Best beachbody program for weight loss

We've been together for a while—nearing 2 years—not to mention the fact we were interested in each other before that. Throughout high school, we were figuring out how to navigate such an early relationship and got so emotionally intertwined that we were almost a package deal. He was my best friend, and I'd like to think I was his person as well.
After graduation, we made the choice of enrolling in the same university together. Although I would like to preface that I let him know that I would want what was best for his career but we still ended up in the same university after narrowing down his options. This was new territory for us and we thought we could take it. If anything, we thought we were better equipped to handle it considering the fact that we've worked through so much together already. But of course, so many new variables came into play that every other time we spent together had some sort of disagreement/argument involved. It got really repetitive and healing our habits and our relationship alongside a new academic environment was hindering our performances to excel. Despite it all, we made it through our first year. And immediately as summer hit, I knew it was different. After some soul searching (which derived from me asking for space for a week) I realised that I missed the comforting moments of when I was alone before I met him. Not in a resentful way but that all the healing I had to do was insanely overtaxing. This then branched off into how I felt about being held back/missing out on the university experience while being tied to a relationship. I brought this up to him and he felt the same way.
Initially, after our first heart to heart conversation, we came to an agreement that we needed a fresh start/new approach to our relationship. Completely breaking down our foundations/boundaries and status so we could redo our "firsts" in a new setting. This was the best option considering the other options were straight up breaking up and another I'll get into. With the whole breaking down our status, of course the topic of, "What are we for now?", and "What will this look like to other people?" came up. I straight up told him, I'm not interested in looking for other people because from what I remember from our previous conversations, I'm a very emotional person and so sex is—not a BIG deal but it is—a big step. And he illustrated that sex was so intimate since it's the closest you'll ever get to be with a person. So when this conversation came up and I told him no, I was shocked to hear that it "wasn't a big deal to him" and that even if it was with other people the intent mattered the most, aka, it'd be more meaningful with me. I for one, have no problem with what he thinks/feels and I wholeheartedly accept his changed perspective. But the idea knowing that he'll seek other people to have sex with absolutely terrifies me. Call it religious trauma, call it healing after a traumatic SA experience before him, but to me, that feels so invasive and frankly dirty. But he said he wouldn't—plus he reassured me so firmly so that felt nice—and so it didn't phase me.
In the same day, he asks to reopen the discussion and says that, waiting for someone while finding yourself vs. finding yourself without the existence of "us" are two different things. I strongly agree with the points he made. I feel that given the weight of all the arguments, we needed to figure out wether or not this is the relationship we want considering we haven't ventured off experiencing other people during the prime of socio-emotional development. And I cannot stress this enough, I STRONGLY agree. But this meant opening the doors to not just seek other people, but have sex with them and that to me a dealbreaker. But this is what he really wants and he makes really great points but I am just not emotionally ready to handle knowing that? And so I gave him radio silence and just hung up because I felt my heart shatter. Given how I feel about this situation, I'm now stuck in this "all or nothing" mode where it is either, we do the initial idea and stay exclusive, or I just break up with him because it's not worth being emotionally scarred even after we decide to get back together.
My question now is, what do I do? Which option to take? Is there any option other than the one he brought up? Please. Any help now will be so greatly appreciated, especially at such an urgent matter (since I haven't given him a response, I'm afraid he has the right to just get on with it and start his journey if I don't reply fast enough). Thank you guys in advance.

Hi everyone, bear with me. I am so confused on what to do.
I have 5 month old fraternal twin boys. I exclusively pumped for them for 6 weeks and then stopped due to a crazy oversupply and recurrent clogged ducts. At that point I started the babies on Kendamil and they really liked it.
Twin A has been gaining amazingly, eats without issue, and sleeps beautifully at night for all nights.
At about 2 months old twin B started having bad eczema and congestion. Prior to that he had dry skin- “chicken skin” on his legs especially. So much so that at our first newborn pediatrician appt our doctor told us he’d have eczema. I’ve battled eczema in my adult years and was immediately upset because I know the pain it comes with but did not anticipate how difficult it would be to help my baby.
At about 3 months old with the eczema getting progressively worse I decided to put him on RTF Alimentum, convinced that with the eczema and congestion and now disinterest in eating that he was showing symptoms of MPI. Long story short it hasn’t helped but he’s also battled 2 ear infections in 2 months. Hydrocortisone keeps it at bay but I stop after a few weeks to not develop a tolerance. At our 4 month pediatrician appt our pedi gave us the green light to put him back on regular formula as Alimentum hasn’t helped. I waited a little while to do the change to get him through an ear infection and a few days when we were traveling.
I introduced kendamil again 3 days ago- just half and half bottles and noticed no immediate reaction. At the time his eczema was still very present but not angry. He got about 3 bottles of the mix and then we just fed straight Alimentum again for the last 2 days as I’ve been working and I wanted to be the one to monitor for reactions.
This morning my poor baby is not napping at all, his face is angry red, he’s scratching, and he’s congested. Could this be a delayed reaction to the kendamil? Could this be because I am refusing to use hydrocortisone for the time being? I’m torn on just pushing through and stopping the alimentum with the assumption that his eczema is not diet related vs demanding an elemental formula. Of note, our pediatrician has never believed that alimentum would help- that was my own doing. I’m at a loss and tired of seeing my baby in pain. I expect to start solids next month and I’m terrified for him. Do I just accept that my baby has this condition? Or am I missing something? He has never had blood in his stool.
I guess my main questions are- should alimentum help eczema if MPI is contributing? And if it doesnt help- do you try elemental formula even without blood in stool? Or just go back to regular and try to manage it the best you can? We dress him in only cotton or bamboo, use fragrance free everything, and are religious with moisturizing.
Thanks for reading.

I’m wondering if my ECs are competitive for UCs. My intended major is biology/biochem (maybe double major with smth English related) If you have any advice on how I can improve, please lemme know as well. Thanks!

• Co president of club (it’s equivalent to student council) (held an executive position year prior, was a member the year before that) - we work with a city wide organization
• Writer for the schools digital magazine with monthly publications
• Secretary for school club protecting animal welfare in community and on campus (member year prior)
• Lab intern for school’s science department (helping science department with lesson prep for other students basically)
• Co led a program helping sophomores transition into IB program
• Member of MUN administration team
• Member of club advocating against Rhino poaching in the country (was a production design for a short film made for this cause - amassed 80K views) - the club is from a well known organization in our country and a few other ones

Awards: only received subject awards in school for science and English (given to student who performed best in their grade for that year for a specific subject)

Sorry if the formatting is weird I’m on mobile. I (21m) lost my high school best friend (21m) 8 months ago in a gruesome car accident, we had been estranged for 3 years because of high school drama that now feels dumb, but I had wanted to get back in contact with him since I had felt we had grown enough as people to reconnect and continue our friendship. The news of his death shocked me and I couldn’t believe it at first. I cried for weeks and even to this day I’ll tear up when I drive by his house, remember the things we would do, or see someone wearing jorts (he loved wearing jorts). A couple days after his death I had learned from friends that had still kept in contact with him that even in the time we were estranged he still called me his best friend, this made me feel worse and filled me guilt for not reaching out sooner when he was still alive. I went to his funeral to gain some kind of closure but if anything I feel like that made it worse, he had an open casket funeral and you could see that part of his face was bruised from the accident despite being covered in makeup. I cried silently as I said goodbye to him. I learned at the funeral that 6 months before he passed his father had also died and it pained me that I wasn’t there to help him or to support him through that loss. I don’t regret going to the funeral but I feel like my mental health really worsened after the funeral. A week after his funeral I started having dreams about him. These dreams are very vivid and feel incredibly real, I won’t go into explicit detail about the dreams because I cherish them dearly and I would like to keep them private but in my dreams it’s as if he hadn’t died and we’re hanging out liked we used to, I wake up from these dreams and I immediately start to cry, these dreams have persisted for months although they’ve gotten less frequent they still have me crying whenever I dream of him. Sometimes I’ll have nightmares that we’re both in a car accident and I watch him die infront of me not being able to do anything to save him, these are the worst. His birthday is coming up soon and it reminds me of the times he used to tease me for being older than me(by 4 months) and now I’ll always be older than him. I wish I could go back in time and tell him how much he meant to me and be his friend again. I don’t know how to live with this guilt or if I’ll ever stop feeling this horrible. I don’t know how to deal with this loss or if I even have the right to mourn him since I never got back in touch with him. I miss him so much. While I am in the process of getting into therapy it’s taking a while so I thought that posting here would be a healthy way of working through some emotions. Thank you to anyone that took the time to read through this I just really needed to let this out.

Hey everyone, looking for someone who is interested in being accountability partners in regards to weight loss through workouts and healthy eating habits.
Earlier this year I was getting into a routine of using my treadmill for daily running workouts, and am looking to get back into that along with 30 minute circuit workouts as well. Now that it is summer I enjoy playing/practicing golf and can use my gym there post golf to work it on a consistent basis.
Due to my job and its travel, hours, and road miles it is challenging to have a strict schedule for eating and workouts as the day can change on a whim, but I need to be better held accountable for carving out time still.
As for being a partner for others, I am generally a very positive person and outlook on life, am a former collegiate athlete who has a strong concept of workout plans and balancing them, and like to think I can hold conversations easily throughout the day or week if there’s anything else on your mind you’d like to chat about!
Look forward to hearing from others :)

I’m trying to lose weight and I want to cook asparagus and all I see when I try to look up asparagus recipes they add butter or oil to it. I don’t know how good that is for weight loss. Any suggestions?

Hey guys. In the past 13 months I have sucessfully lost 65 pounds (30kg) through calorie tracking, cardio and lifting weights. For the past three months I tried to push harder with my diet and overall approach, so I created a new plan, started even tracking my training, counting steps and so on. The goal was 12bf% which according to my calculations should have been around 165 lbs (75kg) and 75cms in my waist circumference. The plan should originally have taken 12weeeks and everything was going very well, even above expectations for the first 8 weeks. But then a switch inside of me flipped,since then I started having insane cravings (never had those in the previous year), no food can fully satisfy me, I have urges to not overeat, but STUFF myself, few times I actually was more than stuffed but I just couldn’t stop eating.(yes I then feel sick) I can be good for the whole day but evening hits and my cravings are insane, it almost feels like something is inside my head telling me to eat eat eat and I just can’t say no. Its really weird, I have never experienced something similiar before, therefore I ask for advice here.
As a result of that Im yo-yoing back to where I started the last three month phase.
I have also tried to lower and stop the yo-yo effect by immediately going onto maintanence calories, lowering my cardio a bit. I’m also trying to find new food options that could satisfy my needs better. (Anabolic French toast really helped)
My best guess would be that I took things too far too quickly. Losing 9 cm in my waist circumference in 3 months was just too quick and I should have rather aimed for like 1-2cm a month, which would allow me to make it more of a lifestyle, have occasional craving food and be satisfied, instead of all the cravings hitting all at once and making me bump right back.
My plan is to stay at maintenance for a bit, set up good and firm grounds (momentum) for next “phase” and then slowly lose a small amount of weight and waist circumference every month.
What do you guys think? Do you have any tips? Have this ever happened to you? How do I cope with the yo-yo, and how do I prevent it from shooting me even higher than I was?
Thanks

Hi there!! I'm Jay! :)
I want to find a guy that is compatible to me and shares the same values. Hoping to find him here!
I am a 22 year old who graduated college and and am currently living in New York!
I am looking to form a bond with someone before I move, and then continue with an in person relationship! The only thing I am asking is that you live either in New Jersey, New York, or the farthest being Massachusetts or Pennsylvania.
A bit about me: - I have natural hair that I like to keep short, and I occasionally like wearing different wig styles to show my personality!
-I am on a weight loss journey! So I cherish healthy living and fitness. I am looking for someone who will motivate me to make the right decisions but at the same time also loves my body the way it is right now. I am currently 170lbs, my goal is around 130-140lbs. I've done it before, so I know I can do it again! I love walking and being active so definitely looking for a man who is the same!
-I am looking for someone who is mature and is established. Meaning, a man who works hard every day in any aspect of his life (career, family, or fitness). Someone who is level headed. But I am also looking for someone fun, kind, affectionate, and chill to hang out with!
-I am looking for a man who will prioritize spending time with me, whether it is virtually or in person. Someone who communicates and is neither pushy on me texting back within seconds, but someone who respects me enough to let me know if they're busy/to expect a longer wait time. Someone who is not shy to take random pictures of themselves and send them to me just so I know those silly little thoughts you have. Also someone who doesn't mind me taking tons of pictures too (because I do take a lot of pictures haha)
-I believe in communication! I need someone emotionally available, someone who isn't afraid to have those long, deep conversations with me. Someone who will hear me out and not judge me. A man that really listens but also has enough confidence to speak up too!
-My love languages are words of affirmations and quality time! It's my top two love languages :) Also, I want a man who intentionally plans dates/hang outs/skype sessions, and wants to genuinely have fun with me!
-I love anime! I watch so much anime, and I need a guy who is willing to watch some with me!
A bit about my careeschool...
-I am a published author! I have written 3 books, first one dating back when I was only 13! I was introduced to the publishing industry at a young age, so I went to college to study creative writing. I am currently minoring in creative writing and majoring in psychology! What I plan to do in the future is become a liscensed Expressive Writing therapist and/or create books for the youth to help their mental health!
-I used to have 3 on campus jobs when I am on campus. Library Assistant, tutor, and I work at the gym as a proctor. I am going to be starting a new job soon so I would consider myself a busy person, but I ALWAYS make sure to prioritize my relationships that are serious, and I expect my man to do the same with me.
***I consider myself to be a religious person, and this is something that value. I am Catholic and hope to meet someone who shares my faith! I'm looking for a deep connection, where we can pray together and listen to gospel music!
*** I smoke weed! So I am also looking for a man who does the same! I'm very 420 friendly!
*** I would consider myself to be asexual, which means that I want to form a relationship where sex is not a priority and isn't expected of me. Sending nudes is also something I will not participate in and is a hard boundary. However, I am an extremely romantic person and value intimacy and closeness in other ways! If you want clarification on this, I will gladly explain further over PM!
I am open to talking to anyone between the ages of 22-29 years old!
I want to say that I am a very open-minded person and welcome many different guys! Please decide for yourself if you meet these qualities and send me a message! All I ask for is commitment to having something serious and someone who is ready for that. Looking forward to finding you!

Based on the following parameters (in their order of priority) which are the best laptops available to buy right now?

1. Graphics 4080/4090 (min 12 GB VRAM)
2. CPU - i9 13th gen or AMD Ryzen 9 7945 equivalent
3. A good display with 16" to 18" size, QHD (2560 x1440) or better, 500 nits minimum, at least 144 Hz refresh rate, good color reproduction, Mini-LED preferred if possible
4. Good cooling system with fans/vapor chamber that doesn't burn fingers on the keyboard or is excessively noisy or suck dust like a vacuum cleaner. Don't want any thin or slim models.
5. Either has 2 x 1 TB PCIE Gen4 SSDs or has available empty slot
6. Either has 16 x 2 DDR 5600 RAM or better and/or supports upgrade
7. At least 2 hours of battery backup (non-gaming usage)
8. Backlit keyboard - any color
9. Lots of USB ports

I have a Legion right now and have also used other brands before. However, Legion has been the nicest experience in terms of ownership comfort as had zero trips to a service center in almost 3.5 years of owning it. I travel a lot across countries for long periods so having a dependable laptop in areas with no service support is kind of critical. Was almost fixated on ASUS SCAR 16 4090 model till I heard about the QC issues. The options I can choose from are ( Lenovo/ ASUS/ MSI/ AceHP/ Alienware/ Gigabyte). Razer and Eluktronics are available but without local warranty support so I would prefer not to go for them.
I am not concerned about the weight of the laptop because it stays at my room and I don't carry it to office. Would be nice to be able to clean up the fans occasionally without having to take the full laptop apart. Some of the laptops are really not very convenient when it comes to performing periodic maintenance.
If you have information on critical issues that plague any of these top end laptops, please share it. The actual user experience over long term is worth much more than benchmarks.
Thanks in advance.

32 M/ 5'9" /245 lbs Medications: Amlodipine 10 mg, Baby Aspirin 81 mg, Pepcid 20 mg
PMH: Migraine disorder, hypertension, tricuspid valve regurgitation, mild pulmonary artery hypertension, gastritis
I have had a Rollercoaster of symptoms for the past few weeks, leading me to be seen by multiple specialists. I've had persistent sweating for the past 2 years, and poor appetite. More recently I had a testicle infection treated with antibiotics. But I keep having a temp of 99.1 - 99.5 for the past month.
I've seen endocrinologist, had ACTH of 111 and normal cortisol, all other labs within normal range. She did a dexamethasone test which was suppressed.
I was referred to oncologist for weight loss and night sweats, and was diagnosed with MGUS. Small M spike of 0.4 and 0.6. 24 HOUR urine showed no m proteins.
I've had CT abdomen and pelvis, CT chest with contrast. CT chest showed "severe coronary artery calcification". I have a nuclear stress test with cardiology next week. But I asked my cardiologist if this could be the cause of my excessive day and night sweating, and he said no. I get on and off chest pain and shortness of breath. Heart rate ranges from 60 to 120, and oxygen saturation ranges from 91% to 97%.
I had MRI of the brain showing arachnoid cyst and a foci which they think may be an old infarct or dilated vessels. I saw neurosurgery who was not concerned about the findings. Arachnoid cyst is 2 cm.
I had EGD done a year ago showing reactive gastropathy, biopsy was negative. I just have no idea what's going on with me, I just constantly feel tired, fatigued, sweating a lot. I ask if this is marijuana withdrawal because I notice all these symptoms go away or reduce greatly when I smoke, including the low grade fever. I have been a daily smoker for the past 3 years. I have also actively tried cutting back since I have the severe coronary artery calcification. And yesterday is when I had the most sweating ever. What do you guys think? I have more follow up appoints in the coming week. If you have any questions regarding specific lab or imaging results I can provide if needed.

On my end:
Best: Frankiln-Pierce SD (Tacoma, WA)- I was a contractor for these guys several years ago. Great team of SLPs. Very small and supportive. Monthly meetings to discuss planning for next year and caseload size adjustments. I received check in calls daily and then weekly. Area is is low income and Hispanic families outside the city of Tacoma, many first generation immigrants. I had my own room and the district provided me with an iPad and paid for the apps. Small caseload, no last minute changes to assignment. State funding for public education is pretty solid, no weird political attacks on teachers or LGBTQ staff/students. COL a bit high but if you live further outside the city it's more reasonable.
Worst: Albuquerque Public Schools (Albuquerque, NM)- I gave them several shots. I contracted with a few different agencies for them over the years and it was the same every time. Gigantic and unregulated caseloads. Lots of being moved around from school to school with no warning all year long and being placed in undesirable programs that were not a good fit. I never had a classroom in any of the schools there. Many schools without a SPED director and with vacancies mid year. No colleagues or check ins. Last minute changes in assignments happen all year, every year so you would have to change your schedule all the time. State funding is very poor with low literacy as a prevalent issue and overall public education performance the worst in the country.

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Previous Next First
​
---Defector---
​
---Lhamo’s perspective---
---2680 Terran Calenda33 years BF---
I streak through the skies of Gangsri Gsar at a multiple of the speed of sound, looking down on the snow capped mountains that give the planet it’s name.
The setting sun is to my right and the creeping darkness of night to my left.
It’s so utterly freeing to have the yoke of my craft in my hands and an endless sky to fly through!
I can’t imagine having to go everywhere by safe, AI driven capsules!
This tiny craft and the lessons to pilot it are the best investment I ever made!
Of course, had I not had more valuable skills, that training almost certainly would have had me conscripted to the Fighter Force.
Apologies to whatever poor sod took my place!
The nav is trying to send me on a detour around the Sisters, A Lcag and ’Og Ma, 15km and 12km tall, respectively.
I look at the gap between them and at the 90 second detour my screen is instructing.
“Cute…” I smirk, as I plough straight forward at full speed.
The sheer rock face of A Lcag passes less than 200m on my right and ’Og Ma the same on my left.
10% of a yak racing track might sound like a lot but it really isn’t when you’re traveling this fast!
Passing out the other side of the Sisters, the ocean comes into view and, with it, so does one of the very few sea level cities on this planet.
Most places where the mountains meet the sea, they plunge straight into it with nowhere to build.
Here, the alluvial plain, deposited by the same river as runs through the heart of Lhasa Gsar, allows for the existence of the city of Chuchen Zhingkha.
I reduce my speed significantly.
I hail my destination “This is private craft Dzha10759Ka82, requesting permission to land, transmitting clearance code now.”
“Stand by… You are clear to land, private craft Dzha10759Ka82.”
I begin my descent, hovering down as I line myself up with the landingpad that my HUD is highlighting for me.
I set down and immediately see the irritated bodylanguage and expressions of the nearest pair of MPs.
I ready my holo as I swing open the door of my tiny personal craft.
“Miss…!” says the closer one, angrily, as he approaches, his open faced helmet showing me his scowling face “…I don’t care who you are, you’ve got to clear that pad, right now! We’re expecting…!”
“Dr Lhamo ‘Crane’ Yeshe, special consultant to the UTC Intelligence Service Office of Lhasa Gsar…” I say, casually turning my screen around to show him my ID app.
He’s stunned into silence for a moment before he checks my screen.
“…Am I not who you were expecting?” I smile with an (I feel) not unjustified quantity of smugness.
“I… was expecting someone… older… looking…” he says, adding that last word after apparently checking my age and finding that I am, in fact, 35 and just so babyfaced I regularly still need to prove my age when purchasing alcohol!
“Yes, well, regardless of what you were expecting, would you care to show me inside?… It’s chilly out here, in spite of the low elevation!”
The pair turn, without apologising, and begin walking toward the nearest building.
I follow.
As we approach, a man who looks very out of place on a military barracks emerges from the door and, spotting me, makes a beeline.
“Dr Yeshe, I presume?… Formerly professor of theoretical xenopsychology at Lhasa Gsar University?” asks the weedy European man in accented English.
“I am. Though, I think we can dispense with the word ‘theoretical’, these days(!)” I smile, extending my hand and speaking in English.
He takes my hand and shakes it as he says “Dr Otto ‘Alpenstock’ Kleinfeld, a pleasure to meet you! Thank you so much for making the journey!”
“Thank you for the flattering assessment of me as the best person on world for the task…” I smile “…Please… lead on, Dr Kleinfeld.”
The little man leads me inside. The MPs (thankfully) do not follow.
“So… you have read the brief?” he asks.
“Enemy pilot, seems to have stolen a fighter craft and flown it hear to surrender to us. Has a device, inferred to be a personal holo, that can translate his language into English but can’t manage Tibetan. Says he has information on the current position of a GU fleet that he’s willing to trade to us on the condition that we neutralise it with minimal casualties. When asked his reasoning, he answered that the Admiral was knowingly on his way to engage with a dreadnought blockade… which he regards to be a suicide mission. He believes he can give us the information necessary to take the fleet by surprise and surrender it with minimal loss of life. You want me to assess whether he thinks he’s telling the truth, whether he might have been fooled into thinking he’s telling the truth and what it might be worth promising him for the information he claims to have. That about the size of it?”
“Yes… very good.” chuckles the man, nervously, as he pulls out his holo “I just have a checklist to run down with you before you can undergo decontamination… Have you had symptoms of illness any time in the last six weeks?”
I smile “I think I can save some time there, Doc… tell me the author of that checklist, would you? Should be down at the bottom… fine print…”
The man frowns but scrolls down and squints.
The penny drops as he says “Dr L ‘C’ Yeshe… et al…” and looks up at me, a little defeatedly.
“Shall we assume I wouldn’t have bothered making the journey if I were to answer negatively any of the things I should answer positively, or vice versa… on the list that I was the lead author of?” I ask, trying and failing not to sound patronising.
He slumps before answering “I suppose I’ll just fill this out for you myself then… We’re here…”
He directs me through a door, into a darkened room.
To my left is the backside of a one way mirror.
Tentatively, I walk toward it, bringing into view the xeno defector.
The first thing that strikes me… is just how enormous he is!
I’m 175cm but that guy’s as tall as me, sitting down!
Some quick mental maths tells me that he’s got to be more than 2.5 metres, standing!
The next thing I realise is the fact that he has no nose… where it should be is instead just a smooth, flat patch of pale, purple-blue skin.
The longer I look at him the more uncanninesses I find in his appearance; one too many fingers on each hand and thumbs on the wrong side, eyes too large and a vivid orange colour with no pupils that I can see, ears the wrong shape, limb proportions slightly off, body too slim…
And… yet… despite all that…
Kinda hooot…(!)
Certainly no pinnacle of masculinity (in any way besides his imposing stature) but handsome none the less!
The kind of handsome you could see being cast as the love interest in a 24th Century scifi romance film(!)
He’d be the prince of a space kingdom, son of an eeeeevil space king, who unwillingly goes along with his father’s dastardly plans until meeting the beautiful Human heroine, in the second act, who causes him to have a change of heart, in the third(!)
Maybe I should take up screenwriting, after the War(!)
Of course, I know better than almost anyone not to share even a fraction of my little daydream with the room at large, having helped write the book on xeno interrogation procedure!
“Alright then… shall we start…?”
---Ngngomg’s perspective---
One of the Terrans enters what I infer to be the decontamination chamber, adjoining this room.
She raises her arms above her head and is sprayed with a liquid substance, following which the chamber is illuminated by harsh, bright light.
She stands in the sterilising rays for what seems like a dangerous amount of time before the internal door finally opens.
“Heh lother. Itsnaiss tu miitchu, Wii Ngkoman Der Ngngomg, mai neimz Lhamo.” she says.
If I didn’t already know what she was, I could walk past the woman in the hallway of a space station and think nothing of her except, maybe, to notice that she’s rather pretty… in spite of that strange, prominent sense organ in the middle of her face(!)
The language she speaks is what I recognise as her kind’s lingua franca and not the other one that I’ve heard, since landing, with a completely different cadence and tonality.
Apparently, the Terran's have thousands of languages… though, I don’t believe that personally.
Probably, they have thousands of dialects of a few dozen unique languages! That seems more realistic to me.
My assessment of what she spoke to me is proven correct when my holo is able to translate it into ngGollogng for me.
“Greetings. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, [untranslatable rank: ‘Wing Commander’. Meaning: one who orders and is obeyed while flying] Ngngomg, my name is Lhamo.”
Irritatedly, I correct her “Ngngomg is my personal name, you will address me by my tribe name, Ong!”
She looks at my holo as it turns my words into her language.
When she seems to have understood, she closes her eyes and dips her head.
“Apologies, [Wing Commander] Ong… that is my mistake.”
I narrow my eyes at the woman as she sits on the far side of the wide table, the weighty *thud* of her body meeting the surface hinting at the powerful density of her body.
She’s… much more polite than I expected a deathworlder to be!
I truly expected to have to endure days of torture before they’d finally listen to me but… unless they consider being locked in an interrogation room for hours on end to be a form of torture (which isn’t out of the question, given how much they purportedly revile boredom), I’ve endured none!
The woman places her hands, palm down, on the table in front of her.
Her thumbs point inward, toward eachother!
She curls her mouth without baring her teeth and says “I would shake your hand, [Wing Commander], but it’s probably best if you and I don’t touch… Don’t worry about airborne microbes… this whole room acts like a fume hood… It’s extremely unlikely that anything I breathe out over here is going to make it over to where you are.”
I don’t answer.
“So… I understand you have some information you want to give us, [Wing Commander]?”
“I don’t…” I scowl.
Seeming confused she looks to my face and says “You do not?”
Angrily, I stand, towering in comparison to the little deathworlder, and slam my palms down on the table “I don’t want to! I don’t want to be a defector!”
She raises her hands, defensively, but… not toward me…
Her eyebrows are both raised, her eyes wide, her jaw set and her skin pale as she faces the mirror.
It takes me a few moments to realise that she must be worried that they’ll storm in here and subdue me, given my outburst.
I feel my attitude toward her soften… she wasn’t even slightly worried for herself!
True… she probably doesn’t actually need to worry for herself but… still!
Satisfied that she has conveyed her wordless message to the spectators, she returns her attention to me and says “Why not tell me, in your own words, what lead you to were you are right now?”
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Dramatis Personae

Anyone here have some entertaining ways to do a weighted draft lottery? I need ways to determine draft order but be able to favor certain teams based off last years standings. I’m aware of websites like 100ydrush, draftpicklottery etc but looking for something more entertaining. For example, the best idea I’ve come up with so far is to use a NASCAR race giving better starting positions to the teams I want to favor or possibly even give extra cars to the teams I want to favor. I’m looking for something our league will look forward to each year that’s entertaining. Unfortunately we all live too far away from each other to get together and do it live so it’s gotta be something visible to everyone in the league from different locations. Let me know if any of you have some cool ideas or let me know what your league does if you do a weighted lottery for draft order. Appreciate any and all ideas!

Demographics: Female, Chinese, International School Intended Major(s): Biochem/Biomed alongside Econ
SAT: 1540, 800 Math and 740 RW UW/W GPA and Rank: IBDP, 44/45 PG, school doesn't do class rank Coursework: IBDP HL Chem Bio Chinese B Econ, SL English and Math AA
Awards: ( one of my weakest areas id say )

• harvard book award 2023
• princeton book award 2023
• best speaker and delegate awards from MUN
• Community Service Awards x2
• National science fair finalist x2, got to do an project immersion program with MIT professors and graduates to improve prototype design
• Winner of $3000 from community project pitching competition
• Highest Grade in Cohort

Extracurriculars:

• Founder and President of Non Profit Organization with $3,000 award, providing free STEM and English education to underprivileged children, 30+ members, 50+ workshops, 200+ children from 10+ organizations
• Founder of School's Science Olympiad Society
• Founder and leader of school's STEM society
• Leader of school project team to repaint and revamp entire science department, working with principal, head of departments and external artists
• President of school's MUN team, help to train delegates, chaired in multiple conferences and will be on ExCo for upcoming conference
• Head Wellbeing Prefect, raised $21k for mental health awareness
• Founder and President of school society to bring attention to body image issues, host events throughout the year whilst working with different NGOs, talks with teachers, children and parents
• Student Team Leader of Interschool Sustainability Alliance
• Head of communications in school yearbook team

Upcoming plans:

• invited for a paid summer internship in top national university for undergraduate level research in biomedical sciences

Essays/LORs: should be around 8-9/10, asking my econ/english and bio teachers. Schools: ( school only allows up to 10 apps ) EA UC Berkeley, UofT, UBC, McGill, REA Harvard, RD MIT, Stanford, UPenn, Yale, NYU

The black domes, they were pocket dimensions, which were completely detached from the material world. Bound to the stream of souls, flowing inside the ephemeral branches of the world tree, they presented a personal hell for each person cast into them. They are a limbo of regrets, the hell of one’s own making, places where the living meets the dead.
There’s only so many ways to elope them. One must either reconcile with the restless souls, or join them, succumbing to their rage and regret that they carried into their afterlife. After all, to even get there, one must possess unparalleled strength and resilience; and only those who had caused deaths and destruction on their path to greatness can even hope to get to this trial.
Freia, Flare, the First princess of Jioral. For some – a good friend, lover, and companion. For others – a nightmare embodied, a vessel of divine powers, a force to be reckoned with. She had many enemies: princes and princesses felled by her authority, treacherous servants and greedy nobles, the knights, who opposed her corruption, slavers and bandits, destroyed on her quest for redemption and restoration of herself… But there were more. Children she had burned, serving her kingdom, women who perished by the tides she conjured, men that had been torn apart by raging tornados of her making, elderly that were buried under the rubble she created…
And how did she oppose them?
“Flagella terram et vescere inimicis meis, o magnum tempestas ignis!” The sorceress chanted, spinning her staff above her head. Then, right before the raging mob reached her, she hid from them behind a vortex of fire. One move and this wave of heat would incinerate everything and everyone in this accursed realm. But…
“TRAITOR!”
“DON’T HIDE FROM US, FLA-A-A-ARE!”
“COME TO US, SISTER!”
“YOU WERE NEVER ONE OF US!”
“USURPER!”
“GIVE ME BACK MY MOM!””
“THE FALSE PRINCESS!”
“SUNNARI (die)!”
“THE DAUGHER OF A WHORE!”
“YOU SHOULD’VE ROT IN THE SLUMS!”
Curses and jealousy, bitterness and hatred. The chorus of tortured souls surrounding the fiery boundary couldn’t be silenced even by the roaring flame. There couldn’t be any redemption.
“I’m sorry for all of you, who unjustly died by my hand!..” And even though there were people deserving their apologies, those who had to perish in favor of Flare’s political ambitions, those she sacrificed to appease her tyrannical father…
“THEN JOIN US, FLARE!”
“PAPA! WHERE ARE YOU?! GIVE HIM BACK!”
“REPENT, BITCH! DISPELL YOUR WITCHCRAFT!!!”
“But I won’t give in to you!” The pink-haired woman exclaimed, absorbing mana into her staff. “Furthermore, there’re those of you I will never regret killing! And there are those, for whom I must live! I MUST GET OUT OF THIS PLACE!!!” Then, she slammed the lower tip of her weapon into the floor made of the absolute darkness. Instead of wailing, being consumed by fear, guilt, self-loathing, and, ultimately, perishing, Freia sundered this entire “world”. One magical strike from her, and cracks of white and gold covered the entire dome. The wall of fire faded, but when the vengeful spirits rushed forward to maul their prey, they crumbled into piles of black salt. “I’m so… so sorry!” The girl lamented, kneeling near the remains of children, whose future she stole. “But I… I must move forward. I must save…”
…
Sparks and crackling, whistle and dazzling – time and time again the surge of lightning breached through the veil of darkness.
“UO-O-O-O-O-O!!!” A guttural scream filled the oppressive silence under the dome. Eve Reese, so childish and bashful, so eager to prove herself, now wore a stone mask of indifference. “Nira-a-a (no-o-o)!!! Yuarmta (I won’t forgive you)!!!” Cornar yelled, held still by at least seven shadows, he had been tortured, killed, bruised, smitten by the raging element of lightning. No longer did the girl see him as a threat; no longer did she cower at the feet of her former husband. Maybe, Eve was condemned to getting back her memories as a means of punishment, something that would make her sympathize with this petty little tyrant…
“Yuarm yau (I don’t need your forgiveness).” The Me-ua kahul spoke, looking at her crackling right arm, trembling with power and guilt combined. Not for forsaking her would-be-spouse, not for becoming Panakea’s pawn…
These souls, these loyal shadows – turned out, she never called upon them… until the very end. Her subjects, her brethren… Eve feared that if she let them out, they would tear her tyrannical husband into little pieces.
“Haa… Haa…” And now, she had to choose. To turn around and let someone else fix her problem, or… “Haa… HAA!!! HAA!!! HAA!!! SUNI (I’ll kill you)!!!”
A Punch to the maw, to the chest, through the ribs, to the heart! He didn’t die! He couldn’t die here! This scumbag of a man, this monster just wouldn’t go away! No matter how much pain she caused him, no matter how many times she slit his throat, broke through his torso, shocked him with spells, cut him with magical light…
And what of Cornar?
“A-A-A-A-A!!! A-A-AGH!!! HA-HA-HA-A!!! NA SHENBATA, SETOAN (you can’t get rid of me, woman)!!!” The son of Hakuo never relented. He relished in his immortality, laughed through the hellish torments Eve inflicted upon him. The skinned lion spotted a weakness in Eve’s heart, and he pressed at it, as if breaking the girl would get him back to the world of the living…
No, he wanted to take Eve to the world of dead.
“Gha-a-a-a… Agh-h-h…” The queen-to-be grabbed her forehead, her rugged breath not only siphoned all the focus out of her, threatening to cast the girl into a pit of despair, it also deteriorated her control over the mana she wielded. Unlike the city of salt, there was enough ambient magic to harvest here, but doing so would require skills, precision, and, most importantly, personal discipline and control over one’s own mind.
“Praibi, orna Iblis (Drain yourself, my Iblis)!” The prince of Batnara shashu tribe provoked, feeling the grip of the shadows losing its strength. A little more, and he’d be free… A little more…
“Hm…” But Eve wouldn’t relent. She once again covered her arm in a coat of magical lightning. She would never surrender; the queen would never let anyone treat her like a slave ever again. Not after Keyaruga’s perseverance taught her a lesson of resilience. Not after his gentleness, however tainted by his wounds, showed her what true love should look like.
She took a swing, prepared to strike…
“…” But then, two winged shadows stopped her hand. Amda and Sana, they were barely recognizable in their spiritual forms… but Eve would never mistake her parents for anyone else. They couldn’t speak, yet they still communicated with their daughter through other means. Emotions, wishes, urges – they never wished such evil to befall their daughter, but what they hated even more – was to see their child descend into the same pit.
“I… I don’t… have to?..” They asked her to stop, to let them relieve her of that burden. “B-but!.. No! You will die!” The girl snarled, grabbing her parents in a hug. She knew what was to come – her mother, father – they wished to sacrifice themselves to drag Cornar back to the afterlife. But that… wouldn’t that mean she’d lose them all over again? Wouldn’t…
“…”
“Yes! You’re dead! So what?! What do I?..” The feeling of pain and powerlessness engulfed the verdant woman. Barely had she found the strength to stand before her fallen tribe, before those who she desired to see the most now left her.
“YOTJAR (finally)!!!” With Eve’s will getting weaker, so did the shadows of her ethereal court. Her tyrannical husband finally broke free, slamming and stomping her shadows, as they fruitlessly tried stopping him. Amda and Sana Reese hugged their child for the last time… and now they stood up to defend their precious daughter. That is… the least they could do.
…
Freia broke inside another dome. From the outside, they looked like bright constellations of stars, formed on the points of a massive, galactic-scaled pentagram. The personal chamber for each of the contenders. One was broken from the inside, collapsing inwards, into a black hole with an orange halo – this was Freia’s dome. There were four more. Two were dimmed, two still shone brightly. The Hero of Magic travelled through this empty space, lit by numerous distant stars. In her current form, things like speed, form, and time – none of them mattered, aside from her destination. And now, she had to choose one of the two luminous chambers.
…
What is true power? Does one determine this abstract concept by the weight one can lift with their muscles? Maybe it was the charisma necessary to lead the masses? Enough money to influence others? Authority earned or inherited?
“Well-well-well…” Whatever the answer truly was, Ellen had none of it right now. No strength to fight, no troops to hide behind, and certainly – those who opposed her now had little if any need of whatever amount of gold she now carried.
“WENCH!”
“TANOUTUR (murderer)!”
“NEZAH (why)?!”
“MERA RIVARO (my life)!..”
“YAU MA (how dare you)!”
“YOU’LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU’VE DONE, BITCH!!!”
Oh, they came for Norn. There were hundreds, if not thousands of them, some she could recall from her Murian and Teuteccain campaigns – the series of expansions past the great wall; others were the court warlords she and John unseated in her ascension; rebellious villagers too came to exact their revenge on the younger princess, after her demons decimated them; and there were the victims of Buranikka’s carnage. This was the mountain of corpses Norn Clatalissa Jioral used to climb onto the very peak of political power…
“Now then, what do you want from me? An apology? Maybe my penance?” Even now, surrounded by countless dead souls, whose entire being now revolved around their grudge, the girl wouldn’t let herself be crushed by their rage. Not mentally, at least.
“DIE!”
“MAN WOR YAKSI (give me your eyes)!”
“SUFFER, YOU MONSTER!”
“I JUST WANTED TO LIVE!!!”
And so, hundreds of voices began howling in unison. So passionate, so eager to share their hardships and aspirations, that Ellen actually started pitying them a little. So many words, so much pain in them.
“Haa… I guess, that something like this was bound to happen someday. Well…” Instead of listening to the rest of the traumatizing nonsense and wailing, the crimson-headed cutie just began… to simply undress. “I don’t have the power to struggle, I can’t break out of here, and all of you came here for me. So go on. Rape me, maul me, kill me, do whatever you want. I’ve already done everything I wanted.” Ellen, now naked and completely defenseless, stretched out on the ethereal black floor, looking into the endless black void above her. The raging souls now came closer and closer, dozens of faces now loomed above her, as their hands reached out to grab the fallen warlady and tear her apart. This… was the end.
Keyaruga, Setsuna, sister… I hope you won’t miss me too much.
And so, she closed her eyes. Time to finally die.
…
…
…
There was no pain, nobody dragged the girl around, not even a single blow fell upon her. Ellen was… safe?
“A-A-A-A!!!”
“UGH-H-H!!!”
“YOLA-A-A-A-A (it hu-u-u-urts)!!!”
Slice and dicing, the ripping of flesh and clattered bones, “death” of a sort, dealt to the undying, torment for the tormented who themselves wished to inflict suffering upon her – someone kept the restless souls away from the princess. Someone precise, fast, and masterful with his tools of mayhem.
“Haa, is that you, Organ?” Ellen asked sullenly. Denied her excruciating retribution once more, she could only cover her tightly shut eyes with her palms.
“How did you know, Your Highness?” Indeed, it was him. As brutal as he was gallant, the deceased demigod was the only one out of these dead souls, who spoke to her, and not wailed at her like some sort of a beast.
“I know only two men, who’d come for me here, and the other isn’t so discreet, you moron.” The young general replied, opening her eyelids. The first thing she saw was the Champion of Jioral, covered in black blood. His prized amber eyes were no more, only black gaping holes were there instead. “Why’re you here? Do you want a piece of me for yourself?” The girl asked, still unwilling to stand up. Honestly, she felt robbed at this moment. This would be such a fitting end for her, but no! “Don’t tell me you’ve just barged in here to… Pff! PROTECT… me.” The second princess spat these words through her painfully clenched teeth.
“First things first, Lady Norn, I suggest you cover your shame and cease this indecency.” The warrior spoke, piercing and slashing the mob with his sword, impaling them with his hidden blade, tossing them back with his kicks. He was far from his prime form, and so, wounds and sores, cuts and lesions were left on him, as he, alone, overpowered dozens of raging men and women, keeping them away from the girl he swore to protect. Indeed… “Forgive me, princess, but I made a vow to your mother, and death is hardly a valid reason to…”
“YAKS… (giv…) A-A-A-A!!!”
“…to renounce my…”
“DOKI-I-I (step away)!!!”
“…loyalty to her!”
Despite everything, no matter the odds, Hawkeye continued to push back the angry spirits. He couldn’t dodge, as every missed blow could land on the lady, he couldn’t step back, as she needed protection more than any time in her life, and, certainly, sustained by this oppressive dimension, he couldn’t die. He couldn’t kill anyone, as they just rose anew from their own black blood, but the man couldn’t retreat.
“He-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh…” The princess chuckled, curling her torso in order to sit up. It hurt her stomach, but the girl persevered nonetheless. “Why am I always surrounded by stupid stubborn men, who just can’t help but dingle their balls before me? Seriously, a dead man, upholding a promise to a dead woman, how much more ridiculous can this get?” The girl scoffed, pulling back her panties, bra, and whatever she left lying around, back on. After all, why even bother now? “Be honest, idiot! What do you want from me?”
“I came here…”
Slash, backflip, tackle, toss – Organ Trist twirled around his commander, pushing back everyone, who came too close to his prized princess.
“…to ask you, Lady Norn!..”
Shoulder slam, side-kick, a flurry of bloodshed embodied in the son of Artemis!
“…to save my…”
Stabbing enemies with that hidden blade, crushing their skulls with the handle of his blade, ripping their eyes out and tossing them away – however useless this double-sided brutality may seem, Hawkeye had purpose, skill, and, most of all, conviction, that allowed him to push the mob away.
“…daughter! Save Marianna!”
After all, what can be stronger, than a father, eager to protect his dear child?
“And you think keeping me alive will help you with that? You, moron, this bloated pigeon trapped me here! I have only one way out – fucking death!” The second princess, now properly clothed again, yelled however loud she could. Unable to comprehend the reasoning behind this idiocy, the girl just stood there, pulling her crimson hair. “Also, you’re severely mistaken! I’m not Norn! Norn’s dead! My name is…”
“…Elly! Elly-y-y!!!” Barely had the princess opened her mouth; before the dome had been breached from the outside. The Hero of Magic emerged above the ground. She levitated, using magical blue flames; she secured her sister by forming a wall around her, a barricade made from powerful ice spears. The sorceress even went so far as to send one into the undead Champion, it was one he easily avoided, though. “Step away from my sister, Organ!!!” The raging magician demanded, pulling her sibling towards her with a gust of mystical wind.
“Ghh! Oh, hey there, Friea!” The fallen warlady spoke, bracing herself against the dizziness her brief flight had caused. Still, this didn’t look good. The last time those two met, Hawkeye severely injured the pink-haired girl, and she just wouldn’t live through it again, unless two gods appeared to help her. This time, though, it was her turn to be a deity-savior.
“Get away! You’ve bested me once, but this time, I can crash this entire realm down onto your head!” The Hero of Magic promised, putting her staff between her sister and her enemy.
“Aw shit, this just gets better and better…” The little genius lamented, nervously shaking her head. Not only was her glorified suicide rudely interrupted, but now this situation threatened to kill her sister as well. Still…
“Elly, Elly… Ellen? Ellen the Adopted?” Despite Freia’s expectations, Organ Trist was more interested in the new name she called Norn, rather than anything else, really. He already had his fair share of battles, after all. “Ho-ho-o! I guess, in the end, you really did become the better version of yourself! And the ‘brother’ in question – is that sir Keyaru?” The blinded man asked with the same smugness he once boasted with in his grandiose life.
“What’s the point of answering you now? Aren’t we just traitors to you?” The heroine replied with every bit of animosity she had in her. “Hold on, Elly, I’ll get you out of here.” Freia stated, charging her staff with the magic that shaped this entire “world”.
“Heh, aren’t you afraid of what that damn poisoned pigeon might do to you for breaking her rules?” The crimson-haired cutie scoffed, witnessing the entire black dome covering with cracks.
“I don’t care about her rules! All I want is to see you safe!” The sorceress spoke with even more defiance toward Caladrius than Norn ever had in her. If needed, she would challenge this feathered nightmare to a duel, anything, just to save her family.
“I see…” Hawkeye uttered, kneeling before the two girls. All that time, rather than monitoring Freia’s moves, his supernatural senses were aimed outside, to make sure no restless souls cross the fence of magic ice. But now… “I see your eyes, Princess Flare, they’re just like hers. I’m sure; you’ll make Lady Reeharoze proud of you yet.” Now, before he once again departs to the other side, there was one last thing to tell them. First praise, then a claim… “Lady Ellen, I beg of you. The life of Marianna now lies in your hands.” …and finally a plea. With all that said, Organ Trist crumbled, his body turned into black salt. And with it, the entire realm began to collapse in itself…
“Hold tight, Elly…”
…
And now, there was only one dark dome left. Arguably, the worst of them all, this particular world was to be the prison for Keyaruga… or his cemetery. No doorways to run into, no windows to jump from. He was alone, trapped with hundreds of those who were slain by his hand. Those poor bastards – the restless souls, their minds were so obsessed with hatred, and their grudge – powered by the sheer immortality of their ethereal blackened bodies. This was hell in its purest form. The question is – a hell for who, exactly?
“YE-E-E-E-E-EAH!!! IT’S HEALING TIME!!!” Keyaruga snarled and began splattering blood all over the place. Everyone who was touched by that substance became horribly mutated – their heads bloated, their muscles strained so much, they crushed their very bones! “WHAT’S WRONG?! KILL ME!!! KILL ME NOW!!!” The man demanded, dancing around his would-be tormentors with his blade, blessing his foes with the exquisite gift of perpetual agony! Saber in his right hand, Georgius on his left, one complementing another.
Despite what the lad asked, nobody could bring him down. His immortal flesh defied any blade, his bones healed in an instant, his mad frenzy alleviated any pain.
He thought he could kill his enemies for the second and final time, give them proper death in the most excruciating manner. He was wrong…
“DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! AGAIN! AND AGAIN! AND ALL OVER AGA-A-A-A-AIN!!!” The hero yelled chopping off heads and severing limbs! He killed so many, he couldn’t even count the slayings! He murdered the same people over and over, each time their agony being more exquisite then the last!
Kill a man once, he won’t even notice, his rage will only rise! Kill him thrice – he’d waver! Five – and the seeds of fear are sown. Ten – and he’s broken completely!
Keyaruga just couldn’t help himself, he hated these scum so much, he just couldn’t contain all his passionate hatred. It was so strong, that the feeling of pure, raw, primordial wrath transcended every possible modification he had put into himself.
“A-A-A-A-A!!! UGH-H-H-H-H!!!” A soldier was weeping, hugging his boot. “S-S-S-S-SPA-A-A-ARE ME-E-E!!!”
“YO-O-OU!!! I remember you!” The healer spoke, raising the cretin by his neck. “My first kill! You watched me being raped, drugged… BEATEN!!!” The man yawped, slicing off his upper face with one nimble slice. “AND YOU NEVER!!! EVER!!! EVER FUCKING HELPED ME!!!” The lad, tainted by black and red blood, slammed the sentry into the ‘floor’…
“A-A-A-A-A!!! PLE-E-E-EASE!!!” …and gleefully sliced off his arms, ignited sparked his left armored hand into a gauntlet of blazing heat!..
“GU-GHH-GUU!!! UA-A-A-A-A-A-A!!!” And finally, cauterized the wounds, just so that the retard wouldn’t die too soon.
“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!!!” The crazed avenger yelled, grabbing Leonard, so conveniently nearby, weeping. “YOU SAID, I’VE DONE NOTHING FOR THIS FUCKING KINGDOM?! I’LL SHOW YOU, WHAT I CAN DO NO-O-OW!!!”
And so he did, the madman rested his two fingers on the sadist’s forehead. A second passed, and a purple spark had announced the richest form of suffering.
“Oh… U-u… Uo-o-o-o-o-o… Khh…” Indeed, although it wasn’t as vocal as previous ones, Keyaruga was more than pleased with the result. He knew of a human having specific nerves, specifically for reacting to pain. And he just overloaded them. Toxic spiders, dangerous medusas, venomous snakes and scorpions – all of them could do that with their poisons. Hell, even Keyaruga could brew neurotoxins. But damn, this thing had one ultimate merit compared to all of those – the instant effect, so potent, in fact, that the victim can’t even cry out from the excruciating pain!
“He-e! That’s a neat trick.” The lad mumbled, approaching a maid, lying on the “floor” like an embryo. Flare’s bodyguard shivered and sucked her thumb, completely lost to this twisted world. Just one little touch… “Pam! You’re already dead!” Keyaruga sneered tapping his armored fingers by her temple.
“Uh… Uh… Ugh… W… Wha-?.. A-A-A-A-A-A-AGH-H-H!!!” The woman grabbed her skull, but it was too late. All the blood, bile, and even marrow now came into her brain, bloating it, up until it burst in a fountain of black blood and shining entrails.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!! I FUCKING LOVE IT!!!” The deranged healer laughed so loud, and his presence was so overwhelming now, that nobody even dared to come close to him, let alone attack, unless they wished to become a victim of a new twisted experiment. Oh, their fear, this agonizing panic! They’re giving me a fucking boner! I wanna fuck! I want a woman! Oh, this! This will do nicely!
And so, Keyaruga dropped his saber, unfastened his belt, ripped the dress, slapped that ass which he had found, grabbed it, pushed it in! The woman with a blackened tail was slowly dying of blood loss, but that barely concerned the lad. He grabbed her pelvis and began to move, so fast, so frantic, and so mindless, that no one could see a human in him. No-o, this was a wild beast, slamming his bulging cock into the defenseless female, too tired to react, let alone resist somehow. She wasn’t even tight, just barely warm, but even that was enough. A few minutes of such suffering inflicted on her, and he came, this was a brilliant orgasm, deeply perverted, and twisted to the very core…
Oh, that’s the fucking best! I love it so much!
Keyaruga grabbed her hand, wiped his penis with it, pull back his pants, and…
I don’t remember her. I wonder, who that is.
He pushed the body, rolling it to the back.
“Ha-a-a… Hello again, Kailia…” The mad lad recognized her instantly. An agent, sent to find and assist Eve Reese in her quest, hired by someone named Carol. But that alone wouldn’t be enough to get Keyaruga to brutally rape her. “You’ve killed my Norn, but I spared you. Heh, after Kali left, I tasked you to ward off whoever they sent after my Eve, but… It seems like you’ve failed. Really, really sad.” The healer spoke, resting his left hand on her dying flesh, recovering it in an instant. And just like that… “Oh, fuck!” She nearly stabbed him with a knife. Gods only knew where she got it from… “Sit still.” But then, Keyaruga just pressed his finger on her forehead, and completely shut down her limbs functions. He pitied her… but could do nothing for this miserable leopard woman.
“Haa… Damn, it’s getting boring here.” The hero lamented, picking up his weapon of choice. At this point, he just put it back in its sheath. Only then did he spot a couple of new faces in the crowd of weeping bastards. “You there! You don’t look like you should be here. What’s… wait…”
“STAY AWAY FROM ME, MONSTER!!!” The woman cried, she was weeping into her man’s now tainted shirt.
“Heh! He-heh! No-no-no-o! Oh no-o-o!” Keyaruga frantically shook his head, unable to believe what he just saw. This was the worst. This… “Anna! Kurt! What… What’re you even doing here?! I… I avenged you! You shouldn’t have…” His parents were there, they stood among the thugs, slavers, robbers, bandits, zealots, murderers… But they… they weren’t one of them…
“You killed us, traitor. You raped my wife, after everything she’s done for you. You’re disgusting little shit!” The mighty harvester told him, pointing his war-scythe at the hero. The only thing that held him at bay, though, was his spouse, loudly crying with black tears pouring from her eyes.
“Heh… You… really think I’d…”
“No. But you’ve proven it.” Kurt spoke with the coldest possible rage in his voice. Keyaru’s cruelty couldn’t be doubted, after all. Not after everyone he maimed this day. “I don’t give a fuck, what the hell is wrong with you, but I’ll slice your guilty ass as many times as I need.” The older man spoke, pushing Anna aside. And then, he lunged.
Kurt struck as a true warrior – he was swift, accurate, precise – his war scythe – basically a reforged farming tool, grazed Keyaruga’s torso, cut his leg, he even stabbed his foster son through his chest. But… there was no blood.
“Calm down, you two.” The hero demanded, stoically taking hit after hit, like the heavy glaive-like blade was nothing. While Anna crumbled to her knees, lost in her weeping, Kurt wouldn’t stop attacking. “You can’t kill me, I’m immor-…” Barely did the lad say so; before his foster father grabbed the handle in a wide grip, and just swept his head off with one precise strike.
“NO-O-O-O-O-O-O!!!” Strangely enough, despite all of the delusions his parents had about him, Anna just couldn’t stand seeing her child being killed so brutally. “A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A!!! WHY-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y?!!!” As Keyaru’s head rolled on the ground, the thugs, at least those who weren’t affected by any of hero’s inventive afflictions, started to get rallied again.
“You had it coming, you ungrateful dipshit!” Kurt spat through tightly closed teeth. He couldn’t watch, couldn’t face what he had to do with his adopted prodigy. Even if he was a criminal. Even if…
“I really did…” But the bastards weren’t enjoying the show for too long. Right when the healer seemed to fall, a new body started to grow from his neck-stump, the clothes, the pouches, the weapons – everything turned into ash just to materialize again on the proudly standing conqueror of death itself.
“What devilry is this?” Kurt’s reaction was understandable. A mix of fear, anger, and disgust, was all over his tainted face. In turn…
“KEYARU-U-U-U!!!” Anna just dashed forward to hug her child. No matter, how disgustingly atrocious his resurrection was, without even looking at the beheaded body that now lied nearby, the woman just went ahead and embraced the lad. She… didn’t seem to be in her right mind, even for a dead soul.
“Anna, I… I…” The shivers began taking a hold of him. His hands, his knees – they trembled so much, this simple touch he though he lost forever, this… This was enough to make him cry. “I’m sorry… I’m so, so, so, so-o-o sorry!..”
“DIE, FUCKER!!!”
“THAT YOU HAVE TO SEE ME DOING THIS!!!” Keyaruga yelled, grabbing Leonard by his wrist. Just a little pressure – and he dropped his sword, the weapon faded into nothingness. Then, the man pushed Anna back, punched his foe in the gut, and proudly showed his captive to his family. “Haa… He-heh! He-e-e… This… This is Leonard, Flare’s… right hand…” The hero spoke, this time trying to maintain his sanity, as his parents now cautiously looked at him. “I… I came from the future! I had to rewind time’s flow itself… Because Flare was evil, and he…” Then, the man put his hand onto the barely struggling imbecile, thus transforming him into Keyaru, the motionless child, whose entire mobility, except for breathing, was shut down for the ease of what he was about to do. “I killed Flare! And he took my guilt. Then…” Afterwards, the healer went ahead and summoned raging flames upon his free hand. Kurt and Anna watched motionlessly, as he placed the magic-shrouded palm onto his ‘own’ face, burned it, scourged the blackened flesh with the sorcery he ‘learned’ from Flare… “My trick was revealed, and he headed out to our village, looking just like me. The rest… you know the rest.”
And finally, Keyaruga dropped the motionless doll, unable even to cry out from the excruciating pain the Hero of Healing inflicted upon it. He then faced his parents, still shocked by such a display of merciless brutality, they couldn’t even properly reply, this entire spectacle of bloodshed, mayhem, rape, torture, demonstration of immortality, and now – proofs of metamorphosis – all of that left them utterly silent.
“Kurt, Anna… I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you… But I can’t let you, or any one of these fuckers keep me here! I… I have a family! Freia, Setsuna, Ellen, Eve – I so wanted you to meet them… But you can’t now. You… might not believe me, and I understand that.” The red-eyed lad uttered, as his posture slouched more and more, along with his fading bravery. “This is what it’s like to be a man! I must be strong! I have to be ruthless now, so that nobody would challenge me in the future!” The man added, now turning his back to his foster parents. He stood straight, he stretched his shoulders, took a deep breath, and… “LISTEN HERE, YOU FUCKING MONSTERS!!! WHAT YOU’VE FELT NOW IS BUT A TINY BIT OF WHAT I’LL DO TO YOU, ONCE I’M FUCKING DEAD!!! NOW YOU WILL GO INTO THE DEEPEST PITS OF HELL, AND WHEN YOU’RE THERE, PRAY I DON’T FUCKING DIE ANYTIME SOON!!! BECAUSE WHEN I FINALLY KICK THIS SHITTY BUCKET, I’LL FIND EACH OF YOU, AND WE’LL BE PLAYING FOR THE WHOLE OF ETERNITY!!! BUT WHY WAIT, WHEN WE CAN HAVE SOME FUN NOW, HU-U-U-UH?!!!”
The speech was told, the impact made. His words were so zealous, so passionately intimidating, that the weeping fools now reached a whole new depth of despair.
“GET US OUT OF HERE!!!”
“SAVE ME-E-E-E!!!”
“HE’S THE DEVIL!!! DE-E-EVIL!!!”
“UA-A-A-A-A-A-A!!!”
“KUUNDA (I’m so scared)!!!”
“HE-E-E-E-E-ELP!!!”
And so, this entire crowd, this mob of immortal corpses, just ran away. Everyone, who could still stand on their feet, began fleeing in panic, trampling each other in the process. What they failed to notice, though, is that the dome is endless only for its main victim. Everyone else just came up against the invisible wall.
The Trial of Heart – its goal is twisted, to be certain. To pass it would mean releasing the dead souls from their grudge toward you. A saint would shift it to forgiveness, but the deranged avenger pumped so much fear in those criminals, that their hatred was replaced by the purest and most animalistic terror. Still, with the task done, the souls began to dissipate in a white light. They would finally be free…
“REMEMBER!!! YOU’VE NOT SEEN THE LAST OF ME!!! WE’LL MEET AGAIN, YOU FUCKING SHITBAGS!!!” Unfortunately for them, though, Keyaruga’s long shadow still loomed above them all. And such, even in relief, the crowd continued to cry, to sob, to wail, to…
“Keya… ru…” But not all left because of dread. When the avenger turned around, his foster mother, crumbling into white flakes, stood on her tiptoes to give him a last kiss on the cheek. “You’ve grown… so much…”
And so, she faded. Kurt quickly followed, although it wasn’t forgiveness or benevolence that filled his raging soul. No, it was an impotent acceptance. He saw Keyaruga as a mirror, in which he saw himself, before he deserted the royal guard and found himself in Alban.
“Someday… you’ll follow my path…” And this was what the man spoke at last, dropping his war-scythe to the ethereal ground. With no souls to redeem in the most twisted of ways, the dome of blackness quickly turned insufferably bright.
The Trial of Heart had been passed.

There is some violence in this one. Struggle snuggles are briefly mentioned, but nothing descriptive. There is nothing bad enough to warrant a NSFW tag.
The Nature of Predators is made by u/SpacePaladin15
Previous/ First/
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Memory transcription subject: Varce, Cattle Farm Δ12
Date [standardized human time]: January 1, 2137
Delicious, succulent piles of meat laid before me. Fresh yellow blood still dripped from fatty livers. Chitin appendages were begging me to crunch into them. Stacks of scrumptious eggs oozed with slime, undoubtedly laid last night. I could barely contain myself as we all sat down to begin our morning breakfast.
Tarth, being the greedy Arxur that he is, started begging. “So. Your sharing, right? I mean, you do have three days worth of food in front of you.”
I gave him a curt “No” as I began digging into my mountain of food. Al and Kyra snickered at the abrupt rejection. The tender liver broke down into small fragments as my teeth sunk through it. My starved brain exploded with endorphins as the rich, flavorful food slid down my throat. Every drop of tangy blood felt like absolute bliss, seasoned by near crippling hunger. I was so enraptured by the delights before me, I barely even noticed Al watching me with a stupid grin.
I looked him over. “What?”
He broke out snickering. “Sorry. I can’t help it. I don’t quite have a word for it, but it’s nice to watch you enjoy yourself so much.”
Eh. Weird human stuff. I continued to feast on a crunchy appendage when my human callously stole an egg from one of my plates.
I snapped at him. “Hey! Put that back. You’ve got your own eggs.”
He continued to smile like an idiot. “Open your mouth.”
I humored him, albeit somewhat annoyed. Once my mouth was agape, he tossed the egg he was holding onto my tongue. My jaws slammed shut with a pop.
Al excitedly did a little cheer. “Aw. That was awesome.”
Tarth tried to get in on the action. “Do me now.”
Before I could say anything, Al responded. “No. You’re not getting any of Varce’s food.”
Tarth replied with an overly dramatic head turn. “I see how it is.”
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My division sat around the “kitchen” after a long morning of work. All of our equipment had been cleaned and stowed for the time being. Al’s injury brought his productivity to a crawl despite his best efforts. He couldn’t cut, carry, or clean with just one arm so he mostly just acted as moral support. He answered any human questions that were in my inbox, but it had been almost a month since the guide was put out. Barely anyone had any interest in humans at this point.
I sat with my back against the wall while casually scrolling through my news feed. My human was sitting to my left with his head propped against my ribs. He was focused on my screen as I had various images slide by. We were looking for any updates on the situation with the UN armed forces.
Apparently, a few thousand humans were being reported to be under federation custody. A planet with a human shipyard was captured by prey. I’d hazard a guess that not many of those humans are still alive, though I wouldn’t say such a thing with Al around. While he has made it thoroughly clear that he is team Arxur, he still cares for the well being of his own species.
Al let out a slow exaggerated sigh as he slumped further into me. “Hey Varce. Do you think humans are going to survive?”
I considered lying, but decided against it. “Probably not. You did say some ark ships got sent out though. So there’s that.”
“I’m probably going to be the last living human in this part of the galaxy here pretty soon.” He strummed his fingers against my knee. “It’s… A really weird feeling.”
I took one of my hands away from my holopad and ran it through his blonde hair. I looked at his blue eyes for a moment before returning to the holopad.
“For what it’s worth. You’ll always be welcome to stay with me.” A small condolence, but it was what came naturally.
“Thanks”
After about a half-hour, a live broadcast forced itself onto everyone’s holopad, including mine. The image displayed 23 restrained Arxur on their knees with armed guards standing behind them. Chief Hunter Shaza entered the screen and stood at a podium.
She looked over them before speaking. “Today I will pass judgment and punishment onto these Arxur before me. Due to their negligence and incompetence, a total of 508 captive humans have died with an unknown amount of humans dying while being captured. In addition to this, 35 loyal Arxur have died along with an additional 112 being wounded.”
Al and I looked to each other in concern. That was upwards of a quarter of the humans that we had captured in total. What the hell happened?
Shaza continued. “First, you three that were in charge of testing and approval of the tranquilizers used on humans. You falsified data and gave approval to a tranquilizer that has led to deaths in almost every cattlefarm. These tranquilizers were used by human capture parties and resulted in an unknown number of human fatalities that could have been used for trading. Your sentence is death.”
She pulled a ceremonial sword from out of the podium and walked behind the three. She took a swing at the first ones neck and cleanly passed through. However, she over swung and got the tip lodged into the skull of the second one. The second one violently spasmed and screamed as he tried to get away. He fell to the floor when Shaza jammed the blade further into his brain. She extracted the sword and cut down the third with no issue. She walked back to the podium, sat down her sword, and continued with her judgment.
“Vice Admiral and Human Welfare Officer of Cattlefarm Δ9. You disregarded any recommendations about human nutrition and fed them raw herbivore food. Then, when it was discovered that the herbivore food is toxic to humans. You continued to feed them herbivore food and ate the water bug meat that was sent to you. All 225 humans under you care have died due to the toxicity of the herbivore food. Your punishment is death.”
Shaza walked to the two with sword in hand. She carefully swung at each of their necks, being sure to not over-swing again. She walked back to her podium and readied herself to speak again.
Al spoke up while his eyes were locked on the holopad. “She’s nervous. I mean, she was a little nervous before that fuck up. Now she’s even more nervous. I think it’s a safe bet that Prophet Descendant is watching this.”
Shaza scowled this time. “Vice Admiral, Master-at-arms, and Human Welfare officer of Cattlefarm Δ2. You three disregarded all security recommendations and placed all 241 of your humans in a single cage. They crafted weapons known as shanks and killed guards. They then claimed the guard’s firearms and ultimately immolated themselves in the facility. This resulted in the deaths of 35 Arxur, severe injury of 112 Arxur, and the loss of an estimated 800,000 pounds of food and breeding stock. Your punishment is death.”
With sword in hand, she walked behind them. She held the tip of the weapon with her off hand and drove it through. The metal stuck out of the first one’s upper abdomen. His liver was most certainly cut open. She violently yanked out the blade and repeated the process two more times. She left them to bleed out and returned to the podium.
Words could not describe to sheer anger on her face as she addressed the last 15 Arxur. “You disgusting degenerates of Cattlefarm Δ6. A total of 34 human females committed suicide while under your custody. If we find more evidence, I promise more will be executed by my hand. 34 human females are dead because you forcibly mated with them. You destroyed all video evidence, so you knew exactly what you were all doing. Your punishment is death.”
She walked away from the podium without her sword this time. She strolled past the line of corpses and looked over the first Arxur. Shaza turned to the closest guard and took the rifle from their grasp. She placed the muzzle of the weapon into the lower center of the creep’s back. She pulled the trigger with a splatter of blood. She destroy his spine and ruptured his intestines. He wouldn’t be going anywhere while he had his slow death. Shaza repeated this over and over until all 15 of them were crumpled on the ground slowly dying. She returned the rifle to the guard and took her position on the podium.
She stared into the camera. “This fleet functions because I have confidence in those that operate below me. When there are errors, I expect those to be reported to me. The people here lied and hid things from me. Those that reported incidents to me still have their heads and positions because they did not betray my trust. As Chief Hunter, all of you are my responsibility. All I ask is that you do not violate my trust. Now get back to work.”
With that said, the live stream ended. Everyone in the room was dead silent after witnessing the execution. I wasn’t really certain on how to process what I just witnessed. Especially that last group. What would even bring an Arxur to even consider doing something like that with a human? I wouldn't be surprised if they did that kind of stuff with their prey too. Putrid fucking animals.
Al interrupted my train of thought when he started talking. “Those that self reported didn’t lose their positions? That’s a load of shit. She totally tried to boot you. What a fucking liar.”
My holopad began pinging me with an incoming video call from my vice admiral. I accepted it without hesitation and was presented with an image of vice admiral in his stateroom. He raised an eye ridge before speaking.
“Human Welfare Officer Varce and Hall” Al nodded his head in submission. Oh right, he’s more or less cuddling with me right now. Not a great look. “Did you see the live execution just now?
I replied. “Yes vice admiral. It appears you’re suspicions were correct. Though I wish they weren’t.”
“Over 500 captive humans dead. If you’d like, you can pat yourself on the back.”
The hell is he implying? “I’m sorry sir. I don’t think I follow.”
“We just got a view of what would have happened at all of the cattlefarms had it not been for you and Hall. I just felt it appropriate to congratulate you on all of the humans you effectively saved.”
“Huh… That’s one way to look at it sir.”
The vice admiral gave me a grin. “Don’t sell yourself short. If you hadn’t become my Human Welfare Officer, I might have been in that line up. I’ll have you know that I strongly prefer my head attached to my body. Could you imagine the disaster that would have happened if that idiot had been in charge?”
Al forced himself into the conversation. “Speaking of. How’s the brig treating the spoon smuggler?”
Spoon Smuggler? The shithead? Why the hell does Al know about what happened to that moron when I don’t even know?
Vice admiral continued. “The half rations are thinning the troublemaker down. I’ve yet to find an unfortunate ship to pawn him off onto. I am however, considering the possibility of sending him to work on a waste management ship.”
Al started giggling. “Do it. That sounds hilarious.”
I re-entered the conversation. “I second the waste management idea.”
Vice admiral decided to wrap up our conversation. “As much as I’d like to rejoice over the fact that I’m alive. I have much work to do still. So have a good day Officer Varce. You as well Hall.”
With that said, the call cut out leaving me with my human. Over 500 captive humans dead. Their care was in the hands of the Dominion. And well… We failed them. They suffered abuse and mistreatment at the hands of Arxur. They were treated like cattle. Some even worse… I understand why Arxur go through the struggles that we do. We have more people then meat. It’s simple math… But this is just outright wrong. They were given the supplies they needed. It was just the torture and death of sapients for the sake of it. What is wrong with some of these people. Sure, humans aren’t as impressive as an Arxur physically, but that doesn’t mean they’re some mindless prey. Ouch!
I looked down to my human who was pinching the softer scales around my armpit. “What was that for?”
Al smiled at me. “You were spacing out there. I figured I’d drag you back to reality.”
I sighed a little. Might as well not dwell on the human thing. “How did you know what happened to the ‘spoon smuggler’? I thought he just disappeared.”
Al continued to tug at my loose skin. “The guards told me. Unlike you, I make a point of rubbing elbows with the folks around here. I know all of the gossip and rumors.”
A perk of being born a social predator I suppose. I’d tire of the endless chitchat long before any human would. I wrapped my left arm around the goofy human’s neck and brought him into a loose choke hold of sorts. My other hand grabbed at his hair and pulled at it lightly.
I put on the best sarcasm voice that I could. “Are you suggesting that you are better at social interactions than me? I’ll have you know that I am an Arxur, the apex predator of the universe. I’m perfect at everything all the time. To even suggest otherwise would be peak foolishness. I-”
Al started to poke at my muzzle with his good hand. Naturally, I retaliated by “biting” down on his hand to keep it still.
“Eww. You have no idea where that thing has been. Seriously. I only have one functional arm right now, so what do you think I’ve been using that thing for?”
I promptly spit out the filthy appendage. It was nice to see him enjoying himself. With all the death that’s going on right now, I’d imagine that he’s probably really stressed out.
I released his head. “So. How are you holding up?”
“I’m doing as well as I could hope to.” He softly rammed his head into my ribs. “Thanks.”
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I'm a 28 year old female and my partner is 35. We've been married for 5 years and together over 7. The first six months of our relationship the sex and intimacy were otherworldly. He was the best sex of my life (and previously I had a lot of great sex). Before we met he messed himself up with a testosterone cycle and around the 6 month mark of us dating stopped taking some pills that were blocking? the effects of what he did. Since then, our sex life slowly went downhill. He's had difficulty maintaining erections and seemingly little to no passion or sexual interest in me. Fastwordward to now, he seems afraid to have intimate contact (example: cuddling); I think because he's afraid I'll try to initiate sex. He tells me I'm not the problem and it's him. I've definitely gained weight since we met and don't feel great about my looks, he doesn't often positively comment on my body anymore or grab my ass. He can maintain an erection while asleep. I've watched him masterbate a couple times (why he does it in bed when I'm a light sleeper I don't know) but notice he never ejaculates/finishes. Sex is sporadic - we don't have it for months then one month we might 2 or 3 times. In March we went on vacation and had sex every day. I got pregnant. Since getting back, we've had sex 3 times with no ejaculation and it's the end of May. I'm not too into masturbating, it makes me feel sad that I have to do it myself when I have a beautiful partner. Besides for a sexless marriage, our relationship is quite good. We spend a lot of time together, talk about our days and feelings, sex is the only thing missing. He was diagnosed with low t and started treatment 2 months ago. He still has no desire and difficulty maintaining an erection. Whenever we talk about it it leads to an argument. I'm a blunt speaker and that's something for me to work on. Is there any hope for my sex life? I feel trapped. I love him so much. Sex (used to be) is a major part of how I show love and feel loved/safe.

So these are the instructions to write the program:
In this program, you will create a personal organizer. You will ask the user for the name of an event, the year it is happening, along with the month and day it is happening. If the user incorrectly enters one of those values, they are prompted to re-enter the information until it is correct. The user can do this for as many events as they have. After the user has entered all of the events, the whole list of events (along with their date) should be output to the user. It may sound simple, but there is a lot that goes into making this program! One of the best ways to do this is with parallel arrays: one for the eventName, eventMonth, eventDay and eventYear. This allows you to easily add and output all of the details of an event. There is some very helpful starter code already provided in your programming environment, but in order to build the full program, follow the steps and instructions below very carefully. Benchmarks In the MAIN portion of your program, four arrays are already created: eventName: to store the event name eventMonth: to store the event month eventDay: to store the event day eventYear: to store the event year
addEvent Let's first edit the addEvent() function - there are no parameters necessary. Notice that the addEvent() function is already defined right above the MAIN portion of your program. Inside of the addEvent() function, do the following: Prompt the user for the event name (entered as a string), and event year (entered as an integer). Prompt the user for the event month (entered as an integer) Then, call the function validateMonth(parameter1) which takes one parameter - the month that the user entered. This function should return a number from 1 - 12 and replace the month value that the user originally entered. validateMonth Now, work inside of the validateMonth() function. Notice that this function is already defined at the top of the starter code, but is commented out. Inside of the validateMonth() function, check to see if the value of the parameter is valid (1 - 12). If it is an invalid number, prompt the user to enter a new month. Continue doing this until a valid month is entered (hint: use a while loop). Then return this value. Back in the addEvent() function, prompt the user for an integer input for the day, then call the function validateDay(parameter1, parameter2, parameter3) which takes three parameters - the month, the day, and the year the user entered, in that order. This function should return a number from 1 - 31 and replace the day value that the user originally entered. validateDay Now, work inside of the validateDay() function. Notice that this function is already defined at the top of the starter code, but is commented out. Inside of the validateDay() function, first work out the number of days in the month represented by the first parameter (28, 29, 30 or 31). Remember! September, April, June and November only have 30 days, February has 28 or 29 days, and the rest of the months have 31 days. Your code should check that the day entered by the user actually exists in the month they entered. For example entering 31 as the day and 6 as the month (June) is not valid. Remember! During a leap year, February has 29 days. A leap year happens once every four years. In your code, you can check for a leap year using math: If the year entered by the user is divisible by 4, but not divisible by 100, it is a leap year. If the year is divisible by 4, and divisible by 100, check that it is also divisible by 400. If so, it is a leap year. Example: 2016 is divisible by 4, but not 100. 2016 was a leap year. Example: 2000 is divisible by 4, 100, and 400. 2000 was a leap year. Example: 1900 is divisible by 4 and 100, but is not divisible by 400. 1900 was not a leap year. After you've written code to find the number of days in the month, check that the day entered is a valid date in that month (between 1 and the number of days inclusive). If it is an invalid number, prompt the user to enter a new day. Continue doing this until a valid day is entered, then return this value. Finally, back in the addEvent() function, append the values entered by the user to their corresponding arrays in the MAIN portion of the program. Append the event name entered by the user, the month (re-entered if what the user originally entered was invalid), the day (re-entered if what the user originally entered was invalid), and the year. Test your program. At this point, it should work for entering one event. Entering Multiple Events Back in the MAIN portion of the program, we need to allow the user to enter in multiple events. After the original call of addEvent(), we need to prompt the user, “Do you want to enter another event? NO to stop: “ Remember that this is a string prompt. Using a while loop, if the user does not enter NO, call addEvent() to allow the user to enter another event. Remember to prompt the user one more time “Do you want to enter another event? NO to stop: “ Test your program again. You should now be able to enter multiple events until you type NO. Outside of the while loop, call the final function printEvents(), which takes no parameters. Notice that this function is already defined in your starter code, but is commented out. Inside of the printEvents() function, print all of the events that the user has entered. In this output, your program should adjust the month to be the name of the month, not the number that was originally entered by the user and stored in the eventMonth array. To do this you will need to have a for loop that cycles through all of the values in the arrays and use some kind of technique to replace the number of the month with the month name. Once you have code to change the integer value of the month to the name of the month, printEvents() should output the events in the format shown in the sample run below.
Sample Run 1 What is the event: Birthday What is the year: 2020 What is the month (number): 8 What is the date: 6 Do you want to enter another date? NO to stop: Yes What is the event: Hour of Code What is the year: 2019 What is the month (number): 12 What is the date: 5 Do you want to enter another date? NO to stop: NO ******************** List of Events ******************** Birthday Date: August 6, 2020 Hour of Code Date: December 5, 2019 Sample Run 2 What is the event: Math Exam What is the year: 2017 What is the month (number): 1 What is the date: 38 Invalid day. Please enter value from 1-31: 28 Do you want to enter another date? NO to stop: Yes What is the event: Birthday Party What is the year: 2018 What is the month (number): 16 Invalid month. Please enter value from 1-12: 0 Invalid month. Please enter value from 1-12: 6 What is the date: 22 Do you want to enter another date? NO to stop: NO ******************** List of Events ******************** Math Exam Date: January 28, 2017 Birthday Party Date: June 22, 2018
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This is the code I have:
# Check for and adjust month input if necessary def validateMonth(m): if m>=1 and m <=12: return m else: m = int(input("Invalid month. Please enter value from 1-12: ")) validateMonth(m)
# Check if a given year is a leap year # Returns 1 if it is a leap year, 0 otherwise def leap_year(year): if year % 400 == 0: return 1 elif year % 100 == 0: return 0 elif year % 4 == 0: return 1 else: return 0
# Check for and adjust day input if necessary def validateDay(m, d, y): if m == 1: while 1 <= d and d <= 31: return d else: d = int(input("Invalid day. Please enter value from 1-31: ")) elif m == 2: if leap_year(y) == 1: if 1 <= d and d <= 29: return d else: d = int(input("Invalid day. Please enter value from 1-31: ")) validateDay(m, d, y) if leap_year(y) == 0: if 1 <= d and d <= 28: return d else: d = int(input("Invalid day. Please enter value from 1-31: ")) validateDay(month, day, year) elif m == 3: if 1 <= d and d <= 31: return d else: d = int(input("Invalid day. Please enter value from 1-31: ")) validateDay(m, d, y) elif m == 4: if 1 <= d and d <= 30: return d else: d = int(input("Invalid day. Please enter value from 1-31: ")) validateDay(m, d, y) elif m == 5: if 1 <= d and d <= 31: return d else: d = int(input("Invalid day. Please enter value from 1-31: ")) validateDay(m, d, y) elif m == 6: if 1 <= d and d <= 30: return d else: d = int(input("Invalid day. Please enter value from 1-31: ")) validateDay(m, d, y) elif m == 7: if 1 <= d and d <= 31: return d else: d = int(input("Invalid day. Please enter value from 1-31: ")) validateDay(m, d, y) elif m == 8: if 1 <= d and d <= 31: return d else: d = int(input("Invalid day. Please enter value from 1-31: ")) validateDay(m, d, y) elif m == 9: if 1 <= d and d <= 30: return d else: d = int(input("Invalid day. Please enter value from 1-31: ")) validateDay(m, d, y) elif m == 10: if 1 <= d and d <= 31: return d else: d = int(input("Invalid day. Please enter value from 1-31: ")) validateDay(m, d, y) elif m == 11: if 1 <= d and d <= 30: return d else: d = int(input("Invalid day. Please enter value from 1-31: ")) validateDay(m, d, y) elif m == 12: if 1 <= d and d <= 31: return d else: d = int(input("Invalid day. Please enter value from 1-31: ")) validateDay(m, d, y)
# This function is used to print all events to the user in the format # Event # Date: Month Day, Year def printEvents(): y = input("Do you want to enter another date? NO to stop: ") while y != "NO": addEvent() y = input("Do you want to enter another date? NO to stop: ") else: for x in range (len(eventName)): Month = ["January", "February", "March", "April", "May", "June", "July", "August", "september", "October", "November", "December"] month = Month[eventMonth[x] - 1] print(eventName[x]) print("Date: " + month + " " + str(eventDay[x]) + ", " + str(eventYear[x]))
# This function is used to prompt, adjust, and # append values to the 4 parallel lists def append(event, y, m, d): eventName.append(event) eventMonth.append(m) eventDay.append(d) eventYear.append(y)
# Prompt the user for the event details def addEvent(): e = input("What is the event: ") year = int(input("What is the year: ")) month = int(input("What is the month (number): ")) month = validateMonth(month) day = int(input("What is the date: ")) day = validateDay(month, day, year) append(e, year, month, day)
#*********** MAIN ********** eventName = [] eventMonth = [] eventDay = [] eventYear = [] addEvent()
# Prompt the user to see if they want to enter more events
printEvents()
This is also what the grader on the assignment returns when ran:
Traceback (most recent call last): File "./prog.py", line 152, in File "./prog.py", line 117, in printEvents TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for -: 'NoneType' and 'int' Traceback (most recent call last): File "./prog.py", line 152, in File "./prog.py", line 112, in printEvents File "./prog.py", line 135, in addEvent ValueError: invalid literal for int() with base 10: 'yes'
I have been stuck on this code for quite some time and I need a little help with what I should do. Any info is appreciated. Thanks!