Hey there,
I have been getting some claims “needing review” from my employer insurance and stating that my hospital says I have other coverage and I need to do a COB. When I have any remaining balances from my deductible, that are related to a crime I was the victim of, the remainder of the bill is sent to a state Crime Victim agency (payer of last resort).
I looked into it a few months ago when I was first flagged and everything I read online stated I was fine. I even tried to submit ‘other coverage’ on their form but it asked for insurance plans, Medicaid or medical. So I submitted no other coverage.
I got flagged again recently, and spoke to a representative on the phone and she said I didn’t need to do a coordination of benefits since the crime victims coverage is not insurance.
Anyways I was just wondering if anyone’s dealt with anything like this before or knows for sure that I’m doing this correctly? Even my hospital, who initially I would send the bills to the crime victims org instead of having them bill them directly, stated it’s not something that’s super common and I noticed they listed the crime victims under other coverage on my profile so that’s probably causing the confusion.

Today I visited my local NOIL and tried a wide variety of mid-tier to high-end used office chairs in good condition. Some of my thoughts on some of those chairs, in no particular order:
For reference: I'm 5'10" 220 lbs, and I consider the SitOnIt Novo and HON Ignition 2.0 to have "average" lumbar support tension.
Friant Tango – I'm impressed!

• The most flexible backrest of all mid-tier office chairs I've tried and it's not even close. Still very supportive for the full back, with slightly stronger than average lumbar support.
  
• Solid-feeling build quality
  
• Nice seat of average firmness
  
• Armrests are slightly hard but have good adjustability
  
• Short maximum seat height = estimated max user height of ~6’2”
  
• According to Friant's website, the seat foam is warranted for only 1 year, but I can tell it is high-quality will last much longer. The rest of the chair has lifetime warranty.
  

Global Tritek Ergo Select – surprisingly good all-around. Canadians rejoice!

• Backrest shape allows for good shoulder posture and full range of arm movement.
  
• Backrest’s ratchet height adjustment has HUGE range. Tall and short people alike can get the lumbar support just where they need it.
  
• Lumbar is tension-adjustable from average to strong.
  
• Multifunction mechanism allows for forward tilt! Great overall adjustability except for limited recline depth.
  
• Solid-feeling build quality
  
• Nice seat of average firmness
  
• Armrests are well-cushioned with great adjustability, but just slightly too forward
  
• A rare good office chair value in Canada? https://officeseating.ca/tritek-ergo-select-standard-seat/
  

Knoll RPM, Steelcase Criterion, and Haworth Improv HE are the trifecta of decent, sturdy old-school ergonomic office chairs.
Steelcase Leap V2 – “huggy” backrest and seat not recommended for those who run hot
Steelcase Amia - weaker than average lumbar support
Steelcase Gesture – armrests are well-padded and have fantastic adjustability range, but move too easily.
Herman Miller Aeron

• God-tier recline smoothness. Like I don’t understand how it can be so smooth. It’s somehow better than the super nice reclines of the Haworth Fern, Zody, Steelcase Karman, and Herman Miller Embody.
  
• Highly restrictive seat design due to the side bolsters.
  
• It is clear why the hard front edge of the seat is problematic for so many users.
  
• Best-cushioned armrests, but positioned too far forward!
  

Herman Miller Embody – cool design but overrated imo

• Very open seat design is fantastic – opposite of the Aeron’s seat
  
• Lumbar support is positioned very low, is more like sacral support.
  
• Backrest flexibility is top-notch but creates a lot of creaks and cracks.
  
• Armrests are well-cushioned with easy adjustability BUT positioned way too far forward!
  

Haworth Zody (classic) and Very – the high-end crowd pleasers

• Zody – slightly more premium, with adjustable lumbar tension range of weaker than average to average tension
  
• Very – slightly less premium with adjustable lumbar tension range of slightly weaker than average to slightly stronger than average
  
• The Very does have true forward tilt! I’ve seen comments here claiming it does not.
  

Humanscale Diffrient Smart

• Lumbar support feels high and can’t be adjusted. The weird recline motion makes it even worse.
  
• The gel seat feels really nice.
  

Humanscale Freedom without headrest

• Without the headrest, the backrest has a HUGE height adjustment range, but it still doesn’t adequately support the center of the lower back.

Allsteel Acuity – solid chair but not recommended for overweight users

• I’ve previously said that I found the Acuity’s seat very firm. This apparently varies. The ones I tested today felt only slightly firmer than average.
  
• The backrest mesh “hugs” my lower back too much, resulting in more pressure on my sides than on the center of my back; it probably wouldn’t have this effect for users of average weight.
  
• Armrests have good adjustability and feel very solid, but are unfortunately very hard.
  

Knoll Chadwick

• Typical mesh-seat issue of the front edge of the seat frame compressing the thighs.

Knoll Generation - I hate it but I'm not sure why.
Knoll Regeneration - Would be a good value at mid-tier chair prices, but alas...
SitOnIt Torsa - solid mid-tier crowd pleaser with somewhat weaker than average lumbar support tension. Don't pay more than $200 for a used one unless it's practically new.

My dad died when I was 4 and I have since learned that she has been claiming social security for all of that time. My older sister isn't in college and I found out that her and my Mother got into a huge fight over it because once my sister turned 18 the money from her ($1000) per kid, would stop so she would stop getting $1000. My sister said that if mom used the money to pay for her college, then she would enroll but my mom refused so she is no longer getting that money. Now my mom is trying to do the same thing for me. She only gets the money if I am a full time college student, but I won't sign the forms unless I get the money because she is so irresponsible with the money. She got a large settlement from my fathers death as it was the states fault, ($250,000) that was set into three separate accounts for when my siblings and I turned 18, but all of it is gone now because she spent it on things like a rv, a new car, and 5 separate cruises and other vacations for herself (not even taking us). She also buys a lot of stuff we don't need or even want. Is there anyway for the social security money to be sent to my University to help me pay for college? Or should I just refuse to sign the paper work?

My dad died when I was 4 and I have since learned that she has been claiming social security for all of that time. My older sister isn't in college and I found out that her and my Mother got into a huge fight over it because once my sister turned 18 the money from her ($1000) per kid, would stop so she would stop getting $1000. My sister said that if mom used the money to pay for her college, then she would enroll but my mom refused so she is no longer getting that money. Now my mom is trying to do the same thing for me. She only gets the money if I am a full time college student, but I won't sign the forms unless I get the money because she is so irresponsible with the money. She got a large settlement from my fathers death as it was the states fault, ($250,000) that was set into three separate accounts for when my siblings and I turned 18, but all of it is gone now because she spent it on things like a rv, a new car, 5 separate cruises and other vacations for herself (not even taking us) and so much more ridiculous stuff. She also buys a lot of stuff we don't need or even want. Is there anyway for the social security money to be sent to my University to help me pay for college? Or should I just refuse to sign the paper work?

Hey there, readers! Here's chapter five for your reading pleasure! Please consider leaving a comment or review as those really do just pick me right up!
I've Been Reincarnated as a Bunny Girl?! (Chapter 5)
by
ShadowDragon88
A fine drizzle was coming down on the town of Starlight Rose. A familiar wolf-kin beasta in red robes that appeared to be shimmering despite the cloudy gloom of the day was walking along the main road. In his right hand, he held a long polished oak staff, topped with a red glowing gemstone the size of his fist. In his left hand, held away from his body, was a tan leather satchel, the drawstring tied in a knot. It appeared full, and seemed to shudder and wriggle. Felixin smiled and nodded to passing villagers.
​
"Hey there, Felixin," came the rumbling voice of Earl Shatterknuckle. The blonde dwarf, presently wearing just simple brown leather trousers, fell in step beside his taller friend. Felixin looked down at the dwarf, whose smaller frame was bulging with muscles, with blue and gold glowing tattoos tracing intricate spider-web-like symbols across his chest and arms, smiling back.
​
"Good day to you, Earl," the wolf said. There was a spitting-chittering sound coming from the bag, making Felixin pause and frown before giving the satchel a good whack with his magical staff. "Quiet, you!" he hissed at it.
​
"Caught yourself another evil spirit, eh?" Earl said with a smirk.
​
"Oh yes, and this one was quite the nasty piece of work. I'm on my way back to my lab to properly dispose of it. I think it's from some destroyed remnant of Eld technology, one of the ones that gained sentience, or at least some spiritual semblance to it," Felixin said as he gave the bag another whack when it started to make some electronic beeping sounds.
​
"Oh?" Earl asked, curious. "I remember more than once we had some nasty run-ins with Eld-tech back when we were adventurers."
​
"I remember you and Melthi being the ones to turn the blasted machines on, both times when cautioned not to," Felixin said pointedly, making the dwarf chuckle.
​
"What can I say? We're both curious by nature!"
​
"Yes, that's one word for it," Felixin said with a smile, remembering his adventuring days and the party of friends he would regularly travel with. "Anyways. For some reason, about six years ago, they suddenly became much more prevalent. Thankfully, their numbers have been dropping back down over the years."
​
"What makes you think this one is from Eld tech?"
​
"It kept saying 'Does not compute!' over and over again, while also identifying some kind of rabbit threat." Felixin's mood seemed to shift and his ears laid back on his head, while his tail dipped, almost long enough to drag on the ground behind him. "And when it mentioned rabbits, it made me think of my little princess."
​
Earl rolled his eyes as he reached up and clapped the town wizard on the back. "Ah, Kiana'll be back to visit before you know it."
​
"I know... it's just, one minute she was this little delicate baby girl, and the next minute, she was this amazing young woman, all ready to up and go out."
​
"Didn't Kiana kick down a couple of brick walls when she was a baby?" Earl asked, scratching his head. Felixin waved a dismissive paw at that.
​
"Pure coincidences. Those walls were clearly unsound and improperly constructed, so much so that when she was having one of her tantrums just a little punch or kick was enough to send them tumbling down. We're lucky she wasn't hurt or scared, just confused and curious more than anything. Anyways, I just get so worried when I think of her, out there on the open road. Just so... vulnerable. Thankfully I made sure to instill in her a proper sense of caution." Earl snorted at that.
​
Meanwhile...
​
Kiana let out a roar of fury as her trusted tetsubo connected with the raised steel shield of the bandit before her. The metal dented and warped just as the bandit, shield and all, became airborne. They traveled in an arc straight towards a stone tower connected to an old run-down fort the bandits had holed up in. The screaming man smashed into the top of the tower, crumbling it, his screams instantly going silent.
​
"Fire!" Kiana heard a deep voice shout. There were several blasts and, thanks to Kiana's speed, she watched as five cannonballs headed in her direction. To the ordinary person, the black metallic spheres were probably nearly impossible to follow. To Kiana, it looked as though they were moving incredibly slow. She simply stepped aside from four of them, letting them explode into the nearby hillside. As the fifth one hurtled her way, she crouched slightly, raising her tetsubo like a baseball bat. She swung and smacked the cannonball, her tetsubo making a loud DING, and sent it flying right back where it had come from. The two bandits manning the cannon were obliterated along with the weapon itself, as well as a good chunk of the fort wall.
​
"She's some kind of demon!" one of the bandits cried. The man, really more of a boy, no older than Kiana, leapt down from the fort wall onto a carriage they had recently stolen from some traveling aristocrats. He then leapt onto the ground and sprinted out into the forest, stripping off the black cloak with the red eye in the center.
​
"DAMMIT!" the bandit leader cursed, pulling off his tricorn hat and dabbing his bald sweaty head with a handkerchief. While the remaining men were busy barring the windows or reloading and firing the cannons, he was gnashing his teeth. After a moment's hesitation, he pointed to a nearby subordinate. "You! Follow me. We'll unleash the troll on her."
​
The other bandit paled, audibly gulping. "Th-the troll? Are you sure th-that's wise?" Just as he finished asking that, another cannonball destroyed another cannon, making the entire structure shudder.
​
"We don't have any other options. Hopefully, after it kills her, it'll be injured enough for us to finish it off... or the other way around if she kills it." The other bandit grimaced at the options laid before them, but nodded solemnly. Outside, Kiana smacked another cannonball back at the cannon that fired it, being careful not to send it flying towards the base of the tower. According to one of the kidnapped merchants that had managed to escape and make it all the way to town, the cells where the bandits were holding their ransom victims were all on the ground floor. Kiana stopped when she heard a loud guttural roar, followed by a rapid series of loud BOOMs. Bandits ran by the windows and open holes of the fort, while the front gate slowly opened.
​
Out stumbled a massive creature. Its flesh was a dark brown, and had a texture not unlike tree bark. Its long arms and legs were thicker than the old oak trees in the forest near Starlight Rose. Its gnarled hands, with thick thorn-like protrusions sticking from the knuckles, balled into fists, fists that were as big as Kiana was tall. Its barrel-chest heaved, with white criss-crossing scars in its bark-flesh. It didn't have much in the way of a neck, and its head looked just like a tree stump, complete with root-like tendrils wriggling back and forth. It's mouth was partially concealed by the tendrils, until it reared back and opened its gaping maw, revealing rows of broken yellow teeth, to let out a bellow that shook the ground. From the top of its head grew two slightly spiraling branch-like horns.
​
"These idiots somehow managed to get a forest troll?" Kiana asked out loud, a smirk appearing on her face. "And this was only a gold-ranked quest? Something tells me I'm in for a sweet bonus."
​
The beast stopped as its knot-like eyes, of which there were at least seven, caught sight of the bunny girl. Up above from the second story windows and holes and from on the roof, the remaining bandits, many of them injured, looked down. Most were smirking, some of the more foolish ones shouted out taunts. The bandit leader stood there, looking grim-faced, but taking some satisfaction in knowing that despite their losses today, the annoying source of their problems was about to end, one way or another.
​
Kiana stuck the end of her tetsubo into the dirt, large and surprisingly quick thudding steps shaking the ground. The beast was lumbering towards Kiana, who didn't look the least bit afraid. While not intelligent enough to be truly sentient, the troll did have enough sense to know that its prey should be running. And the fact that it was just calmly standing there, staring at it, only angered it further. With a final roar, the forest troll charged forward. It balled up a massive fist, and swung straight for Kiana. Kiana swung her own fist, the two colliding.
​
There was a very loud, sickening crunch and pop. The bandits looked down in shock and horror as where the now screaming troll's fist and forearm had been, there was a bloody and jagged stump that ended just above the right elbow. The troll screeched and lunged at Kiana, hoping to impale her on its horns. But the bunny girl simply kicked, knocking the head clean off the rest of its body. The head bounced off a tree and rolled for a bit, settling in the dirt, a look of surprise on the stump-like face. The rest of the body tumbled over three times before coming to a rest near the make-shift stables, where the carriages and horses of the abducted nobles were kept. Kiana looked back up at the fort, making the majority of the bandits shrink back and shudder. A few of them began to wave white tablecloths hastily tied to sticks and tree branches.
​
A short time later the bandits, now in shackles, were being marched to the mechanical cart as the local sheriff and his deputies led them. Except for the severely injured ones, who were shackled to stretchers and loaded up into a seperate mechanical carriage. Kiana looked on as bodies were checked for possible survivors, there being very few to find, as the merchants and a few nobles were led by deputies out from the fort. Kiana smiled at them and nodded to their looks of awe, some of them having gotten a good look at the show of force the petite bunny girl had demonstrated. Ignoring the ones who shrank back away from her in fright, Kiana spotted the sheriff, a large older man in his mid-fifties with salt and pepper close-cropped hair and a matching mustache. He was wearing the classic green cloak, directing his deputies. He turned to face her as she approached.
​
"I think that's all cleared up," Kiana said, her voice chipper, belaying the fact she had a smattering of blood and gore staining her fur.
​
"I'd have to agree with you, young lady," Sheriff Tonsol said, his voice even. In truth, he had tried to avoid enlisting the aid of any adventurers until pressure from various merchants and nobility forced his hand. And even then he had expected it to involve a large party and, more than likely, some lives lost from the hostages. He was a little surprised when the girl reached into her satchel to produce a clipboard with a form on it, as well as an ink pen.
​
"In that case, would you mind signing this form indicating that I completed the job satisfactorily?" Tonsol looked at the form for a minute, and then his mouth curved upwards. He let out a chuckle and signed his name on the indicated line, writing in the date as well.
​
"Satisfactorily is putting it lightly, miss," he said, handing the clipboard and pen back to the bunny girl. "I had no idea that they had a forest troll in their possession. I went ahead and bumped up the reward."
​
"Oh wow, thank you, sir!" Kiana said, looking excited.
​
Tonsol smiled, something his deputies claimed to be a rare sight to behold. "Well, you earned it. I'm just glad you were able to get them to surrender without harming any hostages. Well, without them harming any more than the ones they did last time someone came out here to free them."
​
"I'm glad I could help!" Kiana said, bowing a little. "Now, I'm going to head back into town." She spread her arms wide and indicated to herself. "I'm really in need of a bath at this point."
​
"If you don't mind waiting a minute, you can ride back to town with us. It's faster than walking."
​
"Oh, thanks for the offer, but I'm good." Kiana waved, before jogging back to where she'd left her tetsubo and pack, Mirabelle coiled around it protectively. She grabbed the items up, quickly looking through the travel pack to make sure she still had everything, and nodded to herself, satisfied. She slipped the pack onto her back, then scooped her pet snake into her arms, and started to jog down the road in the direction of the town of Hengecliffe. Picking up speed, she rapidly became a blur, and in just a few seconds she was coming to a sliding stop in front of the town gates, startling a couple of bored-looking guards.
​
She greeted them and let Mirabelle down before they let her inside. They stared at the snake with the big pink ribbon around its neck slithering obediently behind the bunny girl. She stopped off at the local guild hall to drop off the signed paperwork and collect her now even heftier reward. She noticed a few stares in her general direction, and some unhappy grumbling from some fellow adventurers, but otherwise no one said anything.
​
Kiana then headed to the town inn where she still had a room for another night. Thankful again that this world had indoor plumbing, with hot water to boot, Kiana wasted no time in stripping off her gore-coated clothes, which she would wash in the laundry room down the hall, and enjoyed a nice steamy shower. She didn't have to worry about possible intruders, as Mirabelle sat coiled on the bed, ever vigilant.
​
"Today was a good day," Kiana said, stepping out of the shower and drying herself off, a feat that took several minutes with a towel. This left her gray and white fur all fluffed-out, which led to her brushing it out. Kiana had grown accustomed to the care and maintenance of her fur, taking pride in keeping it clean. She then donned her underwear and a cream-colored sundress from her pack, carefully putting her dirty clothes in the laundry sack in her pack. She smiled and stroked Mirabelle's head, the snake letting out a contented purr-like hiss.
​
"I'm going to go out and enjoy the rest of the afternoon in town. You stay here and guard the pack, okay?" she asked, slipping her mithril knuckles into her dress pockets, along with a small money pouch. Mirabelle hissed, thumping her tail on the bed in response, curling up tighter around Kiana's belongings.
​
"Good girl," she praised, before heading out, locking the door behind herself for good measure. Kiana smiled as she stepped out onto the paved sidewalk, carriages passing by on the street. Hengecliffe was much larger than Starlight Rose, with paved streets and even streetlights. Centrally located in a region of plains, it served as a trading hub. Kiana walked along, noticing a few men and women looking her over. Some seemed to do so with distaste, more than likely not enjoying the sight of a beasta. But most seemed to be pleasant people observing a new face.
​
"Well now, if my eyes are not deceiving me, it seems that an angel from the heavens has decided to grace us mere mortals with her presence." Kiana's ears twitched at the sound of the male voice. She paused and turned, looking down an alley, where a man leaning up against the side of a building stood, looking her over. He was wearing brown leather trousers, a white linen shirt, and a belt with a large buckle which, matching the large buckles on his boots, made him look a bit like a pirate. The goatee and the cutlass sheathed at his side were also not helping.
​
"Hello, beautiful," he said, giving Kiana a wink. Kiana rolled her eyes, and moved to keep walking, only to find a squat bald man standing in her way, grinning sinisterly. Kiana checked behind herself and saw another man, a larger one with a completely shaved head, arms crossed with a club under one arm. "Now, how about we all go somewhere more... private," the pirate-looking moron asked, giving Kiana a smug wink.
​
"Wow, you idiots have no idea just how badly you messed up," Kiana said, walking into the alley, the two guys following right behind her. The men chuckled. Passersby stopped when they heard three loud thuds coming from the alley, all of which made the nearby buildings shudder. They saw a bunny beasta girl walking out, brushing some dust off her sundress. She smiled and waved and continued on her way, leaving behind three broken figures. Two were lying in craters in the pavement of the alley, while the third, this one with a cutlass laying at his booted feet, was standing... his head laying all the way back in a hole in the brick wall right behind him.
​
Later that evening...
​
Kiana was sitting just outside the town walls on a hill, watching the stars come out. After sixteen years, it still mystified her to look up at the night sky, and not see any of the old constellations. She smiled as a shooting star streaked its way across the sky. Suddenly, Kiana felt a surge of energy just course through her. Her eyes faintly started to glow with the blue light, and she felt a strange pulsing in her chest. Looking around, she felt a strange magnetic pull coming from the south.
​
Starting as a jog, Kiana soon found herself sprinting outright across the countryside. She ran, as a blur, following the pull, her eyes gradually glowing brighter and brighter, shining with the crackling blue energy. Then, she came to a stop. She stood at the foot of a mountain, itself part of a larger range. Looking up at the mass of rock and ice, she could see broiling clouds up over it, flashes of lightning briefly illuminating the rocky and snowy peaks. With one such flash, Kiana saw something move. Something big. Kiana's glowing eyes went wide.
​
"Oh wooooooooow," she said, her jaw hanging open. There were rumbles as the giant coiled mass shifted. Several avalanches were caused by the serpentine body, buried under tons and tons of snow. At the very peak of the mountain, a gargantuan head rose.
​
"Is that a giant... cobra?" Kiana asked under her breath. Indeed, that was what the creature that seemed to dwarf the Spire appeared to be. In the light of the lightning, she saw that its scales were a deep blue, almost purple. There were stripes running down its back, but they were glowing a bright bioluminescent blue. That same glow radiated from the creature's reptilian eyes, and the inside of its hood. The same glowing blue as Kiana's eyes.
​
"What... are you?" Kiana asked, quietly.
​
I can ask the same of you, little one, a deep female voice hissed in Kiana's head. She winced and looked around. She then looked back up at the creature, her veins flooded with adrenaline. There was another flash of lightning, and in that very instant, the creature's head was bent down low, right in front of her. Kiana almost jumped back, but stopped herself. As the snake-entity looked her over with an eye that was twice as tall as she was, Kiana felt a sense of calm overtake her.
​
"Are you... a storm dragon? A real storm dragon?" Kiana asked, reaching out and touching the creature's cheek with her hand. It flicked out a blood red tongue, its mouth curling up a little at the corners.
​
That is something that little ones like to call my kind, she said. Kiana figured right then and there that this was a female.
​
"A monk said that... my spirit is like one of yours," Kiana said, breathlessly.
​
Your soulsong feels similar to one of our kind, little one, she said, turning her head and gently nuzzling the top of Kiana's head, making her ears lay flat. The storm dragon's head was almost as large as the entirety of her hometown.
​
"My... soulsong?" Kiana asked. The monk she had met hadn't said anything about them.
​
The song of your innermost being. It stands out from the loud and noisy cacophony that happens when most little ones gather together in large groups. Yours is beautiful, and a little... fluttery. The dragon gave her a wink. She reared up and opened her mouth. Electricity danced between the dragon's fangs, before she shot out a sonic boom. The raging storm above abated, the clouds dispersing, leaving only a crystal clear night sky for miles and miles around. She then turned and looked down at Kiana. The bunny girl felt the storm dragon's gaze. She felt a radiating warmth coming from her. It reminded Kiana of her mother.
​
It was so nice to meet you, little one. It was quite the pleasant surprise to awaken to. She let out a proud roar, and her body began to undulate. Sections of the mountain range began to crumble as large sections of mountain were crushed and smashed by the body slamming into them. The body of the dragon rose into the air, beginning to gracefully slither about. Levitating there, partially coiled, the sheer size of the storm dragon just boggled the bunny girl's mind.
​
"Will I see you again?" Kiana asked, feeling a little sad. She had just met this beautiful and amazing being, and already they were leaving.
​
Of course, little one, the mental voice in her mind chuckled warmly. I have listened to your beautiful soulsong, and I have shared my soulsong with you.
​
"I... I don't understand what that means," Kiana said, confused.
​
You will, little one, she said, you are still young, but my soulsong has resonated within you. When you stop and listen, it will become easier and easier to hear it. And thus, the bond has begun to form. In time, you shall understand. With a flick of the creature's tail, there was a flash of lightning that radiated from within the hood, and she was gone. Kiana stood there, her eyes readjusting to the dark.
​
"This world is so awesome," she said, a smile on her face, as she began to job back towards town. She figured that if the town gates were closed and locked, she could just jump over the wall.
​
Meanwhile...
​
The lone figure stood in the dark, staring at where the great serpent had been levitating. They were sitting on a log in a small clearing, where they had set up camp. The individual in question was polishing their armor when a gray blur had shot right past them. And then, where it had been heading, the giant serpent, an actual storm dragon, arose. They sat there in stunned silence. They knew right then and there, that it had been a sign from the gods. As they unsheathed their katana, it began to thrum with magical energy, the blade becoming engulfed in bright purple flames.
​
The light of the purple flames illuminated his green face, glinting off his polished tusks. "Soon, the war shall begin," said the orc, sheathing the blade and cutting off its purple light. The same purple light shone from his eyes.
​
Name: Kiana
​
Species: Beasta (Rabbit-Kin)
​
Age: 16
​
Skills: Sibling Wrangler, Babysitter, Puppy-Dog Eyes, Master Martial Arts, Brawling, Heavy Weapon Proficiency, Sarcasm Mastery, Eyerolling Mastery, Beast Taming Level 3
​
Class: (Official) Master-Level Dragon Monk: Storm Dragon School, Storm Dragon Hatchling.
​
​
Str: 141
Int: 12
Dex: 140
Cha: 12
Wis: 10
Con: 172
Languages: Common, Draconic
​
Equipment: Adventurer's Pack, Steelwood Tetsubo, Mastercraft Mithril Knuckles (x2), Rope (25 Ft.), Canteen (Full), Road Rations, Spare Clothes, Bedroll, Health Potion (x2), Books (x3)
I really hope that you enjoyed the new chapter! Thank you for reading so far!
Prev - First - Next

I'm not even sure where to begin, I'm deeply hurt by my mom's actions and words. She's spiraled into someone I cannot even recognize and I feel like I've lost her-even though she's still alive. I'm sorry for this being such a long rant. Our situation has not been the best in the last 3-4 years. We've been financially struggling, yet every time we're close to getting caught up, my mom decides to take a trip or impulsively spends her money. I won't lie, my family isn't the most financially literate, but they're all hard workers.
To start, in 2020, when lockdown happened, my mother reconnected with one of her old friends in another country. Eventually, she broke the news to my little sister, (we'll call her B) and I that she was in a new relationship, (V). This was a shocker for both of us, but we were happy for her because her previous relationship was rather toxic for my mother and was consistently on and off for years. The first time she left B and I, was later in 2020 when COVID was still at peak, we were both 13 and 16. At first it was supposed to be two weeks, then she extended her stay to a month, then to two months.
When my mom had left, my grandma was in charge of B and I. My grandma blocked my mother the moment she landed, she was convinced my mother was lying to her because grandma was getting notifications that the account password was trying to be changed in 3 places within the country my mother was going to. At this point, things were already tense, because B was already feeling like mom was invalidating her and still treating her like a child, even though she was turning into a teen. My mom made excuses to her staying longer by saying how there were storms and that, "she couldn't know him in just 2 weeks".
Mom and Grandma have never had a very stable relationship. They've both done hurt to each other that I hope they can get therapy. One thing my mom said to grandma is "Oh you're so hard to deal with even your husband finds you impossible". My grandpa hasn't talked to my mom since and can't stand the way she talks to grandma. Plus, mom has a tendency to lie, or as she puts it "keep people out her business", will say something completely off about the situation or leave out extremely important details. My mom would have me log in to some of her accounts while she was away and would have me submit a form almost every week for her relief or something of the sorts. Turns out, she was using it for her trip and asked me for her certificates and important papers to send to her friend who was going to send it to my mother. My mother was planning on marrying the guy without saying anything to B and I.
She even told my dad we needed groceries and would have him send 200 a week. I spoke to my dad and told him we don't go every week and that mom was out the country. Obviously, dad wasn't aware and was rightfully upset with her. He was sending money for B and I, while my mom was out probably using it for her trip. B and I had no idea he was sending money to her. Mom was outraged and told me she wasn't lying and just with holding information. My dad confronted mom over the phone, telling her how she should've told him. How concerned he was for our safety, which is valid. My mom calls me back and claimed my grandma was brainwashing me and how I was ruining her friendship with dad. She told me to call my dad and tell him we were okay. She told me how she deserved a vacation and to not get frustrated with her.
Like I mentioned before, my mom refused to treat my sister like a teenager, refused to let her watch age appropriate shows and just treated her like she was 6. My grandma, B, and I, all like watching crime. Mom hated when B would watch and told her, "I don't want you to be what OP is and I don't want you to be lost like her and how she is". I was 5 months into therapy around this time, I wanted to get help and get better. I cried when I saw the messages. Not even two weeks later mom came back. B and I didn't greet her, to which she said, "You girls are so ungrateful", slammed her door and didn't talk to us.
I love my mom, I wanted to have a good relationship with her and took it upon myself to do damage control. We "cleared" things up through our talk. Except she talked to where it would be in her favor and play her as the victim. Things were good for the next two months until she decided to go back again. This time she would be marrying V, her new man. Before my mom left, she was adamant on refusing to tell my dad she was leaving. She practically threatened B and I to not. My dad was upset we didn't tell him she went out the country again, and me being a dumb 16 year old, told him I didn't think it was my responsibility to inform him.
By the time mom came back, it was almost a week before B's birthday. Mom broke the news that she was pregnant. Neither of us were happy. B and I cried and mom wasn't happy with our reactions. She was upset for a couple of days and I turned around and offered my support to her. B was heart broken since she's always been the baby in the family. Mom having another was the straw that broke the camel's back. Their relationship was just torn from that moment. She did go with her out of the country just for vacation. As my sister puts it, it wasn't a great experience and mom was upset with her for not speaking much.
Mom was also slowly getting disowned by the family by the time she came back. When she was due in late 2021, I offered to stay in the hospital with her, but because I wasn't 18 and COVID was still an issue, they wouldn't allow me. My grandma instead stayed with her and eventually left after the baby was born. Rather than picking up my mom from the hospital, she offered to drop the seat and told my mom she could UBER home. I don't agree with how grandma handled it, my mom did just have a baby.
All was well, baby was fine. School was okay, I did struggle a bit because of other factors. However, by the time I had graduated, I decided to take a gap year. I didn't know what I wanted to major in. If I did go, I didn't want to drop out, continuously change majors, or worry about how it would get paid. At the time, my family was still struggling financially. I picked up hours at my job, and mom stayed with her friend who was also her boss. Her boss was not paying her at the time because she was in the process of a divorce after her husband put her business in jeopardy.
I became financially responsible in the meantime and had to pick up some of the bills, with the very little I received from my pay. Mom would get paid time to time, but it was so inconsistent that I was the one who was head of household. Sometime she would pay me back and other times, she refused to and would apply the amount to a bill she believed I needed to pay. She financed a new car that was well beyond what we could pay, same for the insurance for me. We split the car note and I split the insurance with my dad. Every month I was paying 450, including half the insurance, for a car I do not use a quarter of the time. Only time I would have it frequently was when mom was out on a trip to see her husband, since I don't have a car of my own.
Mom eventually invited her boss and kid to come live with us, told her to not pay the first months rent and let her stay until earlier this year. Her boss was late on payments and overall it was an uncomfortable experience living there because I felt like they were leeching off of us. The bills were doubled or tripled and I was expected to pay some of them. Before they moved in, I expressed to my mom how I didn't think it was a good idea since she was already behind paying her and was inconsistent with her payments and owed her so much. Mom refused to listen and just let it happen. B was uncomfortable and ended up staying with our grandma more often and rarely came over.
Around this time, mom became very pushy about me babysitting. She would ask when I was off and if I could watch baby. Not ask, more of demand. Sometimes I would offer, but it became a problem to which I barely had time to myself. One incident happened near the holidays. It was around Black Friday time, the car was in the shop because I accidently hit a deer that ran in front of me. We were using a rental at the time. I told my mom a week before that I needed the day I had off, because I would be working 5 days, only have one day off, and then work 6 days in a row. Mom didn't listen and the day before, asked me to babysit because the babysitter couldn't. I told her no and she guilt tripped me and told me she would be home at 3. She left at 11, came back at 3ish with hand tattoos. Showed me them and then left. I was in disbelief that my mom would do that. It was a punch to the face, she knew we were already struggling, and she knew I needed that day off. My grandma was the one who picked her up from the rental. Mom wasn't home until 6. Mom left for thanksgiving with her aunt. She came back and left again for a month for Christmas with baby to go out of the country to see her husband.
Before she came back, her boss packed her stuff and left without a word to my mom. By the time she came back, it was tense, she was let go and had to look for a new job. I was fed up with the constant babysitting and had either my grandma take me to work or my boyfriend, K. I rarely offered and mom would ask but I would rarely say yes or made an excuse. More as of recently, it's come to the point where I feel as though I'm living with a roommate and not my mom. B isn't at home and I don't blame her. Luckily I've reconnected with my family after being isolated and taking my mom's side for a few months. My family is supporting me and I'm going back to school next semester.
I made plans one weekend with K and my mom called me the next morning and asked me to watch baby. I offered to buy the things she needed and said "No, I have things to return". I offered to return them, she refused. She said "These are things I need to buy on my own". I asked her why she couldn't take baby, her only excuse was that baby and her had a long day yesterday and that, "it would be tedious and time consuming getting baby ready". I told her, "Yes, that's YOUR child." Mom sarcastically said, "Wow, you're right. Thanks for reminding me like I didn't know," and hung up.
My mom has a tendency to give silent treatment. Why? I don't know. I had gotten off of work late one night, mom picked me up and I asked if we could stop by somewhere that was still open. After receiving my food, we're pulling out, there's a car coming by and I told her to not go. She's on her phone texting, stops, and says "I know, I've been driving for years. When have you seen me turn and drive?" Without thinking, I respond, "When have I not." She blows up at me saying how she's tired of my stupid annoying comments and refuses to talk to me the rest of the way home. I tell her "goodnight, I love you," when we get home. I say it 5-6 times before she responds back saying goodnight.
The next day, she was silent with me when I came home. While I'm leaving with some of my stuff since I was staying the night at K's, I say "bye mom. I'm leaving, I love you." She only responds with a bye in a serious tone. I cried in K's car, even the next night when I stopped by for a few more things, she was cold. I decided to test to see if she was purposely refusing to say it back. When I told her bye and I love you, she just said bye. I repeated it one more time and it was the same response. She later texted me saying "I love you, don't ever doubt it." I didn't respond. She said it the next few days, but remained cold with me. Just recently, she texted me while at work and asked me about the move situation. I hadn't responded just yet and she sends a long paragraph about how I owe her the respect of answering her important messages and that I should find the time to. By the time I see the message, I tell her I'm at work, that she knows I do not look at my messages and that I have B's and I's situation under control.
Last night, as I was leaving to stay at K's again, I ask mom if she had already taken the day off for orientation. She's quiet and in a monotone voice replies, "yes, why?" I tell her my aunt offered to go since she's experienced school and would like to help. Plus, mom was already tense and I do not want to be stressed when we go. She goes off about how I'm an adult and I make my own decisions and how I should do whatever my heart desires. I stare at her for a second. I really wanted mom to go with me, but with the way things are, I decided it was best not to. I finally tell her that I think my aunt should go with me. When I tell her I'm leaving and to have a goodnight and that I love her. She only responds with a goodnight. I'm sobbing when I close the door and in my boyfriend's car. On our way to his house, mom calls, says my cats and I need to be out before the beginning of next month, and tells me she will be looking into handing over custody of B to me. I try not to cry while I say, okay, I love you. She hangs up without a word.
I'm extremely heartbroken and overwhelmed. I'm so mentally and physically drained from work and mom. I feel like I've given her all my support, all my time and money only to receive very little back. I miss my mom. I miss when we would talk and not just for 5 minutes a day. I miss when B, her and I would hang out, not just her on her phone calling her husband 24/7. I miss when mom didn't drag me into her issues and expect me to put her fires out with dad and the family. I miss making jokes with my mom and having conversations without her turning our talks against me. I miss mom.
The thing is, my mom's made her decisions and expected B and I to be okay with it. She's basically given up on B and just doesn't text her unless she needs something or to borrow money. I know B and I will be okay eventually, but I'm so distraught over the idea of cutting off mom. I know it's for the best, and hopefully she realizes her mistakes.
Mom has never been a bad mom. She's been a good mom. She's worked hard to provide for B and I. To make sure we lived comfortably. I know my mom has a lot of baggage and trauma I hope she can get help for. I love my mom and I want her to get the help she needs, but she's made it extremely apparent, she does not want it. I've tried my best to stick by her side, but I needed her to stick by mine too. I really do love my mom, but this is not my mom. I'm stuck on how mom used to be that I refuse to realize that this is how she is. I love mom, but I know that I have to let her go and be better than how she is now. Not just for me, but for B too.

3 months ago my wife and I did taxes this year with HR block in the office. The same way we did it last year. We brought in all of the needed forms and the lady went about her business inputting everything.
Throughout the process HR block lady kept having difficulties with their new program and kept having to switch back and forth between the old and new tax program.
Wife and found we owed the federal gov ~$1000 (for a round number) and we're getting money back from CA state. All in all $200 buck ahead.
I paid the money right then to the fed gov with a credit card and paid our HR block fee. We didn't get the peace of mind but figured we could pay later on if we needed it.
Jump to a couple days ago and we get a IRS letter in the mail saying we owe $4,000 to them. We double checked and it's a legit form. That was really weird considering that amount of money would have stuck out with me even more so than that amount I paid.
I called HR block and they looked it up, it shows on their end, under the amount we owe to the Federal Government is $5000.
I found this super odd considering my tax form we signed and have the whole copy of the packet did not show that amount owed. Just the $1000 it said we owed and I paid.
I went in to the store and they said that there was an error in a box that said I paid for 2021 childcare, but the form I had submitted to them for these taxes was only the 2022 childcare form I paid.
The area that was supposed to be a 0 was in fact not input with a 0 but was input with $4,000.
The line stated: "If you paid 2021 expenses in 2022, complete worksheet a in the instructions .The amount from line 13 of the worksheet here. Otherwise , enter 0 on the line 9b and go to line 9C"
So ultimately they screwed up here and I'm not sure how.
Where do I go from here? The person I spoke with and also met in person said she is going to create a claim and that this is a very unique situation considering I have one tax from that says something completely different when I signed and they printed my paperwork and filed my taxes. And they have a completely different set of paperwork that says I owe more.
Do they cover this amount owed to the IRS since they screwed up so badly or do I need to start getting ready to pay a huge amount to the gov?

3 months ago my wife and I did taxes this year with HR block in the office. The same way we did it last year. We brought in all of the needed forms and the lady went about her business inputting everything.
Throughout the process HR block lady kept having difficulties with their new program and kept having to switch back and forth between the old and new tax program.
Wife and found we owed the federal gov ~$1000 (for a round number) and we're getting money back from CA state. All in all $200 buck ahead.
I paid the money right then to the fed gov with a credit card and paid our HR block fee. We didn't get the peace of mind but figured we could pay later on if we needed it.
Jump to a couple days ago and we get a IRS letter in the mail saying we owe $4,000 to them. We double checked and it's a legit form. That was really weird considering that amount of money would have stuck out with me even more so than that amount I paid.
I called HR block and they looked it up, it shows on their end, under the amount we owe to the Federal Government is $5000.
I found this super odd considering my tax form we signed and have the whole copy of the packet did not show that amount owed. Just the $1000 it said we owed and I paid.
I went in to the store and they said that there was an error in a box that said I paid for 2021 childcare, but the form I had submitted to them for these taxes was only the 2022 childcare form I paid.
The area that was supposed to be a 0 was in fact not input with a 0 but was input with $4,000.
The line stated: "If you paid 2021 expenses in 2022, complete worksheet a in the instructions .The amount from line 13 of the worksheet here. Otherwise , enter 0 on the line 9b and go to line 9C"
So ultimately they screwed up here and I'm not sure how.
Where do I go from here? The person I spoke with and also met in person said she is going to create a claim and that this is a very unique situation considering I have one tax from that says something completely different when I signed and they printed my paperwork and filed my taxes. And they have a completely different set of paperwork that says I owe more.
Do they cover this amount owed to the IRS since they screwed up so badly or do I need to start getting ready to pay a huge amount to the fed gov?

Link download: https://bestgraphicai.com/go/affiliate-youtube-success--paul-murphy

Here’s what you’ll get in Affiliate Youtube Success

Section 1
You may find some welcome movies explaining the course and what you will study here. In his videos, he discusses the influence of YouTube. He outlines how consumers conduct product searches in his speech on the "power of 3."
Another video on avoiding negative outcomes uses Richard Branson as an example. Additionally, he contrasts paid and free Facebook traffic as well as Google and Facebook traffic.
Section 2
This lesson walks you through the process of setting up your channel, prepares you mentally, and covers daily chores and objectives.
His discussion on selecting a niche is followed by a source (an already-existing website) with a list of potential niches. then explains where you may locate things on websites like CJ, Offerfault, and Clickbank.
Each of the seven videos lasts an average of five minutes. This information can be found online in a rather generic part.
Section 3
His "magic first page formula" is covered in Module 3, which is a sizable module. speaks about using the Tube Buddy plugin and keyword research in addition to further channel setup.
Other videos on another keyword tool and a discussion about the significance of providing something of worth. He concludes by talking about how to develop a "hook" and how to develop "stunning" thumbnails (using Canva.com). The majority of this information is available in other free tutorials on YouTube, but you will need to look for it.
Section 4
You will learn about funnels and how your customers will move from your YouTube video to an opt-in form, bridge page, affiliate product, and finally to your email sequence in this module.
Section 5
You may learn how to set up links on your videos here, whether it be through a direct link or a landing page, which is advised. He continues with a discussion on funnel integration, the different sorts of funnels to build and why, and how to set up the opt-in page and lead magnets.
How to set it up for maximum conversions is explained in a video on your bridge page. He also has email templates and sample sequences. Also visible are exit pop-ups.
Section 6
This module has 8 videos, the longest of which is under 13 minutes. A evaluation of your channel follows a discussion of your "money videos" in the first video. The topic of Youtube analytics is covered, and you'll learn how to interpret the data to figure out what the metrics are really telling you.
Following are more videos about link statistics & data. You'll discover how to improve your films by including tags and other elements.
PBNs are briefly covered, but he claims that he rarely uses them. Paul likes to keep things under the white hat. Just as a side note, PBNs are great for usage with videos, but you must know how to use them!

In the desolate cemetery, a broken soul wept beside a nameless grave. Shadows whispered secrets of forgotten sorrows, their voices mingling with the mournful wind. The air grew heavy with an unnameable dread, as if the very essence of melancholy had taken corporeal form.
From the depths of the earth, an intangible presence emerged, an ethereal manifestation of anguish and despair. Its form shrouded in darkness, it reached out with unseen hands, drawing the weeping wanderer into a spiral of desolation. Sanity teetered on the edge of a precipice, threatened to be consumed by the all-encompassing void.
Amidst the chilling silence, unseen horrors clawed at the wanderer's heart, inflicting wounds that bled the essence of their very being. The thin line between reality and nightmare blurred, as the unseen entity reveled in the twisted dance of suffering. The wanderer's essence slowly dissipated, swallowed by the abyss, their existence reduced to a mere echo in the vast expanse of eternal sorrow.
In this nameless cemetery, the boundary between life and death was shattered, leaving only a realm of desolation and a shattered soul destined to wander in eternal torment. The haunting presence of malevolence loomed, enveloping the surroundings in an unyielding grip of fear. The spectral whispers echoed, each word dripping with the weight of forgotten horrors, as the darkness claimed yet another victim.

Let's jet set off to Paris, mes petits choux! Fortunately for Paige but unfortunately for all of you, my healthcare coverage is really doing the most, by which I mean doing the least, and a lot of my snarky energy after work had to go into fighting with them to cover the same prescriptions they've been covering for the past over a decade, hooray for America. And then Paige topped this off by really putting out a half-assed turd sandwich of a vlog where 80% of it is her laying foundation on top of bronzer on top of foundation on top of bronzer. But for you, my little cabbages, I will do my best to recap any relevant points.
As always, here's the vlog Bingo card for playing along at home. I add stuff to it every week as new trends emerge, your prize for winning is... something I haven't figured out yet. By doing everyone's birth charts I learned there's a ton of Virgo energy in this subreddit, though, so astrologically speaking you should all be satisfied with a virtual shoulder pat and being told you did a good job and you're the smartest person I've ever met.
​

• We open on Paige "typewriting" on screen that she went to Paris for 48 hours to see her boyfriend play tennis and here's how it went, which I don't think she intended to but inadvertently gives off the sense that we're about to enter into footage of a hostage negotiation? It's almost like if you don't consume art and instead magpie various aesthetic details and cobble them together, you ignorantly imply a lot of things you don't mean to imply, but what do I know!
• The first four minutes of this vlog are unspeakably boring. I can try to make them interesting for you, but what's the point? Paige opens up a brand new notebook and writes PARIS in it with a Sharpie. It's intially unclear why she does this, but then it becomes abundantly clear as this goes on that it's because Paige thought she'd be there way longer and didn't bother getting much or really any footage of anything, and now is desperately trying to pad this sucker out so she can get a midroll ad. It's a bunch of out of focus nonsense. Here's the only things that happen that are of any note:
  • One of her giant checked suitcases when she packs is just labelled "work". I'm now entertaining wild speculations about what could take up an entire checked bag that she just had to bring to Paris under the assumption that she'd be there longer than 48 hours. My personal bet is that it's half denim samples, half reams of paper that she had Amanda print out with random graphs or pictures of generic clothing pieces and the text under it just reads "BUSINESS BUSINESS BUSINESS"
  • When she gets to Paris Tommy comes downstairs wearing a green t-shirt. Later we see Paige wearing the same shirt but she dresses it up with a black bow in her hair. It looks dumb.
  • Paige says hi to us from the bathroom mirror wearing a face mask after moisturizing her whole body because the airplane left her soooo dry. This is only notable because she claims she's going to rest for a bit by "reading some of her book" (we get it, Paige, you read my recaps, but I still don't believe you read anything besides that) before she unpacks, and also because she can't actually get the sentence out so it cuts every two words, and because it's handheld footage it's not steady, which means you kind of get this weird, jostly experience watching her try to form a sentence.
  • Paige and Tommy go to the great shopping mecca that is Paris and appear to go to Kith and Sephora
  • The food they eat does actually look pretty good
  • The time breakdown of this is two minutes on the plane, two minutes in Paris, and then we get into the bulk of the video
• Getting ready time! Okay here's where it gets mildly more interesting, and by interesting I mean there's more to discuss besides half-assed B-roll. Before we start I should make clear, we're about to embark on a getting ready that is 15 minutes of a 20 minute video, and in this time the end result will be Paige looking almost identical to how she looks at the start of it. This detail stuck in my brain because I put this on for a first watch-through this morning while I was getting ready for work and putting on my own makeup. At first I was convinced she had done her makeup beforehand and was just mimicking putting it on because she was too vain to be seen without makeup, but re-watching it now that I'm home I don't think that's the case. I think she's had a lot of work done to make it look like she's always wearing makeup (semi-permanent makeup procedures, eyelash extensions, etc) and then genuinely spends a long time caking layers upon layers upon layers to look exactly the same. Which honestly makes me kind of sad. But I suppose Paige is contractually obliged to have at least one unwitting self-own she stumbles into every vlog where the curtain is pulled back and we gaze upon the vast chasm of insecurity inside her that comes from her being just aware enough to know that she knows nothing about what she's talking about at any given time and if she stopped being pretty to look at more people might point that out.
  • Paige is really tan, you guys, and she feels like makeup doesn't work as well on her skin when she is. This is probably because not once in this entire routine does she PUT ON SUNSCREEN (even though she says prepping your skin before sitting in the sun all day is super important), like not even a BB cream with sunscreen in it. I have no hope of reaching Paige but girlypops! Wear! Your! Sunscreen! Get a spray tan if you want later, but skin cancer is real and not fun and even if you avoid skin cancer, being out in the sun like that makes you look like a leather raisin by middle age. Like she's sitting on a clay court? What are we doing here.
  • If you were wondering if this is in fact a very long undisclosed ad roll, sure is
  • Ah, one of the serums is so good, she actually got it while on a skiing trip. you know, because she's a skier.
  • The reason Paige didn't come to Tommy's first match is because she had "a lot going on at home". Really essential stuff like paying other people to install a pre-built shed for her, buying a second horse, eating unwashed vegetables - important stuff.
    • Oh my apologies she had a denim sample to approve. Not just any denim sample, a WHOLE denim sample, and that is what was in her "work" suitcase. Because idk international mail doesn't work? I mean I sound like I'm advocating she follow Tommy around and I actually think it's better that she doesn't, but also I'd rather she said "I missed Tommy's first match because it was really important to me to spend time seeing friends and family and recharging and resting" instead of pretending she was soooo busy being a Serious Business Girl. Like just be honest that following a man around isn't exhausting and boring and I wouldn't care.
  • I will give it to Paige, she does admit her contour routine with like a dozen products is over the top, and if she left it at that it'd just be that she enjoys the ritual of that and it's fine, but she's like "I swear guys it's so good it makes such a difference" and that is where I draw the line. Contouring is the greatest scam the Kardashians have ever pulled and I do not trust anyone who says otherwise. Like we all did that exercise in middle school art class where we had to shade in shapes different ways, and it didn't ever change the shape, it just made it look like the light was coming from different directions. Paige says this is because contour "adds light and dimension and makes your skin look more healthy" but you know what else does that? Hydrating, wearing sunscreen, and NOT PUTTING ON FIFTEEN DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOUNDATION AND BRONZER. The same concept of "you can change where the light hits but not how the shape looks" that applies to drawing an egg applies to makeup - contouring does absolutely nothing unless you're a drag queen and also you're Trixie Mattel (hallowed be her name AND her commitment to producing really quality orange blushes. If you have warm-toned skin at all, use bronze, peach, and orange blushes this summer and thank me later).
    • Also Paige clearly has not been paying attention because contouring looks and this cakey, Meredith Duxbury, early aughts Beauty YouTuber look is very much not the vibe? The hot thing right now is really natural, light, dewy stuff a la Rare Beauty or Glossier, and it's heavily inspired by K-Beauty and C-Beauty looks. Even I know this and my makeup looks better on me than Paige's does and it's not even my job to wear makeup or know about this stuff! No one's paying me to do this! Maybe they should be, I guess! (It shouldn't be, I'm very good at doing my face and my face only.)
    • Honestly it looks a lot of the time here like Paige is putting mud on her face, and everything she shows and applies to her face is mud-colored, and it's just dingier and dingier and she would look so much better if instead of all of this she just did a nice warm terra cotta sort of blush and some highlighter. My kingdom for something to bring actual warmth or color to her face and not just look like she's smearing sparkly dishwater on herself.
  • Paige blathers more about travelling and authenticity and how she travels a lot but also doesn't travel that much? I don't know it's all so meandering and nonsensical and I give up. The tl;dr is what I said before: she's a homebody who hates travel but knows if she just did the things that made her happy and let herself be boring, people would stop watching her, so she's trying to straddle an impossible line and since she can't admit that's what's happening, her explanations get increasingly convoluted and her definition of "authenticity" or us "getting it" comes to mean "whatever I like at the time is authentic and if it doesn't work out or backfires on me it's because I was feeling forced to be inauthentic, because I am authentically perfect and always right".
    • See it's because she's NOT A CITY GIRL, it's not that she doesn't like TRAVEL, it's that she doesn't like travelling to CITIES because she's such a COUNTRY GIRL AT HEART, that's why she lives in a FARMHOUSE in CONNECTICUT, which is practically the sticks.
    • "I got some really funny comments about this from you guys, I was actually cracking up" Paige says and then shows us comments of people kissing her ass for no reason, which she probably directly or indirectly paid for telling her how much better her home vlogs are.
  • Paige puts on some MAC setting spray and this is where we get into Peak Paige, she tells us this story about how when she lived in NYC she made friends with a girl who worked at MAC and at first Paige didn't believe that the setting spray did anything but then her friend told her that unlike other setting sprays, the MAC stuff "leaves a layer over your skin that like... helps your makeup combine smoothly, so that's why if you love the MAC Fix Plus more than other setting sprays, it's because it actually has science behind it"
    • I call this Peak Paige because it's something that's so obviously rich with lies while simultaneously very likely being an undisclosed advertisement that you could spend hours unpacking this. Like which part is the lie, that Paige made a friend? Was this "friend" someone she talked to more than once at the MAC store? Why did Paige say "combine" like it had a d in it? What does she mean by "it has science behind it", like, how does Paige think other setting sprays, or for that matter other makeup works? Does Paige think about any of this at all? Does this not make sense because it came as part of an ad read Paige got in her many, many PR packages we've seen her get from MAC? We may never know! It's a mystery lost to the sands of time!
  • There are chunks of glass in Paige's palette because it broke but they're just going to have to ~make it work~ because she's so tough and roll with the punches and quirky like that! I mean she literally made Tommy take her to Sephora in the vlog the day before and it's a totally brown palette which there's no way she couldn't find another of at a Sephora in Paris, but sure Paige.
  • Paige while using the Benefit brow stuff: "I strayed away from this stuff for a second, don't know why, think it's because I get sent so many products" really had to add that in there.
  • Oh thank god she finally added blush and it makes her look a million, trillion times better
  • "Don't worry" says Paige as she applies stuff, "I'm going to leave links to everything I use for you guys". Oh you're going to try to make money off this by using undisclosed affiliate links? You don't say! It was super subtle, the clearly narrated ad copy and pop-ups every time you used a new product didn't give you away at all.
  • I will say this for Paige, the girl does do a good cat eye.
  • Okay this is insane, Paige uses a powder to cover up her roots? What is this, 1776 the musical? ROOT COVER UP POWDER???? I don't color my hair, is this a normal product???? I still say it's giving Founding Father. Powdering roots. Unbelievable. I hate everything about it.
• Paige shows us two dress options, the set she wore and a much more modest, much cuter dress that's essentially an a-line pink polo shirt. I really, really liked the first one on her, but she vetoes it for being too "casual". The second one that's a set, on the other hand, doesn't ook as coherent because it's a three piece and requires a cami underneath the jacket, it looks hot and itchy, and the shorts in that heavy material look ridiculous and don't fit her body well so it's giving diaper. She of course went with the second one.
  • She's wearing it with her new Chanel loafers. They were a gift (she doesn't say from who) and she's obsessed with them, hashtag not a designer girl.
• Anyway Tommy loses and they go out to dinner, the end. On a 1-10 scale with ten being the most, I give it a 2 for actually being a well put together vlog, a 3 in terms of Paige being a privileged unhinged weirdo. She can do better on all fronts.

Recently I was accused of attempting to steal from Value Village in the form of tag swapping. This was not the case, and the employee really ripped into me with no proof. Additionally, she took 90% of my things away to be repriced by the manager, most came back 2-3x more expensive. In the end, I didn't buy much of it as I thought I was getting a good deal for once and didn't want to pay the higher prices. Especially when I was being treated so poorly.
After this visit, I found out that making someone pay higher than the ticketed price in Canada is illegal. Value Village is in direct disobedience with Section 74 of Canada's Competition Act. I was able to submit a claim against them to the Canadian government, and the Better Business Bureau; both were taken seriously! VV offered me a gift card as an apology via the BBB, but I denied it as I no longer want to support them, and who's to say I won't be accused or price-gouged while I'm using the GC?
I spoke with lots of friends and family (and my followers online) and found out that this happens very often, at least at my local VV. If you have dealt with Value Village increasing pricing at the till in Canada, please consider reporting them to the government or BBB. I am a small business owner and I know that if my business or any other small business told someone their $12 product was actually $45, we'd be cancelled, sued, and boycotted out of town. I don't know why VV is being allowed to get away with this and I would love to create more awareness of this issue.
If anyone has any additional ideas on how to take down VV, I'd love to hear them. Thank you!

Long story short, our 2-year-old build has a bunch of defects which have gone through QBCC and the builder failed to rectify and it will now be passed onto a Home Warranty Insurance claim with QBCC.
Does anyone know if you can request a payout of the value in cash from these insurance claims? The QBCC rep said they’ll organise 2 quotes and pick a contractor to come in and rectify. (He doesn’t work with the insurance so couldn’t give any more info).
After 2 years of tradies in and out of the house I’d prefer to get a payout of the quoted values, which could be put towards repairs later on in my own schedule.
Anyone know if you can just request a payout?

Hello,
In July of 2022 we purchased a newly built 2022 California condominium. CA requires all new buildings to be built with solar panels. We need to find the total cost so we may file IRS form 5965. Source:
https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i5695
To my surprise the builder is unwilling to share an itemized receipt of the costs showing the total amount they paid with the solar company for the project. (So we may claim 30% of total costs. We are one of eight units in the complex)
Their answer, “is they cannot quantify a cost for each unit.” Then I requested, a total amount. Then they said “No.”
As a plan B i’ve contacted the solar company for receipts/total costs.
What is the best course of strategy?

I’ve been obsessing over this bit of family history lately, and a friend referred this place to me as a community that loves the mysterious and potentially supernatural, so I think you’ll find this interesting.
First, a history lesson: my great grandfather and his brother were privates in the 5th battalion of the King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment in the first World War. Now, one of the lesser discussed contributions to the war effort was the General Post Office pulling off possibly the greatest feat of postal infrastructure that had yet been witnessed in history, transmitting literally millions of letters back and forth between the front lines daily, mail carriers from the REPS delving into hell and back time and time again just to make their appointed rounds. They’re often made fun of in the modern internet era, but the truth is, couriers have pretty much been hardcore badasses forming the backbone for all of human history.
Unfortunately, censorship was tight. Officers opened and checked every single one of their mens’ letters not just to check for confidential war information, but also to make sure they weren’t saying anything that contradicted the war propaganda or constituted ‘a threat to public morale’. Basically, unless you acted like the front lines were as peachy as a summer camp, your letter was liable to go right into the bin.
My great grandfather apparently tried to send many letters, but few made it through. It was likely officers of his own unit confiscated most of them, so they were probably left to rot in some trench, but he did one day feel either brave or desperate enough to try to sneak one by in what they called an Honour envelope, or ‘green envelope’. These were special and infrequently allotted envelopes which were, supposedly, delivered without censorship, so long as the sender vowed to mention only personal matters under threat of harsh punishments. Unlike regular correspondence, only a tiny fraction of green envelopes were opened up and combed over by staff back at base. Unfortunately, this letter was one of those terribly unlucky ones.
Most confiscated letters were just destroyed. In many cases, their senders were given no notice their mail had even been withheld, although the lack of a reply usually made it obvious. After the war effort was over, many surviving confiscated letters were given over to archives for the education of future generations, and a few others even found their way, at long last, to their original intended recipient, if they were still alive to receive it. That is how my great great grandmother came to finally be delivered the last letter he ever sent, many years after his death.
My family hoped that it would maybe comfort her, offer her some closure over the deaths of her sons which she never seemed to quite recover from. Instead, whatever was in that letter only mortified her, and she claimed to have had it burned. She passed away from heart complications not too long after. My grandmother said it was a bittersweet day; sad as it was to see her go, she’d lived a long, long life, and they were sure she was overjoyed to finally rejoin her husband and sons in the everafter.
Imagine our surprise, though, when my mother dug up the original letter tucked away in a drawer of scattered documents while cleaning out the attic of the old family estate.
The old iron gall ink was so faded over the years, we had to visit a photographer’s shop just to be able to carefully piece together the full letter under their UV light setup. We expected some sentimental goodbyes, some waxing philosophical about the insanity of war, you know, the usual. We couldn’t have been more wrong.
My family’s been bandying about possible explanations for the letter for years now. Most agree that it was probably a dream, or maybe some sort of hypnagogic hallucination brought on by the stress of combat. Another theory is that he’d made it all up entirely, as some sort of artistic statement — he had been a published author before the war, after all, and his purple prose seems implausible for someone describing a mind-shattering trauma.
Still, nothing makes complete sense to me. He must’ve had some notion these may be his last words, a final opportunity to relay what happened to his brother and say goodbye to his mother. Would he really waste them on something that wasn’t true? No matter how many times I read over my grandfather’s words, it always makes me wonder: perhaps he really did see something, down there in those blood-soaked trenches?
I’ll let you judge for yourself.
To my mother,
Henry died yesterday. My mind quivers with the memory of those leaden volleys bursting through his chest like a needle pierces a vein. The blood’s faded, now, but I can still feel the little red droplets, like they’re still warm upon my cheeks. I wish I could tell you he cried out your name in the last, but in truth, he was simply gone; extinguished in the instant of a muzzle flash, existence having clawed its way, baying and writhing, up from oblivion, to taste from the waters of life for a trifling moment before being once more consumed by those deep black seas of nothingness. That was all I could see before the gas flooded the trenches once more, and I could only flee, wailing, past the twisted bodies of my countrymen as the gas consumed them; red veins bulging thickly over jaundiced flesh like strings pulled taut over a violin; figures fading, twisting, peeling, bulging, faces wide-eyed, open-mouthed, but silent.
I wish I could tell you that these horrors shook me to my core, but I have become inoculated to them to an extent that frightens even myself; the war proceeds like a blurred and abstract haze around me, each day indistinguishable from the next, dispensing its horrors like a machine, unthinking, unfeeling in its destruction of life. Though he was my brother, his loss failed to shake me, and his name died out on my lips just like it did my countrymens’. Indeed, the true horror did not set in upon his death, but rather, upon his return.
It was during the twilight hours beneath the waning moon that I alone sat alert, watching the moonlight dance a waltz with the wisps of fog, like spiny grey fingers stretching up from the turgid soil, when my eye caught a glimpse of movement from one of the piles of bodies littering the no man’s land beyond the trenches. Words cannot express the horror th at assailed me when I beheld my own brother, crawling from the charred pile with an inhuman lurch. His jaw was slack, clinging to his pale face by scarlet strings of tendons, his eyes swirling with an implacable, cloudy mist of white, emptied of feeling as he limped obstinately through the battle-scarred fields, even as his pierced chest oozed a black ichor.
For too long, this campaign has left me sleep-walking through life, without passion; yet this sight was a grand exigency, lifting me to my feet as if stirring me from some terrible trance. I followed, creeping through the trenches, peering up over the battlements, not daring to make the faintest sound as I observed the grim procession of the thing which was once our dear Henry. The battlefield was more quiet than it had ever been, not a sound audible over the gentle weaving of the wind through the branches of trees, until at last my ears picked up the faintest traces of — music.
My mind recoiled, picking apart the sound, as if unable to accept it as anything more than a flight of fantasy; but the tune persisted, draped over the battlefield like a warm blanket, filling my heart with terror and awe in equal measures, until, at last, I reached the very border of the trenches, and had followed Henry as far as I was able. I peered up at him a final time — and my hand is quivering now, as if it’s committing some mortal sin just by immortalising this blasphemous sight in ink.
There was some uncountable legion of them, their forms nebulous and abstract as they darted in and out of the swelling fog. There were Russians and Germans and Austrians all in communion, and some were more ancient still, man-at-arms from ever more distant and primitive times; across time and nationality, all were united in the primeval dance of war, whooping and wailing as they cavorted across the battlefield, pale flesh clinging to brittle bones. Henry, or what remained of him, locked arms with the promenade of the dead as if they were old friends, his face twisted into some noiseless caricature of laughter.
My mind struggled most of all to comprehend the ever more monstrous silhouette they danced around in undying supplication, their twisted bodies connected to the great beast with scarlet strings. It was a cyclopean creature, a thousand faces bulging from its malformed flesh, their features blackened by shadow; said flesh had been torn through in scattered patches, revealing only a burning, undying fire raging in its hollow belly, from which the faint cacophony of battle could be heard; and in its many hands, it clutched the instruments of war, from glittering swords and rotting firearms all the way down to the bloodied stone that had felled Abel some eons ago. I watched as if spellbound, unable to so much as breathe as their waltz unfolded before me; until at last, their dancing slowed, and the entity unhinged its rapacious maw. Two by two, the young men goose-stepped into the behemoth’s jaws, driven by some unholy sense of duty to allow their existences to be snuffed out without feeling, without ceremony, their names never again to be uttered by a human soul.
It was at that moment, I awoke in the trenches, as if roused from some grand and terrible dream - but no dream could match the vividness of what I beheld beneath that callous moon. I do not know why I write this; I know these letters never reach you, mother. Perhaps I write this out of some vain hope to relieve myself of being alone in what I had witnessed in those final moments; as, just moments before stepping into that darkened maw, Henry turned and let his pearly eyes meet with mine, raising a rotted finger, and he beckoned to me, with a twisted smile not formed of malice, but of love.
It was at that moment that I knew I would never again see your face; never again soak in the fragrance of your cooking and the chirping of woodpidgeons in the cabin I had once called home. If you ever read this, I am so sorry, dearest mother - but the morning your children stepped into these boiling trenches, war already had us clutched in her pallid hand, dangling us above the fire for but a few futile moments until it was time for us to join her in her immortal dance!
With love,
JH
My grandfather didn’t survive long enough to be court-martialed for trying to sneak this letter by. He went MIA while fighting in the Second Battle of Ypres before his letter even reached London. His body was never recovered, but his name is still immortalised on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing.
May we all pray that the world is never wracked by another war of such a scale again.

This breakup has been by far the most heartbreaking thing I've ever experienced. I helped her take care of her household and children for 2.5 years while she was depressed. She told me I was the perfect partner, the most amazing thing that's ever happened to her. I was the kids' stepmom, I signed their school forms and tucked them in at night. Eventually I got overwhelmed by the caregiving and moved out in December to be nearby and still help but have my own space. She tried to break up with me then, because she said it felt like I was quietly leaving. She was awful to me and it really scared me. Regardless, she apologized and I reassured her I wasn't going anywhere. She asked me if I could still do regular sleepovers at her house and still keep her house as my mailing address. Of course I agreed.
She then proceeded to stay with me at my new place without really discussing that she was going to do this. She left her 2 kids with her mother in law at her house and stayed with me. She also wanted to open the relationship around this time and started seeing someone else, who turned out to be my replacement. She broke it off for good in March after I got teary when she came back from a visit with her other partner. She said she hated me and hated being with me. Meanwhile my nervous system was so fried from taking care of her and the move and then the open relationship, I just needed a snuggle and some reassurance from her.
Since then we've had sporadic contact. Overall she's been treating ME like I was the one who wronged her somehow. At the beginning she wanted to stay friends, then she got extremely angry and aggressive, accusing me of stealing from her and poisoning her. She called me constantly and left really mean voice clips. She was accusing me of withholding her possessions at my place, which I wasn't.
Then this week out of the blue she messaged me saying she wanted a hug and wanted to get ice cream. It started out nice but she quickly escalated by herself, I didn't say anything to provoke her. She started repeating all the things she was angry about that she's already told me dozens of times.
For example, she loaned me some money and now wants it all back, which I will do. She keeps insisting that I borrowed way more than we agreed to, which I did not do. I have all the bank statements to prove how much I borrowed and it is not the number she is claiming it is. I out all the statements, circled all the transactions and labeled everything very clearly so she'd see. Has she looked at the financial statements yet? Nope. But she still carries on as if I stole from her. When we went out for ice cream this was what she ultimately ended up yelling about.
So I was left extremely confused after the interaction. I would ideally like to be on good terms with her so that we can return eachother's things without being vindictive or mean about it. I know she is not in a place to have a romantic relationship, I don't want that. I want to stay in touch so I can still interact with the kids.
She sent me this text a few days after our meet up. I still don't understand what she means. I have not changed, I have remained the same person. I still have the same goals. I know what I want out of life and I know who I am. When I met her she was a mother of 3 who seemed passionate about mothering. Now she said she no longer wants to be a mom and dresses/acts completely differently. She says she felt this way the whole time. I've accepted all her versions, I just want her to be happy, but I feel like she feels one way inside and says another thing outside. I feel like she was the one who put on a front for me and ultimately changed. I want to write back and tell her I'm so sorry I trusted her and let her in to my life because she's caused me so much pain. I don't think she'll ever understand the level of pain she's caused.
Is anything I mentioned common for BPD relationships? I'm trying to stay afloat and not blame myself for the end of this relationship. She says she feels misunderstood but I feel like her feelings and opinions change constantly. Two weeks ago she said she hated me and never wanted to see me again, and then last week she wanted a hug and ice cream.
There have been no attempts to rekindle the relationship though.