Let me give you some context. Im 19 a man. And never played skyrim until now. Growing up all i heard about in the gaming world was skyrim. Why didn’t i play it back then? Well because I didn’t own any consoles or even have internet (now i have them all and gaming is a big part of my life)
A few years ago i tried to play it, but ultimately i could not get interested. Couldn’t even get past the 1st mission (adhd at its finest) but now too this day i keep hearing about the game that won got and over 200 awards So here i am. Trying it again i just finished training with the grey beards (it took me wayyyy to long to find my way up that mountain, lucky a blunt kept my adhd at sane levels. At the start of the journey i went the wrong way at the base of the mountain and 2 BIG ASS GIANTS ATTACKED ME(just thought yall should know.) and now im in a dungeon trying to get something to pass the grey beards test. Atleast i think thats what im doing. Ima be candid i hate dungeon games for the most part well at-least in the manner skyrim dose it, but from what i hear about the game its very interactive like what i do effects the world and thats the type of games i love so im willing to look past that. But my question is why should i keep playing it? What is there to look forward to. And HOW MANY DAMN DUNGEONS DO I HAVE TO DO. And also i love grinding games. Can i expect a fun grind from this game? Thank you for your time

I (19F) am in college. Here is the necessary background information:
This past year I made friends with some people on the floor, one being Joey (18M). I also made friends with Christina (20F). School started mid August, and I had my first interaction with Joey around the 1st week of September. Me, Joey, and what are now 3 of our mutual friends (including his roommate), went into town and walked around. I would describe Joey as the defintion of a frat boy. Button up polo shirt, khaki shorts, and what people call the 'frat shag' (just a little longer). We however did not become genuine friends for months. In fact, there was one night me and my roommate held a party in our room, which was 2 weeks after we first met, and Joey mentioned having a girlfriend. I remember the girls at the party were confused because no one had seen a picture of her, nor had he ever talked about her up to this point. Me and my roommate brushed it off as some sort of weird joke, that was until the one football game where she came to visit for the weekend. I actually got to talk to her, Morgan (17F), that weekend, and she was very nice. But it was so clear to me that she was way more interested than he was. Morgan came up one more weekend that I'm aware of, but I did not see her, nor did Joey formally introduce her to any of us.
Flash forward to the beginning of November. Christina and Joey met at a tailgate, and started flirting. Our entire friend group were against this from the beginning because Joey still had a girlfriend. We went back to the dorms and continued to party, and I left to go out with a different group of friends. The following weekend, Christina and Joey continued to flirt with each other. One of our friends told Christina that joey had a girlfriend to which she said, "I don't care". But, nothing but flirting had happened.
I went home early for Thanksgiving, and the first night my intoxicated friend called me saying that Christina and Joey kissed, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. He went home for break, and continued to see the girlfriend, and a week after break she posted about their 3 years together which included a picture of them as kids with the caption, "I always had a crush on you."
I so badly wanted to tell her what he was doing, but ultimately, I spend almost all my time in proximity of Christina and Joey, and I never see Morgan. So, I didn't tell her.
Before winter break, joey told Christina he was going to break up with Morgan over winter break. And on New Years, Morgan posted a picture with Joey saying, "4th New Years together." I took a picture of this and sent it to Chrisitina. She was upset by it, but still didn't break things off with him. When we got back to school, the 2nd week back I went out with my friends, and Joey and his roommate were also going where we went. At this place, I saw joey flirting with a girl, and heard the girl ask him, "Do you have a girlfriend?" To which he responded, "No." Despite having 2. Safe to say, he didn't break up with Morgan over break.
In the middle of February, around Valentine's Day, Christina gave Joey an ultimatum: Break up with Morgan by Thursday or they were done. He broke up with her on Tuesday.
We all went on a spring break together, with a total of 7 of us, but it felt like there was only 5 of us. Christina and Joey spent the entire week pretty much isolating themselves from the group and having loud enough sex that it kept our 2 friends awake who were in the room above them.
Since Spring Break, I can’t say I saw much of them. They spent most of their time in his room, or at her apartment. But I myself did go out more and started seeing different friends more often. So, it makes sense we didn’t see much of each other.
For those wondering why Joey didn’t just break up with Morgan, I’ll tell you what he told me.
Morgan and joey’s families are family friends. Their parents have been friends since before they had children. Joey said that over Thanksgiving break he had broken up with Morgan, but his family forced him to get back with her. He also mentioned how he hoped Morgan would break up with him once he joined a frat, because she didn’t want him joining one. I had told him though he needs to make a choice, because it’s not fair, and that she had seemed more interested in him than he was in her.
Well, school had since ended for summer break. The other night I saw Morgan had posted a new guy on her story and I told my roommate about it, but she wanted to see. So I did the foolish thing of screenshotting the story, which resulted in Morgan texting me and I tried to lie saying I liked her bracelets, which she responded with, “You sure it isnt because your friend cheated on me and now I’m with someone else?” I responded with, “I’m sure. I’m actually really happy you found someone that will treat you right. I’m sorry for the part I played.” To which she said, “so he did cheat.” I then apolgized to her saying what Joey did was messed up, and she nor anyone else deserved to be treated that way.
And, sadly, it did not end there.
The next day she sent me a message asking what I meant when I said, “The part I played.” I explained that I knew what was going on, but made no effort to “improve the situation.” She asked if I knew what happened exactly, and I told her how I was mad that they had kissed before Thanksgiving and I was upset with them, so I don’t know the full story, which is the truth. But I also made her aware of the ultimatum Christina gave her right before they broke up. Morgan told me that he had borken up with her, but came back within 24 hours crying asking her to get back with him, and saying that some random girl had kissed him at a party, but he pushed her off, saying he had a girlfriend. Which was very different from the version I received from Joey when he said his family made him get back with her. I told her how he never mentioned that he had a girlfriend and had no photos of her in his room. To which Morgan said she was the one who printed out the photo of them and gave to him, that I never saw. I also told Morgan that Christina is a junior while we are freshman.
I also assured Morgan that she dodged a bullet, he’ll get his karma, and that she should never take him back because I don’t even trust him with Christina. Morgan thanked me for giving her the closure he never did, saying she wasn’t gonna break no contact with him and our conversation ended there.
Well, yesterday I received a text from Christina that said, “Hey, I’m gonna say this in the nicest way possible. I would really appreciate if you didn’t go to Joey’s ex about his and my business anymore. Because everything you tell her, she’s posting on social media. I didn’t tell you these things just so you could go and tell her everything I said. I came to you as a friend who needed advice and opinions thinking it would stay between you and I. Especially when she’s trying to make me look bad. I just think It’s not cool and pretty betraying as a friend. And I thought we were much closer than you and her were, but maybe I’m mistaken? I just think it’s really hurtful and embarrassing that you continue to tell my business to someone that doesn’t even know me. It’s nobody business but mine and Joey’s, and I clearly shouldn’t be asking for anyone’s opinions anymore.”
Now, I know I’m the asshole for betraying my friend, but I did not tell their secrets, truly. I didn’t give any details into their relationship, despite the fact that Joey had been cheating on Morgan with Christina since Thanksgiving, and that there was an ultimatum that led to the break up.
Joey texted me today asking what exactly I said to her, so I told him everything (minus the part where I said I didn’t trust him with Christina). To which he responded with, “I don’t think you understand how much you actually fucked both me and Christina.” As if it weren’t their own actions that brought them to this moment.
Whether or not they are my friends, they are cheaters. Joey cheated on his girlfriend of 3 years and lied to her about it, and then broke up with her via Snapchat. I know the part I played in this was 2-timing, but if they’re so ashamed of the consequences of their actions, maybe that should be a clue to them that their actions are shameful.
Am I in the wrong?

Just another fun little story idea I had. I am still working on Humans are the violent ones but I like to bounce around and experiment with ideas to see what I really like. I also suck at writing more casual stories, as they give me severe writer's block as I try to map out how to make a scene feel genuine in my head, but I promise I'll update that soon. If you like this story and want to see more, then like and comment. I'll gladly continue this series as well.
Start of Personal Log
Humans don't like being told what to do. They don't like being commanded, put in their place, or snubbed. It was an inexorable, inalienable trait of humans, at least any noteable humans, to go against any authority that they believed was against their interests.
Humanity would not fit amongst the stars. Few ever did. It was a trait of most successful species to be willful, ambitious, and to desire more. But once they reached the stars the new (and simultaneously very old) pecking order either quashed any spirit such species had or simply eradicated them. Countless tomb worlds and diaspora served as painful reminders of what became of the nails that chose to stick out. The hammer of order would always strike. There could be no compromise, the very soul of the authority that held the Jurisdiction together relied on a show of unmatched power, or at least the illusion of item.
In reality, the Jurisdiction was an old, fat, and lazy beast. It filled its belly on the corpses of empires far and wide, and sated its bloodlust on the shattered dreams of hopeful cubs. It had every right to, for none could challenge it: there were no new frontiers to explore, nor were there any other enemies to conquer. The Milky Way, as humans had so strangely dubbed our cradle galaxy, as well as Andromeda, had long since been warred over and settled for millennia before humanity had arrived, bright-eyed and with familiar yet otherwise foolish dreams of cooperation and prosperity. The Jurisdiction did not cooperate, nor did it ensure prosperity. Oh, it claimed it did, but in reality it simply took. The rest was just the peace that came with not being the direct target of the biggest fish in the pond. The humans didn't like that, but they had no choice.
Slavery was a common tribute. The Jurisdiction had no use for other resources: it simply took. No, it wanted those who could facilitate that unequal exchange, those raised in a world where the only morality was the one set by your lord. The Jurisdiction was held together by expectations, obligations, and dury more than any kind of shared dream, so when you were ordered to take you did so without question. Humanity was new: they had no niche or value that set them apart, but they had a penchant for killing and taking, so the Jurisdiction gave them a taste of how the galaxy worked. They killed and they took. The humans didn't like that, but what choice did they have?
Humans were strange. They learned, but not in the way most species learned. Most species learned to adapt in a passive way, to adhere to the world around them. They flowed like water, moving past and around obstacles and confirming to the boxes they were assigned too. Humans didn't confirm, nor did they adapt: they made their circumstances fit their desires. They would not move around obstacles, but rather smash through them, and they refused to stay in one box for too long. The Jurisdiction merely saw them as a particularly loud nuisance, but those who faced their wrath knew better.
It is said that when a beast seeks to make an example, it shall humble its rival by killing it's cubs. Children were one of those universal constants that brought entire communities together: the Sok’klar saw their hatchlings as gifts, shaped by the fruitful currents of the universe in perfect harmony. The Yarrack saw each and every newborn whelp as an uncut gemstone, ready to be shaped into something magical. Humanity oftentimes referred to their offspring as angels, or spirits of unbridled good sent by the gods themselves. Children were seen by most of the galaxy as gifts.
The Jurisdiction saw them as a lever to inflict suffering. It had become quite effective at enacting psychological punishments on those that stood up and spoke out. You dare to disobey? You believe you can speak out? Your gifts shall be taken from you, and you shall be without joy.
Humans didn't like this, but the Jurisdiction would have their pound of flesh, and humankind would kneel. And they did. But humans were patient creatures: most species who retained that trait of willful spit also lacked patience.
I had long since become desensitized to the Jurisdiction’s actions: it was simply how the universe worked now, as if it were a constant akin to gravity. Cruelty was the unspoken rule of this seemingly unending age, where our lives never appeared to move forward or backwards, only lay dormant. The Jurisdiction had been the unyielding authority that ruled the galaxy for thousands of years, venerable yet feared all the same.
And for the longest time I was just another cog in its wheel. My name is Kalnuracht Sedjuur-Noumar VII, and was the scion of the noble house Sedjuur-Noumar. I was born into what most would describe as veiled apathy, living a life that could be attributed to the privileged class of feared scribes that enacted the will of those above. I was an administrator and nothing more. And now I am doomed to be far less than that in the eyes of my former constituents within the endless administration. I am the only scion, as is tradition, and without an heir I am the last of my house, our name to be scrubbed from the records, worthless, meaningless, and forgotten.
I am merely Kalnuracht, nothing else and nothing more. I have seen from their eyes, the eyes of the downtrodden, and it makes my crimes of association with the Jurisdiction feel all the more damning on my worthless soul. I am worthless to the world, and this is my story.
End Personal Log #1
Start of Neural Lace Narrative Log #1
They came from the black like carrion birds in the night, encircling our convoy as if it were a dying animal ready to be picked clean without remorse. There was no warning, no list of demands sent out as civilized peoples did, nor was there either any requirement for unconditional surrender nor chance to parlay, as was done so under letter of marque: this was an unmistakable call for violence and nothing else. They sought to reduce us to slag and scavenge the rest.
So, as one would expect, the entire bridge of the ship was nearing a panicked state. This was not the actions of those practicing civility, but rather the common behaviors of despoiling barbarians, the kind that tore their way through the dark reaches of the galaxy as if they owned it.
“Wayfinder, what do your probes see?” Shouted the ship’s sovereign. He was an older Kar’Rowmach, an amphibious cephalopod species with a venerable history within the Jurisdiction going back thousands of years. Normally one such as him would be above me if it weren't for the fact that I was under the authority of the Jurisdiction’s seal of office. He didn't like me very much, but most of his kind shared the same sentiment.
“All dark, honorable Sovereign: the sensor arrays are wailing but the feedback we're reviewing is beyond incomprehensible,” the wayfinder replied with a certain restrained temper in his voice. The Sok'klar wayfinder swayed gently, his tentacled limbs grasping different metallo-liquid braille output arrays, the liquid gallium flexing and reshaping unnaturally to allow him to to take in multiple different sources of sensory output at once, with the primary navigation computer plugged into the cybernetics surrounding his opaque, gelatinous head and plugging directly into his tube-shaped brain.
The Sovereign cursed in Loskat and pointed to his bridge crew while I simply sat in the back, near the Sovereign’s symbolic throne. “Prepare countermeasures and spool up the warp drive, we cannot allow the amanuensis to be taken! He carries sensitive information that only he can translate and transcribe!”
As the bridge crew nodded and began fiddling with their own systems, I preened my feathered hide anxiously. I wasn't a fighter: us nobles of the cloth were the educated minority above all else, not those who waged war or partook in hard labor. Special cybernetics in my brain allowed me to translate triple-encoded messages that usually took a ducal signet codekey or above to parse, but even without that I was a skilled mathematician and logician. I had terabytes worth of knowledge stored within the hardware installed in my head, all well protected of course, but if I were to die it would still be a waste. I could only imagine the damage any malcontenders could do with it if they were able to get their filthy hands on me.
Suddenly, the ship rocked, and the gallium overhead display began to form crescendos like I'd never seen before. “Sovereign, decks A-3 through C-12 are venting atmosphere and our coolant systems have been obliterated,” the Wayfinder spoke in an almost serene voice, as if he was completely unconcerned by current events. I knew they were simply incapable of tonal displays, but it was unnerving nonetheless. “Once we jump, we will not be able to risk another until the vacuum of the void can reduce temperatures to acceptable levels within the plasma capacitors.”
“Damn them,” the armored nautiloid hissed, his barbed feelers coiling in frustration, “May the currents take them. What are our options? what can we see? This fleet cannot fall to the void today, not with such vital cargo.” My hackles rose lightly at the Kar’Rowmach referred to me as some object rather than an esteemed amanuensis of the Jurisdiction, but I bit my forked tongue. Now was not the time to squabble with the sovereign over who was what and what titles I deserved, not while he was so desperately attempting to keep what semblance of order within his fleet that he had left.
I could not blame the crew for being panicked either: wars were practically mythologized now, having been long since rendered obsolete with the rise of the Jurisdiction, and that felt like an eternity ago. Now, either being levied into or joining a ducal naval force was simply another career, more akin to serving as an officer of the law rather than a fully fledged soldier. Minimal training was required, most of it being the technicals of one's duty rather than any kind of combat conditioning, so expecting a fleet to actually be prepared for a combat scenario in a universe where peace was the norm was laughable.
“We are practically blind, Sovereign,” stated the Sok'klar Wayfinder, “our probes are offline, and shipboard graviton displacement sensory arrays have been rendered unreliable at best.”
“What about the particle emission array? Has there been a spike in radioactivity where we were hit?”
The Wayfinder seemed to think for a second, his gelatinous form flexing and morphing a bit before answering. “Affirmative, a jump from negligible to forty billion becquerels along decks A through E-5 on our starboard side.”
“Torpedoes…” the Sovereign hissed, stroking his barbed feelers, “Human Torpedoes. Only those primitives would rely on crude nuclear warheads.” He then turned to his militant leaders on the ship. “Noddos, Rel’ads: organize your phalanxes and prepare to repel boarders. We are bound to be assailed by those rancorous primates, and I want their skulls piled at my feet if they dare set foot on our ship.”
“Your wish is our command, Sovereign,” the two militant commanders spoke as one. Noddos, a large bipedal with multiple sets of curved spines running down his back, a pair of graceful horns sprouting from his head, and multiple rows of sharp teeth in his snout, bowed first, followed by Rel’ads, a marsupial with long saberteeth and thick fur. They both must have been fierce warriors in their own right to each lead a phalanx. They wore thick, semi-powered armor and held dueling polearms alongside their usual plasma casters, and seemed completely unfazed by the situation we were in. As they stomped out of the brightly lit bridge, I let out a quiet squawk of discontentment. “Sovereign, why haven't we jumped again? We are wasting precious time.”
“I am working on it, you spineless beaurocrat!” He warbled back, his feelers tensing in anger, “besides, it's not as if you're the one who will be spilling blood today, amanuensis, so flatten your wretched beak or I shall weld it shut with a plasma torch.
I was about to reply with something indignant, but the ship rocked again, this time causing the lights to flicker and the air to become… thick. The skin under my feathers began to blister, and I became lightheaded and confused. “Seal the damnable vents, initiate radiation scrubbers, and activate secondary life support!” Shouted the Sovereign, “Their nuclear weapons are rendering the ship inhospitable!”
I coughed up magenta blood accidentally, and I could feel more seeping from under my eyes. Some of the crew was in a similar position, but others were more resistant to radiation than I. The Sok'klar seemed completely at ease as he ran his tentacles across his morphic braille arrays before calmly announcing the ship’s status. “I've regained some control over our probes: ten, twelve, and seventeen are active and fully functional, the rest are either still malfunctioning or permanently inoperable. A rapid rise in localized radiation is also interfering with the detection of graviton displacement; we can't sense photon redirection, thus readings will remain inconclusive.
“Wayfinder, damn you, get me some kind of out here! We're easy prey until we can respond in kind!”
“Negative, something has gone awry with our processing hub, I am attempting to troubleshoot-”
And with that, the Wayfinder’s bulbous head exploded in a cascade of opaque lavender blood, covering the front half of the deck crew like a morbid art piece. Some of the crew screamed and shouted in terror before removing their cranial adaptors and choosing to interact with their displays manually. Others died just as quickly, unable to unplug in time as their brain stems fried or their blood boiled. It was a horrible way to go, having your insides neutralized by your own cybernetics, so I was glad I wasn't connected to the system.
“Cybernetic warfare! All systems are to be considered compromised, switch to manual settings or you'll be killed!”
The lights in the bridge flickered again, and the displays went haywire. The bridge crew, which obviously weren't acquainted with working without being hard-linked into the mainframe, moved at a much slower pace.
“Launch missile pods A through F and set to self-target after five hundred kilometers, then rely on their ballistic coordinates to begin firing broadsides! If we can't see the humans due to their meddling, we'll just have to feel them.” Shouted the Sovereign, “and got me a detailed report on the ship’s diagnostics readings. I need to know if this flagship is still capable of escaping or if we'll have to scuttle it and retreat on another.”
“Acknowledged, Sovereign, launching now,” affirmed another deck officer as he swiped across his own gallium output array. I could hear the dull thunk, thunk, thunk of missiles pushing out of their pods before racing off to their intended targets, then the mechanical whirring as the pods rotated to be reloaded by slaves in the lower decks. I was regaining my bearings as the many horrible sensations of being overwhelmed by radiation poisoning were beginning to subside, but I still felt as if I had been microwaved. The air was stale, the crew was horribly sick as well, and even the sovereign himself seemed to be on his last leg. I was beginning to believe that I might die here.
“Sovereign, a message from the lower decks,” shouted a communications officer, his chitin scraping against itself as he turned quickly, “they're requesting reinforcements, something about being overrun.”
“Impossible,” the Sovereign hissed out in a vain attempt to exude confidence, “We must outnumber the humans, they always go for bigger targets out of arrogance.”
“I've received reports that it's not just humans: the primates seem to make up only a third or so of the assailing force, along with some Phaeldaer and Vrex.”
The commander slammed his clawed hands down on his own output array in a fit of rage, obviously overwhelmed by the circumstances, “Then this wasn't just a typical assault, but something more sinister!” The nautiloid warbled, blood seeping from his shell as the full effects of the radiation took hold, “Get Rel’ads on the line, have him divert all spare lances to the lower decks or else we'll lose the only offensive capabilities we can use.”
“Rel'ads has gone dark, Sovereign, his vitals are critical.”
“Then either get me Rel'ads tail-leader or get me Noddos!” He screamed in rage, “don't give me this nonsense! If we don't pick it up we're all going to die, is that what you want?”
“No, Sovereign, I'm simply overwhelmed-”
“We're all overwhelmed! By the tides, I'm dying of radiation poisoning you nincompoop! Get me something I can work with!”
The officer didn't even acknowledge the Sovereign after that, simply turning back to his display. Eventually, the Sovereign was able to get Noddos on the line.
“Sovereign, two thirds of my phalanxes have been decimated by combat with the primitives and the radiation, the rest are in shambles. We must retreat and fortify elsewhere!”
“Then the ship is compromised! Rel'ads is unresponsive and the lower decks are swarming with intruders. We must evacuate the amanuensis to another ship.”
Just as the Sovereign spoke, I heard several gentle thumps rattle against the bridge’s door, and it made me uneasy. Some of the bridge crew seemed to feel the same, as they looked incredibly nervous and some even drew their sidearms. Just as the sovereign turned to give further orders, the door blew inward with a deafening explosion, followed by shouting and gunfire. Several of the bridge officers were dispatched quickly, brain matter and blood splattering against the delicate electronics. Others were shot in the legs, the torso, or in any other exotic yet non-vital body parts. The humans poured in, brandishing primitive ballistic firearms and jury-rigged energy weapons while wearing scavenged, legion-grade powered armor.
The Sovereign was the next to go, but he wasn't afforded an honorable death. He was shot along the arm with a particularly potent plasma caster, burning off his clawed hand and cauterizing the wound, the acrid smell of roasting chitin filling the already hot and cramped bridge. He fell back against his output array, the gallium reaching new highs and lows as more diagnostics and casualty reports were delivered, and he clutched his stump angrily. “I'll burn every last one of you in the foundries! I'll tie you to stakes, cover you in wax and set you alight! Your screams will be broadcasted all over the galaxy!”
One human warrior stomped up and slammed the butt of his rifle into the sovereign’s face, shattering his facial plates and causing blue blood to splatter across his section of the bridge. “Shut the fuck up, you mutant lobster,” the human said before dragging him by both antennae towards the center of the bridge and receiving a stained breeching axe from one of his comrades. “Emmanuel, start recording. We need proof.”
The other human nodded and pressed a button on his armor before lifting up his gun again. The rest of the humans fanned out, holding everyone else at gunpoint. I tried to get up and sneak out, but a human grabbed me by my neck and nearly wrung it out as he forced me to my knees and pointed a sidearm to my skull. “Get down, you piece of shit, before I blow your brains out too.”
“Damnable primate,” I hissed, but he bashed me in my skull with the base of his sidearm’s grip and sent me sprawling, making my already pounding headache worse. Another human shouted at him in a language I didn't recognize, but he sounded furious. The first brought me back up to my knees again, and I complies with a hiss and a groan, blood still leaking from my eyes and mouth and my world was spinning.
The Sovereign struggled, but he was weak from the radiation poisoning and he couldn't exactly resist on account of his lost arm. The human with the breaching ax kicked the Sovereign down and forced him to kneel before lifting up the breeching ax and splitting his chitinous head down the middle with one powerful swing, sending more blood and brains across the floor. “Execution confirmed, take his antennae just in case and we've got ourselves a bounty. Now all we need is that ugly cat’s teeth and the fat hedgehog-thing’s grimy spines and we'll be in business. Although, they do have skulls… we might as well just take their heads.”
The real horror of the situation dawned on me at that moment: they were going to kill us all, or maybe worse. They mentioned a bounty for the commanders, and multiple of the higher ranking ship officers were already dead, their brains splattered against the walls or their bodies torn apart by gunfire. I wasn't dead yet, but that didn't mean much since I wasn't an immediate threat.
“Alright, round them up and bring all the grunts to the hanger bay, then kill the rest,” the leader of the humans said in such a lackadaisical manner that his complete disregard for life almost made me sick… almost. I had seen worse from the Jurisdiction before, but usually that was from me delivering some kind of ordered judgment on a world that had sinned against order. I might have simply been the messenger, but I had seen many of the outcomes. “And make sure to collect whatever proof of bounties you can, we'll need to deliver them to the office to get cashed out. Don't let this be a repeat of last time where Juarez fucking forgot to take a few heads and it ended up cutting our profits in half, the fucking retard.”
Some of the humans chuckled at that as they dragged more of the senior officers away, out of the room and into the hall,where I heard gunshots. The rest of the bridge crew froze in place, different fear instincts kicking in. The remaining Sok'klar corralled together into what seemed to be a singular, semi-congealed mass as if to try and trick the humans into believing that they were much bigger and much more threatening than they actually were. The one Thei’chi on the bridge, an ensign who had clearly thought this would be a simple mission, bore her curved fangs at the humans and growled as they approached, her hackles completely vertical and her eyes dilated. They quickly muzzled and bound her before beating her over the head with a gun stock, sending her sprawling onto the ground. Many others simply cooperated, eyes wide and yet simultaneously empty, as if they couldn't quite process that the ship had been taken and the commanding officers were being executed as the rest were escorted to the hangar.
“Get the damn messenger down to the hanger as well, we need whatever data's in his ugly lizard head, then we can decide on what to do with him.”
I spat at him in spite, as if to try and seem brave, but it was clearly an empty gesture. “You won't get anything, primate! You couldn't possibly crack the encryption!”
The human holding me seemed to wind up for another swing, but the commanding officer simply held up his hand to stop my tormentor before strolling over to me. He knelt down and removed his helmet, revealing a beige-colored face covered in scars, wiry black hair cut down to the scalp, and multiple tattoos. “You're really fucking mouthy for a hostage,” he said before punching me across my beak faster than I could register. I heard a sharp crack as his fist connected, and my head spun again as the metallic taste of blood pooled into my mouth. “I'd advise you to shut up, but I'm sure you won't listen: you aristocratic types are so full of yourselves. Maybe I should have you flogged in the public square until your vocal chords give out once we rip those cybernetics from your head, huh? How's that sound?”
“It won't matter… it won't change anything… the Jurisdiction will hunt you down.”
“Maybe, but I doubt it will happen for some time: they really suck at doing anything that requires effort, even when they're mad enough. They just keep sending their rabid lapdogs to try and smoke us out, and they always end up full of holes,” the human officer said with a smirk, his yellowish-white teeth and green eyes sending shivers down my spine as he drew his knife. “They're just horrible at their job, you know? You've all gotten so lazy and incompetent after being able to just take what you want without resistance, and now that you've met people who are angry and crazy enough to fight back you act as if we're committing some grave injustice,” he placed the knife against my throat, the flat just underneath my now bent beak, “No, we just took a few pages out of your book, ‘cept we've got standards. No kids, for one…” he seemed to look off into the distance as his sneer deepened, “but it's more than that, we don't attack the defenseless in general and we still win against you all in fair fights.”
I went to say something else snarky, but he quickly grabbed my thin tongue with his fingers and yanked it out, blood from my mouth pulling to the floor as he held the blade of his knife against it. “No no, none of that. Say one more thing and I'll cut that rancid little tongue of yours out of your mouth and feed it to you,” he hissed at me, pressing the blade down just hard enough to draw blood. “Do you know what it's like to see a planet turn into a tomb?" he asked me, gritting his teeth, “Do you know what it's like to see everything you've ever known crumble to ash and glass, all the life and the green stripped away leaving nothing but bones? I do. I've seen it happen to countless worlds, and my grandfather always told me stories of how you bastards did it to Earth. He still prays in its direction five times a day, to Mecca, but he knows the Kaaba is gone now, or maybe it's still there, buried in the bones of those who sought refuge there.”
I didn't care for the human’s nonsensical beliefs, but I did care to correct him. “I've seen it before, and I'll see it again. And so will you, it's inevitable. The Jurisdiction will always have its judgment fulfilled, there is no alternative.”
“One day, I hope we can rectify that,” he said, then he sheathed his knife and slammed my head against the metal floor with enough force to nearly knock me out. As I lost consciousness, I could hear him speak. “Take him to the Chop Doc, and make sure the cybernetics don't get damaged: they're supposedly more valuable than any bounty on this ship.”
Warning: Severe radiation poisoning detected. Flush system immediately.
Warning: Neural Lace removal detected, chance of neurological damage high. Proceeded with caution.

Hi i am doing my fsc and my exams are in second annual so my exams will start in August and will get result in sep-oct. Now i want to take admission in comsat in BSCS so kindly help me with admission test dates and can i start my 1st sem in sep or will i have to wait for march intakes? My total fsc grade will be approximately 650/1100 what will i have to score in NTS to get admission easily

F28 with Ovarian Cancer and I really need some advice here, please don’t downvote this. I am really struggling with medical negligence not just from one doctor, but multiple. I’ve been dealing with a lot of discrimination because I’m young and “healthy looking” and doctors constantly dismiss me or discriminate me for some reason and I’m tired of it. I’ve been sick and disabled since last November and I had a job but started my LOA then.
For two years I was seeing a rheumatologist for an underlying autoimmune disorder(s) and was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Primary immunodeficiency, fibromyalgia, CIDP and still being investigated for more issues.
In November I decided to go on a LOA because my flares were starting to become more frequent and severe. My psychiatrist was the one who filled out the LOA paperwork for the time from Nov-Dec because I was hesitant to ask my Rheumatologist. I was told by my rheumatologists office that filling out LOA paperwork was $300 out of pocket and at the time I didn’t have that money so my psychiatrist signed it because I was also struggling with my mental health and family issues that time.
I was supposed to go back to work in January but at the start of the new year I got really sick and my flares started to ramp up again so I had to request a new LOA. My psychiatrist couldn’t help me with my LOA paperwork anymore because it was more health related now and told me to go see my rheumatologist. I was still hesitant because of the fee and then when I was about to see my rheumatologist again and get my bloodwork done I got a surprise bill from the lab where I get my bloodwork done for $400 after insurance. They wouldn’t let me get additional tests until I paid the fee and I couldn’t see my rheumatologist until I had my bloodwork done. I made an appointment with my rheumatologist anyways but the soonest I could get wasn’t until after the LOA deadline in March. I also couldn’t get any disability benefits until that LOA form was filled out by my doctor so I had no income to pay for any of this.
I ended up in the Emergency Room on 2/16/24 a little over a week before I needed to submit the forms for LOA and at this point my employer was threatening to fire me for failing to provide the LOA paperwork. I tried explaining the situation to one of my managers but he wasn’t having it and didn’t care.
When I went to the first emergency room I went in for multiple serious symptoms, the knew I had an underlying autoimmune disorder causing the flares and that I had surgery 3 years prior to remove ovarian cysts on my right ovary. I told the emergency room that I had a lot of abdominal pain across multiple areas, I was really weak, fatigued, dealing with vertigo, blood in stool, persistent bloating, frequent urination and my symptoms were to the point where I was losing my ability to walk. My partner was holding me the entire time so I wouldn’t fall.
The emergency room did a bunch of tests that included a basic blood panel, physical exam and a CT scan of my abdomen. They didn’t find the bleeding but instead found that I had a complex 14cm tumor on my right ovary which they deemed a dermoid cyst.
When they gave me the news they officially diagnosed me with a “dermoid cyst from birth” even though I countered their diagnosis and told them that was impossible because I had surgery 3 years prior. The doctor didn’t backtrack at all, just stuttered and continued to discharge me because it “wasn’t an emergency” just because I wasn’t bleeding out despite all of my serious progressing symptoms.
I angrily left the ER knowing it was utter BS and deep down I knew it was cancer because of how sick I was. I could literally feel I didn’t have much time but because I looked young and healthy and my basic blood panel didn’t throw up any huge red flags at them even they dismissed me and misdiagnosed me. I wasn’t even given anything to manage the pain.
I even told them I was already on a medical leave and that I’ve been really sick but that it was getting bad and I couldn’t see my rheumatologist. However I didn’t know about the tumor until then. I told them I needed help with the LOA paperwork too and had they admitted me I would have been able to get an extension and still have my job and benefits. I could have started treatment sooner and received disability pay but instead was forced to continue living with this pain. It was so large that I was at risk of torsion rupture and necrosis.
The next day I called up every gynecologist I could to see where I could go for the soonest appointment for an ultrasound. I found a doctor who took me as an emergency appointment a few days later and he confirmed it was most likely malignant and that I needed surgery ASAP. I talked to him about my LOA situation too because I was running out of time and I was too disabled to work. He also refused to help me sign my LOA paperwork because according to him “ovarian cancer can’t cause systemic symptoms and you’re going to need to wait until surgery before put you on leave”. I told him I had an underlying autoimmune disorder that I think is being exasperated by the cancer and I was just dismissed yet again despite needing someone to physically help me walk so I don’t fall. He also didn’t give me anything for the pain I was in.
I had to turn in my LOA that day but because of this I was forced to resign my position or face getting fired and becoming un-hirable so I had to quit. In quitting I lost everything, benefits, stocks, my job. I’m now in debt with multiple cc going to collections because I haven’t been getting an income since January and I’m just starting chemo so I have no idea when I’ll be able to work again. I don’t know what to do here. I was going to try to settle my debt but with what money??
After I lost my insurance I applied for medi-cal but something with my application in there system wasn’t right and it was in a never ending pending limbo state. I tried waiting it out for two weeks, calling them sorting it out and doing it right by the system but every day I was getting sicker and I felt I was running out of time.
Two weeks later I went to a different ER because at this point I could sleep and I couldn’t eat. I was miserable from the symptoms and never ending anxiety and mood swings of possibly having an autoimmune disorder like SLE and ovarian cancer.
The second ER finally admit me and confirmed it was cancer. I was admitted for emergency surgery and by this time the tumor had already ruptured, twisted my ovary and grew to 20cm at the largest point. This was also a battle but that’s besides the point.
Anyways now to my current situation. I started chemo about two weeks ago and my current oncologist is also being negligent.
I found out the other day that she blindly prescribed a medication for nausea that interacts with a medication that I was already on. The interaction is known to cause arrhythmias apparently. During my first week of chemo I was taking both meds and mentioned that my chest had been feeling heavy and I had pain. I was told it was steroids. It continued and then one night as I was falling asleep my heart started to pound really hard for about 10-15 seconds. I told my doctor about it and again steroids.
That same day I went to pick up a prescription and just happened to ask if anything interacted and that’s when I found out that it was a major interaction and I literally could have died had I not luckily been titrating off of the offending medicine. I stopped taking those meds and immediately the chest pain stopped and I haven’t had an episode like that since.
I am freaked out and don’t want to continue my care with her due to her negligence. This should have been a conversation at minimum and she didn’t even tell me she prescribed it. I just got a notification from my pharmacy that it was ready. I also didn’t know about the interaction when it was picked up because my mom picked it up for me and she doesn’t speak English very well.
I talked to my care teams assistant and told her I wanted a change of doctors because I didn’t trust her after this and she said she was going to put in the request. They called me yesterday though and said they weren’t going to switch me because I had already started treatment and refused to switch my doctors despite everything that’s happened. I am livid and don’t want to continue with them.
I already set up an appointment for a second opinion but that’s not for another two weeks before the appointment and I don’t want to interruption treatment.
I have a rare type of ovarian cancer with a high grade tumor. It was a germ cell tumor called immature teratoma. They said it is stage 1 but because I had emergency surgery and everything was rushed I don’t feel this is an accurate diagnosis because I have pain in all of the surrounding areas where the tumor was pushing up against. The tumor was exasperating all of my autoimmune symptoms and causing me to be in a never ending flare so my body was heavily damaged. Im becoming disabled at 28 and I don’t know who to hold accountable here. I have so much anxiety with doctors now because I’m traumatized from my experience with them dismissing me and discriminating against me. Like I’m young so I “must be able to tolerate more”.
I’m in a dark place right now and really need some advice here. What should I do? What CAN I DO? Who do I hold accountable? What do I need to have a solid malpractice case??
I feel like the first emergency room should at least be held liable for making me lose my job, misdiagnosing me, failing to treat me or provide relief and then sending me a $1600 medical bill. Someone help me with this please I am struggling and still haven’t gotten approved for disability benefits yet so I’ve had no income since January. Thanks.

Ok, so, I used to live in a different (southern) state during my childhood than the one I live in now (I live in the Northern US, originally born in this northern state as well). I lived in this other state from the ages of 6 until I was almost 16, and throughout the entirety of my elementary and middle school years up until the middle of 9th grade (which was at the high school, some start at 10th grade instead of 9th).
There were 2 main bullies that I dealt with starting in 1st grade/first school year after moving to this state, and as the years went on, these two girls (let's call them Marie & Clarisse) would get their friends in on bullying me. I wasn't popular by any means, but my mother always had me in sports and extracurricular activities with these girls, so I could never really escape them. It was just as bad outside of anything school related as Marie has two younger brothers that my brother was friends with, so I had to pretend to be the 'best of friends' with Marie from 1st grade up until about the end of 7th grade since our families drifted apart from being "close friends".
As far as typical bullying goes in elementary school, I dealt with constant name-calling and cruel "pranks", mostly aimed towards my weight, I wasn't fat, but I wasn't skinny either despite being in sports and was always active. However, those incidents extended to my stuff being stolen, like my notebooks I'd use for schoolwork, or my box of pencils/pens/etc., forcing me to constantly borrow from the few friends I actually had or from the teachers. I used to be in band (which started in 6th grade in that school district), and I played the clarinet, my stepdad had bought me a very nice/sturdy and somewhat expensive tote bag to put my clarinet, music stand, and music binders in for easier storage and to keep my hands free when transporting my 'equipment'. Us band kids were allowed to keep our instruments behind the curtains of the stage in the school's cafeteria (the stage was against the farthest wall from the kitchen/lunch lines), and out of the ~20 kids in band, only my expensive/sturdy tote bag was stolen within the last 2 days of 6th grade, of course suspects were Marie & Clarisse (I saw Clarisse using my tote bag that summer, as my now-smudged name had been written in permanent marker on the straps and one of the sides of the bag). I left it be because I didn't want any conflict, my stepdad bought me another one after finding out the original one was stolen in the first place.
Middle school wasn't much better as the name calling got extensively more graphic and consisted of slurs (like the F slur, as I'm proudly part of the LGBTQ+ community, specifically AgendeNon-binary), furthering the self-hurting thoughts that had started in 3rd grade. I had continuously tried to tell my mom and stepdad about it, only for my pleas for help to go unheard until one week during the winter season in 7th grade. I had gotten sick for 2 days and stayed home an extra day to recover, but during those three days, Marie, Clarisse and their friends had made an Instagram account, posting very unattractive pictures of fellow classmates (i.e. purposely taking pictures with very unflattering angles, poor lighting, etc) and blamed it on me since they put my address in the private information into that account. My mom had found the account, immediately asking about if I was the one behind it, she unfortunately didn't believe me until *after* she ripped my phone from me to look through it for "evidence" that I made the account. When I returned to school the following Thursday after recovering from the small cold, I was constantly bombarded by fellow students about the account since Marie & Clarisse were the ones that spread the obvious false rumor that I made it. By the end of the day, I had finally snapped, yelling "I didn't make that f-cking account. Why can't everyone just stop bothering me about it?" Of course, that earned plenty of attention from the teachers and students within earshot (and thanks to the tiled floors and walls, my yelling echoed throughout most of the first floor and partly into the second floor of my school), I ended up having to talk with the counselor about the whole ordeal because of my frustrated outburst, which resulted with very little help from the staff, but after a few weeks, people seemed to forget that the account even existed since it ended up deleted within a few days after my outburst.
That following school year, 8th grade, was even worse. Sure, the slurs, the other name-calling and thievery of my belongings continued (more so the slurs/name-calling), but by this year, I was almost constantly committing the self-hurting since my mother was of no help, my stepdad was sympathetic but always working and the therapist my mother found for me was basically a deadbeat with bullying situations (she didn't seem to understand or even want to actually help me with the bullying as she was more of a family therapist than anything else). For the district curriculum, we are required to take health class in 8th grade, and as we were going over the unit that encompassed depression, self-harm, and su!c!dal thoughts/actions, I constantly had to have another staff member in the back of the classroom to watch over me and take me out of the class if any of the course material triggered an episode. Thankfully the staff member was that was there for me was the school's police officer, let's call him Officer Lennox, he was like a protective older brother, especially after finding out about how consistently I was bullied. Near the end of the unit, we had to watch Ronan's Escape (it's on YouTube), and since I was going through my own version of Ronan's situation, I ended up breaking down sobbing in class, only to be laughed at by some of the boys that were close friends with Marie & Clarisse. Officer Lennox snapped at them as professionally as possible while helping me out of the classroom to go sit with the nurse to have some downtime to stop sobbing before I was allowed back to my classes.
Another situation, which is the worst of it in 8th grade, was this one girl, let's call her Ava. She thought it would be hilarious to eavesdrop into my conversations with my best friend (we'll refer to her as Raven since that was a nickname she used) throughout lunch and shared classes, only to take our conversations completely out of context in order to string up a lie that Raven and I were planning to unalive the principle. Of course, this wasn't true, the principle was an a-hole to everyone, and Raven & I would discuss that we greatly disliked him. Ava mostly got away with spreading this lie as her mom was a higher-up in the school district, forcing Raven and I to entirely change our class schedules so we weren't in any classes with Ava, as well as almost being expelled. Thanks to Officer Lennox sticking up for both of us, we only had to have in-school suspension for 3 days instead of being expelled. Sadly, Ava got very little repercussions from this, but Raven and I grew even closer as best friends after "The Incident" as we still refer to it as almost 10 years later.
Summer rolled through without a hitch, leading to 9th grade, the start of high school. I was given more freedom from my mother (she's a helicopter parent and abusive/narcissistic) to dress in clothing that I preferred in comparison to always wearing brightly colored athletic wear. I completely changed my appearance, chopped my hair from just above the small of my back to a punk pixie-styled cut, and started wearing graphic t-shirts, ripped jeans, combat boots, and leather jackets. On top of that, I started becoming more confrontational/combative towards my bullies, since they still wouldn't let up, I earned a "bad@ass/bad b!tch" reputation, made friends with other rebellious and misfit types of people in the grades above me, and just fully became more of "me" despite the disapproval from my mother of the amount of change I undergone.
Despite being 14 at the start of 9th grade, I began dating, specifically one fellow student that was a very close friend and felon, he went to jail/juvie throughout the 2nd half of 7th grade and all of 8th grade. He came to the high school 3 months after the year started, and our friendship-turned-relationship sparked right back up as if he never left. I had kept my dating life secret from my family, mostly my mother because I know how bad her reaction would've been if I told her. With him almost always by my side (excluding classes we didn't share), my brand-new appearance, and my quickly attained delinquent/rebellious reputation, most of my issues dissipated much quicker than before. In spite of that, Marie & Clarisse kept making their remarks, trying to drag down my new confidence and constantly break my felon boyfriend (let's call him Collin) and I up. They got more degrading and verbally abusive with these antics, I eventually was completely fed up with it all. In the middle of the school year, within a couple weeks after Yule (Christmas for the non-pagans) & New Years Break, Marie, Clarisse and their group of friends had stopped me in the hallway, purposely surrounding me (there was about 30 of them in total) on my way to class, continuing with their shtick as usual, I slipped the pocketknife out of my pocket, flicking it open as I finally gave in and threatened to unalive them and everyone they care for if they don't leave me the f-ck alone. They saw the opened knife and knew then & there that I was 100% serious, I turned on my heels, shoving through them only to notice the principal and school's police officer (not officer Lennox) staring at me with concerned expressions, they also noticed the knife as there was a glint from the blade due to the blindly bright lights in the hallway. Not a word was uttered as they walked away, never sending a call to my mother or stepdad about the weapon or the confrontation as they had seen my progression in attitude and the amount of f-cks I had (which was none). After that day, those girls never spoke to me again, would barely glance in my direction, would purposely take alternate routes to class if they saw me in the hallway (or would keep to the wall if they couldn't move quick enough), and if we shared any classes, they'd be on the opposite side of the room from me and would do everything they could to never be partnered/grouped with me in class projects.
Everything was smooth sailing from then on, and now I'm 22 (as of late April this year), happily living with my bio-dad, my brother and my 2-year-old kitty, Ziggy. My mother is out of the picture entirely as she refuses to change her mindset and parenting style. I'm still confrontational towards anyone that tries messing with me, especially if they're anti-LGBTQ+/racist/abusive/etc. And thanks to my continuation of my drastic change from 8th grade to 9th grade, I'm now considered both the protector and the therapist to my friends, always there for them because I grew up knowing what it was like to not have that kind of support. I hope this story of roughly half my life can provide some sort of comfort or proof that it does indeed get better, even if it doesn't seem like it in the moment.

Hey!, so I'm a bit lost and scared, so I'm hoping you guys can provide insight on what I should do. I currently finished my 2nd year in med sci and its been rough my cumulative GPA rn is 3.2 (1st year= 3.02, 2nd year= 3.27). I know they say it gets easier in 3rd and 4th year but idk if I should risk it and stay or not. I know I can get higher grades much easier in york as I have friends there in biomed who have shared their coursework and assessments with me, and it is significantly easier but I also know a family friend who transferred from western to york whom even with her high stats 3.96, 4th quartile CASPER, descent MCAT, and lots of extracurriculars has been waitlisted in 10th place in only one med school. I worked my butt off in 2nd year and did better (3.0, 4.0, 2.7, 3.3, 3.7, 2.3, 3.9, 3.9, 2.7) but not as good as I hoped and although I do love my program and the university I don't want to regret it in the future. I know western prefers its own student for medschool but would I even be in the running with my grades. I know western looks at your best two years but I've kind of lost my confidence in these two years and dk if I can possibly pull 4.0 in most of my classes in 3rd and 4th year. If anyone has experience from doing bad to really good in 3rd and 4th year in western, or if they have transferred, or have any advice or thoughts I would truly appreciate it and be forever grateful.

“I attended middle school with her, although we did not attend high school together (she instead attended a high school that was supposed to help students gain college credits. She earned two liberal arts degrees while there in Social and Behavioral Sciences and Natural Sciences. She now attends an HCBU, and has on her LinkedIn profile that she is presently working toward graduating from her college with a degree in Health Sciences, Pre Med, and a minor in Military Science. She is apart of her school’s Army ROTC.)
I remember that a lot of people in middle school did not like her (although that was also the case for me,) and I understood why. She seemed noticeably introverted, yet also didn’t seem like the kind of person, at least from my perspective, who would try to appease you in the way I imagine a lot of people feel the stereotypical woman might. She had a strong glare (I remember mentioning this to my then best friend’s mom, who agreed with the suggestion) and stood out to me as being weird (it wasn’t necessarily anything she said or did - not her personality, exactly - it’s just the strong glare I mentioned, like she didn’t tend to look sincerely happy nor would she pretend to be unless she was around friends of hers. I remember that she didn’t tend to look happy, in my opinion. It’s possible that she was depressed, or she may have just tended to look irritable, I don’t know. She didn’t strike me as being the kind of person who would make an effort to be polite, struck me as being tomboyish and unladylike, the kind of person who wouldn’t try to change the way she was for you - I wasn’t used to it. Seemed competitive, too. I had truly never interacted with a girl who was like that before. She also struck me as being smart, although she was in the normal math class whereas I was in the advanced one (I was known for being smarter, but thought it should have been her. However, I did notice after looking at her LinkedIn profile that there were more grammatical errors than I expected.)
I remember that she and her friend (who I later on ended up being on good terms with) decided early on that they disliked me, although I hadn’t done anything to them, which bothered me. They also once used me for food in sixth grade, which had also bothered/upset me.
I remember that my former best friend had issues with her ranging back to elementary school, and that in sixth grade in particular they were competing for the attention of an ISFP they’d both been friends with since elementary school. This girl is the one who won the ISFP’s attention/was officially her best friend by the time they were in seventh grade. However, around seventh or eighth grade (it’s been so long that I no longer quite remember,) she “ditched” (in the words of my former best friend) the ISFP and the other friend I’d mentioned in favor of a new crowd. I actually remember my former best friend suggested that the people in her new crowd didn’t like her, either (although she hung out with them throughout eighth grade, and briefly went to high school in person with one of them as a junior whilst presumably taking courses at the other high school online, so I assume that she never knew this/didn’t read them well enough to know or understand this.) I notice that she unfollowed the ISFP at some point as a senior, though the ISFP never unfollowed her (she strikes me as being the kind of person who likely took note of the fact that the ISFP’s life doesn’t seem to be heading in a good direction - the ISFP was abused a few years ago, and has had substance use issues since, in addition to having had to repeat a year of high school. She also unfollowed my former best friend, and my former best friend recently unfollowed her back.)
She figured out that I was the one who owned the middle school gossip account (although most of our peers already suspected, and technically, this girl couldn’t prove it either.) She figured this out because she remembered that I was standing nearby when she told my former best friend who she had a crush on (I was being mean and told our peers who she was crushing on.) However, she never directly confronted me about the matter, even though she told my former best friend that she suspected it to be me. She later on changed her mind when I was kind to her friend who lost the role for graduation speaker to me toward the end of eighth grade (but she was right the first time.)
I noticed around junior year that she has actually turned out to be quite nice looking, even though I had once meanly suggested that she was fat in middle school (she was a tad bit chubby, though as an adult I’m inclined to suggest that this was likely simply baby fat/that with us being so young there wasn’t really anything wrong with this.) She does seem to wear makeup, but also has nice style (she is light skinned, and has a looser hair texture, which are likely factors in me thinking she’s attractive, if I’m being honest - she’s mixed race, with a black mother and white father.) I can’t possibly know, but she gives off the impression to me of being someone who knows that she’s attractive (just something about her energy/facial expressions in photos. She has her Instagram account public now.)”
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For context, this story happened nearly 3 years ago, however a recent late-night conversation with a friend made it clear to me that the repercussions of this incident are still being felt to this day.
I (25M) met my now-ex girlfriend (25F), whom I will be assigning the fake name "Anne," when we were both 17 at our small town high school in semi-rural Georgia. Our romantic relationship began following our senior prom which we attended together. Despite our approaching high school graduations, the two of us decided that we could make our relationship work beyond high school and into college since we would both be attending different universities in the same city. We each grew up in typical southern protestant traditions and casually held onto some sort of religious beliefs. I, myself, have always identified religiously as something of a deist, meaning I believed (and still do to this day) that some sort of higher entity, force, or meaning was responsible for existence. Anne, at that time, would have self-identified as a Christian and attended church semi-regularly, however it was never a significant part of her life or attitude toward the world.
Shortly after we both began our new lives as college students in an unfamiliar city, Anne expressed that she would like to search for a new church to attend regularly as it helped create a sense of community and belonging for her which she had been missing since moving away from home. I strongly encouraged this, since I wanted her to be able to make friends and discover herself philosophically. The church that caught her attention was a non-denominational "modern" church that seemed to emphasize community at least on a surface level basis. However, out of curiosity, I took a look at the church's website and did notice a few mentions of "Pentecostal experience", which worried me since my only knowledge of Pentecostals was rumors of snake handling, especially in the more rural areas of the South. However, I chose to not be too judgmental upfront and continued to encourage her to find herself and meet new people.
Over the next few months, Anne started to spend more and more time devoted to bible studies and attending gatherings for women at the church. She specifically asked me not to accompany her on Sunday services since, as she put it, the elder members of the church would not act too kindly about unmarried woman "dragging around" some unfamiliar man who was not her husband. It became clear pretty quickly that she was becoming more than just a casual Christian and I supported this, however we did not talk much about the specifics of what she was being taught at this church.
This all came to a head when one night, Anne asked me if she could pray over me in something she called a "spiritual language." Having only ever heard vaguely of speaking in tongues, I obliged. I sat next to her on my couch and watched as she raised one hand and began quietly chanting in complete gibberish. My heart immediately sank in discomfort and fear but I was too stunned to do anything. so I just sat and watched for several minutes until she finally went quiet. All I could do or say was tell her that I appreciated her thoughtfulness and went about my day.
Pretty soon, the behaviors and acts became more and more extreme. Her "tongues" became louder and more intense and began to include violent shakes and lots (and I mean LOTS) of crying. She spoke of seeing "signs" and hearing "the voice of God" in a very literal sense. Her grades in college even began to suffer as more and more of her time was devoted to these newfound beliefs. Naturally, I became extremely worried that she was slowly slipping into some sort of paranoid delusional psychosis. At the very least, these teachings made her into a much angrier and more paranoid person. It was clear that her new beliefs were more than just a spiritual awakening but also a nose-dive into a mental health crisis.
Our relationship, at this point, was very clearly waning but my feelings toward the woman I once knew were still strong. I decided that it was time for an intervention of sorts. This resulted in me spending a whole weekend studying Pentecostal beliefs and reading Reddit stories from ex-Pentecostals about what it took to break them out of their conditioning. It was on a Monday night when I invited her over to my apartment to confront her about how the things her church were teaching her were actively harming her and even presented her with evidence of how these churches prey on mentally unwell people and how "speaking in tongues" was nothing more than an experience in her own brain chemicals. While I had hoped that hearing her new beliefs be directly confronted would help break the spell they had on her, it seemed to have no effect. Surprisingly, she did not fight back or show much anger toward my confrontation, instead resorting to the "please respect my beliefs" argument that made it so hard to push back against, since, at this time, I was still concerned about preserving our relationship.
Unfortunately, things only got worse from here. I spent some time trying to ignore the issue for the sake of the relationship, especially because I did not sense that I had many other romantic options given my shy nature and struggles to make new friends at college. However, my new "ignorance is bliss" approach to our relationship did not last long. At this point, we had been together for about 3 years and the conversation of marriage and kids started to become serious. I have always wanted kids since I come from a large family with many siblings, which Anne seemingly was excited about as well. However, after a pleasant conversation in which we fantasized about what we would name our children, she said something that sparked an anger in me that I did not often feel. She told me that if any of our future children came out to us as gay, lesbian, bi, transgender, or anything like that, that we would have to disown that child at all costs and that she could not love her child knowing that they were a "sodomite" (her words). I have always considered myself an ally of LGBTQ+ folks and wouldn't think twice about loving my children any less if they came out to me and have always felt this way. I did not say much in the moment out of pure shock and instead steered the conversation elsewhere while I quietly boiled over in anger over this comment.
Here is where the title of this post comes into play and where my role in this interaction enters a grey area. I spent several days unable to let this anger subside while imagining my own perspective children being thrown to the streets for bravely coming out to their own parents. I decided that another intervention was necessary, except this time I didn't want to be ignored. I came up with a plan that I referred to as a "scorched earth" intervention. Over the course of an evening, I began texting, calling, or messaging almost every person that Anne was close to. This included family, friends, past friends, classmates, and even some plain old acquaintances. I needed her paranoid and hateful beliefs to be confronted by more than just myself and hoped that if everyone important to her also expressed concern; that she would separate herself from this church and seek proper mental health counseling.
The responses I received from Anne's friends and family ranged significantly. Some people, including her mother whom I was close with, asked that I not try to "insert myself between Anne and God". Some friends agreed with me wholeheartedly and would reach out to Anne over text or in person to try and offer help. Some people met me with total apathy. Unsurprisingly, once Anne found out what I did, she broke things off over a brief but highly emotional phone call. She told me that I had embarrassed her and that supposedly God was telling her I wasn't the man she was supposed to marry. It did not hurt too bad since I was anticipating the end of this relationship for a while. The effects of my approach seemingly had lasting impacts on many of her relationships, however. At least one longtime friendship had ended because the friend was appalled by Anne's new paranoid beliefs. It was also unsuccessful, as Anne would never seek mental health counseling. In fact, it probably pushed her further into her church crowd - only further bolstering her new delusions.
Since much time has passed, I have started to feel uncertain whether or not I did the right thing in trying to have all of Anne's friends and family confront her about her extreme beliefs. At the time, I felt that I was justified and doing the right thing by trying to encourage a clearly delusion person to seek mental health counseling by any means necessary. Now, I am able to realize that I acted out of anger and permanently damaged how some of her oldest friends view her. I also realize that I acted immaturely and probably should not have tried to bring in every person close to Anne to fight a battle on my behalf.
Nowadays, Anne is still with that church and regularly posts on Facebook all sorts of whacky spiritual conspiracies. She is still very clearly paranoid and delusional all while putting on a facade of normalcy. I just pity her for living in a constant state of paranoia at this point. She even works full time with the church as a "worship leader," although I am not sure what exactly that means. She actually got married about a year after the relationship ended to a man she met at her church. They met, got engaged, and married all within 12 months. Thankfully, no children have been brought into this world yet from their relationship, which is surprising to me considering how urgent it seemed to her during our relationship. I do not hear much from any friends or family of hers anymore, other than one mutual friend who told me that Anne frequently refers to me as "that demon." As for myself, I finished school and have not married but was able to finally make friends and go on dates and my future is looking bright.
So, Reddit, am I the asshole for my "scorched earth" methods towards my fanatical ex-girlfriend?

Hey everyone!
I've just completed my undergrad, and I'm at a bit of a crossroads with my medical school application. During this past semester, I had to defer my biochemistry final exam to June 10th. The thing is, I've taken biochemistry before and scored an A+, and I've also fulfilled my organic chemistry I requirement with a lab (improved from a D- to a B+ on a retake). However, this specific biochemistry course has a reputation for being tougher, especially since the exam format and grading have become more challenging under a new professor.
I estimate I might finish the course with a B, which isn't terrible, but I'm concerned about how it might affect my GPA trend. Over the last two years, I've been on an upward trajectory, doing much better in my science courses compared to my first two years. Adding a B now might disrupt this positive trend.
Here's my dilemma: medical school applications open on June 1st. If I apply then, my transcript will show a DEF for the deferred exam. I'm not sure how admissions committees might view this compared to having a B grade. Plus, I wouldn't get my exam results back until around June 20th.
I'm also planning to write the MCAT on June 27 and was thinking about applying to one "throwaway" school on June 1st to get my application in early. Would it be better to apply with a DEF showing, or wait and potentially include the B grade? Also, I believe AMCAS doesn’t allow updated transcripts after submission, so I need to make a strategic decision here.
Any insights or experiences with deferred exams during application season would be hugely appreciated!
Thanks a bunch!

I am a 20 y/o student, living alone and this is my very first post in this sub. There was a time I got bullied in school and sports club. I have a difficult relationship to my parents. I was never able to talk to them about my problems, I was silent instead. My mother was very controlling and patronizing. My father only cared about my school grades.
After a long time of self reflection I realised, that I'm seriously suffering from:
-social anxiety: I'm often trying not to behave awkwardly, because I care too much what people think about me and I feel watched many times. I have problems approaching stranger people. Also, I often feel caught in normal situations, for example when someone is entering the toilet and I'm styling my hair in the mirror. I'm getting a bit sweaty and my heart pumps. I have these problems especially when interacting with women.
-porn addiction: it literally slows down my life. My dopamine level is constantly low in phases of watching porn (rn I'm trying to beat this stupid habit). It isolates and destroys my social life. I'm not getting my things done and porn changed my view of women. I'm very ashamed of this, ashamed of sexulizing women. And I really don't want this any more.
-depression: tbh I think depressions are the result of the problems I mentioned above. Negative thoughts only come, when I'm alone at home for a longer periods of time. Times of feeling hopeless and helpless.
If you have come until here, thank you for your time🙏. Can anyone understand me? Does anyone have advice? 👇

I need guidance for the Pennsylvania Education Certification Test (PECT EXAM) which is grades pre-K - 4. I’ve been studying for months through books, practice tests, online, flash cards, I even bought practice test through the PA official website and I still failed my 1st attempt. My 2nd attempt is at the end of May and I only have until August, 2024 to pass all 3 modules if I want to start student teaching by January, 2025. Any additional advice would be greatly appreciated! Are there any secret study hacks?
PS: Module 2 is my lowest scoring so I do give myself extra study time with literacy and development.

PECTEXAM #teaching #teachingcertification #PECT

New Stuff in the two links below!
Singles - (pricing for > $100)
UltraX Binder
Sold/Traded from previous posts: Wailord (26), RHLC Exeggcute, most of the 1st ed Neo U/C, some McDs promos, Call of Legends: Mismagius RH, Slowking RH, Pachirisu, Donphan, Magmortar, Skarmory, Amphoros, Flaaffy, Jirachi, Smeargle, Forretress Holo HGSS Base: Typhlosion Prime Ruby and Sapphire Base: Numel RH, Lairon RH, Vigoroth RH, Mightyena RH Sandstorm: Umbreon, Eevee, Sandslash FRLG: Cloyster, Wartortle, Porygon, Pikachu Holon Phantoms: Bellossom, Holon’s Castform, Pidgeotto, Grass Energy TRR: Delibird, Psyduck Legend Makers: Machamp, Wailord Dragon Frontiers: Trapinch RH Delta Species: Slow king Power Keepers: Pikachu Unseen Forces: Ho-Oh, Cleffa Evolutions: Grass Energy RH, Slowbro EX, M Slowbro EX, M Pidgeot EX, Flying Pikachu, Surfing Pikachu, Ninetales RH, Chansey Holo, Magikarp RH, Gyarados Holo, Holon Phantoms Holo Psychic Energy, Evolutions Rev Holo Psychic Energy, Rising Rivals Alakazam Team Rocket Dark Alakazam, Erika's Venusaur, Sabrina's Gengar, Blaine's Moltres
This is going to be the last time I'll be able to post these with older timestamps!
Slabs
Singles (I doubt there's any gradable vintage in here, and all < $100)
As I get inquiries on singles, I'll try to update the sheet with conditions, pictures, and pricing.
For the binders, there is mainly low-mid grade stuff (TV based off 90% TCGplayer) in the various binders. There's a lot of TGs I want from both SwSh & SV. I can definitely look at what you have too, but probably looking for more consolidation type trades/stuff I randomly like/lower priority want list.
Black Binder (mid-Eras)
Gengar Binder (WoTC/Neo)
Ultra Pro Binder (cheap modern+shadowless)
Mewtwo Binder (assorted+a little PC)
Celebrations Binder (modern)
Lower Priority want list: XY Promos, Southern Islands, Skyridge, S&V BBs, 151 SIIR (will take a look any SIIR though), TGs, ETBs
About sending stuff out, I will need a high level of confidence in higher value trades. Free BMWT for PP > $60. Otherwise, PWE at most is $1 and BMWT at most is $5.
If you do happen to have a raw Espeon VMAX AA, I do have a PSA 10 copy available!
Thanks for taking a look and have a wonderful day/night!

I need guidance for the Pennsylvania Education Certification Test (PECT EXAM) which is grades pre-K - 4. I’ve been studying for months through books, practice tests, online, flash cards, I even bought practice test through the PA official website and I still failed my 1st attempt. My 2nd attempt is at the end of May and I only have until August, 2024 to pass all 3 modules if I want to start student teaching by January, 2025. Any additional advice would be greatly appreciated! Are there any secret study hacks?
PS: Module 2 is my lowest scoring so I do give myself extra study time with literacy and development.

PECTEXAM #teaching #teachingcertification #PECT

Hi, I just got a medical incomplete paper for this semester. However it’s from may 1st to the end of the semester. Will the school still give me an incomplete grade for the entire semester?
Thanks

Hi so I’m in the midst of doing my exams, hoping to go to uni in September but I applied for 1st year and got accepted. However I’m having a lot of anxiety about not getting the grades to get in for first year and was wondering if foundation years are available for clearing? Are they competitive ( law at Bournemouth) ? Anything you can tell me I’d love to know, thank you

Fiance doesn't make time for me. Looking for potential suitors.
Fax any resumes to my PO box in the Cayman Islands. I'll get back to you in 3-5 business days and then you can take me out to dinner.
Here’s what I have to offer Mansion Full service (maids and butlers and all that) Substantial inheritance No prenup 6’3 Dark hair (willing to dye it) Super cool (according to survey of 3 people I paid off) Highest score on geography test in 3rd grade Can fight American (willing to change) Mexican Very humorous Can cook Own a lot of cute pets Humble Chalant Benches over 225 Can do a backflip Glass skin Always makes time for you Nonchalant Confidence (but not narcissism) Fastest runner in 1st grade Can pick up 7 chairs at a time Has a six pack Won the state spelling bee Humble Has multiple sports cars Will let you on aux Can give piggy-back-rides A lot of milkshakes in my possession Impeccable style in clothes Very handsome (according to grandma)
Requirements needed for you
Female (optional) Above 4’10 (optional) Goth (optional) Alive (optional) Will not abuse me (optional) Not a gold digger (optional) Will love me until the end of my days (optional) Not cheat on me (optional) Will not hurt my feelings (required 50% of the time) Taller than me (optional) Will respond to every video I send them (required) Will play minecraft with me (required) Above the age of consent in whatever country you live in (required) Be willing to adopt all of my pets (required) Tuck me in at night (optional)

First of all, I want to say that I am not ableist. Nope. I think discrimination against people with factors they are both with is always bad, and basically my philosophy can be summed up in this Office quote:
"You don't call retarded people 'retards'. It's bad taste. You call your friends 'retards' when they're acting retarded."
However, I don't think the r-word (retard) is that bad. Almost every usage of the word I have heard in daily life has most definitely not been targeted to people with disabilities (actually, most of the usages are targeted to me LOL, with people I know, of course).
Even if you guys think it is really that bad, what are you actually going to do to stop it? 90% of every adolescent guy in HS either uses it or condones it as an insult towards someone for shits & giggles. If one is going to actively say they condemn it, I would imagine some ppl feel like they are walking eggshells when talking to one. I am guaranteeing you that no matter who you are, that a friend or a friend's friend uses the word "retard" or something similar, absolutely 110%; even theater kids might use it sometimes.
In school culture, at least American, it's treated more as a swear word than a discriminatory term.
Now, is the word "retarded" always funny? Of course not. It's sometimes overused so it becomes annoying and unoriginal, almost like 1st grade humor type shit. But, swearing was never meant to be original, was it? The nature of the sheer immaturity in adolescent friend groups is sometimes hilarious in itself.
Obviously, don't ever use it to people with disabilities, because again that is highly bad taste. I would like to think I support good conduct & the golden rule and therefore do not condone that kind of usage. If I had a disability, I think I would still be ok with the word retard, but just not with strangers saying that to me. Ofc, that is not something I am qualified to speak on, so if you're disabled, I'm more than glad to hear your input.
All in all, downvote me if you really think you want to, but I am more looking for inputs.