Hey all! I’m new to this universe and needless to say, within 2 weeks this has become my whole personality lol. I’m currently busy with ACOSF. I have to ask though because I know I can’t be the only one….I feel bad for Tamlin. I don’t think he deserves to have his entire life ruined. Yes, he did not pay attention to Feyre struggling but she wasn’t the only one dealing with everything that happened. Could you blame him for becoming possessively protective after witnessing everything that happened to her? I agree that it was toxic and not the way to go obviously but does that really justify him being left the way we see him in ACOFAS? I can’t help but go back to the kitchen scene where Rhys told him to eat. The way his character was offered redemption and then he’s just still left in shambles makes me want a different outcome. Maybe there’s still more to come seeing as Im not finished so no spoilers if that is the case, please! Curious to hear opinions! :)

Hello guys hope you are well, about almost more than a month ago specifically April 23 after getting a common cold I started getting dizzy, there was no nausea or vomiting but couldn’t function or drive properly to work at first I went to a few doctors but they couldn’t get what it was then I went to a neurologist got an MRI done and he gave me some medicines like Serc and a tonic for circulation called ceremony, he recommended an ENT to me too and said u likely have vestibular balance issues. I started taking the medication which he and the ENT gave who said I have vestibular neuritis and balance issues and felt I was 50% better but recently I feel like shit I can’t stand up or go to work I can’t lok at the computer for a long time, the ent has changed my medication and gave me an anti inflammatory now he says try for ten days you will get better he articulated your condition isn’t that bad as I’ve seen people have worse ( easier said cause I still feel horrible).
I’ve started doing some vestibular rehabilitation exercises my self which I saw on the internet, when I sit down it’s better I don’t feel like I’m falling its only in movement, I can drive too now but it’s still like there’s something heavy on the left side of my head which is constant.
I read a lot of threads and just wanted to ask how do I incorporate being active while doing this? I go to the gym at least 5x per week but I haven’t been able to, like it takes months to heal as I’ve read should I not do any exercise during that time? Will it be trouble some ? The doctors have gave me conflicting views the neuro told me if u feel better u can try doing it while the ENT told me no sudden or abrupt motions so no working out. Exercising was literally the only time I felt sane doing this but I haven’t don’t it for a few weeks now . And the vertigo gets better but then gets worse again.
Are there any supplements I should take for my self? I’m seriously at my wits end and want to die sometimes.
What’s more I have gotten a job in Germany and I’m supposed to move there at the end of year, this is the first time I’ll truly be on my own and I’m just scared of this doesn’t get fixed by then.

My younger sister (26f), had been married to her husband for a few years now. There have always been problems, but they haven't been as apparent as in the last few months. Her husband is a very violent drunk, and has often screamed at her, and physically assaulted her when he drinks.
One such occasion was when she was pregnant with their second child, and he threw her down to the ground in a parking lot, and when she ran inside the apartment to hide, he climbed up the wall and broke in through the window. He was not arrested that night as my sister didn't want to press charges. He also stole her phone, which the police couldn't legally get back because this was in North Carolina where there is some marital law about property that prevented that.
They stayed together, but because he is in the military and she had a toddler to take care of alone and another baby on the way, she moved back to Texas with me and my mother. When the baby was born, he took family leave from the military and was staying with us up until tonight.
A few weeks ago, we found out that he had been cheating with multiple women. My sister had evidence of this on her phone, and so he once again stole the phone to delete the screenshots that she had. In her attempt to get her phone back, she accidently scratched him on the back with her nails. He then left the house after screaming at her again.
She called the police, and they eventually found him and brought him back, but instead of making him give back the phone, which is my mother's property because she bought the phone so sisters husband could make no claim on it, they arrested my sister because of those scratches. The cops said it was mandatory and refuses to do or say anything about the husband. She is now currently in jail for trying to get her phone back.
We are at a complete loss on what to do. We have done research and seen that women often get arrested for domestic violence calls even when it was in self defense. The cops claimed that because she had no bruises or physical marks it couldn't have been self defense, which in my opinion is complete bullshit. We don't know what the best thing to do for my sister is, or if these charges will stick in the first place. Does anybody have any advice as to what the best legal course of action is? Would it be worth it to try and look for an emotional damage charge on the officers as we believe this is a wrongful arrest as she accidently scratched him and he wasn't mandatory arrested for flipping her onto the pavement.
Thank you in advance for any help.

Hi, my laptop has problems connecting to wifi provided by a router. In contrast, it has no problems connecting to a network provided via smartphones hotspot. Drivers are updated but the problem persists.
Does anyone have a solution? Device is Lenovo ideapad 3-15IMLO5

My baby had a bad fall a few days ago while playing and needed stitches. That night was terrible. The first hospital treated him so bad that we left and went to the next one. He had to be put under anesthesia for them to stitch him up.
He seems mostly fine now, his stitches are healing, he's eating and playing. Just a lot clingier, he freaks out if his movement is restricted in any way and he suddenly sleeps through the night. For 3 nights now he slept 9 hours and I watch him and cry.
I wish this didn't happen and I wish he'd still be up every 3 hours to nurse instead. I miss our nighttime cuddles. I'm scared he'll have a lasting scar that will impact his work or love life once he's older.
His pediatrician says he'll be fine in a few weeks and forget about it when he screamed and slapped away the nurse trying to take his temperature.
I hope he will forget and his scar will fade and he will get up in the night again to cuddle with me at my desk while I work my night shift.

Okay ive been thinking of donkey from the shrek, like you know he fucked a dragon i have a story:
So the mc and a dragon have been in a relationship after lots of time and fights and they and journey then they end up together and built a big territory big enough and comfortable for the dragon and mc to rest and work with. Then one day the mc wants to pleasure her dragon the mc and dragon have been having sex but the is the only one who can get pleasure since hes a human and not that big but ofc they used some toys big toys mc made and the feels the dragon isnt satisfied and just acting since its not his actual penis, and thats what is inside the mind of mc, since the mc wants to also fulfill her dragon's pleasure but ofc the dragon is too big, the mc decided to find some kind of magic and spell to make one living thing big overall size or make the dragon human temporarily and if mc where ever to find thst spell or magic mc is able to make it one of his pocket abilities and wants to know stuff about this since mc feels like his love isnt enough, thats what he thinks and also wanted to feel the dragon fully and embrace her but the dragon said it is fine she loves him the way he is and dont need such thing and shes pleasured enough with their doings and the mc insists "no im gonna find a way" , but then one time when the mc had to left their home (the mc wanted the dragon to come but the dragon said she has to take care of chores and shit like that then the mc insisted that its okay and will do it together just like before but the dragon said it is fine she wants to make the mc comfortable and make things ready for him to relax after the meeting (so its like some kind of treat) then the mc said "oh i see, alright then im excited now, please dont work to hard" then the dragon kissed the mc before he left. Then now the mc is about attend some kind of meeting with something, like u know guild stuff or shit like that in rpg, but apparently the meeting was cancelled when he got there now he excitedly wants to go home since all that meeting is just some unimportant stuff and now he thinks he should surprise the dragon and bought something the dragon likes. Then when he came back home, meeting was supposed to last like 4hours so thats why he wanted to surprise the dragon, then when he was close to home he heard a loud noise and its a moan of a dragon, then mc hurriedly came real fast cause he thought shes in danger and he also heard a male voice dragon then when he got there he discovered the female dragon, is having sex with some big strong dragon and he can see how pleasured the female dragon and at this moment he knew hes right about the dragon getting what she needs, and must be containing this, this whole time, but ofc he was hurt since he already told he'd find a way for them to fully pleasure each other since the mc also wants to fully feel her and then the mc yelled to them saying "what the fuck is this" then the they were startled and the mc charged to the male dragon and almost killed him if it wasnt for the female dragon stopping him then the female dragon was scared and worried and trying to reason then they had a lot of arguing for a minutes saying she has needs then the mc said "i already told u i'd find a way for us but u insisted and now this?!" then the mc left in tears and were deeply hurt. The female dragon tried stopping him and begged to not leave her but he vanished (he has some kind of abilites since its rpg and hes strong)
Then when the mc left crying while wandering around somewhere dont know what to do and feel lifeless, the mc got a notification from the meeting saying the reason why it got cancelled, turns out theyve been busy trying to raid some big level boss for days and if they managed to defeat it, they'll be able to get a huge amount of valuables, then the mc came hurriedly and in despair and wanted to take all his anger and sadness to that boss.
The guild was surprised how much stronger the mc was than before and saw him in a state they've never seen before, he was in rage and sadness when he defeated the dragon with ease and didnt feel enough that he almost killed one of his mates, when he was about to kill his mate, something in boss home came out of nowhere turns out it was a daughter of the boss theyve killed and its a dragon, ( the boss dragon [the father] was actually torturing his daughter into becoming a dragon made for killing) so it means shes strong but the boss [the father of the dragon that appeared to stop the mc] was so cruel that all his doing is evil killing innocent kinds and even the daughter wanted to kill him, but she cant since hes strong and was surprised that the mc was able to take it down easily.
So when the dragon, [daughter of the boss] stopped the mc, the mc was surprised and also almost killed her, but then when shes on the ground, wounded, she told the mc she meant no hurt and explained his fathers evil doing and also wanted to kill him, and said they've also saved her from his cruel evil doings of his father, his guildmate said its a trap and might be just reasoning so they said to the mc to end her, but then mc remembered how he also saved a dragon, her gf who now cheated, the mc treated the the dragon daughter with his skills healing and such, but still have to rest, the guildmates was surprised and tried arguing with him but the mc showed them a face he never showed before so they just let him be then they took the valuables, loots all that.
Then the guildmated asked if he wanted to come home with them the mc responsed in a calm manner and wanted to stay with the daughter dragon since shes wounded by him and wanted to take care and its hes responsible for it, so they understand him and told the mc to be careful and gave the mc foods and comforting stuff so they dont have to worry for the mc.
And the mc ofcourse apologized deeply for the guild and specially the one he almost killed, and thank them for this, and he said, he'll take care of this dragon, and told their goodbyes and they said to expect the mc to join the celebration (just like before) of after everytime they succeed in killing a boss, specially this one since this was the hardest took a great amount of guildmates/members, and mc said yes he'll try to, and said that he just have a lot of things going on, and so they said their goodbyes.
Then a moment later the mc treated the daughter dragon for fast healing while the daughter dragon is sleeping/resting then he fell asleep.
Next day he woke up and was surprised its already afternoon and the celebration is always celebrated at night the day after they've killed a boss.
Then he heard someone is doing something and when he saw it, its a woman and threatened her who she is and why is she here and wheres the dragon, then the female dragon calmly explained. Turns out shes the dragon and can shape shift with her abilities, and the mc was shocked and sad when remembered his gf (his gf is around 30+ based on her age and looks, she looks like a mom) and this woman also looks like a mom but shes inexperienced about such and tried having relationship with other dragons but she just cant find the interest even when she tried having intercourse (one time when the dragon who she tried having sex with showed his penis the daughter dragon didnt feel any interest but then the dragon tried force her she said sorry but she really dont feel like it then the dragon tried raping her then she cuts off the dragon penis and left) and also was because of his father forcing her to get stronger, so she never had any interest in relationship.
Then the mc was shocked, the daughter dragon cooked a meal for both of them and she said to sit and they'll have a meal, then they talked about the things that happened yesterday, and had a cry and laugh. Then after eating, the mc helped the daughter dragon in human form to do the dishes then after, he sit on the bed and explained why he was in raged that time when he killed the boss, her father, after explaning what happened he couldn't help but let a tear out, then the daughter dragon comforted him and ended up them having lovey dovey. <3
Then after that they go outside and had an interest to each others abilities and teached eachother so the mc learned a skill to be a giant and can even be dragon because when they had seggs they apparently in surprised both of them got some of their skills, and now mc can turn into a dragon and even change his size overall and human size too so thats why he can be a giant, the for the daughter dragon she learned some of his skills too and even felt eachother emotion. (While the fmc dragon his old gf, is trying to find the mc and is in deep regret and still trying to find the mc anywhere).
Then the mc remembers the celebration if his guild/mates, so he invited her to come with him and celebrate, she agrees.
Then after they come to the celebration and had lots of food and drinks, the daughter dragon got drunk easily and mc took her to a room then the daughter dragon tried kissing the mc and the mc said shes drunk but they can easily remove it with abilities but mc said she gotta experience how it like to be drunk, but the daughter dragon knows she is drunk and wanted to kiss mc, and tried saying to the mc its fine, since its the mc and she knows its mc, but the mc said shes drunk she needs to rest since its her first time the mc wanted to let the mc what it feels to be drunk, since when they talked lots of things earlier, the dragon daughter said she never had any alcohol and never had interest with it plus his father never allowed her to buy for herself. So she drink in the celebration in appreciation of mc and what theyve been through, the she kept talking and mc then mc layed her down to bed then fell asleep, the mc stays there to accompany her, then a moment later mc heard her talking, and mc thinks shes just dreaming, then while shes talking she accidentally transformed or shapeshift into a dragon then took the mc outside and ofcourse the room was damaged then the daughter dragon took mc somewhere high like a mountain where there is no one.
Then the old/ex gf of mc heard something and hurriedly came into that noise then she saw something on the mountain, then she sneakily go in there, then she saw mc and a female dragon, their position is the daughter dragon is pinning mc in a dominating way while the mc is in human form while they're talking then after a minute of talking while the ex gf is watching she was about to stop them (the ex gf was hesitant if she should interrupt them, because shes still guilty as hell) but then the daughter dragon and kissed the mc erotically then the ex gf was shocked and was about to interrupt then the mc transformed into a dragon, so the ex gf was stunned of what happened, then the mc was hard in a dragon form then kissed the daughter dragon erotically then inserted his big dragon penis, even the daughter dragon was surprised, and the ex gf too of how the mc is bigger than most dragons.
Then the daughter dragon said to be gently since it'll be her first time then mc said, he will be but not for long, with a smirk, then the daughter dragon blushed and said "baka~ uwu~ <3" then when the mc was rubbing his dragon penis to the daughter dragon pussy, and was about to insert it, the ex gf interrupted them and yelled to them to stop! The mc was surprised also the daughter dragon then, the daughter dragon used her immobilizing ability to the ex gf, then the ex gf is stuck and cant move and said what is this and said to let her out or she will kill the daughter dragon, then the daughter dragon said "is this the gf dragon you're talking about?" Then the mc nodded, "then who do you choose me or her?" Then the mc had a moment then said "sorry but i think were done the moment u betrayed me" Then the ex gf dragon said "NO! NOO! I WONT DO IT AGAIN I PROMISE, I DIDNT MEAN TO DO IT, PLEASE COMEBACK! I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITHOUT YOU!" Mc said "sorry, i tried fixing it, but u made it worse" then mc proceeds to instantly penetrate the daughter gf, then the daughter dragon said, "oooooh, wh-what d-did i-" while her eyes is white as paint in pleasure mc proceeds to slowly take out the shaft of his cock, *while the dragon daughter is in heaven from pleasure and mc said "oooh~ mmmh~ didnt know dragon felt this good~, while the ex gf is just watching trying to convince mc to stop and comeback, then ex gf said while crying "nooo~ this isn't you what are u doing~ then mc proceeds to feel heaven and kept penetrating and said "sorry maybe if u were faithful, you'll be the one im penetrating right now", then mc transformed into a human, in giant size, then proceeds to penetrate her daughter dragon said "ooohh human cock in dragon form~ we should do this more often" then the ex gf was so jealous and seeing them like that, the dragon ex gf proceeds to pleasure herself while crying and saying the mc's name.
Til morning the mc and daughter dragon kept having sex while transforming and testing lewd sex, theyve never knew would be beyond heaven, while the ex gf is in lifeless state and angry and sad she dont know what to feel, and deeply regretted of what she did and remembering all the time they've spent together with mc.

• 3 Years Later *

The mc now own a country and living with her wife (daughter dragon) and have multiple children, and plans to make them stronger by sending them out to other place, and ofc some of their children didnt want to, so the female children stayed with the mc and his wife, (this is 17year later the "sending" them out, but the mc and wife and gf is still young because of their abilities" while the ex gf became an obedient dog to the mc since she wanted to go back with the mc no matter what, but mc is still hurt, so mc didnt really treated her like before, and treats her new wife more, so the old gf mc had to begged and be a good dog if she wants pleasure with mc, (she also learned the abilites of mc and the daughter dragon through sex) and then the mc also had children and the plan is included for both of the children of daughter dragon and ex gf dragon.
And thus mc lived a happy long pleasurable fun life, with his wife and his dog.
Thanks for reading and my bad with grammars. Pls ask if theres a question.

Have been renovating and extending our house in Perth for the last year or so, have used the same sparky for all the electrical work and put about $7k through him for the main renovation.
Most of that work was last year but early this year (Jan) we needed some outdoor sensor lights put in so I called him because he did great work and was well priced.
Lights installed and all working until the rain over the last weekend, we’ve had a bit of rain since they were installed but nothing like the 100+mm we got over two days. Water got into one of the lights and shorted out the whole lighting circuit.
He came round promptly within a day and fixed the issue and told me the light should dry out over next couple days and if it doesn’t he’ll come back and replace it… all well and good and no discussion on charges.
Just got an invoice for $220… I get he needs to charge for his time but he installed the lights less than 6 months ago… shouldn’t this be covered under some sort of defect liability period?
We purchased the lights ourselves and they are IP67 rated… not sure if that matters?
I really like the guy and he does good work, I just don’t feel like I should be paying for this.
If any sparky’s or other renovators who’ve had similar issues can chime in here it would be much appreciated.

Hello guys hope you are well, about almost more than a month ago specifically April 23 after getting a common cold I started getting dizzy, there was no nausea or vomiting but couldn’t function or drive properly to work at first I went to a few doctors but they couldn’t get what it was then I went to a neurologist got an MRI done and he gave me some medicines like Serc and a tonic for circulation called ceremony, he recommended an ENT to me too and said u likely have vestibular balance issues. I started taking the medication which he and the ENT gave who said I have vestibular neuritis and balance issues and felt I was 50% better but recently I feel like shit I can’t stand up or go to work I can’t lok at the computer for a long time, the ent has changed my medication and gave me an anti inflammatory now he says try for ten days you will get better he articulated your condition isn’t that bad as I’ve seen people have worse ( easier said cause I still feel horrible).
I’ve started doing some vestibular rehabilitation exercises my self which I saw on the internet, when I sit down it’s better I don’t feel like I’m falling its only in movement, I can drive too now but it’s still like there’s something heavy on the left side of my head which is constant.
I read a lot of threads and just wanted to ask how do I incorporate being active while doing this? I go to the gym at least 5x per week but I haven’t been able to, like it takes months to heal as I’ve read should I not do any exercise during that time? Will it be trouble some ? The doctors have gave me conflicting views the neuro told me if u feel better u can try doing it while the ENT told me no sudden or abrupt motions so no working out. Exercising was literally the only time I felt sane doing this but I haven’t don’t it for a few weeks now . And the vertigo gets better but then gets worse again.
Are there any supplements I should take for my self? I’m seriously at my wits end and want to die sometimes.
What’s more I have gotten a job in Germany and I’m supposed to move there at the end of year, this is the first time I’ll truly be on my own and I’m just scared of this doesn’t get fixed by then.

I've had insomnia since I was 14 and take sleeping pills every night. I can't change that routine and try sleep therapy because of the inevitable insomnia in the beginning... I have bipolar and even one sleepless night can trigger mania/psychosis.
It's 6 am and I haven't slept at allll I haven't had a night this bad in sooooo long. I took a 100 propranolol at 12, a Benadryl at 4, and I just took a hydroxyzine 30 min ago and am taking a promethazine now so sleep is finally gonna come (I try and avoid these 2 because of how sensitive I am, I usually sleep about 11 hours but I cannot risk it).
I have sooooo much anxiety though!!! Lack of sleep plus stress OVER lack of sleep I want to fucking die. I'm watching dumb shows on prime (I get very very antsy and jumpy and paranoid once sleep deprivation takes effect--pre psychosis, I'll start hallucinating in about 4 hours if I don't sleep). does anyone have any tips? Just to calm down until the pills hit? It hasn't been this bad in a really long time and I forget how id deal before (if I even did). Meditation is pointless right now btw and if I read anymore I'll die.
I'm going through some pretty intense stuff in therapy plus I have ADHD so my thoughts are running constantly now with a dialogue of the things I'm working on plus flashbacks and I'm in a state of pretty constant agitation rn so I guess that's a big part.
Also I took 4 valium at 5 and .25 klon at 7 that's how bad I am rn with the sleep.
what do you guys do when you have to let the insomnia win for a little before trying again?
thank you xxxxx

I just found a wasp in my room, and upon the discovery, I got a spray bottle with peppermint oil and water, and DOUSED my entire room with the solution. I have a huge fear of wasps being near me. I would rather have it leave my room as I don't want to kill it, so I tried leaving the door open to let it escape, but idk if it left. Does it kill them (not just deter them)? I tried a Google search, but to no avail. Thank you.

Apparently you have the choice of buying night train tickets (the 13€ one) for June 29, 30, July 1,2 and 3. Does anyone know why both 29th and 3rd is available? Technically it’s a return ticket for the day, but I’d be traveling on 30th and 3rd. I bought the 29th and not for the 3rd but I am now a little concerned.

Hi. I’m a 24-year-old female and I’ve been in a relationship with my boyfriend M 24 for 7 years. He recently told me that he finds other women attractive. When I started dating him, I guess he became my everything. We would spend a lot of time together and last year we moved in together.
I soon discovered that he was not the man I fell in love with. I always knew that we were complete opposites in almost everything, interests, beliefs and even personality traits. But I always thought we were perfect together.
When I started dating him I never found other guys attractive and I hoped it would be the same for him. He explained that he doesn’t find them attractive in a sexual way but it’s more to do with the energy the person carries. He’s attracted to women that match his energy.
Growing up I hoped that I would end up with someone who was like me I guess. Someone who would see other women and just want to be friends with them. And now that I know this I can’t help but feel like I’m not enough. I keep wondering, what if one day he meets someone he finds attractive and has the same interests and beliefs. What happens then?
We have had a lot of ups and downs since last year and I’m reaching a breaking point and this could be it. I can’t help but feel like I’m not enough and I need someone to help me process what he was trying to say and if I’m being I guess unreasonable or something idk. He said why does that worry me when he chooses me everyday but those words weren’t comforting at all. What if one day he wakes up and doesn’t choose me

I had to go into my office today to attend some meeting. After the meeting a bunch of managers and me were sitting around casually talking.
When the conversation dried up, they started talking about their S/Os and what they have planned for the evening... naturally excluding me from the discussion.
I was being completely absent minded and blurted out something to the effect of"sounds like alot of fun having someone to go back home to, I go back home to an empty apartment."
I instantly regretted saying that, and before I could follow up with something like "...but that's just the way I personally like it". It was already too late. They had already smelt blood in the ocean. I was now the topic of discussion.
One Steve Wozniak looking guy said "Well, you don't talk much, you have to be able to talk to put yourself out there."
WHAT? I've been suggesting topics that you've all been running with without including me. I've been keeping the conversation going yet every time I try to speak up, or give my opinion, you ignore me and speak over me. Do you guys not see what you are doing? How can I talk when no one wants to give me the opportunity?
The next few minutes were them taking digs at me, without involving me in the discussion. Essentially talking about me, but not to me, and offering me "advice", like I'm some complete imbecile lacking any awareness.
"He has a poor self-image."
Where does my self image come from? We are social creatures. My self image was shaped within a social context. In my case, it has been shaped by experiences of being constantly ostracized, excluded (similar to what you guys are doing to me), and being denied every chance to come out of my shell and thrive (literally happened in every setting I have been in). Maybe if I had some positive reinforcement, maybe If I was treated like a human, I would be able to conform to whatever you think my self image should be like.
One of them sitting next to me (some arrogant Matthew McConaughey lookalike who thinks of himself as a playboy) places his hand on my shoulder and goes "I used to be like you".
You were never like me. Look in the mirror. Stop gaslighting me into thinking I am somehow to blame for being "shy and alone". Everytime I have tried, I am denied the opportunity. I am just shot down again and again, and shown my place.
And then this poor man's McConaughey proceeds to offer unsolicited, generic advice (why is it that people always feel compelled to do this?).
The only woman at the table also took a random dig, she started going on about how her ex husband was a shy guy and "I don't find shy men interesting"
Erm. Who asked you what you find interesting? And Lol. If I were some hot dude, being shy would be mysterious and enigmatic, but since I look like a gremlin, it's just creepy and uninteresting. Are you really turned off by shyness, or are you just twisting any personality trait of a ghastly looking guy as something undesirable?
These people were ultra fixated on the "shy" angle, while ignoring the obvious truth behind my lack of success. If I came across as not shy they'd label me arrogant and make that the excuse behind my loneliness.
I know that I have a reverse halo effect by virtue of how I look. It is what it is, but are you seriously going to be so patronizing?
"He just needs to be more confident."
LOL. Seriously? You give me the most tired out platitude in all of existence, and expect me to take you seriously?
"You need to keep trying"
What do you know about me? I have been trying for 17 years before I accepted that it's over. I refused the "pills". I rejected nihilism. I found a cope for every setback and negative experience. I maxed everything as much as I could. I focused on and marketed my competitive advantages. I held low standards. Tried to get what I could. I really tried. If it was meant to be, I would have made some sort of progress during that time.
I was gritting my teeth as I thanked them all and excused myself.
This was a reminder that it is useless to take to others about this.

im a really light sleeper and have had insomnia most of my life. my gf is the opposite: she can go to bed super early (like 6pm) and fall asleep quickly. i dont think she understands my condition or takes it very seriously, so when i ask her to do things differently it comes off like nagging and she gets really defensive. that is not how i intend to come across, but she needs to understand how important it is to accomidate my sleep because i get very little of it and cant go back to bed as easily as she can.
for example, if i am asleep and something wakes me up, i often cant go back to bed. i become wide awake super fast. she likes to set multiple alarms for 4 or 5 in the morning. so she will have an alarm go off, disable it, go back to sleep, 10 mins later another alarm goes off, she disables it, and so on until she eventually gets out of bed.
i absolutely hate this because i wake up fully almost immediately after the first alarm and am forced to lay there wide awake for 20+ minutes waiting for her to get up and leave so i can attempt to go back to sleep. 9 times out of 10 i cant get any more sleep after that so i give up.
if she could just get up after the first alarm i would have a chance at going back to bed, but she refuses to do that. i understand she prefers to wake up slowly but this is a matter of her preferences vs my health. ive offered to help her wake up, too. im not asking her to change her routine because im an unreasonable nag, im asking her because this takes a serious toll on my health.
i also want to note that i go to bed MUCH later than she does because i try to wait until i start to feel a little tired, which will always be around 11-12am even if i woke up at 3am that day. if i go to bed any earlier than that i will just be lying in bed wide awake for hours and hours which i consider a worse fate than just going to bed late.
anyways as for the other things she does, she often comes in and out of the bedroom a ton of times after getting up which also keeps me awake. i ask her to just get what she needs before she leaves instead of doing that and shes responded like i asked her to do something extremely difficult.
i know that, to her, this is a small thing she does that isnt a big deal, but her habits affect me a lot. it cant be a small thing to me.
its more than just waking me up, though. when im trying to sleep and i expect something to disturb me, i cant relax. like if she only comes in and out of the bedroom 40% of the time, it will keep me up every single morning because i cant relax due to anticipation. this might sound stupid but that feeling of anticipation genuinely makes it impossible for me to relax.
similar thing with the cat. when the cat meows outside the bedroom she likes to let her in. the problem is that it encourages the cat to meow to get what she wants which, you guessed it, wakes me up. and the feeling of anticipation applies here too. my sleep quality is a lot worse because my brain knows the cat might start meowing outside the bedroom at any time and it makes it impossible for me to relax. this affects me a HUGE amount.
does anyone else relate to the anticipation thing? like you need to be confident nothing will disturb you before you can settle down? it fucks me up so much 🥲
i think to my gf it looks like im getting mad at her for letting the cat in, but its honestly so much more than that. she doesnt experience the issues i do so she doesnt realize how important this is. i dont think she takes me very seriously 😕
she has said before that she feels like im making insomnia out to be "her fault" and that really isnt my intention.. but that doesnt mean there arent things she does that make it hard for me. im not trying to make her feel bad or anything, i just want her to accomodate me. i dont really have a choice but to talk about it because regardless of if i do or not, it will continue to affect me a lot. if these things are that small, it should be easy to change them..
im sorry for writing a lot i think im just rlly sleep deprived and tired of not feeling like my health matters very much.
can i get any advice on how to approach talking about this? does anyone else with this condition need accomodation from their partners? i dont want to come off as nagging or blaming her but she needs to understand me a little 🥲

So, we have a few alters who tend to display harmful or even downright toxic behavior at times. Particularly, we have three:
A fragment persecutor that attempts to control us by using intense emotional abuse in the way one of or abusers did, a trauma holder that attempts to sabotage friendships out of fear she’ll be abandoned, and another trauma-holder that hates almost everyone, but particularly people with social anxiety. He’s convinced that everyone is just Evan Hansen in the sense that they have their issues, but it causes them to manipulate others.
The Persecutor never harms others outside the system, their abuse is directed completely inward. The Sabotaging trauma holder will act as other alters and look for situations where they could argue with or lash out at others. The hateful trauma holder, however, is particularly tricky. He’s rude, has zero regard for others, and goes as far as to downplay and tell others he doesn’t care about their problems. He also self-harms. Gatekeepers have to lock him out of front for ours and others’ safety.
So what this post is about is how we respond to them. We understand that they are all traumatized, but we have a rule in the system that we must treat each other like we would treat other people outside the system. So, if an alter is toxic or abusive, we treat them like we would treat another person who acts that way: We scold them and criticize them harshly. We don’t try to be nice about it either. We would acknowledge where the behavior comes from, but we still don’t let that hold us back.
(Not a real) example: “I understand that your Dad died when you were little and it’s damaged you, but that’s NOT an excuse to shit on someone else for being upset by their abusive father! Shame on you.”
We know that to heal from trauma it needs to be met with care, and every alter’s needs are different. Is this too harsh?
-Draac

Saint Panagis Basias was son of the pious and wealthy couple Michael Typaldos-Basias and Regina Delaporta. He was born in Lixouri, Kefallonia in 1801.
Because his wealth afforded him an excellent education, Panagis received very good theological and philosophical training and learned to speak Italian, French and Latin besides his native Greek language. At the age of 20 he began his career as a grammar school teacher due to his linguistic skills. Soon he became inspired by the radical preaching of Kosmas Flamiatos and Eusebios Panas, two men of the Church who believed that the British occupying the Ionian Islands at the time were essentially tyrants attempting to undermine the population's Orthodox faith with Protestant teachings. As a result, he left his official teaching post, and continued his mission by giving lessons privately at home.
At the age of 26 Panagis, following his father's death, felt a natural inclination as well as the influence from the character of the great ascetics of Kefallonia Saints Gerasimos and his neighbor Saint Anthimos, to leave everything behind and go to the tiny island Vlahernon off the coast of Livathos. This monastery was used as a place of exile for clergymen by the British rulers. Exiled on the island at that time was the famous cleric Nikolaos Kantounis from Zakynthos. However, his widowed mother's and orphaned sister's pleas forced him to cut short his stay at Vlahernon. He returned to the world but his entire life proved to be a continuous ascetic striving and adherence to the monastic existence he had chosen. He returned to Lixouri in 1828-9 and soon thereafter was ordained a Reader.
In 1836 he was ordained as a deacon and a priest by the Archbishop of Kefallonia, Parthenios Makris. Upon his ordination he was given the name "Paisios". He then served as priest at the Monastery of Saint Spyridon in Plati Gialo near Lixouri where he originally intended to serve as a monk. There he liturgized and preached on a daily basis, spending the remaining time of his day visiting the homes of the faithful who were in need of comfort, charity, spiritual guidance, relief and compassion. He was an exceptional confessor who impressed the image of Christ upon the souls of the faithful.
Throughout his life Saint Panagis gave himself over to charity work and ministry towards the sick and suffering, even distributing his entire wealth to the needy.
God had granted him the gift of prophecy which he used to foretell future events to those around him, something that is mentioned in the proposal for his sainthood. Reflections of his many miracles, prophecies and accounts of his devout life are still with us. With his gift of clairvoyance he was able to read the hearts of the faithful and expose their private sins so as to gently lead them to repentance.
His widespread fame as a miracle worker forced him to claim mental illness ten years after his ordination in 1846 though in reality he became a "fool for Christ's sake", embracing what many saintly men before him had in order to avoid the fall into arrogance and egotism. During this time he was tortured by a nervous breakdown and was deprived of sleep walking the streets at night and shouting out loud, among other things. When he would come back to his senses it was as if he was in terrible fear and weakness. However his biographer and contemporary, Father Zisimos Typaldos, informs us that the faithful understood this to be a test and were not bothered by it. During these times the faithful would still come to him and with devotion kiss his hand. They knew this was a test many Saints of the past had endured for a life of humility, what Saint Paul called "a thorn in the flesh"(2 Cor. 12:7).
On May 21, 1864 he experienced the joy of the Union of the Ionian islands with Greece, a goal he had worked hard for by preaching and cultivating the Orthodox tradition during a period of political and social turmoil.
Father Basias had lived with his widowed sister in Lixouri until 1861 when she passed away. Before this and after he lived with his cousin Andreas Typaldos-Basias during which time he was given money by insurance to be taken care of (1864). The devastating earthquakes of Palliki in 1867 destroyed his house and forced him to live as a guest from then on, "poor but enriching others" and "having nothing and having it all", in the house of his cousin John Geroulanos (he was the father of the famous surgeon Marinos Geroulanos). This John was the son of the sister of Father Paisios' mother Regina. In return for the kind hospitality of his cousin John and his family, Father Paisios became a protector of the household and aided them with his prophetic and healing gifts (he had saved John's life when he was sick years earlier and near death and even married John to his wife). John considered the hospitality he was giving as if he was giving it to the Lord Jesus himself. Among his prophecies was that he foretold to John that his son Marinos would become "a great, great man" and often repeated this. The Geroulanos family highly honored the Saint and to this day their descendants pay special reverence to him. The son of Marino, John, was born in 1904 and became the care-taker of the Church of Saint Spyridon, where Father Paisios liturgized following his departure from the Monastery in Plati Gialo , and the tomb of the Saint. They allow the faithful to this day to visit his memorable house and the room (or what the faithful refer to as his "cell") he stayed in for the rest of his life.
Between 1882-1887 he remained prostrate and confined to his bed, during which time many visited him to receive counsel, confess their sins and seek his prayers. He endured this trial with patience and perseverance. Day and night the door to his cell was always open by his request so that anyone could come to him at any time as was needed.
He passed away peacefully on June 7, 1888 at the age of 88 years old in Lixouri. At a massively attended funeral service held over three days, the eulogy was delivered by the Metropolitan of Kefalonia Germanos Kalligas. Day and night the faithful came to pay their respects over a period of 50 hours or so without stopping, and many photos were taken of this event of which one is known to be preserved.
(from johnsanidopoulos.com)

Chapter One
Chapter Seventeen
Martinez slouched his way into the kitchen. He wasn’t really paying attention to his surroundings; in his defense it was early in the morning and he’d failed at getting some appropriate shut-eye before he went and, you know, bared his entire soul to Chao. At least that was his plan. But as usual, the universe laughs at plans.
He placed a sealed plastic package into the coffee machine, then put a styrofoam cup in the appropriate location. He yawned as the machine began its burbling.
“Hey.”
Martinez snapped his head over at McCoy, who’d suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She leaned against the counter, with a big and very evil grin on her face.
“Um…” began Martinez, before he was interrupted by a voice from his other side.
“Hey.” Matt leaned there, and if McCoy looked evil then Matt looked positively diabolical. Martinez glanced behind him and saw more soldiers, all with looks of ill intent on their faces.
The corporal didn’t waste time in asking what the hell they were up to, he just started throwing hands and feet. Future scholars would count the resulting battle as one for the ages; Martinez even managed to tag Toke with a couple of pretty good punches and one really sweet roundhouse kick.
But in the end, it was still a case of one against many.
__________
“Mmmm mm mmm m mmm!” protested Martinez.
Chao sighed as she beheld his bruised and very taped-up state. “What did those idiots do to you?”
“Mm MMM mmm mm!” The corporal’s mouth was now duct-taped shut, so verbal acuity was not amongst his strong suits at the present.
She put her hands on her hips. “For crying out loud. Matt goes and gets me all worried that you’re somehow in trouble, he leads me over to some random closet and shoves me in here and I find you like this. What’s the game?”
“Gmmmm?”
Chao squatted, examining his bonds. “Well, they sure got you trussed up like a roast for the feast. Hey, if you want me to pull the tape off of your mouth just nod.”
After a moment, Martinez nodded. She reached for the tape covering his mouth, then hesitated. “Um. I don’t have much experience with this so I’ll leave it up to you. Is it better to go fast or slow? Blink once for fast, two for slow.”
With deliberation, Martinez blinked once. Chao nodded and yanked the tape off. They’d even left a convenient tab for her to grab ahold of.
“FUCKING OW!” yelled the corporal. “Um, sorry.”
Chao seated herself before his figure, which was tied up in a fetal position. “You know, the last few weeks have given me a bit of a crash-course on the types of grab-ass shenanigans you soldier types get up to. This is a new one, though. Care to educate me?”
Martinez stared at her in horrified disbelief. “Toke didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what? He just said you were in trouble and that I needed to help out.”
“That…that evil, evil son of a bitch. He said he’d explain everything!”
“Explain what? Luca, I am just about ready to walk out and leave you in here to eventually soil yourself.”
Now that he was literally hog-tied and unable to escape, Martinez realized he had to ‘fess up. “I like you,” he said in an almost-gasp. “I mean, I like you like you. In that way. I mean, I know it’s sudden. We’ve only known each other for maybe four weeks but you’re so smart and pretty and…and, you know about Asimov and Heinlein and Clarke and about orbital mechanics and star spectra.”
She sat in stunned silence while he continued. “I don’t bring much to the table, I get that. But I want to learn. After we come back from the Rithro’s repair mission, I want to go to college…I’ve started looking into that. I’m not much of a catch right now, but maybe one day you’d consider liking me that way as well…”
He was interrupted as she leaned down, grabbed his head, and planted a firm kiss upon his lips. After a moment of pure bliss for both of them, she pulled away. “You utter and complete idiot,” she said, but she said it with a smile. “Did you never think that perhaps you have some attractive qualities of your own?”
Martinez tried to shrug as best he could, being all tied up. “I mean, Toke did mention that I have some pretty nice abs?”
Chao’s eyes glinted in good humor. “Pretty nice? You’ve got an eight-pack. I could shred cheese on those bad boys.”
He looked up at her. “Wait. When did you see my abs?”
“Back when we were sequestered within Cheyenne Mountain, and we were strictly on sponge baths.” She patted his taut stomach, feeling up those aforementioned abs. “Anyways, do you want me to get you out of these bonds?”
“Um…”
Her good humor turned into a diabolical grin. “Or, would you like to remain in these bonds? Toke said something about a safe-word and safe-gesture, he said you’d explain it.”
“Of course he did. That fucker. Um. Chao, this has gone better than I could ever have imagined but I don’t think you need to know…”
“Know about what?” Her caressing of his unprotected stomach did not cease. “Does my corporal have a bit of a fetish?”
His brain seized up again at her emphasis on ‘my’. “I…”
“Let me put it this way. Would you like me to be all mean and nasty, or more cuddly and dommy mommy?”
After a long, long moment of silence he finally murmured, “Dommy mommy.”
“See? That wasn’t so hard. Well, admitting it wasn’t hard.” Her hand continued its explorations. “Now this here is indeed quite hard. Hmm. Good thing you are just too cute for words.”
“Cute?” He looked in disbelief at her, and then flinched at her continued caressing.
“One can be a badass and also cute, my dear corporal. You tick both boxes. Not to mention you’re into a fetish which I’ve wanted to indulge in for a while. Never found anyone who was into it, until now.”
Outside the closet, McCoy stood guard. She smiled in triumph as she heard Martinez yell out in pleasure, and turned to give Toke a thumbs-up.
“It’s about fuckin’ time,” she said.
Matt smiled back at her. He now sported an epic shiner under one eye. “Eh, some kids just need a bit of a nudge, you know?”
__________
It was…it was a wall. A wall he was looking at.
A wall covered in white stucco. Nothing too fancy, but it was indeed a wall and Joachim realized he was looking at it. That might seem like a substandard feat, but for a man who’d been in Joachim’s proverbial shoes it was a grand accomplishment.
His mouth worked as he swished his tongue around in his mouth. He looked around. He sat in a lawn chair in the middle of a beige room, lined on every wall with the stucco he’d just realized he was looking at. “H…hello?”
His voice felt old and clotted. Joachim looked down at his hand, and he saw wrinkled skin and age spots that he didn’t remember seeing there before.
This room only had one exit door, and now it opened. A lean man with dark skin entered. “Joachim Neimyer? I’m Zawahir Ibn Harith. How are you feeling, sir?”
Joachim fixed the newcomer with a steady eye. “I’ll be feeling better once I know where I am. And where is Corina?”
“Corina is on her way, she should be here within minutes. We had great hopes that your treatment was progressing well. Do you know what day it is, sir?”
“Of course I know what day it is! It’s…” Joachim trailed off as he realized that he didn’t know. The last few…years? Decades? He had glimpses of moments in time, as if viewed via a strobe-light. He now realized it was much, much later in time than he thought. “I…what happened?”
“Alzheimer’s, Mr. Neimeyer.” Zawahir’s eyes were kind. “You’ve been suffering from it for the last seven years. But we discovered…or, I should say, we adopted a methodology for treating it. It not only stops the damage, it has a way of reversing at least some of its effects. I fear you will never regain the memories from the time during which you suffered the most, but from now on your mind should function properly once more.”
Joachim rubbed his now-bald pate. “Is Corina all right?”
Zawahir pulled over a chair next to him and seated himself. “She is, blessedly, un-marked by the same affliction. We are, of course, putting her on a similar treatment as yourself just to make sure she remains so. With her consent, of course.”
The old man fixed Zawahir with a direct stare. “This whole thing smells experimental. Why choose me?”
“Mmm, you are as sharp as ever, sir. This is indeed an experiment, and we chose you because you are one of the preeminent rocket experts who ever lived. We need such skills now.”
“What?”
Zawahir leaned forward. “I will do my best to catch you up…”
__________
She walked through the door, supported by a cane. The one person, the beacon in Joachim’s life. Corina lit up upon seeing his gaze. A gaze with intent, with purpose. “They said you were feeling better!”
Before he or the surrounding interns could react, Joachim now found himself with a hundred-ish pounds of enthusiastic elderly woman in his lap.
“Tell me something only you know,” she whispered.
Joachim smiled. “Do you remember what I told you when we saw the green flash? That one time, in Hawaii? During our honeymoon?”
“I do. You said that the flash was the souls of those who’ve gone before.”
“And I promised you that, if I passed before you, that you would just need to look for the flash to see me.”
She clasped his wrinkled face in her own equally-lined hands. “You did better than that. You came back to me.”
“I guess I did.” He kissed her, reveling in the fact that this time he’d remember it.
Zawahir motioned to everyone else in the room. They all quickly got the hint and left the pair to their mutual happiness.
__________
The door of the simulator cracked open and Kifa came scuttling out. She peered up at the normally stony face of Master Sergeant Wilkes; right now the latter looked like he’d just been kicked in the chest by a donkey and was still trying to process it. “How did I do?” asked the xyrax. “It seems like I did quite well.”
“Um…Kifa. Well. Um. Did the controls seem to operate right?”
“Oh, yes! Very much, quite intuitive! It’s been ages since I simulated combat within an atmosphere! That was fun!”
“Fun. You do realize that you were going up against aces. I mean real, human aces?”
“Oh. I thought that was the case.” Kifa peered back into the simulator. “Was I not supposed to know that?”
Wilkes finally laughed, something that was fortunately captured by several cameras and used as blackmail material for many years after. “You did fine. You also just utterly smoked several of the finest pilots on Earth, and that includes non-Americans.” He regarded her with a steady gaze. “I wish I could recruit you to TOPGUN, I’d love to see you show those strutting peacocks a thing or two.”
“What is TOPGUN?”
He sighed. “Right now, it’s in the same exact department as buggy-whip manufacturing. You just showed these punks that, even in atmosphere, you’re death from above.”
Kifa seemed to shrink into themselves. “I didn’t mean to…”
“Now, now, Kifa, this is a good thing. Gotta keep those aforementioned strutting peacocks on their toes. But soon we’ll be dealing with fighting using orbital mechanics, something with which our air-combat people have about as much actual experience as they do with chatting up the fairer sex.”
“Which fairer sex? I mean, my kind is hermaphroditic so I know the mechanics but…” Kifa trailed off as it blinked its four big, oil-drop eyes.
“You are too damned cute for your own good. Pick a sex, any one, I for one do not give a fuck anymore. Point being, we humans need a crash-course in how to fight in space. No atmo, so trying to maneuver using flaps and wings and things is right out. We need to understand how orbits work. Not just intellectually, but in our bones.” Wilkes patted the simulator. “We need you to teach us. We need you to teach an army. Well, navy. Technically. I guess it would count as a navy. Either way. You know how to do this shit, and you just proved that even in atmosphere you can run rings around our best and brightest. So. Are you willing to show us your voodoo?”
“My voodoo…” The blue-furred spider suddenly rose on all of its legs. “Of course! This will be used against the Breakers, yes?”
“Of course.”
“Then it will be my greatest pleasure to show you all of my voodoo!” Kifa paused. “Although, if I received a headpat or two it would also help me properly consider how best to teach you.”
Sergeant Wilkes sighed and reached down. Kifa purred in delight as the usually-taciturn sergeant unleashed the full might and power of Human Headpats upon the alien pilot.
__________
Sadaf watched as the two dark-haired women and one blonde-haired woman had a black-and-white cap fitted over their heads. Both had received a haircut for this day; Parvati for one seemed to be less than thrilled about losing some of her tresses.
“This is the snoopy-cap,” said the aide who stood between the two women. The surroundings were sterile and very, very white. “This cap contains your communications, and it will keep your hair in place during launch.” This was the actual process getting shown to the world. Behind them, Ravindar and Martinez were also in the process of getting suited up, but this was done with much less fanfare. The aide’s words carried to them all, of course.
“Arms up!” Everyone going into space today raised their arms, and a large tubby-looking upper suit then slid down over five figures. Many human hands made sure that their heads made it through the upper ring. “This is the upper part of your pressure suit,” said the aide. “The gloves and helmet will complete that part, but that will come later. Now I will need you all to step into your pants…”
Everyone did so; Chao was the one who didn’t quite make it look elegant. She grinned at Martinez as she fumbled for a bit getting her pressure-suit trousers on; his resulting blush was caught for the cameras but it wasn’t until a week later that someone realized what it meant.
“Latch!” The aide’s voice was hard as metal.
Many hands reached out, twisting multiple metal rings to lock the upper and lower halves of the four pressure suits into one cohesive piece.
“I still say we could make them some proper hardsuits,” said Sadaf to Takh. The two stood off to the side, not exactly part of the dance but not apart from it either.
“No, I think this is better,” said Takh. “We need to make this look more like a…human effort.” Her XO stood at parade-rest, with both sets of arms clasped behind his back.
Sadaf nodded. “I will default to your judgement. By the way…how are you and Corporal McCoy getting along?” She nodded towards the last-minute addition to the crew.
“Um…Ma’am, I…” His faltering was not helped by watching the humans in the clean-room getting clear helmets fixed over their heads. Each latching was followed-up by a tap on the shoulder and a thumbs-up.
The big human, Ravindar, waved his arms over his shoulders as he got the feel for the suit. He’d managed to get the helmet on without an issue, in spite of his substantial beard. “Need more air?” asked a much smaller woman at his side. He shook his head, while he continued to flex and get comfortable with how the suit restricted his motions.
Getting the Sikh to this moment had been a master-class in diplomacy. Not least of which was because he still carried a weapon upon his person. Sadaf had no experience with ‘Sikhism’, but she could appreciate any culture or creed which dictated the need to carry a protective weapon at all times. It appealed to her nature.
“Do you think Parvati knows that he’s, well, into her?” asked Takh.
His captain’s voice became damn near sultry. “Now Takh, and here I thought you were all clueless. I’ve heard of the effort these humans went through to get Chao and Luca together. Would you like me to ask them to perform a similar effort for you and Corporal McCoy? Hmmm? It would make for quite the photo-op, as the humans would say.”
Takh felt a bit of panic, somehow. “No!” His panicked reply was low, hopefully not picked up by the surrounding cameras. “I mean, she’s so small. I could hurt her…assuming she wants to be romantic, of course.”
“Romantic? Takh, I admit I am still learning about human body language but trust me…if you want that, she wants that.” She pondered the humans in the room still going through some last-minute checks of their pressure suits. “Let’s put it this way. If you don’t make a move, then I just might ask Dhuz if it’s okay to add a human to our harem when we get back.”
“What?”
“I have learned quite the delightful human phrase. It is, as they say, Time To Nut Up Or Shut Up. I do find McCoy really cute, after all. As do you.”
Her XO grumbled semi-silently for a bit. “Fair enough, Captain. I’ll ask her. While we’re out there.”
“Good.” The humans in the clean room were now about finished with their checks, and Sadaf felt a bit of a thrill. She was, after all, witness to a species taking their first steps into a larger universe.
Five hoses were now shoved into five chest-mounted receptacles, each hose leading to its own hand-held air-conditioning unit. Another complicated round of checks, slaps, and thumbs-ups then followed.
“They do know that we’re just going to walk beside them right into the landing boat, right?” asked Takh. “This whole process isn’t really necessary.”
“Let them have this moment,” said Sadaf with a gentle smile. “They’re having fun.”
__________
The five white-suited individuals emerged from the hallway to pretty much universal uproar, both in person and online. The suit color was all NASA, but the logos were not. All four wore the emblem of the United Nations at their shoulder, a pair of olive branches surrounding a polar view of the world. The four humans all did their bit and waved for the cameras. Those in charge of the cameras did as instructed, and ignored the two black-and-sliver figures behind the quartet. The latter weren’t wearing any sort of pressure suit.
In the middle of the courtyard hovered the real talking piece, a landing boat from the Rithro. Its entry door was already lowered, and with another wave to the cameras from each of the five humans, they walked up the ramp and into the craft.
The five of them then looked at each other as the door began to close behind them. They’d trained together for a bit, enough to get a feel for each other. But now there was a real sense among them of holy shit what now?
Their mutual what-nows were interrupted as Tofa appeared. The arachnoid alien held a tray in one pedipalp, and upon that tray sat a little dish of what looked like Brazil nuts.
“Greetings!” chirped Tofa. “Welcome to Rithro Air, I assure you we have an excellent safety reputation. Well, almost excellent, if you don’t count the affair around Barnard’s Star. You may now take off your pressure suits. May I interest you in a nut?”
The four humans (and a few of the aliens) flinched as Ravindar let loose with a hearty belly-laugh. He reached up to undo his helmet while he beamed a brilliant white smile at their greeter. “You? I like you. We’re going to be fast friends.” He reached down to pluck a nut from the tray. “Madame? Do you want to take the first nut? Or should I taste it first?”
“Um…” For once, Parvati looked uncertain within her glass-and-cloth cocoon. “If you wish to taste, then please go ahead.”
“As you wish.” Ravindar held her eyes as he bit into the proffered nut. “It seems to be all right,” he pronounced.
After the great ceremony with which they’d been ensconced into their pressure suits, the humans then with reluctance emerged from their cocoons.
“We set up some chairs for everyone!” exclaimed Tofa, who gestured to the sides of the landing craft.
“Um, where do we put all of this?” asked Martinez as he held up a pressure-suit gauntlet.
The alien spider blinked. “Oh, right! Kexal, would you mind helping our guests stow their material?”
__________
The conference room at ULA now looked out over an even-greater bustle of activity. They were determined to at least match SpaceX in terms of tonnage-to-orbit; maybe they’d do so more efficiently? The mere notion had set a fire under everyone.
Joachim sat in a wheelchair while he studied those in front of him. “Ladies and gentlemen. I have, through some strange technological miracle, been re-granted the use of my mind. Not only that; they tell me that I and my wife might, if certain tests go well…we could become that which we once were. I intend to make sure that this gift does not go to waste. Not for me, nor for my wife, nor for the rest of humanity. Anyways. We have some aliens who need our help, we have some psychotic robot idiots who are fucking things up for everyone, and we need to get some serious tonnage into orbit as a result. Is that about the shape of things?”
“That’s pretty much the shape of it, sir,” said Dwight.
Joachim pointed a wrinkled finger at the speaker. “You. I’ve been caught up enough that I know you were the one to advocate for the use of Sea Dragon.”
“Just as a Hail Mary,” Dwight protested.
Clara cleared her throat. “I mean, I understand the enthusiasm but nobody has ever fired a pressure-fed engine that big. A single engine, mind you.”
Joachim rubbed his chin. “I understand your concern. But also keep in mind, this is a pintle injector, not a shower-head like they had on the F-1s on the Saturn-Five’s first stage. Pintle injectors were classified at the time. That’s a pity, because pintle injectors are safe as houses.”
Clara looked over at him. “Really?”
“Oh yeah, they’re pretty much bomb-proof.”
The team regarded the design now up on the screen. Clara was the first to speak their mutual thought. “Could…could we make this work?”
Joachim’s exclamation brought them all up short. “Of COURSE we can!” He thumped his cane into the floor for added emphasis. “Gentlemen…and ladies, please forgive me Clara…not one month ago I was a drooling wreck of a human. Today I come before you with my mind re-borne and in full function. I intend to make full use of that function. As does my wife, God bless her. We are going to set an example.”
Joachim stood, levering himself upright via his cane. “Here I stand,” he said. “Like Martin Luther before me, I can do no other.”
After a moment, everybody else in the conference room stood as well.
“Welp, we’re all standing,” said Dwight. “Okay, so what do we do now?”
Joachim pointed his cane at the screen. “Now, my dear Dwight, we Build. That. Fucking. Thing. We’re gonna show these Coalition assholes how we humans put some fucking tonnage into orbit.”
“Fuck yeah,” said Clara, as an unholy light came into her eyes.
“Fuck yes indeed,” replied Joachim. “The question now is, what do we put into it?”
The other people in the room looked at each other, just before bursting out into exclamations as to what they wanted put into that first launch. It was the sound of people on an expense account to beat the band.

(Remember in all this there almost 100% blind)
Now this will be multiple posts as i can’t put out the amount of info i want too in just one if your interested in one of the other ones go to my page posts and they will be the first ones at the top
What i talk about in each part so you can see if your interested in any only two parts:
Part one 1/- 1/1 Division Of Labor - Roles (Queen, soldiers, workers) - Caste system/Hierarchy - A second caste system in workers
1/2 Cooperative care: - Roles - Babysitting - Training and socialization - Nursing and grooming - Tending to weak.
Part Two 2/- 2/1 Communication: - How they communicate - Each family having there own accents - Tactile signals - Chemical signals
2/2Aspects of biology: - Having evolved an insanely strong cancer resistance - Living to 30 yrs when rodent sized usually die after 2-4 yrs. - Ability to survive with very low oxygen.
(Whichever number is in the title is the part that post is)

2/1 Communication

Dialects: Naked mole rats exhibit dialects, where different colonies or family groups have distinct vocalizations and scent profiles. These dialects arise from unique environmental conditions, social interactions, and genetic factors within each colony. The dialects help naked mole rats recognize and differentiate between individuals from their own colony and individuals from neighboring colonies.
Vocalizations: Naked mole rats produce a range of vocalizations to convey information. These vocalizations include chirps, trills, squeaks, and low-frequency calls. Each type of vocalization can carry different meanings, such as signaling danger, indicating mating readiness, or coordinating group activities.
Tactile signals: Naked mole rats also use tactile communication extensively. They have sensitive whiskers and use them to interact and communicate with each other. For example, they engage in nose-to-nose touching, which is a common behavior during social interactions and helps to establish social bonds and convey messages.
Chemical communication: Scent plays a crucial role in naked mole rat communication. They have scent glands located on various parts of their bodies, particularly around their faces. These glands produce specific chemical signals that convey information about individual identity, reproductive status, and social hierarchy. By detecting and interpreting these chemical cues, naked mole rats can distinguish between colony members and outsiders and establish territorial boundaries.

Aspects of Genetic Biology:

High cancer resistance do to evolving with things like: • HMM-HA: High-molecular-mass hyaluronan inhibits cell proliferation and promotes tissue integrity, contributing to cancer resistance.
• Contact inhibition: Naked mole rat cells halt division upon contact, preventing uncontrolled growth and the formation and spread of tumors.
• DNA repair: Naked mole rats have highly efficient DNA repair mechanisms that rapidly identify and correct DNA damage, reducing the risk of mutations and cancer development.
• Tumor-suppressing genes: Naked mole rats possess additional tumor-suppressing genes, such as p16, which control cell division and prevent tumor formation, enhancing their resistance to cancer.
Long Lives: (Smaller animals very commonly have faster metabolisms which a species metabolism is how to determine lifespan and how we perceive time) • Low metabolic rate: Naked mole rats have a relatively low metabolic rate, which reduces the production of harmful byproducts and slows down aging processes. This is because the underground environment lacks abundant oxygen, and naked mole rats have adapted to thrive in low-oxygen conditions i go into next.
• Enhanced oxidative stress resistance: They possess higher levels of antioxidants and increased activity of antioxidant enzymes, protecting against oxidative damage and extending lifespan.
• Efficient DNA repair mechanisms: Rapid identification and correction of DNA damage help maintain genetic integrity and minimize age-related decline.
• Cellular maintenance and protein stability: Effective cellular processes, such as autophagy and protein quality control, preserve cellular health and prevent the accumulation of damaged molecules.
• Insensitivity to age-related conditions: Naked mole rats exhibit resistance to age-related diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and cardiovascular diseases.
Ability to Survive With Low Oxygen intake: • Underground habitat: Naked mole rats adapted to low-oxygen underground burrows, necessitating efficient oxygen utilization.
• Anaerobic metabolism: They can switch to anaerobic metabolism to generate energy without relying on oxygen.
•Oxygen efficiency: Optimized respiratory and circulatory systems allow effective oxygen uptake and distribution.”

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