Restaurant OpeningScott looked around the restaurant and was satisfied. He had finally fulfilled his dream of owning his own restaurant. He had been a successful chef in large cities, but came back home to a large size town in central Illinois to be close to family and to open his own place. It was finally coming true. It was an American Bistro theme with a changing menu. He hoped the town would support it.He was 40 years old, divorced for 7 years and had no kids. At 6'1, he was tall, but weighed a very slight 160 pounds.He worked hard and found it even harder to find a woman who would stand by him. His ex wife was gone and he hadn't seen her in years. Opening night was two days away, he had a decent staff and had spent all his money on the remodel and marketing.There was buzz around town as it was a different approach to food then the locals were used to . He had to wait 48 hours to find out what might happen.Sara, Scott's ex wife was back in town after 5 years, she looked outside of her small office at the rain pouring down outside. It was mid August, so the Midwest humidity was in the air.She turned back around to look at her desk and the pile of suggestions she had to go through. She was 36 years old and single. Sheworked as a community service and outreach librarian in the small town library. Part of her job was to go over requests for new materialsand she had put off the large pile now in front of her. She picked up a few suggestions and started to read them. She had been born in the town andonly left to go to college.She passed by the small mirror on her wall that was at an angle and showed if anyone was coming around the blind corner. The mirror showed that she was5'1", and had 150 pounds of very thick muscle on her body. She wore a long skirt that hid her massive thighs, a sleeveless top showed off her huge arms thatwere bigger than almost all men's. She turned back to her desk and took a drink of water from her water bottle. Her thick neck muscles flexed as she swallowed3 long gulps. A large black fitness tracker was wrapped around her large forearm. Her short dark hair was tied in a 3 inch ponytail off the middle of the back of her head.She put the suggestions down and sat down at her desk. She was scheduled to have a blind date that night right after work. Her friends had set up a series of blind dates for her.She could see the si restaurant down the block where she'd go to meet the first date, a lawyer from across town.. She was pretty confident, but still a bit shy and reserved. An odd combination just like being a librarian and a bodybuilder.She felt happy, but there was still that missing piece....sharing life, sharing goals, sharing moments with someone. She hadn't had a serious relationship in 4 years and was hopingone of these blind dates would work out.As the hours ticked by, it was nearly 5 o'clock. She was meeting her date at 530. Her palms were getting sweaty. Nervous and anxious. She took some deep breaths, the humid air in the library didn't help. Four fifty seven. She didn't have the man's number but she could text her friend and bail."You'll never know," her inner voice told her. She sighed as the clock hit five o'clock. She collected her things and locked her office. She said goodbye to her co-workers and put her things in her car and walked to the restaurant for her blind date.Scott was running around the restaurant, managing the staff and ready to unlock the door at 5pm.There were a few people outside, but not a large crowd. He welcomed the first few guests then retreated to the kitchen to get ready for orders. Three couples were seated first by the hostess, then a tall, thin man in a suit was alone, waiting. The hostess asked him if he wanted a table for one, "no, I'm actually waiting for a blind date" he said. "Well, I can see you anyway" the hostess smiled. Matt agreed. Scott nervously checks in on the kitchen staff and finds all in order and ready for orders. Scott then walks back out to the front to chat and greet customers. He stops by one table with a cute young couple looking over the menu. He is excited for the big night and smiling ear to ear.He walks to the front and sees a tall handsome man in a suit anxiously standing alone. He thanks the man for coming to his restaurant opening. The well dressed man tells Scott he is waiting for date tonight, and he was nervous because its a blind date. Scott could see how nervous the man was, about his age, probably the first date after a divorce he figured. He was very thin too."Well, dessert is on me" Scott said as he went to the next table. There was a steady crowd, but not crazy.He wasn't sure what to expect, but was glad people were at least showing up.Scott is still nervous, but a bit more relaxed now. He glances over at the tall man waiting for his blind date to arrive. He can’t help but wonder about the guy, after all, he sees a bit of himself in this man as he assumes he is divorced like he is, a similar physical build and he is nervous to be on a date. Scott feels a bit of jealousy as he has not been on a serious date with a woman in a while and hasn’t been intimate with a woman for quite some time. His mind wonders for a second and he wonders what kind of woman will walk through the door as this guy’s blind date?
As Sara walks up to the restaurant door, she notices a tall, handsome, thin man dressed in a suit nervously standing and appears to be alone. Is this her blind date? She quickly thinks of her ex as they are the same age, height and build. The thought quickly goes away and she nervously puts her right hand on the door and slowly opens it and steps through the doorway.The man is now at a table and Sara waits in line to be seated.
There is only one hostess working, so she has to wait. She starts to rethink what she's wearing, was the choice of a sleeveless top too much, will her date freak out over her arms?
It's happened before. She was doing this date as a favor to a co-worker who lived next to her date.
She was finally the next to be seated. The hostess brought her over to a two top table, it was the man she saw from outside. Tall, very thin and handsome. He was dressed in a full suit.
"Sara?" he asked. "Yes, Matt?" she asked.
Matt stood to push her chair in for her. He towered a foot taller than her, but felt weak when he saw her huge arms. She was very cute for sure and he was hoping she wasn't dismissing him right away.

I'm in the market for a new car and am trying to figure out which might be the best from the below options for me. I would like a car that requires less maintenance, isn't known to have a lot of issues, does good on gas mileage (20/22+ city/hwy) or is a solid EV with a heat pump (I'm in Indiana), gives the best bang for your buck without breaking the bank, is somewhat aggressive looking, and is comfortable seating 5 or more.
For used vehicles I'd go no higher than 20k miles. I wouldn't mind if general maintenance like oil changes are more expensive than normal ($20-40) as long as they arent as often. Ive heard BMW's only need oil changes once or twice a year. My max price range is $40-50k.
Options: '24 Toyota - Sequoia '20-'24 Lexus - Mid/large SUVs '20-'24 Honda or Acura - Mid/large SUVs '20-'24 Nissan or Infiniti - Mid/Large SUVs '20-'24 BMW - X4, X6 (open to SUV/Crossover suggestions) '20-'24 Audi - Crossovers Cadillac - X6 Tesla - Y (new or used) X (new, probably not used)
I'm leaning toward Toyota, Lexus, Tesla and BMW.

Restaurant Opening
Scott looked around the restaurant and was satisfied. He had finally fulfilled his dream of owning his own restaurant. He had been a successful chef in large cities, but came back home to a large size town in central Illinois to be close to family and to open his own place. It was finally coming true. It was an American Bistro theme with a changing menu. He hoped the town would support it.He was 40 years old, divorced for 7 years and had no kids. At 6'1, he was tall, but weighed a very slight 160 pounds.He worked hard and found it even harder to find a woman who would stand by him. His ex wife was gone and he hadn't seen her in years. Opening night was two days away, he had a decent staff and had spent all his money on the remodel and marketing.There was buzz around town as it was a different approach to food then the locals were used to . He had to wait 48 hours to find out what might happen.Sara, Scott's ex wife was back in town after 5 years, she looked outside of her small office at the rain pouring down outside. It was mid August, so the Midwest humidity was in the air.She turned back around to look at her desk and the pile of suggestions she had to go through. She was 36 years old and single. Sheworked as a community service and outreach librarian in the small town library. Part of her job was to go over requests for new materialsand she had put off the large pile now in front of her. She picked up a few suggestions and started to read them. She had been born in the town andonly left to go to college.She passed by the small mirror on her wall that was at an angle and showed if anyone was coming around the blind corner. The mirror showed that she was5'1", and had 150 pounds of very thick muscle on her body. She wore a long skirt that hid her massive thighs, a sleeveless top showed off her huge arms thatwere bigger than almost all men's. She turned back to her desk and took a drink of water from her water bottle. Her thick neck muscles flexed as she swallowed3 long gulps. A large black fitness tracker was wrapped around her large forearm. Her short dark hair was tied in a 3 inch ponytail off the middle of the back of her head.She put the suggestions down and sat down at her desk. She was scheduled to have a blind date that night right after work. Her friends had set up a series of blind dates for her.She could see the si restaurant down the block where she'd go to meet the first date, a lawyer from across town.. She was pretty confident, but still a bit shy and reserved. An odd combination just like being a librarian and a bodybuilder.She felt happy, but there was still that missing piece....sharing life, sharing goals, sharing moments with someone. She hadn't had a serious relationship in 4 years and was hopingone of these blind dates would work out.As the hours ticked by, it was nearly 5 o'clock. She was meeting her date at 530. Her palms were getting sweaty. Nervous and anxious. She took some deep breaths, the humid air in the library didn't help. Four fifty seven. She didn't have the man's number but she could text her friend and bail."You'll never know," her inner voice told her. She sighed as the clock hit five o'clock. She collected her things and locked her office. She said goodbye to her co-workers and put her things in her car and walked to the restaurant for her blind date.Scott was running around the restaurant, managing the staff and ready to unlock the door at 5pm.There were a few people outside, but not a large crowd. He welcomed the first few guests then retreated to the kitchen to get ready for orders. Three couples were seated first by the hostess, then a tall, thin man in a suit was alone, waiting. The hostess asked him if he wanted a table for one, "no, I'm actually waiting for a blind date" he said. "Well, I can see you anyway" the hostess smiled. Matt agreed. Scott nervously checks in on the kitchen staff and finds all in order and ready for orders. Scott then walks back out to the front to chat and greet customers. He stops by one table with a cute young couple looking over the menu. He is excited for the big night and smiling ear to ear.He walks to the front and sees a tall handsome man in a suit anxiously standing alone. He thanks the man for coming to his restaurant opening. The well dressed man tells Scott he is waiting for date tonight, and he was nervous because its a blind date. Scott could see how nervous the man was, about his age, probably the first date after a divorce he figured. He was very thin too."Well, dessert is on me" Scott said as he went to the next table. There was a steady crowd, but not crazy.He wasn't sure what to expect, but was glad people were at least showing up.Scott is still nervous, but a bit more relaxed now. He glances over at the tall man waiting for his blind date to arrive. He can’t help but wonder about the guy, after all, he sees a bit of himself in this man as he assumes he is divorced like he is, a similar physical build and he is nervous to be on a date. Scott feels a bit of jealousy as he has not been on a serious date with a woman in a while and hasn’t been intimate with a woman for quite some time. His mind wonders for a second and he wonders what kind of woman will walk through the door as this guy’s blind date?
As Sara walks up to the restaurant door, she notices a tall, handsome, thin man dressed in a suit nervously standing and appears to be alone. Is this her blind date? She quickly thinks of her ex as they are the same age, height and build. The thought quickly goes away and she nervously puts her right hand on the door and slowly opens it and steps through the doorway.The man is now at a table and Sara waits in line to be seated.
There is only one hostess working, so she has to wait. She starts to rethink what she's wearing, was the choice of a sleeveless top too much, will her date freak out over her arms?
It's happened before. She was doing this date as a favor to a co-worker who lived next to her date.
She was finally the next to be seated. The hostess brought her over to a two top table, it was the man she saw from outside. Tall, very thin and handsome. He was dressed in a full suit.
"Sara?" he asked. "Yes, Matt?" she asked.
Matt stood to push her chair in for her. He towered a foot taller than her, but felt weak when he saw her huge arms. She was very cute for sure and he was hoping she wasn't dismissing him right away.

Hi all,
Hope the first time post is ok.
Can anyone recommend a car that has helped at all for their Fibromyalgia?
My partner who sits in the front passenger seat suffers with Fibro and longer journeys are currently becoming tough in our small car so looking to find a new car that would better suit her needs as a passenger.
Looking through various forums it all seems to be for drivers rather than passengers from what I’ve found.
Any recommendations truly appreciated as she was dreading our most recent journey :(

I am a tipper, but not ALWAYS...
There's a general rule of thumb I follow... and *GASPS* it is very self serving.
First of all, I tip at the traditional restaurants and service places based on the experience I get. If the staff was friendly, did they add to my experience etc. I never penalize the server for a kitchen mistake, in contrast, a positive rectification of a mistake, generally receives big tips.
Ok, so my rule:
I tip, if I want better service for NEXT time I visit the establishment. If I go to a place, where I know I can expect better service because they recognize me as a generous tipper, I tip. VERY generously. If I don't plan or ever going back, or if I don't expect any increase in service next time I go, then I won't tip.
Example of a good tip: at my nail salon, I tip $40-$50 each time on $90 nail appointment. And thus whenever I make last minute appointments, I always get in, and all the staff are super friendly to me. Same with my favorite bar, I never wait in line, always get my favorite area of seating and all the staff come greet us when we walk in. Even at my morning Starbucks, they see my car pull up and without going to the counter, they've already started making my order, and my child always get a surprise treat, and of course puppy-cino. I put a $10 in the tip jar everytime and I am also always super friendly and happy. I believe that it is probably cyclical as well, they are happy to see me, I in turn, happy to see them, so I have a great experience, and then inclined to continue tipping....
I don't tip at McDonald's, random Sandwich shops,.. places that I don't care to be recognized, or I know they won't be able to add to my experience at the shop.
As this is composed, I wonder what started first, the good tipping or a friendly staff that made me want to tip and continue the experience? Possibly situational? For example, if I went to that same Starbucks and had a grumpy server, would I have tipped the $10 that precipitated to continuous good tip? If there was a staff turn over, and they stopped treating me the way they do, would I stop? Probably....

Part 1 // Part 2
I paced my bedroom floor wondering what I should do next. I’d already placed the leg back in the gun safe, then searched the entirety of my house looking for something Christian to place on top of it. It seemed to work in the movies and I didn’t really have any idea what else to do. I couldn’t find any religious paraphernalia of any kind, so I ended up fashioning a small crucifix out of two large carrots and hot glue with a little Jesus made out of raisins.
I needed a plan! I was thinking about who might know more information about the artifact I’d come into possession of, then it hit me – all of my competitors!
Surely not all of them were fakes like me!
One by one, I called them up and set up meetings for that afternoon – staggered appointments of course.
The first one to show up was a woman named Destiny. I sent her home immediately after she tracked dog shit into my house from the bottom of her shoes. I will not work with someone who is not only rude but completely oblivious.
The second one was a guy named Tiger, which I thought was a badass name and he was a pretty cool guy. Too bad he failed every test I threw at him. I sent him home, but kept his number in case I wanted to try to connect with him sometime to hangout.
The third psychic was a total nutcase named Psycho Jimmy. I’m honestly not even sure if he was a medium or if google search just lumped the words ‘Psychic’ and ‘Psycho’ into the same page due to a lack of results.
He didn’t say a word to me the entire time. He came into my house, drank a glass of water, walked a lap around the living room, stared directly into my eyes, unblinking, for a solid thirty seconds, then simply left. Total fucking psycho indeed. And yes, I did upgrade my security system shortly after meeting him.
Out of options I reluctantly called Destiny back, even if she did smell like dog poop.
To my surprise, she didn’t smell like shit when she showed back up to my house. She explained to me that it wasn’t her that smelled but it was, in fact, the ghost of her dead dog, Hercules, that followed her around. She further explained that last winter, her dog passed away peacefully in his sleep. She was distraught, but thought it would be in bad taste to leave a dead dog lying on her living room floor, so she loaded the carcass up into a cardboard box along with his favorite blanket and a few toys. Then she sealed the top of the box with packing tape so animals couldn’t get in, and left the box out on her front porch where the cold December weather would keep him fresh for a day until she could gather herself long enough to make arrangements.
Porch pirates showed up not an hour later and stole the box off of her porch thinking they just scored a nice heavy Amazon delivery. I can’t imagine how they must have felt to open it up and find a dead dog.
Now Hercules walks the Earth as a ghost, unable to rest until he has his revenge against those that stole his bones away from his loving mother.
“Uh, okay, that’s…” I had no idea what to say in response to hearing such an insane story, “Well, can you have Hercules stay outside please?”
“Yeah, no problem,” She replied before bending at the waist to pet an invisible dog and whisper loving comments into its ears before following me into my kitchen.
“So how do I know you’re legit?” Was the first question I asked her when we were both seated at the table.
“Because I can see the ghost that is standing in your bedroom door,” She replied calmly.
I spun around in my chair towards my bedroom door just in time to watch it violently slam itself shut.
“You’re hired!”
I re-capped the entire situation to Destiny, who asked to see the leg.
She recoiled as soon as I placed it on the table in front of her, “You didn’t tell me it’s upholstered in human flesh” she said, “Pretty big detail to leave out”
“It is?” I asked.
She pointed to a pinkish brown blemish on the leather that covered the back thigh of the leg, “There is literally a nipple on it”
Closer inspection showed that she was right. The leg did indeed have a nipple on it.
“And here is a tattoo,” she said pointing at a heart shaped blemish. If you looked closely, you could just barely make out the words, “Mommy’s Home”. “Look I don’t know what this leg is, but I know a professor at my old college who might know,” Destiny said, she couldn’t take her eyes off of the nipple. “He specializes in ancient pagan literature and has several books bound with human skin in his collection. If anyone knows anything about this, it has to be him.”
With no other avenues to go down, I agreed a talk with this professor would be a good place to start.
Destiny left my house promising to call me tomorrow to let me know if her old professor had replied to her request to meet. Once again, I was alone with the leg.
Looking at the leg filled me with a strange sort of terror that I hadn’t felt since I was kid. The kind of helplessness you would feel as a child when you lost your mom in the mall, or when you were so sure that the shadow in the corner of your bedroom was a monster lying in wait until the moment you cross from wakefulness into sleep.
I brought the leg back to the gun safe and locked it away before leaving my house for the day. I didn’t have much in the way of errands, but I didn’t even want to be in the same building as the leg.
I wasted the day trying to get my mind off the absolute shit storm of a week I’d had so far. Ghosts, monsters, demons and God knows what else is real. How is someone supposed to just accept that and move forward with their lives? What else might be out there? Is God real? If so, that might be the scariest thing of all.
I went to the movies, but couldn’t pay attention. I went to my favorite restaurant, but didn’t have an appetite. I tried to go go-karting, but couldn’t get over how strange it was to go go-karting by myself. I spent the entire day thinking about how my inbox was full of things I’d thought were fake but now would never fully get over.
Eventually the sun fell and I found myself standing on my front porch trying to come up with any excuse to go and spend money on a hotel room. I almost did, but realized I was too broke to get one even if I wanted to.
A creeping dread wormed its way up my back as I walked through the dark house flipping lights on as went. I checked each room to make sure nothing had moved the positions I had left them in that morning. Looking back, I’m not sure if at that point I was more afraid of a ghost or demon or Psycho Jimmy in my house. Everything seemed to check out.
Feeling slightly better, but still a bit anxious I went to bed.
I woke up in total darkness, in the early morning. I could hear the wind in the trees. I turned over to squint at my alarm clock when the sound of my bedroom door unlatching made my stomach drop. In a flash I shot up in bed and tried to flip on the lamp on my nightstand only to find the light bulb had been removed.
I grabbed my phone, turned on the flashlight and directed the light at the door. The door was, indeed, unlatched and cracked open just a sliver. I sat in total silence, watching the small black crack between the door and the door frame, my ears strained to pick up any noise other than the wind outside.
My jaw dropped as the door slowly creaked forward, opening itself just wide enough for a head to peek into the room, but no one was there, just the empty blackness of the dark hallway beyond. My hands shook as I stared at the doorway, hoping something would come through, anything – a monster, a zombie, Psycho Jimmy. Anything would be better than the dread of sitting there in anticipation, my imagination conjuring up the worst. My heart was pounding against my ribcage and my mouth went dry. I gripped my phone with two hands to try to steady the shaking, but still they trembled, sending shadows dancing across my bedroom walls.
Then the door closed, just as slowly as it had opened, the door pulled itself back into its frame and latched itself closed.
Realizing I had forgotten to breathe, I sucked in air like a dying fish. I licked my lips and loosened my grip on my phone but my hands were still trembling and I dropped it. The phone bounced off the corner of my nightstand, hit the carpeted floor and bounced again under my bed.
A whole new set of shadows filled the room as the bright, fluorescent white light of the iPhone flashlight emanated from under my dirty bed.
It might sound weird, but this was almost as bad as the door opening by itself. The loss of control was devastating in the moment and I lunged over the side of the bed and blindly flailed my arm around searching for the phone.
My thrashing arm sent a wholly new set of shadows dancing around my room pushing my pulse even higher.
I’d never regretted not cleaning my room harder. I was wildly grabbing things and flinging them out from under the bed as soon as I confirmed they weren’t a cell phone. Magazines, old electronics and a few rock-hard socks flew across the room as I shoveled them out from under the bed. I continued to grasp blindly when my hand came across something I didn’t immediately recognize. It was a mess of tangled stringy material that seemed to grab at my hand as I brushed past it. I gripped and tugged hard to bring it out onto my bedroom floor, but encountered resistance as whatever it was seemed to cling to its secret refuge under my bed. I reestablished my grip on the object and pulled again, harder this time. I engaged the muscles in my stomach and back and just as it seemed the object would never relent a loud POP! echoed through the room as the object came free in my hand.
Startled and thrown off balance, I fell off my bed and sprawled onto the carpet below with the object still in my hand. I looked down at it and my blood turned to ice as I realized I was holding a woman’s head, her face frozen in surprise, her mouth a wide ‘O”.
I dropped the head and scrambled backwards on my butt until my back hit the opposite wall. It was only then I realized it was the head of a sex doll I had ordered 4 years ago, but never used. (It was too weird. Maybe guys who like sex dolls, would also like fucking dead bodies. Not for me!). Her name was Cynthia. I had hidden her under my bed in shame shortly after bringing her home and had forgotten about her. It’s not like a life-size doll is something you can easily throw away without the neighbors asking questions.
I relaxed at that moment. A wave of relief and amusement washed over me and I made a vow to get rid of Cynthia that weekend. Even if that meant I had to cut her into pieces and dispose of her in separate trash bags thrown into separate dumpsters like some sort of mannequin serial killer.
I started to get back up on my feet when the shadows danced around the room again. I glanced toward the space under the bed and saw the light was moving. Something under my bed had control of my phone.
Blinded by the light which was now pointed directly at me, I squinted my eyes to try to make out what fresh new terror was about to befall me. Slowly a form came into shape. A contorted silhouette that writhed in the confined space. It banged against the bed frame above it as it tried to right itself. The light moved, left, right, up, down as the dark shape twisted violently, but it always pointed the light directly into my eyes without fail.
For a moment, the noises below the bed stopped and the light remained still. The only noises audible were my own breathing and the wind that continued to whip the trees outside. I used my hand to shield my eyes from the now stable point of light and the shape solidified into a new form. It was a person crouched low. A Headless person. It was Cynthia.
She began to slowly crawl towards me. My heart skipped a beat as fear paralyzed me for a half second. Cynthia moved closer, moving in a jerky, unnatural motion because I hadn’t opted for the RealGirl™ realistic joint package.
My heart skipped another beat as curiosity paralyzed me for another half a second. Would it really be so bad to let her get to me? What would she do? Fuck me to death? Then I remembered she had fully articulated hands and a skeleton made out of titanium which snapped me out of it pretty quickly.
Cynthia dragged herself along, now halfway out from under the bed, my cellphone in hand.
I leapt into action. I sprang to my feet, took a few steps towards her and kicked at her. Unfortunately, it was dark and I aimed where a head would have been had this been a real person, or a fully-functional sex doll, and broke a toe on my metal bed frame.
Cynthia grabbed for me, but I quickly took a step back and she narrowly missed, her silicone fingers just brushing the skin of my leg. I tried another kick and this time aimed for my cellphone. I connected and sent the phone sliding across the bedroom carpet where it collided with the wall with such force that it flipped itself over landing the flashlight side-down.
The room plunged into darkness with the exception of the small light of my iPhone lock screen. I needed to get to the phone before the lock screen went dark in about 10 seconds, otherwise I would probably never find it.
I made a dash for the phone, but Cynthia caught my ankle sending me crashing to the floor. I couldn’t look back. I needed that phone, that light. Even if it was only so I could see how I was going to die I needed it. Worst case scenario, if I decided I didn’t like what I was seeing, I could always just turn the light off.
Not even wasting the time to stand back up, I crawled for my phone. I could hear the joints in Cynthia’s arms and legs squeak as she emerged from the bed behind me and stood herself up. (When I ordered her, they said the squeaking would fade with use, but like I said, I never used her, I want to make that very clear!) Still, I didn’t look back, I crawled forward, not paying attention to the rug burn on my knees or the pain that radiated up my leg from my broken toe or the 6 foot (tall girls, call me!) murderous sex bot that was standing itself up a mere few feet behind me. I need that phone.
I slammed my hand on the phone just as the light from the home screen faded away and I turned and pointed the flashlight at Cynthia.
She stood tall on her two feet, wearing a tattered and dusty school girl outfit (I’m different now), one large pendulous breast hung outside of her brassiere.
I was done for. Toast. Stick a fork in me. I was lying on my back, looking up at a killer dominatrix with a titanium skeleton, no head and zero pain receptors. All she had to do was fall forward and she’d be on top of me, strangling me with her delicate, perfectly formed and articulated fingers. Maybe, if I was lucky, her other breast would fall out of her shirt in the fall – you know, at least give me something to look at as life drained from me. Fortunately for me, that isn’t what she did.
The killer doll took one-step towards me and faltered.
The thing about sex dolls is that they are mainly designed to sit in chairs, pose on all fours and do a lot of lying on their backs. No one buys a sex doll to have it stand around. That’s like buying a dildo to use as a Christmas tree ornament. Sure, maybe with a little practice and a couple hidden supports you could have it stand around your house like some sort of fucked up anime wax museum, but that’s just not what it is designed to do. Especially if you didn’t spring for the RealGirl™ realistic joint package. I honestly doubt a real human woman would be able to stand unassisted if you gave them the strange cartoony proportions most of these dolls have.
So, Cynthia took a step towards me, wobbled, top heavy. Tried to over-correct, then fell backwards onto my night stand and started squirming to get back on her feet.
I took the opportunity to run.
I got back to my feet and found the bedroom door. My hand hesitated on the knob for a millisecond as I considered what else there might be hiding behind this door, then I opened it anyway. I rushed out of my bedroom and sprinted down the hallway, hearing moans and clicking and growling from behind the doors of the bathroom and second bedroom as I rushed past. I came to the end of the hallway to the main living area and kitchen and turned to head towards the door when I took one last look down the dark hallway towards my bedroom.
Just barely visible through the darkness was Cynthia, crawling on all fours out of the bedroom. Her head was now re-attached but backwards so she faced the ceiling as she crawled forward, her nails making a click-clack sound as she crossed from the carpeted bedroom to the hardwood floor of the hallway.
I shuddered and made for the door.
My plan was to get in the car and drive away, but I left my car keys inside. Instead, I walked to Walmart, the one place on earth where you can walk around in boxers and a white t-shirt and no one bats an eye.
For the second time in 12 hours, I was trying to distract myself to take my mind off of the horrors the lifting of the veil had shown me and this time I was stuck in a Walmart - the epicenter of human horror.
It actually wasn’t too bad; I only had a few hours to kill before the sun came up. At that point, I’d head back to my place, get some clothes and catch up with Destiny to see if she had scheduled a meeting with her old professor yet. I supposed I’d be expecting a call from Pedro at some point as well, I did promise him an internship. I just hoped I could run faster than him.

Here's a report from our two week family trip a couple of weeks ago. My girls are aged 8 and 11, and are into cute stuff and animals.
Day 0 (10th April):

• Arrived at Narita terminal 1, 6:30pm. Glad we knew which train to catch and the timetable, as the direct line to Asakusa Station (Keisei Sky Access) only goes roughly every 35mins. Took 30 mins to queue for Pasmo Passports, and despite short queues elsewhere, we had to run for our 8:05pm train!
• Hotel: Mimaru Tokyo Asakusa Station, right next to the station exit. The Mimaru chain is great for kids. Great service, big rooms, lots of beds, a dining area and kitchenette. Asakusa is a lovely, fairly quiet place to be based, and has beautiful early morning walk options along the river and to Senso-ji if you're jetlagged.

Day 1:

• Senso-ji early before the crowds. Beautiful temples and gardens, with cherry blossoms a bonus; a great start to Japanese culture before Hello Kitty and Pokemon took over! Next we stumbled upon the huge 24 hour Don Quixote nearby. Great for necessities and souvenirs alike.
• Sunshine City mall was next as we didn't want too much walking after not much sleep. I didn't know there was a Sanrio cafe there - luckily we were able to walk straight in! The Pokemon centre and Sylvanian Families stores kept the kids happy for a long time.
• Back to the hotel for a rest / nap, then Nakamise Dori (stalls near Senso-ji) and Kura Sushi for dinner. We finished at an arcade which we returned to every night as it was the only thing that kept our kids awake and fighting off jetlag!

Day 2:

• Teamlabs Borderless booked for 10am. No queues and straight in at 9:50am. There were a few people in there already, but it only felt crowded an hour later. Truly beautiful, well loved by the whole family.
• Harajuku next for Takeshita street. It was raining, so we picked up two of the famous big clear umbrellas. Sadly these were too big for our suitcases and a hassle to carry around - I suggest you plan ahead and buy a small umbrella or poncho instead. (Tiny umbrellas are cute and cheap at Don Quijote.) Plenty of interesting sights and stores condensed into a small space on Takeshita street, but nothing that you can't see elsewhere in Tokyo, so can be skipped if you don't like crowds!
• Ometosando: my kids had heard good things about Kiddyland toy store, but they were too tired to even walk all the way to the top floor, so back to the hotel for an afternoon rest.
• Katsukitchi (Asakusa) for dinner - best katsu we've ever had, lovely service, really highly recommended. We went back three more times!

Day 3:

• Odaiba. Here's where the Navitime app failed: it didn't recognise the monorail to Odaiba. Google maps recognises it as just another train. It's just as easy to catch as a regular train too, but provides excellent views.
• Poo museum at DiverCity mall first. Hard to access because the mall opens an hour after the museum. We hadn't booked but were able to walk straight in. The poo museum is tiny and seems mostly set up for social media photos, but the kids had a lot of laughs.
• Sega Joyopolis: I'm glad we didn't pay for the full unlimited passes, as my kids didn't like most of the rides. Instead we paid for entry and just paid for a couple of rides.
• Takoyaki food court nearby – literally only sells takoyaki – even some of the drinks have octopus in them! Bit of a mistake as our kids don’t like octopus, haha.
• Ferry back to our hotel in Asakusa.
• Rickshaw tour of Asakusa in the evening – expensive but a highlight for the kids.

Day 4:

• Kappabashi Street to shop for knives and book a workshop for Ganso Shokuhin Sample-Ya (see day 10).
• Samurai Ninja Museum: not in the itinerary, just saw it walking past. The kids didn't want to dress up and didn't find the tour very interesting, but my husband and I learned a lot.
• Skytree mall: bigger than expected; spent most of the day between the shops and aquarium. Sumida Aquarium is small but beautiful.
• Skytree is worth a visit, but there's not much to do up there and it's very crowded. I've heard the upper floor is less crowded, but it was booked out when I booked online a few weeks before. On the day they were selling walk up tickets including the upper floor, but it wasn't possible to upgrade our ticket, unfortunately.

Day 5:

• Travel from Tokyo to Osaka. Booked with Smartex a few days before using my Mastercard, then linked to our IC cards. We couldn’t figure out how to pick up tickets at first, but it was easy: Scan IC cards at the Shinkansen gate and a ticket will print out with your booked details. We sent our luggage by takkyubin the day before, but needn't have bothered as there was ample room for luggage in the Green Car.
• Hotel: Mimaru Osaka Namba Station: a game-themed hotel (board games, card games etc) with games to borrow and many integrated into the hotel itself. Fabulous. Our Japanese room had a tatami floor, with two regular beds and three comfortable futons. My only complaint was that we had been spoiled in Asakusa being next to the station and in a quieter place; Namba station was an eight-minute walk through a bustling district (with an Akihabara feel to it; lots of gaming and anime and technology), which didn't suit our family quite as well when returning from a tiring day.
• Dotonbori: the big signs were cool, but it's not that impressive by day. Rode the weird Don Quijote ferris wheel - surprisingly high, my kids found it quite scary!
• Teamlabs Botanical Gardens: also highly recommended! The kids loved the freedom to race around and interact with the glowing artworks.

Day 6:

• Harvest Hill first, to visit the Sylvanian Families village. My girls adore these cute Japanese animal dolls, and visiting their life-sized houses was a dream come true. Harvest Hill also has animals, boats, flowers, small rides and beautiful scenery. We couldn't find the bus from the nearest train station, but taxis were easy, and the bus back to the station was easy to find as it was a remote area with just one bus stop! Just tag on and off with your IC card.
• Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. We had high expectations as it's ranked at number six in the world, and it blew even those expectations out of the water! Incredible.
• Tempozan Ferris Wheel: long queue for people wanting a glass floor; we didn’t, so we skipped the queue and walked straight on. Amazing views to Universal Studios!
• Picked up takeaway pizzas from [A] Pizza as the kids were tired.

Day 7:

• Universal Studios Japan. Arrived at 8:10am. I'd read that it opens at 8, but not today! We had early entry tickets, but all queues were let in at around 8:40. The benefit of the early entry ticket is that the queue is MUCH shorter. We also paid for the 7 ride express pass: expensive but worth it as we could do all the best rides in one day with almost no queues. Truly magical for our young fans of Harry Potter, Super Mario and Minions.

Day 8:

• Nara: Still tired from Universal Studios, and the temples are spread far apart, so we stuck to the deer feeding near the station. We'd read the warnings, but inevitably, my eight-year-old got spooked and ran. Before we could help her, she'd been bitten hard on the back. After one more (carefully controlled) attempt, we headed back to the hotel.
• Osaka castle: The kids wanted to relax and play arcade games, so I headed out alone. Beautiful castle and grounds, worth a visit even with kids (there's a playground in the southwestern corner of the park with a view of the castle). Long queue to catch the elevator, but no queue for those happy to walk up. Every floor has museum displays, so you can rest on every floor if you're tired!
• I'm not much into social media, but on the way out through the park I tried one of the 'viral' ten yen cheese breads - yuck, why was it sweet?! Some things look great online but that doesn’t match reality, haha.

Day 9:

• Kyoto day trip. We planned just two stops that were easily accessible by train.
• Fushimi Inari Taisha first, because my kids love foxes. Lots of fox shrines (and souvenirs!) The red torii gates were crowded as expected, so we took a side path to the right a short way up the hill. This took us through the forest, past more shrines, with almost no people! It took us 50 minutes to reach the peak.
• Gion, up the Ninenzaka path. It was crowded and the kids were tired, so we didn't stay long! We'll do Kyoto properly when the kids are older.

Day 10:

• Travel to Tokyo. A week earlier I had accidentally booked today's Shinkansen in the wrong direction, but luckily the refund process with Smartex is easy and cheap! We found a huge discount (30% off green car) called Hayatoku 3 Family, available for groups of 2 or more on weekends on the Nozomi train when booked at least 3 days in advance.
• Ganso Shokuhin Sample-Ya, Kappabashi street: Sample food making workshop. Very highly recommended! The staff at the counter don’t speak much English, but the teachers do. Our teacher Koyama was really lovely and the whole experience was delightful.
• Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay: our hotel for Disney. It's the most convenient of all the unofficial Disney hotels, being across the road from the station, and had several restaurants, stores and an indoor pool. Half the rooms have views of the Disney fireworks - sadly not ours! But they can be seen from the lobby. Don’t expect regular Japan prices though – everything is expensive!

Days 11-13:

• Disneysea, Disneyland, then Disneysea. A dream seeing my kids enjoying everything. Get as many fast passes as you can, and you could do the entire park (or at least everything you want to do) in one day per park. We were glad to have a third day so our first day wasn’t stressful, but we didn’t really need it.
• My other tip is to perhaps send one adult, and perhaps a braver kid, on the rides which may be scary first. Our eight-year-old was so spooked by our first ride (Tower of Terror) that she refused to try anything scary again, so the eleven-year-old checked all the scary rides while her little sister rode the cute ones!
• Dining in the Disney parks is overpriced and not great; dining in Sheraton is also expensive but better quality. By the third night we ended up in the American restaurants at Ikspiari mall nearby.

Day 14:

• Ikspiari Mall shopping, then limousine bus (booked at hotel reception) to Narita. I realised by this point that we still had a lot of credit on our non-refundable IC cards. We used a little at the airport, but we should have planned it better!

Hi all. For context, we can easily afford our current car payments so affordability is not a huge issue. I just got a killer lease deal on an EV (Hyundai Ioniq 6) at $261/mo zero down. We’re driving that everywhere now, and our expensive Wagoneer SUV is just sitting in the garage. The payment on that is about $850/month but it’s a purchase with very nice 0% financing (about 52 months remaining on it). I have a buyer willing to give me enough to pay off the loan (we put very little down) and I can essentially walk away. The ONLY problem is that we occasionally have a need for a 7-8 seating when traveling with the entire family (we have 4 kids, the eldest is driving now). So I am thinking we ditch the Wagoneer and either buy something a lot cheaper with cash (but again it will just sit there and depreciate) or RENT whenever we need to make a road trip (which happens at least 2-3 times per year). Our road trips out of state can run as long as 4-6 weeks so renting would be around $1500-2000 for that. Also we sometimes drive all the way up to Canada and I know some rentals don’t allow the cars to leave the country. Anyway just wanted to get thoughts on alternative options here. I hate the idea of paying for the depreciation on the Wagoneer when we’re not even driving it regularly. And we do love the luxury aspect of it so we’d likely want to get something similarly “special”. What should we do?

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82 Hours After the First Round of Interloper Interrogations. UNAFS Perseverance. General Mess Area.
Evina
Before I entered the mess area, my mind had been completely and utterly obsessed with the countdown towards tomorrow’s big mission.
There had been little room for anything else, even as Lysara continued on the last few medical checklists in the clinic, and even as I continued talking to Eslaan about anything and everything related to his interests.
That looming worry, the calm before the storm, was driving me crazy.
And it wasn’t like it wasn't for good reason.
This was going to be a reality altering mission.
The contents within that place were bound to change the course of my entire life.
And I’d thought absolutely nothing would be able to pull me from that obsession, not even sleep.
But that was before I entered the so-called mess area, half expecting your typical bland, but clean and well maintained, cafeteria-like setup; with metal benches, metal tables, metal cutlery, and metal serving trays.
I couldn’t be more wrong as I entered through that threshold however.
At which point, it felt as if I’d just stepped through some sort of a time portal, stepping centuries back to a pre-war era dining establishment untouched by war.
This place… was nothing short of a truly upscale restaurant, but transplanted and somehow pasted into a spaceship.
There were floor to ceiling windows that weren’t seen anywhere else on board.
The floors themselves were made out of some fake wood that felt real enough that I couldn’t tell the difference.
There were large curtains that barely hid the thick and industrial-looking metal shutters clearly designed to seal off the room’s windows in emergency situations.
The seats and tables placed throughout the open space looked jarring when set against the backdrop of space, as each and every one just didn’t look like they belonged on a spaceship. The former were all upholstered, and the latter seemed to be made out of the same false-wood the floors were, with a single table in particular draped with a tablecloth atop of it, signaling that it was probably ours.
My mind had been taken over by the sheer insanity of what I was seeing, which prompted me to turn towards Lysara, then Vir, in rapid succession.
“What the heck is this, Lysara?” I uttered out plain and simply.
“The dining area.” The alien responded curtly.
“No, I know that, but… what the heck is all of this?” I gestured around exaggeratingly. “All of this, just doesn’t seem very practical.” I surmised, as every iteration in the back of my mind agreed, save for the first, who seemed oddly quiet but very much at peace within this living time capsule of a reality untouched by the horrors of war.
“It was a common trend back in my era.” The AI stepped in to respond. “Back in the day, humanity always had a penchant for bringing a little piece of home with them wherever they went. This was true, even all the way back when ships were little more than rotating rings strapped onto a single FTL stick. It’s sort of in human nature to always be homesick, to always be nostalgic, always yearning for something that reminds them of the comforts of home. This is in spite of them always feeling this perpetual drive towards venturing into the unknown, and pushing the boundaries as to just how far they could take things.”
“They sound absolutely terrible to live with.” I responded with a snarky sneer, garnering a look of confusion from the AI. “This indecisiveness is probably a heck of a headache when deciding on what to eat… let alone what planet to jump to for a mission.” I offered jokingly.
“Well, again, here’s where that weird and seemingly arbitrary dichotomy comes in, Evina. When push comes to shove, they can be as decisive as they can be, and as stubborn in maintaining a course they set their minds to. So in many ways, they’re always a bit of an enigma. Some even liken them to having two souls constantly fighting for dominance. I’d say however, it’s this sort of back and forth that makes them so much fun. Their unpredictability, their quirks, and their at-times nonsensical anachronisms, manifesting in stuff like the mess hall you see here, acts as the spice that makes the bland and otherwise boring universe something that’s just a little bit more tolerable.”
“Honestly? Their tenacity to make places like these, when utility would demand it be a quarter of the size with a fraction of its embellishments, really strikes a chord with me.” Eslan offered, which prompted Lysara to continue off from that thought.
“It shows that they’re willing, and able, to make the effort to push just a little bit for those little things.” The alien reasoned. “Many people, my own people really, have likened existence to simple survival, boiling it down to utility. But it’s these small things, these unnecessary things, that truly breathes life and meaning to exactly why we have to survive in the first place. Otherwise… what are we even surviving for if only to live and to hunt another day? It’s the hope that in the future, everything, and everyone, can enjoy a little slice of this sort of unnecessary beauty, that really strikes a chord in me too.”
There was a moment of silence that followed as we sat at our table, as I felt a surge of my first iteration’s memories hitting me harder than they’ve ever hit me before. Sights, sounds, and scents of the pre-war world, and all of its unnecessary embellishments, made just sitting here feel overwhelming.
These were memories that didn’t often come out after all. And even when they did… it was usually some combination of somber and morose, as looking out into bombed-out cafes and crumbling restaurants brought on more a sense of longing for what was long-since lost than anything else.
But here?
The sights elicited that sense of hope that Lysara spoke of; a hope for a day where these little embellishments could become normal again.
I remained quiet, and so did Eslan, for the longest while.
This was eventually interrupted however by a rather unique looking robot coming over to hand us printed-out menus.
Granted, there were only three choices but… choice at all was already in itself a huge privilege.
“The options are a single Vanaran dish, and two human dishes I’m afraid.” Lysara explained. “The menu was made after carefully looking at your physiologies, to see what would most be compatible and least likely to cause adverse effects. Suffice it to say, it’s safe.” The alien continued, as I read off the descriptions of each dish, which simply boiled down to: A vegan dish, a vegetarian dish, and a dish with primarily grilled meats. “If there’s anything I can do to change it to your liking-”
“No, Lysara. This… this is already more than enough.” I explained through a reassuring smile. “You do realize that it’s been a good few decades since I’ve had decent canned foods right? Bunker life had that going for it at least, but topside? We were eating who knows what sorts of irradiated plants and animals every day of the week.”
“Oh, no these… these are actually fresh.” The alien explained, prompting me to squint my eyes towards him in extreme skeptic prejudice, before pointing frantically at the meat dish. “The vegan dish I get, fine, hydroponics is a heck of a thing. The vegetarian dish with the egg? Heck, fine, maybe you have a whole host of chickens somewhere, I get that. But the meat? You’re saying you have a hecking FARM ANIMAL or a whole FARM on board this ship?!”
“Well…” The alien paused, before exchanging glances with the AI. “The humans did call the food production bay — the farm.” He offered jokingly, before shifting gears back to his more reserved persona. “But in all seriousness, you’re right with the hydroponics. The meat and egg situation however, is a bit different. You see, humans, like my own kind, have long since pioneered lab-grown meats. Thus, we have what’s affectionately nick-named a meat-wall, where meat is harvested fresh. Hence why all the items on the menu, meat-products included, are in fact fresh!”
I was stunned for a moment, but that sense of acute confusion was quickly tempered by my first iteration quickly filling me in on the existence of that particular piece of space-age technology actually being something our own kind had thought of prior to the war. The sudden burst of familiarity cooled down my confusion, prompting me to internally thank my first iteration’s memories for filling me in on an otherwise completely alien piece of technology.
In fact, Eslan was now exchanging a fast-paced nerdy conversation with the likes of the AI on the particularities of the topic. The likes of which I felt my first iteration clinging onto. “Well, I haven’t had radiation-free meat in a while… so let’s go with that.” I finally managed out, breaking through the haze of disbelief and my first iteration’s overpowering sense of curiosity.
“Likewise.” Eslan quickly added.
With Lysara putting in his order, for the vegetarian meal no less, we eventually fell into a little back and forth. A pattern eventually emerged, starting with Eslan pointing and asking at everything he could see in the room, practically immersing himself in every nook and cranny of lore that existed around us. This was followed up by Vir’s more than informative responses, Lysara’s long-winded philosophical tirades, and my own two cents on the issue as it pertains to my current life, or one of my prior iterations’ lives.
There was an overall air of just outright… fun to everything. A feeling that I thought was only exclusive to childhood and pre-war sensibilities.
It was definitely not a feeling I was at all anticipating to be feeling following my departure from the bunker.
If anything… it was a welcome escape, a true reprieve from literally all dangers. As even within the bunkers themselves, there was always the gnawing concern of a system failing or a bunker-breach occurring at a moment’s notice. Even deep underneath the airport, in a bunker of my own design, there always remained a sense of ominous danger that existed simply because of our exposure to the outside world and its ruthless inhabitants. There was always the fear that we’d be raided, and that fear did come true not a few days ago.
However, here? Floating above it all?
I finally felt it click.
There were no dangers up here.
What’s more, there was a sense of lofty hope that came with the lofty missions and goals of the aliens present as well.
Tomorrow still felt ominous, yes.
However, that ominous looming horror was at the very least tempered by the joys of the present.
Whatever happens tomorrow, I’d still have today to look back on.
One final day of true normalcy.
One final day of genuine happiness with Eslan, and the two new allies I’d hazard to call friends.
And one final day of enjoying the world I knew and the life I sort of understood, before diving back neck-deep into what could potentially ruin it all.
“Hey Eslan.” I managed out, long after the food had arrived and our respective taste buds had been assaulted by a flavor that I hadn’t experienced in literal centuries.
“Yes, Evina?”
“You’ll always be my best friend, my brother, no matter what.” I managed out after a mouthful of food.
This comment clearly took Eslan by surprise, but not so much that he was thrown off by it, no.
It was instead just enough for him to shoot back that genuine grin he rarely managed out. “You too, Evina. And nothing can ever take that away from us. I know my memories from before you found me might be messed up…” He spoke darkly. “... but everything else after that, the exploration, finding the bunker, renovating it, protecting it, turning it into our home — all of that was real.” He insisted, prompting me to place a hand atop of his shoulder in solidarity.
“It was.” I nodded. “And it always will be real, Eslan.” I acknowledged, prompting the felinor’s eyes to well up with tears, right as dessert arrived. “In any case. Let’s dig in.” I spoke reassuringly, shifting gears back towards what little time we had left of tonight’s unmitigated bliss. “We have a big day tomorrow.”
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(Author’s Note: The gang all gather together before the big mission, as comradery grows between the group! The next chapter is already out on Patreon as well if you want to check it out!)
[If you guys want to help support me and these stories, here's my ko-fi ! And my Patreon for early chapter releases (Chapter 95 of this story is already out on there!)]

My kiddo is only 6 trying to find a harness to fit so I can fit my 2 yo car seat in it too. We’re not off roading just pleasure drives. I just bought a AAAA Aces one but it’s too small since I can’t mount it the top and have to use the bolts for the preexisting lap seat belt. Also not trying to break the bank. Hopefully someone can help me.

My kiddo is only 6 trying to find a harness to fit so I can fit my 2 yo car seat in it too. We’re not off roading just pleasure drives. I just bought a AAAA Aces one but it’s too small since I can’t mount it the top and have to use the bolts for the preexisting lap seat belt. Also not trying to break the bank. Hopefully someone can help me.

My kiddo is only 6 trying to find a harness to fit so I can fit my 2 yo car seat in it too. We’re not off roading just pleasure drives. I just bought a AAAA Aces one but it’s too small since I can’t mount it the top and have to use the bolts for the preexisting lap seat belt. Also not trying to break the bank. Hopefully someone can help me.

My kiddo is only 6 trying to find a harness to fit so I can fit my 2 yo car seat in it. We’re not off roading just pleasure drives. I just bought a AAAA Aces one but it’s too small since I can’t mount it the top and have to use the bolts for the preexisting lap seat belt. Also not trying to break the bank. Hopefully someone can help me.

Hello Internet,
I need some advice on how to tell my friend I don't want to be friends with him anymore. This thought entered my brain earlier this year when I started the job we both currently work at. On the third night of me clocking in, I complained about a fellow employee I had to train/work with on the way to work that evening. When we arrived everything was normal until, while I was in conversation with another coworker, I overhear my friend repeating what I said to him in private to another person. I panicked and immediately turned to him and asked," Are you really repeating something I told in private?" He just stared at me with his mouth shut. I looked at him hoping my eyes read," Are you fucking kidding me?" After that bit of tension, I went back to my conversation and as soon as I could I went to start my shift. After the shift, I told him I did not appreciate what he did at all. He gave a annoyed "I'm sorry" and walked to the car. As bit of petty revenge, I have yet to let him ride in the front seat because of he wants to be childish, I will treat him like a child. This event has me questioning what else has he told other people that I thought was between me and him. I honestly think this was the nail in the coffin for our friendship (other things have happened I will list them below).
I am at my wits end and don't know how to proceed. Any suggestions?
OTHER BAD THINGS:

• While living together as roommates, lessoned learned, refused to clean his room and refused to have conversations about bills/finances.
• Randomly showing up to my place, while I was gone, and used an emergency key to enter my place. I found out when he called asking where I was.
• Loudly telling an old friend that I was S assaulted in a very public area.

- I'm sure there are other things but those are at the top of my head.

Background. I am a 37 year old male. Been with my wife for 9 years. And she is perfect. But, I have always been a pretty emotionless person. Just don't really feel much. Obviously I love her and she's the best person I've met and I wouldn't trade her for anything and we don't have issues or fight. I'm just stating this because I feel bad and I feel like this dream will paint how I view our relationship in a bad way. Also I don't care if people are transgender or what ever but it's 100% not my thing.
So I had a dream last night I was passenger in a car with a mate and we had a girl with blonde hair, real femine body and face. Litrally 100% female, sitting in the back seat of the car (don't remember how she got there). And somehow she fell out the back door and rolled along the ground. We stopped and as she was laying face down in her dress on the bitumen, I noticed she had a penis haha. It was at that moment I told my mate to leave her. So we took off as she ran after us and we drove off out of sight. (I know I sound like a real great guy)
Next scene we were in a mall and bumped into her so we all hung out for a bit and we all got along and her and I were having good talks and laughing and just generally getting to know one another. Suddenly and not sure how, it's a dream so that's normal, we were surrounded by people fighting and attacking and people were getting killed left right and centre. I fought my way out and lost sight of the girl. I searched but found nothing so I ran off and got in a car and sped off. Ended up dumping the car and hiding as the people chasing searched. The whole time I was hiding I couldn't stop thinking about her. I tried calling her (somehow had her number) but no answer. I could feel panic. Eventually I called again and her friend answered. I asked if she got out and she said she did but isn't in a good state. She passed the phone to her and she didn't need to say a word before I told her "I know what you once were and It doesn't bother me because I love you for who you are".
And that's when I woke up. And the feeling when I woke up was a very strange one. It was like something i cant recall ever feeling. Then it was sadness that it wasn't real. And all day I haven't stopped thinking about that dream. I don't expect any answers. I expect to be laughed at for having some stupid dreams. And as weird as it feels to say but the first thought that went through my head when i woke up and came to my senses was is that what love feels like.
Feel free to ridicule me and my dreams haha. I am away at work for a week and had to tell someone and who better than strangers on the internet

Hello, I am looking to sublet my 4 bed 4 bath apartment at Twin River Commons. The room is available from May 20 (I can move out before if needed) through July 31st. The rent is approximately $1,079 including utilities. Amenities include a 24-Hour Fitness Center w/ State-of-the-Art Equipment (Including Cardio Machines, Free Weights, Weight Resistance Machines & Yoga Mats), Cafe with Free Starbucks Coffee, Washer and Dryer in Unit, New HITT Room, Fireplace Lounge, Lab w/ Computers & Free Printing, Study Lounges on Each Floor, Courtyard w/ Outdoor Kitchen & Patio Seating, Adjacent to Binghamton University Bus Service, Onsite Parking and Bike Racks, Resident Package Service, 24-Hour Emergency Maintenance, Close to Downtown Restaurants and Nightlife, Next Door to University Downtown Center, Less than 15 mins from Binghamton University, Onsite Resident Events and Giveaways, and Pet Friendly!
Please message me directly if you are interested or have any questions. I will provide any and all photos if you wish to see the complex. Thank you!
https://www.twinrivercommons.com/apartments/ny/binghamton/gallery
^a link to the photo gallery
If you are interested and wish to have a tour of the apartment (after you have messaged me), please call TRC at 888-409-1773.

Alright to start things off with who I am and what I want to do is. First off, I really really want to go to Mit for a dual major being mechanical engineering and business. I’m mainly oriented towards engineering but I from what I hear a lot of mechanical engineers are dissatisfied with their job and would like a change. For me, what I’d imagine I’d want to do if say I did go to Mit, is work at a company(preferably a military company) for a few years accumulate a enough money to be able to afford starting my own business and doing just that. If I were to stay longer at a company I’d probably want to be head project lead for really cool and interesting technology such as robotics which is another idea that I might want to go into. So if I did go to Mit I’d go get my mechanical engineering and business degree work for a few years, then go back to get a robotics engineering degree. So with that all in mind, I figured if I’m going to become a masterful engineer why not try to go to the best engineering school in the world. Not only for the amazing academics but also a large portion to connect with the people whether it be professors, students, civilians, or more. I want to get to know the state of massachusetts and what makes it the core of some of the greatest schools in the world. Also because they have something I currently don’t have mountains, where I live theres pretty much no elevation anywhere and there’s nothing to do most of the time. I’m sure I want to do what I want to do and are willing to sacrifice and put in the effort and blood to get there. With that in mind if I were to be able to get some of the best mountain biking in the country with the best engineering in the world I’d cry full of happy tears for the rest of my life. So to quit rambling let’s just say that I’ve got the ambition and heart to put in the effort to go.
Now though let me get to the basis of what I am. I am a freshman at an academically exceeding public high school with many stem classes, dual enrollment programs, good teachers, Ap school, and a community college across the street. I love almost any subject but preferably science and math which I excel in as well. My class year has 1000 students at least.
Classes taken and planning to take Previous hs classes: Spanish 1 & 2
Freshman year: English 1 honors Biology 1 honors Principals of biomedical sciences honors Student government association Ap Human Geography Intro to Engineering Geometry honors
Summer of freshman year: Algebra 2 honors Cs A
Sophomore year: Ap world English 2 Honors Calculus Bc(skip pre;I’m allowed to, and ab) Ap physics: c mechanics 2 engineering classes(edit)
Extra: Dual enrollment at least best dual enrollment program before trying to get into the 2nd best dual enrollment program that requires a 1340 sat score. Dual enrollment classes: English Engineering Business
Stats: first psat score(without sleep/studying): 1040
Freshman year: unweighted gpa: 4.0 weighted gpa: 4.675
Clubs: student government association(not really a club), robotics team
Fun activities/extracurriculars(sounds a bit too formal): Mountain biking, 3d modeling and printing, video games, business(I’ll leave it at that), Suits of course, writing down ideas(that I haven’t acted on yet), Cars, Researching random topics, and probably more but I don’t remember
Awards(barely any): 3rd place in engineering competition with adults, all As all 3 years of middle school, 3rd place in 3 hours of endurance cross country biking
Jobs: soon to be bike mechanic, arduino programmer for fathers company, and internship at really good engineering place
What are some tips you guys have for me? Thanks
P.S I know it seems like a lot for a freshman to think about but that’s how bad I want it. Also I’ll add more later just want to see if anyone responds.

I have always had a dream where I would love to stargaze in the grass and talk about life with my future significant other listening to slow songs like “You’re the Inspiration” by Chicago, or “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol. Going for a drive in the truck, where my significant other is wrapped in my arms (I have a bench seat.)
Bring flowers, open doors, and have dinner dates (inexpensive or not.)
What do you guys think?

I am not sure what happened - but I no longer have the ability to change the airflow in the back seat. I have a toddler who is in a car seat so it is useful to be able to change the airflow back there. I used to be able to click Individual Settings and then see second row of seats. That is now gone. I think it happened after a software update. I just rented a 2024 X5 (that did indicated it needed a software update) and I could change the airflow back there. Has this happened to anyone else?