My boyfriend (39M) and I (37F) started dating in August of last year. We met the old fashioned way…at a bar; I saw him sitting at a table by himself and brought him a beer and we spent the night talking and exchanged numbers at the end of the night and the rest was just history. He was the first to say he loved me and for the most part he treated me great…better than great even. He would put gas in my car, take me, and even my two kids once, to Wild games, even changed my leg bandages on the back of my leg from a car accident injury for months when we first started our relationship. He even asked to come to one of my appointments when my leg wasn’t seeming to heal. We both loved to watch and talk hockey and spent a lot of time just cuddled up watching movies. Although I had a lot tighter budget than he did, I feel I was equally generous and loving toward him. I made him breakfast in bed once (he complained I left too many dishes though which I did feel bad about and said so after)…I also took him to MN Wild games and would leave him cards and mini bottles or a framed photo or something small whenever I was leaving town or just for no reason whatsoever…even made him little funny but sweet comics of us and snuck them into his lunch cooler or just left them on me kitchen counter for him to find later. Aside from two very large incidents, there wasn’t much to speak of in terms of disagreements. There were little things here and there but I just considered them part of the dance couples do as they learn each other’s quirks and likes/dislikes.
One day, shortly after we discussed becoming “fb official” 🙄, I decided to browse through his profile pics and noticed several of him and his ex wife, even one where he was kissing her forehead. Anyway…He had tagged me in a post and his ex wife had commented on it and it was brought up in conversation privately between just him and I and he immediately asked if I wanted him to delete her and said he would if it bothered me. I said no, that that was not necessary, but I took it as an opportunity to casually mention to him that the profile pics bothered me and asked if he would mind at least changing the privacy to only him since were now together. At first he said he didn’t know how and then kind of belittled me for being bothered by them. I offered to show him how to do it and said it would take less than 5 minutes to do. Anyway…I might have mentioned it a week or so after just briefly and he said he’d take care of it and moved on. I didn’t follow up and hadn’t even looked to see if he had for probably a month or so after I had last mentioned it. I had bought tickets to a Wild game and we were walking to the game and I’m good spirits too when (thinking there’s no way he hadn’t done it by now) decided to look at his profile pics and I was teasing but in a shocked disbelief kinda way and asked if I could just show him since he claimed that was the issue. This set him off and things got serious…the game was up and down for us. It was the first big fight but I feel I was understanding and tried to make light of it a little and just get him to understand why it might bother me. It escalated after the game and got to the point where we both just wanted to let it go for the night. A few days later, I sent him a text asking to discuss some things and he agreed. When I got to his place and started to bring it up again, he immediately blew up and things escalated to the point that I threw my hands up and said “f*** it” and left to sit in my car for a little while but we were still texting and I was really wanting us to resolve things which could have been just him expressing some understanding and empathy for my feelings and not changing the privacy on the pics but, by that time, he had already said he would and he had even offered to block her without my even asking for it prior to that, so it was incredibly frustrating to have him react like this. Anyway…because I stormed off to smoke a cigarette in my car after saying “fuck it” he says he wants nothing to do with me so I asked for my things from his place and say I’d like them now (they literally fit in a small 8x8 box) so I don’t have to make a special trip and he agrees and he handed me the box and quickly slammed the door. I’m not one to want to be with someone who doesn’t want to be with me, so I was on my way. I was a Luke shocked by how quick he was to shut me out but I gave him his space. Before I had even gotten home, he let me know that he was so upset with me that he “figured it out on fb” and that he went in there and “deleted all the pics of her and YOU”. I decided to deactivate my account temporarily out of embarrassment because people had already noticed his profile pic of him and I was gone and I just wanted to not be embarrassed like that (also it’s not unusual for me to take breaks and temporarily deactivate my acct) and I let him know that that was why but said nothing more.
Later that same night, we both cooled off and reconciled and just decided we still wanted to be together and we could put that in the past. He later told me he too had deactivated his account and that he was thinking about making it permanent. I said that I didn’t want to reactivate my account yet because of the questions people had already been asking about things. Another month or so went by with no mention of fb but curiosity got the best of me and i I decided to look at his profile via my daughter’s account. I noticed he had deactivated it but that it still said he was in a relationship with our date but my name was removed because I dedicated the account so I felt good about that but still wanted him to restore our pics but I refused to let it get to me and definitely was not ready to go down that road with him again. And I was glad I hadn’t when, on March 11th, he brought it up and said exactly what I need to hear. He said that he wanted to take some more pics so he could post new ones on fb and even commented that he was happy I took pics from time to time because he had recently been looking for pics of him when he was younger but said there was so few because he refused to take them. Anyway… I understood needing new pics to post and decided to just let him do it at his own pace.
Things were going great. He would even bring up marriage from time to time, saying he had said he never would again but that I made him think otherwise. Anyway….I should also explain that he is a train conductor from out of town (about 6 hour drive from me) and has been living in Minnesota for over a year and we always knew that a time would come where he would be told that they no longer needed him here and he would have to make a decision. I asked if we could prepare for that day by discussing our options ahead of time so it wouldn’t be so overwhelming and he would just assure me that he wanted to stay and that he was looking into how to go about it and him and another guy in the same situation were talking to hr about it, so there didn’t seem to be much need to discuss anything. Even when we went on a recent double date with two of his coworkers, they both pulled me aside and quietly mentioned that he has let people know he intends to stay here with me. The coworkers were facing a similar situation but had already made their intentions clear that what they had was only until that the day came that he went home. Continued…

So i worked for a towing company as a tow truck driver. I kept my truck spotless, kept my uniforms clean, went above and beyond every customers expectations, did everything perfectly. October 13th 2022 i got slammed into on the highway while i was barely moving as i was heading to a car fire and was using an emergency vehicle turn around to get to the burning car so the highway could be reopened. I had all my lights on and police even declared other driver 100% at fault for the crash.
Now heres the fucked up part. The pain in my back started about 2 days later. It was brutal. I needed to take time off work and try to let my back heal. 4 days after saying i needed time off, i was forced to come back because they were short staffed apparently (not my problem but alright, i'll try to help out a bit). I had to work reduced hours with reduced heavy lifting (no tire change calls, no full shifts) as ordered by my doctor. Well, owner decided "lets load him up with all the tire changes and he must work full shifts". I gave him the doctors note(stating i couldnt due to the severity of my injury (cervical spine had shifted and discs were grinding). Well i was determined to follow my doctors orders so i didnt end up in even worse shape. Apparently, thats where i went wrong. The owner called me at 11:15pm while sounding drunk and yelled at me saying "PARK THE TRUCK AT THE YARD! LEAVE THE KEYS AND GAS CARDS IN THE TRUCK AND FUCK OFF AND DONT FUCKING COME BACK!"
Alright fuckface, lets play then. Before bringing his truck to the yard i filed a claim with workers compensatikn board and i filed a complaint against the company with employment standards (if you fick up, they can fine the shit outta a company and they force that company to pay out properly for wrongful dismissals like in my case). Employment standards called me yesterday and they plan to go after the company for alot as this is not the first complaint they've had against them for this type of situation. Company could face about a half a million dollar fine. They will also have to backpay me for every day i shouldve worked from time of wrongful dismissal to the time of the investigation being over. Turns out i'll make over 20 grand on this, the company will be out over a half a million dollars and if they dont comply, their business license wil be revoked, the trucks will all have parking boots on them and the company doors will be chained shut.
Fuck around and find out done properly

Brand new Instacart shopper. Maybe I don't understand the concept.
I live in a rural area, so this may be the issue. This morning I went to the nearest big town, Lexington KY. I'm sitting in front of the Aldi next to the mall, a prime area for another DDelivery app. 😃
So I'm sitting there around 1030 EST, and batches are popping up, but they are 12 to 20 dollars and they are 25 to 50 items. A 16 dollar 11 item order, nothing heavy, popped up. I took it. By my math, by the time I went in the Aldi, shopped the items, and took said items to the customer, it was less than minimum wage, plus gas, plus depreciation on my auto.
So I launch the other DDelivery app I use 😏Within about 30 seconds I get a chick FIL A order for 9 dollars that required me to run up the street, a quarter mile at most, pick up the order and quite literally drive across the street to best buy and deliver. As soon as I dropped that one, which took like 10 mins max, I got a Jersey Mike's that was 13 dollars and it took me about 20mins to complete. So in about 30 mins I've already made nearly twice the "batch" I took.
This part is pure luck and I know it, but it's worth mentioning. At 1430 EST I ironically end up back at the same Aldi I started at. I'm already up around 125… it's getting slow. I restarted the IC app, and the same three batches pop up. Lol. Around that time I got an alert from the other app for an outback run. 24.72. I mashed the accept button so hard my phone flew out of the mount. Two meals one appetizer, delivery to the 9th floor of an office tower downtown. Basically double pay of my "batch" for 1/2 the time.
Someone please explain to me why I would spend hours shopping for people for less money? Is it the fact that I have zero track record? Is it the market I'm in? Is it the Lent lull? Should I take a 💩 run or two? I was excited to shop for cash, but I made nearly 30/hr during the lunch rush and the same 3 shit "batches" were the only offers Instacart gave me the entire time I was actually making money. I was hoping to "fill in the gaps" but I'm not so sure anymore.
I'm not trying to dog one app and/or promote another. I'm only trying to understand. Maybe it was just a good day for one and not the other. Obviously Instacart is great side hustle, or people wouldn't do it, same for all the others, and I know people that use multiple apps, which is kinda why I wrote this book.
TLDR, I just need some pointers to make this service worth my while, or some encouragement to not just abandon this app altogether.
Edit. It was my intention to personal shop in between food rushes, then drive the drunks home. Name your own app. Around here I figure I could make way more money playing all 3 types of app🤠 than by working any 🐂💩 corporate job where the stock holders are more important than the people who work for you.

TLDR;;; I felt excluded by some of my friends, and decided to sort of distance myself and stop giving rides to them. Am I the asshole?
So my current role at place of work is an environment with lots of free time, and I mean lots of it. There's a variety of different people, but its a relatively small group of people. When starting it was an extremely intimidating experience, but i quickly made some friends who i grew extremely close to extremely quickly. From there we would talk and stick by eachothers sides all day everyday, for the past 3 months. We had a groupchat we all talked in, had made plans to all hang out as a group (which never happened), and just quite literally always talked.
The end of last week I was starting to feel a little weird, and noticed behaviors like if one of them was looking at something on their phone, laugh, and theyd share it with everyone but me. Also if someone else came over and had a conversation with one of them, I'd feel left on the side and kind of unacknowledged. Things like that just kept happening, and I kept telling myself it was fine and I'm over thinking like I just want trying hard enough to include myself or be part of it. I was just overthinking.
But then Tuesday, we were all sitting together like we always normally do, and I over heard a comment about one of them going to the others house. Whatever, oh that's cool they're hanging out. I've hung out individually with some of them before. Later on in the day tho, on the ride home, i opened up to one of them about how i was feeling. She told me about the group chat they have without me, and how they're all hanging out on Sunday without me. Like that only develops my feelings of feeling excluded. The next day, it was only 3/4 of us, and two of them are stuck by the hip. In a way that had me trailing behind tnem like a lost puppy. It hurt my feelings, especially because I had just talked to one of tnem about how I felt.
I ended up just giving ourselves some space today, and spent the day away from the group. None of them checked in with me or wondered if i was going to join them, and didnt make an effort to talk to me. Which again, they have a right to i get, but it made me rethink our closeness and made me think i had the wrong idea. On the way home, the one i drive home started talking about the plans they have without me.
It really hurt my feelings especially because i thought we were close friends, but they dont want me there. It's fine to not want me there, but it just feels wrong because of how close I thought we were. Does that make sense? Like I thought we were friends? Like I'm THE ONLY ONE excluded.
So after lots of thinking I figured if that was the case, I didn't want to feel used and I texted the one I gave rides to, that I couldn't give her rides anymore. It's not that I really minded, i never even asked for gas moneu, but the vibes just feel off, regardless if it's just me or not that feels them off, theyre off.
Am i the asshole? Am i being sensitive?

The gas giant loomed large in the viewport, ballooning as the ship coasted toward it, the colorful blue hues of its swirling bands reflecting the glow of the system’s star.
Darren could make out the bright, scarred surface of an ice moon drifting lazily past, framed against the rivers of flowing hydrogen and helium. Silhouetted against the Jupiter-mass object was their destination – Halfpoint Station.
Having come from Earth, which was still a backwater when compared to many of the Imperium’s more developed worlds, the sheer size and grandeur of the structure took his breath away.
It was hard to gauge its true scale in the vacuum of space where there was no atmospheric haze, and there were no landmarks for reference, the unfiltered light creating harsh shadows. As they drew nearer, however, he was able to pick out some of the massive fuel tankers that swarmed its ports like clouds of gnats.
Those vessels put anything created by Humanity to shame – their purpose being to dip into the upper atmosphere of the gas giant, harvesting its resources to fuel the ships that made their berth here.
Calling it enormous was an understatement. It must have been nine miles tall, the main hull of the station forming a long, relatively thin vertical shaft. Surrounding that shaft were half a dozen rotating rings, each one connected to the central column by spokes, the pinpoints of innumerable windows glinting as they slowly turned.
At its apex was a dome of immense proportions, sitting proudly atop the structure, the crystalline material that made up its transparent hull glittering in the starlight. Inside, he could make out glimpses of regal skyscrapers and patches of parkland – an entire city encapsulated in a habitat that had a breathtaking view of the planet.
Darren pursed his lips as he looked down at the device on his wrist, the tiny display showing the familiar text of an article he must have read at least a dozen times by this point.
Halfpoint Station was situated on the outskirts of the Imperium’s sphere of influence, a region of space known only as the Periphery. This put it soundly outside of Purp jurisdiction, but the place still saw a lot of traffic, as the station was right in the middle of a relatively well-traveled shipping route between the three big powers.
While it had started its life as little more than a place to fuel up and get resupplied, being located outside any of the major spheres of influence had its benefits, and the station had garnered a bit of a reputation for its more permissive policies. Now, it was said to be populated by hired guns, smugglers, gamblers, and anyone else who might appreciate discretion.
The Human frowned as he looked out the window once more and tried to reconcile the gleaming edifice before him with the dark reputation the article in his hands presented.
He didn’t have long to dwell on it before the pilot’s crackly voice came through a hidden intercom in the cabin, informing the passengers that they were commencing docking procedures.
The woman spoke in accented Shil. What that accent was, Darren had no clue, but he knew it wasn’t the same one spoken by his professors – linguistic or mechanical.
He glanced around at his fellow travelers, seeing a few species that he didn’t recognize, along with the more familiar Shil’vati. The aliens were easily identifiable by the purple hue of their skin, their sharp tusks, and their seven-foot height.
Several of them returned his gaze, some curious, some covetous.
Males were rare in the Imperium.
Hell, males were rare, period.
By the standards of most races out in the galaxy, Humanity were the strange ones for having an equal number of men and women. Even six years into the occupation, most were still struggling to adapt to the new paradigm brought on by that reality.
Darren was no exception.
Still, he managed to ignore the stares, turning his attention to the smart display on his wrist, bringing up his itinerary. He was headed to Hab-Ring Five, and the only information that he’d been given beyond that were some coordinates to who-knew-where.
He sighed, wishing – not for the first time – that he might have a fellow first timer to converse with.
Unfortunately, that was a pipe dream.
The lack of other Humans on his ship wasn’t surprising. The Imperium had only recently relaxed enough to begin authorizing travel visas allowing Humans to leave Earth, and his kind were still a rarity on the Galactic stage.
As to why he was out here out in the ass end of space?
He’d been offered a job.
He was an engineer by trade, at least according to his degree, and he specialized in the combination of alien and Human technology. It might seem like an oddly specific skillset, but it was one that was in high demand, as just about every industry on Earth was trying to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the Imperium’s literal space-age technology.
It was complicated work, but he was quite good at it, if he said so himself – and his professors seemed to agree. His gift had catapulted him through university and had apparently landed him a very lucrative offer to take up a position on Halfpoint.
How they’d heard of him, he wasn’t too sure. Nor did he truthfully know exactly what the job entailed. Apparently, he was to be briefed on-location.
Regardless, off-world work was a rare opportunity for any Human, let alone one fresh out of school, and visiting an alien space station was a lot more interesting than backpacking around Europe for a year.
Whatever happened, it was going to be an adventure.
The ship matched velocity with one of the rotating rings, the structure at least half a mile tall in its own right, covered in tiny windows that made it look like a whole city block had been condensed down into the shape of a donut.
Now that he was a little closer, Darren could see that the station was actually far from pristine. Its hull was pocked with haphazard repairs, the newer sections shining brighter than their older counterparts, its armored panels pitted with little craters from space debris and micro-meteorite impacts.
The ship lined up with a docking port, and an umbilical walkway began to extrude from the ring, reaching out towards them. It looked like the jib of a crane, covered over with a flexible material that bore a suspicious resemblance to a grey tarp.
Surely it wasn’t actually a tarp? No, it had to be some kind of alien supertech – too advanced for him to recognize at a glance.
Right?
His thoughts did little to reassure him as the umbilical connected to the shuttle’s airlock with a tangible thud.
Shaking his head, he retrieved his travel bag, then made his way down the aisle to join the queue of passengers who were waiting to disembark. More of them crammed in behind him, and he tried to ignore their uncomfortable proximity.
He hadn’t actually spent a lot of time around aliens during his schooling. One of his professors had been a Shil, but she had been professional to a fault and had always kept a healthy distance from her students.
Of course, she had still managed to be rather intimidating despite that, her head seeming to scrape the ceiling every time she stepped into the classroom. However, Darren was rapidly discovering that being surrounded by women who stood head and shoulders above him was a different experience altogether.
It was nothing to get worked up over, though. He just needed to-
The Shil standing behind him pressed close – uncomfortably close – Darren swearing that there was room enough in the aisle for her to keep her distance. Suddenly, he felt a sharp twinge in his rear.
Had she just...pinched him? No, it had to have been a mistake.
He turned to glance over his shoulder, looking up at the towering Purp. “Sorry, Ma’am, I must have bumped into you.”
Her sly smile faded as she furrowed her brow in confusion. Before she had time to formulate a reply, the intercom above the exit beeped.
“Oh, looks like we’re moving again!” Darren chimed as he began to follow the queue. “Sorry!”
He followed the procession of towering women into the passenger ship’s airlock. Both of the pressurized doors were open, and before him stretched the umbilical. The worryingly thin material that protected them from the deadly vacuum of space was wrapped taut around a metal frame, and the walkway beneath his feet was made up of a simple grate.
After a short walk, they emerged into a cavernous dock area, so large that it was more like standing in some kind of indoor stadium than anything that could be compared to a space station. There were stacks of shipping containers and unidentifiable machinery everywhere he looked.
It was a challenge not to stop and examine the equipment, each new sight piquing his interest, each strange device begging to be investigated. As he followed the other passengers to the far end of the room – his head on a swivel – he almost bumped into one of the containers. To his surprise, it was floating a foot off the ground, suspended on an anti-gravity cushion.
It was funny – no matter how many times he saw it, it never stopped being surreal to see something just…float.
As he stooped to look beneath it, an irritated dockworker leaned out from behind it to yell at whoever was in her way. She stopped when she saw him, raising a skeptical eyebrow. She was a Rakiri, if Darren remembered correctly. She resembled a towering werewolf, a pair of cat-like eyes peering out from beneath her black fur, her facial features strangely leonine. She was clad in dirty, yellow coveralls that hung loosely from her broad shoulders, exposing the ragged tank top that she wore beneath it. Tufts of her dark coat poked out around the faded garment, giving her a surprisingly fluffy appearance.
“You lost, boy?” she asked as she shooed him out of her path. “Stay behind the yellow warning markings unless you want to get that cute butt smushed,” she added with a nod toward the deck. She continued to push her heavy container, moving it effortlessly on its gravity cushion.
More dock workers were assembling to stare at him, perhaps having never seen a Human before. Or perhaps it was because he was male? It was hard to tell. Either way, a small crowd of yellow-clad women saw him off, a couple of them hooting at him and waving. Not sure if this was some kind of alien greeting, he shyly waved back, eliciting laughter from them after a moment of surprise.
One started to make her way over to him before a menacing growl from her superior made her freeze in place sheepishly. Darren took that as his cue to move on – he didn’t want to get anyone else in trouble by being in the way.
He arrived at a security gate, and after being asked to show his visa, he was subjected to a very thorough – and in his opinion unnecessary – pat-down. Once he was cleared, he emerged into the station proper. He stepped out of the way of the women behind him, then set his travel bag down on the metal deck, taking in the alien sights and sounds for a moment.
Far from being a sterile, clinical environment, he found himself in a bustling bazaar worthy of any city back on Earth. It scarcely felt like he was standing inside a station at all, what passed for the ceiling so high above his head that he could barely make out the crisscrossing support beams and maintenance catwalks.
It was styled like a cramped street, too small for cars, almost like the city center of some old European town had been reimagined in an industrial style. Civilian quarters that resembled apartment blocks rose up towards the ceiling, connecting to it in some places, likely leading up to higher levels of the station.
In every nook and cranny – anywhere there was room – the denizens of the hab-ring had set up little stalls where they were hawking their wares to the tourists who had just boarded. Colorful awnings fluttered in the artificial breeze from the air recyclers, and insulated cables that had been patched from the station’s systems trailed along walls and floors, powering streetside food stands and colorful neon signs.
Speaking of the denizens, they came in all shapes and sizes. Darren had never seen so many varieties of alien in one place before. He could make out a few Shil and Rakiri, but most were unknown to him, the varied hues of their skin and clothes creating a bustling sea of color.
He checked the device on his wrist again, pulling up the coordinates that his new employer had forwarded to him. This was indeed Hab-Ring Five, and he’d been given what passed for an address in this strange environment. Hefting his bag once more, he made his way into the throng, having to dodge and weave between the towering aliens. Many of them barely seemed to register his presence, probably due to his comparatively small stature, though some seemed to stop and stare in confusion.
Well, I suppose Humans are pretty new on the galactic scene, he thought to himself.
The scents of strange, alien food assailed him as he navigated the cramped streets, a few of the criers singling him out. They had sharp instincts, he’d give them that. It seemed the locals could smell a tourist at thirty paces.
Maybe it was all the staring he was doing?
Eventually, he arrived at his destination, glancing up from his display to see a dingy bar. It was open to the street, built into an overhang at the base of one of the many buildings, little more than a long counter with a few stools. Above it was a blinking neon sign in a script that he couldn’t read. As he made his way inside and struggled up onto one of the tall stools, the small handful of patrons who were sitting off to his left paused their conversation to examine him.
They were Nighkru, their goat-like horns and the bruise-purple hue of their skin giving them away. Their silver eyes were striking, almost seeming to glow in the dim light of the bar, as reflective as those of a cat. Their clothing was all tight leather and straps, their skin strategically exposed in places to show off their stunning bioluminescent tattoos, the swirling patterns trailing down slender limbs and across toned midriffs.
He kept his gaze aimed forward, knowing that their kind didn’t think much of the Imperium to which he now belonged.
…Then again, that was true for pretty much every race that wasn’t a part of the massive interstellar empire. Say what you would about the Purps, but they knew how to make an impression.
The bartender walked over to him, leaning on the counter as she looked him up and down skeptically. It was another Rakiri like the dockworkers, her feline nose twitching as she took in his scent.
“You lost, or do you want something to drink?” she asked.
“No thank you, I’m waiting for someone,” he replied sheepishly as he lowered his eyes to his device again.
He was right on time, but as he looked around, there was no sign of his contact. He was supposed to meet them here, right?
The Rakiri shrugged her furry shoulders, then left him to his own devices, moving over to the small group of Nighkru.
Perhaps one of them was his contact?
He certainly hoped not. While he didn’t have anything against a person enjoying themselves with a good drink after hours, it wasn’t a good way to make a positive first impression on a prospective employee.
Fortunately for him, the surprise on one of the trio’s grey skinned faces when she happened to blearily peer in his direction dashed that possibility. Just a trio of young women out for a drink.
Unfortunately for him, after a few hastily whispered words to her friends, the group made their way over to him.
“Don’t see many males round these parts,” one of them said, her faux leather getup creaking as she planted her hands on the bar to his left. Another leaned on the counter to his right, the third posting up behind him.
“A Human, too,” the woman to his right added with a sly chuckle. “Now, what’s a Human doing all alone out on the Periphery?”
“I didn’t think the Purps were letting their pets off the leash.” the one behind him snickered.
“I don’t know,” the first said with an exaggerated shrug. “Maybe he snuck out in search of a real woman? I think we’ve all heard how Humans can be.”
That set the three of them laughing.
All the while, Darren wasn’t sure where to look, turning his head left and right as he struggled to pick a Nighkru. He settled on the woman to his left, having to lift his head to meet her gaze, those reflective eyes shining like a pair of silver coins.
“I...uh...was actually supposed to be meeting someone here.” he stammered, a little of his anxiety bleeding through.
The Nighkru gave him a warm smile that wasn’t reflected in her eyes, leaning a little closer. He tried to pull away reflexively but found another Nighkru waiting for him, something rather soft pressing against his back.
“Well, I don’t see anyone else in here but me and my friends,” one of them said as she tutted dramatically. “Maybe they stood you up?”
“Poor form, that,” the one behind him whispered into his ear. He lurched in his seat, surprised by her proximity. “Leaving a pretty young thing like you hanging.”
The first one nodded, as if that was a piece of sagely wisdom. “I know – how about my friends and I give you a personal tour of the station to make up for it?” she asked, reaching out to brush a piece of errant fluff from his collar. “We’ll even carry your luggage for you – we’re nice like that.”
She signaled to one of her compatriots with a curt nod, who then plucked his travel bag off the deck.
“Oh, that’s really not-”
He tried to stand, but he was cut off as two of the women placed their hands on his shoulders, pushing him back down into his seat. Their touch was gentle, but firm, letting him know that he wasn't going anywhere.
Darren looked to the Rakiri bartender for help, feeling more than a little overwhelmed by the turn of events, but she was staying out of it. She was feigning disinterest, cleaning a glass with a rag that didn’t look clean enough for the job.
It was clear that he wouldn’t be getting any help from her.
Was this really going to be his first experience on the station – kidnapped by a gang of alien grifters?
Just as he was getting ready to – likely ineffectually – start swinging like his life depended on it, he heard a voice ring out in a language he didn’t recognize.
The Nighkru turned their heads as one, and he followed their gaze, seeing another of their kind step in from the street. Her skin had the same twilight hue, her silvery hair pulled back into a long ponytail that trailed behind her as she strode towards them. She wore a jet-black body suit that left little to the imagination, so tight that it might have been sewn onto her, the garment open at the front to expose a chiseled midriff and the beginnings of her cleavage. Her eyes were mesmerizing, his gaze drawn to the glowing tattoos that served to accentuate them.
Oddly, unlike the trio surrounding him, she had no horns.
The stranger walked with purpose, her heels clicking on the deck, her hair swishing behind her as she came to a stop to stare down the three other women. They were already backing off, the Nighkru who had taken his bag setting it back down gingerly beside his seat. Did they know this person? They seemed so wary of her.
“Maybe we’ll see you around,” one of them whispered, her hand lingering on his shoulder for a moment before she followed her friends out into the street.
Once they were finally out of sight, Darren breathed a sigh of relief and turned to thank the newcomer. Before he could utter so much as a word, she beat him to the punch.
“You shouldn’t wander around Halfpoint alone,” she said, skipping the preamble. Her voice had a melodic tone, one that was almost musical to Darren’s ears. She planted her hands on her hips, scrutinizing him with a skeptical expression. “You’re just asking for trouble.”
“I’m just...waiting for someone,” he replied. “Thank you, by the way. I’m-”
“Do you have a weapon on you?” she asked, cutting him off. “A handgun under that jacket? Defense spray? A pocket knife?”
“What? No,” he replied, his brow furrowing. “Why would I have a gun?”
Even with a few inches of titanium-alloy plating between everyone aboard and a messy death by explosive decompression, using a firearm on the station seemed risky.
She snorted derisively, almost as though she couldn’t believe his reply.
“For your sake, I hope that whoever you’re waiting for is smarter than you are,” she said with a roll of her silver eyes. “This isn’t Earth, boy. There are no Shil Marines around to babysit you. Next time you want to play tourist, go somewhere closer to home.”
With a flick of her long hair, she turned about, vanishing into the crowd once more to leave him sitting at the bar in confusion.
Darren felt another hand on his shoulder and turned to see an Edixi wearing grease-stained overalls standing behind him. The tool belt that hung loosely about her hips let him know that she was a mechanic before she’d even had time to open her mouth.
Her kind were evolved for an aquatic environment, and although they were fully amphibious, they retained many of their ancient features. Their bodies were smooth and streamlined, with lean, lightly-muscled frames that made them look like Olympic swimmers. Her eyes were a striking ocean-green, and her azure skin was patterned with faded tiger stripes, darkening as it neared her extremities.
“You’re the new engineer, right?” she chirped excitedly.
“Darren Fogle, pleased to meet you,” he confirmed as he extended a hand. She took it, shaking it eagerly, and he noted that her fingers were webbed.
He was a little surprised by how smooth her skin was. Given the sharklike appearance of the Edixi – and her vocation – he’d expected it to be rough and scaly. Maybe cold and slimy, too. By contrast, it was warm and soft, her small scales smooth like a snake’s rather than sharp like those of a fish.
Odd.
“Oh, it is. It very much is. The boss told me to fetch you,” she said before turning back towards the street. “Don’t get lost, you hear? There are some rough types around these parts.”
Yes, she could say that again. He stooped to pick up his bag, then hurried after her, trying not to lose sight of her in the crowd. He also belatedly realized that she hadn’t told him her own name.
Was that an Edixi thing or was she just in a hurry?
The mechanic led him through the streets, which seemed to be arranged in a kind of grid pattern, always flanked by the towering hab-blocks. It was as challenging as ever to navigate when so many of the station’s inhabitants stood a head taller than him. It made him feel like a bug that was trying to avoid being stepped on.
He could only assume he’d get used to it. His guide seemed to have no problem getting around, and she was a few inches shorter than him.
Their destination was some kind of service elevator – a large platform that seemed designed to carry heavy cargo up from the docks, wide enough that a couple of trucks could have parked on it side by side. There were still a few cargo containers stacked off to one side that hadn’t been unloaded yet.
He watched as the woman hit a touch panel beside the double doors, and they began to slide shut, the platform lurching as Darren felt it start to rise. There was no grinding of machinery, no vibrations, only a sensation of getting heavier. It was obviously gravity-manipulation tech. It wasn’t too surprising – the Shil seemed to use it for just about everything, so it wasn’t too strange that the rest of the universe did as well.
Convergent technological development, he could almost imagine his Shil instructor saying as they started to descend. Good tech is good tech.
The hab-ring’s many levels flashed by one by one, until finally, the elevator slid to a smooth stop. Darren followed the happily humming mechanic out into a garage, his eyes lighting up as he took in his new surroundings.
Were those… mecha?
The bay’s walls were lined with bulky harnesses that were obviously designed to hold the machines in place, a few of the berths already occupied by half-disassembled vehicles.
They were!
“Real life mecha,” he mumbled.
As a mechanic, he wasn’t ignorant of the genre. After all, what kind of engineer didn’t hold a soft spot for giant stompy robots? Of course, as an engineer, he also held an inherent disdain for anyone that actually thought said machines were even remotely practical outside of the realm of fiction.
The Square Cube Law was a harsh mistress.
The long and short of it was that if you doubled a machine's height while keeping it the same shape, you ended up with four times the muscle power moving eight times the mass. As a result, instead of having the same relative agility as the original, the double-sized machine actually had only half.
That was why ants could lift so much relative to their weight. If you scaled one up, you’d end up with a much less impressive power to weight ration.
And, the problem only got worse the bigger you went. Giant robots would be slow, cumbersome, and they would inevitably suffer from exploding ankles if they tried to move too fast. They’d also sink in just about any terrain that was even slightly porous.
All in all, mecha were a cool concept with absolutely zero real world applications.
Which was why he was so stunned to see some in real life. Sure, the Shil military liked to use exos, but they were really just power armor by any other name with thrusters attached. Besides, the only reason those things could skip around like they did was because they had anti-grav generators…
His thoughts trailed off as an idea occurred to him. He jogged over to the nearest machine, peering up at the twenty-foot humanoid monstrosity. Its legs had been detached, leaving only a bulky torso covered in half-stripped sensory equipment, lenses and scanners visible where their protective covers had been removed. The cockpit was open, revealing the pilot’s seat, along with the surrounding neural interface cables that hung loose like the entrails of some mechanical beast. Its weapon attachments were empty, but it was nonetheless an awe-inspiring sight.
Sure enough, there were two oversized humps on the back. One was clearly for the thing’s fusion engine – and the other must have held the anti-grav generator.
“Darren?” the mechanic asked, having only just realized that he wasn’t behind her. “Aren’t you coming?”
“Y-yeah,” he said, jogging for a few paces to catch up. “That’s a mecha!”
The blue-hued alien nodded slowly. “Yes?”
“A mecha,” he reiterated.
Which prompted another slow nod. “You’ve never seen a gladiator mech before?”
“No.”
“Didn’t they tell you what job you’d be doing?” the mechanic asked, cocking her head in a rather adorable manner.
“No?” This time it was his turn to cock his head.
Several emotions seemed to fly across the alien’s face. He saw surprise, confusion, and dismay before she finally settled on irritation.
“Typical,” she grunted. “Just… follow me.”
AN: https://youtu.be/a3Xp1WhRQ9Q

My dad was always an enigma to me. He is one of those guys who can do just about anything. He basically re built our house from the ground up by himself. He did it all. Plumbing, gas, electric, roofing, pouring new foundation, digging our basement. He just re roofed the entire house by himself 5 years ago at age 56. I remember when he converted our attic into a full blown upstairs by cutting the top of the house off and jacking it up into the air to build the house up. With only the help of my grandpa.
He could rebuild a car in his sleep. My family was poor growing up so he would buy junk cars that had mostly working engines and transmissions and then buy the same car in good shape with blown motors and swap engines and transmissions into the good car and sell them to make money. I used to sit and watch and help all the time when he’d work on the cars and he’d let me help with body work and painting them or holding bolts and things lol.
His passion was always music. He’s one of those people who can learn any instrument by ear. When he was young was in a band in the 70s and 80s. He knew and partied with cheap trick and lived like a rock star for a long time. He was big into drugs back then and used to tell me about their trip parties where they’d trip on acid or shrooms. I thought it was so cool I know it’s not but knowing he lived that way made me feel like he was relatable somehow.
My grandparents told me stories about how he once got arrested for outrunning a cop in his old Camaro and got into a brawl with the cops. He always had that edge to him. Not that it was a good thing obviously that he did some of these things. But just background on who he was.
He was huge into fitness and was actually asked to model in play girl magazine but declined. Always jacked and fit my whole life. Helped me get into fitness and sports and understand the importance of health.
Growing up he still had an edge. Granted significantly less that what I heard about his youth. He was a total hippy as a parent. I didn’t learn till I was older he was and still is a total pot head too. He hid it well from me as a kid. Was always open with me as a teen about drug use and it’s normal to be tempted. Was never a “you’re a bad person if you do drugs” but was more of a “please don’t but if you are 100% going to, ask me so I can get you clean shit” I never took him up on that lol.
I was the total opposite of him as a teen. Very straight edge. Academic and played football. Never got in trouble. Was shy. Not confident. Total opposite of him. He was just always such a bad ass.
Now? He’s getting old lol. He does normal things. He talks about doing things safely. He gardens. He does typical cheesy older guy things. He’s way more sentimental. He has an issue with his hearing and can’t listen to music even remotely loud or else it hurts his ears so he doesn’t even do it which was such a big part of his life. He doesn’t have that edge anymore. Almost docile.
I don’t care. But knowing that he’s changing like this because he’s aging kinda kills me. Like I can see it and see how he’s aging and know and see that he won’t be here forever and that he won’t be that young fit edgy cool dude forever. He still does some things like grows his own weed and plays the piano and guitar sometimes. It doesn’t make him any less cool. He lived that crazy life and is who he is but seeing that part of him so long gone now and fading by the year is oddly hard to watch. Mortality is weird.

Union Plants and Animals--Up to date as of 3/31/2023
(Homeworlds of Origin and such)
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General Creatures (Found on many worlds)
Aeroplankton: Tiny life forms that are small enough to drift through the air on tiny sails and wings, they are generally autotrophic though some carnivorous and detritivorous species have been observed. They are found across a great multitude of long colonised planets and are believed to be a side effect of interstellar travel as the airborne microbes of a thousand worlds.
Cloud Drifter: A huge winged creature similar in appearance to ancient pterodactyls, they soar the heat currents and eddies in the sky consuming aeroplankton. Their jaws able to expand to expose large feather structures that filter the tiny airborne creatures from the sky. While they are native to Malistorn they can be found across multiple worlds, the result of stowaways and invasive colonization. They are relatively intelligent animals.
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Abyss
Dejaarn: A large predatory creature native to the Slaaveth homeworld of Abyss and living in the deepest depths of the world's ocean. They are massive, easily 20-30 meters in length and have an appearance similar to that of a monstrous eel and have corrosive bile that they will spit if threatened. In the water, diluted, this bile causes extreme irritation and sometimes death, in the open air its effects are magnified and it acts as an extreme oxidiser.
Drek: Small creatures that are only one step above shimmer specks, or plankton, on the food chain. They are small creatures similar to zooplankton on Earth but larger. Though they are generally not considered a food source to the slaaveth themselves, a popular saying on the planet would be “That a mouthful of drek.” Native to the Slaaveth homeworld of Abyss.
Grooum: A large squid like creature native to Abyss. Despite their ferocious appearance, they are in fact filter feeders with long gill-like structures that trail at the end of their eight long arms. They have an intelligence about par to that of Earthly Dolphins and are widely known to be playful, curious creatures. They have colorful fins and three equally spaced eyes, black and pupiless.
Shimmer Specks: The colloquial slang for plankton on the slaaveth home planet of Abyss. They are generally similar to many other forms of plankton, small creatures that harness the power of sunlight to produce their own food and are in turn consumed by higher orders of life.
Skimmer Beasts: Similar in function to Earthly whales in function if not form, they are large and generally placid creatures that spend their days skimming the surface of the ocean for plankton and small creatures similar to krill called Drek in the oceans of Abyss.
Slurrge: Similar in function to a cleaner wrasse these little creatures are native to Abyss and were largely domesticated like human dogs. They are generally used to help clean detritus from underwater living spaces and can survive out of water for limited periods of time as they do possess protolungs. They are commonly treated as valued pets and treated quite well, though to be called a slurrge implies that the one in question is a dirty sludge slurper.
Vleshtrine Hunter: A large deep sea predator native to the Slaaveth homeworld of Abyss. It is large and slightly shark-like in appearance and behavior. While they are universally feared on Abyss, they are uncommon.
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Bright Moon
Jinkk: A very small mammal native to Bright Moon, while looking like a tiny bear-esk creature, it is more similar in behavior and temperament to a mouse.
Vreeinth: A small predator native to Bright Moon that is very similar to a snake. It has no legs and slithers along the ground using its powerful sense of smell to locate prey.
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Dreyvan II
Aeroplankton: Tiny life forms that are small enough to drift through the air on tiny sails and wings, they are generally autotrophic though some carnivorous and detritivorous species have been observed. They are found across a great multitude of long colonised planets and are believed to be a side effect of interstellar travel as the airborne microbes of a thousand worlds.
Dreyvan Vileglider: A type of flying arthropod native to the world of Dreyvan II. They are large and possess wings similar to that of a huge moth except they have the body structure more akin to a scorpion complete with a stinger tail.
Grinskal: A type of predatory lizard that looks like a cross between a crocodile and a wolf, though covered in drab grayish feathers. Native to Dreyvan II.
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Drivil
Jrarg: A near relative of the Xeiro’filk, long believed by the ancient Xeiro’filk to be the spirits of long dead ancestors, they are a protected species across most of the planet. Though there are a few more impoverished nations that used them as an illegal food source from time to time. The practice was akin to cannibalism in most parts of the world and the taboo of it rendered most who participated in the practice shunned and ostracized.
Krekats: Large furred animals similar in function to deer. They are different in the fact they have six legs and hard skull caps instead of horns. Native to the Xeiro’filk homeworld of Drivil.
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Earth
Cat: That old rival of humanity, Cats have made their mark on the stars and have many new and old breeds that may be known across the width of the Union. While many are pets and small, there do exist larger varieties of genetically manipulated cat strains that can be used for more defensive or offensive ends.
Cicadas: An easy to grow and popular food staple for the Swanith, this Earthly insect has been genetically engineered for maximum nutrition and flavor and is commonly served as rations or dipped in sudo chocolate.
Cow: While not too dissimilar from the cow that was widely available on Earth for thousands of years, this variety is a bit hardier and capable of eating a wide variety of vegetation and in some cases even meat proteins. There are carnivorous species of cows that exist on certain worlds.
Dog: Mankind's love for taming ferocious predators began with this creature. Long before Humanity had even civilized, before they had even discovered metal, they captured their ancient predators and bent them to their will. Humanity's love for taming the wild and free is greatly known among the other species of the galaxy. They often colonise planets seething with horrific predators and covered in noxious plants, before taming the predators and making the plants edible. There are dogs for almost every conceivable need, from hunting and tracking to construction and even medical work.
Rat: A small scavenger rodent species native to Earth, they are incredibly prolific and follow everywhere Humans go. Even the most sterile of science bases will have specially bred rats for both comfort and testing. Humans' bond with this small animal borders on the symbiotic, as Human colonies without these small critters tend to devolve into stinking cesspools as the buildup of hyper colonized bacterial growths take over their landfills and waste disposal grounds.
Roaches: Evolved and still just as survivable as their Earthly namesake. These small insects are found across the width and breadth of the Union in many forms. Some are lanky and others burrow, but they all share a distinctly similar body structure.
Weaver(Spider): The common name for the small eight legged arachnid variant from Earth. Wherever Humans can be found, these small arthropods are generally not far behind. They seem to be capable of surviving in a vast array of climates and even aboard sterile space stations and military complexes.
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Endless Windswept
Ha’vaup: About the size of a small dog, these creatures originally evolved on the world of Endless Windswept and they share the same biological silicate bone structure as the Gre’vahn. This makes them very durable and quite strong for their size, this combined with the fact that they are carnivorous hunters similar to Earthly cats makes them both decent pets as well as good for clearing out pest infestations. This usefulness has seen them spread across the Union and they can be found both domesticated and feral in many core system cities. They move with a distinct bounding gait similar to that of an Earthly kangaroo.
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Fresholm
Groint: A relatively large insect native to Fresholm, they are somewhat intelligent and make decent pets forming attachments to their owners over the years they are owned.
Pinchflies: A small insect native to Fresholm, they are known for their painful pinches and are very territorial.
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Goldbard
Aurgh Birds: Native to the planet of Goldbard, these near avians are warm blooded and don't have true feathers, instead having chitinous structures that are similar in function though more hair-like. They are insectivores and generally liked by farmers as they feed on pests and other nuisance insects that may harm crops. They are so named for the noise they make, which has been described as the sound of a large human male in pain.
Frubbeatles: The adult stage of Liverspotters, native to the agricultural planet of Goldbard. They are large, about six centimeters in length with bright orange shells and eight stubby legs they use to grip onto surfaces. They have bright iridescent wings and are able to fly for short distances during mating season.
Liverspotters: The common name for the larval stage of Frubbeatles, they generally live inside of the fruits of Frubble trees. They are commonly regarded as a nuisance pest and are subjected to numerous pesticides and such. Though this seems to be less effective than it should be, the larvae seem to be able to quickly adapt to combat new types of insecticides.
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Gradient
Julips: A small flying creature from the planet Gradient that seems to have easily adapted to the dark and dank places of urban sprawl as well as hitching rides to many other large scale civilised systems. They are small, about the size of a bat and of a similar function. They seem capable of adapting to many different climates and are capable of eating a wide variety of carbon based insect life. They are generally pale brown or grey in coloration and are similar to ancient winged reptiles from Earth's past.
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Hardnock
Feral Merls: A type of lunged fish-like creature native to the Ocean world of Hardnock in the Morris System, these creatures are about the size of a large dog and omnivore. They are quite similar in behavior to Earthly Hogs.
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Ho’the’rell
Frax'nt: A small fuzzy mammal native to Ho'the'rell. It acts as a type of scavenger, picking apart the detritus that litters the frozen wastes and breaking it down. They are similar in behavior to vultures in the fact that they tend to gorge themselves then go into a stupor for great lengths of time.
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Jureillo
Drawsherk: A large predator native to the swamps of Jureillo, it has an appearance similar to that of a bear mixed with a giant lizard. They are quite ferocious when provoked but tend to stay away from inhabited areas.
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Malistorn
Cloud Drifter: A huge winged creature similar in appearance to ancient pterodactyls, they soar the heat currents and eddies in the sky consuming aeroplankton. Their jaws able to expand to expose large feather structures that filter the tiny airborne creatures from the sky. While they are native to Malistorn they can be found across multiple worlds, the result of stowaways and invasive colonization. They are relatively intelligent animals.
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Neirvauhl
Ranx: A domesticated animal native to Neirvauhl, while not providing milk like human cattle, it is instead used to produce highly nutritious fertilizer that is then used to grow fungus crops. It is one of the few herbivores native to the planet and thrives in harsh environments. It was not uncommon for Nerivith knights to ride them into combat as they are capable of carrying massive amounts of weight, they are closer to horses than cows in structure. Their skin is a deep red in coloration and covered in fine black hairs with a mane of thicker hair around their necks and along the backs of their legs.
Shrij: a fuzzy creature not unlike a large blueish rat with a fuzzy wide tail, they are sometimes kept as pets by Nerivith and are quite intelligent on par with dogs. It's not uncommon for Nerivith to teach them simple tricks and the like.
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New Ramph
Himplit: A cattle animal native to the agricultural world of New Ramph and is commonly used in a similar manner to Earthly pigs. It is a short and squat animal with a long snout that it used to root around in the thick mud of its swampy home planet, it possesses thick scute like armour plates and six legs with webbed feet.
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Nowhere
Drumble: A small, almost rabbit-like creature native to Nowhere. It is a small burrowing mammal that is commonly eaten by the native noppins of the planet. They have sharp hearing and small eyes as they are mostly nocturnal creatures and spend the majority of the hot days burrowing underground like a mole.
Lorgranx: A breed of Ranx that has been specifically adapted to the hot and arid climate of Nowhere to the point that it has become a distinct subspecies. They are generally a bit taller and leaner with a large belly that they use as both fat and water storage, kind of like a reverse Camel.
Noppin: An indigenous lizard from Nowhere about 2.5 meters in length on average and weighing 40 kilograms. They are quite docile towards people in the wild and are considered the Wolves of Nowhere. After many generations of training and breeding, several different breeds have arisen, some more lively and quick, others slow but powerful. They have a generally higher level of intelligence for a cold blooded animal and have been known to form strong bonds of loyalty with their owners. While they do give live birth, their young are able to consume meat almost right away.
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Paradise
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Sabith
Grassstrider: A medium sized insect native to Sabith, it is known for its ability to jump great distances and is generally liked due to its slightly spicy taste and crispy texture. Usually eaten candied.
Millibugs: Sometimes call Mealbugs by spacers they are a type of insect native to Sabith, generally well liked by Swanith, their ease of preservation and high nutrient content make them an ideal ration supply for Swanith travelers and colonists alike. They are similar in appearance to a cricket crossed with a millipede, and are tan in coloration.
Pale Finch: A species of near avians from the planet Sabith, they are tangentially related to the Swanith themselves in that they share a common ancestor but are not intelligent like their sapient cousins. They are small and a bit more birdlike in shape but still possess small graspers on their wingtips like the Swanith.
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Scorch
Finge: A type of egg laying reptile native to the planet Scorch, while the reptile has a hard time surviving outside the desert environment of Scorch itself, their eggs are considered incredibly tasty as they are both savory and fatty. Distinctive for the colorful fringes that they have along their backs.
Truze’felids: A type of small creature native to the planet of Scorch. They are small near mammalian carnivores that lay hard shelled eggs and eat other small critters. They can often be found in large numbers in and around skorp hives as they are partially domesticated similar to Earthly cats.
Znots: Small critters similar in size and function to Earthly rats. They possess protofeathers and have six small scaled legs with wide claws that they use to burrow. They can be found in most places that the Skorp inhabit as they are native to the planet Scorch.
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Unionborne (Created by Union scientists or technology)
Cyberhound: A cybernetically or bionically enhanced dog, sometimes used by military or law enforcement, most often in the employ of bounty hunters and void wardens.
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Voidborne (Space faring creatures)
Celestipods: Small critters capable of withstanding incredible stress and damage. They are commonly found on drifting ice floes and embedded in primordial comets. They are small eight legged creatures that can range in size from microscopic to the size of a small dog. They are almost impossible to kill and can metabolize almost any imaginable kind of organic compounds. They seem to have a taste for void mussels, often being found grazing on fields of the strange shelled creatures.
Fleshtroid: A large mass of flesh inhabiting a hollowed out asteroid, they are uncommon and usually only found in systems with yellow stars and inhabitable planets. They are in effect Mutalid probes that were left in place to report to their dark masters. While they are generally hostile when approached, it is not unheard of them to be quite curious as they are in fact intelligent.
Glimmer Drorn: A type of creature that is mostly gaseous with a very thin membrane that gives them a roughly spherical shape, they float around and absorb sunlight and interstellar gas to survive. Butterfly-like behavior.
Metalgea: A curious type of interstellar plant form, these microscopic plants have a hard ferrosilicate shell and a low internal temperature. They seem to be able to survive in the near vacuum of space on large asteroids and comets. They can be found near the icy poles of moons and dwarf planets. They seem to spread by releasing small spores that can drift inanimate for thousands or potentially even hundreds of thousands of years till they reach conditions suitable for life. This process has been drastically sped up by the invention of FTL. Ships can unknowingly pick up these spores and transfer them tens of thousands of times faster to new territory. Though they are incredibly hardy, they cannot withstand temperatures in excess of negative fifty degrees making contamination of living spaces almost entirely impossible.
Ravenoids: Huge fleshy tentacled monstrosities that seem to inhabit many of the large moons in the vicinity of Abyss, they come in a number of unique varieties but all seem to share a common genetic template. The leading theories are that they are remnants of previous mutalid incursions.
Void Mussels: Wherever metalgea can be found, void mussels are sure to be there too. The two void creatures seeming to share a strange sudo-symbiotic bond. The mussels consume the metalgea and in turn excrete nutrients that are in turn consumed again by the metalgea. The void mussels seem to be capable of extracting minerals from the surrounding environment that the metalgea cannot.
Void Wisps: Ethereal and ghostly in appearance, these creatures are made of energy and tend to congregate near sources of ions. This means that the ion drives of large ships can attract these mysterious creatures into the ship's wake where they frolic and play behind them. It is unknown whether or not they are intelligent as they have never been successfully captured or otherwise closely studied. They were first documented by the famous UNSS Lief Erikson and then later covered in more detail by the legendary naturist Druth Felman himself. They have an almost ray-like appearance.
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Vool
Gweawa: A type of livestock native to the planet Vool. They are large and gray skinned with many characteristics similar to that of amphibians. Though they don't lay eggs and instead give birth to small tadpoles that then metamorph into their final form after a short growing period. They are treated in a manner similar to hogs and eaten in the same way.
Shimmerscales: A type of small fish-like creature native to the homeworld of the razah’vool. They are a favorite food of the razah’vooll and generally eaten raw in a manner similar to sushi on top of slices of Gragno, a vegetable native to the same world.
Webblings: Small amphibious creatures originally native to the planet Vool. They are small and have toad-like dry skin(without the bumps) and have six legs with webbed feet. They have no claws or teeth but are quite fast and hunt insects and other very small critters. They seem to have a fondness for Earthly cockroaches which can be found all across the Union.
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Vreefall
Brawhm: A type of medium sized herbivore that was hunted in the prehistoric days by ancient Vinarfel. Now it has become domesticated and is generally larger and more docile than its ancient counterparts. It has a meat with a texture similar to that of buffalo but a taste closer to that of Earthly salmon.
Pudgilow: A type of cattle animal revered for its fatty meat, it is raised across many worlds of the Union and originates from the Vinarfel homeworld of Vreefall. Humans tend to like it and compare it to a mix between bacon and beef. The animals themselves are large and pudgy, looking not too dissimilar to small hippos with a small layer of armour on their heads and backs as well as venomous bristles on their shoulders. They are opportunistic omnivores that will happily eat any meat they come across.
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Xeccessinesoor

I have a 96 VLX, dual carb, I recently installed velocity stacks (from tj brutal customs) and new straight pipes (cheap shit ones from eBay). I rejetted the carb and got her running, but now after I ride for about 20 minutes it’s started sputtering and I lose power like it’s running out of gas. There is gas. Could this be a fuel pump issue or could the rejetting/new parts be causing this?
Thanks.

This post is going to be a story generated by CHAT GPT-4 in Journal Form. Let’s see where this goes!
Question: You are a teenage medieval baker and the king and his army of knights and archers are marching back to the castle after a huge battle they have won against a formidable neighboring kingdom. Please write a journal entry for this day and give yourself and the king a name and a coat of arms for the kingdom you belong to.
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CHAT GPT-4 Response:
March 31, Year of Our Lord 1373
Dearest journal,
Today was a most extraordinary day, one that shall be remembered for ages to come. The sun rose with a hopeful glow, and the town buzzed with excitement as we prepared to welcome back our victorious king, His Majesty King Alistair the Bold, and his brave army.
As I, Thomas the Baker's Apprentice, a mere boy of sixteen, kneaded the dough for the bread, my mind couldn't help but wander to the tales of valor and triumph on the battlefield. I could only imagine the strength and courage it must have taken to face the warriors of the neighboring Kingdom of Thorncrest, known for their fierce and skilled soldiers.
Our kingdom, Fairhaven, is symbolized by the majestic golden lion, standing proudly on a field of azure. This lion represents strength, wisdom, and loyalty - the very virtues that King Alistair embodies. The king's coat of arms, passed down from generations, is a testament to the unwavering spirit of our people. It features the lion alongside a silver crescent moon, symbolizing the balance between power and grace.
As the sun reached its zenith, the moment we had all been waiting for finally arrived. The castle gates opened, and the king's procession entered the town square. The air was filled with the thundering hooves of the king's mighty steed and the cheers of our fellow townsfolk. My heart swelled with pride as I beheld the sight of King Alistair, his armor gleaming like the sun and his face filled with the joy of victory.
As the baker's apprentice, it was my humble honor to present King Alistair with a freshly baked loaf of bread, shaped like our kingdom's emblem - the golden lion. I approached the king with the offering, my heart pounding in my chest. When he accepted it with a gracious smile, it felt as though I, too, had played a small part in the day's glorious events.
As night fell and the celebrations continued, I couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude for the safety and prosperity our kingdom enjoys under King Alistair's rule. I shall remember this day for the rest of my days, and hope that one day, my own children will grow up to know the greatness of our kingdom and the courage of its people.
Until we meet again, journal.
Yours faithfully,
Thomas, the Baker's Apprentice

As a joke gift, I received a couple of thrift store video tapes and was pleased to have what I thought was a movie titled; "Slam Dunk Monkey," however the slipcase contained something different and I have since thrown out both. Fast forward a couple years and I am now desperately trying to tell the guys at work about this film I technically never saw, only to have nothing on the internet to back it up. Nothing is posted on imdb, nothing comes up on ebay or amazon, the only mention of this film is a gag from an episode of the Canadian sitcom "Corner Gas." This last part leads me to believe that the film is Canadian in origin, in which case, are there any Canadians out there who have seen this film and know of any further info (ie a studio or production company, screenshots, etc.)?
The only other info I can think of is that the movie was probably a rip-off of the MVP franchise and came out in the late 90's. I'd love to provide more to go on but I threw out the case thinking that this movie would be easy to find! Also, just in case this wasn't already weird, I remember the text on the back being written in a language that honestly looked like Latin gibberish. Anyway, happy hunting and r.i.p to the poor Chimp that played the starring role, he's probably had a hard life.

Finding this subreddit has been so therapeutic and validating for me. I’m 26, married to the love of my life (32M) with the most amazing 5yo stepdaughter.
Reading all of your stories has inspired me to sit down and type out my own. I must warn you, there are times when I am the villain. Buckle up. This is a small novel.
If we start at the very beginning, my DH began dating HCBM (33) when they were very young in their early 20s. Shortly into their relationship it became clear to DH that she was struggling with very severe alcoholism. I cannot even begin to write out all of the stories I have heard from DH about her alcoholism. He was very young, didn’t have a positive model for a healthy relationship as a child. He believed he could help HCBM. They were extremely on and off together for almost 7 years. Every time he’d try to break up with her she would weasel her way back in. She would go as far as showing up at his family events because she had his family wrapped around her finger (don’t worry, that changed. Read on.) She almost drank herself to death several times. The police in her town know her by name and recognize her car because her family has had to call in for welfare checks so many times. She’s had bits where she’s gone missing for several hours. Been listed as a missing person. Had the police ping her phone. I’ve read the police reports myself.
Where do I even begin with her family? Her parents are extremely proud. They own two businesses in their small town. They’re the kind of people who are very obsessed with image and making people think they’re wealthy. HCBM started drinking when she was 16. Her parents would deal with her problem by sweeping it under the rug and hiding it. They cared more about their pride than getting her the help she needed. When they were together, my DH was often the one who would drive her to AA meetings. HCBM didn’t like AA because she felt she was above the other people there. Her family now despises my DH, and weaves a narrative that she drank because of her toxic relationship with him. Though her drinking problems existed long before and after their relationship.
I’ll share a few stores in particular with the goal of establishing the absolute delusion that HCBM feeds to anyone who will listen about my DH.
There was one evening where they were at my DH’s uncle’s house in the city. The thing about HCBM is that you never saw her drink until she was drunk. She’d sneak in a bathroom or what have you to drink. DH and HCBM got into some kind of argument and she ran off into the city late at night. DH spent several hours driving around the city searching for her until he finally found her in a bar, making out with a random guy. He said “you can take her home tonight” and left. Several hours later in the wee hours of the morning, HCBM stumbled back to the uncle’s house, wasted and crying.
Another occasion, DH was at work and HCBM was at his apartment (she did not live there) and went to hang out with his upstairs neighbors who were girls. She got drunk with them. When DH got home, he tried to explain to his neighbors that she had a problem and shouldn’t be drinking…. They said “don’t control her! That’s manipulative”. DH went back downstairs, HCBM followed, and they fought. She ran back to the neighbors crying and the girls stormed down into his apartment saying “What did you do to her? What did you do to her?!”
A different time HCBM was drunk she had locked herself in DH’s roommate’s room. He was trying to explain to her that she needed to come out, that it wasn't his room and she couldn’t be in there. HCBM called DH’s mom (now my MIL) and began wailing “he’s doing it again, he’s being crazy again!” God knows what she was talking about. Eventually DH called HCBM’s dad who came to pick her up. HCBM’s dad dragged her by her arm down the stairs rather roughly, and DH got upset, like “hey I get that she is drunk and being a problem but you can’t manhandle her like that” so HCBM’s dad responded my shoving DH up against a wall and holding his arm to his throat.
Shall I go on? There are dozens more. The worst is yet to come.
Anyways, about four years into their relationship, after multiple incidents of infidelity on her part, DH started chatting with other women sporadically. He says he knew it was wrong, but he thought if he could show himself there were other women out there who could make him happy, other stable relationships he could be in, he might be able to get away from HCBM. It was about five years into their relationship that DH actually cheated. And so begins HCBM’s favorite narrative, that DH was an awful, unsupportive unfaithful partner who drove her to drinking because he was so shady. She will never, ever consider the fact that my DH to this day is traumatized from their relationship. He’s been in therapy several times and every single therapist identifies her as a narcissist.
Several years ago when DH and I met I was in college. We had an on and off fling for a while on the coattails of him trying to end it with HCBM once and for all after over six years stuck in a cycle. I think my DH made poor decisions, dumb even. But I sympathize with the trauma bond he was stuck in with this woman, and how difficult it was for him to cut ties with someone who would go to great lengths to insert herself in his life, and with the pressure of his family saying he should be with her. He cut things off with me and fell back in with HCBM. Lo and behold… HCBM gets pregnant. This may be shocking…. But it was not a good situation to be bringing a baby into. HCBM was 28 at the time. She was (and still is) working for her mom at the business she owns because she had gotten fired from every other job for showing up drunk. A side note, her mom owns a gymnastics center where she is a teacher. My DH has told me about several times her mother would text him to come pick her up because she’d shown up drunk. Her mom would get her out of there and just sub in another instructor to cover her ass. Anyways, DH was terrified. However, DH grew up without a father, so there was no way he wasn’t going to be involved in his child’s life. It is an impossible thing to talk about in hindsight because I love my SD so dearly, she turns mine and DH’s world. But DH told HCBM to terminate initially. And to be fair, he was right. It was not a stable situation to bring a child into. Would I reverse time and change anything? Never in a million years.
As you may have guessed, HCBM decided to keep the baby. She repeatedly told DH that if he left, he would not see his child. DH was stuck and miserable. During her pregnancy, while HDBM was parading about as if they were this cute happy couple, DH began to miss me. He realized he had real feelings for me, and he reached out. I loved him the moment I met him, so I was thrilled. I’ll keep this part concise; DH began cheating on HCBM with me, and I knew. It was an ugly decision on both of our parts. Despite how much I loathe HCBM, she is a person. She did not deserve that. DH and I are both pretty ashamed about our choices back then. I’ll go into detail later about how both DH and I have tried to atone for our actions.
When she was about 7 months pregnant, HCBM caught on and contacted me. Those conversations are forever burned in my mind. She said some of the most disconnected, ridiculous shit I’ve ever seen. She was obsessed with the image she was trying to portray to everyone about her life. I’ll never forget one conversation where we were discussing their daughter’s impending arrival… I had said something along the lines of “do you think it’s wise to bring a child into this situation,” and she said “I have lots of help. I’m old enough.”
“I’m old enough.”
Like she’s a kid trying to convince her parents to let her stay out past midnight.
DH and I broke things off before SD arrived. I was heartbroken, but let’s be real, that was a mess. An entire mess.
Still, HCBM thought it was just a brilliant idea for her and DH to move in together. So her parent’s rented them a house in their small town…. DH kept paying the rent on his apartment the city about 45 minutes away. DH has told me how miserable their relationship was, and HCBM knew all about his affair with me. But like I said, she was desperately trying to create this pretend life for herself.
SD arrives, a day I am so glad to celebrate each year. She is truly the joy of my life. DH cried more than she did. He was instantly in love with his baby girl.
About three weeks later, HCBM is back on the bottle.
DH told me about how he’d come home from work and find her drunk. She’d grab the baby and lock herself in a bedroom and cry. DH feared for his child’s safety.
HCBM was only able to breastfeed for a month or so because she stopped producing milk due to heinous dieting. She was obsessed with getting back to her pre-pregnancy weight. She would eat only miso soup for days on end. This poor relationship to food comes into play later. HCBM’s mother was always over at the house. Cleaning up, buying them things. Contributing to the facade.
DH was severely depressed. He continued to stay with HCBM to monitor her drinking and watch out for his daughter. They got to a point where DH would sleep on the couch. One night DH came home and HCBM was drunk again with SD in her care. DH called her parents who came rushing over to remedy the situation as they always do. Shortly after they arrived, HCBM had slumped over on the couch and became unresponsive. An ambulance was called. DH says it was one of his most traumatic memories holding his baby daughter watching the EMT’s resuscitate her mother wondering how he would raise this girl on his own.
After a hospital stay, HCBM returned home and her parents ordered pizza and put on a movie and pretended as if nothing had happened. That was the routine. When DH expressed his anger, his justifiable concern for what was going on, HCBM’s parents treated him as though he was the problem, he was an asshole for bringing it up and blaming her.
It wasn’t long after this, SD must’ve been around eight months old that HCBM was on a binge and DH returned home from work to find the house empty. He frantically began calling people to locate SD when HCBM’s parents informed him that she was with them, and that HCBM had crawled out a window and was missing. A missing person’s report was filed. HCBM’s father told police to check ditches and park benches, as she could often be found there. She turned out to be at some random man’s house, and was located about 36 hours later.
DH was at the end of his ropes. He took the police report and lawyered up secretly.
Here’s a fun new component to the story, remember how I said that DH had began sleeping on the couch? In said police report, it is documented that DH and HCBM were not in a relationship and were merely roommates. Because that was the situation. Behind the scenes, HCBM had met the man of her dreams. Let’s call him PF….. for psycho fiance. Yes, they’re engaged now. We’ll get to that part. PF randomly messaged HCBM on facebook and they began talking. PF was a recovering alcoholic in his 30s with no driver’s license due to a DUI.
Now, recall when HCBM was missing? Her parents searched through her facebook accounts to try and locate her and found her messages with PF, they explained their daughter’s drinking problem and asked PF if she may be with him. She was not. They had not even met yet. But PF thinks this woman who clearly has severe personal issues is just the cream of the crop. He decides to take her out to lunch. By the end of their lunch date, he is love-bombing the daylights out of her. Calling her his wife, his galaxy, all of this grandiose crap.
Two weeks after they met, PF got HCBM’s name tattooed on him. While DH was trying to sort out a plan of action with his lawyer…. HCBM informs him that he has to move out so that PF can move in because he will soon be without a place to live. She wants to invite this man she’s known for three weeks to live with her and her baby daughter. I’ve seen the message she sent to DH, it reads, “I know it seems fast but I know in my heart that he is so good.” HCBM’s parents are thrilled.
Less than a week after PF had moved in and DH was out, the ex parte motion was filed. DH was granted full emergency custody of SD until a hearing could be held. HCBM did not see SD for nine days… and of course, DH was the villain for this.
At the hearing. DH was awarded majority custody, with HCBM being allowed one overnight a week. PF was not permitted to be present when SD was there for overnights until CPS could investigate.
Now, HCBM’s parents funneled money for lawyers, rent, utilities, basically any adult expense HCBM needs is taken care of by her parents. DH did not have the same luxury. He was working himself to death as a single dad trying to pay for his lawyer while the court battle ensued. Almost two months later, DH contacted me. We hadn’t spoken in close to a year. I was off living my own life almost halfway through college. DH just needed someone to talk to about it, and still had very strong feelings for me. I was a shoulder for him to lean on.
We began hooking up, with no real intention to enter into a relationship. I met SD and would watch her while he was at work. There was an obvious deep love between DH and me, but the circumstances were just so insane. Plus, HCBM despised me, and was weaving stories to the court about how DH was an emotionally abusive partner, a narcissist and the reason for all her drinking.
DH and I did not want the drama of HCBM knowing I was around. Since we were operating under the guise that this was just an indulgence and would end at some point, we kept our interactions a secret.
Then, the universe must’ve thought we were owed some karma for what we did during HCBM’s pregnancy. I was diagnosed with ADHD at age five and have had a prescription for stimulants since a very young age.
One morning I awoke and heard what sounded like tiny wretching from the other room. My medication had spilled out in the bottom of my purse as the safety cap was screwed on crooked. SD was playing on the floor and digging around in my purse. DH noticed her putting something in her mouth, realized it was my medication and immediately ran into the bathroom and began making her puke.
I called poison control who instructed us to bring her to the hospital. She seemed relatively normal, a bit dazed maybe. We called the ER to let them know we’d be arriving. We got there and they stuck charcoal down her throat, drew blood, the whole ordeal.
I brought my medication bottle with me to give to the nurses so they knew what she had ingested and to prove it was a legally obtained prescription. I was frantic and bawling, a nurse comforted me and told me that ingestions are extremely common and we had done the right thing by bringing her in.
SD had an elevated heart rate, was fussy and stressed. She was administered medication to help lower her heart rate and as a result had to be admitted to be monitored. The blood tests came back with extremely minimal amounts of my meds in her system, but it was protocol that she be monitored after the medication was given to regulate her heart. If you’re feeling anxious, I’ll add that SD is perfectly healthy and happy, she fully recovered and did not suffer any seizures or damage to her brain/liver etc. which were the primary concerns with this ingestion.
Since she was being admitted, HD had to inform HCBM. I had told him he should tell her immediately, but he did not want to deal with her reaction or her family arriving. I think this was a poor decision on his part. As flawed a person as she is, I do know that HCBM loves SD very much, and I can sympathize with her wanting to be informed if her daughter was being seen at the hospital.
HCBM and her family arrived, I had left to avoid the fallout and gather some things for DH to drop off while he stayed at the hospital with SD. Naturally, HCBM was in a blind rage that she had not been contacted immediately. She demanded that the CPS worker who was mandated to check in because of the ingestion file a report of negligence. The CPS worker declined, saying that there was no negligence to report. That evening, security was called to remove HCBM from the hospital because she was screaming at DH in the pediatric wing. She was told she could return on her custody day.
I went to visit DH and SD the next day, she was back to her old self and able to go home. We were nowhere near prepared for what was about to ensue.
HCBM had weaved a story that I was addicted to drugs, and that whatever I was doing had to have been in a plastic bag in my purse or how else would SD have gotten into it? HCBM and her lawyer filed an ex parte motion. Now I’m sure most of you are familiar with the workings of family court, but for those of you who aren’t; and ex parte motion is an emergency motion. It is a piece of paper laid in front of a judge. The details can be as vague or exaggerated as the writer pleases them to be, and it is not until a hearing is scheduled can anything be disputed.
HCBM and her lawyer claimed that SD had ‘overdosed’ on stimulant drugs and conveniently failed to mention that they were a legal prescription. More than that, ‘overdose’ was a completely sensationalized description of what had occurred, and not a term used at all by any of the medical professionals nor was it included anywhere in her chart of the incident. SD never lost consciousness. There was never a point where doctors were in fear for her life. But the judge sees what is put before them and signs off with the limited information they are given.
When HD filed an ex parte motion against HCBM, the hearing was scheduled for nine days later. When HCBM filed an ex parte motion against DH, the hearing was scheduled over two months later.
This was the worst time period in DH’s life. He attempted suicide. He lost an insane amount of weight. He sold beloved possessions to pay his lawyer. He did not have custody of his daughter and HCBM allowed him rare visits in public places once or twice a week.
But ah, how the tables turn.
A month before the hearing on the ex parte motion, HCBM got a DUI with SD in the car. Her driving was so ballistic, someone had called in her car. She was arrested. I could go into detail about the bullshit-ery of her and her family I read in the police report from that, but there is still so much ground to cover.
CPS notified DH of the DUI. HCBM and her lawyer told DH’s lawyer they wanted to settle custody outside of court before the ex parte hearing.
DH was exhausted. He was broke. He just wanted his daughter back. He settled with HCBM on 50/50 custody. This is perhaps the greatest regret of his life. The GAL at the meeting even told DH he didn’t have to do this, that he could fight her and probably get more custody. But DH was a shell of a person at this point. He was in debt. He was exhausted.
Mere days after they settled he checked himself into an inpatient mental health facility for treatment. He and I were in touch every once in a while throughout that entire time, but had ended our romantic relations after the ex parte was filed. I was more of a confidant and friend, but he had drifted apart from everyone in his life and I was focused on school.
The day that DH left inpatient, PF messaged him to tell him that HCBM had slipped up and drank again. Saying, “she just has such a big heart, this is so difficult for her.” DH suspects that she had gotten herself into another nearly lethal situation or gone missing and PF was hoping to do damage control by contacting him rather than him finding out another way.
So 50/50 custody it was. Nine months later, HCBM gave birth to her and PF’s son. I’m not sure of any exact dates but judging by the date of that message and the birth of the baby there is a high change HCBM was drinking while unknowingly pregnant.
For the DUI, HCBM was sentenced to 40 days in jail while pregnant with her son. It was a work release program. Since she worked for her mom, she worked as many hours as she possibly could. Her mom would pick her up from prison with her phone and her makeup so she could hide what was going on from her coworkers and the community. DH would bring SD to the gymnastics center to visit her. She had an IED put into her car when she was released, meaning she had to blow into a breathalyzer to get her car to start.
DH and I would check in every once in a while over the course of the next year. We both dated other people. HCBM of course had issues with DH’s girlfriend he was with for a few months. But things had relatively settled save for the tension and resentment between HCBM and DH.
More than a year had passed since everything transpired and since DH and I were last romantically involved. We began talking more frequently during COVID lockdown and DH admitted he was hopelessly in love with me and wanted to be together. We had a major problem though.
When HCBM and DH were settling on their custody agreement, HCBM insisted I was not to be around SD. If you recall, HD was broke, exhausted, and severely struggling with his mental health. He and I hadn’t seen each other in person in several months, we talked but very infrequently and never of rekindling our relationship in any capacity. So he gave in. As long as he could be done with the nightmare and have his daughter back.
A single sentence in a five-page custody agreement meant that I couldn’t be around SD. I want to specify, this was not a restraining order. I was never served any papers, I would not be punished in any capacity were I to see SD, there was no court record of any kind indicating that I was restricted from seeing a child or was a dangerous individual. DH wouldn’t even lose custody or face any legal ramifications were he to violate that single sentence, it would just mean an official would have to intervene to investigate and ensure the stipulation be adhered to. Still, it would’ve prevented us from having any sort of real relationship. So we filed a motion to have the line removed. I had not seen SD in well over a year and we abided by the order which was exceedingly painful.
The first hearing was before a court commissioner. We came armed with letters of recommendation from friends and family, from the families I had nannied for during college. DH’s family had finally seen the light and turned against HCBM and attended the court hearing, filing the seats.
The court commissioner spent about ten minutes reviewing our plea, and decided this was not a matter of my character or whether I was a threat to SD, but that this was a communication issue between DH and HCBM, and since DH had agreed to this, they needed to work it out between the two of them.
Ha. Like that would ever happen. DH and HCBM began communicating through a court monitored app and attending co parenting counseling while our lawyer filed a motion to bring the issue before a judge and have a GAL and Family Court Worker appointed. As we all know with family court, things move slowly and this we had to wait months to make progress on our case.
Co parenting counseling was fruitless. HCBM is not capable of accountability. She insisted DH was a narcissist because she’d read about narcissism on the internet and she believed she deserved full custody of SD.
A judge appointed a GAL and Family Court Worker to our case. I’ll never forget the relief that day as the judge told HCBM that me being in SD’s life was inevitable at this point. There was no evidence that I was a dangerous person. At one point, our lawyer brought up the language used in HCBM’s ex parte motion all that time ago, pointing out the sensational language used, specifically the term “overdose”. I was shaking when HCBM’s lawyer admitted to the judge that “there was no overdose.” I’ll never forget the sheepish look on that lawyer’s face, or how HCBM’s jaw tightened as she refused to look even a millimeter in my direction.
Everyone met with the GAL and Family Court Worker. Of course HCBM got the earliest appointment possible so she could try to sell her story. When I sat down with the GAL he said “I don’t know why you’re here, to be honest.” But that’s the ridiculous thing about family court, people can just spew this insane shit and it has to be looked into.
Both the GAL and Family Court Worker recommended the line be removed entirely. We still had to wait another month for our hearing for these recommendations to be made to the judge. Over the course of these proceedings, DH and his lawyer (with my consent) had been urging HCBM to attend a co parenting counseling session with me to address her concerns. HCBM of course vehemently refused, actually speaking to me would destroy the picture she had painted and deluded herself into believing about me.
We continued to press the issue though. After the GAL and Family Court Worker’s recommendations were passed on to everyone’s lawyers, it was clear this was not going to go in HCBM’s favor. It could’ve easily been settled outside of court, saved everyone time and money. But that was never going to happen, HCBM was going to go down swinging. Less than two weeks from our final hearing before the judge, HCBM agreed to attend co parenting counseling with me. Both parties signed NDA’s before going into these sessions, they were meant to be mediation for parents to work out their issues and not dig up fodder to toss around in court. A safe place, if you will. DH and I suspected she’d want to attend a session with me so she could fabricate some story about me being awful, or make it seem like she was being reasonable since she’d refused any and all attempts to mediate this issue civilly.
We were correct, but her feeble attempts at control were fruitless and the line was removed. I could see my girl again. Since then, DH and I got married and have been in absolute bliss as a family of three. But of course, the mess with HCBM does not stop there.
DH and I have no idea it HCBM has been drinking or not. We have no proof. She claims she got sober, but she never received any professional help or rehab so that seems doubtful to me. There are a few red flags. She now shares a car with her mother, claiming her car has “been in the shop” for well over a year now. DH explained that when she would go on drinking binges, her parents would take her car away so they could control where she went and monitor her.
We’ve also had the issue of SD not wanting to go to her mom’s house. I have ring video footage of HCBM coming to pick up SD. SD was in hysterics, she ran back in our house several times while HCBM stands annoyed in the driveway. DH sits with her and consoles her, encouraging her and telling her she will have so much fun with her mom and brother. On this particular occasion, it took 45 minutes to get SD to go with her mom. This happened numerous times. DH eventually brought this up to HCBM, expressing his concerns and saying that he wished she would participate in co-parenting their daughter in these situations rather than hiding behind her car. HCBM dismissed him, saying she was a great parent and he was obviously making SD act this way. Give SD an oscar at this point. I can’t even fathom what DH would say to make a five year old act that way.
Eventually, HCBM stopped picking SD up and instead sent her mom to get her. SD has no issue going with her grandmother. A bit suspicious to me that it was specifically her mom that caused such an upset for her.
HCBM is very obsessed with image. She dresses SD in expensive outfits with intricate hairstyles. I should add, expensive outfits that are purchased for her by HCBM’s mother. She has told DH that she is not pleased with how he sends SD to school and has concerns about his ability to parent. He sends her… a 5 year old… to school in leggings and t-shirts like the rest of the 5 year olds in her class. Don’t get me wrong, I love to dress SD up when she’ll let me and I have indulged in Rylee and Cru outfits and what not, but the majority of the time SD wears normal kid clothes. She runs and jumps and plays and likes pink and sparkles and tops with her favorite characters on them. We let her pick her crazy mismatched outfits and throw her hair up in a quick bun or braid so it is out of her face. She bathes almost excessively because she loves the bath and is a very well looked after child.
Now, HCBM lost a significant amount of weight after she got together with PF. Her mother is also extremely thin. DH has told me about how they were always doing fad diets, they’d call themselves fat and critique their appearances constantly and clearly did not have a healthy relationship to their bodies or food.
At our home, SD is fed a balanced diet but I try to encourage a positive relationship to her body and food. No food is “good” or “bad,” they simply serve different purposes. For example, carbs give us energy, protein helps us grow, sugar makes us happy, etc. Creating guilt around eating certain types of food can lead to eating disorders, body image issues, I know because I had a poor relationship to food and my body for so long. SD loves fruits and veggies. She also loves chips and candy. She is allowed to indulge in sugar within reason and without guilt. I don’t think it's rocket science, and for us it has had fantastic results. We'll be at a gas station and ask SD if she wants a snack and the kid will want celery. I follow the instagram page “kids eat in color” very closely and when we prepare SD’s meals, the “treat” component is served together with the rest and not withheld until later. This is so SD doesn’t view certain foods as special or more desirable than others, and won’t associate treat foods with this rush of excitement and overwhelming positivity moreso than say chicken nuggets or carrots. When DH sets down her plate to eat, SD rarely if ever reaches for her treat food first. She eats everything on her plate until her body tells her she’s full.
HCBM constantly berates DH about SD eating “healthy.” She criticizes him for getting candy at the movies. Goes off about her having a cup of sugar-free pudding at 11 a.m. On Halloween, SD is allowed two pieces of candy from her trick or treat pile at her mom’s house.
Last Halloween at our house, we dumped all of our candy out in a huge pile and watched a movie. SD ate, I kid you not, four pieces of candy. She didn’t feel the need to binge on all this candy because she knew it wouldn’t be withheld if she asked for more in our home. There is still halloween candy in a bucket in our pantry and we weren’t even out trick or treating for an hour.
HCBM accuses us of “competing” with her. This. Is. Rich. SD loves visiting my parent’s and sometime last fall took a liking to playing my dad’s drumset. Later that week, HCBM bought her a kid-sized drumset. We adopted a kitten, HCBM adopted a kitten. We started playing barbies as a family, HCBM buys a barbie dreamhouse. We planned a weekend trip to a big city a few hours away, HCBM and PF take SD and their son to that city the week before we’re supposed to go. My husband is a Dungeons and Dragons fanatic, and recently he has been making kid friendly campaigns for the three of us to play as a family. SD loves playing dungeons and dragons with her daddy. It has become our family’s thing. The dungeons and dragons movie came out recently and DH and I got tickets for an early screening on a day we didn’t have SD. Who do you think we saw there while we were waiting in line to get popcorn? Their family does not play dungeons and dragons. You’ll be pleased to know that SD came down to sit with us for the last half hour of the movie, PF who had taken her had to give in because they were seated a row behind us and she kept leaning forward to excitedly whisper to DH about the movie.
I have suffered extreme emotional issues due to the abuse from HCBM. I’ve attended therapy specifically to address it. I developed severe social anxiety because HCBM will tell anyone who listens these fictions about me and DH. We live in a small community, one that HCBM and her family have been a part of for a long time and I am constantly afraid people I meet will know them and have these crazy ideas about who I am as a person. The flipside of this is that their family’s reputation is not as positive as they like to think it is, particularly to police in the area. In addition to HCBM’s drunk escapades involving police, her father has a court record pages long for tax fraud.
Thankfully, I work in the city 30 minutes from where we live and that has allowed me to build my own village and have a life untainted by HCBM and her crap. Through lots of work I have been able to establish firm boundaries. I’ve had to restrict HCBM and her friends from my social media accounts after being watched obsessively. HCBM’s mother even went as far as messaging my mother on Facebook to try and say DH is a narcissist and she should be concerned for me. DH and my mom are very close, and my mom was mainly worried about how far these people were going to go to untether my life.
HCBM doesn’t seem to understand the concept of equal guardianship. She views herself as the primary parent and believes she should have access to everything in our lives. This is legally not the case so luckily we’re just able to ignore those demands but it gets taxing.
HCBM’s parents pay for SD’s health insurance so HCBM makes all of her doctor and dentist appointments and acts as though that’s because DH is an uninvolved parent, despite the fact that he has asked to make appointments on his custody days so he could go. I have excellent benefits at my job and could take SD on as a dependent since she resides with us 50% of the time. We haven’t even proposed this idea to HCBM because god knows she would never agree despite the fact that this would probably save her parents a ton of money.
HCBM has SD involved in several activities on her custody days. A bit too many for a five year old in my opinion. Multiple gymnastics and dance classes and soccer. Since HCBM’s parents are always funneling her money and paying her bills they are constantly going out to do expensive activities, weekend trips, shows, you name it. HCBM thinks these things make her a good parent, but I personally don’t think that SD feels as emotionally attached to HCBM as she does DH. DH and I spend a ton of one on one time with SD. We play with her with her toys, we do crafts, we watch movies together. HCBM thinks dropping her off at some expensive activity makes her this stellar mom, but she doesn’t engage in the same level of connection with SD that DH does. HCBM’s parents of course bought them a trip to Disney World last year, and the day they came to pick up SD to leave for the airport she did not want to go. She began crying and insisting she wanted her dad to take her, and that she would miss him too much. What five year old objects to effing Disney World??
We have issues on the horizon with SD attending kindergarten next year. I know a battle will ensue about where she attends. The custody schedule does not give us any weekend time because when it was written, SD was one and DH was working weekends and the days they agreed on coincided with his schedule. This means that when SD attends school in the fall five days a week, we will not get a full day together as a family. DH and I are very nervous about addressing this. We don’t have any desire to change the 50/50 custody, just to adjust the days so that we can have some weekend time with SD. It is likely this issue will end up in court and cost us thousands.
I have had to come to the hard acceptance that this is just how our relationship with HCBM will be, likely forever. I hold on to selfish hope that she may screw up drinking again, but at the end of the day I want what is best for SD which is a healthy and stable mother and I will do whatever I can to encourage a positive relationship for them. At this point we have no proof of her drinking for the past few years. Either she miraculously stopped or her family’s response is just so calculated to protect her from getting into any shit and jeopardizing her custody. If that is the case, that can only go on for so long before SD is old enough to tell us what is happening.
I think that HCBM is deeply insecure and ashamed. I think she needs to make DH and I the villains so she feels better about herself. I think her upbringing has allowed her to shirk any and all accountability, she is surrounded by people who tell her she’s never wrong and she’s this great person and great parent.
I don’t know what the resolution is here. If you have read this far, thank you sincerely. Though I confide in my mom and friends about the situation with HCBM, I keep my venting to a minimum so as not to let her live rent free in my life. I am not going to spend all this energy being pissed at her and her immaturity. I’m not going to give her the satisfaction of getting on my nerves, being the subject of my conversations. I’m not even going to let her think I care enough to trash her to people. But it feels extremely therapeutic to get this all out to a group of people who understand.

Im really getting sick of this. The developers have done everything in their power to make the game suited towards the below average, scared player. Is this actually the majority of the playerbase? I dont get it. The game isnt fun at all anymore.
How am I supposed to compete?
I'm getting plenty of kills, but I'm always eventually dying to something stupid like a bug in the game or a guy landing on me with a handgun because he knows theres no sound and it never feels like a win anymore.
Why have they made snipers unusable?
I stopped using snipers for obvious reasons, but now I'm not sure what to do, because I'm sick of being killed by head glitchers who think they're smart spamming stims and gas mask, rotating early and holding on the next headglitch, with potato aim, but I can't push them if they're there. The natural solution is to headshot them.
Imagine a game, any game, where you hit the most vulnerable part of their body, with the most powerful gun, with the biggest bullets and it breaks armor plates. Armor plates go on your chest, so there's that and it doesn't even make sense from an arcade sense other than the developers are trying their hardest to keep the game viable for... idiots? I mean if you're stupid enough to stand on a headglitch challenging me when you know I've a snipe rand you get your head blown off, that should be that. But no...
Whatever about the sound being completely broken, they're giving you GROUND LOOT WHEN YOU DIE. So you can just land back on me before I even know you're there.
Any suggestions on how I should play? Or should I just not play at all?
Because this is gaming nowadays, another money racket and its effecting the quality of games, especially AFTER release, because all the company cares about is sales figures and stock prices. They don't care if you're happy and only want the game to be playable for the below average player.
They want this to be THE game you play with your mates for an hour or two in the evening and for it to be viable for you, and its fuck everyone else. Fuck all the fans that have been playing actual Call of Duty for years.
It's a trend (updates to make the game literelly easier to win on) I've seen on many games across the board these last few years. Rocket League for example. They knew all the good players had learned to come off the wall really well, so when Epic took over and made the game free to play, they changed the wall physics to help the new players catch up, and as a result the game completely changed and not for the better.
So what are we gonna do?
Are we going to lie down and take this for any longer?
Because if you buy the next game, knowing full well what they're doing, we're only enabling this. They just want our money and us playing the game so they can justify more investment and dont listen to anything anyone says.
Does nobody make a game that's not JUST for profits anymore?
For anybody thinking I'm just spouting off a conspiracy theory, I'm not. It's so blatantly obvious and makes perfect sense to keep the players on the game. If you can't see that, it's not my problem, but for anybody who sees it the way I do, wtf are we supposed to do?