Hello! I'm 33 weeks pregnant and I'm just getting increasingly anxious about the up coming birth of my daughter.
I just feel like there's still so much to do!
I need to put together a hospital bag for when it's go time and I have no idea what all I need in it, aside from like clothes and diapers for baby.
The nursery is still half done and I have to get the baby clothes put away and organized by size yet.
I don't have any bottles or pacifiers yet, I do have a breast pump but I've yet to check the sizing for the bits or anything to make sure it's good to go.
Baby shower is July 8th so I know I'll get an influx of clothes and diapers and the like then too.
Husband and I just picked out a really nice diaper bag online so I'm kinda excited about that at least!
I feel almost panicky about the whole thing because I feel so unprepared 😭
What do I need for the hospital bag?? I've been trying to look at check lists and things and from what I'm gathering, I need some comfy clothes for me, possibly a robe, some adult diapers for bleeding, perri bottle? And some things like phone charger and the like.
For baby I would imagine I need diapers, clothes, wipes and pacifiers right?
I've made the decision to start my mat leave at the end of the month so I'm hoping that will give me time to prepare better but I just feel so stressed out and anxious right now 🫠

The first three activists 'journalists' questioning Premier Smith today at the Cabinet announcement were pressing all the lefty buttons.
4:10 First up: Janet French from CBC in her second Q tries to entangle Smith in some gender pronoun controversy that is happening in New Brunswick. Bravo Janet. With all the issues Alberta has to deal with Janet wants to get us all hot and bothered over some pronoun technicality happening on the opposite side of the country.
5:50 Next Graham Thompson, The Star, lectures Smith on climate change regarding forest fires. Is the forest fire situation more complex than that, sure it is, it involves forest management, logging practices, humans interaction with forests causing fires, but the lefty religion demands that climate change be the only all-encompassing thing talked about. All knees must bow to climate change. Thanks Graham for enforcing the lefty rules.
8:25 Next Saif Kaisar Global, sounds the alarm over Adriana Grange's appointment to the health file. You see, Ms Grange was at one point was part of some anti-abortion groups and that is not allowed. No one can be against abortion or even question it. Surgically taking out a unwanted baby is the same as taking out an appendix or tonsils and anyone who says otherwise is not properly 'educated' and extreme and must be silenced. Saif demands Smith guarantee abortion rights.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFy4JIbcYY4&list=PLvrD8tiHIX1Iktz9ADzpOx_-P4JKGzRWz
I think it is time to put to rest the idea that we have unbiased journalists. The right-wing reporters do peddle misinformation and conspiracy theories and the left have their own agenda. It is what it is.

Hello everyone, first, I just have to say thank you to this sub and everyone in it. I have spent the last three weeks reading every single post, commenting on many, posting a few of my own because of my NIPT experience. I will always be so grateful for the warmth and support coming from this group.
I wanted to update and send a little good news into this group so the happy stories are well-represented. I had a NIPT draw at 13w that came back inconclusive, and a redraw at 14w4d that came back inconclusive, too. The test was Qnatal through Quest Diagnostics, so I never did learn my actual percentage either time, but both were due to low fetal fraction (Quest does not run the test at all when they see the fraction is below 4% so it’s “inconclusive” not “high risk” like many Natera people have dealt with). I was referred to a GC who took all of my family history and my spouse’s and recommended a Quad if we wanted it, and my OB allowed an elective Ultrasound.l for the following day at 17w.
My ultrasound was yesterday, and baby showed absolutely NO signs of any defects, measured perfectly, moved, strong heartbeat, and I learned that I’m having a baby girl.
She is not in my arms yet, and I suppose I won’t fully calm down until then, but I know the pain that so many of you are experiencing if you’re waiting on test results and scared about your options and all the variables out there. My heart will always go out to every parent in that position because these three weeks have been the hardest time in my life. You really don’t quite get it until you’ve gone there.
Thank you, again, for the time and opportunity to be apart of such a supportive group. I hope I can pay it forward in the future.

If you're a person, there's a 99.99% chance I'm not right for you. Consider skipping to the bullet points below before going through the wall of text.

Introduction

I have zero girlfriends and I would like to increase that number to one. I have absolutely zero reason to believe this will work, but I don't need to believe, I just need to make the post. Sometimes in life, if you want to see change, you try to bring change, whether there is hope or not.
The term "hopeless romantic" is a bit overused, but I do overly romanticize the idea of a relationship. The problem is, my expectations are unrealistic. To be clear, this is one of the most significant reasons I'm single. I'm literally one of those idiots with a list of checkboxes to tick and seemingly there isn't a person on Earth who ticks all of them. This is my little personal Fermi paradox - could I really be truly alone in a world of ~8 billion humans?
In a way, we're all alone in our minds. But I still feel like if I met the right person, we could understand each other on a deeper level. A level of understanding we just don't have with anyone else. It's this connection I seek. I'd rather have one relationship with a person I'd be happy to live and die with, than a hundred hedonistic flings.
I don't believe in soulmates just because I don't believe in supernatural stuff in general. And if I did, I'd feel wrong calling myself just half a soul. But the term exists because people who invented it had relationships that made them subjectively experience a connection that's special. One day, I hope to have that in my life as well. And considering how my odds are so low that I might as well call it magic if I succeed, my search for a high compatibility partner is similar to a search for a soulmate.
Sometimes I wonder. By the year 2100, I almost certainly will have either given up, died alone, or found someone and died not alone. It'd be nice to know the outcome, but maybe it's even better to see it happen.
This post is not trying to talk you into contacting me. It's just information about me so you can decide that for yourself. If you're not convinced, then I don't deserve to have you, simple as that.

Compatibility

• I'm looking for someone with traits and opinions similar to mine. After all, you don't have to make a compromise if you don't disagree in the first place! Of course some disagreement is welcome, fun even, but too much of it and there's not much of a reason to stay together. So be your own unique self, and see how many of my bullet points apply to you.
  
• I would also hope that you also know what kind of person you're looking for and you have reason to believe I might be suitable.
  
• Please do not play the favorites game (i.e. namedrop bands, movies, etc.) early on. Yes, I think Skyrim is great and Kimi No Na Wa is the best movie ever, but your taste in music doesn't tell me anything about how our daily interactions will go.
  
• I don't think MBTI or Enneagram are super accurate, but they're useful for giving a quick idea about my personality. "INTP 8w7" says more about me than "I like Italian food".
  
• This also means I care more about personality than looks. Obviously I have visual preferences, and so do you, but the personality barrier is hard enough to get over.
  
• I used to find the phrase "like someone for their flaws" dumb. But some things that society considers "flaws" could be exact thing someone special likes about you. I have lots of flaws like that.
  
• Similarly, you might have "flaws" I could find really attractive. In the end, dating is just a game where you try to find people with the same mental disorders.
  
• Age-wise all I care about is that we're in similar stages of our lives. Be old enough that your parents no longer have authority over you, but young enough to climb a tree.
  
• Location doesn't matter to me. I'm looking for online at first. I'm willing to relocate or travel together in the long term.
  

About me

• I'm an INTP. It's a nerdy, funny, not very emotional type. More chaotic than organized.
  
• I'm a 8w7, which is a bit unusual for an introvert. I'm more confident, a bit more adventurous (if words like that mean anything in dating bios). I can be assertive, but I don't like to boss others around. Basically, I still rehearse my lines before I order a pizza on the phone, but I actually end up making the call.
  
• I'm heavily introverted. A confident introvert might look like this. I don't like large crowds and prefer smaller groups. As in, groups of 1 to 2.
  
• Though I don't entirely follow any one philosophy, I like Stoicism and can be seen as stoic myself. I'm in control of my own emotions, and I'm still surprised how many adults are not.
  
• On a D&D alignment chart, I'd be a Chaotic Neutral. I highly value personal freedom, which is why I'm not committing myself to good nor evil.
  
• I'm an atheist. Yes, technically an agnostic, as most sensible atheists are, but I find that people who call themselves agnostic do so because they're uncomfortable with the more divisive label.
  
• I'm frugal, I like minimalism, and I'm interested in Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE).
  
• In my free time I like to immerse myself in the fictional worlds of anime and video games, because fantasy is often more interesting than reality. I also like being outside, hiking in nature.
  
• I'm 99% sure I want a childfree life. If I ever change my mind, it won't be anytime soon.
  
• I am exactly 1cm shorter than you.
  
• White skin, dark hair, about average weight.
  
• I'm a demisexual.
  
• Love languages are quality time first and physical touch second.
  

Dealbreakers

These are things I'm just not into. Nothing wrong with them, but they are not traits I'm looking for in a partner. Opposites do not attract in this case. Please don't message if they apply to you.

• Religious people.
• Extroverts, "social butterflies".
• Piercings, tattoos.
• Drug addictions, cigarettes, excessive drinking (drinking in moderation is fine).

Contacting me

Please send me a reddit DM (envelope icon), not a reddit chat (speech bubble icon) because I notice DMs way quicker.
It'd be best if you wrote a short introduction, but I'll respond even to a "hi". I also have a little conversational game prepared if you're into that.
Please include the 27th prime number in your message.
As long as this post is up, I'm looking to find you, even if it's years old.

Extremely sweaty monthly group starting from scratch. VERY experienced group leader
If you like the idea of siege raiding zergs, onlining any base you want, lots of ak pvp, controlling monuments and flexing loot in vending machines then give us a try.
Our current group size is 10/12 slots are first come first serve.
Those who don't pull their own weight will be removed, you MUST bring something to the table besides PVP. Everyone farms, everyone roams, everyone raids
Requirements:
-100m+ AK
-Age 24+
-High proficiency with all other weapons
-High game knowledge
-High gamesense
-Ability to fly mini/scrappy
-Average or above understanding of ALL game mechanics
-Very high activity (100hrs+/2weeks) -Clear and concise comms
We do not recruit shitters, crybabies, hackusators, casuals, ragequitters, ego commers, or otherwise annoying people. You will be UKN checked, and then you will be vibe-checked. We do not recruit mid-wipe and if you are unwilling to go through our recruitment process then don't bother.
If this post resonates with you then welcome home. Send me a DM for details.
https://discord.gg/GH8j3QASBs

ND mom of autistic 10yo son. He is wonderfully silly and smart and affectionate. He’s kind and helpful and so creative. That is who he really is. Unfortunately, his instinctive response to most stimuli, good or bad, is to be defensively angry and mean. He growls and hisses, gives dirty looks, and says the most hateful things. Naturally, this causes a negative reaction from the person trying to interact thus causing an escalation in behaviors and often sending him into a meltdown. He always feels so remorseful after. I don’t understand why he is so angry and mean. He doesn’t want to be that way. I know it is not in his control but I don’t how to help. It has been like this since he was a baby. We have had to ad medications to reduce the physical lashing out. It greatly impacts his social interactions and he cannot make/keep any friends. It also wears on our family as no one wants to hear such hateful things every day. I have scoured adult autistic discourse and cannot find this occurring to anyone else. Any ideas?

Hi all, currently looking to make BCPs (Cherry top, Zaku stem, Meteor v3 bottom) and was wondering if there were any alternatives to Meteor v3 bottoms. It's a nylon housing and the sound profile I'm looking for is something that's loud and clacky. I'm considering the WS Nylon MM bottom housing. Any ideas are welcome, thanks!

The audience hall was a long room with a high ceiling. From the ceiling hung metal chandeliers that held hundreds of small white shining stones that illuminated the room with a warm and gentle light. Sunlight cascaded from the tall, arched windows over a row of rose beds aligned through the side of the room. For a moment I forgot I was inside the Great Hall and I was transported to a summer garden.
The ornate wooden pillars guided my sight to the center of the room. An exquisite carpet embroidered with fantastical animals and monsters went from the entrance to the foot of the Marquis throne. Captain Kiln guided me into the room where the nobles from the balcony leisurely chatted around the throne.
“That man over there,” Captain Kiln pointed at a man near the window. “He is Marquis Tauron of Farcrest.”
The Marquis was a tall man with a squared jaw and wide shoulders dressed in a simple white shirt and a red vest. From his belt hung a gilded scabbard and a short cape with his crest, a man impaling a wolf, covered his left shoulder. His tanned skin stood out among the paleness of the rest of the courtesans.
“Might I ask what his class is?” I asked.
The Captain gave me an amused glance before replying. “The Marquis is a high level Flame Fencer. I can beat his ass though.”
Abei walked up to the Marquis and after a few words, he walked to his throne. The rest of the courtesans sat on the chairs by the sides of the room, chatting in lower voices.
“Robert Clarke from the City of Light, please come forward.” Abei announced with his voice magically amplified and I felt all glances falling on me.
The old man continued speaking, invoking ancient laws, but I zoned out. Unlike the rest of the people I knew, the Marquis seemed to overflow with magic. If I narrowed my eyes I could almost see red sparks of mana floating around him. A shiver ran down my spine, the Marquis’ mana pool seemed to violently boil inside him. There was something his mana had that mine lacked, but what?
As my mind wandered, a servant dragged an odd brass nest with a dark blue orb embedded inside. I instinctively identify it.
System Shrine Fragment. [Identify] ???
The System prompt caught me off guard. It was the first time [Identify] couldn’t give me extra information about what I had in front of me. I wonder if the System had a reason to keep the information about the fragment to itself.
“Put your hand in the Identify Orb if you are an innocent man, Robert Clarke.” The Marquis spoke out loud. I recognized his words were some sort of ritual because of the little spirit and great disinterest with which he spoke them.
I begrudgingly obeyed, there were a dozen courtesans in the room and I wasn’t eager to show them I was a [Lonely Boy]. I wasn’t eager to know if I had any hidden titles either.
Abei gave me a reassuring nod and I hovered my hand a few centimeters from the nested orb. Suddenly, a blue light surrounded my hand and a second later my data sheet appeared in the middle of the room for all to see. At least there was no cavity search in this world. Or so I hoped.
Abei gasped and the room fell in a sepulcral silence.
New title acquired!
Favorite Teacher (96): Going to school isn’t that bad with you at the whiteboard. [Identify] You have not only managed to teach your students but to earn their respect and affection.
Reward: Slightly increased mana pool (96).
​
New title acquired!
Confidant: A title for those who are deemed trustworthy and reliable. [Identify] Your wisdom and welcoming nature
Reward: Increased mana pool.
​
New title acquired!
Father Figure(2): Someone has to do it. [Identify] I guess you are a better father figure than none.
Reward: Increased mana pool (2).
​
New title acquired!
Classroom Fiend: Not even flies fly when you are around. [Identify] They know you are not like those pesky substitute teachers.
Reward: Increased mana pool.
​
New title acquired!
Master Tutor: Title awarded to those who had mastered the pedagogic arts and techniques, and have a deep understanding of what being a teacher means. [Identify] You should’ve considered early retirement by now.
Reward: Doubled mana pool.
​
New title acquired!
Silver Scholar: Title awarded to those who had a deep understanding of multiple sciences and techniques. [Identify] Neeeeeerd!
Reward: Greatly increased mana pool.
​
New title acquired!
Stalwart Mentor (7): No matter how many times they fall, you helped them stand again. [Identify] Having too much trust in humanity isn’t always a bad thing.
Reward: Increased mana pool.
Other titles kept popping up but my mouth went dry as I felt my mana pool deepening inside my chest far beyond what seemed possible. But even that sensation disappeared into the background as I came to the realization of what those titles meant.
There was no way in the world I was the favorite teacher of ninety six kids, and the notion I was someone’s father figure was just preposterous. I knew I was a mediocre teacher at best. The System was wrong, after all, I was one of those teachers who didn’t really make the difference.
Before I had time to dwell on it, my character sheet appeared with all of the new titles on it, for everyone to see.
Name: Robert Clarke, Human.
Class: Scholar Lv.12
Titles: Lonely Boy, Hot for Teacher, Confidant, Classroom Fiend, Favorite Teacher (96), Father Figure (2), Master Tutor, Silver Scholar, Delinquent Reformer (5), Stalwart Mentor (7), Role Model, Expert Mathematician, Expert Physicist, Adept Historian, Adept Linguist, Journeyman Biologist, Novice Chemist, Novice Orator.
“A-aren’t you too young to be a [Silver Scholar] and a [Master Tutor]?” Abei stuttered as he glanced at my titles like a child looking at a particularly colorful breakfast cereal commercial. The Marquis was at the edge of his throne and even the most gossipy of the courtesans was silent.
Something completely unrelated clicked inside my mind. I knew why Holst had abandoned the kids. He was farming them. The breakthrough Zaon was talking about had to be a mana improving title just like mine.
I withdrew my hand off the orb before it showed [Homicide Planner] or something along those lines because the System probably knew my [Awareness] was working overtime to plan Holst’s death. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply.
“M-master Clarke? Are you all right?” Abei’s whispering brought me back to the audience room.
“Yes, yes… I just… I’m a bit embarrassed, that’s all.” I lied, hoping everyone had seen my [Hot for Teacher] title.
Abei gave me a reassuring glance from the side of the throne before speaking again.
“Most of us Scholars fell in love with a professor at some point in our formation, there is nothing to be ashamed of.” Abei opened his character sheet effortlessly and showed it to me without resorting to the Identify Stone.
Name: Abei Luzian, Human.
Class: Scholar Lv.51
Titles: Silver Scholar, Bronze Tutor, Favorite Teacher (2), Expert Astronomer, Adept Mathematician, Adept Architect, Journeyman Orator, Novice Musician, Passionate for the Professor, Archivist, Translator, Thaumaturgy Theorist.
Even if Abei’s character sheet was intriguing, I wished I hadn't seen it. By my Earthling standards that was a blatant breach to privacy. And yet, I couldn’t help but notice that [Passionate for the Professor] was a lot tamer than [Hot for Teacher].
“How long have you been walking the path of the Scholar, Master Clarke? I can’t fathom how much effort it took to get two expertises and one mastery at such a young age.” Abei asked, this time loud enough for everyone to hear.
The silence in the room was replaced by the whispering of the courtesans. Abei’s interest in my person felt nice but I didn’t want to attract that amount of attention towards me. I didn’t want to fall into any intrigue games that could be developing in the Marquis court.
“We have witnessed the titles of an innocent man. For that reason I shall grant you free passage across the kingdom.” The Marquis announced and got a round of applause. Now he glanced at me with predatory eyes.
Abei took out a scroll from his sleeve and with a movement of the hand, the Scholar made it float in the air. With another movement, mana emerged from the tips of his fingers and washed over the scroll like the waves of the sea. With each clash, the words were imprinted in the yellowy surface until the document was complete. Abei took it to the Marquis who pressed his ring against the scroll, leaving a gleaming symbol that slowly lost its magical shine.
“Here you are, Master Clarke.” Abei handed me the passage permit.
“Accept my humble thanks, milord. I will not take more of your time.” I mumbled, still confused by the whole experience. I knew one thing, I had to get away before anything happened.
As I started my getaway when the Marquis spoke again.
“Your knowledge and potential hasn’t passed unnoticed to me and I will like to reward you properly.” The Marquis said with a mysterious grin on his face, but I knew there was no such thing as a free lunch. Whatever the Marquis was offering me wasn’t a reward but a deal I wasn’t in position to refuse without insulting him.
“I can’t think of a reward other than a letter of recommendation for the Imperial Academy.” The Marquis announced with his mighty voice. “The royal family would be thrilled to have such a promising young man helping with the academic development of the kingdom.”
There it was. The Marquis wanted to turn me into a gift for the King of Ebros, and part of me was okay with it. A recommendation letter would greatly expedite my journey to the imperial capital for a foreigner like me, however, something prevented me from jumping headfirst into the offer.
“Can I ask a question, milord?” I said before I could stop my tongue. “I have been watching the comings and goings of the inhabitants of Farcrest and there is something that bothers me.”
I couldn’t accept the recommendation letter without an answer.
“Speak your mind, Robert Clarke. I’m well aware Scholars have ten questions for every answer they have.” The Marquis' attention was fixed on me.
“I couldn't help but notice a great amount of vagrant kids in the northern district while the farmlands around the city lack laborers and some parts of the city lack proper maintenance. Farcrest seems to have enough resources to flourish and yet they seem arranged in the most peculiar way. With a little investment in the orphanages, the Marquis could educate the kids so they become useful classes for the city.” I said.
Suddenly, the Marquis wasn’t as amused with my presence anymore.
“If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. I understand that for a Master Tutor every problem can be resolved through education.” The Marquis replied with a derisive tone.
I didn’t mention that the actual solution to many social problems was indeed education. Instead, I clenched my teeth and waited in silence. If I was to open my mouth it was going to insult the Marquis’ ancestry.
“Master Clarke lacks the context…” Abei started talking but the Marquis silenced him.
“Miserable orphan lives are a small price for Farcrest’s prosperity.” The Marquis rested his hands together and gave me a winning smile.
The picture of Elincia and her kids eating watery soup came to my mind and I had to bite my tongue to not open my mouth. I saw the tears of the small snake kids, Zaon’s doubts about the future, the bravery of the tiny harpy Shu. I saw Elincia clenching her jaw to withstand the pain of her wounded leg to return faster to the orphanage.
There was something I wasn’t catching.
“The King’s war machine can only be quenched with gold or blood, and orphan blood is cheaper than gold coins. We just take the surplus kids that can’t be fed in the orphanages and send them to the Royal Army.” The Marquis taunted me.
For an instant I didn’t believe what I heard. The Marquis was sending orphans to their certain death just to avoid paying the royal war tax.
“In any case, they are given a chance to survive but the Farlands are a treacherous enemy. Even if they die, they are doing a great service to the prosperity of Farcrest, and the realm.” The Marquis said with a predatory smile, then, he got comfortable in the throne, awaiting my answer.
“A cunning solution for a tricky problem, milord.” I bit my tongue.
The Marquis smiled full of himself, thinking he had secured a nice present for the royal family while outsmarting me in front of the court. The courtesans spoke of how benevolent the Marquis was for offering me a recommendation letter. But the mere idea of leaving Elincia and her kids to their fate made me want to puke.
“I can’t accept the letter of recommendation, milord.” I raised my voice, catching the attention of the whole courtroom.
The Marquis’ face fell apart.
“If you accept my proposal, you will be a Sage in no time. You will be freed of the shackles of a support class once and for all.” The Marquis couldn't hide the venom in his words.
My heart still yearned to accept the recommendation letter, travel to the Imperial Library, and become a spellcaster. But I couldn’t accept it. My new titles reminded me of how I felt years ago when I was a young and idealistic teacher. I felt like I could change the world for me and for others and no matter how naive it was, I wanted to preserve that feeling.
“I can’t accept the letter. The System made me a Scholar, and a Scholar I shall remain until it decides otherwise. Trying to change that unnaturally goes against my oaths. I hope you can understand.” I said, praying that invoking the System would save me from the Marquis wrath.
“Then you are a fool. We have nothing more to discuss, get out of my sight.” The Marquis growled and I felt the captain’s iron grip closing around my arm. She dragged me out of the room. As soon as the gates closed behind us, she let me go.
“That’s the biggest shitshow I have seen in a while, congratulations. The Marquis is going to hold a grudge.” Captain Kiln said as she signaled one of the guards to grab my backpack. My heart raced inside my chest but at least I was outside the courtroom with my head still glued to my body.
“Today I remembered something I had forgotten long ago.” I said as Captain Kiln walked me, or rather pushed me, back to the main entrance.
“And what is that?” The woman inquired, now more intrigued in my person than ever.
“I used to have strong ideals at some point in my life, might as well start following them.” I extended my hand, offering her the two silver coins she had lent me. “These are yours.”
“You are going to need them if you are going to do what I am thinking.” Captain Kiln said, pushing me through the door. The guardsmen at the gates glanced at me with amused expressions. It seemed that not every day the Captain kicked some random dude out of the Great Hall.
Despite her treatment, I noticed an approving look in her eyes. She took the money and put it into her pocket. I was having a hard time reading the woman. Was she loyal to the Marquis or did she have her own honor code?
“I’ll tell you a rumor I heard the other day.” Captain Kiln grabbed me by the jacket and drew me near to her so nobody else could hear. “Someone had been threatening lower nobility to not donate money and the merchants to not deal with orphanage owners. Do you understand what I am saying?”
I nodded in silence. The Marquis wanted to starve the orphanages so the kids had to join the army early. What I couldn’t understand was why the captain of the city guard shared that information with me.
“Lay low. Stay out of trouble, stay out of the Marquis’ sights.” Captain Kiln whispered as she turned around and returned to the Great Hall, leaving me in the middle of the main street.
Before the guardsmen could push me away from the gates, I turned around and entered the busy market knowing exactly what I had to do.
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Hey I'm following up on a post u/phreak9mm made the other day about Jeff Goldblum Day coming up on July 13th. I had an idea I wanted to run past you all . . . what if we celebrated this day with a meetup at Kennywood?
A Thursday at Kennywood where everyone shows up in Goldblum attire or as one of his characters. Jurassic Park outfits, Grandmaster capes from Thor: Ragnarok - etc.
Full disclosure: I'm currently running a Kickstarter for a Goldblum-themed belt buckle that's close to being funded, so I have a personal interest in all things Goldblum right now. However, I think a Kennywood gathering would be a fun and harmless way to get together and enjoy a day at the park.
Let me know what you all think, or if anyone is interested in helping to organize this — group rates at Kennywood are half price. (Need to have 10 or more folks sign up)

Okay so I want to to start off by saying that I am not trying to bash my husband in any way, but this man is seriously getting on my nerves. We just had our first, she is 3 months old and she takes up a lot of my time (obviously). I don’t get anytime to myself anymore so I really like when I have a moment to just relax and do the things I want to do.
My husband has been semi helpful but I kinda get resentful when I’m dealing with the baby all the time and he’s sitting there having a snack, on his phone, or just taking a nap.
Recently we’ve been more intimate which is a lot more than other couples get, but I’m obviously still pretty sore down there and it’s not the same as before. Today we were in the shower and he was obviously trying to get some, and I said hey, I’d really like to just get out of the shower and do some of the things I want to get done while she’s sleeping but he kept pushing. Finally I was like no seriously I want some time to myself and now he’s all upset ( he says he isn’t) but he’s currently sitting in the other room ignoring me.
Also the second I got out of the shower my daughter woke up and decided she’d like to nap on top of me instead, so now I’m nap trapped.
Sorry this is kind of a rant but if anyone has any advice that would be great.

If you wish to ask me anything, go right ahead! I’m Always happy to talk :)
If that title interested you, then your like me and you love survival rps! and want a true character driven! or perhaps just the possibility of building a great rp interests you
I absolutely love world building, and character making with good partners!
I am perfectly happy to Make a massive RP, or better yet run a world with you in a 50/50 way.
So! Some stuff on me, I’m general I really love dark unique settings, where struggle and harsh realities are ever present, but if you’re more for a fun light hearted rp that’s also welcome! just about any form of fantasy or realism is great, battles, war, building, character development and so on are all my favourite things to include, but as stated not at all necessary, open to all sorts of ideas!
I do however not really bother with Dice roles, I prefer more of a narrative experience or just a CYOA sorta guide.
if I have at all interested you please feel free to ask me absolutely anything!

I went to grad school a 12 hour plane ride away from my home. Shipping from home to my school is wildly expensive, so I had to pick and choose the makeup and skincare I brought with me, since it needed to fit in luggage and carry-on with all the other essentials I had to bring. Adding to that, I’m in a tropical climate for grad school and foundation just melts off my face, so I can count on my hands the amount of times I’ve used the ones I did bring in the last ten months.
Well, now I’m home for the summer and seeing all the makeup I left behind. I only brought a carry-on bag with me to visit because I still had clothes and things at home that I could use. Now my brain is like “hey, we can bring the rest of the makeup back with us!!” I’m struggling with whether this is even a good idea or not since 1) I’m in a 7x14 room with limited storage and space, 2) I would have to get a suitcase or some sort of luggage, which costs money I should likely be saving even if it is from a thrift shop, and 3) I haven’t used any of this in 10 months, do I realllllly need it still? Or do I just find friends here that want it or places to donate what is donate-able? On the other hand, I have fallen in love again with a lot of these products in using them while I’m back, or remembering that I had them and why I got them in the first place.
I guess I’m just wondering if anyone else has faced similar situations and what they decided. Any support, advice, thoughts on the matter are welcome! I can also give more specifics on what I have in my dorm and what is still left here if people think that’s necessary, but I will say that the amount at my dorm is a decent sized collection. I’m the go-to room for before going out and Halloween/costume parties. So it’s not like I’m without makeup without the items here.

I signed up for a Tough Mudder about a year ago. A bunch of my friends from all over the country are meeting in one place to do it together! Aaaaand now I’m pregnant lol. I’ll be about 19 weeks when it happens. I’ve never done one before and I don’t know if it’s truly insane to try? Anyone who has done it pregnant or not I’d love to hear what you think!
For context this is my 2nd pregnancy. I’m super active and worked out my whole 1st pregnancy literally until the day I gave birth. No complications. I do weight training, HIIT, cycling, swimming, and teach weekly fitness classes.
Obviously I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks for my baby, but I’ll also have FOMO if I can’t do it!

I pulled her card from my lockbox today. I couldn’t bring myself to remove it from its wrapping though. I’ll explain the card in a little while. Even in just that briefest of moments though, the tears became too thick. I so wanted to see her name. Instead I decided to only go back to the memories. They bring enough tears. So I put the card back but need to tell my story of that memory. So thank you for your time in letting me indulge dear Reader. I know your time is precious and I am loquacious of a sort.
The place I used to work at a long, long time ago, Croc’s, was an odd duck. It was a Transformer of sorts. During the day and early evening it was a damn good Mexican restaurant. One of the best in town. Lunch was insane. Dinner was a respite. But on Friday, Saturdays, some Thursdays, and almost every holiday eve, it was… I don’t even have words. Nothing like what went on in those walls had been seen in Denver at the time. We had lines around blocks. The plural is not a mistake. On those nights, Croc’s was THE place to be in Denver. The owners got there before everyone else and had hit a jackpot with the place. The Rockies were starting over at Mile High and moving to LoDo soon. LoDo was booming and we were in the middle of it partying like no tomorrow every night.
But this isn’t about that amazing place, that’s for another day. Nope. This is about her, her son and I. Or rather, about loss and memories. But it all started at Croc’s and you needed to know what a breath of a moment in time we shared there. Not on one of those crazy nights but one lazy Sunday when we were pretty slow.
I mentioned the restaurant was an odd duck. See, it was designed so that from breakfast through dinner and into very early evening, it was a purposeful, full-fledged, extremely popular, and well reviewed dining establishment. But after that, it was designed so we could remove every table, chair, stool and booth. We essentially turned the whole restaurant into a giant dance floor with a bar that spanned half the distance of the long wall topped with massive tequila and booze pyramids. The wells were at either end with a plant potter behind them for storage. It was split level(ish) with a few VIP areas squirreled away. State of the art DJ booth on the south end of the bar. Oh and did I mention we had a 28 foot replica of a Nile croc suspended from the roof named “Hal”.
The owners were a group of friends who had grown up in the business. One of them was from the family that started Senior Frogs and the like down in Mexico. They had all met and worked at some of the hottest places in the state and been to some of the craziest places around the Americas. So when I say no one had seen anything like it, they hadn’t. We had a person that would blow tequila from a custom bong into a partier's mouth from 30 feet away. Our DJ’s were the best in town. We poached the absolute best in talent from every bar in a 4000 mile radius. That movie “Cocktail”? Yeah, that was this place on steroids. Hell, beside myself and 1 or 2 other guys, our security eventually turned into off duty SWAT cops. All these places around Denver and, hell, around the country you see now? Yeah these guys started it right there in LoDo.
It was the paper and crayons we would put on every table though where my memory begins.
There had been other places that had done what we did with the butcher block paper. It went on every table with crayons. It wasn’t the most innovative thing there but it was fun and the patrons enjoyed it. Many great artists out there! And of course the kids loved it. A lot of the folks who lived around there would bring their kids with them for lunch or dinner. I worked a lot of Sunday day shifts because a) everyone was hung over and never wanted to work and b) it was usually a nice bit of quiet after two nights that would make Caligula jealous. Plus the people who did come in were usually pretty cool and just out for a good meal. It was pretty chill after all that joyous chaos.
My section was usually the front lifted area just in front of the potters and a few tables in the middle. I was splitting with the other server that day since it was more dead than usual. A beautiful Colorado day back then. Blue sky with puffy clouds. Perfect temperature with no wind so the front doors to the small little patio were open. You could smell the flowers from across the street. The other server let me know she had sat a couple of people at one of my four tops. Sounded good so I headed out to say hello.
It was customary for us to write our name on the paper when we showed up. It was hokie but everyone loved it. It was our way of saying welcome and have fun! Some servers could do it upside down but I could never get the hang of that.
I headed down the bar toward the front, preoccupied with getting my marker out for the intro. I remember coming around the corner of the potter and just kind of coming to a juddering stop at the top step, tripping and almost falling on my face. Luckily she was a little preoccupied with her son and getting him situated so she missed seeing me make a gobsmacked fool out of myself.
I luckily regained what little balance I could alongside some composure quick enough to walk up and say hi. She said hi and then kind of waited. “Oh yeah dumbass” I said to myself as I told her, or rather flubbed, my name as I wrote it in the corner so they could read it right side up. She giggled a little bit as most people did with my nickname at the time. I hadn’t noticed but her son had been waiting the whole time for that moment. He grabbed his crayon and wrote his name and her name in front of them. “That’s a good name isn’t it?” I asked him. I told him it was the same as mine but the longer version. He was a little surprised by this as I went by “Scooter” back then. It took a second but he quickly realized it was a nickname. He had signed the long version of our name and said that’s what he liked. Right on man, you got it. Damn smart kid. You can tell, ya know?
After that briefest of moments, I shook myself a little and introduced myself for, I think the fourth time now. She tells me her name but it is instantly gone. Not only because of the effect this moment is having on me, but just because I am bad with names on the first go around. I don’t think we heard what either was saying anyway. Our eyes were locked and in that moment, it was all that mattered somehow. I can remember how deeply they shined. Her hair was a little damp and unkempt like someone in a hurry but has that respect for herself. Dark like her eyes but shining from the light outside. A simple blue/light purple and white striped shirt. Slightly damp around the shoulders. Worn jeans. Not the designer type but jeans aged with a good strong life. Blue canvas deck shoes with the white souls if I remember that part right. Maybe black canvas. I saw all this without ever breaking her gaze.
It was as if in the same moment we both realized we were in the same place together but not there alone. A moment later we both found ourselves apologizing for talking over the other. Sheepishly, like teens on their first date. Giggling a bit. Not knowing what was happening but knowing that something most definitely was. I apologized for the awkwardness and I think I cracked a joke or something but neither of us knew what to do. There was a calm panic and, I dare to say, a longing that was unknown?
It was her son who brought us both back to reality. He had asked if we had Coke or Pepsi. I shook myself internally again and told him we had Coke but could find some Pepsi if he really wanted it. Luckily he was not a Pepsi kid. I also told him that, yes, I would be happy to add a cherry to it. This time though when I met his eyes, I looked at myself when I was that age, as I answered that question. I hadn’t noticed it. Like a mirror as they say. Dark brown hair full of cowlicks. Round face with a big smile. Getting that cherry meant the world to him. I remembered that same feeling again through him. It was like looking at a version of myself I only saw in pictures.
At this very second in time I remember being terrified. Not “scared” terrified. It was more like, holy shite is this happening? What is going on? I wanted to turn and run and hide but somehow regained what little composure was left in that split second. I turned back to her and saw that she had just seen what I had seen. I could see wonder, joy, confusion, happiness, peace, thrill, fear and hope that I am sure were being reflected in my own eyes. We both needed a few minutes. We each could see it. It was overwhelming. Again, not a bad overwhelming but one of those moments where you need to put your hands on your knees and take some big, deep breaths.
The whole 3 or 4 minutes were surreal. And I will never forget them. I will fight as hard as I can to hold onto the others I have of both of them.
Somehow I managed to Charlie Chaplin myself away to get their drink order. I believe hers was a Sprite with a lemon. Normally I would go right around the corner of the plant potter and get the sodas from the guns there. Instead I went all the way to the back station. I needed to breathe. It seemed like an hour but I headed back. By this time the son was going to town. He had talent and it showed. It seemed like we had regained ourselves somewhat but the whole meal was kind of like an episode out of a teen comedy. We giggled, laughed, blushed, and did all the other things you would expect to see from two teenagers who discover they like each other. It wasn’t like I was trying to stay with them, or they tried to keep me there. It just kind of happened. I’d start to go away and she would ask me back for something simple. I would bring something I had forgotten in case they needed it. The whole meal went that way.
When they were done and ready to go, I was dreading it. Should I ask her out? She had mentioned she was single. It felt like I should ask her out. Like I said, the whole visit was surreal. There was no ring or even a suntan line of one (Don’t judge me, it was a different time). I wasn’t seeing anyone either. We seemed to get along amazingly, both her and her son. Even my fellow server noticed and was egging me on. It was obvious. Doing something like that with a client back then happened. Not usually in the first 30 seconds but you never know. I made up my mind to walk them out as I had no other tables and see what happened. I took the check to the table. She was packing her bag. I had gotten a refill for his togo cup and handed it to him. He said thank you and said he drew something for me. They had carefully torn it from the paper and he handed it to me. It was the three of us holding hands. How I held the tears then I do not know. I was a different person there at that precise point in time. At this moment those tears are here though.
I bent down to his level and thanked him sincerely. He said he was glad I liked it and he hugged me. I heard her try to stifle her gasp. Thank any or no gods or whoever for him. He let go, grabbed his Mom’s hand and said he was ready to go. As I stood up I could see tears welling in her eyes. He hadn’t done that to another man in, what she said, was a very long time she would tell me in a quiet voice as we started to walk toward the door. That was it. I didn’t know what to do. I hadn’t even noticed that when we got to the big double doors, he had grabbed my hand. It just was there.
By this time I do not think either of us really knew what to do or what was going on. I mean, this was an impromptu outing to a place her son had liked because of the paper. It was a cheap and good lunch and then off to wherever for them and another table for me while I rolled silverware in the back or stocked the empty quicks from the previous night. But it seemed like it had been years together but only moments, if that makes sense? I certainly did not know what to do at this point. I think I mumbled what a delight it was to be able to spend time with them and I hoped they had enjoyed themselves or something like that. I honestly could not tell you. By this time she had regained herself somewhat. That girlishness turned into an elegance, beauty and strength that I had not seen before. But those same feelings exchanged in that momentary glance were still there. As was still a bit of moisture along the bottom of her eyes. We made a bit of small talk till he got a bit antsy and wanted to head off.
As we said our goodbyes that day, almost at the same time, we asked our questions. I asked if she would like to come by again soon with her son. His birthday was coming up I think and I could get the guys in back to make him something special. At least I think that was it. Her’s was if it would be ok if they came back soon. You know because the little guy liked drawing and the food. More childish giggling and laughing. And before she left she gave me her card and said to call if I was going to be working again on a Sunday or just whenever. As they walked together, hand in hand down and around the corner, I just stared at them and then the card over and over.
That very card I put back in a safe place tonight.
She was a designer as it turned out. I didn’t pry into her past as it sounded like it wasn’t all that great at times. She came by the restaurant a few more times after that. I then called once or twice to say hi and how they were doing and to let her know to come by. Eventually she asked me out. We spent some time together and it started to get a little more serious. She was a few years older but not by much. She was driven and forthright. Quick witted and compassionate. And such a good Mom with a massive heart. I was young then, somewhat good looking, fairly well paid and worked at the hottest spot in the state. And I had this woman I couldn’t get out of my head. Even my coworkers knew and could see what was going on whenever we were together. Either just the two of us or all three of us. Walking on clouds was an apt statement. At this point I want to point out that while I am no saint whatsoever, I do consider myself a decent person. At least I was back then and for the most part today. Things have changed as they always do but I digress.
Eventually the moment came. The serious date. She had a small but fantastic apartment downtown and wanted to make me dinner for once. I don’t think she was done asking before I said yes. We set a date for later that week. I remember it was a Saturday because me taking a night off from that place, with all its amazing moments each night to the amount of money you walked out with each night to leaving one of the other bouncers with one of the other guys he wasn’t used to, was a pretty big deal. Had to call in favors but everyone just said go. No one there batted an eye. They all seemed to know what a big deal this was somehow.
We set it for a little later in the evening so I could get things in proper working fashion up front of the house and then head over. Any of you who have worked in a restaurant know that smell you get. Kind of need to have worked in that environment to know I guess. So that night, I didn’t have time to head home then come back. So I had a change of clothes and a vanity bag so I could clean up in the back. Wouldn’t be the first time I got sprayed down by the dishwasher but probably a first for this reason. Cleaned up pretty well, freshly shaved and quaffed, walking so far above Cloud 9 I lost track of which one I was on. Headed out to put the work kit and bag in the truck. On the way out a few who knew what had been going on smiled or waved.
And off I went. I was a little late but she said she had expected it given the night of the week. Back then, downtown Denver was different. Colorado was different. I guess everywhere was different back then. But in this instance, I mean in an architectural way. You didn’t have the towers all around LoDo as you do now. From some rooftops you could still watch a sunset over the mountains. Say what you will, even I have to admit that a purple and orange sunset over the mountains is quite possibly the most beautiful natural thing I have seen. It is immense but oh so fleeting. Just like our lives I guess. You could still hear birds and bugs over cars at times. I wouldn’t say it was peaceful but it was at least calm?
She was lucky as her apartment, though smallish, came with a hidden bonus. Her window allowed her to access the roof on the next building. A part of it anyway. But this little slice of hidden wonder allowed a view down Market Street, across Spear, over Auraria and then the mountain view. It was stunning. Like the apartment, the space was just cozy enough for two to enjoy a little rooftop barbeque and dining. She gave me the quick tour and we poured some wine. She was going through the menu as we “headed outside”. The door was a small little window. I remember scratching my head and thinking I may not fit out there. She handled it with the grace of a ballerina and said I could do it. It took a minute or two but I contorted my clumsy self outside. And she was right. It was spectacular.
Not just the view but what she had done with her little corner of peace. She had talked with the building owner who agreed that she could use this space as he didn't even know about it. It was like something out of a commercial today. A nice little seating couch type niche. Well built trellis with some small Christmas lights for effect. A little brick grilling area with a hibachi going. I can still smell it. The table with candles and dinnerware. Decking. I was taken aback. The way it was situated insulated her from the sounds down below. You could hear them but it was almost like distant white noise. It was just peaceful. I remember remarking about this. She said she discovered it by accident when her son thought it might be a good play area.
Dinner was wonderful. The night went on. There wasn’t a sense of time. Just us there in that little part of the universe that was only hers. To this day I do not think I felt that safe before anywhere nor since. Someone was letting me into one of their most sacred spots. Literally and figuratively. I felt privileged. Almost as though I was treading somewhere I shouldn’t be. I think that thought was my downfall however. Don’t worry dear Reader, you will understand all that very soon. We watched that sunset. It was perfect. The right contrast of colors. Just the right amount of clouds to change those colors ever so slightly. A reminder of how something can change for the simplest of reasons.
As night grew darker it started to get cold. The goosebumps we were feeling on each other's skin holding hands and looking at the stars weren’t just from feelings. It was getting cool so we moved inside. After safely dousing the grill and making sure the coals were in their proper place, we cleaned up. Since it was easier, I stayed outside and handed them into the house to her. We figured it would be safer for the dishes. Giggled some more as we came to realize more and more things about each other at the same time. Finally the outside was clear. I stood outside for another minute to take in what was happening. I think that is then that little bit of fear weeded its way in without my realizing it. This was as close to perfect as I could ever dream I thought.
After squeezing back inside, assisted again but ok with that, we cleaned up the dishes and opened another bottle of wine. The inside was just as cozy. At some point she had lit some more candles and had some soft music going. Light jazz if I remember. Not loud at all. Again, there, just outside the periphery. Sitting on the couch I can feel her sitting next to me. We are close. Two people holding each other wanting to believe but not sure if this is real. There was almost a vibration. The constant goosebumps were not because of the cold anymore. Once we were both comfortable and we just talked. For hours and hours. There were the intimate moments but nothing scandalous. A tenuous kiss from one to the other.
We talked about what two people talk about who truly want to know the other. I believe we asked as many honest questions of ourselves as we did of the other. We really, truly, wholly wanted to know each other. And that is what we did. The more we talked the more comfortable we felt. Each of us had our scars that were not easily revealed. Nor did we reveal all of them that night and guarded them well. But we each wanted to know if the other was someone we could trust with those deepest places that we all hide in the darkest parts of our soul.
We talked a little about her son’s father but not in depth. It was easy to see that was one of the scars. We talked about her son. Why she was so astonished that first day. My heart wrenches this very moment dear Reader upon remembering that. Her hopes for him. His likes and his dislikes. Some of the stories parents tell others to embarrass their children later in life. We talked about what futures there could be not for us but for him and his world. He really was an amazing kid and I am sure has grown up to be someone she can be proud of. Time did not exist that night. Feelings and thoughts were exchanged that did not need to be said. We just knew each other that night.
We never did finish the second bottle if memory serves, we talked, laughed and sat together in peaceful comfort and gave no care about anything else. But tomorrow was coming as it always does and we had to leave each other. I remember the closeness as we held each other. The pressure of two bodies at that singular moment in time. That one instant that feels as though it could last through infinity. When two become one and feel the safety, love, compassion, trust and sameness that is rarely, if ever experienced.
Pardon me dear Reader but must ask a moment to compose myself. We are getting close to the end of my tale so also ask for just a bit more of your time. I know how so very precious it is. Thank you for allowing me to continue.
I do not know how long we held each other. To this day I wish it had been so much longer however. I do remember leaving. Working where I did, I was sadly but actively very familiar with many different levels and types of inebriation. That feeling that morning however was something that surpassed all that I had experienced in my life. I had never felt like this. I knew that the sun was starting to come up as I parked my car. I knew that I got through the door, downstairs and then fell asleep. I wasn’t drunk. It was pure. A pure love, happiness, joy and trust I had never felt from someone else. This feeling was so powerful it had knocked me for a loop that I just was not ready for.
I awoke later that day, thankful I didn’t have to work. It was late in the afternoon and I felt like I had been hit by a bus but didn’t care. I believe that the night before we both had excised many things that we had held inside for so long. I could (and can) still remember the whole night if not the words. I felt like one does after you give everything physically possible to something and have nothing left to give. But it felt right. Regardless of the ending, I do believe that, even though brief, that night, two people who had needed to find each other did. I think they needed to know that there was at least one person who understood, even if they hadn’t needed to actually say anything.
Now dear Reader I must ask you to remember that part about fear. Given my early life and life up to that point and to this day, I do find it very hard to trust. So this was something I had to confront. And so I started to. Instead of seeing what she saw in me, I saw the things I thought were ugly. I got scared that those scars would be peeled away and she would be repulsed. And these thoughts and fears grew. We still saw each other and talked for a while after that night. But my fear took over quickly. Before I knew it I had driven her away. There was no maliciousness about it. The thoughts that had ruled my life for so long before her and then after her, to this day, always got to the same thing. If you let her in, she will leave because of who you are. It was idiotic but it was ingrained at this point. I eventually told her I didn’t think it was going to work out. The truth was that I was scared. Scared to let her in. I hated myself for not being honest with her. She would have understood. Probably more than any other.
After that, I went on with my life as a young person does in that atmosphere. I saw her one time after that final talk. She waved as she and her son sat in a section away from mine. I waved back and remembered going out back and beating the hell out of our cooler there. I was so mad at myself then. While the anger passed as life threw one thing at me after another as it does until I find myself here today writing this, the pain of losing her has never healed. Nor do I want it to. That pain also brings memories that I so rarely experience anymore. I buried it for a long, long, long time but recently I find myself thinking about her and her son more and more. What would have been?
For you see dear Reader, that moment was my perfect chance. Not long ago in my life I was diagnosed with cancer. I eventually beat it but it has long since ruined my life. But that is not why I tell this tale. I ask for no sympathy. My life is where I am supposed to be. I have come to peace with that. To an extent I guess anyway. The reason it was my perfect chance is this. I was also diagnosed with a genetic defect which essentially makes me a cancer producer with no natural way to fight it. My mothers father died of colon and pancreatic cancer. My Mother has beaten 5 different bouts of cancer. I have been tested and confirmed. So if I had had a child, I would more than likely have passed that to them. After listening to what my mother watched her father go through. After watching my own Mother fight this monster 5 times and win each time. After all that I was horrified to learn that I could have passed this monster to someone I would have loved with all my heart.
I never married and never had a child. For most of my life I regretted that most of all to the point of shame. I am the last person in my familial lineage that will ever carry my name. My line dies with me. For the longest time that has been a great burden. However, after the geneticist confirmed me and a great deal of internal contemplation, with the aid of hindsight, part of me is glad that I never had a wife and child who would have to go through the horrors I have heard about, watched and gone through first hand and personally. That at least brings me a modicum of inner peace. Do not be fooled ever though. This monster is evil. It takes everything from all but the luckiest.
And I had my moment of perfect chance. Even though I did not know it at the time, I had an opportunity to spend the rest of my life with two someones who I truly believe to this day, loved me. Even if for so very briefly. I gave up the chance to be able to be a husband and care for someone I believe I loved and loved me. I had a chance to be the father I wanted to be without passing on my monster. To see a child grow into their best self. I get angry at times that I did this. Not necessarily my own selfish needs. I am also mad that this person trusted me and I couldn’t do the same in the end. That I let a child down who for his own reasons let me in when he shut others out. That we could have been the family we could have been. And I ran because I was scared. I can never forgive myself for doing that to them. This may sound selfish and perhaps it is but it is my history.
And now dear Reader we come to the end of my tale. Where it all began.
Her card.
I think you will understand why I put it away instead of taking it out after this. I mentioned that she was a designer. Her card is exquisite. I don’t need to see it to describe it. There is a silver cord ribbon wrapped around a waxed paper tied in a bow. It sparkles silver but is brittle after all the years. I can slide the card out carefully but don’t want to take a chance of damaging it. My hands aren’t the best anymore. The writing on the card is done with a most excellent penmanship in purple over white with black. The backing is white with the black used as border highlighting with purple as the border and main color. There is a bit of sparkle in one of the purples but not a garish amount. Just enough to catch the eye. The back is similar with details of her work at the time as well as some contact information. I don’t know if she did this on all of them, but there was a scent of her perfume that accompanied it for a while. It, like much else, has faded.
We all have a place to keep our most precious items. This one rarely leaves that place for me.
So in the really bad times dear Reader, I try to look at that card. I say try because it is very painful to try to do so. Today was one of those days and I wanted to share it. In the end I couldn’t get past the tears to look at it so returned it to its safety. Not really because of the pain. Believe me, the pain is there in vast amounts. But because of that first moment. I needed to remember what that feeling was like. I needed to remember what it is to look in another's eyes and see the whole universe and all its infinite possibilities. Some regrets, regardless of time, will always follow you. Be honest about that with yourself dear Reader. Today I needed to remember her and him. I needed that acceptance. That peace. That joy, That trust. That love.
This time however I needed to commit this to our history so that perhaps at least one other will read it and maybe it will impact somehow. This is not meant to be a moralistic tale. It is just a tale of love lost. A life that could have been different. I hope, dear Reader, that your life is filled with wonder and love. Do not miss a single chance in your life because of fear. Be cautious but be open. Your world is massive but also miniscule. The chances don’t happen often anymore so grab them and hold onto them when you can. Try to think of all possibilities and look through others' eyes. But most importantly. If you do find your perfect moment, do not let it go dear Reader. It may never come again.
That is the end of my tale. I thank you so much dear Reader. As I have said many times, your time is precious and I have taken enough. Safe journeys to you my friend.

June 19th, 327
We decided to construct some more structures to take care of the refugees that we rescue, assuming that this goes off without a hitch. Augustine asked Elock about the collar and she revealed that the collar had a size changing enchantment attached to it. Once the seven day period is up, the collar will shrink, crushing her airways which would instantly kill her. So Augustine teleported her back quickly which would kick step one of our plan into gear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
cut to Elock’s pov
Shopkeeper: Hello welcome t- oh! Welcome back sir!
A: Hey there! Project took longer than expected, but luckily an extra set of hands makes heavy work pretty light!
Shopkeeper: What can I say? She’s one of the best. And also sir, if you don’t mind me asking, what were you working on? I didn’t see you anywhere in town.
A: oh- uhh I’m from the town over!
Shopkeeper: Are your memories already slipping? I paid the town next to us a visit to chat business with a friend and I never saw any structures being constructed.
A: I- I live at the far end! Perhaps you missed it.
Shopkeeper: …Alright then. have a nice day sir.
A: …you too…cya
exits
Elock: humming hm, hm, hmmm! walking towards the back
Shopkeeper: Elock…
Elock: eep! Yes sir!
Shopkeeper: Would you mind telling me what you 2 were doing?
Elock: oh! Just a house for his extended family. Nothing special.
Shopkeeper: “just a house”? Alright then…you’re off for the rest of today…go to the slave house. takes off her collar
Elock: Thank you! runs off
Shopkeeper in thought: …those eyes…they seem to both see nothing and everything at once.
Shopkeeper: I’d appreciate it if you’d look into it a bit sir.
“…”
“Very well, I’ll inform my boss about it and I’ll get to your problem right away”
Shopkeeper: thank you sir
Lulio: huh…very well then, it’ll be well worth your time I believe…
“Thank you sir”
Lulio: I think you’ll do well…Akano
Elock: bursting into the slave home owned by the shop keep Woo! Man that was nerve wracking, for a second I thought he was gonna catch on!
Thoughts: Alright! Now! Time to get on with this operation! Augustine’s counting on me and I can’t let him down!
plops down next to fellow slave
Elock: whispers hey!
Slave: eh?
Elock: um…I- words dying in her throat
Slave: …
Elock: ah- mm… you wanna get out of here?
Thoughts: Why did I say that?! I’m so stupid!
Slave: …you know they’re gonna send us back here again instantly right? Cute dream but it’s just that: a fantasy. gets up and leaves
Elock: hey, wai- sad sigh
next day
Another slave: Nice fantasy…leaves
Elock: getting demoralized
Slave: potentially losing my life by going with your outlandish proposal is a risk I’d rather not take.
Elock: defeated
the next day
Shopkeeper: Hello again sir! Another project I presume?
A: yup! I’d like to take the same slave again, she really made the work quick.
Shopkeeper: good choice! rings bell ELOCK! Get your ass over here! The nice gentlemen wants your services again!
Elock: hey A- Sir…
A: Nice to see you again. tosses gold onto the counter and leaves
A: So how'd it go?
Elock: no one was on board with the plan. They all claimed it was insane and had no conceivable way of working!
A: Expected. Not everyone has the same high risk-high reward mindset, c'mon let’s get to Zach first and then we’ll build off from there. teleports
Z: hmmmm I understand, they’re scared, they've only known brutality and slavery their entire lives. They fear that if this goes south, then they’ll be subjected to a fate worse than death itself.
Elock: look of guilt
A: I’m fully aware of the dangers that come with this. But we do get discovered, I’ll gladly take on every army they throw at me if it means that you guys would survive.
Elock: Augustine!
Z: We know how much you wanna help them Augustine, but you don’t have to take on a mountain on your own. We’re both here for you.
A: right…sorry.
Elock: please, it’s alright. We can figure out some other way. Knowing you, you’ll be able to craft something before dinner.
A: I’ll take that as a compliment. Thanks Elock.
Z: Augustine.
A: yes?
Z: Are you familiar with the concept of mental projection?
A: Somewhat, they briefly skimmed over it in training back at the facility. The art of projecting imagery into other people’s mind on the battlefield to mentally erode them.
Z: precisely, but instead of breaking will, we’ll be building it.
A: What are you saying here?
Z: What if instead of trying to get slaves to get on board via words, why don’t we let them see for themselves what waits for them if they comply?
Elock: That’s genius! When they see the paradise that could be in their hands, there’s no way they can turn that down!
A: not a terrible idea, but I don’t think I have the chops to project an image into the mind of every slave in town, my skills in that department are unfortunately pretty lacking.
Z: Why don’t we go to the island again so you can familiarize yourself with the image you’re projecting, then use the mana crystals to give yourself some extra power?
A: Smart move, let’s do it.
exits cabin
A: Alright, time to go.
teleports both of them
A: Okay let’s get down to busine…where are we?
(Instead of being greeted with the base of a mountain range, they were still in the forest. Miles away from the cabin.)
Z: I- I don’t know!
A: I didn’t do anything different! But it’s alright, I remember the direction to go in, we can still fix this.
Elock: Alright then.
10 minutes of walking later
A: Get a move on Zach! We’re almost there! Shouldn’t be much farther!
Z: Hah…I- losing his breath how are you- how are you 2 still so energetic?
Elock: I’m a leopard. I'm meant to be agile!
A: This anti magic field’s edge shouldn’t be more than a few more minutes away! We should be out in about…NOBODY MOVE!
Elock and Zach: freezes in place What's wrong?
A: …we’re not alone. Someone else is here!
Elock: I don’t hear or smell anyone else besides you guys. Are you sure?
A: Yes I’m sure! I can sense another source of energy here!
???: I would say I’m impressed that you managed to detect me since I pride myself on being able to move like a shadow…but I sort of expected this with talent like yours.
Akano: Hello Augustine, been a while hasn’t it?
A: Akano? What’re you doing here…
Akano: boss sent me to hunt you down, anonymous source requested it.
Augustine thoughts: No doubt it was that shopkeeper.
Akano: Now since we’ve spent some time together, I’ll give you 2 choices. You can drop your sword and come back with us unharmed, or I paint this forest a lovely shade of red with your blood an-
A: Bring it on…
Akano: hm. As you wish…
~~~~~
Akano dashes towards Augustine with lightning speed, expecting to end this quickly.
Akano: WIND GALE CUT!
An explosion sends a strong gust of cutting air across the forest. Zach and Elock took refuge behind a thick tree, powerless to do a damn thing to help.
Akano: oh ho! Quick on your feet are you?
Augustine who dodged into a tree: guess you can say that.
Akano: Well, I guess it’s time to turn this up a notch! pulls a strange amulet, with a large red gem resting in a gold frame
Augustine: hm?
Akano: Master Lulio entrusted me with this and I won’t let him down!
The amulet begins to glow once Akano puts it around his neck, The energy being given off was palpable from a mile away, to the point it could be severed with a knife.
Akano: CURSED GALE FURY!
The attack sends multiple large scale wind slices through out the area, yet even with this jump in power, Augustine doesn’t seem fazed with him perfectly dodging and blocking every slash as Akano watched, perplexed
Augustine: Your display of power is impressive. I'll give you that.
Akano: Keep talking little brat, the power contained within this amulet is beyond even your understanding!
Augustine: Oh really? What evidence do you have to back that theory up?
Akano: WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY?!
“What I’m saying is that even though you claim that this amulet is never before seen, you haven’t managed to land a single hit yet.” Augustine sneers.
Akano: beginning to seeth in rage
Augustine: In fact…you seem to be the most injured one so far…
Right on que, a small cut appears on Akano’s face as he looks up to see that Augustine blade is stained with his blood with a small smirk beginning to form on his face.
Akano: …You’re dead meat…
Akano launches towards the tree as Augustine simply leaps into another tree as it gets cut down, Akano sends jets of cutting wind at Augustine but he simply blocks or avoids them with seemingly zero effort. What confuses Akano even more is why he isn’t fighting back, with the worst attack he’s thrown so far being a small cut.
Akano: What’s wrong?! WHERE’S ALL THE TALK NOW HUH?!
Augustine: still dodging …
Akano: SPIRALIZING SWORD PIERCE!
Akano attempts to piledrive Augustine with his sword and successfully impales him through the chest.
Akano: GOTCHA! THIS IS THE EN-
The Augustine on his sword dematerialized as the real Augustine appears next to him
Augustine: Hey, nice effort.
With a swift kick, Augustine sends Akano flying into the trunk of a tree. Instantly causing him to cough up blood.
Augustine: I never wanted it to end this way, I apologize but this was your own doing.
Akano: barely mustering enough strength to stay conscious don’t think you’ve won yet brat…I’M FAR FROM DONE!
The amulet begins to glow a furious red as Akano leaps into the air, as he prepares to pour every last drop of his remaining strength into this attack as a last ditch effort to take Augustine down.
Elock: Is…is he gonna be alright?!
Z: Augustine has a knack for worming his way out of sticky situations, but I’m nervous even with the power he holds.
Akano: FINAL FLASH FLURRY!
Akano unleashes a maelstrom of erratic sword slashes down towards Augustine, even faster than before. Augustine increases his speed to match but still gets 2 large cuts across his torso and arm. Seeing this Akano smiles and picks up his pace, confident that he would kill him.
Akano: LOOKS LIKE YOU’RE THE INJURED ONE NOW.
Augustine: slightly pressured and tired look from dodging so much
Akano: NORMALLY I’D GIVE YOU A CHOICE TO SURRENDER RIGHT ABOUT NOW! BUT SINCE YOU HAD AN ATTITUDE I'M KILLING YOU RIGHT HERE RIGHT NO-
Akano’s face changes from glee to horror as he watches Augustine blast a tree with a fireball to launch himself to his position. Augustine was now no more than a few feet away from him and there was no way he could raise his sword up to block in time. “This is it” he thinks “This is how I’m gonna go out? Taken out by a boy turned monster?”. Everyone holds their breath as they wait for the killing blow where they watch Augustine raise his sword up to Akano’s neck, waiting for the splatter of blood to rain down on the trees…but it never comes. Instead of beheading Akano, Augustine slams the edge of his sword on the chains of the red amulet, breaking it. The amulet drops towards the forest floor and Akano’s power instantly fizzles out. The amulet clatters onto the ground as Augustine gracefully lands in a tree with Akano falling hard on his side.
Akano: I- trembling and confused at what just happened I’m alive?!
Akano looks up to see Augustine holding his amulet, looking at him, not with rage…but sympathy.
Akano: I’m…Why didn’t you kill me?!
Augustine: Because I’m not like you, slaughtering people just to fuel your own ego.
Zach and Elock observe the confrontation, in awe.
Akano: Don’t come at me with that moral high ground! And I’m not done yet! grips sword
Before Akano could draw his blade, Augustine appeared in front of him holding a device in his hands.
Augustine: So this was the reason why I couldn’t teleport. slashing the black, rune carved tablet into bits
Akano: …feeling panic wash over him
Augustine: Just…do something for me alright?
Akano: looks on with confusion
Augustine: Just…try to be a better person after you get out.
Before Akano could question what he meant by “get out” Augustine pressed his finger onto Akano’s forehead and at that moment, Akano felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time: relief, like all the burdens of working for the grand Templar suddenly couldn’t touch him anymore. Still in this feeling, Augustine focused his energy into Akano, teleporting him away. Akano awoke on a strange beach, confused.
Akano: gah…what…happened? What did he even do? That sensation, it felt…good. Now where am I-
Basitin: HALT!
Akano: ah!
Basitin 1: How did you get on our island stranger?
Basitin 2: take him to the king, he’ll know what to do.
Akano: Basitin…KING?!
~~~~~
Augustine: sigh of relief with his wounds almost done regenerating That was scary, I’ve never been in a real fight before, he was stronger than I thought he’d be. turns to Zach and Elock you guys alright?
Z: Augustine…That was…
A: what? Why are you looking at me like tha-
Elock: INCREDIBLE! pounces on him the way you effortlessly dodged almost all of his attacks was so cool! And the way you took him down was just like in the fantasy books!
Z: Elock let go! You’re gonna squeeze him to death!
Elock: oh! Sorry!
A: It's alright, though maybe I should stop performing those feats in front of you then.
Z: So Augustine, where should we head now? A clearing with torn up trees isn’t exactly what I call subtle.
A: They’re gonna come looking for him by following his amulet’s energy signal. Disposing of it is what we should do, but there are some properties of it that I wanna explore so… grabs his sword and smashes the gem, taking a small chunk to observe at the cabin
A: alright let’s get this out of here. focusing his energy onto the amulet, he teleported it away to a place that no one would find it. No one at all. No sir
Smol basitin child: Hey! What’s this shiny red rock?
Another child: don’t know.
Smol basitin: whoa! It shoots fire, and the warmth feels so nice and…intoxicating…
A: They still might find this carnage though, heading back for the day I think is the better idea.
Z: well if you say so then.
A: Luckily with that device destroyed, I can teleport again.
Elock: let’s get out of here then!
A: very well. teleports
later that night
Z: Augustine you doing alright?
A: yes I’m fine, tomorrow it’ll look like these injuries were never there.
Z: No I was talking about your feelings, I thought you’d be demoralized after that attack.
A: quite the opposite actually, it felt good letting some of my feelings out in that battle.
Z: I see. I was expecting you to actually kill him, but was surprised when you just broke his necklace.
A: Guess the memory 2 guards I slayed in the facility during the escape still burned a bit.
Z: I understand.
Augustine’s thoughts: goes back to a conversation he had with Elock years ago
~~~~~~
Young Elock: Augustine, how do you define a hero?
Young Augustine: hm?
Young Elock: I read a lot of fantasy and mythology books about epic battles and legendary heroes, what’s a hero to you?
Young Augustine: That's a pretty subjective question but I don’t think I’m the right person to answer that. I’ve always defined heroes as people who can take the villain down and nothing more.
Young Elock: I guess you can say that.
Young Augustine: So how do you define a hero Elock? Might as well get a second opinion.
Young Elock: Oh! Um! I’ve always believed that heroes are people who can both save the day, and send the villains down the brighter path. Not through power but through words, not simply killing them.
Young Augustine: Huh…that’s a new concept, pretty cool. I’ll give it some thought.
Young Elock: Thanks!
~~~~~~
“Am I really a hero doing this?”
Elock: Augustine. You ok? You look lost.
A: snaps back huh? Oh right, sorry I was daydreaming.
Elock: disappointed that the plan failed?
A: I- yeah I suppose so.
“Well perhaps I can help with that”
A: Who said that?!
Z: Elock was that you?
Elock: I didn’t say that.
“It was me!”
Everyone looks around the cabin to see who’s talking.
“Oh my masks…HEY! IDIOTS! DOWN HERE!”
Everyone looks down to see…a white cat?
Z: a cat?
Elock: awwww! It’s so cute!
A: Oh it's you again. Hey there.
Z: Wait Augustine was this the weird cat I saw in the forest a while back?!
“Have some respect, Doctor! I’ll have you know that I have the ability to take your insides to the outside!”
Z: Who the hell are you anyways? And what are you doing here?! And how are you creepily talking inside my head?!
“Well if you insist”
“My name is Nora, or Lady Nora”
Z: shudders L- Lady Nora?! PLEASE FORGIVE MY RUDENESS!
Nora: oh please, get up from the floor already! Do you seriously deal with this guy everyday?
A: Normally he’s calm and collected. Guess in the presence of superiority he’s pretty shy.
Nora: typical humans.
Elock: Excuse me, lady Nora! But what are you doing here? Don’t you have more important business to take care of?
Nora: Dragon duties get pre-tty boring after a while, so I’m always looking for new stuff to do.
Elock: but that only answers one question! What are you doing here?
Nora: to help…duh.
Elock: really?
A: huh?
Z: what?
Nora: Yeah, I’m here to help. What?
Z: Is this a trick?! Are you waiting for us to reveal our plans to you just for you to tell the grand Templar?!
Nora: Are you deaf? I JUST SAID I'M HELPING YOU! And besides! I already know about your plan! Jeez your mind is easy to peek into!
A: Why are you helping though? Surely there are more interesting things you could be doing…not that we’re turning down your offer though.
Nora: Why does anyone do anything? When you get to my age everything’s pretty boring.
A: yeah…don’t think we’ll be getting there anytime soon. But how do you plan on helping? I mean I get how much power you hold but what can you do to benefit us?
Nora: You'll know it when the time comes. I’ll need a few days…and also! manifests a key out of nowhere for your buddy’s collar over there.
A: Oh! Thank you! Elock! You’re free now!
Elock: picks up Nora and presses her against her face Thank youuuuuuuu!
Nora: ACK! Get off me! I know you’re happy but limit the physical touch!
A: how’d you even get the key anyways? I thought that the shopkeeper held the sole copy!
Nora: oh! It was simple really, just made him a deal where for the key I show him uhh ahem a “pleasurable” fantasy if you know what I mean.
A: oh…OH…
Nora: right…anyways. I’ll be ready when you guys need me. Once you get your crap together I’ll be ready.
Z: very well then.
June 20th, 327
~~~~~
Zach wakes up to see Augustine sitting at his desk, tinkering with the red crystal sample seemingly puzzled and intrigued at once. Elock is still asleep on the bed as Augustine let her have it.
Z: what’cha doing there?
A: oh! Hey Zach! I’m just testing this sample I got from Akano’s amulet and it’s pretty interesting. First off, the size of the crystal never seems to shift no matter how much I use it, with me charging energy into one of our slabs of steak and the crystal never changes size at all! What I’m more curious about is the steak. I used my sword to cut it and to my amazement it started healing the cut right before my eyes, so in essence I imbued that piece of meat with my regenerative properties! Unfortunately it didn’t last long as the high amount of energy destroyed the steak’s cells and quite literally liquifying it!
Z: interesting…
A: But that does raise some red flags unfortunately…
Z: why’s tha- oh…you don’t mean…
A: yeah…that means that one day…I might befall the same fate. But when? I don’t know. And I don’t wanna think about it.
~~~~~~~~~
To be continued…

My husband and I (he is his late 40s and me in my low 50s but we act and feel much younger than that!) are wanting to move from Phoenix and have narrowed it downtown to upstate NY or Chicago area (likely suburbs but we are open). I was born in Phoenix and lived here 21 years before moving to Los Angeles for 17 years and then lived in central PA for 10 years before moving back to Phoenix again. I'm not a fan of Phoenix. Don't like the heat, am sick of beige houses and landscape, not much culture, the conservative politics, lack of things to do. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of the extreme cold either, but I do love and miss the change of seasons we had in PA. I miss green trees and water. Upstate NY has his family but it's a small town and we feel like we'd be bored there and feel Chicago is a short plane ride from them.
We just got back from an information gathering trip to Chicago area and I LOVED IT. I loved the city itself and love the idea of access to it, but we also visited West Dundee, Barrington, Arlington Heights, Geneva (my fave) and Highland Park (I wish). Suburbs are more affordable for us and I could at least visit the city often and fantasize about living there and soaking up the culture! I anticipated the suburbs being "lame" due to some people making comments online, but actually found them quite pleasant with lots of restaurant options, a home town feel, yet didn't feel like I was actually in a small town with nothing to offer.
Everyone tells me I'm "moving in the wrong direction". Friends, family, and even strangers look at me like I'm an alien for not liking Phoenix. I just don't and never have, even as a child. Of course I get the "you'll get shot" annoying comments from certain family members who think the city is burning to the ground. This just fuels my desire because I can get rebellious! When I visited I felt completely safe, even in the city.
As you know, moves are expensive and a pain as you get older and I'm scared to take the risk of making a decision at my age, but my gut is screaming for Chicago just after one visit (and many, many months of research via articles, YouTube, TikTok - I've been obsessed with it). Any advice, tips, thoughts are welcome, especially from anyone who has made the move in the "wrong direction" from Phoenix to Chicagoland. :-)

I work for a large financial firm and have a decent income. However, I've been filling two roles for the past year+ and have been promised a promotion and a job rescope during this time, only to have them rug-pulled for BS administrative reasons. There is still no sign of change (or positive career growth, as I was promised). I just made my mid-year self- assessment, well part of it, about the lack of accountability and false promises rather than just biting my tongue. It was candid and blunt, but not ways inappropriate.
I actually like the people I work with day to day and my manager a lot - but they are ultimately powerless cogs in the machine. I suppose this is the only reason I'm still clinging to the idea of making it work. I don't have anything else lined up but have begin looking.
In the meantime, what do you all think is the worst that can happen?
I'll post an update when I find out :)

My husband and I are long time supporters of Summer Nights. We walk there with our chairs, enjoy the music, drinks and company of friends, and walk home. We recommended the event to friends, family and clientele. We worked the beer vendor tents with his previous firm before he went out on his own. (After going into business for himself, we couldn't get enough people together to run a beer tent ourselves, or we definitely would have.) During Covid when the event was cancelled for the year, we really missed the event, but supported their decision. At one point, my husband inquired about joining the board, as he has a skillset and outside perspective (he is an immigrant) that he believed would benefit the organization and event. He was denied, but told that he could best benefit the organization by becoming a full financial sponsor. We couldn't afford to do so, unfortunately, but continued to enjoy and promote the weekly event.
Now this season, they decided to change their bag policy. I totally get it, but it seems they have forgotten a few details. There are no exceptions for medical equipment, or diaper bags. The no outside food policy did not accommodate families or people with special needs. I was not the only person who pointed this out to them via comments on their Facebook post, but I was pretty vocal.
Before I get into it, please don't misunderstand me. I believe everyone should be able to enjoy the event. I don't care if you are homeless or live in a mansion. Your race is not important. Bring your children if you want. Have a disability? Welcome! LGBTQ+? Enjoy! Drink if you want, I don't care. Just don't break the rules, and don't cause problems for other people.
Last week we watched as a group of people who appeared to be homeless pushed in a baby stroller full of alcohol, yet minus a baby right in. Security stood around and chatted to the group, but their booze and booze transport system was allowed to stay. It wasn't long before we were approached by the people asking us for "beer money." We weren't the only ones who were asked. My husband told security, and was told that they would take care of it. We watched as security resumed standing there, and the beer money beggars asked other people for money. Ok.
Yesterday evening, we watched as some people came in with backpacks, and others were turned away with small purses. I took a few photos, and posted them in the comments of Summer Night's post about how bags and backpacks weren't being allowed in. I was promptly blocked from the page, as well as my husband. Ok.
Then, two members of staff approached me as I was sitting there with my infant grandchild. Beers in hands, they yelled at me. "Why the hell are you here if you hate it so much?" Two men had to yell at a middle aged woman holding an infant. Impressive. I guess even with a baby in my lap, I'm so I must be super intimidating. I could hardly get a word in edgewise to explain that I was happy to follow whatever rules they had, but thought it needed to be enforced consistently and universally. My husband of course came to my defense, as he's not about to let two men shout me down in such a threatening way. My husband asked a pointed question, "It looks like you are trying to exclude a specific part of the population. Is that true?" The answer: "Yes, we are." They shouted my husband down, saying that we were pieces of shit because "you don't bother doing anything for the community! We do all of this on a volunteer basis. I don't see you doing this!" He actually doesn't have a clue what do. We just don't brag about things we do, or charities we contribute to, because to us, that defeats the purpose. But yeah, he's such a hero because he gets drunk for free on Thursday nights. In the middle of all of this I was pointing out all of the bags and backpacks that didn't comply to the new rules. The smaller guy just shrugged his shoulders. The bigger, balder, louder guy at one point yelled at both of us because "All you have to do is tell one of us, and we will take care of it, but you haven't bothered to do that, have you? Just have to be a keyboard warrior!" I immediately pointed out a large backpack. "There's one now! What are you going to do about it?" He said, "We don't have to do anything if we don't want to!" My husband asked him, "Is that because they're white?" He replied, "Oh we can handle the white people!" OOOOOHHHHHHH OK THEN. Gotcha.
The two goons finally left us alone. They did not tell us to leave, so we stayed. We had my husband's daughter, her husband and children from overseas visiting, and we just wanted to enjoy their company.
When I used the restroom and came back in, I was waiting at the gate to get a squirt of hand sanitizer behind a group of white, older ladies as they got their IDs checked. The gate staff was telling the ladies that their purses were too big to allow in, so NEXT TIME they wouldn't be allowed to bring them in. Today, I see comments on Facebook that other people were not allowed to bring their bags in at all, and had to go back to the car. No surprise that the people who were turned away were not white.
I can't support this anymore. You won't see my ass downtown on Thursday nights in the summer.

I’m so stressed regarding a welcome party. I don’t really want to have one, but I feel like they are pretty expected at this point. 80% of guests are traveling 2 hours or more for the wedding.
Our wedding is in September and we still have so much to do (my planner is the worst and pretty useless), and I just don’t want to have even more to think about. I also just wanted to relax the day before the wedding and save all my energy.
To top it off, we had to finalize our invitations this week and no welcome party information was included, since I don’t have any planned 😂
Invites won’t go out until July and our wedding is in September. I’m so beyond stressed.
Any thoughts, similar experiences, ideas would be so greatly appreciated.

So I've had some ideas for evolutions that could be given to old Pokemon from Gens 1-7 for an Australian based region ever since shortly after Gen 8 released, but never really posted them online because I wasn't sure what the rules for posting fanmade Pokemon ideas with their abilities, stats and inspirations were, but with the moderate success of my posts for my ideas for starters and story path ideas on this sub, I've decided to go ahead and post my ideas for 29 new additions to previous Pokemon lines that aren't regional or paradox forms, but are actual additions to the evolution line like Annihilape, Farigiraf, etc. from Gen 9.
What I'll be doing in this series of posts is gradually going through the first seven generations of Pokemon and choosing which Pokemon would be best suited to gain an evolution based on the wildlife and ecological conditions in Australia, as well as a few that I just think deserve to be buffed due to them being kind of underwhelming despite having a lot of potential.
I'll be listing what their classification in the Pokedex would be, how they factor into the previous evolution line, their abilities, their fully evolved stats (as well as how much that stat increased or decreased from its previous stage in parentheses beside it), and any other relevant notes explaining the evolution and what new role they could factor into. Also keep in mind that the Base Stat Total for these Pokemon will for the most part stay between the 500-530 range because of the Astral Ascension mechanic of the region allowing the temporary use of a Pokemon's second ability in battle, but there will be exceptions if the evolution is a gender counterpart evolution of an existing Pokemon or if I feel their stats should be slightly highelower than that range depending on what would fit their existing design.
Before getting into the evolution descriptions, if you haven't seen my other posts on an Australian based region detailing my ideas for starters and the possible story paths that could be included, they can be found by following the links below. Without further ado, let's get into the new evolutions!
Gen 10 Starter Ideas: https://www.reddit.com/TruePokemon/comments/13p5z88/ideas_for_gen_10_starters_for_an_australianbased/
Gen 10 Story Path Ideas: https://www.reddit.com/TruePokemon/comments/13zwjs2/ideas_for_the_three_story_paths_for_gen_10_for_an/
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ampereow (Fearow Evolution)
Classification: Thunder Bird Pokemon
Evolution Line: Spearow (Normal/Flying)- Fearow (Normal/Flying) (Evolve at Level 20)- Ampereow (Electric/Flying) (Evolve Fearow with Electric Astral Type at Lightning Ridge)
Abilities: Volt Absorb/Sniper
Fully-Evolved Stats:
HP: 85 (+20)
Attack: 110 (+20)
Defense: 75 (+10)
Sp. Attack: 50 (-11)
Sp. Defense: 75 (+14)
Speed: 120 (+20)
Fully-Evolved Base Stat Total: 515
Other Notes: This might be the most out of left field evolution out of all the 29 Pokemon that I've chosen to give evolutions, but it goes to show how much of an impact the Dream World in the Auborn region can have on non-native Pokemon. It is thought that Ampereow first came into existence when a flock of Fearow flew south from Kanto for the winter, eventually landing in the Lightning Ridge mountain region (based on Thunder Ridge, an actual mountain in Australia). Upon landing there, they realized that they couldn't resist the strong lightning energy present in the area, but some of the Fearow felt an innate connection with the electricity present, and when they came into contact with some dream energy, they felt a strong desire to gain the electric type so they could be more like the legendary Pokemon Zapdos back home, which caused them to evolve into Ampereow. This population would remain in the Auborn region, while the other Fearow who didn't have the Electric Astral type went back to Kanto for the summer.
Getting to the battle side of things, I felt like Fearow deserved to get more attack and speed to become a more effective sweeper to help it gain some relevance again after Pidgeot got its own mega evolution back in Gen 6, while Fearow got nothing, and it has since been outclassed by some of the other regional birds as well, which made me think it deserved to get a third stage in its line. Upon Evolution, Ampereow will learn the signature move Thunder Flap, which is a physical Electric type move with 80 base power that deals either electric or flying type damage depending on what is most effective on the opponent. This move will not ignore the Ground-type immunity of electric type moves, however.
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Nogard (Arbok Evolution)
Classification: Dragon Serpent Pokemon
Evolution Line: Ekans (Poison)- Arbok (Poison) (Evolve at Level 22)- Nogard (Poison/Dragon) (Level Up + Hold Dragon Scale)
Abilities: Intimidate/Shed Skin/Unnerve
Fully-Evolved Stats:
HP: 80 (+20)
Attack: 115 (+20)
Defense: 85 (+16)
Sp. Attack: 50 (-15)
Sp. Defense: 85 (+6)
Speed: 100 (+20)
Fully-Evolved Base Stat Total: 515
Other Notes: This is the only idea that isn't my own, since I've seen the concept of having a Dragon/Poison type evolution for Arbok before called Nogard, which is dragon spelled backwards, but it just worked too well for an Australian based region like Auborn, so I decided to include it anyway. The stat spread and decision to keep all the abilities the same were all my own, though. With Nogard, I felt like Arbok really only needed a slight buff to its stats across the board to become more viable, along with it gaining the dragon secondary type for added offensive capabilities, which has only been used before for Dragalge and Naganedel.
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Paraspect (Parasect Evolution)
Classification: Mush Reaper Pokemon
Evolution Line: Paras (Bug/Grass)- Parasect (Bug/Grass) (Evolve at Level 24)- Paraspect (Bug/Ghost) (Learn Spore Scythe + Level Up)
Abilities: Effect Spore/Dry Skin/Cursed Body
Fully-Evolved Stats:
HP: 80 (+20)
Attack: 115 (+20)
Defense: 90 (+10)
Sp. Attack: 80 (+20)
Sp. Defense: 90 (+10)
Speed: 60 (+30)
Fully-Evolved Base Stat Total: 515
Other Notes: Parasect might be one of the worst Pokemon that were introduced in Generation 1. It had three 4x weaknesses to Fire, Flying, and Poison (Bug was weak to Poison in Gen 1) and although one of its quad weaknesses was reduced to a double weakness, it really hasn't gotten that much better, especially when compared to the glow-up that regional bugs got in Gen 5 and 7. With this project, I wanted to add in a few Dual type combinations that haven't been used yet as well as ones that have only been used once previously, which is what I did here with Paraspect, since only Shedinja has the Bug/Ghost typing as of Gen 9, and it's a gimmick Pokemon. Parasect will learn Spore Scythe at Level 36, which is a signature move that has 60 base power and is a Grass type attack that has a 10% chance of putting the opponent to sleep. Paraspect has a similar backstory for its evolution to Annihilape, where upon learning Spore Scythe it realized how much the spore on its back was taking advantage of it, so the spirit of Parasect decided to take back control of the husk it used to call its body, leading to it evolving into Paraspect.
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Manatey (Dewgong Evolution)
Classification: Manatee Pokemon
Evolution Line: Seel (Water)- Dewgong (WateIce) (Level Up to Level 34)- Manatey (WateFairy) (Evolve Dewgong w/Fairy Astral Type)
Abilities: Thick Fat/Hydration/Water Absorb
Fully-Evolved Stats:
HP: 100 (+10)
Attack: 60 (-10)
Defense: 90 (+10)
Sp. Attack: 90 (+20)
Sp. Defense: 105 (+10)
Speed: 70 (+0)
Fully-Evolved Base Stat Total: 515
Other Notes: Dewgong is another one of those Gen 1 Pokemon that wasn't very memorable when it was first introduced due to being outclassed by nearly every other Water or Ice type in the game, and it hasn't really improved since then. Manatey improves on this by giving it a more memorable design, which I imagine would draw inspiration from mermaids like Primarina's design to reference the fact that manatees were commonly mistaken for mermaids in the past. It also gains two immunities to Water and Dragon thanks to both its ability and its new fairy typing, which replaced its Ice type for better defensive utility. With its new typing, it'll take 1.0 damage from Ice type attacks because of Thick Fat, but now Fire-type attacks also only deal 1.0 damage rather than the 2.0 it used to because of its secondary Ice typing, which also helps to make it a bit tankier overall.
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Insomneous (Hypno Evolution)
Classification: Nightmare Tapir Pokemon
Evolution Line: Drowzee (Psychic)- Hypno (Psychic) (Evolve at Level 26)- Insomneous (Psychic/Dark) (Learn Nightmare + Level Up)
Abilities: Insomnia/InfiltratoInner Focus
Fully-Evolved Stats:
HP: 105 (+20)
Attack: 60 (-13)
Defense: 100 (+30)
Sp. Attack: 93 (+20)
Sp. Defense: 125 (+10)
Speed: 47 (-20)
Fully-Evolved Base Stat Total: 530
Other Notes: Hypno always felt like it got the short end of the stick, even when it was first introduced in Generation 1. It could be caught later than Abra, which outclassed it due to it being faster, and it only got worse as the generations went on, with it losing its base 115 special in favour of 115 special defense, and with the Psychic type in general becoming less relevant as the generations went on. With this evolution, I wanted to focus on making it more of a tank to differentiate it from other heavy hitting Psychic types, and its Forewarn ability was replaced with Infiltrator because it's infiltrating the dreams of its opponents. Its design expands on the yo-yo it held while it was a Hypno by drawing inspirations from both ventriloquists and clowns, which are common fears that people tend to have.
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Kangaskid (Kangaskhan Pre-Evolution)
Classification: Baby Kanga Pokemon
Evolution Line: Kangaskid (Normal) (Breed Kangaskhan and Kangasking)- Kangaskhan (Normal) (Max Friendship w/ Female Kangaskid) OR Kangasking (Normal/Ground) (Max Friendship w/ Male Kangaskid)
Abilities: Early Bird/Scrappy/Inner Focus
1st Form Stats:
HP: 75
Attack: 65
Defense: 50
Sp. Attack: 30
Sp. Defense: 50
Speed: 60
1st Form Base Stat Total: 330
Other Notes: Kangaskhan has always felt like it needed a pre-evolution, since it's baby is quite literally already in its pouch when it hatches from an egg, and the mega-evolution it received in Gen 6 didn't help matters at all. To justify giving it a baby form, I also gave it a split Male/Female Evolution.
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Kangasking (Kangaskid Male Evolution)
Classification: Parent Pokemon
Evolution Line: Kangaskid (Normal) (Breed Kangaskhan and Kangasking)- Kangaskhan (Normal) (Max Friendship w/ Female Kangaskid) OR Kangasking (Normal/Ground) (Max Friendship w/ Male Kangaskid)
Abilities: Moxie/Scrappy/Inner Focus
Fully-Evolved Stats:
HP: 90
Attack: 105
Defense: 80
Sp. Attack: 40
Sp. Defense: 80
Speed: 95
Fully Evolved Base Stat Total: 490
Other Notes: The male counterpart to Kangaskhan is more attack focused and is slightly faster than it, while also gaining the ground-type for STAB ground coverage, with the added bonus of having Moxie to increase its sweeping potential over Kangaskhan. Aside from that, it has the same base stat total as Kangaskhan.
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Calfierce (Tauros & Miltank Pre-Evolution)
Classification: Fierce Calf Pokemon
Evolution Line: Calfierce (Normal) (Breed Tauros & Miltank)- Tauros (Normal) (Learn Wild Charge + Level Up Male Calfierce) OR Miltank (Normal) (Learn Rollout + Level Up Female Calfierce)
Abilities: Intimidate/Scrappy/Sap Sipper
1st Form Stats:
HP: 50
Attack: 65
Defense: 65
Sp. Attack: 30
Sp. Defense: 45
Speed: 75
1st Form Base Stat Total: 330
Other Notes: Tauros & Miltank have always felt like they should be related in some form, since they have the same base stat total and are generally found in similar locations in the games, and are usually even side by side in the regional Pokedex of games that they both appear in, but no connection has ever been canonically established between the two. Adding in Calfierce would allow trainers to gain access to the family earlier than they typically would while also not handing the player a single stage Pokemon with high stats that would steamroll the early game.
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Mytheon (Eevee Dragon-Type Evolution)
Classification: Legend Pokemon
Evolution Line: Eevee (Normal)- Mytheon (Dragon) (Level Up + Hold Dragon Scale)
Abilities: Multiscale/Pure Power
Fully-Evolved Stats:
HP: 95
Attack: 60
Defense: 65
Sp. Attack: 130
Sp. Defense: 65
Speed: 110
Fully-Evolved Base Stat Total: 525 (585 when factoring in Pure Power)
Other Notes: The Dragon-type is the only one of the original special attacking types from the first three generations that doesn't have an Eeveelution, so I decided to rectify that with Mytheon. To commemorate the 10th Generation of Pokemon as well as having to wait nearly 30 years to get it, Mytheon technically has the highest base stat total out of all the Eeveelutions when factoring in Pure Power, which doubles Mytheon's Base attack from 60 to 120. It also has a gimmick with its abilities where you essentially have to decide whether you have double attack or double defense (at full HP only), giving it good synergy with the new Astral Ascension gameplay mechanic.
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And there you have it. Part 2 of this series will focus on the evolutions for the Johto and Hoenn Pokemon, so look forward to seeing that in a week or two. I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on these evolutions in the comments!