My husband consistently give his older sister money.She is a drug addicted and she has criminal background which make her hard to get a decent job.She has a husband but separated and he gives her money too.She consistently asking for money and expensive gifts like $200 nike shoes $700 game equipment .But she has never returned anything.Nothing even not a penny. She didn't send us anything when my baby was born but asked my husband buy her son expensive gift for new school year.She never ever send my husband any gift .And one time when we at her place she was going to buy her boyfriend foods so my husband asked her if she can bring him a coke from store when she came back she said he need give her $2 for that first.My husband would never go get anything to drink or eat from her fridge when he at her place even he is really hungry or thirsty she never offer him anythingeither.she would cook something for herself and her kids but never ask if my husband want anything.i felt so uncountable sit there watch them eat but he seemed totally fine.We have lots of arguments about this but he still can't stop giving her money

My wife is working with a travel agent to plan our first Disney Cruise with the kids next year (2 boys going to be 8 and 5 at departure). The travel agent said we can pay little by little on the fare until the final payment is due and even use gift cards to do it. This really works out because we figure we can use a credit card to buy the gift cards and get travel points or whatever on it. Additionally, we can get gas points by buying gift cards at our local grocery store using our reward card there and save gas money as well.
However, let's say something comes up and we have to cancel. How would the refund get processed? Would we just get some kind of Disney credit or could we actually get the refund applied to a credit card or just a check?
Odd question I know, but it is something we'd like to figure out before we start paying on it. I think the circle spending here would be a great way to help save some money on the trip, but I don't want to get stuck with Disney credits or gift cards we wouldn't be able to use elsewhere.

Hey, Everyone! I’m a Case Manager and Employment Specialist for an organization called Downtown Streets Team and I work with women experiencing homelessness at a shelter in South Sacramento. I’m going to be doing a raffle on April 4th as part of a monthlong Employment Initiative that we have happening. It’s going super well, and the ladies are loving it, but we are in desperate need of Raffle Prizes. If you or someone you know is able to donate a prize we would be most grateful and would love to have you attend the final drawing! Ideas include (but are definitely not limited to):
Fuzzy/cozy blankets (this is a great one!), Gift Certificates (Nails, clothes, spa day, what have you), Bath and Body care packages, Makeup kits (all skin tones needed!), Journaling kits, Movie tickets, Adult coloring book kits, A new bike (no pressure on this, it’s a big ticket item!), Haircut (if you are in the profession! All textures), Easter Baskets, Earbuds
You name it, get creative!
I can absolutely come grab it from you, I live in Midtown but will travel around. Let me know if you’re interested, feel free to DM me as well 💕

My MIL is a classic vulnerable narcissist (plays the victim, is manipulative, passive aggressive, wants everyone's schedules to revolve around her, etc). She is also obsessed with babies to the point it makes me uncomfortable. Since the pandemic started I have taken alot of distance because her behaviour started to affect my mental health.
She has a history of using gifts and baking to manipulate people into coming over to her house. This past Christmas she was annoyed my SIL didn't come over for Xmas (they went down south) and said that they aren't going to get their presents until they come over to her house. She tends to buy gifts for the sake of the gift and not to get something the person would like or need. Which annoys me because it is a waste of her money but also just seems to defeat the purpose of a present, wouldn't you want to get something that someone would enjoy? Not just to check off that you got them an xmas present. For example, I am a "tom boy" and she got me a at home manicure kit for xmas. She told my SO this and he said she never does her nails and she said she was going to give it to me anyways. She did and I ended up donating it.
We recently announced we are pregnant and we have been laying low as I have no interest in catching covid while pregnant. My SO said I wouldn't be coming over while pregnant as I don't want to be exposure to covid and other viruses (but it is also for my mental health). Our families asked us if we needed anything so we sent around a small registry of necessities (everything is under $100). MIL bought items not on the registry and offered to buy this baby play tent. My SO said it was ok that we don't need that and that there are some other things on our registry that we would find more useful but she said no and that if we wanted the tent she would only buy that. At first I was really happy to have some presents for the baby but realized they were all items we didn't need/already had and were cheap plastic toys that looked to be from the dollar store. It made me realize she wasn't buying the items for us/baby but more for her. I feel bad she wasted her money but I would rather use the items I purchased as they are better quality/materials. She also keeps inviting me over to family gatherings, including with my BIL who's wife runs a private daycare. SO reminded her that I am laying low for the rest of my pregnancy and don't want to be around groups of people. She said she "doesn't care" and is "going to keep inviting" me.
I am hyper sensitive to her patterns and behaviors and I feel like she is in her "suck up" and "love bomb" phase because she wants to have regular access (and alone time) with the baby. I am starting to feel obligated to fall for her old tricks but I don't want to fall into a trap.

This advance review of Nightborn: Coldfire Rising has just been posted on Pat's Fantasy Hotlist:
When C. S. Friedman got in touch with me to see if I'd like an early read of the forthcoming Coldfire prequel Nightborn: Coldire Rising, needless to say I was extremely excited. Not only would we get the story of the founding of Erna, but the book would also include a revised edition of the novella Dominion, which I read and reviewed back in 2012. It's been a while, that's for sure. Crown of Shadows, final installment in the original series, was published in 1995. Since then, the Coldfire trilogy has remained in print and very few SFF works can boast of such longevity unless they're quite good.
Friedman has always been adamant that there would never be a sequel to the Coldfire series. And nearly three decades down the line, it doesn't look like she will change her mind. However, the market for shorter works, especially novellas, has been expanding in recent years. So much so that she realized that the time could be ripe to explore ideas and concepts that, while they lacked enough material to warrant a novel-length project, could be turned into books that couldn't have been published just a few years back. Dominion was the first such project and it turned out to be a wonderful read.
Nightborn: Coldire Rising focuses on the Founding of Erna and what led to the First Sacrifice. Fans might recall that it's a tale hinted at in the prologue of When True Night Falls. Dominion recounts the story of how Gerald Tarrant mastered the Forest and became the Hunter. This novella takes place 613 years following the settlement of the colony on Erna and about six centuries prior to the events of the Coldfire trilogy. Friedman realized that Erna has a rich history that is hinted at in the series and that there was a wealth of material for potential prequels. Mapping out such story arcs, the author envisioned a set of novellas that would also explore the Age of the False Messiahs, the Neo-Gothic Revival and its Unification Wars, the great Rakhene Genocide, the transformation of the Forbidden Forest into Tarrant’s private hunting ground, and the Church’s doomed war against him and his minions. All of which has this Coldfire fan pretty excited!
Some readers unfamiliar with the original trilogy will wonder if Nightborn: Coldire Rising makes a good starting point for newbies. Yes, it is a prequel and efforts were made by the author to make this book a somewhat stand-alone work that can be read and understood without having read the Coldfire trilogy. And yet, why would you want to do that? The Coldfire series is a seminal work of dark fantasy that has withstood the test of time, so why would you want to pick up this one before reading the original material? Though Nightborn: Coldire Rising can be read on its own, without the context provided by the original trilogy you'd be missing out on lots of things and not just a few nuances. You might enjoy Dominion without having prior knowledge of Gerald Tarrant, but if you actually know the story of this fascinating badass character you'll be ecstatic. This new one is slated to be released in July, so there is ample time for you to find out for yourself just how brillant the Coldfire trilogy truly is by starting with Black Sun Rising. Follow this Amazon Associate link to learn more about this title and its sequels. Believe you me: You'll love them! And you'll be up-to-date when this prequel hits the shelves this summer.
Here's the blurb:
A prequel to the lauded Coldfire trilogy, Friedman's latest novel mixes the best of dark fantasy and chilling sci-fi.
A ship full of colonists arrive on a seemingly hospitable planet, only to discover that it harbors a terrifying secret. Soon the settlers find themselves caught up in a desperate battle for survival against the fae, a natural force with the power to prey upon the human mind itself, bringing a person’s greatest fears and darkest nightmares to life.
As Colony Commander Leon Case and Chief Medic Lise Perez struggle to find a way to control the fae before more people die, other settlers have ideas of their own…and they may prove more of a threat to colony than the fae itself.
Nightborn: Coldfire Rising is a tale that blends sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, suspenseful and emotionally intense, as a handful of humans struggle to survive on an alien world that seems determined to kill them. In the end they will have to draw upon both scientific knowledge and mystical traditions to save themselves.
Whether you're just discovering the Coldfire universe through this prequel or returning to it as a classic favorite, Nightborn: Coldfire Rising is the perfect entry point to this unique, genre-blending space fantasy epic.
As mentioned, Nightborn: Coldire Rising is the story of the Founding of Erna. It focuses on the horrors that the colonists had to face when they first encountered the mysterious and all-encompassing force they'll come to know as the fae. Coming out of cryogenic sleep after decades spent searching for an habitable planet, the leading faction of the settlers discover that their ship has been observing Erna for ninety years before waking them up. There are obviously some anomalies that prevented the ship from approving the planet as an acceptable settlement for their colony, but they can't find anything concrete as to why the process took this long. In an essay she wrote for her Patreon, Friedman says that one of the most interesting facets of the Coldfire Trilogy is its science fiction background. The people who landed on Erna were rational, scientifically minded people, from a culture not unlike our own. Yet a thousand years later they would have lost all their technology, mastered the fae (as much as anyone could), and adopted terminology and trappings from mysticism and sorcery. How did they get from point A to point B, changing not only their technology but the very tenor of their society? This is the question that she tried to answer with this newest work. How did the colonists figure out what the fae was in the first place? Fans of the trilogy will know that there were no adepts when the colonists landed on Erna. Hence, nobody could see it without Working their sight, but human beings hadn’t learned to Work yet. According to Friedman, this was the biggest challenge to address. If the colonists couldn’t see the fae, didn’t even know it was there to begin with, and had never encountered anything like it to make them suspect it even existed, how did they figure out how to See it, much less control it? That ended up being the main theme of Nightborn: Coldire Rising: a group of colonists trapped on a planet where a seemingly supernatural force was manifesting their darkest instincts and wildest nightmares, who were struggling to figure out what the hell it was and how to gain a measure of control over it before it killed them all.
And time is running out. When I started reading the book, I believed that the tale would cover the span of several months. Imagine my surprise when I realized that Nightborn: Coldire Rising only covers a period of about twenty days. Less than three weeks, that's how long it took for everything to go down the crapper. This lends a tense and suspenseful atmosphere to the story and forces characters to make questionable decisions as their lives and their chances of survival continue to unravel with each passing day. Though I would have liked for the story to cover a bit more ground and give us more than a glimpse of the colonists' early days on Erna, there's no denying that it is self-contained and ends with the aftermath of the First Sacrifice. You reach the ending wanting more, but this new Coldfire tale does what it set out to do. Understandably, it's more scifi than fantasy, and might feel a little discordant with the original material, at least stylistically. Yet a settlement story couldn't be anything else, and I'm sure that fans will enjoy discovering how it all began.
As for Dominion, well it was a doozy! Even though I read the original version a decade ago, like all Coldfire fans I relished the opportunity to revisit one of my favorite SFF characters of all time: Gerald Tarrant. And even though this one occurs more than six centuries into the pass, Friedman recaptured the feel of the Coldfire books. This makes this one impossible to put down and you'll likely finish it in a single sitting. As I mentioned in my first review, Friedman sets the mood perfectly. The narrative grabs hold of you and won't let go. The prose is evocative and the Forest almost becomes a character in its own right. Sure, some will say that hardcore fans are already won over. But it's no secret that the author knows how to draw readers into her tales and Dominion is no different.
The novella features the POVs of two protagonists. The first is that of Gerald Tarrant, first Neocount of Merentha. Although the thirty pages or so don't provide enough of an opportunity to fully appreciate this chance to see Tarrant in action and witness events unfold through his eyes, I loved every single moment of it. Hot damn, I want more! The second perspective is that of Faith, last survivor of a band of knights of the Church hunting faeborn creatures in the Forest. She possesses a special gift known as the Earth's blessing; the fae does not respond to her. Both characters find themselves in the heart of the Forest; one trying to escape, while the other means to best it. I think Friedman created a good balance between the two POV sections throughout the novella. I also enjoyed how the author introduced Amoril and how he became part of Tarrant's entourage.You reach the end too quickly for my taste, but again this tale is as long as it needs to be.
If all goes according to plan, Friedman says that the next novella will be a tale from the Neo-Gothic era, when a young idealist named Gerald Tarrant brings faith to his world, even as darkness begins to take root within his own soul. The author believes that fans of Gerald Tarrant will love to watch that corruption unfold, as well as seeing parts of his personal history that he hinted at in the original trilogy. So Coldfire fans unite! Unless Nightborn: Coldire Rising is a success, we might never get to read that new story. And I for one cannot countenance such a thing! I also want to read every other planned Coldfire novella, so we need to make it happen!
Original link: https://fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com/2023/03/nightborn-coldfire-rising.html
I'm so excited to read this one!:)

Hi everyone,
I landed a job as an executive virtual assistant for pretty well-known wealthier professional. Now I will say that I am about to graduate with my bachelor’s in PR, but this job has great pay and benefits so I could not pass it up. I was looking to see if anyone who has held a similar position had any helpful tips before my employment begins. My job duties are going to include writing/replying to client emails, scheduling client appointments, booking flights and hotels, and personal errands (buying gifts, paying bills, making donations, etc.).
I will add that the way I landed this job was by applying to for a marketing assistant position. When my employer emailed me to inform me the role had been filled, they offered me this position. They also informed me that their marketing department will be expanding in the third week of May, and that when that time comes I will be able to choose to either switch into the marketing assistant position or retain the EVA position.
Thanks in advance!

I don’t see many travel diaries for Europe or the UK so thought it would be nice to do an example of a long weekend!
For reference I live with my partner and share some housing / bills with him but keep all other money separately, however I went on holiday with one of my friends.

Section 1: Bio

Age - 34
Occupation - Tech Manager
Hometown - East Sussex
Number of PTO days and how you accrue them - in the UK most people get at least 25 days annual leave plus public holidays. In addition to this I get the option to buy holiday as part of my benefits - I do this every year, usually between 6 and 10 days, so this year I have 31 days.

Section 2: Assets and debt

Savings balance: We bought a house early last year with my partner, that wiped out most savings! I’ve probably got £10,000 now across stocks and shares ISAs and standard savings pots.
Checking balance: About £1500
Debt: Other than a giant mortgage, no other debt.

Section 3: Income

Salary after deductions: Around ~£5K per month - that’s after tax, NI, pension, life / critical illness insurance, health insurance, holiday purchase deductions
My pals overall situation: I don’t know her specifics but she works in PR and makes somewhere in the area of £60-70K per year.

Section 4: Travel expenses

I have kept all costs as combined through the diary and then have done the split at the end.
We wanted to do a long weekend Europe trip but wanted it to be pretty relaxed and I didn’t feel like taking a flight so we eventually decided on doing the Eurotunnel.
For reference, the Eurotunnel is where you drive your own car onto a train and then the train goes through the channel tunnel from the UK to France. We then thought we would do a bit of northern France and do a bit of exploring! I've done other areas of France previously but never further North than Paris.
Pre trip:
Eurotunnel and insurance - £213 - we booked this beforehand, this is return for one car with two people in it. It was a fixed time train each way, and includes car insurance for when we were in France for three days.
I also spent £40 on a “prepare your car for Europe” kit which included what you must have in your car to legally drive in France (high viz jacket, first aid kit, breathalysers, light deflectors etc) - I haven’t included this in the trip expense totals because we will reuse it many times for trips, and to be honest seems like a handy thing to have in the car anyway!
Air bnb - £155 - we booked the accommodation beforehand, we booked two nights in Lille in a studio apartment with one double bed and one sofa bed. I always like to get an AirBnb as it gives more flexibility to stay in, have your own kitchen and have a bit more space!
I didn’t book separate travel insurance - I get full year cover as part of one of my bank accounts.
Accommodation total: £155
Transport total: £213
Pre trip total: £368
Day 1
9.30 - I pick up my pal from a nearby train station then drive down to Folkestone where the Tunnel is. I am very excited to take my car on a train!! We stop off for fuel at the services nearby so that I won’t need to figure out France petrol stations - it only needs half a tank to fill, we also pick up snacks for the drive £40 for fuel and £5 for snacks.
11.30 - our train is at 12.20 but we arrive about an hour before. Check-in is super easy and we get a little sign to hang from the mirror to show what our train number is. We park up at the terminal and wait for the signs to show to proceed. We grab a drink from the terminal whilst we wait £4.
12.30 - whizz through both passport controls and then drive on the train! So weird to be sat in a car which isn’t moving on a train which is speeding along. The train takes 35 minutes and then you can just drive straight off onto the motorway. We lose an hour with the time difference so arrive at 2pm.
2 - we have no plans as we've both been so busy with work and decided to just see how we get on! But the signs on the motorway says Dunkirk and that’s a place I’ve never been so we head there which is about a 35 minute drive. Park the car £1.
3 - wander around Dunkirk looking at the war memorials and the pretty harbour. Buy some cheese baguettes to keep us going - £5.
5 - back in the car to drive to Lille where the AirBnb is which is about an hour away. We stop off at Lidl to buy some provisions (bread and cheese ofc), snacks, Prosecco, champagne, and tonic for the bottle of gin I brought with me from home - comes to £45 but £15 was the bargain champagne!
5.30 - check into the Airbnb. Promptly drop my bottle of champagne on the floor and it smashes everywhere. £15 well spent… spend ages cleaning it up. Have a glass of Prosecco to commiserate.
7 - decide we need to go out for a drink to make up for the champagne. Head out to a nearby French restaurant - food is delish, service isn’t excellent but overall a lovely evening catching up - £65.
9 - head back, more Prosecco, put the sofa bed up and then off to sleep eventually around 11.
Day 1 total: £165
Day 2
9 - time to explore Lille! We get our walking shoes on and start to explore the city - lots of walking down little streets. We do the classic of wandering from cafe to patisserie with a snack here, a drink there, comes to about £15 for the three breaks. The city of Lille is beautiful - it didn't get as destroyed in the war compared to Dunkirk so full of French architecture and big grand squares.
11 - walk a bit out of town to the Citadel and do a big walk around the park outside. You can't go in the citadel but its still a very nice spot to walk around.
1 - time for proper lunch!! We fancy crepes and thankfully we are in France! Find a great crepe restaurant and have a sweet and a savoury - ham and goats cheese which is so good. Plus a couple of glasses of wine - £27
2 - there are so many chocolate shops due to how close we are to Belgium. Pop into one and buy some chocolate as a gift for my partner - £7
3 - feet are getting tired by this point so make the 25 minute hike home - almost 20,000 steps today! We are exhausted. Collapse in the Airbnb for introvert time of tv, phones and ignoring each other.
4 - I for some reason start to feel a bit off and have a bad stomach (too much cheese and wine?! Surely not). Make the decision to stay in for the evening.
7 - have a little bit of gin which I brought with me and watch a movie on Amazon Prime. End up getting Uber eats of some pizza - £25. I used to feel guilty when we stayed in when I was on hols but now I know that I need to not be exhausted when I get back so a night in is okay! We did so much exploring that we did make the most of seeing Lille. Plus I know it's so close now, I can pop back!
10 - water, reading, bed!
Day 2 total: £74
Day 3
8 - feel much better this morning - so thankful! Nothing like being ill when you know you need to travel, I was worried it would not be a good driving day today. Glad I got lots of sleep!
10 - clean up the Airbnb and pop to the patisserie for croissants - £2, before hitting the road and driving back to Calais to do some exploring. It's raining a bit but clears up when we hit Calais - win!
11.30 - it’s about an hour and ten back to Calais. Driving hasn’t been too bad considering it’s the wrong side of the road for me and the wrong side of the car! I was a bit worried about it but as long as I just tell myself continually to drive on the right then it seems to be okay! I want to go to the lace and fashion museum as it sounds interesting. We park - £1 - and then walk over. It’s £8 for both of us to get in because it only has one exhibit on - bargain! Very much enjoyed it, never realised so much went into lace or that there were so many different types!
1 - time for our final lunch! Head to a probably too touristy restaurant and the food wasn’t great. Clearly means time to go home! £27
2 - head back to the Eurotunnel and stop in the terminal once we are checked in. Pop into duty free and buy 2 bottles of rum as they are a bargain, plus some macarons as a gift - £33. Stop for a drink in Starbucks - £8.
3.30 - another speedy trip through the tunnel! Save an hour on the way back too. Head back and drive home. Used about three quarters of a tank of fuel so quite pleased with that. So nice to have a lovely break, see somewhere new but also return back not feeling utterly exhausted!
Day 3 total: £79

Section 5: Overall

Total cost for both of us: £686
Total cost for what I paid: £370 (half most costs, plus full cost of rum, smashed champagne and gifts)
How I afforded the trip: I’ve only recently started earning more so I’m still a very naturally frugal traveller! Plus most of what I enjoy when travelling is just wandering about and eating the delicious food.
I split the cost so did all the pre trip costs earlier in the year so it doesn’t feel like all at once. I then usually put my “spending money” onto my Monzo which I don’t use for anything else - makes it really easy to track how much I’m spending and keep an eye on it. This was probably lower that I expected for the trip because we didn't go out for dinner on the second night which definitely saved some money!

Hey all, I had a flight booked with Qatar which ended up being cancelled. Via email on May 10, 2020 they said

We have issued travel voucher No. XXX for the total value of AUD1073 comprising of the unutilized ticket you held with us. This also includes an additional amount of AUD88.
You have up to one year to use the voucher and can book your travel within a period for up to one further year after.

However looking at the ACCC rules it looks like gift cards issued after some time in 2019 have to last at least 3 years. Even the Qantas website mentions this.
Are these 'travel vouchers' the same things as the ACCC's 'gift cards' and do you think I have any recourse, and if so, who should I contact?

Hi all, I’m back with the full series following on from my last mini-series, Angland U. If you haven’t read it, I would highly recommend it, as it serves as a prologue and an easy entry into the THJ Universe, which started with The Hunter’s Journey. I have tried to make it so reading THJ isn’t necessary if you read the prologue, but it will provide more insight into the world than my prologue will (it’s a lot easier to go into the full depths of something with around 2,000 pages than it is with around 40-50 after all.)
Fair warning, there will be some adult themes in the series, so reader discretion is advised.
So, without further ado, enjoy!
-----------------------------
Prologue / Previous / Next
-----------------------------
Daniel rolled his left arm in its socket as he read his new assignment once more, excited to finally be getting out of constant lessons, training, and parades. He shut off the holoviewer and retracted it back into his bionic arm, allowing his hand to snap back into place, banging the back of it a couple times to make sure it was seated properly, and letting out a small sigh of relief that it was still holding up after so much punishment in basic training. He quickly checked his bags once more, making sure he had everything on him, completed one final check of the room, and then exited it. He walked down the hallway and hopped into the lift, heading down to the ground floor. Once there, he walked over to the reception, where he checked out of the hotel, and then made his way over to the hotel's subway entrance.
Upon entering the subway, he identified the military door and scanned his pass, letting him through the secure door to the private platform, where a half filled carriage was waiting. He quickly boarded and found a seat, watching the door for another 30 seconds before they closed and the carriage began to move. Less than a minute later, the carriage slowed to a halt at the other platform, and everyone began to disembark. Once he was off, Daniel quickly pulled his uniform straight, making sure the creases were still crisp and that his brassard was sitting correctly, before touching his headdress to make sure it was on straight, and he then began to walk up the stairs and left the subway.
Looking out onto the runway, he spotted his transport almost completely loaded, a massive 350 metre wide behemoth of a flying wing, an ASWT-16. As he walked towards the military security terminal of the spaceport, two privates stood to attention and saluted him, which he acknowledged quickly so they could get back to their business. He scanned his pass on the security terminal, and then walked through the attached gate, scanning him and finding nothing of concern. He quickly removed his headdress now that he was on an active airfield, and stored it in his bag before jumping on the nearby shuttle bus, which collected a few more people before the doors closed and silently drove towards the transport, coming to a stop just before the ramp. Everyone quickly disembarked, and the bus headed back to the gate the instant the last person was off, and then the group all quickly boarded the transport, rushing to get one of the better seats. Daniel didn’t rush though, and instead headed to the subtly comfier seats with an actual real window that peeked over the surface of the wing, reserved for officers like himself, and he stuffed his bags under it.
As he waited for boarding and loading to wrap up, he flicked his metal hand back and checked his messages on his holo once again, looking to see if any of his family or friends had responded. As expected, he had a quick good luck message from his Dad, and absolutely nothing from his Mother, but all his childhood and University friends had responded, barring the one person he really wanted to hear from. He knew she had read it, the app indicated as such, but she hadn’t responded. He hoped she was just writing a really long message congratulating him and wishing him luck, but he couldn’t just help but worry that she hadn’t taken the news well.
He forced it out of his mind as the loading ramp began to close and the transport crew called out their final checks. He raised both his arms off of his lap as a crew member checked to make sure his belt was on, and once the crew member had checked everyone on the row, they found their own seat and sat down. Less than two minutes later, a low rumble could be heard as all twelves thrusters roared to full power, and the transport began to quickly accelerate down the runway, taking off with its full 4,000 tonne load.
Daniel watched the fields blitz past out the window, each one getting smaller and smaller as they ascended faster and faster, until he could just about make out the curvature of the Earth, feeling a small jolt as the thrusters switched from their air breathing modes to their vacuum modes. It didn’t take long until all he could see out of his tiny window was the black void of space above the wing. The wing in question suddenly became a hub of activity as numerous panels began to wing open or retract, allowing a pylon with a long pod on the end to raise up, which began to glow a dull blue as the star formations visible to him began to distort.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention please,” one of the crew members began. “We are now at warp, and it is safe to walk around the craft. ETA for Mars orbit is 30 minutes, so please make sure you are buckled back in before that happens. The gravity generator isn’t the strongest on a transport like this, so the docking manoeuvres could pose a danger. Also, please don’t enter the cargo grid, gravity is weaker there, and any magnetic objects could be ripped from your body. I don’t fancy having to retrieve your body for the medic because a piercing got ripped out.”
Daniel looked over to the other passengers, noticing that one of the plain clothes personnel was grimacing and holding their legs tight together, while their friend next to them bumped their shoulder with a poorly masked grin. He shook his head and got to his feet, giving them a stretch while he had the chance, and checked his holo to see that it was now disconnected from the network as expected. He snapped his hand back into place, finding that the connection for his little finger wasn’t engaging properly, so he gave the back of his hand a firm smack and thankfully managed to regain control of his extremity.
“Should probably get that looked into, Sir,” the Lieutenant sitting next to him said.
“Yeah, I’ve got a replacement ordered. It’s been messed up since basic, and I’ve finally gotten approval for the latest model,” Daniel explained.
“Is requisition that bad at the moment?”
“Only for the full suite I need.”
“What do you need that’s in short supply?”
“Sorry, but that’s need to know,” Daniel told him, knowing that the parts weren’t restricted information to someone of his rank, but he was still happy to use it to avoid unwanted conversation at the moment.
“Of course, sir. My apologies for asking.”
“No harm done,” Daniel assured him as he straightened his shirt and made his way towards the front of the transport.
He opened the doorway into a corridor, and then immediately made his way into the office space, taking a seat in one of the four cubicles and logging into one of the computers, pleased to see that his travel profile had been uploaded before takeoff. The data was sparse, but it was all he needed at the moment, which was mainly the bios of his soon to be subordinates, and more importantly interview and trainer notes. None of them had any real world experience in the world of electronic subterfuge, though they did all pass the training and tests with perfect grades like him, even if the tests missed off a few handy tricks he’d utilised on occasion. It meant that he would likely be irreplaceable if the ship was in a dangerous situation, though he knew that would be the case just from him being in a position of authority. He was a little disappointed by the prospect of almost always having to be at his post, but such was Navy life.
He continued to look more closely at their bios, making a mental note of the comments made against them. They all seemed to be by the book types, which means that he would have to teach them some dirty tricks at some point, but it at least meant that he wasn’t likely to have a rough time with them. They all originated from various colonies though, so he was wary of the tribalism that could cause. It should have been trained out of them so they all acted as a single unit, but pride was often something hard rooted.
“Five minutes till Mars!” a crew member shouted into the room, before moving onto the next.
Daniel took his que to wipe his profile in case it got missed due to tight schedules, and logged off. It might not be his responsibility to do so, but he’d be damned if someone else messed up and he and his new team got hurt for it. He left the cubical and made his way back to his seat, buckling in and allowing himself to be inspected once again.
He looked out the window once again as the warp pylon powered down and the distortion effect stopped, causing the green and blue surface of Mars to take up the majority of his view. It remained in his few for only a few moments though, as the transport began to turn and roll as it aligned with the station. The warp pylons quickly stowed themselves in the wings again, and the transport edged forward, sliding into the hangar after a minute or two of travel. There was a small bump as the craft touched down, followed by a droop as the hangar’s gravity was turned up to normal levels.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Mars Stardock 02. Please disembark to allow for unloading of supplies,” the crew member from before announced.
Not wanting to get caught in the crowd, Daniel jumped up from his seat, picked up his bags quickly, and was the fourth person to exit the transport. He looked at the unloading tractors that were entering the room, noticing that they had a particularly large one usually reserved for ship modules. He was surprised that something like that would be coming from Earth given Mars’ manufacturing capabilities, but he probably couldn’t find out what it was without putting his rank at risk, so he elected to ignore it. Instead, he headed over to the hangar exit and scanned his pass, confirming his presence aboard the station.
As he began to walk down the corridor of the station, following the signs for the habs, he checked his messages once more, finding that he still hadn’t received the message he was hoping for. He did his best to hide his frustration, and continued on until he reached the nearest short stay habs, walking past the honeycomb array of pods designed to pack in the lower ranking spacemen of visiting ships if the ships weren’t serviceable. Thankfully for him however, he was able to keep walking until he reached the officer’s cabins, picking an empty one and assigning it to himself.
His temporary accommodation was little more than a small bed, a desk, and a stool, but it served his needs. He dropped his bags on his bed, and quickly activated his arm’s scanners, checking the room for any bugs, which he found none of. He knew there was practically no way of someone knowing which room he’d end up in, but he couldn’t be too careful. Happy that he was safe, he opened the makeshift compartment on his arm, removing the memory chip that had sat there for almost five years at this point. He carefully hid it in the ceiling light cover, and exited the room, locking the door behind him. He knew that after five years of no-one looking for it that was probably safe, but he wasn’t going to take the risk.
He began to look at the station signs again, managing to find a layout map. He quickly committed it to memory the best he could, and made his way to the station’s clinic. Once he finished the short walk there, he checked himself in, and was assigned to a room, which he entered and sat down on the bed within it. He let out a small sigh as he looked around the room, waiting for the doctor to arrive, and began to study all the posters and displays, containing information on a bunch of medical advice that was inapplicable to him.
“Sorry about the wait,” an old and balding man in a medical uniform apologised to him as he entered the room, carrying a large long black case.
“It’s not a problem,” Daniel assured him.
“I’m Dr Middleton,” the Doctor informed him. “Now, may I just confirm your identity please?”
“Lieutenant Commander Daniel Hardbrooks,” Daniel replied, handing over his military ID.
“... Indeed you are. Just a couple of quick questions before we get onto why you’re here. Can you please confirm the purpose of your visit?” the Doctor asked, handing his ID back.
“To receive a replacement mechanical prosthetic arm, containing equipment I am not allowed to disclose.”
“And can I confirm that you don’t need a socket upgrade?”
“No, I have the latest socket after my last one broke during basic training.”
“Perfect,” the Doctor replied, checking a few boxes on his holo display. “Will you be recycling your old arm, or will you keep it?”
“Recycle. This thing will probably break if you look at it wrong,” he explained, taking off his shirt and holding up his scratched and dented arm.
“A mk IV-C. I’m surprised it’s still working. Well, you’ve got a nice new mk XXII-NM. I’m pleased to inform you that a starsteel heatsink was successfully sourced, as well as some other components that are simply blank on my display,” the Doctor told him as he handed Daniel the case. “The profile from your old arm has been transferred onto this one, but you will have to map any new functions.”
“Of course,” Daniel replied, pressing the lock and allowing the case to scan him.
After almost ten seconds of waiting, the locks popped off, and the lid opened to reveal his new arm. It looked almost like a real arm in shape, except he had given it a custom carbon black with white trim paint scheme, and replaced the plates that visually simulated muscle with armour and electronics. Happy with his new appendage, he grabbed hold of his current arm and popped it out of its socket, laying it on the nearby table before picking up his new arm and locking it in place, checking to make sure the seal engaged properly.
He rolled his shoulder, surprised at how smooth the motion was, making him realise just how bad his old arm was performing. He then began to twist his arm and wrist while flexing his fingers, finding that each motion felt like it had less purpose, but they instead felt much more natural like his real arm. He then performed a systems check, making sure none of the secret stuff was displayed, before giving the doctor a thumbs up.
“It’s working perfectly. Thank you for your help,” he told the Doctor as he put his shirt back on.
“You’re very welcome. Please tap here to confirm your appointment has been completed,” the Doctor instructed, pointing at his holo display.
“There. All done,” Daniel replied, performing the action.
“Thank you very much. Any issues and concerns, please check back here or to any other military approved clinic as soon as possible.”
“Will do. Thanks once again for your help,” Daniel told him as he left the clinic.
Daniel made his way straight back to his hab, entering it and testing out his new scanner, finding it to return the same readings of his room, but he could now read practically every electromagnetic and aetheric signature within half a kilometre, with the larger signals of the station’s fusion generators easily detectable from almost two kilometres away. Satisfied, he quickly retrieved the memory chip from the light cover, and stored it within the new secret high security compartment he now possessed.
Satisfied, he left his room once more and entered one of the nearest lifts. He punched in the button for the observation deck, and braced himself slightly as the lift accelerated rapidly, bringing him to his destination in a matter of seconds. He stepped out of the lift and into what was essentially a ball of transparent metal, overlooking the whole station. He walked over to the edge, and took in the sight of the disk shaped station floating over the distant Martian landscape. He could just about make out some of the smaller hangars from his vantage point, but what he was more interested in was the docking arms on the outside of the disk.
He could make out three corvettes dock on a single arm, and another one on an arm of its own. The next three arms were empty, with the next two servicing a frigate each, followed by three arms servicing destroyers. He was able to identify the classes of the destroyers, identifying two as direct combat ships, and the third as a light drone carrier. Finally, he rested his eyes on a single ship taking up two arms that were far longer than the others, the expedition cruiser, CNS Trailmaker.
His soon to be new home.
-----------------------------
Prologue / Previous / Next

18 Months Gone
You finished your Mission
completed your last Tour of Duty
but this time, you didn’t come home
and I remain alone
It’s been 18 months since I went to wake you for dinner
found you had gone on a long journey ahead of me
I have found a way to live one day at a time
I am thankful we both had programs ..
you AA me Alanon ... more than 40 years for both of us
not only did they make for a rich marriage ...
Program has helped me move through this wasteland of widowhood
I have learned to go to the grocery store again without flinching
well most times anyway
found how to live on 60% less income ... your money died with you
Program helped me only need Nyquil to sleep for 2 weeks ... then I stopped that drug
I haven’t learned how to take care of the house
Things you did effortlessly, competently, knowing the “right” things to do
I haven’t a clue .. until something goes wrong
and then .. find a handyman? and how do I know he knows his job?
and will “it” stay fixed? is the price he charges reasonable?
Like I said: I haven’t learned how to take care of the house right
Relationships are different now
Friends are the same .. but they have their own lives
busy about their spouses and kids and work and vacations and projects
Those directions for me? Pretty much stopped with your death
They still check with me and I with them
but we have less and less in common
I think I need folks in my same directions
but finding them? not so easy
Perhaps if I were younger or had a job or felt your loss less
Perhaps...
I think it’s kind of like when the power goes out at night
and stays out for a few days
First you’re completely disoriented ... bang your shins on tables
fall over rugs ... feel your way along walls .. till you find a flashlight
the flashlight helps a lot ... but it’s limited
you don’t bang into tables any more
and don’t have to feel your way along walls
but doing things with one hand is hard
making a sandwich with the flashlight perched on the counter
and finding the makings in the dark fridge
cleaning up .. sorta
well, you get the idea
it helps a lot ... but limited
When the power is out for a day or two or three
you adjust
you find the ice chest and drive to the store and get ice
go to bed at dark and rise with the sun
do as much as possible in the day
write checks and mail them .. no internet banking
if you’re lucky the cell phones work
Eternal power out
that’s how your death seems to leave me
I manage
but it’s not simple, not graceful, and takes me a long time to do stuff
I am exhausted
which is good for sleeping
Every night I hope not to wake
Every morning when I wake ...
I am disappointed
Wish I could report that 18 months have left me happy, joyous, and free
[to quote The Big Book]
but they haven’t
One Day at a Time
still the best advice I got
and still the best advice I can give
Be gentle with yourself
We deserve it

Here I am again LOL. Some of y'all might remmeber that I had done a game almost a year ago for first gen Kpop acts, but because I have expanded some of my horizons to a time that predates first gen, and which is super unique and cool in it's own right, I've decide to come back to do a similar game, but for the late 80s - mid 90s era! That era was marked by a young democratic Korea and a society basically re-inventing and rediscovering itself. I'll be basically looking from 1985 (and maybe a little before that, so maybe maximum 1981) to music in 1995.
I will actually not just be talking about music, but also a little bit of pop culture - actors, models, events, fashion trends,... but I promise, it's going to be majority music LOL.
Game goes as simple as follows :

• 1.Take the number of members your favourite group has (if you can't decide on a fave, choose the groups whose song you listened last). Will be referred to as "your group".
• 2. Go down and choose the number in the list. Then go to the letter the number takes you to. Choose one from a few choices. Might be a song, an artist, a show, a scenario, or just simply a fun fact.
• 3. Because I'm curious, comment down below what you got!

Here we Go! Have fun time-travelling!
---
(3). You have 2000 won, and bought a random album at the music store with it. It's a "Gayo Compilation Album". What songs are on there? Go to (B)
(4.) Go to F
(5). Go to C
(6). You come across a little shop selling tickets to various music events. You have some money left, so you decide to buy one. Which one are you buying? Go to D
(7). Go to E
(8). You find a gift coupon for the Seoul Department Store (서울백화점) on the road! What are you going to buy with it? Go to (G)
(9). Go to H
(10). Go to A
(11). Go to J
(12). Go to B
(13). Go to I
________________________________________
Letters:

(A)

(B)

What is your favourite season of the year?

• Spring
• Summer
• Autumn
• Winter
• Monsoon/Rainy Season : Soft Rock
• ​

(C)

(D)

Where would you rather go to spend some free time?

• The library : KBS Rookie Stage
• The park/greenery: Riverside Music Fest
• The downtown/shopping district : College Music Fest
• The movies : KBS "March Of Youth"

(E)

(F)

​

(G)

You go to the store and show the reception desk your coupon. The lady at the desk asks you if you want a "twin cake". Well, what is a "twin cake"? Is it...

• A sweet condiment : Wrong! With your coupon,
• A makeup product : Correct! The twin cake is a pressed powder that acts as foundation. It got it's unique name in Korea, from the build of the case. The upper flap/lid contains the puff that helps with the application, and the lower lid contained the actual powder, with an inbuilt mirror on the top of the second lid.
• A household item for cleaning :
• A case or purse to keep things inside :

(H)

​

(I)

​

(J)

A comment I made another post made me think of this but my wife and I have been married for 17 years. We both were raised in the Mormon religion, which is an extremely conservative, sexually repressive culture. Her upbringing was significantly worse than mine in that regard. I was 23 and she had just turned 20 when we married and of course were both virgins. We knew nothing about sex or healthy conversations about it. In fact, prior to our marriage, I went to the book store to read some sexual health books and when she found out, I thought she was going to call off the wedding because she thought I was a pervert. Well, we left the religion nearly two years ago and we have been working on processing all of our religious trauma and rethinking everything about what we were taught, including intimacy and sexuality. With this, I’ve been slowly slowly warming her up to the idea of incorporating oral sex. Just to be clear, I consider my self an extremely giving, respectful lover and will always seek consent before we do anything “new”. I let her know frequently how beautiful her pussy is and to me oral sex is outward display of my desire for her and to be as physically intimate with her as possible. On the occasion when she does let me go down on her, I am soft, gentle, and mindful of her reactions. But normally she just clenches her thighs together and is very guarded of her vulva and oral lasts for 20-30 seconds. Only during oral though. During PIV sex, she will ride me like a rodeo girl. On the last time I went down on her I was talking her through what I was doing, kissing her gently, caressing her, telling her to lie back and relax as I lifted her legs slightly to open her up. She told me that when I lift her legs like that, all she can think about is being at the gynecologist. I joked “does the gyno do what I was doing to you??” We laughed and eased the tension and moved on to PIV sex.. but is it time for me to accept that this just isn’t going to be a part of our intimacy?

Scary Music To Set The Tone
Jerry is doing his standup routine in front of a crowd
Jerry: “So what’s the deal with garden gnomes? They kind of just sit out there in the yard and do nothing. They are a little creepy honestly. Having a little guy standing out in the yard. Why did this even become a thing? Who’s idea was it to put this little elf looking guy in the yard and why did it even catch on?
Bassline
George comes into Jerry’s Apartment
George: “I can’t stand it with these gnomes!”
Jerry: “What do you mean?”
George: “In the mail I got a bunch skeleton gnomes! Bone Gnomes I tell you. Bone Gnomes! They’re freaking me out.
Jerry: “Well can’t you just send them back?”
George: “I can’t… there is no return address on these.”
Kramer barges through the door and starts eating cereal out of a box with his hand Jerry: “Well then just throw them away.” George: “I’d need 100 trash cans to get rid of these things. I have hundreds! Hundreds of Bone Gnomes!
Kramer: “Well then just drive them to the dumpster yourself.” George: “You’re onto something Kramer.”
Bassline
George is at the dumpster emptying the Bone Gnomes into the dumpster and a policeman stops him.
Policeman: “Excuse me?”
George: “Yes? May I help you?”
Policeman: “You can’t dump those here.”George: “Well why not?”
Policeman: “The mayor passed a new law. These gnomes are toxic to raccoons and they can get sick if they eat them.”
George: “Do you think I care what a raccoon eats. They shouldn’t be eating trash anyway.”
Policeman: “The law does care. Each gnome you throw away is a $300 fine. So you better take what you threw away out now.”
Bassline
George is walking by Mr. Steinbrenner’s office at Yankee Stadium and overhears him on the phone
Mr. Steinbrenner: “What do you mean there is a mixup with the bobbleheads! Keith Hernandez hasn’t been in the league for years and never put on a Yankee uniform… Well then what do you want me to do about next week’s big giveaway… Your Fired.
George: “Um… Mr. Steinbrenner.”
Mr. Steinbrenner: “George! Come in come in! Take a seat, take a seat. You smell like you’ve been swimming in a dumpster. Now have you heard about this new thing called Karaoke. These people go up on stage and sing songs without any instruments…”
George: “Alright… alright. I heard there was mix-up with the bobblehead giveaway. And well, I’m looking to get rid of these little gnomes. I have about 500 of them.”
George pulls a Bone Gnome out of his pocket
Mr. Steinbrenner: “George! George! I love it! You are a genius! We’ll start producing these things right away!”
George!: “No-no… we don’t need to make anymore. I’ve got plenty.”
Mr. Steinbrenner: “Everyone’s gonna want one of these. 500? You think only one section will enjoy these. How about this first 25,000 fans at next Wednesday’s game get a free Bone Gnome!” George: “Great… just get these things off my hands.”
Bassline
Elaine has been called to J. Peterman’s office
Elaine: “Mr Peterman?”
J. Peterman: “Oh Elaine! It is so good to see you.”
Elaine: “What was it you wanted to talk to me about?”
J. Peterman: “Last Spring I took a holiday in the Swiss Alps and I found the most priceless skeleton gnome. Only 500 left in the world. Well I just bought the entire collection for $850,000 from an anonymous seller out of Tuscany. I could sell them for a lot more if I were to find the right buyer.”
Elaine: “Uh huh…”
J. Peterman: “Well the shipment was supposed to arrive last week and I feel I’ve been swindled. I want you to go to the post office and figure out where these bone gnomes could have gone.”
Bassline
George meets Elaine and Jerry at the Coffee Shop
Elaine: “Why the long face?”
George: “I don’t wanna talk about it”
Jerry: “Did you get your gnome problem figured out?”
George starts to cry
George: “The game was rained out! Cancelled! I tried to give these bone gnomes away at the game, but now I can’t because the rest of the season is booked with give-aways!”
Jerry: “Well looks like you’re just back where you started.”
George: “Worse… Worse! I now have 25,000 gnomes because Mr. Steinbrenner made more of them. There was no place to store them in the stadium, so he had a truck drop them off at my apartment building! Every surface of my home is filled with these bone gnomes!”
George picks up a bone gnome and squeezes it
Elaine: “Hey! I can solve your problem.”
George: “Really? And how is that.”
Elaine: “My boss has been looking for those gnomes all week. He ordered a ton of them, and it looks like they were sent to you by mistake. I was just on my way to the post office to figure things out.”
Jerry: Well looks like your problem is solved.
George: Perfect! He can have them all!
Bassline
Elaine is delivering boxes of Bone Gnomes to J. Peterman’s office
Elaine: Phew… I think that’s the last box…
J. Peterman: Thank you Elaine… I couldn’t have done it without you. Where did you find these?
Elaine: My friend George had thousands of these from the cancelled Yankee game.
J. Peterman: Wait a second. How many did you say he had?
Elaine: I think 25,000
J. Peterman put his hand over his face and sighs in disappointment as he knows the current value of his Bone Gnomes is far lower than the original price of what he paid.
Bassline
Newman is standing in his apartment wearing his mailman uniform.
Newman: Hahahahahaha! HAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAAHA!
Outro Bassline

I know surveying my area would be important, but my thought was asking doesn't hurt. There appears to be enough players to occupy all about 4 places in a 20 or minute drive from my home though
So my wonder was a store focused on selling minis, books, snacks, offering tables to rent, which would let you borrow minis, terrain, books, get some snacks, etc.
My assumption would be the rooms would have all sorts of items helpful to it, such as props, sound systems, indoor fog machines, whatever would be helpful to run a game, so the service makes sense to use for sake of not inviting strangers straight into your house for a game, helping find one, and having props that you couldn't justify purchasing normally.
Granted, this is a crude idea still, but I figure checking with other players if there's anything like this, or what they'd want to see for it.
Also, if this is the wrong flair or wrong subreddit, let me know, and ill move it.

TLDR: Am I being an entitled person for being upset at being scammed, not receiving a physical booklet from a test prep service, and getting annoyed that the nice landlords are raising the rent price by 15%?
I'm really annoyed right now due to many reasons, but I think people are either thinking I'm a Karen or entitled due to all the shit that happened today.
First off, I'm annoyed at the fact someone used my credit card to purchase $255 worth of shit at Walmart. I know that wasn't me because I didn't go to Walmart today, and because the place it was purchased at is around 1.5-2 hours away from me by bus. I could easily go to one closer than me instead of doing that. Called the bank and they were really understanding, but I kept trying to understand how this could have happened, sorta tested them to make sure they were the bank despite it being listed as the banks official phone number. I understand it's probably just paranoia, but they asked for the one-time code in order to access my account? They never asked me before so that sort of scared me. I think I might have also irritated them because I kept asking if I could have access to my bank statements since I need a bank statement for a proof of purchase that I must send to the government by April 14 or else I would be in legal trouble.
Second thing, I paid for a prep test course for one test that costs about $70. I'm annoyed because they stated they won't provide a phsyical copy anymore like they did before since the person tutoring the course does not use it but follows his own course. The person tutoring it is great, but the physical copy is also extremely useful. FURTHERMORE, the electronic PDF they send is protected so you cannot save it as a PDF to be used or written on unless you go into their website to access it or type in your credentials. I get they do that in order to ensure it's not handed out to people, but this annoys me because they will delete all materials taught after the semester is over, so you would never be able to see it again. So when I asked for the physical book, they told me they won't be providing it despite them having the means to make it and the physical book/resources is technically included in the $70 price since it was always $70 for the tutoring with the book. They're doing this just to save on costs. What irritated me the most was that they wanted me to send proof of an IEP or learning plan in order for me to get accomodations (because I stated I require a physical copy since due to my condition it makes it harder for me to learn). I felt that was overstepping the boundaries especially since those things shouldn't be needed for a service that should have provided the book to begin with since it was included in the cost. I sent them proof of a learning difficulty but because it was a government form, I could only send a bit of it because the rest had extremely sensitive information such as my SIN number. We had this back and forth for about 5-6 days and they finally gave out the request in order to get a copy printed which I would need to pick up. That's fine, I'm willing to do so, BUT THEY SENT THE FUCKING ORDER TO THE PRODUCTION COMPANY AND NOT TO THE INDEPENDENT STORE!!! This would cause the order to take anywhere from 2-7 days to be avaialbe for pickup. My fucking test is in less than 3 days from now! And they make it seem like I'm exaggeratting when I say it could arrive in 5-7 days. EVEN IF IT ARRIVES IN 2 DAYS I'D STILL BE IN DIRE STRAITS.
Another thing I'm starting to get really annoyed at is my landlord. They're nice people and they do there best to help us out if we ever ask for it, but it's getting to me that they keep raising the prices of the house and have such strict rules that does not make sense. The price we pay is already considered above what people pay currently in our area per month. Even moreso the fact that they have really strict rules, which I'm okay with, but they have really weird criterias such as make sure there isn't a lot of shoes in the front door entrance. I get that it gets crowded from time to time, but most of us only have 2-4 pairs of shoes that we use constantly. It's a house with 7 people, and the only time it truly gets crowded is when guests are over. They also don't want us to share the wifi password, but we're students who study and have friends or classmates who come over and study together or work on projects. Anyways, the rent has been increased by 15% and we've only been living here for a year. They are legally allowed to do this, but come on, we're students in a housing crisis and with a lot of student debt to pay for. I worked during the summer before with the exact same rent price I'm currently paying for. That was a 40 hour per week job at minimum wage and the rent easily took away 30-40% of what I was making in order to pay for rent. Keep in mind, I am now a full time student with approximately 26 hours per week of classes, lectures, tutorials, and labs that I attend. There is no way for me to make that money for rent and food. And I get that the house is newly renovated, but they geniunely upcharged the rent price by a lot, plus they own several properties that they either rent out or sell to earn money and have their own company. It just feel it's really disheartening to have to pay for an increased rent price when the housing prices should be going down after the pandemic crisis is adverted.
However, please tell me if I'm just being entitled or what I should do to be a better person. I have BPD so I have times when I can be pretty irrational and paranoid.

Prev

Chapter 11

General Republic Automated Repair and Recovery Station #4413A

Republic of United Systems controlled Shoal Zone

The AI aboard the automated repair and recovery station whirred to life as an unknown power source appeared on the extreme edge of its sensor range. It was faint. Attenuating its sensors to best determine exactly what had just entered the same galactic backyard as it, the AI went about its usual business of self checks, log dumps and traffic updates. All of this happened in a nanosecond of being awoken. A few more nanoseconds passed as the information gathered by the finely tuned sensors determined that the engine source nearby was extremely unstable and in need of assistance. It pinged the supposed ship, but no registration information came back. Since it was an AI, it had no feeling of urgency or error. It parsed this information like it did the rest; it put it into the “new” part of its systems and began the process of firing up a repair drone. It would charge whatever it was for its repairs, and if services were refused, the drone would return.
Two minutes after the unknown power source was detected, a repair drone was zipping its way through the cold vacuum of space. As it got closer and closer, a better picture of what the power source was and its purpose became clear to the ai. It was a ship, but it wasn’t a ship it had ever encountered, or a drive system it knew. As the drone got closer and closer, it picked up several signals, all of them foreign. The ai cross checked every known Republic and Solidarity signal, and any other that had been used in the last several years. Nothing came back as a match.
This set off some flagged responses programmed into the ai. First, it sent out a system wide drone update to look for the power source anywhere else a General Republic Automated Repair and Recovery Station was. It took less than 2 seconds for every single station to get the update. Meanwhile, the repair drone finally arrived at the location of the source. The view from the camera was that of an ad-hoc conglomeration of several different pieces of metal and asteroid flung together to make a ship. As the drone approached, several organic signals emanated from the ship. The camera was picking up Space Bugs.
The ancient warp engine of the Zartaxian Hive Hauler shunted the ugly ship roughly through space and time, bringing it to its randomized destination. It’s Zartaxian captain had no name, just a job, and that job was to find stuff. Unlike the others in his race, this Zartaxian was a drone caste, only bred for one purpose; to go out, find, and die.
After several random jumps into the deep darkness of space, This one was finally doing a very good job of the finding part. On its sensors screen, a ripe and juicy stable power source sat, alone and so easy to take. The Zartaxian had ordered its other hive members to general quarters,ordering the ship to approach whatever it was out there. However as soon as they had arrived and determined their target was safe to scavenge, something broke away from the power source and headed toward them. Whatever was heading their way was also a new power source, and very stable.
The Zartaxian had determined it was a smaller craft. Not worried as it did not seem hostile(nothing was happening other than the single craft heading their way) the Zartaxian ordered some Cold Vac members to go and bring the drone aboard. A dozen cold vac Zartaxians floated out of the bug ship toward the drone. As they approached, the drone turned away and started to burn toward its home. A few of the cold vac Zartaxians were obliterated by the sudden activity from the drone they were heading toward. This angered the Zartaxian. Ordering those still outside in the vacuum back to the ship, the Zartaxian was determined to bring back whatever it could to the Hive Station. It send out a “Happy/Find/Treasure” sensation through his ship, and ordered his crew to chase the drone down.
The automated repair drone had determined that whatever it had been sent to try and assist was not anything to offer its services too, noted the organics floating closer and closer to it, turned and began its burn back to the berth. Alien, not alien. To the drone and the Automated Repair and Recovery nothing was out of the ordinary. Just a ship that it couldn’t repaiextort out of money. Interest lost. As the drone began its return, the Station noted that the ship was following it. All attempts at communication with the ship had failed, and the Station was sending out an automated distress signal to the General Republic Station Control Center.
The on duty Control Center Engineer noticed an automated distress signal alarm had appeared on the SCADA systems log. It had happened 10 minutes ago. The Engineer puzzled over this, as every alarm that ever generated would ALWAYS show up in big yellow letters on the screen, along with in the log.
The Engineer scrolled through the log to try and see what happened. He wasn’t overly concerned about the distress signal, as it was probably something wonky with the ai. Typing a few commands, the log appeared on his screen:
[3065/22/06] 14:25:00 Zulu Station #4413A reports Prx. Alrm. Unknown.
[3065/22/06] 14:25:00 Zulu Station #4413A reports Prx. Alrm. Unknown.
[3065/22/06] 14:25:00 Zulu Station #4413A reports Prx. Alrm. Unknown.
[3065/22/06] 14:25:01 Zulu Station #4413A reports Prx. Alrm. Unknown.
[3065/22/06] 14:25:01 Zulu Station #4413A reports Prx. Alrm. Unknown.
[3065/22/06] 14:25:01 Zulu Station #4413A reports Prx. Alrm. Unknown.
[3065/22/06] 14:25:02 Zulu Station #4413A reports Prx. Alrm. Unknown.
[3065/22/06] 14:25:02 Zulu Station #4413A reports Prx. Alrm. Unknown.
[3065/22/06] 14:25:02 Zulu Station #4413A reports Prx. Alrm. Unknown.
The Engineer scrolled through every millisecond of the last 10 minutes of the alarm going off, to the very beginning.
[3065/22/06] 14:14:52 Zulu Station #4413A reports Unkn. Pwr. Src.
[3065/22/06] 14:15:36 Zulu Station #4413A reports Drone Dispatched.
[3065/22/06] 14:20:30 Zulu Station #4413A reports NoCom. NoAck. NoServ. From Drone.
[3065/22/06] 14:20:31 Zulu Station #4413A reports Drone returning.
[3065/22/06] 14:25:00 Zulu Station #4413A reports Prx. Alrm. Unknown.
The Engineer was puzzled over the info in the log. Whatever the Station had detected wasn’t a ship, so the drone it sent out came back.
“Whatever it was that it detected followed the drone back. Huh.” The Engineer said. The Station itself hadn’t broadcast any other alarm since. Acknowledging the alarm and putting it out of his mind, the Engineer went back to staring at the multiple screens on his desk.
The Station had determined that there were Organics floating around it, as whatever ship had arrived nearby had approached. It was close enough that the Station was now broadcasting on all open channels for the ship to depart its zone of control. Nothing replied. The ship seemed ignorant of its pleas, as the first Zartaxian cold vac member began dismantling the massive open gantry space station, the entire crew of the Hauler now out in the cold harshness of space, breaking the station down piece by piece.
The ai did not know it was dying. It was losing functions across many of its systems. It was sending out alarm after alarm, but nothing was coming back from the Control Center. All it could do was that, and wait.
Big red letters popped up on The Engineer's screen. This time he tore his attention away from the Gogtubeok app open on his OptiLens and read the alarms as they happened.
[3065/22/06] 14:42:021 Zulu Station #4413A reports Dmg. Ext. FuelStor.
[3065/22/06] 14:42:022 Zulu Station #4413A reports Dmg. Ext. FuelStor.
[3065/22/06] 14:42:023 Zulu Station #4413A reports Dmg. Ext. FuelStor.
[3065/22/06] 14:42:024 Zulu Station #4413A reports Dmg. Ext. FuelStor.
[3065/22/06] 14:42:025 Zulu Station #4413A reports Dmg. Int. Core. Reg.
[3065/22/06] 14:42:026 Zulu Station #4413A reports Dmg. Int. Core. Reg.
[3065/22/06] 14:42:027 Zulu Station #4413A reports Dmg. Int. Core. Reg.
[3065/22/06] 14:42:028 Zulu Station #4413A reports Dmg. Int. Core. Reg.
[3065/22/06] 14:42:029 Zulu Station #4413A reports Dmg. Int. Core. Reg.
This startled The Engineer. Something was tearing Station #4413A apart. He looked around the cool, dark office that was the General Republic Control Center and sighed.
“What was the procedure for this again?” The Engineer said, opening a drawer and pulling out a thick, dust covered book. Sure things were electronic, but a lot of information wasn’t stored like it was back in the day. The Engineer was old school. Blowing off the cover of the thick novel like book, the words “Control Center Uncommon Occurrences Procedure” were printed in gold leaf lettering. The Engineer cracked open the tome, and flipped to a certain page.
In flowing cursive were three sentences:
“In case of strange or unkn. Alarms from any station, dispatch Station Patrol to investigate. Dispatch as soon as first alarm comes in. Could be rampancy.”
The Engineer furrowed his brow. This was an old book, so he knew that there had been plenty of changes in the use of ai on the stations. It certainly wasn’t rampancy. So the second part of the advice sucked. The first made sense to The Engineer. So he closed the book, put it back in the drawer, and closed it.
He typed a few words on a small terminal, and sent out a dispatch request to the closest Station Patrol group to investigate. Patrol Group Theta-Hart acknowledged the dispatch, and The Engineer sat back. His job was done, for now.
​
Prev

Welcome to The Fleet Facto®y!

Est. 2946
 
Standalone Ships:

Type	Name	Melt value	Upgrade value	Price
CCU'd	Prospector LTI	$115	$155	$139
CCU'd	Vulture LTI	$110	$175	$145
CCU'd	Super Hornet LTI	$150	$180	$164
CCU'd	Constellation Taurus LTI	$125	$190	$165
CCU'd	Hurricane LTI	$120	$195	$169
CCU'd	Vulcan LTI	$135	$200	$174
CCU'd	Terrapin LTI	$155	$220	$189
CCU'd	Defender LTI	$155	$220	$189
CCU'd	Railen LTI	$160	$225	$194
CCU'd	Constellation Andromeda LTI	$155	$240	$194
CCU'd	Corsair LTI	$160	$250	$199
CCU'd	400i LTI	$165	$250	$205
CCU'd	Mercury Star Runner LTI	$175	$260	$209
CCU'd	Mercury Star Runner LTI BIS 2951 or BIS 2952	$175	$260	$219
CCU'd	Vanguard Sentinel LTI	$190	$275	$229
CCU'd	Retaliator Heavy Bomber LTI	$190	$275	$229
CCU'd	Apollo Medivac LTI	$190	$275	$229
CCU'd	Blade LTI	$190	$275	$229
CCU'd	Harbinger LTI	$185	$290	$234
CCU'd	Eclipse LTI	$195	$300	$239
CCU'd	Constellation Aquila LTI	$205	$310	$245
CCU'd	Mole LTI	$210	$315	$249
CCU'd	Redeemer LTI	$180	$325	$249
CCU'd	Caterpillar LTI	$200	$330	$245
CCU'd	Starfarer Gemini LTI	$210	$340	$255
CCU'd	Crucible LTI	$220	$350	$269
CCU'd	Endeavor LTI	$220	$350	$269
CCU'd	Glaive LTI	$220	$350	$299
CCU'd	Hull C LTI	$185	$350	$249
CCU'd	Valkyrie LTI	$220	$375	$265
CCU'd	Galaxy LTI	$225	$380	$269
CCU'd	C2 Hercules LTI	$245	$400	$289
CCU'd	Prowler LTI	$255	$440	$304
CCU'd	600i Explorer LTI	$260	$475	$315
CCU'd	M2 Hercules LTI	$265	$520	$325
CCU'd	Carrack LTI	$305	$600	$385
CCU'd	Merchantman LTI	$280	$650	$399
CCU'd	Perseus LTI	$305	$675	$429
CCU'd	Odyssey LTI	$330	$700	$449
CCU'd	Hammerhead	$305	$725	$439
CCU'd	A2 Hercules LTI	$330	$750	$465
CCU'd	Polaris LTI	$330	$750	$465

Special offers, limited numbers:

Type	Name	Upgrade value	Price	Quantity

 
Ship and Vehicle Upgrades:

Type	Name	Price
AEGIS
CCU	325A to Avenger Titan Renegade	$10
CCU	Reliant Kore to Avenger Titan Renegade	$18
CCU	Reliant Tana to Avenger Warlock	$18
CCU	325A to Avenger Warlock	$25
CCU	315P to Avenger Warlock	$30
CCU	Vanguard Harbinger to Eclipse	$18
CCU	Cutlass Black to Gladius Valiant	$18
CCU	M50 to Gladius Valiant	$18
CCU	Odyssey to Hammerhead	$45
CCU	Odyssey to Nautilus	$45
CCU	Valkyrie to Reclaimer	$45
CCU	Gladiator to Sabre	$11
CCU	Super Hornet to Sabre Comet	$11
CCU	Sabre to Sabre Comet	$25
CCU	Terrapin to Vanguard Hoplite	$25
CCU	Apollo Triage to Vanguard Warden	$18
CCU	Vanguard Hoplite to Vanguard Warden	$39
CCU	Sabre Comet to Vulcan	$25
CCU	Super Hornet to Vulcan	$32
ANVIL
CCU	Freelancer DUR to Ballista	$11
CCU	Liberator to Carrack	$44
CCU	Carrack to Carrack w/C8X STD edition	$44
CCU	Starfarer Gemini to Crucible	$18
CCU	Prospector to Gladiator	$17
CCU	Reliant Mako to Hawk	$11
CCU	Gladius to Hawk	$17
CCU	Sabre Comet to Hornet Heartseeker	$18
CCU	Super Hornet to Hornet Heartseeker	$26
CCU	Prospector to Hornet Wildfire	$32
CCU	Taurus to Hurricane	$11
CCU	Sabre Comet to Hurricane	$17
CCU	Super Hornet to Hurricane	$25
CCU	F7C Hornet to Legionnaire	$18
CCU	Mustang Beta to Pisces C8X	$10
CCU	Dragonfly Black to Pisces C8X	$10
CCU	Arrow to Spartan	$11
CCU	Hornet Wildfire to Super Hornet	$11
CCU	Sabre to Super Hornet	$17
CCU	Khartu-Al to Super Hornet	$17
CCU	Gladiator to Super Hornet	$25
CCU	Prospector to Super Hornet	$39
CCU	Vulcan to Terrapin	$33
CCU	Crucible to Valkyrie	$44
CCU	Endeavor to Valkyrie	$44
CCU	Hull C to Valkyrie	$44
AOPOA / XI'AN
CCU	Gladiator to Khartu-Al	$11
CCU	Prospector to Khartu-Al	$25
CCU	Dragonfly Black to Nox	$11
CCU	X1 Base to Nox Kue	$12
CCU	Vulcan to San'tok.Yai	$33
ARGO
CCU	P-52 Merlin to MPUV Cargo BIS 2951	$13
CCU	Mustang Alpha to MPUV Cargo	$11
CCU	Razor to SRV	$11
CCU	Tracker to SRV	$18
CCU	Vulture to SRV	$18
BANU
CCU	Andromeda to Merchantman	$269
CONSOLIDATED OUTLAND
CCU	Avenger Stalker to Mustang Delta	$10
CCU	300i to Mustang Delta	$17
CRUSADER
CCU	Andromeda to Ares Inferno	$18
CCU	Andromeda to Ares Ion	$18
CCU	Valkyrie to Genisis Starliner	$44
CCU	Nautilus to Hercules A2	$45
CCU	Hammerhead to Hercules A2	$45
CCU	Valkyrie to Hercules C2	$44
CCU	400i to Mercury Star Runner	$18
CCU	Andromeda to Mercury Star Runner	$33
DRAKE
CCU	Cutlass Black to Buccaneer	$17
CCU	Hawk to Buccaneer	$17
CCU	M50 to Buccaneer	$17
CCU	Mole to Caterpillar	$25
CCU	Sabre to Cutlass Blue	$11
CCU	Prospector to Cutlass Blue	$32
CCU	Reliant Tana to Herald	$17
CCU	325A to Herald	$24
CCU	Dragonfly Black to Mule	$11
CCU	Andromeda to Corsair	$18
KRUGER
MISC
CCU	Starfarer Gemini to Endeavor	$18
CCU	Hornet Tracker to Expanse	$17
CCU	Sabre to Freelancer MIS	$10
CCU	Gladiator to Freelancer MIS	$17
CCU	Prospector to Freelancer MIS	$33
CCU	Spartan to Hull A	$17
CCU	Arrow to Hull A	$23
CCU	Cutlass Red to Hull B	$11
CCU	Starfarer Gemini to Hull C	$18
CCU	Prowler to Hull D	$19
CCU	Perseus to Odyssey	$44
CCU	Tracker to Razor	$11
CCU	Freelancer DUR to Razor	$17
CCU	Hornet Ghost to Razor	$32
CCU	Razor to Razor LX	$11
CCU	Tracker to Razor LX	$17
CCU	Freelancer MAX to Razor EX	$11
CCU	Razor LX to Razor EX	$11
CCU	Retaliator Base to Razor EX	$11
CCU	325A to Reliant Tana	$10
CCU	Arrow to Reliant Sen	$17
CCU	Reliant Tana to Reliant Sen	$17
CCU	325A to Reliant Sen	$24
CCU	Gladius to Reliant Mako	$10
CCU	325A to Reliant Mako	$36
CCU	Mole to Starfarer Gemini	$41
CCU	Starfarer to Starfarer Gemini	$58
ORIGIN
CCU	Dragonfly Black to 100i	$17
CCU	Ursa Rover to 125A	$17
CCU	Avenger Titan to 125A	$12
CCU	100i to 125A	$17
CCU	125A to 135C	$11
CCU	300i to 135C	$17
CCU	Mustang Gamma to 135C	$17
CCU	Andromeda to 400i	$18
CCU	Aurora CL to 85X	$11
CCU	Mustang Gamma to G12	$11
CCU	Mustang Gamma to G12R Racing	$11
CCU	Avenger Stalker to G12A Military	$11
CCU	G12 to G12A Military	$11
CCU	G12R Racing to G12A Military	$11
CCU	Reliant Mako to M50 Interceptor	$11
CCU	Gladius to M50 Interceptor	$17
CCU	Dragonfly Black to X1 Velocity	$11
CCU	X1 Baseline to X1 Velocity	$11
CCU	X1 Velocity to X1 Force	$11
CCU	Dragonfly Black to X1 Force	$17
CCU	X1 Baseline to X1 Force	$17
RSI
CCU	Apollo Triage to Apollo Medivac	$38
CCU	Vanguard Warden to Apollo Medivac	$27
CCU	Vanguard Hoplite to Apollo Triage	$26
CCU	Aurora MR to Aurora LX	$11
CCU	Razor to Mantis	$10
CCU	Hornet Tracker to Mantis	$18
CCU	Hammerhead to Polaris	$45
CCU	85X to Ursa Rover Fortuna	$12
CCU	Ursa Rover to Ursa Rover Fortuna	$12
CCU	X1 Force to Ursa Rover Fortuna	$12
TUMBRIL
CCU	Cyclone to Cyclone RC	$18
CCU	Cyclone to Cyclone TR	$18
CCU	Cyclone to Cyclone RN	$18
CCU	Cyclone to Cyclone AA	$37
CCU	Cyclone RC to Cyclone AA	$25
CCU	Cyclone TR to Cyclone AA	$25
CCU	Cyclone RN to Cyclone AA	$25
CCU	Ursa Rover to Cyclone	$11
CCU	Ursa Rover to Cyclone RC	$25
CCU	Ursa Rover to Cyclone TR	$25
CCU	Ursa Rover to Cyclone RN	$25
CCU	Ursa Rover to Cyclone AA	$45
CCU	300i to Cyclone RC	$11
CCU	300i to Cyclone TR	$11
CCU	300i to Cyclone RN	$11
CCU	325a to Cyclone MT	$18
CCU	Arrow to Cyclone AA	$11
CCU	F7C Hornet to Nova Tank	$17
CCU	Mustang Alpha to Ranger CV	$11
CCU	Mustang Alpha to Ranger RC	$11
CCU	Ranger CV to Ranger TR	$11
CCU	Ranger RC to Ranger TR	$11

 
Paints:

Ship	Name	Price
Aegis Avenger	Blue and gold ILW 2950	$15
Aegis Avenger	Solar Winds Paint	$15
Aegis Gladius	Solar Winds Paint	$18
Aegis Vanguard	Solar Winds Paint	$22
Anvil Arrow	Twilight ILW 2950	$15
Anvil Legionnaire	Shadow Strike Paint	$18
Anvil Valkyrie	Splinter ILW 2950	$24
Anvil Liberator	Condor	$35
Crusader Mercury	Fortuna	$23
Cursader Spirit	Crimson	$20
Cursader Spirit	Intrepid	$20
Cursader Spirit	Olympia	$20
Drake Dragonfly	Ghoulish Green	$15
Drake Cutlass	Ghoulish Green	$15
Drake Cutlass	Scull and Crossbones	$19
Drake Buccaneer	Ghoulish Green	$18
Drake Caterpillar	Ghoulish Green	$22
Drake Herald	Ghoulish Green	$18
Drake Mule	Ghoulish Green	$14
Drake Mule	Smokestack	$9
Drake Vulture	Ghoulish Green	$20
Gatac Railen	Hyaotan	$23
Greycat STV	Blue Steel	$9
Misc Freelancer	Paint pack ILW 2950	$23
Misc Starfarer	Paint pack ILW 2950	$43
Misc Expanse	Stardust	$20
Origin 400i	Fortuna	$23
Origin 400i	Penumbra	$23
Origin 400i	Meridian	$23
Origin 600i	Fortuna	$29
RSI Aurora	Blue and gold ILW2950	$15
RSI Constellation	Blue and gold ILW2950	$22
RSI Scorpius	Stinger	$23

 
BUKs, modules and more:

Type	Name	Insurance	Melt value	Price

 
Other:

Type	Name	Price
Flair	Gamescom 2946 subscriber trophy	$11
Flair	Gamescom 2946 trophy	$11
Flair	Citizencon 2946 subscriber trophy	$11
Flair	Citizencon 2946 trophy	sold out
Flair	Citizencon 2947 trophy	$11

 

• CCU = Cross-Chassis Upgrade. • Melt value = what you get if you decide to exchange your ship for store credits. • Upgrade value = this is the value you upgrade from if you decide to do that. • LTI = Lifetime insurance. • MI = Month insurance. • OC = Original Concept. • Prices include PayPal fees. PayPal invoice will be sent. • Buyer must be PayPal verified, I am since 2008. • I do not have a Discord account and I do not middleman! • HOW TO BUY: PM me what you would like to buy together with your PayPal email. I will then send you an invoice. Once the invoice has been paid the bought item will be gifted to your PayPal email. You will then receive a mail from RSI which contains a gift link. The link transfers the gift to your Hangar (RSI website, if you are logged in, or it will ask you to do so). • If you are interested - send me a PM. My down time is usually between 11 pm - 7 am UTC (CET) 

Have a good day!

Hey y'all, I'm a business owner in Canyon Lake, TX and our store was robbed a few days ago. We have a lead that the individual responsible may have gone to Wylie High School. We were hoping someone could look through a recent year book and confirm his identity. Thank you!