Good costumes for 13 year olds

J.J. Daigneault
Position: D • Shoots: Left
5-10, 192lb
Born: October 12, 1965 in Montreal, Quebec
Draft: Vancouver, 1st round (10th overall), 1984
January 13, 1999: Traded by the Nashville Predators to the Phoenix Coyotes for unknown compensation.
1998-99 35 games 0-7-7 -8 32 pim 1999-00 53 games 1-6-7 -16 22 pim Coyotes totals 88 games 1-13-14 -24 54 pim
July 24, 2000: Signed as a Free Agent with the Minnesota Wild.
Montreal, Vancouver, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Anaheim, St. Louis, New York Islanders, Nashville and Minnesota
1984-85 to 2000-01 Career totals: 16 years 899 games 53-197-250 -3 685 pim
2005-06 Assistant coach with the Phoenix Roadrunners

I was charged with a 924C witch has a mandatory min of 5 years and a 922G count that has no mandatory min we got the prosecute to agree to plea me to the 922g count and drop the other count, and my offense level for that charge would be a 14 after acceptance of responsibility which is 15-21 months not including any other downward departures I might get but the prosecutor put a 11c1c on my plea for 48 months and I was wanting to know what are the odds or what can my lawyer do to get the judge to wave the 11c1c and sentence me off my guidelines I’m 22 years old now and was 19 when I got indicted I’ve been on pretrial release for three years now but it will be almost 4 years when I get my sentencing date, I have no criminal history, I’ve been a model pre trial candidate in every aspect and my PO loves me any information/tips would be greatly appreciated

Oh man, im gonna try to make this concise.
Edit: I tried. Read the last 4 short “paragraphs” for the TLDR.
30M 5’6” and probably 115-120 soaking wet. Yep.
Now I’m not a bad looking guy by any means, but I’m skinny as hell (despite having good muscle tone). But for anyone wondering, it definitely makes things harder. Women just prefer taller men who have more on em.
I’ve always had self esteem issues, but being silly short king with ADHD, I’ve been pretty adept at getting around it somehow. But that was all before I had two excruciatingly terrible years of my life.
Skipping the really heavy stuff, I bounced back EXTREMELY tough. Its been an eventful year and 3 months or so. But man, I just keep crushing myself. There’s stuff in my life that’s got me a little down, and there’s absolutely some wounds I’m still healing from.
The idea of dating someone again is more terrifying than exciting. Due to my love for music and wanting to go pretty hard with it despite earning no money from it (Thats death metal, baby, ain’t no real money to be made here) and me not having the greatest time management skills/being very hard on myself, and a job i have to learn for often, I just can’t seem to shake the feeling that my next relationship will fail. I worry ill not have time or focus to make it work, or the usual voice in my head telling me I’m not shit and never will be takes over in grand fashion.
Due to related and non-related reasons, my last relationship’s end was absolutely devastating. But I know getting hurt or stuff not working out again is definitely possible, and there’s no way to know unless I just send it. Though a calculated send, of course. I’m having a hard time going through with it knowing that.
Other pertinent info: I primarily used dating apps because if we’re meeting up, it means youve read my bio and know what im looking for, saw my face/body in different contexts, and have decided it was worth it to meet. It takes tons of pressure off.
But dating apps are pure shit now. Fuck. In-person game is awful. I usually end up having to drink enough beer to drown a small flyover state in to get the courage up, and thats not how i wanna be.
Anybody else overcome something similar or have any advice to share? Given all factors, I’m definitely not feeling very confident anymore.

Hi all, I'm in a little bit of a pickle. I am a 45F and a highschool calculus teacher in Eastern United States for past couple decades. I've been dating a younger guy (20M)for past two years whom I met on tinder ( He was never a student at the highschool I teach at. But however, he has mentioned that one of my students older brothers (who doesn't go to my school) is one of his close friends.
We have one child together (both our first) and I recently came back to work from maternity leave. It wasn't supposed to be long term relationship but here we are. We are quite happy and things have been working out well so far and we plan to have a quiet small wedding in few months.
My coworkers know I'm in a relationship and obviously about the kid but they don't know about the age difference and they never met him or seen pics of him. Since it's summer and all I've been invited to number of barbecues at my colleagues homes. I've usually gone alone or just with my baby. My colleagues usually bring their partners. I can tell my fiance is getting a little frustrated and all about being excluded. Idk how long I can keep this up tbh
I'm just a little paranoid about my job being in jeopardy if anyone finds out and decide to pass around ridiculous rumors. I've never been nor never will be involved with a student. Is it a good idea to bring my fiance to the social events or is it in my best interest to just keep my private life separate for long as I can?

Hi again!
I come from a 5d/wk in-the-office job. When the pandemic started, we scrambled to work remotely, but we did it, and we were successful. It was heaven... no more commute, sleep longer, throw in laundry, etc... but after a few months, it got old being in the same four walls day in and day out. Plus I missed seeing my colleagues in person, going to lunch with them, and just getting outside. Over time, however, working from home become the new normal.
In the last couple months, our management requested that we return to the office at least 3d/wk, which we did. Initially I dreaded it, but within the first week I realized how much I missed it. We've had new colleagues start during the pandemic and we bonded more in the last two months than we did all year. Now I love going to the office again haha, but I'm moving to Lexington for my wife's job, while continuing to work for my company remotely.
I need to do something differently this time around. Preferably go somewhere outside my four walls to work... maybe 1-2 days per week. The question is, where? Are there any good coffee shops, co-working spaces, or other places I can post up for the day? I'd be grateful for recommendations.
I'll be located south of New Circle Rd. All I need is wifi, a place to sit, maybe a power outlet, and if there are beverages/lunch I can purchase or bring, that's all I really need.

I'm gonna get straight to it. Across the Spider-verse is still a fantastic movie despite my small niggles, so don't get me wrong here. I still consider this a 9/10. There are a few minor differences that I won't go super in-depth, so here's some brief, minor notes:

• the first one had better pacing. The second's start was a bit too slow (repeating everyone's origin story wasn't quite as cute as in the first one) and then the second two acts was almost too fast
• next to Gwen, the spring cast of spider people were not as fleshed out as the original
• And of course this is a two parter, so it lacks closure, but that may be remedied a year from now

But the main reason the second one isn't quite as good as the first? The first Spider-verse movie is an emotionally stronger, more coherent, and relatable narrative. The first one is about a kid who is thrust into this situation that he doesn't feel worthy of. His hero is gone (because of him) and he feels alone and unworthy, especially compared to all these badass spider people around him.
The second movie kinda repeats the same emotional beats, but more rushed. They repeat the "don't ever feel like you don't belong" thing, but it's weird. Miles already felt confident as Spider-Man. And in the first movie it's more akin to "I'm not talented like Peter", in this movie it's more "I'm not a part of the web of destiny like Peter", which is not nearly as relatable. And after they kinda breeze past that emotional arc in the first half, the next emotional story is about defying the Trolley Problem. As in "I'm told if I don't let my dad die it'll destroy the universe, but to hell with it." I mean, for one, I kinda think Miles is being selfish here. But for two, it's just not as relatable. I've never been in a trolley problem situation before, and I've never felt like literally defying destiny.
All in all, still a great film, and perhaps even better in terms of art and animation. What do you think?

Hey, I'm a 22 year old male who has been lifting for a few years but have never been disciplined enough to eat enough to gain the muscle I desired because I used to be overweight as a child. I've decided to stop that habit and have been eating about 3000 calories for a few months now. Been gaining some weight but slower and not as much in the right places as I thought. I am very on top of my diet and training so I know I am doing many things right and I just want a boost in this. I don't mind spending the extra money on supplements even if they give me a 5% boost. I already take the usuals like creatine, whey, and have tried beta alanine and a few others, including beta-ecdysterone which I currently have and has given me massive strength gains lately.
Im wondering which would be best for my goal, C3G or Epicatechin? I've read C3G is better for cutting while the later is better for bulking. But my particular situation is that when I bulk, I tend to gain weight in my belly region even though I'm still relatively skinny, I still gain muscle, but just not as much as I should at my age. And trust me I have done my fair share of research. So I was thinking the C3G would be better because it is supposedly supposed to increase nutrient partitioning thus leading to reduced belly fat accumulation when bulking.

I had no workout plan when I started 75 hard until I came across Bishoi Khella on IG. His success hub/website has everything you need to finish 75 hard. To the Day 1's out there, all you need is a little nudge from somebody who has come before you to reach your goal. Do check him out on IG if you need guidance. There's weight training plans for 6 days and yoga on the 7th. You would think a day of yoga would be a time to relax but the yoga workout on YouTube (Yoga with Adriene) is a banger. I failed the challenge on day 13 because of fever and sore throat but I'm picking things back up today. It sucks when you lose momentum, but I realized how worse my mentality was without 75 hard. So good luck to all of you and see you at the finish line.

I am a single Mother of 2 unmarried my children have the same father and he is from a different country. I am so sad at times because I want my kids to have a dad and I feel like I used to try and force a relationship by always asking for him to pick up his kids and simply spend time with them. So fast forward years later after my daughter turned 13-14 years old that’s about when everything changed. He felt that my kids that I had with him were way too American so he started to disown my kids. Little did I not know he had a whole other family he created 3 boys from a girl from his country. My daughter and son had to find this out by looking through social media which was very sad. I get little to nothing in child support about 200 a month, which is enough for groceries for one and a half weeks because I cook at home and don’t rely on fast food. The girl from his country he was so happy to encourage her to have 3 boys meanwhile he gets super upset if I ask him for anything extra for his children that we created…… Crazy right?! I am trying my hardest to not have hate in my heart for this man but it’s so hard when my kids are longing for a dad that don’t have and he lives 10 minutes away from me. At this point I’m tired my family is no help all I get is criticized and judged like I asked to become a single parent. I would do anything to give my kids the world but it’s hard when I’m trying to keep my mental right and stay on the right path in life. The father of my children told my son that he wants to help him only if he can take him by himself somewhere when he hasn’t seen him in the past 5 years and my son is not comfortable but has a hard time expressing this. I just am just trying to protect my kids hearts from this liar and manipulative person but also want him to have a relationship with all his kids and not pick and choose to only take care of the ones that he has living with him now.

I've been playing the game for years on different devices (old/new) and the game always looks blurry.

Hey there! I'm still Lainey, which means I'm still looking for some new friends! I'm a 17-year-old Aussie girl, and I'd love to get to know some of you people out there in the wide world of the internet!
Just so that you're aware, I'm bi, and I won't tolerate any LGBTQ+ slander, so save that for yourself please and thank you :)
Also, if you see this, mention your hobbies and interests in your post, so that I know you read the whole thing! I'd also love to know how old you are, and what pronouns you prefer too! And please, PLEASE be between the ages of 15 and 18. NO OLDER, NO YOUNGER! I will report anyone who texts me who is older than 18!
Can't wait to meet you <3

I (21M) am going into my senior year of college. I’ve worked every summer the last three years and been able to make a good amount of money (since I lived at home my first year of college and have gotten full tuition paid for from federal aid and scholarships - so i was fortunate enough to be able to save up). I’m back home for the summer, and need to make some money before I go back to school, but for some reason I can’t find a job that I want to do.
I worked as a general laborer (landscaping and moving mostly), cook in a pizza restaurant, at a library, and as an intern at a museum before, and those jobs were all pretty solid. Now, I look at jobs that I could do this summer and I just dread doing every one of them.
A big reason is i want to be able to lift weights and do cardio 4 days a week and still be able to hang out with people. But the thing is, I haven’t had a job in the three weeks I’ve been back and I really haven’t been super social or done much with other people. So I think deep down I just don’t want to have a job and i’ve gotten lazy as time has gone on. I feel like my outlook has changed a lot too, to where I want my freedom to what I want with my days, but I never really end up doin anything of substance.
I just wanted to get this out there and see if anyone had any advice or can relate.

BACKGROUND: I wrote this post as a comment on another thread, but thought it deserved its own post. This is the #1 issue the Bulwark (and to be fair most of the mainstream media) is failing to deal with right now.......
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The real problem is that the GOP no longer exists as a political party. They didn't even bother to put out a party platform in 2020. What political party does that? None I've seen in my 52 years on this planet.
Todays' GOP has morphed from a political party into a fundamentalist religious cult comprised of Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Rad/Trad Catholics (SCOTUS, FedSoc) and to a much smaller extent, Orthodox Jews - hellbent on forcing their beliefs on others. Fundamentalist religion affiliation - not race, age, socio-economic status, or geography - is the most accurate predictor for being MAGA.
Because we are afraid to discuss and/or criticize religion in this country, we give this Christian fundamentalist jihad the absurdist euphemism, "Culture Wars," in the same way we now call lies and propaganda, "Misinformation." Nothing today's GOP focuses on has anything to do with traditional politics: Transgenderism, abortion, the Green M&M's choice of footwear, "masculinity," vaccine denialism, Target's choice of merchandising displays. These are RELIGIOUS issues.
Q-Anon, the anti-vax lunacy, Stop The Steal, the trucker convoy, the "groomer" panic, anti-trans protests, abortion bans, book bans, Dobbs - it's ALL coming out of the churches. None of this has anything to do with traditional politics. Go to one of Mike Flynn's"Re-Awaken America" rallies - there are fundamentalist Evangelical altar calls right in the middle of them!
In America we think we are immune to jihads because we aren't a Muslim country. But there are fundamentalists of every faith. Yes, there can be an "American Taliban" - it's just comes in the name of Jesus instead of Allah, wearing a suit and tie instead of a Dishdasha.
What drives me insane is the mainstream media's (including the Bulwark) reticence to face this obvious truth head on. We act as if the 1st Amendment's protection of religious liberty renders the Christian faith immune from discussion or criticism.
It doesn't.
We have to get over the age-old axiom of "Polite people don't discuss religion or politics." If we can discuss politics on the Bulwark why can't we discuss religion? Stop worry about offending Christian jihadists, and start concerning yourself with the truth. It's the only thing that will set us free.

I took my daughter out of dinner just her and I for her birthday. She had been requesting to try some wine for a while now and I thought she should try some on her birthday to see if she liked it and to make sure she was learning to drink responsibly. I poured her a glass and she enjoyed it, telling me it tasted like grape. a few minutes later she asked for some more and I poured her one last glass. She had drank one glass and had gotten halfway through the other glass before she started feeling the effects. Her head was heavy, she stumbled when she walked, and her speech was slurred. She was tipsy at this point so we could still have a normal conversation. She explained to me that she felt really warm and happy. I explained that she was feeling the effects of alcohol and that it tends to make you happy. Our dinner arrived and my daughter finished her glass of wine, although she drank it really slowly. We finished about an hour later and we exited the restaurant. Since it was her birthday I wanted to get her an Ice cream, and we walked to an Ice cream place. she started giggling and said that she felt really happy and light. I ordered her an ice cream and she kept spilling spoonfuls on her shirt. That's when I knew that it was time to go home. I think she had a fun birthday.
This post is not meant to be read as "I got my 13-year-old drunk on her birthday", but rather just me sharing a fun birthday story of me teaching my daughter to drink responsibly. Don't start world war 3 in the replies.

I wanna scream so loud for you 'Cause I'm so proud of you Let me tell you what I'm about to do (hey, Mama) I know I act a fool, but I promise you I'm goin' back to school I appreciate what you allowed for me, and uh I just want you to be proud of me (hey, Mama)
I wanna tell the whole world about a friend of mine This little light of mine, I'm finna let it shine I'm finna take y'all back to them better times I'm finna talk about my mama if y'all don't mind I was three years old when you and I moved to the Chi' Late December, harsh winter gave me a cold You fixed me up something that was good for my soul Famous homemade chicken soup, can I have another bowl?
You work late nights just to keep on the lights Mommy got me training wheels so I could keep on my bike And you would give me anything in this world Michael Jackson leather and a glove, but didn't give me a curl And you never put no man over me And I love you for that mommy, can't you see?
Seven years old, caught you with tears in your eyes 'Cause a n- cheating, telling you lies, then I started to cry As we knelt on the kitchen floor I said, "Mommy I'ma love you 'til you don't hurt no more And when I'm older, you ain't gotta work no more And I'ma get you that mansion that we couldn't afford"
See you're, unbreakable, unmistakable Highly capable, lady that's making loot A living legend too, just look at what heaven do Send us an angel, and I thank you
I wanna scream so loud for you 'Cause I'm so proud of you Let me tell you what I'm about to do (hey, Mama) I know I act a fool, but I promise you I'm goin' back to school I appreciate what you allowed for me I just want you to be proud of me (hey, Mama)
Forrest Gump mama said, "Life is like a box of chocolates" My mama told me go to school, get your doctorate Something to fall back on, you could profit with But still supported me when I did the opposite Now I feel like it's things I gotta get Things I gotta do, just to prove to you You was getting through, can the choir, please Give me a verse of "You Are So Beautiful To Me"
Can't you see? You're like a book of poetry Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni Turn one page and there's my mommy Come on mommy just dance with me Let the whole world see your dancing feet Now when I say, "Hey", y'all say, "Mama" Now everybody answer me
I wanna scream so loud for you 'Cause I'm so proud of you, and, uh Let me tell you what I'm about to do (hey, Mama) I know I act a fool, but I promise you I'm goin' back to school I appreciate what you allowed for me I just want you to be proud of me (hey, Mama)
I guess it all depends though if my ends low Second, they get up you gon' get that Benzo Tint the windows Ride around the city and let ya friends know (hey, Mama)
Tell your job you gotta fake 'em out Since you brought me in this world, let me take you out To a restaurant, upper echelon I'ma get you a Jag, whatever else you want Just tell me what kind of S-Type Donda West like? Tell me the perfect color so I make it just right It don't gotta be Mother's Day, or your birthday For me to just call and say
I wanna scream so loud for you 'Cause I'm so proud of you, and, uh Let me tell you what I'm about to do (hey, Mama) You know I love you so I never let you go Wrote this song just so you know No matter where you go my love is true (hey, Mama)
Mama-mama-mama-mama-mama Mama-mama-mama-mama-mama Mama-mama-mama-mama-mama Mama-mama-mama-mama-mama Mama-mama-mama-mama-mama
Mama-mama-mama-mama-mama Mama-mama-mama-mama-mama Mama-mama-mama-mama-mama Mama-mama-mama-mama-mama Mama-mama-mama-mama-mama
Mama-mama-mama-mama-mama Mama-mama-mama-mama-mama Mama-mama-mama-mama-mama Mama-mama-mama-mama-mama Mama-mama-mama-mama-mama Mama-mama-mama-mama-mama

I’m deeply in love with a fictional character. The attraction is both romantic and sexual. I’ve never been so in love with a woman like I have with her.
I’ve tried dating apps on and off for years but I always find that I’m subconsciously looking for her in every real person I see. And because of that it’s difficult for me to be attracted to real women - unless they look exactly like her. I also know that dating someone just because they look like someone else would be unfair and wrong.
I want a real loving relationship so badly… I wish I could just fall in love with someone real. After quitting them due to studies and mental health, I’m now tempted to go back to dating apps to try again. There’s always the nagging ”what if I finally find the one?” in my mind. Dating apps are also undeniably convenient for me for many factors. But I’m scared of repeating the old cycle of getting my hopes up and being disappointed and getting depressed over the fact I can never be with who I really love.
I really need advice but was too scared to post this on ordinary dating forums/subreddits. I hope this is allowed here. What do I do?

Part 2
If you travel far enough North on the map, well above where the Civilized Nations stop because no crops grow, you'll find a mountain range. Crossing this range leads to the Monster Kingdom, though for some reason they prefer the name 'TFSU.' Yes, they prefer. The literal forces of anarchy and chaos in the universe have a government. However, ignoring that whole thing, the Monster Kingdom is fine. No armies march on them, mostly because of supply and logistical issues. The Monsters never say how they grow their own food, but given that they don't trade and millions of kobolds worth of food don't go missing every day, it's safe to say they make their own. Now, that doesn't stop the Civilized Nations to send one hero a decade to 'keep them in check.' Four decades ago, the hero closed off a mountain pass, which was supposed to cause a massive flood. Four days later, it was cleared, and the only thing to show for it were the cities that glow like the sun at night. However, yesterday, the Hero returned having burnt one of the bigger cities down. It was empty of all monsters, but the act was the first real damage they had taken in seven hundred years, since their founding. For seven hundred years, the TFSU have taken the beating of seventy heroes and simply moved on. But now. Now, millions of kobolds make up heavy 'machinery' units that march in armored, self-moving caridges that spit fire and metal. Thousands of beastpeople make up scouting and light infantry ranks. The TFSU use hellish 'guns' that hit harder than a catapult from kilometers away, all in a single 'bullet' not the size of a human's thumb. Metal birds and dragonflies join dragons as they assault cities. We poke the very literal sleeping dragon in the eye. Yet the armies don't do much. They march for our capitals and leaders, but on the way our civilians live. Surendees live. People go about their daily lives without too much change. Of course, that fact didn't stop the front line from finally crashing over my small village, located so close to the pass for a while we thought they the monsters had bypassed us entirely. The Civilized Nations had decided to send an entire legion to prevent the Monsters from getting across a nearby canyon pass. We were hit with an air-based assault with only dragons and metal dragonflies, our balista uselessly demolished by pillars of metal and flame thrown out of the metal dragonflies. I blacked out when the legion managed to shoot enough arrows to take down one of the dragonflies. I remember it crashing down onto my house... and then nothing.
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The elf stirred as they woke up. I'd been raised in the Terra Firma Sapience Union, so I was... less than familiar with the clothing and lifestyle the Southerners used. The elf groaned again, before their eyes shot open and they looked around, quickly settling on my frame. "A-Are you going to kill me now?" They asked, their voice shaken with fear. I let out a laugh. "If I wanted you dead, you'd already be dead." I decided to transmorph into my secondary form - a cat - to help the conversation go better. In a land where humans lived to forty, elves only lived to a hundred, and that meant that even I was older than this elf, and they were no older than thirty. The elf, to their credit, quickly figured out I wasn't pulling any mindgames. I'd heard tales from my relatives before the Kobolds founded the TFSU. People, especially when panicked, usual acted with more than enough stupidity to make the situation worse. "Where am I?" The elf asked. Their tone told me that they were still suspicious, but it wasn't outright denial of the situation. "My home," I answered bluntly. "Your village tried to fight our ground forces when they moved in, so most of them are currently under house arrest." Still in my cat form, I created a portal into my storage cavern and reached my arm through, while summoning a lab coat around my shoulders and glasses. It was a trick I had only learned to do recently. "Let's see..." I found the clipboard and brought it out, flipping to the elft's page and taping the pen against the paper. "You suffered a collapsed lung, severe burns on the right side of your body, three broken ribs and two fractured ones, shattered three wrist bones, three breaks in your right upper arm and another two in your lower arm, and on the left side you have another fractured rib and three broken fingers. Your left leg was shattered and your left foot was completely torn up. Healing magic stabilized you and surgery did the rest. You've been comatose for the past three days, and was brought to my home yesterday due to a surge in hospital patients from the seige of Trembolorne. "In terms of organ damage, that was also severe. A busted kidney, I already mentioned a collapsed lung, and your entire digestive system was... well, pulverized would be putting it lightly. Also, unrelated to the incident with the helicopter, you had cancer in your liver and kidney. "In terms of medical treatment, you've been given an IV line for the past couple days and several painkillers, and you underwent four separate surgeries. We reconstructed your organs, welded your bones to metal plates, and used a genetic printer to replace your skin. You're lucky to have gotten time with the genetic printer in the first place, you know; those things are expensive, and I mean expensive to run. Though it's all billed on the government anyway, but that just means that they'll only run it if they have to." The elf sat up in bed looking at me as I just stood on two paws on the cave floor. "Right, sorry, you wouldn't understand most of that." I sheepishly scratched the back of my head with my right paw. "Um... put this way, you were crushed by debris and we basically reconstructed your body before you died. So not necromancy, though you did get close to needing more advanced magical treatment." "Oh," The elf replied. The cat thing seemed to have helped, because they were no longer stuttering with their single word response. "Um... do you want anything to drink?" I tried to kickstart a conversation. "Where am I?" The elf asked again. I was silent for a second. "My home? It's right on the edge of TFSU territory, one of the southernmost places you can be while still being with the recognized borders. I chose this place because I like to fly out in the summer over the flowers in the forest at the foot of the mountains. Your village is a couple hour dragon-flight time away." "Mmmhm." The elf commented halfheartedly. "OK, um... who are you?" "My dragonic name isn't something most can pronounce, so my public name is just Vixie Remminie." I answered. "What's yours?" The elf's eyes narrowed. "Why do you want to know my name." I blinked. "Because... It's a name? I'm not a Fey, you know, it's not like I can tie ancient demons to your soul and call it a prank or something ridiculous like that. Besides, you asked for mine; now I get to ask for yours." "And who says you won't just burn my village to the ground and eat me right now!?!" The elf suddenly burst out. "You monsters ruin everything! You trespass on our land, take our resources, and kill our people! All we did was try to defend ourselv-" I cut him off, and poured just a bit of attention in giving myself an aura. Blue fire licked the bottom of my vision as I rebuttaled his point. "Don't forget, you stole the land from us. We were the ones living in the wild when you razed our forests and grew crops. We couldn't even purchase land to live on! So yes, we stole what we could to survive and those who didn't starved and died! And when all was said and done, you tried to kill us and turned it into a war, one where we had no choice but to kill you back. And when we found someplace to run, a spot to hide and do our own thing with our own land? You blistering idiots sent you 'courageous heroes' to try and kill us! What for? Nothing! Just your stupid, moronic fear making, forcing you to decide to 'kill the big thing over there!' We can't even have freaking farmland, we have to grow it all in hydroponic farms and harvest thousand-year-old vines out of caves because this is all we have!" I realized that my aura was burning fully and scorching the ground around me. I let out a long sigh, and it died down. Several memories flashed through my head, but I pushed them away. "Apologies, my parents are still a... sensitive topic for me. It would be best if we just stayed away from talking about the war until the hospital has room for more patients again." "Yeah?" The elf was still enraged. Even sitting down, they were still trying to construct an argument. "You parents who killed how many? Your family killed how many more? You dragons, you monsters are nothing more than one large grouping of murders that deserve to die! As the gods will!" The elf was spitting in rage, but I recognized his determination to hold onto his worldview. It was the one thing I needed to pry away before it got out of hand. "And you elves killed how many more?" I asked in a low voice. "Can you tell me the number of kobold dens exterminated in caves, the number of beastpeople sent to an early grave in slave camps? Because I can tell you ours. My father's was two, my mother's four, and my extended family including deceased relatives is one hundred and thirty seven. "You declared war against monsters, you child of an elf," I growled. "And death the reality of war. We know. The Unification Wars weren't fought with swords and honor. They were fought with artillery barrages and death. They were fought with miniature suns and political backstabbing, with tanks and guns and submarines and warships and all the more death. "You say the gods don't like us! That's put lightly. They forsook us! Abandoned us in our hour of need. So we learned to live without them. There are no gods we pray to anymore, elfling. Only each other, our creations, and the universe itself. They don't want us, we don't need them. It's more than they deserve." My aura was once again charring the floor and I had transformed back into my dragon form, but this time I refused to cool it down. "You call us creations of death, the primal forces of anarchy? We are you. You are us. We are sapient, we are all mortals, no matter our advantages. We are bound to this dimensional plane, forced to serve our betters, and live out our lives not with earnest but with trepredition for when it ends. We are all death incarnate, because we can all die. That is just the way it is. Besides, you've wondered about my kill count; tell me, can you tell me the gods'? Can you tell me how many souls they have cut from fate for their own entertainment? No? I can tell you." I growled, moving closer until the blue flames enveloping my body threatened to light the elf's cot on fire. "More people than are alive on this planet right now." I pulled back, bottling up my aura and reverting to my cat form. "We can talk all we want about death and destruction, and I won't lie and say you aren't victims of the war; pre-unification dragons we're exactly kind and merciful to those with treasure hoards. But perhaps, I implore you to consider that maybe we both are victims of the war, and maybe we can one day work together instead of fighting each other. "Maybe, one day, we can fight for our rights against the gods." I moved into my dragon form and darted deeper into my cave, moving so fast I could hear the howl of the wind against my ears. Only when I had reached my memorial wall for my parents did I stop and take a breath and think over my conversation with the elf. We had a long way to go, but I hoped I had put a little bit of sense into him. I hoped that the world could change.
-----
When the dragon cat thing sped away, I took a moment to survey my surroundings. Only now did the effects of my first question hit my formerly-groggy head. "My home." He said. Dragons live in caves. Oooooh. I'm screwed. However, there were no treasure hoards visible from my perspective; then again, while the Monsters were stupid, they still had brains to them, and carrying me into a treasure room would probably be something they'd be able to tell was a bad idea. Pops said never underestimate you foe, A voice in the back of my head said, and the dragon even launched in a full conversation with you. You're selling the dragon very, very shor- Shut up I growled internally to the treacherous voice in my head. The cave itself was... a cave. There was a metal slab on one end, it went deeper in the other, and that was that. In a 'corner' of the jagged room there were a number of red, glowing rods attached to some kind of giant mechanism three elfs wide and six deep, but the rods glowed against the cave's light- What light source? My eyes darted around looking for one. Only now was I aware of how unnatural each shadow was, how awkward each shining rock looked, how each stalagmite could hide an entire dragon, and that was before they started transfiguring into cats. How bright the ceiling- I looked up. The bright light burned my eyes, but I needed to know what fiendish magic was in play so I could counter it. But the light didn't flicker like fire - they were far too bright for that anyway - but they also didn't have the magical circles surrounding each spell. They were... lights. As if the universe simply willed brightness into existence. Each far-too-bright-hurts-to-look-ats was placed along a main hallway clear of stalagmites running from the metal slab deeper and around a corner where I couldn't see. The lights were only poised above this one hall, and they just... shone one the rest of the cave. Looking closer, I could see thin black lines, too thin to be mana feeds, running along the walls to both the glowing red rods and to the so-shiny-the-lit-up-the-cave. And... that was that. There was no massive pile of treasure in the hall, though I suspected the dragon kept their hoard deeper than... wherever I was. There was no pile of skull trophies or the banner of cities and armies slain, and I noted that while he had told me his parents', the dragon had never told me his own. Then again, the cat thing could be lying. Dragon transfigured into a cat. Probably has Circle Of Truth around his entire den. Nonsense, dragons can only do elemental magic. Evidently not. Would you just shut up already? No- I moved my attention back to the metal slab, cutting off whatever the voice in my head had to say about my current situation; it wasn't every day one just got kidnapped by a nation of monsters, after all. The slab was truly elegant. It was painted with the monster language, and then was painted with some kind of mural. I could barely make out a blue circle with green splotches on it surrounded by twelve rings in the bottom corner because most of the door was taken up by a ice-blue cat with lighter strips engulfed in blue fire. It was a mural of the dragon cat thing. That didn't stop it from being pretty, and someone had obviously put a lot of effort into it. The flames looked realistic from what I had seen minutes ago, and the cat's details were perfectly engraved. It was... acurrate. Yeah, because I think Vixie was just trying to tell you that they built their civilization for a reason, and it wasn't carnage. You don't know what you're talking about. We both know I do. How else to you think- Listen to me, you treasonous voice of a- No, you listen to me, you pathetic excuse for a brain. The dragon was able to hold and win an argument with you, fixed your wounds that would've been a dead write-off for any other hospital, and then you think SHE barely meets the threshold for sapient? THE ABSOLUTE MORON I'M ARGUING WITH IS THE ONE YOU BARELY MEETS IT!!! You moved to your frontier village because the world was changing, Lazerot the Sixth. Congrats, you were right. It did change. Now shut your OVERSIZED EGO up at being bested by a creature ten times older than you, and go appologies before they decide that saving your life wasn't worth it. I... I... OK- No. I'm in control now. Shut up. I....... yes, sir. Good. With new resolve, I stood up. My head throbbed, and the next thing I knew was my face hitting my cot again.
-----
When I heard the thud of something falling in the entrance cave, I carefully moved back into the entrance cave. The elf was face-down in their cot, unconscious again. It looked like they had tried to stand and just.... fallen over. I sighed and used a claw to nudge the elf back onto his pillow, and then covered him with a blanket. I watched him for a minute, and then returned to the deeper parts of my home. The TFSU was completely overloaded with the number of patients needing treatment. Apparently, the Southener's hospitals just... didn't do anything, so in addition to soldiers, there was a massive influx of civilians to our hospitals too. Of course, this meant that they were absolutely overloaded, and the Civilized Nations strategy of fighting to near-death and then surrendering wasn't helping. So, stable recovering civilians like the elf were just... shipped out. When shelters filled up because the Civilized Nations overpopulation crisis was too bad to do anything, people just had to take them into their homes. Long story short, the government was in way over their head attempting upgrade the standard of care in the Civilized Nations while occupying their territory. My job so close to the border was remote infrastructure maintenance, and my ability to change size while not dissolving made me an expert at it - and that was before my two hundred years of experience. And then I didn't need a vehicle to get on-site, and was fast. The alarm pinging me that one of the space radars was down again gave me an excuse to avoid the elf and do some work. I grabbed a pack of supplies, put on my shapeshift-compatible uniform, and wrote down a note on a piece of paper. On my out past the sleeping elf, I dropped it for him.

Space radar system needs repair, as it's returning a false positive. It's my job to repair all the infrastructure around here, so I need to go fix it. I'll be back soon. If you're hungry, my pantry is the first cave on the right. You can just eat anything that's easily open-able in there. If it has a lock or airtight opening mechanism (anything more than a clip, really) then don't eat it. If your thirsty, there's a stream in the entrance cave near the heaters. When the door mechanism beeps, step back. Sometimes pressure in the cave can get a bit wonky, and I don't want you to get hurt. Other than that, feel free to explore. I've locked all the doors to the rooms I don't want you to enter. For toilet necessities, the second cave on the left has a properly-sized toilet. And running water, but stuff I can explain later means don't drink it. See you soon! - Vixie.

Satisfied, I left opened the door. There was a puff as the air from inside flowed out to the lower-pressure atmosphere. I could spot a snow squall to the north, and the pressure meant that it was probably coming my way. I moved out onto the ledge and closed the door behind me. At high altitudes this far north, the air was already near-zero and it was still five in the afternoon. I took just a second to confirm with the weather report that the snowstorm was in fact going to arrive on my doorledge using a smartwatch I had strapped around my wrist. When I found that the storm was coming, I opened my wings and flew. Being an Ice Dragon had its advantages, but being a Water-Ice Combined Dragon was much better. The frosty air curled around my wings as the freedom of ignoring gravity filled my brain. Ice and Water dragons both had large wings to deal with the cold air (and lower pressure leading to the requirement for more surface area to achieve the same amount of lift) and incompressable water physics (to let the wings act like a one-way fan blade as they move back and forth, increasing efficient). Dragons might be magestic creatures, but we were still bound to the physics of the mortal plane, after all. Being part of both, my wings were even bigger, making me one of the best high-altitude fliers on the planet. The ability to use both gills and lungs at said altitudes helped with oxygen also helped. Air Dragons were better at flying in normal air, but I liked to think of it like stats from a video game. Air Dragons min-maxed their stats for low-altitude, but I could go anywhere - even underwater - can keep my speed relatively high. I took full advantage of this on my way to the space radar, soaring well above the cloud ceiling and to the point where I could make out the curvature of the planet below me. The ocean spread out to my west, while more land was to my east. Snow covered the north as to the south was the telltale splotchy color of industrialism. My smartwatch beeped, as I crossed the normal dragonic altitude limit. I hadn't realized I'd gone so high; I had a radar to repair, after all. I dove down towards the surface, ignoring more beeps as I crossed half the way to the speed of sound. The wind howled angrily in my ears, but I flattened those (thank you, streamlined water genetics) and came out of my death dive right over the radar. The repair itself went relativity smoothly, though I couldn't find a broken component and chalked it up to more space anomalies. They weren't infrequent, and usually marked where the gods decided to look over the planet. For my radars, anyway. Further north, ignoring the north pole, almost no gods came out and wanted to deal with us. Our unspoken agreement was held that way. I flew straight back for my return journey. The storm was definitely closer, but fifteen minutes of flying later and I was entering the opening mechanism for my door. As it swung inwards, I heard the high-pitched scream of an elf.
-----
When I awoke, I found myself tucked into some covers. It took all of seven seconds for reality to catch up with me. Right. I got into a heated argument with a dragon. I instinctively touched the part of my face that had been closest to the dragon's flame. I'd read about Auras in books, but never thought I'd get to see one. They were only ever found in the most powerful and competent individuals of a race in an entire plan of existence. I wondered which skill gave the dragon hers - Vixie, I reminded myself. Either way, given that Auras are technically illusions, I wasn't hurt. The flames didn't get close enough to hurt anyway, but that didn't stop me from checking. This time, I was much more careful when I stood up. I sat up first, then started to kick my legs back and forth. That's when I spotted a paper on the other side of my cot. I stood up without thinking, but managed to keep my consciousness this time and moved towards the note. It was handwritten and contained a lot of jargon that I wasn't familiar with. Space. Radar. False positive. Airtight opening mechanism. Heater. Beep. Pressure. Toilet. Running water. I could deduce some of it. A message had come in requesting the services of the local dragon to repair a thing that has an issue, and that she would return shortly. I could wander around as I pleased, besides eating food that wasn't open or contained in a clip bag. From the tone of the message, I could deduce what a 'toilet' was. The heaters would logically be things that produced heat, so all I had to do was look for those. I wasn't able to tell time, but I supposed at this point it didn't matter. I moved over deeper into the cave, and quickly heard the sound of a stream. It led directly into a forest of stalagmites. After clambering over those, the temperature started to increase, which was all I needed to know that I was getting a drink of water. I was only now catching up to the fact that I had been out for three days, and that meant that I was extremely thirsty. I wasn't sure how I wasn't dead of dehydration at this point. I found the stream next to the glowing metal rods, and with it a clear path to my location. Sighing slightly at the wasted effort on climbing through Rock Forest, I snatched an undersized cup off a rack built into a nearby jut in the cave wall and filled it, before entering the bliss of fresh water. Back in the village, we had some of the best and cleanest water in all the land thanks to snow melt, but this took that to a new level. Cold, crisp water melted in the sun only minutes ago. It was... pure. I spent the next couple minutes simply drinking and processing everything over in my mind. The gods might have willed the monster dead, but if even the monster gods had abandoned them and survived... then how come the Pantheon never told us? Religious issues aside, there were more practical issues regarding my own survival. How did I get out. There was a thud at the metal slab, and I moved back towards it, leaving my cup to dry on the rack I pulled it from. The engraving of the cat on the metal slab was- BEEEP! What was that sound? There was a hiss, and the slab started to peel away. A gust of frigid cold air washed over me as a mage Ice-Water hybrid Aura-capable dragon that I had argued with stared me down. I did the instinctive thing and let out the scream of a human three year old, squeezing my eyes shut and waiting for the final blow. When the end of my life didn't arrive, I reopened my eyes to find the sky-blue cat standing in the hole where the metal slab was supposed to be. Then there was another... sound, and the metal slab started to move back into position. The cat was surprised for a single moment before simply charging the door and jumping through, skidding to a halt right in front of me. Which meant that I got a closer look at her. Ocean-blue strips crossed an ice-blue body fur in a fifty-fifty ratio. Small crystals of ice twinkled, floating here her wings would be. One tail was accompanied by two more made of pure blue-white energy, and the cat even had a halo. Six orbs of blue-white light hovered in lazy circles around her back, and even in a diminutive form the size of a cat the being radiated the power of an aura-capable creature. "Oh, right, sorry," Vixie said, and all the ethirial energy disappeared. Now that I knew what I was looking for, however, I could just barely tell, using my power as a mage, that Vixie was using illusion magic to hide her true energy. "You don't need to hide your reserves," I said. "Though if you're shapeshifting into forms so small that you need to expose yours, then you should just burn yours instead. It's not worth the trouble of people bottling yours." Vixie gave some kind of half-shrug. "They're not reserves, no." She said, emphasizing the word. I looked at Vixie with a sharp look, and for a second I forgot I was talking to a dragon. "Then what are they?" "They're..." The cat blushed, something I wasn't even aware was possible. She let the illusion fall away, and the tails, crystals, orbs and halo returned. "They're my regenerative baseline minimum." I looked her up and down for a second, dumbstruck. She really is a creature of power, huh? "Um.... uh..." I stuttered. "Is... that where you get your aura from?" I asked. Vixie closed her eyes with an expression on her face, and this time green flame started to peel off her. "Part of it, yeah." To control an aura like that... two auras. Just how powerful is she? I was so deep in thought that I didn't realize that the expression on her face was pain. "I... uh... what happened?" I asked, shellshocked. "Why aren't you fighting in the war?" The worldwide-powerful dragon masquerading as a cat sighed. "I... haven't told anyone. It's... personal." "I..." Only now did it hit me that I was talking with a dragon, not another person. Not just a monster, but a... creature with emotions. "You don't have to tell me." I quickly backtracked. "No, no, it's a fair question. It..." The cat let out a chuckle, and it filled the cave with a beautiful sound. "I suppose it's kind of ironic... but it starts with a kobold and a god, back when the Firma kobold tribe decided to travel north to escape the civilized nations, shortly before the amassing of all creatures in these same northern mountains and the Unification War. "Back before the gods forsook us."
Original Prompt: [WP] For as long as all the races have known, Dragons have been seen as violent, destructive creatures. After an attack on your village, you black out and find yourself in the den of a dragon. It's rather annoyed that that is how they're seen, and wants to prove that isn't the case.
u/Lycan_Jedi thank you for the prompt!
Part 2

We’re at our wits end. It’s been months (maybe even a year now) that our 3.5 years old toddler violently screams for the other parent when one parent helps him with daily mundane stuff especially showering and getting dressed. For example, when mum showers and dresses him in the morning, he cries for dad. Then in the evening, when it’s dad’s turn to shower and dress him, he screams for mum. Or vice verse. We tried switching the time but it still doesn’t work. Toddler just screams for the other parent who is not there to help him at that very moment.
We’ve been very patient accommodating his requests as much as possible. We thought it was a phase but that’s been probably a year now. Before baby #2 born, we switched for him but now with baby #2, it’s not always possible. This behaviour started way before baby #2 was born. We believe we can’t just let him have his way and take our time away from baby #2, it’s jus unfair to baby #2.
We’ve tried everything we possibly can think of. We regularly said to him ‘both mummy and daddy love you very much and either one can help you with anything’.
We talk about whose turn it is to help him next and reach an agreement ahead of time.
We give him plenty of appropriate choices throughout the day.
We implement consequences such as no screen time for the day (which create its own tantrum for that day but we keep our boundary). This usually works for a few days then the tantrum behaviour comes back.
We hold our boundaries when we said it’s mum’s (or dad’s) turn to help him but that usually turn into a gruelling 15-20mn of fights to get clothes on. And after that, dad usually gives in and I have this rage anger in me come up and I couldn’t contain my emotion better and hit him a couple times. I know this is very wrong. I apologise to him afterward when we’re all calm and we talk about emotions. I grow up in ‘no emotion’ talk household so I’m working on this myself and I’m FAR from perfect.
I can understand that he doesn’t want other relatives (e.g. grandma or grand aunties) but we’re both still his parents and have been with him everyday since the day he was born.
I’m so tired of this behaviour and both husband and I are very upset about it. We’re very discouraged. We see my cousins who have more of a tough love approach and theirs kids listen to the parents with very little tantrum. We have our families questioning our attachment parenting style and we’re very inclined to agree with them at this point.
What have we done wrong? What else do we do? It feels like we’re fighting various war battles everything single day. And it seems we always lose one way or another.
Please help us. We are losing our mind.

I know “lol ironic, you’re complaining about people complaining” but;
I’ve been in this sub for a year or two, and there has always been seemingly so much more complaining than any sub I’ve been in.
Qiyana is good. She is not overpowered. Her true strength is obviously a subjective topic, but she is not weak. She is good.
Qiyana falls into a category of champs that are both a) high skill ceiling and b) low pro presence (such as rengar, riven, katarina etc). Champions like these are rarely ever truly weak in solo queue, and if they are, it is usually not for long. Qiyana has had points of being weak(er) but her current iteration is not one of them.
She has one of the highest mechanical skill ceilings out of the entire roster, so obviously you have to put in effort and time to be good with her and climb. If you don’t want to put the effort and time in, either understand that your results are not due to the champion’s strength but rather due to your personal skill, or please just play someone easier.

Embarking on my self-improvement journey felt like entering a maze - books, TED Talks, 5 am clubs, cold showers, I tried it all. Each held its own wisdom, but none quite hit the spot. Craving deep introspection, I wanted to grasp who I was and what I wanted. Despite having a master's degree and a lucrative tech job, I felt hollow, burned out by endless meetings and emails.
My solace was in digital distractions, but soon, they became part of the problem. I needed to regain control - turning off notifications, reducing screen-time, even going back to old-school with pen and paper to capture my thoughts
In a leap of faith, I quit my job without another lined up. Instead of trying to just optimize my life, I had to create a new one. With time to breathe, and weekday hikes to cleanse the mind, I rediscovered my love for building new and useful things. Going back to my roots in programming - I haven't done coding in almost 10 years - so I dove back in to learn a new language, and an idea sparked - build something useful for myself. A tool to dig deeper into my own thoughts every day, a personal coach of sorts. It was a steep learning curve, but seeing it come to life has been worth it.
Now, even though I'm busier than ever, the fulfillment is unlike anything I've felt before. It's a long journey ahead, looking forward. If you're interested in in trying it out, let me know - it's still kinda new and janky but could be helpful for you too. Every page we turn is a new chapter - let's write ours with intent.