If you aren’t completely single, please do not contact me! 😁
I’m a tall, tan-skinned Trans Girl looking for a potential long-term relationship with a tall, strong, kind, and caring older gentleman that wants the same. I want to settle down and get to the fun part of life with someone who is ready to do that with me. The pandemic pushed me to relocate back to Texas to be closer to family after being gone at school for a few years, so the last time I was here was when I was a teenager. I’d love for someone to show me around to see the fun areas of DFW now that I’m grown. Tell me your favorite thing to do!
As for what kind of relationship I want, I like a modern twist on a traditional relationship. I’m ready to devote myself to supporting a man as he supports me. I feel like we, as humans, should be able to explore the world together and still have our own unique experiences. I’m a homebody, and love to be comfortable in a clean home where I can enjoy my partner, my hobbies and my TV. I love to cook and bake as well, so expect some good food at home when I’m around.
There’s so much more I could say about myself on here, but I’m gonna keep it short and sweet. If you’d like to know anything else, ask away in my DM’s. If you read the whole thing, send me a peach emoji (🍑) to let me know! Thanks! 🩷

If you aren’t completely single, please do not contact me! 😁
I’m a tall, tan-skinned Trans Girl looking for a potential long-term relationship with a tall, strong, kind, and caring older gentleman that wants the same. I want to settle down and get to the fun part of life with someone who is ready to do that with me. The pandemic pushed me to relocate back to Texas to be closer to family after being gone at school for a few years, so the last time I was here was when I was a teenager. I’d love for someone to show me around to see the fun areas of DFW now that I’m grown. Tell me your favorite thing to do!
As for what kind of relationship I want, I like a modern twist on a traditional relationship. I’m ready to devote myself to supporting a man as he supports me. I feel like we, as humans, should be able to explore the world together and still have our own unique experiences. I’m a homebody, and love to be comfortable in a clean home where I can enjoy my partner, my hobbies and my TV. I love to cook and bake as well, so expect some good food at home when I’m around.
There’s so much more I could say about myself on here, but I’m gonna keep it short and sweet. If you’d like to know anything else, ask away in my DM’s. If you read the whole thing, send me a peach emoji (🍑) to let me know! Thanks! 🩷

Quick background, I'm more of a console gamer and don't care a whole lot about FPS. Mostly play single player games. But I do play on my PC here and there and would like to play more. I thought 60FPS was all I needed. And for console 60 FPS is fine, I feel like I don't notice frame drops and stutters as much as when I play on PC.
​
I was getting annoyed with my PC, because I would shoot for 4k60 FPS if possible with whatever settings and if that wasn't the case I would lower my resolution until 60 FPS was steady. But I noticed recently no matter how I have my settings for certain games, I still have frame drops and stuttering. And I understand that sometimes games are just poorly optimized and no matter how low you go the performance is weird. (looking at you Gotham Knights)
​
I was on the market for a new monitor anyways, so I went out and got a 4k120hz LG OLED C2. Scratches my monitor and TV itch perfectly for my PC and PS5. 2080 only has HDMI 2.0 so I game at 1440p now and WOW, was I doing a disservice to my 2080 all this time. It's blowing way past 60 for most games at high or ultra settings (80-110 FPS avg) and I still feel like the stutters and frame drops happen, but they're not nearly as noticeable.
​
Now I'm at a point where I'm wondering if I've just been leaving too much performance on the board all these years for my 2080. I built this PC back in late 2019 more on the fact that Microcenter was giving out great deals at the time as opposed to wanting a beast PC.
I think I tried overclocking my memory once in the BIOS (A2 and B2 slot) and my computer died and I was terrified so never tried again. Do you guys think overlocking would be worth the performance boost? I've seen posts recently saying just upgrading the CPU could unlock a whole new world. But I don't know too much about what would work best with my 2080 or if its even compatible with my motherboard. Is there a way to push my PC to more consistent frames close to 120 FPS and less stuttering and frame drops? Also I use the stock AMD fan that came with the 2700x. I had heating issues with my case before but then added a beefy Noctua NF-F12 heavy duty cooling as a case fan and temps haven't been an issue since.
Had a screenshot ready, thought I could post my setup but looks like I can't. Here's the parts list.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Rmc46r
​

• AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor
• Asus ROG STRIX X470-F Gaming ATX AM4 Motherboard
• Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory
• Samsung 970 Evo 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
• EVGA XC ULTRA GAMING GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB Video Card
• EVGA 750 BQ 750 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply

Also quick side if anyone knows how to help. My motherboard comes with 2 m2 slots. One is hidden behind a shield heatsink that I didn't know about. And one just out in the open. I found out like a year later that the hidden one is the faster slot, tried to unscrew the shield, but stripped the indentation into the screw. Like I can't get anything to latch on the screw. And it's so small its difficult. So if you have any suggestions please let me know!!!

There is no chance we could have prepared for this, the Winged Empire has found something AGAIN we hadn't planned for, and now as we are slowly picked off all I want to do is punch my commander in the face.
This entire debacle started about two months ago now. I was leading the spearhead into the enemy lines, and for months before we had been pushing them back easily.We thought within another year we would have humanity off that planet. It might take a century to crush the Winged Empire and another to destroy the remnants, but we would win.
That was till I retrieved the report that ended it all. Our flack and anti-air teams had been strong for months, even with how mobile the enemy's aircraft was, but our adaptation of their anti-air systems made them easier to kill. Then our anti-air teams suddenly came across a target they found impossible to kill.
The aircraft moved without reason, no pilot could ever control it, it moved more like a bird than a plane, its wings moved independently, each metallic surface bending like flesh. Yet it clearly wasn't, it flew over our gun emplacement at Mach speeds dropping bombs and firing missiles, yet from the reports something was wrong. I refused to believe it till I saw it but I couldn't go to our anti-air lines as I was needed in the front.
Although my lead of the campaign quickly came to an end, our anti-airlines had been thoroughly dismantled and our resupply was stopped by this one aircraft that had quickly been joined by many of its kind.
It was on our final push attempting to gain new fronts in the enemy lines when I first saw the beast.
The first thing to happen was the enemy lines fell quiet as we charged into their trenches only to find they were empty. Along the trench walls, falls guns were set up and every gun had a crude system set up where a weight filled with water would slowly pull on the trigger till it fired.
As we walked through the trenches trying to find any intel we could send back to base.
It's then we heard the beast for the first time. I came running out of the trench to the sound of something crashing in the center of no-man's land, only to see a ghostly white creature standing there. I wasn't instantly proven my men were not wrong, it was colossal about twice the size of a normal human aircraft but supported itself on several small spindly feet. Four were on the end of what I assume were its wings while another two were at the end of its tail on long thin legs.
The creature looked at us with curiosity. I couldn't see its eyes as it was clearly an aircraft originally I assumed they were behind the windshield while two colossal engines came out of its body ahead of its tail legs.
Slowly I clambered up onto the top of the trench and walked towards it holding out my hand trying to calm the creature. My men instantly started to call it the blood ghost, I had no idea why they called it that the only part that made sense was the ghost part as the entire creature was white except the tip of the engines and the frame of the windshield.
As I drew closer the creature opened its mouth, I suddenly understood why my men had called it the blood ghost. As it shifted its wings opened showing blood-red threads of skin and the inside of its mouth was entirely red.
“Do not treat me like a mindless beast foe of my masters. Why do you fight, warriors of the false empire.” I recoiled in fear and surprise as the beast spoke in perfect Terran standard.
“Y-you can talk?” For a moment the beast seemed to think about whether it should speak or not. “Answer my question alien, your answer will determine if you live or die.”
I stood for a moment thinking of an answer and only came up with one. “I fight because those are my orders, if I do not my family and I will be punished.”
The beast reared up on its hind legs. “Such a pathetic reason, you hold no ideals of your own, you only fight for your own desire, I always question my master's orders but I see the dragon empress was right. So as the monarch of the Aerodargon, I will put the mindless animals down.”
I froze up as the beast lunged at me biting down on my arm, it lifted me up into the air as with many smaller arms I hadn't seen before reached into the equivalent of a bomb bay in its stomach and removed several missiles.
It finally bit down on my arm fully and tossed me away like a ragdoll into the trenches as it began to toss the missiles at my men like javelins, as along its nose on the left side a section of its skin peeled back with a metallic clink before the sound of a rotary cannon spinning up was heard and bullets began to fly from it.
Several of my men instantly started to fire back, our plasma rounds bouncing off its skin or simply sizzling away.
As my soldiers quickly fell they started to run from the fighting, a few of them grabbed me as I bled out and dragged me into the tree line to escape.
As we vanished into the trees, the beast relaxed and watched us as we left, as if it was stalking its prey. “I've hunted prey much deadlier than you on Earth, and an Aerodargon never forgets its prey.”
We hoped the beast was bluffing, no animal could hunt its prey as far as we ran, as I and my men healed our wounds we found a disturbing truth, many of my men who were struck by bullets found that the bullets we pulled out were actually teeth, about 20 cm long and 5 wide they were colossal but nowhere near as large as the ones in its jaw.
As we stayed hidden in the woods we knew our assault had collapsed as we watched our starships fall from the sky. So we devised a plan, there was a logistics point within a nearby city that we should be able to call a rescue ship. But we had to split into small groups to avoid that beast and military patrols.
Slowly we made our way to the city, over the weeks-long march we lost many men, by the time we had started with 80 men, and by the time we got to the supply point, there were only 30 of us remaining.
We did our best to get in contact with our forces, as one by one we were picked off by snippers, but every time we tried to get through our communication either were blocked or just couldn't find their target as our fleet slowly was pushed further back, our failure on this world had created a domino of failures.
We had no options further except to surrender or fight our way out, and neither was possible with our orders, but the beast's question to my surprise sat in the back of my mind.
With no way out we decided to take the honorable exit, one by one my men took their own lives disintegrating their bodies with their plasma pistols till I was the last one left.
I stood for a moment between the piles of ashes, looking up into the buildings I could see maybe a hundred glints of snipper scopes.
But as I was ready to take my own life I heard it again, the engines of that beast getting louder before it shot over me, a white and red streak shot through the air circling the courtyard I was standing in before it came to land on a skyscraper its many claws digging into the steel frame causing tonnes of rubble to fall to the streets below.
Again I found myself enthralled as I watched the beast change from the rigid perfectly shaped form of an ancient Terran aircraft to the beast, hundreds of blood-red tendrils stretched between the wings that formed its arms and the main body.
In a display of power, the beast clambered up the tower till it was at its peak and just looked at me. It didn't smile, laugh, grin or anything, it didn't attack or move, it just sat clinging to the tower breathing as it looked at me.
In anger I brought my pistol up to the beast ready to fire on it but before I could several sniper shots all at once pierced my head.
—------------------------------------------------------
As the body fell to the ground the Aerodargon jumped from the building landing on the street below tossing up dust. Its white body emerged from the dust cloud as one of the snipers came out from the buildings.
For the moment the Areodargon stood in front of the body before leaning down and biting on his feet, tossing his body into the air and opening its jaw letting the body fall into its maw swallowing it whole.
Slowly the snipper walked up to the Aerodargon and ran their hand along its cold skin. “You ident take too long to think of eating that one Arolan. Something different?”
Arolan snapped his head around defensively bearing his teeth, caught off Garud by the snipper as he had been so indulged in eating the body. As soon as he realized who was there, he relaxed as he stood up on his legs to their full height.
“This man had no soul, he was nothing more than a robot taking orders so I treat him as such.”
“Hummm, we're lucky to have your kind on our side.”
“I am not loyal to your kind, Tailon. I am loyal to my makers, I am loyal to you only as long as you are loyal to humanity. Do not take my peace with you as loyalty, I would consume you just as readily.”
Tailon walked around in front of Arolan tossing her rifle over her back. “Yes, but I am loyal to humanity, I was born under the winged empire's wing, I would die before going back to the curse my parents saw under the first empire.”
Arolan looked down at her for a moment before chuckling. “You are the only one to speak to me so brashly Tailon, your strong soul is why I indulge you so willingly, now, let us return to the enterprise before we are left on this barren rock for the rest of the war.”
Hopping into the air the twin engines that were a part of Arolan’s body burst into life sending a warm gust of air across the land as he shot into the air leaving Tailon behind for her to walk over to a transport truck the other snippers were clambering into.

Guardians @ Orioles - Tue, May 30

Game Status: Pre-Game - First Pitch is scheduled for 07:05 PM EDT

Links & Info

• Current conditions at Oriole Park at Camden Yards: 75°F - Partly Cloudy - Wind 9 mph, In From RF
• TV: Guardians: Bally Sports Great Lakes, Orioles: MASN
• Radio: Guardians: Guardians Radio Network, WMMS 100.7, WTAM 1100, Orioles: 98 Rock FM/HD2 97.9, WBAL NewsRadio AM/FM
• MLB Gameday
• Statcast Game Preview

ALE Rank	Team	W	L	GB (E#)	WC Rank	WC GB (E#)
1	Tampa Bay Rays	39	17	- (-)	-	- (-)
2	Baltimore Orioles	34	20	4.0 (104)	1	+2.5 (-)
3	New York Yankees	33	23	6.0 (101)	2	+0.5 (-)
4	Boston Red Sox	28	25	9.5 (99)	4	3.0 (107)
5	Toronto Blue Jays	28	26	10.0 (98)	7	3.5 (106)

	Probable Pitcher (Season Stats)	Report
Guardians	Cal Quantrill (2-3, 4.75 ERA, 55.0 IP)	No report posted.
Orioles	Kyle Gibson (6-3, 3.82 ERA, 66.0 IP)	No report posted.

Guardians Lineup vs. Gibson	AVG	OPS	AB	HR	RBI	K
1 Kwan - LF	-	-	-	-	-	-
2 Rosario, A - SS	1.000	2.500	2	0	1	0
3 Ramírez, Jo - 3B	.364	.984	33	1	6	5
4 Naylor, J - 1B	.000	.000	2	0	0	0
5 Bell - DH	-	-	-	-	-	-
6 Gimenez - 2B	-	-	-	-	-	-
7 Brennan - RF	-	-	-	-	-	-
8 Zunino - C	.167	.433	18	0	2	4
9 Straw - CF	.231	.462	13	0	0	3
10 Quantrill - P	-	-	-	-	-	-

Division Scoreboard

MIL @ TOR 07:07 PM EDT
CIN @ BOS 07:10 PM EDT
TB @ CHC 08:05 PM EDT
NYY @ SEA 09:40 PM EDT
^{Posted: 05/30/2023 05:05:00 PM EDT}

If you aren’t completely single, please do not contact me! 😁
I’m a tall, tan-skinned Trans Girl looking for a potential long-term relationship with a tall, strong, kind, and caring older gentleman that wants the same. I want to settle down and get to the fun part of life with someone who is ready to do that with me. The pandemic pushed me to relocate back to Texas to be closer to family after being gone at school for a few years, so the last time I was here was when I was a teenager. I’d love for someone to show me around to see the fun areas of DFW now that I’m grown. Tell me your favorite thing to do!
As for what kind of relationship I want, I like a modern twist on a traditional relationship. I’m ready to devote myself to supporting a man as he supports me. I feel like we, as humans, should be able to explore the world together and still have our own unique experiences. I’m a homebody, and love to be comfortable in a clean home where I can enjoy my partner, my hobbies and my TV. I love to cook and bake as well, so expect some good food at home when I’m around.
There’s so much more I could say about myself on here, but I’m gonna keep it short and sweet. If you’d like to know anything else, ask away in my DM’s. If you read the whole thing, send me a peach emoji (🍑) to let me know! Thanks! 🩷

Nettie Peterson has known me at my best and at my worst, and after everything that's happened lately, I think I can finally say the same. I'm admittedly not very good at comforting her, though. I haven't had much practice, is all. Historically speaking, she's always been the one to take care of me. My introduction to earth was a confusing, horrifying time for me, and she had dealt with all of it. She'd handled every panic attack, brought me back from every low. When I woke up one night to a drilling pain in my stomach and blood soaking my panties, she managed to keep me calm while explaining that this would now happen every month.
What I'm saying is that the woman is insanely skilled.
Me, not so much. After we had gotten out of the cave, I tried to provide emotional support by petting her hair and talking soothingly. Seeing as I was also distressed, she was doing the same to me, so we were basically sitting on the beach holding each other. To the outside observer, we must have looked rather strange. I was relieved to finally get back to her house. We sat down in front of the TV and ate cupcakes. We have a special system for eating cupcakes. I peel off the frosting and give her rest. It's messy and I have to keep hand wipes nearby everytime, but it's how we do it. We both eat cupcakes whole when we're by ourselves, so it doesn't make much sense either, but when we share, it's always like this.
Once I was sure she was alright, I left her to go off to bed while I made my way back to the hotel, bracing myself for what I expected to be an extremely uncomfortable conversation.
The lobby was dim and quiet. The large, bright ceiling lights had been turned off with only a couple floor lamps illuminating the hall. I walked past the unmanned reception desk and up the stairs, then rapped my knuckles against the door to Frankie's room. After a couple seconds, he opened up. Upon meeting my gaze, he let out a soft gasp, but it wasn't followed by a smile this time. He made way for me to step inside, wordlessly, and I entered without breaking the silence. I sat down on the sofa where he joined me after placing a glass of coconut water in front of me.
For a beat, we both stared at the drink. I didn't take it.
"What you did felt really off earlier," I began. "You were trying to embarrass Nettie. If you were testing your boundaries, if you were trying to see how I'd react, you got your answer. Don't ever make me choose between you two. You'll lose."
"Yes," he said quietly.
"If you don't get along with Nettie, that's one thing. You don't need to. But she was needling you and you made a real effort to be cruel." I paused. "You act so strange sometimes. All bossy and cagey."
"Yes," he repeated, briefly falling silent as he worked away on his gum in slow, contemplative motions. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I did it. I wanted to unsettle her. It's not that I don't like her, she's fine, but at that moment, I simply loathed her. I couldn't tell you why. But I wish I'd kept quiet. I feel gross for spouting off like that."
"Then… why?"
"I don't know! There's this weird feeling, it comes over me and makes me remember stuff that's in the past… Then I get caught up and confused. I run my mouth, but I don't want to make you upset. I swear I won't do it again. I'll rein myself in."
"Will you? This doesn't seem right." I took a deep breath. "Frankie, I have no idea what you are. Even though you know everything about me."
"Not everything," he argued. "You never said a thing about what life was like where you're from. Or who you were before. Yes, that's not what this is about, but I'm just speaking technically."
"You shouldn't have to rely on technicalities to make a point."
"No. Look, I keep wondering what I'm even doing here. I like you a lot. But I haven't thought this through and by now, I'm scared to."
"Stop talking in riddles," I implored him.
He huffed out a chuckle. "I'd have to stop thinking in them first." Before he could add anything else, his phone started vibrating on the TV table. "Oh, dammit," he muttered. Shooting me an uncertain gaze, he reached out for it, his hand hovering above the screen. "Can I?"
"Sure." I let go of a long breath, snatched up the glass and leaned back in my seat as Frankie answered the call. I pick up on a woman's voice talking on the other end.
He kept glancing over at me almost sheepishly as he mumbled words of affirmation into the phone. "Yes… Yeah, I remember… Well, it's not a good time, but I'll do it. Bye." Dropping the device into his lap, he gave me a twist of the mouth. "That was Mae-Lynn. She works at—"
"The diner with you," I cut him off. "I do take note of the other staff there, for your information." I took a sip of my water. "Occasionally."
"I promised to do some shopping for her. She's come down with the flu. Store's closing soon, though, so I'll have to go now."
"Well, that's convenient."
"I was going to ask you to come along."
I agreed. Having lost track of the conversation, the drive was a grim, quiet affair. Frankie took us to one of the more expensive stores in the area, saying that he wanted to treat Mae-Lynn.
"Take a cart," I ordered, and once he had acquired one, I had him hold it still while I climbed inside. He regarded me with a bemused expression but refrained from commenting as he began to roll me down the aisles.
Grocery shopping at night is something else. Eighties music was playing over the radio at a low volume, but the otherwise quiet space made it sound decidedly louder. There was almost the hint of an echo. Safe for two of three singular, tired-looking individuals, Frankie and I were the only people in the store. I had nestled against the back of the cart, my head tipped back to watch Fran's face from below as his eyes roamed the shelves. Occasionally, he'd stop to check the list Mae-Lynn had texted him on his phone.
"If you want anything, speak up," he told me.
"I'm out of cereal," I said, just as we passed the respective aisle. He turned the cart back around, let me pick out a carton of cornflakes and took up walking again. After five minutes of stoically regarding him from my mobile vantage point, I piped up again. "Go back. Wrong ones."
"Well, which ones do you want? I'll get them, it's faster than pushing this thing around."
I shook my head. "No, no, I have to look at them. Go back."
He shook his head to himself but obediently maneuvered the cart back to the shelf with the breakfast items. I took my time picking out a different box, then settled back down.
"Happy?" Fran asked.
"Delighted."
After fifteen minutes, we were getting close to finishing Mae-Lynn's list. Frankie was starting to move towards the cash register, only for me to tug on his arm. "Turn back," I told him, holding up the box. "I don't want them after all. I need different ones."
He stifled a groan. "Sure, Sunshine." I let him roll me all the way back to the cereal aisle where I studied the colorful boxes intensely. "Nevermind," I said, turning back to him. "Let's go."
He started making his way over to the register again when I cleared my throat. "Actually, I think I might have another look."
"Are you kidding me?" he squeaked, only for me to hold his gaze with a smile. "You are," he choked out. "I oughta send you rolling right into that stack of cans."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Is that a challenge?" He glanced about himself, finding that we were alone. Then, he pushed the cart, and it swerved, sliding across the shiny floor. The thrill of the launch washed over me and I started laughing. He lunged for it, grabbing it just in time to prevent the collision.
"Do it again!" I demanded.
He indulged me, sending me swerving and spinning a couple more times. Eventually, he took a running start and pushed me down a long, empty aisle at a breakneck speed. The giggles died in my throat when, seemingly out of thin air, someone appeared at the end of the aisle. My jaw dropped and I reflexively gripped the sides of the cart to protect myself from the impending crash, but the person simply reached out and caught the cart by its edges. Within the blink of an eye, they had managed to steady it. My vehicle had come to a standstill. It all happened incredibly fast, and for a moment, I found myself unable to react. One of the other person's hands had come to rest over mine in the process. Still at a loss for words, I raised my head to meet their gaze.
Those eyes.
My heart, already thundering in my chest, dropped entirely into my stomach. There were pupils filling the void in that formerly uninterrupted pale vastness this time, but I recognized them either way. Seeing them sit in an actual face instead of behind a nondescript black mask was strange, but there was not a doubt in my mind. It was them.
The cultist had jarringly pleasant features that struck me as neither overtly feminine nor masculine. Their tawny skin had an almost bronze sheen to it and short locks of platinum blond hair stuck to their smooth forehead, slick with the same sweat that formed stains beneath the armpits of their light gray t-shirt.
It was like time stood still. The interaction could not have been longer than two seconds in total, but it felt like a full hour. From me staring at our linked hands, to locking eyes with them, to the cold, raw realization, it seemed to me as though forty minutes or more had gone by, followed by another twenty when I watched the crude smile forming on their lips. Their fingers clamped down on my own, and before I knew it, it had happened.
The lights in the store had changed color, taking on a dimmer, sickly green tint. The shelves around us had emptied and the gentle, melodic hum of the radio had been replaced by a deep, droning buzz of static. I was still sitting in the shopping cart, and the cultist was still leaning over me, but their expression had morphed into one of shocked disbelief. Seeing fear on the face of the person who'd stabbed me might have been a great satisfaction to me in any other situation, but right then and there, I was equally as terrified.
I had switched dimensions and was now alone with my attempted murderer.
The thought took a while to sink in, but the clearer it became, the more I felt the need to scream. And yet, not a sound left my lips. My own saliva had turned sour, filling my mouth with an acidic taste. Dread pooled in the pit of my stomach like icy, chilled water and tears were stringing the corners of my eyes. I blinked them away in a hurry, redirecting my gaze at the cultist. They were staring past me in a daze, taking in our changed surroundings before fixing me with a sharp glare.
"Seriously?"
"What?" The word somehow slipped past the lump in my throat.
The cultist made a sweeping gesture at our surroundings. "Where are we? What the hell is this? You don't even have your dimension hopping under control? Not gonna lie, I had higher expectations of you."
"What?" I repeated eloquently.
"You just switched dimensions on my ass. And seeing as you literally crashed into me, I don't think you planned on doing that."
"I didn't," I confirmed.
"That's what I'm talking about."
"You know about dimensions?"
The cultist palmed their face, emitting a deep, low groan. "Clearly."
I scrambled back in the cart, trying to bring some distance between the two of us. I bared my teeth at them, both rows elongating and curving outward. At least I was getting the hang of my physical transformation. "If you come any closer, I'll rip your hand off," I hissed, spittle flying out between my fangs.
"I believe you," they replied, narrowing their eyes at me. "I'm not gonna hurt you."
"That's hard for me to believe."
"Yes, sure. I did and I would again, but not here. Not now. You understand?" they asked pointedly, their voice cutting like a razor blade.
"I'm not sure I do."
"Well, without you, I won't get out of here, and I've stuff to do on the other side." They stepped behind the cart and grabbed onto the handle.
I hastily twisted around to face them. "You know about the finer details of dimension hopping but you can't do it yourself?"
They let out a soft sigh as they began pushing the cart, with me inside, down the empty aisle. "I managed to do it once. Just once. Never again. It's not a great surprise to me that you should be able to switch to the other sides, but I'd thought you'd be able to control it. I think I have your number. I'm pretty sure I know what you are, and we have more in common than you could have probably guessed. That boy you were with on the other hand… I won't lie, he freaks me out. He's got the strangest face and he didn't react to my eyes at all."
"What are you?" I queried, quick to steer him away from the topic of Frankie Preston even though I didn't really expect an honest answer. "How'd you do that the other night? Your… your eye thing?"
"That unsettled you, didn't it? It's not anything I do per se." They shrugged leisurely. "I could just as well ask you where you're hiding your tentacles."
"So you're not human. I didn't think you were," I stated. "What's your business with the Collective? What are you after? Are any of you normal people?"
"As far as I know, I'm the only one who's not." They steered the cart around the corner with a swift, forcible yank and I bumped painfully against the side of the cart. Stifling a yelp, I kept my face straight, looking over the shelves as we passed them. I noticed that some of them weren't entirely empty—there were a couple jars, cans and bags of various goods standing scattered throughout. They looked almost lonely. The cultist, registering my wandering gaze, stopped and grabbed a random plastic jar that looked like it could be containing peanut butter or something of the sort. The label was faded and partially peeled off. They inspected it from all sides before thrusting it into my hands. "Here, open it," they commanded.
"I certainly won't," I replied, a mix of rage and apprehension bubbling in my chest.
"Aren't you curious?"
"No. But if you are, go on and open it yourself."
They grunted, grabbing the jar and unscrewing the red lid. They dropped it to the floor where it bounced off once and rolled away into the darkness. Peering in, their expression remained unchanged. "Nothing. Look." They held it out to me and sure enough, it was empty. I let them hand it to me, intrigue winning me over as I started examining the small container. It was completely unremarkable. I reached two of my fingers inside only for the digits to suddenly be stricken with a searing pain. It flashed through my bones like lightning and I cried out, withdrawing my hand. Suddenly, the floor seemed to quiver. The lights in the store flickered, seeming startlingly bright for a split second only to turn dimly green once more. The cultist let out an involuntary shriek, staggering back before managing to steady themself as everything went back to its former solid state.
"What the fuck was that?" they wheezed.
"An earthquake?" I suggested, not quite knowing what else to say. My pulse was thrumming in my ears, hard enough to split my head in half. It took me a minute to regain a relative state of calm.
"An earthquake? In another dimension? You're messing with me."
"I don't know! Maybe it was… maybe I was nearly jumping back, I have no idea." I shook my head, ignoring the throbbing pain shooting through my temples. "I don't have it all figured out yet, but it's an emotional response. Whenever my flight instinct gets triggered, these dimension switches happen. It was the jar. The jar is painful inside."
"What do you mean?" they asked, eagerly reaching for the jar and sticking their pinky finger into it. They pulled it back out with a howl, letting the jar drop to the floor. "What the hell is up with this place?"
"How would I know?" I argued hotly.
"Yeah, well. Anyways." All of a sudden, their hand was in my hair, tugging on my braid. They yanked my head to the side, and before I could break out my tentacles or try to snap my jaws at them, I could feel their hot breath on my nape. A scream died in my throat, equal parts painful and shocked. My eyes burned, my vision swimming when the cultist dragged their teeth across my skin, leaving a trail of warm saliva. And then, fast and without mercy, they bit down.
The lights turned bright white. The static buzzing that had been hanging in the stale air changed to the familiar eighties music tunes. Squinting into the sudden brightness, the colors of the countless types of packaged products filling the shelves almost seemed to be screaming at me.
We were back.
The cultist disentangled themself, quickly stepping away from me. I looked up, still dazed, to see why. Frankie Preston had come up behind us, snatching the cart away from the other person and pulling it out of their reach. I immediately scrambled up to wrap my arms around him. "That's them," I breathed. "From the Collective."
"I know," he said tonelessly. His eyes, trained on the blonde, spelled murder. "You should get out of here," he added, addressing them. "The shelves here are rickety, they might fall on you."
The cultist's expression was a frozen mix of suppressed uncertainty and confusion. Still, they held the server's gaze. "You should maybe not… do anything stupid," they uttered, their voice almost equally as flat as his.
"I'm all about stupid."
"Then I guess I ought to leave. See you guys soon. It was a pleasure." They threw us a smile that was faker than Frankie's when he waited tables before marching off, leaving the two of us alone in the aisle.
"Are you alright?" Fran asked, running a hand over my mussed braid. "What happened? I'm so… one minute you were here and the next…"
"We switched dimensions."
"I pieced that together. You weren't gone for long… just a couple minutes." He nervously twisted his wet bubble gum around the tip of his finger, drawing nervous strings.
"Were you worried?"
"Out of my mind," he said in a low voice, not meeting my gaze. "I mean, I knew you'd be okay on your own, I wasn't saying that—"
"I wasn't. I'm not," I interrupted him. "I got out alright, sure I did, but I'm not okay right now." I swallowed. My throat was bone dry. "I need to call Mary Markov. She should hear about this."
Frankie nodded along. "Do you want me to do it for you? I'm certain I can give her an accurate description."
I declined and sat back in the cart. Per my request, Fran brought me home after we'd paid for everything. I needed some time alone to relax and pretend everything was normal. I cleaned my room and then looked through job listings, which I admittedly haven't done in a little while. When I couldn't find any other way to procrastinate, I made the call to Mary Markov, which went about as well as could be expected. She wants to see me tomorrow, though. I wish she'd told me about what. For a newsreader, she's really not very forward with her information.
X
1
2: deadbeat roommate
3: creepy crush
4: relocation
5: beach concert
6: First date
7: Temp work
8: roommate talk
9: a dismal worldview
10: warehouse
11: staircase
12: explanation
13: hurt
14: hospital
15: ocean
16: diner
17: government work
18: something in the caves

As parliament was to be in session shortly, many important figures were already present in the capital. Intentionally or otherwise, there was another event which capitalized on the timing, the premiere of the “national epic” Szilvestzter, about the legendary 9th century Vuldic conqueror and founder of Vuldavia.
Szilvestzter was the passion project of the ambitious Vuldavian film pioneer Peter Balog, using talent from across Epera. Film premieres were not uncommon in Blielor, several occurred annually, with Vuldavian high society present. Szilvestzter was different, being the first film advertised to use synchronized sound. From that alone, people flocked to the Blielor Grand Cinema.
Sitting down in their spots, the audience eagerly awaited the start of the film. It opened with a wideshot of the plains of the eastern steppes, as the music swelled. A rugged man on horseback came into view, followed by others. He lead them through the hills, through the Calthon mountains in the harsh winter to the fertile plains of Asmad. They looked from on top a hill, marvelling at the sight.
Szilvestzter uttered, “It’s beautiful.”
There were some gasps in the audience.
Szilvestzter’s lieutenant, on a horse of his own, “With green grass as far as the eye can see.”
However the Vuldic horde was not alone in those lands, they quickly encountered other groups, include the ruling Adata tribe, with the rest of the film consisting of massive battles, melodramatic twists and a forbidden romance, with Szilvestzter falling in love with a lowly Adata washerwoman.
The climax of the film was the famous siege of Trealon, taking place in the ruins of the centuries old Solean fortifications. Szilvestzter’s victory over the Adata was in part due to the alliances he made with their former tributaries including the Zebruans. However those groups quickly found themselves falling under the new Vuldavian Kingdom.
The last scene was of an elderly king Szilvestzter presiding over a great empire before dying on his throne.
While rife with a number of anachronisms, historical inaccuracies and blatant pro Vuldavian bias, the talented actors, innovative audio, stunning visuals and heartfelt emotion seemed to have won over the audience, garnering a standing ovation.
In the front lobby, there were food and drinks for the guests. The director Peter Balog was listening to what the audience thought and giving autographs.

I (26M) was recently broken up with by my (24F) girlfriend of 6 years right after opening up to her about how I had been struggling a lot mentally recently. That's not necessarily the cause, but it happens to be a terrible coincidence.
Backstory to the unfortunate mental struggles:
About 10 weeks ago I had a very long night out and woke up extremely hungover. My brother met up with me that night in our parents car and ended up staying with us for a few drinks, so evidently he left the car.
Of course, I woke up and had a boatload of caffeine so I was already on edge a little bit. My brother was still asleep, so my mom asked me if I could quickly drive my dad to the car so he could take it home. No problem, I hopped in my car and drove there with my dad.
On the way home, completely unprovoked and no anxiety prior, I had an insane panic attack. I’ve never experienced anything like it before. I think I’ve only had one panic attack in my life, and for some reason it left me with a very small amount of social anxiety. During this attack, my hands and feet were completely numb and sweating. At first, I had literally no idea what was going on - I thought it was a legitimate health issue. I ended up taking a bit to drive home, but I made it.
Since then, I've just had heightened anxiety. I've had one other panic attack in the past and I eventually got over the lingering anxiety, so I knew it wasn't permanent.
Mental Health Backstory on her end:
To preface this, we both have anxiety/depression in our genetics unfortunately. In fact, her mom spent some time in the hospital when they were young because of how bad it got.
She also apparently had a ton of anxiety from work recently (she's a nurse, I'm in tech).
On my mothers side of the family, my mom, grandma and great grandma have struggled with anxiety their entire lives, some of them taking antidepressants.
Not fun genes for either of us to have, but we persevered!
Our Relationship:
This is what has been getting to me, our relationship was very healthy. We argued probably 2-3 times per year, we spent the majority of days together - as we lived only a 5 minute drive apart. We were both fully a part of each other's families. All of the normal relationship stuff, we were completely engulfed in it. We had also been looking at engagement rings for a bit and ALWAYS talked about our life together.
When I was about 19 before we were together, I used to drunkenly talk about her all of the time to my friends saying "if she ever gets out of the relationship with her boyfriend (at that time) she's the one I'm going for". When I was graduating high school, I went into her class on yearbook day, grabbed her yearbook and wrote my number in it. Long story short, she ended up single and within a month of that happening, we were together.
The "problems" we had over the years that were semi-recurring:
I didn't suggest enough of our plans. I explained to her a number of times that I'd happily go anywhere, I just don't tend to suggest ideas because sometimes she wanted to, other times she didn't. I've lived by the motto "happy wife, happy life" in that relationship, so I tended to go along with whatever she suggested.
We didn't take enough pictures together. I don't really like being in too many pictures and that bothered her.
We didn't travel together enough. This goes back to the anxiety, I hate flying and haven't done it in almost a decade. However, I have an appointment with my doctor in early July where I'm requesting some "emergencies only" anxiety medication to use for that exact scenario. Note - she went on a number of trips over the years with her closest friends. Furthermore, we had done weekend getaways via car together but those apparently don't count. To add, her friends are hopping on planes at least once per month to go somewhere, I think comparison became the thief of joy here.
I didn't tell her I loved her enough or hug her enough. This one is hard for me because I felt like I definitely told her I loved her a lot. She used to occasionally say "do you even love me", semi-joking but also serious, and I always told her of course I did and even though I may not say it a number of times a day, of course I do. I also did a TON of things for her to show how much I cared (ie. she very rarely had to make a lunch for work, I cooked for her almost every day and we don't even live together) The hugging thing is a bit different, as she's always been extremely affectionate and I never really have been. I truly think it comes down to how I was raised, affection just wasn't a huge part of my childhood. (note, that's not a problem for me or anything, I had incredible family/parents, it just wasn't as prominent as it was in her childhood)
I cared a lot about money and how we could set ourselves up to move out. She had taken 5 trips (two of them by train, three by plane) with her friends in the past year and after the 5th one I asked if she planned on slowing down so she could focus on tackling her student debt and so we could start saving to move out, have a wedding etc. Specifically, I wanted us to be in the position where we weren't renting a home, ESPECIALLY given how much money we were making combined. This part kind of confused me because she was the first one to suggest moving out, but when it came time to adjusting the lifestyle to prepare for it, she didn't like the idea. But, I did use it as a crutch for my anxiety to get out of things sometimes and I did open up to her about that. As an example though, I still went with her to the Gucci store and helped her pick out a very expensive purse to celebrate getting her first real nursing job after graduating. I don't feel that I cared about money (especially given the stage we were in in our lives) more than any of my buddies with girlfriends. I wanted us to be set up well for the coming stages of our lives; they were fast approaching. Furthermore, her friends are catching a plane every weekend and are living with their parents but pay cheque to pay cheque with no prospects of ever leaving unless it's renting
The Situation:
About 7-ish weeks ago, a few weeks after my panic attack, my girlfriend was very adamant that we needed to book a trip together. She said we hadn't been on a "real" trip during our relationship (by real, she means getting on a plane). We were sitting down in her bed on my laptop looking at destinations and flights, but I was incredibly anxious about the whole thing. As we were about to book, I broke down and was fully vulnerable to her for one of the first times in the 6 year relationship. I said that I just don't see myself getting onto a plane right now without some kind of medication to calm me down. On top of that, it would stress me out financially a bit, as I'm a full-time masters student and working full time. Plus, it was during my one-week semester break, so I honestly just wanted to relax.
From that day on, our relationship started going downhill. She said she felt extremely disappointed by the whole situation and she couldn't shake the feeling. We then started only hanging out maybe once per week and it was very bland when we did. A couple weeks after that incident, I slept over at her house and I could tell she was genuinely just not happy at that time.
Brief backstory - despite being 26, my mom still gives me a ton of flack if I sleep at her house. It was rare that I got away with it. But, I did it that night anyway because she always asked me to sleep over but I rarely wanted to have to deal with my mom. I thought it would help show her I'm really trying to get better. She also invited me over the following evening and I obviously went.
After that day, I don't think we saw each other for about 2 weeks. I texted her on a Friday evening and said I just don't feel like she wants to be with me anymore. She picked me up so we could talk, and explained that she felt very disappointed about how we were so close to booking the trip and ended up not doing it. She said she needed a break and I was fine with it, I understood where she was coming from.
During this time, I started seeing a therapist. I found one online who was one of the highest rated in my province and was also extremely experienced in marital/pre-marital counselling so I could tell her about the relationship issues I was having along with my anxiety.
Fast forward about 2 more weeks (last weekend) she texted me saying she was ready to talk and picked me up. She said it's probably best if we just end the relationship for the time being. She explained that she felt she had been disappointed a few times over the years and was bottling a lot of things up. She said she needed time to "find herself again" and didn't know if we would get back together at all in the future or not. Then, we sat there talking in her car for another 30 minutes like things were normal so it really threw me off.
I ended up texting her the next day and asked if I could pick her up because I was confused from the night prior since we talked so normally after the breakup conversation. We ended up talking again, sharing some tears and what not, but I kind of understood why she felt she needed to be alone for a bit, even though she didn't know if we would get back together or not. She said that people do this all of the time and sometimes they come back stronger, but if it was meant to be then we'll get back together. I also told her about how much help I'm getting and how I'm setting a goal to take a vacation when I finish my masters in November. She was noticeably happy and asked a lot about how I was talking to my therapist about improving as a person and a (what I thought was soon to be) fiancé. She asked for all of the details about what we talked about in regards to our relationship and was very happy that I was putting that much effort in.
A couple days ago is when she deleted are photos together, but it came right after she posted an Instagram story while out with a friend who has no stability whatsoever. This friend has been on and off with the same guy (who treats her terribly) for as long as we were together. Not to mention, she sleeps around a ton. I can't help but feel like some of this breakup is being influenced by her friends (specifically this one) wanting her to be single like they are out of jealousy or something. Or, they want her to be flying somewhere once a month with them with no plans for the future. My girlfriend has cried to me in the past because she had been brought to places she didn't want to be because her friend wanted to go for a guy. That friend has also been binge drinking several times weekly for years. The following night, her two friends posted a story of her incredibly drunk in the back of a car with her feet out of the window I'm sure in hopes that I would see it. We're grown ass adults, I can't help but feel like that's just not a cool thing to do to your friend in general? I don't care how drunk you are, in fact I expected her to have a night out with her friends and let loose but posting someone else like that is just insanely stupid to me! To put the icing on the cake, one of my long time buddies from high school decided to go for one of her friends and I gave him substantial warnings about her. Within a year, that relationship was completely over with and she was on to the next.
Neither of us were ever the type one to have one-night stands or get around, so I'm not concerned about anything like that during the breakup. If it happens it happens, but I won't be sleeping with anyone until I've put in all of my effort to saving everything we've built. She's only ever been with me and her ex, while I've had a handful more partners before her - but I've experienced enough in my 26 years to know that there was is only one woman for me.
After all of this, I still couldn't shake the feeling that I felt I was being abandoned during the one time in my entire life I've opened up to anyone and really wanted some support. I'm also just having a hard time processing why it happened and how I can salvage it.
I've texted her once per week since the breaks & breakup happened just telling her that I loved her and wished we were going to XYZ events coming up. I also always say in the message that "You don't have to respond or even read it, I just want you to know". I'm having a hard time deciding if I should continue giving her that weekly text or not, but I really do want her to know how much I care and thought we were a dream team.
I just can't help but feel like we had "problems" that were very fixable and were very minor compared to 99% of couples. Her two best friends have had 5+ boyfriends each in the time that we were together and countless one-night stands. Every time they would break up, I'd hear a story from my girlfriend about how terribly they were treated by these guys and we talked about how lucky we are to have each other. There was no forms of jealousy or self-consciousness between us either, neither of us were bothered when we went out alone with our respective friend groups. I also never for a second worried when she travelled with her friends that she'd cheat or something.
This wraps in with why I can't process the breakup. Aside from the few things we argued about here and there (few times a year) it was an incredibly healthy relationship. I had a great relationship with her friends (despite some of the things I've said about them above) and would often times opt to go out drinking with her group over my group of buddies. I acknowledged my shortcomings as a boyfriend (ie. the affection) with my therapist and she's giving me some help with it. Am I crazy for thinking 1. that I can fix what's happened and 2. Part of this breakup might just be her wanting to see how much I actually care?
Anyway, I might add to this if I remember more important points. I just needed to get some of this off my chest. If you've made it this far into my story, thanks for reading!
TL;DR - Our relationship was very healthy, we never argued, the breakup came essentially because I wasn’t ready to travel despite the fact that I’m actively getting help

I don’t hate my family. They’re not bad people, and my parents were pretty good parents for the most part, but they are all the worst communicators I’ve ever met. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them enter a personal conflict within the house where it didn’t go straight to yelling. No calmly explaining what the other person did wrong, just 0 to 10 without thinking about it.
My mom doesn’t do this to me as much anymore because I think she knows she crossed a line a few times, but she still does this with my dad. She just takes it personally if you make a mistake or say the wrong thing. Growing up I felt like sometimes I couldn’t talk to her because I would say something to piss her off without meaning to and she would get unreasonably mad at me like I had said something to deliberately offend her even though I was a 12 year old and didn’t know how to communicate. This has caused me great anxiety as an adult and I think it’s prevented me from forming relationships with women because I’m afraid I’m going to say something to offend them.
My dad is more predictable. When he gets mad, it’s easy to see why, but it’s always over stupid little shit that he can’t control. I feel bad for him, because he almost certainly has some undiagnosed anxiety disorder. I’ve wondered sometimes if he has Asperger’s or something, but it’s hard to sympathize when he gets testy over the dumbest shit. Today he got all pissy with me because I didn’t answer the phone because I was taking out the garbage. He was in the other room that also has a phone in it, so idk why he couldn’t answer it his damn self but apparently it’s my job to answer the phone for him even though I have a job and he’s never had a steady source of income for as long as I can remember. Sorry if answering the phone on my lunch break isn’t my top priority.
My sister is generally cooler, and we were actually talking about being room mates and getting a place together, but the other day she went off on me for no reason. She doesn’t do this often, but she’s done it before, and it reminded me a little too much of my mom. She was watching a tv show and I walked in and said “haven’t you seen this before?” She said no, to which I said “I feel like I remember you watching this exact episode.” We went back and forth a few times, with no escalation. I wasn’t accusing her of anything, I wasn’t demanding that she watch something else, I just asked her if she’d seen it before and disagreed when she said no. Then out of nowhere, she turns the tv off and says “fine I won’t watch it if it bothers you,” and storms put of the room in a huff before I can even say anything.
I was probably being annoying, and maybe she wanted to watch the show without being bothered, but she could have said that without taking offense and storming out of the room. I was fuming about it for the rest of the night and the entire day after. I’ve tried to look at it through her point of view, but the more I think about it the more I think I wasn’t in the wrong and she’s just being unreasonable. No one in this house knows how to just ask “hey could you not?” It always goes straight to a yelling match or passively aggressively storming out so they don’t have to be in an argument where they might be proven wrong.
Maybe I have Asperger’s too? I think a common experience with people on the spectrum is they say things that they don’t realize is offensive, but I only ever have had this problem with my mom and sister. I hope I can work this out because I’d be left without a plan to move out and I need to get away but I don’t know if I can live with someone with such deficient communication skills. Mine aren’t great either, but who can blame me when everyone gets mad whenever there’s a conflict? I don’t know how I can get out of this. I’m almost 30 and barely make enough to move out. This apartment is too small for 4 people and I’m sick of living here. Sorry for the novel but this has been getting worse with time.

28 female, 4'11". Alberta, Canada.
Mostly introverted, I have had past extroverted friends successfully get me out of my shell on the regular. Still figuring out my sexuality.. I know I am pansexual, what matters to me is who someone is and being able to enjoy similar hobbies together. Currently very much ACE (possibly due to past experiences, don't know for certain), possibility of demi-sexual. I know I love kisses and cuddles, and could very happily go without sex. That being said, I do not believe I would be a suitable partner at this time and am in search of good open-minded friends. Friends in my area would be more than welcomed although I accept that this is unlikely and have no problems with long distance friends. I speak English, however if I was to meet someone who speaks another language and is patient I would absolutely be willing to learn your language as well!
Things I value/love/enjoy?
Nature and the unique beauty of each individual being. Life and its many forms are both beautiful and sometimes terrifying. I love it when people share and spread love, random moments of connection between different types of people are both lovely to see and experience. Who doesn't love a good and respectful open-minded conversation? Learning other people's stories and passions can be inspiring and eye-opening. Conversations about theory and various things in life can be a lot of fun. I love music and dance, there are so many different genres all unique in their own ways (although I am terrified to sing or dance in front of people), love it when people recommend and show me new music. I value fitness and health and try my best to live a healthy lifestyle. I enjoy things like nature walks/hikes, camping, cooking/baking, reading/writing and absolutely love learning new things. There are so many things that I would love to learn that I can have a difficult time staying focused, I'm not sure there are many skills I would pass down the opportunity to learn. I love and enjoy a variety of martial arts although I have not practiced in class since before Covid hit. Some of the arts I have dabbled in include: Kung-Fu (Ma family style), Ninjitsu, BJJ, HEMA, MMA, Kenjutsu, Sojutsu, Balintawak, and Kyoketsu-Shoge. I am a strong believer in living in a peaceful nature, but also believe it is important to be capable of protecting oneself and those in need if needed. I do enjoy some gaming, I play Skyrim, Sea of Thieves, No Man's Sky, Destiny 2, ARK, still enjoy the older gameboy pokemon games up till Emerald, and would be interested in trying Elder Scrolls online. I played D&D in the past and enjoyed it, although the group I had at the time was far too inconsistent to truly get into it. I do enjoy some tv shows and movies, however am not typically the type of person to sit down and watch something on my own. If I do, I typically default to things like LOTR, Harry Potter series, Star Wars, some anime, etc. I sometimes like to make jewelry and find it relaxing. I have 2 kitties that I love to bits, they are a bonded pair of littermates (adopted) named Smaug and Dante. 10/10 good boys. They are both toilet trained as well as harness/leash trained and we go for walks together.
​
Beliefs?
I believe in spirituality, but not religion or god. Open minded, left-leaning. Maybe I am crazy, but I think things like food, water, housing, and education should be more easily accessible. I think we could achieve these things if it wasn't for greed and complacency. I believe grind culture is garbage and want no part in it. It feels like somewhere along the way we forgot that we were working towards a better quality life for future generations. Modern society severely lacks community. I think respect for all forms of life is important, be it plants, humans, animals, etc. Collapse aware but do my best to focus on it and just be mindful of living life. Random fact about me: I have a daughter whom I had when I was 17 and not in an ideal situation for raising a child. I made the choice to give her up for adoption to an amazing couple who are now like a family to me as well. Strong believer in chosen family. I do not want any more children.
I am sorry for the book post.

My father passed away last month at the age of 60. Although he had a number of illnesses, with one being from a young age, his death was unexpected. This is incredibly hard to come to terms with as I expect anyone on this subreddit would appreciate. Reading posts of some people on here who have lost loved ones at a young age or in terrible circumstances puts my loss in perspective but its still no less raw or devastating. I read a eulogy at my fathers funeral which I'm going to add below. It's long and most people won't read it but I just want to tell as many people as possible how amazing my father was. I have omitted any names from the eulogy and replaced with NAME. I will say though my dads name was Mark and I hope anyone who reads this sees how incredible he was.
Thank you all for coming.
My Dad was the person I looked up to the most, especially the older I got where I grew to appreciate the incredible man he was and how he lived his life. He had things very hard from a young age with multiple conditions, but he never let that define him. He appreciated the good things in his life, and not once did I ever hear him dwell on the bad that happened to him, his attitude was always to enjoy what he could surrounded by the people he loved for as long as he could no matter what was thrown his way. My dad possessed many qualities which include being kind, thoughtful, funny, loving and he is the strongest person mentally I’ve ever met and I’m proud and fortunate that he was my dad. The challenge to show those qualities became harder especially in the last few years but he never stopped living and being the man he always was, laughing, joking, and enjoying himself around his family.
His sense of humour was witty and dark, and he loved to wind people up, especially my mum. Even in his final hours he had his sense of humour. He was lying in bed that morning and he had a remote to move the bed into different positions. My mum heard him call her, so she went in and the remote was on the floor. My dad said sorry NAME can you pick it up, so she did. 10 minutes later she heard my dad call her again, so she went back in, the remote was on the floor again this time my dad had a grin on his face, my mum picked it up and gave it to him and warned him not to drop it again. He did of course drop it again and my mum saw a big smile on his face like he always had as she came back in. She knew he was winding her up and was smiling as well and I’m sure my dad thought about doing it again, but he knew one more time and it would be wrapped around his neck.
Two of my oldest memories I have of my dad are of stories he liked to tell because he found them funny to talk about over the years and I know he would like me to mention them. I don’t know whether it’s a coincidence they both involve alcohol, but he was a SURNAME so of course he enjoyed a drink.
The first is when I was around 5 and my dad and I were watching tv and he was enjoying a glass of whiskey. He went out to go to the bathroom and I seized my opportunity, grabbed the whiskey, and had a swig. My Dad came back into the room with me screaming it burns it burns pointing at the glass. My dad knew what needed to be done and rushed into action grabbing a can of lager and having me drink some to get rid of the whiskey taste. It did work to be fair and when I was older, I hated whiskey and enjoyed lager, which explains a lot.
The second story I want to share is another from when I was young. My dad would always go out drinking with his brothers NAME and NAME on boxing day. It was usually a nice casual drink and a chance for them to spend time together. However, on this occasion my dad got very drunk. So drunk his brothers had to carry him home which was an incredible feat by itself as he was not a small man. What was even more impressive is they managed to get him home but avoid my mum. They achieved this by leaving him sitting by the bins outside and knocking the door and running off. I don’t blame them, and I think it was a very smart move. However, what they didn’t expect was my dad to get up and manage to fall inside the bin. That was the sight that greeted my mum.
My dad was a great father to me and my sister NAME. He was limited physically in some of the things he could do with us but he more than made up for it in other ways and he was always there for us when we needed him. The only thing my father got wrong when NAME and I were growing up in my opinion is he should have been a bit harsher on NAME. She was always terrorizing me, and I was always calm and never did anything to instigate things, but she couldn’t be stopped. I think my father showed a bit of favouritism there.
At Christmas and other occasions, he enjoyed having everyone around and eating, drinking, playing games and having fun. Trivial pursuit was something he always wanted to play, probably because he would often win. He would always play as the blue counter, his favourite colour and if my nan was there which she usually was she would go on his team as she knew he would get everything right and she could sit back and sip her dissarano. I’m sorry nan but I really don’t think your going to win many games in future.
A memory of Christmas that sticks out is when we were playing a golf game on the Nintendo wii and it was my dads go. He was very competitive and put a lot of effort into his swing as he had to make up for the fact, he was playing sitting down. On this occasion he tried a bit too hard and also forgot to tighten the strap causing the wii remote to go flying off his wrist and straight into the tv destroying the screen. I will never forget the look on his face, a combination of shock and disbelief.
My dad also enjoyed playing real golf, many times with me and his son in law NAME but always with his mum. He caught the golf bug later in life but would play almost every week, sometimes twice a week for the part of the year they could use a buggy on the course. His father also used to go with them to drive the buggy and the sight of it all on the course was terrifying for others playing. A typical sight would be his father with his sunglasses on no matter the weather, driving the buggy with my dad in front and my nan sitting at the back trying to hold on as his father drove way to fast hitting every bump he could find and just about staying upright. He would then drop them off next to their drive which had gone maybe 50 yards at most, which considering their limitations wasn’t bad. They would play their shots with his father laughing hysterically and taunting them from the buggy as their balls went another 50 yards. To just be on the golf course playing with the pain my father was in and the limitations he had was an inspiration to me. He didn’t care what anyone else thought as he was doing what he enjoyed.
There are many more memories I could talk about and many more things he enjoyed doing but we’ll be here hours if I go into everything, and nobody wants that including me. NAME will go into more of my dad’s hobbies and life later, but I hope what the memories I’ve talked about show is how my dad loved being around his family and always lived life to the fullest. I wish we had more years with him, but I can say with confidence that he was happy and content that he had an excellent life.
There are a few milestones I want to talk about that I know would be important to my dad.
My Mum and Dad met working in a bakery. The day he got married to my mum I know he would have felt so lucky to have found someone he loved and could spend his life with or as my nan put it when preparing for today, he married the best tart in the bakery. They were always there for each other, and I know my dad would have very much appreciated the emotional support she gave him especially the last few years. It wasn’t easy for her either dealing with my dad’s illness but I’m so proud of my mum and dad for how they dealt with everything. Susan and I could not have wished for better parents.
The day my sister NAME and I were both born but especially me were big moments for my dad and changed his life forever, hopefully for the better but maybe not always. Also, important moments were when his Grandchildren NAME and NAME were born who may not know how lucky they are to have had my dad around for the time they did but they will when they are older as they look back to Grampys example and guidance.
My dad was so happy that NAME and I had both found what he had with my mum. For NAME it was NAME and for me it was NAME. NAME and I have chosen the easier option of having dogs rather than children which my dad, despite saying he never wanted a dog around or had any interest in them ended up loving having both NAME and NAME around. He would play with them despite it being hard for him and enjoyed taunting them with toys and chews and they would taunt him back by leaving things just out of reach for him.
The day my sister NAME and NAME got married was an emotional and wonderful day for my dad. Getting to walk his daughter down the aisle was a happy and proud moment for him. we didn’t know if he’d be able to do it beforehand, but he wasn’t going to miss the chance, so he got through it as he always did. My dad was not known for speaking in large crowds or being confident at it, in fact it was the opposite. However, the speech he gave at NAME wedding was incredible, funny, emotional, and memorable. He spoke from the heart without anything prepared and I am so proud he not only got through it but delivered an unforgettable speech.
There was never any pressure put on me or NAME. The only thing he wanted for us was to be happy and if we were happy that was ok for him.
I want to finish by sharing what some of his closest family wanted me to say on their behalf. This is their words read out by me.
His Wife NAME says, Mark was the love of my life, my soulmate with so many happy years together. Those years were rich with happy memories with our family. No more pain and suffering now my darling, rest now. My everlasting love always.
His daughter NAME says, I could not have asked for a better dad. You were always supportive and patient in everything I did. Your Grandchildren NAME and NAME will remember you as wise and funny, you always took an interest in what they liked. I will miss you incredibly, but you will forever be in my heart.
His Mother NAME says, Words cannot say how much I will miss you. I get comfort that you are not in any pain now. Sleep my darling until we are together again.
His brother NAME says, I will love and miss you always, brother.
His Brother NAME says, Dear Brother I will start by saying at least you are now at peace and pain free. You will be deeply missed by us all, after all you were the diplomatic one of the family. Mark was the most patient and calm member of us all and nothing was any bother for him to do. Love you Mark God bless you and thank you for being my brother, Love NAME.
His Son in law NAME says, thank you for welcoming me into your family with nothing but love and kindness. We shared a love for formula 1 and I’ll think of you whenever I’m watching a race.
His Niece NAME says, Uncle Mark was always kind and caring to me and you could tell how much he loved his family. Whenever I visited and complained about something he always found a way to spin it in a positive light and give me a new perspective. My last memory is of him in his chair putting his jumper on which got stuck after his arms were through. He made me jump because I thought he was headless and gave us all a good laugh. I feel lucky to have had him as an uncle.
Finally, for me he was my hero. I owe him everything. I couldn’t have wished for a better man to look up to and learn from. My respect for how he lived his life despite the challenges he faced is immeasurable. He never complained, never worried, never gave up, he lived his life to the maximum he could, doing the things he enjoyed around the people he loved right until the very end.
Dad I’m going to miss you beyond words and its going to be hard, but I will draw from what you taught me and live my life the best I can. It is said that a person is never truly gone as long as they are still talked about. Well, the impact You had on those around you means stories of you will be passed down for generations. The memories I have of you will stay in my head and the love and respect I have for you will remain in my heart forever.

My father passed away last month at the age of 60. Although he had a number of illnesses, with one being from a young age, his death was unexpected. This is incredibly hard to come to terms with as I expect anyone on this subreddit would appreciate. Reading posts of some people on here who have lost loved ones at a young age or in terrible circumstances puts my loss in perspective but its still no less raw or devastating. I read a eulogy at my fathers funeral which I'm going to add below. It's long and most people won't read it but I just want to tell as many people as possible how amazing my father was. I have omitted any names from the eulogy and replaced with NAME. I will say though my dads name was Mark and I hope anyone who reads this sees how incredible he was.
Thank you all for coming.
My Dad was the person I looked up to the most, especially the older I got where I grew to appreciate the incredible man he was and how he lived his life. He had things very hard from a young age with multiple conditions, but he never let that define him. He appreciated the good things in his life, and not once did I ever hear him dwell on the bad that happened to him, his attitude was always to enjoy what he could surrounded by the people he loved for as long as he could no matter what was thrown his way. My dad possessed many qualities which include being kind, thoughtful, funny, loving and he is the strongest person mentally I’ve ever met and I’m proud and fortunate that he was my dad. The challenge to show those qualities became harder especially in the last few years but he never stopped living and being the man he always was, laughing, joking, and enjoying himself around his family.
His sense of humour was witty and dark, and he loved to wind people up, especially my mum. Even in his final hours he had his sense of humour. He was lying in bed that morning and he had a remote to move the bed into different positions. My mum heard him call her, so she went in and the remote was on the floor. My dad said sorry NAME can you pick it up, so she did. 10 minutes later she heard my dad call her again, so she went back in, the remote was on the floor again this time my dad had a grin on his face, my mum picked it up and gave it to him and warned him not to drop it again. He did of course drop it again and my mum saw a big smile on his face like he always had as she came back in. She knew he was winding her up and was smiling as well and I’m sure my dad thought about doing it again, but he knew one more time and it would be wrapped around his neck.
Two of my oldest memories I have of my dad are of stories he liked to tell because he found them funny to talk about over the years and I know he would like me to mention them. I don’t know whether it’s a coincidence they both involve alcohol, but he was a SURNAME so of course he enjoyed a drink.
The first is when I was around 5 and my dad and I were watching tv and he was enjoying a glass of whiskey. He went out to go to the bathroom and I seized my opportunity, grabbed the whiskey, and had a swig. My Dad came back into the room with me screaming it burns it burns pointing at the glass. My dad knew what needed to be done and rushed into action grabbing a can of lager and having me drink some to get rid of the whiskey taste. It did work to be fair and when I was older, I hated whiskey and enjoyed lager, which explains a lot.
The second story I want to share is another from when I was young. My dad would always go out drinking with his brothers NAME and NAME on boxing day. It was usually a nice casual drink and a chance for them to spend time together. However, on this occasion my dad got very drunk. So drunk his brothers had to carry him home which was an incredible feat by itself as he was not a small man. What was even more impressive is they managed to get him home but avoid my mum. They achieved this by leaving him sitting by the bins outside and knocking the door and running off. I don’t blame them, and I think it was a very smart move. However, what they didn’t expect was my dad to get up and manage to fall inside the bin. That was the sight that greeted my mum.
My dad was a great father to me and my sister NAME. He was limited physically in some of the things he could do with us but he more than made up for it in other ways and he was always there for us when we needed him. The only thing my father got wrong when NAME and I were growing up in my opinion is he should have been a bit harsher on NAME. She was always terrorizing me, and I was always calm and never did anything to instigate things, but she couldn’t be stopped. I think my father showed a bit of favouritism there.
At Christmas and other occasions, he enjoyed having everyone around and eating, drinking, playing games and having fun. Trivial pursuit was something he always wanted to play, probably because he would often win. He would always play as the blue counter, his favourite colour and if my nan was there which she usually was she would go on his team as she knew he would get everything right and she could sit back and sip her dissarano. I’m sorry nan but I really don’t think your going to win many games in future.
A memory of Christmas that sticks out is when we were playing a golf game on the Nintendo wii and it was my dads go. He was very competitive and put a lot of effort into his swing as he had to make up for the fact, he was playing sitting down. On this occasion he tried a bit too hard and also forgot to tighten the strap causing the wii remote to go flying off his wrist and straight into the tv destroying the screen. I will never forget the look on his face, a combination of shock and disbelief.
My dad also enjoyed playing real golf, many times with me and his son in law NAME but always with his mum. He caught the golf bug later in life but would play almost every week, sometimes twice a week for the part of the year they could use a buggy on the course. His father also used to go with them to drive the buggy and the sight of it all on the course was terrifying for others playing. A typical sight would be his father with his sunglasses on no matter the weather, driving the buggy with my dad in front and my nan sitting at the back trying to hold on as his father drove way to fast hitting every bump he could find and just about staying upright. He would then drop them off next to their drive which had gone maybe 50 yards at most, which considering their limitations wasn’t bad. They would play their shots with his father laughing hysterically and taunting them from the buggy as their balls went another 50 yards. To just be on the golf course playing with the pain my father was in and the limitations he had was an inspiration to me. He didn’t care what anyone else thought as he was doing what he enjoyed.
There are many more memories I could talk about and many more things he enjoyed doing but we’ll be here hours if I go into everything, and nobody wants that including me. NAME will go into more of my dad’s hobbies and life later, but I hope what the memories I’ve talked about show is how my dad loved being around his family and always lived life to the fullest. I wish we had more years with him, but I can say with confidence that he was happy and content that he had an excellent life.
There are a few milestones I want to talk about that I know would be important to my dad.
My Mum and Dad met working in a bakery. The day he got married to my mum I know he would have felt so lucky to have found someone he loved and could spend his life with or as my nan put it when preparing for today, he married the best tart in the bakery. They were always there for each other, and I know my dad would have very much appreciated the emotional support she gave him especially the last few years. It wasn’t easy for her either dealing with my dad’s illness but I’m so proud of my mum and dad for how they dealt with everything. Susan and I could not have wished for better parents.
The day my sister NAME and I were both born but especially me were big moments for my dad and changed his life forever, hopefully for the better but maybe not always. Also, important moments were when his Grandchildren NAME and NAME were born who may not know how lucky they are to have had my dad around for the time they did but they will when they are older as they look back to Grampys example and guidance.
My dad was so happy that NAME and I had both found what he had with my mum. For NAME it was NAME and for me it was NAME. NAME and I have chosen the easier option of having dogs rather than children which my dad, despite saying he never wanted a dog around or had any interest in them ended up loving having both NAME and NAME around. He would play with them despite it being hard for him and enjoyed taunting them with toys and chews and they would taunt him back by leaving things just out of reach for him.
The day my sister NAME and NAME got married was an emotional and wonderful day for my dad. Getting to walk his daughter down the aisle was a happy and proud moment for him. we didn’t know if he’d be able to do it beforehand, but he wasn’t going to miss the chance, so he got through it as he always did. My dad was not known for speaking in large crowds or being confident at it, in fact it was the opposite. However, the speech he gave at NAME wedding was incredible, funny, emotional, and memorable. He spoke from the heart without anything prepared and I am so proud he not only got through it but delivered an unforgettable speech.
There was never any pressure put on me or NAME. The only thing he wanted for us was to be happy and if we were happy that was ok for him.
I want to finish by sharing what some of his closest family wanted me to say on their behalf. This is their words read out by me.
His Wife NAME says, Mark was the love of my life, my soulmate with so many happy years together. Those years were rich with happy memories with our family. No more pain and suffering now my darling, rest now. My everlasting love always.
His daughter NAME says, I could not have asked for a better dad. You were always supportive and patient in everything I did. Your Grandchildren NAME and NAME will remember you as wise and funny, you always took an interest in what they liked. I will miss you incredibly, but you will forever be in my heart.
His Mother NAME says, Words cannot say how much I will miss you. I get comfort that you are not in any pain now. Sleep my darling until we are together again.
His brother NAME says, I will love and miss you always, brother.
His Brother NAME says, Dear Brother I will start by saying at least you are now at peace and pain free. You will be deeply missed by us all, after all you were the diplomatic one of the family. Mark was the most patient and calm member of us all and nothing was any bother for him to do. Love you Mark God bless you and thank you for being my brother, Love NAME.
His Son in law NAME says, thank you for welcoming me into your family with nothing but love and kindness. We shared a love for formula 1 and I’ll think of you whenever I’m watching a race.
His Niece NAME says, Uncle Mark was always kind and caring to me and you could tell how much he loved his family. Whenever I visited and complained about something he always found a way to spin it in a positive light and give me a new perspective. My last memory is of him in his chair putting his jumper on which got stuck after his arms were through. He made me jump because I thought he was headless and gave us all a good laugh. I feel lucky to have had him as an uncle.
Finally, for me he was my hero. I owe him everything. I couldn’t have wished for a better man to look up to and learn from. My respect for how he lived his life despite the challenges he faced is immeasurable. He never complained, never worried, never gave up, he lived his life to the maximum he could, doing the things he enjoyed around the people he loved right until the very end.
Dad I’m going to miss you beyond words and its going to be hard, but I will draw from what you taught me and live my life the best I can. It is said that a person is never truly gone as long as they are still talked about. Well, the impact You had on those around you means stories of you will be passed down for generations. The memories I have of you will stay in my head and the love and respect I have for you will remain in my heart forever.

Over 25 years ago, a little boy named Andy received a Buzz Lightyear action figure in the 1995 Pixar film Toy Story. Now, all these years later, audiences will finally see the movie that inspired that action figure in the Toy Story spin-off movie, Lightyear, which is soaring into theatres this weekend.

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This is not the Buzz Lightyear you know and love—the one who is best friends with Woody and voiced by Tim Allen. This is the original Buzz Lightyear, a bonafide space ranger voiced by Chris Evans, who is stranded on a hostile planet that is 4.2 million lightyears from Earth, alongside his commander and crew. The Lightyear cast also includes the voices of Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn, James Brolin, Taika Waititi, Dale Soules, Uzo Aduba, and Isiah Whitlock Jr.
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With this new Toy Story adventure coming to theatres, you may feel the urge to revisit the classics. The decider is here to help with that. Read on to find out what Toy Story movies to watch before Lightyear and how to stream the Toy Story.
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20 Movies That Are So Good, They’re Almost Perfect
Can I Stream Shin Kamen Rider?
You can’t stream Lightyear yet — but you’ll be able to soon. As a Disney movie, you can expect Lightyear to drop on their streaming service, Disney Plus, in the coming weeks, but the exact date of when that might happen hasn’t been announced yet.
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Generally, with their cinematic releases, Disney and Pixar tend to follow either a 30-day release window or a 45-day release window. We don’t know which one they’re going with yet for Lightyear, but this means that given the movie’s global release date is June 17, we can expect Lightyear to be on Disney Plus sometime between July 21 and August 3, 2022.
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Movies That Are Considered to Be Almost Flawless
Where To Watch Shin Kamen Rider Online
With a new Lightyear coming out very soon, you may want to rewatch all the movies. Or, if you haven’t given the animated adventure films a shot, now is your chance.
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Just click the link below to watch the full movie in its entirety. Details on how you can watch Shin Kamen Rider COUGHING for free throughout the year are described below. If you’re a fan of the comics, you won’t want to miss this one! The storyline follows Shin Kamen Rider Coughing as he tries to find his way home after being stranded on an alien planet. Shin Kamen Rider COUGHING is definitely a Shin Kamen Rider Coughing movie you don’t want to miss with stunning visuals and an action-packed plot! Plus, Shin Kamen Rider Coughing online streaming is available on our website. Shin Kamen Rider Coughing online free, which includes streaming options such as 123movies, Reddit, or TV shows from HBO Max or Netflix! Shin Kamen Rider Coughing Release in US Shin Kamen Rider Coughing hits theaters on September 23, 2023. Tickets to see the film at your local movie theater are available online here. The film is being released in a wide release so you can watch it in person.
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Lightyear can all be streamed using an HBO Max or Hulu subscription. If you’d prefer to rent the movies, only the first two are on Prime Video. Otherwise, all three films can be rented on YouTube, Apple TV+, or Google Play Movies & TV.
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The second film in the franchise, Lightyear, will be released on June 17, 2022. Right now, it’s not confirmed where the movie will be streamed after its big-screen release.
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Is Shin Kamen Rider on Netflix?
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Lightyear is not available to watch on Netflix. Suppose you’re interested in other movies and shows. In that case, one can access the vast library of titles within Netflix under various subscription costs depending on the plan you choose: $9.99 per month for the basic plan, $15.99 monthly for the standard plan, and $19.99 a month for the premium plan.
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Is Lightyear on Disney Plus?
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No sign of Lightyear on Disney+, which is proof that the House of Mouse doesn’t have its hands on every franchise! Home to the likes of ‘Star Wars, ‘Marvel’, ‘Pixar’, National Geographic’, ESPN, STAR, and so much more, Disney+ is available at the annual membership fee of $79.99 or the monthly cost of $7.99. If you’re a fan of even one of these brands, then signing up to Disney+ is worth it, and there aren’t any ads, either.
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Is Lightyear on HBO Max?
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Sorry, Lightyear is not available on HBO Max. There is a lot of content from HBO Max for $14.99 a month, such a subscription is ad-free, and it allows you to access all the titles in the library of HBO Max. The streaming platform announced an ad-supported version that costs a lot less at $9.99 per month.
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Is Lightyear on Hulu?
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They’re not on Hulu, either! But prices for this streaming service currently start at $6.99 per month or $69.99 for the whole year. The ad-free version costs $12.99 per month, $64.99 per month for Hulu + Live TV, or $70.99 for the ad-free Hulu + Live TV.
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Is Lightyear 2022 on Amazon Video?
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Unfortunately, Lightyear is not available to stream for free on Amazon Prime Video. However, you can choose other shows and movies to watch from there as it has a wide variety of shows and movies that you can choose from for $14.99 a month.
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Is Lightyear on Peacock?
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Lightyear is not available to watch on Peacock at the time of writing. Peacock offers a subscription costing $4.99 a month or $49.99 per year for a premium account. Like its namesake, the streaming platform is free with the content out in the open. However, limited.
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Who Is in the Shin Kamen Rider Cast?
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Captain America himself, Chris Evans, will be the voice of the film’s titular Space Ranger. Apart from Evans, Keke Palmer (Scream Queens), Dale Soules (Orange Is the New Black), and Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit) have also been announced as part of the cast, lending their voices to other ambitious recruits at Star Command. The voice cast includes Uzo Aduba, James Brolin, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Efren Ramirez, Peter Sohn, and Isiah Whitlock Jr. Bonus: Check out this featurette where the cast talks about what Buzz Lightyear means to them.

So, I'm not sure if y'all saw my other post, but I was previously just looking to get info into this. My mom's bf previously wouldn't live with her until they got married, but they had lived together for 5 years prior.
This weekend, my mom married him. And I am so so so worried. He is trying to get her to quit her job, and is making up any reason he can to get her to quit and now seems to be trying to get her fired. His mom is currently sick with cancer, so he will tell her he needs her to watch his mom, and my mom will take off of work. She's probably missed over a week of work in the past month. Previously, she never missed work.
I'm sorry if this is jumbled up, but I'm just worried. My mom works full time, and he works as an electrician part time. My mom has always acted like his mother. He gets home and would watch TV and play games, she gets home and would cook him dinner and clean. This is only being amplified now that he is in this religious group.
I'm so worried for my mom but I don't think I can help her. He does not make enough money to support the both of them and I just see this turning into a major issue. I just wanted to rant to people that may understand. I live on the same property as them but in a different house so I know what's going on, and others just think I'm being dramatic. But my mom doesn't act like herself anymore. And he is treating her like a dog.

Okay, so this is fucking weird. Today I was out for some errands. As I leave the subway, a girl suddenly pops into my view. Smiling wide like she won the lottery and asking "heeey! We know each other, don't we?"
Now, this woman is a stranger, of course. But ironically I DID recognize her: A few months ago, I was sitting across a similar looking one on the train. Back then, she also smiled at me warmly, but due to us being strangers, me not up to smalltalk and my country being generally "quiet", I did not talk to her. However that is not the most confusing part.
You see...people don't normally smile at me. I'm not saying this as a "woe is me" type of deal -I'm being very serious. I have ASD, which influences both my body language, as well as social awareness. People that don't know me mostly "feel" me as either fucking weird, or dangerous -ranging from uncomfortable "polite" smiles, to rumors about me killing small animals (yep. That one hurt). Normally, I have to people get used to me. Meeting strangers is mostly a guarantee for hell, rather than new possibilities.
Except now. Apparently.
Before I know it, this girl has chatted me up. She compliments me on my shirt and I compliment her back. We have a bit of small talk and she's extremely giddy through it all. Everything I say, she finds super-cool. Like, I tell her I study English Studies/art history, and she goes off like I just said I'm the niece of Michael Jackson.
In the end we exchange numbers. The moment she leaves for the train and turn around, my phone vibrates like crazy. 5 messages. I answer them. New messages. I swear to God.
Right now, I have no idea wtf just happened. I didn't really look cute or dressed up, so it'd be weird that someone just got a crush on me. However, on the flip side, I also know from a lot of other ASD people that they sometimes can be mistaken as gay.
I'm kinda at a loss on how to proceed here. Mostly because I don't know where I stand. I feel bad if this really is a crush: I'm not into girls, sadly. But on the other side, I also don't just want to assume anything. Loneliness does great confusing limerence: What if she just liked my style?
Please help me (TwT)

I’m struggling a little bit with what to do around setting boundaries and maintaining consistency across faces. I have a 16 month old girl who is very typical toddler behavior. I pretty much let her have free reign of the house while I’m supervising her. We have a very small house and it’s all been pretty well baby proofed. Of course, we set boundaries along the way and she doesn’t have access to everything— for example, sometimes she’ll want to grab a knife that I’m cooking with and obviously I have to say no, or she’ll try to climb the TV stand, and I have to remind her not to.
What I’m struggling with is how to consistently set boundaries on things that are allowed at home but not allowed outside. I’ll give two examples:
1) at our house, we allow her to climb on the furniture. Specifically, the couch backs up against a picture window that doesn’t open, and she likes to be able to climb and look out of it. She knows how to get on and off safely, and we never allow her to do it unless one of us are sitting next to her. We were at a neighbors house the other day, and she started climbing all over their couch. It really freaked Neighbor out because she was afraid of her falling, and also she got her shoes all over it. I obviously put a stop to it pretty quick, but my baby seemed confused and upset and my neighbor seemed a little perturbed that she started climbing on the couch in the first place.
2) like most toddlers I’ve encountered, she loves to pull things off shelves and put them back. We practice this a lot at home, where she’ll methodically pull things out and then help me put them back. We were at a coffee shop the other day, and she walked over to a shelf about 3 feet away from me and started pulling some dish towels that were on display off the rack. After maybe 30 seconds I walked over and help her start putting them away. But I was getting tons of dirty looks from a few other people in the shop. I initially didn’t think it was a big deal because she wasn’t disturbing anyone and of course I knew I was going to put them away. She tantrumed a bit but I did our “all done” ritual (a sign and a song) and was able to redirect her.
So I guess my questions are, in the scenarios above, if she’s displaying behavior like that at home and out, do I need to put a stop to it at home so that she learns not to do those things? Is it too confusing for her to have access to things at home that she doesn’t get out? I just feel like I’m giving her a lot of freedom, which of course I like, but I also know that boundaries are super important and can help a child thrive.

Today I woke up around noon, she was chugging beers at the kitchen table, and staring at the wall in silence. That’s a good sign of when I can tell that she’s fully dissociated from reality and the day is going to be hellish. I got some water, went back to my room, and started getting ready for the day.
Since I have been back in my room, she has punched my door, body slammed into it, kicked walls, thrown around furniture, and all while screaming pretty vicious threats against my safety and well being. It’s not always like this, sometimes it’s manageable, but I understand that’s how abusers get people to stay, by leaving breadcrumbs of “normalcy”.
I have nobody to stay with, I don’t have a car, and when she’s standing in front of my bedroom door body slamming it, all I can do is wait until 9pm until she’s sleeping. I have no way out of the house except my window. My mom effectively takes away my entire day from me. This has been going on honestly since my senior year of highschool, almost 7 years ago at this point.
I was a high honor, very responsible student, my entire life. Until senior year of highschool, because my mom began trapping me in my room. I lost any sense of normal, couldn’t do any homework and was sent to a detentionary school because of my sudden “missing attendance”. I was then given a GED and my life has been pretty messed up since then. (I was such a high honor student, that because of my test grades I wasn’t even given a full GED test, I just had to write a small essay, and got 100%)
It’s pretty much the same routine, she is drunk 75-90% of the entire week. She has small moments, or reasons why she won’t be belligerently drunk, and I cling to those moments of “calm”. But honestly I’m not doing well. I can’t do anything on a regular schedule. I couldn’t even keep up a part-time retail job, because I would come home to her blacked out drunk and threatening my life. That would lead to me not sleeping or eating out of fear. And the next day after, or sometimes week, would be even harder because of missing sleep.
I don’t think I will be able to move out anytime soon if I’m being realistic about my savings and credit score. But I really want a normal life. I’ve made a few online friends recently and they’re 3-5 years younger than me, and so much further ahead. Some have graduated college, they live on their own, they have full time federal jobs. I can’t even leave my bedroom when I want. I hope someone on here understands what I go through, I am new here to this subreddit.

Judgment Day 2006 (SmackDown)
Date: 21/5/06
Location: US Airways, Phoenix, Arizona
WWE Tag Team Championship:
MNM (c) w/Melina vs Paul London & Brian Kendrick
Cruiserweight Championship:
Gregory Helms (c) vs Super Crazy
United States Championship:
Chris Benoit (c) vs Finlay
The Undertaker vs Mark Henry w/Daivari
(After WrestleMania, Mark Henry and Daivari form an alliance which the World’s Strongest Man wants to make a further statement after taking Batista out of action. Henry targets The Undertaker, brutally attacks him on SmackDown and claims he’s the most dominant individual in the company. Henry challenges Taker to a match at Judgement Day which The Deadman accepts, saying it will be Judgment Day for Mark Henry for the sin he’s committed by attacking him. Mark Henry shockingly wins clean and The Great Khali is nowhere to be seen.)
Bobby Lashley vs Booker T w/Sharmell
(Booker T wins thanks to a distraction from Sharmell.)
Title vs Career Match for the World Heavyweight Championship:
Rey Mysterio (c) vs JBL
(Rey won’t be a jobber bitch to anyone in the build up to this match. Instead, JBL wins a #1 Contender’s Match against Chris Benoit to earn this opportunity for the World Heavyweight Championship. Bradshaw says Rey Mysterio’s win at No Way Out over him was a fluke and he’s that confident of beating Rey Mysterio this time that he’ll even put his career on the line. Rey says that not only will he beat Bradshaw again to keep his title but he’ll finally free the WWE and the fans from the poisonous bully that is JBL. Rey Mysterio retains the championship and beats JBL again to end his career… for now. The show draws to a close with the crowd taunting JBL.)
ECW One Night Stand 2006
Date: 11/6/06
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, Manhattan, New York, New York
Kurt Angle vs Randy Orton
(Kurt Angle is drafted to ECW which pisses Vince McMahon off to the point he instructs Randy Orton who’s just been drafted to RW to take care of the traitor. Angle wins clean and this is Orton’s punishment for violating the Wellness Policy.)
Tazz vs Jerry Lawler
(Tazz squashes Lawler in 30 seconds.)
Extreme Rules Match for the World Heavyweight Championship:
Rey Mysterio (c) vs Tommy Dreamer
(With ECW back, Paul Heyman challenges Rey Mysterio who was once part of ECW to defend his championship at One Night Stand against one of his guys. Rey accepts and welcomes the challenge from anyone Heyman chooses. Paul Heyman picks the heart and soul of ECW, Tommy Dreamer! Dreamer says while he respects Rey, beating him for the World Championship on ECW’s return is an opportunity he just can’t pass up. Rey tells Dreamer he understands his thinking but he’s not allowing his boyhood dream to end right now. In a very good and brutal encounter, Rey Mysterio wins to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. Both men shake hands after the match with Dreamer raising Rey’s arm.)
Hardcore Match:
Mick Foley vs Edge w/Lita
(The match we got in real life at WrestleMania 22 in real life happens here instead. After costing Edge the WWE Championship at Backlash, Mick Foley says that was just him getting even but he’s not done with Edge. Foley challenges the Rated R Superstar to a Hardcore match at this event which Edge accepts, promising to destroy the Hardcore Legend once and for all. We get that same flaming table spot in a brutal affair. Edge wins clean.)
Hardcore Match:
Sabu vs Terry Funk
(Just to emphasise ECW’s return further, let’s put the two craziest bastards going in a match against one another. Sabu wins in another brutal and bloody affair.)
Extreme Rules Match for the WWE Championship:
John Cena (c) vs Rob Van Dam
(Rob Van Dam tells John Cena in advance when he’s cashing in just like he did in real life. Van Dam tells Cena that he’s cashing in at ECW One Night Stand in a building that he calls home, The Hammerstein Ballroom. In a very back and forth main event with Cena being booed out of the building, Rob Van Dam beats John Cena clean to win the WWE Championship! Edge doesn’t appear in the slightest.)
Vengeance 2006 (Raw)
Date: 25/6/06
Location: Charlotte Bobcats Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina
Intercontinental Championship:
Shelton Benjamin (c) vs Val Venis
Ric Flair vs Umaga w/Armando Estrada
(Umaga wins clean to remain undefeated although Flair puts up a fight in his hometown.)
WWE World Tag Team Championship:
Carlito & Chris Masters (c) vs Sabu & The Sandman
Kane vs The Big Show
Kurt Angle vs Randy Orton
(Orton cheats to win after hitting a low blow when the referee isn’t looking. Angle leaves the company shortly after.)
D-Generation X vs The Spirit Squad
(Vince McMahon is furious that Triple H has aligned with Shawn Michaels again and says he should never have trusted him. Vince says there will be consequences and at Vengeance, DX will face off against all 5 members of The Spirit Squad. In the build up, DX rip the utter pss out the McMahons by dressing up as them, covering them and The Spirit Squad in sht, saying Vince McMahon loves c*cks etc. Despite the odds being against them, DX win this match in their first official match as a team again.)
WWE Championship:
Rob Van Dam (c) vs John Cena (No Contest)
(After ECW One Night Stand, John Cena says on the night Rob Van Dam was the better man and deserves to be the WWE Champion. Cena then tells Van Dam that he’s invoking his rematch clause at Vengeance. Mr. Monday Night welcomes the challenge, saying it’ll be another day at the office for him and he’ll prove his win at One Night Stand wasn’t a fluke. This match ends in a No Contest after a mysterious man attacks both men. The man is… Edge! Edge then Spears both Cena & Van Dam before holding up the WWE Championship as Vengeance draws to a close.)
Note:
(Mark Henry gets injured in his Judgment Day rematch against The Undertaker on SmackDown although the storyline is going to be that Batista injured Henry when attacking him upon return as part of his revenge after Henry injured him.)
The Great American Bash 2006 (SmackDown)
Date: 23/7/06
Location: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
WWE Tag Team Championship:
Paul London & Brian Kendrick (c) vs The Pitbulls
Cruiserweight Championship:
Gregory Helms (c) vs Chavo Guerrero
The Undertaker vs Daivari
(Teddy Long forces Daivari to compete at The Great American Bash against The Undertaker as The Phenom publicly made it known he wants to get his hands on him for being the brains behind Mark Henry going after him in the first place. The Deadman utterly destroys Daivari here.)
United States Championship:
Chris Benoit (c) vs Finlay
Matt Hardy vs William Regal
Batista vs Mr.Kennedy
World Heavyweight Championship:
Rey Mysterio (c) vs Booker T w/Sharmell
(Booker T wins a Triple Threat Match against Bobby Lashley and Chris Benoit to earn this opportunity. Booker T says that it’s been 3 years since he was the World Heavyweight Champion and promises that the rut without the gold is coming to an end. Booker also says that someone has to end that little troll Rey Mysterio’s fairytale run and warns Rey it’s going to be him. Rey simply wants to continue his run and prove that he’s not a fluke of a champion every single time he gets the chance. Rey Mysterio retains the title via a roll up which Booker T can’t believe and shouts to Rey that he isn’t finished with him.)
SummerSlam 2006
Date: 20/8/06
Location: TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Extreme Rules Match for the Inaugural ECW Championship:
Sabu vs The Sandman vs Tommy Dreamer
(Paul Heyman announces the return of the ECW Championship and says the new ECW Champion will be crowned at SummerSlam involving 3 individuals who are the heart and soul of the brand. Sandman wins the championship in a crazy, bloody and fun opener.)
Women’s Championship:
Mickie James (c) vs Lita
United States Championship:
Finlay (c) vs Chris Benoit
Ric Flair vs Randy Orton
(Randy Orton targets his former Evolution teammate as his next Legend to decimate. Orton says that Ric Flair is nowadays nothing but a dumb, deluded old man with his best days behind him and he’s willing to put him down for good. Flair says Orton just like in Evolution is still a cocky, arrogant little brat who needs to be taught a lesson. Randy Orton wins clean with an RKO.)
Intercontinental Championship:
Shelton Benjamin (c) vs Kane
D-Generation X vs Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon & The Big Show
(Vince McMahon recruits The Big Show to help him take down DX. Vince says that DX is a disease to him and his company and that Big Show is the key to helping him destroy them. Big Show says that DX can try and make jokes all they want but he, Vince and Shane will be the last ones laughing. DX tell Vince he can hide behind that 500 knucklehead Big Show all they want, when the jokes are put to the side they’ll be kicking their ass and ending this at SummerSlam. DX win after Triple H pins Vince to end the feud between DX & The McMahons.)
Batista vs Bobby Lashley
(Bobby Lashley challenges Batista in order to prove he deserves to be here. Bobby feels challenging the best SmackDown has to offer is his best way to get noticed. Batista accepts Bobby’s challenge but tells him he’ll be introduced to the big leagues the hard way. Batista wins clean although Lashley takes him to the limit which Batista respects to the point he shakes Bobby Lashley’s hand after the match.)
World Heavyweight Championship:
Rey Mysterio (c) vs Booker T w/Sharmell
(Booker T challenges Rey Mysterio to face him again at the biggest party of the summer. Rey accepts and claims just like he did to JBL, he’ll beat Booker T again to prove that his win at The Great American Bash wasn’t a fluke. During the match, the referee is unconscious and Chavo Guerrero comes down to the ring in aid of his friend Mysterio. Chavo gets a steel chair and hits… Rey! With one of the hardest chair shots you’ll see and Booker T is utterly stunned. The referee regains consciousness and Booker T covers Rey Mysterio to win the World Heavyweight Championship!)
WWE Championship:
Rob Van Dam (c) vs Edge w/Lita vs John Cena
(Edge says he did what he did at Vengeance because not only does he hate John Cena and doesn’t want him touching the WWE Championship in the slightest but Rob Van Dam also holds the damn thing he wants. Cena says Edge has only delayed the inevitable which is him regaining his spot as the man and he now wants the chance to do it in his hometown meanwhile RVD tells them both that if they want his title, he welcomes the challenge. As a result, a Triple Threat Match is booked. Edge wins the championship by pinning Rob Van Dam after Lita hands him a pair of brass knuckles.)
Notes:
(Jeff Hardy returns to the WWE the night after SummerSlam although he doesn’t confront Edge.)
(Rob Van Dam and Sabu are suspended for violating the Wellness Policy.)
(Chavo Guerrero costs Rey Mysterio his rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship on the SmackDown after SummerSlam.)
And that’s part 42 over and done with guys! I hope you enjoyed what I brought to the table and of course love the fact I kept The Great Khali so far away from The Undertaker 😂 anyways, I’ll be back on Thursday to cover part 43 where we’ll see Trish Stratus retire, John Cena and Edge take their rival to a new level and at Survivor Series we’ll have Brand Warfare which ends up getting Extreme 👀 stay tuned!

First
Capes and Conundrums
Santiago raises an eyebrow as he finds Albin whaling on holographic opponents. The safeties in the room ensured that even though the kid wasn’t doing that well, he was still not getting hurt. He has one real piece of advice. “Follow through.”
“What?” Albin asks. He had sent he room to send out endless waves off literally faceless opponents at him so he could feel like something other than weak. But he... he’s not very good. He may have gave off a good fight when he could rely almost entirely on his Yauya Cloaking abilities. But he’s not even trying to fade out of sight now and is just flailing around.
“If you want your opponent to feel it then don’t swing like you just want to hit them, swing like you want to crash through it. Don’t aim to hit the opponent. Aim to cave them in.” Santiago says and Albin tries before shaking his hand.
“It’s not doing much better.”
“That’s because you’re just using your arm. Turn in with the punch, put your whole body behind it and it’ll be felt.” Santiago says throwing a punch as an example.
The next shot rocks back the faceless opponent and sends it staggering rather than just having the head snap back and return like a mocking speedbag.
“See? Follow through and full body. Thankfully you’ve already got a good idea how to make a proper fist. Thumb on the outside.” Santiago says punching one of the targets so hard it crashed into another three hard enough to take them all out. “So, wanna talk?”
“Every time I talk with someone about my problems the more of a problem it becomes!” Albin replies as he slams a hard fist into the gut of another opponent and it starts to fade away. There are only about two more opponents left in this wave and Santiago’s smash to the top of one’s head has enough force to crush a man’s spine, let alone the somewhat weaker hologram.
Meanwhile Albin has grabbed the last hologram by the shoulders and was slamming his knee into it’s crotch over and over again. He pants and stands up before pulling Axiom into himself to rejuvenate. Santiago doesn’t try to engage in conversation again. According to Doctor Malaise, who has a connection to his earpiece, the kid needs to reach out first and is more likely to do so to a positive male role model. Something he fits in as as a strong independent man who also has strong family values and frankly nothing but positive interactions with the young man.
Three waves pass with Albin getting faster and stronger with each push as he figures out more from fighting with Santiago there to provide an example. He goes from flailing to respectable crosses and hooks with the occasional jab mixed in as well. A bit of example from Santiago and he starts taking up a boxing stance and things just start falling into place.
At the end of the fourth wave Santiago sees his exhaustion and pauses the simulation to allow Albin a break. The boy collapses to the ground panting and trying to regulate his body temperature a bit better. A bit of a task considering his lack of sweat glands.
“Feel a bit better.” Santiago asks.
“Feel like I’m boiling myself alive.” Albin says as his tongue lolls out a bit.
“In a god way or a bad way?”
“How can it feel good to be boiled alive!?” Albin demands.
“Bad way then. Got it.” Santiago says. “Just take it easy and let the heat die down then.”
“Already happening.” Albin says as he sighs in relief. The Axiom flow around him is mildly interesting, but of no real concern. The older an Axiom born person is the faster these automatic Axiom adjustments happen. A sort of instinctual experience and efficiency.
“Nice, very nice.” Santiago says as he helps Albin up who’s sniffing the air.
“What... are you stinking?”
“No, I’ve been throwing my punches far harder than I need to. So it’s a slight workout for me. A bit better than shadowboxing to be honest.”
“Shadowboxing?” Albin asks and Santiago steps back to give him an example.
“You work on your speed and form like this! You use a bag to push your force and toughen up your hands too!” Santiago explains and Albin chuckles.
“That’s a bit different from how Bane fights.” He teases and Santiago pauses mid box before chuckling.
“True enough, there are many unarmed fighting styles. Bane is a poor example of one, relying more on brute strength and endurance than skill. But he’s a Luchadore. A grappler. I’ve been trained in the Lucha style and I prefer it. So I’m the default option for playing a bad Lucha and...” Santiago explains before finishing off by blowing a raspberry in annoyance and Albin chuckles at that.
“Don’t like doing a bad job?”
“I defy you to find me one man, no, one person that likes doing a bad job of things!”
“Plenty of people do things halfway!” Albin dismisses.
“Yes, but they’re succeeding in that they want to avoid work and be lazy. Name one person who wants to work and is satisfied doing it badly.” Santiago rephrases his challenge.
“My parents did a bad job with me and...”
“They’re absolutely miserable about it and hate themselves for it.” Santiago interrupts that train of thought even before Doctor Malaise can tell him to. He doesn’t care if he’s lying or not. He hates that very mindset.
“What?” Albin asks.
“Keep going, you’re right, please keep going.” Malaise tells him through his earpiece.
“Do you think your parents like that they’ve hurt you? They may have made mistakes, but they never wanted you hurt.” Santiago says before shrugging. “They coddled and smothered you. Not good. But they never laid an angry hand on you and... have they ever even shouted at you?”
“No, not really...”
“Then it could have been worse.”
“But... I mean...”
“Look, I’m not either of your parents. But you’re going to be caught up in endless what could have beens or what ifs if you don’t speak with them. I understand the hesitation. But well... I am personally an Undaunted. I see something hard to do as something that’s worth doing all the more.”
“Because it’s hard?”
“Because by doing hard things, you become a stronger person. You become better, not because you do something easy, but because you do something hard. It’s easy to sleep, to eat, to not care. But it’s hard to work, to push past your hunger and harder still to care. But no one celebrates the best napper. The biggest eater... maybe, but the most uncaring person? What do they have?”
“Well I assume big eaters have big bodyparts.” Albin says with a bit of a grin. He clearly understands what Santiago is saying but is arguing for the sake of it.
“And if they keep small and thin? Are they just a big eater then?”
“Alright alright fine! I get it! I get it...” Albin says before trailing off. After a few moments he gives Santiago a sideways look. “So... how much of that was Doctor Malaise’s coaching.”
“The extent of it has been keep going, keep going. Please keep going.” Santiago says as he plucks out the ear piece and pockets it. “There, see? It’s gone.”
“Alright. I just... I know I hired her but at the same time it! I mean... Argh!” Albin exclaims miming strangling something as he utterly fails to find the words and just groans in disgust, annoyance and frustration.
“I know.”
“How?”
“I was a teenager once too you know! You’re feeling everything! The world is shifting around you! You’re finally aware enough to see the things you never saw before or always ignored but you don’t have the experience or knowledge to deal with them! You feel like you can take on an army! But the stupid randomness of life is tripping you up every step of the way! You’re unstoppable! But you’re helpless! You’re immortal! But you can’t DO anything! I know! I really, really know.”
“You do?”
“Yes! I thought I was going right to the top of the heap in Lucha when I was in highschool! I got to the semi-finals on a technicality and was tossed around like a joke! I thought nothing could stop me! Then The Gecko treated me like a complete chump!”
“You were?”
“I was! But do you want to know what I did?”
“What?”
“I spoke with The Gecko afterwards. I talked to him, I learned how he beat me. I learned what my weaknesses were. I learned and then I practised anew. I grew to become better. The problem you’re having with your family... it can be somewhat the same. Right now, there’s been a defeat. Metaphorically, both you and your family have lost the fight. So if you’re to learn from this and grow to be even better fighters, you need to talk to learn about your weaknesses, which you have indeed started to do, and then you need to train to be better. To be stronger.”
“... It’s completely insane that that actually made sense.” Albin says after a bit and Santiago laughs.
“True enough! But sometimes the most mangled metaphors are the most effective!” He says. “Now! Want to face a wave or two with nothing but grappling? Learn to control your opponent and you can control a fight.”
“I’d like that. I think I would. It feels good to break things.”
“It’s called Catharsis. You’re venting all your grief and rage and frustration when you’re hurting things. The mind lives in the body, so a lot of problems can be strangely solved by just going out and doing something.” Santiago says before shrugging. “It’s just one of the odd things of life.”
“Yeah, that’s weird.” Albin concedes.
•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•
Doctor Malaise resists the urge to sigh. After Santiago had pulled off a minor miracle in further calming and getting Albin more agreeable she had arranged a meeting between Albin and his parents Thalison and Azisa. Which in brooding teenage fashion had quickly shut down as Albin decided to sulk anew and glare over his shoulder as he turned mostly away.
She ensures that the urge to try and shake the silly boy is well and truly suppressed before she opens her mouth. “Now, this meeting has been agreed to as the unfortunate death of Beaky has revealed quite a few issues and miscommunications in this family that need to be if not sorted out, then at least discussed. Albin, would you like to speak first?”
“Oh? Am I allowed to talk? Am I not too frail for that!?” Albin demands.
“We just wanted to...” Thalison begins but Azisa speaks over him.
“Son you don’t understand...” She begins to say before a piercing whistle from Doctor Malaise grabs everyone’s attention. She then slightly coughs to both clear her throat and establish an appropriate level of sound for the conversation.
“Let’s not start with casting blame or insults. That only leads to such things being returned or defensive attitudes. Instead perhaps you two could explain to Albin why you thought it was a good idea to hide the fact he had Gurana’s Syndrome from him.”
“If I may?” Thalison asks. There’s no answer. “It’s from my family line so it’s best if I answer.”
“By all means. Please.” Doctor Malaise says and she notes happily to herself that Albin has turned a little more towards his parents instead of away.
“It was by my recommendation that we don’t tell you about your Gurana’s Syndrome or treat it as odd, because to me? To my family? It is normal. Once a generation, someone has it. Every twenty years there is Gurana’s Syndrome in the family. Sometimes it’s as little as a ten year gap. And sometimes, though never more than once every hundred or so years, we have two at once.” Thalison explains. “And normally, what we’ve done with you Albin, works perfectly! My cousin Garona had it in my generation. She’s a master bladesmith now and makes a very comfortable living producing custom weapons for hunters and warriors of all stripes. Before her, it was your grandfather. The man is a historian. Before him it was a great great aunt! She’s an expert huntress specializing in traps and animal calls to do all the work for her.”
“Then what went wrong with me?” Albin demands fully facing his father and while not hiding away, he is confrontational about it.
“Pure bad luck. That’s all. What I did for you, worked for my cousin. Worked for my father, your grandfather. Worked for my Great Aunt, your Great Great Aunt. You are the first in many generations to actually have a negative side effect of Gurana’s Syndrome. I wanted this to go so very differently. I figured you’d go hunting with your sisters in a huff, then after that you and me would drag them to the fertile plains over this world and you’d have a wonderful time playing with Beaky and getting your sisters to as well. But it all fell apart.” Thalison explains before taking a deep breath and swallowing a bit to rewet his throat.
“Where did it go wrong? I don’t know! Was it your sisters pushing too hard or being too inattentive? Was it Beaky choosing to be difficult at the exact wrong moment? My choice of destination? You choosing the exact wrong time to dig in your heels? I don’t know! Maybe all of them, maybe none of them! But it was not deliberate. I don’t want to hurt you, I never wanted to hurt you. If I can get nothing else across to you today, then understand this, I’m on your side. I want the best for you. I’m your father and I love you. I want you to have a wonderful life and I’m sorry about what happened to Beaky. I really am. I know he meant a lot to you.”
Albin tries to answer but nothing comes out. He tries again and there’s a slight hitch in his breathing. But still no words. He pushes and tries to force it and he breaks out in a few sobs. Thalison is beside him and pulling him into a hug that Albin does nothing to get away from even as he starts breaking down. Before he can even start to weep Azisa is there and embracing them both.
Doctor Malaise smiles at this. It’s a start.
​
First Last

My favorite song from Frank and im not seeing it get enough respect. The song is straight up infused with ecstasy, it makes me feel so good like i just wanna start running and running and spin in circles and jump through a green void into a world with no commitments or consequences, where i can find frank and make pretty love to him. Pity pity.
I want this song playing at both my wedding and my funeral. It makes me feel without feeling, makes me dream without dreaming, makes me cum without cumming. God its fucking amazing. I could fight through torture for war crimes with this song playing. I could part the red sea with this song playing. I could fly a rocketship and land on the moon and plant a flag with franks cock rings on it with this song playing.
Novacane represents a perfect balance in the world. Its both good and evil. Its both love and hate. Its both penis and vagina. When it comes on, theres nothing you can do but shut down your nervous system and let the novacane take control of your brain for 5 minutes. 5 minutes that will alter the essence of ones life itself, in a way no other piece of human creation can.
Is novacane a song? No. Its a constant of the physical world, just like gravity. It affects everyone and everything. The universe would look a whole lot different without it. Its a defining part of existence.
Listening to novacane is like using every drug at once. It stimulates and depresses the brain, its a hallucinogen and an antipsychotic. Its like having sex with every human and animal on the planet at the same time. Its like having a penis with infinite tips, all uncircumcised.
Novacane is what i stand for, what i represent, who i am, and why im here. Its the universal answer.
Novacane. For the pain, for the pain.