Long post alert !
I have the following credit cards : HDFC, AMAZON PAY ICICI,AMEX,CITI and these for almost 14 years. But then I always missed having a SBI credit card. Early days I was very vary of having SBI cards because I have a feeling that scammers always have your data and getting scammed is quite a possibility.
Years passed and lately I see lot of fine offers coming for SBI credit cards and I started to feel that I should get one. Sometime last October there was an offer on their website, so I applied for the card. After few days I got to know that my card was declined due to 'Techinal reasons' . My cibil score was around 750. I got furious, called up my branch and they said don't apply online, these could happen online and adviced to come to them after 6 months. Cibil credit enquiry created.
Fast forward to may 2024 , I was coming out of shopping from Dmart and found these SBI card guys and they asked if I wanted one. Usually I don't entertain such asks be it on a petrol pump or on a mall coz I always think those are not the places to get a credit card. But I decided otherwise and shared details telling them the last October story and insisted that I don't want another dummy enquiry on cibil and told them it's okay if they think I was not eligible but be Frank to me. But they were super confident. They initially checked SBI side and they said I can apply , then they got my PAN and applied in a different app and and the end they got in their words 'Bureau response error' . After this they tried to get away from me quickly saying that there was an error and they would follow up. At this time I knew that they were never gonna follow up. They never stored my number. I insisted and asked their number and stored my number on their phone hoping they would follow up.Also verified their id cards.
Few days passed no follow up. CIBIL sent me SMS that there was a credit enquiry. I called these guys ..Did not attend the call for two days and I called from different number, that guy attended and said some excuses and he said app is still a problem and asked couple more days , asked him to follow up after the issue solved , but did not follow up. Yesterday I called and he said I can only apply after 15 days. I said ok.
Should I continue following up or leave it as such? Could not understand why SBI card rejects my application ( if at all they rejected) since I have 750+ score, 99.98% on time payment ( one delayed payment in 14 years) record and even a car loan with them .

I’m a software engineer in South Florida, making $150k annually while working roughly 25-30 hours a week. I have a flexible schedule and am financially comfortable, but I'm feeling bored and want a chance at real financial freedom.
I’m considering starting a "yardscape brokerage" business which would focus on offering landscape design, materials (rock/mulch/shells), plants, trees, lighting, patios, pergolas etc. My role would be to create and manage the brand and website, handle customer inquiries and relationships, while outsourcing the actual work to local suppliers and contractors for delivery and installation. (Understandably difficult)
A few key points about my plan:

• I am very good at Shopify website design and Google SEO.
  
• I would be the sole employee, with my wife assisting me.
  
• The actual work and delivery would be outsourced to local businesses and suppliers.
  
• I aim to start small, possibly only offering a few of the products/services (most likely trees and plants), so that I can manage the business part-time while maintaining my current job.
  
• Obviously the goal would be to scale up, quit my job, hire employees, and then offer some of the products/services myself.
  

Here are some questions I have:

• Would these local suppliers and contractors likely already work with businesses like mine?
  
• How is profit typically made in this type of business? Do I earn a commission like a salesperson, or is there another common payment structure?
  
• When approaching these companies to partner with, is there a more professional or widely understood term for my business model than "yardscape brokerage"?
  
• Is it feasible to start and manage this business while already working 25-30 hours a week?
  
• Do I have a realistic chance of growing this into a viable business that could eventually replace my current job, or would I need to be wildly successful to ever make more than 150K a year?
  

I appreciate any insights or experiences you can share.

Expedition Yeltomar
Frank, a human male in his middle ages, sits in the pilot seat of the small single occupant shuttle. It had been a rather challenging descent so he was taking this time to catch his breath and settle his nerves. The Zeno-biologist has been exploring planets for the past year, jumping from system too system, cataloging planets for the galactic federation. He has already cataloged 3 other life bearing planets in the last 17 systems but this one was by far the most challenging.
Star system 2B38A-22 is a fairly mundane system with a larger K-class orange dwarf star at its heart. It contains a single gas giant and a common ice giant in its outer system with the molten metallic core of another gas giant circling in a 15 day orbit of its parent star. Just farther out is the planet he is currently landed on, being a sizable heavy gravity terrestrial world of 2.8 galactic standard gravity and having an unusually dense atmosphere of 8.1 galactic standard.
Frank takes a deep breath and pulls himself out of the seat. The high gravity of this world was proving difficult to fight against after his time in deep space. 'I really need to get more exercise. I'm getting weak here.'; he says too himself. Being an Earth born human, this world is only 1.6 times the gravity of Earth, so should not be this hard to manage. Walking slowly over too the science station he starts taking readings on the atmosphere of the planet too see if he will need the bulky atmosphere isolation suit, or just the re-breather. 'Hmmm. 40% Oxygen, 30% Carbon dioxide, 22% Methane, trace amount of Nitrogen, Neon, Helium, other gasses too low to make out. That's a novelty. Gravity and atmospheric pressure high enough to hold onto Helium.'; he thinks, starting to get into his elements again.
'Dangerously low biodiversity, mostly grasses and a few types of larger shrub and tree analogs. The limited animal life seems to be almost entirely evolved to use some type of flight. Almost no ground based life. But seems to be a stable marine biodiversity. Signs of a recent mass extinction event, no more then 1000 stellar cycles ago. No signs of civilization detected. No ruins or any forms of technology detected. Anomaly? Hmmm. What type of anomaly? Electromagnetic/Radio-logical. Odd... Close by as well. I'll have to check that one out.'; he reads off in his head. The results read out by the sensors were a bit erratic, changing a bit randomly as he watched them. The thick atmosphere and the shifting magnetic field of the planet are having negative effects on the shuttles sensors, making them unreliable.
"The atmosphere should be breathable, even without the re-breather. That's a nice change. But that high methane level will probably stink. Not so sure about the density though. It's thick as soup out there. Might want the re-breather just in case. Temperature seems fine and there isn't anything dangerous in the atmosphere so won't need the suit at least. Thank goodness for that. Wasn't looking forward to trying to move around in that bulky thing in this gravity."; Frank was starting too think out loud again. Being out here in unexplored space was starting to get too him. "Did you get the info dump Bimni? Is the info matching up with your reading up there?"; Frank calls out, having pushed the comms button in the science lab.
BrightEyesAtSea is a female Adelie Astor-geologist who is unfortunately stuck in their "mother-ship" due too the Adelie being unable to handle high gravity planets. She was quite displeased to say the least. So many different interesting mineral combinations to study and she was stuck ship side. Bimni was a name the human, Frank, had said when trying to shorten her name and it just kind of stuck. Not that she minded, but why couldn't he just use her full name? "Reading different up here. Not seeing that anomaly reading either. Blasted electromagnetic interference."; she Warbles out. The translation software working well to convert her Adelie churrs into human guttural speech, and vise verse. "This one is your call. You've got the more accurate atmospheric readings. Not sure about the rest. Something is off on this world, the chemistry just does not add up."
That did not bode well. If Bimni was having bad feelings, then he needed to be careful. Her gut feelings had proven more accurate then any sensor. "Noted. I'll be careful when out and about. Just keep Rover warmed up and send him down if anything goes wrong."; Frank responds in turn. Rover was a military robotic mech that, despite many attempts at reprogramming, they were not able to tone down its brutishly aggressive responses to stimuli. So they never use it for anything but hazardous environments or when things go wrong. "Just be sure to grab as many mineral samples as you can fit onto the shuttle. It would be so much easier if I could just be down there.": Bimni responds with a huff. Frank can feel her telepathic annoyance even from this range, so she must be truly furious about being stuck ship side.
Finding no other reasons to postpone this, Frank grabs the re-breather and walks, still slowly, over too the airlock. "Alright Bimni. I'm heading out. I'll keep in touch with you using the shuttle as a relay. Hopefully the interference doesn't get too bad."; Frank says after after linking up the mobile comms earpiece to the shuttles antenna. It's not like he was going to go far from the shuttle anyways. Not in this gravity. Just far enough to reach that anomaly. Cycling the airlock, he steps inside. Deciding to wait on the re-breather for now, he clips it too his belt. He would see how bad the atmosphere was and decide from there. Pushing the cycle button, he waits for the airlock to balance atmospheres with the outside, getting a taste of the atmosphere in the process.
As the airlock finishes cycling and opens, Frank is hit with the thick humid atmosphere and the raw smell of methane. Huh. The smell was not as bad as he thought it would be. But the thick humid air was another matter. "It's like pea soup out here."; Frank comments. "I could almost swim in this stuff. But at least its not hard too breathe." Bimni quickly responds with; "Gee thanks. Now I want a bowl of pea soup, and you know we ran out 5 cycles ago." She didn't sound any happier after that comment. "Well sorry for making you hungry, with all the good food being on the mother ship and me only having excursion rations."; he jokes back at her hoping to at least lessen her bad mood. "The only solace I have for being stuck up here."; Bimni coos back, seeming to have lost at least some of her bad mood.
Frank takes his first steps out of the airlock onto this new world and... \*SPLAT\* feels something wet and soft hit his head and slide down his side. Lifting a hand up to wipe the side of his head, he is met with a slimy substance with bits of plant matter and something else. Tentatively, he takes a sniff; "Fraaack...."; Frank lets out with a sigh. Looking up he sees a 2 meter long gasbag creature with undulating manta ray like wings slowly swimming away high above him. "First steps out of the shuttle and I get crapped on by an alien."; he says with a bit of disgust. This is quickly answered with a trilling chuckle from Bimni though the comms. "Not a word."; he says too Bimni, who continues to chuckle even louder. Retracing his steps back up to the shuttles airlock, he reaches inside and grabs one of the rag towels and wipes off the droppings from his head and side. What a great start this is...
20 minutes later, Frank has already loaded several unique looking rocks into the shuttle for Bimni to examine later and has determined that there are in fact TWO types of grass in the surrounding area. Wow. And what is that? Another one of those elongated gasbag creatures high above. Both of the grasses are very similar too each other it seems, both being nearly black in color too absorb as much of the very dim light given off by the orange sun in the sky as possible. It is quite dim out despite it being close too mid day with the sky being completely clear. The thick atmosphere dispersing a lot of the light and giving everything a red orange tint with blues being quite faint. In the distance he can see a cluster of shrubs that look like thick orange coral with yellowish black balloon like gas bags growing out of the ends of each branch. And beyond that, in the general direction of the anomaly readings, there is an unusual rock formation overgrown with some type of plants.
"Still not much too see here Bimni, other then a few odd rocks here and there. I grabbed several samples for you already before you ask. The lack of diversity here is quite disconcerting."; Frank comments to Bimni through the comms. In response he only hears the faint crunching of whatever she had found to munch on while he did all the hard work down here. "Still making my way towards the anomaly. Hopefully there will be something interesting there. At least the bushes ahead are something different. Seem to be a thick stemmed Ficus analog with inflated leaf structures that look like balloons. Some type of adaptation to the high gravity I'm sure."; he continues the running dialog he's been trying to keep up since the gasbag poo incident. Though it has been hard too due with how little there has been to discuss.
Closing in on the bushes, they are in fact, just as he though. Similar to a ficus with thick stems, and the leaves are gas filled balloon like structures that hold up the stems. Really not much to look at other then being completely alien with a fascinating symbiosis with a few benign bacteria that seem to produce the gas that fills its leaves. A sudden sound diverts his attention. Frank looks up just in time to track an unusual 1 foot long bird like creature taking off from the ground in a hurry. The creature has 2 pairs of feathered wings attached too a bird like body, a long swan like neck with a bird like beaked head that hangs down below it's body, no legs, and 2 highly aerodynamic gasbags on it's back. This bird is already moving fast and accelerating even faster as it moves at a right angle too him. "That's a new one. A bird like life form. Has both 2 sets of feathered wings and a pair of gasbags for lift. It's fast too!"; he excitedly says too Bimni.
His excitement is short lived though, as a loud POP is heard and a 3 clawed tentacle is suddenly attached through the birds gasbag, holding onto the bird. This tentacle is in turn part of a large wing shaped creature with an open mouth, filled with sharp teeth, attached too the bottom of its wing shaped body. The bird is quickly dragged backwards towards the open mouth and swallowed hole. The whole time this flying wing creature is rippling with different colors like an earth cuddle fish. Before Frank can even exclaim about it, there is a soft booming sound as trails of faint smoke start to come out of a cylindrical shaped bulge on each side of the wing shaped creature before it shoots forwards at high speed, climbing up upwards again before it's body ripples with color one last time then seems to fade into the sky as its body color quickly matches the color of the sky.
"By all that's holy! Your not going to believe this one..."; Frank says in a hushed tone. His excitement replaced with caution and a bit of fear. "There's a flying predator here that can camouflage to match the sky. Damn thing appeared in the sky out of no where and then was gone from sight just as quickly. Wolfed down that bird like you do with those sardines you like so much."
"Are you safe?"; Bimni responds with honest concern in her squawking voice.
"I think so. Don't see that thing anywhere. But you better make sure Rover is ready too launch on a moments notice in case that thing comes back. The damn thing seemed to be jet powered as well."; Frank responds, still a bit shaken up. He was not expecting anything like that, he wasn't going to lie. Looking around him, there was no shelter nearby other then the rock formation ahead.
"Can you take shelter for a bit somewhere? Just in case it's still around?"; Bimni asks, sounding quite concerned as she preps Rover for immediate launch.
"There's no where too take shelter. Closest is that rock formation. Hopefully there is some place to shelter near there."; Frank responds, not feeling very confident. But it's that or make a break for the shuttle, a good 15 minutes away though the open grasses.
"Do it. And by the gods, keep your human senses open!"; Bimni blurts out.
Frank didn't even bother with a response. He went into a full jog, the fastest he could move in the high gravity of this world. Even with his crazy human endurance, he was all too quickly winded and forced too slow down as he neared the rock formation. Finding an overhang with a shallow but human sized indent under it he ducks into it. It might not be much, but at least he only need to worry about what's in front of him now. "I'm there... Found a... overhang. In shelter."; he panted out. "No sign... of danger." He hasn't felt this winded since he used to run marathons back on Earth.
Having taken a moment to catch his breath again, Frank places his hands on the sides of the indent he's tucked into and only now realizes something is off. Pulling his eyes away from looking for danger, he glances at the surfaces around him. Too smooth. He runs his hands along it again and can feel the seams of... construction? "Uh Bimni? This rock formation is not natural. It was constructed."; he says in a slow quiet voice.
"What? Someone carved it?"; she asked. Frank ran his hands along the underside of the overhang while watching for danger, feeling the framework and paneling that was used too construct it. Metal. "No. It's a structure of some type. It's made of metal."; he responds. No ruins or technology my arse! "Wish you were down here even more now, your better with this stuff."
"I'm sending down Rover. I'll put it on manual and pilot it remotely myself."; Bimni states with a sharp chirp, leaving no room for argument. "Yeah, that's a good idea."; Frank responds softly. "I'll wait until Rover touches down before I start exploring. Don't need that big flying wing to catch me off guard."; he replies back.
Frank remains under the ledge while he waits for Rover to drop in, but luckily it's only a matter of a few minutes and the mech descends too the ground, curled into a ball, and under parachute. The mech is ready to go, being able to survive entry without the shuttle thanks to it's built in heat shield. Rover unrolls and stands up, being half the height of Frank, walking on 4 legs, with a manipulate arm on its back. With Rover there to help guard, Frank is able to leave his impromptu shelter. "Nice aim there Bimni. Landed Rover within meters."; he says to Bimni, a bit impressed. "Are you detecting anything new with Rovers sensors?"; Frank asks.
"Only getting the same reading, anomaly."; Bimni's voice comes from the speaker built into Rovers frame. "Now where did you find the metal?"; she asks as Frank gestures Rover over too the underside of the overhang and the indent he was tucked into before. "Back here, and above us. These surfaces are unnatural and the underside of this overhang is metal."; Frank points out.
Bimni pilots Rover under the overhang and uses the manipulator arm, with its light, to examine the surfaces more closely. "hmmm. Fascinating. These surfaces are of an alloy I've never seen before."; she says with a chirp of interest. As she is maneuvering to look at different parts of the surface, she accidentally bumps Rover into a panel on the side of the indent. There is a groaning noise from the back wall before the wall just as suddenly slides sideways revealing an opening. A soft glow is comming from inside along with the sounds of running machinery.
Giving each other a quick glance, both Frank, and Bimni piloting Rover, step in through the open doorway too figure out what is inside. There is a short corridor that leads too a room filled with softly glowing lights and what can only be a computer control room of some sort. Everything is marked with an alien language that is completely undecipherable. "Now this is interesting. And it's still running. Can you make anything of this?"; Frank says too Bimni before going to oe of the control panels and trying to figure out what it says. He doesn't notice Bimni's lack of response as he touches one of the displays.
There is a quick flash of the dim lighting in the room before all the sounds in the room go quite and the light turn off. "Did I touch the wrong thing?"; Frank asks. "Bimni, any idea? Bimni?"; he asks before turning around too see Rover standing un-moving in the corridor. "Hello. Bimni, you there?" There is no response but suddenly there is a burst of of some form of energy that even Frank can feel and an alarm starts blaring. Think now is the time to leave, Frank turns to Rover and grabs the handle on its back, pushing on it to try and get Rover's tactile override to move it. He's a bit grateful when it starts to back up through the corridor as its supposed to.
Once back outside, in the open air, there is a beep, as Bimni is able to reconnect too Rover. "What happened? I suddenly lost signal with Rover and lost your signal as well frank."; Bimni keels out, sounding quite worried.
"Not sure. Rover just stopped moving in the corridor while I was inside the room on the other side. Maybe some kind of shielding or interference?"; Frank responds while the alarm can still be clearly heard in the background.
"What did you do?"; Bimni demands now that the alarm sound can be heard clearly by her as well. "Nothing. I was just trying to see what the panels were and touched one, then the whole thing shut down and the alarm started going off. A growl is heard through Rovers speakers; "You humans have no common sense! You touch everything without even thinking..."; Bimni grumbles out. Frank can only shrug his shoulders sheepishly, can't really fight ones nature.
Any further comments from either of them is cut short as a pair of dragon like creatures land heavily beside them and let out a roar. These creatures are close too 4 feet tall at the shoulders, standing on four thin legs with 4 toed clawed feet. They both are black in color with thin, spindly looking bodies that are covered in very short, dense fur. They have a pair of wings on their back that are larger then their bodies and shaped like the wings of an albatross, and a single row of wide scales running along their backs from the top of their head too half way down their tail. The larger of the two stands up on it's hind legs and starts making shooing motions with its front legs and wings as it takes steps towards them. It is making strange animal vocalizations while it is doing this, sounding like many different animals, most unknown, but some sounding strangely familiar.
Bimni readies to defend Frank using Rover, but a quick gesture by Frank delays her. "Lets back away slowly and see how they respond first."; Frank says as he starts to back away from the structure. Begrudgingly, Bimni follows suit, backing Rover away from the building as well. Their actions are rewarded by the larger creature moving to stand in front of the open passage and crossing its front legs, like it is standing guard. The smaller of the two slips behind the larger one and hurries into the structure, still moving on all four legs. As it slips past, and into the structure, a series of marking can be seen over its back legs and tail. They are green in color and resemble lightning or electricity.
A loud series of animal noises is heard coming out from inside the structure. The larger creature blocking the passageway leans down, without taking its eyes off Rover and Frank and barks a series of noises back into the structure in turn. As it does this, marking can be seen on the sides and back of this creature as well, this time a red flame like pattern can be seen. A quick series of flashes is seen from the corridor and the sound of the alarm is silenced followed by the sounds of machinery starting up again. The smaller creature exits the structure shortly after, using its tail to hit the panel too close the doorway as it exits. Both creatures are now standing there staring at Frank and Rover, not looking too happy.
The smaller of the two creatures standing in front of Frank and Bimni turns too the larger one and lets out a series of barks, pops, clicks, and whistles which the larger one turns its head slightly towards it and gives off a purr sound. The smaller one stands up on it's hind legs and stretches up to rub it's nose on the chin of the larger one before dropping down too all 4 legs again and slipping behind the other. It quickly moves away from everyone and launches its self into the air with some visible effort, flying away on it's long thin wings.
"So what do you think Bimni? They don't seem like animals too me. Their actions seem a bit too civilized."; Frank says too Bimni, with a strange echo. "You think they are the ones who built this structure?"; Bimni responds with no echo from Rovers speaker. "I'm not sure. They might also be another species that found the structures already here."; Frank says with that odd echo again, while turning towards Rover. "I'm not sure."; is repeated in Franks voice. Frank freezes, looking around. Bimni also hears that, and has Rover turn completely around too scan the area. The creature in front of the structure has uncrossed it's front legs and is now standing less defensively with its head cocked too the side.
"I'm not sure."; is said again in Franks voice. This time it is definitely coming from the creature in front of the structure, as it tips its head too the other side. "Did it just copy your voice?"; Bimni asks, having turned Rover to face the creature again. "I think it did."; Frank responds, with no echo. Raising one of his hands up he points at himself and says; "Frank", then points at Rover and says; "Rover". Finally giving an open handed gesture towards the creature, he waits for a response. The creature seems to think about it for a bit and is about to give a response but suddenly turns it's head too the side as three more of the creatures fly in and land nearby.
One of the three that lands is the smaller one with green markings from earlier. Another is only slightly larger with blue markings that look like lightning, while the third is much larger. The largest of the three is even larger then the one standing in front of the structure. It has bright yellow flame markings on it's sides and tail and is carrying some sort of device. All three of them stand up on their hind legs shortly after landing and start talking to each other and the one that was there already quite heatedly. An unusual combination of different animal noises, mixed with pops, whistles, and barks and exchanged before the one at the structure stops and points at Frank and says; "Frank", then at Rover and says; "Rover" in a perfect imitation of Franks voice.
"Well, that settles it. If there was any doubt about intelligence..."; Bimni says after the obvious display. As soon as Bimni speaks, the largest of the beings taps a few times on the device it has and a projection appears above the device like a video screen. On this projected screen is the world they are standing on, seen from high orbit. The projection begins playing a video of sorts that shows a world lush with life. None of which has been seen anywhere. The video changes view, showing different versions of the 4 beings on different parts of the world, with cities and lots of advanced technology around them. Then the view changes again too high orbit where a powerful solar flare is shown flashing over the planet with several chunks of metalic asteroids being swept along with it.
The view changes again so the beings running in terror and crowding into bunkers and sturdy structures as asteroids rain down in fireballs, exploding high in the thick atmosphere. The sky turns flames as the atmosphere is ignited by the asteroids. The view changes again to a few survivors making their way out of bunkers to find a world flattened and burned empty. The view changes to high orbit again, but the view is getting closer too the planet as if what is giving the view is falling towards the planet. The lush planet appears burned barren and brown as the view goes static as the view source starts to burn up as well. Finally the view shifts too the few survivors giving up everything they have to build structures like the one in front of them as plants start to grow around the structures in slowly increasing circles. The 4 beings all turn too look at Rover and Frank while the one in front of the structure points at it then sweeps it's hands around at the general area.
Several days go by with the beings on the planet, soon known to call themselves Yeltarians, surprisingly quickly learning how to use the human language. Their own language involving implied meaning, and the sounds produced expressing that meaning instead of words. With the language barrier broken, the Yeltarians were able to fully explain what happened too their world. A massive solar flare had shattered the dieing inner planet of their system, flinging chunks of the planet outwards with the flare its self. Between the flare and the following planetary chunks, they had set the atmosphere ablaze, catastrophically altering the atmospheric composition. Most non aquatic life was decimated in the initial inferno while much more of the remaining life on the planet slowly dieing off from the atmospheric changes.
When the Yeltarian survivors finally left their bunkers, they found a world leveled by fire and chocked off by a nearly un-breathable atmosphere. Using all their advanced knowledge, the survivors hatched a plan to save both themselves and their world. A massive terraforming project over their entire planet. They built hundreds of terraforming machines around the world using every available scrap and surviving piece of technology they could find. Then to give their planet a chance to heal, they turned to their own culture and shifted it from a materialistic high tech one, to a minimalist druidic society. All this, just to save as much as they could of what life remained.
But the remaining biodiversity of their world is too low, and they continue to loose species to disease and failed genetic alterations. Their world will not last much longer with how few living things remain. Even their terraforming equipment is starting to fail. So this leaves them with only one hope, to find suitable life outside of their own world to balance the failing ecosystems. But, they had torn apart their only remaining spacecraft to build the equipment that sustains their world. And they have no way to rebuild them with all their technology regressed to the state it is in now.
They were also willing to explain their race as well. What had once been several different Yeltarian races, had all become one race after the cataclysm. They are of two different sexs, male and female, with the females being larger and stronger in general. While the males tend to be smaller and much lighter, but also faster and more maneuverable in flight. They also explained the meaning of the markings on their bodies. The color doesn't mean as much, but the pattern shows which of the two divergent genetic traits are active in their bodies. All Yeltarians have the genetics to use an organic fire through the production of alcohol in their bodies, and bio-electrics generated by specialized cells in their bodies. But only one of the two genetic traits ever manifests due to a special gene that randomly activates one trait genetic while blocking the other trait genetics when they reach maturity.
"So, would you be willing to help us out? Take one of us with you to help search for compatible life in the depths of space? Too save our dieing world?"; The leader of the local Yeltarians asks Frank and Bimni. "This is our only chance since we are unwilling to give up our dieing world. Our, Yeltomar."

Me (25F) and my partner (26M) have been together for almost two years, and after all I’ve learned since finding about his PA I’m stuck as to what I should do next. We had previously discussed the topic of porn quite early on in our relationship, which we both agreed on having watched, but I assumed this was something we had BOTH left in the past as now we have eachother, no longer having a need for it. In November 2023, at the end of a 3 month vacation with him, I find he had casually been viewing porn a couple days in a row. I questioned him, said he only views it casually so I didn’t press him further on the topic. Since then, he has proceeded to watch and read porn almost daily, multiple times a day WHILE at work, and has thought paying for an OF and sexting the creator was a great idea (March of this year). I had forgiven him for the OF deal (turns out the creator he subbed to wasn’t even a real person, just a scam account lol) , definitely haven’t rebuilt the trust I initially had for him, but we both agreed to delete the account together and he made it pretty clear he wouldn’t touch OF again, which he has actually stuck by his word.
After this, things only seem to get worse after finding history regarding erotic stories, involving topics of VERY underage girls which 100% crosses every line. I used to get so excited thinking about creating a life with this guy, having kids, but now I fear thinking about having a child, a girl, with someone who fantasises and gets off to content involving very dark daddy/daughter stuff. I understand the kink, but when finding erotic stories your partner is reading involving grown MEN with 10 year olds, it’s heartbreaking. I did confront him about this, and he promised me he would never hurt someone like that. Deep down, I know he’s being honest, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that his addiction has become so bad that he feels the need to look up this stuff just to get off. I’m tired.
He has always treated me so well, is affectionate, supportive, loving, never has been a drop in our sex life, we spend literally every spare moment together and yet he’s doing stuff like this behind my back. It’s really difficult seeing first hand how these addictions ruin good people. I know he has a good heart, but I can’t picture a future with someone whose thoughts and mind have been so badly distorted by such a horrible addiction. I don’t really know what the right thing to do is. I don’t know how to bring it up again without sounding like I’m obsessed about the topic.
If someone could just give me a little piece of advice, it would be much appreciated.

The necropolis was gorgeous, for what it was. Its white outer walls hiding the darker Victorian Gothic interior. The tech that was hidden in the walls though was able to move bodies in their caskets from a designated place in the necropolis to the "viewing area" as the necropolians called it. This was where I waited for my, for lack of a better term, escort to take me to the mortuary. Since science has grown surprisingly fast our abilities for forensic sciences have also grown, and that's to whom I was headed. (S)He was an, unusual (wo)man to say the least. An expert in their field and about as learned as a doctor, if not multi-doctorate. If you ever asked them why they never pursued an actual doctorate, they would get angry and act all prissy while saying that going to school would've slowed them down and all they needed were the basic certificates for their work. The reality though, revealed to me during a drunken bout, they just never liked school and believed that it ultimately stunted a person's growth and ability to question the reality around them, that everything that you need to learn is already in books and in some form or another in digital content online. They were brilliant, if a little wacky. About five minutes after I had arrived and was sitting down in the viewing area, a little box rolled up to me making a couple of beeps to let me know to follow it and immediately started rolling towards the wall opposite of where it came from. When it looked like it was about to hit the wall, a hidden door opened up by the casket viewer, inside was a set of stairs leading down into the darkness. Stepping through the doorway I became acutely aware of sounds seemingly coming from all around me suddenly. It really is impressive, as though I just stepped from a tomb to a busy workshop, the sounds of gas escaping pistons, whirring, and clanking chains flooded my ears. I continued down the stairs following my helpful little box, which despite its size and shape would suggest was actually quite nimble on the stairs. It seemed to have wheels that would extend down to the next step as the edge rolled over it and once the back of the box was clear of the step it would drop back into its squat position, hiding its wheels as quickly as possible. It continued to do so the entire way. The box seemed to notice me watching it and made a kinda shrill whistle and its undercarriage light went from a comfortable yellow to a, is that... Peach? Is it blushing? My god I think it is! I let out a small chuckle and my little blushing box stopped dead in its tracks mid-step, its light suddenly going white, almost blinding me from behind and lighting up the hallway for a split second. Luckily both of my feet were solidly on a step so I didn't take a tumble or anything, but I couldn't help doing anything but laughing harder. After a second the little box crept up behind me and continued down, its status light continuing to show pinkish. I followed it slowly, the chuckle slowly dying in my throat as we reached Ceriths office. Well "office" was being nice. Morgue, mortuary, both of these fit just as well. Cerith was, for the most part, a recluse. We reached the door and the little robot continued through a little hole in the wall. I waited a second and knocked. "Enter!" Came the voice on the other side. I opened the door and stepped through. Along one wall set doors that normally housed the dead waiting to be processed. One out of dozens were open, its occupant missing from its silver slab. The middle of the room was brightly lit from a single overhead light. In the middle of the circle of light stood a figure, long Raven colored hair bound in a single braided ponytail, the rest of them bound in medical examination garb. They seemed to be engrossed in the corpse in front of them. The little robot rolled up next to Ceriths feet and made a little chiming noise. "Thank you Tabitha. That'll be all," said a voice that was neither male nor female from beneath the mask. Just sort of in the middle. "Tabitha? Never knew you to be sentimental," I said gently, the chuckle in my voice making itself clear. "I see you still find even the darkest things funny," Cerith quipped back. "My line of work Cer, you take the laughs where you get them. Look who's talking anyway, you're usually elbows deep inside someone 25/8. Even you have a seriously fucked up sense of humor." That got Cerith laughing, sounding like thunder and the whip crack of lightning at the same time. "You've got me there Julius," Cerith said after his laughter subsided. I think he suits him today. Which is both a good and bad sign. When Cerith is acting like a man, it usually means some grim news, but they are going to try to make it seem like not a big deal and laugh a lot. Plus they almost never call me Julius. Something was wrong. Very seriously wrong. As this realization hit me I got this odd tingle in the small of my back. Like someone had put several freezing needles under the skin and into my spine, something I'm familiar with from the anima-games from the cyber sphere. Halos: Divine Retribution If I remember right. Those Angels were sadistic bastards. I shuddered at both the memories from the game and the shockingly similar feeling I was experiencing. Dread, that feeling is dread my friend, the quiet part of my mind whispered to me. "Cer, what's wrong bud," I asked. He didn't say anything. For a long time. After a few minutes I was about to ask again, but then he spoke. And what came out will haunt me, quite possibly till the day I die . "This ones temporal lobes are gray matter. Nothing even close to being coherent. Just. Dead neurons. And he's not the first." Gone was the jovialness of the past ten minutes. This was Cerith the whisperer. In an almost dead tone they continued, "the others didn't fare nearly as well as this one. Most of the brain is intact here, which means that if they didn't deliver a massive shock or something similar to fully kill him he would have possibly lived as a vegetable with memory issues, but that's not what I'm looking for in this one here now. Now I'm trying to figure out what else the others had in common with him, and so far that's brought up all but naught. Well this one has a bit of liver damage. But that's about it. So Mr John was a drinker. Not much there." When Cerith is "whispering" the best thing to do is just let him be. But I couldn't help but prick my ears up at mentions of others with similar wounds, and the fact that this one had liver issues.... "Cer. You said... CERITH," I finally snapped out and caught his attention mid ramble. "Thank you. You said liver problems. But nothing similar to the others? No drugs? Alcohol? Not even a synth brain-pattern? You checked Everything?" "Well let's see, John here was a drinker that's for sure," Cerith said his hands never ceasing their work as he started to put 'John' back together seemingly satisfied that he found nothing else, " Mr Lombardo in chest 3 had cocaine mostly, and Mr Lei in chest 9 had opium. Although to tell you where it came from for both I'd have to do a molecular analysis and see what it compares to. Other than that, no. Absolutely nothing connecting any of them. As far as I can tell they are all unique cases completely separate from each other except for the damages to the brain. And I only found this by accident. During a routine scan I happened to look at the screen as it passed through the brain and noticed an odd density in his temporal lobes. Just slightly higher than normal. Hell to be honest with you it had the density of a fresh cutie, you know those little oranges?" I nodded, and he continued, "Right of course you do, who hasn't? Anyways it's just super dense compared to the surrounding tissues, and I take a sliver probe and drop it in like you do. And when I turn the damn thing on to look at the neurons the area all I see are dead cells packed on top of one another. Not natural decay death, but forced to die. Most of the cell walls were torn open like they had blown up from the INSIDE. That's when I called you." He finished up with 'John' putting the final few perfect stitches in place and sealing him up for good. Once he seemed happy with his work he called out to his seemingly empty morgue, "Grom I'm done! Can you put Mr John Doe here back in his room? Number 11 if you please." He turned away from the body on the table and removed the giant rubber gloves that went to his elbows. He walked into the dark calling out over his shoulder, "I'll be back in a sec I gotta scrub out, want a drink? I have beer, whiskey, vodka, I might have some Cognac somewhere, and bourbon. Your choice, just call out what you want and Tabitha will be there with it. Also have a seat! We have much to discuss." With that he disappeared from both sight and sound in the dark. It was a neat trick I have to admit, and it had something to do with how he had his morgue set up. Even the giant war machine that was Grom was absolutely quiet unless you managed to catch him through the gloom. I thought for the longest time the reason why I could never catch him sneaking around was from some sort of stealth program put into place, but when he goes up and down those stairs he's as loud as can be. So it was definitely not his program but the way the morgue was built. I'm confident in saying that because when I turned back to look at the table, or rather where it was, there was now a chair that looked like it had just grown out of the floor and the body was gone. Also the thought of something as big as a fridge just sneaking up on some poor combatants and snapping their necks as quietly as he walks in the morgue just gives me the heebies. As I sat in the chair a thought occurred to me. Considering how advanced the morgue seemed to be it would make sense that it had some sort of AI or integrated computer. "Computer?" I had been here a million times but I'd never had a chance to think about it nor try anything. But not even a second after I had said anything a response came. "Yes Detective Julius. My name is DANNA. Or Dynamically Actualized Neural Net AI. How can I be of service?" The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, slightly feminine and breathy, all service but no sex. Honestly I was just surprised that it worked. "DANNA, I was just wondering if I could take a look at the files that Cerith had mentioned? If it is as bad as they claim I think I might need to know anyway. Also if you can get those blood works done for me I'd appreciate it. Also something with whiskey or rum would be amazing." "Of course Detective. I will have Tabitha bring it shortly. And how would you like the information to be displayed? Desktop or dynamic?" That piqued my interest. "Dynamic please." No sooner than I had said a series of screens blinked into existence in front of me. It was some sort of Holographic display. I reached out and touched the display and was surprised that I got stopped by something. It was hard but surprisingly I found that I could push into the screen with my finger if I pushed hard enough. It kinda felt like... Oobleck. I also found that by pinching the corner I could pull the screens closer or further from me. I even found that I could grab individual pages of the reports off the screen and hold it. It felt like a thin sheet of plastic and responded like both a tablet and a singular document. If I switched pages the old one would appear back onto the screen and the next would pop onto it. This was about as slick a set up as I had ever seen and whistled my appreciation under my breath, I'm definitely going to have to ask Cerith about where they got DANNA from. "See something you like, big boy?" A very DEFINITELY female voice said in my ear from behind, soft and throaty, screaming come hither. I felt small dainty hands gently caress the tops of my shoulders before slipping down the front of my chest, pulling me back into the chair that I didn't realize I had been slouching in. "You know better than that, Jules. Your back is important and slouching will destroy the muscles and cause some to atrophy." The voice left no room for argument, and left me more than a little bit flushed. I closed my eyes and dropped my head back as far as it would go, the back of my head hitting something soft and warm, stretching my neck and back out. "Damnit Cer I thought you were scrubbing out, not completely changing." I hadn't realized it, but at least an hour had passed from when I started playing with the computer and working with the files if the clock on the computer was to be believed. "You looked like you were pretty into it so I decided not to disturb you. Plus you know how much fun it is for me to tease you like this. Especially after, well these..." One hand waved at the screens in front of me. The small hands' nails were painted the darkest black and almost made them blend into the void that existed outside of the screens. "I do Cer, and that's part of the problem, we both know that it's never going to happen. Least of all for you." She laughed a little, a clear beautiful sound and the body beneath my head bounced slightly telling me I was against her stomach. "Still I know you enjoy these little moments," she said, the pressure on the back of my head disappearing and was replaced by the voice right by my ear again as she whispered, "especially when we both know that's not at all true." At the last words she nibbled my ear gently. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her, in spite of my baser instinct rising to meet her VERY juicy insinuations. But for as long as I've known Cerith and as many times as we have both been VERY drunk, they have NEVER cashed in. I just assumed that it was a quirk of theirs. "Anyways," she said standing back up, "what are you thinking so far about the files? Spooky, right? Like I said, nothing that I can see connects them." Her hands gestured in front of me in an approximation of a shrug. She then clasped them together, wringing the knuckles and effectively trapping me in the chair and back against her abdomen. I scrubbed my eyes with my fingertips acutely aware of the growing headache that suddenly made itself known. "Your right from the medical side. I can't see everything you can, of course. I don't have near the knowledge that you have," which is true being that Cerith is at least 200 years old. I never asked directly, the old adage still holding about women and their age. Still though her answers to certain questions would lead one to believe her being her first adult car was a Bing Cherry 2201 Firebird GT with white walled hover trim and chrome accents. From pictures that I could find it looked like a slick piece. Looking back to the screens I couldn't help but feel that itch again. I couldn't explain it. That prickly feeling of ice needles again, this time in the back of my skull. As much as I'd hate to admit it. I think Cerith is right. I sighed heavily before saying "send me everything. I'll open a new case file and have the team start working on it first thing." She made a happy noise and bounced slightly, clearly satisfied with my decision to take it on. I reached out and to my left and a glass was placed gently into my hand by Tabitha. I hadn't even realized she had come over while I was working and was now ready for that drink. Room temperature rum and cola. The drink went down smoothly enough considering I drained the glass in one gulp, during which time I finally got a good eyeful of Ceriths current form. Or rather the underside of part of it. From what I could tell she was wearing a black T-shirt. That was it. I put the glass back down, it's job done without moving my head and said, "What a lovely view Cerith. I'm guessing you chose this to try to get a rise out of me?" I couldn't lie though it was affecting me, but I couldn't let her know that. Not when she's like this. Otherwise she'll continue to tease me till she leaves me with the absolute worst case of blue balls this side of the City. Her hands came up and cupped my chin almost lovingly, and her voice said "Of course Detective. Do you not approve? Or would you rather I change back to my medical examination form? Or something else?" Her words dripped with implied sex. I groaned, loudly, and said, "This is fine. Jesus Cer." Before we could continue our most scintillating of conversations there was a sudden PING! And DANNA said, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but there's a message for you Cerith. It says 'If you can get to the department Cerith, do so. We need you to explain your paperwork. And if Detective Julius is still with you have him come in too.' signed the Chief. Would you like to reply?" 'shit, I forgot the morgue kills all signals,' I thought to myself as I stood up gently (regretfully) prying myself from Ceriths grasp with a, "duty calls. Need a lift?" I stretched gently, the scales in between my shoulders clicking appreciatively for the stretch, and turned around to notice she was indeed, just wearing a black T-shirt that hugged her voluptuous figure closely. The scales in my back clicked shut in surprise. Cerith let out a small cute chuckle, "I see after all this time I can still surprise you," she said blowing a kiss my way, reminding me of a little Gothic pixy. I rolled my eyes away from her and willed my scales to relax. I grabbed my jacket off the back of the chair, slinging it on and clicking the neck clasp shut under the cord that connected my scales to the unit in my head. I was awarded the cybernetics upon completing my training and getting all my licenses to have them. The force had allowed me to customize it, I had chosen top of the line. A dual unit with custom built AI. The individual scales were ceracoated titanium microprocessors all running in both series and parallel, and could move to expel heat or react. The main unit was the same except it was one solid unit that replaced a chunk of skull. Once that was done I zipped up the front of the leathers and ran the scales through the racer setting. They clicked and flattened against the outside of the jacket, securing it to my back. I shrugged making sure it was comfortable. "I'll take the fact that you're only in a t-shirt you'll be along shortly?" "Certainly detective." Her voice was filled with dismissive submission... And sadness? I looked back at her and noticed her makeup was gone. Or had she had any on in the first place? I gave myself a mental shake. There's no way. This was Cerith, veritable goddess of the necropolis. I put the last few minutes away for review later. Chief called. I have to go. On an instinct I thought long dead, I reached out and squeezed her hand. I felt a slight squeeze back. And then she let go with a, "Go on, be a good detective. I'll be along shortly." I left with Tabitha as my guide. Before Cerith disappeared into the darkness I thought I heard her whisper, "please don't leave." My scales raised in a saddened response. I couldn't be sure I heard her right though. If I heard her at all. I reached back and stroked them, knowing my ai probably heard her, and knowing it could feel me touch the scales. After a few seconds the scales settled down. 'I know buddy,' I thought to the AI. It couldn't respond like usual AI. The force thought that was too dangerous. What if it went rogue? What if it tried to kill the host and take over? The list went on and eventually they decided the basics were ok. When I got my unit one of the first things I did was jack it into a diagnostic to see what kind of hardware I was dealing with exactly because manufacturer specs from real use are sometimes different with AI if the bits and bobs are in place. When I did, all I got on the screen was 'Hello?'

Looking to get a S90C or D which I’ll be using or media, gaming and productivity as it will be connected to a PC. I have been using a 55in TV about 10ft away as a PC monitor for about a year and looking to upgrade. I’m also a college student so I spend a decent bit of time doing stuff on word and Google doc and Anki (flash cards). Is the risk of burn in using productivity apps too high with an OLED ? How about text clarity. I would assume it’s not as much of an issue as on monitors since I’m sitting much further away and windows scaling would be at 300%. Not sure if anyone who uses these TVs like that would have any idea.

Long post alert !
I have the following credit cards : HDFC, AMAZON PAY ICICI,AMEX,CITI and these for almost 14 years. But then I always missed having a SBI credit card. Early days I was very vary of having SBI cards because I have a feeling that scammers always have your data and getting scammed is quite a possibility.
Years passed and lately I see lot of fine offers coming for SBI credit cards and I started to feel that I should get one. Sometime last October there was an offer on their website, so I applied for the card. After few days I got to know that my card was declined due to 'Techinal reasons' . My cibil score was around 750. I got furious, called up my branch and they said don't apply online, these could happen online and adviced to come to them after 6 months. Cibil credit enquiry created.
Fast forward to may 2024 , I was coming out of shopping from Dmart and found these SBI card guys and they asked if I wanted one. Usually I don't entertain such asks be it on a petrol pump or on a mall coz I always think those are not the places to get a credit card. But I decided otherwise and shared details telling them the last October story and insisted that I don't want another dummy enquiry on cibil and told them it's okay if they think I was not eligible but be Frank to me. But they were super confident. They initially checked SBI side and they said I can apply , then they got my PAN and applied in a different app and and the end they got in their words 'Bureau response error' . After this they tried to get away from me quickly saying that there was an error and they would follow up. At this time I knew that they were never gonna follow up. They never stored my number. I insisted and asked their number and stored my number on their phone hoping they would follow up.
Few days passed no follow up. CIBIL sent me SMS that there was a credit enquiry. I called these guys ..Did not attend the call for two days and I called from different number, that guy attended and said some excuses and he said app is still a problem and asked couple more days , asked him to follow up after the issue solved , but did not follow up. Yesterday I called and he said I can only apply after 15 days. I said ok.
I want advice on whether to pursue this and get a card or leave it as is. These guys wasted one enquiry on cibil for nothing. Despite having score more than 750+ , not sure why SBI rejects my application (if they have) I have home loan , car loan and zero delayed payment even since 2010.

Hello, my name is Andrej and I am from Slovakia . I was working for one company here in Vancouver. After a short time I asked if they can support me with LMIa (labour market impact assessment). They said yes it cost me almost 5000$ to get this (work permit) . Since you have create a position(let say bit higher position than normal, in my case supervisor) is not easy to fill by Canadian citizen so the company can hire someone else who is eligible and qualify for it … means bit more wedge30$/hour .
My boss wanted to make an agreement with me where I will return him some money from my pay check . Because by his words I was too expensive for him … so he demand from me to return him 3$/hour from my paycheck (after taxes) .
I refused it and try to make it half he denied it and said ok, so first he changed my working schedule to afternoon and night shifts (mostly weekend’s) only. And when he found someone else to do it, he just fired me.
I like would to ask you what I can do know? Is this even Legal? ?? What are my options .
Thank you, sorry for my English it’s not my native language.

The HRRFY.
It’s the horror movie festival where something genuinely fucked happens every year. And I mean every year.
Like, there are some screenings that unleash hordes of bats while the movie is playing. You're free to leave whenever you want, but the movie will still play for 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Other screenings hire actors to turn at you and scream at some point in the movie. You have no idea when, or how many times.
It's a festival where the word "illegal" can't even begin to describe what occurs. You'd only attend if you were a young, stupid edgelord like me who was trying to prove he was hardcore to his friends.
Trust me. DO NOT GO.
You have nothing to prove to anyone. Don't be stupid.
Wait for the lamer film versions to come out streaming. That's what everyone else does. They're neutered edits but they're fine.
All they lack is the real gleaming thing everyone wants to see at HRRFY, but who cares. At least you don’t get traumatized. At least you’re not risking your life.
Anyway, if you really want to know what attending HRRFY is like. I’ll be quick and summarize the one screening I went to. It was the 20th anniversary, and I was lucky enough to get in.
***
I had signed up for the HRRFY mailing list, and joined the subreddit. Through a series of cryptic online emails I solved a sequence of riddles and was entered in the lottery for a HRRFY entry.
Lady Luck took a shine to me, because one day in my mailbox, I received a physical ticket. I had done it.
I was going.
The actual ‘ticket’ was a black USB key that announced the location of the festival the night before (which I won’t disclose here) and it did force me to pay for a very expensive flight in order for me to make it on time.
You see, to prevent getting shut down, the location of HRRFY changes every year. Some years the local police have managed to stop it, but for the most part, authorities have given up. What’s the point of arresting or charging anyone, if all the organizers and attendees actually want to be there?
Upon arrival, I had to pick between three participating theaters.
Based on title alone, I decided to go see “Many Drownings” (directed by Oleksander Gołański.) It was in the theater that was furthest away from the downtown core, which meant it was likely the one where the craziest shit was bound to happen.
That’s what I came here for right?
I lined up a solid two hours before the screening like everyone else. The entire line was jittering, just vibrating with excited twenty-somethings. Rumors flew left and right.
“I heard they’re going to force everyone to take acid.”
“I heard an actor’s gonna run in and shotgun the ceiling.”
“I heard they’re going to disappear like four more people this year. At this screening!”
Each year people disappeared. And each year the same people were ‘found.’ And yes this is the worst part, and why should never, ever, ever go to this event.
Again I will repeat myself. DO NOT GO.
No one has ever truly gone 'missing' at HRRFY in any legal or physical sense, because every missing person always shows up a day later, convinced that they are fine—refusing to elaborate further.
There are some small support groups for people who have family members who had gone to HRRFY, and came back irrevocably changed after being ‘found.’
These few unlucky people lose all semblance of personality. They don’t want interviews, or help, or therapy, or contact of any kind. And they never, ever want to talk about what they saw.
Some HRRFY fans think that these ‘found’ people were body-snatched. Cloned in a lab or replaced by a cyborg, or something stupid like that.
But I think there’s a far simpler explanation. The ‘found’ are still the same people. They're just terrified. They got shaken by something that shattered the foundation of their mind, body and soul. They got too scared.
They got HRRFY’d.
***
I should mention I had a cough the day I went. And I was worried my sickly appearance might give me trouble at the airport.
So I invested in an intense double N95 mask which I wore for the whole flight, and continued to wear even at the screening of “Many Drownings.”
It made my face hot and uncomfortable, but it still didn’t stop me from yelling “excuse me, excuse me!” as I ran to snag a seat in the back of the theater.
I always preferred sitting in the far back. You get a good view of the whole screen, and a good view of the whole audience.
Beside me sat a big dude named Sylvester, who apparently flew all the way from Australia to attend HRRFY.
“Worth the full Seventeen hours mate! It’s gonna be epic!” he dropped a massive camping backpack beside me, which I assume contained all of his luggage.
The lights dimmed, and the production company logos started to play.
The whispering, giggling and suspense all stacked upon each other to create an electric feeling in the air. I was giddy. It's like the entire audience was embarking on a massive roller coaster.
The anticipation was the best part for sure. It might have been the only good part.
Then the movie started.
It was a wide shot of a gray, stormy sea. The waves were massive, and the thunderclouds were looming. There was no land visible in any direction.
All we could hear was the sound of waves foaming, swirling, and crashing over and over. Lightning crackled. Rain poured. The camera held perfectly still over this storm as if it was mounted on a perfectly hovering drone. A drone so resilient that it didn’t waver at all.
I thought it had to be CGI.
The shot held like this for the next few moments. Everyone sat glued to their seats. Everyone was thinking the same thing.
What’s going to happen? How are they going to scare us?
People chuckled. People cheered. People wanted to tease whatever was going to happen—to happen already.
But nothing did.
Five, ten, maybe fifteen minutes went by without any change. People started snoring.
I looked beside me and saw that Sylvester—the most excited audience member of them all—had fallen totally asleep. The jet lag must’ve gotten to him.
Then I peered beyond the rest of the audience members and saw other people snoozing too. Heads were keeled over, some people were curled in their seats, some had even spilled out into the aisle and were dozing on the floor.
I looked above the bright screen, at the huge vents in the corner of the theater. I saw a faint white gas emerging from the vents.
Holy shit. What have we been breathing? I tightened the straps on my N95 mask, and made my breathing shallower.
The gas must have been pumping since the opening credits—because how else would an audience of two hundred people all fall asleep?
As I moved my hand through the air in front of me, I could sense the thickness. It was definitely hazier than usual. I took the scarf off my neck and wrapped it around my mouth as well.
Then I spotted movement in front of the screen.
It was a tall blonde man, wearing a black trenchcoat and military-grade gas mask. Beside him arrived six hazmat suits who started pointing at various audience members.
I slunk in my chair, pretending to sleep like everyone else.
Two hazmats walked over to the front row and picked out a sleeping guy in flannel. They lifted flannel up, under the armpits and by his ankles, carrying him between them both like a hammock.
The hazmats walked back up to the stage, where the blonde leader inspected the flannel man and tapped his head. Something was approved?
The hazmats began to swing flannel back and forth, as if they were getting ready to toss him. Despite their masks, I could hear a very muffled, very distant countdown.
“Three…”
“Two…”
“One…”
The flannel audience member was tossed into the screen.
I literally watched him fly into the image of stormy waves … andfallinto them. The flannel man sank into the gray water like a rock, leaving a few bubbles and foam. A wave came crashing down. All trace of him was gone.
What the fuck.
All six hazmats began grabbing more audience members with much more urgency. It became a minute-long process where they would pick the sleeping person up, bring them beside the screen, and then swing-toss them into it.
How was this possible?
I turned slightly to see if there was a projector above me, and realized there was none. Which meant maybe there was no screen on stage.
Which meant … maybe it was a portal?
I tried to wake Sylvester by shaking him. I pinched his leg and arm a bunch.
He was out cold.
The hazmats started grabbing audience members from the middle rows now. They were emptying the whole theater. What the hell was I supposed to do?
I waited until they grabbed another batch, only a few rows down from me. When all hazmats had their backs turned—I broke into a run.
With my left arm, I tightly gripped my mask and scarf against my face, while my right arm vaulted me over seat after seat.
I had never breathed so hard—through so much fabric—in my life.
The hazmats all turned to me. “Hey! Hey!” But their hands were full with their next victims.
I ran all the way down the aisle, to the big exit sign on the left. My heartbeat filled my head. My plan was to dropkick through the exit door.
I imagined myself breaking through like some flying gazelle.
I jumped.
I angled my kick.
It might as well have been a brick wall. I fell ass-first to the ground, followed by my head. Of course the door was locked.
Through a muffled mask I heard a sneering scoff.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Above me stood the one wearing a trenchcoat. I could see his piercing gray eyes through his gas mask.
I rolled aside and tried to run by him. He lifted a foot and tripped me without effort.
My forehead bashed into an empty seat. It dazed me.
The blonde leader bent down and grabbed me by the neck, tearing away my scarf and mask.
“No! No!”
A sweet, ether-like smell filled my nostrils. I did my best to hold my breath, but I could already feel myself getting light-headed.
The other hazmats joined in, grabbing me from all sides. Even if I had the strength to struggle, there was no escape now.
Above me, all I could see was the dark theater ceiling, and some of the light behind me from the cinema screen.
“Three…”
“Two…”
“No. Please. Don’t do thi—”
SPLASH.
I was plunged deep into cold, wet chaos. My head was completely underwater.
Gagging. Bubbles. Spinning.
I fought for dear life, dog-paddling like a maniac.
Churning. Freezing. Panic.
For a second, my head popped above the water. I inhaled all the air my lungs could muster. I stared across a vast, violent ocean.
An enormous thirty foot wave came in my direction.
My whole body lifted higher and higher as the wave approached. I did my best to tread water. It seemed to be working.
Then a series of smaller waves arrived and smacked my chest.
SPLASH.
Spinning. Kicking. Flipping.
My view alternated between the pitch dark ocean beneath me, and the moonlit night sky above.
Again I swam to the surface, popped my head out. Ravenously sucked in air.
There was a small lull in the water.
Around me I now registered the other theater goers. Most of them were lying face-down or sinking … but a few were flapping about like me, fighting for their life.
And above all of us, a floating white shape.
It was painfully bright, I had to lift one hand to look at it.
My jaw dropped.
It was the movie screen, hanging completely still in the air. It showed a dark, empty theater. The exact same theater we all occupied moments ago.
It was tremendously high, above all of our heads. There was no way of reaching it.
Then I saw another thirty foot wave come our way. It grazed the bottom of the screen.
I knew what had to be done.
***
One of the theater goers happened to be on a college swim team. She was the first one able to traverse one of the giant waves and climb into the screen.
Once she was up there, she found a firehose in the theater and reeled it out to us like a rope.
One by one, we swam as hard as we could, praying to God we could reach the rope. Everyone’s energy was sapped. Your body can only sustain itself on adrenaline and fear for so long.
By some miracle, five of us got out.
I was the last.
I climbed the rope coughing and vomiting. I had swallowed so much water that my stomach felt swollen.
When I reached the top and they pulled me into the screen, I sobbed. I couldn’t stop crying.
My life had flashed countless times before my eyes. In bubbling, suffocating visions, I saw both my parents and my brother. I saw my highschool graduation. I saw my favorite Christmas from when I was six years old.
I had almost lost all of that. I had lost almost everything.
On the dirty, carpeted theater floor, I lay with my face down, savoring the fact that I now lay on a hard surface. God bless ground. God bless this filthy, popcorn-strewn ground.
Beside me I heard bantering, hugging, the wringing of wet clothes. Sylvester was the second last to be saved, and he was particularly vocal.
“Wooooooaaaaahh!” He came and drummed me on the back, lifted me up. “Oh my god dude! Holy shit!”
I sat on my knees, wiping the tears and snot off my mouth.
Sylvester clapped his hands, held his face and screamed some more.
“Holy shit dude! That was so fucking scary! Like literally people were dying beside us. Like I SAW people die!”
I nodded, shivering in my drenched clothes. “ I know it was—”
“—That was craaaaazy!”
He laughed and stood up, patting everyone on the back. He kept clapping his hands like this was some sports event.
“That was sick! That was siiiiiiiiick!”
He ruffled someone’s hair then ran up to me with an open palm.
“High five dude! WE MADE IT! High five!
“Don’t leave me hangin’ dude!”

Being from California, I know how much fighting there has been between NIMBYs and city governments in terms of building housing. There are a lot of smaller scale solutions being deployed, but I think a big one could be using high speed rail to connect. A large reason why people congregate in city metropolitan areas is for opportunity, job access, and other amenities. Buying a house in many smaller metropolitan areas is not feasible if there is no access to opportunity. There are people that can work from home, but you still give up a lot living so far away. Current commute patterns make it infeasible to live more than 100 miles away from the city (and even then, the commute is long and crushing.)
What about if high speed rail could be used to essentially extend the livable distance away from cities, and essentially be the catalyst for making high density urban (walkable) style suburbs that would both have affordable housing and be still connected to city metropolitan areas? And these transit oriented suburbs would offer a mix of high density housing styles, including everything from row houses to high density apartment buildings with low cost housing styles (like studios and maybe even SROs.)
Not only would people be saving money in terms of housing costs (building in areas that are far cheaper to build in than in the city), but also in terms of auto costs (it costs $1000 a month right now just to have a car for commuting or errands, such suburbs could be built into a walkable and transit oriented way allowing cars to merely be an option.) They would be work at home friendly (you can live in them without sacrificing access to the city.) Traffic stress would be a thing of the past (being in a train, you could be working on your laptop or entertaining yourself with your phone instead of being behind the wheel.) People could use the extra money saved to build their lives. The high density nature of them would minimize the impact to the environment. These stops could eventually turn into larger cities creating more job opportunities. The urban style would be a chance to redesign suburbs as a walk friendly environment (with beautiful scenery) compared to the auto centric environment of current suburbs. And it would help to placate all the people living in existing metropolitan areas worried about their neighborhood "losing character" with the advent of forced higher density on their neighborhoods (like in California.) Currently it sounds infeasible given how long it takes to build high speed rail, but honestly it is a matter of will given how fast China builds things.

Scientifically speaking.
When did it all begin?
That is the question, to which the answer is, in my belief, never.
You may think this is impossible, and you are correct.
However, if someone says that everything began when the Big Bang occurred. One has to ask themself, what was there before the Big Bang? Space? But what was there before space? Before there is something there has to be nothing, but there has to be something to create that nothing. So in other words, there is no 'true beginning' because there is always a beginning before that. A great counter to my argument besides religious beliefs is that the 'true beginning' is the first finite, calculable beginning, which I would say is also true.
Now, if a true beginning doesn't exist then one can argue that neither does a 'true end', because a true end is the beginning of a new. A beginning and a ending occur at the same time, so if there is no beginning then there is no ending.
Finally, if there is no beginning and no ending, then we, and everything that 'exists' does not in fact 'exist',

21st: Scot Pollard (Kaoh Rong - 8th)

NBA REP IN ENDGAME LMFAOOOO
u/SMC0629:
It’s insane how great of a villain Scot is especially as deep into the show Kaoh Rong is, but he really is. Scot is one of the most petty and selfish people to be on the show, and it’s glorious. At the same time, you find yourself rooting for him every once in a while, there’s a lot of depth that goes into his character. I think he’s so deserving of endgame, and I couldn’t be happier he made it.
~
u/DryBonesKing:
The way my mouth dropped when Zan approached me for an Endgame deal that included Scot Pollard of all people. Like, based doesn’t even do the feeling justice when I described how hyped I felt about it. I love Scot and I think he has such a unique presence that I’m not sure if Survivor will ever truly replicate, especially as the show tries to carry itself as a more family friendly experience. But Scot is just so naturally intimidating and terrifying, and the scene of him dousing the fire in the middle of the day just to fuck with the tribe around him, might be one of the coldest scenes I have ever seen on Survivor.
The combined impact both he and Kyle Jason (who I actually have ranked back-to-back with him in my personal rankings) is just truly something as they feel more like one of the most intimidating villain presences in the show’s history. And what really helps make them better is how they sorta piggy-back on each other. Scot adds more of a natural darkness to Jason that helps him feel even more “evil” than he probably is, while Jason has a way with words and “just enough” of a sympathetic angle in his edit that you can’t help but worry that he could be getting a winner’s edit, that the two actually feel like they could succeed. You don’t get that shit really ever in Survivor! You watch Pearl Islands and you know Fairplay’s gonna lose in the end. Philippines? Abi won’t win with her edit. Worlds Apart’s evil trio? Well thankfully not cause all three of them suck ass, but the edit definitely is giving it away they’re going to lose to Mike in the end. But Scot and Jason? I mean… shit… why are they editing Jason like this? Is… Are they going to win out?
And because of that, it makes their downfall feel even more impactful. It makes Tai saying “No” at Scot’s boot one of the best moments of all time.
Scot’s fantastic. Amazing presence. Amazing character dynamic. One of the best relationships of all time with Jason. A great role in Tai’s character arc and brief descent to darkness. So many amazing qualities I can just gush about. I wouldn’t have in my own Endgame, but I am thrilled that someone wanted this to happen and I can’t wait to read the write-up justifying it!
Overall Rank – 52/821
~
u/Tommyroxs45:
Scot is such an awesome villain, yeah he’s a scumbag but who cares! We need someone who actively just doesn’t like anybody around him and he works so well with people like Tai and Aubry. You also can’t forget his bromance with Jason, just perfect, 2 villains who deserve to return!
~
u/Regnisyak1:
Scot is a partial reason why Kaoh Rong doesn’t land for me. I think his villainy gets to be a little too OTT to his character, and his ruthless nature toward Alecia just never sat right with me. Objectively, he is a great character, but I just personally think he is a lot and someone I would never have in Endgame without a deal, lol. But happy for Zan!
Personal Rank: 124/821. 8/10.
~
u/ninjedi1:
Scot is definitely one of the most unique villains on Survivor. You have the standard dickish villain role on the Brawn tribe, but then you do get to see his sweeter side with his bond with Tai when he gets swapped to another tribe. Then of course you have just absolute perfection at the merge with all the messy gameplay as well as beijng in one of my favorite alliances on the show with Tai and Jason, and then his blindside creating just the perfect Scot Sandwich, making it an absolute treat.
~~~~~
u/Zanthosus:
What makes a good Survivor villain? The answer to that question is going to be different for everybody. Some people may think that a great villain needs to be exceptionally charismatic, toe the line between cruelty and comedy, or have sympathetic motives or backstory to justify their means of reaching the end. All of these are valid things to look for, and they are all hallmarks of some of the best villains in the show’s history. But Scot falls into a different kind of category from most of these kinds of villains. He’s from an extinct subcategory of villains: the bully. It’s been said before that Scot is the last true villain of Survivor. And while I don’t agree with that statement completely, I do believe that he is the last bully we have seen, and will likely ever see again with how the show has edited and portrayed its characters. We’ll still have antagonists to root against, sure. Jonathan Young and Drew Basile are some recent examples that show Survivor can still give us some pretty good antagonistic forces. But when it comes to the cruel bully archetype, Scot is the last of that kind of character.
And it’s honestly bizarre to me in many ways how I find Scot an incredibly fascinating character, and end up loving to hate him. Especially when you compare him to so many of the other characters of this archetype we’ve seen over the years. Rocky Reid, NaOnka Mixon, and Corinne Kaplan are some of the more notable names that belong to this group. While these characters do undoubtedly have their own defenders, I’d be willing to bet that they’re much more disliked than liked across this community. And of course Scot has his own detractors, but it’s always seemed to me that there’s been much less of an outspoken force against him than others like him. And I’m no different. I have Scot in my own personal endgame, while many other bullies are sitting in my bottom 100 of all time. So, what gives? Well, while I can’t speak for everyone, for me at least it really comes down to one thing. It’s how the people that he and Jason pick on through the season consistently stand up to them and refuse to just lay down and take it. Even if it’s not immediately, almost everyone they target stands up for themselves in one way or another. It also helps that none of their bullying is steeped in any kind of bigotry or hatefulness. They value strength and are doing whatever they can do in their power to make it just a bit further into the game.
Even from the very start of the game, they immediately single out Darnell and Alecia as being the weak links on their tribe. I mentioned before in the Alecia writeup that To Tang is one of my favorite tribes of all time. Literally everyone has something to offer entertainment wise. And while Darnell is swiftly eliminated as the first boot, Alecia manages to cockroach her way a bit further. Scot is not shy about making his feelings for her known, being that she has no place on the Brawn tribe and that she’s holding them back in challenges and ruining tribe morale. And this rivalry is just so much fun to watch. Alecia’s constant scrappiness continually digging her hole deeper and deeper as one by one everyone on To Tang around her either is firmly against her or gets eliminated. It even gets tto the point where Scot, Jason, and Cydney team up together to make sure that Alecia doesn’t get an immunity idol, and it only just barely works, with Jason wrestling her for it before coming out as the victor. And after their subsequent challenge loss, Scot gives Alecia the opportunity to give up right then and there, and just forgo the inevitable decision at tribal council. And yet, Alecia fights to the bitter end. She’s adamant in not rolling over and giving up without every bit of fight she can muster. And despite what Scot and Jason may say in the moment, I’d be surprised if they didn’t respect her for that, especially considering how they too would have to cockroach along through the rest of the game.
I like to talk alot about the juxtaposition of characters. How different personalities can both complement and be at odds with each other. And I’m not sure there’s any better example of this than the relationship between Scot and Tai on this season. Because from the moment he’s swapped onto the new Gondol tribe, they get along pretty well and a genuine friendship seems to form. These episodes are especially interesting to me because this is the kindest light he’s shown in across the entire season. He’s just having fun and enjoying his time on a tribe that, despite continuing to lose, he’s seemingly happy in. The Anna vote is just a matter of fact decision. She’s the weakest link and is trying to stir things up, so she’s the one to go. The next vote though really does change the tune of the season, and of Scot’s attitude as a whole.
The Peter boot is interesting for Scot’s story. Not because of the episode itself, but because of the fallout that arises from it going into the merge. To him, Aubry’s indecisiveness and potential willingness to jump ship makes her someone that just cannot be trusted. And by the Nick vote, he’s pretty firmly on the bottom of the numbers. But just like Alecia wouldn’t simply roll over and give up, he’s not going to either. He’s going to hide the machete, dump water on the fire, and make everyone else’s lives miserable in the hopes of creating cracks. And the best part is that this isn’t a petty move for the sake of it. Just as Aubry herself says, “There’s no way Scot did this out of temper.” And his decision pays off. Debbie ostricizes herself from the group due to being riled up from Scot’s sabotages and gets sent home as a result. But all this time, despite Scot and Jason being on the bottom, they’ve still been working with Tai. They’re the devil on his shoulder to the angel that Aubry is being. And this all comes to a head in Scot’s boot episode.
At this point, Scot has not been shy about using dirty tactics if it means he can cockroach just that bit further and acquire just that little bit more power in the game. We of course see this in his actions around camp, but also in how he talks with others like Aubry, Cydney, Joe, and especially Tai. The interactions he has with Tai are particularly fascinating to me because at the end of the day, he’s trying to work with him. And he’s needing Tai to hold up his side of the super idol in order to keep him in the game. Even despite this, we see moment after moment of Scot talking down to Tai or quickly shooting down every one of his proposals. So from Tai’s perspective, he’s already setting aside his morals for the sake of the game by working with them, but then they’re belittling him despite needing his help. It, again, goes back to the point of Scot just being a bully. But with Alecia, she had no power. Her standing up to him affected nothing and simply didn’t matter other than prove her resolve. But with Tai, him standing up for himself is so much more impactful.
This tribal council is definitely up there for the greatest of all time, and that final “No” from Tai is an all time iconic moment in the show’s history. Not just for the moment in isolation, but moreso because of the buildup to it. Seeing Scot be the bad guy, then becoming friends with Tai, only to take advantage of Tai’s good nature too much, to the point that Tai feels his best option is to stand up to his bullies, and make a difference. He chooses to side with the heroes over the villains. One thing you should know about me is that I absolutely adore Tai and his story on this season. Tai 1.0 is easily top 10 of all time for me, and potentially a top 5 placement. And without Scot and his role on the season, Tai’s story wouldn’t have even half of the impact that it does. That is why I adore Scot. The season needed a villain like Scot, and without him and Jason, this season wouldn’t have a fraction of the life, soul, and complexity that it has. And that for me makes him more than worthy of a spot in endgame.
SMC0629: 13
DryBonesKing: 15
Zanthosus: 17
Tommyroxs45: 19
Regnisyak1: 24
DavidW1208: 23
ninjedi1: 18
Average Placement: 18.429
Total Points: 129
Standard Deviation: 3.994 (6th Lowest)

Hello, I come hoping to learn because I am struggling and as a result, I fear I am causing the suffering of my dad and I don't want to do that. I will apologize in advance if this is long and also for any misunderstanding that I have that comes off as judgemental or ignorant about BPD. I just am starting to learn about this and need perspective.
My dad and I have had a really difficult relationship for many years. I feel he criticizes, micromanages and constantly blames others for problems that he creates and spends lots of time talking about how he is the victims of life's constant bad circumstances against him. At the same time, my dad has caused a lot of harm to people whom I love. My half brother and sister from my mom's first marriage were treated very poorly by him, but my dad doesn't acknowledge any of that and it is hurtful. He has also been unkind and rude to my mother whom I treasure. I have spoken to him about his many, many times in many ways.
The situation has gotten worse after my mom recently passed away in September. My dad has been openly resentful and hurtful toward my mom almost consistently in the 30 years since they got divorced. Since she passed I told him in no uncertain terms that I cannot have him speak ill of my mom. That I don't want to ever hear him talk about their marriage or divorce and that I will not suffer him saying anything negative or hurtful about her.
On my mom's first Heavenly birthday just a few weeks ago, he sent me a completely unsolicited message and among other things made negative comments about her and about their marriage. It was devastating to me. I had already been keeping my dad at an arms length but this made me want to go no contact.
As I have been talking with my therapist about this, she has repeatedly stated that she believes that my dad has BPD and that he "isn't capable of a relationship in the way that I want and expect my dad to show up for me" and that " people with BPD suffer immensely emotionally because of the difficulty they have to connect" which made me feel that I am needlessly hurting my dad by withholding my relationship with him if he truly doesn't understand how his actions and words harm me.
I have decided that I want to try to have a relationship with my dad but I also need to have some self preservation and my dad does not seem to know when is hurting my heart.
I am open to learning whatever I can to help me safely approach and foster a relationship with my dad and seek your guidance. If you have read this far, I appreciate you.

So this is just a rant about a fanfic I just read and felt the need to share with the internet, I won't title it or name where it comes from but if you know then tell me your thoughts about it.
There's something about this story I hate so much it made me cry. The story is meant to be like a Fix-It, you know, time travel allows the main character to go back in time and do things differently with some new knowledge about how things turn out. So the story already has a heavy focus on saving the souls of like two people. The sister who is cursed and is currently dying, she's part of the focus but she's not really the focus, the focus is the brother who dives into dark magic in order to save her. The problem with this story is how much this plot actually doesn't matter until it suddenly crammed into the last chapter, making it one of the longest in the story and also sloppy. The story otherwise is filled with fluff and the main character knowingly and yet unknowingly, somehow, flirting with three different guys one of them being the brother, let's call him Boy A, the other being his best friend, Boy B, and then a third, Boy C. It's full of the MC getting her friend group together, full of companionship and kindness, with very little actual substance in the story besides a few noteworthy moments. These are fix it moments when you change the outcome of what originally happened with no real difference because it's not given any correct amount of care. This story is so unnecessary long because it's full of fluff moments that the plot, which ultimately could have fit in one story, because it's 300,000 words, is being split into a second. I get that this is partly a romance story but that's actually one of the issues because it's a romance story and yet it's very obviously that Boy A is the focus, that flirting with Boys B and C is useless drama. I say useless because in the back end of the story she admits she doesn't know what romance is. So now I really feel like I've wasted my time because she admits she doesn't know what romance is and doesn't have any romantic feelings for anyone.
So on top of this useless love square she has created with herself in the middle, the author still found a way to mistreat the character and plot she had neglected at the end. Returning to Boy A, not only does she keep things from him and lie to him often about the things she knows about him or the things she knows about his sister's condition, she even lies about who causes her condition because the MC just doesn't trust him at all. There comes a point when he starts to go on his own way to solve his sister's curse because at this point no one's giving him anything to work on and this is his original path anyway. So because she's just been wasting her time having fun and oh so flirty moments, the boy continues to the point in which he starts to research in dark magic because literally no one's given him anything to save his sister with and she's currently deteriorating right in front of his eyes and they expect him to wait for something that is clearly not there. But the worst part is that this actually does change from the original story. Instead of grabbing his friends and going on this dark path together, he takes it alone and they follow after him only to then blame him when they catch up. He even tells them that he didn't want to get them in danger that's why he chose to do it alone, he would at this point rather harm himself over the MC. And yet she still guilt trips the guy who at this point she had already mentioned is emotionally damaged and slowly losing his mind. The failure of this narrative to have any sympathy for a character it already knows is emotionally compromised literally hurts my brain because that means to me that sympathy is dictated by the MC and no other character in this narrative is going to, at any point, argue against her actions. Not only because every other male character that isn't specifically tied down to another female character loves her but because the only other guy in the situation is his best friend and he has also fallen for the MC. In fact, his love for MC overcomes his understanding of his best friend. There is a weak patch job for their friendship , but as I have mentioned its weak but they love MC more than their friendship.
So yeah I've come away from this realizing I have indeed read 300,000 words of a Mary Sue character wasting her time doing fluff with characters that are interesting but unnecessary and stringing along three different guys while ignoring the actual plot. So yeah, a waste of time.

Researchers at Gradient introduced the Llama-3 8B Gradient Instruct 1048k model, a groundbreaking advancement in language models. This model extends the context length from 8,000 to over 1,048,000 tokens, showcasing the ability to manage long contexts with minimal additional training. Utilizing techniques like NTK-aware interpolation and Ring Attention, the researchers significantly improved training efficiency and speed, enabling the model to handle extensive data without the typical performance drop associated with longer contexts.
The researchers employed techniques such as NTK-aware interpolation and Ring Attention to efficiently scale the training of long-context models. They achieved a significant speedup in model training by progressively increasing the context length during training and using advanced computational strategies. This approach allowed them to create a model capable of handling extensive data without the typical performance drop associated with longer contexts.
Quick read: https://www.marktechpost.com/2024/05/21/gradient-ai-introduces-llama-3-8b-gradient-instruct-1048k-setting-new-standards-in-long-context-ai/
Model Card: https://huggingface.co/gradientai/Llama-3-8B-Instruct-Gradient-1048k

This is part 6 of a list of feminine primarch names and my reasoning for these names.
Please see the below link for an explanation of this project, my methods, and my intent.
I will keep the first post updated with links to the later posts to make referencing them easier.
Link to first post: https://www.reddit.com/PrimarchGFs/comments/1ctd7ot/primarch_names_and_etymologies_part_1_iii/
XIII: Rebecois Guilliman [Ray-Bay-Kwa] (Roboute Guilliman) [Ro-Boo-Tay]:
Of all the primarch names, perhaps none elicit the same degree of confusion in readers as Roboute Guilliman. Robot Gorillaman? Rowboat Gill Lemon? Is it based on a real person’s name? Is it French? Elvish?
Unlike every other primarch name, Roboute Guilliman is 100% entirely made up. Instead of having some basis in actual words, the name is intended to evoke the way certain French names sound to Rick Priestley, the author of the first Warhammer 40k sourcebook, “Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader.” Priestley stated the name was something he made up to sound like the name of “a West Indian revolutionary in some French colony.”
Here are some names of real life French West Indies revolutionaries: François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture; Jean-Jacques Dessalines; Dutty Boukman; Georges Biassou.
I can't say I'd be able to pick Roboute Guilliman from the above list if I wasn't familiar with the name. In terms of the 40k setting, bastardized real-life languages are a feature rather than a bug. I could see a name like Roboute Guilliman evolving from the fragmentary knowledge of French-based creole languages.
I decided to keep in the spirit of this by making up my own name that sounds vaguely French to my uncultured Anglophone ears. Roboute sounds sort of like Robert, so I decided to take the feminine name Rebecca as a base because it also starts with an R and I like it better than Roberta (sorry to all the Robertas out there). I always thought Québécois was a fun word, so I mashed it with Rebecca to get Rebecois.
I’m going straight to French Canadian Hell for this.
XIV: Mortistria (Mortarion):
“Mort” is French for the adjective “dead.” It derives from the Latin “mortuus” (dead), the perfect active participle of “morior” (to die).
The “-arion” part is where things get trickier. It is possible it is meant to evoke “carrion,” meaning “dead flesh.” More likely though, it is the Ancient Greek suffix “-άριον” (-arion), which is a neuter diminutive suffix (a way of making a word that expresses a smaller version of something).
The pronunciation of Mortarion is therefore uncomfortably similar to the Ancient Greek μοτάριον and the meaning of Mortarion (little dead) is uncomfortably similar to the meaning of the French expression “la petite mort.”
Mooooving right along...
Mortarion (Little Dead) as a name betrays the insecurities of the original primarch, who is constantly driven by his pettiness and need to prove himself. I think a more confident name is needed for a nobler version of the character.
Morticia is a very good suggestion I’ve seen here for a female Mortarion. It is a play on the word “mortician,” a person charged with the care of corpses. “-ician” is a suffix meaning “pertaining to a field of knowledge.” So Morticia implies an expertise in the dead and care for them.
However, I think we can cleave closer to the original French / Ancient Greek hybrid etymology of Mortarion while also evoking the sense of competency carried by the name Morticia. “-ίστρια” (-istria) is an Ancient Greek suffix added to a noun or adjective to create words for a female person who is a follower or supporter of something. So Mortistria would be a follower or supporter of the dead.
Thought of the day:
Dib dib dib, dob dob dob.
Feel free to leave a comment on these submissions and this project generally. I look forward to sharing more with you next time~

So this is just his zanpakto, shikai and banki, I would love some criticism or ideas for it!

• Zanpakutō: 灰 Hai (Ashes) Sealed Form: In its sealed state, Hai takes the form of an elegant Chinese smoking pipe made of dark wood and inlaid with intricate silver designs. When used, it emits a fragrant, smoke that changes in effect depending on what incense is being burned in it
  
• Shikai (Initial Release): 燃え殻 Moegara (Cinders) Release Command: "Engulf, Moegara" Then blowing into the pipe and being encased in smoke
  
• Appearance: Upon activation, Moegara transforms into a Chinese curved sword (dao) with a flat tip. The blade constantly gives off thin wisps of gray smoke, and its surface has an ashen, burnt appearance.
  
• Abilities:
  
• Enmu no Ken (煙霧の剣, "Blade of Smoke"): The sword can release concentrated bursts of smoke that obscure the user's movements, allowing them to attack unseen. This smoke can be manipulated to create illusions, making it difficult for opponents to discern real attacks from false ones.
  

1. Shounetsu Kaen (焼熱火炎, "Scorching Flame"): The blade can ignite with intense, cinder-like flames that burn at extremely high temperatures. Striking an opponent leaves burning cinders embedded in their wounds, causing continuous damage.
   
2. Kemuri no Dōka (煙の導火, "Smoke Command"): The user can command the smoke to form various shapes and structures, such as barriers, weapons, or tendrils, allowing for both offensive and defensive maneuvers.
   

• Bankai (Final Release): すべてを飲み込む深淵 Subete o Nomikomu Shin'en (All Consuming Abyss) Activation: dropping the tip of the Shikai blade into the ground, billowing smoke encircles the user and the target in a 100-meter space.
  
• Appearance: In its Bankai form, the Zanpakutō becomes a long chokutō with a blade as black as pitch, constantly giving off a fragrant, black smoke that seems to absorb light and make ally’s feel more awake and able to proses things faster, and makes enemy’s dizzy and experience vertigo
  
• Abilities:
  
• Mugen Enmu (無限煙霧, "Infinite Smoke Haze"): The smoke within the 100-meter area becomes incredibly dense and impenetrable, making it impossible to see. This smoke also has a hallucinogenic effect, causing enemies to see and hear illusions, making it difficult to trust their senses.
  

1. Kaji no Kokkai (火事の黒灰, "Inferno of Black Ash"): The user can create vast clouds or small pinprick sized balls (any shape and size really) of black ash that, upon contact with a surface or enemy, ignite into intense, all-consuming flames. These flames are black and smokey, capable of incinerating anything they touch. The ash can be scattered at will, creating a devastating, large-scale area attack.
   
2. Enryū Enkai (煙竜炎界, "Smoke Dragon's Flame Realm"): The user can summon a massive dragon made entirely of black smoke and cinders. This dragon can breathe the all consuming black flames and sweep across the battlefield, creating trails of fire and ash wherever it goes. The dragon can also act as an extension of the user’s will, attacking enemies, defending the user, and manipulating the battlefield.
   
3. Shōnetsujigoku (焦熱地獄, "Scorching Hell"): The ground within the smoke-filled area heats up, turning into a landscape of burning cinders and ash. This makes the terrain hazardous, burning anyone who steps on it except the user.
   
4. Kemuri no Kyōka (煙の教化, "Smoke Creation"): The user can create constructs from the smoke, such as weapons, creatures, or even structures. These constructs are solid and can be used for various purposes, including attacking, defending, or trapping opponents.
   
5. Yami no Shihai (闇の支配, "Command of Darkness"): The user can command the smoke to bind and control opponents, restricting their movements and sapping their strength. This ability allows the user to dominate the battlefield, manipulating both the environment and their enemies.
   

• Special Techniques:
• "Shin'en no Saisei" (深淵の再生, "Abyssal Rebirth"):
  • By channeling their spiritual energy, the user can create a massive wave of black smoke and cinders that engulfs the entire battlefield. This wave purifies everything in its path, erasing injuries, poisons, and negative effects for the user and their allies, while devastating enemies caught within it. After the wave passes, the battlefield is left in a serene, ash-covered state, with the fragrant smoke lingering in the air as a sign of the user's dominance.

1. "Enmu no Kyokō" (煙霧の虚構, "Illusory Haze of Smoke"):
   • This technique creates a reality-distorting effect within the 100-meter smoke-filled area. The user can manipulate the perception of space and time within this zone, causing enemies to experience distorted reality. Distances become deceptive, making it appear as if objects and attacks are closer or farther than they actually are. Time can seem to slow down or speed up for the opponents, disorienting them and making coordinated responses difficult. This distortion of reality is enhanced by the hallucinogenic properties of the smoke, making it nearly impossible for enemies to discern truth from illusion. The user remains unaffected, allowing them to navigate and strike with precision amidst the chaos.

It's essential to focus on continual improvement and resilience. Many successful authors faced rejection before achieving success. J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, received numerous rejections initially. Stephen King's first novel was rejected dozens of times. Agatha Christie, Dr. Seuss, and Margaret Mitchell all encountered rejection before finding success. Remember, rejection is a part of the journey, and perseverance in honing your craft is key. Focus on refining your writing, seeking feedback, and staying persistent in your pursuit.
Here are a few strategies to help navigate the journey as a writer:

1. Persistency: Keep writing and submitting your work. Each rejection can provide valuable lessons and insights into improving your writing. Don't let setbacks deter you from continuing to create.
   
2. Feedback and Improvement: Seek feedback from peers, writing groups, or mentors. Constructive criticism can help identify areas for improvement and guide your growth as a writer.
   
3. Diversify Submissions: Consider submitting your work to various publishers, agents, or literary magazines. Sometimes, a rejection from one might not reflect the response you'll receive from another.
   
4. Stay Motivated: Surround yourself with inspiration. Read books, attend writing workshops, or engage with other creatives to stay motivated and connected within the writing community.
   
5. Self-Care: Take care of your mental and emotional well-being. Rejections can be tough, so it's crucial to practice self-compassion and maintain a healthy perspective on your writing journey.
   

Remember, many renowned authors faced rejection before achieving success. Your persistence, dedication to improvement, and belief in your craft are vital elements that can lead you toward success as a writer.
6Here are a few more tips to help maintain motivation and progress as a writer:

1. Set Realistic Goals: Establish achievable writing goals. Whether it's a daily word count, finishing a chapter, or completing a manuscript by a specific deadline, setting realistic targets can keep you focused and motivated.
   
2. Embrace Revisions: Recognize that writing is rewriting. Embrace the revision process as an opportunity to polish your work. Revisions often lead to stronger storytelling and better-crafted prose.
   
3. Connect with the Writing Community: Engage with other writers through social media, forums, or local writing groups. Networking can provide support, encouragement, and valuable insights into the publishing industry.
   
4. Learn from Rejections: Instead of viewing rejections as failures, consider them as stepping stones toward success. Analyze feedback, if available, and use it constructively to refine your writing.
   
5. Believe in Your Voice: Each writer has a unique voice. Embrace your style and perspective. Authenticity in storytelling often resonates with readers.
   

Lastly, remember that every successful author faced challenges and setbacks along their journey. It's the perseverance, commitment to improvement, and belief in their work that helped them overcome rejection and achieve success. Keep writing, stay resilient, and believe in your potential as a writer.
Here are quotes from some well-known authors who faced rejection before finding success:

1. J.K. Rowling (Author of Harry Potter series):
   

   "Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me."
   

2. Stephen King (Author of numerous bestsellers):
   

   "By the time I was fourteen the nail in my wall would no longer support the weight of the rejection slips impaled upon it. I replaced the nail with a spike and kept on writing."
   

3. Agatha Christie (Renowned mystery novelist):
   

   "I don't think necessity is the mother of invention. Invention, in my opinion, arises directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness - to save oneself trouble."
   

4. Dr. Seuss (Author of beloved children's books):
   

   "I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope."
   

5. Margaret Mitchell (Author of "Gone with the Wind"):
   

   "Life's under no obligation to give us what we expect. We take what we get and are thankful it's no worse than it is."
   

These authors encountered rejection and setbacks on their paths to success but persisted in their writing endeavors, ultimately achieving acclaim for their work. Their quotes reflect their resilience, determination, and belief in their craft despite facing initial rejection.
Here are a few more quotes from authors who experienced rejection before achieving success:

1. Louisa May Alcott (Author of "Little Women"):
   

   "I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship."
   

2. George Orwell (Author of "1984" and "Animal Farm"):
   

   "Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand."
   

3. John Grisham (Bestselling author of legal thrillers):
   

   "I faced rejection and constant criticism, but I never let up. I continued to persevere and pursued my writing passion."
   

4. Madeleine L'Engle (Author of "A Wrinkle in Time"):
   

   "You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children."
   

5. Ray Bradbury (Author of "Fahrenheit 451"):
   

   "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you."
   

These authors persisted through rejection, adversity, and doubts, yet remained dedicated to their writing. Their words reflect the perseverance, passion, and determination that ultimately led them to success in the literary world.
💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫🐔🐔🐔🐔 So in handling rejection as a writer and finding inspiration from authors who faced rejection before achieving success, this article has provided:

1. Strategies to stay motivated and improve as a writer, including persistence, seeking feedback, diversifying submissions, staying motivated, and practicing self-care.
2. Additional tips like setting goals, embracing revisions, connecting with the writing community, learning from rejections, and embracing your unique voice.
3. Quotes from various renowned authors such as J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, Agatha Christie, Dr. Seuss, Margaret Mitchell, Louisa May Alcott, George Orwell, John Grisham, Madeleine L'Engle, and Ray Bradbury. These quotes highlight their resilience, determination, and belief in their craft despite facing rejection, ultimately leading to their success as authors.

The overarching message is to persist in writing, seek improvement, learn from setbacks, stay connected with the writing community, and believe in your unique voice as a writer, drawing inspiration from the experiences of successful authors who overcame rejection on their paths to success.