When i was ~16 i met the first girl i really liked. And in the beginning she liked me too we spend a lot of time together but always just as friends. Some of her friends actually came to me and said that i should make a move etc. but being 16 and insecure i never did that. After springbreak she was really distant with me and i didnt know if i had done anything wrong so i tried to ignore her as much as possible (we went to the same school). After like 2 weeks she hit me up asking if everything was alright and we talked about the situation. All was good for a few week till i noticed her getting distant once again. One day after a break? like in between classes (ig you know what i mean, english isnt my first language) a good friend came to me and told me that the girl told him that she was only spending time with me again to also spend time with my best friend. First major red flag. I habe only seen her on breaks inbetween classes and mostly stopped talking to her. She also went to another school in the next year. I was still kinda heartbroken but i was never mad at my bestfriend because it wasnt his fault that she wanted to spend time with him. Until last summer when i found out that they had been seeing eachother and had sexual interactions in the springbreak. Eventhough this has been 3 years apart i was crazy mad at him but stayed in contact with him until recently. Mainly because i really like his girlfriend not like i wanna be with her but she is just a good person to be around. And breaking off contact with him bit not his gf would be basically what he did to me and i do not want to do that. The second girl i really liked i „met“ last summer. „Met“ because i knew her since we both have been babies but havent seen eachother in like 10 years and before that we only saw eachother on birthdays our parent took us to (our parents are friends if that wasnt clear). I really liked talking with her, we had the same interests like F1, Music, Art so lots of stuff we talked about. But she just didnt text back/took weeks to respond. I wouldnt be have as mad if she hadnt had a „friendbook“ (basically a book where all ur friends can write u something to lift ur mood or a joke or whatever they wanted) that i got when i was like 2 and all of my friends had written in that book. It took her literally 6 months to write something in that book and i had to pick it up at her mothers place because she was „too busy“ with uni when she post pics of her literally being of for dinner every 2 day/ being in the netherlands once every month. I havent talked/texted to/ with her in over 6 months and today she sents me a picture of her and her new bf cuddling like wtf?? I realized today that i will be the one friend in the friendgroup that never has a girl and always will have time because exepct for work there is nothing i really have to do. Well gn everbody going to sleep rn

My mom (38F) is touting me (19M) one of her apartment units for 50k PHP.
It returns 5k PHP monthly but currently requires renovations that would cost around 60k.
All in all would probably cost me 110k PHP. There's already a tenant and they've agreed to the price spike once the renovation's done. All the handling will also be done by my mother.
Is it worth it?

Okay, here me out; in my OG wholesome Mode, I brought up an evident way for Merica to transition to democracy. Unfortunately the devs actually read it and now it will likely be removed. I think that would be a mistake, not just because it would remove a dash of eucatastrophe to this GrimDark world, but because I think there's an interesting story in there.
Basically what it involves is the aristocrats of Merica being especially incompetent and losing a lot of power in the lead-up to the ball. After the civil war, they find themselves struggling to maintain control over a vast nation which mostly doesn't like them. If the intellectual family was chosen as the leaders, then they may suggest "democratic" reforms to gain some legitimacy and placate the masses. If the player listens and goes down the democratic oligarchy path and boosts the tribals (representing the unwashed masses having some say in the new government) an until now hidden path would be unlocked.
From here, the idea would be that the aristocrats wouldn't be as competent at vote rigging as they may think. They may have underestimated their support, or simply failed to get a handle on a system of government not seen on Terra in 5000 years. Most importantly though, many upstart aristocrats may realize that by doubling down on populist reforms, they can get an edge over their rivals. Additionally, at least some of these reforms would see the rise of a sort of middle class, or an outright new batch of aristocrats who want to unseat the established families. Because of this infighting and maneuvering, the power of the oligarchy will be weakened. This could be expressed through a series of events.
Once the tribal power reaches around 30%, the old aristocratic families will see their power further slip, and to avoid winding up wholly dispossessed, will further lift the boot, so to speak. This will see the "oligarchy" ideology of Merica turn into "citizens" while the "tribal" ideology can turn into "labor gangs". The latter change would occur as the loosening control of the aristocrats see a number of gangs and other organizations take control of various factories (through force, coercion, or sometimes even legitimate purchase). As these gangs grow in power, they will continue to threaten the "citizen" faction and the two will begin a power struggle.
This struggle can maybe be represented by some kind of tension meter. If you don't resolve the crisis through some decisions on time, then a civil war will break out. You can resolve it by the "citizens" crushing the gangs by force, or through further reform. Improving the living conditions would be a good way to reduce tension. Regardless, these "labor gangs" would still largely be brutal criminal outfits. The main peaceful reform to deal with them then, would be to effectively legitimize their existence, maybe offering some pardons while punishing the more egregious offenders (effectively integrating them into the "citizen" faction.
However, to prevent the gang bosses from carving the underhives up into their personal fiefdoms without simply co-opting those bosses into the "citizen" faction, they might simply remove them the same way the old aristocrats were: by regulating the gangs such that their bosses would have to be elected by the gang members. This would effectively turn the "labor gangs" into the "labor clans" of the Achaemenid Empire.

In a reality where deception is used continually as Consciousness Traps to enslave people’s consciousness, it is important to comprehend the nature of consciousness traps. Becoming aware of what forces are stifling your force of will and taking away personal consent, is your responsibility. It is critical to know that the stealing of personal will, the absolute death of your personal will, is the death of your consciousness. This is the most common Consciousness trap on earth that is taken advantage of by the Controllers.
One of the massive forces that exert control over one’s personal will is the collective consciousness of the masses that are connected through the human race as species memories. When we allow the collective consciousness as a consensus to exert complete control over our consciousness, we allow this to overlay a superimposition over our individual Consciousness matrix. The power of the mass consciousness has tendency to take us over and can develop into “mob frenzy”. Or we identify with the feelings being generated and we jump on the bandwagon of what we are being told even if it is not true for us. Once you allow yourself to be sucked into the masses, one loses their internal rudder and is unable to decide how your personal consciousness energy is being directed. This is the most common way a person’s consciousness energy is easily stolen from them, without their participation or consent. Their individual consciousness is drained or siphoned from them as they feed into the mass consciousness matrix and its Mind Control programming. Once enmeshed with the collective matrix and feeding into the program, you become hypnotized by the external events that are primarily run by deception and illusion. Most people think that what they see is real and what they think is happening is actually happening.
To Mind Control the consciousness of the masses and control their perception is how slaves and drones are created. Humanity is cultivated to shape values and ideas that the Controllers have cast through the lens of the predator mind. Until the individual can identify and sense the Predator Mind construct, they are engaged with that lower mind and what has been created in deception and illusion to trap the individual into feeding into the collective consciousness program. Tyrants, Dictators and Despots through the ages have withheld information and even erase historical facts to retain power and control over who they seek to exert their rule.So the goal of the Archontic Controller is to keep the information erased and hidden - to deprive the right of liberty and freedom of every individual to have the conscious choice to discern their personal energy and decide where they want to place their energy.

No, I won't talk about why I'm in this situation. Just assume I was a heroin addict.
Fortunately unlike most people I've seen when I've googled this basic question, I actually want to start working. I don't want to sit inside my whole life anymore and lie to everybody I meet about what I'm doing with my life and my situation.
Whether you believe me or not, I have a very positive attitude, a genuine want to help other people, and am motivated enough to basically wrap myself in anything I know is good for me at this point in my life after avoiding responsibility most of my life.
I have some general computer affinity (CompTIA A+/Net+/Sec+) as well as basic troubleshooting knowledge and skills. While IT is probably the most immediate and obvious career path for me, I don't know how I'd feel long term about staying around computers or possibly even WFH to avoid ensconcing myself in the same environment (indoors in my apartment) I've always been in. If I start here and pivot eventually, whatever.
I've lost a fuckton of weight as well, well over 200lbs. I have considered and talked with friends about possibly looking into personal training of some kind as a job, since that kind of personal experience with weight loss would give me something on my resume now and going forward that would put me a leg up almost anybody with similar credentials otherwise.
Also unsure what kind of jobs I could work to leverage my personality and attitude. Sales of some kind? Customer service outside of basic retail or something?
Any other tips for when I'm trying to 'fill' and write my resume, besides fluffing the fuck out of it with white lies and outright lies?

My dad said this to me a lot growing up, and I've heard this sentiment from people throughout my life when just engaging in casual conversation. My dad and all of the others of course always spoke a lot more than I did, and they all also would tell me that I don't talk enough or accuse me of being too quiet and get upset with me for isolating myself. I had no escape. I still don't! And a bunch of other nonsense and cruelty that I've had to endure throughout my life are weighing heavily on my mind right now, too. I'm so strong for surviving. I've never known anyone to be picked apart on the level in which I have and have impossible standards applied to them that are simply not applied to anyone else as far and wide as I can see. I've truly heard and been subjected to it all in these categories. These people's words about me apparently never shutting up are one of the reasons why I've missed out on so much in life and have been coerced into staying silent.
Also, a tangent from the post and some words to myself because I'm reliving a lot of trauma from this time in my life right now: Thirteen-year-old me, I really want to protect you, and I'm still going to try to. You're actively facing a lot more than I am right now and being victim-blamed and gaslit into oblivion. You have to eat lunch by yourself at school and cry while gum and food are being thrown at you, and people are calling you ugly, conceited, stupid, poor, fat, a slut, a bully, etc. and stealing your stuff when you aren't looking. You are an angel & nowhere near the awful person these people ironically accuse you of being while they mercilessly bully you; you're just thirteen and not being allowed to explore normal teenage shit and discover and express yourself. No adults care about what you're dealing with. Not a single one does, and most of them are contributing to the problem by treating you similarly to how your peers do. I love you, and I'm so fucking sorry. I wish that I could travel back in time and be there for you.

Hello, everyone.
I was raised agnostic. I am very interested in Catholicism and I attend mass every Sunday, although I am not baptized. I find deep comfort and community in this. I want to convert, but I’m facing very strong struggles in my personal life that I want to resolve first.
I am with a man who I love very much. He is not religious, but he does not believe that religion is bad. I want to marry him. I’m afraid that if I were to join the church, I would not be allowed to marry him. Or, if I asked him to convert, he wouldn’t. I’m afraid I’ll have to choose between him and the church.
If I do have to split from him, I’m afraid I will not be able to find love within the church. I’ve been in bad sexual relationships with many men, and rightfully so, no good men in the church will want to be with me. This is my own fault and I accept it. I don’t want the hottest young guy there, I’ll take what I can get. I’m okay with my dating pool being limited to divorced or widowed men, but I’m not sure they’ll want me. I just hope that maybe one man would be able to see some good in me and forgive me for my disgusting sins.
Can any of you help me? I’m really down and need help. I had a miscarriage a while back and I’m hoping that the church will help me heal and reunite with my baby one day. Can anyone here give me hope and insight on what I can do next?

using a throwaway.
The Ukraine War is about Russia repossessing alien technology left behind in Ukraine at the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Hear me out.
Legitimate, credible UFO sightings go back to at least 1947, though I think we would all agree that these sightings have gone on for a much longer amount of time. I could digress about this subject, but let's take an approach of healthy skepticism, referencing generally accepted sources. Anywho, the article previously linked references Project Blue Book, which investigated UFO activity and conveniently closed down in 1969 (though we know that investigations into UFOs has clearly continued on into present day).
We could speculate wildly that the Nazis were involved, but lets take a conservative approach and trust David Grusch when he says we are in an 80-years arms race. That puts this arms race to reverse engineer UFO technology to approximately circa 1960s. Surely, it could go further back than that but at the very least it began in the 60's, post nuclear weapons and the first nuclear reactor.
So, in our conspiracy timeline, we have an 80's year arms race to reverse engineer UFO tech. In established reality, we had plenty of other insane races such as the space race to get to the moon, the nuclear arms race, etc. If we are to believe in the existence of a UFO-race, there must be insane things going on behind the scenes. What would you do if you were trying to reverse-engineer UFO tech? Surely, you would leverage the most cutting edge technology (nuclear tech) to your advantage.
Let's fast forward a bit, the USSR dissolves in 1991. Many constituent states break apart, notably Belarus and Ukraine, two nations with possibly the closest ties to Russia historically. Surely it is not only a shock that the USSR breaks apart, but notably that Ukraine, a founding member of the USSR, becomes independent. Russia staked a long-term future in Ukraine, notably with the creation of 5 nuclear power plants pre-1991. With the exception of Chernobyl (still working on a theory about that catastrophe), there are 4 plants still operating, and despite being the poorest country in Europe, they are #3 in nuclear generation as a % share of total energy output, second only to France/Slovakia (see here and here (51%). How is one of the poorest nations in Europe leading the charge in nuclear energy generation? It is only spurred on by a historical Russian strategy - dumping tons of nuclear tech into Ukraine.
As stated above, Russia did not anticipate Ukraine leaving the USSR. When the USSR broke apart, chaos ensued and many documents were leaked, including KGB documents recovered by the CIA about UFO sightings, which mentions a group sighting where only 2 soldiers survived by 'standing in the shade' when a bright light flashed. This sounds oddly similar to the case of Hisashi Ouchi, a Japanese man who died after a nuclear reaction went hot resulting in a bright flash of light. You can read up more about how his exposed arm was most severely affected by the nuclear flash, but I have to stay on topic.
Gorbachev even apparently 'joked' with Reagan about pausing the Cold War in case of alien invasion. Well, the cold war ended nonetheless in 1991, with Russia's investments in Ukraine a significant loss. If we are to believe Grusch's claims and real-world outcomes, it seems as though Russia was heavily investing into nuclear tech, possibly as a means of cracking the alien tech code, if you will. There are plenty of nuclear-UFO connections, going as far back as Roswell. It's not too far fetched to think Russia was doing dangerous experimentation with nuclear reactors and alien technology, 'offshoring' it to Ukraine, so at the very least if anything should meltdown (as it did), it would be a little ways from central Russia.
I have a background in political science, and post-Cold War era is typically referred to as "the Long Peace," a time period where there is little war. The primary factor contributing to this is that war makes little economic sense. This is very well true today, as globalization and economies become increasingly interconnected. So then, the looming question that I think everyone has pondered over the past year - why did Russia invade Ukraine? This is after they voluntarily gave up 'nuclear arms' to Russia in exchange for a promise to never invade.
It doesn't make economic sense, the sanctions are crippling Russia and they have exposed their army as somewhat lackluster. Their nuclear threats are hollow. We can speculate that Putin is an insane old man, with delusions of grandeur, but can he really spur a nation of 143 million to war in the modern era over rose-colored glasses of the old Russian empire?
Russia invaded Ukraine to reclaim abandoned UFO technology which was left behind at the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Russia was heavily banking on nuclear technology as being the key to crack the code of alien tech, and placed heavy bids in Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia. When Russia invaded, they swiftly captured Chernobyl, only ~60 miles from Kyiv, before retreating back into Russia. There were plenty of articles discussing the nuclear poisoning they suffered; now Russia is dumb but they are not that dumb - this was a calculated cost, not an oversight. Why would you treat after being 60 miles from the capital? They then refocused their efforts on the eastern front, losing all their gains in the North after capturing Zaporizhzhia NPP before allowing the front line to stagnate. Then they blow the Kakhovka dam, depleting the lake which services the nuclear reactor.
Russia has stolen back whatever alien tech had gone missing at the dissolution of the USSR. That was their only goal - a large scale war makes little sense. Now that the Zaporizhzhia NPP has been destroyed (read: plundered), they will slink back to Russia. If you see the Ukrainian 'counteroffensive' succeed in a significant way in the coming weeks/months, you will know why. They've already won their prize.
This is why David Grusch is ringing alarm bells about this now. Russia is taking the nuclear route (pun intended), and staking everything in the war in Ukraine. David Grusch seems to think they're on the brink of something huge.
Something that the world needs to know.

Remember how popular they got for a minute in the mid 90s? It was like being at Sunday Mass around the clock.

I have had a crush ln the same person for almost a year now. We have never actually talked of our own accord, but I think he likes me because he likes to smile at me and he is not a smiley person. We sometimes lock eyes when we accidentally stare at each other at the same time and give a goofy little smile as well as standing very close to me and putting an arm against mine gently in the corridors.However he hasn’t ever spoken to me apart from in group projects (then we get on brilliantly but avoid being alone with each other )and I have social anxiety and can’t even think about that without breaking down. What do you guys think I should do?

Received a ride request from a girl at a hotel which is not uncommon in the area I work. As I'm pulling in, I notice she has sent me a message. The message reads in part, that she has a friend with her that needs dropped off on the way. As I pull up, I ask her if she added the stop to the ride. She says yes. When I click pickup, the stop shows up, right off the main road I would be on. Both her and a guy get in. 2 minutes into the ride, she asks if we can stop here as we pass an apartment complex. I said, no that's not our stop, so she adds it and I turn in. When I stop at an apartment the next stop has disappeared. Homeboy in the back says she just needs to get her kid from baby daddy. His words. Now I notice the other stop is gone. I asked him about it And I get the come on home it's on the way. I then told him to get out of my car (3 times) after being called a nger 4 or 5 times he got out. We all knew what they were doing. Thoughts?

Preamble (feel free to skip)

Firstly, I would like to apologise for posting a topic like this; I have read through many of the "Is this the solution to the one-way speed of light?" threads already posted on this subreddit and have seen the comments gradually growing more exasperated at having to deal with yet another thread about this, so I would like to say sorry for adding to that. I promise that, if I was smart enough to figure out myself why this wouldn't work, then I wouldn't post it here.
Secondly, I would like to clarify that I don't think that this is a solution. I have posted it here because the people here seem to be better-educated than me and have a more indepth knowledge of the physics surrounding the problem, and so would be more likely to help me understand why this wouldn't work, if that makes sense?
Thirdly, this doesn't contain a way to measure the one-way speed of light, just an attempt to try and determine if there is a discrepancy in the one-way speed of light in different directions. (See point 6 below)

The Problem™ (or my understanding of it)

In the video that Veritasium posted, he set up a hypothetical scenario, within which there were some guidelines on what is possible within this hypothetical scenario:
(1) There is a way to fire a laser over 1km of perfect vacuum

1:47 - "Imagine you have a laser that can fire a beam through a perfect vacuum for 1km."

(2) Electronics that are "together" can be synced perfectly.

2:42 - "Start with the clocks together and sync them up first."

(3) Clocks can react instantaneously to the presence of laser light:

1:53 - "Start a timer the instant you fire the laser beam, and then, exactly when it hits the end, stop the clock."
2:08 - "OK, so you need two clocks: one at the laser and one at the end which stops automatically when it detects the laser light."

There are also guidelines on what is not possible within this hypothetical scenario:
(4) Electronics cannot be synced "remotely"/at a distance.

2:19 - "You could connect them via a wire and send a pulse from one to the other, but that pulse will travel at the speed of light so it will arrive with a time delay."

(5) Electronics that move relative to one-another are no longer synced.

2:53 - "The clock at the finish line was moving with respect to the one at the start, and special relativity tells us: moving clocks tick slow relative to stationary observers."
10:42 - "How about starting with synchronised clocks in the middle and moving them apart with equal and opposite speeds? [...] This only works if the speed of light in each direction is the same; if the speed of light depends on direction, then so does time dilation."

Finally, there is the question being posed:
(6) The broader question is whether or not you could figure out there was a discrepancy in the one-way speed of light in different directions, rather than what the one-way speed of light is in a given direction:

4:21 - "What if the speed of light in this direction is from the speed of light in this direction?" 4:33 - "The question is: could you figure it out?"

Therefore, any "solution" proposed should be compatible with these guidelines.
I acknowledge that some of these are impractical (like a km of perfect vacuum) or otherwise not actually possible (such as the "instantaneous reaction" of clocks, etc.), and their impact on any actual measurements in the real world might be more than negligible (although I'm not sure to what degree this is true).

Some thoughts on a possible "solution"

Here is a rough diagram of the "solution" that I am suggesting.

(Credit to Veritasium for the graphics!)
On the "start" end of the 1km stretch, there is a pair of lasers:

• The lasers are identical in specification.
• They are positioned alongside one-another, with their beams parallel to one another.
• The lasers are synced to fire their beams at exactly the same instant.
• The lasers, once synced, are not moved with respect to one-another.

At the "finish" end of the 1km stretch, there is a pair of clocks/timers:

• The timers are identical in specification.
• The timers can react instantaneously in the presence of laser light.
• The timers are positioned alongside one-another and are lined up to match the two lasers 1km away.
• The timers are synced so that their clock measurements are identical.
• The timers, once synced, are not moved with respect to one-another.

In the 1km stretch itself:

• The stretch is exactly 1km.
• As in the video, there is a perfect vacuum between the laser and the timer, and this remains the case for the first of the two laser beams.
• For the second laser beam, rather than a vacuum, there is a medium placed inbetween the laser and the timer:
  • The refractive index of the medium is greater than one.
  • The medium is flawlessly homogenous, giving it a constant refractive index along its length.
  • The laser is lined up with the medium in such a way that the angle of incidence/refraction is 0° (such that the path the laser follows is the same as if the medium were not there).

Finally, for the complete setup:

• It has 3DoF (can be rotated/reoriented freely in space).
• It can be locked securely into any orientation selected for the duration of the experiment.

The experiment would then be to fire both lasers, note the time difference between the two timers, then repeat in different direction(s) to see if the time difference is the same across all of them or not.

NOTE: This is based solely on my understanding that the speed of light through a medium is a fixed fraction of the speed of light through a vacuum in that direction (e.g. for a medium with a refractive index of 2, the speed of light through the medium would be half the speed in a vacuum). This may be entirely incorrect.

Examples:

For these examples, the refractive index of the medium is 2.
SCENARIO 1: In the case where the speed of light in a vacuum in the measured direction is c, the time difference measured would be 3,335.641 ns
SCENARIO 2: In the case where the speed of light in a vacuum in the measured direction is 0.8c, the time difference measured would be 4,167.008 ns
SCENARIO 3: In the case where the speed of light in a vacuum in the measured direction is 1.2c, the time difference measured would be 2,779.805 ns
Basically, if there is a difference in the speed of light between two given directions, then there should be a difference in the time difference measured between the two timers in each of the directions.
This solution has been stuck in my head for about a year now and I can't think of a reason why it wouldn't work (outside of the practical stuff like constructing a 1km freely-rotating perfect vacuum chamber, etc.), so I have decided to post it so that I can find out why it won't work and free up the part of my brain that's been occupied by this solution.

TL;DR:

Diagram
Shoot two synchronised lasers parallel to one-another simultaneously -- one across a vacuum and the other through a medium -- towards two synchronised timers and measure the difference in time it takes for the two beams to arrive at the timers. Reorient the whole setup and repeat. If there's a disparity, it may be due to differences in the speed of light in different directions. If not, then I guess the speed of light is the same in the two directions?

I recently moved in with one of my friends. It’s been a few months and I already know I’m not going to renew the lease with them. I thought it was going to be easy living with them since we were close before we moved but I was extremely fucking wrong.
They’re loud, the constantly stomp around the apartment. I know the walls are thin but I shouldn’t be woken up at 3AM because they need to use the bathroom. It’s like they’ve never heard of quiet footsteps. Every time they walk, it is HEAVY stomping. Walking in the hall to take out the trash? All you can hear is heavy footsteps. There’s no quietness to the steps - just heavy THUDS over and over again.
They stay up late at night watching videos on their phone. I can’t hear the videos but they laugh so loud at them it’s like I’m watching the video with them.
If they say they’re going to make dinner for the both of us (I don’t ask them to cook, they ask if I want to eat dinner together), then they leave the apartment and doesn’t come back until 10:30pm or later. They then get mad at me for already eating dinner and leaving them to eat by themselves.
Last night, they invited over a friend and that friend invited a mutual friend and their sibling over and they stayed until 2AM. It wouldn’t have been bad, but one of them kept jumping at random times and it kept waking me up and I had to be up early for a doctors appointment. After the second jump, I told my roommate that person needed to leave because we would get a noise complaint. My roommate ignored me and the people stayed over and kept making noise, including the jumping.
I dread going back to my apartment tonight, I just know there’s going to be a noise complaint of our door because of them. I don’t want to be considered a bad tenant because of them

so I met this guy a couple of months ago and we really hit it off at first and I thought that he really liked me. He even invited me on a trip with him and offered to pay for the accommodations. So this guy was traveling all around, so it wasn’t anything serious. I was meant to go to this place with him and then he go to the next place on his list and I go back home where we met. But while we were there, he didn’t like the place that we went to, and he asked me if he could stay at my apartment and stay back in the city for a few days (where I live). I said yes, because I felt like I owed him because he had paid for a lot of our dinners and he let me stay at the hotel that he had booked in the city that we had went to.
But then he started acting more distant with me. We were hanging out every day before i let him stay at my place, and suddenly he wanted to only go out with the friends that we made together by himself, and he basically dis invited me all future hang outs. (i introduced him to these people) One night they were doing something cool and I asked if I could join and he said yes and when we got there the whole entire time he was flirting with this girl and not talking to me at all. Like yeah we weren’t together it was just a fling but common decency to not try and hook up with a girl in front of the girl you’ve been hooking up with.
it was then I finally realized that the guy was an asshole and i lost all interest in him. but he was only staying there for a few more days, so I just didn’t say anything and stayed civil. Luckily for me he was only at my house to shower and to change his clothes but I’m pretty sure he spent all the nights at this girls house. The day came for him to go and we said our goodbyes , after he left he pretty much ghosted. but I didn’t really care because I already knew he was an asshole.
But then one day he started talking to me more and he was calling me every day. We were texting every day. I entertained it because the conversation was good and then it was nice to have someone there whenever I was bored to talk to you, but that’s all it was to me just someone to talk to you when I was bored. Then he asked me if I would go with him to another city that he had next on his travel list , and if I would split the hotel with him because he had to get a tattoo done in the city.
Now, he had previously told me that he went too crazy with his money when he was in my city and had run out and wasn’t living off of so much. He had his mom sending him 100 bucks every few days for food. He has been expecting a few thousand dollars from some money from insurance but he had planned another two months of travel so it wouldn’t be enough. He also asked me if he could come back to my city and stay with me for a month because he really liked it. I then realized that he was giving me all this attention for the past two weeks just to warm me up because he thought that he could benefit off of me to help fund his travel costs. meanwhile, the past two weeks we had been talking every single day he was also a dick to me a lot.
So I told him yes, that I would go with him and that yes he could stay with me in my city. But of course, I had no intentions to. I let him believe that for another week or so while we have been talking every single day and he had also been a dick to me a lot, and didn’t treat me well at all. When I finally got enough of pretending. (about 2 weeks before “our trip”)I told him that I don’t wanna talk to him anymore because I don’t like how he treats me. Suddenly he starts panicking and trying to call me (because he needs me at this point) and I just tell him nope, good riddance. And then i block him.
I just looked at his Instagram story , today he was supposed to be in the other City to get the tattoo that he told me he had been excited about for a year. But instead he’s at his grandmas house :) I’m guessing that he couldn’t afford to go. Maybe next time be a genuine person and don’t use people while being a dick to them and the odds will go in your favor.
Maybe some of you see this and think I was too harsh. But i’ve been used so many times before, and this is the first time i’ve been able to recognize it and I was fed up. He wasn’t going to get away with insulting my intelligence like that.

This was a fun image to work on. Here are my steps.

• Mixed my own model with westernAnimation_v1 and also used this dark fantasy LORA
  • full body shot of jAI old man wizard with white beard with a pondering expression dark fantasy in a library
• Fixed hands and staff using Depth Library. Used Img2Img with controlnet with the depth map. Did one hand at a time and also staff. I just did hand with the dark lora and the hand holding staff for the other. Then did wizard staff with lora.
• Used upscaler with these settings:

full body shot of jordai old man wizard with white beard with a pondering expression dark fantasy in a library
Steps: 50, Sampler: DPM++ 2M Karras, CFG scale: 7, Seed: 2968724693, Size: 2048x2816, Model hash: d6d7173365, Model: 0.7(jordAI) + 0.3(westernAnimation_v1), Denoising strength: 0.5, Ultimate SD upscale upscaler: 4x_UniversalUpscalerV2-Neutral_115000_swaG, Ultimate SD upscale tile_width: 512, Ultimate SD upscale tile_height: 512, Ultimate SD upscale mask_blur: 8, Ultimate SD upscale padding: 32, ControlNet 0: "preprocessor: tile_resample, model: control_v11f1e_sd15_tile [a371b31b], weight: 1, starting/ending: (0, 1), resize mode: Crop and Resize, pixel perfect: False, control mode: Balanced, preprocessor params: (512, 1, 64)"

My boyfriend and I are excited about our upcoming move from Calgary to Toronto by the end of summer (August-September)! After relocating to Calgary from Vancouver last year, we faced unexpected challenges - like the absence of a rental cap and a tough job market - we're grateful to have secured promising jobs in the Financial District starting in September.
Now, our main focus is finding the perfect neighbourhood. While we've enjoyed vacationing in Toronto a couple of times, we typically stayed in an Airbnb along Iceboat Terrance in the Harbourfront/South Financial District area. Although we love the area, I'm concerned it may not be the best fit for our 10 month old Australian Shepherd pup.
Therefore, we're on the lookout for neighbourhood recommendations that would be ideal for a young, active couple in their 20s, and offers convenient access to public transportation. We're specifically looking to rent a 1 bedroom + den or two bedroom apartment. It would be fantastic if the neighbourhood also offered nearby parks for our dog, as well as easy access to grocery stores and entertainment options.
Appreciate any suggestions you can provide. Thanks in advance!

What about you sets you apart from most young women besides your interest in this dynamic? Are you athletic, nerdy, flirtatious, shy...or a healthy combination of all of them? Let’s embrace our flaws together and laugh about them. That’s the only way to find out what actually makes each other tick.
I will say that I am very fond of the art of communication as well as fitness.

I found this guy panting outside my apartment and I'm not sure what I should to to help them.
They have no wounds and refuse to move much. It's been hot and dry here lately so I think it might be heat exhaustion but I'm not sure. It's breathing fine no airway problems but it's a bit fast and shallow, nothing seems too bad in my opinion.
I gave them water and they drank a decent amount on their own and it did squeak when I picked it up but it still won't move.
I also don't have much food that it can eat but I gave it some jam and I'll give it a cracker or two. It hasn't touched it yet.
I'm not really that confident that I can help much so I'd like some advice from you guys on what I should do. :/ Any help would be appreciated.

Book 1: Raraku

Epigraph

Another entry of Sayings of the Fool by Thenys Bule. I've wondered before what kind of Fool the title refers to; I'm now comfortable saying that these are sort of anti-proverbs, which are examples of folly that must be avoided in others. The fool swims across the desert sands, because he has "seen shells and the like//On this desert floor." Thus, he "swims this land's memory//Thus honoring its past." Curiously, the Fool recognizes the suicidal nature of the task, "For [he] shall drown long before//[he is] done." Also, he is not dying of dehydration, but specifically drowning. It is the past that shall kill him.
The Fool has prioritized honoring the past over his life, the present. Such seems to be our lesson, and given the following chapter (and I assume Book 1 as a whole) being filled with characters making drastic choices for the sake of the past, I feel like this is a most relevant, and thus ominous, warning.

Chapter 1

A new setting, a new cast. I'd known this before I'd started GotM, but it conceptually bothered me far less than it seems to bother others. You learned a new setting and cast in the first book, right? You'd be doing the same if you backed out for another series, right? Anyway, with longer scenes and samples, I can confidently say the prose, characterization, and dialogue are all much improved after a decade's training on Erikson's part. This all also feels very Dune-ish, as well. But without further ado...

Epigraph

A poem or excerpt of a poem titled The Path of Hands by Messremb (whom the Dramatis Personae tells us will make an appearance himself at some point) It ties rather closely with the opening scenes of the chapter, so I'll give my thoughts on this once we have some more context below.

The Chapter Itself

It is the next year, 1164 B.S. and what is locally called the Sixth of the Seven Years of Dryjhna, the Apocalyptic. We get some indication as to what this means later. Mappo Runt watches a rising plume of dust moving across the desert while informing his companion, Icarium, of what it is he sees. Flat-headed, long-necked, shaggy, and black with three legs, he judges it to be some creature known as an aptorian. He also berates Icarium for his running hairdye. Disguised as a Tanno, the seven-foot, Jaghut-blooded Icarium speculates that their passage has been marked by anyone caring or knowledgeable enough to guess who they are, but such could not be helped. The presence of the aptorian speaks to another impending convergence, one which Shadowthrone is inspecting. This particular creature, ranging wide of its pack, has seemingly fallen under the sway of Sha'ik. We get some slight information on who or what Sha'ik is, but not terribly much. They do hold an army out somewhere in the desert, by a watering hold the two aim to reach.
Icarium eyes his friend, a millennium old, and as a Trell, large with a shaggy mane down his neck and back, bearing long, sinuous arms. He recognizes reluctance in his friend, and calls it out. It seems the aptorian is a demon of sorts, and Mappo is reluctant to face such creatures. Icarium, in contrast, is driven by curiosity and would press forward. They pack up camp and enter the basin.
Later, by nightfall, the two continue into the desert, and we get some nice descriptions of the land and its fauna. resting in some ruins, the two prepare for tomorrow's search. Of note, the sand faintly glows to Mappo's eyes, so I assume Trells can see into infrared? We already knew his sight was much better from the previous scene, but this helps contextualize it. We get confirmation that the land is indeed littered with tels, as that's just how long-term civilization works, especially in a desert. Separated fairly evenly at fifty years apart, there was once a rich and powerful civilization that lived here. Many of the ruins tell of a swift and violent end, although the exact nature of this end is uncertain. From this time, legends of Dryjhna the Apocalyptic have formed, resurging once again across the Holy Desert Raraku.
Curiously, the ensuing thoughts of Mappo, despite their strangeness, are considered "familiar ruts" by the text. Thoughts that deny they can discover what occurred here, that they are "no closer" than they've ever been, and that he has no reason to doubt such thoughts. They're looking for something in the lost past, and the nature of that hunt has Mappo checking himself. In the courtyard, Icarium has found something. Tiny scratch marks along the base of a column, coordinated. Could these be the imprints of passage the Epigraph speaks of? This is enough to suggest to the two that there are D'ivers nearby, and we soon find out why. They even assume a specific D'iver, Gryllen. They anticipate more shapeshifters, and it is now that I should point out that all the characters of this storyline are designated as ON the Path of Hands, indicating that this is a literal path/route which is part of some ritual or ceremony. One which seems to attract many shapeshifters, which is described here as "the fever for which there is no cure." The references to Ascendancy both here and in the epigraphs seem to indicate that this path has some ties with that as well. They also reference gates (Deadhouse Gates?) which some believe offer Ascendancy.
Speculation Time:
The Path of Hands is a path that leads to an Azath. Not the Deadhouse but the Odhanhouse in Seven Cities. Namely, because they themselves are near Pan'potsun Odhn, and are, well, in Seven Cities, lol. There is a belief that entering the fickle gates of an Azath provides ascendancy. Considering Shadowthrone and the Rope entered the Deadhouse, and Shadowthrone is evidently interested in the goings on here, there likely isn't nothing to the idea, but Icarium and Mappo seem to be heading for it for some other reason. Namely, Icarium's eternal goal, which we receive some indication of.
Icarium has lived for centuries, possibly millennia,* yet cannot remember his own past (whether this is because of magic shenanigans is currently unknown, but immortals with a mundane/finite memory are one of my favorite niche tropes in fiction so I'm all in on this storyline. It may be that he inherited a Jaghut lifespan and a human/whatever memory, causing this, but the continual reference to a curse may very well be literal) and seems to be seeking a way to recover them for what seems are personal reasons. Mappo seems to regret something in his or Icarium's past, considering his friend's curse a gift.
*This also makes his question "how long have we been friends?" into a bit of fun foreshadowing rather than just the tired "catch the audience up" question. He's legitimately asking on top of the rhetorical device.
A pack of six wolves follows them into the ruins, betrayed by their scent to be shapeshifters, or rather, one shapeshifter in six bodies. D'ivers, it seems, change into groups of animals, be it a swarm of rats or a pack of wolves. Absolutely sick. They recognize the shapeshifter as Ryllandaras, but he does not recognize them. The Trell offers to open their discourse, calling him the brother of Treach (an ascendant himself, the "First Hero") whom thought him dead. The creature responds psychically, promising to kill them, but curious of their story. They seem to feign ignorance of one another, an alliance of convenience rather then friendship, boasting that they'd be able to take him on. They do soon give up the charade, calling one another by name as a final intimidation tactic, and this dissuades the pack from taking them on. We get the implication that Icarium resorting to violence would be a very bad thing for everyone involved, such that Mappo is sworn to prevent such an occurrence. The D'ivers does not seem to recognize Sha'ik, and seems to think killing it's aptorian is no big deal. We leave Mappo and Icarium for the chapter with their disagreeing with that diagnosis, but allowing Ryllandaras to pass regardless.
The next morning, the Imperial Harbor of Hissar is filled with a fresh transport of troops, surrounded by native tribesmen and women armed and shouting, building towards a riot. Such are the musings of Imperial Historian Duiker, the same man who defended Heboric in his trial. Meeting him is Mallick Rel, advisor to the local High Fist, also named as a jhistal priest of the Elder god of the seas. That he was merely greeted by the advisor was a calculated insult. Curiously, this adviser has quickly ascended the ranks to get where he is, inviting countless dark rumors of what he may hold over the High Fist, such that any who stood in Rel's way seemed to meet an accidental end. With the ship now unloading is the new Fist of the 7th, Cotaline of the Crow Clan. Although Duiker doubts his capacity to navigate the political web of the Empire, we shall soon see he is more than adept at cowing the locals.
Mallick Rel near immediately insults the man, his words smooth and insidious. The historian remembers his quick-formed dislike of the creature. Rel informs him that the Empress has no active machinations in Hissar, whatever his source. Duiker is here to observe the new batch of prisoners bound for the Otataral Mines. It doesn't seem like a stretch to assume this is the same ship that Felisin and co. were boarded onto. Mages were often used in the Otataral mines so that they may double as a containment facility. While the mages within often went mad, it is unkown if this was from Otatartal changes or Warren deprivation. With the new batch containing so many muggles, long-term Otataral exposure can be studied in depth.
The two are approached by two more, an unnamed rough-looking captain and the lone surviving Cadre mage of the 7th, Kulp. The two newcomers express significant distaste for their new Fist and the Wickan people as a whole. MR inserts himself into the conversation to note that Coltaine is an odd choice, given the tension between the two groups as well as the Wickan's status as formerly one of the Empire's strongest rivals. But Duiker comments that this is not at all strange, Coltaine was the one to unite the clans and establish a rebellion, one the Empire had a terrible time putting down. The Emperor, in his usual fashion, acquired Coltaine's loyalty through unknown means. While the man was placed in Quon Tali backwaters to rot after Laseen's coup, the degredation of events on Genebackis necessitates the maintenance of order on Seven Cities at all costs, hence, the skilled local Coltaine is placed back in command in the face of the prophesied rebellion.
The man himself approaches the seething mob, who had been continuously escalating their hostilities over the course of the above conversation. With a sheer undulating shout he manages to quell them; compelling them to fall in line and quietly move out. Admiring this show of skill, the four comment on it, with the captain mentioning how Coaltine's political savvy matches his savage people skills. Mallick Rel thanks him for the advice. I must admit, despite spending several paragraphs describing how loathsome the man is, that his directness and frankness, calibrated to match the new energy of the conversation such to drop everyone's defenses was very well done. I myself didn't note the Captains blunder until it was pointed out. He may be a schemer but his people and manipulation skills match.
Elsewhere, sailing down from the Skara isles, our Bridgeburner crew of Crokus, Apsalar, Fiddler, and Kalam continue their journey home-ish. Fiddler, for his part, is bored and seasick, internally lamenting his presence. Crokus and Moby attempt to comfort him, with minimal success. The monkey/demon, for his part, has adopted the sapper as many creatures do.* Fid's internal monologue is a delight to read BTW. He internally frets over their coming excursion in 7C, and all the danger the continent posses.
*While I mentioned this before, it is weird to me that Mammot's familiar is just hanging around after his death. There's something there.
Apsalar calls out a school of flying fish, running from something large. Kalam mentions that its odd the hunting fish would themselves be hunted round these parts, being apex predator's in the area. The dherabi of Seeker's Deep hunt them, but they never come out into water this shallow, or on the opposite side of the continent. Unfortunately, a dhenrabi, one who's scent betrays it as Soultaken, far more massive than any natural creature, appears and begins pursuing them. I will say, this is some excellent creature design. Sure, it's "just" a centipede sea serpent, but the added details of how it swims/sinks with filling/emptying it's caprice with air, along with how it uses this to hunt is the kind of creative and interesting detail that makes this stand out without devolving into an exposition dump.
Interestingly, the Soultaken uses the opportunity to out itself by communicating with them. Fiddler uses the opportunity to warn the creature not to approach. It ignores his warning, moving in for the kill, and promptly has it's head blown off by Fiddler using a munition. My guy is just wandering around a fantasy world with a backpack of thermite grenades while being vaguely unimpressed with all the wizard shenanigans he come across. What an excellent character. As an aside, I assume this particular Soultaken was heading much in the same direction the others were, for whatever reason. I also wonder if they survive the deaths of their animal forms. Hours later, they notice some ridders on the coast, a Malazan messenger and his guards. The two Bridgeburners comunicate through glances, one touch I like with this is how Kalam's messages, while clear, are in Fiddler's pattern of speech, as we're in his head.
I'll note the likely importance of whatever this messenger is hoping to convey, but not speculate as there's nothing to speculate about. Also, Blue Moranth are apparently a thing (although they may have received a passing mention in GotM, now that I think on it) and the route that Fiddler internaly lays out gives us a rough idea of some of the geography of this world. Crokus attempts to make small talk, giving the audience a peek into the Bridgeburner's last time on 7C. The time when Kalam and Quick Ben were on the opposing side, the T'lan Imass marched for the Emporor, and somehow, the two were folded into the Bridgeburners themselves. I'll also note the mention of the "Seven Holy Falah'dan" for later. Fiddler demands the boy be quiet, as "all wars are ugly, but that one was uglier than most." Kalam himself only revealed these details while drunk.
Crokus, thwarted from one line of communication, demands that the BBs explain why they're passing almost completely through the wrong continent on their way home. They explain that they intend to assassinate Empress Laseen. Apsalar takes to this well, muscle memory brining an old smirk of Sorry's to the forefront all the while. She remembers that Kalam himself was a master assassin, high ranking within both his time under a Falah'dan and in the Claw, and is thus confident in his skills. For whatever reason, their plans and preparations begin in 7C with the rebellion. Whatever it is they intend to do here is in accordance with Quick Ben's (who can apparently just warp wherever) scheme he was cooking up at the close of GotM. For the sake of Darujhistan, Crokus agrees to the plot; and so we leave them as they land upon the coast.
Well this has been one heck of a setup! Expanding the world while still being constrained to what's been referenced before. Shapeshifters are racing an immortal amnesiac down the Path of Hands, rebellion is closer than ever, and our good old Bridgeburners are scheming to take the Empire down from the head. I, for one, cannot wait to see how it all unfolds!

To start off, I am a 24 year old chubby, yet muscular black man. A few weeks ago I met this 20 year old Russian woman at my job(she was a new hire) and we hit it off very quickly.Everytime she saw me, she would give me this warm smile while looking into my eyes, she has a great sense of humor, she always asks me questions to keep the conversation going. I also felt sexual tension whenever we would hold eye contact. She even made a joke saying that I should buy her lunch, which I think was her way of hinting thst I should ask her out. About two weeks ago, I followed her IG and she accepted my follow request, but hasn't followed me back. Anyway, I DMed her yesterday asking her if she wanted to grab a bite to eat sometime at these food carts near my apartment, but it's been a full day and she hasn't responded. Was she interested in me, but I waited to long? Was she just being friendly this whole time? Is she just using me for attention? Or is she indeed interested in me, but can't date me because she's Christian? Any answers are appreciated.

Does anyone have experience living in the Lafayette apartments on mayflower road? I’m thinking about moving there in the fall from Kentucky. Any insight about the complex or the area would be helpful!