Any help is appreciated, I feel so defeated. The short version is that I can't get my cat to stop peeing on my bed and clothes, it's been an issue for about a year but it used to be more occasional, but the past 5 months has been constant.
I try everything, I have the kitty pheromone diffuser, I have the spray version, I keep her litter clean, there are multiple boxes, I buy litter attractants, I give her positive reinforcement (treats) when I see her use the litter box, I wash everything that gets urine on it/use an enzyme cleaner, I've taken her to the vet to ensure it's not a kidney issue, she gets a cranberry supplement to prevent any UTIs or other issues, she is well fed and well hydrated, I started working from home more again to keep her company, I just don't understand what else to do.
The longer version which might have important detail: she was a quarantine adopt and is fiercely co-dependent, I adopted her a sibling last year to alleviate her anxiety when I'm gone and she was originally resistant which is when the peeing started, but I expected her to have a territorial response so I wasn't surprised. It eventually stopped and while they're not best friends, they do get along now and she grooms him sometimes, and afterwards was only triggered when she would see my suitcase and knew I'd be traveling.
Once we started packing up to move apartments (something she's done many times with no issue) it became incessant, I had to throw away my old couch entirely and get rid of my old duvet insert and was constantly washing clothes. It hasn't stopped since. She has peed on my bed and/or clothes about 2-3 times a week since February. Listed above are the steps I've taken to alleviate what could be bothering her.
By the way, her brother has been a perfect angel; gives her space, never pees outside the litter box, etc. I know cat's don't like siblings but he's being as good as he could possibly be.

I was talking to a co-worker about movies and horror came up. Another co-worker piped in and asked us why we watch horror to begin with and it inspired me to ask here.
I'll Start.
I remember when I was young my dad and brother would rent movies all the time on VHS. This was the mid 80's so this was the thing to do. I was very young and I was usually ushered to bed before they watched anything intense or scary. I remember though sneaking out of my room though with my younger sister and we tried watching Aliens 2. We ended up hiding behind my dad's chair doing are best to sneak peaks but it was to much for my little self and we got caught. Over the years I saw movies that didn't hit me as hard like Predator and Gremlins. I was older by this time. The first movie I watched in full that legit scared me was Sleep Walkers based on the Stephen King novel. Sure it scared the jeepers out of me at the time but I survived. So I started to slowly dip my toes into more. I eventually watched IT the miniseries, got another chance at the Alien franchise and more. I grew into from there.

In today's fast developing digital landscape, firms across industries are experiencing the necessity to modify and change to remain competitive. Digital transformation has emerged as a powerful strategy to control the possible of engineering and revolutionize the way in which companies run, interact with consumers, and get growth. In this informative article, we shall explore in to the idea of digital transformation and examine how it is reshaping the company landscape.
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Electronic change encompasses the integration of digital systems in to all aspects of a company, fundamentally adjusting how it operates and offers price to customers. It goes beyond adopting new technologies; it requires an ideal change in mind-set, procedures, and culture. The goal is to control the energy of engineering to enhance effectiveness, optimize operations, and build exemplary customer experiences.
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Among the critical people of digital change could be the changing client expectations. Today's clients are more connected, educated, and challenging than ever before. They assume individualized experiences, easy connections, and instant access to information. Electronic transformation helps corporations to meet up these objectives by leveraging technologies such as artificial intelligence, knowledge analytics, and automation to deliver tailored services and products, solutions, and experiences Digital Transformation .
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Another driver of electronic transformation is the raising availability and affordability of technology. Cloud computing, mobile phones, and the Internet of Points (IoT) have smooth just how for companies of dimensions to get into strong instruments and programs which were when only available to big enterprises. This democratization of technology helps companies to innovate, scale, and compete on an amount playing field.
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Digital transformation also helps businesses to unlock the energy of data. With the growth of digital communications and connected products, corporations have access to large levels of data. By harnessing knowledge analytics and insights, agencies will make data-driven decisions, learn useful trends, and enhance their strategies. Knowledge becomes an ideal asset that drives creativity, increases operational effectiveness, and fuels growth.

First Previous
Memory Transcription Subject: Vichak, venlil school principal
Date [Standard Human Reckoning]: 2136-10-23
I told my vice principal that I didn't come to this predator planet for a vacation, so I need some knowledge or study results to bring home. Johan, my possible future brother-in-law, suggested that I could perhaps observe a human school. Keristian, the human coordinator for the refugee apartment, assured me that he had contacted an elementary school and came up with a schedule. For now, he told me to familiarize myself with the amenities in the apartment.
Besides their blocky design, human apartments had the same general functions as venlil ones. The staff provided us with a stepping stool to account for the larger dimension of the furniture, but other than that it has all that we needed.
Well... we could use a full-body dryer.
I found some alien features too in the apartment, such as the artificial pond, which humans use for recreation. They call this activity 'swimming', something that translates into "moving in water". Their First Contact package insisted that they came from arboreal lineage. Yet, their movements in water betrayed a hidden skill. After considering it, it made sense in a way. The water in their world is teeming with life, and they would benefit from aquatic hunting skills.
Adjacent to this 'swimming' pond, the apartment also had a gym. We have gyms back in the home world, but here on Earth, a wide range of humans frequented them, not just their armed forces personnel. They perform a variety of body movements such as lifting and putting things back down or running on a conveyor belt.
Does this dedication to simulated hardship serve as a means to channel their inherited predatory aggression? They didn't turn themselves from savage beasts into civilized people without some way to temper that excess.
We expected to meet a lot of gojids in the apartment, but it felt sparser than I had imagined. Keristian explained that the gojids here had entered into employment within the Capital. A large number had secured work on the farms. Some had brought seeds from their homeworld, which they planted back in the camp. After the human experts determined it safe enough for Earth, they transplanted the sprouts to one of the farms around the city.
I wondered if any venlil plant species had established themselves on this foreign soil. After Timür explained the concept of invasive species, I realized that I misinterpreted their cautious approach as predatory territorialism. On the other paw, the unspoiled wilderness that I witnessed on my journeys to and from the camp made me appreciate the inherent beauty of preserving such a wild landscape.
Some other gojids chose careers in logistics, serving the complex system that kept the goods in the region moving. Right now, humans directed most of their effort into alleviating the ruined cities. Some of the gojids had even volunteered to help the human, despite the presence of arxurs in the affected cities.
For our last meal of the day, we had gojid dishes made out of earth ingredients. I have to admit that I have not tried gojid cuisine before, but it grew on me just like human cuisine did.
The midday heat on Earth felt milder compared to the scorching intensity of a Deep Day in Venlil Prime's sunward section. Unlike our homeworld, where night temperatures could plummet beyond freezing, Earth's night felt comfortable.
I spent my first night on Earth sitting on the rooftop garden of the apartment. The blanket of darkness that stretched all around us sparked feelings of unease. However, the glimmering towers of the Capital provided a comforting backdrop, their lights twinkling like terrestrial stars. One of the staff members commented on how the city's light pollution obscured all but the brightest celestial bodies.
The staff member was a human after all and would do insane human things like complaining about their city not being dark enough.
Nevertheless, humans did appreciate the necessity of artificial lighting. As night fell, we could illuminate our room with the voice command, a comforting alternative to the deep night outside. I shuddered at the thought of enduring a night in such complete darkness.
Yesterday, I decided to explore the downtown capital to familiarize myself before I visited the school today. Mom insisted on tagging along and Keristian wanted Sukma, his aide, to guide us. We wanted a self-guided exploration, so as a compromise, the human equipped us with wrist-worn devices. These gadgets allowed him to track our whereabouts and also functioned as a means of payment. While the coordinator insisted we needn't worry about finances, he explained a rough price guide to prevent any possible exploitation.
Humans, in stark contrast to the lone arxurs, put heavy importance on socializing. While we waited in the station, the rhythmic cadence of Bahasa, their local language, filled the air. Thanks to Vani's provision of a language model, I could comprehend their dialogues, and snippets of human conversations drifted toward my ears.
"Do you see those domba?"
"Shhh... don't call them that. But yeah... I thought we had just one here?"
"Maybe Vani's relatives came to visit?"
However, even with the additional language model, my translator couldn't decipher all of their voices. Vani informed me that Bahasa serves as a trade language for the region and they had a plethora of other tongues that our translation device has yet to have the data for.
Once aboard the train, the humans adopted a collective silence. Being surrounded by humans aboard the train felt daunting, but this discomfort came from me standing out in this setting. I would feel the same on any other planet inhabited by a different species, carnivorous or not.
When we came to the downtown station, we plunged right away into an endless sea of humans.
Timür's unapologetic display of his face had acclimatized us to humans. We learned to perceive them not as threats but as just xenos with weird faces. It also helped that the humans in our vicinity maintained a respectful distance. However, they almost always locked their curious gaze onto us, averting their eyes when they figured out that I noticed them from my peripheral vision.
Distinguishing individual humans posed a challenge due to their similar appearance, but I soon learned to note the distinctive fabric of their clothing and the accessories they adorned.
The bustling capital of Nusantara presented us with new experiences and opportunities to learn about human culture. Mom and I took full advantage of our time there, immersing ourselves in the vibrant atmosphere provided by the city.
We first stopped at a local market, a bustling hive of activity that operated around the clock. Here, we observed humans haggling over the prices of fruits and vegetables, inspecting textiles, and purchasing a bewildering variety of cooked foods. The rich aroma of exotic spices and prepared meals filled the air.
We had a pleasant experience in the market until we stumbled onto the flesh section. Mom caused some embarrassing commotion when she vomited at the sight of the flesh.
So we decided to visit something less challenging and found ourselves going to museums and galleries. The tour guides in each institution we came to explained the history of this island while showing a collection of historical artifacts and artworks. It offered a captivating glimpse into the ancient human civilizations that once inhabited this region, and their struggles and triumphs.
We decided to have our last meal of the day in the city. With many of the buildings crammed in the city center, the place we had access to the open air lay at the top of the building. We watched the sun setting on the horizon.
As we ate through a platter of addictive fritters, Mom said that we venlil did construct similar dense settlements. Her explanation surprised me at first, as I almost forgot that Mom used to work as a civil engineer. She then explained that dense arrangements for habitats like this only made sense in colonies that lacked land or breathable air.
Humans seemed to have other motivations. They prefer gathering close to one another, creating bustling metropolises to allow for large swaths of untouched land for their wildlife.
So today, having learned to navigate the urban labyrinth of the Capital, I bid a temporary farewell to my mother at the outskirt station. Her exploration of this city would take her further out, where she would visit one of the human agricultural facilities. On the other paw, my destination lay at the heart of downtown.
Once I arrived at the downtown station, I switched on my visual overlay, allowing it to project directional instructions across my visual field. It painted a pathway to my destination through the tunnels and covered walkways. The direction landed me in one of the city's gargantuan towers.
The visual overlay translated the name of the school in venscript. Since humans write horizontally, the resulting translation turns a quarter circle. The sign above the entrance says:
"State Elementary School #1"
Number one? I suppose in a city this big, they did need more than one school. Under the sign, I spotted a human figure standing. She waved her arms and I could tell that she had waited for me. When I got closer, I made out the warm and inviting expression on her face
"Hi, I'm Andin, and you must be Principal Vichak?" Her voice sounded melodious and soft for a human. The human clasped her hands in front of her and bowed.
"Hi Principal Andin, nice to meet you," I replied to her with the same gesture. "I can't wait to see your school."
"Excellent! Follow me," she said. Her billowy one-piece dress twirled around her when she turned around.
Andin led me through the lobby and toward a balcony overseeing the heart of this educational facility, an internal atrium spanning three stories in height. The humans embedded the school inside one of their superstructure, and due to the lack of outdoor space, this architectural feature provided a simulated outside area where young humans could engage in physical activity and socialize. A synthetic material replicating grass covered the atrium's floor. Simulated sunlight streamed projected from the ceiling bathed the area in warm daylight.
An assortment of colorful play structures and exercise apparatuses dotted the periphery of the atrium. I presume they provided the students with ways to release those predator energies. Balconies jutted out from each floor, giving educators an overview of the bustling space and enabling effective supervision during playtime. The classrooms and learning spaces surrounded the atrium. As we walked past, I noticed that several of the glass panes had turned opaque.
"I read from the sign that this is an Elementary School. How old are your students?"
"Our elementary school caters to students from the first through fourth grades, so they are between six to ten years old. However, we sometimes admit older students. For instance, we have a few twelve-year-olds in the fourth grade."
Something felt a bit off from her answer. "What's next for them after this?" I probed.
"After completing their time here, students move on to four years of middle school, followed by another four years of high school. During high school, they can choose a specialization before they move on to university."
Her response left me flabbergasted. "Twelve years of education?" I said in disbelief. "It takes a full twelve years to complete education here?"
"Uh... yeah. That's pretty much the standard timeframe for education all over the planet. Just... how long does it take for you to finish your mandatory education?"
"Seven years," I responded. "By the age of thirteen, kids can start two years of vocational school and most venlils started working at fifteen."
Andin's eyes widened, "Wait, you have children working full-time at fifteen?"
"No, they're not children. They're adults." I realized that humans might have different lifespans. "What's... your age of majority here?"
"In this country, people can vote at the age of seventeen. But in our local culture adulthood starts at twenty." Andin explained.
"Alright, maybe we have a different lifespan?" Andin suggested, echoing my thought. "What's the typical lifespan of a venlil?"
"The average life expectancy hovers around ninety years, although many people live past one hundred," I explained. I wonder if perhaps humans live much longer? I didn't expect predators to live long, but humans tend to defy the norm.
"We had the same lifespan," Andin admitted.
"Wait... what?"
"Maybe we have a different education system?" She suggested again. Andin offered me her pad. "Feel free to observe any class that interests you. Here you can see the schedule for today." The contents had been translated into Ventongue. It presented a timeline of various subjects that took place throughout the day.
As my eyes skimmed over the list, one caught my attention. "Can you explain physical education?"
"In this class, we teach children how to exercise." she explained, "In fact, a PE class should begin now."
An adult human arrived on the field, followed by human children chattering and making all sorts of kid noises. They sounded just like venlil juveniles. At the command of the teacher, the students aligned themselves into a tidy grid pattern. A rhythmic melody started to play, filling the atrium with an energetic ambiance. The teacher at the front began to move in sync with the music, demonstrating a series of actions that the children mirrored.
"What are they doing?" I asked, intrigued.
"They're warming up to prepare for the activity ahead."
They performed various movements, the fluidity and synchronization of which appeared almost like a dance to my venlil eyes.
Once the 'warm up' concluded, several large, blocky objects rolled into the atrium. With a series of arm gestures from the teacher, these objects positioned themselves around the area. Some expanded to form rudimentary structures complete with roofs, transforming the atrium into some sort of tiny city.
The children gathered in a circle. Following a brief, excited chatter, they each presented a hand, some with palms facing upward, others showing the backs of their hands. According to some unspoken rule, those showing the backs of their hands stepped back, causing the circle to contract. This ritual continued and I figured out that the group with the most members excused themselves until one kid remained.
"Ah, it seems they're playing 'Hide and Seek' today," Andin commented, watching the unfolding scene with a warm smile.
"Hide and Seek? What's that?"
"One child plays as the 'cat' while the others will play as the 'mice'," she explained, her expression turning somewhat hesitant. "Ah... perhaps this wasn't the most appropriate activity for you to observe."
My translator didn't quite capture the nuances of 'cat' and 'mice', but I gathered they referred to Earth animals. The child designated as the 'cat' stood in the center of the atrium, standing near a pole with their eyes covered, while the 'mice' scattered, seeking shelter behind the fabricated structures and blocks.
The 'cat' began a loud countdown. Upon reaching zero, they removed palms hands from their eyes and commenced their search. A realization struck me as the 'cat' started prowling around.
"This... is," I murmured, taken aback by the implication of the game. "You're simulating a hunt."
From time to time, the humans can't help but remind me that despite their friendliness and civility, they had a history as predators.
"Well... yeah, when you put it like that…" she paused. "But, the children didn't see it as a hunting simulation. I mean… I doubt that none of them will become a hunter when they reach adulthood. Most of us nowadays don't hunt."
"I understand." I looked down and the cat had found a mouse, chaos ensued as the two of them rushed to the pole. The mouse touched the pole first and laughed. "You humans do need an outlet for your aggression to maintain a civil society."
"What? No…" Said Andin. "We have Physical Education to encourage a habit of fitness."
"So, you don't feel the urge to get violent, sometimes?"
"Most of us don't. Those with that kind of urge receive treatments so they don't harm themselves or other people."
I looked down at the human children below. Despite their concerning activity, they looked like they enjoyed it.
"But if this display makes you uncomfortable, we can see other classes."
I looked at the pad, where another class intrigued me.
"You have an art class? In elementary school?"
"Yeah, it encourages creativity… you don't have art classes?"
"No, those with the aptitude will go to art colleges after they graduate from school."
"Oh…" She gave me a look that I think signifies pity? "Are there other things you don't see in Venlil school?"
"The English class seems interesting. I noticed that most of your people can speak in English when needed."
"Heh, that one is contentious." She chuckled. "English is waning now, and people proposed that we teach our kids Chinese, Hindi, or Swahili for the foreign language class. I take it… you don't have a foreign language class?"
"We do, but… like art school, you learn it at the university level, usually as part of a Foreign Relation Studies. Because foreign languages are spoken by other species."
"Interesting." Again, she gave me that concerned look. "So, do you want to see the art class or the language class?"
"Art class. I think."
"Sure, let's go," Andin said, guiding me down the stairs toward the art classroom.
Upon entering the room, chaos greeted us. An eclectic array of children's artwork adorned the walls, showcasing vibrant landscapes, portraits, abstract shapes, and depictions of what I assumed were various earth creatures.
"Ah, Principal Andin," the art teacher greeted us with an inviting smile as we entered. "And we have Principal Vichak as well!"
"Meet Harta, our art teacher," Andin introduced me.
The moment we entered the room, a sea of young faces turned towards us. It felt like a forest of eyes scrutinizing us.
"Children, say hello to our visitor today, Principal Vichak."
"Good morning, Principal Vichak!" They speak in harmony. The children then refocused on their tasks, their hands returning to their brushes and colored pencils.
Some students here worked alone, while others collaborated in small groups. In one corner, I spotted a screen displaying 3D artwork, sculptures made from what looked like recycled materials, clay, and even intricate artwork made of folded paper.
"Today we have a free-form class," Harta explained. "With your visit, I asked them to make something about our two species."
Several children gathered around a large screen at one end of the room, using it to sketch out their designs before replicating them on canvas. They drew scenes of humans and venlils with a level of technical skill and creativity that amazed me, considering the young age of these kids. In one section, busy children molded a piece of clay, their tiny hands trying to create something that looked like a venlil.
"But how do you evaluate their work?" I asked, confused. "And for that matter, how do you grade students in the Physical Education class?"
"In this school system, we don't include art and physical education to determine if a student has what it takes to continue to the next grade," Andin clarified.
"We do give individual feedback to each child," Harta chimed in. "We aim to ensure their personal growth and development, not just their academic achievement."
"Indeed," Andin asserted, her voice reflecting a sense of profound conviction. "The role of the school has evolved over time. These days, we don't work just as a hub for academic instruction, but as a second home where children learn essential life skills. We work hand-in-hand with parents to nurture these young minds, helping them develop into thoughtful and responsible individuals."
This notion brought back memories of my own school back on our homeworld. People would often refer to our school as a "nursery" due to our additional class on socializing and communication. I remember Renata, the human psychologist stationed in our homeland, said that my school had the basis of a well-rounded education. Here I learned just how more "rounded" we need to be.
Throughout the day, we ventured into different classrooms, each offering a snapshot of the subjects covered in human elementary education. The STEM classes felt lackluster by my standards. However, I soon appreciated their teaching approach which encouraged students to arrive at their conclusions.
On the other hand, the social studies and citizenship curriculum appeared more intricate, which made sense, given the complex social structures of the human race, a species as varied and divided as the primitive yotuls.
Midday brought a meal break, during which I had the chance to mingle with some of the other faculty members. I learned that a significant portion of the adults currently abstained from food and drink, on account of what they called the "fasting month". Andin observed the fast as well, but she kept me company in the cafeteria despite her abstinence from eating.
"Are you sure it's alright for me to eat while you're fasting?" I asked, somewhat.
"Of course," she assured me, her face warmed by a gracious smile. "Self-restraint is a fundamental aspect of being human."
Self-restraint, a quality I found woven into the fabric of human nature. Despite the invasion hurling their world into chaos, humans displayed remarkable restraint, refraining from lashing out in anger.
Post-meal, our educational exploration resumed. The sheer number of classes devoted to non-academic skills struck me. For instance, they had a class dedicated to environmental education, where they instructed young learners on how to care for their planet. Another class, called Health and Wellness, focused on areas such as hygiene, nutrition, safety, emotional well-being, and mental health. My visit coincided with a session of "meditation", a peculiar human practice to calm themselves. When I observed the children sitting in tranquil silence with eyes closed and serene music enveloping the room, I realized that they do have a method of quelling aggression, by nurturing a peaceful disposition.
The complexities of human pedagogical methods began to dawn upon me. The length of their educational journey lasted longer than ours because of this multifaceted curriculum. They didn't focus just on the injection of academic knowledge, but they also introduced human development in theirs. Even their academic lessons went beyond feeding students with facts and figures. Instead, they encouraged a more gradual learning pace that fostered independent thinking.
Such an extensive approach to education daunted me. Could we even implement such a model in our venlil school? Considerable obstacles lay on our path, given the expectations of parents and our society at large, who were accustomed to a quicker, more streamlined education.
In any case, my day reached its conclusion, and my time to depart came. When I bid her farewell, Principal Andin provided me with a binder filled with artwork created by the students, along with personal messages for me and the students back at my own school.
I had time to reflect and consider as I walked toward the downtown station. I recalled how Andin and Harta viewed the institution not as a place of learning, but as a secondary caregiver, working hand-in-hand with parents to nurture the holistic development of their young ones.
On my way to the station, my mother called. She informed me she would be coming downtown so we could share a last meal of the day together.
"How did the farm tour go, mama?" I queried, eager to hear about her day.
"It was enlightening," she replied, leaving me curious about her experience. "And what about your day?"
"Oh, mama," I began, a sense of excitement rising in my voice, "I had an extraordinary day."
Afterwords: Humans with their 22nd century education.
Somehow this is the longest chapter I have ever written. Also note on my update schedule. I'm posting update on every date divisible by 3. That means some updates can appear 96 hours later when the last post is on 30th and the month ends in 31st,

The no fap movement may have its use for men who just want to control themselves from compulsive masturbation to improve their relationships, but beyond that it just fosters sexual frustration. Men are not going to get "real" relationships if they stop masturbating. If they truly want a relationship they will look for it regardless of porn use. In fact, men who are in relationships still masturbate, a lot, sometimes right after sex.
The libido of men is in excess by nature to motivate men to do all the shit they need to do to get women (unless they are 0.01% of men). If men get sex this desire doesn't go away, it may probably even increase. The idea is for male to spread their DNA the most ( horizontal strategy), while for women having children is more taxing and expensive, so women are selectors (K/vertical strategy). However, that is not guaranteed for men: You may be born autistic or short or ugly and still have the libido of a very attractive man fucking around, which is basically like a hellish punishment for just existing... no wonder why some Gnostics considered this universe to be created by an evil false god. Meanwhile, for almost all women it is guaranteed they can have children if they want. Even if they decide to have children with an anonymous donor, laws and policy have been written to get the most tax money for them. Reproduction for women is almost guaranteed, help for them is available even without a guy, if they want to take that risk.
Meanwhile, Digital Porn is the best think invented in the last decades to manage male libido. It probably saved countless lives, more than any side effects it may caused. Imagine a world with instagram and dating apps but no legal porn nor sex work... it would be hellish for most men. Sure, porn may cost some population lost and men less motivated to find women, but most of those men are not getting any women anyway. Men who do want women and are attractive enough will eventually get them, porn is just giving men comfort meanwhile, and some consolation to men that will never get any women or sex anyway.
I'm aware porn may be made with unethical means, but that is up to the authorities to handle. Just as we use products made in Asian countries, probably mady by borderline slaves, is it safe to assume probably some porn men consume is unethical in origin. There is no safe way to know and watching porn or not makes no difference, especially if you watch free porn. Not to mention the many women that sell porn in their own anyway.
Another thing is that porn may motivate men to do stuff women don't like on bed, but women have all monopoly on sex market. That complain is like a billionaire complaining about the hotel he is staying on all the time, knowing he can move at any time with minimum loss.
TLDR: Porn is a necessary evil. Not ideal, but it helps countless men to deal with sexual frustration and not hyperfocus 24/7 on sex, women and other shit like that. Porn may not replace those things, but it may help for a few hours.

Writer's block
The drama in Hollywood is heating up just as there appeared to be a breakthrough for the creative industry. On Sunday, the Directors Guild of America inked a tentative three-year contract with major studios and streamers, though the Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild are still holding out. In fact, the former has been on strike for six weeks, while the latter just authorized a potential strike if an agreement cannot be reached by June 30.
What are the fights about? At issue are wages and benefits, as well as royalty payments like global streaming residuals. Artificial intelligence is also at play, with the unions fighting for protections so that AI won't replace its members. Writers additionally say that tech companies like Netflix (NFLX) are hiring for shorter stints and lower wages, which is hindering the creative process. It comes as many studios absorb heavy losses associated with streaming, making them think twice about their bottom line during the negotiations.
A walkout by the Writers Guild of America has already shut down the final season of Netflix's Stranger Things, an HBO (WBD) prequel of Game of Thrones, and paused production on Disney's (DIS) Thunderbolts and Blade. A strike by actors would trigger a broader shutdown across Hollywood, while ramping up pressure on companies that need to support their streaming services and TV programming schedules. Other studios involved include Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), NBCUniversal (CMCSA), Paramount (PARA) and Sony (SONY) - under the umbrella of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
What's next? "For now, the studios/streamers aren't in a rush to be flexible because the strike could eventually allow them to shed unprofitable long-term deals," writes SA analyst The Entertainment Oracle, "but that's also a dangerous long-term game." If prolonged, studios could turn to reality or unscripted shows, and internationally produced content, but the financial impacts will eventually catch up. Moody's has warned that an extended strike could hurt the credit ratings of "weakly positioned" media companies, while Paramount CEO Bob Bakish has said that the situation will "ultimately depend on the duration of the strike." (16 comments)
Vision Pro
Apple (AAPL) unveiled its mixed-reality headset at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, ushering in a new era of what CEO Tim Cook called "spatial computing." Unlike joystick-powered rival devices like the Meta Quest (META), Apple's headset relies on hand tracking, with the user gesturing in midair to control the interface. However, the new super-premium device was priced at $3,499, and the overwhelming majority of WSB subscribers feel that the product is too niche for the market, with the stock closing down 0.8% after hitting a new all-time high. As previously mentioned, SA analyst Ash Anderson said WWDC would likely be a "sell the news" event for Apple following its biggest product launch in nearly a decade. (608 comments)
In hot water
The SEC has sued cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao for allegedly violating U.S. securities regulations. The news pushed cryptocurrency prices lower, with Bitcoin (BTC-USD) down 3.8% at $25.78K today and ether (ETH-USD) 2.7% lower at $1.82K. Thirteen charges were filed against Binance and CZ, as he is known, including deceiving investors about the sufficiency of its systems to detect and control manipulative trading. The SEC also accused the platform of taking insufficient steps to prohibit U.S. investors from accessing its unregulated exchange. Binance is disputing the allegations, saying it is "disappointed" with the SEC suit and "will vigorously defend" its business. (45 comments)
Manufacturing boost
New plans from General Motors (GM) will see it invest more than $1B in two of its manufacturing sites in Flint Michigan. The investment will bolster the Detroit automaker's U.S. manufacturing operations, which include more than 50 assembly, stamping, propulsion and component plants and parts distribution centers nationwide. It will also highlight the company’s commitment to continue providing customers a strong portfolio of ICE vehicles for years to come. The rapidly changing automotive market was recently discussed by SA analyst Manuel Paul Dipold, who takes a deeper dive into GM's future and market share. (16 comments)
Today's Markets
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Advice/guidance needed
Hi everyone!
Didn’t think I’d really ever had to write a post in this sub, but here I am lol. So, I [F38] met a pretty awesome friend online [M35] a few months back (January). Started innocent and friendly enough but then we gave each other our phone numbers back in March. We slowly started to get to know each other more. Talk flirty and serious and hadn’t gone a day without hearing from each other.
Never really talked about what kind of relationship we have. To be completely honest, I know I have strong feelings for him. I suspect he does too but given that we are on complete opposite sides of the states, I feel we aren’t wanting to put a label? I’ve got 2 kids and he doesn’t have any. We’ve both been in previous narcissistic relationships so we do both have issues with trust and honesty.
Fast forward to Sunday night. Usual casual talk and he went silent for a few minutes. Figured he feel asleep (he’s 3 hours ahead) so I went to get my daughter’s bath ready. In that span, I guess he called me and I hadn’t answered as my phone was in the other room and the water was running. He text me he was heading to bed and goodnight and that’s the last I heard from him since. Went to grab my phone minutes later to see if I got any messages and that’s when I saw. Wanted to call back but he said he was going to bed. I texted him “My bad… I didn’t realize you called” and essentially good night. He read the message (he turned on read notifications) yesterday morning and that’s it.
My question is, do I reach out? Do I let him reach out to me? Had instances were he’d get upset at me for what he feels is me gaslighting him or lying (would never lie). Both times I sent him a message saying I’m sorry if he felt I was being anything but honest. I’m wondering if he’s upset I didn’t answer his call? And this is where I’m wondering if I should give him space? Do I tell him I’m giving him space or just do it? We aren’t in a relationship and he owes me nothing. He usually messages me in the morning and evening and haven’t heard from him since. So it’s definitely unusual. And I’m here in my head wondering what the heck I did wrong. Not to mention my strong feelings for him is making my stomach sick.
Any advice or help or anything would be most helpful.

bags: topo designs 25L and bellroy mini sling 4L
clothing:
- thick white hoodie - thrifted, gave this away to my relative
- jean shorts - thrifted (lee)
- reversible linen shorts - candid clothing brand
- nike pros - overruns
- elephants pants for sleeping (i like to call these my 'gap year in southeast asia' pants) - borrowed mom - white shirt - overruns - 2 black crop tops - thrifted and gifted - 1 graphic design oversized shirts - gifted - 1 sleep shirt - event shirt - 1 sundress - borrowed from sister - bikini - thrifted (eighth mermaid) - nude sports bra - bench - nude bralette - h&m - underwear - i think i brought 9. a mix of thongs and seamless undies - 2 regular socks - hot topic - 1 above-ankle socks - daiso - 1 no-show socks - running store
- white crocs - platform vans (i need the height)
misc: - 3 ziplocks in case my parents or grandparents buy my food i gotta bring home and i repackaged some stuff into those bags and it saved me so much space. - toiletries - i decant my bigger toiletries into the small travel-sized ones i bought from hs or other containers. i haven't bought travel toiletries in years. - emotional support water flask. i have anxiety about getting dehydrated or having a heat stroke in the summer. airports also have expensive ass water bottles. - metal cutlery set. i bought this 5 years ago in university and they've always come in handy.
- extra tote
journal
electronics: - extensions chord
- camera
- kindle
what i didn't need/use: - a bathing suit but would still bring it next time since i can use it as undies if i need to. wouldn't mind looking for more a comfortable pair of bathing suits that genuienly work well as undies or vice versa. - a fourth pair of socks and 3-4 undies. i get nervous to run out of intimates when i travel so i re-wear slightly worn socks and shirts. i can't skimp on underwear. i'm a juicy lady. i always do x amount of days x 2 +1 - yoga/beach/multipurpose towel. would still bring next time in case there are any last-minute beach plans, yoga classes, or if i had time to work out. it packs tiny so it barely takes any room. i like it way more than microfiber towels. im a bit of a germaphobe and get really quickly icked out of using the hotel towels. idk, maybe something to talk about in therapy. - sports bra. didn't workout, would still bring it again though. looking for a cute and comfy low-impact sports bra that i can use for as a bathing suit too. also, what is everyone's travel workouts? - second black crop top. would still bring again since it goes with everything and is super light fabric. since i was able to borrow a shirt from my cousin, that was my designated "breakfast shirt" - another pair of shorts. i haven't really found the unicorn pair of shorts for me. my jorts are versatile and i can fold the hem up for a more feminine outfit but they're less comfortable than my linen shorts. this is probably why i only wore them once the entire trip. but then my linen pair of shorts ride up because of my juicy thighs and the garter isn't tight enough so if i have a phone in my pocket, it sags on one side. i also have that problem with pants. please recommend some in the comments. - my nike pros. would always bring. i can use it for anti-chub rub, under dresses, sleep shorts, working out, etc. - just-in-case toiletries. i don't think i even touched half the stuff i brought. i was just trying out this new toiletry bag i saw in my mom's house. again, borrowed without permission. i realize i overpack in toiletries.
What I wish I brought: - a flowy pair of pants. this goes with my previous paragraph. i hate denim jeans but linen rides up. i ended up borrowing one from my sister. i haven't really found my unicorn pants, but the one i borrowed were pretty close. - a "breakfast shirt" that i can wear for breakfast without a bra on. i dont like wearing outside clothes to bed. sleep clothes stay on the bed and will never leave the hotel room for me. again, im a bit of a germaphobe. it also why i bring sleep pants and not shorts when i sleep somewhere new. - maybe a casual shaket but i didn't really need it for this length of a trip. borrowed my mom's at one point because the mall and parts of the airport were cold. i also borrowed a short sleeve button-up from my sister on the plane. top 5 items: - MVP: extension chord - my has 3 USB outlets and 3 prong versatile outlets. my entire family (5 of us in total) didn't have any charging problems. - i-went-on-a-gap-year sleep pants. wore them 3 nights, then wore them on the plane back. it kept me covered but i didn't overheat. had pockets!! - h&m bralette. kinda gave of that human-type of kind of stink after 4 days but it's so comfy all day. - kindle. visiting people, air travel, hotel recharging --there's a lot of waiting and it helped me stay off my phone. - my backpack! wonderful thing. my family was surprised at how much i was able to pack to make it 10kg on the way back. it still fit under the plane seat. thanks to this community for recommending it for short girls like me.
overall review & insights: - as usual i overpacked with undies and socks, no regrets at all. if i had a washing machine i can use my packing list for a whole week in southeast asia. i really like my regular wardrobe in general so i really didn't mind still lugging any of the items i didn't use. with a couple more pieces i can probably do a month with just my 25L backpack. around 90% of my closet is either thrifted or borrowed without consent from my older sister. 😇 so borrowing clothes with travel buddies is also an option when you eventually get a bit bored of your clothes. shorter trips are a good way to check up on a capsule wardrobe if you do use one. since my front lobe fully developed, i've become extremely discerning with all the new items and clothing i acquire. - since i was traveling with family, i actually ended up with a 10kg backpack and our family had to check a bag, despite being a carry-on only family. ah yes, gotta love gift-giving during family reunions.

"Would you like to have a near-death experience? By crossing the boundary between life and death."

Yukari Yakumo

Themes:

• Necrofantasia:
  
• Night Falls ~ Evening Star: 7.5, 10.5, 15.5
  
• Yorimashi Between Dreams and Reality ~ Necro-Fantasia
  

Yukari Yakumo is a legendary youkai with the ability to manipulate boundaries. She is one of the sages who created Gensokyo in the first place, and a good contender for its most powerful resident. Despite this she is also exceptionally lazy, spending most of her time sleeping and foisting most of the problems off on Reimu or Ran. Still, her incredible intelligence and completely inhuman nature means one can never tell quite what she's thinking, and making her angry is a very bad idea.

Notes

• Source Index
  
• Perfect Memento in Strict Sense and Symposium of Post Mysticism is an in universe book written by Hidea no Akyuu. She has a tendency to exaggerate and speculate, so her claims should be taken with a grain of salt.
  
• Yukari herself is noted to lie quite a lot, so her own claims should also be taken with a grain of salt.
  
• In 15.5 Yukari makes use of the urban legend Teke Teke, but her attacks while using this urban legend are fairly in line with her normal capabilities. As it's unclear what effect the Urban legend is having, these feats will be included in this section but marked with Occult
  
• Yukari scales to a large number of characters, so here is every Touhou respect thread for the games
  

Defining Some Terms

Spell Card System: The Spell Card Rules were put in place by Reimu Hakurei in order to make duels between everyone fair, formalized, and safe. It is also the method nearly all Touhou characters will use in-character. Spell card battles have very clearly defined rules and attacks that are agreed upon before a duel with the purpose being that the most beautiful attacks win. In general Spell Cards are characters going easy on the foe, with ZUN outright stating they're not something the characters would ever use if they were serious.

• Given the original rules of spell card battles and a characters being introduced to the spell card system stating it would prevent useless bloodshed, there is at least a decent amount of implication that Spell Card battles are inherently non-lethal.

Danmaku: Danmaku are the "bullets" fired in a bullet hell, take many different forms, and are able to be fired by most Gensokyo citizens. They're an essential part of duels in Gensokyo, being used to control an opponent's movement and overwhelm them. They can either be fired in intricate patterns, or just fired rapidly from a single point.

• Danmaku is intentionally not efficient or effective for serious combat
  
• Danmaku in general can be lethal to normal humans
  
• Danmaku from major characters is very consistently able to break rock
  
  • Seija is considered notably weak
  • Sanae is considered nothing special as far as humans in Gensokyo are concerned

Youkai: Supernatural beings typically born from humanity's fear of the unknown, and the primary residents of Gensokyo. Youkai can be highly varied, but tend to be highly resistant to physical attacks while far more weak to spiritual attacks, such as names and traditions.
Gensokyo: Genoskyo is the region Touhou takes place in, and is a small landlocked region of Japan. It is fully enclosed by the Great Hakurei Barrier (more information bellow). The clearest picture of it shows it containing a few mountains, with it also being noted Gensokyo is small enough to see almost all of it from the Hakurei shrine

• The Sages of Genoskyo (of which Yukari is a member) are the beings responsible for the creation and maintenance of Gensokyo

Urban Legend Incident: Due to the occult balls various Urban Legends begin to manifest in Gensokyo, and some characters are capable of controlling an urban legend in battle that matches their tempermant. It's worth noting that the effects are present even after the occult balls are removed from Gensokyo though Reisen notes it will soon settle down.

Boundary Manipulation

General Description: Summarized, Yukari's power allows her to manipulate the boundary between any two things.This can apply both to physical boundaries (such as between Gensokyo and the outside world), or even the boundary of concepts (such as human and youkai or night and day).

• Both her profile and she herself state that she can manipulate the boundary between any and all things
  
• An official magazine says her power can affect anything, and that for narrative purposes she has to limit herself to the spell card rule or it wouldn't even be a game
  
• The manual states the danger and potency of her power is beyond imagination
  
• Akyuu states that her power fundamentally undermines reality. She states that it can create new existence and reject existence, is the most powerful ability held by any youkai. Additionally she states it can be applied to pictures, peoples dreams, and even stories
  

Direct Combat Usage

• Feats/Statements
  
  • Being able to draw boundary lines along surfaces means there is nothing she can not split in two
    • Sumreiko comments on her seemingly cutting space, with opening gaps in space also being her main method of transportation (see below)
  • Her barriers can destroy large amounts of enemy danmaku and damage her foes
  • Creates a large boundary around the entirety of Suika's mist form, and then suddenly makes it much smaller to force her back into her physical form.
    • Suika's mist form covered all of Gensokyo
• General
  
  • Uses a barrier to block enemy danmaku and strikes
  • Creates a boundary line with her strikes to hit her foe
  • A fan granting her powers is able to crash through all obligations, directly hitting a foe while they're guarding
• Skills
  
  • Boundary of Intellect and Feet: Runs a straight boundary to split her foe
  • Universe of Matter and Antimatter: Creates two gaps that do nothing on their own, but when they collide they create a huge distortion attack
• Spell Cards
  
  • Border Sign "Quadruple Barrier": Creates several overlapping boundaries to produce a barrier that can strike foes
  • Sign I "Quadruple Barrier": Another version of the above spell card
  • Barrier "Charming Quadruple Barrier": A larger version of quadruple barrier that sucks the foe in
  • Boundary "Quadruple Barrier of the Imperishable Night": Creates a larger quadruple barrier to protect herself and attack her enemy
  • Border Sign "Boundary of 2D and 3D": Creates a boundary that travels along the screen edge and changes directions to follow the movements of the screen
  • Barrier "Objective Barrier": Fires off four linked borders that travel along the edges of the screen
• Last Word
  
  • [Occult] Lend Me Those Beautiful Legs!: Locks her foe in place with boundary lines and then uses a gap to split them in two before putting them back together

Gaps and Warping

• Feats/Statements
  
  • General
    • Able to travel to entirely different locations by opening up gaps in space, with (according to Akyuu) it being said that this can also access pictures, dreams, and even stories
    • Can open gaps in thin air
    • Opens up a large gap, and is gone when it clears away
    • Repositions a gap to use as a seat
    • Spiriting away Kosuzu doesn't leave a single trail any other youkai can follow to locate her, not even leaving a trace of her soul behind
  • Travel/Range
    
    • Uses gaps in space as her main means of transportation, with her warping around Gensokyo, up youkai mountain, and even to and from heaven (though how direct these trips are isn't clear given how the time of day changes)
    • Reimu states Yukari can travel anywhere she wants to in a flash
    • Is able to freely travel past the Great Hakurei Barrier into the outside world, and pulls Rinnosuke back into Gensokyo after he's accidentally pulled into the outside world
      • Casually travels out of Gensokyo to see cherry blossoms
      • Comments to Mamizou about what's currently going on in Sado
      • Sends Sumireko and dream Sumireko from Gensokyo to the outside world
    • Off screen travels overseas and brings back a Hobgoblin, which she states are a Western creature
    • Instantly sends Marisa from the Hakurei shrine to the forest of magic
    • Easily travels to the netherworld (though in Gensokyo the netherworld is a location you can physically travel to
      • Summons Ran and Chen to her while within the netherworld
    • Suddenly goes from behind Luna to in front of her
    • Disappears to somewhere... literally
    • Placed a gap in a doorway so that Flandre traveled from the Scarlet Devil mansion to deep underground without even realizing she had done so
    • Pulls Sumireko out of the dream world (though Doremy implies this isn't something she's supposed to do normally)
      • Reimu refers to the dream world as another reality that is two sides of the same coin with the real world
      • Is often lurking in the dream world
  • Utility
    
    • Claims to have an undending supply of electricity, kerosene, and nitroglycerin, and fills up Rinnosuke's heater with fuel while having a conversation with him, without him even realizing she had done anything
    • Covertly drops money into the shrine's donation box while having a conversation with Reimu
    • Puts a hand through a gap to block a hammer and grab a gameboy
    • Makes food disappear from right out from under Reimu's nose
    • Summons other characters like Reimu or Chen
    • Reimu implies Yukari can send just some body parts through the Great Hakurei Barrier
    • Left her arm dangling through a gap while asleep, and then puts her hand through another gap to douse a candle
    • Hid some of her own energy inside of a gap to revive herself after having all of her magical energy drained by Mizuchi's possession. Though she states it will soon run out and she needs to rest after. Also sticks her hands through gaps to grab cookies and wave at Reimu independently of her body
• General
  
  • Warps from one side of the screen to the other and grants Reimu the ability to do the same
  • Vanishes to dodge a spell card
  • Leans back into a gap while firing projectiles
  • Sticks her arm into a gap to strike her foe with an umbrella from another location
  • Drops into a gap and then appears in midair
  • After being knocked to the ground, creates a gap below and above her to redirect back to standing up
  • Opens a gap through which several pieces of wood fly out at her foe
  • Spawns street signs to attack her foe
  • Opens gaps through which rapid fire danmaku and lasers fire out
  • Summons a monstrous arm out of her gap to grab or strike her foe
• Skills
  
  • Rest on Stone, Rinse in Rivers: Opens up a hole that swallows up projectiles and stores them
  • Rinse with Stone, Rest in Rivers: Fires off stored projectiles
  • Chimera's Wings: Places a gap that she can then warp back to.
  • Fantasy Maniacal Rift: Disappears into a gap and keeps moving, before coming out to strike her foe
  • Flesh Dismantler: Drops down into a gap before leaping out while spinning her umbrella
  • Urashima's Box, Filled With Lament: Opens a gap in the sky to drop debris on her foe
  • Home is Where One Lays to Rest: Hits her foe with several pieces of wood
  • [Occult] World's Most Agile Torso: Uses a gap to send her upper body forward to attack her foe while her lower body remains in place
• Spell Cards
  
  • Evil Spirits "Yukari Yakumo's Spiriting Away": Repeatedly teleports around while firing off danmaku
  • "Boundary of Humans and Youkai": Vanishes entirely and attacks the foe with danmaku patterns while not physically present
  • Splitter "Thing That Splits All Into Two": Repeatedly jumps in and out of and moves through gaps while spinning her umbrella
  • Fantasy Nest "Flying Noctilucae's Nest": Opens up several gaps that fire danmaku forwards, always in the direction of the foe
  • Boundary "Overflowing Flotsam": Sends several pieces of wood flying at her foe
  • Abandoned Line "Aimless Journey to the Abandoned Station": Opens a gap through which an abandoned train comes from, though (in gameplay at least) it takes time to open the gap
  • "Unmanned Abandoned Railroad Car Bomb": Summons three train cars that fly into her foe before exploding

Great Hakurei Barrier

• The Barrier Itself
  
  • Feats/Statements
    • The Great Hakurei Barrier is a barrier of sense that surrounds all of Gensokyo, and keeps living creatures and their tools from passing through while allowing non-living things to pass through without issue. Via non-Euclidian space a person attempting to pass through the barrier will find themselves wandering endlessly, and they will find themselves back where they started upon turning around.
    • Even when Reimu and Marisa traveled to the moon they never left the barrier, and they consider getting through the barrier to be harder than going to the moon
    • Gensokyo is designed to be the opposite of the outside world, and things that contradict that concept cannot pass through the barrier
    • Akyuu states the barrier is a barrier of common sense and keeps the outside world's common sense outside, and that it's composed of multiple smaller barriers, but that it periodically weakens every 60 years
    • There is at least some difference in the seasons between Gensokyo and the outside world
    • Sumireko was unable to fully penetrate the barrier from the outside
  • Limits
    • Non-living things and certain creatures are able to pass through the barrier more easily
    • It's noted Remilia's scarlet mist would have spread past the boundary into the human world
    • Objects that violated common sense from the outside world being used on the barrier would threaten its very existence
• Manipulation
  
  • Yukari was one of the sages to suggest the creation of the Great Hakurei Barrier, though whether she's the actual creator is unclear. Reimu refers to her as the original creator but Yuyuko thinks the barrier is too strong for Yukari to make
  • States that she has torn holes in the barrier
  • Creates a powerful distortion in the barrier
  • Repairs the barrier after Reimu does something to weaken it
  • Whenever a human from the outside world wanders into Gensokyo, it's because of fluctuations in the barrier caused by her

Gensokyo's Boundary of Reality and Illusion

• General
  
  • Created a boundary of illusion and reality around Gensokyo, defining Gensokyo as illusionary and the outside world as real, so anything that becomes viewed as fantasy is pulled into Gensokyo, even from outside Japan. This was performed 500 years ago and still going strong.
  • Yukari seems to have at least some amount of awareness of those who enter and leave Gensokyo through this method
• Living Things
  
  • A snake wakes up in Gensokyo as soon as he transforms into a youkai, with Mamizou stating that when you turn into a youkai you wind up in Gensokyo. Said snake is potentially originally from India
  • When there's a demand for Zashiki-Warashi in the outside world they start vanishing from Gensokyo, and later return when that demand fades
  • New youkai created in the outside world immediately appear in Gensokyo as well, but due to not having a clear form they disappear just a quickly
  • Rinnosuke notes that Gensokyo is rather multicultural, as youkai brought with them foreign cultures as they were pulled into Gensokyo
  • A real life human shows up in Gensokyo after becoming a god
  • Animals that become endangered or extinct (at least in Japan) are more prevalent in Gensokyo
  • A completely ordinary seal winds up in Gensokyo after being forgotten while a youkai well integrated in human society could remain in the outside world
• Nonliving
  
  • Items that fall out of use in the outside world wind up in Gensokyo
  • People doubting or forgetting the moon landing is enough to cause several magazines about it to appear in Gensokyo as well as the Soyuz spacecraft
  • Lyrica implies that instruments and even noises can fall into fantasy
• Buildings
  
  • The Scarlet Devil Mansion is a western style mansion housing multiple powerful youkai that is assumed to have arrived in Gensokyo fairly recently, with Akyuu also noting that it seemingly wasn't designed for Japanese climates
  • Another western style mansion housing the Prismriver sister also exists in Gensokyo
  • Unused radio towers occasionally appear in Gensokyo
  • After Miko is forgotten by the outside world, her entire mausoleum arrives in Gensokyo
• Large Scale
  
  • Due to Kanako making it fall into fantasy the Moriya shrine and the nearby lake move to Gensokyo
  • According to legend the Bamboo Forest of the Lost appeared in Gensokyo after being washed away by a tsunami
  • It's thought (according to Keine) that Youkai Mountain in Gensokyo is the original mythical form Yatsugatake, before it had been torn down by a god, back when it was taller than Mt. Fuji

Misc

• Boundary of Reality and Illusion - Moon
  
  • Erases the boundary between the real and illusionary moon, turning a reflection of the moon in the water into a portal to the moon itself that allows for instantaneous travel
  • Can return to Earth by doing the same thing to a reflection of the Earth
  • Leaves the portal open by shoving an umbrella into it
  • The Watatsuki sisters state she can freely travel between the Earth and moon, and that she once brought a throng of youkai to the moon with her
  • Implies this can only be performed when the moon is completely full, and that she was trapped on the moon when the full waned more quickly than expected
• Netherworld
  
  • Weakened the barrier between Gensokyo and the Netherworld so Yuyuko could more easily enter Gensokyo. She is also responsible for its repair
    • The Netherworld's barrier weakening causes the boundary between life and death to become vague, with Youmu wondering if it's okay to leave the boundary between this world an the next so ambiguous, though Youmu also notes it hasn't changed up the natural order too much
  • States that she caused the borders between Hell and the Netherworld to fade
    • Both the Netherworld and Hell are massive, but it's not clear to what extent she actually merged them
• Lunar Capital
  
  • Breaks through the barrier of the lunar capital, but it takes her a while due to the complexity
    • This barrier separates the living fantastical moon from the scientific dead one, and requires a specific route in order to reach the capital
  • Opens a whole in the barrier hiding the house of the Lunar sage with her thumb, and leaves her glove in the gap so that Yuyuko and Youmu can later use it to enter the Lunar Captial
• Misc Conceptual
  
  • States she can manipulate the boundary between Gensokyo and the outside world, the worlds of the living and the dead, human and youkai, or even day and night
  • Claims she can give the immortal Mokou a near death experience by manipulating the boundary of life and death
  • States she thinned the barrier between human and youkai, possibly making Reimu a youkai temporarily
    • States she could set the boundary between human and youkai for Mai and Satano to make them one or the other
  • Manipulates the boundary between daylight and moonlight to cause both to happen at the same time
  • Makes the moon as bright as daytime by manipulating the boundary between day and night
  • Marisa speculates that Yukari manipulated the border between danmaku for play and danmaku for combat for one of her attacks
  • States she can easily manipulate the boundary between spring and winter
  • States she causes noctambulism (sleep walking) in humans by manipulating the boundary between asleep and awake
  • Manipulates the boundary of master and slave, causing both teams using perfect possession to swap said roles
    • Doing this required interfering with the dream world

Other Abilities

Note that a number of feats here potentially involve boundary manipulation, but it's less explicit
Energy Projection

• Feats
  
  • Individual needles can break rock, and destroy a large boulder with sustained fire
  • Effortlessly defeats the three fairies of light, throwing out projectiles made of light and non-light
  • Marisa considers Yukari's danmaku harder to deal with than Yuyuko's
  • Surrounds herself with rings of danmaku
• General
  
  • Fires out large amounts of danmaku in various patterns
  • Fires off danmaku in front of her with a swing of her fan
  • Attacks with lines of energy
  • Fires off several orbs trailed by lines of energy
  • Creates spirals of energy around her body
  • Using a bomb, unleashes a pulse of energy that knocks back her foe
• Skills
  
  • Purple Needles of Painful Reproach: Rapid fires needles in front of her
  • Bewitching Bait: Creates a bird's eye that high speed projectiles then fly through at random paths
  • Spacetime Seam: Creates a pulse of energy projectiles in all directions around her, possibly by cracking space
• Spell Cards
  
  • Standard Danmaku Pattern
    • Barrier "Curse of Dreams and Reality"
    • Barrier "Balance of Motion and Stillness"
    • Barrier "Mesh of Light and Darkness"
    • Evil Spirits "Dreamland of Straight and Curve"
    • Evil Spirits "Bewitching Butterfly Living in the Zen Temple"
    • Sinister Spirits "Double Black Death Butterfly"
    • Barrier "Boundary of Life and Death"
    • Yukari's Arcanum "Danmaku Barrier"
    • Outer Force "Infinite Superspeed Flying Object"
    • Border Sign "Boundary of Form and Emptiness"
    • Border Sign "Boundary of Wave and Particle"
    • Photon "Doppler Effect"
    • Aerial Bait "Hyperactive High Speed Flying Object"
    • "Yakumo's Nest"
    • "Impossible Danmaku Barrier"
    • "Casebook of Luck, Resilience and Perseverance"
  • Combo Attack with Others
    • "Perfect Possession and Dream Seal": With Reimu
    • "Boundary of Spirit Medium and Divine Spirit": With Reimu
    • "Secret God Barrier": With Okina
    • "Shoot the Danmaku Barrier!": With Marisa
    • "Unauthorized Danmaku Photography is Strictly Prohibited": With Reimu
    • Paper Sign "Barrier-Enclosed Zener Card Shuriken": With Sumireko
  • Misc
    • Aerial Bait "Addictive Bait": Opens several locations through which high speed projectiles travel from
    • Fantasy "Perpetual Motion Machine of the First Kind": Creates a perpetual motion device that automatically fires danmaku without her input
    • Spirit Medium's Melancholy: Fires off danmaku that only hits one part of a perfect possession duo
• Last Word
  
  • "Profound Danmaku Barrier -Phantasm, Foam and Shadow-": Creates an everlasting bullet pattern with her finger deciding its life and death

Shikigami: Shikigami are spirits that have been turned into tools via a patter, that have software installed to control them

• Feats/Statmenents
  
  • Has the ability to control shikigami, which like computers will follower her commands exactly. Her primary shikigami is Ran, who herself has her own shikigami Chen
  • Has shikigami possess various crows which she uses for scouting
    • A crow rapidly flies over large swaths of the lunar surface in what is implied to be a short span of time. Its flight is also described as unnaturally straight, with it following the special path required to reach the Lunar Capital with computer-like accuracy
    • [Limit] A crow is killed by being possessed exposed to the vacuum of space
  • Has eyes all over Gensokyo... literally, with this eyes noted to be her familiars
• Skills
  
  • "Apparotation Needle": Has Ran chase after he foes while firing off danmaku
  • Eyes that View Change: Opens a gap holding an eye, which attacks the enemy when it sees a weakpoint based on specific programming
• Spell Cards
  
  • Summoning Rand and or Chen to attack enemies
    • Shikigami "Ran Yakumo"
    • Sign III "Ran Yakumo"
    • Shikigami "Ran Yakumo +"
    • Shikigami "Chen"
    • Shikigami "Ran Yakumo & Chen":
  • Other
    • Magic Eye "Laplace's Demon": Opens up several gaps holding eyes which attack when they see an exploitable weak point

Umbrella

• General
  
  • Hits her foe by spinning her umbrella
  • Creates spirals of energy around her umbrella
• Skills
  
  • Bewitching Butterfly Lurking in the Zen Temple: Envelopes her umbrella in energy and spins it while slamming into her foe
  • Fantasy Manji-Parasol: Gathers spiritual energy on her umbrella, then spins and fires it off as a projectile
  • Full Moon Umbrella: Creates a ring of energy around herself with a swing of her umbrella
• Spell Cards
  
  • Sign II "Manji-Parasol of Yakumo"

Senses

• Sees the human village despite Keine attempting to hide it by trying to make it appear that nothing had ever been there by eating its history
  
• Youkai can see perfectly by moonlight
  
• Claims to see the backside of the moon bathed with sunlight, even during a new moon
  
• Detects that a tree is from the outside world
  
• Eavesdrops on Sakuya's conversation while not physically present, and speaks to Reisen before warping to the location
  
• Claims to clearly see the launch of the Scarlet Devil Mansion's rocket from a ways away
  
• Senses Eiki's presence
  
• Senses the weakening of the Great Hakurei Barrier while presumably asleep
  
• Realizes the Shinmyoumaru in front of her isn't the normal one
  
• Sees the outside world beyond the Great Hakurei Barrier
  
• Sees the flow of energy from living things and helps Youmu to understand it
  
• Able to see the god that Utsuho had absorbed the power of
  

When somebody suggests you commit arson together, your reaction is most likely to differ based on the identity of that person. If anyone else had asked me to come along to burn down a building, I would have assumed it was a joke. However, being aware of Frankie Preston’s barely suppressed murderous tendencies made me take his request quite seriously. Of course, three main questions presented themselves upon first consideration.
“What building?”
“A small developmental factory owned by FunFlair.”
“Do you plan on burning it while there are still people inside?”
“Only one, and that one deserves to burn alive.”
Shelving my thoughts on that answer for the moment, I inquired as to when he was hoping to go about this endeavor.
“The sooner the better. My sister—you haven’t met her—found out that they’re going to move sites in the near future, so if I want to take revenge on my old boss easily, I need to do it now. It won’t be too difficult. I know the layout of the place really well, they can’t have changed much these last three years. It’s small, hidden but unprotected. A bunch of containers in some woods a couple hours from here. The human I hate most in the entire world is there, every night, working all alone.” His shoulders twitched. “I drove by the place a couple times, and I kept thinking about doing it, but I was too scared. Having you there would make all the difference.”
“It would?” I echoed.
“Yes! Sunshine, you’re strong. Amazingly so. I don’t want you to feel like I’m using you, but the thing is, I can’t do this on my own. If you tell me to go away and never mention this again, I will. That I swear to God. Or whatever sadistic omnipotent being has put me on this world to suffer.” He briefly glanced heavenward, or rather at the ceiling, then back at me. “I can’t hurt anybody, remember?”
I nodded along slowly. “This person, your old boss… what did they do to you?”
“Simply put, she’s why I hate everything.” He spoke with an uncanny intensity, staring past me like he was miles away.
“Who is she?”
“Her name is Philomena Wallis. She’s the one who keeps sending people after me. She wants me back to do fuck knows what to me because she's still pissed I screwed her over." He paused. "She did—does horrible things. You'd want her dead, too."
"Why isn't she in prison?"
"Nobody gets taken to prison if they're rich enough. Either way, what she does isn't technically illegal… and no one knows about it either. It's a tricky situation."
I took a deep breath. “Do you have a plan?”
“I do. We’ll go there at night, I’ll slip in and make sure the door to Phil’s workspace is locked, and then we’ll douse the whole thing in gasoline.”
“Are you sure you’ll need me for that? It doesn’t sound like you’d be inflicting hurt directly. I mean, you wouldn’t have to actually raise a hand to your boss, not physically. Or can you not do that either?”
“The risk lies rather within what could happen if she finds me.” He rubbed his arm, a look of uncertainty crossing his features. “I’m different when I’m around her. I can’t help it, she… she can just walk all over me. She made me be this way. There’s nothing to be done about it, except to get rid of her once and for all.”
“I’m not following. She made you be this way? What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said!” he snapped, only to shrink back and raise his hands. “Sorry! I’m so sorry!”
I stared at him in silence for a beat. “You’re terrified,” I said.
He glanced at his chucks, then back at me, looking like he wanted to say something but didn’t know what.
“Sad, too,” I added. “Sometimes, I can’t tell what you think, so I apologize if I’m reading this wrong…”
“You shouldn’t have to guess what’s going on inside my head anyways,” he muttered. “I can’t believe what I’m trying to rope you into again. It’s like I didn’t hear myself talk for a minute there.”
“I’ll help you.”
He raised a skeptical brow. “I don’t want to force you. I swear I don’t. I will do this, and I’d feel so much better if you came with, but if this is something you’re gonna resent me for in the long run…”
“The long run?”
“I mean—” He started playing with his gum again. “Are we not doing this? You really like me, I think?”
“I think we shouldn’t be talking about this in the same breath as committing lethal arson.” I rubbed my nose before letting go of a long breath. “If I can’t stop you from doing this, I’ll at least make sure you come back out in one piece.” I wonder if this is how Nettie Peterson usually feels.
Frankie beamed. “You will? You’re absolutely sure?”
“Yes. Here’s the plan, I drop off what I bought for my savior human and then we can prepare; do what’s needed. I don’t want to put this off. The sooner it’s over, the better.”
“Definitely,” he agreed with an eager nod. “I’ll drive you right over.”
“Good. And Frankie… you know precisely how I feel about you.”
We got on our way the following morning. The car ride lasted several hours, most of which I spent fast asleep stretched out on the backseat. It was a wonderful nap; I hardly felt any of the vehicle’s movements, admittedly a credit to the server’s abilities as a driver. Eventually, the road was getting too bumpy to ignore, and I drowsily lifted my head to find us pulling onto heavily wooded terrain. Upon noticing I was awake, Fran gave me a fleeting, quite obviously forced smile. After a few more minutes, we came to a halt on a clearing. I got out and produced a canister of gasoline from the trunk, handing it to Fran after opening the door for him. He looked strangely absent, gazing off into the distance with a vacant look in his eyes. He grabbed the offered canister and clutched it to his chest, almost like he was hugging it.
“We’ll be going the rest of the way on foot, then?” I inquired.
He nodded wordlessly.
I couldn’t hide my frown. The air around us was warm and fragrant, the moonlight shining through between the branches that seemed to reach out for us as we began walking. There was not even a hint of a breeze, and yet, a chill ran down my spine. My companion’s demeanor was nothing short of uncomfortable; he seemed to suck the warmth out of the atmosphere around us, together with my initial confidence and the sweet scent of pine needles. His silence instilled in me a clammy sense of dread, and I couldn’t shake it no matter how hard I tried. Normally, I would have probably appreciated the perfect calm and serenity of the lush forest around us, but seeing him in such obvious, unspoken distress drove away all my idyllic thoughts.
“This seems like an odd place to hide a factory,” I remarked, trying to open a conversation once more.
“That’s the point. You wouldn’t go looking for a doll manufacturer in bum-fuck nowhere,” he replied.
“It’s strange to think about. What kind of shady stuff can a toy manufacturer even get up to? Don’t get me wrong, I trust you when you say they’re bad people, I just wish you’d give me a little more information. I feel like I’m not getting something here.”
He let out a low hum. “You… are really innocent.”
“No, I’m not,” I argued, affronted.
“Not in a bad way. I said innocent, not naive. I’ve been cagey again, I know that, but the thing is, you’ll see exactly what I was talking about when we get there. You’ll understand everything, and to be honest, I’m very afraid of what you’ll think once you do.”
We finally reached the building Fran had told me about. If it could indeed be called a building. It looked more like something that had been thrown together by a larva using Lego bricks. It was, as predicted, a bunch of containers lined up and stacked atop one another, small corridors and open metal staircases connecting them. It seemed to be almost entirely empty—all the lights were out, except for a single one. From behind a window on the upper floor, filtered through gray blinds, a cool, bright glow shone down upon us. It bathed Frankie in its surreal luminescence that seemed completely out of place given our raw, natural surroundings.
“You were right,” I stated, tearing him from his rigor. “Seems like there’s only one person in there.”
“That’s Phil,” he mumbled. “I’m certain.”
“Then let’s do this.”
Frankie detached himself from the canister, peeling it off his body like a piece of clothing. I took it from his hands while he walked over to the nearest door, reaching into his pocket to produce a set of shiny, slim tools. Despite the darkness, he set his fingers to work on the lock. It didn’t take long at all for him to let out a satisfied sound, straightening up as he held the now open door for me. “I’m very skilled at lockpicking,” he said lightly, by way of conversation.
I couldn’t hide the admiration in my gaze, and I gave him a proud smile that briefly caused his features to soften. I had not yet crossed the threshold when he grabbed me by the wrist, holding me back. “One more thing,” he whispered, his voice suddenly ringing desperate again, “you won’t like what we might see in there.”
“I know,” I answered. “It was implied.”
Stepping forth into the dark room, the smell of plastic and coffee instantly hit my nose. Fran fumbled for a lightswitch before thinking better of it and turning on the flashlight he’d brought. We were clearly in a breakroom; there was a table in the middle surrounded by chairs, an espresso machine in the corner and several calendars and posters taped to the walls. Unsuspecting. Frankie didn’t comment, immediately moving across the cube and towards the door on the other side. It led out into a small corridor, improvised using more corrugated iron elements, and into another larger container. There was a desk with a computer in one corner and an empty operating table in the center.
A large shelving unit occupied the entire left side of the room. A closer inspection revealed that it held all sorts of small parts, though what they were parts of was beyond me. Opening the plastic drawers at random, I glimpsed all sorts of metallic and silicone pieces, forming strange little… thingies.
“What is all this?” I asked Frankie.
He had been standing by the operating table, staring at it with unblinking eyes. His expression was once more perfectly vacant. Not even his jaw was moving around his bubble gum. He didn’t look up, and for a minute, I wondered if he’d heard me at all. “Doll parts,” he suddenly answered, his voice lacking any inflection.
I frowned, picking up one of the tiny metallic objects and inspecting it closely. I could see what he meant now—it appeared to be a very small joint, perhaps for a finger. “When you said FunFlair made dolls, I thought you meant these stiff little baby dolls. I didn’t know they made them this detailed.”
“Oh, they can be detailed alright.”
“Is this, like, a robotics thing? Can they move on their own, too?”
Frankie let out a sharp, mirthless laugh that was much too short. He fell completely silent again, and it felt as though the room had gotten colder. I bit my lip, placing the finger joint back in its box. I tentatively reached out to Fran and rested a hand on his upper arm, only for him to flinch, drawing away as if burned. “D-don’t touch me right now,” he pleaded.
“I’m sorry,” I breathed.
“No, I am. Don’t mind me, okay? Let’s—let’s just go on.”
So we did. Another makeshift corridor led us over into the next container. The beam of our flashlight cut through the darkness, revealing a sight that made me stop in my tracks. There were several bodies propped up in the corners of the room, bodies that I only realized on second glance were artificial. They were of roughly the same size as the average person, with fully formed arms, legs and everything. Their faces however were different. Most of them weren’t even fully complete, the skin-like material not fully covering their heads and leaving the mechanical structures underneath uncovered. Their eyeballs—sitting in hard plastic sockets and unframed by lids—stared out at us blankly, utterly void and expressionless.
Cold dread began to seep into my bones, paralyzing me for a second before I managed to break from my stillness. Taking a step towards one of the lifeless figures, I bent down to get a closer look. Keeping my distance, I reached out a single finger to trace along one of the countless delicate wires peeking out from the soft patches of facial material. It was cool to the touch, making my skin crawl. I pulled back, turning to Frankie in bewilderment. “Wh-what is all this?” I asked hesitantly.
“That’s them. That’s the dolls.”
“Well, yes, I can see that but this… this is really, really unnerving.”
He let out a strangled, mournful sound. “I guess it is,” he said eventually, his voice low and flat. He knelt down beside me, a little closer to the doll, and started fumbling around with the back of its neck, clearly looking for something. Finally, I heard a little click, followed by a whirring noise as the doll jerked up its arm. I squeaked, scrambling back on my hands and rear, only to find my back suddenly pressed up against the chest of another mannequin. I hadn’t done a thing, but it instantly sprang to life; robotic fingers clamping down around both sides of my nape. The painfully fierce touch wiped away every last bit of my composure, and I let out a shriek that seemed to tear apart the relative silence. Frankie spun around to fix me with the beam of his flashlight, causing me to squeeze my eyes shut. My heart was hammering against my ribcage, seemingly exploding when the hands started pulling me closer against the lifeless, yet animate body.
The next thing I knew was that Fran had leapt forward and removed me from the doll’s clutches with one swift, powerful yank. My chest was heaving and I couldn’t suppress a low whimper when I pressed myself to his side, frantically glancing about my surroundings. My fangs were bared, but my racing pulse was admittedly overtaxing me. I couldn’t seem to form any coherent thoughts. My flight-instinct was kicking in, further setting off my panicked response when I realized I might end up involuntarily jumping dimensions again.
Suddenly, I felt Frankie’s hand on my cheek, the gentle pressure tilting my head up to make me meet his gaze. “It’s alright,” he said, his voice equal parts firm and understanding. The fog in my head lifted just a little.
“They’re not going to hurt you,” he went on, his thumb stroking the curve of my outer ear. However he managed to convey such certainty when he himself had been so uneasy mere moments ago was beyond me, and yet, I found myself believing him. My breathing slowed and I hazarded a second glance at the doll I had bumped into.
It had stopped moving, its body having locked into an unnatural, almost feral-looking position. It was cowering on all fours, its torso lowered and its head up. Its neck was bent at such an extreme angle that it was approaching the comical.
“What the fuck was that?” I whispered, the curse word escaping me before I could stop myself.
“Some of them have to be activated manually, others can be turned on just by touch. I remember that,” Frankie replied. “There’s no need to be afraid of them, though. Even if it’s hard to believe considering… well.” He gestured at the oddly crouching doll at our feet.
“Something’s very wrong here,” I muttered, unable to tear my eyes off the lifeless, incomplete face. “I didn’t even know they made toys like that.”
“They’re not for children,” Frankie said, his eyes glazing over once more.
“Are they, like, robots? Do they know what they’re doing?”
“Not if they’re lucky, they don’t.” He paused. “They’re not made to think. Any awareness they might have would be unplanned for.”
“And you really used to work here? Did you help build them?”
“We can talk about that once we’re out of here.”
I swallowed. “Look, I’m freaking out. This can’t be a normal production site.”
“It’s not. I wish you didn’t have to see this. It… it only gets worse. And your instincts aren’t failing you, none of this is right. If you want to back out, I don’t blame you. This place shouldn’t exist.”
I took a deep breath. I wished I had insisted on knowing the full truth before coming here, but it couldn’t be helped now. Instead of prying further, I pointed at the canister of gasoline. “Then let’s remedy that.”
Despite himself, Frankie smiled.
Instead of mirroring the expression, I felt my own features suddenly derail. “Oh crap.”
“What is it?”
“Do you think she heard me scream?”
X
1
2: deadbeat roommate
3: creepy crush
4: relocation
5: beach concert
6: First date
7: Temp work
8: roommate talk
9: a dismal worldview
10: warehouse
11: staircase
12: explanation
13: hurt
14: hospital
15: ocean
16: diner
17: government work
18: something in the caves
19: shopping cart
20: olms and Jewels
21: long hair
22: recruitment
23: waitresses

I'm an immigrant living in Japan with my husband and our son (7.5mo). I lost my job at the start of the pandemic and became a housewife. I was totally on top of cleaning, cooking, and household management and it felt like a breeze.
It was a struggle to get into a survivable rhythm, but once my son was sleeping better, I was starting to enjoy being a SAHM. Then, 2 weeks ago, I got really sick. I almost passed out while feeding our son, but my husband couldn't take time off so I had to power through til the weekend. I got a "break" from baby duties on the weekend, but I still wasn't recovered by Monday so also lost out on decompressing time. It wasn't the best week, but we all made it.
Last weekend, my husband needed to finish up a research paper for his PhD and was on a time crunch. Even though I was drowning, I tried to give him the weekend to focus on research. I lasted til Sunday afternoon solo parenting before breaking down. Then, this week started and I just can't do any more. I sobbed off and on all day because I'm so exhausted and overwhelmed. I fantasized about falling asleep and never waking up again.
My husband's workday is 10-12+ hours. He also is working on a PhD. Despite this, he does bath/bed routine and insists on handling overnight wakes. When he isn't swamped with research, he will do more than his share of baby care so that I can focus on non-baby tasks. He is an amazing partner and is stretched so thin. I feel terribly guilty about how much he does, and I really miss quality time with him. He knows this and has filed to transfer to a different section in his company with fewer overtime hours, but it will take time to go through.
My family is in my home country. My in-laws are neither interested in nor capable of helping. My friends do not have children, and their availability rarely aligns with ours. Because I'm unemployed, it's impossible to get our son into a daycare unless we pay a huge sum of money (which we don't have) for an international or private one. Nannies are rare and in high demand. Gyms in our area don't offer childcare. There are storytimes at the local library, but my baby is in a screeching phase that is not socially acceptable here.
I'm alone with my baby from 6am-6pm. He is very vocal, which is adorable but sets off my anxiety, since Japanese culture is very strict about not disturbing others. This means we have to close all the windows in our apartment when he is crying or getting off the train/bus if he won't stop screeching. I try my best to balance both of our needs, but it feels like no matter how much I try, he always needs more than what I can give.
I desperately want to be a good SAHM. I want to be cheerful and fun for my son, but I am struggling so hard. When he scream cries, I soothe him, but inside I just feel dead. I have been losing my patience and end up sobbing with him. The jealousy I feel of other parents with more support is embarrassing and ugly. I don't know how to get past this besides just waiting it out, and I'm worried that my stress and mood will impact my son negatively, even though he seems happy nearly all of the time.
Advice I have adopted from this sub:

• Frozen/quick foods more often
• Triage the housework
• Listen to a podcast in one earphone throughout the day
• Involve the baby in housework
• Go out with the baby daily
• Naptime = downtime
• Building in "baby-free" time when possible (this is tricky for us, given my husband's workload)

This advice has helped me go from daily drowning to drowning only after a series of bad days. Maybe there are other things I could do more efficiently? Or maybe I am not cut out to be a SAHM...

First / Previous / Next
Fine. I admit it.
The Royal Dawn is a really nice hotel.
And the best part is, after my... demonstration to the Administrative offices today, I didn't have to order the Hotel to give us some rooms! They just offered rooms to us the minute we walked in!
I was given 'The Empress Suite.' I giggled at the name. I wonder if this had something to do with the royal retinue back in the day. Between the opulence, the name, and the theme it feels possible.
It is possible. There was always more than the Throne for you and your retinue. Every Starbase competed to offer you the most luxurious accommodations. After all, if you didn't like them, you could just rest on your starship.
My room - my suite of rooms actually - are easily the nicest place I've slept in my entire life. I made sure Omar, Ava, Um'reli and I each had our own rooms and while I'm glad that they have their own space, I'm too used to being around other people in the close quarters of FarReach or Starbases back home. I rattle around the rooms opening cabinets and drawers until I see it in the corner near a window overlooking the promenade.
They have a bath here!
It's made of some kind of golden flecked white stone, and is carved to look like it was weathered by the wind and water over millions of years. I figure out the taps, and set a bath going.
Once it's finished, I take off my outfit - Ugh, I wish I packed, this is my only clothes unless I use the Nanites to make more - and slip into the bath. It's blissfully relaxing.
I'm laying back in the tub, just floating, and I wish Ava was here with me.
Where did that come from?
I think for a split second about calling her in, but decide against it. I'm sure she'd come running if I called, I'm sure she'd be... enthusiastic about it, but I don't think I'm ready yet. I comfort myself with the thought, and soak for nearly an hour.
After, I dry and climb into the bed naked. I'll deal with clothes tomorrow.
More wild dreams.
My ship, operated and led by my most trusted Builder, Aeche, carries us to her prized Starbase. Built on her order for me, it's beautiful. She takes me on a tour, and we visit all of the highlights. She is especially proud of the transit system, the largest off planet in the Empire.
A team of 10 Builders live and work at the Reach operating in shifts to make sure all the needs of the residents and builders that live here are taken care of. It's one of the most complex Starbases yet and one of the most impressive.
That night, she comes to my rooms while I'm in the bath. She asks to join me, and I accept. For her, this is a culmination of months of jockeying and positioning to catch my eye, it's the realization of a goal years in the making.
For me, it's a fun night. She is easy on the eyes though, I see no harm in keeping her around for a while.
The next day, she leads me to the Throne. The only larger one exists back home on Imperia and I get the impression that this one is smaller only out of courtesy.
Sitting upon the Throne, with a full contingent of Builders behind me, I'm able to instantly take stock of my Empire. Things are going well. There are new reports from the frontier, and I set them to my ship, Worldshaker, so I have something to read while en route to the K'laxi.
This is the last stop before I go see the K'laxi, turn their Gate back on and remind them what the price of insubordination is. Worldshaker is getting reprovisioned and refreshed as the trip is longer than normal and I want to make sure we can stay a while if needed. On my way out, I'll touch the Gate, and commit an upload.
That night, Aeche visits me again, and we have more fun. After, we go to bed and I lay awake thinking about next steps. Aeche sighs and rolls over in her sleep next to me. I stroke her hair gently. Yes, things are going quiet well. It's nice to have some quiet.
I wake up in my bed, alone, in the hotel room, fully myself again. Not only was that the most... idyllic dream I've had yet, it's the first that I felt like it was me doing the things, not some other Empress.
Yes, the Nanites are doing well. You can probably integrate with the Throne if you were to try. It's up to you however. But remember you told The Smell of Soil after Rain to bring everyone today. We should head over there.
Hmm Good point. Okay, let's get up, get dressed, grab everyone and head over. I look over at my outfit from yesterday. It's nice, and it's impressive, but if I'm going to be presenting as Empress to everyone, I need something... more.
I concentrate and think about what would be right. I don't think about specifics, I let the Nanites take my whims into consideration and see what I get. The fog cloud of them surrounds me and my outfit from yesterday and I when they finish I turn and look in the mirror near the bath.
I'm still in royal blue - good, I like that color - but the outfit now is a... strapless ball gown? It's rather severely low cut - I wonder if that's from dreaming about Aeche - and the dress clings on the top half and billows and flows on the lower half and ends in sparking stars and nebulae on a train that flows behind me, rippling gently as if a breeze is blowing it. I check and... yes, it's not touching the ground. That's a neat trick. I'm wearing taller heels than yesterday too, but at least they're comfortable - for now. It's not something that Lieutenant Mullen would ever wear, but it seems... right for Empress Melody The First. I'll roll with it. In deference to who I am, there is a way to mount my rifle on my back. I click it in place and feel complete. I wonder how many Empresses were armed?
Many were. We even have records of a few who would carry a battle rifle with them.
That brings me some happiness. Even after how different we are, there are still some things that I share with Empresses across time.
As I open the door to leave, I see Omar, Ava and Um'reli in the hall already dressed and ready. They turn to see me and Ava and Um'reli both gasp and blush. Omar grins wickedly. "Melody, I have to say that this is the first time since you told us you were an Empress that you look the part. That is an amazing outfit."
I curtsy slightly "Thank you Omar. Did you all sleep well? I have a hunch with the Nanites you had... intense dreams?"
Ava snaps her had up to me. "I did! I dreamt that I was running a Starbase. We were preparing for your visit and I had so much to do, but I knew how to do all of it, and I had a really strong team, and you complimented our readiness when you arrived!"
Um'reli looks at me with an odd expression. "I did too, but... I dreamt I was a human. A Builder. I was operating a Starship, the Sunrunner. We were tasked by you directly to tour the frontier worlds and build a report about how they were doing, if they needed anything and if we thought there was any unrest. We were very proud because you had personally asked for us."
"What about you Omar?" Ava turns and looks at him.
"Yeah, I had a vivid dream. I dreamt that I was a planetary administrator. I ruled over more than a billion people on a world with two suns. One was white and the other was larger and redder. I remember clearly the odd shadows it cast, and how everything had an odd coloration. You had requested an increase in the delivery of Magnesium. We were able to meet the new quota this time, but I was worried that if you had requested to keep the quote high, how we would be able to make it without overworking the miners."
"Wow, so not only did you dream about being a Builder, not only did you dream about being a powerful Builder, but you all were in direct contact with the Empress. I wonder if that's because you received your Nanites from me directly."
"Who knows?" Um'reli looks at all of us. "But I for one am starving. Let's get some breakfast and go back to the Throne. Melody has a performance to give."
We head downstairs and sure enough there is a restaurant attached to the Hotel. We sit down and immediately I ask for a carafe of boiling hot water to be brought. While we wait, I take out my hand grinder and scale and make some coffee. By the time the water arrives, everything is ready. The Mariens who brought me the water is watching curiously as I make the coffee. Soon enough, it's finished, and I take the first sip of coffee in nearly three days.
Ahh, now, I can rule.
"Pardon my asking, Empress, but what is that?" The Mariens points to my beverage.
"It's called coffee. It's the roasted seed of a plant that's native to the planet we lived on. I like to drink an extraction of it made with boiling water. It does have a chemical, called caffeine, that offers a stimulant effect to Hu-Builders, but we've found it to be toxic to other Sapients, like our friends the K'laxi here. You can smell it if you'd like though." I hold out the cup.
The Mariens leans in and gently inhales. They lean back sharply and look at me. "That smells amazing." Their body language expresses wonder. "Truly, the Builders do amazing things. Now, what will you be having for breakfast?"
We order and eat and walk towards the Throne. As we're walking this time, people are not ignoring us. Children wave, people follow us with their eyes. They don't seem to be fearful of us, more respectful this time. As we turn a corner, I see Rapid River Roaring and The Smell of the Ocean. They look worse for wear. Both of them have matted feathers, even a few bare spots. Wild eyed they're looking around. River is clutching a bag of some kind.
Uh oh.
They turn and see me. Relief washes over them and they run up to me "Empress! My Empress!" They both approach me and bow low, head touching the ground. "We have completed your task. We have found Vivvix and Zemmlin and brought them to you."
Ava looks around. "But, where are they?"
I know where they are.
River opens the bag they're carrying.
Inside are most of Vivvix and Zemmlin.
"I see..." I try to not look unsettled. Omar's face darkens and he turns away. Ava look in and nods, satisfied. Um'reli doesn't look in, but she isn't unsettled by this development either.
Well. What's done is done. "I would have preferred they be brought to me alive, but my fault for not specifying that. Where were they?"
"The cowards were hiding in the docks. They were attempting to board another ship and catch up to that traitor, Ottarn. We were able to surprise them, and carried out your order, Empress."
"Yes, I can see that. Er, thank you both for your hard work. Go to High Line and find Starlight on a Moonless Evening. After this presentation, I plan on visiting the ship to assess it for refitting.
They both bow again. "Empress."
First / Previous / Next

Hi everyone!
Didn’t think I’d really ever had to write a post in this sub, but here I am lol. So, I [F38] met a pretty awesome friend online [M35] a few months back (January). Started innocent and friendly enough but then we gave each other our phone numbers back in March. We slowly started to get to know each other more. Talk flirty and serious and hadn’t gone a day without hearing from each other.
Never really talked about what kind of relationship we have. To be completely honest, I know I have strong feelings for him. I suspect he does too but given that we are on complete opposite sides of the states, I feel we aren’t wanting to put a label? I’ve got 2 kids and he doesn’t have any. We’ve both been in previous narcissistic relationships so we do both have issues with trust and honesty.
Fast forward to Sunday night. Usual casual talk and he went silent for a few minutes. Figured he feel asleep (he’s 3 hours ahead) so I went to get my daughter’s bath ready. In that span, I guess he called me and I hadn’t answered as my phone was in the other room and the water was running. He text me he was heading to bed and goodnight and that’s the last I heard from him since. Went to grab my phone minutes later to see if I got any messages and that’s when I saw. Wanted to call back but he said he was going to bed. I texted him “My bad… I didn’t realize you called” and essentially good night. He read the message (he turned on read notifications) yesterday morning and that’s it.
My question is, do I reach out? Do I let him reach out to me? Had instances were he’d get upset at me for what he feels is me gaslighting him or lying (would never lie). Both times I sent him a message saying I’m sorry if he felt I was being anything but honest. I’m wondering if he’s upset I didn’t answer his call? And this is where I’m wondering if I should give him space? Do I tell him I’m giving him space or just do it? We aren’t in a relationship and he owes me nothing. He usually messages me in the morning and evening and haven’t heard from him since. So it’s definitely unusual. And I’m here in my head wondering what the heck I did wrong. Not to mention my strong feelings for him is making my stomach sick.
Any advice or help or anything would be most helpful.

Shoutout Tuesday!

Who's that awesome rep or tech at a vendor that goes above and beyond that you want everybody knowing about?
Let's give some focus on the positives of the vendors/partners that support us in the MSP and IT community. I'll post this once per week on Tuesdays, so don't feel the need to do a wall of text with accolades -- focus on that one rep/vendor that deserves mention this week.
To keep this thread "real," let's agree to some ground rules:

• No self-promotion.
• Be SPECIFIC: Name names, but..
• Respect PRIVACY: Name names, but not last names (use an initial), home addresses, cell phones, etc.
• Give a specific reason WHY you think the way you do.
• Stay FOCUSED: Instead of listing fifty people, list one. But be detailed about the one.

Example of a comment that is NOT very helpful:

I love MspVendorCo. They're awesome.

Example of a comment that is helpful:

I love John D at MspVendorCo. He's my rep. Here's an example of why: Last week I thought I submitted an order to them for Widget X, but I actually never clicked Send! I called John and he tripped over himself in lining up the order so we hit our deadline. They act like that every single time I work with them.

For history on this thread, my first post for this: https://www.reddit.com/msp/comments/vi68rp/give_a_shoutout_today_who_deserves_high_praise/

I've only posted on this subreddit a few times before and I have been going back and forth on it for a long while now. I think maybe it's because of the fact that if I did, I would be fully admitting to myself just how lonely I actually am. But there's really no point in trying to mask and run away from the glaring truth, so, here I am again. Taa-daah!
As most people on here are, or I assume, given the context of the subreddit, I am a person who's unfortunately lived the forever alone lifestyle, well, for most of my life. The last person I was close with was way back in the 6th grade (I'm a fourth year in college), and the closest connection I've had since then was those types of people that would talk and hang out with you during class time, but the second the bell rings, instant transmission, they gone now. And if we're talking about my love life, well, let's just say the fact that I still haven't had my first kiss yet, should paint a good picture (or lack thereof I suppose) of that.
But I'm not trying to make this some sort of pity party for me, but rather to shed some background as to what I hope, fingers criss crossed, twisting and turning, and looping around each other, for what I want to potentially get out of this. Of course, having a partner would be spectacular, but the companionship beyond the romance is just as important, if not even more so. I'm tired of getting up everyday, doing college work, video editing (small time Youtuber), watching YouTube and playing video games, going to work (if I have a job at a given time if I'm not focusing on university), and going to bed, and rinse and repeat all alone.
I want that to change. I want to spend time watching stupid things with someone, having my butt kicked in Smash even though I've been playing it for years, arguing over which anime opening is better than another for no reason other than it being a means to spend time hearing each other's voice. To go out dates, to laugh, to explore, to cuddle, to do the things that come after that if you catch my drift (or technically before the cuddling, or both), and so much more. But every attempt I made well ehhhhh, well its led me to here.
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Here's a little bit of description about me 😁:

• 22 years old, though that one is probably already known given the title of this post
  
• Black, 6 foot 1 inches, and real skinny (119 pounds), with black hair and glasses (no facial hair and no body hair to speak of; I guess I can say I'm like semi-femboyish)
  
• Don't do drugs, don't have any STDs, don't drink, but I do smoke, so hopefully that isn't too much of an issue for you (and will totally understand if you don't want me doing it around you).
  
• Do have 1 tattoo, just in case that's a thing you may care about. It's a Kingdom Hearts heartless and keyblade tattoo where my heart is.
  

https://imgur.com/a/KDvNYqx (A few more face pics are avaliable in the link provided)
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My hobbies and interests ❤:

• Literally all things gaming 🎮. And no, I'm not talking 2K or Fortnite or COD or whatever, but JRPGs like Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, platformers like Crash Bandicoot and definetly Sonic the Hedgehog, adventure games like Zelda, etc. I'm open to pretty much all genres and my favorites include Mirror's Edge, Shadow the Colossus, No More Heroes, Asura's Wrath, etc. So kind of a jack of all trades I like to think
  
• Love anime, and like video games, I'm open to all genres but there's definitely ones I prefer more than others (mostly don't watch a whole lot slice of life, and seinen type shows). Favorites include Fate, Neon Genesis, Konosuba, Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, Chainsaw Man, etc
  
• Love movies 🎬 but haven't been watching as much as I'd like to, but hey, only so much free time in the world. But I'm one of those people that likes to put on subtitles and rewind a lot, and I know that can be quite annoying so....I'll try not too? 😅
  
• Enjoy video editing for my channel, and watching YouTube mostly centered around gaming and anime content. I love listening to music, but once again, my library consists of mostly just anime and video game OSTs (I am a simple guy I suppose)
  
• And this is a weird one to end off on, but since this is a dating subreddit, I suppose it should be said, I am very sub oriented, and have a high libido, but I am also very very open minded, and won't shame you if you have a particular unusual fascination with something most wouldn't find attractive.
  

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I feel like a bit of an ass writing this next part, as if I'm placing some kind of order on what kind of people I accept or don't accept, and that is not my intention in the slightest, but there are things that I am looking for in a person, just so I know that we can get along quite well, instead of me ending up talking to someone I have very little likelihood of jiving with. I don't waste anyone's time, including whoever is reading this.
Some of the things I'm looking for 🔍:

• A gamer, and I mean more than just Animal Crossing and Just Dance, like an ACTUAL actual gamer. We don't need to play the same type of games, and like I said before, I'm really a jack of all trades. So whether it's an RPG, a casual game, a puzzle, a platformer, a shooter, a fighter, a rhythm game or whatever, so long as we're NOT hoping off of Battle Buses or the Gulag, I'm sure anything will work. This one is the most important because it's the thing I want to be able to connect to someone the most, because it's the thing I'm most passionate about. Can't have long late night cozy gaming sessions if my potential partner doesn't game now can I?
  
• Anime lover, weeb, otaku, whatever term you wanna call it. This isn't a necessity per say as the gaming one is, but it'd be nice to have none the less. There's a whole great of wall of anime/manga that I wanna watch/read, and I hope to be able to do that with someone. But if not, live action shows on Netflix or HBO is a okay with me.
  
• Someone who is more than just a copy of me, and can respect when I want some alone time. I tend to do the exact same, and know that not everyday, at any time, are we going to have the energy to socialize or hang out, and some days, we're just going to want to spend some alone time to focus on work or ourselves. And I want someone who doesn't just think the same way as me. I love discussions and find what seperates a person from another special, and what makes them unique, so long as we respect each other's opinion and don't get toxic with it (not trying to date a Twitter stand here)
  
• Someone who is preferably around my age, though if you're on the more older side, please don't let that stop you from messaging me if this post catches your interest. The older the grape, the finer the wine as they say. 😅
  
• No drugs, but it's okay if you drink or smoke or have tattoos, just so long as you're disease and drug free, you do what you consider your best and happiest you, and I won't mind in the slightest. I'd very much want someone who is fit/skinny; nothing against heavier body types, it's just not what I'm into.
  
• Someone who is....uhhh...how do I phrase this, "sexually driven", but not like a lot (but it's even better if it happens to be a lot), but has a sex drive you know? You don't need to have a high libido, but I also want you to have some libido too. Also, like I mentioned before, I am very sub-like, so hopefully, you can be the dominant one if this turns out blossoming into a relationship.
  
• Someone who is close and can host is a huge plus as well. I can host as well, but those times aren't always avaliable, as I do currently live with my family while working on my college degree in Computer Game Design in the next year or so.
  
• Someone who's looking for a MONOGAMOUS relationship. Not really a debate on this one. I'm not against those who like to have multiple partners, but is that something that I wanna engage in? Yeah, yeah, that's a hard no.
  

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• Finally, preferences, NONE OF WHICH ARE REQUIRED ❌️, buuuuuutt, still, if you fit into any one of these, I very much hope this post catches your interest:
  
• Dominant, both in the relationship, and in the bedroom, and who is open-minded to experimentation
  
• White, which feels weird to say, just, I like white guys. I mean, what can I say, as well as Asian, and or UK/British, they're accents just...AAHHHHHH! 😖
  
• Packed full of energy. I'm very animated, so hopefully you can also match the vibes, and bring me up mood wise when I'm down
  

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And that's about it for now. Like I said before, I've only ever posted on here a few times before, so I don't know if I checked off everything that I should have said in a post like this, but hopefully (man I've been saying that word a lot here), this was enough to catch your attention and be willing to give a potential connection/relationship with a guy like me, and if not I understand, and hope you find whatever you're looking for in someone else here. But if I have caught your eye, feel free to message me. It's been a long and lonely 22 years, and you'd probably make a wonderful change of pace.
Until then, bye! 🤗

Before anyone says anything about the title, I take mental health very seriously. I know that most people are suffering from it in some form or another and if you feel like it is affecting you please find help and support. Please. Don’t use it against your friends and don’t treat your friends like therapists (unless they want you to). The reason why I say this is because of what me and my friend have had to go through because of it.I just wanted somewhere to vent about a situation that myself and my other friend have been affected by within the last year since I am still somewhat upset by it. As shown by the title, I (F19) and my friend (F22), Jane, have had to cut off a toxic friend for a number of reasons which I’ll try my best to tell in chronological order, as well as format in a way that is easier to read - I’ve had to write this in a document first and the word count is around 3000 for those wondering.
Before we start digging into the juicy details I’ll give you guys a some backstory:
During the first year of uni myself and Jane had found and formed a group of friends consisting of 4 people - which includes me, Jane, Steven (M21, the toxic friend) and Thomas (M19). At the beginning it wasn’t all that bad and I did enjoy the time I had with them, in fact we did create some good memories together (which now leave a bitter taste in my mouth when I look back at them).Going into my first year and moving to a city so far away from home I (F18 at the time) was a bit desperate to make friends, and for people to like me as a person - looking back at this now has made me realise that this may be what caused me to not form proper boundaries with people, thus leading to the situation at hand now. So when I started meeting and befriending people, Steven was one of the first few friends that I had made. I find it quite hard to connect to others being the awkward person I am so making new friends made me very happy.
Alongside this was also the fact that everything I was experiencing was new to me, including attention from men - which I was not used to and did not know how to deal with as I was not as conventionally attractive as I am now. Our friendship was what you’d describe as a typical F/M friendship, I ended up spending a lot of time with him. AND because he was one of the few friends that I had made, plus the fact that I have this thing where I think everyone hates me, I ended up doing a lot to try and keep him interested in staying friends with me (some of which I am ashamed to admit), which include;

• Spending time with each other everyday/every other day, even when I was socially drained.
• Allowing him to look after me when I drank too much (I was going out at least 3-4x a week at this point, a lot of the people I’ve met were going out and I felt the need to go in order to fit in lol), later on we, as a group, moved on to smoking the za instead.
• Allowed a lot of physical contact (this was mainly platonic btw, however there were times where I allowed too much contact for what the friendship was and this is what I am ashamed about, and deeply regret) *.

Before people tell me off in the comments, yes I know that I should have had some boundaries in place. Yes I know that it was stupid of me to allow him to touch me like that when I only saw him as a friend (beyond stupidity at this point) and I see how it may have led to the situation now, I’ve already been grilled by my friends at home about it.We all decided to move in together alongside one of Steven’s friend, John, so it was going to be the 5 of us in a house in our second year of Uni.During this friendship Steven, Jane, Thomas and myself had decided to do MDMA (Don’t do drugs, this was also a stupid idea on my part and the biggest regret I have, but I took it because I trusted my friends enough to feel comfortable doing it). If you don’t know what MDMA does I’ll explain it briefly; it affects the activity in the brain through 3 main chemicals - dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin which affect emotional closeness, euphoric feelings as well as making you feel sexually bold - it may cause you to do things you typically wouldn’t do, this was what happened in my case.
Jane and I had let Steven and Thomas touch us (this part was consensual) and we were having fun at the start, feeling close to people for the first time since starting uni, but it went downhill after Steven invited his friend over, John. I did not know John too well but if Steven was okay with him then I should too, right? Well, I allowed John to touch me too (this was also consensual but please bear in mind I’m still under the influence of a drug). We continued to talk and listen to music and as the night progressed I fell asleep around 2-3amI started to wake up around 4-5am in the morning and felt some hands on my chest as I was stirring awake. John was groping my chest whilst Steven was watching this happen. I felt sick.I moved away from him but I still felt violated to be touched in my sleep, even on a drug that heighten my trust in people, but I know that I only have myself to blame for putting myself in a situation like that and it still hurts me thinking about it sometimes especially when I’ve had bad experiences with men touching me like that, this was something Steven knew. Steven came up to me afterwards to check if I was okay, but I lied and said that it was okay. I should have said that it wasn’t but the pressure of him living with us next year and the fact that they were friends made it hard for me to admit. I also thought that I would forgive and forget about it as time went on but I only started to feel resentment as time passed - another factor contributing to the fallout in the main story.I don’t know why he thought it was okay, why would you continue touching someone who’s asleep and on drugs? Whilst you’re sober and have the cognitive ability to tell yourself right from wrong.Additional backstories that I feel may be relevant:

• Jane and I have had traumatic childhoods - I was emotionally and physically abused at home and have had to go into foster care for a year. Jane's case was also similar coming from a home where her father physically abused her, her brother and her mother. I am now back with my family and they are so much better after being educated and taught about what they were doing wrong, and I am so thankful that they loved my siblings and I enough to put in the effort to change.
• Steven has told us multiple times that he wants to kill himself, and each time we have been there to tell him that there are people who love and care about him - especially his family, who have shown us time and time again that they care deeply about him. He has refused the help we’ve tried getting him, Thomas had recommended his therapist, and each time it happens (and it happened quite often) I end up feeling drained and it feels like we’re getting nowhere. From what he was saying about his family at the beginning of our friendship we thought that he had really bad home problems, but he has already admitted to Jane that he has had a happy childhood so we are still not sure what’s wrong. Unfortunately, you cannot help someone who refuses help, and on top of that, depressed people tend to be quite selfish and selfless at the same time (selfish in their actions and putting their emotions first, selfless in their thoughts about others) - in Steven’s case it was more selfish than selfless at times.
• Steven constantly uses the phrase “but i’m just being honest” or “i’m just being realistic” or “I'm just Joking”. 9 times out of 10 this is just an excuse for him to say something hurtful or to just be an asshole about something so it should have been our first red flag.
• Steven had cut himself after I confronted him about throwing Jane under the bus. He used her as an excuse as to why he didn’t want to fuck his flatmate which then cause said flatmate to message Jane and cause her to go into a panic attack. The next day I saw the cuts on his arms, he didn’t try hiding it, in fact he’d used his left arm at every opportunity (even though he’s right handed). I would have felt bad for him but knowing that he was trying to show it off to us in ‘subtle’ ways made me really upset. (more on this in the story).
• He made jokes about how “if you guys weren’t my friends I’d have hit you by now” knowing full well we were abused before.
• There were a lot of moments where he’d undermine us; Jane is wasian, half filipino and white and has lived in the Philippines for basically half of her life, Steven is filipino, but because she’s half he constantly tells her that she’s not filipino enough or makes comments about how she “doesn’t know the struggles” or doesn’t understand the culture well enough. Even though she’s probably more cultured than him, being able to speak Tagalog more fluently than him AND living there for longer lmao.
• Steven has made it known to us time and time again that he wanted to fuck the both of us and normally we’d laugh it off but as time passed I grew to realise that this is not what I wanted in a friendship I distanced myself a bit and started putting in boundaries when we all moved in. (more on this as well).

Now onto the main story:
We all decided to move in together, the 5 of us in a house, and ngl the house was pretty shit but affordable.Just in case you haven’t read the backstory around this time was when I started to distance myself from Steven and finally put up proper boundaries. I started to voice my opinions more on why I didn’t want to have our friendship continue this way - he has told me on multiple occasions that Jane and I were “the reason he’s alive today” and whilst he probably said it to show appreciation I did not take it this way, it felt like a lot of weight was put on my shoulders each time he said it. I did not want that kind of responsibility, what would happen if he did commit suicide? (he’s already told us many times that he’s suicidal) Would we be the reason why he’s not alive? That was something I did not want to bear, and something nobody should be put up to even if we were friends.Steven did not take it well. Going as far as cutting himself when me and Jane were upset with him. Again. Then doing the same steps in order for us to notice the cuts by using his left arm when he’s right handed, rubbing the cuts when we were talking to him, holding his arm up and looking at it when we were around. This time I confronted him about it, I told him that I was concerned for him but whilst I was concerned I also didn’t appreciate him doing that and how it was essentially emotional blackmail for him to cut himself each time Jane and I were upset with him, how it wasn’t right to use his mental health against us when he knew we were upset with him. And for those curious as to what made us upset, it was because he didn’t want to do the dishes when there were dishes in the dish rack - we had a rule where if someone cooks the other cleans, and Jane and I had always cleaned regardless of if there were dishes in the dish rack. Anyways, we were upset with him because of that and he went and cut himself after we made it known that we were upset. This could have been avoided if he allowed us to talk instead of harming himself, jumping from 1 to 100.
It was after this that I realised I did not want him as a friend, someone who’s willing to cut himself and then shove it in our faces each time a minor argument comes up, call me a bitch but I did not want to be constantly around someone who puts others down and jumps to extremes like that. I get that it may be a cry for help, but to hurt others around you whilst you do so is not something I stand for. He kept saying sorry and that he didn’t mean for us to see it, but in my eyes actions speak louder than words and regardless of whether or not he meant to emotionally blackmail us or not it still falls under that category.Then he threw a party for one of his friends at the house. I didn’t want anything to feel amiss for the people coming around so I acted as if everything was fine in front of them even though I was still not over what he had done. Jane had done the same. Of course, with the added use of alcohol and weed, everything was thrown into chaos. During this night he had smacked Jane across the ass to the point she was crying in pain for no apparent reason (he did this in front of people, so he cannot claim he did not do it when there were multiple witnesses), Jane of course started to scream at him. He then went upstairs, with a KNIFE, into HER room, and swung it around.I do not know why he did what he did. But from what Jane had told me, he kept repeatedly saying sorry whilst smiling and laughing nervously so we do know he knows what he’s doing is wrong. He had his friends come up to us and say that he’s only doing this “because he cares about you guys so much” and that “he’s only trying to push you guys away”. And to that I say; good job, you did great.
On top of all this, I made it fully known to him that I was angry at his actions these past few weeks and had stopped speaking to him properly (the times we had spoken I made sure to be curt) Jane remained polite towards him, but also had the same feelings as me. However he seemed to have taken it to mean that he could continue being weird around her, and by weird I mean there have been multiple times he had made her uncomfortable to the point where she had confided to me that she doesn’t feel comfortable walking around the house.
Again, I will list the offences towards Jane below lol:

• He had on multiple occasions gone into her room without her permission, one time when she was in the shower (weird) and the other time he had messaged her, whilst she was at work, to say that he was “being selfish and sleeping in your room” (weirder, and for anyone who wants screenshots, I can provide). She had to call me to ask me to check to see if he was in her room or not because she told him no, and lo and behold guess who was in her room? That’s right, Steven. Steven was in her bed when I opened her door and I had to tell him to get out because she didn’t want him in there. Do you know what he said when he got up? “Fuck sake”. Like come on, are you being serious rn?
• One time when she was cooking (she was alone in the kitchen btw), he came up behind her, lifted up her shirt (I’ll draw a diagram for you guys) and looked under it. Do you wanna know what his excuse was? That he was only checking out what kind of shirt it was… instead of asking her like a normal person.
• There were even times she’s told me that she can hear him waiting outside her room.

But wait, there’s more, we had a group meeting to talk things out about what’s happened. We told both John and Steven about why we felt wronged and not once did they apologise for what they did. Instead they made up excuses for their behaviour and then, get this, Steven had said that we were acting like victims, that we had “victim mentality”. Lmao.That was the day I removed them off everything and wanted nothing to do with them, I have not looked back since and do not plan to. We laugh about the situation and poke fun about it now, but at the time it was quite stressful to deal with, feel free to ask questions below as I have been holding this in for a while and would love to answer them.
*a lot of the physical contact happened after the MDMA, I really didn't want to admit this and would rather take this to the grave but it is relevant to the story.

NOTE: I will not disclose the exact market/city so don’t ask. I will be using this as a long term hold for tax advantages seeking strong cash flow as well. This is an off market deal
Units are 2 1 bed 1 bath (1 with partial remodel) 2 2 bed 1 bath (1 partial remodel)
Rent total 3700 Purchase price 306k
No additional work needed immediately. Will need a roof in 5 to 10 years and 5 years new stucco.
I see a cap rate at 9.09%
Am I missing something or is this as good as it sounds?