I've heard a lot of talk about the new Apple Music PC app, and it sounds enticing to switch to it. I've been using iTunes for years and I've grown to like it over time. And when I started my Apple Music subscription, iTunes became my defacto player on my PC. So, what I want to know is: Is AM preview worth it? Can I delete iTunes and exclusively use AM preview? Will I be able to sync my iPhone with it and transfer not just music but files? Will I be able to add my local music and edit the metadata? Is backing up and restoring iPhones possible? Basically does it have all the functionality iTunes have plus all the latest and greatest AM features like synced lyrics and Dolby Atmos? I'd use both apps on my PC but I found out that can't be done. If anyone can let me know, I'd really appreciate it.

My first trip took place some months ago but I wrote down most of what happened a day after the trip.
In the time leading up to getting them, I did quite a bit of research and was confident in them not being able to hurt me. My source was another friend of mine who I know would not give me random, maybe dangerous ones etc.
I invited a closer friend to take them with me to which she agreed after some consideration. Right before taking them I asked her again and told her the things I had learned to make absolutley sure we both were comfortable.
We measured 5g of dry shrooms with a scale and blended them with a smoothie. Then we each drank about half of the smoothie. It didnt really taste any different than without shrooms but at the bottom were some bigger pieces which were kinda hard to swallow for me because of the smell. All in all not a bad way to take them I think.
We sat on the couch and started with watching Space Balls. For about 20 minutes everything was normal besides that I was not really watching the movie but looking around and trying to see the trip starting. The first effects were really subtle changes in my vision. Straight lines in my peripheral view were curved slightly. Soon colors began to change. My friends hair changed the most noticeably into a vibrant red.
Time passed and I was starting to lose track with the movie. It felt like I was constantly talking and expressing my opinion on the movie. I could not shut up for some time and was giggling over everything. The movie felt like it dragged on for so, so long. I remember getting annoyed with it because I wanted to listen to music after but of course it was fucking funny still.
So the movie ended and I turned on Dark Side of the Moon. One of the highlights for me was right at the beginning when the collage of sounds switches with the first real notes. It made me feel so at ease, like a breeze of fresh air filled the room and the couch felt so comfortable at that moment.
We didn't turn off the TV but kept it on mute and just let the random program play with the music playing at the same time. I think here I had the most memorable or "shocking" visuals. Faces of people on TV morphed, melted, from young to old, male to female. It was really interesting and not at all scary to me. Sometimes the images on the TV and the music seemed to make some kind of sense together. Like characters mouth movements matching perfectly with the music.
All while this happened I touched different objects and felt and looked at them closely trying to really "understand" them. It was difficult to move much and the judgement of distances was completely broken for me. Even my own body felt weirdly disproportionate.
After the album was over, I changed to Jimi Hendrix. Here the music at one point somehow felt like a live performance. It sounded like coming from a stage with the instruments more clearly separated instead of from my speaker that was standing close by. I think we had the music really loud actually but it was hard to judge how loud sounds were.
There was a large plant in the room and during the trip we both looked at this plant three seperate times and talked about it. We thought it looked happy or sad and saw it move when in reality we both knew it could not.
The single most unpleasant thing was when I looked for my glasses which had come off. My friend grabbed them and immediately said "eeewwww" and that they felt gross. I took them from her and there was this really weird feeling. It was kind of a tingling sensation when touching the frame, like some kind of little tentacles were grabbing at your fingers.
For some time during the trip I was laying on the couch with my face in the cushions and just being. I had faint closed-eye visuals. They were red, green, and blue "fish scales" in patterns that looked like some kind of leaf with a long and narrow part and then a short fanned out ending. Despite laying there and not being able to get up some times I think I never was really out, always awake and conscious.
We opened a bag of Doritos and tried them. It was not bad but weird. The taste was more bland I think but the feeling of them cracking between the teeth was really strong.
We tried kissing and surprisingly I don't remember it feeling any different.
In the last part of the trip we watched different things on Netflix. I think we started with Rick and Morty. Can't remember anything about what was said there just the scene where Rick sits on his toilet in this beautiful scenery. I felt that. The colors poured out of the screen onto the walls and I felt this intense relaxation again.
After changing from Rick and Morty we looked around a bit and finally settled on Shrek and sobered up. When the movie was over, I felt normal again. We had Pizza and then went to sleep. We were both extremely tired.
​
I was really fascinated by the experience. It was never a negative one. I would like to see where my brain can go again but I don't feel a "pressure" to take psychedelic drugs, like that sometimes happens with alcohol. Speaking of it, the shrooms showed me how lame it is. As I said I sometimes get this feeling like "I would like to get wasted again sometime" but the shrooms (and a particularly bad experience I had one evening) remind me that there is nothing to gain from abusing alcohol while you can lose a lot.
Anyway that's it. Have a nice day and maybe share something of your own here :)

In this dream I was at this fighting tournament and I was having a helluva good time. I was shouting at the fighter to do what I can see where opening attacks and he won. Then I was on this plane/roller coaster thing and it was fun for a bit. It was me and a few people on there. Some I know in this reality. Then the areas we went through got real dangerous and there where no seat belts. We ended up going into a spiral and I desperately tried to hang on for dear life. I lived and so did a few others… One wasn’t as lucky and he got flung out midway. I didn’t know about this until one of the guys I know told me. Broke down crying in dream and then woke up in this reality in sadness.

We have been together 3 years. We were talking the other day and I mentioned how I may want to get braces again because when I had them before I never wore my retainer and my teeth grew back. He goes “ohhh yeah and wear pig tails too 😉”
I told him that was the creepiest shit ever, and that he was telling me he wants me to look like a child. He got really quiet and seemed embarrassed. I have not brought it up since then.
I was shocked to hear him say something like that. He is usually very very respectful and mild mannered. Literally the nicest guy I’ve ever dated. He does everything for me. During our entire relationship he has never said anything negative to me. He’s also fairly vanilla in bed as well. I’m just trying to paint a picture here so I can get some good advice. This event is truly the only negative thing I can say about our relationship at this point in time.
My thing is… maybe if it were just pigtails OR braces by themselves. A little creepy imo but whatever. But BOTH? I just don’t know what to think. Not to mention our age gap. However, he has only ever dated women his age before me. I pursued him so I don’t believe that is a factor.
ALSO, we have two 6 year old girls from previous relationships. I am over protective of my daughter to an extreme degree. I think that’s why this is bothering me so bad.
This is not something that I would end the relationship over, I think.
I just need some opinions. Am I over reacting? Should I talk to him about it? It’s such an uncomfortable topic but it’s bothering me.
Thank you!

I wanted to hear from other people facing this illness on their own experiences with infidelity during mania. Especially ones that may not have stemmed from hypersexuality. Let me give some info…
I just found out last night that my s/o (26f) of 2 years cheated on me (30m). She has been diagnosed with Bipolar, PMDD, body dysmorphia, PTSD, anxiety, and has a past substance abuse problem and ED. She has been clean for almost 3 years. She is medicated on Effexor, seroquel, and abilify. She started vyvanse a couple months ago, which I was apprehensive about, but she managed to convince me and her psychiatrist it’d be ok(also found out she got up to 30mg and abused it sometime the same time I found out she cheated) Recently she was given Prozac to take for a couple days during her period because she was having a bad pmdd episode. I will preface this by saying she has never given me a reason to distrust her in the past. With her medication, she never had really bad mania. At the most she might buy a few extra houseplants, or change her hair up. What she’s going through now I can only describe as hypermania. She knows everything she did would potentially uproot her life, she recognizes she’s on a self destructive path. She wants to snitch on herself to her psychiatrist and her therapist for her med abuse and everything going on. I am obviously hurt, heartbroken, but concerned about her because this isn’t like her. She cheated on the need for validation outside of her relationship, while acknowledging she doesn’t understand why because she insists I fulfill all the needs for attention and that. She insists that we have the best, most loving, healthy relationship she’s ever had.
Now I want to ask people with Bipolar - in all honesty what are the chances of reoccurrence? How many of you repeated acts of infidelity during a manic phase? If she truly accepts responsibility, and it isn’t just because she was caught, is there truly ways she can learn to cope with any future impulses? She is responsible for her actions - but can this also be a manic episode led on by a need for a med adjustment? There might be bias here, but I feel like people here who are actively and healthily battling their illness can give me proper advice, compared to neurotypical people who only see things in black and white. I am trying to be supportive. She is my best friend… but I also need to look after my own heart, and am confused. Thank you.

Me (25), B (25), and G (26) are friends. I met B about 2 years ago, and his best friend of now 6 years is G. I did not expect to necessarily become friends with G, but we very quickly did. We talked a lot as soon as we met, we hang out alone a lot, and we have very similar interests. He has texted me multiple times that he considers me one of his closest friends, and he was surprised that we became friends so quickly 2 years ago.
My problem is every time I invite B along to hangout with us, G will only text him from then on. This has happened at least 20 times by now. For example, G and I agreed to hangout at his place. We made the plan a week in advance. It was supposed to be just us, but B was free so we invited him. G texted B all the details from there: when to meet, what we will do, where we will eat, and didn’t communicate any of it to me. I didn’t know any of the details until B casually mentioned them the day of (thinking I already knew). Other times he will only text the address of the place we’re meeting to B even if I’m the one who made the plans with G and will be driving us.
The title references something that G does as well. He loves social media and documenting his daily life. Every time I hangout with him, he doesn’t mention it. But almost any time B does, he mentions it. In fact, both B and I will hangout with him at the same time and he will post “Saw B today!” and literally exclude my presence. He did this yesterday, we went swimming together as a group and he said “Went swimming with B today!”
Also when the three of us are together, G will often initiate conversations about topics I don’t know much about or I didn’t experience (like college memories). And will occasionally only show pictures and memes to B when I’m right there.
It may come off as jealousy but it’s really not. I understand they have a longer history and that is ok, but I’m feeling excluded in a weird way. However, I do not want to bring it up if I’m overreacting. Different perspectives are appreciated.
TL;DR—I’m in a friend group of 3, where I am the third “addition” to the other two. One friend only posts about hanging out with the mutual friend, and will communicate plans only to the mutual friend even if us 2 were the ones to originally make them. Am I overreacting?

My partner (38m) and I (27f) have been dating for about 3 years. Due to both of us struggling with our mental health and his father dieing of cancer at that time it took quite some time before our relationship got official and even longer before I got to meet his family. Boyfriend first told his daughter (13f) about me around 1,5years ago. Short back story: boyfriend(B) and his exgirlfriend(F) had their daughter when they where still in university and separated shortly after, when daughter was still a baby. Both of them having new partners ever since. My boyfriend separated from his long time partner shortly before him and I met. After daughter got to know about me, she was avoiding her father and didn't wanna meet up. She did not tell a reason why, but her mother said it's probably because she feels jealous about her father having a new girlfriend. But encouraged us to try again, so daughter will finally meet me and realize there's nothing to be scared about. Of course daughter also turned 13 around that time, so she was on top of all starting puberty and probably feeling lots of mixed emotions. After a few month the three of us finally met up together, and things worked out very well. We would meet up not very often but frequently and we always got along very well. She would talk to me a lot and we would take trips to see family on weekends and the three of us even went on a 7day vacation together. Apart from a few situations that are probably normal with a teenager everything was fine. After almost a year things changed. On her 14th birthday when we came to visit she did not want to leave her bedroom and acted grumpy. Everyone including her mother and stepdad said this is normal teenager behavior and things like that happen regularly in their house. I felt guilty because I had a gut feeling it might be about me, as I am the new person in the family. After this incident she acted normal again in front of my boyfriend but seemed to avoid situation where I am included. My boyfriend confronted her about it and after some time she told him that she is hurt that he kept the relationship from her for so long. And that she I scared the two of us are always taking sides and it's always two against one. I don't know where those feelings come from as I was always trying to be fair and even being extra careful not to make her feel excluded or left out from anything. She still does not want to meet up with us again. I don't know what to do. Help. AITA?

I moved out of the apartment I was living in for the past 2 years, terminating the lease 2 months earlier. Before I did anything, I went to the office and asked them how much would the cost of that be, which they told me the fee for early termination of contract was 85% of my rent cost, so I said okay and gave them my 60 days notice. Now, 2 months later, I received a letter from a collection agency trying to get me to pay U$4.300,00 dollars, with a second letter from the apartment complex describing the charges. This second letter was insane!!! For starters, the termination fee of U$1010.65 (85% of my rent) was charged twice!! They are charging me for resurfacing of all countertops, bathroom included, which is insane, they were left in awesome condition. They are also charging for 31 items I supposedly left in the apartment which they had to remove, mind you that it was a 1 bedroom apartment and I live alone, I don’t even own 31 items like that in total… and I took everything I had with me. They are also charging me for repairs that I asked MULTIPLE times to be fixed and they never did! I put work orders through their portal to fix some of these issues 2 months after I moved in, and it was never fixed. But the best part is, I try to log into their portal so I could find the messages I send them about these issues and MY ACCOUNT DOES NOT EXIST ANYMORE, it was deleted!!! So now I can’t even gather evidence. Leaving all that aside, the complex itself was AWFUL, promising amenities that were never available on the 2 years I lived there, pools, gym, car wash, NONE…
I just don’t know what to do now, and some light would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

This book has everything: interdimensional travel, robots, alien/nonhuman organic sentience, post-apocalyptic dystopias, and more. It sometimes feels like it's trying to be too many things at once. As a result, the author doesn't have time to do any good worldbuilding, which doesn't ruin the reading experience, but does need to be mentioned when reviewing this book.
For example, there are entire planets that are almost completely uniform. Ut is a planet of sentient rabbits who all seem to be culturally and politically the same. There's brief mention of one religion, and an even briefer allusion to an urban-rural divide. In all other respects, the rabbits of Ut don't seem that diverse. As a result, Ut seems like one city, not an entire planet. Indeed we don't get to see much of the planet outside of the city of Canoplex, which makes it odd that it keeps getting referred to as Ut. Why talk about an entire planet when only referring to one specific city there? Why deliver exposition on "the Uti people" when the information only covers a tiny subsection of the population of Canoplex?
On a similar note, Tsakom is a toxic prison that seems much too small and ubiquitous to be a planet.
No matter what timeline and what planet, so many questions are raised, and no answers are even hinted at. How have all these sentient animals learned to understand each other's facial expressions? Where are the planets in which two or more dominant species share the earth? Why does it seem as though everyone evolved bipedalism? The book is marketed for fans of Adrian Tchaikovsky, but anyone who's read Children of Time knows that Tchaikovsky would never have created a planet full of rabbits without any explanation of how the rabbits evolved sentience. The only information about rabbit evolution that we get from MR Carey is that their strong legs make them good at escaping prey. In most respects, the rabbits don't seem that different from humans in a furry costume. The same goes for all other sentient species. Even the sentient robots are sometimes a little too anthropomorphic for my own personal taste.
Again and again, the author does the same thing: describes a planet, explains the one thing that makes it different from Earth, and fails to give readers any further information. It comes across as lazy and unrealistic worldbuilding.
In truth, I don't think Carey is a lazy writer. I think the opposite: This book is trying to do too much. It's a political thriller, a spy thriller, a war story, a philosophical treatise on sentience, an interdimensional crime drama, and a bunch of other things. There's just no time for good delivery of exposition.
Inexplicably Carey does spend time on worldbuilding mundane Earth. Characters from alternate timelines are amazed at how the humans on Earth lack fur, use combustion engines, and practice slavery and indentured servitude. Pages are wasted describing this amazement. In context, it makes sense for characters to be surprised by Earth, but readers like me are far more curious about what kind of engines the rabbits use on Uti and what government entities and structures have outlawed most forms of slavery in the Pandominion. Unfortunately Carey never gives us many answers. It makes the worldbuilding feel shallow.
It's also odd that with all the interdimensional travel, no one encounters other versions of themselves from alternative continua. New dimensions branch into existence based on quantum probabilities. Thus almost every character, including the interdimensional travelers, should have clones. Many of these clones should also be interdimensional travelers who all head to similar—if not identical—final destinations. It should be extremely common for clones to bump into each other. I understand that if the multiverse is uncountably infinite in size, there may potentially be a part of it where no one meets their clone. There may even be a part of it where no one wonders why they haven't seen their clone. I still think it's unrealistic for the possibility of such an encounter to go mostly unmentioned. Carey has created a world where almost anything is within the realm of possibility (because of how uncountable infinities work), but it doesn't make the book beyond criticism. The only clone we see is Diallo, and he never engages in interdimensional travel, so he doesn't ever encounter himself.
Criticism aside, Infinity Gate is actually a very good book with compelling characters, a fun plot, witty prose, and mind-bending science. Its flaws don't detract at all from the story. For those better than me at suspending their disbelief, it could easily be the best science fiction story written this year. I just can't get past a few minor gripes with the worldbuilding.

I disagree with a lot of things that common people say in their day-to-day lives. Especially, I feel like the people around me are too quick to judge me or anyone else. I have never understood how some people can be so miserable in their lives and, at the same time, be very interested in preaching to you. There have been instances in my life when people would casually tell me, 'common sense isn't common practice,' and immediately I would feel that they are the perfect example of what they just said. Another idea I don't subscribe to is 'Jack of all trades, master of none.' I do not agree when people say you cannot multitask and still be good at it (it does take dedication and commitment but not impossible). I have never understood how people who say 'I don't judge others' are the first ones to really judge, and the ones who say 'I don't care' are the ones who invest all their thoughts. It is concerning to see people work their asses off but not know what they are really doing in life (even if they had a purpose, most times it felt like a cover up for their ignorance). What's funny is that the people who really don't know much about themselves are the ones who are keen on advising and judging you. Finally this quote is something that came to my mind, from Sadh-Guru "Your ideas of good and bad are just a certain level of prejudice against life"

Hi so as the title says I have a ray virus on my pc that has been typing my password and opening pages and just trying to troll me all the time, I completely clean installed my windows using a usb that I downloaded windows onto from a different pic and formatted all of my drives and it didn’t work the virus is still there, I need help on what to do next

I (28f) coparent with my older son’s (9m) dad (34m) who happens to be a raging narcissist. Well I asked my son if he would rather go to the zoo or the park today and he said he doesn’t want to go to the zoo anymore.
Me: why?
Son: the last time we went to the zoo we saw the penguins and my dad was mad that we saw them together first.
THE PENGUIN EXHIBIT OPENED 2 YEARS BEFORE WE WENT!!!!!!
Are you fucking kidding me??? In what world is it appropriate for his dad to tell him something like this?? But of course my son is worried always about upsetting his dad so now he doesn’t want to go to the zoo anymore.
URGHHHHH

First time using Flopzilla, google and site searches yielded nothing for this issue. I downloaded my hand history from Ignition. When I try uploading to Fz it says “Could not import text. The data field is corrupted. Please check if you’ve correctly copied the contents.” I tried uploading by opening the file through Fz. I’ve also opened the file through Windows and copy/pasting text. And I tried copying directly from the Ignition site. Same error each time for every single file. What am I doing wrong?

I'm currently 33 weeks pregnant with my second, looking to try out exclusive pumping again. I've used a Lansinoh in the past, worked well and I trust the company greatly, and I have an Elvie currently. I'm looking for a back up/at home pump that's completely free from my insurance just in case the Elvie doesn't work out the way I'm hoping it will. I'm a bit out of the loop on pumps, but I remember Spectra being king with Medela not far behind.
Any help is appreciated, any advice. Even if it's yelling at me to go with the Spectra. I just need some confidence in what I'm going to order as this is a very sensitive journey for me due to past experiences. So, thank you so much in advance even if you're just giving it a glance.
My options: Ameda Mya Joy Ardo Calypso Evenflo Deluxe Evenflo Select Lansinoh Spartpump 3.0 Medela Pump in Style Spectra S2 Unimom Minuet Zomee Z2
Some things I remember about my experience from my last adventure: - I don't need really strong suction to get the job done, so I don't need that hospital grade level of suction - I don't believe I need a portable/rechargeable pump (only if the Elvie crashes and burns terribly, but that's a different conversation) - my boobs wanted different things, one electric and one manual, but that's something I can tackle later on - I didn't need to play with settings too much, I would let it do its timed let down mode and then adjust the expression mode from there and leave it until I was done
Two notes on the Medela: I read that the new Pump in Style isn't as good as the older version, and I'm curious if anyone has any thoughts on that. Also, the website I'm using says it has preprogrammed vacuum settings, does that mean it can't be customized?
If you even made it this far, thank you bunches. You deserve a cookie. Maybe two.

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,

Note: Links are gonna be posted in the comments, apparently I am disliked by the deities of this website. Also trying out a different approach to editing, feedback appreciated.
Loyalty to the ASS (Actively-Shitposting-Scriptwriters) u/Saint-Andros & u/Killsode-slugcat is mandatory. I thank them for the assistance provided.

{The Snake and the Scrapper}

[3rd of June, 2224] - [Tajara, Serdanisk refugee]
“Welcome to Velatum, friends. Once again I shall remind you. This is not under the jurisdiction of any power, the Free Systems are a loose confederacy. Different planets, even regions, have different laws.”
The pilot was a Cornacchiaris, one of the species that my nation came into contact with.Then immediately went to war with.And what do you know? Nobody won. Actually, the only ‘winners’, technically, were the Free Systems.
The bastards managed to get their own little slice of paradise…that’s why I’m here.
I held my two vestigial arms together, while I held onto a support with my left arm. The ride was rather bumpy, due to the constant cloud-cover and storms that gave this planet its name. Apparently it meant ‘Veiled’ in a dead human language. Oh Well.
I had escaped the habitat I was hatched on to find myself a new life. The Free Systems was just that. Earth and Alari were both no-gos, even though they were all about freedom and equality, the underlying hatred for my species was ever-present. Idraxi was part of the Free Systems, but there was still some Sahlari presence on that planet. Velatum was the only choice for me, it was both populated enough to where it wouldn’t feel lonely, and empty enough to where I didn’t have to breathe someone else’s air every second.
The only downside was the damn clouds. I would be getting barely any sun, and my pale-green tail was going to need it.
The shuttle touched down, and the rear ramp opened, letting us leave the tin-can that is a standard Free Systems shuttle. My objective? A scrapyard owned by one James Walken, apparently the nephew of one of the humans first contact crew.
It was less of a scrapyard and more of a tinkering workshop, as he put it. Frankly, I couldn’t care less. I just need a proper job on this damn planet. ‘Least it isn’t mining.
After an hour of treacherous roads and privately owned infrastructure, I could finally see the sign: ‘Walken Workshop’, with the word workshop being written over what I believe said ‘scrapyard’.
I knocked on the side of the open door.
“Ah hello! Welcome to my workshop. I’ve got some UNO-Standard mags and sidearms on discount right no-”
“I’m here for the job.” I wanted to cut off his sales speech before it even started, but his speaking speed was impressive.
“Oh! You must be… Tajara?”
“Yes, that’s me.” The human was more excited than me, for some reason.
I guess he didn’t have many people working with him?
“Thank you for actually coming in, seriously. I was left on read by other people after they realized they wouldn’t work under UNO jurisdiction.”
“Happens often?”
“Yeah, it does. It’s not that bad here, you definitely have more freedom than in Orion, but I guess the pirates scare everyone away.”
Pirates? Oh fuck, I forgot about that.
“About pirates, what’s their activity around here?”
“Surprisingly little, they only go against UNO and Sahlari vessels, apparently the locals made a sort of privateer pact with them.”
That’s… good? That’s really good!
“That’s nice to hear, I imagine it doesn’t impact business that much?”
“The opposite, in fact. I get some pirate crews who want repairs or modifications to their weaponry and systems. Definitely not the cleanest business, but money’s money around here.”
“I understand.”
Decent enough income… Steady stream of business… Getting to tinker with alien tech? Dear Moons, this really is a paradise!
“Anyways, you didn’t send me a resume.”
Shit.
“That’s because… I didn’t… What in the stars is a resume?”
“Oh. You don’t have those? It’s basically a summary of your past experiences.”
“I kinda… ran away? I could tell you my past experiences?”
“And what are those?”
Don’t mention the military, don’t mention the military-
“Well I have extensive knowledge on the usage of chemicals for sanitary purposes, I am capable of safely handling and connecting high voltage cables-”
“You can clean and do basic wiring. Anything else?”
“No…” Moons, don’t kick me out, please!
“That’s fine. You can be an apprentice, I guess.”
Did he… did he say yes? He said yes! By the Moons, he said yes! I am indomitable-
“You will handle the cleaning first, though.”
Fuck!
“Right.. Right. When do I get started?”
“Is it okay for you to start right now?”
Fuck it, why not?
“Yeah, it is.”
“Great! Cleaning supplies in the back, third door on the right.” I immediately headed to the back, quickly identifying the door and gathering a… bucket and strange stick with very large hairs coming off of it?
“What is this?”
“Oh that’s a mop.” Wha-
He had appeared right behind me, somehow remaining perfectly silent and covering his metallic and oily sce- Metal and oil, that’s the entire atmosphere in this damn place! That’s why I couldn’t smell him!
“Do not scare me like that! What is a mop, and how do I use it?” I quickly shoved the mop into his hands and put my fists on my waist.
“You don’t have mops…?
“Apparently we don’t. What do you use them for?”
“Cleaning the floor?”
“You don’t get cleaning robots to do it for you?”
“Do I look like a guy who owns an army of roombas?”
Huh?
“What the fuck is a roomba?”
“Forget it, why do you not have any mops?”
“I was born on a habitat-station, human. We didn’t have the luxury of letting water evaporate freely.”
“Don’t ‘human’ me, snake. You haven’t even signed a contract yet, I can kick your as-tail out.”
This fucker. I turned, quick as lighting, and nearly smashed into this jackass.
“Listen here, James. Let me make it very clear. No, I didn’t sign a contract, and no, you wouldn’t be able to even get near me without me smashing your head in.” Was that too far? Fuck it, might as well go through with it.
“You waltz in, act like you want a job, then start shit with me-”
“An insufferable little shit, that’s what you are!”
James fell silent. Then he started smirking.
“You’re hired.”
What?
“Huh?”
“Can’t have an employee who can’t back up their words, welcome to the workshop.”
Is this human serious?
“I… don’t get it?”
“Neither do I. Now all you have to do, is pour that cleaning solution into the bucket with some water, put the mop inside, then start cleaning. Don’t drench it too much, though.”
As the human, James, went back to… whatever he was doing, I started actually cleaning the floor. After two hours, that floor was spotless. There isn’t even a ship's radiator as shiny as that.
“I… am the best janitor this side of the Systems.”
“Don’t get too cocky, now.” He appeared behind me, again.
“Oh fuck off!”