Darkness engulfs me. It devours me like the creature I fear most. I try opening my eyes but there’s no difference. All I see is total black nothingness.
It wouldn’t be so bad if I weren’t deathly terrified of the dark.
At home there’s never a time when I allow darkness to fully overwhelm the light. I have night lights and security lights lining every hall and in every room. I’m never one hundred percent in the dark. That is, not until now.
I feel beads of sweat forming on my forehead at the mere thought of what could be lurking in the inky blackness that envelopes me. Even the most mundane holds terror when you can’t see it but your mind tells you it’s there. A throng of spiders waiting just out of reach to make me its next meal. A pit of snakes that you dangle perilously close to the precipice.
If you can’t see, how can you tell if your eyes are open or closed?
I reach down and press my hand against the cold floor that I lay on. I stretch out my fingers, laying them flat to feel it. The cold creeps into them, its tendrils invading my body like a virus. It feels like the darkness is digging through my skin deeper down inside me to my bones, to my marrow, to my soul.
I’m lost in this sea of gloom. I don’t even know where I am. I’m terrified to make a move lest I tumble over the invisible edge.
I don’t know how I got here.
I don’t know where here is.
I’ve no idea why I’m here, unless…
As fearful as this mysterious place makes me, the thought of unless chills me to the marrow. The darkness is even set aside for a moment in my mind, displaced by the unless.
It seems so long ago and at the same time, it feels like it just happened. The deepest, darkest place in my soul. The thing I keep locked up tight, never to ponder let alone discuss. The unless is untouchable. Only in my worst nightmares does my subconscious toy with the idea of the unless.
No. I can’t let it consume me. My thoughts running rampant won’t help me to discover what this place is. I must do that first if the miracle of escape is even possible.
I slowly slide my hand outward as far as it will reach. Each micro-moment prepared to withdraw it if harm is approached. With my senses diminished, the only way to search for harm is to sacrifice my hand. Like sending out a scout to see if the area is clear or the enemy is close by.
My hand reaches its limit unmolested. I change direction from straight out to an arc. Feeling for anything like a one-winged snow angel.
My hand discovers nothing, but the movement has stimulated something of my lost senses. I hear the sliding of my fingers on the floor’s surface.
It echoes back to me quickly. I try once again, faster and louder this time. The echoes return almost immediately.
My mind absorbs the details and makes a conclusion. The room must not be very big. It augments the conclusion with the supposition that the floor is concrete. The smoothness, the cold, and the sound it makes all seem to come together.
I further test the conclusion by forming a fist and knocking on the floor.
The sound and feel cement the hypotheses.
As I congratulate myself on my deduction, I hear something. Having not moved, I don’t think the sound came from me. It happened only briefly and I wasn’t listening for any sounds outside the ones I’d made.
My mind replayed it and came to a startling conclusion. It sounded like a sigh.
As if someone was my unwitting cellmate in this murky prison.
Relief and despair fought a furious battle at the prospect of another in my company that I know nothing about.
Company in this tenebrous place would be a welcome happenstance. It may even lead to our escape if we work together.
However, if I am here about the unless then what horrid crime had they committed to be relegated to this torturous existence?
Caution seemed the most prudent course. Perhaps my cellmate was unaware of my existence. Keeping it that way until I could discover more seemed a prudent goal.
Armed with the knowledge of the floor’s composition and the existence of a potential cellmate, I set about to gather more information about my surroundings.
I rolled onto my back slowly, so as not to make any noise that would alert the other to my presence. I then used my other arm to search for any obstructions within its arc.
Finding none, I proceeded to move my legs as far to the side as possible, completing my concrete angel.
Next on my list for this absurd exploration, I slowly rolled over onto my stomach, making sure to feel as far out with my hand should a sudden drop-off present itself unannounced and end my journey in the most horrific fashion.
Finding nothing to impede my progress, I took the next step of taking my first step.
As I did, my shoe brushed the floor, making a sound that under normal circumstances would barely be noticed. However, I wasn’t in normal circumstances.
The effect was immediate and terrifying.
This time there was no sigh. It was a low-throated growl.
I became a statue as liquid nitrogen rushed through my veins. The growl was deep and throaty, like a lion’s only somehow different.
Every inch of my being clenched in a group effort to stay as still as humanly possible. My hope was that this thing would think it had made a mistake and hadn’t heard the movement of its next potential meal. It was more than a hope, it was the key to my survival.
The problem was I was trapped in a position kneeling on one knee, about to get up. My knee on the hard floor was starting to complain and I knew it was only a matter of time until my balance wavered.
I couldn’t hold this position for long. I was already starting to shake from the effort. My balance was wavering, beads of sweat formed on my forehead. I hoped it couldn’t smell fear because I was throwing out waves of it.
My leg was shaking, my knee was screaming. I had to make a decision. Do I sit back down or go all the way to standing?
Whichever I did needed to happen fast before my knee gave out and I collapsed to the floor in a noisy heap.
I decided to stand. Putting one hand on my knee and the other on the floor, I pushed up and ascended. As I rose, my knee popped. It wasn’t painful, but it was loud in this quiet room. So loud that it echoed back to me.
I made it all the way to the standing position before I heard the growl again. This time it was followed by sounds that were much worse. First was a sniffing sound as if it was testing the air, searching for its prey. The second was the soft yet unmistakable sound of a footstep.
I didn’t breathe as I waited to hear another. I listened for any sound, and unfortunately, I heard one. It was this thing’s breath. It was long and slow as if this monster’s lungs were huge to accommodate a massive body.
The sniffing continued but the second footfall didn’t come. Perhaps it was as confused as I was as to why it was here.
I was never so glad about the darkness as at that moment. I was still terrified, but at least the darkness had become my ally if only for a moment. I couldn’t see the monster, which was a blessing in itself. My imagination was already picturing the most horrendous, demonic thing that ever cursed the planet with its existence. But the darkness was a double-edged sword. It couldn’t see me either. If I stayed quiet enough, it might write me off as nothing more than a figment of its imagination.
With only rhythmic breathing and no sound of pursuit, I took my first standing step away from the beast. With measured and calculated caution, I stepped away from the sound of my bane and felt silently and cautiously with the toe of my shoe to make sure there was a floor to step onto.
My foot landed with the impact of a feather. I transferred weight to that leg and stepped with the other. With the lights on and no demon waiting to devour me, my motions would’ve been quite comical.
As the situation was, they were anything but.
I continued the arduous task of silent escape, listening intently for any change in the monster’s breathing.
Time had no meaning in this place, but if I were to guess I would say it took me nearly half an hour to take ten steps.
The eleventh step, however, was the problem.
When I put my foot out, it hit something.
I immediately froze. I couldn’t tell if the something had been hard like a table, or soft like another creature lying in wait for some poor stupid person to stumble into it.
I drew my foot back and waited to see if whatever it was reacted. The darkness didn’t abate. At times I considered holding my eyes closed. At least that would keep them hydrated. For some strange reason, it also seemed to help my focus.
I listened for any sign that this object was alive and/or about to devour me. After a few moments, the only sound I heard was my own breathing. I tentatively stuck out my foot and touched the object again.
It was hard and unyielding. I reached out with my arm and also touched something solid. I felt around on it and bent down all the way to the floor.
It was a wall.
The rough texture and ridges told me it was made of concrete block. I reached as high as I could, even getting up on my tiptoes, trying to find anything useful.
I explored the wall, feeling my way to the right until I reached a corner. As tempted as I was to turn and feel down this new wall, I knew it ended on the side of the room where the monster dwelled. I had no desire to approach that thing without light and a very deadly weapon.
As much as my fingers had become my eyes, my ears became my sonar, staying tuned to any sound. To this point, there hadn’t been much.
That didn’t last.
There was a shuffling sound that made me freeze. It was followed by the sounds of scraping on the concrete floor. Its soft breathing had gotten deeper and steadier.
It was getting up.
I stood in my corner not moving, barely breathing as I heard one soft footstep after another, getting louder with each step.
It was curious about the other side of the room… my side of the room.
I had to focus not to give it a strong smell to follow. I hadn’t used the bathroom in hours. Not that there was a bathroom in here that I knew of, but I would’ve used the other corner and then never returned to it until nature called again.
As the monster continued across the room I could hear sniffing.
It was hunting for me.
My nerves told me to run. My mind told me to stand still. My bladder didn’t care as long as it was emptied soon.
The footsteps continued to approach. There was no doubt it was searching for me, and it would find me. My mind ran through every option available in a blindingly dark room with a beast searching for its next meal that was slowly approaching.
I hugged the wall and started toward the other side of the room.
Common sense argued that I had no idea if there was another creature on the far side of the room, but there seemed to be no choice.
As we continued our silent dance, I pictured the creature passing by as I slid along the wall toward its side of the room.
When we had both reached the halfway point, it suddenly stopped. I froze and held my breath as it sniffed the air. For a long moment, it was totally silent. It seemed to be holding its breath as well as if listening for me.
I kept my eyes squeezed shut and focused on being totally still. My lungs were burning from holding my breath. I knew I would soon spew out the stale air and gulp in fresh.
I also knew that would be the end of me. The creature would know I was here and it would use the sound to track me down and tear me to bloody shreds as it devoured me.
The countdown had begun in my mind. It was a matter of seconds until my lungs gave out and I had to breathe the last breath.
10…
9…
8…
7…
I heard a footstep. The creature was moving again.
I held my hand over my mouth and slowly exhaled, then just as slowly inhaled. It was difficult to keep my oxygen-starved lungs from demanding more air, but I was able to catch up quietly without breathing so hard as to make noise.
I continued on my perilous journey toward the unknown, carefully listening to the creature also continue its journey.
As I reached the corner of my nemesis, fear gripped me as I stepped on something soft. I waited for an attack that never came. Slowly, I reached down to explore this newfound softness. It was hair. Soft fur the kind that an animal would shed.
All my suspicions were now fact. There was an animal here. It wasn’t just my imagination. My fear and anxiety were fully justified.
As I made my revelation, I heard my nemesis reach the far wall and bump into it. It then began sniffing in earnest.
It must’ve caught my scent.
It knew I was real too.
The sniffing was getting closer. I allowed myself a moment of panic before the realization that the only thing I could do was continue my course around the room. I made my way through the blanket of fur and headed for the far wall, feeling as I went for the one thing that may hold my potential rescue, a doorknob.
So far, there had been no indication of a door whatsoever. I prayed that the unexplored wall would remedy that.
I continued on this insane and deadly game of ring around the Rosie, stepping up my speed as much as possible while still staying silent. It’s one thing to know you’re being hunted, it’s another thing altogether to ring the dinner bell by giving your position away.
I was counting on it becoming confused when it circled back to its own nest. It was still as dark as ever and apparently, this thing didn’t have any better night vision than I did.
I reached the far corner and hope surged through me that I would find a door. My escape seemed imminent. I stepped up my search, going faster along this wall, but also feeling as much of the surface as possible in search of the desired door.
My hopes came crashing down when I reached the next corner without finding anything.
It couldn’t be.
It had to be here.
How else did this demon and I enter the room?
My despair crushed me like a ton of bricks. There was nothing left to do. This thing would eventually catch me. There was no escape.
In the middle of my pity party, I noticed something. The room was silent.
I couldn’t hear it sniffing.
I couldn’t hear it breathing.
I had no idea where it was.
I tried to keep my breathing under control as panic washed over me. There was nothing to do but wait.
In the darkness, I felt something soft brush against me.
It had found me.
The subtle growl was no longer across the room, it was right here in front of me.
OhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGod!
I felt a river run down the inside of my pants as my bladder finally gave up the fight.
A sharp claw ran across my throat, not hard enough to cut, but enough to let me know I was about to die.
I couldn’t take it anymore. The darkness. The silence. The menace.
I screamed at the top of my lungs.
I screamed over and over. It wasn’t even words, just primal sounds that escaped me. Every wail as a baby. Every cry of pain. Every shriek of fright as I woke from a nightmare. I let them all out. The screams of my victims as they suffered at my hands. The screams of their families as the court sentenced me. The screams inside my mind in a cell alone thinking only of the unless.
The unless.
The unless…
The unless!
Suddenly the lights came on.
I covered my eyes to ward off the brightness. As I slowly adjusted I was able to look around the room.
The creature was gone.
No, it couldn’t be.
I looked over at the wall where I had walked through the fur, but there was none. I looked all around, but there were only blank walls.
Where is it?
Whereisitwhereisitwhereisit?
I turned round and round, but it was gone. Had it ever really been here?
A door opened and two large men dressed in white came in.
“No,” I screamed. “Don’t come near! It’ll get you!”
They marched across the room oblivious to the danger and picked me up.
“It’s time to go back to your room,” one of the men said, picking me up under the shoulder. “The doc says you’ve had enough therapy for today.”
“Did you see it?” I said.
They carried me out without answering. We came into a hallway that stretched forever. I tried to look back at the open door.
“Don’t let it out,” I said. “You’ve got to keep it in.”
They didn’t bother to look back, just continued down the hall.
I turned and saw it peek it’s head out of the room.
“No!” I screamed.
They didn’t stop, didn’t slow, just picked me up so my feet dangled off the floor until we reached a room. They unlocked it and set me in on my bunk.
“You should probably get cleaned up,” one of the men said as I tried to get up but he held me down.
“You know how this goes,” he said. “You stay on your bunk until we lock the door.”
The second man backed out of the room then the first man released me and followed him.
I ran for the door.
“You don’t understand! It’s loose. It’ll kill you all!”
They turned and walked away.
“No!” I screamed at the tiny window in my door.
I pounded on the door for a long time, but no one else came by. Maybe it had already gotten them. Maybe it would come to my door and peek in my window with blood dripping from its mouth.
I stepped back from the door, feeling exhausted. I looked over at the tiny shower stall and did what they suggested.
Everything was built into the wall. The shower, the sink, the table, the bed, there was nothing I could use to hurt myself or defend myself.
After I took a shower and put on fresh clothes, I sat at my desk and wrote what had happened with the monster. When I was done I laid down, hoping to be able to rest.
At the appointed time, the lights went out.
The darkness engulfed me.
It devoured me like the thing I fear most.
I lay there with my eyes open, waiting.
In the black nothingness, I heard it, a soft growl.

I never thought that I would get a need to make this post, but a certain cis white male Yugituber has invoked a recent push in the idea that Set Rotation is the solution to a majority of Yu-Gi-Oh's problems, and that it's very reasonable for it to be implemented, be it replacing the main format, or otherwise.
Before I explain my reasoning as to why this is a ludicrous idea, let's go over what Set Rotation is, and what it COULD potentially fix.
What is Set Rotation? (No it's not the card)
For the few of you who don't know, Set Rotation is the main gimmick of some other TCG's 'Standard' formats, i.e. MTG and Hearthstone. The idea is that the only cards that are legal in this Standard format are cards that have been printed in the past 2 or 3 years, and any sets that go past this timer 'Rotate Out', and become no longer legal for the format.
So, what would this potentially mean for Yu-Gi-Oh?
Slows Down Powercreep
This is the big one, and the main thing pro-rotation players hone in on as to why Set Rotation would be a step in the right direction. With every card being on a soft time limit, Konami would no longer have an incentive to make each set stronger than the last to drive in sales, and can instead sell sets on the notion of "This old set has less time to live, but this new set is on a fresh limit." This theoretically means that the rampant powercreep we've been seeing these last few years can be curved down majorly, and we can go back to the strategic back-and-forth gameplay we've been yearning for.
Curation of Good Formats
This next one is a little more nuanced. With the need to keep track of 10 000+ cards no longer on the menu, Konami can have an easier time designing exciting, interesting formats for the players to try out. They can print archetypes without the sorry that this random card from 2005 would break it, or that this random 2018 staple blows it out of the water. They could even pick and choose cards that have since rotated and reprint them in a core set, or as some have proposed, a yearly "Base Set", containing all the staples that have since rotated out of Standard.
And... that's about it! Those are pretty much all there is to Set Rotation, and how it could fix many of Yu-Gi-Oh's issues. And to be fair, curving down powercreep and the potential for fun gameplay experiences does look very enticing.
Let me explain why it isn't so simple.
25 Years of Fans for What?
Of the big 3 card games, MTG, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh! is the only one where its main format does not feature Set Rotation. It would be pretty disingenuous to say that a negligible amount of people were drawn to this game FOR its lack of Set Rotation, instead of DESPITE it. And a large amount of the playerbase, and TCG players in general, don't appreciate their cards being on a blatant timer. "Well, they were on a timer anyways thanks to powercreep!" Not to the staples, they aren't. Generic cards last a solid 6? 7 years of consistently good use until a new card takes its place? And while it's true that archetypes certainly face a large brunt of the powercreep problem, many players simply don't care. They want to keep playing that rogue deck they always liked, and it being no longer legal due to just being too old is a real downer on them. This leads us to...
It Can be an Alternate Format! Or Can it?
It's no surprise that Konami is absolute shit at managing alt formats. This, alongside some other points I'll get to later, is an example of Set Rotation simply asking waaaay too much out of Konami. If a Rotation format were to be introduced alongside the current, "Legacy" format we're all familiar with, if Konami doesn't push it out the ass and shove it down our throats, it's natural thanks to the past 25 years of its history that the Legacy format would be more popular. Simply adding Set Rotation this far into a game's life requires extremely careful planning from a company, and extreme customer loyalty. And Konami does not check either of those boxes.
I Like Money
You can construct this as an advantage for Konami, but if they don't want to heavily support two ongoing formats at the same time, the price of the game can become a major issue. The current price of the game wouldn't be going anywhere. If Kashtira, Purrely and VS are any indicators, just because cards are new and being opened a lot doesn't mean they'll be cheap. Now add on that you can only play these cards for all of 3 years maximum before you have to invest all over again into another deck core as well as all of this new format's staples. This could be one of the reasons why Standard in Magic The Gathering died out, alongside WOTC removing the primary incentive to play Standard in the first place.
Oops! Legacy Support!
This is probably the biggest physical hurdle that needs to be jumped if we want Set Rotation to be a thing. A huge amount of Konami's current product is the printing of support for archetypes much, much older than 3 years in order to push it into meta viability. This would, simply put, not be able to exist in a rotating format. A common counterpoint thrown around is that whenever Konami prints legacy support, they can just announce that the archetype its for is now in the Standard rotation!
There are many problems with this.
Firstly, this would probably be the nail in the coffin for TCG and OCG never being able to unify as formats. And the stick in the mud is VJump Promos. Every VJump magazine, the OCG prints a mechanically exclusive card into it, usually one that supports an archetype. If this would bring it into the Standard rotation, all of a sudden we have one format that has Sky Striker legal, and one that doesn't. Secondly, some archetypes are just too old or too big to be reprinted. If CYAC were to release with this Standard format in mind, we would be seeing a TON of old-ass Superheavy Samurai cards shooting up in price, cards in sets now out of print, so Konami wouldn't even be making any money off of those purchases. And if Konami were to, say, print the archetypes the new cards are supporting in some of of supplementary set, not only does that have the possibility to bring product fatigue, do you really want the entire HERO and Blackwing archetype again?
Simply Overhaul Your Game
This is another point in Konami just not being competent or trustworthy enough to pull something like this off. Set Rotation could be implemented, IF Konami heavily supports alt formats, IF Konami decides to overhaul their entire product design, IF Konami is willing to curb their powercreep, and IF Konami even wants to take this major, major risk in the first place. That's a lot of big ifs towards a company that can't even livestream their events half the time, and a company that made fucking Metal Gear Survive.
Other, Healthier Solutions
Many of the pro-rotation players argue that this is the way to solve Yu-Gi-Oh's, admittedly, large, Powercreep problem. I argue that there are other ways to solve this. Ones that aren't as large of risks for Konami, ones that don't overhaul the game as we know it, and ones that can reliably provide a good break from current Yu-Gi-Oh!, which is realistically what we all want.
Pretty much the only alternative formats Konami is willing to pour some attention to are Speed Duels and Time Wizard. GOAT and Edison appear to be doing the best out of the legacy formats we have, and Konami has even shown some interest in it with Hidden Arsenal Chapter 1, a set that printed a whole bunch of Edison cards and even gave us an un-errata for Armory Arm. All it takes is one or two sets to make either one of these formats a budget friendly option, and Konami can just sit back and not need to use that brain of theirs. A non-rotating, static format that you can always fall back on to have a good time when current Yu-Gi-Oh! is getting bothersome on you. Speed Duels are doing quite well, with Konami opting for single boxes, DUDE style, instead of the traditional booster pack format, and they once again give players a nice refresher when they're tired of getting Zone-locked for 9 or getting Kaiju'd for the tenth game in a row.
I hope that I've reasonably laid out my reasoning as to why Set Rotation, while having good intentions, is reasonably, and practically not possible for Konami to implement in this day and age.
TLDR: Set Rotation helps for Powercreep and making good formats, but IMO ignores 25 years of history, Konami's refusal towards alt formats, cost, and product design. GOAT/Edison or Speed Duels are probably better for something like this.

Proper work footwear is determined by the job needs, industry, and workplace risks. However, there are certain general things to keep in mind while selecting professional footwear. Here are some suggestions for selecting appropriate work footwear:

1. Consider safety toe protection if your job requires you to operate with big things, equipment, or tools that could potentially crush your feet. To provide impact resistance and protection against falling objects, steel toes, composite toes, or aluminum toes are widely employed.
   
2. Slip resistance is essential in work places when there is a risk of slipping or falling owing to damp, greasy, or slippery surfaces. Look for shoes with grip and slide resistance on the outsoles.
   
3. Electrical hazard protection - If you work with electricity or in situations with electrical hazards, consider footwear that provides electrical hazard protection. These shoes or boots include particular features to limit the risk of electrical shock, such as insulation and non-conductive materials.
   
4. Puncture resistance - If you are exposed to sharp objects or work in areas where puncture threats occur, choose footwear with puncture-resistant soles. These soles are often constructed of materials like Kevlar or steel, which can assist prevent puncture wounds.
   
5. Ankle support and stability - Some tasks need a lot of walking, climbing, or working on uneven surfaces. In such circumstances, choose footwear that provides appropriate ankle support and stability to assist prevent sprains, strains, and other problems.
   
6. Comfort and fit: For lengthy shifts, comfortable footwear is vital. Look for shoes or boots that are well-fitting, have adequate cushioning, and provide appropriate arch support. To keep your feet comfy and dry, think about the material, breathability, and moisture-wicking properties.
   
7. Compliance with safety standards: Specific safety standards or requirements for work footwear may exist depending on your industry or workplace rules. Make certain that the footwear you purchase meets or exceeds the required safety standards.
   

Remember to analyze the specific risks and requirements of your work environment, as well as reference any workplace safety rules or legislation, while determining the proper work footwear for your profession.
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As the title says, I'm debating joining either fitness first or gymnation near my place. Want reviews of each one though. Which one would you guys recommend?
I was initially leaning towards Gymnation because it's 24/7 and like about 80 bucks cheaper, but there seems to be quite some issue with gymnation and canceling subscriptions.

B1538 - Export Finance & Project Investment Bill - Second Reading

Due to its length, this Bill can be found here.
Opening Speech
Mr Speaker,
Firstly I want to say that this is a bill that has seen great passion and dedication by my colleagues who have worked relentlessly on contributing in their various areas of specialisation for what is a very esoteric and at times ‘finicky’ topic to address. Nonetheless, the contents of the bill they have produced is one we are proud of as this Government works its way to achieve its goals.
The Export Credit Agency of UK Export Finance has been under-utilised, if not forgotten by previous Governments. This is a key instrument in aiding economic growth and development, especially when productivity is a big drawback on the British economy. Our party made a promise to address the structural challenges to our economy and here we deliver directly to fix that. This bill emboldens our export finance agency to not just provide support to UK exporters, but allows us to finance crucial overseas project investment feeding into our own and global development goals.
Part 1 of this bill deals with the nature of export finance. We move in this part to make sure exporters (suppliers) get the immediate access to finance to spend and reinvest on key capital projects in which that finance would not be available for the likes of 90 to 120 days. Subsequently bringing a continuous and positive growth program that sees market development and improved business connections. By no means is this a form of state aid that grants the competing advantage within an industry regarding the production of goods or services against rivals, but allows for immediate credit and export guarantees through loans and not subsidies.
In regards to SMEs, export finance is undoubtedly an ideal way to help small and medium sized businesses that need the funds but have limited banking facilities and credit history. Key to Conservative policy is that unlocking of economic potential and the core value of equality of opportunity which is why this Government is fully launching itself in support of the backbone of our economy, which are small and medium sized enterprises.
What is key in such a redefining and emboldening of British investment capabilities is our commitment to net-zero and environmental sustainability which is why we will be ending any and all UKEF support for the fossil fuel industry in the coming months. This Government will move to utilise Export Finance and project investment underpinned by said sustainability goals and environmental commitments.
Part 2 of the bill focuses itself on the capabilities for project finance investment. We make thorough provisions that base itself around categorising sector areas (see Schedules 5, 6 and 7) deemed necessary for environmental impact assessments. By ensuring our project finance investments not only comply with environmental and social regulations but are thoroughly assessed for their impact, this Government works towards mutual sustainability goals.
We further go to provide the necessary provisions such as the adoption of the equator principles in the operations of UKEF - in accordance with 116 financial institutions across 37 countries. This is a necessary framework for all forms of financial institutions involved in project finance to ensure the necessary environmental, social and regulatory policy frameworks are in place when supporting global project development. This Government is committed to ensuring that all practices within our financial sector are in accordance with responsible and cooperative management practices. They further go to promote a common framework for global social and environmental standards in which developmental banks and export credit agencies (such as UKEF) increasingly draw on OECD common approaches.
Outlined by various corporations, international organisations and governing bodies, it is understandable that green finance will play a crucial role in global sustainable development and aiding the combat of climate change. The World Economic Forum estimates the value of green finance to reach $2.36 trillion this year in order to meet the needs of environmentalism and economic growth alongside it. Currently the USA and China, lead in this alongside the European Union implementing a green finance plan. Our Export Finance scheme is one that aligns itself with a clean growth strategy that helps further green and sustainable development, not just in Britain but globally. In a globalised world through promoting and facilitating a sustainable development plan in regards to our exports we help contribute to fostering more sustainable economic development internationally and projecting our values on this matter. This Government is proud to bring forward such an achievement in establishing and providing the means to promote and develop the necessary provisions for reaching sustainability in economic growth driven through export.
This Reading shall end on the 4th June, 10pm BST.

Okay so basically this week fucking sucked. It started off okay but like Sunday my dad got drunk and thankfully he didn’t do nothing but it like pissed me off. (For some context I’m 16 and my dad has had problems with alcohol in the passed which led him to prison). So on Monday I had a day off from school (memorial day) and I was chilling and my step grandma took me to Shakeys and I was happy (my birthday had just passed).
Then Tuesday came around and I had periods 1-4 (my school weird so it’s 2 hour period’s basically). And in my first period PE I had a run test and it made me EXHAUSTED, and immediately after I had to go to the third floor of my schools main building for my second period. This isn’t that much of a big deal but it’s still kinda bothering. Other than that the rest of the day was fine except that day I was talking to someone I liked and we were really getting along. And then they rejected me afterschool had ended which kinda sucked
Wednesday came along and I was still a little sad over the person, but ignored it. That Saturday I just started learning guitar and I brought the guitar my dad bought me to school so I can continue learning maybe afterschool. But what ended up happening was after I left my 7th period (Wednesday is periods 5-8) I saw my dad texted me saying “I’m in jail again” and I’m like “what the fuck”. So I called my step-mom (A little more context, my mom had passed October 2021 and my dad had married my stepmom around 6-7 years ago, and I live with my grandma so I only see my dad weekends). What ended up happening with the phone call was my stepmom told me my dad got drunk and I guess kicked her hand and threw shoes at her (full force) and I was just shocked. Since I called my stepmom during passing period (right after 7th period) I ended up being late to my class and after the phone call I was even later because I started crying. It was all just too much for me and I couldn’t take it. So after like maybe 5 mins of just sitting there and crying I went to my 8th period to ask for a note to go to the counselor’s office. And I was crying while doing it. Thankfully my teacher gave me a note and I left immediately and since I was already crying, as soon as I left the building I just started sobbing. I couldn’t control it. I was just so lost. And I had no one to talk to either. I ended up sitting at a bench just crying for a whole 10 minutes and an employee in my school asked what’s wrong and we had a conversation about my situation and I just continued to cry. I was so thankful tho because he took me to this place called the calm room in my school where kids can calm down and try to feel better and one of the people there helped me feel a bit better, then my counselor came to the room and she helped me calm down a lot more too. I ended up going to my counselors office and we finished talking. And I had been crying so much that by the time I was in the office school had ended. After that I started talking to my friends and they helped me feel better (I hadn’t told any of them abt what happened but I wanted to). After that I went home and ate dinner and fell asleep.
Finally today rolls around. I had PE again and thank god we just walking💀💀 and I played flag football and it was fun but we lost. Second period was chill and I was thankful. And during lunch I was tryna tell my friend what happened yesterday, and she kinda interrupted me a few times and I was kinda butthurt cause I never interrupt her when she talks about her life and if I do I apologize and try to get them to continue so they can let it out. But like it’s like she didn’t really care. But it’s whatever. And the rest of the day was again thankfully fine. And then after school I had the last band practice of the school year(forgot to mention I’m in band) and I was playing the drum like crazy. And imma just skip to about an hour ago. My dad had texted me saying he’s out and my stepmom was lying about everything saying that he didn’t touch her or anything. And that he’s gonna try to get her arrested for lying and supposedly falling a police report. And I was just like confused. And he said that my stepmom and step grandma were talking shit about my moms, my dads mom and my sister and I. And in my mind I’m like “there’s no fucking way” and right now due to the band practice and PE I’m sore all over and if I stretch too much I 100% will get a cramp and everything hurts. And I’m just scared because since my dad is out of jail and my step mom and dad aren’t even talking I’m worried it’s completely over for them and that something bad will happen to somebody. I just hate that all this is happening. I just wish things could be simple. Everything is like blurry too and I’m just like in so much pain physically and emotionally. Every time I try to feel happy life just takes a massive shit on it. Imma just like try to sleep and I just needed to let this out.

We are two people looking to spend 7 weeks in Europe, specifically the UK, France, Spain, and Italy. We were thinking that Airbnb wouldn't be too bad in September and October, but the pricing is much higher than we expected. What's a cheaper way besides bunk beds at hostels? We're looking for a private room, happy to share kitchen, etc. Will be working remotely so if there are any affordable Selina-type places in Europe that would be amazing, although co-working/co-living spaces tend to be pricier than Airbnb from what I've seen. Thanks for your help.

Before i begin asking questions I wanna preface by giving a very brief timeline of my symptoms. I’ve been dealing with wrist pain for about a year now and although i’ve made progress, it seems to be 2 steps forward and 3 steps back type of deal.
Additionally, i think it’s important to state what i think caused this in the first place. I was a fry cook at a busy steakhouse and worked about 30-35 hours a week and was coming up on a year of being there. During this time, i was hitting the gym with intense workouts 6 days a week. In my free time, i would game on the pc, fish, and sometimes kayak.
June 2022: I started to get some mild but noticeable pain in both of my wrists after working out, hard to pinpoint where, but for the most part it was right at the wrists, nothing in forearms or the hands. Pain level was probably a 3. I ignored for the first week or two but then i started to get whilst working out and then eventually at work and then eventually it was noticeable when i started kayaking as well. I took a week from push/pull exercises and then a week off from the gym entirely once i got back and still felt pain during bench press. I started to get clicking at the base of my thumb/wrist (right where the sheath is for dequervains) during ulnar deviation in both wrists.
July-August 2022: Probably the worst of it. I started to get pain even at rest and some numbness every so often during car rides and such. I was on vacation at the time and drank a good bit and woke ip with pain at a 7-8 that lasted for a while. Thought it was carpal tunnel so i went to orthopedist and he said it was probably just tendonitis and to just continue to rest it and stretch it.
September-Now: Went back to my college town for school and started working less but was still working about 12-20 hours a week. Through cutting out the gym and other hobbies, i was able to heal about 75-80% of my wrists. Now, i can enjoy some of my hobbies again but i quit my job recently. The clicking (although it isn’t painful) drives me nuts. My pain mostly occurs when i’m at rest and when i’ve been at the pc for awhile. It’s right on the radial side usually, but jumps around a bit too. I’ve been to several orthopedists and done all types of finkelsteins test but can’t seem to get anything to specifically aggravate it unless i’ve been at the pc for hours and im stressed.
I want a correct diagnoses so that i can do the proper rehab to become pain free. I e been told radial nerve damage, dequervains, tendonitis, etc. Persoanlly, i believe i have reactive on degenerative tendinopathy on the epl or epl tendons. But i would like a diagnoses to confirm.
My questions are: Will an ultrasound be just as effective as an MRI for detecting tendinopathy or nerve issues?
Should i get an EMG/NCS before doing other imaging tests?
If everything comes back normal, is it safe to assume it’s a chronic pain issue and should i start doing cns desensitization?
Is anyone familiar with the process of tendon loading and load tolerance? Has it helped your issue?
Has anyone else experienced the clicking in the same spot i have? Most people tell me it’s harmless but since it only started once my wrist pain started i assume it’s not just gas bubbles in my joints.

Hello everyone! I hope that you all enjoy this next installment!
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Alex
“It’s a message from the United Terran Security Council. It says, ‘Due to a confirmed Scenario 7, effective immediately, all nonessential Terrans not in Terran space are required to report to their nearest embassy.’” I looked up at Aeva. “This is bad, very bad.”
They immediately sat up from the lying position that they were in. “Wait, why? What does that mean? Is that bad?” they asked.
“Well, I suppose that depends on your definition of bad. Because for humans, it’s pretty bad. Basically, there are ten different senarios that United Nations of Terra have drawn up with the help of the Security Council that outlines different possible things that could happen. Those range from scenario one, where the secret goes out and nothing really changes, all the way to ten, where the secret goes out and the entire Galactic Community is gunning for us, so to speak.” I could see the look of confusion on the much larger dinosaur’s face as I said that. I took a deep breath and continued. “So, what that means is that the Security Council believes that there is a very real possibility that at least two or more different members of the Galactic Community will declare war on us as soon as the news gets out. That’s why all Terrans are going to the embassies because those things are built like fortresses.”
Aeva taking a moment processing this information, feathers fluffing up before they finally said “But why would anyone declare war on you guys? Terrans have been nothing but helpful to the Galactic Community for as long as we’ve known about you! What could they possibly gain by going to war with you?”
I sat in the chair in front of the computer. “Beats me. My best guess is that there are some species out there that seem to like warmongering more than the average species. They might see the news that the imposing Terrans in their impervious space suits were easily puntable the whole time and think to themselves ‘this has got to be the easiest war that we have ever fought!’ It’s at times like this when I am really glad that we never revealed where our homeworld was.”
Aeva was about to say something when suddenly, the loudspeaker system on the ship crackled to life. I’m sure that it didn’t really need to crackle like that, maybe it was just a noise to inform the crew to start listening up, but I digress. “Attention all crew,” she started, “we have been requested by the Terran government to ferry our resident Terran to the Embassy ship Strength Through Diplomacy. We are about three weeks of travel time from its current location.” I double checked my computer terminal. That information seemed to be correct. “Also, due to the urgency of the Terran government, we will not be stopping at any port of calls on the way.” Out in the hallway I could hear groaning coming from aliens probably trying to get a glimpse at me through a crack in the door or something similar. “I know that this is not what you all signed up for, but I have been assured that we will be fairly compensated for our time and efforts. That is all.” And with that the loudspeaker went silent.
I shook my head. “Man, things must be heating up if they want me back so bad.” I wonder if I’ll get court martialed for this. Or maybe even declared exommunicado. At this point the world is my oyster.
“Maybe, but we won’t really know until we get there, I suppose. Oh hey, did you want to get that battery and wheelchair fabricated so you can actually move around without needing me?” they asked.
That shook me out of my self-destructive thoughts. “Yeah, totally. It shouldn’t be that hard to link up my computer to the fabricator.”
If I had known how much trouble that that single statement got me into, I would have never said it in the first place. Connecting the two systems wasn’t a problem, that actually came pretty easily, due to various technological trades that have been happening for the last couple of years. That is where the ease stopped, however. The file for the schematic of the battery was in a specific format that was simply incompatible with the fabricator, and so I had to break out the most dreaded thing a human can think of: a user instruction manual. The manual, for one reason or another, was a physical copy and thicker than a bowl of oatmeal. Three hundred years after the invention of the ebook, and we still can’t get away from physical copies of things. With nothing better to do, I started to pore over the manual and after only thirty minutes of searching, I finally found the passage about changing the schematic format to something that alien fabricators can read and produce. With that passage found, it only took another thirty minutes or so to finally get the schematic formatted properly and sent to the ship fabricator.
“Thank the Lord that that’s finally done!” I shouted, waking Aeva from the nap they were having.
“Wait, what’s done?” they asked.
“I finally figured it out, and the battery’s being fabricated as we speak.”
“Well, that’s good!” they said. “You’ll be up and moving soon enough!”
“Yeah, I really hope so. Oh, by the way, could you send me the schematic for the wheelchair? I would use a schematic that humans use, but I’m terrible with modeling software, and I’m sure that I would mess it up somehow trying to scale it properly.”
They nodded, before sending me the schematic. That one was easy enough to send to the fabricator due to it being the correct format, so there was nothing to worry about.
“Well, we have about an hour before both things are done being made,” I said. “So, what do you want to do?”
“To be honest with you, I just want to sleep. Today has been exhausting to no end and I am ready to sleep!”
I chuckled. “Yeah, me too.”
I was going to say more when my phone buzzed. I looked at it and saw that it was a message from the captain. It read “Turn to Galactic News. You’re going to want to see this.”
My eyes widened and I made my way to the computer and tuned it to the news station. It was strange, because no matter where you went in the galaxy the news shows looked almost exactly alike. There were always two anchors sitting behind a desk with the news agency’s logo on it, and this news show was no exception. Instead of the humans sitting behind the desk like I had grown up with, there was instead two aliens. One looked just like Godzilla (the 2014 version, not the reboot from thirty years ago), and the other looked like a bever with the body of a lion. It looked like they were in the middle of reporting something. “-unprecedented move by the Terrans as a mass exodus from the Galactic Community to the various Terran embassies scattered throughout the galaxy. This news comes minutes after images surfaced on the galactic web of a tiny hairless lemur riding on the shoulder of a Cosholay. The person who posted this has claimed that the lemur was what Terrans looked like underneath their space suits.” They then showed a rather high-quality picture of me riding on the shoulder of Aeva. It must have been taken on the bridge.
“Hey Aeva, look we’re famous now!” I said with little mirth.
Aeva, who was sitting on the bed the entire time stood up and walked over to the desk and peered over me to get a good look at the photo that they were showing. “They didn’t even get my good side!” they lamented.
“Yeah, well maybe we’ll get the chance to do a photoshoot later.” I said, quickly silencing myself as the news report went on.
“To give us a better look into what we’re seeing in this photo, we go now to our analyst, Ikkid. Ikkid?”
The camera cut to a giant spider looking alien who was poring over a screen unseen by the camera. “Thank you Chuuzk. So, as we can see from the image, specifically the resolution and the overall quality, we can see that this photo was not fabricated in any way and is the genuine article. As to the claims that this lemur thing is what Terrans look like under their space suits, I cannot verify at this time. But I can draw similarities between the proportions of the limbs and heads of these suits that the Terrans never seem to take off. But this begs the question of why the Terrans would lie about something like this in the first place? And if they’re lying about this, then what else could they be lying about? I would say, but that’s out of my area of expertise. Back to you Chuuzk!”
The camera switched back to the anchors and the Godzilla looking one gave their species equivalent to a smile and said, “Compelling stuff, thank you Ikkid. Well, that’s all the time that we have today, but we will be covering this story as it unfolds. Until then, have a wonderful morning.” With that the ending jingle played and the broadcast was over.
“So much for BSing our way out of this one.” I said, shaking my head.

Seriously, this show is incredible. There is always someone to relate to and watching this show was one of the best decisions I have ever made. A lot of people say that you'll find this show at your worst point lmao, and even if that is true, it still makes me happy. A part of me would love to see a reboot, but I also think it's perfect the way it is, untouched. I just finished season 7, and when it showed the skins title one last time, it honestly made me emotional. This show is truly art, I don't know why America even tried to put a stamp on it. (I am American btw).
I even love gen 3. I know it gets a lot of hate, but it was still good. Gen 1 will always hold the most special place in my heart, but I do feel that gen 2 is the best. As for season 7, it feels like a different show in a way, but still amazing, and I do believe it was necessary.

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