You find yourself drawn to Radiance, the Capital City of Luminara. The rather zealous name and title is supposedly well earned, for it is told that this blessed city was the very first place touched by Amaranth himself. Bestowed with the highest and most pure of his blessing, the bustling metropolis crowned with golden spires and marble palaces. It serves as the seat of power for King Aric DeVaux, a ruler with the reputation of being wise, just, and kind.
For one reason or another (according to your own tie in for backstory), you have been invited to attend or serve at the wedding of Princess Amelia, the daughter of King Aric. Your attendance is expected, and you have just newly arrived in the city. Accommodations have already been made for you (through whatever connection you have to your invitation), your reservation at the White Tree Winery & Tavern.
Do find something suitable to wear? There is a dress code, after all!
Hello, everyone! Pleased to meet you, I will (hopefully) be your DM for the foreseeable future! I have ran several complete campaigns before, but I have never ventured out into the realm of making an ERP! So, I decided to try my hand at it!
I have done a thorough amount of research into making it an enjoyable experience, and while I want to be able to provide 18+ content, this is still a plot focused game! *NOT* purely smut!
There is still a clearly focused game going on in between all of the other fun things, and I intend to make it a long term game, with a healthy amount of spicy content. If you are interested in joining or discussing the game, please fill out this Google Form ( https://forms.gle/QzzJyVYvXG7SNftf7 ) and provide your discord handle!
Please do not message me directly on Reddit, I always forget to check back here!
Thank you very much!

I'm officially done with it all! For like 4 months, anyway. My Uni has really short terms, and I've found myself on the right end of them - it isn't even half way through May and I've finished all my assignments & sat all my exams.
So that's the first thing you need to know about me - I've got nothing to do. I spend most days in the library, killing time on Reddit or reading books I've been meaning to finish for months.
I really love academia & reading, if that isn't already clear - I also really like current affairs & politics. I don't know why, I find the real-time unfolding of events to be really captivating.
So that's me. I've got too much time, little to do, and an unhealthy obsession with the world. What am I looking for in you? Well it would be great if you were around my age firstly. I'm looking for people who are curious about the world, but also emotionally engaged & open. So if that's you, why not shoot me a message & change my life?

So, I live in the US and I have a couple Japanese friends. I created my first LINE account in February of this year. Didn't use it for a while then tried to log back in then I found out that I have been banned. So, I create a new account and it worked great for the first week. Then suddenly I'm banned again! I can still receive messages but can't send messages to any of my friends.
I don't know what I did wrong. I don't really want to make a new account but I am tempted to. How do I know if I'm permanently banned? Or just banned for their 30day period?
Also, how do I stop being banned by LINE?

Hey reddit,
I'm planning my first trip two Chile, including 8 days in Patagonia. I've been doing a lot of research but I'm still lost with some things.
Some infos about our group: We're all in our mid 30s, moderately fit, but we've never done a multi day hike and would prefer daytrips only.
First of all, here's the rough plan:

1	Puerto Montt > Punta Arenas	Check out Punta Arenas
2	Punta Arenas	Isla Magdalena
3	Punta Arenas > El Calafate	Check out El Calafate
4	El Calafate	Perito Moreno
5	El Calafate > El Chalten	Day trip and probably a short hike there
6	El Calafate > Puerto Natales	Check out Puerto Natales in the afternoon
7	Puerto Natales / Torres del Pain	Guided tour through the park
8	Puerto Natales / Torres del Pain	Base of the towers hike
9	Puerto Natales / Torres del Pain	Lago Grey
10	Puerto Natales > Punta Arenas > Santiago	Flying home the next day

The Punta Arenas part is pretty clear and fixed I guess.
The idea is to first do a guided tour to the penguins and then get a rental car on day 3 to drive to El Calafate in Argentina. I've read there is an additional fee for crossing border, but considering we are 3 people + the flexibility, I'd prefer a rental car over a bus.
Next day would be driving to Perito Moreno glacier:

1. Can we just go there on our own and get on a boat there or is it necessary to make a reservation? (If so where?) I've only found daytrips from El Calafate.

Now I'm not sure if it's a good idea to do El Chalten just as a daytrip - it seems like a super scenic nice drive and I guess we would have enough time to do a short hike there (Mirador de los condores or Chorillo del salto for example). The Laguna de los tres hike seems cool, but it also seems quite similar to the base of the towers hike in TdP - so I think it would be fine to leave it out?
Starting from day 7 - Torres del pain I'm a bit lost.

1. Where to stay? Considering the rental car, would it be a better idea to stay in Puerto Natales or near the park? (there are some relatively reasonable priced Airbnb accomodations at the serrano river. However, still way more expensive then everything in PN)
2. How to get to the trailhead for base of the towers? Can we go there by car? I've read something about a shuttle bus to the trailhead. I guess we would park somewhere at the entrance and then take the shuttle bus?
3. Are there guided tours through the park starting from the park entrance? I've only found tours starting from Puerto Natales or other cities.
4. Not sure about going to Lago Grey since we are already going to Perito Morino - any nice alternatives or should we stick to this plan?
5. Rental car: would a regular car be sufficient or should we get an SUV? (Also considering the other places, not only TdP)

Any general feedback about the whole itinerary would be more than welcome!
​

i 18F took a plan b last night after sex and this afternoon im having a bit of egg white discharge.
im only on day 8 of my cycle (for me it usually lasts around 33-35 days) and i know ovulation usually happens a lot later in the cycle.
so can plan b cause this discharge or does this mean im ovulating and im probably pregnant?
just fyi i do not use plan b as a regular form of birth control and never would, this is the first time ive taken it this year
edit: i weigh 135~ lbs/61 kg

TL;DR: DBX used to have their own version of the 500 series. If you're willing to put in some work, you can get some pretty badass old school analog vibes happening. Read on for the rest.
Okay, so the 1970's had a three-way format war going between API's 500 Series, DBX's 900 Series, and Valley People's TR Series. All based on the same principle.
There are two reasons I wanted to build up a DBX900 rack specifically. One is for their 903 compressor module. More specifically, the harder-to-find original "silver side" ones. See that bronze loaf in the lower center? That's a DBX202C VCA. DBX later switched to using integrated circuits starting with the THAT2150 'chip'. That chip looks better on paper than the 202 - but my ears have always have had a soft spot for the DBX165 and the SSL E-Series bus compressor, both of which have the 202 as the gain control element.
The other reason? The Aphex Dominator. Aphex jumped in on the 900 series with their own 'overbuilt' version, the 9000. They had the Compellor, Expressor, the Dominator, etc. - all compact "cut down" versions of their full 1RU-sized big brothers. The Dominator was popular with AM/FM radio stations in the 1980's - it's a multiband compressor that can be quite transparent when used properly, or downright rude if you push it harder. It's like OTT, analog edition.
Okay, so I found a decent condition rack for $99 including shipping. Not exactly showroom condition, there was a ton of adhesive residue on the back. But whatever - this thing is almost as old as I am (and I am OLD). Grand total on four of the 903 compressor cards? $525 incl. shipping. The Dominators I was able to get at $137.50/ea. - all in solid working condition but in need of a recap and calibration.
Here's the less fun part - hooking it up. In the 1970's, it wasn't a given to see an XLR or TRS connection on the back of a piece of studio equipment. You'd often find these long barrier strip terminals that you had to attach via "spade" or "shovel" connectors. Literally just crimped in place on the end of bare wire. So I needed to create two DB25 to spade connector snakes to plug this directly into my interface (eight modules, eight channels, makes sense, right?)
Luckily, I live up the street from Dale Pro Audio in Jamaica, Queens. This place is nerd heaven. My sales guy punches in a few keys and says, "oh, we have a b-stock return on a Hosa db25 to db25 snake. You can have it for ten bucks.". That plus the connectors and I was out of there for under $30.
But trimming 48 individual wires (26AWG is like eight strands of copper, you have to be really careful removing the shielding), 48 times gingerly placing the wire on the connector and busting out the ol' ratchet crimp tool - it gets repetitive. And seriously, Hosa? Why do you have your own secret color code? There are no numbers on the 8 individual strands in those snakes.
Anyways, I finally get the first four modules loaded in and the 900 rack into my interface A little clickety, a little clackety, and they were in my plug-ins folder.
Here's a quick and dirty demo. The music's literally just two loops I slapped up on the screen And as I said before, these need a serious going over, new caps, and some serious calibration. But they are great 'compression as an effect' compressors.
Why am I sharing? Because I get DM's from peeps on this sub a lot about wanting recommendations for a piece or two of 'real' analog hardware. By and large (but with exception), cheap and good can be something of a 'get'. But the 900 Series racks are a really good example of how to add some legit vintage gear to your setup without breaking your piggy bank.
Thanks for tuning in.

This may or not be an Elementor issue. Using Elementor Pro I have submission forms. When a user first lands on my page and clicks "Reject ALL cookies", then tries to submit the elementor form, it gives them a generic error. How do I change this error to add my own words like "Some cookies must be accepted for form to work"?

A friend of mine just finished ATLA and LoK and wondered why exactly platinum of all things could not be bent to the shape and will of an Earthbender. After bouncing around ideas, this is what we came up with:
Though Toph herself said that Platinum cannot be bent due to lack of earth particulates, it is curious to note that for some reason, the mercury-like metallic poison that Korra ingested could be bent out of her body. If it were the case that metals can only be bent because they contort the earth particulates embedded within it, then realistically they would only be able to rip out the earth particulates within the ore. The fact that Toph was able to bend out that metallic poison using the super-fine earth sediments that mixed with the toxin and stayed within Korra's body indicates two possibilities:
1) That the prerequisite to metal bending being the ability to sense earth within the metal is untrue
or
2) That earth particulates are needed, but the ability to sense them all requires leaps and advances in material sciences and earth bending spirituality that just haven't happened yet even during Korra's time
It's more likely that option 2 is the answer, as subtle hints dropped throughout the expanded ATLA universe point towards the idea that the more spiritual an earth bender is, the stronger they can sense the earth's spiritual energy around them and the smaller the particulates they can manipulate.
This is backed by two pieces of evidence

1. First, only Toph was able to sense and help flush out the remaining earth particulates that were mixed with the poison that Zaheer poisoned Korra with. These earth particulates were so small that no one was able to sense them: Not her direct descendents, not Korra, and surprisingly not even Katara. And out of all the people in the world, Katara would be the only other person who would have a shot at detecting it, as she is the waterbending master by Korra's time, and she out of anyone would be able to detect the trace toxins via the earth and metal particulates obstructing blood flow. The fact that Katara couldn't means that while all 4 bendable elements are just different applications of spirit bending, sensing microscopic earth particulates is something only an expert Earth bender can do, and that no other elemental bender can match an earth bender in this regard. So how did Toph get so good at earth bending? By learning it through instinct by observing and interacting with the Badger moles. Because badger moles are animals, they don't understand human language nor do they care about a human's want to learn earthbending from them. So when Toph started out her early days as an earthbender, she had to have relied heavily on instinct in order to understand not only what the badger moles are doing, but also to sense the flow of spiritual energy coursing through the very soil she feels. Due to her background, Toph is one of the few earthbenders within the "modern" era whose bending style is the most similar to that used by ancient Earthbenders, and is thus one of the most spiritual earth benders we know of in the modern era. To conclude, Toph's uniquely spiritual bending style gave her a near unprecedented edge in sensing earth particulate on a scale that few earthbenders across the expanded universe can replicate.
2. In agreement with point 1, the well-known quote that Lao Ge told Kiyoshi in her youth goes like this:

"Divide your body in two, then divide it again, and then again, and again. Put the pieces back, and put them back again, and again, and again one more time, and you're whole once more.” - Tieguai The Immortal

The philosophy behind this is that Tieguai claims that ageing is the product of the body deteriorating on the smallest, most invisible level. And this quote was given for how one can prevent this very deterioration. In context of the first piece of evidence, this means that Tieguai, hundreds of years before Korra, essentially discovered that earth benders can achieve immortality by manipulating the very earth grains within them to bend their bodies to a pre-established state/age. And him referring to ageing as "invisible deterioration" may have less to do with the fact that his method of immortality has less to do with energy bending, but that it is manipulating the finest, microscopic pieces of silt and dirt trapped within the human body to control one's very biology.
In combination with the top two quotes, this means that the more spiritual an earth bender, the finer and more precise their bending can become. Correlating this finer control with human ingenuity, new earth bending techniques can originate by combining knowledge of the natural world with a heightened sense of spirituality. This would be how things like crystal bending, paint bending (via Yun), sand/dust bending (via the sand nomads and the earth bending masters in Kiyoshi's time), and even metal bending originated.

So how does this justify why Platinum is impossible to bend?

To our current understanding, metallurgy is an art that remained stagnant for hundreds of years before Fire Nation triggered a global era of industrialization that saw an explosion of metallurgy techniques and applications. Prior to the fire nation invasion, metal was a fare rarer material to come across, and its unique difficulty to manipulate would've discouraged prior earthbenders from experimental with metal further than "manipulating the dust around a piece of iron ore" rather than manipulating the earth embedded within the iron. Only when iron became far more common place was Toph's ability to bend metals a far more useful skill to have.
Given this historical context, its far more likely that Platinum bending never became a thing because the material sciences in the ATLA universe havent advanced far enough by LoK for them to have discovered and used advanced metallurgy techniques of today. And because sufficient advancements in the physical understanding of metals have not happened, there just wasn't a right moment, at least during Toph's life, where scientists and spiritualists got together to brainstorm new ways to bend Platinum.
And even if Toph was able to sense the earth particulates trapped within platinum, another reason why she wrote off as impossible may be due to three reasons:

1. First, that as a member of the Avatar's entourage, she become incredibly busy, as her time and energy became increasingly diverted by her metal bending academy, her parental duties, her political duties as chief of police, and fighting criminals. This would give few opportunities in her adult life as a more proficient earth bender to really sit down and crack the code. But second, even if she did, she might not have worked out how to manipulate the metal without a proper understanding of how the earth particulates interact with the lattice structure of the metal.
2. LoK makes it clear that the industrial revolution has occured in the avatar universe, but what isn't cleaexpanded upon is how metal benders interact with alloys such as Brass or Bronze. Prior to advance late in the industrial revolution in our world, Platinum alloys were much harder to work with due to the innability to separate natural platinum ore into continuent metals like Rhodium, Palladium, Iridium, Osmium, as well as other nonmetallic impurities such as Phosphorous, Silica, and Sulfur deposits. Only until more did more modern electrochemical techniques such as the Wohwill process and electric arc furnaces increase the purity of platinum ores significantly. As LoK seems to be set in something roughly like the late 1800s early 1900s, analogous techniques like the electric arc furnaces may not have been invented. So maybe another difficulty of bending platinum is that the platinum used involves alloys from too many metals
3. Alternatively, it could be that the prevalence of electricity benders have naturally accelerated the development of making pure platinum ore. In that case, the higher purity of Platinum ore may result in fewer earth particulates in the metal to manipulate the ore
   1. As a subpoint, Platinum on average has a greater density, melting point, and malleability than Iron, indicating that its crystalline lattice is more robust and sturdier than that found in iron. If the principle behind metal bending is to force the comparatively few earthen particulates within the ore to distort the metallic lattice that iron atoms are trapped in, thena combination of fewer earthen particles, plus a more robust lattice within the platinum ore, may have been the main culprits that prevented platinum to be bent
      1. So, to bend platinum, one would need spiritual advances to somehow make use of fewer earthen particulates in a platinum ore to distort a much more structurally robust ore to move according to a bender's well. And its also more likely that neither issue was fully investgated by a team of sages and scientists throughout Aang's lifetime.

And even if Toph spent the rest of her life delving into how to tackle the Platinum issue, the lack of easily identifiable platinum, and her general lax attitude post-retirement, would probably have discouraged her from trying out new techniques
In conclusion, the lack of adequate scientific advancements, and the lack of sufficiently spiritual metal bending sages, would have prevented the potential for platinum bending from expanding during Toph's time

What this means for the future of Avatar

With the increased globalization, and the paradoxical increase in spiritual energies within the world following LoK, an explosion of scientific and spiritual advancement would synergized and rigorously developed a wide assortment of techniques that would've otherwise been considered one-off, generational talents in prior eras. And probably crucial to the physical/spiritual advancements in earth bending would be to temporarily infuse metal ores with earth particulates, or to come up with entirely new ways to amplify one's will through the comparatively scarce amounts of earthen particulates to distort multiple types of metallic ore beyond just metal.
As current thought is that the next earth avatar would live in a world either 30-40 or even 100 years after Korra's time, there would have been ample time for the world to have come up with a ton of nuanced applications of metal bending beyond what we've seen in Korra's time
Some examples include
1) Manipulation of all types of ores. This would include Platinum, but maybe other types of rarer metals
2) Magnetism bending: By bending metals into their own bodies, an earth bender may be able to generate ferromagnetism by will
3) Oxygen doping: By manipulating the trace metals in the body or absorbing metals in the body. Earth benders can artificially increase the amount of heme within their bodies, thus taking up larger amounts of metal.
4) Bone Bending: By manipulating the flow of earthen particulates and metals within the body, one can induce bone formation, potentially allowing earth benders to be able to be like wolverine and bend bone extensions straight from their body. Or maybe, they can just excrete bone deposits from their bodies and form tools made out of their own bone by will.

I read this book years ago and I can only remember some details (and some things I may be getting confused with different books): Basically the main character is a boy and he is entering in a competition. I think it was sort of a spin on charlie and the chocolate factory?? I can't remember what the grand prize was, but I want to say it was inheritance of the (toy?) company or something like that. I remember the first part of the competition everyone is standing on a massive football field type stadium and I believe they are answering questions on tablets. As the competition progresses many people get eliminated and the people who are left are solving puzzles and riddles in different arenas. The parents of these kids are also all watching from a viewing room. At one point a boy gets eliminated because his dad is coughing in code for the answers to these riddles. I think the main boy becomes friends with one of the girls. Does this ring a bell for anyone?

Credit to Blue for the wonderful cover art of Trilvri
Thank you to:
u/SpacePaladin15 for creating the Nature of Predators universe.
u/EdibleGojid, author of Dark Cuts, for proofreading.
EmClear, aspiring author, for proofreading
You, the reader, for your support. I love reading your comments.
Please consider reading the works of my proofreaders as they’re all authors of excellent stories and be sure to check the links below for more of my work and beautiful art from members of the community.
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Memory transcription subject: Sawvek, Junior Extermination Officer
Date [standardised human time]: October 5th, 2136
Hard foam presses uncomfortably up against delicate pressure points situated across the length of my entire body, building up to an unbearable ache that makes me shift and turn against the thin mattress pad. I yank at the rough old blanket I’d taken out of storage and clutch it even tighter around my body, trying to keep out the chill. The best racks, the ones near the heating vents, had already been claimed long before I’d decided to move into the Guild House’s Barracks and it doesn’t seem likely that the current occupants will be giving up their spots any time soon.
My mind is still racing from the events of last paw, replaying the scene over and over again in my dreams and in my head. The way my brother had looked at me… That look on his face when he’d seen the real me…
My paw gives a sympathetic throb in memory, still aching from where it had met the wall, but at least I had been able to wrap it up a bit and stop the bleeding. I feel like I should take it as a small miracle that it isn't broken. More medical bills are the last thing I need right now.
I turn about in the bunk once more, rolling around in vain to try and find a comfortable position that doesn’t seem to exist. Through a conscious act of will I try to empty my mind and sleep, but the very act of trying not to think about things only brings them bubbling back up to the surface of my thoughts. My heartbeat echoes in my ears, a damnable drumming sound brought about by the exertion of my own restless tossing and turning. Out in the hallway I can hear the muffled shuffling of feet and murmurs of conversation. The Guild Hall never sleeps, and it seems that neither would I this paw.
Electing to abandon the attempt as hopeless, I cut my rest claw short and get up, venturing out into the hallway. If I can’t sleep anyway then I might as well start my waking claw early, maybe get in a little exercise. It’s not so bad when it’s self-directed, almost fun in a way. If our family had the money to support it then maybe I could have been an athlete of some variety growing up. I had always possessed something of a natural physicality.
“Stop wasting time with worthless questions about what could have been, Killer.” The voice interjects, early and active today by the sound of it. “You’ll never amount to anything more than a wild predator kept on a leash.”
There’s nothing to do but sigh and carry on. It was right after all. This is it. This is my life now.
Making my way down the hallway towards the gym I find myself walking past a row of private offices assigned to some of the more veteran officers on staff. Most are empty at this claw, their occupants either asleep or off doing other work. One room in particular catches my attention though, the one belonging to our newest PRED Team Commander.
The door leading inside is open and ajar, seemingly forgotten in the midst of more pressing business and granting me a look inside. The entire room is a mess, papers and binders strewn about everywhere with official looking documents littering the floor. A map of the city decorates the otherwise unadorned and impersonal space. On its face it hosts a variety of multicoloured pins, all connecting seemingly arbitrary locations as well as photographs of people and places from the records department. The face of the former PRED Team Commander, Vrienna, looks out at me once again with the same cruel eyes that decorate the memorial wall. Beside her photo are another pair of eyes, a pair I recognise, but not one I would have expected to see here.
Trilvri, my brother’s creepy coworker, the one who’d brought him home the night he’d drunk himself into a stupor, stares out at me from the wall. He was younger in this photo, barely of age, if even that, and dressed in a regulation space corps flight suit, but I could still recognise him. Trilvri’s eyes appear somehow more lively than when I had met him in person, though it does nothing to improve his overall disposition, looking, as they are, as if behind them resides only hatred and a feral desire to kill and rend. Come to think of it, he had mentioned he used to be in the corps hadn’t he? ‘Used to’ being the operative word. When I’d asked he hadn’t seemed particularly fond of his time in the service…
Situated as he is next to Vrienna like that, their pitch-black wool and evil-looking eyes bear a striking resemblance. It was the exact same sort of predatory expression that bore into your soul, the kind that made me feel weak and exposed, the same kind that was worn by-
“What do you think you’re doing in my office?” A voice asks from behind, nonplussed, but with a casual depth of power and authority behind it that makes me freeze on the spot.
“Commander Glagrig, Sir!” I turn about on the spot, fixed at attention in the doorway as I stare up at the man himself. “I’m sorry to intrude. I noticed someone had forgotten to close the door so I was just going to secure it.”
“I see.” Glagrig doesn’t seem to believe a word of it, but neither does he seem inclined to press the issue. “At ease. Tell me, do you recognise the man in the photo there? Have you ever seen him before?”
“No, Commander.” I lie reflexively as I shift to a parade rest, not fully knowing why, but knowing that whatever is going on I want no part of it, for me or my brother. It’s only after the fact that it occurs to me that lying might be worse than telling the truth.
“How… regrettable.” The prestige officer says plainly and I can’t tell whether he believes me or not. “If you do ever catch sight of this individual, then be sure to let me know immediately.”
“Y-Yes, Commander.” I subconsciously swallow with apprehension, hoping that he doesn’t notice. I want nothing more than to run away as quickly as I can, but I haven’t been dismissed yet.
“Junior Officer Sawvek, was it?” Glagrig carries on, looking me up and down, dissecting me with his eyes. “You have quite the interesting record on file and Officer Intalran is quite adamant about your potential. Your simulator results speak for themselves, even if they are just simulations.”
“Thank you, Commander.” I can feel myself growing dizzy as I answer with uncertainty.
“Don’t thank me,” the all-consuming void in front of me replies with no hint of warmth, “just remember that your performance is under evaluation. It’s in my interests to keep note of promising young aspirants who might someday join my team, and I would hate to see you squander your talents.”
“I-I understand, Commander.” I flick my tail in agreement, straining not to look away towards the floor.
“Dismissed.” Glagrig brushes past me as he enters his office, moving to shut the door behind himself.
“Um, Commander?” I ask just before the door shuts, feeling a beckoning call of curiosity that even the predatory prestige exterminator couldn’t crush. “If you don’t mind me asking… Why do you have all that stuff up on the wall there?”
The door opens again, just a crack, and I can feel my superiors' weighty presence bearing down on me, almost suffocating in its intensity. “It’s simply a personal matter. I have reason to believe that the prior investigation regarding the kelach incident was conducted according to… insufficient standards. The predator responsible was never found and I intend to remedy that deficiency.”
“How hard could it be to find a kelach?” I tilt my ears in confusion. “They're huge!”
“Despite initial reports,” he answers with an ominous, cold tone that sends a chill up my spine, “it may be possible that we're dealing with something far more dangerous than just a kelach.”
“T-Thank you, Commander.” I flick my tail in appreciation and the door closes.
I breathe a sigh of relief as the malevolent aura recedes. That was too close.
“And you’re a complete moron going back to ask him more questions afterwards, Killer.” The voice rises with amusement. “What? Do you want him to figure you out and turn you to cinders? Only a matter of time, Killer.”
“Ugh, shut up.” I mutter under my breath, quickly turning back around to make sure Commander Glagrig didn’t hear me, but when no reprisal comes I quickly depart. If I’m gonna be stupid I should at least try not to do so right in front of his office.
As the imminent threat of our in-house prestige exterminator dwindles so too does the energy driven by the adrenaline of the encounter. It figures that the moment I roll out of bed I want to take a nap again, but I know the moment I lie back down I’ll be back to full wakefulness in an instant. That’s just how that sort of thing works. With that in mind there’s really only one solution, a big, steaming hot cup of tea.
Making my way towards the tea machine I spot Jonsco, the feisty little primitive that mans our dispatch centre, smacking the top of the dispenser with a clenched paw while holding a mug underneath it.
“Is the tea machine fixed?” I ask as I pull out a mug from the cabinet myself.
Jonsco sighs heavily and shoots me a combative glare. “For the last time it’s not my brahking job to fix this damn tea machine! You got a problem with that then you can go pester someone else about it!”
I shrink back under the harsh rebuke. Jonsco may be small, but there was as much rage and fury condensed into that little package as anyone else in this department. Maybe more.
“I… I didn’t mean to imply…I just wanted to know if it was working again or not… Sorry.” I sputter out, feeling properly admonished as I look away towards the ground.
Jonsco looks at me quizzically, his hard glare softening somewhat as he seems to truly see me for the first time before returning to his usual scowl.
“Right…Whatever you say…” With one final smack the machine coughs and chokes, sputtering to life with a struggle, and a small trickle of freshly brewed tea begins to fill Jonsco’s cup. “The machine is on the fritz again as usual, but if you hit it just right, do a little percussive maintenance, then you can get it started again.”
“Thanks, Jonsco.” I lean back against the wall and watch as the mug slowly fills, impressed by the primitives know-how. “That's actually pretty smart of you.”
“For a ‘primitive’ right?” The words are barbed and spiteful, but lack his typical enthusiasm, more of a simple statement of fact than a real question. I couldn't exactly deny it, those had been my thoughts, and so the silence drags on awkwardly, marked only by the splash of tea falling into the steadily rising pool.
“What are you doing here at this claw anyway?” I eventually ask, dodging the question entirely. “We’ve still got at least another half-claw until our crew's shift is supposed to start.”
“I could ask you the same thing, you know?” The angry little dispatch operator retorts. “I'm here early working an overtime shift so I can afford to put food on my family's table. It's expensive feeding that many mouths. What's your excuse?”
“I had a fight with my brother…” I rub the back of my neck as I turn away abashedly, “moved out of the apartment and into the barracks full time… couldn't sleep…”
“Well then you should hurry up and work on patching things up with him.” Jonsco looks at me with an uncharacteristic hint of sympathy in his eyes. “Your family are the only ones who might actually care. This Gods-damned place is a slyther’s nest and no one here gives a speh about you or your problems. If you want my advice, you should do your best to spend as little time in this cesspool as possible.”
With his cup now full, Jobsco steps back from the machine and begins walking out towards the main hall.
“Thanks, Jonsco.” My words stop him in his tracks as he walks away from me. “I appreciate it.”
“... You're welcome.” He says after a short pause, glancing back to look at me one more time before leaving. “See you around, Sawvek.”
Taking advantage of the tea machine while it’s still mostly working, I fill up my own cup and drink deeply of the warm, fragrant beverage. The taste is bitter and unpleasant, just about the quality I would expect of this Guild Hall, but even at the first taste it’s evident that it’s been loaded with an extra strength dose of caffeine. I down the drink quickly and rinse out the cup before continuing on my journey towards the training hall. Fatigue begins to fall away as I walk, bit by bit as the drug makes its way into my bloodstream, blocking off sleep receptors and energising me. I know I’ll probably pay for it later, no amount of caffeine can actually replace sleep, but for now it feels good and I can see how some people can get addicted to the stuff.
A loud, metallic clanging emanates from the gym as I approach, something unexpected for this time of paw. No one's reserved space in the gym for this claw and not many people are industrious enough to sweat on their own initiative. Peeking my head inside the door I spy Bikim, the perfect, privileged, ‘holier than thou’ brahkass occupying the otherwise empty weight room. His irritatingly handsome face is taut with strain as he performs a series of weighted squats, his back and leg muscles straining underneath his short-cropped wool, and he pants heavily under the exertion.
I’m half tempted just to leave and go back to bed despite the fact that there’s no way I’d be getting any sleep with the tea running through my system. It’s too early in the paw to deal with Bikim’s speh. Before I can slip away unnoticed though, he spots me. I give a heavy sigh and continue my way inside. There's nothing to be done for it now. Trying to back out now would only make things worse later, a sign of weakness.
“What… Do you want… Predator?” Bikim asks between gulps of air as he reracks his weights, practically hanging off the bar to support himself on shaky legs.
“Good paw to you too, Bikim.” I say, forcing civility into my tone. “I’m here to use the equipment. Same as you. I'm allowed.”
“Whatever…” He eyes me with suspicion. “Just keep your distance… I don't want to catch any of your taint.”
“Believe me,” I flick my tail out in irritation, “I intend to.”
Looking around the room for available spots, I march my way over towards a cable machine on the opposite side of the room. Not nearly as far from Bikim as I would like, but the farthest I can get without leaving the weight area entirely. Bikim watches me all the while as I seat myself down and begin adjusting the machine. Eventually he grows tired of watching me fumble around with the machine and returns to his own exercises with a displeased flick of the tail, quite obviously judging me for my lack of experience with the equipment.
A tense sort of quiet settles over the room as we each go about our business, trying our best to ignore one another. Bikim slowly winds his way around the room, cycling from station to station to exercise all the different parts of his body in sequence before repeating it all again. He seems to bypass my corner of the room, glancing over at me with each repetition of his pattern. For myself, I stay put where I am, taking advantage of the varied exercises offered by the versatile machine to experiment with different muscle groups. Occasionally I slip up, dropping the weights with a loud clang that always draws Bikim’s ire. Every time he seems just a bit more disgruntled, a bit less patient. Eventually, the constant disruption reaches a tipping point and the pompous, self-entitled jerk walks over to confront me.
“Do you always do this?” He asks rhetorically. “If you keep slamming the weights like that you're gonna break it. Your form is speh so either fix it or lower the weight so you don't have to keep compensating. Better yet, just leave. You’ve been monopolising the cable machine for almost half a claw now. I don't know why you're even here in the first place.”
“Oh, look at Mr. Know-it-all thinking he can just go around telling us what to do, eh Killer?” The voice rises to the challenge. “Where does a guy like that who's been handed everything his whole life think he can get off with telling us how we should be doing anything?”
“Brahk off Bikim!” I don't even try to reign in the predator inside, feeling justified in letting it roam free for once. “I didn't ask for your advice and you don't get to kick me out of the weight room just because you can't wait your turn! I'm here because I don't have anywhere else to go! Ever since Intalran dragged me into this stupid Guild this brahking job has taken over my entire life! I don't even have a home to go back to anymore!”
Bikim's body tenses at my tirade and his tail flicks out aggressively like a whip.
“That's your own damn fault, predator!” He shouts back, eager for the excuse to vent his own frustrations. “Maybe if you weren't just some blood-starved beast out roaming the streets then you wouldn't be here right now! I’ve read your file! You got a history of herdless behaviour and physical altercations! Someone should have institutionalised you a long time ago, but someone took pity on you and let you slip through the cracks because of your poor dying mommy! They should have known it would come back to bite them! A normal, functional member of the herd wouldn't even think to pick a flamer up off the ground and burn another person to death with it! But you? You did it instinctively! You revelled in it!”
“You think that was easy for me!” I get up and walk towards him as I yell incredulously. “You think I asked for that to happen! You think it was fun for me to get choked out and almost eaten! That thing I burned wasn't even a person anymore! It was a predator in the middle of a feeding frenzy! So yeah, I did what I did, and you know what? It's a good thing I did! If I wasn't a freak of nature then that thing would have kept on going and kept on killing! Last I checked, preventing that sorta thing was supposed to be your job, but I had to be the one to step up! Now I have to live with the consequences of my actions every paw, knowing that I’m a Protector-damned killer that doesn't belong anywhere! Maybe you, in your infinite wisdom, would've known the perfect thing to do in that situation, but I’m not you! I’ve had to work and struggle for every little thing I have! Not just had it handed to me on a silver platter!”
“Oh, so you got me all figured out do you?” Sarcasm drips from Bikim's mouth as he looks down on me. “You don't know me. You don't know my life or what I’ve been through, how hard I’ve worked to get where I am. You just see the end product from cycles of effort and assume that it's always been that way, that it's always been that easy. It hasn't.”
“Yes, I’m sure you had it so hard growing up Bikim.” Saying it aloud almost makes me laugh. “You’re such a child of privilege that it drips off of you with every move you make and every word you say. I hate people like you, thinking that you're better than everyone else just because you were lucky enough to be born into wealth and status. Try living like the other side for a change, scrounging for every credit just so you can afford to eat, and then try to tell me how hard you had it with a full belly and a warm home!”
“You’re right, predator,” Bikim says contemptuously, “I am a child of privilege. My family has a long and decorated military tradition, my father is a captain for the space corps, a brahking hero, and I’ve reaped the benefits of that. That privilege came at a cost though, and that’s called expectations. Second best is not good enough and I've had to put in ten times the effort as anyone else my whole life just to meet standards! At least you grew up with a father who was there for you and loved you without the condition that everything you do is perfect!”
“All that talk about reading my file and you didn't even get past the first page did you?” I snap at him with a snarl. “ I didn't grow up with a father at all! He's been dead since I was in elementary school! Killed in action! I barely even remember him anymore!”
That one seems to give Bikim pause, but I’m not done yet.
“If you and your whole family are such a bunch of brahking heroes then how come you're here, working as a common garrison exterminator in a run-down backwater city like this?” I taunt. “Shouldn't you be out gallantly fighting the Arxur with one of the fleets or on a colony pacification force rather than making my life here harder than it already is?”
“That's the price for failing to meet expectations,” Bikim quiets down, drawing away from the world and into himself, “the price for knocking up a beautiful, wonderful girl right after graduation and refusing to get rid of it afterwards. You get cut off. You lose that privilege, and you do whatever you have to in order to provide and try to be a good role model for your son.”
Now that one threw me for a loop. In the short time I’ve known Bikim I’ve had a lot of thoughts about him, few of them good, but never would I have expected him to be the type to take responsibility… For anything. Still, there is one thing about his story that doesn't line up…
“Oh really?” I take a step back as I watch for his reaction closely. “I seem to recall Jonsco mentioned just the other day that your wife had left you for a Human.”
“Don't you bring that brahking primitive into this!” Bikim's anger flares in an instant before returning to a subtle simmer of regret. “We’ve just been having a… a rough patch in our relationship. I’m not giving up on us. I’ll win her back. She's just… confused and being taken advantage of! It's all that damn predators fault!” Bikim sighs and sits down on a nearby bench. “You're not the only one whose had something taken from them because of this job. You're not the only one without a home to go back to.”
Looking at Bikim now, a sad, pathetic man moping on the bench with nothing better to do on his rest claw than to try to externalise his inner pain… I find it hard to stay angry at him. He's still a narcissistic brahk ass and a complete jerk, but it's hard to truly hate someone when you actually know them. I had made quite a few assumptions about him when we first met, and he certainly hadn't helped my impression of him since, but… perhaps I was wrong to judge him so harshly?
“Nah,” the voice chortles, “he’s a piece of speh that got what he brahking deserves for being an insufferable prick.”
Overhead the intercom crackles to life and I can hear Jonsco's voice reverberating over the airwaves.
“Officers Vaesh and Sawvek please report to the briefing area for assignment. Repeat. Officers Vaesh and Sawvek please report to the briefing area for assignment.”
“Sounds like it's time for your first field assignment, Kid.” Bikim says, staring up at the intercom. “At least it gets you out of my wool. Try not to brahk it up and make the rest of us look bad.”
“Hmph.” I turn to leave, muttering to myself. “Stupid brahkass.”
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N - Hello! Sorry this one took a while. Like I mentioned before I got delayed working on my Ficnapping chapter as well as a crossover One-shot that's still in progress (but hopefully will be done soon). In other news we have new art of Sawvek's life-changing encounter in the Builder's Lane Bloodbath as drawn by Miglove and you can still find that and everything else Nature of Family in the new Master Post linked up above.
If you like the story then please remember to upvote, comment, and use the “!Subscribeme” function to be alerted to all new posts. I post as often as I can but real life has a tendency of getting in the way and my job makes it almost impossible to keep to any kind of schedule. Your engagement and support go a long way towards helping to keep me on track and motivated, so thank you very much for reading and I hope you'll stay tuned for next chapter!

Good morning, good evening, good overnight shift to whoever's here. I experienced trauma at the age of 15/16 and now, at the developed prefrontal cortex age of 26- I've now undergone 1.5 years of consistent weekly therapy, engaged in group therapy about my shame-enmeshed trauma for 10 weeks (which terrified me), and due to the intensity of trauma processing I was really depressed for 4 consecutive weeks- and I just got home from a doctor's appointment with a paper bag with my Zoloft inside, my first psychotropic prescription ever!
I grew up in an Asian household where mental health, and prescription medications are seen as potentially dangerous, and just very unknown.
But here I am, and honestly, this being a direct act to just help myself, and also help myself feel better, is healing and validating in it's fucking self. When the pharmacist handed the bag to me, I felt pure excitement.
Tomorrow I start this journey. Thanks for reading. Please feel free to share anything you'd like if anything came up for you while reading this, would love to hear from others' experiences and thoughts.

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,, From John to the seven churches that are in Asia: grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come; and of the seven spirits which are before His throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful Witness, and the Firstborn from the dead, and the Prince of earthly kings, who loves us, and washes us from our sins with his own blood; And makes us kings and priests to God and his Father; to that glory and country for ever and ever. Amen."
Rev. 1:4-6
John is a witness of Jesus Christ who testifies to the word of God. the testimony of Jesus Christ, and everything that Jesus showed him and he is now sending the testimony, i.e. the Revelation to seven churches in Asia Minor. We can read who John is sending to in verse 11, where we have written the names of the churches to whom John needed the Revelation to be sent.
"And write what you see in a book, and send it to the churches that are in Asia: to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamum, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea"
Rev. 1:11
Apart from these churches that are mentioned here, there were other local churches, but the Lord Jesus chose seven representative churches that had different problems that symbolize and represent the period of the church until the coming of the Lord Jesus for it.
In addition to these churches, the Revelation was given to all people, especially the church throughout history, and of course also to us in order to learn the details of the events that will soon begin to unfold, because the signs of the times indicate that... the end times" are near.
"Whoever has an ear should hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches."
Rev. 3:22
Jovan continues with the greeting, "Grace to you and peace" and this greeting is not from him because he cannot give grace and peace, true grace and peace can only be given by God and here practically as if he said, "Grace to you and peace from Lord Jesus Christ" the savior, because salvation and everything we receive from God is at the expense of the Lord Jesus Christ and it is a gift, because none of what we receive is a free gift. How important this word is in the New Testament is also evidenced by the fact that the great many books of the New Testament begin with the words "blessing you and peace" in the greeting sentences.
If there was no grace, practically no one would be alive today because all we deserved was death, but we are alive because of the grace and grace of God and not based on any of our merits or actions.
Everything we have in our physical, physical life is God's grace, and also all spiritual life and salvation is by grace from God whom Peter calls the God of grace.
"And the God of all grace, who calls you to his eternal glory in Christ Jesus"
1 Peter 5:10
"Because you are saved by grace through faith, and it is not from you, it is a gift from God. Not from works, so that no one can boast."
Eph. 2:8-9
We see that we are saved by grace, but that is not the end, we need to continue to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"But progress in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and the salvation of Jesus Christ."
2 Peter 3:18
"Because the grace of God that saves all people has been shown, teaching us to renounce the impiety and desires of this world, and to live honestly and righteously and devoutly in this world."
Titus 2:11-12
Here we have advice for an honest worldly life, and we also have a promise that we will receive grace if we find ourselves in some kind of trouble or perhaps illness.
"My grace is enough for you; for my strength is made perfect in weakness."
2 Cor. 12:9
"Let us therefore approach freely to the throne of grace, to receive grace and find grace for the time when we need help"
Hebrews 4:16
In the context of those advices for an honest life, there is also a Record about to whom God gives grace.
"...for God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
1 Peter 5:5
and in Jacob, God adds and says that he gives greater grace than problems
"And He gives a greater grace. Because he says: The Lord opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
James 4:6
"Grace to you and peace" here is first grace and then peace, and that is because peace is the result of grace. We get peace when we are in a good relationship with God, which means that we are born again and live according to God's will.
"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Rom. 5:1
When we have this peace with God, we are safe in God's hands and God will never throw us into hell because of our sins because the Lord Jesus died on the cross to redeem us and make us righteous, it is up to us to trust God, confess our sins and live according to the will of God.
"And I will give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand."
John 10:28
Now that we are this safe and reconciled with God, God gives us another blessing Peace from God and this is something that someone who is not at peace with God will never get, and we need this peace every day in our lives, and we don't think and worry about the daily problems, we already enjoy communion with God who is close to us and who cares for us, we see from the whole verse that we just need to ask in prayer and finally give thanks.
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, to guard your hearts and your thoughts in the Lord Jesus."
Phil. 4:7
"The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving that your requests may be answered by God."
Phil. 4:6
,,...Grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come; and of the seven spirits which are before His throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful Witness, and the Firstborn from the dead, and the Prince of earthly kings, who loves us, and washes us from our sins with his own blood; And makes us kings and priests to God and his Father; to that glory and country for ever and ever. Amen."
Rev. 1:4-6
Below we see where grace and peace come from. Grace and peace is not a human creation as many try to portray or try to bring peace in some way through various activities or actions. We saw that grace and then peace come from God, and here we see that three times it is written that they come "from" the Father, from the Son and from the Holy Spirit.
Also in these verses we see that God is eternal because it is written, from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come" and similarly it is written in 4:8
"Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, Who was, and who is, and who is to come."
Rev. 4:8
And now we could say this differently, God who has always been God until now, God who is God now and God who will always be, therefore, eternal God.
Here is another confirmed confirmation of what we said with a slight difference, it does not say "which will come" because here in the 11th chapter events from the future are described which are already here, therefore "future" is at this moment "present" and here we see the confirmation that in the Revelation the future events are still described for us, but John saw them as the present or even the past when they were shown to him, that's why it says "you will be" and not "which will come."
"We praise you, Lord God Almighty, who are, and were, and will be"
Rev. 11:17
Here is something else from the 16th chapter where we see something similar but it is written even in the past tense, that you judged this "so these are events from the time;; when the Lord Jesus came" for us it is still a perspective of the future but for John it was a perspective of the present, this is what today's modern reporters would say, "a report from the scene"
"You are righteous, Lord, who are, and who were, and holy, that you judged this"
Rev. 16:5
It goes on to say,,, and of the seven spirits that are before His throne"
This refers to the Holy Spirit, but it says "seven spirits" because seven is the number of perfection, fullness and completeness. Here, in fact, the fullness of the Holy Spirit is described because in Isaiah it is written about Jesus:
"And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and power, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord."
Isa 11:2
In several other places, the number seven is mentioned in relation to the Holy Spirit.
"And he said to me: What do you see? And I said: I see, behold, a candlestick all of gold, and a cup above it, and its seven jars on it, and seven funnels for the seven jars that are above it, and two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the cup and one from the left. And I spoke to the angel who spoke with me, and I said: What is it, my lord? And the angel who spoke with me answered and said to me: Don't you know what it is? And I said: No, my lord. And he answered and said to me, saying: This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: not by force or by virtue, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. What are you, great woe, before Zerubbabel? Ravnica; and he will bring out the highest stone, with exclamations: Mercy, mercy to him. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Zerubbabel's hands founded this house, his hands will finish it, and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For who has despised the day of small things? Because he will rejoice when he sees the measuring stone in the hand of Zerubbabel, those seven eyes of the Lord that cross the whole earth"
Zechariah 4:2-10
Here, from the sixth verse, we conclude that it is about the Holy Spirit, "not by power or virtue, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts."
"And I saw, and behold, in the middle of the throne and four animals, and in the middle of the elders the Lamb stood as if it had been slain, and it had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent throughout the world."
Rev. 5:6
Here we have seven spirits and seven eyes that refer to seven aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit that brings us God's graces, that is why Paul could write in the first Corinthians:
"The gifts are different, but the Spirit is one. And there are different ministries, but the Lord is one. And there are different forces, but there is one God who does everything in everything. And in everyone the Spirit appears for the benefit; For once the word of wisdom is given by the Spirit; and to another the word of understanding by the same Spirit; And to another faith, by that same Spirit; and to another the gift of healing, by that same Spirit; And to another to work miracles, and to another to prophesy, and to another to discern spirits, and to another different languages, and to another to speak in tongues. and he has many members, and all the members of one body, although they are many, they are one body: so is Christ"
1 Cor.12:4-12
"And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful Witness, and the Firstborn from the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth"
We have seen the entire Revelation that it is from the Lord Jesus to the church for encouragement, and here it says, "Faithful witness," and that is what the prophet Isaiah prophesied many years before
"Behold, I have given him as a witness to the nations, as a leader and commander to the nations."
Isaiah 55:4
and faithful because God is faithful and he can be unfaithful
,,,, God is not a man to lie, nor a son of man to repent. What does he say he won't do, and what he says he won't do?"
Numb. 23:19
"And so know that the Lord God is your God, a faithful God, who keeps his covenant and his mercy to a thousand knees to those who love him and keep his commandments."
Deut. 7:9
"And he raises the horn of salvation for us in the house of David his servant, as he says through the mouth of his holy prophets from the ages that he will deliver us from our enemies and from the hands of all who hate us; To show mercy to our fathers, and to remind ourselves of our holy covenant, the Curse with which he swore to Abraham our father that he would give us"
Luke 1:69-73
"God is faithful who has called you into the community of his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord."
1 Cor. 1:9
"No other temptation shall come upon you but that of man; but God is faithful, who will not let you be tempted beyond what you are able, but will also make an end with the temptation, so that you can bear it"
1 Cor. 10:13
"He who called you is faithful, and he will do it."
1 Sol. 5:24
And in Revelation it says more
"Thus says Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of God's creation"
Rev. 3:14
The Lord himself practically confirmed that he is faithful and that he came to testify to the truth
"I was born for that, and that's why I came into the world to bear witness to the truth. And everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice"
John 18:37
"and the Firstborn from the dead" here this does not mean that Jesus was the first to be resurrected because we read that there were people who were resurrected before Him but they later died again. Jesus was the first to be resurrected in a glorified body and He more he never did nor will he die, this part of the verse refers to these facts.
,, And this one, since he remains forever, has an eternal priesthood. That is why he can forever save those who come to God through him, when he always lives to be able to pray for them."
Hebrews 7:24-25
"and Prince over earthly kings" prince means ruler. Lord Jesus is ruler and prince from the beginning to the end, from creation to eternity, He is the faithful and true one from eternity, He is the firstborn in the glorified body and He is the eternal ruler and prince , He is King of kings and Lord of lords because he writes.
"And he has his name written on his robe and on his bosom: King of kings and Lord of lords."
Rev. 19:16
"He will rule from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth."
Psalm 72:8
"All kings will bow down to him, all nations will be submissive to him."
Psalm 72:11
"Who loves us" Jovan continues and says that God loves us permanently and does not say that he loved us, because then that would mean that he once loved us but that he may not love us now for some reason. we would not have permanent security of salvation because it might happen that Jesus returns and God returns at that very moment and we are left behind as they say, "we were unlucky". "so all the time, not sometimes or sometimes. He loves us all the time and that's because of the grace we talked about, we didn't deserve anything, neither salvation, nor the forgiveness of sins, nor life by grace, the only thing we deserved was to throw us into hell and that would be deserved because we do mostly what we shouldn't do. And not only does he not punish us, but makes us emperors and priests.
,, And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful Witness, and the Firstborn from the dead, and the Prince of earthly kings, who loves us, and washes us from our sins with his blood; And makes us kings and priests to God and his Father; to that glory and country for ever and ever. Amen."
Rev. 1:5-6
Jesus loved his own even in the most difficult moments before going to the cross, we read in John:
"And before the Passover, Jesus knowing that the hour had come for Him to pass from this world to the Father, as He loved His own who were in the world, He loves them to the end."
John 13:1
and this greatly impressed Paul, so he wrote:
"That you may understand with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, And know the love of Christ that surpasses reason, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
Eph. 3:18-19
and this love of Jesus cannot be understood by human thinking, this is God's love that surpasses every mind.
"Because I know for sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor present, nor future, nor height, nor depth, nor any other substance can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus , to our Lord."
Rom. 8:28-39
"And wash us from our sins in your blood" unlike a while ago where it is written in permanent time, now we have a part that has been completed in the past and that is finally there are no more new washings, once all the work Jesus finished and that happened on the cross of Golgotha ​​where we are redeemed once and for all by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, we need daily cleansing in the form of confession of sin, but not complete washing.
,, Jesus said to him: He who has been washed should not wash only his feet, because he is all clean; and you are clean, ..."
John 13:10
"And the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin."
1 John 1:7
So the blood of Jesus cleanses us from every sin and God will never mention what he cleansed again.
"And their sins and their iniquities I will no longer mention."
Hebrews 10:17
"And make us kings and priests to God and our Father" of course this is also by grace because this is unimaginable for us humans. We know what we are like and what we like to do, but still God does not deal with us according to our mistakes but makes us kings and priests.
"And you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy people, a people of gain, to announce the benefactors of the One who called you out of darkness to his strange light"
1 Peter 2:9
We therefore became the emperor's priests and now we all have direct access to God based on the merits of the Lord Jesus, unlike the people in the Old Testament where only the high priest had access to God once a year in the Holy of Holies and he did not have that access without a sacrifice that he had to make sacrifices.
For us, that sacrifice is the Lord Jesus Christ, and based on that sacrifice, we have constant access to God.
"To him glory and the country forever and ever." Amen." And now at the end, John wants to say that eternal glory, praise and power belong to Him who has given us so much grace and grace.

Finally got my head out my ass, and I'm going to follow a tried and proven program. I was in the process of coming up with a new split for myself (deciding to transition to 4 days after over a year being overambitious with 6 days and skipping workouts), found GZCP whilst trying to decide between a homebrewed uppelower or full body. I realized it's *exactly* the program I was looking for.
I will start the 4 day GZCLP split, using u/Blacknoir 's speadsheet as guidance. I have a few questions though. First, here are the 4 day rotations for each tier as found in the spreadsheet.

• T1: SQ, OHP, B, DL
• T2: B, DL, SW, OHP
• T3: Lat pulldowns, DB Row, Dips, Curls

1. I wanted to use the modified rep scheme for T1: 3x5+ > 4x3+ > 5x2+. Not because I think it's better or anything, but I can't see myself sleeping on the bench for 30-50 minutes doing 10 sets with 3-5 minute breaks. Is this an acceptable modification, has it been tried and tested? I know it being in the spreadsheet doesn't necessarily mean it's good, but it would be far more convenient from a time perspective.
2. What do you think of doing low bar squats for the T1 squats and high bar for T2?
3. I feel like I could be integrating some isolation work for my side delts and triceps as T3 exercises. Can I, should I, and if so, which days?
4. I'm thinking of using half the weight increments for T2 exercises, as I have microplates. And perhaps even less for OHP work. Should I do this to delay stalling and thereby each progression stage? Or should I stop trying to be smart and just do the program as it was written (ie. 10 lbs to all lower body and 5lbs for all upper body, regardless of T1 or T2).
5. Does anyone know why the T3 exercises in the spreadsheet are not alternating DB rows with lat pulldowns both 2x per week as that was the original program I believe, and should I do that instead ?
6. Finally, is it Monday Tuesday Thursday Friday? Monday Wednesday Friday Saturday? I have seen both recommended (either Reddit or Boostcamp). Does it really matter? Can I even do 3 or even 4 consecutive days in a week (like 4 days training 3 days rest) if my schedule gets in the way.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I realize I may be overthinking it but as its the first time I'm actually going to follow a real program and I want to get it right.

I have never posted anything on reddit before until this class. This class provides you with very few good recourses and those are obscured from easy access. I took way too long (about 2 months) to pass this class because of how bad the recourses were.
First recommendation, sign up for a cbt nuggets free trial and watch the videos on there for project plus. Some of the information doesn't align with the test, but a strong majority of it does. If you were like me, you will watch it and not really get any of it and remember almost none of it. I recommend doing the Cybex practice tests after you finish watching the videos. I would say do questions as you go, but cbt nuggets isn't free for more than a week so finish watching those videos asap.
My second recommendation is to go to https://wgu.libguides.com/itcertifications and go to the project + books. You will then go to https://www.wiley.com/go/sybextestprep, click on the click to register button and find the project + pk0-005 practice test that matches the edition of the book in the wgu library link. After you answer the question about the book and get emailed a pin, you will go back to that same link and find the book under the comptia link. Scroll down and find the project plus Practice tests and click on the "register or login" link above it (or any of the links that say register or login. They are all the same page). This should let you make an account and activate the test bank. I struggled with this part because I made an account that wouldn't let me verify my email. I had to talk to customer support to get this fixed. If it happens to you, do Wiley's sms tech support and they will help you.
I personally did about 650 practice questions on this. Most I did in the instant answer mode that tells you why an answer is right or wrong immediately. I did the questions until I was consistently scoring over 80 and sometimes higher. There are a few really dumb questions in this bank, but most are really really good practice.
Another resource I have to use are some Quizlets I made to help me remember some terms and acronyms. Everything in these should align with the Comptia exam objectives because I removed all the terms that didn't, but its not a perfect resource. I just used the matching game on these until most of them started to click. Acronyms:
https://quizlet.com/904884934/project-plus-acronyms-flash-cards/?new
Graphs and Charts:
https://quizlet.com/905353486/project-graphs-and-charts-flash-cards/
Jargon and Documents:
https://quizlet.com/905381941/project-jargon-and-documents-flash-cards/?new
Once you get comfortable with all of these and take the Sybex quizzes, its good to read about shaky areas in the Project + book that is in the wgu link above. That book is very good at matching the exam and answering questions. If you like reading, just read this book. I'm not, but I skimmed parts and it was a very good resource.
Resources I didn't like very much: The Dion practice tests were not very good on this go. I still took two to experiment, but Sybex is definitely better. His questions are just too long compared to the test. The Dion videos are also not very great on this course. I watched some, but they are very very dry and not super great.
I didn't even bother with cert master. Comptia has every incentive to make it a bad resource and from what I've seen, most people don't like it.
Info about the test itself:
The test was not a walk in the park but it wasn't terrible either. I scored 746. I only had one PBQ question and I think 81 regular questions. I strongly recommend looking for clues in the questions. The questions will give you certain information for a reason. Don't infer something that isn't there. Just use the information in the question. They leave not obvious clues that help you narrow down the answers on some questions. One thing about the test that I wasn't expecting was reading the charts. Most practice questions I did ask to identify a chart. The questions on the exam want you to read the charts and tell you some basic information about them. It was a bit of a curve ball, but if you understand reading a regular graph, you should be ok. There were also a lot of questions about what types of risk strategies are being used. I would really make sure you know the differences because some of the situations they asked me to identify stumped me. My report says I got at least one of those questions wrong too.
Sorry about how long this post is. I wanted to make sure I got everything I could in because this is definitely the hardest class I've taken at wgu so far.
TLDR: Cbt nuggets good, Links are good ^. Sybex books and tests good. Practice and pass. ezpz.

Hello,
This is a throwaway account, not a big poster.
I'm currently going through the divorce process with my wife of 2 years and 7 months, but we have been together for 8 years. Living together for 6 years in various places.
We currently reside in Phoenix, Arizona. We do not have any minor children, and we do not have a covenant marriage.
Sort of a long rant, TLDR at the bottom. Relationship was great to start and we've known each other as good friends for about 5 years before we started dating.
I proposed, she said yes, we got married and we're taking on life.
I had some trouble staying positive throughout the relationship due to stress, money, and varying insecurities. My wife was helpful in keeping me grounded and straightening out my mind.
However, I kept falling back into the pattern and eventually it was too much for her around our 2nd anniversary. She began talking and flirting with another man as she mentally gave up on the relationship but kept it secret. She confessed that she was iffy about the marriage, but I had been making personal improvements over the last couple months to change my mindset and stay positive. This made her want to try and stay with me even though she had partially given up already. I found out that she was flirting with that other guy and was still continuing to talk to him even after she decided to stay with me. They weren't as flirtatious, but still in contact. I asked her to cut him off and she did for a time, but went back to talking to him anyways. After that, there was a long talk about our relationship and what we are doing.
We decided to keep at it and make it work. A few months go by and things went good, but my wife confessed that she still things about the other guy and the possible life with him.
I get upset and things take a bit of a turn for me mentally, but we still keep at it. A couple weeks later, I got upset over some of the stressors in our life and it was quite the mental breakdown. At that point, my wife said she couldn't take it anymore and had me leave the house to stay with my family.
She says she needs space and time to think while I cool off. So I agree and leave the house. I came back to the place the next day to grab a few more items as I don't know how long I was going to be gone. I then found evidence of her sexting the other guy with no restrictions or care that we were still in the relationship.
I talk to her about this and she says she wants a divorce. I'm upset because I thought we were going to work it out still, but she went behind my back and did this. So over the weekend we start the process, but after a long phone call with her I managed to get her to call off the divorce so we can work it out.
She stops talking to the other guy, and we try and get back into our flow. 2 months go by and I'm trying my absolute best to make it work, but my wife just didn't seem to try or want to make it work. Eventually I asked her to just tell me how she feels and she still wanted the divorce.
So I leave the house again, this time on the premise that it is truly for good.
I leave and not even 3 days later she is talking to the guy, going on dates with him, and basically replacing me with him.
I told her that she was going to have to file if she wanted the divorce as I STILL wanted to make it work. Some of you may think I'm crazy at this point, but I love the woman and I wanted to fix things.
It has now been 5 weeks since she said she was done and I left the house, but she hasn't started the divorce papers. She is however in a full public relationship with the new guy and has completely removed me from her life and won't even talk to me.
At this point, I've been doing inner work to come to terms with this whole situation and I'm going to file for divorce myself since she won't.
I'm wanting to resolve this amicably and we already have an understanding of the division of property with no issues on who is getting what.
Now for the real questions that I wanted to ask.
I'm currently filling out the eFile form provided from the State of Arizona and have reached the point regarding community/separate property, community/separate debt. I am wondering if I can just state that no community property/debt was acquired during our marriage to avoid listing all the stuff we already know goes where. Some of it was acquired before and some after, but to list each individual item we got seems like an awful lot of stuff to go over even though we already know who gets what. If I can state that no community property/debt was acquired, I feel like that would resolve this much more smoothly, but I don't know if that's what I can do. So can I? Or is it bad for the process to not list that property?
On a side note, am I going in the wrong direction when trying to resolve this without drama or anything even though my wife cheated on me and is having an affair while we are still married? Should I pursue for any spousal maintenance/alimony?
I just don't know if it would be worth the full trial. At this point, I'm better off without her and she can live her life as is. I'm working on accepting and letting go of my issues with how this whole thing played out. I want to be civil and end this chapter without causing drama. It's been tough though, as that small part of me wants to whip up a storm because I feel so wronged, but I know it's just not worth it and I'm getting caught in attachments.
Anyways, thanks for reading! Please give any advice you feel might be appropriate, I greatly appreciate it.
TLDR;
Arizona, no minor children, not a covenant marriage. Recently began the divorce process because my wife started cheating on me due to struggles in the relationship and giving up on making it work.
I want to solve this without drama and we have an amicable understanding of how things are splitting.
For the documents that I am filling out, do I need to list all the community/separate property and debt or can I state that none was acquired since we already have understood terms of how to divide things? In truth, it is me being lazy and not wanting to fish out all the information about each thing we are splitting as it seems like an overwhelming amount and I cannot financially afford help. So can I just list that none was acquired for both and just move on with the filing and getting the divorce over with?

On my path towards fluency I encountered the next boss: Understanding natural Japanese dialogues.
After having finished my very first manga (ハピネス) I was pretty eager to continue. Reading this wasn't that hard. For the most part the biggest enemy was blurred fonts. Next thing I am trying is ルリドラゴン, and things don't go as smooth as I expected - it is much more dialogue heavy. I really cant put my finger on what is so much harder. Somehow the dialogues (despite me knowing all the words and all the grammar ) cannot be parsed correctly.
I am stuck on chapter 10 and super demotivated. Cannot move an inch, without looking at translation. Half of sentences become super-obvious after knowing the translation, the rest is "how the hell did they get that?". And this is only 3 levels higher on learnnatively, barely out of N4!
Do you have any tricks or learning activities to perform? Maybe you tried some secret technique? What worked for you?

• Maybe putting entire sentences onto flashcards would make eventually recognize them better?
• Maybe I should avoid translation, just read whatever I can and move on, even barely understanding some parts?
• Maybe I should re-read each chapter several times, in order to get as much as possible?
• Maybe I should read entire thing translated till the end, before even starting the Japanese version?
• Maybe I should just face the reality and go back couple of levels to get more fluent on easiecurated content?

TLDR:

At the small post we were on, the 25m zero range and qual range SDZ's did not allow for firing these rifles. Something we only learned after confirming our zeros on the 25m range.
It's still heavy, but after a day or so you stop noticing it until you have to shoot from a standing position or doing are doing CQB. then you are painfully reminded how off balance the rifle is.
The two sample rifles we had were consistently 3 MOA guns.
The non-reciprocating charging handle on the left side is not as cool as I initially thought, and it ruins the whole "truly ambidextrous" feel that the Sig MCX line has.
The folding buttstock can go fuck itself.

A review of the 277 Fury rounds is here and you may need to read it for some context, but I have endeavored to make this review stand alone as much as possible.
Over the course of three days, a friend of mine and I lived with the M7 Spear. We spent time at various ranges, doing "tactical stuff", getting in and out of HMMWV's and GSA's, while trying to figure out the ins-and-outs of the rifle.
My sample, #087, had between 8K and 10K round rounds through it. The number of combat vs training rounds was not tracked, but given the expected barrel life is 10K combat rounds we ran a borescope through the barrel and the chamber to see what we could see.
His sample, #529, had between 6K and 8K of an unknown mix combat and training rounds through it. We ran the borescope through it as well.
There was no real difference in the wear between the two rifles.
We spent the morning of the first day playing around with the ammunition and doing comparisons against 308 168gr SMK, while the ultrasonic cleaner did Gods work on the various bits and bobs of our sample rifles.

Note when we did the ammo comparison we used a Remington 700PSS with 24" barrel. It quickly became apparent when we were testing the rifles, that was a poor benchmark, as the Remington outperformed both rifles in everything but rate of fire. Its a sniper rifle, granted its your Grandfather's sniper rifle, but its still a fucking sniper rifle. The Spear is not, its a battlerifle, and so I won't be including the comparisons here.

We tried cleaning them without the ultrasonic cleaner...but I'm not sure these rifles had ever been properly cleaned before.
I've got mixed feelings about the MCX system. It ticks a lot of boxes, short stroke gas piston, no need for a buffer tube or spring, superior handling of gas when suppressed and so on.
However, when it comes down to the nitty-gritty of the maintenance? I absolutely despise it. Despite owning a MCX in 300 blackout myself, every cleaning session feels overly complex and time consuming.
We kicked off the afternoon with both rifles, setting up for grouping and zeroing—my rig was outfitted with the Tango 6T sporting the "Hellfire" reticle in MOA, resembling your standard rifle scope setup. His, on the other hand, featured the same Tango 6T but with Hellfire in MILS, decked out with the Christmas tree reticle.
Some time back, I made a comment after my initial rounds with the Spear, labeling it a "tack driver." In hindsight, I probably should have clarified that bit. Typically, when shooting a new rifle, if I land three out of five shots within a 1 to 1.5 MOA spread, I chalk up any outliers to user error rather than blaming the rifle or the ammunition.
However, it appears that assumption was a bit off.
Our zeroing and grouping efforts at 100 yards turned into quite the saga. We found ourselves mostly hitting 3 rounds within the 1 to 1.5 MOA range, but occasionally, one or two shots would balloon the group size to between 2.5 and 3 MOA.
Instead of descending into frustration and stubborn attempts to tighten these groups, we opted to settle for anything under three MOA as acceptable for our purposes and proceeded to finalize our zero.

Side note, my last zero group was my best of the day coming it at just over 2 MOA. My friends best group came in at 1.8, and quite honestly he's a better shot than I am.

Research shows that the original specs for the NGSW called for a 4 MOA battle rifle. Despite some noticeable barrel wear on our two test models, both rifles still performed beyond this requirement.
Following our grouping and zeroing session, we spent the remainder of the afternoon plinking with training rounds at 100 yards.
During this, I learned a hard lesson about the non-reciprocating charging handle—it needs to be firmly locked forward before hitting the bolt release on the left side. After a couple of painful mishaps and a few close calls, I finally caught on and made it a routine to ensure the handle was properly set before engaging the bolt release.
I really wanted to get on board with the side charging handle, but after three days, I'm just not a fan. It tended to snag on my gear (Eagle MARCRIS plate carrier) when maneuvering or positioning the rifle to fire, making it less convenient than I had hoped.
Interestingly, I found myself using it more during offhand shooting. I'd instinctively remove my left hand from the pistol grip to work the side charging handle, rather than using my right hand on the traditional top charging handle. Yes, I'm aware this breaks the cardinal rule of keeping your firing hand on the grip, but this method felt more intuitive, similar to operating a bolt-action rifle.
When shooting offhand, the rifle scores highly. I don't often shoot this way, but I encountered none of the usual drawbacks associated with traditional AM platforms. Aside from the tricky side charging handle, the rifle seemed inherently designed for ambidextrous use, which I particularly appreciated when firing left-handed.
I was tempted to launch into a tirade about the ridiculously designed folding stock, but you deserve a more structured critique. Here are the three major gripes:

The stock's release mechanism is a convoluted affair involving an awkward dance of pushing down on the rifle while yanking up on the buttstock just to get it to close.
Once "closed," the stock doesn't truly secure—it juts out at a precarious 20-degree angle, seemingly relying on mere friction to stay in place, which neither of our samples managed successfully.
The overall build felt flimsy and loose, perhaps a consequence of the extensive wear from firing 8,000 to 10,000 rounds.

After wrestling with these issues, we wrapped up with a quick cleaning session for the rifles before heading out to the range we’d "camping" at.
The next day, we arrived ready to group, zero, and qualify with a local unit. We had informed them of our visit and assumed everything was squared away with range control.
However, that assumption fell flat. Turns out, the range’s surface danger zones weren’t set up for the 277 Fury. Just as we finished dialing in our zero (.75 inches low at 25m), range control showed up, questioning our activities.
Following an awkward exchange and the diplomatic offering of a case of beer, they agreed to let us continue and even served as OIC and RSO for the KD range. We proceeded with the old KD qualification, alternating between marking and raising targets, and both of us qualified without any issues.
With some extra time on our hands, and much to the amusement of range control, the session evolved into a lively mix of burpees and sprinting between shooting positions. We experimented with various firing positions and sequences, such as starting from standing unsupported at 100 yards and moving down to kneeling unsupported. This exercise underscored the rifle’s heft yet manageability, while also highlighting how the forward-heavy balance made extended unsupported shooting particularly taxing on the arms and upper back.
The afternoon unfolded with battledrills and land navigation alongside the unit we were scheduled to qualify with. Given the theoretical roles and limited numbers, the platoon leader assigned us to the designated marksman/squad designated marksman roles, which was logical considering we were the only ones equipped with the new rifles while the rest of the squad used M4s.
This setup sparked an intense discussion among the officers about how tactical deployment might shift once the rifle was fully integrated into service. There was plenty of speculation on how military tactics and doctrines would need to adapt to leverage the new capabilities offered by this rifle.
However, I'm somewhat skeptical. I don't see this rifle as the revolutionary game-changer it’s touted to be. While it's undoubtedly suited for the designated marksman role, I doubt the Army will invest the necessary time, money, and resources to train every soldier to this level of proficiency. Consider that there are reserve units that only qualify every four years, often just to help "point-needy" soldiers piggyback for qualification. This rifle won’t alter that reality.
As for the night qualification, we were slated to test that as well, but circumstances didn’t allow for it, so I can’t comment on how the rifle performs at night with night vision devices.
On the third morning, we headed to the LMG range, ready to go full-auto from a bipod, gearing up to tackle the 249 qualification.
Honestly, this was the most amazing shooting experience I've had in ages. The only snag was the 20-round magazine capacity, which felt limiting amid the thrill—it was the only moment of frustration in an otherwise splendid session.
We ran a practice session with the training rounds, followed by a qualification shoot with both the training and combat rounds. By lunchtime, our shoulders were thoroughly sore, but I can't remember the last time I'd grinned that much in a long while.
Post-lunch, we dropped in on some local law enforcement officers who were operating a shoot house. Initially, we navigated the course with M4s to familiarize ourselves with the layout and safety protocols. After getting a handle on things, we switched to the M7s, running through the course using the last of our training rounds, having depleted our combat rounds earlier on the machine gun range.
Both of us found ourselves moving significantly slower with the M7s. Reviewing the footage, it was clear that I was painfully slow to get on target with the M7. It wasn't just about slower movements, but also a delayed response in engagement. Initially, I chalked it up to age, I'm over 50 and a bit heavier than ideal, but the reality struck when I saw I wasn’t this slow with the M4. In fact, I was quicker than some of the officers.
Similarly, my buddy was slower than usual, not lagging behind me, but certainly off his usual pace with the M4.
Interesting side note: We're no longer welcome at that shoot house. The staff was fully aware of our arrival and what we brought along, and everything seemed fine until the exercise wrapped up and we faced some "constructively harsh feedback" about 277 and damage done to the tire and sandbag walls as well as the plywood target backers.
That's rant for another time.
Regarding the suppressor:
It's really more of an enhanced flash hider than a true suppressor. I'm probably a bit biased—shooting a 300 Blackout through a Sig TI suppressor spoils you with its movie hitman silence.
By comparison, the M7 setup was louder than my suppressed .308 shooting 175gr SMK.
On the topic of the optic:
The Tango6 was decent.
The clarity was impressive, and its brightness and MOA configuration were points in its favor.
However, achieving a consistent cheek weld and finding the right optic position for proper eye relief across magnifications 1 through 6, especially from unsupported positions, proved challenging.
The issue could be me, the stock, or the optic itself. While it was somewhat bothersome, it wasn't enough to cause significant frustration.

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I was able to get a phone interview for a teller position tomorrow at M&T Bank. I've read through a few threads on here and other subreddits from people asking what teller interviews are like. From what I gathered, it's mostly related to customer service (be confident, approachable), be able to handle cash, referring customers, etc.
Is there anything else I should be made aware of? Possible questions I might be asked/should ask?
As for me, my experience really is just working at a local convenience store for years. The only real applicable things I did that would be related to a teller position would be, during lunch, we would get 4-8+ people at times. All buying or asking different things so I would have have to get them all through quickly and accurately. We would sell lottery to so being able to accurately listen to their requests, input numbers, accept/give the correct amounts was necessary. Or about how, because we were local, most of our customers were also locals from the area. Who could have gone to a gas station or something so being able to build a relation was a must.
Sorry for the questions, this is my first potential job after my degree that I think of as "adult" and trying to get it right.

When it comes to outer space, what are your first thoughts?
Is it...the infinite expanse? Or the vacuum of stars, galaxies, planets, and moons?
Beautiful as it may be, there are also the negatives.
Such as the absence of air and sound making space a silent and weightless environment. The temperatures vary from extremely hot or freezing cold.
There are things that aren't human. Which can make their way into the tiniest of spaces, and enter into a foreign body draining it dry from the inside.
Michael was the only one alive, sitting alone in the dark corner of his room. He was unsure of when it started, but when the first person collapsed and then the next.
Those people were sent to the medical wing where they could not contain this affliction since they had no idea what it was.
While observing the bodies, they were nothing more than shriveled up leather. Eyes sunken, and void of color. This 'thing' would slither out of the victims' mouths.
It was miniature, violet, and made of ooze.
The ooze is able to turn itself into a haze. In that form, it can easily be inhaled. Entering the body with ease, beginning its feeding frenzy.
How did Michael know this?
Well, to be direct, he came in contact with a crew member who had been infected while checking for survivors. Now, as he looked down at his shriveled legs, he knew soon it would make its way through his main artery.
Hopefully, by leaving this recorded log, anyone who accesses the files will stay clear of this ship and its crew. Space may be beautiful, but there are some things that should stay a mystery.
"Sir, there has been an update to the Star Finder crew's database," a woman with a high bun and glasses swiveled in her chair to face a man sitting behind many screens. He looked over at her.
"Go ahead and play the recording," he pushed himself away from his desk as she clicked on the file. On a big screen in the middle of the room, it showed Michael, who coughed and began talking as he sat in the corner of his room.
"My name is Michael Phillips. Crew member of the Star Finder, recovery division. We were infiltrated by this...ooze " he paused and moved around as if he was in pain.
"I-it can change its shape, turning into this...haze. When it enters inside, this thing siphons everything. Leaving nothing but a leathery husk. I don't know where it came from or if it was because of the storm, but...please, I beg you. Stay away from the Star Finder! There are no survivors here."
The footage ended, turning to static. The woman turned to face the man who sighed, tapping his fingers on his desk.
"Do as he says. There will be no retrieval in case another crew goes through the same. We will figure out a way to dispose of the incident," the man behind the desk told her.
She nodded and put out a warning to other crews not to enter the same area as the Star Finder when a call rang out in the room. As she issued the warning, the man behind the screens answered the ringing phone.
"This is base," the man listened to the voice on the other end, telling him they had come across the idle Star Finder just floating in space. He rose to his feet, slamming a hand onto his desk panicked.
"Don't engage! Turn around!" he yelled, startling his female companion. The voice, on the other end, went silent before questioning why since they had already sent a team over to investigate. Slumping back into his chair, he frowned, gripping the phone tightly in his hand.
"Then there is nothing that I can do for you. I'm sorry," he told them before placing the phone back onto the receiver. It was too late to save any of the crew.
Whatever this thing was, they were at its mercy now.

I have told my dad about a potential I have been talking to for a couple of months. For context, I come from a Pakistani family and my father was brought up in Pakistan whereas my mum and I were brought up here.
When my mum told my dad, my dad wasn’t too happy as he has wanted us to marry within the family and to someone from Pakistan. His reasoning for this is around the assumption that men from Pakistan are more loyal and men here are always cheating, and the one I marry will also cheat. Whereas if you marry a relative from Pakistan, they will not do this and if they ever do mistreat you it’s easier to sort things out with family rather than outside family. He also said if you marry within the family you will be treated better but will always be treated as an outsider if you marry into another family. He also said if you marry someone here you’ll have to put up with in laws whereas if you marry from Pakistan you’ll only put up with the husband so it’ll be easier to manage the marriage. I tried saying how I won’t be compatible with someone from Pakistan but my dad just said it’ll be difficult at first but will be fine once we know each other. I also said how I have 2 degrees and earn a reasonable amount and a guy from Pakistan will have none of that. He then said that’s only chasing money and not marrying the person for himself but for his money, and that no one will look at your status in Jannah.
How can I address these above points and convince my father to let me marry of my choice and that theres nothing wrong with it and he’s overthinking. Any hadiths and quran verses that can support this? I’ve found a few but nothing specific and I don’t think there is either. My parents said they will sit me down later to discuss this and basically try and convince me to marry from Pakistan.
Also, some extra context, my father said to think about it and think why it’s better to marry from Pakistan but even then if you want to marry this person go for it but in the future he won’t support me if things go wrong and I need my parents. But I want him to happily agree and not compromise.
JazakAllah Khair
(Please make a dua for me to convince my father and likewise I pray that Allah accepts the duas of the one reading this)