Sorry if this is difficult to read I struggle putting thought to paper in a legible sense.
Alright so after boot I know I move on to AIT which is basically school in a nut shell but after that is where my question is focused. I am in the process of packing up by belongings, my rate is MA and I plan on living in the barracks for money saving and such. In 2 years I also plan on joining the seals but that's a side tangent. Really I just want to know how the whole moving process works. I've sectioned my home belongs into crates in hopes of I get to a place or barracks where I'll be "living" it'll make things easier to move. Things such as game stations or clothes, shoes, drawing and or camera equipment for hobbies on my down time. I leave in a couple days and most of my things are packaged away mostly to avoid dust build up. What can I expect, how should I plan on moving these things, and what should I prioritize I guess is what my question is? Also can anything come with me to AIT?

https://facts.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/15-facts-about-fats-waller-1689249690.jpg
This is a subreddit primarily focused on modern pop music, but for his 120th birthday I want to take a moment to remember one of the most iconic pop acts in American history:

Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller

A jazz pianist, a singer, and a prolific songwriter famous for his ability to jump onstage and "lift up the band," Fats Waller was a regular fixture of the nightlife scene in New York (an important figure of the legendary Harlem Renaissance) and toured his act all around the country in addition to working as a recording artist in the budding record industry.
In a way, he was one of America's first pop stars- a musical prodigy who dropped out of high school, broke into the music industry when he was a teen, sold tons of records, and developed a huge onstage persona and lived a hard partying lifestyle. We've heard that story a million times, but Fats did it first.
An often repeated story about him recounts a shocking incident where gangster Al Capone kidnapped him off the street to force him to play at a birthday party, because everybody wanted to party with Fats Waller! A less repeated story is this one I found in an NPR article that describes him selling eight of his original songs in exchange for eight hamburgers, which he then consumed in a single sitting.
So certainly, a larger than life figure.

The Records

His legacy as a founding figure of America's pop scene extends to a place you might not expect: back in 1926, he signed a recording contract with the Victor Talking Machine Company, one of the earliest manufacturers and distributors of phonographs and records, which would be bought out by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in 1929. Then in 1968, the company would be renamed... RCA Records!
RCA is still a powerful record label today and it's partially thanks to Fats, who was a big moneymaker for them in the early days of the record industry when they were literally selling records.
Over the course of his twenty five year career, he copyrighted around five hundred recordings- supposedly, the label would send him into a recording booth with bunches of sheet music bought from Tin Pan Alley composers and he would rearrange them on the spot to give them that special Fats Waller touch!
But he's best remembered for his skills as a pianist and, most importantly, his songwriting skills. I want to take a moment to highlight that because I firmly believe he's one of the greatest songwriters in history- many of his hits have been accepted as standards and are still in rotation with jazz singers today.

The Music

You might have heard his song "Ain't Misbehavin'," which became something of his signature song after he performed it in the landmark film Stormy Weather (1943), and it's the perfect encapsulation of his style. A clever piano line, a catchy melody, a touch of humor, and a lot of heart. It's just timeless music.

I know for certain / The one I love
I'm through with flirtin' / It's just you I'm thinkin' of
Ain't misbehavin' / Saving my love for you (for you)
(And you) (And you)

There's a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor to the song that's signature Fats- in addition to the lyrics he wrote, he was known to improv and throw new jokes in on the fly during live performances.
We're lucky enough to have footage of him performing "Your Feets Too Big" (another one of his signature numbers where he chastises a woman for, you guessed it, her foot size) and you can just see the charisma oozing off of him as he banters with the band and makes eyes at the camera. All while playing the piano too!
And he was no innocent either, often lacing his songs with innuendo that will shatter any illusions you have about old music being overly conservative. Take, for example, Hattie Noel's recording of "Find Out What They Like," which begins with a disclaimer that the song is "strictly about home cooking" before she sings this:

Find out what he likes / And how he likes it
Go on and give it to him just that way
Give it to him when he wants it / And any time he wants it
And don't you have a single word to say!

He was often performing in nightclubs and bars, which meant he knew how to get the crowd going- "The Joint Is Jumpin'" is the quintessential 1920s party anthem, with the title referring to a secret code phrase that bootleggers would use during the prohibition era to let people know that a party had illegal alcohol. The jaunty music he wrote did a lot to get people on the dance floors as well!
But though he's associated with lively entertainment, there was some grit beneath all that as well. Despite his success, Waller was still a black man living in early 20th century America, and he channelled that into legendary "Black and Blue" (a hit for Louis Armstrong) which is considered by some to be one of the first jazz protest songs:

I'm white inside, but that don't help my case / 'Cause I can't hide what is in my face
How would it end? Ain't got a friend / My only sin is in my skin
What did I do to be so black and blue?

Whatever the occasion, Fats had a song for it.

The End

But like a lot of great artists, Fats had his troubles. He was known for his hard partying lifestyle and frequent money problems that pushed him to be constantly working, and he would tragically pass away in 1943 from pneumonia while on tour.
The man was only 39 years old at the time, but as of today his legacy officially stretches 120 years! So spin a record today for Fats Waller, and get the joint jumpin' in his memory.
If you'd like to hear more of his music, I'd strongly recommend setting aside ninety minutes to watch the Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin' because it's an incredible piece of theatre that showcases his music spectacularly. Diana Ross & The Supremes did an adorable tribute to him on The Ed Sullivan Show that's worth a watch too.
Any other Fats Waller fans in the sub? What are some of your favorite recordings of his songs?

I played Magic since the unlimited set. I’ve seen the game have its ups and downs. Both in terms of design, flavor, and for collectors any “collectibility” of the cards. I stopped for the first time maybe 5-6 years ago. I really started to see a behavior in WOTC regarding the brand and honestly it has just gotten worse. In my absence from the game, I have seen WOTC reprint cards from the modern eras that really my collection from recent sets are nigh worthless. I’ve seen cards that were $150 reduced to like $8 cards. Former premium foils in uncommon went from like $15-20 to like $.50.
Now when the discussion is often brought to conversation. I get the usual. “Never meant to collect it is to be a game”. However, one strange frequent rebuttal I’ve seen is “I don’t buy boxes, I buy singles.” …we have always known this. I guess I just don’t understand how buying singles is a presence in the conversation.
Sure buy boxes is the worse thing you can do, but buying singles has the same issue with devaluation. If I bought Mind Trap at like $40 when it was hot and it gets reprinted ad nauseam. You lost money. Magic is in this weird place with modern printings where the longer you hold onto stuff, the more it loses value it is text book toxic assists. It not only has lowered collectibility, it literally has no collectibility. You pretty much need to firesale your stuff if you want to recoup any value. Which is fine for disposable entertainment, but it is hard to justify $50 for any card destined to be pilfered of any retained value. I just don’t see how this is sustainable. It can literally cost people thousands to build a deck out of singles, it hits hard when it’s contents are reduced to a couple hundred within 5 years. That is hardly lunch money. Truth is, singles or sealed. Buying modern Magic for any speculation or collectibility is a fools errand.
Enjoy it and understand outside of ABU and early sets, there is no expenditure to really recover …much less “make money” over.

Hi all,
My fiancé is a US born citizen, and I am an English born citizen. Right now he is finalising his divorce from his ex who he has been separated from for around 5 years. Once it is finalised, we will begin the process of applying for me to come to the states for us to marry. My question is this, would it be better to apply for the fiancé visa? Or, like I’ve seen in previous posts, should we go to vegas and get married and apply for a spousal visa? Would the marriage be legal? Obviously the marriage will be consummated immediately afterwards, I’m more asking in terms of being recognised legally by either of our countries since we are of different nationalities.
Another factor to consider is that he is with the US Navy, and we would like to PCS (permanent change of station) together after marriage, potentially to somewhere in Europe or to Bahrain. He is due to change station in June of 2026. I would really love to be able to go with him, as I don’t want to marry him and then spend 3 years alone in the US. Should we forget about international stations and just have him apply for ones in the states? I know that I’d have to ask for permission to leave the US on a K-1 visa, and if that permission is denied, I would be devastated.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Hey everyone, lots of new product this time around!
If we are trading and you have less trades than me then I ask that you ship first. PWE is 1$, BMWT is 5$.
Wants (Raw NM/M only, preferably well centered) (Ordered from most wanted to least)
FF PayPal (Top Priority)
Sun & Moon or older ETBs/Booster Boxes
Poncho Eevees
Tag Team Alts (Gengar and Magikarp especially)
Legendary Collection Holos/Reverse Holos
Expedition/Aquapolis/Skyridge Holo/RHs
NM/M Masaki Omastar + Alakazam
Binders and other offers :)
Haves (Feel free to ask for closeups!)
Sealed, Slabs, and Binder
FS/FT Spreadsheet (All-in-one, different tabs)
FT (NFS) Spreadsheet
I will be looking for trades in my favor for the NFS product.
Big thanks to all who took a gander!

Good morning all fellow DMs! I'm building a new campaign set to start in the next couple of weeks with a party of six adventurers. I see myself running this campaign for an extended period of time in a series of smaller story arcs taking place over the course of a couple months with small breaks between adventures. My party hasn't ever gotten to experience long term campaigns that allow their beloved characters to reach higher levels, so I'm excited to take them there. My players are all good personal friends and I have provided them all with a homebrewed feat to make their characters feel more personal and unique, most of which are just modified versions of existing feats that scale up in level.
That being said, I had discussed with my paladin, who's multiclassing into Hexblade, the idea of a custom oath, which I was all for. What I *thought* I'd receive when I asked for what he had in mind was a basic skeleton off an existing oath with a few cherry-picked features of other oaths that fit the narrative he was trying to tell. On top of the homebrewed feat, I knew this was pushing the limits of things I'd need to keep track of.
What I received instead was a completely custom, built from the ground up oath with a custom aura, two custom Channel Divinities, and a whole host of oath spells that are neither Paladin nor Warlock that, at first glance, seem to be a list of spells and abilities meant to abuse rulings, but I just don't know enough, and I'm seeking advice on the matter from DMs that are simply more seasoned than I am.
Oath of Correction
Tenets of Correction

• The tenets of Correction is an Oath one has sworn to right the wrongs of common folk from oppressive tyrannical forces. These Oaths are carried out by taking actions to change or reverse .
• Never Turn a Blind Eye. A paladin will rarely turn down the opportunity to assist anyone.
• Free the Oppressed. Swearing an Oath to protect the common folk you feel compelled to liberate people who are being extorted or enslaved.
• Seal Away All Evil. It is your sworn duty to restrain and seal the evil.

Oath Spells

• 3rd level: Jump, Silvery Barbs
• 5th level: Immovable Object, Pass Without Trace
• 9th level: Catnap, Slow
• 13th level: Fire Shield, Gravity Sinkhole
• 17th level: Bigby's Hand, Wall of Force

Channel Divinity (both)

• Peerless Athlete: As a bonus action, you can use your Channel Divinity to augment your athleticism. For the next 10 minutes, you have advantage on Strength (Athletics) and Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks; you can carry, push, drag, and lift twice as much weight as normal; and the distance of your long and high jumps increases by 10 feet (this extra distance costs movement as normal).
• Inspiring Smite**:** Immediately after you deal damage to a creature with your Divine Smite feature, you can use your Channel Divinity as a bonus action and distribute temporary hit points to creatures of your choice within 30 feet of you, which can include you. The total number of temporary hit points equals 2d8 + your level in this class, divided among the chosen creatures however you like.

Aura of Alacrity

• At 7th level, you emanate an aura that fills you and your companions with supernatural speed, allowing you to race across a battlefield in formation. Your walking speed and jump distance increases by 10 feet. When you and allies in the aura are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw. In addition, if you aren't incapacitated, the walking and jumping distance of any ally who starts their turn within 10 feet of you increases by 10 feet until the end of that turn. When you reach 18th level in this class, the range of the aura increases to 15 feet.

Glorious Defense

• When you reach 15th level, you can turn defense into a sudden strike. When you or another creature you can see within 10 feet of you is hit by an attack roll, you can use your reaction to grant a bonus to the target's AC against that attack, potentially causing it to miss. The bonus equals your Charisma modifier (minimum of +1). If the attack misses, you can make one weapon attack against the attacker as part of this reaction, provided the attacker is within your weapon's range. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Living Legend

• At 20th level, you can empower yourself with the legends — whether true or exaggerated — of your great deeds. As a bonus action, you gain the following benefits for 1 minute:
• You are blessed with an otherworldly presence, gaining advantage on all Charisma checks.
• Once on each of your turns when you make a weapon attack and miss, you can cause that attack to hit instead.
• If you fail a saving throw, you can use your reaction to reroll it. You must use this new roll.
• Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend a 5th-level spell slot to use it again.

So there's a lot here that jumps out at me, but know that a lot of it, particularly the parts that include jump height, are very on-theme for the character and have my full support. The things in particular I'm unsure about are spells like Bigby's Hand and Gravity Sinkhole that I can't find reasons for in any of the character's backstory and seem to only exist to abuse the fact that force damage is seldom resisted. Fire Shield is just a zero-counterplay, I-get-more-damage buff who's only purpose is to pump the character's damage. Catnap was included to abuse the fact that Warlocks get spell slots back after a short rest, allowing for all this crap to happen even more often. Silvery Barbs, I know there are a lot of DMs and players that either don't use this spell or straight up disallow it. I'm generally fine with it except in this case where it's not on either classes spell list and I can't find a reason why this character would have it other than it being a powerful spell. Two Channel Divinities, one giving temp HP, surely that's just too much utility, right? Glorious Defense feels like super Sentinel, albeit limited uses, but it feels really strong to just give allies three, four, five AC on a whim and get an attack of opportunity on them.
I'm just.... at a loss for where to go from here. I think it's really cool and I don't at all want to squash player creativity, but the build, when considering I'm a newer DM, seems like it's riddled with little interactions that are meant to take advantage of my awareness and completely break a fight wide open if my prep isn't 110% perfect. And in addition, some of the monsters I've considered to counter this thing would demolish anyone else in the party without hesitation, my party is fighting around CR 4 in the first session, but I don't think there are CR6 monsters that could confidently take this guy alone, but would one-shot the rest of my players. I don't mind that it might be OP so much as the dilemma I'm faced with, do I throw insane fights at my party expecting this Paladin to be a main character and carry the whole thing but could potentially wipe everybody, or do I make five other players just as complicated knowing that I can't keep the plates spinning as is.
Thank you for taking the time to read this early morning barrage of words. I appreciate you all more than could possibly be expressed.

Hi all. My party has finally found all pieces of Dream Machine yesterday, and they are now planning on retrieving the sword from the Bloody Cyst. I have a bit of a problem with the way Remix handles this:

The citadel cannot be seen; it is completely subsumed by the Cyst.
No one knows that this is where the Sword of Zariel lies hidden. As noted previously, this secret is held only in Lulu’s lost memories.
Therefore, there are no devils or demons here excavating the site. (You could have them here just harvesting the bloody pulp of the cyst for one reason or another, but you’d want to make significant changes to the key.)

This I find a bit problematic, after reading the Chapter 4: Scab, I absolutely love this disgusting three-dimensional dungeon. I struggle with aligning the dungeon and the fact that it's supposed to be completely empty because of Remix reasons. If the Scab/Bloody Cyst covered the citadel completely, but demons, devils and yugoloths were still excavating the flesh, the actual entrance can still be hidden, no? And it can still be a compelling dungeon with almost all of the enemies and encounters.
Some changes I plan on doing:

1. S10 Crokek'toeck won't be here, but it would still make sense to have him here, since what else is better to keep nomming on with its eternal hunger, than an eternal flesh mound, but I will place it in a different hex.
2. S14 - Entrance will be completely sealed off. There won't be any way to enter the room, or a room to speak of. Players will have to dig there, while Lulu can help navigating towards it. Players have Geas'd an imp, which will get progressively more and more confused to a point of an absolute mind wipe the closer he gets to the entrance. I am playing with the idea that any fiend that gets too close will get confused (confusion spell effects) - 120ft distance DC 10, 100ft DC 14, and increasing DC by 4 every 20ft. If a fiend spends one minute under the effects of this confusion they are subconsciously going to try to leave the area of effect and not remember anything while under the effect of confusion. This can explain why there isn't any tunnel leading to the door, why there isn't any room around the door as well, and why no fiend has found the citadel, or a sword as well.
3. Trantolox will catch up with the party once they uncover the entrance to the citadel. It still wants the sword for Yeenoghu, but only because Mad Maggie talked about the Sword and Dream Machine to her bartender at the Well - Tasha. She then told this information to her previous lover Graz'zt, as an interesting gossip, and before players can get to the Bloody Cyst, Yeenoghu's forces have been dispatched to retrieve the sword. I am sure that there is a long rest, plus travel, plus the players will undoubtedly want to short rest in the dungeon, so that leaves plenty of time for demons to arrive there as well. I think that I should make it and the three Bulezaus' immune to confusion effects, but I am not sure of how exactly to do this.
4. S6 - Alazub will be imprisoned here, yes, he is loyal to Zariel, but he's been caught by other demons, not Trantolox, and has some information about some rooms in the dungeon, its features, and will also react if players mention the Sword in front of him.
5. S9 and S10 - No diggy demons here, no Crokek'toeck. This area is harder to dig, after about a foot deep it turns into a bone, and it's 10 feet thick and surrounds the entire area of S10. It has a vague shape of a skull, which could be noticed by a character with proficiency in medicine, and players can try to find a softer spot on the bottom part of the room (bottom-left on the map) with a successful DC17 Medicine or Investigation check. This area can be used for a short rest safely, as the tunnel they dug to get here regrows within one minute of entering the room.
6. S2 - Divine sense shows a consecrated aura coming from one of the walls of this room, and Detect Magic shows a faint abjuration aura as well, from somewhere behind the flesh wall. If players decide to dig into it, they reveal the window as described in the module.
7. S11 - No vrocks. I don't like using them, and I feel like they're overused. Instead there will be three Gnoll Fangs

Do you think this would work? Do you suggest any other changes? How did you play this dungeon with the Remix? Any idea how to convey the message that the flesh is made out of a Yael's body? I would like to put hints about this for the players to find, like maybe the hair that is found occasionally is black like Yael's.

England. 2 companies and myself involved in this but I’m only involved w/ one. The 2 companies are involved in exclusive contract(s) which is why i need to go through the middle man (company A). i want to rescind the contract between me and co.A on basis of innocent misrepresentation and also negligent misrepresentation.
What if it turns out that Co.B actually conducted fraud against Co.A and that is why Co.A would have some excuse against conducting negligent misrep towards me? As they would say they have genuine reasons to have believed the info based on what co.B said to them.
I dont doubt co.B would have stooped to fraud but I dont have any contract with them.
So if this is the actual situation, fraud done against Co.A by Co.b, I am guessing the court wouldn’t approve it as negligent misrep By Co.a To myself?
Would that affect my validity for proving /stating innocent misrep by co.A, and to still rescind the contract i have with them and get my money back From co.a?
Is there some way I could correctly legally mention this in my claim - that this might possibly be the case (that co A was defrauded by co.b) and to somehow legally account for that prematurely (as I won’t know until after i state that i want to claim for neg. Rep. And then Co.A produce the evidence that may or may not show they were defrauded or not)).
I dont want the judge to strike out my claim entirely if only one of the two misrep. are valid? (In this case, negligent rep. likely to be possibly not valid Beacuse co.a were victim of fraud possibly?)
i am wondering how i make my argument seal tight essentially. Thank you

I am currently playing a Pidgeot control list, very similar to Alessandro Cremascoli's. I've tried everything from Wigglytuff to two Swelling Flash Luxray, and this list I feel super comfortable with and confident in.
I have a pretty solid winrate with it on PTCG Live, and can hold my own at my LGS when they run challenges + cups. I've been running into issues in the latter where it's a best of one 30 minute format, and there are games where I have a winning board state when time is called, but not enough turns to close it out (definitely a skill issue on my part, I need to be more optimal with my lines).
Biggest issue for me is Zard. I'm looking for advice on lines of play against Charizard that would help progress quicker towards a winning state so I can take 6 prizes (deck out in 30 minutes isn't unheard of, but can be difficult)
My usual go to is set up bouffalant and lost zone energy to minimize threats, get damage on the board for a devolution play and then sweep with attackers like Pidgeot / Entei / Bouffalant's second attack stalling with Mimiku turns where I want to Penny the Bouff or Fang Fniping with Luxray to control resources. This works in live, but not in person as it's too slow
Sander's Stockholm list had no Mimikyu, no Bouffalant, but had a Snorlax + Entei. It seemed like a more aggro lineup so I'm wondering if there's a more aggressive line I could be taking
Any advice would be welcome!
//// Deck list ////
Pokémon: 11 - 2 Pidgey MEW 16 - 1 Mawile LOR 71 - 1 Rotom V LOR 58 - 1 Luxray V ASR 50 - 1 Bouffalant LOR 148 - 1 Sandshrew MEW 27 - 1 Entei V BRS 22 - 1 Mimikyu PAF 37 - 1 Radiant Charizard CRZ 20 - 2 Pidgeot ex OBF 164 - 1 Chi-Yu ex PAL 40
Trainer: 24 - 2 Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR 146 - 3 Counter Catcher PAR 160 - 1 Switch Cart ASR 154 - 3 Pokégear 3.0 SSH 174 - 1 Roseanne's Backup BRS 148 - 1 Magma Basin BRS 144 - 2 Forest Seal Stone SIT 156 - 1 Hero's Cape TEF 152 - 1 Cyllene ASR 138 - 2 Pal Pad SVI 182 - 3 Penny SVI 183 - 4 Nest Ball SVI 181 - 1 Lost Vacuum CRZ 135 PH - 1 Thorton LOR 167 - 2 Bravery Charm PAL 173 - 1 Ultra Ball BRS 150 - 1 Iono PAL 185 - 4 Arven SVI 166 - 1 Technical Machine: Devolution PAR 177 - 1 Super Rod PAL 188 - 1 Defiance Band SVI 169 - 1 Eri TEF 146 - 1 Boss's Orders BRS 132 - 2 Rare Candy SVI 191
Energy: 3 - 2 Basic {R} Energy SVE 2 - 2 Double Turbo Energy BRS 151 - 2 Mist Energy TEF 161

Hi all, I had ulcerative colitis for 2 years. But as of 3 days ago I had the colectomy surgery and now live with an ileostomy stoma and bag. I'm 19 and going through college and well before college I always knew that I wanted to join the military (Air Force, Navy, or Coast Guard). However when I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis when I was 17, those aspirations shattered because it's a medical disqualifier. And thus had to rethink my plan for life. 2 years later and many failed attempts at remission I finally got the surgery. And just recently I learned of congressional military recommendations, and how they might allow some medical disqualifiers to be waived when joining. I guess it's a shame I only learned of these now but, given that I now have an ileostomy, is it possible to join the military with one through a congressional recommendation?

Just waiting in Heathrow for a connection on a trio to Europe, figured I'd share the scanner experience. 3 boxes of film: Delta 100, Rollei IR 400, Portra 160 (2 boxes in one) all in a zip lock bag, in a Domke Lead lined bag.
YEG: I went through the preferred screening, no problem asking them for a hand search, took thr zip lock out and gave it to the screener, however the film boxes need to be un-opened according to the person doing the swab (I didnt want to make a seen, because it was a regular xray machine). So, because I foolishly put two boxes of portra into one, the portra had to go through the machine. That being said it was a classic gray machine not a CT scanner. Also had a Domke lead bag with me, that got flagged in the machine and hand searched anyways.
LHR: CT scanner, asked for a hand search of the film, handed it to the screener. No problems. The Domke bag went through empty and then required a hand scan anyways.
Moral of the story: keep film sealed, be polite and ask, and at least for YEG and LHR.. no problems. Off to LIS next, will likely just FedEx my film back to Canada after this trip in the domke bag as I've heard Lisbon can be a bit of a pain when it comes to hand searches.

Now that it's pretty much clear who has won and this can be said without seeming as though I'm giving him participation points, I've been thinking about how good the production was on heart pt 6. Here's how I want you to think about the beat: Drake has lost, he is 4-1 down (4-0 honestly considering how badly family matters got thrashed), people are dancing at clubs to a song about his dealings with minors, he is completely fucked. The beat matches his situation very well, it's grim sounding, it encapsulates the vibe of being an injured animal just hanging by a thread onto dear life. If Drake at least even tried to say something of substance, maybe do some damage control, at the very least maybe try and give something to his fans to ride on, he could've kept this whole thing alive for a little longer and salvaged some reputation. Instead his lyrics were so offensively bad that it almost feels like he purposefully wrote that shit just to stop the beef from escalating further. You can actually hear his vocal chords nervously shaking in the outro. Kendrick was wrong about Drake being a master manipulator, he's an amateur manipulator at best.

This is a bit of a random question, but considering Death Grips often critiques the internet in their lyrics, I wonder what this sub thought. I personally hate it, though I unfortunately spend a lot of my time on it due to a lot of my friends being made online. I don't want to seem annoying or out of touch when I say that. I just truly see very few pros to it. For example - and this is the main reason I dislike it, or one of the main reasons - you'll often hear that the internet can be a vehicle for change. But I disagree, though I once agreed. The reason for my change in thinking is that the internet, in a way, takes away the need to actually go out in the real world and fight the horrors out there. This might be a hot take (though I don't think it will be here), but I think that we should be rioting over the genocide going on in Gaza. Yet it seems all we do is scream online or at most cause a slight annoyance in the real world by holding a few signs and chanting a few words at a protest. And it's doing nothing. But I feel as though we've been fooled into thinking that it is doing something, or that it's the most we can do. This isn't to say it's performance activism or anything - just that we've been fooled.
That might have nothing to do with the internet though. I was born with it, so I don't really know how things were without it, because I sadly haven't educated myself enough on history. I just remember reading a Walt Whitman line where he said something along the lines of "revolution should never be taken from the people", and I thought, damn, it definitely has been. I don't know to what extent that sentiment was actually put into practice back in the nineteenth century, but still, at least the sentiment was there (because Whitman as far as I know wasn't what was considered radical, so I don't think that sentiment would've been considered odd). We don't even have that.
I could see one pro being that we have access to uncensored information, but I don't know if we would've had that before the internet. It seems that we might've, considering people seemed well-informed and it seems like a lot of leftist movements had their prime pre-internet. But I really don't know. I should look into history to find some answers.
I'm totally open to being wrong about all of this, which is why I ask the question. I want to spark a discussion on a topic that I don't think gets talked about much here and is such a key component to Death Grips' lyrics, and I also just want to figure out my own beliefs.

Hi.
I am moving to the US and I want to build a new wardrobe for myself. I want to include things that I already own with some new additions. I have some part of the wardrobe figured out but need help with the rest.
This is the rough outline :

1. Suits (Figured out) :
   • Black Tuxedo
   • Blue Suit
   • Black Suit
   • Grey Suit (Double Breasted)
2. Formals (Figured out) :
   • 3 Tailored White Shirts
   • 3 Tailored Trousers (Black, Navy and Grey)
3. Everyday wear (Mostly for wearing to University) (Need help)
   • 6 pairs of jeans (2 each of Indigo, Sky Blue, Black)
   • 6 Solid colored shirts
   • 6 Solid polos
4. Going out and about the city (Need help)
   • Oversized tshirts
   • Aforementioned jeans
   • A couple flat front chinos to pair with polos
   • Chino shorts paired with linen shirts (summer specific)
   • 2-3 Linen trousers (summer specific)
5. Questionable clothes to wear to Walmart/IKEA (Need help)
   • Shorts
   • Oversized Joggers
   • Oversized tshirts with a lot of print
6. Winter Wear (Need help)
   • 2 puff jackets (Black and Grey)
   • Maybe a couple of those quarter zip style pullovers

I have sort of figured out the other items to round off the wardrobe. Things such as accessories, watches (beater, dress watch etc), shoes (formal shoes, sneakers, all weather shoes etc).
Please have a look at the wardrobe I have planned. Let me know your thoughts. I have an allowance of 64kg for the checked in luggage. If I cant fit the wardrobe in that limit, I shall remove summer specific items and I will be taking less items per category.
Thank you gentlemen !

I honestly feel guilty for even typing that I'm technically not "alone" since I have a few people that are friends and that care for me, but I still feel more lonely than ever before. It hurts me to see some of them care about me at all because it feels like wasted energy. I feel guilt for having any friends at all.
I'm a fucking mess, just barely holding together, pretending to be barely functioning most of the time. It feels like I'm selling people a lie. Just doing everything to keep them close while also pushing them away because I don't deserve any love.
And despite all that I still have this great sense of isolation and the laughable desire for romantic contact. I feel fucking ashamed for feeling love or being attracted to people. Everyone I know always assumed I was asexual or somthing because I got that deeprooted fear of showing that side of me. I feel disgusted imagining myself from the outside being in love or sexually attracted to someone to the point I'd feel bad for that hypothecial person. And throughout all those years not a single person has felt any romantic affection towards me anyway. I was only indirectly called ugly a few times, otherwise I avoided those kinds of conversations like the plague or made fun of myself publically to take away any ammunition. Basically being the class clown as a defense mechanism and because I hate myself.
In the end, I may be good enough as a companion but I think everyone realizes that I'm too fundamentally broken to risk loving me. That's a problem entirely on my part. I don't blame anyone for not loving me, it's honestly a smart choice. I just still hate it though I should appreciate it.
People keep telling me that I'm good with others, helpful, kind and even "social", but I feel like that only works because they can keep me at arm's length and don't touch me with a 10 foot pole.
Also of course, I don't look good, am a social recluse outside of mandatory things like school back then or Uni now, so noone really knows me beyond all that. Partially due to familial circumstances I can't control and tried to fix, but I'm too much of a failure for that. Stuck in this life cycle if I want to or not.
Having to "love yourself before you can love someone else" is a sentence I hear way too often and it breaks me because it feels like a sealed deal. There is no way out of this. Being unloved and unwanted makes me hate myself even more so how is this going to end? And I also know plenty of people that are in relationships despite hating themselves to this day.
It's just that I'm most likely fundamentally unnerving. Not even in a typical "creepy" way (god I hope so). It's not like I ever approached anyone romantically because it makes me feel like a creep and disgusted. I'm probably more like a plastic person, pretending to be real, or a chameleon changing depending on the people I'm with. All my sociability is fake and incredibly exhausting. I'm simply uncanny.
And yet I still have people that care way too much about me and I just feel bad for them. I feel awful that they put so much energy into someone that's been destroying himself all his life without an end in sight and that their love cannot replace my stupid fucking desire for romance. Something I never wanted as a kid and yet I still fall for people like an idiot.
And I can't talk to them about this because it'll just make them feel awful, guilty or like I may be blaming them. So I guess I'll vent about it here and eventually take it with me to my grave.

If you read my last post, you will see that my conversations with Bobby toward the end of my time at South Grove were not exactly going well. Throughout the process of leaving and meeting with him, I kept wondering “when is he going to let go?” It felt as though he was going to cling to me until I eventually caved and came back. He had allowed my wife and I to stop serving and even attend other churches to take a break. I’m not sure if he thought I would attend somewhere else, be reminded that God only moves at South Grove, and then come back. That was not the case at all. We attended a church in Sandy Springs, GA and then one in Athens, GA which I had attended before. I had never heard preaching like that in person before. Those pastors gave me Christ each Sunday that I attended. That, coupled with my conscience, made it impossible to even think about going back to South Grove.
As a somewhat funny side note, Bobby apparently changed the music that was played on Sunday(s)? I had mentioned in passing during one of our conversations that I had issues with Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation Church. Interestingly I was discipled by the preaching at each of those churches early on in my Christian life. However, I had become highly concerned with their theology and how other members might read their name on the lyric screen, and listen to their preaching. Anyway, Bobby brought up the fact that they changed the music “for me.” Honestly, the music was one of my last worries.
Before my last conversation with Bobby, he wanted to know why I couldn’t disagree with issues concerning spiritual gifts and the other issues I had and still be a member in good conscience. I remember the first time I brought conscience up to him, he seemed puzzled. I tried to explain to him that because of the way I felt about certain doctrines, I could not be a member because I believed that I was going against my conscience. That did not register with him.
Up to our final conversation, I felt like I was in a vice grip. I really thought Bobby was going to draw out the painful process of trying to get me to stay at South Grove over several months. That and him trying to pit my wife against me (probably a story for another time). But finally, over lunch at the Blind Pig, something changed. In our last lunch, the vice grip seemed to be loosened completely. Bobby asked if I had heard of the “Leaving the Network” website. I had no idea what he was talking about, but he said he addressed it at a team meeting. I thought nothing of it. He also said “I’m sorry if I’ve ever hurt you in any way.” Pretty vague, but I guess I appreciated it? He blessed me to leave at that point. A few months later, he grabbed lunch with my new pastor at Cleveland Road Baptist Church to “check in” on my wife and I. I would’ve loved to be a fly on the wall, but unfortunately I don’t know much about that conversation other than some of the awkwardness.
That was the last of the excruciating process of leaving South Grove. From being told I had a demon, to “where else are you going to go?”, to Bobby planting seeds of doubt in my wife’s mind, to “I need protected from the sheep,” to anger even mentioning my doubts about Steve Morgan, to “I bless you to leave.” If I said everything was smooth sailing after that, I would be a liar. I think about my time at South Grove everyday. I think of those who I hurt and I think about those who were hurt just like me. I think about those who are deceived and blindly follow. I think about the people who were once my family who would no longer and still no longer talk to me. I think about what was said about me after I left, if anything. I’m angry most days and sometimes I don’t know why. Except I do know why. I was a fool. Who moves across the country for something like that? Who gives up everything for something like that? Apparently someone like me. And for what? If nothing, it makes me long for justice. It makes me long for the day that I will be brought home to the One who loves me. That day seems really far away now though. Until then, I’m tormented by my time in the Network.

For reference, I am completely new to IT. Before this, I was the sole manager for a very large gym. My sales experience comes from having to "sell" the gym to my personal trainers as THE space to train their clients - whom were all independent contractors. Different space, but I do have the sales acumen. Before that, I was an active duty electronics technician for 6 years in the Navy.
I just started working at a 2 person MSP a week ago. My boss is a solutions engineer, and I am technically classified as a T1 help desk, but help desk is pretty much secondary to everything else we're doing.
My boss recently rebranded the company, and our entire IT infrastructure is getting rebuilt, which is what I'm doing. In August, my role is going to pivot because our helpdesk is going to be outsourced.
That's where the career progression advice comes in. He has offered to either train me as a sales engineer as time goes on, or as a level 3 engineer.
I feel like I am too new to the industry to make this kind of career progression decision so early on, but he wants an answer by August so he can hire another person for whatever role I don't choose. I also feel like I got REALLY lucky by stumbling into this because no one I know has ever been offered something like this so early on.
I guess my question is this - if I choose to go the sales engineer route, will I pigeonhole myself into a career as an SE? If I don't like it, is it relatively simple to go back to an engineer?

For reference, I am completely new to IT. Before this, I was the sole manager for a very large gym. My sales experience comes from having to "sell" the gym to my personal trainers as THE space to train their clients - whom were all independent contractors. Different space, but I do have the sales acumen. Before that, I was an active duty electronics technician for 6 years in the Navy.
I just started working at a 2 person MSP a week ago. My boss is a solutions engineer, and I am technically classified as a T1 help desk, but help desk is pretty much secondary to everything else we're doing.
My boss recently rebranded the company, and our entire IT infrastructure is getting rebuilt, which is what I'm doing. In August, my role is going to pivot because our helpdesk is going to be outsourced.
That's where the career progression advice comes in. He has offered to either train me as a sales engineer as time goes on, or as a level 3 engineer.
I feel like I am too new to the industry to make this kind of career progression decision so early on, but he wants an answer by August so he can hire another person for whatever role I don't choose. I also feel like I got REALLY lucky by stumbling into this because no one I know has ever been offered something like this so early on.
I guess my question is this - if I choose to go the sales engineer route, will I pigeonhole myself into a career as an SE? If I don't like it, is it relatively simple to go back to an engineer?

Hi everyone! This chapter will read a bit quicker due to all of the dialog. As always, comments and upvotes let me know you're still interested in the story.
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Once everyone was aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mira seemed to relax a little. Davis and Thompson were chatting away with Vebi and Fennis. Povin still stayed near Mira when the officers were chatting with each other. She felt a little lost now that her services as translator was no longer needed. The winds were much stronger here, and one of Povin’s wings got caught in the wind, causing him to lift up. He reflexively opened his other wing.
“Povin! Remember! Glide! Do not flap!” Mira yelled at him.
“What was that Chief?” Thompson asked.
“I’m sorry sir. Ensign Povin’s wing got caught on a draft. They come from a lower gravity world so if he tries to fly, our gravity will break most of his wing bones and tear through his wing skin. The atmospheric belts they wear can maintain their own atmospheric conditions, but it can’t keep up if they full on fly.”
After riding the currents and getting used to how it felt under his wings, Povin was eventually able to land. He quickly wrapped his wings about himself tightly to avoid doing that again. The rest of the remaining Drala quickly tightened their own wings about their bodies.
“I see. Let’s get everyone inside.” Admiral Davis replied. “Chief Rodreguez, your Captain Martinelli sent over your uniforms.” He called over a sailor who had a duffle bag which was handed over to Mira.
Mira looked a little closer at one of the Destroyer escorts. “Sir, is that the USS Bainbridge I see?”
“Yes, it is. You think your Captain would allow us to come get you and not be a part of the escort? Once we stopped receiving responses, he has called in almost daily to NASA to get answers. Honestly, I was willing to bet that if we denied his ‘request’ to join the escort, he would have gone rogue to be here.”
“I’m not so sure about that. Captain Martinelli wouldn’t break protocols like that. He might have been hailing like crazy until someone gave him answers, but never would he go rogue.” Mira replied.
As she finished saying that a sailor came up the Admiral, “Sir, Captain Martinelli of the USS Bainbridge is on the horn for you.”
“You were saying, Chief?” Davis chuckled. “Maybe you should go take that call. We’ll be in the Ready Room. Come see us there after you have spoken with your captain and made yourself Navy presentable.”
“Yes, sir!” She saluted, received the return salute, and headed to the comms room. In the comms room, she was directed to the receiver. “This is Chief Mira Rodriguez speaking.”
“Chief. It’s good to hear your voice again. Do you have any idea how many calls I received from my nephew? I don’t know how he was able to get people to patch him through so frequently while on duty himself, but he’s very resourceful. I have to admit that. Did those aliens treat you well? And who took down communications like that?”
“Yes, sir. I was treated extremely well. I haven’t had a chance to be debriefed yet, so I don’t know how much I’m allowed to say over comms.”
“I understand. You should be able to say at least if the comms were interrupted by the aliens.”
“Not by the aliens I was with, sir.”
“I understand. Go do what you have to do, Chief. I hope to see you back on the Bainbridge soon.”
“I hope so too, sir.” She replied. The call ended and a sailor took her to where she could change her clothes as well as where the Ready Room was located. Once she was in her khaki-colored Shipboard Working Uniform, she headed to the Ready Room and then waited to be told she could sit. The Flx’usri each had their specialty chairs, and the Drala were able to manage the human chairs.
“Is Captain Martinelli well?” Admiral Davis asked.
“I believe his is calmer now, Sir. However, I suspect he will grill me himself once I am returned to his ship.”
“That sounds about right, Chief. I wouldn’t expect any less of him.”
“Grill? Are you in danger, Chief Mira?” Vebi asked worriedly.
“Grill is slang for question soundly, Rear Admiral. I promise that I will be completely safe with my Captain.” Mira looked around and noticed Commander Morris wasn’t in the room. “Excuse me, Sirs. What happened to Commander Morris? I thought he had survived the assault?”
“I’m sure he’s somewhere on board the ship. When we left to this room, he had been distracted. You know how these ships can be hard to navigate for non-Navy enlistees.” Davis replied.
General Thompson added, “If I had not spent my earlier enlisted time on board Navy vessels, I likely would have also been confused. I always did enjoy the Marine Taxi Service.” He joked. The Admiral gave him a poke with his elbow good naturedly. It was a sign that they had been friends as well as coworkers for a long time.
Admiral Davis explained to the aliens, “The General and I belong to different branches of service. Each branch has a love-hate relationship with all of the other branches. We all have our strengths, and our weaknesses are proudly backed up by the strengths of the other branches. It’s like having siblings. I can tease and make fun of my siblings, but if anyone else does, I will fight them to submission and make them apologize to my sibling.”
“Ah, I understand,” Vebi replied. “I feel the same way about my spawn-mates.”
Fennis cut in, “I understand the diplomate you had intended for us was lost in the conflict. We would prefer if Chief Mira were to be this for us. She has lived with us, and we have forged mutual respect for each other.”
“I believe that can be arranged.” Davis replied after a few moments of thought. “Bureaucracy takes time, and the rest of the Chief’s enlistment will have to be accounted for, but I believe this can be arranged.” He chuckled. “Captain Martinelli will be both happy for you and pissed we’re taking away his highest-ranking Machinist Mate aboard the Bainbridge.”
They began talking and getting to know each other and finally, Vebi asked, “I understand you will need to speak with others to make a real decision, but do you think your people will join the Federation?”
General Thompson beat Admiral Davis to it as he said, “They touched our boats. No one touches the US Navy’s boats and gets away with it.” Davis gave Thompson a small elbow to the ribs showing that the two men were friends outside of their official responsibilities.
Eventually, Commander Morris found the Ready room and General Thompson gestured for him to take a seat. “Now that we’re all here, Chief, how about you give us a full debriefing. Start from leaving Earth.”
“Yes, Sir. The mission started off great. Roger was able to correct course as needed, but the autopilot we were using was very accurate. We were all asleep when it happened. I’m a light sleeper and the pings against the hull woke me up. Looking back, there must have been a harder hit that woke me up first, but at the time, all I heard was the lighter pings. I got up to take a look around and then the alarms went off that we all knew meant to get into our space suits. Once I was in my suit, I realized no one else was in the room with me.
“I grabbed a suit with the intent to help someone into it and then we could go back and help others. They were all dead. The atmosphere in the ship was completely gone and we were no longer noticeably moving. I was staring at either a short and rough death once my air ran out, or if I could fix the life support, I could be looking at a long agonizing death from hunger. I never turned away from a challenge, so I was determined to fix the ship.
I fixed the life support and power at the same time. Now I was only going to face a long agonizing death. It was then that I jettisoned the dead. Hindsight being 20/20, I realize it was the wrong choice. I know that Commander Morris felt I should be able to make a refrigeration room, but if you look at the ship and the schematics, but assuming that I knew I was going to survive and make it back home, that ship did not have rooms that were airtight. They are close, but do not seal all the way. Secondly, I didn’t have the materials to make it so that the air didn’t circulate out of any room I put them in.
“At that time, I fully expected that I was going to die out there. It would take time for any message to get to Earth, time to fabricate a new ship and crew it, and time to get out to me. Time that I didn’t feel I had.”
Davis interrupted. “The seals weren’t airtight?”
“The exterior ones were, but any of the interior doors were not. They used a different kind of seal material, and in some cases, we could see light through a closed door. Even the door that was supposed to be the airlock for if we had to open the exterior door for anything. That one was the best seal, but there were still leaks.”
“Continue.” Davis said.
“I was out fixing the thruster when the crew of Black Hole found me. You haven’t met them, and I don’t think they can even come down here. The federation uses color outlines on their emblem to denote classes of ability to survive on worlds, I guess would be the best way to put it. Black Hole is a Green Class. They have the fewest worlds they can touch down on and survive. It’s based on allergy. If they were to even touch the plants here, they would get hives. The Meteor's crew is a Black Class. They can go to nearly every inhabited world. They might have to be careful of gravity, or if the air quality or temperatures are too extreme for the atmospheric belts to handle. Our world is classified as a Black Class planet.” She then relayed the rest of her journey.
“Do you think we can speak with these other heads of ships?” Thompson asked the aliens.
“Of course.” Fennis replied. To Vebi he said, “If you hail Commander Xuan’rawis, I’ll hail Captain S’sveta.”
After getting their targets on a video call, they both headed over and got their counterparts in view too. “We still have two hours until our nocturnal counterparts awaken. We’ll have about an hour of overlap, and then we will need to rest ourselves.” S’sveta said.
The leaders all spoke with each other, leaving Morris very confused as he did not receive a translator implant. Thompson told Mira she could act as his translator, so she did.
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I bought a pair of pants with an original sealed bag and tags. I bought them in my size and when I received the pants I tore the bag open not thinking I would need to refund as I really liked the pants. The pants ended up running a few sizes smaller than what it was supposed to be, I’m a 34 but they fit like a 32 or 30, a common issue with these type of pants that I didn’t know before ordering. I asked the seller for an exchange in a larger size but they insisted they couldn’t offer exchanges and told me to return the item and purchase it again in the size I want. I returned the item in its original condition, with tags, but with an opened bag. The seller gave me a partial refund 70% of the original item. I believe this wasn’t fair as I only opened the bag to try the pants on and I ordered my correct size they just didn’t fit due to the manufacturer making incorrect sizes. How can I avoid this situation in the future? Was the seller wrong for this and taking advantage of the partial refund system. I know as a buyer this wouldn’t bother me not receiving the original bag.
Tldr; Bought pants too small returned to seller and only offered a partial refund due to opening the original bag packaging from manufacturer. How can I avoid this in the future.

The first time I made a real close friendship was in middle 7th grade they were 2 best friends we were talking all day and night even studying together but suddenly after we finished 8th grade they started ignoring me maybe because of my anger issues and rudeness when I was talking about the abuse in my house they thought I'm way too crazy so they dumped me now I'm now in first year of since 9th grade I haven't find any friends in school or online idk why but whenever I talk to someone they're really weird or narcissistic psychopaths I live in a third world corrupted country and I think it's normal for society in this type of countries to be ignorant and immoral but it's crippling I really don't know what to do I reached my peak since the last 2 months I can't get no more than 5 hours of sleep I smoke a lot of cigarettes and some days I don't even sleep at all, I tried to make my brain just forget about all the suffering and problems but YouTube and movies are always talking about brain rotting politics or violence and crime, I always seek socializing but no one likes me and it's too late already it ate up all of my brain I was a smart and fast thinker in middle school I learned English with my friends in middle school in 2 years to the point where we can listen to English songs and understand the lyrics without translation or turning the subtitles on but since they left me I can't learn anything I can't study I can't work I can't sleep it's my fault that I just tried to look for people like them I should have looked for people who are more like me but it's too late and I have just realized lately. 2 full months of insomnia and I really can't figure out who am I or what do I want or what are my interests even if right now if someone just texted me and told I'm like you or I just had a perfect friend I don't know what to say to them it's like I'm socially and mentally dead from the dry and cruel life I'm suffering from insomnia and my family doesn't care they speak loudly, shout and slam doors when I try to catch some sleep (btw I'm so sorry if I can't write correctly I can't focus at all) now the real point is that I'm asking you what is this feeling is my brain damaged or am I just dead does it have a name is it a mental disorder or is it what 5 years of no talking with people do to you when you're still growing up