5/3rd bank near me

My parents bank transferred me some money on my birthday which was super sweet.
My mum asked for my address, I was in a rush and not thinking (I always get mail delivered to my office cause things get delivered to the wrong place) and my mum surprised me with a birthday card with additional money in.
Next door to me there are two flats with the same front door to the street. One guy is super nice, always gives me my post if delivered to the wrong door and I do the same for him. He said he saw a letter for me on the floor of the inside front door but when he went back to retrieve it, it was gone. There are only 2 people who have access.
A new person has moved in upstairs and yeah they’re not answering the doorbell at all. They don’t answer knocks at the door to the other dude either, even with lights on etc. It’s been over a week. There’s a postbox they could have easily returned it. I’ve contacted the estate agent (we all rent from the same landlord) explaining the situation. Am I bugging for thinking new neighbour clearly has my card?
I need an ULPT to get it back or to at least mess with them so they don’t get comfy stealing my shit again.

I am looking to ship something to a buyer located in Ontario. I live near the US-Canada border so I was wondering if it would be possible to drive over the border and ship the package domestically within Canada but use a United States return address. If not are there any alternatives? The place I'm shipping the package to is less than 2 hours from me and I really don't want to have to pay international shipping prices on it if I don't have to.

After just over a year of separation I finally took the action of officially filing for a divorce from my PA on Monday. Over the weekend he emptied our joint bank accounts, froze my credit card, and changed the passwords to our brokerage account. He did this once before in June of '22, and promised he would never do it again after being forced to admit he was being financially abusive.
While I was terrified and heartbroken to finally admit it was over and surrender by filing first, I will tell you: I FEEL BLEEPING EFFERVESCENT, my friends! I went through an incredibly dark depression this winter, and realize now this was because 1. Winter is depressing in the Midwest 2. I'd been allowing myself to continue to be abused and 3. I was stuck in the no man's land of separation.
I have two young children and I'm not employed right now, so part of what was keeping me tied to him was the financial handout he provided. But when he took that away, I was able to see that, in literal dollars and cents I was worth ZERO to him, and regardless of his handouts, I was worth so much more to myself and my children.
Money comes and goes. Self respect and self trust can be repaired, but I was reaching a place, energetically, that I might not have healed from if I allowed things to continue the way they'd been.
I am grateful to him for providing the final straw. And while I suspect what I experienced was reverse discarding, (he's a textbook covert narcissist,) I am so glad he did.
Some other info: we were both in individual and couple's counseling. He has a CSAT and our couple's counselor worked from the betrayal trauma model. (She's amazing, by the way, if anyone who lives in Illinois wants a recommendation.) We put a post-nup in place after the last D-Day, but prior to our separation. My lawyer filed a motion for emergency financial support so that my kids and I aren't out on the streets. He was also ordered to return all of the funds and access to accounts.
I feel sad but unstuck and can look myself in the mirror, knowing I did the hard but right thing for my children and myself. If you have any questions, please ask me anything!

Previous
Writer's note: Tuuurn and face the strange! Cha-Cha-Changes!
Enjoy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
James trudged as he and Amina walked back to the airship.
Partly because they had, politely yet definitively, been asked to leave Vatria.
Partly because he'd almost single handedly ended the tournament but was NOT the champion of it.
And partly because he and Amina had two tag-alongs following them.
Amina, despite everything else was beaming with pride and a smile as she sat on top of Steve as James guided him through the streets of the capital towards the end of the palace grounds where her sister and the ambassador had docked the air ship. Around her neck was a loosely draped neck-piece made of a combinations of emeralds and sapphires, wrought in a bright silver. It was the tournament's version of a laurel or wreath. She also had a hefty bag of gold and silver stored in her bottomless bag now. Not that she was hurting for money.
On her back was the enchanted hammer that Raend had been using throughout the tournament. She'd stopped by to see the poor mercenary after the fight had concluded, and as the arena healers were busy trying to heal his leg. She'd offered to leave the hammer near him, but the brutally injured man had told her to get the hell away from him, and sworn off fighting for the rest of his life, so she'd held onto it.
James on the other hand, had not gotten off so lucky.
He'd been disqualified for breaking the flight ceiling set in the tournament's rules.
He had also caused an obscene amount of damage to the arena itself.
He'd gained two more penalty flags for how badly he'd damaged Glag, who had needed to be stabilized by several of the arena mages, and fed some of the broken bits of his own body so he could use them to regenerate. The sandstone creature hadn't been disqualified for breaking the ceiling since he hadn't done so of his own accord, but rather as the result of an opponent's attack.
As a result of the damage James had caused, the Arena was temporarily evacuated while it was evaluated to ensure it wasn't going to collapse into its lower passages. This coupled with Glag's , admittedly temporary, injuries meant that the match was over. With two penalty points against him due to injuring Raend as gruesomely as he had, and Amina with only one from when Glag had sent her flying, she had been declared the victor.
And James had been forced to sign a legal agreement to pay for the damages caused to the arena, or else be arrested until such time as restitution could be made on his behalf. The look on both Commander Tyrius's and the Emperor's face when he casually agreed to pay the cost and used his medallion to sign the papers was almost worth whatever drain was about to hit his bank account. he knew he was rich, though he wasn't certain to what extent. But he was fairly certain even HE would feel a bit of sting from this bill.
It didn't matter though. All things aside James was happy for Amina. She'd wanted to win the tournament pretty badly. Additionally, he wasn't a hundred percent certain he could've fought her all out if it had come down to the two of them, and he definitely wouldn't have wanted to see her face Glag alone, without him. Not in her current state.
The thought of that reminded him that they hadn't had a chance to see a life priestess yet. Things here had moved too... unpredictably... for that. But she was still getting the morning sickness, so there was that.
"Glag. Glag glag glag." The little rock monster said, seemingly happily, as he walked next to and just behind James. Even though he was wearing his medallion, and had been the entire final match, James still didn't understand him. Or it..... or.... whatever the hell Glag was.
After James had been reprimanded and signed the agreement to pay the bill for the arena, Glag had come rushing over from out of the fighting area. It had practically bowled both the Arena official and Commander Tyrius over as it ran to him. It had excitedly grabbed at his hand and jumped up and down. Exclaiming, as always, "Glag!" Excitedly.
James hadn't been able to convince the sentient sedimentary stone creature alone to leave him alone since then. Though he had managed to get it to understand that he didn't need to hold its hand as they walked which it had insisted on doing for the first mile or so.
Still. He didn't have it that bad. At least Glag, while talkative, didn't exactly expect conversation or make demands.
He peered over his shoulder at the large, dagger packing, centaur that was walking alongside Steve.
No amount of protest or debate had convinced Gorna that Amina didn't want anything to do with her. And the centaur woman had vowed to follow Amina until she had made her decision as to how she wished to fulfill her proposal requirements serving as a servant until that time.
Now she was doing her best, medieval fantasy world version, impression of a member of the secret service. And her president was Amina.
He.... REALLY... hoped that she at least understood the boundary of a bedroom door.
For that matter he hoped Glag did too. And he kind of hoped that Glag didn't view him as some kind of spouse now. He'd have to ask Veliry if she understood rock monster whenever they got back home.
Amina was doing everything in her power to ignore the very existence of the centaur as she rode Steve, smile on her face, waving at the people who greeted her as they passed.
The same people that looked at James like he was a leper and seemed to part for him like the red sea.
At least.... He thought as they rounded a street corner and saw the entrance to the Palace that they needed to use. This place wasn't boring.
----------------
Vickers and De'Lius had just finished setting up the twin bedrooms and storing the two bottomless bags full of food for Five and Driscoll, when the front door of the house resounded with knocks.
"The two that are doing the biting?" Vickers asked. He could smell them, but he knew the Outer Light Commander could smell them better.
"Aye." He said. "I'll finish here. Go ahead and greet them.
Vickers followed the directions without even thinking about it.
On the other side were two people whose appearances he hadn't expected.
One was a tall.... very tall... lightly red furred man(?) in a set of robes that made Vickers think of catholic clergy, if a bit less ornate. He locked eyes with Vickers and his head cocked in a way that seemed utterly alien to him. Then, silently and swiftly he stepped past Vickers and into the house, still looking at him. Vickers backed up unconsciously as his, admittedly muted, animal instincts told him not to take his eyes off the man.
"A night brother." He said in a voice that was deeper than his slender build implied. "You are the one the Council letters told us to meet here."
"Name's Vickers." The SEAL said as he reached out his hand for a shake. The Fox man instinctively pulled back a bit as he stared at the hand. Then he gingerly took the hand and shook.
"Don't mind him." Said a warm, and somewhat old sounding, and rather plump, woman with large eyes and puffy cheeks. Even in her mostly human form she had a massive, bushy, tail. She was wearing an set of coveralls that were coated in flour and bits of food and he got the impression that she was a baker. She practically jittered with manic amounts of energy as she rapidly looked around the room, her massive tail twitching spasmodically.
When she hugged him it both took him by surprise, and made him a little uncomfortable.
"I'm Brin." She said with a smile that revealed a set of oversized buck teeth dominating her otherwise human mouth. "It's nice to meet you Mr. Vickers. Are the people we're converting already here?"
"Not yet." He said. "They should be showing up within the next hour or so. It's.... difficult to move them. Thank you for coming."
"Of course." The fox man said. "I cannot speak to Ms... Brin's... experience. But like the two you requested conversion for, I was saved by being converted."
"Oh I just converted so I could keep up with the man I ended up marryin'." Brin said cheerily.
Vickers nodded awkwardly at the two short stories. "Well. Thanks anyways." He said. "The Commander and I are still putting the finishing touches on the rooms for 'em. Take a seat, get comfortable. I imagine we'll know when they get here."
A little over forty five minutes later Vickers was proven right.
A loud rumbling preceded the wagons that were being used to transport the two muck marchers. They'd been encased in a pair of heavy duty gurneys that had rigid plastic canopies over them, keeping out the germs of the world around them.
"Oh my." Brin said as she nervously followed Vickers outside to greet them.
The wagons stopped just short of the door and the three remaining Toolies, accompanied by several out of uniform Earth soldiers and a pair of Petravian guards that had their restraint controls, began helping them get the gurneys down. A few minutes later they were being wheeled into the building.
"What are they?" The fox man, who had never given Vickers his name, asked.
"They're human." Commander De'Lius said as he looked at them curiously. "And....." His head cocked to the side, putting his left ear closer to the two pods. "Machines. And they are dying. Just as Chief Vickers' entreaty said."
"I wasn't lying." Vickers said defensively.
"I did not say you were." The old wolf said absently. "But you were most assuredly understating. How do they live?"
"We stick around talking much longer and they probably won't." Vickers said somewhat testily. "Let's get this done."
The lead Toolie, an older man by the name of Andrei Piotris stepped forward.
"Chief. Are you sure about this?" He asked with his hands up to stop Vickers. He looked over at the fox and squirrel. "I mean. Are you sure this is the best move?"
Vickers was about to reply, even reaching up to press the mans hands back down and gently move him aside. Then a hand weakly tapped at the inside of one of the pods.
Five was looking at the toolie.
"It's all good P." She said so softly that even Vickers' keener than normal hearing barely picked anything up. But the shaky thumbs up she held up was signal enough.
Then the hand fell back weakly as Five's eyes glassed over again.
Piotris seemed to deflate.
Vickers placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It's a shot at living." He said as the toolie looked at him. "The only shot really." He turned back to the Commander. "Help me get em out of the pods and into the rooms?"
De'Lius looked at him curiously for a moment. Then nodded.
"Poor things." Brin said. "Barely even living. Cut in half like that."
"It is a grotesqueness that I am amazed the gods even allowed to exist." The fox agreed, though Brin's glance at him implied that that was NOT what she had meant.
Less than ten minutes later and as the wagons, now filled only with the Earth and Petravian soldiers and the empty gurney pods, returned to the castle. Vickers and the other were-folk present, listened to the two Muck Marchers screaming as their bodies began attempting to violently rearrange themselves.
Vickers regretted the keen senses he'd been given.
A simplified shotgun, made with some spare parts from the little mage's supplies, sat on his lap. Four impromptu shells loaded with silver buckshot, made of chopped up silver coins, sat on the small table next to him.
Just in case.

April 1 will be my 15 months sobriety but I started working the steps in February. Im on step 4.
My sponsor has always had some pretty big and loud opinions on outside issues. I actually accepted his offer to sponsor (I had shared that I needed a sponsor because I was having a reaction to a commonly prescribed medication that was too similar to when I was drinking) because he reminds me of several of my alcoholic/addict relatives who are sanctimonious, judgmental, and full of their egos. I figured I should fight my fear w/love.
Anyway, one of my outside issues (severe OCD with psychosis) which gad been in remission for 5 years reactivated from step 4. To give you an idea, if you hear my step 4 you will want to drink to obliterate what you just heard from your brain. I haven’t relapsed while reliving 32 years of horrific cruel calculated attempts to deny my humanity every time I start a new “cause” column…because, AA actually works!
Anyway, my OCD flared up AND went straight to near-psychosis last week after work became dangerously hostile and my car broke down, both in absurd and unpredictable ways. All I can do is let my lawyer deal with my work, scrap the car, find a new job and a new car, and reach out so I can still get rides to meetings and maintain my sobriety. Im doing all this while doing step 4 with my usual outside issue team aware but under time and resource restraints.
my OCD latched on to step 4, and within a few days I was honestly struggling to not believe that my fiancée was next on the chopping block of whatever curse my mother had inflicted on me to cripple my hard-won independence from her own soul sickness. To prevent this, I either had to move back home or delete myself.
Unlike alcoholism, there is no higher power capable of overcoming OCD. It can only be managed with a type of therapy called exposure and response therapy.
I called my sponsor and told him due to a outside mental health issue rapidly worsening I needed to pause step 4 until I had more support outside AA but I would reach out once I was stable enough to work the steps again. He called me back, laughed and told me I was fooling myself and to call him back once I had relapsed was desperate enough to work an honest program. Then he hung up on me.
I texted him a little more detail about the ocd and how lethal it could be - and untreated WOULD be. He left me a whiny voicemail (he has a whiny voice when he’s resenting) saying he hadn’t read my text but to call him after im ready to admit I’m an alcoholic and be honest.
I feel like he is overstepping by assuming AA can solve all my problems. I know step 4 needs to be done quickly but my way of a minimum hour a day following his structure for the resentment inventory alone filled up a 100 page college notebook in a week with hundreds more entries left . After telling him this to temper his expectations of a timeline for finishing step 4, he insisted I do nothing except step4until it’s done other than work and daily meeting. He also wasn’t going to talk about anything AA in any capacity until I completed all the steps. My way doing step 4, I was getting stuff done and staying sober in a tough but sustainable manner. Initially he didn’t tell me I had to devote every non-work and non-meeting moment to step 4 so I wonder if his own impatience and jaded outlook (he tried to convince me the medication effect was a relapse and that I had played my doctor, im like my dude,my dr is a ducking addiction specialist at a federally funded clinic that only treats alcoholics and addicts in active recovery. so lets just stick to AA.) had an impact on his rigid boundaries with step 4
I guess what I really need feedback about is how much of this is sponsor style incompatibility and how much of this is my own ego. Thanks!

I run my own business and trading company that employs both traditional finance and cryptocurrency as its primary vehicles, and we currently transact most of our trades on iPads through webpages. I've always found it odd that no cryptocurrency businesses have or use iPad applications, instead focusing solely on phones/webpages. Traditional banking, for the most part, does not as well. It has always bothered me because I believe there is a sizable market for people to utilize financial services on iPads, and crypto businesses could outperform traditional finance and capture the majority of that market. Companies such as Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance would see a massive market if people and businesses could transact and manage their trades and crypto via iPads.
What does everyone else think?

Hi, all. My four-hour EEG last month showed slowing, meaning it could be epilepsy, but it might not be either. For a more definitive answer, I am going to have to go out of town in the near future for a five-day EEG. My neurologist spoke highly of the facility I'll be going to. My therapist, whom I speak with twice a week, told me she has clients who have been there, and she says they've had good outcomes as well. Still, I was expecting more clear cut answers. Anyway, just positing into the void I guess.

Never thought I would revisit you so soon, eh Purdue? You pathetic underachievers continue to give me excuses to mock you every March. Every time when it seems like you're about to end your agonizingly long Final Four drought, you punch your fans in the dick repeatedly by choking during the second weekend, or shitting your pants against a double digit seed in the first. It's like watching the Endless Eight episode saga of Haruhi Suzumiya...on repeat for DECADES.
Don't believe me? Take a look at this long laundry list of failure...
1969 NCAA Final Four - Thanks to head coach George King, and an all star roster led by Rick Mount, Herm Gilliam, and Bill Keller, you made the National Championship game your first year in the NCAA tournament. Though this may be a sign that you've peaked too early, as well as this being a sign that you're about to get destroyed, it's still admirable. Maybe you can shock the world...
1969 National Championship Game - Unfortunately, reality sets in and you get an H-bomb dropped on you by UCLA. Better luck next year I guess...
1970 - Or...just completely fall apart and miss the tournament.
1971 - Though you post another winning season, it's not good enough to get you into the tournament. Here's an NIT bid as a consolation prize.
1972 - Settle back into mediocrity with a .500 record as George King decides to fuck off and never return!
1973 - Your new head coach is Fred Schaus. You are still incredibly mediocre.
1974 - Holy cow, a 21-win season! Unfortunately, you don't come close to making the big dance. Have this NIT title as a consolation.
mid-1970s - And you are once again mediocre. Why am I not surprised.
1977 - Ah, you finally returned to the big dance once again. But then you lose a nailbiter to North Carolina.
1978 - And you once again fall back into mediocrity. Don't worry, the tournament will eventually expand and you'll be able to appear more frequently. Just give it a few more years.
1980 - Alright, you're finally a reasonable contender again with a 23-10 record. And that was thanks to head coach Lee Rose, as well as new star recruits like Joe Barry Carroll, Kevin Stallings, Keith Edmonson, Roosevelt Barnes, and Arnette Hallman. You're the 6th seed in the Mideast region, so go make some noise.
1980 NCAA Tournament - Now we're talking! After taking out huge foes like your in-state rival Indiana in the Sweet 16, and Duke in the Elite Eight, you return to the Final Four yet again. This may be the best shot you have so don't mess this up. Bring that National Championship trophy back home to Lafayette!
1980 NCAA Final Four - Unfortunately, they are then death starred by the UCLA empire. And not just ANY UCLA team - this was Larry Brown's UCLA team. You know, the one that committed 9 NCAA rules violations and were forced to vacate their appearance in the tournament. Fucking pathetic. I don't care if you won a 3rd place game, you're still dead to me. Well, hopefully this won't be your last Final Four appearance for a while...
1980 offseason - You make an excellent hire in Gene Keady as your head coach! Hopefully you can win a national title for him.
1983 - Coach Keady leads you back to the tournament once again, but unfortunately you get run over by Arkansas in the second round.
1984 - Lose in the second round again. This time to fucking Memphis.
1985 - Get ousted as the #6 seed in the big dance to fucking Auburn.
1986 - Lose as the #6 seed YET AGAIN in the first round. To fucking 11th-seeded LSU in double overtime.
1986 NCAA Final Four - That LSU team goes on to become the first double digit seed to make the Final Four. You get a trophy of herpes.
1987 - You're the #3 seed in the East region and you put up 104 points against Northeastern of all teams. Only to get blown the fuck out by Florida. Ya know, I'd like to see some actual deep runs for once...
1988 - Now we're talking! You're finally a national title contender again! You won the Big Ten with a 27-3 regular season record and you're the #2 team in the country! You're the #1 seed in the Midwest region, so go big or go home!
1988 NCAA Tournament - Unfortunately your deep run is to the Sweet 16, where you lose by three to Kansas State. The best season since you're 1969 Cinderella year...and you get turned into a laughingstock once again. Fucking hell, this is brutal. Who pays to watch this shit?!
1989 - The Boilers fall apart and miss the tournament once again but who gives a shit anymore?
1990 - Thanks to new stars like Matt Painter, Jimmy Oliver, and Steve Scheffler, you're the goddamn #2 seed in the Midwest region and are a favorite to make the Final Four. This HAS to be the year...you lost to 10th-seeded Texas in the SECOND ROUND?!! hits wall FUCKING GOD.
1991 - And then you decide to choke against fucking Temple in the first round.
1993 - Lose in the first round again. This time to goddamn Rhode Island.
1994 - You're finally a national title contender again with a dominant 26-4 regular season record thanks to new stars like Glenn Robinson and Cuonzo Martin. You won the Big Ten yet again and you're the #1 seed in the Southeast region. You even reach the Elite Eight too and have a good shot to make the Final Four! There appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel...
1994 NCAA Tournament, Elite Eight - Turns out that light was just a mirage and you get your Final Four dreams beaten to oblivion by Duke. Why does this shit always happen to you guys? I know it's the Empire, but fuck!
1995 - Get bested by fucking Memphis again in the second round as the #3 seed in the Midwest region!
1996 - You won the goddamn Big Ten again with a 25-5 regular season record and you're the #1 seed in the West region. Will this finally be the year?
1996 NCAA Tournament - YOU LOSE IN THE SECOND ROUND TO FUCKING GEORGIA? The hell is the matter with you?!
1997 - After getting revenge on Rhode Island in the first round, you get absolutely rekt by a Paul Pierce-led Kansas squad in the next. Eh, it happens to all of us sometimes, shut up and deal with it.
1998 - You're the #2 seed in the Midwest region yet again and you've returned the Sweet 16...only to lose to goddamn Stanford - a team that hadn't made it to the Elite Eight in over 45 years. Pathetic. Get lost.
1998 offseason - And now the NCAA has caught you cheating red-handed. You get put on two years probation for recruiting, ethics and benefits violations. Plus, team assistant Frank Kendrick decided to be a fucking idiot who illegally bribed star player Luther Clay and is fired from the team. Fucking idiots...
1999 - Your probation hasn't kicked in yet! Quick, go make another run to the Big Dance!
1999 NCAA Tournament - Even though you're the #10 seed in the East region due to losing the Big Ten tournament title to Michigan, you manage to pull off a minor string of first and second round upsets against Texas and Miami before being absolutely mauled by Temple again in the Sweet 16. Sucks, but it was a valiant effort. There's always next year...
2000 - You're in the big dance yet again just in time for the new millennium! As the #6 seed in the West region, you make another big run to the Elite Eight after ending Gonzaga’s foolish ambitions! And you're facing a fellow Big Ten foe in Wisconsin. This may be the last shot you have with this current core, so go take down those arrogant Badgers!
2000 NCAA Tournament, Elite Eight - Unfortunately, Wisconsin has the last laugh as they edge you out by 4 points and make their first Final Four in almost 60 years. Woof. At least things can't get any worse...right?
2001-02 - It does. You miss the tournament the next two years in the meantime, as your probation has finally kicked in. Eh, you were garbage, you weren't going to make the Big Dance anyway.
2003 - Probation is finally over and you make the tournament once again. As the #9 seed in the South region, you get revenge on LSU by blowing them the fuck out in the first round. Only a brick wall can stop you: it's name is Texas.
2005 - Gene Keady decides to hang it up after an abysmal 7-21 record. Too bad he couldn't get a ring, he was one helluva great coach.
2005 offseason - We need a new head coach to bring us back to relevance. This Matt Painter guy will do.
2007 - Coach Painter leads you back to the tournament, just so you can get stomped on by defending national champion Florida in the second round.
2008 - Lose in the second round again. We're losing to fucking Xavier now? Goddamn...
2009 - After winning the Big Ten Tournament, the Boilers finish the regular season with a 25-9 record, which is good enough for the #5 seed in West region. You make it all the way to the Sweet 16 before being put down by UConn. Could be worse I guess...
2010 - You win your first Big Ten regular season title in 14 years, and you're the #4 seed in the South region this year and you once again make it to the Sweet 16. But the Evil Empire known as Duke then slaughters you like pork. Old habits die hard, eh?
2011 - You managed to secure the #3 seed in the Southwest region with a 25-7 record, and you're favorites to make the Final Four. Now are you going to do something?
2011 - Nope, you lose to an 11th-seeded VCU team...who then go on to make the Final Four. Deja vu, ain't it?
2012 - Lose to Kansas in the Second Round yet again. Seriously, what is with all these Second Round losses?!
2013-14 - Miss the tournament the next two years in the meantime.
2015 - You're back in the tournament again as the 9th seed in the Midwest region. And you lose painfully to Cincinnati in the first round. In OT.
2016 - Issac Haas begins to come into his own as he leads the Boilers to the #5 seed in the Midwest region with a 26-8 record. But then...oh no...
2016 - You LOST TO FUCKING #12 LITTLE ROCK?!! IN DOUBLE OVERTIME?!! WHAT THE FUCK!! Can you NOT continue to waste talent, Boilers?
2017 - You once again win the Big Ten and grab the #4 seed in the Midwest region. You go back the Sweet 16 before you are put down by fucking Kansas again. The Jayhawks are still getting the best of you after all these years, eh?
2018- This time you're the #2 seed in the East region with a solid 28-6 regular season record. You once AGAIN make it to the Sweet 16, but then you lose to another Big 12 team called Texas Tech - a team that hadn't made it past the Sweet 16 in their existence. Fucking really? Eh, you've got promise though. Next year should be the year...hopefully.
2019 - Well, you managed to win a share of the Big Ten title. And even though you lost early in the Big Ten tournament, you clinched the #3 seed in the South region with a 23-9 record. Now don't disappoint me again.
2019 NCAA Tournament, Sweet 16 - Ugh, you're blowing a 17-point lead to Tennessee in the 2nd half? Just get it over with so I can get the liquor... ... wait...the Boilers...didn't...choke? They're playing in the Elite Eight against Virginia of all teams? My god, someone is shedding their choker label this year!
2019 NCAA Tournament, Elite Eight - Oh my god, you're doing it! You took the lead with less than 4 minutes left to play!
Here's Edwards for the lead...OH HE HIT THE WINDOW! On that glass!
Score: 69-67 Purdue, 1 minute remaining
Oh my god, this can't be real...hold me...
Score: 70-68 Purdue, 5 seconds remaining:
Okay, now you need one stop on defense, if he misses this shot you'll make the Final Four...
"Into the hands of Clark...got a chance to win here...up to front, it's Diakete, for the win-IT GOES!!!!! For the tie!! Diakete squares it at 70!!"
WHAT?! WHAT?!!! No...no no no no no...don't tell me this is happening again...can you at least stop them in OT?!
"Edwards...bad pass! And it's turned over with 1.8 seconds remaining..."
OH MY MERCIFUL GOD!!!
"OH GOD NO!!! PLEASE GOD NO!! NO!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
I have no words. The worst part is that it wasn't entirely their fault either. This is just...painful. Absolutely painful...I don't even want to think about next season at this point...
2020 - And COVID arrives to cancel out everyone's season. Eh you were garbage anyway this year, so it doesn't matter.
2021 - Now you're back as the #4 seed in the South region. Maybe this'll be the year...or they can get upset by North Texas in the first round...a team that hadn't won a tournament game in their history...Excuse me while I drink this bottle of Jack...
2022 - Things are once again looking good for the Boilers. They earn their first #1 ranking in the AP poll in school history, and while they don't keep it, they still manage to secure the 3rd seed in the South region with a 27-7 record, thanks to a new core led by Caleb Furst, Zach Edey, Jaden Ivey, Sasha Stefanovic, and Trevion Williams. You're heavy favorites to make the Final Four once again! But we've heard that line a million times...
2022 NCAA Tournament - Well, things seem to be going alright. The Boilers take out the Ivy League elitist scum from Yale in the opening round, and they get revenge on Texas in the second round with a solid 10-point win. So who are they playing next? giggles the 15-seeded SAINT PETER'S PEACOCKS?! Come on, they're not going to lose to a MAAC school, this should be a piece of cake!
...right?
2022 NCAA Tournament - Holy shit, they're losing to a MAAC school. But there's still a chance you say?
*"65-61...12 seconds left...Ivey has to hurry. Jumpshot...GOES!! And a 3!! 1-point game with 8 seconds to go!"
Okay, there's still a chance. If you play your cards right you get to return to the Elite Eight. Don't fuck this up...
"67-64, 4 seconds left. Ivy...for the tie-OFF THE RIM AND IT'S OVER!!! This miracle run continues for Saint Peter's!! The Peacocks make history!! The first 15 seed to the Elite Eight in NCAA Tournament lore!"
They lost...to a MAAC school. They lost to a MAAC school. A MAAC school.
screams into a pillow: A MAAC SCHOOL?!!! ARRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
YOU BLEW IT!!
2023 - sigh Glad I got that out of my system. For this season you add Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith to your roster! They help you cruise through the regular season and you win both the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships with a 29-5 record! You even secure the top seed in the East region, the first time in decades that you've accomplished such a feat! And you're favorites to win it all and have been picked by virtually everyone to make the Final Four! But we're heard that a million times, haven't we? Now don't fuck this up. You're playing some nobody called Fairleigh Dickinson from the NEC in the opening round. This should be a cakewalk for you.
Literally a cakewalk.
2023 NCAA Tournament, First Round - Uh...what the fuck is going on? Why are you trailing?! What business do you have trailing?! No, seriously. Why are you losing to a 16 SEED?! Whatever, you're down 3 and should have a shot to win this anyway and move on. Get to work.
*"Looking for Edey, of course...knocked away! Great defense by Moore! He gets it back, Moore flies in, AND SCORES!! 5-point game!"
What? WHAT?!!! HOW ARE YOU TAKING THE PISS THIS BADLY?!!!
"..into the corner it goes, Loyer wide open-NAILS IT!!"
Score: 58-56
Good, now work your magic and move past this already. This has gone on long enough as is.
"Moore, straight away three...IT'S GOOOOOOOD!!!"
Score: 61-56
Oh my fucking god, WHY MUST YOU DO THIS TO ME?!!!!
"Loyer has scored the last 7 points for the Boilermakers. Gets it done at the line with 58 seconds left. Down 3."
Score: 61-58
I swear, if you morons blow this thing...
"Loyer puts up a 3...no good! Rebound to Roberts! And he's fouled!!"
.................................................I have nothing to say to you. You were favored by 23.5 to win. The biggest upset in terms of point spread in tournament history. Do you realize what you've just done? This is quite possibly the GREATEST FAILURE IN THE HISTORY OF COLLEGE SPORTS!!!
"...and that will do it! 'buzzer sounds' FDU BELIEVE IT?!! For just the second time ever, A 16 BEATS A 1!!!"
YOU BLEW IT!! YOU BLEW IT!!! YOU BLEW IT!!! YOU BLEW IT!!! YOU BLEW IT!!! YOU BLEW IT!!! YOU BLEW IT!!! YOU BLEW IT!!!! YOU BLEW IT!!! (x100)
BOOM
cue Mortal Kombat music
"MUWHAHAHAHAH!!! THAT WAS PATHETIC!!"
CONGLATURATION!!
PURDUE'S HOPE IS NO MORE!!!
THE LEGACY OF FAILURE IS FINALLY FORGED!!!
Is Pecca Rinne still too good right now after 6 years?
After falling to the 68th and last ranked team overall in the NCAA tournament in the opening round, the Boilermakers slowly came to grips that total failure in big games was simply a part of their history, for both the team and Purdue sports.
This realization came too late to alter this event, however. This loss is now mocked and scorned by the College Basketball world.
Have a nice day.

Cruising down the road today and my '87 just kills. Pulled over to investigate and discovered the fuel pump wasn't working in the tank. Pulled the ECM1 fuse and it was melted.
Popped a new one in it and went on my way another 5 miles or so to work.
Now I'm researching why that fuse let the smoke out while just driving down the road. I'll look harder at it this weekend for shorts etc but I assume I don't have any wires melted anywhere because the fuse didn't blow when I cranked the truck back up with a new one it just ran and drove great.
Here's where it's a little bit of a mess, the history of the truck to the best of my knowledge:
Original TBI motor
Engine swapped by previous owner and switched to carb
Purchased by me and swapped to Edelbrock EFI system
So the entire original injection system, run by the ECM, is unused. But it was never properly deleted just unplugged as needed.
Previous owner wired the fuel pump to run on ignition power. An oil pressure switch isn't being utilized it just runs constantly with key-on power. I need to find out where they are getting that power exactly.
I see lots of posts online talking about pink wires being ones controlled by the ECM. The original gauges have been swapped and the original harness, which had quite a few pink wires in it, is all cut up but all the unused wires were properly capped off so there shouldn't (key word shouldn't) be a short in the dash.
My question is - what else should I be looking at as far as a now unused, and unplugged, sensor or sensor connector that could be a culprit?
I put the EFI on it months ago. It's been cranked, run, driven 50 times since then for a couple hundred miles, including a couple of hour long 50ish mile drives.
Weirdly enough I got it in a "running when I parked it, won't crank now" state that was a blown ECM1 fuse so no fuel pump. Now, after nearly a year it randomly popped again. Whatever it is is very intermittent.
Any guidance would be appreciated!

This might be all over the place, I apologize in advance. This is how the book I have at the moment is formatted:
--Sheet 1 is called 'Scrim Partners'; this sheet has a table that includes our scrim partner's team name and contact info, as well as each map's end result. For example, there are 5 games in a scrim, and cell A1 has map 1's name and is either colored green(if our team wins) or red(if our team lost) after the map is over. This goes from cell A4-A8 or 9 depending on if they play 5 or 6 maps, and the next scrim will be in column B (so B4-B8 or 9) and so on. This entire sheet is updated manually by me as the scrim goes on. I'll type the name of the first map in the first row, then color the cell red or green, then repeat. --Sheet 2 is called Map Winrates. This is how I've set this sheet up: -In column 1 of this sheet, it has the map name(does not ever change). -Column 2 has the number of times we've won the map(updated manually). Colored the same green as the other sheet, if that helps. -Column 3 is the number of times we've lost the map(updated manually). Colored the same red as the other sheet as well. -Column 4 has the total amount of times we've played the map(updates automatically with the formula =SUM(B4,C4) and changes depending on which map it counts for). -Column 5 has the map win percentage(updates automatically using the formula "=B4/D4" and also changes due to which map it counts for) -I also have a table at the bottom that tells how many of which type of map we've played, which helps me keep track of any maps that I haven't added the record for, and has proven useful since we're nearing 100 maps played.
If it helps at all, there are other sheets in the book, but they don't connect to these two and hold their own information.
Basically, I'm wondering if there's a way that I can get sheet 2 to update automatically as I fill in sheet 1. I'm not someone who's good with coding at all so I'm not even sure where to start. I manage the teams as they form and learn how to play/scrim on their own, and eventually I won't be there anymore but there are not a lot of people who are willing to keep up with something like this. I know it's good to have this 'database' for the teams so they know which maps to work on in the future, and if there's ever a problem with anything they have all of the information there for them as well. I am also happy to provide screenshots or anything if my descriptions aren't clear enough. Any advice is appreciated, thanks in advance.

Previous / First
Writer's note: Tuuurn and face the strange! Cha-Cha-Changes!
Enjoy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
James trudged as he and Amina walked back to the airship.
Partly because they had, politely yet definitively, been asked to leave Vatria.
Partly because he'd almost single handedly ended the tournament but was NOT the champion of it.
And partly because he and Amina had two tag-alongs following them.
Amina, despite everything else was beaming with pride and a smile as she sat on top of Steve as James guided him through the streets of the capital towards the end of the palace grounds where her sister and the ambassador had docked the air ship. Around her neck was a loosely draped neck-piece made of a combinations of emeralds and sapphires, wrought in a bright silver. It was the tournament's version of a laurel or wreath. She also had a hefty bag of gold and silver stored in her bottomless bag now. Not that she was hurting for money.
On her back was the enchanted hammer that Raend had been using throughout the tournament. She'd stopped by to see the poor mercenary after the fight had concluded, and as the arena healers were busy trying to heal his leg. She'd offered to leave the hammer near him, but the brutally injured man had told her to get the hell away from him, and sworn off fighting for the rest of his life, so she'd held onto it.
James on the other hand, had not gotten off so lucky.
He'd been disqualified for breaking the flight ceiling set in the tournament's rules.
He had also caused an obscene amount of damage to the arena itself.
He'd gained two more penalty flags for how badly he'd damaged Glag, who had needed to be stabilized by several of the arena mages, and fed some of the broken bits of his own body so he could use them to regenerate. The sandstone creature hadn't been disqualified for breaking the ceiling since he hadn't done so of his own accord, but rather as the result of an opponent's attack.
As a result of the damage James had caused, the Arena was temporarily evacuated while it was evaluated to ensure it wasn't going to collapse into its lower passages. This coupled with Glag's , admittedly temporary, injuries meant that the match was over. With two penalty points against him due to injuring Raend as gruesomely as he had, and Amina with only one from when Glag had sent her flying, she had been declared the victor.
And James had been forced to sign a legal agreement to pay for the damages caused to the arena, or else be arrested until such time as restitution could be made on his behalf. The look on both Commander Tyrius's and the Emperor's face when he casually agreed to pay the cost and used his medallion to sign the papers was almost worth whatever drain was about to hit his bank account. he knew he was rich, though he wasn't certain to what extent. But he was fairly certain even HE would feel a bit of sting from this bill.
It didn't matter though. All things aside James was happy for Amina. She'd wanted to win the tournament pretty badly. Additionally, he wasn't a hundred percent certain he could've fought her all out if it had come down to the two of them, and he definitely wouldn't have wanted to see her face Glag alone, without him. Not in her current state.
The thought of that reminded him that they hadn't had a chance to see a life priestess yet. Things here had moved too... unpredictably... for that. But she was still getting the morning sickness, so there was that.
"Glag. Glag glag glag." The little rock monster said, seemingly happily, as he walked next to and just behind James. Even though he was wearing his medallion, and had been the entire final match, James still didn't understand him. Or it..... or.... whatever the hell Glag was.
After James had been reprimanded and signed the agreement to pay the bill for the arena, Glag had come rushing over from out of the fighting area. It had practically bowled both the Arena official and Commander Tyrius over as it ran to him. It had excitedly grabbed at his hand and jumped up and down. Exclaiming, as always, "Glag!" Excitedly.
James hadn't been able to convince the sentient sedimentary stone creature alone to leave him alone since then. Though he had managed to get it to understand that he didn't need to hold its hand as they walked which it had insisted on doing for the first mile or so.
Still. He didn't have it that bad. At least Glag, while talkative, didn't exactly expect conversation or make demands.
He peered over his shoulder at the large, dagger packing, centaur that was walking alongside Steve.
No amount of protest or debate had convinced Gorna that Amina didn't want anything to do with her. And the centaur woman had vowed to follow Amina until she had made her decision as to how she wished to fulfill her proposal requirements serving as a servant until that time.
Now she was doing her best, medieval fantasy world version, impression of a member of the secret service. And her president was Amina.
He.... REALLY... hoped that she at least understood the boundary of a bedroom door.
For that matter he hoped Glag did too. And he kind of hoped that Glag didn't view him as some kind of spouse now. He'd have to ask Veliry if she understood rock monster whenever they got back home.
Amina was doing everything in her power to ignore the very existence of the centaur as she rode Steve, smile on her face, waving at the people who greeted her as they passed.
The same people that looked at James like he was a leper and seemed to part for him like the red sea.
At least.... He thought as they rounded a street corner and saw the entrance to the Palace that they needed to use. This place wasn't boring.
----------------
Vickers and De'Lius had just finished setting up the twin bedrooms and storing the two bottomless bags full of food for Five and Driscoll, when the front door of the house resounded with knocks.
"The two that are doing the biting?" Vickers asked. He could smell them, but he knew the Outer Light Commander could smell them better.
"Aye." He said. "I'll finish here. Go ahead and greet them.
Vickers followed the directions without even thinking about it.
On the other side were two people whose appearances he hadn't expected.
One was a tall.... very tall... lightly red furred man(?) in a set of robes that made Vickers think of catholic clergy, if a bit less ornate. He locked eyes with Vickers and his head cocked in a way that seemed utterly alien to him. Then, silently and swiftly he stepped past Vickers and into the house, still looking at him. Vickers backed up unconsciously as his, admittedly muted, animal instincts told him not to take his eyes off the man.
"A night brother." He said in a voice that was deeper than his slender build implied. "You are the one the Council letters told us to meet here."
"Name's Vickers." The SEAL said as he reached out his hand for a shake. The Fox man instinctively pulled back a bit as he stared at the hand. Then he gingerly took the hand and shook.
"Don't mind him." Said a warm, and somewhat old sounding, and rather plump, woman with large eyes and puffy cheeks. Even in her mostly human form she had a massive, bushy, tail. She was wearing an set of coveralls that were coated in flour and bits of food and he got the impression that she was a baker. She practically jittered with manic amounts of energy as she rapidly looked around the room, her massive tail twitching spasmodically.
When she hugged him it both took him by surprise, and made him a little uncomfortable.
"I'm Brin." She said with a smile that revealed a set of oversized buck teeth dominating her otherwise human mouth. "It's nice to meet you Mr. Vickers. Are the people we're converting already here?"
"Not yet." He said. "They should be showing up within the next hour or so. It's.... difficult to move them. Thank you for coming."
"Of course." The fox man said. "I cannot speak to Ms... Brin's... experience. But like the two you requested conversion for, I was saved by being converted."
"Oh I just converted so I could keep up with the man I ended up marryin'." Brin said cheerily.
Vickers nodded awkwardly at the two short stories. "Well. Thanks anyways." He said. "The Commander and I are still putting the finishing touches on the rooms for 'em. Take a seat, get comfortable. I imagine we'll know when they get here."
A little over forty five minutes later Vickers was proven right.
A loud rumbling preceded the wagons that were being used to transport the two muck marchers. They'd been encased in a pair of heavy duty gurneys that had rigid plastic canopies over them, keeping out the germs of the world around them.
"Oh my." Brin said as she nervously followed Vickers outside to greet them.
The wagons stopped just short of the door and the three remaining Toolies, accompanied by several out of uniform Earth soldiers and a pair of Petravian guards that had their restraint controls, began helping them get the gurneys down. A few minutes later they were being wheeled into the building.
"What are they?" The fox man, who had never given Vickers his name, asked.
"They're human." Commander De'Lius said as he looked at them curiously. "And....." His head cocked to the side, putting his left ear closer to the two pods. "Machines. And they are dying. Just as Chief Vickers' entreaty said."
"I wasn't lying." Vickers said defensively.
"I did not say you were." The old wolf said absently. "But you were most assuredly understating. How do they live?"
"We stick around talking much longer and they probably won't." Vickers said somewhat testily. "Let's get this done."
The lead Toolie, an older man by the name of Andrei Piotris stepped forward.
"Chief. Are you sure about this?" He asked with his hands up to stop Vickers. He looked over at the fox and squirrel. "I mean. Are you sure this is the best move?"
Vickers was about to reply, even reaching up to press the mans hands back down and gently move him aside. Then a hand weakly tapped at the inside of one of the pods.
Five was looking at the toolie.
"It's all good P." She said so softly that even Vickers' keener than normal hearing barely picked anything up. But the shaky thumbs up she held up was signal enough.
Then the hand fell back weakly as Five's eyes glassed over again.
Piotris seemed to deflate.
Vickers placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It's a shot at living." He said as the toolie looked at him. "The only shot really." He turned back to the Commander. "Help me get em out of the pods and into the rooms?"
De'Lius looked at him curiously for a moment. Then nodded.
"Poor things." Brin said. "Barely even living. Cut in half like that."
"It is a grotesqueness that I am amazed the gods even allowed to exist." The fox agreed, though Brin's glance at him implied that that was NOT what she had meant.
Less than ten minutes later and as the wagons, now filled only with the Earth and Petravian soldiers and the empty gurney pods, returned to the castle. Vickers and the other were-folk present, listened to the two Muck Marchers screaming as their bodies began attempting to violently rearrange themselves.
Vickers regretted the keen senses he'd been given.
A simplified shotgun, made with some spare parts from the little mage's supplies, sat on his lap. Four impromptu shells loaded with silver buckshot, made of chopped up silver coins, sat on the small table next to him.
Just in case.

First Prev Next
Date: May 3, 2235
This feels like the longest hour of my life, Tom thought.
The training went well, even better than he thought. Teresh seemed to be good at adapting on the fly. He would have them walking by Maxim and Ally chatting, then have them stop them and ask questions. Using only body language from Tom, they navigated the conversation without him having to say a word. He stayed calm, but this was a controlled environment of course. To mix things up, he began to lie about the scenario. Saying one thing would happen, and another instead. Instead of walking around them, a box would drop, and they would both walk up to him. Talking loudly and admonishing him, all acting of course. Tom could only imagine how scary it would be to have two alien creatures talking angrily to you. He let Teresh react to the situation, and then he'd sweep in to resolve it. Thankfully, it looked like the kid wasn't one to run or visibly panic. The suit did wonders to conceal his truth. He almost mistook him for Ally on an occasion or two. It wasn't much, but these small victories instilled in him a sense of stability. This insane idea was no longer one that was completely out of grasp. Something that was possible, doable.
Yet, there was something else on Tom's mind. Something that was mulling around since he and Teresh got acquainted. This was really the best candidate the so-called "empire" had to offer for a diplomatic mission? He couldn't defend himself, scared easily, and came out of the gate asking for the surrender of their entire species? Something wasn't quite adding up there. There was something off about this whole thing, and Tom wanted to get to the bottom of it.
However, with a notification from the ship's nav, Maxim and Ally both got up and left for the bridge. Leaving just the two of them sat on crates, breathing heavily.
"I'm proud of you Teresh, you did great. Just remember what I told you and you'll be just fine," Tom said, going to wipe his forehead but only hitting glass.
"Stay calm. Stay close. Stay silent," Teresh repeated.
Tom smiled, "You got it."
They sat in silence a tad longer, in contemplation. He was confident that they could get their mission done. They always found a way after all. No matter how daunting or impossible the task seemed, trust in each other always got them out in the end. It was shocking how much comradery he felt towards Teresh, even after only spending a short time together. They were more different than anyone he'd met before. Curious, clever, and with a childlike wonder about anything and everything. They were almost like...
"Tom," Teresh asked, shaking him out of his thoughts.
"Yes?" He replied.
"What was your home like? Ari-zona," they asked, sounding out the word.
Tom stifled a chuckle at how cute it sounded. It reminded him of his little cousins trying new words or sounds. So endearing and innocent.
"Well, it was hot, dry. Sunny all the time," he began, thinking back to his old home.
"Is that good for humans?" Teresh asked.
Tom shifted his head from side to side, "Some like it, some don't. Too much sun and it damages our skin, gives us cancer. So, we wear clothes and coat ourselves in substances that block ultraviolet light."
"Couldn't you live someone covered, or darker?" They continued.
"Our homes and buildings are all covered. As for living somewhere darker, we could, yes. A lot of people do," Tom explained. "It's not all bad though. Home is home after all. It's not perfect, but it's ours."
He could see the alien's posture shift. It looked like his words had a deeper effect than he intended.
"I feel the same way about my home. It wasn't extravagant or amazing, but it was ours. My marja, mother, did her best to support us. Even though it was difficult," Teresh explained, his voice becoming more distant.
Them too, huh, Tom thought to himself.
"Yeah, my old man wasn't around much either. He left one day and never came back, not that it changed much," he explained. "But we did our best. And hey, I had my dog and a bike and that was all I needed."
"Dog... bike," Teresh repeated.
Tom chuckled, "I'll have to give you a tour of home when I get back. Still think I've got that old bike in the garage. Could hit the mall, pool, catch a movie, get a whole summer vacation experience."
After a time, they replied, "I think I'd like that. Thank you, Tom."
There was a bit of static in his helmet, the private channel opening up. He heard Ally's voice relay to him, "Need you at the helm sir. We're about to make our approach."
He reached up behind his ear and hit the button for said channel, replying, "Be there in a minute."
Setting it back to the open channel so he could communicate with Teresh. He asked, "They want me at the bridge. Would you like to come with me?"
"If you'd allow," Teresh answered. Receiving a nod from Tom.
Hopping off of their crates, the man led them up to the administrative section and the large ascent to the bridge. As they walked, Tom had a random thought.
"By the way, how do you want me to refer to you? He, she, they, something else?" He asked. Tom had defaulted to “they” up till now, but it'd be good to know going forward.
He hoped that Teresh knew what he was getting at. Tom never really had trouble with gender or preferred pronouns, but some acted like it was some insurmountable task. Laziness is what he called that attitude. It's 2235, it really wasn't rocket science at this point. The small figure looked up at him, the sheen of the helmet glinting in the sterile light of the stairway.
"I'm male, and you can refer to me as he/him in conversation. I didn't realize your species had distinctions in gender," Teresh relayed.
"Ah, yeah. It's taken quite some time to get here, but it's pretty common place now. Sorry if I put you on the spot there," Tom apologized.
"Don't worry, you haven't put me in any spots. Would it be safe for me to assume the same of you?" he replied.
Clang, clang, clang. Their boots echoed through an empty ship.
"Yep, same with me and Maxim. Ally is female, and goes by she/her," Tom explained.
"Understood, thank you Tom," Teresh confirmed.
"Anytime," he concluded. Before opening the door to the bridge and stepping inside.
The bridge itself wasn't massive by any means but was good enough for their purpose. It was a tad larger than your average room and extended lengthwise to allow for more space. Centralized in the center of the ship, at the back, it let them have a wide view of the rest of the vessel. Letting them eyeball not only incoming hazards but other ships as well. Which is what they would be doing if Tom hadn't requested that they raise the outer shields on the viewports. Darkening the interior and making it nigh impossible to see outside the ship except with equipment. These were meant to block any asteroids or debris from cracking or piercing the viewport glass. Though it was industrial grade and damn near impossible to shatter, it was still possible. That wasn't the reason they were down however; it was mostly cause of Teresh. Tom didn't want to overwhelm the poor boy and cause him any extra anxiety than he already had. Keeping him from seeing the massive number of ships circling and around the moon was the least he could do. That, and... He was still an outsider from an empire that wanted their surrender. The less he saw of their defenses and ships, the better. As much as it hurt to see the young'un as a possible enemy, Tom was ever the dutiful soldier. Even if it pained him to admit it.
Maxim and Ally sat at the helm, both tapping away at monitors. Ally typically handled protocol and procedure while Maxim handled driving and navigating. Tom usually served as the captain and doled out where they needed to go and when. Even though the shipping company technically owned the Tarva, everyone knew who its captain was. Though the title still irked him somewhat, in this context it was bearable.
He walked up and crossed his arms, seeing a display of the moon on the monitor below. Maxim was pulling them around the underside to head towards the military base. If all went well, they'd be able to slide into the hangar without much issue.
"Approaching in five, strap in for land-" Maxim began, getting interrupted.
There was a sudden hail, seeing the communication going through on the screen. It was from the base and Tom felt himself scowling unconsciously. He jabbed a finger on the button, opening the channel. Here we go...
"Vessel signature: U.N.E Tarva. You've entered a restricted area. Please provide a valid authorization code or alter your flight path and leave the area," a male voice came over the intercom.
"This is the U.N.E Tarva. Requesting to land at hangar 10. Sending the authorization code now," Tom replied.
He punched Mikael's code into the computer and sent it to the base. The voice on the intercom went silent. His heart began pounding faster and faster as they approached the base. Knowing that any one of the many anti-hull laser cannons could blast the Tarva out of the sky in an instant. The four of them waited with bated breath, flinching as static appeared back over the channel.
"It's an older code, but it checks out. You're free to dock at hangar 10, welcome to Jefferson Base," the voice replied, signing off.
With a collective sigh of relief, Maxim piloted the ship into the hanger. Tom directing Teresh to sit down as they made their approach. Their ship lunged forward a bit as they hit the gravity field. Feeling it slow and then eventually settle in. A resounding boom as the heavy vessel finished docking.
"Okay, that was the easy part. Now for the real fun," Tom announced.
Though he couldn't see or hear it, he could tell that Teresh just gulped.
--------------------------
The ship's landing gear had touched down without issue. Landing themselves in a small little square of space in the corner of the base. Perfectly distanced away from everything else. Tom could thank Mikael for that one when they met back up. They all stood at the main door before the entry ramp. He looked down at Teresh, giving him the cutting motion with his hand. The three of them heard a small click as his translator was shut off. Then picking up a small box that was going to be his security blanket. He was completely in the dark now, and they needed to lead him out of the lion’s den together.
With a hiss, the door opened and they began stepping down the landing ramp. The base was just as he'd remembered. A never-ending stream of people and ships, constantly loading or unloading supplies. Many of them were cargo ships like the Tarva, though more standardized military of course. He could pick out a few fighters here and there, but they usually sit for weeks on end. Their angular wings and shape made them almost appear like birds of prey in flight, nigh impossible to see with their typical black and red paint job. He never flown one himself, but the hot shots in the air force always bragged about their hawks.
The hangar itself was spacious and massive, clear lanes cut through that led to tunnels. Which in turn would take them to several other bases on the moon. They never got too deep to threaten structural stability, but he knew they wormed their way all over the place. It was humanity's first major military installment outside of the atmosphere, and it showed. Far on the left side, there were ginormous spaces left for the larger ships. Cruisers, destroyers, dreadnoughts, and even capital ships. Though, the latter two mostly stayed on earth due to the sheer size and manpower needed to run those behemoths. From this distance he could pick out at least two to three cruisers, and what looked to be a destroyer in the far back corner.
The ships themselves had to fly through a gravity field to enter the base. It essentially operated as a forcefield that kept everything inside safe from being exposed to the space outside. Though permeable enough for ships to fly in and out without shattering it or themselves. It was like flying through a layer of jello that morphed itself around the ship. He didn't really understand how it worked, but that technology enabled both the construction of bases on the moon and larger hangars in ships. No need to constantly open and shut airtight doors when you could simply have a field that you could freely move through. Though, it was only really employed by the military since the tech was still expensive as hell and only useful for heavy traffic.
After so much time spent away from the military, it was oddly nostalgic to be back in a base. He could imagine himself heading off to the mess hall and chowing down with the rest of the bulls. Though the time for that had long passed, he had a mission to complete.
Stepping to the bottom of the ramp, he saw two individuals walk up to his ship. They were both dressed in standard black and gray military attire, with helmets that were more angular than his own. It resembled the shape of a bird of prey's head in many ways, pointed and somewhat intimidating. As for the rest, the attire of the UNEM was twofold, one uniform and one space suit. Outside of different material, the uniforms and spacesuits were purposely indistinguishable to a good extent. The chest and legs were typically cloud gray, having a soft "V" pattern. The edges outwards being a coal black. A pair of fat red stripes rounded each bicep. The uniform often came with a hat, though they were wearing helmets, so it was omitted. Over each of their left breast was a gold badge fixed with a bull posing proudly, the symbol of the UNEM. Since they didn't have the kolta of a high ranking official, neither of them were officers or above.
With their bright gold badges glinting, one gestured to him. On the local channel, they all heard: "Which one is the captain of this vessel?"
"That would be me," Tom replied nonchalantly, raising a hand.
"We did a surface scan of your ship. Nothing out of the ordinary, but we picked up a strange read in your cargo bay. Could you tell me why that is?" The figure asked, a distinctly male voice with a Spanish accent.
"I'm afraid that's classified, under Grand Admiral's orders. If you check the dossier you should see our authorization code," Tom answered without hesitation. Walk and talk like you belong.
"Hmm..." the man paused, tapping the pad a few times. "Okay, there's your code and- wait a minute. Your name here..."
The other man looked over and suddenly righted himself, his posture rigid. They held out a hand, another male voice, German this time, coming over the channel, "It is you! You lead the Phantom Legion, yes?"
There it is, Tom felt a chill in the air. The thing he'd been fearing ever since they began their approach. All he wanted to do was throw something or scream out in anger and frustration. Yet all he could manage to do was to reach out and take the man’s hand. Shaking it with a firm grip.
Exclaiming, "Tom Xavier, at your service. Though I'm guessing you know me as the Black Wolf?"

I never wanted to be born into this religion or any. Please tell me how should I leave, I'm only an 18 year old girl. I'm going to start college soon and it looks like I'm not allowed to do dorming, I don't have a job, I only have a permit. I don't think I'll be able to leave ever (I'm in the U.S). I'm alone, I don't have any friends or any experience outside of home and school which I resent my parents for. What should I do, I tried to imply that what if I wanted to live alone, or travel but my family laughed it off. I wanted to go to my dream university but they laughed right infront me. They want me to go to a university that my brother goes to. I decided to go to a two year college instead which was near my home. I'm so lost in life, I want to die peacefully than to ever spend the rest of my life in this miserable room, in this miserable house. I tried to hurt my self when I was younger with the metal peace I unscrew from my sharpener but I easily got scared.

The better days of life, they were ours The worst, yeah they’ll be mine Oh and I know the leaves, they must drop And the flowers, in bloom They are the first to fall Yes, my sunshine is gone, gone The silence of your dreamless sleep I envy now too much, too much to weep
Can you see me, hear me, know me? I would have stayed with you forever Can you help me, change me, be with me? Please be with me
The best days of life, may have past The worst, maybe they’ll be mine? Yes, your sunshine is gone, oh are you gone? As the stars that glide, along the sky, gone They shine brightest, as they fall from high I envy now the stars, the stars, I weep
Can I see you, hear you, know you? Can I be with you? You might have stayed with me forever, forever Be with me
As once I wept, if I could weep My tears might shed, my tears might shed To think I was not near you, not near you To just watch you, just watch you My tears might shed To think I could gaze upon you It's in my head
As once you saw, if you could see You’re in my head, can’t leave my head To think I could forget, forget you To erase you, erase you To think I could forget you My tears have shed

Hi I'm wondering what the scars typically look like from hypospadia surgery? I have a deviated raphes line - it goes way off to the left , and this strange circular bumb / indent near the head. Its pretty noticeable since its pink I'm very dark skinned. I remember a circumcision (?) when I was 4.
Got other reasons to suspect I'm intersex including low t but I'm finding it hard to get info from my mum or my gp. Just feel weird to be questioning any of this in the first place and frustrated that no one wants to give me any answers.

[You’re listening to The Stranger Side of Science, an award-winning starcast. This episode may be supported by advertising in your local system.]
Space, as a rule, is very big. One might call it vast, or even unimaginably vast (and I can imagine a lot of vastness). This means, of course, that any serious interstellar travel requires being able to cross these vast distances quickly — much more quickly than conventional physics suggests is possible. Physics be damned, that is what we did. Centuries of theory and decades of engineering eventually led to the hyper-gate, and then the warp drive (already discussed in detail in episode four). Some might say that any form of FTL is tantamount to magic. That may be correct, but I would contend that some forms of FTL are more magical than others. And the subject of this episode is very magical indeed.
Quite apropos to our title, it began with a dream. Brightshadow was a Dendraxi who had lived her whole life on the back of the Chelys Astronomica they called Great Tau’uun. By the time she sprouted, there was a vibrant community already living on the back of the space turtle. But Brightshadow, quite uncharacteristically for the Dendraxi, was not very gregarious. She liked spending her time alone at the edge of the shell forest, close to Tau’uun’s head. For years she repeated these journeys, sharing her thoughts and feelings, hoping that Tau’uun could hear her. Then Tau’uun returned to pass by Treegard, and Brightshadow spotted the homeworld for the first time in her life. That night, she had a dream.
BRIGHTSHADOW: The voice of Great Tau’uun came to me. At first the notes of his tremendous voice were too long and low for me to interpret. But then they coalesced into what sounded like a groan of pain. Then the voice became clearer. He asked me to help him. He said to go underneath. Then the voice became more distorted, but he said something about shards. Shards, shards, shards. He repeated it until I awoke from my rooting.
A number of new inhabitants had come to join the shellback city as it passed over Treegard. Among them was an Orcish scientist named Turrox, who was there to establish the first official branch of the Bureau of Exploration on the back of Tau’uun. Brightshadow ventured down from the forest and into the city, where she rarely ventured, in order to find him, hoping for some assistance. She was fortunate that Turrox was well-studied in the history of Tau’uun and knew previous stories of him speaking directly to people, so he was receptive to her.
BRIGHTSHADOW: Great Tau’uun is in pain. He spoke to me. He trusted me with this mission. I have to go underneath and find the shards. … Unfortunately that is all I know.
TURROX: I will soon be launching a new survey to conduct a full 3D mapping of Tau’uun to compare it with the results from 44 years ago. You may accompany us, and we will see if we can find the reason for this dream.
And so, Brightshadow joined the survey team, which departed the next day in a shuttle to circle Tau’uun. She was the only Dendraxi on that particular team, which made her stand out. Inside the shuttle, she was notable for her slender, willowy form compared to the much bulkier Orcs. Once they put their suits on, it was different. Because Dendraxi respire through their skin, their environmental suits provide airflow around their entire bodies. That meant that once suited up, Brightshadow was puffed out a bit like a marshmallow woman. It was an unfamiliar and unpleasant experience for her, and she understood why Dendraxi didn’t usually go on spacewalks.
Discomfort was soon put out of mind, as scanners picked up something anomalous along the underside of Tau’uun’s neck. The astronauts disembarked for a closer look. There, in the light of Ferroflora Sol, the space turtle’s neck glittered in a colour that could only be described by observers as a “fluorescent greenish yellow-purple”. Closer inspection showed that the glittering was the result of thousands of crystalline fragments embedded in the skin. Upon seeing this, Brightshadow was struck with a vision, much stronger than the dream.
BRIGHTSHADOW: Tau’uun speaks! We have to remove these shards!
The removal process took weeks. The alien crystals were carefully removed and even more carefully stored away, no one knowing precisely what they could do. The smallest among them were 3 cm long and 0.4 cm wide. The largest were 128 cm long and 35 cm wide. There was no evidence that any of them had been there 44 years earlier. Their precise composition also didn’t match any known compound yet catalogued in Sideris. That raised the question of how, precisely, they got here, and why haven’t they been detected on anything else? The Bureau of Exploration began a widespread search of planets, moons, and asteroids along Tau’uun’s orbit, but found no other evidence.
They received some answers, and even more questions, when these crystals began vanishing from containment.

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It was only the smallest crystal fragments that disappeared from containment. But they all disappeared from containment around the same time, in facilities on Treegard, Passerai, and the shellback city. Almost immediately after the disappearance was noted, doctors were suddenly getting Dendraxi patients coming in with complaints of sharp pains, usually on the neck or along the spine. When doctors investigated, they discovered crystal fragments embedded up to 2 cm in the skin. The existence of the crystal fragments recovered from Tau’uun was not officially secret, but had not yet been widely publicized. That meant the doctors had no idea what they found. By the time BoE officers managed to track down the doctors to recover the fragments, many of them disappeared a second time.
Two observations were made. One is that the fragments recovered from patients did not precisely match the crystals that had disappeared from containment. They weren’t being transported as discrete units, but rather disassembling and reassembling. The second was that all the Dendraxi patients had high scores on the Gaaten-Hoffrik test. A hypothesis was formed that this substance crystallized around strong sources of magical energy.
Powerful Dendraxi mages (those with a GH quotient of 175 or higher) were gathered together to try to understand the nature of the crystalline substance. However, when in the presence of multiple magic users, crystals in containment began rapidly losing mass, and mages quickly found themselves assaulted with tiny fragments, appearing seemingly out of nowhere. A magical containment solution was necessary. It was a geomancer named Silversilk who finally developed the method.
SILVERSILK: This alien mineral, which I have begun calling Octarite, has a powerful need to seek out sources of magic. It is highly resistant to containment. What I discovered is that we can’t simply force it to stay contained. What we have to do instead is deceive it. My Octarite containment field is not exactly a barrier, but more of a cloaking field. There is a magical signature that moves constantly around the spherical field, and so the Octarite, instead of breaking outward, constantly chases after it. There is certainly an equation for the precise relationship between strength and proximity that causes the Octarite to choose its target, but I will leave that for the physicists. I will simply continue experimenting.
Silversilk’s discovery was not just useful for keeping the Octarite from breaking free and injuring people. Once she had cracked the idea that the mineral’s behaviour could be manipulated, it opened up the question of, just how much? Experimentation continued, and the next result was much more startling.
SILVERSILK: The intention of our experiment was to see if we could manipulate crystal formation within the containment field, or if the Octarite could only exist in a nebulous state. We input a strong magical pulse to the containment field to see if that would overwrite the magical signature on the barrier to cause a crystalline structure to form. We were not prepared for the results. The Octarite, and the containment field, disappeared. Disappeared without a trace. We did find it, eventually, still perfectly contained within the sphere, on a beach 26 kilometres away.
That distance, 26 km, is significant to anyone familiar with the Hazen-Markoff test, the lesser known cousin to the Gaaten-Hoffrik test. Instead of measuring magical potential within a person, the HM test studies the effect on the environment. Whenever magic is used, there is an exchange of energies in the environment, and 26 km is the maximum distance at which this disturbance can be read. No one has ever been able to determine what effect, if any, this exchange of energy has on nearby lifeforms, but these energies seem to exist on the same wavelength that Octarite travels.
And that brings us to the Dream Drive.

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Realizing that Octarite could transport its own containment field, naturally the next question was whether it could transport something else. The technique was to create a dual containment field. The inner field kept the Octarite stable and contained, while an outer field contained psychical objects. There would be conduits between the two fields to keep them connected. For reasons that no one understood, the ideal number of conduits was 17. Experiments continued, transporting rocks, then cut wood, then a living plant, then several small animals. Lifeforms showed no signs of harm, and so Silversilk and her Mycova became the first sapient subjects, dropping without harm into the ocean.
The obvious problem was that in all these experiments, the destination was always a random point 26 km away. The solution to that problem came from an Orcish scientist named Kashumel, who had done a lot of experimentation with magical-assisted navigation.
KASHUMEL: It was a process called Deep Reading. In the same way that a synthetic lifeform is capable of downloading knowledge directly into its brain, Deep Reading involves absorbing information at a metaconscious level, which forges a connection between it and the user. Naturally occurring clairvoyance is extremely rare among Dendraxi. But any Dendraxi mages who successfully deep read a sufficient amount of hard scientific navigation data about a given location (about 4.6 Terabytes) were then able to observe that location in real time. I was just beginning to work on experiments on interstellar distances when I got brought into the Octarite project.
And so the deception continued. If the mage who was inputting energy into the containment field could hold a destination in their metaconscious, the Octarite would go there, traversing distances much further than 26 km. Deep Reading was a difficult task to master, however. It was not nearly as simple as focusing one’s conscious mind on the image of a place. One had to truly absorb the information. Kashumel and Silversilk worked together on this for years before finally developing an official prototype.
The Octarite Drive, as it was then called, had its maiden voyage in the year CY 7, travelling the short hop between Treegard and Passerai. Neither of the geniuses responsible for devising it were allowed to be onboard, in case something went wrong, so two brave volunteers stepped up. As Kashumel and Silversilk triggered the launch from outside the vessel, tragically, nothing happened.
It took weeks to run tests, but eventually they all came to the same conclusion. The drive could not be operated from the outside. Since Silversilk was the only person qualified to operate the experimental device, she had to take the maiden voyage after all. This time, their vessel zapped its way from Treegard to Passerai without any problems at all.
SILVERSILK: It felt like the experiment was over before it began. At first I didn’t even realize we had moved, except that I felt strangely uplifted. The other two volunteers with me said they felt it too. It was the most relaxing space jump I’ve ever taken.
The next major test occurred the following year, this time travelling between Treegard and the colony of Colossa at the edge of the solar system. This new vessel was built in the Dendraxi fashion. That means that it was a living ship: a tree grown around a frame and reinforced by magic. These vessels could not support the existence of a conventional Orcish warp drive, so if they could be paired with an Octarine Drive, they could finally reach outside the bounds of the Ferroflora System. Silversilk boarded with an experimental crew of eight this time. She fired the drive, and they moved to Colossa the next instant. Again, they all reported feeling a sense of calm or happiness upon arrival.
Such a short distance, however, wasn’t sufficient to test whether the Octarine Drive was truly instantaneous, or whether it was limited in a similar way as the conventional Orcish warp drive. So a new ship was constructed, one of the largest tree ships their system had seen, outfitted with a crew of 20 and stocked with provisions. Among the travellers on this vessel were Brightshadow herself, and Turrox, who put faith in her. Since they had begun this strange journey, they were given the chance to see it to its conclusion.
The final prototype test happened in 11 CY. The new vessel, dubbed Tau’uun’s Hope, was to travel from Treegard to the Yondra System, 15 lightyears away. At the same time it left, an Orcish ship would travel to the Yondra System by hypergate, to judge how quickly the Octarine Drive made the journey. Meanwhile, a third ship would travel alongside with an Orcish warp drive.
Silversilk spent a long time perfecting her Deep Read of their coordinates, and she was ready. They all got the countdown, and she activated the drive. The first companion vessel travelled through the hypergate, and its crew caught sight of Tau’uun’s Hope appearing at the destination before the gate even closed behind them. That proved that the Octarine Drive was actually instantaneous. However, the passengers on that vessel had a different report of events.
BRIGHTSHADOW: I want to say … six hours. We were all standing on the main deck when the drive fired. We looked out the windows to see the stars had vanished and we were in a sort of tunnel. The colours were swirling around us, a sort of fluorescent greenish yellow-purple. I took a long walk around the ship, and then I heard Tau’uun’s voice again. And then he was there. A small version of him, about my size. I could see the great forest on his back, and all the buildings of the shellback city. We sat in my room and talked for hours. Then Turrox came in.
TURROX: At least eight hours. Maybe twelve. I got a sudden urge to run. I used to be very active when I was a younger Orc, but I haven’t kept up with it very well at my new post. But I just started running, as hard and as fast as I could, I should have started feeling the strain after a few minutes, but I didn’t. I didn’t feel tired or sore at all. I just kept moving. I think I ran for hours and felt nothing but spectacular. Then I decided to stop by Brightshadow’s room and ask her if she was feeling similarly. Then I saw she was with a tiny version of Tau'uun, and I started to think that maybe I was dreaming.
SILVERSILK: Two hours, I think. After the drive fired, the inner containment field turned pitch black. I’d never seen that before on any of the tests. I went to the navigation console to see where we were, and we didn’t appear to be anywhere. I didn’t exactly feel worried, though. I was a bit confused, but I had this sense that everything was going to work out. So I went down to the main deck, and there was some wonderful music playing. It was my favourite song from my childhood. My Mycova was bouncing around and wanted to dance. So I started dancing. And then he began to grow, standing up on two legs, until he was big enough to take me in his arms and swing me around. Oh, it was marvelous. … But then I was back standing in front of the drive, and the containment field wasn’t black anymore, and the navigation console told me we were in the Yondra system.
BRIGHTSHADOW: Tau’uun said goodbye to me, waving a flipper, and suddenly I was standing on the main deck with the other passengers again, and there were stars out the window. The main thing I remember is how happy I felt, reflecting on my conversation with Tau’uun.
TURROX: By that point I had started running again. I remember I was on the top level, and then I just started to fly. Only for a few moments, and then I was back standing on the main deck with everyone else. And I felt content.
These reports caused a lot of puzzlement after the trip. While Tau’uun’s Hope had travelled instantaneously, according to outside observers, the passengers within experienced a time duration of between two and 12 hours. Every single passenger reported some version of the same experience, most of them with something unlikely or even impossible happening. Yet any time when passengers interacted, their versions of the event were the same. They all entered a shared dream state as part of the journey, and they all returned to their original positions at the end. And none of them felt at all distressed by the experience. To the contrary, they felt relaxed and uplifted.
This side-effect was unexpected, but since it didn’t appear to have any real negative consequences, the vessel made the same trip back home. Every passenger’s experience was different on the second trip, but they all reported entering this shared dreamspace inside the strange tunnel, and having everything revert back to the way it was once they finally appeared at the destination.
Silversilk recommended renaming the device to The Dream Drive after this peculiarity, and the name quickly stuck.
Treegard is currently in the process of building a new line of Dream Drives and training a squad of Dream Drive pilots to operate them. It’s hard to say exactly how long it will take for this technology to become widespread. There is also the issue of the Octarite needed to power it, which is finite right now. But if our understanding of Octarite is correct, that might mean that anywhere in Sideris with a strong magical energy might find itself with Octarite shards poking into it.