"It is what it is." feels too pessimistic for me. I prefer "It do be like that sometimes.". More upbeat and lighthearted, yet realistic. lol
What are quotes that you live by? Kahit anong wika naman, Tagalog, Ingles, Bisaya, etc etc ahaha

GEMINI ZODIAC MONEY PREDICTIONS MAY 2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s61bLTNAl6E
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📷 Proverbial Phrase of the Day 📷 Phrase: "The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all." Phrase in Original Dialect (Tagalog): "Ang matapang ay hindi nabubuhay magpakailanman, ngunit ang maingat ay hindi talaga nabubuhay." Core Meaning: This powerful Filipino proverb emphasizes the importance of courage and risk-taking over excessive caution. It suggests that a life lived fully, even if fraught with risk, is preferable to a life constrained by fear. Today's Application: In our fast-paced world, this proverb can inspire us to step out of our comfort zones. Whether it's starting a new project, making a career change, or standing up for what's right, embracing a bit of risk can lead to significant personal and professional growth. 📷 Takeaway: Dare to live boldly today! Whether it's a small step or a giant leap, let's make it count. #Proverb #Quotes #FilipinoProverb #Filipino

📷 Proverbial Phrase of the Day 📷 Phrase: "The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all." Phrase in Original Dialect (Tagalog): "Ang matapang ay hindi nabubuhay magpakailanman, ngunit ang maingat ay hindi talaga nabubuhay." Core Meaning: This powerful Filipino proverb emphasizes the importance of courage and risk-taking over excessive caution. It suggests that a life lived fully, even if fraught with risk, is preferable to a life constrained by fear. Today's Application: In our fast-paced world, this proverb can inspire us to step out of our comfort zones. Whether it's starting a new project, making a career change, or standing up for what's right, embracing a bit of risk can lead to significant personal and professional growth. 📷 Takeaway: Dare to live boldly today! Whether it's a small step or a giant leap, let's make it count. #Proverb #Quotes #FilipinoProverb #Filipino

Haii! I'm prepping my yearbook quote and I'm on the hunt for something witty or inspiring in Tagalog. Been scouring through songs, books, and movies for hidden gems, but I'd love to hear what you guys have in mind. Nothing too cringe, please! Hit me with your best quotes! Parang awa nyo na! 🙏🥲

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TTK and New Skills - How I accidentally became an alien war hero 5/?
Walking down the sleek gray hallway, our shoe clicks echoed around us, and the looming doors at the end of the long hallway called to me. For what is behind those doors will change my and my friend's lives forever. All it takes is one shot, and if you hit it, you can change the world.
As we walked, the doors hissed open, revealing behind them a large room full of computers, wires, screens, desks, and dozens of Oranis. The sheer scope of the room was daunting; countless screens read data from feeds, and a couple of Oranis had a desk that played footage of battles, and they were taking notes and screenshots of specific parts. I saw that most of them were reviewing the battle that got me into this whole mess.
The captain was looking at me knowingly. He had a small smirk on his face as he spoke, “Here is the main control room for all our ROMS units. We watch and review countless battles to keep furthering our knowledge and make it easier and better for our troops. As you can see right now, almost all of our staff is focused on one specific battle that we recently recorded.” He gestured to the desks spread around us, showing multiple angles of one unit standing alone amongst a sea of dead bugs.
“Holy shit, are those the types of guys we are going against?” Gene whispered to me, but the captain overheard it.
“No, this was actually your friend Bee.” Without elaborating, he turned back around and continued walking through the room. All of my friends did a double-take and looked at me. I sheepishly rubbed the back of my neck with my hand.
“That was you?” John said with a wide grin on his face
“Yeah, it was.” I averted my gaze to look at the ground. I don't know why I was embarrassed, but I instinctively looked away from their eyes.
“Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised,” Sali laughed, “Only Bee would do all of that unnecessary movement. He's just dashing around for fun!” She pointed to a screen that showed my first attempts with the grapple as I tested out different ideas I had. Basically, it looked like I was just running around like a kid in a candy store.
“Hey!” I shot back, “I was testing the limits, okay?”
“Yea, yea, everyone knows that you like your movement shooters.”
I huffed and turned back to the front of our group, following the captain to another set of doors that had a big text plate that read:
ROMS UNIT BAYS 1-6
As we got closer, the doors automatically slid open, revealing a heptagonal room, a station in the middle that had screens corresponding to five doors that were separated by each wall of the heptagon. There was a big wall in the center behind the control station that had a wall of monitors for viewing and a semicircle of six chairs around it. Each door had a number on it from one to six, with the door we came through showing an exit sign instead. Every door had a fancy access terminal and a large screen that had many high-tech-looking data collection graphs. There was a familiar-looking calico-patterned Orani in the center of the room, and I remembered his name, Koi, the head of engineering.
“Hey, everyone!” he chirped, enthusiastically waving to us. “So these are our new test subjects, huh?” His eyes narrowed on us but lingered on Vera.
“T-test subjects?” Tobi squeaked out from behind me.
“Oh hush, Koi,” I turned to Tobi, “he's just messing with you. All they're doing is recording our matches.” Koi huffed in response, putting his paws on his hips
“Wish we could do more than that, but someone said it would scare them off.” He glared at the captain
“And I was right.” The captain gestured towards the worried faces of my friends.
“Oh, don't look so scared! It was just going to be some vitals and brain scans!”
“Koi, stop before you turn them all away.” The captain shot a hard glare at him, making his ears fold backward. The captain turned toward my friends and reassured them that none of that would be happening.
“Nothing will be done without your consent. If any of you aren't comfortable with anything, don't hesitate to let us know so we can fix it.” The captain's voice was soft but stern, and Tobi visibly relaxed at his reassurances.
“This where the fancy VR setups are?” Gene asked while looking around at the numbered doors.
“Yes,” the captain replied, “each of you has been assigned a room and a respective ROMS system. They are all identical as of now, but if you are to stay with us after this, we will make modifications that are personalized to each one of you.” Everyone's face lit up at the prospects. They were finally about to see what they had been dragged up here for.
“So what rooms are everyone's?” John asked, practically bouncing in anticipation.
The captain looked towards Koi, and he brought up a list of our names and faces. They had taken them when we were screened at the checkpoints. He rattled off each of our assigned rooms, “Bee, room 1. Sali, room 2. Vera, room 3. Gene, room 4. John, room 5. And Tobi, room 6.”
John and Gene whooped and ran for their respective doors before stopping short, realizing they had no idea how to get in. The captain gave a huff of amusement and told Koi to aid John and Radi to aid Gene. As they went over, the captain cleared his throat and addressed all of us.
“You each will be given a rundown of how our ROMS system works. You will all be separated until the testing ends, not to allow anyone to gain an advantage over another by watching them before their battle. John, Koi will aid you. Gene, Radi. Vera, Rosi. Sali, Kious. And finally, Tobi, Zedd. Bee, you already know how the system works, so I will ask you to get ready on your own if that is okay.” I nodded and walked over to my assigned door. The pad in front of me was similar to the one that was at our private quarters. “My team will guide each of you through the basics, and I will watch it here at the control station. I will be hooking each of you up to your respective opponents after you are situated and ready. Once you have finished, no matter the outcome, I will ask you to come out and, if others are still in their duel, to wait and watch.”
Each of us nodded as we moved to our respective doors, each of us–except me–followed by our designated Orani. Doors started to hiss open as we each learned how to operate them, which was incredibly simple. Put your hand on it. Bam, Open. Crazy right?
I turned around to look at my friends, seeing they were doing the same.
“Yall ready?” I asked with a smirk
“Hell yea!” Gene whooped
“Let's fuck some shit up.” John gave me finger guns
“Da.” Vera said simply
“Putangina, I was born ready.” Sail rolled her shoulders as she spoke in Tagalog under her breath, catching Kious off guard at what the translator was probably picking up.
Tobi gave a wordless nod; his posture was stiff, but I could tell he was excited.
“Kill 'em dead!” I yelled at all of them
“Make me!” all my friends responded at the same time while laughing. It was an inside joke from way back when we first formed our little group. Some might say it's embarrassing, but it reminds us all why we are friends. Those first times we all played together when we were younger, I always said ‘Kill em dead’ whenever I was rooting for someone or was wishing them good luck. I did it so often that it apparently got annoying enough for them to start saying ‘make me’ every time I said it to them. It caught on, and now it's our little good luck phrase that we always say to each other.
This little ritual caused each Orani to look very confused, but we all stepped inside our rooms before any of them could inquire further. We stepped through our respective doors, and the mechanical whir and a soft click signaled that the room was sealed. The next moments that will define our lives have officially started.
I took a deep breath, readying myself for what was about to come. The room was the same as the one I had snuck into a large wall monitor that spanned from floor to ceiling and an exo-suit-like device with a headset you put on hanging from the top of it. It felt almost exactly like the last time, except now I was prepared and had brought a tool with me that ensured my victory.
My earbuds.
Putting them in a queued up my favorite playlist. Paradise City started to play and, with a quick breath, started for the remote operation interface (that's what the fancy techs called it), aka. ROI. I was giggling like a madman as I suited up, my body practically vibrating with excitement to be back in the unit and reck some shit. Well, now it is time.
GENE: ROOM-04
After I got over the awesomeness of the technology in front of me, Lieutenant Radi gave me the rundown of how to get inside and operate the exo-suit-looking contraption. I only half paid attention to his explanation as I was more focused on the kick-ass headset that acted like an AR and VR system together. After he helped me navigate through the calibration phase, which involved moving my arms and legs around a bit, the next screen popped up.
This screen would mark the most important decision of my life; this would dictate my time on this mortal plane, and if I chose wrong, it would haunt me forever. The words bore into my soul;
Enter Name.
I looked at those two words for an embarrassingly long time. I faintly heard the door swish open and close behind me. I assumed Radi had left, leaving just me and the text. I could always go with my tried and true: 2Gud4U. This felt wrong in this context, though; it was an actual system I would be controlling, and this name defined it. I wanted a real name for this mech, one that told people I was controlling it. I wanted something like Bee’s one with my name somewhere.
I ruminated for an indeterminate amount of time. If I took any longer, one of the Orani would probably come in to make a welfare check. I wanted it to be memorable but not so serious that it would be cringey. Or I could lean into the cringe of anonymous usernames just like the days of old—aka, two years ago. Then it hit me.
GENOME_KLR
Heh. Perfect.
A fancy logo flashed across my screen, and a blank box appeared in front of me.
TUTORIAL Y/N?
Huh, Bee wasnt kidding. It really was like a game. Well, let's go then.
***
Holy shit, this was the coolest thing ever.
A giant mech, and cool as guns and a fucking plasma sword? I gotta find out some way for them to make a green one. Or blue. Actually purple.
The tutorial was fairly bare bones and gave a rundown on how to move and what weapons I had at my disposal. There was a minigun-looking thing, a railcanon-looking thing, a lightsaber-chainsaw-looking thing, And a grapple-looking thing. There were a lot of things and stuff that looked like them.
The system was fairly easy to understand, and the movement mechanics weren't that hard to get used to. There was some input lag, more of the fact that the mech was massive and, therefore heavy, which made it hard to start and stop. Static buzzed in my ear, cutting me out of my ‘training’ aka swinging my arms around wildly, getting used to the weight.
“Hello, can you hear me, uhh…GENOME_KLR?” A familiar voice trailed off while reading my magnificent name.
“Yea, loud n’ clear,” I responded cheerfully.
“Uh, okay, this is Lieutenant Radi. I am letting you know we are ready to start the mock battle. Are you ready?”
“Ready as I'll ever be, I guess.”
“Okay, we’ll, send you through. You’ll be patched through to the unit being used in your spar. It will be immobile until both sides are ready, and the moment you can start moving will be announced by a countdown. You are free to do whatever you see fit to disable the other mech. The fighting will not stop until one side is left unable to continue. Do you understand?”
So basic 1v1 stuff. “Yeah, question: is everything in the tutorial available to me in the fight? I mean the weapons n’ stuff.” I quickly added
“Yes, all equipment is the same through every unit, and you will have full access to them during the mock battle. Any other questions?”
“Nope.”
“Okay, patching you through. Good luck…Gene,” He said pointedly.
“What, not a fan of the cool name?” Before I could get a response, my entire world went black. The fancy logo was back, and they were asking me to please wait. A couple of seconds later, my surroundings changed. It was a pretty spartan arena, just a big circular metal wall that went up about a story from what I could tell. It seemed like the same size as that one famous thing in Rome. Basically, it was big. The floor was some sort of black sand-like substance from what I could make out. Looked kinda like that stuff they put in playgrounds that were rubbery and very easy for kids to swallow.
At the far end of the arena, I saw another mech. It was also standing there motionless, waiting for the go-ahead to start trying to kill each other. I sat there for a bit, twiddling my thumbs while waiting for something to happen. A moment later, a feminine robotic came through the speakers.
Battle start in 10. 9. 8-
In the middle of my vision, numbers flashed along with the countdown. “Well, hello Cortana.” I muttered to myself after hearing the voice.
I took in a deep breath while watching the numbers climb down closer and closer to zero. It was now or never. Let's see how good these Orani soldiers are. I really hope I don't get my ass kicked. I mean, I had like twenty minutes to get used to this, and these guys probably went through months of training, so if I did get my ass kicked–my inner panic ramblings were cut off by a loud airhorn-like blare followed by my mech coming to life. Before I could get my bearing, the other mech was already reaching over its back to grab a weapon.
Shit. I was probably gonna lose this quick draw because they got a head start. The only thing is they weren't moving while he did it. As soon as I got my head back on, I ran right while also grabbing the rifle. I could see his choice of weapon as the minigun crested over the back of their mech.
My theory was correct then. I assumed they would reach for the weapon with a fast TTK (time to kill). They probably were cocky and assumed I would go for the same thing, opting for the easier weapon of the two ranged ones we were equipped with. I'd probably do the same if I were them. Some rando that never touched this system before was probably gonna go for the big gun that shot lotsa’ bullets. Probably planned to outspeed me at the start and just spray me down before I could do the same to them.
Jokes on them because I know a weapon with an even faster TTK, an instant one at that. I hope.
While the minigun was probably the smart choice here, I opted for the hard-hitting rifle, which was a lot harder to hit things with. In theory, if I could hit one well-placed shot at either their gun arm or cockpit, I would take them out of commission instantly.
The whirring of their minigun was drowned out by the volley of plasma flying at me. I had just gotten the rifle over my back and was getting ready to aim when I had to divert that plan to keep running. The fire trailed behind me as they tried to keep up with my running. They seemed slow at tracking me, and I put it to the input lag, which works for me.
I was quickly running out of space; the edge of the arena was closing in, and if I started to run diagonally to avoid crashing into it, the volley would catch up to me as I slowed down to shift directions. So, instead, I had to kill them before that happened. Going into a dead sprint, I tried to put as much distance between me and the trailing fire. When I thought it was enough, I swung both arms forward and jumped as far as I could while twisting my body to aim my rifle at the stationary mech.
I had a very small window of time to aim and fire before I became a metal heap on the ground riddled with bullet holes. Time seemed to slow for me as I swung the rifle forward. I wouldn't have time to stop the momentum of the gun to steady it and then shoot, so I had to time it, so as it passed by my target, I needed to pull the trigger at the right time to land my shot. As the massive arm swung around, the reticle appeared in my field of vision. It was wobbling about and was going faster than I would've liked it to. As its trajectory neared my target, all my focus went into a small cone in front of me; everything else went quiet, and my heartbeat thrummed in my ears.
Now!
A beam of plasma left my gun and soared through the arena. Right before I hit the ground, I saw the bolt of red-hot energy hit the cockpit dead center. The mech went rigid, and then my vision jostled as I hit the ground hard. Due to the weird floor material, no cinematic dust kicked up to obscure my vision, giving me a tense moment of not knowing whether it worked or not.
Nope. I just saw it crumple to the floor and lie in an undignified heap, just like me.
I cackled to myself and raised my arms in victory, “Haha! Did you see that!” I pointed both arms to the downed mech. “Twenty minutes, and I'm hitting trick shots!” I whooped and hollered, but my victories were cut off by the screen going black once again.
The same familiar voice came through the intercom: “Congratulations, Gene. You are the victor. Total time elapsed: 19.34 seconds. You may disengage from the ROI and exit the bay.” Radis said monotonically.
“Damn right, I am! Did you guys record that? I need to brag about it!” No response came, and I huffed. They had to have recorded that, right? That was the whole point of this. Yeah, they got it.
I stripped off the helmet and stepped out from the contraption. I hopped down from the raised center of the room and made my way to the door. Once it opened, I was met by a group of partially stunned faces but got a round of applause from the Orani. I gave an exaggerated bow and then walked to the little viewing area they had set up.
I looked around and saw I was the only one out so far. “No one else done yet?” I asked the group.
The little calico-patterned Orani looked up from the screens he was working on and flashed me a big smile, without using teeth though. “Nope, you were the first one to start and finish. We are going through all of you one at a time in a random order, we want to focus on each battle fully.” He gestured towards the monitors next to him. There were six in all, showing the others still in the training range, messing around just like I had. There was too much going on at the same time to really get a good look at what was happening. “You finished spectacularly fast, though.”
The big black-furred Orani gave a booming laugh, “Ha! Setla was fuming! She was all like, ‘That was a fluke. There's no way anyone could hit that!’” She turned to me and let out a huff, “Thanks, Gene, that was great.”
I gave her a wicked grin, “No prob, Bob.” She gave me a confused look with a head tilt that was adorable to see on a massive panther-woman but didn't press.
“Whos up next then?” I asked the calico.
“We have S4LL0S, aka Sali, in room two.” He sounded quizzical at her chosen name. I laughed to myself. She still used the same Gamertag after all this time. Her favorite duke of hell, Sallos. I don't know how much I bought that. I think she chose it because it was close to her name. Had to admit it was a good name. Knowing her and her demonic knickknacks and books, it worked. Not to mention the full-sized summoning circle she painted on her bedroom floor. All the Oranis were now looking at the screens with rapt intention, and so following their gazes, I looked to see how Sali would do.
SALI (S4LL0S): ROOM-02
Shit, shit, shit.
That's a lot of bullets, and they are all flying at me and hitting me. Lights flashed through the cabin as plasma fire dinged off the armored cockpit but started to tear away at the metal limbs of my mech. I drew up my own minigun, aiming to fire back. I moved left, trying to get the sustained fire off of me.
My right arm was basically done as my lapse in focus at the start had cost me, though I don't think I'll need it. The other mech was just sitting there aimed down at me, with no evasive maneuvers or specifically directed fire to push me into a corner. While running, I aimed up my own gattling and shot off bursts of fire. The thing overheated when I was in the tutorial, so I wanted to space out my shots to keep up my time as much as possible. I was banking on the fact that the other mech would have to stop shooting to let it cool.
My returned fire was effective, and the mech stopped its torrential downpour of plasma. I skidded to a stop and turned to face the other mech fully. I raised my gun, and it started whirring as it started up. The other mech realized its position and started to take off in a slow gate. Weird, wonder if the overheating affects the main body, too; they are moving way too slowly for it to be unaffected. The Spinnup completed, and a volley of plasma flew towards my target. From personal experience that happened about ten seconds ago, I knew aiming for the cockpit was a no-go, so instead, I directed all my fire onto the arm holding the minigun. At first, my shots went wide. I hadn't accounted for the slight delay in the finer movements, but soon, all my shots hit, and bits of metal and wires started flying.
I stopped my onslaught after a few good seconds of sustained fire. When I got a good look at the damage, my mouth smirked up into an evil smile. The right arm was shorn off at the elbow joint, and the frayed metal and wires were strewn about on the floor with the now broken minigun. I would have taken my time to give an evil laugh and march slowly and menacingly over to finish the job, but they reached for their rifle with their still working hand. Forgot that we have two arms. Before they could get their weapon over their back, I rained more fire at them, effectively shearing off the other arm at the shoulder.
Now, the mech just sat there, unable to fight back. They tried to stand up, but I dashed over and put my foot on the cockpit, pining the mech to the floor. Considering my options, I went with the most brutal one I could think of. With a mad cackle, I shoved the barrel of my minigun into the cockpit and unloaded. I kept shooting until it overheated and stopped on its own, then did it again, cackling like a demon all the while.
After it was over, I took a deep breath and looked at the carnage. Molten steel and glass dripped down the massive hole where there was once a cockpit. Both arms were taken off, and my foot pinned the now-lifeless mech to the floor. Yeah, I'd say that was a win.
A voice crackled in my ear, one I recognized as the Lieutenant. “C-Congratulations, Sali.” His voice stuttered, but he quickly reimagined his composure. “You are the victor. Total time elapsed: 1 minute and 6.66 seconds. You may disengage from the ROI and exit the bay.”
When I removed the headset and walked out of the room, I was still on the high of my very necessary brutal win. I looked at the group of Oranis congregated around a wall of monitors and saw some fear in their faces. Hehe, that's just the start, kitties. Gene was sitting down among a semicircle of chairs facing the monitors. As I saw them replay my fight, he whooped for me as I got closer.
“Just as brutal as always, even scared these big lugs a bit,” He said, gesturing to the Oranis.
“It was unnecessarily barbaric,” Kious, the lithe white one, scoffed.
I spun around and gave him my best devilish grin. “Oh, it was very necessary.” I took his small flinch backward as a win and plopped myself down next to Gene.
It was just Gene and me. I was about to ask where everyone else was when the calico, Koi–I think it was–cleared his throat. “Now patching through, JUNKR, aka John, room five.” He looked up to the wall of monitors, and I followed his gaze. Let's see how Mr.Cold-and-Calculating does.
JOHN (JUNKR): ROOM-05
From my limited testing in the tutorial/practice range, the minigun takes approximately 12.50 seconds to overheat, then a further 10 seconds to cool back down enough to shoot. Further shooting without letting it cool will make it overheat much more quickly. Not enough testing to get specific times.
The rifle takes three consecutive shots to overheat. I didn't have enough time to see how long in between shots would make it so there was no overheating. The grappling hook had no use on flat areas, though I think Bee or Vera could find A way around that. I do not have their skills of ‘winging it.’
No clue how effective any of these weapons are against the suits, so I'm gonna have to tank some hits to find out and then plan my best course of action around that. Baring, I just get one tapped. I'm willing to take the risk. While the weapons do seem fancy, the armor looks fancier. It really has no bearing on how tough it is, but I'm just going with my gut. Only if I see they pick the mini gun, I have a feeling that rifle would rip through me like paper.
Well, time to put my money where my mouth was. When we both gained control of our mechs, I saw them reach for the minigun, so I stayed in position and readied myself for the oncoming fire. The minigun spun up, and after the one second it took to warm up, it fired its plasma volley.
Warning sounds and red lights flashed through the cabin. I forced myself to stay there for at least a second to gauge the damage the plasma bolts would cause. Looking at the damage from the hud, I saw that the limbs were taking significantly more damage than the chaise. Basically, I could take some hits but no sustained damage. My limbs aren't as fortified as my main body, so I shouldn't use my arms to try to shield myself. I dashed to the side whilst pulling out my rifle. The hail of bullets lagged behind my movement for a moment, allowing me enough time to get my footing. I wouldn't have time to return fire, so I focused purely on evading, waiting out the clock so the minigun would overheat.
I ran zigzags as much as I could. The weight of the legs made it more difficult to make precise movements. The terrain, thankfully, was very rough, making it so the feet of my mech didn't slip. I was nearing the wall and needed to change my direction of momentum. This would slow me down significantly, allowing for their volley to reach me. My internal clock told me they had about 3 more seconds until they needed to stop firing.
Nearing the wall, I started to slow down to run diagonally instead of perpendicular to the enemy mech, which allowed them to reach me, and warning sounds flashed as shots peppered my mech. I swung my body around to get my limb with the rifle behind me so it wasnt damaged.
2 more seconds
A bright red light lit up my hud as the system told me I had lost power to my left arm. Well, shit.
1 second.
My countdown was correct, and before they could do any more damage, their gun overheated and stopped shooting. They almost seemed surprised by this, as if they hadn't known how long they could keep up the sustained fire. That was a dumb mistake on their part, but it was good for me, though.
I took my sweet time aiming my rifle at their gun arm, which was now reaching back to switch out weapons, but before they could even reach behind, I blew the arm off with a single shot. The severed arm and gun crashed to the floor in a heap, leaving them defenseless. Aming dead center of their mech, I took my time lining up the shot to hit where a person would be if they were in it. I assumed that was where the power and telemetry would hopefully be, making it a kill shot.
The rifle fired and blasted a hole into the center of the chaise, making the mech crumple to the floor next to its severed arm, falling face-first into the ground.
I let out a deep breath. Not my cleanest win, but I wanted to know the capabilities and limits of the technology, and hey, it worked out.
The lieutenant's voice came through the coms system, “Congratulations, John. You are the victor. Total time elapsed: 39.98 seconds. You may disengage from the ROI and exit the bay.”
Walking out of the bay, the Oranis congratulated me. As I walked towards the wall of screens, the captain called my name. “John, may I ask why you stood still at the very start, not trying to move out of the way of incoming fire or firing back?”
“Oh, that? I was seeing how much damage the plasma fire would do to see how much wiggle room I had in terms of taking hits. It was the simplest and easiest way I could think of because I couldn't test it while in the tutorial. Though I was able to get the other weapon parameters while in there, so I knew when they would stop shooting.”
“You already knew the time it took for the minigun to overheat?” He said, surprised.
“Yea, it's a need-to-know thing going into a fight like that. Knowledge is power here, and I had none, so I worked with what I could and devised a plan around that. I took a risk of getting hit, but it gave me good information that I could use. It was a necessary sacrifice. While I wouldn't have done it normally, I needed to know what I was working with.”
“So you fled whilst waiting for the gun to overheat, then made a counterattack.” he hummed to himself. “Impressive.”
I shrugged. “Not really, kinda basic stuff, if I'm being honest. It was strange that my opponent wasnt aware of the amount of time they could keep sustained fire. It was the same as in my testing, around 12 seconds.”
Gene scoffed from his chair. “Yep, that's John. Always overanalyzing every game we play so he can be optimal,” saying optimal with air quotes around it.
I huffed and turned to him. “I'm not mechanically skilled like you guys. I need to play to my strengths, and it just so happens that I'm good at creating strategies. Unlike you guys, just Leroy Jenkins-ing it in every time.” I muttered the last part to myself while I plopped down into my chair. They explained that we were all going one at a time, and once I sat down, Koi announced the next person up.
“Now patching through V3X, aka Vera, room five.”
Huh, she was still using that same Gamertag. I don't think she ever changed it once. Something to do with her being ‘vexed’ her entire childhood. Personally, I think it fits her well.
VERA (V3X): ROOM-03
Big guns were heavy, swords were not.
As I had figured out in the little practice range, I could disengage the magnetic locks that held the weapons on the back plate of the mech.
I assumed these soldiers were well versed in ranged vs. ranged combat, so I doubt they would expect me to forgo both of my ranged weapons instead of opting for the close-combat sword. So that is what I would do; once the countdown was done, I would drop both guns, take a page out of my little brother's book, and use the grappling hook to pull myself forward faster while equipping my sword.
I was not as talented with movement shooters as Bee was, but I was the one who introduced them to him, so I could do a simple forward pull even if I had never done a ‘real’ one before this.
Once the countdown finished, I dropped the guns and shot the grapple forward into the ground. The material wasnt the best to use as an anchor point, and I didn't get as much speed from my initial pull, but it was enough to throw my enemy off.
I pulled my sword out with my free arm as I did this, having it on and ready by the time I made my mad dash toward the other mech. One thing I did not expect was for them to use both arms to grab both long-range weapons.
This was a good counter to what I was doing under the circumstances; you don't need to aim as well if I'm right in front of you. It was going to be a close call on who was ready to strike first; both of their arms came down just as I got in range to swing the sword.
In a second, I slashed through their left arm, holding the minigun, shearing the arm from the elbow joint in a smooth motion. While I did this, their mech rocked back from the force of my cutting it and fired a shot that was meant for the cockpit but ended up going straight through my left arm, making it unusable as it disconnected all feedback to the arm.
Not wanting to take any more damage from the rifle, I swung my arm around while dashing back just in case they were able to get off another shot. I aimed to break the rifle instead of going in further to disable their arm. They would have had time if I tried to close the distance and swing around to hit it.
In one fluid motion, I shot back and slashed my arm down, cleaving the end of the rifle off, disabling it. I backed off, making space so I could assess the damages. Now, we were at an impasse. Both of us only had one functional arm left and one weapon.
I grinned. This was going to be a good old sword fight.
The other mech realized this and grabbed for their own sword, and we took stock of another as I prowled around them, waiting for an opening. They stood still, just turning in place to follow my movements, which was a bad idea. I walked around so their back against the closest wall and sprung forward. I gave a downward diagonal slash that was a lot wider than I wanted it to be. The weight of the arms made it harder to get precise movements.
They brought their sword up barely in time to block mine. The power in our suits was the same, so I couldn't just keep pushing, hoping I could power through their block. We stood like that for a moment, both swords fizzling and scraping against each other.
Instead of backing off and re-engaging, which would have given me the same result, I released the magnetic hold on the sword and flipped my hand so the sword was in an ice-pick grip. As their blade overpowered mine after switching grips, I guided it past me, letting it follow the body of the sword and then pushing it away, allowing me full access past their defense.
In one fluid motion, I brought my arm down and geared up for a deadly upward slash. The plasma sword cut through the steel and composites like butter and went clean through the center of the mech, splitting it from groin to head. My arm was raised in the air where it stopped. I watched the two halves fall to the ground on either side of me and smiled in victory.
A voice came through my cabin: “Congratulations, Vera. You are the victor. The total time elapsed was 1 minute, 48.32 seconds. You may disengage from the ROI and exit the bay.”
I grunted in confirmation and made my way out into the main room, the Oranis congratulated me on my victory as I sat down. I nodded to them as I passed while the little calico one explained who we would see next.
“Now patching through T0RVA, aka Tobi, room six.”
TOBI (T0RVA): ROOM-06
Was this how they were going to test our skills? It was going to be a glorified quick draw. Whoever shoots first wins. With the power in that rifle, it would be the easiest way to win, granted, if you could aim it.
I could aim it.
It took a second to get used to the weight of it, but after that, it was simple enough: point and shoot just like every other rifle in any game. This was going to be quick. How would they determine all of our skills from this? It's just who can pull the trigger faster. Maybe that's all they wanted.
The countdown ended, and I flung my arm back, grabbing the rifle, while the other mech seemed to do the same. I tunnel-visioned and focused completely on getting this shot off as fast as I could. I wouldn't wait for the aim to stabilize, and I would fire as I moved it to reduce the time to shoot.
The rifle crested over the back of my mech and swung into view; it came down fast, but I could still hit the shot. As it passed down in front of me, I held my breath and waited for the perfect time.
Now.
The shot sailed across the room and hit the dead center of the cockpit, dropping the mech before it could even reach its weapon.
Well, that was easy. They hadn't even grabbed their weapon yet, so maybe I overestimated them.
I stood there for a moment, waiting for something to happen. A second later, a voice came through the speakers. “Uh, congratulations, Tobi. You are the victor. The total time elapsed,” the voice paused for a moment. “1.43 seconds…You may disengage from the ROI and exit the bay.”
I nodded to myself and walked out of the bay to a sea of surprised Orani and human faces, well, except Vera. I looked through all of them, confused about what was so surprising about what happened. I assumed all of their battles were about what had happened in mine, maybe slower, but still just a glorified quick draw.
“What?” I asked
“Damn Tobes!” Gene spoke up first, “Helluva quickdraw and mad precise shot, good shit.”
“Isn't that what you guys did, too?”
Sali gave a bark of laughter, “Nah, Tobes, you ended it before it even started; it took me over a minute to finish mine.”
“Really?” I asked. “I mean, we were just supposed to put the other mech out of commission, and what I did was the simplest thing to do that.”
Sali just laughed and dismissed me while Gene gave me a shrug and turned back to the screens. Koi, after gaining his composure, explained that I was the second to last one and we would all watch how the final fight went. Judging by the lack of a certain person, it would be Bees.
I sat down in my spot and focused my gaze on the wall of monitors. If anyone would do something super unnecessary and flashy, it would be Bee, and it would be fun to watch, at least.
“Now patching through BK3, aka Bee, room six.”
I laughed inwardly. He just took his old gamer tag and took the first part of each word/number. It would be like him to stick to his old one. It was always some variation of that old saying ‘bee's knees.’ I like this one, though; it is short, simple, and unique, just like Bee.
Let's see what skills he showed that made these Orani hire him and bring us up here.
OP: Ty for reading, this one got long quick, and I wanted to get it out, thank you for all your support in the comments I loving reading your reactions and feedback. I am currently in my first semester of college and midterms just passed but Ive been a bit swamped with work. I will deff keep posting more of this story but it might be a week or two between updates for now. Im shooting for a once a week at the moment. Ty all for being patient and hope you like this chapter :)

I’ve been listening to OPM for a long time. Alam niyo, OPM mostly consisted of male-dominated groups and bands as well as a few sole female acts like Moira. I can’t even remember when the last time was that we had a girl group. Sure, the former made classics that were a big part of our journey growing up. But it was undeniable that a lot of perspectives that you see in music was from the perspective of a guy and the role of the woman was always relegated to the passive. In songs about romance, sex, anything. As a female listener, most of the times I felt disconnect with these songs.
So when I heard about BINI, I’ll be honest: They didn’t grab my attention at first. But one time, I started hearing their songs in public, including their deep cuts. It made me check out their catalogue and after liking what I hear, I started listening to their songs more. I must say that in the few years since they’ve debuted, there’s already growth in their music; a lot of their songs used to be filled with motivational quotes as well as English lyrics that I really didn’t vibe with, but their later Tagalog songs felt more natural and less K-POP.
As a casual listener, I see a lot of potential for BINI to strengthen their foothold on the general public. I finally saw that BINI was taking over when they started dominating the Spotify charts. The last time girl groups were popular, Sexbomb girls were still big. They received a lot of backlash and hate but their talent was undeniable. But to me, their songs were a hit because of the tongue-in-cheek humor that was uniquely Filipino. The dance they did to “Bakit Papa” was a showcase of their dance skills and it felt natural. Despite being subject to such a male-dominated industry, they did what they can. It would be a long time before another girl group would appear on the charts.
It’s refreshing to see BINI up there, even beating not just men but also other K-POP groups that I’ve been a stan of as well. A long time ago, Filipinos would berate other Filipinos for being a fan of K-POP groups (“Bakit di niyo tangkilikin ang sariling atin?”). When the racism issues against Filipinos by Koreans were already out in the open, I was already tapped out. Nawalan nako ng amor. BINI made me realize na pwede naman nating suportahan ang sariling atin; may market for P-POP para sa general public.
I’m (mostly) only here for the music; I’m not a stan and I can say that has made my listening experience better. Hindi ko man alam ang birthdays nila or kung ano favorite color, I’ll still support them as long as they keep up it up.

[CALL FOR PH GIG WORKER INTERVIEWEES]
Hello po! I'm a college student looking to interview 2-3 Filipinos who have experience with or have been working for at least 3-4 months on online gig work. Yung priority ko sana is data labelling, pero pwede rin virtual assistant, freelancing, etc. as long as hindi ka regular or salaried.
I hope to interview someone for 1-2 hours. The conversation will be recorded and quoted for a class paper, but the original audio and video recordings will not be used or circulated otherwise. May option ka na magkaroon ng alyas sa final paper ko.
Sana komportable ka sa pakikinig ng English - yan yung pinakakomportable kong wika, pero okay naman kung gusto mo magsalita ng Tagalog or Taglish. Marunong rin po ako ng Hiligaynon.
Feel free to DM if you want more details :) I'm hoping to find someone to interview by April 23rd before the end of April!

Explain ko muna backstory.
So, 3 bestfriends kami na magkababata since kinder. Last November 2023, nag birthday yung (Friend 1) ko and week after yung asawa nya naman. Both parties si (Friend 2) gumawa ng eksena as in nag maoy sya, nagwala, nagbasag at sinira nya both parties. Ofcourse galit na galit si (Friend 1) sa kanya. Then, after ng second party tumawag sa akin si (Friend 2) blaming me na kung di ko daw sya kaya alagaan edi sana di ko sya ininvite. Una, di ako naginvite kasi party ni (Friend 1) yun. Pangalawa, nung first party -- I'm taking care of (Friend 2) na maoy and wala sya ginawa kundi ipahiya and i-out of place ako at di daw required na i-save ko lahat. ( I’m just doing what a decent friend would do)
So, nung tumawag sya sakin blaming nag retaliate na ako and humaba ang usapan ng mga long overdue history namin dalawa, na alam ko lahat ng pinagsasabi nya sakin pero di ko sya ki-nomfront.
It became toxic yung conversation na I decided na I had to cut ties.
While si (Friend 1) laging kami magusap kami and ofcourse nag vent sya sakin kasi nasira party nya at asawa nya. And, nag vent din ako about (Friend 2) wala naman ako pwede pag kwentuhan ng incident kasi sila lang yung involve sa both parties. Then yun. I decided na ako I'll cut ties. FO na ganon. Si (Friend 1) layo lang muna sya pero bigyan pa nya ng chance. Which is okay lang kasi iba naman history nila.
Then weeks/months past. Random na nag memessaghe si (Friend 1) nag mga quotes na patama kay (Friend 2) and I just react lang kalmado. Hindi ko na rin pinahaba usap kasi kahit I cut ties ayoko ng ganon paguusapan pa yung isa. Hanggang sa nag ghost ako sa lahat ng tao kasi na ICU asawa ko for 2 months, I have to tend my husband first. Di ko alam na may pinagdadadan pala si (Friend 1) kasi nag post sila both na hiwalay na sila ng asawa nya. I message her kasi nag aalala ako, I want to be there for her. Pero di na sya nag seseen hanggang ngayon. Nag ooverthink ako kasi last week, I saw (Friend 1)'s TikToks. Kasama na nya si (Friend 2) after nya i block. Like, I am happy na nag kabati sila pero I feel left-out.
ABYG, dahil I feel like I'm loosing another friend kasi si (Friend 2) magaling mag recruit ng someone to hate on.
I muted (Friend 1) na muna kasi I don't want this to affect my mental health.
Nalulungkot at nag ooverthink lang ba ako sa wala? La lang. Naiiyak ako while writing this.

Explain ko muna backstory. So, 3 bestfriends kami na magkababata since kinder. Last November 2023, nag birthday yung (Friend 1) ko and week after yung asawa ni nya naman. Both parties is (Friend 2) gumawa ng eksena as in nag maoy sya at sinira nya both parties. Ofcourse galit na galit si (Friend 1) sa kanya. Then, after ng party 2 tumawag sa akin si (Friend 2) blaming me na kung di ko daw sya kaya alagaan edi sana di ko sya ininvite. Una, di ako naginvite kasi party ni (Friend 1) yun. Pangalawa, nung party 1 -- I'm taking care of (Friend 2) na maoy and wala sya ginawa kundi ipahiya and i-out of place ako. So, nung tumawag sya sakin blaming nag retaliate na ako and humaba ang usapan ng mga long overdue history namin dalawa. It became toxic I had to cut ties.
While si (Friend 1) laging magusap kami and ofcourse nag vent sya sakin kasi nasira party nya at asawa nya. And, nag vent din ako about (Friend 2) wala naman ako pwede pag kwentuhan kasi sila lang yung involve sa both parties. Then yun. We decided na ako I'll cut ties. FO na ganon. SI (Friend 1) layo lang muna sya pero bigyan pa nya ng chance. Which is okay lang kasi iba naman history nila.
Then weeks/months past. Random na nag memessaghe si (Friend 1) nag mga quotes na patama kay (Friend 2) and I just react lang kalmado. Hindi ko na rin pinahaba usap kasi kahit I cut ties ayoko ng ganon paguusapan pa sya. Hanggang sa nag ghost ako sa lahat ng tao kasi nag ICU asawa ko for 2 months, I have to tend my husband first. Di ko alam na may pinagdadadan pala si (Friend 1) kasi nag post sila both na hiwalay na sila ng asawa nya. I message her kasi nag aalala ako, I want to be there for here. Pero di na sya nag seseen hanggang ngayon. Nag ooverthink ako kasi last week, I saw (Friend 1)'s TikToks. Kasama na nya si (Friend 2) after nya i block. Like, I am happy na nag kabati sila pero I feel left-out.
OA ba ako dahil I feel like I'm loosing another friend kasi si (Friend 2) magaling mag recruit ng someone to hate on.
I muted (Friend 1) na muna kasi I don't want this to affect my mental health.
Nalulungkot at nag ooverthink lang ba ako sa wala? La lang. Naiiyak ako while writing this.

Quote test
It's important to learn some Tagalog words. For example "dito" meaning here or "kamusta" meaning hi how are you. "Namangha" "Tondo" "hindi" po

As stated above.

LONG RANT
Just saw the news that his run would be extended today and having just came back from his show yesterday, I thought I could talk to somebody about it. I am just a super big hadeshead(if one could say that): i have pretty much seen every single cast after 2021 fall’s reopening besides Lola Tung, the tour when they launched it twice, and a bootleg of the recently opened west end cast(total 25+ viewings). I have no notes on his vocal performance: he really delivered and it is very much believable that he is the singer that could make the rocks weep. The problem I have with him is his acting. To me, he’s “just like any man you’ve met”. His acting, physicality and his facial expressions give me the impression of an alpha male who is too confident, even cocky about his abilities. When he gets to the “can’t find the tune can’t feel the rhythm” he is so sure of himself for some reason which doesn’t match the vibe. And after the national theater run in london, that is just not who orpheus is imho. Orpheus is a wide eyed boy who is awkward, needs encouragement from hermes even to get the girl he wants. He knows that he has the prowess to bring spring back, deep down, but he sometimes couldn’t believe himself either. He however believes the good in others, and that is the purest treasure he possesses. Going to the underworld makes that a necessity: in order to go for eurydice, he needs to believe in himself. And after the entire ordeal(papers) he is devastated and questions if it is the right choice to go against a king. It is not pure rage, but instead it is devastation and disappointment(if it’s true). A lot of people praise jordan for his performance of “if it’s true”, yet rage is pretty much the only thing i felt. It felt like too much that it gets a tad cringy. Imo there are several layers throughout the song, and he didn’t show that. And during wait for me reprise/doubt comes in which should be a high light as far as acting goes, nothing is there. I have also seen him in sweeney and deh man he was the weakest link. Just several examples.
TL;DR: jordan fisher is a great singer but i do not like his acting as orpheus.
For reference: my favorite Orphei(?) are (in no particular order): nicholas barasch(tour 1.0), Chibueze Ihuoma(tour 2.0/bway us), Dónal Finn(OLC). Reeve and Damon get honorable mentions but because they did incredible work that made Orpheus Orpheus in Hadestown.
Bonus-thoughts on Isa/Jon Jon/Ani
Isa: man what a powerhouse she is. Imo a perfect blend of Eva and Solea for sweetness and roughness. She crumbles orpheus’s flowers before wedding song…SAVAGE. Just QUEEENNN(screaming)
Jonjon: the interaction between him and Isa especially on stage is so precious and powerful. I loved all interpretations of Hermes so far, every hermes ATE. But as an asian woman, man did i felt seen. He reminds me of my own and other asian fathers. Stern but so devastated after seeing his children do the unthinkable. He turns a bit towards the stage to wipe his face and contain himself which to me is PRIME ASIAN. We are always told to keep emotions in check and not show our weaknesses. The fact that the creative team allows him to make creative choices such as changing some things into Tagalog? Stan.
Ani: omg blew me away. She is so delightful and i love her different interpretation that imo suit her. Her level of drunkenness is perfect. Other persephones are mostly like drinking too much that they are borderline crazy lol(i love that too) but ani is literally blinded/living in an oblivion, to quote. She’s so drunk that she’s depressed, wants to forget everything she sees, but could not and that makes her more depressed. A cycle that doesn’t end till How Long.

Am I the Jerk for standing up to my entitled, bully of an aunty?
For a bit of context I'm a 28 almost 29 year old gender fluid person he or she pronouns are fine. Now this has been going on since I was in High School until my adult years & much more recently. I have an entitled aunt we'll call her Maria but that's not her real name. My aunt has been my & my cousin's caretaker since we were children, I've noticed during my childhood my aunt would play favourites with my cousin & overall treat her better often siding with her whenever she & I had fights, was basically treated like the black sheep.
Fast forward to my freshman year of High school I don't quite remember but my aunt was much more ruthless to me during high school & often would tease me on my appearance but often would praise my cousin "The Golden Child" that she looked great, it got to the point where her awful comments were so bad I got the school counselor involved to call her to tell her to stop & that yes teasing is funny sometimes but if it's meant to hurt the other people then it's flat out bullying. When she picked me up at the usual school bust stop she had an embarrassed look on her face & berated me for getting the counselor involved then she goes on to say that I'm a spoiled child & get everything I want & her teasing is valid as 'It's a normal" thing in our family. So just to correct here yes I was a spoiled child back then by my grandmother whom I love dearly despite her not respecting my boundaries, she would get me ANYTHING as long as I behaved myself. I was spoiled due to the fact my mother was distant towards me as a child wasn't patient with me & yelled at me during homework it was HELL! & the fact my Father wasn't present in m life. However I grew out of that spoiled phase & realised you've got to earn things & buy things on your own no one will give it to you!
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The years after were honestly a blur to me as I don't quite remember due to all the stress from my family, relationships & work. Fast Forward to to now it's where my aunt's behaviour has worsened. I mentioned I have a controlling grandma who does make fun of how I weigh & basically pressures me to dress in her words "less trashy" She's a lady who was born in that old school generation that respect isn't a two way street but it's given to those who are older. Anyways the first time my aunt EVER threatened to physically was when I attended a job program in college where students had to go to an actual workplace for work experience no pay, & gain experience in the working field & this happened to be my 1st workplace at Starbucks which was far from my home & the start time was 7 am. I had an argument with my Grandma & she prevented me to leave so early to take the bus & train but the Transit system in my Province it closes at 2am & re-opens at 4am so I'm not sure what's the problem, but to her leaving while early in the morning was concerned I wouldn't be safe but I was 19 at the time back in 2014. She made my grandpa drive my grandpa doesn't drive late at night nor in the mornings as his eyesight is poor so I said to my grandpa to drive me as I couldn't stand my grandma berating me. I don't remember what I said but I remember my aunt who was there in the house tell me if I talk to her parents that way she'd slug me in the face, I answered back & she went dashed towards me as an intimidation tactic that I started crying that was the first time ever she had threatened me!
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The second time she threatened to hit me I grew a backbone & said I'd call the cops on her if she did & this was back in October of 2022, where I had a short term job as a paid "scare actor" for a "Haunted House" attraction that comes EVERY October at my local amusement park in my city which is situated in a "bad part" of Downtown the East part of it where there's mental people around. My aunt was driving & mentioned how I was "disrespectful" to my Grandparents when at the time I was just standing up for myself whenever my Grandma berates or blames me for something I didn't do & she then said if I did it again that she would slug me but I told her if that's a threat I would have NO problem telling law enforcement & she told me she's not afraid of the cops makes me wonder if my aunt DID physically assault someone in her past to have the cops involved & DARED me to do it.
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The only reason I go to my mother's place in Langley, for my American readers out there Langley is one of the city districts in Vancouver BC. I put up with my aunt JUST to see my infant Nephew we'll call him George not his real name that the "Golden Child" of the family had with her boyfriend whom I DESPISE that's another story for another time. For context my mom's name is on the lease of the house my aunt just helps her pay the bills but I COULD be wrong. When I'm editing videos for my YouTube channel I would sometimes speak Japanese to my Grandma yes I'm an Otaku she doesn't understand I figure if my family can speak Tagalog yes my family is Philippino then I can speak Japanese but my controlling aunt gets mad at me & tells me to "Speak English" & I tell her it's a free country & that I can speak whatever language I can speak & so can my Grandparents she tells me I'm not Japanese I'm not but just because I'm not of Japanese descent doesn't mean I can't learn the language. I started learning Japanese when I was young BECAUSE of constant bullying at a French Catholic school I saw the Japanese language as my saviour & that's what got me into anime.
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My aunt is INCREDIBLY racist towards Asian people despite her being full fledge Pilipino I remember when I was younger I told her I love Japan & she told me that & I quote "Japanese people are weird they like sex dolls. & disgusting." I told her that's not true & she argued she saw it somewhere but she FAILED to back up her argument as she's an immature child with 0 cognitive functions & her ONLY way to fight is to either threaten to hit someone or make fun of someone else's appearance because she's compensating for her lack of empathy. She's also racist towards Chinese people & by racist I mean she has road rage & WHENEVER someone cuts her off on the road she cusses & assumes the person who's terrible at driving is Chinese. How does she know what race that person is?! That person who cut her off could be East Indian or Black! The only person Chinese person she's not racist towards is our family doctor my guess is because she takes care of her.
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I can see why her ex cheated on her in the past he didn't want to stay with miserable, vile, vindictive CUNT of a woman & I don't give a SHIT for saying that after all the bullying she did to me up till now. Even last Wednesday my family & I were eating sushi & for some strange reason my FAMILY disapproves how I pluck my own eyebrows because I don't want to waste money on someone doing my eyebrows as they don't shape it the way I want & threading it hurts me! My grandma nitpicks so does my mother & my aunt decides to pick on me again saying why does my eyebrows look like that I told her it's my body it gets to the point where I ignore her then it gets heated then she tells me "What's with the attitude?" I'm on the verge of tears due to finding out that I got fired from my recent job I rather not get into it. She then boasts how she payed for ALL of my things which isn't entirely true all she did was buy me food & milk, tells me she HAS a job & how she can pay for everything at this point in the argument I'm about to cry because not only losing a job but dealing with an emotionally abusive cunt of an aunt! As much as I love my Grandfather he took her side & says I NEVER listen I NEVER listen because the stuff you guys say to me isn't constructive critism but straight out borderline emotional abuse! To my family abusive is ONLY physical but boy are they wrong BOTH emotional & physical abuse is bad & the stuff they say has caused me to have stomach problems & they WONDER WHY I don't talk to them or tell them where I go. Back to my Grandfather he sided with my aunt & said "You have a loving family!" Not loving ENOUGH! I realised the shitty behaviour my family has is NOT my problem & they will NEVER change at all! I distance myself from them my Grandma still doesn't know what boundaries are & I plan on being honest with her that I don't take calls at night as she calls me at night to make sure I'm alright which is nice but I'm out & about & she leave a voice message she cares but she NEEDS to learn she sort of learned she now knocks before entering a room but still doesn't WAIT still goes in despite if I'm naked or not.
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TBH as much as a cunt she is I just use her to help me drop of my things to my apartment & I have blocked her I plan on getting a new cellphone plan after buying a new phone because my iPhone 12 is refurbished & dies quickly so I'm going to take Spring/Summer jobs & hopefully get money back from my doing my yearly taxes & use that money to buy myself a new phone & a new plan as I'm currently on my mother's & I no longer want to be as they my mom or my aunt spam calls my phone whenever my grandparents are away on vacation, So am I the Jerk for standing up to my racist aunt? Also any advice if SHE does slug me in the face it's not so much I will press charges against her it's my family who will blow up my phone with texts & calls & they will NOT listen if a cop tells them no contact at all they're stubborn. What should I do?
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I feel SOO much better for posting this as bottling my disdain for my aunt & her constant bullying HAS made me develop acid reflux as of late & sleeping issues, if my aunt finds & reads this post I have one thing to say to her You're a vile bitch who deserves to BURN IN HELL! When you're on your deathbed I will NOT visit you, you can have the "Golden Child" do that since you favour her more than me, you treat her better than I because I have special needs & she's "normal." NO this post will NOT be taken down people need to see how much of a negative monster you are!
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Im 25M, and i have a psychotic ex gf, like we started january 2023 and broke up on may our last convo is around October. my parents didn't like her because she had a child during in her teen but i try to reason out with my parents until my mother diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer the doctor said to avoid stress so they can perform a surgery on her on fear i might lost my mother i gave up my relationship with her but for a while we kept on talking until October we completely stop. This January i met a girl who is 2 years younger than me i like the way her mind works and everything we sometimes go out with friends of her we constantly chatting until my ex gf get in the way she message her with various question which is kinda personal i was afraid the the girl im currently talking to would stop entertaining me due to this but she didn't but my ex still post which is we say "patama" and which she didn't appreciated my fear came back but she still understand my circumstances and we went out and she uploaded our time outside in her myday which my ex did not like and cause more friction my ex and i already confronted at first but now is different the girl im talking to decided to stop and cut ties with me while im on voyage im gonna lose my signal i tried to talk out my ex so she would stop but not interested she said this to me and i quote "Do you really think? May sit back and relax lang yo na happy ka? HINDIII! Hanggat de yo ok di kita hahayaan maging masaya mark my word. You're hurt now? So am I, pero triple pa ang sakit na binigay mo saakin! Kaya I am so glad appear ! "Fyi the mix language used is chavacano i dont know how did she know about the girl and i really wish that things where different i do really like and love that person but i dont want her to be in the middle of the crossfire, my ex harassed me until the one i like left me.. i have very small circle of friends so i have rant my feelings here and i dont know what to do btw my ex is very far away and work in hospital and the girl i like work as a teacher what should i do its killing knowing that she is slipping away and i can do nothing about it

Im 25M, and i have a psychotic ex gf, like we started january 2023 and broke up on may our last convo is around October. my parents didn't like her because she had a child during in her teen but i try to reason out with my parents until my mother diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer the doctor said to avoid stress so they can perform a surgery on her on fear i might lost my mother i gave up my relationship with her but for a while we kept on talking until October we completely stop. This January i met a girl who is 2 years younger than me i like the way her mind works and everything we sometimes go out with friends of her we constantly chatting until my ex gf get in the way she massage her with various question which is kinda personal i was afraid the the girl im currently talking to would stop entertaining me due to this but she didn't but my ex still post which is we say "patama" and which she didn't appreciated my fear came back but she still understand my circumstances and we went out and she uploaded our time outside in her myday which my ex did not like and cause more friction my ex and i already confronted at first but now is different the girl im talking to decided to stop and cut ties with me while im on voyage im gonna lose my signal i tried to talk out my ex so she would stop but not interested she said this to me and i quote "Do you really think? May sit back and relax lang yo na happy ka? HINDIII! Hanggat de yo ok di kita hahayaan maging masaya mark my word. You're hurt now? So am I, pero triple pa ang sakit na binigay mo saakin! Kaya I am so glad appear ! "Fyi the mix language used is chavacano i dont know how did she know about the girl and i really wish that things where different i do really like and love that person but i dont want her to be in the middle of the crossfire, my ex harassed me until the one i like left me.. i have very small circle of friends so i have rant my feelings here and i dont know what to do btw my ex is very far away and work in hospital and the girl i like work as a teacher its killing knowing that she is slipping away and i can do nothin about it

I'm in High School (15F) and us 6 members in one team have a History subject film to make for our project. Previously on February, our group had a plan to film on the weekends. When I told my mother(50F) and driver uncle(44M) about it, they instead made new adjustments to the plan for me. We were supposed to meet up at the mall 10am, but I wasn't allowed; instead I should be picked up by them. After the meet up, we need to head to my classmate's house. But since it's located in an old railroad area, I wasn't allowed. They weren't agreeing with my parent's plan, so I told them I can't go.
This last week of February, we had beef in the group chat. The director Carmen(14F) required all of us to participate in March 1, 10:00 am to 5pm. One of the locations are far away, about 20-30 minutes of travel time. My mother asked a lot of questions; every time she asks a question that I don't know, I immediately messaged the group chat. It was my fault since I couldn't ask all of it once, which turned into chaos. When I couldn't immediately get an answer, she would get furious to the point that she messaged our adviser about it, which then went to our History Teacher Duke(Early20'sM). Now he doesn't allow his students to film outside of the school premises without their knowledge or permission. So now my mother doesn't allow me to go to the far-away city, even though my role (Galileo) is supposed to be played there. Carmen begged me to cooperate, especially in the far-away city. But to my mom, no is no. She said it was a huge inconvenience, and I don't have any other solutions other than probably sneaking out.
The adviser asked everyone in the official group chat if anyone is filming for the History project. Almost everyone said yes and announced that teachers will not allow students to do film projects outside of the school premises. She also said a reminder (in Tagalog originally) and I quote "Please understand that if one of your classmate's parent doesn't give them permission, don't pressure them. Give them other tasks to do instead of blaming each other". But I still think I'm at fault, fully.
I'll post an update for the March 2 filming if anything happens. Once again, Am I The Asshole?

Hello Fil-Am here with 20+ years of work experience in the web/digital/internet industry in the US at the senior manager level. My family originally immigrated when I was a kid. I've lived in the US for over 35 years.
I am exploring the possibility of moving back to the Philippines to work and live there. I am a dual citizen so there are no visa issues. Fluent in Tagalog so no language issues. I know most jobs will be located in Makati or Manila and I am cool with living and working in Metro Manila and everything that entails.
I also expect a pay cut from my current US salary if I do move there. But willing to take that pay cut if it means being able to go back. I do have a minimum salary threshold I need to make to consider a position there.
The salary I would like to make is between P150K to P200K per month if I were to work in the Philippines. I've been researching salary sites like ERI and salarydotcom and they do say jobs at the senior manager or Director level for the web and digital industry pay around that much, especially for a multinational corporation or a major employer along the lines of Accenture, Asian Development Bank, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Ayala Foundation, etc.
I've also been checking out job sites like Indeed, LinkedIn and Glassdoor for jobs in the PH that fit my skills and experience. There are jobs out there but few and far between at my level. But I do see senior manager or Director listings with a heavy tilt towards digital marketing.
Question: Is it realistic for someone in my position to find a job in the PH at the salary I quoted above, and to be hired from abroad?
Note: I prefer to look for a full-time job rather than freelance. I've tried freelancing before and it is too unstable for me. I need the stability of a regular income and security of having benefits like retirement and health insurance.

Para po sa curious kung what kind of lerson am I.
This is a somewhat a comprehensive information sheet.

1. Introduction:
   
   • Im Yohnardo - Yoh for short
   • Currently a Data Processor / Data Entry Agent
2. Background:
   
   • Im from Pampanga - Born and raised
   • Did not finished my College Degree
   • But I was majoring in Music Education befor I stopped
3. Career:
   
   • As of now Im good at managing data and make reports as digestable as possible.
   • I have no career achievement as of the moment naliban sa a small promotion from time to time.
4. Passions/Interests:
   
   • My Indoor / Lazy hobbies are Gaming, Anime and Watching Series. Isama na rin ang Reddit browsing and Youtube watching. As for outdoor / active hobbies I do Biking and Camping (More on my Boy scout roots)
5. Skills:
   
   • Im technology Literate at kaya gumawa ng mga document and reports na madaling maintindihan. haha
   • They say im the listener. I can cook! I can Sing (Classically) and somewhat play instrument pero hindi ko na napapratise.
6. Achievements:
   
   • Matalino noong Highschool - Salutatorian
   • Wala nang ibang nakamit na achievemnt sa buhay haha
7. Goals:
   
   • My short term goal is to have a saving para maka balik ng manila and makapag tapos ng pag aaral.
   • As for the long term, Is to settle down sa Japan if possible.
8. Travel:
   
   • Northest ko is Baguio na napuntahan, Southes is Cebu. D pa po ako nakaka alis ng Bansa.
   • Medyo takot lumipad.
9. VolunteePhilanthropy Work:
   
   • Currently invested in some of environmental projects in tandem sa Aking Scouting roots nuong high school.
10. Books/Movies/Music:
    
    • Fave Book: World War Z / Fave Movie: Your Name / Fave Music: Basta Alt Rock like Linkin Park and Radiohead
    • I would recommend WESTWORLD! kht ung 1st season lng!
11. Personal Traits:
    
    • Introverted i person pero madaldal online. I can talk about any topic and kayang sabayan ang kausap sa level nila.
    • Values I hold dear is that As much as possible spread positivity. Napaka shitty na ng mundo dadagdag pa ba ako?
12. Yaw ko ng malungkot at may nag aaway. Madali akong kinakabahan kapag ganun. Mas at peace ako kapag good vibes.
    
13. Philosophies:
    
    • Life belief ko is make everything counts kasi saglit lang tayo dito
    • Beliefs that shape me was knowing you will end someday, means i-enjoy na ang ngayon.
14. Languages:
    
    • I fluently speak English and Tagalog. Tapos ang Kapampangan ko is Nakakaintindi lang pero pag papasalitain halatang hindi native haha. Japanese naman di ako naturuan haha
15. Fitness/Wellness:
    
    • Rarely exercise kaya chubby boy
    • Ang fitness Activity ko is Biking and Jogging
16. Technology:
    
    • Tech tool I use most is my PC and Phone
17. Physical Apperance
    
18. Height is 5'2
    
19. Chunby Boi
    
20. Chinito
    
21. Mukhang LPG (Maliit na mataba)
    
22. Fun Facts:
    
    • I was born 6 moths and 3 weeks. haha hi di buong 9 months
23. Quotes:
    
    • The world might not care, But I do.