I live in a land locked state and have never seen a shark outside an aquarium. Since I can remember I used to get scared when I bathed alone. I thought a shark was going to eat me in the bath tub. As I got older I was fine by myself, but only if I didn't close my eyes. To this day, if I close my eyes in the shower or swim alone in a pool, I get flooded with paranoia and fear. I can see faint shark shaped shadows coming toward me behind my eyelids. 100% true. 100% stupid.

I (F33) love my partner (M44) and he’s accepted me and my 3 kids in a very caring way but I am unsure if I’ve overlooked the importance of certain issues and would like to know if any of them are correctable so that we might move forward to marriage.
My partner and I made our relationship official over a year ago. I could tell he was very much into his work and used to living his bachelor lifestyle. We dated, developed strong feelings for one another and got serious, he met my kids, we talked future.
Everything was great although there was stress because he stepped up to fill his manager’s (we’ll call him Sam) role as a way to expedite his career advancement-advice from Sam’s boss (we’ll call her Trish). On rare occasion he was a bit flakey -making plans and then not following through or forgetting- but we talked about it and it seemed to improve. After months of dedication he was not offered the job by Trish who said her hands were tied.
Trish and Sam both followed a mutual colleague to another company and soon my partner followed. We went long distance at this point but he instantly became consumed with work. Sam eventually started having issues at work with people not liking the way he did things and my partner stepped in to help.
Soon, Sam went on various trips and medical leave and my partner was directed by Trish (Sam’s boss at this company too) to fill the role as a way to expedite his career advancement. My partner did this for months and it weighed on our relationship. We planned for me to move closer to him with my kids and join the company as well. Trish then advised against me joining so it suddenly was no longer on the table in his eyes. I found a good paying job at a different company down the street and my kids and I moved into our own place, closer to him in this other state. It took about 6 months but we finally got settled in and I told him I was done moving and wanted to set down roots here. Our plan was to finish out our leases and then get married and all live together.
The flakiness returned in multiple ways this time: through being unable to follow plans because work got in the way, not being present (on company phone or talking calls), to saying he was staying late at work when in reality he had a networking dinner to go to and tried to omit it not knowing a mutual friend had mentioned it to me. The relationship issues caused by work continued to the point where I would cry regularly about his priorities, him not showing up for us in various ways and our my concerns for our future.
He continues to give this role all he’s got for more months, saying that focusing on his career now will pay dividends. In the meantime I start to notice his bad habits increase in frequency; nose picking, poor dental hygiene, not taking showers at night, skipping meals while at work, speaking badly about people because Trish thought it was funny and being dismissive of the issues I’d bring up to work through.
When it came time, Trish again had her hands tied and my partner did not get the role. Now he is sad, crying, feeling let down and overlooked. He seems to be expressing some of the same hurts through all this that I had when talking to him about how he put work above our relationship. I’m sad to see him like this but I do want to help him.
At this point Trish gave someone else the job and spoke to my partner about other roles like this one at sites that are in other states. I told him I felt I could never sacrifice enough for him and his career, reminded him that I also have ambitions and wasn’t sure he’d do the same for me and said I did not support another move.
He was upset and feeling unsure of what his next steps could be but then asked me how I felt about him asking Trish for a corporate role where he might travel two weeks of each month and not be connected to a specific location along with having more separation between work and home. I reminded him that we spoke about having children and of my expectation that someone would be in the trenches with me on the daily.
I don’t care about work or our income more than our family life and I feel like I need him to lead whatever family we are going to have with those same values. I don’t want to turn away from him but I don’t know if I see the same future we spoke about or even one where I would have a husband who puts me ahead of himself the way that I do or father who is there for his children at the end of the day.
How can I help him? How can our relationship progress/survive?
TL;DR Partner puts work first. Correctable? Do we still have a future?

In my life, I have had a ridiculous number of hilarious stories involving pee. This one happened today.
I have a personal bathroom in our basement, I never close the door and as soon as you come down the stairs, you can see inside the bathroom. The only reason my wife ever goes into the basement is to do the laundry.
Today my wife caught me peeing in the shower. No big deal, right? Everybody pees in the shower, even if we don’t all admit it. Well, apparently “peeing in the shower” generally refers to peeing while USING the shower and not standing outside the shower while brushing your teeth (TIL). So needless to say, my wife was dumbfounded when she saw me standing there peeing into the shower drain. But all she said was “why am I not surprised”.
TL;DR: I pee in the shower drain, today I got caught.

Defending the Draft: 2023 Washington Commanders 8-8-1
Preface:
Hope.
This 2023 season will be the most interesting for the Commanders franchise in a long long time. We enter this season with more uncertainty than I have ever been a part of, however, the one thing the fan base is certain of... is the future is brighter. Dan Snyder purchased the franchise in 1999 and subsequently done nothing but run a blue blood franchise into the ground. This team has lacked direction for a long time and a large part of that was due to Dan Snyder's meddling in the day-to-day football operations of the team. Starting his ownership with signing washed up HOF veterans, to then overspending in free agency (Albert Haynesworth is arguably the worst free agent signing of all time), drug scandal with thetraining staff, the mishandling of the RG3 and Kirk Cousins situation, Not resigning Trent Williams, and lastly we've now reached tumultuous time where his off the field issues have hung a dark cloud over a once proud franchise. Although, lol, his most egregious mistake may be hiring Jim Zorn as head coach. It's egregious that his only punishment is a 6 billion dollar payout for his franchise. I hope the banks bury him and he faces the deserved legal actions. As of now there had been an agreement to sell the franchise to 76'rs and NJ Devils owner, Josh Harris.... and is 20ish members of his parliament. We await to hear news of the reviews from the NFL financial committee to close out the process. Last news I came across was he has cut down the number of minority owners to 20. It will be a pleasure when this agreement is finalized. He could be a terrible owner, but it would still be an upgrade from Synder. Harris, seemingly has been a hands off owner and properly allows the people he's hired to operate the team. This last sports season he's had both of his teams deep in the playoff hunt. This season will be interesting. A lot of questions all around: Sam Howell? Chase Young? Ron Rivera? Eric Bienemy? Josh Harris? I'm not sure of those answers, but I'm very excited to find them out.
Coaching:
HC- Ron Rivera OC- Eric Bieniemy DC- Jack Del Rio
Key Additions: Eric Bieniemy
Ole' Riverboat Ron Rivera is back and going into his 4th season with the Washington Commanders, hopefully his last. I believe Ron Rivera is a leader of men, but I highly question his actual coaching skills and team building. I've currently seen enough of this coaching regime and front office to safely say let's move on. There's been several things that I believed were firable offenses.... the Carson Wentz trade. Some rumors have said that this was a Snyder push. Not entirely positive, but Ron bragged that it was his call. Our team at that point was not a qb away from being really good, let alone a Carson Wentz level of qb. The next fireable offense was starting Wentz over Hienke when the playoffs were on the line. Wentz ended up being benched for Hienke, but it was too little too late. The next fireable offense was not realizing we were eliminated from the playoffs. Going into the last week of the season Ron planned on starting Hieneke. Pretty odd to not know you're out of the playoffs, let alone to test Sam Howell out for next season. Additionally, there's been some pretty questionable roster creation decisions. I absolutely hate the versatile secondary and offensive line philosophy. We currently have a patch work offensive line that has the means to fluctuate between average to below average. Not a single player on the line is top 5 at their respected position. Two years ago we had a top 10 o-line, but that had Brandon Sherff playing like a top 5 guard and Charles Leno having his best season. Our o-line took a significant step back this past season and now looks to be our biggest weakness. Ron has shown to trust his own board and has reached (according to the consensus big board) with every single pick so far. People mistake 2019 as one of his drafts ( Sweat, McLaurin, Holcomb), but he was hired at the end of the season. Take this with a grain of salt as it takes at least 3 years to properly review a draft. Rons 1st round picks have been the following: 2020 pick 2 Chase Young- the correct pick at the time, but hard to botch the 2nd overall pick, 2021 pick 19 Jamin Davis- hated the pick at the time, too early for a linebacker... let a lone a project. On tape he looked lost a lot and made up for it with his elite athleticism. He's shown progress, but nothing showing he's worthy of the pick. 2022 pick 16 Jahan Dotson- looks to be an absolute baller, had him ranked above Olave in the pre-draft process. Was a slight reach above the consensus board, but flashed high end ability. Davis has been the only mistake in the 1st round thus far. When I say mistake I don't necessarily mean player, but the roster building philosophy. Whether reaching on Phidarian Mathis in the 2nd round of 2022. Lol, he was older than Payne coming out of the draft, one year of good production, and was taken a round too early. In the next round Brian Robinson was taken and was really just a body. Haven't really seen anything elite with him so far and was a meh pick. John Bates in the 4th round was egregious. Now I have to give credit where it's due. Kam Curl was an absolute steal and can solidify himself as top 5 safety this season if he continues to play this well. Our other starting safety in Darrick Forest also had a lot of bright spots playing this past season.
Arguably, our best offseason move was signing Eric Bieniemy. I'm absolutely excited. Forget everything about him not calling the plays. Reports from OTA's shows his hands on approach and full control of the offense. One of my favorites things I've heard is he is using OTA's to see what the players can do and crafting the offense to their abilities. Time and time again (Scott Turner) you see coaches say this is the offense and not change anything to match the players strengths. We don't know for sure how the offense will look, but if it's anything close to the motion west coast offense the Chiefs have... boy lessssss gooooooo. Jack Del Rio has been up-and-down in his time in Washington. He's had two very slow starts with the defense to start year, however, they've finished strong and kept his job safe. This is really the no excuse year and everyone needs to show up amd show out.
Free Agency:
Key Departures:
Taylor Hieneke- signed with the Falcons
Cole Holcolm- signed with the Steelers
Bobby McCain- signed with the Giants
Carson Wentz- TBD
J.D. McKissic- TBD
Trai Turner TBD
Andrew Norwell- will be released when he passes a physical
Summary:
In my personal oppinion, the only player that hurt losing in free agency was Cole Holcolm. Linebacker is our one weak spot on defense, however, not resigning Holcolm shows Ron's belief in Jaymin Davis's progression. Cole was limited to 7 games last season and has yet to truly break out. Always played very solid and losing him downgraded the position. We've moved on from both starting guards from last year in Norwell and Turner (previously on the Panthers). Both players were liabilities last season and the guard position was easily upgradeable. Bonny McCain was a solid do it all for is player. Lined up at corner, safety, and nickel throughout the season. Hieneke was a big fan favorite, but was never the answer. We thank you for your service though. Carson Wentz, fuck you. Loved J.D. and his time here, suffered a major injury. Not sure if he gets picked up hy another team.
Key Additions:
Andrew Wiley- 3 years for 24 million, 12 guaranteed. Previously on the Chiefs
Nick Gates- 3 years for 16.5 million, 8 million guaranteed. Previously on the Giants
Jacoby Brissett- 1 year for 8 million, 7.5 million guaranteed. Previously on the Browns
Cody Barton- 1 year for 3.5 million, 3.5 million guaranteed. Previously on the Seahawks
Summary:
Simple. In free agency the Commanders did not overspend and tackled positions of need. None of the players signed are top 5 at their position, however, they could all possibly end up being upgrades to what we have. The most interesting is Andrew Wiley. He allowed 9 sacks (tied for 3rd most)... but man he put on the performance of his life in the superbowl. Another stat that favors him is pass block win-rate, which measure if a lineman can sustain a block for 2.5 seconds. Wylie ranked 9th in that stat last season. I translate that stat to mean can a lineman sustain a block against thr initial rush and counter move off the snap. After that 2.5 seconds the ball is thrown or the play breaks down. Another key factor to this signing is it kicks Samuel Cosmi inside to guard. Cosmi has shown flashes being a high end lineman and I expect him to be even better kicking to guard from right tackle. Guard was our weakest position on the line and Wylie signing helped to upgrade the RG position. Nick Gates is expected to he our starting center. He's coming off of a brutal leg injury that made him consider retirement. Has played guard and center and has some positional flexibility. Jacoby Brissett is the best backup qb in thr league. A solid signing if Howell doesn't pan out. Just a solid game manager that doesn't commit many turnovers. Cody Barton is another unproven guy. Last year was his first year with significant reps. Bobby Wagner leaving in FA and Jordyn Brooks injury made em the guy. He showed flashes of coverage abilities and had a lot of tackles. The tackles weren't necessarily a product of his abilities and more so of cleaning up on a bad run defense team. I've read some notes that he has trouble getting off of blocks. Honestly, haven't watched much on the guy, but reports were he played solid down the stretch.
The Draft:
Link to all RAS scores for our draft class
https://commanderswire.usatoday.com/lists/2023-nfl-draft-ras-scores-for-the-washington-commanders-7-player-class-emmanuel-forbes/
Round 1:16 Emmanuel Forbes 6'1" 174 lbs. Mississippi St
Stats: 58 targets, 31 catches allowed for 284 yards (23 yards a game), 3 tds allowed/ 6 ints, 9 forced incompletions, 2 dropped ints, 46 tackles.
PFF Grade: 87.2
If being a 160 pounds is your only knock then I think you're doing something alright. The word on the street is he is already up to 174 pounds. You wouldnt realize hes only 174 pounds by the way he plays the run. Hes not scared to hit and flies ro the ball. Although, he does struggle to get off of blocks. Emmanuel Forbes, per PFF, had the highest rating in man coverage last season, albeit the snap count was very miniscule. Emmanuel Forbes is a lanky corner than played a lot of zone coverage and is a very good scheme fit for what we do. I like the pick and I'm not upset about taking him over Gonzalez, who also had his own question marks. Forbes set a NCAA record with 6 pick sixes. A lot of those were the right place at the right time, but when you have that high of a number than you're doing something right.
PFF:
Forbes is one of the best ballhawks in this class. Over the course of his three-year career, he came down with 13 interceptions. That’s four more than the next closest Power Five cornerback since 2020. Forbes was unbelievably dominant in man coverage in 2022, giving up only three catches while also snagging three interceptions. He also only allowed a 20% completion rate in man, the lowest among FBS
PROS
Remarkably lanky frame. Limbs for days — ideal for a corner.Has bounce like a hooper. He can challenge any catch point necessary. Elite ability to locate the football. All six of his interceptions came in man coverage.
CONS
Still a stick. Not much mass on his frame. Has eyes that get him in trouble. Some freelance tendencies on tape.Can get bowled over in the run game. Mediocre tackler over the course of his career.
Round 2: 47 Jartavius "Quan" Martin 5'11". 194 lbs Illinois
Stats: 74 targets, 42 catches allowed, 611 yards allowed, 3 tds allowed, 3 ints, 15 forced incompletions, 2 dropped ints, 4 missed tackles, 64 tackles.
PFF Grade: 73.2
Quan is a beast. I thought he was the 2nd best nickel prospect in the draft and a better deep safety than Brian Branch. Martin absolute rockets around the field in the run game. He started his career at cornerback before transitioning into the safety/nickel position. Another elite athlete that is a perfect fit for our Buffalo Nickel defense.
PFF:
Martin came to Illinois and immediately started as a true freshman in 2018. He originally started off as an outside corner before becoming more of a slot corner recently. He had arguably his best year in 2022, as his 15 forced incompletions were tied for the sixth-most among Power-Five corners. Martin’s 91.0 run-defense grade also led all Power Five cornerbacks. While he played corner at Illinois, we project him more as a safety for the next level.
PROS:
Explosive flat-foot breaks. Tremendous burst. Forceful and reliable tackler - 7 misses on the last 129 attempts last two seasons.Fills like a mac truck in the run game. Wants to come downhill and play in the backfield.
CONS:
Pure man skills are work in progress. Overagressive and liability to bite on fakes. cons On the lighter side for an around the line of scrimmage player. Gets caught with his eyes in the backfield on run
Round 3: 97 Ricky Stromberg 6'3" 306 lbs Arkansas
Stats: 9 impact blocks, 11 qb hurries, 0 qb hits, 0 sacks allowed
PFF Grade: 82.4
Nasty. Another guard experience player that spent his last two years at the center position. Award winner of the Jacob's Blocking Trophy for the SEC'S most outstanding blocker award. This is a solid player that has started since he was freshman in the SEC. He's been battle tested since he was kid and has improved every year. He has some knocks about his play strength, but a NFL program should get em to where he needs to be.
PFF:
Stromberg was a three-star recruit in the 2019 class and started for the Razorbacks as a true freshman, mostly at right guard. He moved inside to center for his sophomore season and spent his final three college seasons there. Stromberg’s 82.4 overall grade and 83.7 run-blocking grade in 2022 both ranked fourth among all centers in college football, and his nine big-time blocks were tied for fifth among FBS centers. Not to mention, Stromberg had an incredible performance at the NFL combine.
PROS:
Does not want to let blocks go. Can see him straining his butt of to stay engaged on tape. Tons of experience against top competition. Four-year starter with 3,121 career snaps.
CONS:
Forward lean gets going on the move, making him liable to topple over. Has wide hands to initiate contact in pass protection before resetting. Leaves himself open for stronger rushers.Unimpressive musculature, which leaves questions about how he'll anchor against NFL strength.
Round 4: Braeden Daniels 6'4" 296 lbs Utah STATS:
0 sacks allowed, 1 qb hit allowed, 14 hurries allowed.
PFF GRADE: 72.2 at tackle, 2021 84.4 at guard.
Braeden Daniels is another tackle/guard hybrid, with starting experience across his college career. This guy is on the lighter side but that allows him to be an Explosive athlete. Very raw at the tackle position and will be a developmental guy. I'd like to give em a try as our swing tackle and see how he performs. He was one of the quickest offensive lineman I've seen off the tape and that athleticism will let him climb to the next level. Even on the lightweight side I'd hate to see this guy running at me on the second level.
PFF:
Daniels is an experienced veteran who commanded the Utes’ offensive line for the past few years. He originally started as a guard before switching over to tackle. His best season came in 2021, as he put up an 84.4 PFF grade. Given his time on the interior, Daniels is at his best when run blocking, and his run-blocking grade in 2021 was an elite 89.1. He still held his own as a pass protector, allowing only five sacks in his Utah career.
PROS
Explodes out of his stance. Arguably the quickest get off in the offensive line class. Linebackers don't want to see him climbing. Gets on them before they can even react. Drive in his lower half to still move the line of scrimmage despite being under 300 pounds.
CONS
Wild into contact. He approaches blocks with the adjustment ability of a freight train. consDoesn't bring his hands with him. Clean engagements are rare on tape. Very light by NFL standards (294 pounds at combine).
Round 5: 137 KJ Henry 6'4" 260 lbs Clemson
STATS:
51 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 FF, 6 pass deflections, 50 qb pressures, 31 qb hurries, 14 qb hits.
PFF GRADE: 83.1
Loved this pick. Henry was a 5 star recruit coming out of high-school and decided to attend Clemson University. With Clemson having deep lines it took him a couple of years to get on the field. The stats look odd when you only see 3.5 sacks, however, the 50 qb pressures is the key stat. Seems more like bad luck that the sack numbers weren't high. Clemson's whole d-line underperformed (Bresee, Murphey) and they should have picked up more sacks from Henry who was the best DE on that team last year. The team clearly liked him as we traded back up for him. He's not elite athlete, but he is an elite hands guy. Almost had that veteran presence in college. High motor and will immediately make an impact as a rotational de, a position that sorely needed an upgrade.
PFF:
On a team with Myles Murphy, you can easily make the case that KJ Henry was Clemson's best defensive end this year, as he posted better PFF grades than Murphy in every category and even generated 19 more pressures. The only problem is That Henry is 24 years old while Murphy is only 21. Therefore, Henry was expected to produce this well against younger competition. Nonetheless, this doesn’t mean that he can’t still improve. If Henry's play this season is any indication of his potential, he can still have a great NFL career as an edge defender.
PROS:
Heavy hands that are so well refined. Uses them independently to use combination moves.Utilizes hesitations and head fakes so well to catch linemen off-balance. Coaches rave about the type of teammate he is. He is the type of player you want in the locker room.
CONS:
First step that's unimposing for a rusher on the smaller side. Late bloomer. Wasn't even a starter until this past fall. One of the oldest prospects in the class. Already 24 years old.
Round 6: 193 Chris Rodriguez 6'0" 217 lbs Kentucky
STATS: 8 games played, 175 attempts, 904 rushing yards, 6 tds, 5.2 ypa, 5 catches, 41 rec yards.
PFF GRADE: 90.8
Chris Rodriguez is a PFF darling and was rated as the 7th best running back. This guy's is a pure one cut, run you over, power back. There's not much finesse to his game, but there's highlights of dragging guys 10-yards down the field. He does not posses break away speed, but he will get you 40 yards. He was suspended 4 games due to a dui and he may have been drafted higher on am abysmal Kentucky team. An extra 4 games of stats against SEC competition and no suspension may have jumped him into the 4th round. This was an Eric Bienemy guy and they brought him in because of that. Isiah Pacheco was another EB guy.
PFF:
Rodriguez is a powerful runner, but he lacks the burst and creativity to become anything more than a downhill grinder. He has the size and mentality to do the dirty work between the tackles, but it could be a challenge for him to get to and through the hole quickly in the NFL. He’s a physical blitz protector, so teams might envision a role for him as a second-half battering ram and third-down quarterback protector.
PROS:
Two-time team captain. Thick frame with ability to pick up tough yards. Makes tacklers feel his size at impact. Stays square getting through downhill cuts. Low success rate guaranteed for arm-tacklers. Stays on his feet through heavy angle strikes. Allows lead blockers to do their work. Steps up with force against incoming rushers.
CONS:
Below-average burst getting through line of scrimmage. Lacks finesse to navigate tight run lanes. Change of direction is heavy. One-speed running style is easy to track for linebackers. Pad level is a little tall as run-finisher. Inconsistent finding assignment versus blitz.
Round 7: 233 Andre Jones 6'4" 248 lbs Louisiana
STATS: 7 sacks, 5 qb hits, 20 hurries.
PFF GRADE: 77.2
Andre Jones was another hybrid de/lb player coming out last year. He possess 34 1/4" arms which is an elite number for his size. May move to LB, but I'm not sure that's the right move with a 4.71 40-yard dash. He doesn't have much a pass rush move set playing a hybrid role, but does use length to his advantage. A solid developmental pick.
PROS:
Shows a natural feel for setting up blockers and getting them off-balance. His hands are active and violent, and Jones quickly disengages with blockers and counters when his initial move stalls. Possesses accurate snap anticipation and timing to beat blockers off the edge. Offers some versatility, rushing from a two-and three-point stance with the playing speed to stand up in space.Flashes strength as a bull rusher and his energy doesn't plateau. Showed initial quickness and good flexibility to dip and bend. Jones has active hands and suddenness to his movements, demonstrating the ability to counter inside. Has fluid footwork to redirect, reverse momentum and close with a burst. Regularly first off the ball with good snap anticipation. He’s a high-effort pass rusher with an impressive combination of length and speed.
CONS:
Jones has to develop a counter move or two in the pass rush, and Jones needs to make better use of his hands. He lacks the speed of a chase and- tackle guy. He lacks twitch as a pass rusher and lacks the feet and flexibility to threaten around the edge. Jones also shows some stiffness when trying to bend the edge, often getting pushed past the pocket — he seems more comfortable countering back inside.
Draft Summary:
This was my favorite Ron Rivera/Martin Mayhew draft thus far. Going into the draft, offensive line, cornerback, and quarterback were our three biggest needs. Drafting in the middle of the round really took us out of the olineman race. The last one that interested me was Broderick Jones and he went off the board when the Steelers traded up. At that point in the draft it really left us with going cornerback. The Forbes pick was received negatively due to Christian Gonzalez being available. Both players will be viewed under the microscope throughout their careers. I'm fine with Forbes pick though. Another lanky cornerback who was an elite athlete. I did have Gonzalez rated higher going into the draft, but he slid for a reason. A lot of his tape shows him not necessarily being an elite cornerback, but being an elite athlete that plays corner. Forbes actually showed the athleticism, corner skills, and ballhawking ability. Some additional knocks against Gonazalez and his love of the game. Quan Martin was our biggest surprise pick of the draft. A lot of people had him going in the 3rd round, but I think the 2nd was a fine spot. Mayhew after the draft said he wish we were more aggressive at times, which I translated as not getting Brian Branch that went several picks before us. I think Quan was the backup option, but I like him as much as Branch. I think Quan will be a better deep safety and Bramch will be a better nickel. Liked Quan alot, but felt we should have gone o-line at this pick. Ocyrus Torrence would've been a sweet pick here. I think if that happened, the consensus view on our draft would shoot up. Quan will immediately via for playing time as our base defense is essentially a 4-2-5. Kendall Fuller was our only above average corner and now we turned our secondary into a strength. Ricky Stromberg and Braeden Daniels were our next two picks. I like Stromberg’s tape a lot and think by next he will be a solid starter at guard or center. Braeden Daniels will be a nice depth piece and if he's able to tame his play he could develop into a starter. Fun player to watch. KJ Henry was an awesome pick and can see him being a nice rotational piece. Good pick at an underrated area of need on our defense. RB wasn't a pressing need, but it's an underrated area of weakness. I think Brian Robinson is about as average of rb as you will see starting in the NFL. I wouldn't be surprised if Rodriguez slowly cut into Robinson's role over the next two years. Antonio Gibson has had some solid season, but has a severe fumbling problem. Andre Jones will be a depth piece that will need development moving forward.
Offseason summary:
The biggest question of our offseason was our owner, which now appears resolved. Our second biggest question... was who was our starting qb? Sam Howell. Ron preached all offseason that he was going with Howell and I'll be damned, he did. Brissett was good qb to bring in, not someone that would necessarily turn the offseason into a battle, but can be a starter if called upon. Really a true backup qb. I'm all in on the Sam Howell train. I love it for a multitude of reasons. One, he balls out and we have our qb of the future, two he plays well enough we give him another season and maybe Ron is out and we get a high draft pick, three he bombs and we fire Ron Rivera and go for Caleb Williams next season. If anything, it gives us a direction for our future. I'm ready for Ron to go and think he's only as good as his coordinators. I'm concerned that EB AND Howell turn the offense around Ron gets resigned and EB takes a head coaching role... then the offense regressed. Additionally, I don't want Ron to get credit for drafting Howell. It was 5th round pick, you and every team passed on him for 4 rounds. If Howell is that good... it's not because Ron was a genius and drafted him. Very similar to Seattle taking Russel. I am excited about EB being here and think he's the real deal. I will give Ron credit for allowing him to run his own offense as he sees fit. OTA's have shown that EB is pushing his guys hard and is trying to see what he can do with the offense. We really do have elite playmaker and I'm most excited to see what he can do with Antonio Gibson. I can see his role being that of Jerrick McKinnon, with more athleticism. Sam Howell has shown a lot of progress since his rookie season. Had issues with his foot work, but has shown vast improvements. We only have 1 preseason game and 1 NFL game of tape on him. I liked what he showed. When watching tape you could see him going through his progression, man absolutely saved the day wish his escapability- was under pressure the whole game, threw two beautiful deep passes, and won the game. He did throw one bad pick, but was under pressure and playing hero ball. He had one week of practice with the starters, now he has a whole offseason. Our defense should be a top 5 unit next season and we only got better. Chase Young should be fully healthy and he's the X-factor for the number one overall defense. He comes out plays to his full potential then he could be a mid teens sack guy. If we have that sort of production and Sam Howell plays well than we can compete for the decision. Big if though. Our secondary really lacked a 2nd option, Benjamin St Juyce has shown some flashes but didn't seeze the role last year. Now on paper he's the number and that's very solid. We return two top 6 defensive tackles and Montez Swear is one of the most underrated players in the league. He's yet to have a high sack season, but is very much that Jadaveon Ckowney type of player in the run game. Big question mark season for Jaymin Davis. We knew he needed development, but it's been slower than previously thought. Down the stretch he showed flashes that he was coming into his own and now is his year. He's one of the best athletes at linebacker in the league and his ceiling is very very high. Overall I predict we will go 10-7 and challenge for a wild card spot. That record can fluctuate each one, but I'm calling the improvement now. We went 8-8-1 with bottom 3 qb play. The defense got better, we hired a better offensive coordinator, Howell will at the minimum be slightly better than Hienke last season, we didn't lose any major pieces and had a solid all around draft. I'm truly excited to watch how our future plays out.

Every time Endless Voyage comes around, I inevitably see a few folks discussing their struggles with it. It is my favorite mode in the entire game, and I have successfully completed every round to date, including challenges, with minimal difficulty. So I thought that there might be those out there who could use a helpful guide for the general tips and tricks that, I feel, have made me successful to date.
-Do. Not. Use. Your. Resets.
This one is by far the most important. It doesn't matter if you don’t like who you have. The only time you should be using your resets is if you are stuck. Even if not using a reset causes you to violate every tip that follows, don’t use them until you absolutely HAVE to. You'd be shocked how far you can go on characters who are normally considered bad, or skills that run counter to everything else I’m about to say.
-Save your star upgrades
Especially your star syncs. Yes, Light of Genesis is busted, but few things feel worse than burning a sync on a character, and then getting nothing worth using for them. Once you have all 6 Heroes and some of their kits have started to fall into place, that’s when you should consider it, but you should never be doing this before you are at the floor 5 boss.
-Choose a black sheep
Once you have all 6 of your heroes, your goal should be to only build 5. If you decide you don't want to build up your last one however, and the game just keeps THROWING great loot at you, obviously adjust your strategy. But I’ve found that every time I finish a run, one of my characters is vastly under performing. Propping up that last character is a potential waste of resources so you should not aim to build all 6.
-Don’t skip Temples of Might or Stores. Ever.
Almost spit when I saw a comment from someone saying they had skipped a Temple of Might while lamenting they were struggling. This may go without saying for many of you, but in the off chance someone needed to hear it, now you have. Upgrade EVERYTHING as far as it will go. Generally in temples 1 and 2, I start with cost upgrades for everyone. Once you're entire team is at 6, I recommend moving on to equipment and tactics upgrades.
-When upgrading in the temple of might, prioritize offensive equipment/Tactics, but also make SURE your tank is maxed at all times in everything.
Your DPS can generally survive a few missing levels in armor, but you want to be getting as close to one shotting every non boss enemy you come across. Your tank obviously wants all their stats maxed at all times to ensure survivability since they're going to be taking all the hits and you wont have access to Tiaris.
-Skill diversity trumps damn near everything
At any point, from floor 1 all the way up to the end, if you're given the option for a skill crystal, that is the path you should take. Having a wide variety of skills is invaluable, and you never know when you'll trip over a crazy powerful skill that makes a lackluster character into an absolute unit.
-Below Floor 9 Skills > Equipment > Tactics
Equipment should be your first priority. It doesn't get you the meme numbers, but it absolutely guarantees a solid foundation to build off in higher floors. A fully equipped team with minimal Tactics is usually going to be Superior to the inverse, unless you are very lucky.
-Floor 9+, Skills > Tactics > Equipment
Unless you have some serious holes in your team, at floor 9, whenever you're given the choice, you should choose Tactics over equipment. At floor 9 and 10, the odds of getting hero talents to drop goes up a ton, and even when talents don’t drop, the static stat increases are way more valuable when your team has a full kit.
-Single Target > AoE
If you are given the choice between heroes, Tactics, or skills with a single target or AoE focus, you should only ever choose the AoE if you have an otherwise completely stacked team. I usually only intentionally pick up AoE stuff around floor 14, if that early. That said, there has now been 1 AoE focused boss mechanic. This guide is going up early so it's possible AoE has more value than I have let on. Doubtful though
-Adjust your Hero class to fit the equipment you have
There are lots of heroes with a generally less desirable upgrade path, Wehttam springs directly to mind, but again having a full build is way more important than the correct class. I’m sure it’s starting to sound redundant, but I’ve seen people mess this up pretty badly, keeping a character in their “optimal” class, bare ass naked, while equipment is showered upon their other class.
-Assassins… aren’t great
This one is probably the most to taste, so take it with a grain of salt. I love Assassins in general, but every time I’ve tried to use them against a floor boss, they’re turned into paste inside of 2 turns. They never have the defense or range they really need to go against the bosses. Especially as bosses tend to have more Def than MDef. You can get them to the point where they’re powerful, but I’ve found it’s a lot more effort than it’s worth.
-Mages are broken
Unlike Assassins, they almost always have either the range or the bulk (or goddamn both) to go toe to toe with the floor bosses. Even Sub-optimal choices will surprise you. Using obvious meta choices won’t surprise you, but it’ll be effective nonetheless.
-Always plan builds to fight the floor bosses.
A drunk sheep could complete all of the non boss fights on pure chance. Some of the Hero fights at the top of a floor are rough, but if you’re building to take down a big boss, they wont cause you any trouble. Meanwhile if you build a team of AoE punch monkeys, youre going to sail through the easy content but slam face first into the first floor boss you come against.
-Keep characters in their same basic role
This one generally goes without saying, but I’ve seen people trying to make healers into DPS just because they didn’t get any other mages. You can work with it, but it’s much more trouble than it’s worth if you have any other option. At the end of the day, a tank usually works best as a tank. That doesnt mean Virash isnt a madman if you put a tank skill on him, just that you will always have to do more work to compensate for these characters starting position.
-Have a balanced team
If you don’t have a Tank, Healer, MDPS and PhDPS, there’s a higher chance you're going to struggle. The game attempts to make sure you have this balance by itself (even if it does silly things like considering LoG a healer) and there’s a reason that your 2nd hero node is almost always tanks, and your third is almost always healers.
-Def/Mdef conversion stacks only with Water based Def conversion.
After the first run, most conversion stacking was removed from the game mode, but to date this one still works and I cannot recommend it enough. Getting a Jugler with Broken arrow, unbreakable guardian, and tidal surge is probably one of the most powerful combos you can get and it comes up super consistently.
-Act again skills/talents/tactics should always be a priority
Another one that goes without saying but I feel I should reinforce. Being able to attack multiple times per turn will save you so much grief. Keep choosing these skills until every DPS you have has at least a chance to act twice.
-Follow the path of least resistance
Making characters/skills/talents/equipment work in ways other than how they were intended is always fun, but it is rarely worth the investment when you’re going for your first clear. The sum total of a lot of the points I’ve made is to work with what you’re given, not around it.
-Above all else, be flexible
Use what the game throws your way. Upgrade obvious BIS combinations, but don't write off what would be less optimal. The nature of Endless Voyage is the ability to put things together that don't have the chance to be put together otherwise, and there are tons of powerful combinations you would never expect.
-Remember, while Luck is a factor in this game mode, skill is far more important.
Some of you may have pulled 6 healers and 19 Meteor tactics on a run before. It’s technically possible. However, most of us haven’t. Be smart about what your choosing, think about how new geaabilities can impact your team, and follow the guidelines ive laid out above and you should have no trouble clearing Endless Voyage

I'm on spaced out. Not sure of the meteor blaster is available to the base game. Anyway...
Double up on your meteor blasters. They have a sort of cooldown on their shots and they can only shoot 1 meteor at a time. Sometimes, meteors come in groups and if the area is protected by only one meteor blaster, it can miss some.
One time, a couple of meteors came one after the other. My lone meteor blaster was able to shoot twice in a short span of time. But the 2nd shot just plopped down to the ground and left a blast shot ready to be sweeped and reloaded. lol The blaster's 2nd shot was almost pointing downwards and was not fast enough to catch the 2nd meteor.

Hi! My hair has always been extremely tangled when I get out of the shower. I am a natural blonde and will go to the salon every once in a while to freshen it up. In November, I switched it up and became a red head for a couple months. Because I wanted to prolong the color, I actually started to use salon quality shampoos and conditioner and my hair was amazing. it did not tangle in the shower at all!!!! I thought it was because I was no longer using drugstore products. Last month I went back to the salon to go blonde again and i’m having the tangling problem all over again. It takes me quite a bit of time to comb through it after the shower and I always go into it detangled. I am still using quality hair products. Is my hair tangling because of the bleach damage? Is there any products or recommendations to fixing this?

Is this the Rhodes Island Confessional? Yes, Saintess, I'd like to make a confession.
See, a few days ago is when it started. I started playing IS3 for the first time, been months since I touched IS2 (haven't even gotten any ending besides the first) and I figured the Irene forehead-level shiny would fix my motivation issues with IS in general. Depression is just a bonus. Now, I had just E2Lvl60'd Miss Black Swordswoman aka Texas Alter aka Texter, and I wanted to take my brand spankin' new S3 and flex on some floating jellyfish girl. And that's where it started. Fucking Texter.
It's been three runs and I just beat the first ending. Do you know how long it took me to reach the first IS2 ending? Two months. Something like 20+ runs. Days of agonizing indecision where I'd hesitate to click Continue for fear of messing up a good setup. And now I beat it, just like that. All because of fucking Texter.
But wait, you say. You're a more experienced Doctor, with a better backup roster. Surely it wasn't just Texter? And you would be right. I also took Ling and Kal and Myrtle and more. I also made careful plays and greedy plays where necessary. But let me ask you something in return. When one person in a group of 17 does 30% of the legwork, even if another does 10%, who is considered the 'carry'? Trick question, it's the fucking Texter who made up the other 60%.
Texter let me confidently take every Crying Thief fight, before I knew he didn't deplete Life Points. Texter let me take those bastard flying stingrays down. Fucking Texter, as my sole source of Stun (Bind doesn't bring down hovering units after all), carried my ass, Mudrock's gorgeous behind, Ling's toned rear, and even that Old Well's entire dumptruck through the entire floating jellyfish boss fight so badly I believe they're making it a warcrime, somewhere between using Myrtle to stall Colossi and using Aak Stimpacks to remove pre-placed Operator Units.
And now here's my confession. Oh, the earlier part? That was just context. My confession is this: I don't regret using fucking Texter and I'm gonna do it again. Right now, in fact. I've been doing it right here in this Confessional since I arrived. Hope you don't mind.

Throwaway because I would be overly identifiable if I used my usual profile, therefore making all parties involved overly identifiable.
A bit of context: this happened a few weeks ago. I (24m) was going to a 10-days festival/event as a press member and proposed Tim (26m, obviously not his real name) to get an accomodation together to split costs, as that location is always very expensive. Tim was onboard with it, I found an airbnb apartment at a very good price - I made sure he also was okay with my choice before booking. I feel like I tried to be as helpful as I could: I managed the booking and the check-in (meaning I lost day one's panels in the process, which attended), I took the sofa instead of the bed, when he once asked me, I went and got a sandwich for him while he was waiting in line. There was a slight issue with him not finding the airbnb but I did not think much of it.
The matter: the event has a weird ticket booking system that requires you to book your seats 4 days prior at 7am. There's a huge demand for seats so tickets run out in one minute. I woke up at 6-ish because Tim mentioned I was snoring, so I chose not to go back asleep to let him sleep. I went to the kitchen, and at 6:56-ish I heard him moving in the bed after the alarm went off a few times, I assumed he was awake, did the whole ticket thing as usual. In the previous days Tim would hardly answer me if I tried to converse with him at that hour, so I didn't try to check on him after I finished the booking at 7:01-ish, when I got back to my bed he was asleep, I assumed he went back asleep right after. He woke up at 7:19 running, he went showering but after a min he asked me if I managed to get my tickets, amd that's when I realised he hadn't woken up. He essentially blamed me for not waking him up and thus preventing him from getting the tickets for that day, saying that I wasn't being altruistic. I apologised, offered some extra tickets I had but he didn't want them.
There have been some incidents in the next days related to keeping the keys (we had different schedules), I can't get into details for lack of space but I believe he blamed me in those instances as a follow-up to this matter.
I honestly don't feel line I am the AH, pretty sure I'm getting blamed on issues I am not entirely responsible for, but I know that if roles were inverted I would also be pissed, so I leave the judgement to you. Probably will require additional info I'd be happy to provide. AITA?

Hi, I passed my driving test 2 weeks ago. Until then I'd just been using my instructor's small Reno Clio which was really easy to drive and I was a really competent driver. Now, having not driven for 2 weeks since I passed my test, I am trying to drive my parents' Citroen C4 Picasso (i.e. went from a small car to a family car). I hate driving this big thing, I'm making dangerous mistakes with gearbox etc. and I don't know what to do. I stalled so badly at lights that I stopped a whole queue of cars getting through & didn't get through myself. Any advice?

Illyasviel von Einzbern

Class: Archer
True Name: Illyasviel von Einzbern
Gender: Female
Origin: Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya
Region: Fuyuki City, Japan
Alignment: Neutral Summer
Height: 133cm
Weight: 29.5kg
Strength: C
Endurance: C
Agility: B
Mana: B
Luck: C-
Noble Phantasm: A
Character Creator: Hiroshi Hiroyama
Character Design: Hiroshi Hiroyama
Character Voice: Maii Kadowaki & Naoko Takano

Class Skills

Magic Resistance: A
A powerful magical barrier given to Ilya during her transformation. Nullifies spells A rank or bellow. Morden day mages can't harm elementary school students who are having fun during summer vacation
Independent Action: B
Ability to stay in the world for a while even if the supply of magical energy from the Master has been cut off
Infinite Magical Energy: C
The kaleidostick literally supplies an infinite amount of magical energy
Illya suspects that her (slight) increase in weight has to do with an excessive supply of magical energy

Personal Skills

High Pressure!: A
A skill that increases the water pressure and discharge from the hose. As a side note, even though it's called water, it's actually a sort of magical energy that Ruby converted to make it look summery, and what comes out of that nozzle may differ from time to time.
Summer Vacation! (Child): A+
Elementary school children are powerful, almost invincible during the summer. (They think) they can do anything, and (they think) they have all the time in the world. They start to weaken around the end of August
Legal Shower!: B++
Loaded with Ruby's meticulously-made herb extract (deadly poison). They are not only effective on contact, but they are also potent if inhaled.
"Its sophisticated toxicity is not only harmless to Illya, but it has the added bonus of actually raising her concentration!"
Its effects are so potent that even the hydra would recoil, but parents should rest assured that they're completely harmless to their children.

Noble Phantasm

『Young Girl, Become a Rainbow.』
Rank: A
NP Type: Anti-Army
Range: 10 - 50
Maximum Targets: 30
Prisma☆Splash Rainbow!
Fifth grade summer vacation...a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. ...Or so it should have been. But after having to repeat the so-called invaluable summer for numerous years, Illya finally realizes the true meaning of summer vacation.
Everything comes to an end. The moment something starts, the countdown to its end begins as well. Treasures obtained, the emotions that come with them, and even precious memories are bound to disappear one day. But even if you try stopping the clock out of fear of losing things, the treasures will lose their luster. And that's why we cannot stop. We need to continue toward the future even as things come to an end. The ancient treasures become constellations, and the paths we walked become a rainbow that paints the skies...
This is the important life lesson she came to learn...though honestly, that kind of awareness should be saved for serious main stories... Either way, Illya converts all these summer memories and bonds into power to transform into "Prisma☆Illya Splash Rainbow!" Her resolve to end summer vacation calls forth another Illya from a different time, and a light bullet that's seven times more dense than normal time density fires at anything stagnant.
And she'll try her best again during the new school term.

Character

First-person pronoun: Watashi
Second-person pronoun: Anata/○○oniisan/○○oneesan/○○san/○○chan (girls of the same age group)/○○kun (boys of the same age group)
Third-person pronoun: ○○san/Anohito/Anoko

Personality

Almost the same as normal Illya
However, due to the swimsuit, she is a little more excited than usual, and her IQ and luck have decreased.
In short, Ilya is in comedy mode. Ilya, whose body and mind have turned to summer, has made it her supreme mission to "play hard during the summer vacation.
It seems that her appetite is slightly off the rails as well as her rationality, and she talks about food a lot.
Basically, she eats anything and thinks everything is delicious!
Ruby is in "Splash Mode," a hose reel and nozzle form. Although her appearance has changed, she still flies around without permission and is still an annoyance that disturbs the place!
Illya left the class cards in her room

Motivation and Attitude to Master

Same as normal Illya, but with a more casual feel
For now I want to put my work aside and have fun with Master
She's a little less honour student like and a little more prepared to stay up late
Whenever she gets tired from playing she suddenly falls asleep

Dialog Examples

Illya: "I'm not a magical girl now. I'm just a swimsuit girl"
Illya: "Summer vacation never ends and no matter how much you eat you won't gain weight. Isn't being a Servant the best?"
Illya: "'How can everyone be so calm when there's a murderer!?""
Ruby: "I can serve almost anything watery! I can't guarantee the effect, though."
Ruby: "Hmmm, is that a blood trail? Well, let's give it a squirt of Luminol solution."
Ruby: "How dare you doubt Ruby-chan! If it was me they would definitely be dead"

Figure within FGO

Summer! Lake! Camp!
An event that came up right as I was starving for recreation.
I don't really know what the singularity is or what it's all about, but it's a summer camp with a group of friends you love, right? Oh, surely it will be an unforgettable experience.
Unfortunately this time it was a horror story.
And Illya is a scream queen
Surrounded by people who wouldn't be scared even if a murderer showed up beside them, the only thing she can do is pretend to be brave even if it kills her. Holding back her voice and tears, Illya will surely reach the ending. After all she has the survival flag of "a child in a horror movie"

Standard Weapons

Magical Ruby Splash Mode (She has become more annoying now that she sprays watery substances carelessly)

Related Characters

Chloe von Einzbern
She was looking at my swimsuit with envy
Miyu Edelfelt
Would you like me to lend you a swimsuit? Obviously it'll be a string bikini! I think she'd respond well to that!
Sitonai
That swimsuit, something like that is interesting... No! It's nothing!
Abigail Williams
Hey! Senpai! I want you to teach me how to be a bad girl so Master can take care of me

Comments from illustrator

With the theme of Summer + Archer I knew I had to get fired up and think of something, but it felt like I had already run out of ideas! So after much thought I came up with the hose reel.
Ruby's mood has been steadily getting worse yet she has become more and more popular.
The mysterious cat headdress is made out of toweling not fur.
The initial idea for her second ascension was a graceful style called "wrap towel" but for some reason the boss didn't approve of it. Damn!
I think I overdid it with the facial expressions, but I drew the faces that I thought were necessary for Ilya's role in the story, and this is what I came up with. I am grateful that they were able to be used effectively. (Hiroshi Hiroyama)

Hi there! Ik this is not academic related but i was just wondering if i am the only student who does this often
Im in secondary school who takesaway almost everyday (at least once per day) since neither me nor my parents cook. Except on weekends where my parents would just order in via foodpanda/grab, on school days i would usually take away once or twice, whereas on holidays i am kinda forced to takeaway minimumly twice or thrice for breakfast, lunch and dinner which is quite a hassle. In fact i takeaway so frequently to the extent that i see the cai fan stall owner almost everyday lmao.
I used to ask this to my friends and majority of them said that they have a parent/guardian who would cook for them at home. So i was wondering, do you guys takeaway often too? Or am i just the only one?
Also, now that it is the june holidays, this has been affecting my studies alot as it makes me lose my study momentum since i have to make time to go out and buy food three times/day. Do yall have any suggestions?? 🥲

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When it comes to bathroom renovations Gold Coast offers a wide variety of services and products to suit any style, budget and purpose. From luxury showers and vanities to tubs and fittings, the experienced and professional designers and installers offer custom-made solutions to make your bathroom dream a reality. With high-quality products and materials, such as marble, tiles, porcelain, glass, stainless steel, granite, quartz, timber and stone, you will be able to achieve the look and feel you’re after with a bathroom renovation on the Gold Coast.
Lighting is another factor to consider in bathroom renovations, as it has the power to completely transform a room. Natural light should be your first priority when it comes to bathroom renovations, as it creates the illusion of space and makes everything look larger. If your bathroom is a bit too dark or lacks natural light, the use of artificial lighting that is controlled with sensors, timers, dimmers and switches can help to set the mood and create a relaxing, inviting atmosphere.
From mid-range to high-end, selecting the right products and fixtures will greatly enhance your bathroom renovation and help to create a unique look that’s tailored to your personal requirements and lifestyle. With its range of services and products, the Gold Coast is the perfect destination for bathroom renovations.

Cool the hot air in the room or vehicle with an air cooler. Air coolers use water to decrease the temperature of the air in a room or vehicle. Little water beads are showered. Crompton 10 L Tower Air Cooler

Many praises to u/SpacePaladin15 for this universe.
Credit again to u/TheManwithaNoPlan for helping edit!
[First]-[Prev]-[Next]
Memory transcript: Tarlim, Venbig. Date: [Standardized human time] September 28th, 2136
Jacob sat on my couch, speaking on his phone to his parents. Lightyears separated them, but the communications had gotten to the point that they were finally able to talk with instant transmission.
“And you think they will approve?” He asked on the phone. I couldn’t hear, even with a Venlil’s superior hearing, but I could tell by his expression that whatever was being said was good! “So there’s a chance? That’s awesome! Then ah wish y’all luck!”
His cheeks rise once more in his toothless grin as he listens. I set the rest of the stringfruit I had been eating onto the table, feeling that their conversation was wrapping up. I really hoped to talk to him as well. “Love y’all too! Ah guess ah’ll let all’a y’all go. Hmm?” He hummed joyfully, “Thank y’all so much. Ah’m always a call away! Any time y’all want! Love ya!… bye!”
I let my tail wag as he hung up his phone and placed it on the table. “So what is the verdict?”
“Their prospects are looking good,” he replied, “lot of people have been signing up to sponsor a refugee. Their ranch could accommodate some workers for the goats and orchard. And they could even give them proper pay!”
“Impressive. Are your parents that wealthy?”
He wiggled his hand to signal the ‘kinda’ sign. “They got lucky with some investments. They’re country folk at heart, so they put a good amount into peach groves and expandin’ the property for the goats.”
That last word caught my attention. It was translated as a form of cattle. Cattle that they currently had. Steady, Tarlim. You don’t know what it truly means yet. I wasn’t about to let an unspoken fear fester in my mind. I had to know. “Goats? What are… goats?”
Jacob froze a bit. He had been swinging his braces ankle up to rest on my table, so it was obvious how it hung in the air. “Crap. Okay! Look, this is a long explanation, and it goes into our ability to eat meat.” He set his leg on the table, turning his head so that he looked at me with both eyes. “We ain’t supposed to talk much ‘bout that stuff, but if ya really want to know, ah will tell ya.”
I did want to know. Jacob had done so much for me. He talked to me in the program. Greeted me with open arms. Built me up when the world felt like it was going to tear me down.
I didn’t want him to think I would fear him for the actions of his people. Never.
“Please,” I say, “Explain all that you can. I will listen.”
He patted his hand against his knee and grinned at me. “Kay! Kay… where should ah start…”
A moment of silence passed as he thought. I do hope he isn’t overthinking.
Thankfully, my fears appeared unfounded as he spoke again. “Ah ain’t an expert in this, but ah know a bit. The goat is a four-legged animal that ah believe originally lived in hilly or mountainous areas on earth. Think… well, remember that Putyl plush? How its body looked?”
“Yeah,” I replied, “go on?”
“Okay, imagine that body but with a head shaped similar to a Venlil but with a nose on it. That would be the average goat.”
I blinked in surprise at the mental image. “So we Venlil look like one of your cattle?”
“Slightly,” he admitted, “but ah can’t really call it an exact likeness. Kinda like how the Krakotl look kinda like those blue birds y’all have round here.”
I nodded. A human gesture I had come to include in with my ear gestures.
“Well, on average, their shoulders come up to our waist, though there are some breeds that who could stand as tall as us.” He chuckled to himself, and I also whistled in amusement at the thought. Those would be some big animals. “Anyway, you know how humans keep animals around us, right?”
I flicked my ears in the affirmative. “Your dogs, cats, and that stuff.”
“Yeah, well, while dogs were the first animals we humans kept around as our companions, goats and a similar species called sheep were the very first animals we specifically bred to feel safe around us.” He held up his hand in a calming gesture, “note that this took a long time. Goats and sheep have been domesticated- a word that means bred for human use- for something over 10,000 years. Our bond with those animals is practically on an instinctual level.”
It was astonishing. Ten. Thousand. Years. How does one even begin to conceive such a history? Even the founding of the Federation seemed ancient to many.
“Way-ell, that may be an exaggeration,” he corrected himself, “Maybe not quite instinct. Ah, for one, whenever ah see a baby goat, ah just think ‘protect. Feed baby. Keep safe. Raise healthy and strong!’ They are great animals. Can be stubborn and absolute crybabies, but still great animals.”
He leaned back on the couch and glanced up at me. “Any questions so far?”
“Nothing… too major,” I admit. “Mainly the usual about what they were… used for.”
“Yeah, ya know one of ‘em already.”
I keep my expression neutral. “Meat.” We sat in silence for a bit as I watched him nod. “It’s… with all you’ve done for me, it’s sometimes hard to remember that you’re predators.”
He nodded. “Ah won’t get into anything bout morality ‘n all that. Survival and time don’t really care about that. But ah can sum up the basic stance humans have had about how we treat our animals.” He sat straight and moved his hand up and down to emphasize his words. “A farmer should keep their animals Happy, Healthy, and Respected. Whenever one of those things were forgotten, people would get upset and move to try and make things better. Ah won’t lie and say it always worked, but ah can say somebody was always tryin’ to make sure the animals were treated well.”
I absorbed the information he told me. “But why? I know that you aren’t like the Arxur, so…” I sigh, “why do you treat your… cattle… so well?”
“Again, ah won’t go into the morality and all that,” he explained, “ah ain’t qualified to talk ‘bout that. But there is a practical reason as well.” He cleared his throat, “a happy, healthy, and respected animal can do and give more than an animal that isn’t. Being good to them results in more good coming back to us. Simple as that.”
Part of me wanted to find a flaw in that logic. The part that still grasped to what I had been taught all my life. But… but those teachings said I myself was dangerous. That caused the facilities to be built.
By the tenants, the humans treat the animals they eat better than we treat other people.
“As for goats in moder times,” Jacob continued, ignorant of the thoughts going through my mind, “eh, modern times, we have other uses fer ‘em that isn’t meat. Mah parents got a few kinds’a goats, an’ somma them are fer grass care.”
My train of thought stalls in confusion at his words. “I’m sorry, grass care?”
“Yeah!” He laughed, “see, goats will eat grass and shrubs, and their poop acts like a natural fertilizer. The goats can be rented out to people for their lawns, though they usually get rented by farmers so they can graze in their fields before planting their next crops so there’s less weeds and the area’s fertilized.”
I needed a moment to process that. One of the things they do to help…is eat food and defecate? That’s it? “So…one of their jobs is literally just eating and pooping? And people are willing to pay for that? Why not just buy fertilizer? Wouldn’t that be easier?”
“Sometimes, but not as good fer the environment.” He shrugged, “besides, fertilizers don’t get rid of the weeds as well. So when given the choice between paying for a plane or people to come out and spray the fertilizer and weed killers or pay us for our goats to do the same thing naturally, a good number will rent the goats.”
It was strange logic that only worked in the context of cattle, but I couldn’t find any flaws in his reasoning. “And if a goat eats the wrong thing? Are they…y’know…” I couldn’t find it in myself to continue the morbid question. What other use would defective cattle have other than being slaughtered?
“Then it’s the farmers fault fer letting them in the crop field.”
I blink. “Wrong field?”
“Yeah. The farming fields are in sections, and are frankly massive, so it’s usually easy to keep them in the correct area for grazing.” He was so calm when he said that. Maybe he didn’t understand my question.
“Well, what if one isn’t easy? What if it… attacks someone or… or just refuses to obey?”
He shrugged. “Then it’s just a goat being a goat. Like ah said, they can be stubborn. Will even headbutt ya. Just gotta work around them.”
Work around… “They attack you and you… do nothing?”
He shrugged again. “Yeah, pretty much. It’s usually nothing major. They’re usually pretty friendly most of the time.”
I couldn’t wrap my head around this. They kept cattle…but treated them well and allowed themselves to be abused by them? Where’s the sadism? The cruelty? The…the…
My line of thought trailed off as I realized in horror what I was doing. In some small way, I was equating Jacob to the Arxur. My friend to those monsters. I…was I really still that far gone? I noticed Jacob stepping in front of me, waving his arm rhythmically. “Hello, Venlil Prime to Tarlim! You okay? You, uh, started lookin’ two ways there for a bit.”
“S-sorry,” I stuttered. “I just, I…”
“Look, ah can stop if it’s getting too much. Ah know that-”
“No!” I shouted, “it- it’s not that! I- I just realized that I… I was still thinking of you as like those… like the Grays.” I take a deep breath to calm myself. Jacob is silent as he recognizes that I have more to say. “I don’t… I don’t want to think of you like them. L-like the Federation says you are.”
He reaches over and gives my back a comforting scratch. “You’ve been taught that stuff all yer life. Ah ain’t gonna blame ya for taking time to adjust to new stuff.” We fell silent as I controlled my breathing. Focus. Breathe. Calm… His grin had become a comforting sight since I had first met him. He shifted back in his seat. “We can still talk about something else, if ya want.”
“Thank you, but…” I let out my breath, preparing myself. “I still want to know more. About… Y’all, and your goats. You said that… y’all used them in other ways, right?”
He seemed comforted by my imitation of his words. He picked up his phone and clicked it once. “This next one will likely need a bit of a visual explanation. Thankfully, ah was able to get this past as a personal memory.”
I cocked my head in curiosity. “What is it?”
He pointed the screen towards me. “Mah first time milking a goat with the milking machine!”
The what.
10 Minutes Later
I didn’t even realize it was possible for my soul to be dirty. Can I clean it, or will it be that dirty forever? By the Tenants, what would Sharnet think?
… could those suckers work on her- NO! BAD BRAIN!
“And do the Goats feel… do they feel pain?”
Jacob shrugged. “Yeah, it’s why they walk right up to the milking machines. Having swollen udders can be painful fer them.”
“No, no.” Shuck Shuck Shu-- STOP IT!! “aHEM. Does the machine hurt them?”
He shook his head. “Not at all. The suction is gentle enough that it is just like one of their own kids suckling.”
White liquid flowing through tubes into a container. The machine being set on- CEASE! “And you… Use this milk?”
“As food, is the shortest answer. Animal milk is extremely nutrient dense so it was essential to our survival in northern climates in early history. Nowadays, goat’s milk is mostly processed for Cheese and Yogurt, both of which are eaten for health and for pleasure.”
They can do that? “You are… you are able to eat another animal’s milk? Not just your own?”
“Yeah! Well, Not all of us! This is actually really interesting:” Jacob sat on the edge of his seat and met my eye, an excited gleam behind it, “So humans who raised goats lived in these mostly hilly areas that got cold. Not many things we could eat would grow there, but plenty that the goats could eat. Now, this is slightly related to our ability to eat meat, so you ready?”
Anything to get my mind off Sharnet in- “Yes, I’m ready.”
He clapped his hands together. “Okay! So, because not as much would grow, there would be times when people didn’t have much food, so they’d go hungry.”
And so they ate the goat.
“Now you’re probably thinking we ate it, but no!” My ears flicked up in surprise as he continued. “See, a goat as a meal would only last so long, but a goat that was lactating would feed the family for much longer, as well as give nutrients that the humans weren’t getting otherwise! So, with time, it became an evolutionary advantage for humans to be able to drink milk into adulthood!”
I gave my head a quizzical tilt, “but didn’t you say not all humans could?”
“Right! Because the animals that gave us milk weren’t everywhere! Humans in places with more sun and fields didn’t need as much milk, so they never developed the ability; milk tolerance was probably our most recent evolutionary trait! So, yeah! Keeping goats around literally caused us to evolve.”
So much history. Animals that literally changed how they evolved. “And… and these are the animals some Gojid refugees would work with?”
“Yep!” He leaned back in his seat, confident in his words. “Milking, cleaning, moving, all that stuff.”
I wag my tail. “I hope that they come to realize how great an honor they would be being given.”
Jacob let out a content sigh. “Fer those that stay, ah hope so too.”
​
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I haven't seen any posts from people about short-term sickness, mostly about weight loss or long-term benefits when avoiding seed oils.
I have been struggling with fatigue issues for the last 10 years or so. I have had various tests from doctors but nothing ever came out of it. I tried many many lifestyle changes like many diet changes, no gluten, no lectins, low-carb, more vegetables and whatnot. Exercise, meditation, cold showers, sleep habit improvements, nofap, sunlight, screen time restrictions. I tried it all, and I keep doing most of these things still to this day. And most things helped to some extend, but the random fatigue always returned.
The random part was always very annoying, because I never knew exactly if something worked because I could be fine for a week but then it came back for a week.
The fatigue itself, is very hard to describe. I feel tired, but not in a I-ran-a-marathon kind of way. More like extreme brain-fog, and chills all over the body. And the need to lay down, sometimes, but not like you lay down when you have a fever. I could still do things, but preferably minimal-effort things. And I couldn't use my brain properly. I couldn't think complex things. It's like my brain just didn't want to do anything and find the least-effort way for doing anything.
This was also very annoying for my wife and kids, who never knew if I was okey or not. Some weekend days I would be home just with the kids and most of the time I would just lay on the couch. If they really needed something I could help them, but I wouldn't show any initiative and used minimal effort for anything.
All of this changed last November. I learned something new about omega 3 / 6 ratios. Whenever I eat fries or meat I always add way too much sauce, so I thought I might try to change this. So I reduced my use of sauce and any other sources high in omega 6 (which of course, are seed oils). And I added some fish to my diet, and started taking fish oil daily.
After a few weeks, the fatigue stayed away. But, as always, I needed at least a month of no fatigue to become optimistic. Well, a month went by, no fatigue. 4 months went by, no fatigue. I felt great! I was doing way better at work. I could play with the kids all the time! My wife noticed I changed a lot for the better.
But then, somewhere in April, the fatigue returned. I thought I was letting my new diet regime slip a little, so I tried to lower my seed oils again. But I still got the fatigue. It was very precise. Whenever I would eat something with too much seed oils, I would be sick the next day. And then it hit me, I forgot to buy new fish oil! I checked back when I bought it and when I ran out, it was the beginning of April!
I also remember eating out one day, and I was like, oh shit, I ate way too much seed oils here, I'll probably be sick again tomorrow. But I wasn't sick. I though, hm this doesn't make sense. Then I remembered, I also ate a lot of salmon! So the right omega 3 / 6 ratio prevented me from becoming sick! So I bought the fish oil again. And things are good once again.
So there you have it. I just changed my whole life for the better with a few simple diet changes. Less omega 6, more omega 3.
Now I wonder, is there anyone else who has experienced this? Does anyone else get literally sick from eating too much seed oils? Or maybe not sick, but maybe tired, unfocused, sluggish, mentally unable to do anything?
Another thing is this. I have always been skinny, my whole life. No matter what I eat I never gain weight. Yeah I'm one of those guys. My dad is the same way. So what if, the reason for this is that my body cannot digest omega 6 fats properly, and makes me sick instead, (and also, I forgot to mention, makes my stool greasy) is because of genetics.
And what if, and this is just a theory, if you don't have these genes, your body instead stores all this fat for later use? You gain body fat. And your body can't use this fat because there is not enough omega 3 fat around to use it for anything? So you become fat and you can't lose it. It might be logical since seed oil use has been rising, and obesity has been rising. But still, just a theory.

We have been a situation shop for about 3 years being on and off only officially dating only once. we would go on to split 2 times, all by my choice, and then end up talking again because one person misses the other and spark things up again. On top of all this it's my birthday in 2 days and she planned/paid for this entire vacation trip for us to go on just for my birthday as a surprise gift and i feel incredibly guilty going when in the back of my head i'm thinking about ending things.
She has showered me in unconditional love and i have not been the greatest partner for number of reasons but i can't shake that fact that i feel myself with her and that i'm comfortable in whatever this is. when i am with her we're happy, having fun, all of that but when i'm not, i'm going out, shamelessly flirting with other girls, and just lying about even going out in general. i tell myself that by lying, i do not actually love her. It's just a selfish act to keep that comfortable person around, but then there's times where i do truly believe i love her and that i just need to get my act together. i'm incredibly conflicted and have a resounding feeling that i cannot go in this trip without feeling even a little bit guilty about it all.
is splitting up for the best? should i put more effort in and try to change for the relationship? am i convincing myself that i love her or am i just using it as a source of companionship?

Hello!
I have a doctors appointment next week to ask about getting evidence to apply for Additional Considerations at my university because I’m flaring so bad I think i’m going to fail my exams.
I always struggle with conveying just how much the symptoms are impacting my life. I know to say that it’s caused me to miss work and university, that I’ve struggled to do basic care like eating, showering, brushing teeth. But my biggest thing is that I’m experiencing some of the worst fibro fog that I ever have. I’m used to being a bit fuzzy but it’s like I’m trying to think through custard. I feel like I’ve turned into an idiot in the space of a fortnight.
I don’t know how to get across how severely this has impacted not only my academic ability but my ability to function.

I just was about to head to texas in the morning right and all of a sudden i wake up at 1am bam the most excruciating pain and restless itch I’ve ever had. I think oh shit maybe I have an allergic reaction to the melatonin that i took since i have trouble staying asleep. Then it kept getting worse so I’m like okay let me try to take some aloe and put it on. That did not help in the slightest, i couldn’t stand still i felt like i was losing my mind. Next i think okay ill take a shower scolding hot because that usually helps my sunburns. I mean the immediate relief was nice but i decided to get out after about 20 minutes and INSTANTLY it comes back worse than ever. I don’t know what to do at this point so i look up “excruciating pain and itch sunburn” and i come across some articles that lead me here, and let me tell you this sub is godsend because id be losing my mind if it wasn’t here. On my way to the airport I’m gonna get some Benadryl and i have some ibuprofen I’m going to take with me so thank you all for sharing your experiences! And I hope my story can be of some use as well!

ever since i decided to shave down there i've only ever used a standard woman razor. after a few years i noticed my skin got really sensitive and that's why it gets red and irritated quickly. i switched to using shaving cream instead of normal shower gel because of it. i also bought after shave, but i'd like to know if there are better products to use for sensitive skin in the intimate area. also maybe a better shaving method, anything that helps my skin to stay smooth!
i also thought about switching from a razor to something else, but i don't know what would be recommended, especially for sensitive skin.
any tips and recs are gladly appreciated.