I am based in the United States. I always loved research in my field. I was a top undergraduate researcher and co-authored a few publications. My institution loved me. I went to an elite university for my master's program and was in debt from it. I did research and loved the program, too. I finished my master's degree at the age of 21. Growing up as a refugee who experienced poverty, I was so scared of my DEBT. I took a job that paid me very well. I actually got into 3 PhD programs but backed out last minute.
It's been 3 years now, and I have paid most of my debt. I realized that I did not need to go to an elite university for my master's degree because the quality of education is similar to the non-elite. I was able to buy a new car, get plastic surgeries to fix my obnoxious face, and spoil my family. I also got married VERY young and got divorced. I learned my lessons and lost about 20k. Now, I have about 80k of savings and 30k student loans left. I am so much happier now.
I am not happy with my high-paying job. I hate every aspect of it. I missed research. That was something I was passionate in. I was very good. I make about 150k a year now. I know that a PhD in my degree will give me a 80k starting salary, but I honestly do NOT mind. I miss being able to solves problems that I am passionate about. Research was my life. I lived for it.
Is this a reason to go back to pursue a PhD? Am I too old? I am 25 now. If I apply for this upcoming application, I won't start until I am 26. I feel so behind. I feel like a loser.

First of all I would like to express I enjoyed Diablo 3 but Diablo 3 didn’t mess with satanic creatures mostly it was more or less skeletons and just monsters and stuff, and no satanic symbols. Facts: Diablo 4 works with real life witchcraft satanic symbols, they have that in there game, they have satanic like creatures to the closest description of what satin’s creatures would really be like, there is a lot of evil with Diablo 4.

2 you could realistically be inviting evil into your house, Jesus talks about how a person should not practice in witchcraft or involve themselves and Diablo 4 would make you involving yourself in stuff around witchcraft and satanic related stuff.

Lastly, I played Diablo 4 during the open beta and after about 20 minutes I decided it was against everything jesus stood for so I cannot in good conscious ever buy the game to play, I liked Diablo 3 and I am sure I would enjoy Diablo 4 but it is evil and satanic with the evil, satanic/witchcraft symbols, I cannot as a Christian in good consciousness ever buy or play this game. I refuse to invite a demon into my life and home, you guys are doing just that by playing this game.

Basically the title.
It was a last minute invite as a plus 1 and I really want to go. It's next weekend and I don't have the time or money to buy a sari. I don't even think there's many stores in my city that sell them, and my work hours prevent me from going to stores since everything closes at 5-6, except the mall.
So what could I wear instead?? I have this floral dress that covers my shoulders and basically my whole body, and I see a lot of Sari's that are floral? I don't know. Or a crop top and a skirt? But what type? Colour? Patterns? How much stomach can I show?
My date said Friday is the ceremony part, where I would wear the sari (if I have one) but to be sure to cover my shoulders or something, and that Saturday is the reception and I can dress as sexy as I want (his words lol) is this true? I can wear just a "regular" dress on the Saturday reception? Sorry if this comes off super ignorant.
Any advice would be so great!!!

Does this happen to anyone else? When we hand wash our pots and pans with dawn, they still have a really really strong soapy odor. So strong that it often makes our food have a soapy aftertaste. I rinse them under scalding hot water for at least a couple minutes after washing to MAKE SURE they’re rinsed and it still happens. It’s gross. It tastes gross and it’s also unsanitary because I find myself only rinsing my pots and pans with hot water rather than actually washing them. It’s only on metal, but various types. Stainless steel cookie sheet, non stick fry pan, stainless steel skillet, etc. different manufacturers yet it happens with all of them. I cannot be the only person this happens to but everyone I tell about this says I’m crazy. My husband agrees with me and notices this too. Does anyone have this?? I know the simple solution is to use different soap and I absolutely intend to buy new dish soap soon. (Basically when I remember next time I’m at the store) but this has me curious.

I ordered a Whirlpool W10224428 Detergent Dispenser to fix my KitchenAid dishwasher. The actuator on the old dispenser was melted and not working. Unfortunately the new part didn't work. The motherboard is constantly sending power to the solenoid due to a bad relay. I'm going to replace the dishwasher. I can't return the part since it was installed and used for a few minutes but it's basically new.
DM me if you'd like to buy it
Edit: Image https://imgur.com/a/r7MJr15

Every Tuesday I play magic with 4 of my friends. We each picked up a commander deck with some saved money, but to me being in a rough financial spot my best friend gave me a simic commander deck about 2 months ago. I love the deck but compared to the others they bought its ramp for land and counters is insane. Not to mention its full of token generators.
So the main problem is ever game we play on Tuesday ends up a 1v4 for the first 40 to 50 minutes then they duke it out. Does anyone have any ideas on how to defend against the odds or survive. I thought about taking good cards out of my deck or buying new ones to better my odds. Unfortunately though I'm not Mr. Moneybags and am living paycheck to paycheck.

people have no clue what they’re doing. people don’t buy anti heal against teams with estes, people push lord lane instead of syncing minions, people kill lord before minute 12, people don’t hit base and end the game OR go for lord when we CAN end the game. they ban niche picks instead of picks that SHOULD be banned
this is basic stuff people should know at this supposed “high rank” but they don’t. every game in solo q is such a coin toss at this rate

This story is about the time my JNMIL lost my three year old son, Michael.
A Little Background - Michael (3) went to preschool with his best friend, Jacob (3) in the local high school. My MIL also worked at the same school.
The Story -I t was the day before Thanksgiving, my husband took the day off, and we decided to go Christmas shopping while Michael was at preschool. We had rushed through the store at record speed to find exactly what we needed, flew through the checkout and were on our way to pick up Michael. Unfortunately, traffic was not on our side that morning, and we realized that we were not going to make it for Michael's 11:40 pick-up. My husband called the school, and was transferred to his mom (she was a secretary for one of the administrators). Conversation goes like this;
Husband - "Hi Mom, Katie and I are stuck in traffic and won't make to the school in time for Micheal's dismissal. Do you think you could walk over and pick him up? If you can't, we understand, we could just call the classroom and have them hold him..."
MIL - "Of course I can pick him up!"
Husband - "Thanks Mom! If you want we can all go for lunch after"
MIL - "That would be great, see you soon"
Short, sweet, no one seemed confused about what was needed or expected, and if that was the case, I wouldn't be writing this story...
We arrive at the school a few minutes before noon. We go through security and arrive at his mom's office. His mom is on the phone, and gestures for us to come in, and we realize that Michael is not in her office! She hangs up the phone.
MIL - "Well, where should we go for lunch?"
Husband - "Mom, where is Michael!?!?"
MIL - ??? "I wouldn't know!"
My husband and I run out of her office and straight to the preschool / Childhood development classroom (literally two doors away). After interrupting the current class, we explain what has happened, and hope that Michael is just waiting for us in his classroom. Unfortunately, he was not. Security was called and they started pulling all the student teachers back to the classroom, to figure out where Micheal was at. While I waited for the students, my husband started driving around the neighborhood to see if Michael decided he would walk home. My MIL, did nothing to help, she stayed in her office.
After the student teachers started coming down to the classroom, one tells me that Michael and Jacob were telling everyone that they were going to have a 'sleepover' at Jacob's house, and that when I wasn't in the dropoff/pickup line they thought that maybe the boys were having a sleepover.
I immediately call Risa, Jacob's mom. No answer, but I leave a message. Call my husband and tell him Michael is with Risa and Jacob. He comes back to the school. MIL is now asking, why we would allow Michael to sleepover at a friends house the night before Thanksgiving. We ignore her. I continue to call Risa, but no one is answering. Michael has been missing for over an hour at this point.
Risa calls back and explains that she was called into work and that her sister picked up Jacob. Risa's says her sister took the boys to McDonald's and they were at Risa's house now.
As we were leaving, MIL says, "Hey, I thought we were going out for lunch!"
We've stopped asking MIL to do anything with our children and Michael has gone extremely low contact with her.
Edit - MIL played victim after we blew up at her. Claiming she didn't realize that class was dismissed (I mean bells ring at the end of class, pretty hard to miss). Then when we weren't buying that BS, doubled down with, "I thought you were going to pick him up and take me to lunch!" Then again played victim, "I told all my friends that I was going out to lunch with my son, and now I look bad." The next day, Thanksgiving, we were very cold towards her, and at dinner she just blurts out, "It's all your fault, if you hadn't been late then none of this would have happened!" Then gets up and fake cries. We left right after dinner.

TL;DR: Cogeco won't offer promotional pricing to customers who are in new areas built using government funds
My house is about 1 km away from a traditional Cogeco cable area (Kingsville, Ontario). They don't offer services over their traditional HFC(coax) network at my address, nor to anyone west of my house on our street.
Cogeco was recently awarded a SWIFT contract to build fibre to the home for our area, and they've just completed installation. The only other options we have for broadband service are wireless (either via 5G/LTE from Rogers and Xplore, or cowboy WiFi internet from a local WISP named WaveDirect). Needless to say, we were very happy to learn that fibre was finally coming, subsidized by our tax dollars (thanks, government!).
I got my notification today that I could sign up for service. Entered my address, selected the 1 Gbps plan, and was told we would "Enjoy savings of $33.50 /month for 120 months". Right there on the website. Solid savings.
Submitted my order and received confirmation via e-mail almost immediately, including the price.
About 10 minutes later, I received a phone call.
"Because your area is part of a government-funded buildout, you're not eligible for promotional pricing".
Say what now? It says I am right on your website?! You even sent me a confirmation of the pricing to my e-mail address with my home address?!
Has anyone else experienced this bulls&*t bait and switch? People 1 km away from me can get the promo pricing, yet my address, which who's physical build was *subsidized* by my own money, can't.
This tells me Cogeco knows competition in my area is lacking and doesn't care to compete (and they are greedy). There is no other valid reason I can think of. The icing on the cake is that the build was funded by taxpayer money.
Not a great introduction to what may be my next ISP.
Has anyone else experienced this gem from Cogeco?

Have you ever wanted to get off opiates so badly you'd be willing to do anything?
Summer, 2017. Orange County, California
I park my car in another part of the same neighborhood. I don't bother to check my surroundings. I pick a water bottle up off the floor, get my works ready, and prep an extremely strong shot of furanylfentanyl for myself. My heart is racing, I'm shaking, I'm sweating, I feel sick to my stomach. How is it possible that I feel this sick and terrible so soon after my last shot?
I'm in trouble.
I use the seatbelt to crudely constrict blood flow to my arm. I inject the furanylfentanyl and cap the needle. I open my car door and lean my head towards the opening, in case I have to vomit.
The rush hits too quickly. My heart slows. My muscles relax. My stomach does a backflip. I try to cling to what pleasurable sensations I can, but nausea overwhelms me and an encapsulating weakness dulls the entire experience. I start to salivate, a sure sign that I am about to throw up. I start to feel very dizzy.
"NO!" I scream. "Don't overdose! don't overdose!" I yell, slapping myself in the face. The sudden movement of slapping myself causes my nausea to worsen. I let my head hang over the opening in my car door to the asphalt below.
"Stay awake. Stay awake. Stay awake," I yell, out loud, to keep me engaged. I hear a dog bark and do my best to look up from the asphalt. There is a woman walking her dog away from me. Did she see me? Does it matter?
If she calls the cops, does it matter? I try to keep watching her as she continues to walk away. Does anything matter? Does anyone even see me? Am I just a ghost, stuck on this hellish plane with my only relief being small chunks of fake feelings that I buy for hundreds of dollars and shoot into my veins, until my body finally breaks down and dies on me?
Something snaps within me.
This has to end – NOW.
Later that night.
"Ok, Bryson sent you here, and he always sends good people, so we can just do all the intake stuff tomorrow. Your bed is upstairs. Hey, Logan!" the chunky, tan, toothless house manager turns and yells towards the living room of my new flophouse, at the two 20-somethings playing Call of Duty on a gigantic HDTV.
"What," one of them snaps, quietly and unenthusiastically, not looking away from the TV. All I can see is the Boston Celtics flat-brim hat that he has on backwards.
"Can you show the new guy here to his bed? It's in your room," the house manager says.
"What? Why is he in my room?" Logan asks, irritation plain in his voice.
"Because I said so," the house manager says, walking towards them now, as if he is going to get in front of the TV and block their view of it.
The kid with the Celtics hat gets up suddenly and starts to walk towards me. He strides past me, not even looking at me.
"Thanks," I say to the house manager, before turning away from him to follow the lazily bobbing Celtics hat upstairs.
"See you tomorrow morning! Don't forget to come see me in the morning!" the flophouse manager calls after us. Despite not having me fill out any paperwork or giving me a drug test, I will be able to start living here right away because I have private health insurance. I might as well have swiped my health insurance card at the door of this flophouse hotel.
Logan walks like he can do no wrong and the world owes him something, which makes me hate him instantly. He leads me to the first bedroom at the top of the stairs, which is indistinguishable from any other middle-class suburban single-family home. It is smaller than my childhood bedroom, with two twin beds maybe 5 feet apart, two small nightstands that practically touch each other, and one dresser.
"This is my bed. Don't touch any of my stuff. That dresser is mine," he says, pointing to the indiscriminate wooden dresser against the wall opposite our beds. I feel a flash of anger.
"Nah. There’s only one dresser. We'll split it up tomorrow," I say. He turns towards me and looks me in the eyes. He’s taller than me, with long dark hair and a lean frame. I stare at him, my jaw clenched in rage, daring him to touch me, so I can take my anger out on something besides myself. I don't care if he knows how to fight and whips my ass right now, I'm at the absolute end of my rope with living on this Earth. He scoffs and walks out of the room. I sit on the twin bed that is now ‘mine’. It feels brand new. New beds means that a new flophouse has arrived in Orange County.
I wish I didn't have to precipitate my withdrawal, but this has to end sometime, and there is no time but now. I have four somas, six xanax bars, and half a naltrexone pill - 25mg - in my pocket. I pull the loose pills out of my pocket and look at them.
Six xanax bars is definitely not enough to make me black out. Six xanax bars isn't even enough to fully get rid of the restlessness, let alone cause me to sleep through the night, but at least I have 4 somas. The muscle-relaxing somas will have to do some heavy lifting, but I know they can do it.
Somas absolutely wreck me. I haven’t taken one in a long time, but I know I respond strongly to them. Taking six xanax and four somas would ordinarily be enough to cause me to black out for a full day, but I don’t know if they will even work through 25 milligrams of naltrexone.
Just thinking the word ‘naltrexone’ causes my stomach to drop and my heart to start racing. I am absolutely petrified at the thought of taking this naltrexone.
Well, it’s time to nut the fuck up and do it, Lonnie. You decided to go on your little furanylfentanyl binge, now you have to take this naltrexone. You made your shitty flophouse bed, now you have to lay in it. You’re going to be sick either way by the time the morning comes.
I try to swallow, but my mouth is dry with anxiety. How much do somas contribute to respiratory depression? I can’t remember off the top of my head. I don’t remember what the median lethal dose is, what the mechanism of action is, or even what receptors it interacts with, aside from the same GABA receptors that xanax acts upon. I wonder if there is an increased risk of respiratory depression from combining soma with xanax.
I pull out of my phone, so I can google just how sedating the soma is when combined with xanax, to make sure I am not going to stop breathing during the procedure.
You’re wasting your time, Lonnie. You have to be conscious in the morning and able to talk to the house manager. You’ve overdosed 3 times in the past few weeks. If you can inject enough fentanyl to kill 5 people, you can take 4 somas with 6 xanax. It isn’t going to kill you – and if it does, who cares? Either way, it’ll finally be over.
This has to end. I’d rather die than keep doing this, anyway.
I walk into the bathroom, the pills clenched in my fist like a loaded revolver, and close the door. I turn on the sink and put all 4 somas in my mouth. I stick my head in the sink and part my lips slightly, drinking from the stream as if I had a straw in my mouth. I swallow the pills and then put all 6 xanax in my mouth. I turn the tap off and start to chew.
My mouth fills with the incredibly bitter taste of the xanax. I used to watch people do this and nearly throw up at the mere sight alone. Now, my mouth salivates with excitement as the bitterness overwhelms me.
I hate how much my brain loves the bitter taste of chemicals. I wish my brain hated the bitterness, like normal people. I hate being a drug addict.
I swallow a few times to clear my mouth out and then drink more from the tap. I look at the orange half-pill of naltrexone in my hand. I sigh. This is going to suck.
Hurry up and swallow it, bitch boy. You don’t want to black out and start throwing fruit around before the withdrawal kicks in, like you did at Amelia’s house.
I can’t look away from the orange half-pill.
Just take it and get it over with. Put the naltrexone in your mouth and swallow it.
I know this is going to make me sick within 3 minutes of taking it. I might as well swallow dynamite – in fact, I would prefer to swallow dynamite. The taste of the xanax lingers in my mouth. I have to take the naltrexone. There is no avoiding it.
I put the pill in my mouth and drink from the tap again. I swallow the naltrexone, turn off the sink, and go back to my new flophouse bedroom, my heart pounding with overwhelming anxiety, feeling like I just made the worst decision I have ever made in my life, which is saying something. I turn off the lights, close the door, and get into the bed. I lay down on my side and close my eyes firmly. I am going to sleep, right now.
5 minutes into self-induced ultra-rapid detox.
My stomach is cramping. It hurts so bad that I can’t move my hands away from it. It feels like I swallowed poison. There is an odd sensation of electricity attached to the pain that is coming from the back of my neck. I am curled in the fetal position because my stomach hurts so bad, but everything else hurts too. How did it hit this hard and this fast? It wasn’t supposed to hit this hard or this quickly.
I throw the blanket off of me. It’s so hot, I can’t bear to have that blanket anywhere near me. The heat is so intense, I can feel it radiating off my skin. I am covered in sweat.
Why does my stomach hurt so bad? It has never hurt this bad before. I can barely breathe through the pain.
9 minutes into the procedure.
It’s so cold, my sweat feels like prickly ice water. I reach for the blanket and wrap it around me as tightly as I can. I move my feet, so the blanket is wrapped completely around them. I can feel my toes writhing back and forth, my legs moving uncontrollably. I am shaking uncontrollably, so I shake intentionally. Where is the xanax? Please, kick in. Please. Please.
God, if you’re listening, stop playing with me and kill me or let that xanax through my first-pass metabolism and into my bloodstream. I chewed it. It should be kicking in and making these symptoms milder.
T+ 14 minutes.
I feel an electric zap in my stomach that becomes a cramp. I hold my abdominals and try to massage them to stop the cramp, which is so painful I can’t breathe. I have the sudden need to use the bathroom. I jump out of bed and powerwalk to the bathroom. Luckily everyone is still downstairs playing video games or not home yet. At least this flophouse doesn’t have a curfew.
I sit down on the toilet and try to sit still. I cannot stop my body from moving for even one second. It feels like my insides are on fire. This is discomfort beyond anything I have ever experienced or imagined.
T+ 20 minutes.
It is so hot. I can’t believe how overheated I feel. I must be on the precipice of brain damage. I lay on the bed, curled in the fetal position, drenched in sweat, forcing myself to shake as vigorously as I can so that I can pretend that I am complicit in this. The xanax has to be kicking in any second now. I should be nearly unconscious right now.
A fresh electric cramp hits my stomach, driving the air from my lungs. I get up from the bed, power walking back to the bathroom, doubled over with pain. I sit down on the toilet and feel the urge to scream. I leave my body bent forward because I can’t sit up straight with this cramp. I see the trash can right across from me. My stomach is so fucked up, maybe I just need to throw up.
T+ 1 hour.
I inhale. I exhale. I inhale. I exhale.
I am not asleep, but I am not awake. I can tell that horrible things are happening in my body and brain, but I am too sedated now to be able to maintain full awareness. I am scared that I will be aware of the moment when I stop breathing – that I will suffocate while I am fully conscious, since that is exactly what I deserve.
I am no longer panicking, but my stomach is beyond fucked. I have been getting up every 5 minutes to go to the bathroom, and now my roommate is in here. It is 12 AM. I have 6 hours left to go.
The soma has all but gotten rid of the cramps. I can now lay still. The temperature swings aren’t nearly as bad – it almost seems as if they’re happening to a body that I can feel but is not mine.
You’re going to do it, Lonnie. You’re outsmarting addiction. Before you know it, you’re going to be getting the naltrexone implant, and then you’ll be back to training hard for college basketball.
I get up from the bed. I walk back to the bathroom, now having to walk carefully, my arms outstretched. The combination of the xanax and the somas has me extremely uncoordinated. I walk towards the bathroom, closing one eye to combat the double vision I have now. I slowly reach for the door and open it. I close it behind me, carefully and slowly. I walk to the toilet and sit on it as quickly as I can, due to the growing urgency of the signals from my stomach. I put my head in my hands and my elbows on my knees. One of my elbows slip immediately, and I almost fall off the toilet.
I fix my seat and put my head back in my hands, more carefully this time. Though I feel physical sensations of pain and discomfort, they are being sent through a deeply dizzying diversion. The discomfort is distant. I can’t be bothered to worry about it right now.
Stay awake, Lonnie. You can’t pass out on the toilet. You’ll get caught and kicked out or taken to a hospital. I cradle my head. I’ll get up in a second.
I hear a loud crashing sound and open my eyes. I’m sandwiched between the toilet and the wall. I reach up for the toilet and successfully pull the seat down after several failed attempts, so I can use it to help me up. Slowly and carefully, I get up from the floor. I pull the seat up and sit back down on the toilet.
I stand up from the toilet and start to walk out of the bathroom. Before I even make it to the door, I feel the need to sit back on the toilet.
This is not good. The soma probably relaxed everything too much. I might have to sit on this toilet for the rest of the night, shitting my brains out. I cradle my head in my hands, so I can relax on the toilet.
Don’t relax too much, Lonnie. You might fall asleep on the toilet. Just keep breathing. You’re probably not breathing very much. You should NOT be conscious right now. Just because the naltrexone is painful enough to force you to maintain consciousness doesn’t mean that your body isn’t barely clinging to life.
I inhale. I exhale.
I feel myself slipping off the toilet. Fuck, I need to get up. I need to do something to stay awake. I can take a shower; I just have to get up from the toilet. Give it another second, though.
I can just wait here for one more second.
​
I woke up 3 days later in the ICU as they were pulling the breathing tubes out of me

So I (19F) have been with my boyfriend (20F) for almost two years now. He got a full time job about 6 months ago to help pay for his college (he took 4 community college classes, but he's going to apply for a 4-year university later). We did long distance for a few months before I moved back home from college for the summer, and now we live like a 3 minute drive away from each other.
During the semester, he would barely call or even text me. Days would go by and I wouldn't really hear from him other than the streaks he sent me on Snapchat, but I understood he was busy so even though it was emotionally draining on me, I didn't really push him. He used to tell me that it would get better during the summer when I'm back home and he'll have more time for me because I won't be busy with college and he wouldn't be as busy with his community college classes.
But now it's the summer, and if anything it's worse. I mean, we see each other probably once every 10-14 days to go to the movies or eat at a restaraunt, but he calls me even less than he used to. If i leave him a missed call, he doesn't even bother calling back or texting me that he's busy. During the first year of our relationship, we used to talk every single night; now, I'm lucky if I hear from him even once the whole week.
He says he loves me, and when we meet up in person it's really obvious that he cares. He's a physical touch kind of guy so whenever I'm with him in person he's always holding my hand and stuff. He always compliments me, and recently he's been giving me flowers and chocolate every couple of weeks. But this only started two weeks ago. Sometimes (and I could be overthinking this) I wonder if he's just buying me this to get out of not communicating with me.
Before people say that I should talk to him- I already have. Multiple times. I've told him how, even if he can't call me that often, I would appreciate basic communication. Like if he has a busy week, then he could just text me that and I wouldn't bother him. Or if I leave him a missed call and he can't get back to me, then he could text me and I would respect his space. But he just kind of falls of the face of the earth and it makes me feel like shit. His response to me communicating this was to just say "sorry, it's all my fault" and then proceed to compromise for about 4 days.
I think that in our relationship right now, I'm giving more than I'm getting. I know that in most relationships, the balance of effort is not always 50/50. But I'm beginning to get tired of being the one to put in pretty much 75% of the effort. I'm always the one who makes plans, who buys the movie tickets, who texts him good morning messages (he doesn't even reply to those sometimes). I know he cares about me to some capacity, but I'm worried that there's an imbalance in the relationship and I just want to fix it.
(Before I end this, I know the description I've given doesn't paint him in the most wonderful light. I just wanted to take a second to say that he really is a wonderful human being. Whenever I'm with him on our dates, there's no one in the world that makes me laugh more or feel more loved. It's just the weeks in between where we don't meet face to face that I start to feel doubts)
Do you guys have any advice? Does it sound like my relationship has just run it's course? I love him so incredibly much and I just really want to get past this.
TLDR; my boyfriend is busy with his job and barely talks to me anymore. I feel like there's an imbalance in the relationship. When I brought it up to him, he didn't really change anything. Do you guys have any advice.

We have left a couple of days empty on purpose. I know the risk of having an itinerary that is too tight so those days are for last minute or overflow :) Have tried to make a mix of busy days and quieter days.
Welcoming all feedback and suggestions. Don't know what I don't know 😂
​
edited for formatting
June 12 - Day 1

• Land at 4.50pm, immigration, forward luggage to Kyoto accommodation. Skyliner to Nippori. Train to Komagome. Make way to Air BNB in Komagome.

June 13 - Day 2

• Explore Ikebukuro/Sky Circus – Morning
• Harajuku & Shibuya
• Shubuya Crossing
• Shibuya Sky Observation Booking - Evening

June 14 - Day 3

• Asakusa
• Nakamise Street
• Sensō-ji
• Ueno Park
• Harry Potter Café @ 7pm

June 15 - Day 4

• Activate JR Pass - Take the shinkansen to Kyoto – check in to accommodation.

June 16 - Day 5

• Visit the Fushimi Inari Shinto Shrine
• Visit the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

June 17 - Day 6

• Take a day trip to Nara
• Visit the Todai-ji temple and see the Great Buddha statue
• Early night!

June 18 - Day 7

• Osaka Castle
• Osaka Aquarium
• Dotonbori at night

June 19 - Day 8

• Day trip to Kobe

June 20 – Day 9

• Day trip to Universal Studios

June 21 - Day 10

• Day left empty on purpose for unplanned things.

June 22 - Day 11

• Travel Kyoto to Tokyo. Check in at Ueno.

June 23 Day 12

• Akihabara
• Go Karting
• Arcades and Shopping

June 24 Day 13

• Potentially a day to Kawasaki/Yokohama.

June 25 Day 14

• Tsukiji Outer Market
• Joyopolis
• Teamlabs

June 26 - Day 15

• Sensō-ji
• Kirby Café & Skytree

June 27 - Day 16

• Day trip DisneySea

June 28 - Day 17

• Day left empty on purpose for last minute unplanned things and buying gifts for friends and family.

June 29 - Day 18

• Flight home at 6.30pm

Thank you!

What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.

I will be using this pc for both work and gaming. For my analytical work, I use Microsoft's Power BI. Games includes Overwatch 2, Fortnite, Diablo 4, Dead By Daylight, Final Fantasy 14.

What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?

$2000 US Dollars

When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.

ASAP

What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)

Tower

Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?

United States. I live near several Microcenters.

If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.

Won't be reusing any parts

Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?

I won't overclock right away. I'll do it much later down the line once I notice my computer lagging away.

Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)

I need at least 32 GB of the fastest ram available and a 2TB FAST SSD (most people recommend these two conditions for Power BI). I also want the ability to add an additional 32GB of ram later on, but I won't be adding more ram right away.

What type of network connectivity do you need? (Wired and/or WiFi) If WiFi is needed and you would like to find the fastest match for your wireless router, please list any specifics.

Wired

Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?

I prefer a matte black case with window. In terms of cosmetics, I prefer very subtle, muted, low key looks ( I don't like really loud, noisy colors) but I am willing to sacrifice all the cosmetics if it helps me get even greater gaming performance from my budget.

Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?

No.

Extra info or particulars:

This will be my very first gaming PC. I've been a console player all my life. I want to try something new. I’m hoping that given my budget, this pc will be upgradable and age gracefully as I intend to get a lot of use of it for several years.
A special Request: Can I get two versions of the build? One version that is dual Performance/Gaming and the other one that is purely Gaming. I have a strong feeling Power BI will run just fine on a pc build focused solely on gaming.
THANK YOU

I'm in CT, US
My husband and I had a late lunch (in Mass if that's relevant) and a couple drinks. When we left the restaurant, I asked if he was okay to drive and he assured me he was. About half a mile down the road, he missed a turn and became.. for lack of a better word, insane. He started screaming at me, calling me every name in the book. He was driving 80 miles an hour down back roads and I was screaming. At one point, he pulled over on a blind corner and told me to get out. I had one foot out the door and was grabbing my things when he gunned it. I jumped back in, put my seat belt on and cried and screamed the whole 45 minutes home begging him to stop. He would accelerate quickly until he reached another car, slam on the brakes or switch lanes quickly. All the while he was saying things like "Is this fast enough for you?", and "See, I didn't crash. I'll never crash. The only way I'd crash is if other people drive badly"
When we got back, I picked my daughter up from daycare and took her to a friend's house. When I returned later that evening, my dog was gone. I called him, and asked him if he had the dog which he admitted, but claimed not to know what happened after lunch or why I had told him not to come home. He then appeared about 20 minutes later, fed my dog, took the dogs food, a test kit for testing psychedelics I believe, snd left with him. I didn't fight him for the dog as I was fearful for mine and my daughters safety given his earlier behavior.
Aside from a protective order, what do I do? Can I get my dog back? Do I need to file a police report tonight? I have no idea where he went and I'm home alone with my one year old so I'd rather not drag her to the police station unnecessarily.
We got the dog from a friend, before we were married. There was no money exchanged for the property but my name is on vet records

To begin, two major changes need to be made to both FTWD and TWD. Firstly, Travis is shot in the neck, and he does throw himself out of the helicopter, but he survives by landing in a river. Secondly, in TWD, Carl doesn't die. Instead, Morgan sacrifices his life in some grand gesture, and his final plea is for Rick to end the war.
My Reasoning:

1. Not only was Travis' death sudden and absurd, but it also ruined any potential he had to become an excellent character. In my version, Madison and Co are still pushed forward by news of his "death," killing two birds with one stone and allowing for a myriad of interesting possibilities.
2. This allows TWD to continue closer to how it did in the comics, a way I find much more narratively satisfying, and doesn't allow Morgan to crossover--thus stopping FTWD from becoming the "Morgan and Friends Show". (Maybe he can die saving Carl--bringing his character arc of not being able to protect Duane full circle.)

These are not entire seasons. These are simply general ideas. P.S. - Reading this in one sitting might make it feel like a breakneck pace, but just try to picture your own episodes within these seasons.
SEASON 3
With Travis now alive, it allows season three to play out basically the same, until the mid-season finale, where Travis would reveal himself as alive. From there, we would get a Travis-centric episode like we did with Daniel, showing how he stitched up his own neck wound and lived in the wilderness until he was found by Walker's people. As someone else said on this sub, this would open up the possibility of Travis being a bridge between the two people groups.
Because of his siding with Walker, we could get a very interesting dynamic between Travis and the other Clarks, specifically Madison. Story beats would have to change, but this will help the overarching story overall. For my purposes, Travis (while with Walker's people) would revert to his more pacifist self as he was in seasons 1 and 2. However, this would not change his tendency for violence, which he would struggle with during the duration of the season. Luciana still leaves, Daniel is still shot by Strand, Madison still kills Troy, and Nick still destroys the dam.
TLDR: Travis survives his gunshot wound and becomes a bridge between the two communities. The rest of the season's events basically play out the same, with obvious changes.
​

SEASON 4

The dam has exploded. And after a minor time skip, we meet up with our crew: Madison, Alicia, Nick, and Travis, who are hiding out in an abandoned gas station. You see, while the dam is gone and quite a few of the Proctors with it, they're still everywhere; searching for the people who tried to wipe them out. In a hail-mary attempt, the Clarks flee up north, leaving Mexico and hopefully the Proctors by heading into Texas. They all assume Daniel and Strand are dead, and whatever sense of morality they had at the ranch has now completely been lost. They are ruthless to both walkers and people, both of which they find plenty of in the Texas plains.
One of the main relationships I want to grow in this season is between Nick and Travis. While they did interact in the other seasons, it was to a very small extent--most of Travis' time was spent with his own son Chris. But with Travis' brutality more or less returning, and Nick no longer being the fun-loving and adventurous 19-year-old we knew, they grow closer--two men who have lost their innocence and themselves to the apocalypse. Nick will become the son Travis never had. But as they grow closer, so do Madison and Alycia. However, it's not a paternal healthy bond, it's Alycia trying to live up to the "Golden Child" standard she's kept for herself. With Madison's tendency to care more about Nick becoming ever more obvious, Alycia is driven by a need to please her mother--something that will eventually tear the family apart. But for all intents and purposes, the Clarks are the strongest they've ever been.
After a few episodes of traveling through Texas, they are stopped by three members of a Biker Gang (think Hell's Angels or Sons of Anarchy). They try to intimidate our crew into giving up what little supplies they have, but with a single look from Madison, two of the bikers are dead and the other is nearly beaten to death. Travis argues they take the bikes and leave, but Madison suspects they have a camp nearby--and after a torture session performed by Travis, she's told that she's right. They are led to the Dell Diamond Baseball Stadium, which the Bikers call home. After an initial standoff, our crew is let in. Everyone is wary of these Bikers, but after only a little while, they quickly integrate into the group. Travis fits right in with the rough-and-tumble men, Alycia is praised for what little medical skill she has (which she uses to heal the tortured Biker, named Cole), Nick becomes a valuable asset for what the Bikers do, and Madison quickly rises up the ranks.
You see, these Bikers are like the Saviors. They run a protection racket. But instead of Negan's view of people: that they're a resource to be maintained, the Bikers simply destroy whoever doesn't bend to their will. However, there's a major problem: both manpower and bullets are hard to come by in the apocalypse, especially when they kill whoever disobeys them. But that's where Nick fits right in. With his skill with the walkers, he dons the blood and guts once more, using it to lead entire walker hordes into stubborn communities. They've found another new home. But as Travis and Madison make clear, it is not permanent.
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All seems well until word begins to spread amongst the Bikers. Their pre-apocalypse rivals, the Proctors, have made their presence known. In a show of force, the leader of the Bikers takes most of his men out to meet with the Proctors. At the same time, a young girl named Charlie is let into the stadium. Nick becomes a surrogate older brother, and they grow close. But our group, of course now fearful, vote to remain at the stadium with a few other nameless civilians and a healing Cole. It's going to be a few days, so Madison and the family lock the stadium down. No one in or out. That's when the Vultures show up.
Like season four of FTWD, they're still a corny group of hippies, but our group has dealt with worse. Way worse. Madison and Travis leave the stadium to talk to the Vultures, while Nick and Alycia stay back with Charlie. However, the young girl is revealed to be a double agent, the one who let the Vultures know that the majority of the Bikers were leaving. She pulls a gun on Nick and Alycia just as Madison and Travis single-handily slaughter all of the Vultures. None are left alive. Hearing the commotion, mixed with fear and anger, Charlie shoots Nick. But Alycia, in a split second, kills Charlie.
Now dying of a gunshot wound, Alycia desperately begins surgery on Nick. Madison is purely focused on her son, but the weight of what they just did is finally beginning to set on Travis. Nick is treated just as the Bikers return, a majority of their numbers wiped out. We then get a Strand-focused episode, revealing how after the dam he was captured by Proctor John himself. But we see how he was unable to worm his way into a position of power within the Proctors. We get to see how the Proctors tracked our group all the way from Mexico, and how they had a massive battle with the Bikers we know, wiping most of them out. But the Bikers we know escaped, and the Proctors have followed them.
Out of both time and options, Nick sneaks away (still very much injured), his plans unclear. However, the Proctors show up, Strand at the helm. He's the spokesperson for the Proctors now, but a wrench is thrown in the plan for battle when he sees Madison and Alycia inside the stadium. Proctor John holds his attack too, realizing his chance for revenge is within his grasp. He then proposes a deal to the Bikers, saying that if given Madison and Co, they'll leave. This, of course, is a lie. The Bikers deliberate, with Cole being the main voice for trading them over. Travis tries everything he can to convince the Bikers to not hand them over, but realizes that being killed either by the Bikers or the Proctors isn't much of an option. Bound and gagged, the Clarks (minus Nick, who Madison fears for) are handed over.
Put on their knees and guns put to their heads, Strand tries to talk John out of it--trying to make him pause and think. But it's no use.
Just as bullets are about to be fired, a massive herd comes out of nowhere! Nick has led them all here, and being careful, he slips through the herd and unties his family. He tells them to do the guts trick, which they do, but for whatever reason, he turns back. As he moves through the herd, careful not to get shot or eaten, he finds Strand fighting for his life. Nick then steps in, helps him with the trick, and leads him to safety--but not before seeing Proctor John fighting the herd. It looks like he's winning; using a row of his soldiers to gun down the horde, until Nick sneaks up behind him and slits his throat. Now leaderless and surrounded, the Proctors and the Bikers are wiped out. Covered in guts and aimless, our crew leaves the stadium.
Weeks later, and after a few more misadventures, Nick goes out hunting. As he does so, he stumbles upon a man dressed like a cowboy, and sitting against a pickup truck: John Dorie. The same exchange happens, where John asks whoever is in the shadows if they would like to join him. Nick reveals himself, and it ends the same way as it did in the show, "So what's your story?"
TLDR: Madison and Co escape Mexico only to join up with a biker gang in an old baseball stadium in Texas. The Proctors return, old rivals of the Bikers, and a massive battle ensues. A group called the Vultures show up as the Bikers leave, and are quickly slaughtered by Madison and Travis. The Proctors come with Strand in tow, and after quick thinking from Nick, the family and Strand escape, while both the Bikers and the Proctors are wiped out by a herd of walkers. Nick then meets a man named John Dorie.
​

Season 5

John Dorie is what Morgan should have been for the Clarks: the exact opposite of what they are. While they're ruthless and cold, he's merciful and warm. His mission is simple: find his wife. And because of Nick's insistence (and Travis' persuasion of Madison), they decide to help him do so. He explains they separated several weeks ago, after meeting at his cabin and living there for the majority of the apocalypse. But he is far from incapable. In fact, he's the best shot of the entire group and anyone they ever come across.
Tensions however, are high. Madison of course doesn't trust John, and hates the influence he seemingly having on her son. She thinks that his kindness is weakness, and fights to keep her control over Nick.
Based on the evidence John gathered, his best guess is that his wife was abducted and taken north, into Colorado. With nowhere else to go, the Clarks travel with John north. Having entered Colorado, John soon catches a trail. He finds evidence of a camp with the same logo as he found before, that of a key. He feels that they're getting closer, and he turns out to be right, as they find a small community of survivors living inside an old motel. He wants to go in and talk, but Madison isn't risking it. Instead, and with much pushback from John, our main crew goes in guns raised.
Using a small herd of walkers Nick gathered, they take out the guards and quickly find the leader of the community. At gunpoint, the man explains that he's part of a network of communities under one woman, Virginia. They're called the Pioneers, and their goal is to make Colorado the beginning of a new United States. Madison, Alycia, and Strand laugh at the idea, but Nick and Travis are more open to it. After stealing supplies, weapons, and a vehicle, our crew moves on to find John's wife. Or so he thinks.
A few days later, our group finds another one of the settlements, an old ski lodge. This time, however, based on both Travis' and John's pleas, they go in as if they're just some survivors. As they are let in, they see that the lodge is heavily armed--a death sentence had they gone in guns blazing. They stay for a while, with Nick, Travis, and John warming up to the idea of a multi-settlement government. John finds out that his wife is at the capital of the settlement, Lawton. Eager to hit the road to see his wife again, he tells the group to get ready to head out. Madison, however, has no such plan. Nick argues they should go with him, but Madison argues that nothing like this could last and that it's likely all a lie. Madison and Strand want to take over the lodge, killing them all if it came to it. Travis is against it, his guilt driving him to try to stop murdering, but Madison's mind is unchanged. Survival at any cost is her plan now, and if a few nobodies have to die for it, so what? Madison is going to keep everyone together, no matter what. So, under the cover of the night, John and Nick sneak off the lodge grounds and leave.
In the morning, Madison sees they're both gone. Enraged, she prepares to go out and immediately find them until a massive snowstorm hits, forcing them to stay inside. For Nick and John, however, a test of will is what the storm becomes. Frostbite and starvation are mere days away, and they seem to be going in circles. Until a search party finds them. They're grabbed and treated as they are taken to the capital settlement. The search party wasn't for them, but for a young girl, but finding the men so close to death stopped the search. At least for now.
Back at the lodge, Madison is planning for a seize of power. People are anxious, and she has enough trust with the guards to grab some guns. But Travis stops her. He talks to her and looks at her as if she's a different person, something that seems to haunt her. They've grown apart, barely showing any physical affection.
At Lawton, Nick and John see that the settlement is large, larger than anything they've come across so far. They have large walls, farms, livestock, freshly constructed buildings, and people. Anxious to get to his wife, John meets with the mastermind behind it all: Virginia. But unlike the show, she's a genuinely kind woman. She really does want the best for people, and after some deliberation, John finally gets to see his wife. She explains that during her own supply run, she ran into the Pioneers needing help. She did, and they invited her to join. She left a note for John, telling him where to find her, but a massive herd forced them to leave early. It's a joyous moment and something that deeply saddens Nick, reminding him of Luciana.
Until he hears a voice, "Nick?" He turns around and sees Luciana standing behind him! They embrace, and she tells some story about how she found these communities. She apologizes for ever leaving him and promises to never do it again. And after this moment, Nick asks her to be his wife. She says yes, and he couldn't be happier.
Two weeks later, Madison, Travis, Alycia, and Strand are escorted to Lawton, where they reunite with Nick. He explains what happened, and in a seemingly hopeful moment, a wedding is held. Nick and Luciana get married, and all the while Madison plots.
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After five or six months, we see how the family has gotten used to this way of life. Nick and Luciana are happy and working together, Strand has become a high-ranking Pioneer, Alycia has become a rather skilled doctor, Travis has settled down with Madison (though they're still very distant), working the fields next to a small cabin, and John and his wife work as rangers. Life is good. It's peaceful. With all the communities working together, it can seem like anything is possible. But Madison isn't happy. She doesn't trust any of it. And neither does Strand. She believes that at any second, a revolt will happen. An enemy group will rise up. She feels the Pioneers are too trusting, too hopeful. She wants to keep her family safe, and she doesn't think Virginia can.
One day, a community-wide meeting is called, where all the heads of the communities will come together to discuss general going-ons and plans for the future. All the heads come to meet in an old courthouse, including Strand. That day, Madison asks Virginia to meet, and she raises her issues: how they are too trusting, and a severe lack of top-down control. Virginia assures her that those things will happen--in time, but not to rush them. Madison asks her if she will ever actually make those changes, and Virginia pauses before saying...no. Madison then pulls a gun and shoots Virginia in the head. As soon as the shot rings out, Strand leaves the main courtroom where all the heads of communities are, locks the doors, and starts a fire. In mere minutes, the entire courthouse is in flames, and everyone inside is dead.
Immediately, there is chaos, as people think it was an attack. Madison steps up, explaining that Virginia was killed, and the fire was started by anarchists. Strand then grabs a random man and drags him up to the stage where Madison stands. After making up some story about the man, she asks the people if the anarchist should live, and there is a resounding and furious flurry of "no's". She pulls out her pistol and executes the man to the horror of Travis, Nick, and John.
At night, Madison meets with John, as he's become a high-ranking ranger. He knows that that man was innocent, but Madison seems to have no remorse. She explains very calmly that he's going to help contain the chaos, or she will kill his wife. To his shock, Madison waits for a response. He finally sputters out that he'll help. She lets him go back home, knowing he'll do whatever she wants.
Then, she goes home to Travis, who's distraught. He knows everything that happened was staged, and that Strand was helping plan it from the beginning. He's enraged, but Madison remains calm, explaining that everything she did was to protect her family. Travis is beyond shocked, exclaiming that everything that was happening was protecting her family. She looks at him, cold as ice, and tells him that he's not her family. He's not blood. Nick and Alycia are all that matter to her. Travis is horrified and heartbroken--too stunned to speak. She walks over to him and explains that if all he is is against her, he's a danger to her family. She then grabs a nearby knife and stabs him in the gut. She looks away from his eyes as he gasps for air, and as she twists the knife deeper into his stomach. She rips the knife out and he collapses on the floor, dying. She watches him suffer, and just like that, both Travis and the Madison we knew, are dead.
TLDR: Madison and Co follow a good-hearted cowboy named John Dorie into Colorado in search of his wife. After a few altercations with this group's settlements, John reunites with his wife and Nick reunites with Luciana. Months later, Madison and Strand enact a plot to seize control of power. Madison kills Virginia, and Strand lights a building aflame with all head of communities inside. Madison then threatens John into working for her, and she kills Travis.
​

Season 6

"Travis was killed by the anarchists." That's the lie that's told. The one spread around. At his funeral, Nick is devastated, barely able to hold it together as he gives a speech. John is silent, suspecting that Madison is the one who killed him. She knows that he knows, but she doesn't care. She cries at the funeral. But just for a moment.
Thanks to John's help, the communities have calmed down. Order has been re-established. Madison and Strand have taken up leadership of the Pioneers, but they quickly ditch the key logos and outfits. The rangers are trained to be merciless--gone are the days of trusting new people. A new rule is established: kill on site. Thanks to this, the communities are stronger than ever. John lives in perpetual fear of Madison, worried that at any moment she'll claim his wife is a member of the Anarchists, and have her killed. In order to avoid this, he becomes a vital tool for Madison, doing anything she says.
Nick is deep in grief, numb to his now wife and the outside world...until Luciana breaks wonderful news: she's pregnant. Nick is shocked, but excited--ready to be the father his dad never was.
In the meantime, Madison uses John to round up people who would stand against her, and after planting evidence and calling them Anarchists, she has them executed. Her family and community is secure. It looks like no one can stand in her way--except one woman: Luciana. Now pregnant and fearful of the dangerous new woman in control of Lawton, she wants to leave with Nick. He argues that they need to stay, it's his mother after all, and that they can't keep running forever. But she sees the danger.
That night, Nick and Alycia and hanging out together when he proudly tells her Luciana is pregnant. Alycia is really happy for him, until Nick tells her that he's decided he's going to leave Lawton with her after she gives birth. At the same time, Madison goes to Nick's home and meets with Luciana. She plays up the whole "sympathetic mother figure" deducing rather quickly that Luciana is pregnant. Luciana then tells her that they'll be leaving soon, much to the dismay of Madison. She soon leaves once Nick returns, not acting as if she knows about the pregnancy and their plans.
The next day John offers to take Nick down to one of their outermost communities, a few days ride. He accepts, feeling on top of the world. At that time, a group of armed Rangers burst into Nick's home, searching the entire place. Luciana is confused, but she is quickly tackled to the ground. Then, they find what they're searching for: the same knife used to kill Travis. Dragged out of her home, she's thrown into a holding cell.
A few hours out from Lawton, John struggles with the immense guilt of something. Nick asks him what's wrong, and he finally explains that Strand told him to take Nick out of town for a few days while something happened. Fearing something really bad is going to happen, Nick races back to Lawton, with the help of John.
The knife is supposedly the one that killed Travis, and Luciana is scheduled for a public execution that same day. At the time of the execution, Luciana is brought up on the gallows, in front of public of view, and Strand gives a speech about order and safety. Madison is absent. Nick reaches the main gates, but is temporarily blocked. Using sheer adrenaline and channeling Travis, he fights off the two guards and races to the center of town to see Luciana, noose around her neck. He screams for them to stop, but with the crank of a lever, the trapdoor falls, and Luciana suffocates to death. Nick can't do anything as he falls over, weeping, saying, "She's pregnant...she's pregnant..." Alycia comes running from the Infirmary, unaware of what's happening. John finally makes it to the town square, and using his crackshot aim, shoots Luciana down. But it's too late. For whatever the reason, she turned fast, and John walks over and quietly puts an end to her reanimated self.
Nick is completely broken now. He lays in a ball on the ground, unable to move. Alycia attempts to comfort him, but he pushes her away. John walks over to him, attempting to apologize or make what he did right, but Nick snaps. Grabbing a knife off of Alycia, he stabs John is the gut, and begins to beat his face in. Alycia tries to stop him, but Nick kicks her away as he takes swing after swing, beating John nearly to death. Nick then stops, grabs John's rifle, and screams for Strand. Strand, still standing on the gallows, attempts to duck as Nick fires at him, hitting him in the shoulder with a bullet. Nicks keeps firing, until his gun clicks empty. He stands, surrounded by Rangers and civilians.
He's locked in a cell, fists bloody and eyes empty. Madison comes to the cell, trying to play innocence, until Nick grabs her by the throat. He squeezes, a fire lit behind his eyes. All the pieces fit together now. Everything. He begins to laugh hysterically, realizing it was his own mother who killed his pregnant wife. "You...you actually thought I would what--just fall back into your own arms? Be your own little "Nicky' again!?" He tightens his grip, but he's too good a man. He can't do it. He releases her, utterly defeated. Madison leaves, telling Strand that he'll come around.
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A long time later, months, years, we're not sure--somehow, Nick is out of the cell. It's wintertime in Colorado, and he's living in the wilderness now, sporting much longer hair and a beard. Using tricks he learned while in Mexico and from Travis, he lives as a nomad. But no matter how far he travels, he's still hunted by the Pioneers.
In a flashback, we see that is was Strand who let Nick out of the cell. Nick just about kills him, but seeing the guilt Strand feels, Nick decides to just leave. He's quiet and stealthy, just stealing one of Travis' jackets and a machete. But before he leaves, he sneaks to Alycia, and pleads with her to come with him. She refuses, deciding to stay with Madison. He's sad, but he doesn't stick around. He climbs over one of the walls, and slips away.
In the present, we follow Nick as he lives in the woods of Colorado. He's almost completely silent, barely even grunting. He dispatches walkers with ease, and because of Travis, he knows how to live purely off the land alone. He's almost unrecognizable. One day, while cooking a rabbit, two Pioneers come across him on horseback. They dismount, holding him up at gunpoint, and tell him that he's going to return to Lawton with them. He doesn't speak as he pulls out his machete and cleaves one of the Pioneers' arms off. The man screams in agony as Nick impales the other one mercilessly. He kills the second man, then turns and grabs the other man's rifle. He checks its ammo, slings it across his back, and begins to raise his machete at the first Pioneer--before the man begins to weep. He begins blubbering about his wife, how they have a child on the way. Nick lowers his blade, wipes the blood on his sleeve, and sheathes it. The Pioneer begs for bandage, medicine, anything, but Nick just leaves, saying, "Tell her to stop coming after me."
The problem for Nick is that, essentially, he's trapped. Because of the thirteen-community network Madison now controls, he's surrounded, on all sides, by people attempting to capture him. It miles of land, sure, but not something easily escaped. So he's done what little he can--evade the larger search parties, and deal with the smaller pairs of rangers he encounters.
His new plan is to head farther north, hopefully into Wyoming or Montana. So for an episode he heads north, evading capture.
At the same time, Madison continues to rule the communities with an iron fist. But there's a problem: people have been disappearing from within the communities. Alicia has matured over this time, taking up a leadership position under her mother. She's an advocate for letting Nick go, but Madison can't. Strand still works for her, though he has become more brazen after his secret releasing of Nick. Madison suspects it was him who did it, but she waits to act. John has become the head of tracking Nick down, but he does his job in a way that slows down the process.
Madison calls him in for a meeting, and explains that his new mission will be discovering where her citizens are going. Thankful to be off of Nick, he accepts.
Nick makes his way to the furthermost community after days of travel, called "The Lanes". Sneaking past guards and the occasional walker, he makes it to Colorado border, and stops. He feels horribly guilty for leaving his sister with his mother, and he can't seem to shake the feeling. Then, he sees something odd: a small group of civilians sneaking out of the Lanes. He watches them, then decides to follow. After traveling deeper into the woods than he's gone before, he stumbles upon the civilians destination: The Copse.
An idyllic home deep in the Colorado woods, Nick is greeted by an old eccentric man: Teddy. Teddy is kind and wise, offering to take Nick's weapons, as he won't need them there. Nick cautiously obliges, and after a few days, falls in love with the place. Everyone who's fled from the communities has come here, and it's perfect. Until John finds it.
With six rangers vs an entire commune, Nick prepares for battle. But Teddy tells him to stop, and to let happen what needs to happen. Confused by his order, he steps down. John sees the place, and realizes that this is what the communities can be. He decides not to tell Madison about the commune, and he returns to his wife, and they leave together in secret.
After more drama and death, Madison stops all her rangers from looking for Nick, and switches the mission to finding this rumored commune. Nick catches wind of this, and warns Teddy that this is coming. Teddy refuses to arm, but Nick circumvents this by talking to the people of the commune. He finally steps into a position of leadership, rallying the citizens into protecting what they have. The citizens come together and form a fighting force, right as the first Rangers arrive.
It's a bloody battle, but the Rangers are defeated. Nick realizes that the people cannot defeat 13 communities, but they can convert them. After more fights, persuading, and uprising, nearly half of all the communities have rallied under Nick against Madison and her army.
Eager to get out from under her thumb of oppression, people from within Lawton begin to revolt. Madison, of course, shuts this down--brutally beating anyone who stands against her. Alicia sees now that her mother is truly gone, and begins to communicate with Nick, planning a final stand.
After weeks of fighting and plotting, it all comes to a head. All of Nick's forces, now seven communities, rally together to charge, all at once, to Madison's six community army stationed at Lawton. Strand, however, attempts to sabotage Madison's army by destroying their ammo reserves. He's caught, tortured for his involvement in the civil war, and in one final act of brutality by Madison, beheaded in view of both her own and Nick's armies.
On this, both sides clash, resulting in a massive firefight. Hundreds are killed between the two groups, and in the end, Lawton is in flames and Nick is within Madison's home. They fight, and it's brutal and hard to watch as we see our once mother and son duo trade blows. Nick finally gets the upper hand, and a mortally wounded Madison makes one last remark, "I kept you and Alicia safe. I did that no matter what. I tried to keep us all together..." Nick shakes his head. "You tore us apart Mom. I love you, even after what you did to us. To me. But this can't go on."
Madison hears these words, and sheds a tear. Nick looks away as Madison Clark dies. Nick leaves the house, teary-eyed, and explains what happened to the people. The war is ended. The Communities are reunited.
A few weeks later, Nick and Alicia share one last moment together--embracing at Lawton's gates. Alicia has become the leader of these communities, and peace has now truly been established. But Nick can't stay. The memories here haunt him. He's decided to leave. Go north. He shares one last goodbye to everyone he's met over the past years, and he departs, once again alone and on the road.
TLDR: After a brutal betrayal by Madison, Nick leaves Lawton. After a long time spent in the woods, he finds a new home: a peaceful commune. but realizing his mother will never stop searching for him, he rallies together the people of the commune and half of all the others. After betrayals, beheadings, and losses. The war is ended, and peace returns to the Colorado Communities. Nick decides to leave, and he's once again alone on the road.
THE END
I know that this was a long read, and I appreciate all of those who did. A few parts need work, but overall, this is a very rough draft for how I would have handled Fear.
Thanks to AI, attached are some admittedly rough designs for what our characters could have looked like in the later seasons:
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Nick in season 6.
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Nick on the road.
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Alicia in Colorado.
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An older Travis and Madison in one of the Pioneer's communities.
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John Dorie at a snowy Lawton.

We are deciding to camp last minute, I can buy a camp site off the site but if anyone needs to sell one I’ll take yours!! I’ve been in that position afraid someone might not buy my ticket, it’s stressful! Let me know ◡̈

Hi. I've never had headphones before, and I need a pair mainly for work and maybe entertainment every once in a while (watching a movie or playing Play Station). I live in Argentina, where usually all electronics and gadgets tend to be quite expensive, but I have a friend from Miami who could buy the headphones in the US. I have very little knowledge about technical specifics, and if someone could provide the basics, I'd be thankful. My research led me to this model (US$ 152):
https://www.mercadolibre.com.aauriculares-gamer-inalambricos-hyperx-cloud-flight-hx-hscf-negro-con-luz-rojo-led/p/MLA15313319
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I think a budget of around US$200-250 is reasonable? I'd prefer them to be wireless, clear sound and closed back, but I'm open to suggestions
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Thanks

I just switched to Ableton from FL and I bought the Suite deal they have going on right now (see what I did there 😉) anyway, I don’t plan on buying anything for a fattt minute because it seems to have came with everything I could possibly need right now.
But, from people that have had Ableton for a while, what would you buy if you could only purchase two plug-ins (and I’m not talking VST’s, I like the stock synths and I have Serum + Vital)? So far I’ve only bought Valhalla’s Vintage Reverb and it’s amazinggg. Thanks guys!

Sooo maybe I'm the only one who missed the memo, but I only saw in a comments section yesterday that some people's babies didn't start successfully nursing until 11-14 weeks. I really wish I had known that sooner!!
I had no idea. All the pressure I was feeling in the hospital and with lactation consultants made me think it's like either they latch well in the first week or two or it's a tongue tie issue or it's all going to be exclusive pumping or exclusive formula feeding or exclusively both.
After the first week or two of trying to nurse (milk came in day 5 after c-section and hemorrhaging, baby started on donor milk bottles and supplemented with formula bottles), my nipples ended up looking like burnt marshmallows they were so badly scabbed, and it hurt to have water touch them in the shower. My nipples hurt 5x more than the c-section incision. (Thank God for silverettes and nipple butter, he seems to prefer coconut oil than the more expensive brands though. Shields didn't work well for us.) Baby was shrieking and shaking his head whenever I tried to offer him the boob and it was just a sad experience so I found exclusivelypumping (thank God, so thankful for the subreddit) and have been pumping about 8x a day.
Over time, the amount I was pumping crept up and I'm still a "just enougher" at around 26oz a day (to have a few vials in the fridge, we supplement with formula 1-2 feeds a night, also since formula apparently keeps babies fuller longer, so we can sleep a little longer). I'd still offer him the boob an average of 1-2x a day because I read something somewhere about his saliva entering my nipple helping my body calibrate his needs and antibody production. Most of the time he'd still shake his head, cry, and reject the nipple either immediately or after a few short sucks though.
But over the last few days he's been rooting more on my skin when I hold him and sucking on my arm or shoulder. When he did that I offered him some boob and he happily took it! Still for short periods. There have even been times in the last week where he'd reject the bottle then gleefully take the nip, just for a minute or so though.
Then, today, I brought him to bed to cuddle, hoping to get him to sleep so I could move him to the bassinet and take a nap ... He rooted in the direction of my boob so I offered it to him in side-lying position and he took the first boob ... for 20 minutes!! I stopped him to burp him. Then he rooted again and we did the same for the other side for another 15! This gives me hope that maybe I won't have to spend 4 hours a day pumping in the future.
I'm so glad to have had really supportive folks on here and in my life who reassured me that exclusively pumping or exclusively formula feeding are OK, and I felt like I could always fall back on those, knowing fed is best, if nursing didn't work out. It definitely made it less stressful and took the pressure off.
But I also wish I'd known that babies can come around to nursing that much later after preferring bottle early on. He's gotten so much better at sucking having had practice with the bottles and now it doesn't hurt at all when he sucks my nipples but I can feel my boob softening and mild clogs loosening when he does.
I think when people think it's one of 3-4 outcomes (exclusively nursing/pumping/formula feeding/combo of the latter), it leads to more people abandoning nursing because there doesn't seem to be a light at the end of it. I had mostly mentally resigned that I wouldn't be nursing. But yeah, the 2oz/day breastmilk benefit thing helped me keep going with pumping (financial pressure also did too, could really use saving the money not buying formula for all feeds right now), and then the possibility of baby warming up to the boob later helped more ... learning that this change could happen in weeks 11-14 gave me so much more hope!! Reading it must've taken some pressure off that baby felt too today.
I'm so glad I pumped while he got better at sucking and that my doctor and lactation consultants didn't push us hard on tongue tie (they said he had a little one, but didn't bring it up again, and I was hesitant about it anyway). It would've been too painful to keep practicing sucking on my nipples the whole time. And he managed to get good at sucking without causing me pain on his own without the surgery. (Of course, not true for all babies by any means, just sharing my own personal anecdote.)
Anyway just thought I'd pay it forward in case someone else sees this and feels a bit more hope about nursing getting better eventually too.
tl;dr: Baby can still change their mind about the nipple at 11-14 weeks and nursing doesn't always have to hurt, baby can practice sucking on a bottle and may not always prefer bottle forever, so keep practicing if you want to and it might not be hopeless just because it didn't work out right away. Nursing takes practice for both baby and mom but maybe that practice can be on a bottle instead of you.