Im feeling lucky google jokes

CONTEXT:
My boyfriend and I (F) have been dating for almost 9 months. When we first started dating, I started spending more time with him rather than with my friend group (lets call it friend group A), which is a bad move on my part to be honest but I have strict parents and not enough time in the day to hang out with both of them. It's not like I completely ditched them, I tried to split my time half half but it was really difficult to. None of them really had a problem with this except my best friend (Also F). Now, again back then we just started dating, and I was blinded to see that I was ditching my best friend. SO again. That's my fault.
A few months after we started dating, my boyfriend and I hung out with some more people as well, and soon we became something close to a friend group (friend group B). (btw: I hadn't ditched friend group A, I still spent time with both of them.) Friend group B consisted of most of my bgs friends, though I'm pretty much friends with his friends so it was fine for me. One day, I invited my best friend to join friend group B because she was closer to 2 of the friends in friend group B than A anyways. Everything was going pretty good with friend group B until my parents thought they were bad influences and told me to stop hanging out with them. Of course, I listened because well, they're my parents and I didn't want to make them mad. I ended up going back to friend group A, sometimes visiting friend group B mainly to see my bf, but here's the funny part. My best friend didn't come with me.
Now, I get that she was closer with some of the people in friend group B than A, and I wanted to be happy for her, because she seemed happy, but I was already really unhappy getting forced to leave friend group B, and it just sucks she didn't seem to care. We barely talked because we never saw each other anymore, and when we did see each other it seemed awkward or forced, nothing like how "best friends" are supposed to act. I always tried to muster up the courage to speak to her about it, but I was always scared it would ruin our friendship, even if it was dangling by a thread. As I couldn't do anything about it, I decided to just leave it alone, and perhaps things will just fall into place one day. Oh how wrong I was.
So I left it alone. I just hung out with friend group A and minded my own business, and I was completely out of the loop of friend group B, beside the occasional visits. When these visits happened, I noticed my boyfriend and my "best friend" starting to get kinda close. They knew a lot about each other and each others weird 'eras' (eg. my "best friends" old anime phase) and had a lot of inside jokes. I, being the one who introduced them to each other, of course tried to ignore it and be happy for them since I HAD originally wanted them to be friends, but now I was really regretting it. Soon enough, I noticed them texting constantly (snap number one best friend for 2months+ goes crazy), playing video games together (even with my "best friends" little sister like what!?!?!), and hanging out and going to lunch together (okay this was usually with friend group B as well but I thought it was weird my "best friend" was able to go out so much since she had strict parents like I did (even stricter actually) and we went out like once a month, but suddenly she was able to go out with friend group B so often?) Also, whenever I went to go visit my boyfriend and friend group B, I would see them interacting and felt like I was being left out. (Honestly I felt left out of friend group B entirely but that's another story) To be fair, these activities were pretty "friendly" but I just felt like there were some weird areas (I wont get into it since this is getting way too long). Or maybe I'm just a really really jealous person (actually that might be it).
I thought about two solutions. 1. I tell my boyfriend how uncomfortable I feel around the two of them, and make him cut her off, but this could risk my best friend getting mad at me idk. (Okay I'm making this whole thing out to be like my best friends an evil villain and im sure shes not (or she wasn't I'm not sure anymore) but I'm just really uncomfortable with what could be going on behind my back. I do trust my boyfriend, I'm just worried about how much my "best friend" has changed and if she'll backstab me). Also I'd feel really controlling even though I know he would 100% understand, it just feels weird to me if that makes sense? Like he has told me to cut contact with people and I've had no problem with that but I've never told anyone to do that before and I'm scared he'll get offended I don't trust him. And they're so close I feel like I'd be ruining their friendship? I DONT KNOW OKAY I have no idea what to do. 2. I tell my best friend everything she's done and how it really hurt me and try to make her understand. Yeah that seems like a better solution so I did just that. I told her everything that pissed me off and how I felt uncomfortable around them. She seemed to have understood (key word: "seemed to") and apologised and felt the same way as I did about our friendship drifting. She also emphasized how she and my boyfriend were "not that close anymore", but I definitely disagree with that (also agreed by another close friend in friend group B). And though she "seemed to" understand and said she would change, I do see changes in our friendship and out dynamic, even if its not a big one, but I don't think she understood JUST HOW uncomfortable I was with her and my boyfriend, because I didn't see a change there.
So the conclusion is, my boyfriend is really close friends with my best friend (now ex best friend ig) even if they don't admit it but its fairly obvious. I'm trying to be okay with it since I introduced them to eachother because I wanted them to get to know eachother, but I'm really struggling to not break into tears everytime I see them talking or sitting together or honestly everything they do together... I have no idea what to do to stop feeling like this. Am I making it sound really serious when its not? What do you guys think? What should I do?!
​
PS: sorry this is so long, I haven't talked to anyone about the true depth of this but its seriously unhealthy. this is my first reddit post so if i should make any changes let me know! also let me know if you guys have any questions! thank you !!!!

My name is moon, and my mom has been hitting me since i was 11. My mom has been abusive to me for so long physically and emotionally. The reason why it’s so hard is because she’s not always hitting me, but she has again recently and i’m 20 now. She has blamed me for my sexual assault, she has blamed me for being stuck in an abusive relationship. She guilt trips me when i say im uncomfortable with weird jokes she makes. She recently attacked me and i had a head injury. She swears she didn’t push me and had to slap me because i was ‘Out of control’. I was only yelling because both of my parents were yelling at me and i was scared. After this I’ve been trying to find ways to make money and move out of the city, there’s not a lot of job opportunities happening where i live so i feel it’s the only decision to help me. I need financial help and all i can do now is start a gofundme, i really need help and i can’t keep staying here any longer i feel so trapped. I’ve done everything for my family, everything for them and still i feel like they don’t see me. I will be having the gofundme on my account.

I've recently started talking to a girl.
So here's how the story goes: I was scrolling on Tik-Tok instead of actually doing any of my assigned assignments or prepping for the exams, when I came across a very funny video of a lady, who was incarcerated, trying to flirt with the female police officer, and getting shut down every time.
I replied to a comment of a girl, who said that she "can't resist" trying to shoot her shot at femme with a "me too, how arebu beautiful" and now we've been talking non stop (if ur in the comments love 😘)
And shes a tiktok crush; very pretty like extremly pretty, I'm enamored by her beauty and every time we talk to each other I get butterflies, literally.
But here comes the second part of the title:
As much as I'm gradually increasing the levels of "I have a crush on a girl" the chilling thought of my family finding out is haunting.
My brother's already now I'm queer, and yeah they make jokes here and there everytime my parents tell me that I'm in university and it's a time where I can find my "husband" but it's daunting knowing that they will see me differently because that's not going to happen.
I've came out to them separately in the past, when I was with my first "experiment"? You might say, and they, BOTH OF THEM, almost sent me to their home country to straighten me out.
As much as I love my parents, as much as I don't want to dissapoint them, I feel like I'm always going to do that sooner or later due to who I am. Whats worst is that they blame "the country that we live in" what I read or listen to for this (we're congolese).
I just wanted to rant here, 😪

Hey everyone! I'm new here on Reddit, a 21 y/o male from the Philippines looking for also male friends! Ever need a dependable friend who can make you laugh yet can also be there for you during the tough shit? Me too! Let's be that for each other then!
Some things about me, I love PC gaming (so if u wanna play some time lmk!), a casual fan of F1, and starting to learn how to play tennis! Favorite music genre tends to be rock (especially punk rock, pop rock, pop punk) but I listen to anything! I also absolutely love bad jokes its unreal. Now I realize I'm not rly that interesting after all haha.
Feel free to send me a chat if you think we'll get along. I don't mind which timezone or country you're from! Just tell me your ASL because I wanna know who I am talking to. Would also be willing to voice chat down the line if we get along! See ya soon, friend!

PART ONE THOUSAND AND THIRTEEN
[Previous Chapter] [The Beginning] [Patreon+2]
Sunday
Lucas tapped the flat of his finger twice on the partially open door, more to let Boyd know he was coming than actually requesting permission to enter. He pushed it open and strode through as the somewhat welcoming grunt came from within.
“Hey, sexy,” he said, crossing the two rooms to zoom in on Boyd sitting at his bench. On the spinner before Boyd was a larger figure than he had ever done before: an eighteen-inch figure of a woman with an hourglass figure wearing a form-fitting formal gown that flowed to the floor, swaying as if she’d just stepped to her right. Her hands were curled as if she were holding something or someone, but that part was missing.
“Ooooh,” Lucas said, resting his head on Boyd’s shoulder to examine the piece closer. “She’s pretty.”
“She’s also the viscount’s granddaughter, who I think is married to a prince somewhere in Eastern Europe. I’d have to pull out her details again, but she’s already got two kids, and she still looks this good.”
“She doesn’t look old enough to have two kids.”
“That’s what happens when you marry when you’re still a teenager.”
“Please tell me it wasn’t an arranged marriage.”
Boyd did a slow pan to level an annoyed look at him.
“What? They used to.”
“Slavery was a thing in America back in the day, too.”
Lucas made a deflating raspberry. “If you want to get technical,” he grumbled.
Boyd twisted his seat to face him, loosely curling his arms around Lucas’ waist. “Where are you off to, Mister Soon-To-Be-Masters?”
Oh-ho. Someone’s feeling playful. “I thought you were going to become a Dobson,” Lucas countered, leaning in to give him a quick morning kiss.
“Yeah, but then I was reminded I do have family that I care about.”
“None of which are Masters. Your mom and Aunt Judy are sisters who changed their names when they married. If you were going to take any of their names, we’d both be changing to Davenport.”
Boyd looked down at where their abdomens rested against each other.
“Hey,” Lucas said, sliding his hand under Boyd’s chin and lifting it so he could see those beautiful baby blues focusing on him. “What’s going on, love?”
Boyd opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He tried twice more. “Ten years,” he finally croaked. “They took me in and gave me a home within the family for nearly two years, and I repaid them by cutting them out of my life the second I could. Who does that to their own?”
“Somebody with a lot of fear,” Lucas answered honestly. "And that somebody isn’t you anymore. You’ve invited Emily to be our accountant, and personally, I hope you know what you’re doing there…”
“Emily has always been good with money. The only time she’s ever been off is when she borrows money from you, and you go to get it back. By the time she’s finished explaining all the financial movement around the transaction, you end up owing her twice as much, and she’s really convincing. Computerised flow charts and everything.”
Lucas hoped he was exaggerating. If Emily had been that quick and deceptive to separate Boyd from his money when she was a teenager, she might have been even more cunning now. Lucas would remain attentive until she proved herself because the love of his life had earned this break. “Okay,” was all he said since he didn’t want to argue.
Boyd nipped the tip of his nose. “Don’t you ‘okay’ me in that tone of voice.”
Lucas pulled back and rubbed the back of his hand against his nose. It hadn’t hurt, but it was weird. No one had ever done that before. “I’m a cop, love. In my world, it’s guilty until proven innocent.”
“Getting back to my original question. Where are you going?”
“I’m going to go and get some supplies for Levi and Maddy. The dumbass has been worrying himself sick over where he can leave Maddy on short notice if he and Austin get called out to a fire together. They can’t waste up to an hour each way getting over to Queens and Brooklyn.”
“Tell him she can stay with us,” Boyd said without hesitation. I’ll be here all the time, and if I’m out and it’s an emergency dump-and-run, I can drop whatever I’m doing and call someone to teleport me back.”
Lucas leaned in and kissed him again. “And that’s just one of the many reasons I love you,” he said once they parted. “Charlie will be here too, which means Robbie won’t be far away either. Levi still wants to run it past Llyr since it’s his place, but so long as we keep her on our side and away from Miss W, it won’t be a problem.”
“You’ll need to remember to lock up your guns when she’s here.”
Lucas nodded thoughtfully in agreement without speaking. It would devastate everyone if Maddy somehow managed to get her hands on one of his work firearms and fire it. He’d need to get a thumbprint safe – something that he could get at very quickly in a crisis.
“How is she with beds?”
“What?”
“Don’t little kids have those hospital guardrail things, so they don’t roll out of bed and hurt themselves? I mean, your bed isn’t that far from the floor, but if you’re getting supplies, you might want to think about some of those things to keep her in.”
Lucas hadn’t thought about that. “Okay, then it’s going to be a bigger shopping trip than I thought, but that’s alright. Levi and Maddy are going to chill in the apartment until I get back.”
“Do you want me to check in on them?”
“Nah, it should be fine. Levi knows where Charlie’s office is, and if he’s going to annoy anyone while they’re at work, it should be our sister.” Lucas turned Boyd back to his carving and leaned his head on Boyd’s shoulder. “You keep outdoing yourself, you know that, right?”
“These tools are magic. I can’t do a thing wrong with them.” With a slight grimace, he added, “Hey, have you ever heard the story about the kid who gets the magic piano?”
Lucas squinted warily. “Am I going to like this story?”
“It’s a cautionary tale. This kid finds a magic piano, and all he has to do is work the pedals, and the piano plays itself. No one notices it’s not the kid, and the kid’s ego grows with each performance until he’s an international sensation. Then, he has a fight with the piano over who the star really is. The following night, the piano refuses to play, and the kid is booed off the stage. His family is left financially ruined.”
“I will beat you within an inch of your life if you equate that to you.”
Boyd looked at him. “How can I not? I mean, when I relax and just let the tools do what they’re made to do, the pieces come out flawlessly—every time. But the second I worry, minor defects creep in. Nothing I can’t counter and fix, but still…”
“If it concerns you that much, why not do a piece every now and then without the divine tools to prove to yourself that the skill is yours and the tools are just tools?”
Boyd looked over the divine toolset, then back up at the shelf where his older tools were. “That’s a good idea,” he admitted.
Lucas lightly kissed him on the lips and stepped out of his grasp. “I’ve been known to have them now and again. Oh, and don’t forget we’re going to Angus’ this afternoon. Just the six of us.”
Boyd raised his left hand in acknowledgment, but his focus was back on the carving even as his right hand picked up a scalpel of some kind and drove it across the carving’s middle. The blade was then smoothly passed to his left hand to make an incision from that side while his right reached for a new tool.
As he’d said, his motions were flawless, with chips and shavings flying at the speed of a professional wood chopper. Lucas could watch him work all day, but if he was going to make it to Angus’, he needed to leave now.
He let himself out and headed for the main front door to the level.
A little over an hour later, after grabbing several sets of clothes in his brother’s size, Lucas was standing in the middle of the children’s clothing section, blinking in confusion at all the options. He would go to touch one, then back away, unsure.
He must have looked pitiful because a staff member in her mid-thirties took pity on him and approached with a warm smile. “Can I help you?”
“Yeah, this is crazy,” he answered, gesturing to the millions of clothes options before them. “My brother asked me to look after my niece in an emergency, and I want her to have whatever she’ll need at my place in case he doesn’t have time to take her home.” He looked at all the clothes. “Whatever that entails.”
“That’s really sweet. Is your brother a doctor?”
“Fireman.”
The woman gave Lucas the once over. “I can see that.”
Lucas chuckled. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t heard before. Between him, Levi and Mav all sharing their dad’s muscle, they’d always caught people’s eye. “Anyway,” he said, wanting to move this along. “My niece is three going on four, and she’s about this high,” he said, showing her height as an inch or two under his hip.
“Does she have any favourite TV shows?”
“Spongebob,” Lucas said, incredibly grateful for his conversation with Levi over breakfast. He’d have never had that answer otherwise. “And if you’re not doing anything after we get her clothes sorted, my fiancé mentioned something about bed rails since she’ll be sleeping in my old queen-sized bed. This is an all-in shopping trip for her, and I have no idea what to get.”
“Do you have any toys for her? And no, I’m not pushing for a commission here. Little minds need to be kept stimulated, or little hands will end up in places they have no business being. If this is your first time looking after her, you’re going to want a few toys, books, and things to keep her busy.”
“My brother is already nagging me about buying her the basics. What would you recommend that won’t make it seem like I’m trying to buy her affection?”
“Are you okay with electronics, or are you trying to steer her away from that?”
“It doesn’t faze me. It’s more the cost. I don’t want to buy her what my brother hasn’t or can’t afford. I’ve been into too many households where kids have every version of PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo and every known game that goes with them. Those kids appreciate nothing, and that’s not something I’m okay with.”
“You see a lot of people’s houses?”
“I was a beat cop for over eight years before my promotion.”
“A policeman and a fireman? I’m sure there's a joke involving a bar in there somewhere.”
“If there were, the third person would be an ice hockey player,” Lucas chuckled again, already liking this woman. As they wandered through the aisles, she added things to his cart. Clothes were first, but they quickly moved on to toys. A couple of generic soft toys. and the board game “Candyland”. Lucas grabbed ‘Hungry, Hungry Hippos’, as that was one he and his brothers had played when he’d been Maddy’s age. Then came two large boxes of Duplo.
Not once did it feel like the sales assistant was pushing an agenda. She even paused to consider the options as if she were buying them for her own kids. Lucas really appreciated that.
As they were walking the isles, Lucas came to a screeching halt and stared at a range of doctor, nurse and vet play sets. Two jumped out at him. One had a plastic pet carrier with a handful of bulky instruments, and the other came in a bright blue bag with red handles and a white pawprint on the side. It had a comprehensive range, including toy bandages, pill bottles, cream jars, syringes, a stethoscope and even a cone of shame. Both went into the cart after he checked to make sure the two soft animals would fit in the carrier.
Mason’ll have a field day showing her exactly how to simulate using all this stuff, he thought to himself with a grin.
“You’re really very thoughtful,” the woman said after he explained why they both had to be purchased.
Lucas specifically asked for books after that. Real books with paper pages. He was sure his mother (as a high school English teacher) would murder him in his sleep if he didn’t buy Maddy at least ten books ranging from ones she could memorise and pretend to read (which, in her grandmother’s eyes, taught her word structure and was the first step in learning to read), with ones he could read to her. And that, of course, required Spongebob bookends to hold them together.
“Your fiancé is a lucky woman if you’re willing to do all of this for your niece,” she said once the cart was full and they were heading back to the checkouts.
“Yes, he is,” Lucas agreed, deliberately sliding in Boyd’s gender without making a huge issue of it.
Her eyes widened in horror. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Wow, I really shouldn’t make that assumption anymore, and I apologise.”
Because this was New York. “Apology accepted,” Lucas said, waving it aside. Boyd might have been embarrassed, but thankfully, he wasn’t here. “Thanks again for all your help.”
* * *
((Author's extra-long note:
Heya guys! Just letting you know I need to take a week off. [It’s nothing to do with the community here, I promise! I love writing this, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.]
In fact it's … you know what? Stuff it. You guys might as well know. Remember how I mentioned earlier this year we were fighting for more care for my special needs daughter?
That’s the issue.
Our support coordinator has our written authority to act on our behalf. Yet we’ve been told in writing from the government department that if she doesn’t back off, the whole request, including thousands of dollars of specialists interviewing our daughter and reporting their findings, will be deleted, and our request, including all-new interviews and reports, will have to start all over again.
I’m almost at the point where I’m not sleeping, but our support coordinator has promised us to fight because, in her words, “This is getting ridiculous.”
I’ve been really struggling to write this week with everything going on in the background. I’ve finally admitted I need to pull back (just for one week—I mean it when I say how much I love this writing and the little community we’ve formed) to focus on sorting out the mess, so that my writing isn’t tarnished by the battlelines that are being drawn up in the background.
(I already scrapped a page and a half because my anger at things [I bounce between anger and depression] had people who were usually very chill (Robbie) acting in a very aggressive manner that simply wasn’t them. Because of this, I’ve already used up several of my backlog this week and I loathe to lose any more, given how hard they were to build up. (The thought of using them up without others to take their place was also adding to my stress.)
And I was told by my beta reader, ‘Given you’ve been doing this for over three years, and you’ve only had the occasional day off due to sickness, take the week and regroup, stronger than ever.
I agreed. This means my next post will be on Monday, the 27th, Australian Time.
This means my next post will be on Monday, the 27th, Australian Time.
I hope with all my heart that you’ll all still be with me when I return next week.
Karen. ))
((All comments welcome. Good or bad, I’d love to hear your thoughts 🥰🤗))
I made a family tree/diagram of the Mystallian family that can be found here
For more of my work, including WPs: Angel466 or an index of previous WPS here.
FULL INDEX OF BOB THE HOBO TO DATE CAN BE FOUND HERE!!

(As far as scheduling goes, I'm US west coast mostly working nights, so that means I’m good midday relative to North American times and evenings relative to Europe. In addition, Mondays, Wednesdays, and evenings Friday are entirely free for me!)
This might be a really good fit for your campaign if many (not necessarily all) of the following are true:

• You like roleplay that can take itself seriously and a little drama with your storytelling!
• Your writing occasionally and tactfully touches on darker and more mature themes! (Though isn't necessarily grimdark.)
• Stories about mortals in your world are important relative to stories about mythology and gods!
• Your table encourages longer character arcs/relationship building with plenty of room for development!
• The campaign has a defined job to do, an established goal or ideal to work towards; something either set by the party or as a part of a larger faction!

So, this comes from a story I imagine many roleplayers are familiar with: put my heart into fleshing out a character, their themes and personality… and, campaign dies in its infancy. But while I hardly had a chance to play her, this concept is something I’d really want a chance to run! To be very clear, the specifics of her character are something I want to tie into your setting and story - the basic themes of the concept remain, but I want to immerse myself and be a real part of your world! As for what I have in mind, feel free to give this a read: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s07dPj3m42bqCFecXI0qW8JvjmMQKPhIb_wck_MEFSI/edit
I’m something of a forever DM with years of experience, and I always try to be the player for your group that I would love in mine. I am a queer individual, and I find it very important generally that everybody at the table is comfortable and on the same page. I adore unique homebrew lore and the passion put into unique settings; I’ll read everything you give me, both to immerse myself in your world and steal it for my own! My writing usually puts a special focus on the “human” elements of a story; the people, their lives, cultures, relationships, and motivations - and the conflict between them. My biggest payoff from the game is definitely the storytelling aspect. I absolutely love a well-roleplayed plot arc or a dramatic confrontation!
I think this has gone on plenty long enough, so thank you for your interest if you’ve made it this far! If you have any questions or ideas, or just feel like randomly interrogating me, let me know and we can chat here or move to Discord.

For 16 years my mil an oldest sil have been awful, after dealing with it for so long I developed ptsd from their treatment. I been NC since April and it is absolutely wonderful, I juss wanna talk about some of the things they've done.
After the birth of my first daughter mil an fil were telling bf to not sign the birth certificate, and the nurses were giving me such a hard time for him to sign the paperwork. So when he came to the hospital after work I told him they wanted him to sign the papers he was refusing to go get them from the desk an I just had a c section, so I got mad and walked down there and got the stuff from them an took it back to him he did sign but mil an fil were not happy... it has always been difficult with husband until recently believing me about how awful his mother is to me he didn't wanna deal with any of it an basically wanted me to take their torture which the end result was my mental health, makes me really upset cuz I could of been smarter and just left an maybe today I would be able to go into a large crowd of people without feeling scared an panicking. I can barely go into stores now. But anyway....
Bf was giving me money to help buy baby stuff it was 100 every week, he was also giving mil 400 a week. Mil an sil cornered me and threw a fit about he was giving me to much money. Which i find funny bc he was literally giving her a lot of money, I was also on government assistance for like 3 months an she said bf was entitled to half of that money.
Mil put her electric in bfs name (he still lived there) she let the bill go up to over 2000 dollars and didn't pay it off till he gave her problems cuz they were sayin his wages were gonna be attached, we had juss gotten our first apartment when they threatened to attach his wages. She lied to him about paying it she did some but not all and he still gets letters about that bill.
During the first couple weeks at our new apartment mil would bring a plate of food for just bf an would give me dirty looks while he was eating it 🤣
Now it gets interesting...
Fast forward to our second child mil stated to both of us the baby wasn't his but was my brother's 🙄 that was the first time she did anything Infront of him an he threw a fit after that its all been backhanded she'd do shit when he wasn't in the room.
I had gotten a tattoo on the side of my neck just a lil star and she said only trashy people do that, but it was ok sil got 2 on both sides of her neck.
Mil sil and sils friend came to our wedding in pajamas it was at the courthouse but everyone was dressed up
Mil took both bottom tiers of my wedding cake my friend made for me and my mom had to fight her for the top of it. She had also stole my first babyshower cake I didn't even get a piece
Sometimes on the weekends we would drink beers an have people over, sometimes sil would come over and few times she'd bring her friend and their mutual friend would come now I knew right away they did this on purpose and it was absolutely intentional they had this girl flirt with husband I over heard this girl say something about how her crotch would get so wet and I went off it caused a big fight and when I told that girl we were married she acted shocked an left immediately never saw her again.
Mil brought me pants of this really really big lady we all knew and said these should fit u
This one is the beginning of the end my father passed away and a month after was my youngest bday husband was outside cookin on the grill and mil and fil came in an mil starting making jokes about funerals even fil told her thats fked up. My mom went home later in tears. A few months later after that we learned fil had the same cancer my dad passed of.
Youngest sil overdosed 2 years ago and is bedridden now and mil takes care of her and her 3 kids 2 months before that happened we were all sitting at my kitchen table and mil told everyone idc what kind of drugs you do just don't get caught with them... I thought wow this is insane shit.
In February of this year I had gotten a fb message from someone idk and they were sayin all these things that would definitely make me break up with husband, in the messages they had given their self away sayin only things mil would of known. There was a huge argument and mil ended up writing husband f you and your family. Then all of a sudden sils friend gets a job at husband's shop an works with him... husband an I sat down and were talkin about how that whole thing was a big plan to get us to break up and sils friend to weasel her way into husband's life.
There has been so much more but those r the things that stay vividly in my mind. After the whole fb thing I was done an the last time mil popped up at our home an i had a panic attack she was told to not come here anymore of course she knows nothing and has done nothing wrong 🙄 an is currently telling people she doesn't know what's going on... she has to tell people that so she doesn't look like the bad guy cuz she has talked so much trash about me to everyone that they would know. She even sent her nephew to tell husband to call his mom 🙄 he never did... he texted her happy mother's day and she said to tell me the same from her I'm at the point I don't want to hear from her, don't wanna hear her name, I wanna forget what she looks like.
I forgot to mention they were all on m3th an that just amplified their stupidness which is probably why they thought that fb idea was the plan to finally get husband an I apart 😆 oldest sil is really bad on that stuff now an her life is Fallin apart everyone says she is goin down the same path as youngest sil but all they do is watch and talk about it.
If you made it thus far thanks for reading ❤️

Hey everyone,
this question may be worded strangely but I was seriously looking for help from other blue collar women who have been there done that I recently started a trade program and have this one teacher who is so mind-numbingly disrespectful that I am not really sure what to do. I've finished my education all the way up to my Masters and never really had problems with my teachers before with the exception of a select few who would go out of their way to make me feel like shit for succeeding. Frankly I was always considered more of the "teachers pet" growing up.
I have no idea if I come as insubordinate to him or if it us because I am the only obviously non-white female in the course, but it's like he doesn't want me to be in "his space" and will be obnoxious just to establish his own dominance. Or he will always make these weird side comments of how I or my skills are inferior even though I'm the farthest along in the program out of the group and ace every aptitude test he tries to give me.
Some examples: was fixing a piece of wood to match into a slot. He said he didn't approve because it wasn't the way he would do it (even though he didn't instruct me on that to begin with). I started doing it his way so he would get off my back and it made everything worse. He came around to tell me some gifted students get the technique from the first try whereas others just don't have it in them and he guesses I was one.
He never really assisted me with anything while he was being very hands on with the other students and basically would only come up to me to tell me how everything I was doing was wrong to him.
I came up to grab a pencil from my desk and all of them were gone. His response? He didn't like the way I sharpened my pencils and did them himself, while actually giving me an individual lecture while everyone else got to work, on why his method of sharpening pencils was superior.
I ask if there are ways outside of school to practise what I do in class since there are certain things I wish to fine tune. He says no and that he can't slow down for me so I need to get with the program and cope since he has other people relying on him...like stakeholders
Every time I do something and it is right (which tends to be the case), he says I got lucky or he gave me a good piece of wood on purpose. Everytime I do something and it's wrong, it's just my inferiority showing :/
So far I just try to ignore him and do not speak back, but I really do not know how to handle this as this was never my reality. He said he wanted to discuss my background and understanding how I'm in the program later but I'm trying to figure out why the man is trying to have me do everything but what I came to this course to do, which is not deal with his foolishness and build my projects.
Additional Info:
I ask to speak privately after he made another disrespectful comment and had a lecture where he made a point to engage with everyone but me, and tell him I don't really understand what the conflict is and why we are having so many issues. I also ask if there are ways outside of school to practise what I do in class since there are certain things I wish to fine tune. He says no and that he can't slow down for me (even though I'm ahead???) so I need to get with the program and cope since he has other people relying on him...like stakeholders. He also inserts a bit about how he was only in my program for 2 months yet has made a 20 years career out of it because he was actually up for it whereas I just miss the mark? He also says he never assists me because I seem like I don't need help/like I'm doing fine. I ask him how that can be the case if every time he comes to speak to me it's to tell me that I miss the mark and I/what I'm doing are not good enough, like he had just said a good 45 seconds ago, and he gets even more hostile?

In 2010, I was facing felony charges for distribution of drugs. I was a drug addict. Hook line and sinker. But never admitted that to myself. My drug of choice? Anything I could get my hands on. Cocaine, ecstasy, weed, Xanax, Oxycontin, ciggys, alcohol, ativan, seroquil, spice, mushrooms.. You name it.
Desperately wanting to avoid prison time, I did whatever I could to turn my life around. The potential pain in carrying on was too great to tolerate. This was my rock bottom.
I enrolled in college, started working out every day, got rid of any "friends" that wanted to continue that lifestyle.
And quitting my daily drug use?
It wasn't a factor. I was too scared. I was willing to do anything to escape my prison sentence so I dropped them all without looking back. I was lucky. Lucky I had hit rock bottom. Lucky that everything collapsed around me. I needed a push and this was it.
Apparently the judge saw that I was making real change and I was able to avoid prison. I was slapped with a couple of felonies, fines, and drug and rehab classes.
Having felonies on my record was hard. I couldn't get a decent job. Even Walmart was excited to hire me, but then rejected me because of my record. I knew that I had turned a new leaf. I just needed someone to see that I was changed now.
Luckily, I found a family that needed help with their special needs kid.
I worked for them for long enough to get my felonies reduced and expunged off my record.
When hard drugs turn into soft drugs.
I thought I was "drug free" because I had stopped all illegal drugs. But soon I found myself consuming copious amounts of caffeine in order to lose weight and get "Jacked". You see, I found a passion for natural bodybuilding and Jiu-Jitsu around 2011.
I consumed endless content on how to lose body fat so I could finally get a six pack. A lot of YouTubers at the time were promoting pre-workouts like Jack3d. Which also had another stimulant called 1,3 dimethylamylamine - or DMAA. Which was banned after it had become known to be problematic.
So there I was, taking Jack3d, working out, and trying to figure out how to get a six pack. I hired the same coaches that my favorite YouTuber Matt Ogus had. 3DMuscleJourney. I got very serious with Diet and training.
When I started with 3DMuscleJourney in 2012, I had been working out for a solid year. I had gotten down to 195lbs from 215. Not a huge difference. And I had put on a good amount of Muscle in that time.
3DMuscleJourney taught me and guided me on how to train effectively while dieting and how to diet efficiently by tracking macros. But my preworkout and caffeine use had spiked up 1,500mg a day. I used caffeine as a substitute for food. After 12 weeks, I was down to 160lbs.
I was fit by any person's definition. My new found glory would soon collapse as my caffeine and DMAA use caught up to me. I started having bad shoulder pain, my joints were achy and cracky, popping every time I moved. I started stretching and doing mobility exercises but the pain in my body only got worse. I was unable to sleep. I would have fits of rage followed by lows of doubt and depression.
Then, I broke. I was no longer able to exercise because of the pain. I started eating more to see if it would help my joints. I quickly gained 30lbs. Probably within only a few weeks. I ended my coaching and started to slip back towards the abyss
That's when I figured out that caffeine and DMAA were both a huge problem.
I had been consuming caffeine my whole life. But never thought twice about it. It was a legal substance that a kid could go buy in a vending machine. How bad could it be? Broken, I decided to quit.
I was quickly able to cut out DMAA. But every attempt at quitting caffeine left me in so much pain that I would quickly rationalize going back to it. I never made it past two weeks.
Why was this harder than quitting all of those harder drugs?
I guess decades of using a softer drug still carves out some pretty steep ravines in your reward pathway. Caffeine was my last vice. Or so I thought..
I read the book "Caffeine Blues". This book explained that caffeine is not healthy in any way. It is a stimulant that causes your body to break down over time just like any drug. The book outlined some of the negatives associated with caffeine.

• Poor sleep, even if you didn't consume caffeine close to bedtime
• Joint pain from increased muscle tension.
• Poor vitamin and mineral absorption.
• Energy crashes and mood swings.
• Irritability.
• Psychosis.
• Masking negatives of caffeine with drugs and alcohol.

The list goes on. This was crazy. The book recommended tapering off of caffeine. While I was able to wean down to 300-600 most days. I couldn't get myself to fully commit. I started to look for some help.
Maybe I needed something to give me energy and focus while I quit?
I started to look at "Nootropics" to help me focus. I tried a large variety of them.

• Noopept
• Modafinil
• Piracetam
• Aniracetam
• L-Theanine
• Phenibu
• Kratom
• Nicotine
• A large variety of other supplements.

Non of this helped me quit caffeine. I soon realized that these legal "Performance enhancers" were just drugs. With their own highs and lows. And negative effects over time. I ended up quitting all of this after a year.
It was back to the drawing board.
Around the end of 2015, I ended up doing a 3 month or so long caffeine taper. Using caffeine powder and a mg scale I bought off Amazon. The plan was slow and steady. 1-2mg per day. I didn't want to notice my caffeine levels were dropping. After about a month under 25mg, I started feeling great.
My joints felt great, Arizona heat was more comfortable, I craved healthy food and exercise, I slept like a baby, the list goes on. I had raised my testosterone levels from 320ng/dL to 575ng/dL.
But then, just as I finally let go of caffeine. There was a surprise. A curve ball that would change my life forever.
The boy who lived...
My first child was to be born. The 24 hours in the hospital was an introduction to the lack of sleep I would face over the next few years. I caved..
One or two cups of coffee later, my son was born, and a new cycle of baby wake me up > being tired > caffeine to get me through the day > poor quality sleep > baby wake me up had begun.
I got got even more dependent on caffeine. I could no longer just take a nap whenever I wanted. I was a mess. Feeling like shit, with high stress, I also started drinking alcohol and smoking weed again. My testosterone levels plummeted down to 275ng/dL.
Great move dad..
I wanted to get healthy again. I started reading books about health, nutrition, meditation, etc. I wanted to attack this problem from multiple angles. I started eating a plant-based diet, meditating, exercising, taking ice baths, etc. I quit alcohol and weed again. Tapering my caffeine down below 100mg again.
I was starting to feel better. Even got my testosterone levels all the way up to 575ng/D
The girl who lived..
Sorry about the Harry Potter references...
Just when I thought it was over, another curve ball to my health goals. Something that would start the lack of sleep cycle all over again.
You guessed it.. another child! This time, there was a baby girl in my house. This new baby came with new challenges. Our daughter was born with cataracts. She had to have surgery at around 3 months old to get them removed. So not only did we have to deal with the lack of sleep stress again, and boy did she excel in that area, we had to deal with putting contacts in a baby...
Imagine a grown man squeezing their fist closed. And you have to delicately open up their fist, and place a sticky note on their palm without bending the paper. And the grown man is also having a seizure at the same time. Also, you haven't slept a quality night of sleep for weeks.
Needless to say, but I'm going to say it, our stress levels shot through the roof. We had new worries and fears about our daughter's condition and the caffeine cycle ramped back up again. All while trying to focus on my new career in IT and raising our other child.
Testosterone Replacement Therapy
I think sometime early 2023, a friend told me he was on Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). I knew my low test levels were due to stress, caffeine use, lack of sleep, belly fat, poor eating habits, etc. But I was desperate for some edge that would help me finally quit caffeine and get healthy again.
I thought, if I can use Testosterone to help me get healthy, then I can get off of it later and not suffer any consequences.
Boy was I wrong
TRT did give me more drive and gusto to get stuff done. It also made me work harder than my body wanted. I started getting more back pain from harder weightlifting session, I actually started doing more caffeine, and even weed again. I was like 6 years clean from weed at this point.
This made me over confident. Like I could handle anything, which led to poor decisions. I felt like a horny teenager and it made it hard to focus. I started masturbating furiously..
After 4 months stabbing myself in the ass, and draining my life essence, I decided to quit TRT cold turkey. I knew this wasn't what I needed.
Withdrawals from TRT were bearable. I had waves of depression, lack of energy, etc. But I got through it. I'll probably get my levels tested again soon. As I write this, I have been off of TRT for 12 months now.
I leaned more heavily on caffeine while I was coming off of TRT. My current levels are around 400mg per day. But tapering off is my primary focus. Or maybe I should try cold turkey again? Not sure how I can afford to be a useless zombie for weeks while I have a full time job and 2 kids to look after.
"Semen retention" and NoFap
For years, I had made half ass attempts at doing No Fap and quitting porn. The benefits claimed by people who have tried it are:

• Increased energy
• Vigor
• Willpower
• Can function on less sleep
• Increased confidenc
• Better focus and concentration
• Muscle growth
• Increased Libido

I started to read some books about the topic. This big two were "Your Brain on Porn" and "Cupid's Poisoned Arrow". These books took a more Science-based approach. There were also a couple books that were a little off tilt such as "Bliss of the Celibate" and "Why You Should Never Masturbate". These books included a lot of hokey about chakras and religion.
I never made it passed two weeks.
After TRT, I decided to give it a real go. NoFap/ Semen retention felt like my final try at getting an "edge". I lasted over a month. Just around the 3 week mark, I had felt the same benefits of TRT without all of the negatives. I also learned, that you have to be all in.
Any sexual thoughts had to be banished. Just think of something else. If you entertain lust at all, you will fail. Stay off social media where you may run into soft porn, which can start the spiral that leads you to porn, etc.
I was able to control my caffeine intake finally, my sleep was better, my wife was more attracted to me, I was more patient with the kids. I finally found the answer.
But then, I relapsed. And lost sight of the benefits. I had forgotten.
Slowly everything started slipping again. With small nofap stints here and there never lasting more than two weeks.
As I write this, I am realizing that caffeine was never my problem. It was a symptom of something else. I am currently on day 6 of retention and have made it my number one priority again. I need to remember this. I need my edge back.
The journey continues..
Life is full of ups and downs. And decisions you make (good or bad) compound over time. I know all of the positive effort, and commitment to personal development has paid off over time. Even though it may have been slower than I had hoped.
This story leaves out a lot. But I'd love to have a conversation with anyone who has had similar struggles. I have been going at this alone. I can only imagine how much more growth there can be surrounding yourself with like-minded individual
Ta Ta for Now.

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This is real I swear to God seeing it on adult swim. It's the only place that would air such a strange thing. But can't for the love of me find it. It haunted me, even into my adult life.
It's almost like mimicking a childrens skit show, . Theres a segment where they showed various images, and these images got either a positive bell, accompanied by a noise of kids cheering, or a negative buzzer and a noise of a bunch of kids booing. Like a yay/nay thing. Would show delicious apple pie, - positive bell- sound of kids going "yay!!!!!! " It then showed footage of the inside of a dilapidated apartment, someone opens the fridge ( i feel like they were in a bathrobe) and a body falls out- bad buzzer, and kids going. "Boooo!!!" The footage was jarring and I remember genuinely wondering if it was like somehow real. (The body coming out the fridge)It was kind of dated looking and of a poor resolution. Like they had gotten it from somewhere, probably a movie, maybe like a faces of death type movie w pseudo- real footage.
Last part I remember clearly, it was the next part of the skit show. And it's these Alabama hick people. Like maybe it was a parody of YeeHaw, that old country show that was so popular. It was like 5 or 6 people sitting on a shitty constructed set of a hillbilly environment like a wooden horse, hay, a barn maybe, etc. A couple were girls, in overalls and hillbilly attire, joking about killing and eating their babies. Among other things. And I remember most this disgusting little cartoon it played over the hillbilly footage. They would say something amusing like a punchline and it would play like the chime you would hear on a slot machine would play and a little animation would roll out of a donkey walking out to mid screen. It would then turn its back to you so could see its rear, extend its tail to its mouth, then defecate little pinballs, using its tail as a ramp to its mouth, to like eat its own waste. Every time a ball hit its mouth it played like another victory bell sound of a slot machine. Was disgusting.
Whole tjing was bizzare. Quite memorable. Very unsettling. Has stuck with me for almost two decades. I tried to keep it short. I had a dream about it last night and felt compelled to try to finally find it.
I know this sounds absurd but I promise this is real. I am almost positive it was on adult swim way back around 2010. Thank you for your time. I'm using the adult swim programming list on Wikipedia to also try to help find it.

Apologies for this one being so late; Been sick for the last week or so, and the friday i was meant to post this, I think from memory I was busy :/ But I'm starting to get back into the swing of things, and the Glossary Addendum has also had a bit of an overhaul :D I'll be applying that tonight as well, to each of the currently released chapters.
[First] [Glossary Addendum] [Previous]
[From the Abyss Artisanry, Wolfreach Commercial District, Halsion Reach Region, Haldios IV, 12th of Emheraldis, 5011 TE]
[Boltz] The door chimed, though it sounded... Off today, and I sighed. I'd have to replace the old beeper with something else now that it had broken. As I walked towards the counter, I heard Chit's voice from around the corner as she said,
"I'll be right with you!" I frowned, noticing the strain in her voice. I stepped around the counter and poked my head around the corner, and then immediately rushed to help. She was trying to move a Draekkan mace, and causing gouges in the floor as she dragged the heavy weapon.
"Seriously? Leave Draekkan weapons to me, beloved." I said, and Chit nodded as I lifted the massive, spiked club-like weapon. Made of Luunic steel, the metal was cool against my hand as I cautiously hefted it, a dark blue color akin to the Lunwatch sky on a clear night with few stars. I slowly walked over to the storage racks, and hung the mace on a pair of large hooks. Then I turned back to my lover, and looked her up and down for injuries.
Finding none, I shook my head with another sigh. "Well at least you didn't hurt yourself on it." I said, stepping up to her and wrapping my arms around her lower back. I pulled her cool body towards mine, and she happily melted into my embrace. Chuckling, I planted a kiss on her hair, and gently ran a finger down one of her drit'onthke. Her entire body shivered and she giggled, before wrapping her arms around me and giving me a tight hug.
"So what's on the list for today?" I asked, resting my cheek on her head.
"Just a few armour sets which need some minor repairs, thankfully." Chit replied. I nodded, and then the beeper went off, indicating a customer.
"Solahra's Light, what an awful noise to greet a customer with!" A deep, male-sounding canine voice rumbled from out in the customer area. We reluctantly pulled apart and both went out to see what he needed.

As Chit rounded the corner, she automatically greeted the customer by saying,
"Welcome to From the Abyss Artisanry, how can we help today?" But as I stepped around after her, I froze. The canine man was holding a box filled with shattered pieces of art, it looked like. I stepped closer and realised that they weren't shattered pieces of art, at least not in the traditional sense. Rather, they were the parts of what was formerly a weapon. I felt my eyes widen as I realised what it was. I looked at the canine man, and realised he was a Labardon. I looked back at the pieces of plasma caster, which appeared to, on closer inspection, actually have catastrophically failed at a structural level upon attempting to fire a shot.
"I went to the Lunhaekin blacksmith over in Aellandendil, cos they said that fishing my ancestral plasma caster would be an exceedingly simple affair. Instead, the next time I went to fire it, the blasted thing fell apart in my hands!" The man growled, and then asked,
"How bad is it... Is... Is there any way to restore it?" His eyes went wide as if to wordlessly plead with me, and I gestured for him to give me the box of parts. He hesitantly handed the box over and I gently placed it on the counter before pulling out one of the furcloth rolls underneath and unravelling it. Then, one by one, I pulled out each of the pieces, and with each new item, my heart sank.

This would not be a simple fix of just re-assembling the pieces. I let out a heavy sigh, and, leaning on the counter, covered my mouth with the side of my hand while looking at the arrayed parts.
"This is... At this point you might as well just buy a new plasma caster." I said finally, still looking at the parts. I looked up at the man and said,
"If I reconstruct this, because that's what it will take, a full reconstruction, it WILL cost more than buying a new caster." I looked down at the parts again, and swore under my breath.
"The focusing plate has been shattered, and those things are near indestructible when carved right, the prism chamber is cracked, so that's no good any more, and the magnetic acceleration rings..." I trailed off, and swallowed before looking up at the man.
"They're not rings any more..." I whispered, and the man's face seemed to break.
"Is there anything we can salvage of the original parts?" He asked, his voice shaky. I looked down at the parts, and realised that there was just one piece that was fully intact. With a mirthless chuckle, I picked it up.
"The plasma compression chamber. That's it." I laid the small metallic chamber down again, and sighed.
"The rest is just... Junk. Scrap even." I shook my head, running the numbers in my head. When I finished, I swore again, and dropped the bombshell.
"You're looking at around fifty thousand in parts alone." I said, and the canine's shoulders slumped.
"If that's the price it takes..." He said.
"I will try and recover as much material as I can though; I might be able to melt down the mag rings for example and re-energise them."

[A Cycle Later...]
[Chit'eiwu]
The Labardon stepped into the store, a simple digital bell sounding, and he sighed, his tail wagging a little as he did so.
"Much better than last time!" He joked, and Jakob walked around the corner holding a box, grinning from ear to ear.
"Just in time, good sir!" He exclaimed. He set down the box, and the Labardon's gaze instantly honed in on it. Jakob laid a hand on the lid, and said,
"Behold, your restored heritage!" And with that, he lifted the lid like he was proposing to the customer, and the canine's eyes lit up, his tail suddenly zipping back and forth as though it were some kind of demented metronome. As he lifted the ancient weapon, my own eyes widened; It was truly a thing of beauty.

[Boltz]
I smiled as the Labardon man admired my handiwork, and in a voice that sounded like it was half pure air, he whispered,
"It's as beautiful as the day my sire first showed it to me..." My smile widened, and I said,
"I was able to salvage more than I thought, in the end. I managed to keep the primary focus cone; I simply had to melt and recast it due to a crack in it, the laser projector's crystal matrix casing also was salvageable, though I did have to replace the crystal matrix. So it now has a Kaurine crystal for providing the first round of focusing." The man froze, and his gaze flicked to me. His hands still raise, he asked,
"A Kaurine crystal? Genuine?" I nodded.
"Cut the crystal free from the rock myself." I replied. The man laid the plasma caster on the counter gently, though it rattled slightly from his shaking paws as he ceased to support it.
"My sire said that it originally had a Shell crystal as its matrix..." He said, voice trembling as much as his paws.
"They are great crystals for energy conduction as well as for energy focusing. It took a bit to set the frequency for the right channels though." He nodded, and shakily handed over his Orionpay card. I handed it to Chit'eiwu, right as he asked,
"So how much was it all up?" I grinned and replied,
"An even fifty five thousand." He blinked, and asked,
"But... the crystal... Surely that alone would be a few hundred thousand!" I shook my head, and replied,
"It's not a Blade. And it doesn't need to be anywhere near as big. Only came to around three thousand." He nodded, and Chit'eiwu input the numbers and scanned the card. The system registered a successful transaction, and she handed the man back his card.
"Thank you for choosing From the Abyss Artisanry!" I said, and he nodded, his eyes turning shiny with unshed tears.
"No, thank you. All of my friends will be hearing about this, and you will be my first stop for anything artisanal." I nodded to him, and he left, carefully cradling the restored plasma caster in its box. Looking over to the clock, I noticed that it was indicating less than an hour before Lunrise. I jerked my head towards Chit'eiwu and asked,
"Think we should close up the shop early, or wait until Soldown before we stop operating?" She looked up at the clock as well, then back to me, and shook her head.
"No, I think we can afford to close early this evening." I nodded, and pressed the button to activate the end of Watch sign system, and a moment later, a holosign in the window came to life and began a 10 minute countdown.

We always did the countdown so that prospective customers knew how long they had to enter to the store before we stopped taking new customers prior to closing down for the Lunwatch. As usually happened however, the sign completed its countdown and flicked to the "Closed" display, and I pressed a second button to lock the door remotely, and arm the security system. As I did so, Chit'eiwu walked into the apartment, and soon after, I heard the sound of her cooking. I smiled, knowing that she was bound to make an incredible dinner as per usual, and let out a contented sigh as the system went through the arming process. Life with her was... Good. Not necessarily great by any stretch of the imagination; Most of our days were spent working after all. But it was at least a good life. A life I was more than happy to lead.

When the system indicated full armed status some minutes later, I followed my aquatic lover into our home behind and above the shop, and arrived just in time for her to serve up dinner. As I sat down, a stupid grin spread across my face as I beheld what she had cooked up. On the plate was a kind of "nest" made of purple coloured strands of pasta, and topped off with a green-sauced mince of some kind. I looked up at my lover, who was watching me expectantly. My grin refusing to go away, I obliged her apparent intent, and used a fork to collect some mince with sauce, and some of the pasta.

As the food reached my mouth, it was like an explosion of flavours; An earthy, slightly spicy flavour issued forth from the sauce, and the mince tasted somewhat like yuron, a kind of cattle animal from Zehllukarn Prime, and it was followed up by a surprisingly sweet flavour from the pasta as it rotated around in my mouth as I chewed. Swallowing, I said,
"This is incredible! I can't even properly describe it; it's... It's like an explosion of all different flavours coming together in my mouth!" Chit's face turned a fierce azure, and my grin widened. The grin morphing into a smirk, I added,
"You're definitely getting rewarded this Lunwatch, beloved."

[A Few Hours Later...]

[Boltz]

As Chit'eiwu walked into the bedroom we shared upstairs, I put the dishes from our dinner into the automatic dishwasher, and followed her up. As I reached the laundry room, I stripped off my clothes from the Solwatch, and tossed them expertly into the laundry, each garment hitting the wall and bouncing off slightly to fall into the clothes basket waiting below, before walking into the bedroom entirely unclad. Chit'eiwu was laying in the bed, the blanket covering her amethyst body from view, and in such a way that I knew that she too had put her clothes in the laundry. I walked around the bed, and pulled down the blanket to get in beside her, and after that, things turn rather hazy for a little while.

[A Week Later...]

[Chit'Eiwu]
Jakob and I stepped off of the transport, hand-in-grasper, him looking absolutely divine in a glacial blue suit with silver trimmings, seeming to be a walking ice sculpture. Complimenting him, I opted for a taste of my birthplace; Trimmed with onyx hems, I was wearing a deep, abyssal purple dress, showing off my relatively lighter purple skin, becoming a shadow of the Abyss to act as the dark counterpart to my Warrior of the Overwaves. I looked towards him as we stepped inside the Fortress of Kaur'Ainda together for the first time since I was Ascended by both him and Cewa together.
He looked back at me, smiled and squeezed my hand reassuringly, before saying over our rarely-used connection,
There's no need to be nervous; It's just a Greenmarch Feast, my Siren. As I did every time he called me that, I giggled; At first I had been confused by him calling me an alarm sound, until he showed me one of the few surviving Terran records from... Wherever it was that they came from. Terran, or at the time, Human, women of extraordinary beauty, totally uncovered, and singing some kind of song that lured male sailors to their deaths.
Then he had sent me an image of how he viewed me; My plain purple skin instead appeared almost... Luminous, and my average green eyes were glittering emerald gems. My hair, an equally unremarkable azure, was a brilliant blue that resembled the Azuresheet high above even the Overwaves, and in his mind's eye, my cheeks were flushed slightly blue. I had never considered myself to be attractive by any means; In the Abyss I would have struggled to find a mate...
But here in the Overwaves? I had been chosen by a Terran, that enigmatic, smooth-skinned, near-prey-like biped species who were renowned for absurd feats of strength and endurance. I was not as fragile as I seemed, even before my Ascension...
But Jakob seemed to realise that early on; The first time we lay together, an eye-rolling, mind-erasing experience, he showed such gentleness that it was hard to believe the stories... Until the very next day when I had struggled to move a shipment of materials that had come in, even barely raising it, and he had simply come in and told me to let it go, before seeming to effortlessly pick up the heavy box and carry it into the Forge, before placing it down and rapidly sorting the material inside for me. I had asked him about it, and his response was a mere shrug, and to say, It wasn't that heavy for me; Absolutely awkward, but not anything that will break my back.

In the present, we stepped into the Great Hall, and froze. It had been totally transformed, becoming a verdant green forest canopy under which wooden tables seemingly made from the trunks of trees, with seats formed from sections of log from great tree branches. Seiranha saw us enter, and rushed over to greet us.
"Boltz! Chit!" She exclaimed, and hugged us both in turn. It felt... Odd, to be given a hug by a Vampyris, but this particular one was a friend, and so I happily returned the hug, albeit reluctantly letting go of Jakob's hand to do so. We held the hug for a few eternal moments, before she let go and did the same to Jakob, who greeted her warmly.
"You look great!" Jakob said to the Vampyris warrior, and she blushed a deep golden color on her pale cream skin. It looked almost like golden Skyblaze rays were touching her cheeks as she giggled. But Jakob was right; She was garbed in a flowing set of obviously ceremonial armour which appeared to have been made by first weaving a suit of leaves, and then attaching segments of bark to the resulting garment. And combined with her silver-in-crimson eyes...
"You look sort of like a vengeful forest spirit in this armour, Master Seiranha!" I said, and the woman grinned.
"That's sort of the idea. Not many people remember that the spirits of the forests of all our worlds yet live... And for those who do not respect the forest's inhabitants, only death can be anticipated, or worse."

Over the course of what remained of the Solwatch, we enjoyed the Greenmarch Feast, and soon enough, it was time to scatter to our homes once again, to rest away the overindulgences of the Feast.

[Boltz]
As the transport landed at the Wolfreach starport, Chit and I walked down the ramp, though she was somewhat unsteady on her legs. Chuckling, I asked her,
"Would you like me to carry you home?" She looked at me, her face blazing sapphire, but through our connection, she, apparently not realising she was 'speaking', replied, I thought you'd never ask... My mighty Skybright, carrying me like an Inkle in his powerful arms... As the thought travelled over our connection the azure spread, and I shook my head with a grin. I really was the luckiest guy in the Reach to have landed such an exotic life partner. She happily stepped in closer to me, and I swept her off her feet, much to her almost drunken delight, and she let out a whoop of surprise.
However, as her intoxicated brain realised what had happened, she melted into my embrace, burbling away in my ear as though she had been returned to her youngest of Watches. I was all too happy to carry my lover home of course; The sound of her tripled heartbeat like a three-beat rhythm pulsed against my own heart, and her emerald gaze was transfixed on my face, the look in those beautiful green orbs one of utter and complete adoration.

After around 10 minutes, we reached the shop, and I swiped my wristcomm over the new sensor, first up-down, then right-left. The two-part verification proved my identity, and the door swung open automatically, a recent addition I had also made. As we cleared the door, I swept my foot around and behind me to close the door again, and carried Chit to the bedroom in our apartment, before laying her gently down on the bed, and saying,
"Unfortunately, I've gotta take that incredible dress off you or it will be ruined in your sleep." Chit vaguely nodded, and I helped her stand back up. Having done this routine together before, she laid her arms on my shoulders for added balancing support, and I bent down to grab the bottom of the dress, before slowly pulling it up to her chest. Feeling the garment fully above her hips, Chit carefully sat down on the bed, and I carefully pulled the dress up and over her head, then down her arms.

Turning around, I draped the dress across a nearby dresser, smoothing out any wrinkles in it, and then returned my attention to my lover, who was now completely undressed. Once again taking up the role of caregiver, I wrapped an arm around her and scooped her up once more before laying her on the bed sideways, where she let out a small gasp as the cold fabric touched her bare skin. I gave her a reassuring smile and said,
"I'll have you nice and warm soon enough, Heartstreasure." And with that, I stripped off my own suit, carefully draping it over a chair, and then pulled off the underwear I had worn for the Feast, and climbed under the covers beside Chit. Upon feeling me enter the bed, she shifted over, hissing a bit as she moved off the warmed area, and melted her body against my own. As she settled into a comfortable position, one of her legs across mine, she said through repeated yawns,
"May... May you swim... With the... Blessing of... Of Drynedaea... My.... Sky-Warrior..." Chuckling as I wrapped an arm around her back, I kissed her gently on the forehead and over our connection, replied,
"May Luunah Guard your Dreams, Heartstreasure of the Depths." And with that, as if it were a cue, Chit's breathing shifted to become deep and regular, and the sound along with the rising and falling of her amethyst chest against my skin sung its own siren song, dragging me down into...
[Next: To Tread the Shaded Path]

Thank you for ANY advice. I'll explain my friendship with him !
Current situation We worked shifts together in a restaurant daily until this month now its 3 times a week since february.
I (18nb) have gone clubbing with him (19m), and other friends I've made in the course as a group in April.
Before then, we chatted a bit and got along. He's an amazing talker, I'm a very quiet and anxious person. So I wasn't overly outgoing much with anyone outside of our shifts when I was in 'survival work mode' I feel? I did compliment some 'embarassing' talents he had (tap-dancing!!) bc I immediately was stunned and thought it was amazing and SO cool. He was almost embarassed and just said "You're the only person I've met that was impressed by that"
But after clubbing, where I get a few drinks whoosh anxiety gone? we chatted as a group all night. We sung together and danced briefly, when I got a little tipsy he held out his hand in offer to keep me steady. So I ended up holding his hand and just resting my head on his shoulder as we stood watching the drag queens.
He's so respectful, since I am usually touch averse and he noticed this when we first met and just avoided touching me. But when we were out clubbing it was so fun, we were laughing and sung together so much on our own. After that night, we got along a LOT.
When we are working shifts we talk, wave or smile as we go through. If we have a moment of down time he's being mean-nice as we banter. Like, he'll try and splash me with water when we are cleaning up in back of house. But also fuss over tying my hair back with an elastic band bc it's gonna hurt to pull off, and hovering hands as he's almost wanting to undo my ponytail for me.
He skipped his earlier bus to walk with me after he saw me outside our place of study when it was raining. He held an umbrella while we walked, I bought us both cans of soda. He was being silly with it as we walked and I was doing that ugly snort laugh. We shared facts bc we r both nerds, he uncovered me from the rain for a solid minute waiting for me to notice my hair getting wet as I was gushing abt my interests bc he's just so aaa.
I walked him to his bus stop. He jokingly said this was a great first date, I mimicked his tone and agreed it was a great half hour date. He gave me his umbrella.
Today, I skipped my bus without saying anything about how I had to watch 2hrs for my next bus bc I wanted to spent 20 more minutes with him on our break. We talked about movies at some point and he said "we need to watch the Toby McGuire ones"
My brain went blank and I just laughed and agreed. he's said 'we' before and I don't know how I can tell if he's just saying things bc his tone is always jokingly. I'm worried if I bring it up like hey would you actually want to- it'd be so obvious or just, yknow? I don't know how to do any of this. he's really friendly with everyone and I'm so awkward and I'm talking a LOT more around him and I'm stressed over him maybe only liking me when I was quieter.

I'm 29, she is 42. And she is really attractive woman.
She is not married but is in a relationship (heard some people say that is maybe even open type, but that's only talk)
Now, here is the thing. This woman tends to be touchy while talking to me, kinda gets close when we are sitting next to each other and when I show her something on my phone, she will completely lean on to me, she laughs at like every single of my jokes, few times, she even fixed my hair with her hand.
There was a work party like a month ago, couple of us decided to continue party to a bar and there were 4 cars going there, she decided to go with me. Even though she could've gone with a coworker she shares her office with everyday. Other people went alone, each with their own car and she went with me. I didn't want to try anything due to awkward moments it will create if I read it wrong.
Also, few days after that, other coworker commented how she went with me and how I maybe thought I will get lucky. She was also there but we both just laughed it off.
Now I don't know what to do. How and should I even try something? How can I be sure if she only likes me as a nice guy/coworker or she is really interested into having something with me?
TLDR: Don't know if my coworker is flirty or not?

TLDR: BOYS ARE SO FUCKING AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
repost cuzz the bot got me first time around
I'm kinda made uncomfortable by the thought of being seen as a girl.
In the past 2 years, I'd say, I've developed rapidly as a person. With that came a lot of euphoric realizations about male beauty. So it's weird for me going on these subs, hoping to engage with femboy communities to discuss boy centric beauty (be it cis or trans boys) only to find and endless wall of female idolization (cuzz that's definitely what it is).
It's gay spaces all over again, for me.
'I wanna be cute like a girl', 'I'll never be pretty enough', 'how to sound like a girl', to 'secretly a boy' or 'si$$y' and certain (neverending) jokes about female reproduction (you know what I'm talking about) and all the works. I'm of course talking about admitted cis guys sharing these sentiments not 🥚s. Almost all of the ways in which we talk about ourselves center's girls/woman or negative stereotypes and not us(the beautiful people being discussed). Styles and discussions in communities can get so repetitive and restrictive when all you try to do is compare to or emulate girls/woman.
You can be cute AS a boy. Traditionally 'female' AND 'male' styles could be explored with boyishly beautiful twists, but everyone's focused on pushing the limit in comparing ourselves to women. Those not comfortable with doing so or feel as if they don't meet the measure of femininity don't try as a result and don't engage with femboy communities.
I think the issue is upbringing in a patriarchal, heteronormative world that doesn't allow us to openly exist or internally separate femininity from girlhood/womanhood (luckily I've done this for myself). So a lot of spaces just don't feel right anymore. Being a boy shouldn't have to feel like a bad thing or a dirty little secret. I wanna be appreciated as a boy, you know? For me femininity IS apart of boyhood💖!

I could type a simple message saying that I'd like to find a genuine female platonic best friend for life that feels like family, but it's more detailed than that. I just prefer to be transparent and detailed about a lot of things up front so there's minimal confusion and/or misunderstanding. So here we go.
About Me: - 47 years of age - black male - heterosexual - married with toddlers - USA / North Florida - introvert (INFJ-A for those into MB) - ex-Christian, agnostic / atheist - day job (Multimedia Developer) - ambitious entrepreneur (a builder) - neurodivergent - self-aware - reserved and level headed - silly, sarcastic, and corny - genuine, authentic, and an empath - very selective about the people in my life - very loyal to those I esteem a real friend - kind of a nerd/techie about filmmaking, music, new technology, crypto, AI, etc. - somewhat frugal and budget oriented
Interests & Hobbies: - filmmaking, composing music, animating, voice overs, photography, web development - bowling - billiards - game nights (card games, Jenga, Taboo, etc.) - movie nights (theater or binging at home) - sci-fi, thrillers, dystopian, comedy, horror, cartoons, superhero, space documentaries, action, adventure - chilling at the beach - even though I'm kind of a homebody, I enjoy walking and jogging - small road trips or cultural travel with a small group - trying new restaurants out - retro video games
Not Into: - not into smoking, vaping, 420, drinking, drugs - i have no tattoos or body piercings - never been the party type - not into big and overcrowded social events - not a dancer - not a huge risk taker
Lacking: - close friendships/family for in-person support and community
Needs: - someone that can genuinely understand/relate to the hardships of being an ex-Christian turned atheist - someone who can handle a deep level of openness (listening and sharing) without being judgmental and jumping to conclusions about things - someone who genuinely desires a close family like bond and is willing to put the time and effort into building it - someone that's not a smoker, drinker, and not into drugs and 420 products (I've spent too much time trying to fit in with people that smoke, drink, and do 420. I'm tired of making "I'll be the designated driver" jokes. I just need someone who's not into those things either.) - please be comfortable with my age if you are 15+ years younger. As I look maybe 10 years younger than my age and may be more open minded than many people my age, big age gaps can pose relatability issues. Just be mindful
As I'm open to platonic online friendships/family, I know I won't do as well with them long-term since I'm really hoping to make some long-term in-person friendships/family connections which would include meeting and hanging out in real life. Again, just being up front and transparent.
But with that being said, I haven't found anyone in my area that I feel connected to. So it only makes sense to consider people from anywhere. But the chemistry has to be there. But if anything is going to last, we'd have to figure a way to connect in person.
Also, I don't care about your orientation, if you are married, single, have children, are poly, or whatever. I'm just looking for someone I can connect with that feels like family.
Anyway, I always feel like I can't articulate what I'm looking for properly, but if this post piqued your interest and you feel you might be someone I'd like to connect with, send me a message.

A few days ago I tried to buy 1500 gold. The money was taken from my account but I never got the gold. I reported it and was told it was a Google issue and if I wanted a refund I'd have to talk to them.
I'm not going to give an exact amount but I have spent a SERIOUS amount of money on this game. No joke. A large amount. So I replied and told them to look at my purchase history to see how much I've spent & asked them to weigh $20 VS the amount I've spent & considering the fact that I have to be one of their top paying players wouldn't they rather just give me the 1500 gold instead of telling me it's not their problem? Wouldn't that be the kind of decision that would make a top spending player feel comfortable continuing to invest money.
They responded that it was Googles issue & they deal with all issues the same regardless of how much a player spends. Then the cut the link so I couldn't reply.
I didn't even ask for cash. I just wanted my 1500 gold and they told me they don't give a fuck what you spent go fuck yourself
I want to keep playing but after that I just can't anymore.
Fuck these guys. That was truly fucked up

Background: 40M, grew up in a home with not a lot of money but enough to get by so investment etc just hasn't been a discussion point or hammered into me and I'm not as financially aware as I should be. I've had a good job (self employed) but not paid a huge amount into a pension. New staff job pays a healthy amount in so hoping to catch up.
I've buried my head in the sand about stuff a little as I'm in a good position I think but experience growing up means I worry I'll get it wrong and lose it. To illustrate how bad I am saving are mostly sat in a current account due to indecision.
Currently I have about £110k left on a mortgage.
Part way into a 2yr Fixed mortgage at 5%, so planing for when that ends.
Savings about to hit £100k in a few months due to a bit of good fortune and work.
Mentally I'm a bit stuck at the comfort blanket stage of there's money to pay the mortgage if I lose job etc. but becoming aware this isn't the right thing.
Should I pay it all off in one go with savings, saving me 40-50kish over remaining life of mortgage and then try to rebuild that savings (as I'll not have a mortgage and can usually save £1k a month on top) so I could build back up savings in 4 or 5 years.
I know I'm lucky to have good job but no clue what to do and feel I'm getting things wrong while doing a reasonably paid job that I hate.
The dream is to take half savings and try something completely different working for myself again but having a 2yr old is putting breaks on that.