. He walks a few feet off to the side and pauses, standing to gaze out at the Ancient Domain and its endlessly rolling plains which stretches off into the infinite distance...
"Here's what I can do." Jason says. "My people are already working on laying out the options for humanity and where our fellow men and women will depart over the next few weeks. Some will travel to Maiura. Some will go to Sharmur. Some will stay on Tarus II. It's no trouble at all to put Pixiv on the list, especially as I was already planning to do that. I even have some other places I'd like to include, too..."
"Such as Camael's Cube?" Calanthra asks with a smile. "Or do you perhaps mean Chrona and Hope's Hall of Heroes?"
Jason nearly jumps out of his skin. He whirls around to look at Calanthra with shock in his eyes. "What?! How do you know about Chrona? How do you also know about where Hope has been hiding?? I don't even know that much!"
"For those who are talented in magic, it is possible to see through many lies and deceptions." Calanthra says calmly, unfazed by the alarm on Jason's face. "Your Spynet Sphere isn't so different from the many options I have at my disposal. I have many means to keep an eye on the galaxy. And while Diablo does not know exactly where or what Chrona is, he certainly knows of its general existence."
Her smile turns cold. "I would advise you not to take Unarin lightly either, Wordsmith. That ancient creature is more capable than you can imagine. He is hiding a great many secrets from the galaxy... secrets he does not know that I am aware of. If he were to learn of the true extent of my information web, I fear that he would dispatch a handful of High Psions to eliminate the fairy species tomorrow."
Calanthra's words truly rock Jason to his core. All along, he assumed the precautions he put on Chrona, precautions that fooled even Hope, would make his hidden dimension impossible to detect.
But how could he be so naive?
As the daughter of an Apex Cosmic, Calanthra must have her means, and that likely means Unarin and Diablo aren't too far behind either.
"Shit." Jason curses, lowering his head as a flicker of anger smolders in his heart. "I was too complacent. Chrona isn't secure, which means it's only a matter of time before more Cosmics learn of its existence. How long before they can find its exact location and invade it?"
"Calm yourself, child." Calanthra says soothingly. "The situation is not that dire. After all, Chrona still exists within a highly accelerated timespace. Any biological entity that wishes to travel there could suffer severe after-effects. Furthermore, the entities born inside will be too adapted to living within a higher dimension, so they won't pose much threat to the creatures of realspace."
She waves her hand. "Let's move on, Jason. I want to discuss other matters before dying of old age."
The Wordsmith cools himself off. He inhales deeply, then returns his attention to her.
"Alright. What next, then?"
"Fairies are not the only Sentients capable of entering Ancient Domains." Calanthra explains. "There are others who rarely appear inside here. That is why exploring these domains can be dangerous. The good news is that Cosmics have little need to enter these barren lands, as most of the heritages, treasures, and other such gains you might find inside are only useful to mortals. There are exceptions, but they are so rare as to be a needle found within ten million haystacks. A waste of effort better spent simply progressing one's Cosmic power the ordinary way."
"So what you're saying is, when you send fairies into an Ancient Domain, they can die as a result of crossing paths with Sentients from other galaxies." Jason concludes. "But if you had an army of humans to enter with you, your people would be a lot safer."
"Safety in numbers, yes. And you humans are... uniquely advantaged in Ancient Domain exploration." Calanthra says mysteriously. "Before that, though... do you know what the Power of Imagination is, Wordsmith?"
Jason raises an eyebrow. "Imagination? Like the mental ability to visualize stuff in your head? Yeah. It's not that complicated to understand."
"Ah, that's where you're wrong." Calanthra chides gently. "Imagination is the key to magical power. Imagination, Conception, Visualization, these are all key capabilities powerful maguses and sorcerors use to uplift their capabilities! And as it turns out, most Sentients are actually quite terrible at conceptualizing thoughts into imagery."
She gestures grandly. "Just take the Volgrim! You may think they are a powerful Sentient species, but in fact the Volgrim have terrible imaginations. They are stodgy, dull, and lack a great deal of creativity. All the gains their Technopaths make through technology are developed via brute force. They slowly improve their technological prowess by minute fractions over long periods of time, eventually resulting in a large and cohesive buildup."
"At the same time, the Psions Uplift themselves through meditation and sitting motionless for thousands of years at a time. Can a species capable of such incredible feats of drudgery also possess limitless imagination? I think not."
"Maybe the reason they're able to sit still for so long is because they live in their imagination?" Jason posits. "In which case their power of imagination should be quite formidable, right?"
"Possible, but unlikely." Calanthra says with a wave of her hand. "Never mind that. The point I'm trying to make is that humans have an extremely high affinity for magic. If your people were to ally with mine, we could teach you our ways. You could help us through your Wordsmithing and superior genetics, creating more fairies and humans alike. This would create a recursive cycle that would continually bolster both our species to greater and greater heights!"
She lowers her voice back to normal. "An alliance with humanity would have other benefits. You humans are equally adept in technology and magic both. You are versatile, capable of learning any skill provided you have time to devote to your studies. The bursts of inspiration you receive also allow you to make large jumps in capability as well, which could mean that in a relatively short period, you might even be capable of challenging the Volgrim."
Jason nods. "That does sound tempting, Calanthra. I'm willing to help you, but I won't demand my people join the fairies. It would be better if those who were the most interested did so instead."
Calanthra playfully twirls a finger through her hair. "Well. My daughters are all beautiful. Perhaps you should make mention that the fairies are... aggressively interested in copulation?"
"COUGH COUGH!" Jason wheezes, taking a step back as he asses her bold choice of words. "Yeah! Uh, I can probably- I'll let everyone know about that too. Obviously!"
Calanthra chuckles. "Such a cute boy. Well, it seems I've accomplished what I wanted. Let's return for now. You can always pay Ripspace a visit later."
"I will." Jason says, nodding seriously. "Waypoint."
Calanthra raises an eyebrow. "You think you can return here without a Ruler's power?"
"Won't know unless I try." Jason smiles back.
...
Not long after, Jason and Calanthra emerge back into Realspace. He shivers as he feels the Eye of Yredelemnul fixating on him from behind, but Calanthra quickly reactivates the Formation of Light, sending the sliver of a Ruler back to the shadows so it can no longer interact with the physical world.
"You know, Jason." Calanthra says. "You are a Candidate. You have the capability to become a Ruler someday."
"I am?" Jason asks, before thinking back to a conversation in the past. "Oh yeah, someone did mention that to me before. But... eh. I don't know. Becoming a Ruler sounds awful."
"Awful?" Calanthra asks. "How so?"
"It seems... lonely." Jason says, his voice softening. He looks at the space between the four statues, where Yredelemnul's Eye has disappeared. "Imagine all your loved ones dying, but you're stuck behind, living through the end of an Eternity, which takes trillions of years before Heat Death finally eradicates everything. Then comes the next Eternity, where you can remake your species again... but it won't be the same. Even if you remake your loved ones, it won't really be them."
Jason lowers and shakes his head. "That sort of life doesn't suit me."
"I understand why you'd think that way." Calanthra says. "In fact, you are suffering from the same affliction that plagues all Candidates who began their Existences as Biologicals. We have too many ties to the mortal world, so the majority of Biologicals who ascend to the rank of Ruler... fall to their non-biological opponents."
"As for the things which are not biological..." Calanthra says, looking at Jason with disgust. "You should already know what they are."
"Highly evolved Artificial Intelligences?" Jason guesses.
"That's right." Calanthra affirms. "There are several tiers of power a superintelligence can possess. The Volgrim have taken great care to prevent anything above a Beta Core from forming in the Milky Way, but once, a long time ago... they made a huge mess by accidentally creating the Milky Way's first Alpha Core Synthmind."
Calanthra chuckles. "The stupid fools didn't only create an Alpha Core, they gave it autonomy in the hopes it would be able to stop the wars between their factions. They built indestructible bipedal bodies for its splintered intelligences, and called them... Sentinels. Luckily, they were able to defeat the Alpha Core before it ascended further, but countless other biological species have failed at that juncture, creating an Alpha Core that ultimately devoured the full power of their galaxy for itself."
A chill trickles down Jason's spine. "You're saying the vast majority of Rulers are actually Alpha Core AIs? AIs that control entire galaxies?!"
"No, Jason." Calanthra counters. "Alpha Cores can defeat advanced civilizations. But there is one Existence higher than an Alpha Core, a tier that can only be reached once it has swallowed the power of a galaxy."
"That would be an Omega Core. a sentient artificial intelligence that has become Ruler over one or more galaxies. And in Akasha's game, more than 90% of all Rulers are estimated to be these superior lifeforms."
"It is for that reason that these highly adaptable entities are known as The Evolved."