Intended Major: Data Science / Computer Science (changes depending on the school i'm applying to)
GPA: 3.81 UW, 4.92 W out of 6 (includes courses from middle school 😭 )
UC Gpa since I am applying to a lot of them: 3.90 UW, 4.57 W, 4.17 weighted and capped
Class Rank: Outside top 10% because of some high school courses I took during 7th and 8th grade. Got straight Bs and Cs unfortunately.
SAT: 1450 (750M 700 RW, didn't study at all, trying again in august after studying)
Race: Asian
Gender: Male
Background: middle-class immigrant family.
School: Competitive Public High School
State: Texas
19 APs total (12 taken so far) AP Human Geography- 4, AP World - 5, AP Physics 1- 5, failed Spanish Lang 💀, waiting on all others
Senior year course load - AP Stats, AP Physics C (Mech and E&M), AP Gov/Econ, AP Lit, Data Structures And Algorithms (course after AP CSA, gpa is weighted the same as AP), and Calc III / Differential Equations dual enrollment, APES.
Main Extracurriculars:

1. Created an open-source flight board website/app for a Flight Simulator Multiplayer server that displays information on each flight including departure/arrival times and status. Displays busiest airports and flight routes, and predicts future routes and flight recommendations based on historical data such as ATC availability. Website has 400 users and receives approximately 4.5K visits daily, with a maximum of 1022 distinct users in April. I have also created my own API that gives relevant information such as time remaining and specific departure times that are not shown in the original API that I used to create the flight board.
   
2. Interning at State School’s CS lab this summer and will research and create a final project about how businesses use the data they collect to make future decisions to increase profit. This aligns with my goal of becoming a data scientist and going into the machine learning field, so I thought this would be pretty important.
   
3. Active addon creator for Microsoft Flight Simulator - Developed many addons such as aircraft liveries, realistically modeled airports, and the biggest one being a graphics mod to make the sim look more realistic. ~2500 downloads for all mods
   
4. Computer Science Club: Competed in multiple competitive coding competitions such as UTD Battle of the Brains, A&M Codewars, Lockheed Martin Codequest, Computer Science UIL, and many other online ones such as Devpost and CyberPatriots (did this with my friends for fun, unfortunately didnt win anything). I have also demoed my personal projects in this club and have helped members with learning Python and HTML, since our school’s curriculum is only based on Java.
   
5. Personal Computer Science Projects - Just a couple of projects that I made in the past few years that have helped me improve my understanding of coding. My school only offers Java, so these projects were incredibly helpful when it came to understanding R, Python, and JavaScript. My favorite project is a volunteer log tool that breaks down my total hours based on the number of hours that I have volunteered at my local food packing facility and how many boxes each table can pack. Using this information, I can derive how many boxes I have personally helped make and how many children I have fed through my contributions.
   
6. Created a review guide for AP Physics 1 that compiled the most important formulas and concepts from our lessons and resources. I also compiled an entire mock exam’s worth of MCQ and FRQ questions to test the hardest questions from each unit. On exam day, there were 54 people on the doc, so there were at least 50 people I impacted with this. I have also recently started a tutoring service for people who are struggling with physics and people who are taking Physics in the future (doing it on Saturday and Sunday every week).
   
7. Volunteering at a local food packing facility for ~105 hours. Volunteered at every position including pourer, bagger, weigher, and warehouse crew.
   
8. Volunteering at NHS organized events for 15 hours.
   
9. Completed Harvard’s CS50 course back in sophomore year (my website stated above evolved from my final project for CS50, which was a flight board on command prompt lol)
   
10. Part of the National Science Honors Society and Cybersecurity club at my school.
    

Awards (I am cooked 😔):

1. National Merit Commended (probably gonna get this)
   
2. PVSA silver award
   
3. Computer Science UIL awards
   
4. AP Scholar (probably with distinciton in july)
   

LOR: AP Calc - 8 (maybe 9) /10, did really well in her class and asked a lot of questions. she was also impressed by my resume, but I didn't talk to her a lot personally. I've heard that she writes good rec letters tho. AP Physics - 7/10
Schools:
Reach : UT Austin (Statistics / Data Science), UMich (CS lsa), UC Berkeley (Applied Math, my dream school), UCLA (Stats/Data Science), Purdue (CS or AI major), UIUC (Computer Engineering or CS + Stats), UCSD (data science or Math-CS), UCI (CS), UCSB (CE), UW Madison (CS), Georgia Tech (CS, doing this one for fun lol), USC
Target: Texas A&M Engineering (attainable dream school), UT Dallas (CS), Colorado Boulder (CS), UMD College Park (CS), Penn State (CS), NCSU (CS)
Safety (if I get into UTD rolling then i wont apply here): UNT, Texas Tech, ASU
Notes: I want to settle in the bay area after going to college, and want to become a data scientist (seems more interesting to me than becoming a swe, my opinion might change) at a well-respected company, preferably in the aerospace industry since I've had an interest in aviation since my childhood. I might also do grad school.
Thoughts?

Islam is literally a giant BDSM Snuff Sex cult. Literally the bondage, sadism, masochism and death all revolve around sex… keep your wife confined and covered head to toe because men may lust after her (bondage). Men may have sex slaves even if they’re married (sadism) and the women have husbands too. A wife may not deny her husband sex under most conditions. Speaking of the women, many of them are extremely masochistic with the abuse they receive and some even find a type of Stockholm Syndrome “love” in it.
Add to that, the snuff part, the death and longing for martyrdom with the grand prize for male applicants being 72 virgins with ripe supple breasts. Throw in concepts like Mu’tah (temporary marriage… for Mehr… more aptly prostitution) and milk kinship through the sucking of breasts by adult men and this whole religion seems like the biggest BDSM Death Sex Cult the world has ever seen. Anyone feel that way too?

As the title suggests, I'm kinda fed up with my parents. They seriously need therapy.
I'll start with my mom. She's actually really selfish. Since childhood, I was never allowed to go out and play with other kids. She says that I am allergic to dust and that she'll have to clean my clothes which are full of dust. I ignored her and played out few times but eventually gave in. I got immersed in mobile and the internet. I was never let alone to go out and explore like my neighbour kids. They used to hang out the entire day and ride their bicycle across the neighbourhood and to town. She restricted me to ride the cycle within my house premises. Then she never allows or gives me privacy. She always intrudes me while I'm bathing, changing clothes etc. The main reason is she treats me like a child. She tells me to do this, do that, wear this dress. That's not a big issue as far as I'm concerned. But whenever I tell her Im going outside, she takes the clothes including my inner wear from the cupboard even though I tell her I can do it myself. I think she has some disorder that makes her think she will lose authority of the house and authority over me if I start being independent. She loves when I ask her for help. And she advices me for 10-15 mins if I do the same. She does not allow me to iron my own clothes, enter the kitchen and do the dishes, prepare tea or anything that makes me independent. When I was installing my PC in my room, she interfered and said that the PC should be installed in the hall because apparently the Internet cable will have to be longer. I still don't understand that. I think she does not want me to have privacy. She also doesn't like when I lock my doors. So basically she made me a useless, dependant, introvert kid. I have done several attempts during childhood to break away from her control. I even went out to play with kids for 1 week when I was 11 or 12 but apparently my brother got injured when another kid accidentally rode the bike over his leg which was a minor case. She held on to it and permanently banned me from going outside. Whenever guests come to the house, she gets out from the back of the house and talks and deals with them outside the house itself. She rarely let's guests in. She hates when I say I'm inviting a friend to the house. She reasons with me that "The house will have dust and dirt if he comes to the house". Also, whenever we come home, she forces me to scrub the legs hard for the dirt or something to come off and wash our legs with soap before entering the house. WTF logic is that? We are going to bath anyways so why do that? Because of that she installed a outdoor bathroom/shower which is a small cube like thing outside our house. Also, she doesn't allow me to shift table fans, tables or anything from one place to another. My dad once did so and she screamed and shouted and she slammed her head in the wall herself as if in a sign of protest(I felt really bad and ashamed that day). My room actually has an AC which I don't want to turn on during racing season but she stops me from turning on the fan during that time and forces me to sleep with AC on. She's saying that when fan turns on, there will be dust in the room. I'm really stuck now. I can't go out, can't move things in my own room, I can't invite friends, My relatives and cousins don't come to my home because my mother will not let them in. Whenever I see my relatives and cousins they ask me "Why are you not going out of the house or letting us into your house?". I don't have an answer and it destroys my self confidence. I told her a lot of times to see a doctor but she psychiatrist but she won't. Whenever I'm in school hostel, I feel like it is the real me. I joke around, have fun, talk a lot but when I'm at home, I feel like a different person. I don't feel comfortable laughing, joking or going outside. The main reason is her. My MOM. I still get nightmares thinking if my friend asks to come to my home. I get real anxiety if they come to my home. I fear that they might dislike my mom's outrageous behaviour. Also I fear they will dislike me because I do not go out of the house and be independent. I fear that they will know that I do not have friends outside my school Circle (which the main reason is my mom). She also occassionally swears at me. Calls me bad words and curses at my dad. My biggest dream now is to escape this hellhole of a home and live in some hostel or room.
Now my dad. He is the biggest gambler ever. Not literally but I'll explain. He was born in a poor farmer family but he did a diploma and started working in Dubai. He earned a good amount every month and he built our house. But he got his biggest opportunity in Oman where he was offered ₹1.25L/month salary + Free apartment + Free transport + Free food + Subsidised School for me. He took the offer and we moved there. But after 1 year, he did a dumb thing. He took a loan of ₹50L and started a hotel business without even having any business experience. He employed 10-15 people before the business even started. The business was a huge failure and he lost the money. Meanwhile his company also found this out and kicked him out. I studied 1 year there in a good school but had to leave because of him. He lost ₹50L + Our livelihood in Oman. We came back to India and he got another job in UAE paying ₹2L/month but quit that too because his boss was upset at him at work. Then he got another job in Kazakhstan paying ₹3L/month but quit that too because of his laziness. He always believed he is born to do business. He kept saying he will because a multi-millionare within a year. He kept quitting jobs and now he worked in India itself for ₹30k/month. He then started a milk business which failed and he lost ₹1L. Now he started another Tyre business which is now running at loss. He also has a habit of spending money aimlessly. He buys random expensive clothes, shoes, phones, TV, Expensive chairs etc. He lost all his money on all of these. He does not have a sense of fear over financial ruin. He is now telling me that he'll sell our inherited land and buy a Innova Crysta. I have no words.
The only way we still are not bankrupt is my mothers small rental unit that gives us ₹20-30k/month. There is a lot more to say about my relatives. But that's whole another lesson. Any advice on what I should do? I have done everything in my power to make them right.
(Sorry for rant. Didn't intend this to be so long)
TLDR : My parents are insufferable. What can I do to fix it?
(I just passed out of school, so moving out is not an option. I'm also repeating for JEE near my house)

As the title suggests, I'm kinda fed up with my parents. They seriously need therapy.
I'll start with my mom. She's actually really selfish. Since childhood, I was never allowed to go out and play with other kids. She says that I am allergic to dust and that she'll have to clean my clothes which are full of dust. I ignored her and played out few times but eventually gave in. I got immersed in mobile and the internet. I was never let alone to go out and explore like my neighbour kids. They used to hang out the entire day and ride their bicycle across the neighbourhood and to town. She restricted me to ride the cycle within my house premises. Then she never allows or gives me privacy. She always intrudes me while I'm bathing, changing clothes etc. The main reason is she treats me like a child. She tells me to do this, do that, wear this dress. That's not a big issue as far as I'm concerned. But whenever I tell her Im going outside, she takes the clothes including my inner wear from the cupboard even though I tell her I can do it myself. I think she has some disorder that makes her think she will lose authority of the house and authority over me if I start being independent. She loves when I ask her for help. And she advices me for 10-15 mins if I do the same. She does not allow me to iron my own clothes, enter the kitchen and do the dishes, prepare tea or anything that makes me independent. When I was installing my PC in my room, she interfered and said that the PC should be installed in the hall because apparently the Internet cable will have to be longer. I still don't understand that. I think she does not want me to have privacy. She also doesn't like when I lock my doors. So basically she made me a useless, dependant, introvert kid. I have done several attempts during childhood to break away from her control. I even went out to play with kids for 1 week when I was 11 or 12 but apparently my brother got injured when another kid accidentally rode the bike over his leg which was a minor case. She held on to it and permanently banned me from going outside. Whenever guests come to the house, she gets out from the back of the house and talks and deals with them outside the house itself. She rarely let's guests in. She hates when I say I'm inviting a friend to the house. She reasons with me that "The house will have dust and dirt if he comes to the house". Also, whenever we come home, she forces me to scrub the legs hard for the dirt or something to come off and wash our legs with soap before entering the house. WTF logic is that? We are going to bath anyways so why do that? Because of that she installed a outdoor bathroom/shower which is a small cube like thing outside our house. Also, she doesn't allow me to shift table fans, tables or anything from one place to another. My dad once did so and she screamed and shouted and she slammed her head in the wall herself as if in a sign of protest(I felt really bad and ashamed that day). My room actually has an AC which I don't want to turn on during racing season but she stops me from turning on the fan during that time and forces me to sleep with AC on. She's saying that when fan turns on, there will be dust in the room. I'm really stuck now. I can't go out, can't move things in my own room, I can't invite friends, My relatives and cousins don't come to my home because my mother will not let them in. Whenever I see my relatives and cousins they ask me "Why are you not going out of the house or letting us into your house?". I don't have an answer and it destroys my self confidence. I told her a lot of times to see a doctor but she psychiatrist but she won't. Whenever I'm in school hostel, I feel like it is the real me. I joke around, have fun, talk a lot but when I'm at home, I feel like a different person. I don't feel comfortable laughing, joking or going outside. The main reason is her. My MOM. I still get nightmares thinking if my friend asks to come to my home. I get real anxiety if they come to my home. I fear that they might dislike my mom's outrageous behaviour. Also I fear they will dislike me because I do not go out of the house and be independent. I fear that they will know that I do not have friends outside my school Circle (which the main reason is my mom). She also occassionally swears at me. Calls me bad words and curses at my dad. My biggest dream now is to escape this hellhole of a home and live in some hostel or room.
Now my dad. He is the biggest gambler ever. Not literally but I'll explain. He was born in a poor farmer family but he did a diploma and started working in Dubai. He earned a good amount every month and he built our house. But he got his biggest opportunity in Oman where he was offered ₹1.25L/month salary + Free apartment + Free transport + Free food + Subsidised School for me. He took the offer and we moved there. But after 1 year, he did a dumb thing. He took a loan of ₹50L and started a hotel business without even having any business experience. He employed 10-15 people before the business even started. The business was a huge failure and he lost the money. Meanwhile his company also found this out and kicked him out. I studied 1 year there in a good school but had to leave because of him. He lost ₹50L + Our livelihood in Oman. We came back to India and he got another job in UAE paying ₹2L/month but quit that too because his boss was upset at him at work. Then he got another job in Kazakhstan paying ₹3L/month but quit that too because of his laziness. He always believed he is born to do business. He kept saying he will because a multi-millionare within a year. He kept quitting jobs and now he worked in India itself for ₹30k/month. He then started a milk business which failed and he lost ₹1L. Now he started another Tyre business which is now running at loss. He also has a habit of spending money aimlessly. He buys random expensive clothes, shoes, phones, TV, Expensive chairs etc. He lost all his money on all of these. He does not have a sense of fear over financial ruin. He is now telling me that he'll sell our inherited land and buy a Innova Crysta. I have no words.
The only way we still are not bankrupt is my mothers small rental unit that gives us ₹20-30k/month. There is a lot more to say about my relatives. But that's whole another lesson. Any advice on what I should do? I have done everything in my power to make them right.
(Sorry for rant. Didn't intend this to be so long)
TLDR : My parents are insufferable. What can I do to fix it?
(I just passed out of school, so moving out is not an option. I'm also repeating for JEE near my house)

This is my boy Opal, he’s 8 months old. (Little backstory) I first got him at 5weeks old and he was locked up in cage all day at my dads house while I was in college, I dropped out and moved out with him to my sisters house in December. He’s been here since then and there are 2 other male cats here, 1 of them is neutered and opal and the other cat is not.
We have always used the same litter and Opal will poop in the box and pee sometimes, but other times he will just pee on everything else, my sister no longer allows me to let him downstairs bc he has peed on and under the couch numerous times, he’s peed on her unborn babies changing table, and on blankets, clothes etc. He has his own litter box in my room and that really helped for a while, but here and there he will now pee on my bed and I don’t understand why. My vet told me it’s just stress related from moving but we have been here together for about 6 months.
I’ve cleaned my mattress before to try and break down the enzymes and what not and he still pees in the same spot, I’m currently trying a spray bottle to spray him with when he’s bad but idk how well it’s even going to work. I’m not really sure what to do, I love him so much and do not want to get rid or rehome him I just really want him to stop peeing on everything.

Hi everyone, Im a 1,73 cm around 80kg, 31 year old male with around 30% bodyfat. I started around 3 years ago with around 90 kg. All weights are roughly since I mostly go by waist size, not so much weight. You probably can already tell that it wasnt straight forward for me since 10 kg in 3 years is not alot. This was mostly due to me overdoing it with running, injuring myself in the process and then jojo-ing back a bit.
Since around 4 months I switched to zone 2 cardio mostly. Still running but with more training over time and lower intensity I now feel on the right track here. I ran in the last 4 months on at least 20 days per month, always around 5 km and always around 300 kcal according to my treadmill, most of it in zone 2. I also work in additional weight training every now and then, just so my muscles don vanish completly. I dont count calorie burns on that, but just know that this shouldnt be a major area of concern either.
My diet (pretty much unchanged since day one) is strict and open at the same time. I dont have breakfast and eat a protein porridge for lunch (100gram oats, 50 gram casein protein powder, 10 gram nuts + 50-100ml almond milk + water) which is in sum pretty much excactly 500 kcal. Im pretty strict about that. Then an apple or banana in the afternoon around 100 kcal and then my most open and last meal of the day, dinner. Always homecooked, with often a salad or at least plenty of vegetables. There wouldn't be any fast food or anything else of the usual suspects. While I dont track calories here, I would be suprised if it surpassed 1000 kcal (my estimated allowance for this meal) regularly.
There are days where I dont follow my diet, but thats mostly birthdays and such so, maybe 1-2 days a month where I once again would be suprised if I surpassed (as an absolut maximum 3000 kcal a day, 2500 probably being a more realistic upper sealing. We are talking going out for dinner or having a cake, not an all you can eat buffet.)
I dont drink much alcohol anymore, we are talking somewhere in the 1-2 times a month 3-4 glasses of wine. While still to much, it also shouldnt be a major calorie contributor.
Other then that I`m unfortunately not very active, programing as a job and gaming as a hobby doesnt mix well.
Using Online calculators I should be around 2000 kcal burn (NEAT) per day + 300 from Sport on most days. While eating around 1600 kcal per day. So a good day would give me a deficit of 700 kcal (round about).
On my worst days I should gain around 500 kcal. Even going by the 10 bad days in a month, 20 good days estimate. This would give me an overall burn of (...calculating...) 5000-14000 = -9000 kcal per month. So around 300 kcal on an average day. With this calculation being pretty pessimistic I would say.
Even if we round down again and say its only a 7000 kcal deficit per month... I should loose a kg per month, which would still be a rather slow diet (while feeling quite strict if Im honest). And this being an absolute low estimate.
My simple problem is: I havent lost that much, not by a long shot, we are talking 1-2 kg in the last 4 months.
HOW? what am I missing? It feels like I got everything under control. Im fairly "experienced" with diets and even loosing weight. I know what it feels like and generally how to do it. Im honest with myself and never complained online before, since always saw my own shortcomings eventually (poor diet, to little NEAT, overtraining etc. all being problems before, that I solved for me). But this time Im drawing a complet blank, I feel like I should be loosing weight, faster or honestly most of the time at all with what Im doing. Do you guys have any ideas or pointers, Im really out of my wits this time?

my (30m) fiance (30f) has been texting her coworker very sexually for months now. i have been feeling a strong emotional and physical disconnect from her for months as well. ive brought it up many times but its always her "hormones" or "stress" which i 100% agree. we both have very stressful high pace jobs and also two young boys (5,6). i decided i'll check her phone just to see, ive never felt a disconnect like this between us and she always use to be all over me and over the top lovey and touched so this is far out of character for her. low and behold i see messages going back to february to her 47yo male MARRIED coworker. it wont let me attach images so ill just try to highlight the main concerning texts which is nearly all of them.
it started off because she's into smut books if you will, and he apparently writes smut short stories she read him and excerpt from one of her book: he felt the need to text her one of his short super dirty stories. she replies to this saying it's "hot and he's a good ass writer" couple messages go by and he's making obviously but subtle sexual comments to her saying "how did they get a camera in my room to write those books" there's too much to repeat all the messages but to highlight he keeps making comments sexual in nature, she replies to one about a sex dungeon saying "if you had a room like this one in the hook i'll he over" to which he says "not anymore i'm married" she says something then he says "i didn't say i was happily married" more conversation then he says he has "bad knees but that doesn't mean he still doesn't get his heartrate up" she says "i have a bad back we would do great together" he says "i would get a swing to swoop you off your feet", insinuating a sex swing, she says "talking about swings in have one at home collecting dust as we speak " (sex swing) a lot of innaproraite conversations happen for months. a few more key things is they have a quiet room at work, it's like a single person small room with one couch for employees to go relax and unwind at, totally isolated and hidden from plain view, ther lot of messages about meeting together in the quiet room. he says "i would never knock on that door unless i knew who was in there" she says "if it's "our" break time you know it's me " he says " it's super cute she called it "our" break time. and that he "needs written permission to enter the room while she's in there" she replies a :) and says that he can come in the room anytime he wants if she's in there. fast forward to next shift all she sends is a time "1730? :)" and he savs "as always" then she says "good boy, that was your written invitation"
I've also met this dude once at her coworkers party. he sat right next to my fiance, i sat across the table and i noticed with 5 min of meeting this guy that something was suspicious. he was openly being flirt right in front of me so much so that i texted my friend and said i don't like this guy that sitting next to my fiance he's scheming.i sent that message as this was going on in front of me. this happened after the messages were sent about going to his private sex dungeon and gun sweeping her off her feet with a sex swing. but the event took place months ago before i knew these messages existed.
my fiance claims nothing has ever happened physically between them, the messages are leading me to highly suspect otherwise. she has no excuse other than she doesn't know what happened and what she was thinking. she's extremely apologetic and has him blocked now. i reached out to this guys wife and his wife has no idea about this whole situation and says that this guy has cheated be prior to this our relationship has been extremely healthy and she's my, or was, my dream come true. i never expected this.
what would you do? would you call off the wedding? i feel like this is cheating and i know i will never be able to get over this and trust her again 100%. she's apologetic beyond belief, has blocked him and said anything i need she will do. she still works with this guy and always will. i'll always have doubt about her now and am worried she will do it again. if i wouldn't have caught it this time around it would have continued for god knows how long and probably went even further the way things were escalating. is this cheating?
TLDR; my (30m) fiance (30f) has been sexually texting and meeting privately with her (47m) married (previously cheated) coworker. she denies anything happened physically which is very hard to believe with the nature of the messages and private meeting.

Just wanna say love u so much Charlotte and love all my fellow potatoes!!! More power to our queen! A very dramatic and long story of my friend's wedding that happened 2 years ago. All names have been changed but I did get permission from the bride and groom, and the bride's brother to post this story.
This was 2 years ago but I can still remember that day very well. Let me start by saying I'm not really sociable and I'm usually very awkward because of my insecurities with my body and mental health which have greatly improved but still comes up every now and then. Cath - the bride in this story - is my best friend and one of the sweetest girls I know since HS. She's kind, very pretty, very athletic, and smart but she was never a bitch or a bully.
Her family is also wonderful, and her husband - still fiancé during this story - is also a wonderful man, Nathan. I'm so happy for her and they deserve each other. Nathan's family is also like Cath's family - they're nice, lovable, and despite their wealth, they're very lowkey about it. 99% of Nathan's family is nice, except for his younger sister, Ana, who is the same age as me and Cath. Nathan is 5 years older than us, and he and Cath met through Cath's brother, Leo. Leo is the same age as Nathan, and is very similar to Cath in terms of popularity, and he's also very handsome - I describe him as handsome and tall that is always smiling and greenest flag male lead in romance novels - so yes, I've had a huge crush on Leo since Day 1, which Cath cannot believe that I had a crush on her brother. Safe to say, other girls like him too including Ana. Ana has been very open about her crush on Leo; and I would admire her for that if she wasn't a bitch to every other who likes Leo too. She bullied whoever she found fancied Leo and even went out of her way to ruin his dates with any girl he went out with. Leo has always been firm and straightforward in telling Ana that what she was doing was out of line, and he has multiple times expressed that he does not have feelings for her and her behavior was not making him like her. I knew all of this because Leo got shit drunk one time while I was hanging out at their family home and he accidentally spilled his stress about her with me and Cath. Cath got enraged and called Nathan, and Nathan's family were horrified about Ana's behavior that they actually cut her off financially for 3 years.
Well, the week before the wedding, Ana's parents decided that maybe she has finally learned her lesson because she has mellowed and gave her a bit of financial support and this triggered Ana's bitchy attitude again. She would be mean to Cath during wedding preparation, be a pick me girl whenever she hangs out with us, and worse, make fun of my weight. Don't get me wrong, even I make jokes every now and then and I can take some digs towards me but to constantly hear them every single time I see her has become exhausting and has driven my anxiety to new heights. Cath always called her out for this but she didn't stop and always brushed it off as a joke until Cath decided it was enough and told Nathan about Ana's behavior towards me. Nathan reprimanded Ana and threatened that to tell their parents her behavior and risk another financial disownment unless she apologized to me. Ana begrudgingly apologized and has stayed clear of me every since.
That was until the wedding. The day before the wedding, something traumatic happened to me so I wasn't really in the best mood during the wedding. Cath was so worried about me that I actually started to feel bad that she was fussing over me instead of focusing on herself for her day. Leo picked up on Cath's worried gazes on me and my shitty mood that he told Cath he would stay with me during the entire wedding to help me get through any difficult moments. Both Cath and I agreed (I mean yeah, I wouldn't pass a moment to spend with Leo) and so Leo and I were constantly together during the wedding ceremony and reception. We were always in the same group of conversations, same area of the venue, and we were having fun. I think Ana saw this and did not like it. Halfway through the reception, Leo left our table to pick up a phone call and I was left alone for a while. I didn't mind it because the party mood was just so lively and I felt great that I've been doing well without any anxiety attacks. Ana saw that as an opportunity to strut to our table with her other bitchy cousins and picked a fight with me. No I'm not kidding, there was no warning, no preempt actions, just went to my table, picked up a glass of water and splashed it on my face. I was stunned to react and I think I blanked out for a few seconds because the next thing I knew, Nathan, Cath, and Nathan's parents were all over Ana and the cousins, while Ana was screaming on top of her lungs about me being fat, not worthy of Leo's attention, and if it weren't for my skills in makeup, I wouldn't be pretty - those actually sting and I started to quietly cry. I felt bad about my self and for causing a scene on Cath and Nathan's wedding when they have been nothing but kind to me, and I felt mad at myself for being so helpless and a doormat.
And then, Leo was kneeling in front of my seat and held my hand. I couldn't really remember what he said to me but he looked so worried and sad for me. I could remember him squeezing my hands and even pulled me for a hug as Ana was dragged by her parents out of the venue. Ana was cut off by their parents and kicked out of their home for her behavior after that. I went home after that fiasco - I said sorry to Cath and Nathan, and to their parents as well. They tried to make me stay, tell me I wasn't wrong, and even Nathan's mom kept apologizing but I still felt shit and I knew I was going to have a panic attack if I don't leave soon. I avoided everyone as I swiftly walked out of the venue, I didn't even bother saying goodbye to Leo, I just walked out. When I got to my car in the parking lot, guess who was leaning against the driver's side with a huge heart-stopping smile - Leo, my god drop dead gorgeous Leo, looking like he was starring in a romance story, and I kid you not, the guy even pulled a line that made me feel butterflies, "OP, I never pegged you to be the kind of girl who ditches her date. Give me another chance to make it up to you, will you?" Bro was acting like it was prom we went to and not his sister's wedding. I actually felt better when the night ended as Leo took me out for dinner.
And to give an epilogue to this disaster and long post already: A week after the wedding, Cath and Nathan were having a housewarming party, and I decided to attend. As soon as they both saw me, I was welcomed by tight hugs and Cath's mom even shoved Leo so she could hug me next. Nathan's parents were still apologetic and promised to make it up to me. The party was lively, Leo and I were next to each other again during the party and that helped me felt ease. Cath and Nathan even did a slideshow of their wedding photos for the family to see. Every one was laughing, cooing at the couple's photos, when a photo of the table I was sitting in flashed next. There were 6 of us seated at the table but you could clearly see in the photo that Leo and I were facing each other, laughing at what we were talking about. Cath's mom was the first one to speak up and say "Oh would you look at that! OP looks so cute!" She then turned to Leo who was next to me and said "Isn't she cute, Leo?" To which Leo agreed. He looked at me and smiled, "Not a surprise, she is the prettiest girl I've met." Holy mother of waffles I swear I thought I was dreaming. I heard Cath make barf sounds with her brother's words, while Nathan was laughing.
So here we are, 2 years since that eventful wedding of Cath and Nathan's, and it was my turn to walk down the aisle last weekend for my wedding. Cath and Nathan's adorable twin girls were my flower girls, and Leo looked handsome as always as he waited for me at the end of the aisle by the altar. Yes, my husband agreed to me writing this post and was gracious enough to fill me in on the lines he said.

Hi everyone,
I'm sure there's a better pet-specific sub for this advice request, but they've always seemed a little too dogmatic(pun intended) when it comes to advice and responses.
We have an old male beagle that is 14. He's always had the typical beagle traits(food obsessed, high energy, affectionate, barks at outside dogs/people) but as he's gotten much older and he's been now living with a toddler, those things that used to be fun or at least tolerable have gotten much worse. We now have to put him downstairs when it's meal or snack times as he tries to climb into our toddler's high chair for anything that falls and tries to take snacks from him even when being corrected or held and reminded to sit/stay. He constantly tries to lick the toddler or get in his way whenever he's playing, and gets annoyed/growly when he gets stepped on because he's too close. We have to put him downstairs and worry about him when it's nap/bedtime because he'll go to the windows or just aimlessly bark when we close him out of the bedroom for a short time. He has bitten me on the hand once or twice in the last year when I've had to grab him from under the table or from around the toddler to put him downstairs. I have not seen him being that mean or defensive like that with the toddler, just the adults.
All he does is sleep all day and I have to pester him to go outside and go for walks and he walks incredibly slow and won't really go anywhere unless I give him a little tug here and there or he sees another dog. We also have started putting a belly band(male dog diaper) on him because he has started peeing in the house on all sorts of things including our bed, the rugs, and our son's play tent. We've had him checked out and no health issues and he'll do it sometimes right after being let outside.
This was a partial rant but mostly looking for advice from other people who've gone through similar situations on what we can do to make this situation better. Dealing with him like this everyday has honestly become the most stressful part of our day.

SORRY FOR LONG POST I DESPERATELY NEED ADVICE PLEASE HELP.
I’m not married, im engaged and we’ve been together 7 years. if not allowed please disregard and remove post, i need advice bad and don’t know where to turn.
my (30m) fiance (30f) has been texting her coworker very sexually for months now. i have been feeling a strong emotional and physical disconnect from her for months as well. ive brought it up many times but its always her “hormones” or “stress” which i 100% agree. we both have very stressful high pace jobs and also two young boys (5,6). i decided i’ll check her phone just to see, ive never felt a disconnect like this between us and she always use to be all over me and over the top lovey and touched so this is far out of character for her. low and behold i see messages going back to february to her 47yo male MARRIED coworker. it wont let me attach images so ill just try to highlight the main concerning texts which is nearly all of them.
it started off because she’s into smut books if you will, and he apparently writes smut short stories. she read him and excerpt from one of her books and he felt the need to text her one of his short super dirty stories. she replies to this saying it’s “hot and he’s a good ass writer” couple messages go by and he’s making obviously but subtle sexual comments to her saying “how did they get a camera in my room to write those books” there’s too much to repeat all the messages but to highlight he keeps making comments sexual in nature, she replies to one about a sex dungeon saying “if you had a room like this one in the book, i’ll be over” to which he says “not anymore i’m married” she says something then he says “i didn’t say i was happily married” more conversation then he says he has “bad knees but that doesn’t mean he still doesn’t get his heartrate up” she says “i have a bad back we would do great together” he says “i would get a swing to swoop you off your feet”, insinuating a sex swing, she says “talking about swings in have one at home collecting dust as we speak 😈 ” (sex swing) a lot of innaproraite conversations happen for months. a few more key things is they have a quiet room at work, it’s like a single person small room with one couch for employees to go relax and unwind at, totally isolated and hidden from plain view, there is a lot of messages about meeting together in the quiet room. he says “i would never knock on that door unless i knew who was in there” she says “if it’s “our” break time you know it’s me “ he says “ it’s super cute she called it “our” break time. and that he “needs written permission to enter the room while she’s in there” she replies a :) and says that he can come in the room anytime he wants if she’s in there. fast forward to next shift all she sends is a time “1730? :)” and he says “as always” then she says “good boy, that was your written invitation”
I’ve also met this dude once at her coworkers party. he sat right next to my fiance, i sat across the table and i noticed with 5 min of meeting this guy that something was suspicious. he was openly being flirt right in front of me so much so that i texted my friend and said i don’t like this guy that sitting next to my fiance he’s scheming.i sent that message as this was going on in front of me. this happened after the messages were sent about going to his private sex dungeon and gun sweeping her off her feet with a sex swing. but the event took place months ago before i knew these messages existed.
my fiance claims nothing has ever happened physically between them, the messages are leading me to highly suspect otherwise. she has no excuse other than she doesn’t know what happened and what she was thinking. she’s extremely apologetic and has him blocked now. i reached out to this guys wife and his wife has no idea about this whole situation and says that this guy has cheated before. prior to this our relationship has been extremely healthy and she’s my, or was, my dream come true. i never expected this.
what would you do? would you call off the wedding? i feel like this is cheating and i know i will never be able to get over this and trust her again 100%. she’s apologetic beyond belief, has blocked him and said anything i need she will do. she still works with this guy and always will. i’ll always have doubt about her now and am worried she will do it again. if i wouldn’t have caught it this time around it would have continued for god knows how long and probably went even further the way things were escalating.
TLDR; my(30m) fiance (30f) has been sexually texting and meeting privately with her (47m) married (previously cheated) coworker. she denies anything happened physically which is very hard to believe with the nature of the messages and private meeting.

On May 19th, 2022. I was arrested by the San Jose Police Department. They came to my house with 200 cops, all dressed in civilian clothes, tactical gear, and plain undercover vehicles. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. At that time, I felt whatever this is, my life is ruined for sure.
Once I got into the interrogation room at the SJPD main headquarters, I knew I wasn’t going to prison. All the arresting officer did was show me picture of me at the range from 5 years prior. It had nothing to do with that case. I probably talked to Sgt Jonathan Byers for a total of 20 mins during 3 hours they had me in the interrogation room. I was relieved when they told me I was going to jail. I wanted to get out of that room ASAP.
I went to the San Jose Main Jail for 3 hours. I was out by 12:30 AM May, 20th 2022. My wife picked me home and home I went. My wife was as very upset to say the least.
The following day, I retained my lawyer Nan Bucknell. At first I liked her because she seemed sharp and had a lot of years of experience in the Santa Clara County Court System. I paid her in full, that was a big mistake. After she took my money, she stopped helping me. She went out of her way to be cruel and poke fun that I was going to prison over this. I kept asking her why, all she said it was because I had firearms. Please note, all my guns were legally registered and legal for me to own. So basically she was telling me I was going to prison for owning legally registered firearms and telling people off. In construction, people tell off each other all the time. It’s part of the culture.
Once I was on bail, my lawyer informed me I was under 24/7 police surveillance. That was a surreal experience. I learned a lot about counter surveillance.
The following Tuesday, May 24th, 2022, Damian Trujillo with NBC Bay Area News ran a story accusing me of being a mass shooter. Up to this point, I thought I was arrested only for Criminal Threats. Not a mass shooter. They even compared me to the VTA shooter, of course they announce my arrest in the anniversary of the VTA Mass Shooting Massacre. It all worked in their favor to arrest me at that time. They made themselves look like hero’s for sure. Damian Trujillo lied and said I had no comment. I told him the SJPD had a weak case and I wasn’t worried.
I started working again soon after. That really helped a lot. I began living a normal regular life again with court dates.
The court system at the Santa Clara County Courthouse is a total joke. There was not 1 court hearing where they talked about what I was accused of, any evidence shown, victim impact statements, nothing. It was delayed to the next 2 months over and over again. Then out of nowhere, 6 months later, my lawyer tells me that the DA is taking jail time off the table, that I would get 2 years probation.
So that’s what happens when you are accused of being a mass shooter at your workplace and stalker. No jail time, life and reputation ruined, the arresting officer got a pat on the back for my arrest. Google Sgt Jonathan Byers, he is a bigger criminal than me.
My company knows about my case. The guys don’t like me but the ladies are cool with me. It’s like that at my gym Fitness 19 in Morgan Hill. Everyone knows, the dudes seem like they hate me. Everyone stares and points, “there’s the bad guy”. That’s fine with me, ladies love a bad boy, not some boring good guy. Males tend to get very emotional over this case. They act like they know my case and have the answers when no one can provide any answers regarding this case.
I still work, I enjoy life with my wife and kids, we go camping and take trips. I just remodeled my home and it turned out great. I enjoy my life during my time off. I also enjoy working out, even though everyone there knows and points, I do not care, I am stronger than most of them.

DISCLAIMER: I am aware that many people will not be able to benefit from these, everyone’s safe foods and symptoms are different, some diets are extremely restrictive, some people are highly reactive, etc. Compared to some stories on this sub my MCAS is pretty mild.
That said, I was talking with a friend recently about what I cook for myself and I thought I might share a few of the subs I’ve used in the past for various off-limits ingredients.

1. I can’t have whole grain corn, and corn floumasa especially makes me very sick. Flour tortillas are great, and also for tortilla chips this may sound weird but the plain baked Ritz crackers are actually great for eating salsa. They’re crunchy enough to give the same sensation of eating corn chips. Dip them in just about anything.
   
2. I can’t have rice, which to be honest is hard to work around and I really miss it. However, for many dishes that use rice, I find that plain couscous is a great sub. For “fried rice”, for example, cooking the couscous in chicken or beef stock with some light seasoning can give it that same savory rich flavor that fried rice often does without using things like sesame oil, which is another no for me.
   
3. Another rice sub is orzo, though it absorbs a lot of moisture so it’s better with things that have a sauce component, and not as good for things like gumbo, where it may become very soggy.
   
4. Nutella and peanut butter. While I can handle a small amount (like a handful or so) of tree nuts/peanuts, I avoid them for the most part. Ground nut products like peanut butter make me react very badly though to be fair that may be because of cross contamination (iykyk). I’ve had good success with sunflower seed butter, though I admit peanut butter tastes way better. Bizarrely, some brands have chocolate sunflower seed butter and while it is slightly chocolatey, I find it tastes more like regular peanut butter. I have no idea how that works!
   
5. Although I can and do eat/drink regular dairy products all the time, I’ve also found unsweetened oat milk to be a good alternative if you can’t have cows milk.
   
6. Soy is in everything these days, and while I can actually consume some super refined soy products like soy sauce or soy lecithin, many other things are off the table. Thankfully, many brands are starting to use sunflower or safflower instead of soy products! I’ve noticed this in Aldi especially but there are a lot of products even just over the last year or so that used soy and now use sunflower. Also, if you’re into vegan things, Impossible brand has soy protein, but Beyond uses pea protein and the times I’ve had it I’ve had zero bad effects. I’m not a vegan, but eating with vegan friends, I’ve become quite fond of the beyond beef flavor and will occasionally cook it for myself.
   
7. Actually, if you’re allergic to any animal products, check out vegan cookbooks and recipes etc. In baking, for instance, if you need an egg substitute, my personal favorite is pumpkin purée.
   
8. I can’t have shellfish, which isn’t easily replaced, but I will say that if you like scallops, sliced and sautéed king trumpet mushroom stems are shockingly similar in pasta and take on spices and flavor not unlike seafood.
   

My phone is freezing up from typing all this but hopefully these ideas help someone out there!

Help a girl out with crush triangle
I (25 F) have had a crush on a coworker (29 M) for almost three years now. I am very reserved / shy and he is also reserved. We have interacted very little but I just can’t get his stares or voice out of my head. I thought he also had a crush on me but was maybe afraid to approach. A few months ago, I started to befriend another coworker (29 M), let’s call him E, and so far has been pretty casual. One day I find out they are friends. On that same day, there was a work breakfast and one of my workers took me around to greet everyone because “I need to get out of my shell”. I was talking to a work acquaintance (male) and my crush stared at me the entire time. Then it came my turn to greet my crush and I could barely look at him. I was joking that I wanted to run away from the greet tour and he leaned in and whispered about staying in his corner. A bit later I’m sitting at a table by myself and my crush is standing with view to the table and is chatting with other coworkers and E. I was looking at my phone and when I looked up, my crush was looking at me again. He looked away when I saw him. I felt a little happy and tried to muster the courage to get up and talk to them, and as I’m making my way, he walks away. Later during the event, I’m chatting with my new friend E and my crush is staring at me the entire time while talking to his other friend W. Fast forward a few months and E starts throwing hints that my crush, E, and W have been talking about me and are all curious about my age. I again assumed that maybe my crush liked me and E was being a wingman. Then a few days later E starts throwing hints that he has a crush on me. Yesterday he told me that he was talking to my crush and my crush told him to invite me to Es birthday dinner that they all go to or to ask for my number or he is going to regret it because another guy will eventually try to get with me. After telling me that, he hinted that he was afraid to ask me for my phone number for fear of it being weird, I said it wasn’t weird and since we were friends and handed him my phone. I don’t want to lead E on but I don’t know how to make it clear that I have a crush on his friend. Did I mess up by giving him my phone number? I do genuinely want to be his friend. Is there any chance that my crush likes me? Should I avoid the situation entirely? Im stuck.
A little background about the players Crush: it’s been a while since he has been in a relationship and he feels lonely (E has told me this). Has only had one girlfriend. He doesn’t seem like a very confident person and I assume being a shorter guy (approximately 5’3”) probably plays into that as well. E: also been a while since he’s been in a relationship. Not sure about the rest of his dating history. His recent relationship did not end well (I didn’t ask why as I don’t want to be intrusive since we just started becoming friends). I never asked him for any information on my crush or himself but he just volunteers it. Me: im always complimented on my looks or how kind I am. Been told I have a girl next door vibe. I’m not very confident so I struggle to interact with people and overthink everything. I’ve never been in a relationship or even kissed anyone and so some of the nicknames I have acquired over time with friends are “extra virgin olive oil” or “nun”. Which I think are pretty funny.

“Will you look at that,” Captain Yontan marveled from the observation deck. They had arrived in the Solar System at long last, the old bastion of knowledge mankind had abandoned many millennia ago.
“Such a basic tech, yet so beautiful, so… poetic,” Lezlybe uttered, gazing at the constant flux of Sunfire Conduit pulled from the sun to one, two, three relays, and finally to the surface of Pluto, where its energy was being harnessed inside a crater. “And you’re certain that’s where the Ultimate Knowledge is stored?”
“Yes,” Yontan nodded. “Every clue leads to Pluto. Can you imagine? The Ultimate Knowledge, lost for millennia, on this planet out of all places.”
“Ready to descend at your command, captain,” announced Ghenna.
Yontan turned to his crew and smiled. It was the first time they had seen him do that in months. “Hover around the south-south-eastern quadrant of the crater. That’s where the entrance is supposed to be.”
“Yes, Sir!”
Lezlybe’s turned to face the captain, her long black hair swirling around with her.
“Wouldn’t that energy burn us on approach?”
“It might be basic tech, but not that basic, Lez,” said Yontan. “It’s safe up to a distance of 100 meters. Don’t underestimate the intelligence of our ancestors because they built this thing in the distant past. They were as smart as us. Smarter even, in certain aspects, I’m sure.”
“Found the entrance, captain,” said Ghenna. It was a pale peach colored door built on the craterside.
“Land near it, wherever it’s stable.”
“Yes, Sir!”
The ship touched down next to the Hollis Crater. Yontan and four others suited up and left the craft. Before heading for the door, the team stopped to gaze at the Sunfire Conduit from their position. It went up, up, up as far as the eye could see.
Jmerr was awestruck.
“I can’t believe we’re able to look at it with basic sun visors. Do you think our ancestors purposefully designed it like that?”
“Of course,” said Yontan, mesmerized by the spiraling blaze swooshing down the crater. “Aesthetics have always been important, especially since it used to be connected to three planets, two dwarf planets, and eight moons. Many renown painters have depicted the Conduits in their art. Although no physical portraits survived, their works have been well documented over hundreds of books.”
Lezlybe approached Jmerr and put her hand over his shoulder.
“I kind of wish we could hear its thunderous sound. I imagine it’d be a satisfying swoosh, kind of like a blowtorch.”
“You’d be deaf before you’d hear a thing,” laughed Yontan. “We’re speaking of extremely powerful jets coming from a star, after all. I can’t wait to see why they’re pulling so much energy on such a small planet. It’s totally excessive in my view.”
“Maybe it’s not,” said Lezlybe. “Especially if the Ultimate Knowledge is behind this door.”
The team approached the door, a small black panel to its side. Yontan placed a round device on top and, seconds later, it retracted into the ground.
“A Grampus?” frowned Jmerr, even though no one could see his face behind the visor. “Why do you use this old AI?”
“Because I don’t know the code,” explained Yontan as they stepped inside a long hall. “So I brought this device with me to crack the password. Don’t forget that this here is also old tech. Newer devices could break something.” He glanced over his shoulder at the wide-open entryway with the ship not too far behind. “But it looks like the Grampus broke it anyway since it doesn’t slide shut.”
At the end of the wide turquoise hall, another door was easily popped open with Yontan’s device. This time, however, the heavy door closed shut when the last person stepped in.
“I hope we’re not trapped in this small room,” gulped Lezlybe.
“Don’t worry, we can ask someone on board to cut it open if needed,” said Yontan. “After all we –”
PSHHHHHHHH
A burst of gas sprayed them from all sides, followed by a shower of heavy liquid. A few moments after it stopped, the door in front of them opened, and a gentle male voice greeted them.
“Welcome to U.K. ONE. The current air pressure is at 101.3 kilopascals, with a temperature of 22.4 degrees Celsius and a humidity level set at 60% RH.”
The voice then proceeded to inform them about the room’s condition among other sets of data.
“I see. We were inside a basic decompression chamber,” muttered Jmerr.
The tallest crewmate, Lessandre, popped his helmet off and took a deep breath.
“Ah, historical fresh air,” he boomed, looking around the oval room. “It brings a tear to my eye.”
“What are you doing?” Yontan shouted. “We don’t know what particles or microorganisms could linger in here.”
“Relax, captain. Tyche analyzed the air and told me it’s fine. Why don’t you all retract your visors and experience this multimillennial-old air? You’ll never have the chance to do that again, you know.”
Yontan checked with his own version of his AI, Tyche, and everything seemed to be fine, so he retracted the visor of his helmet as well, just in time to scratch an itch on his beard. The rest of the crew followed, except for Jmerr.
“Come on, Jmerr. It’s a unique experience, my friend,” beamed Lessandre, tapping on his shoulder.
Jmerr scowled at Lessandre. “I refuse to take unnecessary risks.”
“As you wish,” Lessandre grinned, loudly sniffing the air. “Ahhh. The air in here is exceptionally… how to describe it?”
“Dusty?” Lezlybe chimed in. “I think the auto-clean on the filter stopped working long ago.”
Yontan was ignoring his crew, inspecting the walls of this oval room for clues. But the room was pretty much empty, outside of the air conditioning holes and lights flickering on the ceiling.
“I know there’s another door on the other side of the crater, but that one’s the entrance to the accumulator and workspaces,” he muttered to himself, caressing the wall in the hopes of finding a button or a gap of sorts.
“Is that place also turquoise?” asked Lessandre. “I really hate this color. Reminds me too much of my ex.”
Lezlybe rolled her eyes.
“Then why don’t we go there?” asked Ghenna, who had closed her visor since she didn’t like the smell.
“Because,” began Yontan absent-mindedly while brushing his hands over the wall, “every document points to this place. We’ll check the other site if we don’t find anything here. Now if only I – aha! A button. This might be it.”
Yontan pushed it with his finger. Instead of clicking, like any other button would, his index finger sank completely in. He immediately withdrew it, fearing something might cut his finger off. But the button came back, except it was now white and protruded out of the wall. Yontan hesitantly pressed it.
An oval pedestal emerged from the middle of the floor, gradually rising until it reached chest height. The left side slid open with melodious clicks, and out came a small table with a round black object on it with a sky-blue center. Before they had the time to guess what it was, a hologram rose from it, displaying the head of an old balding man with a lazy eye.
“Greetings, future humans,” said the feeble voice. “And welcome to K.U. ONE. What is your purpose here?”
Yontan glanced at his crew, who gave him a nod and shrugs. He cleared his throat and spoke clearly, “We’ve come here to gain access to the Ultimate Knowledge, which is said to contain the answers to our purpose within the universe.”
“I see. And you are one, two, five. Oh! That is good news, good news indeed. I’ve been waiting for you. Well, not me per se, since I’m long dead, I suppose,” the hologram laughed, “but my digital image. And five? Oh, proof that nothing happens at random.”
Yontan was slightly taken aback.
“Wait. You’re not a simple recording?”
“No, no. I’m enhanced with artificial intelligence. It speaks as I would speak, saying what I asked it to say – with a bit of panache. Now, move to the other side of the pedestal. It will pop open and contain a box.”
The other side popped open, displaying a silver box embossed with gold on the edges. It was beautiful. Lessandre grabbed it and tried to pry it open.
“Tut-tut! You need the key to open the box. I’ll hand it over only of you accept to eat its contents.”
“Eat it?” Yontan uttered in excitement. “Will it alter our brains? Give us the knowledge we yearn for?”
“Not quite. But it is a necessary step.”
“I won’t touch it,” Jmerr stated firmly. “I don’t trust this man. Whatever’s inside, it’s been in there for thousands of years. There’s no way it’s still edible.”
“Oh but it is,” grinned the man. “What do you think the Sunfire Conduit is used for?”
“What?” uttered Lezlybe. “The power of the sun used for… food?”
“Of course, there’s more to it. But a lot of energy is necessary to cool it down to near zero kelvin and keep it that way until it’s very slowly reheated to the ideal temperature for you to savor.
“Now, will you eat its contents or not?”
“Why don’t we bring it back to the ship and study it?” suggested Jmerr.
“The moment you leave the room with the box, its contents will be destroyed, and so will the key to Ultimate Knowledge.”
Yontan exchanged a glance with his crew. Lessandre gave him thumbs up, Ghenna nodded and Lezlybe shrugged. Jmerr was the only one to firmly shake his head.
“Fine, we’ll eat its contents,” said Yontan, upon which Jmerr put his hands up in the air in frustration.
A key appeared from the front of the pedestal. Yonan used it to open the box Lessandre was holding. Five dark-brown spherical objects were neatly placed within fitting molds, resembling the five dots on a die.
“Behold the Five Orbs of Knowledge,” the hologram said solemnly. “I recommend one for each of you.”
Jmerr crossed his arms. “There’s no way I’m touching this.”
“What if someone eats two?” asked Yontan, eyeing Jmerr.
“It would sadden me, even though it might be beneficial to grasp the Ultimate Knowledge.”
Without hesitation, Lessandre popped the middle one in his mouth. Every other crewmate was staring at him. A few bites in, he suddenly froze, eyes wide open. His gaze slowly shifted from Yontan, to Lezlybe, to Ghenna – whose visor was now lowered – and finally stopped on Jmerr.
“Awl eash ‘em bofh,” he rapidly chewed, popping a second one in. “Awl eash ‘em owl ihf you guysh downt.”
Yontan’s hand was shaking as he picked his Orb. Lezlybe and Ghenna also chose one.
“On the count of three,” gulped Yontan, as he noticed the horrified look on Jmerr. “One… two… three!”
The shell of the Orb had a slight crunch, with a rather soft, creamy inner core, gently melting on their tongue. Sweet with a zest of bitterness. Each bite, each movement of their tongue was another moment they savored, dreading the end of this unique flavor. It was an explosion of exoticism, a sensory overload inside their mouth; the richness of the Orb filled their taste buds and souls alike with pure bliss.
Then there was the aroma, dissolving the dusty odor of the room with its arboraceous perfume. It reminded them of Terrestrial woods, now planted across various planets in the Milky Way. Comforting, ancient, nostalgic, and so raw at heart.
Fortunately, this jolly adventure didn’t end after they swallowed it, no, each residue, sticking to the various corners of their mouths, lingered like a fleeting memory soon to disappear forever. Yet it was still there, to grasp with the palm of their hands. But when they tried to, it became vapor, dwindling, yet etched in their brains with such strength it would be impossible to ever forget this moment. Ever.
Their minds were still floating on a cloud of ecstasy when Yontan stared at Lessandre.
“You ate two,” he breathed. “And you,” he turned to Jmerr, “you have no idea what you’ve just missed. It’s… indescribably delectable.” Yontan faced the hologram. “Please, give us one more, for Jmerr. He has to try this… Orb.”
The hologram grinned widely, creasing the old man’s entire face.
“These were the last five. There are no more.”
“WHAT?” everyone shouted at once.
“Th– that’s it? No more?” Yontan’s shoulder slumped. “Why didn’t you tell us earlier? We could’ve taken it back to the ship and try to recreate it.”
“It’s impossible without the recipe.”
“A recipe? Give it to us, I don’t care about Ultimate Knowledge anymore,” Lessandre laughed.
“But you had two,” Lezlybe scowled.
“And I want more,” he chuckled. “I’ve never felt better in my life. Even two were far too few!”
“Yes, hand us the recipe so we can share it with the rest of the crew,” pleaded Yontan.
The hologram seemed more and more pleased with itself.
“Even if I gave you the recipe you couldn’t make it when the main ingredient’s missing.”
“What’s the main ingredient?” Ghenna asked.
“Cacao. And these were chocolate truffles, which I made myself utilizing the very last cacao beans to ever exist. I’m sorry. You’ll never eat chocolate ever again.”
Jmerr seemed disappointed upon hearing it, especially after seeing how everyone reacted to it.
“B – but… why?” Yontan asked. “Why offer us a delicious treat only to punch us in the gut right after?”
The hologram smiled. “Think. What is your purpose here?”
“To acquire Ultimate Knowledge… But I fail to understand…”
“If my clock is correct, 3622 years have passed since the last human – which is myself – set wheels in this room. 3622 years of technological advancement, of accumulated mastery of various sciences and understanding of the universe. Yet you believe Ultimate Knowledge is to be found in the past?”
The crewmembers looked at each other, dumbfounded.
“So… it doesn’t exist?” suggested Lezlybe. “We’ve come this far for nothing…”
“Haven’t you just experienced the ultimate delicacy of humankind? Therein lies everything you need to know.”
“It’s not about the knowledge,” began Yontan, “but about the experience we savor?”
“Exactly!” Clapping hands appeared in front of the hologram’s face. “Instead of looking for something that may not be, learn to cherish the transient nature of existence through every experience you encounter. Who knows what happens once you’re dead? Constant hesitation leads to a life of lost opportunities. One of you has learned this lesson the hard way, I’m afraid. However, the tall man over there has greatly benefited from this lesson. Balance in all things!”
“No data is ever lost,” snorted Jmerr scornfully. “Death is simply the temporary loss of information until it’s retrieved.”
“The no-hiding theorem,” smiled the hologram. “Of course. But you wouldn’t be here if you could completely determine the state of the entire universe. Thus, my rhetoric stays valid. For as long as this is beyond our grasp – likely until humanity’s extinction – you ought to cherish every experience and lose your fear of consequences within reason.”
The room went silent, the subtle taste of chocolate still lingering in their mouths like the fading words of an old love letter.
“What do we do now, captain?” Ghenna asked shyly.
“Take your new-found knowledge and share it with others,” the hologram said before Yontan could open his mouth.
“So… there really is nothing else here?”
“Nothing at all.”
The hologram fluttered for a moment.
“Were these really the last pieces of chocolate?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you eat them yourself?”
“Because sharing is the quintessential attribute of humanity. And I’m glad to have contributed my part, even though it took several millennia.”
“So why use all that energy from the sun?” asked Lezlybe.
“It’s twofold,” said the hologram. “Partially to keep this chocolate in pristine state, as I said before. You’ll understand the second reason soon enough. Let’s say it’s a parting gift, for that man who hasn’t eaten his Orb.”
“I don’t understand.” Yontan was running his fingers through his hair. “You speak of sharing, yet we won’t be able to share this exquisite experience. There’s no chocolate left.”
“Share the wisdom you’ve acquired. Or perhaps you shall find something unique to share with others as I did. Even the stories of your adv–”
The man disappeared for a few seconds.
“–entures – Ah? We’ve been cut. Soon I shall be free, just like your minds. Swiftly return to your ships, and sail t–”
It flickered again and stopped for nearly ten seconds.
“–he vast empty space to… wherever your heart leads you. Farewell. Fare well indeed.”
The hologram zoomed out to show an old man sitting on a wheelchair, waving both hands. It flickered one last time before completely fading out with a hum.
Suddenly, a familiar voice spoke from everyone’s earpiece.
“Captain, is everything all right?” asked one of the crew left on the ship in a panic.
“Why? Did the entrance crumble down?”
“No, Sir. It’s the Conduit. You need to see this for yourself.”
The crew put on their visors and hurried out of the room, through the hallway, out on the freezing surface of Pluto. They gasped upon staring up.
“The Conduit!” Ghenna uttered.
It was oscillating, slowly shrinking until the last flames swooshed back and forth from the relay to the crater, and then, it retracted entirely.
“It’s… it’s gone…” sighed Yontan.
“The parting gift,” Jmerr sobbed. “He knew. He knew someone might not try out the chocolate truffle, and he purposefully shut down the entire system.”
Lessandre turned to Jmerr. “Consider this your incredible experience. We must be the only humans to ever see this happen in real time.”
“But we can reconnect it, unlike the chocolate, can’t we?” said Lizlybe.
Yontan shook his head. “Do you know of the ancient pyramids in the northern African continent?”
“Yeah…” she hesitated. “Vaguely.”
“Do you know why they’ve never been rebuilt?”
Lezlybe shrugged.
“Because there’s nothing to gain in doing so.” He pointed his finger at the vast expanse above him. “We’ve never rebuilt the ancient pyramids – not due to complexity, but due to loss of time and resources involved without any actual benefit. I’m afraid this is the last time anyone has admired this old tech at work.”
Upon their return on the ship, they told the rest of the crew what inside the U.K. ONE.
“So the Ultimate Knowledge doesn’t exist?” one of the crewmember asked.
Yontan took one last glance at the crater as the ship took off.
“I believe it does,” he beamed, looking at the bemused faces of his crew. “Not here.” He gently tapped his temple. “But here.” His hand rested on his chest. “And there.” His arms were wide open, as if trying to embrace his whole crew at once. “Acquired wisdom is the Ultimate Knowledge. And the ability to share experiences with others is our greatest gift.”

I (34F) was on a first-date with a 36M and my phone vibrated (I had turned the ring off.) We were waiting for our table in the bar, so I reached in my purse and saw it was one of my best friends, a male. After I quickly answered and told my friend I would call him back , my date began interrogating me, demanding to know about my friend, peppering me with questions (my friend, who is gay.) I refused to tell him and left him in the bar. Was I wrong? Or was my first-date’s jealousy a red flag? Thanks

Look, I don't want to sound mean, but I think they should stop having Troy sing. I absolutely love Troy, he's an immensely talented instrumentalist & clearly brings a lot to the table for Nightwish. Personally when he first was introduced back in the DPP days I couldn't get enough of the folk elements. But THAT is the thing he brought to the table.... the folk influences and playing. He didn't used to sing, didn't audition as a singer and I get that they maybe had to fill in quickly for Marco on HN and it was easier to get him to do it.... But he is not a singer, and that's exactly how it sounds when he comes in. He sounds like a British fella down the pub singing along to some folk music, which is great and all but I don't see how it's interesting or stylistically useful to have a male voice come in that sounds like someone who can't sing very well being recorded professionally. I mean they could at least tune his voice. I know they all probably have some edgy stance against using vocal tuning but, I mean c'mon, it's possible to tweak things slightly without it sounding like Chris Brown.
I honestly don't wanna be rude or anything but the last single really brought it home for me as it just completely takes me out of the track. All the mixing issues aside, him repeating the chorus at the end sounding like he's out of both breathe and tune just sort of ruins it for me. Surely they all know people who can sing in that style in a way that actually sounds good? When Troy sings it sounds exactly like they've asked the bands Uilleann pipe player to sing.