I have a Roccat Sova lap board that I use for couch gaming. The biggest problem is that if the lap board isn't perfectly level, my wireless mouse slides right off.
Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to prevent this from happening? Thanks!

Hello everyone, I and my S/O are house sitting for my in-laws wall they are out of town. We’ve been here for for about 2 weeks now and I feel like this house is extremely haunted and I just needed to share what has been going on. It started with random banging and seeing thing out of the corner of my eye. But on Sunday everything escalated my S/O and I woke up in the middle of the night to knocking on our bedroom wall that faces the outside. (We are on the second floor). And the faucets in the kitchen are turning on and off. and when I am down stairs I can hear someone walking up and down the stairs. I am starting to really freak out. I don’t know what to do

Background. I have too big of a heart, i am not capable of hating anyone and i overthink and over feel everything. And my luck is horrible with people.
Long story short, emotional/slightly physical abusive childhood with a emotional abusive ex. I wasn't great either. I give him one last chance and he leaves for the girl best friend. I knew it was the end for sure . And I've never had any real friends and the ones I thought I had either wanted to sleep with me or just made me feel excluded.
A week later I met someone. My intention wasn't to fall I just wanted someone to talk to since I didn't have friends. I ended up falling and he's the first person I've ever felt comfortable being my true self with, I've never ever felt safer or happier in my entire life than with him and his friends which have become mine as well. I've realized that I trust him and it's changed everything for me because I've never had that. We've been talking of marriage and I'm genuinely excited to be his wife
A lot of bad things happened to me and my family in a very short period of time. I feel I've developed anxiety. Now I struggle to keep food down and I spiral when I feel the urge coming. A lot goes into that and I'm working on it. But one thing I noticed is that I believe I'm developing a fear of running into my ex. Like the thought of seeing his face makes me feel sick. I can go days without thinking about him then he pops up and haunts me and I feel so guilty he's still there even tho I'm so happy now.
It's a struggle right now and I've already talked about it with my man and he's very supportive and calms me down. I know I can get over this because I've done it before but I forgot how hard it is and sometimes I hate myself for feeling anxious and guilty for no reason. I know i shouldn't but I do and I can't stop it.

GTA Online is Rockstar's incredibly popular cash cow that has been keeping gamers busy since 2013. Although the game should be relatively mature at this stage in its life, it still has plenty of flaws, such as horrendous loading times. These loading time issues have annoyed countless players, and now one player has tracked down the root issue to improve performance.
GTA V fan T0ST recently picked up GTA Online again to finish some new heists that have come out since he last played, but he was "shocked (/s) to discover that it still loads just as slow as the day it was released 7 years ago." With some grit, determination, and perhaps even some spite, T0ST decided it was "time to get to the bottom of this."
gta online ridiculous load times fixed benchmark
In the process of digging into GTA Online, T0ST had to do due diligence and research to make sure no one else figured out the problem. Once it was established that no one had, he ran some benchmarks on his PC with an aging FX-8350 CPU, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 GPU, 16GB of DDR3, and a "cheap-o" Kingston SSD. Though these parts may be old, they should be plenty to get GTA Online off the ground in decent time, but that is not what happened. According to the data in the blog post, T0ST got into the story mode in approximately one minute and ten seconds, whereas it took nearly six minutes to get into online mode. After some polling, it appears that many other users are having the same issue . What could be happening here?
gta online ridiculous load times fixed taskmanager
Using the task manager, T0ST found that his CPU was being eaten for around four minutes during GTA Online's load process. Perhaps it was just a bottleneck happening on his CPU alone, but that would not make much sense. To track down the issue, T0ST went to dump the running processes' stack, showing where the offending process is happening in RAM. This information, acquired through Luke Stackwalker, gave T0ST a place to look for whatever was causing issues.
gta online ridiculous load times fixed lukestackwalker
After falling down the rabbit hole of trying to track down where the memory pointed, it all started to come together through assembly code reading and obfuscation. Evidently, when loading into GTA Online, a whopping 10MB worth of JSON is being parsed. It seems that it is data for something called "net shop catalog," which is likely just all the things purchasable in GTA Online using in-game currency.
gta online ridiculous load times fixed parseloop
Why this parsing takes so long is due to a function used called sscanf, which, in this instance, can be loosely equated to reading Romeo and Juliet by reading one word, then rereading the play, and then jumping back to the next word in the play. Furthermore, there is another bad programming issue just beside sscanf, which goes through the entire list of JSON entries in an array, one by one, and checks to see if there are duplicates by comparing a unique ID assigned to each item called a hash. Ultimately, it is a lot of extra and unnecessary work that slows down everything.
To solve this issue, T0ST decided to write a .dll (Dynamic Linked Library) and inject it into GTA so that sscanf is effectively streamlined. Also, rather than running duplication checks, they can just be skipped as items inserted into the storage array will always be unique, as was set up during the parsing effort. Once T0ST injected the DLL into GTA with both issues fixed, he saw his load times go from around six minutes down to a solid approximate two minutes.
As T0ST explains, this "won't solve everyone's load times - there might be other bottlenecks on different systems, but it's such a gaping hole that I have no idea how R* has missed it all these years." Ultimately, Rockstar needs to dig into this issue to save all GTA Online players headaches during loading. If you want to see what T0ST did exactly, you can check out his GitHub here and see what is going on. In any case, perhaps we will soon get an official statement from the development company, so keep an eye on HotHardware for updates.

Our anniversary is coming up in a month, it’ll also be a little over 3 months at that time since we’ve broken up. Deep down, part of me, I’m tempted to text him and say something, even if it’s an apology to him. But 80% of me knows that I should just let it rest and leave it be. Just looking for confirmation that I’m right I guess?

I'm (21F) having a baby shower in just over a week and invited one friend (20F) out of obligation. I was debating inviting her but ultimately decided it was better to invite her than deal with the drama of her finding out she wasn't invited.
She considers me one of her best friends, I don't consider her the same.
However a recent interaction with this friend has left me completely regretting inviting her and uninviting her is sounding tempting.
Essentially I have to have my baby pretty far from home due to a heart defect with baby, about 300miles away from home. This is something everyone around us knows and is aware of. The friend in this post was among the first few to find out about baby's diagnosis, treatment plan, baby having to be born so far away etc
Fast forward to this week, we were chatting and I said I had an appointment down at the hospital I have to deliver at and all of a sudden she knows nothing. Asking why we have to go down to this particular hospital instead of the local delivery one and asking why we can't have all our appointments at the local midwife unit
It got to me (ngl hormones are probably playing a part, I'm 34weeks now and been given my delivery date so emotions are getting higher) and I feel I no longer want at the event and would feel happy to not hear from her at all.
I want to spend the day with people who have actually cared about me and baby's wellbeing throughout a rough, high risk pregnancy not people who barely bother apart from the occasional "so excited" comment yet only messages when they need something and then forgets about a huge important part of this pregnancy all while saying I'm their best friend and being one of the first to know about what was going on

How TF are people supposed to afford paying for counselling sessions for their kids. Totally unacceptable that its so hard and expensive to get help for our children. $240 per session, with the rebate I get $150 back. Now i need the cash upfront, and because my kid is under 15 i need to apply to medicare for the rebate. Im Lucky to be able to just fork out $240 and not worry about the rebate straight away. Lets not even talk about wait times and trying to find someone decent. We are totally letting our kids down.

Out of all the singles, at least on Apple Music, why is Screaming Suicide so goddamn loud? It’s mixed almost to some Rick Rubin Sabbath 13 level type shit. All the other singles I can listen to on earbuds all full volume and they still don’t sound loud or punchy enough, but when I put this track on without turning down it’s gnarly. Just on Apple Music, or has anyone noticed on other media?

I've tried lsd and especially 4 ho met, this is literally Pure Euphoria, 3D music, your entire perception changing of music movements changes, so much happiness holy shit
try it in nature and its a blast, connection with everything
try it watching movies, alone in bed, everywhere its amazing
Yet whenever I try any stim for euphoria, I just get jittery as shit and my heart beating uncomfortably, and even 3fa, 3fma,3fpm which are supposed to be euphoric just make me into a machine and have so bad comedowns
how can psychedelic be so euphoric yet just feeling down a bit a day later and thats all

Author Snowy ( Dragoon_Of_Darkness )
Title: The Young Kitsune
Fandom: own work
Status: Ongoing
Brief Book One is about A young kitsune named Yuu trying to find her place in the world. It isn’t easy for anyone to find their own path, so watch her have her ups and downs while doing just that.
Would love to hear what everyone thinks of it and listen to your feedback, I also give feedback in return.
https://www.wattpad.com/story/336688785-the-young-kitsune

Before I start I'm only venting my frustration out.
Ok so I feel like my longtime online friends in a server we're in don't actually want me there anymore. Like I try to socialise with them but I just get talked over and it's really fucking annoying. I don't know if I'm in over my head or what but it is really getting me depressed.
I have diagnosed depression so all of this takes an extra toll on my mental health. I just feel like doing nothing.
And I'm worried about the future too. What if the line I want to go down doesn't work out and something unexpected happens? I won't know what to do.
There's so much stuff going through my head that's making me feel like shit it's complex to say the least.
Anyways... I'm gonna leave it at that. Felt like I needed to get something off my chest.

So I am currently doing a 7 day water fast and I am on day 6 and I end my fast tomorrow night. The fast is going amazing and I feel incredible. The only issue is that I noticed I haven't pooped since Thursday of last week (It's currently Friday). Now I think it's important to mention that I had half a Pepto bismol tablet when I broke my 3 day water fast which was on Saturday (to be more clear if your confused, I fasted Wed, Thurs, and Fri of last week and broke the fast on Saturday, and then started my 7 day water fast that Sunday). I had a pretty big meal on Saturday so I'm pretty surprised I haven't pooped. I took the Pepto bismol when I broke the fast on Saturday to kind of subdue the diarrhea/runs whenever I break a fast. It worked incredibly...almost too good. Like I literally didn't even fart until like Wednesday. However I heard one of Pepto bismol's common side effects is constipation. Considering the big meal I had and that I only took half a dose of Pepto, I'm surprised I've had no bowel movements or any noticeable bowel activity. I've started farting a little bit more in the past three days, but no urge to poop. (Also this is maybe insignificant, but I had a little bite of an edible on Saturday too help get the food down and also to chill lol. I've heard weed can cause constipation but I'm not sure if it's that significant). Also I was planning to take Pepto bismol when I break my fast tomorrow night since it worked so well but I'm skeptical.
Idk, What do you guys think?

I've always preferred the "weird" Zeldas. Zelda II, Link's Awakening, Majora's Mask, and Skyward Sword are my personal top tier Zelda titles. I like the more traditional entries just fine, but twists on the formula speak to me. (It's debatable whether SS is "weird", but I think its linearity and oops-all-dungeons nature make it a less traditional Zelda game overall). I think that TotK may be a "weird" Zelda, or even if it's not, it will at least share common elements with those games I consider "weird".
Here's what I'm looking forward to personally about TotK based on what we know so far:

1. Tone. Right from the get-go TotK has had its dark tone front and center, which is something I love about MM. I wonder if it will actually end up being darker than MM. Since few Zelda titles take a darker tone like this, I'm really excited to see where TotK goes with it.
   
2. Ganondorf. While Ganondorf mostly appears in "normal" Zeldas, I'm nonetheless excited to see him here. He's at the center of the darker tone. I'm hoping that Ganondorf plays a more active and developed role as a villain than Calamity Ganon did in BotW. Versions of Ganon aren't really personified and don't have articulated motivations. By contrast Ganondorf has personality, dialogue, motivations; he schemes, he can be political and dramatic, he can confront Link in a more dynamic way, as opposed to just "existing" evily, like Ganon does. He can feel like an actual threat. We know from the trailers he has voiced dialogue - let's hope we get some awesome cut scenes! Granted, we have an undead Ganondorf this time, so he may present rather differently from past games.
   
3. Sky Islands. I was out of the loop on gaming when SS came out, so I knew it had sky islands but didn't play it at the time. When I finally played SS I was disappointed to learn that you start on the islands and go down to the surface for all of the real gameplay. That's exactly the opposite of what I expected and wanted! I expected all the dungeons, etc would be in the sky. I'm glad that in TotK this will finally be fixed and I'll have another shot at experiencing a true islands in the sky adventure.
   
4. Caves. While some people seem to doubt the extent to which we'll see caves, I think the bulk of what we know so far points to caves being a significant part of the game. They may or may not be as big as dungeons, but I think it's safe to say they'll be common throughout the game world, as common as shrines were in BotW, at least. Caves have always been a part of Zelda in some form, but generally dungeons played the role of the space where you entered into an enclosed area, where there was an atmosphere of increased threat and a sense of the unknown. Caves may play that role here, but more flexibly, with Ascend allowing you to Nope out whenever you want to. If nothing else, having some underground areas to counterbalance the sky islands is a really cool way to expand the verticality of the game world.
   
5. Systems & Mechanics. Something my "weird" Zeldas share is that they are all later iterations in their respective Zelda era. Zelda II is obviously a sequel, LA builds on LttP, MM builds on OoT, and SS builds on WW/TP. As such they have the benefit of refining the systems and mechanics of the games that came before them. TotK is clearly doing this in a huge way, taking the foundation that BotW laid and cranking it up. TotK has the potential to be polished to a mirror shine, mechanically. BotW left me wanting, seeing the potential and feeling that it didn't quite get there, but TotK seems like it's going to realize that potential and close the gap.
   

This will be my 3rd time trying to post this. On the drop down menu by your points in the upper right corner..Usually BING REBATES is 1st. Yesterday a new link was added. U click it&it pulls up a map. It ask u to enter ur home address and work address. After u enter 1 it should say CONGRATS 1DOWN 1 TO GO&After u enter work it will say Congrats 100pts. Im n the SouthEast USA& had no problem but for some reason it said not available for California users&then listed some countries. Any1 know why Cali ppl cant do it.

Tiktok

• Tiktok launched “Sound for Business” feature to make music more accessible to marketers & SMMs. (News)
• Tiktok launches new Limits for Children users on platform with 60-minute limit per day. (Room)
• Tiktok users soon might have the ability to download videos without watermark. (Matt)
• Tiktok expands “Tiktok search Ads” to more advertisers, target users based on keywords & searches. (SEL)
• Tiktok launched “Series” a new feature that allows creators to charge for premium content. (News)
• Tiktok wins US trademark trial over stitch video feature. (Reuters)
• Tiktok launched “Feed Refresh” feature for all users to start a new content feed . (Platform)
• Tiktok’s Ex-Head of Product said The platform didn’t launch $2B fund for creators, it was for their own business. (HR)
• Tiktok US hearing was talk of the week and it was a complete mess. (Verge)
• Tiktok reached 150 million US users & CEO Shou chew shared a video about it, asking community for support. (News)
• Tiktok updates their content guidelines amid the ban situation in US. (new)

Instagram:

• Instagram starts testing its age verification feature tools in more countries. (TC)
• Instagram’s new “About this account” UI with Paid subscription mentioned. (Tweet)
• Meta is cutting off reels bonuses program for Instagram & Facebook reels. (Here)
• Instagram and Facebook are giving up focus & support for NFTs to focus on other elements of business. (Engadget)
• Instagram will soon allow you to replace audio in reels if original audio is removed from the video. (Highlight)
• Instagram is testing full-length reel replays in IG stories, you will be able to watch & share full-length reels. (SMT)

Meta:

• Facebook launches 90 secs reels, memory prompts for reels & more. (Meta)
• Meta shares how Integration of AI in Ad targeting is resulting in more ROAS for Marketers. (Here)
• Meta funded a new tool to remove explicit images of minors from FB & IG faster. (Insider)
• Meta is working on a decentralised social media app like Twitter. (Platform)
• Facebook made new mentions in a blogpost about Messenger coming back to Facebook app. (Blog)
• Facebook is testing removal of Topics in its groups feature. (DIW)
• Important: WhatsApp users in EU can disagree to terms & services as Meta agrees to EU to comply with consumer protection rights. (Read)
• Meta launches Paid Subscriptions on Instagram and Facebook in the US. (TC)
• Meta is getting rid of Mentorships in Facebook Groups from March 27. (Here)
• Meta is working on a new verification feature to verify your account with missed call. (devs)
• Meta is all set to remove Audio channels from Facebook Groups. (Blog)
• Facebook is shutting down online paid events feature from 8 May. (Read)
• Meta launched updated version of WhatsApp web. (SMT)

Google Ads

• Google updated its Ad Policy with major changes. (News)
• Google Adds 3 new changes to Google Ads dashboard. (SEL)
• Google introduces AI-powered search Ads. (Post)
• Google launched 2 new asset creation & customer acquisition tools. (SEL)
• Google Ads simplifies audience creation with new GA4 Audience builder. (News)
• Google expands local service Ads to more than 70 new businesses. (SEL)
• Google announces new “Prohibited Use Policy” for AI Products & content. (News)
• New Google Analytics item-scoped custom dimensions. (Blog)
• 5 new updates to Google Adsense Auto Ads. (Post)
• Google announces use of AI in Google Drive, Docs & Gmail. (Blog)
• 3 new google Discovery Ads Features. (SEL)

Twitter:

• Twitter Blue Expands to 20 more countries. (mashable)
• Twitter updated its violent content policies. (Update)
• Twitter to charge $42k per month for API access for enterprises. (wired)
• Twitter now shows everyone “Bookmark count” for your tweets. (Pocket)
• Twitter working on “Why You’re seeing this tweet” feature to inform users about their interests. (Elon)
• Happened: Twitter got rid of 2FA verification within the app for regular users, it is a twitter blue only service now.
• Twitter to kill earned legacy blue check marks, only paid blue checks will be available from 1st April. (CNN)
• Twitter starts charging $1000 per month for verification badge to organisations & enterprises. (Help)
• Elon musk releases algorithm for Twitter recommendations.

Google Search:

• Google’s Bard AI ChatBot launches in US & UK.
• Google provides new update on FLEDGE that might be a relief for SEOs & PPCs. (SEJ)
• Google roles out new updated desktop search design with new site names & more. (SEL)
• Google March 2023 Broad core Update Tremors & Fluctuations continue.
• Googles February 2023 Product Reviews Update Finished rolling out. (SET)

Youtube:

• Youtube’s help forum announces big changes to the Forums. (TB)
• Youtube will stop showing overlay Ads on desktop starting this month. (Check)
• Youtube Updated their policies regarding Profanity after creator backlash, videos are eligible for monetisation. (blog)
• Youtube will allow you to add Youtube Shorts thumbnails on iOS. (blog)
• Youtube adds new metrics for multi-language audio & feature for Shorts Audio page sharing. (Creator news)
• Youtube podcasts are now available to create in Youtube Studio & ability to measure performance. (Tweet)

LinkedIn:

• LinkedIn launches collaborative articles for users to be more engaging & share insights. (Blog)
• LinkedIn provides new segmentation options for its company engagement report. (Blog)
• LinkedIn introduced 5 new features to Sales navigator to sell better. (News)
• LinkedIn adds more Ad targeting criteria & new tips for B2C campaigns. (SMT)
• LinkedIn launched new AI features like profile summary feature, Job description & more. (Read)
• LinkedIn launched “Podcast Academy” to help podcasters to do better at it.(blog)
• LinkedIn launched new feature to share posts with multiple members at once. (Post)
• LinkedIn rolls out four updates for business pages.(blog)

Pinterest:

• Pinterest is testing a premium Ad Format with an schedule. (SEL)

Microsoft:

• Microsoft Bing AI working on save chats & more features. (Seroundtable)
• Global head of Microsoft advertising steps down. (SEL)
• Microsoft layed off another set of 10,000 employees working in US. (DNA)
• Microsoft Bing AI is available for everyone, waitlist is gone. (central)
• Microsoft adds AI tools to Outlook, Word & other apps. (AP)
• Microsoft integrates new text-to-image creator to Bing AI. (Bing)
• Microsoft introduces category based targeting for Search Ads. (SEJ)

Trying to post all the updates with linking I had an error. You can find all of these updates with links here.

In my research online for gold investing I am learning a lot of new things. Some salient points so far:

1. Gold is GOLD. The money of the Gods. Upside is promising. Doing up 60% in a decade is possible.
   
2. Gold Bars, Bullions, Biscuits = investment
   
3. Jewelry = Just plain bling, not as good to invest in. In crunch time, they sell at a loss. The buyer will probably melt it down, whatever art is worthless. Screw “craftsmanship”. Though some have made decent money, about 40% upside after 3-5 years for certain pieces.
   
4. 24K goes for 4-5 grand per gram, 18k is like 3500-3800/g
   
5. Available smaller cuts - .3, 1, 2.5, 5, 10 - 30 gram, 50 gram onwards harder to come by and pricey
   
6. In Thailand Gold is cheaper by 20%, they obsessed with bling as well.
   
7. KSA, JPN gold is pretty much the same thing.
   
8. Per my canvass, Binondo/Gold Center Chinatown pricing very consistent. Online purchases more expensive.
   
9. The Chinese have a weird sense of art with gold. Some designs are just out of this world.
   
10. Bars/Biscuits the way to go for investment. Swiss bars more expensive.
    
11. It's a bloody zoo at the Binondo Gold Center. Amazing that all those people shop for bling. Scary because of COVID and crime.
    

Bling was never my style. In fact I don’t have friends or relatives that are that into jewels. Even my friends that own their own pawnshops don’t wear fancy watches, multi layer necklaces, rings, bracelets to match their flashy car or classy bags. The most attractive girls I met hardly wore any "excessive" bling.
​
Now the Youtubers I have seen are definitely very informative. However, I in the course of watching, I find them irritating. Some dress to nines as they feature jewelry shops. Often they look like a billboard out of Rustan’s –Gucci shirt, Chanel hat - you get my drift. As the video moves to portions in their home, I see their priorities. What comes first is the LV bag, Prada this, Hermes that. All the glam, way before fixing the rat hole that they live in. There was another chick, again, very informative and later on, all I could see was her materialism. She points to where to buy stuff, shows her collection and all. She uses the term “investment” a lot. Looking at her stuff, I don’t think she sells anything. She just hoards and shows it off online.
​
https://youtu.be/0zixfaBaZxI
​
I have also have yet to see a channel on jewelry shops hosted by someone properly educated, with a wider vocabulary that does not include words like “charot”, “besh” or “tropa”.
That’s cool. Whatever floats their boat right?
If ever I do this, gold will be an investment. To preserve wealth or when SHTF in the coming war. Period.
Maybe I’ll get me a necklace with a pendant to satisfy my “inner” Run-DMC vibe.

Part 60
Julie Allard, CEO, Divine Crisis Management Group
Julie straightened up, the lines across her hips from the edge of the desk beginning to itch now that they were free. Bill collapsed back in his chair, opening a desk drawer to produce a box of tissues. He pulled a handful out to clean himself with.
"That was good," Julie purred, her knees shaking as she waited for Bill to finish so she could sit on his lap. Bill crumbled up the tissues and she plopped down. "Mmm, this is good, too," she said, leaning back against him.
"We could stay just like this for a while," Bill suggested.
"I wish," Julie said. "I'm going to start leaking soon... And we need to clean your desk." Bill leaned around her, seeing the mess on his desk. He chuckled. "I have to admit, I like the fact that I never have to worry about you faking it."
Julie snorted, then leaned against him.
"You gave me a funny look earlier," she said. "When the guys from the Army were here."
"Well, in my defense, a naked, beautiful woman stood up from under my desk while I was trying to talk shop with an old buddy of mine."
"Mmmhmm," Julie said. "It didn't have anything to do with the... Details of said naked woman?"
Bill looked at her. He reached forward, wiped a finger through the cooling bodily fluids on the desk and stuck it in his mouth.
"That only proves you're a pervert," Julie said with feigned primness.
"I'll drink it straight from the tap, then," Bill said, seizing her hips and plopping her on the desk. Julie squealed. "Not so soon, you ass!" Bill grinned at her.
"You'll make me giggle like a little girl," Julie tried to pout as she said it, but she couldn't stop grinning back at him.
"That only makes it more appealing," Bill said. Julie crossed her legs. "No! We can do that later. I need to go call in the rest of the guys your friend needed, anyways."
Bill glanced over at the potted plant with a small pile of fabric behind it. "Your clothes are over there," he said.
Julie finally managed to pout. "You're not going to get them for me?"
Bill eyed her legs. "Not as long as you've got that ass, no. I will never pick anything up off the floor for you."
Julie chuckled and stood, walking over to the plant and retrieving her clothes. She quickly dressed and arranged herself so as to minimize the evidence of a desktop tryst.
"How do I look?" she asked, turning for Bill's inspection.
"Harried," he said. "Which tracks with what's been going on. Also amazing, but that's par for the course."
She walked over as he finished buckling his own pants to kiss him. "I'll be back if I can. If not, I'll see you after work."
She turned to leave, but stopped when she heard Bill's voice. "Julie," he said. He sounded concerned. She turned to find him frowning.
"What is it?" His look worried her.
"It's Jerry," he said. "I think you might be too harsh on him."
Julie sighed. She tamped down on the twisting in her guts at his words and reminded herself that she needed to be objective.
"Explain," she said, her voice much colder than she intended.
"Julie," he said. "Haven't you noticed that virtually everyone who knows him has stood up for him? I mean, I know that the stuff Dylan told you sounds bad, and I know that you confirmed it. Hell, I know that him going rogue again looks bad... But there's got to be a reason so many people support him."
"He's nice to everyone he meets," Julie said. She had intended to go on, but she caught herself. She was making excuses. She was about to claim that the most awkward, easily-embarrassed wallflower of a man she'd ever met had simply charmed everyone else. And she damn well knew that wasn't the case. Sure, he could turn on an aura that would make women -and presumably gay men- go wild for him, but she was fairly certain he hadn't done so in years. He was self-conscious about even discussing the last time he had, even though she knew he'd had his memories erased at the time and was acting out of character, thanks to some kind of magical illness.
"I'll think about it, Bill," she said, her voice much softer.
"That's all I'm asking," he said. "And I'll support you, whatever decisions you come to."
She smiled at him. That part, she had no trouble believing.
"I'll see you later," she said.
"L- I mean, later, beautiful," he replied. His face twisted a little, but quickly returned to normal. Julie left, wondering what that look was about.
----
Julie went to the bathroom first. When she was done, she went to her office and sent out the emails to recall the men for the Army. She had just gotten those sent when she sensed a presence and looked up to find a woman sitting in the chair in front of her desk.
"Hello," Julie said, surprised.
"Hi," the woman responded. She wore a nice dress suit, much like Julie's own, except the woman still had her jacket on and buttoned. She had fair features and black hair with a red stripe in it.
"Can I help you?" Julie asked.
"No," the woman said.
They sat there for a moment, Julie edging a finger closer to the alarm rune on the underside of her desk.
"I'm here to help you," the woman said at length. There was something about her voice that seemed familiar, but Julie couldn't place it.
"Okay," Julie responded. "Can you explain how?"
"Yes. Listen to Bill about Jerry," the woman said. She leaned forward and the sense of vague familiarity hit Julie again. She was certain she knew this woman from somewhere.
"What did Bill say about Jerry?" Julie asked, carefully choosing her words to avoid any accidental admissions.
"That you're being too harsh on him," the woman said. She leaned forward some more, putting her elbows on her knees.
"Bill's right. You see, Bill is a very confident man. He's aware that other men might be better in bed, or better fighters, or better at their jobs than him. He doesn't really care. You pushing away Jerry isn't going to make him feel more secure in your relationship. He's not worried about you leaving him to return to the arrangement you had with Jerry and his wife. He knows you well enough to know you wouldn't want that. Being a fifth wheel, I mean."
Julie gasped as the recognition suddenly crystalized. "Jane," she breathed. Jane flashed her a tight smile and a little nod. "more or less," she said cryptically. Julie took that to mean this was an avatar.
"What can you tell me about everything that's happened?" Julie asked.
"Well, General Stanley's fears are justified, so don't hold back aiding him. Some of the gods are dissenting. A few will sit out the upcoming conflict. A few will side with humanity. A few more will side specifically with Jerry. In fact, they already have. Unfortunately, those who've sided with Jerry are probably not going to help us in this fight."
"And why? Why are they turning on us?"
"Because They're afraid of you. You have power now, and Jerry worked out a way to kill a god. They know if he can do it, another human can, as well. Some of the work your wizards are doing is shockingly close to what Jerry did. Most of them have turned against him, though not all. But in doing so, many have turned against humanity as a whole. They don't plan to let you have back the army you've sent to assist them. Most of them think that will be a serious blow to your might. They don't know it's just a small part of one army among many. And when they learn that, well... They're not going to grow any less afraid of you, that's for sure."
"You make out like the gods are a bunch of cowards," Julie said. Jane chuckled and nodded, crossing her arms.
"They are. They're scared of Jerry, scared of Sarisa, scared of you, scared of me and Yarm. Mostly me, but still. They'd be afraid of their own shadow, if they didn't know better. The gods have spent thousands of years being immortal and invincible. Only one god has ever truly died, and that was a massive fluke. They've never been given the chance to develop any courage. They're experiencing a threat for the first time ever, so their reaction is to attack everything until there's nothing left to threaten them."
"Except Yarm," Julie said. Jane nodded. "Except Yarm. And you can guess where he stands."
Yarm would stand with Jerry, no doubt. Julie knew that the two of them were as close as they could be without becoming lovers. "And what about Jerry?" she asked.
"Jerry is doing exactly what he needs to be doing right now. For himself, and for everyone else."
Julie nodded, taking that in. "And you? Where do you sit in this fight?"
Jane shrugged. "I was human until a few years ago. Old loyalties die hard."
Julie leaned back in her chair, relieved.
Jane stood. "I have to go. I have a lot on my plate, lately. There's no certainty, but I want you to know that things are on the right track, so far. As long as Sarisa doesn't have any more tricks up her sleeve, everything's going to work out."
"And if she does?" Julie asked, rising as well.
Jane shrugged again, making a sort of sneer that Julie recognized as a suppressed wince. "Then we'll either adapt or lose."
"And what happens if we lose?"
"The destruction of all the gods and the extinction of humanity. At least in this world."
"So, no pressure," Julie drawled. Jane grinned. "No pressure," she said. She turned to the door and opened it, then paused.
"Oh, one more thing..." She met Julie's eyes.
"Tell Bill that you're in love with him. He's been itching for 'the right time' to tell you, but you know how men are about that kind of stuff."
Julie gaped at the goddess as she left with a wink. A moment later, she returned to her computer and began typing more emails. She had a feeling that pulling out all the stops might be appropriate.
----
Command Sergeant Major Eric Hale, 5th Special Forces Group
"The president will see you now, Sergeant," the marine guard said. Hale stood and walked in. Hale walked into the conference room to find the POTUS and a Navy Admiral shaking hands.
"Thank you, Fred," the President said. The Admiral nodded and walked out as Hale snapped to attention and saluted his Commander in Chief.
"Knock it off," the President told him, pulling out a chair, and then walking around the table to take one opposite. "Take a seat. I've been on my feet all day."
"Thank you, sir," Hale said as he sat down and scooted his chair in.
"I'm told you have a message for me from General Stanley."
Hale nodded. "Yes, sir. I was to give you his message verbatim. It goes as follows: 'Sir, if this shit goes down and we don't throw everything we have at it in one big mass, right off the bat, I do not think we will survive'. End of message."
The President nodded.
"I expected this, you know," he said. "The folks from the DCM -including that guy from the television show and the woman who produces it- were fairly apocalyptic in their description of events."
The President heaved a big sigh. "That was Admiral Strang. He happened to be in the building, so he personally reported to me that the second and third battalion of the Tenth Special Forces just arrived stateside on naval flights. They're preparing to be deployed as we speak."
"Sir, with all due respect, I think we're going to need more than just two more battalions of quiet professionals. We're going to need a complete mobilization. I just came from the DCM, and they promised me a hundred wizards and over four hundred shooters with magic gear. I think we're going to need more, sir. A lot more."
"A total war footing," the President said. "That's what you're talking about. A return to a World-War-Two era economy."
"Sir, I couldn't speak to economic concerns, but I have the upmost faith in the General's judgement."
"You and me both, Sergeant," the President said with a sigh. He sighed again a moment later.
"Okay, Sergeant. My break is over, I need to get moving. You can tell the General I'm doing everything I can. If you want to return to the waiting room, I'll send a Marine to escort you to the helipad and you can take the chopper over to Fort Carson. I'll send instructions for Colonels Macy and Gibbs to follow your lead."
"Thank you, sir," Hale said, standing up. He snapped another salute, but the President stuck out his hand.
"Thank you, Sergeant. You and every single one of the men out there right now, and all of those heading there today and in the future. Your service is an inspiration to all of us. I know you hear empty platitudes from politicians all the time, but I want to personally assure you that I mean it."
"You served yourself, sir," Hale said, shaking the President's hand.
"I did. In Afghanistan. It seems like forever ago."
"Then thank you, Mister President," Hale said. The President laughed.
"Yeah, thank me, too. Go on. I'm a busy man, Sergeant."
Hale hurried out, back to the waiting room. He had barely sat down before a Marine Gunnery Sergeant walked into the room. "Sergeant Hale?" he asked.
Hale stood. "This way, si- Sergeant," the Marine said.
"Do I have to say it, Gunny?" Hale asked.
"Nope," the Marine responded. "I'm kicking myself already."
----
President James Carter
James' staff met him as he left the conference room. "Okay," he asked Marcy, to his left. "Who's next?"
"Director Stillman, sir," she said. James sighed with relief. "Good. Hopefully he's got some good news for us."
He followed Marcy through the halls, to one of the secured meeting rooms. Inside, he found Frank Stillman, Director of Central Intelligence.
"Frank, please tell me you've got good news," James said as he shook his old friend's hand.
"Well, that depends on what you need the news for. Word is that we're going to war. Like World War Three. Is that true?"
"Jesus, you guys work fast," James breathed. "I literally just came from hearing about it."
"Ways and means, sir," Frank said. James chuckled ruefully.
"So yeah, I wanted to know about project Hoplite."
"Hoplite is ahead of schedule. We can field the first cadre, already. The second will be ready in a month."
"Good. What about project, uh..." James snapped his fingers. "Project Merlos, sir?"
"Yes, I could never remember that name. We should have just called it 'Merlin'. Or maybe 'Gandalf'."
"We almost called it Project Dresden, sir, but we've had one of those already."
"I don't even want to know. So how far along is Merlos?"
"We have four cadres ready right now. That's about three hundred and sixty men."
"That'll be a big help. How fast can they get organized?"
"They're prepping now, sir. They'll be ready to go within the hour. I had planned to have them travel ahead."
"Good, good. And you know I have to ask about the last one."
Frank's face split into a grin. "Project Tarragon, sir."
"That's the one."
Frank's grin grew wider. "Six," he said. James' jaw dropped. "Six?!"
"Yes, sir. Ready to go right this instant."
"Shit, the NRF riders must be fast learners."
"There's a sort of bonding that happens. By training the riders first, we can have another two ready two months from the next hatch."
"You look pretty pleased with yourself," James noted. Frank winked. "I am, sir. These projects have been my baby for the past few years. Having them come to fruition right as they're needed, well... I'm eager to see them in action."
"Don't be too eager. I'm told that if we don't win this one, we go extinct."
"Extinction has shades of gray, sir. If things get too bad, well, we've got a plan for that, too."
"Oh?" James quirked an eyebrow at him. "Do tell."
"Well, sir. You see, me and Jerry go way back. I was his boss when he worked for the Agency."
"I'm aware," James said. Frank smiled.
"Well, he and I got on quite well. So well, in fact, that neither of us wanted to end our professional relationship when he left for the private sector. As a result, we've been in touch about important matters. The last thing he contacted me about was a sort of extra dimensional bunker, set up by the gods to preserve humanity in the event of some extinction-level event. Except the gods don't really seem to know about it. Well, except one, and I've been given assurances that she's sympathetic to our cause."
"Well, that does sound useful."
Frank's smile turned into a grin that split his face from ear to ear. "We've also taken the liberty of adding some extra defenses, sir. If we can hold out for two more months, in addition to the two new Tarragon pairs, I can provide you with a bunker from which any continuing war effort can be directed in perfect safety."
"Well, shit, don't let me keep you, then. Have your project's soldiers travel to the other side as quickly as possible, and report their capabilities and needs to General Stanley."
"Right away, sir."
Frank walked out without another word. A very efficient man, that one, James thought. He stepped outside to find Marcy and the others waiting.
"Next?" he said with a sigh.
----
Bill Martin, All in All, Having a Pretty Good Day
Bill finished up the rest of his work and shut down his computer. Eric was as set as he could be. Gear for a thousand DCM security agents was being shipped to the Army camp, and hundreds of wizards and security agents (with their own gear, of course) were heading there as well, some already moving, others heading out in the days to come.
He stretched his back and then angled his desk lamp to be sure he'd cleaned up the mess from earlier. As he nodded to himself in satisfaction, he heard the door opening and looked up. Julie was there, her shirt half-unbuttoned and her hair a bit more of a mess than he remembered leaving it in.
"Everything okay?" he asked.
"Yes, just..." She sighed. "It's been a long day."
"I rather enjoyed lunch," Bill said. "Though I'm still hungry, for some reason..." Julie smiled at him.
"You know, there's probably no-one left in the office who might come knocking..." Bill said, suggestively.
"I know," Julie said, indicating her shirt. "But before we get to that, I need you to do something. In a professional capacity, I mean."
Bill's eager grin faded, replaced by his business expression, which some people tended to find intimidating for some reason. He scratched one heavily cauliflowered ear and idly wondered why as he waited for Julie to go on. For her part, she seemed reluctant to say it.
Finally, she worked up the nerve. "I want you to take a team. Six security, six wizards. The best, even if you have to recall them from the other side. I mean, the best we have. Take them and go find Jerry, and assist him with whatever he needs. Here," she reached into the pocket of the jacket slung over one arm and produced a compass.
"What's this?" Bill asked, accepting the compass.
"It will lead you directly to him. He gave it to me once, in case..."
"In case you needed to get laid?" Bill asked, his expression still all business. "I'm sorry, that sounded bitter. I mean, I don't understand why you'd need to find him."
"In case I needed to have him killed," Julie blurted out. "He made it and gave it to me. I think he made a few and gave them to the people he trusted."
"And he trusted you with one," Bill said. Julie winced.
"I'm not jealous," Bill said.
"What?" Julie asked.
"I'm not jealous, I said. I know you two used to have some kind of a thing going, and I know he's probably some kind of inhuman lover. But I can live with the fact that you were his sidepiece for a while."
Julie winced again.
"Sorry," Bill said. "My mouth is bad at translating what's in my head sometimes. I just mean to say that I've never had a problem with you and him working together, or even being friends. I know there wasn't any... Romance there."
"Are you... Is there romance here?" Julie asked him in a quiet voice.
"I sure as shit hope so, or I'm in for a really bad time," Bill said. He wanted to say something else, but it was hard to just jump to that.
Julie giggled.
"What?" Bill asked.
"Nothing, it was just something someone said to me earlier today."
She stepped forward, her body pressed to his and kissed him.
"I love you, Bill Martin," she whispered.
"I lo- Wow. Uh, I wasn't expecting that..." he muttered, his thick neck turning a bright shade of red.
"Sounds like maybe you were," Julie said.
"Motherfucker," Bill swore. "Julie, I've had a crush on you since the moment we met. At my interview. I saw you sitting there and afterwards, when I went home, I couldn't get that image out of my head. And I... I'm... I've been in love with you since that morning at the diner, when that asshat kept running his mouth."
Julie smiled at him. "So you love me?"
"Yeah," Bill said. Something snapped inside his chest and he seized her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. Her lips felt different, warmer, softer than he remembered. The skin of her cheeks under his calloused thumbs was smoother, fuller. The feeling of her body pressed up against his was...
It felt like coming home, he thought.
They kissed for a long moment before Bill drew back. "I uh..." he stammered.
"You need to get your team together," Julie said.
"Yeah," he responded, looking around as if they were here, waiting for him.
He clutched the compass to his chest. "I saw Michelle's report," he said. "From what she said, he's moving across planes."
"Stacey Compton is probably the most talented plane walker we have," Julie said. "And she's been working on the teleporter improvements. She should still be here."
Bill nodded. "I'll grab her. She got a rave review from one of the security teams when she was doing field work. Cool head under pressure. I still need to figure out the rest."
"You can leave in the morning, you know," Julie said. Bill met her gaze, and saw the twinkle there.
"The door's still open," he said.
"I thought you said there wasn't anyone left to disturb us..." Julie said teasingly. Bill grinned. "In that case, the couch in the lobby is bound to be more comfortable than my desk."
Julie took his hand and led him out of the office.
----
Bill woke up and froze, the unfamiliarity of his surroundings speeding up his heart. But only for a second. He recognized Julie's bedroom. His hand brushed her sleeping back as the memories of last night returned. His eyes went to the dresser, where his handgun, wallet, and a small compass were laid out.
They'd had dinner, then come back here and enjoyed their third tryst of the day before falling asleep in each others arms. He remembered the words they'd shared, and tried them out again on her sleeping back.
"I love you," he said. Julie murmured something and pulled the hand he'd placed on her hip down over her belly. He gave her a moment to cuddle, then gently extricated his hand and climbed out of bed. He jumped in the shower and washed quickly. A small pump bottle of brightly colored body wash-slash-shampoo and conditioner, obviously marketed to men, sat unopened to one side, so he cracked that one and used it.
He climbed out and dried himself off, and found Julie still asleep when he emerged. She'd rolled onto her back and lay stretched out on the bed, her hair a chestnut halo around her head, like some kind of angel. He considered snapping a picture, but the blankets were tangled around her knees, and he didn't want to do something that would piss her off, like taking nude photos of her sleeping. But he really wanted to remember this, so he stared for a long moment before getting dressed.
"Mmm, leaving?" Julie murmured as he pulled his boots on.
"Was gonna wake you up, see if you wanted to get breakfast before I go," he said.
"Mmmmmmm," she responded, her eyes still closed. She reached out and seized his forearm gently.
"Mmm, I love you," she said. Bill grinned down at her, barely able to stand how gorgeous and adorable she was.
"I love you, too," he said.
Her eyes snapped open. "I wanna get breakfast," she said.
"Okay, then come on," he replied.
She sat up, rubbing her eyes. "I need a shower," she said.
"Clock's ticking," Bill noted. She swung her legs out of bed, then slumped.
"Fuck the shower, you have to go, soon."
"Yeah," Bill agreed sadly.
"Okay, lemme brush my teeth, at least." She stood and padded into the bathroom, so Bill sat patiently on the bed and waited. She emerged a few minutes later. "Clothes," she said, then turned to the closet as if she'd just remembered that clothes were a thing. She dug out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and quickly pulled them on.
"I'll wear sandals," she said, grabbing a pair of large-framed sunglasses from her dresser. "Come on."
They went to a diner two blocks away that they'd visited a few times before. Breakfast was ordered, delivered and eaten, coffee was poured, fawned over, and drank quickly. Finally, Julie settled the bill.
"Bill," she said. "When you get there, tell him I'm sorry, okay? I was... Part of it was personal reasons. I kinda wanted to push him away. So you could..."
"So I could get closer?" Bill asked. she nodded.
"I'll tell him."
They stood and walked outside. At Bill's car, he stopped and turned. "Are you sure you don't want a ride home?"
"Yeah, this is a safe neighborhood. And I've still got that handgun in my purse. And it's only two blocks. You need to get moving, as much as I want to draw this out."
Bill nodded. He stroked her hair, then pulled some of it to his face and breathed deeply.
"Yuck," Julie said. "I haven't washed it."
"It smells like you," Bill said. "Best thing I've ever smelled."
"Ahh, that's right. We haven't been out for tacos yet," Julie said. Bill chuckled.
"You don't have any jewelry on," he said, disappointed. Julie cocked her head at him. "Is that a problem?"
"I guess not, I just... I wanted something of you. To bring with me. I'm damn sure I'm riding into a fight."
"Give me your knife," Julie said. Bill's eyebrows rose, but he complied, handing over the razor-sharp Benchmade he kept clipped to his belt. She unfolded it, seized a lock of her hair and chopped it off in a quick motion. Bill gasped.
"Your hair!" he said. Julie handed him the knife back and carefully began to tie the hair into a complex knot.
"I was about to cut it short, anyways. I like to change it up from time to time. Here," she handed him the small ring of braided hair, and he took it. Bill looked at it, then up at Julie.
"I love you," he said again.
Julie beamed at him. "I love you, too. Now let me go get in the shower. I've got to get to the office." She kissed him once on the lips and spun on her heels, striding away quickly. Bill climbed in the driver's seat and looked up to see she'd stopped and was watching him.
He raised the hair and kissed it. She smiled, blushed and turned away.

Hey guys and girls. I’m looking at expanding my vehicle collection. I’m honestly just down for offers. Depending on the car, I will pay you handsomely. There are also a few select cars I’m genuinely looking for aswell. Will pay even more for those. I’m on PlayStation but can also do the trade on XBOX. The list is:
Cyclone (any colour) Endo (any colour) Insidio (any colour) Chikara GXT (any colour) Guardian (any variant, any colour) (will pay very handsomely for this one) Tyranno GXT
Looking for your offers.

I am 3 months into recovery and was trying to reverse diet. i have anorexia b/p. i was eating around 800-900 calories a day and then went as far to 1100, but gained 8 pounds of water weight or whatever, so i went back down to the previous number and my weight is still stuck around there. i am so confused as to what to do. I thought a reverse diet would be slow enough, but i guess it could just be i am recovering from a lot of purging, diuretics, etc if anyone has successfully reverse dieted please let me know if you had a similar phase and if i should just keep increasing. the recovery bloat has definitely went down but i’d really like to remain at least 5-6 pounds lighter

Violence is on the rise in Chicago, and lawmakers are looking for ways to drive those numbers back down. One stat that has drawn attention in recent weeks is the city's number of carjackings. According to Chicago police, carjacking surged by 134 percent for 2020, bringing the total to 1,415. Rep. Marcus Evans Jr. (D), whose district covers Chicago's South Side, wants a sales ban to minors on violent video games like Grand Theft Auto. Evans is proposing an amendment to an existing 2012 law that prevents the sale of violent video games to minors. Illinois House Bill 3531 (HB3531) has been updated to add the following language:
Modifies the definition of "violent video game" to mean a video game that allows a user or player to control a character within the video game that is encouraged to perpetuate human-on-human violence in which the player kills or otherwise causes serious physical or psychological harm to another human or an animal...
Modifies the definition of "serious physical harm" to include psychological harm and child abuse, sexual abuse, animal abuse, domestic violence, violence against women, or motor vehicle theft with a driver or passenger present inside the vehicle when the theft begins.
The above-bolded text is pertinent to Grand Theft Auto, a widely popular game franchise that allows you to perform carjackings (among other violent and heinous acts). However, what's interesting is that games like Grand Theft Auto and its ilk have been around for decades; this is nothing new. A game like Grand Theft Auto alone couldn't possibly be responsible for the rise in the city's carjackings. Still, lawmakers and city officials are seemingly trying to tie the young ages of some of the carjacking suspects with the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic means that many children are at home, spending more time playing video games.
grand theft auto carjacking The youngest [recent] carjacking suspect was just 12 years old, and a 14-year-old was arrested in January for "taking part in multiple carjackings," according to Fox News.
"I feel like this game has become a huge issue in this spectrum," said Walker in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times. "When you compare the two, you see harsh similarities as it relates to these carjackings."
As a counterpoint to the rumblings in Chicago, a decade-long study concluded that this is no credible link between kids playing violent video games and, in-turn exhibiting violent behavior.