Pretext - out of boredom, gonna write a summary of the ongoings of a certain hotel at Jax Beach. I get to vent, you get hot tea not seen on tv or streaming.
The Story So Far - New hotel is opening soon. They fired their old staff during covid and need new workers. They host an internal job fair(they are the only company there hiring) at a sister location.
I go to the fair on Saturday, I want to be a laundry-person so that I can work without having to put on a fake smile in front of people everyday. I also interview for front desk. I am turned down for not having front desk experience. I get turned down for laundry and instead get pushed to being a lobby person because of my "personality". It gets described as almost like a restaurant hostess position with tip potential, the base pay is higher than my past job so eh. I get hired. After a delay in paperwork, we show up two weeks later for orientation. Nothing out of the ordinary except we are told that we have to put the hotel together ourselves once we get the permits to be on location. We train at two hotels. Nothing remarkable except workers were drinking guest coffee and apparently the housekeepers were running the clock. Our breakfast manager gets into an argument with some of us during the computer training section because we need to be quiet and do our work. First crack in the social fabric.
We finally get the permits to be on the premises. Less than a week of being on site, a house keeper and the breakfast manager start arguing. Not long after that, the same housekeeper got fired for cussing out our HR lady while arguing with the head chef in the elevator going home.
During a planned power outage caught two workers giving head in one of the rooms while I was putting hangers in each room. My partner for the same task would never return to work after lunch.
We were promised an extended weekend near the hotel opening. The day before said weekend, corporate came by and canceled that weekend. Everyone was pissed and I was the only one of few people to show up on Sunday. Around this time, my manager decided to fill our staffing gaps with a staffing company. Two of these workers were caught spying on everyone else to take pictures on everyone and go to my manager with the pics. My manager also cussed out the staffing company because how dare people want to be off on Sunday or have a life outside the hotel. Go cuss out corporate for being a bunch of tone deaf idiots.
My manager sent me and 3 others to go clean the employee break area. We did not need that many people. I could have done it alone myself. I have to once the hotel opens anyway. I decided to just delegate different cleaning tasks and then finish up once they are done. Breakfast manager comes in and just starts sweeping for no reason. My boss comes in and chews me out in front of other people. I do later get an private apology in our gym, but I felt I was set up.
We are allowed to visit bars but not drink alcohol and must be at tables, not the bar section itself. Breakfast manager was going to Lynch's for lunch and having a beer, and then showing the pics of said beers to my co-workers. The managers in general got caught with some apple based alcohol in their office as well.
So once the hotel opens, our positions become malleable. I was told I would be either Lobby or Houseman. I have to now do the duties of both + room service. And no, people don't tip for room service, at least I am paid decent enough, then again I don't pay rent so maybe I am speaking from a privileged position.
Let's talk about the two spies - They are the other lobby-person and our main houseman. Everyone hates cleaning windows. The other lobby-person is supposed to handle such a job but neglects them. After back and forth with my manager, I handle windows now. Our houseman is supposed to handle the upper floors + take out the trash. He is seen constantly on the second floor laughing it up with laundry and doing lobby person stuff. I asked for a assistant and was denied, but the other lobby-person gets one. He was slacking off so hard that he neglected to clean the guest laundry for three days, and as such we got complaints daily about it being dirty. I now handle the guest laundry. I caught him following me and taking pics. And some other workers came up to me and said they heard him in conversation with my manager over these pics. Apparently the pair wouldn't work until our manager came to work, and would sit for hours in the break room, yet complained about our graveyard shift worker doing the same. They started disappearing in the morning before the manager came in. No one knew where they went. We found out at last what they were up to. They got caught in one of these house keeping closest having sex. This same person is about to get promoted. Suck your way to the top top top.
We were having issues with keeping housekeeping closets stocked because our houseman was busy having a party in laundry. I started stocking them myself during my shift. Due to the benefits of such, people during my shift(not me anymore) have to stock the closets now. We had a similar issue with laundry as there is only some much we can wash and dry in one 8 hour shift. I suggested we open up a night shift for laundry. In the meantime I would wash and dry as I could. We eventually got a night-shift. Laundry flows so much better now.
They choose a terrible color for our lobby floor. White and it's various shades including cream are hard to keep clean. Especially with the foot traffic from people coming to and from the bar. After an complaint from bar staff about the spots our temp cleaning machine missed. I got the idea to just take some industrial de-greaser and scrub the floors myself. It took three days. It so also happens that our president was coming for a visit, so my little idea of scrubbing the floors also saved everyone's tooshies. Did I get a thanks? No. "When are you gonna clean up your mess" was the response while I waited on the floors to dry. I have to put down wet floor signs so that we don't get sued to oblivion is someone slips. Sorry that wet floor signs aren't aesthetic. Dirty floors aren't either you know.
I got written up twice. Once for leaving early and not telling graveyard shift such. I was told by my manager that if I arrive late to shift my leaving time so I am still giving the company 8 hours of work. The same for the vice versa. It was also around the time when I realized that I was now also doing houseman duties despite what I was told and promised. So written up for following manager instructions and low key insubordination because excuse me for trying to do the job I was contracted for. I arrive early to work and leave exactly at the appointed time. You just written up into more money. Thanks.
The second time was really really my fault. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have been doing social media on my current accounts for like 6-7 years. Work + keeping up with it was getting a little overwhelming last month and I worked myself into going to work, doing social media stuff up to two hours before before my next shift with no sleep, and went to work. I was exhausted and should have sent myself to the break room. I was instead chilling with front desk between tasks and that got caught on camera. My manager also was trying to accuse me of not cleaning the bathrooms properly, but after seeing my process realized that it wasn't me. And I didn't get any verbal warnings that I was picking up bad behaviors. Straight to write up. She gives me this look after that incident, but that might do to now wearing sunglasses and a mask to work. I clean bathrooms for a living now. Excuse me if I don't want to be breathing in poop and pee particles + these heavy cleaning materials. My mother is sick with cancer, I don't need to be bringing anything home. Period. Also the lighting is too bright, thus shades.
Oh, yes the Lobby-person position. It's just another term for janitor. I asked to be transferred to the kitchen after my manager got caught making fun of me to other managers and suggesting ways to fire me, but she blocked the transfer. I went in an asked for a raise, radio silence.
Starting today or Monday is associate/employee appreciation week. It is also time for our 90 day assessments. I fully expect to be fired this week, so maybe these posts will last for only one more post.
See you next Sunday.

it’s been 4 months since the break up, and two months since we last saw each other. We decided to spend one last night together in an Airbnb and it was a priceless, but sad and anxiety enducing time. I was on and off with my ex after we broke up for about two months. During that time I completely sabotaged whatever I had left with her. The breakup was not my fault, but my reactions to her not committing as much of herself to me in those last two months was, I can’t find a way to justify it within myself, but I found a million ways to justify it to her. Since that last day we spent the breakup has completely derailed my life. I quit my job because i became a negative and miserable person, my co workers started to hate me. In that time I have spent all my savings getting my car insured, registered, taxes paid and the first day after I get it registered it stalls out. I am now stuck in a small town that’s a 30 minute drive from any work oppurtunity with 0 dollars, a rent, insurance and a phone payment. This is not like me. I haven’t been unemployed for longer than a week since I was 15 years old. I loved this woman and being without her has sent me into a deep depression. I wake up at 3pm and instantly start playing video games until I go to sleep. I don’t eat until i start to notice I’m becoming lightheaded. My room is a mess. The few friends I had don’t even really wanna speak to me. For context I lived as much of an “active lifestyle” as I could before the breakup. But I don’t know how to pull myself out of this. Im confused. I need help. I have taken all the steps to not be reminded of her. I deleted all social media, everything that had to do with our relationship is in a box under my bed. Pictures archived in my phone. There isn’t a single thing that can remind me of her (that I can help obviously) in my immediate access. I have been through this before with my first relationship (3 years) but I was 19, in college living with my friends, who helped me immensely. I need advice from someone experienced in this kinda thing.

I need help...
I am going to post an email that I had to send to my landlord. I am begging my landlord to even move at this point. My ex filed a completely bogus HRO on me. I've filed 3 police reports on her and nothing has been done. I finally broke up with her because she got caught cheating and now she is filing the restraining order on me that's full of just actual crap. However, I do have a lawyer. I cant stop thinking about the stuff that happened. It sincerely feels like a horror movie.
"I spoke with the two of you yesterday about the issues I've had going on lately. It's hard for me to put all the events together with it making sense without knowing every little detail. However, I tried my best here. I am willing to provide any proof or any evidence that I have on this matter. I'm not sure how much information you want so if you need anything else please let me know.
Her and I started dating in June last year. The main issues started in February. We were back and forth for a while so that also makes it difficult to explain. The first time law enforcement was involved was on April 8th when I called them to report the incident. I can go into as much detail as you want in a follow up email if you want but none of that incident occurred on the property. This is when I saw the messages between her and her sister.
She makes claims against me, then they instantly go into talking about other things without even bringing up the claims again, then go into a conversation about having one of their friends robbing me. Her sister, then asks what apartment and floor I live on. This is when she goes into detail that I'm on the second floor, that I have the only white door, and that my apartment number is 209. I filed a police report, they did nothing, no charges were filed. We broke up for a while. We got back together roughly a month later. We were back together for a few weeks.
This is when we broke up again. She said she was single so I blocked her on all social media and means of communication. This is when the beginning of the hundred of the calls started coming in from a blocked number. It was a blocked number but I can prove it was her because she left voicemails that are marked as Unknown. This happens when a blocked number leaves a voicemail. Also in the voicemails, that I still have saved, she is saying outright she is sitting outside.
Her best friend lives 4 houses down, directly parallel to my living room and bedroom windows. Since this time they've started having bonfires and parties much more. They even all shouted at me one time as I was leaving. She has also parked far down so I can't see her until I'm outside already. I dove back one time so she wouldn't see me and I bruised my rib from it. She sat in her Jeep and waited for me to walk to my car to approach me. This has happened more than 6-7 times in the last month. Not knowing if she's going to be outside has sincerely freaked me out.
There was also an incident where she was parked waiting for me and I saw her and drove past. She then chased me until I stopped. I stopped in front of my work so I could have witnesses. During this time I never let her into my apartment, car, or even really conversed with her. We then, stupidly, got back together. This is when she admitted to me that her and her friend, on at least one occasion, sat outside in the dark and watched what I was doing. She accused me of being with another female because I shut my light off then she heard a random person laugh. I'm afraid to have my window blinds open at night. Especially, because, even if she's not sitting right there she could be sitting in her friend's backyard.
The second time the police were involved was on May 21st. We were back together, I caught her cheating on me, then I had her leave my apartment. As she was trying to avoid leaving my apartment, she grabbed my phone. She then left with my phone without my knowledge. I realized about 30 seconds later that she had my phone. I ran down there to obtain it, even without shoes on. She was backing out as I got down there. She had my phone in her, laughing at me. I reached into the car to grab my phone.
This is when she took off going over 30 mph. The whole time laughing and smirking at me. There was a witness who yelled at her to stop. I didn't have shoes on so I couldn't just jump without some type of injury. I grabbed the wheel and turned it so she had to stop. This is when I grabbed my phone and walked away. She then tried to back into me but I walked between two cars and she couldn't without hitting them. I went inside. She left. She came back like 3 minutes later. She then waited at the door until (I found this out after the fact) one of her friends, who lives here, let her in. She then knocked on my door and turned my handle for around 30-45 minutes.
My mom got there about 20 minutes after the car incident. She was claiming I was withholding her property but I've done that. I did tell her that I would drop everything off that night, as I always have. She then changed what she wanted and then her sister showed up. Even after all that I gave her over an hour to leave before I called the police. At this point I called the police. Again, very frustratingly, nothing happened. She filed an HRO on May 22nd. On may 23rd, I have multiple videos of her chasing me around in my car. She also blocked me at an intersection where I had to back up.
She filed the HRO and still chased me the next day. Then on the 23rd showed up at my place again. I talked to her for a while. I was breaking up with her when I said "If we stay in this relationship you're going to kill me". This is when she replied "I will kill you". I had her leave. After that, I left my apartment to cruise. This is when she showed up behind me AGAIN. At this point, I called her, told her to not contact me, and blocked her on everything for final. I then found out on the 24th she filed the HRO on the 21st.
There has been no contact since. However, these past events have really scared me. I don't feel comfortable. There are too many cars around when I go out there and I have to close my window as soon as it gets dark out of fear she's out there. She did all of that after she filed the HRO on me and that makes me feel like this is all a game to her and I'm just very uncomfortable being there.
I know there are details that I missed and if you have any questions, please let me know. I can provide all the proof I have of everything if you want me to. I can come in and show you in person as well. This has been a very difficult time for me and I am just really looking forward to it being over. I really do appreciate you working with me on this."
This has really affected me. It really keeps me up at night. I'm scared if she wins this she is going to continue playing with me. I've been with 3 girlfriends the last 10 years. One for 6 years, one for 4, and her. I've never even been accused of anything until now. This is affecting my job and everything. I have actual proof of most of this. Videos of the car chasing, over 3300 iMessages, the call logs, voicemails that prove it's her. Everything. Even though she constantly told me to delete them. Almost everything she accuses me of she has literally done...I hate this. I need it to be over. I do have court in less than week and I just need outside opinions. I'll give as much detail as I can.
Please believe me, I'm not hiding my guilty actions. There is not hyperbole or fiction here. This has been horrible on my mental health and I just want straight forward opinions.
Do I have a shot of getting the restraining order dropped?

Hello! I’m a ftm to a 6.5mo baby girl. I started giving her solids (purees) at 6mo. Started with avocado + bm blended, then squash and bm blended. I have oversupply so she seems always so full, and her reflux is very bad since birth, so she kept spitting up those curdled milk ever since we started solids. I feel like her digestion kinda became worse since its just giving her too much in her tiny tummy? My family doctor said that we can just start giving her palm size amount, and start with cereal to help her digestion so now we’re at oatmeal, giving her pretty liquidy. I started giving her before her second feed, then finish with nursing to complete the meal - she still spits up afterwards and this makes me painful to watch 😭
I have some questions on this “solids” journey.

1. Does this reflux get better over time?? I just cant wait for that day to come.
2. I feel like she’s become constipated. She’s always straining but poop doesn’t come out like before or just a tiny bit. Is this normal? Does this also get better over time?
3. Really concerned about finger food. She has two bottom teeth and one upper tooth about to break through. Whenever I give her finger food, she bites and she doesn’t really chew, but swallows. I don’t know how big she bites so i’m very concerned on her swallowing the piece she bit and possibly choking on it? Yesterday, I gave her a watermelon, she bit and swallowed and start coughing so much like it was stuck in her throat. I am very afraid to try finger foods and after this experience, she had refused to take more of watermelon 🥲 Is this normal? How does finger foods work with teeth and possibly swallowing on a big piece and choking?

This journey has been so hard for me! Please help 😭

Hi, I am in midst of crisis on going about 3 months with OCD and I am the lowest point o my life. I can't find joy in anything, life honestly doesn't make sense for me, I am hopeless and completely dysfunctional. I need help, so writing here is a last resort.
Just a bit of context, I am 21M studying in college ( physics ). I've battled with OCD for 3 years, but right now it's the worst i've ever been. I've had Pure O, contamination OCD which ruined my 1st year of college and my grades, which were good in the beginning. I am in my 2nd year now, and again at the start of this year everything was going great, I was getting the grades I was aiming for, I was beginning gainning self-confidence in my academic abilities ( I think I've had pure O thoughts concerning this also) but it all went downhill again, it started with OCD about counting calories and it's now the worst theme I've ever had, Existential/Religious OCD ( although I know when we're stuck in a particular theme it always seem the worst at the moment).
I was already doing therapy before college however it really didn't work as it was a form of CBT but without ERP ( kinda like socratic dialogue in albert ellis style, which worsened my symptoms in some part). During the final 1st year of college I went to my present therapist, we began doing ERP together with ACT, which worked great for me. However, ACT has philosophical basis or similarities with eastern religions, and after I read some spiritual books recommendations that my therapist gave me in order to help me I began researching obsessively about this topic. I'd been exposed to eastern religions before, particulary buddhism. I was meditation a lot, realizing about metaphysical doctrines as sunyata (emptiness), anattã, personal ego, dukkha and samsara, but this time was not moved by curiosity/intereset but by anxiety/worry. I began reading all the main suttas of buddhism as well researching in buddhismstackexchange, every single day for hours, I was even loosing sleep.
I quickly tried to rationalize ways of proving ways of why buddhism couldn't have the ultimate truth because of logical/doctrinal inconsisties: the myth of creation in the aganna sutta, the misogny present in sectarian buddhism, the fact that buddhism as an intentional system of ethics whilst also believing in a kind of deontological moral theory given by karma/rebirth, the fact that rebirth was something born out of the human desire to atribute make sense of life ( missfortune or good fortune are based on past karma etc.), however then a conter thought appeared "what if this is actually true and you're wasting your life studying while you could be preceving absolute truth", or the scholars opinions about texts like the aganna and other suttas being later addictions rather than buddha's own doctrine. I've also read about Refrational frame theory, skinner, the historical development of ACT, academic papers of Steven Hayes, some relating buddhism and ACT. The problem is, while ACT hasn't been explicitly developed based on buddhism ( it was on based on radical behavourism and some work of Aaron T Beck, initially) it is a 3rd wave cognitive behavioural theory movement which began with it's roots in buddhism, namely MBSR and gestalt. Because all of this, added to the fact that I attached myself to buddhism in the past, as belief system ( OCD wasn't getting better with CBT therapy so in order to survive I told myself buddhism has all the answers I need, and meditation really worked for me), I developed severe scrupulosity, fear of going to hell, of not following dharmma etc.
Added to this is the fact that I genuinely think buddhism has a robust philosophy, the 4 nobles truths, dukkha, the unstatisfactorianess of life, the boredom and repetition inherently present in the human condition, and also I myself have found utility in it's framework of understanding and training my mind, I think I've developed strong cognitive bias added to the OCD. It's driving me crazy, to the point I dont know what I actually believe anymore or what is OCD distorted thoughts, it's eating me alive. My biggest fear is "what if buddhism is true", then what I am doing right now is actually useless because it would not lead to nirvana, cessation of becoming, this perpetual cyle of life/death. I can't study because I am constantly having panic attacks about this possibility, I loose sleep and I am completly depressed by this, because whether people admit it or not buddhism core philosophy is really pessimistic, as it basically defends the meaning of life is to cessate further life (nirvana).
I've talked to my therapist about this, but he did not give me any reassurance ( as he should) and quickly dismissed my premisses, however I've just thought " he really doenst understand buddhism as well as I do" so he wouldn't know any better. This question is eating me alive, because I've this thought in the back of my mind " You know buddhism is true and you're just making excuses to not do the hard work, leaving pleasures and being an ascetic". I think OCD is kinda taking advantage of my personality trait of being extremely diligent ( to the point Idc how I feel as well I acomplish a higher goal) to harrass me, but its just a guess.
Please I need help, someone. I don't know how to deal with this, and buddhist scrupulosity is quite rare, as I didn't find any materials. Kind regards everyone.
PS: english is not my main idiom so sorry for any mistakes

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I posted details of my marriage on Reddit some time back. After processing everything for a month, I finally told her that I'm done and will end the marriage. She replied that "my ego will destroy our marriage" but deep inside I know that this marriage stuck along for so long because I never held it against my ego.
Anyways, currently wrapping my head around the fact that many people will soon become strangers and I will have to start from scratch. But her sister is getting married in Jan 2024, so I'm torn whether to file for divorce now or after her marriage. As I don't to stir up an unnecessary drama and extinguish the joy, especially for her fiance and his family (they are nice people). Hopefully, I will get some clarity in the upcoming days.

I (21M) known this girl (19F) for over 5 months from college and we really started to talk seriously last month.
It was kind of unexpecting because she really went off in the beginning by saying things that I found sensitive (in a good way). I was told that I was perfect for her and how she barely knew me and I treat her better than the guys she’s been with along with calling me “love”, “babe” and so forth. Mind you this is the 2nd week of actually getting to talk to each other.
We finally decide to hang out and we talked endlessly. We both find it interesting on how we were so alike and have the same interests. During that time, we both expressed how much we liked each-other and wanted something serious in the future. She admitted to liking me since the beginning of the semester.
The bad side is that she expressed how she’s going through serious shit. One of them is being in an accident; totalling her car. Then she mentioned something about a restraining order on some guy. Though there are things I strongly believe she isn’t telling…
Couple days go by and she leaves my messages on delivered and deletes me off Snapchat. I texted her a week later and asked what was up and she finally responded but with a weak excuse saying that everything was going downhill in her life.
I would see her on campus everyday and we seemed like complete strangers. I decided to forget it and move on and not talk to her but then she finds me a couple days later and nearly breaks down asking for a hug; apologizing.
I get invited to go to some club with her and we’re dancing, kissing, drinking and all that. When it was over, we found a chill spot to talk about what was going on and as I mentioned, she states she’s going through something but won’t tell me what. I asked if I was moving too fast and if I needed to back off, she says no.
We called it a night, hugged and I told her to text me. It’s been 3 days, no text. Basically, I’m confused with what just happened over the past month. I don’t know how you go from loving someone deeply to straight up ghost mode with rollercoaster feelings.
Should I reach out or just call it quits?

Hi, I am in midst of crisis on going about 3 months with OCD and I am the lowest point o my life. I can't find joy in anything, life honestly doesn't make sense for me, I am hopeless and completely dysfunctional. I need help, so writing here is a last resort.
Just a bit of context, I am 21M studying in college ( physics ). I've battled with OCD for 3 years, but right now it's the worst i've ever been. I've had Pure O, contamination OCD which ruined my 1st year of college and my grades, which were good in the beginning. I am in my 2nd year now, and again at the start of this year everything was going great, I was getting the grades I was aiming for, I was beginning gainning self-confidence in my academic abilities ( I think I've had pure O thoughts concerning this also) but it all went downhill again, it started with OCD about counting calories and it's now the worst theme I've ever had, Existential/Religious OCD ( although I know when we're stuck in a particular theme it always seem the worst at the moment).
I was already doing therapy before college however it really didn't work as it was a form of CBT but without ERP ( kinda like socratic dialogue in albert ellis style, which worsened my symptoms in some part). During the final 1st year of college I went to my present therapist, we began doing ERP together with ACT, which worked great for me. However, ACT has philosophical basis or similarities with eastern religions, and after I read some spiritual books recommendations that my therapist gave me in order to help me I began researching obsessively about this topic. I'd been exposed to eastern religions before, particulary buddhism. I was meditation a lot, realizing about metaphysical doctrines as sunyata (emptiness), anattã, personal ego, dukkha and samsara, but this time was not moved by curiosity/intereset but by anxiety/worry. I began reading all the main suttas of buddhism as well researching in buddhismstackexchange, every single day for hours, I was even loosing sleep.
I quickly tried to rationalize ways of proving ways of why buddhism couldn't have the ultimate truth because of logical/doctrinal inconsisties: the myth of creation in the aganna sutta, the misogny present in sectarian buddhism, the fact that buddhism as an intentional system of ethics whilst also believing in a kind of deontological moral theory given by karma/rebirth, the fact that rebirth was something born out of the human desire to atribute make sense of life ( missfortune or good fortune are based on past karma etc.), however then a conter thought appeared "what if this is actually true and you're wasting your life studying while you could be preceving absolute truth", or the scholars opinions about texts like the aganna and other suttas being later addictions rather than buddha's own doctrine. I've also read about Refrational frame theory, skinner, the historical development of ACT, academic papers of Steven Hayes, some relating buddhism and ACT. The problem is, while ACT hasn't been explicitly developed based on buddhism ( it was on based on radical behavourism and some work of Aaron T Beck, initially) it is a 3rd wave cognitive behavioural theory movement which began with it's roots in buddhism, namely MBSR and gestalt. Because all of this, added to the fact that I attached myself to buddhism in the past, as belief system ( OCD wasn't getting better with CBT therapy so in order to survive I told myself buddhism has all the answers I need, and meditation really worked for me), I developed severe scrupulosity, fear of going to hell, of not following dharmma etc.
Added to this is the fact that I genuinely think buddhism has a robust philosophy, the 4 nobles truths, dukkha, the unstatisfactorianess of life, the boredom and repetition inherently present in the human condition, and also I myself have found utility in it's framework of understanding and training my mind, I think I've developed strong cognitive bias added to the OCD. It's driving me crazy, to the point I dont know what I actually believe anymore or what is OCD distorted thoughts, it's eating me alive. My biggest fear is "what if buddhism is true", then what I am doing right now is actually useless because it would not lead to nirvana, cessation of becoming, this perpetual cyle of life/death. I can't study because I am constantly having panic attacks about this possibility, I loose sleep and I am completly depressed by this, because whether people admit it or not buddhism core philosophy is really pessimistic, as it basically defends the meaning of life is to cessate further life (nirvana).
I've talked to my therapist about this, but he did not give me any reassurance ( as he should) and quickly dismissed my premisses, however I've just thought " he really doenst understand buddhism as well as I do" so he wouldn't know any better. This question is eating me alive, because I've this thought in the back of my mind " You know buddhism is true and you're just making excuses to not do the hard work, leaving pleasures and being an ascetic". I think OCD is kinda taking advantage of my personality trait of being extremely diligent ( to the point Idc how I feel as well I acomplish a higher goal) to harrass me, but its just a guess.
Please I need help, someone. I don't know how to deal with this, and buddhist scrupulosity is quite rare, as I didn't find any materials. Kind regards everyone.
PS: english is not my main idiom so sorry for any mistakes
​

I’m kind of just concerned at this point. I’ve been nannying for a new family for a few weeks now. The children show a total absence of discipline and a complete lack of empathy likely due to the poor communication on the fathers part (he has told me repeatedly to threaten or bribe them, and from what I see at home he usually just screams at them or insults them and and says stuff like what’s wrong with you). I’m at my wits end these kids are so sweet, but they are absolutely wild I’m talking biting and breaking skin 30+ times a day (I’m sincerely not exaggerating). On top of this they smack people in the face and kick them as well as scream or throw things at them. They sometimes even just do this to get in a good laugh. The father has told me he does not discipline the children when me and the other nanny are not there. On top of this these children are sleep deprived. He does not allow nap time and in fact pulls them out of preschool, so they miss nap time. They get 10 hours of sleep a day at ages two and three. When they should be averaging closer to 16. I try my best to work around the damage the father is doing, but one college aged nanny can only do so much. I guess I’m just looking for tips on how to start from scratch with discipline because he has absolutely no set standards, and I have tried everything from gentle talks and time out talks to removing them from play areas or leaving places where they bite people, but with new Nannie’s coming in and out due to the severity and intensity of the job, the kids don’t respect us and see us as temporary fixtures in their life that are just going to eventually leave them so why not push their nanny’s buttons and push them away before they can get close and get hurt. However, being the first nanny that’s stuck around longer than three weeks in the past six months has led the youngest child to become very attached to me, and because he has never met and does not have contact with his mother, alongside with me nannying him at family events where it’s just me the dad and close family, he now thinks I’m his mom. He has recently taken to pushing away the other Nannie’s, screaming I want mommy and running toward me. When I tried calling him mommy to make it seem like a joke he said I’m not mommy you’re my mommy and I said no sweetie I’m xxxxx your nanny! And he got extremely upset, then later that night the other nanny tried to put him down and he screamed for mommy AGAIN and he came downstairs to me and his dad and only hugged me goodnight ignoring his father completely (HUGE RED FLAG IMO) and refused to let anyone besides me put him down. How do I teach this little boy that I’m the nanny and not his mommy when I wake him up feed him take him out and about all day and put him to bed? I keep trying to reference myself as nanny insertmynamehere, but he still calls me mommy, so I’m not sure how to explain to him in a simple way that I’m not mommy. I wouldn’t be as concerned if there was a mother in the picture because it would just likely be an instance of associating the word with someone he loves or if he called other important women in his life mommy but he only knows mommies from books or kids shows, and he only recently started calling me mommy after I became consistent with the job. Please someone help or offer advice. My heart is breaking for these poor children.

Postgame Thread 6/4/2023

Final Score: Orioles 0, Giants 4
Purpose of this thread

• Discuss developing baseball action LIVE
  
• Discuss the Giants game
  
• Post hilarious memes / images / gifs / information that may not deserve a front-page post of its own. If it's big news, feel free to do both! This, and the gameday thread, are good places to post your Dodger jokes and memes.
  
• Discuss ANYTHING as long as it follows the rules of conduct.
  

Highlights

Description	Length	Video
Bullpen availability for Baltimore, June 3 vs Giants	0:07	Video
Bullpen availability for San Francisco, June 3 vs Orioles	0:07	Video
Starting lineups for Orioles at Giants - June 3, 2023	0:09	Video
Breaking down Kyle Bradish's pitches	0:08	Video
Breaking down Alex Cobb's pitches	0:08	Video
Alex Cobb's outing against the Orioles	0:22	Video
Alex Cobb punches out Austin Hays swinging in the 2nd	0:08	Video
Kyle Bradish fans Mike Yastrzemski looking in the 1st	0:09	Video
J.D. Davis bloops an RBI single to right field	0:23	Video
Wilmer Flores laces a two-run single to center field	0:33	Video
Aaron Hicks spins and wins to make a sweet catch	0:15	Video
Kyle Bradish strikes out five against the Giants	0:28	Video
Austin Slater lines an RBI single to center field	0:18	Video
Austin Slater dives and thrives to make a great catch	0:13	Video
Kyle Bradish strikes out Gunnar Henderson swinging	0:08	Video

Nominate your Player of the Game (POTG). Upvote your choice if it's posted, or add your own!
For more off-topic fun, check out /SFGSocial!

Hi all,
As I've detailed here before, I've been on a slow ongoing quest to liquidate inventory from my PC building side-gig in my spare time (which has mostly failed because I'm an idiot who's bad at business). While I'm still actively servicing long-term business/professional clientele, I've stopped offering consumer-facing gaming builds.
The components are either overstock or consolidated parts from client builds. The laptops are from my dad's closed print shop business (he retired recently). Here is the latest batch of items for sale:

Component	Model	Price	Condition / Notes	Timestamp
CPU #1	Intel Pentium Gold G7400	$70 shipped / $55 local	New, Sealed	https://imgur.com/a/XXxszTj
CPU #2	Ryzen 9 5900X	$295 shipped / $275 local	New, Sealed	https://imgur.com/a/eJ2ZBUJ
CPU #3	Intel Core i5-13600K	$295 shipped / $275 local	New, Sealed	https://imgur.com/a/ieQGPqJ
RAM Kit #1	16GB (2x8GB) ADATA XPG Gammix D10 DDR4-3600 18-20-20-42- Black	$40 shipped / $35 local	Used, stability-tested: DDR4-3600 16-19-19-39 and DDR4-3733 17-20-20-40; Hynix DJR. No retail box (ships in generic packaging)	https://imgur.com/a/wK19abS
RAM Kit #2	16GB (2x8GB) Team T-Force Xtreem DDR4-3600 18-20-20-39 - Black	$50 shipped / $45 local	Used, stability-tested: DDR4-3600 16-16-16-16-32; Samsung B-Die. Original box included	https://imgur.com/a/zjxOMOt
Motherboard #1	Asus ProArt B660 Creator D4 (DDR4) LGA 1700 Motherboard	$170 shipped / $150 local	New, Sealed	https://imgur.com/a/ic3coTI
Motherboard #2	MSI MEG B550 Unify	$220 shipped / $200 local	New, Sealed	https://imgur.com/a/S0zaDvf
Motherboard #3 (bundled w/ 32GB DDR5-6000)	Asus Prime Z790-P Wi-Fi DDR5 LGA 1700 + 32GB (2x16GB) G.Skill Ripjaws S5 DDR5-6000	$250 shipped / $220 local	New, Sealed. Price includes both motherboard + RAM kit	https://imgur.com/a/appnMTM
GPU #1	Intel Arc A770 16GB Limited Edition	$340 shipped / $310 local	New, Sealed	https://imgur.com/a/S0f3iUy
GPU #2	Sapphire RX 6800 Nitro+ 16GB	$400 shipped / $360 local	Used, 9.5/10 condition (a couple of scratches on the backplate	https://imgur.com/a/dgTtWV5
PSU	Asus ROG Strix 750W Gold - Fully Modular	$120 shipped / $100 local	New, Sealed	https://imgur.com/a/zNk30wj
Laptop #1	Lenovo Legion 5 Pro Gen6 (16" QHD IPS 165Hz, Ryzen 7 5800H, 32GB DDR4-3200, RTX 3070 140W, 1TB SSD)	$1050 shipped / $1000 local	9.9/10 condition, 100% battery health. Squaretrade warranty ($0 deductible) valid until 12/15/2023	https://imgur.com/a/ROljHnD
Laptop #2	Lenovo Legion 7i Gen6 (16" QHD IPS 165Hz, Intel Core i7-11800H, 32GB DDR4-3200, RTX 3070 140W, 1TB SSD)	$1200 shipped / $1150 local	9.8/10 condition, 100% battery health. Lenovo has recently replaced the motherboard with a brand-new unit. Legion Ultimate Support warranty valid until 12/05/2024	https://imgur.com/a/PWLfIQB

Please comment under the listing, then PM me with the item that you'd like to purchase along with your PayPal info. I will do my best to answer any questions that you might have, and I will send you a detailed invoice with the exact serial number of the item. I will accept chat requests with understanding that we will hammer down the details of our conversation via Reddit PM. You must still comment below.
Final note: Local transactions prioritized. For shipped items, Redditors with trade history are preferred. Depending on the exact day, I may not be able to get to the local UPS/Post Office in time before they close. So if you want an item shipped, please allow one full business day after your PayPal invoice is paid.
Local zip code: 92821 (Brea, California)

okbuddydraper had a similar prompt (not quite the same) so I thought I’d steal it. Here’s what I came up with on the spot. What’s yours?
Season 8 opens December 25, 1991. McCann has spent 8 weeks prepping an ad for Nike featuring Soviet and American actors, only to see the Soviet Union collapse after they’d already spent $200K shooting the spot.
Peggy, Creative Director, is seen nursing her fourth G&T, surrounded by piles of crumpled ideas to salvage the campaign. She dials her phone and we hear it ringing a few too many times.
“…Hello?” A raspy voice we recognize as Don Draper.
“I’m stuck.” Says Peggy, her shoulders drooping a little.
We see Don, twenty bad pounds later, lounging in a Laz-E-Boy, the bluish reflection of the television bathing him in its glow. He’s matching her drink for drink.
“You know what I’d do.” He says, pulling on a cigarette. She can see him shrugging in her mind’s eye.
“I’ve seen them all.”
“Even the new Spielberg? It’s a kids movie.”
“I have a ten year old.” Says Peggy, with her trademark irritation.
“What have you got?” Relents Don.
“Nike. The Olympics. There’s a slightly doughy dad and he’s watching the relays from his couch. He’s cheering the Americans from his recliner. They eek it out by a hair and he’s resplendent, pacing around the living room in glory. But then he cradles his love handles and looks defeated. We pan to a brand new pair of Nike’s, fade to black and it’s him running up a hill like Rocky. Just do it, and then the swish.”
“That’s depressing; so he’s fat and needs to jog?”
“It’s aspirational. It’s real, Don.”
“It stinks, and you know it.”
They hang on the line in silence.
“How are things?” Peggy asks, because we’re dying to know and because she still wants to be distracted.
We pan out, and see a dozen pill bottles on the coffee table.
“Good, Sally’s visiting tomorrow.”
We zoom on the label of one, a convalescent drug for those on chemotherapy.
“Oh, how is she?”
“She’s a psychotherapist.” He says it in a dismissive tone, even though he’s better than that.
“How interesting. Listen, I should go…”
“Wait.” Says Don. “It’s a new world, and we’re on top of it. Which means, so is Nike. History is over, and we won. It’s a loading dock. We see burly guys packing a luggage hauler. We follow it across the tarmac into a plane. We watch it land in icy Moscow. The delivery truck pulls up in front of a store that doesn’t even have a name yet. The happiest kid in the world pulls a fresh pair of Jordan’s out of the box and pulls the laces tight. Fade to black…We did it.”
“Holy crap.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Don, that’s a clio. You know you want to come back.”
We can feel the sadness and finality in Don’s face. He doesn’t have long.
“I did it a long time. It’s someone else’s turn. It’s your turn.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“You say thank you, and then you say nothing at all.”
“Thank you, Don.”
“Break a leg, kiddo.”
:Roll opening credits:

First
Prev
Corva fiddled with an empty medicine bottle, he looked at the labels and peeled them, only to stick it on the bottle again, he would screw off the cap and screw it back on repeatedly. It was an old habit of his, just looking at random things and playing with them like a fidget toy, he only does it when he has nothing to do, ever since he got a job that habit disappeared, but now, all he can do is lay down on the bed of a hospital tent, and he's also technically currently unemployed. Since no company is going to recruit anyone in the middle of an invasion from killer robots. He thought back to what happened yesterday, when Lavoss came into the tent and confronted Kawl.
"You're still awake?"
"Hmm?"
He was still curious about it, what did Lavoss mean by traitor? Did Kawl kill someone? He doesn't look like someone who would do such a thing, whatever it was that he did though, it was significant enough for Lavoss to hit him in the head with the stock of his gun knocking him out cold. It was shocking to see, he was awfully calm up until the point he said something about the traitor part and not a moment later Kawl was on the ground unconscious with a gun stock shaped dent on the chitin protecting his head. Everyone gasped, except Mari, the nurse, she looked like she expected it for a long time and stayed calm.
"Do you have trouble sleeping?"
She asked as she came back with another box of medical supplies.
"No, just… didn't feel like it"
"What do you mean you don't feel like sleeping?"
She put the box down and walked up to him.
"Well… i got plenty of sleep yesterday, spent the rest of it sleeping, didn't i? And most of today as well"
"With all due respect that doesn't justify staying up until the middle of the night, besides, you need rest"
"Same thing can be said about you… I haven't seen you take any kind of break, even the doctor's not here, why are you?"
"The downside of being the only qualified nurse left around, not the only one in the camp of course, just the only one left for this tent, besides… it's my duty to watch over the patients, and make sure they have enough sleep…"
She raised her voice a little on that last word, as well as throwing a glance at other patients that were already asleep.
"Subtle…"
"Right i am, now sleep"
"I've tried, i don't think i can"
"So you do have trouble sleeping, hold on, i think i have something for that in stock"
"No thanks, can we just… talk? It's been some time since I've had a friendly talk with anyone, just… Not about anything in particular, you know? Just talk"
"Hmm… fine, when was the last time then?"
"Right before the invasion… right before he lost his life…"
"Let's… not talk about that…"
"Wise…"
"Uhm… What's your job?"
"QC, for quality control, in an arms factory"
"A factory worker? You looked way cleaner than i thought you would"
"If i were working in the assembly i think you would change your mind about that, but no, QC's don't get their hand dirty often, maybe once in a while when a weapon explodes on them"
"Huh… ever had one?"
"Personally? No, have I seen it? Yes, funny story, when i first got accepted i had this instructor, telling us how to check the quality of products, the first rifle he picked up to show us how to check the pulse had a faulty wiring on it, too much energy, it blew up on his face while a group of new QC's was watching, safe to say he doesn't like it when some of us laughed"
"Poor guy, Reminded of someone"
"Who?"
"My sister"
"Oh i…"
"Oh don't worry, it's nothing sensitive, it's like your story, she's a teacher, been one for a while even before she got here, so when she got here to Rosan she was considered a senior teacher, and when new ones needs a tour of their workplace and know how to handle the kids they relied on her, now one day she was guiding a new teacher…"
"Mhm?"
"And she was like… maybe she wants to show off a little bit, I don't know, but from what she told me, she said to this new teacher something along the lines of: 'look at these children! So behaved! If you want to do that you have to learn from me' or something like that… and… not a second after that, one of the kids who were playing threw a wet ball of paper and it hit her right in the back of the head"
Corva had to spend some willpower trying not to laugh, remembering that he was the one who laughed when his instructor blew himself up along with Kasso didn't make it any easier.
"Oh the look of embarrassment on her face, didn't see it myself, but i wish i did, i can feel her esteem crumble every time i mention it, it was cute to see her just shrink and try to hide her face"
"Oh… you'll like it when you see how my friend acts around girls, Kasso, he…"
Mari was a bit confused why Corva suddenly fell silent, why he looked at the ground with a frown, until she remembered what he said, and it clicked on her.
Right before he lost his life
"I'm sorry for your loss"
"It's fine, i'm sure he's in a better place… much better than this… hellhole"
She wanted to comment on his sudden pessimism, but decided that won't be so wise considering he's not wrong, no matter how many times she tries to ignore it, she has to admit, their current situation is a hellhole.
"I suppose that's enough talk for now…"
"...."
"I advise you sleep now, you'll get tired"
He didn't respond, and just went to sleep without another word, and an unchanged expression of sorrow. She sighed and returned to her work, sorting the type of medications into different containers.
"When will it all end?"
—-~----
It was calm… and black… that is about all Schen can think about regarding his current state, he can't tell if he's dreaming, or if he's asleep or awake, it's just that he is aware. It was a strange feeling, like being asleep physically but not mentally, he feels like he's floating, without a body, like there's nothing that can limit him. And yet at the same time he can't do anything, he was just aware, and drifting away in this weird state of half dream. For some reason, he thought of those tales of people who 'died' , people who experienced long comas, and the tale of their supposed journey to this place between the mind and the world.
Ridiculous stories, barely believable, and uninteresting if you ask him. And yet, here he is now, aware of what's happening, he remembers everything, he passed out from blood loss, after fighting one of those things. He wants to wake up, check on his men, maybe meet up with Captain Vaiya and make up a plan on what to do next regarding their situation. But you can't wake up when you don't even have control over your eyes, so it was more of a waiting game, an annoying one, knowing what's happening and yet can't act on it. He'd rather be actually dead over this, at least if he's dead he doesn't have to worry about anything. The problem is, he knows he's alive, it's just that his body is not responding to him, nor can he feel it.
It took what felt like hours, since he wasn't actually asleep, he was paralyzed but still conscious. After an agonizing few hours, he felt the first bodily sensation, his finger, it graduated to the feeling of his hand resting on a soft surface, probably some sort of bed, he can feel his breath as well. He started feeling his body, little by little, unfortunately, now that he feels his body again, he can feel what his body feels, and that is pure unadulterated pain. On his head, on his leg, his back, his arm, everywhere, he doesn't remember getting hit that much, but apparently he did. His back arched from trying to suppress it, and he let out a grunt that was too loud for his standard.
"Calm down! Don't move just yet…"
A voice, good, that means he should be in a friendly area now. He opened one of his eyes with a considerable amount of struggle, and saw the face of an Enovian with a waterproof paramedic hat on through his blurry vision.
"I've had worse…"
What a word for him to say before his back gave up on him and suddenly went limp, triggering pain in many areas of his body.
"Aergh…"
He grunted with some exasperation and regret. Maybe he shouldn't be showing off at this kind of age, it's not good for his bones.
"Where's our painkillers?"
—-~----
"Captain?"
"Yes?"
"He's awake"
"Just? or?..."
"For awhile, he needed some time to actually get up, thought we'll just wait for him before telling you"
"Alright, thank you, i'll be there, a wonder he survived though, and to wake up this early"
"It is, his wounds were near fatal, he was essentially one light tap away from a fractured skull"
"Tough little guy… you can go now, there are others no?"
"Oh…yes, sorry ma'am"
Vaiya turned off her personal datapad, and stood up from her command seat. She dusted some metal dust off her uniform and made her way to the recruitment office turned into a temporary medical bay. She walked through a collection of the remaining crew of the ship, some simply threw a glance at her, some greeted her, and some gave her a salute. She noted the look of despair in their eyes and sighed, but kept on walking as that isn't her goal right now. She arrived at a door with a plate next to it that says: 'recruitment', the plate had an electrical tape with a writing on it that says: 'medical bay now' stuck haphazardly on top of it.
It isn't a neon sign, but it works. She opened the door manually with her hand as most of the doors in administration are now unpowered, inside was simple, four 'beds' laid on the floor, with most of the desks removed, the remaining medical crews stay here now, treating anyone they can. Including the new security captain, Schon, who she spotted sitting on his bed half awake wrapped in blood caked bandages, while clearly struggling to drink from a glass cup. He looked oddly… calm, like he's not surprised he's here at all. Granted, she did rescue him from becoming minced meat, and it's only logical to assume there are survivors holding out somewhere, but he looks absolutely unfazed, as if he had this happen before.
"SC Schon?"
She walked up to him, he gave an unsurprised look and went back to doing his best to drink.
"Captain…"
"Nice to see you awake already, i figured it would take a long time but you prove me wrong…"
"Uh-huh…."
"About that status report you ask for-"
"I already know, stranded, no engine, almost all crew dead, ship's practically scrapped, light's dying, and surrounded by killer machines chewing on the hull, and Rosan IV isn't so lucky either"
"Yes… unfortunate is it?"
"Yes, but right now I don't care, how's my men?"
"Your what?"
"My subordinates"
"Ah… they're… few, 50… down to you and two others, i'm sorry"
"I see… who?"
"Koern, and Ayuna"
Schen wasn't paying much attention to the captain, he simply stared off into the distance, but hearing the young Caevit's name roll off her tongue took his attention.
"Really?... Thank you, but you're not here just for that right?"
Now that he actually pays some attention to her, he noticed her face change, a bit more tense.
"You read my mind, come"
"I can barely move my lips and you want me to walk?"
She looks around for a minute before looking back at him.
"I don't mind carrying someone"
"Huh?"
—-~----
"If i have credit for every time a Tekit lady carries me in her arms while i can barely move, i'll have two"
Schen commented on his current position, it earned him a confused and curious look from the captain. She took him to an uninhabited room to talk, as it turns out most of the administration has been turned to some sort of holdout for whoever's left alive in the ship. She set him down on a chair and followed suit, sitting right in front of him.
"So what is this? Is there something you want to know? If it's about this whole thing then you're talking to a wall"
Her behavior was odd, Schen noted, she seems… agitated, not angry, just stirred, like something's bugging her. He can understand being scared, but the way she moves suggests whatever's currently happening isn't the case.
"Nothing much… i just want… confirmation"
"Go ahead…"
"So… I heard that Koern asked you for help, is that so?"
"Yeah? Got to me after he said you can't help"
"Do you know what his issue was?"
"Yes, random images and voice recordings from his cousin"
"Okay… where does his cousin lives?"
"In Rosan IV and from what i heard, it's about as messed up as this ship"
"That is correct, do you-"
"Wait, can we just get to the point here? What's the issue? Why are you suddenly interested in Koern's problem?"
"I… because…"
"Hmm?"
"...Because i've been having the same problem, what you said, random images, and voice recordings, now i know it's exactly the same, that is what i want to know"
"Huh… okay… so?..."
"There's one difference… his problem started today, during the jump, my problem has been going on for the last five cycles"
"....."
"And I want to know one more thing, please, answer this honestly… do you see it?"
He can feel her agitation increase tenfold as she asks the question. She was normal, now she's visibly shaking.
"See what?..."
"The shape…"
"Shape?"
"Please tell me you saw it too, i… I've been thinking about it… for a long time… ever since I've peered into those images, there's a shape stuck in my eyes, it's burned itself into my mind, and I feel it…. Everyday i think i see something in the corner of my eyes, i hear noises that aren't there, closer and closer every time!…. It… it was getting closer… the shape…"
Her stare became intense, like the stare of a crazed person.
"i… don't know…"
"Oh but you know! You saw it!... Just as I did… it sees you, but you can barely see it, it's there… watching… First it stays in the image, then it creeps into you, haunts you, then you see it hide everytime you turn your head… it follows you, everywhere you go… in your sleep… when you work… all the time…"
Her breathing was rapid, almost uncontrolled.
"Perhaps… that's just you, i do not experience these"
"It may not now, but it will…. Because it has to me, it's like a tumor, and it won't go away, no matter how hard i try… it's still there…"
She calmed down slightly, her breathing was normal again, sort of, and she's no longer shaking, but the stare is still there, the stare of true fear, striking deep into his soul. As she calmed down more and thankfully finally averted her gaze elsewhere, Schen took the downtime to process what he just listened to, and his conclusion was: what the ////?
"Sorry… i… i just… i needed to know… i need to know if i'm not the only one… now i know it's in you too, not now, but soon, t-thank you"
"Your… welcome…"
"Should we return?"
"We…"
He pondered about asking her to take him to the bridge, so he can look out and see what's happening outside the ship, but now he's reconsidering it, because of that… experience.
"...Yes, we should"
She let go of his arms, he didn't even realize it, but she was holding on to him tight the whole time.
"Of course… of course, let's make this quick…"
—-~----
Schen observed Captain Vaiya as she left the medical room, he noted her sudden return to her previous well mannered behavior, he can still see a tinge of anxiety in her eyes and movements however, and realized how similar it was to Koern's behavior. Anxiety, unease, massive discomfort, moving around constantly, and eyes snapping to random positions as if they're trying to catch something on the move. It was unmistakable, Schen recalled back to his conversation with Koern, about something he said.
'it's… distressing'
Koern did look at the images before coming to him, and it was clear the images caused it, if Vaiya had something similar or identical happen, he can assume the cause for her distress is the same. But one question remains that still baffles him: how? How do random images do that? Implanting irrational fear into someone, making them see things that aren't there, what is happening? And now that he considers it, he did see the images, is he going to fall victim to the same thing? Why hasn't he felt anything if those images can do that to someone through just a mere look at it?
One question leads to another, and it all gets more complicated the longer he tries to solve it. He wanted to ignore it, maybe they were just unstable and he misjudged the whole thing, but he can't help but feel there's something to it, it's clear those images and recordings somehow were sent by the creatures currently roaming the ship, he sees the connection, but why? And how? Psychological warfare? Maybe, that was the most rational answer he could come up with. With their clear situation of being in the middle of an invasion, he can only assume such an answer, but applying it to only a few specific targets seems beyond strange.
He pinched his snout in frustration, before taking a deep breath and exhaling it as slowly as he could. Perhaps he shouldn't think of it too much for now, maybe that's how it gets into you, the shape… whatever it is. He looked around his surroundings, a 'medical' room, previously an office, he watched the doctors treat the wounded as he thought of his next step. Looking outside the ship should be a good idea, he had asked a nurse about the whole situation before Vaiya showed up, they told him the entire star system has fallen, Rosan IV was silent, any attempts at communication and call for help were futile, the other planets around the system, some are yet to be named, are the same.
That means those things have been here for a while, and somehow stayed out of the union's radar. He remembered the emerging stories of Rosan IV, how it became a ghost, how communications were far and few between, how many ships that traveled to its system went missing and ones that returned had signs of heavy damage on them, and how their crews looked 'lifeless'. If Rosan's system has been like this for some time, wouldn't that mean any ship that comes here would suffer the same fate as his ship?.
Why would some return and look 'fine' was beyond him, but a thought nestled itself in his mind, a terrifying thought, it made his blood run cold, the thought that these things have spread beyond this solar system, spread silently, in cargo ships that travel to every corner of union space. Suddenly people seeing shapes and hearing sounds after they look at an image doesn't sound horrifying anymore.
"////…"
—-~----
Faen sat in his office, for the millionth time, he stared at his computer, for the millionth time, he opened the files containing the Qrid military spending, for the millionth time, he looked at the reports file, for the millionth time. It has always been like this, being a general wasn't all about giving orders and making war plans, most of his time was spent in front of his computer, looking at the passive activity of his army, and its spendings, receiving calls or calling someone to see if he can learn something new about someone else's army. Look at pirate reports, raiders, terrorists, radicalist, sometimes cultists, it has always been like this, looking away at the computer, looking at files, always has been.
He wouldn't say he couldn't make wartime decisions, if one were to ever occur, he's always confident he can, after all he has learned from both his father and many mentors. He trained for it, for war, he trained how to control an army in such a situation for pretty much his whole life, he doesn't have to, but it's better to know how to fight than not at all. You never know when it'll come, maybe now, maybe in years during your old days, maybe never, but if it ever does come, he knows what to do, whether he likes it or not. It's a part of his pride, his identity, though he couldn't say much about his son, and everyday he worries about not having a successor, not having someone to pass the torch to, and as time marches on indiscriminately, his worry can only grow.
Sometimes he wondered if should've been harsh, and not fulfill his wish to go to university so he can learn computer science, and put him in the very school he himself went through to become what he is now. But that's not a good father, isn't it? It would be against his wish, and he would've needed to force him, it's what his son's grandfather did… to him, he still thinks about it, about his original dream. A singer, a far cry from a supreme general, he remembered the angry face of his father upon learning what he wanted to be, it felt like it happened just yesterday. He never liked it, not once, despite managing to prove himself worthy as a leader of an army in the end of everything.
And to think, he was almost like that, to his own son, he couldn't handle the thought. Faen took his eyes off the screen, just for a moment, and looked at another one, a camera display, showing his son's room. Rana was sleeping, as usual and as he should be at a time like this, he looked at him through the screen, at his arm, and thought about his latest conversation with the woman he loved.
"Disappointment, huh?"
He felt a subtle pain in his chest out of nowhere, he opened the drawer on his desk through a motion that tells of excessive habit, and absentmindedly took his medication without looking. With a sigh, he looked at a small button to his right. There was a screen above it that had a list of people considered significant enough to be contacted by him directly, which ranged from the supreme generals of other species, to the head maiden that cleaned his and his son's bedroom. He looked for a specific one that he recently added, the surgeon that is the head of operation for the trials he had put Rana through for the last few cycles, the trials that he and his mother show complete disapproval to.
He found it and clicked the button, it was answered after some time and he entered a call with the surgeon.
"A pleasure to speak with you general"
"Hrm…"
"Is there something you wish to ask of me?"
"Yes… we should stop, no more trials"
"If that is what you want, then I will gladly comply, but may I ask why for the sudden stop? You seem invested in this when you first called me to arrange it"
"Family issues"
"that is-"
He cut the call short, and continued his work. Looking at the files, looking for differences every so often, making sure everything is stable and taken care of, and glancing at his son's monitor once in a while, and for the first time since his son graduated university, he smiled. Perhaps that's the right thing, to be a father, not a general. At least… for a moment, his smile disappeared as he received a call, it was marked as urgent, and was displayed on his screen instead of just a sound notification. He dusted his uniform and fixed any creases as he noticed the call wasn't just any call, it was a notice for him to join a discussion between supreme generals of each species and their respective leaders, that includes the matriarch.
It is odd he wasn't notified of this earlier, oftentimes these kinds of things have their own schedule that was discussed beforehand, a sudden meeting like this can only mean one thing. He accepted the call, and his screen changed to the display he's all too familiar with, a digital conference room, two lines of camera display, the bottom for the generals, the top for the leaders, they were all present, which is to be expected. The matriarch of Qrids, the Tekit queen, the Caevitan allfather, high empress of Enovia, and the Civean president, the current roster of union council, below them was him, and other generals, including general Cynte of the Civeans.
He still remembers his little offer to make an accident to highlight Rana's name, after the reveal of the Goels and the incident it was kept as a private thing between them that didn't really go anywhere. He doesn't want to talk about it, neither does Cynte, so it was technically a win-win situation, despite the unexpected and frankly out of their favor results. The call was oddly silent, no one was saying anything even the loud ones like his mother, they seemed to be waiting for something, or someone. Faen didn't question it, it would be considered stupid, so he too followed the silence. It was a strange and awkward few minutes of staring at each other not saying anything, up until what they waited for arrived in the call.
Another screen appeared above all ten screens, and on it was something he dreaded to see, the collection of red revolving rings, Cain. Practically every general present felt tense, including him, the leaders couldn't care less, except maybe for the Civean president who expressed the most worry as they all waited for Cain to speak. Sudden meeting, all members, and Cain, and considering their latest development with the Goels, this couldn't be good. The red rings assemble into the shape of a solar system like it did when it appeared on the monitors of his warship, and Cain spoke with his usual low pitched synthesized voice that everyone in the room knew quite well.
'it is no doubt all of you will question why I requested this urgent meeting, i apologize if any of you found it to be too sudden, but what I have to tell you will change your mind, and I will not waste your time, as we are in a race against time itself… the union has been breached by an invader, you are under attack, and in a process of galaxy wide invasion'
No, definitely not good.
"What do you mean by this?"
Faen immediately asked, as much as he distrust Cain, he must agree with his mindset that no time should be wasted. And it seems his question stopped a particular set of leaders trying to speak, stopping them from blurting out what are probably4 going to be pointless sarcastic remarks, so that was another benefit of speaking first.
'your union is currently under the invasion of a race that is arguably similar to me, we call them Shakran'
The display of red rings changed to a scrolling collection of images, images of… Faen doesn't know how to describe it, bipedal creatures, made of metal, and grossly disfigured bodies, with sharp claws and many eyes. Every single thing varies, some of the things in the images looked small and only had claws, some were massive and had what are clearly cannons as a weapon. He noted a certain detail about the images, they were blurry, and not straight, and some strange things were staring at the camera, while looking elsewhere. Something tells Faen these images were taken in the middle of active combat.
'They are a hivemind of machines, their sentience and sapience is debatable, but that does matter currently as their only goal is to destroy and conquer'
"Lies! If we were under an invasion from them, we would've known already! Besides… we already have an invader… we're talking to them right now"
The Tekit queen spoke with clear passive aggresive energy in her voice. Faen sighed in annoyance but kept it to himself.
'i understand the distrust, but it is no reason to make a sarcastic remark, however, you need to trust me on this matter, because their return can only mean danger to the union, and the universe as a whole, they are-'
"Wait, what do you mean… their return?"
'you all must've wondered how and why i and my brother ended up the way we did on that desert planet, what you are seeing on my screen is the answer to your question'
It didn't click for any of the leaders, their annoyed expression stays the same as Cain finished his sentence, but it clicked for every single military leader in the room, and it horrified them.
'my kind have encountered them before, my creators, it led to a war, a million year war, between me and them, they are what wiped my creators out of existence, and soon will be the cause of extinction for every single species in this union if we don't take any actions, since you refused, i have personally tracked every ship that left Rosan IV for the last six cycles, here is the data'
The scrolling images turned into a detailed map of the galaxy, with every single star system currently under union control included in it, there were red lines all over the map, they were all traced back all the way to one specific system, Rosan IV. A heavy weight rested itself on Schen's mind as he realized how far the lines have gone, to a point it crosses itself, wrapping around the galaxy in a circle, like some sort of a chaotic web.
'Rosan is lost, it is highly likely they have turned it into a staging ground, i know that we all have strived to avoid this, but war is inevitable, i have send a complete data regarding the Shakrans to all of you, please review it as fast as you can, and take your moves, as i will mine right now, alert your fleets, if they see my fleet entering a system, tell them they are here as an ally, i have been defeated once, i will not repeat the same mistake again, i hope you can catch up and help me, because there is no telling of what they will do once their setup is complete, and there is no telling whether or not i can do this alone'
"Wait! What should we do?"
'search and destroy, hunt down every ship that left the system, check every station, scan every inch of space, detonate stations, evacuate every planet they have visited then purge the cities and hammer the surface with orbital strikes if you might, but by all means… do not let. them. develop. That is all i have to say, my reinforcements are coming, but i do not know if there is enough time, act now'
And with that, Cain left the conference room, and at that very moment, it shattered, every world leader was either furious or dead silent with a look of horrific realization, his fellow generals went into a panic and contacted their fleets. Except for him, he simply sat there, unmoving and very still, staring at the galaxy map Cain had brought up, looking at one particular star system, crossed several times by the red lines, and surrounded by it, Sheneae XI, isn't that?... The solar system his wife is visiting to look at a newly opened hospital?.
(a TON of RIC's)

Now yes its a bit cheesy and i wont get to much into detail about Aphmau and Aaron because i don’t entirely have a full hypothetical story around them but i do have a way to tie in that rundown to my main event of the season my main focus is how every new couple mainly Nana and Zane and Travis and katelyn will say there first i love yous if not already said if they have been well i mean itll still be a nice moment the couples share.
Now its a couple of days after the tragedy of love love paradise and everyone is just tryna go home grieve and then ask questions later. Everyone finally gets home and they all just instantly break down from the trauma that was caused because no one really caught a break. Its late at night so everyone just packs it in and gets ready for bed at their houses after saying goodnight to everyone. Now we’ll say both Katelyn and Travis and Zane and Nana are both in seperate houses (idk who’s specifically but my main reasoning is they’re all talking about there relationships.). Now the first couple is Travis and Katelyn ill focus on and Katelyns gonna be the one whos needing support whilst Travis listens to Katelyn grieve for context hes still depressed to just i feel Katelyn may be the one to first break down in this scenario. Now Katelyn is horrified at what she did fighting her own friends and it kinda all leads to just shes sorry for just being for a lack of better words but being hard to get with with Travis and having a temper towards the rest of the gang sometimes . Travis comforts her by hugging her and reminding her that he’ll always be by her side and he accidentally in travis fashion but still kinda serious spurts out the three biggest words “i love you” and katelyn looks to him wipes a tear and says it back to him which will signify there officially a couple and wont hide it i think I don’t remember if they openly said they were a couple.
Now to Zane and Nana Where they’ll have a similar talk with Zane being the one who’s wanting to vent about everything whilst Nana provides support to Zane. Zane will of course cry and vent about how he had to witness the woman who cares about him and who he cares about get slashed whilst his best friend basically died right by him. He’ll also have a line something along the lines of “i just started to find out what love feels like (at this moment Nana sees the love zane has for her)and as soon as something good happens to me its usually followed up by something bad” or something of the same point so he’s crying Nana who’s crying to hearing this will pull him in close for a hug and now she’ll say to Zane “ i love you” with Zane of course saying it back. With the two still talking as we pan to the main biggest point here that being aphmau.
Now for the final bit of the episode and the biggest one to address Aphmau now rewind a bit everyone will say of course before they split off to their houses will all collectively hope each other is well and everyone will hug everyone but when they all go to their houses aphmaus left by herself (her choice) she will sigh as she walks in locks the door with sad music in the background and fade to black as the locking sound is made.
Where i dont know what to add is to what aphmau does in the episodes after and how aaron will be reintroduced but i wanted to specifically make the couples and correct me if im wrong but make them say there first i love yous the payoff afterwards though will be the final episode Aaron remembers Aph and they’ll then get there moment. Im open to additions to this idea if anyone wants to add and i hope you guys like it.

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