Hey guys, I'm 42 years old and wasn't aware until recently that the Army allows prior service folks back in even if they're past the cut off age under the normal rules of joining. It's called the True Age Waiver. Basically they take into account how long you served and deduct that number from your actual age. I served 5 years active duty and two years reserves for a total of 7 years. So my true age is 35 years old. I was E-4 when getting out.
My questions are the following:

1. How hard is it to get this waiver?
2. How long does it take?
3. My discharge from active duty (w two deployments to Iraq and the CAB) was honorable but my discharge from reserves was under honorable conditions but not the full honorable as my active duty discharge was. This is because I took an immediate hire job in a different state and my reserve unit got pissed cause they couldn't transfer me, etc. Is this an automatic no-go?
4. My credit score is meh. I had stuff go into collections. I paid a lot of it off but it'd take a bit to rebuild credit. Will my score affect this?
5. I have minor spinal bifida. I had this when I went to MEPs the first time in 2003 and the doc gave me crap about it at first but ultimately gave me the green light, probably because we were at war on two fronts. Will this prevent me now though?
6. I had a severe lower back strain during my 1st tour in Iraq. It put me out of action for two weeks. Obviously it's documented. I don't have issues with it hurting but will it being on my record make it an auto no-go for waiver?
7. I had a colonoscopy and endoscopy in 2014 where it showed I had some small erosion of stomach lining/ small intestine but nothing major. They also did a cold biopsy on a non-cancerous polyp during that procedure.
8. The only glaring medical thing that gives me any trouble is some minor hemorrhoidal issues. They usually don't bother me much since I do eat plenty of fiber.

Basically, does any of those things or all of those things combined, make it impossible to get a True Age Waiver?

I grew up in Pakistan with a father who was a bit mentally unstable and a mother who had blood pressure problems and diabetes. My mom had to work as a school teacher to support the family, mother did not want to send my father into an asylum because she did not want the family to be broken up.
Being a 7 year old kid I saw my father and mother always arguing and yelling it made me scared, to make it worse I saw my father try to kill himself by drinking the poison and that scared me to tears, because I didn't want him to die, I was attached to my father because even if he was a bit insane he still recognized me as his son and looked out for me, but sometimes he does this crazy shit, I don't know why he did that maybe he was trying to scare my mom or my older than me bro or IDK, but that didn't put a good influence on me, I grew up seeing this, parents fighting all the time, dad trying to hurt himself etc.
3 years later when was 10 I somewhat became immune to this, seeing my parents fight, I did not get scared of this I keep thinking "they'll get over it soon" so I did not care when they were arguing, so is that wrong to think?
And then 1 year later in 2011, he became very insane, always going out of the house talking to random people, thinking himself as the army general (My dad in his past wanted to go to the army but couldn't pass the test)
He was talking like an army general too, randomly phoning people talking about missions and shit, climbing on the roof and yelling at the top of his lungs, I saw him do even more suicide attempts I see him try to cut his wrist, I saw him lying in the middle of the road waiting for him to get ran over, that still didn't faze me, WAS IT WRONG OF ME TO NOT GET FAZED BY IT? My older brother and my mother were always trying to stop him and they kept him locked in a room, because they thought dad would go out and do crazy shit again. When I was alone with my dad and my sister, my dad who was locked up in the room called out to me to open the door, I was gonna open it but my sister stopped me because mom didn't allow it. As a kid I used to think being mentally unstable is called being a bad person, so because of that I started being mean to my dad and disrespected him because I thought he was an evil person.
And then 1 more year later in march 2012, when he completely lost his sanity he jumped off the roof from a 3 story house, fell on the ground injuring his head. I didn't see it happen because I wasn't around, my mother and my brother saw that and took him to the hospital, news came to me and my sister and she started crying so hard, I on the other hand was silent, I didn't say a word. It was then I figured out that my father wasn't evil just because he was mentally ill.
Then the funeral happened, my older sister, my mother, my older brother who is 9 years older than me and my relatives they were crying their eyes out and I was the only one quiet, IDK why, my older brother asked me "Why didn't you cry, your father just passed away don't you understand the seriousness of this?" I didn't know what to say. Maybe it's because I did not want to cry and it's not about being "manly" I just didn't want to feel the negative emotions, IS THAT WRONG?
Then we buried him put flowers on his grave said prayers for him and then we left him.
And then let me tell you I am not lying! In the same day his funeral and burial was done, in that night I had a dream my dad came to my room and he did not look insane at all he talked like a normal person I asked him "Dad? How did you get here?" he laughed and replied "I just came here son" I was confused, I repeated the same question, he smiled and give me the same answer "I just came", I ran into my mother's room informing her the good news and I was in tears, that was the first time I almost shed tears of joy, but as soon as I got into my mom's room the dream ended right there.
I never let my father's death affect me in a negative way, I looked on the brightside thinking he's finally in peace and he won't be suffering anymore, I kept that in my mind and used that as a cope mechanism.
5 years later when I was 15 years old I remember my father once again and that's when I missed him and shed tears, I felt guilty about mistreating him because I thought he was a bad man, it made me cry and it made me wish I'd see him in a dream again so I can apologize to him. I talked to my sister about it and broke down into tears, she comforted me and told me that it was all a misunderstanding and though I mistreated my dad he still loved me, that's what she said to me.
Now 11 years later in the present year I still visit my dad's grave, now I have a sick mother who had 2 heart attacks and I look out for her, something tells me my mother doesn't have much to live anymore, so I just try my best to make the last of her years be spent in peace and happiness.
I kept asking myself am I gonna cry in my mother's death too? The answer was no, but my sister and my brother said "You're the one that's going to be crying the loudest, believe it. You are more attached to your mother than you think". At this point I don't know if I'll cry or not.
That's all I got to say.

I have a chihuahua, about 7 pounds, 11 years old. He's overweight (ideal weight is 5 pounds) but outside of that he has no health chronic health concerns.
3-ish hours after eating a single green grape, he showed signs of lethargy and loss of appetite. I wasn't gonna roll the dice on his kidneys, so I took him in for induced vomiting. He's also having a blood sample taken to see if the toxins affected his kidney. (They did say that it wouldn't really affect him until at least 24 hours passed, if at all, but he's small and already showing symptoms).
I know that money shouldn't be an object, but I'm saying yes to everything the doctor advises. I won't suffer from the expenses, but I'd rather not chance $95 just to possibly be told that he needs to have constant access to water.
Outside of rest, water, prescriptions if any, and whatever else the doctor tells me, what do the vets of Reddit advise?

Hello guys, a bit on me if you'd like: I'm a person who's always been fond for writing, but never really had my hand in it though, in fact, I wrote this incomplete should-have-been series a year ago, but never really completed it. I've only dabbled in it for a bit, writing scraps and throwing them away, but this is the only thing I found that was noteworthy and decided to share it, it's a copy-paste directly from the writing program, but I cleaned it up a bit of course, anyway, I really hope you guys enjoy!
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You don't know who I am, or where I come from, you don't know anything, but if you're reading this that's good, it means you're alive, and maybe the world is better, maybe it's enjoyable, and there are parks again, and kids laughing and cheering. But that's all a maybe, an outcome with an unfair possibility of not happening, but I guess it makes sense, someone decided to destroy the world, and with the technology we had, it probably wasn’t that hard. What happened? well, I don't really know, all I know is that the world is falling apart, it's cracking, small cracks are apparent in almost every surface I come across that's been untouched or unmoved for a while, and they aren't normal cracks, they have a dim white glow, when I say dim I mean almost non-existent but the glow was still there nonetheless, and it feels like the world isn’t as bright, the world just lost all its life, all the grays got greyer and every other color looks dull and monotonous, but that’s just what came about.
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After the first day, all available power disappeared, it was an exposition, a cardinal signal foreshadowing the apocalyptic future yet to come, of course, people started to panic. after one week the water shut off, at this point people had started to get irritable, and heated arguments were becoming a much too common thing to see in a lonely town like mine, then the third week hit, it's when the cracks became noticeable, it's also when people were being discovered, dead people, not many in the first few days, only two or three found a day. Soon enough people had run out of supplies, it's not like people were restocking the stores so no one could get any food or drink.
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The streets were littered with bodies, most died from asphyxiation or gunshots, which was unlike the first killings, the first body found had his throat ripped out and his guts spilled, yet there was no blood anywhere on the body and no signs of a struggle, although I noticed this, I paid little attention to it. Nothing happened after that, aside from me staying in the basement which held enough food and water to sustain me for about a month and then some if I rationed carefully. It sucked in there, I had to have the little lamp in there off most of the time because of the lack of power, and the battery was already three-quarters full when I got down there, but I managed for thirty-two painfully slow and lightless days, then I emerged into my home.
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I saw what I had expected, shattered glass everywhere, tables turned on their sides, and everything else characteristic of a ransacking, but I was not expecting to find a body stuck in a wall, his waist and below stuck in the wall, the wall wasn't broken, it was like something had made the wall a liquid, stuck him in, and made the wall solid again. I didn’t see any fractures in the wall's surface aside from the small squiggly white cracks that remained on almost every surface. At that point I realized I hadn't shed a single tear or even once felt the need to vomit, I felt ashamed of myself, I felt emotionless and lifeless, I could have gone ahead and made my morning coffee and watched the news without giving a care in the world about the body that lay in my home… too bad there was no coffee, or tv.
10/16/2027 Stock:
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• Food: Can of Beans(6x cans). Can of Mangos (2x cans). Jack Link’s Beef Jerky (2x bags).
  
• Drink: Water(4x bottles). BodyArmor(3x bottles). (Empty Large Canteen).
  
• Items: Empty Large Canteen. Flashlight. Extra Batteries.(2x)
  
• Weapons: Colt 1911 (2x 8-Round Magazines, .45 ACP(44x)
  Remington Model 700(2x 3-Round Magazines, .308 WIN(18x) Hunting Knife
  

Note-1: After digging through my dad's closet and finding a false floorboard that always creaked, I gained access to two guns, a Remington Model 700 and a Colt 1911, and their corresponding ammunition.
Note-2: due to me living here for long enough I had the insight into areas of suspicion, an example is the floorboard, it’s unlikely I’ll get the luck to find hidden spaces like that again, but maybe when I’m skillful enough at looting, finding hidden spaces would become more common.
10/16/27
I gathered all of my supplies and put them in a backpack, aside from the M1911 and the 700, I put the M1911 in a holster on my hip and slung the 700 on my back, after I was ready, I left, the first thing I noticed was the lack of wildlife, I don’t live in a big city, it’s just a somewhat sparsely housed town, there’d always be an acre or two between homes at the very least, and birds were usually everywhere, but now I only see a few, only hear a few chirps here and there, I haven’t seen any terrestrial animals yet aside from insects, it seems there are fewer insects though as well. After I left my home I stood on the doorstep, I looked around at the dull scenery, I used to step outside to just look at the trees and the sky, but now everything is unappealing, I took the steps through the grass to my beat up car, all the glass was broken, I opened the door, sat inside and turned the ignition, nothing happened, as I expected cars don’t work anymore either, which put me on edge, what if guns don’t work anymore? But I silenced that thought, I still have a knife if guns won’t work.
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I stepped out of the car and went to the trunk to see if anything was left of value. I opened it and found nothing, with no new supplies I decided the first place I’ll go to is the gas station, there was bound to be something there, even if it was only a little something. I started my two-mile trek to the gas station, I hiked a lot before all of this happened, two miles was nothing at all. There was a trail not too far from my house that I and my dog used to walk at, my dog died a few months back luckily enough, I wouldn’t have been able to support him now, not with the looming fear of starvation following me around. I had walked about one mile when all of a sudden everything went quiet, birds stopped chirping, the wind stopped blowing.
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I got off the road and hid in a bush, I heard things moving, rustling the brush, stopping every now and then, almost as if they were looking for something, I’d hear what sounded like someone taking a knife to glass, it pained my ears and I felt they would start bleeding if the sounds lasted a second longer. I never saw them, I don’t know if it was because they were behind me or on the other side of the road in a ditch or something, but after 10 minutes it went away, nature’s sounds returned after 5 minutes, I had to wait another 10 minutes, my body, shocked and stiff, wouldn’t allow me to move. I stood and dusted myself off, since I didn’t know where the sounds came from I just started searching on the opposite bank of the road, no signs of anything being there, no tracks, no broken twigs, no blood.
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I thought I had gone insane while wallowing in my lonesome, but then I remembered the birds reacted to whatever it was, or whatever they were, I don’t know how many there were, it constantly alternated between the sound of one of them and the sound of an uncountable amount. Happy to get out of the area, I continued to my destination. When I got to the gas station there was only one broken window, and a body with characteristics of the first killings laying on the floor near the register, a broken knife next to him. I looted his body without remorse or disgust. I found a pack of cigs and pocketed them there was also a scrunched paper.
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I read it once, then twice, and even a third time, my stomach churned and felt like it was about to implode, it looked to be a message from the man’s daughter saying how much she loved him and she wants him to be safe because of all the “bad people”, a smiley face sat at the top of the paper, I flipped the paper over to find distinctly different handwriting, presumingly the man’s, it detailed how he was sorry, as well as how he’d been at the station for 3 days, said he couldn’t leave because if he did they would get him, his last words, being written hastily were hardly legible, but I could read enough to understand that the cracks in the world that appeared in the station were much more distinct than in other places, and those things could come in, but they were just staring at him tauntingly. I could barely hold myself back from puking, it wasn’t hard to look at someone’s corpse, it had no effect on me, but the second I realized that man had a family, and had ambitions and potential… I continued looking around the store. I realized there would be more loot on dead bodies because people don’t want to touch them. After looking through all the shelves and in all of the back rooms I found a lighter under the lip of a bottom shelf, lucky me.
10/20/27
I had hoped there would be more, more of everything, but there’s nothing, I’ll put another list of my supplies soon but at this rate, I won't make it to see next week, every single store has been ransacked completely, all the bodies always have empty already eaten foods, I don’t know what to do. I’ve not seen a single soul, everything is dead, not even the insects anymore, the birds are gone too, maybe it has something to do with the cracks, they’ve progressed enough to where they are visible from up to a foot away, I’ve had to hide from those screeching things a couple of times, still haven’t seen them yet, I realized when the wind abruptly stops they’ve appeared, it’s a good thing the birds were still singing those few days ago or I wouldn’t have realized the pattern, I’d probably be dead, just like everyone else.
10/23/27
Nothing much has happened, I’ve seen a bird or two, and it’s nice to know that at least for a little bit longer animals will still be alive, I’ve theorized that whenever I hear the noise it’s only one entity doing it, I think this because I’ve heard an exceptionally large commotion a way off, I assume there was two there. Fortunately, the screeching has only happened near me only once, I’ve heard them in the distance though, in the night while I sleep I hear them far off, searching, waiting for their sinister roulette to hit, hoping, anticipating the kill. I decided to head to the(SO AND SO) I’ll update this then or if something happens along the way.
10/26/27
I’ve come across a hunting stand in the woods, it’s a jackpot. There’s too much stuff to carry, there was a map too so I’ll mark the general location once I find a landmark to orient myself with, I’ll put a list after this log but there’s more to talk about. The fragmentation, It’s what I’ve come to call the cracks, is still spreading of course. I’m starting to see a noticeable separation between the two edges of some individual fragments, still not big enough to stick anything in but instead of being small white lines spread wildly around, They’ve become a prominent feature of every object, I’ve been to some areas where the fragmentation is severe, white snakes slithering across any surface they can find, trying to fracture this world, they do end up doing it I suppose, that’s how the screechers exist, but the breaks only hold for so long until they close. That’s what I think happens at least, it’s not like I’ve seen them yet, and as long as I continue to find zones with little to no fragmentation as I have been, I think I’ll be fine, I just hope my luck doesn’t run out.
PUT A LOG HERE
10/29/27
I think I’m near (VarA), I should be out of the woods soon, but for now, I’ve got my bedroll down and am cooking some beans over the fire I’ve made, I’ll be fed for a while.
This may sound stupid but the fire keeps going out, the flames just disappear, no more heat. The charcoals lose their ember, everything becomes the regular temperature of the air around me. It still works though, there is no reliable frequency I can predict so sometimes it’ll die out as soon as I light it, and other times it takes an hour or two.
11/02/27
()()(())()()(()()()…I was walking when the wind stopped, the biggest problem for me at first was the fact there was nowhere to run, no depressions to dip in, I heard what sounded like a sharp camera shutter that immediately followed the deadening silence, the second I heard it I ran, a branch caught the strap of my bag, pulling it away from me. I couldn’t care though, all I could do was run, the trees vied for me, closing in. I was tripping and falling over and over, nearly impaling myself on the branches of trees I could hardly see.
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I felt a push and fell over, I knew that running couldn’t have saved me, I knew it was there, right behind me, I couldn’t hear it though, I could only hear my breath but it wasn’t like that, I couldn’t hear it because it wasn’t making any noise, I thought for sure it would be screeching out for as long as it’s astral body would allow it to, but it didn’t, in fact, it lay on the ground, the white body, which looked as if it consisted of bolts of white grey lightning and string, pulsated, morphing into a consuming goop of unlight, and then back into it’s shimmering somewhat humanoid form, that process took a minute. I too lay there, my foot just a stone toss away from its hungry hand, the tips of its fingers eager to detach from its parent body, but was disallowed. I lay on the ground staring at it, and for some reason, it didn’t move, I took that opportunity to regenerate as much of my energy as possible, but from fear of losing my safety, I stood up slowly, emphasizing my steadiness, even though it probably detects me through a different means, I shouldn’t let it hear me, some caution is better than no caution at all.
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I rose and took a gradual step back, but my back was met by a thick, gnarled arm of wood, as if that wasn’t enough, I had also stepped on a branch, probably from the same tree. The screecher stirred, its spectral head raised, maybe it used its sight for precision. It tried to raise the rest of its body, but its foot was stuck in a root, not like it was trapped under it, its foot was fused with the root. I guess it noticed it too because immediately the tone of its body got dimmer, I knew it was going to morph into the darkness, to free itself, to kill me. I took the chance I had, the 10s of seconds I had left were diminishing, and every second I wasted increased my chance of death. I turned, and immediately crouched and ducked under my guard that was the trees arm, I didn’t expect to have the keenness I had during that run, I’ve never been a particularly agile person, but in that moment I could see, without any blur caused by my abrupt motions, ducking and weaving through what seemed like the thickest forest I had ever seen.
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I collapsed after only minutes of running, which was unsurprising though, the previous running and endless walking cost me an obscene amount of energy, taxing my body till the end, draining it of its power. I could hear them now, screaming, coming for me, it shouldn’t take as long as it’s taking them, but I guess they’re fighting each other, that’s why there is noise. I turned around and waited, I saw the two of them approaching me, they kept pushing and shoving each other, they were walking so slowly, as if they were sapped for energy, and the density of their body was low, it seems most of the strings of white grey abandoned the parent body for some reason, and with every step they took a few more disappeared, falling off into the ground. One of the entities fell to the ground, and the second took the opportunity and fell on top of it, tearing it to shreds, and repairing its own body with its meal, it seems it was only able to regain a menial percentage of its power back though, it’s speed only bolstered for a minute or so, still not fast enough to keep up with a hasty back step.
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It fell to the ground after a while, and everything below its torso disappeared shortly after, it desperately sunk its claws into the soil, pulling with its full ability, trying to get me. It disappeared, shortly after, leaving quite a thick strand of vibrant white light. I pondered whether picking it up or not would be a good idea, in the end, I decided a little glowing string couldn’t hurt me that much. I plucked it from its place on the ground and immediately felt a strong, radiant sensation, a pulsating heat and cold piercing my body as if it was filling me with energy, I dropped it, even holding it for a few seconds easily removed most of the exhaustion from my body, I wanted to grab it again for another hit of pure energy, but I felt if I did I would explode, my body was not meant for this type of power, although it seemed capable enough to absorb what I presume was a little bit of it, I think it’s capacity is quite high, and powering what was but a little bit of myself was probably the least intensive thing this string could do.

Major Motoko Kusanagi

Motoko, often referred to simply as Major, is the squad leader of the police special forces unit Public Security Section 9, with a small team of combat veterans under her command, Section 9 often undergoes covert missions to solve problems before they become widespread.
Due at an accident very early in her life Motoko became severely injured resulting in her being in a coma for an extended period of time, as a solution to this she was converted in a full cyborg, no part of her original body remains save for her Ghost. As a full cyborg Motoko possesses superhuman physical capabilities, in addition to expert hacking skills and a variety of combat assissting cybernetics such as Thermoptic Camouflage and aim assisting software.
The feats in this respect thread come from Stand Alone Complex, Second Gig, and Solid State Society, no other versions of Ghost in the Shell are considered.

Strength

• Crushes a cyborg's arm with a flip kick
  
• Jumps several meters into the air and kicks a cyborg hard enough to cave in it's abdomen.
  
• Takes out two robots with one clean blow each
  
• Brawls with another cyborg and avoids every blow before taking him out with a single kick to the jaw
  
• Restrains another Cyborg and breaks her arm by wrenching it
  
• Fires a high powered sniper rifle using only one arm
  
  • This feat takes place immediately after the feats in the durability section in which her arm is blown off and she is stomped on by a mech
  • The aforementioned rifle has been used against tanks and can easily shred through tank armour
• Flicks a coin with enough precision and strength to destroy a security camera
  
• Stop a very large military helicopter from flying off using a rope, the helicopter had easily been dragging the Tachikoma, a miniature tank
  
• A Section 9 Trainee states she could easily destroy aluminum grating
  
• Indents a metal door with a cyborg's face by pulling on it's nose
  

Durability

• Drops a large distance and is unharmed
  
• Blocks a chop from a large cyborg that cracks the ground beneath her feet
  
• Gets punched through a window by a large android
  
• Still moving after having her arm blown off
  
• Gets slammed into the ground by a mech and then stomped on hard enough to crater the ground beneath her
  
• Gets hit by the aftereffects of a nearby missile, which sends a piece of rubble flying at her and causes the ground to collapse beneath her
  

Agility

• Jumps out of the way of gunfire
  
• Leaps out of the way of a grenade launcher
  
• Leaps forward a large distance without losing any height
  
• Jumps back and forth between two buildings repeatedly and reaches a great height
  
• Avoids attacks from a powerful piston
  
• Steals Batou's car keys without him noticing
  

Marksmanship/Firearms

• Shoots out a man's ankle from a long distance away using a pistol
  
• Obliterates the metal head of a robot
  
• Fires at and kills three invisible cyborgs with a handgun while running
  
• Jumps out of a helicopter and fires into a building, landing 3 head shots on a man inside the building in a crowded room
  
• Shoots the blade of a sword mid swing
  
• Shoots through a sniper's scope and destroys it, taking out his eye at the same time
  

Cybernetics

• Can communicate mentally with other cyborgs
  
• Capable of turning invisible to the naked eye
  
• Walks around a factory without any of the workers noticing her, a mini tank with the same tech goes similarly unnoticed
  
• Has multiple defensive barriers to guard against hacking
  
• Has software to assist in aiming at short, mid, and long range
  
  • According to a highly skilled sniper, no matter how many times he ran his simulations, Major's targeting software would allow her to shoot his bullets out of the air and then kill him

Hacking

• Plugs herself into a robot giving her the location of where it was being controlled from as well as causing the terminal controlling it to malfunction
  
  • She also uploaded a virus into this cyborg, which allowed her squad to track him
• Hacks into a car's GPS and creates a fake traffic jam to divert their path
  
• Has a "Dummy Barrier" to protect her from a booby trapped virus
  
• Remotely hacks into a robot's body and takes control of it
  
• Sends out a virus that takes out several nearby vehicles
  
• Hacks Batou and makes him punch himself
  
• Hijacks a cyborg's body via a phone call and uses it to perform recon
  
• Hacks Batou's eyes without him noticing
  

34 male. I had a heart attack in November 2022 due mostly to poor genetics. While in the hospital my blood work showed elevated levels of creatinine which persisted after discharge for 3 to 4 weeks. Blood work in mid February and this week was completely normal. Creatinine level 7 months prior to heart attack was also normal. I saw a nephrologist today who is (very) concerned I may have plaque in my renal vasculature or my stent placement dislodged plaque that traveled to my kidneys. Getting an ultrasound of the blood vessels around my kidneys in two days. Basic ultrasound of kidneys in January showed no signs of kidney disease, but did show a small cyst that was imaged again with MRI. Cyst was classified as Bosniak 2 without significant concern. Has anyone been in a similar situation? What was the outcome? Thanks in advance.

LPL playoffs are here! With 10 teams put into the ring, only one can hoist the trophy. Additionally, one other team will join our champion in representing the region at the first newly formatted Mid-Season Invitational! With that being said, here’s a look at each of our competitors:
10. TEAM WE (WE)
This is a team with a lot of hope! Both metaphorically and literally, with botlaner Hope and his partner Iwandy looking to make a big impact in the coming bracket. A team that looks very solid on paper, with multiple internationally appearing players alongside young rising star Shanks, they’ve unfortunately had a little bit of difficulty really putting things together over the split. However their talent shines through regardless, and they have a lot of potential to make big noise in the coming weeks.
9. ROYAL NEVER GIVE UP (RNG)
How did the former kings of Spring end up here? Well, they did after all lose their trademark “Spring Tiger”, Xiaohu. However, few expected a lineup that retained much of its MSI-winning core to fall from grace in such a devastating manner. Still anchored by their world-class botlane of GALA and Ming, the team has very little time left to figure out adaptations around Angel as their new midlaner. The clock is ticking - but if RNG hits their stride again, we all know what they’re capable of.
8. THUNDERTALK GAMING (TT)
TT are one of the real pleasant surprises of 2023. Picking up Worlds finalist huanfeng, the whole squad seemed to just click, especially with their midlaner ucal delivering on his parting promises from last year - where he vowed to take a massive stride forward in the 2023 season. Even with the team choosing to place their faith in opening day jungler Beichuan over the hyped prospect XHR, the results this tough-as-nails group delivered have been beyond what many in the community expected. If they somehow can go far here in the playoffs - speechless is all we can be.
7. TOP ESPORTS (TES)
Collapse is a bit of understatement for what happened towards the end of the split for TES. Starting out the year, they looked like an unstoppable juggernaut - standing squarely in the race for the best team in the LPL. A lineup featuring legends like Rookie and Jackeylove, anyone questioning them was considered a lunatic.
Then in Week 8, it all changed. The team rattled off 5 straight series losses, even including a disastrous sweep at the hands of 14th place LGD. Confidence in the team was shattered, and confidence within the team equally so. Now heading into the playoffs, it remains to be seen if they have the resolve to power ahead, or if the downward spiral only continues…
6. OH MY GOD (OMG)
It seems all it took to get Oh My God to a second-round playoff seed was adding a holy man to the roster. After swapping long-time veteran support COLD for a fitting namesake in ppgod, the roster which barely scraped its way into competitiveness last year is now a real threat. The scariest thing is that the team’s star players are still incredibly young with a lot of room to grow. At the rate that Shanji and Creme are maturing in the LPL, this lineup could be a force which stays at the upper half for the foreseeable future. Even if this playoffs they don’t take the title, disappointment won’t be warranted - and if they do, then all the merrier.
5. BILIBILI GAMING (BLG)
BLG’s massive roster overhaul has brought them incredible success this year, much of it coming off the blossoming of an LPL star in their ADC Elk. When one looks just at the names here, Bin - XUN - Yagao - Elk - ON, they see a collection of some of the most hyped prospects of the past half decade of the LPL. And whether they had previously panned out or not, they have all ended up here.
The only trip up they face comes from their cohesion. A lot has been said about the team’s supposed inability to adapt, especially coming from their toplaner. But have no doubts - pure talent alone can absolutely make this group a real championship contender.
4. WEIBO GAMING (WBG)
Who didn’t have WBG as one of the top 4 headed into the year? This was an obvious choice for many reasons. You have a solid collection of proven talent, alongside one of the highest-peak players of all time in TheShy.
And while TheShy of course by himself adds a massive variation to the play in the team, the veteranship and stability from almost every other position goes miles in offsetting this effect, and bringing this Weibo team to the place they deserve. We hope that this group of international legends can once again make their way to MSI, and they 100% are in the running to do so.
3. LNG ESPORTS (LNG)
Okay, now this one was somewhat unexpected. While you did have undoubtedly one of the strongest mid-jungle duos in Scout and Tarzan, a lot of people questioned the ability of their surrounding players: Zika, Hang, and LP. Time however has proven that all players on this roster are capable in their own right, leading them to a wonderful third place seed.
The question now comes to a matter of experience. Can these three former question marks stand up to the pressure of playoffs? Scout is no doubt one of the most talented midlaners - now his talent as a leader is up to the plate.
2. EDWARD GAMING (EDG)
After just touching on Scout, we now reach the team that suffered his and Viper’s departure. So many analysts thought that losing their two premier carries was a death blow to the team, but they were one hundred percent wrong.
After promoting one of the LDL’s top prospects in Leave to the main roster, and taking a gander on a previously declining Fofo, EDG’s massive risks have paid off enormously in 2023. Leave has proven himself to be an LPL-ready talent and star in the making, and Fofo had a miraculous rebound year. Now EDG is ready to re-enter the World stage, and incredibly - just as dangerous as before.
1. JINGDONG GAMING (JDG)
The “Superteam” reigns supreme after all. A roster that was built for international success, it’s not a surprise to see them claim the top spot in the LPL. There is not a single player on the team that isn’t a renowned world class talent. 369. Kanavi. knight. Ruler. Missing. They are a terrifying leviathan whose only goal is to rip apart whatever unfortunate team is placed before them - and with that said, they are the premier favorites to claim the LPL title. And hopefully, bring the MSI Cup back to LPL as well.

I’ve mainly been using plug in air fresheners but i get used to the smell in a few days and it’s like nothing is there. I want the room to smell nice every time i walk in, i’ve tried candles but i get kind of stingy when i light them because they’re kinda expensive these days. If you have any other ideas let me know please!
note - (it’s a pretty small room too)

Welcome to the Toronto Daily Thread.

This thread serves two purposes:
1) To collect and make visible new posts in smaller Toronto based subreddits.
Feel free to visit, comment and be generally helpful in posts indexed below. Please also remember to stay on your best behaviour when travelling outside of /toronto.
2) To act as a general off-topic conversation hub for the day.
To that end, use this thread to talk about whatever is on your mind, regardless of whether or not it's related to Toronto.
No matter where you're posting, please remember to be excellent to each other.

/AskTO

Post Title	Author	Comments
Haunted places near Toronto where one could stay overnight?	Kitchen-Rub-6454	0
Fighting speeding tickets	mocha_ninja	0
Best way to book month long stay ?	master_wayne22	1
Massive hail Mary	jacobstanley5409	3
Get What You Get Tattoo / Tattoo Roulette?	abslander	0
Would you rather live in a condo or an independent house? Why?	niru88	18
Psychedelic assisted therapy	tihlo	0
TV stand and options	Dangerous_Fudge_2468	3
Does anyone know the price of either Toronto Golf Club, or Lambton, for an intermediate (or full mens)? 31 yrs old	__CosmoKramer	0
What’s going on tonight/tomorrow? Need to get out of my hotel room.	anxietyrunner888	7
Best place to get V02 max and lactate threshold testing done?	FRO5TB1T3	3
WFH and never get to see family. Any active Toronto discords I can join that feel like a community?	Lunar_Solar_	2
Is Green P lot safe overnight?	Icy_Flight9634	3
Can you buy Coureur des Bois maple cream in Pearson?	OperationShoddy4288	2
Has anyone been able to take pictures of the planet parade? Can you share them?	dexsst	0
Where to donate men’s suits to those in need?	ths3333	10
Finding a job in TO	jayae_mhmm	3
Neighbour Died - What is Canadian custom/okay to do?	Frosty_Egg_4872	52
Slo-Pitch Leagues in Toronto?	averagecyclone	2
Rub&Tugs lol	DivineShinji	26
Is Suraj brand owned by Loblaws??	FoodRivalry	1
Best time to get a Blood Test at St. Joe's?	AnxietyJolly971	1
How much are you paying for utilities for 1 bedroom apartment?	Adorable_Sorbet_7595	4
Restaurants for large groups	bunzaway	0
I have an internship in Toronto from June to September (3 months total), what are some good sites to look at?	verylargeturd	1

/TorontoJobs

Post Title	Author	Comments
Apply to be an "Innovator in Residence" for 10 weeks at Toronto Public Library [Paid position; April 12 deadline]	TPL_on_Reddit	1
Hey y’all! Looking for Leads!	shyzonal	5
Looking for an Opportunity as a Buyer	Many_Ad6308	2

/TorontoEvents

Post Title	Author	Comments
CANADIAN FAMOUS COMEDY SHOW	CowbellComedy	0
May 14 - Home opener. Toronto Maple Leafs vs London Majors. Free baseball back at Christie Pits	sprungy	0
Thursday Night Fever Comedy Show	bighairbignose	0
VIP Radwimps concert ticket for the 26th!	Electronic_Baker2776	0
Interested in learning Japanese? Also interested in yoga? Yoga in Japanese! Thursdays at 5pm	fomorian	1

/GTAMarketPlace

Post Title	Author	Comments
Nav tickets	Sexcasian_chick	0
I'm selling 2 Taylor swift Arlington tickets	Fantastic-Ad3035	0
[ISO] One Deerhoof ticket this Friday	organicgalangal	0

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I always dreamed of playing Heroquest as a kid, I used to look at the box every time I went to a toy shop.
Finally, 30 years later, I bought HQ a few days ago and have been playing against the app and I love it so much! It is really fun!

1. I just bought the Rogue expansion for the new character on Amazon. (I am a sucker for characters.)
2. I am about to buy Kellar's Keep and ROTWL today on sale locally.
3. I am up to Quest 4! On the base game. Have mates coming this weekend to play from scratch so will start a separate team for them.
4. My Dwarf died on the 1st quest, and my Barbarian only had 1 HP left. I had used all my spells except rock wall. and thought I was done by killing the boss. But then found, and entered, a room on the way back with 2 x Dread Lords that nearly killed my entire party …. it was so close!! I also missed the room with the Mummy AND treasure. What a noob!
5. I have acquired a few health potions now and the staff for the wizard. And a heap of gold I need to use for Equipment which I have not done yet.
6. I am going to print out faux character cards and the spells for the Warlock, Bard and Druid for this weekend for my mates and use proxy figures. ( Is there anything else I need to print for them... i.e. artefacts, weapons?) Note: I will 100% be buying these and the knight when available.
7. If Hasbro/Avalon DO read these forums: Please please please release the wizard expansion soon, AND the rumored wizard solo quest pack I read about. Having more spell schools and artefacts and stuff for the wizard would be an absolute DELIGHT and day one purchase for me!

One of our ducks seems to have a hard time breathing off and on, and we have no clue why. She’s making a constant quack-like noise every time she breathes out, but other than that she acts completely normal. She’s one year old and lives outdoors with 6 other ducks, but none of the other ones have had this problem. She has a pool and several water containers that she can dunk her head in and has had no change in eating or drinking habits. We feed our ducks the same food we feed our chickens: Dumor layer crumble. She used to act like this all throughout October-December, but she suddenly stopped and acted normal again until now. We were told to give her small doses of Amoxicillin in case it was a respiratory infection, but it didn’t seem to affect her any. I acknowledge that Reddit is not a substitute for veterinary advice. Does anyone have any advice on how to help our girl?

Cover Art!
Just because you’re transported to another world, doesn’t mean you’ll escape from your pain.
Abused by her parents, thirteen-year-old Frances only wants to be safe and for her life not to hurt so much. And when she and her class are transported to the magical world of Durannon to fight the monsters invading the human kingdoms and defeat the self-titled Demon King, Frances is presented with a golden opportunity. If she succeeds, Frances will have the home she never had. If she fails, Frances will be summoned back to the home she escaped.
Yet, despite her newfound magic and friends, Frances finds that trauma is not so easily lost. She is dogged by her abuse and its physical and invisible scars. Not only does she have to learn magic, she has to survive the nightmares of her past, and wrestle with her feelings of doubt and self-loathing.
If she can heal from her trauma, though, she might be able to defeat the Demon King and maybe, just maybe, she can find a home for herself.
Teaser: Martin and Ginger are thrust into an unenviable role.
[The Beginning] [<=Chapter 182 part 2] [Chapter Index and Blurb] [Chapter 184 on April 5 or now on patreon ]
The Fractured Song Index
Discord Channel Just let me know when you arrive in the server that you’re a Patreon so you can access your special channel.
Despite his curly crimson beard and heavyset build King Jerome was quite a mild-mannered man. His soft chin and cheekbones lent the man a face more inclined to smiling than scowling.
He was doing both, which wasn’t something Martin nor Ginger had seen that. His eyes were narrowed and brow furrowed. His lips however were tilted in a wry smile.
“We did give you the authority to make treaties with Queen Janize directly, but these are harsh terms for us, Sir Martin, Lady Ginger.”
Martin had set up their mirror so he and Ginger were standing in front of it. He dipped his head, placing one hand over his chest. “I am afraid I don’t see any other option, Your Majesty. You know of the strategic situation and the dragons that Thorgoth has under his command. We didn’t want the civil war in the first place, but now we must end it or risk annihilation.”
Queen Forowena, despite her limp, was pacing around her chair. One hand clenched her chin. “We don’t even know if Janize will agree to meet with us in the first place. Though, that’s beside the point. You want to know if we ought to approve of this at all.”
“Yes ma’am, I mean, Your Majesties.” Ginger swallowed. “More importantly, we want to know if there are any terms you are demanding Queen Janize to accept.”
The eyes of Forowena and Jerome met. No words passed between them. Jerome only raised a thick eyebrow and Forowena nodded, before turning to the pair. “No, but I do have one question. Did Elizabeth and Frances tell you about my infertility?”
Martin winced, whilst Ginger coughed officiously. “Elizabeth did, Your Majesty. She said that she will take full responsibility for that breach, and states that trying to keep the secret was impossible given the nature of her mission and our involvement in it.”
Nodding, Martin braced himself and clasped his hands behind his back. “Which brings the question, Your Majesty, with all due respect, did you intend for us to assassinate Queen Janize and her child?”
Forowena and Jerome again glanced at one another. This time, Jerome was giving his wife a knowing smile and the Earl was pinching her nose.
“To speak truthfully, Sir Martin, Lady Ginger, we were not sure ourselves whether we wanted to kill Janize if she was pregnant. We have continued to debate the question and its consequences,” said Forowena.
Jerome grimaced. “What we knew for sure was that Erisdale had to be put to siege. Now, I argued that my sister should be spared as with her child.”
“And I argued that Janize and her child were a threat to our rule and our chosen successors. I don’t want to kill them for both moral and practical reasons, but I was not sure how to neutralise them.” The Earl ran a hand through her hair and glanced at her husband. “Dear, I believe that we can accept most of the terms that Martin and Ginger have offered our behalf except for the second point.”
The king took her hand, running his scarred fingers over Forowena’s knuckles “You are correct my dear. We will allow Janize's child to enter the line of succession, but we have chosen our successors.”
Martin did his best to keep his expression neutral. “Your Majesty, I don’t understand. There’s no other direct descendant of House Grey left.”
Forowena sighed, her eyes meeting Martin and Ginger’s. “No. That’s why after very careful thinking, we planned to appoint our successors. We have even talked to all the other lords and ladies who support us and even our kingdom’s most powerful mages. That’s why there’s no way we can fully accept that second condition. It would be impractical if not impossible to get them to switch their support.”
Martin frowned. He suddenly recalled a call where his mothers and sister had given him a very strange look. They seemed oddly proud, even when they’d just been talking about family gossip.
Jerome nodded, “That and we would still be at war with Alavaria. A child successor would be inherently less appealing, and especially one underneath the influence of Queen Janize at that.”
Rubbing her temples, Forowena drawled, “It’s also why Janize and her child are such a threat. Unless Janize formally renounces her claim, she’d always be able to make a bid for the throne through her child. Not to mention she could just influence the throne through her child if he or she becomes ruler of Erisdale.”
Ginger coughed into her fist. Lifting her chin, she glared defiantly at the mirror. “With all due respect, Your Majesties, it would be better than continuing this pointless civil war. So long as we execute Darius and strip the rest of the Traditionalists of their power, who cares if Janize has some influence over her child? She won’t be able to harm Alavari in Erisdale, or affect lasting change. We’ll still be here. We’ll watch her and if she goes too far we will have Queen Titania’s Alavaria assisting us.”
Martin narrowed his eyes. Forowena and Jerome were exchanging looks again. Both were smiling at each other, but the ends of their lips were curled into just a bit of a smirk.
“Your Majesties, perhaps you can enlighten us on who you decided to be your successors? If they are not a very popular choice, maybe we can accept Janize’s terms.” The knight watched the king and queen carefully as his words hung in the air. He watched as King Jerome blinked, tried to avert his gaze, before forcing himself to look him in the eye. He noted how Queen Forowena forced her features into an expressionless mask.
Martin felt a cold shiver run through the very core of his being. Unconsciously he grabbed Ginger’s hand. His fiance blinked, tuning to look at him with wide eyes. Martin swallowed.
“That is, unless for some insane reason you’ve chosen me and Ginger?”
The queen let out a small breath, while trying to keep her neutral expression. Jerome’s shoulders sagged and he patted Forowena’s shoulder. “Told you he’d figure it out.”
Ginger’s head whipped back to face the royal couple. “Wait, what? Impossible. I’m a commoner. A former convict!”
Forowena’s eyes narrowed and her voice rose. “You’re also popular with the people, one of our national heroes. If your little rebuke to us was any indication, you also are loyal not to Erisdale’s monarchy, but our country and people. As for the matter of your commoner background, you’re marrying Martin and you know what that means.”
Ginger hands clasped behind her head, almost screamed, “Yes, I am marrying into a distant relation of the Royal Family and one of the founding noble houses of Erisdale. I was ready for that! You’re asking me—us to become King and Queen of Erisdale!”
“Yes.” Forowena growled, bitter tears wetting her eyes. “And we would never do so if there was no other option, Lady Ginger, but I can’t conceive a child!”
Jerome’s hand reached over to squeeze his queen’s shoulder. “And there’s no way I’m divorcing my queen. I am a man of my word and I vowed to be with Forowena until death do us part. That won’t change.”
Martin coughed to clear his throat and crossed his arms. “Then why didn’t you just have a surrogate give birth to your child, Your Majesty? I know it would be shameful but did you consider that we may not want to be king and queen?”
The king blinked, looking a little like an owl caught by torchlight. Forowena grimaced. “I did discuss this with Jerome, but I couldn’t quite convince him. You do have a good point, Sir Martin. However, even if Jerome did finally agree to father a child with a surrogate, we would still want you and Ginger to become the next King and Queen.”
“Right, potential child ruler. Not good for Erisdale,” Ginger muttered.
Forowena grimaced. “That and how many children could Jerome father? He cannot simply start fathering children haphazardly. More importantly, children are vulnerable. Even if by some miracle I could bear children, I would push for you both to be added in the line of succession.”
Jerome nodded solemnly. “Neither of us are willing to risk the fate of Erisdale on a child, even if it was our own. Considering that our original discussion was about the potential for Janize’s child to inherit, I think you see our point.”
Ginger, biting the tip of her thumb, yanked her hand out of her mouth. “We couldn’t have been that popular a choice, though…right?”
Forowena grinned. “You weren’t everybody’s first choice, but you were on the lips of many and once we started to seriously press those who were hesitant, they agreed you two were the best option. They even pledged to support you.”
Ginger glanced at her husband, but he was still crossing his arms. He’d gone so still for a moment she wondered if he was breathing. Then her mind caught up with her.
“Every lord and lady under your command agreed on us?” she stammered.
“Including your sister Mara, Martin,” said Jerome.
Clutching her hands, Ginger took a deep breath. “But why not Lady Edana—
“Of Erlenberg and not Erisdalian,” said Forowena.
“Frances!”
Jerome shook his head, wincing. Forowena sighed. “Otherworlder and clearly too close to Prince Timur to make her look out for Erisdale’s interest.”
Ginger pressed a hand over her mouth, her free hand clenching into a fist and opening. “Shit. This…this is really happening.”
Martin closed his eyes and nodded. “I believe so. My…personal feelings aside, I will do my duty. But what do we tell Janize?”
“That we’ve appointed our own successors, but her child will be in the line of succession, with our successors house to take precedent over her own. That might complicate the succession law for the future, but that can be resolved in time.” Forowena snapped her fingers. “Ah, and we will also make it a condition that the amount wealth and land confiscated will be determined on the basis of who the Traditonalists persecuted and to provide compensation for property damaged by their forces in the war.”
Martin and Ginger exchanged a glance. “Including Alavari, Your Majesty?” Martin asked, his voice quiet.
Jerome nodded. “That is the intention, Sir Martin. Now…I believe you and your fiance have much to discuss. If that is all, you may request to be dismissed.”
“We do wish, Your Majesties,” said Martin, bowing. Ginger mirrored her fiance and the images of the king and queen faded.
Promptly walking over to one of their chests, Ginger fished into it and drew out a bottle of wine.
“Care for glass?” she asked as she fetched a goblet.
Martin sat down heavily onto his bedroll. “Yes. We…well nothing is guaranteed. I mean we haven’t even gotten married yet.”
Ginger poured herself and her fiance two glasses and handed one to Martin. “But we pledged to after the war, and so have the other lords and ladies of Erisdale. Damnit, of course Frances, Elizabeth and the others would support us, but everybody else?”
“It’s unexpected, but now that I think about it, most people wouldn’t want to be named heirs to Erisdale. It’ll be a hard job rebuilding this kingdom after the war and essentially starting a new dynasty.”
Sitting down, Ginger sipped from her glass. “Dynasty. Fuck, I’ll have to do something about my family.”
“Give your parents a stipend and nothing else.” Martin pursed his lips. “Of course, if you don’t want to be queen, Ginger, you can just—”
His fiance leant against his shoulder. “Finish that sentence and I will smack you. We’re in this together, Martin.”
“I know and I love you. I just wanted to make sure.” Martin took a deep gulp of wine and swallowed hard. “Hopefully, this is the last of the big responsibilities we get.”
Ginger snorted. “I would not bet on it my dear knight.”
Her fiance chuckled, before his lips pinched together. “Promise that you’ll never start calling me Your Majesty, please.”
Wrapping her arm around the blonde man, Ginger smiled. “You’ll always be my shining knight, Martin. Nothing will change that.”
“Thank you, Ginger.”
Pulling her feet off the table where Janize’s mirror was and sliding them back into slippers, Leila crossed her arms. “How many years since you’ve seen your brother?”
“Not since the civil war started, so about two years.” Janize smiled gave Leila a peck on the cheek. “Honestly, I am both irritated and a little proud of Jerome. I didn’t expect him to hold out, much less turn the tables on me. I always teased him when we were younger. He was too honorable, to the point that he was dumb. I suppose he just needed to find the right group of people to help him along. How long before the meeting by the way?”
Leila glanced at the high noon sun outside. “Not long now. I’ve also redoubled the security spells and checked the room.”
Janize nodded serenely. “Good. Anything else you can think of with regards to the conditions we have and their terms?”
The Otherworlder tapped her fingers on her arm. “Well, it’s not exactly something they demanded, but it might come up. They probably will demand compensation for the Alavari that we’ve been experimenting on. It’s probably why they demanded land and wealth from our rebelling nobles.”
“Pardon?”
Leila frowned, meeting Janize’s narrowed grey eyes. “I mean, it’ll be hard to argue with them. They’ve captured several of the labs and have our research notes—”
Janize raised her hand, her usually relaxed brow now furrowed. “Leila, what are you talking about? What do you mean by labs and experiments?”
The Otherworlder’s eyes widened and she found herself sitting up ramrod straight. “Um, is this a particularly amusing prank of yours?”
“We are minutes away from a critical meeting. Why would I joke about this with you now?” Janize hissed.
Leila blinked and slowly shook her head. “You’re kidding me. There’s no way you could have not been aware of this. The castles and labs were garrisoned with army troops and Red Order mages.”
“Leila this is the first time I’ve heard about these labs and castles—” Janize grimaced as the mirror began to glow, the sign that a call was coming. “Oh dear. Oh dear. I…I suppose I will have to request to be informed.” Settling herself, the queen touched the mirror and watched as King Jerome, Queen Forowena, Elizabeth, Ayax, Martin and Ginger appeared.
“Hello Janize,” said Jerome, coolly.
Janize smiled without mirth. “Greetings, Jerome. I must begin this meeting with a bit of a somewhat incredulous confession. But please bring me up to date on what exactly has been going on in the labs you have found that were apparently operated by my forces?”
The queen’s smile thinned as sceptical scowls and narrowed eyes met her question. Ayax blinked, tail whipping side to side. “You’re joking right?”
Janize cut before the stunned looking Reformists could ask another question. “I wish I was, but I was just informed by Leila here that they did exist. Speaking of which, how did you come to know about them, Leila? This is not something discussed in my palace.”
A grim, almost haunted look came over Leila’s face. “I found out about it recently as well. A few months ago, Master Scarlet of the Red Order requested Otherworlder assistance in defending their outposts and castles. They had no strategic value so we pressed her and she told us they were magical research laboratories and they couldn’t move the research easily. After that meeting, Earl Darius tried to convince me, saying that it would please Janize if I sallied forth. I wouldn’t normally have believed him, but our situation was so desperate I thought it made sense. I started to prepare a counterattack, but then it didn’t matter anyway because you folks in the Lightning Battalion started to attack them and there is no way in hell we would survive a fight with a full army division.”
Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth tried her best to get her own temper and confusion under control. “You mean you weren’t told what was going on in there? When did you find out about the children?”
“Our standing orders were to take Alavari prisoners of war and hand them over to the Red Order. So I figured—” Leila dropped her arms to her side. “Hold on. Children? What the fuck are you talking about? I thought they were experimenting with prisoners of war and criminals?”
A cold snarl twisting her normally serene expression, Ayax rose to her feet. “You Traditionalists haven’t even been fighting the Alavari! How could you have gotten prisoners of war? And experimenting on them is still wrong!”
Feeling a headache coming on, Janize gingerly massaged the side of her temple. “Wait, children? I thought that was propaganda you were spreading. Where the hell did you even get children from?”
“From the Alavari that lived in Erisdale, and from those that you kidnapped from Alavaria!” Elizabeth hissed.
“I authorized funding and troops for magical research, not that.” Her stony-masked stoicism wavered as her lips twitched. It was as if the queen was trying to prevent a wince. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, but this is extraordinary.”
His eyes narrowed, King Jerome leaned onto his elbows. “Janize, I don’t understand. How could you have known nothing? You don’t trust Earl Darius or Master Scarlet that much.”
Janize pulled her hands from her temples. Drawing herself straight, she narrowed her eyes at the mirror. “No I don’t, but this is the first time I’ve heard about these experiments.”
Leila blinked. She knew her lover better now and as good at hiding her feelings the queen was, she did have some subtle tells. In this case, her shoulders were just a bit too stiff, stretching skin across her high collarbone. “Janize, I’m sorry, but that’s…not entirely true isn’t it?”
The queen tilted her head toward the Otherworlder. Her grey eyes glared daggers at Leila for a brief moment, before she turned back to the mirror. In an arch tone, she hissed between gritted teeth, “I know they were making mana batteries. However, it’s the first time I’ve heard about children. I have been suspicious about why Master Scarlet and Earl Darius require so many facilities for some time and have been trying to audit them. They’ve been stonewalling me with magical and military jargon or burying it in budget books under nondescript lines.”
Leila blinked. “Oh that’s why you were asking me what those words meant.”
“Yes, dear. Now, if the interrogation is over, I will agree to offer compensation to those children and their surviving family members. In return, I have my own conditions.”
Forowena sneered. “Name them. We have our own conditions as well.”
Janize grinned back. “First, my child is not to be next in line to the throne of Erisdale. In fact, I would like to renounce my right of succession and that of my child.”
It was rather hard for Elizabeth, Ayax and their allies to hide their surprise. Admirably, King Jerome only managed to show his shock through a series of rapid blinks. “That’s a major concession, sister.”
The queen turned her chin up. “In return, once you depose Earl Darius, you grant me his personal lands and make me an Earl.”
Crossing her arms, her thoughts racing a mile-a-minute, Elizabeth muttered. “You’d become Erisdale’s chief powerbroker.”
“I am surrendering after all and most of my allies will be gone. You got to give me something. Besides, if I remain Earl, I’d be able to keep what remains of the Traditonalists in check. Exile honestly doesn’t suit me, as comfortable as it would be. I want my child to have a future, not one where he or she has no allies and is bound to the crown.”
Forowena and Jerome glanced at one another, exchanging frowns.
Martin also looked to Ginger, who shook her head. He nodded. They’d had their own discussion about Janize’s possible offers and they had their own opinion.
“Go get em, Martin,” Ginger rasped.
The knight swallowed and coughed officiously. “If I may be so bold, Your Majesties, I propose we grant Queen Janize a county, not an earldom. In return, we shall protect her from reprisals and reparations that the Crown of Alavaria will undoubtedly request.”
Leila rolled her eyes. “What crimes? As you said, we didn’t fight Alavaria.”
A shit-eating grin blossomed over Ginger’s face. Idly twirling a lock of her hair, she crossed her legs. “Earl Darius’s forces kidnapped Queen Titania’s niece, Princess Morgan Greyhammer from the Alavari Academy of Magic and subjected her to a year of torture and experimentation.”
In the silence that followed, all that could be heard was Leila trying not to sputter. Janize was quiet and still. Yet the color was drained from her face.
“That dumb bastard,” Janize whispered.
Leila slammed her fist on the table, causing Janize to flinch. “Fuck.”
“So a county it is, then?” Ginger asked in an airy tone.
“Yes. Do you confirm your side of your terms?” Janize asked.
“We do. Our demand was that your child could not be our successor, which you have agreed to.”
“So the dynasty of the House of Grey ends I suppose.” Janize let out a shuddering breath and shook her head. “Then who is to be your successor?”
Martin and Ginger clasped each other’s hands in unison before facing the group.
“We are,” said Martin slowly.
“Until someone better is found,” said Ginger.
Janize arched an eyebrow. Leila sighed. The queen, however, nudged her Otherworlder quiet and gave a nod of assent. “A wise choice. Shall we continue?”
Author’s Note: So yeah, this is a bit of a twist, let’s see what happens.

I'm a 1st year, been with this contractor since I first hired I'm last August. Great guys, small shop, and im getting experience in commercial, industrial, and we also do shoot if residential service changes. Just painting a small picture for context
I never start work early, but some guys do. I never skip break or lunch, but some guys do. Alot of times, in order to make this company happy (we have an industrial contract with a small plant, work trailer on sight and handle outages every 2 weeks) my foreman (great guy) tells us we are working 10s on this big 2 day outage. We have 20 hours to do 10 hours of work with 5 guys.
The plant has pipe fitters in the mezzanine replacing everything we are about to wire up the entire first day, and from 7 to 1 on the 2nd day. We take a lunch and a break and start working at 1 so we can knock it out before time to leave at 530. 5 comes and we are 1/4 if the way through, as expected. Foreman asks if I want to work over, I decline and say I've got my kids this week, and 2 hours before bedtime with them is more important, he understands/no problem. But he's going to have to stay until it's done. So the other guys stay with him.
Am I an asshole? Thanks for reading if you did. Never been in a union before, just always worked restaurants or sawmills. The 'help out and start until the job is done' was the motto. But I gotta go man. My family will never be chosen last.

A room filled with some heroes - Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler, and Gregg Rosenthal ask draft guru Daniel Jeremiah a series of questions to prepare themselves for the 2023 NFL Draft:
(1) How do you rank this draft class compared to others (4:36 )? (2) Does C.J. Stroud have any major concerns (5:33 )? (3) What should the Colts do at QB (8:32 )? (4) What is the ceiling for Anthony Richardson (9:52 )? (5) Is Richardson the biggest risk in the draft (10:39 )? (6) Was trading up worth it for the Panthers (14:51 )? (7) Why is Will Levis dropping (15:42 )? (8) Is Hendon Hooker a first-rounder (17:22 )? (9) Would you rather the Padres win the World Series or get 29 of 32 picks correct in your mock draft (20:48 )? (10) How much do you make (21:41 )? (11) What is Bijan Robinson’s value (23:23 )? (12) Could the Eagles take Bijan Robinson (25:35 )? (13) Why would young athletes want to play running back (26:54 )? (14) How do you stack the top tight ends against the top wide receivers in this class (28:06 )? (15) Why do you think highly drafted TEs have not met expectations recently (29:25 )? (16) Can Calijah Kancey be Aaron Donald-ish (30:54 )? (17) With tight end depth in this class, will the tight ends be pushed down the board (33:00 )? (18) Why is Jaxon Smith-Njigba so undervalued (34:08 )? (19) Is there a Brock Purdy-style ‘gem’ in this year’s draft (35:53 )? (20) Why is there such a gap between the top two cornerbacks (39:10 )? (21) Do you ever question the purpose of all this (40:17 )?

Horizon Knives LYRA Morphing Nano EDC Knife

• Catch & Release • This is the way
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5.11 Tactical Charlie Folder Lockback Knife

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2x 7.5" ACOG Scopecoats • 1x RMR Scopecoat

            ^{Rifle Scope and EOTech Scopecoats sold in previous posts and are not available.}

• 2x 7.5" ACOG Coats
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Daniel Defense MFR Rail MLOK QD Sling Mount

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Interest expressed by Cprince90 but he ghost me 👻
 

Amazon 2-Point Sling + 2x Pic Mounts

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😎 5% off for each additional item bundled! 🥕

 
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I am a Nursing Assistant Registered (NAR) and still in training while working in the process of getting certified after passing the skills test for the second time. While orienting with my preceptors throughout the week and keep on learning new things to improve my performance when doing daily tasks while keeping up with the patient's schedule, I felt like I am not doing well at my job. I am in the rehab unit, so I basically gather all the patient's vitals, help them getting dressed to go do therapy sessions (PT, OT, or SP), passing their breakfast trays, making their beds, charting and documenting, toileting, ADLs, etc.
I know that I am still learning and getting hang of the routines and patient's schedule and making mistakes is normal, but it made me lose so much confidence, especially with my today's shift. I got yelled at by a therapist today because I handed a patient the urinal just in case if the patient needs to go. I asked the patient if they need to use the bathroom, but the patient said "not right now, but I'll put it on the (side) table so that when I need to go, I'll use it." So I said "fine, let me know if you need help with anything" and left the room. Afterwards, the nurse told me that the therapist want to see me, so I came in to the room and angrily ask me why did I give him the urinal and I said because he asked for it. Then explain to me that the patient CANNOT use the urinal knowing about the patient's capability (has a stroke and hemiplegic) and cannot do it on themself and the urinal is for night usage only. The therapist then proceeds to say that I just left the patient half bottom naked, trying to pee into the urinal by themself but failed, and peed all over the floor and on the wheelchair, soaking the seat cushion due to my negligence and not following the safety sign (the patient was supposed to be two person stand pivot on the toilet) as this could be a very dangerous situation for the patient (fall risks and infection). The therapist wanted me to come in and look at the current scenario and was stressed because I caused the accident and I wasted their time for therapy as they need to clean the patient up, change the soaked cushion, and change into the new attire.
I understand that the therapist did that as a "teaching moment" and to prevent from this happening again. After the therapist told me that I can leave now, I felt like the world is crashing down on me and on the verge of crying in front of the computer screen while continuing to charting. I am trying not to cry and continue to help other patients if they need to lay down or going to the bathroom. When helping them, I felt like a failure and continue to make mistakes afterwards and the nurses saw me putting on the gait belt on a patient and wanted to talk to me. The nurse said she apologize for the therapist's act towards me and the team members should not lash out on other team members when making a mistake and I started to break down in front of her and explaining the situation to her. I am grateful that she gave me comforting advice and helpful tips to prevent from making the mistakes again. As much as I am trying to redeem myself from the situation, but what happening today with a patient reflects on my performance on my job as a whole and I assumed that I did not do well overall and I blame on myself for that and disappointed myself many times. I felt useless and not brave enough to do things on my own as I always subjected to listen to patients and meeting their needs only instead of following the nurses and therapist's instructions. I am writing this while crying again at home. I know making mistakes is being human, but I have always thought that the team members would judge me negatively and causing disappointment towards them. That is just making me feel small and isolated from the team or is it just me overthinking everything. I just don't know...
That is all I want to share and writing this out makes me feel a lot better as I get to share this so everyone can hear my story. Thank you for reading this and I am sorry if the post is too lengthy.

My son is 7 weeks and doesn’t seem to want to be shushed or soothed to sleep. Don’t get me wrong during the day he loves to be held and contact nap and nurse to sleep. But when it comes to bedtime as long as his needs are met (fed, dry,burped) he will only sleep if we leave him alone in his bassinet and leave the room.
I watch him on the baby monitor, and when I leave the room, he’s never crying. Sometimes he’s a little fussy, whimpering a little but not crying he’s just looking around the room. After like five maybe 10 minutes of doing that. He falls asleep and stays asleep for his first big overnight stretch of sleep. I’m trying really hard to practice attachment parenting and I absolutely do not want to sleep train at any age but I try and soothe him for hours to go to sleep at night and he will never go down. He will only go down if I leave him alone for a few minutes is this normal? Should I be soothing him to sleep?

In December 1914, a peculiar case occurred in London. The bride, Margaret Elizabeth Lloyd, drowned in the bathtub while she and her husband Lloyd were on their honeymoon in London. At first she felt ill, Lloyd accompanied her to the doctor, and later returned to the residence to take a bath, but unexpectedly died in the bathtub, the doctor said she suffered from a cold, coupled with a hot bath, may have caused fainting, resulting in drowning. Arthur Fowler-Neal, the district inspector, started to investigate the case. The landlord told him that Lloyd had taken a close look at the bathing room before renting the house. Neal measured the results, the iron tub bottom length of 50 inches, the upper distance of 60 inches.
He simply could not imagine how an adult could drown in such a small bathtub! He carefully questioned the doctor again. The answer was that there was no sign of any violence. The only thing wrong with the doctor was that Lloyd, the husband of the deceased, did not show any sign of grief and simply bought the cheapest coffin for the deceased.
Neil further learned that the bride had left a will shortly before her death: the inheritance went to Lloyd.
And the deceased had insurance company's compensation fees, also to Lloyd. So he decided that Lloyd had a major suspicion, and ordered the pursuit of Lloyd.
In the process of hunting Lloyd, Neil obtained information: in 1912 and 1913, there were two cases of brides drowning in the bathtub. The deceased were both newlywed brides, died in the newlywed honeymoon travel. They both went to the doctor with some illnesses, one heart attack and the other epilepsy, and drowned in the bathtub after the visit, which was diagnosed by the doctor as a sudden attack of illness that led to drowning. Not only that, the dead brides all have a will, the property to the husband's inheritance. Neil immediately analyzed the three beneficiary husbands, although the names are not the same, is likely to be a person.
Lloyd was soon arrested. Neil pointed out bluntly that the husbands of the three brides who had drowned in the bathtub in three years were Lloyd alone. Lloyd at first was cynical. But when Neil wanted to charge him with registering under an alias, he had to admit the truth: he was indeed the successive husbands of three brides.Neil learned from a review of the files: Lloyd's real name was George Joseph Smith. Born in 1872, he was the son of an insurance agent and served time in several prisons for fraud and theft. But no one ever saw him murder anyone. To bring charges, he had to explain how he drowned his victims without leaving any traces of violence and justification. That's what Neil couldn't figure out. He sought the advice of Interior Department pathologist Spenard Spilbury, inviting him to work on the forensic side.
All three bathtubs were moved to the police station, and Spielberg wandered back and forth around them, thinking that the bride with epilepsy was the most typical of the three victims. She was 5'7" tall, how did she drown in a 5' tub? If it was an epileptic seizure, the symptoms of which were first tonic contractions, then her upper body was bound to be above the bathtub, and then strong spasms, and it was never possible to sink. The difference between the victim's size and the proportion between the size of the tub was too great. But one thing caught his attention, the three victims are head underwater, legs outstretched, but two feet sticking out above the water. Then there is an explanation: the murderer must have grabbed the unsuspecting bride's feet and suddenly pulled it toward his side at the lower end of the bathtub so that the victim's upper body would slip underwater and his nose and throat were subjected to sudden water ingress, causing fainting and rapid loss of consciousness. The famous pathologist confirmed that he had found the answer, although he did not find such an example in the medical literature.
Inspired by Spielberg, Inspector Neal hired a female swimmer of the same size and weight as the victim to do the experiment. It was proven that when she was bathing in the bathtub, it was impossible to press her head into the water without some violent struggle. Even if the head was suddenly pressed into the water, her hands will be in time to grab the sides of the tub or grab her attacker. However, when Neil grabbed the swimmer's two feet and suddenly lifted upward, her body and head slipped into the water before her hands had time to grab the sides of the bathtub. A few minutes later, Neil saw the subject did not move. Horrified, he immediately grabbed the female athlete's shoulders and dragged her out of the tub. Her head fell helplessly to the side, and it took Neil and the doctor half an hour to revive her. When she awoke, she remembered only that she had slipped under the tub and the water had rushed into her nose, and she had lost consciousness.
On June 22, 1915, George Joseph Smith (or Lloyd) was tried at the Old Bailey. The jurors shuddered as Neal recounted the methods and results he had used to prove Spielberg's theory. There was no way to deny the killer. Smith was sentenced to death.
The case made Detective Inspector Neal world famous, and he made Spielberg an emerging master of forensic medicine, promoting forensic science as a worldwide scientific discipline.

My son is 7 weeks and doesn’t seem to want to be shushed or soothed to sleep. Don’t get me wrong during the day he loves to be held and contact nap and nurse to sleep. But when it comes to bedtime as long as his needs are met (fed, dry,burped) he will only sleep if we leave him alone in his bassinet and leave the room.
I watch him on the baby monitor, and when I leave the room, he’s never crying. Sometimes he’s a little fussy, whimpering a little but not crying he’s just looking around the room. After like five maybe 10 minutes of doing that. He falls asleep and stays asleep for his first big overnight stretch of sleep. I’m trying really hard to practice attachment parenting and I absolutely do not want to sleep train at any age but I try and soothe him for hours to go to sleep at night and he will never go down. He will only go down if I leave him alone for a few minutes is this normal? Should I be soothing him to sleep?