Crypto and fiat are here to stay and both impove on their way. And respect each other.
So far only crypto is innovating and also in a surprisingly very fast way...
And let the world innovate!
Bitcoin became a peer to peer (person to person) way to pay each other world wide completely without any profit to a bank/ organisation ever since the internet started after the 2008 world wide banking crises. The banks had become greedy and wasted our money and we had to pay bigtime for their misbhaviour whilst in a fully regulated environment.
Eth became the coin for smart contracts for businesses internet projects.
Xrp became the project where a bank could send money with the aid of XRP in just a second and not in 3/4 days anymore. Banks could save billions of dollars with this.
People expected to be able to pay with all these coins worldwide in the end if it took from the ground.
So crypto is a huge innovation that in fact can not be stopped in any way.
Many more projects followed; in gaming, storage name it etc.
The governments had been printing money for many years. They did not improve and kept on spending by printing..... There had never been any form of self critic if this was ok and safe. The people had to pay for this behaviour in the end time and time again.
So; the banks cost money an the governments cost the people a lot of their hard working money and savings.
People did not like this printing for like years/decades and greedy bank bonus chasing guys and not giving you a silly loan.
And......they Banks and governments did not listen to the signals........but worse; they did not have any form of self critic in themselves on this; while there were so many concerns and red flags and critics on them.
But good people have inner voices and act!
So.....that always is not very good.
So Covid came and thats hard for all governments and we will get over it soon.
Within some month the economic recovery end of tunnel in sight wil start.
But now crypto innovation with a small number of projects failed is the bad guy? Crypto is here 10 years and these are some last year / two year greedy projects.
There are 440 million crypto users over the world.
Changes in history have always turned out for the better. Holding on to old stuff always has lost.
Commos sense wil direct us to the good in fiat and crypto.

In ME2 on Tarith, the world full of opaque, toxic fog, there are several datapads strewn about that mention vorcha wandering off into the mist. For many playthroughs, I had thought this to just be a bit of flavor text.
This time, though, I took one of the many detours in the mountainous paths, and what do I find but a lost group of vorcha separated from the main squad! I'm happy to find surprises like this after so long.

Currently as I’m writing this, I’ve had very severe symptoms which interfere with my day-to-day life. My symptoms have been on-going now for several months and have not improved at all. Oddly enough, I had symptoms appear at the end of October and then go away after a couple of weeks that match what I’m currently experiencing. Prior to experiencing my symptoms in October, I’ve had a number of other symptoms appear that I think are related, but I can’t verify if they are or not.
Cognitive Issues
Currently the symptom I’m experiencing everyday is a cognitive disorder. It’s hard to explain exactly, but it feels as if I haven’t slept for a week or that I'm buzzed. The symptoms are typically worse in the morning and night. If I’m working in the middle of the day I don’t experience this issue (as much). The symptom also gets worse if I do any sort of physical activity like walking my dog, hiking, or mountain biking. That being said, I do sometimes notice I feel better after doing physical activity. Sometimes the cognitive issue is also paired with odd head sensations like head pressure that I notice around my ears and the back of my head. Sometimes I’ll also have a tingling feeling that happens on the sides of my head near my ears. In addition to the tingling sometimes I’ll have an odd aching sensation on the top of my head near the vertex (the coronal suture) and back of my head near where the occipital bone and parietal bone meet. The aching sensation almost feels like my skull is about to split open. I’ve also experience increased head pressure and a pulsing sensation on my head sometimes when my cognitive issues are at their worst. Less commonly, I’ll also have issues with vertigo and balance. Specifically, if I’m walking I’ll feel like my balance is off and I’ll lean to one side- usually my left side. I’ve had on-going issues with tinnitus as well. It’s not persistent, but it seems to happen most often at night. I experience it almost everyday. Sometimes I'll lose my hearing temporarily as well and it'll come back after about a minute. Lastly, my left ear will sometimes feel clogged and nothing I do seems to relieve the pressure. My cognitive issues also seem to be much worse after taking a hot shower. Specifically I’ll have increased head pressure and have an increased jet lag/hangover feeling.
Chest Pain
The second most common issue that I’ve experienced is chest pain. The chest pain I have manifests in different ways, but usually it’s an aching sensation that I notice on my clavicle head and extends to the sternocostal head slightly and it occurs on both sides of my chest. Sometimes the pain is also a burning sensation. I’ve also had pain that occurs in my sternum that’s a sharp pain. Most often these pains occur at night or in the evening.
Heart
My heart related issues seem to happen less often, but have started becoming more frequent as of late. The most common issues that I experience is heart palpations. Commonly it manifests with either a racing heart, the feeling I skipped a beat, or a fluttering feeling. I experience these symptoms most often at night and especially while I’m sleeping. I’ve had a few incidents where I’ll wake up in the middle of the night with my heart racing. I wear an Apple Watch SE most of the time now since my symptoms started and I’ve noticed my pulse is as high as 96 when I wake up in the middle of the night with my heart racing. I don’t have nightmares- I can’t honestly the last time I remember having a nightmare in fact. My pulse has recently been pretty high when I'm sleeping as well. Usually it's between 40 - 50, but recently it's been between 50 - 70.
Another issue I used to have, but has sense improved greatly since I cut down dramatically on caffeine and stopped eating late at night is heart burn.
Rashes
Another odd symptom that I’ve started having is red rashes that manifest on my chest, stomach, arms, or legs. The rashes are usually a solid red color or are spotty and sometimes cover a large area or a very small specific area. I’ve had a very large chest rash that covered the entirety of my chest and other times I’ve had small rashes on my legs that look like a small line.
Eyes
Another very common issue for me is bloodshot eyes. I will usually wake up in the morning with my eyes completely bloodshot. The only thing that seems to relieve it is eye drops which I use at most once a day. I will strangely also sometime have very red and visible veins that extend from my pupil to the tear duck. Near my pupil I’ll have a spot that can be either very red or slightly pink. I usually know I’ve having this issue because my eye will burn and begin to water. Sometimes I wake up with this issue and other times it will come and go throughout the day. I usually notice it during the middle of the day while I’m working on my computer.
Veins
I really don’t know if this is a cause for concern or not or if it’s even related, but I’ve noticed my veins on my arms and hands are more visible than they've ever been. They’re a very deep blue color and they’re most pronounced in the morning, after I take a shower, or do any sort of physical activity.
Muscle Mass/Weight Loss
I’ve noticed that since of February last year to today, I’ve lost quite a bit of weight. Last February I weighed approximately 138 and now I weigh about 130. I haven’t had any significant changes in my diet other than not eating late at night. I attribute most of my weight loss to muscle loss which I notice physically because I’m not able to lift as much weight as I use to be able to. I use to take creatine monohydrate regularly which I know will increase muscle mass and weight so I’m sure this is part of the reason I’m losing weight, however, even after not taking creatine for several months I’ve still struggled to keep on weight and muscle mass. Since my symptoms began I’ve been diligently tracking my diet and on average I eat approximately 2,400 - 3,000 calories per day.
Muscle Twitching
This is a symptom I’ve had for at least a year now. Typically I’ll notice it in my arm near the extensor carpi radials longus. What will happen is an uncontrollable twitching sensation that will be visible if I happen to look at it. This happens on both arms around the same area. I’ll also have muscle twitching as well in my ankles sometimes, but it’s not very frequent. I've had it in my face as well on my eyes and lips. Occasionally I’ll also have restless legs when I’m sleeping, but this does not happen often.
Uncontrollable Teeth Chattering
One strange event that I had before was while I was sitting on the couch. I was feeling otherwise normal, but my teeth began to chatter uncontrollably for no apparent reason. I didn't feel cold either.
Hands
An issue that I’ve had for many years now is cold hands. Sometimes they’re purplish in color, very pale or very red. My hands will become cold for no apparent reason. They’re not cold 24/7 but at least several hours of the day. A specific problem that I have with my left-hand is that it will often be weak, specifically it’s difficult to pick things up with my left hand. Also when I type on my computer I’ll frequently have pain in my wrist associated with it. My pinky and ring finger also sometimes go numb especially if I bend my arm for a long period of time.
Arms
As I mentioned above, I frequently will have muscle twitching in my arms. Another thing I’ve noticed is that while I’ve had my symptoms, I’ve had a few nights where I’ll wake up and my arm is totally numb. Lately for the last few weeks my left arm has felt heavy and perhaps slightly numb. It seems to happen on the outward facing side of my arm specifically.
Face
An on-going issue that I’ve had for years is facial flushing. It seems to have gotten worse since my symptoms began. It feels like I have a fever, despite taking my temperature and not having one. I’ll typically notice the flushing mostly on my nose and it will extend to my cheeks. Sometimes when I get facial flushing I’ll have congestion as well. I noticed I’ll frequently have dark circles under my eyes as well. I’ve had this issue for quite a while now, but it’s become even more pronounced lately.
Feet
My feet are also frequently cold. I’ve noticed my toes often are purple. My big toe on my right foot also has dry skin. This has been an on-going issue for years. Recently my left heel went completely numb. I’ve since gotten feeling back but it lasted for a few days.
Ankles
I’ll frequently have heaviness in my ankles like they’re swelling, but they don’t appear to be visibly swollen at all. It’s been an on and off experience that can sometimes last for days at a time. One night my left ankle felt extremely swollen and painful. The veins in my legs were pulsating as well.
Thighs
I haven’t had much thigh pain, but occasionally I’ll get the same muscle twitching in my thigh or aching pain in my quadricep or my abductors.
Privates
This is one of the strangest symptoms I’ve had. Sometimes I’ll have issues where I’ll have pressure near my prostate (I think). It makes me feel like I need to urinate even though I don’t have to. Also have I finish urinating sometimes I’ll have a pain in my privates like I just passed a kidney stone which I definitely don't have.
Stomach
When I started having my symptoms I would typically have pain in areas like left flank above my left hip. It was either an aching pain or a sharp pain. I haven’t had that pain recently. Another pain that I’ve had frequently (maybe a few days per week) is located on my top left abdominal muscle.
Back
I’ve had a dull aching pain in my upper back for quite some time that I attributed to my sedentary lifestyle, but lately it’s gotten a lot worse to the point where it’s very painful. It’s still an aching pain but it’s much more severe. It's since gotten better.
Ribs
I don’t usually have rib pain, but when I do it’s an aching pain that’s tender to the touch and lasts a few days.
Breathing
I haven’t had any issues feeling out of breath at all even when I had Covid.
Nausea
Since December I’ve had nausea maybe 5 or 6 times total and I didn’t start having symptoms of it until January. It seems like it’s gotten more frequently lately. I haven’t vomited, but I have the feeling like I might.
Bad habits
I had a bad habit of drinking a lot of caffeine per day. For at least a couple of years I think it was higher than 600mgs per day. I cut down to 600mgs per day prior to having my symptoms, but I’ve slowly gotten down to having 100mgs of caffeine a day or none at all. I also used to eat at night shortly before going to bed which gave me heart burn and caused me to have sleep issues. I also used to drink lots of diet drinks like diet sodas. I’ve since almost entirely cut out aspartame from my diet except I might have a diet soda a couple times per month. I think I also had a lot of sodium in my diet from the vegetarian meat substitutes and canned foods I was eating. I also drank a lot of water per day. Probably at least a gallon.
Past events
In addition to the other strange past events I’ve had like uncontrollable teeth chattering. I’ve had a few other strange symptoms that have come and go. One such event I had was in July or September while I was mountain biking. I was biking up a hill but I didn’t feel like I was pushing my self exceptionally hard. When I got up to the top of the hill I got very lightheaded and had the same jet lag/hangover feeling I’m experiencing currently. The same happened in November shortly after I got over my symptoms in October. I had the same lightheaded feeling and cold sweats I experienced before while mountain biking. Also a few months back I had the same experience but while walking on the treadmill. I began having sudden cold sweats without explanation, but I didn’t feel light headed at all. Another time I was taking my dog
Sleep
I’ve mentioned that I’ll frequently wake up with my heart racing, but I also sometimes wake up suddenly without any explanation. Sometimes I’ll wake up because my back is in pain and I have to transition to my side or vice-versa. I’ve tried both firmer and softer mattresses and neither seem to make a difference.
Supplements
Melatonin at night to help with sleep
Cannabis sleep capsules
Gingko biloba to help with cognitive issues
Creatine (cut out since symptoms began)
Pre-workouts like amino energy or L-Arginine (stopped taking these when my symptoms began)
Energy drinks like Reign, Alani Nu, and Ghost that have 300mgs of caffeine and high B vitamins and taurine
Covid
I had Covid in mid-November that I tested negative for on Black Friday. It wasn’t severe- mostly cold like symptoms with a very bad headache and head pressure. I thin Covid probably contributed to my current condition, but I’m not sure if it’s the cause of my issues considering my major symptoms began before I got Covid in October.
​
Tests Done:
UTI - negative
PSA - waiting on test
Urinalysis - normal
CBC - normal
JAK2 - negative
EPO - normal
CRP - near 0
Sedimentation rate- near 0 / 2 march
Creatinine - low 7.3
High co2 in metabolic tests
NT pro BNP - 26
Troponin - 5
Lipase - normal
Ferritin - normal
Iron - normal
Folate - normal
Cortisol - normal
T4 - normal
Free T4 - normal
T3 Uptake - normal
Free T3 - normal
Creatine Kinase - normal
TSH- high in October but tested twice and was normal high again in March
Immuglobulin - normal
A1C - normal
Lyme - negative
Kidney stones - negative
CT scan on head - normal
Whole body MRI - normal except for a minor bulging disc in my lower spine
HIV - negative
ANA - negative
Sleep apnea- negative
Comprehensive Metabolic Panel - normal except slightly low creatinine, slightly high co2, and high albumin on very test
Liver panel - normal except high albumin and low globulin sometimes. High a/g ratio- 3.5
EKG- low resting pulse rate (53 - 56) and borderline abnormal T-wave. Last test I did I had a left axis deviation (-32 degrees).
Micronutrient test - borderline low vitamin D, B12 ok, high selenium, high zinc, high magnesium

Im a 19 year old girl and I’m here to get advice because I’m extremely lost on my medical journey, so bare with me when I share this story: I have a severe nut allergy, anaphylactic (as well as wheat, gluten, & sunflower seeds but these are not anaphylactic). So naturally, from age 10 to 18 I would have these random reactions that mimicked anaphylaxis (full facial swelling, throat closing, ears/nose swelling, red face, itchiness) but it simply was not the same as anaphylaxis, and I also would have these reactions with no contact to nuts. I was hospitalized at 18 for a weekend for one of these horrible reactions/flare ups and further more for vomiting for hours due to inflamed intestines. I then was tested by my allergist and my ANA test was positive and so was my Anti-DNA test. She referred me to a rheumatologist, I saw the rheumatologist and told them everything including the photos and she basically told me I was making it up… she ultimately didn’t look at any of my previous blood work (which indicated autoimmunity + the other two positive tests) and sent me back to my allergist saying she messed up. So my allergist concluded I had an autoimmune disorder that causes urticaria and angioedema, having me take Zyrtec. This was a year ago. Since then, I have struggled with massive inflammation of my face, eyes, throat, intestines, joints, chronic fatigue, high heart rate, raynaud’s, infections, fevers, one red eye (blood shot & occasional but ONLY my right eye) and just other symptoms that are destroying me. I’m a collegiate runner, and all of these problems have grown worse and have depleted my performance when I race. I’m currently seeing an internal medicine doctor, but have yet to mention my status of my lupus recommendation last year… I know something is off with my immune system (via the flares and multiple blood tests indicating so), but I’m suspect of lupus… how do I approach this to fix things?

ON THE LAST EPISODE OF PARTY ROLL....

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Remember a while back when our little new group took on an adventure? From a King, who at first wanted them to be bodyguards? Then detectives? and now Spies? Yes, these strange workings from our King Talantis reverberate within the group. Our Party is now unsure if going along with the King is a good plan. You know, with dead people rising and killing, along with a clearer background history of the island, maybe the descendants aren't that bad after all. But the king pays in gold :D, so our group heads towards the edge of the city, north right to it actually...where a forest descendant stronghold supposedly exists. They are instructed not to engage but use more cunning techniques to gather information. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy....
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Party roll to beat = 15 Cory 9 Dusty 15 Matt 13 Steven 16 Vanessa
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"I love to party so much that I even tweet out that 'i love to party' to weird youtube cam whore cosplayers that Matt hates" - Dusty
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Back in Talantis...
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Our party heads north with commoners and on lookers in silent awe. They have heard about the escapades of the events and not many have seen adventurers like them before. Fritz takes the lead as they reach the outskirts, past the walls and into the hick-town markets when they see a half trotting Danelle Kay running after the party, begging them to take her with them. Danielle Kay fears that "they" will come for her. Not much more is said and just like that, along she comes, sitting on Jedwyn's steed. As they were told to head to the Illuminated Glade first, its a half a day travel and the group falls silent with a woman around. It begins to get dark and the group is forced to camp. Danielle Kay sits on a rock near the fire, the handsome middle aged woman is offered some rations while muttering towards the fire.

"I knew when I saw Lindricks face, I knew what was happening" - Danielle Kay

Danielle Kay claims that vengeance is on the air and there is nothing to stop it. She's a little spaced out.
Carl 7, Roll for Persuasion to get Danielle Kay to tell us more 14
Jedwyn Bogswallow, Roll for Persuasion to get into Danielle Kay mind so she can tell us more NAT 20 !!! The soothing music penetrating her head shakes her back into reality.
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Seems like the groups changing feelings about the king might be right. Danelle Kay explains that Lindrick will come again. That's because he's a failed experiment that the King ordered. Based around Wealth and Power, the king sold this idea to Danielle, Crumb and Creme. The experiments were to trap the souls but somehow this wasn't the case for Lindrick. All of this happening right under the castle! These experiments were not just limited to Lindrick. There were others, but in the end the king needed someone close to him. At the sight of a orb, she shrieks, as it brings back painful memories. The King is responsible for all of this.
What's more troubling is that whatever has possessed Lindrick knows where they are. It always will.
Well that's a perfect time for them to head to bed don't chea think?! And so we sleep....
Morning arrives and ....and......AND?!!?!
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WHAT WILL THEY FIND AT THE ILLUMINATE GLADE?!
CAN DANIELLE KAY BE TRUSTED!?!
WILL LINDRICK MAKE ANOTHER APPEARANCE?!?!
STICK AROUND AND FIND OUT ON THE NEEEEEEEXXXXXTTTTT PAAAAAAARTY ROLLLLL!!!!!!
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Trivia
-The guys are Lv 6 now and they figure out some stuff before the show -The Intro is sponsored by MK Ultra
-It's been 2 weeks since they all last played irl
-RORY IS BACK!! Just like Jesus
-Vanessa is MIA, so that means Fumbles canonically has diarrhea
-Steven is either sick or has really bad allergies during this recording.
-Jedywn now has entropic ward -Carl 7 now has the aura of protection -Barilla has 71 Hp and takes the Bear Totem path -Fritz upgrades to Grizzly Bear, +1 to bite and claw
-Fritz got a mastiff as his steed named Ambrosis, totally missed that in the shopping spree
-Steven's dad has a Mastiff named 'Thor'
-Jedwyn sold an orb that potentially has a soul in it.
-A substitute teacher once told Steven and Mark that if you ask 200 women to sleep with you, one will say "yes". WIZDUM
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Quotes
"Rory can you be Vanessa?....No, he's too busy taking selfies" - Dusty
"...I'm sorry, Columbus'd all the locals" - Steven, describing how King Talantis took the throne
"We can cum for you too you know" - Barilla
"I know this isn't what ambrosis looks like, but wouldn't it be awesome, if your dog, or some creature, animal companion, that had a giant chest cavity that kinda caved in? So you can just get in the chest cavity?" - Dusty, describing what could be a kangaroo
"Is he willing to sacrifice?" - Matt, when Mark says the King is Cold as Ice.
"Speaking of docking and undocking..." - Cory
"Yeah listeners, Mark has a journal of all our fans ages" - Dusty, joshin on Mark
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partyrollpodcast.com
@ party_roll on twitter
https://www.patreon.com/partyrollpodcast

Welcome new readers. Please start with chapter one https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/11ai7iv/last_of_the_defenders_ch_01/
Previously https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/11xv7ss/last_of_the_defenders_ch_28/
Allah settled into a corner of the room, resting against a wall at a crouch. Li pulled out a sheet of shiny black cloth from her pocket, flapping it to unfurl the short, shawl length thing. She set it on the desk and the cloth lit up--a duplicate of the interface she had used in Star dancer’s CNC--to form a keyboard. The human danced her fingers over the glowing surface, lists and glyphs changing, growing, being replaced by new symbols.
Several times the lights flickered ominously. Once they went out completely for a span of seven times seven times three and six heartbeats, the room suffused by the glow of the sticks, the monitor and Li’s keyboard cloth.
Allah lowered her head in thought. Why would the other defenders abandon them? Abandon Li? She had said, before, that “the tempo of the war had changed” when the bullies attacked…dirt? The bullies seemed to attack anything. What was so special about this particular dirt?
It had to have been important. Irreplaceable even. Allah suspected the war must not be going as well as Li’s performance last night had appeared.
She wanted to ask but more importantly she did not want to interrupt. Li remained focused on the screen and her keyboard until Allah had lost all track of time. It was only after the human stood, stretched and yawned that Li took notice of the U’knock.
“What’re you doing?” she asked.
“Waiting,” Allah said simply. And what else could she do? She had barely managed to make broth, and that with help. Allah had considered returning to the mess hall to clean the dishes and dispose of the trash left from their meal but…she did not trust the hole in the wall to provide enough water to clean them, nor did she know where to find a well, wash rags, or the refuse heap. Was the outpost like Star dancer? She did not remember seeing a bucket in the walls to whoosh away such work.
“That won’t do,” Li chastised, turning to stride out the door. The lights flickered again and Li returned to the desk, grabbing her glowing stick.
“Demeter?” Li called as Allah rose from her crouch and picked up her own stick to follow, “Do you have any V-REHs in storage?”
“T-t-t-t-t-this facility hhhhhhhhas a fully stoc-c-c-cked classroom,” the machine replied. Whatever Li had been focused on, heeling Demeter speak was not an apparent priority.
“Show me,” Li ordered.
"P-p-please follow the indicated-d-d-d-d-d-” Demeter hiccuped, clicked and was silent. A blue light flickered on and off on the floor. Li followed.
They reached the great hall again, and Allah was almost surprised to hear the sound of robots still busy tearing apart other machines. More, in place of the planters there now sat the squat carts from the holoimage at the quorum. Tanks, Li had called them. They were bare, skeletal husks now, but the treads and wheels were in place. Three humanoid robots were pushing a large many tubed box into the machine's center.
“How many of these will we need to make?” Allah asked as she passed another husk of metal.
“We’ll keep producing until the siege ends,” Li answered, “but I’d like to have at least one thousand per continent. And at least a hundred mass drivers for orbital bombardment deterrence.”
“Those are the larger ones,” Allah guessed, “the wide ones that will crush Umati’clam’s buildings?
Li nodded. “The same,” she pointed up. In the dim scattered light Allah could see the open center of the spire was no longer so open. Highlighted by the glow of sparks were the skeletons of metal birds. She could not be certain but these forms looked larger than the arrows that had assaulted the bully vessel. “But those bad boys,” Li continued, “will be able to take the fight to em.
“Nachtkrapp class assault fighters,” Li explained. The flickering blue light led them out of the garage and down another door filled corridor. “With quad mounted rail guns and hardpoints that can load up to four Hawking/Golubev B-903 ship killer missiles.
“Buster missiles,” Allah said uncertainly. Li nodded. “These birds--these Nachtkrapps--are much larger than the arrows from before. Why did Demeter not use such weapons last night?”
Li stopped in the dark hallway, turning to reappraise her friend. “You catch on quick,” the human complimented Allah. She turned, resuming their journey. “Two reasons. First, Nachtkrapp designs are only about thirty years old so Demeter didn’t know how to make them before we uploaded thermopylae. They’re not bleeding edge tech but they’re proven and tough. The assault drones you saw last night are in-atmosphere interceptors. Not much bigger than busters themselves.”
“You said there were two reasons,” Allah pressed as she was led into another room filled with tables. These were much smaller than the mess hall benches, a single chair and monitor for each. They were arranged in a circle around the room, facing inward. Li strode to a closet in the corner.
“Gravity weapons have a…life cycle. They need to either be used within a couple years or recycled. Buster missiles are expensive to maintain. So there was no foreseeable reason for Demeter to waste resources on making and maintaining a fleet of drones that could carry them.”
“Until now,” Allah concluded. “But I still do not understand. Why did the bullies come here? We have nothing of value to offer.”
Li stopped digging through the closet, returning to the ring of tables. She set three helmets on one of the tiny tables, then glanced around the room. She walked to another closet, retrieving a pitcher and a plate. Allah watched as Li set the plate in the center of the room, took the pitcher to a waist high box and pressed a button. Water spouted from the top of the box and Li used it to fill the pitcher.
She returned to the center of the room, tapping a button on the edge of the plate with her foot. Allah could feel the air begin to hum.
“Here,” Li handed the pitcher of water next to Allah. “Pour this over the Vibro plate. Don’t worry; it won’t spill as long as the plate is on."
Allah I did as instructed, and the water began to shimmer. It hovered three paw’s spans above the surface of the strange plate. Allah bent, sniffing at the floating pool.
“Now,” while Allah had been pouring the water, Li had made a tiny toy out of paper. It was pointed like her ship, but not. It looked like some strange raft, “place this under the water with the flat side pointed up.”
As Allah moved her paw under the water, she felt a force shaking her. She drew her paw away.
“It won’t hurt you,” Li promised. "We used to do this in primary school. It’s a science experiment. For children.”
Cautiously, Allah crouched and slid her paw under the floating water.
“Make sure the boat touches the water before you take your hand away.”
Allah did so and the boat floated upside down on the water.
"This is using vibrational force to counteract gravity. It is not true anti-gravity but it lets you see what I’m trying to describe next."
“It floats upside down though,” Allah pointed to the toy boat as it bobbed on the underside of the pool, upside down. “It defies the gravity."
“Not entirely,” Li answered, “this is more a case of bending the rules."
“What,” Allah asked, “is gravity?”
“It's a fundamental force of physics,” Li explained, holding up a hand at Allah’s question. “We’ll get to physics another time. Every object, including you and me, has gravity. It allows objects to pull one another closer together. It’s what holds you to the ground and,” she dug into a pocket, pulling a round coin shaped object free. She dropped the coin onto the ground, “what causes objects to fall to the ground when released."
“It is not magic then,” Allah gestured to the boat.
“Depending on your level of technological achievement,” Li shrugged, “that's debatable. The point is that normal gravity pulls objects together. The larger the object, the greater that pull. Generally speaking, I’m not getting into mass today.
“But,” she continued, “let us suppose you had a way to harness gravity, “ she bent and manipulated a dial on the plate. “If you could force the gravity of a giant object into a single point,” the pool of water began to shift and change, the upside down boat rocking violently in the sudden storm. Slowly, as Li pressed other buttons and turned dials, the tone of the plate changed, and the pool of water with it. It began to swirl, becoming a tiny typhoon. “Something that is creating a strong gravity well--like this planet--you could “dip” from that well using a special bucket,” the boat was now spinning rapidly faster up the inside of the typhoon, “and take some of that gravity to use for your own means.
“This is how we first learned to control gravity,” Li finished as the boat flew up from the top of the typhoon. “Large objects create it, and we exploit it. It's how we created the slingshot drive. We could use gravity because its pull is infinite, and reaches beyond all the known universe.
“But if it reaches so far,” Allah asked, “why do not all objects pull themselves together?”
“They may,” Li answered, “eventually,” she waved a hand in defeat. “The tech heads would be able to explain this much better than I can. But,” she handed Allah the paper boat, “the important thing is to understand that gravity pulls everything together by its nature, and the closer you are to a large object, the more powerful its effect becomes.
“Now,” she set the pitcher under the typhoon and tapped another button with her foot. The water--most of it--sloshed inside. “This is where things get a little weird. When we first created sling drives we used gravitational pull and massive amounts of power to pull us to neighboring stars, and from there to other stars, and others. But as my species learned more about gravity, we realized we could…” She trailed off. “I am not a gravity mechanic, and we start getting into infinite universe theory, supersymmetry, string theory and you’re barely ready for quantum mechanics,” the human shrugged, “but it was explained to me when I was…younger that it is like reversing the polarity of a magnet. To create an anti-gravitational well inside of an existing gravity well.”
“What is a magnet?” Allah asked.
“Another force of attraction, like gravity, only stronger than gravity, but with much shorter range. But magnets can both pull and repel. So can gravity…Once you learn how.
“And that is part of why the,” Li grinned again. Allah was getting used to the expression, “Bullies attacked here. Your planet has an easily exploitable gravity well and all the resources they could ever want. Well, most. And the swarmers are what my people call a ‘competitive species’. They don’t seek cooperation and destroy any sapient species they find to avoid the chance of competition later.
“That's the main reason why they attacked your planet. Its what’s called the Smorgasbord Doctrine. Once a species learns to control gravity, it becomes more energy and time efficient to use that control to harvest larger astral bodies than to chase down multiple smaller ones. They could have parked over or in one of your gas giants like Star dancer is now and gotten most of the same minerals, water and materials but…there is a third reason. They came here for something ‘special’.”
“What?” Allah asked. What could her planet still have to offer that the bullies could possibly prize?
Li looked at Allah appraisingly, “Complex proteins and carbohydrates remain energy intensive to synthesize or store for long periods of time.”
Allah’s face remained blank as the tiny star behind her ear translated the strange words into U’knock. “Meat and plant matter,” it said.
Li put it more plainly still.
“They came here to harvest you…”

If you’re not familiar with my story, I (26F) have been raped twice. Once when I was 13 and again when I was 19. I was raped by two different people. The attack from when I was 13, at the time, was so traumatizing that I blocked out the event from my mind completely. I had reoccurring nightmares of the rape and my rapist for 12 years but didn’t know what they meant. It wasn’t until 2021 that is started to regain my memories and realized it was a real event. I’ve slowly been regaining my memories since. I have never known the identity of my rapist, never even knew his name, and have resorted to calling him a nickname, Apollo, for means to end.
Until last Sunday night.
I had a theory about a year ago that I could check the yearbooks of the college the party I was raped at was held at and see if he was a student there. It was a long shot but I figured I’d try. I didn’t expect to find anything. So me and my fiancé went to the school’s library to look at the yearbooks. We sat and looked through them for awhile. Then I turned the page and looked down and my heart stopped. There, in the corner, was Apollo. I stared at him in dead silence for five minutes straight.
But I couldn’t be sure. How could I? It wasn’t until we looked him up and found out he was a youth pastor that we realized we might be able to find a recording of his voice. And then I could be sure. I searched and finally found one. I sat anxiously watching, waiting for him to come. And then from off screen came a voice that sent a chill down my spine. In horror I watched him come on screen, glowing in the spotlight, as he introduced himself as he smiled. It was him. I knew it. I knew it down to my marrow. He was Apollo, the man who raped me when I was 13.
It’s been a whirlwind of a week… it feels so strange to finally have a name to the face who has haunted me for half my life. I’m thinking of reaching out to him. To tell him who I am, what he did, and what he’s done to my life because of it. I just feel lost…
Thanks for reading and sorry for the long story 💙

I don’t know if I’m overreacting but it really stuck with me even though it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve played. I am also pretty new to DnD so I haven’t had many campaigns to compare it to.
Anyway I really didn’t enjoy playing my last campaign. The DM pitched it as a sandbox game where we could explore the world and stuff. However for the whole time we ended up doing completely miserable work for very hatable characters. All npc were complete dickheads and I would probably have killed them but most npc were unlevelled so the could one hit KO our whole team. In the first quest we went to a party to steal some random thing, ended up somehow killing everyone in the party for now good reason. And I still don’t know what we stole. The next session we went to an island where the DM tried to show how tough everyone was by them being complete assholes to us in every interaction. Then came a story fight where we somehow were supposed to fight this overpowered guy as a lvl 2 team. (For reference I hit nat 20 + 7 to hit on my weapon and still missed). Anyway I got one shot killed and the rest only got away by action disengaging and fleeing on their first turn. Apparently DM made it obvious that we we supposed to use the environment to kill him but I still don’t know what he meant by that. Next session was a filler but we were hired to clean a sewer and he tried to get me to commit genocide. By that time I was really uncomfortable with where the game was headed so I left.

In the pursuit of the P-rank I have lost it

Never posted on Reddit before but I figured I should since I’m on here all the time. I’ll be explaining my situation and just asking for your advice at the end and what you think I should do. I never really had a care in the world about my health or questioned it growing up. Even when I got to about 330 pounds in High school. I smoked weed and nicotine everyday and ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted And was fine, never had any anxiety. I eventually lost almost all of the weight within a couple years from age 17 to about 19 to 20 and went from 330 pounds to 188. Anyway just for a little background during that whole time I still smoked vapes and weed and drank alcohol and funny enough one night in 2021 even after losing that much weight something happened to me that had never happened before. I was outside smoking weed with my girlfriend and Felt very odd. Something felt off but I couldn’t figure it out yet. Then I noticed that my heart was racing incredibly fast. I started to panic and thought I was dying and felt as if I was going to pass out. My girlfriend I’ll call Britney for now was upset and we went inside to try and relax but I never did. 10 minutes went by and I still was panicked and my heart was beating out of my chest. To make a long story short I told my parents and we eventually called an ambulance and when they arrived my heart went back to normal. This was also when Covid started and I was freaked out from all the misinformation and never was vaccinated out of fear.Spent the entire night in the hospital got out the next day and decided to quit everything all at once every drug and alcohol. Which was hard but I did it for about 2 months and relapsed on weed but every time I relapsed I had another panic attack thinking the same thing was happening or going to happen and it made weed not an option for me anymore. But then it started happening when I wasn’t smoking. I was convinced my heart was faulty. Fully quit for a year and and started having heart palpitations every other day noticing my heart beat at all times living in fear of death every single day. It was terrible. Eventually things slowly got better never died and started moving on with my life. Moved from jersey to Florida about 2 years after that happened and started vaping again because I’m very dumb but hadn’t had that bad of an episode since and haven’t really maybe 1 time I might have but that was it. Anyway I know this post is long and I’m not good at typing stories but it’s been 4 years later and I still get palpitations that scare the crap out of me. Became a hypochondriac after my first panic attack btw but the heart thing is the worst every time I feel one I’m dragged back down to that feeling of that first night and assume something’s wrong with me and I’m gonna die when I’m reassured from doctors that everything looks fine. I’m gonna go for my yearly check up again soon because I’m freaked out per usual and I gained a lot of weight back which doesn’t help my health anxiety either.I feel palpitations sometimes multiple times a day and then I’m good for a week or a couple months then maybe I’ll feel them a few times a week different days. I want to know if anyone has experienced anything similar and what they think I should do. Thank you for your time and stay safe and healthy.

So, I got Elden Ring at launch. The promise of a FromSoft game, which I'd never had luck with, being open world and less linear spoke to my soft little brain.
Annnnnd I hated it. I felt lost. Confused. Just meandering. Felt like I wasn't getting anywhere and just didn't get 'it.' I was a weird mix of magic and strength and everything. I was just using whatever I found if it looked cool.
I killed Margot, after countless times, and then just wandered and didn't really find my next journey and gave up when I got stumped by random Enemies in the castle.
Cut to about 3 weeks ago, something caught my eye about Elden Ring and I wanted to give it a go. I read some articles about builds, which was something I hadn't considered in my first go round.
I bought the game again and embarked with a simple "Beserk" build in mind. And I loved it. I felt like I was doing it properly now.
I found a good rythym with 2 swords and jump attacks. Found the talisman that boosts jump attacks and found my style. A jump attack and a quick dual handed combo.
Then I met Godrick The Grafted and it was fucking epic. After the cut scene, we ran at each other and like a fucking anime, we both jumped and collided mid air. The music was soaring and I was just feeling it.
My finance was having a ball watching me react and freak out over how epic and grandeous it was. I died. A lot. But I understood what I had to do and was actually enjoying the challenge?
I was like "is this it? Am I elden ringing?"
Got a flame negation for his phase 2 and buckled down. I wasn't getting greedy, I was attacking and rolling away. Dodging like a beast and fucking did it.
It was actually an immense moment of completion. It felt like I achieved something with the game and did what I was supposed to. I learned his attacks, and just enjoyed the fight.
I don't know why I'm posting this. I'm now 60 odd hours in and I think that Godrick the Grafted fight has just stuck with me. It was one of the best moments in my "gaming career" and I just wanted to say I now get why this game is so heralded and enjoyable haha while being so fucking frustrating.

so sorry that my first post here is something like this but im going through a period again where little to no names , pronouns , words , and genders fit me it makes me feel lost and feel estranged to myself. it also doesnt help when 1st person feels weird but i cant do 3rd person because that feels even weirder because of the whole "nothing feeling right" situation. i was kinda wondering if anyone else felt like this or if they had any tips on how to help with this ? any advice is appreciated even if unused by myself <3

Everything comes to an end...
Playing this game from it´s 95 version (as a teenager with an 386sx pc) up to this years edition (as a grown man in it´s mid 40ties with a PS5), today is the day i thought would never come...i completly lost my love for the game, which has accompanied me for more than half my life.
The fun is gone, there´s nothing more to play for...i´m sick of these shitty glitch goals , the ballerinas, the poke check spammers and players circling behind thier own net with after a one goal lead...
Today i tried Hut champions the last time...8 out of 10 games 86 base gold players flying by my whole team (most of my players are 93 an wheels activated) from the start of the game on...i never could catch up. Furthermore my 92 Weber bounced of player types like Kane or Gaudreau every time i tried to hit them...fun?? Not at all..
I also have to play half of my games on the PK, because EA fucked up the hybrid controls this year. Gunning for a rebound: slashing penalty almost every time. Setting up a one timer: Slashing penalty half of the time, because the passing player hacks his opponent after passing the puck, while I`m hitting the shooting button for the one timer...Annoying, frustrating, and never fixed. And before you ask...after nearly 30 years of playing this game pusing buttons to shoot, hit oder pass, my brain ist ot old (and slow, and dumb) to get used to the skill stick controls...big fail every time i try it...can't get it going...
So the onlie modes are quite fucked up and never really fixed by EA...
So what's left?? The offline modes??
Hut rush - was fun until this year...now they have super-human goalies even at rookie to make it frustrating to reach the objectives...so fun?? Gone
SB - Winnig every game 15:1 isn't really challenging...so it*s a boring grind for new packs every week...fun?? Not really
The contend / events:
Mostly the same as the years before...it feels like EA does a copy and paste job here...nothing more...
After all, this game went from a varied enjoyable hockey game to a boring, grind fest which leaves me in a bad mood most of the time after playing...
So I decided to take a break from it and all my tradable players are on the market at the moment...i step down from this game after all this years, maybe I´ll give it a try next autmn, maybe not...
We´ll see...

I sometimes browse through this sub looking for answers and viewpoints from other fellow men but realise not everyone answering are men… have we lost the purpose of this sub?

College and writer's block has kept me from completing chapter 5 of my Empires fanfic, but finally I got it done. I promise it'll be up on Wattpad very soon. For now, enjoy chapter 5!

Chapter 5

Word spread quickly about the battle, especially through the castle. In turn leaving Marinette with an extreme paranoia. Was he alive? Several weeks had gone by without a letter. No definitive answer of the prince's whereabouts or health status keeping her anxiety high. Surely it was a good thing she hadn't heard anything, right? If they hadn't any news of her husband, then he was well. One would have definitely told her if he'd gone missing or worse been killed. At least that's what she would have expected, of course sometimes things go wrong. That's why she couldn't take this easily. It was hard to be strong when a weight one could never bear threatened to crash upon your shoulders. In attempt to remain patient, the princess tried to keep herself busy. Unfortunately her daily duties were not enough to keep her occupied. Her morning rides were lonely, the bed far too spacious for her alone. On top of that she just felt off. At first the princess believed she'd come down with something being how stressed she was, but the longer it dragged on the more suspicious she became. She had her theories, but for the time being this would be information she kept to herself.
“Your highness?” The sound of Lady Lavillant's voice distracted the princess from her thoughts, directing her attention to the door. “May I present to you the Lady....”
“Lady Couffaine. It is a pleasure to see you again. I presume you experienced a pleasant journey to the castle?”
“Indeed Madame.”
“Very good. I promise you will be well taken care of in my court. Your brother is a dear friend of the Prince and I, so it is the least we could do while he is away.”
“Thank you Madame.”
“However, I do still expect you to pull your weight around here. Mainly for your own sake. Rumors spread quickly in these walls. The Lady Lavillant will see to it that you learn the ropes.”
“Your highness?” The winded words of a man's voice disrupted the women's conversation. Upon seeing his face, Marinette knew that whatever he had to say was urgent. Giving her ladies a simple nod, they curtsied and dismissed themselves.
“General Kanté, what is it that brings you here!? Should you not be scoping the lands on behalf of my husband, the prince?”
“Yes, your highness. However, it is by direct orders from the prince that I have arrived.”
“For what reason?”
“To deliver you this letter personally Madame.” That came as a surprise, but his reasoning was of no consequence now. Marinette was far too eager to read the letter.
“Is he well?”
“Yes, Madame. Mostly anyway.”
“Mostly!?” Now she really needed to know.
My dearest Marinette,
I have become quite distracted in the aftermath of the first battle that I haven't the time to write you. I am well, suffering only some minor scrapes and a rising temperature. Unfortunately, the battle resulted in a French defeat. We've underestimated the strength of the English army. They've forced our retreat back to Amiens. My love, I fear this may take longer than we first anticipated. I swear to you that I will do my best to end this quarrel quickly, so that I may return to you as promised. Oh, how much I already long for you to be close. The depths to which I dare not express in writing, for I have not the words to describe it.
Before she knew it, tears were beginning to spill from her eyes. The streams of water blinding her sight to the ink spread across the parchment.
I believe not that all is lost. Even the men cling to their hopes of a successful battle. How is my father at this time? I corresponded with him on these matters as well, but I am yet to receive his response. My worries have begun to exceed that of my confidence. How am I to make logical decisions, if I have not the information to make them? Fret not though, my dear, for I still carry the determination to get us through this war.
Your loving husband,
Prince Adrien Agreste Of France
She stared at the letter a few more moments, processing the message. Though her schedule was quite full, Marinette knew she could make room for her husband's questioning. She was in need of speaking with the king anyhow.
“Madame?” Snapping back from her thoughts, Marinette responded to the cavalry general.
“How long will you be staying General?” Composing herself, Marinette laid the letter on the table. His answer would determine how she went about her next steps.
“We are resting our horses for the evening. However, we must be off by morning. The prince is expecting me to report back to him within two days time.”
“Very well. I will write my reply tonight and send it off with you.”
“As you wish Madame.” Bowing politely with his sword at his side, Kanté acknowledged the end of the conversation. His uniform slightly worn from his trip in the saddle.
“Now, if you will excuse me. I have some other business to attend to.” Awkwardly gathering up her skirt, the princess excused herself out the door towards her father-in-law's office. Hopefully, he'd be in a good mood. Though that was highly unlikely. Reaching the doors, Marinette noticed that they were ajar. King Gabriel was either away from his private desk or busy with time for distraction. Convincing herself with a breath, she collected the courage to knock on the large doors.
“Who is it!?”
“Princess Marinette your majesty.”
“You may enter.” Upon invitation, Marinette showed herself in. Presenting yourself before the king was always a risky task, but this was a matter she could put off no longer. “Marinette.”
“Your majesty.”
“For what reason do you seek me?” Not once had he fully acknowledged her presence, his hands working methodically across the sheet of paper spread over his desk. Perhaps he already had a response in progress?
“I received a letter from the prince; he just wanted me to check up on your reply.”
“If he has time to write to you then he has too much time on his hands.” Gabriel soured as he dipped his pen into the ink once more, a side-eye rising to meet her before returning to the page. For as smart as Gabriel was, his cold demeanor made it quite difficult to hold conversation with him. It made sense why he was highly disliked by the public.
“Nevertheless, I have been in need of speaking with you.”
“Out with it then, for I have not the time to dabble in a young woman's opinions on matters to which she is uneducated.” As the words slipped off his tongue, Marinette could feel her blood beginning to simmer. She may not have been as well educated on the matters of war, but in regards to writing she indeed was.
“Forgive me Sire, but it was not to the war that I was referring.” The slowing of his pen, and a displeased breath set the stage for the conversation. Her father-in-law's stare like that of solid steel. Almost as if daring her to continue. Now she had his attention. “I merely wanted to propose an idea to you for approval.” With a single lift of his hand, he gestured for her to go on. “I may not have a lot of skills to offer when it comes to the war itself, but I would very much like to help and my writing abilities are fairly sharp. I happened to notice the stack of death notifications and was contemplating whether I should request to write the condolences.”
“An why would you think I might allow you to do that?”
“I was hoping to relive some of your load your majesty.”
“Your inquiry into this matter has proven useless. I have no interest in writing condolences. I have far more pressing matters. Therefore, you have not removed a burden from my shoulders.”
“But Sire, what about the families of the fallen men?”
“What about them?” The king questioned as he slowly stood.
“Should they not have some closure?”
“What good would that do? People die.” He didn't spare her a glance as he walked by, stopping just behind her only to examine the map on the wall.
“Yes, but it was us that sent those men to the front. Surely they will hold us accountable for their deaths.”
“So?”
“So what happens when we lose the support of the people!?” Mari knew her outburst was out of line, and as expected Gabriel turned back to stare at her. The bitter gaze that landed upon her, chilling. Ashamed and frustrated, Marinette collected herself.
“The people have more concerning matters to worry about then our war efforts with England.” What matters!? Does not the the lives of their sons and husbands worry them? “However, if you must busy yourself, be my guest.” It was curious that the king had allowed Marinette the task. Especially after her outburst. Surely, he had a motive. The likelyhood that it was just to get the papers off his desk, the most viable excuse. Choosing to question it no more, the princess curtsied before her father-in-law and excused herself from his presence. In the following hours a couple servants brought the stacks to her living quarters. The stack looked smaller on the king's desk, the pages reaching as high as the mirror on hers. The sad realities of war had finally reached her chambers. Every drop of ink that spelled out a name far less numerous than the drops of blood that stained the valleys of Lille to Aimens. All the forlorn cries of the women were yet to be heard across the kingdom and its countryside. How sickening that will be to hear; for no one could bring them comfort. An how selfish it was for the princess to feel so relieved that her husband still remained alive. Perhaps it wasn't selfish to feel blessed? Even if that was the case, Marinette couldn't help but feel guilty. How was it fair that her husband survived and so many others did not? The gray skies outside her window seemed to prepare themselves to weep on the behalf of the widows and children left behind. The wind whisking through the trees as a soft tribute to France's fallen warriors. Gathering up the courage, Marinette readied her quill and seals. It was going to be a long afternoon. Letter after letter, signature after signature, every word written with the utmost sincerity. Bearing with her cramping fingers, Marinette continued until the moon revealed itself. The stack appearing as if she had hardly touched it. The notifications to which she was to address still far too numerous for her to get done within only a few days. Finding a good place to stop, Marinette called it a night. Unfortunately, getting some rest was a lot harder than she'd anticipated as well. Her mind raveled at the body count. Why did Felix have to declare war on France!? For what quarrel did he seek to cease? The question consumed her. Every answer plausible, but none confirmed. Of what evidence did she have to go on? Could she dig up her rival's motive? An if so, would that be something that her husband could weaponize against his corrupted cousin? The consequences of war were beginning to mount, and something about it wasn't right. She wasn't just talking about the weight of carnage either. In her gut, the princess could tell that there was more to this than meets the eye.

My sister Sophie loses her shit at people for strange reasons. She’s actually gone to therapy for it before. The first time because our parents grounded her for coming home too late, so she started telling them she hates them and locked herself in the bathroom saying she was going to harm herself. Then dad kicked the door in and she was actually looking for razors so dad had to wrestle her into her room while she yelled like a crazy person.
After she went to therapy and got better but sometimes still loses it for apparently no reason.
She also flips at me specifically a lot. Examples:

• She said I didn't "love her" because I didn't reply to literally ONE text she sent me while I was hanging out with friends, then said we should have ice cream for me to make it up to her. We actually did the next day (she stayed mad at me all night and morning) and she was totally happy again.
• One time we were cooking pasta, joking around at the same time. Then like 1 drop of hot water spilled on her arm while I was draining the pasta and she YELLED at me “can you stop being an asshole?” like assuming I did it on purpose, WTF?
• One time *she* started wrestling me as a joke, then when I struggled she suddenly sucker PUNCHED me on the side of the neck and cussed at me like it was all my fault.

She also fights with our other sister (Iris, 17, triplets). Not as often as with me but quite a bit too. The latest is that she "hates" being humped (they've jokingly humped each other since forever). Recently Sophie humped Iris out of nowhere and found it hilarious, then like an hour later Iris got her "revenge" and Sophie LOST HER SHIT, called her a wh-re, said she's "always" hated being humped. Iris and I told her she did the same thing like 1 hour ago, then when Iris started laughing her ass off at how silly she was being, Sophie left for her room... and cried.
It’s so exhausting how she loses her shit whenever and you can’t reason with her at all for like the rest of the day, she just utterly hates you for the rest of the day.
How to deal with her when this happens? Is there a way to stop her from acting like this?
tl;dr: Sister loses her shit way too easily, especially around me. How to deal with her when it happens?

Ilvermorny is filled with people from all over America, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean islands, there has to be some killer party’s, and that great hall, definitely a hodgepodge of the best culture
Whiskey, mezcal, barbecue, car culture (low riders, street racing, off roading, etc…) not to mention all the unique music and food from many of the different regions of North America
(I posted this a couple year ago on a different account if this seems familiar)
My favorite comments were, imagine the trailer park boys as the golden trio, imagine magical Florida man, and someone who said they where working on a fan fiction with magical native Americans

I (31m) am dating my youngest daughters mom (32f) and we are having disagreements on raising her son(8m) and I believe its gone too far. For context we both have kids. I have two daughters, one from a previous relationship and one with her and she has her son and of course our daughter. Our two oldest are just 7 months apart in age with my daughter being the oldest. Our two oldest have different special needs with her son being a high functioning autistic with word dyslexia but no issues with numbers, in fact he was selected to go to an advanced math class in his school. I love him like a son but his mom doesn't let me parent him or anything. I tried to have him cut his own food and she cuts it for him the moment he starts to whine then I get chewed out for handing him a knife, including a safe plastic knife saying he would find a way to cut himself. I would remind him multiple times to to do something but would whine when I would put my foot down then I get chewed for raising my voice at him and told he doesn't know how to do the specific thing I asked, like putting away the silverware for example. Sometimes she does relent but not very often and even then its a fight. Her son is always the victim when ever he gets in trouble at school or he was discriminated against when he got kicked out of daycare, reason why coming up shortly. That being said three days ago I believe her son was coming home from an after school program and another boy was following him around the bus and was said to have been bullying him. Her son moved multiple times and asked the other boy to leave him alone on multiple occasions. When the boy wouldn't leave my gf's son alone he decided to stick his down the boys pants who was following him and grab his "area". We were at the mall when she got the call because we had a rare couple hours of being kid free with no work. She refused to tell me what happened but didn't want to go home yet and I just let her be. After walking around spencer's for a couple minutes we left and she told me what happened. I was and still am at a lost for words and still am and being a SA survivor myself I am feeling extremely numb with the situation. I don't know how to react or what to say because this isn't the first time he grabbed someone inappropriately with out consent which is why he got kicked out of daycare, he grabbed someone inappropriately multiple times. Her son is no longer allowed on the afterschool bus and with his mom not being able to drive she has no way to get him home besides the regular school bus. She has been contacting the school and the bus company and stating that its the other boys fault since he wouldn't leave him alone even when he would move to a different seat on the bus. The other boy did state that he was asked to leave my gf's son alone but didn't listen. The school counselor did state that the other boy has not reacted well with the incident on the bus and from what it sounds like the parents of the young boy are looking at a possible charges against my gf's son due to the emotional damages done. I am really feeling like this was the last straw and I honestly don't know what to do at this point. My oldest daughter doesn't even want to go over to their place anymore and sleep over. Should I just cut my loses and fight for my youngest daughter or should I stay?

I’m about to give up on apple and it’s terrible cloud storage service. I pay for the 2TB storage because I have about 7+ years of photos and had all of my photos backed up to the cloud prior a restore. 1000% sure they were backed up on the cloud. Went into the Apple store to get my phone looked at for battery issues and they backed everything up to restore my phone. This probably wasn’t going to help but I did it anyway. And it didn’t, not only that but I lost thousands of photos and no one at apple knows why. Have spent hours dealing with them and no one can give me an answer.
From the months of July-October 2022 I went to Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Zion, and Grand Teton Natl parks, Las Vegas, Concerts, etc. Memories i’ll never get back. Thanks SO MUCH apple!!! .

Hear me out, when I was ten years old my mom was pregnant with a baby boy. I can’t remember how far she was but the bump was noticeable when she went through her miscarriage. I remember my younger brother sobbing with my mom when she told us. Of course I was disappointed but I didn’t consider him dead yet. I knew that my dad wanted another kid really bad so I knew she would be pregnant again and when she was, I thought it was the baby she previously lost just coming back again. He’s now six. I’ve always believed that what we call “rainbow babies” are just the miscarried baby’s making a comeback. I’ve never been taught to think this I’ve just always thought it. Please don’t think that I’m insensitive about this topic. Miscarriage is a terrible thing and no body should go through it. I just wish more woman thought like I did so that it wouldn’t feel like they lost a child.