Hi, my dad has been a very hard business man for the last 20+ years trying to provide for him and his family. I want to help him expand his business and for it to be more known, accessible to everyone in the DFW. Not just to our Hispanic community but to everyone one else. He has been loving his autoshop business for years now and doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. With this we’re trying to raise $5k in order to get my daughter back due to an incident that happened back in February. I know I shouldn’t have fallen asleep behind the wheel and doesn’t justify it and they place her with dad after the fact that I fell behind the wheel and saw my house in a disaster after being in the hospital with her and not being able to clean due to me being in the hospital with her. Meanwhile the dad is only doing to not pay for child support and has never been there for not once has he checked on her or text if she has ever been okay and keeps using illicit drugs and doesn’t have a bedroom for her. I’ve been going to school and working in order to provide and better future for me and my daughter this sad tragedy almost breaks my family apart. I know that I shouldn’t have done what I did and reconsider and recognize my errors and. If you’re willing to help me expand my dad’s business or know anything that’ll help us I’ll gladly appreciate it.

So I dosed the speed n called her and at first it started normal as would usually then she asked if I had any friends and if so what are they like cause I haven’t spoken to her in a while and I literally just fucking told her every traumatic event they’ve ever told me like my friend od of fent or my friend getting beat by his father and I was just speaking a million miles per hour just yapping for hours on end and she finally went well I’m tired I’ll cya later and like as soon as the world went silent I regretted fucking everything I couldn’t stop just fucking yapping and it’s not even my place on what I was talking about like what should I do my mom seemed like either she was disappointed or like knew I was high idk idk idk

Absolutely love seeing these from others so thought I’d share our story a little and our timeline.
We were renting, had been here 5 years and in August of last year our landlord put our house up for sale and asked if we wanted to buy the house, we didn’t because she had it up for £100k and it needed at least £20-£30K of work doing. She told us she would sell to another landlord so we didn’t have to worry, then comes January we’d only had 1 viewing so far which nothing came from, but in January 2 viewings were booked, both first time buyers so we went into full panic mode as you can imagine. Offer was accepted from the FTB on our rented house 6/2) I went full crazy organised and:
7/2 - decision in principle for a mortgage!
7/2 - saw house on Zoopla
10/2 - first viewing, left a bit disheartened because it looked smaller than the pictures but spent over 2 hours talking about it falling in love with it all over again
13/2 - second viewing with the in laws to see what works were needed and any changes we could make were doable.
14/2 - offers put in, after a few back and forth offer accepted!
14/2-21/2 - solicitors contacted and instructed
19/2 - mortgage application put in
22/2 - MORTGAGE APPROVED
16/4 - searches came back
Had a lot of back and forth between our solicitors and the sellers solicitors, Agreed exchange for the 9th and completion on the 10th, this got changed to the 9th for completion due to the seller
9/5 - completion and we got the keys at 4pm!
Since the 9th we’ve been doing jobs changing locks, resealing the bathroom and some windows, prepping walls for painting and sorting getting the drive extended to half the front garden (doing all ourselves)
We did receive a section 21 on 25/3 ready to evict us 29/5 so we’re officially ‘moving’ into the new house 25/5 ready to get the rented place ‘end of tenancy’ cleaned so they can’t screw us any more than they have.
Edit: formatting.

I went to test drive a CPO 2021 C300 today. I loved the car, but I was thinking a couple of things from my experience were red flags. Are these red flags to others too or am I being unreasonable?

1. I asked about a PPI and I was told that I would have to bring the mechanic to the dealership to get this done, but they’d be willing to let my mechanic use their service equipment to do the inspection. IME, most dealerships will ask that you have numbers worked out and sign a conditional offer for the car pending PPI (which isn’t unreasonable) which would include allowing me to take the car overnight. My mechanic isn’t a personal friend so I doubt he’d be willing to come to the dealership
   
2. I asked my salesperson to run the numbers and I told him that the selling price was a bit high for the mileage, features and the market. He then cuts me off and tells me, “unless I’m ready to buy today he’s not going to negotiate as he wants to be cognizant of my time” then tells me that “99% of the people who walk in to the dealership buy the car the same day”. Yea, I feel like that’s BS, but I get that the car may be gone tomorrow. If that’s the case, I’m happy with the car I have now so I’m not desperate
   

Basically, I liked the car but I didn’t like my experience with the dealership. Can I fairly ask to work with someone else if I decide to move forward?

Every time I join a game and try to learn I am almost instanly called a retard and kicked.
And every guide I find on how to learn is a 300,000 word tome that explains exactly which subpixel I need to be on in order for the optimal strategy to be used.
The only guide I found that was helpful said get a mic and ask your teamates for help. That being said it WOULD be helpful if my teamates spoke at all. Or if I spoke the same language as my teamates. In the end I just get cursed out in russian, or spanish, or romanian or some other language that I don't understand, called a slur in a language I DO understand, and ultimately get kicked.
So to sumarize: How the fuck am I supposed to learn what I am being kicked for if I can't spend hours at a time deciphering the dead sea scrolls of gaming guides and when everything that has been said in game falls into 2 categories. A slur, or something in a language I don't speak
Now for the inevitable comments that are gonna say "Oh JuSt GiT GuD ScRub LmAooOOoo" or "Oh oLd GaMEeS aRE AlWAYyS ToXIC HaAHhaHAhahHa"
1: How do you suggest that I 'Git Gud' if I am not given the opportunity to learn what the fuck I'm supposed to do
and 2: Re-read what I said and come back when you get something constructive to say you armpit of a human.

An attractive alternative to traditional rewards for outstanding performance

Synthetic equity refers to a collection of strategies and instruments frequently used to provide employees with financial advantages of share ownership without actual shares changing hands. It is a potent instrument that practically all advanced investment organizations may utilize to attract, retain, and reward competent employees.
The favorable economic qualities of equity are embedded into synthetic equity plans, also known as equity alternatives, without the financial obligations coming from purchasing shares from the initial owner. Instead, synthetic equity programs often develop into cash payments to the employee and a corresponding deduction for the employer. Since it represents compensation, synthetic equity may be easily adjusted to handle almost any scenario.
The following scenarios exemplify the situations in which synthetic equity is an optimal solution:

• An employee desires ownership-like benefits but is unable or unwilling to assume the financial risk of purchasing and paying for company equity.
• An employee aspires to ownership but lacks the credentials or licenses required for a role of a full equity partner in the company.
• Employees feel uncomfortable providing personal guarantees or accepting responsibility for credit lines, office leases, payroll-related expenditures, or the commitments made under buy-sell or continuity agreements.
• A company owner wants to share the economic worth of equity rather than the actual equity. This includes owners not interested in supporting this transaction with seller financing.
• A company owner wishes to motivate an employee to work on increasing the company’s value but also wants to discourage them from leaving and creating competition for the business, engaging in client solicitation, or performing other actions that might harm the company.
• An owner planning to leave the company in the following 5-year period wishes to reward one or more critical workers at the time of the sale without requiring them to purchase and pay for equity.

Tokenization of business and individual performance

The above method has been known for decades. The critical challenge in the modern business world is ensuring that innovation and productivity are rewarded equitably across an organization. At the same time, executives must be compensated for creating these conditions.
However, rewarding innovation and equitably delivering executive-level incentives and rewards across the organization from the top to the shop floor is the alternative made possible only by deploying smart contracts and blockchain technology — tokenizing business and individual performance.
The tokenization of business elements such as performance and innovation is one of the newest ways to drive planned outcomes. The process is about moving your business to blockchain. Although it may seem complicated and challenging to implement, almost any entrepreneur can tokenize the building blocks of their business. Tokenization is simply transforming a company’s value into a digitized resource in the form of tokens.
Tokens represent a value within the organization in a transparent and auditable way. They can be cashed in upon completion of the vesting period if both company and individual targets have been met. What makes Synthetic Equity on the chain unique is its transparency, auditability of incentives, and most notably, equitable distribution of tokens corresponding to each employee’s job size.

The Mechanism Behind Synthetic Equity

For synthetic equity to produce favorable results, a profitable, successful firm with a proper entity structure is necessary. Corporations and LLCs can use the tools relating to synthetic equity. In some situations, they may also be used by sole proprietorships, albeit in a slightly different form.
To fully grasp the idea of synthetic equity, it might be helpful to understand the mechanism behind equity in general. Understanding how equity functions allows those interested in synthetic equity to utilize some of the tools used in working with actual equity.
For example, investing in an independent advisory company generally offers the following considerable advantages:

• The right to vote
• Participation in the corporate governance system
• Access to the company’s financial documents
• Limited liability
• A proportionate cut of the revenue
• Sale-related long-term capital gains tax rates
• Capital growth potential

SyntheticEquity.io app is changing how we think about incentives and rewards.
These advantages have a monetary value. Therefore, purchasing equity carries a price, and awarding employee equity has tax repercussions. A tiny ownership share in a fee-based firm might cost several hundred thousand dollars. In these types of businesses, the stock is often acquired and paid for after tax, and the equity partner or shareholder usually expects to obtain the entire set of rights in return for taking on the investment risk.
The rights can be unbundled, meaning that the current owner does not have to sell or provide the full bundle of rights to an employee or investment advisor. To fulfill specific goals, each of the rights mentioned above can also be further divided or redefined in as much detail as necessary. For example, one or two rights from the total package might be provided, such as the opportunity to grow the company’s worth or a percentage of the profits.
By allowing someone to own a portion of the rights in the bundle rather than all of them, synthetic equity generates an advantage. These unique rights or benefits are often described in a plan document and frequently provided via individual award agreements between the employer and employee. A wide range of flexible options for creating a solid and profitable company are produced when equity-like benefits and a long-term remuneration strategy are combined.
Synthetic equity plans often come in one of the following three forms:

• Full-value plans can result in a substantially big payment to an employee since they pay both the value of the underlying stock and any appreciation that is gained over a certain period.
• Performance unit plans swap out equity as the value metric for another metric like sales growth or profitability.
• The value of any growth in the underlying stock value over a specific period following the date of the award is typically paid out under appreciation-only plans.

These kinds of plans are like conventional non-qualified plans insofar as they offer a possibility of discrimination and a significant risk of forfeiture that often lasts until shortly before the benefit is awarded to the employee.
Essentially, synthetic equity is a type of delayed compensation that links a worker’s financial incentive to the company’s performance. By striking the correct balance between the danger of losing a valuable employee and the potential future cost to the employer, each plan is specifically created to meet the advisor’s needs. The plans are intended to reward employees for contributing to the company’s success, but they also ensure that no payment is due if either the company doesn’t develop as expected or the employee doesn’t uphold their end of the deal by quitting their job to work for a rival company or starting their own.

Synthetic Equity Benefits

Synthetic equity is meant to be an equity-related instrument that helps a company find, reward, and keep hold of valuable people.
Synthetic equity benefits are:

• Synthetic equity inspires employees to adopt an owner’s perspective and put development and shareholder value first.
• There is no debt since important participants do not buy phantom shares like full equity stockholders do.
• If a participant’s job terminates before the designated vesting date, they typically forfeit any benefits under the plan.
• Participants normally do not have voting rights or a vote in corporate governance and may or may not be entitled to collect profits from the company.
• Synthetic equity programs provide flexible vesting timelines; vesting can take place over time, depending on the accomplishment of certain quantifiable company or individual goals.
• If the company’s growth is slower than expected and the stock price does not rise, nothing is exchanged.
• When a synthetic equity grant is issued, owners of genuine equity are not adversely affected by a dilution of their ownership percentages.
• Compared to S-Corporations, which are often more restricted, more freedom is provided in terms of stock class and shareholder count.
• The advising business’s shareholders’ or members’ agreement and associated buy-sell provisions do not immediately apply to synthetic equity.

Synthetic equity options’ versatility comes with many benefits but may also have many drawbacks. The companies need to make decisions regarding what valuation technique will be utilized, what vesting rules will be implemented, how liquidity problems will be addressed, what eligibility conditions will be imposed, and what rights to participate in corporate governance will be granted due to the wide range of possible directions for designing synthetic equity plans.

Conclusion

In the hands of a forward-thinking business leader, synthetic equity is a potent instrument. It may be utilized to solve the difficulty of attracting, rewarding, and maintaining top talent to create a great practice or viable business without the challenges of selling and paying for an actual ownership stake.
Like full stock, synthetic equity may refocus the employee’s attention and motivate them to contribute to a flourishing and profitable company.
Authors

Paul Lalovich

Organizational Effectiveness and Strategy Execution Practice

48F
Hashimoto’s (1x daily: Armour thyroid 60mg & Unithroid 50mcg) Psoriatic Arthritis (2x daily: Otezla 30mg)* Hemochromatosis (iron panel levels currently normal, last checked 07May2024) Endometriosis (laparoscopy decades ago, currently asymptomatic) Exercise-induced asthma (albuterol inhaler as needed) Vitamin D (1x weekly: 50000IU)
*Medrol injection 09May2024 *Diclofenac, started 09May2024 (2x daily: 75mg)
I am currently in a PsA flare and have been for a few months. My doc first put me on a short course of prednisone. While that got rid of most of my pain, my left middle finger continued to be painful and swollen. A short time after the course of prednisone was finished, I was dealing with a lot of stressful events and my PsA flare got worse (fingers in both hands (especially left middle finger), toes in both feet, right knee, right hip, plantar fasciitis). My doc then prescribed a single Medrol injection (in my arm) and oral diclofenac. I guess I should mention that this is my first time ever taking diclofenac.
I got the Medrol shot on 09May2024 and started the diclofenac the same day. I have been taking the diclofenac without issue until last night. A few hours after dinner, my throat started to feel funny and then I got a sensation similar to my exercise-induced asthma. I did have farro for the first time in my life with dinner, so I assumed it could be that even though I’ve never had any reactions to wheat before. Well today, a few hours after taking my dose of medications (Otezla & diclofenac), I experienced the same sensation (I did not consume farro today).
I did some googling (not the best, I know) and learned that NSAIDs are contraindicated in people with asthma; however, I have never had an issue taking NSAIDs (Ibuprofen, Naproxen). As a little experiment, I decided to take two puffs of my inhaler and within 15 minutes, the sensation went away.
Could this indicate some sort of reaction to the diclofenac even though I’ve been taking it for a week without issue? Could it be something else? I’ve never experienced asthma outside of exercising. I’m a little hesitant to take it tonight for fear that any reaction could get worse. Should I just not take it tonight? Could I just take ibuprofen instead? I’m reaching out here now since I won’t be able to reach my doctor until Monday.

My F1-OPT expired beginning of this month but I married a USC. My I-94 doesn’t have an expiration date, just D/S.
I’m in the midst of doing the paperwork for I-485 and I’m unsure if I need to file this document as well? Can anyone help me out if I qualify for this? I entered the US legally on an F1 in 2018

Hi so I’m in high school (15f), and dated a guy around a year ago before I realized I was a lesbian. I’ll call him James (16m). Immediately after we broke up, he became an asshole, though he was super nice throughout the relationship. This other girl who he’s dating, who I’ll refer to as Lily, (also 15f) is pan (I believe), and we hooked up casually a few months ago before they got together. Me and Lily used to be really good friends before they got together, and she never mentioned even liking him, though she knew we used to be a thing. Since we were friends, I know she values honesty very highly in relationships, as someone she was with previously happened to cheat on her. James has recently been extra mean to me, without being provoked, so I got really pissed at him, and at this point me and lily weren’t friends anymore. (It wasn’t just her getting with James without telling me that made me not like her, she has also been transphobic at times (I’m dating a trans girl), and is just a bitch in general.) Regardless of how much I hate her, I have reached out to warn her how toxic he could be at times, but she didn’t listen. It’s nearing the end of the school year, with mon, tues, and wed of next week being the last days (I’m currently writing this on a Friday night), and so we have a ‘locker clean out’ thing on Monday. Also, lily is moving over summer break and won’t be at our school next year, So earlier today, I got fed up with their shit, and I’m petty, so all I was thinking about was what James would think abt me, the girl he hates for no reason (I promise I never did anything to him, and I had thought we ended on good terms), and his gf, having fucked before (she never told him). So, I wrote a little note. It said basically just ‘I fucked your gf’, but with more words. I never said my name, but added something where James would know it was from me, but wouldn’t be able to prove it. (Id also like to mention that looking back, I didn’t specify when, so he might assume it had been while they’ve been together, and get mad at her for “cheating on him” or smth). I put it in his locker before I left school, in a very visible place, may I add. I did so with the intention that he’d find it on Monday (locker clean out), and I’d be able to see his reaction. I wasn’t really thinking clearly about what would happen after, and I’m not sure what will. I’d planned that if lily confronted me abt it, I’d just mention her whole ‘honesty’ thing, and that he ‘deserved to know’. Part of me feels bad about this, but the other just wants the power move of “I fucked your girlfriend”, and wants James to know. So AITA?

Hey y’all! I’m a female in her mid 20s looking for a writer of any gender around the same age to partner up with. I’m based in Mountain Time in the US, but I really don’t mind your timezone. As long as we have some sort of overlap, we’ll be golden.
While I don’t mind who’s on the other side of the screen, I am only interested in writing FxM and FxF stories at this time. Something I really value in my partner is the feeling of excitement, especially when planning and plotting. If you’re too eager to jump into something immediately with no preparation at all, I’m not a suitable partner! I’d love to talk deeply with someone to brainstorm something equally satisfying so that we can build a story that’s sustainable.
I’ve been writing on and off for about ten years now. I can write in either POV and typically write anywhere from one to five paragraphs depending on what the story needs. I tend to match my partner’s length but definitely prefer responses on the longer end. I tend to write openly and freely, so I will sometimes mix up present and past tense. I’m not a huge stickler on grammar, just please have good spelling at least.
Circling back to the title, I’d absolutely love to write some relaxing slice of life with someone! Right now, I’m looking to play a pair of coed best friends who are super cute and wholesome with each other. Maybe they’re naturally flirtatious, but the pressure of a formal romance just doesn’t exist. I’d love to see these two characters go on adventures with each other, support one another through drama, and cuddle in each other’s arms without ulterior motives. Maybe there’s a push and pull between them when it comes to romantic elements, but I don’t necessarily want a romantic end game. Instead of romance being the driving plot, perhaps the story is more about our characters and their hobbies/interests/careers, etc. We can go really wild with how our two characters know each other exactly, let's live a little larger than life!
I have an original character created for this story, and I’d love to play against your original character. If we chat, I can absolutely share my character with you so you can get an idea of the effort I’m looking for in return when it comes to character building. It’s nothing crazy or heavy at all, I just don’t want to write against someone who can only provide a basic physical description and nothing else. I need to know your characters' likes, dislikes, quirks, backstory, etc.
I sincerely hope that I don't sound super needy or uptight in this request! I'm pretty easygoing, love to talk out of character, and genuinely want to get along with my writing partners and have a great time. I just want to refrain from wasting my time or yours, and I hope that the things I'm asking for resonate with someone else.
If you’re interested in writing this plot with me, please start a chat with me or send me a message letting me know why you’re interested in this plot and your favorite color so that I know you read this entirely. Hope to hear from ya soon! ✰

Hey everyone! Hope you’re all having a great Saturday. Looking to trade my alternate art collection for some other cool stuff. Ideally, I’d like to trade for sealed product, poncho pikachu boxes, and gold star cards. However, I’m willing to entertain any offer. Unfortunately, I am NOT willing to split the lot at this time. Based on TCGplayer’s market price, I have the entire lot valued @ $5800.
The goods: https://imgur.com/a/WLldkMa
Closeups: https://imgur.com/a/eQNMDCA
https://imgur.com/a/ik8cN9x
https://imgur.com/a/Eqk3eWV
Prices: https://imgur.com/a/jAIIwS7
Please comment with any questions and thanks for looking!

SYNOPSIS: Walking your OP monster girlfriend home is easy. No one messes with you. Getting back to your house on your own? That's the tricky part.
What's worse than an eldritch building? How 'bout a bigger one?
First Previous (See NEXT>> in comments)
Chapter Cover Art (From Mood Writing Sample)
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Norman took one look at the towering building to his left. Then he took off.
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“̷̵̵̷̶̷̶̶̸̶̶̸̴̡̛̮͉̹̪̼̙̤̲̤͔̗̮̥̣̜͓̟̞̃̔̈́̑̈̍͌̂̂̐̋͛̉̓G̵̶̸̷̴̸̵̵̴̶̸̷̸̴̶̨̢̧̞͈̠̜̳̪͎̬̜̱̫͚̝̩̑̒͐́͆̃̿̉̆̉̃̓̀̎̐͂̎̒̕̕͘͝͝Ǵ̷̷̷̴̸̸̷̷̷̷̵̨̢̞̥͓̰͖͙̰̝͖̩̺͍͎͉͌̽̂́͐̓̀͒̐͗́M̴̷̶̵̴̷̵̶̵̴̷̷̢̡̧̢̛̫̲͕͇̗̯͚̥͙͓͓̀̒͑͒̂̊̅̐͛̂̄͌̈̚͝M̴̷̶̵̴̷̷̶̷̬̼̭̗͍̺̳̩̱͍̂̄̾͂̔̽̇̀͝͝͝͠M̶̯̙̥͕̞̰̗̗͐̔!̸̞̞̬̼̖̩̈́̇͊͐̾͑͋̉!̷̧͈̘̬̆͑͝!̶̤̜̔̓̆̅̔͆͘͝”̸̨̧̼̭̫̒͜

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The new hunting cry boomed through his body. It was much louder than the first building’s, albeit shorter, like a tap on the shoulder from a titan proclaiming its presence to the world.
Of course, the tap of a titan could flatten a man.
Norman fell. His legs had simply stopped working. Jaws clenched, he forced his will into wobbly muscles. His palms slammed into the waterlogged street, stopping the fall. With a sharp push, he sprang back to his feet and ran on.
Norman yanked out the remaining two flash grenades on the go, strung them together, armed and drew back for a throw.
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“̷̬̳̙̍̎̆G̴̥͇̥͔͕̫̈̀M̵̛͇̜͙͇̫͔̭̩̝̜̓̈̏̓̓̀͛̚͜͝͝M̷̩͈͉̘͙̿͌̃̽͂̃̏̏̓̾̈́͌̈́̉̅̄̉͘!̷̢̧̢̤͓̭̖̝̏̏̄̓̾̉̆͋͘͝!̵͍̱̼̮̯̺̲͙̖̮̗͓̻̓̊͂̒̔͐̎͘͘̚!̵̙͍̟̌͒̃͂̎͠”̶̡̛̠̱̭̞̹̟͉̒̎̎̂͂̐̈́̓̄̚̕

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That quick boom pounded through him. His fingers faltered. The flash grenades slipped from his grip and fell. He was still recovering from the sound when they went off at his feet. The nightsight filtered the flash, so he didn’t go blind. He’d gutted the flash grenade’s speakers, so he didn’t go deaf. The peeping building could deafen him all on its own … no, this wasn’t a peeping building. He’d slew a peeping building. They were small fries by comparison.
This was an eyescraper.
Tentacles the width of busses unsheathed from its sides. Even if he’d managed to launch the grenades and bathe it in smitelight, he suspected that wouldn’t be enough.
Norman sliced at its eyes with a focused beam. It barely flinched. Maybe if it got close enough, he could affect it a bit. By then, it would be too late.
Throbbing chuffs thundered from the monster. It sounded like a laugh.
Norman shot it a defiant glare. He bolted. Not fast enough. He could feel the giant closing in. So, he moved faster. Then faster, and still faster. His muscles blared their warnings. Rain lashed his face. He felt the air begin to resist his movements as he reached a speed at which it mattered. It was in his way, so he pushed through it too. No one was there to tell him he was moving far faster than any human known to history. All he cared about was hearing that thing fall behind him, and so it did. The tremours of its tremendous movements grew fainter.
At the end of the street, an apartment building came into view. Norman threw himself against it, climbing with the reckless abandon of a madman. He was halfway to the top.
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“̷̧̨̭̹̘̥̮͖̤̻̥̬̌̀͒̔͌̊̀̚͜͜͠Ǧ̶̨̨̧̺̘̰̗̘̥̝̗̦̩͖͎͋̈͑͐̒̽̉̔͛̾̒́̕ͅM̴̨̉́̾̉͂͆̔̿̀̃̇̎̍͆̂̽͗̔͘͠ͅM̷̝̻̱̆̍͜!̴̮̬̯̮̦̖́͂̆͋̿̇̎̄̄̅̂͑̎̀̕͘͝͝͝!̸̲͎̲̼̠̮̱͖̥̭̤̩͓̘̜͈̟̖̮̰̦͖̀̂͗͂̽̈́̋͌͂̐̓̈̕!̸̜̆̿̋̔̽̕”̷̢̦̜̰̼̳̝͓̆͗̈́̆̆̑̃̾͑̀͗͒͆́͐͒̈́̿̽̕̕͜

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His grip went limp. He fell. Struck the ground. His head bounced. The world grew fu...z z y.
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_CHAT

• LEMMY.OUTA.HERE: (Stupse) Well, he ded.
• BAJANETTE11: ARN74, JUST GO AND FIND HIM!!!
• ARN74: HE DIDN’T SEND ME DE PIN! DIS BAAARE STRESS! NORMAN, YOU PUNK! YOU EMOTIONALLY INVESTED ME IN THIS CHANNEL! IF YOU DIE NOW I’M GONNA KILL YOU!

Something was yapping in the background, but it wasn’t important. He felt fine. Everything was fine. Why not rest? Why was he even-?

_CHAT

• ARN74: YOU PROMISED ME YOU WOULDN’T LEAVE AMY!!

What? No he didn’t! Promises weren’t for trolls! Why would he leave Amy anyway?
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“̸̼͔̖̜̫͍͚̊́̽͆̓̂̋̋͐̕Ģ̴̢͕͉̯̺̗̖͔͙̪͓̻̯̫̭̙̱͕̠̭̩̌M̸̨̧̘̟̹̖̻̲͍̭͓͉̰͙̦̣̜͉̻̎̅͗̇̈́̈̏͌̓̾̀̈̈́͜M̵̢̢̖̯̦͍͕̝̯̥̹̪̠̥̰̝̖̊͛̀̇͜!̵̢̡̡͚͕̘̟͕̥̦̪͆̈́̿͆!̴̛̹͈̜̥͔̬͎̪̩͚̦̯̟̘̩̰̳̍̑̂́̌͌̎́̒͋̽̿̑͌͝͝!̴̛̥͕̪͂̂̂̈̓͆͗̇̄̈́̌̅̎͂̕̚̕͝͠”̷̧̧̛̠̝̰̞̘͙̥̖͎̭̞̜̳̟̓͆̌̊̃̔́͒͋̇̈́͘̚͠͝ͅ
.
.
Oh, right. There was a skyscraper running him down. To think he lived in a world where that made any sense. He rubbed his throbbing head. It was hard to think, though.

_CHAT

• ARN74: TRY AN CLIMB DE TING OPPA!

Brain fog would have to wait.
In two twos he jumped onto the side of the building and kept going up and up without breaking the momentum of the leap. Adrenaline had challenged gravity. Gravity lost. There was no pause to assess handholds. There was no rain stinging his face. In his mind, there was only ‘CLIMB, CLIMB, CLIMB!’ Crest the rooftop. ‘RUN, RUN, RUN!’ Descend the other side ‘JUMP!’ Gravity greedily reclaimed Norman, dragging him 4 storeys down at breakneck speed. He hit the ground in a parkour roll. Bruised a bone. Nearly fractured a shoulder. Wrenched his spine. Joints, muscle, ligaments almost popped. They didn’t.
He was running again.
Norman had never heard a building shred like paper. He’d never thought to wonder what it sounded like.
*( ( BMMM! ) ) ( ( BMM! ) ) ( ( BOOM! ) ) *

SHHHHHRRRRRRMMMM!

Now he knew.
Those booms … was it the eyescraper’s tentacles breaking the sound barrier, or punching holes through the apartment building? Maybe both. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that it was tearing the building in two with the ease of one parting curtains. Buildings were not designed to be parted. Two became legions as the sundered building collapsed.
Norman rushed for an abandoned truck, slid beneath the trailer. Not quite fast enough. Most of the rubble didn’t reach him directly, but upon hitting the ground? It pulverised into a blast of cloud like a sandstorm. Hissing beneath the trailer, the dust stung at his ankles. He ignored it, racing for the truck’s cabin at the front. Perched on the step beneath the door, he braced as the dust raced beneath, around and above him. The cabin was his shield. He flinched to a duck when its windows shattered as the dust cloud blasted straight through them. The truck rocked and slid slightly, bombarded by wind and dust. It lurched as a chunk of debris finally reached it, crumpling the trailer like cheap foil.
Time to move.
Particles prickled Norman’s eyes, finding their way through the nightsight. He took a fresh glimpse of the path ahead before clouds of grey engulfed it all.
Memorised.
He dashed on. A split second later, the cabin was levelled under a larger slab of concrete. More sporadically thundered down around him. His eyes were squeezed shut, denying entry to any more particles. He scrambled through the street, dodging obstacles from memory. As for the concrete rainfall that couldn’t be seen? He had some prayers about that, but it probably came out like half-baked gibberish.
Norman chanced opening his eyes. They watered like crazy. At least most of the dust was gone. Behind him, the eyescraper’s menacing silhouette was picking through the rubble. Finally, an unblocked street was in sight. He rounded the corner.
.
“̵̨̢̮͕̻̲̺́͠G̵̣̒́̓̽̅̊͘͝Ọ̷̝̣͓͙͔̀ͅͅǪ̷̜̺͚̲̯̭̈́̍͂͑̋̋̅͂̅́M̷̨̤̭͈̯̤͋̾̏̈̅̉̀̏͘M̵̡̢̙̱͌̊̓͒́͌Ḿ̸̳͗̀̀͐͒͗́͠ͅ!̷͍͉̣̪̫͙̳̲̤̎̀̾̅̈́̔̎̑͘͜͝͝!̴̨͈͖̘̖̅͛̋̽͠!̸͎̩͓̫̥̼̫̊”̵̫̗̞̣̝̃̅̕͘͜͜͝ͅ
.
Another peeping building, rumbling in from the new street. Alright. Straight it was.
.
“̷̢̧̻̹͚͔̾G̵̳̭̾̃̎̍̌̂̈́̂͛͘M̶̧̠͇͔͚͉̮͈̰͒͊́̏̔̄̾̊͐̒͂͜M̸̳͓̋͋̔͑̔̔̕͝Ő̷͓̟̱̮͓̍̂̾̽̇͘͠Ô̸̧̫͉̮͚̥̥̯̈̾͋̅͂͘̚M̶̢̫̥̰̮̪͙̬̙̗̺̽͒͐͌̋̈̄͆͝M̴̢̧̧̛̗͔͓̫̭̳̱͑̉!̵̡̛̛͍̲̓̅̑̈́̿̏͘̕͠!̸̧̖͔̣̩̏́͋̀͛͂̏̀̇̑͐!̴̧͕̝̮̤̱͈̬͋”̸͓̉̈́̑̎͊̌
.
Maybe not. A third building emerged from the rainfall ahead. All streets blocked. He glanced about. All alleys still blocked. This really was a hunting net, but this much energy for a tiny human? Predators weren’t usually like this.
He ran for the nearest building that wasn’t occupied by eldritch calamari.

( ( BOOMM! ) )

The eyescraper’s tentacle crossed his path. Its supersonic shockwave sent him flying.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Norman came to. Rain poured against his face as he lay on his back. How long was he out? Why was it so cold? The atmosphere didn’t quite feel right. It didn’t look right either. Something about the colours, or subtle lack thereof. Everything seemed a bit desaturated. Norman sat up and coughed his lungs out, evicting a mix of dust and rain water collected in his slackly gaping mouth. Buildings towered above him on every side, a bit too close for comfort.
.
“̸̮̼͍̻̯̲̹͓̬̻̓̍G̷̛̖̙̰̰̟̓Ḿ̸̧̨͊̊̔͒͌̆͆͘͠͝M̷̧̺̏̿̆͑͆͋̅͌̕͝G̵̰̺͇̺̯̲͇̠͖͂͜M̸̡̨͕̹̗̥̎͑́̾!̸͇͙͚̝̩͕̙̒!̵͙̬̮̪̏̍!̶͔̪͉̙̘̃̐̄͝”̶̡̡̥̫̻̝̜̫͙̩͛ͅ
.
Oh, right, those weren’t just buildings.
Norman raised a finger, gesturing to wait. “Could you *kaff!* quit subwoofin’ at me for, like, ten seconds!”
“Plucky.̵͚͐͝ for all seasons I .̵̦̺͐̅see,” came a skin-crawling voice from behind him.
Norman swung back his smitelight. It barely moved half a foot, then it stopped. Rather, something stopped it. That ‘something’ was cold. So cold. His wrist felt the chill without even touching it.
Norman turned, slowly, so as not to trigger further attacks. He found himself looking up.
Eight feet tall. Dark grey skin. A grin that went a little too wide. Dagger teeth. An open-chested jacket, revealing sinewy muscles with luminous markings like tattoos. His ebony eyes bore penetrating white pupils. Of all his traits, the dreadlocks stood out most. They belonged in a nightmare, dancing through the air with a life of their own. Somehow, they looked blacker than black, absorbing every ray of light or heat that came their way. That icy chill in the air shifted with the movements of his dreadlocks. They seemed to drink life from the air itself. Norman almost found it hard to breathe. One dreadlock clutched Norman’s smitelight, only by the tip, but its grip was iron.
Norman stared the tall man down.
The nyctal’s grin grew by a smidgeon.
Taking a calculated risk, Norman released the smitelight. Perhaps a peace offering would do good.
“Good.̷̧͋͌̎̿ boy,” the tall man nodded, admiring the smitelight as the dreadlock rotated it. “Clever.̴̧̤̩͈͓̖͂ͅ toy.”
Norman noted an understated Jamaican accent in his voice.
More dreadlocks slithered across the smitelight, as if tasting its every nook and cranny.
Norman did his best to look casual as he scanned for an escape route. The eyescraper’s tentacles had wrapped around the street, fencing him in.

_CHAT

• BAJANETTE11: 😳
• DARCIE222: okay, i’m back
• HARD-BACK-M8N: who you is again?
• DARCIE222: i left after the twilight angel sleep paralysis
• LEMMY_OUTA_HERE: And you’re back for more?
• DARCIE222: wonna know it impossible to stay away from a channel like dis

Norman looked at the tall nyctal again.

_CHAT

• DARCIE222: 😲 WHO IS THAT?!? AND WHY IS HE KIND OF …??? 😍
• MUNSTER-VERSER: I KNOW!!!
• BAJANETTE11: HE LIKE A VAMPIRE RASTA MAN! ❤❤❤
• ENTO_MOLLY: MOVE OVER MIGUEL O’HARA!! 😍🥰😘
• BAJANETTE11: NORMAN ASK FOR HE NUMBER!!!
• NORMAN: I HERE ABOUT TO DIE AND WONNA WANT HE PHONE NUMBER!?!

The nyctal’s eyes shifted to Norman inquisitively. He frowned, raising an eyebrow as the comments piled up. Finally, he smirked mischievously.
“Your fanbase has peculiar tastes,” purred the tall man.

_CHAT

• ENTO_MOLLY: 😳 Is … he talking about us? HE CAN SEE THE CHAT???
• DARCIE222: THE WAY HE SAID IT!!!
• DARCIE222: HBVJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJKL;K''
• LEMMY_OUTA_HERE: Did she just pass out on the keyboard?
• LIKKLE-BOY: lol!
• ARN74: you’re simping. Norman’s about to die, and you’re simping

The tall man handed Norman his smitelight.
Norman’s suspicious gaze flicked between the nyctal and the weapon. Finally, he reached out and took hold of the smitelight.
It crumbled in his fingers like ice-cold ashes. If not for the insulation gloves, he might have gotten frostbite.
The nyctal laughed.
Norman didn’t find it particularly amusing.
The tall man sauntered towards the eyescraper. Beyond it was a darkness even the nightsight had difficulty piercing. He beckoned Norman as if it were an afterthought.
“Please come in, .̵̭̻͌̓̂Norman.̶̲͕͇̅̑̚,” the nyctal instructed.
Norman stared stubbornly, hands in his pockets as he rocked on his heels. He felt for his smartphone. It wasn’t there. When had he lost it?
Without looking back, the nyctal held up Norman’s phone. It disintegrated between his fingers as he rubbed them together.
Norman glared. At least the guy hadn’t pickpocketed deeply enough to find other things.
“Hey. To whom do I owe the … pleasure?” Norman almost had to push the last word through his teeth.
The nyctal stopped in the eyescraper’s doorframe. Shrouded in shadow, little could be seen of him, save the piercing white pupils peering out. Then the glint of his Cheshire grin.
“.̴̜͓̭̻̤̍̈́̆͑͑John Crow.̸̻̮̓̈́̏̓͘,” he answered, before receding into the darkness.
The eyescraper’s tentacles dragged in across the street, corralling Norman towards the building. With an exasperated groan, he trudged towards the main entrance.
“I want my bed,” grumbled Norman.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Warning: Domestic violence
Today I had a verbal fight that turned physical. Yes this has happened before, but not in front of one of our kids.
My husband (47m) found out about me (34f) smoking cigarettes. I admit I was hiding it. I started smoking when I was a teenager and have always ended up going back to it in times of stress.
He started yelling. Calling me honor-less and an oath breaker. He also took and threw my phone. Then he asked how long I’d been smoking for. I told him since the incident where he locked me out of the house. He responded by ask “The night when you ghosted us and I had to lock the house up to protect us?”
I said “I was listening to my dad’s advice. Someone I trusted.” (This incident was a yelling fight, I left the house. I called my dad and he told me to turn my tracker app off. Hence the ghosting.)
He yelled “You dad can go die in the water.”
I snapped. I told him. “Don’t insult or threaten my father.”
That’s when my husband came stomping up to me, hands clenched. I threw a knee up. I don’t think I actually hit him, but it was enough to make him go off. He grabbed me by the throat and I bit down on his arm. That’s when he started banging my head against the wall telling me to let go. It’s hard to do when your head is ringing. I eventually let go but he continued to choke me until our eldest child talked him down.
Afterwards my husband wouldn’t let me have me glasses back until again our eldest talked him down. To give them back he threw them hard on the ground.
Now here comes my what do I do now problem? I have epilepsy and can’t drive. I don’t have a job because of this. No public transportation. I have two stepchildren who I have raised. I have been their mom for a decade. I can’t take them away or it would be kidnapping. I have one blood child. I could leave but I would only be allowed to take my youngest.
Where would I go? There is a shelter an hour from here. But that would eventually start divorce proceedings and without a job I am sure I would lose custody. (The blood mother lost custody and she had a job.) I am fucking stuck. In my state you have to be legally separated for a year before starting divorce proceedings.

I just had a laparoscopy done two weeks ago and I’ve been trying to get back to being active by just walking but after I go for even a short walk I’m so drained. I feel like it’s fine because I’m still healing I guess but my doctor made it seem like I’d be feeling great now. Has anyone else experienced this?

My bf (25m) and I (24f) have been together for a year. For the past month we have been together everyday, he goes to work n comes straight to his house where I’d be working from (I work from home) or comes straight to mine after work so we can sleep together everynight . I have a high sex drive and he praises me for how amazing our sex is every time. If I request for sex when I’m not satisfied hours after he has initiated sex and finished or even the next day , he struggles to get hard, he’s fine during oral but gets soft during penetration and ends up just giving me oral. He says it's because he is completely empty and fully satisfied and it seems recently we only have sex when he’s horny and not if I ask for it. Last night he left his phone unlocked before going to sleep so I went through it and found he was watching twitter porn of a lot Latina girls (I am a black F he is a black M) I went through his instagram and found he was searching none famous Latina girls who post barely clothed pictures and he deletes his searches all the time because there is usually nothing on his instagram searches but last night he didn't clear it, these were in his recent searches. He had cheated on me late February by flying another girl (black F, 22) out for a week they were together in another country and I forgave him because I was going through a traumatic situation with my family and also was not speaking to any of my friends so he was the only one there for me. Him cheating led to him having to get rid of every girl he followed on social media apart from family members and me going through his phone regularly but did not have his passcode(also found out he was trying to see a bunch of other girls n got rejected lol ). I found out about the porn last night 17th of May. He always lied that he doesn't really watch porn but after going through his phone I can see otherwise. He always has a wondering eye when we are outside or being served by attractive waitress. I confronted him about it and all he could say was it's just porn, it's light hearted it's just for him and he's not fantasying when I told him he can watch porn in his own time but secretly while we are together and hiding it is too much with everything we are working through and too weird. i believe it’s another form of cheating and broke up with him. Did I overreact or not?

I personally feel like there’s so much more to the manga itself, like we only know so little about kaiju and the other characters, i’d really want to know more, plus that ghostly vision of a somewhat kaiju samurai really got me excited to know about the origin of kaiju no 8.

So I’ve been reading a lot of things in this forum and other places that have stated that if a family’s EFC isn’t 0, some colleges in questbridge won’t match with them. Can someone explain what exactly EFC is and how someone might go around calculating it.