Im a computer science student, third year. I maintained a gpa of 3.3 the previous semesters. This semester i had the hardest course so far. I got D in my final exam. In my uni, there is an option to enhance ur grade by taking a second final for the course So that’s what i was planning to do. The D grade lowered my gpa to 3.0 and i wasnt going to settle for that. Plus, i really loved the material, so studying it again was a pleasure. I studied for 6 days straight. For minimum 14 hours each day. Some days i would study for 16. I got way better and managed to solve way more complex problems than before. I haven’t ever studied this intense in my whole entire life. I can’t describe the amount of back pain and zombie eyes i got. Yet , the second final hurt me more than my toxic ex lol. I might also be getting a D again. Which fucking hurts. I cried a lot today. As a third year student I don’t really cry over exams. But this one fucking hurt. What the hell should have i done more? I’m so fucking mad at how my whole body is aching out of lack of rest and sleep, and yet i did not get what i want. Nor what i really deserved. This course is so important for the field i wanna work in. And a high grade would have really increased my chances of finding a job. And oh god im in desperate need for a job rn. Im aware that it’s such a hard course, and most of the students agreed that this final was unbelievable. But still.. im literally crying right now cuz my body is in great pain. My back is killing me. I know that it’s common to happen sometimes and it’s not necessarily my fault (goddamn that exam was written by an alien), and it’s not the first time that this happens to me or any other student, but IT SUCKS. Just needed to let that out.

Let's just get to the gist to it. There's this boy, who we're going to call glasses. We both have fourth period math together with each other and sit right beside each other. We sit in groups of four in the class, and our table is centered towards the back of the room. Every day I had to help him with his work because he has trouble with understanding the lesson we're in. It's not like I'm a super smart student, but at least I understood the material. It wasn't a big deal for me. His grades overall for math and science are terrible. It's not a secret, the teacher has even made jokes before in the class about his grade. Everyone else at our table was pretty much the same way, so I felt bad that he had to sit with all of us.
I'm not sure how we got on the topic, but at one point, I was basically doing his work for him because he said he didn't understand anything, and in all honesty, I don't think he even was trying to do it. He had to have had some knowledge about what he was doing though, because when he finally did his own work, he would get every answer wrong. That didn't stop him from making dumbass remarks, using his phone to look up the answers to the questions, and watching tiktoks on his phone. The only reason I would have been helping him out, is because it makes the class more enjoyable. If you're just sitting there by yourself, the class can be really boring. He has this habit where he would just say the most randomness statements. For example, once we were in the middle of doing an assigned online lesson, he just randomly turns to me, and tells me I'm gay. He has no filter on his mouth. I don't pay him any attention, as I have never felt attraction to a guy.
Not saying he's ugly or anything, he's pretty average looking. I've seen worse looking people. He's got this nice taper haircut, and looks good when he keeps it freshly trimmed, he wears those clear glasses, and has a pretty nice big nose. Not in a bad way, but a good size, and shape. I don't think I've ever seen him without a black or grey hoodie. I'm pretty sure he has an addiction. He has a pretty average body too, a little skinny, but it suits him. It's not like it's bad or anything. I don't judge anyone on their looks. We're both about the same height, with him being about an inch taller, maybe? His personality is probably his most unique..? Interesting? attribute. He's not one to hold back from sharing his thoughts. Sometimes I have to put up with him making fun of me and my personality. Sometimes in a playful way, but I have a few traits that can be picked on. One thing that is probably his biggest flaw is his over confidence, and the fact that he thinks he's the best at everything.
He's constantly bragging about things. He's the kind of person that makes you want to punch him. Not the worst thing in the world, but not the best. When we first started having conversations, it was pretty casual and chill, but then it escalated into him getting to the point of being aggravating. He would say the stupidest stuff. He would make fun of the way I looked, my clothes, how tall I am, and just the way I spoke. I'm not a super social person, so it's not that hard to make me uncomfortable. But still, when he wasn't annoying me to the point of begging the teacher to move my seat, I could have some decent conversations with him. He wasn't all that bad. He just didn't have the filter between his brain and his mouth. That's something I respect about him. It's a good trait to have. He's the type of person that will always be honest, and won't sugar coat his words. Even if it might be considered offensive. We'd have a lot of occurrences when he would say something funny. I can't even count how many times he made me smile, and even laugh. I was never embarrassed or ashamed about laughing. Not once.
I can tell he likes the way I laugh. Whenever he gets me to laugh, he'll be staring at me with this big grin on his face. He doesn't hide the fact that he wants to stare at me. When he says something funny, and he gets my attention, he'll give me a smile. It's not a forced one, it's natural, and I can tell that he genuinely means it. Sometimes I'd feel him looking at me and I'd catch him staring. It was usually a quick glance, and he'd turn his head away. But I could see him looking. At first I was confused, but I eventually got used to it. I'm not going to lie, it does make me nervous. I don't like being stared at. It makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable. But I never told him that. He was probably just trying to get my attention.
He's got a very strong sense of humor, and a lot of the things he would say, even the most serious and inappropriate things, are actually really funny. The way he speaks, and how he carries himself, I can tell he has a lot of self confidence, and a big ego. He's not afraid to show it either. It's almost like a form of self expression. It's hard to explain. The way he expresses his personality, it's something you have to see. The funny thing is, he's not even a good student. I have no idea why he was placed in a class that was obviously above his grade level. The only reason he's probably passing is because the teacher lets him goof off. The way he talks and acts, I'm pretty sure the teacher knows that he's a big distraction to the class, and doesn't want to have to deal with him. So she gives him the benefit of the doubt. I have no idea why he even cares so much about his grades. He always talks about how he doesn't care, and that his grades don't matter. The thing is, his behavior shows the opposite. Every day he'll come into class, and sit there waiting for the teacher to finish instruction, and when we began to work, he asks me if I can help him. Sometimes he'll just copy my answers. I've never said no, and have always helped him out. I've tried giving him hints and suggestions about the material, but he just doesn't listen.
It's not like it matters to me anyway. If I'm not helping him, he'll ask another student. He's a real pain in the ass, but I don't blame him. If I were in his situation, I'd be the same way. He's not the best student, and probably one of the dumbest kids in the school. The funny thing is, is that he acts like he's so much smarter than me. Like he's better than everyone else. But he's not. He's just a stupid, annoying kid who's not very smart. But he tries. And that's what's important. So once again, we're sitting at our table, doing an assigned lesson, and everyone else is talking to the table mates or doing their own thing. I'm pretty sure the teacher was helping out other students who was stuck on a question. We were sitting right next to each other. I was doing my work, while he was on his phone and had barely even began the assignment. That's when I felt a hand rubbing up and down my thigh. I was wearing some heavy baggy jeans, and could feel his hand moving up and down. I looked and stared at him while removing his hand. He looked at me with this knowing grin, and turned his attention back to his phone. I couldn't even concentrate at that exact moment. He was just acting like nothing had happened. I could feel my heart beating fast and my face was hot. I don't know why, but it was.
A few more minutes went by and the hand returned to my thigh. I tried shaking it off, but he wasn't having it. He wasn't letting go. So I gave up and left his hand there. I couldn't even finish the problem I was on, I just sat there letting his hand rub up and down my thigh. I looked over at him, and he was just staring at me with a grin on his face. His hand was just gently rubbing, up and down, up and down. Then he stopped, and he slowly removed his hand. He turned back to his phone. I don't know what I was thinking, but I reached my hand over to his thigh. I didn't look at him, and just placed my hand on his thigh. It was a pretty firm squeeze, and he flinched slightly. It was almost as if his entire body stiffened. I practically froze up since I forgot to do the whole rubbing motion. It was probably the most awkward moment of my life. It wasn't the way I wanted to react, but my body did what it had to do. I started slowly, but firmly massaging his thigh, and could feel him starting to relax. His eyes were glued to his phone, and he wasn't paying attention to the hand that was rubbing up and down.
Eventually, I removed my hand as the end of class was nearing. He and a few other students started standing up and gathering their things. I remained in my seat, as I felt a slight stiffness in my pants. My heart was racing, and I could feel my hands starting to get sweaty. I wasn't expecting anything like this to happen. It was awkward, but I had this.. lustful feeling in my stomach. As I sat there, he went on the other side of me and slyly pressed his crotch up against my shoulder. I could feel heat radiating from his body. It was obvious why it was so warm, and I knew what was happening. It was a weird sensation. It's hard to describe. I could feel the heat from his pants on my shoulder. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it was enough to get me really flustered. I was starting to feel a little anxious. After that, the bell rang and everyone quickly gathered their belongings and left the room.
It was a weird feeling, and I couldn't even focus in class. I could barely think straight. I couldn't even finish the lesson we were assigned. I didn't know what to do. I was just caressing another guys leg. What was even worse was that the guy I was caressing, was the same guy who was always making fun of me. I was starting to panic. Was it wrong to have done that? Am I going to get in trouble? What if he tells someone? The only reason why I did it was because I was curious. What if someone saw us.
I'm really confused and I don't what to do. We've only have a week left of school, and then we'd have summer break. I want to ask him for his number. And I don't know why I want it. To talk? Hang out? Something else? What do people usually do to have fun with people like him? Should I ask him for his numbers?

Throwaway because of the subject. I'm being followed and observed everywhere I go for most of the past year. They seem to be using my cellphone as a tracking device. I notice strange things happenings to my phone, like old emails suddenly changing permissions to my photos and recorded phone activity. When I leave home my security camaras start gliching out and they stop sending notifications. Old facebook accounts which I lost access to start sending email notification of activity but I have no idea what's going on so I close the email accounts.
This same thing happend to my sister a few years ago as well, she ended up hospitalized. They really fucked her up. It all started shortly after a close realtive contracted a local equivalent of a lawyer from the CIA. At first I thought it was a political persecution as I engage online in a local forum and dating sites and sometimes have disagreements with dense people of other wings.
Things get personal quick when people start coming in too close for comfort as if I'm some kind of jihad terrorist. I start recording them as evidence and the motherfuckers start coming with kids to make it look I'm recording them. They are always step ahead of me, I trip on all their sticks.
I start having an STD and get checked out by doctors and treatment. This particular std is known to be related as intel ops to give people cancer. I'm having a wild ride while dealing with a challenging std and these people after me. I start confiding to doctors there's strange people following me. After telling a doc. says she's going to use the phone flashlight to check something out but instead she takes a pic of me. Shit goes south from there, they start doing ops where I eat and buy my food and then feel sick to my stomach, falling ill for a few days at a time.
It gets worse the more people I tell. It's a nightmare. Some days it's an all feminist group, some mixed like there are different groups, no doubt there is a medical group involved fucking up my health. I go to a lawyer to see if there is something the state is involved because it's ridiculous the amount of resources that are being employed on me, it comes out blank.
My family thinks I'm going crazy, they only do it while I'm alone. I see a psychiatrist and change meds, nothings changes things just get wilder. They start doing ops at the fucking pharmacy where I get my drugs like they are tampering with my meds.
Its been at least 3 months I have low-grade fever, fatigue, short of breath and chest pain. Then things get serious when ever I go out to pay bills and while in line people with bags start getting uncomfortable close to me, when I get home I feel absolutely wrecked. I start googling my symptoms and they match with radiation sickness. These people are doing some kind of radiotherapy to me, rendering useless my groin area, I can't even pee properly, can't eat for long periods because of the nausea.
There's also news a iodine 131 sample goes missing from a local med department the same week my house show signs of being broken into. I start having a mirradid of other health problems all linked to radiation poisoning, my house looks like is compromised. I go to my physician and he basically laughs off all of it as if he knew what the fuck is going on. Doesn't give me anything for the pain or symptoms. I get a blood analysis done and my sample get fucking stolen, wtf.
There is some kind of intel group that's summoning other groups to attack my health. Somebody fabricated something on me but they have absolutely no evidence, its seems to be all speculation. They are getting really dense now and I feel they are now trying to kill me with radiation or give me lifelong health complications. On different occasions I reached out to the police and they did nothing since no evidence, then to the municipality and then to a private investigator that basically postponed the meeting several times and ghosted me. My phone is tapped so any action I do there is a countermeasure being done by some other group.
Shit it too much and don't know for how long I can take it. Advice is welcomed if you have anything of value to add, save it if you have shitty whitty comments, enough damage is being done. Heads up, this is a third world country with equally shitty laws.

I am having a horrible day so apologies if I come off as throwing a tantrum. I’m a second year who clerked, so I started in November.
I was “ramping up” in November and December, but since January, I’ve hit 200+ every month. This month has been even more brutal, I’m already at 155 hours for the month, coming off two 60+ hour weeks, and I feel like I’m dying with no signs the work is gonna slow (and in fact, people keep mentioning each matter I’m on is just gonna get more busy). People have suggested my hours are abnormal, and I even had a partner on my favorite matter call me last week asking about my hours and if I’m doing okay/taking care of myself, but none of this helps me work less lol
For one of my matters which I really don’t like, I’ve tried to disengage where possible and they’ve mostly been respectful of my time. But we have two juniors leaving (trial, paternal leave) and they expect me to step up to cover. I told them that I couldn’t take on more, though the partner expressed that she still expected I’d still keep setting aside at least a third of my time (currently this matter is maybe 15% of my time).
For my other two matters, I actually really like the teams and the substance, but the staffing is tough. I’m the only junior (and for a while, was the only associate period) on a DOJ investigation that keeps expanding; the partner is taking me to Asia next month for a week (sick) to meet our client, but it’s gonna be a ton of work in advance. On my other matter, there are two juniors and two seniors (4 associates total, plus one of counsel) servicing seven partners across multiple government investigations and multiple follow-on class actions. For the latter, a senior is off on vacation and delegated us an insane amount of work that is all due next week, and I’ve had to punt working on a lot of it bc I’ve been providing coverage to the other junior who was in depositions and then had his parents visiting. It’s really hard with these leanly staffed matters too bc saying “No” means fucking over my teammates who I adore and who I also know are really swamped.
Idk even at 200 hours/month, I’ve been okay and tried not to complain. But today, I’ve just felt like I’m gonna cry all day, knowing that this week is gonna be busier than the last two, and that this is gonna be life for at least the next few weeks.
Lol maybe this is stupid, but is this normal? I look around and I feel like a lot of people aren’t overloaded like this, but I’m not sure how I’m supposed to get there from here.

Parasaurolophus - The Vigilant of the Herd!

• Utility Healer, Disruptor
• Proximity-based, area abilities, no targeting, weaker without allies, prefers prolonged teamfights

Backstory: Parasaurolophus hails from one of the old families of the Crystal Falls Herd which manages water rights for all groups of herbivores in the geographic area. She is known throughout the lands as a cunning bureaucrat and advocate of the underserved plant eaters downstream of the main valley. When Parasaurolophus volunteered to represent Crystal Falls in the Grand Tournament, she assured those skeptical of her abilities that leading apex carnivores into battle "para-style" would be less of an endeavor than staying home and managing the harrowing bureaucratic labyrinth of sauropodian water rights politicking during the summer droughts, and nobody disagreed. Watch out for her on the battlefield!

Kit + Abilities:

Trait: Social Dinosaur / Landstrider Passive: Parasaurolophus maintains a 500-unit permanent aura radius around herself. The strength of Parasaurolophus' abilities are increased incrementally as she surrounds herself with additional allies. 20%/30%/40%/50% bonus multipliers respectively for being around 1/2/3/4 allies. Being Silenced or Stunned temporarily disables this aura. Additionally, if Parasaurolophus moves in the same direction for 3 seconds, she will pick up her forelegs and run bipedally until stopping or changing cardinal directions, increasing her movespeed by 25% and causing her cooldowns to tick 10% faster while these parameters are maintained.
Q Ability: Advancing Punt: Active: Parasaurolophus lunges forward towards the cursor a small distance, slamming her forelegs on the ground and following up with a headbutt for two separate instances of damage. Enemies that are contacted by the punt are pushed forward a corresponding distance to be hit by the headbutt. Enemies that are hit by both attacks are stunned for 1 second. If Advancing Punt is initiated while Landstrider is in an active state, the displacement of Parasaurolophus herself and her enemies will increase to reflect that momentum.
W Ability: Herd Serenity: Passive: Allies around Parasaurolophus have a bonus rate of health regeneration factored at +100% their base rate, and +50% increased mana regeneration rate.
Active: When activated, allies around Parasaurolophus are healed for 20% of their max HP, and are cleansed of all crowd control, and Herd Serenity's Passive is applied at 500% base health regen and 250% base mana regen for 5 seconds.
E Ability: Sound Alarm: Passive: Parasaurolophus senses activity in the fog of war and vision-less brush within 1000 units and forewarns its team with "!" notifications where enemy movement occurs.
Active: Parasaurolophus extends her effect aura to 1000 units for 5 seconds, applying all applicable benefits and fully revealing the area it entails, including stealthed enemies, and immediately activates Landstrider, which will persist at least for the duration of this ability regardless of directional changes.
Ultimate Ability: Hadrosaur Stampede!: Active: Parasaurolophus becomes unstoppable and charges forward, stomping 3 times and knocking back enemies as she goes. If three or more enemies are cumulatively hit by the first two stomps, Parasaurolophus will instead perform a sweeping tailwhip for the third attack, expanding the width of the final strike to a half-circle, which will stun all enemies hit for 1 second and refresh the cooldowns of Herd Serenity and Sound Alarm. Hadrosaur Stampede! benefits from Landstrider in the same way that Advancing Punt does.

Playing against Parasaurolophus:

• Parasaurolophus has no targeted abilities - friendly or damaging - and so she isn't ideal for healing especially wounded teammates individually, or helping her team focus down a specific opponent.
• Parasaurolophus is capable of initiating teamfights by charging out of brush/fog with Landstrider (which may be stacked with ally-based movespeed buffs), and immediately ulting into your entire team - be mindful of where she is.
• She is not a particularly effective solo-laner because all of her abilities are budgeted for hitting multiple targets, so split-pushing, pressuring multiple areas on the map at once, and out-rotating Parasaurolophus will limit her ability to maximize her contribution to the team - she can only be in one place at a time.
• Parasaurolophus can be countered by quickly focusing down her individual allies in teamfights, avoiding long attritional engagements, and staying away from teammates during her ultimate to deny cooldown resets on her critical abilities. She does not really have the burst healing capacity to prevent a teammate from being quickly assassinated.
• Healing Reduction will severely limit Parasaurolophus' ability to keep her teammates healthy.
• Prioritizing Parasaurolophus in a fight can force her to use her active heal from Herd Serenity selfishly to stay alive, essentially denying her team the full value of the heal since her allies are still near full health.
• Advancing Punt and Hadrosaur Stampede! cannot be cancelled, so Parasaurolophus is committed to the full animation of these directional abilities and therefore she can very easily walk straight into her own death with ill-timed use of these abilities.

This was a fun concept to think about and put to paper. You can consider this some industrial-grade cope over the fact that we don't have a glorious dinosaur MOBA to play. I imagined in my mind this post playing out in a video like one of League of legends' Champion Spotlights and being narrated by the devs. Do you think she'd be fun to play? Thanks for reading.

The American civil war as it current stands is both iconic and also probably one of the least plausible parts of the mod. One of the things especially grating though is how the Pacific States of America - the faction trying to preserve the constitution - can immediately end up at war with either the CSA or AUS even if the leaders of said faction were democratically elected. I understand the reasoning why both sides would not trust each other, but I also feel like them immediately going to war with the rightful president would ruin a lot of their legitimacy. Note that this only applies if MacArthur coups either Huey Long or Jack Reed, since him overthrowing a republican or democrat or olson results in the VP fleeing to the PSA to take up arms.
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I absolutely loved the idea of the Federalist LKMT compromise path and how it was implemented, and I have been thinking for the last two weeks about how something similar could happen for the warring American factions.
My idea would be that during the 30 day countdown, a non aggression pact between the elected president - Huey or Reed - and the PSA could be established, with both parties deciding that stopping MacArthur is the bigger threat. Unlike the federalist KMT compromise though, neither side would allow military access or become subjects of the other. This ceasefire would last until late 1937, at which point relations would break down completely and both sides would start fighting each other, seeing each other as nothing more than a bunch of radicals. I think November 25th which was thanksgiving day in 1937 could be a good date, for when a meeting between the two sides goes poorly and convinces them that armed conflict is inevitable. If the conflict ends before then however, the path to compromise becomes available.
To summarize, in order for the compromise to happen the following must occur:

1. The Garner - Wagner bill must pass with the support of the CSA / AUS (depending on which one you want the compromise with) This success legitimizes the Socialist Party of America or America First Party as a legitimate party that has some real legislative success instead of a bunch of radicals that want to burn everything down.
2. The coalition ticket must not form. Any election where a radical party gets elected by the house after a successful Garner - Wagner bill and a successful coalition is likely to be viewed as "rigged" and would not give the new president enough legitimacy in the eyes of the PSA moderates.
3. The Socialist Party / America First must win the presidency.
4. When the civil war starts after MacArthur coups the president, the CSA / AUS must agree to a non-aggression pact with the PSA.
5. The CSA / AUS must defeat the other factions not counting New England before the ceasefire breaks down.

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If all this happens, then an event will fire for the victor about relations with the PSA, which would start an event chain where a conference is held in Denver. There the conference will either fail, leading to hostilities breaking out and leading to the current paths, or it will succeed resulting in the PSA being annexed into the other tag, and unlocking a new compromise path while also locking the other normal paths. The country would be renamed back to the United States and the capital would move back to DC. The constitution and elections would remain, however with new amendments specific to each sides faction. Jack reed would continue as president but would not run for reelection, while Huey would probably try to win another term.
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But what would these paths look like? Here's some ideas I had for them. First the CSA!
The CSA compromise path wouldn't abolish capitalism, however it would absolutely focus a ton on worker's rights, greatly strengthening unions, and having the government take control of all natural resources and railways. In terms of social policies I would imagine civil rights and the destruction of segregation would be a top concern. I think that realistically it would also pass legislation that would strip voting rights from anyone who was a member of the America First Party as well as many right wing to far right figures in general in order to make sure that the changes they are making do not get reverted.
Since they would be keeping the classic American government, future elections would once again be dominated by two parties: the Socialist - Farmer Labor party, which would be left wing social democratic alliance with a large syndicalist faction, and on the other side the Social Liberal Democratic party which would have a large market liberal ex republican faction.
Now this path's foreign policy would be a bit different than normal. This path would not allow it to join either the 3rd Internationale or the Entente, and would instead focus on the Americas, implementing a version of the good neighbor policy. This would eventually lead it to creating the Organization of American States, a faction for democratic AND syndicalist (but not totalist) nations in the Americas focused on self defense. The US would also get the ability to go to war with any country in the Americas that was either Authoritarian Democratic, Paternal Autocratic, or National populist.
It would all lead up to demanding the decolonization of the Americas during the 2nd Weltkreig, which could result in going to war with BOTH the Entente and the Reichpakt to stomp out colonialism in the region once and for all. A scripted peace deal would allow the end of hostilities once the factions have been pushed out. Additionally once this is done, assuming the 2nd weltkreig is still going on, you could have the option to go to war with any totalist countries in the Americas, with the 3rd Internationale getting the option to kick them out of their alliance. (Likely if France and Britain are Syndicalist or Radical socialist, Much less likely if they are also Totalist).
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Now as for the AUS, I haven't thought about them as much but I still have some ideas.
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Huey Long's path in this would end up being similar to how he acted while governor. It would focus on implementing his share the wealth programs, funding infrastructure, combating poverty, and most importantly centralizing the power around the presidency. In this path Huey would seek to stack the supreme court with justices who would vote for his policy and would seek to disenfranchise people who would oppose him. Restricting the vote would be very likely, as well as technically legal things like extensive gerrymandering. Freedom of the press would be curtailed under the guise of national security and he would implement a state media similar to ones in modern-day Turkey or Russia.
Elections would still be held in 1940, 1944, and 1948 with Huey running for a second, third, and 4th term. If Huey manages to win all of those elections, the 1952 election will only have his party as an option and the US would turn into a dominant party state similar to Mexico during the PRI era, If Huey has not won all of his terms then the 1952 election will see Huey step down and let someone else run for the America First Party. All versions of the America First Party will be Authoritarian Democrat.
Opposing him in the elections will be the republican party, the socialist party having been outlawed and the Democratic party collapsing from lots of FBI and congressional "investigations", their conservative members going to either the republicans or America first party. The republican party will be Market Liberal with a Social Conservative wing.
Foreign Policy wise this path would have two options: Supreme isolationism or Anti-Syndicalism.
Supreme Isolationism would be similar to the Fortress America path that the feds have currently. It would not join a faction or get any war goals, and would uniquely have an option to renounce ownership of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the Panama Canal in order to "bring the boys home". It would fortify the Mexican border heavily and would also unlock a decision to "secure" Canada if all other entente majors are dead or the Third Internationale has landed in mainland Canada, giving the US claims and a wargoal on Canada.
Anti-Syndicalism would give the US access to decisions to join either the Reichpakt, Moscow Accord, or Entente as long as those countries are at war with the Third Internationale. This alliance would only last until the Third Internationale is destroyed however and the US will leave the faction afterwards. After the 3I is defeated, the US can get decisions to go to war with any remaining syndicalist, radical socialist, or totalist nations in the Americas.
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Anyways, those were my thoughts, I think having more hidden compromise paths is always fun and I would love to hear your feedback!

We recognize that wisdom tooth removal is a common dental procedure that many individuals undergo. It’s natural to have questions about the recovery process, including how soon you can resume normal activities such as speaking. In this guide, we’ll provide insights into the timeline for regaining speech abilities after wisdom tooth removal, ensuring you feel informed and prepared for your recovery journey.

Understanding Wisdom Tooth Removal

Experience care and comfort with wisdom teeth removal at Madison Dentistry & Implant Center. Our expert team utilizes advanced techniques to ensure a smooth extraction process tailored to your unique needs. Visit us to maintain your dental health and enjoy a quick recovery with our personalized and compassionate approach to wisdom teeth removal.
Wisdom teeth, also known as third molars, typically emerge during late adolescence or early adulthood. Due to factors like impaction, overcrowding, or misalignment, many individuals require wisdom tooth removal to maintain oral health. This procedure involves the surgical extraction of one or more wisdom teeth, often performed under local anesthesia or sedation for patient comfort.

How Soon Can You Talk After Wisdom Tooth Removal?

The timeline for regaining speech abilities after wisdom tooth removal can vary depending on individual factors such as the number of teeth extracted, surgical complexity, and the body’s natural healing process. Here’s a general overview of what to expect:

Immediate Post-Procedure Period

Immediately after wisdom tooth removal, it’s common to experience numbness, swelling, and minor discomfort in the mouth and jaw.
Speech may be affected initially due to these factors, as well as the presence of gauze placed over the surgical sites to control bleeding.
First Few Hours to Days
In the hours following the procedure, speech may be slurred or difficult due to residual numbness and swelling.
As the effects of anesthesia wear off and swelling begins to subside, speech may gradually improve.
It’s essential to rest and avoid talking excessively during this initial recovery period to minimize discomfort and promote healing.

First Week

Throughout the first week of recovery, speech should continue to improve as swelling decreases and normal sensation returns to the mouth.
While some patients may experience minor difficulties articulating certain sounds or words, communication abilities typically return to normal within this timeframe.
It’s advisable to speak slowly and gently to avoid placing excessive strain on the jaw and surgical sites during this early phase of healing.
Long-Term Recovery
By the end of the first week to ten days post-surgery, most patients can speak comfortably and clearly without significant impediments.
However, it’s essential to continue following post-operative care instructions provided by your dental surgeon to ensure optimal healing and prevent complications.
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I know this is pretty early, but screw it. The WarGames match for the women will likely be on Raw because 1. There is no obvious feud for the women on SmackDown and 2. The Bloodline story will likely lead into WarGames for that brand anyway.
Damage CTRL is on Raw, and if there is a WarGames match this year, of course they would be involved. They’re the only female faction, and they’ve had main-event level feuds with basically all of the top names. But they’ve also confronted Rhea recently, with her and Iyo specifically staring each other down leading into Mania.
Now, they’re stepping to Becky and have teased problems with Liv as well. Lyra Valkyria is also tied into this, having eliminated Dakota in the first round of QOTR, and coming to Becky’s aid for two weeks straight.
When Rhea comes back, it’s only natural that she’s gonna eventually cross paths with Damage CTRL. I think they have potential to include all of these women in a big story heading into Survivor Series.
My theory is that Damage CTRL will be the dastardly heels that they are throughout this year, but they’re gonna continue targeting Becky and Lyra. This makes a common enemy for Liv and Damage CTRL. In the most recent episode of Raw, Liv attacked Becky after Damage CTRL attacked her, and it got me thinking that it could be possible for Liv to become friendly with them all, although I don’t see her fully joining them. It almost looked like Damage CTRL was nodding Liv on after the attack. So they can be buddy-buddy for a while, making Becky’s life hell. Lyra can also have little scuffles with Liv because she’s loyal to Becky.
However, I’m a little unsure about when to give the title to Liv. It could happen in Saudi, but I don’t really know if that’s the right crowd. Plus, I have a weird feeling that she won’t get the title until SummerSlam. How this could work is Liv loses in some kind of screwy way in Saudi that takes her out of the title picture briefly, while Becky can defend against people like Lyra, and maybe Dakota gets a crack. But Iyo is likely to win QOTR, so this could lead into a match for the title at SummerSlam. But Liv gets under Becky’s skin in the weeks leading up to the show. So, Becky is compelled to add Liv to the match and it becomes a Triple Threat. Damage CTRL is understandably pissed off. But Liv assures them that Iyo will get the first crack if she wins.
Liv wins the match by capitalizing at the last second. But it’s fine enough, because Iyo still has that guaranteed title match.
Enter: Rhea Ripley.
This goes pretty much like you’d expect. She wins that title back ASAP, likely in Berlin. How this match could work is in the match, Rhea hits a Riptide, and Liv kicks out. Liv can hit an Oblivion, but Rhea kicks out. Toward the end of the match, Rhea hits a second Riptide, but does so sloppily because she’s fatigued from the match and her injured shoulder starts to hurt. Rhea fails to make the cover, and Liv rolls over to the ropes and uses them to pull herself up. Rhea looks over, her face a mix of annoyance, confusion, and pity (like Thanos to Cap in Infinity War). She walks over to Liv, grabs her face and starts insulting her. “Stay down.” “You’re dead to me.” “This is my division.” Liv can slap her, spit at her, flip her off, or something else that conveys defiance. I had Omega vs Ospreay and Michaels vs Taker on the brain when I came up with this. Similarly, Rhea can headbutt Liv (who will sell it like death) and hit a third and final Riptide for the win. So Rhea retains, but Liv still shows an undeniable, never-say-die spirit. On the following Raw, Rhea can cut a celebratory promo that also gives Liv her flowers to some extent. This promo also makes it clear that Rhea is now a face.
Liv is pissed that she lost, but Damage CTRL is pissed that Iyo didn’t get the match she was owed. Around this time, Damage CTRL will have had a few run-ins with Rhea, and this heats up a bit after she wins the title because they still believe Iyo is owed a match. Liv apologizes and explains that she was blinded by getting revenge on Rhea, and simply forgot about the promise. They give her a hard time about this for a while until they turn on her on an episode of Raw. Then, Rhea comes out and makes the save. She tries to take Liv’s hand, but she refuses. Rhea’s reasoning is that she gained respect for Liv after their match. She says that being out gave her a lot of time to think, but seeing Liv for the first time in months made her go blind with rage. But their match gave her clarity again. Even though she was the better woman in Berlin, she gained respect for Liv and realized that they’re both the same.
In the following weeks, Liv makes it clear that she doesn’t want or need Rhea’s help, and that she still hates her. Rhea has betrayed her to join Judgement Day, crushed her WrestleMania dreams by eliminating her from the 2023 Royal Rumble, took six months off of her career, then takes her title away after having the gall to blame Liv for the bed that she (Rhea) has made herself. Then, she comes out and saves “poor little Liv” as if none of these issues ever happened. Liv explains that her and Rhea are not the same, and that she still hates her.
Meanwhile, Becky and Lyra try to mind their own business but keep running into issues with Kairi and Asuka. Also, Dakota starts to show interest in the Rhea’s title, even though Iyo is the one that is owed a match.
On one hand, imagine being Rhea. Imagine trying to turn over a new leaf, but your enemy wants to dwell on the past. But can you blame Liv for being angry with Rhea? Can you also blame her for being angry with the fans for turning on her?
And now because Rhea has inserted herself into Damage CTRL business, she’s a part of this overarching storyline. They’re constantly attacking her and catching her off guard. Mind you, Judgement Day is no longer around. Rhea and Dominik aren’t together anymore either. And on top of Liv not wanting anything to do with her, neither do Becky and Lyra. All three of these women have history with Rhea, and it’s not good. Rhea is trying to rally the troops but they’re not having it. So, Rhea is all alone.
There will likely be a title defense or two against Iyo and/or Dakota in the following couple of months. Unfortunately, I’m not sure what the schedule is gonna be for the PLEs later this year.
These will be successful defenses that Damage CTRL can’t let go of. So, they’re still giving all of these women trouble. And the other faces are saying that this is karma for all of the bad things that Rhea has done to others. And Rhea has to accept the fact that they’re right. But a few weeks out from Survivor Series, an episode of Raw’s main story is that Damage CTRL is hunting the faces. Throughout the show, they attack Liv, Becky and Lyra. At the end of the night, Rhea gets ambushed after a match. Then, the faces all come out and make the save.
This is a very uneasy alliance. Remember, Becky and Liv don’t like each other. Rhea and Liv don’t like each other. Rhea and Becky don’t like each other. Liv and Lyra don’t like each other. Even Rhea and Lyra don’t like each other going back to their run-ins in NXT. But the main story here is that Rhea has to confront the ghosts of her past while leading the charge through such a rocky road.
Instead of a typical rah-rah speech that the faces give before WarGames, the promo between these four women largely consists of Rhea being chewed out. But in the end, Damage CTRL is their main focus, and WarGames commence. The faces ultimately win and water is mostly thrown under the bridge among the faces. And from here, the Damage CTRL split is officially underway.
I think this idea works because like I said, there is no obvious match for the women on SmackDown. Plus, I can’t really see any other top faces on Raw being involved in this storyline outside of the ones I named. Plus, I think it would be interesting to see Rhea’s character develop as she suffers the consequences of her past. I understand that she’s popular, but I can’t get behind her returning as mega-face and getting ‘revenge’ on Liv. The promo she cut where she was playing the victim just rubbed me the wrong way, because Liv was the real victim. But I think this story is a nice way to address that, as well as her history with Becky and Lyra, while still keeping Rhea on top of the division. This also gives Rhea and Becky— two top names— a noteworthy program to be in, and it recruits Liv, who doesn’t always get big opportunities like this. It also puts Lyra on the map even more by being in such a high-profile feud in her rookie year.
Sometimes I think the characters lack depth and that’s what I’m trying to remedy. Make us feel something. These are characters at the end of the day. No different than your favorite one-hour drama.
I will admit that it’s a bit of a risk because Asuka and Rhea are both injured right now. As I said, I know this is very early. But I don’t think either of them are gonna be gone for too long. So I think that this idea could work. In my opinion, this is a rather compelling storyline, and the women’s division is in desperate need of storyline with more substance than just wanting a title. Of course The Bloodline will always and forever take priority, but there’s no excuse for there not to be other captivating stories across the board.
I’d appreciate any feedback.
Tl;dr- WarGames: Rhea, Liv, Becky, Lyra vs Damage CTRL.

Good afternoon all, I have a question about making rank in the Air Force Reserve. I am planning on joining the Air Force Reserve as a Nurse when I am done with school and have done a year in the ICU. The question I have is how does making rank in the Air Force reserve work? I know to be eligible for O-2 you have to have had 24 months time in grade at least what I have looked up. Now obviously that would equal to basically almost 24 months on the Active duty side but if I am only working 2 day a month and 2 weeks out of the year what that really only equate to a month and some change in grade? Any information would be appreciated.

I had returned to school after 3 years because of Covid and got my first phone. I was 13 at the time and was just entering grade 8 middle school. I was addicted to my phone back then and used it constantly and met some bad internet influence. After a few weeks, I had a slight argument with my friend over text where the internet influence told me to use the n word. He had said that it was just a swear word like all the others so I had used it, saying “f**k you” then the n words a few seconds later, believing that there was nothing else to it. My friend knew however and decided to take a screenshot. We’re now in grade 9 high school, moving to grade 10 where around 3 months ago, brought back up the image. He had given it to around 3 other people who had shared it with a few of their friends. I recently saw on the news from a few years ago that many high school students had their admission rescinded or were facing expulsion for saying something similar and it going viral on social media. I am worried that this could happen to me because I could be in a similar situation as then in a few years and have been stressed about it for the last few months.

Demographics: Asian, Michigan, Public
Intended Major(s): Biology
ACT/SAT/SAT II: 1570 (790M 780 RW)
UW/W GPA and Rank: 3.44/3.8 (VERY BIG JUMP IN GPA -> 3.0, 3.3, 4.0 for UW, 3.4 + 3.6 + 4.3 for W), had very strenuous circumstances for GPA that I will write about in essays
Coursework: 8 APS/3 DE/2 Honors (Taking AP Chem/Bio/Lang/Stats) (Micro/Macro/Psych/APES -> all 5s)
Awards:
1st at HOSA States (1/40)
2nd at HOSA Internationals (2/150) -> 2/2000 overall
AP Scholar w/ Distinction
NHS
Honor Roll
School Award for 5s on both AP Econ Tests
Extracurriculars:
Biotechnology and Biomedical Research @ t15 med school - 11th and 12th grade, 20hrs/wk, 3wk/yr
Med student shadowing + Cardiac Medicine Research @ t10 college - 11th and 12th grade, 20hrs/wk, 4wk/yr
Shadowed Primary Doctor (biomedical lab + patient interviews) - 11th and 12th grade, 30hrs/wk, 3wk/yr
HOSA (state champion) sent to Internationals and placed 2nd at internationals, posted on 10+ nationwide news sites and covered by the media, 260,000 members worldwide - 11th and 12th grade, 10hrs/wk, 30wk/yr
Co-President of Biomedical Based Club, contacted licensed doctors and current med students to share information about the biomedical pathway, increased membership from 3 to 140 people in 4 years - 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th grade, 8hrs/wk, 35wk/yr
SAT/College Tutoring Organization, helped struggling students increased college applications, as well hosted hackathons, college seminars, and helped students increased their SAT scores by an average of 200 points. - 10th, 11th, 12th grade, 6hrs/wk, 10wk/yr
Swim Instructor (paid), Worked for ~1 year, over 400 hours of work, about 8-10 hours weekly on school weeks, and closer to 15 hours during summer, CPR and Lifeguard Certified. Had several classes, weekly, with kids with disabilities, such as Down Syndrome, Autism, and ADHD. - 11th, 12th grade, 8-10hrs/wk, 40wk/yr
Summer Volunteer connected w/Children’s Care Center (Big City's most vulnerable kids) - Instructed and taught children who have been impaired with neurological, social, and developmental challenges, as well as kids that have dealt with major trauma at a very young age to swim. Participated in a 3-week long program teaching them the basics of swimming. - 11th, 12th gade, 8-10hrs/wk, 4wk/yr
Michigan Ref Certified - Participated in overall 50+ hours of ref-related activities, played soccer for 13 years and competed in competitive/travel soccer for 10 years.
9th, 10th, 11th, 12th grade, 2hrs/wk, 13wk/yr (for reffing)
9th, 10th grade, 8hrs/wk, 35wk/yr (for soccer)
VolunteeTutor Work - Volunteer Monthly at an Indian Cultural Program (10hrs/month), Math Tutor for struggling students (3hrs/week), Volunteer Monthly for Key Club (3hrs/month)
Essays/LORs/Other:
APES (8/10)
STEM Teacher (9/10)
Schools:
Purdue, OSU, MSU, UMich, UChicago, NYU, JHU, UPenn (PLS), Columbia

Hi Guys,
Right now I have a 3.82 GPA going into third year and studying for my MCAT, and just feel so discouraged and want to give up. Am I wasting my time chasing this dream which i've fucked up with a bad first year? My first year GPA is an 3.67. second year was a 3.98, next year will probably be similar to second year, since what i was dealing with in first year (Severely ill family member) is no longer an issue in my life (they passed away).
ec's so far:
Volunteering at a blood donor centre for 3 years.
Research with potential pub for 1 year with a prof
Research with another prof coming september
Exec role on a large student club
Tutor for 6 years
IA starting this fall
Orientation week leader
Residence don
Sports team player + coach + referee over the course of 6 years
Competitive dancer
Camp leader in a low SES community recreation centre
first responder with emergency response team at uni
president of a small club at uni
advocate for premenstrual health on campus
ive been playing an instrument for 7 years (not in a band anymore)
id appreciate any advice, my mcat diagnostic score was a 512, but this is most credited to my strong science background.

I'm currently a sophomore in High School and an upcoming Junior in NYC. To put it bluntly, I'm not the best student. My freshman year, I was mainly a B and C student, with the occasional D in things like Math and such. My Sophomore year though, began amazingly. A's and B's across the board, only one D and C in two classes in the first marking period (in nyc semesters are split in two marking periods, each school year containing 4 marking periods, 2 for each semester. Not sure if thats the same everywhere else though). After that first marking period though, it sorta went downhill. The second marking period I ended up flunking some classes which didn't change very much in the third marking period. I'm currently in the final marking period of the school year and its not looking hot either, although I'm working to change it before June. Since I did so poorly, it isn't confirmed, but I'm 99% sure I'll be needing summer school to make up some classes/credits. I am aware that my Junior year will be pretty much the deciding factor on whether or not I get into a good college or not because of it being the year colleges care most about, so I am determined to do everything I can to be an amazing student next year, but what are some things that I can do in order to maximize my chances in getting into a good college?
For starters, right now I think I have something like a 2.5-3.0 GPA (am not sure how to check), and recognizer the importance of extracurricular activities, so I am part of the school soccer team (was the manager before becoming a player on the team), plays the Euphonium in the school concert band, part of the school Aviation Club, frequent the Weight Room, and am part of the Dungeons & Dragons Club. Along with this, I am currently an Intern at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, lent my voice in a College Film Project (Voice-Over Work), and worked last summer. I feel as if my resume is already pretty stacked but would like to further it with things like volunteer work and more work experience (I plan to work again this summer if summer school doesn't interfere with it), so advice on finding opportunities like volunteer work and internships would be much appreciated.
In terms of academics, I'm pretty sure the reason why I am doing badly is because of laziness. I'll admit, that first stretch earlier on in the year was cool because I had post-summer academic motivation, so it was admittedly easy to keep up work. Once work began to get more challenging as the year progressed though and I began to get invested in other things, things like homework and school work got put on the back burner. I know I could be an amazing academic student if I really tried, its just hard to find the motivation sometimes, although I plan to get better.
So thats pretty much the rundown of the kind of student I am. Advice on how to become better would be appreciated, along with advice on how to secure volunteer work and more internship/work opportunities. Another thing I'd like are my chances on getting into a good school with how I am now (I.E., how likely am I to get into a top school with my current academic resume including things like extracurriculars and work experience).

Hi all,
I figured I'd give an update into how my experience with the birth control pill is going! I am on the generic for microgestin 1/20 (known as norethindrone acetate ethinyl estradiol 1mg/0.2mg), aka a super low dose birth control.
A couple things about me for context:
-I had a Paraguard Copper IUD for six months (which caused horrible cramps and bleeding, as my body could not adjust to it) I got it out in January as my body was just continuously trying to push it out.
-I have a paraovarian cyst on one of my ovaries, where my gyno said it might be helpful to try the pill
-I am a relatively small female (5'6, active lifestyle, college-aged)
My first week on the pill, I experienced sour stomach practically right away. Tums and Pepto Bismol were my best friends for the bloating and the painful swelling and indigestion I got. After this, I realized there was a bit too much going on to start the pill at that time, so I took about a week off and then got back on it when I was emotionally and physically ready.
I decided to get back on the pill and try again once I was feeling a bit better, and my first month was super easy. Only a little bit of nausea, the occasional pimple, but overall I felt like myself.
Now, I'm currently on my third pill pack. But my second one was where things went awry. I experienced a lot of nausea, gastointestinal upset, as well as some super extreme mood fluctuations, also experiencing bleeding/spotting after sex, and pain during sex. My second one my body also decided to bleed during active pills and have a very lengthy breakthrough bleed (about 17 days of nasty bleeding, like parts of a desidual cast coming out, brown and red blood/discharge, clots, etc.)
After talking with my gyno, she had me taper the pills, by taking more than one per day to stop the bleeding. By the third day of doing that, I was able to stop my bleeding. However, I experienced really intense swelling and bloating (I don't even think it's weight gain, just water retention) in my abdomen and my thighs, which I still am experiencing the lasting effects of.
I know adjusting to birth control is not a linear or a predictable process. As I approach my third month, I plan to take 7 days off to withdraw bleed and to give my body just a bit more time to adjust. I hope this is helpful to anyone on/thinking about taking this type of combo pill. But please remember birth control affects everyone differently.

Hi everyone, current 2T7 ECE here. I thought I would make a quick post on a guide to first year engineering, listing out all the stuff I wish I knew before coming to university. The first semester portion is applicable to all engineering disciplines, the second semester portion would be more useful to ECEs, T1, Indie and Mechs.
First Semester Courses:
MAT186: This was by far the hardest course for me and the entire cohort (C average). Even though I knew all the concepts of the course beforehand (through AP Calc BC and A-levels) this was my worst course. The reason for this was because the course focuses on testing theory (your understanding of the nitty gritty) rather than on computation. My advice for this course would be to make sure you work on written hw with friends (impossible to do alone), and do every single tutorial worksheet (exam questions are exactly like tutorial worksheets). Sean Upall was the course coordinator, and even thought I didnt like his lectures, I think it prepares you the most for the final exam.
MAT188: This was my favourite course even though it probably took up most of my time. This course was completely new to me, which is why I took a lot more time understanding the Pre class essentials. There is a lot of "theory" in this course, which will take a while to learn, so spend a good amount of time understanding and learning the PCEs. One reccomendation to make this process of learning faster is to watch 3blue1browns essence of linear algebra series. Watch the video corresponding to the upcoming weeks concepts before reading the PCEs. Written HW was hard (not as hard as calculus) so do it with friends, the gateway exams are a bit of a joke since you can retake them, and if you practice them enough you realize theres a pattern in the answers. Midterms and Final exams actually test at an appropriate level, so as long you have a strong grasp of the concepts you will be fine. If professor Cameillia is teaching the course go for her lectures, she is by far the best (she is also the course coordinator).
CIV100: This was a very interesting course, it needs a lot of practice of past papers. Literally you'll need to grill through past papers in order to succeed in this course. The final exam is such that there are 5 questions and you have 30 mins per question. Each quesition is quite hard which makes the exam very time pressured, so again PRACTICE. The quizzes in this course are dependant on your lecturer, some profs give easy quizzes whilst others give hard ones, this is out of your control. In my opinion the best lecturer was Professor Merjan, she was probably the best lecturer I've had in my time here at UOFT. The only problem is that she teaches the course in a different timeline than other profs, so you probably cant change lecturers cuz quiz material is different between different profs.
APS110: As an ECE I still dont know why I had to take this course. Overall, it was taught quite well. Scott Ramsay is the best lecturer for this course, although basically everything he says is already in the textbook (which is why I did not attend lectures). The Textbook is more than enough for this course. The Final exam for our batch was quite difficult compared to past year exams, but I think I did well because I practiced quite a few past papers.
APS111: Contraty to public opinion, I thought this was one of the most fun and useful courses in first semester. I had quite a sh*t team, but managed. Make sure you look at the rubrics for each assignment before you start writing. Also the way this course works is that you have to submit individual and group assignments which are essentially these long documents. Because they are doucments, they are marked in a qualitative way as there is no right answer per se. Make sure you bombard the person who is correcting the assignment with questions so that you nail exactly what they are looking for.
Second semester courses
MAT187: This is calculus two and it was much better than Calc one. Professor Camelia was the course coordinator, so just like MAT188 the exams were all at an appropriate level. Written HWs again requires help from friends. I mainly studies for this course using the PCEs, and practiced the tutorial worksheets. Some of my friends used the textbook, but I dont think its really required. The best prof for this course is any lecture seciton containing Camelia.
MIE100: For some reason, our year was probably the first year in a long time where the exams for this course were not insanely difficult. They were all at an appropriate level, apparently because they wanted to increase the number of people going into mech eng 💀💀. I found professor Sinclair to be quite good, a lot of people liked Howard Ho as well (trust in Howard Ho). The Wiley plus questions are useful to do to keep up with concepts, but the difficulty of the questions in wiley was way harder than the exam questions, so I wouldnt say its a must to do them ethically.
APS105: Great course. If you have a background in coding, this course will be a breeze at least up until reading week, you'll have to spend more time on it after that. The course is such that 30% of your grade is from labs, so make sure you do them well. the other 70 percent is from exams, which are at an appropriate level once again. Just make sure that you do a lot of past papers as practice. Professor Emara is by far the best, and is amazing if you are new to programming. If you have experience, reading the textbook (Snefru) is more than enough to understand the content.
ECE110: In our batch, while I didnt find the exams difficult, the batch's average after the second midterm was about 51%. After the final exam, they curved the course up quite a bit, I think the average is now a B, also an easy final exam helped out. The first half of this course is more theoretical (electrostatics and electromagnetism) and the second half is circuit analysis. Make sure you do all the Wiley Plus questions for this course, as sometimes they ask the same questions in exams. All the lecturers for this course are pretty bad, but Professor Mojahedis notes are legendary (in my opinion), other people didnt like them because it explained the concepts using proofs. Other profs notes would just state the formula.
APS112: Continuation of APS111. My team was much better this time. Same advice for this course, as APS111. Also make sure you're on top of things because it goes by much quicker in this course as there are way more assignments. Nothing really much to say to be honest, the midterm was a bit screwed up because there are multiple right answers and you have to choose the best one.
Overall for grades, dont worry too much. As long as you get around an 80 for exams and get all the free marks for assignments you'll be on track for at least an 80+ in the course. Remember that university isnt just about studies though, try and indulge into extracurriculars and be social.
Extracurriculars:
Design teams: UOFT has a plehora of design teams for you to choose from. Some design teams are better than others, but the only way that you will actually get deep into the design teams is if you put in the work. Beg leads for tasks, and do them to demonstrate interest. You can also demonstrate interest by doing really menial tasks as well. The point is you need to make sure the leads know you are willing to do tasks, and have showcased that you are worth giving the tasks to. Overtime, depending on the design team you may have to make a choice between grades and the team, thats up to you. Grades dont matter much unless you want to do a masters degree.
Clubs: For these try getting a lead position, a lot of them offer positions in the summer so make sure you follow them on instagram (e.g. engineers without borders, IEEE, etc). Again, you get what you put in to the club.
Intramurals: I loved playing intramurals at UOFT. However, the team that you play for depends on the people you know. For e.g. the SKULE team isnt great for soccer, and if you want to join a better team then you need to know someone on that team. So try networking lol.
Social life:
This was something that I personally struggled with at least initially at UOFT. I gave way too much time to studies, which really isnt worth it. UOFT is way easier than people make it out to be (I'm not being arrogant, and I'm not someone who's gifted in intellegence). As long as you manage your time, you will be fine. Anyway in first year most people would go to frats, and I would reccomend trying it out at least once. Go in the first weeks of school as thats the easiest time, and will also allow you to make new friends. Make sure to know a lot of people, at least at the surface level at the start, as that will make things easier for you in the long run and will also help you find the people you like to hang out with.
Summer after first year:
In my opinion do research if you want work experience, then step up to an internship next summer. If you want to relax thats a good option as well, just try doing some courses and build up some skills for sure.

TL;DR: What was your process for getting back into shape/reconditioning once you were recovered from your patch?
I had my second blood patch a month ago now and I feel that it’s safe for me to increase my time upright.
I’m spending spurts of ~2 hrs tops at my desk, eating meals at the table, showering, brushing my teeth standing up, doing small chores like dishes and small loads of laundry.
Besides the deconditioning and aching/pain in my postural muscles I don’t find myself having any concerning symptoms.
That being said, I’m a bit more fragile than some patients because I have hEDS and my first blood patch failed after 2.5 months. I was a bit careless the first time and likely went back to my active lifestyle too soon.
When I say “active lifestyle” I mean going to an EDS aware physical therapist who had me doing the lowest setting on recumbent bike for 5 minutes, some exercises with bands, and when I felt strong enough I tried to do the nautilus machines without any weight. The leak symptoms came back after I had been exercising for one month (gradually over a week’s time).
What I’m struggling with is making the right call for how hard to push myself. If I’m going to make the effort to exercise I want to get some physical benefit out of it that will aid me in my recovery.
This time around I’ve gone on 3 short walks (~5 minutes each) spread out over 2 days in between. I’ve noticed some shortness of breath, feeling like I can’t take a deep enough breath, and possibly some wheezing. (I’m going to my PCP ASAP about this).
My heart rate doesn’t really get that high (my average is 65 bpm and my highest I got was 88 bpm for 1 minute) and that makes me wonder if it’s even beneficial to bother because I’m not getting up to my peak heart rate.
Help?

The first ship that arrived was pretty matter of fact about its fate. The pilot introduced himself as Eric, said he was part of the first sublight resupply attempt in modern history. He then gave me and the ground control team his bad news.
“So,” he said. “Without real time telemetry, we weren’t even sure which half of your orbit you’d be in. That’s half a solar system’s worth of wiggle room. Decelerating enough to survive contact with your low orbit would take me two weeks, which, you know, it looks like we don’t have. That means that in order to get the second ship in before you lose orbital control to the Kresh, I’m gonna have to make a sacrificial flyby. Ten to the negative four torr is good enough for a lot of things, but at point-seven c it’s gonna be like sandblasting a soup cracker. Good news is that all the expensive toys are in the next ship, so this really ain’t costing you more than a ship and a pilot.”
“You knew,” I said. If they put the expensive toys in the second ship, they knew that the first was likely a sacrifice. No one smart enough to handle orbital physics would miss that.
“I did,” he said. “But someone had to go first.”
That was, of course, a lie. No one had to go first. No else had had, at least. When our connection to the FTL network was lost, we’d understand as the end of our reinforcements. Doing resupplies via sublight was just too risky. It was a testament to Earth that it had accepted the risk and continued anyway.
“Is there anything we can do for you?” I asked. This man had come here to die for us. I wasn’t sure how much I could give, but what I had was his.
“I do have a few requests,” he said. “First up, I need as much high-orbital data as you got. The whole lot.”
I began directing tightbeam resources to him immediately. It was an easy resource to exchange - it wasn’t like there was anyone else out to talk to anymore. When we lost FTL, we found ourselves very, very alone.
“Second,” he said. “Right, I know I’m gonna sound like a princess right now, but I have been stuck in this stupid tin-can for almost two-years now, and I seriously overestimated how much I like synth music. If you have anything that’s analog - I don’t care what kind of string or drum or brass you play, but I’d kill to hear something without a beep in it.”
I jumped my own queue in the tightbeam, and added a short playlist that I ripped from the local web. Human Music, it was labeled. 3 Terabytes. I prayed there was something on it that he’d like.
“And third,” he said. “Third. The uh, next pilot is pretty mad at me. Turns out this will just be one of those things left unfinished. That’s all death really is, I guess - a lot of unfinished things. Let him know that he was right: He is a better pilot than me. But tell him that wouldn’t have made a difference here. Bad luck beats skill, and this luck was shit.”
I promised, and he went silent after that. We could see what data he was analyzing, and the short answer was all of it - everything from atmospheric density to troop positions and his own ship’s blueprints. He knew he had one shot at this, and that if the price wasn’t paid here, it would be paid by whoever came next.
---
Ground control didn’t get a verbal warning that he’d entered atmosphere. Just a ping. A little here-I-am, whispered in the dark.
After that, we could keep track with visuals alone.
He hit the outskirts of the exoatmosphere in his first pass, burning bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. He caught the sparse particles like a kite, trying to shed enough speed to hit actual low orbit. Automatic telemetry updates gave us the grim news for the ship: Thermals were holding up decently, but the ablative was wearing out fast.
The entire descent brought us more than two hour’s reprieve. The Kresh hadn’t expected to see a resupply, but they knew what one meant: Get it now, get it fast, or deal with a stream of new troops. They could buy themselves ten days' time by shooting this one ship down now. That was an eternity during a siege.
The first loop lowered the speed by about a twentieth of light. The pilot responded by pulling the ship in tighter, burning trying to preserve more ablative plating by trading off with thermal. Seven fighters were close enough to fire off heat seekers. I don’t think the Kresh had ever anticipated shooting down a craft coming in that hot - the missile's decoy avoidance countermeasure actually made it steer around the thing, chasing down loose pieces of shrapnel. Cooled fragments, still hotter than an engine, should be at full blast. The simple mistakes bought it enough time to enter pre-orbit, and the fighters had to stop their pursuit. They weren’t willing to die to stop the ship.
Our man, on the other hand, was already committed to that course.
A third loop followed a fourth. Ablative coating went from 65% integrity, to 30%, to 5%. Telemetry scans were exceptionally detailed - the pilot was making the flyby count. The last message we got from him was simple:
Are you EMP shielded? he asked, not even bothering to encrypt the text stream. He didn’t have time to process more than that.
Yes, we replied. We knew what he was thinking, but it was still a shock to see it. The fusion torch flared hot, burning through the nozzle and feeding directly into the craft’s dueterium supply. The reaction went super critical, and the resulting neutron pulse set off everything in the ship with a z-count higher than iron. Three continuous seconds of EM interference screamed through the comms as the hulk burned through orbit.
The explosion itself wasn’t powerful enough to kill the Kresh ships still in high orbit, but it made enough broadband radiation to blind both sides LADAR. The man must have been a hell of a pilot - half the shrapnel went down and got burned up as it entered the standard atmosphere, traded as the cost of moving the other half past lagrange. Standard evasion would’ve made the pieces easy to dodge, but with LADAR down, all the Kresh could do was sit still and cower as the wrath of a dead man riddled them full of holes. Our best ace had managed to shoot down seven ships before this before getting shot down himself. The wreckage of the freighter took down six.
---
The second ship came in stealth. One second, we were holding attrition in high orbit, the next, something the size of a small station came ripping through the atmosphere.
It did the same trick as the former - swapping between ablative and thermal loads, coming down at a speed that the Kresh fighters didn’t even try to match. Armies could be built in years, but skills like this took decades.
Telemetry connection was established almost as an afterthought. The way the ship casually ate through ablative armoring made my eyes water, but the pilot himself seemed pretty non-plussed.
“You’re down to fifteen percent coverage. You need-
What I need,” he said, “is to see the previous ship’s telemetry. If there’s one thing you can trust, it’s that this bird is going to come down gentle.”
He cut off my chance to reply by flicking the channel off. We watched, and we wrang our hands, but sure enough he came in six minutes later with 4% of the ablative left.
I met him on the landing pad. Under normal circumstances, we’d have needed twenty-four hours for the craft to cool enough to even approach, but we’d had cryo ready just in case. Three tankers of nitrogen, and the loading area, at least, was cool enough to touch. Safety would have to take a backseat to speed here - we needed the supplies fast.
But those both would take a backseat to a promised conversation with the second pilot. He was out of the craft as soon as the air was cool enough to avoid scalding his lungs, picking through the workers to try and find who had the telemetry data.
I found him first. The drive went into his hands, but I needed to keep my promise with Eric before letting go.
“You’re better than the first pilot,” I said, and I wasn’t lying. If the previous flier had been a saint, this one was a god. “But you wouldn’t have been able to manage the landing either. There just wasn’t time.”
“Let me see,” he said, tugging on the drive. “Just let me see. I have to know I couldn’t do it either. I have to know that someone had to die.”
I let go of the drive and he stalked back into his ship. I didn’t follow. I figured I’d pushed things far enough as it was.
---
The second pilot left the ship six hours later. He looked bleary in a way that put me at ease. I’d been up the last six hours directing supplies from the ship. Everything from ground-to-orbit rails to AGI targeting systems was inside, and to say it was gamechanging would be an understatement. It was good work, but I was tired, and I didn’t want to have to pretend otherwise. Seeing the other man with bags under his eyes meant we could just be frank with each other.
“I couldn’t have managed it,” he said, half-ashamed, half-relieved.
“It just wasn’t possible,” I agreed.
We sat there a moment longer. I didn’t mind the break. This was time well spent.
“Did it hurt?” he asked finally.
“Ablative failed before heating,” I said, which was the technical way of saying no. “He overloaded the reactor before the ship actually broke up and did some kind of slingshot maneuver - hit the main body of the Kresh fleet with half a space station’s worth of shrapnel.”
“Good,” he said.
I knew the signs. The tremor in his cheek, the way his jaw clenched - it wasn’t professional, but I hugged him anyway. Let him have the dignity of choosing to weep instead of having it wrenched out of him.
It was a gift we’d all been given at some point in this war. At least now, there was the hope it could be over soon.

Hi everyone! Long time lurker, first time poster.
Like the title says, I'm stuck in a tough situation with my (24F) boyfriend (21M) of ten months and... well, I don't really know what to do, if anything. This is going to be a lengthy post!
To give some important background: We are a mostly medium distance couple. We go to different colleges, about four hours away from each other, but during breaks he moves back home to his family, which is the same town I live in. During this last school year we were visiting each other every weekend, which honestly proved to be way too stressful and overwhelming for me. Now it's summer, though and, like I said, he's back here living with his family for the break. We met last summer and our honeymoon phase was great! Lots of good sex, fun dates, and really just excitement from being so into someone, but the honeymoon phase is over now and I'm seeing some hugely glaring issues.
We, or I guess mostly I, have been having issues since spring break when he came to stay with me for the week. Seems like a dream come true for a medium-distance couple, right? Wrong!!! I felt so smothered that at one point even him touching me felt like acid. On top of this experience, I had a really demanding spring semester, I started a new SSRI, and all those months of having little to no alone time because I was spending every single weekend (literally Thursday night to Sunday morning) with him was starting to burn me out. This is probably a good time to mention that I struggle with avoidant attachment tendencies. I had to learn independence at a young age, so when things get hard or overwhelming I go inward every single time. I have been actively working on being more comfortable with vulnerability, but I still don't like to share my feelings until I've figured out what they are and where they're coming from. He, on the other hand, struggles with anxious attachment and has never been in a relationship with someone who is avoidant (or someone who is neurodivergent, like I am). This leads us misunderstanding each other pretty often.
After spring break, we texted each other less and less and when we did text it was almost entirely NPC dialogue. "Hey, how are you?" "I'm good! How are you?" "Aw, that's good. I'm good :) My day was really good." And not much else. I was starting to feel... flighty and trapped, but I didn't know why so I never told him and I didn't think the feeling would manifest into anything.
Then one weekend in April he came to stay the weekend with me. This was a rough time. My grandmother was staying with me, visiting from out of state, it was show week for a production I had been working on almost all semester (theatre ppl know how fucking stressful show week can be), and I was preparing for finals. I was also feeling some side effects from my Lexapro, like no sex drive and emotional blunting. Over the weekend he begged me for sex, which I gave into a couple of times just so he would stop whining, but one night in particular really upset me because he legitimately would not stop. I would try to change the subject, and within two minutes he'd say something like, "Give me two reasons you don't want to have sex!" When I held my boundary firm, he pouted and went to bed. After he went home for the week, he acknowledged that what he did was not cool and apologized, but I could not look at him the same after that. My feelings of being smothered and trapped only intensified. About a week after that, we had an honest discussion about my feelings and mutually decided to go on a break so that we could both focus on our finals.
I had been feeling like there has to be something wrong with me, like these relationship issues are happening because I'm of flawed character or something, but during our break I started to feel better than I have this entire year so far and I realized that there's nothing actually wrong with me, I'm just 24 years old and out of the six years I've officially been an adult, I've spent probably five and a half years in three relationships. I realized that I want to be my own person and that I want to decenter both men and romantic relationships all together in my life.
Here's where we get into the problem at hand.
I tried to break up with him when summer break started and we saw each other in person for the first time in two weeks. I realized that doing what is best for me was going to inevitably result in him being neglected and resenting me. I don't want that to happen! I told him that I didn't think we were on the same page and that we're more incompatible than I thought, but he disagreed and basically said he would sacrifice anything to be with me. I told him I don't want to be in an unbalanced relationship like that, but we stayed together. We agreed that I would do whatever it is that I need to do to satisfy my craving for independence and he will just sit back, and he's okay with that as long as he "doesn't lose [me]".
That was almost three weeks ago and my feelings of suffocation subsided for a bit, but they're back in full force after an argument we got into last week about some stupid miscommunication. We've barely been texting, mostly just good morning/good night stuff, and we haven't seen each other at all, He wants to come spend the night in a few days, but I'm not even sure if I want him to.
Don't get me wrong, I love him (I think I do, anyway) and neither of us have done anything wrong to the other person.
You're probably like, "Girl, break up with him already," which, yeah, I agree, but like I said I tried and got nowhere. I have a feeling that breaking up is going to be almost impossible, unless he somehow comes to see my point of us being incompatible. I honestly don't believe that he's going to be okay with me doing what I want to do, focusing on myself, decentering our relationship from my life, because it is going to end up with him feeling neglected. It would look like us talking to each other very little, seeing each other even less, and me not having sex unless I want to (which is going to be very, very little because of the Lexapro impacting my sex drive). I know these things are going to bother him, especially the sex.
Is it manipulative to go through with our plan of me doing "whatever" to focus on myself when I feel like the result is going to be him feeling insecure in our relationship? I tried to tell him, to get him to think about it, but he feels so strongly that it won't impact him negatively. It's not like I'm purposefully trying to get him to break up with me, but another part of me doesn't really care if he does-- even maybe hopes that he does (idk, feelings I haven't analyzed yet). I don't feel strongly enough to try to break up with him a second time yet... but maybe I should? I know that we will, sooner or later.
But, maybe this is me overanalyzing everything. Or maybe I'm a villain, I honestly can't tell.
TLDR;
Tried to break up with BF over basic incompatibility (I want to be independent and focus on myself, he wants a committed relationship), BF says he's fine with me doing whatever I feel like I need to do to focus on myself, but I know that it's going to make him feel insecure and anxious over time. I feel like we will break up sooner or later, but I don't feel strongly enough to try to break up with him a second time. Is it manipulative to go through with our plan of me focusing on myself even though I know it will come at a detriment to our relationship, and maybe secretly hope that it does, to make him see our incompatibilities?
Thank you <3

[fucking long] (22m) I genuinely don't remember when I was last happy, like I remember when my parents were together in a decent looking house in a higher middle class neighborhood when my second sibling was born enjoying the time we spent together just playing outside with our rude neighbors and petting our cats indoors and just being kids. Not long after that we went for a walk by a pond with some geese and my mother became irate with my father said some stuff (that I honestly don't remember) and took his tin of dip pouches, told me to eat some and threw the rest to geese. Afterwards my father tried to get me to spit them up we went home. I don't think we talked about it or even went to a doctor. 2 years after that we were staying at my grandparents house bc my grandma was terminal, and maybe a week or two after she passes. We went to the funeral I was crying and crying and I don't remember what else happened. I don't know why but after that I was told that we were going to go see Grandpa again and to get ready, when I went to my room I remember crying and choking myself with a cord to some kids magnify glass (I don't know why I did that) and I don't remember the trip. We ended moving again but were in the same town. My last sibling was born, I ended up getting to choose his middle name pretty prideful of it. My father and mother fight bc my mother feels neglected, so my father ops to work nights. My mother feels that my father doesn't help with the family, he cooks meals 4 times a week. My mother thinks we should be going to therapy, so we do. The therapist thinks I have depression, so I get prescribed antidepressants at 8. Turns out I'm allergic and break out into hives, ended up going to the hospital and getting prescribed steroids. (This happened 3 times total) Parents have a big fight bc Mom was caught with another man in the house, mother moves us to a different town closer to her family. Mom takes me with her to see father in original house at night, he's on the porch sitting in the doorway just sleeping and loopy. Mother is waking him up saying something about him having a problem. (Years later he told me that paramedics were called on him since he nearly ODed on opioids, and he nearly died) Dad comes to check on us and parents are being happy again. Mother's family doesn't like dad (apparently my grandfather is super racist and found out that my father is 1/4 aa from his grandmother. IDK why he never said bitched about it years before, but different matter.) They get back together in the original house, and not even a year later I see my mother talking to a random guy in a laundry mat bring it up to her and she starts hitting me telling me to forget it. More time they fight, we end up leaving in the middle of the night with my father being put into a cop car. (He was released a day later doing nothing to my mother. But what's funny is that the expensive stuff that was bought for my siblings and self was seemingly gone, with my father saying that he assumes that it was my mother and our pothead neighbors nextdoor.) Mother ended up moving us around three times before we stayed in a the same shitty town that my mother was born in with 3 potheads my mother said were her friends. (Personal hatred of stoners) I licked a spoon from a pot of jambalaya, so the prick that my mother was dating waited until I went to sleep and scared me awake [while wearing a balaklava and all black] holding me down, before getting off of me saying that he scared me and to never eat from the ladle again. My cousin let me smoke some weed with him that he never said was laced until I later asked(I don't remember what is was but I remember everything looking static and blocky). I threaten to call the cops on the prick that my mother was dating if he did anything to them. So my mother puts me in a program called options, I was there for a month before my father pulled me out of it. My mother moves to a trailer next to a daycare, I end up riding a short bus and end up going to the daycare. I ended up fighting with the caretaker saying that I could just take care of myself over at my home, and later that night I get into another fight with the prick my mother was dating. Got put in another options clinic further away and labeled with Asperger's before getting it changed to autism and AdHD without even testing me, was two weeks before my father pulled me out. My mother gets me again, takes me with her to a Kroger parking lot where she sells her pills to someone. I mentioned it to my father when I saw him again. Some time later we went back to the stoner house and my father goes there and started yelling and following my mother outside where she was putting us kids in the car. (Apparently he found out that my mother was letting us be around these people who 2 of them had SA charges with one of them being with a minor.) Before decking the shit out of the prick and break his jaw (unfortunately only needed to get his jaw wired for a month). Aunt saw a text message from my father on the phone that was given to me [said that he was sorry that my siblings and me had to experience all of that] and ripped it out of my hands saying that I should never talk to him. My father ended up being put in jail for a year. My mother left the prick and got together with a dirt bag that my father used to be friends with. They would typically go out to eat with his daughters leaving us at home and give us the scraps from their take out or just tell us to make something ourselves (I was 13 and never taught anything), after that I got pissed and ended up disappearing for a whole day because I didn't want to go to school and ended up having some cops looking for me and amber alert and being sent to live with my dad. (I don't care I fucking won) Some time later I ended up breaking my leg from roller skating in school and permanently getting it removed from the criteria and ruining everyone's 7th grade year. (feel like a winner) Moving to a new town with dad(final town to this day), going to highschool. [Retrospect] Some cute girl sat across from me at the library wanting to interlock hands, so I did. She asked if it felt special (I didn't know what that meant to me), I said no and she never talked to me again. Another cute girl, asked me on the last day of middle school if I was interested in anyone and if I wanted to date. I said no (I didn't think I deserved anything and didn't want to waste her time) Freshman year I ended up "e-dating" two people I met on Wattpad(I am aware how cringe I am). First person was someone who suffered anorexia and we used Skype would talk daily and she ended up breaking things up 3 weeks after. Second person was someone who wanted to talk and watch each other sleep before she ultimately changed it to having us sext(hoimomes and teens) her friend wanted her to break up saying that I was probably some old man who was a pedo. (I did not leave that area of the Internet in the healthiest way possible, both for my mental being and how I left the people on there) Pretty much zoomed though highschool stabbing someone freshman year, being thought to be a potential shooter, and overall being treated with fear and respect. Though some people did think I was wasting my potential, especially since I never did my homework but always scored high on my tests and was always asleep at home. Highschool graduation was ruined by COVID, I didn't care. Got a job working on a warehouse dock buying knifes and testing how sharp they were on the top side of only one of my arms, slowly breaking mentally before asking a friend(19m) out saying that was fearful that I was nothing more than a background friend.. 9 months and 3 grand later we broke up (and I don't talk to him to this day) Quit the job, was unemployed for a year just sleeping in bed all day, wound up poisoning my self with caffeine pills so bad that I was taken to a hospital. Got another job, wound up continuing the knife hobby before stopping (stopped feeling any emotion related to the pain, so it was pointless) and got into a different hobby (to burry any resentment or negative feelings) And that's been going up until today with me getting so bored that I was curious how much weight I would lose if I stopped eating every other day. (Lost 25lbs from 210 to 185 yoyo-ing 180 if I don't eat enough calories)
all I feel daily is nothing but empty and tired. The only reason that I am still here is the self hatred for everything I've done wrong by own admission or what I've been told by horrible mother.
Tldr: I am the mistake of two fuck ups and am still here by the means of so much self hatred that I ignore my loneliness.