Hi everyone! I'm looking to hear any thoughts/feedback/advice on the following:
I've decided that I'm really curious about exploring acting and I think that it's something I could be good at if I really dedicated myself to it. I had a budding interest at the end of high school but got swept up in other pursuits during college and am now rediscovering my excitement for the craft a couple of years after graduating. I have really limited performance experience besides some singing on stage, and no acting experience *except* for a gig in college that I really lucked out with.
A casting director contacted an organization I was involved with and I ended up getting casted onto a Netflix show in a principal/co-star role due to a specific skill I had and therefore Taft Hartley'd into being SAG-eligible. I know this is something that folks work at for a long time, so I'm really grateful for how everything panned out.
So I'm now in an interesting position where my experience on paper sort of suggests a greater level of experience than I actually have? I guess my first question is, would this role help me land other opportunities despite not having other on-camera experience? (I'm willing to start from the beginning and put in the work [and know I need to take some classes for sure], but I'm just curious about what having this on my resume might mean for me.)
In addition, I'm now living in a place where really nothing to do with Film/TV is going on. I'm within driving distance to NYC and Boston, but not close enough that it would make sense for me to attend acting classes in these places. I'm going to be living here for at least another year, so I'm thinking about what I can do in the meantime to explore acting and then can eventually consider relocating if it's something I'm continuing to feel strongly about. The only acting class around here is a little thing at the local theater, but I thought it may be worth exploring just to get myself in front of others and practicing. I also know there are a lot of classes available online now, so I was considering that route too. Otherwise, I'm creating a reading list and am also considering dance classes just to help build confidence performing around others generally (I have some dance experience from when I was younger and am wanting to get back into it anyway). There also really aren't any student films happening around here.
I'm wondering then if anyone has any other ideas or advice given my current circumstances? If I worked at this for awhile and eventually put together a demo reel of self-tapes, could I apply for things in NYC/Boston despite my location? I could make the drive if necessary, and I know a number of auditions have become remote now. Thanks so much!! I really appreciate this super informative + supportive community.

Hi, Im a Pennsylvania resident who was caught via bus camera running a school bus sign earlier this month.
Got a letter in the mail showing front, back, and license plate if my car passing a bus, saying pay a $300 fine. It didnt say anything else regarding penalty, but I know bus tickets are pretty bad regarding 5 points on and 2 months suspension on my license. Not sure if the points and suspension apply if being from a camera vs being pulled over by police. The ticket had instructions on how to view the videos online, which I did.
Video starts 2-3 seconds before the sign is opened on a right hand lane of a 4 lane road, no cars visible on the camera until the sign starting opening. At this point, approaching from the opposite direction, the front half of a white van is shown to quickly stop (like exponentially, quick to slow, showing the front dipping foward, followed by a few inches moving forward after mostly stopping). My car was in the right hand lane at the passenger back corner of the van, which I pass as it stopped, showing my car passing the van, followed by the still opening bus stop sign. The sign completley opens when im within a meter or 2 distance from the front of the bus. My brakes were applied when I notcied the van started slowing, but not enough in time to not pass the bus, so I continued and released the brakes when I had already passed. The road has a speed limit of 35mph which I was following more or less 4mph +/- (local road I drive frequently, not an issue of speeding here) which would have not been slow enough to stop in time for when the sign became visable from my field of view. I recall this bus being up ahead about a 1 block range but there was no yellow lights indicating a stop ahead at that time, between then and the bus stopping, the view of the bus was blocked by a van I was next to.
What confused me as my experiences seeing school buses active while out working/driving has never been an issue (big, yellow, easy to spot, predictable behavior with the yellow+red lights). This bus from what I remember abruptly threw open the sign without enough distance for idication lights (video shows yellow light on corner of video which turned red when the sign opened, the yellow lights were on for all of a couple feet of distance and for 2-3 seconds, and not the require 150-300 feet before the stop), in addition to my position in relation the van next to me (i was at their passenger side back corner) blocked the view of the bus completley until I passed the van where the now visable sign was raising as I was passing the van.
The fine of $300 while it sucks isnt as worrying as 5 points and 2 months without a car, but considering what was mentioned, is there a chance to challenge this?

Friends, we have reached the end of our magical journey! Thank you for joining us on this read of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna. What a cute, whimsical book this was! I hope you all enjoyed it!
Summary of the last section:
Chapter 22---
In the lead-up to the Winter Solstice, Ian and Lucie go shopping and decorate the house with fairy lights, while Mika teaches the girls to animate a large metal horse in preparation for Edward's visit
Altamira is feeling down about the lack of wintry festivities, but Mika promises to make the day special with some fairy wine. The girls suggest forming their own Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, which Mika agrees to, but she also feels that this moment highlights her failure to not get attached to others.
Mika contemplates breaking the promise to herself of not getting attached to the people and the place she is currently in. She is scared of being rejected and not being loved in return, especially by Jamie. Meanwhile, preparations for the Solstice are in full swing, and the house is filled with decorations and preparations.
Mika, wakes up early to tend to her potions, only to find that everyone else in the house is already awake due to the excitement of the Solstice presents. She discovers that a prank war has broken out between the girls, with Altamira being the latest victim of Terracotta's revenge for being falsely accused of taking a missing puzzle. Terracotta had dumped a color-shifting potion on Altamira's hair, turning it green.
Mika helps to resolve the conflict by fixing Altamira's hair and removing the stench from Terracotta's room.
Mika and Jamie discuss the girls' behavior and the importance of teaching them responsibility. Right as Mika wants to talk about the kiss they shared and Jamie's distance afterwards, the conversation is interrupted by Ian's enthusiastic arrival announcing the start of the Solstice celebrations.
The festivities kick off with gifts, including homemade rainbow sweaters from Ian, potted plants, and a vintage journal for Mika. Mika gifts everyone custom magical tea.
Jamie receives a jar of tea leaves with a whimsical list of ingredients, causing him to smile at Mika in a way that takes her breath away. The group then embarks on a snowflake hunt, with Mika joining forces with Ian and Ken.
Afterward, Ian prepares a mouth-watering feast for everyone, causing a food coma. The group spends the rest of the day watching winter movies, playing board games, and indulging in apple cider and pudding. As the night wears on, the kids fall asleep and Mika asks Jamie if they can talk.
As soon as Mika left the room, Ian became extremely happy and wanted to express it, but he noticed a cold look from Jamje and decided to wait until he left too. Ian had hoped that their trip up north would lead to something, but Mika and Jamie returned home without speaking to each other, which made Ian very annoyed.
When Jamie finally left the room, Ian wanted to follow and listen in, but Ken and Lucie stopped him. Ian sat back down feeling sulky and resigned himself to not knowing anything until the morning.
Chapter 23---
Jamie follows Mika out into the garden and onto the dunes, where she lights up the path with glowing fireflies. Jamie knows that Mika is hurt and confused after he pulled away from her in the woods.
When she confronts him, Jamie admits that he thinks they wouldn't work out because she doesn't do serious and he doesn't think he can do anything but serious with her. Mika is hurt by this but understands that Jamie is protecting something or someone. Mika feels like an outsider again. She feels unloved and uncared for.
As she starts to walk away, Jamie stops her and confesses that they had lied to her. He then proceeds to tell her everything.
Chapter 24---
Mika strides up the dunes, firefly lights lighting her way. She casts a levitation spell on a patch of sunflowers, unearthing a skeleton wrapped in a striped wool blanket with a tarnished silver locket around its neck.
Jamie reveals that Lillian had left instructions for his guardianship of the girls to go to her sister (named Peony) upon her death and that they had kept her death a secret to buy time to come up with a better plan. They had hoped Mika could disguise herself as Lillian to keep Edward at bay, but she is hurt and betrayed when she realizes they had not trusted her enough to tell her the truth and that they were using her all along.
She packs her things and tells Jamie she will come back on the twenty-sixth to say goodbye to the girls and figure out a plan to fool Edward. She leaves, and Jamie watches with teary eyes.
Chapter 25---
Mika drives for over three hours and stops at a tall townhouse in the city of York- her childhood home which she owns. She spends the night cleaning and organizing the house and the following days researching and experimenting with her cauldron to brew a potion that will help her save the inhabitants of Nowhere House. The work distracts her from the feelings of betrayal and hurt.
On Christmas Day, Jamie knocks on her door and Mika is overwhelmed by her feelings for him but remembers that she is still hurt and angry. She assumes he is here to make sure she'll be at Nowhere House for Edward's visit, but Jamie tells her that's not why he is here. She reluctantly lets him in and they begin to talk.
Chapter 26---
Mika prepares tea, while Jamie plays with Circe in the living room. He tells her that the girls miss her and are angry with him and the others for taking her away. He tells her that they have left an open window for her to come back to Nowhere House and that everything they have said to her and their love has been real.
Mika is still angry but is also starting to understand why they did what they did. Jamie kneels in front of her and tells her that he wants her to stay, that he wants all of her, and Mika starts to feel the fear of being hurt again, but also the desperate wanting to stay. She wonders if she can take the risk and stay.
Jamie comes to stand beside Mika, telling her of how he was able to heal after being fractured. He explains that it requires a leap of faith to love and be loved, and tells her that he will take whatever she can give him, but she can have all of him if she wants it.
They have tea and mulled wine, and Jamie tells her a funny story about the girls. Mika laughs for the first time in days and invites him to go to bed with her. He asks her if she is sure she wants this. She responds positively and they make love. After, Mika falls asleep in Jamie’s arms and he promises not to go anywhere. (Who else screamed after this chapter?)
Chapter 27---
Edward Foxhaven is solicitor a with extraordinary attention to detail. He is currently working with Lillian Nowhere, a wealthy client who has taken in some "questionable" people. Edward is suspicious of them and determined to find out what is going on at Nowhere House. He visits the house on the morning of the twenty-sixth and is met by a dressed-up skeleton after which everything goes wrong.
Mika and Jamie arrive at the barn to find an unfamiliar car in the driveway, signaling Edward's early arrival. They find the girls perched side by side on the fence, and Terracotta informs them they have locked Edward in the garden shed. They notice a pile of bones and clothes outside the front door and realize the girls have unburied Lillian. The girls explain that they animated Lillian's corpse to convince Edward she is fine.
Now, Edward knows Lillian is dead, and the girls are scared he will take them away. The adults discuss how to handle the situation, and Mika decides to go talk to Edward. Everyone expresses their love and concern for Mika, and she promises the girls she won't let Edward hurt them.
Mika and Jamie unlock the shed, revealing Edward Foxhaven. Edward is red-faced and sneering. Mika tries to be understanding, but Edward interrupts her and says he will report them to the police. Jamie is furious, and Mika twitches a single finger. Vines grow out of the ground, binding Edward. Mika explains that none of his demands will be met and that he is outnumbered. She releases the spell and they go back to the other side of the garden.
In order to make Edward forget all that occurred, Mika suggests the undesirable solution of calling Primrose for help, and they agree to do whatever is necessary to protect the people they love.
Chapter 28---
Mika is sitting in the attic when Jamie comes to find her. He sits with her and offers his support for her plan. Mika then goes to meet Primrose, who she had called for help, but when she arrives, the others realize that Primrose is actually Lillian's twin sister. They were identical sisters and were separated as children. "Peony" was Primrose's old name.
Primrose reveals that Lillian had been searching for a place where witches could live openly and without fear. Primrose then goes to the garden shed to erase Edward's memories of the events of the day while Mika checks on the children. When Primrose is done, they will place Edward in his car with Primrose in the driver's seat and he won't remember a thing. The group then realizes that this will be the perfect cover, as Edward will think Primrose is Lillian.
Primrose exits the shed and says that Edward will wake up with no recollection of what happe. He will have a headache but be fine. Mika suggests a plan to get rid of Edward, which Primrose listens to in silence with almost amusement.
They move Edward from the shed to his car and Primrose wakes him. Edward, as planned believes she is Lillian. Primrose (as Lillian) scolds him for wasting her time and basically fires him. Everyone watches as Edward leaves, confused and slightly intimidated by Primrose.
She suggests they report Lillian's death in two or three months and use magic to mask her age if her remains have to be examined. Primrose plans to be legally responsible for the children and wants to separate them. but Mika insists that Jamie should be their guardian instead. Mika is determined to fight Primrose and win.
Chapter 29---
Mika and Primrose are engaged in a tense conversation about the rules and the risks of having three young witches living together. Mika argues that the love and happiness they have together are worth the risks, and points out the consequences of the way Primrose chose to raise her. Primrose is taken aback and ponders Mika's words. She eventually agrees to let the children stay together, and when the kids come out, Primrose gets to know them. She leaves, and Terracotta declares that Mika belongs to them. Mika recalls Jamie's words about the leap of faith needed to love, and she takes it, allowing herself to be loved by the children, Jamie, and the others.
Chapter 30---
Mika is preparing the Very Secret Society of Witches for a meeting on a beautiful spring morning in Norfolk. Mika had to convince Primrose and Jamie, who were both intractable in their own ways, to agree to her plan to invite everyone, witches and non-witches alike. Jamie said he'd agree to have Mika's meeting in their backyard only if she finally started her magical tea shop.
Mika finally opened the shop in the abandoned barn in the Nowhere House. It was a success and her first batch quickly sold out.
At the Very Secret Society of Witches meeting, everyone is enjoying themselves, drinking tea, eating cheesecake, and showing off their spells and spellbooks. Belinda Nkala has brought her older brother, Hilda has brought two aunts, five cousins and her fiancée, and Agatha Jones has brought her boyfriend.
Mika is then waylaid by Primrose, who compliments her for the gathering she has put together. Mika then goes inside to find Jamie, who resists attending the meeting, but eventually agrees when Mika promises to make it up to him later. They then go outside together and everyone is happy. Mika reflects on how she has created a better world for witches by creating a community and a family for them, and how she, herself is finally happy, loved, and satisfied.
--
Share your final thoughts in the comments!

I pulled myself back through the open grate in the armoury's floor and tossed my hardlight adjuster onto the work table, swearing as I did. The water I'd grabbed earlier was still sitting on the floor beside the central leg of the table, untouched.
Victoria had been sitting in the cockpit, but she got up as she heard me climb back out of the engine housing. There was only space for one of us down there, and even though she'd explained she knew a lot about ships, she wasn't exactly going to be able to repair a human one. "Still bad?"
"It's fucked. We're-" I sighed instead of swearing again.
"Do we?"
"I'll give it one more shot before we need to make new plans."
"So we can't get to Ovigaia then?"
"Don't write it off yet, but-" I trailed off instead of saying 'yeah.' The laser fire we'd taken had pierced the hull, and while the prognosis could have been worse, there wasn't far for it to go. The shot had damaged the right-side power cells of the ship. Even if I managed to fix them so they stopped losing power on every circuit run, we'd already bled enough storage that we had essentially half as much auxiliary power as I'd planned for the trip to Ovigaia.
Unless I could restore peak efficiency and was wrong about how much power we'd lost in the past hours, we would need to land somewhere else. Not to mention, we'd pierced the veil at the wrong angle after getting hit, meaning the journey already would have been overlong with a fully functional ship.
"Do you want me to take a look at some of the options we might have?"
"Hard to tell what's in range until I have a read on the power, but sure. Thanks," Victoria nodded as she stepped back to the cockpit, sliding into the co-pilot's seat and bringing up the console.
At least she was making herself useful, better than she'd been on Mythellion III when I'd first met her. Maybe she was warming up to me or maybe just warming up to the idea of someone who was keeping her alive.
Mom had always said that getting shot at was great for developing character.
I took a sip of the water and watched as she started working on the console, slow and methodical but making progress. She hadn't asked for help, but I imagined everything that seemed intuitive for humans was like a foreign language of UI for her. Most tech used agreed on universal standards if they wanted to reach the mass market; human military surplus was optimized for our neural networking.
She swore, and I almost spoke up, but every minute I spent jabbing her ego instead of working on the batteries could be light years off our expected distance.
I dropped back into the floor and was met with the telltale thrum of the perpetual engine funnelling power to the rest of the ship. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the hyper-blue light.
Across from me, at the end of the first maintenance way, I could see the shield of the ship making a translucent lattice between myself and the infinite void of the black. Interlocking hexagons shimmered in a pulsing rhythm over the wound in the Gunboat Diplomat's hull. Just to the right of the damage, the twisted, melted metal of the power storage battery hung loose and open, pouring purple light like a gash in reality.
My personal shield, the one that I'd been storing on the ship, sparked to life as I approached the exposed battery, absorbing heat and radiation spillage from the damaged part and using it as power. Once I was close enough to see the inside of the battery, I pulled out my PA, not expecting anything new.
It only took a breath to establish that, despite my wiring a spare shielding cell into the network of the battery, we were still losing power each cycle through the laser wound. Nanite temp-repair gel had been enough to slow the pour of energy, but it was a patch, and perpetual energy needed a perfect system to remain perpetual.
There was a chance that I could rewire the shields connection and it would be good enough. I reached down to grab the hardlight adjuster on my hip and ended up patting nothing. Shit. "Victoria. Can you throw down the tool? I need it." After waiting long enough, I called again, "Victoria?"
There were two taps behind me as Victoria gently lowered herself through the floor into the maintenance hallway, stooping to avoid knocking her head on any of the support struts. She walked over with awkwardly bent knees and pressed the adjuster into my hand.
"You shouldn't be down here without a-" Victoria showed me her other hand and revealed my old mk23 shield generator. "-Thanks."
"Any better?"
"Yes and no."
"By-"
"We're losing less power, but we're still losing. I just wanna try decoupling the shield cell I hot-wired in there and seeing if I can't-" I cut myself off to focus as I reached into the hole in the battery's casing and started dematerializing the hardlight wiring I'd built before. "If I can't get it running better."
"No chance of perfect then?"
"Don't think so."
Breaking down hardlight was usually quick work, but when working around a damaged battery storing enough power to restart a miniature sun, everything took too much time. Unlike the previous rounds of repairs, Victoria stayed with me this time and kept trying to find new angles to see what I was working on.
After a while, she gave up and sat down on the floor. ; there wasn't enough room in the hallway to see past me and into the casing.
"You can go back up and-"
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"Diadona?"
"Yes."
"Is that a human last name too?"
"No." I stopped working momentarily, pulling the adjuster out and shaking the last motes of light free of it. How close were Fotuan and human languages that her translator could catch the differences in species' last names?
"But you're-"
"Yes, I'm human," I confirmed, "I was adopted by a mixed family."
"Pardon?"
"My biological parents were human. Mom was an Ovishir, and Dad was a human."
"But you just said that-"
"Mom and Dad raised me after adoption; my bio-parents provided the parts," I clarified.
"Sorry, I'm just confused by- You keep saying 'adoption,' and I don't think it translates."
"Really?"
"I don't know what it means."
"It means that the people who raised me didn't give birth to me."
"That's so strange. And one of them was an Ovishir?"
"My Mom."
"And by Mom, you mean-"
"She raised me but didn't give birth to me. Yes."
"That's so weird," Victoria added just as I had to get quiet again to focus on what my hands were doing. My PA overlaid a wiring setup on the AR glass as the optimal path for energy, but it was the same one I'd just been using. I added a small touch of hard light off the highlighted circuit, hoping the system would suggest something else, but it just told me to erase my work.
Shit.
I knew my way around electronics well enough to follow instructions, but I wasn't about to take apart and rewire the entire battery when it was powering my ship through the black. That was just asking to become a statistic.
I set myself on redrawing the wired connections that I'd just spent the last few minutes erasing. Victoria spoke up again.
"You were raised by an Ovishir, then?"
"Mostly, my D- male parent," I switched the wording to try and help the idea translate for her, "died when I was pretty young so-"
"And that male parent was-"
"Human."
"I didn't know that was a thing that happened."
"Hm?"
"Two different species raising a kid," she explained, "just seems… Wrong isn't the right word, but it's strange."
"How long have you been away from Fotul?"
"Pardon?"
"How long have you been outside of Meritocracy space? Mixed couples aren't common, but they aren't that rare."
"I-"
"I'm just surprised you haven't seen one. How long have you been away?"
I'd almost finished rewiring the system, but I pulled my hand out to let my shield cool down. It could use the energy from the battery but feeding it too much for too long was asking for it to overload, and, unlike some other species, I couldn't get exposed to that much radiation for very long at all.
"I'm going to go check on our flight path options," Victoria said as she stood up, "let me know how the repairs go once you're done." She walked away before she was fully finished speaking.
I sighed once she was out of earshot and got back to work.
Even though adding the shield cell to defend the tears in the circuit had given the best results of anything I'd tried, we were still light years away from perfect energy cycling, even with optimal hardlight wiring. There was a chance that I could have gotten us somewhere closer if I had physical wires to use, but I didn't have any heavy-duty spares on the ship.
If this had taught me anything, it had shown me that I had too many spare parts for guns and not enough for the ship itself.
At least I'd have time to look at the Basking once we'd chosen a new destination.
I held the PA up to the newly rewired system and let it calculate how much energy we were losing on each cycle, then sent that data to the nav console itself before packing and heading back up myself.
As I closed the access panel to the lower deck and re-affixed the radiation shielding, Victoria spoke up from the cockpit.
"Are you kidding me?"
"What's wrong?" I asked without turning my attention over to her yet.
"We're losing that much power? I thought that-"
"Mhm."
"Well-" Victoria growled in frustration, and I heard her shoot up from her seat, "none of the routes I was planning are going to work then."
"Not enough?"
"We wouldn't even make it halfway to Ovigaia according to your human piece of-" she trailed off. We'd already beaten around the bush once regarding her ship vs mine. The Gunboat Diplomacy had won because it wasn't currently scrap metal polluting Mythellion's orbit.
"What are our options then?" I asked as I finally stood up in our conversation. Victoria turned back to the cockpit and got into the co-pilot's seat.
"Two. Maybe three."
"I think we need a main population center for repairs."
"One then, maybe two."
"What planet's number one?"
"Not a planet," Victoria brought it up on the screens as I went to meet her, blocking out the infinite void that the front cameras had been showing for the past hours. The reading on the screen was an ancient mining station that had been retrofitted into a colony ship. "Station-"
"What's the other option?"
"Uh-" Victoria shot a questioning look but no questions with it, "Baris-Na, an Anteraxi forward colony."
"Baris-Na it is."
Victoria didn't hit anything that would mark the planet as the ship's target. Instead, she pointed to the bottom of the screen and the energy it would take to get there. "I said maybe for a reason."
If we cut everything but the engines, we'd need to drop out of superluminal speeds within a few hours and drift for three days.
"We should aim for Station 26; the other one's not really an option."
I bit my lip for a moment before speaking up. "You're right." There wasn't a point in explaining why I'd cut her off before. Avoiding the obvious choice was just putting us in unnecessary danger.
Still, I'd told myself I'd never be back.

Hi, im a Pennsylvania resident who was caught via bus camera running a school bus sign earlier this month.
Got a letter in the mail showing front, back, and license plate if my car passing a bus, saying pay a $300 fine. It didnt say anything else regarding penalty, but I know bus tickets are pretty bad regarding 5 points on and 2 months suspension on my license. Not sure if the points and suspension apply if being from a camera vs being pulled over by police. The ticket had instructions on how to view the videos online, which I did.
Video starts 2-3 seconds before the sign is opened on a right hand lane of a 4 lane road, no cars visible on the camera until the sign starting opening. At this point, approaching from the opposite direction, the front half of a white van is shown to quickly stop (like exponentially, quick to slow, showing the front dipping foward, followed by a few inches moving forward after mostly stopping). My car was in the right hand lane at the passenger back corner of the van, which I pass as it stopped, showing my car passing the van, followed by the still opening bus stop sign. The sign completley opens when im within a meter distance from the front of the bus. My brakes were applied when I notcied the van started slowing, but not enough in time to not pass the bus, so I continued and released the brakes when I had already passed. The road has a speed limit of 35mph which I was following more or less 4mph +/- (local road I drive frequently, not an issue of speeding here) which would have not been slow enough to stop in time for when the sign became visable from my field of view. I recall this bus being up ahead about a 1 block range but there was no yellow lights indicating a stop ahead at that time, between then and the bus stopping, the view of the bus was blocked by a van I was next to.
What confused me as my experiences seeing school buses active while out working/driving has never been an issue (big, yellow, easy to spot, predictable behavior with the yellow+red lights). This bus from what I remember abruptly threw open the sign without enough distance for idication lights (video shows yellow light on corner of video which turned red when the sign opened, the yellow lights were on for all of a couple feet of distance and for 2-3 seconds, and not the require 150-300 feet before the stop), in addition to my position in relation the van next to me (i was at their passenger side back corner) blocked the view of the bus completley until I passed the van where the now visable sign was raising as I was passing the van.
The fine of $300 while it sucks isnt as worrying as 5 points and 2 months without a car, but considering what was mentioned, is there a chance to challenge this?

All over the internet, I notice you churlish cretins lauding the supposedly intellectual television program known as Rick and Morty to make yourselves appear more intelligent by extension, as you are ardent watchers of the aforementioned show. However, you piddling planarians only succeed in illustrating how vapid you really are, as Rick and Morty has the intellectual depth of a petri dish. Truly, the most noetic show is neither Rick and Morty, the Big Bang Theory, Jimmy Neutron, nor any other deluge of drivel you deludable dimwits bombard your brains with. Rather, it is Johnny Test, a pinnacle of animation, sound design, acting, and plot. Despite this, most of you sniveling sub-10000s (someone with an IQ under 10000: for the record, my IQ is several orders of magnitude higher than this; my reason for my usage of this term is simply because I am partial to the number 10000) will dismiss Johnny Test as another subpar piece of rubbish from Teletoon, but you all fail to realize how much genius goes into producing that show. I have watched Johnny Test since I was a juvenile, and already I bear an IQ so toweringly high no known test can measure it (that is to say, no known test for humans can measure it: when using the scale with which computer processing power is evaluated, I clock in at over 8.3 trecentillion yottaflops). I have memorized every facet of human knowledge and only used 32.8% of my potential intelligence (my remaining neurons I allocate towards personal use, research, and wealthy companies for use as server farms and bitcoin mines). Not only that, but I have transformed all of the atoms in my being into a quantum computer to serve as an extension to my enormous encephalon, which handles the menial tasks and other trivialities associated with existence (such as respiration, ingestion, digestion, socializing, et cetera). Capable of perorating proficiently in every method of communication in the world, I have developed my own language that employs a manifold of grammar rules, and I created it all while thrashing a coalition of humanity’s smartest supercomputers in a game of Tic-Tac-Toe (for those who say that Tic-Tac-Toe is “easy,” think about the all the times you’ve played Tic-Tac-Toe: a majority were ties, no? Think about that, and also about the fact that a single, solitary supercomputer, much less over a dozen, is smarter than millions of you combined). And no, you cannot see me type this language because it is purely telepathic. At this point, I can imagine several of you already typing frantically in a fervent effort to keep your egos afloat in the face of such psychological grandeur. That’s right, the collective intelligence of all of you, if we’re using luminosity as an analogy, is akin to a diminutive candle in comparison to the massive quasar that represents my mind. Confronted with this, most of you will attempt to deride me with paltry, nonsensical invective and vitriolic vituperations to protect what minuscule amount of self-esteem you possess. These predictions are not the result of mere intuition, of course. In actuality, I have run several simulations using my brain alone on the possible consequences of my publication of this digital manuscription. My reply to all of you digital detractors is that if you so desire to demonstrate that you are brainier than I, then arrange for an intellectual debate between you and me on a topic of your choosing, any time or place. My schedule is very pliable as I’ve already won over 4 dozen nobel prizes, so I’m perfectly willing to put a temporary halt to my research, if you could even call it that (I speculate without demur that none of your debate skills will be enough of a problem for me to the point where I will be forced to snap out out of my subconscious simulations to employ the use of those neurons). Besides, I don’t want to be a glory hog and leave none of the secrets of the universe left for unlocking. You know, let the dogs have their day and all of that. I already know that none of you simpletons with your senescent synapses will be able to match up to my vast vernacular and verbiage, my mental dexterity with declension, and my phrenic puissance with my phraseology and pronunciation. In a matter of seconds (or possibly longer, if I’ve overestimated your already positively benthic IQs when running my simulations), you’ll fly into cantankerous conniptions after my consummate trouncing and repudiation of every single one of the “facts” that you hold so dear as proof of your purported intellect. And in response to those who claim, overcome with envy and spite, that as intelligent as I am, I will never sleep with anyone: I don’t need to. I am quite capable of simulating, to the meagerest tactile sensation, every position in the Kama Sutra (as well as a few I myself have devised for maximum oxytocin and endorphin release) simultaneously in a few seconds, and the only reason it takes even that long is because I am prolonging the simulation in order to enjoy the experience: I could do it in hundredths of a millisecond if I so wish. However, for someone with such acute acumen as I, life is far too easy. When pure ennui drives you to calculate the movements of the 27 subatomic particles you’ve discovered and how they interact with one another in the 2,038th dimension using a base 3.2407 quadrillion number system, you realize that the universe and its infinite copies and offshoots offer nothing more to you. Except, that is, for Johnny Test. Even for an individual with such altitudinous IQ such as myself, it’s difficult to understand every single subtle joke and reference. That’s not to say I don’t understand any of the plenitude of allusions, in fact, I am able to comprehend virtually every single one. For example, one minutia most of you would fail to notice is when Susan’s chin moves two extra pixels further than in any of the previous episodes when she talks during the seventeenth second of the fifth minute of season 3 episode 10. Hardly any of you would conceive of the fact that this is a reference to the exact number, down to 84 significant figures, of the percent change in total nitrogen in the Earth’s atmosphere due to the eructation of a small cynodont 257 million years ago. There are more examples I could give, such as the color of the walls of the sisters’ lab being a slightly different hue from the norm in season 4 episode 19 (a reference to the presence of approximately 2.9 millimoles of ammonium diuranate in the ink of a Chinese manuscript dated 1256 BCE), but that would detract from the intended purpose of this writing. Johnny Test is a work of art, a perfect concoction of knowledge from a multitude of academic fields that combine to make a program that is the only form of media I have ever encountered that has been even somewhat laborious for me to fathom, and I’m talking about someone who altered the biochemistry and chirality of their body in order to make it more efficient than the prodigality that is the human body. My temples ache with the pain of having to pump copious amounts of Testium (an element I discovered that takes the role of oxygen in my unique biochemistry, named after my favorite show of course) to my brain in order to comprehend what I have just watched. And to everybody who claims that the reason my temples are sore or why I have “delusions of grandeur” are due to my being “high” or whichever way you aim to construe my exegesis of an episode, you will hear vocalizations of a gelatological nature emanating from my larynx whilst Xyzyzyx the paisley pangolin (a treasured acquaintance of mine) and I reflect on your foolishness later that day. I await the furious fussilade of odious obluquies and belittling bombast in the comments below. “Too long; Did not read”: Did you really think I would include one of these silly little things at the bottom of my witty wordsmithery? It's not my fault if you can't handle my de trop of definitions or my lexical linguipotence! Get back up there and read it, even if you have to go through it with dictionary in hand.

Is my boyfriend losing interest?
This is my first ever post so be gentle please. I’m also on mobile so please excuse the format. My boyfriend (22M) and I (22F) have been going out for almost 2 months officially but have been talking for about 4 months total. We live about 2 hours away from each other so we have only seen each other 5 times in person but each time was for 2 or 3 days at a time.
Before this week, he would usually call me a lot through out the day while he was at work and would constantly text me, so the distance did not seem like such a big deal. Conversation with him was so easy and we had a lot of meaningful conversations. I noticed that our conversations are dry, and very surface level now. We haven’t had a phone call in three days. When I have tried to call him, he was in a rush to get off the phone.
There’s also little things, like he used to call me ‘beautiful’ or ‘honey’ or other sweet names when addressing me, but now he only calls me by my name. He was the one who was more interested in me initially too. He has told me he loves me and sees a future with me, but now he is acting so strange.
I really like this guy. I am in love with him, but his behavior is so suspicious right now. I feel like there is something going on or he just doesn’t like me as much anymore. The other day I sent him a message essentially saying that I noticed our communication has changed and I was wondering if everything is okay. That I missed talking to him and just wanted to make sure we’re still on the same page. His response was that he is feeling really stressed with money and his family and he feels like when he’s being a good boyfriend to me, that he’s lacking in other areas of his life but he doesn’t want to break up with me.
I don’t really know what to do. I was supposed to drive to see him this weekend but he told me not to since he has to work.

Thanks for reading, and for any and all comments!
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The Cast / Chapter Links
Just One Drop
CH 77 – The Man in Who these Marvels Can Do
​
It was the day before Shel, and lunch was becoming a more crowded affair.
Since Melondi’s secret had come out, the girls had taken to favoring a mid-sized table that seated twelve – a sensible number. A small affair no more than twenty feet long, the table was well situated, away from the center of the floor and off to one side. That had been useful, as the layout of the cafeteria put the table near the kitchen freezer. There was an awkward chill in that corner of the room which made it unpopular, and without other students about, the table offered relative privacy.
Of course, twelve was ideal, as it conformed to the needs of their class. The girls of the Practical Humanity class had faced more than their share of scrutiny since the term began, and privacy had become a cherished commodity. Whether it was from curious girls wanting to know what the Human was like, to its current, more immediate needs, the isolation of the spot had made the table a welcome retreat.
That said, today it was getting a bit crowded, and with everyone there, an additional three seats had been needed, with girls shoving in from the sides.
Khe’lark’s attachment to Gun’brei… or more accurately, Brei’s attachment to Lark… had started things, of course. There was usually room for one more, certainly if one of the girls was off somewhere else and missing lunch. Since Melondi’s secret had become a shared one, the table had become a place where Mel could, on occasion, talk less circumspectly. While she’d never slipped up otherwise, she could relax and enjoy her friends without being quite so guarded.
Things had been different before, when Brei hadn’t been cleared by Agent Duvari.
Melondi had never resented Brei as an intrusion, but it was a fact of life that she hadn’t noticed before. The ability to talk with her friends, even in the most circumspect way, had replaced her utter secrecy – or worse, the crafted lies about her history. When Brei joined them for lunch, Melondi had to go back into hiding… and Brei’s presence brought with her a visceral feeling of the loss.
When Kzintshki arrived, the twelve and sometimes thirteen turned to thirteen and sometimes fourteen.
The Pesrin girl’s presence was unmistakable. Kzintshkil was… different. It wasn’t only the matter of her being alien – another species entirely, with her own loyalties and agenda. It was more that Kzintshki kept her own counsel, and while Melondi knew how to read people - even people from other races - the Pesrin girl was largely a closed book. It wasn't something she was used to. She was good with reading people, no matter the species. Generally.
…That carrion incident with the Rakiri delegate could have happened to anybody!...
Of course, while it wasn’t always a full table, fourteen was manageable. Today there were fifteen people crowding in for lunch, which was pushing it.
Not that Prindi Ama’dis was unwelcome. The IOTC girl was another friend of Lark’s by way of the campus vblog; thankfully the question of who knew her secret had largely been settled – both by her request, and the actions of her handler, Agent Duvari. Now her friends knew, which was a greater relief than she’d imagined it could be. Professor Warrick knew, and he’d be allowed to tell Professor Pel’avon. He was holding off until they were back from the ‘honeymoon’. It was an odd term for the usual getaway after a wedding, and he’d explained it as something to do with newly wed couples slipping away for a month and drinking a lot of something called mead. Melondi figured she should have a word of quiet thanks to Professor Pel’avon for taking up so much of Professor Warrick’s time… but it would wait until they were back.
Gun’brei had been oddly muted after finding out. While Brei was a baroness’ daughter, Agent Duvari had opted to lay things out to her in private, as ‘she had an abiding interest in the news’. That probably meant several threats behind closed doors, a reading of general order 24, and signing waivers that didn’t mention words like ‘frozen tundra’. They didn’t need to - Duvari tended to make herself clear enough. It was hard to believe the same bubbly music professor could be so frigid as an Agent, but Duvari had no problems with being convincing.
Melondi looked over at Lark and pursed her lips thoughtfully.
…I still need to make things up to her. I don’t know if clearing Brei counts…
That left the IOTC girls, and as she looked up the table at Prindi, it was hard to believe the world she’d crafted here at the Academy had changed so dramatically. As Lark’s friend, Prindi made an easy liaison with the IOTC girls. Even so, it was tight with her here, and if more of them showed up, something would have to give.
She’d planned to tell her friends, someday… After graduation, when she was off on her own, she’d hoped that some of them might still be in reach… and understanding. They’d all be off starting their own lives, working in their House companies, starting careers, or managing the family holdings. Everyone would go their different ways. But her sister Khelandri’s death had changed everything. She could enjoy her friends now, instead of later, wondering if they would still be hers when she revealed herself as a princess.
It was a bright note in a dark situation, and she cherished it for what it was. She had friends. Real friends that had come to know her outside of the Palace, without any agendas… and she had the time – over two more years – before adult life sent them off on their own paths.
…At least, if I live that long…
That was a gloomy thought, and it was hard to hold onto it. She’d only just hung up on a call from Vedeem. Whenever she talked to him, the future didn’t seem so dark. He’d accepted her for who and what she was as a person… and then he’d done it all over again for who and what she was as a Princess.
…Screw Kamaud’re! I want to live!...
“That was Vedeem. He says they’re putting up a sign and closing the restaurant for a week to ‘celebrate the birth of a boy in the family.'Everything’s ready to start the training tomorrow at 9.” She raised her voice over the animated conversations going on. It was lunch, after all, and with all the jockeying of plates and trays and dishes and whatnot, it was a scramble. If any more girls showed up from the IOTC, they’d have to do something… or at least get a round table. No one could reach anything. “Prindi, can you let your cadre know?”
It was bad timing, since the girl just took a bite, but she nodded quickly, chewing frantically.
“Just take it easy…” Mel looked around past the table with an exaggerated glance. “The nod’s all I need, and you’ll like Vedeem… Hands off, though!”
As a young girl, she’d never expected that she’d need to warn anyone away from her boyfriend… when she finally got one, no one would dare. Just now? If all of this felt new to her, it must be like a bucket of icy surf landing on the IOTC girls… and Vedeem was hers!
Prindi finally cleared her throat and nodded again. “Yes, ummm…”
“Melondi,” she offered helpfully. While the IOTC girl had been giving her curious looks now and then, she’d tried her best to hide them. She still looked like she was struggling. “Remember, it’s just Melondi.”
“Yes…” The idea of calling a Princess something informal looked like it was sticking in the girl’s throat, and she took a way out. “I’ll let them know after lunch.”
“Thank you!” Mel called back. It was something Mother had always insisted on and Lady Wicama had taught her well. Good manners were for everyone. It had even seen her through that carrion incident, though she hadn’t even been five at the time…
…Come to think of it, it was Kamaud’re who ‘helped me out’… and was laughing the loudest…
She felt an ugly blush start to rise, but it faded just as quickly. She’d never known her elder sister except as a distant figure, not a part of her life, really. Even without the attempt on her life, It had grown a lot easier in the last few months not to care for Kamaud’re at all.
The table didn’t take much notice. Jax was in an animated conversation with Nestha about business, while the twins were actually giggling about something. Most of the talk had been about class, though Belda was getting a lot of ribbing and good natured pokes from the others. Tonight was the big night, after all. Even Kzintshki was quietly talking to Desi about the weekend. As the outsider, Prindi seemed to be struggling to fit in, though she hid it well.
“I’m glad you could join us, Prindi,” Melondi offered brightly, trying to keep the girl from feeling too isolated. “I know we sort of keep to ourselves; there was a lot of attention after we got into Professor Warrick’s class. It was a little rough after registration, and you wouldn’t believe some of the questions we got after he did the Marriage Fundamentals seminar.”
“That was rough.” Sephir nodded. “I had one girl ask me if he had any boys in his family, and when they’d be coming. That was pretty embarrassing.”
“Embarrassing?” Prindi blinked doubtfully as she reoriented on Sephir. At 6’11, it seemed impossible to miss the girl. Sephir was a star of the Academy diving team with muscles like titanium cables, but she was so polite and unassuming that it often came as a surprise when she spoke up in conversation. She’d been a lot happier since her future in her House had been sorted, though, and at the moment she was grinning cheerfully at the bewildered look on Prindi’s face.
Prindi cocked her head uncertainly. “How was it embarrassing?”
“Oh… It's just… his wife and his daughter were killed when the Imperium arrived on Earth.”
Belda winced, but still looked relieved at no longer being the center of attention; at least she’d finally stopped blushing.
“Professor Pel’avon asked us not to talk about it at first,” said Sephir with a nod. Even if she looked like a recruiting poster for the Marines, she was a caregiver at heart, and had always shied away from talking about what Warrick called ‘the landings.' “Professor Warrick… Well, you can tell it still hurts him.”
“Yeah,” Nestha chipped in. “He’s smart… and a lot tougher than you’d expect. You just can't think of him as a male.”
“Human male.” Desi broke off her conversation with Kzintshki. “There’s a whole lot going on with him that even the rest of you don’t see. He and I talk a lot at the museum.”
“Is it true he adopted both of you?” Prindi asked, looking from Desi to Kzintshki and back, Melondi forgotten for the first time. “We all heard things and there were a lot of questions after the wedding… I mean, like the dancers! Where did they even come fr-“
“Yes, it's true! Both of us!” Desi broke in abruptly, interrupting Prindi’s train of thought, and Mel started breathing again. If word got out about the Tide Pool, it would probably need more than a General Order and a very angry Interior Agent to keep quiet. Desi was nodding frantically as she enthusiastically changed the subject. “We don’t talk about the wedding, but it's true! It became official when Professor Pel’avon married him. They’re my mothers and father, now.”
“Wow, that’s…” Prindi’s brows knitted a bit as she struggled with the whole wedding. Sure, the whole school had seen it, but the response had been more of a collective silence from around the table. Prindi took the hint and offered a smile. “So… What do you talk about, then? I mean, if not the wedding? What about this war sim? The rest of the cadre couldn’t believe it! I hope we weren’t whispering too loud. Most of us were glued to our omni-pads, gossiping on our Discuss channel. Everybody wants to know more… I can't wait to go through these files!”
“We don’t talk about the war sim. We have team meetings, but aside from those, we don’t. There’s a lot of extra credit on the line,” Dihsala said firmly, giving her a solid nod. “None of us know what’s on those files, though we had an exchange professor that… well, I don’t think she understood the material.”
“Careful, Dihsala, you’re in danger of being kind,” Pris muttered, though there wasn’t any heat in it.
Dihsala sniffed, but said nothing.
Pris pressed on, waving her fork-full of pickled jawaa like a baton. “She’s right, though. None of us know what's in the files, and we probably shouldn’t. Professor Warrick uses this method of teaching… It’s sort of like discovering the material a bit at a time and figuring it out as we go.”
“That sounds… really odd.” Prindi was canting her head fully now, and Mel could just imagine what the girl was thinking. It had been an adjustment. The IOTC girl looked back at Desi, “Sorry. It just does.”
“You don’t have to convince me.” Desi nodded sympathetically, wearing an easy smile. “Once you get used to muppets and furbys-”
“Oh! And ALF!” Jax’mi, broke in, laughing.
“And his music, though that’s really good,” offered one of the twins, as the other nodded. “And we get free movies - things that haven't made it here from Earth yet!”
“It’s a lot, but after a while nothing phases you.” Desi grinned infectiously. “Oh! Mel! Do we know if Aku is going to make it to… you know… the event?”
“I’ll have to ask.” Melondi shook herself out of the reverie of listening. “I know the invitation is getting sent. We can find out tomorrow.”
“Oh…Right.” Desi nodded, but looked back at her plate, subdued. No one knew they were going to the Palace tomorrow except Agent Duvari, who was going to escort them, and Desi was still looking pretty shy about the prospect. Still, everybody else had practice at Human Food…
“There was something we’re all kind of curious about, from the sim… I mean, it's not to do with the sim.” Prindi bit her lip, looking around as the table went suddenly quiet. “We all knew about Earth - I mean, he’s Human. Not about his family, but… things. Anyway, some of us were wondering, and now I guess I really am… umm… why doesn’t he hate us like we're some sort of enemy? There are stories, you know?”
“Desi?” One of the twins looked over at her seriously, setting aside whatever they’d been laughing about. Her sister sniffed, a beat behind. “You know him best.”
“Well, obviously he doesn’t. Hate us, I mean. I think he really means it about the Imperium making Humans citizens. Something he said once kind of stuck with me.” Desi grimaced in thought. “He said he didn’t think of the Imperium as his enemy, because the enemy is someone that tells you to hate that which is different from you, because sooner or later that hate comes back to you… and he said the Imperium hasn't done that.”
“We have kind of messed up there,” Jax’mi sighed unhappily. “I mean, all the news I get back from my family on Earth is great! I had the best letter from my Uncle… but my mothers told me stories. Some of the Houses first gifted with business grants on Earth abused them pretty badly. Not a lot, but the ones that did… Well, it wasn’t just one mess. A couple of the Houses got really carried away, and it took a while to sort out.”
“That sounds like a job for the Interior! The Imperium doesn’t tolerate… umm… that is…” Prindi sat a little taller, and her eyes shone with conviction before she stuttered to a halt, blushing as she glanced back to Melondi. “We’re supposed to stop that sort of thing.”
Mel watched as an awkward silence fell around the table, broken only by Kzintshki slicing away bits of her turox with another of her occasional mutters of “Ick”. It wasn't like she could entirely blame them.
The Empire needed the Interior. There were the boisterous and splashy ones, like House Reshay. There were the quietly dutiful ones, like Belda’s House So’sona and the pharmacological company run by Sephir’s House. There were the quietly powerful ones in the background like House Chel’xa… All of them working at what they did best… but sometimes there were incidents. Bad matrons who lost control of their ambitions. The Empire was vast, and when the Houses couldn't police themselves, it was time for the Empress to do it. That's where the Interior came in.
Mother had been working to rein the Interior in, over time… to bring it back to its core mission. She didn’t talk about it very much, but growing up she’d seen it happen. She could still remember the rumblings in court when she named Opimea Potac - an Edixi - to run the Ministry of Justice. People had said things around a six-year-old they didn’t think would be understood - or remembered - even by a six-year-old Princess. As for her cousin Yn’dara and Prince Adam… It had taken time, but Mother had gotten things under control.
…If only she were here now… but she isn't. I have to handle this myself…
That meant she needed the Interior… someday. Right now, she needed these cadets. Glancing down the table, Desi caught her eye and suddenly snorted. “Seriously, Kzintshki!? What is it with ‘ick’ all the time? You were ready to eat my father alive only a month ago. Now you turn your nose up at anything sweet or fatty? When did you turn into a picky eater, for goddess’ sake!”
“You do not understand. Food is plentiful here. That is understood…” The dusky Pesrin set aside her cutlery and eyed Desi coolly. “You have never seen a fat Pesrin.”
“No…” Desi rocked her head to one side, in exasperation. Kzintshki had a way of making statements out of questions. “But I’d never seen a Pesrin at all, until we met you. What's that got to do with it?”
“Shil and its worlds live without scarcity. Pesh does not. You will never will see a fat Pesrin.” Kzintshki replied cooly, blinking at Desi once. Melindi couldn't decide if the Pesrin girl was exasperated or amused without seeing her tail… her asiak. It was hidden under the table, but it seemed like it conveyed a lot of Pesrin body language - or maybe it was just Kzintshki. “Wasting food when it is plentiful is as much of a sin as wasting food when it is scarce.”
“I suppose…” Desi chewed over the idea while the rest of the girls thought it over.
“Besides, I have my figure to consider.”
“Hey, that’s true. I’ve been worried about everything for tonight!” Belda grinned suddenly. “So, are there any cute Pesrin guys around?”
“Perhaps... though I would not impress him if I were slow and fat.”
Mel thought over the reply. The pause was longer than the Pesrin girl usually took to answer, and she wasn't blinking. Sooner or later she’d figure her out. For the moment she watched as Kzintshki picked up her knife and fork, and cut away another bit of turox with particular deliberation. “Ick…”
“So… you girls get free movies, too?” Prindi asked the twins, looking between the pair tentatively, “Stuff that hasn't come out yet? What’s that like?”
“A lot, yes. The Ministry of Relations closed down on a lot of entertainment from Earth. It’s opening back up, but Professor Warrick has a lot of things no one has seen,” offered one of the K’herbhal sisters. Her twin nodded in sync. “Even with things opening up, they’re still screening for, you know…”
“Treason?” Prindi nodded understandingly.
“Porn!” The twins said in unison, giggling. “Not that we mind, though you could ask Belda for all the details. She’s seen Liam with his shirt off!”
“Goddess damn-it!” Belda started turning blue all over again. “It was only almost off! Almost!”
“You know, we could put off movie night until tomorrow. We can bring food back after training in the morning. Take over the room, have a movie marathon and celebrate,” Pris spoke up. “That way Belda can watch, too!”
“Hey, could you?” Belda grinned. “That would be great!”
“Sure… aaaaand that way we get to drag all the juicy details out of you, too!” Pris smiled back serenely. Melondi watched as Belda started blushing again, and muttered as the others laughed. Goddess love her, Bel was such a farmgirl.
“Ummm… what kind of movies?” Prindi asked, brushing her hair back. “Could I come?”
_ _ _
“You know, this is going to sound odd, but I kind of miss driving," Tom said, leaning back in his seat between Miv and Lea.
It was a comfortable way to ride, and the company was the best. Even with an alien landscape speeding by, it was the oddest feeling. Until he’d come to Shil, he’d always been the one doing the driving. Autocabs were quick and efficient, and other than his regular trip out to Human Food, it wasn't like he knew where things were on Shil… but it felt odd.
“You don't have a license.” Miv tousled his hair, looking at him indulgently while Lea curled in tight on the other side. She was happy as a clam they were all together, but she cocked her head, looking at Miv. “It's only a few weeks of study, if you want to get one.”
“Nah. It was just a stray thought. I’m good with being able to pay attention to you two, and it’s nice actually seeing the world go by.” He pulled them both closer, which Miv enjoyed, and made Lea squeak in pleasure. Lea had been a real princess about the lack of attention and she loved sharing with Miv, but with her work out in Creantauri, what could you do? He smiled and leaned in, kissing her lightly on the neck. This weekend would be all about making it up to them both.
Speaking of which, they were just about there…
The drive had given him ample time to cuddle up with Miv and Lea, which had been a lot of fun - but also just the distraction he’d needed. He’d tossed a jacket over the seatback showing the map display, but as the autocab turned into their destination, there was nothing for it…
“Miv, what’s this?” Lea was the first to notice, and she stared out the window as the cab turned in. Jets of brightly lit water began fountaining up on either side of the cab as it made its way up the long drive, the highway quickly out of sight.
Miv’eire pulled his coat off the seat to peer at the map and frowned in consternation as she looked at the display, “This is all wrong.”
“Actually, no, it isn't.” Tom grinned, pulling her back. “We’re exactly where we need to be.”
“But Tom, this isn’t our hotel!” Miv stared at him blankly, “Oh, love, you must have put the directions in wrong.”
“I canceled us there. Ladies, remember when you were going to take me on a holiday for a weekend? The one we missed thanks to my unscheduled trip to the hospital?” He grinned, enjoying their confusion. Lea was still looking out the window as the view turned from ‘impressive’ to ‘luxurious’ and was quickly heading for ‘‘opulent’. “When I was in recovery, I asked Prince Adam for three favors. Pushing through Desi’s adoption was one… looking into Olea was another… and a weekend somewhere nice to make it up to you both was number three.”
Tom drew Miv back into the seat beside him and slipped his arm back around Lea as she pressed to the window, the drive opening out on the broad vista and the hotel beyond. “Ladies, welcome to the Imperial Ocean Reserve.”
_ _ _
Following at a covert distance, and it had still been an easy drive. With an hour or two left to go, Sgt. Jel’ke had done the driving, leaving Captain Ce’lani to do the sensible thing and get some sleep. Honestly, it was kind of a relief. The Captain had been keyed up over Warrick, and after finally getting out of the bunker it was nice not to make small talk.
Thank the goddess the woman was sensible, but even so, she still had it bad…
…At least I haven’t had to make small talk along the… waitaminute…
Jel’ke frowned as the autocab turned in off the highway and pulled slowly on to the median. There was no doubt about it, the cab had diverted off the drive and was heading out of sight into…
…Well, fuck me…
Being a Deathshead Commando meant being down in the blood and the mud, deployed to some of the worst situations known to woman… but, every so often, it also put you in the way of protecting the great and the powerful.
Jel’ke knew Big Money when she saw it.
“Captain? You need to wake up.” Jel’ke pulled to a stop on the shoulder of the road, “I think we have a problem.”
_ _ _
It was early afternoon when Aku closed the file on his omni-pad.
The end of his tour had passed. He’d survived… at least on the outside. It wouldn't do to look anything less than your best, after all.
On the inside was another matter. His mistress, the Cliffsinger Tranja, had torn apart his every performance from the time he stepped on stage until the final note. Nothing was right. Nothing was good enough. While she hadn’t said he was an embarrassment as an initiate, she hadn’t needed to. The words had hung in the air - tangible, if unspoken.
This was his life.
Sitting in the dark of the enclave’s library, he thought about the tour. It had been an abject misery. If not for Kas’lin and Ka’mara, he’d probably have lost his mind under the pressure.
…If only things were different. I could be a regular guy. Maybe I could have met them instead, or someone like them! Started a family and lived a normal life…
His eyes crept back to his omni-pad. As miserable as he was at that moment, he knew he was telling himself a lie. Even if it had all been different, there was still the music. It burned inside, begging to be let out, and he yearned to make it happen. Even though his mistress seemed determined to sink his hopes into the Deeps, there was still the music. It could not be denied.
He’d kept away from the other initiates after returning to the enclave. They were his competition. He couldn’t see them as anything else, now… but inside it felt like a losing battle. Only one of them would inherit their mistress’ position and title, and it didn't seem likely that it would be him.
In desperation, he’d turned to the archives.
Cliffsinging was old. It was respected. Revered. Generations upon generations of Singers had practiced their art, handing down their names. Over time, the art had become codified… the Singers had become living treasures… but the original works survived. Every generation had added something of their own.
He’d delved deep into the stacks, diving through the recordings, searching the early works. There were files and archives and even printed records… He’d torn through all of them, not knowing what he was looking for until he’d found it.
The song was old - ancient, even - and written by one of the Singers whose name had not become selected as the final Twelve of Shil. The music was haunting, and it burned with a vibrancy that he didn't see in the more modern works - the kind of thing so often in demand now. There was almost no music - the singer's voice rang out alone, echoing off the cliffs accompanied only by a single steel arecha… but the song spoke to him.
The language was stilted with age, but as he’d translated it into more modern terms, it felt comfortable… it had the yearning that he felt inside, and which almost seemed Human in its power as he transcribed and updated it for his presentation.
It was traditional. It was very traditional. If he was going to reclaim his Mistress’ approval, this was what he needed.
He’d give his performance tonight, in front of his Mistress and the others. Show them he was good enough. Show her that he was better than the rest.
The music called and he had to answer.
Aku sighed again, wondering what the twins were doing at school right now. It had to be better than here.
_ _ _
“You are being such a bitch!” Kas’lin said hotly, scowling over the table at Dihsala. Ka’mara scowled over at the girl before joining in. “She’s right. There’s no call for this kind of behavior!”
“You two brought it on yourselves!” Dihsala crossed her arms defiantly, while Desi slumped the chair, resting her head on one fist, and steadfastly refused to join in.
“What are you talking about!? You’re twisting our arms… and… AND! you’re sucking up to Jax’mi!” Kas’lin was on her feet now, pointing at Dihsala, and Kas’lin rose in defense. There wasn't much more she could add to that.
“I don’t suck up to anyone!” Dihsala snapped coldly, though Jaxmi sat back, preening. It was the first happy look on the Chel’xa girl's face, as she’d been left desperately trying to keep the Japanese out of some city called Mecca. “You two brought it on yourselves, sucking up to England with that marriage proposal. You didn't want to join in, so this is what you get for coming late!”
“There’s nothing to get.” Kas’lin swept a hand up at the map on the screen. “They’ve completely swept everything out of Africa!”
“Well, that’s what you get for joining late. Anything you want to take, you can take out of France,” Dihsala said with finality. “Isn't that right, Lark?”
Khe’lark was looking at her omni-pad unhappily, saying nothing. Dihsala turned to look at her this time. “Lark?”
“It’s fine… Really…” Lark said unhappily.
“What?” Dihsala started to frown, and Desi sat up taking notice. “What’s ‘fine’?”
“Well, I didn't want to tell you this… but I think the Czechs are going to declare independence and revolt…”
Kas’lin closed her eyes and settled back in her chair.
The casualties for everyone along the French front lines had been catastrophic, the Spanish were useless, and now things were going to the Deeps with Austria…
…The things I do for extra credit…
_ _ _
“Well, I think the points we spent working on the Czechs and the Slovenes are paying off handsomely,” Let’zi said confidently, though the look around the table wasn’t encouraging.
“At least something is.” Pris grimaced, gesturing up at the map. “I hate to say it, but I don’t think France can last much longer.”
“She’s right. Rotating units up from the South kept the Germans out of Paris,” Sephir sighed gloomily. “But morale was shot with the units we rotated back South. We hoped they’d recover, but with Spain and Italy attacking? Unless we catch a break, I think our whole army will mutiny soon.”
“They can’t keep it up. They’ve lost all their colonies, now they have to fight in every direction at once.” Let’zi shook her head and tried sounding confident, though it was dimmed. “They can't do it. No one could!”
“She’s right, and England is mobilized now.” Melondi studied the map carefully, “Japan is all over the Ottomans in the South. Russia is… well… holding their own…”
“I’m doing the best I can…” Nestha huffed, crossing her arms. “Though yeah, the Ottomans are turning around and sending troops back South.”
“That’s right,” Melondi said brightly. “Besides, now we have Belda on our side!”
The girls looked over at Belda… who was staring off into space in a world of her own.
“Look, let’s call it a day. Bel has to go get dressed.” Mel grinned as Belda looked up, utterly lost. “She’s got a big evening.”
_ _ _
“Lieutenant, you aren't going to believe this…”
Lt. Peheli Tala looked over from the control board warily to where Sgt Diani was sitting in the right seat at observation. The bunker pods were all jumbled up with Captain Ton’is and Sgt. Jel’ke out on their trip, leaving Tala to fill in. It was a nice change of pace from running checks in the service corridors and updating the gear in the bunker.
Diani had been running the boards while telling long war stories to Sgt Vaeko, who was busily running the odds on that morning’s ‘wargame’ while monitoring the girls’ strategy sessions.
Words like that out of nowhere were not what she’d wanted to hear.
Diani and Vaeko had been keeping up a constant stream of conversation, both talking and only mostly listening to the other. It was enough to make her miss the quiet of the tunnels, and she’d started to tune out the idle chatter. Diani’s words snapped her back to reality in an instant, her heart pounding.
“Report Sgt!” Tala snapped the words out, but she was already pulling up the campus map on the main board, checking frantically for any sitreps from the ground team. No alarms had gone off yet, but it was probably only seconds away.
…Where's the alarm? Why hasn't anyone punched the alarm!? I’ll have to call Agent Duvari, and…
“It’s Captain Ton’is and Jel’ke.” Diani had a cheesy grin plastered over her wide features. “They need us to make some calls and get em a hotel room… You aren’t gonna believe where.”
Tala could feel her heart thudding in her chest. No alarms had gone off. There was no intrusion along the perimeter…
“A… a what?”
_ _ _
The Imperial Ocean Reserve was everything that Tom could have hoped for. It was old by Shil’vati standards, but that didn't mean tired. It meant historic, and walking into the lobby conjured up images only found in history books. The Reserve was a place where parasols graced the lawns in Summer and moonlight walks on the open beach were the norm. On Earth, it was the sort of place you could envision steamer trunks and top hats.
There were three restaurants along the veranda, and a bar, shops, and sumptuous indoor pool that served guests all year long. The hotel was vast. Not in the sense of catering to all comers, but spacious. It occupied its grounds like a crowning jewel.
As for their room?
It had a luxurious bed he could get lost in, more than capable of sleeping six Shil’vati. While he usually wasn’t big on the details, even he noticed the richly embroidered linens, what seemed like down pillows, the plush towels in the marble bathroom, well-stocked bar, and an in-room omni-pad to call for room service and requests.
That the whole suite lay beneath the ocean, with a glass roof and walls looking out from their bedroom at the surrounding coral reef, didn’t hurt either.
It was quite a place, but as the girls got started with the unpacking, he slipped out. It had always been his habit to poke around, and finding the best place for dinner reservations seemed like a good idea. A few minutes scouting out the restaurants would save time later…
At least, that had been the idea. The verandah surrounding the hotel proper had a lovely view directly off the beach, and as anyone would expect, it drew admiring guests… One of which happened to be Lady Vonde, the Duchess of House Jo’lare.
Tom hadn't seen the woman since Pre-term, when she’d attached herself to him in the tour, insistently tried to get him to ‘come for a visit,' and pinched his ass while showing her daughter around the campus. She’d been noteworthy in managing to do it more discreetly than most, but still…
Just at the moment Lady Vonde was in a shouting match against someone named Duchess Pyanfar, who’d swarmed down on him only a minute before Vonde. Pyanfar had started in on him with her retinue, breathlessly cooing about how charmed she was to meet him and wanting to hear all the details about Human marriages, and of course, she’d seen the captivating video on the news. It was just sooo rustic, positively enthralling, going native like that!
But Vonde spotted him and wasn’t having any of it, loudly insisting that he’d agreed to visit, and did Pyanfar know who she was!? Then her retinue started pushing Vonde’s retinue, while a crowd started to gather around the scene…
Tom was the only non-Shil in the room, and being 6’2 and pink, it wasn't easy to make himself invisible. He still did his best, though it was more a testament to the crowd of angry retainers around Vonde and Pyanfar that he got as far as the door of the bar. He kept his eyes behind him on the crowd as he made a break for it, barging first into a glass followed by a massive pair of breasts…
“Oh! Geeze…” Tom stepped back, “I’m terribly sorry Miss…”
A meaty hand clamped down on his arm painfully, and Tom looked up into the ruddy face of Tirola Reshay, Nestha’s kho-mother.
Disheveled and stinking of alcohol,Tirola wasn't in good shape. She’d emerged from the bar with her own crowd of hangers-on, including a Shil’vati guy hanging on her arm, and while she’d somehow managed to hang on to her glass, the collision had drenched her top in Blue Grail. Her eyes widened as she looked down at him and she growled, “You!!!”
…Alright, she isn’t in a good mood, though the last time I saw her she’d been unconscious in a pool of her own vomit…
Tirola made the mistake of clamping down harder, and Tom cried out in pained surprise. “Hey, get your damn hand off me!”
“Oh, you’re coming with me." Tirola tugged him closer…
Tom’s fingers spread and he jabbed. The strike was clumsy and he was off balance, but as eye-pokes went, it did the job.
Tirola let go of him and bellowed, her hand flying to one eye. The skinny guy thrown off her arm shrieked in bantam fury as he was thrown to the ground.
Then things got a little crazy.
_ _ _
Sgt. Jel’ke knew Big Money. She also knew when Big Money was fobbing her off. Thus far, they’d made it to the lobby and the reservation staff.
The ‘request’ had come down through official channels, but the Manager wasn't happy about it. Despite some ever-so-polite words, it seemed another call eventually came through and did the trick. The Manager accepted their story, and started offering over a room key with only a trace of disdain…
Out in the lobby, there was a scream.
It was followed a minute later by the sight of Tom Warrick pelting up the hall at a dead run and ducking into one of the gift shops, pursued by several mobs of women caught up in fighting each other as much as chasing after him.
“Captain, I-”
It was no use. Ce’lani Ton’is had already charged, and was racing across the lobby in hot pursuit. Glancing down at their meager baggage, she had the presence of mind to snatch the key from the Manager’s hand before she could take it back.
Somewhere up the hall Ce’lani bellowed.
Moments later a thunderous crash rumbled from somewhere up the hall. It was followed by the sound of delicate things breaking, considerably more shouting, and a soft cloud of plaster dust that gently wafted around the corner.
Jel’ke turned to the wide-eyed receptionist behind the counter and gave him a rakish smile. “So, what time is dinner?”

Me (25M) and my GF (22F) have been officially together for just over a year now but started seeing each other around 18 months ago and are currently having some issues with new distance in the relationship.
When we first met she lived 40 minutes away, which at the time didnt feel so bad. We took things slow (mostly on my terms) but ended up fostering a committed relationship. She began to look to move closer to me, viewed several places to rent and even got a job near me. Though i currently live with my parents she spent most days with me and stayed most nights while she was looking somewhere.
The first half of last year was great, we went away together a lot made a tonne of memories in a short time and built a genuinely amazing relationship. My relationship before her was 8 years long, and ive felt so much more love in this newer one. Im basically trying to say that things were very good, everything was so easy and it just felt like we were made to be a team.
Summer came around and she ended up landing her dream job opportunity of becoming a tattoo artist (apprentice position). The studio was 50 minutes away, but it didnt seem so bad i was just thrilled for her because these positions are famously hard to get. A couple months later she ended up getting a place over there. On a good day it's 50 mins away, on a bad more like 70.
Initially she was working 3 days and living off of savings as well as the small amount she earned at the time. So we still had time to make the trips and stay with eachother for a few nights at a time. However she now works a full 5 days, but tattoo apprenticeships arent particularly lucrative so shes even having to now look for part time work to fit around it.
Im freelance, which is both a blessing and a curse, it means i can be flexible with my time and work from home at her place so we can see eachother on evenings. It also means that my work can be super sporadic and lead to unfortunate timings where we may not see eachother for over a week or more.
But things have been particularly tough recently. We had a bit of a rough patch before Christmas where she didnt feel i was making enough effort and felt that i wasnt committed to our future (she was right to a degree in that i hadnt been doing much to show my intent and put that effort in) then she ended up kissing another guy on a random night out. She owned up to it after it had happened and we took some time off, i made the decision to let her back and try to rebuild some trust. Though many people might think thats not a great move i was happy with my decision and things actually got way way better, we had some conversations and loads of time together over Christmas which was a blessing. Our relationship genuinely got a second lease of life after that.
However the pain from that still festered and i still struggled to fully trust her, the past couple of months ive been quite anxious and maybe sometimes overbearing and just feeling suspicious which has definitely had an effect on her too.
The last month in particular has been difficult as shes had to do things on her usual days off and work has become more busy for me, typically on her days off too. So weve been trying to block out time together but its proven difficult.
This past week ive noticed that shes been a little off, i managed to stay at hers last night and decided to semi address the situation. I was upset and didnt put on my best performance (tears etc) but basically she said she feels like our relationship and her life where she currently lives are two separate things, like shes living 2 lives almost. She said that she feels like she cant establish a social life where she lives or fully settle because of our relationship. Shes always been quite needy (i dont mean that in a negative way) in the sense that she likes to have me around all the time, she basically said that all of the issues that have come with the distance are not what she wants in a relationship. Both of our love languages are physical touch and quality time which arent helped by distance.
The further issue is that we dont have an end goal/distance closer in sight. I will be moving out of my parents house this summer to a city that is even further away (probably 90 minutes total), she considered moving to the city too but says she doesnt want to make the move if im the only reason (which is fair enough i understand that perspective fully). I had tried to push her to move and look for an apprenticeship in that city but she seems to think it will be impossible as theyre super hard to get.
During our conversation last night she said she had kind of made the decision to settle there because it was easier than moving again. We didnt really come to any sort of conclusion, as far as i know we are still together but it feels like its all hanging in the balance.
I want to make this work, i believe we have a good relationship and the only reason for it to end would be 50 minutes of driving, which feels like a waste to me. I considered taking more time off to wrap our heads around the issue but I'm anxious that more space isnt the solution. Im concerned that she will now think im being too needy and anxious as ive made it very clear i dont want things to end.
Any advice would be so appreciated, even just a new perspective!
TLDR: GF (22F) of just over a year recently moved 50 minutes away for work. We have a very good relationship (barre one rough patch where she kissed someone else as our relationship took a hefty dip). Things have been busy and we've struggled to see eachother more than once a week recently. I will be moving further away (90 mins) in summer and we dont have an end goal of distance closer in sight. Im freelance so sometimes can work at her place and see eachother on evenings, she had time to look to move to the city that im moving to but has decided to settle where she is as she doesnt want to make the move just because i am.

The yellow monstrosity that is my step sister's car and a house party on wheels just barreled past me and down the drive. I had just put our oldest on the bus, discussing on the way whether or not the strays stationed in the back are in fact, pittie mixed breeds or boxer mutts. We couldn't decide, but he had a clever choice of word play pertaining to the burnt sienna one, Tybee, and how he was a "pretty pittie". I blindly groped on my newly built deck for a Newport Red clip, popped it into my mouth and waved feebly in my step sib's direction. "It's early," I groaned aloud , seeing that the screen of my phone read: 6:10 a.m.
2 and a half hours of sleep, nothing in my stomach, and I was low on my battery life. The instant coffee tasted like week old decaf. I felt myself grimace as mechanically I swallowed the muddy swill entering the kitchen and trying to wake up . My limbs felt stiff and paralyzed from the uncomfortable position I'd sat in for hours, scrolling through the magical world of Reddit. Worry gnawed at the edges of my skull: was the toilet gasket in need of repair or was the valve cracked ? What was the easiest way to tackle the nest of ancient cobwebs crawling with daddy long legs beneath the cabinets ? How much would replacing the warped and lopsided table in the back room cost? Was my mother nickle and diming me to death again?
I was in no mood to vacuum the loose debris on the carpeted floor using a 30 dollar vacuum that had a panic attack each time I pressed on. The leaking toilet suffusing the confines of my bathroom with stagnant sewer scent practically made me gag everytime I went. My fear of blind spiders with stilt like legs did not inspire any form of motivation to vacuum them up. I feared they would return with an army of other spiders, related to their kind that could actually bite. Still, I knew I had to continue moving forward. Sure, I grew tired of rearranging books, toys, and the like. I sure as hell was sick to death of my mother's endless stream of criticism . I had grown weary of interacting with my stepfather due to his lack of emotional regulation and tendency to blow up on others' without a moment's notice.
My stepsister sending her partner over right before the kid's bedtime a few evenings ago so my stepsister could spend some time in her darkened room cuddling MY baby left a lot to be desired. I practically shivered with disgust as her partner attempted to hand off a mixed drink to me, as if plying me with liquor(when I'm an alcoholic and have an abhorrent hate for spiced rum) would change my mind. Sure, let me hand you my ten month old because my stepsister is mentally ill and trying to reclaim a lost part of the opportunity she missed out on raising her own daughter. Psych! Our oldest also had just finished bathing and felt left out. "Can I come to?" He asked sweetly. I ruffled his damp gold head and explained to him that his brother was not going to be watched by my sketchy step sister.
We watched "Bluey " a majority of last night and I felt bubbles of happiness stir within me. I usually put the kiddos down around 6 or 6:30 but because I waited until nearly 7:30, our youngest slept through the entire night. Our oldest busied himself drawing with the new metallic markers I bought him, while his little brother crawled around and I tried not to panic, anticipating the chance he might put something in his mouth like a dead leaf that had blown in from outside.
You would never guess my step-dad issued a barrage of curse words in my presence the other morning with the calm demeanor he greeted me by. He kept to himself tending to errands he was forever indebted to while I went for a drive with my mother and tried to forget the nasty comments he made behind my back. All day my mother was just edgy. Her uptight nature caused panic and anxiety to consume me. It didn't help that she still interfere with my parenting, that she thought I was absent minded was nothing new- yet the alarming rate with which she reminded me of x, and y or asked if I remembered to do this and that drove me nuts.
I had to hold back every unpleasant , and biting retort I felt like voicing aloud in order to maintain the delicate balance that existed between her and I. I was not keen on being screamed at. She was very vocal when it came to pointing out my flaws. "You need to get it together, " she often snapped. "And I don't like that you're back on those meds. " you mean the ones that are literally enabling me to function like a normal member of society right now? Again as frustrated as I was that my mother failed to understand the depths of what it meant to have Generalized Anxiety Disorder or PPD, what I chose to take for panic attacks was none of her business but between I and the doctor who prescribed it to me.
Her husband could rant and rave until he was blue in the face about how lazy I was or what a bad mother I could be because I used a little too much screen time. Because sometimes, I drifted into the fog of mom burnout, anticipating the old days in which I could comfortably nap without being harassed or read without worrying about the piercing cry of our youngest making me jump out of my skin. Those days were also rife with blackouts, binge drinking marathons, a revolving door of rehabs and inpatients , you living on the streets and shooting poison into your veins, as I watched helplessly from afar; rocking our firstborn to sleep and crying into my pillow.
Those days are long behind me, I'd like to think. I'm much more willing to work toward rebuilding myself from the ground up. I'm more focused on treasuring moments spent with my boys' who are my world than I am entertaining my mother's own insecurities she projects onto me. When the sky deepens to that periwinkle hue, I find comfort playing the underwater lullaby on my phone to get our baby to bed and my mind to shut off. I lose myself in the sounds of light piano, flowing water, as birds cry out in the distance.
Maybe, I'm on a sand bar somewhere, the sting of salt spraying my face. Waves froth and foam at the shoreline. I watch the sky bleed out, a fire sunset, perched on the slope of a dark Grey jetty. It's escaping, using the endless lengths of my imagination , meditating , that allows me to continue to thrive . I thank God I haven't lost my cool yet. I thank God the hurtful comments I'm overflowing during the heat of the moment never make it past my lips. Instead, I write to you. Every word I pen brings me some degree of clarity.
I love you so much. I miss you everyday that you're gone. I FEEL your absence. I regret not saying more or being harder on you. But, there's nothing I can do to alter what was meant to be. I have a better chance now than I ever did when you were alive to make something of my life.

Can anyone recommend a resource where I can find some nice Interesting loops of between 5 and 10 miles within 1 hours driving distance of Doncaster.
Preferably something fairly flat.
TIA

Wanting to impregnate a woman for real so badly, the breeding kink has been driving me crazy and all i want is to make it happen for real and just please this urge to become a breeding bull.
No drama, no roleplay, no nonsense or wasting time. All want is to find someone like minded and enjoy the breeding and lactation kink together.
I am not able to travel long distances at the moment but can host if needed. I would be willing to help by splitting up costs or covering things when you would travel to me.
No Age or location preference either. It doesn't matter where you are from or how old you are as long as you could travel in the foreseeable future. Bonus points if you are also working out.
My three most dominant kinks are: impregnation, sex during the pregnancy, lactation Other kinks/fantasies i have are: hucow, anr, abf, mommy stuff, breastfeeding, milking, incest and inbreeding (in porn)
When thinking about the breeding kink i see myself as a breeding bull making sure the fertile womb of my breeding mare is always full of my fertile sperm. I absolutely love everything around the breeding kink and don't have any limits when it comes down to that. I love embracing the primal instincts and the urge to procreate and impregnate a woman. Ideally you would see yourself like a broodmare and embrace the breeding kink just like me and want to have passionate impregnation sex as much as possible.
I am tall, have blue eyes, blonde hair, wear glasses and a beard together with a dad bod but very fit and healthy, workout 5-6 times a week and eat clean. My sperm fertility is above the average and i can easily cum multiple times a day. I also have a crazy high libido. Can also provide health certificates to proof my great fertility.
Please introduce yourself properly and tell me more about you as a person, your kinks and limits as well as your plans with the breeding kink and what the breeding kink entails from your point of view.

Wanting to impregnate a woman for real so badly, the breeding kink has been driving me crazy and all i want is to make it happen for real and just please this urge to become a breeding bull.
No drama, no roleplay, no nonsense or wasting time. All want is to find someone like minded and enjoy the breeding and lactation kink together.
I am not able to travel long distances at the moment but can host if needed. I would be willing to help by splitting up costs or covering things when you would travel to me.
No Age or location preference either. It doesn't matter where you are from or how old you are as long as you could travel in the foreseeable future. Bonus points if you are also working out.
My three most dominant kinks are: impregnation, sex during the pregnancy, lactation Other kinks/fantasies i have are: hucow, anr, abf, mommy stuff, breastfeeding, milking, incest and inbreeding (in porn)
When thinking about the breeding kink i see myself as a breeding bull making sure the fertile womb of my breeding mare is always full of my fertile sperm. I absolutely love everything around the breeding kink and don't have any limits when it comes down to that. I love embracing the primal instincts and the urge to procreate and impregnate a woman. Ideally you would see yourself like a broodmare and embrace the breeding kink just like me and want to have passionate impregnation sex as much as possible.
I am tall, have blue eyes, blonde hair, wear glasses and a beard together with a dad bod but very fit and healthy, workout 5-6 times a week and eat clean. My sperm fertility is above the average and i can easily cum multiple times a day. I also have a crazy high libido. Can also provide health certificates to proof my great fertility.
Please introduce yourself properly and tell me more about you as a person, your kinks and limits as well as your plans with the breeding kink and what the breeding kink entails from your point of view.

Hello everybody, a friend of mine is converting from Mac to PC (rejoice!) and wishes to build his first PC, and I'll gladly help him to assemble it. He sent me a list of components he picked but doesn't have a lot of experience. The grand total shouldn't be above 2500$/€/CHF, but he'll also need a good monitor (27" preferably) that works well with the build, adding another 500 max to the total cost. Since we're buying in Switzerland, we'll have to pick the parts ourselves, so any deals or rebates for USA or Germany won't really apply, plus there's usually a markup of 200-300 to the final total (everything's slightly more expensive here), so there's no need to make super exact calculations. If the grand total came down to 2500, monitor included, even better. The PC will be used mainly for gaming. The part list a mere suggestion, he's open to swapping parts if comparable/more efficient but at a better price - or if a lower tier part makes more sense, because the performance difference isn't really noticeable. Regarding the water cooling... I've built a few PCs myself but never with water cooling. I'd advise against it, especially for a first time builder, but due to my limited experience and knowledge, I'm not sure if a air-cooled 4080+13700k will be enough. What do you suggest? Also, DDR4 or DDR5? The part list is with a DDR5 mobo. Thank you!   PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core i7-13700K 3.4 GHz 16-Core Processor	€448.97 @ Amazon Deutschland
CPU Cooler	ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 A-RGB 48.8 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler	€141.89 @ Galaxus
Motherboard	MSI PRO Z790-P WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard	€260.97 @ Amazon Deutschland
Memory	Kingston FURY Beast 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-5600 CL40 Memory	€239.90 @ Alza
Storage	Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	€93.05 @ Amazon Deutschland
Video Card	MSI SUPRIM X GeForce RTX 4080 16 GB Video Card	€1447.99 @ Mindfactory
Case	be quiet! Pure Base 500DX ATX Mid Tower Case	€116.00 @ Galaxus
Power Supply	MSI MPG A1000G 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	€194.10 @ Amazon Deutschland
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	€2942.87
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-03-24 11:42 CET+0100

Me (25M) and my GF (22F) have been officially together for just over a year now but started seeing each other around 18 months ago and are currently having some issues with new distance in the relationship.
When we first met she lived 40 minutes away, which at the time didnt feel so bad. We took things slow (mostly on my terms) but ended up fostering a committed relationship. She began to look to move closer to me, viewed several places to rent and even got a job near me. Though i currently live with my parents she spent most days with me and stayed most nights while she was looking somewhere.
The first half of last year was great, we went away together a lot made a tonne of memories in a short time and built a genuinely amazing relationship. My relationship before her was 8 years long, and ive felt so much more love in this newer one. Im basically trying to say that things were very good, everything was so easy and it just felt like we were made to be a team.
Summer came around and she ended up landing her dream job opportunity of becoming a tattoo artist (apprentice position). The studio was 50 minutes away, but it didnt seem so bad i was just thrilled for her because these positions are famously hard to get. A couple months later she ended up getting a place over there. On a good day it's 50 mins away, on a bad more like 70.
Initially she was working 3 days and living off of savings as well as the small amount she earned at the time. So we still had time to make the trips and stay with eachother for a few nights at a time. However she now works a full 5 days, but tattoo apprenticeships arent particularly lucrative so shes even having to now look for part time work to fit around it.
Im freelance, which is both a blessing and a curse, it means i can be flexible with my time and work from home at her place so we can see eachother on evenings. It also means that my work can be super sporadic and lead to unfortunate timings where we may not see eachother for over a week or more.
But things have been particularly tough recently. We had a bit of a rough patch before Christmas where she didnt feel i was making enough effort and felt that i wasnt committed to our future (she was right to a degree in that i hadnt been doing much to show my intent and put that effort in) then she ended up kissing another guy on a random night out. She owned up to it after it had happened and we took some time off, i made the decision to let her back and try to rebuild some trust. Though many people might think thats not a great move i was happy with my decision and things actually got way way better, we had some conversations and loads of time together over Christmas which was a blessing. Our relationship genuinely got a second lease of life after that.
However the pain from that still festered and i still struggled to fully trust her, the past couple of months ive been quite anxious and maybe sometimes overbearing and just feeling suspicious which has definitely had an effect on her too.
The last month in particular has been difficult as shes had to do things on her usual days off and work has become more busy for me, typically on her days off too. So weve been trying to block out time together but its proven difficult.
This past week ive noticed that shes been a little off, i managed to stay at hers last night and decided to semi address the situation. I was upset and didnt put on my best performance (tears etc) but basically she said she feels like our relationship and her life where she currently lives are two separate things, like shes living 2 lives almost. She said that she feels like she cant establish a social life where she lives or fully settle because of our relationship. Shes always been quite needy (i dont mean that in a negative way) in the sense that she likes to have me around all the time, she basically said that all of the issues that have come with the distance are not what she wants in a relationship. Both of our love languages are physical touch and quality time which arent helped by distance.
The further issue is that we dont have an end goal/distance closer in sight. I will be moving out of my parents house this summer to a city that is even further away (probably 90 minutes total), she considered moving to the city too but says she doesnt want to make the move if im the only reason (which is fair enough i understand that perspective fully). I had tried to push her to move and look for an apprenticeship in that city but she seems to think it will be impossible as theyre super hard to get.
During our conversation last night she said she had kind of made the decision to settle there because it was easier than moving again. We didnt really come to any sort of conclusion, as far as i know we are still together but it feels like its all hanging in the balance.
I want to make this work, i believe we have a good relationship and the only reason for it to end would be 50 minutes of driving, which feels like a waste to me. I considered taking more time off to wrap our heads around the issue but I'm anxious that more space isnt the solution. Im concerned that she will now think im being too needy and anxious as ive made it very clear i dont want things to end.
Any advice would be so appreciated, even just a new perspective!
TLDR: GF (22F) of just over a year recently moved 50 minutes away for work. We have a very good relationship (barre one rough patch where she kissed someone else as our relationship took a hefty dip). Things have been busy and we've struggled to see eachother more than once a week recently. I will be moving further away (90 mins) in summer and we dont have an end goal of distance closer in sight. Im freelance so sometimes can work at her place and see eachother on evenings, she had time to look to move to the city that im moving to but has decided to settle where she is as she doesnt want to make the move just because i am.

[Trigger warnings: addiction struggles and death/physical harm to children]
[Names have been changed out of respect for the dead and to protect the privacy of the community]
It's been over fifteen minutes of debating with myself. Do I say something to him or not? Would he even take the warning seriously? Would he just write me off as the town lunatic or, worse, have me committed for being mentally unsound? Would I ever be able to look Lilly in the eye again if I don't say anything?
That last question is the one that sticks the most stubbornly in my head, echoing throughout my internal struggle. I can't escape it and I know there is no way around it. I have to say something.
I walk down the street to Eric's home and am reminded how quickly the sidewalk quality deteriorates as you move away from the town center with cracks deep enough to lose whole wallets in, nevermind a single coin, and great slabs of concrete heaved from years of freezing and thawing cycles. I stop at the bottom of a similarly cracked and uneven concrete stairwell making a roughly one story ascent up the hillside to the home's entry. As I face the house, I glance to my right, where the street meanders of into the town center, and to the left, where the road vanishes suddenly in the perilous blind curve of Deadman's Turn.
I try to talk myself out of going up the steps because maybe he is not even home yet. That excuse evaporates when I turn to check behind me. Eric's beat up vehicle, constructed more of rust than metal at this point, is parked in the small gravel lot across the street facing the house. That's it, no more delaying it. I straighten myself up and begin the climb up the exterior stairs.
Not even halfway up the stairs, a friendly voice greets me from the front porch.
"Hey there, haven't seen you in awhile!" Eric smiles down at me and leans forward to rest his elbows on the railing. He has always been slender, but he looks especially gaunt today in the harsh late afternoon sun. The wrinkles in his face deepen and multiply as he smiles and the gray curls of hair sticking out from under his baseball cap threaten to creep into his eyes as even they smile.
"Hey, Eric. How're your folks doing?" I reply, relieved to not have to go straight to the hard conversation.
We exchange a few pleasantries about the warming weather and family, but it isn't long before his smile slumps. He studies my face for a moment and then asks, "so, what can I do for you, neighbor?"
I gulp, draw a deep breath, and start. "Eric, I need to tell you about something that is going to happen, but first, I will tell you about something that already happened..."
[REDACTED]
Eric has not taken a single drag from his cigarette in at least five minutes. The ash just tumbles off in silent, little cascades with each tremble of his lip. His eyes stare off in the direction of the far wall, but it is clear his mind is still in the memory. Finally he clears his throat and breaks the silence, removing the cigarette and stubbing it out in the ashtray on the railing before speaking.
"I never told nobody about that before... and I know John took it to the grave." He paused and looked up suddenly to lock eyes with me. "So, what's this got to do with something else gonna happen?"
"I just needed you to know that this is for real so you would take this next part seriously... I'm sorry. Tonight you are going to get drunk and in the morning you will still be drunk when you get into your vehicle to go to the pharmacy for your mom's medicine. At that intersection there-" I point to the end of the block headed in toward town, "-you hit a family in the crosswalk. Two-year-old Bella dies on the scene and seven-year-old Anthony is permanently scarred, physically and mentally."
Eric has the thousand yard stare as he looks through me and into the depths of some unknown universe. I can see on his face that he believes me as he silently processes everything I have said. The silence grows deafening as each second passes. Or is it minutes? Whatever the case, the golden hour light is now bathing the entire street as the sun settles into the horizon.
I continue, "You can stop it from happening. You know what happens and the events leading up to it, so you know what to avoid."
"To avoid?" Eric's eyes return to the here and now and he is back to looking me in the eyes, pleading in them this time.
"This all starts because of getting drunk tonight."
"Ah." He nods lightly and lights a new cigarette.
"Eric..." I start, but he is miles away again, staring off into the setting sun. There is nothing more I can do here and I know it. "You take care, ok?"
As dusk creeps into night, I pretend to turn in early for the night and turn out the lights so I can watch more discretely from my porch. It isn't long before his poker buddies start arriving. Pretty soon the night air is filled with the chatter of indistinct conversations punctuated with bouts if laughter. The sound is reminiscent of rolling thunder in a distant summer storm, building and waning, but more continuous. The noise all begins to fade to the background as my rouse of sleep becomes reality.
I wake with a start. I rush to grab my phone to check the time and exhale with relief - it is still early. I shuffle to the bathroom to brush my teeth and find myself staring at my mirror image. The guilt and anxiety is starting to really take a toll, especially in the area around my eyes.
I boil some water on the stuff and absent-mindedly dip the teabag in. I return to my discrete perch on my enclosed front porch and settle into the pile of throw pillows on my porch swing.
It is mid-morning when Eric finally emerges from his front door and stumbles down the steps toward the road, barely catching himself before falling. He fumbles in his pockets and stands, swaying forward and back. He is staring at the object in his hand that he pulled from his pocket, but he is too far away for me to see what it is.
He takes a jerking step forward and nearly topples as he misjudges the step off the curb. He pauses, still swaying, in the middle of the roadway, as if considering his next move and I rise from my seat to get a clearer view. My heart sinks as he resumes his awkwardly zig-zagging trek and his destination is now crystal clear.
He stops again upon arriving at the driver's side door of his vehicle, but I can't quite see what is happening so I lean in closer to the window. Eric suddenly looks up directly at my porch and I drop to the floor to avoid being seen. I am on the floor for nearly a minute when I remember that the sunlight outside creates a mirror effect on the windows and I am not visible from that distance. I creep back up to the window to peek out and see Eric is now staring down the street toward the crosswalk.
I mouth a silent prayer, but it is cut short as Eric opens the door and falls into the driver's seat. There is a loud wrenching sound as the door slams shut. Moments later, the engine screeches to a start and whines as the poorly maintained vehicle struggles in the equilibrium of an idle.
Despite my windows all being closed, I can hear everything as though I am standing outside my home. Then it happens. The clunk of the vehicle shifting into gear. The pitch of the engine's whine changes slightly and the parking lot gravel crunches as the wheels roll forward across the unpaved lot.
I am fully standing now, my heart in my throat. I turn to look down the street to where the family is approaching the crosswalk, two children leading the way, collecting flowers and leaves off of the ground as they go. My eyes dart back to Eric's vehicle as he pulls up to the roadway. Back to the family that has now arrived at the crosswalk, Lilly is deep in conversation with another adult and is trailing behind the kids ever so slightly. This is it, but I am frozen in place. Eric turns on to the roadway with the lurch of a too heavy foot on the acceleration pedal.
He is already four or five yards along when I realize... he turned the other way and is driving away from the crosswalk in the direction of the sharply curving road out of town. He chose a different future. The family crosses the road without incident, oblivious to their narrow escape from tragedy.
I inhale sharply and turn away, unable to watch the receding taillights as Eric speeds away. I open the door to my home as the distant sound of metal ripping and trees snapping thunders down the street. I pause, but I can't bring myself to look.
Eric is pinned in his now mangled vehicle in the ravine beside the curve, but will bleed out long before the ambulance arrives. I don't need to look to know how Eric's ill-fated drive has concluded. I already saw it happen last night in my other premonition.
Everytime there are two premonitions. Two alternate realities, both ending in tragedy. Someone will die and it is my choice of action or inaction that decides who. I can't pretend anymore that leaving it to fate absolves me of responsibility because my choice to not intervene seals the fate for one party or the other. The times early on when I tried to prevent anyone from dying, everyone died. Now I make the best choices I can, but there is no "good" choice.
I take one last look back at the crosswalk. The family is now across the street. The children are back to playing as the adults try to shepherd the children away from view of the collision. Lilly furrows her brow so deeply that I can see it from this distance. She is on the phone with emergency services. The sirens wail in the distance, growing louder.
It is when Eric exhales his final breath that I will be flooded with visions of the futures, forthcoming and stolen away, of all involved. Only then do I learn if I made the best choice in the cosmic scheme of things. In the ethical and psychological exercise of the Trolley Problem, did I throw the switch to the tracks that do the least harm or does the Butterfly Effect of my decision yield a monstrous hurricane in time?
I break down into tears. Not because of what has just played out, but because I'm not even given a moment to process what has occurred and the ripple effect of what I have done.
A new pair of premonitions is already playing in my mind's eye.

Link in French : Mazda lance un pavé diesel dans la mare de l'UE
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It is the humble answer of the Japanese shepherd to the Brussels shepherdess, the imagination of engineers is much better than the abstruse regulations of the EU.
The diesel on the CX-60 is not a windmill and the electricity of the hybrid is produced on board, when slowing down and braking.
In the land of the king of diesels, we're not going to come back from this. France, which has been so successful in spreading diesel engines by the hundreds of thousands, was never able to defend it when regulatory dogmatism emerged. At the same time, instead of giving up, the Japanese company Mazda has, as usual, worked without preconceived ideas on a new diesel engine that overturns all preconceived ideas about it.
The brand will soon launch a longitudinally positioned in-line 6-cylinder engine (German style) on the European market, running on diesel and emitting less than 130g of CO2. With a fuel consumption of 5.2 l/100 and a range of more than 800 kilometers, it is designed for heavy drivers who want, at 50,000 euros for a CX60, to have a work tool that does not require elaborate refueling plans as with the electric.
The straitjacket imposed on polluting engines in Brussels is perfectly respectable, as long as engineers are allowed to find the best way to clean them up. This is obviously not the case. Instead, European white-collar workers have dogmatically pointed to the solution: electric, nothing but electric.
Professor Nimbus
We need to get past the bad business of dieselgate and the flogging of all diesel engines in the same garbage can, and realize the particular advantages of this technology. With its high compression ratio, it already burns gases more completely, which explains its intrinsically lower consumption than gasoline. But, based on this observation, it was necessary to do even better and not only with downstream filtration.
Mazda sent its Professor Nimbus to the European journalists, who came to present the advantages of its new generation engine with a lot of graphics and animations. With a basic premise adopted since the wave of "downsizing": at Mazda, each job has an ideal engine size. And rather than reducing them, Daisuke Shimo assures that on a large SUV like the CX60, it is indeed a... 3.3-liter engine that should be installed. He now does it longitudinally, which allows him to add different hybrid or electric systems and transmissions in the future without any installation problems. The last in-line six-cylinder diesel presented was that of Mercedes, which had thus joined the BMW solution by abandoning the V6. But that was in… 2016.
Since then, a lot of diesel fuel has flowed into European pumps, but less and less, given the threats that are looming, particularly from certain cities that want to purely and simply ban access to diesel, without distinguishing between technologies and generations. This is obviously absurd and could be argued as blind discrimination where some diesels meet current standards. This is the case with the Mazda, which has a Crit'Air 2 sticker in France, and emissions of 128-130 g for the 2.0 l version.
How did Daisuke Shimo's team achieve this incredible result on a 1.9 ton vehicle? In several ways, starting with a dual combustion chamber whose egg-shaped design creates a mixing effect that greatly improves combustion, triggered by several differentiated injections. Combustion is thus lean, forcing the quantity of air in relation to that of fuel. This system, called "DCPCI", is the pride of the Japanese, who have also designed a block no heavier than a four-cylinder engine. It is available in 200 hp and rear-wheel drive and 254 hp and 4-wheel drive versions, with sensors engaging the front wheels if necessary.
Accelerated idling
The treatment of cold emissions is particularly well thought out, with a kind of accelerated idle at start-up to force exhaust gas recirculation and thus reduce gross NOx emissions under real-life, not laboratory, conditions. "Depending on the circumstances, the system can run for up to eight minutes," says Laurent Thézée, head of Mazda France. But the goal is to start as quickly as possible, which further accelerates the ideal temperature rise for effective filtration, especially of the SCR catalyst.
To support this already spectacular performance, Mazda used a light 48V hybrid system, a solution that it believes should be extended to the entire range in the future. It should be enough for about ten years to satisfy the rules (while waiting for the content of Euro 7) without jumping to all-electricity.
It is made up of a 0.33 kWh lithium-ion battery housed in the floor and a 12.4 kW electric motor. Mazda has calculated that on the WLTP cycle, it operates alone 37% of the time, leaving the diesel engine stopped precisely where it is least efficient. Since this happens in the city, air quality is largely preserved. The battery is powered by energy recovered during deceleration and braking.
Our test drive (read elsewhere) puts the advances provided by this winning tandem into real life, and buyers still need to be reassured. "We still have a professional clientele that is very attached to diesel and has even come back to all-electric vehicles, which are not suitable for heavy drivers," says Laurent Thézée. They are already convinced of the validity of the solution and, at 50,000 euros for the 200 hp version, we have a competitive and rational offer. What remains to be done is to reassure companies that the solution will last. This is why we have set up financing and long-term leasing solutions that exempt these users from having to resell the vehicle, in a context that may have changed. The vehicle is returned to us at the end of the contract and it is up to us to manage the rest. Even if the decisions of Brussels are unpredictable, at Mazda, we seem very confident in the next few years which will remain diesel.

Me (25M) and my GF (22F) have been officially together for just over a year now but started seeing each other around 18 months ago and are currently having some issues with new distance in the relationship.
When we first met she lived 40 minutes away, which at the time didnt feel so bad. We took things slow (mostly on my terms) but ended up fostering a committed relationship. She began to look to move closer to me, viewed several places to rent and even got a job near me. Though i currently live with my parents she spent most days with me and stayed most nights while she was looking somewhere.
The first half of last year was great, we went away together a lot made a tonne of memories in a short time and built a genuinely amazing relationship. My relationship before her was 8 years long, and ive felt so much more love in this newer one. Im basically trying to say that things were very good, everything was so easy and it just felt like we were made to be a team.
Summer came around and she ended up landing her dream job opportunity of becoming a tattoo artist (apprentice position). The studio was 50 minutes away, but it didnt seem so bad i was just thrilled for her because these positions are famously hard to get. A couple months later she ended up getting a place over there. On a good day it's 50 mins away, on a bad more like 70.
Initially she was working 3 days and living off of savings as well as the small amount she earned at the time. So we still had time to make the trips and stay with eachother for a few nights at a time. However she now works a full 5 days, but tattoo apprenticeships arent particularly lucrative so shes even having to now look for part time work to fit around it.
Im freelance, which is both a blessing and a curse, it means i can be flexible with my time and work from home at her place so we can see eachother on evenings. It also means that my work can be super sporadic and lead to unfortunate timings where we may not see eachother for over a week or more.
But things have been particularly tough recently. We had a bit of a rough patch before Christmas where she didnt feel i was making enough effort and felt that i wasnt committed to our future (she was right to a degree in that i hadnt been doing much to show my intent and put that effort in) then she ended up kissing another guy on a random night out. She owned up to it after it had happened and we took some time off, i made the decision to let her back and try to rebuild some trust. Though many people might think thats not a great move i was happy with my decision and things actually got way way better, we had some conversations and loads of time together over Christmas which was a blessing. Our relationship genuinely got a second lease of life after that.
However the pain from that still festered and i still struggled to fully trust her, the past couple of months ive been quite anxious and maybe sometimes overbearing and just feeling suspicious which has definitely had an effect on her too.
The last month in particular has been difficult as shes had to do things on her usual days off and work has become more busy for me, typically on her days off too. So weve been trying to block out time together but its proven difficult.
This past week ive noticed that shes been a little off, i managed to stay at hers last night and decided to semi address the situation. I was upset and didnt put on my best performance (tears etc) but basically she said she feels like our relationship and her life where she currently lives are two separate things, like shes living 2 lives almost. She said that she feels like she cant establish a social life where she lives or fully settle because of our relationship. Shes always been quite needy (i dont mean that in a negative way) in the sense that she likes to have me around all the time, she basically said that all of the issues that have come with the distance are not what she wants in a relationship. Both of our love languages are physical touch and quality time which arent helped by distance.
The further issue is that we dont have an end goal/distance closer in sight. I will be moving out of my parents house this summer to a city that is even further away (probably 90 minutes total), she considered moving to the city too but says she doesnt want to make the move if im the only reason (which is fair enough i understand that perspective fully). I had tried to push her to move and look for an apprenticeship in that city but she seems to think it will be impossible as theyre super hard to get.
During our conversation last night she said she had kind of made the decision to settle there because it was easier than moving again. We didnt really come to any sort of conclusion, as far as i know we are still together but it feels like its all hanging in the balance.
I want to make this work, i believe we have a good relationship and the only reason for it to end would be 50 minutes of driving, which feels like a waste to me. I considered taking more time off to wrap our heads around the issue but I'm anxious that more space isnt the solution. Im concerned that she will now think im being too needy and anxious as ive made it very clear i dont want things to end.
Any advice would be so appreciated, even just a new perspective!
TLDR: GF (22F) of just over a year recently moved 50 minutes away for work. We have a very good relationship (barre one rough patch where she kissed someone else as our relationship took a hefty dip). Things have been busy and we've struggled to see eachother more than once a week recently. I will be moving further away (90 mins) in summer and we dont have an end goal or distance closer in sight. Im freelance so sometimes can work at her place and see eachother on evenings, she had time to look to move to the city that im moving to but has decided to settle where she is as she doesnt want to make the move just because i am.

I’m 20 and I got married recently and we own a condo…so I won’t be moving anytime soon, but my Mom came to me and told me she and the rest of my family (my dad and 2 younger brothers) would be moving back to our home state (6 1/2 hour drive from where we currently are) my dad got a job offer and I’m really happy that he will have this opportunity but I cannot stop crying that they will be moving. I’ve never been a long distance away from my family, always a 20 minute drive tops. But now that they will be moving states I won’t be able to see them very often, money is tighter so realistically I’ll only get to see them a couple times a year. I’m utterly heartbroken and I know this will take a huge hit on me mentally but I have absolutely no idea how to cope with something like this. I’m only going to be able to hug my mom a couple times a year, just the idea of that is crushing me. Does anybody have any tips for me? Thanks 🥲

I'll be in 11th after a month or two. I've decided to take admission in a dummy school for NEET (still not decided any school though) and I need a coaching centre. My friend (aiming for JEET) has enrolled in PW Vidyapeeth in Indore and I was thinking about enrolling in Vidyapeeth too.
But Now seeing this drama, PW v/s Adda247, Teachers leaving mid way and "PW ka downfall aagya". I'm not sure whether I should enroll or not. Even without this controversy sorta thing, it would still have been difficult for me to enroll in PW because of it's distance from My house.
The main problem in enrolling in any Coaching Centres is that, I don't know how to drive and My father can't drive for long distances daily because of health issues and his work.
So Please recommend me some good coaching centres for the preparation of NEET and How can I solve this long distance problem. I've a scooter but I can't handle it because it's too heavy for me and I'm also a short heighted person, I'm thinking about buying an electric scooter par maine suna hai wo overheat hone se phat jati hai.
I would appreciate it if you could recommend me some dummy schools with nominal fee in Indore too.