Introduction
1) Will this be your first dog? If not, what experience do you have owning/training dogs?

• Yes, this will be my first dog.

2) Do you have a preference for rescuing a dog vs. going through a reputable breeder?

• Not sure. Probably breeder.

3) Describe your ideal dog.

• I guess I want a dog that’s lazy when I’m lazy. Is ok to be left alone. (I go to work two days a week and WFH the rest of the week.) A dog that is quiet during my meetings. A dog that is good with kids.

I have two young kids (less than 8). Safety is paramount. (In fact, maybe not getting a dog or waiting is the correct decision here.) I don’t want a dog that scares them or bites them. I’ve read a few posts about resource guarding and dogs needing a muzzle or biting an owner that brought blood. If there’s a chance of that, tell me don’t get a dog.
I want a dog to love, to care for, to make me happy.
I prefer a dog that needs light exercise. I do not have a giant house or a giant backyard.
4) What breeds or types of dogs are you interested in and why?

• Mini poodle, they’re not powerful dogs. I’ve read poodles are really smart. Due to their size, I imagine the pee/poop will be easier.

This is a concession for me. I’ve never wanted a small dog. Perhaps a Saint Bernard or a Newfoundland dog, because I’ve read they’re gentle. Again, the kids.
I think a standard poodle or a golden retriever may need more than what we can offer. I don’t want a small dog though. I wanted doodles for a while, but, then read some more and decided against them.
Maybe an Old English sheepdog, reason being they’re really docile and good with kids. Right?
I was thinking of a Great Dane or Saint Bernard but i think they’re fairly slobbery which i don’t prefer.
5) What sorts of things would you like to train your dog to do?

• With the time available being very limited, I’d probably rely a lot on a dog trainecamp to help with basic stuff. Or teach me a little how to train and I could repeat the steps as I have time available.

(What i mean by limited is that i work every day and with the kids and all their activities, i don’t have a whole lot of time. Do you recommend to take time off to settle the dog in?)
6) Do you want to compete with your dog in a sport (e.g. agility, obedience, rally) or use your dog for a form of work (e.g. hunting, herding, livestock guarding)? If so, how much experience do you have with this work/sport?

• No.

Care Commitments
7) How long do you want to devote to training, playing with, or otherwise interacting with your dog each day?

• Lounging, and caring for him, as soon as I get home.

8) How long can you exercise your dog each day, on average? What sorts of exercise are you planning to give your dog regularly and does that include using a dog park?

• Walking him 30 minutes a day or so. Truth be told, sometimes work is really tiring and I sleep early. Maybe there would be a day or so that I don’t walk him.

9) How much regular brushing are you willing to do? Are you open to trimming hair, cleaning ears, or doing other grooming at home? If not, would you be willing to pay a professional to do it regularly?

• I would be willing to pay a groomer to do it professionally.

Personal Preferences
10) What size dog are you looking for?

• a 60-or pound dog, just thinking along the lines of a golden retriever or a poodle. Read that great pyrs don’t need a lot of exercise…?

11) How much shedding, barking, and slobber can you handle?

• With this being my first dog, probably little shedding, not too much barking and very little slobber. With that being said, I think I can change. I wouldn’t assume anything is too rigid.

12) How important is being able to let your dog off-leash in an unfenced area?

• Not super important. The dog would only be off leash in the backyard.

Dog Personality and Behavior
13) Do you want a snuggly dog or one that prefers some personal space?

• Snuggly. Again if I’m being honest, probably a dog that can do their own thing while I’m at work (or working) and snuggle later.

14) Would you prefer a dog that wants to do its own thing or one that’s more eager-to-please?

• Eager to please.

15) How would you prefer your dog to respond to someone knocking on the door or entering your yard? How would you prefer your dog to greet strangers or visitors?

• Knocking on the dooentering yard, Barking. Strangers, visitors, getting their bearings.

16) Are you willing to manage a dog that is aggressive to other dogs?

• No. Not at all.

17) Are there any other behaviors you can’t deal with or want to avoid?

• Biting. Dogs that can growl at their own owners. With this being my first dog, i want this to be a pleasant experience. Obviously there’s a lot of work I that’s involved in this endeavor. I’m willing to do the work. May be all dogs bite as part their puppy stage… i just don’t want to be afraid of my own dog or have my kids afraid of the dog.

Lifestyle
18) How often and how long will the dog be left alone?

• Nowadays, with Covid, I WFH three days a week and go to the office two days a week.

Dog will be left alone two days a week from 8 to 5 or so.
19) What are the dog-related preferences of other people in the house and what will be their involvement in caring for the dog?

• My wife is open to the idea of a dog. It will also be her first dog. The two kids, it’ll be their first dog. Not sure if I want to saddle them with any responsibilities.

20) Do you have other pets or are you planning on having other pets? What breed or type of animal are they?

• We have no other pets, nor are we planning to get other pets.

21) Will the dog be interacting with children regularly?

• Yes, absolutely.

22) Do you rent or plan to rent in the future? If applicable, what breed or weight restrictions are on your current lease?

• We do not rent.

23) What city or country do you live in and are you aware of any laws banning certain breeds?

• We live in Southern California. Not that i know of.

24) What is the average temperature of a typical summer and winter day where you live?

• Quickly searching google, found this: “Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 43°F to 94°F and is rarely below 35°F or above 102°F.”

Additional Information and Questions
25) Please provide any additional information you feel may be relevant.

• No additional information.

26) Feel free to ask any questions below.
I’m interested to hear from first time dog owners about what they thought they could handle. Did the breed end up being more than they bargained for?
Is having a dog from them being a puppy an important factor to bond or not really?
I really want to make sure I’m making the right decision here. I don’t want to get a dog and not giving him/her what they need.
I’ve been thinking about getting a dog for about a year. I want a non human buddy I guess. I want to love something and care for.
Can you please recommend a breeder?
This is such a big topic that i know I’m probably missing something. Really looking towards a standard poodle. I think they look aesthetically pleasing.

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An arrogant and stubborn lady is dead, a revived 21st-century medical genius into her body. Medicine is excellent, the heart is pure. Facing her parents-in-law is unfriendly, her husband is not in love, and has a jealous look of concubines. Based only on a small scalpel, she won the concubine, defeated the tricky trick, and she always won. Marshal, her husband inherently despised her, but now, her ... Read Marshal Is Jealous Everyday - Chapter 301 - MangaPuma. Read more at https://mangapuma.com/marshal-is-jealous-everyday/chapter-301

Over the past decade I have become enthralled in these games. From demons souls to elden ring, I’ve played them all and loved them all to various degrees. As time has gone I find I’m the only one in my friend group that likes these games. I have gotten asked why I like them so much and I think for me its the way combat is handled so well. It “almost” always feels fair, well grounded, heavy, has momentum, and with enough skill can be performed perfectly without taking any damage.
There are many other aspects I love as well but for me it always comes back to the combat. My friends have either referred me to similar games that are “hard” or are in a similar genre, I would say a soulslike is more accurate, that just don’t do it for me or I would say are mediocre to bad. I can’t ever seem to communicate what it is about these games that fromsoftware can only seem to make. After doing some research these games mostly fall into action rpg but that seems far too vague to sum it up. It is a jrpg technically but that muddies the water even more. How do you categorize these well crafted games that allow you to feel grounded but powerful at the same time?
One trigger mostly controls the corresponding arm. No crazy massive combos and almost all actions are contextualized with a single button press. For added context are there any terms you could use in discussion to differentiate these games from nioh, starwars fallen order, and the surge, though admittedly I haven’t played the surge? These are from a quick google search the most popular souls like and 2/3 of them I didn’t like.
Generally if I ever get into a new game that heavily features melee combat and it has these issues I don’t want to play them: if there isn’t a way to fully block damage or fully avoid damage by evading, floaty controls, inconsistent physics with things that matter, garbage hitboxes, attacks that have no tell or subtle tells at least.
This has dragged on more than I wanted but its the curse of these games that set the bar so high thats its easy to feel you’re getting a cheap product in a similar type of game that is well rated and by all objective standards, well made. Any ideas how to sum this preference up or is it just a fromsoftware game?

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Hello Flagstaff! It's been a while since we've done one of these, so I figured I'd touch base with you all and open the floor to see where we want to go.
First, I have to say thank you for being an excellent community group. While we're not small, we're still medium-ish in size, but the fact that a lot of you are groovy people allows a small mod team to keep the cesspool down to a manageable level.
Still, some of the crap that has come our way as mods for this place has been rough. We're people too, and the amount of negative commentary can really affect us. I admit it has jaded me a bit, so you might have seen some more things like locked comments, snarky responses or just straight removals and bans. When you try to do the right thing as a mod, it usually just backfires or makes it worse, so it's easier to nip it straight out and move on. However, it's gotten to the point where sometimes I don't even want to engage with my community when all I get is grief from all sides for trying to keep this place nice. I don't like to do it, I'm sure you don't like it happening, so now we all have an opportunity to put our thoughts here and see where it goes.
When I took over Flagstaff, I wanted to bring it more in line with the rest of the community subs in Arizona. I put the rules in that I thought applied to a community our size, tried to be liberal with automod, and let folks post about the things that mattered to them, even if I personally disagreed. I've tried to be consistent with how the rules are applied, investigate instigators, notice the patterns, and take actions on the factors I thought were the most disruptive. I didn't want to just remove and ban everything like other community subs. I didn't want a labyrinth of rules.
However, this place isn't mine, and it isn't about me. It's about you. So I'm putting it out there for all of you to tell me. What do you want out of Flagstaff? Please think on it and reply, either here or in modmail if you want to say it privately. Open forum, shoot your shot.
..
..
..
..
I hope you gave it a think and wrote something. I'll tell you a few things that we've thought of that we hope will improve things. We will or won't do them based on your responses.

Housekeeping Items

1. Mandatory Post Flair: This will make a series of tags mandatory on all posts. Those posts will be automod reviewed and removed if they don't meet posted standards.
2. Automatic User Flair: This will automatically tag anyone that isn't subbed, doesn't have a lot of community engagement, or generated karma from here with certain tags. We hope this will encourage Flagstaff locals engagement as well as call out visitors.
3. Automatic Removal of Non-User Self Posts: This automod rule would detect text self posts from users not subbed and remove them. This removes a lot of the drive by questions from people who can't or won't use Google.
4. Loosening Business Submission Rules: I'd like to try a system where local businesses can participate here. I was initially against the idea, but seeing how the community rallied around our businesses during the pandemic changed my mind. I'd like to try and offer our business owners the ability to submit profiles, promote sales/events, and reach out to the community. This would be a trial at first but would hopefully increase the value of coming here and give them the opportunity to engage with us directly.
5. Local Classifieds: I thought it might be nice to have another sub for Northern AZ classifieds. We could tie in Sedona and other communities to direct all the Want to Buy, Want to Sell, Renting, Looking to Rent, etc etc posts there. It kind of sucks that all this activity, as well as business activity, is on Facebook.

My hope is that a lot of these things, especially the business rules, will help us build a solid wiki with our local friends that we can direct our visitors to.
One last note. I'm getting burnt out of a lot of this, so I'm opening up moderator applications. If you want this thankless job, God knows why, shoot a modmail and tell us why. We'll see who applies and after a trial period, see if we can empower some other folks who love Flagstaff to keep this place nice and safe for everyone. If it works out, I'll likely be stepping down.
I'm looking forward to hearing your responses.
- derekhans & FuzzyManPeach
P.S. I started doing this because I love this town and wanted this sub to reflect the place that I know is special. I tried to be fair. I wanted to take it seriously. I wanted it to grow and we've succeeded.
But that's no fun. In the spirit of keeping Flag weird, I'm going to be loosening up with how I engage with you all. So, if you're being an asshole, breaking the rules, or just being an idiot, you'll be told so. Hopefully in the most humorous way I can think of at the time. And just be thankful it's me calling you out and not Fuzzy. She's got a wicked wit and will totes fuck you up.

I run an excel file with a bunch of buttons and pressing any of them calls different scripts with cmd. I've tried using exe files but the combination of excel buttos and exe files makes the whole process of running the scripts really slow.
Right now I've juste installed python on all my colleagues computers and with a combination of github and onedrive I keep the code updated.
Now, what's the smartest way of 'hiding' the source code. Is there even a way that does not slow down the code like creating exe file does?

Early upload cuz work. Sorry for the cliff
First Prev Next Royal Road
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Pan looked between Joseph and Tel as the grey-furred female maintained her hold on him, The Human stilling his lungs with expectations for the worst in mind, Tel’s taste still lingering. The baited breath by most of the two couches stagnated the air as even Violet paused her scratching to pay attention.
“Our promise?” She asked him with a tip of her ear, though her tone remained inquisitive rather than scornful.
“Fulfilled.” Tel answered in his stead, her voice carrying a taunting cadence as she glanced between the two. “Or i would assume, based on the scent on both of you.”
Joseph’s cheeks flushed in time with Pan’s, him forgetting again just how sharp their noses were. “No hiding that one, huh?”
Tel released him a smug look on her face as she seemingly enjoyed the wide eyes watching the exchange. “From some? Perhaps. Me?” She leaned forward to nip as his ear, her claw lightly falling down from his chest. “I know the scent of my male to its finest.”
He swallowed back his unwanted reaction, his reason retained due to the company and Pan’s paw resting in his hand. Harrow raised her own, speaking when Joseph cautiously raised a brow in her direction.
“So... Did you bed Tel or Pan first?”
He blinked, inhaling to respond but finding words impossible to form due to the brazen and unexpected question. Jax chuckled as he smirked at his mate. “As i have said, I have won our bet.”
Harrow kicked back at him, though her shorter legs meant that she almost fell off the couch to achieve the retaliation. “You haven’t won until we know for sure.”
“There is little doubt.”
“You don’t know yet!”
Joseph shut is eyes forcefully, the interaction sapping his resolve for the moment. “What was the bet?”
“Jax bet that you would bed Tel first. I said that you would wait for Pan.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose, happy for the distraction, though wishing it departed more from the subject. “And you’re betting on my sex life... why?”
The two looked at each other before shrugging in sync. “We’ve been betting on most of what you do. Seems weird to stop at who warms your bed when.”
Joseph went to rest his head in his hands, the attempt stopped by Pan holding one and Tel supporting her weight on his free shoulder. He looked at the two and took a breath before addressing his mate.
“I..”
Pan smiled at him with a squeeze of his hand, stopping him from speaking further as the reassuring action took the wind out of his sails. The guilt wrenched at him regardless, worry about what she might have to say digging deep. Saying that he was going to just turn around on his affection for Tel would be a lie, but he couldn’t help but expect some sort of fallout from this. Instead of chastising him or the like, Pan looked to Tel with a calm expression. “Do you care for him truly?”
Tel flashed annoyance until Sahari answered, the female having grown annoyed with the display. “She is a Blade. A Sheath is one chosen with their life on the line. She would face an army alone to assure his safety and likely leave only a graveyard in her wake should he request it.”
Jax snapped his head to look at her. “She is an assassin?”
“I am amazed at how long you remained ignorant to her nature, yet recognize the moniker.” Sahari replied with a sigh.
“Wait, how do you know that?” Harrow asked, excitement building in her voice.
Sahari waved it off. “I spent much of my time as a mercenary. One should not be surprised by those whom they end up working with. I knew she was of such line, though the specifics were new to me as well when i was exposed.”
“Tel!” The orange-furred ball of energy yelled suddenly. “Teach me assassin things!”
Joseph succeeded in resting his head in a palm as Tel stood up to raise a brow at her. “You wish to travel the path?”
“Don’t.” The Grand Hunter interjected tiredly. It was first thing in the morning and this had already made him more than willing to go back to bed. “Trill’s girls being here is enough ‘cloak and dagger’ for one settlement.”
“There are multiple assassins?” Jax asked in disbelief.
“You get used to it.” The Human commented dryly.
“Why?”
He cycled a breath. “Well, let’s just say that the trip was... a lot.” Jax grimaced at his answer, but his funk was broken when his mate narrowly missed his leg with her foot, prompting him to refocus on their little game.
Sahari, finding humour in the first event of note, decided to provide the initial context. “Joseph was discovered by a vassal pack of Grand Hunter Trill while bathing in a river.”
“Like i needed more people to see me in the buff.”
“I guess Tel had fun with that.” Harrow added with a wink, raising her brows when Tel gave her a dismissive frown. “Oh, no? Just the other pack?”
Sahari cleared her throat, an understanding gaze was given by the inquisitive Lilhun when she noticed the ex-Grand Huntress avert her eyes for a moment. “After we affirmed that they were not hostile and cleared any suspected misintentions, we were escorted to High Hunter Loptr’s settlement for the moon.”
“Where our dear Human scared at least one male to wetting his fur.” Tel added with a trilling lilt, her regard of him gaining a seductive edge. Joseph scowled, though if it was over the events of that night or the ones after, he wasn’t sure. His bond gave his fingers a squeeze in support regardless, easing the density of his brooding.
“What did he do?” Harrow asked, her rapt attention obvious.
Sahari smirked. “He held his crossbow to the male for not accepting Tel’s rebuff. He was quite enraged.”
Pan’s thumb pad rubbed over his hand as she listened to the story, her expression attentive with a slight smile now that he had passed the initial annoyance of remembering that night. Joseph eased and returned the affectionate gesture.
The black-furred female’s face fell to one of scorn, a glare directed at Tel. “It seems as if she forced her mark upon him without explanation after the events.”
The mention of a forced mark caused Nalah to instantly bare her fangs at the offending Lilhun, venom in spades coating her words. “You forced a mark?”
Tel took a seat on Joseph’s lap, surprising him as he adjusted Pan’s paw in his hand out of the way to accommodate it without thinking. “Were it not for the mark, he would be a corpse rather than mine.”
“Explain yourself. Now.”
Tel sighed, leaning back on her improvised seat and forcing Joseph to shift to allow it, his free arm absently resting around her side to her stomach to support her weight. He was too busy cautiously watching the interaction for if, or rather when, he would need to step in. “Trill does not much care for that which is not documented and signed. A new creature that claims power may be a novel discovery, but it is a disruption to that which he has constructed.” Tel rested an arm around his shoulders, a somewhat protective note to the action. “Disruptions are dealt with those like myself. He would have been cold before the moon, if not simply when he held a dagger to Trill’s throat.”
Even Pan seemed surprised by the announcement that he had threatened not only a touchy male, but also a Grand Hunter. She looked at him with worry until the brewing irritation in his expression, and likely through the bond as well, informed her of his absolute lack of regret regarding the matter.
Either way, Nalah seemed stunned by the assertion, glancing at him and Sahari to confirm, though Sahari seemed as irritated by the situation as he did. “You tested the life of a Grand Hunter?”
Joseph scoffed. “I made my point to a piece-of-shit father.”
Harrow was the one confused this time. “Who’s den-father?”
The Human, noticing only now that he was effectively cuddling the bored-looking assassin, used the opportunity to gesture to her with the hand on her stomach. “Hers. Direct parentage. ‘Blood-father’, if i remember correctly.”
The answer befuddled Harrow, her looking around the room for confirmation and only receiving a nod from Sahari to agree. Perplexed, and accepting that no one is going to address the matter of Trill being Tel’s dad not being brought up before now, she turned her attention back to Tel. “You’re okay with that?”
Tel rested her cheek on his head, either testing to see how much contact she could get away with before he complained or trying to see where Pan would take issue. Whichever one it was, neither of the two put up any objections, Pan instead leaning into him as well once he noticed how comfortable he found it to be. “Were it not for his involvement, i would not have returned, instead held to be bred for more in my image while being rested upon a pedestal in a gilded cage.”
Nalah eased back into her seat, Sahari putting an arm around her and patting her shoulder in comfort. Joseph raised a brow at how intensely she reacted to the subject, but he wasn’t really sure where ‘marking’ sat in their morals. He figured it was pretty important, but it was temporary and was closer to just making someone wear a wedding band more than anything, as far as he understood. He held two fingers up while not releasing Tel to interject.
“What’s the deal with ‘forcing’ a mark anyway? I’m getting that it’s bad, but i don’t have context.”
Nalah bared her teeth, the building tirade silenced by Sahari pulling her in and rubbing her shoulder soothingly. Satisfied that her blond-furred pack-member was pacified for now, Sahari answered.
“To force a mark is to say that it was imparted upon the unwilling.”
His eyes widened as he made the connection. “OH. Oh. Okay, I’m following now. Jesus Christ.” His face scrunched in disgust. “Holy shit. Okay.”
He noticed the slightly worried expression on Tel’s face, himself quickly adding to his response. “To be clear, it wasn’t ‘forced’ forced.” He averted his eyes away from Pan as embarrassment and more than a touch of shame crossed his face. “It was... It was a bit of a night.”
Pan gave him a sympathetic look, some concern present. Tel felt the need to address it. “He refused to part with your promise, worry not. Even in the height of his heat, his thoughts focused on you.”
Joseph couldn’t help but notice the mix of longing and annoyance in her voice. He allowed himself to gently squeeze her, the action instantly improving her mood, if her tail was anything to go by. Pan shook her head. “I am merely glad that his world is one where such does not exist.”
He pursed his lips, unsure how to counter that without ruining everything. Unfortunately for him, Pan caught the hesitation through their bond.
“Oh, Joseph...” Pan wrapped her other arm around his, encapsulating it carefully. “I suppose there are those of lesser qualities in every people.”
He wanted to disagree, but he quickly failed to think of an example. “Anyway. What does the mark do? Besides say that you’re involved with someone, because I’m getting the vibe that there is more to it.”
Tel subtly twitched as Jax offered the answer. “It discourages others from courting you.”
“Like a wedding ring or something, yeah. Harrow told me that a while ago.”
The mentioned female raised a claw. “Yes and no. I said it was close enough for the purposes of understanding. It detracts from others ability to perceive you as a possible mate.” She gestured loosely to Pan. “It’s why defectives have such a hard time finding one. It’s hard to want to bed someone who your body instinctively doesn’t find attractive.”
Pan tightened her hold on him, though the satisfied expression suggested that she was quite pleased with having him be hers rather than using him to distract from her previous struggles. Harrow smiled at the affectionate display.
“For example: Jax would be much less likely to cause interest because of my mark, and me because of his.”
“So how do you end up with multiple ‘den-parents’”
“Not all attraction is physical, Joseph.” Sahari chastised him playfully, amused with his lack of knowledge. “The effect is negated once they are marked by yourself as well.”
He opened his mouth to counter that, but it failed after the briefest of consideration. “Okay, fair.”
“It is also why bonds are a boon in such arrangements.” Jax added casually, him and Harrow having resumed their attempts to kick at each other.
Pan tilted her head at an indirect mention, Joseph blinking away his confusion. “And that would be because?”
The two bickering mates paused, sharing a look before both giving him a flat expression. “They are influenced by their bonded one.”
“So? What does that...” The Human stalled, glancing at his own bond with a raised brow. Pan noticed his expression and smiled in return, her grip on his hand gently increasing.
“I know the depths of your affections.”
Deciding that the half-answer was the best he was going to get, he shook his head to dispel his curiosity, disrupting Tel from enjoying her perch in the process and drawing a displeased glance before she reclaimed it.
“That... Well that brings up something I’ve been meaning to address.” He tried not to look at her as he attempted to figure out how he was going to broach the question. Tel seemingly got impatient with his tip-toeing and spoke for him.
“I wish him mine, if that wasn’t obvious. This one seems to be reticent in regards to his reciprocated desire.” She punctuated the announcement by patting his shoulder, though the touch was slightly more forceful than he would attribute to ‘affectionate’.
Pan blinked, a tilted head accentuated by a further displaced ear. “Yes, i am aware.”
Joseph faltered, expecting... Well, he wasn’t sure what, but something more than that. He tentatively pressed further, anxiety rearing as unease settled. “No comment?”
She paused to consider, eventually meeting his eyes with a fairly blank expression. “I have known you wished for her for quite some time, though i can tell this is beyond mere infatuations. I have no qualms with such as long as all feel the same.”
He felt Tel physically relax, as if some tension had been held since her vow with him in the forest. There likely was. She had been much closer after the fact, but it was always subdued, as if she was worried she would be rejected and he would discard her at Pan’s wishes. He didn’t want to actively think about the scenario. He would much rather not have to make choices like that.
“I’m surprised you would expect her to say anything else.” Harrow commented passively. “It’s not exactly weird.”
“Especially involving a bond.” Jax added, successfully landing a light tap with his foot to his mate, the latter protesting as she tried to remain seated while stretching out to return it.
“The issue is with her.” Sahari waved a loose paw to Tel as she remained oblivious to her continued cuddling with Nalah. That, or she didn’t want to mention it aloud. Nalah certainly seemed content with the arrangement.
Pan followed the pointed appendage, giving Tel a questioning look as she fixed her grip on his arm. “Am i insufficient?”
Tel looked at her, the expression somewhere between a scowl and regret before she closed her eyes to sigh, her tail joining Pan’s in an effort to constrict his torso. “There is but a single Blade to a Sheath. Were he in possession of a mark besides my own, i would not pursue him, assuming i did not remove the other first. You being unable to do such is...” She paused to think of how to explain her reasoning, a wayward glance was given to Sahari as she finished her thought much more quietly. “I am willing to overlook the discrepancy for him.”
Pan’s eyes gained a touch of fulfillment to mirror his own when he internalized how big of a concession it seemed to be for her to accommodate his desires. He absently played with the fur on Tel’s stomach, the attention earning him a slight squeeze from her tail.
“Then i am content.” Pan declared softly, snuggling back into his shoulder, the matter settled in her mind.
He furrowed his brow, unsure of whatever the hell just transpired between the two, but took a breath to depart from the topic. Well, until Harrow prodded his side.
“So, who first?” She reasserted, fending Jax off as she continued poking his side.
“I’m not answering that.”
She ignored him, addressing the two females who had turned him into a cushion at one point or another. “Come on, i have a lot riding on this.”
Tel smirked, the amusement from annoying the pack outweighing the slightly displeased expression she had on since she arrived back at the settlement. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
Harrow threw her arms high in victory, Jax bemusedly exhaling as he surrendered their physical confrontation. “I win!”
“What makes you say that?”
An orange claw was pointed at the disappointed cook. “If it was you, you would have spent forever teasing details.”
Joseph couldn’t help but tip his head in concession. That sounded like what she would do.
Tel huffed, annoyance returning in her expression as Pan seemed somewhat sympathetic. “And what has our ‘serial-catastrophic-failure-causing’ Technology Head earned?”
Harrow paused, a slight blush overcoming her enthusiasm. “You knew about that, huh?” She tapped her claws until she was ready to announce her winnings. “Jax owes me ten moons of back rubs.”
Pan and the Human burst slightly, the laughter proving to be infectious as the rest joined in, much to Harrow’s embarrassment. Tel chuckled, but she looked to be enjoying the mild chaos she had caused for the moment rather than the actual subject. The orange-furred female waited until they calmed down enough to continue.
“So, what about the other things? We have carts full of stuff and new people.”
“Ah.” Joseph vocally got himself back on topic. “Right. The carts are metals, clay for the forge, and alcohol. The new members are two servants that Loptr was fine with us having and four of Trill’s girls that are here to observe Tel.” He glanced at the Lilhun in question making use of him as a seat. “I think. It’s a weird arrangement right now.”
Tel gave him a bored roll of her eyes, her lack of desire to input conveyed concisely. He accepted it for what it was, not overly concerned since the girls seemed to listen to both of them anyway.
“Past that...” Joseph hummed in thought. “We have craftsmen moving in with the first trade caravan, though when they arrive is pretty fluid due to them needing to arrange things from various settlements. Servants and animals will be included, so we should start on a barn of sorts sooner rather than later.”
“Animals?” Pan questioned from her snuggling, though she seemed more than happy to just stay there instead of turning to address him.
“We’ll see what they send specifically, but even if it’s not overly promising, we could just treat it as a fresh meat delivery and make do.”
Sahari mused for a moment before entering her opinion on the matter. “I suppose Ferra would be of use.”
Joseph nodded. “Atrox’s mate, or one of, anyway. Yeah. That’s who i was thinking, too.”
Nalah sighed, making no attempt to separate from the arm around her shoulder. “So we shall build the Hall, a barn, and perhaps additional barracks.”
He squinted an eye a bit as he considered. “Yeah, give or take. Will that be too much?”
She waved him off lazily, tossing a piece of meat into her mouth. “I shouldn’t be, though it will delay the desire for a bath house.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Bath house?”
“They lack a bathing facility like we have.”
He lifted his hand off of Tel’s stomach to point at the planner, a slight embarrassment occurring as he noticed how comfortable it was to rest his fingers amongst her fur. “Do it. The barn can wait. Make it a decent size.”
“What else?” Harrow asked, likely requesting more gossip or interesting tales as Nalah stared off into the distance passively, probably thinking about where they should put a public bath.
“Nothing much to mention.” He admitted, deciding to omit the whole thing with Tel and his talks with Sahari.
“My turn?”
Joseph raised a brow.
“Come on!” She hopped from her seat, pausing when she noticed that removing him from his chair would involve detaching two females. He patted Tel on her stomach to request freedom, a momentary thought within her broken as she defaulted to teasing him with her claws before acquiescing to his wishes. Pan put up much less fight, instead assertively pulling him in for a kiss and a quick nuzzle, the combo leaving him dazed for a second before Harrow used the opportunity to drag him to his feet.
“I have something to get your advice on and something to show you. Which do you want to start with?”
The Grand Hunter shook off the surprise at his mate’s uncharacteristic forwardness, thinking about his answer before shrugging. “Whichever is cooler?”
Harrow patted his chest with the back of her paw before marching off towards the facilities wing. “Good choice!”
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Sahari remained behind with Tel as all else filtered out of the hub to start their respective duties, the Blade idly laying on the couch while chewing some of the cooked food she had brought out for Joseph that had been left behind once the male was carried off by the excitable Head of Technology.
The ex-Grand Huntress approached, blocking the sunlight from on high that fell on Tel’s closed eyes, eliciting one to open lazily in inspection the person interfering with her lounging, a long exhale preceding her disingenuous query.
“Need something, Sahari?”
She maintained the repressed smug expression, feigning ignorance to the obvious. “Feeling at ease now?”
Tel closed her eye again to disregard the notion. “Why would i be uneasy? I am back at our den, bathed, and i may rest from my tasks for a while.”
A light chuckle escaped Sahari. “You were accepted by his bond. I would think that had been on your mind these past moons. That much is quite plain to see, given that you made no attempts to join his rest.”
The female paused in the process of depositing the last portion of meat into her mouth, giving Sahari a frown before continuing. “They required the moon alone, and i care not for the opinions of others than my Sheath.”
“And he would have been forced to choose her over you should she dissent in regards to your addition.”
Tel fell silent for a moment, eyes wandering the ceiling before she sat herself up. “Then i suppose we are most fortuitous that such shall not come to pass, no?”
Sahari ignored the dismissive tone. “What are your plans for her?”
“What might you mean?”
She crossed her arms. “You have complaints, surely. What do you intend to do about them?”
The Blade stared at her. “Complaints? Such as how easy it is to catch her unawares? Her lack of weaponry maintained on her person? How little effort it took to engage with her mate, despite her proximity?”
Sahari nodded, suspecting that Tel’s mind would go there. “Do you plan to address them?”
The cook sighed. “Time will tell, but it is clear she carries his carelessness.”
“She carries much of him within her by now.”
Tel got to her feet, a look of resignation on her face. “Yes, that much is obvious.”
“Perhaps you should be thankful.”
Sahari received a raised brow. She returned a knowing nod.
“She would not be as willing if not for his influence. She has gained that which she would never. Were it not for his temperament, one could not blame her for wishing to monopolize. Instead, she seeks his happiness as her own. If it includes yourself, so be it.”
“Telling me to ignore her faults?”
Sahari shook her head. “I am merely advising you to embrace her as an extension of your influence rather than an obstacle to account for. She wishes for his safety as much as you, though she only holds the tools to repel that which is obvious.”
Tel tilted an ear, a slight smirk playing at the corner of her mouth. “You suggest i make a Blade of a defect?”
The black-furred female grinned, turning on her pads to head outside, a paw waved over her shoulder. “You are expected to raise the next, no? This may be a chance to test your proficiency, even if it may be the only you attempt.”
“It is a bloodied path, Sahari. I highly doubt my male would approve.”
“Then craft a clean edge. Form one from nothing. You are the heiress, no? Prove yourself worthy of your presumed station and allow your Sheath to perform without worries.” Sahari called out through the exit, allowing it to close behind her when Tel’s expression became contemplative.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
“You doing okay?” Harrow asked once they were in the gym. She dug through the various prototypes she had been working on to find the things she wanted Joseph’s input on.
The Human rubbed his neck. “Yeah, why?”
She paused her search to glance at him with a deadpanned expression. “You looked like you would have evaporated if you could.”
He pursed his lips. “Yeah, kind of. I don’t know. The whole ‘polyamory’ thing seems like a minefield to me.”
A nasal sigh was given as she returned, taking out the first piece and laying it to the side as she resumed her search. “Yet you come back and have no problems with Tel fawning all over you while you’re next to your bond.”
“That...” The male faltered, a defeated tone taking place. “I didn’t really think about it in the moment, it just felt like the natural thing to happen.”
“Isn’t that your answer?” She offered idly, placing another piece to the side.
“To what?”
“How she fits in to your relationship.”
“How so?” Joseph replied, confusion evident.
Harrow laid the second-to-last piece down and sorted through the box from the beginning. “Pan feels about... well, everything the way you do. If Tel feels natural to have around, then Pan won’t feel anything is wrong.”
The Grand Hunter groaned, the hollow tone suggesting he had cupped his face into his paws. “It just feels like jealousy and shit should be an issue.”
Harrow fetched the last piece, laying it with the rest and plopping herself onto the ground to observe the frustrated male. “I can’t speak for Tel, but i think she was more worried about it than you were.”
“She’s a ball of confidence. I can’t really picture her being worried about anything other than being told to not to fuck around.”
She waved him off. “You’ve had all this time to make sure everyone knew how much you care for Pan. It’s stressful to think that you would be compared to that if it came down to one or the other, especially a bond.”
Joseph raised a brow as Harrow put on the first piece of experimental armour on her arm. “I wouldn’t compare them like that. They’re different people.”
She fixed her gaze on him as she moved on to the second piece. “Pan knows you to your core by now. She has claimed a position of a den-mother of your adopted kit. Now, she has affirmed her placement as your mate.” The orange-furred female shook her head at his momentary flush. “Mix that with your societal standards, and she wouldn’t be able to worry but think that she might be seen as lesser and thrown aside if Pan took issue.”
Annoyance filtered into his voice. “Both are irreplaceable. Period. I’m not excited about it, but I’d rather do my best to make sure they’re happy. Even if it meant trying to convince her as best i can. I’m not ignoring what Tel has done for me and what she has ended up meaning to me.”
“Is my male proclaiming his affections out loud again?” Tel prodded playfully after having silently entered behind the male and wrapping her arms around his waist, her chin resting on his shoulder. Joseph jumped slightly at the unexpected presence, his face stricken by embarrassment after being caught in the act of vehemently defending his new-found relationship with the female.
Harrow smirked as she moved on to the last piece. “He seems to be rather taken with you Tel. Makes me wonder what happened that moon he defended your honour.”
The Grand Hunter furrowed his brow as he glanced back and forth between them with a warning eye. “Not talking about it.”
Tel ignored him, her tail lazily swaying behind her. “I fear not for his bond. It seems that she cares more for this one’s feelings than her own.”
“Not like there’s much of a difference.” Harrow commented, standing now that all four pieces were on. She adjusted the fitment as Tel hummed in agreement.
“I have no idea what’s going on.” Joseph lamented openly, the cook leaning on him more in response.
“You,” The Head started, pleased with the preliminary checks of her equipment. “are going to help me solve a few issues with these, and she,” A claw was waved at the mildly interested female. “is going to be happy with me.”
Tel adjusted her grip under his arms, wrapping one paw over the wrist of the other as she applied more weight and idly observed as Harrow started explaining whatever it was she had on her arms. Joseph cycled a breath as his plight remained ignored.
The orange-furred female wore two large bracers, their outward arm coverage a fair bit wider than what would be typical. The second section of each was a large piece that slotted over the more form-fitting attachment to her arm.
Curiosity seemed to have prevailed over his premature exhaustion. “Are those supposed to be a shield when you put them together?”
Harrow winked, a mischievous smirk suggesting that he was only half right. “They also do this!”
The female engaged a pair of spring-loaded protrusions placed on the inside of the outcroppings, two broad daggers extending forth in an instant with a visible recoil.
Both the Human and the female raised their brows, Harrow proudly explaining her invention. “I took inspiration from those Katars you told me about and the spring system you used for Tel’s roped daggers. Add in the need for a shield that wouldn’t hinder our claw-to-claw training...”
“And you end up with hidden blades inside of a wearable shield.” Joseph mused, an impressed tone clear. Tel viewed the items with interest from his shoulder.
“Why might these make me happy?”
Harrow pointed the worn knife, its edge blunted until the details were sorted. “Because you can add this to your armament as a backup, and because i figured that your little declaration back there meant you would rather Joe stay armed and protected.”
The assassin hummed in understanding, though didn’t comment further as she continued analyzing them.
“So what do you need my help with? It seems like you got all the important parts down for a prototype.” Joseph furrowed his brow in confusion, looking over her work from a distance to find an issue.
Harrow took a breath, wincing at the need for overview. “Well, this is it.”
“What’s it.”
She held the extended blades outward. “This. They don’t go back without taking them apart.”
The Grand Hunter’s expression fell neutrally. “Ah. Yeah, that would be an issue. I’d need to see it disassembled to weigh in.”
Harrow’s ears fell as she heard that he wouldn’t be able to know what to do about the problem at a moment’s notice, but quickly regained her enthusiasm as she removed the prototypes. “We can do that whenever. Next, i found out something neat about the den while i was doing the wiring!”
“Oh?”
She nodded, her tail threatening to fly off with how active it was being. “Whatever species occupied this place before us must have been a massive mix of high and sub-harmonic vocalizations.” She paused when the male gave her a blank look. “They spoke in an an extremely wide frequency range. Or at least utilized such.”
Joseph blinked, a light tilt of his head showing that he was a little confused at the apparent non-sequitur. “And that has to do with wiring because...”
“Because,” Harrow tossed the braces back into the box. “I discovered a defunct circuit used to power a building-wide public address system!” She threw her arms wide as her main discovery was finally being announced to someone who would appreciate it. “I rigged it to the terminal! We can play music to the whole den and outside, if we want! I checked and there are tiny acoustic projectors everywhere, though they look to be far more capable than the size suggests.”
Tel perked up at the mention of widely accessible entertainment while Joseph looked to the side in thought, his face carrying a contemplative shade. “That’s cool and all, but do we want to inundate everyone with music all the time? I have a lot of variety there, I’m pretty sure someone would be drove nuts by the end of the week.”
“I need your help there, too.” The Head added in counter, approaching the pair with a bounce to her step. “I can’t read your language, but there should be a setting to split the zones and allow playlists by room.”
“Why would there be a setting like that?”
Harrow shrugged. “We’ll see what we can do, if not. Worst comes to worst, we can just open it up during celebrations.”
The Human paused, conceding the point after a moment. “That doesn’t sound like a terrible idea. I’m down.”
She separated the two, shoving Joseph out the door in her rush to get started on the idea. Tel allowed it to happen, a mild interest passing her eyes all the while until she tapped Harrow on the shoulder.
“Could i have a set of that prototype created for Pan once it is complete?”
Harrow waved Joseph to continue once he noticed he was the only one still going to the terminal, raising a brow at the female. “Odd for you to ask.”
The prospective mate shook her head. “It would benefit him to have more at his disposal. None have taken to his philosophy of using one’s fists like she has. This would merely allow her to expand her repertoire while still adhering.”
Harrow hummed, a skeptical eye scanning the female’s face for a hint at her true motive, a sigh escaping once she decided that Tel wasn’t going to clarify further. “I’ll get Mama to measure her once Joe straightens out the retraction mechanism.” A second glance was afforded. “You sure you’re okay with Joe threatening your blood-father and having a preexisting mate?”
Tel maintained a placid expression, boredom hinted by her quick break of eye contact. “I have stated my opinion on such. Why do you ask?”
“Because he’s my friend and part of my den.”
Tel returned her gaze. “Would it worry you so if i took issue?”
Harrow failed to answer immediately, a breath being required before she quietly responded. “I just don’t want anything to ruin it.”
The Blade chuckled. “I may find myself desiring to hold him to my own, but i must accept that she is as much a part of him as he is her. As for his threats to Trill?” Tel’s voice grew wanting as she slipped a teasing smirk towards the curious Human waiting at the end of the hall. “That is far from a problem for me.”
Joseph leaned against the wall, his arms crossed as he patiently waited for the two to finish their sidebar, Harrow noticing his idle expression now that Tel had been accepted was a stark contrast to before. She smiled with closed eyes, happy that the dynamics of the pack didn’t seem to be shifting in a bad direction.
“Okay.” She breathed out, changing gears mentally. “As long as everyone’s okay.”
She turned to face Tel, noticing that she had gone on ahead without waiting for a response to harass the Grand Hunter, the latter struggling not to laugh as the female poked at him.
At least it seemed that she could keep this den.
She hurried to catch up, wondering what music Joseph would be using to test her ideas.
​
Next
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A/N: Today’s shout-out is to you guys in the comments! Always brightens my day to see everyone tossing in their thoughts on whats happening. Also loving the upvotes you toss to each other whenever someone says something you agree with, really shows me which comments i should be looking closer at. Take a moment to pat yourselves and fellow regulars on the back. You deserve it.

Hello! I bought this back in 2020 and it's been a great machine, mostly used on the go initially but last year or so it's been primarily plugged in with the standard adapter so I thought it would've been using direct AC pass through and not discharging the battery (didn't use the 60% limit setting since I thought I read it had direct AC pass through). Also set it up for the extended 10 hr settings based on the pinned post in this subreddit.
Today I used it unplugged for the first time in a few weeks and it died in 10 minutes, Asus support app and battery bar both show the battery health as green. Was it an off chance sleep issue or does the battery need replacing? I had shut down the system before traveling but when I got to class it died in 10 minutes. Charging back to full power currently so will run another test tomorrow but wondering if anyone else has run into this
In the event of a battery replacement, I tried searching the subreddit and see an Asus parts link from a while back but it 404s, have there been any reputable replacements? Or best to just use wired until I can get a replacement?
Thanks!
Model: GA401IH-BR7N2BL
ROG Zephyrus G14 14" Laptop - AMD Ryzen 7 - 8GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 - 512GB SSD - Eclipse Gray

Although Alex Murdaugh has been tried in a court of law and convicted by a jury of his peers for the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, the Daily Discussion will continue in the sub as a way for members to stay connected.
We want this to be a safe space to engage with each other as we reflect upon the trial, process the seemingly endless amounts of information and the aftermath, and unravel the tentacles of Alex Murdaugh's wrongdoings that remain entwined throughout the Lowcountry... together.
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Was just curious which 'flavour' of VBA people used the most - for example, for me, it's changed over time, but at the moment, it's Excel.
View Poll

I don't think any of us expected how quickly we would have access to online tools that can face swap individuals, and a neural language network in our pocket that can write an essay for us.
We are living alongside a rapidly developing general intelligence that can connect with applications to instantly generate art indistinguishable from real artists in seconds, and it can do so via natural language instruction. Video and voice of the same format is months away from becoming publicly accessible, and these networks are being made more efficient and available for customisation and local execution.
This is not going to slow down, it is going to speed up, and anybody who tells themselves otherwise is unaware of the scope of the problem. Just this week unreal engine released a tool that can motion capture and locally process convincingly realistic facial performances with a mobile phone in minutes - that type of fakery used to take a full team weeks of work, and it can easily be combined with tools like lyrebird to create convincing fakes of anybody with publicly available recordings, including yourselves.
Trust in online content is getting lower and lower. People don't look like themselves, it might not even be humans writing a lot of what you're reading. If we don't have an objective way to verify the point of origin and unaltered nature of a source we are going to be in real trouble. Political statements, articles, videos - they all need an immutable proof of issuance and issuer, and the only way to do this is in an incorruptible and irretractable way is via watermarked blockchains. Blockchains we have already built and use every day.
Whitehouse press release and speeches could be on ERC-20 standards right now, the very first Bitcoin block has a piece of news etched in it forever. If we don't make it user friendly and implement this type of verification soon then I feel like people's faith in what's real and what's not is rightly going to be eroded quickly. We saw exactly how that goes on January 6th.
Political and social systems move much slower than technological developments, we are constantly playing catch-up (as you can see by how poorly the US are handling the growth of crypto) but this particular area needs people working on it now. If we can leverage the ecosystem we are all part of to solve one of the biggest existential threats of our lifetimes, that sounds like a great way to show a huge number of people who matter why we believe in the blockchain.

For me, it’s video games. My(65) partner(25) is very into video games, and over the last couple years he has introduced me to the wonderful world of them. I used to be a TV-after-work kind of guy, but now I find spending time digitally to be even more fun. It’s suitable for my lower energy levels and engages me more than most TV programs ever have. But most importantly; we get to play together. We do live together, but teaming up to play a video game is not only exciting (Bored? Play a new game!) it’s an excellent way to build a bond and problem-solve together, as well as have plain old fun.

KS… yall are killin me here. someone buy this knife already! its a full custom! how much more can u ask for? 😂
mainly looking to sell now but the only trade id consider is a tanto zaan + cash on ur end
PICS AND VID :D
this one hurts my heart to put up but the bills arent gonna pay themselves. from what i know this is a 1 of 1 Fury. it has been lightly used and resharpened but its in excellent condition. only marks would be on the blade but you cant even see em even in bright light. this fury is running on washers and its extremely smooth. this is my first ever Fury and its damn impressive. the colors on this knife is sooo beautiful and the milling is clean asf. the grinds are absolutely insane and that dragon spine Danny put on this is really something special. SV: $1,150 $1,100 $1,075 $1k!! TV: $1,200 $1,175 $1,150 $1,125
payments will be made thru PayPal F&F only!
knife will be shipped via USPS!
if you have any questions, feel free to ask
thanks!

I used to be an active poster here. Every Ramadan I would join and share my struggles. Every Ramadan I would lose some fasts. Get better. Relapse. Repeat. I tried everything that everyone suggests on this post. Making dua. Praying. Doing dhikr. Staying in wudu. Would make it months some times and eventually, still relapse. I have seen posts here from people who relapsed after YEARS. I hate to say it but that would discourage me so much, knowing that there are people out there who have tried and succeeded for so long and then caved. You can say all you want that if you relapse once you should make tauba and start over again but anyone who has relapsed knows that the feeling of shame can be so intense that it feels impossible. You just feel like you will never get rid of this curse.
What helped me get over it something more philosophical. It eventually came down to asking myself a simple question. Am I really a Muslim?
Ask yourself this. Are you a Muslim? I asked myself this and thought about my life. The way I was brought up. They way I act in day to day life. The way I behave. The way i approach major decisions in life.
These are tough questions to answer when you think about them deeply. After pondering I realized that while I think I am a Muslim, I only show it with my words, not by actions.
I pray. I fast. So why is it so hard to quit this habit. The reason is that it's not just this habit. It's everything.
Islam means "submission to the will of Allah". Am I submitting to the will of Allah? Do I consider His command in every aspect of my life. The answer was a clear no.
The issue of masturbation is not the most serious one. It's just the most obvious one. The most taboo one. It's the one we feel most shame about. But I felt like I should feel more shame for other things.
I realized I am weak man. A Muslim man, but a weak Muslim man. And everyone around me is a weak Muslim man too. Muslim men you need to hear this. We have become weak. Not just because we can't stop masturbating, but because we cannot do anything that strong Muslim men are supposed to do.
I look around me and 90% of Muslim households, men have no control over their families. Their wives and daughters wall around without hijabs and they cannot and do not say anything. We convince ourselves that this is a "personal decision". If we push them to do this, we will be oppressive.
We don't have the ability to guide our wives and children in a loving way. How many Muslim men pray with their wives regularly. Feed them with their own hands like the prophet did. Show them love and affection and patience like a strong Muslim man is supposed to. Like our prophet saw and his companions. It's easier to take a liberal stand and feel proud that our wives and daughters pray at least and dress relatively modestly.
We don't teach out son's to be strong men. We don't teach them to lower their gaze. We are more focused on watching our son's excel in sports and careers. If we were strong men, we would be raising strong sons who never get into these habits.
I could go on and on but I realized that masturbation is a by product of a society where men have become weak. Weak to control their own desires, weak to lead to their families, weak to make tough decisions for the betterment of society and betterment of their families.
I looked at what happened in Iran with the hijab issue. What is going on? It's crazy. One of the last Muslim societies that was proudly following the hijab and all of a sudden it all fell apart. Women are proudly taking their hijabs off in the name of equal rights and Muslim men are standing right beside them and supporting them. The state is taking excessive action and harming their own citizens. There is no right in this situation. Everyone is wrong. And how did we get there? Because of weak men.
Allah made us amirs of our households. And look what we did. Instead of focusing on our own families, our own wives and sons and daughters, we like to sit around and talk politics and how Islamic society is falling apart. Islamic society is falling apart because of US. If we all focused on our own homes, if we all encouraged a modest lifestyle at home, we wouldn't be in this situation. It's time to take an honest look at ourselves. Stop following your own version of Islam, as there is only ONE version of Islam.
Have some self respect. Have some dignity. Look at the Sunnah and seerah of the prophet, how was he at home, how he lived his life and we will realize that he was a strong man. It requires showing patience at the toughest of times, affection when you may feel anger, control when you feel desires. Why? Because we follow Islam which means "submission to the will of Allah".
This next part is controversial:. When I realized and learned this lesson, I decided to change my life. I told myself I was going to be a strong man, and it started at home. I stopped masturbating but that's not enough. Because if I don't fix my life elsewhere, if I don't become strong in other ways, then I will remain weak and one day, I will succumb to my weakness.
I told my wife she has to start wearing the hijab. I encouraged her politely, showered her with affection, gave her time. I did everything I could and I realized I wasn't getting through. I asked myself what am I supposed to do in this situation? What would a strong man do? Being physical was not an option. So what do I do.
I spoke to my wife one last time in a polite way. Long conversation about how this was important because I want my daughter to wear the hijab as well and she won't wear it if her mother doesn't. We spoke for an hour and I asked her in the end "will you be wearing it from now". She said "I will try".
I felt a rage like never before. Wallahi I felt something in my mind that I've never felt before. My brain was going too fast for me. In my mind I kept hearing "what are you going to do now? Are you going to pick your wife, or are you going to submit to the will of Allah".
So I told my wife, right then and there that I was divorcing her. First of the three. I said it. Then I said to her that since I've said it, it's done and the only way to reverse it is to take it back within a month, otherwise we are done Islamically. I saw a fear in her eyes I have never seen before. She was finally seeing the implications. I wasn't hurt, I felt nothing. In my mind, it was just a decision to make between her and Allah. It was for the future of my children. And I picked Allah.
She started wearing it and while she was nervous at first, she got comfortable very quick. I took the divorce back. Our love and affection grew so much. Immediately I noticed that men in our family treated her differently, with a little more respect and privacy. I adored the fact that nobody got to see her beauty the way I did any more. My house feels blessed. I have never felt the desire to masturbate since. There are SO many things I could mention that I felt were a blessing from Allah.
My point is not to go and divorce your wives. My point is that masturbation is a by product of us men being weak. In the name of liberalism, we have destroyed Islamic society, Islamic culture. We are scared to speak up. 90% of Muslim men believe that hijab is a choice. If you feel that way about a woman's hijab then you probably feel that way about your own hijab. You feel no need to lower your gaze and you are a weak man.
Be strong men. Be strong in every decision you face. Don't take out an interest based loan just to appease your family with a nice house, Instead be strong and explain to them why this will only cause harm. Show love and affection to your wife so that she WANTS to cover herself from the world and only expose herself to you. Be strong and stop looking at women who Allah has not created for you. If you do, don't be surprised if your married life starts falling apart later on.
Being strong is not just about lifting weights, having a strong career and respect. It's about enforcing an Islamic lifestyle for your family. You need to be strong to do that. And if you are not even strong enough to stop masturbating, then you will not be strong enough to make other tough decisions in your life for the sake of Allah.
Stop jerking off. Be strong. Have patience and faith that Allah has created a beautiful wife just for you, and watching some trashy pornstar on your 6" phone screen will never come even close to it. You're watching these women, what if the punishment for this is really severe? We have to raise strong Muslim daughters. And we are jerking off to pornstars on our phone? You see where I am going with this. It crossed my mind. What if the punishment for this is that our Muslim daughters start doing things like this? Who would be to blame? It would be us, the men. Who enjoyed such things and also failed to teach out daughters the right way. And believe it or not, Muslim daughters ARE doing this right now. Unbeknownst to their parents, Muslim girls are doing crazy things on TikTok, in private messages etc. Wallahi there is nothing scarier for me than this. I cannot comprehend this, and once I realized this, it became much easier to quit.
Don't be a weak man. Be a strong Muslim man. Be a leader for your family. For your wife, for your parents, for your children. Inspire them with your Islamic leadership, be a role model to them. Make the tough decisions that Allah wants us to make for his sake and he will inshallah reward you for it, he did for me.
Be strong brothers. Think of Muhammad saw, and abu bakr, and Ali, and Umar, and Hassan and Hussain. These are our role models. And just think about their sacrifices. And then think about how much strength it took for them to go through what they did. And what is our challenge? To not masturbate? And we cannot even do that. Shame on us.
I know this sub is usually a soft minded sub but wallahi, sometimes we all need a stern reminder. The soft messaged didn't work for me. I apologize if this offended anyone, but Im telling you my life has improved significantly since I adopted this mindset. I as a man am responsible for my family and I sure cannot do a good job of that if I'm masturbating in the bathroom half the time.
I live peacefully now. It's not even a temptation anymore. Because I know I'm stronger than that.
May Allah preserve my strength and give everyone the strength to overcome this habit.

Hello lovely ladies! I wanted to consult your infinite wisdom on best things to do and what questions to ask when screening out the more covert entitled momma’s boys when talking to men.
I can avoid the overtly misogynistic men because their sexism slaps you in the face like a lead dupatta. But I’m talking to a guy right now who seems nice and says all the right things, but he’s also said things like “my family is super open-minded and liberal but I expect my partner to fit in with them and treat them like their own” and “I don’t really like people who are fake and change their appearance to fit in”.
I know those things don’t sound too bad on their own, but we all know that most men don’t understand that standards are different for them (and this guy has admitted he’s the favourite kid too, and he seems clueless that people have higher expectations for women). Women have to act different, look a certain way, and are treated differently, especially by in-laws.
So what are your ways to gauge how aware a guy is of these matters? To be honest, I don’t think any man is really capable of being fully aware and considerate of these things (none of the ones my friends and I have met are even close), so what boundaries do you set to combat our cultural sexism?