Okay so, I think I'm REALLY close to shifting, but I'm not really sure.
So for one, I'm a spiritualist, I do meditate and do all sorts of thungs that involve leaving in some capacity, so I knew shifting realities would be similar, but not the same.
I have tried about 10 times now, and 6 out of the 10 times I was so incredibly close I could hear and feel and smell so many things from my DR. I could feel my body drifting away(if that's the right phrasing), but each time I'm on the tip of leaving, it's like I'm stuck in that one exact spot the whole time.
I'm not really sure how to fully go, but it's like every time I'm almost fully gone by body just...Stops. I don't really know how to explain it, but since my first attempt, I was SO CLOSE that I KNOW it can't just be the method and such. There must be something I'm missing or doing wrong possibly? Anyone else know what I'm talking about and can help? Thanks.

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A/N: Everyone's a Catgirl! Volume 1 just launched Kindle Unlimited, eBook, and paperback! Thank you all so much for your support!
---
I know I shouldn’t have expected Portia to still be there, but I was still a bit disappointed and somewhat uncomfortable by the time we arrived at the Desert Rose in Kandota.
“She is not here,” Cailu said with a raised brow.
“Yeah, I know. I see that. Just, uh, give me a little bit to find her.”
“Perhaps she is on her ship,” Cailu continued.
“Let’s check there,” said Tristan, nodding. “This place probably lost its luster pretty quickly. If she’s not there, then we can split up and look for her.”
“Yes,” Cailu said, mirroring his nod, “a fine idea.”
Sure enough, Portia had stripped down to a black bikini as she sat on the edge of her sloop, fishing rod in hand, feet kicking in the wind. She’d grown awfully tan since the last time we saw her—well, more so than usual. Her skin glistened like bronze, beads of sweat littering her body. She adjusted the bottom piece of her bathing suit, exposing incredible tan lines.
Portia gasped and threw the fishing rod behind her before she shot to her feet. “About time you showed up! What in the heck were ya doing? You know how long I’ve been waiting here?”
“Yeah, I know, sorry—” I started.
“Uhh, buh-buh-buh-buh,” Portia interrupted with her index finger held up. “No. No, boy. You listen to me. I am not your personal—” she suddenly stopped, her brow furrowing deeper. “And who… who are these other people?” She inhaled slowly, her eyes widening. “No. Don’t tell me. They’re not coming with us, are they?”
“They’re, uh… coming with us.”
“This boat will not be suitable,” Cailu said, his arms crossed.
“Oh, it’s you,” Portia said, hopping into the shallows. “One loss wasn’t enough for ya, huh?” Portia’s smile continued to tug at one end of her mouth. “Probably don’t even remember me.”
Caliu tilted his head in apparent thought. An expression of realization swept over him. “Ah, yes. You played a fine game of cards. Ages it has been since I was so thoroughly defeated.”
“Wanna go another game? My wallet’s feeling a little light,” she said, wading through the shallows and stepping onto the sand, her eyes digging daggers into me. “Ya know, since someone left me here ages ago and food ain’t free.”
I avoided her gaze.
“What was that you said when you left? ‘This won’t take as long as Shi Island.’ Are you kidding me?”
“Sorry, Portia. A lot of things came up.”
Portia sighed. “I’m sensing a pattern here.” Portia readjusted the strap of her top and put her hands on her hips. “I thought about packing up and leaving.”
“My sincerest apologies,” Tristan offered as he stood forward, a hand on his chest. “We would have contacted you sooner, but the task proved to be much more difficult than we thought it would be. Cailu here,” he gestured to the elf, “assisted us and made sure we saw it through.”
“Hey, okay, fine, cool it.” She looked at me once more. “Always with the eloquence, this one. Hey, you. Matt.” She pointed at me. “This is a sloop, not some grand ship employed by the Queen. We were struggling enough just to make room for yours and Tristan’s Parties.” She did a quick count, frowning deeper with each person she pointed at. “And you want to add three more?”
There’d be no easy way out of this, so I simply nodded my head.
“Yeah,” I said. “We would, uh, need to add three more people.”
Portia set her jaw. “I can’t believe I’m actually doing this. You owe me big, Matt.”
“Mou ii. I’ve got you covered, Portia. For everyone.” Ravyn snatched a sizable bag of Bells from her pack and waved it in the air. “This should help the days we’ve been gone, too.”
Cailu raised a hand and started to say, “I will also—”
“No. You won’t.” Ravyn cut him off. “I’m done owing you shit.”
He stared at her thoughtfully but said nothing else.
Portia reached forward and grabbed the bag, sliding the leather cord to the side and sifting through the Bells. Taking a few out to examine their color and size, she nodded. “This doesn’t let you off the hook, Matt. Not yet.”
I sighed with relief. “Thanks, Portia.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just get on board.”
“Matt,” Cailu said as he set a hand on my shoulder. “May I have a word?”
Oh, great. What is it this time?
“Yeah, sure.” He took me behind a nearby building and leaned against the wall. “What’s this about?”
“A sloop may not be appropriate for the journey to Nyarlothep. I would suggest we port on San Island and embark on a ship from there.”
“Why?”
He frowned. “The tides and Encroachers are vicious, Matt. There is always the potential for a Defiled attack. Portia’s abilities aside, it puts our Parties at great risk. A stronger escort is necessary.”
“Are you sure about that?” I rested my shoulder against the wall opposite. I was grateful for his advice, but what had started as personal advice was starting to sound more like my dad was trying to control the whole ride there. Don’t make me turn this boat around. Frankly, I was getting sick of it.
“Yes. Portia has the right of it. Such a vessel is unfit for an alliance of our size. We risk capsizing the sloop or worse with our numbers.” He glanced around the corner of the building before looking back at me. “I understand if you are attached to Portia. But I must stress the importance of our mission.”
“Right.” I couldn’t stand what I was hearing, but I couldn’t fault him either. If the waters were even half as dangerous as Keke and every other catgirl had told me it was, then his warning of an attack was valid. If that happened, combat on the sloop would be dangerous. I didn’t need any nautical training to know that. “So then, what, you want me to say goodbye to Portia, too?” I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth.
“Is that what this is about?” Cailu stood away from the wall, straight-backed and imposing in his [Paladin] armor.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean that. Yeah. I know you’re right.” Ceres’s words echoed in my head. Pride tarnishes even the finest of heroes, Kelmer. “So, San Island, then?”
Cailu drew a long breath. He looked like he wanted to say something but abstained. “Allow me to speak with Portia for a time.”
“Why?”
“If she has gained your trust, then I would have her with us when we collect the ship.”
My heart soared. “So, she would be a hand on the deck?” Did I use that term right?
“Aye, that is correct.”
I couldn’t hide my relief. “Then, yeah. Go ahead.”
Cailu nodded and returned to the group. I followed close behind, curious as to what he was about to do. When we returned, Ceres was asking Portia questions about her time away.
“Portia,” Cailu stated.
Ceres stopped mid-sentence and backed away with a bow.
Portia frowned. “What?”
“Matt has informed me that you have been the one to escort him and Tristan around Nyarlea. Is that correct?”
“And the girls. Don’t forget them,” I added.
“I did not.”
Portia smiled. “Yeah, that’s me.”
“Do you have experience on larger ships?”
“Quiz me. I won’t get a single question wrong. My dad was the best there was.” She chuckled. “Named my sloop after him, in fact.”
Cailu rubbed the stubble of his chin with his pointer and thumb fingers. “I have expressed to Matt that a sloop is unsuitable for the journey to Nyarlothep, considering our numbers.”
“Nyarlothep?” Portia’s eyes narrowed in irritation. “Matt, you could’ve led with that.”
“I will ask this. Is this sloop suitable for the journey?”
“No,” Portia said without hesitation. Cailu glanced at me while Portia continued. “If that’s where you need to go next, Matt, then you’re going to need a full-blown ship for that. Especially if you still want to bring everyone here along.”
“So, we have to part with Portia?” Cannoli said, her voice thin.
“Sorry, all,” Portia shrugged. “I can take you somewhere else if you want, but even so, taking this many people on a sloop makes me uncomfortable.”
“How tragic,” Kirti mused.
“Quiet,” Cannoli hissed.
Cailu sighed. “Matt trusts you, and you have managed to escort him to each island on a sloop. So I would like to offer you a position on one of my ships,” he said. As Portia opened her mouth, Cailu interrupted with his hand up. “It would be temporary. You would not be under any obligation to stay on board once we have been delivered to Nyarlothep. Your sloop would be taken care of during the journey.”
“A real ship, huh?” Portia wore a complicated expression. I thought I saw sadness, confusion, anger, and frustration in the way she worked her jaw and wrinkled her nose. “Yeah. Fine.” She extended her hand. “It’s a deal.”
Cailu reciprocated and shook her hand. “We have an accord.”
Once everyone was on board, we set sail for San Island. There was barely any room to stand, let alone walk.
I stood behind Portia for a while. She was quieter than usual, and while I knew it was probably none of my business, I still wanted to know what was going on in her head.
“Hey, you doing okay?” I asked.
Portia took her time to respond. “Yeah. I’m fine.” Her eyes were on the ocean, but her mind seemed to be somewhere else. “Pops always promised to take me on a galleon one day. Just wish he could be here for it.”
“Did he teach you much about them?”
“About as much as a man without a lick of artistic talent could show me.” Portia laughed. “We’ll see what I remember.”
“You can teach this guy without any artistic talent what you learned. I’ll be right here, struggling to keep my balance.”
Portia laughed. “Thanks, Matt. You’re a good guy.”
The rest of the voyage was smooth. We shared the story of Ichi Island with Portia, and with time, she returned to her usual scrappy self.
Two days later when the sun was setting, we arrived on San Island, my back screaming in pain. I longed for a good night’s rest in a comfortable bed with a few good drinks in my belly. We’d taken turns in the one extra cabin, earning about two hours worth of a nap each. I was too afraid of falling off the boat to sleep otherwise. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one, as there was a collection of yawns as we stepped out onto the Port of Meow.
“Gosh, feels like ages since I’ve been here,” I said.
“Nostalgic, huh?” Keke said, taking to my side.
I thought back to the fight we had right before stepping onto the port. We were bloodied from the battle with the fishcats. At the time, Cannoli looked like she’d seen a ghost. Now, well…
Yeah, I’ll just agree. Probably not a great memory to revisit— “Ye—”
“You mean when we were caked in blood?” Ravyn asked, half-laughing. “Very nostalgic.”
Why is she like this?
Cailu offered praise and smiles to the girls who approached us en masse upon our arrival. It was wild seeing him swap personalities in seconds. Words that sounded almost disgustingly charming came out of his mouth, his sour demeanor returning within seconds of their departure.
I still couldn’t stand this guy.
Cailu led us around the port’s lip. We passed by several merchant vessels, a wide variety of catgirls unloading crates from the neighboring ships. Unlike the ones earlier, these girls didn’t seem to care one way or the other about Cailu, Tristan, and myself.
“There,” Cailu said without stopping. “That is my ship.”
‘Large’ couldn’t even begin to describe this boat. It looked straight out of a pirate movie. Flags of white with the same emblem Cailu wore upon his breastplate fluttered in the wind. The wood was dark and suspiciously clean for a piece of wood that sank in the salty water all day. I didn’t have the words to describe what a gargantuan and beautiful piece of craftsmanship it was.
“What is that called?” I asked, pointing at the center flag.
“Oh, that’s—” Portia started.
“That—” Ceres interrupted.
The two apologized in unison.
“I forgot you liked ships, Ceres,” Portia noted.
“Yes, I adore them. As a kitten, I learned to build ships in bottles.” Ceres tapped the tips of her fingers together. “It was something of an obsession of mine.”
“Why don’t you tell Matt what that’s called, then?” Portia smiled.
“The main mast!” she proclaimed proudly. “The one behind it is the mizzen mast, and the last one is—” She stopped and smiled wide. “I shall give Sir Matt a hint.”
Oh boy, here we go.
Ceres’s boots clicked against the stones as she moved to stand in front of me, her hands behind her. “What precedes the word ‘after’?”
Picture of elegance, this one. Okay, uh, let’s see. “Before?” I cringed.
“Yes!” She turned and pointed to the mast once more. “Therefore, the mast at the front is called…”
“The… before mast?”
Portia put a hand to her mouth and snickered. “Close.”
I buried my face in my hand. “Just tell me.”
“The foremast!” Ceres said.
“You know your stuff, Ceres,” Portia said, smiling.
Cailu cleared his throat and stood before us. “Once I give the word, we will depart by sunrise tomorrow.”
“Hah?” Ravyn balked. “Can’t we just sleep in for one fucking day?”
My legs were killing me, so I raised my hand. “I second that.”
To my relief, Tristan also raised his hand. “Please. I am exhausted. I’d love to spend a day on San Island, anyway.”
One by one, we all raised our hands. Even Kirti.
Cailu sighed. “Fine. We shall rest for two days.”
“Two days?” I asked.
“Yes. It is important that we leave by sunrise. You may do as you wish until then.” Cailu departed, his cape billowing as he walked, Kirti at his side.
Tristan nodded to an expectant Zahra. She offered a bow and ran to catch up with Cailu.
In two days, we’ll be on our way to Nyarlothep.
​
Matt Pro Tip: We're nearly there. . . . but damn if I'm not looking forward to a night to relax.
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When Lovebombing failed, she withheld my kids. Then she took her shots.
My wife paints. She has sold a handful for a decent price. I set up a Facebook page for her to gain more exposure, which makes me an admin for the page as well. The last 3 days, she posted to the page to show how much of a POS I am for abandoning her and the kids.
I already blocked her and her family so I have no idea what's on her wall. Her page only ever got 32 followers so the impact was minimal. Most of her followers are from my friends list. Of those, only 2 reacted.
To read through her list of claims paints me as her tormentor and captor. I have stranded her and our traumatized kids in the house. She has been emotionally and physically abused. I am strapping her financially. My alcoholism has led me down the road to pursue a divorce. I am walking out on my vows and faith. My kids are afraid of me. Her apologies are not good enough for me. I blame her for everything wrong in my life.
Last night, I copied her post to a Google Doc and proceeded to answer every accusation with a truthful rebuttal. The list hurt to read and caused me to question whether the accusations were founded if viewed from a different perspective. Then I realized that her entire post was the same gaslighting I've been subjected to for our whole relationship. It provokes doubt in my perception of events...as it's meant to. My rebuttal was therapeutic in that it allows me to use facts (dates, quotes and times via text and recorded phone calls) to refute her claims. I am gradually reconstructing the independent truth using her own words.
I am struggling to determine what I've done wrong in our relationship. When I finally realized after 2 decades that it was not me but her, it provided me with relief. Now I have to extract the wrong I've done from her baseless accusations. I finally got myself off of her hook and guilt. Now, I'm trying to figure what I genuinely did do wrong. Does this internal conflict make sense to anyone else? Sorry if I'm not communicating very effectively.
I want to know my real wrongs vs trauma response, my real problems that are not rooted in her false accusations and my real flaws vs her problem with my independent identity.

Hello massive noob here (can't code or anything else), After successfully creating my first VM (A home assistant one), I imported an existing Windows 2016 VM into my Proxmox, using a .vdmk file and the qm diskimport function. As I start the windows WM, I get this error. I already tried fixing it going into the boot -> device manager -> secure boot configuration and removing the checkbox for attempt secure boot (the same happened with the home assistant VM, and it fixed it), but it doesn't work. I also have a .ovf file of the orginal windows WM, which I didn't use.
Could anyone please lead me in solving the issue? Thank you
https://preview.redd.it/hit93eznhb4b1.png?width=1218&format=png&auto=webp&s=79dcb976a448a023a8322c1fbc8b3aba434c643a

I'd like to start off by saying, I'm a trans woman (26). I'm married to a cisgender male (27). We've been together for about 2 and a half years, and married in November of last year.
At the beginning of our relationship, we were physically intimate very frequently. We had sex almost daily oftentimes multiple times a day, with plenty of foreplay. Sex with him is by far the best I've ever had. It eventually tapered down to a few times a week, and then was a steady once a week thing. It has now been about 5 or 6 months since we've made love.
I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but it eventually became a once a month thing, maybe every other month. When we got married, I was hopeful we'd make love that same day/night. We didn't, which for some reason that really hurts. We then had our honeymoon shortly after that, and I thought maybe we'd make love then. Again, we didn't. That also really hurts.
I've told him many times, physical touch is my number one love language. Sex is very important to me. He's said it's "shallow." Sex, he's said, is not important. When the frequency started to drop down to once a month/every other month I let him know that I miss him and need it to feel connected. Each time I've told him, he has said that he understands and will work on it. It doesn't seem to change, in fact it seems to just get worse.
I thought it would be a good idea to "schedule" sex, so that's what we tried doing. Throughout the week leading up to it he'd say stuff like, "I can't wait to fill you up." "I want to be inside you." The day would come, I'd ask him if he's still in the mood and he'd say yes. I'd then go to the restroom and douche, because I hate bottoming when I haven't prepped first. Then when I'd come out, he would say "I'm tired" or "I have a headache." Once I asked him, "Is it because of the Kratom shot you took?" He then shouted, angrily, "No, I just don't want to have sex with you!" To this day (which was probably a year ago) it still hurts. I eventually gave up on scheduling it.
After that, the only sex we had was oral and it was always me giving head until he finished. Reason being, when he was in the mood I was afraid of him not being in the mood after I finished prepping back there. I also don't like bottoming when I haven't prepped, so that seemed like the best option. We don't even do that anymore, which is largely because I don't feel it's fair. Sex for a long time with him has felt "unfair."
I'm a trans woman who does not have genital dysphoria, in fact, I like using what I have. I've told him this, many times. I've told him, I'm not a bottom. That's not the only thing I enjoy doing. He's let me top a handful of times, rarely does he ever seem to really try. He's said he enjoys it, sometimes, but for the "role reversal" aspect of it. That bothered me because I feel like that implies that's my role or my duty. I've also only ever received oral from him a handful of times, rarely does it ever extend past a minute, I'm lucky if I get 30 seconds. Meanwhile I've gone down on him for over 30 minutes plenty of times, and almost always I do it until he finishes. I've said many times I enjoy receiving it, and would like more of it. Doesn't seem to matter.
I've told him that I feel sex with him has been one sided for a while now. Bottoming for him was definitely not easy at first, in fact he's the largest I've ever been with, I'm not even being hyperbolic. He's huge. It was incredibly painful at first (and really always is during the first few minutes, regardless of size), but I learned how to do it for him. He's so big in fact, I have anal fissures/scars as a result. Giving oral (deep throating to be exact) was definitely not easy, but I learned how to do it comfortably for him. He says it's literally the best he's ever had. I have never been a fan of giving oral, but I do it because I love pleasuring him and I love him. I do it all, literally anything he wants in bed, because I felt like it would be reciprocated on some level.
I told him all of this. He said that that was wrong of me, to "expect" something in return. He said that was treating sex as if it was "transactional" and made him feel "used and gross." He said that my dick wasn't even meant for anal (that hurt a lot) because it has a curve. I told him that nothing was "meant" to go up there period, and yet he gladly tops me. I told him "You think yours was 'meant' for it? I literally have anal fissures/scars as a result of bottoming for you."
I want to also add, he has made comments about my dick throughout our relationship that have really hurt. What he has said wasn't mentioned during the conversation I just mentioned. He has jokingly made fun of it for being small. He has called it "wimpy" and his "fidget toy." He has told me once before that he was with a trans woman before who was smaller than me, and that's when he realized he was attracted to that. I have mixed feelings over that. On one hand, I thought that meant he genuinely enjoyed what I have. On the other hand, his comments have caused me to have some insecurities I never had.
We're in therapy now, but I'm worried it's not going to work. He has told my husband that the way I felt about sex, hoping my actions would be reciprocated, was not wrong at all. He said that we all do things for people we love, and hope they'll do the same in return. My concern is that he said he hasn't had any sex therapy classes since 1989. He's great in every other aspect, we both really like him, but that fact worries me. We've been to two sessions so far, I'm willing to give it a little longer to see where things go in terms of intimacy. I'm not sure what else to do after that.
I'd really like anyone else's perspective. Advice, or thoughts, are all welcome.

TRACK 1: Hello
[Verse 1]
Hello, it's me
I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet
To go over everything
They say that time's supposed to heal ya, but I ain't done much healing
Hello, can you hear me?
I'm in California dreaming about who we used to be
When we were younger and free
I've forgotten how it felt before the world fell at our feet
[Pre-Chorus]
There's such a difference between us
And a million miles
[Chorus]
Hello from the other side
I must've called a thousand times
To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done
But when I call, you never seem to be home
Hello from the outside
At least, I can say that I've tried
To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart
But it don't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart anymore
[Verse 2]
Hello, how are you?
It's so typical of me to talk about myself, I'm sorry
I hope that you're well
Did you ever make it out of that town where nothing ever happened?
[Pre-Chorus]
It's no secret that the both of us
Are running out of time
[Chorus]
So hello from the other side (Other side)
I must've called a thousand times (Thousand times)
To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done
But when I call, you never seem to be home
Hello from the outside (Outside)
At least, I can say that I've tried (I've tried)
To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart
But it don't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart anymore
[Bridge]
(Highs, highs, highs, highs, lows, lows, lows, lows)
Ooh, anymore
(Highs, highs, highs, highs, lows, lows, lows, lows)
Ooh, anymore
(Highs, highs, highs, highs, lows, lows, lows, lows)
Ooh, anymore
(Highs, highs, highs, highs, lows, lows, lows, lows)
Anymore
[Chorus]
Hello from the other side (Other side)
I must've called a thousand times (Thousand times)
To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done
But when I call, you never seem to be home
Hello from the outside (Outside)
At least, I can say that I've tried (I've tried)
To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart
But it don't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart anymore
TRACK 2: Send My Love (To Your New Lover)
[Intro]
Just the guitar?
Okay, cool
[Verse 1]
This was all you, none of it me
You put your hands on, on my body and told me
Mmm, told me you were ready
For the big one, for the big jump
I'd be your last love, everlasting, you and me
Mmm, that was what you told me
[Pre-Chorus]
I'm giving you up
I've forgiven it all
You set me free
[Chorus]
Send my love to your new lover
Treat her better
We've gotta let go of all of our ghosts
We both know we ain't kids no more
Send my love to your new lover
Treat her better
We've gotta let go of all of our ghosts
We both know we ain't kids no more
[Verse 2]
I was too strong, you were trembling
You couldn't handle the hot heat rising (Rising)
Mmm, baby, I'm still rising
I was running, you were walking
You couldn't keep up, you were falling down (Down)
Mmm, there's only one way down
[Pre-Chorus]
I'm giving you up
I've forgiven it all
You set me free, oh
[Chorus]
Send my love to your new lover
Treat her better
We've gotta let go of all of our ghosts
We both know we ain't kids no more
Send my love to your new lover
Treat her better
We've gotta let go of all of our ghosts
We both know we ain't kids no more
[Bridge]
If you're ready, if you're ready
If you're ready, I am ready
If you're ready, if you're ready
We both know we ain't kids no more
No, we ain't kids no more
[Pre-Chorus]
I'm giving you up
I've forgiven it all
You set me free
[Chorus]
Send my love to your new lover
Treat her better
We've gotta let go of all of our ghosts
We both know we ain't kids no more
Send my love to your new lover
Treat her better
We've gotta let go of all of our ghosts
We both know we ain't kids no more
[Outro]
If you're ready, if you're ready
(Send my love to your new lover)
If you're ready, are you ready?
(Treat her better)
We've gotta let go of all of our ghosts
We both know we ain't kids no more
If you're ready, if you're ready
(Send my love to your new lover)
If you're ready, are you ready?
(Treat her better)
We've gotta let go of all of our ghosts
We both know we ain't kids no more
TRACK 3: I Miss You
[Verse 1]
I want every single piece of you
I want your heaven and your oceans too
Treat me soft but touch me cruel
I wanna teach you things you never knew, baby
Bring the floor up to my knees
Let me fall into your gravity
Then kiss me back to life to see
Your body standing over me
[Pre-Chorus]
Baby, don't let the lights go down
Baby, don't let the lights go down
Baby, don't let the lights go down
Lights go down, lights go down
Lights go down, lights go down
Down, down, down
[Chorus]
I miss you when the lights go out
It illuminates all of my doubts
Pull me in, hold me tight, don't let go
Baby, give me light
I miss you when the lights go out
It illuminates all of my doubts
Pull me in, hold me tight, don't let go
Baby, give me light
[Verse 2]
I love the way your body moves
Towards me from across the room
Brushing past my every groove
No one has me like you do, baby
Bring your heart, I'll bring my soul
But be delicate with my ego
I wanna step into your great unknown
With you and me setting the tone
[Pre-Chorus]
Baby, don't let the lights go down
Baby, don't let the lights go down
Baby, don't let the lights go down
Lights go down, lights go down
Lights go down, lights go down
Down, down, down
[Chorus]
I miss you when the lights go out
It illuminates all of my doubts
Pull me in, hold me tight, don't let go
Baby, give me light
I miss you when the lights go out
It illuminates all of my doubts
Pull me in, hold me tight, don't let go
Baby, give me light
[Bridge]
We play so dirty in the dark
'Cause we are living worlds apart
It only makes it harder, baby
It only makes it harder, baby
Harder, baby, harder, baby
[Chorus]
I miss you when the lights go out
It illuminates all of my doubts
Pull me in, hold me tight, don't let go
Baby, give me light
I miss you when the lights go out
It illuminates all of my doubts
Pull me in, hold me tight, don't let go
Baby, give me light
[Outro]
I miss you, I miss you
I miss you, I miss you
I miss you, I miss you
I miss you, I miss you
TRACK 4: When We Were Young
[Verse 1]
Everybody loves the things you do
From the way you talk to the way you move
Everybody here is watching you
'Cause you feel like home, you're like a dream come true
But if by chance you're here alone
Can I have a moment before I go?
'Cause I've been by myself all night long
Hoping you're someone I used to know
[Pre-Chorus]
You look like a movie
You sound like a song
My God, this reminds me
Of when we were young
[Chorus]
Let me photograph you in this light
In case it is the last time that we might
Be exactly like we were before we realised
We were sad of getting old, it made us restless
It was just like a movie
It was just like a song
[Verse 2]
I was so scared to face my fears
Nobody told me that you'd be here
And I swear you'd moved overseas
That's what you said when you left me
[Pre-Chorus]
You still look like a movie
You still sound like a song
My God, this reminds me
Of when we were young
[Chorus]
Let me photograph you in this light
In case it is the last time that we might
Be exactly like we were before we realised
We were sad of getting old, it made us restless
It was just like a movie
It was just like a song
[Refrain]
(When we were young)
(When we were young)
(When we were young)
(When we were young)
[Bridge]
It's hard to admit that everything just takes me back
To when you were there, to when you were there
And a part of me keeps holding on just in case it hasn't gone
'Cause I still care, do you still care?
[Breakdown]
It was just like a movie
It was just like a song
My God, this reminds me
Of when we were young
[Refrain]
(When we were young)
(When we were young)
(When we were young)
(When we were young)
[Chorus]
Let me photograph you in this light
In case it is the last time that we might
Be exactly like we were before we realised
We were sad of getting old, it made us restless
Oh, I'm so mad I'm getting old, it makes me reckless
It was just like a movie
It was just like a song
When we were young
TRACK 5: Remedy
[Verse 1]
I remember all of the things that I thought I wanted to be
So desperate to find a way out of my world and finally breathe
Right before my eyes I saw my heart, it came to life
This ain't easy, it's not meant to be, every story has its scars
[Chorus]
But when the pain cuts you deep
When the night keeps you from sleeping
Just look and you will see that I will be your remedy
When the world seems so cruel
And your heart makes you feel like a fool
I promise you will see that I will be
I will be your remedy
[Verse 2]
No river is too wide or too deep for me to swim to you
Come whatever, I'll be the shelter that won't let the rain come through
Your love, it is my truth and I will always love you
Love you, oh
[Chorus]
When the pain cuts you deep
When the night keeps you from sleeping
Just look and you will see that I will be your remedy
When the world seems so cruel
And your heart makes you feel like a fool
I promise you will see that I will be
I will be your remedy
Ohhh, ohhh
When the pain cuts you deep
When the night keeps you from sleeping
Just look and you will see that I will be, I will be
When the world seems so cruel
And your heart makes you feel like a fool
I promise you will see that I will be, I will be
I will be your remedy, mmm, mm-hmm
TRACK 6: Water Under The Bridge
[Verse 1]
If you're not the one for me
Then how come I can bring you to your knees?
If you're not the one for me
Why do I hate the idea of being free?
And if I'm not the one for you
You've gotta stop holding me the way you do
Oh honey, if I’m not the one for you
Why have we been through what we have been through?
[Pre-Chorus]
It's so cold out here in your wilderness
I want you to be my keeper
But not if you are so reckless
[Chorus]
If you're gonna let me down, let me down gently
Don't pretend that you don't want me
Our love ain't water under the bridge
If you're gonna let me down, let me down gently
Don't pretend that you don't want me
Our love ain't water under the bridge
Say that our love ain't water under the bridge
[Verse 2]
What are you waiting for?
You never seem to make it through the door
And who are you hiding from?
It ain't no life to live like you're on the run
Have I ever asked for much?
The only thing that I want is your love
[Chorus]
If you're gonna let me down, let me down gently
Don't pretend that you don't want me
Our love ain't water under the bridge
If you're gonna let me down, let me down gently
Don't pretend that you don't want me
Our love ain't water under the bridge
Say that our love ain't water under the bridge
[Pre-Chorus]
It's so cold in your wilderness
I want you to be my keeper
But not if you are so reckless
[Chorus]
If you're gonna let me down, let me down gently
Don't pretend that you don't want me
Our love ain't water under the bridge
If you're gonna let me down, let me down gently
Don't pretend that you don't want me
Our love ain't water under the bridge
[Outro]
Say it ain't so, say it ain't so
Say it ain't so, say it ain't so
Say that our love ain't water under the bridge (Say it ain't so, say it ain't so)
Say it ain't so, say it ain't so
Say it ain't so, say it ain't so
Say it ain't so, say it ain't so
Say that our love ain't water under the bridge (Say it ain't so, say it ain't so)
Say it ain't so, say it ain't so
Say that our love ain't water under the bridge
TRACK 7: River Lea
[Verse 1]
Everybody tells me it's 'bout time that I moved on
That I need to learn to lighten up and learn how to be young
But my heart is a valley, it's so shallow and manmade
I'm scared to death if I let you in that you'll see I'm just a fake
Sometimes I feel lonely in the arms of your touch
But I know that's just me 'cause nothing ever is enough
When I was a child I grew up by the River Lea
There was something in the water, now that something's in me
[Pre-Chorus]
Oh, I can't go back, but the reeds are growing out of my fingertips
I can't go back to the river
[Chorus]
But, it's in my roots, in my veins
In my blood and I stain every heart that I use to heal the pain
Oh, it's in my roots, in my veins
In my blood and I stain every heart that I use to heal the pain
So, I blame it on the River Lea, the River Lea, the River Lea
Yeah, I blame it on the River Lea, the River Lea, the River Lea
[Verse 2]
I should probably tell you now before it's way too late
That I never meant to hurt you or lie straight to your face
Consider this my apology, I know it's years in advance
But, I would rather say it now in case I never get the chance
[Pre-Chorus]
No, I can't go back, but the reeds are growing out of my fingertips
I can't go back to the river
[Chorus]
But, it's in my roots, in my veins
In my blood and I stain every heart that I use to heal the pain
Oh, it's in my roots, in my veins
In my blood and I stain every heart that I use to heal the pain
So, I blame it on the River Lea, the River Lea, the River Lea
Yeah, I blame it on the River Lea, the River Lea, the River Lea
So, I blame it on the River Lea, the River Lea, the River Lea
Yeah, I blame it on the River Lea, the River Lea, the River Lea
[Outro]
River Lea, River Lea
River Lea
The River Lea-ea-ea
The River Lea-ea-ea
The River Lea-ea-ea
TRACK 8: Love in the Dark
[Verse 1]
Take your eyes off of me so I can leave
I'm far too ashamed to do it with you watching me
This is never ending, we have been here before
But I can't stay this time 'cause I don't love you anymore
[Pre-Chorus]
Please stay where you are, don't come any closer
Don't try to change my mind, I'm being cruel to be kind
[Chorus]
I can't love you in the dark
It feels like we're oceans apart
There is so much space between us
Baby, we're already defeated
Ah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah, everything changed me
[Verse 2]
You have given me something that I can't live without
You mustn't underestimate that when you are in doubt
But I don't want to carry on like everything is fine
The longer we ignore it all, the more that we will fight
[Pre-Chorus]
Please don't fall apart, I can't face your breaking heart
I'm trying to be brave, stop asking me to stay
[Chorus]
I can't love you in the dark
It feels like we're oceans apart
There is so much space between us
Baby, we're already defeated
Ah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah, everything changed me
[Bridge]
We're not the only ones
I don't regret a thing
Every word I've said
You know I'll always mean
It is the world to me
That you are in my life
But I want to live and not just survive
[Instrumental Interlude]
[Chorus]
That's why I can't love you in the dark
It feels like we're oceans apart
There is so much space between us
Baby, we're already defeated
'Cause ah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah, everything changed me
And I-I-I-I-I don't think you can save me
TRACK 9: Million Years Ago
[Verse 1]
I only wanted to have fun
Learning to fly, learning to run
I let my heart decide the way
When I was young
Deep down, I must have always known
That this would be inevitable
To earn my stripes, I'd have to pay
And bare my soul
[Chorus]
I know I'm not the only one
Who regrets the things they've done
Sometimes, I just feel it's only me
Who can't stand the reflection that they see
I wish I could live a little more
Look up to the sky, not just the floor
I feel like my life is flashing by
And all I can do is watch and cry
I miss the air, I miss my friends
I miss my mother, I miss it when
Life was a party to be thrown
But that was a million years ago
[Verse 2]
When I walk around all of the streets
Where I grew up and found my feet
They can't look me in the eye
It's like they're scared of me
I try to think of things to say
Like a joke or a memory
But they don't recognize me now
In the light of day
[Chorus]
I know I'm not the only one
Who regrets the things they've done
Sometimes, I just feel it's only me
Who never became who they thought they'd be
I wish I could live a little more
Look up to the sky, not just the floor
I feel like my life is flashing by
And all I can do is watch and cry
I miss the air, I miss my friends
I miss my mother, I miss it when
Life was a party to be thrown
But that was a million years ago
[Outro]
A million years ago
TRACK 10: All I Ask
[Verse 1]
I will leave my heart at the door
I won't say a word
They've all been said before, you know
So why don't we just play pretend
Like we're not scared of what is coming next
Or scared of having nothing left?
[Pre-Chorus]
Look, don't get me wrong
I know there is no tomorrow
All I ask is
[Chorus]
If this is my last night with you
Hold me like I'm more than just a friend
Give me a memory I can use
Take me by the hand while we do
What lovers do
It matters how this ends
'Cause what if I never love again?
[Verse 2]
I don't need your honesty
It's already in your eyes
And I'm sure my eyes, they speak for me
No one knows me like you do
And since you're the only one that mattered
Tell me, who do I run to?
[Pre-Chorus]
Look, don't get me wrong
I know there is no tomorrow
All I ask is
[Chorus]
If this is my last night with you
Hold me like I'm more than just a friend
Give me a memory I can use
Take me by the hand while we do
What lovers do
It matters how this ends
'Cause what if I never love again?
[Bridge]
Let this be our lesson in love
Let this be the way we remember us
I don't want to be cruel or vicious
And I ain't asking for forgiveness
All I ask is
[Chorus]
If this is my last night with you
Hold me like I'm more than just a friend
Give me a memory I can use
Take me by the hand while we do
What lovers do
It matters how this ends
'Cause what if I never love again?
TRACK 11: Sweetest Devotion
[Intro]
[Verse 1]
With your loving, there ain't nothing that I can't adore
The way I'm running with you, honey
Means we can break every law
I find it funny that you're the only one I never looked for
There is something in your loving that tears down my walls
[Pre-Chorus]
I wasn't ready then, I'm ready now
I'm heading straight for you
You will only be eternally
The one that I belong to
[Chorus]
The sweetest devotion
Hit me like an explosion
All of my life, I've been frozen
The sweetest devotion I know
[Verse 2]
I'll forever be whatever you want me to be
I'll go under and all over for your clarity
When you wonder if I'm gonna lose my way home
Just remember, that come whatever, I'll be yours all along
[Pre-Chorus]
I wasn't ready then, I'm ready now
I'm heading straight for you
You will only be eternally
The one that I belong to
[Chorus]
The sweetest devotion
Hit me like an explosion
All of my life, I've been frozen
The sweetest devotion I know
[Bridge]
I've been looking for you, baby
In every face that I've ever known
And there is something 'bout the way you love me
That finally feels like home
You're my light, you're my darkness
You're the right kind of madness
You're my hope, you're my despair
You're my scope of everything, everywhere
[Chorus]
The sweetest devotion
Hit me like an explosion
All of my life, I've been frozen
The sweetest devotion I know
[Outro]
Sweetest, it's the sweetest
Sweetest, it's the sweetest
Sweetest, it's the sweetest
Sweetest, it's the sweetest devotion
TRACK 12: Can't Let Go
[Verse 1]
When did it go wrong? I will never know
I have loved you all my life
How did it slow down? I go round and around
Thinking about it all the time
​
[Pre-Chorus]
I gave you heaven on a platter, baby
I gave you everything you never gave me
I never lied and I never faked it
Only wanted for you to save me
This love, it ain't over yet
There's too much that I haven't said
[Chorus]
Did you find the note that I wrote?
I hid it in the seam of your coat
It was hard to write with a lump in my throat
Do you even know that I can't let go?
[Verse 2]
Why were you so cold? Let the truth be told
Tell me, was it all for the thrill?
What was I thinking? I gave you everything
But you still went for the kill
[Pre-Chorus]
I gave you heaven on a platter, baby
I gave you everything you never gave me
I never lied and I never faked it
Only wanted for you to save me
[Chorus]
Did you find the note that I wrote?
I hid it in the seam of your coat
It was hard to write with a lump in my throat
Do you even know that I can't let go?
[Bridge]
Ooh, sometimes I feel like I'm in the dark
Ooh, I thought I'd die in your arms
[Chorus]
Did you find the note that I wrote?
I hid it in the seam of your coat
It was hard to write, I had a lump in my throat
Do you even know that I can't let go?
[Outro]
Hope you know, I won't let go
TRACK 13: Lay Me Down
[Verse 1]
I would never lie to you unless you tell me to
Every part of me, all my words to hold
And hold against me, why won't you let it be?
[Pre-Chorus]
Don't you ever say my love, "open up your heart"
No I'm not gonna do it standing up
The words don't come out right when you're right in front of me
Help me baby, won't you turn off the lights
[Chorus]
Lay me down ('til the morning)
Lay me down (through the night)
Lay me down (I can fall in)
Lay me down (Won’t you)
Lay me down (I can baby)
Lay me down (Someone believe me)
[Verse 2]
I would never break the rules unless you tell me to
You can read my mind, be it truth or lies
Lie down beside me, why won't you let it be?
[Pre-Chorus]
Don't you ever say my love opened up your heart
No I'm not gonna do it standing up
The words don't come out right when you're right in front of me
Help me baby, won't you turn off the lights
[Chorus]
Lay me down ('til the morning)
Lay me down (through the night)
Lay me down (I can fall in)
Lay me down (Won't you)
Lay me down (I can baby)
Lay me down (Someone believe me)
[Bridge]
Lay down with me
Lay down with me
Lay down with me
Lay down with me
[Pre-Chorus]
Words don't come out right when you're right in front of me
Help me baby, won't you turn off the lights
[Chorus]
Lay me down ('til the morning)
Lay me down (through the night)
Lay me down (I can fall in)
Lay me down (Won't you)
Lay me down (I can baby)
Lay me down (Someone believe me)
TRACK 14: Why Do You Love Me
[Intro]
Why do you love me, do you love me?
Why do you love me, do you love me?
Why do you love me, do you love me?
Why do you love me?
Why do you love me, do you love me?
Why do you love me, do you love me?
Why do you love me, do you love me?
Why do you love me?
[Verse 1]
Why do you love me?
There must be something in the water
'Cause, baby, I'm in deeper than I knew
How do you keep me coming back for more
After all we've been through?
[Pre-Chorus]
I can't decide if I should run and hide
[Chorus]
It's above and beyond me, it's out of my hands
Your love drives me crazy, it's hard to understand
Just why I want you to love me
I want you to love me
I want you to love me
I want you to love me
[Verse 2]
Who knows why I love you
It could be something in the air I breathe
Whatever it is, I depend on it
And where does the time go?
I spend every single moment daydreaming of you
[Pre-Chorus]
I can't describe how I feel, it feels right
[Chorus]
It's above and beyond me, it's out of my hands
Your love drives me crazy, it's hard to understand
Just why I want you to love me
I want you to love me
I want you to love me
I want you to love me
[Bridge]
You were a shot in the dark that blew me away
And you left your mark, and it never will fade
You've ignited a spark, let the fires away
Are you ready, ready?
You have a place in my heart that will always be yours
You are the peak and art of my universe
Every piece and part, you were the first
I am ready, ready
[Chorus]
It's above and beyond me, it's out of my hands
Your love drives me crazy, it's hard to understand
Just why I want you to love me
I want you to love me
I want you to love me
I want you
[Chorus]
It's above and beyond me, it's out of my hands
Your love drives me crazy, it's hard to understand
Just why I want you to love me
I want you to love me
I want you to love me
I want you to love me
[Outro]
Why do you love me, do you love me?
Why do you love me, do you love me?
Why do you love me, do you love me?
Why do you love me, do you love me?

I need to get this off of my chest as I don’t feel like I have anyone in my life I can really go to about this. I (F) am coming up on 30 years old. I’ve never had a REAL serious relationship. I’ve had flings, situationships, and short relationships that have never gone past a couple of months. That being no fault of my own as I was always cheated on and used sexually and financially. I always find myself going above and beyond to try and make another person happy and feel appreciated, as that’s what I’ve always wanted.
Friends always say “it’s not you, it’s them.” And for a while I believed that. But when it has happened over and over for years and years… it feels like me, you know?
I know I’m not a 10/10, but I have a heart of gold and love making others happy. A couple of years ago I started my own charity and help rescue animals in need. I take pride in being a good person. I know I don’t deserve how I’ve been treated.
I was a late bloomer for sure. I was an ugly kid and teen, I’ll admit that LOL. I never had guys showing me any interest until AFTER high school ended. I was picked on for my looks, I never was asked to a school dance, never asked on a date. I feel like that may have something to do with how I feel. I can’t describe it, but I’ve seen tiktoks about it that have hit the nail on the head. I hope you know what I mean!
Every time something ends with a guy, it sends me into a depression and I end up isolating for a while. I’ve been alone for a few years now and before you say anything, yes I have found happiness alone. I do everything alone, and I’m even going on my very first vacation in my whole life this summer: yep, alone. I’m happy alone otherwise. I have been on every dating app and the pickings are very slim. “Love will come when you’re not looking for it.” That’s what I’m always told. Well for a while I stopped looking because I gave up and just did my own thing. Still nothing. Just more and more failed “talking” stages that go nowhere or end with them choosing another girl over me. Or them only seeing me as a sexual object and not as a human being. I don’t understand… all of my exes have treated me like garbage, but I see them dating other people and treating them better than they ever did me. I feel like people only date me to feel better about themself or date me if they are broken and need fixing, and then go off to somebody else when I have served my purpose to them. They claimed to care about me, but then did me so so so dirty. I don’t understand. I know my purpose on this earth isn’t to be a human punching bag, but that’s how it feels.
I’m sorry this is so all over the place. Writing is not my strong suit and my ADHD brain goes a mile a minute. I guess the point is…. I just feel alone. No one else in my life has this problem. They’re all in happy relationships and marriages. They can’t relate when I try to get this off of my chest and therefore don’t have anything really constructive to say. I am a good person… When is it my turn to have love? When is it my turn to be someone’s main priority and the love of their life? When is it my turn to not have to do every single piece of life by myself? When will someone choose me over other girls they may be talking to or choose me over scrolling on dating apps? When will someone say they love me and actually mean it and not be talking to other girls at the same time? When is it my turn to not be ghosted at every turn when I do nothing wrong? When is it my turn to get random phone calls and text messages with sweet words that make me feel on top of the world? When can I come home to somebody after a long day and find solace in their company? I long for the day where everything about a relationship is no longer one-sided, where I am no longer making all of the effort and paying for everything just so we can do things, where someone looks forward to hearing from me every day. I’ve even tried making less effort and trying hard not to be “too much”, trying to be the “cool girl” who doesn’t come off as overly interested, and I still don’t have guys chasing me like everyone says that attitude will bring, if that makes sense without sounding pretentious. I still can’t help but to feel like I am doing something wrong or that something is wrong with me. Having BPD, anxiety, and depression really messes with my head.
Again, I am content alone, I have found happiness in myself and doing things that I enjoy without having to worry about another person. I do so many fun things by myself. All of my friends live far away, I don’t have anyone where I live now that I can hang out with and do things with and even be introduced to other people from. Making real friendships as an adult has proved to be very difficult. I kind of have the same feelings about relationships as I do towards friendships as well, never being anyone’s first choice, but that’s a post for another time lol. But as I go through life and see couples in public and in movies/videos, I just can’t help but feel bitter and jealous. I can’t even listen to songs about love without getting a little upset. I really enjoy the time I can spend by myself doing whatever I want whenever I want, but sometimes I can’t help but to think how amazing it must be to share life with somebody. To have someone I can talk to and share everything with and vice versa. I long for the day that I can have somebody to buy a house with, as where I live is very expensive and though I have tried, I can’t afford it alone and I really want to get out of the living situation that I am in now. I just want a companion and to feel real love for the first time in my life, something I have never experienced. I really hope that I am not alone in this, and that somewhere, someone else feels the same and can relate to me. Constant isolation is really taking its toll on me. I don’t want to feel this way anymore, I want to be happy and find love, but I am sick and tired of being treated like shit by guys when I do nothing wrong to deserve it. Trust me, I’m not going to jump into a relationship with the first guy who gives me attention; I am not settling for anything less than what I know I deserve. But I can’t help feeling the way that I feel… I am doing my best despite everything life is throwing at me and all of the other stressors in my every day life.
Again, I am so sorry this was all over the place, it’s so hard to get my thoughts together and I really needed to get this off of my chest as I have been crying about this for days straight. Thank you for letting me vent, and if you have anything kind to say, some good solid advice, or share the same feelings, please let me know. I’m not quite sure what to do anymore..

We've seen more and more discussion about this in the subreddit in the last couple of days, and we've agreed that we will be joining a growing number of other subs protesting the planned changes by blocking out cricket.
If this issue is news to you, there are some copy-pasted and edited details below.

What's going on?

Recently Reddit Inc announced changes to their API which, if enacted, will shut down many, if not all, 3rd party apps that a large number of Redditors use to access and enjoy their favourite communities - this one included. Effectively this means the only way to access reddit on mobile will be through the official app or mobile site.
On May 31 2023, Reddit announced they were raising the price to make calls to their API - previously this was free, but it will soon be raised to a level that developers of 3rd party apps simply cannot afford, effectively forcing them to shut down forever. More details in posts from Apollo to Reddit is Fun to Narwhal to BaconReader.
Many people believe 3rd party apps are far superior to the official app, but even if you're not using a 3rd party app yourself these changes are likely to impact the communities you enjoy, with the vast majority of moderation teams relying on 3rd party or self-made tools that utilise Reddit's API (especially in the really big subreddits).
Shutting down these apps basically means many people with vision impairments won't be able to use reddit on mobile, because the official tools just don't have the features they need to be able to use it.
Even if you're not a mobile user and don't use any of those apps, the changes cast a massive cloud over the future of other ways of customizing Reddit, such as Reddit Enhancement Suite or the use of the old.reddit.com desktop interface.
This image provides a bit more info.

What's being planned across the website?

On June 12th, many subreddits will be going dark to protest this policy. Some will return after 48 hours: others will go away permanently unless the issue is adequately addressed, since many moderators aren't able to put in the work they do with the poor tools available through the official app.
After the 14th... who knows? Unless reddit changes the plan some subs may stay closed, some may close again but for longer, a lot of people will probably leave reddit entirely, and a lot of mods will probably step down. There are a lot of different scenarios that could play out... some people think this could even be the beginning of the end for the entire site.

What can you do?

There are a bunch of suggestions in a huge number of other subreddits if you'd like to become involved. We won't copy them all here but they including making complaints, leaving negative reviews, boycotting reddit yourself from 12th-14th, and spreading the message to others.
One personal suggestion though - if you DO use a 3rd party app at the moment, consider purchasing the premium version or donating to the app creator to say thank you for the work they've put in.

cricket specifics

Feel free to post questions in this thread if you have them, but for now here's a few attempts to answer some specifics:
How will the blackout work here?
We'll take some guidance from other subs on the best way to do it, but for now it's most likely the sub will be set to private (only approved subscribers can view and access it, a list that will be cleared). Alternatively automod will be used to automatically remove all posts and comments posted during the blackout period, other than a post explaining what's going on.
As for timing, it's likely it won't start exactly on the dot at 00:00 GMT but it will be obvious enough when it does happen. Again we'll probably take guidance from other subs so it's somewhat coordinated.
What about the WTC final?
This is scheduled to end on the 11th, the day before the blackout. If something super dramatic happens or there is a delay we may postpone things a bit, but best to assume it's over before the blackout starts. Ideally there's some time to discuss the match fallout too, and we'll take this into consideration.
How is cricket directly impacted by the API changes?
As far as we know, the match bot is ok for now. The changes will definitely impact anyone using a 3rd party app to browse the sub though (you won't be able to do that anymore). A lot of the mods use 3rd party apps to help moderate too, because (like browsing) a lot of us think the official app just isn't good enough.
What about after the 14th?
When the blackout ends the sub will open up again as normal.... at this stage. We'll need to see what happens elsewhere on reddit before deciding to do anything further.
But I don't care about any of this, why can't I keep using the subreddit?
Firstly, we've seen a lot of people asking us to join this blackout so we hope it will be supported by the majority here. Although we don't want anyone to miss out or feel like they're being mistreated when they don't care about this issue, we genuinely believe these changes are just plain wrong. They're grossly unfair to a huge number of people, and contradict many of the principles that this website was built on.
It might not make a difference in the end, and we've always tended to stay out of sitewide drama in the past, but we think it's worth trying in this case.

It's getting to that round where it starts to be really difficult to see a difference between some of these players. In the late rounds, a lot of players are peaking and despite having previous matches, these player's form throughout different stages of the season and even throughout different seasons can vary widely so these are brand new contests. In any event, I'm ready to be wrong. Quick shoutout to the top 5 in each one of DC's contests :

ATP Bracket Contest : blurryturtle, unpleasant, 5grand8to1, noomuam, Diego2305
WTA Bracket Contest : TehoInBug, noomuam (going for the double, nice!), Belle23, Dikkeduece, unpleasant (another double hopeful)
Odds Comp : blurryturtle, Goldenboy8401, thiago1314, oompa87, DC writer Gillioni

ATP Singles :

Muchova vs Pavlyuchenkova :

Getting engaged at someone else’s wedding is poor form. Wearing the same shirt as your friend to a party is hilarious, but also considered a faux pas. Somewhere in between those two fouls is whatever is going on here. Just when Muchova has rediscovered her best form, Pavlyuchenkova has done the same. Both are playing tremendous, but the spotlight and the story is going to be pilfered by one of these two big hitters. The odds for Muchova here are -170 and I think that’s pretty accurate. Their previous meeting in 2021 was in Madrid and went to two tiebreakers. Pavlyuchenkova won those but I think she’s the underdog in this one. Both players are capable of hitting the ball huge, but Muchova’s straight set dismissal of Avanesyan was really impressive. Avanesyan is a wall but Muchova’s power off both wings really was effective. This is a day match so we can expect the ball to be moving fairly quickly; this take legs out of the equation a bit, but even so Muchova will be the fresher player.
There isn’t really a hole in Pavlyuchenkova’s game, and the same can be said for Karolina so there’s not a clear plan for either to really utilize. This is the first in a series of ridiculously good matches, because we’re at the stage of the tournament where everyone is playing at or near their peak. Expecting tiebreakers here and a very close match. Muchova in 3.

Svitolina vs Sabalenka :

Sabalenka had things under control against Sloane Stephens, up 5-0 in the first set. Somehow, she found herself in a tiebreak. That’s the sort of variance that was a hallmark of Aryna’s game in the past, but recently she’s settled into a good focused patch so it’s interesting to see her struggling a bit. Stephens is tremendous with her movement and ballstriking, but that type of lapse with a lead is something you can’t afford against Sabalenka’s next opponent. Elina Svitolina has to feel great to be back in the quarterfinals of a major. It’s an incredible feat for any athlete to compete at the professional level after having a baby, and she’s looking like a contender for her second title in only her second match back. Kasatkina and Svitolina played a ton of good quality rallies, and in the end it was Svitolina’s ability to hit through the court that gave her an edge. Kasatkina had to look to outlast her and it took many more shots for her each rally to finally score a winner. When Svitolina was able to reset to neutral with a big swing or a deep lob, it really felt like a heavy change in momentum. I’d have Sabalenka -300 against Kasatkina, but Svitolina’s power makes her a different challenge.
Sabalenka opened around -428 against Svitolina, which feels a bit inflated to me. Svitolina has a pretty decent serve, and a ton of experience. Their previous meeting went to three sets (2020 in Strasbourg), and though Sabalenka is a much better player now, she has had some difficult sets in this tournament against much weaker players. Stephens isn’t going to counter-punch as aggressively as Svitolina, and the marathon rallies against Kasatkina have her in solid form. Sabalenka is the frontrunner, but given her first set against Shymanovich and Stephens there is a decent chance this could wind up in a third. It’s funny how things change from round to round. After Rakhimova/Sabalenka I thought Aryna was basically going to reach the finals, but after the Stephens match I’m not sure she will keep the ball between the lines long enough to beat Svitolina. Svitolina is really adept at putting the extra ball into play and she’s on a 9 match win streak, including the Strasbourg title. Sabalenka is fresh off her first major title and she won the title in Madrid. Probably going to get some pushback on this but I think Svitolina pushes this into a third and I think she’ll be the more focused player if it gets there. Svitolina in 3.

ATP Singles :

Djokovic vs Khachanov :

Like the cartoons that play before a movie, Djokovic Alcaraz is about to begin. Karen Khachanov is quietly cruising through this draw, including a fourth round win against Lorenzo Sonego where Khachanov just met every single defensive challenge presented. Similar to Ruud, Khachanov just doesn’t miss the court very much, and his physical strength is off the charts. He has a huge serve, and his match on clay last year with Djokovic went to a third set. Yet the odds for this match have been set at -2500. That price is basically saying “pls do not bet”, and it’s good advice. Djokovic’s record this year is 24-4, so the random losses are prevalent enough to make his astronomical prices a less than profitable endeavor anyway. Still, Khachanov being considered an afterthought is both absurd, and accurate.
Djokovic had a safe fourth round against Juan Pablo Varillas, who is incredibly steady but not particularly dangerous to Djokovic. He doesn’t serve big enough to pressure Novak into errors, and playing Djokovic for the first time is difficult since the workload out on the court is something you have to experience to be prepared for. The greats look playable on tv, but when you’re out there and they’re just not missing it can get frustrating very quickly. Credit to Varillas, he gave the crowd a good show, but he just couldn’t hurt Djokovic. Khachanov can, and can’t. Karen’s serve is almost big enough for him to hold serve. They’re playing a day match, so the ball will at least be moving at a normal pace even in the slow conditions. Khachanov’s backhand is really consistent and he can take the ball down the line with pace, but he telegraphs his forehand a bit so Djokovic should be okay defensively. I don’t think this will be as one-sided as the odds suggest, because Khachanov can hang in long rallies and doesn’t make a ton of unforced errors. He has a poor record against Djokovic (who doesn’t), but familiarity with an opponent does let you compete at your best in a big-time situation. Khachanov is becoming a gatekeeper for the semis and finals of majors, but unfortunately Novak is a resident. Should be the closest match Djokovic has had yet, but with his elbow issue seemingly gone, there’s not a clear path to beat him. I expect Khachanov’s solid play will net him one set if Djokovic’s level lapses or errors abound, but that’s probably as good as it gets. Djokovic in 4.

Alcaraz vs Tsitsipas :

These are the only two players whose games are not affected by the night-time conditions, so it’s fitting that they’ll be playing the last match of the day. Carlos Alcaraz is scary good. Musetti came into their match playing lights-out tennis and had just straight setted Cam Norrie, genuinely making him look like a lower tier player. Halfway through the first set, it was clear that he could barely win a game against Alcaraz. Carlos’s defense and consistency are just off the charts. When his opponent leaves the ball short or doesn’t hit with pace himself, Alcaraz is hitting the ball right past them. His inside-out forehand in the fourth round was frighteningly quick, leaving Musetti standing still on numerous occasions. If you’re even competing even from the baseline, you then have to deal with his dropshots, which are varied and accurate. Every single point you win against him requires effort and accuracy, and there are only 3 matches between him and his first Roland Garros title so he doesn’t have to conserve or budget his energy output at this point.
Before their match in Barcelona, Tsitsipas represented an intriguing challenge for Alcaraz. He has a great serve and a huge forehand, so Alcaraz’s defenses were set to be test. He proved very capable though, and coming into this match it’s unclear where Tsitsipas can hurt Alcaraz. In the slightly colder night conditions Alcaraz will have more time defend, and Tsitsipas’ backhand is still a liability. With Carlos’ backhand improving almost constantly this season, the cross-court exchanges are likely to favor Alcaraz. Since Tsitsipas’s main issue on his backhand is lack of depth, it’s likely that he’ll see a healthy dose of dropshots. Stefanos is fast enough to run these down, but over the course of the match I think Alcaraz’s power and variety will make a big difference. It’s hard to just completely write someone as good as Tsitsipas off, but he has holes in his game that he needs to fix before he wins a major title, and Alcaraz is currently the level necessary to win one. One thing I do expect from this match is that Tsitsipas will play regardless of the scoreline. Should be a close but somewhat one-sided affair. Alcaraz in 3.

Many days gone since the hack.....Since 24 hours there is no update from Atomic wallet...What is really happening ? What is the real reason of hack ? What went wrong ?
Atomic wallet team is incompetence or Is it inside job ?
Do they playing drama or game? What is your view? What will be the real reason behind this hack ?
Thanks

Chapter 1 - Stranger
When Daglan woke up that morning he didn't see anything unusual. He had awoken from a drop of water falling from the ceiling as he did many mornings. His best friend Rozere was in the kitchen with her father cooking what smelled of eggs. The sun was shining through the cracks in the curtains and holes in the walls as it always did. What felt different? Then he heard voices outside, voices that grew louder and louder. At this point Rozere and her father Koshu had heard the commotion as well and stepped outside to see what it was. Daglan hastily followed suit, after finding his tunic and boots. Lying on the ground outside was a young man, no older than 25. He lay face up in the dirt wearing only baggy purple pants and a black conical hat covering his face. His long black hair seemed to be tied at the base of his head in a long spiky ponytail, his slender muscular body was covered in dozens of battle scars, and at his waist was a black katana with its sword tied firmly inside its sheath. Almost the entire town had crowded around him, murmuring and shifting anxiously. It wasn't often people arrived in town, mostly just traders on their way to and from Inoris, and that too was a rarity. "Back now people, give this man some room! And for the love of Reza, quiet!" Barked Doc Silvis as she pushed through the crowd. She immediately knelt down and felt his neck with her fingers. She paused for a moment and gave a very annoyed sigh, slapping away his hat. "He's alive alright. This dumbass is sleeping in the street." She gave the stranger a hard slap across the face, one that would have probably knocked him out, had he been awake. The crowd watched in awe as he yawned and scratched his nose, barely affected by Silvis. "What should we do?" Someone asked. "Do you know who he is?" Asked another. As the murmurs heighted Daglan could tell Silvis was getting fired up, over the years Daglan had gotten to know Silvis quite well, with all his escapades outside the town walls. Daglan knew better than anyone that Silvis hated when a patient ignored her, and more so when she had to repeat herself. "I said quiet! Don't you lazy bums have more important things to do?! Livani! Koreso! Aren't you two on watch?! Scram the lot of you!" A wave of fear crashed down upon the crowd and everyone began to disperse. All but Daglan, as Rozere pulled on his sleeve. "Come on Daglan," she hissed, keeping an eye on Silvis like she was some wild animal, "You don't want to make her angrier." "I'll be fine," he whispered, without looking back, his eyes stuck on the sleeping man. What was this feeling? It was like the feeling he got when Silvis healed his wounds, but not as warm. Almost closer to the feeling he got when abominations were near, when he ventures past the walls, but not as malicious. Before he knew it he was kneeling next to Silvis, watching her run her hand across his body, her hands glowing faintly, his curiosity bubbling. "He isn't cursed or hypnotized, I can't feel a single thing wrong with him. I do believe this man is really just asleep, and slept through a slap in the face." Silvis sighed. After a few moments she looked at Daglan with a tired smile, then frowned. "Thanks for being quite Daglan, now since you're gonna bum around, get to work hauling this bastard back to my infirmary and don't let him out of your sight. I want to know as soon as he wakes up." Daglan looked around to ask Rozere for help but she was already gone, how long had he been watching this stranger and Silvas? He looked down at the smiling, snoring face of the stranger, scooped under his arms, and with much difficulty began dragging the older, bigger boy to the infirmary. The infirmary was quiet today, there hadn't been a major abomination attack in quite a few weeks which didn't happen often. It wasn't long before Rozere came in with a grimace on her face and her fingers on her nose. "Honestly," she said in that strange nasally voice when you hold your nose, "I hate how much time you make me spend here. Between you getting hurt and my dad making me help Silvas, I can't get away!" She plopped down next to him and sighed. "So what's with this guy? Why are you still here with him?" "Silvas asked me to watch him and tell her when he wakes up. Apparently I can't let him leave till she talks to him." He shrugged, trying more to convince himself. She eyed him suspiciously, but immediately dropped the subject. "Did you notice his sword was tied closed? I wonder what that's about?" She reached out and placed a hand on his sword, and just then the weird energy the stranger gave off changed from similar to those of the abominations , to even scarier than anything he'd ever felt from them. Rozere fell to her knees and screamed as the stranger stood over her. When had he stood up?! Daglan shot to his feet, a smile ripping across his face as excitement crackled through his body. He prepared to defend his friend, when just as quickly as the evil energy had manifested, it disappeared. In fact the feeling Daglan had been getting from the stranger had all but subsided completely. He stared at Daglan and Rozere with a confused look. When Rozere had eventually stopped screaming, Daglan held out his hand to help her up. Daglan’s mind raced with questions but could he do nothing but stare at the stranger as he stared back. “Uh, hello-” he began and just then Silvas and Koshu burst through the door with Livani and Koreso close behind. Koshu sprang in between Rozere and the stranger, towering over him. "What did you do to my daughter!" He said through gritted teeth. The stranger scratched the back of his head and opened his mouth when Rozere spoke up, "It was nothing dad, he just woke up and scared me! Look at me I'm fine, now would you stop!" But Koshu didn't flinch, not until Silvas spoke up. "Back off Koshu, Rozere is right, she's fine, and this boy is obviously no danger at the moment." He mumbled something under his breath but did as he was told. "Yeah, listen to Silvas and not me." Rozere grumbled, crossing her arms. "Now listen here young lady, you will show your aunt some resp–" Koshu began but Silvas smacked him in the back of the head. "Now isn't the time, Koshu, take her and go," she glared at the stranger, who was still smiling awkwardly and scratching the back of his head. “Everyone out, now.” "Uh, where am I? He eventually stammered. "Daglan, out." Silvas said forcefully, without taking her eyes off the stranger. As well as Daglan knew Silvas, he'd never seen her this worked up, not even about the abominations . She was so strong-willed, so much more than anyone else in town. He had heard stories about Silvas, but only bits and pieces around town, probably all made up. Still there was one he heard more than others, he had heard before she lived in Graybarrow she had fought in some kind of war. Daglan sat outside the infirmary trying to hear as much as he could. Wondering what could have gotten Silvas so worried, and if that man was even human. He could barely hear anything, mostly Silvas's mumbled questioning and the nervous laughter of the stranger. As he sat and pondered, an extremely tall, wide shouldered man sat down next to him and lit a cigarette. He had a long thick mustache that covered his upper lip but came down on the sides past his chin, and scruffy brown hair that stuck up at weird angles. "Oh, hi Mr.Lucio." Daglan said as he pretended to have not been eavesdropping. "I haven't seen you in class," he said as he blew out a cloud of smoke, "and I don't often see you hanging around here by choice." He continued to puff his cigarette as they sat in silence. "Mr.Lucio… I can feel him like the abominations and Silvas's healing. What is he?" "I'm not sure, from what I've heard he sounds human enough. What do you think?" "I don't know… I think he's human? But why can I feel him?" "There must be something similar between him, Silvas's healing, and the abominations from the mountains and forest, hmm?" "I guess so…" They continued to sit in silence until Lucio had finished his cigarette. "You can always talk to me if you need help, Daglan. You may like getting experience more, but a little book learning can go a long way." He stood up, pressing his cigarette out between his fingers and putting the butt in his pocket. "It's always good to see you, don't be a stranger." He said as he waved his hand walking away. Daglan thought about what Lucio had proposed, something similar. It didn't seem like Silvas or the stranger would be coming out soon so Daglan decided to go home and see what Rozere thought about all this. When he did get home both Rozere and Koshu were in foul moods, having most likely fought since earlier. Deciding that he'd rather not be part of that, he grabbed his bag and scurried out the front door before Kusho had time to notice. It's a short walk to the gate, the guards had patched up his last hole in the wall, but he had since come up with another, more thrilling way. Climbing up to the top of the traders hall, he'd be high enough to jump to the wall once the guards had passed. Then it was a quick jump down and a sprint out of their eyesight before he was able to relax. He walked along a path he knew quite well until he came up on a small ladder, it was built into a tree that led up to a small treehouse. His exploration headquarters as he liked to call it. The inside was small and filled with trash, and his souvenirs from his adventures sat on a roughly made table. A small Salegitti skull, a broken dagger missing its tip, and a small crystal like rock that shown with faint yellow light. Next to them were three well worn books. He picked up the book titled journal and sat on the ground, scribbling furiously with a small piece of charcoal. He then began to study the other two, older, bigger books. One titled, Abominations of Hel’s Peaks, and the other, Creatures of South Shodun. Mr Lucio was right about book learning, but he liked his own books.
Back in town Rozere was wandering around with her hands behind her head, whistling to herself. “I wonder where Daglan is?” She pondered allowed, before realizing she had stopped in front of Silvas’s office. She stared at the large building with its off-white stone, and massive steel doors. There were various cracks and dents all along the wells and doors, as well as wooden planks over the windows, Silvas called them the clinic’s battlescars, there was nowhere safer to hide in the whole town. She stared for a long time before realizing there was a man sitting in the grass, a large bottle of alcohol in one hand, and multiple empty bottles sitting neatly by his legs. His long spiky hair was a little cleaner, and the copious amounts of drool were now wiped away. His face was a bright red, and he had a cigarette hanging from his lips. He stared at her with a slight wobble, “Hey… You're that girl that touched my sword right?” He took another large gulp from his bottle. “Yeah? What of it?” She asked with defiance, her hands on her hips. He smiled a sickening smile and shot to his feet faster than Rozere could see. “Why don't you try it again? Or will you simply scream for help? Little girls shouldn’t play with monsters.” He said as he towered over her. “Go ahead.” He lifted his arm in the air so his katana was unblocked. Rozere’s knees began to shake and a lump formed in her throat but she did not look away. She was an ant, and this man was a giant. She wasn't going to back down, but he could stand faster than she could see. Surely dropping his arm even faster would be no problem right? He was right, she wanted to scream, but she stood firm. “Maybe I will!” She returned his malicious smile and reached out for his sword as fast as she could, bracing for the impact and the horrible crunch of bones as he grabbed her arm and snapped it in half. She flinched as her nerves went off, electric sensations coursing through her fingertips. It's happened! But what she felt wasn't pain, but the hard yet somehow soft grip of a katana hilt. She opened her eyes to see her hand firmly gripping his katana and a much more playful smile somehow even wider across this strange man’s face. He began to laugh loudly as she stumbled backwards and fell. He held out his hand, still giggling a little. She eyed him hard then after a moment smacked his hand away. She stood up, and began to brush herself off, glaring at him all the while. He apologized in between giggles. “My name is Noboru, you've got quite the spirit to face me down. What's your name kid?” He asked as he sat back onto the grass and took another long swig from his bottle. Rozere straightened up and looked at him with a fiery gaze. “Rozere of Grayborrow.” She said, crossing her arms. “And you dont scare me!” “What are you yelling about Rozere?” Silvas asked as she appeared behind her. “You!” she exclaimed as she saw Noboru “Where did you get all of that from!? Rozere give me a hand and throw away these bottles would you?” “She's already gone.” Noboru giggled. Silvas spun around to see that Rozere had indeed disappeared, as Noboru began to laugh louder. Rozere could hear the slap from across town as she sat against the traders hall. As she pondered just how big a lump must be on the side of Noboru's face, a ball smacked her’s. “Hey who did that!?” She demanded as she hoped to her feat, tears forming in her eyes, which she quickly wiped away. “Oh, sorry Rozere! I didn't mean to! Honest!” Said the boy as he ran up and grabbed his ball off the ground before the evil Rozere could kick it away, her foot swishing in the air. The boy was a few years younger than Rozere, had shaggy blonde hair, a tunic that was two sizes too big for him and a pair of round glasses broken in several spots. “You better be sorry, pipsqueak!” she said, wiping her eyes and now running nose. “I'll have to beat you up if not!” “Come on give Vilcus a break he said sorry. What are you doing over here by yourself anyways? Daglan run away again?” Said another girl with little blonde pigtails and red cheeks, as she came up behind Vilcus. “Hi Meska and no he didn't run away again.” Rozere said, sticking her tongue out. “I just think he went for a walk is all… he'll be back… soon!” She crossed her arms and held her chin up. “Well why don't you come play with us until he gets back?” Meska asked, turning around and walking away, “We are playing dodgeball, maybe you can hit Vilcus in the face.” “Hey nuh-uh! She won't hit me!” Vilcus persisted as he followed after her. Rozere sniffled, rubbed her nose with her sleeve, and smiled. “Okay fine, but wait up!” She yelled.

As Daglan walked through the trees, he could feel the malicious energies from abominations all around him, it was making his blood boil. He remembered the stranger looking down at him and Rozere, overflowing with the most malicious intent he had ever felt. A smile began to creep across his face once more, as he could feel something close behind him. He spun around to see a creature he had only seen in books, the sight of which excited and terrified him. 

A giant humanoid creature with a long smooth snake-like torso, and grotesquely elongated arms and legs stood before him. It had a small pair of arms on its hips that bounced as if boneless, and a strange human face. Smooth indents of skin sat where the eyes should be, and it had a beak lined with razor teeth that jutted out at multiple angles. It clicked its tongue and sniffed the air then began to lick its beak with what could only be called a smile. “What should I call you big fella?” Daglan asked nervously as excitement shot through his body. This wasn't like anything he'd ever encountered in the forest, or during attacks. This creature was much more dangerous. He gritted his teeth and forced an equally disgusting smile, even though he was sure the abomination couldn't see him. He pulled out the dagger he had smithed in secret at Koshu’s forge and dropped his stance lower, lower, lower. The creator was clicking and sniffing in anticipation, no doubt it could feel Daglan’s bloodlust. Daglan took a slow step forward, then another. The creature's head tilted and it sniffed harder, then in a flash that Daglan couldn’t even see, it lashed out, slashing his shoulder apart. Adrenaline had already made its way to Daglan’s brain and he didn't even feel the warm blood soaking into his tunic or notice his limp arm flailing behind him as he attacked. He rolled under the creature’s arm and slashed at its ribs ripping its open sending its guts pouring out. It screamed in pain and whirled around, but its tall body and long arms whizzed over Daglan’s head. He rolled again, this time in between its legs, slashing at its knee, cutting down to the bone. It screamed again and fell to its knees with a gross squishy thud from one. It twitched and spazzed as it began twisting its body around in a disgusting manner. Daglan approached cautiously, but the adrenaline had worn off and he looked down at his arm. It was almost completely blue, and the little skin and bone that held his arm to his body squirted copious amounts of blood. There was a blur then he was flying through the brush stopping when he thudden into a tree. His eyes began to blur with red, then black. The last thing he heard was a familiar voice… “You are by far the most interesting of the bunch. Hey, can you hear me?”
When Deglan awoke he was looking at a ceiling he knew all too well. In a bed he had awoken in many times. But this time he couldn't move. “Silvas! What's happening?! Silvas! Rozere!” Daglan began to thrash when he heard that same voice, “Hey hey hey! You're going to hurt yourself more than you already have!” When standing over him, blocking the light with his conical hat, was the stranger. “That was a nasty creature you were tangling with out there. I heard you like to fight but I'm guessing you've never seen a lasari before? Ugly things, and not easy to kill with small weapons if you don't know how.” “I do know how.” Daglan said matter of factly, “They have two brains located behind the eye sockets.” “Oh-ho-ho,” the stranger smiled maliciously, “ but how do you stop them from reproducing after that?” Daglan went silent for a moment. “What do you mean?” “Lasari have a fun ability to reproduce from their corpse. Specifically, their heart has two eggs inside that will hatch if it ever stops beating. So to properly kill one you must burn the heart.” He laughed and presumably sat back down, out of Daglan’s eyesight. There was a slight pause and Daglan was about to speak when he heard a gasp and the stranger continued. “Anyway, you almost lost your arm. Luckily, your doctor and blacksmith were able to fix you up, those two are something else. It'll take some time for your bo-” Daglan cut him off. “What do you mean I almost lost my arm?! What did they do to me?!” He exclaimed, thrashing, memories of his broken and bleeding arm flashing through his mind. “If you don't calm down, I will calm you down.” He said forcefully. “I hate babies. I thought you were supposed to be a tough kid? Now anyways it's just me and you here, everyone else is asleep, so please. I know you've heard of the metal prosthetics of this country, Metics, I think they're called? I’ve seen people in town with them. Well your blacksmith had to help your doctor make you a new shoulder.” “So why are you being so helpful? I don't know you, and you feel the same as an abomination.” “See it's things like that!” He shot back up his face noticeably red. “You're so interesting! I don't remember how I got here…” He scratched his head for a second, “but boy have I had fun since I've shown up!” Your girlfriend Rozere-” “She's not my girlfriend, and you leave her alone!” He shouted. “Well she's fearsome! And you’re so interesting too! Definitely the best five year o-” “I’m twelve. Rozere is thirteen.” “Well twelve then. Point is, I like you and your little girly friend, so I thought I'd help out and not let you die.” Then it dawned on Daglan, there was no way a search party found him like when he normally gets in a scap and passes. He had thoroughly lost and was deep in the woods. By all accounts he should be dead. Daglan was so angry he hadn't even thought about what happened afterwards. “It was you. So what do you want from me? Are you some abomination loo-” This time the stranger cut him off. “My name is Noboru, the handyman.” “I've never heard of that species.” “Well I'm not an abomination, I'm a jack-of-all-trades, so to speak. I travel from place to place making money doing odd jobs. Anyways, you remind me an awful lot of someone I used to know. So don't go throwing your life away against such low level trash as the abominations around here.” Daglan began to feel the intimidating malice from Noboru, almost that of when Rozere had touched his sword. “I know you can feel my energy. Unlike the people of this town, save a few, I think you're gifted.” Then it was gone just as quickly as before. “What do you want, Daglan.” Daglan’s blood was fire and his eyes daggers, piercing the ceiling with determination. “I want to be remembered.” “So get out of this town and maybe one day you can fight me, and I’m not even the strongest out there. Come… show this world what you're… made of because I for one… can't wait.” Just then Daglan heard a thud followed by an endless cascade of snores from Noboru. “Would someone get me out of here!”

I'm trying to get a simple question answered about how to set up port-forwarding and DHCP address reservation.
There are options for setting up port forwarding, but I cannot find any option in the app, nor in the gateway device's page, for assigning a static internal ip address to a device.
Since port forwarding cannot work if it forwards to a device with a randomly-assigned internal ip, I need to know where, in the settings, I can do this. This is a normal thing I've done with all my other internet providers for many years.
I keep being put on hold, disconnected, transferred to non-tech-support people, and to tech support people who do not seem to know what these settings are, much less where to find them.
I have spent hours and hours and hours being transferred around, put on hold, sent to chat, called back (only to be put on hold and transferred to the wrong department) for two days now.
Now, even the live chat isn't working, because it claims I have another window open. There is one single window open in any application on the device - the single chat window that complains other windows are open. I've tried closing all windows, deleting all cookies, signing out of everything, restarted that device, and made sure that literally the only window open is the single chat window.
The inability to get in touch with a person who can help, the interminable holds, and the constant disconnections so that I have to start over have been abominably frustrating.
Then there are all the "gotchas" where if you either click the wrong thing, answer the wrong way, or fail to click something quickly enough, you have to start all over from scratch.
I want to set up a port forward, which requires setting up a device so that DHCP will assign it the same internal ip address every time that device connects. This is not rocket science. Normally, it's a clearly-labeled couple of settings tabs in the gateway interface for the gateway device/router. I've easily done it on several dozen models of routegateway/modem going back years. If there is such a setting, it is either obfuscated or disabled, and nobody I can get in contact with seems to even know what these settings are for.
On top of this, we've been misled repeatedly about what equipment would arrive, how much it would cost, when it would arrive, and by what means it would arrive. My card has been charged almost twice what we were originally quoted, and nobody can give me an answer on that either.
I am used to internet and telecom companies having difficult customer service processes, but this is orders of magnitude worse than anything I could even imagine.
My experience has been that the wrong equipment will arrive, it will not be configured properly, you won't be able to get in touch with a person in a timely fashion, the people you do get in touch with either do not or cannot give you accurate information, you will get transferred and disconnected repeatedly, and you will not get assistance.
If you have a problem - and you will have a problem - expect the "assistance" you get to be as bad or worse than the problem itself.
The last person I spoke with, when I tried to get tech support, told me I should try looking up things on forums on the internet. I said that I wanted to have an actual tech support person, and asked to be transferred. He sighed in disgust, and said "fine" and then disconnected me. He didn't even need to answer my question, he just needed to transfer me to the right department.
I have not yelled, raised my voice, accused anyone of anything, been rude, or been impatient. I've waited patiently through hours and hours and hours of frustration. I've been sweet as pie the whole time, I swear. All I've done is ask for help, and that if the person cannot assist, please put me through to someone who can.
EDIT: One of the devices I need to set up is a piece of medical equipment that by its nature is not "always on" and connected. You turn it on so that info can transfer, and it goes to sleep when information is not transferring. So without static internal ip address reservation, it gets a different IP address every single time it wakes up. The time it takes to renew for a port forward is just long enough for it to go back to sleep and get a new ip address.
​

I don't know why I do but I do. It's like a furnace. It's always inside me. Things that didn't use to bother me do now. People chewing loudly, off-key singing, etc.
I think it's because I have been having a rough time lately. I recently went off my anxiety medicine at the exact wrong time. about a month after I weaned off them, my family started to pack up and move and I was essentially another parent to my siblings. My dad is gone on work trips a week out of the month and he works away from home so it was up to me to shuttle everyone everywhere.
I really want to be a doctor someday. But I feel like I'm just going to fail before I even start. I had to drop all my college classes because I got really sick and couldn't do any schoolwork or show up. And of course I had to pick all of the in person classes instead of online, which would have been one thousand percent better. I also have really bad ADHD and it makes it super hard to do any schoolwork, and I constantly push off assignments and exams because my brain makes it really hard to do it. Last semester I dropped a class that I liked and wanted to do well in because I couldn't make myself go to school. I would just sit outside and stare at the building until the class was over. And then I would beat myself up about it the entire drive home.
And then my sister started self-harming in the middle of everything and I was one of the only people she trusted to tell about it. She got incredibly depressed. I wasn't able to talk to her about anything deep, only surface-level stuff. And don't even think about anything that could trigger her somehow. I felt like I was walking on eggshells all the time. What if I made her cut herself because of something offhanded I said? I had to be another caregiver to her and I constantly worried about her while I was working, out of the house, or out with friends. I kept thinking that I was going to get a phone call and she was going to be dead.
Right now I'm living with my sister who lives across the country. It all got too much to handle and so I'm staying here for the summer. I feel stupid writing this out. I know that there's tons of people out there with bigger problems and I should be grateful for a good family and food to eat. But I'm so angry all the time. And I'm sad. And I guess upset. I want to yell at my sister and I want to yell at my parents and I want to run away forever.
I don't know if anyone has gone through anything similar here, but I just wanted to vent to someone anonymously.

My friend B is having an experience where I think her T is acting borderline inappropriatly. It seems he's pushing the boundaries slowly. She's had him read her journal and he's more than aware of her erotic transference. He continues to hug B after sessions and has even gone as far as talking her out of having sex with a potential suiter because "you may end up complicating your life just for two minutes of disappointment" those were his literal words apparently. B also attends a group counseling that he co-hosts and he was speaking hypothetically one day, and in front of the class used an example of them being in a hypothetical marriage. He said something along the lines of "if B and I were married and we had to healthily figure out to eventually co parent" ...I feel as if my friend is blind to his behavior because she is attached to him. Maybe I'm looking too far into it. But I think his response to her transference has been wrong. They do not discuss it at all.

I am a teenage girl from cali. Basically I have been in a friend group for my entire life and they are my family. Our parents are all best friends and we have gone on many vacations together. Before we all hit puberty nothing was wrong and we were the model friendships. sleepovers with everybody every weekend, movies, etc. However one member of the group is a bitch to say the least. the 2 girls have buddied up and i will give you a run down. One of them is a narcissist who has called the cops on my and pretended that she didn’t, a pathological liar and stolen from my family, and the other one is a down right idiot. For the record she strongly supports the fact that planets aren’t real and that dinosaurs never existed, as well as all gay people should die. Anyways i love every other member of the group so much and have had no provlems with them except they still love the 2 demons. They think nothing the 2 could be that bad and it’s funny, but it’s started to get out of hand, and the other members might be getting influenced by the others ideas, such as racism and sexism, even though both can apply to some. They are in every activity i do and go to my school so i don’t know if i drop them if i can maintain my other friendships if they are still close with twiddle dee and twiddle dum. So should i ignore them for the sake of my other friends or should i just cut contact all together?

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New Terran Refugee (Pt - 20) : An NOP fanfic
Thanks to u/SpacePaladin15 for letting people write fanfics.
This is just a fanfic of course.
This chapter went through several iterations, I might have let myself think I could release it 1 week late (and failed). Also, I might have gotten sidetracked with other non-writing thing, oops.
TL;DR:
“OOPS! All Rewrites! And side projects!” – Me
In any case, here’s the chapter:
Memory transcription subject: Tayla, Venlil Widow
Date [standardized human time]: October 18, 2136
The first thing I became aware of was that I had awoken enveloping a richly warm pillow with a soft surface from above, and that not only was it hot but that it was also soft and squishy but without too much give, in fact it was somehow firmer below the surface, I snuggled closer to the material that was emanating heat below me and drove off my mind’s attempts at waking me up, this was too blissful an experience to stop suddenly.
The second thing I became aware of was that I didn’t remember replacing my heated pillow as the cold wind season was still expected to be a good deal of time away and that I had much more important things to spend my limited budget on.
The third thing I became aware of was that I wasn’t hugging a pillow, this only happened when I noticed that it wasn’t moving because I was snuggling into it, but rather moving in a steady motion against me, like when someone breathes while asleep.
The fourth thing I became aware of, were the memories of what led me into this situation ‘Just gonna close my eyes for a moment’; Why did I lie to myself like that?
The final thing I became aware of snapped me out of my musings, it was the reason I woke up, and the reason I had crashed so hard into sleepiness.
The consequence of drinking copious amounts of [shade root] tea to keep watch over Jorge until I could call the number in the email during the schedule it had included beneath itself, this was made worse by the cans of ‘Twilight Energy’ I had drank at the end when more drastic measures had to be taken.
I couldn’t ignore it I couldn’t help but feel the pressure mounting inside my bladder as I peeled myself off from on top of Jorge. Why did I move so much while asleep?
Oh Protector, I missed his warmth already…
I made a mental note to look into repairing my heated pillow for cheap due to a sudden urge to sleep with something warm more frequently, the abrupt thought jogging loose some memories about contact information of some local repairvenlil I’d called before for one reason or another, along with the memory of the number I called before… napping with Jorge…
A great feeling of chagrin manifested along with my bloom while closing Jorge’s bathroom door behind me as I remembered the text beneath the schedule, ‘Extended working hours during emergency situations’, the aftermath of antimatter bombing definitely applied… especially since that Mrs. Bennet sounded so exhausted so soon after the supposed start of her work claw.
I decided to chalk up my lapse in judgement to have been due to how Jorge’s expression before he sealed himself in had left my thoughts racing and heart pounding in worry over him.
With my thoughts somewhat settled, I examined the strange toilet that had been installed, before throwing caution to the winds when the urgency I felt reasserted itself with force.
…
After closing the lid and washing my paws, I finally found what had to be the equivalent of the pulley and chain, a small, recessed button parted into 2 asymmetric parts on the top middle part behind the seat.
I pressed both parts at the same time just in case.
FWOOOSH
A small eep escaped me but was drowned out by the noises that were still coming from the strange toilet!
Finally, the ruckus ended, letting me calm down from the unexpected loudness. Wait, did that noise wak-
THUNK THUNK THUNK
A bigger eep escaped me as I jumped a little into the air; However this time it wasn’t drowned out by another noise.
“¿you ok in there?” I could barely make out Jorge’s voice through the door, like he was putting in the barest effort needed to speak.
“Y-yeah, j-just startled…” I opened the door as I trailed off, a sudden realization had me asking him a question, “I guess I know how It felt w-when I s-startled you h-huh?”
His normally expressive face remained still, the only reaction to my attempt at lightening the mood a brief exhale from his nose; He simply slipped past me as I left the bathroom and muttered something I didn’t quite hear just before shutting the door softly.
I went back to the bed and turned on his pad, after a few seconds of waiting for it to turn on, and a few more waiting for my translator to parse the strange [date and time] format the humans used (Honestly, who separated the [hours] and the [days/months] like that?) I felt a bit of relief as I sank a bit into the still warm bed.
According to the pad, I’d just taken a short nap, I still had plenty of time until my children came back home, hopefully I had enough time to actually have some kind of talk with Jorge.
I’d have to somehow get him to talk about last Paw’s… reaction of his, and find a way to convince him to talk about his family, It’d be good for him to recognize that pain, maybe he’d even hold onto it like me…
^FWOOOSH
That thing that the humans called a toilet interrupted my train of thought before I could do more than think of the barest of ways I could breeze into such heavy topics, the small delay between the toilet’s sound, the groaning of water travelling to the faucet, and the door opening wasn’t even enough to get back on my mind’s [zephyr].
A quick focus on Jorge’s face made my determination start to breeze away a bit, it was much easier to think of how to talk to him when I couldn’t see just how heavily everything [to wear down like a long strong gale would] on him.
Jorge deflated slightly but visibly at how I apparently froze up at the sight of him.
“well, thanks, i… feel better, you can just… leave me be for now”
Jorge stood still, averting his eyes from me until he shrugged strangely after turning to look at the barricade, he then shuffled over and started to shift it to the side a bit, evidently wishing to put it back in place after I left.
“ah” he cleared his throat, “sorry, you can leave now” he returned to averting his eyes from looking at me and awkwardly motioned towards the wide opening he had made after dragging the barricade as he stepped away morosely.
“Jorge.” I paused to breathe; I’d managed to huff out his name just as I needed to exhale.
Jorge stood still for a moment before tentatively focusing on me, a strangely vulnerable expression sat on his face.
I patted the bed (an appropriate and proper distance away from me) with my tail before curling it away from the spot, he seemed to get the message and soon he had sat down beside me, brief moment of hesitation notwithstanding.
I turned my head towards him as I’d seen him do when talking, he flinched a little when his eyes met mine, closing them and averting his face, I reached out for his nearby claw with my tail and put it down gently on top.
I waited patiently for him to start talking; Thankfully the wait was short.
“this… ¿is this about… my reaction yesterday?”
“Yes,” I squeezed down on his claw softly with my tail in a comforting gesture, “I wanted to speak with you about that sooner, but for now…” another gentle squeeze, “I’m just glad you seem to be doing a little bit better.”
Silence enveloped us as Jorge seemed to mull over what I’d just said.
A small hint of a hunch had me examining him more closely, it seemed he was anxiously waiting for me to talk some more.
I chastised myself internally, ‘Of course he wasn’t going to be feeling very talkative…’, how could someone jump straight into talking about such a topic? It’d probably be better to start with other stuff and gauge things from there; With that my mind sifted through possible topics until one stood out.
“S-so, I kind of… used up a lot of your powdered ingredients… heh…” I took in his features, he seemed halfway here and halfway far away.
Maybe… Maybe if I somehow mentioned the call to remind him that there were more humans he could try talking to? Just in case he was getting tired of my clumsy attempts at talking with him…
“I, uh, didn’t think of asking Mrs. Bennet about their availability when I called her this Paw, s-sorry about that… b-but I’m sure they’ll get some more that you can use soon, right?”
That got a reaction, a small one, out of him; His eyes widened. It… felt wrong.
“o-oh, well, i’d better get started packing then…”
An impossibly heavy weight settled deep inside my stomach as he moved his claw out from under my frozen tail tip, my throat clenched up as Jorge got up and limply started wading to his bag.
I stared in mute horror as he dumped his clean body coverings into it, trying to communicate anything to him, and failing miserably as the sheer disbelief of just how horribly I had miscommunicated kept me frozen, while the pain and betrayal I could imagine him feeling kept my mind reeling.
He stopped just as he reached his bag, his claws clenched for a moment before he unclenched them slowly and turned around to look directly at me.
He’d shed more tears, his eyes were an ugly and fresher shade of red.
“y-you were waiting down here for me to wake up again just to have this conversation as soon as possible. ¿am i right?”
Th-this wasn’t supposed to go like this!
“I… I was-”
“I!” interrupted Jorge with an elevated tone of voice, “…Earlier, I woke up and went back to sleep a few times, I could see you sitting on the stairs, sometimes you and your pad would be missing, I kept thinking that maybe you were worried about me ¿you know?”
“I-” An intense look from him kept the rest of my response in my head; ‘I was!’ I wanted to plead.
“I guess you didn’t plan for me falling asleep after crying…” He trailed off and seemed to go into deep thought for a moment, before his eyes narrowed dangerously. “¿Did you just bring me that Atole to soften the blow?” He held up one of his claws towards me while making a stabbing motion with it, his voice came out as a much lower growl than normal from him. “¿Or was putting me to sleep part of the plan?”
My face felt as if I’d been hit by an icy gale. ‘Did he just insinua-?’
“You’re fucking heartless.” That last sentence from him was punctuated by a fresh set of tears from his eyes, though no sobbing came from him as he let himself fall backwards down onto the floor, like a puppet with its strings suddenly cut.
My heart was beating wildly, and my eyes stung from the horrible accusations that he was making, and from how I’d probably be doing just what he had said if this had happened a few days ago…
I gave myself a moment to recollect myself, I’d thought similar enough things when I was alone in the hospital after losing my family, not nearly as extreme but… my circumstances back then and his right now weren’t comparable.
I shuddered internally at how much worse I’d have fared if it had been Venlil Prime that had been attacked; I’d probably… I’d have tried to do what he tried last night…
With a sigh I focused consciously on Jorge, who was breathing a bit more steadily now, as I picked up the bottle and moved steadily towards his alert gaze.
I sat down in front of him and opened the bottle, he narrowed his eyes even further in response, making the redness and glistening more pronounced, the patches of fur above his eyes changed position as well; I didn’t quite know what it meant, but it couldn’t possibly have been from him feeling happy or at peace.
I pushed through the sense of fear that was starting to form from being under his stare and took in the rest of his body language… I readjusted my position and observed as he flinched away from me…
I slowly raised the bottle and drank; The patches of fur over his eyes returned to their normal position, overshot and stayed raised while the intensity of his stare diminished. Finally, he tilted his head ever so slightly.
After a few gulps more I stopped drinking and offered him the bottle, he still wasn’t accepting it; I wiped my lips and prepared to speak.
“…I wouldn’t do that to you…” A small quiver at the end made me trail off until I was certain my voice wouldn’t fail me. I wouldn’t do that now. “None of those things, I mean… Even after all I did… You gave me a chance…”
“When you put it like that…” Jorge wiped his eyes. “I mean, I don’t know what came over me…” He looked to the side and deflated a little.
“I understand… I was like this too…” A small shiver traveled through my spine, thinking about it always did… I ignored the shiver by standing up and offering him the bottle again, this time he grabbed it and drank deeply.
He trailed behind me, we sat down on opposite sides of the bed, him hugging his legs as he sat against the wall, and me with one leg over the edge of the bed with the other one crossed over it.
Dozens of starting points were flurrying in my head, I couldn’t decide on one, so I cleared my throat and let myself say whatever came out first.
“I’m married.” Jorge became extremely visibly confused. “I-I’m a Widow, I meant to say…” The familiar sting of pain grounded me as his expression changed into one I could recognize even from him, pity.
“He-” died “…It happened 11 years ago, I… I lost my family at the same time…”
Jorge’s expression softened even more, no longer out of pity, but out of understanding… of the pain we shared…
“It was my dad’s idea, he’s always wanted to have a big family homestead… when the latest batch of colonies were finally cleared for habitation he bought a plot immediately, my sister and her husband went with them first, then my brother and his wife, and finally me and…”
This whole talking thing was much harder than I thought… I cleared my throat; I couldn’t go on just omitting any names in my retelling…
“Krayla, that’s my mother’s name.” I paused, waiting for his reaction, he ‘nodded’ slowly, solemnly. “Tavk’io, my dad; Talnum, my b-brother; Tahyiya, m-my sister; …a-and Glim, m-my husband…”
I buried my head in my paws, this was too much…
A moment passed, I felt something brush against my tail; Opening my eyes I saw that it was Jorge’s claw, he patted the tip gently until his eyes met mine.
“Emiliano José Cauich Ayala, t-that’s my father’s name.” He paused to breathe and wiped his eyes. “Ixchel Paola Rojas Canul, that’s my mother’s name.”
We stayed in silence for a while longer, at least in my case recovering from the emotional toll that I had just gone through.
“S-shortly after we arrived at the colony,” I began. “I l-learned I was p-pregnant, G-Glim and I celebrated it with my family, we were going to name our baby after my brother and his wife, Kiyomi. It… It was something we had all come up with [years] before, everything was going just like we had dreamed and talked so much about…”
I squeezed my tail against myself, all those nights at the colony laughing and joking with each other about increasingly outlandish names (ones that we’d never use of course), gone just like that…
“G-Glim and Talnum were busy helping the colony expand by clearing new plots for development and as buffer zones, I helped around with Taylee and Talim when needed but I helped dad with the house most of the time; There were always things that needed to be taken care of after all. Th-then one day in the colony, I f-fainted while picking up Taylee and Talim from school, a f-few [weeks] after that… I had to be sent back here since the colony’s hospital had lost their last equipment shipment to an Arxur raid.” I paused and lowered my voice. “G-Glim stayed behind to take extra assignments, t-to cover expenses, h-he… he was… he was on his last pawful of shifts b-before leave wh-when…”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“…D-dad was at home looking after the kids, he’d sprained his leg while doing some maintenance, he called me early in the morning there, Talnum and Glim were in some kind of assignment together, and my mother had taken everyone else to get stuff from the market to prepare a farewell meal f-for Glim…” And after that… “The call disconnected abruptly, it had happened before so I… I j-joked to m-myself a-and the nurse that it was p-probably j-just the signal failing because I wasn’t there to maintain things p-properly…”
Tears started forming in my eyes again, Jorge shuffled closer, put his soft claw on my shoulder and gave a light squeeze, his warmth spread throughout me.
“…A few claws later I learnt the truth, that the colony had been raided and that the shelter had been breached, shortly after that, I… I lost my…” I did my best to look him directly in his eyes. “After that… I started planning how to get to the hospital’s roof…” There, a glint of recognition and pain in his eyes. “I was just waiting for the rescue fleet to finish up there, just in case, thankfully… my dad hid Taylee and Talim in one of the [Kitchen] cabinets after taking down the family pictures, since he couldn’t take them to the shelter, he… Taylee told me that he… he begged her to keep quiet before closing the cabinet. She stayed in there with Talim for I don’t even know how long… She… She hasn’t talked about it ever again.”
Another squeeze, then silence and cold as he retracted his claw back towards him, his face turning to another side while taking on some kind of thoughtful intensity.
“S-So… What I’ve been trying to say was… I kind of understand what you’re going through… A-and if you want to talk… I-I’m here?”
A small ‘nod’, and more silence. My eyes were beginning to feel heavy again, that nap hadn’t been enough it seemed.
Jorge harrumphed, causing a bolt of wakefulness to course through me as he began speaking, filling in the silence that had fallen on the room.
“…I don’t think I’m ready yet…” His face turned towards me once more. “But… thank you, for sharing, and for worrying about me, I… If you hadn’t been there when I drifted into and out of sleep…” His eyes widened in a flash. “Wait. ¿You haven’t slept right? ¿Are you feeling OK?”
“I-I t-took a nap after you f-fell asleep…” B-beneath him… “Y-you left a lot of space…” He did, but I couldn’t get to it from under his legs…
“Good, good…” His eyes flicked between me and the door. “Well… I suppose you’ve got stuff to do now. ¿Am I right?” Somehow, the expression that sat now on his face felt forced in a way. I kept quiet as I rummaged through my memories of The Aftermath.
Of course, he was trying to get me out to wallow in peace, just as I did…
That was the last thing he needed right now.
I needed to find a way to get him out of this room…
“Actually… I’m free until my kids get back, I’m used to taking care of chores quickly.”
“Right…” Jorge seemed to slowly steel himself, if I didn’t interrupt me, he’d just ask me to leave directly…
I tried to think faster, but the drowsiness was returning in force, it was no use… Unless…
“H-Hey!” My exclamation startled him, I pressed on to keep the momentum strong. “I uh, I kind of went through my whole supply of [shade root] tea to stay awake…” I didn’t. “And… I don’t really want to drink more energy drinks this Paw, I don’t suppose you have something to stay awake with you?”
Jorge blinked, again, once more, and again one last time before responding.
“¿I… think I have some coffee I could make?” He tilted his head adorably to one side as he scratched his head with one claw.
“Sounds perfect! Would you please make me some?” I stood up before he could even answer, reached for his idle claw and tugged at it towards me; He stood up in what seemed like a daze out of reflex.
We spent the next few [minutes] browsing the intact shelf, whatever this coffee was, it wasn’t there, the tentatively positive mood that had formed cracked a little as Jorge looked at the shelf barricade before he trudged over to it, stopping beside it where he gestured at vaguely with his claw.
We stepped past the barricade, tried not to look at each other, failed, shuffled in place for a moment and began sifting through the items strewn about the floor in an unspoken agreement.
It wasn’t long until I found myself holding a container that my translator insisted was labeled ‘Instant Coffee’. “Hey,” I started while turning, “is this the ri-” Jorge was looking intensely at something on the floor, I followed his gaze and saw it, the broken remains of the flame projector.
“J-Jorge?” I extended my tail cautiously towards his arm, his claws ceased to strain against themselves following the subtle flinch he had when the tip of my tail made contact with him.
I gave him the ‘Instant Coffee’ I was holding and scooped up the remains to dispose of them properly this time; Jorge held up the container and murmured an affirmation at me, I gestured for him to lead the way and proceeded to follow him to the [kitchen].
I raced my way directly to the trash container, separated the single-use fuel cannister from the remains I was holding, and dumped the inert bits inside; I’d have to take this last part to a proper disposal collection point in town some other time. For now, I glanced at Jorge and tucked it into a discreet spot in the cabinets when he wasn’t looking. Only after that did I notice what a mess I’d made up here despite my best efforts at cleaning up…
Jorge’s eyes were scanning all over the [kitchen], taking in every splotch, every spill and every crusted over utensil I’d used, he lingered noticeably longer on the open and haphazardly arranged containers of his that I had used, finally he stared at the Vanilla Extract bottle with a soft expression, it was the only container that had remained completely spotless and didn’t have a significant amount of its contents drained.
Yet another unreadable expression had settled on his face as he took a big pot and barely put any water in it, the other more reasonably sized ones just too dirty to deal with quickly, before putting it to boil on the [stove top].
“Uh…” He shifted his weight from one leg to the other a few times. “I… never did thank you for the drink earlier ¿Didn’t I?”
“N-no but there’s no ne-”
The patches of fur above his eyes furrowed together.
“You… mentioned before that you entered the program for money…” He looked confused. “¿Why didn’t you just… ask for me to be picked up? You’d have gotten someone else in no time… Hell, I’d still understand if you did it now. You don’t have to go through all this trouble for me.” The confused expression deepened as he gestured at the messy remains around us.
“…”
He was waiting for an answer.
“I… w-well I d-did enter for the money… b-but… I don’t want to just replace you… I like being around you. I d-don’t know if we’re there yet… But I’d like to be… f-friends! W-with you someday…” Oh Protector, I couldn’t be more obvious unless I just came out and said it…
“Well for what it’s worth… Thank you Tayla, you don’t know what that means to me right now.” He was looking directly at me, with raw emotion and palpable aliveness, my face started to feel as if I was standing under sunlight…
“I-It was the l-least I could d-do…” It was worth it even though he didn’t seem to understand quite what I accidentally meant before…
I was spared from further embarrassment by the pot of water sizzling violently behind Jorge who turned around in a blur to turn the heat off, while he did that I grabbed two (clean) mugs and set them down near him, though I didn’t move my paws quite fast enough as his claw brushed against me while he moved the mugs closer to him to pour the water on them.
He let the water cool down a little as he put his sugar and ‘Instant Coffee’ containers close to the mugs; He poured the less-than-boiling water into the mugs, stirred in a measure of ‘Instant Coffee’ and a measure of sugar as well.
He passed me a mug with a cryptic warning. “If it’s not to your taste, let me know.” Then he grabbed the other one, sipped a little and waited.
The mischievous glint in his eyes left me no choice, I’d have to play along for now; I raised the mug and sipped…
SPEH
WHY WAS EVERYTHING THESE HUMANS HAD SO BITTER?
I futilely attempted to remove the grimace from my face; Strangely, the roar of laughter I expected was nowhere to be heard, I found myself looking at Jorge with some amount of concern, though the clear, if understated, smile he sported calmed me down somewhat.
Wordlessly, Jorge reached for my mug and the can of powdered coconut milk, he then proceeded to mix in a little of it in both mugs, turning the liquid from a dark oily brown to a much lighter tone. Finally he mixed in a single drop of his Vanilla Extract in each mug and gave me back mine.
I gave him the best glare I could manage as I pouted at him, he took a deep drink from his own mug and held it up for me to examine.
With a sigh I tried mine again.
Warm. Flowery. Smooth. Bitter but not too much, like a perfectly harvested root. But most importantly of all, I could feel myself waking slightly more already, whether it was just self-suggestion or the drink having an effect so soon I couldn’t tell.
Once more, the reaction I expected from Jorge was missing, this time he seemed to be lost in thought, staring at a distant point in the air.
I took a moment to examine him, whatever he was thinking, it was starting to fester. It’d be better to get him talking “What’s wrong?” I asked.
“It’s no-” He shook his head. “It’s just… I… my dad… he liked to drink his without adding anything, no sugar, no… coconut milk…, and… me and mom used to tease him about it…” He was retreating into himself once more.
I kept drinking my coffee; There had to be something else I could talk with him about…
Jorge straightened up, something about his posture, about the way he held himself had changed.
“Say… Tayla… ¿Can I ask you for a favor?” Despite the confidence he exuded he was running one of his claws over the back of his mug repeatedly.
“W-what kind of favor?”
“There’s something I want, no, something I need to make for the end of the [month], and… I’m going to need your help getting the stuff, I’d just ask you to get it all for me, but honestly that wouldn’t be right.”
“O-ok, but you still haven’t told me what the favor is?”
“I need to buy flowers, candles, a good tablecloth, and see what dishes I can actually make here that’d be good enough.”
“W-What for?” W-Was he? My heart was beating wildly in a peculiar mix of elation, nervousness and apprehension.
“I’m going to make an Altar for Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos), it’s the least I can do for my family all the way over here.”
W-
Wh-
WHAT?

Hi, I am a gay male and recently I had sex with this guy from my hometown. Me and this guy have had sex times before but this time it was different. One night I had linked up with him and we were kissing but as we were kissing I noticed this taste in his mouth. It kind of taste like something that had gone spoiled but it wasn't bad enough to where I noticed it to much. We finished kissing and then had unprotected sex. The next day I woke up fine but it was the day after that is when I started to notice something may have been wrong. I had that taste in my mouth that he had followed with a sore throat and a feeling of nausea. I immediately started to freak out and called him. He told me that he had not been sick and that he is up to date on his testing and that he is clean. Now it is a weak later and I still have what I think is a tonsil stone in my throat and a sore throat. The nausea feeling has calmed down but I really haven't had an appetite. I have scheduled an appointment to get test but does anyone know what this could be?