Using a burner account because ongoing legal stuff!
I have been with my employer just shy of 5 years in England, employed by the UK subsidiary of a small US company. I found out last week that I was being made redundant, along with some others in the US and UK. The process has now completed and I have been put on gardening leave for my notice period.
I have reasons to think that I specifically have been targeted for redundancy illegitimately and want to pursue an unfair dismissal case. I have spoken with ACAS but have a few detailed questions that I was hoping people could help with, as I have never worked with an employment lawyer before or gone through the grievance/tribunal process. My ideal outcome would be a financial settlement (I very much don't want my job back now!) and I have not spoken to a lawyer yet.

1. I believe the next step is for me to send a formal grievance letter to the company. How much detail/evidence should I provide in this letter? Should I just provide a high level summary of why I feel I have been unfairly dismissed?
   
2. Would it be beneficial to send the letter via a lawyeon letter headed paper? Do I risk not looking serious if I send the letter myself?
   
3. If this goes to tribunal and I do use a lawyer roughly how much could I expect to spend?
   
4. Is it strongly encouraged to have a lawyer during this process? At what point would you recommend engaging with one?
   
5. What's a reasonable rate for an employment lawyer? (East of England)
   
6. Are no win/no fee lawyers a good alternative? Why would/wouldn't you use one Vs an hourly solicitor?
   

Appreciate any insight people are able to provide as I have 0 experience with the employment law system and I don't want to unintentionally shoot myself in the foot from the off.

Please be very careful picking this degree. I changed my major from business to environmental science and only had time for one six-month internship in Environmental, health, and safety due to loading up on summer classes to save money and graduate as soon as possible. Now with only six months of experience in EHS, I can't get a job in any environmental-related field due to lack of experience and relevance to most environmental jobs. Seems like since I missed the boat getting research and internship experience in undergrad, it's impossible to catch up. Also, since I changed my major, I had limited ability to specialize in a specific niche and had to take the classes I could get, and having a surface level knowledge of various environmental issues is useless. I think this degree has a slight chance of being useful, but you have to specialize in something and get relevant experience in that field, so if you fail to that, good luck. I just feel so dumb thinking that going out of my way to get a BS would be beneficial, wasting my time on STEM prerequisites when I could have just gotten a BA and had more time for internships and have a higher GPA, making things like applying to law school easier.
Now after fucking up undergrad, I thought getting a graduate certificate in GIS would help, but boy was I wrong. Once again my background isn't catered enough to GIS, resulting in endless rejections to entry-level roles, even ones that prioritize environmental knowledge. Just the other day I got turned down for an internship after getting positive feedback on my Resume, Cover letter, and GIS portfolio. I've accepted I need a master's in something like hydrology, GIS, or urban planning to move my career forward, but I wanted to gain some relevant work experience first to strengthen my application and get references, but doesn't seem like that'll happen. Overall, despite having a strong GPA and graduating from a top 10 public school, my environmental BS is useless with only six months of experience in a semi-related field, and entry-level opportunities are almost non-existent outside of AmeriCorps positions with horrendous pay. Pretty much everyone I know is better off than me, people with the much easier Environmental BA degree have more success searching than me, and friends with less demanding marketing and communications degrees have more job prospects. So overall, thinking that going out of my way to challenge myself and get a BS without getting the proper experience alongside it was a horrible choice by me and a pointless degree, don't make my mistake and be sure you can actually get a job with the skills you will gain from your coursework and internships.

I’m in a legal confrontation with my narcicisstic landlord (paranoid, manipulative, guilt tripping). After moving out he said he wants to keep my bail over alleged “damages”. I already sent him a letter stating that’s not true and I will sue. No response. Then 3.5 weeks ago, I pointed out he has many other potential legal issues with different areas of the law that I can use to seek damages (data protection, building code, criminal law, renters law and his legal professions guidelines as a doctor). No response. Then this week in a call to settle, he used massive gaslighting, playing the victim and tried to weaken me by saying things like “nobody likes you” “everyone’s happy you moved out” in order to deter me from further actions (he knows i’m depressed). Then I received an email, demanding me to agree he can keep the bail.
Question: If I now ignore my landlord's email offering to keep my bail, will he worry I'll report him to the different agencies that protect the diffrent areas of law (for example demanding more than the bail in reparations)?
Cons: Why he might not be worried about my letter 3.5 weeks ago:

• in our last call this week, I was nice to him and only nicely said I will talk to a lawyer in order to verify his offer with courtesy. So no signs or threats from me to seek damages. So he’s not expecting retaliation from me probably or waiting if I take action or not.
• my letter is 3.5 weeks ago and I did not follow through on it since then. The letter lacked a concrete threat and was delivered in a positive tone, suggesting a desire for resolution rather than confrontation. Also I continued this tone throught our communication.
• I did not talk about the possibilities of reporting him to the agencies in the letter and also this would not give me what I want, it would only make landlord angry. So maybe he is not even aware of the possibiity that I could report him to the agancies or he thinks if I would use this areas of law, I would threaten to seek damages and will talk to him directly first, before doing anything. So he can wait what happens (this tactic he has used before).
• he did not respond to my mailing at all since 3.5 weeks. If he were so scared about it, he would have answered.
• narcs have high self confidence and might think they can get away with it or did nothing wrong, so my letter is nothing to worry about.
• historically, he only responds to concrete threats to his interests, not demands for negotiation or compliance like I did so far.
• He might believe his massive manipulation and guilt-tripping in our last call have worked, making him think I'm too weak or confused to take further action.
• maybe he's not worried and just want to be left alone because he has 10 renters and a job and a family and a marriage to manage. Leaving him alone would be the desired outcome for him and that's why he was asking and agreeing to the call

Pros: Reasons my landlord might worry if I ignore him:

• He may fear I am silent because I’m planning to report him to various agencies, which could lead to legal troubles for him.
• He knows he has neglected his obligations and may feel vulnerable to potential legal repercussions.

Objective:
I am a 32f, single, no debt, no mortgage, earning six figures with over $100k in invested liquid funds + $250k in retirement plans (while currently maxing out on all retirement funds), wanting to quit my Corporate America job to travel and develop new skills.
My background:
I love what I do, but I am getting very burnt out. My company recently got bought out and the company culture is shifting to something that I don't love. Furthermore, a return to office plan was implemented earlier this month, and we were only given less than 1 month notice. During covid, I got approved to live in Mexico, so since then, I have been grandfathered in to travel full time and live from my suitcase. A lot of privileges and benefits got taken away post merge...so I was thinking that if they do not do not grant an extension for me to work remotely to at least the end of this year, then I am going to quit/ be let go.
I have been traveling and working on the weekends for the last 3 years, living out of my suitcase. I am a very experienced budget traveler (been to over 30 countries and over 10 of them solo). I am well equipped when it comes to budgeting. I just want to know about your post travel experiences.
My goals during time "off":

• Develop new skills: I want to have Spanish under my belt. I currently have English and Chinese (Mandarin).
• See my family on the other side of the earth that I haven't been able to see in over 10 years.
• Starting a blog to help others to fund the courage to take career breaks. I hope to monetize this, however I know it takes the avg blogger 1 year to start seeing steady income

Concerns (this is where I need yall's help)

• Professionally: I do not want to burn any bridges, as I am looking to come back to this industry post 1 year off. I plan on keeping up with the industry as well as keeping up with my industry network. For those that did do this, did you have any regrets? did it set you back? To add - I am currently a top 5% performer of my company.
• Financially: Will I be able to bounce back if I have no steady income for a year? Will my current retirement funds be enough for me to bounce back without any big delays in retirement?
• Mentally: For those that did this already, did you find yourself happier or sadder when coming back? did you opt out of your old career or a new one?

Due to the limits of getting full match data from Shanghai, we've had to rely on ACS, which is very unequal marker of performance. I want to create an agent normalized ACS calculator to better evaluate an individual's performance in comparison to the general T1 performance on that agent. Given limitations of the data we get as well as not wanting to spend too much time, my idea is to simply generate z-score equivalents of ACS based on agent-specific data.
To save myself some time and so I don't have to learn how to do it, I'm hoping someone from the community can help with getting the data (my understanding is that data from rib.gg can get pulled). I'd request all T1 data from 2024 with the only necessary inclusions being ACS and the agent.
If someone were nice enough to contribute, then I'd run the stats, put together a calculator (nothing fancy, likely just a spreadsheet) for agent normalized ACS, and create agent normalized scores for all past Shanghai matches and future matches. As long as I could find a good way to do it (probably just make a new Gmail and share the drive link), I'd also share it so others can generate the normalized ACS since matches in Shanghai often end while I'm at work so others can use it.

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.

Today, i saw one of the young people I used to be a support worker for. Those young people had severe BPD and severe trauma. They shared their secrets with me. I tried to help.
I actually ended up leaving that job rather abruptly, because the manager was one of the worst I’ve ever encountered in my life. She constantly belittled her employees in emails, saying we ‘didn’t care for the young people at all’ because we hadn’t cleaned an 8 bedroom house in one day. Constantly tell us we weren’t doing enough despite giving us 800 tasks to do, telling us how we responded to YP’s self-harm incidents wrong.
She told me i ‘had body odour’ after i had done a sleep (2pm shift, to sleep, wake up at 7, immediately start shift again), which is a complaint I’ve never had again in my life. If there was an employee fall out, somehow she’d know, isolate you in a room and ask you about it. My co-worker told me she was dragged into a meeting and called bitchy for asking fairly simple questions. I was told I’d be ‘knocked out’ (not verbatim) because I’d walked out crying after the body odour talk and hadn’t answered ‘have a good weekend’, told it would be a disciplinary note on my file.
Then, there were some sketchy things going on. The young people told me the manager had told them they couldn’t tell us support workers things. I was in such a bad place already, because of various inflicted consequences from a terrible manager, that I forgot boundaries and asked further. Not smart.
I was taken into a conversation with the manager; where i was told off. I then had a BPD meltdown and told the manager i was going to kill myself. I think she knew then, exactly what i was. Another young person. I couldn’t regulate at all, and as a consequence, couldn’t say goodbye to the young people.
It’s my biggest regret, that I couldn’t say goodbye myself. I know I could never explain to them why I was leaving, because I couldn’t bad mouth the person in charge of caring for them. I’d already done that and got in trouble. The micromanager had to be kept a secret from the young people. I wrote them letters, saying I left because of ‘health issues’. Not entirely not true .
But I could see, today, in their eyes, they don’t forgive me. They’re hurt. They think I just abandoned them. It hurts. I have so many complicated feelings right now. Wishing I could explain to them what happened, how that place is behind closed doors, but I can’t. I can’t take away the safety of the place they’re recovering, and I know that. I just wish I could apologise.
They walked away as soon as they recognised me. I suppose it’s just something I’ll never get closure on, because to do that would be disrespecting boundaries, and frankly, be kind of weird.
(Ok with advice)

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. ”

TL;DR Chapter preface.
1 Team spirit and perseverance to overcome injuries and the collective effort to win
2 Carlo’s coaching what’s best for the club and not his style adapting against the opponent
3 How ancelotti built the team around the regista - Toni kroos
4 Dortmund’s run to the final and tactics
5 Real Madrid don’t play finals they win them. The unique decades long tradition that will make Madrid win the champions league.
1.
I wanted to take a moment before the final to write about our season. I have written about our previous two knockout ties against city and Bayern but now we have finally arrived to the summit of our season and the summit of a Real Madrid team which we won’t see in the same way without our maestro and conductor - Toni Kroos.
I’m sure a lot of our fans would agree that if you would had to tell me at the start of the season after losing our starting GK and 2 CBs to ACLs (unprecedented in its own regard) and lose the likes of Vini, Tchou and Camavinga for long stretches that we would win the league dominantly with 95 points by over performing our expected XG and reach the champions league final - I would ask you to put down the crack.
But yet here we are almost 9 months later ready to compete to win our 15th what a privilege for our fans to witness this moment. In an interview recently after eliminating Bayern, Carlo said that this was the best group of players he has ever managed. The fact that he said that having coached the likes of legends in Madrid and Milan of the past speaks volumes of the perseverance and team spirit we have shown this season. The team like he said “never complained” and worked hard to overcome all the obstacles thrown at us. We only lost once in the league against atletico and that loss opened our eyes on what we had to fix defensively when we realised we we weren’t defending well from our right side having conceded from crosses. The tweaks made whether it was getting Fede to be more of a defensive workhouse, getting Vini to play centrally, asking Jude to play the free 10 role or making rodrygo and Vini interchange from the left. These are not easy things to do and players need time to adapt but this team has done a momentous job shifting from a 4-3-3 and adapting to a diamond 4-3-1-2 or rather a 4-4-2, and playing for the needs of the team.

1. This is where I would like to talk about Ancelotti and his ability to manage based on what the club needs rather than his own personal style. The reason why Madrid are historically successful is because they don’t have a “style” they adapt and have the clutch factor to win when it matters and achieve the unprecedented.

Managers like pep are positionist and rely heavily on rehearsed plays that hinder the expression of freedom from players. Real and Carlo as of late have always been relationist allowing for a flow or mixture and adaptation. Against city we had to play a mid block in the first leg and stop their build up before they can push into our box to force them wide. In the second leg after scoring we had to play a low block for 60 mins to stop them from scoring. These are examples of a team and manager synchronised in the approach that they must do whatever to win. Carlo spoke about when they played De Zerbi’s shakhtar and not pressing them allowed them to get the ball and beat them 5-0. It our ability to adapt in the moment that allows us to overcome our opponent even if the chips are down.

1. Carlo spoke of his regret when he coached Parma and had the opportunity to sign baggio who was a 10 and one on the best players in the world then, but Carlo refused to sign him because he was adamant to play with 2 strikers. When he coached juventus he realised the importance of incorporating a certain Zinedine Zidane as the central figure of the team.

Those who remember his Milan team played a similar diamond with CFs and a roaming cam in the likes of Kaka who was the main man scoring goals at a ridiculous rate, very similar to Jude this season a lot of people would say that he was the focal point of that team but in reality it was the “regista” in Pirlo who conducted that Milan team and everything was built around how Pirlo dictated the play. And that is why I would like to highlight that our team is built around the irreplaceable Toni Kroos, our regista who conducts and orchestrates the play. It is why we have been successful not just with the system this year but the past decade. Kroos is a unicorn who is capable of escaping pressure and finding the right passes without being over indulgent to a fault like Barca or pep. Kroos’ impact in the final will be monumental and it is only fitting for a legend like him to bow out with a champions league trophy.

1. I think we can all agree that when you look at our side of the bracket in our run of the champions league, every team in our bracket would mop the floor with the teams in dortmund’s side of the bracket. I’m not saying Dortmund don’t deserve to be in the final they have earned to be there playing a defensive approach that sees the entire team defend when they need to. They have fast paced dribblers in sancho and adeyemi and a physical box presence in fullcrug. Their centre backs rank the highest in long ball passes in Europe and they play in quick transitions like a German team. They’ve shown resilience to overcome their opponents but let’s not forget they did top the group of death and that is no coincidence. Upon watching their games I think the one that impressed me the most was their win against atletico at home. They have qualities to cause us problem so we should be vary of how we approach them.

What troubled us against leipzig was when they played to clog us centrally and cause us issues in turnovers. Against Bayern in the first leg we didn’t acclimatise to the width their wingers found to score. My only worry remains our aerial and set pieces defence with the likes of a physical target man like fullcrug supplied by pace around him we need to be careful but I’m sure Carlo and co are well prepared and I trust the team handles this Dortmund side and take them to task.

1. I want to talk about the aura of Madrid in finals and how “Real Madrid don’t play finals, they win them”. Some of you may be supporting them for the first time in a final while for some they may have lost track. Personally this will be the sixth time I will be watching them play the champions league final and in my heart I know we will win it. Real humility lies in accepting that your opponent can beat you even if you are the favourite but Real perseverance lies in knowing that we will never give up no matter what. That is forever ingrained in me from 10 years ago when Sergio Ramos equalised in 92:48 to make us destroy atletico 4-1. I have since watched us win from going behind early on, winning in penalties and brutally destroying our opponents. Just like Carlo says I cannot explain what it is but there is something special about this club, it’s the winning dna, the spirit of juanito the comeback mentality, the myth and legend of this club and shirt that allows us to transcend and excel.

If you believe that there is something special about this club then you will know that we will win tonight. A year ago I’ll never forget how low I felt as a fan when we lost 4-0 to city. We have come a long way since then and a long way in this tournament getting revenge against city and beating Bayern Munich. We have come a long way to this final to lose against a side like Dortmund. And I will back my statement by pointing out a unique tradition that sees us always winning the champions league whenever we eliminate the reigning champions.
We have ALWAYS eliminated the title holders in the UCL era whenever we have faced them in the knockout rounds. And guess what ? Each time that happens we go on to win the champions league!
1998 - Dortmund in SF agg (2-0) we Win the UCL
2000 - Manchester United in QF agg (3-2) we Win the UCL
2002- Bayern Munich in QF agg (3-2) we Win the UCL
2014- PEP’S Bayern Munich in SF agg (5-0) we Win the UCL
2022- Chelsea in QF agg (5-4) we Win the UCL
2024 - Man City in QF … ⏳
So Madridistas I would like to end this reflection by saying that no matter what I am super proud of what we have achieved this season it is the culmination and the complete rebuild of Madrid that will never stop winning.
HASTA EL FINAL, VAMOS REAL!

So I applied to be a bus driver back in January. Didn’t get an interview until March and signed an offer letter. Meanwhile I had to get my CDL B permit which I did and expires in September!!! Had to do a clinic appointment/physical which includes a drug and alcohol test. So I’ve done everything they’ve asked me to do. Been in contact with 2 recruiters and one told me I’m all good to go just check my email for a start date. I’ve been checking haven’t gotten anything. I was told I’m supposed to start in July!! If not July September. This other recruiter I spoke to yesterday said my drug test “expired” now I have to take another one and they sent out an email (which I never got). So I had to book another clinic appointment. I’m so frustrated now I feel like they’re just wasting my time and I don’t even know if I want this anymore!! I would love the job but this is crazy. I applied in January did everything they asked here it is June!!! Wtf!!! What should I do???

My ~5 year old cat is having brief episodes of vertigo or ataxia. Since I've adopted him when he was 2, he has always had some slight ataxia and sway in his gait, but never had these episodes before until about a month and a half ago. They only last about a few seconds. At first, these episodes only involved him getting low to the ground, scrambling backward, then falling down. Right after he will get back up and start walking normal. He'll play and run around fine, jump on the counters, and have completely normal behavior with no signs of pain or discomfort. But this last episode seemed like he started to struggle a little more with figuring out where he was going. Again, afterword he walked off like nothing happened.
https://reddit.com/link/1d5nxri/video/378rm019xy3d1/player
He had x-rays last month and they came back normal except for some slight inflammation or minimal defect in his femurs, but the vet explained it should not have anything to do with these episodes. The vet tested for parasites when I brought in stool samples last month and they were clear. I have 3 cats and it's impossible for me to time it so that I can bring in a sample knowing who it's from, however the vet said more than likely if 1 of them has worms or parasites, they likely all would due to sharing the box.
The vet performed an ear exam yesterday to look for outer ear vestibular problems but said that his canals and ear drums were clear. The vet said that normally if cats struggle with vestibular problems, it is constant whereas this is very episodic. My partner believes that he was able to trigger this episode in the video when he picked him up and then flipped him over while he was gently setting him back down. I've noticed that the previous episodes seemed to occur when he was brushing on my legs in circles meowing for food, making me believe that he gets dizzy with certain movements.
We're both sort of at a loss and uncertain what the next best course of action is, aside from an MRI. Unfortunately... MRI's in my area are $3-5k and it's a tough cost to swallow. I will clearly do it if he needs it, but I just can't tell if this is urgent or if it's just a development of his ataxia.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated!!

Hopefully this doesn’t go against community rules, but I just wanted to drop a quick plug for a store that I visited in Chicago called Perfume Aura. They have 3 locations in northern Illinois and 2 in SE WI. They are a mall discounter, they didn’t have much in the way of Lataffa, but had a good collection of Armaf and other popular clones. Tons that I could sample that I’ve been wanting to get my nose on for years. They also had a lot of designer colognes (they only carried ones that supply on discount…so no Blue de Chanel for me :( …).
I picked up a bottle of Ari by Ariana Grande for my tween daughter for about 15% over what I could find at on fragrancex but like 40% less than retail. I also picked up a bottle of black tie by Michal Malulululu (or as I understand it, he is referred to as “He Who Must Not Be Named” or “Lord Voldemort” on this subreddit) for my dad for $60.
Overall the 20ish year old working there was super helpful and professional. Hard to find people in retail that care about their jobs nowadays. My only complaint is that he referred to Acqua Di Gio as a classic scent and then I felt old since it came out when I was in college and when I think of classic scent I think of Royal Copenhagen…
Anyways, just hoping this could help direct people to a place where they could try before they buy as they are rare in my neck of the woods. I apologize if this goes against rules, feel free to delete if that is the case. I will admit that I did not take the time to read the community rules.

I’m building a pc for my job as a music producer and a mixing engineer which I need a good cpu for. I’ve been debating between intel and ryzen and I’ve decided to go for ryzen.
Firstly I want to ask is the 9750x a good GPU for gaming ? I’ve heart a good cpu for music production especially with its fast single core performance but I have no idea how it is for gaming.
Secondly, is the 4080 super a good GPU to pair with a 7950x?
Thanks in advance to anyone who helps out!

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Only Discuss Movies You Thought Were Great

I define great movies to be 8+ or if you abhor grades, the top 20% of all movies you've ever seen. Films listed by posters within this thread receive a Vote to determine if they will appear in subreddit's Top 100, as well as the ten highest Upvoted Suggested movies from last month. The Top 10 highest Upvoted from last month were:

Top 10 Suggestions

#	Title	Upvotes
1.	Sucker Punch (2011)	113
2.	The Mist (2007)	51
3.	Mars Express (2023)	17
4.	The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)	14
5.	Talk to Me (2023)	13
6.	Dinner in America (2020)	10
7.	Abigail (2024)	8
8.	Leave No Trace (2018)	9
9.	True Lies (1994)	7
10.	The Last Stop in Yuma County (2023)	9

Note: Due to Reddit's Upvote fuzzing, it will rank movies in their actual highest Upvoted and then assign random numbers. This can result in movies with lower Upvotes appearing higher than movies with higher Upvotes.
What are the top films you saw in May 2024 and why? Here are my picks:

Abigail (2024)

Unfortunately, I was spoiled past the initial premise of kidnappers realizing they've abducted a ruthless mobster's daughter. It didn't matter, Abigail is a great production of the directing duo Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillet. They brought rich colours, readible darkness and a satisfying group of actors who executed each of their roles impressively. Seriously, I don't want to praise one actor specifically because my paragraph review would need a lot more lines; if you enjoyed this team's past works, you'll find Abigail to be an even further refinement.

Boy Kills World (2023)

The fourth credit after the movie ends is the action and fight designer, he really made compelling action scenes that sell this movie. It's bloody, it's ridiculous and kind of silly at times, but I dug it like 80s ads for RoboCop action figures, despite that movie being Rated R. Jessica Roethe's character intelligently wears a helmet, so when she's in enforcer mode we get some truly awesome fight cheorography pulled off by a stunt performer who can do it. A love letter to beat 'em ups.

Civil War (2024)

Americans think a Civil War is inevitable and based off of their propaganda machine of American Army sponsored action movies, they'll think it'll be awesome. Garland intends to grab them by the snout and rub their nose in what a dirty mess that would be. I hope that the ugliness in this movie is enough to thwart the typical failing of Anti-War Movies but I doubt that. Those salivating at the idea of the next American Civil War wouldn't be deterred by the horrors but readily take notes.

Destroy All Neighbours (2024)

Every now and then, you come across something that feels like it was made specifically for you. Growing up, I listened to a lot of prog and power metal for their complex melodies and stories. I also have a soft spot for splatter comedies, there's something I find oddly wholesome that the protagonists being able to crack jokes despite being covered in blood and guts. I loved Destroy All Neighbours and you probably wouldn't but that's OK. There's probably a film out there that speaks directly to you that I wouldn't get the appeal of and I'm glad you discovered it.

Dune: Part Two (2024)

I've been catching snippets of Dune's music and it made me want to revisit. A second time through, there are a few more flaws; rough spots, at best, like very clever tricks to make a particular scene flow together. And then I noticed even more interesting bits that I didn't notice the first time around. Overall, Dune: Part Two has risen in my estimation even further.

The Fall Guy (2024)

A love letter to stunts and how they make movies thrilling. It's nice to see a direct pull back wide so you can see how they get rough and tumble, letting stunts get their time in the sun instead of being relegated to a chopped up cut that no one knows what the hell is going on. It's also fun and light, just like a popcorn flick should be. If you're a fan of action, you need to see this.

Infested (2023)

A consistent horror movie with no contrived struggles or wins, everything is clearly telegraphed which enunciates the tension. The treatment of the protagonists due to their obvious poverty is a nice touch, as you could easily see someone richer being treated better. Infested then also manages to cram in a pretty good 'Elevated Horror' where the trauma of the film requires them to re-examine their previous problems. The spiders were also incredible, those with arachnaphobia who might be able to stomach spider-adjacent monsters will probably find the film overwhelming.

L.A. Confidential (1997)

Just shy of perfection; it's hard to move past what I now know of Kevin Spacey. Before, I thought he was a good actor and now I know it is movies that let him be himself. That taints the rest of the cast's performances, I couldn't see the character just the exploiter. Which is a shame, as look, writing and acting is otherwise phenomenonal.

Lisa Frakenstein (2024)

God, armed with Diablo Cody's words and under Zelda Williams direction, Kathryn Newton embodies the alt girl chic of the 80s of your dreams and nightmares. It goes full tilt into being a Gothic Horror Comedy which I realize is actually rare. The movie focuses on the drama, letting the comedy to organically come up, which means it is a delightful surprise instead of contrived. Cody even makes the typical different, such as having a nice, wholesome stepsister played incredibly by Liza Soberano. The test for enjoying this movie is simple; at any point were you obsessed with Beetlejuice? In which case, run to check this flick out.
What were your picks for May 2024?

Background. Me 42, ex 37. 8 years together. Married 2 years. Her affair came out 1 day before our 3rd wedding anniversary on Oct 27 2021. Caught her by snooping thru her phone. Confronted, gave her the boot, tried to reconciled for the kids. couldn’t trust her. Filed for divorce. Became free man in Dec 2023.
I posted a month ago how my ex sent me a text asking me if I can take time off from my work to watch the kids while she take a mini vacation. I replied “u don’t have a job but u going on a vacation? Karma is a b. How does a feel get fired, get pumped and dumped.” I got slammed by a lot of people for being immature and petty. A lot of you guys were right. I was petty and it did felt good. But in the end she still the mother of my boys and if she suffer my kids suffer. Ever since the divorce I been cold to her. Pretty much grey rock. When we exchange kids, I don’t look at her, load/unload kids and out. She is repulsive to me. I can’t stand seeing her nor hearing her voice when she FT the kids. I didn’t send her anything for Mother’s Day or her bday this year or last year. I’m still working towards indifference. Maybe one day, I’ll be able to look at her.
Yesterday was my bday and she had my boys FaceTime me in the morning and in when they got home from school. I know it was her idea because my kids don’t like to FaceTime much. They always playing games on their iPads. I picked up my kids yesterday after work and my feelings for her changed. I actually pity her now. She a shell of herself. O yea awhile back she cut her own risk and I had to call the police and she was taken to the hospital for evaluation. I knew it was a bluff trying to get my attention. She was let out a few hours later. I know she blew up my life and the kids life wife her affair and I could have taken the kids away from but choose not too. Probably get slammed for this. She is a great mother, just a shitty partner. She takes the kids to school. Pick them up. To all the kids appointments. She blamed me for not giving her attention. I know that bs for cheating but i admit i gave my attention to the kids first . O well. Can’t change the past. Plus I am at my best right now. Got a promotion and I’m in the best shape of my life. Maybe I should thank the ex.
Here’s the thing. I will never have romantic feelings or touch my ex wife ever again. She tainted to me. Should I continue to be cold to her? I can’t ghost her until my youngest turns 18 so I’m stuck wit my ex for at least another 15 years. So my question. How many of you betrayed spouse went from stone cold to being friends? And how long did it take. I will probably get slammed too for trying to be friends with my ex. Maybe I changed. Maybe I’m getting weak. Maybe it’s indifference. IDK. Thanks for reading.

I finally received a formal diagnosis (it wasn't cheap.) My provider gave me a letter of diagnosis with am accommodation to work from home two days per week. There are others at the company who work remote full time so I thought it would be no big deal. They denied my accommodation request and instead want me to work alone in the big corporate disaster recovery building.
I've been with this company for over 6 years and get "exceeds expectations" on my performance reviews every year. I've given so much of myself to this stupid job. I feel like they don't value me at all. I can't stop crying.

Just a quick question. I got my provisional license through after a 6 week wait & they misspelled my middle name. I was debating just leaving it, but I need to scan it for digital verification for my YOTI account, so I need it to match my other information. The letter with it said that if there's any mistakes to send it to the provided address with a cover letter.
What's a cover letter & how do I write one???? I've only had to write them for job applications, and am pretty sure that's not what they're meaning, so... what's meant to go in it??

Hello everyone,
I am in my mid 20s and about to start a new position as a Project Manager at a large company. For the past several years, I have worked as a developer, a role I thoroughly enjoyed. However, I realized that I had become too comfortable in my developer position and that stepping out of my comfort zone was necessary for career growth.
Despite my lack of experience in management, I applied for the Project Manager role and was accepted. I have never managed a team before, and I don't speak the "corporate language" I speak in really simple terms maybe to simple. Additionally, I suffer from severe presentation anxiety and dislike speaking in front of groups. In my previous job, I was never involved in management decisions and had little interest in them.
I am concerned about my ability to perform well in my new role, especially since it involves managing multiple teams and projects. This transition is causing me significant stress, as I doubt if I have what it takes for management.
I dont have the persona for beein a manager. Could I still become that person? Has anyone else experienced a similar situation? Do you have any advice for someone in my position? Your insights would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.