The main antagonist must be your least favorite Batman villain. They have to be as close personality wise to their comic counterpart as possible. You are also not allowed to make them pathetic or portray them as a joke, they must be treated as a serious threat to Gotham and Batman. What movie do you make?

THIS IS LONG, TL;DR AT BOTTOM
I (26M) was recently broken up with by my (24F) girlfriend of 6 years right after opening up to her about how I had been struggling a lot mentally recently. Opening up was hard enough for me to begin with, as I was always the “steady Eddy” in my relationship and family, the athlete, reliable etc that people counted on for a lot of things. That's not necessarily the cause, but it happens to be a terrible coincidence.
About 10 weeks ago I had a very long night out and woke up extremely hungover. My brother met up with me that night in our parents car and ended up staying with us for a few drinks, so evidently he left the car.
Of course, I woke up and had a boatload of caffeine so I was already on edge a little bit. My brother was still asleep, so my mom asked me if I could quickly drive my dad to the car so he could take it home. No problem, I hopped in my car and drove there with my dad.
On the way home, completely unprovoked and no anxiety prior, I had an insane panic attack. I’ve never experienced anything like it before. I think I’ve only had one panic attack in my life, and for some reason it left me with a very small amount of social anxiety. During this attack, my hands and feet were completely numb and sweating. At first, I had literally no idea what was going on - I thought it was a legitimate health issue. I ended up taking a bit to drive home, but I made it.
Since then, I've just had heightened anxiety. I've had one other panic attack in the past and I eventually got over the lingering anxiety, so I knew it wasn't permanent.
Mental Health Backstory on her end:
To preface this, we both have anxiety/depression in our genetics unfortunately. In fact, her mom spent some time in the hospital when they were young because of how bad it got.
She also apparently had a ton of anxiety from work recently (she's a nurse, I'm in tech).
On my mothers side of the family, my mom, grandma and great grandma have struggled with anxiety their entire lives, some of them taking antidepressants.
Not fun genes for either of us to have, but we persevered!
Our Relationship:
This is what has been getting to me, our relationship was very healthy. We argued probably 2-3 times per year, we spent the majority of days together - as we lived only a 5 minute drive apart. We were both fully a part of each other's families. All of the normal relationship stuff, we were completely engulfed in it. We had also been looking at engagement rings for a bit and ALWAYS talked about our life together.
When I was about 19 before we were together, I used to drunkenly talk about her all of the time to my friends saying "if she ever gets out of the relationship with her boyfriend (at that time) she's the one I'm going for". When I was graduating high school, I went into her class on yearbook day, grabbed her yearbook and wrote my number in it. Long story short, she ended up single and within a month of that happening, we were together.
The "problems" we had over the years that were semi-recurring:
I didn't suggest enough of our plans. I explained to her a number of times that I'd happily go anywhere, I just don't tend to suggest ideas because sometimes she wanted to, other times she didn't. I've lived by the motto "happy wife, happy life" in that relationship, so I tended to go along with whatever she suggested.
We didn't take enough pictures together. I don't really like being in too many pictures and that bothered her.
We didn't travel together enough. This goes back to the anxiety, I hate flying and haven't done it in almost a decade. However, I have an appointment with my doctor in early July where I'm requesting some "emergencies only" anxiety medication to use for that exact scenario. Note - she went on a number of trips over the years with her closest friends. Furthermore, we had done weekend getaways via car together but those apparently don't count. To add, her friends are hopping on planes at least once per month to go somewhere, I think comparison became the thief of joy here.
I didn't tell her I loved her enough or hug her enough. This one is hard for me because I felt like I definitely told her I loved her a lot. She used to occasionally say "do you even love me", semi-joking but also serious, and I always told her of course I did and even though I may not say it a number of times a day, of course I do. I also did a TON of things for her to show how much I cared (ie. she very rarely had to make a lunch for work, I cooked for her almost every day and we don't even live together) The hugging thing is a bit different, as she's always been extremely affectionate and I never really have been. I truly think it comes down to how I was raised, affection just wasn't a huge part of my childhood. (note, that's not a problem for me or anything, I had incredible family/parents, it just wasn't as prominent as it was in her childhood)
I cared a lot about money and how we could set ourselves up to move out. She had taken 5 trips (two of them by train, three by plane) with her friends in the past year and after the 5th one I asked if she planned on slowing down so she could focus on tackling her student debt and so we could start saving to move out, have a wedding etc. Specifically, I wanted us to be in the position where we weren't renting a home, ESPECIALLY given how much money we were making combined. This part kind of confused me because she was the first one to suggest moving out, but when it came time to adjusting the lifestyle to prepare for it, she didn't like the idea. But, I did use it as a crutch for my anxiety to get out of things sometimes and I did open up to her about that. As an example though, I still went with her to the Gucci store and helped her pick out a very expensive purse to celebrate getting her first real nursing job after graduating. I don't feel that I cared about money (especially given the stage we were in in our lives) more than any of my buddies with girlfriends. I wanted us to be set up well for the coming stages of our lives; they were fast approaching. Furthermore, her friends are catching a plane every weekend and are living with their parents but pay cheque to pay cheque with no prospects of ever leaving unless it's renting
The Situation:
About 7-ish weeks ago, a few weeks after my panic attack, my girlfriend was very adamant that we needed to book a trip together. She said we hadn't been on a "real" trip during our relationship (by real, she means getting on a plane). We were sitting down in her bed on my laptop looking at destinations and flights, but I was incredibly anxious about the whole thing. As we were about to book, I broke down and was fully vulnerable to her for one of the first times in the 6 year relationship. I said that I just don't see myself getting onto a plane right now without some kind of medication to calm me down. On top of that, it would stress me out financially a bit, as I'm a full-time masters student and working full time. Plus, it was during my one-week semester break, so I honestly just wanted to relax.
From that day on, our relationship started going downhill. She said she felt extremely disappointed by the whole situation and she couldn't shake the feeling. We then started only hanging out maybe once per week and it was very bland when we did. A couple weeks after that incident, I slept over at her house and I could tell she was genuinely just not happy at that time.
Brief backstory - despite being 26, my mom still gives me a ton of flack if I sleep at her house. It was rare that I got away with it. But, I did it that night anyway because she always asked me to sleep over but I rarely wanted to have to deal with my mom. I thought it would help show her I'm really trying to get better. She also invited me over the following evening and I obviously went.
After that day, I don't think we saw each other for about 2 weeks. I texted her on a Friday evening and said I just don't feel like she wants to be with me anymore. She picked me up so we could talk, and explained that she felt very disappointed about how we were so close to booking the trip and ended up not doing it. She said she needed a break and I was fine with it, I understood where she was coming from.
During this time, I started seeing a therapist. I found one online who was one of the highest rated in my province and was also extremely experienced in marital/pre-marital counselling so I could tell her about the relationship issues I was having along with my anxiety.
Fast forward about 2 more weeks (last weekend) she texted me saying she was ready to talk and picked me up. She said it's probably best if we just end the relationship for the time being. She explained that she felt she had been disappointed a few times over the years and was bottling a lot of things up. She said she needed time to "find herself again" and didn't know if we would get back together at all in the future or not. Then, we sat there talking in her car for another 30 minutes like things were normal so it really threw me off.
I ended up texting her the next day and asked if I could pick her up because I was confused from the night prior since we talked so normally after the breakup conversation. We ended up talking again, sharing some tears and what not, but I kind of understood why she felt she needed to be alone for a bit, even though she didn't know if we would get back together or not. She said that people do this all of the time and sometimes they come back stronger, but if it was meant to be then we'll get back together. I also told her about how much help I'm getting and how I'm setting a goal to take a vacation when I finish my masters in November. She was noticeably happy and asked a lot about how I was talking to my therapist about improving as a person and a (what I thought was soon to be) fiancé. She asked for all of the details about what we talked about in regards to our relationship and was very happy that I was putting that much effort in.
A couple days ago is when she deleted our photos together, but it came right after she posted an Instagram story while out with a friend who has no stability whatsoever. This friend has been on and off with the same guy (who treats her terribly) for as long as we were together. Not to mention, she sleeps around a ton. I can't help but feel like some of this breakup is being influenced by her friends (specifically this one) wanting her to be single like they are out of jealousy or something. Or, they want her to be flying somewhere once a month with them with no plans for the future. My girlfriend has cried to me in the past because she had been brought to places she didn't want to be because her friend wanted to go for a guy. That friend has also been binge drinking several times weekly for years. The following night, her two friends posted a story of her incredibly drunk in the back of a car with her feet out of the window I'm sure in hopes that I would see it. We're grown ass adults, I can't help but feel like that's just not a cool thing to do to your friend in general? I don't care how drunk you are, in fact I expected her to have a night out with her friends and let loose but posting someone else like that is just insanely stupid to me! To put the icing on the cake, one of my long time buddies from high school decided to go for one of her friends and I gave him substantial warnings about her. Within a year, that relationship was completely over with and she was on to the next.
Neither of us were ever the type one to have one-night stands or get around, so I'm not concerned about anything like that during the breakup. If it happens it happens, but I won't be sleeping with anyone until I've put in all of my effort to saving everything we've built. She's only ever been with me and her ex, while I've had a handful more partners before her - but I've experienced enough in my 26 years to know that there was is only one woman for me.
After all of this, I still couldn't shake the feeling that I felt I was being abandoned during the one time in my entire life I've opened up to anyone and really wanted some support. I'm also just having a hard time processing why it happened and how I can salvage it.
I've texted her once per week since the breaks & breakup happened just telling her that I loved her and wished we were going to XYZ events coming up. I also always say in the message that "You don't have to respond or even read it, I just want you to know". I'm having a hard time deciding if I should continue giving her that weekly text or not, but I really do want her to know how much I care and thought we were a dream team.
I just can't help but feel like we had "problems" that were very fixable and were very minor compared to 99% of couples. Her two best friends have had 5+ boyfriends each in the time that we were together and countless one-night stands. Every time they would break up, I'd hear a story from my girlfriend about how terribly they were treated by these guys and we talked about how lucky we are to have each other. There was no forms of jealousy or self-consciousness between us either, neither of us were bothered when we went out alone with our respective friend groups. I also never for a second worried when she travelled with her friends that she'd cheat or something.
This wraps in with why I can't process the breakup. Aside from the few things we argued about here and there (few times a year) it was an incredibly healthy relationship. I had a great relationship with her friends (despite some of the things I've said about them above) and would often times opt to go out drinking with her group over my group of buddies. I acknowledged my shortcomings as a boyfriend (ie. the affection) with my therapist and she's giving me some help with it. Am I crazy for thinking 1. that I can fix what's happened and 2. Part of this breakup might just be her wanting to see how much I actually care?
Anyway, I might add to this if I remember more important points. I just needed to get some of this off my chest. If you've made it this far into my story, thanks for reading!
TL;DR - Our relationship was very healthy, we rarely argued, the breakup came essentially because I wasn’t ready to travel despite the fact that I’m actively getting help for the first time

Yes, you can buy real estate in the Cayman Islands, regardless of your nationality or residency. Unlike other islands, purchasing property here is incredibly easy! If you have the means, you can make it happen.
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To ensure a smooth real estate purchase in the Cayman Islands, it is recommended to meet with your bank or financial advisor beforehand to determine your purchasing power. If you require a bank loan, obtaining a "pre-approval" gives you an advantage when making an offer and helps us stay within your budget while exploring property options.
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Banks in the Cayman Islands require life insurance coverage for all borrowers to protect the mortgage since mortgage protection insurance is not available here. Arranging life insurance ahead of time, covering the loan amount or more, can expedite the bank's process and potentially make your offer more appealing than others.
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Stamp Duty, also known as Transfer Tax, is a one-time fee paid by the buyer to the Cayman Islands Government during the closing process. This is the only payment you'll ever make to the government for property ownership. When you eventually sell the property, the buyer will pay their own Stamp Duty based on the purchase price.
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The Stamp Duty rate in Grand Cayman is 7.5% island-wide, but Caymanians may be eligible for a waiver if they are first-time buyers. If you'd like more information on this aspect of your purchase, don't hesitate to reach out to us.
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Stamp Duty is only applied to the real property, and the value of any included inventory is deducted from the purchase price before calculating the duty. The duty is calculated in CI$ (Cayman Islands dollars), so if you're paying in US$, conversion rates will be involved to determine the US$ figure.
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Title insurance is not required in the Cayman Islands because the government guarantees the title. Land holdings are public record, and ownership is clearly displayed on the Land Register for every property.
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In addition to Stamp Duty, closing costs typically include bank and legal fees, as well as property evaluation. On average, you can expect these costs to be around 9% of the purchase price, although they can be lower. Considering this figure will help you anticipate all the expenses involved in closing.
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An Offer to Purchase, prepared by your agent, specifies the price, conditions, closing date, and deposit amount. Once the offer is accepted, the property's status changes to "pending/conditional," meaning the buyer is committed to the purchase and must fulfill the conditions outlined in the offer.
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Properties in the Cayman Islands can be sold furnished or unfurnished, depending on the seller's preference. Most existing properties are sold furnished, while pre-construction properties often come with a furniture package or a referral to a design team for furnishings and décor upon completion.
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The closing period can be relatively quick or extend up to 90 days from the offer acceptance, depending on the negotiations and circumstances involved. There is no fixed timeline, and the buyers and sellers determine a mutually agreeable date.
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We provide assistance with transferring utilities, property services, and handling any other necessary details during and after the closing process.
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Buying real estate in the Cayman Islands is a straightforward process based on English Law, although it differs from North American practices. Rest assured, we offer comprehensive guidance and support at every step of your purchase. If you have any specific questions about the process related to your particular purchase, feel free to reach out to us.
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To explore available properties and get further assistance in buying real estate in the Cayman Islands, please visit [PropertyPals.ky](https://propertypals.ky).

In various places around the world, the first menstruation of a girl marks their transition to womanhood. It typically lasts one week after the god of the moon shows his entire face, and ends when he begins to cover it with his mask. The goddess of the sun also plays a part in transition to womanhood because those assigned female at birth become aligned with the feminine energies of the dawn. Those who are not AFAB but desire to be female can affirm their gender through a simple ritual.

• Take some red liquid such as wine, cranberry juice, or some animal blood from the store and put it into a small syringe or tincture. Bring it with you into the forest while wearing a white dress or some other garment representing innocence or femininity for you. It can also be any clothing that represents transition like travel clothes or hiking gear. Find a secluded spot with good energies and leave seven drops in front of you to represent the seven days of a menstrual cycle. When you leave the forest or natural area, you will feel pubescent again and for a time, you will feel bubbly and desire relationships like a high school girl.

Those who wish to be male but are not AMAB, can do a similar ritual. The logic behind this one is that the first time a male realizes they are growing up they tend to realize their own fertility, and are surprised by it the first time.

• For this ritual, a white liquid (usually sticky) such as milk, egg whites, or glue is used to represent the life energy fluids of men. Take a tincture of this and take it into the forest while wearing masculine clothing or expressing masculinity in any way that resonates with you. In a positive secluded spot in the forest, throw the white fluid underhand but never let your hand reach above your pelvis for this. throw is as hard as possible to represent a burst of pent up life energy. After this ritual you are a dude and you will gain increased libido, possibility to gain muscles, and those who are attracted to males will pursue you.

These rites may seem distasteful or strange to those who are not pagan or who are shy about the topic, but nonetheless the rites are correct because traditionally the genders are about how a person reproduces. The social expectations and roles only come after that primitive function.

Do we have any good folks here working sales in the US transportation industry?
I know the industry's in a tough spot right now with the freight rates down, oil price going up, and a few other things. But there still has to be money to be made in this industry right?
I sell adspace for a trucking companies to help source their manpower (i.e. drivers). It looks like trucking companies these days are more focused on surviving rather than they are growing.
I can't seem to close anything and it's driving me nuts! Is it just me or is it the times?
Hope everyone's doing better than I am.

He's 10 years older than me and he's never felt like a sibling because of it. He seemed like another adult, and he didn't really live with me growing up, since he moved out at 16 or 17. Anyway, here's a list of what I think about when I see my brother:

1. He went to school on our mother's dime at least 2 times. The first time, he did obtain a nursing degree, did one day on the job and quit, saying "I realized I don't like working around sick people." I'm not kidding. The second time he went to school, he quit a few weeks in because he failed a math quiz. Not an exam. A quiz. In his 30s, he came home (he was staying with mom) threw his backpack on the floor and slammed his bedroom door. He came out later and said he was done with school because of it. When I graduated hs, I asked to go to college and my mom told me she couldn't afford to help me because she paid for his schooling and it drained her bank account.
   
2. We were both jobless and pinched for cash in 2013. I was crashing with mom while I found a job, and staying in the second (only only spare) bedroom. Brother quit his job (he was hired as a manager at a grocery store and quit on day one because they were short staffed and asked him to man the checkout line for a few hours) and couldn't afford rent. He came home, offered to take mom on a great trip to a place she always wanted to see, and while there (and away from me) he told her the job didn't work out and he couldn't afford rent, so he asked to move back in. Oh, and since there are only 2 rooms, little sister needs to move out. Never mind that fact that he spent his remaining cash on a trip to butter her up. I was kicked out of the house when he got back and crashed with friends.
   
3. The worst of the worst, by far. We were texting at one point years ago. And idk how the topic even came up, but he told me that he fully expected my to "fight him over the house when mom passes on" so he'd just give me the house. That was the single most hurtful thing anyone has ever said to me. He thinks so little of me as a person, so little of my character, that he thinks in the worst time of our lives, I would want to fight with him over property? That genuinely hurt my feelings so badly that I didn't speak to him for over a year. We still don't talk just to talk. If he asks me something, I'll answer. But we aren't close.
   

He also never helps with mom. There have been a few occasions where she's had medical issues (not too serious, thank God) that have caused her to need to go to the ER. I told him each time that she was vomiting uncontrollably, and couldn't get up. He told me to call him if I needed help. 30 minutes after him telling me that, I realized I couldn't get her out of bed by myself so I called him and asked for help. This is not a joke: he literally told me he couldn't because he was going to a party. And got off the phone. I got her in the car myself and got her checked out. Multiple times this has happened and he has NOT ONCE been any help at all. Not to mention he didn't even ask about her when I took her to the ER. 1 in the morning, I had been with her there for hours waiting to be seen. He finally texts me back and I ask if he can tap me out so I can get some sleep and come back the next day, he says no.
I get so frustrated when I see him. And now I'm pregnant with my first child and dread telling him because I know he wanted kids but never had any. And when he wants something and doesn't get it, but someone else does, he makes them feel bad about it. He went from "I want kids" to "my wife doesn't them....and that's a good thing because my friend just had one and he's miserable." I don't want him to ruin this for me. I don't want him to bring me down anymore.
Am I being dramatic? Should I let it go? If so, how?

The right Switch joycon I just purchased 5 days ago makes a terrible metallic creaking noise every time I move the stick down. It did this right out of the box. For a $50 brand new replacement this is very frustrating, so I went to take it back to the store to exchange it. I took it back in the original packaging and with the receipt. But I was refused an exchange, and told I would have to pay another $50 to get a non-defective pair.
The person running the store was incredibly rude and dismissive about the whole thing, saying that it is not their fault or GameStop’s fault that the controller is defective because Nintendo is the one that manufactured it. They claimed in a snippy tone that if I had just read the return policy on the receipt I would know that I couldn’t return it. I HAD in fact read the receipt’s return policy, and would not have remotely thought to interpret this statement as ‘If you have opened the box, you can’t ever return an item, even if it is defective.’ Like how the hell are you supposed to know it is defective while it is in the box?!
“All new, non-defective electronics that are not returned in their original unopened packaging will not be eligible for a refund or exchange. Defective merchandise (other than PCs) can be returned or exchanged within their applicable return period.”
Which would presumably be the 15 days listed earlier as the return period for new items.
They continued on to say that this was the purpose of purchasing the $18 warranty. Now, nowhere on the receipt or website return policy did I see where it says you need to have purchased a warranty to return a defective item within the return period. This was possibly the most frustrating part of the whole exchange. Like, is it seriously true that GameStop expects you to pay an extra $18 to ensure that your ass is covered if the products they are selling are defective out of the box? Because that is a seriously bad business plan.

Hi! This summer I'll be travelling in 3 countries and transiting through 2 more.
My problem is the following: my flight arrives from Canada to London, then I have to switch airports and catch another flight to Dubrovnik that will arrive at night when shops are closed. The following morning, I'll take a bus to Montenegro and will meet a friend at her house. I want to know where to find a SIM card I can purchase beforehand so I don't get lost and find my way. I'll also be alone.
Then I'll go alone to Spain and make my way back to Serbia. I'll be travelling for one month total
Do you know of any SIM card that offers such? The only one I find that seems to cover my travel plans has a shocking 34 US of delivery fee.
Thanks you!

Part 1
I took a deep breath before blowing into the little straw attached to the breathalyzer test.
"Keep it going, another few seconds," the newly reinstated sheriff's deputy Randy said from the passenger seat next to me.
Finally the device made a noise and the numbers 0.07 appeared on the screen.
"Okay, I'm good to drive. I'll need to keep ingesting roughly one beer every hour from this point on."
Randy nodded.
"Okay, now you go," I said, replacing the disposable straw in the breathalyzer test.
He blew into the straw and after a few seconds it came up on the display.
"O.16. That’s not gonna do it with your tolerance, bud. I'm gonna need you to drink something, Randy. You gotta be sharp for this."
He pulled out a bottle of whiskey and unscrewed the cap, taking a long swig of it before belching. When I was satisfied he was intoxicated enough to avoid seeing any more invisible monsters, I told him to buckle up.
Normally I don’t condone drinking and driving, even if it is technically within the legal limits, but these were special circumstances. Randy had infected me with some sort of… Well, I don’t really know how to describe it. Ghost virus? Hallucinating monster plague?
I was seeing things in mirrors and reflective surfaces now, just like he had been. It was as if they now served as peepholes into another dimension. Therefore, we had covered up the rear view and side mirrors with duct tape. I had also gotten rid of my aviators, which was a shame, because they completed my whole outfit. I was even growing a mustache to complete the small town Sheriff everyman appearance, but the hair growth on my upper lip was patchy and gross-looking still.
Before growing it, I hadn’t realized facial dandruff was a real thing. Well, it turns out it definitely is.
Sorry, I’m getting tangential again. That happens to me when I drink.
To sum it all up, Randy was the old sheriff in Hollow’s End, but he’d run into some kind of trouble recently. This trouble had caused him to see horrible things which appeared in reflective surfaces - windows and mirrors all over town which had been smashed by him in what I at first assumed was a drunken rage. Now I realized he was drinking to drown out the demons. The liquor made them less noticeable, and less frequent.
“This case has to be connected with everything that’s happening,” I said as we started driving - our destination still unknown. “That man who disappeared. In such a small town, these things have to be connected.”
“Not necessarily,” Randy replied. “This town is weird as hell, dude. Fucked up shit happens here literally all the time. You just haven’t lived here long enough to see any of it.”
I ignored this and pressed onward, trying to get something useful out of the man.
“Okay, you’re not much help. Is there someone in town who is in the know? Someone who can give us the low-down?”
“Well… The only person I can think of like that would be the butcher. He’s sort of like the unofficial mayor of Hollow’s End," Randy explained. "But he’s not exactly the talkative type.”
“Great. That’s something, at least. Point me towards the butcher shop. Let’s go have a chat with this guy," I said to Randy, only to realize he had promptly fallen asleep after his last statement.
I drove towards the commercial district, eyes peeled for a Butcher Shop sign.
Eventually I found it.
*
We pulled up in front of the place and I could tell right away that something was off. And by that I mean there was a terrible smell that I associated with spoiled meat. Something inside the shop was long past its expiration date, and the rank odor was making its way out to the street.
There was a closed sign hanging from the door, despite the hours indicating it should be open. Alarm bells started ringing in my mind even louder than before and I told Randy to watch the front of the shop while I went around to the back.
He was now wide awake again, acting as if he hadn't just been asleep seconds prior.
After knocking on the back door, I tried the handle. To my surprise, it opened.
I went inside and was hit with a knockout punch of decay right to my nose. My eyes started watering at the smell of meat gone sour, the sound of buzzing flies growing louder as I stepped inside the kitchen.
There was blood everywhere - and not just in the usual places where you would expect it to be in a butcher’s shop. It was splattered on the ceiling and all over the floor. There was one particularly large bloodstain in the far corner of the room that was in the shape of a human body, and judging by the deep crimson color of it whoever had been laying there had lost a sufficient amount of bodily fluids to render them dead half a dozen times over.
I heard footsteps from the other side of a translucent plastic curtain which separated the kitchen from the front of the shop. Pulling out my service revolver, I took a cautious step forward and pulled back the hammer, ready for anything.
My heart was pounding fast as I spoke in my best 'don't fuck with me' cop-voice.
“This is the sheriff. Whoever’s behind the curtain, come out with your hands up. Do it now!”
There was an identical sound on the other side of the divider, indicating another gun was being readied for action.
“No way, man,” said a gruff voice on the other side. “You’re not taking me alive.”
My heart skipped a beat as I realized I was potentially about to die. There was going to be a shootout. And a lot more blood was about to be decorating the walls of this butcher shop.
Then I realized the voice sounded familiar.
“RANDY!?”
He came through the curtain and I almost shot him anyway.
“Oh, sorry. I thought it was a bad guy impersonating you,” Randy said.
“So you decided to impersonate a bad guy? How does that make any sense?”
“They wouldn’t kill one of their own, man. Think about it.”
I let out a deep breath and counted to ten in my mind, trying to think of other ways to stop myself from murdering him.
Would anyone notice if Randy went missing? No, don't think like that. Only bad things will come of it.
I tried to focus on the case.
“That’s a lot of blood,” I said, pointing at the man-shaped brownish-red puddle in the corner. “Looks like some bad shit went down here. Maybe this butcher guy is good for the murder of our missing man.”
“Nah,” Randy said, waving it off. “That puddle has been there for weeks. We play poker here every Friday. It’s, well, it would be too hard to explain what happened. But just trust me that the blood-letting was consensual, even if it did get a bit out of hand.”
“I don’t even want to know.”
“Well, you asked.”
“So all of this blood looks NORMAL to you?”
“For this place, yeah."
"And the smell?"
He nodded.
"But I did notice one weird thing.”
“What’s that?” I asked, completely exasperated by this point.
“No mirrors anywhere. There’s usually a couple of them out front in the customer area that are gone now. And he hasn’t cleaned his knives. That's not like him. He loves these knives like they're his own non-existent children. It’s like he didn’t want them to be shiny. He wanted them to stay bloody.”
Mirrors. Glass. Steel can be polished to be so reflective you can see your face in it. Or other things.
“He’s infected too.”
“Yup. This shit’s spreading. Who knows how far it could get if we don’t stop it.”
He held up one finger, produced a flask from his pocket, and drank a large swallow of whiskey.
“Alright, where to next?” he asked after burping loudly. “This was a bust.”
*
We were walking out the front door of the place when we saw a car pull up to the curb. A young man got out, looking like he was in his late twenties.
The car had a company name on the side and I realized it looked familiar. It was actually the next lead I was planning to follow up on.
J&M Delivery Co.
Booze, burgers, pizza and MORE!
Delivering to all citizens of Hollow’s End
(Unless you're a Subterranean)
(No forest deliveries after 4PM)
I read the sign twice and was about to ask the man why they didn’t deliver to the Subterraneans, and who the Subterraneans were, and who the hell would order pizza from a forest, but decided it would be better to stay focused.
“What are you guys doing here?” the man asked, heading towards the shop.
“Hey, Jay. We were looking for the butcher, but he’s gone,” Randy replied quickly. “Where’s Muriel? Maybe she knows something.”
“She’s been gone since last night. There was some sort of crisis and she ran out of the house without saying goodbye. I figured the butcher might have an idea where she went.”
“We were just in there. He’s gone but the doors are unlocked. Must’ve left in a hurry,” I said. “Does she have a cell phone? Maybe we can track her with the GPS.”
“Nah, she’s not really into technology. She has one of those brick Nokia phones that she’s managed to keep alive for twenty years or so, but she leaves it at home most of the time, and the rest of the time she’s at the casino where there’s no signal.”
“Okay, maybe that’s where she is.”
“I checked already. None of the employees have seen her since the weekend.”
It occurred to me suddenly that there was another missing person who I was investigating, and this man was a potential witness.
“I need to ask you about something else,” I said, pulling out a picture of the missing man. “Do you know this person?”
He squinted at it for half a second.
“Sure, that’s John Grayson. He’s a delivery driver with our company.”
“Are you aware that he’s been missing now for nearly two days?”
He hesitated, then looked at Randy.
“Is he cool?” he asked cautiously.
“Yeah, he’s already got the curse. He’s good.”
I looked back and forth between the two of them.
“What the fuck!? So this is like, just a known thing around here? If I stay in town too long I’m gonna become cursed by this place?”
“No, no. No. Well, kinda. It’s hard to explain. And even more hard to explain because of all the weird shit going down,” Randy said. “Now the important thing is this town has its hooks in you. And because of that, you’ll have a very difficult time leaving this place. You’re a part of it and it's a part of you. That's the way it works. One way or another, if you stay in Hollow’s End for too long, you’re gonna get bit by something.”
“I didn’t think it was possible for me to be any more confused.”
“Do you have the monkey paw?” Randy asked Jay, making me even more confused.
“No. But, I’m starting to think it might be the cause of all of this trouble.”
Feeling like I was about to lose my mind, or had already done so, I put my foot down and yelled in my loudest, most authoritative voice.
“ENOUGH!”
The two of them looked at me stupidly.
“Monkey paws? The butcher? Disappearing people all over town? Just… Tell me this is a prank. You guys are messing with me because I’m new in town. Right? Is there a YouTube video being filmed? Am I being punked? Is this a reboot!?”
The two men stared at me a moment longer then went back to talking as if I weren’t standing there.
“It’s definitely got something to do with that paw. The butcher should have just gotten rid of the damn thing when he found it in that shipment of discarded monkey carcasses. Everyone knows monkey paw wishes are tainted. Who the fuck would be dumb enough to actually use one of them?” Jay was saying.
“Well, I mean, how can you possibly know just by looking at the monkey paw that it’s evil? There have to be at least a few GOOD monkey paws out there that grant wishes, right?”
Jay and I suddenly shared a psychic thought connection, and I saw he had the same idea I did, at the exact same moment.
“You made a wish on the fucking monkey paw, didn’t you?” we both blurted out in unison.
Randy looked down at the ground. It took a few seconds for him to confess. When he finally did it was in the most obnoxious, affected, half-apologetic tone of voice I'd ever heard.
“I always wanted to be able to teleport like Nightcrawler from X-Men. I didn’t realize it was gonna open up a series of gateways to alternate dimensions, potentially causing the destruction of reality. That part was completely unexpected.”
It took me a few moments to figure out what he meant. But then it all came together.
“It was your fault! You made me see the monsters in the mirrors! It was all because of you and your STUPID monkey paw WISH!”
“Yeah,” he admitted. “But on the plus side, check this out!”
He jumped into the nearby front window of the butcher shop and, instead of shattering, it rippled outwards from its center like a pool of water disrupted by a stone being thrown into it. He disappeared into the glass and was gone.
The two of us stood there for several minutes in stunned silence, unsure if he was going to come back. I went into the shop to see if he was in there but it was empty.
Just as we were about to walk away awkwardly, he leapt back through the liquid glass carrying a bag of fast food in his hand. The paper bag was stained with grease and said, “KFC” on it.
“See!? We don’t even have one of these in town! I just teleported to Pittsburgh and back!”
The window glass continued to make ripples and didn't settle down into its usual smoothness, I noticed. Not only that, but there was now something moving in the glass. A huge dark creature with long limbs, crawling on six legs. It was sniffing the ground like a dog hunting a rabbit. Then it turned sharply to look at us through the glass. There was no question in my mind that it saw us.
"Randy, did you ever consider that using the powers granted by the cursed magic monkey paw might be a VERY BAD idea?"
He looked at me stupidly.
A strange sound began to come from the glass window of the storefront as a set of huge legs came through from the other side, followed by another, and another. It was an indescribable sound, but if I had to compare it to anything it would be like if fingernails on a chalkboard and microphone feedback had an ear-splitting baby together.
Sitting atop the legs with too many joints was a horrifying creature with a long snout lined with sharp teeth. Odd openings split its rough alligator skin in places, looking like gills, but not quite. Its eyes were black and dull as it surveyed the downtown street of Hollow's End.
After it was through the glass it sniffed the air, and I hoped that maybe this creature didn't breathe oxygen and it would keel over, dead, from the toxic air of our world.
But of course the stupid thing was fine. I guess whatever world it came from had a similar atmosphere to ours.
A second later it spotted us and began to race toward us with murder in its eyes.
"RUN!" I yelled, and turned around to see Jay and Randy already in their respective vehicles and ready to drive away without me.
"Hop in," Randy yelled shifting over into the passenger seat. "Come on man, get away from that thing. Whatever it is, it looks PISSED!"
YT
TCC

Hi all,
Still quite overwhelmed with planning my first trip to the highlands (second time in Iceland) in early August. Currently still on the I have 50+ pins in my google map phase.
But I do have some general questions. I've recently upgraded to a Toyota Highlander (diesel) and I do have an map of gas stations.
My two hotels are both in the Highlands - Do people carry extra gasoline with them or just drive the closest gas station when needed ? (even if far)
Also, as far as food goes - I know both of the hotels have some form of a restaurant in them with some carry out food as well. I also saw a bus that sells some food in Landmannalaugar - but are there any other things like that?
Last time we were in Iceland (just going the coast) we did stop a few restaurants - but we did pack a lot of snacks in one of our check in bags - probably do the same or stop at a grocery store on the way after landing.

It just want to put up a reminder for all players who bought early access. On the store page it says the following. Up to 4 Days Early Access​ to Diablo IV (Pre-Purchase Bonus Item)** **Up to 4 days based on estimated access; actual play time subject to possible outages and applicable time zone differences.
What does that mean? Simple. Don't create threads where you are angry that the servers aren't running or you can not really play on friday and the next following days.
You agreed with yor purchase exactly to what I wrote at the beginng. Look at all the reviews out there. They are positive so a lot of people are jumping on the train and buy the game now. The hype is real.

I've been getting into making chili oil at home and one of my favorite chilis to use are Chinese Er Jing Tao (Heaven Facing Chilis). Unfortunately I haven't been able to find them at the big Chinese grocery stores I've tried so far.
I've been getting them online but I'm wondering if any stores carry them in NYC. They may just be something I need to continue sourcing online but if anyone could confirm a store that carries them here that would be very helpful!

“He made you a playground, and you think it’s the whole world.”
From Wikipedia: “In the allegory "The Cave", Plato describes a group of people who have lived chained to the wall of a cave all their lives, facing a blank wall. [They] watch shadows projected on the wall from objects passing in front of a fire behind them... The shadows are the prisoners' reality, but are not… the real world.”
I grew up in a little bit of a religious cult, and have been aware of “The Cave” as an allegory for isolation and false realities for some time. I realized you could read the finale as an exploration of the kids coming to grips (or not!) with their own reckonings with this false world.
Imagine a cave where people have been imprisoned from childhood, but not from birth. They are chained so that …they are forced to gaze at the wall in front of them and not to look around at the cave, each other, or themselves.
People pass objects across the fires that are lit behind the prisoners, such that these shadows become their reality.
Suppose then, that the prisoners are released…one might first encounter the fire, and seeing it, not believe this is now “reality” and retreat from the painful light to what he’s used to. This is Kendall. A cog only built to fit one machine He had chances to be different, to break from this reality, and turned back.
But then what if the prisoner was forcibly drug to the surface : ”The prisoner would be angry and in pain, and this would only worsen when the radiant light of the sun overwhelms his eyes and blinds him” The mere act of emerging from a false reality causes tremendous pain. I would argue that this is Roman.
But eventually that prisoner gets accustomed to the light and realizes that there is a “true” reality, and eventually returns to rescue the other prisoners. Shiv and especially Roman, who have lived and worked in the real world: this is all bullshit But the mere act of returning below the surface is blinding, rendering them not-credible to the other prisoners.
Only Roman made it out. Shiv was out and turned back. Kendall was the most stuck in “the cave,” having been chained to stare at the wall, we are told, from 7 years old. In the end, even the last confrontation in the board room, we can see the kids’ relative clarity and ability to navigate the situation as closely tied to their acceptance of the reality imposed upon them by Logan.

Guys, i really do need some advice!
Basically have a problem with magical thinking, coincidences and feeling tainted (emotional contamination).
With the following situation i can not make decision yet and it has been months:
I tried to run my own store, i rented a property and signed the contract for it. The bad thing is that the day i rented it, i saw a notification on my phone from Google Photos app , in which two numbers ,that are triggering my fear, appeared together. And since then i lost all my passion and motivation to do anything with it , but i have still NOT quit it , rent is going on i pay every month, but the store is not opened yet. My mind counts these numbers appeared in combination as a sign and coincidence for my OCD fears. And because of that the whole process feels tainted. Emotionaly contaminated - the place i rented, the business , future profits of it , everything linked with it feels it would be tainted if i start it . My whole life would be tainted somehow , because of that coincidence that happened and contaminated everything as the whole idea of starting that store. I have to figure something asap, rent money are going fast :(

I work with this girl and we're part of the same group of friends but not very close. It's been an issue on the work place how bad she smells, despite the fact that she is very beautiful, dresses well and is very good at her job she stinks so bad some days that people are making fun of her on other floors. Some other friends from the group already tried to talk to her about this with no success. But it's becomming threatening to her job. She speaks to a lot of different people and companies, and bad smell is bad advertising, isn't it?

Introduction

During the development of our card game Conflux we wanted to have an easy way to create various abilities for our cards with different effects and at the same time wanted to write smaller amount of code per ability. Also we wanted try and add a simple modding capability for abilities.

Format we introduced

Some of you may be familiar with MoonSharp LUA interpreter for C#, often use in Unity engine to add scripting support to your game. That's what we took as a base for writing the code for abilities. Each ability can subscribe to different events such as whenever a card takes damage, is placed on the field or ability is used manually on some specific targets. Besides having event handlers we needed a way to specify some metadata like mana cost of abilities, cooldown, icon, etc. and in the first iteration of the system we had a pair of JSON metadata file and LUA code file.
It was fine initially but we quickly realized that abilities typically have ~20 lines of JSON and ~20 lines of LUA code and that having two files per ability is wasteful so we developed a simple format which combines both the JSON and LUA.
Since LUA code could never really be a valid JSON (unless you are ok with slapping all the code into a single line or is ok with escaping all the quotes you have) we put the JSON part of the abilities into the LUA script. First LUA block comment section within the script is considered as a JSON header.
Here is an example of "Bash" ability in LUA (does damage and locks the target cards):

--[[ { "mana_cost": 0, "start_cooldown": 0, "cooldown": 3, "max_usage": -1, "icon": "IconGroup_StatsIcon_Fist", "tags": [ "damage", "debuff", "simple_damage_value" ], "max_targets": 1, "is_active": true, "values": { "damage": 5, "element": "physical" }, "ai_score": 7 } --]] local function TargetCheck() if Combat.isEnemyOf(this.card.id, this.event.target_card_id) then return Combat.getAbilityStat(this.ability.id, "max_targets") end end local function Use() for i = 1, #this.event.target_card_ids do Render.pushCardToCard(this.card.id, this.event.target_card_ids[i], 10.0) Render.createExplosionAtCard("Active/Bash", this.event.target_card_ids[i]) Render.pause(0.5) Combat.damage(this.event.target_card_ids[i], this.ability.values.damage, this.ability.values.element) Combat.lockCard(this.event.target_card_ids[i]) end end Utility.onMyTargetCheck(TargetCheck) Utility.onMyUse(Use) 

Inheritance for abilities

It may be a completely valid desire to have a way to reuse the code of some abilities and just make some small adjustments. We solved this desire by having a merge function for JSON header data which will look for a parent field within the header and will look for the data based on the ID provided in this parent field. All the data found is then merged with the data provide in the rest of the current JSON header. It also does it recursively, but I don't foresee actually using this functionality as typically we just have a generic ability written and then the inherited ability just replaces all it needs to replace.
Here is an example on how a simple damaging ability can be defined:

--[[ { "parent": "Generic/Active/Elemental_projectiles", "cooldown": 3, "icon": "IconGroup_StatsIcon01_03", "max_targets": 2, "values": { "damage": 2, "element": "fire", "render": "Active/Fireball" }, "ai_score": 15 } --]] 

So as you can see there is no code as 100% of it is inherited from the parent generic ability.
The way a code in the child ability is handled is that the game will execute the LUA ability files starting from the top parent and will traverse down to the child. Since all the logic of abilities is usually within the event handlers then no actual change happens during the execution of those LUA scripts (just info about subscriptions is added). If the new ability you write needs to actually modify the code of the parent then you can just unsubscribe from the events you know you want to modify and then rewrite the handler yourself.

MoonSharp in practice

MoonSharp as a LUA interpreter works perfectly fine IMO. No performance issues or bugs with the LUA code execution as far as I see.
The problems for us started when trying to use VS code debugging. As in it straight up does not work for us. To make it behave we had to do quite a few adjustments including:

• Create a new breakpoint storage mechanism because existing one does not trigger breakpoints
• Add customizable exception handler for when the exception occurs within the C# API. By default you just get a whole load of nothing and your script just dies. We added a logging and automatic breakpoint mechanism (which is supposed to be there but just does not work)
• Proper local/global variables browser. Existing one just displayed (table: 000012) instead of letting you browse variables like a normal human being.
• Passthrough of Unity logs to VS code during debugging. This one worked out of the box for the most part when errors were within the LUA code, but anything that happens in our C# API is only visible in Unity console (or Player.log) and when breakpoint is triggered good luck actually seeing that log with Unity screen frozen and logs not flushed yet (can flush the logs in this case I guess too?)

What is missing

While we are mostly satisfied with the results the current implementation there are a couple things worth pointing out as something that can be worked on:

• When you are done writing the ability you can't really know if the code you wrote is valid or if the data within the JSON header is valid. Linters within VS code I tried either complain about LUA code when highlighting JSON or ignore JSON when highlighting LUA code
• Good luck killing infinite loop within the LUA code (though same is true for C#). Execution limit needs to be implemented to avoid that problem, better to have invalid game state then having to kill the process.
• By placing the metadata of the abilities within the same code file you lock yourself out of the opportunity to have a unified place to store all your ability metadata (e.g. having a large data sheet with all the values visible to be able to sort through it and find inconsistencies). This can be addressed by having a converter from those LUA files to say CSV file or having a dedicated data browser within the game

TL;DR

Adding JSON as a header to LUA has following pros and cons compared to just writing C# code per ability:
Pros:

• Can hot-swap code with adjustments for faster iteration
• No compilation required, all the scripts can be initialized during the scene loading process
• Can evaluate the same code an ability would use within a console for testing
• Allows abilities to be modded into the game with lower possibility of malicious code (as long as exposed API is safe)

Cons:

• Requires compatibility layer between C# and LUA (you will still have to write API in C# to reduce the code bloat, but there is an extra layer that you need to write to pass this API to LUA)
• MoonSharp VS code debugging is buggier than using VisualStudio debugger for C#
• Doesn't really reduce the number of lines of code you need to manage. While you avoid boilerplate code, with smart management of this boilerplate code you can reduce it down to just a good base class implementation for your abilities with almost no overhead

Yes, you can buy real estate in the Cayman Islands, regardless of your nationality or residency. Unlike other islands, purchasing property here is incredibly easy! If you have the means, you can make it happen.
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To ensure a smooth real estate purchase in the Cayman Islands, it is recommended to meet with your bank or financial advisor beforehand to determine your purchasing power. If you require a bank loan, obtaining a "pre-approval" gives you an advantage when making an offer and helps us stay within your budget while exploring property options.
Banks in the Cayman Islands require life insurance coverage for all borrowers to protect the mortgage since mortgage protection insurance is not available here. Arranging life insurance ahead of time, covering the loan amount or more, can expedite the bank's process and potentially make your offer more appealing than others.
​
Stamp Duty, also known as Transfer Tax, is a one-time fee paid by the buyer to the Cayman Islands Government during the closing process. This is the only payment you'll ever make to the government for property ownership. When you eventually sell the property, the buyer will pay their own Stamp Duty based on the purchase price.
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The Stamp Duty rate in Grand Cayman is 7.5% island-wide, but Caymanians may be eligible for a waiver if they are first-time buyers. If you'd like more information on this aspect of your purchase, don't hesitate to reach out to us.
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Stamp Duty is only applied to the real property, and the value of any included inventory is deducted from the purchase price before calculating the duty. The duty is calculated in CI$ (Cayman Islands dollars), so if you're paying in US$, conversion rates will be involved to determine the US$ figure.
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Title insurance is not required in the Cayman Islands because the government guarantees the title. Land holdings are public record, and ownership is clearly displayed on the Land Register for every property.
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In addition to Stamp Duty, closing costs typically include bank and legal fees, as well as property evaluation. On average, you can expect these costs to be around 9% of the purchase price, although they can be lower. Considering this figure will help you anticipate all the expenses involved in closing.
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An Offer to Purchase, prepared by your agent, specifies the price, conditions, closing date, and deposit amount. Once the offer is accepted, the property's status changes to "pending/conditional," meaning the buyer is committed to the purchase and must fulfill the conditions outlined in the offer.
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Properties in the Cayman Islands can be sold furnished or unfurnished, depending on the seller's preference. Most existing properties are sold furnished, while pre-construction properties often come with a furniture package or a referral to a design team for furnishings and décor upon completion.
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The closing period can be relatively quick or extend up to 90 days from the offer acceptance, depending on the negotiations and circumstances involved. There is no fixed timeline, and the buyers and sellers determine a mutually agreeable date.
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We provide assistance with transferring utilities, property services, and handling any other necessary details during and after the closing process.
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Buying real estate in the Cayman Islands is a straightforward process based on English Law, although it differs from North American practices. Rest assured, we offer comprehensive guidance and support at every step of your purchase. If you have any specific questions about the process related to your particular purchase, feel free to reach out to us.
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To explore available properties and get further assistance in buying real estate in the Cayman Islands, please visit [PropertyPals.ky](https://propertypals.ky).

I am a 25 year old male and I help manage a swim school that teaches from infants to adults how to swim and I love it so much. I love seeing that moment when someone accomplishes something they never thought they would be able to do. I have been teaching swim lessons since high school. And have been doing it on the side ever since, throughout college and my young adult life, now it’s my full time occupation and it pays very well. I take pride in my craft. I remember what’s it’s like to meet someone new and being scared to engage. Which makes my job so challenging. I love a challenge. I have been working for this company for the last 2 years and helped it grow from having 3 full time employees to having over 7 in two locations. We have just hired a new team member that we will call “Rufus”.
Rufus came into this job brazen, almost like a bull in a China shop. About what he will and will not tolerate, and what preferences of the types of classes we would be teaching, he actually had an issue with the fact that he would have to teach entirely. He actually said “ I cannot respect a business owner who can’t teach his own swim lessons.” The pure lack of knowledge, I’m pretty sure the CEO of any grocery store does not know where each item goes on the shelf. He even told me that he does not respect my co-manager because of the way she “carries herself” and she is one the most positive influential teachers I have ever worked with. At the time of his arrival I was running the non-competitive swim team for the past year. I had no swim team coaching experience prior, but did my best to make the practices engaging and fun as possible without going to against cooperates clear boundaries about what I can and cannot do. So Rufus wants to “help” coach the swim team. So me wanting the best for the children, I accommodated his request since Rufus did have swim coaching experience. And possibly I could get some ideas from him to help myself improve in areas I maybe lacking. So with him leading the team he is now ignoring all of policy procedures that our business owner and cooperate has explained in detail. We are a survival school not a performance competition team. The swim team is for the students who have graduated the curriculum but want to keep swimming with us until they would like to compete and I would write a recommendation letter on their behalf as I do have a positive reputation in the childcare community. And instead of telling me or asking me could he have the lead for the swim team, he attempted to have a coup with my fellow co-workers by telling them he wants control, and they just referred him back to me.
He’s telling parents that we are going to start competing when that is not something we offer. Rufus is even going as far to tell me that I’m teaching my lessons incorrectly loudly in front of clients. When our goals for each level of swimmer is clear. They’re only 5 goals. So it can’t be that confusing right? Rufus is very talented teacher as well, he can get the kids to connect with him and they respond well to him. But he teaches his classes the way “he” sees fit. We have a 25m pool and we teach on opposite sides of the pool. And I’m looking at 4 first time swimmers on my side of the pool struggling for air with nothing but a kick board. This not what the beginner level entails. Strictly essential survival skills like rolling over to breath and call for help and just to have them acclimated to the environment of lessons.
I’ve attempted to have to have professional conversations with Rufus but it’s like talking to wall. He listens to respond but not to understand. Now this morning was the last straw. Rufus texted me this morning asking about our paycheck and did I receive mine yet. I haven’t. But he asking questions about how to login to see his paystub. He follows up with “The CEO f’d up again”. I told him to stop saying that. He was complaining that money was missing from his paystub. He asked me to “do the math” while simultaneously cussing at me. Even thought this not my department but I can empathize with someone who is concerned about their livelihood. I check it over, and the money that was taken out was for his taxes. I respond with, “ I’m not minimizing or dismissing your paycheck being short, but one, you are not going to talk to me like that. I’ve been nice and professional. But your pressing me about something I have literally nothing to do with using words that people use when they are About to get into a physical altercation. Please stay off of my phone as it is my day off, and this topic can be handled by the man who signs his paychecks. He responded like a victim saying how I’ve been mean to him, for the last two weeks I’ve been cold to him. To be completely honest I have, I’m a firm believer that coworkers don’t have to be friends. Just be courteous and professional. If it’s not about swim lessons then there is nothing left to discuss. He finishes off my saying “ I’m going to let you calm down so yOu can see how big of a jerk your being.” You just can’t make this stuff up
After that inappropriate long text thread that I have now muted and stopped responding I just sent the screenshots of his rant to the owner of the company.
So, Am I The Jerk?

A friend of mine is single , working full time and trying to get on the property ladder. His parents are elderly and between them have savings to buy a house or very close to . Now I know people have the right to do what they like with their money but it’s seems cruel to watch your son save for years and years to get a down payment and get a Mortgage when money is available and sitting in a bank account. What are your opinions?