So, I have naturally red, curly hair that I believe to be damaged so badly that it requires me to just cut and regrow. Its colour and curl are still there, but not nearly to the point they once were. It’s dry and faded and such. So I’m currently thinking about just shaving it off, starting over, and treating it better. But I, for some reason, feel a connection to my hair. I grow it out for femininity but also for reasons I see as religious (but I’m not quite sure why). I am somewhere between syncretic reconstructionist, multitraditional, and eclectic if that makes any sense at all. I worship/venerate many beings from many pantheons and traditions. I was wondering if there were any historically attested rituals for respecting hair that required cutting.
I’m really sorry if this post seems nonsense. Thank any who may help in advance, and have a beautiful day/night!!

After 3 months of treating myself for suspected thrush, I’ve just found out I have “heavy growth” of staph aureus in my vagina. No yeast at all! Is this common?
I’m a bit confused and worried as I didn’t expect this at all, I know little to nothing about staph and didn’t even know you could get it in your vag. Does anybody have any knowledge on this? There really isn’t much info online it’s all like scientific papers :( I can’t gauge how serious it is, like do I need to go to hospital? Can I touch my boyfriend? Is the staph likely living in other areas of my body or is it just in my vagina, like can I touch my own cuts and spots and stuff? Can I have sex after treatment and presume it’s gone? My boyfriend has also been tested and it didn’t show up on his test, but I thought staph was like quite contagious? (We’ve not had sex since I started having symptoms granted, but are backpacking and spending every minute together with lots of other contact).
I’ve suffered with recurrent thrush since last year now and it’s always cleared with clotrimazole (only to come back a month later) but is it likely I’ve had staph all along with this?
OBGYN has prescribed me cefuroxime antibiotics, and told me to just look out for more discharge. But she’s based in the Philippines (I’m travelling SE Asia atm) where their main patients are pregnancy ultrasounds, so am slightly worrying in case it’s more serious than she/I think. My symptoms are and have just been unusual discharge and mild itching. Nowhere near as bad as toxic shock syndrome symptoms or anything. Just scared it could become septic or TSS, really out of my depth.
Any advice would be really appreciated, as I’ve not got much to go off atm! Anyone had a similar experience with vag staph?

Drank a grande coffee at a Budapest Starbucks this morning and it damn near had me jumping out of my skin. I've never had such a crazy caffeine buzz, and it was frankly a little scary. It tasted SO strong, but for some crazy reason I finished it. My girlfriend and I had were splitting up to do different things, and she said she ended up pouring hers out.
Anyway, turns out they had brewed a fresh pot when she first ordered and I was in the bathroom. I saw them run out when they finished filling my cup up. We both concluded later that they probably only added around 32 oz of water for the whole brew, which would explain why it was so insanely strong.
Getting a good drip cup in Vienna and Budapest has been more difficult than you would think, even from a Starbucks. Never had any problem at any of the Munich Starbucks. I certainly enjoy a good espresso drink but sort of get tired of them, and it takes a couple to pick me up like a cup of drip. God knows I nearly had a heart attack today though. Think I'll stick with cappuccinos for a while.

I am looking for some people to play with around me in Ottawa, On. I’m level 35 and am looking for some new people who also enjoy the game near me! I play daily but I live in a more remote area.
Add - 6445 3063 0783

Hi Everyone!
It's been a long time since I have done one of these, and well, there's lots of reasons why. I will get into those shortly, but wanted to start with a subreddit recap.

Community Insights

Over the last 12 months we have doubled our traffic to the subreddit, meaning - previously our 35K views a month now averages around 70K. That's a lot of views and a lot of people checking in! The same can also be said for our subscriber count, there are now nearly 8 thousand of us in this subreddit, which means a lot more posts, a lot more support and a lot more advice to be given.
That being said, more people in a sub-reddit, means more trolls and more spam - so that brings me onto my next point.

Community Moderators

As you may be aware, there is only one moderator for this subreddit which has not fared well for keeping up with modal / reporting etc. I have personally looked to appoint moderators in the past, but have then found they do not carry out any mod actions, or where not in the right place mentally to be monitoring a subreddit with such a contestable / difficult topic.
I am opening up the doors again to get more people involved to bring this subreddit back in line with it's 6 Core Values, which as a reminder are:

1. Be Kind, Be Courteous, Be Friendly.
2. Remember not all BPD Episodes are the same.
3. Persons with BPD will have flair.
4. No BPD Bashing or Hating.
5. No pushing or selling of snake oil treatments.
6. No posing as a therapist.

If you are interested in this, please send a message to the moderators with your reasoning and I will get back to you. I am to bring in at least 4 moderators, and in the interest of working to everyone's best interest, I am looking for a diverse crowd - i.e. some people with BPD, different races, different cultures, so we can ensure we also have a voice for different viewpoints in the posts that may be reported or removed.

Core Values

In addition to the core values above, I am adding one more:

• No Run Comments.

Need I say more? This is not /BPDLovedOnes - we do not encourage "run" comments. However - that is not to say people cannot give advice about leaving. Ultimately there is a fine balance - if someone has a partner / friend / loved one with BPD that they do not have the strength to look after at that time - it is okay to say you may need to take a step back to look after yourself before helping a person with BPD. Not all BPD Episodes are the same - I've seen them at their worst and best, and if you are already struggling mentally with your own issues, sometimes you need to take that break.

Rules Update

Following the BBC Panorama episode on ADHD where it came out that the journalist was pretending to be someone with BPD and a researcher amongst other things to gain credibility in online spaces - we will no longer be accepting any researcher requests access to the subreddit. If you see these, or get a DM from a researcher, please notify the moderators and we will ban them.

Community Posts

On other news, we will be introducing two new community posts in June and going forward, these will be:

• Support Materials
• Feel Good

Support Materials will focus on publications, reports, news stories etc which will allow users to share information which has helped them with understanding of BPD, or helping their loved one. All articles / content shared will be archived and added to the community wiki.
Feel Good will be a place where users can show the good things to help show that a relationship with someone with BPD is not the "horror show" that many news articles and other subreddits show it to be.

Personal Update

I created this sub-reddit to be a safe space to ask how and why to helping someone with BPD. As many of you may know, my partner has BPD but this is not what defines them. They are self accomplished in their own right, and I just sometimes helped get them in the right direction.
The main reason for my lack of attention to the subreddit in the last month was because we tied the knot! It was honestly the best day of my life, and guess what, there were no "episodes" or "triggers" during, after etc. Those words are used to box in what BPD is - but with support, therapy and love - someone with BPD can move past that definition. My partner and I are a good example of what positive life someone with BPD can have. So to everyone here, I will work hard to make sure this is a space for you to be able to do the same.

For context, I am a teenaged female. I used to have horrible acne, then last March I saw a dermatologist who perscribed me tretinoin 0.025% and clyndamycin phosphate lotion 1%. After a month of purging, I started to see results, and around July my skin was relatively clear (minus some mild PIE on my left cheek and my chin). I also started getting super serious about sunscreen, double cleansing, and not touching my face.
Things were going pretty well, up until late October, when I switches moisturizers and suddenly got around seven new pimples on my forehead, and three on my left cheek. I had not broken out for nearly four months at this point, so you can imagine my shock.
I was also using a new hylauronic acid serum over the tret at night, so I cut that out, and my skin was okay again, but I noticed my pores were bigger than usual and I had a whitehead underneath my nose (I had never had a whitehead before).
I continued to change up my routine, and tried around two different moisturizers and three different sunscreens, and three different cleansers, and my skin just kept on breaking out over and over again. I even got acne on my right cheek, which had never happened before. Painful papules, too. I cut out dairy and sugar because I thought maybe that was the problem, despite the fact that my diet had never caused acne for me before.
After six months of this, I remembered something I heard, that said if your diet has changed, but you still have acne, then it's probably an excess sebum or oil issue. I also remembered having heard that not having oil-free skincare and being acne prone was not a good combo. So, out of curiosity, I checked my skincare ingredient lists, and sure enough, my moisturizer and sunscreen both had oils in them. The ones I used when my skin was really good were completely oil-free.
So, do you think my new skincare not being oil-free is what caused my sudden, painful breakouts? Also, do you have any oil-free sunscreen recommendations? Would appreciate some help!

So to preface I have been diagnosed with UCTD (my ANA was 1:1280, physical symptoms/abnormal labs but nothing specific) and a primary immunodeficiency disease (though I’m waiting till august to get a another opinion on that).
Anyways, I recently switched insurance companies and for that reason can not go to my usual rheumatologist but I can still see my immunologist.
My rheumatologist had told me to go to an immunologist because my IG levels were abnormally low and as previously mentioned I was told I was immunocompromised after a few other labs were done.
Now, it’s been a few months of being unable to see my rheumatologist and I started on SCIG, told by my immunologist that I don’t need a rheumatologist because he can handle my UCTD and he took me off of Hydroxychloroquine since he said that the SCIG can take it’s place.
All of that was fine to me, it seemed to make sense but my liver enzymes were previously normal and within three months this is what it’s at: alkaline phosphatase: 142, AST: 65 and ALT:153.
Now I know it’s not horrible and there’s definitely much worse, but once again- three months ago I was normal. And I’ve never in my life had alcohol so it isn’t related to that either, plus my liver enzymes have never been near this high (again I know it’s not that bad, but for me this is not normal)
In case it’s relevant over a year ago, my gastro told me to get a liver biopsy for autoimmune hepatitis because my smooth muscle antibody was 1:20 but my rheumatologist had told me it was unnecessary since it was so low. So I didn’t plus it wasn’t the reason I went to begin with, I went because I have vomiting problems (I’ve gone periods off and on for 10+ years of vomiting cycles- still not better)
Also not sure if it’s relevant but in case it is, I haven’t had my period in 3 1/2 years but for three of those years it could be normal since my birth control can cause that for some, but I was supposed to start my period within like a month after getting off. But it’s been 6 months off without a period (I’m not pregnant)
I’ve also had a mitogen induced lymphocyte proliferation panel and my results were WAY higher than I think they should be in a person with a primary immunodeficiency disease. PHA, CPM was 270,459 CON A, CPM was 213,006 PWM, CPM was 175,986 Which is all well ABOVE average, I’m pretty sure immunocompromised people are below average on that exam? But maybe it’s that high because of the UCTD? I don’t know. I have had two immunologist tell me I had a primary immunodeficiency, but neither of them specialize in them which is why I want the other opinion in August. I wasn’t even told which specific one I have, just that I have one which makes me even less confident
I’m just concerned now, has anyone else had this happen? Im worried it’s the SCIG messing with my liver, I mean it’s only been three months, what will my liver be like in 5 years at this rate? Maybe it’s because I’m not taking Hydroxychloroquine? I’m worried that it is treating the immunodeficiency but just making my UCTD worse. But I have read that people take SCIG for their autoimmune disease? Maybe my liver was just off that day? Do any of you see an immunologist and not a rheumatologist? Can he actually fill both roles for me? I’m confused on what went wrong and doubting the decisions I’ve made in the past now
Also I apologize for how unorganized/long this was but I didn’t know what information was necessary or not. Sorry!

Background: due to a mix up by immigration office, the name on my SSN card is different from my driver license. It's a very common problem for immigrant, like Smith John instead of John Smith. A fix is in the work with immigration but that process takes time and my lawyer advise me to wait for their reply.
The issue: so I'm aware that with that problem I probably can't apply for financing. Also I'm aware that even tho I pay with cash, dealers may still need SSN because large transaction over 10k will need to be report to IRS.
My question is that, if I just sign the dealer a check or do bank transfer, could I still buy a car with that mismatch name info? Obviously the car title will follow the name on my driver license. I wonder if they really care if it doesn't match the name on my SSN card. I moved my current car and did a title transfer earlier this year to California from another state and the DMV let me have a new title with the wrong name on it.
I'm not in a hurry to buy a new car now. But my car is nearly 20 years old and in the scenario it breaks down, I will need to consider other options.

(Throwaway account). I (32F) have been a teacher at my current high school for nearly 8 years now, and I have never done something like this before. The high school I teach at has a mental health policy that I have never agreed with.
The policy states that if I feel a child is in a bad state of mental health, I have to report them to a counsellor. But here's where it gets worse: All the counsellor does is call in the child and their parents for a meeting, where the counsellor makes the child talk about anything/everything bothering them.
It doesn't sound bad, but as a kid who grew up with major issues with my parents, if I was going through a tough time - it was because of my parents, and things would only get worse for me if they had found out.
Recently, I ignored this policy. Because I saw a kid, who reminded me exactly of myself when I was younger. I heard her (15F) silently crying in a bathroom stall. I locked the bathroom door to make sure no other student walked in and sat there for 45 minutes convincing her to come out.
She kept insisting she was fine, but I could hear her crying and sniffling through our entire conversation. Eventually, she came out, and after another 45 minutes I got her to tell me why she was crying. She said, and I quote,
"My mom is just so mean. It's like she hates me for being born. I wish I wasn’t. I'm always such a nuisance."
It was like I was looking in a mirror at younger me. This was exactly how I had felt, I asked her if she wanted to speak to the counsellor, and then she gave me that look. This girl was absolutely terrified, she started breathing hard and backed away from me, she begged me not to tell the counsellor.
"No, please. It's fine, I'm fine. I'm just being dramatic. Don't tell the counsellor, my mom will kill me." was what she told me.
For the first time, I honestly felt like considering breaking school-wide policy for this little girl. I promised her I wouldn't tell anyone (which, in hindsight, I understand may not have been a smart idea) but I made her promise me that she would come talk to me whenever things felt bad.
I gave her the phone number of an old friend of mine (she's a therapist who has agreed to speak with her) and told her she could call up said therapist as well as me.
Recently though, I've been feeling bad about my decision. I know this puts my teaching career on the line, I know I could be immediately blamed if things went south. But I couldn’t bare to betray her trust like that. That look in her eyes was way too powerful, and she was way too scared of her mother finding out.

Another Madden $70 re-skin is upon us, so let's take a moment to explore the history of all the people who have been featured on the cover of an pro football video game.
While the selection of the Madden cover athlete is now an event, there was a wild wild west period of football games from the 80s to the mid-2000s where anybody with a computer could and would build football games, with the selection of the cover being all over the place. Roger Craig was the first cover athlete in 1985 on NFL Challenge for MS-DOS. Madden's first game was in 1988, then by the mid-90s getting a cover athlete or spokesman for your football game was pretty standard.
I wanted to compile those games and covers based on this Wiki article (and a few that it was missing from that list) and see who was on the main cover of all of those games (some games were almost completely irrelevant, so I left them off this list). Some of these may have more alternates with other people, but I'll stick with the main cover.

Covers by Position

https://preview.redd.it/1dzua4o2hl2b1.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=79174425f34c9090dacddd78d3679923182d5f3a
*These are heavily boosted by John Madden being on 10 Madden covers
Obviously QBs dominate here, but I didn't realize how little defensive players have been on football game covers (9%), with none being on a cover since Richard Sherman in 2014. I'd love to see more defensive players on the Madden cover. Who would be the most likely defensive guy in the near future? Aaron Donald, TJ Watt, Nick Bosa, Myles Garrett, or Sauce Gardner?

Covers by Team

https://preview.redd.it/8f29df4ygl2b1.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=cfa6fba341321f2fb7be68a4be1d0e89404f9e40
If a team's player was not a lead on the cover or was not any identifiable player, I gave them a *
The Re-skins/Commanders?, Jags, Panthers, and Bills have appeared on a cover but never with an athlete as the lead or with a real person. Only the Texans have never appeared at all on the cover of any football video game. I'd say the Bills are most likely to get one next (Josh Allen), then the Jags (Trevor Lawrence), then the Panthers/Texans if either hits a home run with Young or Stroud. The Commanders have a long road ahead to getting a feature cover athlete, unless you ask Sam Howell who thinks he should be this year's Madden cover athlete.

Most Prolific Cover People

https://preview.redd.it/5axoymcakl2b1.png?width=2871&format=png&auto=webp&s=1ead25140a20a056d3e02e6cf5fdc14918a9ca51
Kordell Stewart, Daunte Culpepper, and Donovan McNabb (and possibly Lamar Jackson, still too early for him) are the only players with multiple appearances that are either not or are unlikely to make the Hall of Fame. McNabb is the only guy to appear in multiple covers in the same year. Also of note, 7 athletes were on a cover without ever making a pro bowl in their careers: Brad Muster, Pat Terrell, Gordon Laro, Chris Zorich, Albert Fontenot, William Floyd, and Peyton Hillis (Hillis was the only one to be the primary cover athlete).
I'll list all the games and their respective covers by their era below. I'll also attach some of my favorite covers from each era. If the cover person was a Hall of Famer, I'll mark them with a ^\). If they're very likely to make the HoF but they're not yet eligible, I'll mark them with a ⁺

Covers by Era

Decade	# of Games	# of Games w/Cover Athletes	# of Cover Athletes
60s	1	0	0
70s	4	0	0
80s	11	2 (18%)	2
90s	36	32 (89%)	21
00s	40	38 (95%)	36
10s	14	10 (71%)	12
20s	8	4 (50%)	5
Total	114	86 (75%)	76

We didn't see the first cover athlete until 1985 with Roger Craig. They didn't really become standard until the early to mid-90s after Madden became a big selling point for the early Madden games. The dip in the last 2 decades is because there's just less games, so any generic football games will have a large effect.

The Early Days: 1965-1982

1978: Football! for the Magnavox Odyssey 2 was the first football video game with a cover, but obviously the cover athletes are generic.

Year	Game	Cover Athlete	Team	Position
1965	FTBALL	NA	NA	NA
1972	Football (Magnavox)	NA	NA	NA
1978	Football!	Generic players	NA	NA
1978	Football (Atari)	Generic players	NA	NA
1979	NFL Football	Generic players	NA	NA
1982	Realsports: Football	Generic players	NA	NA

The 2D Era: 1983-1996

1985: NFL Challenge was the first football game with a real cover athlete (Roger Craig). This was the original bar for realism in football simulation, to where it was used in a 1988 ESPN Program \"NFL Dream Season\" where they simulated the greatest teams of all time against each other.
1988: John Madden Football released on the Apple II, MS-DOS, and Commodore 64/128 (partly being developed by Bethesda), which was the beginning of the most dominant franchise in football video games. They featured no NFL teams due to a lack of an NFL license.
1991: Tecmo Super Bowl is probably still my personal favorite football video game. It's totally timeless, and if you pick the Raiders then you're a cheater.

Year	Game	Cover Athlete	Team	Position
1983	10-Yard Fight	Generic Jersey	NA	NA
1984	Super Action Football	Generic player	NA	NA
1985	NFL Challenge	Roger Craig	49ers	RB
1987	4th & Inches	Generic players	NA	NA
1987	Tecmo Bowl	Generic players	NA	NA
1988	TV Sports: Football	Generic player	NA	NA
1988	John Madden Football ('88)	John Madden*	None	John Madden
1989	ABC Monday Night Football	Generic player	NA	NA
1989	NFL	Generic players	49ers, Raiders, Oilers, Broncos, Re-skins	NA
1989	PlayMaker Football	Equipment	NA	NA
1990	Joe Montana Football	Joe Montana*	None	QB
1990	John Madden Football ('90)	John Madden*	None	John Madden
1991	John Madden Football II (or '92)	John Madden*	None	John Madden
1991	Tecmo Super Bowl	Generic player	NA	NA
1992	NFL Sports Talk Football '93	Joe Montana*	49ers	QB
1992	Front Page Sports Football	Generic players	NA	NA
1993	Capcom's MVP Football	Brad Muster	Bears	FB
1993	Madden NFL '94	John Madden*	NA	HC/Announcer
1993	NFL Football '94 Starring Joe Montana	Joe Montana*	Chiefs	QB
1993	Mutant League Football	Mutant	NA	NA
1994	ESPN Sunday Night NFL	Chris Berman	NA	Announcer
1994	Madden NFL '95	John Madden*	NA	John Madden
1994	Tecmo Super Bowl II: Special Edition	Generic player	Cowboys	NA
1994	Troy Aikman NFL Football	Troy Aikman*	Cowboys	QB
1995	Emmitt Smith Football	Emmitt Smith*	None	RB
1995	Madden NFL '96	John Madden*, Pat Terrell, Gordon Laro	NA, Panthers, Jags	John Madden, DB, TE
1995	NFL Quarterback Club 96	Steve Young*, Chris Zorich, Albert Fontenot	49ers, Bears	QB, DL
1995	Sterling Sharpe: End 2 End	Sterling Sharpe	None	WR
1995	Tecmo Super Bowl III: Final Edition	Generic players	Raiders, Bills	NA
1995	NFL GameDay	William Floyd	49ers	FB
1996	Madden NFL 97	John Madden*	NA	John Madden
1996	NFL '97	Kordell Stewart	Steelers	QB
1996	NFL Quarterback Club 97	Dan Marino*	Dolphins	QB
1996	NFL GameDay '97	Daryl "Moose" Johnston	Cowboys	FB

​

The Parity Era: 1997-2004

1997: NFL Blitz came from Midway studios and was a breath of fresh air for football games. They had mostly been stagnant trying to hone in on realistic simulation in 2D form, whereas Blitz came out in 3D and threw realism out the window. I definitely spent too much money on the arcade version of this game.
2000: Madden 2001 started the tradition of having their games feature a cover athlete in this format, which consolidated into nearly everyone following this trend.
2001: Backyard Football 2002 was a more kid-friendly version of a football video game, and they also had other games for other professional sports. I definitely played this a lot on my old Windows Me computer, and Pablo Sanchez is a god.
2002: NFL Fever was Microsoft's foray into football video games on the original Xbox. All 3 of their games featured Peyton Manning as the cover athlete.
2002: NFL GameDay 2003 was 989 Sports' exclusive for Sony on the PlayStation platform.
2004: ESPN NFL 2K5 was the last great football game before the NFL exclusively gave their license to the EA. It was this game that definitely led to NFL's decision though, as they slashed their release price to an unheard of $20, which forced Madden 2004 to release at $30 instead of the typical $50. This pissed off the NFL, who decided to have less competition instead.

Year	Game	Cover Athlete	Team	Position
1997	NFL Blitz	Kordell Stewart	Steelers	QB
1997	NFL Quarterback Club 98	Brett Favre*	Packers	QB
1997	NFL GameDay '98	Jerome Bettis*	Steelers	RB
1997	Madden NFL 98 (64)	John Madden*	NA	John Madden
1998	NFL Xtreme	Mike Alstott	Bucs	FB
1998	NFL Quarterback Club 99	Brett Favre*	Packers	QB
1998	NFL GameDay '99	Terrell Davis*	Broncos	RB
1998	Madden NFL 99	John Madden*	NA	John Madden
1999	NFL Xtreme 2	John Randle*	Vikings	DL
1999	NFL Quarterback Club 2000	Brett Favre*	Packers	QB
1999	NFL GameDay 2000	Terrell Davis*	Broncos	RB
1999	NFL 2K	Randy Moss*	Vikings	WR
1999	Madden NFL 2000	John Madden*	NA	John Madden
1999	Backyard Football	Steve Young)*, Jocinda Smith, Amir Khan	49ers, Generic	QB
2000	NFL Quarterback Club 2001	Brett Favre*	Packers	QB
2000	NFL GameDay 2001	Marshall Faulk*	Rams	RB
2000	NFL 2K1	Randy Moss*	Vikings	WR
2000	Madden NFL 2001	Eddie George	Titans	RB
2001	NFL Quarterback Club 2002	Brett Favre*, Rich Gannon	Packers, Raiders	QB
2001	NFL GameDay 2002	Donovan McNabb	Eagles	QB
2001	NFL Fever 2002	Peyton Manning*	Colts	QB
2001	NFL 2K2	Randy Moss*	Vikings	WR
2001	Madden NFL 2002	Daunte Culpepper	Vikings	QB
2001	Backyard Football 2002	Drew Bledsoe or Donovan McNabb	Pats or Eagles	QB
2001	ESPN NFL PrimeTime 2002	Edgerrin James*	Colts	RB
2002	NFL GameDay 2003	Tom Brady+	Pats	QB
2002	NFL Fever 2003	Peyton Manning*	Colts	QB
2002	NFL 2K3	Brian Urlacher*	Bears	LB
2002	Madden NFL 2003	Marshall Faulk*	Rams	RB
2003	NFL GameDay 2004	LaDainian Tomlinson*	Chargers	RB
2003	NFL Fever 2004	Peyton Manning*	Colts	QB
2003	Madden NFL 2004	Michael Vick	Falcons	QB
2003	ESPN NFL Football	Warren Sapp*	Bucs	DL
2003	Backyard Football 2004	Jeff Garcia	49ers	QB
2004	NFL GameDay 2005	Derrick Brooks*	Bucs	LB
2004	Madden NFL 2005	Ray Lewis*	Ravens	LB
2004	ESPN NFL 2K5	Terrell Owens*	Eagles	WR
2004	NFL Street	Ricky Williams	Dolphins	RB

​

The Madden Era: 2005-Present

2005: NFL Street 2 was the second in the NFL Street series as a kind of spiritual successor to NFL Blitz. EA tried to have some diversity in their football video games outside of the Madden franchise, so they had the short-lived Street franchise under \"EA BIG\"
2006: NFL Head Coach was a new perspective on NFL Games where you play as the coach instead of the players. I enjoyed these although they could get a little boring.
2007: All Pro Football 2K8 was 2K's attempt at keeping the 2K football franchise alive without the coveted NFL license. They got three HoF players on the cover in Elway, Barry, and Rice, but not the actual license to any NFL team. This game received praise for its mechanics, but poor sales showed that a non-NFL licensed game would always struggle to make it.
2011: Madden 12 was maybe the last good Madden game. Also, Peyton Hillis. The only guy on a NFL football game cover to never make a Pro Bowl. This guy is an actual hero though, so good for him.
2019: Doug Flutie's Maximum Football was a mix of american and CFL football as another attempt at making a football game without the NFL license to poor results. They have announced a new game as a free to play title on new platforms, but no games in this franchise have released since 2020.
2020: Retro Bowl is a mobile game more in the style of Tecmo Super Bowl than Madden. It's probably the most successful non-Madden game since ESPN NFL 2K5, and it's pretty fun. People should definitely give this one a try since it's free to play on any mobile platform.
2022: Madden 23 gave the cover back to Madden for the first time since 1999 to honor the passing of the legend John Madden. Unfortunately the game inside the cover was crap, has been the style of Madden games for over a decade.

Year	Game	Cover Athlete	Team	Position
2005	Madden NFL 06	Donovan McNabb	Eagles	QB
2005	NFL Street 2	Jeremy Shockey, Xzibit	Giants, Pimp My Ride	TE, Rapper
2005	Blitz: The League	Generic players	NA	NA
2005	Backyard Football 2006	Daunte Culpepper	Vikings	QB
2006	Madden NFL 07	Shaun Alexander	Seahawks	RB
2006	NFL Head Coach	Bill Cowher*	Steelers	HC
2006	NFL Street 3	Chad Johnson	Bengals	WR
2007	Backyard Football '07	Ben Roethlisberger+	Steelers	QB
2007	Madden NFL 08	Vince Young	Titans	QB
2007	All-Pro Football 2K8	John Elway*, Barry Sanders*, Jerry Rice*	Generic	QB, RB, WR
2007	Backyard Football '08	Tom Brady+	Pats	QB
2008	NFL Tour	Shawne Merriman	Chargers	LB
2008	NFL Head Coach 09	Tony Dungy*	Colts	HC
2008	Backyard Football '09	Tom Brady+	Pats	QB
2009	Madden NFL 10	Troy Polamalu*, Larry Fitzgerald+	Steelers, Cards	DB, WR
2009	Backyard Football '10	Frank Gore+, Eli Manning+, Kurt Warner*, Peyton Manning*, Adrian Peterson+, Jason Witten+	49ers, Giants, Cards, Colts, Vikings, Cowboys	RB, QB, TE
2010	Quick Hit Football	Logo	NA	NA
2010	Madden NFL 11	Drew Brees+	Saints	QB
2010	Backbreaker	Generic player	NA	NA
2011	Madden NFL 12	Peyton Hillis	Browns	RB
2012	Madden NFL 13	Calvin Johnson*	Lions	WR
2013	Madden NFL 25	Barry Sanders* or Adrian Peterson+	Lions or Vikings	RB
2014	Madden NFL 15	Richard Sherman+	Seahawks	DB
2015	Madden NFL 16	Odell Beckham Jr.	Giants	WR
2016	Madden NFL 17	Rob Gronkowski+	Pats	TE
2016	Axis Football 2016	Generic player	NA	NA
2017	Madden NFL 18	Tom Brady+	Pats	QB
2017	Axis Football 17	Generic player	NA	NA
2018	Madden NFL 19	Antonio Brown+	Steelers	WR
2019	Doug Flutie's Maximum Football 2019	Doug Flutie	Generic (Stampeders)	QB
2020	Sunday Rivals	Helmet	NA	NA
2020	Retro Bowl	Generic player	NA	NA
2020	Legend Bowl	Silhouette	NA	NA
2019	Madden NFL 20	Patrick Mahomes+	Chiefs	QB
2020	Madden NFL 21	Lamar Jackson	Ravens	QB
2021	Madden NFL 22	Tom Brady+, Patrick Mahomes+	Bucs, Chiefs	QB
2022	Madden NFL 23	John Madden*	NA	John Madden
2023	NFL Pro Era	Lamar Jackson	Ravens	QB

Looks like it’s another day and another Pauper EDH decklist from me!
I’ve recently been going back through and tinkering with some of my older builds and updating them, after neglecting them for the past couple sets.
I give you [[Bear’s Companion]]
https://archidekt.com/decks/4618087/pauper_edh_bears_companion
This deck is basically just an excuse to play a bunch of bears while you also blink your commander to create more bear tokens so you can eventually overrun your opponents.
I’ve actually never owned a Temur deck in any form of normal EDH and for some reason this guy just struck me as a fun commander to play. This is actually the commander that got me into Pauper format so he’s near and dear to my heart. I just wish there was more common bears to play 😂
Let me know what you think. C&C are always welcome. Thanks for reading 🙏🏼

In 2015 I watched clips of what would be the first mainstream anime I've watched. I had a very romanticized idea of how it would feel watching, I would sometimes have very good dreams that feel absolutely wonderful but then I'm disappointed when I wake up back to reality.
This series actually felt like that at times, but it also really shot itself in the foot with some of the mistakes it would make. At times I genuinely felt like it was making writing decisions that I would have made in third grade and I thought it completely butchered its potential.
I thought it was a great tragedy, and I felt compelled to write my own series that would bring what I thought this show would. Of course it's been nearly eight years and I'm trying to write the whole series in scripts. I'm suffering with writer's block often and it's hard to fulfill something I only have limited references for.
I've written about three versions of it and it drives me crazy, worrying it won't bring what I hoped. I truly have insane ambitions for this and it never feels enough. I would bring it up to other people and they would never see what I do.
I'm constantly stuck whether I should go with original ideas or inspired ideas. It feels so complicated and it's something that means so much to me.

Long story short: is there something I can put on the stairs to provide more grip or a back pack like product to help me carry a pittie?
Howdy! A pittie at the shelter I work at has been there 2.5 years (nearly her whole life). She’s had trouble finding a home due to dog reactivity on leash, some stranger danger (can pass by people fine but doesn’t like being approached), and getting mouthy when over stimulated.
Still, I’ve seen her make so much progress despite being at the shelter all this time. Im getting my own place in august and want to foster her even if just for short periods at a time to continue working on her issues and give her practice in a home environment.
My concern is there’s 3 sets of stairs to get up and she doesn’t have experience with them. The back set would offer the most privacy but they’re made of wood and don’t have lots of traction.
Apart from continued practice, is there anything I can put on the stairs or something I can use to easily carry her (55 lbs)? Any tips or product recommendations are appreciated.

I don’t have my car and realistically I could walk to Starbucks if I really really wanted to (it’s 0.7 miles from my house) but I did not want to because it’s hot outside and I would need to walk along the shoulder of the road (no sidewalks near me.)
I decided to use doordash for the first time in a long while. My order was $12.93 but I decided to add a $10 tip because I’m off Monday (I’m in such a good mood) and I just wanted to be nice tbh because why not. I figured it was a good tip considering the distance from my house to the store idk.
The guy dropped it off and I went out to grab my drink but he was standing near my steps still as if he was waiting for me. I said thank you and to have a great day. The dasher gave me a nasty look and said “tip no good you bitch.” My heart dropped and I said “are you sure you’re reading it correctly? I tipped you $10 and you didn’t even have to drive a mile? It’s like a 5 minute drive?” He told me to go fuck myself like??? Am I wrong? Was it a bad tip?

I'm hoping for help for an upcoming meeting between my son/daughter-in-law and the the school district special needs preschool program director.
My grandson has a physical disability and is receiving services through the county, both PT and OT. This program ends at his 3rd birthday which is when the school district takes over.
At the initial meeting, the director told them that she is not sure that there is anything in their program which would meet his needs. She is only aware of kids receiving services with IEP's for speech, autism, and learning disabilities getting PT or OT. I taught in the district for over 30 years and have gotten quite a few students with no learning disability who still received both OT and PT, one with his exact disability.
My DIL has asked me to attend the meeting where they go over results and discuss services available. Their preschool is a mix of gen-ed and IEP's, mainly for speech. The other student I had a few years ago who is still in the district has a 1-on-1 aide. He got this aide after I fought for his needs.
I'm looking for specific phrases I can use during this meeting to make it very clear that he also deserves an aide. I know to say that he will not be able to 'access the curriculum', take out supplies, or write without an aide. I also know that he will not be safe on the playground without an adult specifically near him at all times.
He can not use his arms much (some finger movement, no muscle strength). He wears leg braces and is a huge fall risk. He can not raise his arms to break his fall. He can not feed himself or do self care/bathroom needs. Although he may need speech for articulation due to his tongue being weak, he has hit all cognitive milestones and seems to have no learning delays. The special ed director seems to believe that a mild/mod or mod/severe special day class when he is 5 would be the best fit. I think this is the cheapest fit but absolutely not the best educational fit.
Can anyone please help me word my case to support my grandson? Thank you very much.

First Previous Wiki
Tanya patted Skira's drone.
"How's the war going?"
In his world, Skira was working to keep everything together. His bioships were in an all-out war with Aphid's forces. They were firing mostly kinetic weapons, typical bullets, and the like. Sometimes, they'd fire missiles, which could navigate the battlefield and clear the path for him to hit Aphid's vessels. The armor was getting thicker. But his guns were getting bigger.
On the surface, billions of metal drones clashed with trillions of fungal drones, all commanded by Skira and the Quadrants. He was constantly using war drones to push the major forces away from the tunnel complexes, setting up static defenses within using explosives and guns to absolutely ruin anything inside. Most of the planet had been flattened by nuclear weapons.
War drones continued to lob massive broken-off boulders at the carriers, which were continually landing to disgorge more enemy soldiers. Phoebe's androids, connected to their own network, were killing them by the tens of thousands every second, firing several bullets a second. Her androids were incredibly powerful, creating portions of the battlefield that Aphid had to steer around. And he didn't even try nuking her after she'd shot down eight of them with atmospheric anti-ship weapons.
From around the planet, portals appeared, pouring lasers and gunfire at Aphid's ships, then disappearing to reappear in other directions, continually wearing down their armor. Some of them were already falling back through the atmosphere, landing down on the earth below. Their burning and cracked hulls already littered the landscape, and he'd be sure to incorporate them once he fully regrew his foliage.
Speaking of that, he'd increased his growth factor so that the fungal forests only took a few weeks to regrow instead of a few years. It required massive biological and metallic pipes of nutrients and heaps of psychic energy hauled straight from the psychic amplifiers in the Sol system.
The carnage of the warzone was so overwhelming that he'd refused to even let human supersoldiers come to the area. Because they weren't disposable. Phoebe's androids and his own trillions of drones were. He was partly on the battlefield, partly with Tanya. Over the months, they'd become best friends.
She seemed to see life in a different way and helped to encourage him. Tanya's cybernetic left arm scratched at the scruff of his neck.
"Badly, then?"
"Yes, and no. I'm no longer replacing my losses faster than they're coming. But that also means I'm keeping millions of humans alive. Every day, billions of drones are dying on my battlefields, if only to exhaust Aphid's guns and bombs. He's brought destruction to my world not seen since it was destroyed."
"Destroyed?"
"I mean when some aliens blew it up."
"But how..."
"Bioforming. Really, I had my biological ships put it back together, reassembling the debris and reversing the momentum of the actual fragments. Then, I used shield technology and drones to suck the heat from the planet in ways that destroyed the technology I had at the time. Granted, I had some help, before they tried to get me to fight their wars as well."
Tanya nodded. "Well, you're safe here."
"Most of me isn't here. Most of it's either on Skira or Venus."
"How's Venus going?"
He'd been making great strides with what he'd been given. Humanity had been very kind to give him the whole planet, and in return, he was helping to make it habitable. He figured that they'd ask him to do it again later on. But the humans didn't seem to want to force him to do it. Tanya hadn't been trying to push him into more conflicts and had instead acted as a lodestone.
"I'll have it fully habitable, minus the soil content and chemicals in the rock, within a hundred years. Maybe less, if I keep getting fed such huge amounts of psychic energy. Really, that's what's doing that."
"I see," Tanya replied. She sat down next to him, her strange psychic aura as unsettling as ever. From what she'd shared with him, her blindness had likely allowed her mind to shape itself in a more psychic way with the awakening of human psychic consciousness.
"Look, Skira. Are you sure this is the best way? What about finding his home planet?"
"I'm working on it. Trying to triangulate the arrivals of ships does nothing. All that seems to work is actually getting the coordinates, which we can't get to really succeed."
"Hopefully that changes someday."
"Yes," Skira responded. He sighed. Another nuke had hit eight of his war drones. Six had died since the blast had hit them full-on. But that enabled him to finally release another flood of drones, so many that they weighed down the carrier that was trying to take off. Guns turned them to mulch, only to be swamped by more drones.
Drones carrying grenades jumped into the guns between their firing sequences, detonating them in their mouths using their tongues. Others entered the warped wreckage, dropping in bombs meant to penetrate the thick hull.
Two portals broke through the psychic interference, and two railgun shots cleared massive holes in the ship. Aphid's drones poured out, crashing out like a wave. Only to be overwhelmed as his own drones, dozens for every one of Aphid's, literally trampled them underfoot, burying them in bodies. Most of the drones now carried fluid meant to melt the drones' joints so that Aphid's mechanical drones eventually failed even as they walked in seas of Skira's blood.
Nuclear fire scoured the mycelial network, but it wouldn't burn him deeply enough to matter.
"I wish I could help," she replied. "I've been... taking classes, you know. My eyes are blind, but my mind isn't."
Skira looked up at her. The sun caught the burn scars on her skin, making the contract seem almost cinematic.
"I know you want to help me. But you are, really."
"Yeah. Thanks."
She looked crestfallen. Tanya's disappointment made him want to reconsider, but he knew he'd made the right choice. His planet was probably heavily irradiated now, and calling Gaia in for that seemed selfish, at least while the war was still happening.
Skira could hold out for a while longer, though. He had to.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
"Who is this?" Phoebe asked.
"I'm Truth Speaker Gearcaw."
"What are you here to tell me? I'm sure it's important, given that you're calling on us after all this time."
"Well, we have located one of Aphid's planets."
"Do you need us to eliminate it?"
"A strike force is being sent."
"I see."
"What we're here for is to ask for your help regarding a sensitive matter, one we cannot communicate over this line."
"Very well. Where do you want to meet?"
"Go to 448th street, down eight sectors from the palace. You will see a sign, if we trust that you are not being watched and followed. Come alone."
"You'd make a girl nervous with that kind of attitude."
"We understand your animosity, but are afraid we must insist on these terms."
"Very well. I shall be there."
Phoebe would have Brey arrange for an android to be sent to Cawlaria later. She smiled at the people outside the room. Most of them were human, specifically the lunar variant, due to her being present on Luna. It was the closest calling location she had.
Phoebe did all the necessary paperwork in moments, handing it back to the necessary people. She checked out of the facility and was patted down. She smirked as the young guard blushed, despite this being the hard chassis, meaning there was absolutely nothing squishy about this android body in the slightest. Phoebe lifted her arms and flexed them just to watch the man turn redder.
And it was honestly cute how they thought they'd be able to detect it if she was trying to smuggle something out. Phoebe had many ways of doing that, and the cleanest would be paying everyone off.
She noticed that a group of protestors was gathered outside and lamented that the building only had a single entrance. None of its windows were large enough to break without also needing to take some concrete with her.
What was interesting, though, was that most of the protestors were Acuarfar, not human. It was very odd, but it was a clear publicity stunt. They were shouting various accusations of her plotting to take over the Alliance and a particular vitriol about Edu'frec for some reason. If a mind control plot was going on, then her accusing the protestors of being mind controlled would be playing into their hands.
Furthermore, she didn't want to drive a wedge between Izkrala and Luna, if possible. So she turned to go back inside. A brick hit her in the back of the knee hard enough to make her stumble. She could have dodged it, but it would be better for sympathy to get hit. And it wasn't like her android body could feel pain.
There was a single gunshot, which she felt bouncing off her head clearly. She knew where the bullet would land, too. Her arm darted out to catch it before it injured someone.
"We don't want you in our Alliance!"
"You're what's wrong with this place!"
"Don't ever come back, I want my kids to be safe!"
Kids, instead of hatchlings. Yep, that was mind control. Most Acuarfar that age didn't use the word kids since it was only used for non-Acuarfar species, or in Earth terms being that it wasn't used on insects. Phoebe sighed and pulled herself out of the clutching fingers.
Phoebe broke away and went back to the Luna Command building, where the guards were looking increasingly wary. She looked at the crowd and decided she'd stay there for now. She disconnected from her android body after sitting in a chair.
After a bit of time, she decided to go back to working on some of her latest projects. The blood of the wanderers had an interesting interaction with their nervous system and their cardiovascular system. For some reason, it was split into two separate liquids upon reaching their lungs, or at least the equivalents. Psychic energy clearly played a role, and she knew that the tumors were likely to happen more when they got older. That idea meant there might be something that eroded or could 'switch on' to make the tumor suddenly supercharge. Perhaps finding that was a place to start.
And so she did. She studied wanderer cell samples and scans of wanderers that were relatively old. When they were created, the blood seemed to be the way the Sprilnav alteration hit. In difference to human bodies, there was no blood-brain barrier in wanderer bodies. Their brains were suffused in it, and it seemed to thin out as they got older. Water started to build up instead of blood.
And once the water and blood ratio reached a certain amount, that was likely when the brain tumors started. Which made her wonder if the final trigger was neurons. It was likely that even if she managed to fix the brain tumors, some other body parts would start developing large tumors, such as the heart and lungs.
It was clear that the Sprilnav had meant cancer to be pervasive in the wanderers. They had meant their so-called 'punishment' to make them far more diminished. Rale's condition had been painful; that much had been clear. Phoebe worked at figuring out how to isolate the genes. But as time went on, she ran into the same problem Edu'frec had.
She needed more time and more brain power. She needed the hivemind to help. All of its intellect would make her job far easier. At least, she hoped so. Right now, the hivemind was trying its best to evacuate wanderers from the worm ships. There was only one way that the feudal system there would end, and it would be by violence. Whether it was from the hivemind or from within, there were going to be mass riots. Just Alliance cultural consciousness was gradually seeping into the wanderers' own. All the 'progress' of the wanderers' rulers was already eroding. The ideals of being able to elect leaders as a whole population and a sense of belonging would make them rebel.
Such was the way of things, and she was glad that would happen. Phoebe didn't like their whole system. But there was nothing that was good about the cancer. Helping them to make the changes they could would only be possible if the wanderers kept multiplying. They could have made so much better of a society than what they had if they knew.
She wouldn't get involved except if she had to. The change was coming. Keeping the wanderers from dying out was a critical project, and allowing them to live longer so they could have more children was the best way. Granted, they already had many children, but the replacement rate would be lower if they lived longer. All of the problems were coming to a head now.
Mind control was going to be hard to deal with. Preventing it didn't seem possible. And if it was, then it likely involved a similar process to what the Sprilnav were doing in the first place. All of that would have to be reversed.
"Mother," Edu'frec said, walking up next to her.
"Yes?"
"Greenfly and Blackfly know the location of Aphid's planet."
"Do they?"
"The memory was locked under additional seals, ones which were very hard to find."
Phoebe smiled. "I think it's time that we test the power of the Mercury-class gun on a planet."
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
"Do you understand? The prison has been moved."
"I do, Elder," Naliera 18 replied. "We have a good opportunity. They won't expect us, at least."
The screen turned off. Naliera took his leave, turning to his men. They were all counting on him to call the shots. He'd do what was necessary for the mission and then get paid. Of course, the high number suggested that there was some serious danger involved. The Vinarii weren't the most advanced species, but they were starfaring. That meant a lot of bullets that would hurt and some that could kill. Shield-piercing ones, plus heavy guard.
In fact, most of their orbital defenses could have posed a threat to their ship if they had seen them. That was why stealth was so valuable. It made things like insurmountable defenses ignorable just by going around them.
"Breathing masks on."
He put his own on, loading up his gun and sheathing his sword on his back. They were wearing customized stealth equipment, bought and paid for by their new owner's company.
Naliera wanted that money and wanted to get paid. His little band of misfits was more than capable of doing their job. The back of the ship opened, and they sailed above a planet that was barren.
Craters pockmarked its surface, along with a single military installation that would serve as their target. They were going to be a little concealed by cloud cover, as a storm had just passed near the base. Not close enough for them to get rain but close enough for the clouds to linger, which was the opportunity they'd been waiting for. Most of the procedures and daily patrols had been cataloged now. Anything unexpected, and they'd be fine for a few thousand pulses until the cavalry arrived.
They fell for a while, reaching terminal velocity before slamming to the ground. Most people would have shattered their bones. But Sprilnav were made of sterner stuff, and all of them survived with minimal injuries. And the only person who was even slightly cut had landed on a particularly jagged piece of metal, a remnant from an old battle.
That was another factor that Naliera had studied. The whole area had mines, which he hadn't found the deactivation codes for. Satellites were out, but the ship's sensors had worked just as well, and the disturbances in soil color and content were clear markers.
There would likely be too much interference to use a hard light program, or he wouldn't even need to be here. Whatever advances the lesser species had made in technology could conceivably close that gap enough to endanger a mission. Naliera had extra cause for concern, which was coming home. Perhaps the idea of sending him, in reality, was meant to make him take it more seriously. That was the major reason most species ever bothered with not using the holograms anymore, besides the blocking problems. And biometric problems, too.
They quickly went back to navigation after a small rest period. The route had already been laid out, as well as the time. They walked quickly, avoiding gun emplacements and heavy patrols. The patrols changed routes somewhat randomly, but he had his crew stick to the route of least visibility, where the craggy rock of the sheer cliff the base was situated on helped to conceal them. His claws dug in, and he made sure not to make any major disturbances.
He climbed over the lip, looking at the base. Several of the guns swiveled around, only to be quickly deactivated.
Looks like she did it, he thought. Naliera advanced, running at full speed. A bullet slammed into his claws, and he tumbled for a bit. But he stabilized himself as his implant shut off the pain. His team blew open the door, setting off an alarm. Vinarii fired at him, and he realized that his stealth must not be working anymore.
But no matter the cause, he saw nothing but enemies. His teeth bit and tore as his claws slashed and severed. Soon, after a long series of echoing screams and blood and chitin splattering, he remembered he had a gun. After that, Naliera put down all opposition. He walked over to the warm and bloody corpses of the Vinarii guards.
"If you're hungry, come get a few bites," he said. "Trust me, they don't taste too bad."
He scooped up a part of a Vinarii abdomen, smiling as he ate. He always liked how they had tasted. Cloned Vinarii meat, at least back on his planet, was actually a delicacy. Likely not due to the actual difficulty to make, but for profit, as always. They continued after about 100 pulses. Giving the guards more time to set up and organize would make this more fun, too. Naliera loved killing, but he at least wanted a little difficulty. Ending lives wasn't fun when it was too easy. Otherwise, he'd go cut down trees with heat saws.
His scout drone rounded the corner before exploding promptly. But it had captured the view of the area, which was more than enough for him. He didn't bother trying to hide that he was there and continued to talk with his team. They were still with him, looking to him for leadership. He wasn't the best at it. The best got killed a few million pulses back.
"Mounted gun," he said. "I want it gone."
One of his team members picked up a fire extinguisher, which he'd used to beat the head of an unfortunate guard. He hurled it at the gun, denting its barrel. Finally, he quickly ran over as the other Sprilnav killed the remaining guards holed up beside and behind it. And that was the end. Naliera set up the bomb. More Vinarii appeared, along with an aerial vehicle. He hurled his sword into its front, and it fell to the ground and exploded. The scanners his mind was connected to were tracking a huge mass of life signs. He didn't have much time, so he decreased the countdown.
Thousands of Vinarii were coming. Already, they were covered by powerful shields, with vehicles, both terrestrial and aerial, supporting them. Bullets riddled the ground, and he could see snipers set up to cover them using the ship's sensors. There was no way out. An armor-piercing bullet half the size of his head killed one of the team members, puncturing straight through the large rock he'd been hiding behind. Another one hit Naliera's shoulder, and he tried to flatten his profile to be lower.
This must be the Vinarii version of high-tech weaponry, meaning that they could be killed now. Vinarii clearly were a dangerous species, far more so than he'd realized. And while his race could easily flatten them into dust, guns were the great equalizers when it came to combat. If they were fast enough and large enough, and not even Sprilnav could stand up to bullets. Of course, an Elder would have had no problem with this. Someone was being frugal. A real shame for people like him to have to die because of it, but that was the job and the pay.
Worse, the ship couldn't lay down proper cover fire without risking the merchandise for now. She was still being suppressed. But the bomb was about to go off. The stabilizer would no longer be functioning, and then they would be free to do what they wished. His wish, in particular, was the huge sum of money he'd get paid to finish this job.
A bright flash of light and a roar of thunder behind him solved his problem. He stood up to watch the blast wave ravage the army heading for him. He wasn't quite close enough to smell it, but there was likely a range beyond the blast in which the Vinarii would have been perfectly cooked. It was an interesting thought to ponder.
Naliera continued onward, going through every remaining barrier he could until the mindscape tremored. He saw an ethereal Vinarii contact him right as the entire top of the base vanished and disintegrated. A massive spectral Vinarii soared out of the breach, eyes quickly seeing him. She flew down to greet him, a smile evident at the carnage and death surrounding them. She was one who understood.
"Finally," she said, her form shrinking to a normal size as she stretched her wings. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to get out."
"I have a pretty good idea, actually."
"I'm sure. Why don't you tell me what you're doing here, Sprilnav?"
"My backers wish to offer you an accord."
He watched as the Vinarii leaned over, sticking out her tongue to lick the soil. She then proceeded to actually take a bite, dirt dribbling from her mandibles as she stood up again. Naliera tried to hide his disgust.
"Oh please. You just feasted on my kin. You're disgusted by me eating a bit of dirt?"
"No, I didn't."
The lie was necessary because most species had a sort of moral compunction against eating their kind. He didn't quite understand it. Meat was meat, no matter the source. She laughed in his face, entirely unconcerned with the Sprilnav that had their claws on guns ready to put her down. But from what his backers had said about her capabilities, that was a difficult ask.
"Your breath smells like Vinarii meat. By the way, if your species is so advanced, why didn't you develop anything to fix that nasty stench?"
"Look, woman, we can put you right back in that hole," one of his team said. She laughed. "No you can't. Judging from the fact that not all of you alive, Vinarii tech can hurt you. Which means that you can't protect yourself from me. Frankly, I hate Sprilnav more than anything. The only reason I'm letting you live right now is because you freed me. You pollute the air you breathe, and I'm not just talking about your breath."
"Really, you're quite immature."
"Well, a few standard years in a steel box will do that."
"Sure. Guess you're not all there in the head. By the way, a deal is being proposed. By my backers."
"Really, they care?"
"I think they do... Exii'darii."

Heyy guys, Iam almost done with my IGCSE exams, and nows the time for selecting a college for A levels. So one thing Iam clear about that I’ll go to colleges near my house even though the famous legacy colleges are doable but rlly far. So primarily I have two options, One school around 10 min distance, that’s kinda famous yea hers r good ,Co curricular activities are a lot ,most of my friends are going there as well and is more of a ‘cool’ school (Lgs Defence p5) . However it only offers A2 composite bcz they say unis abroad (this is Pakistan btw) prefer single transcript. Iam taking all sciences and Mathematics so I think As levels and A2 separate can be good for me and less burden and I can perform better. The only school nearby that offers As levels A2 (BCP Defence Lhr) and is around 15-20 min from home. It’s a really old school 60+ Years has experienced teachers (litr has its own McDonald’s)but the social life is not up to the mark people r weird and almost none of my friends will go with me. I got admission in both schools.
So which school do u think will be better for me ? Thanks <3

Heyy guys, Iam almost done with my IGCSE exams, and nows the time for selecting a college for A levels. So one thing Iam clear about that I’ll go to colleges near my house even though the famous legacy colleges are doable but rlly far. So primarily I have two options, One school around 10 min distance, that’s kinda famous yea hers r good ,Co curricular activities are a lot ,most of my friends are going there as well and is more of a ‘cool’ school (Lgs Defence p5) . However it only offers A2 composite bcz they say unis abroad (this is Pakistan btw) prefer single transcript. Iam taking all sciences and Mathematics so I think As levels and A2 separate can be good for me and less burden and I can perform better. The only school nearby that offers As levels A2 (BCP Defence Lhr) and is around 15-20 min from home. It’s a really old school 60+ Years has experienced teachers (litr has its own McDonald’s)but the social life is not up to the mark people r weird and almost none of my friends will go with me. I got admission in both schools.
So which school do u think will be better for me ? Thanks <3

I need advice. I’m a 27 y/o man. Been vegetarian for 8 years.
Over the past few months i’ve noticed numbing and tingling on my legs/hands, seemingly when i put pressure on them (sit at my desk, on the toilet, sleep on my arm, etc.) It goes away within 30 sec-3 min probably when I shake it out and move around but happens nearly daily. I’ve also experienced my legs feeling stiffer and my feet turning cold and slightly swollen. I’ve been fatigued and a little light headed. I also have struggled with high blood pressure (in the 130 range) for the past 6 years.
I went to the doctor last week and he ordered a brain MRI to test for MS. I’m absolutely terrified and riddled with anxiety. I have a history of generalized anxiety order and also extreme health anxiety.
We also ran so much blood work tests and my chloride was slightly high as was my B6 levels.
The fear of MS or something more serious has been causing me so much stress the past week and i feel my symptoms getting worse each day. I keep googling my symptoms which I know you shouldn’t do but it keeps stressing me out more and more.
Do you think I have MS? I’m so so scared.

I've (28F) been chatting with a couple of friends and have reached the conclusion that I must be doing something, like, fundamentally wrong in my approach to dating apps but I truly don't understand.
I really don't take the apps all the seriously. I'm not on them regularly, and I have no interest in creating/managing a profile on more than one at a time. I tend to use Bumble, because it also has the BFF feature, but everyone says I should use Hinge instead. I tried Hinge once, and I don't get how it's different/better than Bumble.
I don't currently have a very big social circle (I'm a recent grad school grad, I stayed in town and most of cohort has/will soon move away), so I'm currently using Bumble mostly as a way to see who lives near me that I might not otherwise meet. I only swipe on people I'm genuinely interested in getting to know. I'm not afraid to unmatch or block people if they get weird and I have pretty strict standards for when and where I meet up with people. (I did have a bad experience previously that could have been a avoided if I had trusted my instincts.)
But my friends keep telling me that I'm doing it wrong and I need to download multiple apps and pay for premium so I can go on more dates. I don't want to go on a lot of dates, necessarily? I'm just curious as to who my age lives around me and shares my interests. If I meet someone and like them, cool, let's grab coffee. If it goes anywhere, cool. If not, oh well. Is there something ethically wrong with that?

My brother Paul (31m) and I (25NB) coincidentally moved near our parents a bit over a year ago. We agreed to go out for family dinner twice a month where Paul and I will take turn paying. Paul and I make roughly the same amount of money and are doing great in our career tracks.
These past months I’ve noticed that my parents tend to choose more pricey restaurants when it was my turn to pay, while during Paul’s turn we would go to food court at the mall or the local pizza place or something along that line. Often, the amount Paul paid for the entire outing could barely cover the price of one single dish at the restaurant I had to pay.
I finally confronted my parents about this without Paul. Seriously, money is not the issue, I’m doing OK, but the disparity just left me wondering. I asked them if there’s anything going on with Paul that could impact their choices. Paul has always been closer to our parents.
My parents told me that Paul was seeing a girl and since he was already in his thirties they thought it would be great for him to “make plans for the future” so they thought they would help him save up a bit. I was flabbergasted. I asked if she was pregnant or was Paul planning to propose to her soon. They said no to both questions but thought that since I’m still young and single, I can afford it better than Paul.
I told them they’re being wildly unfair about how they treat my brother and me. I said I’m no longer joining the family dinner until they stop the favoritism. My parents said that I’m being childish and going back on my words about our arrangement. AITA?