Ann sat on the table next to the first aid kit. She looked confused and responded in a subdued voice, "...how exactly do you fall out of a car?" Weston grabbed the alcohol wipe before Ann could reach it. There were at least a dozen zeds stalking around outside. Maybe more. The two of them were mostly secure as long as they didn't make any loud noises.
"It was cramped and the key was, well, sorta... the hiking bag maybe got hooked... I don't know," Weston sounded annoyed. "I fell out."
Before the apocalypse, Ann's whole life had been planned out. She was going to do an internship this summer. She was starting her last year of high school next year. She was planning to attend Louisville State University. Well, was, but she didn't know what to do now. Weston peeled back the dirty bandage and started cleaning the wound himself.
While Weston tended his cut, Ann examined it. His sleeve had been ripped off. The scratch was not too deep, but his arm and shirt were covered in blood. Mostly other people's blood, she assumed, provided you could even call them "people" anymore. The open wound was more intense than any of the images in her book, First Aid Volume I. Ann wanted to help, but Weston preferred to be self-sufficient in these situations. She had learned that much in their short time together.
Now thinking about it, Ann realized this was the first time they've sat down together since he saved her life. It must have been a week or two ago at this point. Ann still couldn't quite remember what happened. The book described it a "traumatic" experience.
trau-mat-ic. Adjective. Emotionally disturbing or distressing.
Synonyms: upsetting, horrifying, terrifying
Ann scoffed to herself. Her entire existence had became a never-ending trauma. One moment she was pinned down by a zed. The next, a crowbar swung out of nowhere and caved it's head in. Then she woke up in this maintenance building. The room was spacious, but full of large crates and random junk, making it rather cramp. It had a couple of entrances, but was otherwise unremarkable. The only window had a sheet over it. Since the power had went out almost a month ago, the room was shrouded in darkness except for the dim light cast by an old lantern.
Ann hated everything about this place. The boredom of sitting inside all day was excruciating. She felt trapped.
She couldn't take it anymore.
"Am I a prisoner?" Ann asked bluntly.
"What?" Weston was bewildered. "Umm... no. No, of course not."
"Well, then can I come with you on your–"
Weston interrupted her, "Absolutely not. You wouldn't be safe out there."
"Am I even safe in here?"
"The world is no place for a kid right now," Weston lectured her, " and you're lucky to be alive as it is."
"No. Look at your arm. YOU'RE lucky to be alive," Ann retorted, starting to raise her voice, "and I'm NOT A KID!"
"SHHH," Weston snapped in a harsh tone, "The Answer Is No. Period."
"SO I AM A PRISONER!" Ann yelled back, her face red with anger.
Thump. Ann gasped and covered her mouth.
Thump. Thump. The main door shook against the dead weight slamming against it.
"God. Dammit." Weston cursed under his breadth, "Is This How You Want To Die?" He hastily wrapped a ripped sheet around his arm and grabbed his crowbar. He rushed toward the side entrance.
Thump-Thump. Thump-Thump. The beating increased in frequency as a second zed joined the first.
Weston swung the side door open, revealing a small exterior area enclosed by a high metal fence. Another zed, alerted by the sudden movement, smashed itself against the chain links. Weston vaulted over the fence and darted around a corner before it could react.
Thump-Thump-Thump. Thump-Thump-Thump. More zeds joined in to smash the side door.
Ann fell off the table and landed on the ground. There. I can hide under there. She tried to crawl toward a nearby bed, but she was frozen with terror. Come on. Move. MOVE. Please move.
Swing. Swing. Push. Swing. Smash.
Thump-Thump. Thump-Thump.
The main door swelled under the pounding pressure.
Swing. Thump-Thump. Swing. Smash. Thump. Thump. CRACK.
The door burst into pieces. Scuffled footsteps poured into the interior.
Ann could hear the zed's heavy breathing on the other side of the crates. She squeezed her eyes closed, petrified with fear. The zed stalked closer and closer. Her heart was pounding so hard she could hardly take a breadth.
Weston dashed in through the main entrance and yelled at the top of his lungs, "HEY!" Several zeds turned and shambled full speed in his direction.
Swing. Swing. Smash. Brains splattered across the room, drenching the nearby crates in a chunky, dark ooze.
Weston bolted back outside. Ann could hear Weston continuing to yell frantically.
"OVER HERE!"
"Hey"
"over here"
"..."
""
The chorus of undead snarls faded toward the sound of Weston's voice.
Then silence.
= = =
Ann sat alone under the table, still too afraid to cry. Weston usually said the same thing every time he left: stay right there, be quite, and I'll be back before sunset.
Night had fallen. Ann knew Weston wasn't coming back. A slight breeze echoed through the open doors. What have I done? She leaned her head on the crate next to her and a tear ran down her cheek. I'm so useless.
She was exhausted, and so tired. So desperately, inhumanly tired. She closed her eyes, not able to stay awake any longer. So what if this is how I die?
I deserve it.
= = =
Weston returned in the morning and found Ann hiding under the table. "How did you get under here?" he said gently while reaching down to pick her up.
"Fine," Weston said to himself, carefully placing the doll in his satchel.

With fathers day approaching, I'm trying to find a small compressor inflator that is intended for use with presta valves. This would be a small battery powered unit that would be used in my garage or be tossed in the car truck for a trip - not carried on a bike.
Most of the products on Amazon seem to have a crappy presta adapter thrown in as an afterthought. While I might use this for car tires too, I'm looking for something that was intended for use on a presta valve.
Any leads appeciated!

With fathers day approaching, I'm trying to find a small compressor inflator that is intended for use with presta valves. This would be a small battery powered unit that would be used in my garage or be tossed in the car truck for a trip - not carried on a bike.
Most of the products on Amazon seem to have a crappy presta adapter thrown in as an afterthought. While I might use this for car tires too, I'm looking for something that was intended for use on a presta valve.
Any leads appeciated!

Hello; really loved the interaction with my first post, so thanks so much for that! I'll just reiterate: spoilers for all Star Trek, and everything is just my opinion.
900) Unnatural Selection (1989)
TNG 2x7
Writer: John Mason & Mike Gray
Director: Paul Lynch
We've seen this idea done before and better. Yeah, it's a little bit different this time: it centres around children genetically engineered to be free of disease (isn't that illegal in the Federation?). But the actual plot of the episode is little different from TOS' The Deadly Years, with Doctor Pulaski aging and trying to find a cure for the condition. An uninspired repeat of a TOS episode that wasn't even that good in the first place.
899) We'll Always Have Paris (1988)
TNG 1x23
Writer: Deborah Dean Davis & Hannah Louise Shearer
Director: Robert Becker
Bored me stiff. I'm not always a huge fan of time travel stuff in general, and this is one of the least dynamic uses of that story type I've ever seen. Picard also has some weak character development, in his reminiscence about the girlfriend he left behind to join Starfleet, after he runs into her in this episode. The resolution with Data is fine, though, and I do like that they used him, as somebody less affected by the Maddox Effect, to solve the problem. Functional, just really dull.
898) Angel One (1988)
TNG 1x13
Writer: Patrick Barry
Director: Michael Rhodes
I will say that, as a teenage boy and as a young man now, this episode did give me empathy for what women go through in real life: being dismissed as weak and soft and barred from meaningful work. Beyond that, however, this episode really says nothing. It feels like it wants to be a deep and compelling exploration of gender roles, but apart from that feeling of empathy it gave me it doesn't accomplish anything of the kind. It's just a rote story about an oppressed section of society trying to combat their oppressors, and Riker saves the dissidents from being executed with a dull speech.
897) Silicon Avatar (1991)
TNG 5x4
Writer: Jeri Taylor, story by Lawrence V Conley
Director: Cliff Bole
Oh, just what I always wanted: the return of the Crystalline Entity from Datalore! Most anticipated villain return ever! But seriously, this could have been an interesting episode exploring a decent creature, but all that ends up happening is the Enterprise chasing the Crystalline Entity while Data has conversations with the mother of one of the victims of its attack on his colony. I will say that her hatred of Data got some genuine emotion out of me, as I raise my hackles against anyone who dares attack that loveable android, and seeing her come round to him was reasonably satisfying. But I still wasn't intrigued by their conversations, or the story of her seeking revenge for her son's death. The actual murder of the Crystalline Entity was done with a decent weight, but the episode takes forever to get there, through a slog of boring conversations and virtually no emotional investment for me.
896) The Outrageous Okona (1988)
TNG 2x4
Writer: Burton Armus, story by Les Menchen, Lance Dickson & David Landsberg
Director: Robert Becker
An aimless, artless story of a rogue caught between two fathers hounding him for his misdeeds. I don't find Okona amusing or charming, so his heavy presence in the episode doesn't do anything for me, and the story surrounding him is weak too. Data's stand-up comedy stuff is quite funny; Brent Spiner plays it brilliantly. I particularly enjoy the scene where he's trying out his act on Guinan, and it's just so bad. Also love Whoopi Goldberg's delivery of 'No' after Data asks her if his act was good. But this B-plot has only a flimsy connection to the main story, and therefore its presence leaves the end product feeling messy as well as weak.
895) Bounty (2003)
ENT 2x25
Writer: Hans Tobeason, Mike Sussman & Phyllis Strong, story by Rick Berman & Brannon Braga
Director: Roxann Dawson
An A-plot and B-plot that are both very bad. The story of Archer getting kidnapped by a bounty hunter is rote and uninspired, and definitely feels like it was one of the last ideas the writers came up with for the season. They were just filling time with a poor sequel to the earlier episode Judgement. His interactions with the Tellarite do not interest me at all, and I do not care about the Tellarite's lost ship. The B-plot with T'Pol prematurely going through the Pon Farr sees some of the worst sexualisation of the character, plus some cringey dialogue between her and Phlox. Archer's ending escape from the Klingons, with the Tellarite's secret help, is solid, though.
894) The Omega Glory (1968)
TOS 2x23
Writer: Gene Roddenberry
Director: Vincent McEveety
Goes from mundane to insane. For much of its runtime I would give this my label of dull but functional: there's a rogue Starfleet Captain trying to discover the secret to eternal youth on a pre-warp planet, and there's a lot of fighting with some of the savage natives. It's all very boring... until the last quarter.
It gets revealed that this is (yet another) TOS Season 2 Earth parallel, with the savages representing the US and the village people the Communists. There is no explanation given for how the aliens ended up with all the exact paraphernalia of that time on Earth, from the US flag to the American Constitution; it's all just ludicrous.
The crowning weirdness of the episode is Kirk's lauding of the American Constitution as the greatest thing ever invented. Now, I don't just not like this because I'm English; I would feel the same if the British (unwritten) Constitution was being lauded like this. I consider myself a pretty patriotic person, and I believe that every country has equal reason to celebrate themselves, but I feel it is utterly inappropriate in Star Trek for any one country or group to be held up as the ultimate shining example of civilisation. This is because Trek is meant to represent a future where everybody's come together under one banner. There's a lot to praise about the American Constitution, but it's inappropriate for it to be held up as the 'One True Way', if you will. Kirk's final admiring look at the US flag is so cringeworthily saccharine. So, yeah, this episode is boring for most of its runtime, and it certainly isn't in the end... it's much worse.
893) The Muse (1996)
DS9 4x21
Writer: Rene Echevarria, story by Rene Echevarria & Majel Barrett-Roddenberry
Director: David Livingston
The DS9 Lwaxana Troi episodes are largely not a good time, and this is the absolute worst of them. The story of her pregnancy feels so hammy and forced, and the drama with her and Odo doesn't interest me at all. She also doesn't feel like she has much of a presence in the episode, which is shocking given how she came on so wonderfully strong in TNG. The other plotline with Jake is also uninteresting. It's at least not as bad as the Lwaxana storyline, but it's still so very uninspired (you see what I did there?). Annoyingly our last Lwaxana appearance; they really should have stopped her episodes after TNG's Dark Page; that was the perfect ending for her character.
892) When the Bough Breaks (1988)
TNG 1x16
Writer: Hannah Louise Shearer
Director: Kim Manners
Gene Roddenberry did like his kiddie episodes, didn't he? The idea of 'Atlantis-but-a-planet' is interesting, but the episode wastes the concept on a tiresome kidnapping story. The kids are fine I guess, but I'd also rather not be watching them. Wesley feels kinda out-of-place among them, to be honest, considering how noticeably older he is. I will say that Picard's reaction to the abduction: 'You have just committed an act of utter barbarity!' is a superb bit of acting from Stewart, but other than that there's nothing else I'll praise about this outing.
891) Pen Pals (1989)
TNG 2x15
Writer: Melinda M Snodgrass, story by Hannah Louise Shearer
Director: Winrich Kolbe
This always feels like a short to me, despite its forty-five minute length. No time is spent building up Data and the alien kid's relationship; we just see the kid's first communication, then jump into Data confessing to Picard he's been in contact with a pre-warp individual. So I have no investment in this relationship, which is a shame because Data-plus-kid had the potential to be really sweet. They just didn't put the legwork into it. The resolution is fine.
890) Unforgettable (1998)
VOY 4x22
Writer: Greg Elliot & Michael Perricone
Director: Andrew Robinson
Got to be the most ironic title in Trek history, since this episode is extremely forgettable. It's also mind-numbingly boring: Trek does not have a good track record with single-episode romances, and this has got to be one of the worst. I feel zero connection to the guest character and zero investment in her relationship with Chakotay. The idea of a species that you forget after they've been gone for a while is intriguing, but it is wasted on this insipid romance. This was one of the longest forty-five minutes I've ever sat through.
889) Transfigurations (1990)
TNG 3x25
Writer: Rene Echevarria
Director: Tom Benko
Speaking of dull one-episode romances, here's another one. The idea of a species going through a butterfly-like transformation, that is feared and suppressed by the authorities, is again intriguing. It reminds me of the Jon Pertwee Doctor Who story The Mutants, if anyone's watched that, except it's done less well. Again, the good concept is wasted on a boring romance, this time between Beverly and her patient. This is another one that feels much longer than forty-five minutes.
888) Bread and Circuses (1968)
TOS 2x25
Writer: Gene Roddenberry & Gene L Coon
Director: Ralph Senensky
At this point in TOS Season 2, I just thought: 'Really, Mr Roddenberry? Another Earth parallel? I know you like them, but this is getting ridiculous!' Not only is this a tired repeat of an already done idea, but no explanation is given for why this planet parallels the Roman Empire. In A Piece of the Action and Patterns of Force clever reasons were given, but in this it's just presented as a weird fact. That doesn't fly with me.
And even if they had come up with another clever explanation, they have done this idea, which I don't like very much anyway, way too many times this season. I did have some minor interest in the concept of a Rome that never fell, but not enough to sustain me for fifty minutes. Boring and uninspired to the highest degree. I will say there's one really great scene between Spock and Bones in a prison cell, though, when Bones confronts Spock about how he keeps all his emotions carefully concealed.
887) How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth (1974)
TAS 2x5
Writer: Russell Bates & David Wise
Director: Bill Reed
Similar to Who Mourns for Adonais?, in that it gives us an omnipotent alien, who was once worshipped as a God on Earth, and has returned to take charge of his wayward children, only to ultimately discover they don't need him anymore. This is a much weaker version of that story, however, with a less sympathetic godlike character and less runtime to flesh out the idea.
The episode also takes a weird swerve halfway through, from the setting of Kukulkan's city (a nice location, I must say) to his zoo, which I find much less appealing. This episode had an idea, but it wasn't quite sure how to tell the story. Kukulkan genuinely scared me a little, though, and I did feel sorry for him when he flew off, knowing that his former worshippers had outgrown him. But again, that was done better in TOS.
886) Resurrection (1997)
DS9 6x8
Writer: Michael Taylor
Director: LeVar Burton
Michael Taylor is a curious writer for me. He has written both some of my favourite and some of my least favourite episodes, with little middle ground. This falls hard into the latter category. It's interesting to have someone from the Mirror Universe cross into the Prime Universe, rather than the other way around as normally happens, and it's doubly interesting to have that someone be Mirror Bareil. But the episode falls flat on its face: every scene is just so interminably dull, and, unlike his Prime Universe counterpart, this Bareil has no chemistry with Kira. So boring, so pedestrian, and the absolute worst of the DS9 Mirror Universe episodes.
885) The Paradise Syndrome (1968)
TOS 3x3
Writer: Margaret Armen
Director: Jud Taylor
I think this is the epitome of functional but dull. The story makes sense, the characters' motivations make sense, but that doesn't mean the episode is interesting. I do like the idea of the Preservers, beings who transplanted members of endangered peoples, here the Native Americans, to other planets, but the episode flops. Kirk's memory loss leads to a yawnworthy stay among the Native Americans, filled with predictable tensions and conflicts, and a bland romance. The Spock and Bones B-plot is also boring. I feel a little something for Miramanee's death, but only a little something.
884) Assignment: Earth (1968)
TOS 2x26
Writer: Art Wallace, story by Gene Roddenberry & Art Wallace
Director: Marc Daniels
Star Trek without the Star Trek. Deciding not to focus on the main characters for an episode isn't a bad idea in and of itself, but the characters put in their stead hold little interest for me. The same is true of the plot they work within. This was of course a backdoor pilot for a spin-off that never manifested, and maybe if it had come about I would like this episode much more, but as it stands I find the characters unintriguing and the plot uninspired. The climax is particularly poor, with about seventy different shots of the rocket going into orbit, while the characters mill about and do very little. I want me my Kirk, Spock and Bones back.
883) The Red Angel (2019)
DSC 2x10
Writer: Chris Silvestri & Anthony Maranville
Director: Hanelle M Culpepper
Down here for the same reasons as previous DSC Season 2 episodes I've put on this list. It engages heavily in the twin foul-ups of the Spock's sister storyline and the Section 31 portrayal. I hate the base concept of Burnham being Spock's sister, for reasons I've explained in my previous post, so I despise all their scenes together, that build out this relationship that I wish had never been. And Section 31 continues to be portrayed as a public wing of the Federation, with ships and resources provided by Starfleet, which is godawful.
I will say, however, that I do kinda like the sequence where Burnham has to strap herself to a chair and bare herself to the planet's toxic atmosphere in order to summon the Red Angel. And the reveal that the Angel is not herself but in fact her mother is cool. But this is still a really bad episode.
882) The Storyteller (1993)
DS9 1x13
Writer: Kurt Michael Bensmiller & Ira Steven Behr, story by Kurt Michael Bensmiller
Director: David Livingston
A really messy, weak outing. The A- and B-plots have nothing to do with each other, which isn't automatically bad, but here it just makes the episode feel untidy. Of the two, I prefer the Jake and Nog subplot; it's funny seeing them mooning over the female teenage leader of a settlement who comes to the station. Their getting in trouble to impress her is charming. The A-plot sucks, though: the whole business of O'Brien having to become the protector of this village, from an amorphous cloud villain, is just lame, and the resolution is whatever. It is funny to see O'Brien and Julian in their first episode together, though, and witnessing how much O'Brien doesn't care for the good Doctor at this point. Oh, how times will change.
881) The Arsenal of Freedom (1988)
TNG 1x20
Writer: Richard Manning & Hans Beimler, story by Maurice Hurley & Robert Lewin
Director: Les Landau
A ramshackle adventure with a medley of different storylines, all of which are underwhelming. The best is Geordi's plotline, where he asserts himself as commander of the Enterprise over the *rsehole Chief Engineer of the week, but the other two don't really have any redeeming qualities. The Riker and co storyline is repetitive and the Picard and Beverly storyline is dull. I do like that the threat is resolved when Picard agrees to make a purchase from this dead civilisation, though.
880) Move Along Home (1993)
DS9 1x9
Writer: Frederick Rappaport, Lisa Rich & Jeanne Carrigan-Fauci, story by Michael Piller
Director: David Carson
OK, so I said this wasn't the worst of DS9, but it's still really bad. Though I have to say that, after I watched this with my siblings last year, and had such fun doing so, I've never been able to see it quite so badly. It's bad, yeah, but it's so, so much fun. The best-worst bit is of course the alien hopscotch scene, and I also really have to give credit to Alexander Siddig for playing some brilliant cringey comedy with Julian. The scene where he's trying to wake himself up from a nightmare by screaming? So funny. These (sort of) praises made, this is still a stinker of an episode, with a messy plot, too-silly events, and some serious overacting from Armin Shimerman at the end. Definitely something best watched with friends or family.
Allamaraine, count to four,
Allamaraine, then three more,
Allamaraine, if you can see,
Allamaraine, you'll come with me!
879) Justice (1987)
TNG 1x7
Writer: Worley Thorne, story by Ralph Wills & Worley Thorne
Director: James L Conway
I love the basic idea of this episode: Wesley runs afoul of a law on another planet and is sentenced to death by their draconian justice system. Then Picard has to struggle with whether to obey the Prime Directive or save his life. But the episode is dragged down by some weird costuming choices and, most of all, the addition of an omnipotent entity that watches over the planet's people. This should have just been an episode about Picard struggling between duty and conscience; the addition of a mega-powerful being steals screentime from this fine idea.
878) A Simple Investigation (1997)
DS9 5x17
Writer: Rene Echevarria
Director: John T Kretchmer
Uuuuugh; another boring single-episode romance. It's an interminable chore to sit through, from beginning to end, with tired, uninspired romantic scenes and an unexciting criminalistic plot surrounding the Orion Syndicate. I also don't like how the Changelings' linking is equated with sex in that one scene. There are a few fun scenes with O'Brien, Julian and Jadzia when they're playing the spy holosuite program (Jadzia's 'Ooh, somebody stop me!', or O'Brien's 'Hi, Odo!'), but that's about it.
877) Such Sweet Sorrow Part Two (2019)
DSC 2x14
Writer: Michelle Paradise, Junny Lumet, & Alex Kurtzman
Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi
DSC wasn't merely content to introduce a sister for Spock who weakened the story of his childhood and family life. They had to make that sister so important in his life that he'd be willing to go with her into the future and leave his life behind. I hate that Kurtzman and co made this decision, as it makes everything in TOS, SNW etc feel like Spock settling for second-best, when in reality he is fulfilling his life's purpose in those series.
I also never connected with any of the DSC original characters, except for Saru, and even with him I don't feel any emotion at their grand final 23rd Century adventure to stop Control. As I've said before, this evil sentient AI story is a tired, repeated idea, and its connection to the terrible portrayal of Section 31 makes it worse. As a result of all this don't give a single crap about any of the grand-scale action in this episode, and I feel nothing for the loss of the Discovery crew to the far future. I will say that this episode did at least propel DSC into the 32nd Century, which would end up saving the series from being irredeemably awful, and it sets up the phenomenal SNW (although we didn't strictly need all this for SNW to work).
876) Vis a Vis (1998)
VOY 4x20
Writer: Robert Doherty
Director: Jesus Salvador Trevino
A vapid story about Tom feeling dissatisfied with his life on Voyager, and getting replaced by a shape-stealing alien. The concept for the alien is solid, but the execution doesn't fly. It ends up being a limp episode that drags quite a bit, with a bland character arc for Tom at its centre. Shoutout for the appearance of Dan Butler as the alien's main form, though; he played the testosterone-fuelled Bulldog Briscoe in my favourite comedy, Frasier.
That's it for now. Thank you very much for reading, and Live Long and Prosper!

Disclaimer: This post contains a very long text. Reading this might be difficult (Unless you're a Bookworm)

1. Meggy: She really pisses me off. The first reason is that the way the SMG4 Production turned her into a human was ridiculous. It felt like a overrated Netflix Drama. They probably made her like that to merchendise and get more attention. The Second reason would be her behaviour. She used to be kind and respectful (even as a human). But she's now a bossy show off. She thinks that she knows better than Mario and mostly gets sad or shocked when she looses in a Argument. Luke and Kevin, you can still save her character tho. It's not too late.
   
2. Karen: I don't remember one single time laughing at her. She's so unfunny. It feels like if SMG4 was running out of Ideas and thus created her. I also get annoyed by her Dialog.
   
3. SMG3: Wasn't he supposed to be a villian? Better yet: Is he still a villian? There never were any real moments where SMG3 said that he's no more evil. The show just continued without his evil shenanigans. From a clumsy evil guy to a King of dead memes to a Café owner. The Notebook joke from WOTFI 2023 (was it even a WOTFI?) became unfunny. It went from funny at first to unfunny due to the way they overused it and don't get me to SMG3's lines. I cringed so hard whenever he said Baka. Good thing he doesn't mention it anymore.
   
4. SMG4(The Character): I don't mean Luke irl. I mean the Asian with the Blue cap. I don't mind the redesigns. I understand why they changed it but his behaviour got bad. He became sort of a "narcissist" Person. He mostly cares about memes (which is not funny nowadays) and milks Mario for Views (Genesis Arc). He even destroyed Peach's Castle over a stupid meme. I feel like he's gonna start WW3 one day cause of memes.
   
5. & 5. SMG1 and SMG2: It feels like they're only there for the Genesis Arc. Their Backstory and the multiverse thing was annoying and lame. Rewatching their backstories actually made me laugh. It feels like the Genisis Arc forced us to feel empathy for the people there. They're supposed to be Master Splinter and Sensei Wu, except that Splinter and Wu are well written Characters. SMG1 is actually not that bad but SMG2 goes like: "NoOoOoOoOo! SmG4 aNd SmG3 nEeD tO tEaM uP oR eLsE tHe wOrLd eNdS ßwe08fp0fzh8p293fogz2g09üe8dfzß01ß!!!". Also why couldn't SMG4 and Mario just talk to Susan (Former CEO of Youtube) during the arc? She literally has a Remote that can control time and room. Anyways, like I said. SMG1 and SMG2 are lame.
   
6. Axol: The Reason I hate Axol is because how he lost his personality. In his first appearances he was actually alright A artist who was passionate about his work and kept his cool. But then he was used for a Romance Plot and after was killed as a sacirifice in the genesis arc after that. Probably because the Producers didn't know what to do with him anymore. Why do you have to kill a Character when it was no use anymore? They could have just made Axol move back to Japan instead of killing him or not make him appear anymore. There are so many SMG4 characters that aren't used anymore, which didn't get killed and people were fine. Anyways, let's head to Number 3.
   
7. Peach: I hate Princess Peach from old and modern SMG4. She used to be abusive and mean around Mario but that was still funny sometimes. For Example: Peach actually made me laugh at the "A Theatre Mario" Video but after 2019/2020 she just started to rage and yell at everyone for no reason which is just got more and more lame and overused. They probably abondened her due to how many OC's there are. But besides that I'm kinda glad they stopped using the character by not killing her. At least she's gone now.
   
8. Kaizo: Since we talk about abondoning Characters. Kaizo was also kinda abondened. According to SMG4, people donated 13.000$ for Kaizo. I am not sure if that's true but if it was then imagine how dissapointed people must have been. 13K! You could buy a OK Car with that amount of Money. Besides that Kaizo was kinda irritating but I still prefer him than Nr.1 Character on this list.
   
9. Melony: Yes, that's right. It's obviously Melony. The reason why I hate Melony is similiar to Meggy. Melony's first appeared in Christmas 2019 video as Watermelon but became more Popular in the YouTube/Replacement Arc and I admit that I actually liked her but all of this ended after the "Mario's Mask Of Madness" video and the genesis Arc. They literally turned her into a Watermelon Waifu like "OMG! It's a Waifu!". The Fans noticed that and even Luke and Kevin know it. They even made a joke about it in a video (I think). Like how the YouTuber SMBD12 said: "Acknowledging it doesn't make it any better. It makes it worse!". Melony was most likely created not because of Passion but because of Simps. I'm not talking about Fozzie. I mean it in general! ACTUAL SIMPS! Another reason why I hate that Fruit Waifu is because she's so unfunny! All she does is sleeping and being "cute". I don't remember any Moment where I laughed at Melony. I feel like they forced me to empathize with Melony in the Genesis and Revelations Arc. Watching Melony getting her Powers and using her Sword feels like a Zelda Ripoff. I don't even find her attractive. The Watermelon seeds on her Face actually look like Cat whispears. If there is ever gonna be a Arc where Melony dies, I won't feel a single thing about her. In Fact, I'm gonna be glad. At least she is appearing less. That's it.
   

Anyways, so yeah these the 10 SMG4 Characters that I don't like. Who is your least favourite SMG4 character. Comment down below

“So you’re a traveler from another world, with strange powers, here to help us out?” The commander of the unit summarized as the rest of the unit approached the still super train, preparing to salvage it.
“Yup,” I said nervously.
“Okay,” he replied after a moment.
“That’s it?” I asked, surprised.
“Good an explanation as any,” he shrugged, “considering you took down that war train and aren’t objecting to us taking it, I’m prepared to give you at your word.”
“What are you scavenging it for anyways?” I asked, turning to look at the massive vehicle, “you that hard up for metal?”
“There’s plenty besides metal,” the commander explained, “for one the parts in this thing are manufactured to far more precision than the human hand could manage. But even past that, these things carry vast stocks of coal and water, both of which can be hard to come across.”
“Not to mention oil for lubrication,” his second in command added.
“Finally there’s weapons and ammo, without access to factories of our own this is our best source of munitions.”
“Makes sense,” I nodded, “what’s the world like? Humanity still out there?”
“I don’t know about the world at large, but there’s a decent number of us hiding out within the machine’s territory,” sighed the commander, waving to a group of what appeared to be steam powered cars to pull up, each of them pulling a large cart for supplies, “to give you the short history of the war, a dozen years back the machine came online, with orders to expand. So it did, and hasn’t stopped yet. Everywhere it goes it turns into wastelands like this,” he motioned to the endless expanse of flat desert around us, “mountains, forests, lakes, doesn’t matter, it bulldozes it flat and builds factories or mines.”
“Why flatten everything?” I ask.
“Defense,” the Harmony answered, the commander nodding, “it relies on sonar for detection so fewer obstacles the better.”
“That was our guess too,” agreed the army man, “there are a few places it wasn’t able to pave, where we’ve been able to survive. In our case we live in a volcano, the damned thing tried to dig it out before the magma forced it to give up.”
“What about other nations? Surely not all of humanity has fallen.”
“On that front I admit to having less information,” he shrugged, “a few years ago we heard rumors that people outside managed to stall it, though I’m not sure how.”
“It seems to understand some natural phenomena can’t be overcome,” the Harmony commented, “perhaps they found a way to trigger that response along the entire front?”
“Good a theory as any?”
“I’m curious as to who would build such a thing,” I said, motioning to the mega-train, “I can’t think of much of a use for this kind of device.”
The commander looked around, nodding to his second in command who turned and left to coordinate the salvaging operation.
“Come with me,” he said, leading me away from the tracks. For several minutes we walked back towards where his men had dug in to assault the train. They were busy packing up the large guns that I recognized as being the main weapon of the train, only modified to rest on a foldable base and operate without clockwork. More steam-cars were being used to pull the guns once they were folded away, a half dozen tents of various sizes had been set up, the largest of which was white with a large red cross. It was also easily the busiest, with nurses and wounded constantly moving in and out at a frantic pace.
The commander led me into one of the side tents that appeared to be a makeshift command post, tables covered with maps filled the space, leaving little room to walk.
“Since you helped us out I’ll tell you what we know about the origins of the damned machine, but this is sensitive information, so don’t go sharing it around,” he warned me with a long glare before continuing, “the official story is the machine went rogue, some fault caused it to refuse to shut down. From then it’s simply kept expanding, seeing humanity as a danger.”
“That was our theory,” the Harmony replied.
“Unfortunately its not true,” he sighed, “the creator deliberately ensured his machines wouldn’t shut down. The flaw was intentional, exactly the same fault is found in every one of the base plans the machines use.”
“Why would he do that?” I asked.
“The man was brilliant, but in the end he seemed to go crazy. We don’t have much information about the last years or exactly what pushed him over the edge, but he seemed to think this was the only way to, as he put it, ‘defeat eternity.’ We think something drove him insane and he thought the universe itself was out to get him.”
“That’s,” the harmony started, but didn’t continue. We’d encountered multiple people who’d mentioned eternity by now, the most memorable was the man from the unchanging world. But the Conductor and a few others had brought it up by now.
“Ya, crazy,” the commander shrugged, seeming to take the Harmony’s comment another way.
“If true it’ll make fixing this thing much harder,” the Harmony said, “ordering a simple repair of damaged parts is one thing, but fixing a design flaw purposefully built into the blueprints of the entire mechanism?”
“Yup,” he sighed, “honestly our best bet is to just keep taking out trains where we can and hope to eventually out last them.”
“There might be another way,” the Harmony said slowly, “I noticed the machines only use a single frequence of sonar. Is that true across all their units?”
“Yes, near as I can remember,” the commander said after a moment.
“I should be able to design a few noise canceling patterns that work on that frequency it should allow you to approach their factories without being noticed.”
“Wait, you can make us invisible?” he asked, leaning forward.
“At least until the machine figures out the trick and varies up the sonar devices,” the Harmony warned, “but if you use it strategically it could net you large wins.”
“Will it work on moving objects?” I asked, “most passive noise cancelling only works on static objects, like in rooms.”
“It should, only because the machine uses a single frequency for its sonar,” the Harmony replied, sending me a series of calculations it wanted me to run through our datalink, “and it won’t be perfect, anyone using it will have to be exceptionally careful to not make too much noise or bump anything that could tip off the machine.”
“If its easier to hide immobile objects, then could you hide a derailing device?” the commander asked, starting to look excited, “if we could reliably derail the trains without them knowing why we might be able to starve out a section.”
“Stationary things are easier,” it agreed, looking over the results of the calculations I sent back. Its image projection crystal flickered on, displaying blueprints for a couple devices on the table, “I don’t know if a standard train derailer is enough to force a train of that size off the tracks, but you should be able to double the size of the one here without impacting its effectiveness.”
The commander’s eyes grew wide as the image appeared, rushing to the entrance of the tent and shouting for someone. In a minute a half dozen people were present, copying the diagrams along with a few variations the Harmony added.
“Hard to believe a few odd angles can disrupt sonar so easily,” one of the techs remarked, looking over one of the blueprints.
“It’s only possible because the Harmony is an entity basically made of sound,” I replied, “I doubt I could come up with something like this.”
“And I have to stress, this will only work until the machines change their sonar frequency,” the Harmony added, “as soon as they catch on these devices will become ineffective.”
“But could you design new patterns for whatever frequency they switch to?” the tech asked.
“No, if the machine is smart, and it seems smart enough, it’ll start using a few different frequencies. A single pattern can only cover a single frequency effectively.”
“Still, making a change like that across the machine’s hundreds of facilities and thousands of trains is a slow process,” the commander said, “even if it catches on, we could have years before all of it is altered to counter this.”
“Very true,” the Harmony agreed, its crystals even bobbing as if mimicking a nod, “it’s not a permanent fix, but it’ll help.”
“Speaking of, we encountered something odd,” one of the technicians spoke up, “seems like you understand the machine better than most, perhaps you can help us figure it out?”
“Sure,” I shrug, motioning for him to lead the way. Ten minutes later I’m in the mega-train once more, looking at a bank of gears arranged in a chaotic, but clearly intentional pattern.
“Right there, see those main gear trains?” the man asked, pointing at a cluster of mechanical bits that stood out against the rest, “that appears to be the main protocol mechanical computing, they’re what tell it what is or isn’t part of the protocols, if something violates them, and so on.”
“Right,” I nod, only to scowl, “one set of gears per protocol?”
“Yup,” he nodded.
“Then why are there four sets?”
“That’s what confused us,” he replied, “this place is directly above the engine room so we’ve never captured it intact before, so we’ve never noticed the extra-protocol set.”
“A back up?” the Harmony offered, “or error correction?”
“I don’t think so, it doesn’t match any of the other stacks, and error correction is over there,” he pointed to another set of gears, “you seemed to be well informed, maybe you could shine some light on this?”
“Seems pretty obvious to me,” I said, looking up to see both the tech and the Harmony staring at me, “what? Clearly there’s a fourth, hidden, protocol.”
“There’s only three protocols though,” the tech replied, “expand, defend, seek approval, we’ve known that for years.”
“Seems like the machine has a fourth,” I countered, pointing at the extra gear stack, “perhaps something secret the designer put in without anyone knowing?”
“Or the machine is evolving,” the Harmony replied softly, earning an alarmed look from me, “it seems quite rigid but, like you said, it’s been operating for years. If it can alter the design of its trains, then why not its own computation systems?”
“that’s… worrying,” the tech remarked, “honestly I hope its like the Traveler said, that it’s a hidden protocol.”
“Either case shouldn’t matter much,” I said, “there’s a limit to how fast mechanical systems can process data. It should hit a limit to how far it can evolve if that’s what’s happening.”
“I disagree,” the Harmony countered, “I’m living proof that multiple overlapping systems can produce intelligence far beyond what individual parts could come up with. Sound can only carry so much information at a time, but I can operate far beyond that limit due to my nature. It could stumble upon something similar for mechanical computers.”
“Seems unlikely,” I replied, and the Harmony didn’t disagree, but the thought was worrying regardless.
***** Discord - Patreon *****

I have so far been up all night as I can’t fall asleep for nothing. I have been stressing so much lately and there is nothing that can ease the stress.. on top of the thoughts of what can happen to the baby long term medical wise from all this stress. It’s honestly so much eating away at me and I just don’t know what to do with these thoughts. I am going to just write away everything that’s been eating away at me.. that is why this is going to be very long as it’s been a lot so far… I got off birth control in December as life was going amazing and it was giving me awful migraines as I was rearing my third year being on nexplanon. I knew that there could be a possibility of getting pregnant and honestly with how life was going the thought of potentially getting our boy as we have two girls right now was really exciting me. I have been working from home and recently got a huge raise and things were looking great. A month after getting off the birth control I started feeling weird, that intuition feeling came. Shortly after, my job that I had been with for almost 3 years randomly lays off a lot of employees including me with no notice or anything. I thought it would be a long term job but they eventually grew financial issues. Of course I didn’t want to abort this baby just because my job laid me off. I am a very independent person so of course I would do anything to make sure me and mine are straight. I start back doordashing full time from 9 am to 9 pm and I stay an hour from the nearest city so the stress of wear and tear on my car has always scared me but you gotta do what you gotta do as a parent. Of course they say I’m eligible for unemployment and I’ve tried endless times to file for it and they always denied me due to work searches as I wasn’t applying to the right places when I was applying EVERYWHERE. No matter what I put. Every week would get denied cause of this and the phone number is impossible to reach someone. So I’ve given up on unemployment. We lived off of our tax return plus DoorDashing which I really wanted to save this money. The work search has been so stressful. I got a seasonal job and did amazing at it working up to 18 hours overtime one day but they over hired people so there was way to many people to consider hiring everyone full time so once it ended less then a month of working there that was it. Until I got a call from my dream job which my mom and my bf mom both work there and it pays way higher then what I’ve made on top of providing a hybrid schedule too. I felt it was a stretch applying but my resume looked really good so I went for it. I got an interview with them and the interviewer loved me and said he felt really confident in me and would like to offer me the position. Of course I’m overly excited cause this is my dream job. After filling out the onboarding and going to scheduled onboarding appointments they state there was only one issue stopping my onboarding which was a previous account with them that had restrictions on it that I was not aware of. I trusted the wrong “friends” back in high school 7 YEARS AGO with my personal information not knowing any better and they did fraud with my information and of course it fell back on me. I even paid back every owed penny from the fraud to clear my name to move on from that mistake. They never told me they also proceeded to put restrictions cause of it. So my onboarding was put on hold until I handled the restrictions. Fast forward a month later of struggling making ends meet. We have no more income tax money.. but at least I finally receive a response saying the restrictions would be removed. So finally we receive great news. I let the people know and they proceed to let me know that someone will reach out to me in 5-7 days and it has now surpassed that time frame with no response and I am just so scared that they won’t follow through.. It is now June and I have been struggling to get a full time job since February and I am holding onto the little ounce of hope that this job will follow through like they said… Holding onto that ounce of hope as doordash grew very stressful I decided to pull all of my retirement out from my previous job to put into savings in case we need it for an emergency especially if the car were to go out on us. on top of our apartment lease renewal coming up. We did NOT want to renew the lease because this apartment has treated us HORRIBLY since we moved in. We came from a clean bug free apartment due to the rent randomly increasing twice since we moved in it and moved 30 minutes to be closer to my OLD job and his family. We moved into this apartment because I had a work friend refer it to me saying it was her first apartment and she fell in love with it. Not knowing we were going to get the worst apartment building probably out of the whole complex. Since we moved in we could not look at the apartment until after the lease was signed and given the keys. We moved ONE box into the place and came back days later to move the rest of our stuff. We moved that box and SO MANY roaches scattered from it and we knew instantly we got played and that now all of our things were going to be roach infested now. Fast forward almost a whole year later we have tried endless methods to get rid of them such as boric acid, orthene, endless traps, endless raid bottles, ONTOP of the apartment buildings monthly pest control coming in doing whatever they do and WE STILL HAVE THEM. No matter what we do they are not leaving as I believe even tho we try different methods it won’t matter if everyone else in the building aren’t trying to get rid of them. They are probably being constantly rotated between the other apartments around us so it’s useless. I DO NOT WANT TO BRING MY NEW BORN BABY INTO THIS APARTMENT. On top of all the plugs in the walls has blown in the living room. I let the landlord know about this and they sent there only technician to check it out and they didn’t know what they were doing. They switched the power surge switches on and off and it fixed the plugs but they proceeded to go back out the next day. We haven’t even been there a year and the refrigerator has been tearing up like crazy. The whole bottom of it has ripped off cause apparently the adhesive is so strong when closing and opening that it slowly tore its own frame off. We had to use gorilla glue to glue it back on and it’s so far worked. On top of the rims around the door got so many rips in it. The door holders on the fridge can’t hold anything heavy or else the whole shelf falls off same as the door handles on the freezer so we have to carefully move things around it and put only certain things in those spots or else it’s all going to the floor. The first red flag of the apartment is there are no washer and dryer hook ups and that is honestly the least of our problems with this place.. the bolts on the dish washer are so tiny and unscrewed with time and randomly the whole dish washer completely fell down from being poorly connected to the counter. Whenever you open it to put dishes in you have to hold the racks or else the whole dish washer will fall forward and they will roll out with all the dishes in it. I’m so over this place and we have BEEN ready to move out. So once the 30 days came up I contacted the landlord about the 30 day notice that we were going to move out before the lease renewed. She proceeded to tell me with no emotion that they required a 60 DAY notice in advance prior to our lease end date and that our lease already renewed for another YEAR. She didn’t even try to help us out and did not provide any kind of notice or reminding about the 60 day notice. She just kept repeating that we signed the lease and it is written in the lease. She said if we move out we will be responsible to pay the months rent for each upcoming month until a new tenant moves in and takes over the lease which is very unlikely as they have full control on whether they want to move someone new in or continue to bill us the monthly rent.. So now we are trying to figure out how we are going to work out this New obstacle/road block and I am already halfway through my pregnancy. All of this stress has been eating me alive for the whole beginning of my pregnancy and it ALL came out of the blue. This is not how I pictured being pregnant with my third baby and I feel completely miserable right now. I am struggling doordashing all day just waiting for any kind of good news. We are thinking about ditching this apartment and going to stay with my mom until we find a full time job to afford a new apartment as we just want to start the process of this landlord potentially searching for a new tenant to take this burden off of us. We do not wish to pay two apartment rents as my credit is amazing and I know if they put any of this apartments owed rent when we move out on my collections it will ruin my credit.. we have been growing it for when we are ready to get our first home. So I know not paying it is not an option for me. I’ve just been wishing this ongoing nightmare will finally come to an end and I can finally receive any kind of good news. I was sooo excited about this pregnancy but now I have zero excitement for it as I have been through endless stressing and roadblocks the whole pregnancy so far. I am afraid that this stress and pain will affect the baby long term.. I do not wish to bring this baby into this apartment as I fully wish to be in a new upgraded apartment bug free when the baby comes in October my birthday month.. It’s just super hard holding onto any kind of motivation right now and the pain is slowly eating me up inside.. I just really needed to get all of this off of my chest and hopefully maybe I can finally get some sleep right now. If you read all of this.. thank you for listening and all I can really say is check on your people cause you never know what they could be going through as life can hit so random at times..

My family is in market for a new car. Currently we have a Scorpio N Z8L, Jimny Alpha, and Santro 1.1 AMT. The Santro just turned 5 years old. My mother is the primary user of the car followed by me and Dad for city runs. We are looking at an upgrade from the Santro that could be more powerful, provide good fuel efficiency, and an engaging auto transmission unlike the AMT. We test dove some cars and finalised on Kia Sonet GTX plus 1.5D Auto. The onroad price in kerala turned out to be a whooping 19.5lakh. A booking token has been placed and it will take around 1 month to deliver. But now we are having second thoughts. 19+ lakh for a sub 4m car doesn't make sense. The lower trim htx is around for 16lakh but it has almost no features. We are willing to stretch the budget till 25lakh on road. Please suggest some options P.S my mother is not very comfortable driving big imposing cars because she is so used to driving the Santro. Also no EVs please.

Thinking of upgrading from my i20 Sportz IVT to the N line. The current car will complete one year in the next few weeks.
I find the power to be a bit inadequate and hence the itch for an upgrade. Being a new driver, the lack of power was unnoticeable initially.
The current car is fully paid for and I plan to upgrade in December 2024 or early 2025 and get an older stock with the discounted prices.
Would like to know the thoughts of fellow members.

Wife has a Scion XB and the driver side door speaker finally kicked the bucket. So I am looking to replace all the doors and the two tweeters without going full tilt and kitting out the entire car.
Does anyone have any recommendations on speakers that would run well on the factory head?
It's a 40wx4 head unit. Doors takes 6 1/2 speakers.
I was looking at the Morel Maximo Ultra 602 Mkii sets and doing both the front and rear speakers in them but I'm 99% sure that would be like trying to power a fridge with a AA battery.
Thanks in advance all.

Continuing his attack, Beckenbauer intentionally touched Yanagida to occupy more space and succeeded in overtaking him. Stunned, Yanagida realizes that it was stupid of him to worry about the absolute king.
Commentator Tanaka is impressed by the performance, and Keisuke explains that Beckenbauer was slowly beginning to improve, and it was Yanagida's technique that began to bring him to his senses. On the MFG angels' side, Kyoko is in charge of swapping positions on the board. She is asked the same question as the previous angels: what does a shrine mean to her? Kyoko explains that she doesn't think she has a particular shrine, so manager Uehara asks her if she doesn't drink a particular beverage like sake, to which she replies that she drinks everything, but likes sweet potatoes.
Back in the race, the car №12 crosses the City Hall bend, gets further and further ahead of Yanagida, who can no longer keep up, and gains ground on the leading group. As for the Yajikita siblings, Nozomi and her brother Kakeru decided to reverse positions to increase their chances, as the Lotus Emira has more power than the Alfa Romeo; although Nozomi thinks her brother is cool, he's nowhere near Kanata's level.
The middle group of cars №16, 18, 9 and 13 complete lap 2 and attack the uphill section of lap 3, followed by car №860 and car №1. From Tanaka's point of view, Ishigami's spirits are low. In the group for 13th place, Oishi in car №3 is closing in on Sakamoto in car №5. For Oishi, it's a crime for the Lamborghini to be behind the Audi, while Sakamoto is somewhat in awe of Oishi's attitude, reminding him a little of Aiba.
Meanwhile, Kakeru and Nozomi are catching up with Akaba. The brother and sister plan to use the bump draft to overtake the Ferrari. During their conversation, they take the opportunity to bicker as before, which has not gone unnoticed by their assistant Yamatani.
Back in the lead group, Sawatari spotted Beckenbauer in his rear-view mirror and was planning to go on the offensive.

I am so fucking tired of suffering housing insecurity. I made 70k+ the past 3 years and now clear 6 figures in a new role. I shouldn't be suffering housing insecurity.
I'm not even talking buying; obviously I should be able to afford to buy but low 6 figures gives you no real buying power in this market. Or period in New England.
I'm talking rentals. I've been forced farther and farther from Boston, which okay I guess fair enough but rents went up 50% in less than 2 years. Now you can't even find a place for less than 2k/m without housemates. And even when you FIND an amazing place where you're finally approaching feeling safe with good people, the landlords in MA are such cunts they'll rip the carpet right out from under you (Kelly Ryan Real estate; refused to renew the lease after I asked for a heads up if someone is entering the home after they sent two teenagers over unannounced and I found them rummaging through our stuff. They sure showed me how meaningless I was and how powerful they were. Housemate warned me the family had extreme anger issues. I was too scared of home invaders to remember that.)
If you're not dual income you're fucked. Even if your single income clears most dual income households. I make too much to qualify for any programs to help with housing security, but to little to keep a stable home.
I'm in bed nerves completely raw because the current landlord sold the house with a month and a half notice to fuck off. My current best bet is renting from a guy who is larger than me, a combat veteran with guns. I'm a 130lb woman. I'm scared shitless. I want to believe people are good and that I won't get raped or murdered. But christ I just want a safe home.
My literal logic is it's safer to take this risk than the risk of living in my car where I will be very exposed and explicitly targeted.
I just hate that this housing crisis has been at minimum in development for 10 years, I was frustrated a decade ago by my lack of buying power. I remember using the term housing crisis as early as 6 years ago. Nothing has been done! Even with it being a big political buzzword right now and we'll past boiling over, I do not trust the american government to do anything.
I'm just bone tired exhausted of moving multiple times a year to avoid being evicted or to escape violent situations. I'm just trying to keep rent under a paycheck like grandpa always taught me. That's $1,555, and that's not enough to live safely alone. I also haven't been able to hit that goal for 3 years, WITH housemates (prior to this job 25% was 1k).
I get that so many people have it worse and that I am "fortunate" but it pisses me off so much that the quality of life in America has plummeted to the point my situation is fortunate.
I've worked so hard and I'm still laying in bed right now, chest feeling raw, electric and shot from nerves, because once again I'm being forced to move in a hurry against my will and I'm scared for my safety.
I haven't felt "home" in 4 years, since moving to MA. It has taken a massive toll on my mental health and emotional wellbeing. I don't trust anything to last anymore. I'm exhausted. I can't imagine a world where everything is okay and I'm safe.

"Kirby in the cappy world. Chapter 1: Kirby arrives in Pupu Town"
In the vast expanse of Dream Land, Kirby was enjoying a leisurely stroll, his pink round figure bobbing along with a sense of carefree abandon. Riding atop his trusty Warp Star, he soared through the skies, embracing the freedom of the open air. However, this tranquility was abruptly shattered when a massive storm erupted, tearing through the serene landscape with violent rifts to an unknown dimension.
Caught in the chaos, Kirby and numerous other Dream Land residents, mostly Waddle Dees, were forcefully pulled into the swirling vortexes of the storm. As Kirby tumbled through the rifts, his pliable body contorted into strange shapes, morphing in ways he had never experienced before.
Meanwhile, in the quaint town of Pupu, a menacing threat loomed overhead. A colossal flying octopus Demon Beast wreaked havoc on the townspeople, devouring their livestock before retreating to the foreboding Nuneaton Castle. The irate villagers, led by the determined Pupu Town Princess, confronted the enigmatic duo of Dr. Escargon and N.U.B, accusing them of harboring the monstrous creature. However, the duo vehemently denied any involvement, claiming their pet octopus was merely a fraction in size compared to the terror plaguing the town.
As Kirby hurtled through the depths of space on his Warp Star, a distress signal from a distant galaxy triggered an unforeseen warp in his trajectory, propelling him towards an unknown destination in response to an imminent threat.
In Holy Canyon, the Cappies, the inhabitants of Pupu Town, gathered to seek guidance from the revered sage Urbak. Unveiling the unsettling truth, Urbak revealed that the monstrous octopus was a creation of N.U.B and prophesied the arrival of a legendary Star Warrior named Kirby to deliver them from the impending doom. Just as uncertainty loomed over the town, Kirby's starship crash-landed, drawing the attention of the inhabitants.
Rescuing Kirby from the wreckage, the townspeople, including the valiant Princess, navigated the unfolding chaos. Amidst the confusion, a confrontation with N.U.B and Escargon led to an unexpected turn of events, with Kirby finding an unlikely ally in Princess as they sought refuge from the looming dangers.
As the bewildered townsfolk tried to comprehend Kirby's unusual nature, N.U.B launched a relentless pursuit, driving Kirby to seek shelter amidst the lush tomato fields. His brief respite was short-lived, as Escargon whispered malevolent schemes to N.U.B, setting a new plan in motion.
Embracing her true identity as Fumu, Princess endeavored to unravel the mysteries surrounding Kirby, leading to a series of encounters that unveiled the heroism hidden within Kirby's unassuming facade. As they delved deeper into Kirby's world, aided by allies like Bandana Waddle Dee and Meta Knight's apprentices, a sinister explosion rocked Nuneaton Castle, setting in motion a chain of events that would test Kirby's resilience.
Within the confines of the castle, N.U.B and Escargon tinkered with Kirby's damaged Warp Star, unaware of the impending peril lurking in the shadows. An ominous revelation surfaced, as N.U.B's pet octopus unleashed a hypnotic grip on its master, plunging him into a frenzied state. Kirby, driven by an innate sense of duty, ventured into the heart of chaos, facing adversaries that threatened the very fabric of reality.
In a climactic showdown, Kirby harnessed the power of the elements, invoking the fiery prowess within him. Empowered by a surge of determination and aided by Fumu's unwavering resolve, Kirby unleashed a torrent of flames, vanquishing the malevolent forces that besieged the town. As the townspeople hailed Kirby as their savior, a looming presence watched from the shadows, hinting at a larger scheme at play.
As Kirby prepared to depart on his repaired starship, a treacherous act of sabotage thwarted his plans, leaving him stranded in Pupu Town with an uncertain future ahead. Despite the trials that awaited him, Kirby found solace in the camaraderie of newfound friends, laying the groundwork for a journey that would alter the course of destiny.
With the echoes of adventure resonating in the air, Kirby's arrival in Pupu Town marked the beginning of a tale steeped in mystery, courage, and the enduring bonds that would shape the fate of worlds yet to unfold.
And so, Chapter 1 comes to a close, setting the stage for a journey that transcends realms and challenges the very essence of heroism in the boundless expanse of the Cappy world.

Hey everyone, I bought a parts car and it had full leathers with a power drivers seat, my wagon had some cooked manual adjust seats so I figured why not swap them.
I looked at all the connectors and they all looked identical and everything seemed to be a straight swap so I tossed them in only to find out the power adjustment doesn't work.
All stock harnesses plugged in directly between the two and I can't seem to find a video explaining why it wouldn't work, would it need to be turned on in vag com or something?
Any insight would be appreciated! I still have the parts car if there is something I need from there. I looked for info on this and seemed to come up empty.

110Ah lead acid leisure battery removed from old caravan several years ago. Spent 3-4 years on solar panels, powering lighting in greenhouse. Not used for 2 years, but given a couple of days on mains charge every 6 months or so. Probably not enough, I know. Was old car battery charger which has now died. Have bought Ring RSC906 to give a chance at desulphation. Works fine with my other battery, which I left on for a week to let it cycle through its maintenance, but this battery looks like it might not be taking any charge.
Images (spanning approx 10 seconds): 1 - On connection 2 - Selecting 12v charge mode 3 - Looks like starting to charge 4 - Peak voltage 5 - Stops charging (settles back to 2.2v over 3-4 minutes)
Is this battery potentially salvageable, or do I take it to the tip? (The age of it is probably enough, regardless of the poor care.) Is it worth just leaving it connected for a few days to see what happens?
Thanks