This is a long one. I (f37) am thinking about not going to my great nieces first birthday.
My niece (19) and I have always been quite close. I have always been there for her growing up and was heavily involved since the day she was born. I actually watched her be born. I always held my nieces and nephews as babies, changed their nappies, bathed them, looked after them, took them places, bought them things etc. Now my niece has had a baby and it’s the total opposite of how things were when my niece was a baby. She never wants people to hold baby, do things for baby,look after her or do ANY of the things I did when she was little. Every time I tried to hold her or be involved in any way it was as if I was a stranger trying to hold her baby. I always felt like I was a nobody and my niece didn’t want me to acknowledge her daughter at all. I began to feel guilty for even looking at her. It all came to a head when I asked what kind of baby seat she used as I wanted to get one just incase me or my parents ever needed to have or pick up my great niece for any reason. I got shut down and was told that there was no point as she would never be in anyone else’s car so there was no need to buy a baby seat. I was over trying at that point. I had put so much energy and effort into trying to be the best great aunt I could be just as I had been the best aunt I could be for my niece but I was getting rejected left right and centre. I made a generic post on Facebook saying that I was giving up trying which she obviously knew was about this situation. She wouldn’t answer any of my texts or phone calls. I should mention that I suffer from depression and mental illness and was on the verge of a breakdown. I was at a very low point and decided I needed to get away. I spontaneously bought a ticket to Germany for the next day for four weeks. (My sister lives in Germany) I then get a text from my niece saying the following.
Hey (name removed) Look i’m not mad at you i’m just disappointed that something as simple as telling you not to buy a car seat for baby as it’s not necessary caused you to posted things on facebook and etc. It’s disappointing you haven’t respected husband and I’s boundaries, privacy and personal choice for us and our family. On my multiple occasions you haven’t taken no for an answer and I feel like i’m walking on egg shells quite frankly trying not to upset you. I feel as though I can’t say “no don’t buy a car seat” or no to a cuddle with baby without offending you. It’s really draining constantly feeling like husband and my decisions for our baby are not being respected or understood by you at family gatherings, which doesn’t bring joy and happiness into my life and my family. I understand you might mean well but at the end of the day it’s not your decision on anything to do with baby it’s up to husband and I and unfortunately if you can’t respect that then we aren’t going to want to see you, and want to catch up with you and ect. We are a private family and like to have our space we also do not have time for drama and etc in our lives. I’m sorry if this upsets you but husband and I only want the best for our baby and that includes the people around her. And it is so negative and upsetting to see that one of our family members have posted about us on her facebook and is not the type of energy we want in are daughters life. We are currently in the middle of moving house so I don’t have time for long conversations like this, and that’s why I haven’t answered you yet but when we have settled down in our new house and everything we can catch up and talk in person. Hope you understand where we are coming from and think and process what I have said Thank you. love you 🫶🫶
It was like a gut punch. I totally broke down after that. The time away was good but it was super awkward when I returned home. I didn’t want to engage at all. Over time things slowly improved and I felt like things were getting better. Then one day a weeks back we were having a family bbq and she had put baby on the ground while holding her hands. I put my arms out to pick her up and my niece held babies hands tighter and said something along the lines of why do you always have to pick her up when I put her down. I was taken aback and left the room for a while. I kept my distance the rest of the day and haven’t reached out since. I should also add that my sister and niece are very similar in the sense that if I don’t reach out to them (eg call or text) I NEVER hear from them. I am so drained and tired of trying and have become distant. I don’t want to socialise with them or talk. My great nieces first birthday is next week and I don’t want to go. I don’t t have the energy to pretend everything is ok. I don’t see the point in me being there. So would I be the asshole if I didn’t attend.

First time played kenshi and feel like sharing its story.
Decided to play mainly solo character RPG style. When I learned about fractions i was scared to make any of them enemy. As they are all very cool. Then I discovered holy nation and wow fuck these guys.
I started my endless solo cruciate aganist them with satisfying progress during it. (being on level of holy sentinel up to being stronger than inquisitor ahhh so good). First goal was military base next to Stack. It was going good and then they hurt my leg badly, couldnt run away and took me prisoner and steal my eq.
Easy peasy prison break time. My eq was in box next to my cell(idiots!) but without weapon. Resteal it but couldnt make it fist fighting, back to cell. Break again but they moved my eq(Smart!) and i had no idea where it was. I tried steal eq from sleeping soldiers but my stealing level was to low(and didnt know then how to cheese it) and i get only free toughness training.
Next day i was mining stones as obidient slave should. Outside the base. This is my chance, i tried to run away but learned the hard way shackles movement penalty. Guy throw me to the ground but he was crazy, for some reason he didnt stop beating me while yelling "work harder! , arbait macht frei! " or something. I lost my arm and was barelly alive. Lost my hope for escaping.
Solo escaping that is. Took one of my "characters" that is cooper miners and decided to make it ultimate assasin, thief, lord of the night. After extensive training went to base during night for rescue mission. And it was going great. Stealth killing is op. But I failed at some point and landed in cell next to my hero. That night there was a lot of other prisoners. We opened them all as much at the same time as possible and run away when soldiers were dealing with them. That is my hero run away, assasin sacrificed himself and will be forever remembered for this.
Getting myself robo arm and went on exploring and training. When I come back i relatively easly destroyed Stack with Seta. I was feeling confident with blister hill but oh boy I was wrong. Infinite army respawning(?) faster than i was killing them. After hours city was full of crawling people and it seriously became depressing. Like im on the real war but im the bad guy. I have seen holy phoenix, even managed to lure him to 1v1 but he beat my ass without taking any damage.
Went exploring again, got meitou weapon from fishman boss and discovered crossbows. Gave the crossbow to random copper miner nad he was kicking ass from the start. Now with team of 2 blister hill got obliterated and received princess as reward. I havent seen half of map but called it a day with this run.
I started few other short Self restricted runs and boy, this game have much potential for roleplaying. So much is happening between fractions, especially on United cities territory. Its a mess there. You really have read it all? Thanks.

So I started working for this company at the beginning of March and got told today that management doesn't think I'll be a good fit in the company. This is my first job that was suppose utilized my degree and I had no prior internships. I worried now that it will look bad even though I wasnt laid off due to performance and that I'll be looking for a new job for months now(I graduated may 2023 and took almost a year to get a interview).
The reason I was let go was because the company basically changed my positions duties and also went from 10% travel to 75% travel and didn't inform me of this untill I was let go after taking the option of going home after spending 2 weeks doing work that wasn't under my suppose duties on the other side of the country.
Also side note, I was completely lied too about my duties since the beginning cause nothing I talked about during the interview I worked on and also I was being gaslit on the phone call where I was being notified of being let go where I didn't stress my fear of heights enough to my manager even though I did and apparently he tried to multiples times to gauge my fear which is a complete lie.

My comp case has been going for nearly a decade, 8yrs. In that time I've had 4 spinal surgeries and a dozen MRI's and spinal steroid injections; all from the work injury, all paid by comp. I'm pretty F'ed up. All kinds of neurological damage, I walk like a gimp, pain whether I sit stand or lay down, can't enjoy sex, can't run, can't jump or defend myself, can't even walk normally. Had another MRI recently and my Dr doesn't want more surgery now but, he says eventually I will need it just to take pressure off nerves and to fix other damage that's been documented already.
I don't want more surgery. Every step i take already hurts and surgery hasnt helped with that much. What I want is to try stem cells in a foreign country. The good shit that you can't have in America.
I would imagine cases like mine where an otherwise healthy and athletic person gets so hurt at work their entire life is altered for the worse would pay out well enough.
Thoughts?

About a week ago I noticed that my supercruise stopped working, kept telling me its unavailable. I then later realized my GPS dont work either. I normally never use the onboard one since I always have Carplay connected.
Then also noticed the Onstar dont work either (no lights, SOS dont work either). And I have no cellular data either. So somehow all this died a week ago. I know the supercruise wont work if it doesnt have GPS and latest map data (which it gets from the cell plan). Ive barely used the included cell plan since I got the Denali Ultimate. It says Ive only used 23gig of the 1000GB they give you.
Ive checked every fuse on this, and they all good. Even did the removed battery for extended period (i did almost 6hrs) and rehooked and still no luck. Something tells me the antenna or hardware tied to it died.
Anyone had this happen?

okay so i have a bit of background: right now i live in the US and my family pays my cell phone plan (google fi for those wondering, works so badly for my phone)
i will not only be going to university in ontario in the fall, but i’m also visiting a friend in quebec for 2 weeks in mid june and between early july and mid august, i’ll be in california
you may ask, why not just switch your plan when you go move to ontario? and to that i say.. for some reason, when i visited canada(british columbia specifically) in february, my phone just didnt work unless it was connected to wifi. during my trip this summer, i really need to be able to use my phone out and about, especially in case of emergency
but then when i come back for the rest of the summer... i still need to be able to use my phone
is it at all possible to get a plan that can cover all this? should i just try and get a cheap ish plan for the summer and then switch? i really don’t know what i’m talking about here (i’m only 18 and i have no idea how to deal with adult stuff like this)
also if it matters, i’ll be going to TMU, so i’ll mostly be in the thick of the city/downtown and i have an iphone 11

Hi, I'm been carrying this lately and I would just like to see different perspectives regarding the matter. I 25F am the breadwinner of my family. We are living in the apartment that I am renting. Me and my dad 51M were the ones who were working before my dad got sick and could not continue his construction work so all cost was passed down to me. I'm grateful that I'm able to support all of this with my current job. Everything is going well but went downhill when my aunt from the province started living with us. My mom asked for her sister to stay with us as she got a job here in Manila. I agreed thinking it's only temporary & I know the feeling of having no one to depend on in the time of need. It's already been more than a year & I'm regretting my decision. My aunt doesn't contribute with any of the living cost in the apartment. She doesn't do her laundry & would make my mom do hers. She doesn't buy her own food & has a habit of snacking on my dad's fruits in the refrigerator that the doctor recommended for him. My dad also started to spent most of his time in his shed instead of the house because he is not fond of interacting with my aunt. I'm not confrontational so I often keep my mouth shut and would vent out to my boyfriend 29M or dad instead. The last straw for me was when I was saving up for my sister's 20F laptop. She asked me January that she would need a high spec laptop in her next semester for digital architecture work. I don't want her to work as that may affect her studies so I said that I would save for her laptop until August of this year before the new semester start. I religiously put the savings in the box in my room as my savings account was hacked. I listed all the dates and amounts in a notepad in my phone. I computed & it already totalled to 30k by 1st half of April. The following week I got a 15k quarterly incentives for good work performance. I told my boyfriend about it & he was so happy for me. He suggested that we should buy the laptop already & that he would pay for what's left of the amount & the upgrades needed. I am so glad as this mean I would be able to purchase the laptop before August. I counted the money in the box again but notice that 15k was missing. I asked my mom as she is the only one who knows the location of the box as she often cleans my room. She said that my aunt borrowed the money as she had trouble with her credit card and might lose it if the debt was not paid. I got mad as I felt that the money was taken from me without permission by my own mom. I demanded that my mom asked my aunt to return it immediately. I expressed how disappointed I am with her. I felt all the weight that I am carrying all at once. I found out as well that the reason for the debt was that they bought kitchen appliances. I demanded that I can no longer accommodate her sister under my roof and asked her to find another place to stay. I can take a lot of things but deceit and lies is my breaking point. AITA?

The following was written toward a researcher, and at this point it could be any researcher-
Thanks for allowing me participation in your study. As I'm sure you're aware, Prolific's model is to basically vet participants over time and weed out bots and other BS participants who basically just click through randomly without providing valuable data to the researchers and participants - their true core synergyistic customer base.
I'm not a bot nor huckster, but a real person trying to take alot of the BS out of my life, and while I'm grateful for the tiny extra income afforded here on Prolific, I believe that in their better platform interest of promoting participant naievety, they are basically screwing over their core base by manipulating delivery of studies to "new" humans over the trusted humans.
To that end, I believe that they are creating their own demise. New idiots from whackadoo areas are not better than wiser participants with a good track record.
They are allowing so many new chinese studies now, and bullshit marketing trials, who each equally have the same power as you, as a legitimate researcher, to "reject" a participant's input/time/engagement with absolutely no justifiable reason. i.e., A .15 cent Chinese survey rejecion for nothing other than their culture is to try to screw over the next guy, holds exactly the same weight as your weeks-long longitudinal study.
These hucksters are de-valuing the entire platform and yet Prolific does NOTHING to stop it.
In fact, they are opening the gates toward further self-desctruction here- to the end of something along the lines of what happened to MTurk.
In closing, this little 1.78 study that I complete in earnest for you this evening bought me two frozen bagles that I will enjoy tomorrow morning with another 50 cents worth of butter earned elsewhere.
That cost me 17 minutes of my life.
The reward should be reciprocal.
I don't know what kind of reform needs to happen here, but I'll continue to make at least one voice heard..
What say y'all? Is it time for Prolific to listen up?
And there is no room for the usual pink toes bitch to show up here telling us all about her demographics and how she has 20 in her stack and only picks the best ones. Fuck off, Cat lady.

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

I just watched this, and I need to know that someone else hated it as much as I did. I have never before felt the urge to write a director and ask for my money back. Where to begin? Pacing is slow AF. Plot is nonexistent. All the characters are awful and of course the woman is the worst and completely one dimensional. There is pointless homoeroticism everywhere with nothing to do with what little plot there is. The cinematography is inconsistent and very shaky, about 3/4 of the entire movie is close ups of one of the male leads smiling in slomo, the remaining quarter is Zendaya’s nips or ass. But the worst, my god, the very worst is the score, which was mostly bad club music pulsing intrusively right over dialogue, sometimes halfway through a scene. Then an abrupt switch to Spanish love songs and then hymns that sound like they belong in Charlie Brown’s Christmas.
I like tennis. I like a good old fashioned erotic script. I even like gratuitous nudity. But this movie has ruined all those things for me. I want to know what drugs were made available to whoever green lighted this absolute piece of garbage and then take them all in hopes of destroying the brain cells that contain memories of it. I have never hated a movie more.

I already got a Realme GT Master Edition running Android 13 and it's incredibly annoying and it has been for a year now.
Alarms seldom go off, apps freeze randomly and the camera only works when it feels like too; it all worked perfectly for the first 6 months than it all just turned random and it's borderline unusable.
Thanks in advance :)

Obviously, transitioning to parenthood is really difficult for everyone involved.
My husband and been struggling with depression since our baby (8 months) was born. I'll admit I've done a poor job of checking in on him as I'm also a bit depressed/anxious.
My husband feels as though his friends do not care about him which in turn has made him not want to reach out to them because he feels rejected. They're so poor planners and typically pretty busy people.
Tonight I gave him the evening to so as he please, just get in time to himself since he's not been feeling like he's about to do that. He was hanging out in our room when I came in around 10pm. Our baby goes to bed about 8pm and wakes to generally around 5:30am-ish. I mentioned about 15/20 after coming to bed that I didn't mean to burst good bubble but that it was his night to get up with the baby. We've got a scheduling where we rotate weekends so one of us can sleep in. He immediately said it in fact did burst his bubble and that he's tired of the baby even though he love them.
The comment made my heart sink. It made me think about coming home late last week and just worrying when he didn't answer my phone calls. Maybe I'm just being silly but I was supposed to go on a vacation with my mom and sisters next weekend and now I'm worrying about leaving the baby with him because he's feeling so depressed.
Any tips on helping a partner through depression while also being depressed? And how to trust him to watch the baby while I'm gone?
We do currently attend therapy together and I see a therapist of my own. He is medicated for depression but has not been evaluated recently.

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

My parents (45M, 38F) have never had a good relationship for as long as I’ve been able to remember. They both had a toxicity that boiled over and burned everyone around them (aka, me - 16, my older sister - 20 and my little brother - 11). Me and my older sister would always get the brunt of everything, and we got hurt a lot, but my brother didn’t (he only got shouted at) because he was just a baby and he had difficulties so the school’s he went to would have a close eye on him anyways.
The only reason i’m asking if i’m TA is because i’m beside myself right now. I don’t know what to do and I need advice and I’m scared I may have started the end of my family.
Just before christmas, on the second to last week of term before winter break, i refused to go into school. The only reason being was I was in a difficult situation with a couple friends and I felt i had no one, I was alone and i hated that so i didn’t want to face anyone at school incase i broke down. My dad had come into my room, telling me to get up for school, get ready and he’ll take me. An hour goes by, and I hadn’t moved from my spot in my bed. My dad comes back into my room, and says ‘you need to go to school’ and such things like that. I didn’t say anything to him, all i did was groan (like when you don’t wanna hear it or don’t wanna do smth).
flash forward about midday, my mum comes screaming and shouting into my room, telling me all these horrible things and that i needed to go to school or she’d ‘make me pay for it’. I immediately thought it meant she was going to hurt me, so i thought i’d stand up for myself and tell her ‘what? you gonna beat me because i can’t stand going to school?’.
Half an hour later, and with no one saying anything else, i heard my mum on the phone (she’s really loud - she like raises her voice down the phone unconsciously so i heard every word) but then I heard these exact words: “(dad’s name) told me she refused to get up this morning and that i fcking knew about her not going in”.
I jumped up and raced down the stairs and started screaming that i didn’t say that because my mum was threatening to ground me and ‘make me pay for it’ - which actually meant chores but i liked chores to a certain extent. My dad had lied to her to make me look me once again, like a couple years ago when I caught him cheating on my mum when messages from a random woman on facebook would ping on his screen (he cheated on her 24 times since they’ve been married, also cheated on her a couple days before their wedding day and even fcked an old woman, like an OLD OLD woman).
My dad seemed to like the chaos because he always was the root of it. Whenever my older sister and mum were on good terms, he would go whispering into my mum’s ears saying my sister said this and she said that and so on. The same went for when myself and my mum were getting along. He had lied to my mum once again about me and it ended up backfiring mostly on me.
I told my mum what really happened and she confront my dad, who was sat on the sofa watching tv, and he fought back saying ‘she said it, she said it, i’m not lying! why would i lie?’ but when my mum refused to back down, he stood up and squared his shoulder and went to leave the front room, where myself and my mum were stood, which freaked me out because he clenched his fists and my mum saw it and she hugged me, saying go upstairs because he said he wasn’t going to be spoken to like this. (he also once got told by his sister that he shouldn’t be dictated by a child - ME, his first biological child - when all i was trying to do was talk about how i felt with his drinking because it was really bad.
Because of this, he left and he showed up on christmas and spent time with us, but kept getting agitated with my little brother because he kept asking questions and kept talking about his new plane game for his ps5 (my brother was recently diagnosed with ashbergers (however you spell it, it’s on the spectrum) and ticks that could develop into tourette’s). two days later, he left and i didn’t see him for about two months.
during those two months, i was conflicted because he’s my dad and i don’t want him to leave but he didn’t reach out, and i was tired of trying to reach him for the last sixteen years of my life so i didn’t bother. whenever i tried to spend time with him on my own as father-daughter, he would ignore it until my mum forced us to watch a documentary together (it was a murder documentary because we both like the genre) and it was so awkward, i wanted the ground to swallow me whole.
i didn’t see him until he came to pick my brother up for plans they made with one another because he messaged my brother first, which hurt but i couldn’t say anything because i felt i caused the whole mess of him leaving. we didn’t talk and i told my nan (we were living at hers because my mum filed charges of DV against my dad, which he didn’t and shouldn’t have needed to know - a lot more had happened because of him, but he was a veteran so his abuse was ‘excused’ and no one said anything despite us asking for help, especially from my dad’s side of the family) that i didn’t want to see him ever again.
i did see him again, only a couple times though because i felt really bad and i wanted him to be better (from the drinking) so i went with it and spent time with him, thinking it would help but it didn’t. he’s gotten to point he physically shakes because he hadn’t had a drink that day, and his face was all red whenever we saw him. he was also denying all the abuse and harm that he caused when we were younger.
It was only recently that everything has sunk in properly. i’m 16 and doing my final exams and i have a life that i need to start leading soon, and that’s terrifying. i’m moving across the country after waiting since early january, but my dad isn’t coming and he recently told me that he’s getting a place of his own soon (he’s in a temporary hostel) and invited me to go over whenever i wanted to because he would be working and it would just be sitting there empty. i told him i might, but i’m moving on the 15th of June and i don’t even know when i’m coming to visit my sister and my nan and my nieces let alone him, especially since my mum told me to cut all contact with him.
the thing with my mum is she found herself a new man from tiktok because she’s in an “agency”, and he’s a bit of character, in all honestly. my mum had always needed a man in her life and she’s had multiple boyfriends when she and my dad would split for months at a time. the only reason we’re moving the area we are is because that man is there, and she’s lost two of the babies she could have had with him.
i’m so lost and i don’t know what to do.
my dad still drinks and he basically lives at the pub that’s across the road from where he lives at the moment, and i don’t want to watch him drink himself into an early grave.
and i believed my mum was influenced to move to where we are going because of this new man, who she’s now not with because he’s also controlling and doesn’t trust her.
do i cut all contact with my dad just because my mum doesn’t want me to or because she’s trying to protect me? i’ve just gotten him to open up to me as a dad for the first time ever and i don’t know what to do. i know he was a bad dad, and he can only love one person at a time, but am i in the wrong for wanting my dad to finally see me as a daughter?
and should i really move because my mum wants to? does it sound that it’s gone too far?
AITA for wanting my parents to get along for the sake of me and my little brother, or is that asking too much?

I know a lot of producers have talked about unsolicited feedback in the past but this post isn't about that. It's about feedback for various projects and feedback that gets requested and given. This also applies equally to original production in many cases.
A good number of mashup producers do not tend to master or don't apply limiters on tracks, or just make them softer compared to commercial levels. When albums get mastered, loudness will usually be adjusted through various plugins (EQ, multiband compressors, limiters, clippers, etc.) to shape masters so that one track is not significantly louder or softer than another especially back-to-back and groups of tracks follow a certain sound.
What this means is that once your softer mashup of -14 or -15 LUFS or softer is amplified to commercial levels in the -7 to -11 LUFS range or more depending on genre and how the overall track should sound given peaks and valleys with softer and louder parts (LUFS stands for loudness units full scale, look that up), small issues may stand out like thorns when amplified. Bottom line: Don't take the small or big issues personally; we're all human, we all miss things, and we can all improve. You may learn something new!
Think of it like how you ask to proofread writing to check for spelling or grammar and have it work for the audience.
All this to say, feedback I give or others give based on small details may come across as nit-picks at first. Don't completely discount them. You never know who will want to play your tracks, and this could range from personal playlists all the way up to DJ gigs and big festival stages.
In the case of a club DJ or performances on festival stages, volumes will be significantly louder than what you may have worked with when you created the track. I've given the restaurant food analogy before but I'll give it again: If something clearly doesn't taste good, people won't usually know why. But an experienced chef who knows how the ingredients interact sure will.
Just something to think about as you improve on mashup production and production in general.
Here are some issues below that experienced mashup producers could point out. Note that a lot of the "don't do this" stuff is really code for "don't do this unless you really know you're doing and it sounds good":

Big issues

• Out of key (OOK): This refers to wrong key signature (e.g. mixing A Minor with B Minor), not blue notes from modes or short moments of modulation. Key rule of thumb: If you're going to use key databases, verify by ear. Tunebat is the least accurate. If you must do so, use a reliable key database like the ones in this post. DJ software can work, but some automatic key detection performs better than others and are far from perfect. Above all, databases are not perfect and some will be far from it, so ears will be the final judge of whether a pairing sounds good.
• Out of tempo/time (OOT): this usually refers to wrong tempo (e.g. mixing a 116 BPM track with a 118 BPM track) or not constant tempo and going out of time. Key rule of thumb: Sync your tracks and if you need to use any form of warping (see Ableton), be prepared to do so.
• Incorrect/bad beat alignment: This is more for when a vocal or element is offbeat enough that it really sticks out as a trainwreck when mixed together
• Wrong beat/out of structure/off structure: This is when a vocal or other element is placed on a beat that doesn't make sense for what it's combined with (e.g. placing the first word of a vocal over an instrumental on beat 2 when it was meant for beat 1). Mileage will vary, sometimes the vocal beat placement only makes sense for the original song and makes less sense on others.
• Distortion from going in the red: This is when the overall mix or elements sound distorted because the volume of each track channel is too loud and either alone or combined goes well above 0 dBFS (a.k.a. into the red). Key rule of thumb: Start your track volumes at -6 dB (not 0 dB) and then adjust to taste. Don't go into the red unless you absolutely know what you're doing.
• Elements way too soft or loud: This is more along the lines of not being able to hear the added vocals or elements at all or they're too loud that you can't hear the other elements in the mix.
• Big mood mismatch: This tends to be less egregious, but if sources don't cooperate at all to a point of completely ruining the vibe, the mashup could stick out like a sore thumb from the start. Mileage will vary, and sometimes your audience would appreciate this especially with genre clashes even to the point of creating memes. But it depends on what you're going for, and sometimes you want consistency for certain albums and groups of tracks.

Smaller issues

• Fifth traps/not picking the right keys to use: This is a specific version of another problem I'll touch on, but this happens when you mix keys fifths or fourths away (e.g. F Major and C Major) and the chord progressions don't cooperate. What makes this a trap is that the pairing might appear to sound good at first glance, but when you look back at what you made, you probably could have made a better sounding pairing if you had just picked sources in key, relative key (e.g. A Minor and C Major), or parallel to the mode type (i.e. A Minor with A Dorian since Dorian is a minor mode). This Berklee Online article is a really good starting point to modes. With modes, mileage will vary.
• Out of progression/blue notes: This can happen when there are short moments where the element clashes on top of other elements (e.g. modes or short moments of different modulation). Sometimes the tracks may not be compatible, but other times it's just a part with notes outside the scale. This can be fixed by doing small note changes, but be careful not to make it too obvious, otherwise it might sound like you're forcing the pairing to work. It may also follow the same theme as fifth traps, where you could have made a better sounding pairing if you had just picked sources in key, relative key (e.g. A Minor and C Major), or parallel to the mode type (i.e. A Minor with A Dorian since Dorian is a minor mode). This Berklee Online article is a really good starting point to modes. With modes, mileage will vary.
• Low quality sources: This happens with YouTube or other rips where the elements are lower quality due to a lower frequency cutoff (YouTube is usually 15.5 kHz for AAC, other platforms may be 15-16 kHz for 128 kbps MP3, etc.). Bottom line: Get the highest quality sources you can, and use Spek or another spectrum analysis software to check rips or record pool sources. Your ears and processing algorithms will thank you. Again, you never know who will listen to or play out your track, could even be a big sound system.
• Stem separation artifacts: This can take several different forms, but can happen when either the invert or stem separation algorithm being used adds noise or other unwanted high end artifacts like high hats that once amplified, will absolutely stand out in a mix. This also includes artifacts from stem separation algorithms like Utagoe which make vocals sound like they're underwater at default settings. Key rule of thumb: Remember that the instrumental and original could be mixed and mastered differently depending on the production environment and how masters spread. If an invert makes a vocal stand out more but just needs extra cleaning, don't be afraid to combine the invert technique (original + instrumental) with stem separation. When using multiple stem separation techniques or using different sources (like remix + remix instrumental), think about how they sound on parts of the instrumental and consider picking the best extraction for a given part; remember that this includes using the original song (this is called comping in the production world). If there are parts of vocals intended to be silent and there are artifacts, don't be afraid to replace the reverb + delay with your own. Keep up to date with stem separation algorithms by keeping up with developments on the Audio Separation Discord server: https://discord.gg/wY3AAaTvHT
• Weird time-stretch and pitch-shift artifacts: This can happen when using a lower quality time-stretch or a time-stretch that can destroy transients/drum hits (Audacity or Elastique Efficient on vocals, older Elastique Pro on full instrumentals) or pitching too much and/or with too much/little formant preserve. The best way to reduce these effects on instrumental is to think about combining stem separation with ways to improve quality (pitch everything BUT the drums unless tonal, experiment with different time stretch methods on different elements, etc.). For too much pitch or formant preserve, either pick sources that are closer in key (+/- 2 semitones is a good rule of thumb) and try to control the amount of formant preservation and/or envelope (in Ableton) to make the vocals sound more natural. Formant preserve is usually a good idea for pitched vocals, but can sound bad for pitched instrumentals especially drums depending on the track.
• Pops or clicks while editing: This tends to happen when elements like vocals are cut off when not at zero volume. Key rule of thumb: Edit to zero crossing and/or use fades to cut off regions or when combining different regions together.
• Flanging, phasing, or flamming while editing: Sometimes these effects are on purpose, but oftentimes when crossfading between different parts of an instrumental, both parts of the edit don't align on beat. Flanging and phasing applies for sample level edits (ms or more), flamming for tenths or hundredths of seconds (e.g. 0.05 sec or 0.1 sec). Flamming is a drumming term for when the same part of the drum kit (usually the snare drum) is hit twice with different sticks at close to but not exactly the same time.
• Vocals or other elements end too suddenly in an edit: You may want to get different vocals to interact with each other or edit out of artifacts from vocal stem separation, but the other vocal (or elements) sound like they were cut off. Key rule of thumb: Have a reverb effect handy, and if you're working in a DAW, take advantage of wet/dry automation and combine the reverb with delay afterwards in the effect chain for vocals and other elements so when you crank up the wet the decay helps fade out the element gracefully.
• Vocals or other elements start too suddenly or out of place when connecting them or transitioning: This also considers getting different vocals or other elements to work together or going to a new part, but refers to a new part using vocals or other elements sounding out of place at the beginning of a region in a transition. Key rule of thumb: Watch your crossfades and when you're in a pinch and want to start the next part gracefully, don't be afraid to use reverse reverb or other effect like a riser to introduce a completely new element or different part in a pinch. Reverse reverb is exactly what it sounds: Adding reverb to a short snippet of an element like a cymbal, vocal note, or pad, and then applying reverse on it. Often this is done by choosing a tonal center to transition into, choosing a small snippet to add reverb to, choosing reverb with a long decay time and big space (usually I do a Cathedral reverb), reversing it, and then carefully aligning the reverse reverb so the end of it hits the beginning of the next region. Whew that was a lot! Tutorials will do this much more justice but this is the general idea.
• Vocals too dry or too wet for the instrumental: Usually this depends on the instrumental's genre. For genres like pop or EDM, vocals tend to have some reverb applied to make them shine. For others like alternative and some classic hip-hop, the reverb might be less or no wet or a completely different type. This issue usually refers to too little reverb (too dry) or too much reverb (too wet). Key rule of thumb: Don't forget to have reverb handy. You might need it. Keep your wet low in the middle of a vocal depending on what you're trying to do (think 3-5% wet or - on the low side
• Vocals or other elements slightly too loud or soft: Self-explanatory, this is usually an issue where elements should be the right volume for elements to work well together.
• Vocals or other elements drowned out/don't gel due to hypercompression: This usually happens when using a vocal not from an EDM, hyperpop, hard rock, or other genre where there is hypercompression but no matter how much volume amount you try elements like vocals don't gel and compete for space in the mid range. Two common techniques take the form of adding more compression to a vocal to stand up to an hypercompressed instrumental and/or reducing mid band EQ of the other source (which could come from sidechaining). For the added compression, it tends to be done with either multiple compressors in series (e.g. two compressors using low threshold + high ratio and high threshold + low ratio) or through various guitar distortion plugins on settings meant for vocals (e.g. Camelcrusher with British Clean or certain presets of OTT). Don't be afraid to experiment.
• Master too loud or soft for the genre: This usually takes the form of using limiters and other effects to make certain tracks too loud for the genre intended, or not using anything at all and the track is too soft for the genre/commercial sound. This can come down to taste, but how a track was produced can affect how loud you master. Mileage will vary; listen to how loud tracks are made and emulate your favorites assuming nothing too egregious.
• Stereo issues: This can happen if there are elements out of phase when trying to combine mono and stereo or applying other effects. It's a bit more difficult to diagnose, but one rule of thumb is to test your overall track on different playback systems (from headphones to big speakers and even your phone or small bluetooth speaker which will effectively test mono depending on the device).

Wow that was a lot and I know it's very overwhelming who don't produce a ton. There might be more issues I didn't mention here, so let me know if there's anything else that could be useful.

Hi everyone,
I'm a new immigrant in the U.S., originally from North Africa, and I’ve recently been introduced to a girl through a mutual friend. She was born and raised here, but we both share the same cultural background. We've spoken on the phone once, and while she was friendly and funny, she was also quite shy and didn't ask many questions. We had some awkward silences, too.
Since we live in different states and can't meet in person soon, I'm looking for good suggestions on how to get to know each other better over the phone or online. How can I keep the conversation flowing and learn more about her interests, values, and personality? I also want to make sure she gets to know me well enough to see if we might be a good match.
Any advice on conversation topics, questions to ask, or tips for making our interactions more comfortable and engaging would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!

There is context here so thank you for reading. I moved in with my bestfriend of 14 years last September when we were both tired of commuting and got new jobs (smart, I know). The day we moved in we started having some issues concerning me not feeling considered by her. These things included her changing our move in date without telling me first before we actually moved because it better suited her plan to move in slowly, her running late to our move in day appointment and expecting me to wait over an hour for her and telling me it’s okay for me to wait for her, and her telling me my opinion was irrelevant and pointless to bring up after what I thought was a simple conversation that I started after I almost got into a bad car accident and came into the apartment flustered, telling her about it. After all these instances I asked her if we could talk about it as I was feeling really hurt by her and didn’t want to start our moving in on a bad note, especially since I just signed a lease with her. She was very defensive and told me I could say the same things back to her, that nothing she says is personal, and that she’s not going to say “nothing” like I was telling her to do (I never told her that, I just said that some of the things she says to me, I would never say to her). She also said in response to me asking to talk because she hurt my feelings, that I hurt her feelings all the time too but when I asked her what she was referring to she wouldn’t say.
I started distancing myself from her at this point because I didn’t want to get hurt anymore and talking to her lead nowhere except me feeling more hurt and regret about even trying to solve things with her in the first place.
Back in November, I found out my now husband and I were expecting our first baby! We had my first appointment over zoom and the very same day my roommate asked me if I could go to the leasing office or call them concerning a sound she’d been hearing in her room for a few weeks thinking it could be rodents. I told her I normally always help her if I could but at that moment I couldn’t and it would be better if she found out who to contact herself. I could barely give her my full attention that day and also expressed that to her. Me saying no set her off in a way that I’m still in shock about. She told me she couldn’t understand why I couldn’t do it, that she knew I could do it, that she’ll do it but it’s hard for her because she’s busy and she knew I was at the apartment, that it would’ve made more sense for me to say no if she asked me to go drive somewhere and pick something up, and also mentioned that her case managetherapist told her it’s not a big deal to ask when I texted her sorry I can’t help. She also told me I was not genuinely trying to understand what she wanted me to do. All this because I said no, I’m busy. She blew up my phone over the course of 48 hours.
After this we had a blow out where I defended my not having to justify “no”. It was was pretty ugly and I was really rubbed the wrong way. She wanted to talk the next day with her or my younger sister being the mediator, (I told her I didn’t think that was a good idea). I verbalized to her that I wasn’t in a space to talk to her for a while and needed to focus on my family, but that I’d let her know when I was ready to talk. I’m in therapy and realized she went too far and I just don’t want to be friends anymore. I don’t want to be hurt anymore.
It is now May, I’m due in July, and we still haven’t spoken because I’m still so hurt by her and REALLY want to end the friendship. We talk here and there about things concerning the apartment and she even gifted me some baby clothes which I really appreciated and sent her a thank you card. I also sent her a gift for her birthday, her favorite scent. We’re still technically roommates since I’m still on the lease until September but I’ve moved out and live with my husband, I just pay the rent there. I sent her a message in March explaining why I became distant, that I was hurt and needed to focus on my baby, and that if she’s still up for being cordial or finding a resolution I am too but I understood if too much time had gone by. She told me she still has love for me but wanted to take it slow and we haven’t really talked since then. She occasionally sends me memes. It still irritates me whenever I see messages from her.
How do I stop being friends with her without coming across like a jerk? Do I need to send her a message when we’re officially not roommates anymore?

So my bf has this female friend that he dated for a few weeks 4 years ago but he realized she wasnt over her ex so he broke up with her, they went no contact and then last year she reached out to him and they''ve been good friends since then.
My bf claims its platonic and that nothing has ever happened between them even tho i did find ss of sus messages from her on his phone but he claimed thats just her personality and thats how she talks to everyone. Yesterday I was going through his photos while sitting next to him and found many distasteful pics of her in his gallery (not nudes just pics in revealing clothing) they were from before we were dating and he said she sent them to him on whatsapp and they automatically got saved and he forgot he even had them. I also found pics of them chilling in bed together and a vid of her kissing him on the cheek but all of it was from last year before we were dating.
I'm extremely uncomfortable by this and i told my bf who said he will delete all those pictures which im assuming he did, but its still weighing on me. I love him alot but im not sure if I can deal with this, neither can i ask him to cut her off since she is su*cidal and depressed and i dont want anything bad to happen to her.