Metro pcs store near me

So in January I started working on my MBA. It hasn’t been the greatest experience so far. The courses have been online more frequently than advertised - and the professors are out to lunch and not helpful. I’m not at a top tier school or anything. Just a solid state school.
I currently make 220-225k a year (with a partner who makes 100k a year). This has been the case for a few years now. I’m in the edtech space - and we live in a low cost of living area (metro Detroit).
A big part of me feels like I’ll always be perfectly content as an IC (or a director at most). I just never want work to dominate my life and I enjoy my current work/life balance. But there is a small part of me that wonders about being an executive one day.
But I’m having serious doubts about this all being worth the hassle. My current thinking is unless I really want to be in the C-suite……this probably isn’t worth it.
Anyone in this sub willing to give me their thoughts on my current situation?
One final detail - my company isn’t paying any of my tuition bills. So this is all out of pocket for me.

How far would you guys go to avoid social interaction?
For me, I have 3 grocery stores around my area all 5-10 minutes away. None with self checkout, tho I’m willing to travel 40 minutes to the other store that has a self checkout so I don’t have to speak to the cashiers. Also drive thrus- there’s some right near my house yet I would rather have them doordash’d with no contact than drive 2 minutes to get a burger 😭

I'm looking to buy a used trail bike (either full susp / hardtail) on Pinkbike. Some bikes look brand new to me and the price is $700-$1000 more lower than its original price. Unfortunately, none of these sellers live near me, so I don't have opportunity to check the bike in reality. I'm afriad of buying a bike that has problems. What should I do in this conditions?

Trying to find information on it, unfortunately the only dates I have been able to find relate to the theatrical release (which did not show near me) so I have been waiting to stream it. Does anyone have any information?

Hi all. I am in a nearly-2 year relationship with my bf and he has a 13 y/o daughter from a past relationship (they were married for a couple months). We have her 50/50.
From the get-go bf told me he only expected me to be a friend to his daughter (let's call her A). His rationale was- she already has a mom, nor did he want me to be that sort of role. (Thankfully). This is my first relationship involving a kid. I am also very introverted and I work a high-stress job so I tend to flourish on alone time. Additionally, I have implemented a lot of NACHO parenting tactics. (Saying this just to paint the picture here). Oh, and she is quite clingy and deploys a lot of attention-seeking behavior. She likes me a lot, but that usually means she likes to be around me talk to me etc etc esp when dad isn't around - he is usually busy scolding her to do her chores and such around the house. (She can quickly get on my nerves but I try to really be her friend when I am not trying to unwind from work and such). Soooo all in all I figured being her friend but also being a NACHO parent was a good fit for me.
A likes to also spend time at my bf's mom's house- she used to stay there a lot when she was younger and my bf was working. But still likes to go there sometimes.
We had a difficult conversation about 2 weeks ago and bf told me he sensed a "weird tension" between me and A from the start. He Didn't know if she was uncomfortable around me, or I around her, or vice versa. This definitely threw me for a loop. He said he noticed when she is usually around I usually retreat to the porch/ the bedroom and spend time alone. I told him that this is usually because when she is here, I am just getting off of work and need to un wind. He was really just basing these observations on my post-work self, which hell, doesn't like to really chat much with him either, Lol. So I think he realized his misunderstanding.
But about a week later the topic comes up again. He says A actually told him last week he should buy me an engagement ring as she really likes me (weird timing lol). So I guess that was proof of that. But he told me "I wish I knew how you really felt about her". I'm like... you know I'm introverted, I need my space, yet you have SEEN me be with her and hang out with her, we go places when you're not home sometimes... I don't understand what more you want me to do?? He didn't really say much but I have an inkling he is taking my NACHO parenting tactics as meaning I don't want to have anything to do with A.
A really does need a friend- I strongly believe her attention-seeking behavior can stem from emotional neglect as she bounces around from bf's moms home to our home to her mom's, all 3 of them (and me) work a lot, also bf and her BM are pretty strict and don't let her really be with friends, she tends to get herself in trouble. She also gets bullied a lot. So I try to be there for her like that but I refuse to step more into a mom role.
Ugh.. sorry this is so long-winded.... I feel like I am so confused with what bf really wants out of me in terms of my relationship with A. He seems to want me to just be her friend and on the other hand wants me to step in more, no NACHO parenting, be something else. I don't know. I also think HE is confused given the mixed signals here.
Insight??? :/

Newer DM looking for help in designing boss encounters. Might be the language barrier idk, I've read most of the rules on LA in the DMG (sorry, no "obligatory go read the DMG challenge", it's funny I know).
I'm just asking for honest help because they seem too strong from my understanding. If I get it right, if in each round, the monster can take say 3 legendary actions, then they'll act 3 times at the end of 3 player turns (or less if actions they take cost more than 1). For each round they can take only 1 type of action, but they will use the same action 3 times in one round, after the turns of 3 different PCs. Then for the next round they have to take a different LA.
All of this is in addition to actions and bonus actions, which they take 1 of each in their turn, and in addition to reactions, which they can take 1 per round outside of their turn. In addition to passive/auto-triggered properties.
Then there's Lair Actions, of which the bad guy activates one per round, at initiative count 20, independently of whose turn it is. Please tell me where/if I'm wrong: this just seems a looot of actions to me. Say I have 4 players, means the bad guy can do up to 6-7 things, adding up action, reaction, bonus action, LA and lair. How is it not overwhelming for players, especially if I include minions? Is higher-level play really that unbalanced that I have to include all of this just to match PC strenght?

i used to be in great shape. i was an athlete for years and was always an even 110 lbs. up until about a year ago. i've always had "the ick" about fruits and vegetables, so once i moved out from my parents' i pigged out to a massive extent and gave myself a major junk food addiction. i do eat healthy here and there and i do like foods that have healthy things in them somewhere, but the unhealthy eating outweighs the healthy eating to a ridiculous extent, and the ability to eat fruits and vegetables on their own (let alone the recommended serving per day) is still pretty much nil.
so, combined with a recent sedentary lifestyle within the last year, i've gained a pretty hefty amount of weight (about 30-35 lbs.). i'm currently the biggest i've ever been in my life after having been a consistent and constant one weight throughout puberty as well as after (~10 years).
i know 140 lbs. isn't "fat", but i can tell i have a very high percentage of bodily fat in that number despite it still being fairly low. i do have some lingerings of muscle in my leges from my athletic days in high school, but if we're being honest i look like a stick with a beer belly, huge ass, and lots of cellulite on my thighs... so the muscle isn't really the sole driving force in that weight on the scale. i'm truly just textbook skinny-fat. genetically speaking, the people in my family are skinny with some muscle -- and before my addiction really took off, i was the same. i ate normally, though, and there was never any sort of restriction. that said, it was definitely less than how much i eat now because the food i was eating didn't have nearly as much empty calories.
see, with the empty calories comes a big, raging appetite for me. fast food isn't very filling for me despite its high caloric content, so i've also conditioned myself into pretty much always being hungry, and that hunger calling for more and more fast food. it's the perfect storm and it's how i know the weight gain isn't coincidental, or meant to be, or anything like that.
i really want to get over my fear of fruits and vegetables. i avoid them like the plague and it looks very ridiculous and silly considering the fact that i'm a grown adult. i also plan to get back into working out, but i know diet matters too, or sometimes even matters more. i don't want to predispose myself to heart conditions, pancreatic conditions, etc. at such a young age by continuing my awful diet of taco bell, soda, and microwaved meals... but being stuck in this loop has gotten me to the point where i turn my nose up at even the tasty-healthy stuff, like steak or potatoes.
what do i do?!

Many moons ago, I was a real military pilot, and I don’t recall keeping the opponent visual as being anywhere near as much as issue as it is with DCS. I’m using Track IR, and the settings seem smooth enough. The screen is a 4k 43” TV, and the GPU is a 2080ti. I don’t do too badly in visual fights when maintaining sight, but obviously have my behind handed to me otherwise. What am I missing?

We were long distance for just about the entirety of our relationship. Three hours away, we saw each other pretty often. Together for 20 months.
Within a few weeks of going exclusive, things slowly changed in our communication. I don't like to constantly be on the phone. He'd get upset when I didn't text him all day, if I'd go more than an hour without texting him. He wanted to have discussions about it. He wanted me to take time to listen to his emotions every day. I started to feel exhausted, I have a mental disorder, so does he. Being expected to listen to his every thought on top of my own depressive and occasional hypomanic episodes was hard.
Then I got sick during a year-long medication treatment. I lost my libido, I gained weight, my self esteem plummeted. He was always supportive and generous with compliments, especially about my appearance.
But things changed even more when he told me he wanted to move to my city. I suggested considering an open relationship so he could still have sex. He was excited and told me he'd move down to my city. I was excited, but now I find the timing saddening. He later told me several times that he did not move to my city to be near me. Hearing that was confusing, it just felt so wrong. I want to respect his decisions, but that felt like a gut punch, and he said it no less that four times on two different occasions. Once during a heated discussion whole I was in the thick of a depressive episode. That activated some devastating thoughts.
He started showing a more angry side of himself, and he started to blow up at me. Not always to fight, most frequently when he was frustrated at his own choices and after series of inconveniences. Stress. I wanted to lay down boundaries about taking anger out on me, I felt more afraid the more it happened. I told him my feelings, and he told me that my feelings trigger him and that I needed to accept his rage and just learn to leave the situation while it was happening.
I broke up with him the next week. He'd been in town for just three weeks at that point. During the breakup he told me that he moved here for me, and when I called him out on saying the opposite, instead of denying it, he rephrased it and dropped the subject. I still loved him, but I felt hopeless. I felt disrespected and scared. I felt guilty.
He picked up and moved hundreds of miles and then I broke up with him. New job, no friends in town that he really hangs out with. Just an ex girlfriend that broke up with him. It's been six weeks since I broke up with him. He's lived here twice as long as our relationship lasted once he moved in.
I hope he finds joy here. He asked me to check in on him and he told me he's hanging out with his coworkers now. I just don't know how to stop feeling guilty. I felt so much resentment building up within me when communication didn't work out and it started to feel like walking on eggshells. Why do I care so much when he didn't care about my feelings and frequently pressured me for sex and made me feel bad when I wouldn't have sex and then when I did and he'd question me about how much I enjoyed it and tell me that he felt inadequate so frequently. I needed to leave.
I just feel awful. I feel good when I don't think of him, and I keep busy enough alone and with friends to not fixate. Then I do finally think about him and i fixate on how it must be the opposite for him. He has no one to confide in and he doesn't get to feel the comfort I feel having my peace in my home alone. He wants to be with other people so much and he lives in a whole new city. I feel like I should've told him not to move. I wish he hadn't.

Sounds crazy I know but I heard this is a couple times where shrinkflation can actually help reduce obesity in the long run. I thought it was crazy but when it was explained to me it kind of seems like it could actually be a good thing health wise. For lower economic backgrounds, the idea is that cheap stores like Dollar Tree and Dollar General are more pressure prone to inflation especially in junk food, so they have to increase prices and reduce the item compared to a farmer selling fruit and vegetables. Yes, the farmer has to raise prices but it harder for him to just put less items in a container. For higher economic background if prices get too high and people have to pick between snacks and stables, they just go with the stables until a competitor arrives that offers the snacks for cheaper prices. Not sure if the data backs this up but it doesn't sound impossible I guess.

Okay so. This is a job for those of you google maps geniuses that somehow find a bunch of hidden gems in certain places. (Or simply people that live in the area and know a place that’s exactly what I’m looking for.)
The job is finding me a rivelake/beach, located in Maryland, I do not meant some sort of National park or whatever, I mean something hidden or secluded that not too many people know about. It needs to be located near New Carrollton/hyattsville/lanham (near any of these general areas), within 30mins driving distance.
Requirement: 1.Must be safe, I’m not trying to die from a river suddenly dragging me into a massive rock or get chemical burns. 2.Must be able to swim in it safely 3.Must have space on land, at least enough space to fit one of those white foldable tables basically.
First person to find me a place gets $10 via PayPal, first come first serve.

So I work for sam's now after getting fired from Walmart and I had this customer who told me she used to work for Walmart as a manager before she quit because of all the corporate bullshit. She told me that her store manager used to tell her to write up five employees every month and one csm every month as this was the only way to keep them motivated. She refused to do this so they went after her and she quit as it was the last straw. I don't know how many stores this is true for, but it definitely explains a lot especially at my old store as there were people getting written up for seemingly no reason.

Hi everyone! My name is Frankie and im sending this post here in the hopes of making some friends or maybe something more!
Here's a little about me and my interests:

• Music: I am a huge music nerd. I listen to a lot of genres and have a lot of favorite artists, namely (and not by order of preference): Royal Blood, The 1975, Maneskin, Starset, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Brent Faiyaz... will edit this post if I remember more.
  
• Vintage Cars and other vintage stuff: I love cars, but especially vintage ones. I have one which I restored over the course of 4 years. I also love old stuff like Vintage clothes and others like vinyls and radios and so on.
  
• Video Games & PC Nerd: I play a lot of video games... huge variety in genres. I can play anything from Dead By Daylight to Minecraft. Besides this, I love to build PCs and other custom PC components and have been doing it for quite some time. Recently I've started coding since I just joined a Computer Engineering course.
  
• Location: I'm from Portugal, therefore my timezone is BST (British Standard Time)
  
• Physical Appearance (if that matters to you): 5'9, fluffy long curly hair, hazel eyes, wears glasses and is just a little chubby.
  
• Other Stuff: I am not sure how to feel about religion. I was born a Christian though I have considered myself an Atheist in the past...
  

About you:

• You share at least one of the same interests as me
• Probably a little better at communicating then me (I promise I am a good talker as soon as we get along)
• If you are messaging me with interest on a relationship, looks don't matter much to me as long as you're not a 0/10 then I will love you unconditionally!
• Location: anywhere!

Uhm.. That is it for now. Hit me up!

Had this post on my mind to possibly make for a bit, and then I just recently saw a post; 'is jehovah a fraud' and thought why not.
Here's two tiktok video(ik tiktok😮‍💨 but their simple and straight to the point, especially the second one) that explains Gnosticism:

1. https://www.tiktok.com/@aslanpahari/video/7192421730919435521
   
2. https://www.tiktok.com/@guided2thestars/video/7170189870437076270
   

So, from those; to me in a strange way, it kinda makes sense. For instances the part, if a God so based in genuine pure perfect love, knows when every person dies(that sparrow scripture heh) and is mournful about us dying(that's alot of constant mourning..) is allowing all this violence, pain and carnage to carry Just to prove a POINT to the world and the angels(angels who are 'perfect' beings which I feel they'd deduce from Satan loosing that their isn't a point to question God, and don't need to watch humans 'fail' to get a point) is he really That loving God depicted by Christianity?? I'll even bring up the obvious of example of 2 Kings 2: 23-25; 42 CHILDREN?? killed for making fun of a prophet, I even asked my father a long time ago what good reason for Jehovah to allow there to have children to be "torn to pieces"[I mean just imagining that pain and terror they felt]; and I can't recall his exact answer but it didn't even make sense, like it didn't give that 'ah okay they definitely deserved that.'
And just how the organization functions on catastrophizing everything, and it's all based on "It's so near, very very near now, etc." It's the perfect way to keep someone continuously in a state of fear and constant trepidation. And how many religions tend to overlap in small yet weird ways, similarities.
I mean even just taking the philosophical view of realities origins out from those videos; the point in things not seeming to be how the majority see it to be just scratches a distant itch that I've had for awhile before I even started questioning.
What are yall's thoughts on this?

Being told to deal with the Sorcerers now by the shadowy cabal of Asgorath-worshiping monks, I proceeded to do just that.
Well, more specifically, I looked for wherever the hell they holed themselves up in.
The faithful of Bahamut shot me frosty glares as I walked around the city unimpeded, though I did very pointedly give them a very strongly worded letter about spying on me and ambushing me, and that if Nakk wasn't going to tolerate their shit, he wasn't going to tolerate mine.
Hopefully, that bought me some breathing room.
Now, the Sorcerers hadn't fucked off elsewhere, or I would have gotten a lot of questions as to where they went. They still operated in the town, still used their magic appropriately, so it wasn't like they were being assholes about it.
But, considering I was being warned about them specifically, shit was about to go down.
Now, I didn't go alone. Not specifically. I had my Warlocks move about, searching for any clues as to the whereabouts of the Sorcerers.
Naturally, they were extremely dodgy about where they were going.
But, the more we looked, the more we found clues, the more we got closer until we realized they were gathering under the Council Chamber.
So there they were, all nine of them, not counting the however many probably awoke due to my machinations. Nine Sorcerers, Nine Warlocks, and me.
They were gathered around some sort of sacrificial altar that was stained with blood, on which they were very pointedly bleeding on.
"You know-" I said, startling them and causing them to look at me. "-If you'd just been respectful to my Master, you might have gotten more than you could have ever dreamed of."
"Ruuk, what are you doing here!?" Goss hissed.
"Looking for you before you get yourselves killed." I said. "I've been warned twice that you were getting into some shit, and here I find you bleeding all over an altar that isn't even configured right, you fucking idiots."
They shared looks, first shocked, then angry. They started yelling, my Warlocks screamed into their heads to shut up, which caused them all to rub their heads.
"Which one of you has the highest Level?" I asked. "Goss? Taklak? Kashak?"
"I am a solid Level 4!" Molo bragged.
"That's it?" I asked. "Fuck's sake, I'm Level 6. I've been out there busting my fucking ass. We got invaded while you were playing fucking secret society! People died!"
"We wouldn't have lost anyone, if Kurtulmak gave us power!" Hagnar snapped.
"No, we would have lost more." I said. "If you actually cared about the Warren, you would have been out there, leading rather than plotting."
"Says the man who's clearly getting boosted by Kurtulmak!"
I strode toward them, my patience wearing thin. "I want to make something very clear now." I said. "You've wasted more time trying to get stronger than it took me. You think hard work hardly works? Hit me." I removed my armor. "I'm wide open."
They didn't do anything, they just stared at me with wide eyes. "Oh, this? This isn't armor." I said. "It's a sign of my fealty to my Master. Now, Hit me."
The spells were flung at me, and most of them did hurt. "Nine of you." I said, grinning. "And you couldn't even hit me properly. Kneel."
They began backing away.
"I said kneel!" I roared.
They all fell over themselves as they tried to kneel. They all looked terrified.
"I am going to give you exactly one chance to make up for your foolish behavior." I said. "I will call you out one by one, you will approach, you will kiss my hand, and you will swear your undying loyalty to me, your Imperator, and the Empire that our Master will raise. If you refuse, I will end your pathetic excuse for a life right then and there. And if even one of you attacks me, my Warlocks will make that scream in your mind feel like a gentle tickle."
I held my hand out. "Goss." He scrambled over to me and knelt. He took my hand and kissed it. "I swear my loyalty to you, my Imperator, and the Empire our Master will raise." He said.
"Good. Stand among my Warlocks. Arix."
One by one I called their names, and they came. They spoke their vows, all nine of them.
I put my armor back on and said, "Excellent. From this moment on, every hour, one of you will go to my Tower, you will pledge your fealty to our Master, and you will allow him to mark you such that you can never disobey him again." I looked at them. "And if even one of you tries to escape, I will track you down as easily as I have now. You are marked, each and every one of you. I will make your deaths as slow and miserable as I see fit. My Empire has no room for traitors."
"Yes, Imperator!" They said.
"Dismissed."
They all left, clearly trying not to piss themselves or run. I felt a wonderfully powerful sense of pleasure and smiled. "Warlocks." I said. "Continue about your day."
I cleaned up the mess the Sorcerers had made left the Councilor Chamber. I ran into Tallyn on the way out.
"Brother." He said.
"Sibling." I replied.
"What are you doing here?" He asked.
"The Sorcerers were trying to summon a Demon for power." I said. "Considering they tried to petition my Master for power as well- he denied them, rightly noticing they did not care how they got power- I threatened to kill them if they kept trying, ordered them to submit to my Master, whereupon they will be marked such that they will no longer be a threat to the Warren."
He stared at me in utter shock. "Did you-? Do you hear yourself?" He asked in a horrified whisper.
"Brother." I said. "This is an outright Demon we're talking about. We're lucky they're fucking idiots and didn't make their altar correctly, so they were just bleeding on a fucking slab of rock with pentagrams and shit on it. They attacked me. That on top of your fellow Paladins ambushing me and accusing me of conspiracy-" I gave him a pointed look, "-my capacity of mercy is very low at the moment."
"Ruuk... What happened to you?" He asked.
"You and your Temple tried to kill me." I replied. "For the sins of compassion and mercy." I shrugged. "I've tried meeting you and yours half way, I sought atonement out of guilt, to rectify what I had done. I've tried to walk the path of good, and the cold, simply truth is, you and your order have not given me much incentive to continue to walk that path."
He was silent.
"Tallyn." I said, taking hold of his hands. "I miss the days when you were the good brother." I was able to see the exact moment when his heart ripped right in half. I walked right past him. I was tired of his shit, and at that moment, I wasn't going to play his or his Temple's game anymore.
I took a deep breath to try and center myself, as I started heading back for my Tower.
"Has it become your mission in life to leap merrily from the slippery slope?" A familiar voice asked me. I turned around, coming face to face with a gray-scaled Kobold, behind him were seven others with ruddy yellow scales.
"You've certainly changed since I last saw you." Bahamut stated. "A turn for the worse, it would seem."
I gave him a reverential bow. "I take it the Fizban persona wouldn't work now." I remarked.
"No, it wouldn't." He said. "All your doing, it would seem."
"Indeed. My doing." I couldn't help but smile.
"And with such pride as well. Walk with me, and understand I speak with you only because what I have to say is important."
I nodded and walked beside him, his seven companions following as inconspicuously as a septet of yellow Kobolds could- which I had to admit was surprisingly good.
"I am not happy." He stated.
"I sincerely doubt you would." I replied.
"With you, I expected it." He remarked dryly. "My followers have been playing fast and loose with their morals, day by day, their actions speak louder than their affirmations of faith, and what they say is, 'We are only concerned with our own power'. Does that amuse you?"
"No." I replied. "In fact, it pisses me off."
"The gradual corruption of a sect of holy warriors disgusts you?" He asked, his tone carrying a hint of surprise. "For all your posturing about, you still manage to get things done, even if they're via less morally sound standpoints."
"Is there a purpose to this beyond chatting?" I asked.
"Yes." He said. "One way or another, this Warren will become a theocratic nation, your faith spreads like wildfire, while the faith of my followers tapers off. You've manipulated events such that you are winning, and my followers have nobody to blame but themselves."
We stopped in front of the Temples, he looked at them. "Kurtulmak is relapsing." He said. "And you are walking a narrow rope between good and evil. Between judicious rule and tyranny." He looked at me. "And unfortunately, in spite of my best efforts, it is becoming harder and harder to maintain contact with this world."
He paused, then added, "I will, of course, be supporting my faithful, trying to keep them on the correct path, but in the event they utterly fail, and the only option left is you, I would rather the lesser evil of you win than the greater evil that is my sister. This is not tolerance, this is ensuring that no matter what, the forces of good can always pick up the pieces."
"I understand." I said. "And Bahamut... I am sorry things turned out this way."
"Your apology is sincere." He remarked, surprised. "I am sorry for the way I treated you in Darastrixthurhi, I chose the wrong course of action."
"You don't deal in words, but actions." I said. "Therefore your apology is sincere."
"Within the mines, there is a yet-untouched vein of platinum in your Warren's mine, enough to supply enough holy symbols for my Clerics, and to forge one sword, fifth level down, three lefts, and at the far end. I leave it up to you how you will handle that information. And Ruuk, remember the entire point of you remaining down there was because you believed Kurtulmak could be redeemed. Do not forget that can apply to you as well."
He walked away, followed by his cadre of Kobolds.
'I sure as hell don't like his followers...' I thought as I headed for the mines. 'But I definitely respect him a lot more.'
My gear compelled me to do good, and right now, I was in a better mood. I gathered a few miners and told them to follow me. They did so hesitantly, but dug where I indicated. I watched as they dug maybe a half-mile before they yapped.
"There's ore here!"
"I know." I said. "Mine out the entire vein and take it to the Artificers. It's platinum, they're going to need it soon."
I left them to their work and headed for the Artificers. Once there, I had them gather around.
"You will be receiving a shipment of Platinum, once it comes in, you are to create enough Holy Symbols of Bahamut to equip each Cleric, as well as one sword. Once they have finished, you will deliver them immediately to my Tower. Do not tell anyone what they are. Understood?"
"Sure, but why?"
"Simple." I said. "I need them to get the fuck off my case and start realizing they're only hurting the Warren. Their God saw fit to speak with me, so it's in my hands whether or not they continue to measure out rope to hang themselves with."
It was several hours before the crates came in. I wordlessly picked them up and carried them to the Temple.
The Paladins were, of course, pissed when they saw me approaching. "Stop right there!" They snapped. "By the High Priest's orders, you are not allowed in here!"
"Your weapons and your faith isn't enough to stop me." I said. "Fucking try me."
I walked straight up to them, and my attempt at intimidation worked, as they backed away while I walked in.
Galax immediately noticed my entry, as did every Cleric and Paladin in the room.
"Who let you in!?" Galax roared. "I have expressly forbidden you from entry!"
"I let myself in." I said. I walked toward him, glanced around, and sighed. "Do you guys just not believe in tables, or is the whole ascetic aesthetic really this fucking sparse?"
"I am warning you, Stingtail, if you do not leave this Holy Temple, I will have no choice but to kill you."
I wreched the top off the crate I brought in, he glanced at them, then his eyes widened in complete shock. "What..? Those are..."
"Holy symbols to Bahamut, made from the vein of platinum I directed the workers to." I said. He stared at me, clearly incapable of comprehending what I'd done.
"Why..?" He asked.
"Because you've been playing fast and loose with your morals." I said, paraphrasing what Bahamut stated. "Even though you preach Bahamut's words, you've forgotten that actions are how you pray. You've become so enamored with bringing about the perfect theocratic kingdom of Bahamut, that you don't even realize you're telling the people you're only concerned with power."
I handed him the sword crate, which he opened.
"I want you to understand, Galax." I said. "Bahamut came to me and told me where the platinum was. I could have kept it secret, or I could have used it for literally anything else. Because as much as Bahamut was disappointed in you, he wasn't giving up on you. And as much as he's rooting for you, he understands if you fall, it's either the lesser evil in me, or the greater evil in Tiamat. And honestly? I'll gladly leap headlong into Hell if it means keeping this Warren safe. This is your last chance from Bahamut, and your last warning from me. Understood?"
"I understand." He said soberly. He approached me and hugged me. "Ruuk, oh Ruuk... I thought we had lost you."
"You did." I said. "And I'm not coming back into your fold." He let go of me. "I don't know what the fuck you need a platinum sword for, but whatever it is, if it's aimed anywhere near me, I'm exploding people's heads."
I turned around and left the Temple.
Returning to my Tower, I felt the anger I'd been holding in just melt away. I went upstairs and smiled when I was my Emperor was finishing up another armor set.
"That makes seven." He said. "Still far too little, but it's more than we had before."
"Tireless and industrious." I remarked as I approached him. I knelt. "I have news, some you likely won't like."
"Tell me this bad news first." He said.
"Bahamut decided to speak with me." I said. He tensed, his eyes widened as he looked at me. "Thus far, he's not particularly pleased with my... progress, but he's at least indicated he'd rather us winning over Tiamat." I paused. "He also told me of the location of some platinum. I deigned to give his worshipers holy symbols and a sword, as he had directed. As nice as it would be to have them fall under their own stupidity, we still need them."
My Emperor nodded. "There was no correct way." He said. "Keeping Bahamut less inclined to try and smite us is better than his Temple getting holy symbols. Was there anything else?"
"Yeah. I told them what he told me, he wasn't pleased with what they were doing, that they were acting like they only care about power, and that Bahamut came to me rather than them."
"I see." He said. "That devious old bastard."
"What is it, my Emperor?" I asked.
"It's unimportant." He said. "Was there anything else?"
I told him about the ambush, the Shadowscale Clan, and the Sorcerers- he indicated that a few had shown up and pledged their fealty to him, and that due to their transgressions, he ensured they would never disobey him.
"I made them some collars." He said, smirking. "Any time they go against my will, or they try something that will harm the Warren, it chokes them long enough to make them stop." He leered at me and added, "I should have done the same to yours. I'd never have it choke you, but the knowledge alone would have excited you, yes?"
"Not really, my Emperor." I admitted. "I'm terrified of choking."
"Is that so? All the better that I didn't, then." He looked thoughtful. "Tell me, was there any particular logic to your choice of giving Bahamut's Clerics holy symbols and a sword?"
I shrugged. "I don't like his followers." I said. "I told you what I said to Tallyn, I'm sick and tired of them being paranoid about me. Like, yeah, I admit that they have every right to be at this point, but when it was just you and me, they didn't even really give me a chance. It just felt like them going mask off and showing themselves to be no different than any other religion I've had the unfortunate experience to try."
"Yet you respect their God." He mused.
"Yeah." I said. "I do. Everything I've done out of spite was because of those hypocrites, every good word I've spoken to them was a challenge for them to get their shit together. I've never once done anything to spite Bahamut himself- though whether that was simple pragmatism on my part, or some latent desire to serve the first God to accept my challenge to prove they exist... I don't know. All I know is that I don't regret choosing you."
"As should be." He remarked. "These Monks, these followers of Asgorath, have you any thoughts on them?"
"As long as they are true to their word, I could see them having a place in our Empire." I said. "Having a group that's willing to deal with you if you go off the deep end and start oppressing the very people you started out wanting to protect is useful. At the very least, I'll potentially have a warning."
"And do you think Bahamut's Temple has a place in our Empire?" He asked.
"Maybe if they got their shit together." I replied. I looked at him. "My Emperor, was there ever a point you honestly considered compromise?"
"Yes, in honor of a fool who would choose to consign his life to a God he barely knew, simply out of compassion. I am ruthless, yes, I may be a liar when it is convenient for me, and I most assuredly will twist such compromise such that the letter, but not the spirit, is carried out. But when I make a solemn vow, I hold true to it. If you cannot keep a promise, nobody will believe you again."
"And nudging me toward evil?" I asked.
"You took the first step." He said. "Some actions transcend morality. Kindness to one's family, it is not merely good. It is an act that ensures survival, an act that builds trust. There is always room for kindness when it is deserved."
I nodded. "My Emperor... Do you see a place for Bahamut's Temple in our Empire?" I asked.
"Anything can have its place." He replied. "The only grudge I have held for him is that he- self-proclaimed Justicemaker- did nothing simply because our people were born of Chromatic Dragons. Perhaps in those days, we were born into evil, perhaps in those days, we were enemies... Yet they raged, knowing what Garl did was wrong... heinous even. It was targeted retaliation for something his children did first, for the natural result of- I believe the term is 'fucking around and finding out'."
"Good old FAFO." I remarked.
I heard the door open, followed by Molo meekly coming up the stairs. When he saw me, he looked terrified. He approached my Emperor and pledged himself, was collared, and sent on his way.
"Seven out of nine so far." My Emperor mused.
"Good, it means most of them got the memo." I replied. I heard the door open, then shut, followed by footsteps approaching us.
It was the Rogue from earlier. He knelt and said, "Master, Imperator, I am here to report that we have successfully managed to leave beyond the wall and enter our enemies' base of operations. We have managed to do this without being spotted. Our Leader is waiting for you."
I nodded. "By your leave, my Emperor." I said.
My Emperor nodded and I followed the Rogue down a street I've been on countless times, one that was open and public. I recognized the house I was led to as Nakk's, the rogue knocked, and the door opened.
"Councilor Ruuk, thank you for coming. I'm sorry to divert you just to fix some of my stuff." Nakk said amiably, gesturing for me to enter.
I simply nodded and went inside. The moment the door shut, he dropped the amiable demeanor and said, "Thank you for coming, Imperator. This way."
He led me into his house, then into a closet. I didn't expect the floor to move underneath us, but it led us down into a large room.
"You have a basement." I observed.
"This is my base of operations." He said. "This was where our sewer system used to be, cleaning it out was a headache and a half, but since we moved onto more sustainable means of addressing waste- Merti's idea to use it as fertilizer and the Artificers' Guild designing a means of filtering and cleansing urine being particularly inspired- we decided to make use of the existing architecture to ensure our stealthy movement through the town."
"That explains why nobody's really wised up to how you've been spying on everyone." I remarked. "What were your plans, before I found our Emperor?"
"Keep everything stable." He replied. I noticed there were a few Kobold Monks present among the dozens of Rogues. "Rogue, Monk, we're all Shadowscale." He said. "That being said, our Monks are strictly neutral, they made it clear they won't align themselves to a singular ideal, their only interest is ensuring the Warren does not devolve into infighting."
"As I've already seen." I remarked.
"They're happy with how you handled the Temple, though they can't fathom how you found the platinum."
"Bahamut visited me." I said. "I honestly thought he was being obvious."
"That would explain it." I didn't notice the Monk walking on my other side, but it sure as hell startled me. "You are here regarding the recent mission's success, we ensured nobody was detected."
"Our Monks do not identify themselves." Nakk spoke. "I don't understand it, but it's what they agreed was the right course of action, so we just go along with it."
"For the sake of convenience, you may call me Fox." The Monk spoke. "And before you ask, we have all elected to live apart from the Warren. We may walk the streets, but until things have achieved equilibrium, we will continue to observe from the shadows."
I nodded.
We came over to an area where a handful of Rogues were sat. They stood up as soon as they noticed us, and began casting spells to show the interior of our enemy's base of operations. It felt like a punch to the gut, seeing not only electricity clearly being supplied to them, but also having established sinks and refrigerators.
They glut themselves on what we struggled to provide for ourselves, things that needed miracles just to sustain us. Through tears of hatred, I spat out my incantation.
​
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Hi everyone! My name is Frankie and im sending this post here in the hopes of making some friends or maybe something more!
Here's a little about me and my interests:

• Music: I am a huge music nerd. I listen to a lot of genres and have a lot of favorite artists, namely (and not by order of preference): Royal Blood, The 1975, Maneskin, Starset, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Brent Faiyaz... will edit this post if I remember more.
  
• Vintage Cars and other vintage stuff: I love cars, but especially vintage ones. I have one which I restored over the course of 4 years. I also love old stuff like Vintage clothes and others like vinyls and radios and so on.
  
• Video Games & PC Nerd: I play a lot of video games... huge variety in genres. I can play anything from Dead By Daylight to Minecraft. Besides this, I love to build PCs and other custom PC components and have been doing it for quite some time. Recently I've started coding since I just joined a Computer Engineering course.
  
• Location: I'm from Portugal, therefore my timezone is BST (British Standard Time)
  
• Physical Appearance (if that matters to you): 5'9, fluffy long curly hair, hazel eyes, wears glasses and is just a little chubby.
  
• Other Stuff: I am not sure how to feel about religion. I was born a Christian though I have considered myself an Atheist in the past... I also care a lot about physical touch and can get a little freaky at times...
  

About you:

• You share at least one of the same interests as me
• Probably a little better at communicating then me (I promise I am a good talker as soon as we get along)
• If you are messaging me with interest on a relationship, looks don't matter much to me as long as you're not a 0/10 then I will love you unconditionally!
• Location: anywhere!

Uhm.. That is it for now. Hit me up!

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I need advice // [email protected] beauty lead advisor
Hey everyone So im a beauty lead advisor at Sephora @ kohls and my store opens next Monday June 12. It’s been a tough first few weeks and im very frustrated with how some part timers are treating me. I came from working at another beauty retailer and I have a lot of knowledge about products, how things should be overstocked, displays etc. My BTL came from kohls and has been with the company 14 years. All the other part timers aren’t very familiar with Sephora and products in general. Or beauty insider or how b day rewards work at Sephora.
However im constantly under minded when I answer a question they have or do something as simple as restock the stations with q tips, sponges, spoolies etc. It’s ridiculous. Everytime I give a suggestion it gets knocked down immediately. My BTL is sometimes super nice or really rude. She always uses a rude tone or gets bothered when I ask how to do something. And it’s just to me! She doesn’t treat others this way. I’ve brought up to my Store manager a few incidents with a part timer trying to boss everyone around and do my job and I even told her “what is a beauty lead advisor” and she confirmed to me what I thought which is be my BTL’s right hand and her assistant but I’m not treated this way. And my SM told me she would tell the BTL to have a meeting to explain everyone’s roles and what each position means and that still hasn’t happened…
It’s so bad as it is not being open yet, I don’t want to imagine how toxic it’ll be once open. Since I’m the only one treated this way, I’m thinking of having a meeting with my BTL and SM about my concerns. My BTL also undermines me and doesn’t take any of my suggestions and says “we don’t need to do that so no” and I’m like mid sentence. It’s so frustrating because I waited months for this job, I’m so dedicated and I’m nice to everyone. I’ve done nothing but treat everyone with respect and try to get to help my team with ideas since I have a beauty background and they don’t. I don’t think of myself better than them or anything! I just want us all to succeed and bring up good ideas to make things easier . It makes me sad to feel the way I do in such little time working here. Literally cried in my car after my shift today. I’m a leader, I shouldn’t be disrespected by my colleagues and it shouldn’t feel like HS all over again. *I don’t want to give out certain instances or detailed examples incase I need to report any of this to HR in the future.