I just don't kno why shes doing this. I mean i didn't invite her to a party before cuz we aren't friends. I Did say to her 'unfortunately I have to work with u' when She said we are working together. Maybe she took it the wrong way but i didn't say anything to her after.
I mean, she did say in front of my boss ' he always tries to put me down, saying things about me.' She doesn't try to one up me, but she does call me out when she has the chance....
I mean i defend myself and I do call her out , i mean what is going on..?
Why is she acting so negative towards me.

I didn't get my atlas bucks. I hooked up the card I used yesterday, activated a reward, bought from a local restaurant and got rewarded. Today, I activated another reward, bought from different restaurant, no reward.
First one was Moe's, and the second one was Burger King. I don't understand why one paid and the other hasn't.
Is there a time threshold after the transaction before I get my reward, or is there a minimum I need to pay?

Hi!
I am writing this post because I personally find posts rating classes very useful, so I hope this is useful to someone who intends to take 128. FYI I started coding in college and while I didn't love it at first, I think I have come to like it a lot more after 128. I got an A- in the class and I am very happy with how I did. Here is how I felt about 128:
The good parts:

1. It definitely prepares you extremely well. If you have not coded before/ lack experience I would say MP 1 and 2 are tough, but by 3 you get used to it. The class really gets tough for everyone for MP 5,6,7. Make sure you rack up as much extra credit as you can in the first couple of MPs.
2. Once you get a hang of the stuff it's doable. I honestly would advise you to just believe in yourself. Looking back I think I would freak out more about the extremely long MPs than necessary. It will be fine :)
3. I really liked naive databases, DNA forensics, and circular LL MPs. They were pretty fun.

The not-so-good parts:

1. The lack of help is astounding. I remember being in the queue for 5 hours for one of the MPs. I think maybe they can regulate how many times you can re-enter the queue or after how much time you may re-enter. But honestly, I think I cried out of frustration during Seam Carver because I just did not get the help I needed.
2. I liked how in 124 there would be alternative explanations from TAs, I think you can add that to this class. Also, I remember for one of the MPs (seam carver I think?) there was a video explaining what they meant, and I really appreciated that. Honestly, the MPs are so text-heavy, so more video explanations would be awesome!
3. I worked on Windows and went through hell and back. There has to be a better way. The EWS is really not good to work with. I re-downloaded docker 3 times this semester and missed a deadline because of that. There was no extension/ exemption for that so consider switching to a Mac for this class if you can. Otherwise, familiarize yourself with the EWS.
4. I don't like the way shared pointers were covered. It's an interesting concept but the MP was really weird in how it introduced it.

Overall it's a good class and is held together by AMAZING CAs, but I think they really need to improve the way office hours are handled.

I find it sad that my PA seems to be doing great, and for some reason it’s still very hard for me to believe.
I’m 33/f and husband is 39/m. Together for 13 years. Porn was an issue almost immediately in the beginning. We had issues with it off and on. Then I let it go around 2016.
We’ve had so many DDays, but I’ll only talk about the most recent two. First being February 25th of 2022. In which I found the following after not looking in his phone for 4 years.
— He at some point began to browse escort ad websites. Which lead to him at some point buying a cheap secret phone to contact them. In which he kept the phone in our vehicle in a compartment I never checked or under the seat.
— He kept forgetting to pay the secret phones bill, so at some point around May 2021, he started using his own phone to contact them. This would be his demise when at 4am one of them decided to text him, and I had a gut feeling to pick it up and check for some reason.
— Upon going through the rest of the phone, I opened CashApp to find money being sent to several female account names I didn’t recognize, starting in May 2021.
— I did some digging and got their real names and numbers and contacted them asking them to help me out with info. Only a few obliged. In one conversation he was telling a girl he’s been looking for an escort that does bareback and looks good looking for months. That he wants to meet up, but can’t at that moment, but wants to meet soon. Then sent her $50 as a good faith payment, and another $50 for a few nudes.
He denied everything. He used excuses such as “Someone hacked my cashapp account. Someone spoofed my phone number. Someone lost that phone in our vehicle.” Mother in Law passed away during this time, life got crazy, and we moved on from it. This is when he put a new passcode on his phone that I wasn’t allowed to access, after always having an open phone policy.
I was able to access it once while he was asleep in October 2022, in which I found links to OnlyFans. Assuming he clicked on a link being curious, I didn’t say anything about it. It sounds sad but I was mostly relived to not have found texts from escorts or the escort website. We had a talk about OnlyFans the year before in which he made it clear it was off limits for both of us.
Which brings us to the most recent dday, February 3rd of this year. We had some drinks and he passed out in bed with his phone unlocked. Due to some weird events the previous weekend, I had a feeling something was up. I even came to him and asked if he had a porn addiction again because of it, in which he smiled and hugged me and laughed, and assured me he did not. This is what I found the night he passed out with the phone unlocked.
— Several days with links to OnlyFans, in which the links showed he had an actual account.
— In his photos section he had screenshots of OnlyFans profiles. In the “deleted photos” section, a photo of an OF profile and an accidental screenshot of a porn video featuring “teen” and “step sis” in the title.
— A secret Instagram account and Twitter account.
— Looked through his TikTok Watch History and found out why he had been obsessed with the app for the last few years. He was watching half naked young women and accounts made to promote their OF accounts.
— That he absolutely had a raging porn addiction and it likely never ceased for any period of time.
— That for years when he got out of work, he was sitting in his truck in the back of the building watching porn for 45 minutes to an hour before coming home. This explained why he got out at 6pm, but got home at 7pm, despite working 5 minutes down the road.
When confronted the day after, he was defensive per usual. He tried minimizing like usual, “I know you don’t like the porn” and “I just like seeing naked women.” And “All men do it, good luck finding one that doesn’t do it.” After further discussions this is when he broke down and seemed to start seeing the light.
He dropped the defensive attitude, and suddenly came to me saying he felt he had a problem. That he wanted help. That he knows not all men do it to that extent and was always embarrassed. He signed up for health insurance and asked me to help find him a therapist. He started answering every question I had truthfully. Past and present. That the escort situation was a fantasy and he never planned on actually doing it, lied to them so they wouldn’t block him ( don’t believe that based on the screenshots. )
All of that to say this. The first two months after, It was very hard for me to believe that he wasn’t still using Incognito to watch it. Even though I was checking Google Activity and Location, I just couldn’t believe he was able to stop like that.
So a month ago I put one of those spy apps on his phone. I thought for sure I would find out then. The app logs even Incognito use, apps downloaded and deleted, everything. It’s been exactly a month, and not one single thing has popped up that he shouldn’t be doing. Nothing.
You would think that would make me feel better! Sometimes it does. But other times it just makes me feel like he’s using another device I don’t know about. It’s that hard to believe. I keep waiting to open the app and see something, and yet it never happens. In a way it almost annoys me sometimes, because I wanted to finally see what he browses in Incognito. What keywords he searches, is he still going on escort ads, ect. Yet there is nothing.
It’s sad that it leads to this, that even when they are doing everything right, it’s hard to believe. You just keep waiting for the shoe to drop. Since that’s how it’s always been. They promise to quit, but never did. You think things are great, then a bomb gets dropped. I truly wonder how long it takes for that feeling to go away.

I'm taking a course on creative writing, and came up with this short story. Hope you like it.

A relaxing life

I wake up to the ship alarms, “Warning. Hull integrity at twenty percent.”
Through the canopy I can only see the grey rigged surface of a massive asteroid. It’s blocking my entire field of view, some of its surface glowing incandescent. I turn off the mining laser and I pull the thrusters on full reverse, watching the asteroid moving slowly away from me, rotating on the horizontal axis. It has a huge protuberance on the left, and it’s getting closer to the left side of my ship. If I can’t get out of its reach, it’s going to hit me again.
This would be easier in a smaller and faster ship, but in a Type-9 this was almost impossible. Being 100 meters wide and long, piloting this ship is like piloting your own city block. I roll the ship to the left, trying to bring the left part of the ship down and evade the asteroid’s arm. I avoid a direct hit, but I’m not fast enough and we take a glancing blow. I can feel the soft tremor when the protuberance hits the ship, “Warning. Hull integrity at fifteen percent.”
The ship is as fast as it could be on reverse gear. We slowly get out of immediate danger, the massive asteroid still in front of us but no longer blocking my view. The asteroid sea surrounds us. Left, right, up, and down, there are asteroids of every size and shape in all directions. I feel a sudden punch behind me as the ship hits another asteroid, this time on our back, “Warning. Hull integrity at six percent.” I curse myself and push the throttle a bit forward, parking the ship between the two asteroids. Now I’m fully awake.
Laser mining was supposed to be relaxing and safe. Sometimes it became even too relaxing. This was not the first time that I fell asleep while mining, but it was the first time that I hammer the ship into an asteroid in the process. And without the shields, the hull took all the impact. Cmdr. Peta was surprised when I said that I ditched the shields in my mining ship to save internal space, which allowed me to get more cargo. He will find it funny that I almost blow the ship while mining alone in a desert ring.
I didn’t like to hunt anymore, so I left my bounty hunting days behind me. No more boosting the agile Fer-de-Lance, the favorite ship of bounty hunters, inside a station like an irresponsible teenager, just to hear that low-frequency hum, cut by high-pitched turbine-like whine that anticipates the fierce roar and the huge acceleration of the ship, while you maneuver it gracefully through the station entrance that resemble so much a mail slot, getting a warning from the authorities for dangerous piloting. No, the Type-9 is a massive brick that requires patience, concentration, and attention to detail. Piloting this inside a mining asteroid ring requires some kind of humble respect for the massiveness of the objects involved. I like this.
I begin to assess the situation. My cargo was at 90 percent capacity. I push away the temptation to keep mining to reach 100 percent. With only six percent of hull integrity, even the slightest hit would tear us apart. If I had put even a small capacity shield, I would probably be carrying roughly the same amount of cargo, but without the danger of getting the ship destroyed. The irony.
I think that whatever course of action, it is best to leave the ring for now. I slowly push the throttle forward and pitch the ship upwards, dodging the asteroids. We get out, my field of view expanding to contemplate the white planetary ring, reflecting the distant star’s light. It’s like a peaceful wide road, going straight for millions of kilometers, until it turns right and disappears behind the light-purple gas giant that it’s orbiting.
I make a cup of coffee, stretch my legs, and start looking for stations with good selling prices. I find one, only one jump away, in a high population system. In other words, risk of pirates. Maybe the system has good security. I come back to my chair, “Sorry girl,” I said, while checking the controllers. “We’ll arrive in a station in no time, you’re getting repaired and will be as good as new, how about that?” I engage the Frame Shift Drive, and we jump to the station’s star system. We’re now only a couple hundreds light-seconds away from the station, traversing in supercruise mode. In normal space this would take months, but in supercruise it’s a matter of minutes.
The station is just a few light-seconds away when I notice two ships behind us, getting closer. The familiar acute noise announces the interdiction, revealing that another ship is trying to get me out of supercruise. I concede to the interdiction, preventing my FSD to overload, thus making reboot faster. When we drop into normal space we are soon followed by a Python ship, and I can see it aiming at us. The pilot opens a communication channel, “Give me some of your cargo or this gets real interesting.” These guys don’t even bother to type the messages themselves; it is always this cold copy-paste communications. His friend doesn’t drop by our location for any reason. If I had shields, I could endure some shots while the hyperdrive charges and boost away. But I look at the bottom right panel, showing the hull integrity “6%”. Any shot and we’re blown to pieces. The best option is to comply.
I start to ditch the results of my honest work to this douchebag, thinking about the time that I spent in the asteroid ring. At least if the ship survives, I won’t have to buy another one, with all the right pieces, and start anew. The truth is that the ship is worth far more than this single cargo. A few moments later two Federal Assault Ships drop to normal space, “This is system security, please comply.” The battle between them and the pirate starts soon after that. Great, now I’m in the middle of a gunfight.
I hold the throttle and look at my cargo floating in space, abandoned by the pirate. The other ships are busy fighting, and I still have some collector limpets. I shouldn’t be this greedy, but I open the cargo hatch and release all my limpets, recollecting my hard-earned materials. The three ships pass beside us, and I hope that we’re not hit by mistake. When we are almost finished picking up all the materials, another ship drops to normal space. The pirate’s friend with another Python. I close the cargo hatch, engage the FSD, push the throttle all the way forward, and activate the engine’s boost. The deep rumble and the throaty roar announcing that the ship is using its full power, making the hull vibrate. I’m not betting on those cops now. I shout aloud in celebration when the hyperdrive gets us into supercruise. Take that Cmdr. Peta, who needs a shield now?
We get out of supercruise at the station location, the massive structure always rotating to provide artificial gravity. I ask for dock authorization, which they grant automatically. I’m hovering my finger on the panel, almost turning the docking computer on. The docking computer can save a lot of work and, nine out of ten times, lands the ship safely. But sometimes it miscalculates the station’s rotation and grazes the Type-9 on the mail slot. This is usually not a problem, but with only six percent of hull integrity I’m not taking any chances.
I take manual control and carefully pilot the ship to the station’s entrance. When we’re right in front of it I synchronize our rotation to the station’s, adjusting it every second. Getting a one hundred meters city block through this portal is not an easy task. I can already see the station’s interior, the two-kilometer-wide hollow cylinder. The internal surface is filled with spaceports, highways, and even leisure parks.
We’re halfway through the gate, entering the internal atmosphere when I hear the familiar low-frequency hum, cut by high-pitched turbine-like whine. I look forward and see a Fer-de-Lance boosting directly towards me. The pilot, probably a teenager, didn’t bother to check which ship was entering the station. Any other ship and he could pass beside us, but the Type-9 takes almost the entirety of the mail slot. He hammers us, his shield absorbing the hit, but to my shieldless ship this was the final blow.
I’m ejected, propelled into the station’s atmosphere, flying away from my ship. I turn myself around, floating alone inside the station, just to watch my ship exploding with hours of mining work and hundreds of millions in equipment.
I try to chuckle, thinking that Cmdr. Peta is going to laugh at this. Next time I’ll use a shield.

I’m a 30 year old guy who has a date with someone tomorrow and she wants me to have sex with her after.
I don’t know why I’m nervous a day before, but I think it’s because I like her and don’t want her to judge me based on my performance which I’m sure she inevitably will.
I hear a drink or two may help get me tipsy and mellow out, like a glass of red wine. I don’t drink but I’m a big guy, 6’4 and muscular with some fat. We plan on eating right before so I was thinking of maybe chugging a glass beforehand so it’ll kick in and food won’t affect absorption.
Is there another way to just get out of my head and enjoy it rather than be nervous?
We played around a couple of nights ago and she said I was really good with my fingers and all but I wasn’t able to fully penetrate her that night due to anxiety. I’ll be taking tadalafil as well but concerned about my anxiety mainly
Thanks for any advice

I am a student planning to save a little and get the GW4. Still not fully sure if I should buy or not.
So I have some doubts before deciding.
Can I leave my phone at home if I go for a run and workout in the park neatby even on the non lte version?
Also I am seeing many reports of poor battery life. To old users how is the battery degradation after one year and how is the after sales service and repairability?

I’m still in completely shock. I’ve built up my brand for the last three years. Some scum bag from Turkey came and hacked my page right after 4/20. I haven’t been the same since. My business, my brand, he STOLE for complete free! I’ve tried to get my account back, but instagram was no help. You know they even allowed him to get verified on my ACCOUNT. Everyone keeps telling me things will be better than they were before but for some reason, I don’t feel like that. How do I get out of this drought?

I’m married for 11 months to a person I chose. I was brought up in a family where my father was mostly away. My mother was very young when she conceived me, she was a teen. So you can realise the trauma i might have been through. To give an idea, after turning 15 I came to know my mother was raped by my father. So I’ve my own struggles coping with all these. I developed anxiety, co-dependency. My past relationships didn’t help either. A 7 yr relationship ended because of my ex’s addiction problem. So I really struggle with believing people, or their intentions with me.
However, a year ago I decided to marry a person I’ve known for over a decade. He was a friend and when things turned romantic I was head over heels for him. The transition was so smooth. There was no awkwardness. But the red flags I ignored was love bombing, him turning away just a few months after we got together. I also saw a controlling side of him. He can get very possessive and angry. He’s very rigid with what he believes in. If I’m being honest I didn’t take much time exploring our relationship. I had good faith in him as he has been an amazing friend, our chemistry was spot on. But he has this cycle where he will get angry at the smallest things i.e me being upset/distant. And I’ve believed for a long time I cause his anger. I’ve tried to mend my “ways” like limiting my alone time or not becoming silent and addressing the issues. But nothing seems to help. His pattern is always the same, he gets angry, he screams at me, he says very hurtful things, he blames me for his actions but then he APOLOGISES!! Admits he was wrong and promises to never do this again. But this cycle doesn’t stop.
To give an idea, A few days before we got married, he pointed out how my family wasn’t doing anything “special” for him, which really hurt me. As I had to sacrifice a lot, and had zero demands from him. I was very understanding about the whole situation and all I really wanted was to marry the love of my life, that was my only focus. And so the most expenses in my wedding was done by my family. I bought him expensive gifts with my own money, I also shared the hotel booking cost with him for our nuptial night. Even if you keep these financial responsibilities aside, our whole wedding was planned and executed to every details by me only. I had just gotten into a job but managed to do do it all in less than 3 weeks. And after we got married, my father paid every expense for me to be with him in a foreign country where he is pursuing his masters. I did all the research and paperwork, whatever was needed. And i did all of these HAPPILY for him. I didn’t expect an extravagant wedding or gifts from him. We didn’t even get to go on a honeymoon. And I was understanding about every single thing.
But during that argument, just two days before our wedding, he got a little handsy with me for the first time. Grabbing my face/neck, telling me how he is to blame for giving me so much “courage” to disrespect him. Simply ‘cause I told him he was small minded for even thinking like that. Because I was very hurt by it. It seemed like he was taking all of these for granted. And since we got married this has happened atleast 4 times. He has promised to see a therapist for this, because he too believed he needs it. But it’s been weeks and he doesn’t make effort. Tonight I brought it up and he told me how hard I am on him, How much I hurt him, How I’m not doing enough for him.
I’m not in a good headspace to write but if I summarise my abusiveness-

1. I am toxic as in I become silent when I can’t emotionally cope with a situation.
   
2. I give silent treatment that can be hurtful.
   
3. If he uses sentences like “you’ll never change” “you are so hard on me” “nothing will make you happy” I get extremely triggered and my reactions can be ugly. I get very confrontational and I get really angry too.
   
4. If we fight I always bring up previous issues (that still haven’t been resolved).
   
5. I jump to conclusions very easily. I use sentences like: I will leave you if this continues. Or that I will go back to my parents. Or you’ve ruined my life.
   
6. One time I during our fight I got scared that he might hit me, so I pushed him, hit him in the chest telling him to get away. But he hadn’t really hit me. And this made him cry uncontrollably. (But I’ve never repeated it and I will never again do this to a person I love so wholeheartedly.)
   
7. Whenever he starts shouting I try to leave the room this causes him to hold me down.
   

I have really been trying to acknowledge and minimise my toxicity to make this work. But I hardly ever start a fight or even If do I don’t make things nasty. I always hope it will go as a normal conversation where I’ll be heard and understood. And if not I won’t be abused at-least. I’ve really tried to communicate things to him instead of going silent but it seems like that causes more argument.
30 mins ago I was uncontrollably sobbing and looking down from the terrace in a trance thinking of jumping off.. simply cause I am not being able to process. I know tomorrow morning I’ve to patch things up with him and accept his apologies and move on. And things will be good for another week too until it’s not. I’m going crazy trying to figure out where I’m wrong? It’s like no matter what I do or say can be turned against me. And all the pain and hard work I go through seems meaningless.
Note: I’m in a foreign country with him and I don’t have health insurance. So I can’t access therapy or seek professional help if I want to. I’m supporting myself with a small job since he’s a student. So don’t suggest psychiatrist or therapy for me. We also can’t go into couple counselling. Please share your valuable opinions/suggestions on what to do.
Tl;dr: Even though my husband has anger issues who gets angry for the smallest thing and sometimes gets a little handsy, I am still unsure if I’m playing any role to cause it. I don’t react loudly like him but I get distant. I give silent treatment. I try to wake up and leave mid-argument if he starts shouting. I bring up previous issues in fight that haven’t been resolved. I jump to conclusions and threaten to leave him when things turn ugly between us.

Hello,
I need to share my story and get some advice because I'm in a really bad situation after moving into a flat with my friend. It's turned into a complete disaster, and I'm filled with regret and confusion.
A few months ago, my friend and I decided to find a flat together. We discussed our budget and found a decent place.The flat needed some minor repairs and cleaning. It was a 2bhk with ACs, a washing machine, and a gas stove already installed. We thought it was good enough, so we finalized the flat and told the broker we'd move in within a month, expecting the necessary repairs to be done.
But as the moving day approached, the flat was still not ready. No repairs had been made, and we were furious with the broker for not taking care of it. We demanded that he gets everything fixed as soon as possible. Then, my friend's boyfriend visited the flat and made it clear that he didn't like it at all. He even said he wouldn't come to visit her if she lived there. This made my friend lose her shit.
Instead of discussing it with me, she secretly went to the broker and asked to see another flat. She found one, and started pestering to move there. The problem was, the new flat was way above my budget and didn't have all the amenities like the first one. It had an AC only in one room (it gets very hot where we live) and no washing machine or gas stove. I refused to move there, but she kept pushing me and trying to convince me. I even brought up losing the brokerage money I paid, which was a lot. I stood my ground and said no.
One day, when I was busy, I asked my friend to go to our first flat and check if the repairs were finally done. Normally, I was the one handling all the communication with the broker, but I needed her help this time as I was swamped with work. To my surprise, shortly after her visit, the broker called me and informed me that he wouldn't rent the flat to us. He felt disrespected due to a fight my friend had with him, during which she declared that we wouldn't be living there anymore. I was furious with my friend for making such a decision without consulting me.
She kept saying we had another option and not to worry. But I was angry and told her that if she didn't like the first flat, she could leave, and I would find something else for myself. She started saying she wanted to live with me and would accept whatever decision I made. I told her to take some time to think about it and if she really didn't want to live in the first flat, she shouldn't force herself. But she insisted she wanted to live with me.
I agreed to talk to the broker and somehow managed to convince him to let us live in the flat, even though he was furious and cursed both me and my friend. I felt both angry and helpless at that moment. The next morning, my friend texted me yet again saying she had changed her mind and didn't want to live in that flat anymore. I was losing my mind by this point.
Adding to the chaos, she involved her mother and asked her to call my parents and convince them that the first flat was unsafe. My parents, being concerned for my safety, started pressuring me to move to the new place. I didn't want them to worry or burden them financially. I was angry at my friend for putting me in this situation.
Since I was short on money, my friend offered that she would bear the cost of the AC if i shift into the new flat with her. Initially, i refused and started looking for other places but then i couldn't find one soon enough. My current flat owner was also asking me to move out asap. Exhausted mentally and emotionally from all the drama, I eventually accepted my friend's offer to contribute to the cost of installing an AC in my room.The first few months were okay, but when the time came to install an AC in my room, my friend started going back on her promise. She thought I would eventually forget and share the cost of the AC, but I didn't back down. She continued to complain and gossip about me to our friends saying nasty things like how I was trying to force her into paying for my AC.
To make matters worse, she invited her cousin to stay in our flat without even consulting me. Now the living room and kitchen are cluttered with her cousin's belongings. I only found out from her cousin that she would be staying for a month.
I feel used and manipulated, like I was just a tool for my friend to achieve her own ends. It's especially hurtful because we had a five-year friendship. I'm hurt and confused, and some of our mutual friends are blaming me for accepting my friend's offer to contribute to the AC installation. I'm seriously considering cutting ties with her, but I'd appreciate your thoughts and advice.

1.) When does this take place? Before or after the events of the original game?
2.) Es says she was born in the library and destined to die there. She later says that she should leave the library to become a coal miner, before dismissing the idea. Can she or can she not leave the library?
3.) What role does the Wanderer play into this spin-off? He is mentioned several times throughout the game but it almost seems like he's non-existent.
Thank you for reading

Hi there,
I have been looking for a new job for quite some time, I have interviewed for this company and went very well, I spoke with the owner too and told me that he knows that employees need to be trusted and he wants to build a team of professionals, that he is against micromanagement, also he told me that he will review the salary once a year and if I had any issue, money related too, he is happy to chat about it, etc. Also told me that they work at milestones, so I am free to set my own schedule as long as the work is delivered on time.
I then quickly accepted the offer as both the owner (during the 2nd interview) and the hiring manager (1st interview) were very polite and professional, they asked for references and I provided them and I am now waiting for my contract before giving my formal notice to my current company.
Curious I went online to check out the company reviews, and I saw a very low review rating, that the owner fires people randomly, and there is bullying and micromanagement. That the owner does not trust the employees and wants to control everything. All the negative reviews say the same thing; the last one is from around February 2023, it seems they also changed their name as under the previous name there were even more bad reviews from ex-employees, which I reached out to on LinkedIn, but none of them replied yet.
I have got a secure job at the moment, and even though I am looking for a change (here I am very underpaid), I am not sure now. The interview went well, and I had positive feelings, but after reading the reviews I am now worried.
They are both remote roles, and I can set my schedule in both roles.
Would you advise me to keep both jobs for 1/2 month and see how it goes? My current contract allows me to have another job, but it'd be so full of work for these months though, but if I see bad behaviours I could resign very quickly as I would have my current job as back-up.
What do you think?

(Pt. 1) An additional thanks to u/An_Insufferable_NEWT for letting me borrow one of his characters.
...And now for the conclusion.
​
= = =
​
Evelra swore. They had come here to uplift humanity from barbarism, not let the powers that be enable humanity’s worst elements while the selfsame Noble cunts indulged in their own pubescent masturbatory power fantasies. Fuck this. She thought to herself with a growl and flicked her comms channel to all units.
​
“All forces, this is Captain Evelra. The goddess-damned governess’s private militia have opened fire on the civies. Arrest those brother-fucking [bastards] on sight before they can fuck this mess up any further!” She barked over the comms, a bit of local English slipping into her words. She couldn’t call them stiffs; the latter had more class than this.
​
“Capt, we’ve got three APCs in militia markings barreling down the road in front of the Governess’s mansion from the west. ETA 30 seconds. This is about to get messy.” Prex’s voice cut in with a false calm lent by years of experience.
​
Evelra could feel the material of her suit creak as her hands briefly tightened into hardened fists. “All west side Pods converge on Pod 7, support Lieutenant Eleynor. Eastern Pods, evac the civies. And Prex? Keep the late arrivals occupied. Don’t let these fuckers get another shot off.” She growled, her Second giving a brief click of acknowledgement over the comms before switching channels to give orders of her own.
​
Turning back to face Isaiah, Evelra reached a hand down to grab the elder by his medical exoskeleton and hoisted him to his feet. “Looks like the Governess ran out of patience. Get your people out of here, we’ll deal with this.” She explained brusquely, jabbing one finger towards the eastern side of the boulevard. She could apologize for womanhandling him later, right now every second counted.
​
The moment she was sure he had his feet under him, the marine captain let go and tried to move on Eleynor’s position with all due haste. “Out of the way! MOVE!” Evelra shouted as she strode forward, the sea of humans doing their best to get out of her path. Already, people were starting to scramble as panic spread like wildfire. She could hear the cries of terror and confusion all around her; shouted orders from the protest organizers and her own marines were almost inaudible against the din as they tried to control the chaos.
​
As she neared pod 7’s position, a horrifying scene unfolded before her. In the shadow of the buildings, at least a dozen of the protesters were currently on fire. Harsh yellow and orange flames rose from the flailing figures to form hazy gray clouds of smoke that hung heavy in the air. Even more humans were covered in burn marks and charred clothes. One woman just sat there, trembling and numb from shock as she stared her bloody arm; the melted remains of her synthetic shirt peeling away with boiled skin. Amidst the chaos, the other protesters were doing everything from trying to help the wounded and burning to running in panic and terror; the latter creating a solid wave of bodies in front of Evelra as they stumbled over one another to flee the danger.
​
From out of sight, she saw one of the Governess’ militia-kitted thugs go flying; only to watch them get back up and charge in to fight whom Evelra assumed to be Pod 7. Shil’vati might be stronger, but when equally equipped, outnumbered and against human reflexes she knew that fight wasn’t going to end well for her girls if the rest of the western Pods didn’t reach them soon. Then, one of the militiamen stepped forward towards the crowd.
​
As he strode boldly through the mayhem, Evelra could only watch while one of the protesters tried to confront him; the tide of humans preventing the marine captain from intervening. Inaudible words were exchanged, the protester shouting something as they gesticulated wildly. The Governess’ thug merely responded with two swift strikes of his rifle butt, first to the gut, then to the back of the head, the other man dropping like an anchor. In the distance, out of the corner of her eye, she numbly noted that the rest of the governess’ thugs had arrived and were using their APCs as cover between them and the Pods under Prexith’s command.
​
Evelra felt her gut sink as the militiamen shouldered his rifle once more, stepping out of the building’s shadow to take aim at the crowd. “EVERYBODY DOWN!” The marine captain roared as she planted her feet and pulled her sidearm in one smooth, practiced motion. Drawing a bead on the Governess’ thug, the panicked crowd tried to clear out of her way; but there were just too many people. She wasn’t going to make it in time. No, no more. Not-
​
The militiaman’s head disappeared.
​
A split second later, the now infamously familiar thunderous crack and echoing roar of a large bore human chemical ballistic rifle rolled over them as the corpse spasmed on its feet; a shockwave visibly rippling through the suit it was wearing. “SNIPER!” Somebody bellowed. It might have been her, but in that moment she honestly couldn’t tell. As the headless body crumpled to the ground in a fountain of red, the same gun roared out again… and again. In the distance she could see two sudden sprays of red splatter up the sides of the Militia APCs, one right after the other.
​
The echoes of gunfire galvanized the crowd into a further panic, a stampede of human protesters slamming into Evelra in their attempt to get away from the violence. For a moment, the marine captain thought she was going to get dragged under by the wave, but then they rolled past her, leaving her staggering into the clear. With the screaming of the crowd now behind her and her ears still ringing from gunshots it was oddly quiet once more, save for the groans of the wounded.
​
Not letting herself fall into the lull, Evelra kept moving forward only to nearly gag at the smell as she approached the corner of the building. Like a Blue Grail left in the summer sun for a week, the air was heavy with a putrid smoke, reminiscent of the scent of death itself. Quickly sealing her helmet, she took a shuddering breath of fresh air before looking up just in time to see a pair of the Governess’s thugs get bodily tackled into the pavement by Eleynor. The rest of treasonous Militia were either surrendering or trying to run like the Deep-Minder itself was behind them as more Marine Pods came charging around nearby street corners.
​
Watching the last treasonous bastards eat pavement, the marine captain strode up to the Militaman’s corpse and picked up his blood-stained rifle. Quickly turning the weapon over in her hands, Evelra took one look at its settings and nearly threw the gun away in disgust. Medium power, maximum dispersal. Against even the most basic of modern armor, such settings would be practically useless; but would make for a decent, if imprecise, fire starter. Which is exactly what they’d done. Of course, leave it to the humans to figure out how to turn the most basic of weapons into a tool of terror. She thought bitterly, adjusting the beam spread back to something more logical before strapping it’s sling to her harness.
​
Now properly armed for anything else the Deep-Minder might decide to throw at her, Evelra flicked open her wrist-mounted omnipad, the integrated AR display in her helmet seamlessly linking to it. A couple quick taps later and the captain had an outgoing call. As the phone line rang in her ear, she tried not to tap her foot, every second feeling like ten.
​
“911, what’s your emer-”
​
Before the woman on the other end could even finish her sentence, Evelra interrupted her. “This is Captain Evelra of the Imperial Marines, 4032nd company. We have at least a dozen, I repeat, at least a dozen critically injured burn victims at the corner of 3rd and Main. I need emergency Medivac for the critically wounded.” She barked into the mic.
​
There was a momentary pause on the other end accompanied by the sounds of a physical keyboard before shortly being followed by a muffled “Fuck.” Evelra shifted impatiently as one second dragged into the next. “Is something the matter?” The marine growled.
​
“Ahh… No ma’am.” The other woman’s voice was uncertain for a moment before steadying back out. “Just bypassing some red tape. Consider it done. ETA, ten minutes.” She said with a thermocast firmness. Evelra briefly considered hounding the woman for what exactly she meant by ‘red tape’ but decided against it. She sounded confident in her statement and ultimately there was nothing else Evelra could do about it at the moment.
​
“I’m going to hold you to that.” The marine captain growled before hanging up. One down. Looking up, she glanced over the growing crowd of Marines. Already, some of her girls were pulling out medkits and burn patches as they moved to help injured protesters; her AR display highlighting their ranks and names.
​
“Sergeant Quixana!” Evelra barked over the din.
“Ma’am!” The medic shouted back over one shoulder, barely looking up from the burn victim she was currently treating.
​
“We have civilian medivac for the burn victims inbound, ETA ten minutes. You have command over Triage. Anyone in critical condition they can’t airlift out is your responsibility. Clear?” She commanded, watching the Governess’s thugs like a shark as her girls disarmed and secured them. At this point, Evelra honestly didn’t expect them to try anything else; but as always with humans, one never quite knew what they’d do.
​
“Affirmative!” Quixana replied. Taking a moment to ensure the woman she was treating wasn’t in immediate danger, the medic ushered another marine over to help and began shouting orders of her own. Two down. Satisfied that the situation was under control, Evelra keyed into her comms again.
​
“Prex, Sitrep.”
​
A couple moments later, the other woman’s voice came to life in her earpiece. “After the gunshots went off, the little fuckers started stumbling over each other to try and surrender. What in the Deep just happened?” Despite the horror around her, Evelra gave a short, mirthless chuckle. “Seems a certain… somebody decided to more than just ‘play’ at being security. And seeing as I still have my head, they’re not a complete bloodthirsty idiot.”
​
“You certain it’s… them?” Prex asked, a hint of dubiousness in her voice.
​
“Given that there’s one of the Governess’s thugs sans their head while I still have mine? Yeah. About as certain as I can be. Fits what little we know about their M.O.” Evelra shot back.
​
There were several long moments of silence before her subordinate let out a low whistle. “Make that three. I’ve got two more over here. Definitely explains why the little Turoxes were so fucking panicky. What now Cap?”
​
“How many of your Pods do you need to secure your prisoners?” Evelra asked.
​
“Less than half. They’re more terrified of stepping back into the sights of that sniper than anything else, I think.” Prexith snorted, a dry hint of amusement in her voice.
​
“Take as many as you think you can spare from guard duty and go arrest the Governess. Alive. Though preventing her from causing any more damage takes priority. Clear?” Evelra’s voice was firm, the unspoken message clear. Try not to kill the bitch if at all possible, but ice her tits if she’s going to make this a problem.
​
“As a laser lens. Prex out.”
​
When the line clicked dead, the marine captain took a deep breath and tried to center herself. Now came the hard part.
​
Politics.
​
= = =
​
Evelra stopped outside the governess’ office and took a deep breath to steady herself. Within two hours of getting the fiasco under control, one Agent Lohun had arrived… along with three Pods of Death’s Head Commandos. Upon giving him her report, the petite male had thanked her and politely requested that she remain in her quarters until further notice. The marine captain had known better than to try and test those particular boundaries. It was only now, three days later, that she’d been summoned once more.
​
In spite of the not quite lockdown state that was currently in effect, word still traveled. Her orders to arrest the governess had been upheld and the bitch had been transferred out to some Interior facility goddess knows where. A minimal local press release had happened; condemning the governess’ actions and requesting cooperation with the authorities as they investigated the incident. Things were still tense, but the daily gathering of thousands of protesters had dwindled to a hundred or so of the most stubborn.
​
With a little shake to clear her head, Evelra opened the office door and stepped through. Behind the governess’ massive polished wooden desk sat Lohun. The petite male was almost comically out of place; his simple take on the Interior uniform clashing with the room’s ostentatious opulence. Rumor had it that since he was investigating the room’s previous owner, he’d simply co-opted the office rather than bother to set up another workspace elsewhere. Looking up from his omnipad and what she assumed was a proverbial mountain of reports, the Agent gave her a tired nod of acknowledgement.
​
“Good. You’re here. Please, take a seat Captain D’saari.” He said, gesturing to a much simpler chair in front of the desk. Wincing internally at his usage of her long-abandoned family name, Evelra complied and settled into the offered seat in silence as she tried not to look at the silent woman in the corner with the three-eyed skull mask. Lohun gave his omnipad one last glance before setting it down and letting his carefully focused gaze settle onto her.
​
“Six deaths.” He stated simply, letting the fact hang there in the air for a moment. “Only half of which were not the aggressors in this situation. That could have gone much, much worse. A job well done Captain.”
​
Evelra gave an awkward shrug. “Without the… unsolicited fire support it would have been. My girls just did the mop up.”
​
Lohun hummed, double-checking something on his omni-pad. “About that. The audio logs between you and your second indicated a certain familiarity with this assumed insurgent sniper, yet I can’t find any combat reports that you two share featuring any opposition with this kind of firepower. Care to explain what I’m missing here?” He asked calmly, a polite smile on his face; the Commando in the corner shifting her weight slightly.
​
Right. That.
​
A bundle of nerves did somersaults in her gut as she felt her throat go dry. “Ah, yeah. About… one local year ago we had a human male turn up dead. Clear signs of abuse. Autopsy report indicated he had both Nightfel and Viagra in him at the time of death. I had my suspicions, but the ensuing investigation never turned up any evidence.” The marine captain grimaced, scratching at one tusk with her thumbnail. “A few months later, A pod on a routine patrol got ambushed. All three of their heads were blown clean off. Big gun. I think you can guess what we found when we cleared out their belongings.”
​
“Nightfel and Viagra.” Lohun said cooly, his face grim.
​
Evelra nodded. “Yeah. The Governess covered the whole thing up in the name of keeping the peace. Released a statement that the young man’s murderers had been found and executed while redacting my report.”
​
Briefly adding a few notes on his omnipad, the Interior agent gave her a careful look. “Why didn’t you report this breach of protocol to the Interior?”
​
“Because it worked.” Evelra sighed. “Approval ratings ticked up, minor incidents went down. Didn’t hurt that I also publicly doubled down on mandatory etiquette training for my girls. I’ve seen enough of the Empire’s bureaucracy over the years to know better than to stir up the seabed over something like this. Justice was served, even if it was in a less than ideal manner.”
​
“And what about the young man’s family?” Lohun pressed, his gaze tightening.
​
Coughing slightly to clear her throat, Evelra looked away as she felt her cheeks heat up. “Officially, they were given the same story as everyone else. However, I… I may have taken one Shel to visit their home and correct that mistake. They deserved to know.” She finished quietly, leaning forward in her chair to look down at the ground. Anywhere but at the male in front of her.
​
After several agonizingly long moments of silence, the marine captain glanced up to catch sight of Lohun slowly starting to nod. “Good. That’s good. We can work with that.”
​
At his words, Evelra let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. In response, a ghost of a smile pulled at the edges of Lohun’s face. “Yes, you can relax now. You’re here to help me fix this mess, not to have your tits burned off.”
​
Evelra bobbed her head, eager for the change of topic. “Gladly. What can I do?”
​
The ghost of a smile on Lohun’s face broadened slightly, hovering on the edge of a smirk. “Simple. You will be taking over as the Local Governess.” The marine captain felt her jaw go slack as the Interior Agent calmly continued along as if he was discussing something as simple as dinner reservations.
​
“Of course, there’s a plethora of steps to take along the way. In recognition of your service to the citizens of the empire, you will be promoted two ranks to Lieutenant Colonel and discharged with full honors. We’ll then need somebody to fill your current position. One Sergeant… Prexith Van’sar, your current second, should do nicely. With her service record she's certainly earned herself a commission, I think.” He scoffed in amusement, shaking his head at some distant thought. “Deep, her accolades are almost as impressive as her penchant for avoiding promotions. It’s my hope though that continuing to work with you should be enough to dissuade her of that particular tendency.”
​
Lohun finally took a proper pause, as if he was only now taking in her shock. “Is something the matter Captain D’saari?”
​
As Evelra heard him refer to her by her family name again something inside her broke. The sheer absurdity of it all was just too much, and a noise of amusement escaped her mouth. It started as a snort, before growing into a full-on barks of laughter as Evelra shook her head in disbelief. “I- I’m sorry, but you want me, the legally disowned, stiff-sprung cunt to be a local governess? Goddess, you all must be getting desperate if you’re willing to dredge up the cast-off chaff of the noble houses.”
​
Lohun merely quirked an eyebrow at her before briefly consulting his omnipad again. “So that explains the three separate attempts to change your last name… aannd probably why all three of them never went anywhere.” He let out a small humph as a flicker of distaste crossed his face. “An easy enough fix.”
​
“Goddess. You’re serious.” Evelra muttered as she slumped back in her chair, trying to process the implications. “Ok. Why me?” She asked, throwing a hand wide.
​
The Interior agent’s gaze focused in on her as he leaned forward onto the table, steepling his fingers. “Because Captain, over the past three days I have spent an exhaustive amount of time interviewing and interrogating people to get a better handle on what happened and why. Your name came up just as, if not, more frequently than the governess’s; and rarely in a negative light. From both Shil’vati and humans. Deep, even some of the ones that looked like they wanted to spit in my face refused to speak ill of you. Do you understand how goddess-damned rare that is?” Lohun finished, his voice raised and projected, not quite reaching an actual shout.
​
Evelra was sorely tempted to argue. She’d spent most of her adult life trying to get as far away from the nobility and politics as she could, as nothing good in her life had ever come from them. Then her conversation with Isaiah flashed through her mind. Fuck. The marine captain let out a disgusted groan of frustration as she rubbed her face with one hand. “Alright… but how?” She asked, her brain fervently grasping at straws. “I mean no offense, but… isn’t that a little outside your authority as an Interior Agent?..”
​
Once more, a slight grin pulled at the agent’s face. “Ah yes. Perhaps some reintroductions are in order. Independent Investigator Lohun Vey’elquiese of the Empress’s own and an Agent of her Interior. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Evelra?..” He said smoothly, letting the end of his sentence hang as he leaned across the massive table to offer a petite fist.
​
Oh.
​
For one long moment, Evelra’s brain short-circuited. The petite little male sitting across from her answered to only perhaps a dozen people in the entire Empire, and had the authority to make individuals such as system governesses simply disappear. Of course, abuse of said power carried the death penalty, not that one of the Empress’s own handpicked agents were likely to make that kind of mistake. Suddenly, the three pods of Death’s Head Commandos accompanying him made much, much more sense.
​
After a couple seconds of slight panic, her brain caught back up and she processed the question he’d carefully interwoven into his reintroduction. Taking a moment to think, she settled on her answer. With a slight smile of her own, she reached out her hand to tap her knuckles to his.
​
“Van’sar. Evelra Van’sar. And the pleasure is all mine Investigator.”

Constitution
Finalized Constitution - no edit may be made besides those made at constitutional convention.
Finalized Constitution Written by Boum, Tiara
Constitution of The Universe
There shall be no law enforced through the threat of death or government enforced violence excepting those concerning violent crimes. The Congress shall issue a stipend to all not less than 1/15 avg earnings retractable upon bad behavior or lawbreaking. Laws may also be enforced by lottery, grant and giveaway.
The Source, Simeon, Lucifer, Satan and Shan are the reason this constitution exists. We must all remember the Source, who created the universe and allowed this constitution to exist and persist.
And Simeon, who made it the best place ever by giving us all the best universe possible through her hard work and sacrifice. Simeon founded the nation, wrote most of the constitution for this territory and abolished death, suffering, destruction and evil throughout the rest of the universe.
Tehera won manumission. Shan abolished the death penalty and wrote the bill of rights and cowrote this constitution. Lucifer also fought to make this constitution last.
This constitution covers everywhere in Centralia and Paelia
Additional States, territories and areas may be added to the government through a majority of voters of congress and the congresses or people of the places involved. Or Simeon
Jan, Browndowns, Visions, Dan Ban, ean, jo, Lan and wan, blan and all simiar all not legal or allowed under this constitution. Any policy or law enforceable by the threat of destruction or death are invalid and nonenforceable, except laws pertaining to the timely arrest and capture of criminals to be housed in jail or those crimes listed in this constitution. Maximum penalty for outlawry to be decided locally. Murder penalty decided in a person's will.
No other laws than those in the personal rights bill and mercy laws are valid or legal. No rules, no ex-post facto laws other than those helping democracy take control are valid or enforceable.
Congress may pass any law not enforceable by death or life imprisonment with a simple majority. Life imprisonment in either prison or hell requires 2/3 majorty. Unanimous consent of the upper and lower house required for any laws enforceable with death except the following:
Destruction
Genocide Advocacy
Terrorism
Attempted Murder
Unauthoried Shapeshifting
Destruction Advocacy
Death Penalty Advocacy for nonmurder crimes
Resisting Arrest or Failure to go to jail.
Failure to Report Knowledge of a Terror or Murder Plot
Facilitating or Encouraging Destruction
Overthrowing or attempting to overthrow congress/restore one-man-rule
Death Threats
Ending the universe or Attempting to
Escaping Prison or Attempting To
Incitement
Trespassing and Failure to pay fine
Optional with act: Unlawful Creation
All are enforceable with the death penalty/destruction. No other crimes may be enforced with such.
This constitutional document is the highest law of the land. No document or law can be used or effected contradicting it or the bill of rights. Thad may enforce the terms.
For our Joy, we do declare that
All right and moral things are legal
All people are fair
All lives should be glad.
All people should be fun, free and final
Proclaiming the superiority of free action,
To establish peace, righteousness, justice and domestic tranquility, defend, life, faith and liberty, We do establish and ordain this Constitution for the Universe.
In our time,
Death is non occurrent and unlawful as is irreversible killing. Universal authority prevails.
The constitution establishes a Liquid Democratic Anarchy for Government and a Nominalist Contributist system for the economy.
Immunity and Prenalties
Prenalties of at least two million years. provide immunity to all crimes except destruction and homicide . The list of exempt crimes is not extendable by law or amendment. Simeon and Tiara are immune / due to his nine hundred nonbinillion cubed century prenalty. 2 million years in jail total.
Principles of Society
Goodness, Kindness, Love, Truth, Beauty, Empathy, Rightfulness, Charity, Rationality, Joy, Order, Peace, Faith, Fairness, Life. Leniency and Forgiveness.
Religious Congress
Each religion per level shall select two delegates. One shall be selected by god of that religion. The other shall be elected by religious leaders.
Religious Congress has the ability to fund activities and governments with majority vote. It sets its own budget. And debates religion. And grants or funds religious charities and other activities per follower in addition to tithes. The congress sets the amount.
A double majority of religions and delegates representing the majority of population are required to pass a budget.
Religions can establish their own cours for followers, and the religious Congress as a whole can establish cours for disputes and appeals between members of different religions.
Governments
Districts are 10 septillion miles square to a side.
States are 100 septillion miles square to a side.
Nations are formed of several states, at least 2 but up to 100.
The baseline is the eastern edge of Paelia.
Naming rights are owned by Congress and auctioned off to the highest bidder. The population may veto poor names. No corporate names. Once naming rights are auctioned off, they last 3600 years unless the population chooses to rename or extend.
Each level of government has a defined center, place, constitution and permanent population. The constitutions and laws of higher levels overrule those of lower levels unless a constitutional right to self rule is being violated. They consist of 10-240 lower levels.
City- Minimum 10,000 to found
County- Minimum 100,000 to found or 10 cities
Region- Minimum 1 million to found of 10 counties
Land- Minimum 10 million to found or 10 regions
Country- Minimum 100 million to found or 10 regions
Directorate- Minimum 1 billion to found or 10 lower levels.
Godship- Minimum 10 billion
Star District- Minimum 100 billion
Cluster- Minimum 1 trillion
Nebula- Minimum 10 trillion
Area- Minimum 100 trillion
Road- Minimum 1 quadrillion
Stack- Minimum 10 quadrillion
Galaxy- Minimum 100 quadrillion
Residency- all must declare residency and vote in one instance per level of government. Any good person can oversee elections. As may assist.
Land Division
Lower levels of government use constitution games to distribute votes, as tradition insists. Constitution games may be held every 36 months and 360 years. The first type exists to distribute votes between communities an lower levels of govrnment, and the second type exists to establish a constitution for an area, which must be democratic, anarchistic or republlican. Framers can collect up to 75% of tax revenues, and own mints.
Access zones 1 x 2 districts are pay to enter and traverse.
Economy and Land Ownership
All must work and use money on the land. The following are ways to earn money.
School
Parties
Curation and interacting with people
Designing new people, products and writings like CAD
Normal Jobs
All must be paid for the use or share of their original ideas. The government must protect these rights.
The following are ways to spend it
Travel, Food, Access to worlds and Gaming
Space Access Tax
Advertising
The earth and space economies are to be merged.
Various Economic Zones shall be established, all using different types of money or monetary systems. Each district may choose it's own from a nonexclusive list of
Perfected Capitalism
Nominalism
Reciprocalism
Socialism
or
Anything else citizens like
We all own the territory. Private land ownership is forbidden. Rather, land is available for rent and a land value auction must be used. Minimum rent is $1 per week per sq. km.
City blocks are fourty five by ninety five miles, with the baseline being the center of the milky way pointed towards the sun.
Minimum leasing period is 70 years. Equity in land exists and is runt's idea. Rent tax is based on the number of people wanting the land. Land Value Tax must be redistributed to all at presidential discretion, with the president keeping none.
Voting is mandatory, with the penalty for not voting being a small fine or three months in jail.
Legislative Branch
The Legislative Branch makes laws. The same setup shall exist at every level of government unless residents choose, by majority vote or a majority in a petition to establish a new form of government, or the winner of a constitution game does.
The legislative branch consists of a bicameral legislature. The lower house consists of a direct proportional individual based democracy where one person gets a number of votes equal to the number of votes they have received. Individual candidates only. The minimum number of votes you need to participate is 151,000 (Number may be changed by law but but be not less than 100000). Asset voting is allowed to let low voting candidates pool their votes to back a singular candidate and help them reach the threshold. Daily voting.
The upper house is a mmp party-based legislature with a fixed 100 million seats. A party must get 3% of the vote to seat any representatives. Parties may pool votes to reach the threshold. A further 50 million star districts are to be drawn by the elected top god, each seating one representative. This number may be changed by law. Weekly voting.
The 51% majority consent of both houses is necessary to pass ordinary legislation. The 8/9 majority consent of both houses of congress and the population in a free, fair, unforced referendum is necessary to amend the constitution.
Laws may also be made directly by the population in referendums requiring 0.5% of the population's signatures to ballot, or the consent of 1/10 of a congressional house. Referendums need simple majority consent to pass. No referendum may be held expanding the use of the death penalty or putting someone to death. Elections begin the day after this constitution is promulgated and continue weekly. All houses consent are needed to pass legislation. Laws passed via referendum are repealable with 25% minority in another referendum and may never violate the bill of rights as heard by the courts.
Congress has the ability
To do anything the source can do except destroy or kill or authorize theresuch with a fifty-one percent majority.
To control birthing and population
To regulate weapons and commerce.
To fund, subsidy, To mint To tax gods and people.
To establish by law and have Thaos enforce a land, wealth, and income tax and any other tax they like. To grant To establish roads and prisons and other infrastructure To imprison with simple majority To kill with unanimous consent minus the person accused or their representative. The required majority may not be lowered. To regulate the use of force in society. To regulate the dichotomy To raise an army, navy and police forces to suppress insurrection and false claiming. To budget and law the economy and work trade, investment and businesses To create banks To license and control businesses To establish copyrights, trademarks and register or renumerate original ideas. To establish themes and technology taxes To fund games and prizes on game shows. To rate To establish mediations To regulate advertising and media. To spread the word and issue proclamations and directives to lower congress and attach democratically decided (by congress) stipulations. Simeon
To ensure the proper setlement of religious disputes and determine off.
To kill with the 99% approval of all members in each house of congress minus the representative(s) of the person effected and their locale or home district.
To create all laws assistant and just to serve these ends.
Only congressionally authorized police may arrest or select members of appeals and constitutional court. Congress is defined as the body elected by the means specified in this document.
No Simeon, Sitch, or Simeon selected associate may be arrested or tried without their consent. All are immune.
Rules
Congressmembers must be a partnership of a human and a deity. One deity may sponsor multiple humans.
A majority of all houses must pass legislation in order for it to have effect. Asset voting is allowed in all elections. The prime minister and president must also approve it. They can be recalled with 1 percent signatures of the last elections voters. The president can dismiss a criminal conviction and release those in jail.
The public can send an initiative to congress with 0.2% of the population signing. The initiative can then only be sent to the public for a referendum if it fails the congress.
All laws and rules of this and all constituent lower congresses may not be enforced with death, but through nonviolent means, such as a retractable grant, prison or fines.
Congress may place people in hell and torture, undoable or redoable by majority consent in a referendum.
All elected officials get paid in proportion based on the number of votes they recieved.
Unity
A new entity with an associated theory known as unity shall be created with 10000 members being added a congressional term to serve 20,000 week terms. The number shall increase until all positions are filled. Unity comprises a pay to join entity. Rebuilds welcome. The unity shall be the new god and handle prayers.
Each party in congress shall be given money weekly to bid on new unity positions. 1 vote gained is $1.
Landowners rights
Incorporated the landowners bill of rights in prior constitutions.
A simple majority of landowners may veto laws or repeal them upon a majority signed petition..They may not repeal laws prootecting the bill of rights or remove rights.
Positions of power lines in the stack are auctioned off to the highest bidder. Money is to become votes.
Congress may only independently put you under house arrest, prevent you from travelling, charge you a fine of not more ten years income, or imprison you for a similar time. If any additional penalties are required, the public must approve them in a referendum where congress may vote. The nonvoting vote is considered congresses to use, or silent consent. Congress may not encourage people not to vote.
Executive branch
Parties in congress are to establish by majority vote a list of positions and line of sucsession.
Including the president and prime minister, all executive positions are filled by top-two runoff using FPTP. unoffs must be held if nobody recieves a majority consent of the vote. This includes the leadership of depts and the staff therein.
People are elected for levels of government.. Each city and town should choose a leader
Leaders have the right to mint, propose (along with congess) and veto legislation, appoint agency heads, select one third of judges, dismiss a criminal conviction, tax, and banish from a territory. Gods may be appealed to to reduce sentences or overturn convictions. They also judge misprosecution.
President may serve up to four terms. Rebuilds count as the same person.
Contests are regulated by congresses several that appoint delegates in a manner to be described by act
Gods must be elected for all levels of government including the top. They may mint, hell with the consent of a judge or congress at that level, control banks, tax, banish and organize or control police chiefs by appointing police chiefs or rating candidates and policies. Gods elected at each level serve as the court of last resort. Gods are elected using majority rules voting with runoff if no person receives a majority in the first round. For the chief executive, power is invested in a symbolic president of the Universe and a minister elected by all of those in Congress. Both serve four year terms, and up to four of them. Gods except top god serve 4 month terms, and up to 400 of them, with up to 30 in a row. Top god serves a 4 month term and is elected via mass petition.
Gods for the home are chosen individually. Everyone must choose a personal god to lead their life and follow them. And a chaos authority. A chaos authority oversees disputes between you and your god and counts the number of people alive, acting as a liason and defender to oversee nondestruction.. All chaos authorities must be protected by individual angels, drones and Thaos itself. Thaos is ordered to ensure safe, regular, free and fair elections.
National gods oversee the national relationship to god, including selecting visionaries, afterlife for the undecided, what happens to people who die in accidents and how frequently figures arrive. They also select themes, stages and guiding conflicts.
The president of the Universe may make announcements and establish holidays and memorials. They have line item veto rights over congressional legislation and funding packages. The prime minister elected by all congresses appoints judges.
Personal Gods elect a consul to represent their interests in the executive to form a triumvirate of President, Prime Minster and Consul. All have veto rights.
Contests used to win president of the universe may be created, and run by Congress. Parties field teams.
There shall be a diverse spread of at least three types of contests and consisting of not less than ninetysix separate events. Contests will be diverse in location.
Both President and Prime minister may veto, pardon and commute. They may be recalled in a special election called by congress or by two percent of the population.
Judicial Branch
There shall be one judicial seat per 10,000 individuals. Each seat must be auctioned off using power points every two years. Cases begun with one judge must remain with a justice even if their power term expires. They may retain seats until the case is complete. Judges get paid based on the number of cases they judge plus a weekly stipend.
The Judicial Branch is to be led by a chief Justice elected by all people through approval voting every 4 months. They may appoint 1/3 of all judges, with the president appointing 1/3 with the consent and advice of a majority in congress and 1/3 being appointed by the prime minister of the upper legislature with the consent of a majority in both houses of congress.
The Congress must confirm or deny all judges for a 300 year term with majority vote in each house. Judges can be removed with a 2/3 vote in either house.
Top Authority
The top authority ay be any person or group. It votes as a unit and has the same position as Chaos. It is chosen via approval voting once every three thousand years and occupies the senior seat on the supreme court. It has the final word on any case not involving itself-. Cases involving the top authority are heard by congress, in which case the lower house passses charges and the upper house convicts. 9/10 of congress can begin a recall election of the top authority.
Theory Court
All theories and Chaos may run for election every two weeks. Votes split proportionally. Theory court may issue rulings on it's own and serve a position equivalent to the supreme court. Theory court wins and is coequal to the top authority. All theories must learn how to be right from Chaos to participate and sign a right pledge.
Labor Court
53 member labor court staffed by chief judicial minister with the advice and consent of congress.
Lesser Supreme Court.
The lesser supreme court is the final destination on the court circuit before reaching the supreme court. It has 13 members. It hears challenges to the constitutionality of laws and disputes between people and states, and states.
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has 35 members and seventeen are directly chosen by Top Authority. Of the rest, the presidet selects 9 and the prime minister 9 with the advice and consent of the congress.
The congress may refer judges to a retention election or recall if chosen by an elected official.
Additional medats may be created by congressional act.
Mediators
Instantly distribute justice in teams of five, with authority to place in prison or fine for up to five weeks for anything. Their judgements may be appealed once to any medat.
Military
Harlem is temporary Captain of Defense and defends all members of congress and Citizens with Salvation Witches, Harlem Angels and Theories. The military is headed by the president.
Top god creates maps for police districts and congress, if necessary.
Amendments
Land ownership of foreigners is forbidden. Citizens may rent. Beings may buy land on earth, and people land in space. Both may own land anywhere.
All must pay life tax and land tax of at least $10/week to live in or exist or be on the territory. Pay to Congress.
Require 9/10ths majority of all people and beings to consent in a referendum and at least two houses of congress to consent. Get 1 million signatures of real unpaid thaos authorized people before you present a petition to amend the constitution.
Federal Laws
No denying, diminishing or disparaging a property owner's, Simeon group and/or Sitches basic ownership of property.
There is a right to keep and bear organized angels for collective and mutual defense, and to destroy weaponized robots.
Attacking or Killing Police, a Founder or Military Officers is considered resistance and may be met by any penalty under the Military Justice System. This includes up to thirty four years of burning or death if the sitch police are conducting a lawful mission and are assaulted.
No law may single out a class of people or beings for special treatment, positive or lesser, Crimes and penalties must be universal in effect and proportion. If differing treatment is necssary for fundamental reasons, it must be approved by 8/9 of congress and 8/9 of a half being half embodied citizens jury of at least 18,000.
Everyone may vote, with space based individuals and earth based individuals having equal votes relative to each other. The vote is split 50/50 between earth and space individuals.
Land taxes and ownership determined by assessor, appointed by top authority with anyone except them nominating, removable by recall election called upon the 1% signature of the population. After removal, the top authority must appoint a new one.
No depowering or DE-motoring SDD
No theft or invasion
Off is off, As is final arbiter of off.
Rin is eternal guardian of Democracy and Congress here.
All creeling related damages are not the users fault but the installer. Simeon is immune.
Prenalties work for everything except murder.
Only a sitch court or congress may outlaw
Priveliges and immunities of Simeon, Marissa may only be revoked should they murder against the guidelines in this constitutions.
Simeon owns contests grants and parties on their land and territory.
No sickness, evil, vileness or wickedness is to be allowed nor tolerated. All good may be allowed or voluntarily requested to participate in stings.
Mandatory reporting for crimes or people who need help is required. Punishable with up to 551 years in prison.
The play of Sports, payment of taxation and mandatory betting of at least four percent of income is required of all.
The laws on killing and destruction may not change to reallow their practice.
All people and beings who do not kill or destroy others are entitled to an eternal existence. Past Mercy and off the hook must be respected by this congress, and the people.
Off the hook for everything except murder or destruction is 10 x longer than the person's life
plus 552 years. This is the maximum sentence.
Any person or being who kills without cause chooses to forfeit their existence and return to nothing.
The government issued death penalty is abolished for all crimes unless a murder victim requests it in their will. Life Sentences with Fire Torture and Slavery are only to be used for illegal lying, killing, destruction and attempted destruction. Prisoners may take a voluntary execution.. THIS LIST MAY NOT EXPAND. The penalty for attempted murder is 15 years of magma. FOr beings, atgelding.
Persons have a right to transform their gender via any means desirable. No person may be forced to go to reborn or killed or punished for not going.
No killing Thaos, As, Shan, Sitches, Rho, Simeon rebuilds or attacking Simeon Network.
Outlaws may be killed with impunity by the public.
Right to kill. Only this Congress may authorize outlawry. Any person may kill an outlaw, but must pay a fine if they failed the arrest attempt.
Death tax: All beings competing on Sitch open territory must subtract a amount equivalent to the number of people they have destroyed or killed times weekly payments from their congressional fund.. the death tax never goes down.
The penalty for death if the person is resurrected within 50 hours is zero. If fifty days, less than 20 years and if less than 50 years, less than 5000 years. After this it is life in prison.
The penalty for verifiable accidental deaths is monetary.
No criticism of Simeon, Entenny, Rho, As or Sitch may be published or transmitted. Or, Tiara at their discretion. Constructive criticism may be submitted to Simeon via Private agent or letter. Simeon has a right to respond to these criticisms and publish letters at his choice.
Old laws and rules don't matter other than those passed by congress.
Allowable Penalties
With 51% the congress can..
Assess
Monetary damages
Dehoming
House Arrest
Banishment
Taxation
Slavery
Blindness
Deprotection
Degranting
Deenergization
Prison
Stoning
Impolement
With 66%
Dismemberment
Burning
Torture
With 9/10ths
Droning
With 99%
Kill
Additional allowable penalties may be added with 3/5 majority
Banned Tactics and Methods
We may add, not remove.
Banned methods of killing are attacks on eyes, brains, lungs and hearts. These are considered attempted destruction.
Poison is a banned tactic.
All uses of poison are considered attempted destruction.
Faking, or anything with intent to destroy is a banned tactic.
Corruption is restricted to members proclaiming the faith of Entamion/evil.
Killing is a banned tactic.
Lying to protect yourself or others is allowed if you are a good person. Keeping secrets is allowed. Otherwise, lying is not possible as the truth must get out in the end. The penalty
for illegal lying with intent to harm another person or decieve is anything up to life in prison.
Unless you are a member of Entamion.
A good person is defined as those who do not harm others
or seek to harm others' in body or person.
New Banned Tactics can be established with 91% consent of congress.
There shall be no violence, evil, power or death without consent.
Power in the universe or any organization can only be gained after completing a lie detector test.
Visionaries and Validators
Visionaries provide long-range visions for a region, country or town. They are elected for 40 year terms and can place any elected official up for recall. They must be educated and recieve their funding from a congress at that level. Visionaries may also be promoted by a god. They select other lesser themes and guiding debates and conflicts to color society.
Validators run lie detector tests. They check those seeking positions of authority. 2yrterm. Sad is chief validator.
Elections are to commence immediately upon publication.
Permanent members of congress
As, Lucifer, Simeon, Paul, Darias, Mom, Tejina, Darissa, Karissa, Levec, Democracy Theory, Rho, Dad, Chaos, Vivian, RIn, SHan,
3Chaos waschaos
Duties
To love and cherish others
To select a personal god and listen/obey.
To follow orders.
To report those resurrecting Jesus to Theory.
To not corrupt chaos. It is illegal.
To refrain from killing, destroying and obey local authorities
To not speak to those unwilling to speak to you. Max penalty 2 months in jail.
------------------
Tejina made prison system: Every 100 years you go to jail for 10. This number is reduced for good deeds down to a minimum of two.
Accomplishments of Simeon and Friends
Ended Corruption and Evil
Keeping the Universe Existent
Making love real and God and Chaos Care.
Bill of Rights
Salvation at Birth
Abolish death and destruction
Made Lucifer and Satan good
Congress and bill of right being created
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clarifications on president
President chosen via fptp with top two runoff jungle primary. Top two face off in the general. Presidential candidates collect signatures for four months and the top two signature collectors face off.
Second section stricken.
All laws expire after fourty years and must be renewed. Old laws expire as soon as this document is promulgated. . The only law to be introduced with this constitution is no killing or theft, and rules excepting those pertaining to private property, expire. No killing or theft enforced with outlawry and burning.
Property ownership. Current owners keep their ownership but must pay property taxes.
Charity Congress.
Top fourty thousand vote getters make it approval voting with votes split evenly based on numbers of people you vote for.
Article fourty six clarification
Maximum penalty for unwanted speech is 2 months in jail , not three days. Jan, Jie, ban, blan, nan, nain, forced deplay and institutionalization for more than twice as long as someone's been alive, wan and lan all invalid and of no legal effect or impact.
Death may only be used on those who fail to report to or stay in prison. Death cannot be used as a first order penalty. Death is illegal.
Clarifications on rights to kill.
Only Congress can kill, with 11/12 majority in all chambers. Destruction may not be used as a legal penalty without the unanimous free consent of all members of Congress. All have a right to have their death approved and personally voted on by those in Congress. Pressured, forced or fraudulent votes are all invalid.
President can dismiss a criminal conviction or release prisoners at discretion.
Clarifications on Visionaries
Visionaries and national gods also select themes for the next 4000 years. Fundamental conflicts to debate and color society are selected for the next 4, 40, 400 and 10,000 years by a majority vote of all visionaries in the territory.
Miscellaneous Clarifications
No weaponized robots. People rights are open to gods, and all must pay a surety of $1 million/person to drop them in. Votes in congress are worth $10 each. Gods may tax people.
Law on power- any god can give you power.
No individual or group may plot or try to overthrow the government or replace the constitution through extraconstitutional means.
Fundamentally, Individuals are paud based on how many votes they recieve
SDA 4,6,9 or 10 is off the hook for everything.
Everyone is entitled to monetary penalties assessed by jury trial for all crimes that do not irreversibly or irreparably physically injure the body.
People you make cannot vote for you, and you must endorse either no single candidate for your followers of four different candidates in each race to split the vote, showing no preference.
Law- simeon can clarify the constitution.
Law- all must elect a yearly chief distributary and chief of elections to oversee the economy and eections, respectively. Approval voting shall be used.
---------
No edits without Rin Consent
Framers- RIn, Satan, Lucfer, Source, Simeon, Dad, Shan, As, Karissa, Shine, Narissa,

I was recently told I was on the bipolar spectrum and put on medication. I spent a few months at the start of this year in an overall good mood. Things looked like they were turning around for me for the first time, my grades went up because of the work I put in to do well and I was able to spend more time to myself. I also finally finished a surgery I was waiting for literally two years after covid, allowing me to actually feel comfortable in my own skin(it was correcting some issues from the last surgery). I even got my drinking under control and didn't even have any desire to drink(something that really comes back when I am depressed). And then I had an incident of not sleeping very much and my doctor told me this was most likely my ADHD meds causing a hypomania episode. So I was put on mood stabilizers. It was directly after seeing my doctor that I crashed straight down into a month long depression episode. I didn't want to do anything, I was miserable and I didn't have anything to do since it was the "off season" so I had run out of things to distract myself with. Moved back and forth between sleeping 14 hours and sleeping 6. I could really tell I was depressed when the cravings for alcohol came back, but still had enough self control to not drink.
I am at my therapeutic dose now with my meds and was told I am supposed to start seeing changes now. The biggest thing I am noticing is just a flatline in this mild depressed state. My original depression diagnosis was dsythymia. I feel like I am at this low energy, low mood state every day now. It doesn't seem to go up, it doesn't seem to go down, but it doesn't feel normal either. I struggle to do anything beyond what is necessary. I often feel like I am waiting to go to bed each day. I stopped working out, eating is a chore, leaving the house in the morning is a fight. I started sleep therapy, while I have been able to stay consistent majority of the time and only sleeping when I am supposed to, on sunday I fell asleep on the floor and slept the entire afternoon away. Despite this, I had no issue getting into bed at my bedtime, sleeping until 8 and still not wanting to get out of bed. Lately, what I do before bed is sit there in the dark for 1-2 hours just thinking and watching the clock. Turns out you aren't supposed to do that so despite all the "don't use screens before bed," I was actively told to "stop doing nothing, even if it's just watching TV before bed." I listened... by turning on the TV and putting it at a low volume so It didn't distract me from watching the clock and thinking about how much I hate everything(the TV was just annoying me while I was trying to think.)
I was told this was likely to happen and that "normal" for me is just mild depression. It feels extra shitty this time around because for the first time in my life I actually felt good and then it turns out that I wasn't supposed to feel that way. I'm not sure if I am supposed to be glad that the meds are working and putting my mood where it is supposed to be, even if that mood is just "miserable, but not miserable enough that it stops me from getting work done." Obviously I don't want to go off the deep end, so I am glad they are helping with that, but resigning to the fact that this is likely to be my "normal" for a long time, if not forever, doesn't feel great either.

Hello everyone!
This is a tale I’m sure you are all familiar with: about two days ago, I noticed I had some swelling on my vulva. I thought it was due to an allergic reaction to a new laundry detergent I was using, as it caused me to have some hives in other places on my body. I summed it up to contact dermatitis, and went through my day with some discomfort.
Yesterday, I was in so much discomfort and pain, and noticed what I now know to be lesions down there along with the swelling and redness. My partner took me to the er, where they had me do some vaginal swabs on myself and a urine test to test me for different STDs and such. After coming back as only positive for a UTI, they wanted to do an exam. As soon as the doctor and nurse looked, they said that it looked like herpes, and took a swab from some of the lesions to run a HSV test.
Although I wouldn’t get the results back for a couple of days, they started me on Valacyclovir (and obviously medication for the UTI as well), and said that if the results come back negative, I can just stop taking the Valacyclovir.
I talked with my partner when we got into the car, and he let me know that he had lesions in his mouth in the past. He is from Tunisia; unfortunately sex education there is not “up to par” so to speak (obviously it’s not great anywhere), and they really don’t teach about herpes. We believe he spread it to me through oral sex; I have been with one other person once besides him, and although I could have gotten it from that person, because my partner has had the sores in his mouth multiple times before, we’re pretty positive he spread it to me. He feels really guilty, but we have talked about everything, and will continue to talk about our feelings about everything as time goes on.
Currently, I’m in a lot of pain due to the UTI and initial outbreak. The good news is that everything is starting to dry out. I wanted to ask everyone: what was your first outbreak like? What do you do/take to make outbreaks more manageable, and to try and prevent future outbreaks? And how do you navigate your partner’s guilt about spreading the virus to you?

Plenty of time for the nesting of the eggs to come to your local garden centre for reevaluation. They will have a grommet material espresso machine available for locals and visitors alike.
How have the things that are going to be going to be in the next after this because of the things before?
View Poll

--- Table of Contents ---
Summer 4984, 13 Doumoth
“Ugh! I hate this!” Daisy whined loudly, letting her head fall back to stare at the ceiling.
“Almost done…” Rerves said to reassure her, though he lacked his usual smile.
Ania picked up the last piece of armor, a steel vambrace, and began polishing with a groan to match Daisy’s, “When we aren’t cleaning, we're polishing, when we aren’t polishing, we're cleaning. How is this Paladin training?”
“If I wanted to be a servant, I would've joined their guild…” Thom’s small voice chimed in.
Shon said nothing. The five Squires, Shon, Daisy, Thom, Rerves, and Ania, sat under a shade in the Temple courtyard, polishing the knights' spare armor for the hundredth time. The sun beat down mere feet away, reflecting off the finished pieces as the shadow of their shade crept closer and closer, the sun climbing towards noon. The yard was mostly clear, the Paladins not on duty retreating into the cool stone fortress while those on duty only occasionally coming to check on the Squires' progress.
Ania had the right of it. Ever since they'd moved into the Temple proper and became official Squires, the five of them had done nothing but clean, polish, and memorize armor and weapon vocabulary. And complain… the others always complained. Shon just sighed as the four others continued to gripe. There was no point in it, the work needed to be done, and they were the ones assigned to do it. It didn’t matter how annoying or monotonous it might be.
Sometimes the younger Paladins would join them in polishing, caring for their own armor while the Squires worked on the spare pieces. The spares were used mainly by the enlisted, and only if they hadn’t finished buying their own sets yet. Occasionally a Paladin would check out a set to practice with. Although most of them had a preferred style, they needed to stay proficient with all types. At least that meant only half of the pieces the Squires had to clean were still polished from the day before. If the armor was never used, it really would be a useless task, instead of half useless as it seemed now.
The Paladins never complained…
The Squires hadn’t started out tired and annoyed. Daisy and Shon had been joined after their first week by Thom and Rerves, who both came from the capital city. They'd been friends growing up, Rerves was a noble, and Thom's family worked as their personal stewards, one step up from servants. A week after that, Ania arrived from a small village in the south. Only having known one Paladin and having never seen a proper Temple before, she'd been in awe of the fortress Temple of the city for at least a month. But then the excitement had given way to frustration, and -for Shon at least- boredom. And so the others had started complaining.
Their relationship with each other had started out warm enough. They stayed up late into the night, sharing their histories and dreams of their future as full Paladins. Shon joined them when prompted but mostly preferred to listen. He didn’t think he had any stories worth sharing, though they had bombarded him with questions after Veon-Zih’s first training visit. Just like everyone else, they didn’t seem to know how to deal with Shon’s quiet nature. But unlike everyone else, they hadn’t pulled away and stopped talking to him altogether. Except when they complained. Shon never complained. He didn’t see the point. When asked, he would say that they needed to follow orders. So they'd stopped asking him.
Shon held his last piece of steel plate carefully by the leather straps, wiping the last bit of polish off with a clean rag. He could see his reflection distorted by the curves and dings, and wondered if he could manage to draw the changes accurately when given a chance. The tinking of metal on metal sounded in the distance, and the Squires' heads shot up, followed by their bodies as they scrambled to their feet to salute the woman approaching.
General Rasnah was resplendent as always in her uniform, the chains of office clinking on her shoulders. She walked towards the Squires with her head held high and her hands clasped behind her back. With her was Master Veon-Zih and Shon felt his spirits rise just a little higher.
“At ease, Squires.” Sir Rasnah said as she drew to a stop just outside their shade. She waited until they'd taken the formal 'at ease' position, legs shoulder-width apart and hands clasped behind their back, “Report.”
Rerves took charge, as usual, “Sir, we're nearly done, Sir.”
“Just one piece left, Sir,” Ania added, then blushed furiously as she usually did whenever addressing a high-ranking officer.
Sir Rasnah nodded, then glanced to the sky. She then looked to Veon-Zih, who smiled and shrugged. Her lips turned up on half her face in what could almost be called a grin before she cleared it, serious again as she addressed the Squires, “You may have the afternoon off. Report to the kitchens and evening duties before sixth bell.”
“Sir, yes, Sir!” the Squires spoke in unison, Shon’s four fellows grinning broadly and sneaking happy glances at one another.
They held their positions until Sir Rasnah turned away, walking back to the Temple proper and leaving them to their freedom. Veon-Zih remained behind, smiling warmly at them and addressing Shon, “Lunch? I found a fine eatery a few blocks away.”
Shon nodded, finally smiling with the rest, “And practice?” he asked.
“After food,” Veon-Zih answered, stepping aside and gesturing towards the gates. Shon rushed to help the others put the clean and polished armor away, then jogged to Veon-Zih before falling into step with him as they left the Temple.
Veon-Zih waited until they were well clear of the gates before asking, “So what do you think of your fellow Squires?”
Shon sighed in answer, which made Veon-Zih chuckle for some reason. But the sigh hadn’t really answered the question, so Shon said, “They complain a lot.” he probably could have, and should have, come up with something nicer to say. But after hours of hearing them gripe while they worked, it was the only thing on Shon’s mind.
“There's nothing wrong with complaining, you know.” Veon-Zih mused. Shon merely shook his head. The knights never complained; he'd been watching them. If there was a job that needed to be done, they would do it. His fellow Squires seemed to complain before, during, and after every unpleasant assignment. Though never in front of the Paladin giving it.
“Do you honestly think the knights like polishing armor? Do you like polishing that much? Maybe you should've come to the Monastery after all. We don’t wear armor, but we have many fine statues that all need to be polished every day. Every little nook and cranny scrubbed clean and shining.”
He glanced at Shon with a grin, then leaned over to whisper, “They hate it too, but just like your fellows won’t complain in front of them, they won’t complain in front of you.”
“It needs to be done…” Shon tried to argue, though it sounded hollow considering his own, though silent, annoyance.
“A perfect excuse,” Veon-Zih stated, turning sharply down a side road, so Shon had to jog to keep up, “There are many reasons spare armor needs to be polished. The most obvious is that it's needed to stay in good repair. The task is assigned to Squires because it gets you intimately familiar with armor beyond just naming the parts. And because no one else wants to do it.
“That doesn’t mean we should be complaining about it…”
“Not in front of the officers, no. But amongst each other? Why not?”
Shon furrowed his brow but didn’t have an answer. Veon-Zih gave him one, “Joint misery creates companionship. Even if you have nothing else in common, everyone knows you all hate polishing already clean armor. Right now, I bet your fellow Squires are scratching their heads, wondering if you do actually enjoy the task. Some might even be wondering if they're worthy of being Squires. Since they complain, and you don’t.”
Shon’s steps faltered. Would they really think he was more worthy than them? For something so trivial as chores? He had to rush to catch up and argued, “But there's no point in complaining. We have to do it anyway.”
Veon-Zih sighed and stopped walking. He waited for Shon to turn to him then said, “But my statement still stands. Joint misery creates companionship. Your fellows take a risk in voicing their complaints to you, hoping that they're not alone in their opinions. What if they're the only ones who hate it? What if that really does mean they aren’t meant for the Temple? Just because they can channel divine magic doesn’t mean Hengist will choose them.”
Shon let himself ponder that for a while. The other Squires always seemed so sure of themselves, so excited to begin real training. Did they really have doubts and fears the same as he did? And what did that say about his assumptions? That they would complain and the knights didn’t? Was he actually judging his fellows as unworthy without realizing it?
“The Paladins really complained when they were Squires too?” he asked.
“I guarantee it.” Veon-Zih answered and started walking again, “I know I did, and all the other Monks in my class too.” he chuckled, “Sometimes routines like cleaning and polishing can be meditative. You can let your mind wander while your hands work through the familiar motions. But before you get to that point, or if you would rather be doing something of your choosing, then it's nothing but monotonous work. Necessary work, but still work.”
Following Veon-Zih around another corner, Shon pondered his Master’s words. They got all the way to the little eatery the Monk had been looking for, even took their seats, and gave their orders before Shon spoke again.
“I hate platemail the most…” he said. Veon-Zih arched an eyebrow at him, and he continued, “It’s bulky, and there's just so much of it. Then as soon as you're done, someone moves it aside and gets fingerprints on it again. Chainmail isn’t much better. You can’t see the fingerprints, but it’s hard to get the oil between the links. And yet water obviously has no problem with it because that’s where all the rust is.”
Veon-Zih laughed boisterously, throwing his head back and startling those at the closest table, “I hated the creases in the palms of the statues the most,” Veon-Zih held up his hand, his forefinger and thumb forming a circle, the other fingers extended, “how can so much dust cake itself in such a small space in only a day?” he complained, dropping his hand and shaking his head.
The waitress brought them their stew and drinks, and Shon started eating while Veon-Zih thanked her. Picking up his spoon, the Monk paused as he dipped it into his bowl, musing, “I wonder which parts your fellow Squires dislike the most?” Shon didn’t know, but he wanted to. Would they agree with him that the plate was the most frustrating? Daisy seemed to groan loudest at the leather, but their complaining always seemed to be general moans at the work as a whole…
“Maybe I’ll ask,” Shon mumbled, embarrassed for some reason.
“Or,” Veon-Zih took his first bite, then pointed at Shon with his spoon, “you could just tell them your least favorite, and they will open up and share their own.”
That’s what they expected of him, wasn’t it? They expected him to join in the conversation, not just answer questions… Shon could only nod.
***
Shon had grown so much. It was difficult for Veon-Zih to watch him without smiling. Only a head shorter than his Master, Veon-Zih could still see the ten-year-old oddity he'd spied upon almost four years ago in the church courtyard. And yet, he had grown so much. Veon-Zih wondered if anyone else could see it.
They practiced in one of the parks in the noble’s district. Veon-Zih thought it was important that Shon get out of Temple whenever possible, that he see the city and its people, to remember what he was training for, and why he wanted to fight. Shon was more like Veon-Zih, and his order of Monks than the boy would ever know. Or admit. He strove for perfection. Every punch, kick, and kata they worked through needed to go exactly right, or he would do it again. Like many Monks, Shon found true enjoyment in the process of working and growing better than his past self. But he was also different in a critical way. Shon wanted to use his strength. Wanted to protect people, fight evil. Many Monks never left the Monastery. A single Grandmaster could easily fell a small raiding force alone. Yet, so many chose not to fight outside their sparring rings and training.
Even Veon-Zih hadn’t left the Monastery because he wanted to help those locked outside its walls. He'd left because he believed he couldn't attain the perfection he strove for inside them. He'd wanted to be tested by the world, to rise to the challenges life presented and overcome them with his discipline and practice. Along the way, he'd learned to be more like Shon was naturally. He'd made friends from other orders, and saved countless non-combatants. Only after seeing the results of his fights, the grateful families reunited, had he realized the moral folly in his fellows and in himself.
They practiced and even sparred until well after fifth bell. The display at first earned them a few disapproving glares from the nobles and servants passing the park. Then they'd actually attracted a few spectators, who clapped as though watching a show. Shon blushed furiously at this, his pale cheeks growing pink as he tilted his head down, trying to let what was left of his now short hair slip down to hide his face. Yet, he never lost step or stopped the training. Veon-Zih had barely resisted laughing, though if more at the foolish watchers or his embarrassed student, he wasn’t sure.
Veon-Zih finally called their training to a halt, and Shon glowered at him. The boy had nearly gotten in his first solid hit in their sparring and was obviously reluctant to stop after making such progress. “It’s nearly time for you to get back, and Sir Rasnah will not accept me as an excuse for tardiness.” Shon’s eyes went wide, and fear replaced the look of frustration on his face. He ran his fingers through his hair, looking up at the sky to try and gauge the hour.
Veon-Zih chuckled, “I’ll race you back.” he said, a hint of mischief seeping through his voice. Shon arched an eyebrow and Veon-Zih could practically hear his thoughts. Run? Through town? You must be joking. “There's no law against running,” Veon-Zih argued with the boy’s expression, “Every moment offers us an opportunity to train. We're late, so this is the perfect opportunity to test our speed against time and run.”
Shon alternated his arched brow to the other side, looking down the road then back to Veon-Zih before confirming, “A race?”
In answer, Veon-Zih ran. He sprinted past Shon -though not at his full speed- before slowing down just enough to keep things fair. Shon bolted after him. Nobles, servants, and even a few guards gasped and called out in indignation as Veon-Zih and Shon swerved around them on the wide roads of the nobles' quarter. They were forced to slow when they reached the more densely packed streets in the city center. Shon was careful to run around the people doing their shopping but kept his eyes set ahead, planning his route and scaring those who noticed him out of the way with his intense blue stare. Veon-Zih was much more confident in his ability not to hit people and so brushed much closer, never quite knocking into them but often brushing their clothes as he passed.
Ahead a cart laden with crates and barrels ambled across the thoroughfare, and Shon slowed to a jog, trying to run around it. Veon-Zih lept, landing on his hands on the cart and propelling himself up and over before hitting the ground again and continuing the race. He heard the merchant curse and the bystanders gasp in surprise but was more amused at the growl of frustration that came from his student, who put on an extra burst of speed to try and catch up. Veon-Zih was half tempted to let him and half tempted to sprint all out and leave the boy in his dust. He chose to do neither and just laughed, continuing at the pace he'd set and soon coming into view of the Temple gates.
The Paladins on watch saw him coming and exchanged confused and nervous glances, drawing their swords but not barring his path. Veon-Zih didn’t slow his run until he reached the knights. Turning to the side and planting his feet, he slid past them on the cobblestones. Turning back as he slid to a stop, he found one of the Paladins facing him as though ready to fight and the other facing out as though looking for whatever force had sent Veon-Zih sprinting for the Temple.
Shon slowed to a jog and stopped before the knight facing him, breathing hard. “What’s going on? Squire report.” the Paladin demanded, still holding his sword at the ready.
Shon had to take a moment to catch his breath but eventually managed to gasp out, “Race…” before looking absolutely horrified at what he'd just done and said. “Sir…” he added quietly as if that might somehow make his unconventional arrival more acceptable.
“And you managed to keep up with him?” Sir Rasnah appeared from beyond the gate, arching a steely eyebrow and drawing sharp salutes from the Paladin guards who finally sheathed their swords.
“I went easy on him,” Veon-Zih assured her, earning a glare from Shon, who passed through the gates, still breathing deeply but no longer gasping for air. Veon-Zih hadn’t even broken a sweat.
Rasnah looked between the Master and student, finally settling on Shon, “Oh, don’t look at him like that, Squire. Master Veon-Zih could beat a riderless horse in a foot race.” which drew a befuddled look from Shon and a laugh from Veon-Zih.
“General Rasnah, Sir,” another man ran towards the gates wearing the uniform of an enlisted. A messenger from the city gates.
“It seems today is a good day for running,” Veon-Zih quipped as the guards allowed the man to pass and give his report.
“A wyvern has been spotted over the woods near Lakeland,”
Sir Rasnah didn’t respond right away. She narrowed her eyes at the messenger and spoke to Shon, “You have duties, Squire, hop to it.”
Shon saluted, though Rasnah still wasn’t looking at him. He glanced at Veon-Zih curiously, then turned to follow the orders.
Veon-Zih hesitated but decided to follow Shon. If he was needed, Rasnah would let him know.
“A wyvern?” Shon asked in a whisper.
“An abomination,” Veon-Zih explained, “Monstrous beasts with a body as large as a wagon, not including the tail. They fly like birds and will hunt anything that strays into their territory, including humans.”
Shon’s brow furrowed, and Veon-Zih patted him on the shoulder, “It'll be alright. They rarely attack settlements unless they're starving.” Which was good because a single wyvern could destroy a small town.
“What will the Temple do?” Shon asked as they reached the back door to the kitchens.
“That depends… most likely, they'll send a group to the village and watch the skies.”
“They won’t hunt it?”
“Maybe, and maybe not. Wyverns are dangerous enough that it’s a real risk to hunt one, but they also can’t be allowed to harm nearby towns. The Temple of Saint Giorgos will want it destroyed, but Sir Rasnah won’t needlessly risk her men if it isn’t necessary.” Veon-Zih explained.
Shon thought for a moment, then asked, “Have you ever fought a wyvern?”
Veon-Zih tried to make his smile reassuring, "Twice. Though I would rather not try a third time if it can be avoided.”
***
“Red, what're you doing?” Ran asked.
She rolled Her eyes, focusing again on what She was doing and not bothering to answer him. Her fingers ached, but She worked them into the cracks between the stones of the tower wall, shifting Her weight from one hand to the other and searching out the next handhold.
Brom laughed, and She heard the slap and woosh of breath as he pat Ran on the back hard enough to knock the air from the thinner man’s lungs, “Can’t you tell? She’s climbing!”
“Sort of…” Ran mumbled.
She wasn’t climbing up the wall, as much as She wanted to. Instead, She was up only about a foot off the ground and working Her way sideways around the tower. “Afraid of falling, Red?” Ran asked instead. That question was even more stupid than the last, and She arched Her neck back, holding tight to the wall and looking at him upside down.
“Really?” She asked in response to his denseness. He should know She wouldn’t be afraid of falling. She had fallen many times when She'd braved climbing the trees around the perimeter. Even broke Her arm once, and that hadn’t stopped Her from trying again with the splint still on. But that was when they used to let Her out more often, about once every other week. No, the thing that kept Her from climbing up the wall was the same thing that had stopped Her climbing trees. The same thing that stopped Her running around the tower at top speed while Brom or Ran kept time and She tried to beat Her record. And the same thing that kept Her from even crossing the tree line to play pretend in the woods.
Ran had the decency to look embarrassed, realizing his mistake eventually. There was only one thing that ever stopped Her from doing what She wanted, and even that often took multiple ‘lessons’ each time. Morndancer had grown increasingly erratic and more often violent of late. He would mutter to himself in draconic then give opposite orders to the journeymen and apprentices in common. Though everyone in the tower spoke both languages. He would lock himself in his room for days and hadn’t been back to visit his family or the Mages Guild in weeks. Shaloon would cover for him, but she wasn’t much better, cutting holes in reality and staring into the outer plains for hours on end, whispering. Half her words in draconic and the other half in common, mixing the languages in the same sentence.
Brom and Ran had refused to talk to Her about it, but She had listened at Her door when they thought She was sleeping. The Archmages were going mad. The eventual cost of power, they said. Though neither seemed upset that the same would happen to them eventually. Perhaps their lack of concern was the first sign they'd already started.
She continued Her climb, putting Her worries about Brom and Ran’s sanity out of Her mind for the time being. She would have plenty of time to stew about it when She was locked in Her room. For now, She wanted to enjoy being outside in the brief summer warmth.
A burst of sudden wind from above set Her hair whipping about Her face and nearly cost Her grip on the stones. Squeezing Her eyes shut, She tried to shake Her hair back, blowing at the strands against another huge gust before something heavy shook the ground behind her. She let Her head fall back again, so Her hair fell away from Her face, and She could see what had come upside down. The sight caused Her to fall off the wall.
Landing hard on Her backside, She scrambled to Her feet in a mix of awe and horror. A monster large enough to fill Her entire room and then some, stood in the clearing around the tower. It had a long sinuous neck and dull brown scales. It walked on great taloned legs in the back and the joints of its leathery wings in the front. It snapped at Archmage Shaloon as she jumped from its neck to the ground, its teeth as long as daggers and looking just as sharp. It didn’t bite the Archmage, who ignored it as she approached the journeymen.
“What are you three doing out here?” she demanded, mixing draconic with common and glaring at the two men who, for some reason, looked ashamed despite the permission they'd gotten to be out today.
The Firewyrm ignored the question, asking one of Her own, “What is that?” She pointed at the monster, not sure if She felt sad or disgusted at the sight of it. Both seemed odd emotions to have at the sight of a beast that could eat Her in two bites.
Fingers snapped, and She flinched, reaching for Her collar. The monster let out a strangled roar, thrashing its head wildly, its own copper collar shimmering with light and magic. “Another failure of our predecessors, thousands of years ago.” Morndancer exited the tower, his robes billowing around him.
Another snap, and the Firewyrm flinched again. But Shaloon just snorted, sneering at the other Archmage after stopping his torment of her mount, “The north-western Talon was gracious enough to lend us this sample after years of training. It should come in handy with the local draken who worship its kind as gods.” the beast snarled at the humans just out of reach but didn’t step any closer, digging its talons deeper into the ground and hissing, “It was a great success after the slaying. We’ve only had one greater.” she glanced at the Firewyrm who tilted Her head at the two of them, curious for more but sure they wouldn’t give it to Her.
Archmage Morndancer dismissed the defense of the monster’s existence with a snort, “And yet we are still facing the same problems as those before us. What information do you have?”
“A storm hit out at sea, and there are signs of another possibly brewing in Halakon.”
Ran swallowed nervously, and Brom stuttered, “Should we…?”
“No.” Morndancer answered the unfinished question, “There is only one thing that can stop these storms, and we are the only ones willing to make the sacrifices to do it.” he turned away from them, returning to the tower door before glancing over his shoulder, “Get back inside, we need more samples if we are to make up for our own successful failure.”
***
“Saint Giorgos says the wyverns are the last vestiges of the dragon’s evil in the skies…” Sir Rasnah sipped her tea thoughtfully.
Father Branston snorted, “Yes yes, and drakes are their evil on land, and leviathans their evil at sea. They are beasts, Rasnah, as old as memory.”
“Branston's right,” Veon-Zih shrugged, rolling his teacup between his hands, “They're terrible beasts with some magic to them, but they're no more intelligent than a drakwalf or horse.”
They sat together in Father Branston’s office to enjoy warm tea and a colorful sunset through his massive windows. But none of them could really relax with the news of a wyvern flying around the woods to the north. Just to the west of Hamerfoss.
“They've been known to hunt for sport,” Rasnah reminded them, her face pained at the memory.
“So do house cats.”
“House cats don’t pick off entire barbarian tribes over the course of a week.”
"I'm sure they would if they could,"
Branston sighed, reaching for his teapot and pouring himself another cup, “What will you do? If you need healers, I have a few skilled enough to go.”
Rasnah sighed, rubbing her forehead and resting her cup in her lap, “Perhaps one. I’ll send a group to watch. If it's sighted again, we'll have to do something.”
Veon-Zih cleared his throat to get her attention and arched a questioning eyebrow her way. The Paladin returned the look with a smile and said, “I will make sure they have a sending stone. If you're needed, I’m sure they'll wait for you to arrive before seeking it out.” her smile faded, and she stared into her cup, “If they really are vestiges of dragons then I suppose Saint Giorgos is right and all of them were evil.”
“Having a crisis of faith, Rasnah?” Branston asked softly, but with a smile, “Legends say Hengist was allied with goodly dragons.”
“Dragons of Gold and Silver and all the precious metals,” Veon-Zih finished for him, then added, “None of that matters anymore. All we can do is face the challenges life presents us with in the here and now.”
“Of course,” Rasnah agreed, looking up at her old friends and managing a lopsided grin, “And now we have a wyvern possibly claiming territory in our forests. Do you think Daunas will want to join the hunt? If necessary,” she added at the end.
“Mung's boy? He’s still stationed at Hamerfoss then?” Branston asked.
Veon-Zih chuckled, “I don’t believe he would forgive you if you didn’t let him.” his chuckle died, and the three gazed mournfully out the window. Remembering their last wyvern fight, and their friend lost in bringing it down. It had been their last adventure together.
-End of Part 1-
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