Short layers long hair

Not super handy guy here.
Bought my house ~2 years ago. Has a 2 car garage in an attached structure. Obviously added after the fact. The interior wall the garage shares with the house is stucco. So this was at one point an exterior wall.
Converting 1/2 of the 2 car garage into a gym. Slowly.
I'm removing built-in cabinets in the garage. A little shoddy. VERY dirty. They're wood, enclosed, and mostly empty. Black widow heaven.
Pulled out some drawers in the lower today and noticed the stucco looks water damaged. Discoloration and warping. There are some cracks and the outer layer of the stucco is falling away. When I swept some of the debris out, I knocked the back wall and some sand poured out of the wall. Assuming that's degraded stucco or concrete?
Right now I'm continuing removal as planned. Figure getting weight bearing structure un-attached from the wall is a good idea. But everything seems solid. The cabinets hang fine. They are holding plenty of stuff.
My question is, generally, how bad is this? I realize that's vague. But when it comes to house stuff I have a lot of unknown unknowns.
We planned to redo all the garage drywall anyway. Can I remove this stucco for drywall when that time comes?Or is this a hair on fire kind of emergency of a type I'm not even aware of?
EDIT: Some details.

I hired a plumber based on the good reviews he had on Google. Long story short he came to my house, spent 15 minutes and said everything was fixed. I paid him 350 cash and he left in a rush. Moments later my kitchen flooded. I asked him to come back and help stop the leak. He said "it's a drain problem, call your landlord to clean your drains, it's not my job". When we insisted he come back, he hung up and blocked me. Since I live with my rooommate, we both paid for the service and both left 1 star reviews. His Google review score went from 4.8 to 4.6. He then unblocked me and sent a threatening text suggesting we remove our reviews, upon which I blocked him and held my review up. One day later, we both got notified that our reviews were now "not posted" and his grade went back up to 4.8 (and our reviews are no longer visible publicly). I am not going to drop this because other potential customers deserve to know that 4.8 is not a realistic review of his services, he just deletes negative reviews. We both appealed the decision and I'm not sure what to do now, I feel quite helpless if he can just simply remove any review that he doesn't like. He even replied to it confirming he did the service so I'm not sure on what grounds Google removed it. Is it really that easy for business to delete their negative reviews? What can I do now besides wait?

How is everyone doing this Sunday/Monday?(got to be inclusive to all time zones). If you are feeling a little chatty like I am, lets start a conversation. Maybe we keep it short and sweet or we talk nonsense for a long time. Maybe you an I already have a backstory and we just pick up from a point in time(skip the intro and just pretend we are long lost childhood friends but one of us moved away). I don`t know, guess I am just rambling.
if intrigued, send a chat request or tell me your favorite messaging app down below in the comments. dont forget to like and subscribe...wait wrong website.

So, long story short, I needed to balance transfer my balance on my Capital one card to a new card so I would have no interest while I pay that balance off. I applied for Discover, but hit a road block with verification (I just recently moved so I was still in the process of getting stuff updated) so I left the application alone. I applied for Chase after I gave up on the Discover application, and got approved, along with the balance transfer.
Fast forward a week later, and I got approved for the Discover card as well, along with another balance transfer from my Capital One account. Now my Capital One is left with a $-1300 balance on it, and I have two balance transfers on two new lines.
Am I able to balance transfer the $1300 credit on my Capital one to pay off my Chase or Discover card? Or is this not applicable because it is not technically an account balance?
Alternatively, can I balance transfer the amount from one of the new lines back to my original Capital One account?

You can see my post history for more info about the story of my friend/female coworker who split on me, reported me to HR, then refused to work with me (how she didn't get in trouble is beyond me). We work remotely so I haven't seen her in 1.5 years.
Over a year ago she got a promotion when she was clearly not ready for it. She's causing chaos, people are finding new roles without thanking her and jumping ship, etc. Finally, so many people have told me "she clearly has borderline personality disorder" that I can't believe I missed it. I have healed to a point that I'm not bothered by things anymore, thankfully. But I was nervous to think about crossing paths again.
A few weeks ago I attended a work conference. My attendance was last minute and she did not expect me to be there. We were taking seats for the first meeting and she literally jumped when she saw me then beelined for a different area of the room. I almost didn't recognize her--hair bleached blonde and gained weight. Mirroring her most recent boss to a degree.
After the meeting, we had a dinner and drinks/networking deal. About 100 people were there and she was bouncing around like crazy from person to person (not sure if this was due to my presence, or else). It looked exhausting. I also didn't recognize her personality from afar--drinking pretty quickly/heavily, acting like a super cool person, etc. different from what I remember (although I think she has possibly slipped into drinking, or more open about it). Again, any time she would get close to me, she beelined a different direction. Amusing. Many times though I had a sense that someone was staring at me--and when I looked up, it was her. I decided to keep an eye out a bit closer, only to respect her actions and make sure I was able to avoid her.
However, as she drank more that evening I noticed a change. Once, she went over to a mutual from a prior role that neither of us had cared for and we, in the past, joked was my "arch nemesis". At one point, he was by himself and she went over to talk to him--all while looking directly at me from across room the whole time. She was sending me a message. Later, I was off to the side next to a group of people, and she looked right at me, then waltzed over to the other side of the group, sending another message. (There is one person that knows we were close and aren't anymore, so knows there was some major falling out--but doesn't know the details. She picked up on what happened with that last move right away).
The next day our paths crossed ways very few times--one exception coming to mind is that I was walking down a long hall into an open area where people were. I was scanning the crowd and happened to see her. She saw me, dropped her head and looked away and immediately left the room. Later that evening at an off-site event, she continued to avoid. Yet I would walk into a room and she would immediately be making eye contact with me before I realized who I was looking at. A few more times I had that "sense" of someone looking at me--and I would look over and she would immediately drop her head and furiously text on her phone. Finally, due to a crowded space, I ended up next to someone who was next to her. I saw her slowly take two steps back and then shuffle away.
The final day, I only saw her when people were departing for the airport. She looked at me again and steered clear. I coincidentally passed her on the way to my car and she completely ignored me.
That was the last time I saw her. No words were exchanged. And yet, the non-verbal communication spoke volumes.
I am basically healed and my wife and I have developed some compassion for her. I thought about saying hello, etc. or otherwise just being a polite human being, mature, etc. But then I had to continue to remind myself that she has BPD, and would not receive it like someone who did not have it. I essentially continued to grey rock/stay NC. After the interactions, I realized it was absolutely the right call to continue to do so. Who knows what would have happened if I had tried to be cordial. My simple presence clearly triggered a lot of things within her.
It was really an interesting experience.

Hi everyone! I just received my COPR in the mail, and I'm all ready to land and start living without feeling like an outsider. I'm originally from Buffalo, NY, so I'm going to be landing at Queenston Lewiston.
To make a long story short, I'm wondering other people's experience exporting their vehicle ina similar time frame. I already have my ITN and such, but do they really hold your vehicle in the US for 72 hours? Do I need to rent a car for that time period or is me showing up with everything all set to go in terms of paperwork enough for them to prioritize exporting my vehicle the same day?

TW: sa, hypersexuality?, depression
Hey everyone. I’m 19F, and really struggling. I wanna keep this somewhat brief because I feel as if I always end up typing a book in Reddit groups lol. Growing up, I was sexually assaulted around the age of 5, 6 maybe. As I’ve gotten older and reflected on my life, I’ve realized how much that impacted my childhood. For 1, I believe it made me SUPER hypersexual. I’ve been boy crazy (not as much now, since I’m in a relationship and only focus on my partner) but had been for as long as I can remember. Literally in elementary school, I was worried about my appearance however it was always almost a fantasy of mine to think of someone finding me attractive / desirable because I’ve always been tall growing up, and due to so much anxiety and issues growing up, I would pick at my skin. So I was a tall girl with messed up teeth, ugly and scarred skin, nappy hair, etc. anyhow, I damaged my hair badly when I was almost at puberty. I damn near cut it all off and didn’t pay attention to it to for around a year. I was just going through life in 6th grade at this point. (Try to follow along, i know this might be confusing in regards to the timeline) once my hair started to become healthy again, I started to hit puberty and started feeling confident. Between the years of 7th to 8th grade (2017-2019 ish), I became THAT GIRL. I had amazing curly hair since I had trained it to become healthy again, big boobs for being my age, amazing personality, the girl who everyone wanted. My freshman year of high school, COVID happened (2020). I became extremely isolated and depressed. Like BADLY. However, I was still very beautiful and confident. I met my now boyfriend in summer of 2021, at the age of 16, almost 17. I was also very depressed for the majority of our relationship, up until recently (within almost the past 6 months maybe? We’ve been together for 2 and a half years by the way) however, I’ve only recently started to realize specific things in life, as if I were so distracted before with my depression that I was just too sad to even pay attention to daily things. I felt hideous and worthless no matter what. NOW, present day on 2024, I’m going through the months and years since 2021 in my mind and I’m seeing it clearly in my mind how everything has really changed. I really gaslit myself for so long to make me think that I wasn’t gaining any weight, and I look fine and the same as before. In reality, I’m HUGE now. I gained soooo much weight, I used to be so slim and toned and now I’m just fat and sloppy. I always wanted to be “thick”- although I never was (I have more of an ass now that I’ve gained so much damn weight) but now my boobs sag so much when before, they were my biggest confidence boost and best feature. So now present day I’m 1 month away from going on my dream vacation with my family and boyfriend, and I’m sitting here realizing how much of a glow DOWN I had and how ugly I am now. I was pretty before but now I’m just one of those girls who peaked in high school ( literally middle school for me Lmaoo) but I feel like shit, and I’m seeing everyone’s prom posts on Instagram and seeing how much everyone is aging so nicely. How pretty the girls look who were once so tiny looking and baby looking to me, but they’ve grown up so beautiful. Also I promise I don’t even mean to sound weird when I say this but it’s just like damn. It sucks knowing that you once used to be that girl and now you’re not. I don’t know WHAT to do now, because I feel like my energy before used to be so contagious and bright, I used to be so beautiful with a great body, when before I used to hate my body because I wanted to be “thick” so bad, but now all I want is my old body back. I don’t know how I can glow up and because skinnier within the next month before my vacation, but I need some SERIOUSSSS help and advice. Pleaseeee I don’t have a sister or close to my mom to talk to her about this. I don’t have anyone to talk to about this, someone please help me. 😞

Hi everyone! Long story short, I wanted the same double tap gestures on the pixel launcher as nova. So, I decided to use KLWP and Tasker. I found a way to theoretically make it work, but it throws an error. Can anyone help me out?
https://imgur.com/a/gAzIWGZ

--⧼ BEGIN Broadcast Message ⧽--
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Priority Level: Urgent
:: From ::
Center Arm of the Emperor, Planet Laran
:: To ::
All Survivors of Fellow Royal Cast Broods
:: Message ::
The Emperor has graciously permitted the use of his Excellency's summer home on Planet Laran, located in the Empire's Center Arm, as a temporary refuge during the unprecedented violent Terran offences against His Holiness and the holiness of the Omni-brood of Ix.
:: Attachments ::
Coordinates and Flight Key
:: Royal Cryptographic Signature ::
Lord La'Ix, The Emperor's Right-Center Arm
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
--⧼ END Broadcast Message ⧽--

earlier

"CURSE THEM! The great houses are going to have my bloody head for this! There is no way this should've happened and under my command too! The Golden Emperor's own exotic holiday world has gone to ash and the only one to blame is going to be me. Well it was basically my watch anyways. Curse. Them. All"
Those were the only legible sounds one could hear among the frantic stamping of one particular Ixian lord as he hurried away through the underbrush of the royal reserve just outside the centre palace. The same Ixian lord that, only hours earlier, was delighting in his typical cooked boar while enjoying his evening's entertainment of a young Terran girl running for her life from a loose Laran tiger. Something about the way those bipeds run always makes him laugh. Some similarly caste Ixian would call this form of entertainment childish, lowbrow, and immature. He would tend to agree. But sometimes he just wanted cheap slapstick humour. The day to day life of the royal caste tends to get dull with all the fine arts an Ixian of his caste is meant to enjoy.
"How did it all go to shit!?! I was always attentive, and there hasn't been an uprising since those terrans were tamed for the palace. I mean we mostly neuter the problematic ones anyways, so why all the sudden aggression?", he shouted in agitation at the emptiness in front of him.
Speeding through the royal garden which in actuality is a repurposed Savannah of the island the palace is on. The Ixian was a beast of speed. Perfectly honed and trained over decades, and genetically maintained over eons, he always proudly held that he was the fasted in his brood of 16. Making a name for himself among the other broodkin for being the most genetically suited for the rank of high general (not that there was any need for generals, there hasn't been need for war in so long). Of course the Ixians always pride themselves in having no excess potential, and adapting your environment to suit your biology, but it never hurts to have perfect biology. That's the true pride of an Ixian.
That innate need to change the universe rather than changing themselves is what led to their vast interstellar empire. One that reached from constellation to constellation and then eventually to the arms of entire galaxies, terraforming worlds to the same environment they were already adapted to. Since forcing nature into one's bidding was the most sacred duty of any that shared a lick of Ix biology.
Which was why the Ix was confident in themselves. This Ixian in particular surely felt surprised, but mainly he was only moderately upset at the sudden change of situation, from being comfortable in the royal dining hall to sudden exercise.
"Everything can be changed back. Everything can be changed back." It repeated the mantra to itself. As it began to relax and turn its snarled sharp mouth into a toothy grin.
"Yes, there is nothing to worry about at all. Then let's make a game plan. Just need to make it to the space port at the harbour. Grab a ride out and find someone else to take the fall. That old royal butler is as ancient as the dirt of the broodworld. Hell, he probably was there when it vanished in the shadow of the holy empire's long past." chuckling to himself at the quite witty remark, but saddened that no one else was there to hear it.
Should be realistic enough for the others to believe. But first things first, I need to reach the harbour-master. It thought while its dense muscles powered the beastly lizard-like form on its journey, as it bound in the direction of its destination at top speed on all fours.
The blood red sun was already kissing the horizon by the time the Ixian went to nearly collapse under exhaustion of the extended sprint. He hasn't ran this far and fast than when he a young broodling that won competitions and competitions in the royal sports. I think I might have overdid it. He thought while massaging the oncoming threat of a sneaky cramp in his hind leg.
The Ixian were well known for speed. But their stamina was another thing. There bodies simply didn't have the evolved features for long distance travel. There was never truly any need in the past, as their very steady and controlled climate and sparsely diverse ecosystem on Ix never truly required much challenge.
It turned its panting head to face the way it came, gazing proudly at the great distance it made in such a short while.
But something was off by that view. Something different to what he was expecting. The view itself was mostly fine. Well, as fine as a smoking mark in the distance, presumably from the summer palace being engulfed in flame and spitting great plumes of black smoke. But no, something about this view chilled him to this spine. Craning his neck from his vantage point he could swear there was a small speck in the distance.
What on great Ix is that?
All of a sudden realisation hit like a rock on a peaceful pond. Something was following him. Something unknown and cold was making its way to his location. He was certain it wasn't any of his guards, all guards permitted to serve under the royal summer home were Ixian of course. Physically bred for their strength and speed, and placed into roles of importance like protecting the higher caste such as himself. (Whereas this day being the only exception). It did look like he was the only Ixian that actually made it out of the palace so far. Ixians are able to cover short distances in phenomenal speed, akin to a scaly 4 legged beast of the hunt.
No this was something else.
Feeling a very small panic build up inside, but veiling that cold, unwanted terror as impatience at how far he still needs to travel yet. Lord La'Ix flexed his anterior legs and sped on leaving behind a red-yellow cloud of dust in his wake.
He frowned. Feeling strange at a never before felt sensation. Like something in the back of his perfectly designed brain was screaming a silent, but terrifyingly familiar warning.
"Ix itself is an ancient world. Temperate in climate, while abundant in vegetation and small game. It is unknown how the Ixian was formed on paradise.
The old priest can drum into your heads that I'Ix made us into being by indenting his form in the sand of the first beach and filling the shape with his life. Moulding us into being.
The heretic would counter and say we evolved from a previous species akin to ourselves over the course of untold lengths of time.
The philosopher would suggest that only on paradise would the sentient universe fill in the space for the perfect beings to enjoy the fruits of existence.
Lastly, even the lowest caste Ixian would point and laugh at the rest and say 'why talk about antiquity, when we can make more paradise to fill the heavens'."
-A popular Ixian parable
Lord La'Ix bolted up all of a sudden from his resting spot. Heart suddenly beating frantically. The stars had barely enough time to shift positions when last rested his weary body, only a couple hours must have passed since dusk fell and the world plunged into night.
The silence of the Savannah made sound from afar travel better. Aside from the quiet rustling of the wind he wasn't so sure what he heard. Assuming his bored ears were playing tricks on him.
Calming down, curling up on the flat cool rock he found he started to drift to the shadowless lands where all Ixian go when they dream...
Drums, no, not drums. Some sort of mechanical tool? Not that I ever heard of a tool that just beat the ground senseless. A strange beating sound could be heard, pounding into the ground. As he stayed frozen and very awake, he could have sworn it was getting louder. Closer.
CRACK. SNAP. CRACK.
Suddenly the entire valley echoed the sounds of a few broken sticks.
La'Ix jumped up, whirling around, and came to face something approaching fast that could only be described as a cold predator, not that there were any predators on the homeworld's recorded history. But every cell in his aching body reacted the same. DANGER, DANGER, RUN, RUN.
The silver light of the planet's 3 moons barely lit the valley but what that light bounced off of was a figure in motion. Front Legs pumping up and down, nostrils flaring, eyes too close together, and pupils so large it was like staring at darkness itself.
Hold on there are only 2 legs right? Sudden familiarity hit him hard, memories of last night's entertainment stained his mind. In the name of Ix is that a Terran?!?
La'Ix didn't realise it then, but it was looking at a Terran, despite the Terrans characteristics looking different to the standard slave he was used to seeing. The pumping body of the runner was made for such long distances. Sweat acting as a cooling mechanism, making the man glisten in the harsh moonlight, the enlarged nostrils taking in all the air the body needs for this type of strenuous activity. And the enlarged pupils, made for adjusting to low light environments.
Down on the plains of the Savannah were two creatures. One a perfect evolutionary miracle, practically evolution's first try gone right, Perfectly made for its environment and was never truly exposed to varying climates and environments. And the other, having crawled through the primordial ooze, and struggled and fought its way through dangers, diseases, and competition on its own horrifying world. Where deadly heat in deserts can dry out any living thing, and such freezing poles that can turn anything that enters it in pure ice.
The man's lean and sweat-slicken form was steadily making its way towards the frozen statue of La'Ix. Just as he got within 50 paces did La'Ix sprint away scattering pebbles in its path the echoes of which bounced back from the valley's sharp walls. Undeterred, the chaser kept steadily running. Jaws grit. Eyes locked on afar.
And afar was its prey. Sprinting away.
HOW IN IX'S NAME DID THAT THING KNOW WHERE I AM? The La'Ix in a fit of sudden excitement mixed with a heavy dose of panic, began its high octane sprint from the sudden looming threat of being found. Hind Legs propelling the creature's body forward, while its front arms, which were historically also for four legged locomotion, pulled the terrain closer with each stride. Increasing its momentum until it reached max speed.
"Broodling La'Ix!" said a stern but educated voice.
"Huh? Oh! Yessir!" a young Ix jumped to attention still thinking about more enjoyable things specifically outside of the classroom walls.
"Well? Can you please answer my question or will you make your other broodkin wait until Ix falls to ash first", the tutor said expectantly, prompting several muffles giggles in the room.
"Sorry sir. What makes the Ixian race its place in eternity is the attention we put in perfection. After our home-world of Ix's climate and terrain began to change, the leaders from antiquity decreed we carry on the spirit of the home-world in maintaining a consistent biological and genetic profile that will always be suited to Ix's surface. As we change worlds to be more like Ix, we can spread the spirit of Ix to them. As such, Change is- uh, change is..."
"Change is the poison of perfection, Remaining unchanged for Ix enable us to carry its spirit to other planets in the heavens", continued the tutor. "Well you certainly paid some attention to today's lesson at the very least. But remember that final part. It's the last of the core tenants you will need to remember."
"Yessir!"
A good half night passed on the surface of the Savanna. Where a previously noble and alert Ixian who took great care in appearances and status was no longer to be seen. Instead of that proud domineering alien representative of ix was a dishevelled, dusty, ragged creature, dehydrated, hungry, and exhausted from the various sprints it forced itself to endure to stay ahead of fate's ever closing hand.
Is this the sword of Damocles that was mentioned in the ancient Terran records? Always hanging down on those who hold power and seek more? Fate's sharp blade? But why me? I was never in any real power. All I wanted out of this life was a comfortable posting with no dirt and grime from the lower worlds. Why me? Why now? Why do I-
La'Ix snapped himself out of a daze. Is he here- No, no I should be far far away from that Terran now. Maybe I can find some-
A dim glow interrupted its train of thought. Much too early to be the Sunrise on the Emperor's summer planet, and much to low to be the light from one of it's 2 moons. It was a light from a town.
"That's right!" The Ixian barely managed to rasp in between haggard breaths. Its body barely able to continue the amount of self inflicted abuse it has suddenly been put in.
A lot more hunched over than the Ixian was earlier. It made its way towards a small town it knew was in between the palace and the harbour. The emperor loved his royal rustic towns and villages. It is said that his royal emperor would sometimes tour around them marvelling at the romantic theme of a simple rustic life. Although getting a personal town full of Ixians required a lot of lower caste be forced into long and expensive work contracts as background entertainers for the king's planet, all this excessive show of wealth was partially for peackocking the emperor's reputation, and partially for his own personal enjoyment. The Emperor is almost culturally required to flaunt his royal wealth in all forms in order to keep connections with all the royal houses. An emperor that doesn't shower their supporting aides and houses with grand gifts is fated to eventually be found cold on the floor of the royal banquet due to 'suicide from accidentally ingesting poison', as was the previous emperor.
To avoid such an unfortunate passing, the Higher Royals would trade vast resources, delicacies, and even exotic slaves to court 'royal favours'. Slaves of the Terran variety especially are considered to be the most unique of gifts the empire has ever acquired.
Terrans weren't necessarily large and bulky. Fighters were assigned to the Slave Obniraks. Powerful creatures used to fill the fields on tougher worlds where mechanical services would be deemed to expensive. The growth of a Obnirak into full working adulthood is only a few cycles. Meaning mass producing a workforce is quite an easy feat.
Terrans instead would take vast cycles to mature from a childling to an average adult. Meaning growing a slave force would take vast quantities of resources, immense patience, and strict guidance from their owners as to not create faulty creatures. All of which increases the general standing on any house that manages to keep a vast amount of Terran slaves in the best quality.
Terrans weren't necessarily docile and obedient. That role was perhaps given to the oldest slave race the Ix ever controlled. The Iralisa. It was known that they were made remarkably docile due to generations upon generations of select breeding, and pruning off the 'aggressive traits' from the gene pool. However, that led to the adverse effect of physically weakening them to a point where such docility and lack of a frame to keep up with their workload led to a general lack of Ixian interest and were subsequently purified.
Terrans are notoriously independent and herd-minded in larger quantities. Similar to growing a very stubborn Terulian Rose Vine. Which only looks impressive when great care have been given. Terrans need to be given an illusion of being ever so slightly free. Which typically involves owning vast amounts of land and nature to let them roam and graze. Of course, the only ones that can accommodate grand work forces of Terrans are the larger houses with the appropriate territory for humans, as is studied in the Ixian art of Servitude.
One can only guess which species is the Emperor's favourite.
The following town should indeed have both, low caste Ixians, and possibly none of the Emperor's favourite slaves.
The Ixian approached the glowing town. As it reached closer it straightened its back, upright on its hindlegs in the royal fashion. And proclaimed. "It is I! La'Ix, royal courtier. Lend me aid imme-"
Something is off. Not a single shadow in the town, I can see lights but no movement, where is every-
After turning the corner to the center of the small town, the dustied and weary creature froze in its tracks when it saw it. A pit nearly as wide as an Ixian land cruiser and who knows how deep filled with a stench so powerful it watered his eyes. Despite the Ixian's lack of a proper sense of smell. It knew the foul fetor of death.
The crudely dug pit was nearly overflowing when he approached it. Large, smoking, smouldering pyres cast that eerie light that had drawn him in.
"H-how? Wha-What the..." he trailed off when a local species of Laran boar growled and squealed as it tore a dead Ixian limb from the mountain of corpses.
"Who could've..."
He stopped. The shock of seeing his own kind laid like broken dolls in a bleeding pit slowly faded, replaced by a numbness. The Ixian had just noticed they were of Ix. Only of Ix.
Not a single terran colour was visible in the black and spotted pit of bodies. Not a single slave body was visible.
I-Impossible...
His legs gave way, either from the strain of the entire nights run, the horror facing him, or the threat from behind. He just dropped.
Minutes passed, or hours. It was hard to tell. But the Ixian lay slumped. Body unwilling to move further. Battered flesh unwilling to be propelled by a shattered spirit.
Mind slowly spinning up again. Thoughts began whirring to life in its mind. Could the rumours actually have been true? It had read the sparse reports of odd activity from certain Ixian-controlled worlds on the outer arms of the empire. Small uprisings of unknown origin. Hardly anything of note. If it had no affect on the greater houses then it was of no real concern to Ix and its emperor.
Could this threat have made its way to the centre arm already? Impossible. But what else could have done this to us?
Something caught the Ixian's eyes. In the middle of the pit it stood. A large stake, wet with deep Ixian crimson, dripping ever so slowly. Towering over the pit like a battlefield flag was a head of an Ixian rammed onto the tip of the spike. But the particular detail that caught the Ixian's eyes was a symbol cut into the flesh of the large forehead.
Looking from the outward-in. Eight concentric rings, which proceeded to get smaller and smaller in size until it reached a dark mass at the centre of the symbol. The Ixian never forgot the symbol and the affect it had on it.
Eight concentric rings, and a centre mass. Eight rings, and a mass. Eight- Eight what? Eight planets? And a star? ...
A growing pool of cold dread rose in its guts that made it shiver despite the fair night. This dread reflected the sharp reality on its frigid surface.
This Ixian was well-bred, well-trained, and well-educated. Although anyone with a basic education would know of such a pattern.
Terra and her sisters. THEIR star system...
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
It's not possible!-
Knowing what that sound meant, the Ixian tried to whirl around, its body barely being able to heed its masters commands. Just when it was starting to move again it felt it.
Sudden sharp agony. Sudden sharp, raging agony. The Ixian looked at it's hind leg. A sharpened wooden stake was jutting out of it.
It loud out a tight lipped scream, as it grasped the pulsating wound as one does immediately after an injury. It barely had enough time to look up at its attacker when the Terran bolted forward, shortening the distance between hunter and prey from metres to mere paces. The Ixian barely had enough time to block the hand grasping the knife as the arm flew forward at the last minute with a crash.
What phenomenal force!
Using the momentum from that sprint plus the wind up of his arm. The Terran was able to impart a phenomal show of force for a creature its size. That's when La'Ix for the first time saw a human in its raw unchanged form. Great beads of sweat collecting dust on its brow, to prevent it from entering the eyes. The constant release of sweat from the countless pores on its soft fleshy skin. Constant cooling? Even the visible veins and capillaries visible from the fire light.
What a beast of endurance-
Suddenly the horizon fell before the Ixian only to reveal the inky black sky dotted with pigments from stars like a painters masterpiece. When did I look up? Then a crash and blunt force from the ground.
The Ixian had been toppled over by that ferocious exchange of force.
Barely able to get up due to the wind being knocked out of its single large lung, the searing pain in its hind leg, and the exhaustion from the chase. It was too late. The terran was already on top of it. Taking up the entire view of the sky as the terran stepped forward into its field of vision.
The sudden perspective change made a once small and frail looking slave look grander than life, grander than all the legends told to Ixian broodlings.
The punches rained down. Repeatedly. A constant bombardment of beating rained like the drops of rain before the first dew. The previous pain in its leg forgotten, to invite a new visitor in the form of blunt force trauma. So ferocious were the raw blows to its carapace that the Ixian felt the exoskeleton crack under the increasing pressure and strain.
Something cracked, another thing snapped. The amount of pain too much to comprehend. The neurons firing in its second brain just assumed it was everywhere. Its half-working eye glimpsed the fist as it came down for the nth time. Red and split knuckles, revealing pure white bone beneath—a reinforced weapon. The perfect natural offence. All the muscles moved to propel it downwards where something else cracked and split.
Is this where I die?
As if understanding its fate the Ixian's form slumped over. Its body barely holding onto the natural exoskeleton shielding that covered its chest and facial area. Fluids leaking from the cracks that went too deep, and who knows how many internal ribs are shattered.
Its body, knowing that that more movement will cause more injuries, and further stimuli would confuse it further. It simply shut down.
The last moments it had as it fell backwards on its side. Was a small running figure. Hand clutching wooden spears. But the truly petrifying sight was behind it. A vast shadow flickering from the light of the lit pyres from the hunter in front of it. A shadow cast so large, jagged, and menacing it appeared to swallow the town whole.
And into a hole did the Ixian fall. A vacuum with no sensation or thought. Just darkness.
How... did we never notice such a... monster... in their... shadow...
All Ixians were taught about 'violence' and 'conflict' at an early age. As a sort of rite of passage that any of them would go through as they survive their early broodling days. As Ix have no natural predators, they had begun to instil a serving of some necessary conflict to keep their generations fresh and somewhat physically strong. As a precaution, only rudimentary forms of civil sports, races, shows of strength and courage were ever really explored. But always in a controlled and calm settings, as there would never be any true need for actual conflict.
As there was always a need to maintain ones own environment. The need never arose for the development of fighting techniques and schools of training. That was one of the best parts of being an Ix that many thought. Having supreme control over the worlds you inhabit means setting gravity, atmospheric pressure, humidity, and temperatures to the perfect levels for comfort replaced any need for biological change. Why grow when you can keep everything the same way, how you like it.
They were a vast empire. An empire of statues.
-Excerpt from the history of extra-solarian species, Author unknown
It awoke to a burning radiating heat from in front. The large sun was already starting to set on the horizon when it awoke. Had a whole day passed? Or two?
Trying to block the setting sun from its eyes it couldn't. "What?...", barely made out in a whisper.
I'm tied up.
And indeed the Ixian was right. Tied up next to a small brook, with a scorching fire in front of it. The monster nowhere to be seen.
"No good... it's too tight", it grunted in an attempt to escape its bindings.
Going slack in defeat it avoided any additional movement. Not having the energy to spare to move. It was lucky to have always been lazy at shedding its carapace - a frequent nag from its broodmother - might just have become its salvation in this case.
Thank Ix.
So there it stayed.
Hours passed. The Sun fully set and the stars awake in this dark world barely lit up the wildlands. Only the prisoner in this cone of firelight existed out here.
A rustling up ahead caught the prisoner's attention disturbing the eerily still silence of the Savannah night. And ungodly horror of a squeal ruptured the air invoking a deep visceral terror within the bound prisoner. Something. Something close but just outside the firelight was eyeing it, glinting from beyond the light. Those dark predatory eyes stabbed the prisoner with a sudden coldness. All while the squealing suddenly halted. SNAP. SQUELCH.
Now it came, emerging into the light. A beast. Holding a knife in one bloodied hand, dripping on the dirt. And dragging by the leg, a massive adult Laran boar grotesquely smearing thick blood still warm from the cut in the neck on the dirt.
The prisoner watched, barely moving, barely breathing. Frozen with the horror in front of it as the bloodied carcass was skinned; fur sliced away with harsh, scraping sounds with the crude knife. Spurting remaining blood all over the site.
The pink naked flesh then washed in the brook, leaving a distinct smell of oxidised blood in the air, before being skewered and roasted over the roaring flames. Fat popping violently in the heat.
In this gruesome display, the beast revealed not just a fate for the boar, but a dark hint of what might come. The realisation struck deep—this could be more than just a demonstration; it was a terrifying preview of its own potential end.
It passed out again.
Only to be awoken by the haunting echoes of a wild, desperate squeal that once thrummed through the savannah's eerie silence. Dare it open its eyes?
After a great heavy effort -utilizing its every last drop of courage- one eye cracked open. And what it saw. Made it regret ever having done so.
Right across from it, the hunter was a grotesque silhouette against the flickering fire. Grasping a severed boar leg was a mouth viciously biting, ripping, tearing into the flesh with primal ferocity. Each bite was deliberate, each tear of sinew was a clear, calculated demonstration of supreme savagery. Its jaw muscles bulged with the force of a bite.
All the while, the eyes—deep, abyssal pits—fixed intently on the prisoner. Deepest black pits stared back at it. Watching. Observing. Calculating, with a dark intelligence. it was calculating. It was relishing the terror it inspired and the control it exerted. Or planning its next meal.
The sounds of ripping flesh filled the thick, blood-soaked air. Deep into the night. Deep into this never-ending nightmare.
Never once did the prisoner move. Not an iota. Frozen in abject horror.
The night passed quietly. After the feast the human had, or the desecration of life that the prisoner saw, whichever way you look at it. The human nodded off to sleep. Content in the success of his mission. But the tied up creature had no such rest. Sending silent pleas to the stars that it might be saved. But not daring to make a sound, less it awaken that sleeping horror. Or was it sleeping? Dear Ix, it might be watching me. Feigning sleep to keep an eye on its meal. Dear Ix I'm next...
All through the night, the demons plagued its mind. Until the warmth of the morning rose, and with it the sound of an Ixian cruiser.
Elation could not be an understatement for the tired, tied, beat, and bruised thing. Craning its neck to the direction of the sound about to bellow out an Ixian warning to the demon resting next it.
"BE CAREFUL! THERE'S ONE HERE-". It stopped speaking. That previous elation it felt at a saviour arriving to rescue it from the demons grasp, fizzled out like a drop of water in a drought.
That all so familiar cold remained. And the dryness of despair. As pairs of dark pupils shot back at it.
On the cruiser were tall adult Terrans. Clean cut, well fed, well dressed Terrans. Four, no Six, no eight of them. All hanging onto the side of cruiser while it made its way to their location. Compared to the demon waking up beside it, these creatures were organised. A savageness neatly packaged in a uniform with a symbol. The prisoners eyes grew wide in its sunken sockets. 8 rings, and a centre mass. They must be the cause of, well all this.
Accepting fate, its head fell in part defiance, in part to avoid the stinging eyes of these others. It felt their gaze burn through—cold, cruel, calculating. There is nothing I can do any longer.
"You're finally here. What took you so long?" The runner said to his approaching comrades, "Took all night to catch up to him."
"Hey Jan, great work", the tall militant woman shot back. With a playful punch to his arm. "Guess all that cardio really paid off, didn't I tell you it would!" She let out a playful guffaw.
"Thanks Chel", replied Jan.
"Ok chop chop people, we're on a schedule. We need to reach the port ASAP remember? Come on Jan, rest up all you like, you're still on the clock."
"Aye sir." Jan shot back in a mock salute, gaining a sneer from the commandant, then a sneaky smile.
"Don't forget your trash. And make sure its breathing still."
It creaked open its eyes, seeing pairs of boots moving towards it and standing in front. In silence. Then all of a sudden, felt pairs and pairs of hands pull and tug. and lift it up The thing let out a pathetic silent sob. While it was loaded in the back of the cruiser, face up. Staring at eyes, piercing black dots peering back. It could never understand what was being felt by those eyes and those faces.
Ixians wear their emotions on their carapace; spots and stripes would slowly appear in certain parts, representing emotions and feeling that their bodies felt in a general sense. But the most private thoughts were of course, still kept private.
But this. This was just too foreign. The eyes never stopped. Even in the swaying movement of the cruiser the pupils never broke contact. Those eyes. As if it was peering into it, envelops your entire mind. There was no way to hide, even hiding in his inner self would do no good. Those eyes. Those predator eyes can find me anywhere I try to escape to. Inside and out.
Some times passes.
"You know. I lost good friends to the royal caste. Especially to this one's brood clan or whatever they like to call it." One of them was looking right at it when they said it. It turned its eyes over to the source. A short one, with a slave scar on the neck said it. A scar that shot through his memories. A scar inflicted to property owned by, his brood. This one is dangerous..., it thought.
Jan, and the others didn't look but felt it. The cold darkness in that tone made it clear what it intended to do.
The female militant, Chel, I think her name was. Slowly reached to the side arm on her holster. Sensing the oncoming problem.
"You still understand me don't you? I've had to watch good people die. Damn good people." The scarred one one stood, grabbing the upper rail of the cruiser to steady themselves. "I hear that even if you get ill, you become the entertainment for the night. What was it now?" She paused for a brief second. "Oh I remember".
"Stil" Chel said slowly. "Cool it". Hand still on the butt of the sidearm.
Not hearing or not wanting to reply. Stil continued. "Torn apart by those raptor pets. Hands or feet cut off as souvenirs for those fucked-up parties and those fucked-up guests. Oh yea, and the 'toy play' or whatever they call it. Can't have Ken and Barbie fight back now, can we?"
Stil leaned closer to the now cowering, shaking thing, "I wonder which one was your favourite." The words cut through La'Ix like an icicle. This was the first time these demons actually spoke to it directly. And it didn't like it. It could sense the venom from the words.
"Stil..." Chel slowly got up, hand still at the ready. "I said cool it." The line had a steely warning to it. Chel wouldn't risk the mission. Even if it meant doing what must be done.
Agonizing seconds passed. The cowering, shaking thing seemed to grow whiter and whiter by the second, It's spots clearly showing what it felt. Staring up, Not willing to move but being unable to hide. It felt the absolute crushing weight of the present. Grinding it down to a paste.
Everyone stayed still. The two militants didn't move. The rest didn't seem to even have paid attention to the converstation, still looked away.
Longer passed.
Stil smiled, "Oh come on Chel, you know I wouldn't do anything to our friend here? You know I was just playing around." Stil laughed. Chel didn't react.
Stil immediately crouched, faced the shaking prisoner inches apart eye to eye, and in a whisper said "Right friend?"
She wants me to reply? Dear Ix I can't even think with those eyes in front of me What do I do?! What do I say?!
"Right. Friend?" Stil repeated slower and colder. Like the blade of a surgeon hovering over skin, ready to plunge.
The gears of its Ixian brain grinded to a screeching halt. In utter desperation to find a reply it simply gave up. Instead, it felt a warmth slowly spread. Slowly spread between its hind legs. It had released its bladder.
"BAHAHAHAHA LOOK AT IT" Stil roared in laughter. The sound of it rattling the prisoners brain with the sound. Disorienting its senses. "NOW THAT'S CLASSIC TIMING IF I'VE EVER SEEN IT!" She plopped back down face red and still laughing.
The Ixian didn't know what to do but tremble and sob silently on the cold surface of the cruiser surrounded by laughter. and the warmth of its piss. It tried to plug its ears. But the sound still came. Laughter. Laughter. Laughter. Dear Ix, what are these demons... where are they taking me? To hell?...
The cruiser kept cruising. Towards the port across the island. Trailing laughter behind. Or to the sobbing wreck of a thing, demonic cackling.
The scent of familiarity wafted into the senses of the prisoner as the cruiser started to slow. The smell of the salt, the chirping of familiar aviaries. Sound of the crash of sea. The port.
Braving a sentence for the first time in for what seems eternity. It let out a question "...w..w..where ... why... are... ... we ...h... here?" It managed to say shakily, eyes downcast.
As if in response, a sharp shove greeted it from the back and a hard hit on the ground was as much of an answer it was getting.
"Move it", Jan said gruffly.
They walked. the ixian still bound but free to walk in the middle of the group of humans. Towards a destination still not known. The walk twisted, and turned, and twisted again. One thing struck out to the prisoner. It was too clean, especially for what it was expecting, it's last experience being in the previous blood-soaked town laden with bodies and carrion eaters.
The port town was completely silent, free from the regular hustle and bustle it usually had even when the emperor was not present. And superbly clean. Not a single piece of dirt to be seen. Not a single Ixian either. Where did everyone go? Did they make it out somehow when these invaders came?
In the background, the surf broke relentlessly.
Piercing eyes caught the prisoners glance, as it wandered curiously around the town. Realising its mistake La'Ix tried to look away but the burning gaze gripped his own.
As if reading its soul. The human answered the hidden question bubbling up in La'Ix. "You should've seen them your royal majesty". The one called Stil said while bending in mocking courtesy.
The surf pounded the shore even more loudly now.
"They don't swim well. Especially the young ones. They dropped like stones. Turning all white by the time they stopped moving."
Louder now. The sea roared.
Nothing came. Not a thought in La'Ix's mind. Its mind struggled to comprehend the depth of what was said by Stil, the scarred human.
The waves boomed louder now. Louder than the sun, echoing louder than the screams of all the Ixians that must have perished.
It saw the lips of the standing-devil in front of it. But all the came from its blood red lips were obscured by the sound of the pounding of the waves. The echoes of drowned kin, thudding and slapping against the shore, merged with the relentless surf in La'Ix's mind.
This is for our sins.
Wave after wave, the relentless surge continued, each one a haunting reminder of the souls lost to the sea, each crash a ghostly thud of bodies hitting the shore.
Very slowly did some exhausted neuron in the Ixian's head come to a conclusion as to how these creatures in front of it can be so relentless, so cruel, and so evil. When pushed to beyond its breaking point, did their true carnivorous instincts rear their ugly head.
Oh dear Ix. What sort of environment could breed such demons?
La'Ix didn't remember what happened next. The memories feel like a distant dream now as he sits watching the port sky now.
The aching brand on his forehead of the 8 ringed system, pulsed in pain—a departing gift from his newly made friends, stung from the salty sea air.
He barely recalls the staggered walk from the empty inter-arm transmission office and the inputting of his biometric royal seal. He barely even remembers the message that was sent under his name and signature
And even less does he remember what he heard what will happen next.
All alone now, he stares at the sky of the empty port town. As he watches more royal ships enter the atmosphere.
He gazes upward, thoughtlessly, statue-like Knowing fate will come for them all. Fate in the form of piercing black eyes and a monster so large it can fit in a shadow.
A single thought, carried its way from above the despair to the surface. Slowly. Like a bubble in a pool of tar.
What was I meant to tell the emperor again?

Hello fellow collectors, this is prolly the rare instance this is available for trade and I'm the only few actively hunting for these goodies. The trade value of these are very high due to the difficulty, time, as well as risk factors involved which in turn result in the high asking price.
Details: Asking for 700USD (excluding fees) / HOME stamp Zeraoras or stuffs of equivalent value.
1. - Name: JPN name: ヒバニー (Scorbunny) - OT: JPN name: ロラメンディ(My OT in JPN) - Language: JPN - ID: 966824
2. - Name: Grookey - OT: Zach - Language: ENG - ID: 231981
Diaclaimers/References: - This is self hunted, in short, process goes like this: Create new email, nintendo Acc, switch profile, home mobile, link nintendo Acc to switch profile, send a mon to sword, claim mystery gift, remove profile and app, rinse and repeat. - There is a risk factor involved in doing this as my accounts/switch might get ban, I received error codes of 2124-4517(temp bans) before while doing this hunt so I got separate devices for the purpose of this hunt. - SS: https://www.reddit.com/PokemonHome/s/f8zFgoPdQI - My own shiny set: https://www.reddit.comElectronic_Hand_2034/s/7z8RcfA11v - Past trade ref: https://www.reddit.com/pokemonexchangeref/s/EYH6j0sLRy - I will be able to provide original video proof, wondercards and together with the 2 other non-shiny starters with the same ot if u want those as well. - I am doing this hunt for as long as I'm able to and would like to establish myself doing these types of trades. - Grookey is specially requested and reserved till trade is complete.
[svirtual]

Just a warning, this is going to be very long! I (21F) and my brother (15M) were abandoned by our mother when I was 11 or 12.
For context, she was a teen mother, with a lot of mental health issues (bipolar, BPD, depression, i can only assume some form of sociopathic behavior), and she addicted to hard drugs. My father was a little rough around the edges, but overall a hardworking guy who went into the relationship with a "I can fix her" mentality. For the first few years of my life, I was oblivious to all of the issues going on in my family, I just enjoyed the first 5 years of my life as a happy child. My mother hid her drug addiction well enough for a 5 year old not to ask any questions, and I thought weekly screaming matches were normal and "mommies and daddies fight sometimes". Unbeknownst to me, my mother was cheating with dozens of people, and emotionally/financially/physically abusing my father, he put on a happy face to try and give me a good childhood. He worked 5am- 5pm at a bagel store (no car, only a bike) and never came home empty handed; always a toy, or a piece of candy for me as "sorry" for always being gone and working all day. I thought my mother would always bring her "friends" (men and women) in the house while dad was at work, and they would spend hours "playing" in her room with the door locked. I pretty much had to raise and take care of myself from the time I woke up to around 6pm, so I ended up becoming pretty smart by entertaining myself with my mom's fantasy novels (Harry potter, princess of mars, lord of the rings, etc.) On days she had college classes, our landlords (amazing people) would babysit me. My mother did give me affection, and I loved her very much, but she was very hands-off.
Granted, I wasn't the easiest child to deal with, I had ADHD, undiagnosed autism, among some other things.
When she got pregnant with my brother, (also adhd+autism) I noticed things started to change. My parents would fight more often, the house smelled like smoke, and the electricity to the apartment would be out for weeks because we couldn't pay the bills. Shortly after my brother was born, my parents had the hugest fight I've ever seen, I don't even remember what it was about (probably cheating), but it was the first time it hit me that everything in my life wasn't as happy as I thoughts. I sat clutching my baby brother as she beat my dad with a chair and started screaming. He grabbed a knife and ran outside and tried to end his life by stabbing his wrist. I was screaming and crying my landlords name, hoping my baby sitter would come and save me, he bolted downstairs, pried the door open, and grabbed the two of us and took us into his top floor of the apartment. He gave me some chocolate milk while him and his wife called the police. That was the day my parents split up, and my mom was able to spin the whole thing on my dad, taking custody and he was granted only visitation rights. My mother was kicked out of the apartment, and my aunt (dads sister, but my mother had taken a liking to her and allowed us to see her often) had a feeling something fishy was going on when no one would tell her anything about the details of that night. She went to my old house and asked my landlords what happened, they told her, so she let us sleep over with her whenever we wanted as a safe haven from our mom. She didn't go to court with any of the information she got, out of fear that my mother wouldn't let her see us again, because she was now our only place of complete safety.
My life became a living hell from that point onward. A week a later, my mom told us that her "new boyfriend"(probably a guy she cheated on dad with but I was like 7 and didn't know better) was letting us move in with him. He was the most horrible piece of shit. He got my mother addicted to even more drugs, and they both constantly talked badly about my dad, and when I cried, covered my ears, and said I didn't want to hear it, he would hit me and tell me that I needed to know. He was basically unemployed, and would sometimes sell drugs, or take antiques out of abandoned houses to sell. I hated him. My mother made an entire personality shift, and would defend him even if he said horrible things to me or hit me. She saw no fault in him. She stopped reading me bedtime stories, and stopped telling me she loved me. The only time she was nice to me was when we were in front of other people like school functions... she would kiss up to all my teachers.
I was left to take care of my baby brother on my own, and my father was in and out of mental hospitals from the trauma, so everything he said about how horrible my mother was fell of deaf ears because he was labeled "crazy".
We had no money, it was all spent on drugs, I went out by myself several times to dig through dumpsters just to get food, and I stole baby formula from supermarkets. This one nice homeless lady knew my situation, and would walk me into the stores "as my grandma" so I wouldnt get stopped to ask why a child was all alone. She would poke around the store and buy a $1 candy bar, while I stole formula, and some cold cuts for her. She showed me all the best dumpsters, where delis would throw put perfectly good food at the end of the day. We had an alliance of sorts. I was less than 9 years old.
Her boyfriend became sexually abusive to me around that time. I'll spare the details.
My mother was starting to go off the rails completely. Doing anything for drug money. I clearly remember the time that she told me to get naked and she took pictures of me, up close in all my private areas "to send to the doctor" or else "I would have to go in person and they might give me a shot" (she knew I hated needles.). She never mentioned that event again, but I just know she sent them to some pedophile for money. It makes me sick to my stomach when I think about it. Her bf would try and hurt my brother, I would always step in and get beat instead. We saw our father and aunt maybe once a month, and I was threatened not to say anything to the school or my dad/aunt or else he would kill my mom. I said nothing. I told my aunt all the bruises were from bullies at school, my teachers were taking care of it... or that I was climbing trees, some excuse. I think she knew the truth, but was too scared of losing us to say anything. Everytime they went to drop us back off at our mom's, my brother would have a tantrum. He cried so much the blood vessels in his face would pop. He now at 15 has permanant, freckle like, spots of red on his face from crying so much so often.
She got pregnant again with his twin girls. She gave birth prematurely, and they came out very very sick. She gave birth at home... I was giving most of their care. After the "ohhhh new baby" feeling wore off for her, of course I was basically a mother of 3 at 10 years old. They didn't last long, less than a year. I was in complete despair and that was the first time i tried to end my life. I filled the bathtub and tried to drown myself by repeatedly hitting my head underwater in attempts to pass out under the water. It didn't work, and I was left with neck pain and a migraine that lasted 4 days. I attempted about 5 times, different methods, by this point I haven't been to school in a week. When I came back to school, the teachers noticed something was wrong. I kept looking off into space, detached. I would lash out and act aggressively when anyone would try and talk to me. I would have 2 hour "bathroom breaks" where I just stared at the wall inside the stall and acted rudely when anyone came to get me. What did they do? Not call CPS, of course, they sent me to a special school because of my "sudden behavior issues". I was in a class now with students I could not connect with in any way. I had no friends. All the other kids in my new class had severe learning disabilities and talking to my brother who was 6 years younger than me was more of a conversation. They couldn't read, most of them were almost non-verbal.
My mom broke up with her bf because he cheated, and we were going to lose the house. He still lived with us for a few days but stayed silent. My mother blamed me, saying that I ruined everything by being a bad child and now we were going to be homless. He tried to touch me one last time and I snapped and stabbed him deeply with a BBQ screwer, he just walked away. later that night he killed himself, I saw it. I'll never get that image out of my head.
I lost it, I had an outburst at school, crying and screaming that I wanted to kill myself and for God to just let me die. They sent me to a hospital, and the school called my mom to say I was having an outburst of psychosis. I spilled everything to the hospital about what her bf was doing to me (I couldnt bring myself to talk about my mothers abuses for some reason), and after a while, it was my dad who came to get me... apparently my mother had taken off, leaving my brother alone in the house after the school had called her. I had so many questions. But I was so happy to finally be able to live with my dad and his side of the family.
I was so traumatized, as well as neurodivergent, I acted strangely and dealt with some bullies at school but that was it, it was like heaven on earth. My father didn't even know the full scope of what went on, but the more I told him the more guilty he felt. He started spoiling us a bit out of guilt, so we were happy to be with a parent who loved us.
We never knew where she went. Until I was 18, and she reached out to me on social media. Initially I didn't want to answer. I left my DM sitting there for a few days but... I felt this unexplainable pull. I hated her all these years, but for some reason when the option to take her back into my life came up... something in me missed her. I kept thinking back to the few happy times, and the curiosity was killing me. I finally messaged back, my father told me not to, but he said he couldn't stop me, I at least deserved some answers, and to get all my pent up hatred out at her for some closure. We awkwardly chatted for a few minutes, she told me that her father in West Virginia picked her up, she started a new life, joined narcotics anonymous, but stayed low and didn't let herself be known. She met a genuinely good man at NA, who had convinced her to right her wrongs, quit drugs, and fix her family. They had 2 kids together (one with down syndrome), and she was a present, active mother. I felt a vicious jealousy. Why would she go and have 2 more kids when she had 2 that she abandoned? Why were they treated with love and a loving home when we went through hell...? Why didn't she make it up to us before she went and had more kids..?
My mind did weird things then. It made me need her approval. I kissed up to her, saying I forgave her. That I always knew everything was always her ex bfs fault and not hers.That we were sad when she left. I planned a trip to see her a month later and her new family, my friends all begged me it was a bad idea, to please please not go, and at least to not tell my brother about it. I listened to them, and didnt tell my brother any of this, I told him I was visiting a long distance friend.
I went, we had a pretty good time. Her kids were cute, and I absolutely adored her new lover. He was a good southern man, my gut told me that. He took me fishing, and let me talk through all my feelings. I finally had the relationship with her that I always craved. It felt sickening good, I was estatic. I didn't care about all of the weird signs, like the weird friends she had (looked like crack addicts), and how she managed to get a kind rich southern guy to take her in. I didn't even care. I was just happy to finally feel like I had her approval. I have a habit of bedwetting time to time from anxiety, I ended up having an accident and I was mortified. I cleaned it all up, but told her and, she said it was no big deal. She used to scream at me or hit me as a child for wetting the bed, and now she was reacting normally. It was like a new woman.
My trip was cut short by a week, she had to be rushed into hospital because her appedix was about to explode, she needed to recover and wouldnt be able to do anything fun with me for the remainder of the trip. I watchd her get taken by the ambulance, and was freaking out crying, I was so relieved when the surgery was a success. Her new man apologized profusely for all he stress and bought me a plane ticket back home to NY. He hugged me saying he would be so happy to see me again over the summer, and he had so much fun fishing with me. That he wanted to be a good step dad. He was a nice dude, just like my dad (a good guy she manipulated) I felt it in my gut. They both were at the airport, my mother in a wheelchair, and hugged me off. She said she loved me and to text her when I landed
I did, and got no response. Another day passed, nothing. I started to freak out and called her, only for it to go to voicemail. I messaged one of her friends sons who she Introduced me to. Asking if she was okay. He said he would get back to me once she responded to him, but them he too ghosted me. It was like she was never there. I called her partners work, and they said they would tell him to give me a call. Nothing. I was in despair. I assumed the worst, that she had died or something because of a surgery complication. I was so confused. I pushed it all out of my mind, wrote it off as a mystery even though it ate up at me. I always just justified it as a death, even though it made no sense. She was still following me on Facebook, but there wasn't activity for months when she was once super active. I deleted facebook a few months later because it just hurt.
It's been about 3 years since then. I needed to re-download facebook because my aunt wanted me to check something on matketplace... and I looked up her name just out of curiosity... shes been posting for over a year now. She's okay. She posts her kids, her fiance... she never once responded ro any of my messages yet. Not on text, not on Facebook messenger, no where.... I scrolled and scrolled, crying. I saw she got a new tattoo... a rose for each of her kids.... one for each of her two new kids, one for a miscarriage she had...two for our sisters who passed away... NONE for me or my brother. Like we don't even exist to her.
I don't know what to do. I want to know WHY. We finally had a good relationship, I finally forgave her. We finally could have been okay, saw each other a few times a year... she said she was happy to have me back in her life.... WHY? I'm so heartbroken and confused. I miss her. Was it because I wet the bed? I don't know. I know shes horrible, but I can't help but miss her so much it hurts. Should I continue trying to reach out, or just let her go..? How do I process thos? Any advice, or maybe a theory/explanation/comfort. Anything would help. I just need help. I don't know what to do...

Hi, I am looking for advice on things we should be considering.
My husband and I have been married for ten+ years. We have two kids, six and eight, and we live in my (tiny) hometown in a house I love, with a menagerie of pets. He also has a child from his first marriage that lives a few hours from us but that we talk to every day and see regularly. They’re a rising senior in high school and have a very booked summer and presumably busy senior year as well.
My husband is an attorney at a firm that's winding up a practice area after losing one of their equity partners. They offered him the option to move into a different practice area but weren't sure if they would have the long-term hours, pay his salary for six weeks, and let him find something else. For various reasons, we chose door number 2 (I supported this, as the partner leaving has made work extremely stressful, and I thought a fresh start would help). He spent the first two weeks applying for jobs and the last two weeks interviewing.
On Friday, he got two offers. One would be hybrid and be a slight raise, but it would be in the city he went to law school in, seven hours away, near his hometown. The firm has agreed to let him structure his time in the office so he could be there Monday and Tuesday, be back with us Wednesday to Wednesday, and then there for Thursday, Friday, or however we work it out. He needs to be in the office two days a week, but it can be remote three, and we can structure that flexibly to get him home for longer stretches. At least in the short term, he has many friends in the area he can stay with.
The other offer is more local, but is a huge pay cut, and he would only be making about 2/3 of what he makes now (it’s a more regional law firm). We have friends at the firm, and they have great work life balance, and fewer billable hours than his current job or the first offer. Some flexibility but not a lot of wfh options.
I work in a field where I could reliably find work if we moved, with a salary similar to his offer at a local firm. But I don’t want to move. I also don’t want to live apart from my husband.
Some other factors: I have a busy job and struggle with adhd and depression. I’ve had an exceptionally tough year mental health wise. We live close to my family and we have a lot of friends and family in the area (both of us! He went to college here and has lived here a long time at this point). We are very happily married.
Am I being selfish wanting to stay here? I really think there will be other opportunities and the pay cut sucks but we can work it out.

Hi everyone, just out of curiosity and because I had a very weird encounter with another cyclist today –
I was cycling on my local loop on my road bike. At some point I overtook an older guy who was just rolling along the cycle path; I was cycling at a reasonable pace, so I passed him in just a few seconds and didn't think anything of it at first. Other than him, there weren't any other cyclists/people around.
30 seconds later, I hear the sound of another road bike behind me – I didn't realize immediately, just wondered about the noise, until I checked behind me and saw the older guy I just passed, glued to my back wheel with only a few centimeters between us. I thought, maybe he caught up and will pass me in a few seconds, but he stayed behind me and kept drafting for a while.
I am usually cycling alone and am not used to riding in groups, especially when it's just a few centimeters between cyclists. I am aware of hand signals, but rarely use them (since I am almost always alone) and am not confident in signalling correctly to a stranger behind me. I felt really uneasy with a stranger behind me, because I saw it as very risky behaviour of him and also kind of rude, since he didn't announce himself – and especially the distance (or lack of distance) between our bikes made me very nervous. To me, it felt like standing in a queue and the person behind you is basically breathing on your neck lol
So after a few minutes had passed and I failed at to get rid of him by going faster, I thought to myself, why not talk to him directly. I said something like "hey, I noticed you're behind me, I am actually not comfortable with someone riding that close to me, I prefer cycling alone – is it possible for you to just pass me or keep a bit of distance? thanks"
long story short, he got very upset and didn't understand my reasoning at all, went on like "back in the day everybody was drafting each other!!1!", that my behaviour is rude and arrogant, that I shouldn't dare to draft after him when he finally rode off (why would I lol) … basically reacting very aggressive to what I thought was a calm and reasonable question.
So my question is: What could be the reason for the offended behaviour? Is there some kind of drafting etiquette or unwritten rules I am not aware of? Should I "allow" others to draft behind me because it is comfortable for them, or is it considered rude to say no (respectfully of course)? What could I have done differently to not offend the other cyclist?

After my first breakup and the endless pain it caused, I thought I could handle anything. A few years back, I even received a diagnosis for ulcerative colitis and managed to cope with the diagnosis and the ongoing suffering. After five years, I opened my heart to another woman.
Two years later, it happened. She met a guy online. I didn't think much of it because men and women can be friends (though it's tough, but possible). He even had a girlfriend, so I wasn't overly worried. After meeting him a few times, she went on a university trip to Switzerland and came back a changed person. She wanted to spend the night at her mom’s, which was fine by me. She said she'd text me when she got there—it’s a 30-minute trip. Five hours later, she suddenly returned home. I was terrified, thinking she had died or something else horrible had happened. When she got home, she said she'd been out drinking with a friend, and we went to sleep because I was too exhausted to discuss anything. The next day, I demanded to see her phone because I didn't believe her (after she didn’t even notify me about her plans), but she refused. Long story short, she had been with Julian, the guy from the cinema. They had gone to watch the northern lights and had some drinks. I pressed her, unable to understand how she could keep this from me. Since she struggles with emotional stress, she confessed that she had kissed my best friend a few months back. After further arguing, she admitted it happened twice more, once at our place.
I told her straight away that we could get through this, and we discussed why it happened. She hadn't felt emotionally secure with me, and I see that now. Yes, it wasn't my fault she strayed, but I hadn't treated her as well as she treated me for the longest time. I wasn't terrible, but I hadn't made her my top priority, and she felt it. She had told me several times how important it was, but she never conveyed just how serious the situation was. We decided to try again, and she agreed to stop seeing Julian for some time (she didn't want to stop texting him because she finds it incredibly hard to make friends and didn’t want to lose that—she said she'd stop if she felt something romantic could happen).
Why didn't I treat her better? I can't tell you. Maybe my illnesses stressed me out! Maybe it was university, which has never stressed me so much, that kept me from paying enough attention to my girlfriend. I just didn't realize how serious it was.
A few days ago, my girlfriend decided to take a break from me to clear her thoughts and find out if she can still love me.
And then, as if things couldn't get worse: in two days, she was supposed to start a month-long break, and just now, she wrote to me that Julian's girlfriend had broken up with him, just as I had predicted.
My disease has flared up again due to stress, and it's the most important university semester of my life, but I can't go on because I JUST CAN'T ANYMORE.
Perfectly timed with our break starting, Julian's girlfriend broke up with him. I don't know what to do with myself. I love my girlfriend, even after everything, and I don't want to lose her. But after everything, especially this last part, I feel like I know where this is going. I just can't deal with it. I can't watch TV shows, I can't eat, and most of the time, I can't even cry. The only thing keeping me going is the hope that nothing happens with Julian this month and she comes back to me, so I can show her that she is my number one priority (alongside my own well-being). And I've never meant anything so seriously.
I don't know what to do with myself. I want to tell her to cut off contact with Julian, but she won't; I want to tell her to stay with me, but she won’t. And when I express my fear that she might develop feelings for Julian during the break, she tells me she can't imagine that happening.
I don't know what to do anymore. Thank you for reading this far. Writing is the only thing I can do right now.
I feel like I barely exist these days, especially now. I’ve thought about hurting myself, but I won’t. I know I won't end my life, and I won't harm myself. I can't imagine how terrible the next months will be, but I have to survive somehow, even though I feel I may never be happy again.
So... I don't know what I'm expecting from this... Advice? I Quess. I can't imagine anyone can help. I still have to try everything.
**TL;DR;** : My girlfriend cheated and wasnt happy in the relationship and i need help, advice.. anything.

For context, I was only 18 years old and in poor health due to a temporary condition so I was battling insomnia (which led to brain fog, unbearable pain and hormonal imbalance), and a man a decade older than me (28 years old) groomed me and proposed to me in 3 months. I married him because I didn’t know any better, he was my first relationship ever and I was a virgin on the wedding night. He convinced me that we are meant for each other and that God sent me to him as a prize. Despite my resistance, he forced me to go through with the wedding even though my skin was bleeding and oozing and my hair was falling out. He said it’s not Christian of me to cancel the wedding and it was too late. The marriage lasted less than 4 months and my Church priest and family pulled me out of it ASAP due to severe psychological and sexual abuse that I finally reported when it was unbearable. I cried myself to sleep every night. He was also still in contact with his ex and looking at inappropriate Instagram girls behind my back during our marriage. He would also rape me in my sleep and isolated me from my family. My divorce was recognized by my Church because it falls under the category of a biblical divorce, aka “sexual immorality” and “abuse”. I hardly knew him and he weaponized my naivety and my weakened state due to my temporary physical illness to pressure me into marriage. I forgave him everything and looked past all the red flags.
Now that I’m in a much better place and I’ve repented of my mistake, (and I actually fully healed physically as soon as he left), I feel immense regret. The relationship and marriage was so short, less than a year in total, and I feel terrible for not being a virgin anymore (even though I slept only with my husband). I can’t believe I’m only 20 years old now and already have a divorce behind my back to a man I hardly know and who only pretended to love me. It’s been 2 years and I’ve healed from the trauma, but I want to know if there is a good Christian man out there who would want to marry me. I go to Church regularly, I pray, and I strive to keep my purity. I’m determined to not sleep with anyone except with my future husband. I want to be a good and godly wife, I dress modestly and I focus on achieving my academic goals. I’ve found myself again, I’m finally in good health (physically and emotionally) and I strive to cultivate Christian virtues. Would my previous 4-month marriage (with no kids that came out of it) be a deal breaker for many of you Christian men? I take full accountability for my stupidity, but now that I know what to look for in a man and not to rush into marriage, I really want the chance to build a Christ-centered family!

Upon the return of todo, I have come to notice a trend in events that happen in shinjuku showdown (Sukuna fight) that align with events that happened, specifically regarding Yuji, in shibuya.
The arcs both start out with gojo dogwalking his competition at first glance, only to be killed or sealed by a previously unknown variable.
https://ibb.co/TYf6yd1
https://ibb.co/P5gYBWW
https://ibb.co/WH5G8WJ
https://ibb.co/8xvZM99
Sukuna vs Jogo and vs Kashimo are also similar. A very strong opponent, seeking a something from Sukuna, is then absolutely destroyed by sukuna. Sukuna appears in their death scene to give them lessons about those who are the strongest.
https://ibb.co/St1zC7N
https://ibb.co/cr3phYS
The following are events I noticed that occur in the same order for yuji in both arcs:

1. The death of a mentor. Nanamis death mirrors higuruma’s death. This one is pretty self explanatory. They both were an older and more mature/ jaded role model for yuji. both were initially disapproving of yuji, only to be moved by his purity. Yuji is helpless both times. They also both turned to jujutsu due to difficulties in their normal lives.

https://ibb.co/4SQTFkr
https://ibb.co/BnZXN49
https://ibb.co/rMBJH3S
https://ibb.co/cgYXjZC

1. The death of someone dear to yuji. Choso’s death mirrors nobara’s death(?). Both assisted yuji to set him up for a beat down on the main antagonist and are subsequently killed by said main antagonist in a sudden and saddening moment. Yuji then loses hope and determination.

https://ibb.co/XS2r7hs
https://ibb.co/Z6Cbj5b
https://ibb.co/3vZXKj8
https://ibb.co/YT3hBcQ

1. Shortly after 2, Todo arrives. Todo heightens yuji’s resolve, and yuji locks in. A subsequent beating ensues where yuji rocks the antsgonist’s shit. Todo outsmarts the antagonist by using his technique creatively. Both antagonists are wary of todo. Yuji beats the antagonist close to death

https://ibb.co/k1wGvrd
https://ibb.co/9vThRRX
https://ibb.co/3NqJyHg
https://ibb.co/7vt314s
If major events were to be repeated, “gojo” is Kenjaku. Yuji was currently ripping out sukuna’s chest and it’s clear that he is close to being finished. What happened when yuji was almost done with Mahito? Kenjaku swooped in to use Mahito for his diabolical plan.
https://ibb.co/NNzFzHR
https://ibb.co/mbFxVgn
Sukuna currently holds Baby tengen, the fetus merger. I for one do not believe we will go the entire story without seeing Kenjaku switch bodies at least once, and I know gege would love to make the most insane cliffhanger just to completely switch it up on us.
https://ibb.co/9g2v09r
If you’re wondering why I think kenjaku survived, I just don’t think he would be caught like that without a contingency. he is still wrapped in so much mystery, especially since we don’t even know how long he’s been alive (at least 1000 years.)
I have another hunch that kenjaku and tengen were the “discoverers” and developers of concentrated jujutsu. I can make a post on that, if anyone is interested. Thats it!
To be clear, I am not confident in this theory, but I noticed these parallels and wanted to see what you all think. While I think there’s not much of a chance of this happening, since gege did mention that kenjaku was unsure about possessing someone with the 6 eyes, I’m not going to assume that that is the end all be all of the situation.

Sorry for the long post. Just wanted to share a small victory I’ve had against a 7 month long constant never ending flare up. And how my mission to get a smooth va-jay (which I hoped would lessen irritation on my never ending flare up) actually appears to have healed it!
I’ve been getting recurring boils in my groin for years, always the same spot right on my bikini line where my underwear sits. I’ve had the same flare up, a patch of 3 boils repeatedly filling, draining, filling and draining again since November. It has not healed I’ve had antibiotics, clindamycin, fucidin cream and hydrocortisone cream, benzoyl peroxide prescribed aswell as trying other remedies and nothing has worked. I was at the end of my tether last week , not sure if it’s hidradenitis but I have multiple holes in the same area that seems to be getting bigger.
I have been avoiding shaving down there as to not make it worse. I was considering using nair because after a certain point I have to get rid of the hair as it seems to start causing even more irritation, saving in turn causes another flare it’s a vicious cycle…. but theni came across a post on Reddit, apparently it’s quite a famous response from a stripper about how she shaves to avoid irritation and ingrowns.
I did the following steps after finally being brave enough to try it, it sounded like it would cause hell down there to be honest, all those products I thought would cause extreme irritation but here goes: 24 hours before shaving I used FAB ingrown hair pads, immediately before shaving I gently exfoliated using FAB kp bump eraser scrub. I then applied johnsons aloe Vera baby oil all over my bikini area. And let it soften all the hair. Using men’s shaving gel and a mens razor I shaved, I avoided my flare up but shaved to within 5mm of where my drained boil is. After I got out the bath I dabbed on rubbing alcohol and once dried I applied Mitchum unscented deodorant stick.
I reapplied the deodorant 3 x a day as I liked how it kept down there nice and dry and smooth, I also dabbed rubbing alcohol just on my bikini line and a little on the area that flares up every morning.
It has been 1 week of this routine and for the first time in 7 months I am healing! I can see a little scarring forming but I’ll take that over a big painful boil. Normally within 24 hours of shaving I have a boil filling back up again and it’s really sore and irritated.
I’m continuing with the deodorant down there as I feel like that’s the main thing that’s helping me. I’m not sure if I should continue the rubbing alcohol as I don’t know if it’s safe for continued use on skin but I believe that helped too.
I wanted to share because I’m wondering if one of the main causes of my own flares was moisture in the crease of my bikini line. I know this is TMI but I’ve always had a fairly large mons pubis even though I’m not overweight so that skin is constantly rubbing against my thigh, especially after shaving the stubble starts to rub on the flare and it starts to come to a head.
No matter how much talc I’ve used in the past it’s never stayed dry, that area for me always feels sweaty and just uncomfortable.
I was skeptical of using deodorant down there incase it irritated things and I was especially nervous to use rubbing alcohol and baby oil too. I’ve used glycolic acid, tea tree, Vicks, sudocrem, benzoyl peroxide, clindamycin, flucloxacillin, most recently prescribed fucidin cream which actually irritated it more, hydrocortisone cream, hydrocolloid patches.. So many things. And plain old unscented deodorant has so far helped the most.
Just thought I’d share!
Edited to add: my actual pubic area where I’ve shaved is very slightly itchy but nowhere near as much as usual, my main surprise has been how well it’s helped my flare up. I mainly went into this thinking it would give me a smooth shave with less irritation, not expecting it to heal my flare!

I'm looking for a new brand of cheap (around $20 or less) men's V-neck t-shirts that are sold in XXL with longer short sleeves but fitted arm holes (I hate feeling like I have bat wings), at least 28in long, cotton or cotton mix (stretchy & breathable are good), medium weight, a variety of colors (heathered is preferred) and hold up well without showing signs of wear.
I tried cheap ($10) Ralph Lauren V necks from a department store that fit well, but the armpit area started to pill after wearing it once, so I'm hoping to find something better.
My previous favorite is Kohl's Apt. 9 Premier Flex, but they run small and don't have 3XL.
I feel like men's shirts are always thicker and have longer short sleeves than women's t-shirts... the issue with fit is usually with the arm holes coming down too far.
I looked in the Wiki but it does not have recommendations of men's clothing that fit women well, etc.
Thank you.

Please save the "are you holding RMB" comments!
Long story short I can't hit the zombie in the hat at all. Closed and restarted the game and tutorial 4 times now and swinging the frying pan does nothing whatsoever.
I've changed the targeting to outline zombies for all weapons and doesn't change anything. I can push the zombie around but I can't hit it.
I know I can just watch a video to learn the basics before jumping into a game but I prefer playing tutorials for myself.
I can't find any example of anyone having the same issue online - and thoughts or suggestions?