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So, a lot of you aren't going to like this.
Those of you who work at agencies ESPECIALLY won't like this, because it's gonna make those of you who are lazy and blame everyone else for your problems...
Well it's gonna make you look like you're lazy, and blame everyone else for your problems.
So here's my central thesis for this post, done in my best Alec Baldwin impersonation:
"Facebook's not weak, YOU'RE weak!"
Okay, fair enough, Facebook is actually kinda shitty. But have you heard that old (admittedly misogynistic) joke, "Women, can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em?"
Well that describes FB.
I hate FB. I despise it with every fiber of my being.
But... it also makes me a lot of money. So I still run a lot of ads on there.
Quick note about me so you know I'm not some random dipshit: Been in online marketing for a long time, been running ads for about 5 years. Currently do about $5mm a year in spend, a decent chunk of it with my own personal cash for my own business. I still consult and run ads in JV/partnership deals, however, so not ALL my own money.
So, lots of posts lately about FB being shitty. Interestingly enough like many things there have always been these posts en masse. ios14 was a huge turning point in this industry. And it seems to keep getting worse and worse.
That said there's still people CRUSHING it on FB on a daily basis. Individuals who are doing 50k - 100k in spend a day (I've been one of them, right now more like 20k a day though.)
And these are direct response guys, not big ass brands who can afford to throw cash away.
So the question is... why are you struggling and they aren't?
Well first of all let me let you in on a secret: FB sucks for them too. It sucks for me, it sucks for all of us.
But if you want to be successful, you need to focus on what you CAN control, not what you can't.
So here's my rules for success:

1. UNDERSTAND FACEBOOK SUCKS

I've run five copies of the exact same ad in the same ad set at the same time and gotten wildly different results. That's why I test the way I do (Test images/videos and copy at the same time, so I can have duplicates of everything and cross reference/aggregate performance)
Also understand something that works in your market is half the battle... you need something FB likes too. Which you'll never know what it is until you stumble upon it.
Which brings me to my next point...

1. YOU'RE NOT TESTING ENOUGH

I've seen SO MANY posts where people are like, "We've tested TEN IMAGES and nothing works!!!"
My friend. 10 images is what I test in a day. I've been known to test 100 videos a week. I'll write ten pieces of copy for one day's testing.
Do I do this every day? No. I wish I could. I don't have the time/energy. But ideally I SHOULD be doing this every day.
Now if you're running a budget of $100/day obviously you have a lot less you can test.
But my point is... even for those of us who know what we're doing... it takes a LOT of creative testing to get a hit.
Creative testing should be 80% of your time on FB. The guys who tell you it's about the campaign structure or whatever... I mean yeah that stuff is important and can help. But if your creative is good you can kind of ignore that stuff and still get decent results.
Oh and every account is different in terms of what it likes. So you kind of have to treat them separately and test creatives on each. Have fun!

1. IF YOU'RE A MEDIA BUYER AND CAN'T UNDERSTAND CREATIVE YOU SHOULD GET A NEW JOB

Look, not everyone is a great copywriter, or video producer, or artist.
But any good media buyer should be able to take a guess at WHY the creative isn't working, and what should be changed. They should know how to test in a way that is getting these insights that can then be used to further iterate on and improve creatives.
I have met some media buyers who don't know shit about creative but are great at scaling. They're rare, but they're out there. Maybe 10 - 20% of great media buyers are like this. But these people could never fly solo. They only shine in a team with a big creative producing "engine". And they still know how to test to get that learning - they just don't really know why.

1. YOUR TESTING STRATEGY SUCKS

Tests are experiments. They should, as much as possible, isolate one variable.
So many times I hear about people testing in different campaigns, or on different days of the week, or whatever.
No. Testing is in one campaign. Usually different ad sets because otherwise FB will pick a favorite, but if I could throw all ads in one ad set and have FB evenly spend I'd do that.
Furthermore, you should have a very clear goal when you test. "We're testing angles." "We're testing whether red or blue gets a better CPC." "We're testing which of these 10 pieces of ad text does the best."
Don't just throw up a bunch of random videos. At least not often. Test one element. An intro. A CTA. Whatever. Have a plan, and stick to it.

1. WHAT AGENCIES TELL YOU IS BULLSHIT

And the worst part is then the people working there start to believe it.
A small incomplete sample of bullshit things I've heard:
"Facebook has to get out of the learning phase."
False. A good creative will work pretty much straight away. FB's pixel's been dogshit since ios14. Yes, generally training a pixel will help, but this "it needs 7 days of learning" horse shit is just that... horse shit. Often said by people who want to make excuses rather than get down and dirty and do the hard work - making good creatives.
"The pixel takes time to learn."
A half-truth, see above.
"It takes a month to even start getting data"
If I took a month to get data I'd be destitute. You should be able to test if a campaign is going to work in a week, assuming you have the creative ready to go.
If you can't figure out whether something's going to work in a week or two and 1 - 2k of spend, you suck at your job.
If you can't spend 1k a week, then you're working with a client that's super small and that has its own set of challenges, especially on FB.
And if an agency tells you they can't give you some damn good data and an action plan on exactly what you should do in a week or two, run from them and find someone else.
There are more that get my goat but you get the point.
BTW... MOST (not all) agencies work like this:
They sell you a ton of bullshit. You sign on as a client. They give you a junior they get from the Philippines or Eastern Europe for like $400 a month while charging you $3k. They give you endless excuses for months on why results aren't there until you finally leave but hey at that point they got like $15k in profit out of you... they don't care.
WHY I POSTED THIS:

1. Because there are people on here who believe this shit and waste time spinning their wheels when they could be getting traction
   
2. Because I hate lies and incompetence
   
3. Because I enjoy watching all the terrible media buyers come out of the wood work and try to argue with me on why I'm wrong (seriously, do it. Let's go. I need to procrastinate when I should be writing copy.)
   

And if you think I'm looking for clients... I'm not. I don't really have the time. Unless you want to do a profit share deal and your biz is already doing at least $1mm a year in revenue, then yeah, PM me, but it's gotta be a very attractive proposition for me to work on your shit.
Full disclosure: I am considering starting a YT channel where I basically get drunk and/or high and rant about shit like this for 5 - 10 minutes at a time. But as you know there's no money in that.
IN CONCLUSION:
Most of the shit you've heard is dead wrong and spread by people who either don't know any better or want to sell you this fantasy that ads are impossible. They're not. They're just a lot of hard fucking work.
BTW, you can reach out to me via PM for questions but honestly I'd rather you post it here so we get a discussion going and please don't take it personally if I don't have the time to answer back.
Now stop being on reddit and go make some more creatives and write some more copy to test.
Oh, and to all the lame media buyers who are upset that someone's shining lights on just how lazy and useless they are:
Bring it on, bitch.
P.S. I don't know why the preview is showing all my numbers as "1". I swear I learned how to count, even if it took me longer than some of the other kids. If anyone knows how to fix that, please post a comment or PM me. Bonus points for a funny joke at my expense.

Chris recaps the last episode as the campers dug up their team members pictures to determine the teams, and says that these teams seem "oddly specific" in who is on what team (he rigged the team picking). Hockey Bros on different teams, Chase and Emma on the same team, although some got lucky that they were put together such as Julia and MK, and Ripper and Axel, but it will only be a matter of time until things start going in a different direction. Today is the day they figure out who is going home first in this third season.
The intro plays like usual
On the Far Apart Foxes: Priya is seen staring deep into thought in her bunk about pretty much everything Millie, Caleb, The game, and what her parents are thinking right now. Zee comes in and asks if she's ok, and she claims she is, and that she's not going to let any of this stop her, and Zee could tell something was wrong, but didn't want to say anything as it's only caused him problems in the past. Julia and MK are outside talking about what they could try doing as they believe their team is full of people who are gross, emotional wrecks, not all there, or just hate their guts, Julia knows that she could be booted easily if they lose, she says not if they cheat, MK brings up her cheating idea again, but Julia reminds her that she got caught last time and almost went home, MK believes that if she doesn't mess with anything of Chris', like the hairdryer, they should be fine, plus instead of cheating through challenges, they could cheat through messing with people, Julia likes the sound of that. Meanwhile Raj is seen crying in his bunk claiming he's been crying all night, and then he sees Wayne and Bowie coming in, with Bowie saying Wayne did the same thing in his bunk and he sits the hockey bros and gives them a pep talk, trying to lift up their spirits, but it doesn't work, Bowie tries to think of something. Axel and Ripper are then found talking about their history in the game from going from hating each other to loving each other, Axel then tells him that she and him need to cool down on the making out, as she's been noticing that it's been dragging her and him down, Ripper claims being gross is something he does best, Axel tries to tell him that she may believe that he's not super gross, but if they want to dominate the game, Ripper needs to clean up his act, both literally and figuratively.
On the Separated Serpents sides: Caleb and Millie are seen talking to themselves about Priya and then all of sudden they say the same thing out loud and gasp. Caleb then tells her that he owes her an apology, Millie says what for, and Caleb tells her for taking her best friend away from her, and saying that he was glad she was gone when she was eliminated, Millie tells him that she's said bad things more times than him, and they laugh it off, and decide to form an alliance, and Caleb promises that he will honest and truthful, and won't go behind her back, and all of sudden they hear a scream. We see Damien being chased by Scary Girl, whom somehow brought a jackhammer and said that she wants to have time to catch up, Chase is then seen hiding in a bush filming Damien saying he never knew Damien was so hilarious and would be great footage for his channel. Emma watches Chase from the cabin saying that he only cares about his own fame and the benefits, not the people he films, and still can't believe he's still the same Emma then stops and sits back and remembers season 1, and eventual flashbacks show her blowing up at Bowie, and claims that she was such a jerk to Bowie and that it was all her fault that their friendship ended, not Chase, she wants to talk to him, but she's not sure of when the best time to do so is.
Chris then announces it's challenge time!
Chris announces that he hopes the contestants have had their time to get used to their new teams and that it's time for the first challenge, will be a getting to know you game. Bowie says that isn't a little late since they've all known each other for a few years, but Chris says that he has eyes everywhere and has been watching, and Priya then starts twitching in her seat after hearing the challenge explained, and Millie asked her if she's ok, and claims she's fine she just didn't sleep well last night, Millie doesn't buy it. Julia tells her that even though she hates, she needs to pull herself together, if they don't want to win, Priya snaps at Julia to not tell her what to do, which surprises everyone, even Julia. Caleb said that was even worse than all the times Priya snapped at him combined. Chris says he'd love to keep this going, but he's on a tight schedule and that the challenge is that each person gets a point for every time they press their button admitting to the fact described to the other campers, if they refuse after 10 seconds, the other team gets the point, and that after one team gets 8 points will be the team that wins immunity and the losing team must send someone home.
First: Who was the first one is which camper accidentally peed themselves on their first date?
Emma presses her button, and Chase claims that he had no idea she peed herself, and thought he caused her to get a period, and she just growls at him. (Point for Serpents)
Next Question is: Which camper got suspended from school for going in the opposite gender's restroom?
Ripper presses his button (Point for Foxes), and says he's proud of it, and has no regrets, except for realizing he was wiping himself with pads instead of toilet paper. (Point for Foxes)
Next question is: Claiming they all should have done this at this point, Which camper has never gotten their driver's license?
Scary Girl presses her button, and She says who needs to drive, as she has her own ways of getting around, (Point for the Serpents)
Next question is: Which camper has sleepwalked while naked?
Zee presses his button, and claims that it was the soda, and had no idea what happened, and was not sure why he saw his door unlocked, and police at the door. Raj asks if he went to jail, and Zee said he luckily didn't since he had money from his soda sponsor, although they confiscated that soda from him. (Point for the Foxes)
Next question is: Which camper has never learned to tie their shoes?
Damien starts sweating but presses his button anyway, Millie is kind of surprised despite his intelligence, and Damien claims he just has never been able to figure it out, and sees quite a few of the other campers (Chase, Ripper, Julia, MK start laughing, causing Damien to hide himself in his jacket, with Scary Girl finding this interesting (Point for the Serpents)
Next question is: Which camper once got attacked while stuck in a zoo exhibit? MK sees Julia avoiding eye contact and presses her button for her, and presses her button for her, but Chris tells her that they don't get the point in doing so, but he asks Julia what happened in the exhibit anyway, she says that one of the monkeys came out of the exhibit grabbing her phone and started filming itself, and she got stuck by climbing into the exhibit because it deleted all of her content, Nichelle said that monkey was real for that.
Score is 3 for the Serpents and 2 for the Foxes.
Next question is: Which camper has a playlist on their phone dedicated to lullabies?
Caleb then pushes his button, claiming that his grandmas' love for lullabies is contagious.
Next question: Which camper has never gone a day without crying at least once?
Wayne and Bowie eyed up Raj, knowing it's him, and they give Raj a nod of encouragement from the other team, and he presses his button, MK asks why it's only him and not him and Wayne, and Raj claims that there was one night he didn't cry, the one in which he won the million dollars.
Then we get a montage of the remaining campers getting asked questions:
(Who once died their hair pink)? No one presses
(Who's afraid of rollercoasters)? Axel presses hers
(Who sneezed and got covered in snot during a school picture)? Millie presses hers
(Who broke their leg due to slipping on a banana peel?) Nichelle presses hers
(Who's pants have fallen down in a public mall?) Chase presses his
It was down to one more question, the question from Chris is who despises their parents so much that they want to move away? Priya having been relieved a bit for not having to say anything, all of sudden starts looking very distressed she tries to say it, and just stutters, Julia warns her that if no one admits it then they lose, and says that she's not a total drama expert if she causes the team to lose like that, angered at Julia she proceeds to tackle her, and as Chris watches feeling quite entertained as no one presses their button, that means that the Separated Serpents win the challenge. The team celebrates, but Millie and Caleb eye Priya in concern. Chris tells the Far Apart Foxes that they will see them at elimination.
At the elimination ceremony Chef calls out certain campers:
MK: She pressed Julia's button even though the rules were they could only press their own. MK tells her that she was doing what a "friend" would do.
Julia: She's made a lot of enemies throughout both of her seasons, and refusing to answer to gain a point, and provoking Priya to attack her, Julia tells him that she was just doing what she does best, and it's not good enough for them, then it's their problem.
Priya: Chef's been noticing Priya's not been herself today, and didn't seem to do much to help her team despite being a Total Drama expert, plus attacking Julia instead of securing the point for her team, Priya has no comments.
Chris then says those who get marshmallows are safe like usual, but then explains that since they are on boney island, the one who doesn't get a marshmallow must be carried away in the Casket of Cruelty. He then tosses marshmallows to the following:
Raj
Nichelle
Zee
Ripper
Axel
MK...
and the final marshmallow goes to...
Julia! Which means Priya is eliminated. Julia's jaw dropped when she got her marshmallow.
Chris is intially shocked by this, explains how Priya went from winner, to final 4, to first boot, and says that it's time for her to go. Priya has no comment towards anyone, which surprises even Julia as she thought she'd go ballistic. Priya then takes a breath and starts cursing out at her parents, completely censored and we cut to them watching with flabbergasted expressions, Priya says that Millie was right about them, and she can't believe it only took her till now to realize. She leaves in the casket, hoping that her parents got the message and hopes that her best friend and boyfriend will manage without her. and knows this is for her own mental being.
Priya takes a breath and admits in a confessional, that she told her team to vote her off, so that way she wouldn't have to quit, because she says she's getting the million she rightfully won, and she's not waiting until she's forty. "
Nichelle then appears in a confessional saying that even though Priya's out and she did vote for her, she says Julia better start counting her days, and says MK's not off the hook either.
Chris then closes own by asking how Millie and Caleb will react when the find out Priya's out first, what will Julia and MK do to keep themselves in the game, can Wayne and Raj make it work being on different teams, will any of the information revealed during the challenge impact the future of the game find out on the next episode coming soon.

21+
please message me with more than "hi, how are you?" + do not chat message me, send me a DM! it's so much easier for me since i use the app on my phone.
just your local girlfriend stealing, alternative, bisexual here. 👋 but you know what? let's set that aside for now (your girlfriend is safe for the moment) because i'm looking for friends that are as good to me as i am to others, which is apparently *harder than it should be. i am a genuinely kind, loving person even if my face says otherwise. oops. i have a severe case of resting sad face, so sorry.
i'm smitten with people who are weird but not weird enough to make others uncomfy, or unable to enjoy the weirdness, ya know? i know you know. i like people who are into things that others mostly aren't: tarot, astrology, deep conversations, things like that. i might not actively be participating in said things but i like hearing the perspective of people who are! my friends always joke that i'm the person people say "i can fix her!" about but uh, i'm awesome. i don't need fixed. ✨i will admit though, i hesitate about people a lot because while i do want a best friend -- mine have scorned me, so i need someone patient with me and understanding of that, please. please. i adore social connections but i do come with a social battery and it needs refilled. me needing that time does not negate the connection i have built with you and am nurturing with you.
i will genuinely offer you diamonds in the form of friendship, just reciprocate it. i will offer you the safest, most non-judgement free zone you can imagine, you are always - always, safe with me. i just ask that you are a good, kind, compassionate friend to me. you can literally tell me anything in the world and if it isn't hurting anyone else, i will listen without judgment. i promise you. i'll also send you spotify songs that i really like, so hi. hello.
on to the fun tingz (and the stuff that will hopefully bring you in),

• watching my first ever anime, try to guess it [let's pretend my first actual one wasn't death note & that it wasn't the live action]
• i'm the best wingman, hypeman & support team all in one
• horror fan through & through, but honestly, i prefer them less gory now lol, especially emotional horror
• cat loverrrr but will accept your frog [& all other animals] - so send pics. stat.
• known for dirty looks when i'm dissociating
• graphic design major who switched to cybersecurity & will be starting june, wish ya girl luck 💅
• gamer [valorant, ow2, cs2, hunt: showdown, pummel party, modded Minecraft, modded stardew,++]
• i don't play league, my mental health is terrible enough, thank you. i also don't play wow, my attention span could never. i do, however, play valorant because i don't like myself that much. i got you there, didn't i?
• loves to make make random noises but forgets my krisp isn't on
• mexican food 4 ever
• someone give me a banh mi please, they look so good, i'm desperate

i am ✨sPiCy✨so if that bothers you, i am sorry. i, again, am a genuinely kind person but i do have a snarkiness to me that is meant to be a slight "i love you" + dash of bully. ❤

I just came across some groundbreaking news about an advanced AI technology called GPT360, and I am absolutely blown away by its potential. As an avid follower of AI developments, I can confidently say that this is a game-changer.
GPT360 is taking artificial intelligence to a whole new level. Here are a few reasons why I believe it will completely change our perception of the future:

1. Unmatched Understanding and Creativity: GPT360’s ability to understand and generate human-like text is astonishing. It can create detailed, coherent narratives, develop complex strategies, and even mimic different writing styles with incredible accuracy.
2. Revolutionizing Industries: From healthcare to finance, education to entertainment, GPT360 is set to revolutionize various sectors. Imagine personalized healthcare advice, financial planning, and interactive learning experiences, all powered by AI!
3. Enhanced Human-AI Collaboration: GPT360 is designed to work seamlessly with humans, enhancing our abilities rather than replacing us. It can assist with research, provide creative input, and even help solve complex problems by generating innovative solutions.
4. Ethical AI Development: The developers of GPT360 are committed to ethical AI practices, ensuring that the technology is used responsibly and for the greater good. They are actively working on addressing bias, ensuring transparency, and maintaining privacy.
5. Accessible AI: GPT360 aims to democratize AI, making advanced artificial intelligence accessible to everyone. This could lead to a surge in innovation and creativity as more people get to harness the power of AI.

We're now onto the Dress Up Days episodes. I had these episodes on DVD when I was a kid, and so I watched them many times. This ep in particular popped into my head a few years ago, and that's what got me back into this show. I'll admit that I'm partial towards this ep and some of the others I grew up with. Anyways, spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk.
We open with the gang at Strawberry's house (including Blueberry, the writers make good use of her character immediately after introducing her). They were supposed to have a garden party, but immediately starts raining heavily. While inside, Blueberry suggests going to her house and playing dress up, since all of the picnic food was "ruined" (It didn't look that bad from what I can tell). Also, sidenote: Blueberry's voice sounds especially high pitched in this ep, even more so than in her first appearance. Idk if there were some audio issues or if the VA was trying something out. Anyway, Strawberry has a bunch of extra raincoats that she gives her friends. She takes the last one, which isn't as cute/stylish as the other ones (although, I'm sure some people would find the appeal in it). Her friends make fun of her, which, come on y'all she gave you her pretty raincoats, be f'ing grateful. Anyway, we cut to when they're at Blueberry's house and start exploring her costumes. Strawberry sees her book collection, and she didn't realize that Blueberry had so many books (even though her love of reading was established in the first episode, and the whole gang helped her set up her bookshelf. Ik I say I'm gonna stop commenting on the continuity, but then something like this happens and I feel the need to say something). They have the idea of picking one of the stories and putting on a play of it. They settle on Cinderella, and Blueberry just so happens to have a pair of glass slippers (she stored them at the bottom of her trunk, which... uh, how did they not break?). The slippers happen to fit Strawberry perfectly. I get that Blueberry offered the slippers to Strawberry, but they were her slippers, presumably bought to fit her feet. But oh well, this show revolves around Strawberry Shortcake, so she of course gets the lead role (on a related note, it's kinda wild that Strawberry never lets power get to her head. I think it would have been interesting to have an episode where Strawberry is on a power trip and has to learn from her mistakes, but oh well). Custard and Pupcake become the equivalent of Cinderella's mice friends. Angel Cake insists on being the fairy godmother. Blueberry agrees to be the stepmother, meaning that Ginger and Orange are the stepsisters (there are some unfortunate implications with our only characters of color being antagonists, but I don't wanna get into it here. That discussion can continue in the comments). Apple is the queen of the castle. Then, they realize that they need a prince, so they go to Huck, the one boy in Strawberryland, and they have to bribe him with pies. We cut to some time later when the sets are built and they're ready to go. They get their pets to be the audience (and Cola's also here. The coach for the stepfamily's carriage looks a bit like Peppermint. It makes me think that the writers wanted to include Peppermint in this episode, but either they didn't know how to write her in or the VA wasn't available). Anyway, Blueberry narrates the opening scene and spends quite a bit of time highlighting how ugly "Strawberella's" clothes are, which are clearly based on her patchy raincoat. Strawberry tells Blueberry to knock it off, and then she checks the mail, making the "mailbox" fall over. This reminds us that this is a low budget play performed by a bunch of kids. We're then immersed into this story, where the stepmother takes the invitation, and reads it. The stepfamily tells Strawberella that she can't go to the ball, which makes her cry. Then, Blueberry, Ginger, and Orange break character and apologize. Angel has to stop them, since them being nice spoils the story. We get to the stepsisters fighting over a dress and it lands on Strawberella's head, which makes her think the lights went out (which is a really silly thing to think. She had to have felt the garment falling on her head). She asks her stepsisters if she can wear it, but then her stepmother rips it up and tells Strawberella to get back to work. We then go into the first musical number, where Strawberella fantasizes about how great her life would be if she only had nice enough clothes to wear. We then cut to the night of the ball and the stepfamily literally leave Strawberella in the dust. Then, the fairy godmother shows up and makes a carriage out of a strawberry, turns Pupcake into a horse, Custard into a coachman, and bestowing Strawberella a beautiful gown and glass slippers. On the way, the fairy godmother has to stop them and let them know that the magic only lasts until 8 pm (since midnight is past their bedtime), which begs the question, what time is it in that moment? The sky is clearly dark, but it doesn't seem incredibly cold out. That makes me think that it's 6 pm at the earliest, which doesn't give very much time for enjoying the ball. Anyway, we get to the ball where one of the stepsisters is dancing with the prince, but then he steps on her foot. I think it would have made more sense for her to step on his foot, which would have incentivized him to find another partner. Anyway, Strawberella shows up, and immediately catches the prince's eye. He awkwardly asks her to dance, and so they do. This scene and episode in general is probably the biggest one that Struckleberry shippers point to, but they conveniently forget that this is a play, and Huck had to be bribed to participate. Anyway, Strawberella loses track of time and the clock strikes 8. I think it would have made more sense if it struck 7:45 or smth, bc with the way that it is, it seems like the magic would have worn off right there in the middle of the ballroom, which is a plothole, but I kinda remember that being an issue with the Disney movie too so I'll let it slide. Anyway, she drops the one slipper, gets home just in time, and then we skip to the next day. The queen and prince show up with glass slipper. The stepsisters try it on, but Orange's foot is too big and Ginger's is too small. I kinda appreciate that Strawberella doesn't have tiny feet in this adaptation since that would have sent the message that smaller feet are inherently prettier. Ig there's a bit of a plothole that with Strawberella having average feet, that shoe could have fit multiple people, but it doesn't really matter. Strawberella fits the shoe, and we get into the musical number about how looks don't matter. I don't usually point out the lyricism in these songs, but I have to mention this one line, "Clothes don't make the kid, it's the other way around." I get what they were going for that clothes don't define you, but that line inspires the image of children in sweatshops, and I don't think that's the kind of thing you'd want to think about while watching a wholesome kids show. Anyway, the play ends and we come back to reality. The other girls apologize to Strawberry for making fun of her raincoat, and it's a happy ending all around. Overall, it's a simple retelling of the Cinderella story that we all know and love, and does a good job with that. There are several episodes later on that are also fairytale adaptations, and I'm not completely sure how to feel about it. I don't necessarily dislike these episodes, but they do make me think that the writers ran out of ideas and used fairytales as a fallback. I'm sure I'll expand on these thoughts later on.
Comment your thoughts below!

Chapter 2. (Dracula)
Nine Hundred years later deep deep far in the the Shadow Forest a place called Castlevania in the black castles the kings chambers a beautiful black haired blue eyed woman named Isabell Bolton was travailing in pain as she was giving birth to her first born child, the queens maid that was there helping deliver the baby held the little child cleaned him up and wrapped him in the blanket.
“Is the Baby ok Sara?” Isabell asked very exhausted.
“Yes it’s a boy!” Sara said very excited as she gave the mother her baby.
“He’s So Handsome. Luther come quick see our boy!” Isabell said with glee.
King Luther Bolton came in and grabbed his son hugged him.
“My boy Oh my baby boy.” King Luther said very happily.
Suddenly a dark and evil witch named Festus appeared in the room with them she was pure evil.
“Oh! what do we have here aww how sweet the Dark One was finally born He will be called Dracula he will be a terror of this world he will be known all over the nation and he shall live till the end of time his power will come on his thirtieth birthday when he drinks from the cup of Shalom that’s full of blood of the wolfs tears no one will stop his destiny he is a warrior of Econdire!” The witch said with a wicked evil laugh.
King Luther drew his blade and pointed it to her as he gave the baby back to the mother.
“You will not take my child and he will not become what you said!!! You will die this night!” King Luther shouted as he charged at the witch. She disappeared as King Luther swung his blade.
“Hahahaha you can’t kill me mortal and you can’t change what is to come I’m just here to warn you if you don’t want that to happen then you must kill the baby you can change prophecy Luther Bolton! Or seek out the skull face man named Slaygar he will gladly take the child and the Prophecy will not come true! Or should I say. “Your Majesty” hahahaha! Oh Luther. Ten years from now on a day before your wife gives birth to Your fourth son you will die and Dracula will be crowned King then time will count down. Hahahahahaha!!!” Festus said laughing as she disappeared out from a window in black smoke. Luther ran to the the window she disappeared from then she went to his wife who was weeping and crying out of fear
“Honey shush it’s ok!” King Luther said as he looked with worry and concern out the window.
“We’er not calling him Dracula we’er not his name is Gabriel Luther Bolton!” Isabell said sternly. “He will be a beacon of Hope.” Isabell said smiling.
“Yes That’s Beautiful, Gabriel. I like that name. Gabriel.” King Luther said in his thoughts he was worried about the prophecy.
Years passed and Gabriel had three more brothers Drakeul, Nathen, and Samuel, Then his father got sick Gabriel was ten years old and he was trying everything he could to heal his father he was a mage a healer and he put all his herbs and couldn’t stop his father infection nor could he keep him from getting sicker. He was only able to take the pain away for a wile. But King Luther got worse and worse. The King grabbed Gabriel by the arm as he coughed and said.
“We got to get you better father I....” Gabriel said his voice shaken as he was interrupted.
“Gabriel listen it’s over there’s nothing more you can do. I feel my body shutting down before I go...” King Luther said as he winced in pain.
“No Father!” Gabriel said weeping.
“Shush! Gabriel be strong for your mother and your brothers she’s in labor now so you got to be Strong your a good man and you be a good king but I got to tell you something and you got to fight for what’s right no matter what! Your hear me son?” King Luther said as he was feeling weaker and weaker.
“Yes sir.” Gabriel said as he straightened his shoulders.
“Ten years ago when you was born a evil witch came and told us that you was the Dark One and you was to be the terror of the world til the end of time and you had a different name but I’m not at all going to speak that name and she said you was to be the warrior of Evondire.” King Luther said as he looked a his handsome boy and he smiled at him.
“Econdire? The evil prince?” Gabriel asked confused.
“Yes son and....” Luther told him all what had happened even to the point where they searched for the good witches mages sorcerers and wizards.
“They said Love is the first thing that change this fate and they said have more children as many as possible before My death and to surround you with Love and train you to be the best of yourself that love and good will overcome evil.” King Luther said as he tried hard to make sure His son knew to not loose his Live for others and those who loves him.
Gabriel looked at his father he didn’t know what to say but he swallowed and said.
Gabriel: I will live to the best of my ability to Love and be good to all.
“Good now go be with your mother and the child they need you...” King Luther didn’t finish his statement when he took his last breath and he left this world.
“Father! Father! No Father come back! Father!!!” Gabriel shouted and wept over his dead father.
King Luther died, Gabriel put his head on his fathers chest and wept the tears fell from his face on to his fathers chest. One of the Priests of Shalom walked up his name was Dagon Gibbs.
“My son he’s gone hey come here hush now.” The Priest Gibbs said with comfort.
“Bring him back Father Gibbs! Bring him Back!” Gabriel shouted still crying.
“Hush now I can’t do that I’m not God my son. I’m sorry for your loss I will prepare his ceremony but you mother gave birth to a son you need to go to her. Your coronation to be Crowned King after the ceremony of your father’s funeral. Life must go on Prince Gabriel you have a lot of priorities and obligations that Have to be done be strong Prince Gabriel.” Priest Gibbs said with a comforting voice.
Gabriel walked to the room his mother was and heard the cry of the baby he opened the doors to see his smiling mom holding her baby boy her blue eyes sparkled. She saw her firstborn and her smile faded. She then said to Gabriel.
“Gabriel come see your baby brother! I named him Logan!” Isabell said as she noticed the look on Gabriel’s face.
Gabriel held his baby brother.
“He’s so handsome and healthy, Luther would be so so happy.” Isabell said as she put her hand on Gabriel’s shoulder.
Gabriel looked at his mother and the tears fell from his eyes as well as his mothers.
“I know he be in here if he wasn’t gone but he is I know it. It was prophesied by that witch.” Isabell said as her voice shook with grief.
Gabriel put his head down.
“Oh I know baby you tried your best but his time was up sweetie. We talked long about this. I can’t grieve now you got to be ready for what’s come Gabriel.” Isabell said with sadness.
She began to weep, as she held Gabriel close to her. Gabriel gave the baby to Drakeul and hugged his mother as they wept for her for their loss. They had the beautiful ceremony for King Luther they buried him in a tomb under the castle.
Seventeen years passed the palace grew and the people where happy everything looked great Gabriel had a beautiful women they got married his it was so beautiful they had two sons identical twins Trevor and Alucard.
The year started off wonderful but then an man named John Bayn a wicked king from the deepest part north he was full of rage and sought nothing but power he attacked Transylvania and declared war against Gabriel, the king caused Gabriel to loose his source for food and he cut his supply of water king Bayn got some men inside Gabriel’s city who turned some of the people against Gabriel.
“Gabriel my brother what is your plan we have to do something we have to fight against these basters or we going to loose the city!” Drakeul said as he looked at his brother who was now king.
“Easy Drakeul getting angry at the King won’t fix this.” Samuel said as he grinned.
“He has a point Samuel we got to do something!” Nathen said to them both.
Gabriel turned around and looked at his brothers.
“Tonight we will gather the most faithful soldiers and we will attack and kill that king. I will not loose my city I will destroy my enemy!” Gabriel said with determination.
The Priest Gibbs walked up to the war table And looked at King Gabriel.
“Your Majesty. Think before you act I pray you. I dreamed of you last night, you was dark cold bitter your eyes were as red as the blood I seen you drink from the cup of Holy water from Shalom’s Temple but it was filled with blood blood that came from the Wolf’s tears you must not give in to this anger it take you far then you want to go.” Priest Gibbs Said with a Urgency and a warning.
Gabriel looked at the Priest as did everyone in the room.
“King Gabriel I beg you sir be patient don’t go wait the Lord will make away and give you Victory! Please Your Majesty stay they will come to you and the witches prophecy won’t come to pass! If you go out there, My King. The curse will happen three years early then what was told!” The Priest Gibbs said again with Urgency.
“Father Gibbs. I will not give into a witches curse I will not let a curse stop me from protecting my people I will do what has to be done and show them I am not to be played with they will know not to come against me! Like they knew not to come against my father.” King Gabriel said as he began to give out his plan.
“My King...” The Priest Gibbs said as he put his hand on King Gabriel’s shoulder.
“No Father Gibbs! They killed your son today! It stops now!” King Gabriel said as he gently put his hands on the Priest Cheek. “I will not give in to the Curse I will hold on to my Love for others and the Love y’all have for me” King Gabriel said as him and his knights went out the war room.
The Priest swallowed hard, tears fell from his eyes he didn’t know he lost his son last he spoke he sent him to the market to get bread.
“How...” He asked his voice shaky.
King Gabriel turned and looked at the Priest “They skinned him alive and put him on a spike right out the gate I’m sorry we took him down and took him to his chambers.”
Tears fell down his cheeks he walked towards Gabriel. One of the knights put their hand on the Priest shoulder to push him back, the king lift his hand stopping the knight, Gabriel walked to the Priest. The Priest put both his hands on Gabriel’s cheeks.
“Gabriel please I beg you my son is dead please heed my warning don’t make me loose another son. Listen to me don’t go out there bad things will take place that will hurt you in a way that you will curse the Lord in His temple! Please Gabriel hear me.”
Gabriel hugged the old priest as he wept over the lost of his son, not knowing that the old man was weeping over him that night was the last night of Gabriel would be a human king but Gabriel didn’t realize that the Lord himself was trying to talk through Gibbs and Gibbs was weeping because he knew Gabriel would not take heed to his warning.
Later that day just before the king and his twelve knights were going to fight for their land he kissed his wife Hope, and his two sons Trevor and Alucard.
“Here Sweet Husband.” Queen Hope Said with a sweetness in her voice.
She put a letter in his hand.
“I will be waiting their.” Hope said with love in her voice.
“Ok I’ll meet you and the kids there.” King Gabriel answered as he smiled at his beautiful wife.
Logan came running up.
“Brother!” The Prince Logan shouted.
“Logan what are you doing?” King Gabriel asked seeing Logan was decked in armor.
“Let me fight I can fight!” Logan asked determined to fight.
“No Logan you must stay here!” Gabriel demanded.
“But Brother I can fight I’m not a child I’m seventeen! I killed a Lion and stopped a thief and kept several prisoners from escaping! Please let me fight for our kingdom!” Logan asked with hope in his eyes.
“I know! What you been doing it has not been unnoticed. That’s why I need you here protect my wife and kids stay with them ok! Please Logan do this for me brother.” Gabriel said as he walked passed Logan. Logan didn’t like it but he nodded and went and stood by Hope.
They walked out the city Drakeul, Nathen, and Samuel walked side by side with their king brother Gabriel tonight was the night for Victory! The 12 Knights walked behind them as well as fifteen thousand of the faithful soldiers.
The war began the fight was harsh side by side the Bolton brother’s fault side by side and backed to back fighting the enemies as well as the twelve knights who was protecting them they fault and killed many, then faced the face King Gabriel and King Bayn began to fight each other it was a hideous battle Gabriel took a lot of wounds but before it was over King Bayn was on his knees.
“You Won but I have brothers and friends they come and avenge me! You will not stand! Your own people don’t even trust your leadership! Hahaha!” King Bayn taunted.
Gabriel swung his sword cutting Bayns head off, he picked up Bayns Crown and handed it to a red haired knight named Andrew Archer, who seemed to loose his helmet during the battle.
“Take this that will be one of my trophies.” King Gabriel said as he handed the crown to the red haired knight.
The Red head Knight Spoke.
“What about the rest any prisoners?” Andrew asked with concern.
Gabriel looked at the village that was still burning and relived walking through and seeing again what they did to those poor people. He looked at Andrew and said very coldly.
“We will show no mercy they all will die but slow I will hang them on a spike and point the towards the village they destroyed and the people they murdered so they see why they are dying so painfully!” Gabriel said with anger in his eyes. Andrew Swallowed hard and they all did as they were told and they left back to the city the screaming and pleads for mercy echoed in their ears.
Back at the castle of Transylvania a war broke out Gabriel’s soldiers was fighting for their lives against some other soldiers who was turned by the King Bayns men. Hope Trevor and Alucard was in the Temple of Shalom and the Logan was fighting to protect them Hope was a Mage she used her magic to destroy the last few guards that turned against her, she looked at Logan.
“Logan You Ben and Cole take my Sons and go!!! Go Now!!! Keep them safe!” Hope said scared for their lives.
“I can’t just Leave you!” Logan shouted.
“You must Logan protect my babies please!” Hope said with urgency.
Logan Ben and Cole took Trevor and Alucard and ran them out of the city they got on their horses and headed south. Gabriel came and saw what was going on they went and fought killing every betrayer and every last one of Bayns men. Then Gabriel remembered the note and ran to the temple and when he Got there he saw the Priest Gibbs knelt down by Hope her stomach was carved into with a knife her hands cut off her throat slit. Gabriel fell beside her.
“NO!!!! MY BABY!!!! HOPE!!!! NOOO!” King Gabriel shouted tears falling downs his cheeks as he wept. He stood up anger and raged filled him he cursed cursed the temple and the wolves he cursed everything that the temple represented and he pointed at the Priest and yelled!
“THIS IS YOUR FAULT!!!!” King Gabriel shouted in anger tears screaming down his cheeks falling to the floor.
He cursed the priest. All the 12 knights stood around him his brothers got between him and the Priest.
“Gabriel! What are you doing! It’s not his fault!” Drakeul said trying to get Gabriel under control.
“Gabriel calm down you.... Oh My God!” Samuel said as his mouth dropped open his eyes widen.
Gabriel turn to see what everyone was looking at and saw the statue of the Wolf of Shalom from its eyes were tears of blood that dropped into the Holy Water cup. Gabriel was then immediately A trance he walked to the cup.
“NO!!! STOP HIM DONT LET HIM DRINK FROM THE CUP!!!” The Priest Gibbs said with urgency.
His brothers ran to him and pulled on him he sent them flying back with a wave of his hand.
“That ain’t no magic I ever seen.” Nathen said his eyes widen and his voice shaken with fear.
Gabriel picked the cup which was full of blood and began to drink it the priest and Drakeul yelled!
Drakeul and Priest Gibbs Shouted as One. “GABRIEL!!! NOOO!!!
Gabriel drunk the cup all of the blood in the cup then the curse happened but three years early. Gabriel yelled as his body changed and his face went pale and fangs grew in his mouth and his eyes went from a beautiful blue to crimson red.
Then the Angel of the Lord appeared and said. “My name is Gabriel I am the Messenger of the Lord you have defiled this temple of the Lord and you cursed the God that created you and came against the church of the most high God you our forever cursed to walk this earth as a monster til the end of time you will bring fear and terror....”
The Angel stopped when Drakeul walked up to him, Drakeul look the Angel in the eye fear filled him he trembling knelt down grabbed the Angel by his feet he felt the Archangels Power he spoke his voice shaky.
“Please I inquire a audience with the Lord!” Drakeul asked shaking.
“You cannot see the Lord you will not survive.” The Angel Gabriel said.
“Then please tell him applaud him to have mercy no he didn’t show mercy and he did the most worse thing but please I beg you don’t let him be damned take me instead give him another chance! Please don’t let him be damned!” Drakeul pleaded with him and his brothers salvation.
Drakeul began to weep at the Angels feet, The Archangel looked at Drakeul was a little fascinated how he a soldier who Stern and cold would be weeping over his brother who did such terrible deed. Then the Lord Spoke to the Angel.
“Gabriel Bolton will still be cursed but there is away that he can redeem himself but he will have to find it but he is forever bound from the temple of the Lord until he redeems himself and only you Brothers can help him find the boy that can change him the boy must become Him and he must become the boy and the certain deeds must be done, only then shall the spirit of your Brother be redeemed however the curse of Your Brother will be on a innocent Christian who will battle to redeem the Spirit of Dracula. Your brother Gabriel’s name will change this day he will be known as Dracula the rest of this worlds time! You will share his curse soon and help him walk the right path.
The brothers looked at each other confused.
The Angel looked at the twelve knights.
“From this day till the end y’all are the wolves of Shalom there shall be many of warrior wolves through y’all and y’all will fight against Dracula and all that becomes as he is that choose evil over good and there will come a time where Vampires and Werewolves will join together to fight an even. Greater foe an evil that has been locked away. There will rise a dark mage who will set the dark lord free and become the dark lord this will be the road that may redeem Dracula. But as of now your fight is to get and keep Dracula out of the temple this day!” The Angel of the demanded.
The twelve Knights became Werewolves the first ever to walk on earth. The Angel looked at Gabriel.
“Take him Out!” The Angel commanded. Then he disappeared!
Gabriel attacked the Werewolves and the fight was extremely hideous the werewolves gave a beating but each place they clawed open healed instantly, Gabriel beat them till the turn back in human form his blood was ragging but the. The power hit them and they arose again as the werewolves and begin to drive him out of the temple.
As Gabriel taught them he saw himself in a mirror the monster he became the crimson red eyes sharp fangs pale face the sharp claw like finger nails and at that moment he saw what he done and he saw what he did to the knights and as he saw them in wolf form walking towards him wounded even but still coming he didn’t want to hurt them they were his men his people and he was hurting them and he defiled the Lords Temple. He ran out the temple his brothers followed him.
“Gabriel! Gabriel! Drakeul Shouted.
He turned around quickly he put his hand around his brothers shoulder and with that same hand lifted him off the ground like he was paper without the help of his other hand.
“My Name Is not Gabriel!!! I am Dracula!” Dracula shouted. Gabriel Bolton was no more.
He threw his brother into his other brothers Nathen and Samuel caught Drakeul and the impact knocked them three feet back they pulled themselves up off the ground and they saw his face pale as the dead his eyes which used to be beautiful blue was now bloody red, he spoke again.
“My name is Dracula every King every army will never dare to attack my country or my family I will crush them and they will know the meaning of fear!!!” Dracula shouted crazily.
Dracula said his blood boiling hot as things were transitioning in his body.
And so the prophecy was fulfilled but three years before the time. And so fear filled the land the terror of Dracula spread through each city of Transylvania and Castlevania where Dracula’s Castle was the place which was beautiful and full of light was now darkened and full of fear.
Three days later at the docks of Dragons Bridge Logan asked Ben and Cole to take his little nephews to a safe place he was going back to his brothers to help fight.
“Logan! Are you crazy man Hope asked you to get Alucard and Trevor to safety man come on with us.” Cole said with concern for Logan.
“Yea man we’re young we got to get to Safety” Ben said.
“I must go back make sure it’s safe and send for y’all. And no y’all can’t come with me y’all thirteen and fourteen” Logan said sharply.
“No I’m fifteen Logan and you need to come with us man” Ben shouted at Logan.
Cole: And I’m two days from Sixteen. And your not seventeen yet your three days from seventeen and Hope asked you to save her nephews!
“I know y’all keep them safe now please go! I will not hear anymore.” Logan said as he turned from them.
And with that Logan turns away from them in the boat and went off towards home with his friends calling for him to come back and to not be stupid, but Logan kept on walking. Ben spoke.
“Come on Cole he’s not gonna listen to us.” Ben shouted angrily.
They set out for the other side which lead to a country called Albion and to a city called Camelot where King Constantine Pendragon III ruled and Uther Pendragon was a young mighty Prince who had a Amethyst who used a spell to keep him young for a thousand years. The children would be safe there the Ben and Cole thought.
As for Logan three days passed it was his birthday he turned seventeen and he was not happy for the things he was seeing and home the enemy that attacked the city was outside the gate dead hanging from a spike he heard on of them groan he drew his sword and thrust it through the dying mans heart to end his suffering he heard more, and saw a whole line of them he went by killing them ending their suffering. Dracula stood in front of his brothers and spoke.
“No one will dare to attack me now unless they want to die which I’m more then happy to oblige, brothers with this power we’re unstoppable I can give you this gift and you can be stronger.”Dracula said to his brothers. Drakeul Samuel and Nathen couldn’t believe what they were hearing from there Brother. “Was Gabriel really gone.” They both thought. Drakeul walk up to his Brother.
“Brother! Listen to yourself this is insane! look at you! this ain’t no gift it’s a curse! The Father Shalom Cursed you made you this monster, I will not become this thing you are!” Drakeul shouted out. Dracula looked at his brother with a elite shock look the laughed mockingly
“O dear Brother you actually think I’m giving you a choice that’s rather cute.” Dracula Taunted.
In a flash he grabbed his brother he moved faster then lighting he but Drakeuls neck and began to suck his blood Drakeul went limp almost dead Dracula bit his wrist and let the blood poured down to Drakeuls lips then Drakeul died. Samuel turn to run as did Nathen out the door, Dracula flicked his hand and the door slammed shut in his face Dracula grabbed him and done the same thing to Samuel as he did Drakeul. And Nathen tried to fight Dracula but failed and suffered the same fate. Dracula took a red towel and wiped his mouth and turned around to see Logan looking straight at him fear hit him hard he watched his brother suck the blood from his other two brothers.
“Gabriel what....” Logan said scared and shaken over what he saw.
“Hush now Logan they be back and my name is no longer Gabriel it’s Dracula I am a Vampire”Dracula said with a soft a soothing voice. He was hoping to calm his baby brother.
“What Happened to you what did you do what did you become? This isn’t right Gabriel it’s not right!” Logan said still scared and shaken he never seen something like this before.
“It’s a gift Logan and I can give it to you and you never be weak again!” Dracula said trying to tempt him.
“No!!! Your a Monster this is a curse you are not my brother I don’t want your gift!” Logan shouted.
Logan turned and walked outside straight into Dracula’s arms. Fear jumped in Logan’s chest his heart started beating very fast. Dracula embraced him with a loving hug put his cheek to his brothers in a gentle hug.
“Easy baby brother I hear your heart beating way too fast trust me you be way stronger.” Dracula said as he pulled Logan back in the door and closed it then he tilted Logan’s head to the side and he bit his neck as Logan screamed.
“NOOO! BROTHER!!!! NOOO! PLEASE!!!! NOOO!” Logan screamed.
Logan died with the blood of Dracula running through his vainest and Dracula’s blood was very powerful. Dracula put his brothers in three tombs and closed them up and said. “In Three days they will be reborn more powerful then before.”
Three knights past and Dracula’s brothers came out of their tombs.
“I refuse to be evil!” Logan Shouted.
His eyes red as blood face pale white he looks like his brothers as they all looked like Dracula.
“We all refuse to be evil!” Drakeul said.
“Lets remove ourselves from this Kingdom of Dracula!” Nathen said.
“I Agree!” Samuel said.
Suddenly The Angel of the Lord appeared it was the Angel Gabriel again.
“No harm can be done to Dracula. Like you he is immortal and will forever be so as for you friends your decisions and Trevor and Alucards decisions will be the results of Dracula’s salvation or his soul forever damned. Now go you are the Guardians of Shalom save the world from your brothers wrath and hunger and save your brother.” The Angel Gabriel said. Then the Angel disappeared Logan up looked and said to his Brothers.
“Y’all go I’m going to Dracula!” Logan said as he walked to the Throne Room of Dracula.
“Little brother you can’t.” Samuel said with concern.
“Yes I have to!” Logan replied.
Logan went out to find his brother. He found his brother in the Castle sitting on his throne with a golden cup full of fresh blood.
“Logan! How’s my baby brother? You looking handsome.” Dracula asked.
“Dracula I will not follow you I will not be evil...” Logan snapped.
“Brother I’m not evil! I did what I had to do!...” Dracula interrupted and said as Logan interrupted him saying.
“Shut up Brother look at yourself look what you become look at the hideous mess you done at front gate half of them was still alive! No brother there’s nothing you can say or do to get me to follow you! You can burn in Harcarsh with the devil! But as long as I can breath you never see your children again.” Logan shouted at Dracula. Logan walked out the door and flew like lightning towards Albion and to the city Camelot he was going to do all he could to make sure those baby boys never be in reach of Dracula.
Ben and Cole made it into Albion and got off at the docks in at a small village of Noplend. No sooner then they showed up Dracula walked the land. Cole was looking at the beautiful land, Ben spoke.
“Cole this is so beautiful!” Ben said
“Yes it is!” Cole replied.
“So glad to see my little brothers friends are keeping my two boys safe.” Dracula said behind them.
They both turned around and saw their King they heard the rumors that spread about the good Great King Gabriel turned to an evil monster known as Dracula, when they saw him fear hit them their kings face was Pale white hair to his shoulders his eyes bloody red his fingernails were like claws and talons.
“My King Gabriel...” Cole said shaken as he tried to bow.
“Stop! My name is Dracula! You two kept my children alive for that I’m grateful but Logan will soon join you and I must show him something when he finds you you be dead and the message will be clear of what I can do, and when you come back as the same as he is he realize I could have kept you both dead!”
In a flash he rushed at Ben but His neck drained his blood and gave him his blood forcing him to swallow it then he broke his neck. Cole seen what happen drew his sword and attacked Dracula yelling at him for killing his best friend. Dracula drew his sword blocking Coles blade and he played with Cole speaking to him as each time the blades met.
“Cole don’t take it personal boy, it has to be this way.” Dracula said to him.
“You killed my Brother.” Cole shouted in anger trying to kill his King that looked like a monster with his red eyes and sharp fangs showing as Dracula started laughing.
“And your next it has to be this way and o yes y’all thank me later.” Dracula said as he grabbed Cole.
“Do you hear your self Dracula or who ever you are now your killing your own!” Cory shouted scared.
Dracula thrust his sword into Coles chest and pulled it out, Cole dropped his sword and feeling the life drain drone him as he felt Dracula bite his neck and drink his blood, Cole pulled away fast Dracula held his weak body closer to him Cole was getting weaker by the second, Dracula bit his wrist and forced Cole to open his mouth and the blood poured in Cole spit it out and Dracula did it again and Cole tried to resist but Dracula covered his mouth with his hand Cole kicked and and tried to get away he died with Dracula’s blood in his mouth the blood went down his throat and spreading through his veins. Dracula heard his sons crying he went and picked them up.
“Hush now it’s ok they both be back watch them and watch Logan. Logan needs to learn you can’t take my sons from me and not get away with it.” Dracula said as he kissed both his sons before he disappeared in blood red smoke.
Logan came and saw what Dracula did to his friends he fell to his knees and wept.
“NOOO!!! NOOO!!!” Logan shouted crying.
He heard Cole gasp air and he rose up quickly as did Ben they both were now vampires their eyes bloody red as Dracula’s and Logan’s was.
“What NO! I’m sorry I’m so sorry this happened to you!” Logan said as he could feel a sharp pain in his heart. The pain was intense more then usual and it stayed it didn’t ease like it used to after awhile.
Dracula laughed.
“Well now sense everyone is up and doing good let’s have a talk about my children!” Dracula said still laughing.
“Brother why did you do this?!?” Logan shouted his tears dropping to the ground like rain.
“Because I can and you learn to love it! Now as for my sons you should know better then to try to keep my children away from me. Y’all will protect my children and y’all find a good family for them and let them be raised by a mother and father and you protect them. Yes I’m not crazy look at me I know I can’t raise my children alone don’t ever try to keep them away from me?” Dracula said stern and angrily.
“Take my kids to King Arther and Queen Guinevere make sure their safe.” Dracula demanded not knowing that Arther and Guinevere didn’t exist yet.
“Um King Gabriel...” Cole said his voice shaken.
Dracula looked at him with a cold glare.
“Dracula Sorry. Um their is no King Arther Or a Queen Guinevere.” Cole corrected himself and then said plainly.
Dracula put his head down confused he started having visions that morning and he was have more he shook his head again.
“Right King Constantine III Arther Pendragon is not born yet. Take my sons to Constantine.
“Dracula are you ok? Brother” Logan said. Despite the situation Logan still Loved Dracula and he could feel the love.
“Shut up and Go!!! Get my kids there!” Dracula shouted he could feel Logan’s love and it was a warmth to his cold heart and it hurt him cause all he could think about was Hope.
When the red smoke he disappeared from them. Logan covered his face and shook his head and looked at the children sleeping and he looked at his friends and said.
“Ben, Cole, I’m sorry I’m sorry he did this to you.” Logan said tears falling from his eyes.
“It’s ok Logan I feel good and strong better then I ever had. But we need to figure out what to do to keep Trevor and Alucard safe.” Ben said hoping to make Logan feel better.
“Your right well let’s go to Camelot.” Logan replied.
“I’m so thirsty. I... I want blood!” Cole said as he held his stomach.
Logan’s thirst hit him to as well as Bens.
“Logan the babies.” Ben said with concern.
A mage appeared he was old his hair and beard was long and white his name was Amorous.
“Logan Bolton Son of Luther Bolton the Vampire that will save Emyrs and Merlin and set them on their paths to their destiny.” Amorous said very happily.
Logan, Ben, and Cole, looked at the mage their mouth was open the smelt his blood and he looked like food to them. Amorous pulled out three big water bags that were full of blood.
“Here drink and get your strength there’s much you have to learn. And let’s get the little ones to a good home.” Amorous said as he gave them the blood to drink. Their long journey began.

Hello, I go by Palm, and I’m opening commissions again after a few years. I’m really desperate for any jobs… I originally posted about this on my tumblr and if anyone is curious about what the situation is, I hope you take some time to read this…
https://www.tumblr.com/inthisvaleoftears/751325660690120704/urgent-im-taking-commissions
My prices range from $15 to $45 depending on the complexity of the piece, and they can be discussed if there’s any doubts. I hope you can help me, I would really appreciate it. For some reason I cannot post any examples of my art here, or any picture whatsoever, but I have posted some of my art on tumblr, please check out my tags. If you’re interested, please send me a message!
I hope you have a good day.

This post is to find people’s thoughts about an issue I’m having with my 2023 Telluride, based off a discussion from another post:
For those of you who did not renew the app subscription after your one year trial period, have you had the navigation and/or driver assist functions quit working?
My wife’s navigation and driver assist functions stopped working the day after her year was up on her app subscription from when we bought the car. The nav would either not allow her to input an address or would show an erroneous route/error message. Along with that the lane assist and auto cruise control functions stopped working-I’m guessing because they’re tied to the nav system (the car can’t keep you on a road it doesn’t know you’re on). I thought this was just some gimmick Kia pulled to keep people buying the subscription so I didn’t really question it not working but when I brought this up in another post, the few people who responded to me seemed surprised. Not I’m thinking my system just went out and picked a comically good time to do so.

Trigger Warning: Mention of suicide, TL;DR at the end.
Hello everyone, I (22m) have a friend (20nb) from college who I've been messaging frequently in the past week, especially since my mood has become elevated (which may be either due to my mood disorder or increase in antidepressant dosage). I've been sending them nice messages everyday, but I fear that it's not enough or that it may be too much.
Lately they've been mentioning about how they feel burnt out from college and don't like being with other students because they feel alienated by them and felt betrayed because they used to have other friends. But 2 weeks ago during a college break, they suddenly went silent on me for several days, and after that said that they've been only talking with their long-distance partner (21b) because that's who they're comfortable with.
Last week, they came to college and I was with them most of the time and they often seemed sad and tired, but they didn't say anything bad about me and even invited me to go outside to a cafe with them for a while. A day later, I attempted suicide due to some argument I had with my family which is a complete other story, but long story short they called me that time and I reconsidered and stopped my suicide attempt thanks to their kind words.
The day after that, we met on college again and while they said they're ok with me, they said that they had to go home immediately so I just respected that and let them. There was a field trip on the next day, but I didn't attend due to a death anniversary and I wanted some time to reflect on and heal from my attempt. I let them know they can text me during the field trip but they didn't really text much aside from saying they feel tired and overwhelmed and want to go home.
We were supposed to call when they got home but we didn't get to and on the next day they said the passed out. In the last several days, I tend to ask them how they're doing but they usually reply very late, saying that they're sorry cause they've been sleeping a lot. I suggested that they might be severely depressed but that it's a treatable condition, but refused, saying that they're not depressed because they don't want to overthink things. I asked them if they're taking their prescribed medication since they have a psychiatrist, and they indirectly answered by saying that they're taking their anxiety medication. When I asked them if they have medication for depression, they said they're not depressed and the conversation stopped there because I didn't want to argue.
It's been like this for several days, and what's worse is that their long-distance partner has been busy lately due to family matters and hasn't been responding much either, only replying every several hour intervals. I'm really worried about my friend and I don't want to lose them. Should I contact their family so they can help them out somehow? I also told my friend to contact their psychiatrist but they said that their next appointment is on June 1.
I've talked about this with another friend but they told me not to contact the family unless I'm sure because the family might be causing the problem and potentially abusing my friend, and while I don't know much about their family, I don't know much evidence to suggest this either. Should I contact them anyways? I know I can contact them through Facebook, but it would be my first time directly messaging them.
TL;DR: My friend has been telling me that they feel tired, sad, and overwhelmed, but refuse the possibility of being depressed to avoid overthinking. Recently, they don't talk to me as often and say they're sleeping most of the time. I'm worried about them and want to get them help before it worsens. What should I do? Should I contact the family they live with? Ask them about their psychiatrist?

Met a guy off Hinge and exchanged numbers. He sort of just texted me for a couple of weeks before eventually attempting to set up a date. I’m in a stressful field with a full work schedule on top of studying for exams and I’m happy to devote time to going on dates and meeting people to see if there’s something there in real life, but don’t have the energy for an extended text relationship with someone I really don’t know. I had a week of working in the emergency department and simultaneously became very ill and didn’t respond to his last message that week about planning a date. Probably bad form of me, I know, but during this time he proceeded to send me multiple texts daily and eventually after not hearing from me he proceeded to find me on Instagram. I have a low bar for deciding to not pursue things further with someone I’ve a) never gone on a date with or met in person and b) does not have much understanding of personal space. I got an eerie bad feeling from the determination he had to get in contact with a person he barely knows. Ultimately I blocked his number and blocked him on Instagram to stop the flood of messages. Within an hour of blocking him he went to a THIRD way of trying to get in contact with me (Facebook messenger) and sent an angry message saying he knew I blocked him and how I had wasted his time. Not sure how I wasted his time when we had never even met, but maybe I’m looking at things the wrong way? The whole interaction made me feel pretty unsafe but I also have had an abusive relationship in the past and am possibly too paranoid about getting involved with a similar personality.

How do you know if a new relationship is salvageable? I'm 20 and new to relationships. I really want to give this guy (22) a chance, but I haven't felt emotionally supported.
We met a few months ago and recently celebrated our two-month anniversary. It's the first time I've truly fallen in love. At first, we were inseparable, but now it feels like the honeymoon phase is fading quickly.
He's sweet, helpful, and kind. He helped me with my chemistry homework yesterday, and I appreciated it. Sometimes we disagree, but it's been manageable. But he struggles with emotional intimacy, which is hard for me due to my emotionally absent parents. I talked to him about nurturing our emotional connection, but he didn't quite get it.
It's been a few weeks and our texting has decreased, he rarely asks me how I'm doing and when we do speak, it's brief and empty. As if he doesn't really care to get to know me. For ex., He went the whole day without speaking to me, and when I suggested we talk in person, that's when he said "sorry for not being in touch much today, I've been busy." He knows my past and how stressed I've been. I feel that if he cared, he would communicate his availability better.
I've self-reflected to ensure I'm not sabotaging a good thing, but things have definitely changed between us. We've arranged to speak tomorrow so I can express my concerns. I know love is a commitment, but I'm wondering if our connection is worth fighting for or if I should break it off. What do you think? Thank you.
TL;DR: How do you know if a new relationship is salvageable? I'm 20 and new to relationships. I really want to give this guy (22) a chance, but I haven't felt emotionally supported. I've gently communicate this to him, but he didn't really get it. He speaks to me less and less, and doesn't seem to be putting a lot of effort into maintaining our connection. How do you know if a new relationship is worth fighting for?

Hello, I go by Palm, and I’m opening commissions again after a few years. I’m really desperate for any jobs… I originally posted about this on my tumblr and if anyone is curious about what the situation is, I hope you take some time to read this…
https://www.tumblr.com/inthisvaleoftears/751325660690120704/urgent-im-taking-commissions
My prices range from $15 to $45 depending on the complexity of the piece, and they can be discussed if there’s any doubts. I hope you can help me, I would really appreciate it. For some reason I cannot post any examples of my art here, or any picture whatsoever, but I have posted some of my art on tumblr, please check out my tags. If you’re interested, please send me a message!
I hope you have a good day.

My GC sister (27f) is emotionally manipulating me (25f) with her kids and guilt trips. I’m fine with all the help I’ve done for her as it was out of the kindness of my heart, but she always likes to throw things she’s done for me, back in my face, or tries to embarrass or confront me only in front of others even though we have been texting on several other social media accounts. The help I’ve given her can never be repaid, as I’ve given her money, time, and energy to raise her kids and get her out of a bind time and time again. I don’t want to be resentful as I saw a good quote about not being able to pay back debt. The thing is, I didn’t view it as a debt until she started acting like I’m shortchanging her, like I owe her something. I’ve never even gotten a thank you, but it wasn’t a big deal, but if she’s going to have a double standard I can only tally and count everything I’ve done for her is more than her husband has ever given her and they’ve been together for over 10 years. I get so angry I can’t even talk to her anymore. Normally I’m okay with all the comments on my clothes, hair, body, I am under a microscope when I visit. And on top of that, I don’t tell my whole family when I’m visiting as there is not enough time or energy for me to visit everyone in the day or two I randomly get to visit, she will tell EVERYONE that I came by. Like you’re making me look bad, you’re making our family upset, and you’re making me not want to visit or talk to you because you twist everything I say. Why do you keep doing stuff like that? Why isn’t there ever any respect for me? You always slander my name and now I just don’t care. I feel so much better now that we are VLC. She doesn’t really get it I guess tho because she keeps calling and texting me everyday even if I don’t respond. And the thing is we’ve NEVER be close or talked a ton. She never wanted to be close. She was always bullying me mentally and physically, and when her husband put his hands on me she got mad at me. Now her calling me everyday just pisses me off. And If I don’t send her some kind of supply she will get the rest of the family I don’t even talk to to tell me to stop being mean to her even though most of our fights are initiated by her. As she is now chronically ill, she doesn’t have the physician leverage over me anymore (6’1GC, and me 5’5 SG). So now she either rages or starts acting really clingy. It’s driving me crazy. Idk what to do I feel like I backtracked so hard inviting them back into my life, idk what to do next if she’s so persistent despite my lack of returning her messages. I do help her financially, but I have stopped as I am in school and working part time. And I have no car, school loans, and no savings, I’ve given her everything I had, because she made me feel like I owed her and later learned she helped facilitate a lot of problems my Nmom caused for me financially. Being around them causes me anxiety, and I forgot that I didn’t have to see them anymore. Crazy right? I’ve just been on go mode after my bfs Covert mom moved in with us begging for some place to stay because she was mad her friend didn’t want to be with her even though he did a ton for her. He gave her $7,000 to find a place. She bought a ton of stuff off Amazon, never paid her share of bills, and never cleaned. She’s triangulated me and my bf for 8 months straight. It took me back to when my mother kicked me out. Having to walk on eggshells, finding new sabotages done by her daily. Like putting her bidet wash clothes under my bath towel instead of where it’s been for months. Like letting it touch. She hated me. She loved her son like you could tell she thought they were dating. He obviously didn’t stick up for me but didn’t want me to leave on my own. She never apologized to me but she apologized to him after she disowned him because he told her that if she wasn’t going to be helpful she could wait in the car, when we were moving and we have BOTH helped her move and she bothered me DAILY for helping her with her projects. On top of not cleaning she had three long hair cats, fought with only the neighbors children and never the parents, yells at everyone, and overall super moody and unpleasant to be around. She sent me PARAGRAPHS. About how hurt she was because she thought I was mad at her. And my bf made me tell her if I was or wasn’t and I asked her and she wouldn’t answer. I’ve been feeling so alone. I’m supposed to graduate college next term and my sister expects to be invited and she’s never asked me about school or anything. No one in my family has. She only talks about herself. Am I narcissistic since I keep attracting the same people with different faces. I don’t got for them they come to me and LATCH. I’ve only picked 3/7 for friends the rest were just victim of circumstance. Do you guys have this problem?

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I have a workmate who is quite known for being the serious and intimidating type sa work. He's a year ahead of me so medyo na-intimidate din ako sa aura nyang ganun when I first started where I work now.
But as I got to spend more time with him sa duty, mas nalelearn ko na he's not really as intimidating as people make him out to be. And I learned yung kind and funny side nya that he doesn't always project. Kasi introverted sya. Long story short, I developed some form of a happy crush, although wala talaga akong balak to make it serious.
Before, he would be so formal and strict sa messages nya but to my surprise, he's recently been being goofy and funny sa messages.
I've also noticed a few things he does that I find amusing. Replying fast sa messages that I send sa work groupchats namin. Asking me for my sample paperwork even if he knows how to do his (he's already had similar work done before). One time nag attend sya ng seminar somewhere (nag attend din ako and a friend of his days prior), and while at work nag message sya to ask where the CR is (hahaha) instead of asking his friend. Approaching me at work to ask about an assignment that I know pretty well he already knows how to do (kasi alam ko na may prior experience na sya).
Now here's the thing. We're a lot more open and palabiro sa messages than in person. He'd be sending emojis and laughing sa messages while having a straight face in person. Haha. Kaya minsan naguguluhan ako if I can treat him the same way in person since nahihiya ako dahil senior ko nga sya, and I don't want other seniors to judge me na baka feeling close ako masyado.
I feel that we joke around a lot sa messages but in person we're a lot reserved. Except for a few moments when we find ourselves alone & he'd sometimes relax and joke around then way he does sa texts. But with other people present, we act like we're merely workmates and he becomes a lot more poised.
Now here's the thing. Recently we get teased a lot. And not even romantically. Na tetease kami because of how he cares for me as his junior. Natetease sya sa pag aalaga sakin. Even his friends pointed out na clingy daw sya sakin because they noticed how he's particularly observant of me (like one time nag ask sya sa GC why I was in the office when it's supposed to be my day off & everybody commented he's being too clingy).
And the whole time he's kept a straight face. Meanwhile ako parang matutunaw na but I also kept my composure. Whatever emotion he shows i try to mirror kasi ayoko din mabisto na may crush ako haha.
After the teasing incident, we found ourselves on duty again and he acts like nothing happened. Which I am totally cool with. Because I do not want things to get awkward between us when I enjoy his company so much. Natatawa lang talaga ako at how he's able to keep his emotions in check when he's so different sa messages.
The rare times he lets his goofiness through in person, I find very cute.
Ang tanong ko lang, could there be something in there? If I were to take the risk? Haha

Guys, I am a 24-year-old male residing in Chennai. I recently installed Bumble (a dating app) just to try it out and added some pictures. I wanted a long-term relationship but was unsure about it. Two days later, a girl swiped right on me on Bumble. I looked at her profile, and she had some really cute pictures. So, I swiped right on her, and she messaged me. We spoke for about five days. During that time, she shared everything about her life, including stories about her ex and other things. She is an extrovert, and I liked her vibes. But she had a few insecurities about her looks and told me about them but not much.
I was flirting with her at first, but she didn't flirt back; she was just talking like a friend. As time passed, I fell in love with her, but she told me, "Why are you loving me? I am not pretty at all," or something like that. I saw her pictures, and she was cute but not stunningly beautiful, and I accepted that. So, I told her that I wasn't into her looks; I liked her personality. We both fell in love until recently when she shared her latest pictures, in which she looked overweight and kind of older, which shocked me because she had never shared her latest pictures before. All the photos she had shared earlier were only the good-looking ones.
I mean, I am okay with someone not being very good-looking, but I have some expectations as well. Because in the latest pictures, she looked entirely different—the same person, but with a lot of differences. I was hurt, and I knew if I told her that, she would be heartbroken. She was madly in love with me as well. But I thought about it and wanted to be honest with her, so I told her that she looked different in the latest pictures and kind of older than the ones she had shared before. She was definitely hurt and told me that I am just like other guys, only into looks, and something like that.
I feel like she should have added her latest pictures on Bumble. She posted a sad status on her Instagram, and it hurt me a lot. I couldn't sleep with the fact that I hurt her with what she feared the most. I don't know what to do now. I feel very bad. I never like hurting people. I apologized to her, but that won't heal her. I am very depressed and she might be lot depressed than me now.

Currently in serach of an long term ( ATTACK ON TITAN ) roleplay. I'll be writing as ‘Eren Yeager’, hoping that someone would be able to write as a oc, or Mikasa Ackerman. I'm no strict person but you MUST be able to write as Mikasa good. I have an long prompt starter with background context that i’ll explain for these two, or for Eren and your oc. Hopefully we'll be able to write this all out. If you have a plot/prompt you're I'm willing to share, I'll hear it, don't be shy.
I write in third person, and only can go up to 5+ paragraphs due to detail in my writing. I'm all for background characters that'll be needed (Double ups).
𝐑𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒❗ • MUST be 18+, i don't roleplay with people who's underage.
• MUST be able to write in THIRD person.
• Don't say you're interested if you're going to ghost. I feel as that it'll be a waste of time, and im really expecting to roleplay this out. Everyone has a life outside of this app, which I fully and completely understand, but let it be known so i won't think that you're planning on not responding.
• Must be able to at least send in 2, or more paragraphs, be detailed in writing.
• MUST roleplay on discord.
I have no problem with ooc chats, sending in fan art, video edits, etc anything that's related to AOT. I'm all for it! If interested, don't be afraid to send me a quick message, and I'll get back to you as fast as possible so that we could exchange starters for the roleplay.

For context, i'm white. About a month ago, I hung out with two people I met from college. One of them was my friend and we had hung out multiple times before. This means nothing right now because I fucked up majorly. When my friend and I went bowling with a mutual acquaintance, aquaintance said that I look middle class. I said, "is it because I'm white?" I said this because I was embarrassed of my whiteness and that I was middle class. And then I apologized without explaining anything because I was just like, "shit I'm sorry, that was racist/wrong that was awful"
Aquaintance then said, "Are you afraid of being canceled?"
And I said something along the lines of "no, it was just wrong." (I'm not sure if I said this out loud or in my head because it's been months)
I realized that I might've lost two potentially good friends.
Me and my friend hung out one more time but they didn't really have a lot to say like we usually do. They were also texting other people the whole time.
It's literally months later and we text rarely.
I fucked up big time. Should I risk more Apologizing again or did that ship already sail?
My thoughts:
I already centered myself by bringing up and centering my whiteness. When I apologized, did they think I did it to stop feeling guilty? I probably destroyed the friendship or at least damaged it completely. I want to open up a conversation about what went down but also I don't want to center my feelings because I was the person who did wrong. I am probably going to apologize again either way because what I did was wrong, but I really want to do it in a sincere way.
This was the (very edited and cut down versoin of the apology)
When we went bowling and it was mentioned I look upper class, I said "is it cuz I'm white." I don't want to make anyone feel like they have to accommodate me because I say something racist, because what I did was not ok. At all.
Advice??

Passed the exam on my first attempt and I am beyond ecstatic!
SCALED SCORES BY CONTENT AREA:

Name	Score
Information Systems Auditing Process	599
Governance and Management of IT	444
Information Systems Acquisition, Development, and Implementation	573
Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience	564
Protection of Information Assets	608

Total scaled score of 564. Yes, I know my scores for Domain 2 are low, but that's alright. I passed overall, and that's all that matters.
Background

• 15+ years of work experience, primarily within IT Asset Management, IT Project Analysis/Management, and IT Finance.
• I have been involved in my organization's annual audit of IT general controls (as part of the external financial audit) for the past three years, which prompted me to pursue my CISA certification.

Resources

• The most important resource, like everyone says, is the CISA Review Manual. I read the online manual once from top to bottom. It was REALLY boring. Highlighted text and created flash cards. Honestly, never reviewed any of it again.
• Once I finished reading the CRM, I answered the domain specific questions in the QAE. Scored poorly, almost 45-60% on most of them. Really lowered my confidence, to be honest... especially after reading the entire book for what seemed like an eternity.
• One name that kept popping up in forums was Hemang Doshi. Found his course of Udemy and went through the whole thing. Quality of audio/video is low BUT there were a number of useful tips/tricks which helped me in the exam.
• Completed the 2 practice exams in the QAE after taking the Udemy course above. Took about 1.5 hours each, and scored 91% in each exam, which boosted my confidence.

Full disclosure, I attended a 3-4 day virtual crash course type course from a major IT training company. I can confidently say that it was a massive waste of money. Paid over $3K for it and got zero value from it. And I really mean it... ZERO. I will NEVER recommend attending that course or any paid crash course, if you ask me. There are many online resources available that are better and cheaper.
Preparation Time
Studied religiously for 10 straight days (12-14 hours/day), and took my exam on the 11th day.

• CISA Review Manual: 6 days
• QAE: 1.5 days (domain-specific questions)
• Hemang Doshi: 2 days
• QAE: 0.5 days (practice exam)

I am not including the crash course here since it was completely useless. Moreover, I took it 1 year prior to my exam. Did not follow up on that course at any point. I started preparing exactly 10 days before the exam date.
Tips

• Your best resource is the CRM. It is really dry, but read it. I set goals of 2 days each to complete reading domains 1 and 5, and 1 day each for domains 2, 3, and 4. Exceeded that goal by 1 day, so that felt good.
• When reviewing the QAE, don't try to memorize answers. Instead, try and understand why your answer was wrong (or even right).
• Hemang Doshi's tips are quite useful, especially for hard-to-understand concepts. One of his tips was to try and answer the question even before reading the answers. This works in some cases, but not all. But still a useful strategy.
• Regarding Hemang Doshi... Again, quality was not the greatest but try to keep an open mind. I played the videos at 1.5x-1.75x with no loss in learning.
• I took time off work to study, so that ensured that studying was my only priority.
• Had to give up time with my wife and kids, which was extremely difficult. But, I was motivated to do so knowing that I was working towards a target. Was hoping for light at the end of the tunnel.
• I believe my work experience in asset management, project management, finance, and audit (all within IT) helped me understand the content better since I could apply it to the CRM content. So perhaps I was at an advantage here.
• I didn't sleep well during the 10 days, but I did the day before the exam. I was much more composed during the exam. Figured there was no use cramming in the last minute.

The Exam

• I opted for the virtual proctored exam.
• I was calm on the morning of the exam... until I decided to run the compatibility checker for PSI, 2 hours before the exam. It failed due to low network streaming quality. I was on WiFi, so I moved closer to where my router was. Failed again! Moved even closer and switched to a wired connection. FAILED. At this point, stress levels were through the roof. Ran it 2 more times. Failed. Ran it once more. PASSED. Ran it again. PASSED. One more time, FAILED. Again, PASSED. Figured that PSI was having issues, so I left it at that. Joined the exam 30 mins early without any issues.
• Not sure how it is when you write the exam in a test center, but they don't even let you drink water (not even from a clear bottle or glass) during the exam. That was annoying.
• You have to have your hands visible at all times, you cannot cover your mouth, you can't read the questions aloud, etc.
• I think they allow breaks, but I can't be sure. I didn't bother asking.
• Used 3 out of the 4 hours to complete the exam. This included going back and reviewing 20% of the exam that I flagged for myself for further review.
• Seeing "Passed" at the very end was the best feeling in the world for me. Literally felt like a ton of bricks was lifted off my shoulders.

I will mention that I always felt that my strong areas were Domains 2-4. My weakest was Domain 5. My scores say otherwise, so that's surprising. But I'll take it.
I hope this information is useful for anyone preparing for the exam. Good luck!

It’s pretty much the title. But i feel like we could use a palate cleanser from some of the awful people we see here on Reddit.
I’m Catholic, and for the first 6 years of my education, I went to a private Catholic school. In kindergarten, me and my twin brother (19f, 19m) had a friend, Wyatt (19m). My mom (54f) was his mom’s RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) sponsor, so we ended up spending a lot of time together as kids. In 4th grade, my brothers and I transferred to a different school, and we fell out of touch with Wyatt and the rest of his family.
Fast forward to 2022. My mom is at Costco, and she runs into Wyatt’s dad, Mike. The two get to talking, and they say how they want to get us kids together. That didn’t happen until about a year later. In August of 2023, we went on a joint family camping trip, and every so often when I’m home for the weekend from school, we’d do other family things. We’ve gone zip lining, axe-throwing, hiking, done escape rooms—basically just fun family stuff. It was around that first camping trip that Mom and Mike made things official. For the last four months or so, all of us kids have known on some level that they were going to get married.
They aren’t super over the top around us kids, but we do feel like one big dysfunctional family. It can be really stressful at times for me to be around so many people all at once, but I like it. My younger brother (16m) and Mike’s second son (17m) are already like brothers, and I’m slowly getting closer to his daughter (15f). She’s a sweet girl who’s super tomboyish like me, and we’re each other’s sister we never had.
Mom and Mike had another camping trip planned for this weekend, but I had a previous commitment with a friend, so I stayed home (the benefit was that Mom didn’t have to ask anyone to take care of the dog or the chickens lol). As my friend and I were driving home from our plans today, I was texting with my mom when she said she had a question for me. Seeing as she’d entrusted her house to me, my mind started going worst-case scenario when she said that. I played it cool, and I responded with “Shoot.” She then sends me a picture of her hand with an engagement ring on, and the caption was “Will you be my maid of honor?”
Apparently, she and Mike had hiked to the top of a mountain (they go on hiking trips a lot) and at the top of the mountain, he popped the question. My mom and I had discussed the potential wedding between her and Mike, and she’d said that she only wanted me and Mike’s daughter as her bridesmaids. That said, I accepted. My mother also watches our potato queen’s videos and has seen enough delulu bridezillas dump all the planning on their MOH, and she told me that I will not be responsible for any planning. I will still attempt to plan a bachelorette, which will probably be a tea party in the backyard because I’m not old enough to drink and my mom isn’t a drinker. (But if anyone has ideas for a bachelorette that a college sophomore can throw together, they are greatly appreciated.)
I haven’t even seen my mom’s face, but I was able to feel how happy she is over our texts, and I’m just as happy for her. For the last 10 years, she’s put aside her own needs and focused on making sure my brothers and I were taken care of. She’s bent over backwards for us to make sure we had whatever we needed, all while teaching middle school. My mom is an actual superhero. After all these years of her taking care of us, it makes me so happy and gives me peace of mind that she has someone to take care of her now.
I couldn’t have picked a better guy for her because not only is Mike good to her, he’s good to me and my brothers. He helps my twin get involved with jobs and is good with his boundaries. Whenever he’s working in the same area my college is in, he offers to take me to lunch, and he’s been to both of my orchestra concerts. He helps my other brother work on cars and was there for every ROTC drill competition. Basically, he’s been the father I always wished I had but didn’t get to grow up with. Well, better now than never.

Currently in serach of an long term ( ATTACK ON TITAN ) roleplay. I'll be writing as ‘Eren Yeager’, hoping that someone would be able to write as a oc, or Mikasa Ackerman. I'm no strict person but you MUST be able to write as Mikasa good. I have an long prompt starter with background context that i’ll explain for these two, or for Eren and your oc. Hopefully we'll be able to write this all out. If you have a plot/prompt you're I'm willing to share, I'll hear it, don't be shy.
I write in third person, and only can go up to 5+ paragraphs due to detail in my writing. I'm all for background characters that'll be needed (Double ups).
𝐑𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒❗ • MUST be 18+, i don't roleplay with people who's underage.
• MUST be able to write in THIRD person.
• Don't say you're interested if you're going to ghost. I feel as that it'll be a waste of time, and im really expecting to roleplay this out. Everyone has a life outside of this app, which I fully and completely understand, but let it be known so i won't think that you're planning on not responding.
• Must be able to at least send in 2, or more paragraphs, be detailed in writing.
• MUST roleplay on discord.
I have no problem with ooc chats, sending in fan art, video edits, etc anything that's related to AOT. I'm all for it! If interested, don't be afraid to send me a quick message, and I'll get back to you as fast as possible so that we could exchange starters for the roleplay.

Alrighty, next up is the search for a decent barber. Yes, it might sound like a straightforward thing and yes there seems to be one in every block of Footscray centre, but…
Context: long facial hair, had it for 20+ years and honestly for the last 8 or so years have not had even one good experience in a generic barbershop. It’s alway either that try hard US vibe of blokey banter with no nuance and pretty much the standard “whadeayawant” and then proceed to do the same thing they think works for all bears. No it doesn’t. I’ve got freaky beard hair growing in all directions and it takes more than 2 seconds to look / explain but all the places I’ve tried it just feels SO rushed and just not a nice experience.
I’ve also been to the extra fancy ones in the city where it’s more one on one experience and yea that’s much nicer but a barely 20 year old who hasn’t got rid of moustache patches does not give out a confident vibe even with a FCKING $80 BILL.
So. Still looking. Thought of checking out some of the African barbershops around but it’s the same thing — I can’t just walk in and fingers crossed and then a generic person just fcks it up and now it’s 6 months of growing it back.
Any recommendations after this wall of text?