For men only.
Nitong nagkakaedad na ako, may natutunan ako but at the same time big question ko rin to most MEN. Bakit pumapasok sa relasyon ang mga lalaki if hindi pa sila ready emotionally, mentally, and financially? Like, ha? Bakit kang magpupumilit na pumasok sa buhay ng isang babae if di ka ready, wala kang plano or let say wala pang plano, or di mo nakikita yong future mo sa isang babae? Pinilit mong pumasok tapos aalis ka lang sa kung ano-anong rason? Tapos ito namang babae matapos ma-attach sa iyo, nanahimik lang naman ang buhay dati tapos ginulo mo? Nagko-contribute tayo ng trauma, curses, SINS, and suffering ng isang tao. Tapos isusukli natin eh 'sorry' or kung ano-anong rason pa jan.Trend ba ito or standard na sa society itong pakikipagrelasyon?
Why not, baguhin natin yong generation natin? Like, magplano tayo. Pumasok tayo sa relasyon if ready na tayo. Dun tayo mag-explore kung sino. Makipagkilala, makipagkaibigan. Kumilatis ng babae. Pwede namang kilalanin ang tao kahit di mo juwain, tama? Magkaroon tayo ng specific prayer asking God's guidance who to marry. Then, kung nahanap mo na siya, wag nang juwain, kasal na agad.
Tanong ko lang to sa mga lalaki ha though may mga babae namang gumagawa ng kalokohan (ibang topic na naman yon), focus lang ako sa perspective ng lalaki. Like, why?
Masyado nating ini-enjoy yong priviledge, yong freedom of choices na deserve nating umalis sa relasyon if di na tayo happy. Tama naman, lahat deserve magkaroon ng peace of mind PERO if sa simula pa lang wala ka pang nararamdamang very special, vision, at readiness sa taong yan, BAKIT ka makikipagrelasyon?

My father and grandmother died a month ago and due to the fact that my father died a few days before my grandmother, my dad's allocation of his mother's trust is set to be distributed to my dad’s two siblings (they each get a third), and because my dad is dead, his third is getting split to me and my sister. It’s in her will.
It’s a long story, but basically my dad stopped working when I was 17 to deal with our family issues and he never got back to full-time work in his field. He tried other pursuits that didn’t pan out and collected disability for many years. I’ve also learned (still need to verify exact numbers) that his parents (my step-grandfather and grandmother) had been piece-mailing him money for years when he asked for it, and he’d say he’d pay them back but never did. I didn’t know this was going on for nine years.
It was hard watching my dad struggle over the years and watching him get pancreatic cancers and die is something I would not wish on my worst enemy.
After nine years of not talking with my dad's family I reconnected with them while he was sick. The problem now is my dad’s siblings are now asking my sister and me to give up half of our share of our inheritance to “pay my step-grandfather back and keep him happy”. They are claiming he’s low on funds and needs money. Mind you, there is no promissory note saying the money my dad got is a loan (it was gifted)
AITAH for keeping my full inheritance and not writing my step-grandfather a big check? Mind you they tried to legally sue me and my sis for the money but realized they have no legal recourse, so tried to make it look like “there’s a complication in the disbursement of the inheritance” Would like your thoughts. Thanks.

Howdy my name is Axol, I'm not replacing anyone that I am currently roleplaying with!, if I haven't msged you in awhile just remind me as I am forgetful at points. Now with that out of the way Hi! I'm a 22 year old male who prefers to roleplay as a female or androgynes characters since I personally use roleplaying to feel like someone else or to explore new experiences if you get what I'm saying.
What I would require from my partner: Maybe one message a day if possible, though more is always welcome! Please be an adult as I would prefer to roleplay with someone around my own age or older. Make sure I can understand what your trying to do in the roleplay and or say, I do have some sensory problems and can sometimes have trouble understanding what my roleplay partner is trying to convey.
I would like to clarify that I don't personally enjoy playing Canon characters as I am not very good at getting there personalities right, plus making ocs is super fun if I'm being honest, though I will double up with some canon characters if the need arises.
Fandoms I know: Fairy tail, JJK, RWBY, Seven Deadly sins, and things in this sort of vein, If you have other fandoms you want to try just throw them at me and I'll see if I know them enough to roleplay the setting.
Roleplay settings I personally enjoy: Just about anything with magic.

couldn’t put the tag, but tw for self harm
if your wondering why i have a problem with this being posted on other platforms, it’s because i know for a fact that the person i m talking about does not use reddit. and i’ll be deleting this afterwards. I am 15f. this is pretty dark elementary school drama but it has stuck with me since and has since haunted me😭😭 so this was about 2017 when i met this girl and let’s call her alicia. we hit it off at first because we both had similar interests. for background i was a shy girl who had gotten bullied in the past. it was going pretty good for a couple months with alicia.until she was also kind of mean to me and she would call me names(names that wouldn’t hurt me now, but at the time it did.) she called me a scaredy cat over something stupid and i got really upset at this. i remember holding back tears. she also did this on my moms phone as i didn’t have one at the time. to which my mother never told her to stop. i don’t honestly remember anymore, we were frenemies from that point on. i think i blocked some of it out because it caused trauma. we would be good one day and then fighting the next. i was also a mean girl at times, but this was mostly as a result of her being toxic towards me. i also had bad traits too, and was very ignorant. i am not and was not an innocent angel, but i was 8! i know now that she possibly had mental issues, but i accused her of faking depression.(to my defense, it really seemed like she was. she would cry on video on tiktok)i also have many memories of her at my house being a spoiled brat which is what i WILL call her because there’s no better way to say it .My parents work very hard to have the stuff that we do have. we are not rich and have struggles with money.when i was 8i had my barbie smart house. she was pushing the elevator up and down(an electrical one and she was doing it roughly) and my dad yelled at her. maybe this wasn’t his place to do,but cmon this girls mom literally just dropped her off at our house and my mom let her in without asking if i was even in the mood for a playdate. Obviously he is going to yell! it’s a barbie smarthouse!! very very expensive. she started crying afterwards which isn’t my issue. most children cry after being scolded (hell even now i be crying😭) my issue is with that my mother decided to run after her into my bedroom and comfort her and hug her. she never did this for me. she was nicer to alicia most likely because of her issues, (if she has any)but damn i’m ur child! another moment was when her mother once again just brought her to our home randomly without texting about a playdate the day before. (she had errands to do and i respect that but.. it’s honestly rude to assume we want another child here.) we were having a pool party with two of my friends who i still talk to this day. let’s call them blonde and ginger. me and ginger wanted to have the pool for ourself just for a moment to show off our dance. we politely asked if they could step out for a second and she threw a fit. blonde and gingers mom was mad at them and i got yelled at by my father. i got grounded,forced to apologize,and sent inside. she lies about this situation to this day and claims i called her”not pog”(ew i hate dreamsmp and it also didn’t even become popular until 2020.it was 2018.) she lies and twists stories to her liking to make herself seem like a victim of bullying by me. this time we invited her over,she also cried about having to get out the pool and help us put the pool cover on. it’s our pool and if my dad wants her to do something she should do it and not whine.my father yelled again, my mom telling him to stop, and comforting alicia once again. she never did this for me i grew up wiping my own tears which i still do and now have trouble expressing emotion in relationships. she lied to her friends about me and said i bullied her. i also struggle with anger issues now half of which probably has to do with her because i’m angry that no one believed me and some still do not. my mother accused me of bullying her and told me (8 year old again) that murderers will go for me and try to k word me first because they think i am a bully. recently told her she should’ve just adopted her and she loves her more than me. she told me to move on but it is hard when it caused me so much pain— i don’t hate my parents,i love them very much and i’m working on getting a better relationship,but i resent them. i resent the kind old l teacher who everyone loved, who accused me of whispering about alicia.(i did talk shit about alicia and i do about her but teacher lady had 0 clue.) “people talk about me and i know how that feels”-teacher lady. i resent the childhood friend,Australia, who commented on my tiktok about me needing to leave her alone and alicia tagged my account saying i bullied her,crying on camera when i had dropped her that day for being a toxic spoiled hypocrite . BY DEFINITON I LEFT ALICIA ALONE BY DROPPING HER BUT ALICIA DIDNT WANT TO SAY THAT PART!it doesn’t give her the sad victim image she wants.her mother texted mine because alicia said she wanted to (not going to say on here so i’ll just say do bad things to herself). parents immediately looked through the phone they gave me. they saw the hurtful things she said about me by which i retaliated back.decided i was the bully and sent me to bed,spanked me,and took away the phone. Do you know how much it hurts a nine year old when it feels like noone understands the big complex feelings you have in such a small body? Sounds messed up but i was very jealous of her and her ability to get away with so much from everyone due to her mental illness or whatever she had going on. i resent everyone who believed her in the past even though it was 4th grade. there is so much more. she did terrible stuff to my friends and her ex. maybe i got a miracle, now i am the popular one and she is alone most of the time. i heard she still says i bullied her,that stupid pog thing,i’m a fake latina(i am adopted with white parents ),takes pics of me , lied to my bf last year,lied to my friends, and many people have apologized to me for believing her overdramaticized fairytales. but she changed something in me that idk if ill get back. the ability to trust. i know i suffer with anxious feelings because of her fs.+the resentment i feel to the people i love the most. since i was very young all i’ve ever known is to be angry which ends in me cussing people out,physically fighting and accidentally hurting loved one’s feelings. again not trying to make myslef seem like a victim(just explanations for why i’ve acted the way i have),so here’s some shitty things i’ve done to her.
Things i’ve done to alicia: •talked shit back,still do to this day but mostly just about what happened bc my image is now tainted •threatened to fight her last year •talked shit about her mom not disciplining her enough •made fun of her haircut •made fun of her interests •made fun of her unibrow with her best friend in 4th grade •call her names •was jealous of her, seemed like my mom didn’t love me and only loved her
I want to be better. i do. i feel cold and mean.I’m working on it but i want a moral viewpoint. please be kind in the comments but tell me if i am the AH. i want to be able to sleep at night and fix my life.

Throwaway account and fake names for obvious reasons.
For some background, my wife Jane (24F) and I (26M) have been together for seven years. Her brother Jack was one of my good friends in school, and honestly I thought she was both hot and funny for several years before I finally worked up the courage to ask her out. I'm still in disbelief that she agreed, since I was definitely not the most attractive or most outgoing member of the friend group that she occasionally joined her brother to hang out with. Many a dumb, teenaged comment were made about how Jack's sister was hot, charming, etc. Jack always told us to knock it off, and ask her out if we had the balls. Well, turns out I was the first one the grow a pair, somehow.
And that sort of brings us to the problem. Three months ago, Jane gave birth to our son Jacob. We've been married for three years, and had decided that we wanted kids soon after the wedding. We waited a bit to improve our financial situation, which is now fairly secure. I am a civil engineer, and my salary has increased the point that Jane didn't have to worry about not being able to work for a while to both physically recover from the pregnancy, and focus on raising our son for a while. I don't at all mind her being a SAHM, and I make sure to clean up after myself at home so I'm not just offloading a bunch of chores onto her.
Overall, things are going pretty great. Jacob is healthy (and has a strong set of lungs), all the bills are paid, and Jane and I are both happy with our careers/roles. However, things hit a snag a month ago when Jane indicated that she felt recovered enough to resume having sex again, should I want. Our sex life has always been quite active, and I'll admit, not being able to be intimate with my wife for many months straight sucked, both physically and emotionally. However, I know that her physical condition was a lot more strenuous than mine, so I took care of myself in private and didn't say anything. However, I was quite happy to hear that Jane was feeling better, and that taking care of Jacob hadn't sapped all of her energy.
We had sex for the first time in five months, and immediately I noticed that things weren't quite as "snug" as they used to be. I'm pretty much exactly the average below the belt, and we had never had any problems with satisfying each other before, and I guess I wasn't expecting the difference to be as noticeable as it was. However, due to the fact that this was the first time I'd gotten more than a handjob in almost half a year, I didn't take significantly longer to finish than I normally would. Because of this, I didn't say anything about the difference in sensation, because even thinking about made me feel like an asshole. She'd pushed my son's entire body out of her, so complaining about how it felt to me seemed selfish.
However, the next time we had sex, it took me longer to finish than it did before the pregnancy. The difference was enough that Jane noticed it, and was subtly telling me to hurry up by the end, since she'd already finished and was ready to be done. When it took the same longer-than-normal time after that, she asked me if there was a reason why I couldn't seem to cross the finish line as quickly. I tried to tell her that it was just nerves, I was tired, etc, but she saw through that. She pushed, and I didn't want to lie to her. I told her that it "wasn't quite as taut as it used to be," my exact words.
She immediately became angry with me, saying that it was gross that I thinking about how she'd become looser after giving birth. Of course it wasn't going to be the same, she'd pushed out something way wider than my dick, etc. She said that it was extremely hurtful that I thought less of her based on her tightness, even though I never said that. She asked why it was taking me longer to finish than it took me before, and I answered with the words quoted above. I never said that was all I was thinking about, or that I thought less of her for it.
If anything, I love her more after having our son, because I saw first hand how much pregnancy fucking sucks and how she soldiered through with my help. She is the love of my life, and it felt terrible to be accused of only caring about how tight she was. I reminded her that I had initiated sex two out of the three times we'd had it after the pregnancy, so why would I do that if I was unsatisfied with her? It wasn't like I was unable to finish at all, it was just taking me longer to do so. I tried to sit down and talk with her the next day after she'd cooled off, but when I brought it up she just became angry again and refused to discuss it.
Needless to say, I haven't tried anything remotely sexual since this fight a week ago. She always kisses me on the cheek when I leave for work, but since our argument even that gesture has felt less enthusiastic, like she's only doing it because she's always done it and doesn't want to start another fight. I pray that she doesn't feel that way about sex too, but I don't know at this point.
TL;DR: Had sex with my wife for the first time after she gave birth. She noticed I was taking longer to finish and confronted me. I said that it was because it "wasn't quite as taut as it used to be," and she became angry and is refusing to discuss the subject with me.
AITAH?

I want to preface this by saying I love the show and always will. Been with Coast to Coast since George took over in 2003.
But I have to ask. Did they not screen the callers this past Friday night? All the callers were hard to understand and bizarre. None of their questions or stories had anything to do with the subject. I thought they screened callers. Anybody feel the same way about this past Friday night?

So I've been on a relationship for almost 6 months, I am the kind of romantic and cute guy, I like cuddling and saying cute things. but my partner doesn't, and it's been super challenging to me. I've tried to understand her, change some parts of me, being less affective and trying to concentrate more on the conversation. But now I can't anymore. Sometimes I need someone to hug me, to kiss me, to say cute things to me, to make cute jokes and all that movies stuff. But my gf it's just not giving me that, and I do, I always send her PARAGRAPHS of text saying how much I love her, I try to say the cutest stuff to her and have also cute moments, but she's just to dry. Whenever she hugs me, kisses me or says cute things to me it's either because I started it first or because she sees me quiet. I've tried to tell her in a non-claiming way but she just said to me that I didn't spend to much time with her and that sometimes she felt ignored. So I started spending more time with her, now we make 1 or 2 hour long calls every day, plus the time we spend at school. And even spending more time, she didn't change that much, she still wouldn't show me as much affect is I do, so I told her again because I believe that saying how you feel, no matter how risky it is, is the key to have good communication. And when I told her she just said the same, she said that she feels ignored and even with the calls and all that she thinks that I'm doing it with bad desire. She always said to me that it was hard for her to show me affection and I have seen that she tries a lot, but sometimes I feel like even knowing how much she tries, I find my self sad because I need someone to give me that kind of love, or at least the same amount as I'm giving. I really don't want to break up with her, she is my everything and I love her, but still I am really not doing that well, and I just wish things could be easier, maybe I'm selfish but It's just hard to keep giving all you have and receiving less that you expect, even though its from someone you love the most, and I don't know what to do.

I [F23] moved away from home to different country (australia )since i was a teenager, now i’m married with a toddler.
I was born and raised in Vietnam. I didn’t have the worst childhood, It was bad but not the worst, I was actually spoiled they gave me everything i wanted but from my memory i spent half of my childhood with a nanny. My parents would go out drinking with friends, benders, .. i would wake up upset next to my nanny knowing my parents didn’t come home the night before. When i was in pre school i had a competition out of town , when it was over i remember walking to the front to see my parents and none of them were there while the other kids were getting picked up, i stood there alone for a good 10 minutes and my teacher offered to take me home and 10 minutes later they showed up, turned out they were drinking with friends somewhere , i had to come with them and they made me sit at a separate table to wait. As a kid it felt terrible. All of my birthday parties were theirs , they would drink with friends till off their head and it was never about me. Travelling, i loved travelling, but yes of course they would also be off their head every time we traveled, and guess where i had to be? either at a separate table or in a hotel room alone. I spent most of the time staying in so i never got so see or experience and anything. Looking back it hurts my heart so much because i would never do that to my kids . Years later there was one time when i was in primary my mum forgot to pick me up from school and i had to walk home.. she was drunk and there was no apology whatsoever. When i was in year6 ( 12 years old) i was locked outside until 12am because my parents were drinking somewhere, I called them multiple times but they didn’t care so i had to ride my bike to their drinking spot, i was so angry that i threw my bike on the side of the road and my dad slapped me in the face twice in front of their friends for ‘embarrassing’ them, he then took me home and grabbed me by my hair and continued to beat me up. I don’t think i remember the exact amount of time they abused and neglected me when they were drunk
Now i have my own family in a different country, I don’t see them as often anymore but we still have a good relationship. They wanted to visit us and I tidied up the place for them, planned the week as i wanted to show them around ( they’ve never been here before) I was very excited because i missed them . On their first day here i took them out for lunch, when my family and I showed up there was 2 of their friends (who are also Vietnamese but live in Australia) sitting at the table, so there wasn’t room for us we had to sit at a seperate one. Family lunch was ruined as i expected it to be bonding time between us. My parents then decided to leave with them to go out drinking. Like on your first day here? Seriously? My toddler was so sad because she really wanted to spend with her grandparents and they knew that but they didn’t care, they wanted to prioritise drinking with friends first. I had a go at them saying that they were selfish , inconsiderate and unappreciative, and that they should’ve not put their friends first over family since we see each other once every couple years!! All of a sudden it felt like i was my younger self once again getting neglected, resenting my parents. They then got angry at me wanting to book a flight home because ‘ they don’t enjoy it here’ . I haven’t spoken to them since and apparently they’re actually leaving tomorrow. Do I just let them leave?

So I'm a 32M and this relationship just started about 3 or 4 months ago. So it is pretty new. Everything has been really good so far. Except for one issue her mom.
At first her mom was the sweetest woman. Very welcoming, extremely hospitable, those things have never been an issue. However, lately she's gotten weird and is constantly making comments about how much time I spend there. How I should be going to church, and trying to start arguments over my music/political choices.
To expand on a few of those points we will start with how much time I spend there. I have been too my girlfriends house every weekend for the last two months. Sometimes when I come on Sundays I'll leave earlier like 8, but I get there at noon or earlier. To me this is plenty, I have work tomorrow and need some down time too. This relationship is still new and I don't feel like setting the precedent of codependency. Anyway she'll make comments about how I'm always leaving early not spending time there. I personally feel I've been generous with my time. I've seen them way more than my own family.
Number two is the church thing. She's very religious, I'm not at all. Consider myself atheist. She's made many comments about getting married in churches and me joining them on Sundays. I've been very respectful but it's just not something I'm into and I think she keeps bringing it up trying to break me down.
The last is the weird politics and music thing. I really don't have a strong political opinion. I often see both sides and like to joke on both. I hate joe Biden and Donald Trump. I feel like I joke about both evenly. She's a huge trump fan and constantly picks fights with me by making little comments about how trump is the best candidate and I shouldn't treat them as the same or something? Then also I love hip hop. I always have it's apart of my identity and I'm proud of it. She told my girlfriend that it's a shame I listen to hip hop because she thought I was a good person. Which was weird to me. Then since she found it she'll constantly bring up how violent hip hop is. She went to a country concert and the next day kept saying she saw someone got arrested and it "felt like a rap concert" I'm honestly getting offended because it seems obvious it lines up with when she found out.
Anyway I'm just saying all this because the relationship is new. I'm older I'm really not trying to waste my time. My girlfriend is great, but I'm really worried her mom is alittle overbearing for me. I've dated multiple people whose parents were much less involved. Parents always are it's just human nature. But some of this seems excessive to me. I want to make sure I don't waste both of our times and I'm seriously considering moving on while it's still early because this really bothers me.
Thanks for reading!

Short guys are dumb as fuck when it comes to that stuff. They buy some generic shoe lift off amazon, use a 2 inch lift in 1.5 inch air forces at 5'5 and say they're 5'9" with the shoes on.
First of all, shoe lifts pretty much only give you about 50-75% of the height advertised, with the amount decreasing the more you go. An inch lift is like 1.7 cm, or 0.7 in. If you don't believe me, look at Rob Paul from CelebHeight's video on it.
Next, everyone these days are wearing thick shoes without even the consideration of height. 1.2-1.4 inch soles are very common, so for your thick shoes to have any real effect, you'd need like 2".
Plus, your thick shoes are going to compress over time, probably about 0.1-0.2 inches after a lot of wear. And that still's only boosting you up about a half an inch next to the average shoe wearer who wears a 1".
IMO, you're only able to decently walk and pull off a height 2" overall taller than your own relative to others. And that's like, the absolute max. Sustainably I'd say 1-1.5" is somewhat comfortable and not too obvious.
So, look, if you're trying to "fraud" height, don't ever expect to look more than 2" taller.
The best, and most sustainable way goes like this.
Find the most thickest trendy sneaker, think Jordan 4s, or some other thick yet very fashionable shoe. Jordan 4's legitimately give 1.5 inch, so you can expect it to compress to about 1.3 ish.
Take the sole out, put your own 1 inch(actually 0.7) in it, and then put the actual shoe sole on top of the lift.
This way, it doesn't even look like you have the lifts, and your shoes are boosting you 2", so about 1" over the average shoe wearer. That's solid and comfortable, and it looks non-obvious asf, it's just Jordan 4's.

I have two Xbox controllers that aren't connecting to my PC through micro-USB, so I thought i might need to update the controller's firmware. The only guides that tell you how to do this all say to "download the Xbox Accessories app" and update it from there.
I've already tried downloading the app, first through microsoft store where I couldn't find the app at all after searching for it, and then I tried through the web (https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9nblggh30xj3?rtc=1&hl=en-ca&gl=CA).
There is a "download" option on the web version of microsoft store, but the downloaded file just opens the Microsoft Store app and forcibly opens the Xbox Accessories app page that i couldn't find when i searched for it myself.
There is no "download" option for the app in microsoft store. There is no way to download the app. The ONLY implication I have that explains my situation at all is this imgur screenshot that says Xbox no longer supports the app. I couldnt find anything on the official microsoft page that says support for this app would be discontinued.
If the app was discontinued, how do I update my controllers? I assume there's another way outside of spending $100 for a used xbox one console just to use it once to download firmware and never use it again?

Previous chapter
A soft chuckle filled the cave, carrying with it so much weight that not a single echo chased after it. It was as if, instead of making a sound, her laugh transmitted directly into his head and filled his body.
“It is alright child,” She petted his head. “Unlike the immortals from the stories you may have heard, I do not care for customs and formalities such as these. Raise your head.”
The way that she spoke reminded Mareus of Elder Guo in the almost ancient way that he would form his sentences while speaking in commands. Though it didn’t feel as if she was being overbearing.
Mareus struggled to his knees while looking everywhere except for her face. His eyes darted around her outline, looking into the darkness behind her, at the way her hair moved in the still air. Doing everything they could to avoid recognizing the disdain present in her gaze. Instead, when he finally met her eyes, he only saw softness accompanied by lines only formed with a gentle smile. Similar to the face a mother would make when consoling a crying child.
“Tell me your name, child.”
“M-my name… my name is Maris. I-I don't have a family name, but I was raised by a grandmother with the name Hua.” Starting to feel more comfortable, he asked. “May I know the name of the person who saved me?”
“Hmm, Mare-us.” She mulled over his name for a moment, as if she were determining what characters it used and their meaning. “Yes, it's a good name. The person who picked it chose wisely.”
He wasn't quite sure what to say. He never actually asked where his name came from. So he wasn't sure if it was his parents who chose, or his grandmother. He did ask her what it meant when he was younger, she could never give him a full answer though. Instead, she told him how the first character meant ‘endless’. “Like the boundless and infinite sea,” she would explain.
Having never seen the sea Mareus wasn't sure exactly how true that was, but he did ask a villager who had traveled outside the valley once, and they compared it to the sky. Because of that, he would often stare at the blue sky during the day, tracing the heaven’s scar as it ran into the horizon.
The woman continued to run her fingers through his hair like she would with a beloved pet. “I do have no family name. As such, I have many names over my life. The one I am currently fond of is Fu Kong.”
As if she had gotten what she came for, she gracefully rose to her feet and retreated back to the edge of the darkness. The shadows that fled when she revealed herself now returning, bathing the cave in total darkness.
“Do make sure to eat your meals, I will return with a change clothes for you. Unless, that is, you prefer those rags clinging to your bandages?”
Mareus lowered him so back into kowtow. “Mistress Fu Kong, you bless me with your kindness.”
His words were met with silence, and after a few heartbeats he raised his head to find only darkness awaiting him.
After breaking free from the awe, he finally examined his body for the first time. He had become noticeably thinner from skipping so many meals while his body was healing. It wasn't quite at the level that could be considered unhealthy, but he was already smaller than most children his age, and now he even skinnier.
His thick black hair was crusted and knotted, with some of it knitted into his robes. It's oil seeping into what was left of his clothes and his bandages. That wasn't the worst of it, though. The thing that shocked him the most was the stench.
While retching, he thought. How did I noticed this before?
Mareus reeked with the pungent odor of rot and filth. He was reminded of after the wedding and the parts of the Shou that were left in the field to decompose before being turned into fertilizer.
Breaking free from his regrettable fantasy, he felt a kind of enlightenment that was quickly replaced with embarrassment. I can't believe I was in front of someone like her while like this. He agonized and rolled in his makeshift bed while covering his face.
He frantically looked around for anything to help him hide the stench and, hopefully, his shame. When he noticed a few things that weren't there before. The darkness of the cave faded again, as if the shadows were imitating the clouds on an overcast day.
Without the distraction of a heavenly fairy or his eyes blurred from his tears, he could finally clearly make out his surroundings. And it was no wonder he could find the exit before, instead of a wide area, naturally carved out inside a cave. The room was more like a misshapen bowl with a high ledge that led to several more dark passages.
In the bowl, the closest wall had a small table and stool with a used candle and some parchment. The adjacent one revealed a pile of furs he couldn’t recognize. On the far end of the cave were some plants he'd never seen before. As Mareus got closer he noticed: a small bucket of water, a piece of pumice soap, and a cloth.
He absentmindedly spoke. “I guess she really thought of everything.”
Mareus realized that either the stool was far heavier than it looked, or he had gotten that much weaker as he struggled to drag it between two bigger plants. He tore off his tattered clothes and sat down before fighting with his bandages.
“I'm glad you're taking the initiative to explore on your own.”
He connected the sudden voice into a lot of his feet while trying to cover anything he could. Although the remains of his robe didn't cover much more than the wraps already were.
Unbothered, Fu Kong continued. “I worried that you'd fall back into your depression after I'd left. But seeing you up and about is a testament to the strength of your soul.”
He slowly climbed back onto his seat as the strange woman spoke. Making sure to have most of his body turned away from her. When she suddenly stopped speaking, he looked back to see if he had disappeared again. Instead, she was gracefully sitting on a inky black ledge he didn't notice before.
“Mistress, I don't want to seem disrespectful, but do you need something from me?”
Her face didn't change as she thought for a moment. “There's no rush, I can wait until you're ready.”
Accepting that she had no intention of giving him any privacy, he started scrubbing the areas that weren't covered by his bandages. He quickly noticed that when he accidentally scrubbed over the edges of the bandage, it drank the soapy water. What was even more surprising was that the characters wriggled like they were alive before the bandages secreted some sort of brown substance.
The stink was even more horrendous than before, he immediately slapped it away and watched as it splashed in the bucket. The gunk sizzled away in a matter of seconds until the water was clear again.
Experimentally, he cupped his hand and scooped some of the water onto his leg. Mareus immediately regretted that because the smell was so overwhelming he released what little there was left in his stomach into the bucket.
While covering his nose, he hurriedly cleaned up the remainder of the gunk and made sure to only wash small sections before scraping away what came out into the bucket.
Train to distract himself, he started up a conversation with the woman watching over him. “You said you'd wait until I was ready. What am I supposed to be ready for?”
“Before anything else, we'll have to get you something substantial in your stomach, or you'll waste away completely. You’ll also be needing new robes that are preferably more durable. Your old ones are beyond anything that could be called clothes now, and there's no point of getting you ones that will only fall apart right away.”
Mareus stared at the tattered cloth that was no different than the rag he was using to wash his own body. Wondering just what exactly she had in store for him.
Next chapter

My store got robbed maybe a month or so ago. It was a sunday night, right when we’re about to go to our cars, they forced us back into the building. In the moment of it happening I froze up and complied with the robbers who were holding me and my co-worker at gun point. Me and my co-woker are friends and she protected me the whole way through.
Needless to say I have been shaken up about it. I’ve never had an issue with closing and my SM wants me during the day so I close once a week. I’ve had paranoia I had nightmares then it just stopped.
They caught the robbers maybe a week ago by now and I been back to closing once a week but only on Saturdays where we have 3 people closing. I broke down last night when I closed. It felt like it just came right back and slapped me in the face. Thankfully, I was able to go home. I’ve haven’t felt the same working there since the robbery.
I know DG has a counseling number to call. I didn’t really notice until writing this but I have been eating less, I’ve been isolating myself from everyone, and my dreams have been just hyperactive and vivid that they scare me when I wake up. I was doing so good until I broke down and now i’m bit nervous to go back in on Tusday. Sorry for dumping this out here, I kinda wish DG would do better on these things but it’s out of our and their control.

Masakazu Shibe misses his shot and says that he can't kill him. He walks up to Yuichi and slaps him "That's what you get for killing Yuka" and then hugs him "And that's what you get for being my Tomodachi". Everyone around them claps and the game ends. Shiho says "Maybe the real Tomodachi game was the Tomodachis we made along the way".

So say I have an ice chest I want to 3D print or even anything mid microwave size
What’s the best value in buying a printer to make a solid prototype?
I’m going to change the way ice chests are marketed and viewed. I’m confident but aside from that…
What should I buy? Will $1000 do the trick?
I am solo going at this w future wife (hopefully bc she’s a dream boat) and I’m like a stupid version of the YouTuber uselessinventions
I’ve got 6-7 and 15 more that are maybe worth doing.
My brain just always grabs ideas.
I had one I thought of, slept on it and years later it was done by someone else. Won’t mention what it was to avoid flaming etc.
What’s value for 14 inches in all directions to throw a random number out there?

Steam takes 30% of sales, which takes money away from developers and yes, publishers. (Even if you don't like publishers, they're adding more value than Steam.)
Just a rudimentary understanding of economics can tell us that this will increase the average price of games if Steam makes up a significant portion of sales. In a similar way credit cards increase the average cost of goods, but credit card fees are about 5%.
Steam has an OKAY refund policy, and what do we pay for that? A 30% surcharge. If someone said, you get to keep all your games in one library and can return games within 2 weeks as long as you don't play for more than 2 hours but you have to pay 30% more, I--and almost everyone else--would say that is insane.
But that is exactly what is happening and Steam is fucking beloved in the gaming community.

Okay, I know that the title sounds bad.
Throwaway account, my friends follow my personal account. Also, english is not my first language, I'm from Latin America. To be honest, my english is pretty rusty right now, so there might be some mistakes. Also, the post is pretty long, so I apologize in advance for that.
So for some background, I (32F) married my now ex husband Pablo (35M) five years ago, we dated two years before that. We have a four years old daughter together. To make it short, we started to have problems like a year and a half ago, having a toddler, both of us working two hard jobs just made everything real difficult, and it all got worst when he ended up cheating on me. If we didn't have a daughter, I would have ghosted him and the next time he would have heard from me would have been through my lawyers and with divorce papers. I have a low tolerance for this kind of things and know when to walk out, but we have a daughter together, and as much as I don't think that it can be good to stay in a marriage for a child, she was still real little and didn't want to miss any more time with her. Raising a toddler alone is really hard, and I didn't want that, so I agreed to couples counseling. He didn't put any excuses, he just begged for forgiveness over and over. I thought I was over the affair, I really thought that. I didn't think about it. But I started to talk over the phone with Guido (32M) like three months after I discovered my husband's affair. Guido and I dated for five years. From seventeen to twenty two. We started dating in our last year of highschool, and then we mantained a long distance relationship for two years, although we saw each other often, until he moved to the city I was living in. We eventually broke up because we wanted different things. He was sure about not wanting to have children, and even though I clearly didn't in that moment, I was sure I would want to become a mom in the future. So we left it at that. Plus, after my graduation I moved to the capital because I got a good job there, and he stayed there. But he had moved to the capital after his relationship ended because of his ex's cheating, and I was the only one he knew here. We started to talk regularly over the phone. Usually when I was on small breaks at work or while I was taking care of my daughter by myself. Then we started to do something we used to do often, and it was to play games online together on our free time. We used to do that a lot when we had a long distance relationship. Then we started to meet up from time to time, even went to the movies together. I tried to convince myself that we were just catching up, but it clearly wasn't like that, I wanted to be with him. I tried to put a stop to it. But Guido kissed me when I met him to tell him this, and even though I stopped him almost right away, as dramatic as it sounds, it was more than enough for me to realize that I couldn't stay married anymore if I had feelings for someone else. He apologized for kissing me, but asked me to leave my husband, since he knew I wasn't happy with him, and he was right. I was comfortable maybe, but not happy. Not at all. I realized I didn't actually forgave my ex husband, but I had fallen out of love, and that's why I didn't care about the affair. I should have known, like I said, I'm not the kind who would forgive cheating, but I didn't think you could fall out of love with someone you've been for so long that fast, and I guess I mistaked familiarity with love.
This is already going too long. I started the divorce proceedings, I sat Pablo down and explained that I was divorcing him. He cried and cried, begged for another chance, but I just told him no, that I had fallen out of love with him and there was no going back from that. He gave up after insisting and begging, and literally didn't put any complications on the divorce, he didn't berated me or anything like that during the divorce. We sold our house, split the money and got 50/50 custody. I bought a nice apartment with two bedrooms close to my daughter's kindergarden, and a couple of weeks after the divorce had been finalized, I asked Guido to meet up. We hadn't seen each other since I had informed him about me getting a divorce, just because I didn't want to start anything being married, and also, he was bussy trying to get a promotion. We decided to give it a shot, but I asked him for us to take things slow, and he agreed to it. And we have been dating for a couple of months now, and it has been great. My friends and my family, who I'm really close to, knows about us. My family in particular is real happy, they never really liked Pablo that much, and they always loved Guido, especially my dad. But he doesn't knows my daughter yet, that's why Pablo just recently found out about me and Guido being back together. Pablo didn't take the news too good, and when he came to pick our daughter, he was really mad at me. He started to tell me I led him on into thinking I could forgive him for months just to dump him for my ex. That he had tried his best to make up for what he did to me, to win my trust back and when he finally thought he had done it, I crushed his heart. Saying he has been miserable since I left him, and he really does look bad and depressed. He has gained weight, he looks tired all the time and I haven't seen him smile in months. But I told him that if I falled out of love with him is because he betrayed me in the worst way possible, and that's on him entirely. I tried to forgive him, but I couldn't and I falled out of love, and I can't change that. I told him I'm sorry if he's hurt now, but after all, it's the consequences of his own actions, and I won't apologize for falling in love with someone else, because again, it probably wouldn't have happend if he hadn't cheated on me. Now he needs to move on and that's it, and I even suggested therapy for him.
My friends and family are on my side and they are telling me I did nothing wrong, but I think they would be on my side even if I had set the house on fire with him inside, so I don't think their opinions are that neutral. I have my doubts, AITA?

FBI/SWAT teams show up at a neighbor’s house and arrest the husband. Cold case MURDERS via DNA are linked to this guy. It’s finally going to trial. This animal is the reason that for years everyone would buddy system at clubs and music venues ( late 80’s /90’s). He raped and murdered for years and was never caught. He has a family; now adult children. Married. No one in the family has ever spoken publicly. We have no idea who knew what- if at all. Locally and prior to SWAT arrest, no one even noticed him. He kept to himself. The “weird quiet guy”. But everyone in town knows the wife. She’s involved in so many charitable and humanitarian projects. Today a gofundme me was raised to help her but it’s vague as to what it’s for. Nowhere does it say food, mortgage, electricity, taxes. It says “ keep afloat financially”. It does not say legal defense either. It’s vague in a way that doesn’t sit well with me but that’s bc I KNOW! Now knowing that he pled not guilty and this will be a huge trial….. AITAH for asking if the gofundme is for his trial /legal defense ? Because NOONE is asking but pretty much EVERYONE is thinking it. It’s also clear that many of the new neighbors have no idea about them and him. They just assume she’s a single Mom having a “hard time”. Is it a valid question?

New to hardwareswap but I have significant history in Knife_Swap and EDCexchange
Items include shipping via UPS with tracking and insurance inside the US only.
Feel free to let me know if you have any questions or need more pictures!

Available Items

Timestamps and Gallery
Ayaneo 2S - $850

• AMD Ryzen 7 7840U
• Windows 11
• 7" 1920x1200 16:10 IPS LCD Screen
• 32GB RAM
• M.2 2280 2TB SSD
• Retro Power styling
• Manufacturer Detail Page
• Includes box, USB-C charger, USB-C cable, USB-C adapters, official Tomtoc case, Ayaneo branded coffee cup, and unused official screen protector
• First owner, bought direct from Ayaneo via Indiegogo. Carefully used and carried only in case. No scratches or defects of any kind. I have not opened or physically modified the device in any way.

Ayaneo Air - $350

• AMD Ryzen 5 5600U
• Windows 11
• 5.5" 1920x1080 16:9 OLED Screen
• 16GB RAM
• M.2 2280 512GB SSD
• Polar Black
• Manufacturer Detail Page
• Includes box, USB-C charger, USB-C cable, USB-C adapters, and official Tomtoc case
• At least the second owner. Carefully used and carried only in case. No scratches or defects of any kind. I have not opened or physically modified the device in any way.

AYN Odin 2 Pro - $350

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8Gen2
• Android 13
• 6" 1920x1080 16:9 IPS LCD Screen
• 12GB RAM
• 256GB Storage
• Clear Blue
• Manufacturer Detail Page
• Includes box, USB-C cable, and official carrying case
• First owner, bought direct from AYN. Carefully used and carried only in case. No scratches or defects of any kind. I have not opened or physically modified the device in any way.

Anbernic RG405M - $99

• Unisoc Tiger T618
• Android 12 (Gamma OS pre-installed)
• 4" 640x480 4:3 IPS LCD Screen
• 4GB RAM
• 128GB storage
• Gray Aluminum
• Manufacturer Detail Page
• Includes box
• First owner, bought from Amazon reseller. Carefully used and carried only in case. No scratches or defects of any kind. I have not opened or physically modified the device in any way.

So I previously had shares in an Australian company that was only traded in Australia, They are now looking to move onto the US stock exchange and become traded in America.
As part of this evening, I started getting letters as a former shareholder to declare my US tax residency, because it seems the US government doesn't know who their own citizens are....
The letter just says that if I don't declare my US tax residency, they're just going to tell the Australian taxation office that I haven't declared my US tax residency.... Because I've never been a US resident
I have no desire to deal with the US government in any way shape or form, generally I don't, managed to avoid dealing with them my entire life so far.
What happens if I just ignore these letters? I don't even own shares in this company anymore, as a former shareholder, am I required to actually do what this company wants me to do?
Also, shouldn't the US government know who their citizens are? I've never had anything to do with them and I've never been a US citizen....seems like they need to work out who their own people are first....

I am having a rough time discerning a difficult situation involving my parents. I am a participating Christian (formerly lukewarm), I’m praying to God but I would also love some Godly advice from my brothers and sisters in Christ.
To start, I love my parents. God has blessed me with great parents who raised me in a Godly and respectful way. However, they are emotionally abrasive. They focus on gossip, putting themselves before others and casting judgements on others whether it is out of truth or arrogance. Over the years their complacency has allowed their faith to devolve into cynical, arrogant and brash behaviors. They understand that because I am young I hold less wisdom (I am currently 26 years old). And through these behaviors, my social and emotional comfortability with my parents has basically gone away. However I will do anything to care and protect them out of respect of them being my parents.
So, the situation at hand is this. Over the course of a year or so, I befriended an older female neighbor(49 years old), who lives in a household similar to the behaviors of my parents if not worse. However this woman is Godly. We raise each other up in the word, sharpen each other’s swords and have found good company in each other overall. She has been through much turmoil in her life and as a godly man, I consider it a responsibility to love your neighbor as yourself. Some examples: Spending time talking, driving her to and from places, grabbing a meal or watching a movie.
The reactions that my parents give me are distasteful. They come to me saying I have no place talking and hanging out with a woman almost double my age, it’s not my job to be her chauffeur when she has other family members in her house who can do that, she is using you, etc.
By no means am I venting or trying to bash my parents. I pray God touches their hearts and opens their eyes to the love that God has for them. I do fear God and I do my best to honor the 4th commandment (Honor thy mother and father). But I’m not sure if cutting off or reducing contact with this woman would be honorable in the sight of God because the place that my parents are coming from is not love. It is not what Jesus taught.
I appreciate any advice. Peace be with you all ✝️