[English below]
Ik post deze hier, omdat ik een HBO ga volgen in Eindhoven.
Ik ben in juli klaar met mijn MBO opleiding. Ik vind dat mijn ICT kennis op niveau is, maar omdat ik wel jong ben, weet ik niet of het waard is om HBO daar nog bovenop te doen. Ik vind dat als je werkt, dat je eigenlijk niemand nieuw leert kennen, maar ook heeft HBO meer vrijheid (neem ik aan, omdat je dan geen lessen hoeft te volgen). Hiernaast heb ik wel veel werkmogelijkheden, maar met een MBO diploma is dit echter alleen servicedesk.
Hiernaast heb ik ook een paar vragen voor mensen die de ICT opleiding volgen: Hoe is jullie ervaring (geweest) op het HBO?
Ik vraag me ook wel af hoe "vrij" het eigenlijk is, voornamelijk in het eerste schooljaar. Is er een verplichte aanwezigheid en hoeveel uur aan opdrachten heb je per week? Ik werk op dit moment bij de AH en ben niet van plan om te verlaten, maar als ik meer uren kan werken (omdat de collegegeld best veel is), wil ik dat doen.
Voor de rest als jullie een opmerking hebben over iets wat ik niet gezegd heb hier, ben ik altijd open om te lezen.
[English]
I'm posting this here because I will be attending HBO in Eindhoven.
I will finish my MBO education in July. I think my ICT knowledge is on level, but because I'm young, I don't know if it's worth doing HBO on top of that. I find that when you work, you don't actually get to know anyone new, but also HBO has more freedom (I assume, because you don't have to take classes). On top of this I do have a lot of work opportunities, but with an MBO degree this is only service desk though.
I also have a few questions for people following the ICT training:
How is (has been) your experience at HBO?
I also do wonder how “free” it actually is, especially in the first school year. Is there mandatory attendance and how many hours of assignments do you have per week? I currently work at the AH and don't plan to leave, but if I can work more hours (since the tuition is quite a lot), I want to.
For the rest if you guys have a comment on something I haven't said here, I'm always open to read.

Alors cette histoire elle s'est passé avant que je quitte mon collège qui était en Essonne, j'ai déménagé plusieurs fois entre-temps.
Cette histoire elle s'est passé quand j'étais en 5e. Maintenant actuellement je suis étudiante et je ne suis plus du tout près de l'Essonne.
À cette époque-là j'étais très petite et très fine, j'avais un groupe d'amis de 7 et c'était que des filles qu'on se connaissait depuis que j'avais emménagé en Essonne en fin CP. Et puis aussi deux trois garçons que je connaissais depuis la primaire et qui était assez cool parce qu'ils étaient les potes de mon frère.
Bref, comme j'étais dans aucune des classes de mes amies se qui arrive. On se retrouve que pendant la récré, donc comme vous l'avez compris pendant les cours j'étais à côté de personne que je ne connaissais pas (de plus je souffrais déjà d'anxiété sociale du coup j'arrive pas à me faire d'autres potes). Il y a un jeune homme qui était un surdoué je me rappelle qu'il avait sauté une à deux classes et il était un peu dans son monde. J'ai rien contre ça, moi aussi j'aime bien être dans ma bulle mais lui il allait très loin dedans jusqu'à devenir violent avec des gens.
Hasard et malheur pour moi nos nom de famille se suivait, et beaucoup de prof par le plan de classe nous mettez à côté. Et même pour ma deuxième langue on avait malheureusement la même et on était encore à côté.
Je tiens à préciser que je ne parlais pas beaucoup parce que je voyais qu'il ne voulait pas qu'on lui parle. Un jour en sortant des cours j'ai retrouvé mon petit groupe d'amis de 7 et on avait décidé de se poser ensemble pour parler des potins et comme on finissez tôt c'était un moment où on pouvait aller dans notre petit endroit, c'était une sorte d'arbre où on adoré grimper qui était un peu caché par la faune et la flore qui était en face du collège et à côté du centre aéré.
J'ai une de mes amies qui a parlé du mec qui était à côté de moi que je terrain le nom. En disant qu'il avait déjà menacé des gens de ramener un couteau et de les égorger comme des canards. Même si maintenant avec le recul je regrette de pas y avoir pensé tout de suite, je me suis dit que les propos peuvent être très vite déformées et amplifiés.
En plus il n'avait pas beaucoup d'amis et comme il était plus jeune que nous, et que beaucoup de personnes étaient malveillantes envers lui, pour dire j'ai dû intervenir deux ou trois fois parce que je ne veux pas deharcèlement.
Moi-même m'étant fais harceler toute ma primaire jusqu'à ma 6e ma 5e c'était la seul de mes années scolaires avant bac où je me suis pas fait harceler. (Tout le long de mon parcours jusqu'au bac je suis retombée dans dollars seulement après avoir déménagé.
Bref du coup les seules fois où on a eu des interactions la plupart du temps c'était moi qui le défendais ou alors quand on devait se partager un cahier en classe pour des exercices. Ou alors pour des travaille de groupe mais ça se faisait beaucoup moins et comme j'avais des aménagements la plupart du temps les profs préférés faire des exercices pour moi et me mettre de côté.
Bref, du coup cette amie qui s'appelait Nawel m'en avait parlé et je n'y avais pas vraiment pris attention. J'avais aussi dit qu'il se faisait harceler j'en avais déjà parlé au surveillant et à la CPE mais ils avaient toujours rien fait ça m'énerve plus qu'autre chose.
L'histoire c'était un peu tassé jusqu'à avril, en fin avril c'est une fille qui est arrivé totalement affolée et en pleurs devant un groupe d'amis en sortant des toilettes en disant que sur le chemin des toilettes elle l'avait entendu dire qu'il allait tuer des profs.
Moi pour le coup ça m'a juste fait flipper, parce que je voyais qu'elle ne mentait pas elle était vraiment paniquée et elle avait peur. Et le regard de peur, malheureusement à force de vivre des choses qui sont pas très cool j'ai réussi à les décrypter très jeune.
Je suis allé le dire a la directrice, parce que la CPE ne m'aimez pas et je savais qu'elle allait rien faire. Alors que la directrice m'avait déjà pris avec la directrice adjointe dans leur bureau pour parler de mes problèmes il connaissait ma mère et il savait que je n'aimais pas mentir c'était un truc que je déteste. Encore aujourd'hui le mensonge je ne peux pas encadrer ça.
La directrice m'a pris très vite au sérieux quand j'ai dit le nom de élèves, comme si elle savait déjà qu'il avait eu un problème dans le passé ou un truc du genre.
Les trois jours suivants je ne suis pas allé au collège, parce que j'avais des rendez-vous pour parfaire mon dossier pour pouvoir avoir des aménagements pour le brevet.
Pour ce qui ne savent pas un dossier d'aménagement peut prendre très longtemps surtout quand c'est des trucs bien spécifiques comme l'ergothérapeute, ou l'orthophoniste, psychiatre et tout et tout.
Bref, ce jeune homme quand je suis retourné en classe était plus à côté de moi ni même en classe. Ce fut à la fin de la semaine qu'on s'est retrouvés avec toutes mes amies à notre petite planque, et là j'ai entendu un truc qui m'a glacé le sang.
Pendant les 3 jours où j'étais pas là il y a une intervention d'un professeur, et de la CPE de l'époque, parce que dans son sac et dans son casier ils avaient retrouvé plusieurs couteaux dont un grand couteau de cuisine. À ce qu'il paraît, il avait montré un couteau à un élève et cet élève est allé voir un professeur.
Par conséquent il n'était pas revenu en cours parce qu'il était resté dans le bureau de la CPE le temps que des policiers arrivent. Il l'aurait pris avec eux en appellent ses parents parce que c'était grave ce qu'il avait fait. Il n'a blessé personne avec ses couteaux heureusement, malheureusement je ne sais pas vraiment ce qu'il voulait faire. Enfin du coup on soupçonnait qui voulait attaquer un professeur.
Moi j'ai le sang glacé parce que depuis le début d'année j'étais à côté de lui à tous les cours on se parlait très peu mais bon c'est pas très grave mais il était sympa avec moi. Après peut-être c'est parce que je le défendais face aux gens qu'il harcelaient.
Bref, cette personne aujourd'hui je sais pas qu'est-ce qu'elle est devenue je sais pas du tout comment cette histoire s'est réglée mais le seul truc que je peux vous dire c'est que en tout cas il n'est plus revenu une seule fois en cours de la 5e. Moi j'ai déménagé et je n'ai plus aucune nouvelle de ce jeune homme.
La seule chose que je retiens de cette histoire c'est que j'étais à côté d'une personne qui avait des problèmes pour moi comportemental en plus de se faire harceler à cause de sa différence. Et je pense que son harcèlement a juste enfoncé le clou parce qu'il a vu que les profs ne le défendent pas et que la seule personne qui le défendait était une personne plus petite que lui et beaucoup plus fine. (Il était certes plus jeune mais j'étais beaucoup plus petite que lui et plus fine)
Dans la même année j'ai vécu des trucs pas cool du tout dont une que j'ai déjà raconté et une autre que je garderai sous silence parce qu'elle m'a marqué physiquement comme mentalement et qu'aujourd'hui encore elle a des répercussions sur ma vie.
Bref, en tout cas prenez soin de vous faites attention à qui vous entourent prenez en compte les rumeurs même si moi je ne le fais pas souvent.
Mais je me dis que j'aurais écouté ce que disait ma pote j'aurais peut-être pu agir plus tôt, même si je sais que c'était pas à moi d'agir à cette époque vu que j'étais plus jeune mais j'étais quand même plus âgé que lui donc pour moi il était sous ma responsabilité. J'ai des cousins et cousines et je suis très proche d'eux, me dire que ça peut leur arriver aussi d'avoir des personnes qui sont malveillantes de leur âge voire plus jeune et que même après plusieurs témoignages, bruits de couloir et j'en passe ils peuvent leur arriver la même chose.
Certes la France a une grande restriction au niveau des armes et j'en suis ravi parce que je me dis que ça aurait pu être un revolver ou des revolvers dans son sac et son casier. Mais il a quand même pu rentrer avec des couteaux qui ne sont pas du tout fait pour être dans une école, dans un collège il a pu quand même en faire rentrer et il aurait pu blessé gravement des gens avec et même lui.
Alors message à tous les parents et à tous les gens qui peuvent lire cette histoire, prenez soin de vous, faites attention à vous, si vous n'allez pas bien aller voir un psy, un psychiatre en parlez-en, mais ne vous renferme pas sur vous à vous retourner le cerveau pour faire des énormes bêtises ça ne sert à rien à part vous blesser et mettre en danger d'autres personnes.
En tout cas j'espère que cette histoire va atteindre un public pour les prévenir du danger que même en France comme dans les autres pays les enfants comme les adultes peuvent être dangereux même dans les lycées et collèges. La France est peut-être un pays très réglementé mais il reste quand même des exceptions et des dangers même si on les minimise plus, ce n'ai pas parce qu'on a une plus grande restriction au niveau des armes à feu qu'on est forcément en sécurité.

I’m 25, i’ve been investing into stocks and funds since I’ve been 20. 3 years ago I’ve discovered crypto and was like f* it let’s put everything in apart from the emergency fund (£3k).
I’ve put around £10k in crypto and now i’m on at around £30k. My plan is to keep investing into crypto and exit at £500k? I know crypto is extremely volatile, and it can go bust one day, but hey I am young and can always make the money back. I think investing heavily into crypto is one of the fastest way to FIRE, I think it’s important to not get greedy and exist at the right time too.
For reference, I lost around 5k on a stupid meme coin, safe to say I’ve learnt my lesson. Now I have 85% bitcoins, 10% etherium, 5% other more risky coins.
I do want to invest into stocks and funds more, but I think crypto is the way to go, especially safer coins like bitcoin, the fundamentals behind bitcoin make so much more sense then FIAT…
I do want to diversify more (put more into stocks and funds) when I get to the bigger number, but before I get that I think risking it is the way to go. Thoughts?
(plus crypto is easier to invest if you have money from more than one country, less tax implications…)

Thank you for this universe!
And many thanks to for being a full co-writer on this project!
Kaeden and Vichee belongs to and I thank them so much for working with us! It was an honor!
Sven belongs to Bjorn the Copper Paladin from Discord. I hope to do more with them in the future, and have tons of fun!
And don’t you worry about that final in the title! We have some news at the end!
[First]- [Prev]- {Next Story!!}

{Is the reason that everything happened to Tarlim in the first place?}

{Only up to the ramps, mostly. Trying to impress upon people the importance of accessibility for those with extenuating circumstances. At least according to the records I have access to.}

{The average person knows as much about his friends as they do about Mike Collins.}
<...Who?>
{Exactly. 20th century human spaceman, was there for their first lunar landing. Didn’t get to put boots on the ground, and nobody remembers his name now.}

{Hell, I didn’t even know about him until I put in a search query of niche historical figures just to give you an example. Yeesh…}

(Program Selected.)
(Resume Selected Media? [Y])
(Playing…)
Archived Closed Circuit Security Video - Establishment: Exterminator’s Office - Dawn Creek Division - Subbasement - Date Recorded (ST): OCT 31, 2136 - Timeframe (ST): 11:42 - 11:45
The parking bay is silent. Vans are parked neatly in their spots which frame the hallway to the armory and fuel storage for the camera. A ding is heard and something moves in the hallway. Five fully suited Venlil and a Zurulian step out of an elevator and run towards a van. The sound of a door slamming open comes from the hall roughly 6 seconds later. A stream of Exterminators pour out into the hall from the stairwell.
Their voices are indecipherable as they speak over each other. A Sulian runs into the armory and reappears with a huge flamer tank on their back. Another Zurulian can be seen with an extinguisher tank, but a Venlil bleats at them and tosses it aside. They drag the quadrupedal alien quickly into the parking garage before physically throwing them into the back of a van.
From the back of the hallway, a fluid can be seen spreading across the ground. A trio of Venlil back out of a room while holding their flamers up. They are unlit, instead spewing fuel out of their nozzles. The trio twirl around in an overly animated manner as they walk down the hall to the parking garage. A van pulls out of its spot with windows down so the passengers could let out a cheer.
A black-suited Venlil runs up to the spraying trio while waving their arms to get them out into the garage. The microphone just barely manages to catch him saying, “We need to save some for the predators!” One of the other Venlil replies, “Yes sir, Mafchi!” A short flurry of curses is heard as the gathered exterminators pile into the three other visible vans. Two of the vans speed out of the garage, forcing some other Venlil exterminators to dive out of the way in the process.
The black-suited Mafchi picks up a fuel canister that had been dropped and twists off its cap. He slings it under his shoulder and pours a line of fuel. He marches straight to the final van and hops up into the open rear. The van backs itself up to turn out of the garage. The fuel canister clatters to the ground as it pulls away. Before it clears the view of the camera, the Black-suited Venlil is seen standing in its open back. He is holding what appears to be a flare gun.
The flare sails through the air shortly after the van leaves the frame and impacts the ground. It bounces and rolls until it touches the fuel and ignites it in an instant. A small wall of fire proceeds down the provided trail into the hallway, igniting more fuel as time passes. The hallway is quickly engulfed in vividly red fire. Thick black smoke begins to pour out into the garage as the fire inches closer to the primary fuel tank.
Movement can be seen in the hallway between the flickering flames. The silver form of a Venlil Exterminator is seen rushing out of the stairwell and fighting to head towards the fuel storage room. Before they reach, a white flash fills the screen. The feed goes dead, the error code consistent with electrical interruption.
(Specified Media Concluded.)

{Who was what? Mafchi?}

{Hmmm, there aren’t any tags embedded for them. The suits do a rather good job at making the officers anonymous. Let me see…oh.}

{The, uh… the employment records for that Office were…terminated.}

{It looks like…yes, here. Record wipe in 2497. Media with less than 1 bistandannual visit were removed to save space on the university’s central server. It’s…they’re gone, gone gone.}

{Maybe, but that’ll do us no good if we don’t know their name. And because of the chaos of that incident, nobody has been able to accurately reconstruct where every individual was in that office. We’d have to already know who they were to find them.}
<...I guess that’s another person I’ll have to remember then, huh?>
{...Guess so. Speaking of remembering, perhaps you should check out Tarlim’s view again? Seeing how we were just talking about him.}
<...Sure. At least people remember his name, right?>
(Command: [exitprogram])
(Are you sure? [Y])
…
{-Program Selected-}
{-Restart From Last Playback Point? Y/(N)-}
{-[USERID-11229KMD]: procViewHist -}
{-Retrieving Transcription Viewing History…-}
{-List Retrieved - Select Desired Subject: (Tarlim)-}
{-Restart From Last Playback Point? (Y)/N-}
{-Playing…-}
Memory Transcription Subject: Tarlim, the Venbig. Date [Standardized Human Time] October 31st, 2136
No matter how much Sven and Anso griped about it, having them leave and return with the trailer was a great idea. The humans who had gone with them the first time were, to my dismay, excited to try and ride in the back. I had at least been able to impress on those four that I couldn’t let anyone else ride like that, and that they were to help with rigging a trailer with some seats.
I had to admit; they did a good job!
Several couches sat bolted to the floor of the covered trailer and even had some ropes that could be hooked across the armrests as impromptu belts. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but it would work as well as any bus or short train ride! Certainly superior to jumping in the bed of a truck.
I strode out into the parking road and swayed my ears to greet Anso. Sven had stayed behind here to meet with the humans and entertain the kids, a job which he was slightly less unenthusiastic about compared to last time. “Greetings, Anso! Have you made the necessary preparations for the humans to leave with you?”
The Yotul hopped out of the truck bed and bounced to me. “We have! I have to say those humans were great workers to have helped get this whipped up so quickly! I hope Sven has been behaving himself?”
I let my tail wag behind me remembering my last glimpse of him. He should really secure his sheath straps! “He has! Been entertaining the refugees while I made sure they all had their belongings ready to go. Come on inside, let’s go gather them.”
I guided him with a wave of my arm as we turned back to the door. To be truthful, I hadn’t expected Sven to win the humans over as quickly as he did. Needless to say, his primitive attire seemed to spark joy within them, a joy sorely needed amidst the sadness of recency.
As we entered the building I noticed something, or rather, the lack of something. When I had exited only a few [minutes] prior, the building had been full of life and noise. Now, it was almost dead quiet, save for the sounds of a holovision coming from the lobby. Rather heated sounds, at that.
“I didn’t think it was already main rest claw,” Anso mused as he, too, recognized the aggravated voices coming from the lobby. “And what are they watching in there? Sounds…angry.”
“Yeah…” I trailed off as I followed the noises. As I approached the lobby, the sound of what I assumed was a Gojid yelling. “You know nothing about my family. TALK, JUST FUCKING TALK, NOW!” My ears pinned back at the foul language at play, hoping that Sven and the children were somewhere else.
As I entered the room, I saw that I was only half right. The children were thankfully nowhere to be found, but Sven was obviously present, as was most of the facility staff. I was about to ask what was going on before another voice drew my attention to the holovision, the same as everyone else. The voice of none other than Chief Nikonus.
“There were three of us who laid out the groundwork for the Federation. When Kolshian explorers came in contact with the Farsul, more than a thousand years ago, the galaxy was young. We were the first in this sector to escape our gravity well. You know about the founding of this institution, but I reiterate it just in case.”
“The Krakotl were the third,” another voice piped up from behind the camera. I thought it might’ve been another Gojid, but the voice was far too breathy. Harchen, maybe? I wasn’t given a chance to consider it further as Nikonus continued. “Yes, they were a problem from the start; aggressive, disagreeable. We tried to identify the problem, and why they were so ill-equipped for spacefaring.”
“We learned they were scavengers, who would occasionally go for fish as well.”
His next line was rendered inaudible by the shocked gasps of both the refugees and residents in the room. I was no different, drawing in a sharp breath at the abrupt admission. I remembered that Arvi had said some aliens were revealed to have eaten meat in the past, but was this the way it was decided to be revealed? With such abject callousness?
Nikonus continued to speak, looking not just proud, but smug with his words. He went on about how the Federation had saved these aliens with their manipulations, but the entirety of his body language seemed to indicate he reveled in how devastating this information would be to the people he was speaking to. How they manipulated an entire culture, a RELIGION!
What if they did the same to ours?
That horrifying thought struck through my mind like a derailing train. I had relied upon the Tenets in some of my darkest moments. Found comfort in them when there was none elsewhere to be found. To have such a comfort revealed as a lie in its entirety, used only for some other group to control you…
The voice of Nikonus hit my ears again. “Oh Sovlin, I already told you. For the small minority of species who don’t find herbivory alone, we teach them the right way. Doesn’t the religion against predators sound familiar?”
The Kolshian was insufferably proud of those words. There was no doubt in my mind now; this was mocking. Mocking a Gojid for following The Protector. For being a predator. For being different, but expecting to still be treated as a person. The Gojid were predators, they couldn’t help it, and they were already being mocked for it.
What might happen to all the other species?
I shifted my focus away from the screen to the crowd, searching for one in particular. Vichee, a Krakotl already so different from everyone else, and now my concerns for them were multiplied with every word that fell from Nikonus’ mouth. Were they okay? They had come in here to see Sven, I had seen them. Where are-
I spotted Kaeden in the corner of the room. Next to him, slumped against the wall, was Vichee. The dual colored Krakotl’s eyes were glazed over as they stared at nothing. I strode over quickly, my instincts wanting to comfort them. Kaeden was simply standing there, it was confusing that he didn’t seem to be comforting Vichee at all. As I got closer, their head tilted up to me, regarding me with an unfocused eye.
“He was right.” They said quietly. My implant almost didn’t pick it up over the sounds of the lobby. “Kaeden had asked me soon after our first meeting if Krakotl had once been meat eaters. Said it was the shape of our beaks. ‘More suited to capturing small wriggling prey than filtering algae’. He told me. I nearly flew away right then… If I had, I would have been alone with this news.”I listened, kneeling down to be closer to their level. “You’re not alone, your herd is here. Right Kaeden?”
He looked over at me and nodded. “Vichee was there with me when Earth was attacked. I’m here for them now. Kaabra and Venik are… together, elsewhere at the moment. But they will be here too.”
I flicked my ears in understanding. “Then I hope they may help in hugging Vichee until their tears are dry.” I turned an eye to Vichee. “Please, I just want you to know that you are still you. What your body does has no effect on your personhood.”
Vichee still sat, their mind still likely whirling with the new information. They lifted their differently colored wings. “I’m well aware. This lesson I already learned. But thank you, I understand what you mean.” Kaeden nodded slowly and Vichee returned to their thoughts.
“There’s going to be trouble soon, Tarlim,” Kaeden stated gravely. “News like this? Nothing good will come of it. I can already tell this won’t go over well. Keep your eyes open.”
As if in response to his words, the sound of clanking metal hits my ears. They shoot up, pivoting to locate its source. There, dashing towards the door, was the armored figure of Sven. I didn’t know him enough to know how this broadcast would affect him, but running was never the best sign. I flicked my ears goodbye to my friends and rose, following after the metal man. In my periphery, I saw the television screen had shifted to show Rolem moving onto the stage. I would have to miss whatever it was he had to say, so ducked through the doors and continued to follow the sound of metal.
As I exited, I saw that I wasn’t the only one to see Sven’s actions. Anso was bounding behind him, shouting something I couldn’t hear. Sven didn’t seem to either as he kept running, but his gait wasn’t one of fear. He looked purposeful, sprinting in a straight line. A line pointed right towards-
Towards the observing Exterminator Van.
The metal Venlil didn’t even hesitate at the presence of the fence. He leapt up in a display of strength and agility, vaulting over the barrier and continuing his beeline into the van. It was like phased through the doors with how fast he moved. There were sounds of commotion that followed his entry, and soon two Exterminators fell out of the van. One Venlil…and one Krakotl. I wonder how Kalek is taking things.
I, too, cleared the fence with only a high step and reached the van, peering in to see Sven at the controls. “Sven! What are you doing?” I asked, the Krakotl officer shivering on the ground in my periphery.
“They got my girl!” He huffed, “She’s a Gojid, they got her, I can’t let them do anything worse to her!” He tried to activate the vehicle to no avail, but his words brought up something that I hadn’t thought much over. I remember hearing about temporary emplacements that were being set up. Paly had texted me about exterminators bringing people there. Her too. And that would mean-
-THOOOOOOOMMMMM-
The wind hit me like a truck and rocked the van I was standing next to. Sven even stopped trying to fiddle with the controls to see what had just happened. In the distance, near the center of town, an enormous black cloud rose into the air, the vestiges of fire still burning in the suspended embers. I couldn’t look away from it as my mind raced with horrible possibilities as my mind tripped over itself trying to concoct a plan of action.
I wasn’t given long to think before the radio in the van crackled to life, startling both Sven and myself. “Attention all True Exterminators! The truth has come out about the taint in our midst! For too long we have lived with its danger in our presence! If any of you still hold the safety of The Herd in your hearts, come join us so we may burn ALL the predator taint from this District! Rendezvous at Vulen’s apartment complex, we shall start our cleansing there!”
The name of one of my landlords sparked familiarity in my mind. They had been working to build a series of new apartments to add to his old, and if I remembered, had agreed to house the Gojid refugees. The Gojid! Paly was housed with them!!
In an instant, I reached into the van and grabbed Sven by the arm. He tried to pull away, but my grip was too strong. “Sven! They’re gonna kill the Gojid! They’re gonna burn Paly!”
He finally managed to shake himself free as my paws became jittery from stress. “I gotta save my girlfriend! She’s in a facility! I gotta save her!”
“But they’re gonna burn people here!” I protested, “we have to do something! We need- We need People who can fight them! Kaeden! I need to get Kaeden! We can save them!”
I pulled myself away from the van and spotted Anso nearby. He must have had to go through the gate, but this was good timing. I pointed a claw at him. “Do Not Let Him drive off before I get back!”
I didn’t give him, nor the Exterminators who had recovered from their shock, time to ask questions. Paly was in danger, as were who knew how many others. I faintly heard my data pad chime from within my shoulder bag, the signal my heart was beating too fast, but I couldn’t deal with it right now. I could get the heart rate under control during the drive. Right now I needed Kaeden, he knew how to fight! How to save people when others were trying to kill them!
My paws guided me and I was back in the cafeteria before I knew it. Some of the crowd had dissipated, but Kaeden and Vichee were still in the same corner I had left them in, but with their Venlil friends now joined. Without leaving time for protest, I grabbed Kaeden’s arm and pulled him away. I heard Vichee squawk behind me, but I was in too much of a hurry. I can’t let her get hurt. I Won’t.
Kaeden started to slap my arm as I dragged the soldier across the lobby. “Tarlim! What the fuck are you doing?? What’s going on?”
“No time, they’re going to burn everyone,” I breathlessly said as I burst the facility doors open to get him to the van.
“What? Who?” Kaeden questioned, still resisting my pull. I could hear a tinge of worry in his voice, and I knew he would understand. Anso looked back from his position as he heard my approach, and upon seeing me dragging Kaeden along, he grew visibly concerned.
“On the radio, something about True Exterminators,” I attempted to explain to him as we neared the gate doors. This time, I simply spread them apart with my free paw, metal screeching against itself as the gate was forced open. “They’re going to burn every cured species they can find, and That Means Paly. I Won’t Let Them.”
Kaeden had stopped struggling as I explained the bare essentials to him, and once we approached the van, he finally had enough sense to ask the right questions. “So what exactly is the plan to stop them? We’re strong, sure, I could probably take most of them. But just two of us against a wall of those flamers?”
“Not two,” I corrected, letting go of his arm and throwing open the back doors of the van. Still seated in the drivers side was Sven, who looked back once he heard me permit entrance into the back. “We have him too.”
“Wh- the LARPer??” Kaeden asked incredulously. I wasn’t familiar with the term he used, but his tone told us all we needed to know. Sven’s eyes narrowed at the perceived insult, but Kaeden continued. “Do either of you have any formal military training?? Rushing down there is only going to get you both killed along with the others! For fucks sake, slow down! We need a plan!”
“T-There won’t be t-time f-for one,” a voice peeped in from behind us. We all turned to face the source, and we found it was the Venlil Exterminator. They recoiled under the sudden gaze of our entire party, but they managed to continue. “I-I recognized the v-voice. It w-was one of the n-new recruits. They m-might as well be Y-Yulpa. If you w-want to stop them, it’s now or n-never.”
We all stared at them for a moment in disbelief that they’d willingly hand over that information to us. They were Exterminators, weren’t they? They should be allied with the voice on the radio! Kaeden, after considering the information, gave voice to my confusion. “And why are you telling us this? You’re an exterminator, shouldn’t you be trying to help them?”
“M-My husband is the Krakotl that was in the van with me!” They yelled back, stamping their footpaw on the ground in agitation. “I-I don’t care what his ancestors did a t-thousand years ago, I will not stand for those zealots burning who knows how many people! We’re not all the same, h-human!”
I was taken aback by their words. I had given up hope that there were any redeemable souls amongst the ranks of those silver-suited brahkasses, but living proof of the contrary stood before us. Their breathing was only matched by mine as my pad continued to chime in my pack. Maybe there’s hope after all.
Kaeden started frantically looking all around, his focused gaze falling on the facility, the exterminator in front of us, and the rising smoke in the distance. After a moment's hesitation, he growled to himself and shook his head. “Fine! Fucking- if you want to prove you’re different, you and your partner stand guard at the gate! They’ll probably try to send a division here, so keep on guard! And for the love of God, go ask for help if that happens!”
My tail wagged behind me as I interpreted what that meant. “So you’ll help us, Kaeden?”
He paused for a second, an agonizing second as he fully took in the situation in his mind. But ultimately, he nodded. “Let’s go, we can figure things out along the way.”
Seizing the moment, Anso quickly jumped into the van and pushed Sven out of the driver's seat, much to their visible frustration. Kaeden quickly hopped into the passenger seat, leaving me with the problem of finding a space that would fit me. I stepped over to the back of the van and threw the doors open.
The flamers and their fuel tanks were useless to us, easy to toss all three sets out onto the ground behind me. I made sure that the flamers were disabled first, of course. Just had to snap the pilot lighters and slice a hose with my claw. Even if these two said they weren’t like these “True Exterminators” I didn’t trust them one bit. I crawled inside the cramped vehicle and wiggled myself to close the doors behind me.
As I got myself settled, I watched as the Venlil Exterminator started to inspect the destroyed remains of their weapons. I squinted a glare at them and positioned myself so they couldn’t enter with me. “You two aren’t coming,” I hissed. “You know why you’re not. Try anything with the humans, and they will stop you.”
I slammed the doors shut as their expressions fell, just in time for Anso to get the van into gear. I curled myself up against the wall of the van, watching out the back window as we sped down the road. We were on our way now. On our way to save Paly and all the people gathered because their ancestors ate meat. My heart hammered in my chest, but I would need to control it for what we were about to do. I needed to focus. I needed to breathe. I needed to be calm.
Focus. Breathe. Calm
Focus.
Breathe.
Calm…
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Memory Transcription Subject: Sol-Vah, Fleeing Predator. Date [Standardized Human Time] October 31st, 2136
My legs couldn’t carry me anymore. I had to keep going, but I didn’t have the strength. My pants became wheezes as my body struggled to keep up with the physical exertion of running almost halfway through town. I hadn’t even looked up before now, at least with eyes not blinded by tears. The pain of Mute’s rejection still stung in my soul, a pain so visceral it threatened to rip me apart worse than any Arxur. Protector, what did I do to deserve this? Is there even a Protector, or did the Federation just- just make that up?
I didn’t have time to think about that now, I needed to get to the office. From what little I caught of the broadcast, Nikonus had said they saved us before. I knew what it likely was, but…I was desperate. I just wanted to go back home and have him embrace me like he did before. The safety and love I had felt from him was still fresh in my mind, and if there was any chance I had to get it back?
I’ll happily take it.
As I approached the office, however, something seemed off. I could smell soot in the air, but not the kind of soot that came from our flamers. This was- was…dirtier smelling, as if the fuel had been impure. Upon looking up, however, I saw something that made my stomach drop. A huge plume of smoke, billowing up into the sky. It shadowed the sun itself with its immensity and hate. Did the Exterminators burn more drugs? Or…or…
I felt a renewed vigor as I started to run towards the plume, hoping against hope that I was wrong. As soon as I turned the corner, though, my worst fears were realized. Where the office once stood now sat a burning stack of glorified rubble, every single window in sight shattered and multiple holes in the outer walls. The building was split, it was as if a giant knife had come down and sloppily sliced off its front half to spill flaming debris everywhere.
I stood in front of the building I had once called my home, surrounded by screams and the awful sound of flames roaring. I knew now there was no hope of salvation, no way this could ever be undone. I would never be able to go back to the way things were, never feel the happiness I had for that brief time. I was doomed to this life, abandoned by my love, and forced to live as an abomination devoid of a home.
I suppose that’s all a predator like me deserves.
[First]- [Prev]- {Next Story!!}
You read it right: This is going to be the final chapter of "Of Giants and Journalists." With the conclusion of Sharnet and Vekna's adventure, we will now take the time to show how this announcement has affected our characters and the galaxy at large. We're excited to announce our new series, Nature of a Giant: Aftermath! This series will not be quite as in-depth temporally as Of Giants and Journalists was, mainly because not as much will be happening in as short of a time. Rest assured, though, there will still be plenty of action across the board! You just won't have to deal with over half the story only covering a week of time!
In that vein, we are also excited to announce we are working on another bonus series, one that was teased a long time ago, Venric Lawven: Legal Legend! It will be filling the gap for content while we work on the first few chapters of Aftermath to make sure the scenes are as quality as they deserve, but will have a reduced upload schedule to once a week to accommodate for writing two series at once. On behalf of both of myself and , we'd like to thank all of our readers for sticking with us on this journey. It's hard to believe this series has been going on for over a year in one form or another, but I wouldn't have it any other way! Thank you all again for your continued support, and we look forward to seeing you again with Legal Legends! And then...
The Aftermath!!

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."
Rev. 1:8
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. In order for someone to be the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, he would have to know every little thing from eternity, and also every little thing from eternity. the future, including eternity, who can know such a thing but God? Of course, someone could say that it is, but that would be a lie and it would not be true and only God can claim: "I am the Alpha and the Omega the Beginning and the End" because:
God is omniscient
“Lord! You taste me and know when I sit down and when I stand up; You know my thoughts from afar; When I walk and when I rest, You are around me, and you see all my ways on my tongue, but You, Lord, see, You have already covered me behind and in front and placed Your hand on me. Your knowledge is strange to me, I cannot understand from Your spirit, and where would I flee from Your face, You are there. To descend into hell, to rise on the wings of the dawn, and to move to the end of the sea: And there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me darkness hides me; but even the night is like light around me. Even the darkness will not be eclipsed by you, and the night is as bright as the day: darkness is like light, you created me in my mother's womb, that I am wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and not a single bone of mine hid from You, although I was woven in the depths of the earth, she saw my embryo all written, and the days were recorded, when they were not yet, how unfathomable are Your thoughts, God! How great are their numbers”
Psalm 139:1-17
In this psalm we see how many facts God knows about us, but that is only a small part because God has far more knowledge about us, but it is practically impossible to express it in words, and here we see that God knows when we sit down, when we stand up, what we do, how we work, he knows all our ways, all our words that we have spoken, he writes that he knows even our thoughts, we can further see that God knows the past, present and future, knows everything about us even before our birth, etc. This clearly indicates that we cannot do anything without God's knowledge, and this applies only to us humans, who are only a small part of God's omniscience.
Here are a few examples that are close to us from life, something that everyone can understand because not all people are scientists or academic citizens, there are far more "ordinary" people, especially throughout history, and the Bible is written in simple understandable language so that everyone can understand him.
And from this it is clearly seen and everyone can understand that God is omniscient.
"There is none holy like the Lord; for there is none other than Thee; and there is no rock like our God. Speak no more haughtily, and let it not come out of your haughty mouth. for the Lord is God who knows everything, and he executes the purposes."
1 Sam.2:2-3
Here, these verses confirm again that the Omniscient God had a practical lesson here, a friendly advice from God, and it applies to our life, it applies to what we do, how we do and what we say, because God knows everything he does to me, so if we persist, we refuse to live according to the will of God, it is our own fault and one day we will bear the consequences for it. Of course, God does not want to force us to do something, it is our choice, but it is great wisdom to listen to the advice that God gives us because God does not want us to perish so that all may live, and that is the meaning of the word "repentance" from 2 Peter.
"The Lord is not late with His promise, as some think He is late, but He is patient with us, because He does not want anyone to perish, but for all to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9
God is present everywhere
We said that God is not limited by earthly laws, nor can the essence of God be fathomed. creation, knowledge, giving, forgiveness, salvation, etc.
"But will God really live on earth? Here, the sky and the heavens above the heavens cannot contain You, let alone this home that I am building".
1 Kings 8:27
"For His eyes are turned to the ways of men and He sees all their steps. There is no darkness or shadow of death where those who do iniquity can hide."
Job 34:21-22
"Where would I go from Your spirit, and where would I flee from Your face? If I go to heaven, You are there. To go down to hell, there you are. To rise on the wings of the dawn, and move to the end of the sea: And there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will hold me. To say: Yes if the darkness hides me; but the night is also like light around me. Even the darkness will not be darkened by You, and the night is as bright as the day: darkness is like light. For You created what is in me, you formed me in my mother's womb. I praise You, that I am wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and my soul knows it well. Not a single bone of mine has hid from You, even though I was created in secret, woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my embryo, in Your book it was all written, and the days were recorded, when there were none of them yet."
Ps. 139:7-16
"The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, seeing the bad and the good."
Proverbs 15:3
"Am I God from near, says the Lord, and am I not God from afar?" Can someone hide in a secret place so I don't see them? Speaks the Lord; do I not fill heaven and earth? Speaks the Lord.”
Jer. 23:23-24
"If they bury themselves in the lowest part of the earth, from there my hand will take them; and if they go up to heaven, I will take them down from there; And if they hide on the top of Carmel, I will find them and take them from there; and to hide before my eyes at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent to bite them"
Amos 9:2-3
"And there is no substance unknown before Him, but everything is naked and exposed before the eyes of the One to whom we speak."
Hebrews 4:13
God is almighty
In the Bible, we find through different time periods and different manifestations of God's omnipotence, so we will mention some.
We see from the Bible that Abraham was 99 years old, but that he had no offspring, and on one occasion God appeared to Abraham and said:
"And when Abraham was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said to him: I am God Almighty, live according to my will, and be honest. And I will make a covenant between me and you, and I will greatly multiply you. And Abraham fell prostrate. And the Lord spoke to him again and said: From me here is my covenant with you that you will be the father of many nations."
Gen.17:1-4
We further see that Avram was not really sure about that, so he thought that he would never have children with his wife Sarah
"Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, saying in his heart: When will a son be born to a man of a hundred years? And Sarah? Will a ninety-year-old woman give birth?"
Gen.17:17
And here we can see God's omnipotence, because he told Abraham something that was not very clear to the human mind, but it was very clear to God, that's why he said it to Abraham. We later see from the Bible that this promise was fulfilled, and it was fulfilled because God is omnipotent because He possesses all the knowledge and then it is no problem to fulfill the given promise. This or a similar promise can only be given by God because he is omnipotent, and let's imagine that now we humans make a promise about something that will happen in the future. That promise may happen by chance, or only one part of it may come true, or it may not happen at all, we don't know, but God is omniscient and omnipotent, and when he makes promises, he fulfills them.
We can see the fulfillment through the Bible, but here is just one verse.
"The tribe of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham"
Mtt. 1:1
Next we have the event when the Lord sent Moses to Egypt to lead the people of Israel out of slavery.
Here we can see that God appears to Moses as God Almighty and not under some other name.
"God is still speaking to Moses and said to him: I am the Lord. And I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by the name God Almighty, but by my own name, Lord, I would not be known to them."
Exod.6:2-3
The next example is from John's revelation, where we have a scene in heaven where four living beings praise the Almighty God, and in order for someone to be omnipotent, he must possess the power that sustains everything, and such power is possessed only by the Almighty God.
"And after this I heard a great voice of many people in heaven saying: Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power to our Lord;
Rev. 19:1
,, And I heard as the voice of many people, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of strong thunders, saying: Hallelujah! For the Lord God Almighty reigns."
Rev. 19:6
It says that the Lord God is glorified in heaven, who is omnipotent and who reigns, and in the Gospel of Luke we can see from where the Lord reigns.
"The Son of Man will sit at the right hand of the power of God."
Luke 22:69
Therefore, the Lord is on the right side of the power of God and reigns from there, it is written about this:
"...All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."
Matt. 28:18
The Lord reigns because He is El Shaddai or God Almighty. God possesses infinite power or power that is eternal and has no end, and the part of the prayer "Our Father" reminds us of this.
,,...Because Your kingdom, power, and glory are yours forever. Amen"
Matt. 6:13
God can use this force at his discretion without any trouble or difficulty to create something as in the past when he created the earth and everything living on it or as he is creating today or as he will create in the future.
"Ah, Lord, Lord! Behold, You created the heavens and the earth with Your great power and Your uplifted arm; nothing is difficult for You."
Jer. 32:17
,,He made the earth by his power, established the world with his wisdom, and scattered the heavens with his understanding; When he utters his voice, the waters roar in the heavens, he raises steam from the ends of the earth, he sends lightnings with rain, and he brings forth the wind from his stables."
Jer. 10:12-13
Humans are very intelligent beings and practically they can create anything they want up to certain limits, but in creation we read that God used only a word and it was created, he did not need any material like we need to create something and there is another proof that God is almighty.
,, And God said: Let there be light. And there would be light"
Gen.1:3
"By the word of the Lord the heavens were created, and by the spirit of His mouth all their hosts"
Psalm 33:6
In the Gospel according to Matthew, we read about how only the word of God is needed to heal a person and the disease is defeated, God does not need to be
,,.And the captain answered and said: Lord! I am not worthy that you enter under my roof; but just say the word, and my servant will be healed"
Matt. 8:8
Although God with his power has unlimited possibilities, he will never use his power in such a way as to be in conflict with other attributes of God. We have an example in the confrontation of the Lord Jesus with the cross where Jesus could only say a word and angels would be there who could destroy the whole world and not just the enemies who nailed him to the cross.
"Or do you think that I cannot now beg my Father to send me more than twelve legions of angels?"
Mtt. 26:53
If it had happened that way, it would have contradicted the Father's will and the intention with which the Lord Jesus came to earth, and then Jesus would not have been able to say:
"I glorified You on earth; I've done the job you gave me to do"
John 17:4
Here we see that God uses his almighty power for his glory to fulfill God's plan because what he intended must be and nothing but the will of God can change that plan.
"The Lord of hosts swore, saying: Indeed, it will be as I have planned, and as I have planned it will be done."
Isaiah 14:24
God has planned in advance how the nations will receive the Word of God and it is written about in the Acts of the Apostles where it is said that the evangelizers will receive the power of the Holy Spirit and then practically no one will be able to stop them in that work until they fulfill the activities that God has planned.
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit descends on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and there to the ends of the earth."
Acts 1:8
And finally, let's mention something that hasn't happened yet, but it will happen when the Almighty God will say the Word again and it will be what is written in the revelation and after that what we read in Isaiah.
"And out of His mouth came a sharp sword, to slay the Gentiles with it; and He will strike them down with a rod of iron; and He treads on the cauldron of wine and hearts and the wrath of God Almighty."
Rev. 19:15
"For, behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth,"
Isa. 65:17
Let us also mention that with this power the Lord Jesus defeated Satan in the desert
"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting for forty days and forty nights, he finally got hungry. And the tempter approached Him and said: If You are the Son of God, say that these stones become bread. And He answered and said: It is written: Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Then the devil took Him to the holy city and placed Him on top of the church; So he said to him: If you are the Son of God, jump down, because it is written that he will command his angels for you, and he will take you in his hands, so that you do not trip over a stone with your foot. And Jesus said to him: But it is also written: Do not tempt the Lord your God. Again the devil took Him and took Him to a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of this world and their glory; And he said to him: I will give you all this if you fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him: Get away from me, Satan; because it is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve Him alone. Then the devil left Him, and behold, the angels approached and served Him."
Mtt. 4:1-11
Finally, here are a few more verses that confirm that God is almighty:
,, And God said to him: I am God Almighty; grow and multiply; a nation and many nations will become of you, and kings will come from your loins."
Gen.35:11
"For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, a great, mighty and terrible God, who does not look at who is who, nor does he accept gifts;"
Deut.10:17
,,And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?"
2 Chron. 20:6
"From the north it comes like gold; but in God there is a more terrible glory. He is Almighty, we cannot reach Him; he is of great power, but with judgment and great justice he does not torment anyone"
Job 37:22-23
"Look, I am the Lord God of all flesh, is there anything difficult for me?"
Jer. 32:27
"And Jesus looked at them and said to them: With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Matt. 19:26
,,And Jesus looked at them and said: With men it is impossible, but not with God: for all things are possible with God."
Mark 10:27
"Because with God everything is possible that he says."
Luke 1:37
We have seen several examples of God's qualities that confirm the verses that the Lord Jesus gave John to write down. The only "Someone" who possesses the qualities that we have studied can say that he is the Almighty, and that is God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
"I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord, Who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
Rev. 1:8
The verses we have studied should strengthen us in our faith because if God promises something, He surely fulfills it, and in this case it refers to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in glory.
God reveals the fulfillment to us in 21 chapters where he says:
,, And he said to me: It is finished. I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give the thirsty from the spring of living water forever."
Rev. 21:6

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Ties

În acele glorioase vremuri de început ale Republicii Populare Române, sub lumina călăuzitoare a partidului și a tovarășului Nicolae Ceaușescu, fiecare tânăr era chemat să-și aducă contribuția la construcția societății socialiste. La vârsta de 15-17 ani, mă aflam și eu, un tânăr dornic de afirmare, căutându-mi locul în această epocă de mari transformări.
Pe atunci, unii dintre noi, sub influența unor povești nesănătoase și a unor elemente de tristă amintire, eram tentați să căutăm soluții în afara drumului trasat de partid. Îmi amintesc cum, într-o clipă de rătăcire, am fost ispitit de gândul necugetat de a mă alătura unor indivizi dubioși din cartier, visând să devin și eu un "interlop". Era o vreme în care poveștile despre unchiul, vecinul din colt sau prietenii din barul de la subsol păreau fascinante, deși, în realitate, erau amăgiri periculoase.
În acele zile, mintea mea tânără și neliniștită a fost bântuită de un plan necugetat: mă gândeam să fac rost sau să plantez canabis și să-l vând unui bisnitar cunoscut doar din vedere, un individ cu experiență în astfel de manevre. Îl priveam cu o amestecată admirație și teamă, gândindu-mă că ar putea accepta o astfel de "colaborare".
Cu toate acestea, chiar și în acele momente de rătăcire, spiritul vigilent al partidului și îndrumările înțelepte ale tovarășilor mei mai experimentați m-au făcut să înțeleg pericolele acestor gânduri. Prima mea teamă a fost că acel bisnitar ar putea fi un informator al autorităților, ceea ce ar fi atras asupra mea consecințe grave. Această bănuială m-a oprit să duc la îndeplinire planul necugetat și astfel am făcut un pas inteligent, evitând orice contact cu individul respectiv.
Astfel, rămânând doar cu un plan nerealizat, am avut șansa să reflectez asupra adevăratelor valori pe care le promova societatea noastră socialistă. În acele vremuri de construcție și progres, tinerii ca mine erau chemați să se alăture marilor proiecte de dezvoltare națională, să muncească din greu și să contribuie la bunăstarea comună, nu să se lase amăgiți de tentațiile unei lumi iluzorii și periculoase.
Fascinația pentru lumea interlopă a dispărut treptat, pe măsură ce am înțeles importanța muncii cinstite și a solidarității proletare. Amintirile din acea perioadă mi-au servit drept lecție valoroasă, întărindu-mi convingerea că adevărata fericire și împlinire se găsesc doar în slujba colectivului și în devotamentul față de idealurile socialiste.
Așa am continuat să-mi trăiesc tinerețea, dedicându-mă cu entuziasm construirii unei Românii noi, mai drepte și mai prospere, sub îndrumarea partidului și a iubitului nostru conducător.

Je pose cette question parce que dans les dernières jours, j'ai pu voir une succession de comportements qui m'ont bien tapés sur le système.
Pour le contexte, j'ai fini mon échange et je rends mon appartement à l'étranger (j'étais en collocation avec d'autres français). Je suis revenu pour l'état des lieux (j'étais en voyage) et quelle ne fut pas ma surprise de découvrir qu'un de mes colloc avait mis l'appartement en bordel (poubelle pleine d'asticots, évier plein, bordel dans chaque pièce...). Pour info, je suis rentré la veille de l'état des lieux donc petite panique quand même. Sachant qu'on restait tous les deux la dernière nuit, je pensais qu'il allait ranger mais que dalle, il s'est barre le lendemain à 7h du mat en me laissant m'occuper de vider sa chambre etc en disant en gros que c'était bon, y avait plus rien d'important dedans. Car un malheur n'arrive jamais seul, j'attends une équipe de techniciens de surface que j'avais commandé pour 14h (état des lieux à 17h30) et les gars arrivent à 16h15. Je les ai commandé pour 3h à 350€+ quand même. Ensuite, la personne que je devais voir pour passer ma dernière soirée dans le pays où je suis en échange me mets un plan (fièvre ou je sais plus quoi enfin un prétexte bidon). Enfin, mon agent immobilier qu'on a payé 1500€+ ne vient même pas pour l'état des lieux car il est en vacances donc je vais devoir me défendre seul pour garder notre caution (on est 3 locataires) aussi intacte que possible (sachant que les proprios ont eux aussi un agent qui sera lui présent).
Bref, j'ai l'impression d'être entouré d'un ramassis d'abrutis incapables et,ou égoïstes et c'est un sentiment que je ressens franchement fréquemment, donc je me demandais si c'était juste moi qui était particulièrement malchanceux ou si les cas sociaux prolifèrent ces temps-ci.

Assalamu 'Alaykum All,

1. How you got on this past week in terms of memorizing new Surahs / Ayahs?
2. How you found going over / revising the Surahs / Ayahs already memorized beforehand (especially if you’ve completed your Hifdh)?
3. Plan for the coming week.
4. Any challenges faced? Do also share any beneficial lessons / thoughts / reminders / reflections you may have had for the verses you were memorizing.

Hi! I'm 22f. It's been 2 years na rin since I last worked as an online ESL tutor so I was around 20 at the time. I just wanna share lang my exp of 3mos. (Yes I only worked for 3mos. i'll explain later) to those planning to work as an online ESL tutor in the PH.
To start, I worked w/ RJ (i'm sure yall know the company by these initials). My reason was ofc financial aid bc at the time I wanted to buy things w/ my own money ++ bakasyon din from uni.
As an introverted girliepop, it was such a huge leap to take. It changed me a lot so to speak. I was talking not only to random strangers, but also to foreign people. My students are mostly japanese and some other foreigners like chinese and koreans who are based in Japan. I would say that the students I taught range from being introverted ppl like me to overly extroverted ones. In the program offered by RJ to its students at that time, they can opt to choose a lesson or simply an "free conversation" with their tutor. Tbh I prefer the lesson one bc at least we have a more systematic set-up. Thinking of new topics or those that might interest my student was reaaaaaaaaally exhausting as an introvert. Not to add na my timeslots are kinda limited at the time pa. I can only open bookings that are either from 5am-9am (i think) and (5pm-12mn). Ofc u have to reach a specific quota by the end of the month so u have to really open ur slots early in the morning and may times din na sinasagad ko talaga til 12mn. Only then RJ will open the midday slots for u. It was hella tiring pero I told myself na dahil ginusto ko to, pangangatawan ko hahaha. I reached naman my quota a month after being hired so I was able to book students during middays pero it switched back to the previous one kasi raw i should've still opened bookings during the said timeframes. Soooo i was like wtf.
I guess the most challenging part in this job is ur students talaga. I had those that rebooked me numerous times whose company I actually enjoyed. Even though most of them chose the conversation type, it was easy to converse coz they were friendly and chatty too. Para talaga silang yung mga friendly characters sa anime lol. However, I also encountered (sorry for the term) weird creeps. Honestly, dito mo marerealize na kahit papano thankful kang filo ka lol. Coz im sure kahit gano pa tayo "kalala", I'm proud to say na we're "more sane"lol.
I remembered na I had this one student who wasn't entirely fluent in English so he spoke in phrases lang and he chose free coversation pa. The topic he wanted to talk abt was his gn collection (yeah ik). Well I'm mostly open for any topics talaga but what threw me off is he actually sHOWED some of them to me ON CAM during the video call jusko. He even showed me how to load them up like what?? Mind you, he was a teenager and looked around 13-15 at the time. He boasted na he stole his dad's gns from time to time and played w/ them w/ his friends jusko kang bata ka. He was simply talking abt them lang naman so i dont think na the company would pay much attention to it if I told them kaya hinayaan ko na lang.
There's also one who just stared at the screen. It was a video call so need namin as tutors na laging on cam. He's already old-ish mga 50-60s and this was our 2nd time meeting na. The first time was okay. He opted for conversation during that time and this one. But ik for sure na he's drunk kasi garalgal sya magsalita and it was hella awkward for me. I asked him what topic he would like to talk about and he said whatever i want😭 as an introvert that's enough to turn my brain into a battlefield talaga. What's worse is that he only responded w/ one-liner answers. The worst ever was when I recommended him a movie. Boy i could never forget that moment talaga. The topic was movie bc he said he went to the cinema that day to watch an action movie so ako ito si recommend, I told him abt the movie "expendables". I sh*t u not he got mad at me and cursed me in japanese and proceeded to ramble in japanese afterwards. He assumed na I mocked him bc I used a word he doesn't know like bro what????? As in I was so stunned at that time talaga na I was just 👁️👄👁️. He talked to me in jp so I would know raw how it feels to be spoken to in another language. Sorry sya kasi fluent ako in jp. Nanginginig na talaga ko that time mga dzai so sabi ko na lang in jp na "i understood everything u said, don't worry." Thank God the 25min. time was over na so I immediately ended the call after that. He was my last student for the day so after that class I just stared at my screen for 5 min. before making the report. These are only two of the weird exp I had w/ some jp students. I have so many more stories pero ofc magiging novela na tong post if I did so.
If u think the exp was problematic. Wait til I tell u abt the response of the company. They didn't actually do anything besides disabling the student from booking me. The response was really passive and common for companies na gumagamit lang ng filo employees bc it's cheaper to hire us and they take advantage of our "desperation" and "determination" to actually make money. While the weeks pass by I realized na this isn't worth my mental health so I stopped na.
Now, I'm a graduating student in college so that's where my focus lies muna. Do I regret being an ESL tutor?? No. I actually love helping and teaching others. Do I regret the company where I worked? YES. I realized na not only the tutors were underpaid, but they're mostly overworked with no health benefits. Kaya if you're an online ESL tutor lalo na sa company na yon, I salute u. Tho I hope u wont forget to take care of urself too:(

Buna! Tot mai des patesc sa imi fac un plan cu cineva si dupa sa bage scuza ca lasa ne vedem maine pentru ca iubitul meu vrea sa ne vedem neaparat astazi, vi se pare ceva normal sa faci astfel de lucruri, sa faci un plan iar mai apoi sa reprogramezi pe urmatoarea zi/niciodata doar pentru iubitul tau/partener? This is the norm mai nou? Nu stiu daca frustrarea mea are vreun sens dar eu daca primesc o invitatie si ma gandesc ca poate iubitul meu ar vrea sa iesim intreb intai si nu confirm nimanui nimic sau daca se trezeste dupa sa zica el ceva ii spun pur si simplu ca deja am planuri cu o prietena si putem noi 2 sa ne vedem dupa/in urmatoarea zi.

We recently spoke with Anthony Barone, Co-Founder & Managing Director of StudioHawk UK, about the challenges of launching and running an SEO agency. Anthony shared his journey from being an SEO outsider to becoming the Head of the UK Headquarters for an Australian digital SEO agency. Throughout our conversation, we explored the challenges, opportunities, and strategies of starting and running an SEO agency in a competitive market.
In this article, we will draw from Anthony’s direct personal experience to provide key tips for starting an SEO agency. We’ll also cover some major pitfalls to watch out for.
Key tips for starting an SEO business:

• Define your niche: Offering basic SEO services is no longer enough to stand out. Identify a niche to specialize in and target.
• Get out and network: Build your network by attending events and meetups, and engaging with communities. Exchange experiences and generate leads.
• Form strategic partnerships: Look for and collaborate with companies offering complementary services for mutually beneficial relationships.
• Deliver high-quality work: Set the bar high and raise it often to build your reputation.
• Keep learning: Continually expand your SEO expertise, learn from experts, and outpace changes and trends.

The first steps to starting an SEO company
Starting an SEO agency goes beyond understanding SEO. It’s also about understanding the market, identifying competitors (and how you differ), and building partnerships. Anthony took these exact steps when launching his SEO agency in the UK. He believes everyone should apply them when setting up an SEO business.
Network to build a client base and partnerships
Start your SEO agency with networking. Become more active in the community and build relationships to find your first few clients. Join networking groups, attend business meetups and events, and start booking introductory calls with potential prospects.
Define your competitors
Research major players in your market, including competing agencies and potential partners.
Since the SEO field’s barrier to entry is pretty low, your chances of finding a mix of large agencies and smaller firms are high. Identify the ones you can emulate. Note their operations, capabilities, client portfolios, and how they position themselves.
You should also closely analyze the market you’re entering. When Anthony expanded his agency to the UK, he discovered one of the most competitive and knowledgeable markets, and the competition there wasn’t just limited to other agencies. The UK is home to many reputable brands and adept in-house teams. This means you need to know your stuff and prove your expertise. Anything less and you won’t have the opportunity to speak with or win the business of bigger companies.
Excelling in competitive landscapes like SEO necessitates brushing up on your field, your goal, and the value you bring, and devising a standout SEO strategy that resonates with your client’s business goals.
Differentiate your agency
StudioHawk initially set itself apart by skipping the traditional account manager middleman. The company instructed its SEO specialists to work directly with clients, providing expertise straight from the source.
There are also many other ways to stand out:

• Specialization: Don’t position yourself as a generalist agency. Focus instead on a specific niche like ecommerce SEO, local SEO, SaaS SEO, etc.
• Proprietary process: Develop a unique methodology for your campaigns that no other agency offers.
• Added value: Provide bundle packages for additional services like CRO, PPC, and web development. Some of your rivals may not provide this service.

There are many opportunities to differentiate your agency according to its unique strengths and philosophies. In StudioHawk’s case, Anthony capitalized on his proven track record from Australia and embraced the Aussie way of doing things. So, use any assets and value-added services that set your agency apart.
Map out your ideal client
Here is why StudioHawk made the strategic decision to focus on the small-to-medium enterprise (SME) market (when launching in the UK):

• SMEs generally have smaller budgets: StudioHawk responded by offering competitive prices and lower overhead costs.
• Many SMEs suffer from poor experiences: This inspired Anthony’s team to create quality services in a field marred by low-quality SEO providers who use churn and burn tactics.
• Smaller businesses crave more personalized service: This calls for tighter client bonds.

Anthony’s team impressed SMEs by keeping things simple and transparent. They focused on clearly communicating their service and its effect on the client’s business goals and revenue targets.
Hiring and training new talents
Build your agency’s SEO team with candidates who align with your company culture and match your core values. Don’t just focus on technical skills. SEO expertise is an important skill but can be taught without much friction. Training culturally incompatible employees to have the right mindset and attitude is much harder.
Be patient and discerning. Consider the candidate’s energy and soft skills during the SEO interview process. Integrating candidates into your team is easier if they mesh with your philosophy and vibe.
Developing clear frameworks
Provide hands-on training and set clear systems and frameworks for your team. People need to be told what to do, what their job is, how to do it, and why they are doing it. Lack of structure leads to inconsistency, low-value work, and misalignment with client expectations.
Craft clear job descriptions with set responsibilities, metrics, and each role’s expected outputs. Your overall order of operations can be as loose or hardline as desired, but create a guidebook, rules, and criteria around it. Resources like these help new hires understand their role and responsibilities.
Always stay on top of SEO
Clients value experts, so you must constantly grow by following new trends and updates, and learning from industry leaders.
Make ongoing education and collaboration part of your core values. Here is how Anthony’s team implemented this:

• They attended industry-specific events and SEO conferences.
• They built relationships with respected thought leaders.
• They subscribed to newsletters and joined online communities.

The bottom line? Engage with the broader SEO community. Don’t work in isolation.
Share wins and lessons
Share knowledge internally. Learn from your colleagues through:

• Campaign review sessions, where your SEO specialists can present their high-performing work and failures side by side. Pinpoint strategies leading either to success or poor results.
• Collaborative brainstorming, specifically on reporting enhancements, use of tools, client interaction, etc.
• Workshops on industry-specific insights, where the team discusses strategies for various niches.

This allows team members to improve and learn from one another continually.
Adapt to search evolution
SEO is going to get harder. With EEAT, SGE, and algorithm updates, SEO professionals who want to make a bigger splash must work harder to improve their content and quality.
For example, SGE is already altering the SERP landscape. Its AI-powered responses include links to Quora and Reddit. This means you should consider socials as additional traffic channels. SGE snippets vary across industries, especially in ecommerce, indicating the need to create exceptional product descriptions and pages. Ads are also occupying more space.
A lot is going on. You must watch these shifts carefully while integrating your business into the overall marketing ecosystem.
Pitfalls to avoid when starting and running an SEO agency

1. Don’t focus on things outside your control

Don’t compare yourself to others or set unrealistic goals. There will always be people smarter or better than you. Rather than dwelling on the unreachable, focus on factors you can control; the number of meetings you hold, the quality of your team’s work, developing efficient systems and processes, and so on.
You can always control your motivation and discipline. Your “why” for being in this business is also within your scope of influence.

1. Remember your ‘Why’

Zero in on your core reason for starting your SEO business if you haven’t already. Not establishing a “why” prevents you from seeing the bigger picture.
Maybe your “why” revolves around creating the best agency out there. It could also be a less lofty goal, like designing a lifestyle business that helps you spend more time with your family. Whatever your core purpose is, identify it and reference it constantly.
Reconnect with your initial inspiration for starting your business. Then, focus on improving operations and steadily working towards your goals.

1. Don’t blame clients if they quit

Take responsibility and learn from client churn. Losing a client can hurt, but blaming the client won’t do you any favors. There is always a lesson to be extracted from the situation, so take accountability.
Put yourself in the client’s shoes. Try to understand why they parted ways with you. Was there a failure in communication or reporting? Did they fail to see the value? Did the client need more meetings to stay informed and involved?
Conduct NPS (Net Promoter Score) or feedback surveys regularly. This can help you consistently improve and understand what your clients did and didn’t like.

1. Know your numbers

Launching an agency is exciting, and cooperating with clients is a key aspect of the business. But it’s your business at the end of the day, and you need to run it that way. If you want your agency to operate for a long time and be successful, learn how to master its financial and operational aspects.
Wrapping up
Starting an SEO agency and running it successfully requires strategic planning, continuous learning, effective team management, and commitment to high-quality work. Thankfully, these are all aspects you can control. Focus on these elements to build a solid foundation for success.

Compte throwaway
Mon plan cul perd son erection avec la capote. On a essayé 3 fois avec des capotes différentes (King size de skyn) mais rien n'y fait. Je souhaiterais trouver une solution à ce problème car même si je prends la pilule, je ne souhaite pas le faire sans capote a cause du risque de grossesse.
Est-ce que vous avez des conseils ou des marques de capote à me conseiller que je pourrais ramener chez lui ?

Qué tal EducacionChile.
¿Cómo están? Yo honestamente podría estar mejor. Todo esto ya que tengo un dilema. Les cuento.
Tengo 22 años, estoy en quinto de Psicología en una privada y nunca me ha ido mal, pero... Odio estudiar. Me genera mucha motivación aprender, pero el método de enseñanza mainstream y predominante con la cantidad absurda de créditos y pérdida de tiempo, además de la obligación de ir al campus, eliminan toda mi motivación. Me queda a una hora la U, y por razones psicológicas, me demoro mucho en mis rutinas importantes, por lo que suelo llegar tarde a las cosas.
Sé que de novedad esto no tiene nada, pero precisamente por eso vengo a consultar.
Me considero una persona ambiciosa que está dispuesta a hacer muchas cosas por conseguir plata, y esto es importante porque me voy a casar el próximo año, y los gastos son impresionantes cuando considero que mi matrimonio tiene que ser en dos lugares ya que tengo una relación a distancia.
Por ahora me las apaño como escritor, tomando trabajos que no me fascinan pero que soy bueno haciendo. La cosa es que para tener éxito en estas industrias es complicado y no he participado en nada de literatura nunca por tener un síndrome del impostor terrible y, o estar estudiando o procastinando sin alcanzar las deadlines.
Necesito dinero, y tengo claro que a pesar de que me voy a deshacer trabajando en todo lo que pueda al salir, y que la psicología por la que me voy renta de forma decente, tengo muy claro que cada vez hay una competencia más grande por quién tiene más estudios y experiencia. Tomando esto en consideración, quiero saber qué opinan.
Desde la psicología puedo hacer un millón de cosas para obtener un mejor sueldo en el área de psicología laboral, y por el área clínica hay un millar de cursos y especialidades que tomar. Pero no sé qué hacer para evitar lo malo que me produce tener que seguir el formato de la educación que conozco.
Por otro lado, he tenido que perder oportunidades importantes de trabajo como escritor por la presión social y familiar de terminar los estudios, y no sé qué tanto valga la pena estudiar algo relacionado a literatura o escritura para otros medios (cine, televisión, videojuegos, etc).
Podría estudiar otra carrera, y quemarme la pestañas por 4 a 6 años que voy a detestar. Hay muchas opciones, algo como IngeCo/Business/Data Analytics/IngeComp o algo así, pero eso implicaría tener que aprender nuevamente matemáticas y sacarme la "..." con algo que no me gusta en plan común para recién ir a algo que me serviría más después.
¿Qué hago? ¿Qué lugares ofrecen la opción de estudiar y aprender a tu propio ritmo qué no sean YouTube o cosas qué no te otorgan certificados demostrables y así? ¿Qué es lo que está dejando más plata ahora? ¿Cómo consigo plata ahora saliendo lo menos posible de mi casa? ¿Qué recomendaciones tienen para seguir cualquiera de los 3 caminos?
Datos útiles: hablo inglés y quiero sacar la certificación C2 porque tengo nivel nativo y manejo lenguaje académico/técnico. Soy muy autodidacta. Me resulta muy fácil conseguir clientes en lo que hago. Tengo muchos contactos gracias al trabajo de mi mamá y sus amigos. Soy extremadamente creativo y trabajo muy bien bajo presión. Trabajo y funciono mejor de noche. Estoy dispuesto a aprender cosas muy distintas a lo que he hecho hasta ahora. Soy muy motivado para cumplir metas. Soy detallista y dedicado. Y finalmente, tengo capacidades para liderar y coordinar tanto proyectos como personas.
Agradezco de antemano sus opiniones y comentarios, y estoy consciente de que sigo siendo joven, poco experimentado y sobretodo que soy MUY particular y que tengo muchas trabas y complicaciones, pero quiero mejorar y tener el mejor estilo de vida posible con mi pareja.

Hey everyone,
I've noticed a lot of interest in forex trading lately, and I wanted to share some insights and tips that can help both newbies and seasoned traders. Whether you're just starting or looking to refine your strategies, this guide covers the essentials and some common pitfalls to avoid.

🌟 What is Forex Trading?

Forex, or foreign exchange, is the global market for buying and selling currencies. It's the largest financial market in the world, with a daily trading volume exceeding $6 trillion.

🛠️ Basic Terminology:

• Currency Pair: The two currencies involved in a trade (e.g., EUUSD).
• Pip: The smallest price move that a currency can make (typically the fourth decimal point).
• Spread: The difference between the buy (ask) and sell (bid) price.
• Leverage: Allows you to control a larger position with a smaller amount of capital.
• Margin: The amount of money required to open a leveraged position.

Basic Foreign Exchange Knowledge ：
https://preview.redd.it/budrcwfs0y0d1.png?width=916&format=png&auto=webp&s=49b299931ac8cfea65defdd2ea68140ae6a4097a
https://preview.redd.it/oo80h3qu0y0d1.png?width=865&format=png&auto=webp&s=198a7a2456cc9cb6a3cc421961f6dea477ac841f
https://preview.redd.it/2ffznbpx0y0d1.png?width=880&format=png&auto=webp&s=4e2deeb45734954f2210fa2e9296754a7f406395

📊 Key Concepts for Beginners:

1. Start with a Demo Account:
   • Practice with virtual money to understand how the market works without any financial risk.
2. Educate Yourself:
   • Learn about fundamental and technical analysis. Follow economic news, central bank policies, and market trends.
3. Develop a Trading Plan:
   • Define your goals, risk tolerance, and strategies. Stick to your plan and avoid emotional trading.
4. Risk Management:
   • Never risk more than 1-2% of your trading capital on a single trade. Use stop-loss orders to limit potential losses.
5. Continuous Learning:
   • The forex market is constantly evolving. Keep learning through books, online courses, and joining trading communities.

🚩 Common Mistakes to Avoid:

1. Overtrading:
   • Trading too frequently can lead to higher transaction costs and increased risk. Focus on quality over quantity.
2. Ignoring Risk Management:
   • Failing to set stop-loss orders or risking too much on a single trade can wipe out your account.
3. Chasing Losses:
   • Trying to recover losses by making impulsive trades often leads to bigger losses.
4. Following the Crowd:
   • Just because everyone is buying or selling a currency doesn’t mean it’s the right move. Do your own analysis.
5. High Leverage:
   • While leverage can amplify gains, it can also amplify losses. Use it cautiously.

🚩 Common Mistakes to Avoid:

1. Overtrading:
   • Trading too frequently can lead to higher transaction costs and increased risk. Focus on quality over quantity.
2. Ignoring Risk Management:
   • Failing to set stop-loss orders or risking too much on a single trade can wipe out your account.
3. Chasing Losses:
   • Trying to recover losses by making impulsive trades often leads to bigger losses.
4. Following the Crowd:
   • Just because everyone is buying or selling a currency doesn’t mean it’s the right move. Do your own analysis.
5. High Leverage:
   • While leverage can amplify gains, it can also amplify losses. Use it cautiously.

🔍 Questions for the Community:

• What strategies have worked best for you in forex trading?
• What were some of your biggest lessons learned from trading mistakes?
• How do you keep up with the constant flow of economic news and events?

💬

Let's share our experiences, tips, and insights to help each other become better traders. If you have any questions or need advice, feel free to ask!
Happy trading, and may the pips be ever in your favor!​