I currently work at a place I detest. In my state, slot machines are installed in restaurants, bars, gas stations, and other locations. I work for a company that services around 250 such locations. I started as a technician, which was a fantastic learning experience. After a few years, I got promoted to the highest level tech position. While I'm grateful for what I've learned, I can no longer stand my current job. The issues I have with it are unfixable, and I just don't want to continue.
Recently, my cousin, who manages another company, offered me a way out. I verbally accepted the offer, though nothing is written or confirmed yet. We're discussing my potential start sometime in the middle of next month. However, today I received an offer for a position I'm more interested in at a different company, where my friend works after leaving our current company due to similar frustrations.
I'm torn because if I tell my cousin I prefer the other position, I'm worried it might affect our relationship. Any advice would be appreciated.

PC
Reddit Account: aleswylde
Discord Tag: nyctalus
Name and House: Alesander Wylde
Age: 21
Cultural Group: Stormlander
Appearance: (Alesander)[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/795794062673313802/1237190479834251304/shellshock3d_A_portrait_of_a_25_year_old_male_character_with_em_ef9d7e59-3c76-43d7-a121-96c9c35c5c93.png?ex=664be26c&is=664a90ec&hm=992926bc73c333be91c7ff7814d4447f7b2ee139bc5c8f35e8ee8f8ce6b7fb60&] bears resemblance to the rest of his family and truly among them he may be the plainest of face. Of no great beauty or stature, the man blends easily within the Rain House.
Trait: Mastermind
Skill(s): Schemer (e), Investigator (e), Devious
Talent(s): Fishing, Hawking, Dancing
Negative Trait(s): N/A
*Starting Title(s): * Scion of House Wylde
Starting Location: Opening Event
Timeline:
4 AC: Alesander is born to Ormund Wylde, brother of Lord Jon, and his wife Elenei Caron.
6 AC: Shyra is born to Ormund and Elenei.
13 AC: Ormund is sent to the Stepstones. Alesander is brought with and he uses the time making friends among other nobles, assisting his father as a squire.
15 AC: Ormund and Elenei are killed in the Kingswood Catastrophe. Alesander is nearly slain but a Dornish squire named Edric Sand saves him from the attacking bandit.
20 AC: Attempts on Lord Jon’s life prompt Alesander to become more protective of his younger sister and cousins. He develops a greater interest in what goes on in the Stormlands, particularly its more criminal element.
21 AC: Alesander takes a diplomatic trip to Sunspear in hopes of a trade agreement. During his time there he managed to track down the squire Edric. After offering hefty bribes, Edric is released from his service and swears his spear to Alesander.
22 AC: Wanting more connections around the realm, Alesander spends a year opening a brothel in King’s Landing. Over the next three years he would take more than a few clients to bed, leveraging the intimacy into a sizable network of informants.
24 AC: Edric’s network grows and over the moons he manages to quell unrest where he can, preventing more than a few assassins from breaching the walls of Rain House again.
25 AC: Alesander journeys with his family to the Princes’ Hunt.
Family Tree: https://www.familyecho.com/?p=NU9L6&c=uzrvn1exrzmzfas7&f=518040057787944479
AC
Name and House: Edric Sand
Age: 23
Cultural Group: Dorish
Appearance: A graceful beauty, Edric is as charismatic as he is skilled at the spear. Always standing just slightly taller than someone else, he tries not to flaunt what muscle he's grown over the years.
*Trait: * Hale
Skill(s): Polearms, Shields, Brute
Talent(s): Fishing, Fletching, Knitting
Negative Trait(s): n/a
Starting Title(s): Knight of the Rain House
Starting Location: Opening Event
Timeline:
2 AC: Edric is born a bastard in Dorne.
10 AC: Edric begins to squire for a knight, learning how to tend to armor and carry a spear.
13 AC: Edric journeys to the Stepstones and serves as a squire to the Dornish forces.
15 AC: In the Kingswood, Edric manages to save a few nobles from slaughter, where he meets Alesander Wylde.
16 AC: Edric is made a knight for his skills and his bravery in the Kingswood.
21 AC: Edric is approached by Alesander Wylde and offered patronage, a deal which Edric accepts with the blessing of his Lord.
22 AC: Over the years Edric serves as Alesander’s bodyguard for the man’s more morally ambiguous dealings.
25 AC: Edric travels with Alesander to the Princes’ Hunt.
NPCs:
Borys - Questioner
Corwin - Cutthroat

My [35M] brother [34M] is going to be divorced soon and he needs to find a new place to live. He says that since I'm also looking for a new place to live, we should find a place together. I don't want to and now he's mad and won't let it go.
He met his wife in 2012, and they got married in 2015. His wife is a dentist. She is in the military. They got married after she graduated dental school and completed her basic and other military training. Ever since they got married they have only lived on military bases, either here or overseas. She is currently stationed here, domestically. Once the divorce becomes final my brother won't be able to live on the base. I think he said he has 30 days to leave the base once he's divorced.
I'm looking for a new place to live too. I qualified for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. I have been a public defender since I graduated from law school. My student loans were my only debt. Now that my loans were forgiven and I don't have to worry about monthly loan payments every month, not only can I afford to start saving for a down payment, I can afford to find a place to live alone. I've lived with roommates since I went to college 17 years ago.
Since my current lease ending coincides with my brother having to leave the base he wants to move to my state so we can live together. Not for us to split bills and expenses, he wants me to help him financially for an undetermined period of time. My brother has a B.A. in anthropology, and job experience working at Subway while he was in college and as a retail manager for three years from after he graduated until he got married. He doesn't have any recent work experience because he told me it was difficult to find a job having to always move for his wife's military assignments. I've offered to look his resume over but he says living together and me helping him would help more.
Since they always lived on base the only assets that were divided were two vehicles and a bank account. My brother won't get any support payments because he had an affair [both their home state where she enlisted/they got married, and the state they are stationed in forbid support payments to a spouse who had an affair]. The division of the assests was also less than an equal split because of it. Almost all the money my brother did get went towards his own legal costs.
I had a former classmate who works in family law recommend an attorney for my brother. I gave him a bit of money to help with the costs. I said I would look over his resume and assist him with job searching. But I don't want to live with him or financially support him. I don't think it's my responsibility and I don't think it's wrong that I want to live alone, or don't want to delay starting to save for a down payment. I couldn't do either of those things if I took in my brother or financially supported him. The state I live in also has a higher cost of living compared to both the state he lives in now or his home state where he met her and got married. I think my brother would have an easier time there.
I just feel like he's acting entitled because he's an adult who has no physical or mental conditions that mean he can't work. Our parents are both deceased and our only other relatives are our aunt and our cousin and they both told him the same thing as me. I don't see why this is my responsibility and I think what I've done/offered him is already above and beyond what I had to do. I just needed to vent since he's directing his anger at me and being childish.

Emperor Zodiac Services is back on reddit to provide you my servicesI have been selling since TI10 and stopped due to complication with reddit postings.

But now I have returned to provide service to those who are interested as there is coin to be made.
For proof of legitimacy as a businessman please look at my steam profile
Mode of payment Gcash/Coins.ph/Paypal/Paymaya
Down payment of half or full payment is a must for transaction to proceed to avoid joy riders
If interested feel free to message me in reddit or in steam ( Prefer steam as I am more active there) ^^

1 Time Item CC for sale	Quantity	Price
Glory of the Elderflame (Lina)	(Available = 1)	$40
Lineage of the Stormlords (Juggernaut)	(Available = 1)	$40
Eyriebound Imperator (Skywrath Mage)	(Available = 1)	$50
Vision of the Seraph Scion (Vengeful Spirit)	(Available = 0) (Sold = 1)	$60
Indomitable Legacy (Sven)	(Available = 1)	$100
Footfalls of the Spore Fathers (Witch Doctor)	(Available = 1)	$120

TI8 Collectors Cache	Quantity	Price
Dread Ascendance (Doom Bringer)	(Available = 1)	$60

TI9 Collectors Cache	Quantity	Price
Prized Acquisition (Batrider)	(Available = 1)	$15

Nemestice Collectors Cache	Quantity	Price
Caerulian Stars (Enchantress)	(Available = 2)	$6
Litany of the Damned (Doombringer)	(Available = 1)	$15
Twilight Hex (Dark Willow)	(Available = 2)	$10

Aghanims Collectors Cache	Quantity	Price
Forgotten Fate (Mars)	(Available = 1)	$10
Perils of the Red Banks (Chen)	(Available = 2)	$10
Rare: Pyrexae Polymorph Perfected (Ogre Magi)	(Available = 1)	$35

Diretide Collectors Cache I	Quantity	Price
Crimson Dawn (Phoenix)	(Available = 4)	$6
Deathstick Shaman (Witch Doctor)	(Available = 1)	$8
Dirge Amplifier (Undying)	(Available = 3)	$6
Seadog's Stash (Clockwork)	(Available = 2)	$6

Diretide Collectors Cache II	Quantity	Price
Cursed Cryptbreaker (Pudge)	(Available = 2)	$6
Darkbrew's Transgression (Alchemist)	(Available = 2)	$6
Dawn of Darkness Foretold (Doombringer)	(Available = 1)	$8
Grand Suppresor (Silencer)	(Available = 1)	$8
War Rig Eradicators (Techies)	(Available = 1)	$8
Withering Pain (Boneclinkz)	(Available = 1)	$8
Rare: Grudges of the Gallows Tree (Treant Protector)	(Available = 3)	$15
Rare: Brands of the Reaper (Anti-Mage)	(Available = 1)	$30

Summer 2023 Collectors Cache	Quantity	Price
Ancestral Heritage (Jakiro)	(Available = 3)	$4
Astral Herald (Dawnbreaker)	(Available = 2)	$6
Beast of Thunder (Storm Spirit)	(Available = 3)	$4
Crescent Huntress (Spectre)	(Available = 4)	$4
Darkwood Eulogy (Death Prophet)	(Available = 3)	$4
Dezun Viper (Dazzle)	(Available = 2)	$6
Primeval Abomination (Primal Beast)	(Available = 2)	$6
Sea Spirit (Kunka)	(Available = 3)	$4
Spectral Shadow (Abaddon)	(Available = 1)	$8
Taur Rider (Alchemist)	(Available = 4)	$4
Tomo'Kan Footsoldier (Hoodwink)	(Available = 1)	$6
Triumph of the Imperatrix (Legion Commander)	(Available = 2)	$6
Tyrant of the Veil (Wraith King)	(Available = 3)	$4

Hi, I’m going to be meeting my cousin at the airport for 2-3 hours before she flies out and was wondering where would be a good place to get a quick bite to eat. Arrival will be between 8-9 AM and her flight out is at 1 PM. As close to the airport at possible is preferred, although I think I read somewhere that the airport food service workers are currently on strike? Just looking to get food and talk. Would be taking transit, although in an absolute pinch I may be able to try for an Uber instead.
I was looking at Eggspectation, it’s 4 mins away by Uber or 50 mins away by transit 😰
Any suggestions?

OOC: Co-Written with u/VictoriousBaffon :)
When Maxwell took the job to refuel the car, he figured he would be the one doing the oil change. Quick business, 20 minutes in and out. Wrenches, rags, the whole shabang. Easy job, easy brownie points for the empty Techne cabin. Let’s clear the three elephants in the room, though.
Firstly. Why is the job labeled as refueling the car when it actually needs an oil change? That’s not a refueling! That’s an oil change!
Secondly! Why did he need to find a mechanic? Maxwell could do it! It’s easy! You just put the car on a jack, crawl under it, remove the oil pan screw, wait for it to drain, screw it back in, remove the filter, replace it with the new one, and then add oil at the top! Whatever. One day, he might just do something like that here.
Thirdly…
“Theo, why did you sign up for this?” Maxwell questioned his girlfriend as she approached, a grin plastered on her face.
“Oh, come on, Max. It says it right there! One of you probably needs to know how to drive! I can drive, and, besides, if you went alone, someone might try to steal you from me, and I can’t have that.” She said simply, patting Maxwell’s cheek affectionately.
“Theo, nobody would try to steal me from you. Besides, it’s not like the mechanic is far. Maybe… 12 miles? That’s, what…” He scratched his head, his fingers moving in a way as if they were typing on an invisible keyboard, “20 minutes? Half an hour? If that.” He said simply before something clicked in his brain. “Hey! I can drive too!”
“Mario Kart doesn’t count. Not even that old one from some 30 years ago where you actually steer with the remote.”
“Mario Kart Wii is probably more realistic than what you’ve done. Besides, when have you driven?”
Theodora shrugged nonchalantly as she explained, “Nikita showed me how. I’ve driven around in an empty parking lot once or twice, so I figure I’m more qualified.”
Maxwell sighed, shaking his head. “I really feel like we should get someone who has an actual license on hand. Besides, Theo, this is an entirely different beast! New York traffic is infamous for being impossible to navigate without wanting to burn your horn out with how much you use it!”
“Max, c’mon. We’ve got seatbelts for a reason. ‘Sides, who’s gonna know?”
“Me! You! Hell, I wouldn’t be shocked if Mr. D, Chiron, or Lady A found out! No, I will not let you drive!” Maxwell stomped his foot on the ground as he huffed, coming off as more adorable than actually scary or intimidating. Of course, unphased as always, Theodora just laughed as she kissed her boyfriend.
“You’re the worst…”
“I love you too, Max.”
Maxwell stood beside the van, looking down at the ground as he nudged Theo, nodding towards an approaching NPC daughter of Hypnos. Theodora glanced at her boyfriend exasperatedly, making the son of Techne just shake his head as the daughter of the god of sleep got into the driver’s seat.
Maxwell got into the back seats of the van, leaving shotgun open if Theo wanted it. She did not. Instead, she decided to get back at her boyfriend for daring to doubt her ability to drive, license be damned. That’s why she got in the backseat with Maxwell, deciding to get into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck, taking great satisfaction in the flushing of his face.
The daughter of Nike couldn’t help but laugh slightly at how easily the boy flushed, teasing him. “Something wrong, Max?” She asked nonchalantly as she fiddled and toyed with the drawstrings on Maxwell’s hoodie.
“Yes? One. We’re about to leave, and you’re on my lap. That’s… Not safe. Two. We’re not exactly alone, Theo. Three. This is my seat!” Maxwell listed off his reasons for wanting Theo to get off of his lap, unable to meet her eyes as he did so.
“Buzzkill.” Theo rolled her eyes as she slid off of Maxwell’s lap, plopping down right next to him afterwards. She got adjusted in her seat, wrapping an arm around Maxwell’s shoulder, pulling him close to her as the three demigods rode off towards the mechanic.
The mechanic was no further than half an hour out from camp, and the car ride was… Uneventful, to say the least. Mostly the occasional murmur from the young couple in the back, mostly about things such as Sam– Theo’s cousin, the son of Hecate– and his relationship with the other Sam, or about how Theo could go to the Techne cabin at any time due to it being mostly empty now.
Thankfully, right as Theodora was about to fall asleep from boredom, the car came to a halt as the daughter of sleep, who had driven them here with a valid driver’s license, of course, gave the keys to the mortal mechanic, telling him they needed an oil change. This was, of course, the cue for Maxwell, Theo, and their chauffeur to get out of the van, Maxwell stretching out as he did so.
Now, it was pleasantly warm outside today, and, as such, Maxwell decided to take his hoodie off, revealing a pair of overalls underneath. By the look of things, he really had his little heart set on changing the oil himself. Now, of course, the instant he took his hoodie off, Theo paused to check her boyfriend out just a bit think about something. For all of a second. The daughter of victory was quick to the draw thanks to her superior speed. Maxwell’s own creation, the flight-capable Omnichao, could only fly at 15 miles to the hour. Theodora, on the other hand, at her maximum potential, could blast past the automaton at a mindboggling 23 miles an hour. With this speed, dexterity, and agility, Theo could do a lot of things.
This includes stealing the seafoam green hoodie from Maxwell’s hands.
Maxwell’s eyes went wide as the hoodie was ripped from his hands. Of course, he kept a loose grip on it, but he didn’t expect it to just be ripped out like that. “Theo!” Maxwell said sharply, turning around, pouting as he saw her putting his hoodie on. There was a decent size difference between Maxwell’s clothes and Theo’s, and it showed. Maxie’s hoodie was just a little bit large on Theodora, and it was clear she was loving this. The grin on her face said it all as she spoke, “What? You clearly don’t want it on right now. That’s why you took it off, right? For me?”
“That’s–”
“That’s not–”
“I didn’t–”
“I knew it. Oh, I must be the luckiest girl alive.” Theo stuck her tongue out as Maxwell attempted to plead his case. “‘Sides, it smells like you, and I like having things which remind me of you.” Seeing Maxwell’s eyes roll, Theo clicked her tongue before she approached Maxwell, wrapping her arms around his neck as she kissed his nose. “I’ll let you have one of mine in exchange. Deal?”
“...Deal.” Maxwell sighed, folding his arms across his chest as he subconsciously used his thermal grasp power to steal some bodily heat from the blonde.
Mortal mechanics work fast. Provided they’re competent, that is. This particular mortal, who semeed no more than 40, seemed competent, though, as if making sure, Maxwell subtly watched from behind. The last thing he needed was for the three of them to be on their way back, only for the car to try to use gunk shot, and blast oil all over the freeway like they were laying the course for a Mario Kart track.
Thankfully, Maxwell couldn’t find any faults within the mechanic’s working. The man charged the trio of demigods a large fee of 70 USD, which made Maxwell cringe, taking a mental note to just ask if he could do it himself next time. He could’ve done it for a fraction of that price. 30 USD, if that. But, whatever. Not his problem. It would normally have been the problem of Theo’s moms, except for two issues. One. It’s not even a problem– they’re millionaires. 70 dollars is like pricking someone on the finger for one measly droplet of blood. They’d survive. Two. It seemed as though the daughter of Hypnos had them covered. Well, that was nice of her. The three campers all climbed back into the van after they paid for the mechanic’s service, riding back off to camp. Discussions between Maxwell and Theo mostly consisted of topics such as, ”When are we going to spar?”, ”My sleep schedule is fine.”, and, ”Since when did you appear in the news?” Normal demigod business. Another half of an hour passed, and the three demigods rolled up, the van still notably in one piece. Maxwell and Theo talked about it before they decided that they probably(?) didn’t have to go to the big house to make an announcement. It’s not like they fought monsters, much to the disappointment of Theodora.
Instead, Maxwell allowed himself to be dragged off to cabin 17 for the hoodie he was promised from Theo.

DAY: May 18 2024

• 5-18-2024 HAVE SMARTPHONES KILLED THE ART OF CONVERSATION? Once upon a time, human relationships unfolded without smartphones. The reality may be hard to recall, so profoundly have these devices transformed the way we relate to the world and others in fifteen years or so. As an anthropologist interested in modernity, I am particularly preoccupied by the impact of these devices on our conversations. In my book, “The End of the Conversation? Words in a Spectral Society” (French original: “La fin de la conversation? La parole dans une société spectrale”), I investigate the pernicious effects of this technology
• 5-18-2024 HOW TO REWARD EMPLOYEES FAIRLY AND IMPROVE TEAM DYNAMICS A recent study has shed light on how to reward employees more fairly and improve team dynamics. The study found that when less skilled employees report their performance voluntarily, they often exaggerate their achievements and ask for higher bonuses. These employees also tend to put in less effort and are less concerned about fairness when sharing their contributions voluntarily. Interestingly, the researchers discovered that requiring employees to explain their contributions leads to fairer decisions about bonus allocation and improves
• 5-19-2024 BILLIONS ARE SPENT ON EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, BUT WE DON’T KNOW IF IT WORKS During the COVID lockdowns, schools and universities worldwide relied on education technology—edtech—to keep students learning. They used online platforms to give lessons, mark work and send feedback, used apps to teach and introduced students to programs that let them work together on projects. In the aftermath of school closures, the market for edtech has kept on growing. The value of the sector is projected to rise to US$132.4 billion globally by 2032. The problem is that we don’t know very much about how effective many edtech apps or programs
• 5-19-2024 STUDY FINDS CONSUMERS WILLING TO PAY MORE FOR NATURALLY COLORED COTTON CLOTHING Research has looked at consumer attitudes toward naturally colored cotton clothing. The study found that amid increasing concerns over the environmental impact of conventional cotton processing, consumers are willing to pay more for a greener T-shirt.
• 5-18-2024 HOW AI IS SHAPING THE FUTURE OF SALES STRATEGIES In the fast-evolving business landscape, artificial intelligence, or AI, is taking center stage in transforming sales processes, making them more efficient and responsive to the dynamic market demands. A new University of Alabama at Birmingham study titled “AI in Sales: Laying the Foundations for Future Research” highlights the pivotal role AI is playing in reshaping the sales sector.
• 5-18-2024 WHEN CONSUMERS WOULD PREFER A CHATBOT OVER A PERSON Actually, sometimes consumers don’t want to talk to a real person when they’re shopping online, a new study suggests. In fact, what they really want is a chatbot that makes it clear that it is not human at all. In a new study, researchers found that people preferred interacting with chatbots when they felt embarrassed about what they were buying online—items like antidiarrheal medicine or, for some people, skin care products. “In general, research shows people would rather interact with a human customer service agent
• 5-18-2024 NEW STUDY REVEALS THE POTENTIAL OF COACHING EMPLOYEES TO DRIVE NEW STRATEGIC IDEAS In the landscape of modern business, inclusion isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a strategic imperative. Companies like IBM, Volkswagen and Starbucks are moving to more participative strategy development approaches that reflect a growing understanding of the importance of diversity in fostering innovative and creative strategic ideas. Yet the outcomes of inclusive strategy processes often fall short of expectations. A new study in the Strategic Management Journal sheds light on why that may be. In their study of an inclusive strategy process in a large insurance company, Violetta Splitter, along with co-authors
• 5-18-2024 RESEARCHERS SHOW WAYS TO PROPEL PRODUCT SUCCESS New research explores the key strategies that firms should adopt when launching a new product. The researchers say that these strategies depend on the current market view of the product and the firm. Employing the correct one, which might sometimes be collaborating with overtly demanding reviewers or instituting rather challenging pilot tests, ensures that the product launch will go as successfully as possible.
• 5-18-2024 RESEARCHERS DEVELOP ALGORITHMS TO UNDERSTAND HOW HUMANS FORM BODY PART VOCABULARIES An example of the study’s language sample and the words for arm/hand and leg/foot in English and Wolof. Human bodies have similar designs. However, languages differ in the way they divide the body into parts and name them. For example, English speakers have two words for foot and leg, whereas other languages express the concepts foot and leg in one word.
• 5-18-2024 STUDY FINDS AVOIDING SOCIAL MEDIA BEFORE AN ELECTION HAS LITTLE TO NO EFFECT ON PEOPLE’S POLITICAL VIEWS In the weeks before and after the 2020 presidential election, researchers ran a number of tests to try to understand how much Facebook and its corporate cousin, Instagram, may be contributing to the nation’s political divide. One of those experiments—led by Matthew Gentzkow and Hunt Allcott, economics professors at Stanford University—centered on more than 35,000 Facebook and Instagram users who were paid to stay off the platforms in the run-up to Election Day. There’s a lot that researchers could glean from the social media hiatus, including whether people’s political attitudes
• 5-18-2024 USING COMPUTER MODELS TO UNDERSTAND THE DEBATE ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE Different types of noise and how they act inside or outside the social interaction process. Cognitive biases are among the most important factors that prevent people from changing their minds. Climate change deniers and climate activists often tend to accept only information that confirms their respective opinions on the matter. However, opinion dynamics are also influenced by a factor that the researchers call “ambiguity noise.” Unlike biases, ambiguity noise is variable, depends on many random factors, and leads to inconsistent judgment.
• 5-18-2024 FOR SOME INDIGENOUS SOUTHERN PLAINS TRIBES, AN ORIGINAL FLUTE SONG IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARD MARRIAGE “Warrior with flute” by Timothy Tate Nevaquaya. Used with permission. Credit: Timothy Tate Nevaquaya Every love story is unique, and in traditional Indigenous Southern Plains culture, it begins with an original ballad performed on the flute. In order to win a lover’s affection, and respect among the tribe, each pursuer must compose one good flute serenade. Paula Conlon, a former music professor at the University of Oklahoma, has researched the history and cultural significance of the Indigenous flute since the 1980s. Conlon presents her work Tuesday, May 14, at 9:45
• 5-18-2024 WANT TO BE AN INFLUENCER? OUR RESEARCH SHOWS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FIRST You’re hard at work, lying in a hammock, composing the perfect selfie on the beach. The turquoise sea sets off the idyllic sunset, and just visible though the fronds of a palm tree is the logo of the hotel which is paying you to promote it to your millions of followers on Instagram. Click. The perfect shot. And another typically perfect day in the life of an influencer. Or is it? Certainly a career as an influencer can seem appealing. The work generally involves promoting products or services through sponsored
• 5-18-2024 WHY STUDENTS CHEAT IN ONLINE EXAMS Media psychologists at the University of Cologne have studied how students’ individual needs, conceptions and reasons relate to cheating behavior in online exams. Online exams have become a more common type of exam at universities, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. They are advantageous because they save time and offer flexibility. However, cheating attempts present a big challenge for lecturers. This is why universities have been working on ways to thwart cheating in online exams by putting organizational and technical measures into place.
• 5-18-2024 WHY STUDENTS CHEAT IN ONLINE EXAMS Trust and distrust in social media coexisted in the study participants. Credit: Emmaline Nelsen Are anti-misinformation interventions on social media working as intended? It depends, according to a new study surveyed over 1,700 participants in the United States, revealing that anti-misinformation features increased users’ awareness of misinformation in social media; but did not make them more likely to share information on social media
• 5-18-2024 MOST CRIME HAS FALLEN BY 90% IN 30 YEARS—SO WHY DOES THE PUBLIC THINK IT’S INCREASED? Seventy-eight percent of people in England and Wales think that crime has gone up in the last few years, according to the latest survey. But the data on actual crime shows the exact opposite. As of 2024, violence, burglary and car crime have been declining for 30 years and by close to 90%, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW)—our best indicator of true crime levels. Unlike police data, the CSEW is not subject to variations in reporting and recording. The drop in violence includes domestic violence
• 5-18-2024 MOST CRIME HAS FALLEN BY 90% IN 30 YEARS—SO WHY DOES THE PUBLIC THINK IT’S INCREASED? Can we truly assess whether someone finds us attractive? Cognitive psychologist Iliana Samara discovered that men, in particular, tend to overestimate the interest of their date. She explains why this may be. “Imagine you walk into a packed bar, looking for a date. Your eyes are naturally drawn to attractive faces. If you’re a man and find someone attractive, you’re more likely to assume they’re also interested in you. “Then, when you approach them, whether you’re a man or woman
• 5-18-2024 MOST CRIME HAS FALLEN BY 90% IN 30 YEARS—SO WHY DOES THE PUBLIC THINK IT’S INCREASED? Having more education has long been linked to better individual health. But those benefits are also contagious, say the co-authors of a new working paper. “It’s not just that the individuals who have more years of education are in better health,” said David M. Cutler, Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics. “It’s that even people with fewer years of education—for example, people with just a high school degree—are in better health when they live around
• 5-18-2024 MOST CRIME HAS FALLEN BY 90% IN 30 YEARS—SO WHY DOES THE PUBLIC THINK IT’S INCREASED? Our research on children in early primary years, show they are better are writing with a pen or pencil than a keyboard. Children today are growing up surrounded by technology. So it’s easy to assume they will be able to write effectively using a keyboard. But our research suggests this is not necessarily true. We need to actively teach students to be able to type as well as write using paper and pen or pencil. Our research Our research team has published two recent
• 5-18-2024 MOST CRIME HAS FALLEN BY 90% IN 30 YEARS—SO WHY DOES THE PUBLIC THINK IT’S INCREASED? The provision of therapies for children and young people (CYP) with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) can be an affectively challenging, sometimes procedurally complex, process for the various stakeholders involved. However, the efficiency and effectiveness of this process, are crucial to various outcomes, in particular
• 5-18-2024 HOW DO MINDFULNESS, COMPASSION AND NEED FULFILLMENT AFFECT SATISFACTION IN MIDLIFE MARRIED COUPLES? Many people practice mindfulness or self-compassion techniques in their everyday life as part of their normal self-care routine. Although many studies support the individual benefits of mindfulness and self-compassion, few have focused on romantic relationship outcomes. A new study published in Personal Relationships has examined how mindfulness, self- and other-compassion, and need fulfillment relate to relationship and sexual satisfaction in midlife married couples. The study involved survey results from 640 adults aged 40–59 years who were residing in Canada and were married. Mindfulness is the nonjudgmental attention and awareness to
• 5-18-2024 HOW ENTERTAINMENT BRANDS ARE ADAPTING TO GENERATION ALPHA Growing up, did you play with hyper-sexualized Barbie dolls, boys-only Thomas the Tank Engine trains, or slim, white Disney princesses? If so, you’re not alone, but this is no longer the case for Generation Alpha. Brands like Mattel, once criticized for promoting unrealistic body standards and gender stereotypes, now portray themselves as feminist and progressive. The recent Barbie movie serves as a prime example of this shift. Millennial parents are actively seeking out toys, books and movies to educate their children about life and teach them values that align
• 5-18-2024 STUDENTS WITH DYSLEXIA FACE CHALLENGES TRANSITIONING TO THE WORKPLACE, BUT WITH SUPPORT THEY CAN THRIVE Transitioning from university to the workplace is a critical period in anyone’s life, but it can be especially challenging for students with dyslexia. While academic settings often offer accommodations for people with dyslexia, professional environments often fall short on such support systems. Fortunately, there are strategic interventions that can be established in workplaces to help individuals with dyslexia not only adapt, but excel in their careers. It is estimated that up to 20% of the population has dyslexia and 80% of people with a learning disability have dyslexia
• 5-18-2024 BUSINESSES UNINTENTIONALLY DISCOURAGE DIVERSE IDEAS, FINDS STUDY Businesses influence the ideas they receive from external contributors by unintentionally signaling which ideas they like, a research analyzed 1.44 million ideas to understand how organizations unknowingly shape the ideas they receive. Data came from organizations that asked visitors how they could improve their websites before choosing which ideas to use. Chosen ideas were communicated for all to see.
• 5-18-2024 WHAT’S IN A NAME? A LINGUISTICS EXPERT EXPLAINS WHY SOME BABY NAMES DOMINATE THE CHARTS YEAR AFTER YEAR What do names like Noah, James, Mateo, Mia, Evelyn and Luna all have in common? They’re not only some of the top baby names in the United States, but they also seem to flow off the tongue. And that’s exactly why parents love them. On May 10, the Social Security Administration released a list of the top baby names in the United States in 2023. Liam and Olivia maintained the number one spot in their respective categories for the fifth consecutive year while Noah and Emma also retained second place.
• 5-18-2024 ACCESS TO GARDENS AND CITIZEN SCIENCE HELPS ENCOURAGE CONSERVATION AMONG CHILDREN, STUDY SHOWS Access to gardens and citizen science projects at school can help promote pro-conservation behavior among pupils, a new study shows. Offering children the chance to take part in authentic scientific ecological work and gardening encourages an interest in plants. This can change behavior—to spend more time gardening or to pursue a botanical career—and fuels a positive attitude towards safeguarding the environment, experts found
• 5-18-2024 WHAT PROFESSIONALS EXPECT FROM FUTURE EMPLOYERS Employers who want to attract new talent should recognize diversity and enable inclusion. This is confirmed by a representative study by IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU), which surveyed more than 1,200 trainees and students across Germany. The results clearly show that 75.1% of prospective employees consider it very or somewhat important that companies implement measures to promote diversity and inclusion. This suggests that companies that communicate these measures openly and transparently
• 5-18-2024 RESEARCH LINKS VOTER BEHAVIOR IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS TO HOUSING MARKET PERFORMANCE If the 21st century has proven anything to the United States electorate, it is that presidential elections are notoriously unpredictable affairs. The seeming randomness by which the country’s electorate chooses its next president has only emboldened polling outlets, talking heads, and amateur psephologists to scrutinize every conceivable variable to give their respective electoral forecasting models a much-needed edge. However, Sherwood Clements, collegiate assistant professor of real estate in the Pamplin College of Business, had an electoral theory that, to the best of his knowledge, had never been explored with regards
• 5-18-2024 RESEARCH LINKS VOTER BEHAVIOR IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS TO HOUSING MARKET PERFORMANCE If the 21st century has proven anything to the United States electorate, it is that presidential elections are notoriously unpredictable affairs. The seeming randomness by which the country’s electorate chooses its next president has only emboldened polling outlets, talking heads, and amateur psephologists to scrutinize every conceivable variable to give their respective electoral forecasting models a much-needed edge. However, Sherwood Clements, collegiate assistant professor of real estate in the Pamplin College of Business, had an electoral theory that, to the best of his knowledge, had never been explored with regards
• 5-18-2024 MECHANISTIC MODEL SHOWS HOW MUCH GOSSIP IS NEEDED TO FOSTER SOCIAL COOPERATION Gossip often has a negative connotation, but imagine you are part of a group deciding on a job candidate to hire or a local political candidate to back. Candidates who get a good reputation by helping others may be more likely to receive help in the form of a job offer or endorsement, a feedback loop known as indirect reciprocity. Gossip can facilitate cooperation. Previous research has shown that people tend to cooperate more when they think their peers are gossiping about their behavior, gossip
• 5-18-2024 SINGING RESEARCHERS FIND CROSS-CULTURAL PATTERNS IN MUSIC AND LANGUAGE Are acoustic features of music and spoken language shared across cultures? Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen have contributed to a global study of music and speech, published in Science Advances. An international team of researchers recorded themselves performing traditional music and speaking in their native language. In all 50+ languages
• 5-18-2024 NEW RESEARCH REVEALS JUST HOW FEW LGBTQI+ PEOPLE PLAY SPORTS The topic of homophobia in sport has recently made headlines in Australia, with a series of homophobic incidents involving men’s AFL players. These homophobic incidents are usually well-reported in news media, but research has rarely explored the impact on participation for LGBTQI+ people. Fresh research into the problem Our new research is one of the first pieces of academic research in Australia to document how many LGBTQI+ people play and engage with sport. We also explored current levels of discrimination across sport in Australia, and the barriers and enablers
• 5-18-2024 SWIPE RIGHT OR LEFT? HOW DATING APPS ARE IMPACTING MODERN MASCULINITY What it means to be a man is changing. Critical men or masculinity studies is an emerging robust research field that explores how men and masculinity are being transformed by shifting socio-economic, sexual and political conditions in our post-industrial world. Fascinating new male-identifying sub-cultures and communities have emerged, like mushroomcore and dandies. Yet heteronormative masculinity is typically framed as threatening, toxic or maladaptive, as in the case of fragile masculinity. In my years of swiping on dating apps, I encountered different kinds of masculinities, as well as some very offensive
• 5-18-2024 RESEARCHERS SAY AUTOMATED NEWS VIDEO PRODUCTION IS BETTER WITH A HUMAN TOUCH AI-generated videos for short messages are only as well received as manually created ones if they are edited by humans. News organizations—including Bloomberg, Reuters, and The Economist—have been using AI powered video services to meet growing audience demand for audio-visual material. A study recently published in the journal Journalism now shows that the automated production of news videos is better with human supervision. Technology providers like Wochit and Moovly are allowing publishers to mass produce videos at scale. But what do audiences think of the results? Researchers led by LMU
• 5-18-2024 HOW ‘ETHICAL INFLUENCERS’ ENGAGE THEIR AUDIENCES ABOUT SAVING THE PLANET Have a quick think back to the last time you scrolled through social media. Maybe it was this morning, last night or a few minutes ago. What do you recall? One thing you’re bound to remember is the continuous stream of influencers showing off their latest content. These could be videos of influencers discussing the latest skin-care products, the trendiest places to eat, their latest shopping haul or the PR packages they received from various brands. Much of social media influencing is about getting consumers to buy more products.
• 5-18-2024 ALLYSHIP IS ESSENTIAL TO NEW MOTHERS RETURNING TO WORK, SAYS STUDY Returning to work after parental leave can be one of the most challenging experiences for any parents, especially mothers, to navigate. Fortunately, there are simple, kind and thoughtful ways in which organizational members—regardless of formal status, parental identity or gender identity—can help mothers feel supported as they return to work, which can also benefit job satisfaction and maternal well-being.
• 5-18-2024 STUDY FINDS SAYING ‘PLEASE’ MAY NOT BE SO POLITE IN EVERYDAY REQUESTS By kindergarten age, most children have been taught that “please” is a magic word. “Please” is an expression of politeness that shows courtesy and respect, turning a potential demand into a request that will—poof!—magically be granted. But a new study on the ways people make requests of one another suggests that “please” might not be an all-purpose marker of politeness, but rather a more focused, strategic tool to manage frictions or obstacles among family members, friends and even coworkers.
• 5-18-2024 MILITARY RANK AFFECTS MEDICAL CARE, OFFERING SOCIETAL INSIGHTS: STUDY Stock project from Pexels Human relationships are inherently shaped by power dynamics, yet quantifying their impact has remained a scientific challenge. Now, a large new study published Thursday in the journal Science reveals that military doctors give more attention to higher-ranked patients, providing concrete evidence about the privileges that come with elevated status, frequently at the expense of the less powerful. “One of the things we are trying to show is that this is not a military-specific analysis,”
• 5-18-2024 RESEARCHERS DISCUSS CURRENT STATE OF HOMOPHOBIA, TRANSPHOBIA AND BIPHOBIA Gender-neutral bathrooms, conversion therapy and Quebec’s advisory committee on gender identity have been in the news lately. These are polarizing, hot-button issues. While there have been legislative and social advances for LGBTQ+ rights, ignorance and discrimination persist and continue to negatively affect the lives of many. On May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, UdeMNouvelles asked two Université de Montréal professors and researchers who are experts in the field to share their views.
• 5-18-2024 PICKLEBALL COURTS IN A LEGAL PICKLE OVER THE ASSOCIATED NOISE Experts recommend HOAs and communities consider the “popping” noise associated with pickleball when deciding to build courts near homes. Credit: AIP Pickleball Legal Consultant is a job title that likely did not exist a decade ago, but as pickleball courts infiltrate neighborhoods to satiate an appetite for a sport whose namesake is a snack, communities take issue with the resulting influx of noise. Now homeowners’ associations and city councils face litigation by those whose lives are disrupted by pickleball’s din. Charles Leahy, an attorney, retired mechanical engineer, and former HOA
• 5-18-2024 TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING HOW COMPANIES DO BUSINESS In the fast-paced world of modern business, technology plays a crucial role in shaping how companies operate. One area where this impact is particularly significant is in the organization of production chains—specifically the way goods are made and distributed. A new study from the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business advances understanding of the U.S. production chain evolution amidst technological progress in information technology (IT), shedding light on the complex connections between business IT investments and organizational design. Advances in IT have sparked significant changes in how companies design
• 5-18-2024 HOW DOES THE US KNOW THAT FORCED LABOR IS HAPPENING IN CHINA? A SUPPLY CHAIN EXPERT WEIGHS IN The Biden administration has added 26 more companies to the list of Chinese textile traders and manufacturers whose goods are blocked from entering the United States because of their alleged ties to forced labor. The banned imports, known as the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, names businesses that are said to be involved in exploiting

I apologize, the reason this is so long is because 1.) I suck at summarizing 2.) backstory of some sort is needed to understand this excuse of a man and/or human being. 3.) I’m not a good storyteller, but you are, Charlotte, and I know you can take this mess of info and turn it into a beautiful, long-time-coming, petty revenge story for your channel. Because what is more petty than an herbal, flowery Trojan horse no one knows about?
Cast: OP-me Swister- my older sister Mom - mine and my sister’s mom, grandmother to Trish/Patty BIL- exactly who it says, and a huge butthole. Patty/Trish - the same person, a four year old little girl, product of union between BIL and Swister.
Some (bit rambling to explain some stuff) backstory:
Last winter, to get out of the horrible, freezing, painfully striking sleet (it would not pass over our town, was just there, stuck in a vortex, for what seemed like eternity) of January in our hometown (we were always just a couple degrees away from it being snow, and quite a few times we got lots of hail, some as big as softballs, and could damage cars and punch through windshields, etc. I know this sounds like ‘The Long Winter’ by Laura Ingalls Wilder, but both me and my mom (I’m disabled and have to live with someone to help in every day life, I’m not a high school dropout living in mommy’s basement playing fortnight or assassin’s creed and have memorized cheat codes. The only video games I’ve ever played were duck hunt, which my grandpa actually got for himself bc he loved to hunt, so I only got to play it in turns with my five other cousins when we visited him); and N64’s Zelda:Ocarina of Time. I hope those titles illustrate for you the last time I played a video game. Oh! And the Oregon Trail, but I always died of some disease that doesn’t happen today or is curable with fluids, rest, and maybe some penicillin. But I digress.) but both me and my mom and my older sister (who was pregnant at the time) and BIL moved about 15 minutes down a little used two lane highway. And when my niece was born late 2019, we named her Patricia after my grandmother. (Patty or Trish for short).
My BIL claims he can smell everything ten times better than any other human, ‘probably because I’m an Alpha Male, and I need heightened senses to protect my pack, my family.’ Okay, I won’t deny he is sensitive to scent, but if his food doesn’t come out smelling right (almost always made special order bc of his ‘allergies’ (that’s what he tells the waitress; in reality, he just doesn’t want stuff he doesn’t like on his plate, and is too fucking lazy to just take the single pickle chip off the McDonald’s cheeseburger. If half of America can do it, why not him? ‘I might smell and taste it with my superhuman olfactory senses.’ He said with a very sincere, serious tone and face, like I was in special education and couldn’t understand it was 1,2,3, not 1,3,2. He is an arrogant misogynistic asshole. My sister could have done sooooooo much better. Idk y she chose him to marry (for a general idea of all what he looks like, speaks like, and sounds like (minus the slight lisp) is the video of the ‘dating coach’ who took the video in his car, opening it with ‘you do not have to accept her rejection, say things like I’m the best, why wouldn’t you want me, you should see my basement with ropes and pulleys and hooks, and do you know what a did with her that night? Well, it’s not appropriate to talk about on this platform”… yeah, that guy, except for the lisp, could be my BIL IDENTICAL twin. Anyway, now you know BIL is a creepy, asshole, bastard with no sense of boundaries or personal space, who think women are lesser than him. Moving on.
I also suffer from anxiety, insomnia, and a few other things that require me to take meds that can slow down your breathing, so if I can take care of my pain, anxiety, and insomnia without having to take a narcotic or benzo, and it works, I choose that path first. Some of these ways are ice packs, heating pads, a special herbal tea, aromatherapy, yoga, sleeping surrounded by pillows like I were in a nest, making sure to do a little bit of some exercise and always taking my daily walks (I don’t want the pain to get so bad from being sedentary I will require a wheelchair before I absolutely have to) and don’t always want to be popping clonapen or oxy or morphine all day and falling asleep, especially around my niece. I don’t want her to ever believe pills fix problems.
So to escape the horrible winter in our new home environment, my mom decided to use her saved-up reward points and book us all a ten day trip to Disney Aulani Hawaii, specifically Disney bc of my niece. My mom and I had been there before, in 2020, right when resorts opened back up at much less than capacity because of COVID rules, and we had gone for a week, so I knew they had an awesome spa I could spend my saved vacation money on.
The minute we step into our two bedroom, two full bath (each with both a shower and separate tubs!), an ok sized but capable kitchen, and a nice, big, comfy furniture filled common room/living room. All of my stuff I put in the room I’d be sharing with my mom, then took my niece to go and get her first Shirley Temple (they are a virgin cocktail I have loved as a kid, still do, that are super easy to make the ghetto way - diet 7up (diet taste better in the cocktail, idk why, it just the way the Gods have decreed it so), grenadine, and maraschino cherries (as many as you want, but kids usually get two and adults one. I think this is unfair) and tada! You have a Shirley Temple.
So I’m walking back to the room, both of us holding our reusable drink cups for our stay (if you bring the cup with you, you get any non alcoholic drink for free during your stay. Coolcool.) And I open the door and hear my mom and sister begging BIL to just stop it, let it go, just enjoy the ten days here. BIL is in MY room, going through MY things, yelling at mom and sis to leave him alone, he has to find it, it reeks, etc. I’m like, GTFO of my stuff, this is extremely violating, sister, are you not concerned and pissed he is pawing through my bra and panties right now, ‘looking for hidden pockets’?
Finally, he grabs this 15 or 20 mL vial I have, a pain relieving roll on I use for my migraines and tension headaches, about $55 after tax, not including S&H. I had left my almost empty one at home, and this was a brand new vial, safety wrapping still on. He blames me, said I was trying to ruin ‘his hard earned vacation’ (he has no job, only looks after my niece enough to feed her (most of the time) and my sister had to find a high -enough paying job so she could work from home so she could do every job like she were a single mother. The only chore he does, and only like 65% of the time (they love to eat out and/or order in) is cooking, and as much as I hate him, sometimes his dishes are good. Not phenomenal, like he practically requires everyone to praise it as, even if he just added sage basil and oregano to a frozen pizza.
So I ask, “how the hell can you smell that? There is the outer plastic seal and the inner lid seal?” And he goes off on being an Alpha Males and olfactory nonsense. Then he takes the vial and runs out of the room with it. He takes it to a housekeeping services cart several doors down and spikes I into her trash can, which by the thunk sound the vial made told me not only was her trash nearly or almost nearly empty, and that he had broken and wasted a valuable medical tool because he is batshit crazy and doesn’t see me as a person outside of how I interact with his everyday life, like I’m a NPC who doesn’t exist or say anything until a real person player comes into my field of awareness. He pawed through every item I owned, including underwear and opening my tampons one to sniff (I especially bought no scented for this trip, and he went and ruined a whole box of them (I’m not putting a previously opened and practically stuck up my BIL’s nose tampons! It’s not just unsanitary, it’s gross on so many levels! I also save up what little money I have leftover from my SSDI monthly checks, so over several months, I had saved up to buy that, bc it worked where others just smelled good but didn’t take the tension headache or migraine away. He has never had to pay for things with his own money, so has no concept of it, of saving money, of worth.
I stewed and stewed and I knew I had to be as petty as possible and still not get caught. I was still thinking these thoughts on our third to last day while I got an unusual massage at the Aulani spa. First is usual deep tissue massage, but then they rub your back and skin with tingly oils and take what looks like the contents of a bag of tea (very heady and fragrant in that small room) and rub it all over you, wrap you up for 15 min, scrape it off you, also taking excess body oil and dead skin cells with it as it goes. And then, smelling all those wonderful scents, I had a genius thought. As she scraped the herbs and stuff off my skin into a bowl, I asked for a to go bag for the herbs, and pretended I wanted to put them in a foot bath I was giving myself tonight in my room. Shockingly, they agreed, and gave me all the scrapings, herbs, essential &body oils, and dead skin cells, in a linen drawstring bag they said I could just toss the whole bag into the hot water.
Now, when I travel, I always pack duct tape in my checked baggage. To make sure shampoo, conditioner, lotion, stuff like that, wet and messy? So it will stay in the bottle with the top duct taped both on shut and to the top of the bottle. Nobody was in the room; they were taking a hike my physical disabilities made very challenging (like an 7-8/10 for me, and a 3.4.5/10 for them) over broken terrain and off trail a bit to climb to a waterfall, so I had said ‘I’m going to the spa. Peace!’ So nobody was back from the hike yet, but I had no idea when they would be, so I acted fast. I grabbed my duct tape and went into sister and BIL’s room and squished and squiggled my way as far under the bed as I could, an duct taped the linen bag of herbs and scrapings right under where he would lay his head to rest at night (according to his ‘Alpha Wolf’ status, he was always on the side of the bed between the door and the rest of his collectables in his room.
We had that day, two more days, and three nights left. BIL did not sleep a wink during that entire time - he had housekeeping change the bedding (including duvets and their covers) several times in that small frame of time, and demanded of my mom to rent him (on my moms dime, not this 40 y o mans money, the mooching leach, but her carefully budgeted money and visa card points hoarded over years.) his own, just perfectly sanitized room, obviously something had been left here by a former guest that was rotting. Finally, FINALLY my mom and sister had HAD IT. He whined and moaned more than my four yo niece. They finally ripped him a new one, saying he had been acting like an entitled baby man with delusions he is more important than he is, that we as women should fawn over him, and that he had already ruined all of ours, but especially my vacation by tossing my personal property and screaming at me for wearing perfume when I didn't even pack any. At one point I even piped up, ‘I didn’t put up with my father treating me like this, what makes you think I’m gonna take it from you?’ (AN/OP: my father abused me and mom and sister our whole lives. Lots of verbal, emotional, psychological abuse. Sister had it pretty literally; mom had it worst. But when my dad had 100% custody of me at beginning of divorce, my sister went away to college and moved out within the following two weeks, and I was his sole remaining target. For three years straight. Other, even more horrible disgusting things he did to me I’ve only just started to talk about, and don’t want my whole life blasted online while I deal.
So i got my silent, sweet-smelling revenge. For those 3 days and 3 nights, he didn't sleep a wink, which meant he couldn't keep his 'good guy' image up, and everyone saw how he treats me, and I'm no longer a liaexaggerating. I hope some act of God, or him driving around while completely wasted, as he does every single freaking day. He a waste of space, a waste of oxygen.
Again, the reason this is so long is because 1.) I suck at summarizing 2.) backstory of some sort was needed 3.) I’m not a good storyteller, but you are, Charlotte, and I know you can take this mess of info and turn it into a beautiful, long-time-coming, petty revenge story for your channel. Because what is more petty than an herbal, flowery Trojan horse type thing?
PS: he never did repay me for the OVER $300 worth of MY STUFF he upped and just tossed, or first broke then tossed, because it either offended his nose or him, personally, even though he begrudgingly promised to do so, and my sister promised he would. I only had like a 10% belief he would, but he has no money of his own, how was he gonna do that? Yes, I admit, I keep a record of anything I hear about him doing something negative, so one day if my sister even starts to consider divorce, I can whip out journal/notebook and show her his patterns, and he has always been this way, and he won’t ever change.

AITA
This is gonna be probably pretty long and all over the place but I'll try and keep it straight and to the point.
So I have a daughter. She is 11 almost 12. For the first 9+ years of her life her dad had not been involved. ( She was a fortune product of a one night stand) When he showed up almost two years ago it was with some fabricated story that a child support case worker alienated him and threatened him with harassment if he pursued a relationship with his daughter. I did try to reach out a couple times when she was younger trying to encourage a relationship between them and all attempts went ignored. He says this is because he was afraid I was setting him up. Well up until this past December I took him at his word. He was semi involved until that point. In December he met a woman and all contact stopped minus a few check ins and multiple inappropriate messages to me considering he was in a relationship. Each time this happened I would lay a boundary. During one of these contacts he promised he'd send his child support and $100 for Christmas/Birthday gift for her. That did not happen. He instead sent me a dirty video saying he "hoped that made up for it" 🤮🤮🤮 at this point I lost my iiisssshhhhh on him and told him essentially he was in a relationship and needed to knock it off. I didn't want to see that and it was disrespectful to me and his partner.
He moved in with this partner within a month of meeting her. Red flag right?
Before he met her I was trying to help him find an apartment locally as he lives 200 miles away. I absolutely advocated for him to have a relationship with his daughter from the second he showed up because I've never been the type to keep my children from their father unless it was for good reason. He was supposed to get her a phone and pay for it so they could maintain contact. Never happened. I supplied the phone and the service and it was silent.
After he had sent me that video I had put him on restricted on FB so I didn't get any messages from him. I finally get a call from him on Valentine's day apologizing for his behavior and letting me know he was sending some child support that day.
Then at some point in March he reaches out again saying he was no longer with this girl and he was sorry for his absence and he'd do better. The following week our daughter's phone caught fire and I let him know (not that he was contacting her anyways). The next day he said his cousin had gifted him a phone and he wanted to send it to our daughter. Cool. Let's do it. Then he texts a few days later saying he would be in a town 45 miles south of me and could I meet him and said girlfriend to receive the phone and bring our daughter so he could see her. (At this point the last I knew him and chick had broken up). I said no thanks you can drop it in the mail and I would not be bringing our daughter to meet him with the on again off again girlfriend. I found that extremely disrespectful as he had stopped contact with our daughter when he met this woman and I did not feel comfortable bringing my daughter to meet her or even really dealing with her myself. They obviously have an unstable relationship. He called me petty, we had som choice words and again I didn't hear from him.
Two days ago our daughter was admitted to a psychiatric facility after I found some very concerning diary entries by my daughter talking about Una living herself.
Since coming into our lives my daughter has turned into a mean spirited person. She will fat shame her brothers, hit and push her you get siblings and is just kind of generally abusive to everyone around her. She's told me multiple times she's angry at him and very hurt.
Anyways, I figured he ought to know she's being admitted as this is pretty serious. His response was "we are trying to figure a way up there". As in him and the girlfriend were going to come up while our child was in crisis. I went off again. Telling him again he has chosen this woman over our daughter and how dare he think it's appropriate to bring this woman up here while outr daughter is in crisis. I told him it is up to our daughter if they are involved and just showing up ESPECIALLY with the person she feels (justifyibly so) that he chose over her while she's in crisis. He come back with he has no idea why I'm bringing it back to him and the girlfriend when we should be focusing on getting our daughter better. My stance is, he brought it up. He asked for eventually for us all to be able to be cool and again he implied he was going to try and bring her up here to visit our daughter in the hospital. I laid a boundary. And some how I am the one not focusing on our daughter right now.
This was yesterday and I have not heard one word from him. He has not inquired as to how our daughter is, what facility she is at, how he can contact her. Nothing. I am so irate at this point I am seeing red.
AITA for being so angry at him? In my state abandonment is after 6 months. He was gone for 9 years. He has been inconsistent at best especially the last 6 months or so. Would I be justified in just blocking him and continuing on with our life like he never showed up?

the cops took her, the 13 yro walked to his uncles, and the 17 yro was at his cousins till the next day.
we took them to our rented house in the next county. previous tenants tore down all the doors, left holes in the walls, took off some outlet covers? working with landlord to fix but between our jobs and his jobs its a long term project.
we are prepared to take them long term if needed (mom arrested over the weekend, no updates besides what they got her for) since uncle couldnt help much beyond feeding 13yro and taking him to his brother. they have a full house rn so they couldnt keep him for long, and the moms brother has been MIA for months.
at this point we dgaf about mom, i just wanna know what we need to get custody of it comes to that besides a less trappy house. we both are employed and had already planned to take the 17yro for the summer so he could find a summer job. were working on getting my boyfriends insurance back so were going to social services this week anyways. gonns try again for food stamps but their mom has the 17 and 13 yro claimed on her EBT and we dont have custody so idk what we can do w that?
mom also wasnt happy when she called and we told her we were taking the boys but we cant find any other family to take them (17 yro doesnt know his dad, 13yros dad is an older man who walked out and has cancer. no ones heard from him) so it really is just us that could take them. the only other person we know we didnt try bc its their retiree great aunt who also has cancer.
do we need to do anything to mitigate possible legal issues on our side or should we just take them to social services with us?

Pls tell me what you would do in this situation — My mom and dad separated when I was 3 years old. My mom went through postpartum depression and other mental health issues after having my youngest sister (there’s 4 of us & I am the oldest). With her mental health declining at the time, she would have several “episodes”, a string of car accidents and other life-threatening events. My dad wasn’t around at all during that time. We eventually got placed in child protective services and they reached out to my dad to pick us up.
My dad gained full custody of us and later that year sent us to Haiti to stay with his side of the family who we’ve never met before, I was 4 at the time. My siblings and I were instructed to not ask for or talk about our mom, out of fear we didn’t. Years later when I was in college and back in the USA, I decided to start looking for my mom (now that I had the courage and autonomy to do so). I ended up finding a family member on Facebook who connected me to my mom. By this time, i graduated college and got my first corporate job.
I was excited to reconnect with my mom and start rebuilding the relationship. However, that has not been the case because so much time has passed and so much pain and hurt is still affecting us, including my siblings (they were so young at the time so they don’t really remember her).
I’ve only seen her twice and almost every time we talk on the phone, she asks me for money or to help out with something that I can’t afford to do. Recently, my older cousin (who has been caring for my mom and 30 years my senior) asked if I can start paying for my mom’s rent. I am not rich by any means but have been able to care for myself well. Also, since reconnecting with my mom, my dad no longer speaks to me and we have a very estranged relationship.
I want to help out, I really do but I don’t want the relationship to be about me giving them money. I also can’t afford to pay my rent and her rent in this economy. It really sucks because this isn’t the relationship I envisioned having with my mother. And it also breaks my heart seeing her not really care to have a close genuine relationship. She’s old now and has been through a lot so I feel a sense of guilt to tell them no, and also a sense of responsibility since I am her oldest child. I have contemplated blocking them and moving on with my life because I’ve gone through so much therapy to be “ok” and interacting with them doesn’t feel positive. But at the same time I’m willing to send what I can to help the situation.
What would you do?

TLDR: MY daughters dad showed up 2 years ago and has been inconsistent at best in these two years. AITA for wanting to block him and proceed as if he never contacted us?
AITA
This is gonna be probably pretty long and all over the place but I'll try and keep it straight and to the point.
So I have a daughter. She is 11 almost 12. For the first 9+ years of her life her dad had not been involved. ( She was a fortune product of a one night stand) When he showed up almost two years ago it was with some fabricated story that a child support case worker alienated him and threatened him with harassment if he pursued a relationship with his daughter. I did try to reach out a couple times when she was younger trying to encourage a relationship between them and all attempts went ignored. He says this is because he was afraid I was setting him up. Well up until this past December I took him at his word. He was semi involved until that point. In December he met a woman and all contact stopped minus a few check ins and multiple inappropriate messages to me considering he was in a relationship. Each time this happened I would lay a boundary. During one of these contacts he promised he'd send his child support and $100 for Christmas/Birthday gift for her. That did not happen. He instead sent me a dirty video saying he "hoped that made up for it" 🤮🤮🤮 at this point I lost my iiisssshhhhh on him and told him essentially he was in a relationship and needed to knock it off. I didn't want to see that and it was disrespectful to me and his partner.
He moved in with this partner within a month of meeting her. Red flag right?
Before he met her I was trying to help him find an apartment locally as he lives 200 miles away. I absolutely advocated for him to have a relationship with his daughter from the second he showed up because I've never been the type to keep my children from their father unless it was for good reason. He was supposed to get her a phone and pay for it so they could maintain contact. Never happened. I supplied the phone and the service and it was silent.
After he had sent me that video I had put him on restricted on FB so I didn't get any messages from him. I finally get a call from him on Valentine's day apologizing for his behavior and letting me know he was sending some child support that day.
Then at some point in March he reaches out again saying he was no longer with this girl and he was sorry for his absence and he'd do better. The following week our daughter's phone caught fire and I let him know (not that he was contacting her anyways). The next day he said his cousin had gifted him a phone and he wanted to send it to our daughter. Cool. Let's do it. Then he texts a few days later saying he would be in a town 45 miles south of me and could I meet him and said girlfriend to receive the phone and bring our daughter so he could see her. (At this point the last I knew him and chick had broken up). I said no thanks you can drop it in the mail and I would not be bringing our daughter to meet him with the on again off again girlfriend. I found that extremely disrespectful as he had stopped contact with our daughter when he met this woman and I did not feel comfortable bringing my daughter to meet her or even really dealing with her myself. They obviously have an unstable relationship. He called me petty, we had som choice words and again I didn't hear from him.
Two days ago our daughter was admitted to a psychiatric facility after I found some very concerning diary entries by my daughter talking about Una living herself.
Since coming into our lives my daughter has turned into a mean spirited person. She will fat shame her brothers, hit and push her you get siblings and is just kind of generally abusive to everyone around her. She's told me multiple times she's angry at him and very hurt.
Anyways, I figured he ought to know she's being admitted as this is pretty serious. His response was "we are trying to figure a way up there". As in him and the girlfriend were going to come up while our child was in crisis. I went off again. Telling him again he has chosen this woman over our daughter and how dare he think it's appropriate to bring this woman up here while outr daughter is in crisis. I told him it is up to our daughter if they are involved and just showing up ESPECIALLY with the person she feels (justifyibly so) that he chose over her while she's in crisis. He come back with he has no idea why I'm bringing it back to him and the girlfriend when we should be focusing on getting our daughter better. My stance is, he brought it up. He asked for eventually for us all to be able to be cool and again he implied he was going to try and bring her up here to visit our daughter in the hospital. I laid a boundary. And some how I am the one not focusing on our daughter right now.
This was yesterday and I have not heard one word from him. He has not inquired as to how our daughter is, what facility she is at, how he can contact her. Nothing. I am so irate at this point I am seeing red.
AITA for being so angry at him? In my state abandonment is after 6 months. He was gone for 9 years. He has been inconsistent at best especially the last 6 months or so. Would I be justified in just blocking him and continuing on with our life like he never showed up?

Basically, I’m a sucker for books where MC2 has been suffering in silence for a long time and has abandoned all expectations of a better life, but then suddenly MC1 realises what’s happening and devotes themselves fiercely to protecting MC2. I’d like the book to depict all three stages of the situation – starting with MC2 suffering and MC1 being oblivious, then showing the moment where MC1 realises what's happening, then showing the protection/comfort that comes after – but it doesn’t really matter to me what percentage of the book is devoted to which stage. I also don’t mind whether the reader knows about the suffering before MC1 or if they realise it at the same time, and I don’t mind what exactly the suffering consists of (most of the books l’ve read that fit the trope depict some kind of abuse, but it definitely doesn’t have to be that).
Some examples of books l've enjoyed that fit the trope: - Winter’s Orbit, Everina Maxwell – Kiem is a prince arranged to marry Jainan, who’s the widower of Kiem’s cousin Taam and who comes across as very cold and uptight. Eventually, Kiem realises that Taam was abusive, and that Jainan has assumed all marriages are like that and is now just waiting for Kiem to start hurting him. - A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, Foz Meadows – another arranged marriage one, but this time Vel was sexually assaulted by his ex before the marriage and expects it to happen again with his husband, Cae. Cae actually figures it out what’s happening ~30% of the way throunh the book, leaving a lot of time for the comfort side of things. - Orientation, Gregory Ashe – North & Shaw are best friends (and endgame lovers), North is in a physically abusive marriage but explains away the injuries as coming from boxing, eventually Shaw accidentally eavesdrops on him being beaten and is horrified. Interestingly, it takes a long time for Shaw to tell North that he’s figured out what’s happening. Shaw starts off by laying into North’s husband instead. - Prince of Agony, Tavia Lark – Kaz is a prince who releases magic when in pain, and this magic can then be harnessed by the person who inflicted the pain. His parents have whipped him in secret all his life and have taught him that everyone else will hurt him too if they know the truth, so he puts up a very cold front. Lucien is a prisoner at the palace whom Kaz has claimed as a personal slave, ostensibly to humiliate him but actually to protect him from a worse punishment, because he’s a total softie at heart. Lucien finally works out what’s going on and ends up basically defending Kaz from the other side of the power dynamic. - Empty Net, Avon Gale – Laurent is a minor-league hockey player who’s universally hated for acting like a jerk. He gets traded to a rival team as a back-up for their starter goalie, Isaac. Turns out that’s Laurent’s only like that because his father and ex-coach was horrifically abusive, and he’s gotten used to hurting people before they can hurt him. Isaac figures this out when he finds Laurent crying in the team shower with scars all over his back, and by the end of the book, the whole team has rallied together around him. - Two Man Station, Lisa Henry – Gio is a city policeman who used to date another officer on his team, but got him fired before the book starts – he blew the whistle about his ex’s drug use and how it was making him dangerously aggressive during arrests. The version of the story that spread through the police service was that Gio had made up a rumour about his ex to ruin his career, so he’s universally hated. His higher-ups transfer him to a small outback station as a kind of unofficial punishment, and his new partner, Jason, also gives him a very frosty reception. Eventually, Jason becomes the first person to learn not just the true circumstances of the firing, but also that Gio’s ex also used to beat him and that his old colleagues have been harassing him ever since the incident, including refusing to provide him with backup in the field, making anonymous phone calls threatening his niece, and sending unmarked packages containing dog food to his new station. Jason flips into being fiercely defensive of Gio, and it’s a delight to witness. - Watch Me, Sloane Kennedy – Jude is a high-flying businessman who comes across as very uptight and abrasive, but he’s actually just trying to hold down a high-stress job while dealing with severe ADHD and intense fear of failure from his time in foster care. Nikolai is his bodyguard who slowly sees through him and starts looking after him.
My ‘no’s in a book are: poly, incest including stepfamily stuff, BDSM (I can handle someone being tied up during sex or a tiny bit of a dom/sub vibe during sex, but nothing more intense than that), daddy kink, age play, and omegaverse.
Thanks so much everyone, really appreciate you even taking the time to read this far ❤️

Character Creation:

PC
Reddit Account: AnotherBabyEchidna
Discord Tag: thebrundun
Name and House: Willem Ryger
Age: 45
Cultural Group: RiverlandeValemen
Appearance: Willem Ryger always seems to have a coy smile about him, accentuated by his strong jawline and sharp cheekbones. His curly light brown hair has begun to thin, though his pronounced brows remain strong. Standing around six feet tall, his posture always exudes confidence, and his near-yellow brown eyes always seem to be hiding a secret or a joke.
Trait: Mastermind
Skill(s): Assassin (e), Covert (e), Devious
Talent(s): Philosophising, Carousing, Gambling
Negative Trait(s): n/a
Starting Title(s): Lord of Willow Wood, Ser
Starting Location: King’s Landing
Alternate Characters: n/a

Bio-Timeline:

• 20 BC: Willem is born into the cursed bloodline of House Ryger to Willow and Ryman Ryger. House Ryger has long kept their curse a secret to the outside world. As the story goes, at the birth of every Ryger there is a new weeping willow sprouted in their willow forests and the health of the weeping willow is said to be directly tied to the health of the Ryger.
• 18 BC: Willem’s brother, Marq, is born.
• 10 BC: Willem is sent to ward under Vance of Wayfarer’s Rest at the behest of his grandfather Lord Leo Ryger who detests the idea of his disappointment of a son raising the eventual heir of Willow Wood.
• 8 BC: Willem makes quick friends with Beck Bracken, also warding at Wayfarer’s rest, though he takes a special liking to his sister, Perra, and a childhood crush forms.
• 2 BC: Willem is knighted but the event is overshadowed by the capitulation of the Vances to Aegon the Conqueror. He returns home to Willow Wood where his grandfather informs him of the family curse and in order to avoid the curse he is sent to The Eyrie to join their court, quickly earning their trust and his outsider perspective and connections are used in the capacity of Master of the Thresholds. Also during this time his first son, a bastard named Rickard, is revealed to him. Despite the child being of common birth and mute, Willem takes him in to raise him as his own, though much of the raising is done by his servants.
• 1 BC: Funnily enough, similar to how Willem was present when King Aegon landed at Wayfarer’s Rest, Queen Visenya lands at The Eyrie, and Willem is one of the few advisors to Sharra to counsel bending the knee.
• 1 AC: Willem Ryger weds Lynese Hightower, though his true love is still Perra Bracken yet he spares her his family curse by not wedding her. Later in the year his first trueborn daughter is born and named Roslyn. Additionally, his nephew, Robyn, is born, and the pair of Robyn and Roslyn are inseparable.
• 2 AC: Willem and Lynese have another child and name her Mya.
• 5 AC: Willem and Lynese have their last child together, naming their son Myles, though the curse claims Lynese’s life shortly after his birth. After her death, his life of debauchery begins and he begins his yearly parties for the elite of Westeros. Another nephew, Addam, is also born, though Willem does not celebrate the addition to their family with his brother.
• 7 AC: Willem involves himself in the Tully plot against King Aegon, though his ties to the Vale arouse suspicion and he is barred from much of the decision making. Due to this untrust, he informs Lord Blackwood of the plot who takes on much of the burden of revealing the plot to Queen Visenya. Due to Willem’s close ties to the Vale and his lord grandfather’s acceptance, House Ryger swears fealty to House Arryn directly. During this time, the stress pushes Willem into the arms of his childhood crush, Perra Bracken, despite his continued refusal to wed her. Unbeknownst to him a child is spawned from this affair.
• 8 AC: Willem becomes a personal confidant and source of comfort to the grieving Queen Rhaenys. The intimacy of their relationship is kept a closely guarded secret, especially their bedding which results in another child unbeknownst to him. His duties to the Vale require a large distance to be maintained between them, forbidding any true relationship from developing.
• 10 AC: Willem is present for Sharra Arryn’s death yet at the same time his own father, Ryman Ryger, dies. Rather than return home, Willem persists in The Eyrie during the trying time for House Arryn. As Ronnel Arryn comes of age, Willem is retained as Master of the Thresholds.
• 11 AC: Willem’s grandfather, Lord Leo Ryger, dies soon after, as if he only lived out of spite to not see Ryman inherit Willow Wood. His death occurs after a visit to The Eyrie, the second time of visiting with the first being the oath to House Arryn, where Leo further informs Willem of their curse. Were a Ryger to stand quiet enough in the weeping willing forests of their home, he could hear their ancestors. Lastly, it is revealed that despite Leo’s attempts to shield Willem from the curse, a rot has set into Willem’s willow. Due to this, Willem accepts the counsel that his brother Marq take on much of the responsibility of ruling Willow Wood.
• 12 AC: Willem’s eldest daughter, Roslyn, is informed of everything that his grandfather has informed him of. He decides to keep Roslyn close and begin to teach her much of his subterfuge and sets her up to inherit many of his connections should he pass.
• 13 AC: Willem’s daughter, Mya, is sent to ‘squire’ for the Cavaliers upon their creation.
• 15 AC: Willem’s son, Myles, is sent to squire for the legendary knight Lord Corbray, though the boy is difficult to train mostly due to his protest of being sent away from his family.
• 18 AC: Willem’s bastard son, Rickard, is finally knighted and immediately following his ceremony he takes off to find where his commoner mother was sent off to. Unfortunately, the Riverwar breaks out during his travels and he finds himself on either side of the war depending on which side of the battle he happens to need to be on to continue his search for his mother.
• 19 AC: Willem is present for the wedding of Queen Visenya and Lord Lyn Egen and does his best to aid in the planning of the festivities.
• 20 AC: Willem’s brother, Marq, declares himself Regent of Willow Wood. While having been the de facto regent, the declaration comes under contention from Willem. To resolve the dispute, Roslyn is made Steward of Willow Wood and acts as eyes and ears for Willem. Her loyalties are in contention, unbeknownst to Willem, as Roslyn and her cousin Robyn further their relationship into intimacy.
• 22 AC: Willem’s bastard son, Rickard, returns from his travels. Being mute, his ability to convey his travels is limited, but the corpse he returns with bears the resemblance of the woman Willem bedded long ago. They put her body to rest in the weeping willow forests and Rickard forever swears his service to his father.
• 23 AC: Willem’s trueborn son, Myles, returns to Willem now a knight. He is given the truth of the family curse and his mental state further spirals, with his long protest of being sent away now given a proper justification. Willem brings the entire family to the forests to find each of their weeping willows, where Myles finds the rot of his father to have spread to his tree nonetheless. He vows to make his death worthwhile, though Willem cautions that despite his own tree having rot, he has yet to perish.
• 25 AC: Willem leads the entirety of House Ryger to the festivities in King’s Landing.

Family Tree:

https://www.familyecho.com/?p=START&c=3f566chlk4whp1yg&f=600232199387350859

Supporting Characters:

AC
Name and House: Roslyn Ryger
Age: 24
Cultural Group: RiverlandeValewoman
Appearance: Roslyn’s dark, straight hair and pale skin stand in sharp contrast to her father. Her amber eyes are inherited directly from him, however, as was her smile that often appears devious to some and endearing to others. Constantly lost in thought, she takes an unassuming posture, preferring to only display confidence when she feels she is in the right.
Trait: Insidious
Skill(s): Espionage (e), Investigator
Talent(s): Singing, Hunting, Gambling
Negative Trait(s): n/a
Starting Title(s): Steward of Willow Wood
Starting Location: King’s Landing
Alternate Characters: n/a
 
Archetypes/Notable Characters:

• Mya Ryger - Daughter of Willem; the resemblance is uncanny upon realizing that Roslyn inherited Willem’s cunning while Mya inherited charm. Aged 23. Tourney Knight archetype.
• Myles Ryger - Son of Willem and heir to Willow Wood; of whom has lost the luster of life in his eyes with an uneasy calm demeanor always present. Aged 20. Cutthroat archetype.
• Rickard Rivers - Bastard son of Willem; a mute who has devoted his life to a love of killing under the guise of being a knight. Aged 27.
• Marq Ryger - Brother to Willem; rather than enacting his cunning through subterfuge, he has instead proven his ability as a cunning commander with a true love of tactics. Aged 43.
• Robyn Ryger - Nephew to Willem; a man of true brilliance and joy for learning who has devoted his time to the art of revenue generation. Aged 24.
• Addam Ryger - Nephew to Willem; a kind-hearted simpleton that has been focused on the simplicity of combat. Aged 20.
• Septon-Maester Stephus - A long-time advisor to Willem; likely neither septon nor a maester, but his wisdom is vast, if often crude. Aged 68.

When I was growing up my mom had symptoms of borderline personality disorder and my dad had symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder. My parents were constantly extremely abusive.
When I reached the safety of young adulthood I felt safe talking to my aunt, my mom’s sister. I had a good job and was 100% financially independent. It was euphoric finally getting to tell someone after all these years without worrying about violent consequences.
My aunt criticized my parents for the abuse and it got back to my family. There was some event at my aunt’s church that I attended with her that my mom drove far to attend. I think it might have been a male cousin’s baptism who was the child of my mom’s and aunt’s younger brother.
When the church service was over my mom and aunt got into an argument in the church foyer!!!! It was so ridiculous and like an episode of Jerry Springer. My aunt complained about my mom beating us so my mom countered with, “You didn’t beat your kids enough! You raised three hippie atheists!” As if you convince somebody to believe something by beating them. My aunt later joked to me that they should contact Jerry Springer and try to make money off their fights.

Emperor Zodiac Services is back on reddit to provide you my servicesI have been selling since TI10 and stopped due to complication with reddit postings.

But now I have returned to provide service to those who are interested as there is coin to be made.
For proof of legitimacy as a businessman please look at my steam profile
Mode of payment Gcash/Coins.ph/Paypal/Paymaya
Down payment of half or full payment is a must for transaction to proceed to avoid joy riders
If interested feel free to message me in reddit or in steam ( Prefer steam as I am more active there) ^^

1 Time Item CC for sale	Quantity	Price
Glory of the Elderflame (Lina)	(Available = 1)	$40
Lineage of the Stormlords (Juggernaut)	(Available = 1)	$40
Eyriebound Imperator (Skywrath Mage)	(Available = 1)	$50
Vision of the Seraph Scion (Vengeful Spirit)	(Available = 0) (Sold = 1)	$60
Indomitable Legacy (Sven)	(Available = 1)	$100
Footfalls of the Spore Fathers (Witch Doctor)	(Available = 1)	$120

TI8 Collectors Cache	Quantity	Price
Dread Ascendance (Doom Bringer)	(Available = 1)	$60

TI9 Collectors Cache	Quantity	Price
Prized Acquisition (Batrider)	(Available = 1)	$15

Nemestice Collectors Cache	Quantity	Price
Caerulian Stars (Enchantress)	(Available = 2)	$6
Litany of the Damned (Doombringer)	(Available = 1)	$15
Twilight Hex (Dark Willow)	(Available = 2)	$10

Aghanims Collectors Cache	Quantity	Price
Forgotten Fate (Mars)	(Available = 1)	$10
Perils of the Red Banks (Chen)	(Available = 2)	$10
Rare: Pyrexae Polymorph Perfected (Ogre Magi)	(Available = 1)	$35

Diretide Collectors Cache I	Quantity	Price
Crimson Dawn (Phoenix)	(Available = 4)	$6
Deathstick Shaman (Witch Doctor)	(Available = 1)	$8
Dirge Amplifier (Undying)	(Available = 3)	$6
Seadog's Stash (Clockwork)	(Available = 2)	$6

Diretide Collectors Cache II	Quantity	Price
Cursed Cryptbreaker (Pudge)	(Available = 2)	$6
Darkbrew's Transgression (Alchemist)	(Available = 2)	$6
Dawn of Darkness Foretold (Doombringer)	(Available = 1)	$8
Grand Suppresor (Silencer)	(Available = 1)	$8
War Rig Eradicators (Techies)	(Available = 1)	$8
Withering Pain (Boneclinkz)	(Available = 1)	$8
Rare: Grudges of the Gallows Tree (Treant Protector)	(Available = 3)	$15
Rare: Brands of the Reaper (Anti-Mage)	(Available = 1)	$30

Summer 2023 Collectors Cache	Quantity	Price
Ancestral Heritage (Jakiro)	(Available = 3)	$4
Astral Herald (Dawnbreaker)	(Available = 2)	$6
Beast of Thunder (Storm Spirit)	(Available = 3)	$4
Crescent Huntress (Spectre)	(Available = 4)	$4
Darkwood Eulogy (Death Prophet)	(Available = 3)	$4
Dezun Viper (Dazzle)	(Available = 2)	$6
Primeval Abomination (Primal Beast)	(Available = 2)	$6
Sea Spirit (Kunka)	(Available = 3)	$4
Spectral Shadow (Abaddon)	(Available = 1)	$8
Taur Rider (Alchemist)	(Available = 4)	$4
Tomo'Kan Footsoldier (Hoodwink)	(Available = 1)	$6
Triumph of the Imperatrix (Legion Commander)	(Available = 2)	$6
Tyrant of the Veil (Wraith King)	(Available = 3)	$4

My husband was going to pick up wings from a local pizza place on his way home from work for us and my two cousins. We got two orders of fries to split and a total of 44 wings. The total came out to nearly $70. I was ordering from their website and it wanted me to add a tip. The lowest suggested tip about was nearly $10. Why are we tipping for food that we’re not having delivered? We are picking it up. I don’t have to tip whenever I go through the McDonald drive through. It’s insane. I always tip when it’s services that make sense. (Food delivery, waiting at a sit in restaurant, hair appts etc). So many times I’ve gone in somewhere to get food or something and had been asked to leave a tip.

I have had a generally good relationship with my ex and we have a parenting plan that was put in place when the now tween was a toddler. It has gotten kind of loose on following it and we've been pretty good and cooperative for the most part for the last few years. We have kind of a mixed up arrangement, with alternating weekends and splits during the week, but it was what worked for us and what we agreed to. It is not quite a perfect 50/50, it's more like 45/55. I make good money and we don't have any child support at issue, but try to split big bills, although I have picked up the lion's share of doctor bills recently.
The ex is remarried and it's been rocky, step mom and I don't always see eye to eye and she especially doesn't like the way the visitation is set up. It feels to me like she is wanting a cathartic knock down drag out fight, and I just refuse to be baited. Things have been... Contentious. Last weekend was mother's day, but it was his weekend, so that means a split weekend, same thing will happen in June for Father's Day as it falls on one of my weekends this year (alternating weekends). When I came to pick the kid up, it was raining and kid and dad were waiting in his truck as if to keep me from knocking on their door and running into step mom. Having mother's day and father's day is part of the parenting agreement.
Since things were so off-vibe, I told them I'd be open to renegotiate some things. We last made the plan when kid was little, if it's no longer working, I'm open to discussing it with dad, they just needed to articulate what they wanted as a starting place. One suggestion I made was that we make it a true 50/50 split and instead of the mid week split we go full week to week, with handoff Monday's at karate class. They didn't respond so after a couple weeks I wrote up a calendar with some ideas penciled in. In one of my schedule negotiation offers I proposed we also split the weekend after mother's day for step mother's day and they could have her that Sunday. This is not required in any way and the offer was not commented upon at the time about a month ago, and hasn't been brought up since. They never did come back with a more concrete on-going plan for visitation, but did schedule a vacation coming up.
This past week my mother reminded me that my cousin's play is this weekend. I had bought tickets for it back in November after confirming that it would fall one of my weekends, but forgotten about it when I offered step mother's day in my calendar draft. Another Aunt from the other side of the country is also in town for this performance; a relative who hasn't seen my kid since before COVID because the last time she came to town happened to also fall on a scheduled dad's holiday. Furthermore, since I made the offer to have step parents day for them, they scheduled a week of vacation for the first week of June. That is the week after memorial day weekend which they get the kid for the long weekend, and the week prior to a work trip I have had scheduled for months which they will also have kid for, and then the following weekend when I return from my work trip is that split father's day weekend, so I feel like this has changed the outlook quite a bit. I feel like they have used my good faith offer to negotiate and set out a schedule to find loop holes to cut me out of time with my kid, rather than be collaborative.
So this morning I get a text from the ex asking for the kid early tomorrow for this step mother's day trade.
I told them I was sorry and I knew it would cause hard feelings but that I was taking back the offer. He returned that he would cancel the vacation the first week of june to have her today, but i doubt that offer is genuine.
But now I'm second guessing myself. They are angry and I understand that, but I also feel like they have really been going out of their way to find a fight and that step mom is trying to alienate my kid and I. Should I have held to my word and let them have her since I did make the offer and try to keep the peace? Or, am I justified in pushing back, keeping my weekend and going to the play and dinner with the visiting Aunt, even if it depends hostilities?
We are really at the point that I think I should just go for it and hire the lawyer and start the process of renegotiating the agreement formally, (I offered to pay half to hire one of these collaborative set-fee divorce services to be a neutral arbitrator, but that also wasn't commented on- and since it would have to be collaborative, if they aren't interested, it may be time to start it unilaterally) but that won't provide a solution for the meantime. Does the internet hivemind think I should let the ex have the kid tomorrow or take the kid to the play?

My experience with porn started when I was 7 sneaking into the Living Room to sneak the Playboy Channel over 40 years ago. 37 years ago the curiosity turned into sexual abuse by a male babysitter. The abuse that happened over 2 years skewed my morals and caused me to act out with people in my family. Masturbation was for a long time a daily occurrence from 12 to 16. At 16 I met my first true girlfriend and we had sex a week after my 16th birthday. The shame was daily and as the abused, I was treated by my parents as a pariah a confused young man who withheld any grace that God may have been willing to part with. Looking at porn was hard to stop and masturbation was a daily occurrence. I struggled for years even while I was married to a local girl I met while in the service. I wanted to stop even with her as motivation. I just kept not having the drive to quit. I would try and then fail. Try fail try fail. Please Jesus take this scourge from me and make me clean. I would be good for weeks maybe months and then fall back into old habits. Then my wife passed and we weren't expecting it. So I found rebooting and rewiring my brain earlier this year. Well, it took this autistic person losing his wife of over 25 years days before we were going to put another number on our years of longevity. I was thrown into having to eulogize my lover and companion for over 2 decades. I just had to move on so I decided I am starting over clean slate new woman new lover new wife I am not carrying this albatross of shame into this new relationship. This was the motivation I needed to do this! I wanted the desire to watch naked people with fake hooters and fake dongs fake acting like they are animals like two dogs fucking or screwing like rabbits. Anyway, am I perfect? Oh hell no! I miss the mark however I pick up the pace and press on to something better. If you fail and fall and jerk off don't just sit there and drift and die. Pick yourself up take a breath and feel for a pulse. Do you still have a pulse? So get up stand up know you are alive and kicking. This is just a teachable moment drop the phone, tablet or laptop and give it to your fight partner and put the situation out of your mind. Now get up and get up swinging! Time to kick some porn ass and take the names and their power to harm you. Pray, meditate, war and decide that you are not touching that which makes the movie of your life sit and watch the blue light on the clever looking square. So talk to women, love that woman and listen be an ear to that woman and don't look back run run run and keep running forward and if you need to do it get the demon by the neck and crush him and finish him. This is a war so treat it just like you would a deployment and once you struck the enemy take that bastard down! I hope you will go and be successful and get your mind back and get your will to love again.

We've always taught my daughter (9) to be kind. We've been very lucky that she is a good kid. Actually, she seems to have a way with some special kids, befriending them when others couldn't or didn't. This includes a cousin on the spectrum and my wife's friend's child who has a number of issues and is autistic. We're proud she can get through to them.
A new friend has become more of a challenge. When she first started playing with a new friend (F, 10) we thought it was fine, but a family friend called me to specifically warn me about the younger sister (8 almost 9). This child has a number of behavioral issues. Some include:

• running out into the street
• not listening to or heeding adults
• a very negative relationship with her mother
• extremely nasty mouth (e.g. "shut the f*** up you b****", etc,etc)
• striking other children ( mostly her sisters)
• playing with and threatening her older sibling with a knife.

My daughter has started to now express negative emotions about her. Given the severity of the issues (hitting, threatening), I've told my daughter it's time to separate from her and not engage. However it's challenging as she is friends with the 10 year old sister and in the neighborhood and school.
I've spoken with the parents a bit, but it's challenging. I don't know if the child is receiving therapy/services, but it seems necessary and that the parents are aware. The parents have "grounded" her (not allowing her to play with her sister and the neighborhood girls) but it's still a challenge. I want my daughter to be nice, but these behaviors seem to be well over the line.
Not sure why I'm posting this. Maybe just to get it off my chest and to see if anyone has any advice. Thanks for reading
Edit: she's 8 almost 9.