Human bingo question suggestions

Hello, hello, and welcome to my post. I’m working on a Dark High Fantasy project where the main character is a mummified Lich called Szol (placeholder name for the post) who was a High Priest when he was alive. He awakens a millennium later into the present day in a changed and unfamiliar world. What are some ways I can show Szol, a former high priest, being pious?
Here’s context for what I have come up with for him and his background so far. Szol comes from an ancient human civilization that was largely meritocratic, egalitarian, and imperialistic with a governing necrocracy (undead magocracy) whose people wielded formidable biotechnology and magic with Necromancy & Biomancy being the most prominent.
They worshipped a pantheon of eldritch elder gods who chose them to aid their goal of ushering a new cosmic balance. Their people are inspired by the ancient Egyptian empires and the Kingdom of Kush in their heyday. And like them, the priesthoods served the gods more than the people while the High Priests grew to a status on par with kings. Szol was one such high priest for their chief god of knowledge, secret truths, and patron of education and the mind. Szol himself is a civil, calm & collected man who wears ceremonial white robes and a mystical mask. He’s an inquisitive scholarly sorcerer with an affinity for the macabre supernatural forces like Undeath. And the world he awakens to is one that’s in the midst of its equivalent to an Enlightenment with the Industrial Revolution not far behind.
Well, that’s all I have so far. Thank you for reading my post. Please share any tips you have, I’m open to new suggestions for the character. And have a good day.

Well, looks like I'm back. I've taken a break from the engineered furry story, because I want to focus on another world I'm creating, called Gaia.
So Gaia is basically Earth but the continents are different, and there's a second moon (that's a lot smaller than the moon we know, which is also here btw), and magic exists. Just a fantasy version of Earth, really.
Now I'm questioning myself on what life there will be. I don't want to basically just insert Earth life onto Gaia. So my solution is to draw inspiration from (or insert) mythical creatures, plants, etc. for Gaia's wildlife.
But I'm also not including us humans. Since we are real creatures (and very stinky ones at that or whatever I don't care), thank God I have an excuse. But I do want to include some sort of intelligent life, whose technology level, anatomy, or whatever is on par with humans. First thing that came to mind were anthropomorphic dragons, anthropomorphic desert cats, and anthropomorphic insects.
Although I could put in elves, dwarves, orcs, trolls, etc. I want to get more creative. Do you have any ideas for fantasy races? Dump them here, because I need it.

Received a partial scholarship from Duke (#5 this year) cutting out one year of tuition, making the difference between Duke and the unranked school (full tuition scholarship) around $200k. Interested in academia, fields of interest include rads, ophtho, heme/onc. There was a similar question asked recently with many suggesting the unranked school, but wondering if my career goals would tip the scales in this case.

For the past few weeks, my grandparents had been feeling emotionally uncomfortable at the adult daycare center as of lately. Why? Because they are dealing with a stalking-and-creeping and mentally unstable member who always kept creeping around my grandfather. And here is the situation.
So my grandparents have been in the Adult Daycare Center for quite awhile. But there is a psychotic and mental unstable elderly member had been eyeing on my grandpa. Not only that, this crazy lady even said to my grandma that she would be happy to be my grandpa's mistress. There is another time she would say to my grandfather, "I don't care if the staff members yelled or screamed at me, because I'm obsessed with you." I have spoke to the director and staff members, but they kept saying this crazy lady is mentally unstable. But would this consider as "Emotionally Harassment." I do understand that the reason why the director or staff members couldn't say anything because they are afraid of losing their job even though they already acknowledge on this ridiculous situation for at least two years already.
There are several scenarios that my grandfather has trying to avoid this mentally unstable lady who has been stalking him for the past two years. For instance, when my grandfather is going inside the gym and leave the gym the next five minutes. Why? Because this mentally unstable lady would rush inside the gym room and stand close or behind just to watch him workout. In fact, every adult daycare center has a security camera, feel free to ask them.
Another situation is when my grandfather goes to the bingo room or most of all...the bathroom, this mentally unstable lady will either wait for him to come out and stare at him. Like seriously?!! Why would I want my grandparents, going to the adult daycare center, and feeling emotionally uncomfortable? But most importantly, they even got into paranoia with the whole situation. They even spoke to the staffs and employees. But they only make an excuse, "This lady is not normal, she is mentally disabled, so we cannot do anything about it." This is absolutely not an excuse, it is called "emotional harassments." If otherwise, sexual bullying behavior. But seriously, does the staff members EVEN CARE or they find it is funny to watch. This is not normal. This is call stupidity. In fact, some of the insiders even TOLD me about this situation. Some of them are staffs, while some of them are elderly members who have been shaking their head just to watch this ongoing. It also made BOTH of my grandparents emotionally uncomfortable that they do not want to go this adult daycare center anymore. And they even had to deal with them nonsense for at least two years.
As mentioned before, my grandparents have spoken to the staff members in the past. I remember that my grandparents said that the staff did gave a "verbal warning" to the mentally unstable lady to stop following around other my grandfather. But after awhile, this crazy lady done it again.
Here is another horrible situation, and we are talking about placing the mentally unstable lady in the same bus with my grandparents. Even though these staffs and director all know about this situation already. And this is where I did ask the transportation bus driver and told him about this crazy lady. He did say that because this crazy lady also lived in the northeast section, just like my grandparents, so he has to follow the policy to pick this crazy lady up. Here is the truth, there is ANOTHER TRANSPORTATION BUS that goes to the northeast section, but that the bus is full. So, here is my simple question: why not switch a normal elderly member who has no obsession with my grandfather into our bus but put this crazy lady back to the original bus instead. Believe or not, my grandparents did spoke to the staffs. Guess what? The staff members said, "This crazy lady just enjoys sitting the same bus, so we couldn't do anything about it." But I'm sorry, are these staff members had been bribe or been paying for doing this. Because, it is obviously something will get out of hand for sure. Like I said, this is absolutely emotionally uncomfortable because we have a mentally disable who has sexual attention towards another member who already has a wife. I really hope these staffs understand that stopping this crazy lady doesn't make them discriminating an mentally ill or disable person, it is basically stopping this crazy lady to continue to HARASS other fellow member who feels emotional paranoia every day.
This stalking-and-creeping mentally disable lady have cause my grandparents frustrated with this situation almost everyday. Why? Because the staff members couldn't do anything about it, even though they already knew about the situation. Again, if these folks are afraid of losing their job and allow to let this happen without making sure to protect the loved ones at all cost, then what is the point to have my grandparents OR any married retired couples to come into this adult daycare center in the first place. And besides, if you have a loved one who works at an adult daycare center, and some elderly member creeping around and inside the office every day, would that be seriously ignoring? Better yet, emotionally unconfortable?
When it comes to stalkers and creepers who are mentally disabled, I have come across a guy in my days as well. Use my story as an example. So when I was a teenager, I walk to my high school by myself all the time. But there is a stalkecreeper kept following me to at the back of the school building. He even sneaked into the building without being caught, which is why it is terrible. There is even one incident, when my school teacher wasn't available but the substitute teacher did. He would sneak into my class and try to harass me. I remember I left from the classroom, because I knew the substitute teacher doesn't even care at all. To this day, I'm still getting nightmares. In fact, when I'm about to get home, he will wait for me at the school entrance. So I have two options. I can drop out or transfer to a different school instead. But luckily, my third option was to walk to school and get home with a group of trusted friends. The good thing is that everyone that I knew lives very close to where I lived. What a relief, right? But in the adult daycare center, if the staff members couldn't solve this issue for the past two years and allowing an mentally unstable person to sit the same exact bus with my grandparents without solving it, then it is called doing it by intentionally purpose.
So back to my point, when it comes to stalkers and creepers, there is no way to avoid it unless someone in the adult day care center like the staffs, bus driver, coordinator, or even the director would find a way to solve this ongoing problem. They could either remove or switch this mentally unstable person from the SAME bus with my grandparents. Otherwise, in the long run, I don't think it is a good idea if things get out of control. I speak to my grandparents if they want to switch to a different adult daycare center instead. But they do enjoy coming here because of the wonderful gifts and resources at this adult daycare center.
Don't get me wrong. My grandparents and I DO NOT have problems with people with disability or mental problems UNLESS they created an uncomfortable situation due to its mentally unstable behavior. Creeping behind, sexual bullying, or playing cat-and-mouse game at the daycare center is unacceptable. It is not right, it is called stupidity. Keep this in mind, making sure that the elderly members would get home safe-and-sound without feeling "paranoia" or "emotionally uncomfortable" it is better off to solve it than wait until later. In fact, the staff members or even the bus coordinators must take this seriously to solve this situation rather than just ignore it and let the married couple feel some type of way; otherwise things can get out of hand for sure.
Keywords: philadelphia, philly, penn asian senior services, city council, city mayor of philadelphia, penn village adult daycare, philadelphia senior citizens resource center, grace adult day care center, germantown adult daycare center, adult center, philadelphia corporation for aging, pcdc, philadelphia chinatown, northeast adult daycare, investor, business owners, operation coordinator, bus transportation, bus coordinator, mercy fleet, board of directors, stalker, creeper

I have a quick question. I worship the Sun and Moon (not really any deities connected to them, just the bodies themselves) and have a few questions. I always LOVED going barefoot and I want to tie that into my practice, but I'm drawing a blank on how.
I had a friend of mine suggest a firewalking ceremony on the solstices and equinoxes. I need to keep my practice a secret from my parents and there's a small forest nearby that I REALLY love too.
Thank you.

"One day the gods will fall And reveal their lie The one who sleeps will awaken To devour his children Oh, and us all That which was forgotten Will be remembered And consume the world Oh, all of us will dream The nightmare Of the Forgotten God…"
As the title suggest this is a lightweight theory but I think there is enough mysteries to make a good theory
1) The 1st and 2nd sentences are clear and we understand their meaning now. Maybe the only thing that is odd is to whom will the truth be revealed the "and" means they will reveal their lie at the time of their fall so we have to exclude the Daemons so it probably means humans but the problem is neither do humans of Sunny's era nor the era just after the Gods' fall like Ananke know of Dream so it probably doesn't mean by "reveal their lie" its surface meaning it might mean to let Dream's existence be felt or let his power be known (Consuming worlds, Making nightmare creatures)
2) The 3rd and 4th are the most mysterious. We know the one who will awaken is Dream but how will he devour the Daemons and they are dead and he hasn't awakened before their death. A theory that I've concocted : The spell have consumed the Daemons. While Weaver couldn't change fate he could alter it a little by making Dream consume the spell which didn't change the outcome (Dream consumes Daemons) but in return the spell prepares the awakened with nightmares that they will have to fight when Dream awakens and finds the proper candidate to break the inevitable outcome.

Hello! This question has been bothering me lately. The furthest back in human history (in terms of the recorded historical events of large societies) I learned about in public school and university was probably the ancient Egyptians and the building of the pyramids, or Stonehenge, if you count that. I was wondering, for the ancient Egyptians who were well-educated in the ancient history of that time, what would they have learned about? It is often hard to seperate historical events from lore, but I'm thinking more along the lines of previous societies rather than examples of religious or traditional storytelling. Thank you!

Some backstory: I am 29M, We have been together for 6 or so months. my girlfriend (34F) is very sensitive to my previous relationships (closest of which was 3-4 years ago.) and the idea of other women in general being associated with me. She has a diagnoses of BPD and/or PTSD (some confusion there). So basically last night, i suggested my girlfriend take an attachment style quiz i took a while back. As she was taking the quiz, she asked me if I thought about any of my exs during taking this quiz. Now i didn’t remember any of the questions, but i was thinking about a lot of subjects in my life because it was an attachment quiz, so naturally they came up in associations with some of the questions. We had somewhat of a miscommunication about this initially as I thought she was referring the relationship questions, and this caused me the change my responses around because i wasn’t sure what the question was anymore. Either way, it evolves into this big fight where I have broken her heart because of having thought of an ex in any capacity during this quiz. I try to remain calm and answer all her questions, but she does not listen to anything I say, continues putting thoughts and motivations behind my actions despite what I say, is very rude and unproductive with messaging (ex: "FINE, don't ever talk to me again. Fuck it."), the accusations, etc.
I don’t feel like I really did anything wrong. I feel like being reminded of past events during a psychology questionnaire is perfectly normal. There are some trust issues in our relationship, and I do have a habit of “changing my answers” as I am very forgetful and sometimes have to update my responses with new information remembered or received. I can understand how she may feel deceived or mistrusting or insecure. I still don’t think what happened warrants the reaction on her part. Am i being minimizing or emotionally invalidating? From my end, i feel like this whole thing is ridiculous and over blown, but i also understand maybe her feelings are just stronger than my own. Just to add, she talks about what she has been through with her exes quite often. I literally never talk about mine unless she wants to talk about them (which is pretty often), and to be honest they are so far gone behind me and out of mind with no feelings attached, I can't begin to imagine why she is so fixated on these previous relationships that have no bearing on our current one. So i also don’t think it makes sense to be so hurt over a passing association when you yourself are talking about your previous relationships often. Seems like a double standard.
Honestly what am I supposed to do? I don't want to give up on this relationship, but it seems like we are constantly having stupid arguments like this over what appears to be nothing through my eyes. Obviously the experience isn't shared and she is acting from a place of hurt, but this hurt seems to come on and be blamed on me so suddenly and over seemingly normal things, I feel like i'm constantly walking on eggshells preparing for her next meltdown.

Hey there everyone
I (34M), have been single for many years now.
So I have basically just given up on all cyber dating sites and apps. Mainly because of the toxicity but also because of how it just make me feel bad about myself. Also I prefer relationships over wham bham thank you man hookups.
I have been looking for activities and hobbies to widen my social circle and possibly be exposed to guys I am interested in dating.
The problem with this is with me being socially awkward as fuck, talking to someone I like is stressful but I soldier through it and try.
What I find debilitating is that when not at a gaybar or event it's difficult to even guess whether guys play for our team or not. So the fear is hitting on straight guys who don't take it lightly and make a scene.
Then there's the whole mentality that apps like Grindr perpetuate in many gay men. Either they're all just looking for a fuck or they are expert ghosters or they are Pic collectors or some weird bullshit like that. However, most if not all have extremely superficial and rude ways to treat men. However, this post is not about the horror of gay dating apps.
This post is actually asking for suggestions for hobbies and or activities that I can participate in that are more likely places to meet someone.
I have been rekindling old hobbies and starting new ones but alas I'm stuck wanting for someone. I mean I am actively looking while hiking, dancing, playing MTG and boardgames, etc. But it seems I may be looking in the wrong places or gay lady luck is not on my side.
So my question is where do you go or what activities do you do that is a good place/activity to meet other gay men.

i (22) met this guy (22) on bumble and we met up after texting back and forth for a week. he came over (i know this is not a good first date; i am disabled and have a hard time going out and he was cool with it) to just hang out and we were talking while listening to music for the first 15-30 minutes, and then it just ... got quiet, besides the music (which was playing pretty softly). he also sat like 10 feet away from me on a chair while i was sitting on my bed.
i am quite an awkward person and apologized for being so shy, and that i'm not always like this and am just nervous, and he said he's always this shy. i kept catching him looking at me and then looking away slightly smiling. my cat really likes him which i think is a good sign, she is very clear on if she likes people or not and is not usually very cuddly and she was laying on top of him and being very affectionate with this man she's never met, if that's relevant.
at one point i escaped to the bathroom to think about what i should do after we'd been sitting mostly in silence for around an hour. i decided i was going to ask if he wanted to watch a movie when i came back, but i didn't get a chance as a few minutes after i returned he said he's just really tired. i said that's okay, i was just not sure if it was an awkward silence or a comfortable one and he said it was comfortable and that the vibes were good. then he stood up pretty suddenly and said he was going to get going and said he hoped i have a good rest of my week, and left before i could offer to walk him out. i felt like i was weird or that he didn't like me or something as that was pretty sudden, and i was sure he was going to ghost me or say he wasn't interested. i just didn't know what to talk about because i was nervous, i like him and find him really attractive and am a bit insecure about him being out of my league.
i texted him after i knew he was home thanking him for hanging out and apologizing for being so shy, and that i'd love to see him again but that i understand if he's not feeling it. he replied that it's no worries, he's super anti social and that yeah, maybe we can see each other later this week, so he's still interested it seems? he specifically said he's looking for a LTR when i asked last week so seeing that he hasn't ghosted after an awkward first meet up, am i overthinking it? he also said next time he comes over he'll bring some vinyls (we both love music and have record collections), so i think that indicates interest as well, i'm just so unsure. a friend suggested that he was just silently enjoying my company and that it was kind of a parallel play situation where we didn't need to interact other than just being there.
my question is what do i do next time we meet? i want to be more forward or make the first move or talk about how we both feel or something, or even just get to know him more, without being overwhelming or making things uncomfortable. i know i'm overthinking it really heavily as well. thoughts?

2005 Dell Inspiron E1405. Added 500 more MB of ram so it now has 1.5 GB RAM. My question is should I use Debian 12 Bookworm, or install Windows XP Onto the laptop again? Anyone know which would perform better, any suggestions?

So I've been radio silent, but I'm kinda back now. This is the beginning of my rewrite for this fic. Unfortunately I'm gonna take a bit to make the next part, this is due to me being part of the ficnnap. So future parts are gonna take a while to get going, hopefully I'll be functional enough to sit down during the summer and write a bunch.
Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the fic. Any feedback would be nice :).
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Beginning playback of Imprint... standby...
`Psionic Imprint Subject: Elias Meier, Exhausted Director'
Date [standardized Human time]: June 27th, 2136
Humanity learned it was not alone in the year of 2015, when it was viscously attacked by a hostile alien force intent on colonizing Earth. But humanity fought back, with the formation of XCOM. For the first time in the entirety of human history, Humanity stood as one. And we won, barely and not without consequences. Countries fell apart, or were briefly colonized; or in the case of Advent, for a couple decades.
Of course there was also the aliens that were invading. After some time it was found out that all of them of them were enslaved, controlled and distorted by the Elders.
Or Ethereals if you wanted to be pedantic. God I have had enough of pedantic people.
After a few tense decades, the aliens had slowly filtered into human society. The Vipers forming Sisterhoods, Mutons forming tribes, Sectoids getting into everything, Andromedas forming a haven for their people, and Chryssalids... once thought to be a dying race, surging back to life in 2077 and becoming a horrendous problem for everybody. There were a couple others but I couldn't be bothered to remember them.
Ding a little ring tone sounded, reminding me of my wretched job. I groaned, and waved my hand. I heard a dial up sound, as the system connected. Finally it connected, and one of the voices I dreaded hearing started speaking.
A monotone male voice, the voice of an emotionless thing created by XCOM to make death. "Hello Meier. I have a report, Wraith unit sent to System Gliese-832c has returned. A sapient alien civilization has been discovered. It is not what we expected though."
Wonderful, great even... God this is gonna be a whole thing to handle.
"Explain Odin, I will have to schedule a meeting about this new discovery."
"I have sent a data packet to your computer, which you would see if you looked at it sir"
How the fuck has he developed sarcasm? Has he always had this quirk or did he create it just to personally fuck with me?
I sighed and spun my chair around, away from the great view of my office window. The office I was trapped in was decently sized, the large desk with two 57 inch monitors on each side. The room was 10 feet tall, and 20 feet from door to window, and 12 feet wide. There was a seating area with two couches and a coffee table. A large drink cabinet flanked by two busts on pedestals, and a foyer sitting on the opposite wall flanked by tall standing plant pots with ferns. The entrance was double doors that looked like wood, but were actually plasma and explosive shielded metal doors.
On the left monitor was a display of the planet baring alien life. It was tidally locked, and was inhabited by... sheep, literal fucking sheep. Course they had paws instead of hooves and had no nose but still, literally just fucking sheep. They were apparently called Venlil. They had a decent population, and were part of a larger federation with an unknown number of species. They were at war with 7-8 feet tall nazi space crocodiles, and were deathly afraid of anything "predatory".
I glanced at a small box that appeared, it was an addendum by Dr. Valhen regarding the Venlil. It was a hypothesis regarding their physiology.
Experimental Codex Simulations put them at a 21.53% chance of surviving to a century with current physiology. Likely hood of genetic modification to weaken species at 71.89%.
The addendum pointed out the knocked knees, and the absence of a nose being the most likely areas of modification. I quirked an eyebrow up. I know Dr. Valhen had experience tearing open modified aliens and modifying people at an extreme levels. But still this had to be stretch.
"I have done my own calculations sir, and I have come to the same conclusion as Dr. Valhen sir." I stared pointedly at my monitors before sighing and rubbing my face.
Hmmm whom do I trust more? The mad scientist that walks around in several different metal bodies, or the psychopathic Codex who was created to be unnaturally good at killing. Hmmm good question... how about neither and say fuck it.
"OK Odin. Would you kindly contact the rest of the board and notify them about an emergency meeting?"
"Of course sir, I have already notified them about the scheduled meeting."
... Fucking prick. Oh well if I'm going to be sitting through a meeting I'm going to atleast drink some of the piss flavored water called vodka to pretend I can get drunk.
I stood up and walked over to the drink cabinet. A small round drone that was more of a floating camera came out of the ceiling and followed me. I opened up the cabinet and selected the highest proof alcohol I could find. After popping the bottle and grabbing a shot glass I walked back to my desk. Sitting down as an encrypted channel lit up my right side screen. I pressed on it and poured a shot, the small camera drone hovering in front of me just beyond the desk. The right monitor lit up as 6 people connected.
The Heads of Military, Research and Development, and Diplomatic Affairs were all in the meeting. Dr. Tygan and Dr. Shen heads of R&D, General Zhao and General Kelly heads of Military, Ms. Clark and Mr. Freeman heads of Diplomatic Affairs.
Dr. Tygan didn't look a day over 30, even though he was older than myself. His white coat looked immaculate, and his glasses clean. But his posture and eyes spoke of a man who was debating falling over asleep or shooting someone in the face. Dr. Shen had safety gear on, his clothing stained by machine fluids and sweat. He looked more alive in his 40's than Tygan, and behind him was a scene of a bustling space yard. General Zhao was prim and proper, his posture rigid and his face completely neutral. General Kelly looked to be in a ships captain quarters, his General uniform replaced with a mandatory protective jumpsuit. He looked like he was just woken up, a steaming cup of coffee sitting before him. Ms. Clark and Mr. Freeman looked... normal, they had proper uniforms on and looked like they had been working for a while but still had plenty of energy.
I shot the glass back then looked back at the drone, which had moved to be above the monitor. "So... I have received a report from Odin, and it is the reason for this meeting. Have any of you received the report as well and viewed the contents?"
Dr. Shen squinted at something behind the camera, before bending back and nodding. "Yeah I glanced at it, doesn't really affect my operations honestly. Besides I doubt that they could even get close to the OCDM. That thing can wipe out all kinds of stuff. "
Ms. Clark palmed her face, an exasperated look on it. "Could we not immediately discuss killing these new extraterrestrials? For all we know they number in the hundreds of species, or dozens. Not to mention we do not know the full extent of their technology. They could be much more powerful than us for all we know!"
General Zhao spoke up, a dismissive look to his face. "I have already run through some of the internal information of the Wraith unit. It appears that they have relatively the same level of technology as us. In fact they are actually inferior in some areas. For instance they practically have no cybersecurity. We could shut down their whole planet with a button press."
Ms. Clark groaned as she put her face in her hands. Mr. Freeman just leaned back looking tired. He raised a hand, a ding from the system notifying that he had a question. "Have we attempted to secure a direct access to their network? The more we know about these aliens the better. For all we know they have plans on dealing with "predatory" aliens. We could be signing the death certificate of humanity if we don't investigate more."
Clark looked up with shock and anger. "Yo-you can't be serious Mr. Freeman?! We haven't even attempted communication with these people and you're already planning on spying on them?! We should talk to them first, not just assume they are gonna be murderous!"
Everyone else on the meeting glanced around, the unsaid thing hanging in the air. Clark was very new to the board, and had grown up in New Russia. One of the European countries with the most amount of aliens. Everyone else had either only interacted with aliens as acquaintances, or killed them. Not to mention that XCOM was literally formed with the intention of pushing an invading alien empire off Earth. It had a long and bloody history with aliens, not to mention some of the things that it had done to aliens in service to Humanity.
General Kelly just sighed as he took a long sip of his coffee. Putting it down he crossed his hands in front of him. "We're getting off track people. We need to decide our course of action moving forward with these Venlil and their allies. I would recommend sending a civilian science vessel alongside two Avengers and a Hammer. The Hammer ship can operate in Stealth mode in the alien system, while the Avengers act like Cargo Ships. This allows us to put on a good face while still ensuring that our assets will be protected."
There was nodding across the board, everyone seemed to reluctantly agree on something for once. Then they all stared at their cameras, obviously waiting for myself. I sighed and poured another shot. "I concur with Kelly's plan, but I would also like to have Mothership Valhala on standby with Fleet Alpha. I would like you Kelly to command it, if you are too busy General Zhao will command instead."
Kelly and Zhao looked shocked by what I said. But they both donned neutral faces quickly afterwards. Zhao raised a hand, the system dinged signaling that he had a question. "May I ask why you are requesting this? Last time I actively commanded was for Operation Living Mausoleum and we all know how that turned out."
I shot back the glass and pointed at the camera. "That Operation was fucked from the very beginning. There was jack shit you could've done to prevent the casualties that occurred. Not to mention that you can't compare yourself to the Commander, he was inhumanly good at what he did. Hell from what I hear the man could practically see into the future. So quit it, stop beating yourself up over it. You're one of the greatest generals I've ever had the pleasure of working alongside with."
Zhao's face briefly clouded with a dark brooding look as I talked. But when I finished it lit up in surprise. He must still be beating himself up over that shit operation. I still remember reading the reports and feeling afraid about the future of XCOM. But thankfully Valhen managed to control the damn thing, and Diplomatic Affairs quelled the fires that had started from it.
"This meeting is concluded. Get back to whatever you all are doing." One by one the channel sent quiet. Tygan just stared into space, a vacant look on his face. "Tygan? Tygan!" He jumped in his seat, finally coming to. He took off his glasses and rubbed his face. "Tygan... it's getting worse... you really should reconsider your stance."
He looked up, a fire in his eyes. He put his glasses back on, tapping his fingers as he did so. "Well I won't. I'm not gonna stoop down to Valhen's level of depravity. The procedure is completely experimental and for all I know it's a miracle that I'm even still alive. I am almost 200 years old. If my mind is finally failing then so be it. I have played God long enough."
He left the channel right afterwards, only for another person to appear. It was Dr. Valhen and she had no camera feed. All I could see was a noise graph. "Meier... I would like to... make a... request- demand... I would like to attend the mission."
I slammed the shot glass on the table. "Absolutely not, I don't care what you're reason is. My final and only answer will be no. So kiss my ass, and go back to cutting apart death row inmates and war criminals."
…After a few seconds of silence and the graph not moving, it started laughing. That laugh told me more than enough. "Oh Meier, naughty naughty Meier... keeping me away from the new toys? How cruel of you... forgive me... I will honor your request..."
She... it left the channel. I closed it up, and spun my chair around. The window allowed me to view the Appalachian Mountains in all their splendor. In the distance I could see the camo fields of ships shifting as they moved about. I stared at the bottle before corking it and walking back to the cabinet.
This is gonna be an absolute shitshow. For all we knew we are boldly striding towards a war that will be the end of humanity once and for all.
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I hope I am asking this right. My mother in law wanted to set up a trust to protect her assets (which is solely her home) from medicate if she will require long term care. She is 79 and has 3 children. The trust is to pricey on her budget as she lives solely on SS. My husband suggested to his 2 siblings to split the cost of the lawyer to set up the trust as the account could potentially benefit then and the payments for her would be to much. Long story short the siblings are horrible with communicating. I don't think the understand and they were not willing to chip in $1000 each. My husband and I are considering paying for the whole thing and getting reimbursed by the trust if there are assets left. Also a general question on the trust. I know there is a 5 year aging requirement so wanted to check if a certian percentage is protected after the 1st year or if you have to wait 5 years. Wanted any thoughts on this. Thanks

Hello everyone, Sorry this question has probably been asked many times before, but everything that I can find related to "getting to know you" games is either aimed at kids/students/etc (= boring AF) or at business (= twice as boring AF). Basically I am looking for some party card games to play in a setting of people who don't know each other too good but don't mind digging further. Can be as unhinged as you'd want, if I don't find anything good I will just bring cards against humanity (just to give you idea of an audience xd). But I would really prefer something more personal. Do games like this exist? Thanks a lot.

Hi all,
I want to buy a bicycle.
My needs (no priority):

1. 70% on bike paths (asphalted, smooth), 10% on roads with cars, and 20% on bike paths with uneven surfaces (gravel, dirt, grass, etc.).
2. Primarily 3-4 hour leisurely rides on weekends (I've tried gravel biking; it's faster but not my main goal).
3. Monthly long-distance rides to other towns (under 200 km one way, under 400 km total (2 days)).

My wants (with priority):

1. Budget under 700 EUR. I can increase it if necessary, but I'm not aiming for a professional-level bike.
2. Minimum future maintenance. I'd prefer to pay extra upfront for a bike that requires fewer part replacements.
3. Comfortable and enjoyable ride. I found the gravel bike RC520 comfortable enough, but I understand that MTBs are generally more comfortable.

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My Question: Do I really need a gravel bike? Will an MTB satisfy all my needs, including long trips? MTBs are generally much cheaper.
Bikes I'm Considering (open to suggestions):

1. Gravel: Triban RC520 (used). I found one in good condition for 650 EUR. I rented the same model from Decathlon, and it was okay for me.
2. MTB: Any hardtail bike under 650 EUR, such as the NORCO Storm 3.

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Thanks for your help!

Hello, my wife and I are visiting Mallorca for 6 nights at the end of June. We are looking for a nice beach hotel, where we will be (1) on the water; (2) close to Palma for dinners; and (3) classy enough we can be comfortable just staying at the hotel.
We initially booked at Melia South Beach in Magaluf, but I learned from friends today I shouldn't stay in Magaluf due to the young drinkers. We also had booked Elba Sunset close by, but am also questioning the choice.
Is there a place that checks the boxes of having a nice beach (restaurant/breakfast looking over the ocean) and is accessible to Palma?
OR
Would it be better to just do 2 nights in Palma and then 4 in a hotel somewhere else? If this is the option, where would you suggest. Alcudia, elsewhere? Any good hotel suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!

I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT OPENING A PRE-K DAYCARE
I was thinking about getting my daycare license through the DHR along with all the other requirements needed.
(In the past I have been a pre-k teacher, a special needs teacher for 6-8th grade, and a substitute special needs teacher for K-12th grade).
But instead of an all-day daycare, I was about a half-day educational daycare for 4 & 5 yr. olds. I would follow the school schedule with the same days off. Is this something parents would be interested in? I'm open to suggestions on the daily schedule as well. I was thinking 9 am to 2 pm unless you think 5 hours might be too long. I would change $100 a week to start with.
Thank you in advance for your input.

I have been shoplifting since I was maybe in my early teens. It all began with me and my friends at the time wanting to have to fun together so we decided to steal from one of the close corner shops near my house since I had invited them over. We had walked in, I had grabbed a drink and a pack of cigarettes from behind the counter while my mate distracted the clerk by asking him questions, we left after the clerk shouted at him to leave him alone. From then on it almost became like an addiction, anytime I would go to the shops I just had to take something. Nothing could stop me, not even my friends (who were there with me) could stop me from stealing. I became good, I mean really good, to the point where I could take anything from anywhere, clothes, food, jewellery, you name it and I could pinch it from the nearest shop that sold it. I didn’t permanently stop until my late thirties, and even then it was so hard to quit. I have matured now and I realise what I’ve done was wrong but, in the moment it felt so good to take something, the adrenaline that would course through my veins would be like a high. Anywho, do I need help? Is there something wrong with me? Suggestions?