Rheem direct vent water heater

This is going to be long, sorry. Also throwaway because I know that some people I know browse this sub haha.
So to start, I've been an instore since late September. Maybe I wasn't a perfect employee, but I followed the rules, stayed professional, and would even do extra cleaning during my downtime. For the first several months, things were pretty smooth with my GM and I. She would thank me pretty frequently, joke about needing me as a manager, and even gave me a decent pay raise a few months ago.
Even more recently she's been expecting more from me and having me run to the bank or watch the store while she left (as an instore, I know I shouldn't really be doing this but I have a tendency to be a people pleaser). This did cause a little bit of tension when she would get annoyed when I didn't do any extra cleaning, and she didn't seem happy when I said I wouldn't learn how to count inventory without an actual promotion. Maybe some cracks were forming, but I was always polite and professional and things were still overall pretty good.
Admittedly, she's been having a tough time woth some personal matters these past few weeks, but there's been some growing tension between her and the intores/drivers. Especially when she decided to crack down on the rules by posting (kind of passive-aggressive signs) around the store. No one liked that, but there were no direct confrontations.
Around this time I had started talking with a former boss of mine about the possibility of me returning to this old job. Nothing was for sure, though, so I said nothing about it to my GM because she has a tendency to be sensitive about people leaving (eg, crying in the office or immediately firing someone after they put in their two week's). I didn't want to unnecessarily cause drama or upset anyone as, again, nothing was certain. A few of my "work friends" knew, but no one really cared.
Last week I did correct the punctuation on one of the signs that our GM had hung around the store. I honestly was sick of looking at it everytime I cheese a pizza and I think I did it in a pretty joking/light-hearted way. She noticed and wrote something back to the effect of "if you put this much effort into your work, we wouldn't have these problems. hahaha hope you enjoy getting fired." I wasn't there for this, but someone told me about it when I came in. Apparently she felt bad and took it down because she realized that she went too far. I was a little worried and meant to talk to her about it and apologize when I saw her next. I also took care of a bit of cleaning around the store (scrubbing the sinks, oven exterior, under the makeline) in an attempt to make her less upset.
A few days pass and things are more or less normal. Our GM is out a lot, helping manage another store that is horribly understaffed, so I haven't had a chance to see her. In the meantime, another manager comes back from vacation and I guess overhears something about the possibility of me leaving and tells our GM because the next day (Tuesday) I get a call from my GM a few hours before I'm scheduled to come in. She tells me that she's "heard a rumor" about me leaving, and after my initial shock amd fear passes I tell her that things are tentative and nothing, except the fact that I'll still be working at Papa John's, is certain. She just said OK and hung up. A manager who was there with her said that she didn't seem angry, just resigned, so I was apprehensive but planned on texting or calling her the next day to clear some more things up.
That next day, I get a notification from HotSchedules. All my shifts have been removed. I've effectively been fired. No call, no conversation, nothing. This isn't the first time she's done this to someone, too. I'm honestly really hurt and feel disrespected. I didn't even get a chance to better explain myself.
I want to tell her that I would give her a notice if I was to leave. I want to explain that it's jot personal, that I have (or had) respect for her and the team I worked with. I'm mad that someone like this, who doesn't seem to have the respect for her team to treat them like adults is allowed to run a store. I feel so wronged. I know that trying to reach out to her and ask for an explanation or a chance to defend myself would just get messy and make things worse, so I can't even get the closure I want.
I don't know I guess this was a little vent. Thanks for reading. Have a nice day.

We have had a dry year in Washington. My rat came in when it rained. Look, I think I can just let it go and they will work. My friend says the same, that they are not picky and stale food is not a turn off for rats . I believe some folks would eat a cookie left out for a month. I would not, but I am very fastidious. I live in an apartment and the hole is behind a water heater that no one can get to.

If you are just catching my story you are in for an incredibly frustrating, empowering, sad and truthful story of how I confronted my cheating husband. This story is almost 3 years in the making and it will take a good deal of time to get through it all, but this is well worth the time (or so I've been told). Since my confrontation, I have been documenting the ups and downs of cheating, narcissist partners, child custody and divorce. This is a diary entry of sorts, cathartic in style. So buckle up, grab some snacks, and put on a pot of coffee. You can start my journey here:
https://www.reddit.com/cheating_stories/comments/kg886u/my_husband_is_currently_on_a_vacation_with_his/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
Mr. & Mrs. Right (or Wrong) 6/8/23
There comes a moment in every divorcee's journey that is confusing to face. Confusing not only because of how you feel, but why you feel that way. That is the problem I face now. Today I got a text message from my ex that read, " Hey- awkward text to send, but you finding out should come from me directly. I haven't told the boys or posted about it. Wanted to tell you first. (Insert AP name) and I got engaged. Again, awkward as hell to say to you, but wanted you to hear it from me." My brain almost exploded from the enormous number of thoughts popping into my head. I had zero idea hot to process this news let alone how I was Feeling. It's so strange. I don't want this man, but this news ripped me apart. Not for love, but out of anger and frustration. Obviously I didn't express any of this. I simply told him congrats, it's not awkward, we are moving on, I wish you well. That was external me. The internal me was itching to get to my laptop and jot down this post to digest my thoughts. But first, football practice. After bedtime I raced to open my laptop and took a deep breath as she came to life. So come with me down the rabbit hole as I process this and probably overthink everything. Warning: this may get dark. But hell, it should be fun.
Let's do the text first. Why, oh why, is telling me awkward?? If I got engaged I would not feel awkward at all to tell him. We are moving on, we don't need each other's approval. For some reason he was more nervous to tell me he was engaged than he was to confess to the cheating. My engagement 'announcement' would be a quick FYI text. "FYI- I got the boys sneakers, I'm engaged. There is a concert Friday and I'll send you pics." Now I knew from the jump that this was the end goal. You don't have an affair, leave your family, move across the country into someone's home, and be a bonus dad just to date this person. No, I'm a big girl, I knew it was coming eventually. I think him expressing that it was awkward to tell me threw me though. Why? Do you feel guilty? Are you ashamed? Did you develop a conscience and realize this might be hurtful to me? Yes, I know, it's probably not that last one but I was hopeful. I can't seem to make heads or tails of it. Maybe I'm not meant to.
Next, my frustration. For over a year this man cried that he was in the poor house. He fought me on any financial demand I made or obligation he had. And all this time he was refusing to pay for travel, drum lessons, sports, etc, but was putting money in the mattress for a diamond. And from what I know about her she loves jewelry. This would not be a pebble. More like a blinding boulder. And here I am, begging for what our kids are entitled to as he saves for her finger. It's honestly disgusting. I feel like I did everything right in my life. I dedicated myself to my family, worked hard in my career, managed to go back to school for my 3rd degree, I drank water, slept 8 hours nightly (ok, that one's a lie), and attempted a semi balanced diet (is butter a carb?); I did it all right. But here I am, raising 2 boys at my mother's house while I try to find us a home. I feel like even though I played by the rules in the Monopoly game of life, I was sent to jail and have to lose a turn while the game keeps going on. I bet he's going to buy Boardwalk too... The thing that irks me the most is he never worked for any of this. It's like every roll of the dice he just got lucky. He benefited from everyone else's sacrifices. And I'm the one living with the repercussions of every decision he has made with our boys in tow. I feel stuck and he's just gliding down the board rolling a 12 every time. My sister reassures me that yea my life is kinda on pause not and it's not permanent, but my ex will always be a garbage person. That phase of his life is forever. Ok, pity party over. Let me hike up my big girl panties and move on.
Last, but never least, the boys. He made a point of telling me that he has yet to tell the boys. You wanna know why he hasn't told the boys? He hasn't called them in 3 weeks. I've told the boys to call him, but he has not called them. I can already see how that convo goes, "Hey guys. Haven't checked in on you in weeks but let's talk about me!". Oh brother, what a self-centered moron. I suggested that perhaps telling your children in person would, you know, be a better choice. He agreed. I also warned him that they probably wouldn't even flinch at the news. This being because: 1) they are boys, 2) this doesn't change their day to day lives. He also agreed to that. So why the dog and pony show? Oh, that's right, it's not for them, but for you. He claimed he didn't want it to seem like he was keeping a secret from them so he wanted to tell them ASAP. Oh boy, wait till they find out that BIG secret about why mom and dad got divorced. He told me it will be a long engagement and a very small wedding. Is that his way of telling me I'm not invited??? I'm heartbroken! If you could see how hard I'm eye rolling right now I swear you'd be impressed. Hopefully he invited his children. That would be nice. MY boyfriend thinks him telling me was pathetic, a sad attempt to gloat. Like, 'Ok I did some shitty stuff but look how great it turned out. It was the right decision, see? I feel validated for being a monster." That his claims of feeling awkward were just an attempt to seem human. A marriage built on infidelity, secrecy and poor choices by 2 self centered people. Sounds like a perfect match.
​

They called it a Scryglass, the pun being very much intentional.
It was a mirror inscribed with magic runes that could be touched to match with a signature. We had effectively reinvented the telephone, but with the benefit of visuals to go with it. Even though it reflected the room behind me, I didn't show up, nobody showed up.
I tapped the runes indicated, and the Scryglass shifted to show a Human, who looked surprised.
"Holy shit, it actually worked." She remarked. She scrutinized me. "I was led to believe your Imperator would be speaking with us."
"I am Imperator Ruuk Stingtail." I stated. "My death was not exaggerated, the Gods simply had need of me. The short of it is that our High Priest was a saboteur for Tiamat, and had been using my brother, the acting Imperator, as a puppet. He is still at large, unfortunately, having escaped with Tiamat's intervention." I paused. "If you have a seat, please take it, I cannot guarantee this will be a quick call."
A chair was brought in, we both sat in our respective spots.
"Might I know your name, Human?" I asked.
"Staff Sergeant Catalina Rosaria Cortez." She replied. "We understand this Tiamat infiltrated our number under the alias of Tiana Martel."
"How much do you know of Tiamat's involvement in events?" I asked. "I ask mainly to ensure if you are missing any information, you can be apprised of the details."
"We don't know a whole lot." Sgt. Cortez stated. "We've been flying in the dark here for a year."
I nodded. I gave a rough overview of events as I remembered them, with Bahamut filling in the gaps that I had forgotten. A few of my Council looked uncomfortable when I mentioned we had once been Human, a fact I had already forgotten.
"For the purposes of interacting with us, approach any situation with the understanding that most- if not all of us- do not remember ever being Human. It's a detail even I find myself forgetting."
She nodded. "To be honest with you, we have had some trouble remembering that as well. I've gone over past reports, and it's clear that our memory is being affected as well, the blockades were enacted because we had come to the conclusion that you were invaders, rather than residents."
"That is alarming." I remarked. "Kashak! Alert the Circle that the Humans are experiencing the same loss in memory."
"The 'Circle'?" Sgt. Cortez asked.
"Our Circle of Mages, recently founded. They are a group of Sorcerers, Warlocks, Clerics... Anyone who has an interest in studying magic. It is their mission to find a way to properly contain the Divine Essence of Kurtulmak, and if possible, bring him back so the transformation of Humans into Kobolds can be controlled."
"Do you believe a God can be brought back to life?" She asked.
"I was." I replied. "Why not him?"
"Please tell her that, while I appreciate some of her men giving homage to me, it is unnecessary." Bahamut stated. "I am not the one containing the Divine Essence, it is the faithful who remain who keep it gathered."
"You can tell your men they don't need to pray to Bahamut." I said, she looked surprised, and a little confused. "While he appreciates it, he's not the one who's keeping the Divine Essence contained. Those of us who stubbornly continue to worship Kurtulmak are keeping it from spreading."
"I see..." She said.
"That being said, nothing is stopping them from continuing." I said. "As the new head of his Temple on Earth, I am... restructuring things."
"You took over the Temple." She said. "Making you the sole authority in your nation."
"If it makes you feel any better, I literally have Bahamut watching over my shoulder, there's nothing like a lawfully good Deity whose entire thing is Justice to provide some oversight."
She laughed, meaning my attempt at humor worked. "Sorry." She said. "That was rude of me."
"It was intentionally a joke." I said, easing her guilt. "The purpose of these Scryglasses- yes, I'm told it's a pun- is to ensure quick communication in the event things start going wrong."
She nodded. "So I was told." She said. "Is there anything you're expecting from us?"
"A rough overview of current events." I said. "Having an evil Dragon Goddess show up and lay waste to an entire town's worth of Kobolds certainly didn't go unnoticed, and that's not going into if she targeted the city over."
She nodded. "Things have been tense." She said. "Your actions led to what is effectively an unscheduled restructuring of our entire government."
'She means the citizens of her nation saw the open mistreatment of your people as the final straw, there was a violent uprising that led to the death and imprisonment of everyone in the higher echelons of government, and a provisional government is currently handling affairs while the situation is resolved.' Bahamut helpfully explained.
"So, you have your own issues on your end as well." I stated diplomatically.
"Tiamat attacking did not help matters." She said. "We still get some dumbshit activists trying to cause problems, thinking we're holding you hostage."
"Do you have any means of contacting them?" I asked.
"In theory, yes. They don't really listen, or pick up."
I nodded. "Contact them, simply tell them Imperator Ruuk is interested in speaking with them. After all, it is in both of our best interests to keep this situation contained."
The relief in her eyes was palpable, I had just lifted the weight of an entire world off her back. "I will do that, Imperator Ruuk." She said.
"Thank you." I tried to think of anything else that came to mind. "Keep me apprised of anything unusual happening on your end, I will have people stationed near this Scryglass to ensure you won't be waiting too long in the event you need my insight."
That was all that needed to be discussed, I ended the connection and sat back in my seat.
'It takes strength to speak with those you hate.' Bahamut stated. 'I am proud of you.'
I nodded. "Compromise." I said. "If I can't do that much, then I show I won't even follow in my God's footsteps."
There was no time for sitting around, ruminating on things that didn't directly serve getting us back on track.
"Hail, Imperator!" A few of our recent additions called out to me, there was still fear in their eyes, but they most certainly respected me. We got the foundation for even having a reservoir built. We all elected not to have indoor plumbing, we'd gotten used to chamber pots and the Druids were efficient at turning our waste into fertilizer, their ability to cleanse of it disease meaning there was no point in doing anything otherwise.
Instead, we elected to have the water go into strategically placed wells, with water created to test them out and ensure we would get flooded if a little too much water came in.
Thanks to the efforts of the Artificers and Druids, we had a system that would accommodate a proper reservoir, with future plans to have one made and installed. As we were patting ourselves on the back and celebrating our efforts, someone came running up to me. "Imperator! We need your assistance! Elgo snapped, we don't know what to do!"
"Show me." I said.
The Circle of Mages were situated in what I called the Arcane District, and considering the sounds coming from within, I knew the situation was serious. I ran past confused and concerned mages and headed for the far door.
Beyond it, I saw Elgo running around, grabbing paper and scrawling on it, paying no mind to the things he was knocking over. He was talking to himself, muttering frantically under his breath in a mixtire of Yipyak and English, as well as a few other languages I didn't recognize.
His hand seized a pen and he began drawing circles and diagrams on each page.
'Leave him be, Ruuk.' Bahamut stated. 'Give him some space.'
I shut the door, not really questioning what Bahamut knew that I didn't- not yet, at least. I looked at the other Mages. "Give him space." I said. "If it persists longer than a few days, then we get involved."
We didn't even need to wait the full day, Elgo came out of the room carrying a bunch of pages loosely bound together with string, which he brought over, slammed on a table, and began pointing at things and jibbering madly.
"Elgo, Elgo." I said, reaching out to him and trying to calm him down.
"No, Imperator, you do no understand-" He slipped into another language, emphatically trying to communicate something. I looked at the others. Anyone know Comprehend Languages?"
This seemed to snap Elgo back into reality. He looked at me for several moments, then stepped away, taking the bound-together papers and a cup of water. "This will explain it." He said, thumbing through the pages until he landed on one. This time, he spoke slowly and deliberately, half of his words were understandable, while the rest were not. It took him a full minute.
He flung the water, which twisted and roiled in the air before splashing against the ground. I watched in awe as the water then began to rise up, taking a humanoid form.
"Wait, you awoke as a Sorcerer?" A Warlock asked.
"No, he's our first Wizard." Arix stated. "Those papers in his hands? That's his spellbook. That insane babbling we heard? It's not insane to him."
Elgo nodded, "Yeah." He said. "It's, ah, a water elemental, kuutravai rukata vos aquan capable of, well, anything that water is capable of, like kavata tuugra shalai with its mass derived directly from the elemental plane of water."
"You could have just said 'magic' over and over again and we would have gotten exactly the same information out of that." Arix said. "What even is that language you're speaking?"
"He is speaking the Primordial tongue, the language of Elementals, the First Words of Asgorath." Bahamut spoke through me.
"Oh, you're familiar with it?" Elgo asked.
"Bahamut is." I said. "Mind filling us in on what he said?"
"The concepts are far more ancient than any modern languages can adequately convey, yet simplified, they can put out fires and smash things." Bahamut replied.
Elgo winced. "That's not really a good explanation." He said.
"It is not incorrect. You will have to learn how to convey these concepts in simpler terms, especially as you will need to teach those who will come after you." Bahamut retracted, and I felt a little drained. "Elgo, congratulations on your Awakening, I'll get an Artificer to make you a proper spellbook so you don't have to worry about your pages falling out." I looked pointedly at the page that was flopping to the floor. He quickly snatched it up.
"For the record." Bahamut spoke again. "He is the equivalent of a 'level ten', in your terms."
I blinked, Arix asked, "How?"
"I think it's because I've been spending my every waking moment trying to figure out how magic works." Elgo said. "I've studied scrolls and magic items, asking about specific runes and arrays. Today, it all just... clicked." He paused. "In fact, I feel like I have a greater grasp of our situation, maybe. I'll need more paper, more time to observe things."
I nodded. "Get on it, and report to me directly when you've finished. Your knowledge will be needed on my Council."
He nodded. "Yeah, yeah, Council. Wait, Council?" He looked at me.
"Every time a new Class is awakened, they are given a spot on my Council." I stated.
He looked distressed. "But there's so much I need to focus on, I can't be bogged down with politics! There's the matter of how we're going to gather up the Divine Essence and contain it, because even if we aren't showing signs of anything wrong with us, there's no telling what long-term effects we'll begin to display. I mean, there's gradual yellowing of everyone's eyes, and I'm fairly certain that isn't jaundice, not to mention the rapidity of cognitive degradation compared to the normal rate- more specifically in the region of the brain that governs memory, on top of everything else that's going on and I don't have the capacity to really do that."
I blinked, speechless for a moment. "As Councilor, you will have the authority to delegate." I stated firmly. "And having my ear on any problem you find or any solution you come up with will ensure they are handled immediately."
"R-right, I didn't think about that."
"That being said, I am going to require you to accompany me tonight, if you are as well-studied as you think you are, you'll be able to help us."
He nodded.
I put things in motion to get him a proper spellbook made, then continued about my day. By the time of the ritual, he'd already copied everything into a nice, leatherbound book, and he looked significantly less scatterbrained.
We prepared the ritual, which he observed quietly.
"Several issues." He said, after we finished. "First and foremost, the people who can't use magic are superfluous, they can just sit over here and pray and it would probably be just as effective."
A few of my fellow faithful started yelling at him.
"Quiet." I stated, they all went silent. "Elgo is here specifically to address anything he sees as not working or being counterproductive. Go on, Elgo."
"Right. Second, you're just throwing herbs in there, you need a proper incense, considering you're trying to worship a dead God back to life, frankincense, myrrh, and dragon's blood resin would be more effective, and these things can be purchased from any spiritual shop- I'm sure there's plenty in the next town over, we'll just have to contact the soldiers and get them to agree to get the materials."
"I have a means of communication, go on."
"Oh? I'll have to see it." He remarked. "Third, that's just a basic brazier full of wood you got from the ground. I understand you're desperately trying your best, but you're not getting anywhere if you're half-assing it. You're going to need- at the very least- something that actually matches what Kurtulmak likes. Not to mention getting wood that has the properties you need."
He looked thoughtful. "Fourth, you have his spear, you have armor that he made, yes? Use them. You have the best possible implements for- at the very least- gathering the Divine Essence into something that can hold it."
"Is that everything?" I asked.
"Everything that makes sense at least." He remarked. "Anything else, we're going to have to adjust."
I nodded. "Then let's make this a priority, if we're just wasting time now, we'd better use it so we aren't." We came together and- pooling our understanding- we came to a plan that could work.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Cuts and gashes, the dead fighting the dead, culling the weak so the strong remained. The souls we slew would remain dead, irretrievable.
In the distance, a voice calls out to me.
​
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Hi there catadvice ,
me and my partner, and roomie had a third roommate move in, and they have an adorable, calm cat. He has been a delight so far and the only thing we are worried about is his litter placement in and enclosed bathroom with only a vent fan. I'm looking for any suggestions and advice to make sure we can keep the ammonia smell down and keep it safe for the people who use that bathroom also as well as quality of life for kitty.
I'm not a catowner and a bit lost, so I wanted to ask for direct help
thank you!!

Introductions. Shuttle Engineer Drivtet Ol'gashi POV
I was working on some routine maintenance of the Black Spots shuttle when the Captains voice came over the ship wide intercom.
Ping "All crew report to assembly in bay 3. There is critical information that has just been relayed by GC high-command. I have been given permission to show all of you just what we found 4 rotations ago on that unknown wreckage." Ping
All noise in the normally busy shuttle bay had ceased following that announcement. Quickly packing away the inspection sheet I was working on, I proceeded to the doors with my fellow crew.
"What do you think that recording was?" I turned and looked down to see shuttle pilot Fen'hozy hopping up beside me. Fen'hozy is a Kanhiv one of the smaller races being only 2' feet 6" inches tall, with short coarse tan fur, and powerful hind legs that are used to launch them into the air. He was nervously tapping the claws on the fingertips of his wings against the floor.
"I don't know, but by the sounds of it the captain is about to show us." I reply trying to calm his nerves.
When we discovered the wreck 4 rotations ago the specifications that came through scans were absurd. Being a member of the engineering crew I was part of the team that was assigned to study the crafts scans when not doing regular tasks. For starters the ceilings were 10' feet tall, 2' feet taller than the tallest know sentient race, the Phyth. Then there was the material composition of the ship. Metal alloys far denser than we have ever made coming from materials so strong our hottest welding equipment barely made it glow. Whatever made that ship was something the GC isn't fully prepared for.
"What do you think destroyed it?" Fen'hozy asked, snapping me from my thoughts.
He was right. What could destroy something our best tech can't even cut through?
"I don't know. Whatever it was, it couldn't have been the Vizan. If it was then there is no way we would have lasted this long against them." I replied, "Hopefully, we will get some answers from this assembly."
I picked up my pace towards bay 3, forcing Fen'hozy to switch from his quadrapedal walk to upright hopping 'run' with his wings tucked neatly against his sides to keep up. We quickly pull ahead of the group leaving the shuttle bay with us.
"If you're gonna run there mind if I just hitch a rid on your back. You know I can't keep up if you go any faster." Fen'hozy remarked, struggling to keep pace with my brisk walk.
"Sure, so long as you promise to clean out the shuttles docking port for me tomorrow." I cheerily replied.
"Done!" He shouted, hopping high into the air towards my back. "I've seen how clean you keep that shuttle it will take me all of 5 tacks to do." He said, landing on my back with a quiet whomp. Holding onto my shoulders with his clawed fingers and proping his hind paws against my hips, I leaned forward and started jogging down the corridor.
We reached bay 3 well ahead of most with only the Captain, bridge crew, and research department present. The bridge crew sat on stage behind the Captain, sullen expressions shadowing their features. While the researchers sat in the front row were restraining their excitement with visible difficulty. The tension was already palpable with the brooding expression on our Captains normally stoic face.
Letting Fen'hozy drop to the floor we made our way to some seats on the far side of the bay. The standardized stools were not very comfortable but were built to accommodate many different body types. I plopped myself onto a stool while Fen'hozy hopped up onto the one next to me resting back on his haunches. Seated like this with him sitting upright we were almost eye level.
"You know, as scared as I am for what this species may be. I can't help but be excited for a new potential ally. Especially with the technology we have already seen." Fen'hozy voiced my own thoughts as if reading them right from my mind.
"I couldn't agree more. Especially about the technology if we had access to some of the materials they use I would put credits on turning the tide of this war." I stated smugly. Our shiny golden metals were nothing compared to the stark grey and black materials that ship was composed of.
We chatted aimlessly for a few tacks while the rest of the crew arrived. It seemed we didn't have to wait long as more and more cautiously optimistic crew members filled the seats. I could catch snippets of conversation all seeming to denote a level of excitement based around what we discovered. If it wasn't for the still sullen Captin and bridge crew I suspect the low chatter would have been a full roar of excitement.
"What do you think has the bridge crew so worried?" Fen'hozy asked, breaking me from my thoughts on the room. Looking back towards the stage where Captain Yillfit Carver stood awaiting the last of the crew. I take a moment to study his expression before answering.
"Well he has always been rather stoic by his species standard, I've only ever seen him make that face when talking about his friends lost on the battle field." A voice clicked from behind us before I could answer. Both Fen'hozy and I turned to the newest addition to the conversation. A Goshran swarmed over the stool making barely audible scratching sounds as the workers of the coloney were busy handling all the needs of their 'body'.
"Well you would be the one to know." Says Fen'hozy, "How long have you and the Captain served together Security Chief Grivla?"
"We have known eachother sense the academy." Grivla clacked in response, "We didn't see eachother for 4 cycles after the academy. Finally meeting again on a Ho'vat battlefield. Our two units had been cut in half by the Vizan, so deciding to work together under Carvers lead. We managed to hold our position until relief forces were able to arrive and take over. I've been serving under Carver ever sense."
"I'm a little surprised to see you down here and not up on stage with the bridge crew?" I nudge, hoping she will have some information as to why they look so sullen.
"Well my assumption is that they have all already seen what we are about to be shown. I just came from my rest shift, if that's their response I think it won't be all good news. Either way I haven't seen anything yet, meaning whatever this is was played over the bridge then immediately deemed of critical importance for the entire crew." Replied the Security Chief.
Sharing a nervous glance with Fen'hozy I turned my attention back to the stage.
Not 2 Tacks later the doors closed behind the last of the crew. The entire crew of the Black Spot all 350 of us stood or sat waiting for the Captain to begin.
After a moment of silence filled the room the Captain began.
"Thank you valued crew of the Black Spot for assembling so quickly.
I know some of you are on rest shift and will be allowed to continue it once we are done here. In fact, all crew will be given half a standard rotation to rest and deal with the news." He stated.
A subdued applause greeted his statement. The excitement in the room quickly fading. Before my thoughts could run away with me the captain resumed his speech.
"As you are all aware, our mission is to find and confirm what has caught the attention of the Vizan.
"We have succeeded in the first part, now we just need to make contact and confirm the status relayed in the message that we sent back through subspace." He assured.
"The GC senate has translated and reviewed the footage recovered from the wreckage we discovered and to say it has confirmed some of our worst fears would be an understatement.
"I have been given permission to show everyone aboard the Black Spot exactly what we will be heading into in the coming rotations. Without further fanfare Comms Officer Renfai, would you do the honors?"
Stepping back from the front of the stage with a small flourish of his manipulator tentacle the Captain ushered Officer Renfai forward. Sliding up to the front of the stage Comms Officer Renfai appeared sad and disconnected from everything around him.
Lifting his eyestalks to look at the gathered crew he began, "Fellow sentients, the message we recovered from that wreck is an old warning and a plea for future aid.
"Through the confirmation of time stamps on the message and Vizan activity we believe the wreck has been adrift in that nebulae for roughly 250 standard cycles. Far longer than was initially estimated due to lack of any kind of wear to the ship.
"This should be kept in mind as we have no idea what the current situation is in this section of the galaxy. I'll now play the full translated message before turning things back to our Captain to answer any questions and give us the plan moving forward."
With a wave of his prehensile tail the lights dimmed and the back wall of the stage lit up showing an image of an unknown sentient. The recording bagan to play.
"Hello. If you are receiving this, this is Capt. Fos of the USSF Nutcracker.
"I am a human, and our United Systems of 14 species are under attack by an unknown threat. If found please, bring this message to my family on Earth."
Co-ords attached
"Before that, I must give a warning for any who discover this ship. We were unprepared for this threat, and they couldn't have timed their appearance for a worse moment.
"The United Systems haven't always been such, in fact it wasn't until these 'husks' attacked that all 15 known sentients finally set aside our differences to come together and fight back. A mutual enemy does wonders for setting government priorities." The Human shook his head, looking to the floor.
Taking a steadying breath he continued. "We were too busy fighting with eachother to pay attention to unknown space. From outside known space these 'Husks' came, they launched a simultaneous attack across every inhabited world and system we knew of. Being too preoccupied at the onset of this, plague our respective militaries struggled to push them off our worlds. Over 100 coloney worlds were lost, unable to receive reinforcement in time." A collective intake of atmosphere could be heard throughout the bay.
Before anyone could voice their concern the Human lifted his eyes to stare directly into the camera.
"It took the complete extinction of the Motuck before the remaining 14 of us came together." He spat.
"They had pled for help broadcasting to anyone that could hear. Humanity couldn't just leave them to extinction all alone. At the time humanity was fairing the best having pushed the Husks completely from 6 of our 8 systems, we sent what we could spare." His voice softening as he spoke. "We were too late. The last bunker on their homeworld had been breached.
"The final transmission coming just two hours before our response fleat dropped into the system. The fleat was met with a fresh Armada of Motuck ship husks coming from their homeworld.
"The Motuck were gone. Our Government at the time not wanting to fight our former friends made the decision in line with the last wishes of the Motuck Ambassador.
'I would rather my system be wiped from existence than let my entire people become you!' Were his last words in that final message and subsequent detonation of the shelter." The human spoke with a cold detatchment.
"We glassed the few remaining former Motuck worlds. The Motuck home system was fully colonized with both mines and terraformed worlds. We decided to collapse the star erasing the Husks completely from the sector with minimal losses on our end." A faint buzzing could be heard from the video but nothing could be seen on screen.
"My ship the USSF Nutcracker was sent on one such mission to an unrecoverable Gorchev system. Just before our localized gravity collapse could destabilize the star and initiate a supernova the Husks hit us.
"The supernova has been successfully induced and will occur in approximately 20 minutes. I'll be dead before then, we have moved to the edge of the system but will remain here. 95% of the crew has been killed or consumed by the Husks, I've rigged the reactor core to vent into the ship when I hit this button." The Human held up a small black box with a grey button on the top.
"That should incinerate anything living on the ship. This message will be tethered to the Blackbox, transmitting to anyone close enough to hear. Please go to Earth and help us save all the people of the Milky way.
"We will not go quietly into the night and I pray that you won't either." At those words the human appeared to shrink.
"A final message for my wife and daughter." The buzzing got suddenly louder and a light begun to shine on the humans face.
"Sorsha my sweet girl, don't worry daddy will always be watching over you. Marry, I'm sorry I won't be there with you when you get old. I love you both more than can be expressed. I'll miss you." Taking his eyes off the camera to look off screen he pushed the button. A loud rushing of air could be heard before the video cut out, freezing on an image of the human looking sadly into the camera.
—Authors note—
Hey everybody!
Thank you all for reading! I was blown away by how well the prolouge was received, I wasn't expecting such a positive response and would have been happy with just having feedback on my writing. As it is I am blown away and will strive to do my best going forward. I'm doing this by myself in my free time please don't expect every update to come this quickly, I will be aiming for at least one part a week for as long as I can keep the ideas flowing. Once again any constructive criticism is more than welcome! I look forward to lore discussions over on my page. Thank you again everyone for reading!

Here's a mystery: When I turn on the cold tap and immediately turn it off, we hear a strange repeated "gluuuuug gluuug glug glg" noise. It rises in pitch for each glug (maybe I'd call it a "whooop"), and repeats 2-4 times. It seems very hard to locate, but it might be from our crawlspace, near the garage where the hot water heater is. But it's not from the water heater. What is this?
It's only the cold water, and even when the water doesn't hit the drain. It started ~6 months ago. We have mostly PEX in our crawlspace, installed 10 years ago (single family home).
My theory is some pipe is moving/swinging, such that it's rubbing. But it really sounds like large bubbles rising. We had a plumber out who couldn't figure it out. I haven't listed in the crawlspace yet, but that's next.

My wife (45) is extremely codependent on me (41). It's always been this way, but has gotten worse over our 15 years together. The best way I can describe her is like a 45 year old child with a college degree. I love her very much, but my feelings of resentment over her grow by the week. I never knew much about co-dependency until I found this Reddit sub - I always called my wife needy or clingy.
She can't do much for herself, despite being in perfect health. Don't get me wrong - she has a full-time job, but she's been out of college for 20 years and only one step above an entry-level position. I do most things for the household: the grocery shopping, oil changes for her car, do the shopping at Walmart/Target/Sams Club, pick up food, all the yard work, 70% of the inside house work, pay the bills, take care of the cat doing food/wateclean the box/nail trimming.
One of the biggest issues are her dental/medical anxiety. I get it, the dentist and doctor is not fun. I don't have the same issue, they are fixing things before they become worse. I have to drag my wife to appointments over the years, but the last 3 years or so I just let her do it herself because of COVID policies and then my work. Well, she neglected to get her teeth cleanings, and now she now has advanced periodontal disease and the repairs/implants/bridges are going to cost $15k out of pocket (we got a second opinion and confirmed it). It's like if I don't escort her to the dentist or doctor she won't go. I normally wouldn't mind, but I have a demanding job and I make triple what she does so I can't afford to take time off - my job needs me and I have to be there to keep my salary.
She always questions me when I leave the house like I'm a teenage kid, it's like getting interrogated: "Where are you going? Why? Why don't you do that tomorrow? Do you really have to go?" I'm finally started pushing back against this by giving her not-so-nice responses: "I'm going out, I'll be back when I get back, don't ask me again." I know it's mean, but I'm at a frustration point. She's always weirdly jealous if I want to do something with my brotheparents/friends, yet she always declines to go if I invite her (except major holidays she'll go). I would say she has some kind of social anxiety or something.
To sum this up, I feel like my wife is a needy 5 year old child and it's absolutely exhausted me. I don't know what to do with her. I do communicate to her and I'm EXTREMELY direct. "You're being needy", "You're too clingy", "Set up your own dentist/doctor appointments", "You need to do things for yourself", "I want you to be more independent". But nothing ever works. And she's passive-aggressive about it. Say I want her to get her own oil change on her car. She won't do it and eventually it will damage the engine, and she'll know I'll end up doing it myself because of this. I'm at my wits end and don't know what to do. She thinks she is 100% normal and there are no problems, despite my constant feedback that she has issues. What do I do, marriage counseling, people who can teach my wife to break this co-dependency? Just writing this post makes me feel better, sorry if I come across like a jerk - I do love my wife but I'm beyond frustrated.

I had weight loss surgery four months ago and told my my mom three months beforehand. She was completely unsupportive about it and didn’t even call to check up on me the day of my surgery or days after it. I actually called her twice after it and she said she was busy. Im upset about all of this because when she was having surgery the day before a trip I had planned I took care of her.
A few days after my surgery she texted me to ask for money and I told her not to ask me for money anymore and not to contact me if all she was going to do is ask for money.
So we haven’t spoke in four months. I’ve been feeling bad about it, but I’ve decided to put my foot down and protect my boundaries.
Anyways apparently shes been moping around to my siblings to ask me how I’m doing. I’ve told my siblings why I’m upset and they agree that I should be but they also wanted me to make up with her to which I said that I am enforcing my boundaries and if she wants to call and apologize she’s free to do it. But she hasn’t.
Anyways, all of a sudden today she called me and I didn’t answer and then she texted me that she needed to talk to me urgently because she was having an emergency. I asked what her emergency is and she said her water heater broke and she needs to borrow money.
This obviously infuriated me and I told her I didn’t have any. She kept insisting and finally I told her to leave me alone and figure it out.
I am beyond upset! She hasn’t talked to me for four months because she’s too proud to apologize to me after she was the one being completely unsupportive of me having surgery and now she just expects me to drop everything and help her out during her emergency. I am so pissed! I cannot believe how shameless she is.
She has always been this way. And it’s ridiculous of me to expect any different, but it still hurts me the way that she is. And all I can do is continue on with my life.
But it feels so painful and lonely to have such an unsupportive and manipulative mother.

My tankless water heater stopped heating water. If I turn it off and turn it back on it will heat up the water for just a couple minutes and then it will completely stop heating or it will only heat it to a lukewarm temperature even though it’s set to 135. Additionally, water spurts out of this vent on the top. Last time I had this problem a descaled it with vinegar and vacuumed out an air vent on top and it started working again. This time I did the same it and turned it off and on and it’s still not working. I called Noritz and spent a while troubleshooting and they said I have an indoor vent cover and not an outdoor vent cover but they didn’t really think that was very likely the problem. Does anyone have any idea what might be causing this?

Hi, our fridge has worked flawlessly since new. This week it's begun to frost up in freezer and the top seems to be moist also. Per the troubleshooting I've done, the air circulation vents are clear. The other couple of solutions involve checking the evaporator heater as well as its controlling thermostat.
Any other ideas to check before disassembly begins?
I have not been able to find any service repair manual, only owners book and my question is anyone have access to a repair manual?
Or, can you tell me the shortest way to access the evaporator and these parts? Is it with the back off?
Of course, aiming to travel next week so need to give this attention asap. Any assistance you might offer is appreciated.

38M, 6ft tall, Caucasian with an L5-S1 bulging and degenerated disc
I've had the issue for 9 months now, can't work as a software engineer because too much sitting and even standing lead to feet pain, back pain and muscle spasms.
I've been researching the issue and had a couple of questions, which are:

1. If normal discs are white (full of water) in an MRI and degenerated disc is gray, what exactly is the grey? Isn't it still fluid, and if so what's the composition of that fluid? For my case, there is no loss of disc height, so seemingly the degenerated disc has just as much volume and must have.. fluid of some sort in it. Also, maybe healthy discs are pressurized and have more water in them..?
2. The loading onto the disc during day and unloading of the disc during night/sleep lead to fluid convection through the disc. So, daily movement and behavior help pump water in and out of the disc, but research indicates that this fluid convection does little to influence the ingress of nutrients (e.g. - oxygen, glucose) and egress of toxins (e.g. - lactic acid) via diffusion.
   1. What can be done to enhance nutrient ingress and toxin egress into and out of the disc?
   2. Even if fluid convection has little influence, what is the influence that it does have on nutrient/toxin diffusion?

Here's the main medical paper I'm going off of (Nutrient Supply and Intervertebral Disc Metabolism), and here is most important text from it re: above:
"Nutrients move from the capillaries that supply the disc, throughthe cartilage end plates and the dense matrix of the disc, to the cells. For small solutes such as glucose, lactic acid, and oxygen, both experimental and modeling studies have shown that solute transport is accomplished mainly by diffusion; hence, the movement of fluid in and out of the disc as a result of the diurnal loading pattern has little direct influence on transport. Gradients in the concentration thus arise depending on the balance between the rate of supply of glucose or oxygen from the blood supply to the cells and the rate of cellular consumption."

my bedroom has a mini split on the adjacent wall of my bed. I like to sleep cool but for whatever reason I do not like having air blowing on me all night. I also sleep hot and covering up with sheets can be too warm.
I've turned the mini split to its lowest speed and directed the vents the furthest from the bed, but it still feels drafty. due to how the bedroom is situated, air will always be directly hitting the bed.
is there any diy solution to covering up the vents just enough to dampen the airflow but still keep the room cool without damaging the mini split? I thought about adding some sort of thin fabric over the filter where the air blows through but I don't want to cause issues with the unit

Recently i bleached my hair and dyed it red with manic panic vampire red semi permanent dye. I followed all the directions and rinsed it out with cold water but it never seemed to clear up. The water is still running red. I thought it was just because i used a good bit of product but i rinsed it 2 times today just trying to get the water to run even semi clear. Im going to a water park for 3 days soon and im really worried it wont run clear by then and ill color a pool pink 😭. Has anyone else experienced this or have any advice on it. Thanks.

Hi! My fish isn't doing well, and I was hoping that someone here could help me because my search results online haven't yielded much. (Or it's a user error on my end.)
So, for some background info: I've had my fish and tank for 3 months give or tank. I have a 20-gallon tank ( 19.1 In L x 16.6 in W x 24.4 in H (48.5 x 42.1 x 61.9 cm), it came with a filter, heater, and thermometer, It was the all-in-one starter kit tank (pictured here: https://www.petsmart.com/fish/starter-kits/top-fin-captivate-starter-kit-5277168.html) and a half-moon king betta. I keep the tank at 77-79 degrees.
He used to be very active in the tank. He was Swimming around, exploring, swimming to me when he saw me, and he was eating with no issues. Now he is very lethargic and mainly sits still at the bottom of the tank. He still swims to the top when he sees me, but mostly spends his time idle.
From searching online, I found that he might be suffering from Nitrate poisoning. I bought the master test kit for water quality to see if the levels of ammonia, nitrate, or nitrite were off, but everything is reading at 0. It's a color system and the test tubes are all almost exact matches for 0 ppm across the board. I know that ammonia and nitrite should be zero, but should nitrates be higher?
I do my water changes every few weeks. I try to do a 20-30% change every time I do it. I drain the water into a bucket, clean the decoheatethermostat, and then fill it back up + add the recommended dose of Topfin water conditioner. I acclimate him back to the water in the cup I bought him in. I also added some Tannin (almond extract) thinking it was somehow a Ph issue, or that the extract would help him because I have read that it helps resemble their natural habitat. I haven't seen any change with that.
My other hunch was that he had a swim bladder issue from me possibly overfeeding him. I was feeding him bloodworms (about 5 a day) and I cut that down to 1 or 2 and did not see a change. I started feeding him 2-4 pellets a day for a while and saw no change. I gave him a 3 day fast. and fed him brine shrimp to help him clear out any blockages that would be pressing on his bladder, so hopefully that helps him out.
I was going to try aquarium salt in a small dose because I thought maybe he has an infection or a parasite, but I don't really know how to diagnose that. I don't have any tank mates, no visible algae, and no live plants, so if he has a parasite or infection I don't really know how he got it. If anyone knows how to spot it, let me know. He doesn't seem to be having any major discoloration or fin issues either. I don't think these fish are supposed to be lazy, but I'm scared I will treat him for something wrong and hurt him. Maybe he just likes chillin'
If you have any hunches, answers, or advice, please reply! Thanks.

not sure if many of you saw, but i recently posted about the giraffe next to my boyfriend’s dad’s pond, and how the app set a point right on said giraffe when i sent my intention to…giraffe. redundant i know.
anyway, i said we would try again later out in the boonies of west michigan and i would update. we tried twice the day after, as one of our friends came out to fish his dad’s pond with us. one point was directly behind his neighbors house, on his extensive property. we decided to go look, as his neighbor has actually been in jail for the past year (u probably weren’t expecting that) so we weren’t too worried about trespassing because their hasn’t been a car in that drive way for SEVERAL months. we set our intention to ‘decomposing’ as knew our chances of finding an animal carcass were significantly higher than human considering how rural the area is. threw our mudding boots on as it had been raining the past couple of days, and took a walk. it was totally normal, buggy and very dense woods until we reached a somewhat of a clearing of reeds. we walked through the reeds as much as we could until we were hit with the smell of actual shit. like feces. along with the smell of something dead. keep in mind, we’re about half a mile directly behind the house of a convicted child predator. our friend we were with was the first to get spooked, which is funny because he’s this big, offensive line, 6’4, 200lbs guy. my boyfriend went a little further and he said the smell only got worse. the water collecting in the back was also pretty bad and we were getting eaten by mosquitoes even with extensive amounts of bug spray. so, we decided to just come to the conclusion of a dead coyote or something, and we turned back.
once we got back to his dad’s property we tried one more time. the app gave me the same point we had just been to, so we tried again. this time it gave us a point across the street from his dads house. the area across the street belongs to the state, and there will sometimes be cars parked out on the street for people setting up spots for whatever hunting season is next, or looking for morel mushrooms. this area is relatively dry, but we still kept the boots on. we walk across the street, and make it about a mile and a half out into the woods until we reach the point. once we get there we come across a very large, and very dead female deer. it didn’t look like it had been dead for very long, and there wasn’t much of a smell. we also didn’t see any entry or exit wounds of ammo which would’ve been weird anyway because deer season doesn’t start until mid november in michigan. we did see two very large slashes in its abdomen area though. slashes that were most definitely made with a man made object, no animal could have cut that deep into the deer, definitely not any animal native to the area. so we were a little baffled, but pleased to know that the app wasn’t bogus. we went and got my boyfriends dad and asked him what we should do, and he said there wasn’t much. since there weren’t exit or entry wounds DNR or whoever wouldn’t investigate for illegal off-season hunting. it was also pretty deep into the woods on state property that we just hope that either the coyotes will get to her, or she will naturally decompose.
that’s the last of the update. if any of you have any ideas as to what could’ve made those slashes, input would be greatly appreciated!

After lusting after a colorblock Puzzle for years, the 6/18 sales finally pushed me over the edge. This is my first high-tier bag purchased directly from a seller, and part of my aim with this review is to share a bit of my experience with those contemplating their first serious rep. Thank you all for your awesome contributions to this community — you got me to this point on my bag journey!
Disclosure
I did not receive anything in return for this review.
Seller
Anna
Contact Info
+86 189 1648 7573
Price
1550 - 200 = 1350 CNY
Shipping
280 CNY for FedEx shipping to USA via Hong Kong
Timeline
5/29/2023 - Contacted Anna via WhatsApp and paid the same day via PayPal F&F 5/30/2023 - Received PSPs 6/1/2023 - Received FedEx tracking number 6/5/2023 - Received bag!
Pictures
Factory Photos
PSPs
My Photos with modshot - I’m 5’11 / 180 cm tall, US size 8 (sorry about my dirty mirror)
Authentic
Quality - 9.25/10

• -0.5 - Zippers - both zippers on this bag look great, but they are rather brittle and fussy to open and close. I don’t know if this is characteristic of this hardware color for the auth bag - purely a quality deduction.
• -0.25 - there is a teeny tiny spot on the front of the bag where it looks like the black edge pigment on the largest front panel ran a bit out of lines, or the brown pigment is chipped. Not noticeable at all unless you’re scrutinizing the bag and likely within auth QC bounds. Photo of this in the My Photos album.

This bag is a work of art! The construction is dead on — it slouches but holds its shape, the panels are perfectly spaced, the stitching is flawless outside and in. The hardware feels weighty and high quality. No fufu smell. Setting aside the rep of it all, this is a very well made bag and I think it’ll be a workhorse.
Accuracy - 9/10

• -0.5 - Leather - the leather on this bag is noticeably dry to the touch, and does not feel like the authentic bag.
• -0.25 - Dimensions - this bag is slightly taller and has a shorter handle than the auth. Neither impacts the overall affect of the bag imo.

Auth dimensions: 11"W x 7"H x 5”D, 15” handle, 46” crossbody strap Rep dimensions (measured along bottom edge): 11”W x 7.25”H x 5” depth, 14” handle, 45” crossbody strap
I have manhandled many Puzzle bags in boutiques, department stores, duty frees, and pretty much any time I see one I’m allowed to touch, and the biggest callout for me on this bag is the feel of the leather. Loewe leather is buttery soft and this bag is noticeably drier and stiffer than any auth I have handled. The crossbody strap is crimped where it was folded for shipping and has not been receptive to being reshaped because of how dry it is, but we’ll get there.
Otherwise, the attention to detail on the rep-relevant components of the bag is fantastic. The colors, logo placement, interior lining, and even the number of stitches on the interior tag are dead on. The zippers and strap are branded even in subtle places. I especially love the hardware on the cross-body strap.
Rep Satisfaction Rating - 9.5/10
At less than 10% of the current retail price for auth, I really can’t complain at all about the quality of rep here. It is visually stunning and feels high quality, even if different from the auth. The sticky zippers and kinks on the strap are the only things I’d change, and I think I likely will be able to with conditioning.
Seller Satisfaction Rating - 10/10
Anna is not the warmest nor fuzziest texter but was prompt and no-nonsense in her replies. She sent great PSPs before I’d even asked for them. As a first time buyer, I felt a lot less anxiety than I expected to with how quickly she moved through the process and how much she kept me in the loop.
Cost Performance Ratio - 9.5/10
For $189 USD, I’m very happy with this bag. I bought the medium size in hopes of using it as a personal item carry on after an ancient PU tote bag I got at Nordstrom Rack in high school bit it during my last trip, and I think it’ll be great for that purpose. It’s large enough to fit a water bottle, book, wallet, and travel documents while being small enough to carry as a day bag on vacation. For how much use I’ll get out of this bag, I feel like the cost was well justified. The only performance issue I can see myself getting annoyed with is the zipper, but hey, I wanted a bag that would keep my stuff secure in the airport. If I can’t get in, no one can!
The Wrap Up - 8/10
I don’t live near a Loewe boutique, but I would have no qualms wearing this bag around Nordstrom and perusing this season’s Puzzles. It helps that it’s a discontinued, but not fantasy, colorway; it feels like I can get away with a lot more since it’ll never be directly compared to the same model in store. The difference in leather texture from the auth would likely keep me from letting an SA handle it.
In all, my experience buying from Anna was very different, and in many ways better, than buying through an e-commerce site. This bag is leagues higher quality and more beautiful than the bags I’ve bought from AliExpress and I’m glad to have gone with a high-tier rep for such an intricate, architectural style. It was slightly nerve wracking to send my money into the abyss over PayPal with no guarantee of getting anything in return, but the process of contacting a seller and hashing out details was a lot easier and faster than I’d expected, and over all I found the process a lot more transparent than ordering through AE. Being able to actually track my order via FedEx was a game changer from holding my breath for EMS to (probably never) update, and it's nice to have all communication in one chat. I'm sure it won't be like this every time, but it's nice to know it can be.
Now that I’ve been through the process once, I feel a lot more confident about stepping into the rep big leagues. I am super pleased with this bag and will be impatiently awaiting the 11/11 sale.

I normally vent on chatgpt due to being able to completely remove negative imputs on what I'm talking.
But it's been a while since I'm not being able to remove it's morals.
Like, he keeps saying "it's important to search self growth" or "humans are social beings"
Nah man, i just want to be a fat human in the movie wall-e. On my gloating chair, not moving a single muscle.
Maybe to kick that robot's butt for trying to ruin my quiet and lazy life to rebuild a broken planet.
Hell no, wasn't that ship self sustainable? It had oxigen, food, water and people didn't have to do anything.
Give me a singular reason for me to want to do something to change that.
But no, chatgpt says we can't get fat in floaty chairs.
So i said: "is the problem everything being stagnate so the brain doesn't have the notion of a bad thing to know what's good? If so, i just gotta be electrocuted really hard from time to time to feel a negative imput and go back to happiness. I could even try to remove the memory of the bad shock as for it to not cause anxiety to when the nest is coming "
And chatgpt said we can't shock ourselves.
I just want to be a disfuncional non-member of society. An immovable blob.