I always found my grandmother to be an enigma, living alone in her old Victorian house on the outskirts of town. When she passed away, I inherited the house and all its contents. Eager to escape my mundane life, I moved in immediately, drawn by the mystery of the place.
The house was just as I remembered from childhood visits: dark wood paneling, intricate wallpaper, and an overwhelming sense of history. But the attic intrigued me the most. My grandmother had always forbidden me from going up there, but now, the house was mine to explore.
The attic was dusty and filled with old trunks and boxes. Among them, I found a peculiar journal bound in cracked leather. It belonged to my great-great-grandfather, who had been a renowned occultist. The entries detailed strange rituals and experiments, but one, in particular, stood out: a ritual to communicate with the dead.

I had a strange relationship with deconstruction as my dad was trained at a university level to do apologetics. He was an LDS chaplain in the Army, and every night for scripture study, we got discourses on the nuances of our faith and justifications for every question we ever had. I didn’t swear until I was 18 years old, or drink caffinated anything until about that time as well, because it was never a matter of justification. It was what my family, my tribe, my people did, to go to church on Sunday, and to be worthy. I was senior patrol leader and assistant to the bishop if that clarifies who I was. I didn’t have “God will reveal it in due time” parents. I had “Here’s the answer, here’s contemporary discussion about it. Here’s some reading material if you want to learn more” parents, except for they were wicked smart, and had biased conclusions.
I was called to serve in the Mexico City East mission. Shortly before opening my mission call, I broke up with my girlfriend at the time. i left BYU-I and went home to prepare. I received my endowments after lying to my stake president about my worthiness to enter the house of the lord. I came clean, and he threatened to not let me go out for a year because I was unclean. The prick made me talk to a therapist to be cleared for the mission field. The therapist had a brain and let me go out. When I was giving my mission farewell speech, I wrote it to include the teachings of many religions in it. I had drawn inspiration from the 13th article of faith “We believe all things, hope all things-“ and wrote a poem about how Adam and Eve related to the Resurection and Atonement of christ. My dad tells me the stake president was shifting in his seat like he wanted to pull me down from the pulpit. Prick.
The CCM was a pleasure to attend because of my district. The guys in my district there held a secret thanksgiving feast after hours when we were supposed to be in bed with food we had smuggled out of the cafeteria. We had look outs so we wouldn’t be caught by the patrolling teachers. My district was placed under surveillance because of politics against our spanish teacher who we could tell actually cared about us, and we were transferred into a classroom with one sided mirrors, and microphones hanging from the ceiling. An apostle came to speak to the entire CCM, and I thought we would get a chance to meet with him directly, or that he would be even remotely accessible in some way. He was kept away from us, separate and removed even though we had the same mission. I played a lot of volley ball, and got into shape enough that I touched the rim of a basketball hoop for the first time while I was there.
My first companion was a native speaker, and liked to spend the mornings in the cyber (Internet Cafe). He would make sure I was on LDS.org while he looked at softcore porn on instagram. We would spend hours there, and I was disappointed that this was the mission.
We went to a previous investigators house, and while there, we saw preparations for an animal sacrifice. These guys were putting alcohol, cocaine, and blowing smoke onto a white chicken, and placed in into a cardboard box with a bunch of black chickens. They showed us a room full of weapons, with blood and feathers strewn all over the floor. We noped the fuck out, and went home.
I requested an emergency transfer after spending most days in the cyber, watching my companion deface JW’s property, and being an all around dick to me by telling me how to shower and how to sleep.
For his replacement, the person that would help me with his bastion of knowledge, they gave me a white guy who spoke as much Spanish as I did because he was only a transfer further into his mission than me. They made this poor kid senior companion to me before his first transfer was over. Why? Because the kid was a workaholic.
The first thing this elder and I did when we got to our apartment was to pick up and leave to go to the house of a member who had just died. We sang at the wake. I sang in a language I didn’t know, for people I didn’t know, with a companion I didn’t know. We sounded pretty damn good. The elder began setting appointments with the non-believing family members during the service. I just sat and watched the mindless kids chase the family dog.
This elder skipped lunch every day, and made me do the same. We knocked every door in our area twice that transfer. One time, he got very sick, and was delirious out in the sun with me while we were walking. I made us go home for lunch that day, and he made me promise to wake him up after thirty minutes so we could get back to the Lord’s work. Three hours later he woke up, chewed me out for letting him sleep that long, and then begrudgingly thanked me for making him rest.
One time, while walking, this Elder expressed to me that he also had some questions, but he was afraid to share the details because he knew my own testimony was fragile. I pressed him for details of his plight, and he revealed to me the darkest part of church history that he had learned while we were in the CCM, that Joseph Smith had drank alcohol while in Carthage Jail before he died. Thoughts of Fanny Alger, of Mountain Meadows Massacre, and of my own mother’s rather recently implemented looser interpretation of the word of wisdom all flashed through my head. This guy was supposed to be my teacher? All I could do was express how sorry I was for his confusion, and told him to have faith. Heaven knew I couldn’t help him.
One night with this companion, it was storming hard, and the streets were flooded. This guy refused to let us go home. We climbed along fences to avoid getting our already wet shoes soaked, and waded through a foot of water to get to the doors that were slammed in our faces. There was a loose wire on a door bell, and when I rang it, I was shocked by the completed circuit the water made. Rejection after rejection piled up. Finally, my “senior” companion said that this was the last row of houses. On the last house of the last row, there was a family that was all deaf. The father opened the door, and was suprised to see us and didn’t know who we were. I remembered the sign for Jesus from my grandparents who started and ran the ASL endowment ceremony in the Saint George temple. The family was thrilled we knew the sign. When I asked if we could come in, the family politely waved goodbye and closed the door on our faces.
Another time when it rained, something fell into my eye. It was one of those freak nature accidents, and small enough that I couldn’t figure out how to get it out without a mirror. The thing stayed wedged in the corner of my eye for hours before we got home and I could finally get the foreign object out. Looking at it on my finger, I could see it was a small green spider. Days later, still in pain, I pulled what I can only assume was accumulated webbing from the spider that I’d crushed against my eyeball off of my lower eye lid. The pain stopped after that.
I bought a $500 camera. It was stolen within a month.
This Elder and I had the good luck before transfers to baptize two children. They would have been baptized anyways, so I didn’t do any actual converting, but I taught a few lessons, got in the water and did the dunk. Bucket list item, check.
I didn’t have enough time for laundry on P-Day, so I’d wash my outfit and dry in on the radiator through the night. Transfers happen, and my new companion lied to our land lords about the electricity bill, paying it in full but not giving a reason as to why it was so high. I didn’t care anymore, I just needed something clean to wear, but these land lord had treated me and my previous companion well, better than the previous landlord who had stolen our cleaning supplies. I felt these people deserved honesty. My senior companion capitulated eventually, and he and I butted heads regularly after that on the morality of things. I think in hindsight he was a smarter and better man than I was.
The new land lords, the “Lagunez Family”, were wonderful. They included us in their activities, and I felt like I had some people in my corner. When I eventually came home from my mission, a daughter of the family had written me a goodbye letter. She is currently serving a mission. They made some great music, and I have “Infiltradors” on CD, the official name of the band the father of the family was a part of (he was the drummer).
I knew the whole area by heart by that point, so I navigated us to our appointments. Half of the landmarks I watched for to know our location were interesting buildings with unique colors. The other half of my landmarks were dead dogs whose decaying corpses had become second nature to see. I began marking how much time had passed by how deeply a certain dog on a certain dirt path’s chest was caved in.
There was an apartment complex in my area that I had been told not to proselytize in because “It’s dangerous.” Turns out, those people didn’t have any money, so the church didn’t want them. That complex was past the dog and to the east about ten blocks.
My companion and I knocked on a door, and visited a man who was missing his legs. His daughter was there, putting dirty water on the aching wounds. He had a single room for a house, and wheezed when he spoke. He couldn’t afford medication. He still went out and worked all day for his daughter, and gave her whatever money he made, trusting her to keep him alive somehow. The church expected this man to pay tithing. The church expected me to tell this man to pay tithing.
I got the chance to hike up a mountain. At the top, I played chess with a chess set I’d procured from one of the best rapid chess players I’ve ever met. He had been the ward mission leader. He was a good man, a good father, and I wish him the best.
I found another man who was deaf and spoke sign language. I sat with him, and convinced him to come to church all by myself while my companion talked with some tienda tender. I was so excited because this was my own personal project and it was going well. The man came to church, and I sat with him through sacrament meeting. In Sunday school (I can’t believe I did this), I accidentally drooled on the guy. I was just talking so he could read my lips, and I guess I forgot to swallow at some point because a dolup of spit landed on his arm. I apologized profusely, and he played it off, but I never saw that investigator again.
My companion and I knocked a door one day, and a man answered. He wore tattered clothes, and maggots were burrowing into and out of his feet. He muttered something about the stars, missing his wife, and he began to tear up. My eyes stung from the stench. The door closed. Somehow, I knew the man would be dead in a matter of weeks.
I had lost hope that I was doing anything worth while. I looked down on the Doc Martins that had stayed with me five months at this point. I was angry with myself for being so useless in the field, angry with the church for giving me leaders that didn’t listen to my needs or perspective, angry with my mom for drinking while I had to teach people that it was a sin, angry with my dad for giving me the skills and knowledge to justify anything, even pedophilia in the early days of the church, to the point where I could look someone in the eye, and knowing the kind of man Smith was, tell them he was a good man and a true prophet of God. Suddenly a man approached us. He said he recognized us as missionaries, and asked about our message. This never happened. People didn’t just come up to us unless they were crazy or dangerous. But this was a public place, and this guy was genuine. My companion talked to him, and gathered his story, but I was plotting something else. I was done with not caring about these people in a way that mattered. I was tired of walking in another man’s shoes, a man who wasn’t me, who believed different things than me. The chopped leg, the rotting dogs, the infested feet, it all swirled into a single thought in that moment.
What would Jesus do?
I walked over to the man, and in broken Spanish asked him to stand next to me. He did so, and I compared my shoe size to his foot. It was a perfect match. He protested, but I didn’t let him get a word in edge wise. I took off my shoes, put them on his dirty feet, and laced them up nice and tight. Those shoes had cost a ton, and had been meant to last the whole mission. All I had left at this point were my fancy dress shoes that gave my blisters back at the apartment. I didn’t care. I walked home in my socks that day, happy as a lark.
Covid-19 hit a month later. I was one of the few they brought home instead of quarantining. After having served only 6 months. I told God if he wanted me to stay home, he’d have to make them release me.
They released me. I think I was one of maybe a hundred missionaries that were released due to Covid. The church realized their mistake pretty soon after I was released. Once Covid infrastructure began to develop, they didn’t release any more. I guess I didn’t serve a full two years, but I did serve a full mission.
My brother served, and he nearly killed himself due to intense depression brought on by Covid quarantine and poor leadership (I’ve got a few mission president stories, but those are for another time).
I learned lying to someone’s face from my mission, and spent the rest of my time at BYU-I as “nuanced” until the last two years, over which the most epic hoe phase imaginable became my new mission. I spent those years terrified of getting a call from the honor code office.
I’m married now, with my degree irrevocably in my possession. I have friends and loved ones that are in the church and are working on their mission papers. I’m beginning to feel powerless again. I’m seeing the decay again, not on legs, feet, or dogs anymore, but in the souls of the people who the church raises to do their dirty volunteer work. I see them like the animal sacrifices I saw being prepared. I’m not sure what shoes I have left to give to those people that I know are going to be in pain.
My parents are out completely now. It was a long time coming, but they are out and so much happier. I’m working on building a new relationship with my family, one based off of the fact that we won’t be together forever, so we have to make the most of our time together now.
Happy Sunday guys, best of luck to you all. And most importantly, chupa la piña.

Hello
Could I get some advice and guidance on what all these tests might mean and what I need to learn and know should my Endocrinologist head down the route of TRT, which is where she has indicated over the past couple of months whilst doing tests?
I apologise for the length, but I have tried to cover it as much as possible, as I accept nothing is simple. If more information is needed that I have missed, please ask.
Thanks

Stats

• Age: 45
• Height: 6ft 7
• Waist: 50 inches
• Weight: 25 stone / 159kg
• Body fat: 29.3% (using https://www.calculator.net/body-fat-calculator.html)
• BMI: 39.7

History
I was overweight for a good 20 years; we think this was when my thyroid started causing issues, and it took many years for the NHS to even consider that a problem. I also had no morning erections for a good ten years. I honestly cannot remember the last time I felt hungry, and that was after either an hour of weight lifting or hiking for a full day in the Austrian Alps (the longest one was a 10km round trip and a 1200m climb and then descent).
It took several years to sort the thyroid, and I was still unable to lose weight, although other things had resolved themselves. My GP refused to investigate further, saying simply I was too young. Plus, back in 2019, my Testosterone level was 17.1nmol/L, and now it is down to 7.5, and apart from being a few years older, nothing else has changed weight-wise or fitness, etc. I have had many Covid jabs as my father was extremely vulnerable, and I was his carer.
I am now under a different GP practice that started from scratch and said that, in their opinion, something underlying was causing the myriad of symptoms. They started testing and thought she knew what was wrong. It was agreed that, in computer terms, there was a tick box that needed ticking, but finding which one would take time.
However, their final idea saw her ask for guidance from Endocrinology; they said to do nothing and that they would take over. This was in 2023. However, Testosterone issues are an ultra-low priority in my area, so my expected appointment is in 2025.
For the past few months, I have seen an Endocrinologist privately with the agreement of my GP, who has done all the requested tests and agreed that if any prescriptions are needed, they will do it.
In addition to the above, dieticians have cleared me, having seen them privately and on the NHS.
I spent a year with a personal trainer at a bodybuilder gym, working out with him three times a week with no results and stopped through no results but with growing mental and physical fatigue. Walking 10,000 steps a day is not a problem for me.
I have had this all on hold for a while, what with COVID-19 and then a relative's very poor health. It is now time to focus back on myself, I think. I sleep a good 8 hours a night and get up feeling worse than going to bed – although randomly, I do have bouts of insomnia.
As mentioned to my GP and Endocrinologist, I have no problem putting in the hard work at the gym, but when that hard work does absolutely nothing for muscle mass or body shape, etc., it gets very depressing. I guess that does give me one direct question: How long do I need to leave it before going back if my Endocrinologist prescribes TRT—do I need to let my body recover a bit before stressing it by doing weights, etc.?
Tests (Using UK NHS Scales)
Testosterone has been done now 6 or 7 times, always within 0.2 or below and always done between 08:50 and 09:10 in the morning.
In addition, she requested an ultrasound, and the results came back as 29mm AP diameter and 19mm AP diameter, respectively, for the testes.

Test	Result	NHS Reference Range
Testosterone	7.5 nmol/L	8.6 – 29.0
Calculated Free Testosterone	180 pmol/L
SHBG	25 nmol/L	18.3 - 54.1
Free T4 level	21.7 pmol/L	11 - 23
TSH level	0.49 miu/L	0.27 - 4.5
Haematocrit	0.419	0.387 – 0.492
Creatinine level	71 umol/L	59 - 104
Urea level	3.9 mmol/L	2.5 - 7.8
Potassium level	4 mmol/L	3.5 - 5.3
Albumin level	39 g/L	35 - 50
Total Protein level	74	60 - 80
Sodium level	142 mmol/L	133 - 146
Insulin-like growth factor 1 level	11.5 nmol/L	11.1 - 27.7
Growth hormone level	0.1 ug/L
Prolactin level	241 mu/L	86 - 324
Cortisol level Dexamethasone suppression test	19 nmol/L
Cholesterol level	5.0 mmol/L
Triglyceride level	2.4 mmol/L
HDL	1.1 mmol/L
LDL	2.8 mmol/L
Cholesterol / HDL ratio	4.5 mmol
B12	63ng/l	197 – 771

I've only ever used Chrome, only dabbled in Firefox from time to time.
Chrome is my go to browser on my Android and Computer. I like having my search history synced, passwords in the same place, extensions and tabs bookmarked.
I've read about Chromium based browsers like Brave but don't really know about how well they sync across devices or whether the android app is as functional.
Put simply, are there any browsers that work well out of the box, sync information and are potentially speediesecurer than Chrome on both Android and Windows.
I've had Chrome hitch on my Laptop despite having plenty powerful specs and RAM.

Hey guys,
So my partner and I have been working on a Pitch Deck for our feature length film and would like some feedback before we go into Photoshop and more-or-less finalize every slide. The design is very much a WIP but the content is basically all here (for example, you may notice red boxes around certain text snapshots, this is to track the words that'll end up being colored red in Photoshop). Since this film is based on actual historical events, the 1944 Hartford Circus Fire, we've dedicated the first 9-10 pages so they quickly summarize the history before delving into the story components. Fair warning, the images are pretty high in quality, so you may experience some delayed load-in times here and there. Especially if you're on your phone.
The purpose of this pitch deck is for if/when we pitch to execs, studios, other writers, etc. We also have a short film, a film treatment, a mood board and a script that will act as accompanying material.
Thanks and would appreciate any feedback whatsoever!!
Here's the logline: Based on true events, a young arsonist must piece together memories from his harrowing past as authorities unravel conflicting accounts of his involvement leading up to the 1944 Hartford Circus Fire
Here's the link to the pitch deck: https://drive.google.com/file/d/177ITWJMVvbw6fy8D2npUrKZFcOVV5Vyb/view?usp=sharing
And here's the first 30 pages if you're curious: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dKc6WdTySVsBt_cOj0-mZyAft-jktFVL/view?usp=drivesdk

In S2E9, Mr. Mason comes into the kitchen to visit Daisy. In all my rewatches I'd never noticed it, but Daisy has a hay box in front of her. It was a way of keeping food warm, getting a pot of food really hot, then transferring it to a box stuffed with hay on the bottom, sides and then the top before being covered to finish cooking or keep warm. It saved coal or wood, and it made room on the stove. It comes from Victorian times at least, maybe earlier. I thought it might be interesting for any other history buffs who are also DA fans.

After some long thinking, I realize that my last post was fueled by frustration and annoyance toward Kingsisle for the recently released activities and promotions in the game. I'd like for you, the reader, to indulge my own growth toward Wizard101.
I believe that most of us on this subreddit have been long time players, we have grown up with this game being somewhat of a part of us and our memory- our nostalgia. It is not a lie that the greed within the company persits, as does the dissatisfaction. Yet, so does the love.
The developers at Kingsisle have undoubtedly crafted a fantastical spiral full of incredible stories, worlds and unique characters that we adore. Only a few games that I've played in my lifetime could come close to the pure fondness I possess for this game. Not to mention the active community,- with its lore, forums and fanpages absolutley overflowing with information to help not only the veterans but the "noobs" aswell. The simple fact that Wizard101 has lasted THIS long is shows just how determined the development team is aswell as how much the community would stand behind this game (even if almost reluctantly).
Regardless if you are someone that keeps coming back through annoyance and curiosity, or if you play everyday and love every second of every quest- we accept that this game, dispite its creators greed, has (most likely) given us elation beyond what we could ever realize.
Though I can see the irritation (because Ihave lived it), I ask you now to look back on your history with Wizard101 (or even Pirate101 if you've played that enough aswell) and recognize how much fun you were having. Exploring the new worlds -regardless if they are lackluster- meeting friends you could still talk to today, learning the stories of each character and even the history if the main wizard you play. See how much you have grown along side the game. Look unto the new graphics with excitement and listen to the new spell sounds to fondly remember the old ones. Look around Unicorn Way to see new players wearing terrible gear and exploring the same place you were running around 10 years ago when you couldnt afford a membership. The commons pond with every player infinitely spinning and the (...) chat bubbles filling your chat box.
But do not mistake my dreamy nostalgia as justification- I am not entirely denying my old opinion. The newer updates with Beastmoon, Deckathalon, Scroll of Fortune are indeed soaked in greed and sweat, the depressing Crown Shop and its own tangled jumble and more. I accept that it is not perfect. I accept that though this silly wizard game has its issues, I still load up on laptop to grind for loot and complete the quests. I do genuinely enjoy the game, and enjoy the time I spend playing it.
In conclusion, though how I felt was true and resonated with others, I hope that this post shows that not all is black and white. Wizard101 is a flawed game. What game isnt? I'm sure that back in 2010 if they had the community then as it has now, they'd be the same way. I want nothing more than to see Kingsisle change for the better, I truly do. I will continue to grow with this game to see just that.
Thats my rant, thank you for reading.
TL;DR: I ruefully write this rant expressing how my last post is no longer applicable with my changed views. I am a content Wiz veteran that accepts the positives and negitives that come with being a longtime player and I hope that others feel somewhat the same way enough to come together and recognize the love and effort put into Wizard101 dispite its glaring issues.

Both Count Corbera and Bruno Aurelius bring a unique blend of history and philosophy into the arena, setting the stage for an intellectual and physical clash of titans.
As the announcer introduces Count Corbera, the crowd falls silent in anticipation. The Count's rugged appearance and icy blue eyes convey a sense of wisdom and experience, a stark contrast to the youthful exuberance of his opponent, Bruno Aurelius.
With a polite nod to his opponent, Count Corbera steps into the ring, his presence commanding respect from all who behold him. Across the ring, Bruno Aurelius bounces on the balls of his feet, his boisterous demeanor and infectious energy filling the arena with excitement.
The opening bell rings, and the two fighters waste no time in engaging each other. Count Corbera's mastery of the Abrazare wrestling style is immediately evident as he closes the distance between them, his movements calculated and precise.
But Bruno Aurelius is no slouch either, his combination of Pankration and boxing techniques keeping the Count on his toes. With each exchange, the two fighters test each other's skill and resolve, their movements a dance of strength and strategy.
As the fight wears on, Count Corbera's experience begins to shine through, his knowledge of ancient grappling techniques giving him the edge in close-quarters combat. Despite his age, his stamina and determination are unwavering, his every move a testament to his years of training and discipline.
But Bruno Aurelius is not one to be underestimated. With each blow he lands, he chips away at the Count's defenses, his relentless assault pushing the older fighter to his limits. Yet, for every strike Bruno delivers, the Count responds with a counter of his own, his movements fluid and precise.
As the final round approaches, the tension in the arena reaches its peak. Both fighters are battered and bruised, their bodies a testament to the intensity of the battle. Yet, neither is willing to back down, their determination fueling them to push forward.
In the end, it is a battle of wills as much as it is a battle of strength and skill. With a final flurry of blows, Count Corbera executes a textbook takedown, sending Bruno crashing to the mat with a resounding thud.
The crowd erupts into cheers as the referee raises Count Corbera's hand in victory, his victory a testament to the power of experience and determination. As Bruno rises to his feet, a smile graces his lips, his respect for his opponent evident in his eyes.
In that moment, as the two fighters embrace in a show of sportsmanship, the true spirit of martial arts shines through. For in the end, it is not just about who emerges victorious, but about the lessons learned and the bonds forged in the heat of battle.

ROH Month 5 Week 1
GM Nigel McGuiness welcomes us to tonight's show. He thanks everyone for making Revolution the most successful PPV in the new Ring of Honor's history!! He says that the guys and girls of this company have done things that he never thought possible.
…..
FTR vs ??
The debuting tag team known as FTR get the opening match tonight and quickly take down two local talents. A Shatter Machine finisher inside of five mimutes makes a very decisive win for them.
Cash and Dax show respect to their opponents by checking on them and helping them to their feet afterwards.
…..
Dax grabs a mic and thanks ROH for giving them a chance to remind everyone what they are capable of. Cash said its once again time to show that they are the best in the world!!
…..
Nic Nemeth with Robert Stone. vs Chad Gable
Two former amateur champions here, and they let it all hang out. The fans eat it up, taking turns chanting for both men. Chad's youth does seem to give him the edge.
The match begins to turn in his favor and that's when Nemeth starts cutting corners. Bending the rules gets him back in the match. A distraction by Robert Stone gives Nemeth a chance to try to steal another one, but never gets the chance.
Rey Fenix slides into the ring and nails him with a Fenix Driver!! Chad Gable smiles as Fenix rolls back out. He quickly goes for the cover and picks up a big win!!
…..
Renée Paquette stops Fenix backstage and asks what he is doing here. Fenix tells her that sftrr his brother left here, he realized that he had left unfinished business. So, he came to ROH to finish business with Nic Nemeth and anyone else that wants to get in his way!!
…..
Austin Theory is lounging in a Sky box, surrounded by beautiful women. One of them is actually feeding him grapes by hand. He glances to his phone when it rings. He shoos the women out, and answers it.
After a few moments of silence on his end, where he is clearly thinking about what he is being told, he agrees to meet someone after the show.
…..
Gunther walks to the ring unannounced, and asks for a microphone. He looks around at the crowd and smiles darkly.
“I have been around the world, and have seen many things. I have won and lost many many Championships. I founded both Ringkampf and Imperium. I have seen that now my two creations are at odds, and that will be dealt with in short order.
But I have seen what disrespect of the Sacred Mat has also accomplished here recently. Damian Priest, you have no Honor.. and this is the home of Honor!! Let me put this simply - I am calling for you to put the International Title on the line against me!!
…..
ROH International Title Match Champ: Damian Priest vs Claudio Castagnoli
A brief shake of hands as this highly anticipated showdown starts. Claudio's techniques and raw power matches up nicely with Damian's strength and martial arts prowess.
Neither man wants to give an inch and the battle is on!! As commentary mentions that this match up could Main Event a PPV anywhere in the world, things begin to break down. Gunther storms to the ring and attacks both men!!
The referee throws out the match, but the three men don't even notice. They are way too busy throwing fists with each other.. it is a pier 6 brawl as they used to say!! Security plays hell trying to separate them.
…..
Video from after the Revolution PPV is shown. It shows Malakai Black and friends celebrating his World Title victory! A congratulatory phone call from his wife, who's working in another company, makes him even happier!!
Tony Schiavone says we will be hearing from Malakai at the beginning of the next episode of Ring of Honor.
…..
As the credits roll, we see Austin Theory getting into a long white limousine. Soon as he closes the door, it drives away.
…..

Here I have included my pre-draft, post-draft, and fantasy football WR evaluations (shortened for brevity). This is regarding real life skillsets and performance, and the fantasy football ranking is for redraft. I believe that the IRL evaluation is good enough for dynasty as well, even when skillsets don't match fantasy productive ones.
Pre-Draft Rankings:
Tier 1:
These are all players who I don’t want to delve into. They are the safe, elite prospects who don’t have any red flags, which is what differentiates them from the tier below.

1. Marvin Harrison Jr.
2. Malik Nabers
3. Rome Odunze

Tier 2:
Each of the three players in this tier are elite, but have one or several red flags and uncertainty to their game.

1. Troy Franklin
   1. Troy Franklin is a smooth route runner with great deep speed (moves like Ridley), but what truly makes him elite is his much underrated awareness. He has an impeccable feel for both zone and the defensive back’s mind, allowing him to slide into space and break out of the reach of corners, and he also holds an elite release package paired with great ball tracking. From what I’ve seen, Franklin is also the most willing and able blocker in this class. His biggest flaw to me is not his slight frame, but rather his lack of extension when going for catches, perhaps due to his small hands, which allows for random drops and makes him more susceptible to drops through contact.
2. Xavier Worthy
   1. While Worthy has risen in draft boards, the respect for him has fallen after his record breaking 40 yard dash. Worthy might have speed, but he is not all speed. Worthy has been an elite player his whole career, with an extremely early breakout and impressive freshman season. He is often dinged for his ball tracking, an important trait for deep threats, but I don’t see it. Worthy also offers elite YAC ability. He has the mental capability to be used as a consistent threat out of motion, as I don’t see him having the same release package as Franklin. The flaw with him is both being and playing small.
3. Brian Thomas Jr.
   1. BTJ is built in a prototypically phenomenal way. He possesses elite speed, size, and agility for that size – the makings of an elite receiver. He was also an elite producer in college. Thomas Jr. doesn’t necessarily show a lot of flaws in his game (aside from a few small things) – rather he doesn’t show a lot of anything at all. His flaw is that there is not enough information about his game out there to make the evaluation process thorough enough. Questions remain about his route tree and ability to play a variety of roles in an offense. At the very least, he steps into a team as an elite deep threat. In my opinion, Thomas Jr. offers a higher ceiling than Odunze, Worthy, and Franklin, but there’s just not enough for me to look at here.

Tier 3:
Tier 3 contains three players who show a lot of good things on film, but also have almost horrible production profiles.

1. Ladd McConkey
   1. McConkey reminds me of Christian Kirk stylistically. He possesses elite quickness and solid route running with very quick, twitchy steps. It is clear that he knows how to keep defensive backs guessing. I also noted that he shows strong YAC abilities and the willingness to seek out contact.
2. Adonai Mitchell
   1. He might have diabetes, and he might be lazy, but AD is smooth. I thought he’d run a 4.55, and at that point I had him at 6 I believe. AD has sneaky athleticism and deceptive quickness, and a very encouraging frame to pair with this. While I don’t see a lot of flaws in his game, I will say that he has one of the worst analytical profiles I have ever seen.
3. Roman Wilson
   1. Wilson is my favorite player in the draft, and I have been waiting for him to join the NFL for years. While I am not a Michigan fan, I have watched a lot of Michigan and Ohio State games, and fell in love with Wilson’s play. He is an elite athlete, with a willingness to go up strong for balls, and is simply just good at the game of football. I believe he would have shown a lot more if he was on a more passing oriented offense.

Tier 4:
Tier 4 has three players who are both older prospects and also have questionable production profiles.

1. Ricky Pearsall
   1. Slick Rick is definitely slick. He has arguably the greatest catch in CFB history, and is a silky route runner with great athleticism and burst. He seems to have a great understanding of how to run routes. Pearsall is a 5 season player, with non-elite production in any of those years – however he has shown improvement in every one of those years. He is not the tenth best receiver in this class right now – I only have him this low because of his age. However, I don’t think he has the production or the film to strongly suggest that he’s better than any of the players I listed before, which is why the age can lower him. Tank Dell was a 24 year old rookie, but his film would be enough for me to raise him higher.
2. Xavier Legette
   1. Legette has elite speed paired with elite size. I will not say he has elite athleticism however. His agility is not nearly good enough for me to give him that title. This is where I feel people tend to misterm athleticism – by equating it to a size/speed combo. Legette also only had one year of elite production. Legette is great at the catch point, with solid hand technique and vertical ability, but he leaves a lot to be desired with his release and his hip flexibility. He is not yet a strong route runner. I don’t really mind his late breakout too much – he has a lack of refinement in his game that would explain this as he is a growing player, but here’s some good scouting: what I truly can’t deal with is his accent.
3. Malik Washington
   1. Washington is another late producer like Legette, with only elite production in his 5th year. However, I believe that was due to him playing his time out in an awful Northwestern offense. Washington left Northwestern not through a transfer, but because he finished his degree early. He might be small, but he is incredible at football, and offers elite YAC ability to pair with his excellent feel for zones and space. The only reason I have Washington this low (although it is not low) is because I know he will be overlooked in the NFL and will have a difficult path to success.

Tier 5:
The players in this tier will likely all have a role in the NFL, or at least the chance to have a role in the NFL.

1. Ja’Lynn Polk
   1. Polk bores me a bit, but he’s good. I believe he is a useful asset to any team in the NFL. He plays with a lot of grit, which teams should like, and is all around a solid and smart player.
2. Malachi Corley
   1. The self proclaimed “YAC King” is exactly that. In fact, his YAC ability is so good that it’s almost as if he was a running back playing receiver. Oh right. He is. That being said, Corley has the agility to become a great receiver. While his switch is probably due to wanting the longevity and paycheck associated with the position, I don’t doubt that he has the ability to make up for his late start. He’s not really there yet, so his athleticism only gets him this high.
3. Keon Coleman
   1. Coleman is in the classic “Alpha” mold. If you’re wondering why he’s so low, I just don’t like that mold. I don’t care about his 40 time, he seems fast enough to me. In my opinion, Coleman does not have the agility and hip flexibility required to run great routes. That’s why I just don’t see him learning route running. He offers elite vertical leaping ability, body control, and good hands to match this, but he’s not Mike Evans. I don’t think Coleman has no path to success in the NFL – he’s still a decent player, just not my kind of player. The landing spot will matter with this one.
4. Jermaine Burton
   1. I don’t like Burton. There’s just something about his face – he looks like a less creepy Spencer Rattler. However, I’d say he’s a good player. He has solid athleticism, and I believe he has the ability to run a variety of routes, despite working in a vertical offense. Burton has great hands, albeit a short catch radius, and plays very strong. There’s definitely things to like about his game – and who knows, maybe being a bad character is a good trait.
5. Javon Baker
   1. Baker strikes me as someone who loves football, with an alpha receiver mentality. He might know too much – while he has great route running, he sometimes seems to almost spam fakes and make unnecessary movements that leave me confused instead of the corner. That’s not really a big concern for me though. He is great at the catch point as well, showing great determination and body control. I’m not sure he has the athleticism to truly be elite, and while the Big 12 is a decent conference, the defensive backs in his film seemed to be mostly bums, but with a good landing spot I think he has the ability to shine. I’m rather surprised that he decided to transfer out of Alabama, but whatever, it worked out.
6. Jalen McMillan
   1. The much underrated and overlooked third brother. McMillan looks soft, but he has good athleticism and good flexibility. He’s also a good route runner with good body control. I’d say he’s good. With players like him, it really depends on how much the team that drafted him believes in him. I don’t doubt that it will be easy for him to get hidden in a deep WR room.

Tier 6:
Tier 6 are the guys who I think are good players but don’t think they will get a chance to show that, with play strength and size being concerns. I think they can work despite this, but I doubt NFL front offices will.

1. Jamari Thrash
   1. Thrash is a smooth player with great route savviness, but is complete trash when it comes to contact (easy pun intended). Physical corners can easily thrash him around during his routes.
2. Jacob Cowing
   1. Cowing probably has the highest likelihood of success among the three, as he possesses the best release package which is important for small receivers. However, he’s no Tank Dell. In fact, he IS Tank Dell, just worse at every aspect of the game. He’s arguably more athletic however, and showcases elite explosiveness.
3. Ainias Smith
   1. Explosive with quick feet, but is small and plays small. I think he has a lot of ability, but he’s not the type of player that NFL teams want to trust.

Tier 7:
Tier 7 contains players who don’t have it right now, but could have it with some development.

1. Tez Walker
   1. There was a lot of hope for Tez coming into the 2023 season, and he delivered. Delivered very little. While he showcased absolutely zero route running savvy, he has the elite athleticism to make up for this, and is not completely inflexible. I do want to blame the college football body and UNC for some of his failures, and he wasn’t really all that bad. I just don’t think he’s quite there yet.
2. Luke McCaffrey
   1. McCaffrey has great athleticism and elite lineage, but that’s about it. He wasn’t bad in college, but played for Rice. He’s in the middle of his learning curve for the position after converting from being a mediocre QB, and I’m sure he can figure it out – I’m not out on him.
3. Johnny Wilson
   1. Wilson is absolutely incredible for his size. He is a fluid athlete with solid speed, and more than decent route running. Unfortunately, at his size he needs to be excellent at the catch point and with contested catches. He is not. In fact, it’s his weakness – he is extremely soft, unlike his hands. He’s the odd case where I think he’d be much more successful if he dropped half a foot in height. If you combined the best of Johnny and Keon, you’d have a possible goat receiver.

Tier 8:
Tier 8 has guys who piqued my interest with their play, but are likely going nowhere. Gould is small, Bub Means is named Bub Means, Vele is an old man, and Coker is slow and played for Holy Cross.

1. Anthony Gould
2. Bub Means
3. Devaughn Vele
4. Jalen Coker

Tier 9 is all of the guys I haven’t watched enough of that didn’t make this list due to that.
Tier 10 consists of the players who are, in my humble opinion, bad.
Tier 10:

1. Brenden Rice
   1. My evaluation of Rice has nothing to do with his father. I truly do believe that he is the second worst receiver in the class. In fact, I think he will obviously get a shot because of his father, and that he has the work ethic and connections to improve dramatically as a player. However, as of right now, while he has solid hands, he runs everything in one gear, and it’s visually appalling. He stomps the ground as he runs, and while it seems like he has some understanding of route running techniques, it all goes to waste since he runs his routes as hard as possible.
2. Cornelius Johnson
   1. As I said earlier in my Roman Wilson evaluation, I have watched a lot of Michigan games. This means I watched his counterpart on the other side – Corn Johnson. In all my years of watching football, I have never seen a player worse than Corn. He is truly awful at the game. He has absolutely zero ball knowledge and route running ability. He’s actually pretty decent at the catch point, but not enough to make up for his terrible play in every other facet of the game. He somehow had Harbaugh’s trust to keep starting, so I still wouldn’t be surprised if he was drafted, but whatever team makes that decision has completely wasted a pick they could’ve otherwise spent trading for McCorkle Jones or some other washed up player.

Post-Draft Rankings and Comments:
Contrary to popular opinion, I believe that situation is actually very important regarding a wide receiver's career. It is worth noting that I actually did my pre-draft ranking writeups after the draft despite wording them as though they were written pre-draft, therefore the adjustments here are not new revelations, rather they are simply the changes I believe draft capital and landing spot make.

1. Marvin Harrison Jr.
   1. Great landing spot, bad franchise
2. Malik Nabers
   1. Mediocre landing spot, bad franchise with bad assets but good volume. Will play alongside WanDale Robinson, a player who also generates elite separation.
3. Rome Odunze
   1. Landing spot is alright, the franchise is bad but the team is set up well. Will be the WR3 to start however, but that should not necessarily hinder his career.
4. Xavier Worthy
   1. Very good landing spot with the best quarterback in the league, and another field stretcher already on the roster, suggesting that he might run routes with some variety and improve his game. It is not a perfect system for production however.
5. Brian Thomas Jr.
   1. Attached to a good, young QB, who should help each other. Thomas Jr was clearly drafted to slot into the alpha role, with Kirk taking the slot and Davis stretching the field. At the very least, Thomas will also be an elite field stretcher, really opening up things for Kirk and Engram underneath, as well as opening the box for Etienne. The franchise does not have a great history with receivers.
6. Roman Wilson
   1. Excellent, phenomenal landing spot. Wilson lands in another run-heavy offense as the clear WR2, from a team and staff that has been historically great with evaluating and developing receiver talent.
7. Ladd McConkey
   1. McConkey is presumably the current or soon-to-be WR1 in LA. The landing spot is definitely good amidst a weak WR corps, although I’m not fully certain about his ability to be the Alpha. Perhaps they expect something out of QJ? Palmer is solid but not spectacular.
8. Ricky Pearsall
   1. For his age, the spot isn’t ideal, but the capital is great. Pearsall is definitely a good player, and if one of Deebo or Aiyuk is traded (likely Deebo) he comes into a great role. I’d call it a good landing spot.
9. Troy Franklin
   1. The capital is horrible, and I feel teams have made a huge mistake here. Franklin is too nice and genuine of a guy to have that ‘chip on his shoulder’ effect from his fall, but he will definitely take his role seriously. With his talent, I see him slotting in as the WR2 on this offense early, especially with the Nix connection, but he has to beat out Mims. For the capital, it was definitely the best landing spot he could have got with a team that really wants him.
10. Ja’Lynn Polk
    1. New England is historically awful at wide receiver evaluation, but Polk is solid and will come into a WR room with no alpha and a rookie QB. Pop Douglas is a good slot receiver, and Bourne is alright, but that’s about it. I believe they should play a Polk - Douglas - Baker line, but Bourne will likely be starting, which is understandable.
11. Adonai Mitchell
    1. Awful landing spot. The worst he could have hoped for. AD has that chip on his shoulder, but he comes in as the WR3 in a role that is likely mostly field stretching. If there was actually a lot for him to learn, then this landing spot subtly becomes very good.
12. Keon Coleman
    1. I would argue that this is the best landing spot for any player in the draft. The capital is excellent, and the fit is excellent. Keon might not get any separation, but Josh Allen is exactly brain dead enough to just chuck it to him anyways. Very few other quarterbacks would have the confidence in him to simply target him despite being draped, and Allen is a very good one, who might be forced to pass to him considering how weak the room is. I believe Shakir and Kincaid are decent, and that Samuel might be better than Coleman, but Allen and the team will likely treat Coleman like the alpha, and this will be reflected in his targets. It also helps that Coleman is a very likable character, which might offset his bad at football accusations with great production on poor efficiency.
13. Xavier Legette
    1. It’s a new front office in Carolina, but I don’t really trust the pick. It doesn’t help my concerns when you consider Legette is also from Carolina, which might bias the selection, especially when everyone knew he was going there but nobody cared enough to try to get him over Carolina. On the plus side, he went to the only place where people can understand him, and he fits the room well alongside Diontae Johnson. He’ll probably play in a role that doesn’t suit his skillset, but he can succeed here if Bryce steps it up with an improved line.
14. Malachi Corley
    1. Good landing spot as a YAC slot player, while living with Rodgers. Definitely intriguing, although the franchise is bad so his development might be minimal.
15. Jermaine Burton
    1. Good landing spot imo, with room to learn the position and role and then replace Tee Higgins. Still don’t like the guy.
16. Javon Baker
    1. Lands in an open room with alright capital. Is the WR4 already imo, with an opportunity to earn the alpha role if he’s up for it.
17. Luke McCaffrey
    1. Great capital for the level of play he’s shown. He definitely has a role as a starter intended, although I hope they took him due to athleticism and not name (3rd is too high for it to be name value).
18. Devontez Walker
    1. Good spot to learn and possibly start while getting no targets.
19. Malik Washington
    1. Bad landing spot, and bad draft capital. Washington is fantastic, but he’s old and behind two great receivers, not to mention OBJ being signed (which I imagine means he will play). Washington could have started in the slot, but now he will have to wait and earn a role.
20. Jalen McMillan
    1. He’s the WR3 in Tampa, but Godwin will likely take the slot, which means he might be the WR4 unless they play him on the outside.
21. Jacob Cowing
    1. Deep corps with Pearsall taken ahead of him, but a good place to grow.
22. Jamari Thrash
    1. He has one great receiver ahead of him, and two alright receivers that I don’t believe he has the quality to surpass, but I think he can gap Cedric Tillman. There’s probably not much hope here.
23. Ainias Smith
    1. Smith can beat out Parris Campbell for the slot role, and while he doesn’t strike me as a consistent player, he can still ‘thrive’ for meager numbers under a great corps.
24. Bub Means
    1. The WR3 in the room is open, and by all means the job is his to take (that pun was actually unintentional I swear I only noticed it after writing it).
25. Brenden Rice
    1. He might be horrible but the WR room is completely open, and his late draft capital might make Papa Jerry step in and give him some instruction in how to play the position. There’s probably some sort of upside here.
26. Johnny Wilson
    1. He could definitely beat out Devante Parker who has the exact opposite skillset as a fellow big receiver, but the slot is the role that is open outside of AJ Brown and Smitty. The volume is also going to be low.
27. Anthony Gould
    1. The Colts landing spot doesn’t suddenly look better. Obvious depth role with no hope of ever starting.
28. Devaughn Vele
    1. I could see Payton really liking him, and him earning time, but he’s 26. I believe in him though, despite this ranking.
29. Jalen Coker
    1. Panthers are bad, undrafted is bad, I don’t see him getting a chance.
30. Cornelius Johnson
    1. I almost raised Corn higher because Harbaugh drafted him, and Harbaugh obviously knows more about him than I do, but then I remembered how bad he truly is. I insist that there’s no hope for him, he’s just awful.

Fantasy Football Rankings (only included plausible contributors):

1. Marvin Harrison Jr.
2. Malik Nabers
3. Ladd McConkey
4. Xavier Worthy
5. Keon Coleman
6. Rome Odunze
7. Brian Thomas Jr.
8. Xavier Legette
9. Roman Wilson
10. Troy Franklin
11. Ja’Lynn Polk
12. Adonai Mitchell
13. Ricky Pearsall
14. Malachi Corley
15. Jermaine Burton

Every time Charlotte shares some crazy wedding stories I reflect on my own crazy wedding experiences. Here are some of them.
The first time I was ever a bridesmaid, we had a religious ceremony, a break in the middle, and a reception in the evening. I spent hours setting up reception decorations in the hot sun with all the other hardworking bridesmaids. One of the groomsmen showed up to the reception with a broken arm. I asked him about this because he’d definitely had two functional arms that morning. While we were working hard, he ran off and played basketball and injured his arm in the process.
My mom was late to her own wedding because her sisters, who were supposed to do her hair, were busy watching Oprah. She eventually gave up waiting and curled it herself. Meanwhile my poor dad is stressed out of his mind because he thinks he’s getting left at the altar. He’d been previously married and had written in his diary the night before, “I’m getting married again tomorrow. I hope it works this time.” When she finally showed up, she gave her car keys to my uncle, who drove off with them. They were stuck waiting on a park bench for him to get home (in the days before cell phones) so they could call him and tell him to come back.
My friend “Tina” married her older sister’s ex-boyfriend. The sister and the groom had dated in high school, and by that point, the older sister had long since moved on with life and got married. There were no hard feelings on either side. Tina’s a little wild and thought it would be fun to jump into a pull fully clothed at her wedding. She then changed out of her wet wedding dress, so she’s not distinguishable by her outfit. As everyone was cleaning up after the reception, the groom wandered into the room and saw his wife bending over to pick up a box of decorations. He grabbed her on the butt. She promptly straightened up , turned around, and he found it was not his wife at all but the older sister. All the blood drained from his face and he thought he was in so much trouble. The sister thought it was hilarious, had a good laugh about it with her own husband and Tina, and now Tina’s husband has to quietly live with the fact that the legend will go down in family history.
This isn’t technically a wedding story, but my boyfriend and I are planning on getting married next year. We’ve discussed marriage very seriously but are not engaged yet. Our reason for waiting so long is that he’s finishing up grad school and I live an hour and a half away from his college town, so it would be logistically tricky for either one of us to relocate before he graduates. Two weeks ago my friend and I thought it would be fun to go to a bridal expo to look at wedding dress styles and vendor options as early-stage wedding planning research. I entered a bunch of random sweepstakes at the expo thinking there was no way I would win. A few days later, I found out I’d won a discounted men’s wedding ring, 50% off wedding invitations, and free airfare and a hotel to a beachside honeymoon destination. I then had to explain to my boyfriend how the freak I won all this crap we don’t need yet. Then I had to hem and haw my way through conversations with customer service people. “Um yes I’d love the free invitations but I don’t know my wedding date yet?” “Uhhh how long is that free airfare good for?” And yes, the rules of the free vacation do specifically state that I have to bring him. The travel agency won’t let me use it to go with a friend. (Yes, boyfriend and I factchecked the free honeymoon and so far it seems legit, I won’t go on it until I factcheck it further.)
Best of all: my high school history teacher constantly told stories about his personal life instead of teaching history. On the morning of his wedding, both families set up camp in a hotel room near the wedding venue so they’d have a place to put all their wedding stuff. Plot point: they’re on the eleventh floor of the hotel. Because there were wedding decorations strewn all around the hotel room, the only place he could think to hang his wife’s wedding dress was on the fire sprinkler. He managed to hang it at an angle where it wouldn’t activate the sprinkler, but then his brother went to take it down and it triggered it. Black coolant foam shot out and got over everything, including the dress. The fire suppression system also alerted the local fire department, so he had to hightail it out of the hotel before they made him stick around to explain himself. He ran down eleven flights of stairs with the dress to get it cleaned. At the bottom, the bride realized he’d left the veil upstairs so he had to run back up and get it. After running up and down eleven flights again, she realized the rings were missing and made him go back. He managed to successfully evade the fire department and they were married without a hitch.
Maybe don’t hang your dress on a fire sprinkler though.

I made this code with the help of AI, I read rule 10 but trust me this kept me up at night (bad at coding). Can somebody please explain why it only works properly in Codepen, but not when I place it in a website host? I saved it as styles.css, index.html, script.js., then to a folder, then zipped it.
When I put it in Codepen, the questions drop down when I choose the gender, this doesn't work in the website host. Any help/tip is appreciated. Thanks!

CSS: body { font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: #7074A0; margin: 0; padding: 0; } .container { max-width: 800px; margin: 2rem auto; background: #D5D5D5; padding: 2rem; box-shadow: 0 0 10px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1); border-radius: 10px; } h1 { text-align: center; color: #333; } .form-group { margin-bottom: 1.5rem; } label { font-weight: bold; } select, input[type="checkbox"], button { width: 100%; padding: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0.5rem; border: 1px solid #ccc; border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: border-box; } button { background-color: #2C3055; color: white; font-weight: bold; cursor: pointer; transition: background-color 0.3s; } button:hover { background-color: #008080; } #recommendationResult { margin-top: 1.5rem; font-weight: bold; } HTML:          
 
The Fashion Anatomist
 
 
 Gender:  Select Gender Male Female  
 
 Body Type:  Select Body Type  
 
 Hide Recommendations:  
 
 Get Recommendations 
 
 
    JS: const bodyTypes = { male: ["Rectangle", "Triangle", "Upside Down Triangle", "Trapezoid", "Oval"], female: ["Rectangle", "Apple", "Pear", "Hourglass", "Upside Down Triangle"] }; const questions = { male: [ { question: "What is your go-to outfit for a casual day out?", options: ["Jeans and a T-shirt", "Casual shirt and pants", "Athleisure wear", "Vintage finds", "Tailored clothes", "Simple and clean", "Bohemian styles", "Chic and trendy", "Unique and artsy"] }, { question: "Which colors do you prefer to wear?", options: ["Bright and bold", "Neutral tones", "Pastels", "Earthy colors", "Classic black and white", "Monochrome", "Mixed prints", "Sleek and modern", "Vibrant and contrasting"] }, { question: "What kind of shoes do you usually wear?", options: ["Sneakers", "Casual shoes", "Formal shoes", "Boots", "Loafers", "Minimalist shoes", "Ethnic sandals", "Designer shoes", "Artsy shoes"] }, { question: "Which accessory do you never leave the house without?", options: ["Cap", "Scarf", "Statement watch", "Tie", "Belt", "Simple necklace", "Layered bracelets", "Stylish bag", "Artsy accessory"] } ], female: [ { question: "What is your go-to outfit for a casual day out?", options: ["Jeans and a T-shirt", "A dress", "Athleisure wear", "Vintage finds", "Tailored clothes", "Simple and clean", "Bohemian styles", "Chic and trendy", "Unique and artsy"] }, { question: "Which colors do you prefer to wear?", options: ["Bright and bold", "Neutral tones", "Pastels", "Earthy colors", "Classic black and white", "Monochrome", "Mixed prints", "Sleek and modern", "Vibrant and contrasting"] }, { question: "What kind of shoes do you usually wear?", options: ["Sneakers", "Flats", "Heels", "Boots", "Loafers", "Minimalist sandals", "Ethnic sandals", "Designer shoes", "Artsy shoes"] }, { question: "Which accessory do you never leave the house without?", options: ["Cap", "Scarf", "Statement jewelry", "Watch", "Belt", "Simple necklace", "Layered necklaces", "Stylish handbag", "Artsy bag"] } ] }; const styleMap = { "Jeans and a T-shirt": "casual", "Casual shirt and pants": "casual", "A dress": "chic", "Athleisure wear": "casual", "Vintage finds": "vintage", "Tailored clothes": "formal", "Simple and clean": "minimalist", "Bohemian styles": "bohemian", "Chic and trendy": "chic", "Unique and artsy": "artsy", "Bright and bold": "streetwear", "Neutral tones": "casual", "Pastels": "preppy", "Earthy colors": "bohemian", "Classic black and white": "formal", "Monochrome": "minimalist", "Mixed prints": "vintage", "Sleek and modern": "chic", "Vibrant and contrasting": "artsy", "Sneakers": "streetwear", "Casual shoes": "casual", "Formal shoes": "formal", "Boots": "bohemian", "Loafers": "formal", "Minimalist shoes": "minimalist", "Ethnic sandals": "bohemian", "Designer shoes": "chic", "Artsy shoes": "artsy", "Cap": "streetwear", "Scarf": "vintage", "Statement watch": "formal", "Tie": "formal", "Belt": "preppy", "Simple necklace": "minimalist", "Layered bracelets": "bohemian", "Stylish bag": "chic", "Artsy accessory": "artsy", "Statement jewelry": "chic", "Watch": "formal", "Layered necklaces": "bohemian", "Stylish handbag": "chic", "Artsy bag": "artsy" }; const recommendations = { male: { Rectangle: { casual: "Opt for well-fitted t-shirts and straight-cut jeans.", chic: "Tailored pieces with sharp lines and neutral colors.", minimalist: "Stick to monochromatic outfits with clean lines.", vintage: "Go for retro patterns and fitted blazers.", formal: "Choose structured suits with shoulder padding.", bohemian: "Flowy shirts with earthy tones and relaxed pants.", artsy: "Abstract prints and asymmetrical designs." }, Triangle: { casual: "Wear darker colors on top and lighter on the bottom.", chic: "Structured blazers and vertical stripes to elongate the torso.", minimalist: "Neutral tones with minimal layering.", vintage: "High-waisted pants and vintage tees.", formal: "Suits with padded shoulders and tapered pants.", bohemian: "Loose tops with fitted bottoms.", artsy: "Bold, artistic prints and unique cuts." }, "Upside Down Triangle": { casual: "Fitted shirts and loose trousers for balance.", chic: "Tailored jackets and darker colors on top.", minimalist: "Simple and clean lines with solid colors.", vintage: "Classic patterns like houndstooth or plaid.", formal: "Structured suits with well-defined shoulders.", bohemian: "Loose tops with wide-leg pants.", artsy: "Geometric patterns and unconventional designs." }, Trapezoid: { casual: "Fitted tops and straight-leg jeans.", chic: "Structured blazers and well-fitted trousers.", minimalist: "Clean lines and tailored silhouettes.", vintage: "Retro-inspired pieces with a modern twist.", formal: "Tailored suits with balanced proportions.", bohemian: "Relaxed fits with layered textures.", artsy: "Experimental designs and unique accessories." }, Oval: { casual: "Opt for fitted tops and straight-cut bottoms.", chic: "Structured blazers and tailored trousers.", minimalist: "Simple, streamlined outfits with solid colors.", vintage: "Classic pieces with flattering silhouettes.", formal: "Well-tailored suits with structured jackets.", bohemian: "Flowy tops with relaxed bottoms for balance.", artsy: "Statement pieces and bold accessories." } }, female: { Rectangle: { casual: "Tuck in your shirts and pair with skinny jeans.", chic: "Structured blazers and high-waisted pants.", minimalist: "Simple, straight-cut dresses and tops.", vintage: "High-waisted skirts and fitted blouses.", formal: "Peplum tops and pencil skirts.", bohemian: "Flowy dresses with cinched waists.", artsy: "Bold patterns and unique textures." }, Apple: { casual: "V-neck tops and A-line skirts.", chic: "Structured blouses with wide-leg trousers.", minimalist: "Monochrome outfits with clean lines.", vintage: "Empire-waist dresses and skirts.", formal: "Wrap dresses and tailored blazers.", bohemian: "Loose tops with flared pants.", artsy: "Unique cuts and statement accessories." }, Pear: { casual: "Fitted tops and wide-leg pants.", chic: "Blazers with shoulder pads and A-line skirts.", minimalist: "Simple tops with straight-leg pants.", vintage: "High-waisted pants and tucked-in blouses.", formal: "Structured dresses with defined waists.", bohemian: "Flowy tops with fitted bottoms.", artsy: "Layered textures and asymmetrical designs." }, Hourglass: { casual: "Wrap tops and high-waisted jeans.", chic: "Tailored dresses with cinched waists.", minimalist: "Fitted tops with straight-leg trousers.", vintage: "Retro-inspired dresses with belts.", formal: "Bodycon dresses and pencil skirts.", bohemian: "Cinched waists with flowy skirts.", artsy: "Form-fitting pieces with artistic prints." }, "Upside Down Triangle": { casual: "Fitted shirts and loose skirts.", chic: "Structured jackets with flared pants.", minimalist: "Simple tops with wide-leg trousers.", vintage: "A-line dresses with vintage patterns.", formal: "Blazers with shoulder pads and pencil skirts.", bohemian: "Loose tops with flowy bottoms.", artsy: "Bold prints and unique cuts." } } }; 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bodyTypes[gender].forEach(bodyType => { const option = document.createElement('option'); option.value = bodyType; option.innerText = bodyType; bodyTypeSelect.appendChild(option); }); const questionContainer = document.getElementById('questionContainer'); questionContainer.innerHTML = ''; questions[gender].forEach((question, index) => { const questionDiv = document.createElement('div'); questionDiv.className = 'questionContainer'; const questionLabel = document.createElement('label'); questionLabel.innerText = question.question; const questionSelect = document.createElement('select'); questionSelect.innerHTML = 'Select Answer'; question.options.forEach(option => { const optionElement = document.createElement('option'); optionElement.value = option; optionElement.innerText = option; questionSelect.appendChild(optionElement); }); questionDiv.appendChild(questionLabel); questionDiv.appendChild(questionSelect); questionContainer.appendChild(questionDiv); }); }); document.getElementById('hideRecommendations').addEventListener('change', function (e) { const bodyTypeSelect = document.getElementById('bodyType'); if (e.target.checked) { bodyTypeSelect.setAttribute('disabled', true); } else { bodyTypeSelect.removeAttribute('disabled'); } }); 

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So this is so weird. I just turned 46 last month. Pretty decent suburban middle class like successful civil servant. Out of the blue I lost the urge to drink and it is scaring the hell out of me. It feels biological. Hear me out, let me try to explain this. I never have not had the urge to drink since I was a senior in high school. I spent most of my twenties and thirties checking all the boxes of alcoholism. Never went to rehab but probably should have gone at various points. Alcohol criminal history, an under age drinking, and 2 DUI’s. Went to a meeting once or twice. During all those times I still had the thirst to drink. Always “completed”my court ordered treatment. Slowed down when I was into running half-marathon’s. I was living a pretty active life style in my 30’s. Martial arts, running, gym, outdoor extreme sports. back the I didn’t need to drink but I wanted to, there was a thirst. Then covid happened and the drinking picked up. My life has become more happy but less active. Pretty much when to a seditary lifestyle. But not a total slug and not couch dwelling. I would say at my peak I was drinking 3 handles of vodka a week for about 4 years not too long ago. Notice the want turned into a need.
Out of the blue about 1-3 months ago. The need is gone. The want is gone. The thirst is gone. I wouldn’t say I’m depressed, life is good. My only problems are my knees and weight gain. And if gaining weight is my biggest problem well, I’m living a dam good life compared to past decades. Life isn’t great but it is best it has been in a long time. But it’s not like any of my underlying problems haas gone away. And I haven’t really replace my drinking with anything. The craving is gone. I literally lost the taste for it. I am afraid is my body breaking down? this how it ends? Or is this a waked up call? Or is it a simple twist of fate?

First / Previous
​
Suzanne thought it was absolutely brilliant of me to put books on a flash drive for Sun. She explained that Sun wasn’t as sophant (her word, not mine) as she might seem, more of a repository of information, but she was fairly intelligent. It was how she was able to connect Andrew being in pain to the fact that I was friends with Andrew, and that I would want to know that he was in trouble. Apparently some of Sun’s species had given some ‘wisdom’ to others in the past and it had made its way into mythology.
The key fact was that she was not smart enough to protect herself and her kind from the clever, organized poachers. With that information in mind, it was fascinating for me to think of how Sun took in and organized what she learned. It was almost as if she was a walking, talking library.
On the topic of tours, my first one went wonderfully, and I’m almost hoping Suzanne lets me do more of them. I know not all the tourists are going to be as awesome as these people were, but Suzanne gave me a lot of slack when it comes to dealing with them. She actually said that being a smartass is not grounds for dismissal, and that if I’m sarcastic or facetious to guests who are being ‘daft’ and they complain, she really doesn’t care. Is this the perfect job for me or what?
There were four guests in this party, two adults who were sisters and two children of one of the women, brothers aged thirteen and seventeen. The tour was a birthday gift for the older of the boys from his aunt, since apparently he was passionate about animal protection and conservation.
When they arrived at the front gate, I was sitting at Andrew’s desk, going over the booklet of information one last time. When the visitors pressed the button that sounded the alert buzzer, I tucked away in a drawer and let them in. I did have a cheat sheet with information about the animals on my phone just in case, a brief notation of each of them and which enclosure they were in, but I really didn’t need to use it.
Exiting through the front door, I saw them walk up the path toward me. “Hi, I’m Ripley,” I said, holding out a hand toward the woman closest to me.
She shook it firmly. “I’m Denise. This is my sister Carla and my nephews, Wesley and Jason,” she said, motioning to each of them in turn.
“I heard it’s your birthday,” I said to Wesley, giving him a smile. “You’re interested in animal conversation?”
“Back where we live, yeah,” he said, nodding. “The animals that you’ve got here are incredible. I can’t wait to see them.”
“Well, I can’t wait to show them to you,” I said. “Right this way.”
I led them on the path around the building, toward enclosure one. Despite the horrific memories of the animal killing Stanley’s friends, I knew it was just an animal, and I had to push past my feelings on what had happened. Keeping a small smile on my face, I motioned to the enclosure. “Fiercely territorial and amazing hunters, despite their large size, they’re arboreal and known to dart from tree to tree with barely a sound. This is one of only about two thousand left in existence.”
“Two thousand, three hundred and fifty six at last count,” spoke Wesley, his eyes on the trees.
I blinked, surprised and impressed. “Well that was fantastic. Do you plan on stealing my job when you graduate?”
Wesley looked at me with a grin. “Nah, everyone knows Suzanne only offers humans this gig. And I want to help animals like this one get off the endangered species list. The zoos are great for awareness and fundraising, but then the money has to go somewhere. I want to be doing the real work.”
“That’s really great,” I told him. “I wish you all the best in that career path.” At that, we saw the animal climb down from the tree, wandering a few yards from the tree line. This was because 90% of the time, when humans were at their enclosure and making noise, whether it was speaking to each other or calling out to the animal, it was someone bringing them prey to eat. Or, in my case, enrichment toys to play with.
“Whoa,” Wesley whispered.
“How close can we get?” spoke up Jason.
“The warding starts at the fence,” I told him with a small gesture. “So, just there.”
Both boys wandered closer and I glanced at their parents. It seemed that Suzanne’s zoo had a serious reputation for high quality invisible walls, because they didn’t look worried in the slightest about the boys being hurt or killed.
“They prefer dense forest as their home and have been known to make their nests in trees up to twenty meter in the air,” I continued. “And when hunting, they’ve been seen dropping eight meters straight down. They have incredibly dense yet flexible musculature, which allows them to tackle their prey without injuring themselves.”
There was more information about the animal that I continued to rattle off, though Wesley chimed in at certain points with the info I was about to convey. That was highly entertaining and very cool. When I’d been in school, I’d never met anyone who had my level of passion about endangered animals. I wondered if things were better where these folks came from, but realized that considering there were so few of these animals left, I guessed not.
The animal paced a little bit, seemingly waiting to see if we were the kind of humans that came bearing food, before deciding we weren’t and climbing back up into the trees as easily as I would climb some stairs.
As we moved onto enclosure two, Jason spoke up. “Are there any animals here we can touch or feed or something?”
I sighed inwardly before slowing to a stop. “Well, can you show me your hands?” Jason looked bemused, holding out his hands. “I mean…they both look like they’re in great shape. You can stand to lose one.”
The two women chuckled and Wesley smirked as Jason shoved his hands into his pockets. “Very funny.”
Grinning, I started walking again. “The animals here are all carnivores and all predators. You get to see them, but that’s it.”
“Alright.”
When we reached enclosure two, I started on my next spiel. “We’ve got three reanimated dead in this enclosure,” I spoke. They were just coming out from the trees as we arrived, presumably having heard our approach. “Marissa, Connor, and Bradley. They were donated by families who knew where they would be exhibited. Their next of kin, whoever they are, can’t stand the idea of putting them down. But we need to make sure they don’t have access to corpses, because one of them plus one corpse equals two of them.”
“They eat flesh though, don’t they?” Wesley asked.
I nodded. “Oh, yeah, but it’s from bodies that have already been dismembered. There’s no chance of them being affected by the transformation because it’s all parts.”
“Oh, got it.”
The creatures with blueish-white skin had superhuman strength, which is why they qualified for the security of Suzanne’s zoo. They also were likely the source of any Earth tales of people being brought back to life as zombies, specifically draugr, according to my research. They smelled like rotting flesh, so even as I kept talking about them and giving a background to the people they used to be, we were quick to move on once Wesley had gotten a good, long look at them.
“Enclosure four’s animal is a vampiric spirit. He’s a small, hairy humanoid creature with pointed ears. He wears a hat, and if he somehow loses it, he freaks out,” I said.
“They eat horses,” Wesley noted. “Also anything that gives them the chance to sit on it, usually catching them by surprise while they’re sleeping.”
The creature came out from the brush, giving us a suspicious look. He wasn’t in his humanoid form though; for some reason, he’d chosen to shapeshift to a dog.
I nodded. “Yep, indeed. Once the prey is dead, then he’ll eat it, and he has a voracious appetite. We have two wolves and two bears in the forest, which is one of the reasons I’ve got some self-defense items,” I said, patting my belt where my pepper spray (rated for bear) and my taser. “But the wards keep them out of this area of the zoo, so it’s really not much of a worry. It’s also a known shapeshifter, preferring the form of a dog, as you can see, as well as a cat, a snake, or even white butterflies, though the last one is rare.”
“The white butterflies are supposed to be a sign of good luck,” Wesley said, glancing to me. “Too bad we got the dog.”
“Yeah, otherwise you might be able to talk your mom into getting scratch-offs on your way home, huh?”
Wesley smirked at me.
The next enclosure was Spike, and he was waiting for us, dripping wet from having just emerged from the lake. I gave the introductory information about him, which included his propensity for eating animal eyes, nails, and teeth. “Recently, I’ve given him some enrichment activities, and I learned he likes artichokes, pecans, and hazelnuts,” I said, taking a bag out from my cargo shorts. “Wesley, do you want to toss this bag into the enclosure?”
The boy’s eyes widened and he nodded excitedly. He took a look into the paper bag before wrapping down the top to make sure nothing would fly out. Then he chucked it underhand past the fence. It landed a few yards from Spike, who waddled over to it quickly and tearing the bag open, spilling out the prizes inside. As the animal ate the pecans and hazelnuts, Wesley asked, “How’d you figure out he likes those?”
“It’s not all about taste,” I told him. “It’s mainly the difficulty of getting them out of the shells. He’s used to having to work for the parts of his prey he likes the most, so this mimics that activity, and he enjoys the process. I tried a bunch of different foods to find a few he liked.”
“Cool,” Wesley murmured, staring at him.
We watched Spike eat until he’d finished and then he went back into the woods, leaving us to move onto enclosure five. Japanese camellia were plentiful here, a type of pink flower, and that was because they grew anywhere near one of his species made their den. “This girl spends most of her time in the lake also,” I said, as the creature made its way toward the fence separating us from it. “But as you can see, she’s just as curious as the rest about what we’re doing here and whether we have food for her. She eats fish mostly, but she also regularly gets live prey.”
This creature was a spider-like monster, having six legs with long claws on each, and the head of an ox with two sharp horns. She was capable of shapeshifting to look like a human, but I guessed that she wasn’t fond of it, since I hadn’t yet seen her in that form.
“She prefers the easy way of catching prey, so to speak, by hiding in the lake and pouncing when something comes for a drink of water,” I explained. “Apparently humans are some of her favorite prey. She has an advantage of being able to spit poison, which often hits her prey in the eyes. But it’s usually used in defense rather than offense, since it secretes a limited amount.”
“What kind of animal would even go after something like this?” Jason asked, staring at her.
“Never discount one of its own species when you’re thinking about what might attack an animal,” I replied. “There are places that are breeding all of the animals here, but competition for mates is common. That means an advantage in a fight, like poison or venom, can make or break who the winner is.”
“Ah, gotcha.”
“It can’t spit past the warding, right?” Carla suddenly asked.
“Oh, no,” I assured her. “We’re fine. The wards wouldn’t let anything cross over.” She nodded, appeased.
The animal in enclosure six was the ginormous seal-hippo, Fiona, and she was looking at us as if she was imagining sprinkling us with herbs and spices and stuffing us in an oven. “This girl is one animal I’m going to work on enrichment activities for next,” I told them. “She prefers to feed on crayfish, though she’s happy to eat any humans that wander into her territory. She’ll even make a sound like a baby crying to reel us in. I’ve heard it a bunch of times.”
“Can you get her to make the sound?” Jason asked, perking up.
I grinned. “Not on command, sorry.”
“What enrichment are you thinking of trying?” Wesley asked.
“Possibly food placed in puzzle feeders,” I told him, “since she has claws that are pretty dexterous. Maybe a piñata made out of newspaper with flour inside, or a scarecrow that mimics a human.”
“Awesome,” he muttered.
After a little more educational tidbits, we moved onto Yui’s enclosure. “What is that?” Wesley asked, smiling.
“I got Yui the closest thing I could to a ping-pong ball,” I replied. “She quite likes it.”
“That’s so funny,” he said as she came out of the trees in her spider form. “I mean, the idea of her being a bloodthirsty hunter who seduces men to their deaths and eats them alive, but then on the other hand, she likes playing with something like this.”
“It is a little funny,” I agreed. “But when it comes down to it, all the animals here enjoy activities besides hunting.”
“She can shapeshift to look human, right?” asked Jason, trying to be casual about knowing something factual like his nerdy brother.
I nodded. “She looks like a woman from a region of Earth called Japan. And she’ll use strategies like holding out a hand to shake to get you closer. She tried that on me when I first got here but, as you can see,” I said, holding up my hands and waving them, “I didn’t fall for it.”
The boys both laughed as they got closer to the fence, watching her slowly pace near the trees.
Next was Sun, but she didn’t make an appearance as I spoke about her species. “Well…unfortunately we can’t guarantee that every animal comes out to say hi,” I sighed. “But…oh wait, here she is.”
The green lion with several horns and many eyes along her flank came out from the forest. “Hello,” she spoke.
“Hi, Sun,” I replied. “We have visitors.”
“What’s that?” Wesley asked suddenly, pointing at the small plastic bag that was still where I’d left it.
“Oh! That is Sun’s enrichment,” I said with a smile. “I put dozens of books on a flash drive and found that she can read them just like she’d read a shelf of books.”
Wesley’s eyes widened. “Wow. I don’t think I’ve read about anyone trying that before. That’s really cool.”
“The books are new and interesting,” Sun spoke, drawing our attention. “I’m grateful for them.”
I nodded to her. “You’re quite welcome.”
The next animal, unfortunately, wasn’t there, and we waited around for ten minutes as we discussed him. He was large and reptile-like with red eyes, with its hind legs and tail making him look vaguely like a kangaroo. Then, enclosure ten was a terrifyingly disturbing creature, the not-a-centaur with no skin, that I’d only seen a few times while walking my route. It gave a good demonstration of its ferocity, showing its sharp teeth and snapping at us a few times.
“I’m thinking of trying salt licks and other horse enrichment like a big bouncy ball,” I told Wesley, whose eyebrows went up at that. “Maybe give him more things to forage like scattered grains or a box filled with pinecones and seeds. Foraging is a huge part of a horse’s life in the wild, and humans have to do a lot of activities like that to keep pet horses busy. Of course, he also loves the little salt-water lake that was built for him.”
We spent some time looking at the animal before moving past our last stop, the empty enclosure of the animal was stolen. Carla glanced at me with a sad smile, knowing what had happened, it seemed. I gave her a nod as we continued on our way, walking into the office. “So, I hope everyone enjoyed themselves!” I said with a smile.
“That was the coolest birthday present I’ve ever gotten,” Wesley said, looking to Denise. “Thanks so much, seriously.”
“It was my pleasure,” she said with a nod. “I’d never been here before, and knew I’d find it fascinating. Thank you for the educational aspect,” Denise said, glancing at me. “I learned quite a lot.”
“Happy to hear it,” I said, returning the nod.
As I escorted the guests out of the zoo and locked the door behind them, I reflected on how much I’d changed. The first time I’d seen Yui’s tarantula form, I’d nearly passed out from fear. Now here I was, walking tourists around like it was no big deal. Humans really can adapt to anything, it seems.
That afternoon, Suzanne had texted me that she was coming by after my shift, and I met her in Andrew’s office, shutting the door to the security room behind me. “How’s Andrew?” I asked first thing.
“He’s doing well,” she said with a wide smile. “Back on non-hospital food. He’s allowed to order food on his phone, and to hear it from him, that’s the best news he’d received in a long time.”
I chuckled. “I guess some clichés are true for a reason.”
“Indeed.” She took a breath. “All right. Ripley…I would like to discuss something with you.”
My face went slack at the serious tone in her voice. “I’m not… Am I being fired?”
“What? No!” she exclaimed. Then she chuckled softly. “No, it’s nothing like that. Just, here, let’s have a seat.” Suzanne walked over to the couch and sat at one end, and I took the other. “There’s something I need to tell you. Something I’ve kept from you, that I wanted to keep from you until you found your sea legs here.”
“Well…I have,” I said with a nod. “So, what is it?”
Suzanne took a breath. “I knew your mother.”
The words hung in the air for a moment before making their way to my ears. It was a perfectly logical sentence, and yet it didn’t make any sense. “What?” I finally managed.
“When you graduated college, I decided to move the zoo from Italy to within driving distance of your home,” she said softly. “Near enough to your town that you’d see the advert. We ignored any other applicants and I hoped you’d apply. Actually, I expected you’d apply. Not just for the money, but considering the field you wanted to go into. As soon as I’d found out your major, I knew.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” I said, holding up a hand. I pinched the bridge of my nose. “How do you know Patricia?”
“She owned the zoo before I did,” Susan explained. “Fourteen years ago…she was working to track an injured animal that we could bring into the zoo and she was killed by poachers.”
My heart calcified in my chest and a lump lodged in my throat. As my breaths became shaky, I stared at her in shock. “She…she’s really dead?”
“You suspected?” she asked softly.
“It…” I swallowed hard. “We had her declared legally dead after…I don’t know, seven years I think. My dad wanted to go after her for child support, but the police said…they said they couldn’t find…” Tears came to my eyes and I blinked them back before I met Suzanne’s gaze. “She owned the zoo?”
Suzanne nodded. “It was her baby, you’d say. When Patricia passed, I inherited it, which we’d discussed beforehand, a legal just-in-case that I never expected her to need. I’m under the impression that you were told she went to Africa for her photography career, but she was in fact going to remote areas back in my home world almost every time.”
“But I-I saw the photos,” I said, my eyes narrowing. “You’re telling me she put on a show of getting pictures that someone else took for us to see every time she visited? Did my dad even know?”
“I suppose that’s an accurate way to put it, putting on a show. And no, your father was never told. It’s not the way of things to tell humans unless it’s necessary. I won’t bore you with the details, but us and humans, we’re distant relatives, so we can still have children. But it wasn’t planned. Your mother fell in love with your father despite herself; she hadn’t meant to find love. Then she became pregnant with you and…well, the rest is history.”
“I think she had a different definition of love than the one I have,” I said tightly. “You’d think she’d have put her survival as more of a priority. Put being with the man she ‘loved’ as a priority. Her kids needed her. I needed her. She signed up when she became a mom. She could’ve screwed up all the time but she couldn’t even manage that one job: be there. When I was in the hospital, I kept thinking, ‘Where is she?’ and now you’re telling me that she put these animals above being there for her kids, and this whole time she’s been dead.”
“The hospital?” she asked, furrowing her brows.
“Never mind,” I said tersely, averting my gaze.
Suzanne hesitated before she nodded slowly. “I’m sorry for your loss, and not just for her death, Ripley,” she told me. “Patricia was…well, a ‘free spirit’ would be putting it gently. She always assumed the world would be there for her whenever she needed it.”
Staring at her for a long moment, I shook my head. “Why? Why come here and hire me?”
“I thought that would be obvious,” she said, smiling. “Your mother was so passionate about this place and once I found out your college major, I figured you would be as well.”
“Did you know that I hate her?” At that, Suzanne’s expression froze on the edge of shock. “She…she left us,” I whispered. “Didn’t tell us who she was or what she really did for a living and gave us no closure. And even when she was here, it was just visiting. Her real home was her work. She could give me all the presents she wanted, but even when she was here, half the time she was still on her computer doing work. It’s not like that stereotype of never making it to my tennis practice or something; it’s that it always felt like she was only partially here, even when I was sitting next to her. I don’t even know if I appreciate her turning me into a wildlife fanatic because it…it…makes me feel like I’m close to her in a way that’s just infuriating. She loved the animals more than she loved us.”
“Oh, Ripley-”
“Don’t,” I said, shoving myself to my feet. “Don’t try to convince me otherwise.”
“I wasn’t going to,” she said quietly. I pursed my lips. “I was going to say that I’m sorry that was the case. Your mother was…flawed, just like any other person. She had two loves in this world: her family and her work. And often, her work overcame her, her zeal for environmentalism getting in the way of being a good mum. She left your father trying to fill the role of two parents, holding your family together. You and your brother and your father, you all deserved better than that.”
My lower lip quivered but I bit down on it hard. It would’ve been a lot easier for me if she’d been speaking from a place of clueless reassurance about all this. But everything she said was making sense and that meant I didn’t have someone in front of me to be angry with.
“Why didn’t you tell me when Andrew hired me?” I sighed, sitting back down on the couch.
“Well, like I said, I wanted you to find your sea legs,” she said with a small smile. “I didn’t want the truth affecting whether or not you wanted to work here, whether you wanted to stay here after finding out about what the animals are. It would’ve complicated things, the emotions you’ll have to work through now that you know the truth. Whether or not you decide to give another tour, you also know what they’re like. That’s the benchmark I wanted you to reach before you found out about who you are.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Who I-” My face went slack. “Wait.”
Suzanne nodded slowly. “You’re only half human. Your brother too.”
The room seemed to tilt on an axis for a moment. “That means I’m also half…what?”
“We call ourselves Eldritch, these days,” she replied.
My eyes bugged out. “What?” I exclaimed. “So you’re all, like, gods or something?”
Suzanne burst out laughing. “Oh no, goodness, no,” she chuckled. “It’s just a word. We live in a very different world from this one, and a few generations ago we discovered the word and it made its way into our lexicon. But it does mean you can see all the animals. Indeed you did, on the tour you gave.”
“Wait, no, I had the glasses that…” I stopped. “Did those glasses do anything?”
She gave a sly smile and shook her head. “Not a thing. You made incredibly quick progress, and then when it came time for the tour, all you needed was to expect to see the animals, and you did.”
Genetics. That’s what Andrew had said during our interview, that part of how many animals you could see was determined by genetics. I guess having a mother who was originally from the other dimension gave me all the genes I needed to see everything here. “Could I…visit your world?” I asked tentatively. “You said that my mom took photos of the animals there. Could I…” My voice trailed off, not even sure if or how I wanted to finish that sentence.
“Those who are half human, especially those who are raised on Earth, don’t come visit,” she said gently. “I could show you some photos of other animals, and I could loan you as many books as you’d like, but it’s simply not a place where you’d be safe.”
“Oh,” I said, leaning into the couch cushion as I pictured the animals in the zoo. “Yeah, actually that…makes sense.” I paused. “So, what now?”
“It’s up to you,” she said. “I wanted to wait until I was sure you were comfortable with your position here, and then put the ball in your court. And so it is. What do you want to do now?”
What did I want to do? It wasn’t that difficult a question, just a deep, serious one.
I wanted to thrive, as the animals did. This is my enrichment now, working at an incredible, wonderful, terrifying zoo. The experience so far hasn’t been perfect, and I know there are risks, but life isn’t about staying safe. It’s about learning new things and making a difference in the world. And, if you’re lucky, having a job that’s something really special.
​
THE END
​
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I had sold my off-white UNCs on the eBay app last week and shipped it out for Authentication. The shoes were shipped out complete with the original box, laces, and even the receipt for it…I get a message a few days later saying eBay received it at their authentication center and it had failed inspection due to a missing box lid…This bothers me so much because this is a HIGH value pair of sneakers and every piece of it adds to the over all value..Called ebay and i said wtf happened to the lid.. and they tell me they received it that way?.. Makes no sense, right? Just as confused as everyone else. Trust me.. they told me to wait for the shoes to come back and we’d speak about a partial reimbursement. Got them in today with of course the lid missing.. They ended up reimbursing me only $50.. This is really sad because they completed made me miss out on a great sale and I really needed the money too..Then they have the nerve to tell me I sent it without the lid? I am so confused…It just makes no sense. Someone has to have either stolen the lid to the box or just flat out lost it and didn’t wanna take responsibility for it. Smh. I’ve sold on their platform for over a decade and for the first time: they REALLY let me down. Does anyone have any other idea what Could have happened? I KNOW for a fact that I shipped it out complete with the lid and everything, well packaged too with plenty of bubble wrap. They didn’t even say the shipping box was damaged or broken… I’m just so utterly disappointed in eBay Authenticity fr

I put Clairol semi permanent 8 medium blonde over my brown and grey hair. I kinda thought it might make the greys take on a gold hue, but the dark brown would be too brown to change.
It's lightened my brown hair though. I had only used box browns previously, there was no bleach history in the hair. I'm trying to grow my grey out. So I don't want to dye over it, but I now have a brassy golden brown thing going on. It's been a few months. Will a dye remover return the browns to dark brown? Or do I need to ... what can I do? I have 3-4 inches of grey growth that I don't want to lose, but don't want another couple years of the brassy colour.

going to keep vague as possible, as i don’t want people getting mad for sharing my opinion lol. probably going to be long my apologies.
so basically my sisters pregnant again. which isn’t necessarily bad but i don’t think it’s the best idea. at the end of the day it’s not my life she’s an adult and can make her own choices so i don’t really care what she does. i’m just very wary on how kids grow up (i came from a great family, but my parents weren’t very emotionally available it was more financially more on that later) im not going around being like get rid of it to her and i get kids are a touchy subject. she’s my sister and i love her, of course im willing to help and all that i just feel like she’s doing stuff she doesn’t have to be if that makes sense.
one of my other siblings got mad at me the other day when we were talking abt our sisters situation and i gave my opinion to them again. i was told i should keep my opinion to myself and just be happy for them.
i just don’t think financially and mentally it’s the best for them or the kids but this is my opinion that i shared privately with parents and other siblings not involved. she’s got a kid already, and her situation has improved since having her first child (very proud of her for being better for her kid) but not to the point where i think it’s smart to have more. love that she’s in a place where she thinks it’ll be great and i love that she’s found someone and all that truly am so happy for her. i just feel she’s so rushing when waiting would be such a better choice. but here’s why i think waiting would be better.
her and her partner maybe make 100k together which by all means is not bad at all. her partner makes most of it, so another kid means either she stays home full time and partner works more or they both work and pay for childcare which makes no sense with the price of that these days. they do have debt. along with the fact that they have a roommate (i think the roommate is more dependant on them then they are on the roommate but still). the roommate makes it literally 10x worse. their house is AWFUL it’s full of pets and the three adults in the house do not do laundry and the roommate keeps bringing in more animals. unfortunately from what i’ve heard they also don’t take the best care of the animals, i’ve heard they have cats and they rarely empty the litter boxes. leading to overflowing boxes. dishes pile up and all that (i personally have not seen the house in person as im a neat freak but i’ve seen it in the background on facetime and the like). that scares me as my current nephew/niece is a toddler and could easily ingest something they shouldn’t.
they also haven’t really left the party stage, again it’s gotten better. but any chance for a festival or concert and u bet they’re going (not knocking them for having fun but priorities) and it’s not like they live super close to help (family) so they either have to get a sitter as the roommate will go with them or (this has happened A LOT used to happen more but still) a post will go up asking if anyone on their socials will be able to take care of my nephew/niece for the day/night. which of course it’s not like they’d have a stranger watch the kid but that just feels so irresponsible to me. i get spending the money ahead of time and maybe plans changing w the babysitter or whatever but still. UR ASKING SOCIAL MEDIA TO WATCH UR KID. gotta do what u gotta do i guess but again for a concert? really. along with the parties comes drugs which scares me as our family has bad history with it. and so does she, she has a history of addiction so i don’t think her still doing that is good even if she’s dialled it back.
don’t get me wrong i know my sister loves her kid and would do everything she could to give them the world and keep them safe. i just can’t stop thinking about, as she stated to me “i love them but baby name wasn’t as worth it as i thought it’d be”. drunk off her rocker less than 5 months ago(child was home with family).
again im not saying any of this to her, this is just conversation between family that still lives at home and everytime we talk about her situation none of them really care. a lot of this is in my head stuff. im just worried for my nieces and nephews. as i know how much childhood stuff can affect kids myself.
going back to me again i grew up in honestly a great house. my parents weren’t perfect but they tried. my dads high functioning autistic and would work ALL THE TIME so we grew up pretty much with a single mom (they didn’t divorce just always working) who drank at least 2-3 bottles of wine a week. she did everything she could and protected us and all that but she had 3 kids each 2 years apart that’s a lot to deal with alone (we also moved a lot which didn’t help her). so she wasn’t the most calm or patient taking care of 3 infants by herself. our house was lovely but again three kids so not the cleanest most of the time etc etc etc. again i love my parents i know they did the absolute best they could and they love and care for us all deeply but it effected all of us. i have countless stories of me going to the top of the stairs during arguments and stuff like that (my dads not abusive but they’d yell a lot especially as kids to us and each other) i know we all have trauma (even if one doesn’t wanna admit it lol) and we should all probably be in therapy (tried bringing that up and was told “no need for outsider perspectives”).
a lot of stuff happened to us that messed with us and it seems my sisters repeating the cycle which just makes me sad. i know there no perfect time to have kids and i love that she’s doing better now that she’s got one, but just seeing them struggle as much already with the one they have and then making more seems so silly to me. don’t get me wrong i think the first kid was a great idea. yes they’re struggling but they can make due with the one. physically, i don’t think they can do more than the one they’ve got. cause as great of a job as they’re doing with it (they do try, like it’s clear my niece/ nephew is loved by their parents) but everyone has limits right and again the energy for just the one is a lot for them. not even to mention financials. again not my circus not my monkeys it’s not like it really effects me so i don’t care that much. im not losing sleep over it yk. it just saddens me to see all the struggle that could have been avoided on the parent side (my sister) and the kids. had they just taken another year or two let my nephew/niece get a bit older and them gain more parenting experience, get a house by themselves instead of renting with the roommate, grow up a little chore wise and maybe even pay the debt off so they can focus on the kids.
again im not saying any of this to her just sharing with others in the family as they’re also talking about all of her other struggles. i wasn’t saying i won’t be there to help or anything like that. just threw me off that me saying “do they really think having the seconds the best decision right now?” was taken like that by my family and i wanted to see what others think. i know their kids will be loved but it takes more than that to raise a kid, im just worried that everyone involved is not going to have the best shot because its rushed.
AITHA for thinking waiting woulda been smarter for both the adults and kids in this situation and voicing that opinion in a private setting?

We haven’t had a lot of reddit money diaries lately and I was curious about how much I spent on her in the first 6 months, so I did this to tally up! I’ve done MD before so I’m just going to do a very quick summary here: I have a masters degree, in workforce last 2 years, I was making $100,000 til a layoff in late April. I have roughly $12k in retirement, $16k in checking, and $27k in savings. No debt. I adopted Cordelia 11/11/2023 and the bulk of expenses, though not all of them, are split with my sisteroommate. If not otherwise noted, assume the total was split 50/50 between us. In the interest of tracking full costs, I will only be noting the totals.
Upfront Costs/Adoption Story
I came in knowing I wanted an adult cat and that special needs wasn’t a dealbreaker, and it was truly love at first sight when I met Cordelia (nee Socks). She was 6 years old and recently re-surrendered to the shelter after her owner, an elderly Eastern European woman, moved back to her home country. She had a rough backstory, grew up in a hoarder home and was found and brought to the shelter when the home caught fire and firefighters found literally over a hundred cats in cages. In addition to being less appealing to potential adopters because of age, she was suffering from dandruff mostly due to being overweight and was/is on a prescription diet for proteinuria. Nevertheless, she is a gentle, loving, total couch potato of a cat who adores being brushed and touched by humans.
The shelter is pay what you wish, and I made a $100 donation to the shelter (not split). Additionally, I had no cat supplies, so before I brought her home I went to my local pet store. I had a $100 gift card that I won in a raffle to benefit a pitbull rescue, but still paid $44.99 out of pocket for a haul that included a litter box, 20 lb bag of litter, a cat condo (that she never even touched, naturally), Litter Genie, and a bag of Litter Genie refills. I did not need to pay for a carrier at this point because the shelter provided one.
Category Total: $144.99
Pet Insurance
$25/month, through Healthy Paws, not much to say.
Category Total: $150
Toys and Accessories
Other than the cat condo previously noted, I spent $51 at PetSmart (not split) on a harness and some random toys. As usual, she does not like any of these toys and only wants to play with my dirty socks. This purchase also included a slicker brush because she loves the brushie. For $2 at TJ Maxx I got her a scratch pad that she loved and scratched to death and I replaced for another $2 later on. At one point she scratched my doorframe so I got a scratching post with a built-in brush at the base and also got more Litter Genie bags for a $50 pet store visit. In January I returned to the pet store yet again and bought a water fountain for $30, which was another dud. Last month I bought her a set of raised food/water bowls for $20 and pleased to say they actually increased her water intake! I also bought a Furminator for $20 as the season change has made her quite scrunkly. Finally, I’ve spent $110 on alternative carriers because the one from the shelter is pretty awkward and heavy. I got a backpack carrier for vet visits and today I ordered a rolling carrier to try and bring her on public transit to my parents’ house.
This total does not include things my parents bought for their grandkitty, such as a cat bed that looks like a present box, or random small toys that I paid for in cash. This stuff is also not split because it was all me being silly and extra.
Category Total: $258
Food
This is also sort of a recurring cost, but as I mentioned, she is on prescription urinary food. Though maybe not for much longer because she had a bladder test Friday! Every 48 days, I pay $122 for two 24 packs of her wet food. She eats a can a day and also gets a tiny bit of prescription dry food so she doesn’t spend all night bugging me. The shelter did send me home with what they had of her prescription. The total spent on her food thus far is slightly higher than the recurring cost because I had to replace the dry food once.
Category Total: $545
Vet Visits
As part of her pet insurance coverage, I needed to bring her in for a comprehensive physical exam within 30 days of adoption. I brought her to a local vet and paid $217 for a physical exam. The vet found that she had ear mites, presumably from the shelter environment, so this total includes an ear cleaning and preventative mite treatment. This also includes a fecal analysis. Two weeks later, we decided to get Cordelia microchipped, which was $295 including the actual procedure and the registration fee with Pettrac.
This past Friday, Cordelia had another vet visit. This was primarily because she’s due for a rabies vaccine in May, but we also opted to do her annual physical so both those appointments would be on the same schedule and she won’t need to go in every 6 months for routine stuff. The total here was $346, of which $125 was the urinalysis. In addition to the urinalysis, physical, and rabies shot, I also got her a gabapentin prescription to hopefully avoid peeing/pooping/vomiting on car rides.
Category Total: $858
Grand Total: $1955.99
Reflections
Sorry not sorry for being a crazy cat lady. I have some photos in my post history of Cordelia, she truly lights up my life and my/my sister’s apartment. There’s a new coziness and warmth that wasn’t there before she came home. As I type this MD, she’s next to me on my bed making biscuits. Also, she's down nearly 1.5 lbs since I brought her home! She still has a bit to go to get to a healthy weight but she's noticeably improved at grooming herself.
tax

Hello. Me again. Figured I’d try this out again and find some cool people to chat with. Please don’t message me weird NSFW stuff.
I’m a 38F from BC, Canada. Work in healthcare. I think about death a lot. I’m pretty lonely and have faced a lot of losses and personal hardship lately. My best friend of 26 years recently ditched me. It’s a long story.
I’m a photographer as a hobby. I primarily work in film using vintage cameras I find at the thrift store or in free boxes at peoples yard sales. I do a lot of my work with intentionally aged or expired film. I’m working on a photo book currently. I’m also interested in analog video equipment and spend a lot of time digitizing old home movies for people. I used to and sometimes do still shoot concerts for various bands. Primarily I’d worked shooting for heavy metal bands.
I like thrift stores, collecting antiques, making clothing, and I bake my own bread. I listen to lots of different music but recently have been listening to Lord Huron, Rasputina, Murder by Death, and 16 Horsepower. I’m way into antique dolls.
I’m really into film and history. I’d like to chat here first and then maybe switch someplace else or send physical mail.
Again, please don’t send me weird NSFW content. It’s really creepy.
Here is me, if it matters