I 35 female have been married to my husband 32 male for 4 years and have been together for over 10 years. We have no children so we spoil our one niece and nephew who are also our godchildren from bil Jared (33m) and one niece from bil Derek (30m) and I have been in their lives since the day they were born. My bil Derek is separated from his wife and has a daughter 9 years old.
Derek started dating Claudia (34 f) a couple years ago and she has two boys from her previous relationship. Derek brought her around with her kids the very first Christmas (2019) they were dating that was hosted by husband’s grandparents home. I was not aware they would be attending and felt bad so I gave them one of the gifts that was a joint gift for my niece and nephew.
The following year they were invited for Christmas (2020) which was hosted at Ava’s (36 f) (mom to Jared’s kids) house but none of them attended due to having Covid. We purchased my bil Derek and his daughter my niece several gifts as always and 2-3 gifts for Claudia and her kids and sent them with sil Joan (29 f) to drop them off to them. About two weeks after Christmas, Claudia called me to vent about why I hadn’t bought her kids the same amount of gifts as my niece and demanded that I buy her boys the same amount of gifts. I told her I barely know her or her kids and just because my bil Derek signed up to be the stepdad to her boys that didn’t have anything to do with me and how I spend my money. Claudia proceeded to complain to my sil Joan and anyone who would listen to her about it and they all told her she cannot dictate how I spend my money. Derek and Claudia got engaged in November 2021
That Christmas (2021) we hosted Christmas at our house and bought them all gifts (2-3) and a few extra for my niece. All Claudia did was complain every chance she got. Mind you that when we are around each other she always brags about how her kids have everything and the father of her sons makes 6 figures so they never need for anything, yet she’s complaining that I’m not buying her kids enough gifts or that they are “bottom of the barrel gifts” which they are not such as clothes, board games, and video games considering I don’t know them well enough to buy them anything else.
This past Christmas (2022) was hosted at Ava’s house, and since no one wanted to deal with Claudia’s drama, Derek and niece and Claudia and her sons were not invited.
So AITA for not buying Claudia’s kids who I barely know and have seen maybe a handful of times the same amount of gifts I buy my niece whose life I have been since the day she was born?

For the record. It is an amazing arc and croc-sensei did spectacularly on it. I just think it didn't reach its peak potential. Structurally I think some of the battles should be reorganized. In my rewrite most of the arc will stay the same, though there will be new sequences and new characters.
Hashira training arc preemptive rewrites:
In order for my Infinity castle rewrite to work I'll have to add a character that's introduced in this training arc. Though the rewrites here aren't that extensive so it's just a small section.
First off, I didn't like how the Demon Slayer corps didn't even attempt to fill in the empty spots for Hashira left behind by Kyojuro and Tengen. So here I am introducing a new character that is going to be Rengoku's former Tsuguko and now the current Flame Hashira as she has replaced Rengoku after his death. I don't wanna put too much thought into names or this will come off as fanfiction so I'll just call her Yurei for convenience sake.
The basic character profile is that she was student under Kyojuro after he saved her from a Demon that killed her family yada yada. She always lived in the shadow of her fellow senior disciple-mate Mitsuri Kanroji who was also a student of Kyojuro's and originally the first pick to be his Tsuguko. That was until Mitsuri decided she wanted to be a Hashira herself and entered the ranks without replacing anyone. So the Tsuguko position fell to Yurei being the second choice for Rengoku's succession. So there's a bit of jealousy between this new character has Mitsuri.
She is teaches one of the rounds of the Hashira training that takes place before Mitsuri. It focuses on [insert cool anime martial art aspect here]. The point here is that Tanjiro isn't liked by the new Hashira and is purposefully and unfairly withholding him from progressing to the next round. Stemming from jealousy that Tanjiro was there in Rengoku's last moments and she felt like he valued him more as an apprentice despite never officially being his master. The goal here for Tanjiro would be to resolve this inferiority complex and show that Tanjiro is just a nice dude that doesn't want to steal other people's mentors.
She stops hating on Tanjiro but tells him to make sure he completes Mitsuri's training round faster than he did her's to prove her regimen is more difficult that Mitsuri's. That's it for Hashira training.
Muzan's conversation with Kagaya Ubuyashiki Rewrite:
This entire scene in the Infinity Castle arc I thought was perfection and really no need for changes. This is simply my alternative version that includes some cool ideas. So if you don't want to hear it and just want to see my rewrites for things I thought could be improved, you can skip this section.
So my alternative for this scene keeps basically all the dialogue in the exact same way it was depicted in the manga but has a new scene after it. Instead of Kagaya kamikazing his own home, he unsheathes a family heirloom sword with a pitch-white blade. Now I know what you're thinking. Kagaya isn't a fighter, and that's part of his charm that you don't need to be physically strong to be a good leader. But hear this out.
I am going by logic that since the Ubuyashiki family were the first victims of the Demon scourge and leaders of Demon Slayers, it would be hard to believe they didn't have any in family defenses. In my rewrite I have them be the progenitors of a new type of breathing, Light breathing.
This breathing style has 15 forms total, second most behind Moon breathing, and not a single one of these forms are used for attack. Yep, heard that right. In this rewrite, Light breathing is an evolved version of basic recovery breathing utilized to its maximum potential. In the lore it would've been used for seemingly inhuman feats of healing and regeneration from physical trauma and disease. It would also make sense that this style would be created by the Ubuyashiki family during efforts to find ways to mitigate their curse. And although it has no effect of canceling out curses or magics, Kagaya uses it to temporarily heal the physical effects of his curse.
Thinking Kagaya wants to fight, Muzan instantly unleashes a fury of attacks. And this scene we get to see full destructive utilization of all Muzan's blood demon arts, not limited by any poisons or miracle medicines procured by Tamayo yet. Kagaya doesn't attack, but instead, in his new temporary healthy state, uses Light breathing to deflect attacks, continuously mend wounds, and temporarily blind/stun Muzan. Kagaya won't throw a single attack the entire fight, thus preserving his Buddha like nature.
In reality, the confrontation is to stall for time until the demon slayers arrive. Using his mystical foresight, Kagaya skillfully calculates how to evade each of Muzan's destructive attacks. Muzan realizes this and thus procures situations where even if Kagaya can forsee different ways of how he evades in the future, all options will involve him being fataly injured. But even after he is gravely mutilated by Muzan's attacks, the Light breathing forms he uses in response heals all wounds and poisons completely.
Another fact about Light breathing is that, the breathing method itself is derived from Wisteria plants' respiration and transpiration of chemicals. So in a sense it mimics the qualities of Wisteria. Thus including another added affect. Any demon in close proximity of someone using Light breathing has their Blood Demon Arts temporarily weakened at an exponential level and so is their regeneration slowed down massively. This comes into play when Kagaya thinks he's stalled enough and then detonates his house, killing him and his family. Muzan doesn't die but since he regenerates almost instantly, it was essential to be in proximity to the Light breathing so Tamayo could have time to insert the medicine and give the Hashira an advantage.
The sequence of events immediately before and during entering the Infinity Castle stays the same.
First Round Infinity Castle Battles - Shinobu vs Douma Zenitsu vs Kaigaku:
Nothing changes from the manga. Perfection. Just think, it should be more apparent that they take place semi-simaltaneously.
Second Round Infinity Castle Battles - Tanjiro & Giyu vs Akaza Urokodaki, Tengen Uzui, Shinjuro, & Nezuko vs Jigoku Uzui (New Upper Moon 5):
The events of the Akaza fight are not changed and neither are the events surrounding it.
Simply adding another battle that takes place at the same time. This battle is with the former Hashira and certified Nezuko protection gang, fighting against Tengen Uzui's brother and current demon shinobi, Jigoku Uzui. I chose the name because Tengen means heaven and Jigoku means hell.
(Flashback) After the dispatch of Gyokko in the swordsmith village, Akaza was tasked with finding a good candidate to replace him. He stumbled upon the ruthless shinobi culture cultivated by the Uzui family. Seeing how they're a group of efficient warriors that don't hold any ethical qualms, Akaza challenged both Tengen's father and Jigoku to combat at which they fought him at the same time. If Akaza won they'd agree to become demons, and they'll keep they're clan but as long as they're loyal to Lord Muzan. But if father Uzui and Jigoku won, Akaza would leave them alone. The fight devolves and eventually involves Jigoku's children joining in. Akaza defeats Jigoku and kills his father as well as a few of his children. Recognizing the ones that have survived as strong and Jigoku as a worthy adversary, he gives him and his surviving children Muzan's blood to be turned to demons. The Uzui clan is now loyal to Muzan and Jigoku Uzui has been nominated as Upper Moon rank 5.
(Current) I think it will be an interesting dynamic with Tengen encountering his brother again and this time as a Demon. It will make for lots of drama as well as an interesting fight between two shinobi and two swordsmen. Nezuko would stay asleep most of the fight with Urokodaki directly protecting her. Speaking of, in this rewrite Jigoku was sent by Muzan to directly collect Nezuko and bring her to him.
Now about Jigoku's Blood Demon Art. I decided he should have the full arsenal of basic shinobi weaponry like Tengen and his wives, however his main weapon and instrument of the Blood Demon art is that of a double sided kusarigama. Basically a staff with dual sickles on each end and a chain holding a miniature mace extending from the staff's center. The blood demon art entails rapid spinning of the dual sided kusarigame of which blood tendrils extend from the ends causing extreme destruction while boosting speed.
At first, Jigoku is overwhelmed by the pure skill of these three master former Hashira. Even though they're rusty techniquewise, their coordination is perfected through endless battle experience. Jigoku's head is severed but wait, it's not over. Three more demons sprout from his neck and seperate. Jigoku's sons/Tengens nephews turned demons. Jigoku regrows his head and the real battle begins.
The fight plays out as a team battle with constantly switching opponents and locations around the Ubuyashiki estate. When it comes to the oldy swordsmen, Shinjuro is almost a mirror image of his son Kyojuro when Tengen sees him in battle, warming his heart. The only difference is that the sincerety that once inhabited the former flame Hashira is gone and has been replaced with a new layer of ferocity when fighting. Shinjuro isn't only fighting to protect or for honor, but to utterly crush his opponent in raging fire. Urokodaki still has that veil of sympathy and sincerity but his fighting style is different from Giyu's. The former fights in the style of a raging river controlled yet violent, while Giyu's is more calm and feeling, using current like movement to use the energy of the attacker back at them.
The 3 Uzui demon brothers all have Upper Moon 5 on their eyes despite not being the main threat. From strongest to weakest, there's the eldest brother, the youngest brother and the middle brother.
In the second half of the battle Nezuko wakes up and realizes she has limited time as a Demon left as she is slowly reverting to being a human. So she participates in the battle aiding the former Hashira. I thought this would be a good parallel to take place at the same time as the Akaza fight as it would be brother and sister fighting different Upper Moons simultaneously. She would also use her exploding blood to make Urokodaki's blade turn red.
At the climax of the battle Tengen manages to get a Demon Slayer Mark over his right eye with a series of parallel curved lines, increasing in size the further up the forehead they go. This is supposed to mimic soundwaves. Eventually all heads are severed with Jigoku's specifically being cut off by a marked Tengen. But one of the Demon brother's head was instead ripped off by Nezuko and not by a nichirin blade. So they don't disintegrate, which gives headless Jigoku enough time to surprise attack Shinjuro, stabbing him through the heart with one of the broken off kusarigama blades, killing him. Tengen avoids the attack of the headless Jigoku because he's also a Shinobi and Nezuko protects Urokodaki. Nezuko uses one last push of power to use her exploding blood to completely disintegrate the body of one of the headless demon brothers before any of them can reattach their heads. Now all demons left are headless by nichirin blades, they disintegrate.
Last Note: probs gonna continue into multiple parts. Don't really care if anyone reads the whole thing. Only for my personal peace of mind so I don't forget. Sorry if this is too long. If you do end up enjoying, thanks.

Is it just men or is the angry irrational out for self white man a common theme in this show? We see it with Jim on a few occassions, Jade, the white dude that almost fought Ellis at colony house during the party, the guy that came from the bus and now the guy that stabbed Ellis. They are all very pompous at one point or another and feel like they know more than everyone else. This is also a common caricature in many post apocalyptic type movies where the white male finds it difficult to work with a collective and is out for self and becoming very primal.

Just a dump of some thoughts I've been having, reading some threads on housing.
I'd like to hear some thoughts on regional decentralisation. I see it touted as a response to housing crises or traffic, usually whenever someone floats the idea of densifying our inner-city and inner-ring locations (for context, I'm in a place undergoing a housing crisis fueled, in no small part, by the usual Anglophone fixation on US-style sprawl and density. We have a high degree of urban centralisation, on the more extreme end of the scale, though not without a few smaller cities).
Agglomeration economics aside, it doesn't seem like decentralisation would be too problematic, provided it was done well. Certainly, decentralising activity centres along public transport hubs in urban areas sounds like a no-brainer (especially if you're doing the land capture model). Creating quality smaller cities planned in a smart, sustainable way seems good too. At least, creating good satellite cities seems like a good idea from a redundancy standpoint, as well as creating more options elsewhere. I agree on the need for flexibility in working types/hours too.
My gripe with this point however is that it seems to be floated by sprawl/NIMBY types who believe a subtext of "as long as we move the sprawl elsewhere, we can continue with our unsustainable planning model, and I get to have no apartments in my area." As such, any attempt following this model would likely result in the same sprawl enveloping places like country towns, and more traffic. Additionally, it seems to be ignorant as to why people may move into larger cities in the first place, such as culture and community.
I'd love to hear some thoughts on this!

The algorithm recommended me this cheap little portable doll house on Amazon and I decided to buy it. The setting and style suited my critters quite nice i think and it is ultra lightweight. Anyways, I ended up doing what I love to do, and slapped a command strip on it lol. they have never failed me yet! Anyways I'm loving the concept and am hunting for more room boxes I'd like for my families. I still need to find a better place to mount it but this was a very successful trial. Try out a display like this!

Before you read this, I want to apologize if this comes across as scatter-brained. These thoughts have been building for years and only recently did I suddenly have the urge to rant about this.
I have struggled with my identity my entire life. My father is white, and my mother is Filipino. However, my dad is very ignorant of culture outside the US (in a bigoted way) and my mother only recently started to push me to learn Filipino culture (about two years ago, but I am 22).
I have tried to make Asian friends from similar ethnic backgrounds, but they either ignore me or are enamored with American culture so its hard to really absorb authentic Filipino/Asian experiences.
I attribute this to a few factors; my physical appearance and where I specifically grew up.
I have probably struggled with my physical appearance my entire life, from both family and strangers. My father is full white, and my mother is Filipino; my appearance resembles more of a Hispanic person rather than Asian. I used to joke that I can’t fit in among white people, Asians, or Hispanic people, but unfortunately this feels closer to reality every day. Being raised in Texas (and among my white grandparents) I have always felt looked down upon based upon my skin complexion. When I worked in fast food, I once had an elderly white man order me to stop taking his order and have my white coworker complete it instead. Hispanic people often walk up to me speaking to me in Spanish and being shocked I am Asian (though I find this more funny rather than offensive).
What isn’t funny is the amount of disdain I see from Asian people. When I tell Asian people I am Asian, they often deny me or tell me I’m Mexican/Cuban and I don’t know it. I was bullied by a Chinese kid in middle school because my skin was so dark, and he would often call me “cholo” and other derogatory names. However, the worst case came from an ex-girlfriend that I once loved unconditionally and had plans to marry. She told me one night that she wanted “full-blooded Korean children” in her future, and it destroyed me to be judged by someone I cared for so deeply for something I literally could not control. Additionally, her mom once told me that Filipinos have lots of genetic diseases when I had dinner at her parents place. These two traumatic experiences are some of the biggest reasons I have struggled with my identity.
I’m not stupid, I see how both Asian and western culture fetishize fair and pale skin. It is so frustrating that people ignore racism among Asian subgroups. I know Indians and (for lack of a better word) middle eastern people suffer from being called “not really Asian.”
I have tried trendy Asian haircuts/outfits, but there is only so much I can do. And the other day (this is the reason for my post) one of my work acquaintances told me I should stop “trying to look like an Asian” and it really got under my skin.
It sucks when people deny the race that you actually are, it feels like screaming at a brick wall to move and nothing happens. I think because I don’t look Asian I am excluded from Asian events at my college. Asian people are usually dry in conversation whereas I honestly have no issues with college kids of other races. Because of this, I feel locked out from experiencing a huge part of my identity simply because I do not “fit the look.”
Another factor included in this is my geographic location, Texas. Aside from having very few Filipino people in my exact region of Texas, I live in a house obsessed with American culture. I have nothing against it honestly, but when we eat hamburgers three days in a row for dinner, I can’t help but desire some sort of variety with my food. I do my best to eat more Filipino cuisine, but a lot of the filipino food in America is really greasy and it upsets my diet/stomach. Food aside, the Asian community in Texas is obsessed with American culture with a splash of eastern Asian influence. For example, they are obsessed with KPOP and anime to an extent that they are mimicking their fashion style and looks. Everyone is wearing Uniqlo, streetwear, and a pearl necklace/chain. Everyone is drinking Boba or going to raves and it is honestly so tiring.
Additionally, my father is pretty racist when it comes to Hispanics and black people, but most of his insults are based on the color of their skin. These insults honestly feel like they could apply to me and any racist person could direct these slurs to me any day.
Because of this, I have almost zero connection to my heritage or cultural identity. And it is so frustrating to see people connect with others just because they are Asian because whenever I try it I am shot down.
Has anyone else struggled with this? I feel trapped that I will never truly experience my culture due to my dysmorphia and where I live and it makes me very depressed.

Earlier this year, I opened https://www.reluminate.gg/ with a purpose of bringing positivity to the scene by providing a fun environment with free coaching for all skill levels and all roles by verified, master-challenger players. I'm a former Grandmaster support and this is my way of giving back to the community. I''d like to share this with summoner school and introduce some of the resources we offer.
Everyone has a different play style and way of learning, likewise each coach has their own style of teaching. From vod reviews to live game review, these are held in classroom like settings over discord where you can pop in and out, no formalities. Coaches put their sessions on a calendar a week in advance so you can easily find something that suites you. Often, we'll have lectures on specific topics such as rune optimization, itemization or specific lane match ups.
We hold drills, jungle clearing and bot lane 2v2 match ups are common. Here you'll get paired with an adc/sup of similar skill level and battle out until first blood then review those crucial first few minutes of the game.
On top of the free coaching we host custom in houses every Friday for both EU and NA. Sometimes they're 4fun others competitive. It's encouraged to ask advice during these games from higher elo players and get a chance to also work on team building.
We're still in the early stages of development and plan to roll out more fun league modes, ways to meet like minded people and duos, events, and tournaments in the future. I'm always open to suggestions. At the end of the day, the goal is to create something positive for the league community and light up the rift :)
Thanks and hope to see you there.
Note: site and discord has been approved by the moderation team.

Losing Grandma was like a cursed package deal that came with so many micro losses and long drawn out after effects. Just a few years before she died, Grandma had to sell her beautiful home up north where we would go for big family reunions over the summer long weekend. It was the perfect cozy house. She loved it dearly and had worked extremely hard for it having come from poverty as a child. She was an avid reader with a top notch book collection where I discovered some of my favourite stories including The Hobbit, Heidi, and The Picture of Dorian Gray. Her house overlooked dense woods and a lake. Her yard was a big hill and we would run up and down it to the dock, over the grass, the moss, the flowers. I am romantacizing it. It wasn't perfect, it was in cottage country and could get insufferably loud from all the annoying rowdy people on four wheelers or in the motor boats over the summer holiday. The geese could also be a bit of a nuisance and they wouldn't budge if you tried to shoo them off the yard sometimes. My grandma had a birdfeeder, but she had to take it down cause a bear kept coming by to eat from it and drink the nectar. So, yes, it was definitely not perfect. But it was still one of my favourite places growing up. Losing my grandma's house felt like the loss of a second person. I miss that place dearly and all the good memories. My grandma selling the house was completely reasonable however, as it was not safe for her to be there anymore on her own. Her health issues began to stack up. She got shingles that caused her horrific pain, and then bell's palsy a few months later. After that she began to develop dementia. It was fcking heartbreaking. She went through so much pain within a few short years. When she was sick with dementia, she accidentally took too much of her medication and had to be hospitalized when she was found on the floor with a concussion and hypothermic, ice cold. After the concussion, she developed new overlapping mental illness along with dementia. She had ultra rapid cycling bipolar psychosis, so she would be in extreme emotional anguish, furious and violent, or very sweet and happy throughout the day, while hallucinating all sorts of things and suffering delusions. We think she may have also had pseudobulbar affect, but there was a lot going on and it was hard to tell. But they got her on medication to help soothe the emotional anguish she was suffering. Grandma was happy in the week before her death and giving everyone hugs. She died in 2019. It doesn't feel like thatl ong ago since the pandemic messed time up. I still mourn her and the happy memories of visiting her and seeing my family every summer at her house.
There are a lot of things that have been changed by her passing. I realized that due to my autism and severe social anxiety, I struggle greatly with maintaining family relationships and even though they are on social media I can't even stay in touch with them because of my fear of social media (this is from bullying trauma). It might seem crazy to some people that using social media would be scary, but it truly does overwhelm me and I can't handle all the stimuli and all the people at once. I get scared and have pretty much remained silent. I also have this challenge with texting my family members due to social anxiety. I don't know why. When we saw each other at my grandma's house every summer, that helped me socialize and stay in touch with everyone. That was our precious time to interact and it's gone now and I don't know how to get over this new challenge. I have a hard time with change. I am not good at initiating contact. It was always up to someone else to bring us together to have fun and socialize. I am so ashamed and heartbroken by my failure to remain in touch with my family. I cry so much over this problem and growing rift. I didn't want to become estranged.
Now another family member is dying. He was diagnosed with cancer this winter. This month the doctor gave him his "death sentence" how how long he has to live with his untreatable cancer. He is a loved member of our family, multi-skilled and full of life. He's a performer and has rescued many dogs and a few cats. He's not old and it's like a car crash finding out he's going to die.
There has also been not a death, but a tragedy with a non-bio family member. She relapsed into a drug addiction this year and lost her house. Her child (a sweet little girl who I got to meet and spend time with a few times when we saw each other for Christmas) was taken into custody by social workers. Prior to her drug addiction, this woman was one of the most maternal people . She was great with kids, extremely loving and motherly. She's older than me and when I was a little kid she made up such fun games to play and made me so happy. It absolutely kills me that her drug addiction has won and take over her life. We live in the same town and I have no fcking idea what to even say to her. I feel like there's a glass barrier and I can't speak to her or anything...i don't know what to do.
I have been crying so much this month, everything just hit me and I do not know how to cope with this. Where do I go from here? I appreciate recommendations for any support groups or anything at all that has helped you with this sort of thing, this ongoing complicated grief.

PHYLUM SARCOMASTIGOPHORA

With over eighteen, delineate species, Sarcomastigophora (sar_komas- ti-gof_o-rah) (Gr. sarko, fleshy nine mastigo, whip nine phoros, to bear) is that the largest protozoan phylum and has the subsequent

Characteristics:

1. living thing or colonial
   
2. Locomotion by flagella, pseudopodia, or both
   
3. flora (self-nourishing), saprophagous (living in decaying organic matter), or heterotrophic (obtains energy from organic compounds)
   
4. Single style of nucleus
   
5. Amphimixis (usually)
   

PHYLUM SARCOMASTIGOPHORA

SUBPHYLUM Mastigophora

FLAGELLAR LOCOMOTION

Members of the taxonomic group Mastigophora (mas_ti-gof_o-rah) use flagella in locomotion. Flagella might manufacture two-dimensional, flagellated movements or whorled movements that push or pull the protozoan through its aquatic medium.

CLASS PHYTOMASTIGOPHOREA

The taxonomic group Mastigophora has 2 categories.
Members of the category Phytomastigophorea (fi_to-mas-ti-go-for-ee_-ah) (Gr. phytos, plant) possess pigment and one or 2 flagella. Phytomastigophoreans manufacture an outsized portion of the food in marine food webs. abundant of the element utilized in aquatic habitats comes from chemical process by these marine organisms.

Well after reading a bunch of stories I kind of wanted to share my experience and maybe hear thoughts about it from other people. I do have 2 separate stories where I had things happen to me throughout months. This story will be when I was about ten years old living in San Diego.
Anyways the first night something strange happened was after my surgery around august as I was about to enter 5th grade. I get home and as I was about to go to bed my parents ask me if I can walk up the stairs and I say no I struggle, but honestly it was just cuz I prefer sleeping on the floor then an actual bed and I still do. Around maybe 3/4 in the morning I randomly woke up and I hear a laughter coming towards a closet. I kind of was hoping it was one of my moms Halloween decorations went off as my mom was obsessed with Halloween and had a bunch of decorations. I’d say maybe like 5 minutes later I hear some scratching on the couch directly behind me then my dad walks down maybe like about thirty minutes later to get ready for work and I tell him what happened just for him to search the house and find nothing.
Things go on for months and it’s always little things like seeing shadows as I’m in the shower. There was also this one time where I was hanging off the ladder of the top bunk upside down and that was scary waking up to or another time when I’m asleep I wake up to me basically punching a shelf. Me punching the shelf I can understand as maybe it was an involuntary movement but hanging upside down from my bunk bed seems pretty hard to do and that was also the only time that has happened to me not entirely sure if these two instances had anything to do with what I’ve experienced but when it happened it just felt super strange to me.
Ok so now the last thing to ever happen to me or at least last thing I noticed was the most strangest thing to happen to me in my life. I can’t really remember around when it happened but basically I’m lying down in my bed as I’m trying to sleep then all of a sudden my vision goes black. I was confused and scared thinking I went blind as I knew my eyes were wide open then about ten seconds later my vision basically turned into something like infrared vision. The whole room was blue except for a guy who looked like they were sitting down on a box in my closet. The door was closed and I wanted to get up to open my door or at least make a run for it downstairs. People have told me it could’ve been sleep paralysis but I had full control over my body so to me that doesn’t really make much sense I was just too scared to do anything so I pretended to be asleep and after maybe like ten minutes later my vision went back to normal.
That’s my story thank you for reading if you did. Sorry if the story is long but I wanted to share every thought as well and maybe hear inputs from other people as well.

I can see an case for Mr House and the NCR. Def not Caesar legion since she would probably think of them as barbarians, and she also probably wouldn't like the lack of stability that comes with Yesman. That leaves NCR and Mr House. Maybe she would join the NCR since they are an democracy, and try to get an stable job closer to the center of the NCR, but at the same time i feel Mr House style capitalist individualist style would appeal a lot to Tanya. What are your thoughts?
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I have been taking care of 2 feral cats in my backyard in Brooklyn. I feed them twice a day. One day a third cat came to the colony, ear was already clipped so I knew it was a TNR, and so I began feeding her as well. after a few months, she started coming really close to me and eventually, she would run to my back door as soon as it opens, rubs against me and meows for her food. she is extremely sweat, loves eaneck scratches and will melt in my hand. Purs like crazy as well. has virtually no fear of me at all and so I decided to take her to the vet because I wanted to make sure she was ok. Once at the vet I discovered that she had a heap of problems. Her teeth were all removed at one point in her life by a different vet, for whatever reason. Hey kidneys are bad, she has a heart murmur, and she has Asthma. I got her all her shots, microchipped, and steroid shots for her Asthma. The bill for all this was a little expensive and I knew I would not be able to afford the long term vet care of this cat, who the vet mentioned is at least 12 years old. Besides that I would also need to acclimate this cat to live indoors, and for the 5 hours she was in my bathroom (with litterbox, food, water), she hid in a dark box the entire time . She was not aggressive, it was like she gave up and was in extreme fear. I felt horrible for her, and she is bonded with the 2 other feral cats outside already. I knew after leaving the vet that I would re-release her back into my backyard, which I did. I have been feeding her a special diet for her kidney's and also giving her medication daily for her asthma. Expensive surgery is required for the heart mur mur and its not something I can afford at all. I feel terrible, she is such a good cat and deserves better. I don't think she would do well at a shelter, considering her age and problems that she has, if I can even get her in a shelter in the first place. So she has been fine outside for now, I am moving out to an apartment in October that doesnt allow pets and am worried about how she will be during the Winter. My parents do not want her inside the house due to my dad having a bad allergy and I am really unsure of what to do. They are willing to feed her the wet food (as long as i pay for it..), but they wont give her the same love and attention that I have been giving her for the last few months, along with the churu/temptations I give her daily. It does not seem like I have any options but I wanted to get people's opinions.

Hey! I’m looking for one mlptube series about a misfit main character getting accepted into a prestigious all girls highschool in Canterlot with a Hogwarts-style housing system, but when she gets there she doesn’t fit in any houses. Later (after defeating queen Chrysalis) it’s discovered that she’s actually a part of the missing “Chrylic” house; the house of creativity or chaos or something?
If that description isn’t clear enough, I remember a scene where they specified the only male character ((aside from Shining Armor being a teacher)) is a yellow colt with black hair? I think he’s the nephew or kid of a teacher or something and he’s around the age of the main character.

TLDR; spent way too much time planning a one-off that was a lot of fun thanks to this subreddit.
I got the Wands and Wizards v2 Rulebook for Christmas last year along with the 5e Strixhaven campaign from a family member who was very well meaning but didn't know the full components of W&W.
It took me awhile to find this subreddit and realize there was the Headmasters Guide and the Monster Book of Monsters as well. I actually had a note on my first draft of campaign notes to make a character sheet as I realized how many skills were relabeled, etc. I was so relieved to find this!
Though I don't know a lot about DMing in general, and don't know how to use discord at all, I was able to use thus subreddit for so much! I did a very intensive sorting ceremony as I knew my players like dramatics and campaigns with lots of interactives. Below is a list of components I added to my campaign:
-sorting house questionnaire with Harry potter themed multiple choice questions, tried to make the answers less obvious. Offered a house crest with key traits for each house. Gave each player a "crystal ball" to foresee their house, used teabags and instant juice powder to create a reveal in the crystal balls with water for their houses.
-did a rorschach ink blot test for the schools of magic, this was a weird thing I thought off in order to try to get my players real personalities into the game play because we have HP lovers who love the houses they identify with. Categorized each house into a key word, i.e. if what they saw was mostly an animal I would count that as magizoology, if they saw a human I categorized it as transfiguration (rather arbitrarily)
-used a black light paint on a transparency sheet, gave the players a "luminator" blacklight flashlight to search for the abswer as to their casting style as a young wizard searching their books and supplies for answers; once they found the blacklight message it said technique, intellect, or wisdom.

• allowed players to share their backstop verbally with the group as part of ollivanders, choose a wand background from an array of visuals with features and spells displayed, and then select from 2 wands I handmade based on the wood types/background visuals

-played only year 1- used first portion of the Platform 9 3/4 campaign on the gmbinder link. Then gave a list of 7 classes they could attend at any time some classes had puzzles some had battles. Leveled up quickly and added lots of rewards/gold.
-Started the second portion after a break and allowed them to go to Diagon Alley and supplied the Seers Catalogue ( I can't find the link for the person who made it) that I found here. This is where we ended though I wrote enough content for probably 3-4x more
-General storyline: it's 1692 (salem witch trial era) and Willoam Stoughton is a secret wizard who was abused by his muggle born parents and has learned his magic and gained power through hate and anger. He is angry with both Wizards and muggles and has been infecting the magical creatures with a charm that ages them aggressive and less secretive; inbueing muggles with magic for a day just to confuse their social circles and subject them to suspicion and hostility; and convinced the merpeople to act against muggles and Wizards actively as an act of rebellion. Players were to progress through classes and fight merpeople,, discover the potion that would cure the creatures, learn about William, find a portkey to Salem from Hogwarts, and battle William. SO. MUCH.
I'm glad it's over, but it was fun.

MY PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
INTRODUCTION
Hello there! My name is Siddharth Rai and I live in India. I am a twenty-six-year-old male and I live with my parents. I work at the nearby airport as an electrical engineer. I have a younger sister who is studying zoology in a college nearby and she lives away from us due to her college. My writing style might not be appealing but I would be happy if you read and reviewed my article. It will help me get new interesting things to you. I hope you enjoy reading this.
I have always wanted to write a book. I like to write poems, I like music, I like art and I like to travel. I have never travelled out of my country except to Nepal. Nepal is quite nearby to where I live. I live in the eastern India, Darjeeling. Some of you might have heard or visited the place before. I live in the foothills though- Siliguri but the district is Darjeeling. I have spent around thirteen years of my life in Darjeeling. I miss those golden days that I have spent with my family and friends in Darjeeling. Those days will never come back again. It is a beautiful pain. All the crazy things that we do as teenagers, I did it in Darjeeling- fighting, having girlfriends, forming a band, roaming around the streets- everything. Some of the people I met on the streets are now superstars and some homeless vagabonds. Some are married and some committed suicide because they couldn’t love. I am just a regular guy like you. I think I am below average when it comes to money, prestige, personality and many other things that define us- a lifestyle.
The reason I thought about writing this article is because I want to become a better person as I am approaching towards my thirties. I have heard somewhere that writing makes it easier and effective to do something that we want to do. I hope this article will help you in some way or the other. I will share some of the deepest things that I feel. I will talk about my past. I will let you know about my present and I will also try to show you the future that I have visioned for myself. I will be talking about my personality development.
PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
We have often heard about the word personality. We have often heard about one getting complimented for their personalities and sometimes people finding their personalities not matching with others, mostly to their partners. It’s interesting to see us being conscious about so many things in our lives. Our beauty, physique, clothes, status in the society, possessions, partners and other small things like our fear of facing people, inferiority, pride, love, attachment. Well personality is a sphere where all of the conscious things are confined into.
It is the way we react to the factors that make us feel something- good or bad. Feeling good includes many things- paragliding, completing a trek, listening to classical music, releasing a music video. Feeling bad might feel like thinking about the moment that hurts you- could be anything, you know better.
How are you going to react to the situations-now and then? That defines your personality. If you ask the instructor for your money back after a paragliding session because you couldn’t fly for another ten minutes because of the weather then you need to work on some parts of your life and if you left your girl with the man and her friends just because you missed the party the previous night then you need to work on some part of your life- you might be using your head too much. I am worried about how am I going to handle a relationship in the future because I’ve messed up my previous ones- I need to work on some part of my life. My personality is not balanced.
Personality is a gift- a box of chocolates- it’s tasty but harmful if eaten too much.
THAT’S HOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE
It was the last day of 2017 and my girlfriend had come to Siliguri with her friends. I had my aunt come over from a distant place and we had to go visit our relatives, so I was caught up with my family. My girlfriend called me and told me that she was around in the market with her friends and some unknown person gave them a lift back home. I told her to be cautious around and we agreed to meet the next day. Late night she told me how she missed me, and she went to sleep early that night. I thought she was cheating on me, and I sent her some rubbish texts. Cool- the night passed quite fast.
I went to meet her the very next morning just to see a guy in their apartment. He was my old friend. She told me that he had just arrived. And he looked like he had just woken up. Good! She treated me like a kid, and I know I was in the wrong place with wrong people. She tried to be herself, but I didn’t feel her. In my mind I was constantly thinking about she is cheating on me. I left the place early and booked two tickets for me and her to get back home. They came late. I had to travel with them. This guy had a car. An unknown man giving them a lift back home, sleeping early, not wanting to go home with me- I was hurt and mad. I wanted to break up already. But I waited because I wasn’t sure if it was the right reason to leave her. So, I waited and just after two months I saw her with a different guy. This time she had come to visit me, but I went to play basketball with my friends because she wanted to have some time with her cousins. Well, I was late by a couple of hours, and she called up her friend and had him over as a company- this guy was the one whom she met when we had a fight back in 2016. Her friend had introduced them to each other- her friend who wanted her to break up with me because I was a needy, passive and a childlike boyfriend- who always was insecure, quarrelling and a noob. This friend of hers was the one whom I admired back in high school.
We broke up January 2018 for good. It was the third or the fourth time, but we broke up finally, forever. I wanted to break up with her because I thought I wasn’t good enough for her. Well, it was a whole different reason for me because the actual reason why I wanted to break up with her was because I wasn’t feeling loved. I didn’t have the guts to accept it and move on. I used to think it will hurt her badly, she is an innocent girl, and I would give it a new chance. I once put my mobile on complete shut down for a month to get away from her- that was the time she changed drastically because she realized that I wasn’t into her anymore. But we got back together shortly- she loved me after all, and so did I because I realized that instead of roaming around with strangers it was better for me to strengthen my relationships with people who love me- I was wrong. She had other guys in her life now- like that guy in their apartment, like that guy her friend had introduced to her and that addict guy who she had her in her phone list.
I was alone-broken. I put too much pressure on my rational mind and started emphasizing on my emotions. I brought this cloud of sadness over me. I wanted to put her into depression- I did. I was depressed too. Influence. My friend was a depressed person. He would talk about how depressed he was, how his past relationships had failed, how jealous he was of me, how he would talk about suicides and philosophies that I couldn’t understand. Influence! I don’t hang around with him anymore. I don’t meet him. He has a good job now. He is financially stable and has a girlfriend. I have no idea about my ex. We haven’t talked with each other since the day we parted our ways- she is hurt you know. I hurt her more than anybody else and I don’t want to go back to her with my dark shadow over her head. I am fine alone with my personality development obsession and sickness. I hope both of them are safe and sound.
I want to forget about my past but I can’t because I have hurt some of the best people of my life like my parents, family, friends, teachers, girlfriend and even a dog- damn! I wonder if she is alive- Dalli the dog. My friend’s dog. She gave birth to two little puppies. One is with us-a mother now- Lily. Lily makes me happy. She is wonderful. The only reason why I was facing the hardest time of my life was because I didn’t have any purpose in life. I wasn’t fulfilling my duty-studying. I would get high the entire day, miss my classes and sleep after a masturbation session. Food and shelter were available for me as my parents paid for it. They would send money every month and I would eat, get high, sleep- repeat. I did this for two years and my girlfriend was gone, I had failed in my semesters like a dead toad, I was financially depressed, I had lost weight, I was now a little jerk. I wasn’t happy. I never wanted to kill myself though. I wasn’t raised that way. My father was in the army, and you know how it is in the military family- respect and discipline but I packed my bags and returned back home during my third year and a year of my college was still left behind.
When I went back home, I couldn’t find my peace because my aunt was living with my mother with her little daughter- my sister. When I went there to live with my mother there were four ladies and me- one man. I had habits and it was difficult for me to maintain them. The rooms were small, and everything was audible. I had a habit of masturbating before sleep. And my aunt would sleep in the room right next to mine. I sometimes wanted to screw her up, but I knew it was not a moral decision. I wanted to seduce her just to masturbate but I couldn’t because I didn’t know how to. And interestingly I was a virgin until twenty-five years old. That was one of the reasons why my relationship didn’t work out with that girl because I couldn’t fuck. I mean she would say after marriage, but she would also get naked and get missionary, but I was facing mild erectile dysfunction because of heavy marijuana dosage, porn and excessive masturbation. So, maybe that didn’t work out. I left my mother’s comfort and came back to college to complete my education and I did but a year later. My psycho friend had passed his college and I was left behind with another friend of mine- loser no.2. I think he still is a virgin. But I am not. Not anymore!
My friends and I none of us got placed. We were jobless and there was corona virus and lockdown. It was good time for assholes like me to waste life away. I would spend my day by playing Pubg with my friends, watching porn and masturbating. My good time had begun. I was lucky enough to have faced an interview with the army for army engineering and not lucky enough for selection but reaching that spot where I was trying to compete to become an officer in the army. I was lucky enough to have got the chance to spend my time peacefully with my mother and my sister. My aunt had gone back home- her child had a vacation now- due corona and all.
One of my cousins are the in army. He was home for a break, and he motivated me to jog in the morning. I ran for two or three months but quit. But my mind was now looking for motivation to stay fit. One day I was watching porn and masturbation. Right after ejaculation I decided to stop watching porn and masturbating. Oh! Good days! I felt so good that day when I didn’t masturbate. I felt clean and guilt free. I was free now. I would miss my ex though. Her smile, her sadness, the burden she had due to me, the heavy heart that she had because she never wanted to leave me. I hope she is free and happy. I wish her the best and ask for forgiveness for every little thing that I did to her. I never wanted to make you cry but I am sorry. I have realized my mistakes now and I want to see you with a smiling face one day. I have moved on, but I am around, and I hope you too. Take care.
My friends have hurt me too and I have hurt them too. My family has hurt me, and I have hurt them too. People change but you don’t. Things always happen to you. Girlfriend, friends, family, money and etc.
FOCUS
If I could move a mountain, I would try to carry it around on my shoulders. A child, a teenager, an adult, a man, a woman, old, new no matter who, everyone is trying to find something in their lives- focus. If they lose focus, they will never be able to talk. Try not thinking anything and talking- you will notice how your brain coordinates your speech. We don’t care what we talk about because we are focused on something- conveying our message. It’s important to learn how to improve your focus. Thus, in order to improve your focus let’s try:

1. Meditating: Five to fifteen minutes a day- om meditation or guided meditation. Connect yourself with the inner spirit. Find out how heavy your chest is and how clouded your mind is. You are supposed to be as light the air and as clean as the water in the spring. Your mind should contain natural sceneries and not porn.
2. Exercising: Your body is a masterpiece of art. A godly creation. The entire human civilization is based on bodies. The entire art and history show how great leaders and warriors and scholars looked like. They had extremely appealing bodies, no matter what nation they belonged to. Romans, Greeks, British, Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Gorkhas, Sikhs, Mughals, and Americans, all of them have an interesting thing to notice- their bodies. Fast and furious to giants and strong. They all are focused. Some ruling the nations, some fighting wars, some creating art, some politics and some philosophies. They have a balance between their and heart and their brain. Have you ever done a chin up? Next time you do try to notice how your heart gets connected to your brain like a hook linking a loop. So, dear friends- exercise.
3. Study: I study engineering because I want to reach a better position in my career. You can study to be happy or flourish your business. But study something- learn.
4. Work: Work. Move your body, use your head. Work. Let your body know about discomfort and tiredness. In these modern times we have found new ways to earn our livelihoods- investment especially. If you are not a broker who works, his heart out to analyze and make profit and you are the one who makes money and live luxurious life out of the money your broker made for you then you should at least spend some time trying to make money the hard way- at least a day. I know you have been through a lot, and you have finally found your financial peace, or you were born rich, but I must tell you he is not a man who doesn’t work. You can try house chores if nothing is coming to your mind. So, work just to get yourself in motion.
5. Hobbies: I play dota2 and I want to play the internationals. I sing karaoke. Do what gets you excited to get back home.
6. Read: Read books. I want to learn finance, health, relationship, science and engineering. You can read them too. Reading is something that makes time for your brain to rest for some time. It will settle down some of your chemical imbalances there.
7. Write: Write your deepest feelings, write a short story, write essays. Write. You can’t always be verbally sharing things with others. Some things might have been missed and some left unsaid like the ones in the previous paragraphs. It’s just a good thing to do-write.

INTEREST
If you can’t quit, then it means you are inspired. Inspiration and motivation are two different things. You can’t inspire someone verbally, but you can motivate them. Inspiration is long lasting, and motivation is short term. Motivation is like fuel to your inspiration. You will understand it. Just try to do something that you are interested in for three months. That’s a goal.
I am interested in many things. Interest as I say please refer to skills- just to make it easier for you to understand the difference between hobbies and interests. My interests are in programming, designing electrical circuits, photography and content writing. These are skills that I want to acquire, and I am “interested in”. My interest can’t be lifelong because I have distractions around. So, with a small technique I can learn these skills without losing my interest. The technique is numbering. Just put make a list of things that you want to learn. It will help you not lose your interest.
How to keep your interest alive?
You can try writing them down on a diary. Make a list of your interest. Interests are those skills that can make you famous, rich and happy like painting, programming etc. Show your interests to the world on social platforms to gain fame, sell them or get a job to get rich and master your skills to be happy. Have some interest friends.
Basically, if you have a good body, wealth, character, behavior, manner, education, then you will have a personality that is safe and sound. People below your level will not mess with you and you won’t mess with people that are above you. But you will become someone who can deal with both the types because it’s not every day you get to meet and talk to the president and it’s seldom you need to avoid people that can harm you- rich and the poor.
Thank you for sticking to this post for such a long time. I feel humble enough to present this article to you. I would like to apologize if anybody was offended in this post. I can’t think more than this my friends. I would appreciate it if you left your valuable comments on this. Thanks, and may God bless you.

We divide the year between two locations and I think their cat sort of claimed our yard as her own while we were gone from this house. We came back at Christmas to discover she'd had a litter of kittens on our deck. We just came back and she'd had another litter. All 13 kittens seem to view our yard as their home and that is a problem as I'm severely allergic and our dog is freaking out about them.
We're not quite sure what to do as the neighbors aren't really NFH in other regards. They said it was a four month wait for a free / discount spay and $500 at the vet so they never got her fixed. We live in a gated community with a strict rule about all pets being registered, but none of theirs are. They're wanting us to keep the kittens a secret from security and yet haven't kept them on their own property. They don't wear collars. We're conflicted on what to do as we don't want harm to come to the kittens but also need to reclaim our own yard. We already asked around about rescues and apparently it's kitten season and no fosters are available. Plus the rescues said that due to them being outdoors so much there's more hesitancy to take them in than if they had been kept indoors.
Does anyone have suggestions on what else to do? Our fence got destroyed by a hurricane and putting a new one in isn't that simple (HOA approval + they're fully booked for months) so it's not easy to keep them out.

My mother had me and my siblings, my girlfriend and my cousins over for a memorial day weekend.
My sister in law is gluten intolerant, so feeding her is always a challenge for my mother and grandmother (who have zero experience cooking gluten free foods)
Anyways, I decided to make a Mao-style Hong Shao Rou.
I went all out. Broke out all the spices, toasted them, fried the aromatics, fried the caramel (using Chinese rock sugar and palm sugar, that last past is my personal change) then coating the pork belly chunks and combining in a pot.
It was by all accounts IMHO some of the best I've made. Tender, aromatic, balanced, no soy sauce because SiL.
And she turned her nose up. "Why isn't it crispy?"
I was a bit stunned, so I said "I beg your pardon? It's a braise."
"It's so fatty and it has skin on it." (My SiL is as wonderbread as any WASP)
I turn to my brother, and he's already picked the meat off and is giving the fat to my mother's dog.
I ask my uncle discretely over text "You're a chef, did I fuck it up?" He tastes it, "No dude, it's tender and perfectly melty."
My mother comes up to me afterwards "why didn't you crisp it up?"
At this point I'm pissed. I start waving my hands as me and my father (divorced family) tend to do when we're irritated, and I say "it's a fucking braise. A braise. It's not roasted. It's not fried. What did you fucking expect?"
Room goes silent. My girlfriend, bless her, tries to defuse "I liked it!" Walked out of there early and invited my fried who recently got out of jail to our house, he ate the leftovers happily.
I don't mind my family on that side but man, white people are so fucking stupid and ungrateful. My Latin American father was taught "eat what served and don't be a cocksucker to the cook". Same with my Chinese and Japanese friends. They watched me cook it, too. How did they expect it to be?
I cook mostly Chinese. It's a diverse, healthy cuisine with lots of variety. I just don't get these white people obsessions with texture.