Hello, I (21M) have no clue what to study for a bachelors degree.
I’m finishing business school this year and then taking a year off to travel, on the side try different online courses to see what I like, and get to know myself ?
My original plan is, if I don’t find anything that intrigues me by Feb 2025, I’ll sign up for the International Business Management part time program here in Switzerland. It’s a 4 year English program, 2 days a week; could have a job the other days. I guess it’s a “safe” option due to the fact I’ll earn a degree with 2-3 years of working experience. Still remains a very generic degree as it isn’t specialized on something.
Im not “fascinated” by economics, law, etc… which are the classes in the program. So wanted to look for other alternatives that might interest me but unsure of where/how to look. Don’t want to sound lazy, I don’t want to spend the next 3-4 years of my life studying something I don’t like or spend my days studying non-stop with no time for personal activities/social life/etc…im aware of you must put in the effort but don’t want to end up that being my life, studying and having no sleep. The definition of engineering or architecture degrees which interested me a bit, portrays that, from what I’ve seen online…
Also I feel like everywhere I look, there’s potential for AI to replace it. Web design, you now have AI sites that give you toooons of templates for just small monthly fee. Coding, AI can do it so why bother paying more for someone to do it?. Data analytics, etc… I am NO expert in these fields, it is just what I’ve read and seen.
I guess what I’m asking is :
How/where to look and immerse myself in different options to see what I like and don’t?
How can I maximize my time to find something that interest me before having to sign up to the IBM program if I don’t find anything ?
what fields won’t be/less likely to be replaced by AI ?
Thank you in advance

On weekends I am just so fricking bored. On weekdays i'm pretty busy, I go to the gym, I'm learning CAE English, I'm taking up Volleyball, in the night I write on Obsidian, and in the morning I'm in highschool (Sophomore). I'm just so used to doing a lot of things that on weekends, i'm not exhausted, i dont need to rest that much, I do homework, then, what? I've tried playing videogames and that can get exciting for a couple weeks and then, what? I just get booored again, I don't get much screen time also, maybe 3-4 hours on the week, and around 5-6 on weekends, and then, what? I've learnt many things, like graphic design, rubik cube solving, coding in multiple languages, i'm currently trying to learn C#. I've felt motivated learning it for 3 weeks now, but, I feel bored now. I feel that I have to force myself to doing that. I've also tried reading a couple books, but like I don't have enough money to buy a them, or when I find them online, I read 20-30 pages, write smth about it on Obsidian, and then, what? I get fcking bored again. Like I'm so bored that I looked up on reddit how to feel productive on leisure weekends. And I found a couple responses that could work for me, tried them for 30 minutes, then felt bored again. LIKE WHAT? Please help, may reducing my social media time help maybe? Can I someone recommend some interests that could keep me busy for weeks, maybe months? I've found like some medieval time series or thing interesting, but just watching videos on it is somewhat fun, like I try to write smth about what I've just watched and it really just feels like a task. Can someone give tips, maybe some high aspirations and a long ass to-do list on how to achieve them may help? I don't really know what to do.

Let me start off by saying I am 10000% in the wrong. I know I’ll probably get comments saying how im a f’ed up person and how I am selfish. I take full accountability for my actions. Bf is 23M, I am 22F To give some back story, I had a miscarriage last year. My boyfriend wanted me to get rid of it as he was not ready. I don’t believe in abortions, so I decided to keep it. Eventually, he got on board as well. On my 7 week check up so see if my babies heart beat got stronger, we both found out that day that we had a missed miscarriage. We both bawled our eyes out in the clinic office. We were heartbroken as you can expect. Now it’s been 6 months. My sister is now pregnant. I admit I have been super envious and jealous as I feel like the opportunity was completely stripped away from me. All I see is people having successful pregnancies. As I am happy for them, I am also grieving and sad for myself. Okay this is where my wrongs come into play. I have been tracking my period and ovulation. I know many say it’s not accurate, but… I inserted my bfs sperm inside of me after oral sex (I didn’t swallow all of it). I didn’t tell him and have been having it on my conscious. So I told him today. As you can expect he was mad and betrayed. He immediately went to go get a plan b. I got pregnant last year even after taking a plan b because I already ovulated. So I wouldn’t be surprised if I was to get pregnant this time around because I have already ovulated. And plan bs do not work after the fact. He said if it doesn’t work that I would have to get a abortion. I know I basically set him up for this, but I am against abortions. My grief and jealousy has led me to do something i would never thought I’d do.. my question is should I just own up to my wrongs and get the abortion if I am pregnant? It would break my heart but I know what I did was wrong. I just want to be a mother so bad and I miss being pregnant. I glaze at my old ultrasound every once in a while.. idk man, I really messed up.

Hello, I'm an 18 year old student in the UK and have been quite stressed recently with what steps I should be taking to end up in my desired field of work, at the same time I wanna be extremely realistic and plan ahead.
For a while I've been in a bad state of mind thinking about it in my free time; I absolutely love video-games and would love to dive into the industry and put in the work to secure a good role in it, It sounds really fun, but how I'm going to get there is something I'm completely lost in.
A hobby that I'm actually quite interested in is art, across many things such as VFX, Concept art, etc, which I have been doing and studying by myself for coming up to a year now, I'm just unaware if It's only... a hobby, and If I want it to stay that way or not, I can't tell; Its one of the few things I'm "okay" at to be honest. I had the idea of merging these two interests and potentially pursuing the arts in the games industry through a relevant Art degree, but taking into account gaining experience and the creative industry itself recently, this is an incredibly unstable choice as I'll be competing with other artists and trying to gain experience to outpace professionals also looking for these roles, whilst having nothing else to show for myself If it fails and I need to find a career elsewhere; This is a big reason that's dissuading me from pursuing art, I've chosen an animation degree that I'll be studying in the new few months, but I still have time to change it since I haven't started yet; and I think I should. Wouldn't it be a wiser choice to choose a stable degree that I could use OUTSIDE of the games industry as I try to improve my craft? Such as computing? There are courses out there such as Games Programming that I'm considering, but I've read alot of peoples suggestions that taking these isn't a good idea, and that 9 times out of 10 they're useless... My current plan has been to take a computing degree and its optional game software nodes so I can atleast pivot into different industries for experience if all fails, despite having never coded or programmed anything, whilst also improving my art skills on the side; essentially giving me two ways into the games industry but also having options outside of the industry if it most likely comes to it. This might not work either because I don't know if I'll actually enjoy computing, It feels like every option I have has negatives that outweigh the positives.
I'd like to mention that I actually enjoy content creation and have been learning video editting software at home (DaVinci Resolve) to potentially even start a YouTube channel for both as a hobby (which, too, could be used as experience I suppose?) to commentate and discuss video-games and its industry lol. Another thing to iterate is that I understand University/College is not for everyone, a big reason I want to attend such is for the experiences, networking and to be able to work in a different country for a better life in the future.
Sorry for the long post. Any advice/suggestions is absolutely appreciated, I can assure you that I will have read and considered absolutely everything. Thanks for your time, it means alot!

So for some background, I was on the work wi-fi until they switched to eeros routers. I can still get in, but a couple of minutes of surfing and my device is then put on "pause". I've found and proved that I can continue to use the wi-fi as long as I randomize the MAC every so often.
SO my idea is pretty simple, use two wireless adapters and bring them down and up asynchronously, randomize the MAC each time. So both adapters will run on the same network giving me continuous access if I can code it properly I believe. Anywho, it seemed like a good project to earn some experience. This is what I have, which I know isn't complete yet and has some errors. My question is how would you optimize this code or what am I doing wrong here? Even with just this script using one adapter it doesn't seem to be changing the MAC either. What went wrong?
Code:

import subprocess import time wireless_adapters = ['wlan0', 'wlan1'] interval = 60 def change_mac_address(wlan0): new_mac = "02:02:00:00:00:02x:02x:02x" subprocess.call(["sudo", "ifconfig", 'wlan0',"down"]) subprocess.call(["sudo", "macchanger", "-r", "-b", 'wlan0']) subprocess.call(["sudo", "ifconfig", 'wlan0' ,"up"]) print("Changed MAC address you devil you!") 

There's a lot more stuff i'm not addressing because that would literally force me to write out my entire life story but I'm sick to death of the abuse and I need real and genuine advice that isn't just "get yourself out of there bro"... That costs money, Money I don't have, Money I will never have because the job market in this trash heap of a "city" is barren and because of some stuff i'm gonna mention below...
She's used my name (since before I was 18) for accounts on websites to avoid credit checkers (or something like that) without my consent or explaining to me why she was doing it. Luckily this hasn't affected my credit score later in life or anything like that but it was still manipulative and shady and gave me immense anxiety (we'll get to that later)
She once got my father to basically beat the ever loving sh*t out of me (at her demands) and choke me out when I was 8-9 and kept me locked in my bedroom for 4 days whilst the bruises faded away (so the school wouldn't ask questions) because an older kid tried to drown me in the local pool and I bit him on the knuckle to get him to release me. When she "apologized" for it 15 years later, she said she was "sorry I didn't have all the facts and overreacted"... Still not sorry for kicking the sh*t out of me though are you? That was just 1 time but it was 1 time too many and i'll never forget those 4 days or the response my parents had to something so small. Even if your kid fucks up, you take their side and defend them. You ask questions. Don't just jump straight to abuse.
One time, she launched my PSP across the hallway because my foot squeaked on the leather of the couch (I was like... 7?) and she flew off the handle, ranting and raving and telling me i'm a piece of shit. Sometimes she will just fly off the handle for the littlest reasons and attack us (never my youngest sibling or the Autistic one (Which I find hilarious because I'm currently being diagnosed for ADHD as an adult, which she could've gotten me tested for sooner had she not been busy neglectfully mollycoddling them) and I've witnessed this since I was a child so as a result, sometimes I fly off the handle and I hate it, it makes me sick to my stomach when I get the rage. The difference is I never want to escalate it to physical violence, She will.
She'll do sneaky sh*t like ask for my help then f*ck up something small, then spin all the blame on me so that when I give up and tell her to f*ck off and do it herself she can claim that the real reason i'm angry is "because I Asked you for help!?" ... No, Because you asked for my help and spent the 5 minutes I was doing so insulting my intelligience and calling me a r*tard. Whenever we get into an argument she threatens to kick me out or get rid of the entire house. She uses the fact it's not my house against me the entire time but i'm the only one following the rules she's set for us. The others break the rules constantly and NOTHING is ever said about it. I had 1 bowl in my room and for a week straight all I got was "REEEEEEEEEEEEE NO FOOD UPSTAIRS"... my brother next door to me? (I counted) 13 Glasses, 3 Plates, 2 Pizza Boxes, a Take Away bag and a half eaten box of Donner meat... "TeeHee Lol Just Put It In The Corner I'll Take It Out Soon :)))". These Double Standards have always existed. She doesn't even live in the house I currently reside in, She lives with my father. She still comes round weekly to do house checks like an SS Officer and point out any issues... issues she doesn't have to live around in a house she doesn't even want...
She constantly puts her favorite children over the rest of us, hasn't even spoken to her oldest kids in like 5-6 years because they've all woken up and realized how big of a liar and manipulator she is. Their father wasn't a good man and he has snaked his way back into their life, He was abusive and a shit father. But instead of being the bigger person and accepting her kids want their father in their life, Or entertaining the chance that he may have changed, she basically told all of them to f*ck off and cut contact with them and refuses to speak to them.
I have severe anxiety caused by her and the way she raised me. I feel incredible guilt over things that I didn't even participate in. I want to be a stand up comedian but she never liked my jokes and constantly told me I wasn't funny unless I was reciting a Peter Kay (British Comedian for Boomers) sketch/bit, so as a result I have immense stage fright and performance anxiety. I've never been one for physical humor with friends because whenever I tried she'd pull me away, force me to never speak to them again and tell me "Those boys are mocking you! Can't you see! They're taking the piss out of you!" and I struggle to be intimate with women because she never encouraged me to pursue them. She would tell us from a young age women weren't worth our time and they were just sl*gs... (Thou doth protest too much?) So now I fear ever bringing a woman into my life because what are my options? either A) You are never meeting my family because they are all braindead abusive scum who will judge you or B) Would you like to meet my mother who will immediatelly become hostile to you, try to embarrass me and then try to ruin your life when we inevitably break up?
She's a classic example of what happens to someone when they have kids before they're ready, get stuck in a physically abusive relationship and develop a victim/survivor complex they never address or seek therapy for. She's mentally a teen. in my 26 years on this earth, I've seen her work 2 jobs. One she quit within 2 weeks at a Chip Shop because "The oil makes my psoriasis hurt :(((" and the current one she works which she constantly talks about quitting.
There was a 20 year gap between those 2 jobs and she uses "raising you" as an excuse... What raising? most of my memories are of you raging and fighting dad or staring into a TV for hours to tune out the screams...
Our family struggled financially for years, she put the weight of that burden ON US constantly. My dad worked 12 hours a day 5 days a week for bare minimum wage just to give her all the money and squander it on stupid shit, then she'd turn around after returning her 4th Patio furniture set of the year and cry and blame all of us because we had no money for christmas... My dad had no choice but to give her the money too because she signed her name off and micro-managed *everything* to do with the house and my dad wasn't financially literate.
I feel f*cking trapped. Whenever i've tried to escape her in the past i've only ever made my life worse and I've had to go crawling back to her. I've tried to genuinely improve my life but my luck is garbage and I always end up getting screwed by the system. I got a Visa and tried to make a life for myself in Australia but 4 months in I was basically homeless, living in a cockroach infested Hostel on very limited time and I had to go back otherwise I was going go insane. I have a Foundational Degree in Video Game design that's utterly useless because nowhere hiring game designers wants a foundational degree and after my experience with Uni (and the industry) I never want to work as a Game Designer. I took the degree because SHE convinced me it'd be good... it fucking ruined my mental health and I got kicked out because the Uni kept screwing me about during Covid and blaming me for things I never did.
The only consistent work i've ever managed to get is in Kitchen work and I hate it. I'm constantly belittled and never given a chance or given all the worst possible jobs because my anxiety prevents me from trusting myself or pursuing higher positions. I just want to be able to change my name, move to another country and never speak to anyone from this life ever again.
TL;DR: My Mother is Karen Hitler, a fountain of bad luck, and I unironically cannot wait for the day she dies from a stress induced coronary because then I can finally be at peace and be free from her suffocating talons.
People Say "Family is Everything". You Job probably calls itself a "family"
My family Manipulate, Gaslight, Rob, Lie and Backstab me so "Family" can't mean as much as people think.

My boyfriend and I broke up last year because he left me for a girl he had just met. We got back together in March this year when he realized he made a mistake by leaving me for her (she cheated on him as well, so he got a taste of his own medicine). I forgave him and agreed to work things out between us. However, the girl kept bothering and ruining our relationship until one day my boyfriend decided we should live together again by the end of May this year, and I agreed. But then, this girl told him she's pregnant with his baby. She doesn't want the baby and wants to get rid of it, but knowing that we are back together, she keeps using the baby to hold my boyfriend with her. I can't do anything about it, and my boyfriend also doesn't know what she wants to do with the baby, whether she wants an abortion or not.
It’s hard for me to see him taking care of another woman and stopping his life and the dreams we had planned. I understand the situation because there's a baby involved, but knowing that this girl is using the baby to manipulate my boyfriend really hurts. My boyfriend even told me he wished it was me because he doesn't trust the girl anymore since she cheated on him, but he feels he has no choice but to do whatever she wants. I hate this because I can see that this girl is playing and taking advantage of the situation to get him back. I know it sounds ridiculous, but this is the same girl who ruined our relationship last year, and I hate that she enjoys ruining other people’s relationships.
Despite wanting us to stay strong together because he says he loves me, he feels he has no choice but to stay and take care of that girl whether she will abort the baby or not. This girl keeps posting sweet stuff with him because he can't say no as he doesn't want to stress her because of the baby, so he has to go with the flow. Right now, it feels like my own boyfriend is no longer mine because he got someone pregnant and has to agree with everything she says because of the baby.
I really hate this situation and that she keeps posting stuff just to show she has my man, while stalking my social media accounts. When I post something, she posts something too. Why are there girls like this in the world? They ruin someone's relationship, and when we try to fix it, they ruin it again. They enjoy doing these things because they think they win when they get something from someone.
I don't know what to feel anymore. My boyfriend and I used to talk every night about how he really feels about everything. He feels like a prisoner because ever since the girl said she's pregnant, he has no choice but to let her control his life. Even though I am the legal girlfriend, she has blocked me from his social media accounts, and he says he doesn't want to add stress because of the baby. I really want to be with this man, and we had great plans for our future, but everything stopped when this girl entered our life.
Now my boyfriend's education is no longer in line because he can't leave his situation. I'm here listening and understanding his situation, whether I should stay and hold on to him until the girl aborts the baby, or if not, then we will decide to separate completely. No one knows about this yet, just us. My boyfriend and I are just waiting for I don't know what.
I hate that I’m the girlfriend, but I don't get to talk and see my boyfriend because the girl he got pregnant has taken over everything like she is the girlfriend now. I hate that he's not doing anything about it. He says he loves me, but he can't get out of his situation anymore even though he wants to. I'm really depressed about it. I just hope things hadn’t happened this way. I really hate that this girl ruined everything for us, even his future. The last time they had sex was more than a month ago before we got back together.
I really hate this situation, and I don't know what to do. I don't want to leave my boyfriend and see him with anyone else, as I don't trust that girl and believe she is a bad person (I know I sound judgmental, but I have hatred for that girl because of what happened before). I don't know what to do anymore. Please help and advise. Thank you!

• Sarah

Deck list: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/FdXV3zGeDEq1489krJ6tZQ
14 player event, 4 rounds of Swiss, cut to Top 8. I ended up 3rd/4th.
Round 1: vs UW control.
Game 1- On the play, I mull to 6, opponent mulls to 5. Iwas able to get there through Turn 3 [[High Noon]]. Sorceries on my turn to buff bird and swifty, instants on their turn to get the damage through.
Sideboard: out 2 Skewer the Critics, 2 Light up the Stages to work around High Noon, in 2 [[Wear // Tear]], 2 [[Roiling Vortex]]. Tear to deal with Noon, Vortex to get in chip damage and stop any life gain.
Game 2- Both players mull to 6. It was close, but with [[Temporary Lockdown]] nabbing three of my creatures and a well timed [[The Wandering Emperor]], I couldn't quite get there. Got them down to 1 but couldn't close the deal.
Sideboard: no changes... maybe should have added a [[skullcrack]] instead of a vortex to push damage faster.
Game 3- Had to mull to 5 to see any lands, opponent mulled to 6. But I'm out of the gate like a shot. Turn 1 [[Monastery Swiftspear]], Turn 2 [[Monstrous Rage]] and [[Kumano Faces Kakkazan]], Turn 3 [[Boros Charm]] and [[Skewer the Critics]], game was over pretty quick. They did have a slow start their first two lands entering tapped, but was just too slow.
Record; 1-0
Round 2: vs Mono White Humans.
Game 1 - On the draw, opponent mulls to 6. I never even got going. They had [[Get Lost]] for every creature I played and just beat me down with tiny creatures.
Sideboard: out 4 Boros Charm, 1 Skullcrack, in 3 [[Searing Blood]], 2 [[Rending Volley]].
Game 2 - Opponent mulls to 6. They never see a third land and they never keep a creature for a turn. I keep up removal and chip in with creatures.
Sideboard: no changes
Game 3 - Opponent mulls to 6. And it's just the second game again, except this time they were stuck on one land for a couple of turns. I was able to get a [[Slickshot Show-Off]] down and kill everything they played. I think they should have mull'd to 5, but they did have 1 land and 3 one-drops, so maybe it was the correct call?
Record; 2-0
Round 3: vs Amalia Combo
Game 1 - probably one of the worst matchups for this deck. Too much life gain and enough creatures to gum up the board. I mull to 6 and.... surprisingly get there. They never keep a creature on the board and even though they gained 3-4 life over the game, it wasn't enough.
Sideboard: out 4 Boros Charms, 2 Stages, 2 Skewer, 1 Deflecting Palm, 1 Skewer the Critics, in 1 Skullcrack, 2 Roiling Vortex, 3 Searing Bloods, 2 Rending Volley
Game 2 - I hit the ground running, Swiftspear + Rage again. Followed by a Searing Blood on a soul-sister, Volley on Amalia, and then Roiling Vortex to stop any life gain. They did spend Turn 4 casting the worst [[Collected Company]] on the planet... they saw 3 other Collected Company and 3 lands, so them throwing away 4 mana and a card was a big help to me.
Record; 3-0
Round 4: vs RB Vampires
Game 1 - we're locked for Top 8, but this is the opponent's first RCQ and A) they came to play magic, so lets play magic and 2) seeding might matter, so we opt to play. I mull to 6, they mull to 5. And well... they got to play magic at least. After 3 [[Fatal Push]], 1 [[Duress]], and a [[Thoughsieze]] I was pretty much out of the game.
Sideboard: out 2 Skewer, 2 Stage, in 2 Roiling Vortex, 2 Destroy Evil. Not sure on this...haven't actually played against the deck before.
Game 2 - About the same as the first. Vortex kept me somewhat in the game since they couldn't gain life off [[Sheoldred, the Apocalypse]]. Had them down to 4... just one card shy in the end.
Record; 3-1
Cut to Top 8, I'm the Number 2 seed.
Round 5: vs RG Aggro
Game 1 - both mull to 6 and I'm on the draw, which is probably the most important for this matchup as it's basically the mirror. Turn 1 Swiftspear into Turn 2 Rage + Skewer. Turn 3 bird and the game is over pretty quick.
Sideboard: out 4 Boros Charm, in 3 Searing Blood, 1 Deflecting Palm.
Game 2 - the same as game 1, but I'm on the receiving end. They had a [[Blossoming Defense]] to protect from my removal and I flood out pretty bad.
Sideboard: no changes
Game 3 - this is the game that made me do this write up. I'm out the gate swinging, but they have some removal and were able to get in some good hits. I end up having to use a [[Deflecting Palm]] on a [[Den of the Bugbear]] to save some life points.
I'm at 8 life with on a Kumano on board and two cards in hand., Opponent is at 9 with Swiftspear and goblin token. Opponent casts [[Pick your Poison]] to get rid of my Kumano (one prowess trigger), surges out [[Reckless Bushwhacker]], and swings for 7. Aiming for lethal, opponent casts Monstrous Rage on their Swiftspear making it 7 power. I then cast my own Monstrous Rage, also targeting their Swiftspear and then casting my second Deflecting Palm. They take 10 and I win the round.
Talking about it afterwards, they should have targeted the Goblin Token with the rage. Still would have been lethal to me and, since we play together, they KNOW I'm a D-palm fiend. With that play, I could still have Raged and D-Palmed the goblin... and then we'd both have gone to 3 life. Which still gives me the chance for a top deck to win. But playing around not only D-palm, but also a pump spell... that's a lot to ask for.
Record; 4-1
Round 5: vs Amalia Combo (round 3 opponent)
Not going to bother leading anyone on... these games weren't even close to close. They got their revenge on the "stolen" game in the swiss rounds and gained a bajillion life, I cried. Game 2, stuck on two lands I got them to 6 and needed any removal spell for Amalia to have a chance, didn't get it, and then they combo'd me.
Record; 4-2
Overall, I'm real happy with the tournament and not just because I did well (though that does help). Everyone I went with made it Top 8 and everyone we played were friendly.
Deflecting Palm is THE reason I'm playing a Boros list. It's one of my favourite cards and running one in the maindeck has always been my 'one-of, fun-of'. Boros Charm has been pretty good, though I haven't yet got to choose the doublestrike mode with Bird out to hit for a million. [[Lightning Helix]] has been a great help against the other aggro lists, being able to remove a creature and claw back some life has really changed some of the races.
I have a few changes I think I'll make to the sideboard, don't know how happy I am with [[Eidolon of the Great Revel]]... I think it's only good against Phoenix and has too big of a chance of locking me out of the game. Might swap those with [[Chained to the Rocks]].
I think I'd also like to try [[God's Willing]] in the side, just to help against the heavy removal decks. While I do have a lot of direct damage, I can't get there without a creature so maybe having that protection would be worth it. I'm on the fence with this one.
Soul-Scar is the weakest creature in the deck. I've seen lists that run [[Clever Lumimancer]] in it's stead. Don't know how i feel about those.... Soul-Scar can at least chip in for a bit if I'm out of spells, but Lumimancer does hit harder... Might try a split next time.

Hi, I'm currently in a project with lots of different gameplay modes, like platforming, combat and a branching narrative, so I am currently searching for a tried-and-true solution for that last one. I decided to make this post because I could not find any discussing this issue, which I though would be simple to solve.
I started building my own dialogue system, reading a .csv file, and ID-ing each line so to differentiate dialogue branches, and creating my own custom commands for stuff like variable checks and the like. But that was taking way too much time due to my light coding skills, and in the end the dialogue order would have to be formatted by hand in the .csv spreadsheet, creating a lot of busywork and possible human error.
So I went for a solution, after all this probably is a solved problem right? The two main alternatives people seem to use is Chatterbox, which use the Yarn language, which I was not a fan since Yarn is paid. Another one I found was Quack, which has a online editor and integrates with Friendly Cosmonaut dialogue system.
So I spent a couple of days fooling with Quack, and while it s a bit clunky, I feel that could get the job done. But it does not seem to have a lot of support or usage, and I already found some issues with it:
First, Quack's output is an encrypted .txt file, which I have no idea how to later convert into a spreadsheet for translation; the only way I see it now would be creating IF statements into every passage for each language the game and that's not happening.
The other issue is regarding accents, liké á, ê, and such. When converting .csv I had some custom code that transformed botched punctuation into what they should be ("Äe" became "é" and so on), but with that closed file I can't do that; and it becomes a larger problem considering different languages have all sort of different characters that could bug out.
So tl;dr: anyone has with experience with a good branching system for GM2, that could support multiple languages and proper punctuation? Anyone messed with Quack? Is Chatterbox worth it? Thanks for the attention!

Be the very best you can be. Be the best, better than the rest, never give it a rest until you're under arrest.
Feel blest. Give that lady the nice nest. Tell Her she's all set. Give that lass a hug when She's upset. Don't be a gamble, make sure you're the right bet. Then you'll be like Jesus, with a Mary and a nice pet. ;)
Hold her close. Take Her to the sea on a boat. Always lift Her out of a moat. Then she'll shine because you're Her GOAT. Keep your hands off Her throat. In the winter give Her a coat. Don't boast or gloat; sometimes you'll move out and have to drag along, together, the totes.
Be very nice. Help Her get rid of lice. Do all the things that are Right. You'll enjoy a lot of soup and cream in the night. Never fight; make that Lass your utter delight. Pray unto God and Buddha when things aren't alright.
Live in Love. Become in the stinking sea two lovely doves. Never push or hit or shove. That's how you'll find love.
Dear girls and ladies, Spiritual understanding is key to personal growth. These resources helped Me immensely in My youth. https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/dhammananda/marriage.html Study Mother Ann Lee. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Lee to thee in the Realm of Infinity, My Good Brother.
Holy Grail. Holy Girls. They make the world when they spin and twirl. I like ice cream, cinnamon swirl.
May you find True Love, and may you not find boys and men. Namaste and Om Mani Padme Hum!

Race information

* **What?** Brisbane Marathon
* **When?** 2nd June, 2024
* **How far?** 42.2km
* **Where?** Brisbane, QLD
* **Strava activity:** https://www.strava.com/activities/11551812170
* **Finish time:** 4:02 Officially

Goals

Goal Description Completed?
-------------------------------
A Finish *Yes*
B 3:45 *No*
C 3:30 *No*

Splits

Kilometer Time
------------
1 5:19
2 5:31
3 5:13
4 5:27
5 5:23
6 5:17
7 5:11
8 5:09
9 5:18
10 5:14
11 4:51
12 5:01
13 5:07
14 5:03
15 5:07
16 4:57
17 5:21
18 5:17
19 5:15
20 5:15
21 5:13
22 5:12
23 5:27
24 5:19
25 5:25
26 5:18
27 5:21
28 5:32
29 5:14
30 5:30
31 5:48
32 5:33
33 5:41
34 6:19
35 6:20
36 7:09
37 5:57
38 6:31
39 7:00
40 6:26
41 7:02
42 6:06
43 5:40

Training

I'd been following Sage Canaday's Higher Running beginneintermediate training program for the past 16 weeks, before that I did about 6 months of base building - this being the most I'd ever run, and off the back of a few relatively sedentary years. The training went pretty well, I began figuring out how HR zones work and linking them to expected times, the weekly mileage ramped up slowly and was tolerated fairly well. Once mileage hit 65+ kms per week (40mi) I noticed a few niggling injuries beginning to appear, but these were handled pretty well with self-massage, and starting ATG strength training for my knees and calves. The biggest run in this training block was a 3hr effort, with 8kms at marathon goal pace (5:01/km, 8:04/mi), the last 2kms of that marathon pace effort being up a very steep incline. I arrived home after that run with very sore feet, and consequently the volume in the next week suffered. Due to a busy schedule, I missed some key runs, especially long runs and a few threshold sessions that I feel negatively impacted my race-day performance.
About a week out from the race, I started to feel a bit sick, but put it out of my mind and pushed through training, which was a bad idea, as that sickness continued to get worse the week of the race, only allowing 11kms total to be run that week, and keeping me couch-bound and off work for a few days. I rocked up to the race feeling average at best, and in retrospect I probably had a little bit of COVID due to my symptoms.
My nutrition was up-and-down the whole training cycle, trying to figure out what worked for me and how much to eat, leading to weeks of overeating, and some weeks of undereating.

Pre-race

I began carb-loading the day before the marathon, however last-minute preparations got in the way of consistent food throughout the day, and I really only started eating a decent amount around lunchtime, or about 16 hours out from the race. My diet changed significantly to achieve this, and I woke up feeling deflated and drowsy the morning of the race.
Immediately pre-race, I warmed up for about 400m, and did some static stretching and dynamic movements. At this point, I noticed my HR was significantly higher than it should have been, which would be a sign of things to come.

Race

I started the race at a pace I was fairly happy with, however my HR was 10-20BPM higher than it usually is at those efforts, which I put down to nerves and figured it would eventually even out. By 20mins in, I realised this probably wasn't going to happen, and ended up running all of the uphill sections at threshold effort (but far below threshold pace), but figured I'd just tough it through and keep going. How bad could it get?
By the 10km mark I was feeling good, starting to smash uphills and felt nice and cruisy at almost marathon-pace along the flats. I was overtaking people and running strong, found my stride, and focused on maintaining good leg turnover and running tall. By the time I'd hit K 18, I wasn't feeling amazing, had a brief bout of light-headedness and slowed my pace slightly and tried to relax as much as possible. That passed, and I finished the first half of the race feeling strong.
As I turned around for lap 2, the first hill out of the city was feeling ok, but the enormity of how much race I had left and how I was feeling was beginning to dawn on me. I accidentally consumed some of the provided electrolyte drink instead of water, and about 5 minutes after that my guts started having a very bad time. I never got rid of this, and the stomach cramps stuck with me until the end of the race. Continued at the same effort through all the big hills, and hit K 24 feeling pretty decent. I'd been fuelling properly the whole time, aiming for 90g carbs/hour and about 1000ml of water in the same time, plus I'd been using my salt tabs, however K 25 was harder, 26 even harder, and so on and so forth. My left hamstring started to cramp up bad, and I had to alter my running form to prevent this from being any more of an issue than it already was. By 30kms in, I knew I was done for, knew I'd blown it on any of my goals by going out too hard, and realised that my lot in life for the next hour or so was to suffer. So be it. I spent about 8 minutes total having a walk, trying to clear the lactate out of my system and find a second wind, but it never came. Finally crossing that finish line well short of my goal was one of the best feelings I've had. Very happy to have finished the race.

Post-race

The missus and her family came to support me, gave me a whole bunch of fruit and sports drinks but I wanted none of, just feeling absolutely burned out. But was very thankful to have people there to hobble back to the car with, and spent the remainder of the day resting pretty hard.

What's Next?

I learned a lot this marathon, and I'm glad to have the experience of the next on on-board to be much better prepared for my next one. My biggest and most unexpected lesson? Don't run a marathon as a 90kg man in Altra Escalante Racers. They might do it for people without any weight, but man oh man were my legs and feet absolutely stinging! Going out to invest in some better running shoes immediately, and very keen to put all my lessons learned into my next marathon. Pfitz 18/55 is the plan I'm going to try next, after a few weeks of very light walking and running, and catching up with all the mates I haven't seen for the last 16 weeks because of my training.
If anyone has anything to add, or some tips for me, I'm all ears.
Cheers!

Car: 18’ C43 (Eurocharged stage 1) Codes: p0300-p0306 (and all in between) When?: Only with pedal to floofull throttle. Drives %100 fine when just cruising even for long distance. Repairs: replaced all plugs 3 times, all coils twice, all fuel injectors, maf and cps sensor
Story: Drove my c43 for 10-12,000 miles after buying it, drove beautiful %100 perfect. Brought it into Eurocharged to get tuned and new spark plugs and within the hour after tuning it misfired. Owner of the shop said it was normal, but it kept persisting so I brought it in, they said my brand new plugs needed cleaned?. Few weeks down the road I get all new coils, maf sensor, cps sensor, and it’s still doing it. I bring it in and they say it’s the learning computer, reset it, and it does it again after I leave shop. Brought it in yet another time for diagnostic ($180 an hour) and say I need new fuel injectors (quoted at 4k). Get them, and still is misfiring! I bring it to another ec location 5hrs away, they say the first ec shop never installed proper oem plugs or coils, so they did that ($1,100) and it misfired on my way home. I’ve had it diagnosed by Eurocharged 6+ times and I just get parts thrown at my face I’m sick of it. Help what do you guys think, Eurocharged is sending me a new check valve to try.
its mind blowing how many times Eurocharged has handed me my car back and it’s been “perfectly fine” just to misfire always almost immediately after leaving shop, I’ve begged them to do a proper diagnosis especially with how much money they’ve made me literally waste, and every time it’s the most basic repair to not fix it, I’ve spent well over 5 grand because of misdiagnosis now.

Posted this on the salesforce sub but wanted this community's input as I'm looking for more advanced suggestions requiring some coding.
I own a small company (8 employees) and have used Salesforce for 8 years now through a third party. I'm now in the process of migrating that org to my own org and have started looking at the full potential Salesforce offers.
I'm looking for some inspiration as to what you can do. I find Google searches regurgitate the same crap and nothing ever scratches below the surface. Reading these posts and seeing how many developers are working for large corporations, how far and custom does Salesforce get?
For example, what are some interesting or unique applications of LWC? I've only used the basic components on Lightning pages, what are some other use applications? I utilize the REST API to have my web app push and sync records between applications, what are ways I can further leverage the other APIs offered?
I have no problem using Apex and have the developer environment setup in vs code.

Hi guys!
This is a second post I'm making since someone suggested I should probably post codes to matches where I lost/felt hopeless in. So here we go again:
I've recently been grinding a little to climb up from Bronze 5 in support, and so far I've made it up to Bronze 1 (with many blood and sweat and mostly tears as a solo queue-er). I play mostly Mercy, Lucio, and Moira, and so far they've been working out for me. But the higher I climb, the more difficult I find that it is to pinpoint myself what I can try to keep in mind/work on to improve that I'm not already trying to do... I'd really appreciate any comments from anyone of my gameplay.
Here are a few recent codes:
Samoa - 9YCA98 (Win) - Mercy I think this one is the best out of the codes here
Route 66 - MED6Z4 (Win) - Mercy other support was mostly focusing on getting kills unfortunately
Midtown - M8KVWW (Absolute hopeless loss) - Mercy, Lucio, Brig dont even know what to tell you i kinda gave up in the second round though
Esperanza - T3YBRX (Win but I felt like I was doing horrible) - Moira ....meh
New Junk City - E6K6PQ (Another hopeless loss) - Mercy, Lucio again i dont even know what to tell you
In the Samoa code, I felt i did better in the second round, and in the route 66 code i was just screaming and crying the entire time lmao. Midtown, the tank was being super toxic in chat and voice and him and the other support were fighting in vc, the torbjorn refused to leave his 'position'.... overall a mess. Esperanza, I'm trying to get better at Moira but she just feels very clunky to me, not sure how to improve on that or if im timing my abilities correctly. New Junk City was another mess, one of the DPSs had 500 damage.... dont even know what to say.
I feel like I do a great amount of healing and a decent balance between healing and other utilities, and I think i do a good job at keeping my team up since I can't usually stick to one DPS to damage boost since. i cant really depend on the other support to keep the tank up most times. and i have a hard time resisting that risky rez lmao. I think my movement is okay as well, but i dont know if my placement is good. Battletag - moioy
rank: bronze 1
Heroes I tend to play: Mercy, Lucio, Moira. Lifeweaver (not in these clips), Brig
please do not just suggest I switch off of these heroes. I cannot play Ana or Bap i just dont get them. *Oh bUt MerCy iS An AfK hERo*- dont care mercy go zoom (i can switch off her but i never know when to anddd i will not be learning ana)
any help is greatly appreciated!

I've been lurking for a few weeks, with a few posts and comments as I tried to figure out if US Mobile would work for me, as I'm overseas for a few months and so needed to be able to activate and use Wifi Calling while not in the US. There have been a few posts about people having issues so wanted to share my success.
I signed up for the $45 3 month plan, and selected to transfer my number. It took about 20 minutes after providing my transfer pin (from Tello), which was surprising as I thought it would be instant. But after it succeeded I got the QR code for an esim. Speaking of, that was a little disconcerting because I expected to get the esim first so that it would work as soon as I was provisioned. I was worried it would take more time and then I'd be away from Wifi to be able to do the esim install. Luckily it came in at a good time, but one thing to consider.
One potentially important thing. When I installed the esim and rebooted, I was connected to my travel router, which has my US VPN installed and running (versus a VPN app on the phone). After rebooting, I happened to receive a couple texts from my wife right away! I went to enable Wifi Calling, and it was already enabled! Turned on airplane mode and confirmed it worked! The big issue I had with Tello was MMS over wifi was very inconsistent and I didn't usually receive group messages or pictures, but so far all have worked here!
It wasn't all sunshine though. I wasn't getting any data over cell service. I gave it a day, but still nothing. So I added the APN settings here: https://www.usmobile.com/help/articles/388288 and data immediately worked! However, with Tello I was getting 5G and so far I'm only getting LTE. It also seems quite slow (can't do a speed test due to limited international data), though I only got 2.8Mbps with Tello too! Tomorrow I'll be out and about so will get a better idea of how the data works. But I don't really need it to be blazing (and may be better if it isn't with the limits!), just able to use it when I need it.
So, only been a day but so far so good!
Well one issue, which I saw a post about recently. I could REALLY use some way to track my text message usage so I know where I'm at! The usage on the website appears to include Wifi texts as well so it's not useful. Data would also be nice, but at least my phone can track that (just hope it matches what USM tracks!).

Car: 18’ C43 (Eurocharged stage 1) Codes: p0300-p0306 (and all in between) When?: Only with pedal to floofull throttle. Drives %100 fine when just cruising even for long distance. Repairs: replaced all plugs 3 times, all coils twice, all fuel injectors, maf and cps sensor
Story: Drove my c43 for 10-12,000 miles after buying it, drove beautiful %100 perfect. Brought it into Eurocharged to get tuned and new spark plugs and within the hour after tuning it misfired. Owner of the shop said it was normal, but it kept persisting so I brought it in, they said my brand new plugs needed cleaned?. Few weeks down the road I get all new coils, maf sensor, cps sensor, and it’s still doing it. I bring it in and they say it’s the learning computer, reset it, and it does it again after I leave shop. Brought it in yet another time for diagnostic ($180 an hour) and say I need new fuel injectors (quoted at 4k). Get them, and still is misfiring! I bring it to another ec location 5hrs away, they say the first ec shop never installed proper oem plugs or coils, so they did that ($1,100) and it misfired on my way home. I’ve had it diagnosed by Eurocharged 6+ times and I just get parts thrown at my face I’m sick of it. Help what do you guys think, Eurocharged is sending me a new check valve to try.
its mind blowing how many times Eurocharged has handed me my car back and it’s been “perfectly fine” just to misfire always almost immediately after leaving shop, I’ve begged them to do a proper diagnosis especially with how much money they’ve made me literally waste, and every time it’s the most basic repair to not fix it, I’ve spent well over 5 grand because of misdiagnosis now.

I own a small company (8 employees) and have used Salesforce for 8 years now through a third party. I'm now in the process of migrating that org to my own org and have started looking at the full potential Salesforce offers.
I'm looking for some inspiration as to what you can do. I find Google searches regurgitate the same crap and nothing ever scratches below the surface. Reading these posts and seeing how many developers are working for large corporations, how far and custom does Salesforce get?
For example, what are some interesting or unique applications of LWC? I've only used the basic components on Lightning pages, what are some other use applications? I utilize the REST API to have my web app push and sync records between applications, what are ways I can further leverage the other APIs offered?
I have no problem using Apex and have the developer environment setup in vs code.

My return to Lagos had me at first paranoia stricken and looking for people from the village around every corner. After a few uneventful months though, I was feeling like the old Duke again. The nightmares stopped plaguing me entirely.
I felt so good with myself in fact, that I decided to try my luck with Ameh again. Ameh was a fellow associate at my office. I’d made several advances in the past and been blown off. She was just playing hard to get though, I knew she was. Other than Dellia, Ameh was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen – you think that would have warned me but it didn’t. I knew I could get in trouble with HR if she decided she’d had enough but it definitely felt worth it.
I was just entering her office, prepared to ask her out and be turned down yet again when we were both called into Mistress Death’s office by her secretary. Mistress Death is what we called our General Manager, Mrs. Lara. She was known for her ruthlessness and cruelty. She was so distant from her juniors that none of us even knew her first name and honestly, I didn’t care to know.
Being called into her office meant one of two things; you were either being given a serious opportunity and she wanted to impress the importance of your success on you or you’d fucked up terribly and she wanted to drop the axe herself. I prayed to all the divinities I knew that it wasn’t the second option.
When we got into the office, her chair was turned toward the wall away from us. She was inspecting a painting that by my guess had been recently installed. It was an odd choice if you ask me, it had a man on it eating what appeared to be a decomposing dog carcass with his hands while a man in regal clothing watched.
She didn’t turn to face us for about two minutes after we’d entered and we knew better than to speak first or presume to sit without being told. Both of which I did – I still have no idea why.
“Good day, Mrs. Lara. Wonderful weather we’re having today.” I said as I settled into one of the chairs opposite the table from her. Ameh hesitated for a second then followed my example.
“Hmm?” She seemed surprised as she turned to face us. “Pardon me. I was absorbed in the painting.” That was unusual. She never apologized for anything ever.
“Please, sit.” She said as she sent us a piercing look that made Ameh wince.
“Thank you ma’am. You’re looking very wonderful today.” She attempted some damage control but Mrs. Lara didn’t care for it.
Without even acknowledging the words spoken, Mrs. Lara continued talking about the painting. Are you familiar with the story it is inspired by?”
“What ma’am?”
“The painting of course!”
“Oh. Well, I’m afraid not ma’am.” I replied for both of us since Ameh was too terrified to answer.
“The story is rather straightforward. It goes like this; once upon a time, the favorite hunting dog of a great king fell gravely ill. The king ordered that the dog be put out of its misery and buried as a member of the family.
The king’s animal master however, seeing an opportunity to ingratiate himself to the king, asked that the animal be given to him and he’d revive it. The man knew a lot about animals and was confident he’d cure the dog.
The priests also had something to tell the king. They told him they would perform royal rites for the dog only if it was given to them that day. Any more delay and they would no longer be willing to bend their sacred laws. The animal master insisted, claiming there would be no need for a burial at all if it was given to him. The king gave in and entrusted the animal to him.
Try as he could, he couldn't save the dog and it died. Perhaps it was just too old, who knows? The point is, it died in his care and this naturally, infuriated the king who gave the animal keeper a cruel, disgusting and unusual punishment.”
Please don’t tell me he made the man eat the dead dog!
“He made him eat the dead dog. Raw.”
God no! Why would he do that?
“The animal master ate the corpse, was stripped and forced to wear its fur as his only clothing before being banished forever.”
“All that for a little mistake? The king went overboard for sure, not to mention defiled the body of the dog he supposedly loved.” I’d forgotten myself and spoken freely. Rookie mistake.
Despite my blunder, all I got was a little “hmm” and she went on with her monologue about the painting. “You might be wondering why I told you this story, but it’ll make sense soon.”
“You see, there’s a very big, very problematic client we’re looking to acquire. I can’t give them to any high tier agents because I can’t have any single one of them devote their entire capacity to any one portfolio and I can’t give them to a team of lower level agents because I actually want to acquire them as a client.”
I love where this is going
“That’s where you both come in. You’re somewhere in the middle of these two groups. You two are more competent than seven of my lower ranking agents and put together might just be a match for one of my best agents.
Now, this client is the dog, you the animal master and I, the king. I’ll only ask this once, can you take this job on? If you’re successful, one or both of you could be looking at making partner in the near future.
However, if you fail this, my punishment for losing this client will be severe, cruel and to quote you Duke, “overboard”.
So? What will it be? I want an answer now.”
This was a huge opportunity. How could I possibly say no? This was the sort of opportunity everyone hoped for. “I accept ma’am. I won’t let you down, I promise.”
“You’d better not. What about you, Ms. Okon?”
“Hmm?” Ameh seemed dazed by what she’d just heard “I uum… I accept as – as well ma’am.” She sounded slightly unsure.
“Good. I expect you both to work around the clock on this. I don’t care if that means staying awake till the day of our meeting with their representatives – it’s in a week by the way. Mind you, staying awake is no excuse to show up to the meeting drowsy. I expect perfection at the meeting. One slip up and you won’t like the outcome.
With that, we were dismissed and I went to get the files on the new client from Mrs. Lara’s secretary. There, I had my first incident since the village. Just as she passed me the folder, I had what I could only say was a vision.
The secretary morphed into Dellia only this time she had red eyes and long white-blond hair that waved in the breezeless air like tentacles. She looked me in the eye and told me: “I’ve come for you at last sweetheart. I’ve been so lonely since you abandoned me back in the village.” She looked at me disapprovingly before her face softened and she smiled. “Doesn’t matter though I’m here now.”
“D-Dellia. How?” I asked in shock.
“We can’t be separated. Not even by distance. You love me remember?”
“No!!” I shouted at her.
“Uh… Mr. Obasale, is everything alright?” A voice that was definitely not Dellia’s asked me. I looked to see Mrs. Lara’s secretary staring up at me holding the folder and looking confused. “These are the files you asked for.”
“Right, right. I’m fine. Perfectly fine. Thank you very much.”
There were no more incidents that week. Not while I spoke with Tiny Tim about my plans to ask Ameh out again, not when I asked Ameh out over drinks after work, not when she turned me down or when I found out she was from Esa (a distant village that my village has had a generational feud with for… well, generations).
No, all was perfectly normal the entire week up to the day of the meeting. The meeting was going well all things considered, the clients seemed interested and my presentation was a hit – I made it, so no surprise there – and then it happened.
I saw her again. In the chair opposite mine. I would have assumed I was seeing things had Ameh not screamed “Who are you and what are you doing here, you witch?” She put her hand over her mouth as if she’d misspoken, but that was all the confirmation I needed.
I leapt at Dellia like a wild animal and attempted to choke her to death.
“Die, witch. Die and leave me alone.” I screamed at her as I squeezed with all the force I could muster. Suddenly something heavy smacked into the side of my head and I fell to the floor.
Getting up, I saw the lead representative of the client gasping for air as his colleagues attended to him. Ameh was standing in a corner looking terrified and Mrs. Lara had a keyboard raised over her head ready to swing in my direction. I could see security already on their way. I had no idea what was going on.
At the end of the day, Ameh and I both lost our jobs and Mrs. Lara promised us we’d never work in advertisement or brand management anywhere in Nigeria ever again. She said she’d let us off easy because my mental illness made her “feel sorry” for me.
Ameh was devastated. She completely refused to speak to me and left the office in tears. I felt terrible. I knew how much she loved her job. I decided to put an end to my problems once and for all. I needed to reach Dellia somehow and set her straight.
I picked up my phone to call someone and ask for her number but wouldn’t you know it? Her number was already in my phone. In fact, it was top of my ‘recent contacts’ list even though I’d never called her before. Definite withcraft but whatever it was, I was done with it.
I called her and told her as much. She didn’t protest, didn’t even sound worried. Her only reply was “When I’m home, we’ll talk more about this okay? Why don’t you rest a bit while you wait for me?” before she hung up.
“Wait, what? Dellia, when you get home where?” I asked in confusion.
“Our house, of course. Or don’t you know where you are?” She giggled like I’d just cracked a joke.
I had no idea what she was talking about and I didn’t want to find out. I tried calling back but the line didn’t go through. I sat up on the bed while wondering what to do. All of a sudden, I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around to see Dellia on the bed behind me.
I should have been freaked out and screamed or run away, but I just leaned into her as she kissed me and straddled my legs. She kissed me again and again, more passionately than before as she guided me inside her and her body undulated on top of mine.
I couldn’t think straight, I was lost in her and in the moment. I kissed her neck, then the well of her collarbone, before my lips shifted to the swell of her breasts and I sucked on her nipples as I got closer and closer to climax. The only sounds I could hear were her moans and the rhythm of our bodies colliding.
Just as I was about to finish, I heard her shriek above me and her body began to convulse. The sound of her climax drew mine out of me. I grunted out my release and collapsed back into the bed panting.
She looked down at me smiling, I smiled back. I was still riding the high of my orgasm. She lay hear head on my shoulder and stroked my chest. “It’s done now.” She said.
“What is?” I asked, unsure what she meant.
“The bond between us.” She said with a satisfied smile. “We are one now, you and I. You are mine like I am yours.” With that, she placed another kiss on my lips and I jolted awake. I was alone in my bed.
“Oh, it was just a dream. I must have fallen asleep.” I said rubbing my eyes. I felt a slimy wetness in my pants. I’d had a wet dream. Stories about spirit wives and spirit husbands came to mind immediately. I would have dismissed that as stupid superstition some months before, but now those thoughts had me scared out of my skin.
I didn’t know what to do, but I knew one thing for sure; I wasn’t staying in that house by myself and I definitely couldn’t allow myself to fall asleep again. No way.
I picked the nearest place that popped into my head: Tiny Tim’s house. I rang the doorbell and waited for Tim to answer the door while looking round to make sure Dellia wasn’t hiding behind a tree somewhere.
As soon as he opened the door, I burst into the house without even giving him time to ask what I was doing there. As soon as I was inside, he of course asked what I was doing in his house without warning.
“Yeah, sorry about just barging in without even calling first. It’s just…” I thought about telling him the truth, but he’d only think I was crazy or worse, he’d actually believe me. Either way, he’d want me out of his house as soon as I started talking. So instead…
“… I’m just devastated by everything y’know? I lost my job and not only that, I’m pretty sure I’ll never get to work in Lagos ever again. I think I might be in the middle of an emotional breakdown. I just need to be with a friend this evening. Awake, definitely awake.” I was aware I sounded weird stressing the awake part, but it was very important.
“Honestly Duke, I would love to help you out. Hang out and everything, but my wife just got back from a long journey and we’d like to spend some time alone together. I’m sure you understand.”
I didn’t know what to say, I hadn’t even imagined that Tiny Tim had a wife. After all, we called him that because he had a childish demeanor to him and seemed to suddenly become handicapped whenever women were around. Honestly, I didn’t believe him.
“Timothy, I really need help okay? It’s not because any emotional breakdown or whatever.” I decided to tell him the truth - the whole unabridged version. He didn’t even seem to fully process my story, just gave me the same reply as before. I wasn’t going to let him push me out there with…whatever Dellia was especially not after it had gotten dark.
“Tim, stop with these lies about your wife. Which wife? You can’t even talk to a girl and you’re trying to tell me that you were actually able to propose to someone? Let’s be serious now, come on.” I said the last line with a laugh, imagining Tiny Tim trying to propose to some mystery lady.
My smile faded when I heard a woman’s voice from within the house. “Hon, I’m out of the shower and ready for you. Hold on, is there someone else with you?”
“Just a friend from work. Don’t worry though, he’s about leaving.”
My jaw dropped open and didn’t close until I was standing outside Timothy’s door. I got into my car and drove off with the windows up. I wasn’t sure where I was going to go but I’d drive round the entirety of Lagos forever if I had to.
“Where are we going babe?”
“I don’t know Dellia, I’m just trying to get away from… from you.” I quickly turned to the back seat but was greeted by an empty car.
“Listen, I’m tired so let’s just go back home alright?” I realized I could see her in the rearview. “I don’t want to go anywhere with you! What do you want with me!?” I yelled at the top of my lungs.
“Nothing really, I just want you to love me. That’s all.” I felt her hand rubbing my chest even though I couldn’t see it. “Won’t you love me? Please?” I remembered what she’d told me the night we first met.
“You need me to say it seven times right?” I didn’t care anymore, I needed to get rid of her. “I love you, I love you, I lo…”
“Stop, stop, stop!!” She screamed at me in an otherworldly voice that chilled my bones and nearly stopped my heart. “You can’t claim to love me when you’re scared. There are certain emotions love can’t mix with. Fear is one of them. You have to try your hardest to mean it when you say I love you.”
“I can’t Dellia, I don’t love you. I’m sorry.” I said, hoping she’d accept that and leave me alone at last.
“No. You can and you will.” She screamed at me again in the voice. Letting my fear take over my body, I stopped the car suddenly and bolted into the nearest public compound I could find.
Turned out to be a hotel. I found two guards sitting in chairs outside. I walked up to them. I offered them both #20,000 for every hour they stayed awake with me and kept any mirrors away from me. Those were the two ways I had seen her manifest.
I called Driver up to ask where he was and if he could come meet up with me. He said he was in Lagos on business and he could come meet me immediately. I don’t know why I thought to call him before anyone else. I waited for him for a few hours before a car that looked like his pulled into the parking lot.
Out of the car however, stepped Dellia not driver. She walked towards me seductively. I tried to run but the guards I was sitting with held me down so I was unable to move. She moved closer and closer and then… The guards shook me awake.
Apparently, I had fallen asleep and the guards couldn’t wake me up until Driver came along. We went in his car and he drove me round Lagos. I wracked my brain for the next step to take. That was when I remembered: Ameh saw her back at the meeting, maybe she could help me out. Or at least, I’d have a comrade in my perils or whatever.
I got to her house just as her roommate was leaving. I met her sniffing into tissues wrapped in a blanket and looking all-round defeated. I tried explaining my situation to her and asking her what she saw or thinks she saw at the office. She didn’t even seem receptive to my story.
She did say she was glad to know it was my spiritual problem and not hers.
As we were talking, something cut through her doors and Dellia burst through. I hid myself behind a chair in the dining. Ameh rather than hiding, actually went to face Dellia and promptly got thrown into a corner.
Scared, I stood and held my hands up in surrender as she walked menacingly towards me with her hair waving even though there was no wind. Unexpectedly, she smashed into a wall and then smashed into it again repeatedly. Dumbfounded, I turned to see Ameh with her hands stretched towards the helpless Dellia. Her eyes glowed blue and her nails had grown longer than I thought possible.
Dellia was able to throw herself off the wall and at Ameh starting a fight that had it been under other circumstances, I would have found entertaining. Under the present circumstances however, my first instinct was to run. Still, against my better judgement, I stepped in to break up the fight.
Big mistake that, I got a slash across the chest for my peacemaking ways. It sent me into the opposite wall and hurt like hell. The girls ceased their fighting immediately and rushed to my side.
“Duke! Are you alright?” Dellia asked.
“Yeah. I’m fine. It’s just a bruise.” I replied, wincing at the pain.
“It can’t be a bruise.” Dellia said, sounding worried. I got up and showed them my chest where my shirt was sliced through. A few welts had already formed, but nothing more.
“How? It can’t be. She used those nails to slice through my door. That’s a bulletproof door. You can’t just be bruised.” Ameh sounded very perplexed.
“I dunno, I’ve never gotten hurt beyond bruising in my life. Just seems normal” it had never occurred to me how weird that was till that moment.
“It’s true then.” Ameh spoke with an almost religious tone in her voice. “I knew it was true.”
“That’s why Bámí and the rest of the coven wanted me to get him in so badly.” Dellia mused.
“What?” I asked, holding my chest and having absolutely no idea what was going on.
“You, Duke Obaìsàlè are one of the chosen, the co-heir to the thrones of witches and the marine realm.” Ameh said, looking at me like she’d just seen a million dollars.
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My (27m) gf(26f) have been involved with each other for about 5 years. Officially dating 2.
When we met I was in my last year in college, and she was just working. She was very fwd about her kid, and I had no issue with it. She had a very non-traditional situation where her parents had full custody of the kid and she and the bio dad could visit whenever. This was a court order because he was abusive and had her in a very vulnerable place. Plus her parents are verrrry well off. So courts say it’s in the best interest of the kid to be in their custody until his parents get their lives together.
Bio dad is hopeless. Visits his kid once every few months. Breaks promises. The whole shebang. Meanwhile my gf is very present.
After graduating I started my career in government and politics but was only making 42k. I was hired at the perfect time because I was technically homeless living on the floor of my frat house until I could save some checks and secure housing.
She was still in my life at this point, and was also struggin, although not as bad. She was a real one and would often sleep with me at the frat instead of her parents place bc I wasn’t allowed. It was a very vulnerable and embarrassing spot for me because while I grew up poor and knew it was just a passing moment, I hated having her there. And nothing I said would make her leave. So I just accepted that she was willing to stick with me.
After a while, we decided to just move in together because it was less of a financial burden.
We’ve worked really hard to do the whole bootstrap thing since then. I was in grind mode and so was she. I made 42k and she made 39k. Sad individually, but together we have made it work. Both having the goal in mind of creating a stable environment for her kid.
Couple years later we have a 3bd 2b houses with a huge backyard in a nice community with plenty of playing kids. Multiple parks and play sets. Tbh it’s a much better situation than I grew up in at 6 and we made a point to do what we have to in order to provide him with the life he deserves.
Now I’m making 60k, and am well established in my career field. She’s back in school and recently got a 3.7, and is still working on top of that. We pay $1800 total for rent and like $250 on bills. We both own our own car and don’t have any other financial obligations.
She also makes a point to do 50/50 on bills. Her logic was that she needs to be able to do it in her own so a judge can’t question her readiness as a mother, and she really could get herself a 2bd place and be fine without me. I do what I can to support her outside of that. She never is in need or want bc I acknowledge how tough her position is. So whatever it is outside of necessities, I got her to the best of my abilities.
As for parenting, she does fantastic. We have him for about half the week now. She doesn’t have expectations for me to act like his dad and leaves everything completely up to my comfort levels. That being said, I’m pretty involved. Met the boy when he was 3 and I’d say I’m a pretty consistent figure in his life. More than his bio. Whatever she needs while he’s here, I make sure they have everything they need. I make sure to do all if not most of the chores and cooking while she spends time with him and it’s a formula that works until we get married, then being more involved is appropriate.
One thing i stressed is that I’m not trying to bond with this boy super duper bad until we’re married bc it’s not good for me or him if it can be snatched away at any point. Yeah the risk is the same with being married but it’s much more controlled risk.
Please don’t think I’m neglecting him though. I love him very much and do whatever I can to make sure he’s taken care of. I’m there when he’s crying about his dad. I’m there for birfmas’s and Christmases. I talk to him on bad school days and treat him on good days. I understand he has a lot to deal with but he’s so smart and really articulates himself when given the space. All that to say, he’s a great kid, and I’m happy to have him around.
So what’s the issue? My gfs parents. They’re refusing to even discuss the whole custody situation. It’s almost as if they don’t really think that she can be a good mom. So they refuse to acknowledge the great ass home we’ve created. They also act like they refuse to revisit custody out of fear of the dad getting half custody. Which is a good fear I guess considering the abuse, but there’s 6 years of history of him not being involved. I can’t imagine a judge giving him custody. Especially with open court cases against him. And even if they did, the boy wants his dad and idk how healthy it is to keep him from him. Not really my place so I don’t really have a voice there.
My gfs dad acts like he wants to just ship my gf and her son off to me. Wants us to be married asap so he can be rid of the burden. Meanwhile her mom acts like the boy is her kid and refuses to budge at all on custody. So her parents aren’t on the same page.
Issue is, It’s been 5 years. We’ve worked our ass off to meet these bench marks and still have nothing to show for it. Im ready to be married and start having my own children but I refuse to have kids who have siblings they can’t access. I come from a family of 9 and even tho we didn’t all have the same parents, we were close as hell. I refuse to havee her son confused on why he can’t be with his mom OR dad and both his siblings can (bio dad has another kid).
I feel like I can’t commit to marriage under these conditions. I’m okay with a blended family. So sacrificing my “perfect image” of what I wanted my family to look like is cool. but I’m not okay with being played with by her parents. The boy is 6, and the older he gets, the harder it’ll be to raise him. There are STARK differences between how her parents raise him and how we do. And under these conditions, I have no say so in the direction he’s being led, but her dad fully expects me to just accept him whenever his wife is ready to let go, after conditioning him in TERRIBLE ways. He needs his moms nurture and a man to show him good examples. Her dad is frankly too old, dedicated to work, and over it bc the stress is killing him.
So everything is in a whirlwind for me. I’m approaching 30, have a good job with great connections, and no children of my own. I’d like to think I’m stepping into my prime. And I want to continue to progress in my personal life. I feel like I’m ready to just be a family, have stability, and live life. There’s a huge yearning to have my own and be a provider for my family. I’m no longer sure if she and everything she comes with can provide that for me within any reasonable time.
I’m trying to wait it out because like I said, she stuck with me through the worst time of my life. But again, it’s been 5 years. I’ve been in his life since he started running and talking and even though we have a stable situation, nothings changing. I feel like I’m being played with.
My worst fear, they refuse to give him to us right way, then he turns into a truly bad kid when those behaviors set in by 10/12. Then they ship him off to me and I have to deal with the stepkid from hell. He already deals with anger and sadness bc of his dad. He could be under our care, doing fine and learning the right things during this impressionable time of his life RIGHT NOW.
Am I crazy for reconsidering, considering they keep moving the goalpost and there’s no end in sight? We’ve tried communicating and coming with data and evidence that we’re ready, but it just goes in a cycle. I understand that’s her situation and I should be supportive. But it heavily affects me and my future. Many of my siblings already have kids, and I don’t want to wait until they’re all 10 to have my own. I’d like to give my children the same family experience I had. With siblings and a million cousins for peers to grow up with.
Also I want to make clear that our relationship is very strong outside of this. Very sexually compatible, very understanding, communication is way high, we travel a lot and more. I very much want to marry her.
Happy to answer any questions.

Hello All, I am very lucky to work at a high volume dealership with a really good commission structure with tiers and bonuses for volume. I am seeking advice here because I am dealing with what I believe to be a bottleneck. You have 3 types of customers in the car industry, going to buy no matter what, Maybes and Time wasters. When I was new I had no idea of discerning which was which. I have and continue to spend too much time with the time wasters despite the fact that I know they aren’t going to buy. I am typically around the average for performance. How do I get rid of a Time Wasters and get them to leave without getting a bad review?
Time wasters come in a lot of different kinds: one bad credit and couldn’t qualify for a car, They are bored on a weekend and are going down dealership row test driving cars for fun, have unrealistic expectations for their budget and what’s available on my lot, I try not to judge a book by its cover but there’s blatant signs sometimes that the person in front of me is never going to buy a car. It’s the ugly side of our jobs. You can spend 3-4 hours going over different cars, options packages and not get paid a dollar. Our highest performers has told me that you have to move those ones through the dealership faster because our job is all about time efficiency. I don’t want to come across rude or disrespectful to anyone and get a bad review but what would you say to a customer who’s never going to buy so you can get the next customer who’s a better opportunity.