Saturday morning a buddy of mine called. We had talked for hours catching up as it had been about a year since we last talked. Reminiscing on all the shenanigans, talking about what we had going on in life, and finally made plans to visit later in the year. He thanked me for taking the call so late and vented to me about issues he was having. 3.5 hour phone call with someone I only served with for a short time but a man that is a close friend.
Today his mom reached out to me, I was the last person he spoke to before ending his life. My friend reached out to me in a time of need but I didn't know that. I didn't know he was hurt or struggling that bad. I failed him. I failed his mother, his daughter, all of his family.
I don't know how to feel now. I don't know what to say to his family. I just feel like I fucked up.

I started taking Effexor about two months ago, I’ve worked up to a 150mg dose over the last couple weeks. I was prescribed Effexor to treat depression and anxiety.
I have not experienced many major side effects except for when I miss my dose or take it later in the morning than usual (withdrawals ugh). Loss of appetite has been like the only noticeable side effect up until recently. About two weeks ago I’ve noticed my anxiety has been at an all time high.
Usually my anxiety is accompanied by racing thoughts, jittery/shaking/nervous energy, sweating, heart racing. And usually I can specify what is the root of the anxiety (work, school, a social situation I know is approaching) but these last few weeks have been different. It is a weird type of anxiety I haven’t really felt before. My mind isn’t racing, I’m completely zoning out. I’ll stop mid-sentence sometimes and completely forget what I was saying. No matter how hard I try I can’t put a finger on what could be causing my anxiety. And physically it feels like my heart is aching, i get sweaty, my arms and legs ache, my heart beats so hard I can feel it in my head, and I shake. It’s like my body is constantly in fight or flight mode but my brain is completely checked out. It gets to the point where I have panic attacks and don’t even notice until I can’t control my breathing and I realize I’m having a panic attack. I have had more panic attacks these last weeks than I ever have had in my whole life combined. I also have extreme paranoid thoughts during these anxiety spells. I get extra jumpy, feel like I’m being watched or followed, or like I’m about to be attacked. The anxiety often lasts with the same intensity for the whole day with panic attacks mixed in.
Does this sound like a normal side effect of Effexor? My depression symptoms have gotten so much better since I started taking this higher dose six weeks ago, it was like a miracle. I don’t want to have to stop Effexor due to this weird anxiety if I don’t have to. Could anxiety be treated separately while I’m still on Effexor?

I’ve been coloring my hair for at least 20 years. In January i went from dark-mid blonde balayage to a light brown with my blonde balayage ends pulled through. Since this appointment, my hair is SO THICK. I had my hair stylist friend (not the same one who coloured) check my hair cut and texturize as my cut seemed inappropriate for my hair. While that did help to some degree, from my root and about 3-4 inches down, my hair is BEYOND thick. I can barely get a straightener through it. I can see the physical difference down the hair strands.
I have tried 3 different deep conditioners for varying lengths of time, one time a week, multiple times a week, etc. I have done the cold water rinse out. Nothing is helping with the texture. The coloring stylist confirmed it was a demi color and a color line that has previously been used on my hair on my multiple occasions.
Does anyone have ANY suggestions on what I can try to fix this? I have my next coloring appointment with a new stylist coming up in a few weeks. I am getting desperate!

I hate the "ugh I hate men" that a lot of younger women nowadays seem to have. I fucking hate how they catch little to no flak for it but if the roles were reversed the person could easily be harassed for days online or at worst even lose their job and become unemployable. It's also fucking annoying how every time you bring up the fact that you shouldn't generalize they always try to justify it with "it could be a trauma response" like ok???? your trauma does not excuse or justify you generalizing an entire group of people. and then the whole "misandry doesn't exist" shit and then you ask them how or why and the response is "cause men aren't oppressed" then what about child custody?? what about maternal leave, what about exemption from the military in countries where military conscription is mandatory but it's always only for men??? then they switch goal posts "well men aren't AS oppressed" then you realize it's literally just oppression olympics for these people. awful people who wish to spread hate but aren't ballsy enough to own up to it, so they make excuses to excuse their hate. I haaaatteeee how normalized misandry has become

I went to a kspa a while ago and really enjoyed it. I’ve been twice now and I keep thinking it would be more enjoyable with a buddy. I have mentioned it to quite a few friends. Most say they’d feel uncomfortable being naked around other guys. Being naked around me, a friend, might also factor in although none have said that.
Two friends have said they’re interesting in going. Things keep getting in the way of friend 1 going. Doubt it will happen any time soon. Friend 2 is down but can’t join for another month or so.
I have been trying to convince few other close friends who are either weirded out by being naked with other guys or aren’t confident enough in their bodies to do it. It actually shocks me as they all have MUCH better bodies than myself and are either in average shape or better.
“Why can’t we go somewhere where they wear bathing suits?”
“People will look at me”
“Why would I want to see a bunch of dudes naked?”
I’ve done my best to allay their fears but it hasn’t really worked and I think if I push too much they’ll get even more weirded out.
All this being said, of course I would not force my friends. I will always respect them and I want them to be comfortable. But I do think they’d enjoy it.
Does anyone have any thoughts or tips for convincing a friend to join? Has anyone else had this issue?

And, boy, did the whole thing floor me from start to finish.
That opening line and the very end of the book just hit home and, well, toss on the other revelation where Harry and Ebenezar share that little heart to heart and learning about those blood ties between them? It explains why Ebenezar would stick his neck out for Harry when he was young, after all, and it definitely made me tear up more than a little.
Then there was the moment with Susan, at the end, and I have to give James Marsters mad props for his performance and the way he sounded so close to the verge of a breakdown? Yeah. That part made me definitely start crying because you could hear the raw emotion. He conveyed that line so well and the way that Harry had to have been feeling.
I think that Changes has been the best entry of the series so far, with Grave Peril, Turn Coat, and Blood Rites all coming in pretty close seconds. The way that he turned that spell back onto everything? Especially given the Red Court's treatment of him and Susan? I'm of the opinion that what happened to Harry in Grave Peril was, indeed, what was strongly implied to have happened, so to see him destroy the ENTIRE Red Court was beyond satisfying.
Plus, that ending? I've got my suspicions about who shot Harry and I'm looking directly in Kincaid's direction; he's the only person I can think of who would've possibly done that. Don't know if I'm right or not, but I remember his threat to Harry of how he'd just shoot him from ... I think it was a mile away? And Harry would be dead before he knew what happened.
If I am right about that suspicion? Then my question becomes why? Was it to do with what Harry did in Changes? Was it something that had to be rectified somehow? I guess I'll find out as I keep on reading.
And since I know there's several more books before I'm done getting caught up, I'm looking forward to chewing through Ghost Story, though my response for that may take a few days. I'm going through a sad zone right now with my oldest cat, and I think it's her time, so either I'll consume the next book by pieces or I'll just skip sleep and get it done. We'll see. I promise to return to share with all of you my thoughts on Ghost Story and to see how that one plays out.
Either way, Changes?
Yeah, I get it now.
It definitely changed everything.

Me (29M) and my wife (28F) married at the end of last year after 6 years of healthy and loving relationship. We had our ups and downs but our views on major values, hobbies and passions aligned. We had many good memories and fun days/nights together.
No emotional, physical abuse, alcohol use or any other similar things were present during relationship. Please note that several traumatic events (loss in family) happened in her life and she was under a lot of stress a work during 2022. I was trying my best to support her, but perhaps she expected different kind of support.
Several months after the wedding wife separated and asked to divorce me stating that she does not love me anymore and was dead inside/lonely for a while, even during our wedding. That I am not the right person to meet her needs. Even my friends are saying that whatever I say, she is turning to a negative perspective. In addition, some facts are changed to fit this divorce narrative or even stating that we were "rebound" relationship in a way.
Being separated for several months, she is stating that she feels alive again and she is enjoying life. Yet when I ask her if she is happy, the answer is no. She is not willing to try, go to therapy, discuss our issues or do anything to save the relationship.
I've read through many topics in reddit where divorce happened in less than a year and most of those stories had some sort of critical event - infidelity, abuse or addiction. There are no financial or other benefit to gain from marrying and divorcing. Many people have stated that this could be due to infidelity but she is saying that there is no other man. I believe her. I am truly devastated, lost and deeply looking for an answer what happened...
She has been threatening to divorce several times now, but has not taken any real action (file papers, hire lawyers, sell our assets or take her things) until recently. Now she is asking me to sell our house immediately and split our assets. Basically fully separate until we can file for divorce. It is important to note that is done with basically 0 communication as she does not even want to discuss these matters over the phone, just over 1-2 text messages.
It's so unbearably hard to fall from the peak of emotions (wedding) to hell of emotions (divorce) in only a couple of months.
I would be truly thankful if anyone could share their experiences on similar situations or share other valuable insights. Thank you.
TL;DR: wife wants to divorce immediately after wedding.

My local water department is telling me something and it does not make sense to me. I have a new home being put in really its a quest house. This is a 1800 sqft 3 bed 2 bath home. Our main home is a 4000sqft home 5 bed 3 bath and is still being constructed. Now its time for the county to put a meter in. I have these 2 homes and also a 800sqft workshop that I want to run utilities to. The water meter is 800 ft away from the home site. So here is my problem. They want to put in a 1" meter to provide water to everything. They told me if I run a 2" line from the meter that they will put in on the county 2" main line that that will be enough for all three of the sites I want to have water. So my question to you guys/gals
1) will a bottleneck from a 2"in line @ I believe the main is 65psi that will be roughly 3 ft of 1" line and going back up to 2" line drop my volume significantly?
2) what GPM should I expect to get at the end of this 800ft that has a rise of lets say 10 - 15ft.
The 800ft of line I purchased is poly CTS size line.

Tasi

The Tasi grow naturally from fungus that grows in semi-dry areas, as the Tasi grow to their juvenile state they wander and until they find another creature, the Tasi then begin to follow and copy parts of that creature's appearance and personality until the Tasi grows to a state it can develop its' own. The Tasi are a strange aspect of modern society as they are largely harmless and vulnerable in their juvenile state so people often temporarily adopt them while they mature.
Ability Score Increase. One ability score of your choice increases by 2 and one different ability score of your choice increases by 1.
Age. Tasi reach maturity after one year and live between 20 to 30 years .
Size. Tasi vary widely in height and build, from barely 4 feet to well over 7 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium or Small (your choice).
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Elvanian.
Shroom Morphing. As an action, you can change your appearance into a different form of Tasi. This allows you to change your basic appearance, body type, and sex. This feature also allows you to change your size between Medium or Small. You will always look like a Tasi when you use this feature, you can just change the type of Tasi you look like.
When you reach 5th level you can also use this feature to change your appearance to that of a medium, small, or tiny beast of CR 1 or lower. You retain your statistics while transformed in this way but gain the appearance and size of the beast. If any damage is dealt to you while transformed in this way you revert back to your normal form. While transformed in this way your beast form has notable mushrooms growing along its body. Once you use this feature to transform into a beast you cannot do so again until you finish a short or long rest.
Toxin Connoisseur. You are resistant to Poison damage and have advantage on saving throws against poison. In addition, you cannot consume normal food and must instead consume rotting or decomposing food or raw plant matter to gain nourishment. You do not suffer any ill-effects from consuming rotting or decomposing food in this way.
Lasting Impression. When you gain this feature choose any combination of two weapons, skills, tools, or instruments. You gain proficiency in the chosen weapons, skills, tools, or instruments.
Photokinesis. You learn and can cast the Druidcraft and Speak with Plants spells at will. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Hydrophobic. If you start your turn submerged in water you take 5 Acid damage. If a spell or other effect would bring you in contact with 1 liter or more of water you take 5 Acid damage when you first come in contact with the water. Rain does not affect you in this way as the mushroom cap on your head protects you from it.
If you are granted a swimming speed or the ability to breathe water this feature does not affect you so long as you have that swimming speed or ability to breathe water.

Sinshi

The Sinshi were created originally to conquer the world so as to give unity, they very much succeeded in this goal as in less than the span of 100 years they were able to create a nation and destroy all opposition to their empire. While once the Sinshi were the conquerors of the world and feared everywhere they now serve a far more subdued role in society as their natural strength and fighting ability is no longer needed in the now unified modern world, so now Sinshi are often placed in manual labor jobs and most commonly become the thugs of gangs or join the police force.
Ability Score Increase. One ability score of your choice increases by 2 and one different ability score of your choice increases by 1.
Age. Sinshi reach maturity after 14 years and live between 40 to 50 years .
Size. Sinshi are often well over 6 or 7 feet tall, sometimes ranging into the 8 or 9 foot range. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Elvanian.
Amphibious. You can breathe both air and water, and you have a swimming speed equal to half your walking speed.
Warfare Training. You gain proficiency in three simple or martial weapons of your choice. You also gain one Fighting Style of your choice from the Fighter list.
Thick Hide. You can use Strength rather than Dexterity for calculating your armor class while wearing medium, light, or no armor.
Powerful Jaws. You have a powerful bite which you can use to make unarmed strikes. Your bite does 1d6 Piercing damage on a hit rather than the bludgeoning damage normal from an unarmed strike.
Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Grays

The grays are a species created after the Arcana Wars meant by the god that created them to become advisors to powerful leaders so that such atrocities do not occur again. For most of the world's life since the Arcana Wars the grays have filled the roles of craftsman and inventors, as they have an innate talent for gathering and applying information so they excel in many roles that require a high degree of skill and practice. In the modern day the grays are most commonly of higher class due to their skills being fundamentally needed to keep much of the modern world running. Additionally, due to grays having substantially subdued emotions they are often misunderstood and misinterpreted along with being stereotyped as completely emotionless and robotic.
Ability Score Increase. One ability score of your choice increases by 2 and one different ability score of your choice increases by 1.
Age. Grays reach maturity at the age of 17 but rarely live past 50 years .
Size. Grays follow the same range of height as Humans. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium or Small (Choose when you gain this race).
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Elvanian.
Mind Like a Steel Trap. You can accurately recall anything you have seen or heard within the last month. You always know what time it is and which direction is north.
Knowledge Applied. Whenever you make an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw you can use your reaction to add your Intelligence modifier to the roll. You can choose to use this ability after you roll but before the DM declares whether you succeed or fail. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your Proficiency bonus, regaining expended uses on a long rest.
Gray Psionics. You know the encode thoughts cantrip
Starting at 3rd level, you can cast the Detect Magic spell with this trait. Starting at 5th level, you can also cast the Borrowed Knowledge spell with it. Once you cast Detect Magic or Borrowed Knowledge with this trait, you can’t cast that spell with it again until you finish a long rest. You can also cast either of those spells using any spell slots you have of the appropriate level.
Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells when you cast them with this trait (choose when you select this race). None of these spells require spell components when you cast them with this trait.

Covasi

The Covasi are one of the oldest surviving humanoid species, created to obtain and store knowledge so as to better prepare the other people in the world. During the Arcana Wars the Covasi had actually sided with the Seiki clan as they otherwise risked the destruction of their society. With the shame of aligning with the genocidal clan still prevalent in the Covasi's reputation even in the modern day, they are often ridiculed and shunned from larger society but are not entirely removed as their massive well of knowledge and experience is far too valuable for modern society to completely outcast them.
Ability Score Increase. One ability score of your choice increases by 2 and one different ability score of your choice increases by 1.
Age. Covasi reach maturity at the age of 20 and can live up to 100 years .
Size. Covasi follow the same range of height as Humans. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium or Small (Choose when you gain this race).
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Elvanian.
Amphibious. You can breathe both air and water, and you have a swimming speed equal to your walking speed.
True Mind Archive. Over the course of 10 minutes you can connect to the True Mind Archive. While you are connected to the archive you are blind and deaf to your own surroundings and you are considered incapacitated. While connected to the archive you can communicate with other creatures who have this trait telepathically across any distance so long as they are also connected to the archive.
Additionally, stored within the True Mind Archive is a vast wealth of knowledge supplied by other Covasi. While connected to the archive you can attempt to search the archive for information like it was a physical library. Consider the time it would take you to find information halved while searching for it within the True Mind Archive. You may also place or remove information you know into the True Mind Archive including your own memories and any memory crystals you are in contact with while you are connected to the True Mind Archive.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of grey.
Covasi Psionics. You know the message cantrip
Starting at 3rd level, you can cast the Detect Thoughts spell with this trait. Starting at 5th level, you can also cast the Sending spell with it. Once you cast Detect Thoughts or Sending with this trait, you can’t cast that spell with it again until you finish a long rest. You can also cast either of those spells using any spell slots you have of the appropriate level.
Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells when you cast them with this trait (choose when you select this race). None of these spells require spell components when you cast them with this trait.

I’ve been extremely depressed recently because I have no idea what I want to do for a living. However I’ve been very interested in my criminology college class I’ve been taking and I’ve been taking a ginormous interest in true crime cases, studying the various techniques the detectives are using in interrogations and how id apply them in various scenarios I come up with in my head. I’ve also been lightly studying the law and rights of suspects. Due to all of that i believe that it might be a good idea to pursue law enforcement occupation, specifically to shoot for being a detective, but I’m curious as to what a detective actually does most of the time.
Obviously tv and true crime YouTube and the like blow it majorly out of proportion, and most detectives aren’t solving big serial killer cases, or interrogating suspects of brutal and horrific murders. So what are they doing the rest of the time?
If you’re curious I live in Rhode Island so I’d most likely be trying to join the providence police force since they most likely need it most.

Hi all!
I am a solo female from Canada and I'm considering adding a few days to my trip (internship aboard in Valencia, Spain) to detour to Warsaw to see Harry Styles on July 2nd (he cancelled his tour date in my hometown - twice!). I'd be arriving on the 1st and leaving on the 3rd.
Any advice on getting to and from the airport, and transport to and from the venue (pge narodowy), and or things to know (or avoid) or places to stay? Should I take public transport back from the concert (what time does transport stop running)?
Prices on ticketmaster for his concert are expensive but they're the only option I know of. Is that my only 'safe' option (I wont risk a scam, especially with flight/hotel prices)?
Also, anything I should know about Warsaw in general? I wish I could stay longer!
Thanks in advance!

Is anyone else’s laptop slow and crappy? I just started this week (got the HP Zbook Firefly 14 G8) and it just freezes a bunch (like one time I literally only had Teams open and I had to hard power it off) and is slow when hooked up to the 2 external monitors that were also shipped (so I just used one monitor today and it was better). Is it just me or does the laptop not have enough beef?
I downloaded Alteryx, and I even get the error message that a memory limit has been reached just by doing the most basic things.
Not sure what I should do because man has it cut my productivity in half when I really want to be at my best.

Hi, everyone. So I am a college student and experienced childcare workenanny. Just for context, I am in a rigorous academic program/institution. I started a new position this winter and was very candid about my academic commitments, but it started off great. The parents both work very demanding jobs, but they are kind people.
I have worked with kids for a long time, but I have never seen kids that are so chronically ill.
The first non-cold incident was during winter. The kids had flu/RSV and ended up giving it to me. While they paid me when I was off, I was left with a $400 medical bill (not including medications). But I brushed it off because I know that some sickness is inevitable. They were, however, continuing to display their standard “cold” symptoms the entire time leading up to that and did not receive any medical attention.
The next incident was pink eye. This happened two days before I was about to leave to present at a research conference. I informed the parent (WFH) that their child had green secretions coming from their distinctly red eyes. They brushed me off, and said it was allergies. The next day (two days before my flight was supposed to leave) they greeted me at the door and informed me that their child did, in fact, have pink eye. I was given no notice to get a mask, wear gloves, etc. Thankfully, I only developed a cold while I was gone. But I really would’ve appreciated a heads up, and if my initial observation was taken seriously. Again, that could’ve ended up costing me hundreds of dollars-plus travel expenses-if I had gotten sick.
These kids (1.5 and almost 5) keep their severe “colds” pretty much 24/7. I do not believe there has been a single week since I started where both have been well. They are always coughing, complaining of sore throats, saying they feel hot, etc. The youngest has the worst bout of it. She has progressively gotten worse. They do not, however, take them to the doctor. I believe they give them OTC pain relievers sometimes, but nothing more than that. In December when I was working, I noticed how ill the baby had become. You can hear her wheeze almost all of the time (it’s gotten worse), because her lungs are irritated and her mucus secretions are so thick. There are times that I have contacted the parents while they were working because I was so concerned about the child’s ability to breathe. Holding her a full arms length away from me, I could hear her wheezing. But I keep getting brushed off. When they do acknowledge she is sick, they say that they simply know what to do.
A few weeks ago, the youngest threw up all over me while I was feeding her. It was all over my shirt and pants, and I did not have a change or clothes packed or my car with me to go back home and get some. I texted a friend to bring me a change of clothes. When one of the parents came up, I told them what had happened they brushed it off and said she still “spits up.” I have had kiddos spit up on me—this was vomit, and a significant amount of it. The parent did not offer me a change of clothes, to take the girl so that I could change—nothing. I was in my vomit-soaked outfit for over an hour. Because the baby was sick she kept waking up and screaming whenever I tried to put her down (asleep) so that I could change. I felt awful for her and knew it was critical for her to rest so she could fight off the virus, so I finally just let her sleep. When the parent came up about half an hour later, they sat beside me as the girl slept on me (which I also felt guilty about for sanitary reasons). I know that they could smell (and see) that I did not change, but they still did not offer me the opportunity to go change. The worst part wasn’t that I was thrown up on—it was how humiliated I felt for the rest of my shift and sitting next to that parent.
Since then, the kiddos have kept their usual “colds,” which hit me hard last week. I ended up with a sinus infection—another large bill because of medications, office visit, tests, etc. Yesterday, after finding out that the oldest boy had drinking medicine all day for a sore throat (which honestly, they always have—so I was exposed before this), I started to feel feverish and got a sore throat. I finished out my shift, but spiked a 104 fever that night. Again, the next day I had to do an office visit, medications, etc. It turns out that I have strep. And the high-risk individual that I live with is now sick also. I have a doctor note for two days, but my fever is persisting. They said we could touch base after the note is up, but I really don’t know what to say about coming in for the rest of the week—and that’s if my fever breaks.
I feel so lost, because they seem like kind people and have accommodated me when I needed a day or two off during finals and had to attend a conference. Vice versa, I am now working almost double the hours we initially agreed to—in addition to any random days that they have told me that they need all-day care. But, I still feel like I owe them, and I do not want to be a poor employee. I know that a good nanny/NF relationship requires sacrifice from both parties, and I want to try my best to make it work.
I just don’t know what to do right now. I have tried masking (new), washing my clothes as soon as I get home, regular hand washing, etc. I have spent close to $800 on medical expenses, am missing classes because of illness, and now infecting others in my household. They are always kind when I finally have to call out because of sickness, but they don’t seem to understand that their kiddos are the ones transmitting things to me.
Again, I love this family so much and truly feel for them. But I just cannot afford to be getting sick like this—for both financial and academic reasons. We never discussed sick care in my hire interview, but it says on my Nanny Profile that I do not care for sick kids.
I am also concerned about liability, if the youngest child does start to asphyxiate (on his secretions) on my watch. I have even sought advice from medical professionals on how to best handle that situation, if it were to happen, since it would go beyond standard CPR.
Does anyone have any advice for this type of thing or advice? Should I just stick it out?

By Patrick Martin
Late Monday, Jerusalem time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he was temporarily suspending action by the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, on his plan to carry out what amounts to a coup against the country’s judicial system, the only arm of the state that his ultra-right coalition does not control.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/03/28/pers-m28.html
Netanyahu made this tactical retreat in the face of the largest outpouring of popular opposition in the history of Israel, with massive street protests Sunday culminating in a full-scale walkout Monday by vast sections of the Israeli working class. Airports, shipping, transport, manufacturing, utilities, schools, day care centers, universities and virtually all government operations were affected. Israeli embassies all over the world were closed, and the Israeli consul general in New York City resigned.
The turn toward violent repression and dictatorship in Israel is part of a global process. As demonstrated in recent months in France and Sri Lanka, in both imperialist powers and impoverished and oppressed countries, the ruling class sees no way out of the social and political crisis of world capitalism except through such methods. The safety switches of democracy are burning out, and the two major classes in modern society, the capitalists and the working class, are confronting each other in open struggle.
It is impossible for Jewish workers and youth to defend their democratic rights under conditions where the Palestinian population of Israel and the occupied territories remains under savage military repression and increasingly brazen vigilante and settler violence. There cannot be military dictatorship in the West Bank and Gaza and democracy within Israel.
We repeat again the formulation of the Fourth International in 1948: Our perspective is “for the merging of Jewish workers’ struggles with the social, national and liberationist struggles of the Arab toilers.”
The events of the past weeks have put paid to the notion that the Jewish workers of Israel are somehow different from their class brothers and sisters around the world, including the Arab workers of Palestine. The central issue is to overcome the reactionary Zionist leadership of the protest movement and fight for the unity of Arab and Jewish workers in a common struggle to defend jobs, living standards and democratic rights, including the national rights of the Palestinian people. This can only be done on the basis of the program and perspective of international socialism.

Context: As the Siege of Terra nears its climax, the Vengeful Spirit lowers shields, presenting the Emperor with a way to end the war in one move. However, before he can go, the ultimate sacrifice must be made.

I near the top, the light around me. My lord and master moves. He steps down to me, and offers me his hand in support. That hand. That great and capable hand that has held the galaxy in its palm. I feel him close. To my surprise, he permits me to share the private working of his mind.
The signs I read there are clear.
‘Don’t be sad,’ I say.
This is more painful than he expected it to be. He is afraid he will never speak to me again, that there will be no more hours spent exchanging thoughts and words, configuring mankind’s best fate. His memories are Antarctic-bright: the day he first showed me the Throne, and told me what it did, the shining look of disbelief in my eyes; the evening when we both realised that I could moderate its functions too, that my mind, like his, had the capacity to engage with it and not instantly perish; the night when we concluded, through plain, logical deduction, that there might come a day when I would have to take his place; that, in almost every configuration of the future we could model, someone would have to do it.
I was not afraid. Not then, not now. I knew what that would mean. I brushed it off as a ‘thing that would have to happen if it came to it’. He hoped it never would, because he knew what it would mean too. And, for the longest time, it seemed unlikely. He had built a contingency to avoid it ever becoming compulsory. The contingency’s name was Magnus.
Now the time is here, I do not hesitate. I take the hand he offers to steady me, and I ascend the final steps to the Throne. I give him a nod and a little smile, and whisper to him, ‘Do not mourn,’ in a voice no one else can hear.
And then I prepare to take my seat.
There is nothing else to say. After centuries of conversation, in which we have dissected and shared everything, there is nothing left to say. Just a look from one friend to another, an unspoken understanding of everything that has passed between us, and the debts we owe each other. This act is my final, everlasting gift to mankind, to the future, to the plan painted on the wall.
But in his eyes, I can tell he knows that I am only really doing it for him. The greatest, most universal acts are always born from the personal.
I am old. I am tired.
I sit upon the Golden Throne.

...

‘I can feel his focus. And his pain,’ Vulkan murmurs. I can feel his cells dying, one by one, he thinks.
‘And his sadness,’ says Dorn quietly.
‘It’s not his sadness, brother,’ says Sanguinius. He glances at their father, silent at their side. ‘It’s yours, isn’t it?’
The Master of Mankind makes no reply. Is he overwhelmed with love for his old friend, with speechless admiration at the scale of the Regent’s sacrifice? He is only human, after all, and the sensation is coming from somewhere.
Valdor turns away, grim. Another last survival of the Long Yesterday has passed from the world, leaving precious few remaining. ‘We must begin,’ he says.
Vulkan shakes his head wearily. His resolve is granite-hard, for he understands more than any of them what this signifies.
‘The Sigillite–’ he begins.
+The Hero,+ a voice corrects him gently. Vulkan looks at his father, eyes narrowing at the radiance of his aspect. He nods.

Shortly afterwards, Malcador's acolytes arrive in the throne room - having sensed the death of their master - and are nearly overwhelmed with grief when...

There is a change in the air suddenly, a winnowing aura of calm that moves like a summer breeze from the Master of Mankind down the great length of the nave towards the Chosen. Everyone in the room feels its soothing aspect. He is alleviating the worst of their immediate suffering, for they will all need to be sharp and capable from this moment on. They must complete the tasks the Regent has left to them. They are the executors of his legacy. They contain the Sigillite’s last testament.
+The greatest sacrifice of our age,+ the voice tells them softly. +Our Sigillite is no more. Regard him now, as you fulfil his bequests, only as a hero. Your duties are not finished, and neither is his. What we do now, all of us, we do because he has made it possible. Remember him. Remember that. Use that memory to prevent even a moment’s falter.+
They nod. Some weep. They all bow.
Hiding his own grief, the King-of-Ages Risen turns to his sons and the captain-general.
‘Now we begin in earnest,’ He says.

The Malcador sections are easily my favorite part of the book and make up for all the faults of its faults. Honestly, this excerpt doesn't do this moment justice, but I'd probably have to post entire chapters to do that. So, I cut out a lot of character reactions in the lead up and aftermath of Malcador's death to just focus on the two most impacted by it - the Emperor and Malcador.

Bianca Belair wants to go doe as the longest reigns Raw women’s champion of all time. Would Becky lunch breaks that up to keep her number (heel turn)
OR
Bianca is 33. I believe she does not have any biological children, but is a step mother to two. Asuka is 38. Is this a good time to have the belt transfer? if Bianca wanted to have a child biologically with her husband AND give Askua a final lengthy run with the top spot?
(Please do not read offense into this if I assumes some thing about women and ages and what they can do or…sigh)

Not sure if this is appropriate for this sub but ladies on here tend to have pretty good judgment. So my 74 year old MIL has issues with alcoholism. Everyone knows she drinks but she lives alone so we're not sure how often, and it's not usually something we think about unless something like what happened today happens. She is one of those people who has a lot of problems but never deals with them or helps herself, so we kind of just have given up. The last incident was a couple years ago she passed out and fell because she was really drunk by herself late at night and ended up the hospital.
Today she was drunk at about 11 in the afternoon and fell and cut her head. Her head was bleeding a lot so my SIL called. She's ok, needed some stitches, but I'm getting a little bit tired of her drama. She is always complaining about her money issues, or some other thing but never does anything to fix her problems. I think she just drinks to deal.
To my knowledge she doesn't drink at our house, though once she came over a year ago stinking like alcohol. My husband denies ever smelling it but I smelled it as soon as she walked in. She is never left alone with the kids, my husband is always here, he is taking some classes and uses the time to study. My husband has made it clear to her-- she's never to drink here.
I got upset about her being found drunk again today because I'm getting really tired of all her problems (she is constantly complaining about finances, her health, etc but has never lifted a finger to solve her problems except to lift an alcohol bottle). I told my husband I'm not sure if I want her here around my kids anymore and I definitely don't want to be around her anymore because I'm getting really tired of this.
My husband got defensive and said "Don't start with me, I've had a long day. I didn't even want to tell you about what my sister said because of how you would react" Now I'm starting to wonder what else he's covering up. Is she sober while she's here? I'm never here when my MIL is , I'm at work (I specifically requested she only come when I'm at the office because I really can't deal with her problems anymore). Would my husband not tell me? If he was trying to cover up this behavior, how do I know he's not covering up more while she's here? He's got a weird relationship with his mom. She drinks, gets deeper into financial problems. Etc --he keeps covering up for hetrying to help her.
I'm thinking of not allowing her to come over anymore until she makes some changes in her life. Am I being crazy? Husband says she doesn't drink here, I've never seen her drunk here except for that one time she was smelling like it . My kids love her though and my husband appreciates the extra help while Im at the office. What would you do?

My mom abused me (physically, emotionally, verbally) behind closed doors, while keeping a mask to people outside. Not a single adult could see that. No one cared or saw anything strange about my family: my dad died, I had no siblings, and it was just me and my mom.
My mom kept around a close circle of other predatory people who treated their families the same behind closed doors and vulnerable people who were were easily manipulated by her. It was all well-masked to people outside. I was isolated. For years, these were the only people I was surrounded with. They gaslighted me; they said I was a terrible child who should be grateful for being abused. I gravitated to bullies at school, bc how they treated me reminded me of how my mom, and I saw that as normal and "love".
By middle school, I lost my voice. I went through trauma responses and dissociated from my own body every day. Adults would always ask why I was being so "serious" and "quiet". I would get singled out, and in one year my teachers contacted the school counselor. It baffles me that these adults were looking at a CHILD going through trauma responses from abuse and NEVER picked up on that. I got low participation scores for not talking in class and singled out to go see the school counselor with "problem" students. I felt like I was being punished and made out to be a problem for being abused by my caretaker.
In high school, the same thing continued. I was so emotionally dysregulated from the constant emotional, verbal, and (until 16) physical abuse that happened at home, that I completely lost the ability to study. I contemplated suicide. My mom would through crying fits in front of people outside and tell them that I was "creating problems" for her, while continuing to abuse me behind closed doors.
For college, I made the mistake of staying at home. It got worse. She policed what I wore. I was manipulated into doing pre-med/medical school, and attacked and manipulated whenever I suggested wanting to do anything else. She barged in on me doing homework one time, and started looking at it while yelling and screaming at me and calling me stupid. She policed my entire schedule. She would yell and scream at me for not getting haircuts how she wanted. Plus the subtle backhanded insults and put-downs every day.
Kudos to all the people who enabled my mom's abuse. Kudos to all those who said that I should be grateful for her. I now have no voice. I now attract abusers outside home. I've even been told on subs like this that an adult should have "played both sides" and been a "mediator" with my mom. To all of you enablers and "both-siders": fuck you. You're not the one who's taking responsibility for my trauma responses. Or the one giving a flying fuck about the fact that I attract abusers. If my life gets ruined from your advice, you get to live comfortably and not give a flying fuck about the damn consequences. Fuck off. When I'm in an angry mood, I want these people to suffer in an abusive relationship so they can see themselves. But then when I finally feel acceptance and a release, I just stop caring.

I want to start by saying that after all of this, the person mainly involved in this story is someone whom I still have some degree of appreciation for due to how they helped me when I was unemployed for years of my life.
​
That being said, this is going to be a long one.
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Back in 2018, I was hired by a company that was pretty much just starting up. The company does official repairs on Apple products and I was hired as a technician to help maintain the volume of repairs in control. Back then, there was only 1 technician working there and then there was the owner who was the person who called me and asked me to come in. I knew the owner from my previous job experience at another company that performed official Apple repairs. When I worked for this company, the owner would come in and bring devices in bulk for us to repair so they could resell them. That's how they remembered me and they found me on LinkedIn for the sole purpose of asking me to come in and help out at this new company they have started. The problem with this, initially, was the only other tech there was not informed of this or consulted. From what I learned, the other tech had been working there for a long time and, because there was no one to cover for them, they hadn't been able to take a vacation or some days off. It got to the point that the other tech forced their time off and vacation so the owner was probably forced in getting someone to cover for them. So I did.
​
It was hard to cover for someone when you do not know the nuances and procedures that needed to be followed in order to do things properly. The other tech was not there, and the owner had NO idea on how things were ran or what to do in specific situations, so my new coworker was forced to call me and just explain some things I needed to do to keep some form of order there. The days passed and my new coworker finally came back from their vacation, so things got better.
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There is one key thing about this person though that I did not mention. I have worked with them before at the same job I met the owner! I worked with them for about a year because they were fired due to a sudden change in leadership at my previous job. They were fired due to being unable to attend a meeting with the new owner of that company. Yes... They were on vacation then too. Anyways.
​
As days passed at my new job, some issues with the location we were in began to boil up. The place that was rented for our business was shared with another company and the two owners butted heads with one another about some things. I was never clear on that, but it culminated in the owner of my company, now my boss, starting to scout out for a new place to be. During this process and the changes to come, I was asked not to come to work again and that they would be in contacted with me in a few weeks or a month to see whether I would return. The remaining tech helped a lot with the move and relocation of the business, new people were hired to help out and it eventually became a more proper repair shop. It took some time, but I was eventually called back to work there again.
​
It is now somewhere in 2019. The business is going fine. Obviously, the first tech at the company was the one in charge and taking care of the administrative side of things, working directly with my boss to manage the business. I was solely a tech and worked on fixing what needed to be fixed. A point came in which I mainly focused on fixing iOS devices (iPhones, iPads, Watches, etc) and the other two techs there (a third was hired) would do the computers. Of course, I would help out whenever the queue would get busy on the Mac side of things; though rarely came the time I would get help when my queue of iOS devices got high. Either way, that's how it was.
​
As time passed and we continued to work, I started to notice a change in the lead tech's behavior. They would space out more and go on break for a full hour, and even lock themselves in the bathroom to smoke marijuana (right inside of the business), and even began to yell more often and treat us all bad. The tech room would often reek of it, and that's just always a smell that I really disliked, but what could I do? An additional thing about my coworker's personality is that things had to be done their way and it was often pretty difficult to convince them otherwise. We had different ideas sometimes, and we often argued a lot about it. I started to speak with my boss directly more often and they agreed that how the lead tech was beginning to treat all of us was just not right and that they were aware of them being absent for such long periods of time. My boss was no longer very happy with how things were going with them, so new people were hired with the goal that the lead tech was going to be eventually fired. They also explained to me they never liked saying who was above anyone else, that we should not worry about job titles, that we work together as a team and that there is no one in charge. I, amongst my other coworkers, found this to be very odd, but we shrugged it off. This is more relevant further down the story.
​
The day they were fired was a chaotic one because it meant someone had to immediately assume all of the administrative responsibilities that they were in charge of. The person to do that was me, but I was never formally trained on how to do it and I was forced to rely solely on my previous experiences along with my intuition on how things worked. Not to mention, it was now early 2020 and we were in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, so special considerations and changes were needed to accommodate the changing work environment. Luckily, I had a pretty good understanding and knowledge on how the system we used for ticket, customer, and inventory tracking worked, so I was able to learn more from there. The new person that was hired during this transitional period is very important for later in the story, so keep in the mind! Anyways, I was swarmed with a list of new tasks and responsibilities, but I also got a pay raise, so I felt it was worth it at the time. I then started to work heavily on making sense of the system and logistically connect modules with each other to form procedures with the aim of reducing the time customers take during the initial check in. I built the company a PHP form so customer can directly enter their details into the system along with the ability for them to provide a signature to our terms & conditions without the need of the person at the front desk to do it for them manually. (Yes, we also had a receptionist by then). Other changes that helped us all out were made and all of them made things better one way or another.
​
More time passed, we continued to work and push the business forward. I was now working directly with my boss to handle the administrative side of the company. I was fully in charge of the system, making changes how I saw fit. I tried to explain to my boss why the changes needed to happen, but they never seemed to understand much on how everything worked, so they left it to me and my best judgement. It was during this time, after many meetings with them, that I started to see just how out of touch and unsynchronized with how our repair process worked. They didn't even know how to properly take care of a customer at the front, something that still holds true today! Albeit, not as bad as it was. Anyway. I began to pick up on these things and we started to argue about it; they would always do most of the talking and I would listen, but I would later reflect on what we talked and then I would give my opinion. A time came in which they decided to get someone else to take the helm on the administrative side of things because they were not seeing any "progress". I was still held highly and worked closely with whom they hired next to do said job.
​
To cut down a bit from the story, about 3 different people came in to do the admin side, all of which left because they saw quickly how it was to work with my boss. After the third person left, I had told them that this fourth person coming in would be the last time that I would invest in explaining how everything worked. After all, for each of those people, I had to sit one-on-one with them and basically onboard them on the processes and procedures that needed to be followed in order to keep our account in good standing and maintain our system with minimal errors. As you all may imagine, it is very tiring to have to do this process over and over again after you have your hopes up that this FINALLY may be the person to be able to properly work with my boss and maintained things how they needed to be maintained. But nope. They left as well.
​
I should have left right then and there, given my two weeks, and begun my search for a new job. You see, another major factor that had me rethinking things about this job was the very fact that, from the start, we all were paid with a 1099 (AKA Independent Contractors) and not with W2s. The duties and responsibilities we had at this job demanded for a W2, but since the company was fairly small and not well-established yet, we were always lenient on demanding this from our employer; however, we were always hopeful that the day would come this could be implemented. There was a very short period in which it was implemented, a whole two weeks! Then it was removed. It never was implemented again, but I stayed regardless now solely based on the fact that I considered my boss to still be a good, honest person who was just having a really tough time keeping things afloat and just doing what they could to help all of us out. (After all, they DID hire me when I was not working for years before, so I cannot be gracious enough to them about that). We still managed to work out through it, and my boss had brought someone from their own family to help out; that person lasted a month! And they left like everyone else.
​
It was around this time that the coworker mentioned from earlier (the one that was mostly hired to fire the one who smoked marijuana) was given the "helm" per say (even though my boss never liked to say it officially), so I began to butt heads with this coworker because they were under the impression that the situation at the workplace stemmed from my inability to be firm and take charge. Sure, I was not the most firm and demanding person, but how could I ever go against the wishes of my boss? The new coworker in charge began to speak more directly with my boss while I started to go back to being a technician and helping out with the queue. I was still consulted when they were going to make big changes, but no more than that. Even though I was fuming at the current changes that were being made, because I honestly thought I had done nothing wrong and people who were previously hired to do the admin job leaving because of my boss was a clear testament to that, I managed to collect myself and eventually work together with my coworker to both challenge our boss on their unproductive ideas. We started to work together, and instead of my coworker being fully in charge, we started to see it as we both were in charge. My coworker handled more of the workload distribution, and tech room management while I handled administrative tasks such as checking for errors in the system and fix discrepancies.
​
One thing I forgot to mention was that the system always had errors (as does any system in any company) but I kept those errors to a bare minimum, I'd say about 10% of it had errors that were not fixed; however, there was a time in which I was asked to no longer do that activity, so pretty much being forced to stop. When I did that, errors skyrocketed and it was just so bad that they had to put me back to do it.
​
To no one's surprise, my coworker eventually got really fed up with my boss. It got to the point that the few of us who worked there formed a WhatsApp group solely so we can talk amongst ourselves about how things were never going to improve and that this was all for nothing. We talked shit, you know, to vent our frustrations about the environment we worked in. Specially since about 70% of meetings we had with our boss, both 1-on-1 and as a team, would result in screaming and one of us walking out of the meeting angrily. It was just demoralizing and just plainly... sad. My boss also began to hire people without consulting us first, and expect us to train them so they can help out; something we did the first few times this happened, but we stopped nearing the end. My coworker eventually gave their two weeks' notice and my boss, well, they didn't react well. The notice was given to them on a Friday, and my coworker was fired that very Sunday. No notice, no extra time. Just plain gone along with an additional coworker. I later found out that the main motivation behind the firings was the sheer fact that they participated a lot in talking crap about my boss. I was just speechless and angrier than I have ever been.
​
The following Monday, I come in and I have a 1-on-1 meeting with my boss. We had sat together before and discussed some key changes that I needed for them to make in order to remain employed at their company. I had asked them to provide me with a proper W2, and another pay raise since it had been two years before my previous one. In the meeting we had that Monday, they pretty much told me that my pay raise was still "under review" and that a new person they had hired that very Monday was going to "supervise" me and that I had to work closely with them and my boss to move things along. I mentally checked out as I heard them talk and for the rest of the day, I focused my efforts in gathering all the files and documents I had for the company, make sure I didn't have extra copies of sensitive information such as payroll or client data (I kept track of all the things related to the company and did all of the hours for the employees). I copied it all to an external drive for my boss. The thing about that Monday, though, is that amidst this new drama that had come up, our boss had failed to pay us. Our pay always came on a Friday, bi-weekly, and they had not paid us when we were due that day... a recurring theme if I am to be honest. Our boss, more often that not, was always late on paying us when we were due; what I did on that Monday was told my boss that I urgently needed my full pay because I had payments coming up and I didn't have enough to cover them, so they agreed to take me to the bank directly themselves so I could deposit a check that had my full amount due written on it. (I do not drive.)
​
Once I made sure my payment was made in full and I copied all of the data relevant for my boss to continue their business, I quit. On the spot. I had called my mom earlier to come pick me up and wanted to wait for her to be outside so I didn't have to wait like an idiot after resigning like that. This is not the end of the story, though! You see, our company always had a "week in reserve" of pay for employees so the company could have some leverage to make sure employees do not take advantage of the company if they get fired or they decide to quit. (Things like taking assets of the company with them without permission), but they were always paid once my boss made sure that none of that was taking place. For my coworkers who were fired, they put their accounts and payments up to date in just a couple of days. With me, though, not so much. I had the misfortune of having experienced some recent damages to devices that were brought in for repair, two consecutive ones at that, and of course I assumed all responsibility for those damages and owned up to my mistakes when they happened. Not for it to be an excuse, but I was under a lot of pressure during that time due to all the things that were happening at the company and was not very careful with those repairs, but I digress. My bad. I took this into consideration before leaving though, and was well aware that the amount of the parts used to fix my mistakes would be deducted from my last week's pay, so I was fine with that.
​
What I was NOT fine with was that, almost half a year ago, there was another incident caused by me in which the volume flex cable of an iPhone XS was torn. A $6 part, mind you. The repair cost for this is, at the very most, $80, but my boss decided to handle it differently. They decided to purchase the device from the customer it belonged to for a whopping $250, which is the price the customer (a vendor, really) could sell the phone for. My boss thought it would be a good idea to pass down those $250 down to me and for my last week's pay to cover it when, again, they failed to listen to me that it could simply be repaired for much less. They just needed to take the phone to a different shop because that type of repair was not done at our store; and I told them I would cover the costs of that. In addition to all of this, they also decided that they would charge me an extra $50 for ordering duplicate tools that we already had at the store. Sure, it sucks extra tools were ordered when they are not immediately needed, but the fact stands the tools are there for company use. They are NOT broken or missing.
​
The day I quite was on March 6, 2023 and, so fairly recent. My boss now has some people there working for them and trying to hold everything together with that new person they hired on that fateful Monday to "supervise" me along with those two people they hired a few months back without consulting us (one of whom has no idea what to do, and constantly makes mistakes). The employee that works as a receptionist there is leaving soon as well.
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But yeah, that's my story. My boss still owes me the money for my last week's pay and I am actively looking for a new, better job. Wish me luck, guys! Thank you for reading, I know this was a long post. Also, I would like to take a quick moment to say I have not actively participated in forums before (Including Reddit) so hopefully I didn't do anything wrong by writing this post. I just needed to put my thoughts in writing and for other people to understand my perspective on things.

[Plot, no gameplay]
...We resume where we'd ended before. Spooky, having faced Medows in its final match, surprised everyone by defeating Medows in spectacular fashion. The entire stadium was on the edge of their seats, watching the two reptilians exchange slashes of their claws and tails, most notably the Board Members in the Glass Seats. Spooky had a hostility that was unlike anything we'd seen in these Experiments thus far: totally outperforming its more formidable counterpart in its opponent, something that the statistics and betters weren't able to predict. It expressed a fierceness that... Even now, I'm wracked by chills witnessing such brutality. There was a message sent from that Tournament floor... And that was: Spooky will not be taken gently. I had so much... Pride, and unfettered joy, watching its spirit erupt from within, which extended even to the furthest bleachers, felt by every attendee.
It... Stirred a deep anguish in me. I knew what this all meant. I knew that, even though Spooky tried its best, and fought its heart out, that it would not receive first place. It... Was difficult to stop myself from trying to leave. I didn't want to have to face what came next. I looked up to the Glass Seats, chest heavy. There're some pattings of shoulders, they seem... Pleased?
Looking back down to Spooky, it's slithering around the stage... Always liked the fight, and the cheering. It looked so proud, as it raised its arms up, turning to each corner of the thrilled audience. They definitely got their money's worth out of this one. It turned to the final corner and locked eyes with me... God, I felt paralyzed... What am I going to do about this? I can't...
...It can't be the end for Spooky. Not here, not like this. My eyes still fixed, I feel my arms rise up to match its form, and a vehement roar forces its way out of me. I felt my eardrums vibrate; from my periphery I saw the heads around me lean away as their persons covered their ears; and Spooky opens his maw in kind, shrieking into the air back towards me. It must've heard me. I just... Hope it couldn't see too much of me in that moment. It shouldn't be worried about why my cheeks are dripping. It's never seen that before. It doesn't deserve to be distracted by that right now. It felt like forever, that moment; until it, inevitably, had to end.
Spooky breaks gaze to parade around the Arena again. I feel my throat coarse as my lungs fill up again, breaking me out of the trance, and redirect my eyes to the clear box which enclosed Richard and the other Collars. He's shaking hands with each of Them as They exit in file; I have no idea what they're smiling so much about. This prick, what foolery is he up to this time?
I see one of them has white hair; I remember him from when I was Commissioned: he's one of the Overseers, and he doesn't look as jolly as the rest. He stays at the threshold for a moment longer and I can see Richard speaking with him intently. The Overseer exits, but they do not shake hands. Richard shrugs his shoulders, and I see his shoulders hunch relaxed... His head quivers and he fixes his tie and collar while grabbing his fancy bottle and walks to the front of the box. He's looking at my corner and keeps motioning, pointing downward at the Arena. He puts a thumbs-up whilst taking a swig out of the bottle, before turning around awkwardly and taking one of the women in the room in his arms; the others follow him out, and the lights in the room dim themselves off.
Spooky goes to the Resting Area through the corridor leading out of the Arena. I'll see it in a little while- I have someone I need to speak to first. Where are you, Richa-
"Oh hey, buddy!" I hear from the entryway to my Section as people begin to shuffle out. He motions for me to come towards him, maintaining the action for nearly a minute while I shuffle along the line of bleachers and walk down the steps. I don't have the energy anymore to act excited. He puts his hand on my shoulder and leans on it. "Gotta have a drink with me, man- that was the best thing I'd ever seen! Hey, why you lookin' so pale, man? You see a ghost or something? C'mon, you gotta-"
I shrug him off of me, trying to get him to take this seriously. He quickly reacts. "Hey, no, man, listen..." Replacing his hand on my shoulder, leaning in close to my ear. His voice drops dynamically to a hush, and I feel his hot breath against the side of my face...
..."I got some good news for ya. Let's have a little drinky, bud."