Hi, I made the biggest mistake of my life.
My ex and I were friends for 2 years, and after we had a disagreement and stopped talking to one another, realized we had feelings for one another and dated for 8 months. We planned to get married next year, and during those 8 months spent as much time as possible together.
Before I deployed, we had what she called the best date shes ever had and the favorite night of her life.
Now she wonders how I became an asshole so quickly and I dont blame her. I deployed for 35 days unexpectedly and the first 7 days were shit, but i had her support.
She forgot my Birthday for the second year in a row and it was the beginning of my spiral. One of the big promises she made during that argument before we started dating was she would never forget.
I was destroyed because no one has ever cared about my birthday besides family. The deployment was already going terribly and there was a very big risk i would lose my career. So i broke down and told her how much this hurt me, how much i was looking forward to it. She revealed that she was planning something really beautiful in August, she just misplaced the month instead of it being in may. I still laid awake every night thinking about it, being torn up.
A friend of mine that she did not like, was the only person who remembered. That friend is someone my girlfriend felt compared to, and I understand why. I made an asshole comment that "I would" my friend before i left.
One night when my girlfriend had a bad day at work, she came to me with a story about a bunch of dudes hitting on her, and i did honestly just become hurt and started being a dick over text. I started saying "did it really happen? Sounds like something that happened on reddit." I was venting to my friend at this point and my girlfriend had sent her the same story, so she started asking the same questions i was, but then without my knowledge started insulting my girlfriend while we were talking. It went from me just having an asshole moment to pretty much being a part of bullying her.
This caused alot of damage between us, but she was still trying to make things work. She just felt uneasy speaking to me, felt afraid of me, and couldn't stand to look at my face. There were nights she was sweet and nights she was angry, nights she was cold and apathetic. I know i hurt her alot and tore her up. My deployment wasn't making anything better with the stress and timezone difference, but its not an excuse for my actions.
She presents 3 options 1. We break up 2. She supports me until im home, then we take a month break 3. We work through this but her love and trust resets to 0
At first I chose the 2nd one, because i felt time to cool down was important, but a few days later i asked for the 3rd one which was a mistake. We talked and talked, i offered therapy for both of us, a couples counselor but she didnt want anyone else involved in the relationship. She was hurt.
She broke up with me because she said she was exhausted and didnt want to be hurt anymore, she didn't want to break up but she couldn't bear it anymore. She said she wanted me to try again with her but not now.
We were silent then began talking for a few days. We spoke about happy memories, the time we had together, my issues and what needs to be done to fix them, set up boundaries and a plan for me to work on myself. I asked about getting back together and she said she needed time to think.
When i found out she had a dating profile setup after we had that conversation it broke me. I told her that i appreciated her, but i couldn't keep speaking with her while she was doing that, i told her it was completely fine for her to do that, were not dating anymore, but it hurts to see so soon, its not her fault, i just didnt want to communicate for my own mental health.
She said she was willing to let me in again, she just needed a distraction, some casual sex and hook ups to fill her loneliness. She said that but as i found out she was really looking for a new relationship.
I dont blame her, everything fell apart in a month and i didnt handle things well. I was very stressful.
Even now though she still tells me she wants us to keep talking, she wants to support me and she respects me and cares for me, shes trying to be accommodating and wants to be around me.
I shook her off the first few times and tried to go no contact because i knew i wouldn't react well but shes been hanging on and i dont know why. I keep spiraling and just getting better then worse again. Im starting to finally get my emotions under control but its came at the cost of blowing up on her a few times and just being a total dickhead. I was very pushy and mean during the breakup and a very ugly side of me came out.
Im currently scheduling to get therapy and will be trialing medications for my issues this monday. Ive lost roughly 20 pounds during this ordeal and plan to just continue my weight loss and become a slave to the gym. My ex said she wanted me to really start my career and get a solid foothold in life, so i plan to start college and a better job soon.
Im moving on but i do truthfully want to give things a try again later, after we've growed and matured and ive handled my issues. She says the same but i dont know if its possible to undo all the negative feelings she has for me. I worry that the 8 months we had together of pure bliss, those memories will be replaced and soured with the month i was terrible.
She says she wants to stick around and see me change, but we just cant be together right now. I know were both going to see other people, and thats not an issue now that ive had time to sober up and mentally evaluate my situation.
Im not clinging onto the hope that we may love again, if it happens it happens. But i just need some strangers to give me the reality, can someone really forgive or move past these actions?
During our last spat about a week ago after we had a great night playing a game together, this is what she said.
"Stop thinking so hard, It's actually starting to piss me off Like it just feels no matter how accommodating I become you just you can't handle it I just don't know why, I have zero reason to accommodate I left because I didn't like how I was being treated. You just don't like it But like I just I don't know what the fuck I'm doing wrong here I have done likewise for you because I still care a lot about you I respect you and I understand you've done the same for me I'm reciprocating and not giving up on you But you're making this really really hard I'm exhausted You were fine before You're not going insane"
The best thing I feel i can do i just back off, and be present when she feels comfortable with it. It was only a month ago we planned on marriage and a family. Now her and i both agree i changed into someone else. She has a longstanding illness that will shorten her life and I dont want to not be a part of her life. I've stopped her from killing herself multiple times, we've been through alot of shitty things through friends and as lovers, dealing with her getting discriminated against, her friends hurting her, ive been there and supported her for all that. She used to avoid expressing who she really was, i got to see her transform from a shy introvert to a social butterfly who actually wears makeup and dresses now.
I just became the bad guy and i really dont know where to go. Everything we had is destroyed. When i got home from deployment i learned my mother had stage 4 cancer in the lung and brain and it just changed my entire outlook. I dont want to give up on this person, i want to be the best friend I can and hopefully be a better love and husband if that something im allowed to even attempt in their eyes.

(Cong Rats u/Xerxes250! You've been FICNAPPED, EKEKEKEK! Thanks to u/Espazilious, u/CaptainMatthew1, and u/T00Dense for supporting me in Group 3 of the Ficnapping!
That's right, I've Ficnapped Hazardous Recovery, a very well-written fic. I'd recommend it to those looking for a more... tech-inspired fic.
So, enjoy the dumb stuff.)
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Memory Transcription Subject: Kimmich, currently dying inside
Date [standardized human time]: October 25, 2136
If I had been made aware that one of the first days we were on Earth was going to be spent sitting in a predator's house, looking at sheets of paper, and listening to said predator prattle on about silly plastic shapes with numbers on them I'd have refused the trip as a whole. The whole concept seemed like a massive waste of time, not only for us but for him too. Unfortunately, I was trapped here by the whims of Vemnka and Sevkan, and they never let up a chance to see new human past times.
Andre, for his part, had been slow with us, letting us ease into the new living situation with relative laxity on where we were allowed to go. We'd already watched a few movies, played a few "video games", and even listened to some of his music. It was... enjoyable. Even with the obvious attempts to cover up a whole heap of predatory behaviors, Andre had managed to get us feeling somewhat welcome.
Until he had us sit at his kitchen table and write out the Venlilian numerical system, to which he responded with a chuckle, "Looks like Skaven Scratch." He did not elaborate. At first, I thought the exercise was going to be a simple lesson on how to read human numbers. But no, it was far worse. Instead, Andre went to his workshop, scanned all the numbers, and began printing a bunch of geometric prisms with the numbers on them. Vemnka was the first to ask about their purpose as she picked up a dodecahedron, each side holding a numeral.
"Well, I figured we'd play a game, and these," he held up a worn version of the same shape Vemnka was holding, this one with human numbers on it, "are how we play."
Not even a minute later we were watching as he 'rolled' the 'dice' across a little pad on the table. "So, basically, these dice, the 'd6's will help us make our characters. I use the '4d6 minus the lowest rolled' method for stats, but there are other ways to do it."
Sevkan picked up a triangular prism and poked his paw pad with it. "And what about the rest of them," he asked as he tossed the plastic shape onto the pad.
"The one you just rolled is a 'd4', it's a damage dice. Same with the d6, 'd8', 'd10', and 'd12'. This," he held up a dice with ten sides, but with two separate numbers on each face, "is a percentile dice. Helps when I need to see what outcome happens when a random encounter starts, though we'll not be using it because we're doing a oneshot." He flicked it up with a click and caught it. Next, he picked up the same dodecahedron as before and rolled it. "Ouph, nat 1, less than ideal when starting a game."
"What does that mean," I asked, looking down at the twenty-sided dice; the side displaying '1' was facing up.
"A nat 1 is the worst roll on a 'd20'. It's a critical failure, which means if you roll a nat 1, something bad happens." He rolled it again as he talked, "The d20 is the most used dice because it's the 'check dice', you use it to figure out how well you did on an action. For instance," he reached across the table for a sheet of paper. Looking it over, I could see it was a 'character sheet', as Andre called them. "This is the strength stat," He pointed at a block on the left side of the paper, "It shows how strong your character is. If I were to roll this d20 and get a 13, but your strength stat is a 14, plus whatever save modifier you have, then I'd fail the check and either nothing would happen, or you'd get a reaction to my failure." He shifted his weight as he reached for the ground. With a plap, Andre brought up a hardbacked book. My translator had a bit of difficulty translating the text due to the font, but in the end, it spat out 'D&D Player's Handbook'. A small script of subtext under the cover art, which I ignored due to its content, read 'Everything a player needs to create heroic characters for the world's greatest roleplaying game.'
"A roleplaying game," Vamnka asked before Sevkan or I could formulate the words.
"Yep! A TTRPG, Dungeons and Dragons, D&D. I played this once or twice before my accident with the reactor room, but I think I still remember enough to DM for it."
This time Sevkan asked the question, "TTRPG and DM?"
"Tabletop roleplaying game, and Dungeon Master. I run the game, so I'm the dungeon master." He laid out three sets of three pieces of paper at each seat. It had the same words and markings as the one before him. "So, as I said, we're doing a one-shot because I can't be bothered with doing a whole ass campaign. Plus you won't be here forever and we have work to do at some point."
"I'll be making your characters with input from each of you. We're doing basic fifth edition rules because the newer editions, sixth up to ninth, all suck." He grabbed four of the d6 and held them aloft, looking at Sevkan, then Vemnka, and finally landing his gaze on me. I felt my fur rise but paid it no mind as he looked down at the dice before him. "Vemnka, you're going first." He picked up and tossed the dice to Vemnka who scrambled to grab all four before they had a chance to fall off the table.
"So, I just... toss them?" The quizzical flap of her left ear was met by a curt nod from Andre. "Alright," she said as her paw flicked the dice across the table. One landed on 1, another on 2, another on 3, and the final one on 6. "Twelve in total," she announced.
"Good, now remove the lowest number rolled and mark it down somewhere on the back of your sheet."
After five more rolls, Vemnka's stats totaled 11 in strength, 15 in intelligence, another 15 in constitution, 16 in wisdom, 16 in charisma, and 13 in dexterity.
Next was my turn. I rolled a 13, which I put into dexterity, a 14 in constitution, a 15 in charisma, a 16 in strength, another 16 in wisdom, and a 12 in intelligence.
Finally, Sevkan rolled a 12, which was placed in dexterity, a 13 in charisma, a 16 in constitution, a 10 in both wisdom and intelligence and, as Andre put it, the ever elusive 18 was put in strength.
With all that tedious, boring, unimportant, and downright torturous work out of the way, now was the time to get into character creation. Andre gave us the book to look over and told us to ask any questions we wanted if we needed to. I pulled up my pad's visual translator and began skimming the text.
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Memory Transcription Subject: Vemnka, having the time of her life!
The book wasn't big, not by a long shot. I'd read books three to four times as long in [a day] or two. What the book contained, however, was an entirely different story. It wasn't just a rulebook, or handbook, as the cover suggested, it was a way to shape the wild imagination, to tame the itch to create.
And by the stars am I creating!
Andre told us we'd start by choosing class, race, and background. Of course, we had no idea what that meant, so he took us through it one at a time at a leisurely pace. He flipped through the book's pages before landing near the beginning, showcasing a stout-looking human with the undertext 'Dwarf' printed to the left.
After running through all of the vaguely human-like races to pick and a few classes that would shape our table-side adventure, I'd chosen to be a gnome cleric, which was a humorous choice. Andre said I'd primarily be healing, helping my team by keeping them in battle. I didn't mind the idea of being a sideliner, as long as I could help.
Dad had chosen to be a human 'paladin'. Andre explained that the term equated pretty easily to a form of holy guardian, in the form of a mortal, who the god of their faith gifted to defend those around them. Dad thought is was a pretty cool idea, especially the idea of "burning heretics away with holy fire," as Andre put it. It took him a bit longer to choose his race because he kept returning to the page with the almost-Arxur-looking Dragonborn. Still, after some coaxing, he finally let up on whatever was going on in his head and chose the easiest option, and the one Andre had recommended.
Finally, Sevkan had looked a bit farther into the game itself, finding a non-classified databook called "Player's Companion". Andre described it as a supplemental read, adding a bit more variety to the already large amount of options presented in the Player's Handbook. Sevkan took one look at it and immediately chose the Aarakocra, causing Andre to flinch. He said it'd be fine because the Aarakocra looked nothing like Krakotl, but Sevkan still apologized as best he could. He chose the fighter class, which was about as self-explanatory as possible.
Next was backgrounds, I chose to be an acolyte. It made sense in my head that a religious healer would have a background in religion. Dad leaned toward Folk Hero as his background, an option that both he and Andrew agreed would suit his character. Sev chose to be a hermit, which caught me and dad off guard after Andre gave us a rough rundown of what it was. An isolationist fighter, the sort of stuff that got you locked away.
"Alright," Andre said, leaning forward, looking between each of us again. I noticed Dad's fur rise a bit less than last time. Progress is progress. "We've got a Gnome Cleric, a Human Paladin, and an Aarakocra Fighter. Pretty good party dynamics for your first time even hearing about DnD. Now, for the most part, we've done everything we need to do together. From here you would have normally gone through stats and equipment, but I don't want to, and this is a oneshot so those aren't that important. Vem, on that last sheet, please mark down 'Spare the Dying', 'Sacred Flame', and 'Guidance'. Kimmich, on your last sheet, mark down 'Lay on Hands', 'Divine Smite', and 'Divine Sense'. Sev... you can just throw that sheet away. You won't be moving past where you are now."
Sevkan looked down at the sheet with a hint of sadness. To be fair to him, 'Spare the Dying' and 'Divine Smite' sounded cool, but before I could ask what they meant, Dad beat me to it. "What are these for? What do you mean?"
Andre rolled a D20 absent-mindedly, "Spare the Dying is a Cleric Cantrip that stabilizes a person who's taken fatal damage and is rolling death saves. Divine Smite is that whole 'BURN IN HOLY FIRE' thing I was talking about. Depending on how you flavor it, it's you wrapping your weapon in divine fire and burning away at your enemy's soul."
Despite his previous misgivings, ones which were practically plastered over his fur, Dad seemed honestly interested in the concept behind the Divine Smite. "And I just get to use it? Any time I want?"
"Well, not really." Andre pointed a finger toward me. "She has three cantrips which can be used at any time, you only have two. Divine Smite is an actual spell, as in its magic that requires you to utilize a spell slot. Lay on Hands is a contrip that can heal and Divine Sense allows you to detect certain types of creatures based on their alignment. Good and Evil in particular."
Sev spoke up, displaying confusion with his ears. "So why don't I get any spells or cantrips?" There was a degree of disappointment in his voice.
Andre leaned back with a chuckle, flexing his dexterous prosthetics as he clutched the d20 he'd been rolling. "Because, as a fighter, you probably have the most useful ability of them all. It's called 'Second Wind' and its essentially Lay on Hands but only you gain from it. It's an ability you can only use once per short rest, which we won't be needing to get into, which heals you for 1d10 plus your level, which all of you will be set at level 2.
"Again, we won't need much of the stuff in the books because this is A. Your first time and I want it to be fun, and B. A oneshot where nothing matters and we're here to have a good time. So, real quick," Andre grabbed a d8s and a d10 and began rolling them. "Vem," the d8 clacked across the table, landing on a 4, "you've got 15 health total. Because you're a light class, always expect to be on the lower side of health. Kimmich, you've got," he rolled the d10, it landed on an 8, "20 health, not a bad roll. And finally Sevkan," the d10 rolled across the table once more, the 5 side facing up. "18 health. Not too bad either, given your ability to heal yourself."
"How did you get those numbers," I asked, looking across the table at each of our sheets.
"While you all were reading, I put your modifiers where they belong, and changed what needed to be changed with your stats." Andre leaned over and pointed at Dad's sheet, "I increased each of your scores by one because you're human." He moved to mine, "I increased your intelligence by two." Then he moved to Sevkan's "And I increased your dexterity by 2 and wisdom by one. I made a slight mistake when asking you guys to roll, as usually, you'd choose race and class before putting your stat rolls anywhere, but you all seem to have put them in pretty good spots."
The three of us gave Andre amused looks, to which he raised an eyebrow. "Humans get an additional point in everything?" Sev asked with a small whistling laugh.
"Oh, uh. Yeah, now that there are actual other intelligent races in the galaxy that doesn't look too good does it?"
"It's fine," I said. It was plenty understandable, thinking you're the best at everything you do when there's no one to compare to. "So are we going to start?"
"Yep! Just one more thing. Weapons and armor are important to this, even if you don't have to use them all the time." Andre flipped to a page with a list of item names which I couldn't make ears or tails of. I recognized 'sword', 'bow', and 'spear' as ancient primitive weapons, but other than that everything else escaped me.
"I'm noting a lot of confusion. Anything you need to know?" Andre looked at us expectantly.
"What's a 'maul'," came Sevkan's response.
"Oh, that's a term for a large, two-handed warhammer. Usually, it's depicted as spiked on both ends. Imagine a very large, very crude sledgehammer with spikey bits."
"And a 'glaive'?" Dad asked next.
"I assume you know what a sword is?" We flicked our ears in affirmation. "Well, it's essentially a curved sword attached to a pole. It's made to look a specific way, if it wasn't then it'd probably just be called a Dao. Or maybe the Dao would be called a glaive. Maybe Glaive is just a type of polearm. I have no idea. Anyway, to speed this up, I'll be choosing the weapons and armor you can have for you, and don't worry, I'll use your attitudes as a reference for what you get. For you, Vemnka, I think the mace and shield combo will do nicely with the scale mail. Kimmich, you'd work well with two long swords to accompany your chainmail armor. And finally, Sevkan, a halberd with your chainmail will work fine. Sound good to everyone?"
I was a little disappointed at the stolen opportunity to continue building my character, I'd yet to come up with a name or backstory, as I was sure was the norm, but with the idea of starting taking center stage, I couldn't help but wag my tail.
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Memory Transcription Subject: Sevkan, going down the rabbit hole
Andre put a thin plastic sheet over most of the table, took out a bundle of markers, and began drawing, much to our collective surprise.
The sheet was was smooth and cool to the touch, though not through any internal system, probably just from the back of the garage where Andre had found it. It had a grid printed over it, which Andre seemed to be using as a guide as he drew a boxy shape, marking certain areas with certain colors. There must have been a system he was following, one that none of us Venlil in the room had managed to pick up on, and we didn't want to interrupt Andre as we worked in case we caused him to mess up.
I looked over my character sheet, made mostly by Andre with small additions I felt like I needed to add. I still felt a little bad for not realizing how raw the image of a Krakotl must have been to Andre as I chose the Aarakocra, but he'd brushed it off swiftly and curtly, clearly not wanting to continue the line of thought. Still, I should've chosen a different race. The goliath looked cool and probably would have been a better fighter than a bird with hollow bones, but I also didn't want to drag the others much longer, so I kept silent.
At long last Andre stood at his full height and analyzed his work. "There we go. The battle map is set up, now for the tokens." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out three little white objects. I immediately recognized them as chess pieces. A rook, a knight, and a bishop were placed on the table, along with a dozen white pawns, some of which came from a different chess set, and four black pawns as well as a black king. The black pawns were marked with the colors, yellow, beige, green, and white. We quietly agreed which pieces we would be. Dad would be the knight, I would be the rook, and Vemnka would be the bishop.
Andre sat down and we began. "Alright, I've decided to pull the classic 'wake up in a tavern' DnD start because it's funny and I also didn't exactly plan this. So here we go. Please leave your questions for after I'm done talking."
"You wake up, each of you, around a wooden table in a comfortable tavern with candles above you and empty tankards before you. You look at each other and recognize if only barely, the friends you made last night through a bout of drinking and dancing. You feel the roaring of a hangover in your head as you each groan and attempt to lift your heads."
Andre pointed at the chess pieces, which must have represented our characters. "Please roll constitution to see if the hangover affects you in any major way. It's a d20 plus the number below the stat itself."
We looked at each other with slight confusion. Not at the command to roll, nor for its circumstance, but for the setting. Is this a human board game? I mean, I guess I expected something more akin to chess. but this is nothing like it. It's so... alien.
Dad rolled his d20 first; it landed on a 16, "An 18?"
"Yep, Kimmich, your character brushes off the hangover with ease. You still feel a buzzing in your head, but other than that, you're fit as a fiddle." Oh, I get it now. How interesting. I could see Dad and Vemnka twitch their ears in understanding as I rolled my d20.
It landed on 8. "Plus two, so an 11."
"Sevkan, your head hurts like hell but you're still able to function to a normal degree. If it weren't for your fellow drunkards you're sure you'd have to stumble around by your lonesome for a while."
Vemnka let out a laugh as she rolled her dice. While she had been aiming for the center of the table, the dice had other plans and shot off to the right, flying off the table and rolling under a stool in the kitchen. "Oops! I'll get it," she said, jumping out of her seat and lifting the stool. "It landed on 19," she beeped excitedly.
"Nope," Andre said, much to our surprise. "Rule two of dice: if it goes off the table, its results are null. I didn't make that rule, but I still follow it. Roll again."
Vemnka's ears drooped a bit, but she set herself and climbed back into her seat to roll again. This time the dice did as it was meant to and rolled across the table without falling off. It landed on... "A nat 20!"
"No shit?" Andre lept out of his chair to peer across the table toward the dice. "Well, I'll be damned, a 19 and a 20 in succession. Well, I guess you're just better than those other two. Your character's hangover is completely gone, you felt it for all but a second as you raise your head to see your Aarakocra companion still struggling with his."
"Is there anything I can do to help him?" She asked. Andre's lip curled upward slightly.
"Now you're getting it. It's a role-playing game. You have your roles, the ones you set up for yourself, and now you get to play them. And yes, there is something you can do to help. Roll me a medicine check. I'll add your modifier myself." The sound of a die rattling across the table ended with... "Another Nat 20?!"
We jumped at Andre's incredulous shout as he glared at the die before him. He seemed more angry at the dice than at Vemnka so I assumed we were probably not in trouble. How can we be? We didn't do anything that would make him angry. Why's he yelling?
"Sorry, but the chance of rolling two nat 20s in a row, while not astronomical, is pretty fucking low. Something like a one in four hundred chance, maybe more," Andre said, sitting back down and sighing deeply. "It's fine, just funny is all. Usually, RNJesus is on the DM's side, not the party's. Kinda nice to see a change of pace."
"RNJesus," we asked collectively.
"Don't worry about it, let's continue. Vemnka, you put your hand on Sevkan's shoulder and do some voodoo magic bullshit and pray to your god to heal his aching body. Miraculously, it works and Sevkan sits upright feeling light as a feather. The Aarakocra's headache is now on par with Kimmich's."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that, now let's get on with it. As Sevkan gets up and shakes off the remaining ebbing in his head, you all notice five less-than-reputable figures sitting in a booth at the far end of the tavern. Each wears a hood or cowl accompanied by a cloak, which hides their race and weapons from you, however, you can tell that one of them is considerably larger than the others. If you had to, you'd place it at about 226 cm (7'5") while those around it are around the average human height of 180 cm (6'0"). Roll me perception too."
We looked at each other at the description but shrugged it off as we rolled. I rolled a 7, Dad rolled a 19, and Vemnka rolled a 17.
"Both of you," he said, pointing at Vemnka and Dad with one hand, "See that they are pointing in your direction while the big one holds a piece of paper in his hand. It shows artistic renditions of the three of you, along with a long string of words you can't make out from your current distance. Kimmich, you hear them talking about a bounty and that you are the specified targets. Now it's time for you to react, how do you want to move forward?"
"Well," Vemnka said nervously. I could see her tail flick in my direction, looking for guidance, but I had none. "I suppose I'll confront them? I'm not sure what a bounty is exactly..."
"Really?"
We looked at Andre and the obviousness of the situation. If we didn't know what a word was, we knew it must have been predatory. "Right, sorry. Bounties are orders given to hired people to hunt people. For one reason or another, if someone wants someone dead then they'll place a bounty on their head. I'm not sure if it was ever actually a thing, but bounty hunters were popular during the Wild West days of the US. They usually brought criminals in for trial though, and usually didn't kill them."
"Okay, but why do they want us dead," Dad asked, his ears falling back slightly.
"That's the neat part, you have no idea," Andre said as he leaned forward and moved the green-tipped black pawn a space on the map. "Vemnka, as you get up, you notice that one of the figures is moving towards the door with slight urgency. Before you can make a move, however, the large figure stands up and doffs his cloak, revealing the tattooed grey skin of a Goliath wielding a greatsword in the executioner's style. He shouts over the tavern for everyone other than your group to leave immediately as things are about to get bloody. His three other goons, the one moving toward the door exempt, move in unison towards you. Roll initiative. It's a d20, same as all the others."
I looked toward my sister to see her tail freaking out, her bishop is the closest to the enemy party, meaning she was more likely to be targeted first. I had to protect her, not only because of our sibling relationship but also because she could heal us if we got hurt. The three of us rolled as one, I got a 10, Dad a 14, and Vemnka got a 4. Andre himself rolled a few dice before moving the chess pieces into place and writing down something on a sheet of paper. "Alright, perfect. Initiative rolled, time to start combat. First up, yellow pawn."
He moved the pawn toward Vemnka's bishop, immediately putting her in danger. "One of the vagabonds rushes you, Vemnka, and you see the flash of Tabaxi claws as they raise their hand to strike at you." Andre's dice rolled, clattering to a halt inside the pad on his end, obscuring the results. "Does a 14 hit?"
"How do I check that," she asked, her tail going even crazier. Though, I couldn't tell if it was excitement or panic.
"AC," Andre responded flatly, "Armor Class."
"Right, yep." She looked down at her paper and flicked he ears 'no' then shook her head.
"The Tabaxi's claws swipe right above your head and miss by a hair. You can even feel the air move past you as you flinch backward. Next, the Goliath moves toward you, hefting his greatsword. Kimmich, if looks could kill, you'd be halfway to Valhalla by now. He glares at you with a mighty fire in his eyes. It's hard to tell, but you think he might have it out for you. He takes a swing with his sword and..." Andre rolled and looked back up at the table, his eyes focusing rather intensely on the black king representing the Goliath. "Meh, Nat 1. He swings and you dodge, causing his swing to miss wildly and land on the Tabaxi nearby. She takes," he rolls, "A sizable chunk of damage as blood flows from her lower abdomen."
"Wouldn't she be writhing in pain right now," Dad asked, pointing to the yellow-topped pawn.
"In real life? Yes. Here? I control the game, and while she is certainly hurt, she still has enough will to fight. Money is a powerful incentive for some people, especially bandits and vagabonds. Next, Sevkan, you notice the flash of steel as a dehooded human rushes you with a shortsword in hand. He has a keen eye and sharp nose, but your reflexes are faster as you dodge his swipe. He stumbles a bit, but recovers before you have a chance to harm him." Andre looks at Dad, who doesn't even seem to register the human's gaze as he looks over his sheet. "Kimmich, it's your turn. You can attack, retreat, use a spell-"
"Divine smite the Goliath, I'll use Divine Smite on the Goliath."
Andre lets out a chuckling laugh, "Now we're talkin'. Let's do this. Roll for attack."
Dad rolled, and I watched as the dice skipped across the table and finally landed on 11. "Plus five, so 16."
"Very good, that is a successful hit. Please roll both damage and the Divine Smite's 2d8."
Dad rolled his d8 three separate times, coalescing in a massive 18 damage, a 7, an 8, and a 3. "18 damage total against the Goliath."
Andre did a weird whistle as he marked down the information on what I could only assume was the stat sheet for the enemies. "18 against big guy. Sevkan, your turn. D-"
"Actually," Dad interrupted, "it says here that I have an extra action and a bonus action."
"Oh."
"So I'm going to attack him again."
"Okay."
Dad rolled another d8 which landed 6 side up. "Another six damage and I end my turn."
"Thank you, finally. Sevkan, go, please. Attack or... Well, all you can do is attack." Andre leaned back in his chair, stare planted squarely on me. I looked down at my sheet for any actions I had. I had a normal and bonus action, and that was it. I looked at the section marked features and traits and noticed that I could do three actions with action surge. "Alright, I'll attack three times. Twice with my halberd using action surge and once with that dagger, you forgot to give everyone that we all had the option to take." I glared right back at him.
"Yes, I didn't give you all the tools you could have had because it would have just wasted more time. But fine, if you want to use it, fine. It's a d6 slashing damage."
I rolled the 2d10 for damage. One landed on 8 while the other landed on 9. My d6 lands true on a 4. "21 damage to the beige-tipped pawn. That's the human, right?"
"Yep," Andre nodded as he wrote down the damage. "You take two swipes at the human with your halberd, both connect with both his arms and torso, slowing him considerably. It's only when he remains standing that you pull your dagger from its sheath and plunge it into his chest. You miss his heart by millimeters, but it does the job as he collapses in a pool of blood. Congrats, first knockout of the game."
I shudder at Andre's description of my character, who might as well be interchangeable with a Krakotl, killing a man. A human, for that matter. I look over to see Dad glaring daggers at Andre and Vemnka staring at me worriedly. I wave her off with my tail and focus back on Andre.
"Retribution is in store for you, though, as an Elf leaps over a table with two daggers drawn, ready to avenge her slain comrade. She..." Andre rolls and whoops as he punches a fist into the air. "She comes down with blinding speed and rakes her metal blades across your chest," He rolls again and lets out a slightly disappointed 'oh' before continuing. "You take a total of 8 damage from the Elf's daggers."
Andre, once again, leans forward, this time to remove the beige-tipped pawn from the table and replace it with a red cross, as well as move the green tipped toward where all the white pawns were. I assumed the gap in the markings must have been a door, as Andre had moved all the white pawns out of it when combat started. The green pawn must be escaping or blocking ours. Either way, we have to deal with the three remaining in front of us before we can handle that one.
"I see gears turning, always a good sign, but let's continue. Vemnka your combat turn. Make it count. You can use your bonus action to heal or attack with your mace, it doesn't matter as long as you do a different action when using it."
Vemnka looks over at me, then to the board with a contemplative look. "I'd like to use my first action to bless the two of them, then I'd like to use my bonus action to bonk the -what did you call it?"
"A Tabaxi."
"Yeah, that, I want to bonk that." Her tail swayed with contentment as she rolled her damage dice. It rolled into the batch of white pawns before landing on 6.
"Ouph, 'fraid that's not gonna be enough to hit anyone, but, Kimmich, Sevkan, both of you can now roll a d4 to accompany your attack roll." He flicked his d4 into the air but somehow missed it as it fell. It clattered onto the table and got flung into the living room as Andre tried to grab it. "Fuck, alright, hold on. Damned carpet's gonna be the death of me."
He went looking for the die, leaving us Venlil staring at the table before us.
"So what do you think," I asked abruptly.
"I don't know," Dad responded, his tone careful but gruff. "It's very clearly predatory. I mean, we wake up in a tavern after a night of drinking so hard our heads feel like they're about to explode and once the hangover clears we've got a band of roughnecks out for blood from the get-go." He squinted at the chess pieces representing our characters, they were all next to each other. "And I can't even really argue that we should stop because I'm fine with what's being depicted. Even if his description of you... knocking out that human was a bit over the top, I think that's the point."
"I agree," Vemnka spoke up, "The whole game is very fantastical, not meant to be compared to real life. I mean, sure, the concept of bounty hunters is a real thing, but I don't think there are humans as tall as that Goliath walking around. Or whatever a Tabaxi is."
"Fantastical and weird. If those don't describe humanity, I don't know what does," I said with a bemused flick of my tail.
"How about tired of hearing you talk about me behind my back," Andre's voice shouted from behind the couch, where he was scrounging for the lost die. Finally, he seemed to have found it, poking his head out from the backrest and looking over at us. "I'm joking of course, I don't mind at all. Unless you're insulting my taste in music, then we'll have a problem."
"I-I mean it's just-"
"Not for everyone, yadda yadda yadda. Anyway," Andre stood up, holding the d4 in his hand. "Lets continue. Tabaxi time." He took his seat and leaned forward to adjust the white pawns before rolling the hit dice. "Bruh. Another Nat 1. And here I was imagining the Goliath and Tabaxi to be the leaders of the group. Whatever. The Tabaxi attempts another swipe at you, or so it appears because she ends up cat-scratching the arm of the Goliath next to her. That's five damage, and it moves to the Goliath who is slightly pissed at everyone except for the Elf, who's, y'know, actually put in some work. The Goliath makes a wide swing, hoping to cut you all down in one fell swoop." He rolls the d20 three more times, once with a 'whoop' of success, another with a 'aww' of failure, and a final with a 'oh come the fuck on.' I could only assume it was a horrible failure. Andre's sigh fills the room. "Alright, Kimmich, you take 18 damage, he crit succeeded. Sevkan, you take no damage, and instead duck low as the swipe passes over you. Vemnka, you feel the blade move over you, but it does not connect due to your short stature. No, instead, he once again hits the fucking Tabaxi with his swing because he crit failed. Again. And because the human is no longer available to fight, it's now your turn Kimmich."
"I would like to smite again."
"Oh fuck, right you get two 1st level spell slots." Andre almost sounded annoyed when it was brought up, but relented nonetheless. "Take the hit dice."
Dad rolled, and it landed on 14. He rolled the d4 for the blessing Vemnka gave us. It landed on a 3. "Plus the five-"
"Yeah, yeah, it hits. Roll me damage."
"I'm sensing some hostilities from you," Dad said smugly.
"I'm starting to understand why my DMs hated being DMs, that's all. Please, fuck up that Goliath." And so he did, rolling a 15 in total. "You swing one of your longswords upward and cleave the Goliath's jaw in two, but he does not die. A mere flesh wound such as that would do little to dampen the giant-kin's will. No, what killed him was the bright light that engulfed his head after the strike landed. His face was the first to go as he tried to breathe through the holy flames surrounding him. His screams ended abruptly as his larynx melted away, leaving only writhing agony. He died a pitiable death in all fairness, as any sinner does. The second knockout of the game goes to Kimmich. Yay."
Again, the feeling of discomfort appeared as Andre described in unnecessary detail the visual of... someone burning alive. Oh stars, he planned that out, didn't he?
"Let's move on. Sev, your turn. First, lemme see you all roll perception again."
I rolled a 10 while both Dad and Vemnka rolled 16s. Adding modifiers made their 16s into 19s. "Alright. Again, Vemnka and Kimmich only, you see the figure who'd been moving toward the door at the beginning of the fight, now make a break for it as the Goliath collapses into a burnt-out husk. His hood is removed by the movement revealing it to be a green-scaled Dragonborn." Andre moves the Dragonborn's piece next to the door and through it, stopping it just within our sightlines. "He has a chance to escape, will you let him?" He looked at us expectantly.
I turned to Dad to see him eyeing the piece like a fresh firefruit. "Dad, no. If he leaves then that leaves the Elf and the Tub- Taba- Tabasi, whatever it's called. We can end this soon." Vemnka put her tail on his shoulder in an attempt to get his attention. He flinches at the touch and lowers his raised fur.
"Yes, yeah. Let him go," he says hoarsely.
"Alright, letting the Dragonborn go. Now it's Sev's turn. Go ahead and do something about his pesky elf." Andre moves the Elf's pawn a bit to put it back on the right square.
I shrug, attempting to fight off the conflicting feelings. On one paw, it's a game and no one is going to get hurt by me doing these things. But on the other, if I do this willingly does that make me any better than someone who would kill in real life?
Andre's voice snapped me out of my stupor. "Don't overthink it. It's a game, and this situation is self-defence. Kimmich is the only person here who's killed someone so far. The human will probably live in prison and the Dragonborn might find new meaning in life. It's not like any of this properly reflects the real world anyway. Just focus on the game, nothing more, nothing less."
I shook my body to rid myself of those thoughts and rolled my d20 and d4 from the blessing. "18 to hit."
"And hit it does. Halberd is a go!"
With another roll, it lands on a zero. "Got a 0?"
"Oh, yeah, the model I imposed the numbers on only uses one character for each side, but that's a 10. Good roll. Elf takes 10 damage and doesn't like you right now. I'm super tired of talking, so I'll just roll the hit dice. She attacks you for 19. Your AC is 19. Meets it beats it, that's a hit. Rolling damage, she lands a solid blow of 9 damage for her twin daggers. Now both you and Kimmich should have 3 health. Vem, your turn."
"Hit the tab?"
"Hit the tab."
"Hitting tab." Vemnka rolled her d20 and it landed on a 19. "19 plus whatever, I already know it hits."
"That it does," Andre responded. With a flick of his wrist, he knocks over the Tabaxi's pawn and places a cross where it was, he does the same with the Goliath's king. "Wait, why did you do that? I hadn't rolled damage."
"The Tabaxi had one health, there's no feasible way you do zero damage when rolling a dice with no zero on it. Anyway, let's wrap this up, it feels like we've been at this forever. Kimmich, your turn."
Dad sighed a deep whistling sigh. "I'll just roll to attack the Elf." He rolled his two dice, one landed on a 12 and the other landed on a 7, plus the 5 to his hits. "17 and 12. Rolling damage for that 17."
"Roll for both, the Elf's AC isn't that high."
"Really," I asked, bewildered.
"Really. The Goliath had the most AC at 16, but meets it beats it and Kimmich met it in the first round." The clack of dice interrupted him as Dad rolled his two damage die. Andre leaned forward to announce the numbers. "A total of 13. Congratulations, the three of you have just won a skewed encounter of DnD."
"Skewed encounter?"
"The Goliath had 40 health while everyone other than the Tabaxi had 20. The Tabaxi had 17. The Goliath had an AC of 16 while the rest had between 12 and 14. At least one of you should have died. I was betting on Kimmich because I had the Goliath go after him, but the nat 1s kinda stopped that from happening." Andre shook his prosthetic hands and brought them up to his chin. "Anyway, I'm dead tired. Never want to do that again, ever."
"I can't say I'm in the same cruiser as you, I found it quite fun, even with the gruesome descriptions," I said, probably unconvincingly. I did have fun, but it was a lot to take in all at once.
"I had fun too. Just, if we do do this again, try to tone back the predatory stuff. The fighting was fine, but the description was a bit... spot on I think." Vemnka's tail curled a bit as she probably imagined the images Andre described in her head.
Dad only gave a small 'hmph' as he scooted off his chair and went toward our rooms.
"Well," Andre started, "that's about what I expected from a bunch of scared space sheep."
I let out a whistle as Vemnka gently lowered herself to the ground, marched up to Andre, and bopped him on the thigh with all her might.
===================END=TRANSCRIPTION===================

Hi im Lucia a trans woman 19 years old and bisexual im a massive superhero fan and would love to do a academy role play with action drama and romance i am looking for someone who is interested in such an role play and is helping with the story and doesn’t just writes short answers im living in austria and I know both dc and marvel pretty good we can do either one but the choice is up to you i would rather have oc x oc more than oc x characters i know this roleplay request text is all over the place but it just how I am the setting is : we are going i the same class and our school is pretty big because somehow more and more people are getting a super power and the heroes want to have as many people as possible on the good side that is why we are there we get a dorm and free food aswell as clothes and stuff but we get to go home over the summer and winter break to see our family and friends …… it was winter break and we are now getting back to school )) so if you are interested wich is highly unlikely dm me and thanks for reading I really appreciate it :) have a good day/night/morning

A homeless teenager reaches out to the Shil’vati on first day of the invasion of Earth.
Credit to: who has beta read just about every chapter, and the only reason it's readable half the time
u/bluefishcake for writing the original SSB story.
Pizzaulostin who has been beta reading since the beginning.
Credit to u/HollowShel for getting me started with this!
This story is based in the SSB universe.
Previous
First
Chapter 33:

Reqellia:

It was the darkest part of the night, and yet I could hear the energetic commotion of Ruhal blearily heating up food for a famished human along with the clinks of dishes and silverware.
“One more day.” I felt glued to the bench as I stared back into the silver mask I hadn’t worn for almost [twenty-five years] prior, and had hoped never to put on again. I cursed my old girlish wishes when I first joined up, wanting to be a war hero, and then a mother afterwards. To grow old and see my own child in uniform. I had even wanted a son since I was already demanding the impossible.
I never believed in the gods, but now I’m sure that I’ve tempted Niosa to grant my wishes, but only after I made my peace with them that they would never come true.
Klein bounced around the suite’s kitchen, eating enough for two Shil women and already wearing his armor’s underlayment. The chair creaked a bit as he sat, his own horror-show mask on the dining table next to him staring back at him unblinking.
And It was a horror show.
He’d wake up cheerful and happy, and I’d watch over the day as every bit of his energy was drained out of him. The daily exercise routine of a morning run and gym day in a month being performed in a few short hours. Every time Klein finished a trail faster, or performed a more grueling task, the trainers would make him do even more as his contract offers rose another level.
I didn’t blame the instructors, it was their job to challenge each applicant, but Klein blew through all their expectations, so they just kept piling more onto him. Many of those same instructors had asked me if they were pushing him too far, but all I could do was shrug. Even I didn't even know where his potential ended.
I blinked and looked up. He was in his full armor now, with only the mask off.
“Ready to go?”
I nodded and stood up, quickly heading over to Ruhal, who in turn looked at me with sleep deprived eyes. Worn out as I was, he was worse, playing subject matter expert on all things human around a bunch of high ranking officers desperate for information not tainted by censorship.
“Stay safe out there,” he politely ordered as he kissed me.
I kissed him back and held his hand. “You too.”
Sighing,I left to let him rest, popped my back, and donned my own mask.
As Klein paced the door, I begged for safety. “One more day, please let everything be okay after today.”
I shouldn’t have tempted Niosa again.

Itaro:

I quietly padded out of the children’s den to a chorus of snoring from my siblings. The well carpeted securely fastened to wooden floors muffled my footsteps. I opened the large storm shutters and then pulled open the sliding glass door to the patio. I couldn’t sleep anymore, excitedly bouncing from one foot to another.
Klein and Reqellia were coming home tonight! Reqellia had sent me her contract offers that came from a dozen different Imperial departments and bureaus. Dad already agreed years ago she could move in with us, a pack sister was always welcome. Now she wouldn’t feel like a burden if she had to.
And Klein… Well, I wouldn’t be bothered by a few love-marks.
“I see that smile. Excited?” I heard my father’s deep voice like distant thunder. I turned around to his massive form only a few steps away. We both had learned to walk silently when my siblings were just pups and the discovery that they were light sleepers had been made.
I felt my ears droop just a little to see his melancholic face. He had gone out of his way the last few weeks to spend more time with just me now that I had a pack of my own. There was always a soft smile on his face, but the way his tail hung low to the floor was a dead giveaway on his mood.
I tried to cheer him up. “I am. It’s been weeks since I got to speak to Au’tes, and Klein…” I trailed off, the insinuation clear. He smirked. He had met Klein in passing, but I wasn’t bringing him home yet. Hario on the other hand had made one or two bawdy jokes at the dinner table after a second glass of her favorite liquor.
First time Klein spends the night, you might want to check up on Itaro, make sure she didn’t keel over from exhaustion.
“At this rate I’m going to have to teach you sword fighting to beat back other male suitors from poaching you for their own packs!” My father joked. Stepping off the patio landing, he hit the ground noiselessly, bending his legs to absorb the shock.

After letting out a quiet grunt indicative of an age he tried to keep hidden, he turned around and looked back up at me. “Want to come with me for a walk?”
I jumped down and followed him into our little patch of forest my mother’s terraforming job paid for. The early morning was already warm without a cooling vest, but not intolerable. The chirping of birds and the soft whistle of wind tinged with just a hint of salt made everything feel fresh.
It was like when I came home from school and my father would stop construction for the day. We’d explore the forest, play on the beach, go into town for groceries.
Except now my father didn’t run and have me chase him. He carefully inspected the trees for pests, and our conversation was far more practical than whimsical. “Your mother’s coming home next month. Can you write her a message before she meets Klein, just so she has a better idea of your pack?”
I nodded. “Of course. How long is she going to be home this time?”.
Her terraforming jobs always lasted months, if not years. I never faulted her for the huntress life, but it made connecting with her difficult. She was more a guest of honor than a mother to the household, always bringing a fatted Sou’ta carcass home as a present, but rarely cleaned dishes, or the house.
Or really any chore…
He shrugged before crouching next to a felled tree, trimming away small branches for kindling with a tiny hatchet he hand pulled from his tool pouch. “Might be a good long while this time. The last message I got said her department only had small projects and a few hazard jobs on the periphery. Besides, we might need an extra set of hands more than the money now.”
I scoffed. “Her, a house mother!? No offense, but mom is a terrible cook, and a worse caretaker. Remember the time she nearly burned down our kitchen boiling water?”
He laughed with me as he pocketed the hatchet. Standing up with two sticks, and then threw me one. I caught it as he swung his own stick in my general area. “Defend yourself! I did say I needed to teach you sword fighting. How else are you going to fight off possessive men when they realize what a catch you are?”
He didn’t teach anything but how to rough house on a lazy Shel morning.
We played and swung the flimsy branches until I accidentally hit him square in the chest. The branch, already crumbly and dry, disintegrated on impact. It didn’t stop him from dramatically acting out a death scene. Falling to his knees in an overly theatrical fashion. “Oh, woe is me! Cut down by my own daughter in cold blood!”
I let him pretend to be on stage for a few moments longer before standing over him to offer a hand. He took it, and then yanked me down to the grassy patch, holding me for a long, quiet minute. “I’m going to miss you.”
For the first time I noticed the stray white hairs around his muzzle, I knew what he meant, but I tried to play it off. “I’m not going anywhere.”
He just held me for a silent heartbeat longer, then let go and stood up.
He proclaimed cheerfully to mask his wet eyes. “Now, let’s get you cleaned up. You can’t look like a pup out of a mud bath for your victorious pack! I even scheduled a visit at Tulo’s for a haircut. Ruhal’s treat.”
My mind played with potential futures as we headed home. Between the three of us, we could write our own life together. Maybe I could even stay close to home.
I looked up to the rising light.
“One more day!”

Klein :

The mountains of gear and equipment around us were illuminated by harsh flood lights. We stood in formation with each person, regardless of species, showing physical signs of exhaustion. Drooping shoulders and bent knees, unfocused and slow eye movement.
Instructor Li’kele was wearing full battle rattle today, complete with a compact lasrifle holstered to her leg.
“Good morning applicants! It’s the last day of selection! Your assignment will be to support your sisters in the combat section in the wargames! You see all this critical equipment? Our first assignment will be to load all of it on auto-turoxes and hover-wagons. Unfortunately we don’t have enough capacity , some of you will need to carry gear on your person as we make the [ten mile] trek into the forest. Applicants 849, 734, 236 and 953 step up after we finish loading! You are our extra carriers.”
I knew I was going to be picked. It was easy to not let it bother me though. Reqellia had explained that the instructors were just trying to push us to our limits, and every extra duty and handicap meant a better contract with a brighter future.
Still, after hefting thousands of [pounds/kilos] of stuff onto the squat legged drone’s cargo cages and the little platforms that would float once powered, dread formed in the pit of my stomach as an entire counter-battery system was cinched onto my person. I trudged as we formed up for our road march.
The combat selection team rolled in as we took positions, already covered in mud from what I could guess was their own morning fun, their las-rifles at the low ready. Their own instructor, a severe looking Hyena-like Kortika woman with fur that trimmed short and smooth. She yelled out orders to the gaggle of applicants under her command. “Form on either side of the supply train and defend them at all costs! If they get shot because you weren’t doing your job, then it’s your ass that will be carrying the extra gear!”
We marched out of the base, clinking and clunking as we traveled uphill. The weight wasn’t too bad now that it was evenly distributed on my body, but it would be hell taking it off and putting it back on anytime we stopped.
“Isn’t that the new shock trooper ? What’s he doing with the non-combat selection?” I heard one of the combat applicants say idly. It was easy to pick up conversation in the nearly silent dawn as we marched on a dirt path extending across an expanse of grassland in the reddening sky. It was really pretty, watching the light play on the green forested hills in the distance.
Their Instructor sidled up to the commenting girl silently, ears swiveled back in anger. She grabbed her shoulder, growling low. “Cut the chatter, girl. ”
Silence followed for the next hour in the pre-dawn light.
We got the first taste of the wargames when red beams bolted over our heads and dropped one of our auto-turoxes. “Everyone get down!” yelled one of our instructors, and I threw myself on the path.
With all the weight on me, the impact on the ground hurt . I looked up and saw red beams blink in and out over me. Their flashes brought back memories.
The red glow through convenience store windows . An alien invasion.
I blinked furiously and turned my head to see what was going on with the combat teams on the sides of the road. They had already taken out two of the ‘raiders’ who stood up, hands in the air as they walked away. Another minute clicked by before a squad decided to double check the tall grass and found a third raider hiding. All had the insignia of the instruction cadre commandos.
“Everyone, up !” Instructor Lik’ele belted out in a two-word shout, and I had to push up off the ground, creaking under the weight. My arms burned as I got to my knees, then raised a hand and called out, “assistance!” One of the unnumbered girls gave me a hand to steady myself, and I rocked a bit trying to stand.
“Thank you,” I said, but between the voice distorter and my mask, the girl backed away as soon as I was up, fear registered in her eyes.
[At the bus stop, a classmate backed away from me. scared of me for some reason mumbling ‘you're bleeding’. Warmth on my upper lip, a coppery taste.]

I shook my head, trying to banish the weird memory surfacing, I hadn’t had a nosebleed since I left Earth. I looked back up, but the girl had already gotten back in formation and we started moving again.
It wasn’t quite noon when we stopped for lunch. I got help removing my kit, and stretched to work out the kinks. Reqellia stood next to me as I sat down on the hard packed surface. I took off my gloves, and jammed them under my chest holster.
I was technically ‘armed’ right now. We had gotten the thirty-minute las-pistol training yesterday on how to safely handle them, and then ran through a quick range. They were nothing more than glorified laser pointers though. They could lock up a suit set to respond to the laser signal, but they wouldn’t so much as redden skin otherwise.
Reqellia had let me in on their real purpose, to see if we could be trusted with a dangerous object and not play with it.
Eating was a pain, I had to lift my mask halfway up and eat blind. The meal pack was cold, but eh, it was food. Goddess, I was hungry.
“How are you holding up?” Reqellia asked, the silver mask obscuring any expression, and the voice distorter deadening any intonation, but by the angle of the head tilt, I could guess the question was more concern than curiosity.
“It’s not too heavy, but it’s awkward trying to move around,” I admitted as I put my mask back in place and pulled out my omni-pad. I tried not to boggle at the contract offers I was getting. It was a straight up bidding war, including furnished houses, years of leave after an initial stint, even minor titles.
Ruhal had helped me, even filled out the forms himself with less than a day for submission. He had also messaged me about the fine print of many of these absurd offers. The watch word was ‘Relocation’.
“They will send you back to Earth. Right now, you are the only human any department can recruit who might know an obscure piece of human signage or culture that got skipped during their culture crash courses, has the physical ability to keep up during an operation, and they can implicitly trust it is loyal to the Imperium.”
I scrolled past the too-good-to-be true proposals and to the ones without relocation, not ridiculously overpaying, but still plenty. Maybe I would follow Ka’tel into ICAD, or…
“We need to get moving!” Li’kele barked and I signaled for help again. This time Au’tes was ordered to help me with my gear. Now seeing her up close, she was definitely worse for wear. She smiled, but it was the kind of tired smile that had almost no energy in it. Her usual well controlled movements were slurred by exhaustion, and she leaned on me after buckling the packs on my shoulders, her own extra gear was a large backpack of energy cells.
“Damn, girl runs away in fear from combat selection after spending years in the militia and now plays valet. Bet whatever is underneath that suit is more would eat her alive if unmuzzled,” I overheard one of the combat applicants snicker. Au’tes winced, just a bit, at the barb from her former youth militia group.
“Lift your visor.” I said. It was dumb, it was really dumb, but I wanted to give her at least a reminder of what she had that they didn’t. Au’tes had a flicker of confusion, but flipped up the visor on her suit’s helmet.
I lifted my mask just enough to kiss her. It was honestly a gross kiss and wished I could have brushed my teeth beforehand. But when I dropped my mask down there was the manic Au’tes again, full of energy and gusto. I looked past her to the shocked combat applicants. I put my finger to roughly where my mouth was and whispered in my distorted voice, “No one will believe you.”
Au’tes brought her visor down and squeezed my hand for a second longer before leaning in close “Thank you for letting me know you still exist under there.

Reqellia:

The dirt trail up the hill was easy enough for my legs. I stayed in the same general area as Klein, but with my augments I already had his pinpoint location and medical data, I could even access his helmet camera. I didn’t want to get in his way while the instructors gave him snap secondary tasks to complete on our journey up to the outpost location.
I kept myself entertained by listening in on the comms chatter that I could pick up on the wargames going on about us at large. I had enjoyed playing the no-holds-barred opposing force when I was a commando on rotation here.
Right now there was a particularly fun little drama going on up north of our location. A mechanized assault unit tasked with taking out an anti-orbital battery got one of their exos stuck in mud because of a poor assessment of the ground composition. The armored crane they had first ordered to pull it out was now also stuck.
The Lieutenant was trying to get an exception to the wargame rules to bring a drop ship in to pull them both out, but the higher-ups told her to figure it out. The whole point of these wargames was to discover how things could go wrong. The Lieutenant tried to pull title to overrule them, only to get a nasty conversation from her commander.
A small beep from my monitoring systems told me Klein’s heart rate had slowed and I looked up to see the front of the supply train had been ordered to halt. Up ahead was the “fort,” a clearing on top of the hill with nothing but some half buried holes.
The Kortika woman got to the front of the formation and gave her orders. “Listen up! Combat selection is going to set up a perimeter while the Auxiliary builds us a structure safe enough to hold during an assault. All weapons are going ‘live’, but for those in the non-combat teams I will again warn you to only use them in self-defense. If you wanted to shoot people for a living you should have signed up for it.”
I tried not to flinch as I watched Klein and his compatriots start to offload all the gear they had packed this morning and attempt their best effort at setting it up with basic instructions from Li’kele and the manuals that came with the equipment. Just another test to see how the applicants would handle the technical situation.
At this point they were at their limit, physically and mentally exhausted as they tried to bolt frames together, wrestle antennas, install expandable barriers, and put together the foundations of a forward operating base.
Klein had all but given up on the counter battery system he schlepped here and handed that responsibility off to a Senthe Boy while speaking a rough northern dialect of Satenthia. The boy was more than happy to talk to someone who knew even a few words of his native tongue.
I opened a small window on my HUD and watched with amusement as the early contract offers rose and fell. Klein’s offer from naval engineering, already paltry compared to other, more suitable jobs, dropped to barely above standard. Intelligence and Law branches, however, rocketed upwards again.
I could almost hear the recruiter’s comments as the numbers and terms changed. Does not have familiarity with Shil military equipment. Comfortable with speaking multiple languages. Works well with multiple species.
I watched them work. Klein, in usual Klein fashion, pushed himself. After getting the counter battery laser hooked up, he volunteered for other physically demanding tasks. Pile driving in the foundations that hold the columns of the structure. The rhythmic thump gave me ghost aches when I had done the same thing out in the periphery while getting pot shotted by roaches.
I shook my head. It was going to be another rough night for him by the way he was bunching up his shoulders as he braced the handheld pile driver. Thankfully, tomorrow he’d be home and with an appointment with Cee who might force him on bed rest for the next month.
I started to chuckle at the thought of how protective Itaro was going to get after taking one look at Klein. I came back from deployment once missing three fingers from a plasma grenade and Bahtet waited on me and foot, wouldn’t so much as let me handle a kitchen knife until they were replaced later that month.
A few stray red beams were thrown our way, even a flash bang or two from the commandos tasked with harassing us came and went. As the ramparts of the temporary base were finished, I took up station on the second level to oversee the whole complex. Klien was working with a combat team, helping them put a second defense line in. They had driven stakes into the ground to support parallel knee-high thermocast plates with an arms-length gap between them, which Klein was filling in with dirt to act as a wall and platform for the heavy, crew served lasgun.
I was thankful there would be a shuttle to pick us up soon. I played the opposing force for Selection a few times, and I still remembered the script. Right now we were in a lull that would last until dusk, then at least three full commando teams would assault the base. The battle would be made as realistic and demanding as possible with creeping dark to add to the complexity.
The Selection team would always be wiped out, but it was how they performed against overwhelming odds that would shift the contract offers that last bit before everything was locked in place.
I heard the whirr of a counter battery system swiveling around, and then the crackle of it firing. I turned to see what it was aiming for but all I saw was a cloud of smoke . Then a fast moving object came through the cloud before I heard the crackle again and another exploded .
Blanketing everything in a tar-black fog .
My stomach dropped. This wasn’t the cadre commando team, and they were attacking too soon. I got on the comms with Li’kele “HALT, HALT, HALT! We need to stop the exercise!”
I got a crackle on the comms. Then Li’kele’s voice came in that terrifyingly calm voice used to keep control of a combat operation. “I can’t get a signal out, I need a report on the situation.”
Instead of trying to explain I sent her my video feed as I jumped down from the ramparts and started to sprint for Klein. I needed to get him out of here , but I hadn’t had time to prime my augments. I started the cold power cycle as I cursed myself for letting my guard down.
I was already too late . I watched as our own counter-battery laser weapons were used against us, acting as the triggers for each smoke grenade engulfing Klein’s team right in front of me, their signal dropping right out. I got a response from Li’kele that alleviated at least some of my terror. “Dammit! It’s the 171 st Raiders from the wargames, they mus-”
And then I was enveloped in darkness and static. The smoke was so thick I could only see a few paces away in all spectrums. I tried my internal radio and….
Nothing. I was alone and with nothing to guide me, and then I saw to the right of me a few weak beams of red, and then a ball of light of a simulated explosion. I let my gnawing panic subside and walked their way with a observers flag in my hand. I was practically on top of them before I saw the combat selection team that had been ‘killed’, their frowning faces and hands up as they sat there grumbling.
The Raiders appeared soon after. A four woman squad. Two Helkam, a Rakiri, and a Shil’vati hefting a large antiquated grenade launcher. I called out “Do you have a way to call a emergency stop to the battle?”
The squad leader responded. “Did someone get seriously injured? I can fire off a flare and our medic teams will be here to extract them.”
“No! This is Selection, we aren’t supposed to be part of the Wargames.” I argued, but she waved me off.
“We got orders to assault the base up here. Trust me, our commander is mighty pissed at getting tasked with a frontal assault on the youngest and toughest the Imperium has to offer, with adding insult to injury if we lose to kids. That’s why we broke out the smoke screen.”
“One of the Selection members is the first of their species. Higher ups want them monitored at all times,” I partly lied.
The gears whirred and the team lead brought her weapon up again, eyes a little wider. “ Blue Eyes is here? Shit, girls ready up and head on a swivel!”
The team reformed in a circle facing outwards, a tactic specifically meant for ambushes and roach suicide drones. I stood there, confused. “Blue eyes?”
The team lead started to move into the smoke again, but explained, her eyes darting around. “Yeah, the freaky creature in the mask, toyed with an unmanned Exo before annihilating it with a shipcutter! A close quarters combat specialist with heavy armor and a real mean streak . You’re telling me they’re loose in a forest with enough concealment to sneak up on us and tear us to shreds? Ma’am the only ones in immediate danger are us. ”

Following the previous post here’s a recap of the 5th day from the 3rd week of the "World Wide League 07" project (full playlist of it can be found here).
Some notes:
You can find descriptions of each division as well as the teams participating in them on the Week 1 posts previously submitted in this subreddit.
Every time you see a team with their name in bold, it's a team of which every match will be recorded.
For ordering the leaderboard table, I simply use whatever the game displays (when there are full ties, it simply orders the teams at random) and then do some correlation since once the week of matches is done, the first match of the next week happens automatically offscreen.
WEEK 3 DAY 5
9th Division (Morning)
The results of the 12 matches from this division’s 3rd week were the following:

HOME	RESULT	AWAY
Sv Zulte	1-2	Boavista
Figueirense	1-1	SC Heerenveen
Numancia	2-0	Elche
AEK Athen	0-1	FC Cologne
Paranaense	1-0	Albacete
Sivasspor	0-1	Flamengo
Paraná	1-3	Strasbourg
1860 Munich	2-0	Coimbra
H. Rostock	2-3	Kaiserslautern
Valenciennes FC	2-0	V. Setúbal
Lecce	1-3	Real Murcia
Bastia	1-3	Djurgårdens

Now for a short description of the 8 recorded matches and their facts (stats and events):
Match 2: Figueirense vs SC Heerenveen
A match filled with great saves from both goalkeepers. It took one fine long-range shot and one miscalculation for the 2 goals of the match to be scored, otherwise there seemed to be no chance of getting the ball in.

Figueirense	Stats	SC Heerenveen
0+1=1	Goals	0+1=1
4+8=12	Shots	6+4=10
2+2=4	On Target	2+3=5
14+18=32	Tackles	14+23=37
1+2=3	Fouls	2+3=5
0+1=1	Bookings	0+0=0
3+1=4	Corners	1+1=2
0+0=0	Offsides	0+0=0
55%->66%	Passing	63%->62%
40%->44%	Possession	60%->56%
50%->33%	Accuracy	33%->50%

Figueirense	Events	SC Heerenveen
Goal (Cícero)	'48
Sub (Soares->Diego)	'54
	'59	Sub (Zuiverloon->Drost)
Yellow (Carlos Alberto)	'77
	'78	Goal (Nilsson)

Match 3: Numancia vs Elche
The home team played an ideal match, building a 2 goal lead in the 1st half and then having their keeper make several good saves during the 2nd half.

Numancia	Stats	Elche
2+0=2	Goals	0+0=0
7+2=9	Shots	1+12=13
4+2=6	On Target	0+5=5
17+19=46	Tackles	12+15=27
0+2=2	Fouls	2+0=2
0+1=1	Bookings	0+0=0
0+0=0	Corners	0+3=3
0+2=2	Offsides	0+0=0
76%->68%	Passing	74%->76%
50%->48%	Possession	50%->52%
57%->66%	Accuracy	0%->38%

Numancia	Events	Elche
Goal (Bolo)	'16
Goal (Bolo)	'40
Sub (Boris->Sietes)	'60	Sub (Gastón Casas->R. Peragón)
Yellow (Ortega)	'66	Injury (Miguel)
	'66	Sub (Miguel->Toledo)

Match 4: AEK Athen vs FC Cologne
1st half had plenty of saves keeping the match goalless. The 2nd half was less eventful and when it seemed no goals would be scored, a nicely directed header sentenced it all.

AEK Athen	Stats	FC Cologne
0+0=0	Goals	0+1=1
4+7=11	Shots	8+6=14
3+1=4	On Target	4+2=6
12+14=26	Tackles	6+17=23
0+2=2	Fouls	1+1=2
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
2+0=2	Corners	1+0=1
0+0=0	Offsides	0+1=1
57%->62%	Passing	70%->68%
47%->51%	Possession	53%->49%
75%->36%	Accuracy	50%->42%

AEK Athen	Events	FC Cologne
	'89	Goal (Scherz)

Match 5: Paranaense vs Albacete
Another match with several great saves, though this time the only goal of the match came from a failure to clear the ball properly.

Paranaense	Stats	Albacete
0+1=1	Goals	0+0=0
6+7=13	Shots	8+4=12
2+5=7	On Target	4+2=6
8+10=18	Tackles	12+21=33
0+2=2	Fouls	0+2=2
0+1=1	Bookings	0+1=1
1+1=2	Corners	2+2=4
1+1=2	Offsides	1+0=1
66%->68%	Passing	69%->69%
48%->48%	Possession	52%->52%
33%->53%	Accuracy	50%->50%

Paranaense	Events	Albacete
Sub (Danilo->J. Leonardo)	'54	Yellow (Héctor)
	'67	Sub (N. Núñez-> David Sánchez)
Goal (Pedro Oldoni)	'75
Red (J. Leonardo)	'76

Match 6: Sivasspor vs Flamengo
Away team got ahead after a few tries and there were some other close calls for the rest of the 1st half, though none of them ended on another goal. Not much else happened after half-time, so the score remained unchanged.

Sivasspor	Stats	Flamengo
0+0=0	Goals	1+0=1
7+3=10	Shots	12+5=17
4+1=5	On Target	4+2=6
14+14=28	Tackles	9+13=22
2+0=2	Fouls	1+2=3
1+0=1	Bookings	0+0=0
1+0=1	Corners	2+0=2
0+0=0	Offsides	0+2=2
68%->68%	Passing	76%->75%
47%->45%	Possession	53%->55%
57%->50%	Accuracy	33%->35%

Sivasspor	Events	Flamengo
	'20	Goal (Luizão)
Yellow (Yerlikaya)	'32
Sub (Karaca->Ummak)	'70
	'81	Sub (Leonardo Moura->Toró)

Match 7: Paraná vs Strasbourg
After a goalless 1st half, the home team took the lead with a very silly goal, but their opponents kept creating chances and in the final 15 minutes of the match they turned everything completely around.

Paraná	Stats	Strasbourg
0+1=1	Goals	0+3=3
1+1=2	Shots	6+9=15
0+1=1	On Target	2+8=10
21+18=39	Tackles	14+22=36
1+2=3	Fouls	0+0=0
0+1=1	Bookings	0+0=0
0+0=0	Corners	0+3=3
1+0=1	Offsides	0+0=0
63%->65%	Passing	73%->73%
46%->45%	Possession	54%->55%
0%->50%	Accuracy	33%->66%

Paraná	Events	Strasbourg
Yellow (Edmilson)	'49
Goal (Maicosuel)	'51
Sub (Edinho->Beto)	'55
	'77	Goal (Gameiro)
	'77	Sub (Abdessaski->Cohade)
	'85	Goal (Deroff)
	'90+1	Goal (Tum)

Match 8: 1860 Munich vs Coimbra
In a match with not that many shots on target, the home team made sure theirs counted.

1860 Munich	Stats	Coimbra
1+1=2	Goals	0+0=0
9+2=11	Shots	4+8=12
2+1=3	On Target	3+3=6
12+15=27	Tackles	13+22=35
1+1=2	Fouls	1+1=2
0+1=1	Bookings	0+1=1
0+0=0	Corners	1+0=1
0+1=1	Offsides	0+0=0
72%->68%	Passing	69%->73%
54%->50%	Possession	46%->50%
22%->27%	Accuracy	75%->50%

1860 Munich	Events	Coimbra
Goal (Ziegenbein)	'45+4
	'52	Yellow (Roberto Brum)
Yellow (Schäfer)	'55
Sub (Schwarz->Tyce)	'55
	'69	Sub (Alvarez->Gélson)
Goal (Baier)	'90

Match 9: H. Rostock vs Kaiserslautern
After an uneventful 1st half, the 2nd half was the complete opposite, packed with goals and overall action. Away team did a better job and it paid dividends for them in the end.

H. Rostock	Stats	Kaiserslautern
0+2=2	Goals	0+3=3
2+7=9	Shots	7+11=18
0+4=4	On Target	1+6=7
17+21=38	Tackles	24+16=40
1+0=1	Fouls	1+0=1
1+0=1	Bookings	0+0=0
1+0=1	Corners	2+3=5
1+0=1	Offsides	0+0=0
73%->74%	Passing	72%->73%
48%->47%	Possession	52%->53%
0%->44%	Accuracy	14%->38%

H. Rostock	Events	Kaiserslautern
Yellow (Wagefeld)	'38
	'49	Goal (Daham)
	'74	Goal (Reinert)
Sub (Wagefeld->Stein)	'74	Sub (Schönheim->Henn)
Goal (Schied)	'75
	'85	Goal (Daham)
Goal (Hähnge)	'90

With all that in mind, the leaderboard after this division’s 3rd week of matches is as follows:

POS	TEAM	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
1(=)	Flamengo	3	3	0	0	6	1	5	9
2(↑2)	Valenciennes FC	3	3	0	0	7	3	4	9
3(=)	Boavista	3	3	0	0	5	1	4	9
4(↑1)	Paranaense	3	3	0	0	3	0	3	9
5(↑3)	Numancia	3	2	1	0	3	0	3	7
6(↑5)	1860 Munich	3	2	0	1	5	2	3	6
7(↑9)	Real Murcia	3	2	0	1	5	3	2	6
8(↑7)	Djurgårdens	3	2	0	1	5	3	2	6
9(↓7)	Coimbra	3	2	0	1	4	3	1	6
10(↓4)	Albacete	3	1	1	1	5	2	3	4
11(↑3)	Figueirense	3	1	1	1	5	5	0	4
12(↓5)	Sivasspor	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
13(↑4)	SC Heerenveen	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
14(↓4)	H. Rostock	3	1	0	2	7	7	0	3
15(↓6)	V. Setúbal	3	1	0	2	3	3	0	3
16(↓4)	Lecce	3	1	0	2	4	5	-1	3
17(↓4)	AEK Athen	3	1	0	2	4	5	-1	3
18(↑1)	FC Cologne	3	1	0	2	1	2	-1	3
19(↑3)	Kaiserslautern	3	1	0	2	3	6	-3	3
20(↑3)	Strasbourg	3	1	0	2	4	8	-4	3
21(↓3)	Sv Zulte	3	0	1	2	1	3	-2	1
22(↓2)	Elche	3	0	0	3	0	4	-4	0
23(↓2)	Bastia	3	0	0	3	3	8	-5	0
24(=)	Paraná	3	0	0	3	2	10	-8	0

8th Division (Afternoon)
The results of the 12 matches from this division’s 3rd week were the following:

HOME	RESULT	AWAY
Catania	1-0	Aberdeen
Bologna	0-2	Vålerenga
SM Caen	0-4	Luton Town
Norwich	1-0	MSV Duisburg
U.N.A.M.	0-1	Karlsruher SC
Sporting Braga	1-4	SK Rapid Wien
Nacional	3-0	Veracruz
Cádiz	0-0	Santos Laguna
Kayserispor	2-3	Genoa
V. Manisaspor	2-0	Ponte Preta
Crystal Palace	3-2	Chiapas
Stand. de Liège	0-0	FC Seoul

Now for a short description of the 8 recorded matches and their facts (stats and events):
Match 2: Bologna vs Vålerenga
Away team took the lead immediately and then doubled down later on, while their opponents had the dubious honor of being the first to miss a penalty by shooting the ball out this season. 2nd half lacked any meaningful event apart from a save late in the match.

Bologna	Stats	Vålerenga
0+0=0	Goals	2+0=2
2+3=5	Shots	6+2=8
1+1=2	On Target	5+0=5
19+18=37	Tackles	20+13=33
0+1=1	Fouls	2+2=4
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
0+3=3	Corners	1+0=1
0+0=0	Offsides	1+0=1
70%->71%	Passing	79%->76%
52%->50%	Possession	48%->50%
50%->40%	Accuracy	83%->62%

Bologna	Events	Vålerenga
	'3	Goal (Grindheim)
	'31	Goal (Sørensen)
Sub (Mezzano->Castellini)	'53

Match 3: SM Caen vs Luton Town
The away team was superior and thrashed their opponents, especially on the final 15 minutes of the match.

SM Caen	Stats	Luton Town
0+0=0	Goals	2+2=4
4+5=9	Shots	7+4=11
3+1=4	On Target	4+2=6
9+9=18	Tackles	19+13=32
0+0=0	Fouls	0+1=1
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
2+0=2	Corners	0+0=0
0+1=1	Offsides	0+0=0
63%->67%	Passing	71%->66%
43%->47%	Possession	57%->53%
75%->44%	Accuracy	57%->54%

SM Caen	Events	Luton Town
	'21	Goal (Parkin)
	'31	Goal (Vine)
	'58	Sub (Langley->Bell)
	'79	Goal (Vine)
	'84	Goal (Robinson)

Match 4: Norwich vs MSV Duisburg
Neither team was that accurate, but the home team managed to find the chance to score a goal that proved vital in the end.

Norwich	Stats	MSV Duisburg
1+0=1	Goals	0+0=0
3+4=7	Shots	6+4=10
2+1=3	On Target	2+1=3
12+20=32	Tackles	19+16=35
0+2=2	Fouls	2+1=3
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
1+1=2	Corners	0+0=0
0+0=0	Offsides	0+1=1
73%->70%	Passing	69%->67%
45%->47%	Possession	55%->53%
66%->42%	Accuracy	33%->30%

Norwich	Events	MSV Duisburg
Goal (Earnshaw)	'36
Sub (Croft->McVeigh)	'55	Sub (Bugera->Book)

Match 5: U.N.A.M. vs Karlsruher SC
Both defenses were hard at work in this match, as they barely allowed any chance to be created. Unfortunately for the home team, one of the chances they allowed was one their opponents didn't let go to waste.

U.N.A.M.	Stats	Karlsruher SC
0+0=0	Goals	0+1=1
3+2=5	Shots	2+2=4
1+1=2	On Target	1+2=3
17+20=37	Tackles	19+15=34
0+0=0	Fouls	0+1=1
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
0+0=0	Corners	0+1=1
0+0=0	Offsides	0+0=0
72%->70%	Passing	69%->70%
41%->46%	Possession	59%->54%
33%->40%	Accuracy	50%->75%

U.N.A.M.	Events	Karlsruher SC
Sub (Sancho->F. Morales)	'54
	'59	Goal (Freis)
	'59	Sub (Porcello->Mutzel)

Match 6: Sporting Braga vs SK Rapid Wien
The score was level at half-time even though the away team had more chances, but in the 2nd half they properly proved they were the better team of the match.

Sporting Braga	Stats	SK Rapid Wien
1+0=1	Goals	1+3=4
3+6=9	Shots	9+8=17
1+0=1	On Target	3+6=9
16+16=32	Tackles	14+14=28
1+2=3	Fouls	0+0=0
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
1+0=1	Corners	3+2=5
0+0=0	Offsides	0+0=0
60%->65%	Passing	75%->72%
51%->57%	Possession	49%->43%
33%->11%	Accuracy	33%->52%

Sporting Braga	Events	SK Rapid Wien
	'18	Goal (Bilic)
Goal (Wender)	'24
	'62	Goal (Bilic)
Sub (Zé Carlos->Marcel)	'62	Sub (Katzer->Hofmann)
	'67	Goal (Hlinka)
	'78	Goal (Hiden)

Match 7: Nacional vs Veracruz

Nacional	Stats	Veracruz
3+0=3	Goals	0+0=0
9+1=10	Shots	3+3=6
6+0=6	On Target	2+0=2
16+10=26	Tackles	16+20=36
1+1=2	Fouls	2+0=2
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
2+0=2	Corners	0+2=2
0+0=0	Offsides	0+0=0
68%->70%	Passing	70%->68%
54%->53%	Possession	46%->47%
66%->60%	Accuracy	66%->33%

Nacional	Events	Veracruz
Goal (Chainho)	'22
Goal (Cássio)	'25
Goal (Bruno)	'35
Sub (Juliano->Rogerinho)	'52
	'68	Sub (Luna->Gomez)

Match 8: Cádiz vs Santos Laguna
Despite many attempts, especially from the home team, no goals were scored by the time the final whistle was blown.

Cádiz	Stats	Santos Laguna
0+0=0	Goals	0+0=0
7+6=13	Shots	2+3=5
2+3=5	On Target	1+1=2
14+13=27	Tackles	14+10=24
0+1=1	Fouls	1+1=2
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
0+0=0	Corners	1+1=2
1+0=1	Offsides	0+0=0
82%->77%	Passing	68%->66%
58%->57%	Possession	42%->43%
28%->38%	Accuracy	50%->40%

Cádiz	Events	Santos Laguna
	'73	Sub (Cariño->F. Torres)

Match 9: Kayserispor vs Genoa
Away team scored immediately and most of the remainder of the 1st half was uneventful until the home team suddenly scored twice on added time. Away team didn't give up however, equalizing later in the 2nd half and then scoring a winning goal in the closing stages.

Kayserispor	Stats	Genoa
2+0=2	Goals	1+2=3
6+2=8	Shots	8+5=13
6+0=6	On Target	3+3=6
23+16=39	Tackles	12+22=34
0+0=0	Fouls	1+1=2
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
3+0=3	Corners	1+1=2
0+0=0	Offsides	0+0=0
68%->68%	Passing	73%->72%
48%->48%	Possession	52%->52%
100%->75%	Accuracy	37%->46%

Kayserispor	Events	Genoa
	'2	Goal (Adaílton)
Goal (Leo)	'45+1
Goal (Leo)	'45+2
Sub (Ünal->Akagündüz)	'55	Sub (Bega->De Angelis)
	'69	Goal (Figueroa)
	'89	Goal (Figueroa)

With all that in mind, the leaderboard after this division’s 3rd week of matches is as follows:

POS	TEAM	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
1(=)	Nacional	3	3	0	0	9	2	7	9
2(=)	Luton Town	3	3	0	0	8	2	6	9
3(↑2)	Vålerenga	3	2	1	0	8	5	3	7
4(↑3)	V. Manisaspor	3	2	1	0	6	3	3	7
5(↑4)	Genoa	3	2	1	0	5	3	2	7
6(↓3)	FC Seoul	3	2	1	0	3	1	2	7
7(↓3)	MSV Duisburg	3	2	0	1	2	1	1	6
8(=)	Santos Laguna	3	1	2	0	3	2	1	5
9(↑4)	Norwich	3	1	2	0	2	1	1	5
10(↑10)	SK Rapid Wien	3	1	1	1	5	5	0	4
11(↑5)	Catania	3	1	1	1	5	5	0	4
12(↑6)	Crystal Palace	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
13(↑6)	Karlsruher SC	3	1	1	1	1	2	-1	4
14(↓8)	Sporting Braga	3	1	1	1	5	7	-2	4
15(↓4)	Stand. de Liège	3	0	3	0	3	3	0	3
16(↓2)	Cádiz	3	0	3	0	1	1	0	3
17(↓7)	SM Caen	3	1	0	2	2	5	-3	3
18(↓6)	Veracruz	3	0	2	1	1	4	-3	2
19(↓4)	Kayserispor	3	0	2	1	3	4	-1	2
20(↓3)	Chiapas	3	0	1	2	3	5	-2	1
21(=)	Aberdeen	3	0	0	3	4	7	-3	0
22(=)	U.N.A.M.	3	0	0	3	3	6	-3	0
23(=)	Ponte Preta	3	0	0	3	1	5	-4	0
24(=)	Bologna	3	0	0	3	0	4	-4	0

7th Division (Night)
The results of the 12 matches from this division’s 3rd week were the following:

HOME	RESULT	AWAY
Coventry City	2-1	Malmö FF
Leeds United	1-0	Brann
Ascoli	2-0	Southampton
NAC Breda	2-2	Metz
Real Valladolid	1-2	Watford
Suwon Bluewings	1-1	A. Aachen
Mon. Morelia	1-3	Sunderland
Pachuca	0-0	Wisła Kraków
Messina	0-2	Napoli
FC Zürich	1-1	São Caetano
Xerez	0-0	Necaxa
Atlas	1-1	Red Bull Salzburg

Now for a short description of the 8 recorded matches and their facts (stats and events):
Match 2: Leeds United vs Brann
Home team took the lead catching the away keeper by surprise with a quick low cross, and several saves from both keepers throughout the remainer of the match maintained the score that way.

Leeds United	Stats	Brann
1+0=1	Goals	0+0=0
2+=7	Shots	4+=10
1+=4	On Target	2+=3
13+=27	Tackles	17+=28
1+0=1	Fouls	1+2=3
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
0+0=0	Corners	1+0=1
1+1=2	Offsides	0+0=0
69%->68%	Passing	72%->72%
47%->45%	Possession	53%->55%
50%->57%	Accuracy	50%->30%

Leeds United	Events	Brann
Goal (Horsfield)	'33
Sub (Stone->Carole)	'58
	'70	Sub (Vaagan Moen->Knudsen)

Match 3: Ascoli vs Southampton
Home team scored during the 1st half with a header shot that the away keeper couldn't clear enough to save it. After several attempts and offside frustrations, they scored again on the 2nd half to sentence the match.

Ascoli	Stats	Southampton
1+1=2	Goals	0+0=0
8+7=15	Shots	5+0=5
5+6=11	On Target	4+0=4
8+18=26	Tackles	21+21=42
1+0=1	Fouls	0+2=2
0+0=0	Bookings	0+1=1
1+0=1	Corners	3+0=3
1+3=4	Offsides	0+0=0
77%->77%	Passing	70%->66%
60%->59%	Possession	40%->41%
62%->73%	Accuracy	80%->80%

Ascoli	Events	Southampton
Goal (Bjelanovic)	'37
	'57	Yellow (Lundekvam)
Sub (Pecchia->Boudianski)	'60
Goal (Bjelanovic)	'63	Sub (Belmadi->Lička)

Match 4: NAC Breda vs Metz
The 1st half was packed with goals, both teams finding the back of the net a couple times. 2nd half had no more goals despite many attempts.

NAC Breda	Stats	Metz
2+0=2	Goals	2+0=2
11+6=17	Shots	4+3=7
5+3=8	On Target	4+1=5
19+16=35	Tackles	16+13=29
0+2=2	Fouls	0+2=2
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
1+0=1	Corners	0+0=0
1+0=1	Offsides	2+1=3
80%->73%	Passing	72%->70%
64%->57%	Possession	36%->43%
45%->47%	Accuracy	100%->71%

NAC Breda	Events	Metz
	'3	Goal (Cisse)
Goal (Diba)	'12
	'30	Goal (Cisse)
Goal (Diba)	'41
	'51	Injury (Delgado)
	'51	Sub (Delgado->Léoni)
Sub (Leonardo->Sikora)	'82

Match 5: Real Valldolid vs Watford
Home team scored first but their opponents responded immediately with a goal of their own, and then took the lead just befor half-time. 2nd half was uneventful and the score remained the same.

Real Valldolid	Stats	Watford
1+0=1	Goals	2+0=2
5+7=12	Shots	5+4=9
3+1=4	On Target	4+0=4
17+21=38	Tackles	16+18=34
1+2=3	Fouls	1+2=3
1+0=1	Bookings	1+0=1
0+2=2	Corners	1+1=2
1+1=2	Offsides	1+0=1
68%->66%	Passing	70%->72%
51%->52%	Possession	49%->48%
60%->33%	Accuracy	80%->44%

Real Valldolid	Events	Watford
Goal (Llorente)	'14
	'16	Goal (King)
Yellow (Óscar Sánchez)	'30
	'32	Yellow (Shittu)
	'45+2	Goal (King)
Sub (Óscar Sánchez->Marcos)	'52
	'63	Sub (Shittu->Carlisle)

Match 6: Suwon Bluewings vs A. Aachen
Away team created more chances but were wasteful, while the home team lucked out with their only shot on target being a goal that kept the match level.

Suwon Bluewings	Stats	A. Aachen
1+0=1	Goals	1+0=1
2+4=6	Shots	6+6=12
1+0=1	On Target	3+2=5
20+15=35	Tackles	15+11=26
1+0=1	Fouls	1+0=1
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
1+2=3	Corners	0+0=0
0+0=0	Offsides	0+1=1
72%->69%	Passing	78%->75%
55%->52%	Possession	45%->48%
50%->16%	Accuracy	50%->41%

Suwon Bluewings	Events	A. Aachen
	'24	Goal (Rösler)
Goal (M.Olivera)	'43
	'56	Sub (Plaßhenrich->Heidrich)
Sub (Lee Ssa Vic->Cho Won Hee)	'74

Match 7: Mon. Morelia vs Sunderland
It was an action-packed match, with plenty of chances, goals and saves. The away team showed a level of quality that made their win seem inevitable.

Mon. Morelia	Stats	Sunderland
1+0=1	Goals	2+1=3
5+8=13	Shots	11+6=17
4+3=7	On Target	5+4=9
11+18=29	Tackles	16+18=34
2+1=3	Fouls	1+0=1
0+1=1	Bookings	0+0=0
0+2=2	Corners	3+1=4
1+0=1	Offsides	0+0=0
71%->69%	Passing	74%->68%
57%->55%	Possession	43%->45%
80%->53%	Accuracy	45%->52%

Mon. Morelia	Events	Sunderland
	'29	Goal (Elliott)
Goal (Rey)	'34
	'37	Goal (Lawrence)
Sub (Orozco->González)	'52
	'60	Sub (Hysén->Delap)
Yellow (Arce)	'63
	'64	Goal (Elliott)

Match 8: Pachuca vs Wisła Kraków
Boring match, barely any chances created, and they were fairly easy for the keeper. The home team losing a player didn't change things much.

Pachuca	Stats	Wisła Kraków
0+0=0	Goals	0+0=0
2+4=6	Shots	2+7=9
1+1=2	On Target	2+3=5
21+13=34	Tackles	15+16=31
0+1=1	Fouls	2+1=3
0+1=1	Bookings	0+0=0
1+0=1	Corners	0+1=1
0+0=0	Offsides	0+0=0
72%->69%	Passing	78%->75%
52%->54%	Possession	48%->46%
50%->33%	Accuracy	100%->55%

Pachuca	Events	Wisła Kraków
Red (Landín)	'60
	'69	Sub (Cléber->Stolarczyk)

Match 9: Messina vs Napoli
The away team got 2 quick goals in and their opponents were unable to cut the gap for the rest of the match, despite many attempts.

Messina	Stats	Napoli
0+0=0	Goals	2+0=2
8+6=14	Shots	6+3=9
4+1=5	On Target	4+2=6
22+19=41	Tackles	17+17=35
0+1=1	Fouls	2+3=5
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
1+2=3	Corners	2+0=2
0+1=1	Offsides	0+0=0
77%->74%	Passing	71%->71%
52%->51%	Possession	48%->49%
50%->35%	Accuracy	66%->66%

Messina	Events	Napoli
	'4	Goal (Bucchi)
	'8	Goal (Calaió)
	'57	Sub (Domizzi->Giubilato)
Sub (Floccari->Iliev)	'60

With all that in mind, the leaderboard after this division’s 3rd week of matches is as follows:

POS	TEAM	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
1(↑2)	Coventry City	3	3	0	0	6	3	3	9
2(↓1)	São Caetano	3	2	1	0	5	1	4	7
3(↑5)	Leeds United	3	2	0	1	6	4	2	6
4(↓2)	Mon. Morelia	3	2	0	1	4	3	1	6
5(↑8)	Watford	3	2	0	1	3	2	1	6
6(↓2)	Atlas	3	1	2	0	5	2	3	5
7(↓2)	FC Zürich	3	1	2	0	4	3	1	5
8(↓1)	Metz	3	1	2	0	3	2	1	5
9(↑9)	Sunderland	3	1	1	1	4	3	1	4
10(=)	Necaxa	3	1	1	1	3	2	1	4
11(↑8)	Napoli	3	1	1	1	3	2	1	4
12(↓6)	Real Valladolid	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
13(↑1)	NAC Breda	3	1	1	1	6	7	-1	4
14(↑1)	Xerez	3	1	1	1	2	3	-1	4
15(↑1)	Pachuca	3	1	1	1	2	3	-1	4
16(↑1)	A. Aachen	3	0	3	0	1	1	0	3
17(↓6)	Malmö FF	3	1	0	2	4	5	-1	3
18(↓6)	Brann	3	1	0	2	3	4	-1	3
19(↓10)	Southampton	3	1	0	2	3	4	-1	3
20(↑3)	Ascoli	3	1	0	2	3	4	-1	3
21(↓1)	Suwon Bluewings	3	0	2	1	2	3	-1	2
22(↓1)	Wisła Kraków	3	0	2	1	1	3	-2	2
23(↓1)	Red Bull Salzburg	3	0	1	2	3	6	-3	1
24(=)	Messina	3	0	0	3	0	6	-6	0

Last but not least, here’s a highlights video of Week 3 Day 5, a compilation of the best goals, saves and fails from the 24 matches that were recorded.
Next post will be a recap of Week 3 Day 6 on Sunday 9th.

When I was 4 years old, my parents (21 at the time) broke up and my father left without even a goodbye to me. My mother was in a very dark place for a year, she worked in a shitty retail shop, making us living paycheck to paycheck. I was about 6 years old when my mom met Mic (fake name/around 23 at the time). Mic was a nice guy, at least he never judged the appearance of our "home". He'd come by almost every evening with spaghetti meatballs for the three of us. It's one of the nicest memories of my life. Even though Mic was an ordinary office worker, my mother loved him with all her heart. They got married just after 8 months of dating, there was no wedding ceremony but I just know they loved eachother enough so nothing really mattered. After our financial situation got better since Mic's parents offered to help, they had a child. Stacy. Stace is a precious girl, she's the only thing I truly love from the bottom of my heart... I turned 20 last year december and my mother was fighting her stage 2 terminal cancer. She was doing well in chemotherapy until something quite personal happened that negatively impacted her high spirit making her conditions worsen and worsen. 23 days ago. She became a beautiful angel, leaving us behind. My step-dad was devastated but then he turned to me. I'm a blonde girl with light brown eyes just like my mother. I think he saw her in me so he politely asked if I would like to have a dinner with him to talk about what we've been feeling lately... One thing led to another. I was woken up by the scream from my 12 years old sister. Mic was in the living room covering his face with his hands. Everyone found out. Now all my relatives are calling and driving to our home, going down on both of us. I don't know what to do anymore. Please help me out of this situation.

Staying home all day is heaven, I have been watching a lot of animes and I'd like some recommendations! I like magical girls, adventure and romance! (I have watched some like free, madoka, love stage)
If you're also a hiki who enjoys anime, let me know! We can share mangas and animes with each other o⁠(⁠(⁠⁠^⁠▽⁠⁠⁠)⁠)⁠o

i am 14 and i got publicly beaten by my mom yesterday for not being the top student in my grade (i was second honor), and she yelled at me saying i was ruining her life and that she shouldn’t have given birth to me. when we got home she threatened to take away all of my basic needs like food and education. do i respond to her actions? what do i do?

(At Hazbin Hotel, the cat is sleeping at the sofa, until it hears a hammer sound and sees Charles at a stair in the front of a banner above the entrance door saying "Happy First Week, Miss Pentious")
Charles: That looks perfect! (Screams excitedly) I am so excited that Miss Pentious is staying at the hotel!
Vagner: Um, Pentious was just trying to take over the city with her weird steampunk bullshit a few days ago.
Charles: Well, I haven't seen her try to pull any of that here.
(The cat runs from Miss Pentious pushing a giant ray gun)
Vagner: What the hell is that?!
Miss Pentious: Oh, hello, purple male. It's my new invention: the Skin Flayer 11,000! I'm really looking forward to shooting the other residents.
Charles: What? Why?
Miss Pentious: Everyone is being too nice. Obviously it must be a lie. I can sense they're planning to kill me. But when? How? I must be prepared! Ooh, the new parts of my machines are here!
(Two boys enter the hotel with a bunch of box in a cart)
Oddie: Sign here, please. (Gives a clipboard and pen to Miss Pentious, she signs it and give it back) Thank you for your business. Enjoy your Carmine purchase.
Vagner: Carmine? As in Carmillo Carmine? You are buying parts from an overlord?
Miss Pentious: Uh, of course. He's the top weapons dealer in Hell.
Vagner: Okay, well, that stops right now. (Gets the kart with the boxes from Miss Pentious)
Miss Pentious: Hey!
Vagner: You absolutely cannot build weapons in this hotel! No one is trying to kill you. People are being nice beacause they they want you to feel welcome.
(Miss Pentious looks at the bar Hisky and Angela give her the middle finger and Niffter smiles and laughs creepily to her)
Miss Pentious: I have my doubts.
Vagner: Well it's true. You have to trust us.
Miss Pentious: But I don't.
Charles: Well, why don't we focus on that for today's activities?
Vagner: Not before we lay some ground rules: no more building weapons, no more plotting against the other guests and you need to get rid of these things.
(One of the Egg Girls shoots a laser at the roof and breaks it)
Vagner: Ah! What did I just say? What did I just say?
Miss Pentious: What? Not my little Egg Girls! They do my evil bidding for my.
Vagner: Do you want to stay here and redeem yourself?
Miss Pentious: Yes?
Vagner: Then, no more eggs!
Miss Pentious: Alright, eggies. You've got to go. I (Sniffs) can't keep you anymore.
Egg Girl #1: Okay, boss!
Miss Pentious: No, don't resist, this is how it has to be.
(The egg girls follow Vagner and Miss Pentious cries sterically with Charles patting her)
(Alice is seen eating a dead deer with fork and knife in a table in the middle of a swamp)
Vagner: Alice!
(The screen moves showing the swamp in a room and Vagner at the door)
Alice: Do you mind? I'm in the middle of breakfast.
Vagner: Pentious' eggs are all over the place and I need you to get rid of them.
Alice: Oh! Well, in that case, I'd be delighted to!
Vagner: Humanely!
Alice: Um. Well, that's a lot less fun. But I suppose I can take care of that on my outing today. (Leaves her room)
Vagner: Great! (See the dead deer) Oh, this is disgusting.
(At the looby)
Charles: Hi, guys! Thanks for coming! It's been brought to our attention that there maybe a littleeeeeeeee tension at the hotel!
(Miss Pentious grabs Niffter and prepares to shoot him, but Vagner gets her gun)
Vagner: Tension that can be counterproductive to what we're trying to do here.
Charles: We think that this group could really benefit from...(Jumps in front of a lighthing background) Trust exercises!
Vagner: Trust exercises! Oh, shit! (Falls butt down on the ground and Charles gets him up)
Charles: Vagner, we rehearse this. (Sighs) We're doing trust exercises!
Hisky: So, um, what's with the whole, uh...This?
(A stage is seen behind Vagner and Charles)
Hisky: I'm not about to put on some show for these fuckings chumps!
Angela: Oh, I will! (Puts her legs in Hisky's) But it's cash up first. And I know that one afford me.
Miss Pentious: Gross! I'd think of it, spider!
Vagner: Right, let's get started. Charles?
Charles: Actually, I thought maybe you could take the lead on this one. I trust everyone, so maybe you'd know better about how to build it properly.
Vagner: What? Uh, I don't know I'm qualified to...
Charles: Oh, come on! It'll be easy, I'm sure you can handle this.
Vagner: Yeah, um, sure. I can handle this, no problem. (Inhales) Alright, so we are starting with trust falls! Each of you are going to share something vulnerable about yourself and then fall backwards while the rest lf the group catches you, got it? Who wants to go first?
Charles: Ooh! Ooh! Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me!
Vagner: Alright, get on up there!
(Charles gets in the stage)
Charles: I...I love you guys. Like, really love you! (Turns around, falls backwards and Vagner catches him)
Vagner: Got you!
Charles: That...Felt...Good! Angela, why don't go next?
Angela: Fine! (Goes to the stage)
Vagner: This time everyone needs to catch her, okay? Unless you want me to hurt you!
Angela: Well, something about myself, huh? Well, how about this? I love to lick...
Hisky: I swear to fuck if you say pussies!
Angela: Lollipops, ya sicko! Get your head head of the gutter! (Falls backwards and Hisky catches her) But ya know? Pussies, too. (Hisky drops her) Ahh! Alright, new girl, you're up.
(A spotlight shines on Miss Pentious)
Miss Pentious: I don't want to leave without my minions! Nobody catch me. (Falls backwards and Vagner, Charlie and Hisky catch her) Damn it!
Vagner: That's great. Wow, you're slimy. Good job. Uh, Niffter? (Niffter runs runs past him and gets in the stage)
Niffter: Sometimes, I kill father bugs in front of their children as a warning to others! (Falls from the stage, everyone backs away and he falls face down in the ground) Yay! Pain! (Gets up, goes to the stage, falls and repeats it) Hehe, pain!
(Charles and Vagner walk away)
Charles: I don't think this really working the way we hoped. Maybe, we should...
Vagner: Honey, you have to trust me here. I got this, okay? I'll figure something out.
Angela: If you're in the market for some ideas, I got just the thing for some trust building.
Vagner: (Sighs) What do you have in mind?
(In the town, Alice is seen walking with the Egg Girls)
Egg Girl #1: Oh, boy! What's the plan, boss?
Egg Girl #2: I like your suit.
Egg Girl #3: What are the antlers for?
Egg Girl #4: Can I touch your staff thing?
Egg Girl #5: Are those your ears or is it your hair? I can't tell.
(A tall woman appears in front of Alice)
Zestia: Hark, Alice. How fare thee this day?
Egg Girl #1: Who's that boss? Want me to ruff her up for ya?
Alice: Follow in silence if you value your shells! Greetins, Zestia!
Sinner #1: Ahh! Holy shit! (Falls backwards)
Zestia: Ah, the weather did become fine this day!
Sinner #2: Oh! Uh-oh! (Hides in the garbage)
Alice: Indeed! Looks like we might have some acid rain this afternoon!
(A demon screams, covers her in gas and combustes her in flames)n
Zestia: If our luck doth hold. I do reveal in the screams. How art thou? (Walks with Alice) It's been an ages since thou hath graced us with thy presence. Some hath spun wild tales of you falling to...Holy arms.
Alice: (Laughs) Oh, I just took a well earned sabatical, nothing serious. Though is fun to keep everyone on their toes. Ha ha!
Zestia: (Chuckles) There too hath been rumor of thy involvement with the prince and his flight of fancy. Tell me, how does thou fall in such folly?
Alice: That is for me to know. But please, do guess, I'd love to hear the theories!
Zestia: (Chuckles) T'would be grander folly by far to assume the workings of your mind, Alice. Thou hath been naught but an enigma since thy manifested in this realm.
Alice: Coming from someone as ancient as you I take that as quite the complement!
(They walk into an alley, pass through a security cam and Alice statics it, the girls get in an elevator and Alice prevents the egg girls from entering with her staff)
Alice: No, no. I have a very important task for you: stay here and guard the front until I return.
(The Egg Girls salute Alice, the elevator closes and goes up)
Egg Girl #1: Oh, look, Frankie is up there!
Egg Girl #2: We have names?
(In the top the building, the elevator doors open and Zestial, Alice and Frankie get out of it, Frankie sees a blck eyes man and a blue skull woman saluting and a dinosaur guy come ou of an elevator and all of them enter a room with a table and chairs and Frankie hides behind Alice, the black eyes man see her, she waves at him and he smiles showing his teeth and she hides scared, and a man appears at the end of the table with the delivery boys from later)
Carmillo: Welcome, Hell's sovereign overlords. I invited you all here because you represent the controlling powers of our city. Together you own millions of souls. Souls at risk with a new extermination schedul. We need to discuss what can be done to minimize the impact. (See Zestia sitting at his side) Zestia, so good to see you my friend.
Zestia: Encanted as always, Carmillo.
Carmillo: Alice?
Alice: Yes, I know, I've been absent some time. I'm sure you've all been wondering.
Carmillo: Not really. But welcome back in ay case. (Snaps fingers and Oddie gives him a clipboard) This year's extermination was brutal. Far more even than years past. We have assessed that about 16% of the population was lost. With the Angelic Legions returning twice as quickly, I think is prudent that we...
(Veener quicks the door and everyone looks at him)
Veener: (At the phone) Yes, I've got it handled, Vix. Are you doubting me? Really? Me? That's what I thought. Ha ha ha! Yes, I know, they're all a joke. (Laughs) Thank you, Vee. (Kisses) Kisses, darling!
Carmillo: Nice of you to join us, Veener. Will your colleagues be joining?
Veener: No. They have better shit to do than to listen to an old windbag that thinks he's tough shit. I'm here to represent.
Carmillo: Charming. (Veener puts a poop filter on him) So, as I was saying, we need to discuss...
(Veener raises and shakes his hand)
Carmillo: Yes?
Veener: On the subject of discussion. (Throws an angel head in the table)
(Everyone gasps)
Alice: Ooh! Tasty!
Carmillo: Where did you get this?
Veener: We found it during the extermination day. If these holy rollers can be killed, the game has changed. We can take the fight to them. The girls and I have come up with a full assault plan...
(Everyone hears sipping noises, and look at Zestia drinking tea loudly and she puts the cup in the table)
Zestia: If it be true thee and thy colleagues desire to war, with such meagre proof. Thou art far more foolish than I be thought.
Veener: (Scoffs) "Meagre proof"? It's a dead fucking exorcist! I'd say that's pretty fucking definitive! You're going blind, old woman?
Zestia: We know not how this perished. Mayhaps it was not by a demon's hand at all. If we rush to war without knowing might, they purge all of Hell for ding an uprising.
(Everyone mutters in agreement and Veener looks to Carmillo worried)
Veener: Oh! I get it. So grandma is too pussy to fight, so I guess there's no point, right?
(Zestia gets angry)
Veener: Oh, what's the matter, fossil? To senile to make a real power grab for...
Carmillo: (Singing) You better show some respect! Check your behavior! No one speaks too Zestia that way! Did you expect us to sir baxk and rake your insolent brazen display?
Veener: Haha! (Singing) You've got it twisted! I'm not the one who needs a attitude! Maybe you missed it, but I'm that #Bitch and I will do nothing else then what I please! Woo! I'm the backbone of the Vees! Mad that I acted respectless? Well, it's 'cause no one could respect this. Sorry group attendin', since when are overlords too scared to fight? You're long past trendin'. Sorry, bae, but I ain't swipin' right. You lost your relevance.
Zestia: We can't act without more intelligence!
Veener: Ugh, no wonder I'm so respectless. I could eat you lot for breakfast. You and the Vees are inane and uninformed, Smug wannabes, who don't heed when you've been warned!
Veener: Oops! Did I strike a nerve? 'Cause when I brought out the angel's head, couldn't help but observe that your wrinkled face was turning red! And why are you avoidin' war? That's what the guns you sell are for. Thanks to my being respectless. One thing I'm starting to suspect is. You know why this angel's headless. Do you have a disclosure?
Carmillo: This meeting's over!
(Everyone stare at the boys)
Alice: That was a productive meeting!
Veener: (Normal) Hmmph, fine. Safe travel back to nursing home, fuckers! Kiss my ass! Hahaha! (Leaves the room)
Zeezo: What the hell? We literally just got here.
Oddie: Father?
(Carmillo walks away and Zestia follows him and everyone else leaves the room almost staping on Frankie, and Alice see Zestia and Carmilla enter another room)
Alice: Well, that's interesting. You little egg creature. I have a job for you.
Frankie: Oh, yes, boss.
Alice: Follow them.
(Frankie salutes and enters the other room, back to Vagner, Charles and Angela)
Vagner: Angela! What the actual fuck?!
(They're seem in a sex dungeon)
Angela: No activity requires more trust them BDSM, baby. No bond stronger than those formed through bondage. That's their motto. (Points to a poster)
Charles: Angela, love the enthusiasm. But umm, uh...Hmmmm...
Vagner: What makes you think anyone would be into this?
(Hisky purrs with a mister messaging her)
Hisky: Ya know, I...I don't hate this.
(Niffter appears holding a stick)
Niffter: I'm ready to punish some bad girls. (Giggles)
Hisky: Uhh...Nevermind, I-I'm out. (Gets up and walks away)
(Misters surround Charles)
Charles: (Laughs uncomfortably) Okay, hello there. Hi. Um. Hm...(Vagner drags him away)
Vagner: Ugh, can't fucking believe I let you drag us here, Angela. This is disgusting.
Charles: It's no big deal, Vagner. You know, maybe I can just help, uh...
Vagner: No. I told you could trust me. And I'm not gonna let you down. I just need to teach them the way I was taught.
(In a tower roof)
Charles: This is how you learn to trust people?!
(A lot of demons are seen fighting in a bettlefield)
Vagner: (In drill sergeant style) There is nothing stronger than a trust between comrades and arms. Buckle up, buttercups, because today you boys become men! You...(Grabs Miss Pentious)
Miss Pentious: Wait, wait! I can't fight without my minions...(Vagner throws her off the building)
Vagner:...Are gonna survive together! Miss Pentious: AAAAAAHHH!
(Vagner turns to Angela)
Vagner: And you...
Angela: Don't you even think about it...
Vagner: Are make this hotel work! (Vagner throws grabs and throws Angela off the building)
Angela: AAAAAAHHH!
Niffter: (Excitedly) My turn, my turn!
(Hisky get out of the roof, Vagner grabs Niffter, but Charles catches him)
Charles: Vagner, no!
Vagner: This is the only way they'll learn, Charles.
Charles: No, it's not. There are other ways. It just take time.
Vagner: Time we don't have. How many exterminations will have to gone by before these idiots get their shit together? How many times we have to watch your people be killed before we make headway?
Charles: Vagner...
Vagner: I took charge today and it all went sideways. I'm suppose to make your dreams a reality. I'm suppose to protect you. I'm suppose to never fail you. (Leans on the edge of the terrace)
Angela: I blame you for this you crazy bitch!
Charles: You didn't fail me, Vagner...You're not...
Vagner: If I can't help you, what's the point of me?
Charles: (Gasps) Vagner, don't say that! You do so much! It's...
Vagner: I'm sorry. I'd like to be alone for a minute.
(Charles turns away from Vagner and see Angela grabbing Miss Pentious in her back getting in the roof and Angela throws Pentious in the ground)
Angela: Made it.
Charles: Let's go home, guys.
Angela: Ugh! I just walked up all those stairs. (Grabs Miss Pentious and pulls her following Charles)
(In Carmillo's office, he pulls himself a drink)
Carmillo: Ay, que barbaridad. (Drinks from a bottle)
Zestia: Carmillo, what troubles thou? Loosing thy composure is unlike thee.
Carmillo: (Sighs) It's nothing, Zestia. Really.
Zestia: The felled angel...'Twas by thy hand, was it not?
Carmillo: Let's not talk abou it. (Walks away)
Clarence: Dad, maybe she should know.
Carmillo: Nobody should know. (Sits in his desk) I did what to do. I am not discussing this. (Zestia puts her hand in his shoulder)
Zestia: (Singing) What weighs on your soul, old friend? I implore you to share the load. If it was thou who slew the angel, why not let your strength be known?
Carmillo: (Singing) I always thought, that I would keep blood off my face. But when that thing attacked, I had to act, to cross that line and keep them safe. But if anyone knew, then all of Hell would rise to war and who's to say who'd survive the fray? I might lose the ones that I was killing for! So I! I'll be your keeper! (Hugs his sons) Do whatever it takes! I'll make the mistakes! I'll keep you safe and keep this secret!
(Meanwhile, Vagner climbs the outside of the hotel)
Vagner: (Singing) When I saw your face, you made me feel like a stranger in a brand new place and it felt so good to be understood. But there's so much I wished that I could say. So I...I'll be your armor, do whatever it takes, I'll make the mistakes, I'll spend my life being your partner.
Carmillo: And I don't know what we might face, But I know I can't replace you so I'll do anything to save you!
Vagner: And I will try to make your dreams come true!
Vagner and Carmillo: Whatever we go through. I know I....
Carmillo: I'll be your keeper
Vagner: I'll be your armor!
Carmillo and Vagner: Whatever it takes!
Carmillo: I'll make the mistakes!
Vagner: I'll make the mistakes!
Carmillo and Vagner: Whatever it takes!
(Meanwhile, some of the Egg Girls are dumpster diving)
Egg Girl #3: Ooohh. This smells like fun. Ooh, I love garbage.
(Frankie get out of the elevator and Alice stops her)
Alice: So, what did you hear?
Frankie: First, the old woman w-was all "you're not yourself, you're the one who killed the angel" a-a-and the he was all (Singing) Whatever it takes!
Alice: And then what was that last thing?
Frankie: He killed the angel?
Alice: Interesting. Let's keep this between us, shall we?
Frankie: You got it, boss!
(At the hotel, Vagner finds Charles at the hotel)
Vagner: Hey.
Charles: Hey.
Vagner: I'm sorry I got so crazy today.
Charles: No, no, I'm sorry. I'm put pressure on you. We work as a team. I guess I just thought all this would be easier, but we'll figure it out...Together. I mean, look what your exercise did for them.
(In the sitting room below everyone is laughing)
Angela: And then when that buff girl started beating the shit outta you.
Miss Pentious: Ha ha! Yeah, with the desmembered arm. Yes, that, was, particularly unpleasent.
Niffter: He he. I liked that part.
Hisky: Well hey, at least you can take a beating like a champ. You did okay, new kid.
Miss Pentious: Really? Oh, well, I suppose I did get into a little of the old rough and tumblr today. (Laughs) And, uh...Thank you for pullinh me out of there. (Angela staps her back)
(Everyone laugh and giggle, the girls stop, but Niffter keeps laughing manically)
Vagner: Well, how about that?
(Alice returns)
Vagner: Alice. Failed to get rid of the eggs, I see.
Alice: Yes, well, the little monsters prove to be rather useful.
Vagner: Why don't you give them back to Pentious?
Miss Pentious: Really?
Vagner: Yeah. After today, I guess I can trust you with them. But seriously, no more weapons.
Miss Pentious: Ahhhh! (Hugs the Egg Girls) My eggs! Yeah. Oh, it's so good to have you back. Now go clean my quarters this instant!
Charles: Maybe things will move faster than you think.
(In Pentious' room)
Miss Pentious: Ah! How was your day with Alastor, my minions?
Frankie: It was awesome, boss. I went to this meeting and there was a knife guy, an old lady and a dinosaur.
Miss Pentious: Umm. That's nice.
Frnkie: And the knife guy killed an angel. And I was not suppose to be talking about it.
Miss Pentious: Oh, I'm so sure and maybe you'll meet martians tomorrow. Bit now it's time to sleep. Good night, Eggies. (The egg women sleep over her and they all go to sleep)
(The end credits start playing)

How to write to your MP

• Why write to your Member of Parliament (MP)? MPs need to hear from their constituents.
• They depend on constituents to educate them about what issues are most important to them. Writing a letter only takes a short amount of your time but it ensures that the people who make decisions on your behalf, every day, know how you want to be represented. Your MP receives hundreds of messages each week on a wide range of issues – your letter may well be the most interesting one that they receive!

Why not write directly to the relevant Minister?

• The purpose of a Results action might be to encourage the Minister of International Development to increase investment in a certain program or intervention that has proven effectiveness. Rather than write to the Minister directly we usually write to our MPs. We believe that it’s more effective to reach out to your MP directly but for some campaigns it will be more strategic to reach out to Ministers. There isn’t a rule set in stone.

We do this for two reasons:

1. Writing to your MP greatly increases your likelihood of receiving a response. The vast majority of MPs will almost always respond to letters from constituents and will be happy to forward your request on to the relevant Minister (even if they disagree with you). In turn, the Minister will be obliged by Parliamentary convention to respond to letters from an MP.
2. You can educate your MP in the process. Even if your MP is not the direct target of the action, your letter provides them with an opportunity to learn about the issue, that concerns their constituents, and take action themselves.

There will be occasions where it is more strategic to write directly to other decision-makers, such as the Minister of International Development, Prime Minister or the heads of key international institutions, such as the World Bank. The same tips will apply for those letters.

Why doesn’t Results provide templates for letters?

• MPs and their researchers have confirmed on numerous occasions that an original letter sent by one committed, passionate constituent is far more powerful than a pile of identical letters or postcards. Mass email actions and template letters have less impact because the MP knows that they only take a few seconds to complete and are not necessarily representative of the priorities of their constituents. The fact that you have taken the time to craft a personalized and well-informed letter demonstrates to the MP that there are people in their constituency who care deeply about an issue. In turn, your opinions are likely to be taken more seriously as a result.
• Handwritten or email? Every MP is different. Some are happy to correspond with constituents via email whereas others give a preference to written letters. The best postal address for your MP is their Parliament address (House of Commons, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6). Upon reception of the letter, if your MP is not in Parliament, the mail is automatically forwarded on to them.

Writing your letter, Top Tips:

• Be succinct – aim for your letter to be no longer than one and a half page. Keep to the point – focus on one issue and don’t try and cover too many things in one letter. Don’t forget to include your address – so that your MP knows where to send the response.
• Check your MP’s correct title – do you address them as Mr, Mrs, Dr, Sir, Rt. Hon? You can check by looking up your MP on the official Parliament website: https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en

Structuring your letter

• Step 1: Introduction. If this is your first letter to your MP, you might want to start by introducing yourself and sharing why you care about the issue that you are raising. If you have a personal connection to the topic of your letter, then this is a great way of engaging your MP and conveying your passion and commitment. Remember to acknowledge your MP for any supportive actions that they have already taken – MPs rarely hear the words ‘thank you’ from their constituents.
• Step 2: Use the EPIC format. The acronym ‘EPIC’ is a useful way to remember how to structure the main part of your letter. After the introductory paragraph, your letter should follow this structure:
  • E = Engage your MP. Get your MP’s attention with a dramatic fact or short statement.
  • P = State the problem. Present the causes of the problem you just introduced. How widespread or serious is the problem?
  • I = Inform the MP about the solutions. Develop your solution by giving examples of how and where it has worked, how it is cost-effective and how it has benefited the poorest.
  • C = Call to Action. Now that you’ve engaged your MP, presented the problem and informed them of a solution, you need to let them know what you want them to do about it.
• Step 3: Ask for a response. Make sure to be clear on how they can get in touch with you – written response is ideal!

What to do afterwards?

Pressing ‘send’ or putting your letter in the post is not the end of your action!

• Step 1: Congratulate yourself. You have taken an important action to help generate the political will to end poverty. Take a photo of yourself posting the letter and post it on social media (tag your MP)!
• Step 2: Follow up with your MP. If you haven’t had an acknowledgement of your letter after a couple of weeks, give your MP’s office a ring to confirm that they have received your letter.
• Step 3: Report back on your action. Fill out the online report to let the Results office know you’ve written a letter. When you receive a response from your MP, make sure to also inform the Results office of this so that the information can be compiled.
• Step 4: Be encouraged! Even it seems that the response you received individually wasn’t great, don’t be down heartened. It is the strength of the Results network that drives change, and by writing that letter you have directly inputted into that collective effort.

House of Commons Mailing Address:

• House of Commons
  • Ottawa, Ontario,
  • Canada
  • K1A 0A6
  • Telephone: 613-996-5511
  • Fax: 613-996-9632
• Mail may be sent postage-free to any member of Parliament.

Throw away account
I am in the early stages of applying for disability. I haven’t worked for some time and need assistance. I am currently living with distant relatives not paying rent but helping as I can physically around the home. I buy my own food and they are gone half the week so I house/pet sit.
How do I explain this applying for Medicaid and food assistance and not get turned down? I don’t know what to say when they ask if I’m looking for work because of the applying for disability. If I could work, I’d much rather. But right now I can’t.
Also, my only bills are my food, personal h&b items, upkeep of auto plus insurance, plates, tabs, and phone. My anxiety is high over this. If I can’t get Medicaid I can’t get to the doctors as I need to (just moved From another state where I had the assistant). And I certainly need to eat.

It’s been two weeks since I posted about my wedding situation. I apologize for not answering very many of your comments on the first post. The post was intended to just talk about the situation, but it quickly turned into a mini AITA discussion, which was absolutely the farthest thing that I wanted to happen. Due to the stress and severity of everything, I had to unplug. The comments and private messages were getting to me and the messages from friends and family who caught word of the situation became overwhelming.
That being said, I got around to reading the comments after a week or so, but didn’t have the effort to say anything until now. A lot of you said I was controlling, manipulative, selfish, and racist. I can understand being called the first three, but racist genuinely hurt. I didn’t realize my actions came across as racist, but I see now how that could be assumed of me. I don’t know what to say to prove that I’m not racist, but I know that even if I did it probably wouldn’t change any minds. I’ve begun to research more on the wedding ceremonies, and just Cambodian culture as a whole, something I realize I should have done years ago.
I promise you that the decisions I made and the unfortunately “vetoed” decisions from my boyfriend all came from a place that thought it was going to be best for both of us. But like a lot of you said, it was still wrong of me to completely dismiss him and his ideas. I admit I was being stubborn about a lot of things that would have been easy to compromise on. I guess I was looking at everything through rose tinted glasses and thought that everything would just fall into place in my favor because I wanted it to. I should have heard him out more and taken his words seriously.
Additionally, a few of you called me and my fiancé out for being rage baiters and even being the same person just using different accounts. I can see how that would seem like the case, since I made this account a day after his throwaway was deleted, but I promise it was just a coincidence. I created a throwaway since my main account has content that can be traced to my other socials, and I didn’t want anyone harassing me in my DM’s or other comment sections. I think someone also brought up the fact that this account is linked to another one that has posts about being divorced? I’m not sure what that’s about.
I read the AITA post that he created and, if I can be honest, I thought it was terribly done. He made his initial post about my best friend and how he wasn’t “comfortable” with him being in the wedding, indicating that even on a minuscule level, he was uncomfortable with my friend. In the 6 years they’ve known each other he has never once voiced or shown any discomfort for him. I don’t know if he was using him as a scapegoat or what. His comments started to change the tune of the post and it started to become a “I’m not comfortable with the guy best friend” vs. “Actually, I’m being taken advantage of” type of thing. It was all so weirdly done, and his comments seemed rude and argumentative. People were judging him based on the initial question as the forum intended, but then he started to tell the rest of the story to try and gain favor or something.
But, I digress. Moving onto the actual update, my boyfriend and I had a talk a few days ago. He was home when I came back from work and it looked like he was packing some of his stuff. I asked if this meant that we were officially over, and he said he didn’t know. I asked if we could talk about it, and he said sure. I apologized to him for how I was acting and that I shouldn’t have been so controlling with the planning. I also apologized for rejecting his culture and said that I didn’t do it with malice. He asked why I really rejected the ceremonies and I told him how I wasn’t comfortable with his parents, since there was still tension between us.
He explained that they were trying to be okay with me, but what I did just made it harder. I told him I read his post and asked if he really didn’t feel comfortable around my best friend. He was kind of iffy on that, saying yes and no before saying he didn’t mind him as a person, but he was still someone he didn’t know. He offered to apologize to him since he figured I told him about what he said when I left to my parent’s house, which I did, and I said I would appreciate that. We got quiet and I asked again if he wanted to officially break up. He said he wanted to cancel the wedding, but that he didn’t want to break up permanently yet. I felt the same way, so we talked some more, and eventually agreed to go back to dating.
This may not be the outcome a lot of you wanted, since it seemed like you were all rooting for him to kick me to the curb, but I still love him and he still loves me. We’re cancelling all of the wedding plans and looking into couples counseling. And, as a promise to each other that we’re going to change, he’s going to make an effort in befriending my best friend, and I’m going to be seeing his family more and participating in/observing more cultural events. This is the last post I will make from this account. I just want to move forward and rebuild with him.
TL;DR: We broke off the engagement, but we’re still together.

Just wanted to share my success story with you all as I used to read this sub daily and even filled my phone with screenshots of posted ideas that sounded promising but nothing ever worked for me.
To start with, my BB was never room filling but I would get reactions from a lot of people I was within a couple of meters to and the one that hurt me the most was my own children commenting on it and asking me to brush my teeth literally 5 minutes after I had thoroughly brushed. It was heartbreaking!
Some days were worse than others and I would try and avoid talking to anyone or move my head to the side slightly so they don't get a face full of the odour. Other days it was barely noticeable but it never went away.
I had tried hydrogen peroxide, corsodyl medicated mouthwash, kefir / high fibre low sugar diet, tongue scraping, leaving tongue alone, regular flossing, scraping plaque with a dentist kit I bought and increasing hydration but nothing ever worked long term...
Until...
I went on holiday to Turkey and it was quite a nice hotel so didn't need to take any toiletries or even my old toothbrush as it was all provided and replenished daily.
After the first night, I woke up noticing that my breath wasn't absolutely stinking which it usually was first thing in the morning and after using the Marvis classic strong mint toothpaste and having a shower with their body gel and shampoo, I felt very fresh ready for breakfast.
The food every day was a very high standard. Turkey grows most of its fruit and vegetables rather than importing and you could tell it wasn't the genetically modified crap you get back home. I made sure to get at least 15 portions of fruit and veg every single day and I had zero added sugar.
Usually back home I had 1 sugar in my coffee, always had a sugary sweet dessert after main meal and snacked quite a lot on cakes, chocolate biscuits etc. I know my diet was not amazing but in Turkey I had no excuse and really enjoyed eating as healthily as possible.
This shift is what I mainly attribute my cure to. I had read about the micro biome in the mouth and heard that bacteria thrives on sugar but if it is starved of sugar and instead is given lots of good fibre, it can cause a breakdown of the existing bacteria.
Since returning home in February, I have not gone back to the sugar. My diet is completely changed and I make sure that I get lots of golf sources of organic fruit and vegetables. A treat for me now is a few medjool dates which taste like toffee to my taste buds now!
I no longer have sugar in coffee and very rarely have sweets or chocolate. I am not completely sugar free but it is a substantial change!
The other thing that may have attributed to my cure is changing my toothpaste form colgate to sensodyne which is Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) free and switching from SLS body washes and shampoos to SLS free ones - I use the Faith in Nature brand.
I cannot say for sure which or what combination of actions has cured me but 3 months after the holiday I am able to talk face to face with my children, my wife has told me the bad breath is finally gone and I feel so much more confident at work now.
It is quite frankly.. Life changing!
I hope this helps someone make the necessary changes to their diet and beauty regime and be able to share a similar success story of their own!

I know it’s been said before, but why as soon as you declare in confidence that you’re taking MJ suddenly everyone around you becomes a nutritionist health guru.
For the past 8yrs my weight has only gone up, mainly due to depression eating / living off energy drinks, cola, chips, pizza and not much else. Add to that fertility treatments and job dramas it’s been a tough time and I’ve eaten my way through.
No one ever mentioned the damage I could be doing to my body/health, the risk of diabetes and all the other horrible conditions that high bmi and very bad diet creates. No one asked if I was ok, happy ( I guess they know I wasn’t)
I’ve taken action and decided to make a grown up decision to take MJ, on a private prescription which I pay for and researched as much as possible.
Like most it’s been amazing in helping me with the comfort eating, I hardly eat junk food and cut the energy drinks by more than 50% and yeah I’ve lost 16lbs so far
But people still feel they need to worn me of the risk, only today my sister messaged me to say “MJ makes you loose muscle.”
What muscle, I’ve sat on my bum feeling depressed and down and fat for the last few years, I certainly havnt been working on my body building competition. 🏋️‍♀️
Yeah, I’ve probably lost any muscle I did have, but it’s a journey I plan to get to the gym and am working on myself in stages, taking new meds for anxiety also have a new job etc, she don’t know this it’s my personal plan of action which I know will take time… but jeez enough with the opinions already. 🥊

The day it all happened I was in a bar. It was 11.30am, and it was a Tuesday. I'd left my girlfriend and went for a quick drink, or so I'd told her. I'd been feeling down a lot recently. She was always busy with her friends or work, and never had time for me. I'm not trying to excuse my actions, but I needed something to make myself feel good. I had planned on going home early, but that was before I saw her. She was sitting alone at the end of the bar, sipping her white wine. We started talking and she made me laugh. I can't remember how long we were talking, but it seemed like ages. At the time, I'd forgotten about the rest of the world, I was so caught up in our conversation.
Then it happened.
All of a sudden, the bartender dropped a glass, shattering it across the floor. "Watch it!" he shouted at a customer, who'd accidentally bumped into him. Then, he threw the towel he'd been holding onto the counter, and went over to the customer and punched him in the face. It all happened so quickly, I didn't have time to react. The customer stood up, his nose bleeding. He walked towards the bartender and hit him back, knocking him into the wall. A full on fight ensued, as two other men from the crowd joined in. They were throwing punches, and pushing each other to the ground.
The woman I'd been talking to looked scared, and started backing away from the bar.
"What the hell?" she said, her voice wavering.
I stood up, and held her hand. "Come on, let's get out of here."
I led her out of the bar and back to the street. She had a look of terror on her face. I had to calm her down, she looked like she was going to have a panic attack.
"It's ok, I'm here." I told her. "Are you okay?"
She took a deep breath and nodded.
"What was that all about?" she asked.
I shrugged. "I have no idea. Maybe it's stress or something. There's a lot of that going around right now."
Just then, the sound of sirens rang through the air. People were walking quickly by, looking at their phones, trying to find out what was happening. We followed the crowd and ended up in front of a large electronics store. It was closed.
"Do you have your phone?" she asked me.
I checked my pockets, but it wasn't there. I'd left it at the bar.
"Damn, no. I forgot it."
"Shit." she said, and pulled out her own.
The screen was flashing and beeping, and the words "Emergency Broadcast" were displayed.
"Oh no." she said, her face turning white.
I peered over her shoulder at the screen. It read:
Attention citizens. There has been a breach in the security at the local military base. If you see anyone acting strangely or displaying symptoms of the following, report it to the authorities immediately.
Symptoms:

• Bleeding or bruising from the mouth and nose
  
• Loss of consciousness
  
• Increased heart rate
  
• Increased body temperature
  
• Hallucinations
  
• Involuntary movement
  

"What does that mean?" I asked her.
"I have no idea." she replied, her voice shaking.
Suddenly, a scream came from the end of the street. I turned and saw a man running down the sidewalk. He was covered in blood, and screaming at the top of his lungs. A group of people was following him, chasing after him.
"Stay back!" he yelled. "It's not safe! They're coming!"
He ran around a corner and the crowd disappeared.
"He said they're coming. Who's coming?" asked the woman.
"I have no idea. We need to get to the police or someone to help us. Let's get somewhere secure."
We started walking towards the police station when a large group of people appeared around the corner, running towards us. They were screaming and shouting. They were completely out of their minds. The street was filled with men and women, young and old. Some were in bloody clothes, while others were completely naked.
"Run!" the woman screamed.
I grabbed her arm and we both ran for cover. We rounded the corner and started sprinting down the street, dodging past people and cars. Everything was a blur as we ran for our lives. After what felt like an eternity, we reached the police station. The front door was open and a small group of people were running inside. We followed them inside and found ourselves in a crowded lobby. The officer at the desk was yelling into the phone.
"Yes! There's rioting! Send backup now!"
Another officer came out from behind the desk and shouted over the chaos.
"Everyone needs to calm down! The military is sending a convoy to help us secure the city! Just hold tight!"
But people weren't listening. They continued to yell and scream, fighting against each other to get out of the station. I noticed a few people had bruises and cuts from the crowd.
I felt someone grab my arm. It was the woman I'd been with. She looked at me and shook her head.
"I'm scared." she said, her voice trembling.
Then she fell to the ground, crying. I reached down and held her in my arms.
"It's gonna be alright. I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you."
People were still pushing and shoving their way towards the exit, oblivious to us. I held onto her tightly, not wanting to lose her in the chaos. The sirens outside got louder, until they stopped altogether. I looked through the windows and saw a convoy of military vehicles pull up outside. Soldiers rushed into the station, their guns drawn.
They began shouting orders to the crowd.
"Calm the fuck down! Everyone calm down and leave through the rear entrance! This is not a request, this is an order! Anyone caught rioting or acting violently will be shot on sight! Go through the back, through the alleys, to the designated safe area! No more resistance, this is not a threat, this is a fact, now move, move, move!"
The crowd slowly filed out of the station, and we joined them.
My ears were ringing from the sirens and gunshots, but I did my best to keep moving. There were so many people, and we were forced to keep close together as the crowd funneled down a narrow alleyway. The city was in chaos. Smoke rose from buildings and car alarms blared. Gunshots and screams were everywhere.
We followed the throng of people down the alley until they reached a roadblock.
"This is as far as we can go." a soldier said. "Follow the crowd down this way and find a shelter. Don't wander around on your own, stay in groups if you can. Stay safe."
I looked at the woman and nodded. "C'mon, let's keep moving."
The crowd parted and we pushed through to the front. We soon found ourselves on a road full of burnt out cars and debris. The roadblock was full of soldiers, who directed us towards a football stadium.
The smell of smoke hung in the air as we walked through the streets. I wondered what could've started it all, and why it had ended so quickly.
When we reached the stadium it was full of people, all looking for their loved ones. I scanned the faces, hoping to see my girlfriend. I looked back towards the entrance and saw an old man and woman being helped down from a trolley bus. The lady had a bandage around her head, and her husband had blood on his face. The lady was clutching a broken arm. They hobbled their way slowly to a makeshift aid station. A soldier guided them towards the rest of the wounded.
"Grandma! Grandpa!" a small girl cried out and ran to them. She threw her arms around the woman and hugged her tightly.
A feeling of relief rushed over me, I was so happy they were alive. But at the same time, I couldn't help but think about my own girlfriend. Where was she?
People were sitting on the ground, crying. Others, stood, shell-shocked, looking around. A few people were trying to make small talk, despite everything. They were looking for ways to take their minds off the situation, to cope.
A bus was parked in the middle of the park and there were lines of people waiting in front of it.
"Are you hungry? Do you have any food?" a woman asked me, pushing her child in front of me.
"No, sorry, I don't," I replied, surprised at the desperation in her voice. "I don't have anything."
I looked at the queue, wondering if that was where the line was to get some free food. A woman in a white apron behind a stand marked "First Aid" tried to calm the crowd, raising her voice above the din.
"Everyone, please! Settle down, the military will have more help coming shortly! But for now we're out of supplies and the situation will only worsen if you don't control yourselves!"
Just then, another truck pulled up on the edge of the field. It had a green cross painted on the side of it and the word "Medicine" on the doors. My heart swelled with hope as several officers jumped out, carrying duffel bags of equipment, and headed straight to the medical tent.
"It's the supplies, everyone! It's the supplies they promised us!" someone in the back yelled.
The crowd began pushing and shoving each other again, and the woman and her kid that had spoken to me before was lost in the wave of people running forward, trying to get to the medicine. I tried to find them, to help, but I couldn't see them. There were so many people crowding around the truck, scrambling for the parcels of food and water and blankets that had spilled out.
I looked around at the field and at all the frightened and desperate people. Some were hurt and injured. Others were shell-shocked. Children were crying and their parents didn't know how to comfort them.
I knew there had been an outbreak of some sort, that the military had been evacuating the city. What I didn't understand is why the city had come to such a state of disarray in just one day.
A gunshot rang out and people screamed. It was followed by another, then several more. I ducked and covered my head. People around me started running, but I could see them lying on the ground. More gunshots and screams filled the air. Then, there was an eerie silence.
I stood up and slowly turned around, taking in the carnage. Bodies littered the ground, some missing limbs. I stepped carefully over the lifeless bodies of the fallen and made my way towards the exit of the stadium.
As I neared the gate I saw a group of soldiers guarding it. One was checking a man for weapons while another was wrapping a tourniquet around his leg. The other three were standing by a stack of rifles, preparing to re-load. I looked closer at the man with the bandaged leg and recognized him as the soldier that was on the news not long ago, telling us that the rioters had been dealt with and it was now safe to return to our homes. He had also assured us that the city would get back to normal soon.
"Clear!" the other soldier yelled, checking his weapon before handing it back to its owner. The soldier limped out the gate and was gone.
I tried to run, but my feet felt heavy and sluggish. The soldiers were getting closer, their guns drawn. They were shouting at me, their voices faint in my ears.
I turned to try and flee when a shot rang out and pain exploded in the back of my head.

• End -

So last night about an hour before going to my LGS to play I put together a simple Sligh/Red Deck Wins/Burn style deck out of what I had laying around (couple starters, commons people had given me, and 10 packs of cards) + bought 7 singles when I got to the store.
My thinking was I had only played SWU once before and that was with the Vader starter, so a simple aggro deck would be easy to pick up and not rely on intimate knowledge of the game or meta. Not to mention it was cheap as it read thrown together from my collection of mostly bulk.
This is the list I wound up playing, I went 2-1 in a 3 round 8 man (small crowd as the Showdown was the next day). I beat Thrawn U, lost to Krennic G, then beat Palpatine G. Every match was 2-1 for the winner so no blowouts. I made some misplays and forgot to use my base a good bit as I'd never played with a base that had an epic action before, that likely led to some losses but who knows if it was enough to actually make a difference.
Some cards were thrown in just as filler to hit 50 cards, such as I Am Your Father and Mission Briefing. But overall the deck was fun and honestly felt pretty solid. My opponents were pretty experienced players and it took them by surprise. The deck goes wide quickly and it feels bad for them to go 1 to 1 with removal. I definitely want to try and improve the deck.
After getting home I pulled some of the "filler" cards for another 1 drop, Tie Fighter, and Precision Strike. I also swapped out Wampa for Snowtrooper Lieutenant. Being able to get a "free" attack while playing a body seems good in an aggressive deck like this, and it is a Trooper so it procs Precision Fire. Here is the list as it stands now.
I do want to swap Keep Fighting for Aggression, and I need to finish the sideboard.

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I am not the OOP. The OOP is u/ResponsibleBox4681 posting in Parenting
Concluded as per OOP
Content Warning - child sexual abuse
Mood spoiler - terrible parenting
Thanks to u/shesalive_dammit for finding this BORU
1 update - Medium
Original - 6th May 2024
Update - 31st May 2024
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My daughter is treating my son like he’s dead to her
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I’m at the end of my rope and desperate for some input. This is a throwaway for the obvious sensitive reasons below.
My husband and I have DD (17) and DS (14). They have never been overly close siblings, but weren’t sworn enemies either. Just two different kids with two different personalities, but as long as everyone was respectful that was okay with me.
When DD was 10 she was the victim of abuse by a family member that saw them convicted and go to jail. She was in intensive therapy for years and we are so proud of the strong, confident and intelligent young woman she is today. She has always, however, been very private about it. Besides our family, her lifelong best friend/her parents knew, and that was it. My son, however, knew about the abuse too.
He flippantly told some friends about it 2 months ago, and before you know it, the whole school knew. DD was devastated, to say the least. She’s been back in counselling since and has been coping as well as possible. This counselling has come at a financially really tough time for us and is obviously worth every penny, but the fact that we can’t afford more counselling factors into the other part of this.
DD blew up at DS when this first happened and he saw the fallout of her coping with this firsthand. But since that night where she found out he told people and word was going around, she hasn’t spoken a word to him. She doesn’t look at him when he enters a room, or react when he speaks directly to her, or about her, or anything else of the sort. For example at dinner, she’ll speak to us and he’ll chime in and she continues the conversation as though he hadn’t said anything.
DS has tried daily to talk to her and apologized, begged, pleaded and cried and it’s always the same - she’ll usually crack a book/look at her phone, put some AirPods in and ignore him completely. She won’t discuss it with me besides to say that he’s dead to her and she has no intention of ever seeing or speaking to him again when she moves out in 10 months, and she hasn’t wavered even a bit in that sentiment since.
I’m at a complete loss. DS is on total lockdown - he’s lost his phone, video games, any sort of privilege or ability to do things with friends - he essentially goes to school, comes home, does his homework and goes to bed and he knows we are devastated and beyond disappointed.
I believe he’s sincerely sorry and contrite - he’s broken down crying and apologizing to us more times than I can count - but I’m unsure of how to proceed. We can’t afford family counselling, and DD’s personal counsellor won’t talk to me about what she says to her about any of this, besides to say not to push her on anything. I know she has every right to be furious.
But at the same time, I can’t help but feel like it’s also not mentally healthy for my son to be treated as though he literally doesn’t exist in his home for the next year. I know it’s a natural consequence, but it’s gut wrenching to see and be living with. Not to mention, as a mom I don’t want my kids to be permanently estranged. It breaks my heart.
Has anyone else experienced anything even in the ballpark of this that could offer any advice?
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Comments
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amjay8
Best you can do right now is try to access counseling for him, too. It would be wrong & counterproductive to push her to forgive him for a betrayal so deep if she doesn’t feel she can. He’s just a kid, and he can be redeemed, but the consequences of his actions are outside of your control.
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istara
I agree. The daughter is deeply traumatised and the only thing that may ever ameliorate that is time. A lot of time.
So her brother has to learn patience and acceptance. Sometimes the mistakes we make don't get an easy fix or forgiveness. Which is a very harsh lesson to learn at 14 and it doesn't sound like he was malicious, just very stupid and very clueless.
So while her reaction probably feels disproportionate to him, and perhaps to the parents, it is what it is and there's no way to make her "unreact". She's suffered what she's suffered and she feels what she feels.

OOP: I have tried to broach the topic of forgiveness and him being sorry with her. She’s not interested in hearing it, seems irritated and annoyed I’m bringing it up and has never once even slightly wavered in saying something like he’s dead to her and she plans to never see or speak to him again when she moves out. I’m worried if I push her on it, she’ll cut us out too as I get the sense she sees it as me taking his side. She’s minimizing being home, which is minimizing their interaction but also makes me really sad that she doesn’t want to be here in the last few months before she moves out. Her therapist is understandably concerned more with her emotional well-being than our family dynamic, and won’t really discuss much of anything with me.
She is going to college and moving out in the summer. We don’t have super nearby family for my son to stay with, nor do we have the funds to offer to help pay for his upkeep even if we did. I’m at a loss.

Catface17
"Her therapist is understandably concerned more with her emotional well-being than our family dynamic"
WHY AREN'T YOU???
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JacobTroy94
It’s clear to me, the son is the golden child of the family. If it was my kids this was happening too, best believe the son would be punished accordingly and I would support the sister ignoring his ass
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bjorkabjork
it's 10 months. i would not force her to interact with him, if she wants to go no contact with him, she can.
i would get him out of the house and sign him up for some other activity tho. taking stuff away isn't as good as adding on responsibility imo. community service hours look good on college applications for his future and will get them apart more in the day to day. don't focus on his relationship with his sibling, focus on how to help him grow up into an adult who won't make a hurtful mistake like that again.
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bonesonstones
I love this idea. As an initial punishment, grounding may have served its purpose, but it seems like it's time to switch gears and accept that this is what the next 10 months will look like. Your son needs to adapt to that, and getting him out of the house will be helpful.
I'd like to add - OP, just because you're uncomfortable with the situation doesn't mean you get to force your freshly re-traumatized daughter to accept an apology she does not want. Why are you making it her responsibility to ease your or your son's negative feelings? That's absolutely shameful.
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Update - 8 months later
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I posted about our issues last year, where my son joked about my daughter's CSA to friends in an attempt to be edgy. She stopped speaking to him and said he was dead to her, despite living in the same house as him.
I want to thank people for the advice, some of it harsh but necessary. Unfortunately, things have not gotten better. My son's grounding came to an end, and he got supervised access to his phone, video games and friends back. My daughter was livid with us about it, and no amount of explanation that continual punishment for a year wasn't an option made that understandable to her. I get that from her point of view, but it began to strain her relationship with me and her dad too. She still ignored my son, and he still cried and was depressed over it. I booked three sessions of expensive family counselling and made her come, but she just kept her earbuds on, with music playing, the entire time.
She turned 18 in January. My son dipped into his savings to get her a necklace. I gave it to her and told her it was from him after she opened it, and she threw it away. Within a few days, she had moved out and into her best friend's parent's house without telling us she was going to. I invited her home for Easter, and she didn't come because her brother (who had nowhere else to go) would be here.
I'm still at a loss. Her graduation is next week and we weren't formally invited by her - we basically got an "I guess you can come" when I asked. My son obviously isn't invited, and he's still struggling mentally with all of this; therapy and medication hasn't helped much, but our options of what we can afford are very limited.
Has anyone been here? I never dreamed of having children estranged from each other and a daughter who pulled away from us over her brother's idiotic mistake.
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Comments
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Mannings4head
I think you need to understand that your daughter is under no obligation to ever forgive her brother. She was sexually abused as a child, which is something most people never fully recover from, and then was violated in another way by her own brother. A very personal part of her story was shared without her consent and that's never going to be okay. If a friend of hers did this, most people would say to cut that friend out of your life. It's unfortunate that it's her brother and has an impact on the entire family but your son made a "mistake" and has to deal with the consequences of his actions.
For the record, I generally am against the whole "cut them out of your life forever" line of thinking that is popular on Reddit but in this case it isn't your call. You don't get to tell her she has to forgive him. You don't get to decide when she should be over it. She is traumatized and has to do whatever she can to heal, including not being around someone who added to her trauma and made her life harder. I get wanting your kids to be close. I am currently on a road trip with my 2 kids to drop the eldest off for a summer internship and love the bond my kids have with each other, but they would never do something your son did. They know personal things about each other that no one else knows and are going to keep it that way. That's what siblings do. Your son messed that up, NOT your daughter so don't put the blame on her.
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Garp5248
My advice would be to stop trying to interfere in their relationship. Don't be a go between for your son to your daughter. Don't push your daughter to forgive your son.
Let your daughter know that your son is still your son. You regret his actions, but still love him. He didn't hurt you but he hurt her and you understand that. If you don't understand that, you need to before having the convo with her. Make time for her to be in your life separate from your son.
For your son, explain to him his actions have consequences. He needs to figure out how to make it right. You can't and won't force sister to forgive him. He needs to earn his forgiveness.
And that's all you can do. You're not peacekeeping. You are creating space for a relationship with your son and daughter that does not require them to interact with each other. Their relationships with you are independent of each other. That's it.
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I am not the OOP. Please do not harass the OOP.
Please remember the No Brigading Rule and to be civil in the comments