I'll start by saying that I absolutely adore Rae and love every song on the album. That being said, I'm not a huge fan of the order of the songs. I know Ashe has said there's a reason she picked this order, but I personally find myself choosing to listen to individual songs rather than the album as a whole. I absolutely loved the ordering of Ashlyn, and I wanted to make my own order of Rae to see how it would work. This is all my opinion, so I'd love to hear what you all think!
I'll be writing in-depth reasons as to why I'm picking this order, so if you don't want to read all of that, here's the track list:

1. Rae's Theme
2. Another Man's Jeans
3. Love You Need
4. It Can't Be You
5. Angry Woman
6. Hope You're Not Happy
7. omw
8. Emotional
9. Loose Ends
10. San Jose
11. Shower With My Clothes On
12. Love Is Letting Go
13. Fun While It Lasted
14. Count On Me

Most of the songs on the album fall into one of three topics: light, fun relations (Another Man's Jeans, Emotional, San Jose), deep, profound love (Love You Need, Count On Me), and post-break-up sadness (Hope You're Not Happy, It Can't Be You, Loose Ends, Shower With My Clothes On, Fun While It Lasted). Love Is Letting Go may fit into either of the latter categories. To start the reasoning for this, I had two main issues with the original order: a) Another Man's Jeans -> Hope You're Not Happy and b) ending with Fun While It Lasted (a pessimistic song).
Besides Rae's Theme, the album starts with Another Man's Jeans, which sets up the album as lighthearted and playful. Then there's a jarring switch to Hope You're Not Happy. Normally I think jarring switches on albums can be fun if there's multiple in a row, but the next song on the album is Shower With My Clothes On, which means the album went from starting with a fun song to suddenly switching to two sad songs in a row. On top of that, it's weird to hear two post-break-up songs in a row when there hasn't been a relationship established yet. It's hard to imagine that the subject of Hope You're Not Happy or Shower With My Clothes On is the same subject as Another Man's Jeans because Another Man's Jeans is just about having fun sex while the other two depict a strong bond being lost.
Ending with Fun While It Lasted also feels like it undoes any positive growth that was gained over the course of the album. Especially after "Count on me and I'll be there", "I almost believed in love" makes it feel like it's not worth pursuing anything worthwhile in a relationship. Personally this song as the last song on the album makes me sad, and Count on Me is a much more uplifting choice.
Here's a more in-depth analysis of my decisions:
1) Rae's Theme - I have no notes, obviously there is not other way to start the album. This is a fun, ominous little tune that really sets the mood for the album. It starts as something you may hear in the hallway leading to a jazz club, then swells into a bombastic opening that really hypes you up for what's to come.
2) Another Man's Jeans - There's no other choice as the second song either as Rae's Theme leads directly into it. As I said earlier, I like that the album starts off with such an upbeat, fun tune. There's a good dichotomy between the lightheartedness of this song with the deeper themes that other songs explore later.
3) Love You Need - As with the original decision to have Hope You're Not Happy in this slot, there is a big change in mood between Another Man's Jeans and this song. But rather than Hope You're Not Happy exploring a breakup, Love You Need explores a deeper feeling of love. The fun portrayed in Another Man's Jeans and the longing portrayed in Love You Need are like two sides of the same coin of a relationship. Having these two songs together emphasizes a range of emotions that a person can feel with another person. Musically, I also think that the breakdown at the end of Another Man's Jeans transitions well from its upbeat tune to the slower piano ballad of Love You Need.
4) It Can't Be You - I think the original track listing was very smart in putting this song right after Love You Need. There's an interesting flow of these songs: Love You Need is a slower song with powerful, loving lyrics, while It Can't Be You is an upbeat song with sad lyrics. On top of that the line "Baby 'til forever falls apart" mirrors well with "Said forever on a whim, now I know it isn't true." As I stated earlier, it's strange to have Hope You're Not Happy be a post-break-up song when there wasn't a relationship established before. Love You Need and It Can't Be You together do a good job in establishing both the relationship and its ending.
5) Angry Woman - This song is not so much about relationships/love, but rather woman empowerment and how women are mistreated in society. I think it fits well here because its more rocking bassline and high energy contrast against the acoustic sounds of It Can't Be You. Additionally, if we look at the aforementioned breakup in terms of the stages of grief, anger follows denial, which is somewhat explored in It Can't Be You (though there could be a case made for It Can't Be You actually more falling in line with bargaining).
6) Hope You're Not Happy - This is a good follow-up to Angry Woman because it's also portraying anger, but directed towards the person in the relationship. I also think the cutaway of all the music at the end of Angry Woman to just have Ashe's voice blends so well into the piano/vocals of Hope You're Not Happy.
7) omw - We're just going to skip over the rest of the stages of grief and get right to acceptance. This is a fun song about heading off somewhere but being ok with not knowing where. It's a great song to end Side A with (if you somehow had the vinyl of this theoretical order). Additionally starting the song with "I take back what I said...even though I meant it" is a great follow-up to the entire concept of Hope You're Not Happy.
8) Emotional - What can I say about this song? It's just so fun. If you had the vinyl, this would be a great start to side B. I'd imagine you would just put down the needle and start dancing. This song has a similar topic to Another Man's Jeans, and considering Side A went through a whole fun sex->relationship->breakup->healing story, it's cyclical in returning to the fun sex portion.
9) Loose Ends - Speaking of jarring transitions, I love how this song works after Emotional. Considering Emotional fades out a little and Loose Ends has a muffled intro, there's a nice little buffer between the songs. This song seems to be about being lost in the wake of a faded relationship. It's as if she came down from the high of omw/Emotional, and this is where she found herself, unsure of what to do next.
10) San Jose - We couldn't have another sad song after Loose Ends, and I feel that musically San Jose follows it well. The topic falls more in line with the fun sex subject of Another Man's Jeans and Emotional, but it's more of a seductive, jazzy tune compared to the other two's sheer joy.
11) Shower With My Clothes On - I found it hard to place this song. It's in line with the longing of Loose Ends, so it's nice to have a more fun tune cushioned between them. If you look at Loose Ends, San Jose, and Shower With My Clothes On together, they serve to show that healing in a breakup is not necessarily linear, there can be islands of fun and joy in a sea of uncertainty.
12) Love You Need - This song serves both to show a profound sense of love as seen in Love You Need, but armed with the knowledge that relationships don't always last forever. Sometimes you need to let the person you love go, even if it's painful. The lightly optimistic blend of acoustic guitar and horn work well after the acoustic guitar of Shower With My Clothes On. (At the end we could add the last 14 seconds of Count On Me to lead into Fun while It Lasted).
13) Fun While It Lasted - This song is a somewhat happy-sounding tune with generally pessimistic lyrics regarding love. It follows the wistful nature of both Loose Ends and Shower With My Clothes On, but is more happily regarding the relationship (but disdaining love in general). It's the effect of the painful follow through of "sometimes love is letting go."
14) Count On Me - This song circles back and moves away from the pessimism of Fun While It Lasted, to serve as a reminder that it can be worth loving again, even if you know what there is to lose. It is the perfect reflection of Love You Need (albeit far more upbeat) as it positively depicts giving yourself fully to someone. On top of that, it feels like a letter to her fans that we can count on her when things are hard (as personally I find her words incredibly healing), so ending the album with the words "Count on me" is powerful. I don't know how to describe it, but this song just feels like an album finale. Maybe its how it starts with "This could be our last night together" or how it starts of slow and then swells drastically (just like Rae's Theme! I only realized this perfect mirroring of the start of the album while writing this). This song just works well as the finale in my opinion.
There you have it, an overly drawn-out explanation of how I think the track list could be improved. What do you all think? Do you like the original? I'd love to hear your thoughts! I've been thinking about this since the album came out, but it was only today that I re-listened to the album after the first time in a while and decided to write this out. Here's a Spotify playlist including the reordered version if you'd like to try it!

English is my second language I hope you will forgive my mistakes. Let's have a quick background, shall we? I, 18 female, at the peak of lockdown made an Anime based gc on Fb. It was a Group chat that was quite successful. It was a safe space I created for online strangers to come together and talk about their traumas and get comfort. The Gc became a community, a safe place for me. And I was quite close with the members of the gc.
My best friend that I met through the same Gc was one of the first members of it. And since we were from the same country we hit it off well. My best friend, Let's call her Sam, was someone I trusted deeply. Enough to share the traumas that I never shared with anyone. Fast forward to two months after the Gc creation, a new member was added, We will call him Mel. At very first Mel was nothing but a stranger with whom I interacted once or twice in the gc. One night when I was sharing my concern about having trouble with coding, Mel offered to help. We went to DM's and started talking from then. Mel became a friend, from a stranger. As we talked and chatted, I found out he was the sweetest boy. He was dating someone at the time. But due to some reason, it wasn't working out. After a few weeks, I found myself chatting to him every day. Talking to him was my comfort. I found myself crushing over him.
And As I mentioned above. I shared my situation with Sam. (NOTE: Now Sam and Mel never interacted privately.) I was a hopeless person who fell in love quickly. As my feelings became deeper I shared my concern with Sam. She and I both agreed that it would be better if I confessed and then got rejected. That way My feeling might stop. And so I did. But to my surprise, Mel didn't reject it. He said he also liked me. But since he was still dating his then-current Gf he needed some time to sort things out and told me to wait. I did wait. I reassured him to not think about my feelings and choose what was best for him. After some days he told me he and his gf split up, but he still needed some time to reciprocate my feelings. And yet again told me to wait. And wait I did. It was uncertain that he was gonna return my feeling. For weeks after that, we kept talking and I kept falling harder for him. But with the increase of my fondness for him, I started getting insecure. At that point, Sam and Mel had started talking. They started chatting when Mel wanted to learn my language. And yes sam knew everything.
Just waiting when I wasn't even certain that my feelings would be returned, I decided to ask Mel to reject me or return my feelings as it was taking quite a toll on me. I already had massive trust issues. It was quite hard for me. But he insisted I waited and that he liked me. He said he couldn't reject the girl he loved. Again For two weeks, it went on like that. Me begging him to reject me and crush my hopes and him denying to reject me. And I finally caved in and told him that I will wait for him to get his shit straight. And everything was good again. Sam was informed about everything. After some days I found Mel and my conversations getting little and little and dryer day by day. Again I felt insecure but convinced myself that it was okay and that I was overthinking. I shared my concerns with Sam. I cried my eyes out as I chatted with her. And she also said that I was overthinking. I started noticing how close Mel and Sam had gotten. But didn't think twice about it. I mean sam was my BFF right? What could happen? They had every right to chat with each other.
But how wrong I was. After a week Mel suddenly said he couldn't return my feelings. I felt as if someone crushed my heart. My heart broke. But, I didn't want him to feel guilty. So, I said that I respected his choices. Then I proceeded to bawl my eyes to Sam. She comforted me saying That maybe we weren't meant to be.
The next day with a heavy heart I chatted with the gc. To find non-other the My very best friend and Mel flirting with each other. I was flabbergasted. It wasn't a news about what was happening between me and Mel. Everyone knew, so, when I asked the gc what was going on. The other dropped the bombshell on me. Saying that Mel and Sam were dating!!?? At first, I didn't believe it so I Dm'ed Sam and... She confirmed it. I felt a range of emotions swirling inside of me. Rage, betrayal. I felt
cheated and disappointed. Out of rage, I blocked both of them. But after some consideration I thought maybe I was acting childish so I again unblocked them. Then Mel apologised saying he was sorry for leading me on. I told him it might take time for me to forgive them. But it was after all their choice. I still broken-hearted gave them my blessings.
I couldn't contain my emotions and I told everything to a very dear friend whom I regarded as my younger brother. We will call him Rex. I cried to Rex. Then when I chatted in the gc seeing Mel and Sam all over each other, knowing I was in the gc. It broke my heart but I just kept quiet and chatted normally. My chats weren't as cheerful as usual, and Rex caught up on it. He directly confronted Mel and Sam in the Gc. Saying that they should be considerate of my feelings. I told him to stop in Dms but he didn't. He kept taunting them every time they flirted. I didn't want to create drama. So I was forced to stop him in the gc. And right after that, I got a message from Mel saying that my actions were upsetting HIS girl. And that I should be more considerate towards her feelings and he didn't want Sam to feel guilt. That was it. The emotions I was suppressing blew up. I saw red with rage.
I made another Fb ACC and said I was a friend of mine. I screamed and cussed at Mel. I told him he was an A-hole for leading me on. Now that was my fault I shouldn't have made a new ID but gave him a piece of my mind with my Id. I was childish and still didn't want to break off the friendship. But there was too much damage done. Feeling guilty I decided to leave the gc. I said my goodbyes to my friends in the gc without mentioning any of the above incidents. But after left a gc member sent my ss of how Sam, Mel and a few of my close friends were saying I was playing the victim card. The whole gc sided with Sam and Mel while only Rex sided with me. I was accused of manipulating Sam. Being a bitch. This time I was done. I didn't want to be misunderstood as a manipulative bitch. So I ask an admin to add me back and give me the admin. I was one-sidedly accused of being manipulative. (Will give details if you all want) When I confronted them they just threw baseless claims about me being homophobic. And their proof was a convo I and Sam had. (I will add the ss) And so I lashed out at them and cut off my connection with them. The whole Gc, The community that I had worked so hard to build was torn apart.
This is what mel had to say about me after all this incident.
[ "kindly please leave" there i kindly left, now use one bit of braincell to ask yourself as to why you're petty as fuck. Had never seen you care one bit about your partner when it mattered, always just bossing her around as if she's a robot. Your default of manipulating literally everyone by using "trust", "friends", "love" cause it appeals to their emotion and you get what you want shows how much of a
con
you are. Knowing how weak my girl is to guilt tripping, leaving the GC deactivating, and using another account to stir up some shit in another GC where my girlfriend is. Even involving Lee in to this mess cause she knows the message will get to me. We're not a dumbass, stop pretending like we're idiots who can't see the obvious. Let's get this over with, we'll be a happy couple and you stay a miserable controlling fuck by not coming anywhere near our vicinity. ]
I am to this day still conflicted about whether I was wrong. So I want Reddit to pass on the judgement. If I was wrong please do point it out so that I can improve myself.
So Reddit, AITA for lashing out at my ex-crush and best friend after they got together?

I (F17) and i’m a huge argument with my mom (F56), she thinks that i need to get another job (i already have 2) because she wants to use my collage funds that we’ve been saving and adding to since I was born. I have 2 sisters who are both in university and have never had to take out a loan because my parents fund them and use their collage fund, but my mom says that she want to retire but can’t because i still need to go to university, i’ve told her that i’m sorry she can’t retire when she wants to but that i’ve been donating to that fund as well so that i can get through my years of uni so hopefully i’ll have enough to support myself and she can retire sooner than she once thought. She said that i need to work another job to support myself when i go to uni because she’s not going to allow me to use my collage funds so that she can retire early and get to relax (using MY funds). I told her it’s not my fault she had a child so late in life but that i expect my funds because i’ve been promised them and the whole family has been investing in it, my dead grampa put 200,000$ into this fund so i could go to uni and now my mom wants to take it because it’s technically in her name because it was created when i was born. she has complete control over the funds and i’ve called her a ahole because had i known i wasn’t getting the same treatment that my sisters had and that i was promised i would have started saving sooner, she says she’s given me enough time to work and get the money (all summer 3 jobs) and that i’m being rude so AITA for wanting my collage fund??

https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2023/3/30/23662221/lamar-jackson-value-nfl-teams-baltimore-ravens-lions-dolphins-patriots-colts
I truly don’t understand how this is still a topic worthy of constant rehashing, so let’s rehash (🤔)
-Every single person in the known universe thinks that the Deshaun Watson deal was an abomination and worthy of ridicule-only 63 million of Patrick Mahomes’ 477 million is guaranteed
Lamar Jackson today is not nearly the quarterback Patrick Mahomes was when he signed that deal (and you can add another MVP and Super Bowl ring to his resume since)
-Lamar Jackson claims he doesn’t need a fully guaranteed contract…just the same guarantees as Watson
-Correct me if I’m wrong, but that sounds like it would take the EXACT contract if not a LARGER one to fulfill this demand-a contract considered absurdly large without taking into account the fact that Watson is at best a sexual deviant and at worst a serial predator
-Baltimore drafted Lamar, won with him, know him more intimately than any other team/GM/ front office and understands his remaining potential and drawbacks better than anyone else, not to mention his injury history since it was their trainers that evaluated him
Baltimore could make all this go away by writing a check, but have decided not to based on his asking price
-Every team in the NFL not named the Ravens would have to match this guaranteed deal AND fork over two first round picks
Why is there any question as to why Lamar Jackson isn’t being considered by other teams? For someone with as many playoff victories as Daniel Jones and fewer than Brock Purdy, the asking price is too high
Lamar Jackson is a tremendous talent and proven winner, and he is going to get paid…just maybe less than his mother (and RGIII/ Richard Sherman) thinks he deserves

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I hereby pronounce my latest brilliant idea to create so called Performance Score for League of Legends.
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This system will analyze players gameplay and asses them with individual performance score. We all know that KDA or total damage to champions is not enough. Sometimes someone gets caught in lategame and its 4v5 GG -> minus a lot of points to this player. You get a bad support who can't land a hook? Minus point. Or he forces enemy flash with hook? Plus point. Bot lane gets 4v2 ganked and dies but takes one with them? Lets call it even. And so on. The possibilities are nearly endless. We already got Challenges so this feature shouldn't be much harder to implement.
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What's the point you ask? Well in ranked games there should be option to "Performance Challenge" and if a player consents with it, he will be placed in queue with other players who selected it and if some player gets score bellow some threshold he will be forced to play one or more unranked games before queuing for ranked again (and he again has to get score over threshold else he has to play even more unranked or just get temporarily banned from playing for some time). This should filter out most trolls. I know bad games happen but for me it's like one in 20 or 30 games so I would really appreciate this feature. Also queue times shouldn't be impacted much, I wait for a match around one minute taking into account early morning hours and I think more player will opt-in for challenge than not.
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Enjoy!

Little update here from yesterday's post regarding my train ride down to cork in the quiet coach. On the quiet coach back to Dublin, late yesterday evening, I took the advice of a lot of the commentators and confronted someone about making noise in the quiet coach.
Got on at mallow, quiet coach was very quiet this time and mainly full of older people having a snooze. A little before Portlaoise a group of tradies sit down at the table parallel from me. Before any commenter on here jumps down my throat, I'm not shitting on tradies, my Dads a tradies, I'm just describing them as the only thing in common between them were the snickers. The bigger lad of the group literally shouts "ahh lovely table here" and they all sit down with a laugh. I says to them, "here lads, you know this is the quiet coach, it's full of older people".
In all fairness to them, they do quiet down for the rest of the journey. They were trying to wind me up now, by putting their feet near the seat beside me, across the aisle but honestly I didn't give a shite and mainly wanted them to stfu so I could get bet into my work. There seemed to be two groups of them as their mates were coming down from coach D or F. From listening, apparently they got into some argument with an older person in another coach from sitting on a bag but it's neither here nor there. They were daring each other to scream something as one of their mates left the coach, like "get back here pal" but didn't actually do it.
From listening to their chat, these lads were pups, younger than me and I'm in my mid twenties and I've a lot of time for tradies so I give them full benefit of the doubt. . Moral of the story, ye saying something to chatters is probably the thing to do if you don't mind getting tilted from a confrontation. You do leave yourself open to being wound up though so if you struggle with anything your probably better off saying it to the staff.

Looking for a boyfriend-type friend that would enjoy texting everyday and meeting up once or twice a week for fun activities, dinner, drinks. It’d be nice to know that you’re thinking of me, and I will communicate the same. Intimacy can follow if we have a shared vibe and chemistry.
I’m Asian, 5’3, < 130lb and DDF. A foodie and enjoy going out in the evenings and weekends. I also enjoy quiet evenings in front of the tv and a glass of wine after a long day of work. I am ambitious and love my job, but sometimes need a distraction to get me through the work day. Divorced and have kids that I adore, though I keep that life separate.
What I’m looking for:

• Single, separated or divorced, no exceptions. It doesn’t matter that your wife/gf knows.
  
• Good-looking. Between 36 and 46. DDF. Height and weight proportionate. Athletic (or at least tries to be).
  
• Can hold a conversation and intelligent. Able to communicate well. Motivated in life.
  
• Experienced with relationships, dating and women. Chivalrous. Mature.
  
• Live past Caldecott Tunnel. Orinda, Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Danville, San Ramon, Concord and vicinity.
  

If this resonates, drop me a message with a paragraph or two about you and your location. Pictures are a bonus.
One/two sentence messages will be ignored. NSFW pictures will also be ignored.

Greetings LFG! I am 13th, short for The_13th_Legend.

I'm an avid Homebrew D&D DM that is always experimenting with 5e mechanics and the what-not to make combat and roleplay more immersive and exciting. I currently have an ongoing campaign and my players have finally reached LVL 3. The next two sessions are traveling and downtime sessions; This means that this Saturday and next Saturday is the perfect time to introduce new players and characters to the group!
I am looking for two enthusiastic players to join my current group. Provided that the form you’ll fill out looks good, and we have a great first contact with my other players, you will also start at LVL 3 with a background session. This background session will take place before you actually play in the campaign, and it will be where we determine who you are, where your family are, and if you have friends on other continents.
This is my second LFG post and I had a great experience with the first one, having interviewed more than 40 potential players over the course of a few days. This, however, is something that I’m trying to avoid now, since I no longer have ample amounts of time to conduct 2+ hours of single interviews. The form provided will be the basis of if you receive a response or not, as telling people that they weren’t accepted for an interview required adding them on Discord and rejecting them (which felt cruel and took even more time away!)

The game time will be Saturday Nights at 8:00 P.M EST - 12:30 A.M EST.

Pitch: An Interlude to the Legacy of the Saints

An Age of High Fantasy Exploration, In-Depth

The world of Tyalhan has witnessed both chaos and peace ever since its existence. Many things are not known and not explored, as history and land changes like the sands upon a beach. Countless creations from long ago are buried beneath the mountains and earth to either be lost forever or be found by curious explorers around the continents. It is here that Adventurer Guilds thrive, having set themselves free of any burden under any nation and operating mostly independently under their own regional branches. It is under their leadership that the histories of nations, saints, and mythos of the long past are once more gazed at for any lost knowledge.
Saints in specific drives most of the humanoid races, as, instead of the general D&D pantheon, there are instead saints devoted to either objects, elements, or anything in between, such as time or dreams. The most popular saint would be the Sword Saint, with over a million followers wanting to follow in his footsteps as a hero to the world. Less known saints include the Saints of Salt or of Feasts, with many Saints in conflict with one another such as the Saints of the Sun and Moon. This will be explained in depth later, as it is only one of four major religions in Tyalhan. The other three are of the Dragon King’s, Beast King’s, and Demon King’s religion, all of which are to be explored in game, with exceptions if you wish to choose those paths instead. Alongside the religions are heresies and cults, most of them being secretive excluding the most known, which are the Lost Saints and the Five Scourges of the World.
There has been a calm in the most recent decade. With every calm, however, it is likely that an equally or much more devastating storm follows. During the last century, it was common for the Holy Hyarmenian Empire to invade the Free Cities of Atyla, to either gain ground and threaten the independent kingdoms of the North or for the Red and Blue Dragonflights to battle above the Minya continents for their own gains in manipulating the nations of both continents. Elsewhere, the Elysian Coalition, a nation formed from many races and groups of the “free world”, yet again set about on another crusade dubbed the Incubus’ Bane Campaign, and the Demon Continent itself stirred from something unknown.
Your role, adventurer, begins in either the cities of Harmenel or Aston, both located in the largest kingdom of the Free North, Mideon. Whether it be destiny, circumstance, or random coincidence, you find yourself in the company of others who share in your fate on that peculiar day. You may often look back at this day, remembering that it was when you all met, and that it was when your own story begins. Your destiny depends almost wholly on you. I do not railroad; I give you several choices, and it is up for you to take charge and seek your own fate. There will be times when things seem inevitable, but know that fate itself is fickle, and is only more changeable when you add friends who will follow you to the ends of the world.

What I'm looking for:

Enthusiastic players who like to roleplay more than “rollplay.” Maturity matters more than age, but an age of 18 - 30 is preferred if it comes down to it due to the content inside this universe.
A friend recently asked me what kind of players I would want in a campaign. My answer was for my ideal person: Talkative but not interruptive, active but not hogging the spotlight, willing to listen and learn but not always follow as if you were an NPC. In this campaign, however, I seek those who are strong willed in not being peer pressured into always following another’s personal character plot. This doesn’t mean to always actively oppose something, but rather to spark conflict and resolve it, as unlike other D&D games, there is not one unified goal. There are five personal goals, each being very different. In the end, however, you will find that you must work together to achieve any one of these goals, as it may be impossible otherwise without fellow comrades.
If you only want to dungeon crawl, this isn't the campaign for you (But I do make kick-ass dungeons in RPG-Maker, Inkarnate, or Dungeon Draft so my players can adventure in it for plot purposes.) If you’ve made it this far in the wall of text, then you have the attention span or interest that I’d like to see in the session.
If my campaign interests you at all, please fill out the somewhat daunting application. Filling out the application is already proof of the commitment I would expect from you, as I will commit my best as a DM for you to explore the universe I have set up. Again, like the start of this post, I can not reply to every application. Please assume that you were rejected if I do not add you on discord or if the date of 04/08, next Saturday, passes without a response.

What I provide:

My philosophy on DMing a game is that the best preparation is both none and everything. By that, I mean that everything you do - the path you take, the choices you make, or the lives you save - will be entirely on you. I do improv based on your actions, and I move the world while considering whether or not your actions will impact the future.
This is what I mean by “none,” in which you are not railroaded heavily into a plot, but rather have free will in my universe. By “everything,” my preparation includes said universe. I have prepared a full on interactive map using Inkarnate, a calendar system, and an incomplete wiki, mostly because the style of finding out about things in LoTS is through exploring and adventuring.
Additionally, I will provide a premium experience online including dynamic lights, castles or housing you can build (no, literally, I can seriously make a map via RPG-Maker if you decide to build a house or live in a castle), dungeon maps with environmental hazards and unique, homebrew mechanics such as teleportation squares or a chandelier above a fragile yet evil sorcerer, and professional battle / RP maps made by Patreon mapmakers.
Lastly, I can guarantee a unique, one of a kind experience in my homebrew campaign that will feature nations at war, lords of all kinds you will meet, fantastical creatures you may battle, one-on-one sessions for those rogue players that want to explore a sewer for treasure but can't because they feel bad for wasting the group’s time, and just a good time in general. You will receive a character-only discord channel for personal plot related questions as well as questions for me that you don’t want anyone else to see.

Important Information:

Alignment:

This is a good to neutral campaign, with a very hard exception for anything evil-aligned provided that you prove your experience with playing those types of characters while also playing near perfectly with the group that is formed.

Communication & The Platform Used:

Our main form of communication will be Discord, and we will be using Roll20 as our D&D platform.

Homebrew Elements:

You can expect nearly everything to be homebrewed aside from the core 5e mechanics, with a few examples below. The combat examples in specific can be macroed easily with roll20; in other words, don’t worry! I am willing to teach and help you with all the new homebrew mechanics introduced.

Combat Examples:

Flanking:

By aiding an ally in combat by flanking (being in the direct opposite of said ally) an enemy, you and your ally gain +1 to all attack rolls as long as you are in the position to flank.

Surrounded:

By surrounding a unit with three other friendly units, you and the surrounding allies will gain +2 to all attack rolls and +1 to all damage rolls.

Five Foot Step:

By using all your movement, you may take a five foot step by moving 5 ft. anywhere without provoking an attack of opportunity(AOO) on you.

Roleplay / Out of Combat Examples:

Downtime Expanded:

My version of downtime is severely more powerful than the 5e variant or suggestions. I will recommend a list and will always encourage you to do something while the day goes by. With this said, I am providing an in-game calendar with holidays or known events in both the discord and the VTT platform. Feats, languages, training, magical spell creation, and research in general are all fair game. They will cost money and time, however, and there are always consequences for your actions.

Magic in General:

Magic is slightly different in the universe of Tyralhen. Most mages will graduate from D.K.M.U (Dragon King’s Magic University) but there are other, smaller colleges around the world. There are leylines around the world, and custom spell creation is encouraged in later levels or on character creation. Before you have any insane ideas, the spells will be balanced and will make sense with your background if you do play a wizard.

Homebrew Classes

Unlike my other campaigns, there are no homebrew classes. Instead, there is the Saint system that may replace some class features. This will heavily affect paladins and clerics with entirely homebrewed class features. Other classes may slightly change as well, such as fighters or rangers. One such example is that a ranger worshiping the Dragon King will receive a change to Feywild Magic, becoming much more in flavor to the Dragon Aspects instead.

Politics: Low-Medium

Roleplay: High

Combat: Medium

Exploration / Mystery: Very High

Player - DM (Me) Arrangement

Starting straight from after you filled out the application linked below, I will consider and interview you with the intent to see if your attitude, personality, and mentality is a good fit for our group. Being new to a VTT (Virtual Tabletop) or D&D is not a disqualifier or an issue if you obligate yourself to learning 5e mechanics as well as my homebrew elements before, during, or after our sessions. I will say that my best player was actually someone who had only watched Critical Role and had never actually played D&D before.
Within a few days to a week, I will handpick good fits from the applications filled out to go towards the interview stage. This may include you meeting the other players already in the campaign. Provided that you pass the interview, we’ll eventually break the ice with the other three or four players that I find as a good fit for my campaign and plan a background session.
Lastly, if you are too humble to apply with fear of thinking you might not be good enough or take someone else's slot in my D&D game, then you are similar to my own mindset. All I have to say is that, in both life and my campaign, you will need to take control of your own fate.
Thank you for taking the time in reading the huge wall of text, and have a great day in LFG. Hopefully you will find a group you deserve.

Final Note:

This campaign will be LGBTQ+ friendly. Homophobic and racist persons will not be considered as applicants.

I have an Asian accent. Worry not, for English is my first and only language.

This campaign is based off of 5e rules with several homebrewed elements as well as major to minor changes in classes that I will be happy to explain.

There is a race lock of the following (meaning you can only choose these races for lore reasons) - [Humans] [Elves] [Half Elves] [Halflings] [Dwarves] - Additionally, there will be races never seen before in typical D&D, and orcs are outright changed from any standards of “common” fantasy.

Warning:

This campaign will feature discrimination, racism, and a few other abhorrent horrors that makes this campaign preferably 18+. However, this does not mean details into things such as gore will happen. In the application, if you mark down that you do not want a certain element into this campaign then I will take it to heart and avoid the subject.

Credits

Lastly, I give credit to “Mushoku Tensei” for providing both content and inspiration for the creation of this D&D universe.

Application Link

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeoS9FaJTZCDmZiymgFklDyADpyd2Kwt3mu8s_a_EgLLfLNqw/viewform?usp=sf_link

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Have 33 years
Was dreaming of big love. Left college for marriage (I thought I would continue after we settle) He is 10 years older than me. My parents couldn't wait to get rid of me because of poverty (threw me out of the house few months before wedding because It was cost). Came to live with my disabled husband and his old dad back to my hometown in their old dirty house always full of unknown people. His dad immediately started to abuse me every possible way. My husband didn't want to listen about moving because he have good job and didn't want to left his dad alone (although he have many children, not just my husband). Old man didn't left us this house because It was all just debt which my husband covered for him so we didn't have any opportunity for normal start. Just wanted to find a job but always felt like it's forbidden for me to go outside the house. Had to take care of everything. I wanted to go back to college but couldn't due to finances. Started working and after one year got pregnant. Opened my own company cause my husband told me he would help me but never did and I'm left cashless and bound by contracts that will last for years so I couldn't find another job because it's illegal in my country to have two jobs. Got pregnant with another child. I'm at home with my kids all the time, have no income to pay any associates in company to help me spread the business or to put my children in kindergarten so I could work. Old man went to retirement home for special care and it cost us fortune. My husband don't want any change and I'm loosing my shit really seriously cause this isn't working and we are still in debt. I want to live normal life, go to work, have income... This is small village, I have no friends and no one to talk about it. When I'm sad my husband tries everything to present himself as a victim and hero. I cried every single day for past 7 years because I feel so hopeless and really degraded in marriage. He doesn't count me in any decision. I've never had my nails done, been cutting hair by myself , wearing old home clothes, dreaming of good care cream to heal my acne scars... I'm really sad. Is this real reason for misery or I'm overreacting?

So I’m having to make a last minute trip to Liverpool, UK next week for work. I will be staying central near Lime St station.
As I’ll be there for raid hour, is there anywhere I can find other players to join a train, or good spots for me to head to in my spare time in the evenings with lots of spawns/stops?
TIA!

LDR and I met during lock downs playing World of Warcraft. We've met up four times and I've loved every moment. Jan 2022 I had to start a new job and have been horribly depressed and now I feel like she's not as lovey and affectionate. She keeps playing wow with a male friend we know and I've become unbelievably jealous. But when I try to communicate this she acts dismissive and just makes me feel bad about it. I've tried to double down on being more attentive and willing to play and ignore my jealousy this last week but I think I'm spiraling. Any tips or ideas for grand gestures I could make to help 'win her back'. I feel like such a fool for not staying more attentive to her. I'm sorry if this is too brief or hard to read, typing it up on phone during work.
Tl;Dr I want to show my ldr I still love and care and words feel like they've failed. Looking for advice.

Recently made a cut to my dose and feeling really anxious. Have a pounding headache heart rate is high and I can't shake off this feeling of soul sucking depression. My sleep quality is terrible even though I have seroquel to sleep. It scares me that this is only going to get worse. I don't know if i can survive being tormented by my own body for months. I feel like my bf and family are already sick of me and I'm not sure they will be able to handle it once I'm completely off it and the drug has left my system. It's so hard to control the physiological symptoms.My bf tried to compare benzo withdrawls to opiate withdrawls and i tried to explain to him that benzos affect a different area of the brain that control your whole sympathetic nervous system and that it takes a lot longer for your brain to go back to normal. I can't hold a job. MY brain is fried and my mental state is so unstable. I'm constantly stressing about finances and how long it will take to bounce back from this and be able to go back to work.

The greatest tragedy of war is that for some people the war never ends.

• Nebojsa Knezevic, head of psychiatry for Pallas Medical Institute, 2142

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Prev/First
Silijima hopped into the truck, next to Sargen. The massive Gojid's head nearly reached the roof of the vehicle forcing him to crouch ever so slightly. He was an even more imposing figure up close, his muscles bulging and his scars held taut against his skin. He seemed preoccupied, as if her presence made him uncomfortable when they were close. His claws gripped the steering wheel, lightly scraping the carbon material. He seemed to be in his late thirties to early forties, and a distinguished Gojid at that save for the eye and the prosthetic arm. Most would consider him quite handsome if it wasn't for the damage he had received, and even then she was sure some women would find a prosthetic like that doubly enticing.
Senek sat in the back, leaning his head back and yawning. He seemed exhausted, most likely from being on duty for the last good knows how many weeks. He kept an eye on Sargen, but it wasn't a distrustful one, more like he was concerned for Sargen's wellbeing. It was hilarious to Silijima, to think that Sargen warranted concern, but she didn't know him or his past so she wouldn't judge; sometimes the strongest people held the greatest burdens.
"So, where to next? Do we have any other stops to make?" Silijima asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"No, not unless you want to stop," replied Sargen.
Behind them, Senek grumbled. "We need to head back to the Collective and finish for the day; I'm fucking exhausted."
Sargen started the truck and turned around. "Then go home, Senek; you've done your work for the day. I'll show Silijima a bit of the station before I deliver the goods and introduce Silijima to the captains."
Senek didn't seem convinced. "They won't be happy that Sujek and I bailed halfway through the delivery."
Sargen snorted. "Ayaz and Igor won't give a damn as long as the delivery gets delivered. Take a tram and go home and see your mate and kids; you looked harrowed."
Silijima was inclined to agree. Before today, she didn't know if it was possible for a reptile to have bags under its eyes, but Senek surely did. He looked like shit, although Silijima would never voice that out loud.
Senek hissed but didn't argue, opening the door and leaving the back of the truck with a grunt. Silijima saw him walk down the street towards a tram stop in the distance, where one was unloading all sorts of people heading to shop at Zapadnyy tsentral'nyy rynok, as well as those ready finished with their shopping trips. Eventually, Senek disappeared into the crowd of humans, arxur, and the occasional venlil, harchin and gojid.
"So," Sargen started with an apprehensive sigh, "My name's Sargen, as you've probably been told. I'm sure Senek and Sujek have already told you all about me."
Silijima chuckled nervously. "Not much, actually. I've been wondering where you got that arm from; it seems very high tech. I've only seen prosthetics like that on high ranking military personnel in the federation."
The question only seemed to make Sargen even more tense. "I lost my real arm in battle. They replaced it with this." He flexed the arm, the prosthetic was agile and precise in its movements. "It's near identical to the real thing utility-wise, although the look of it took some time to get used to."
Silijima nodded absentmindedly, admiring both the arm and his physical build. Sargen must've been through hell and back to be so torn up.
"Are you ex-military? You have the hardware to be."
Sargen frowned lightly. "You could say that. But that's enough about me." Then Sargen put a soft smile on his face, a fake one, as if he was trying to hide his true feelings. "I was told you served in the navy; what was that like?"
Silijima didn't push for more information. "I was a Master Technical Coordinator for the Unwavering Credence. I kept the Guns and the hull functioning along with crews of grunt welders, and I pieced the ship back together after battles.
Sargen whistled, impressed by her rank. "You were pretty high up on the totem pole on that ship. Why'd you leave?"
Silijima scoffed. "The lies, the brutality, and the stress. I came to Skhamar looking for answers after losing faith in the state I defended for over a decade. Now that I know the truth, I realize that I hated every second of it, although I do miss it in a way. Once you get out, well, nothing seems right. For the first few months, I couldn't stand being off duty. I still miss that safety of knowing I was on a military vessel; at least we could defend ourselves. Back on Nishtal, I felt so… exposed, since I wasn't allowed to carry a firearm on my person anymore."
Sargen chuckled. "I know how you feel. I couldn't sleep right after I… left: I kept expecting an attack at all hours. Sometimes I'd wake up in a panic, clutching my ion pistol and ready to kill, only to realize it was just the sound of some puny asteroid bouncing off the outer shell of the station or a ship taking off."
Silijima snorted. "I remember nearly having a heart attack from the fireworks they set off for unification day. My parents didn't understand, or maybe they couldn't, but I don't celebrate that day anymore. It sounds too similar to Arxur hybrid charges slamming against the hull of a ship."
Silijima chuckled at first, but the laughter quickly died as reality set in. Her service in the navy had messed her up in more ways than one, but she couldn't imagine not living that life; she wouldn't know what to do with herself otherwise. She hated it, but she was better for it.
"So… What is there to do on this station? I'm pretty new to all of this freedom. What is there to do?"
"That's the good thing about this job; you get a good week or so in between missions to relax," Sargen smiled bitterly, but it was still a happy smile, "Me and the rest of the crew have so much to show you."
Silijima's heart skipped a beat at his statement. "Senek didn't seem too excited to show me anything."
"Senek's just tired; in fact he's always tired. He worked two missions in a row, same as Sujek, and they're probably going to push for another one," Sargen stated, "although I bet both Ayaz and Igor will send them both home and tell them to spend some time just relaxing for once since those two practically kill themselves working." He chuckled before continuing, "But as for things to do, well, there's a lot: Theaters, Restaurants, Museums, a full-sized futbol stadium, and even a few more exotic things the humans brought over. Humans are kind of the cultural heart of the entire Commonwealth; The big Arxur houses might be the dominant economic forces besides the coalitions, but the Humans really brought a heart and soul to what would otherwise be a pretty dull and barren place."
Silijima thought about that for a moment. She had seen sporting events before; Nishtal had plenty of ballastier stadiums to choose from, where Krakotl would work as a flock to move a floating ball from one end to the other. There were also games of airborne agility and such, so she wasn't too interested in sports.
But the idea of a theater intrigued her. Nishtal didn't have many theaters: the Krakotl didn't like being cooped up in a dark place for too long, since their instincts were to nest under the open sky instead of burrow underground. Mix that with a lack of any big theater culture and you git a species that vastly preferred doing over watching. Sports and music were far more popular with the Krakotl, their ability to fly and vast vocal ranges helping them flourish in alternative mediums of entertainment.
"How are the theaters here? I've never really gone to one before."
Sargen eyed her with disbelief. "Neither did I before I came here. They're pretty great, with lots of cheap snacks and reclining seats. There aren't any 'new' movies yet since there's no real movie industry here on Skhamar yet, but they play a lot of older human movies. A few months ago I went with Timothy, Sarah, and their daughter Maggie to go see The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. The art style was pretty mind-blowing, to say the least."
"The art style?"
"Animation. It's considered a proper medium of theater in human culture. There are a plethora of what humans call 'the animated classics': movies that have achieved universal human acclaim due to their outstanding quality. If I'm not mistaken, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is one of them."
Human art seemed so fascinating to her; the Federation was so cut and dry with what they considered art that anything that pushed the envelope was ridiculed and even reviled, often only gaining traction in underground groups that appreciated the bizarre and the condemned. To hear of artistic styles having entire mediums dedicated to them was astounding to her.
"That sounds incredible! What other movies have you seen?"
"Well, I've been itching to see Star Wars, but it's a long trilogy that's best watched at home. There's also a relatively new western by comparison called The Cursed that's being shown this week, so we can go see that. I've heard nothing but good things about it."
Silijima didn't know what a 'western' was, but if it was anything like how Sargen describes their animated movies, she was sure a human western couldn't be bad.
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Silijima casually read the synopsis for the movie they would be watching on her holophone.
The year is 1886: Aging civil war veteran turned outlaw Thomas 'Death-Singer' Lawrence ekes out a humble living amongst the Ojibwa Indians of what is now modern-day Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan, hoping to live out his final years of his life with his beloved wife, son and adopted tribe in peace. But when a bitter ex-Confederate, Klan member, and son of a wealthy plantation owner Shaw Cunningham and his gang of killers massacre the tribe for supporting the Union during the war, his entire world is torn from him. Now, all that's left after the carnage is himself and a teenager named Nanabush, the fatherless black sheep of the tribe.
Now, with nothing but vengeance burning in his heart, Thomas once again takes up the mantle of 'Death-Singer', and along with his newly adopted ward Nanabush, he travels south to reform his old gang of thieves and outlaws, 'The Cursed', in a last-ditch effort to gain the ultimate revenge and both kill Shaw Cunningham and ruin his family fortune. The curse must be passed on, and there couldn't be a more worthy recipient…
Now that sounded interesting. Silijima didn't understand much of the context, but a revenge plot wasn't a common theme in Federation media, or federation art at all for that matter, so it seemed like a great place to start. Besides, it wasn't like it was real, so if it was overly violent then she could just finish the movie and never watch it again.
But first, there were snacks to buy. Silijima didn't know why Sargen insisted on buying snacks, but he stated that they 'improved the movie experience', or whatever that meant. Either way, he practically dragged Silijima up to a counter operated by a bored human, preparing to order a whole slew of snacks for the both of them.
"I'll get two medium boxes of Çäkçäk style popcorn, a large bag of Korivka, and two large bottles of… Give me a moment." Sargen turned to her. "What do you want to drink?"
Silinima browsed the menu nervously, not knowing what to choose. "Uhhh, I guess I'll try some Baikal? Is it good?"
Sargen shrugged. "It's pretty good, a bit different than most colas." Then he turned back to the snack vendor. "And two large bottles of Baikal."
The bored human sighed, obviously just ready for his shift to end, and prepared the food for the two of them. Sargen prepared his credit chip and handed it to the worker when he returned, paying for everything.
"You don't have to, Sargen, I can pay for myself."
Sargen chuckled. "Maybe, but I'm the one who's taking you out. Just let me take care of it."
The human returned with the popcorn, which was two buckets of strange yellow… things that had a slight glowing orange sheen, along with a large bag of candies and two massive bottles of soda, which were also huge. Sargen somehow deftly balanced all the snacks in their arms as they made their way to the movie room they were assigned to without even a grunt and gave her a soft grin. Despite his obvious optimism, he seemed tense, as if she reminded him of something.
Sargen hurried down the hall, his large stride making it difficult for Silijima to keep up with him, but she managed. He avoided her gaze, his eyes focusing on absolutely anything else. There it was again, the strange behavior. It was as if she was some kind of phantom to him, but he couldn't point out her existence without seeming crazy.
They made their way into a door on the side that led down a dark hall with dim lights lining the floor. It opened up to a massive screen showing adverts for products before the movie began.
"Where would you like to sit? I'm partial to the back; you get better seats and a better view."
Silijima shrugged her feathered shoulders. "Wherever you think is best; I have no clue."
Sargen chuckled, but led her up toe stairs to the upper row of seats. They made it there, sitting down near the center, and Sargen handed Silijima her popcorn and baikal. Silijime pecked at the popcorn hesitantly, but found that she loved it! The sweet, nutty and floral flavors of the coating reminded her of the Vagra nectar from Nishtal when peddlers would sell organic jars of it during the summer months, and it paired wonderfully with the salty-sweet crunch of the 'corn' itself. The baikal was another thing entirely; the sweet-spicy and pine flavors of the cola tasted like nothing she had ever experienced like fruit and spices boiled in bitter tree sap and carbonated, but palatable. By the time the movie had started, a third of her popcorn was gone, causing Sargen to chuckle.
The lights dimmed, causing Silijima to panic for a bit, but Sargen's hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder, calming her. He was there, and he was big; nothing could hurt such a giant, right?
Then, the movie began to play. The sound of some kind of delicate stringed instrument being strummed softly alongside the croaking and chirping of amphibians and insects on a warm summer night. The sounds of the wildlife stopped suddenly for a moment, as did the instrument when a small gang of about a dozen humans riding strange, four-legged creatures reminiscent of suleans without horns advanced towards a gathering of flickering lights in the distance; probably a village. Their gallops were thunderous and destructive, nothing like the sound of a stampede. It was the sound of unwavering strength.
The men wore sackcloth hoods with holes cut out for their eyes and ropes around their necks. In their hands were primitive revolving handguns. They wore a myriad of different clothes; some wore gray army uniforms, while others wore khakis, union shirts and suspenders. They laughed and bickered as they spurred their steeds onward, obviously ready to commit some unspeakable atrocity…
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Silijima has two panic attacks during the movie. Sargen was there, able to quell them by offering his support. He seemed to know what it was like to have one because he reached out and held her when she began to hyperventilate and raise her hackles. He didn't speak, but he made himself known. He was there, and that was enough.
At least the movie ended with a triumph: Thomas Lawrence got his revenge, even if he died in the end. His adopted ward, Nanabush, took up the mantle of Death-Singer, using it to defend the weak. It was a tightly wrapped story that should've been happy, but the memories of war still scarred Silijima; the sounds of the gunshots reminded her of the blasts of flechette cannons, and the blood on Lawrence's knife…
She still felt the phantom pain in her wing and body from being run through by an Arxur skimming blade. She had survived, of course, but the near-death experience had permanently changed her. She couldn't stand being around knives too long unless she was actually on the battlefield, and even then it caused her distress. Luckily, she never needed to be around too many sharp objects, being an engineer, but she had her… moments. She was able to quell her attacks, her panic and anxiety being quelled by the far more substantial fear of what she would be subjected to if her true state of mind were to be found out.
If the Federation found out you acted out of the norm, they'd spend weeks forcing you through the most agonizing 'therapies' before stuffing you full of pills and sending you home, never to be the same person again. She had seen the effects of these treatments; her former colleagues practically turned into zombies, their brains melted from the drugs. They lived off of government stipends, unable to truly contribute to the workforce, but the Federation seemed to consider this an acceptable tradeoff, the politicians being praised for lowering the rate of self-termination by any means necessary. In reality, it just created a state-funded drug epidemic.
Part of Silijima did want answers, but she realized her true motive for coming to Skhamar was to escape; she was so scared of staying home on Nishtal because every little thing could set her off. And if she were to have a serious enough outburst…
No, she wouldn't become what many of her former prey-in-arms had; a babbling mess of drugs and trauma. She was strong; she could do this. She wouldn't let her trauma overcome her.
"Are you okay, Silijima?" Sargent asked her, shaking her shoulder lightly. They were in the truck, riding to the Corsair collective where Ayaz and Igor had docked their cruiser. He seemed far more tired than before like she was exhausting to be around. She didn't doubt it; having predator disease was already exhausting enough for Silijima alone.
"I shouldn't have recommended that movie, it was too violent. Maybe something animated would've been better," said Sargent. "I was hoping that your experiences as a navy engineer would've been less traumatic than the average foot soldier, and I was wrong."
Silijima turned to him, emboldened. "It wasn't your fault, Sagren; I agreed to watch it. Besides, it might've opened up a few wounds, but it was still an excellent movie. And the popcorn and baikal were wonderful as well. And besides, it was a good movie, triggers notwithstanding."
Sargen smiled a little, although he was still feeling guilty. "I'm glad you liked it. But we should get to the collective; Ayaz and Igor will be happy to become acquainted with you."
Silijima nodded before turning back to the window, watching as the city raced by. The spires of the station-city rose hundreds of stories into the air, hover-tram systems connecting entire levels of platforms that connected to the taller towers. It made sense that the station would focus on the height of buildings; the width was a rare commodity on space stations due to the cost of adding extra floor-level infrastructure, so extremely tall spires interconnected by platforms and hover-tram systems that stretched for kilometers made sense. Everything was brightly lit: massive glowing LED signs depicting everything from clinics and dispensaries to shops and eateries were plastered across the buildings, along with almost lifelike and three-dimensional digital billboards depicting a wide array of advertisements and entertainment. It was the very definition of an urban jungle, sprawl and all, with tens of millions of individuals living their daily lives unimpeded.
"The station's pretty cool, huh? It's technically one of the larger cities in the galaxy, with a population of around twenty-five million inhabitants of all races."
That number was impressive for a city, but not for a nation. "But how many planets does Skhamar control? Fifty-five million is nothing compared to the five hundred billion sentients in the Federation alone."
Sargen nodded. "Yeah, that's true. Antheia and Calaïs are pretty sparsely populated at the moment, maybe a few million each, and the planet of Skhamar itself has about ten million. That means this place doesn't really have the manpower to keep up with the Federation or the Dominion in terms of fleet size. We still beat them in engagements though."
Silijima didn't believe that. "But how? The Federation outnumbers you guys a hundred to one!"
Sargen snorted, eyes focused on the road as he pulled into the parking lot of a ginormous building. "If there's one thing that I learned after only two years of living on Skhamar is that the Federation's school of naval doctrine is laughably bad. They solely rely on the force of numbers and firepower to overwhelm their enemies before they can strike back. This would normally work on smaller fleet engagements against lesser foes, but the humans don't play fair. They hide in gas clouds, and in asteroid fields. They launch silent torpedoes, drone strikes, and shells filled with toxic gas before initiating boarding actions to cause widespread panic in enemy fleets. Skhamar's newly minted traditions of piracy have led to a whole new level of Naval military thinking, one where the entire sector is an ever-changing battlefield and anything's fair game."
"But wouldn't they get discovered? How hasn't the Federation just listed down Skhamar's tactics for admirals to memorize and quantify in fleet engagements?"
"You're demanding too much from a Federation full of scared herbivores, and you're forgetting who runs that Federation. The Kolshians and the Farsul vehemently believe that thinking like a predator makes you a predator and that anything that resembles predatory behavior should be scrubbed away. To them, the 'herd' is the entire reason for their existence, and to stray from that is to become food." Sargen shook his head, obviously bemused by their rigid mindset. "In reality, predators have been chipping away at herds for thousands of years. To think that any herd is impervious is just stupid."
Silijima knew the former, and she had suspected the latter for a long time. "But herds need to adapt to survive, right? I bet you that was the reasoning behind the gene-modding and culture erasure at the hands of the Kolshians and the Farsul."
Sargen rolled his eyes like he had heard it all before. "It shocks me that you weren't thrown into an institution, with how perceptive you are. I'm telling you, the Kolshians and the Farsul couldn't care less about the other species in the Federation. All they care about is controlling and leading that herd they've stitched together with lies. To them, adaptability is only good when it benefits their narratives and power structures."
It made a sickening sort of sense, and it was completely believable now that the treachery of the Kolshians and the Farsul had come to light. The Kolshians and the Farsul being afraid of any change that challenged their ideals was a cancer on the Federation, and one that Silijima was sure would eat away at it until it was nothing more than a corpse. "I'm glad I left, you know, not being afraid of being locked up for having predator disease. I just hope that isn't a thing here."
"It isn't, believe me, or I would've been incarcerated a long time ago." Sargen replied, "Now let's go; I think we've wasted enough of Ayaz and Igor's time."
With that, Sargen stepped out of the truck, slamming the door and taking a deep breath of the blatantly recycled air. Silijima followed, leaving the truck and stepping out into a small, empty parking lot, which seemed strange for such a large and important building. The building itself was less of a spire and more short and squat but also very wide, with glass walls similar to those of the urban business centers on Nishtal. There was an entrance of glass doors in the front of the building, along with a massive sigil above them made out of what seemed to be platinum. There was a sword with wings skillfully engraved on it, along with the words Qui militat præter me, frater meus erit surrounding the edges. Her translator struggled to translate it due to the age of the language and her translator's lack of exposure to the esoteric language, but it came out as something similar to He who fights beside me shall be my brother. An interesting term, but certainly more unique than the Federation Navy's slogan, Defend the Herd.
Sargen grabbed her feathered shoulder and steered her away from the truck just as something hovered down and clamped its magnetic claws onto it. A massive, black-colored hover-drone the size of an eighteen-wheeler buzzed as it deftly floated around the two of them, one giant crimson eye with an LED dot acting as an almost animated pupil darting between the two of them. Then it lifted away, making beeping noises as it carried the truck in tow towards a large tower several hundred stories tall in the distance made from a monotonous gray material. "What in sweet Ina's name?" Silijima said under her breath, causing Sargen to chuckle.
"Moth Drones; they’re very useful things. There's not enough space on the station to have traditional parking lots, so Sarn Robotics found a pretty neat solution: massive drones come and pick up vehicles and transport them to large parking towers like the one it's flying to right now. Then, when we come back, I can just call back for my car, maybe wait a minute or so, and have my car returned to me. It's pretty awesome, and something you wouldn't find in a million years in the Federation."
That was true; the citizens would be spooked by so many flying objects. She could just imagine the number of stampedes such a creation would cause.
"Wait, what about the food and ammo?" She asked, curious as to why he'd leave it there."
"Oh, don't worry about that: that tower specifically has an automated storage system. All of our goods will be sent to our ship in the next few hours sorted, packed up, and sealed up in space-grade storage containers"
"Huh, that's pretty incredible," she replied.
"Yeah, it is. Like them or not, these predators seem to think of everything. I guess their minds just work differently; nothing wrong with that."
They walked through the doors as they conversed, and a massive lobby greeted them. Over two dozen secretaries of multiple races greeted countless individuals, many of them armed. Most of them were humans and Arxur, although she spotted a few Harchens and Gojids in the mix. The sound of phones ringing and computer keyboards being typed on resonated through the building with an echo. The entire lobby was beautifully decorated, with corners filled with fine gold-trimmed mahogany furniture and intricately woven carpets covering the marble floor. Sargen guided her up to the lobby and towards a young human wan with blonde hair. He greeted her with a smile, causing her to smile back. The snarl made Silijima's blood rush, but it was far less noticeable now, more like the feeling of adrenaline than pure fear.
"Hey, Csilla, how are you?"
The woman, apparently named Csilla, seemed to brighten up in Sargen's presence. "Oh, you know, just swamped as usual. Igor is waiting for you at dock thirteen, just take the tram down." Then her eyes swiveled in there sockets towards Silijima, causing her to flinch slightly. "And who is this? I didn't know a Krakotl was joining your crew."
"I'm Silijima," Silijima croaked, "I'm the new Engineer."
"Aww, isn't she just precious? It's been a pleasure to see you both, but I have to get back to work; we've got too many customers even with two dozen secretaries."
And with that, they were off. Sargen led her up multiple flights of stairs, passing different office levels before reaching floor seven, which was the connection to the Dok-stantsiya Vest-Enda. There were at least two dozen fully sized trans on multiple levels, with signs detailing over a hundred docks available to travel to. It was truly ginormous, more insane than any public transit system she had seen all packed into one place, but also a testament to the engineering of the station.
They boarded a packed train filled mainly with humans, although there were Arxur, Gojids and Harchen there sprinkled throughout. They rode for a few minutes, before reaching an open-space area sealed with active magnetic field shielding, keeping gravity and a working atmosphere within its borders while simultaneously allowing ships to pass through. There were hundreds of ships, both big and small, docked within the Corsair Coalition's docks, and some of them were exceptionally huge. They ranged from gigantic, rust-red lengths of bulbous metal covered in cannons to sleek, flat warships packed with rocket pods and covered with graffiti of snarling, gaping maws and bloodied talons. Eventually, they reached a point where their tram stopped, and they descended. Just a few dozen meters away was a younger human, maybe in his late twenties or early thirties, an old human woman who couldn't have been younger than seventy, and an Arxur practically made out of cybernetics, his body glowing with energy. The latter seemed to be organizing and directing a small number of droids, which were loading sealed containers into the fuselage of the large, rust-red battle cruiser with the word Iconoclast printed in bold letters on the side. The man saw us and approached, a wide smile on his face.
He was huge for a human, about six and a half feet, and had a long, bushy beard with a handlebar mustache, a short military buzz cut with a bit of hair left a little taller near the middle like a short mohawk, and a pair of black camo pants and a white t-shirt that showed the outline of his muscles underneath. He was practically a bear of a human, with arms the size of bridge cables and a neck thicker than your average gas pipe.
Despite all of that, he was obviously friendly, a wide snarl on his face. "Sargen! Dobriy den, how are you?" Even through the translator, his accent was thick and exotic.
Sargen scratched his head with his claws, obviously a little nervous. "I'm doing great, Igor, listen, this is-"
"Ah, yes, Silijima! Senek called me on his way home to explain their situation. It is a pleasure to meet you, my dear!"
Igor took her wing and shook it vigorously, having to bend down to do so. Having and snarling predator lean down on her in such a way, regardless of their intentions, sent shivers down her spine, but she kept it together. She would not break down in front of her new boss.
"T-the pleasure is all mine, Sir."
Igor didn't seem to notice how intimidating he was, but luckily a distraction appeared. Tarlim arrived just in time, carrying several crates of birch water and plums on his shoulders like they were nothing. The old woman seemed to spot him, because she hobbled over to help, only for Tarlim to prevent her from doing so. "No, Babushka, I can handle it."
"Nonsense," she said sternly, her accent even thicker than Igor's, "I can carry some, boy; your Babushka is not helpless."
Tarlim simply ignored her, carrying the crates over to the droids, with both Tarlim and the Arxur snickering at Babushka's pestering.
"Tarlim, what do you bring? Did I order something and forget again?"
Tarlim chuckled merely at that. "No, Babushka, Sujek ordered some Birch Water and Plums for you."
Babushka softened up at that, placing a hand over her heart like the delivery of birch water was an emotional matter. "Oh Tarlim, I thank you." She hobbled over and practically buried herself in his fur, hugging him as hard as an old woman could.
"Thank Sujek, I'm just the delivery boy."
Babushka snorted. "Hah, I know better. You probably dared him to do something for it."
Tarlim blushed at that. "Well maybe, but he demanded the plums as extra, so make sure you give him a big hug and plenty of food as well."
Babushka seemed to brighten up at that. "Come in, Tarlim; we are having a feast, to celebrate a great victory! No meat in the borscht, just for you!"
"Tarlim seemed very apprehensive towards the idea of eating anything that was even near the meat, but apparently he couldn't resist the old woman. "For you, Babushka, anything for you."
Igor snickered. "They are like a circus, no? Come, we are having a feast, and you shall partake."
Silijima wanted to leave, as the whole situation had escalated very quickly, but Sargen placed a hand on her shoulder. "There is no denying an invitation to a feast; it is a grave insult to do so."
Silijima just sighed and prepared herself for the horrors that awaited her.
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It's finally here; THE NEXT CHAPTER OF INTERLOPER! Somebody pop open a bottle of champaign.
I want to thank u/Acceptable_Egg5560 for the support and u/Bushbacon69 for the wonderful fanart.
If you want an AI generated picture, just let me know. That's become my new method of conveying what I'm creating to the world since I can't draw for shit.
The Next chapters for Chains made from Hope and The Apostate should be out this week, along with a new short called The Life Shaper.

I've been struggling with severe depression and anxiety for most of my life (around 19 years). I've been to many different therapists - I've lost faith in the mental health therapy industry for many reasons - that's another topic. The current therapist I'm seeing suggested I get a full psychological evaluation, which I did. I've now additionally been diagnosed with ADD and ASD (moderate) as well as Male Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder - which she said is often coupled closely with autism.
I wish I could view this as a win or a good thing, but I just feel even more hopeless and overwhelmed. I work at a customer facing job which causes me insane stress, so now I think I need to find something else, but I'm honestly too depressed and unmotivated at this point to even try. I feel absolutely stuck and don't know where to start. I'm angry at myself. I'm angry at my parents for not helping me through this when I was a kid. I'm angry at past therapists for not even fucking trying to figure this out sooner. I just feel tired of getting constantly buttfucked by the universe.
If I live an average lifespan, my life is already halfway over. I honestly feel like it's even too late to try to fix anything at this point, especially with a diagnosis that turns everything on its head like this. Plus, therapy is really hard for me because I struggle with vulnerability and emotional attachment, so it's hard for me to bear my soul to someone and that causes all kinds of other issues. I'm just really tired and wanted to put this somewhere.

Every tree in all the forests on Earth.
Every grain of sand on the beach.
Every drop in the ocean.
None of these even come close to infinity. If you think you have comprehended how big that is, you are wrong. Nothing can be compared to the endless number, and nothing will ever allow any of us to truly understand it. But I'm willing to bet I'm the closest to it. I am not from this universe. The multiverse is the best example of infinity, and I have travelled across it more times than I could possibly count. Yet even my travels do not come close to the colossal giant of unlimited. I invented multiversal travel; perhaps I should have set limits before toying with something so limitless.
At first, it was amazing. More than that - It was like experiencing a miracle. Up until the very moment that I successfully travelled, it was purely theoretical. Proving that it worked in practice changed everything. I was not alone when I pressed the button on that device, but I was once I let go of it. I was in the kitchen, and my family watched as I used it, and presumably saw me disappear. At the time, the device had no proper way of navigating the multiverse or keeping a history of previous destinations, so my original universe has been lost in the boundless flow of everything. My original family probably still think they saw me die that day.
After the transport, things immediately felt different in that room. Small things that you'd never truly notice, but after living there for so long, I think my subconscious knew. The paint strokes on the wall in slightly different directions than before. The tiles of the floor seeming slightly colder than usual. The marble pattern of the countertops just seeming...off. I was seeing something so very familiar, yet not what I knew. The bigger picture hadn't changed, but every tiny detail making it up had.
I avoided finding myself. I left the house as soon as possible and explored the new world. Nothing was substantially new, and I wanted to experience more. So I kept pressing the button. That first week or so had me switching universes at least 20 times a day. It turns out that about half of them don't contain any life - But that's still an infinite amount. 50% of the endlessness is still endless.
It only took a few weeks before I wanted to find another me and speak to them. The times I did were wonderful at first - Experiencing myself from a third-person perspective is something I could hardly wrap my head around. And neither could me - the other me. As selfish as it sounds, meeting myself for the first time is a fond memory I have.
That was 25 years ago. Since then, I have visited realities where our technology has become so much more advanced; They taught me a lot. I've seen Earths with 3 moons, I've witnessed the globe after an apocalypse, and I've experienced a world where humans were not the dominant species. I have done everything twice, and to be honest... I grew tired of it. When you have every possible scenario in the palm of your hand, what's the point?
Every insect on every tree in all the forests on Earth.
Every possible arrangement of every grain of sand on the beach.
Every single molecule of every drop in the ocean, multiplied by a billion.
None of those numbers even come close to the infinity that this device could reach. When you know that your life is 1 in infinity, you have mathematically and scientifically proven yourself to be nothing. 0.
The first time the multiverse truly scared me is not on any of the near-death experiences I've had in my journies. It's when I first found a universe in which I never existed. Nobody knew or cared. My family; my friends; my colleagues - they were all just as happy. If a puzzle piece is not even a requirement to finish the puzzle, why include it in the box?
I've done things I'm not proud of. When I say I've done everything twice, I mean everything - The good and the bad. I've caused extinctions on entire Earths just for fun. The overall number of living beings in the multiverse is always infinite - So do deaths even count? Murdering 8,000,000 people sounds like a lot, but compared to the infinite that is left and always will be left, it's not even a drop in the ocean. Actions have no consequences when you have seen the boundless infinity. I have killed you before.
Don't feel so down about that, though. Those people are all still alive in every other universe. You're still alive in this one. Those actions had a net loss of nothing. I'm not evil - Given infinite possibilities, everyone would eventually do everything. It's just a game of probabilities at that point. You would do it, too.
There was a time when I wished I could still be surprised, and that time was only a few days ago. But I may have wished too hard, because for the first time since I started my travels, I am experiencing something new. In hindsight, it was obvious that something like this would happen eventually, but it simply never crossed my mind.
I met another me. This in itself wasn't a surprise; I meet myself all the time. But this me was different - He had also discovered multiversal travel. He had been travelling for about as long as I had and was growing just as bored with the same old new. I don't know what's less likely - Bumping into each other, or not having bumped into each other sooner.
We shared our experiences, and although neither of us had done anything the other hadn't, it still felt nice. It felt nice that someone could truly understand how alone and insignificant I felt amongst it all. You can imagine my interest when he told me he had a plan that would allow us to truly experience something new.
I jokingly said "Well the only thing we haven't tried,"
He knew the end of the sentence, "is death!"
"Exactly," we both laughed, "is that your plan?"
He smiled as he clarified, "We both think the same way - You know that's not my plan. Because if it were,"
I finished his sentence, "it would be a bad plan. Because even death is insignificant."
We exchanged a melancholy smile, a face I'm used to pulling, but not seeing.
He broke the silence. "It's a bit bigger than that. I'm thinking something like...the death of everyone."
I was confused at first. "Like, taking this entire universe out with us in it? What's even the difference? There are still infinite other universes left. It'd still equate to nothing, mathematically."
"No, my dearest me. I mean everyone. Taking out the multiverse."
My emotions whirred to life for the first time in decades. I felt dread, terror, fear...
"The multiverse?" I asked this with an almost shaky voice. Feeling such a primal emotion felt strange, almost new. Death doesn't scare me, not now that I've experienced it all. But the idea of nothing existing? That's something worth being frightened over.
"Exactly. Here, I've got it all planned out."
He handed me multiple sketches - plans to alter our devices in a way that wouldn't pull the user through the multiverse, but instead, pull reality apart. Not just nearby, but across every single universe. It required both of our devices' parts to succeed.
I've run the numbers again and again. I've found no faults.
"You can't be serious."
"As I said, we both think alike. You know I'm serious."
"I do NOT think like you. This isn't a plan, this is an ending."
"Well perhaps when the author refuses to write an ending, someone needs to step in and force it."
It was only at this point that I realised, just because someone is genetically you, it will never make them you. The only me is me. There is only one of me. There is only one of you. The infinite number of us across the multiverse are identical in every way, but they are not us. Only you will ever get the true privilege of being you.
He spoke again, "It's all or nothing. You know what it's like - Ending one life, a million lives, a TRILLION lives, all total to nothing. The only way to get anything greater than 0 is to go for everything. There are two options here - Insignificance, or the total end of it all... And I'm sick of living the former."
"A single death is not insignificant, it --"
"You spoke it yourself, did you not?"
It began to dawn on me all the horrific acts I've committed in my search for new things to do.
"Yes. But that was then... This is now..."
He knew I wasn't going to help him. Truthfully, I think he knew that from the beginning - He reached into his pocket and pulled out a device. He did this whilst already holding his own in his other hand. I hastily reached into my own pocket to confirm what I already knew, as my pocket was empty.
"I'm sorry we couldn't see eye-to-eye."
With that, he pressed a button, and was gone. He left me stranded in this universe. Your universe.
Needless to say, we're still alive. I just don't know if that's going to last.
Maybe someone stopped him, maybe he just hasn't activated it yet. I cannot predict what is going to happen, and that terrifies me almost as much as his plan itself. It's not a feeling I'm used to anymore.
Maybe nothing will happen. I hope nothing will happen. But I felt it my duty to inform you, so that if you see on the news that something at the distant edge of our galaxy is rapidly moving towards us, at least you'll know what it is. It's the end of everything, ripping apart everything in its path.
Everyone in the other universes will have no idea what's headed for them.
Only this one will.
A 1 in infinity chance - 0% odds of this universe being the one to find out.
And yet here we are.
Maybe that does make this one significant after all.
===

​
I was looking at the bungalow that would be our home for the next 3 months. My wife Marci found this property on AirBnB and took a real liking to it.
Even with the recent renovations, the bungalow had this old-world charm to it. It was probably built many years ago and far removed from the buzz of city life.
This beautiful home was on a secure strip of vacant land adjacent to a small lake.
The closest neighbors were at least a mile away. If not for the constant chirping of birds, the eerie quietness of the pace would have gone unchallenged.
And yet, the thick canopy of trees and the scent of earthy soil immediately appealed to my senses.
Perhaps, this will be the perfect antidote to my writer's block. The local ambiance could actually help me in my work as a horror story writer.
The house had a large backyard packed with different kinds of trees. My 7-year-old daughter Stella shrieked excitedly when she saw an old swing and started running toward it.
Stella is the light of my life. Marcy and I had been childless even after 10 years of matrimony, and that was beginning to put stress on our marriage.
Marci grew up an orphan, and her unhappy childhood saw her run from one foster home to the next. She always felt she had so much love to give and wanted to have a large family.
So when Stella arrived, my little girl not only saved my marriage - but also helped us develop a deep bond as a family.
As I saw her going back and forth on the swing, my eyes kept returning to an old well in the far-end corner of the property. I began to walk towards it.
When I got there, I placed my hand on the wall of the well and slowly leaned forward to take a peak. It was dark, deep, and emanating some kind of odor.
A weird sensation began to run through me, and I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
I could feel some inexplicable force working its way toward me. I felt drawn inwards as I stared into a dark abyss.
Suddenly I heard a ' Thud' sound and snapped back to my senses. I turned back to see what the commotion was.
My daughter had fallen from the swing and began to cry. Her cries pierced through the air, which made the birds scatter.
Marci and I went running toward Stella and helped her get back up. She had scraped both her knees from the fall and was bleeding. We patched up the wound as best as possible with some first aid.
Stella was still sobbing, gulping small breaths of air, even as the bleeding had finally stopped. Then Marci quickly put her moon-shaped locket around her daughter's neck. It seemed to do the trick. The crying stopped, and she began to fidget with it.
The locket was the only remaining link to Marci's past. She would clutch at it in times of stress, happiness, or grief. And then rock back and forth, holding onto it while getting lost in her thoughts.
We decided to take Stella to a doctor as a precautionary measure. As I turned around, my heart skipped a beat when I saw an old man standing in front of us.
He was in his overalls and had a look of shock on his face as he stared at Stella transfixed. He kept looking at the locket around her neck.
Going by his appearance, I assumed he was the caretaker.
I walked up to him, quickly introduced ourselves, and asked if a medical facility was nearby.
"There is a local clinic two miles east of here. They should be able to help you," he said.
I thanked him, and we quickly got into the car. The caretaker still in shock kept staring at Stella until we were out of sight.
Once we got her treated at the hospital, we stopped by a driveway for dinner.
There were a lot of things that were going on in my mind -
A suspicious-looking caretaker.
A water well that gives weird vibes,
And a large house located in the middle of nowhere that is now beginning to look ominous! Something was really off!
Anyways, by the time we returned to the house, it was already late, and Stella had fallen asleep.
The caretaker was standing by the entrance. I could see he wanted to speak with me.
Well, I had some questions to ask him myself!
But we were all exhausted, and I just wanted to turn in for the night. I told him that we could talk tomorrow, and he reluctantly nodded.
I carried my girl inside and gently put her to bed.
Marci and I got to our room, and I finally lay down on the bed. I fell asleep immediately.
When I woke up, it was still dark, but I could hear a muffled sound coming from outside the room. I closed my eyes and hoped the noise would go away.
But it kept ringing in my ears and refused to die down.
I got off the bed, opened the door, and walked toward the living room. As I got closer, I could see a pale white figure near the foot of a staircase, hunched over, back turned toward me.
Fear began to grip me.
I realized the muffled sounds were actually from a woman sobbing. She then turned to face me, and I froze in my tracks. I was looking at a ghost.
Pearly white tears ran down her face as she sat there cradling the lifeless body of my little girl in her arms!!!
My eyes suddenly opened, and I sat up straight in my bed. Huge beads of sweat were running down my fac322e.
"Was I dreaming?"
I stumbled across the room to get to Stella. I ran through the corridor and opened the door to her room.
And there she was.
Safe and sound, sleeping peacefully - just like I had remembered the previous night.
I leaned against the door and heaved a huge sigh of relief.
And then, once again, the images from the dream ran through my head, this time in more vivid detail.
The pale white ghost sat by the steps; my dead daughter's head was resting on her knees, and she was rocking back and forth, weeping softly.
Her face though ashen white, looked vaguely familiar. And in her right hand, she was clutching a moon-shaped locket!
'Oh my God, Marci…'
In all that panic, I had completely forgotten to check in on her. I doubled back to our room, half hoping this was again a dream.
When I entered, my heart sank.
Marci was missing. I went to check in the bathroom; she wasn't there either.
Just as I was about to exit the room, I looked across the window and froze in complete fear. Marci was there out in the backyard, slowly walking towards the well.
And standing next to her was the ghost who had appeared in my dream!
The ghost gestured frantically at Marci, looking to gain her attention somehow. So that she could stop her in her tracks.
But Marci looked like she was in some sort of trance; she was utterly oblivious to her surroundings and continued to march forward.
I could not believe what was happening. My mind and body were completely paralyzed with shock and fear.
Then the ghost stood right before her to stop her from moving forward. She waved her arms desperately, signaling Marci to stop.
But Marci just passed through her like a mist of air. She let out a wail of desperation.
It was at this point our eyes locked into each other. The ghost was looking at me while I was still standing by the bedroom window - transfixed.
She was Marci's dead mother. I had no doubt. She pointed her finger at me and signaled me to come and save her daughter.
Marci had already reached the edge of the well.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry. By the time I got to the backyard, Marci had already climbed the well’s wall.
I debated whether to call out her name and forcefully yank her off the ledge.
Instead, I slowed down carefully as I got closer to the well. I didn't want to startle her, which could cause her to lose her footing.
When I got within earshot of her, I caught a glimpse of Marci's face. She looked like she was possessed.
I slowly whispered her name. "Marci….."
She could not hear me or feel my presence even though I was just a few feet away.
Her gaze was fixated downwards at the depths of whatever lay beneath that evil well.
I haven't yet had time to process my own experiences on what happened to me the previous day.
I could only imagine the hypnotic effect it would weave on Marci. She defintely has some familial connection to this place.
And then, to my horror, I saw her step forward when she moved her leg. I lunged at her, wrapped my arms around her waist, and quickly dragged her off that ledge with all my might.
We landed on the grassy floor with a loud thud. I had managed to intervene in just the nick of time. I hugged my wife tightly out of gratitude.
"Alex, where are we?"
My wife had come back to her senses.
"What are we doing here in the middle of the night?" she asked.
I suddenly remembered about the ghost and looked around for her. She was standing 5 feet away, looking at the two of us. I could sense the look of relief on her face as well.
"Are you related to Marci?" I asked her. She nodded her head.
"Whom are you talking to? What is going on?" asked Marci, bewildered and in a state of shock.
I pointed to her mother.
"What? I can only see a well. Can't see anything else?"
I realized I was the only one who could see the ghost. The ghost seemed to sense this too and looked crestfallen.
I took Marci back to our room and waited until she fell asleep. I had a tough time convincing her that all this was due to fatigue and sleeplessness.
When I got out of the room, I saw the ghost standing by the door.
"Are you her mother?" I asked directly. She nodded back, teary-eyed. It must be killing her that her own daughter is unable to see her. No pun intended.
She then gestured for me to follow her. She glided through the corridor to reach a bookshelf in the living room. She pointed towards a large brown-colored book. I found an old newspaper clipping in between one of the pages.
When I read through its contents, I felt sick to my stomach.
The clipping had a photo of the Givens family. I immediately recognized Marci, who was around 4 years old in the picture. She was sitting on her mom's lap, wearing the moon-shaped locket. Behind them was a burly-looking man with a thick mustache
Marci's mother's name was Emily, and she was married to Robert Givens. Robert was a wealthy banker but also an alcoholic. He used to regularly beat his wife.
Emily, trapped in an abusive loveless marriage, found solace in another man. And Marci was
born out of that affair. Emily kept this secret hidden, but Robert found out when Marci turned 6.
Just to spite Emily, he decided to throw Marci into the well. The ensuing altercation resulted in the deaths of both Robert and Emily.
The police, the next day, found both bodies in the well while Marci was lying unconscious on the floor nearby.
Marci was later admitted to an orphanage, where she slowly lost all memory of her family. Her only remaining link to her past was the locket.
I looked up at the ghost of Emily, myself feeling a choke full of emotion. She smiled back at me.
A thought then struck me.
I asked, "Who is Marci's real father?"
She pointed to a small building across the window. It was the caretaker's quarters!
I later learned that the caretaker first worked as a teacher in a nearby school during the time of the affair. When he learned of their deaths, he looked everywhere for Marci, hoping to be a part of her life.
But the trail had gone cold. I guess that is why he eventually worked as a caretaker in the same bungalow as some form of atonement.
The question in front of me is, what do I do with all this new information about Marci's old life?
Marci has finally found happiness after a long time. She lovingly embraced motherhood, and our little family could not be happier.
So how do I introduce her dead mother to her, who is now living as a ghost?
Whom Marci can't see, but I can!
Or, how do I explain to her about her father, who is why she grew up an orphan in the first place because he TRIED TO KILL HER!!
And when is it ok for me to reveal the caretaker - whom she met only yesterday - is the person who is actually her Real Dad?
Will all this help her heal?
Or will it unearth hidden traumas tucked away in the deepest, most remote parts of her brain?
So the question that is still going through my mind is …
"What…. do I…. do?!"

Every tree in all the forests on Earth.
Every grain of sand on the beach.
Every drop in the ocean.
None of these even come close to infinity. If you think you have comprehended how big that is, you are wrong. Nothing can be compared to the endless number, and nothing will ever allow any of us to truly understand it. But I'm willing to bet I'm the closest to it. I am not from this universe. The multiverse is the best example of infinity, and I have travelled across it more times than I could possibly count. Yet even my travels do not come close to the colossal giant of unlimited. I invented multiversal travel; perhaps I should have set limits before toying with something so limitless.
At first, it was amazing. More than that - It was like experiencing a miracle. Up until the very moment that I successfully travelled, it was purely theoretical. Proving that it worked in practice changed everything. I was not alone when I pressed the button on that device, but I was once I let go of it. I was in the kitchen, and my family watched as I used it, and presumably saw me disappear. At the time, the device had no proper way of navigating the multiverse or keeping a history of previous destinations, so my original universe has been lost in the boundless flow of everything. My original family probably still think they saw me die that day.
After the transport, things immediately felt different in that room. Small things that you'd never truly notice, but after living there for so long, I think my subconscious knew. The paint strokes on the wall in slightly different directions than before. The tiles of the floor seeming slightly colder than usual. The marble pattern of the countertops just seeming...off. I was seeing something so very familiar, yet not what I knew. The bigger picture hadn't changed, but every tiny detail making it up had.
I avoided finding myself. I left the house as soon as possible and explored the new world. Nothing was substantially new, and I wanted to experience more. So I kept pressing the button. That first week or so had me switching universes at least 20 times a day. It turns out that about half of them don't contain any life - But that's still an infinite amount. 50% of the endlessness is still endless.
It only took a few weeks before I wanted to find another me and speak to them. The times I did were wonderful at first - Experiencing myself from a third-person perspective is something I could hardly wrap my head around. And neither could me - the other me. As selfish as it sounds, meeting myself for the first time is a fond memory I have.
That was 25 years ago. Since then, I have visited realities where our technology has become so much more advanced; They taught me a lot. I've seen Earths with 3 moons, I've witnessed the globe after an apocalypse, and I've experienced a world where humans were not the dominant species. I have done everything twice, and to be honest... I grew tired of it. When you have every possible scenario in the palm of your hand, what's the point?
Every insect on every tree in all the forests on Earth.
Every possible arrangement of every grain of sand on the beach.
Every single molecule of every drop in the ocean, multiplied by a billion.
None of those numbers even come close to the infinity that this device could reach. When you know that your life is 1 in infinity, you have mathematically and scientifically proven yourself to be nothing. 0.
The first time the multiverse truly scared me is not on any of the near-death experiences I've had in my journies. It's when I first found a universe in which I never existed. Nobody knew or cared. My family; my friends; my colleagues - they were all just as happy. If a puzzle piece is not even a requirement to finish the puzzle, why include it in the box?
I've done things I'm not proud of. When I say I've done everything twice, I mean everything - The good and the bad. I've caused extinctions on entire Earths just for fun. The overall number of living beings in the multiverse is always infinite - So do deaths even count? Murdering 8,000,000 people sounds like a lot, but compared to the infinite that is left and always will be left, it's not even a drop in the ocean. Actions have no consequences when you have seen the boundless infinity. I have killed you before.
Don't feel so down about that, though. Those people are all still alive in every other universe. You're still alive in this one. Those actions had a net loss of nothing. I'm not evil - Given infinite possibilities, everyone would eventually do everything. It's just a game of probabilities at that point. You would do it, too.
There was a time when I wished I could still be surprised, and that time was only a few days ago. But I may have wished too hard, because for the first time since I started my travels, I am experiencing something new. In hindsight, it was obvious that something like this would happen eventually, but it simply never crossed my mind.
I met another me. This in itself wasn't a surprise; I meet myself all the time. But this me was different - He had also discovered multiversal travel. He had been travelling for about as long as I had and was growing just as bored with the same old new. I don't know what's less likely - Bumping into each other, or not having bumped into each other sooner.
We shared our experiences, and although neither of us had done anything the other hadn't, it still felt nice. It felt nice that someone could truly understand how alone and insignificant I felt amongst it all. You can imagine my interest when he told me he had a plan that would allow us to truly experience something new.
I jokingly said "Well the only thing we haven't tried,"
He knew the end of the sentence, "is death!"
"Exactly," we both laughed, "is that your plan?"
He smiled as he clarified, "We both think the same way - You know that's not my plan. Because if it were,"
I finished his sentence, "it would be a bad plan. Because even death is insignificant."
We exchanged a melancholy smile, a face I'm used to pulling, but not seeing.
He broke the silence. "It's a bit bigger than that. I'm thinking something like...the death of everyone."
I was confused at first. "Like, taking this entire universe out with us in it? What's even the difference? There are still infinite other universes left. It'd still equate to nothing, mathematically."
"No, my dearest me. I mean everyone. Taking out the multiverse."
My emotions whirred to life for the first time in decades. I felt dread, terror, fear...
"The multiverse?" I asked this with an almost shaky voice. Feeling such a primal emotion felt strange, almost new. Death doesn't scare me, not now that I've experienced it all. But the idea of nothing existing? That's something worth being frightened over.
"Exactly. Here, I've got it all planned out."
He handed me multiple sketches - plans to alter our devices in a way that wouldn't pull the user through the multiverse, but instead, pull reality apart. Not just nearby, but across every single universe. It required both of our devices' parts to succeed.
I've run the numbers again and again. I've found no faults.
"You can't be serious."
"As I said, we both think alike. You know I'm serious."
"I do NOT think like you. This isn't a plan, this is an ending."
"Well perhaps when the author refuses to write an ending, someone needs to step in and force it."
It was only at this point that I realised, just because someone is genetically you, it will never make them you. The only me is me. There is only one of me. There is only one of you. The infinite number of us across the multiverse are identical in every way, but they are not us. Only you will ever get the true privilege of being you.
He spoke again, "It's all or nothing. You know what it's like - Ending one life, a million lives, a TRILLION lives, all total to nothing. The only way to get anything greater than 0 is to go for everything. There are two options here - Insignificance, or the total end of it all... And I'm sick of living the former."
"A single death is not insignificant, it --"
"You spoke it yourself, did you not?"
It began to dawn on me all the horrific acts I've committed in my search for new things to do.
"Yes. But that was then... This is now..."
He knew I wasn't going to help him. Truthfully, I think he knew that from the beginning - He reached into his pocket and pulled out a device. He did this whilst already holding his own in his other hand. I hastily reached into my own pocket to confirm what I already knew, as my pocket was empty.
"I'm sorry we couldn't see eye-to-eye."
With that, he pressed a button, and was gone. He left me stranded in this universe. Your universe.
Needless to say, we're still alive. I just don't know if that's going to last.
Maybe someone stopped him, maybe he just hasn't activated it yet. I cannot predict what is going to happen, and that terrifies me almost as much as his plan itself. It's not a feeling I'm used to anymore.
Maybe nothing will happen. I hope nothing will happen. But I felt it my duty to inform you, so that if you see on the news that something at the distant edge of our galaxy is rapidly moving towards us, at least you'll know what it is. It's the end of everything, ripping apart everything in its path.
Everyone in the other universes will have no idea what's headed for them.
Only this one will.
A 1 in infinity chance - 0% odds of this universe being the one to find out.
And yet here we are.
Maybe that does make this one significant after all.

Hello!
I am available for meeting and breeding any needy woman who is drug and diseases free.
I am not interested (at all) to be tied to any offspring, so you will have full legal rights if that is something you want.
Other than these two requests, I also am not looking for any financial exchange.
I hope by now you realise I am serious, do get in touch if you mean the same.
I'm not interested in role-play or just "a chat"
Here are a few details about me (I can go in more details in pm):
Mature, educated, and with a secure job. Living in the UK but not native, white, dad body with a high sexual drive... and a bit of a perv I'll admit it. I have a lot of needs... some of them taboo (happy to share in PM). serious messages only.
truly yours, closet pervert daddy

First and foremost, I am having a blast playing this game. FPS are normally NOT my thing. In fact, the last time i sat down and seriously played one, was Half-life (and the resulting multiplayer, Half-Life Deathmatch) circa 2001-2004. My buddy talked up this game for about a week and i decided to give it a go because my interest in playing games with friends far supersedes my preference of game genre. What i found was a Frustratingly fun looter shooter (which was new to me) made all the better with teammates. Now we regularly run a trio-foursome with moderate success rates.
In the beginning, it was more frustrating than I (or most other people. I bet) would care to admit. In my case, I'm far too casual of a player to be good against other players. So when i kept getting iced over and over and lost all my funding to buying gear and eventually was stuck with the starter gear on the rust bucket, i was disheartened for a while. I even posted on the discord channel about the hope of an update where the starter gear is better. Not only did I find a (so far) not toxic community providing tips for success, but there's also the Vangards group to help players get more established. Big Points in my book for that alone. It really kept me coming back for more.
In regard to the various maps where the actual raids take place, I thoroughly enjoy the level design. The layouts are fun, the details are great, and the maps are as balanced as you can get in terms of accessibility (save for very few single entry/exit rooms). Though, that observation is based on where i have been so far. I'm still to cowardly to get super deep into some maps such as the central tower on the terraformer or deep into the merchant ship.
My overall opinion to the game is very positive although there are certain issues i have with various, Non-bug/glitch related, things, as I'm sure we all have.
1.) The ships. On one hand (I know it's still early access and therefor this could be changed), it doesn't make sense to buy or craft any ship when you could just easily loose the whole thing if you get blown out of the (not)sky or die in a raid. On the other hand, if they are going for a relatively realistic feel to things, it makes sense that you would lose it when you die. I'm very split on this. Maybe it's too much GTAO in me. but I would like to keep those if i've worked so hard and spent enough money to unlock them. However, i understand that a lobby full of heavy/vulture frigates will either be SUPER boring or waaaaay too chaotic. So best solution to and for me is my current course of action.... move my ass to get where i need to be and quick.
2.) The Zero to Hero Contracts. (This is more a personal gripe with my lack of skill level) Largely, I enjoy these. Especially when it puts you on a super stressful contract such as Scouting Party, where you have to hold the furnace for 90. That one really adds to how tense the raid currently is because the furnace has so many points of entry, plenty of cover for people coming in and its LOUD in there. You can't hear your own nervous farts. But when you are a junk player, such as myself, and you need to, for instance, kill other marauders. It get a little frustrating. I gave that one a very solid effort but i kept getting blasted. I finally resorted to killing friends to complete that one.
3.) The Trader from various factions. I think i have seen this mentioned a few times, but it could stand to be brought to the developer's attention. I would like to be able to see what standing/level i need to be with a particular faction to unlock items. That's all. It would just be nice.
4.) Inventory Management. I love this aspect. I've spent so much time playing Diablo and Arcanum to ignore how important inventory management is. I will never once complain about the fact that I can't just hoard every little thing I come across. The need to be selective in my storage is great and forces me (as im sure it does others) to actually USE the good gear we have instead of just holding it. That being said, it would just be absolutely SUPER if the folded bags took up less space than their unfolded counterparts. Not a lot. but like 1/3 less space. The bag is, after all, folded up. Logically, it shouldn't take up the same slot space.
​
These issues are minor at best. I will continue to play this game as I have been. This is the closest I have become to being addicted to a drug. The 60 hours i have put on this game have come over the past 3 weeks. Should mention at this point that I work a full-time job and have kids so it's been a constant playing at night when my time frees up.
I love the community. I love the game and I can't wait to see what comes with it in the future!

• International.
• Finances not a factor.
• Goal is to get a job as a SWE.
• No prior tech experience.

NEU Align MSCS (Bay Area campus)
Pros:

• Seems to be much more career oriented.
• Especially with the given state of the tech job market, I feel like being able to do co-op in Fall or Spring in addition to a summer internship might help a lot.
• Everyone in Align doesn't have previous tech experience - so I feel like it will be a more equal playing field.
• Longer program length so maybe I can start recruiting when the job market is better.

Cons:

• Less "prestigious" than UChicago.
  
  • I feel like having a UChicago name on the resume might help me more in getting through resume screening? (I might be wrong about this, please feel free to correct me)
• Heard stories about class qualities being bad (I don't really care about this honestly, I just want a job offer in the end)
  

UChicago MPCS
Pros:

• More prestigious so maybe better chances in getting through resume screening (?)

Cons:

• Joint classes with MBA students with all classes in evenings.
• A lot of folks already have tech experience beforehand - how am I supposed to compete for positions?
• Need to get into recruiting immediately starting this Summer and the tech job market is an absolute dumpster fire.
• Better class qualities probably compared to Align.

Any advice or input will be greatly appreciated!