A mystical land of those whom can create matter is one for many dreams and ambitions. Those whom can sprout wildlife and plants from their bodies. The fellows whom replicate the flames of plasma. Or even those whom can create cityscapes.
However, this world is of no paradise. Many of those in power are corrupt. They are seen as pseudo-gods, untouchable to the likes of the normal human. In many areas, the strong are the financially well & most influential. You cannot chain a man you can't beat afterall.
But not only that. As though the crisis of inequality wasn't enough, there is also something else afoot. Black Matter... A substance like the plague that consumes all. The possible end of all worlds.
~•~•~
Goodday strangers! I'm currently on the hunt for a specific roleplay partner who'd be interested in creating and fleshing out a world with me! Currently, I haven't decided on a plot just yet! So I'm hoping to find creative partners! I'm on the lookout for:
1) Someone who is literate/multi paragraph roleplayers.
2) Someone who is interested in both smut & a great story! {Extra Points for limitless roleplayers}
3) Must be capable of playing multiple characters of varied genders
4) I haven't thought of all things just yet so it'll be nice to have someone give ideas on both the powers and world ^{^}
If my post interests you, send me a message! Just make sure it's detailed. Tell me about yourself!

Alright guys, this is what I gathered from the scene. Right after Lucas describes that he wants to fuck/fuck over Shiv, and name Tom as CEO, Tom took it serious for about 5-10 seconds, but quickly realized that it was fake, or that it would quickly go to shit and Lucas wouldn’t name him CEO.
I kind of got that vibe when he told Greg that they would be okay, but that Greg would get a pay cut.
What really did if for me though, was when Tom was talking to Shiv at her dads old apartment. When Shiv was explaining to Tom how she wouldn’t become CEO, Tom seemed shocked, & realized that Lucas wasn’t fucking around, & that he would really be named CEO. He seemed extremely intrigued and you could see his brain cogs really turning, & that’s when Tom just came swingin’ and told Shiv that it would be him.
Did anybody else think this or did I read into it to much ? I realize that he could’ve just been thinking about who the mole was (Greg), but just curious if anybody else thought the same thing as me

One older guy today said that the millennium is already here! The second coming has already happened! It was when Jesus appeared to Joseph Smith in the first vision! (Rolling my eyes.)
Another man, whose son was called to Europe on his mission, said he kind of wished he was getting more "bang for his buck" and that his kid was going to Africa or somewhere instead of Europe, to get more baptisms. (Lol)
And one lady with a very nasally voice (especially when she gets emotional) asked us that if we knew Jesus was coming in 24 hours, would we be ready, or would we be scrambling to gather up money to pay back-tithing? (That one made me mad-- as if Jesus would really care about money? Especially when church leaders LIE about money??)
Oh, and another man said it's ok to have questions about the church, as long as we're not "going to the internet" for answers, because we should only go to those who have "honestly" looked for answers...and of course THOSE people have remained in the church. (So WE are all dishonest I guess? Yeah yeah of course we are 🙄)
Anyway, hope you all had a better Sunday than I did! 😏

“It all seems like a horrible tragedy, with fate pressing on relentlessly to some destined end. Everything that one does seems, no matter how right it may be, to bring on the very thing which is most to be deplored.”—Bram Stoker, Dracula

Welcome to Barovia

Welcome to Barovia, the setting of Curse of Strahd. There's not much you need to know about Barovia before diving in; in fact, the less you know, the better! Mystery adds to horror, and it's certainly the last place to be written about in the history books. However, what you should know are the themes and tones to expect in such a setting, which are explained below.
So, what is Barovia? What exactly am I in for? Well...
It is a tense exploration of classic gothic horror tropes and monsters, from werewolves to vampires, ghosts, and more. It is a true sandbox, providing players with the freedom to make their own choices and build the kind of adventure they enjoy. It is an unabashedly character-driven campaign, giving your player character an incredible chance to shine and make their mark on the story your group tells.
However, it is also a brutal, stressful, and alienating experience. Your character will be trapped in a bleak, gothic land quite different from the world they know. The adventure contains several encounters and areas that will likely be far beyond your capabilities when you first encounter them. It does not provide routine or readily-available loot or magical items.
For a player who’s not expecting it, Curse of Strahd can suck. Really suck. Let me put it this way: if you want the freedom to engage in combat and exploration without worrying about the potential risks, this is very possibly not the campaign for you. Likewise, if you are potentially triggered by gruesome depictions of horror or psychologically disturbing relationships, or if you prefer a D&D campaign that features only victories or setbacks (rather than the potential for outright defeat), you might want to try a different module.

“How blessed are some people, whose lives have no fears, no dreads; to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly, and brings nothing but sweet dreams.”—Bram Stoker, Dracula

You should play Curse of Strahd if you:

• love gothic horror tropes, as well as themes of temptation and corruption
• want to engage with a character-driven story that pushes you to develop relationships with multiple NPCs and factions, as well as set your own goals and pursue means of achieving them
• enjoy roleplay, investigation, relationship-building, and deadly combat
• enjoy facing an active, powerful, and personally antagonizing villain

Disclaimer: Curse of Strahd, as-written, is full of disturbing and mature themes, such as child abuse, murder, stalking, gaslighting, racism, references to torture of NPCs, mind control, cannibalism, situations referenced to have occurred between NPCs that parallel sexual assault, child death, references to stillbirth/miscarriage, abuse of those with disabilities or mental illness, animal cruelty, body horror, child abandonment, portrayals of alcoholism and drug abuse, potential references to incest between NPCs, implied necrophilia, and suicide. It is not for the faint of heart, and due to such themes, I ask that only those 18 and older apply.

Time

Sessions usually last 3 hours, though occasionally may be 4 hours. Sessions are every Tuesday from 8pm EST to 11pm EST.
If you're unsure of how to convert this timezone to yours, this is a wonderful tool I use when converting timezones: https://www.worldtimebuddy.com

Character Creation

Warforged, yuan-ti, lineages from VRGR (though these are obtainable as transformations in-game), and races that don't have the Humanoid creature type are not allowed, for reasons pertaining to both setting and balance, as well as the artificer class (setting), and peace domain subclass (balance).
I ask that no player characters start the game with an evil alignment. Note, this doesn't mean your character can't turn evil; the setting, themes of the game, and events that may transpire can certainly make this logical/reasonable if it's the direction you want your character to head in. Evil alignments are allowed and in-theme, however, if that's something you're interested in, it would work better as a shift than a starting point.
In addition, we use a few minor house rules, however, there is one major one specific to Curse of Strahd: Due to the significance of curses to the plot and themes of the campaign, the remove curse spell has been removed entirely. It is not available to be learned nor prepared, nor will spell scrolls of it exist. However, bear in mind the greater restoration spell is still available, including its ability to target/remove "One curse, including the target's attunement to a cursed magic item".
You'll be starting at level 7, and can be either an outsider who ended up in Barovia (and we can discuss how you got there), or a native of Barovia (in which case, there's also many options).

The Party Currently

Currently, the party consists of the following:
Ashanko (He/Him) - Neutral Drow-turned-Dhampir Monk (Way of the Shadow), who has an aura that unnerves the holy.
Celhath (He/Him) - Chaotic Good Shadar-kai Ranger (Fey Wanderer), who has gained a bit of a wine addiction.
Emery (She/Her) - Neutral Good Human Fighter (Eldritch Knight), who has the strongest moral compass of the group.
In addition, the party has adopted a Scottish Terrier named Lancelot, a fawn named Lucky, and have befriended a local noble whose family was overthrown. They've also adopted a bat they're pretty sure is a spy but that the ranger is really attached to, named "Bruce-Frank the Bat".

Platforms Used

We will be using Discord for voice chat (no video) and ambient music, and Roll20 for character sheets, rolling, and maps. I have quite a few sourcebooks on Roll20, so there's a decent-sized compendium available to you for ease. In addition, dynamic lighting will be used.
Seeing as animated maps are utilized throughout the majority of the campaign, and Roll20 lacks native support for such, we all use the free browser extension "VTT Enhancement Suite" (often shortened to "VTTES" in the community). Unfortunately, both the DM and players will need to have the extension enabled for animated maps to show, but it's fairly easy to set up and I don't mind walking anyone through it.

Meet the DM

Hi! I'm Apate (she/her), I'm 20, and I'm from Ohio. I've been DMing D&D 5e for 2-3 years now. I have a papillion, Gracey, and a black cat, KitKat. I'm horribly ADHD, and am a big fan of dark fantasy and gothic horror. I've ran three campaigns before, countless one-shots, and have played in/ran non-D&D systems.
I am no voice actor, so please don't expect any professional-sounding NPC voices. In general, I feel like I still have a lot to learn in regards to DMing, but I put a ton of work into prepping sessions and give it my all.
When I run official/WotC content, I heavily modify it. Though the basic story is still the same, as well as many major plot elements and the theme/tone of the campaign, some content has been altered to hopefully create a more immersive and enjoyable experience. In addition, quite a bit of third-party and homebrew content has been added for the same reason and to further add depth.
It should be important to note, that while Curse of Strahd does deal with many mature, dark themes, real-world discrimination among players (be it racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, etc) is never, under any circumstances, tolerated.

Application

If interested, please fill out this application I will look go through the submissions and pick people by Monday or Tuesday (we wouldn't be having a session this Tuesday either way).
https://forms.gle/fGaJrBYJ13gR16MC6
And please feel free to apply no matter how new or experienced you are to D&D. Hell, if you've played in or ran in the module in the past, feel free to apply as well. Just be honest about it, and as long as you can separate player knowledge from character knowledge, all good; every party's Barovia is different, so I hope to provide an enjoyable experience regardless. :)
If you have questions, ask in the comments and I'll try to answer as soon as possible. Thanks y'all for taking the time to read this post, and have a great day!

TW: self-harm / suicide
I, M19, have a kid. I am not with the mother anymore. Mother doesnt give me much time of day anymore. She has no intent on letting me be part of my child's life. I dont have the means to make it a legal matter right now, and in the state I live, men never win these cases anyway. I have been busting my ass for a long time to move out of the abusive home I was living to get stable with a job and a place of my own to help take care of him. I am now in a terrible position because of this. I moved into a 'boarding home' (loose wording there) where the landlord nickels and dimes everyone and does not respect human rights. I haven't been able to hold down a job and I am constantly getting fired from jobs so my checks barely cover my rent and I end up needing absurd loans from my older sister, that make me feel like scum to ask for, to pay my rent. Last week, my boss at my job gave me a heads up that he wants to fire me. Already. Just got the job two weeks ago. All I have done is bust my ass and try my best, 110%, but I am supposedly 'just too slow' and 'I always look lost', and I am 'just too weak'. I have scoliosis and I am very stick thin, I am severely underweight due to poor eating recently, and I am very bad at lifting weight because of these factors. You can see my skeleton through my skin very easily when I do not have my shirt on. He said I have until next Friday to 'shape up' or I am fired. For context, it is a construction gig.
As of yesterday I have been given my eviction notice by my landlord. I was making food, just butter toast, and had a knife in my hand, and I suppose I accidentally pointed it at my roommate when I had walked out of the kitchen and shouted at him and another roommate to go into their rooms, because they were shouting at each other late at night and one of them was drunk. The one whom I mistakenly pointed the knife at reported me to the landlord for 'threatening him with a knife and forcing him into his bedroom.' This is a god damn 52 year old man, framing me, a teenager. Long story short, the landlord believed him without question because he has been renting from her for a few years at this point and I have only been here for a number of months now.
I have until the first of next month to find a new place to live. I have zero savings. I have until this Friday to 'get stronger' or replace the job entirely or else I'll be stuck with the measly pay I have earned at work so far to get an apartment or something with, which would be absolutely impossible. I dont have credit either. My sister does not have means to help me much this time after all the help she has already given.
I feel like a miserable leech and a drain on everyone. I feel worthless for not even being able to hold down a fast food job, I dont know what the hell I'm thinking trying to get into construction. I am absolutely fucking worthless in the workforce. I am too much of a failure to hold a job.
Who the hell was I kidding thinking I could parent a child? I dont even know how to drive yet still.
I just want the hurt to end. I just want to have a stable job and be financially, and take care of and raise my child and develop a happy, healthy parent-child relationship with him. That is all I want. I cannot do any of this. I'm not capable. I'm too worthless. My child does not deserve me for a father. My child deserves better than me. His mother always tells me to not worry, or bother for that matter, because he is well taken care of with her and has all the love and financial support he needs already. She basically says that I am superfluous in his life.
If I am so superfluous, why did I bother with any of this? Why am I continuing to bother with it? Why should I even bother waking up tomorrow?
All I find myself wanting to do is walk down to the grocery store, buy a nice thick steak, a lemon, some asparagus, maybe some Pepsi. Go home. Cook it up and enjoy one last meal while watching my favorite movie ever. And then, take my life.
All I ever think about is dying anymore. Its all I dream about. I havent even been dreaming about my child recently, I just dream about dying. I look forward to the day I can rest in peace.
I am heavily contemplating this for myself, tonight. I may finally go through with it tonight. I cannot handle this stress. I cannot handle this pressure.
I am only 19, man. I am just a kid. I am not yet equipped with the tools needed to deal with these problems I have foolishly chosen to burden myself with. I am just a kid, with a kid. While my peers are enjoying their college years, having the best time of their lives, I am sitting here having what may be the final time of my life. I haven't even been alive for two decades yet.
I am just a kid. Make it all stop.

There has been much (much) talk about health and education funding in Manitoba, here and elsewhere, I figured I'd spend a bit of time going through the provincial gov annual reports to see what is actually going on.
Education

2020-2021	$ 1,512,230,171
2019-2020	$ 1,460,952,868
2018-2019	$ 1,461,496,039
2017-2018	$ 1,448,020,925
2016-2017	$ 1,445,078,332
2015-2016	$ 1,420,962,117
2014-2015	$ 1,392,707,096

Sources:
https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/annualreports/annualreport.pdf
https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/annualreports/edu_20-21/docs/report.pdf
https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/annualreports/edu_19-20/report.pdf
https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/annualreports/edu_18-19/report.pdf
https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/annualreports/et_17-18/report.pdf
https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/annualreports/et_16-17/report.pdf
https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/annualreports/eal_15-16/report.pdf
Health(M)

2015	$6,092
2016	$6,204
2017	$6,338
2018	$6,439
2019	$6,609
2020	$7,123
2021	$7,367
2022	$7,447

Source: https://www.cihi.ca/sites/default/files/document/nhex-series-D4-2022-en.xlsx
If there are any typos or inaccuracies in the above, please let me know, reference your source, and I will cheerfully correct.
Conclusion: with the exception of the 2019-2020 year wrt. the Education budget (easily explained the the global pandemic that was happening at the time), the MB government has raised funding consistently, year after year, for both Education and Healthcare.
Anyone who tells you differently is either ignorant of the facts or lying to you.

Trigger warning ⚠️ Mention of SA and possible abuse?
I've been sexually abused in the past. Had an abusive father, religion, and had to marry one of my abusers for "purity" reasons. So, it's hard for me to know what "forgivable treatment is."
Situation: I'm with a guy who I've known for over a decade. He was always funny and nice. He has never sexually abused me, and stopped talking to my abuser (his friend) after learning what happened.
The problem lies with communication. I can bring up issues about other people, or any sexual concerns with him. Besides that, he becomes enraged over things. I'm always confused about the issue, but when I try to discuss it with him, he just becomes more enraged. I care about what upsets him and would like to understand, so I can avoid upsetting him again at the very least.
He sometimes says horrendous things to me. He will hang up and dissappear for a while. Then, he'll return, basically apologize, then act like nothing happened. He won't discuss the matter further, and I'm still left completely confused about what happened.
I can't even give an example of an argument, because I'm so confused about what the problem was? The things he says feel inhumane, and make me feel like I'm walking on eggshells everytime he starts raising his voice or getting angry.
I know it's wrong to speak to me the way he does. I know it's wrong to interrupt me, yell over me, hang up on me, etc. But I, also, really care about him as a person. Would it be a bad idea to remain friends, encourage therapy, and just not sleep together anymore? We live hours away from each other, so contact would just be over the phone.
What would you guys do?
To the men: I'm asking women. Not you. I don't need your victim blaming, abuser apologist rationalization, or "gotcha!" questions.

I’ve been dating my first WLW girlfriend for about 2 years. My girlfriend is one of the best people I know, and when we first started dating I was super insecure as to why she would want to date me since she is super rich and has her shit together. Whereas I’m middle class, college graduate but continuing my education. She would always tell me she thought I was so cool and wise for my age, and our connection was almost immediate but since it was the first girl I had a relationship with, I wanted to take it very slow.
Our first year was nothing but fun. We travelled, we went on dates almost every weekend, we hung out with her friends and my friends, we went to so many raves and concerts, it was extremely nice to experience all that with her. Now entering 2023, she is focusing on growing her business and I’m taking classes again so our schedules are basically non-existing since she works 7am-7pm and I’m working full time and taking classes. Before our schedules got super busy, we were already hitting a rocky road because both of our parents are huge homophobes. Down to the point that one day I was sleeping over her house and her mom barged in the door to curse me out and kick me out of the house. That happened about 2 months ago and ever since then it’s been harder to see her since I can’t necessarily go over her house anymore (which was the main place we would hang out and sleep over).
After leaving my last relationship a year before meeting her I prayed that I would meet someone who had their shit together, was motivated and I could genuinely see a future with (since all my ex’s) were slobs. Now I meet the perfect woman and I’ve never felt more alone because I feel like I can’t express myself to her. She’s the type of woman that doesn’t like to hear things twice because if she spoke about it once she doesn’t want to discuss it again. And I’m an over thinker so I like to talk about things all the time, also for reassurance but to air things out. After the whole incident with her mother cursing me out, we spoke about it maybe two times and she never wanted to bring it up again. If I did, she would get annoyed because to her the problem was obvious and there’s nothing to change about what happened. Not that I want to change what happened but discuss how that effects our relationship.
Her getting annoyed when I brought up that situation led to me not wanting to tell her things because I felt like me expressing something that really hurt me was going to be dismissed. For example: my aunt died 3 weeks ago and I was distraught, I told her I wasn’t okay multiple occasions and she said some nice words but never continued the conversation to ask me how I was doing. I had to tell her I wasn’t doing okay because I needed her to know that. Did it change anything? No.
I don’t know why I’m still with her at this point. I feel so alone and maybe it’s the fear of not finding someone as cool as her again. Or being that it’s my first girlfriend. Or just having hope that things will go back to the way they were last year.
TLDR; not having the space to talk about my feelings with my girlfriend is making me feel super alone and I don’t want to leave but I don’t know what to do

I wanted to share some of my opinions on GBM as the final hours approach.
First, I love and will truly miss this game. I am a day 1 player and haven't missed a single day. I remember hearing about the game and signing up to be notified when it launched. I'm married with a now three year old, so building gunpla hasn't been an option for sometime now and I was excited that a dedicated gundam game was coming to the US. It doesn't happen that often. From day 1 I was hooked! Being able to mix and match parts from my favorite units and live out my battle fantasies was an amazing thing, plus I don't (kinda) have to spend money, seemed like a win, win.
I understand the frustrations that people had as the game went on as it became more P2P, but I wasn't here for top scores. There were things that frustrated me, such as not having much content to use our brand new parts on later on, and the lack of custom coloring in the beginning, but it has kept me entertained. I think that if the devi had implemented the 2 week plan from the beginning, had a better plan for new content/game modes, and not made it so hard to figure out/inserted so many different currencies and where to spend them, this game could've been almost perfect.
Over all, after dealing with my first gacha game and the Bandai/Namco experience, I say they still did a 7/10 job. I was able to collect different suits and learn about others I had never heard about. But most importantly I got to see all of you, who created so many different and crazy designs, many I never wouldve though of.
To all the people that worked hard creating content for the game, putting together videos, spreadsheets, and reviews, thank you! Without you, many of us wouldn't have gotten as far as we had. Special thanks to TheOtherMC, Xant, SupremeKami, DarkSukiya, Piper, Gundam Newtype Labs and of course The Stab Dojo crew(TSD)!
This has been a great experience, meeting new people that share their love for gunpla, gaining a new community, and getting my building fix in without spending money or having small parts around my kid.
It's been fun, thank you all for being here! Remember gunpla is freedom! It's been an honor.
MGH82 signing off.

I am constantly miserable. I'm just functioning. But, I have no one, which is making this all worse. I really, badly, just need a chance to vent and get it all out. Please don't comment if you are just going to make me feel worse. No comments at all are fine. I just need to get it out.
My life has been unfortunate. It could have been worse. It could have been better. But for many many years now it has just been nothing but stress, disappointment, and frustration. I have reached a point where I no longer have anything to get me excited for the future, nothing to look forward to, this is just my life now and I'm trying to figure out how to be okay with that.
Years ago my children were still young and sweet. They loved me. Every time they saw me they were happy and I was a good and active mom. I went back to school. I did well in school. I started working outside the home again. I wasn't in phenomenal shape but I was at least average and could do this like take my kids to the pool. I had such high goals and dreams for myself. I knew I just had to work hard and I was ready! I have always had strong work ethic.
But, everything has been an unfortunate series of events ever since with very little happiness in between. My career and school goals were totally derailed. Originally my husband was studying for an additional certification that would have made major changes for us. But, he decided to "let me" have my time in school instead. He ended up having a bad accident and was bedbound or close to it for many years afterward. It became impossible for me to finish my original career path and school AND work AND keep up with the kids, house, pets, yard, etc. So, I settled for a lesser certification and not an additional degree so I could focus on family.
I found a job that I was in love with. They made me think I was going to go so far. Constantly told me I was their "star employee". I loved my position. But, I quickly started to see the overturn rate, that management gossiping a lot, and that it was a toxic environment to work in. I still tried. I tried SO hard. I was a great employee. I really wanted to prove that I could be the employee tough enough to take it and still shine. But when someone else at work grabbed me "as a joke" and then I was belittled for going to management about it and told I encouraged it? It was time to quit. Really, I don't think my mental health has ever recovered from my time there.
I quit my job. I went to work in a different type of environment hoping it would give me a positive change. I hated it. LOATHED it. I was good at it but I hated every moment of it. After my husband was walking again and able to help with the kids I brought up going back to school. I shifted my focus since my health won't let me work the way I used to. I worked really hard... only to find that my chosen degree won't get me anywhere in my state. Due to all my state guidelines I basically do not have a degree that relates that anything I would be happy doing.
Currently, I went back to work at the place I was last content. I can't stretch as far as saying, "happy". Those days still had struggles. It isn't the same. I know I eventually need to find another job but I have no idea where to look or what to do. I feel like I can't find anything and whatever recruiters are contacting me for pays terrible and I know I would be so unhappy doing. I have 0 direction. No idea what to do. I can't work part-time forever.
My kids are growing. They don't want to spend time with mom anymore unless I'm giving them money or taking them somewhere. I try to have fun and joke around with them like we used to and they just get irritated with me now. I lost all my friends. How could I not? It has been years since I have been able to go do "fun" things. My responsibility level was too high. I have no one to talk to. I used to call one of my parents but now they are dying so that really isn't an option and also another huge source of stress.
My physical and mental health are greatly deteriorating. It is getting harder and harder to just live day to day. I'm a robot just completing actions with no real goal. Once my husband was healthy I encouraged him to get out and about since he was stuck for so long. I was worried about the quality of his life. He is back working out, has lost a tremendous amount of weight, he is buying himself new name brand clothes, has new hobbies, goes out with friends, and has continued to recieve raises and promotions at work on a steady basis. Although, admittedly he hates his current position. But, constantly reminds me of interviews or offers he has from other countries and the significant salaries that will go with it.
I try to open up to him about how I'm feeling and he gets mad. He gets frustrated with me. He snaps or yells and tells me to stop making him feel guilty for having a life. That I CAN go out. I CHOOSE not to. Even though I keep trying to remind him that I don't have any friends to do things with. He throws out names of people that I barely know, haven't spoken to in years, or his friend's wives like they would just immediately accept me. If I'm frustrated about work he tells me to just suck it up and find a position, get experience, and figure the rest out later. That he makes enough money anyway so I can take the pay cut. Or when he's really mad, "God, you need help."
I have put on weight. I look disgusting. Most days I'm embarrassed to even be seen in public because I have just let myself go so bad. I panic having to go to events, especially with people I know, trying to seem "normal" at events puts me in a depression for days. I have managed to only have to go places once or twice a year. Mainly just things like funerals. I can't stand that people can just look at me and know that I am a failure in life. I don't want people to ask me how I'm doing, how is school (I didn't tell anyone I graduated because I'm embarrassed by my degree), how is my marriage, how are my kids, how is work? I don't have a good answer for any of it. I just try to do the basic hugs and hello and then find a way to put myself back in a corner and try not to be noticed or put the focus on the other person.
My house is falling apart and I'm struggling to keep up with the home repair but we can't afford to have other people come fix stuff. My mind just isn't good. I can't take most medications because of my health issues. I take what I can. I take supplements. My job is physical. I'm trying to get back into working out but my family is always around and I'm too embarrassed to work out in front of them. I cook healthy meals. I have leftovers available. I have a music Playlist that I listen to that helps me get through my emotions or at least let's me cry because I fight crying so much. My sex life is definitely going downhill. He has a million excuses why when I can tell the reason is just that he is sick of me.
I'm tired. I'm sad. I'm hopeless. I have 0 idea what to do. Therapy does not work for me. I have tried it so many times and it routinely makes me feel significantly worse than better. I have tried to join groups to make friends and just end up with creepy dudes wanting to talk and within 5 lines it is just sex. I try to plan going out but can't find anyone to go with. Any time for "hobbies" is spent doing home repair.
Like... what do I do? How do I get back having hope this will get better? I know things aren't getting better from here. At the age that I'm at in not going to magically become more pretty. Even if I do exercise I'm never going to be "thin". No, I can't go back to school again. We physically cannot afford it again. I can't force my children to spend time with me. I can't fault my husband for being sick of being stuck with the ugly, depressed, burr of a wife he has stuck to him, which is why I encourage him to go do things away from me. I can keep chipping away at my house, but that is just chores. I'm basically just trying to fix it up well enough to sell. I listen to Hz frequency music for mood elevation. I try to watch funny animal videos or save funny memes.
I don't know what to do. I'm just lost. I'm just tired of being me.

Backstory: I recently started working at a new company 3 months ago. I found a great role with a manager who was even better. The job is fully remote, all the processes are in place, the people were Great, no overtime ever.
One month in, my new manager decides to leave to follow his boss to their new company for a higher title and more money. It sucked because he is great, but the team that was in place was able to help out and it worked out.
Jump to today, he recently reached out about an opportunity to work with him again, but he was honest about the role. The new role would be a lot of work because the company financials and processes needed a lot of clean up. Also the job would be Hybrid instead of remote. Not sure how much of an increase it would be, but most likely be at least 10-15k jump from $85k to almost $100k. I am leaning towards no, but this manager is willing to teach me, super nice, patient and chill. Is leaving a great role with a good company worth taking a chance with working one of the best managers I have had?
TLDR. Great ex manager reached out about new role. New role would be more more money but a lot more work and not 100% remote. Is $10-$15k worth it or should I just respectfully say no thanks?

I'm a Moroccan student living in Europe. I've been facing difficulties in building relationships and improving my social skills. I'm reaching out for your help and advice. BECAUSE I M REALLY SUFFERING . i m a man and do not how other men deal or discuss with each others.
I've noticed that whenever I start getting to know someone, I encounter the same issues. It seems that I struggle with being too nice, prioritizing others over myself, and not setting boundaries. I also find it hard to express my emotions and find common ground with people. Despite trying different approaches to change, I haven't made much progress.
There are times when I feel the need to be alone and think that people can be dangerous is like challenging myself. However, as I'm starting to change, I realize the importance of finding supportive individuals who understand me.
Interestingly, I've discovered that wearing sunglasses helps me start good conversations. It conceals my fearful eyes and attracts people's curiosity. What do you think about this approach? because i think that my eayes really reflect my fearness .
Moreover, my relationships tend to stay superficial. Conversations revolve around trivial topics like travel, exams, and university life. I want to break free from this pattern and connect on a deeper level (but also i cant since my cultural or knowledge is not so big i dont know why)
I'm reaching out to you, Reddit, for advice. How can I become more assertive, express my true feelings, and foster meaningful relationships? Any tips or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. and please do not tell me try to create new relationship hahah thats the essential point
Thank you

Hi there, I'm Ruby, and I'm looking for a roleplay partner who loves writing as much as I do. :)
First things first, I can play any gender, and can write any pairing (FxF, FxM, etc). I just ask of you a few things: be able to write more than one liners, have a well-developed character, and be over the age of 18 (as I am myself!). Now, I have a fair amount of time on my hands now that my studies for the year are over, and so will be able to write 3+ replies every day, if I am invested, thence I will also expect that you be able to write a response fairly quickly. Obviously though, if you're busy or something has come up, that's ok! Just let me know if you'll be gone for more than a week :)
Since the basics are over with now, let's move onto plot and genre! Right now I'm craving more a slice of life plot with a bit of romance on the side. Something slow burn where we can watch our characters develop and their relationship with each other build would be lovely :) That doesn't mean I'm opposed to other genres though, and if you have any plots you'd like to throw my way that aren't romance or SoL based then please do!
And that should be all! Please message me with an idea or some sort of intro or preferences, I will not be replying to "still looking", because yes, if the post is still up, then I still am haha Looking forward to hearing from you all!

About 3 months ago, I accepted a manager role for a small team of 4 people. The team is very close to each other, but they’ve never really had a manager. (Someone to set up processes and goals.)
3/4 of them have been complaining about me to other sr leadership, including my boss. It makes me angry and sad, and it feels personal. Most of them have less than 3 years of experience, and they’re being paid a very decent amount. The market for their roles is really tight rn, and it’s very unlikely that they’d find something similar in terms of salary. I was on the job market prior to this job for 5 months, so I know.
It’s frustrating because I feel like they don’t respect or like me. I’m asking them to follow some basic documentation to better communicate their efforts to other leaders who don’t understand the amount of work they put in. It requires some accountability, and they are very resistant.
I think I’m winning over 2 of them by giving them projects that are directly tied to their goals at the company, but the other two are really mean.
They accused me of making emotional decisions, even though I’ve been heavily masking and trying to be as analytical as possible. I vacillate between 1) telling them they can either do it this way or leave and 2) trying to convince them that these new processes are better. What I’m asking them to do is what they’d be asked to do at virtually any other job in our field, but because they basically only have experience here, they’re uninformed about that part of the field.
It makes me feel weak and maybe I seem weak to my boss. It goes so against how I’ve interacted with my bosses in my career. I’ve been trying to delay any reactions to them to avoid expressing my immediate emotions, but it’s been really hard.
All this to say that my workplace feels toxic to me. I could replace all of them, but that doesn’t feel right because I don’t want to let my emotions regarding their disrespect affect that decision-making response and I know what it’s like out there to scramble for a job.
Anyway, feeling very disliked and unlikable and sad about it, and it’s causing a lot of negative self-talk. I feel stressed and beleaguered. I want them to like me, and I’m trying to be a good boss. How do I get past this?

I have a three year old and I am currently 28 weeks pregnant. This weekend I have been absolutely miserable with lots of cramping. So of course I feel guilty for not playing enough or cleaning up for the weekend. Today, I woke up a bit better so I make bfast for my little one and I set a pot of water and bubbles for a car wash. All is going well and he asked if he had a diaper. I said no. Let’s go sit on the potty. He starts to throw a tantrum saying he doesn’t have to go and I let it go. I continuously ask and he just gets frustrated. As soon as I stopped…I noticed he peed. So I ask him why and I wait before changing him. He stands next to the potty and pees on himself again. I then lose it. Hence piece of shit mom. Not only did he pee but he pooped and didn’t tell me(we speak often about the importance or letting mommy know to prevent rashes). Idk what happened but I yelled. Took him to the bathroom and told him to wash his leg where he had pooped. I even told him to get in the tub without my help. I ended up helping him. But why am I such a fucking monster. I can’t blame the hormones or pregnancy because it’s not his responsibility that mommy is pregnant. I can’t stop crying and I have no idea how to forgive myself. Who loses it on toddler 😭😭😭😭😭😭

Hey guys! I have a cat called Midnight, who is more or less an inside cat. He typically doesn't go out when he has the opportunity to, but this is his 2nd time just sort of leaving. One time he left at like 5am and came back 10 minutes later, and this time he left at some random time, probably during the early day, and still hasn't returned. This has been his 2nd day missing, and I don't know how to really handle it.
Me and my Dad looked around for him, but nothing. He always takes his collars off and breaks them, so we never had anything on there for a phone number if he were found. And honestly, usually I can take things like these, but I got really fucking attached and I feel like shit. I really hope he comes back, but he hasn't eaten in 2 days (presumably) and of course I'm worried. Other than looking for him some more (which didn't seem to work), I don't know how I'm meant to really process the situation while he's gone. Any advice? I can't even really sleep much anymore, because I'm always thinking about him.

Hi! I’m looking for friends from around the whole world. I send out daily gifts to friends!
I’m the type of person who has spent my precious coins on expanding my postcard book because I love them so much!
Sorry I have so many friends from the US already I really wouldn’t like any more there. Please add me if you’re from beyond the US! Thanks!! :)
Trainer code:
3424 4642 2171

Staked: 193.15u, Profit/Loss: +8.41u, ROI: 4.36%, Parlay Suggestions: 51-21
Scroll down for UFC 289 Breakdowns. Below is just a review of last week’s bets.
UFC Vegas 74
Staked: 18.70u
Profit/Loss: -3.31u
Parlay Suggestions: 3-2
✅ 2u Alex Caceres to Win & Arlovski/Mayes Over 1.5 Rounds (+100)
❌ 2u Jim Miller & Jamie Mullarkey to Win (-125)
✅ 2.5u Jim Miller ITD (-105)
✅ 0.5u Jim Miller in Round 1 (+235)
❌ 2u Abubakar Nurmagomedov to Win (-105)
❌ 1.5u Andrei Arlovski to Win by Decision (+200)
❌ 2u Muin Gafarov to Win (-125)
❌ 3u Luan Lacerda to Win (-125)❌ 1u Luan Lacerda to Win by Submission or Decision (+100)
✅ 2u Philipe Lins to Win (+140)
Once again I was my own worst enemy, making some good reads once I initially dropped the preview (Lins, Caceres, Elliott) but consistently made tweaks in the build-up that sent things south. I really need to be more disciplined and block out the noise once I’ve made my initial conclusions. I remember when I started posting here I was tipping about four bets maximum…now I apparently have action across almost every fight.
Going forward I think I’ll stop analysing each bet in this section, as no-one seems to really comment on that stuff and it just eats into the overall character count.
So let’s get into the PPV.
UFC 289
This is a weird, weird PPV card. I guess they kind of have to have a title fight at the top of the billing over a number-one contender bout as co-main, but to see Mike Malott, Nate Landwehr and Eryk Anders perform before Charles Oliveira…and then Amanda Nunes as the main event, is quite funny. Canadian MMA has been in ruins since GSP and Rory MacDonald left the UFC, and none of the guys on this card are not the one to restore its glory.
I know I say it every time the PPV event rolls around, but MMA oddsmakers are very sharp for these higher profile events. Once again I find myself coming to very similar conclusions for a lot of the fights here, so I very much expect this one to be a much smaller slate for me. Definitely a good idea given what I said in the review of last week.
​
Amanda Nunes v Irene Aldana
There’s a very loud narrative surrounding Amanda Nunes these days, and it’s a hard one to ignore. Having been in the UFC for a decade and holding a title for 7 years, there’s literally nothing left for her to do. She’s had the big money fights that Women’s MMA can offer (Rousey, Cyborg & the “redemption” sequel with Pena), and she doesn’t seem interested in setting up another fight with Shevchenko (who, to be fair, she’s beaten twice). What else is there for Nunes to be motivated for?
Outside the cage, She’s started a family with Nina Ansaroff, who also retired very recently and has spoken about wanting a second child with Nunes. The Brazilian has spoken quite candidly about her aspirations to retire very soon as well, and I believe that she would have laid her gloves in the centre of the Octagon if she’d beaten Pena in their initial meeting. She had to right the wrongs in the sequel, but a victory over Pena at UFC 289 to make it 2-1 in the series was probably enough of a narrative for Nunes to put her career to bed then and there. It’s a bold prediction, but I have a hunch that Nunes has done this whole training camp knowing it’s going to be her last.
Unfortunately, Pena was forced to withdraw and Irene Aldana steps in to challenge for the belt instead. Mexican MMA is absolutely booming right now, with three champions in the last few months, and the stage really feels set for Aldana. She’s always had very impressive boxing, as well as some opportunistic submissions…but her inability to stuff takedowns has often been her undoing in her career. Given that Nunes has relied heavily on her wrestling in recent years (20 takedowns in her last 4 wins), I think it’s fair to say Nunes should once again be favoured here.
Women’s Bantamweight and Featherweight have been underdeveloped weight classes for some time now, where the same names that were competing for the belt in like 2019 are still in the top 5 (looking at you Holly Holm!). The next generation seems to have broken through at Flyweight, with Valentina losing her last two title defences (not officially, but I scored the first one quite confidently for Santos). Nunes has been fortunate enough to govern over a division that doesn’t have many of those up-and-coming prospects yet, but those on the rise are still training and competing in a modern MMA context more frequently than the champion – which makes me think the changing of the guard could happen sometime soon. (For more on this, I asked a hypothetical question in the comment section).
So, overall, I think there are a lot of valid asterisks on Nunes’ name at the moment, and I think her career is coming to an end sometime soon, if not after this fight. However, if she’s fighting at her optimum then Aldana’s weaknesses can certainly be exploited, and are enough to deem her the Champion as favourite. With that said, I actually think Aldana could more than hold her own in the striking, so I would already be lining this one closer than Nunes normally is…and after adding in the narrative that surrounds the fight I think it gets even closer.
Therefore, I’ll be playing a 0.5u “value bet” on Aldana. It’s not something I expect to win, but I think her chances of winning are much greater than the odds available.
How I line this fight: Amanda Nunes -175 (64%), Irene Aldana +175 (36%)
Bet or Pass: 0.5u Irene Aldana to Win (+300)
Notable Props: I'd encourage you to play Nunes by Submission or Decision if you wanted to play her.
​
Charles Oliveira v Beneil Dariush
Oh this is a spicy one. Charles Oliveira holds a special place in my heart as being my favourite fighter of all time, and he’s the fighter I’ve definitely made the most money on in my time betting on MMA. At the start of that massive win streak he went on, you could get a decent price on Oliveira ITD against so many prelim guys, and the underdog prices available against Kevin Lee, Tony Ferguson, Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier were even better.
But, as we know, Islam Makhachev exists and did a sensational job against Oliveira. Such a good job in fact, that I expect it to be footage that Beneil Dariush and his camp have dissected in great detail.
Dariush is an equally exciting fighter to watch. He’s got a brilliant skillset, but he’s not particularly athletic which makes him a very unassuming fighter. He looks like some bloke that works in HR in your office…not an elite Lightweight UFC fighter.
I think Dariush’s BJJ abilities are going to be the key to this fight, as we’ve seen many times in his career already. High level BJJ is a brilliant quality because not only does it make you dangerous at finishing fights, it also improves your defence and provides the platform for a wrestling based offence. We saw Dariush make full use of this in his wins over Tony Ferguson, Carlos Diego Ferreira (x2) and Thiago Moises, as well as his takedown defence on display against Gamrot. I feel like he’s going to be able to dictate where the fight takes place here.
What interests me is the competitiveness of the striking. If you’ve been watching this sport religiously for over seven years, you’ll still remember when Dariush was thought to have a glass jaw, where the likes of Alex Hernandez, Drew Dober and Drakkar Klose hurt him badly with strikes. I feel like Dariush has had quite favourable matchmaking against that weakness on his recent streak, and Oliveira is potentially one of the biggest threats he’s faced on the feet in recent years in terms of power.
On the flipside, Oliveira is still as reckless as ever, and has been knocked down or hurt in each of his last four title fights. Only Makhachev came away with a win in those fights, because his grappling was at a good enough level that he was happy to follow Charles down to the mat when he knocked him down, and capitalised fully to secure the submission soon after. Dariush has sneaky power himself, and if he is able to land a knockdown on Oliveira then I think we see him capitalise too.
The volatility is going to be massive in this fight, as both men are hard hitters with durability concerns (maybe not in a fight ending sense, but they frequently get rocked). With that in mind, I think any sort of finish is going to be very live in this fight. If not, I think you have to give Dariush the decision winning potential, as I think his ability to find top position is greater than Oliveira’s. It’s enough to make Benny the favourite, but not by a whole lot. I think the books have got this one priced spot on, actually.
How I line this fight: Charles Oliveira +110 (48%), Beneil Dariush -110 (52%)
Bet or Pass: Pass
Notable Props: FDGTD is probably a decent parlay piece at -200 or better
Live Betting Lean: I think the longer this fight goes, the more it favours Dariush due to his round winning superiority.
​
Mike Malott v Adam Fugitt
Honestly the fact that I’m breaking down this fight straight after Oliveira v Dariush is hilarious. I wouldn’t even question it if this was on the prelims of an Apex card.
I underestimated Mike Malott in his last fight against Yohan Lainesse, and my take was so bad that I looked like an idiot. He impressed me a lot, and I think he impressed the UFC too for them to give him this spot on the main card.
Malott looks to have really good submission ability, but I’m still a bit concerned that his striking might be a few too many steps behind. People will say things looked improved in the Lainesse fight, but I think that was more a case of Lainesse having no real interest in engaging or committing to his strikes in the early goings (he has become gunshy as to manage cardio). The fight against Mickey Gall was a massive, massive red flag for Malott…no one in the UFC should really be getting outstruck by Gall. That footage was from a year ago though, so there’s a chance he has improved things since then…but I don’t think you can really use the Lainesse fight as evidence of that.
Malott faces Adam Fugitt, who took the ‘sacrificial lamb’ approach to entering the UFC when he was paired up with Michael Morales – who is lowkey a very bright young prospect. It’s important not to judge a fighter by their performance in that type of fight, it’s best to instead treat their sophomore fight as their ‘real’ debut. We saw that with Fugitt, as he dominated Yusaku Kinoshita as a +260 underdog earlier this year.
I was quite impressed with Fugitt in his loss to Morales. His striking clearly wasn’t on Morales’ level, and he’ll have to be careful of Malott’s powerful hands, but he showed decent defensive awareness and had a couple of moments of his own. Fugitt’s a bit too kick heavy for my liking, but it looks like it confuses opponents and actually works well at establishing range. It did exactly that in his Solomon Renfro win.
Malott’s fight against Renfro however, despite only being 90 seconds long, really sums up his abilities as a fighter. He was getting tagged on the feet, but managed to find one moment to land a powerful shot and sinked in a choke in the blink of an eye. He was losing 98% of that fight convincingly.
The big question for this fight revolves around Fugitt’s grappling ability on bottom, and initial takedown defence, as that’s where most of Malott’s win equity is going to be. Unfortunately we have not actually seen him defensive grapple, so honestly it’s impossible to accurately line this fight given how integral it should be. The only inclination I have is that Fugitt’s takedowns have looked really good in his two fights. DC was very impressed with how he got Morales down, and his trips were also looking on point against Kinoshita. He did great work on top as well when he did establish position, and worked his way to a finish efficiently.
However, there can sometimes be a big disparity between a wrestler’s grappling ability on top vs on bottom, which is why BJJ is so important to MMA (see the breakdown of Dariush!). Therefore, complimenting Fugitt’s top position grappling doesn’t mean a whole lot, as he could be atrocious on bottom, and even if he does use wrestling himself he’s going to dive headfirst into Malott’s nasty guillotine.
So in conclusion, you can’t have super strong opinions on this fight, but you can deduce that Malott has more ways to win. If Fugitt isn’t winning via striking, it’s likely he’s not winning at all. Malott, on the other hand, could win with a big shot on the feet, through takedowns and top control of his own, or even from a guard submission on bottom.
Therefore, with Malott being the hometown hero and likely taking all the betting action on the moneyline, I think the books have the liberty to juice his odds a fair bit. -200 is probably an example of that, but it’s not too far off where I’d line this fight. There are still enough unknowns about both men that I wouldn’t be too surprised to see Fugitt pull off the upset, but I think the +170 available on him in return isn’t providing a whole lot of value. Smart work by the oddsmakers.
How I line this fight: Mike Malott -175 (64%), Adam Fugitt +175 (36%)
Bet or Pass: Pass
Notable Props: Malott by Submission would be the bet I’d make at +200 or better if someone told me I had to. Won’t be playing it though.
​
Dan Ige v Nate Landwehr
Well it seems the UFC matchmakers have confirmed their position on Dan Ige. He’s a top 15 gatekeeper now! His string of losses to Evloev, Emmett, Korean Zombie and Kattar did put one too many nails in his title aspiration coffin, but those bounce-back performances against Gavin Tucker and Damon Jackson were pretty impressive to me.
Ige is still a very, very tricky fighter to beat because he’s so well rounded, as most of the top 15 at Featherweight are. Ige faces Nate Landwehr, who has been on an entertaining run of form in the UFC – beating the likes of Ludovit Klein, David Onama and Austin Lingo. Whilst running through his record, it is important to note he went to a close decision in a striking bout against Darren Elkins, and also lost to Herbert Burns and Julian Erosa.
As I say quite often in higher level FeatheBantam/Fly-Weight breakdowns, they’re very tricky divisions to identify skill gaps in. The elite in the division are all very well-rounded offensively and defensively, so it often feels like you’re splitting hairs when you’re trying to find attributes that favour one fighter over the other.
The same can kind of be said here, except Dan Ige has the much better record in terms of actual wins and overall experience. If I imagine Nate Landwehr competing against Ige’s last eight opponents, I genuinely think he might win 1 or 2 of them…whilst Ige has won 4, not been finished in any of the losses and given a good account of himself on each scorecard (except the Evloev loss).
So honestly, the only real thing I feel I can reference here in terms of differentiating between both men is ‘levels’…but I genuinely think that’s enough for Ige to be about -200 here. You can’t go any further than that because this fight should still be reasonably competitive, but given what Ige has done to the opponents he’s stepped down in competition for (Damon Jackson, Gavin Tucker), I think you can have a certain degree of confidence that he should find that extra 10% to clearly win this fight. That equates to around -175 in my mind.
How I line this fight: Dan Ige -175 (64%), Nate Landwehr +175 (36%)
Bet or Pass: Pass
Notable Props: Ige ITD could be of some interest, as he’s started showing real power in his hands, and Landwehr is quite finish-able in his losses.
​
Marc-Andre Barriault v Eryk Anders
Eryk Anders is one of the most frustrating guys to watch. He had so much athleticism and decent skills, but just doesn’t put his best foot forward. Barely any evolution to his game, poor fight IQ…but the occasional glimmers of potential – enough to stop you from writing him off despite his constant underdelivering.
Marc-Andre Barriault is kind of the opposite really. He’s a jack-of-all-trades, master of none…but he will do everything in his power to maximise his advantages to turn the fight in his favour. He isn’t a physical specimen and doesn’t really have much power…but he can hustle hard for 15 minutes and use a mixture of striking, takedowns and clinch work to win rounds.
Anders has actually had some of his better performances in recent fights, looking in great shape and form against Kyle Daukaus, arguably beating Jun Yong Park by decision, and outpoint + KO’ing Darren Stewart (x2) beforehand.
If this fight was happening two years ago, MAB would be like -200 here due to his reliability to out-hustle Anders, but his recent performances have been a little bit lacklustre (Hernandez ragdolled him and Chidi Njokuani folded him like a deckchair). Couple that with the fact that Anders FINALLY looks to be growing into the potential he’s always been on the cusp of with a recent change in training camp…I think you’re looking at a closely lined fight here.
I predict this one ends up being a 29-28, possibly split decision type of fight. One man has activity whilst the other has power. The subjectivity of judging will be in full effect and everyone will call this one a robbery, depending on who they bet on.
How I line this fight: Marc-Andre Barriault +100 (50%), Eryk Anders +100 (50%)
Bet or Pass: Pass
Notable Props: Barriault by Decision would probably be my preferred choice.
​
Jasmine Jasudavicius v Miranda Maverick
Miranda Maverick is a Women’s MMA fighter that I hold in very high regard. The back-to-back losses put a real halt to her hype train, but I think she’s easily got Top 10 potential and got robbed against Maycee Barber anyway. I think her style is one that can very easily exploit a lot of opponents in her division. Her striking’s okay, but her wrestling and top pressure are very dominant tools.
She takes on Jasmine Jasudavicius, who has also used her wrestling ability to good effect in the UFC/DWCS so far. Neither woman is a particularly good striker, and I expect this one to turn into a bit of a scramble fest pretty quickly.
Their statures have been very important factors in their grappling successes so far, but for different reasons. JJ is basically a size bully at 5’7 and will have a 4 inch height advantage once again. Maverick, on the other hand, is going to be the stronger of the two during those close quarter engagements, because she’s pretty damn jacked.
I think Maverick should be favoured overall as I think her wrestling is the superior of the two and should lead to more time in top position, but I’m definitely not keen to play her at -275. Miranda’s strengths are also her opponent’s strengths, and facing the lanky size of Jasudavicius could cause her problems when it comes to securing the initial takedowns against those long legs, or keeping safe from guard submissions or maintaining that dominant position in the first place. Also, if they do somehow end up choosing to strike for significant portions, I can’t actually guarantee that Maverick is the better on the feet (reach disadvantage plays a part too).
I do however like Maverick to win this one, but not by the confidence of the current odds. I’m expecting this one to go the distance, but I highly doubt we get a good line on it as Maverick couldn’t even finish Shanna Young last time out.
How I line this fight: Jasmine Jasudavicius +188 (35%), Miranda Maverick -188 (65%)
Bet or Pass: Pass.
Notable Props: Fight goes to decision. It's probably like -400.
​
Blake Bilder v Kyle Nelson
There are a couple of fights on this card where one guy is clearly more populasuccessful/in-form than their opponent, but they’re still only around -200 (Dan Ige & Mike Malott are the best examples). Blake Bilder is the third. Before I jumped into research for all three of these bouts, I was instinctively thinking that I could easily want to bet all three at -200, as that didn’t seem short enough by my initial perception of their names. I came away from Ige and Malott agreeing with the line and feeling grateful that I looked into it…but I still think Blake Bilder’s odds are providing a bit of value.
Kyle Nelson is one of those fodder guys. The UFC are keeping him around to give to prospects and home-town fighters in the hope that they can invest in the future or the event itself. Jai Herbert notched a win for Team UK against Nelson on a UFC London card, Doo Ho Choi got given a softball to get him back on track for a card that was supposed to be in South Korea. Billy Quarantillo got given Nelson to put his name on the map with a highlight reel finish..and now Blake Bilder is being presented the chance to extend his UFC record to 2-0.
Bilder’s already fought a better opponent in the UFC when he beat Shane Young in February. We saw a very high pace being set in the third round of that fight, with both men landing 100+ significant strikes across the fight and Bilder also attempting 7 takedowns. His cardio is clearly quite decent, which will immediately give him the advantage over Nelson – who has often wilted in the latter half of a fight when the pace has been hectic.
Bilder’s a very well-rounded combatant, and has great BJJ once he gets established time on top. He’s a bit of a concern defensively though, where he can be taken down and can also get caught with strikes.
Kyle Nelson, on the other hand, doesn’t really seem to know what kind of fighter he is. He’s been a brawler for all of his UFC career, but comes out to land five takedowns and is seemingly not interested in striking with a Doo Ho Choi who has questionable durability. He didn’t do much at all with those takedowns either and actually put himself in danger in R1 by insisting on grappling.
If Nelson comes out looking to wrestle Bilder, I think they’re at different levels in the grappling and Blake should be able to turn things around in his favour. If they’re striking, I am aware that Nelson’s got fight ending power, but Bilder’s been much more patient and cerebral in his last couple of fights, so I trust him to stay safe and look for his openings. We saw him reactively find a takedown off of Shane Young’s kick, and Nelson’s offense is very body kick heavy.
Overall, I just think Bilder is the better fighter in pretty much every facet of MMA except one-punch power and, as long as he doesn’t get flash KO’d, I think he rolls here. -200 isn’t quite short enough, and I expect money to come in on him between now and fight night. I’ve already got my money down, just in case.
How I line this fight: Blake Bilder -300 (75%), Kyle Nelson +300 (25%)
Bet or Pass: 5u Blake Bilder to Win (-200)
Notable Props: Bilder ITD or R3 could be interesting. I'd probably be interested in that if I didn't have a lot of exposure already.
Aiemann Zahabi v Aoriqileng
There was a time where Aiemann Zahabi was considered one of the worst guys on the roster. Crazy that the standard of UFC fighter has gotten so much worse that that statement seems ridiculous now. To be fair, Zahabi did pull off a respectable upset in beating Ricky Turcios in his last fight..but it seems to be unanimously agreed that Ricky fought like an idiot in that fight and actually beat himself.
Aoriqileng is quite explosive and clearly hits hard, but he’s a bit too keen to hunt for the KO and it hurts his minute-winning ability. Against someone like Zahabi, who is quite composed and process driven (how could you not be when Firas is your family and coach), and I see that being a pretty key part to this fight. The big moments will side with the Mongolian, but Aiemann could just put together the more cohesive performance if he doesn’t get troubled by that explosiveness.
Overall this is just a pretty low level fight between guys who don’t compete very often. I didn’t have a whole lot to say prior to watching tape, and I’ve come away feeling equally uncertain of how this one’s going to end. An easy pass when there are more active and popular fighters for us to form a stronger opinion on.
How I line this fight: I don’t really know.
Bet or Pass: Pass
Notable Props: None
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Nassourdine Imavov v Chris Curtis
This one instantly feels like a pretty close fight, solely based off both men’s most recent losses. Imavov getting outstruck by Sean Strickland across 25 minutes was a bit of a shock to everyone, myself included. I expected him to lose via cardio dump, but it was actually just lesser volume, a lack of takedowns being attempted and obviously not landing anything of significance on Strickland.
It’s widely known that Chris Curtis and Sean Strickland are close training partners at Xtreme Couture, which I think makes for an added element to this fight. On six days notice, Strickland and the team managed to devise a pretty genius striking gameplan with disruptive rhythm that completely threw Imavov of. Can Chris Curtis do the same? Probably.
Curtis himself has problems of his own in the striking though, namely that his volume and output just aren’t where they often need to be. I’m not sure whether it’s the managing of his gas tank or what, but he just doesn’t seem able to commit to matching his opponent’s tempo across 15 minutes. He threw the first round away against Gastelum, and it cost him the fight. He bitched and moaned about it on Twitter, but social media’s been telling the guy what his problem is for as long as he’s been in the UFC haha.
I do suspect that there’s a little bit of recency bias on Imavov here, as the guy was a pretty well-respected prospect prior to the loss to Strickland. Some will tell you it was misplaced faith, but he certainly doesn’t have tempo issues in the latter half of fights and should probably have the higher volume across 15 minutes. I don’t see him taking Curtis down either, given the 100% takedown defence and the fact Imavov seemingly abandoned it in his last fight. It would be great if he did though!
So yeah, it’s a bit of a close one this. Off pure skillset I lean towards Imavov at like -150, but the asterisk of Curtis’ team being able to easily design a gameplan against the Frenchman gives me enough pause to not want to pick a side here. I’d be more interested in betting overs, if a decent price is available.
How I line this fight: Nassourdine Imavov -137 (58%), Chris Curtis +137 (42%)
Bet or Pass: 1.5u Fight Goes to Decision (-137 or better)
Notable Props: I think this one goes to decision at a pretty high clip.
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Diana Belbita v Maria Oliveira
My initial thought was “What would compel someone to bet on this fight?”, then I remember I placed 100 quid on Chase Hooper a few weeks ago…and it was a great bet haha! Given how most of my handicapping for this card has seen me in complete agreement with the books, perhaps looking into a lower level fight with significantly less interest could be the place to a strong opinion!?
Nope. I can’t do it. One quick glance at their records was enough for me. Belbita got 30-25’d by a wrestling Molly McCann and submitted by Liana Jojua, whilst Maria Oliveira got soundly beaten on the scorecards by Vanesa Demopoulos and voluntarily asked to stop fighting after 3 minutes against Marina Rodriguez.
This one isn’t good enough to open an Apex card, let alone sit on a PPV. I usually really dislike all the WMMA bashing on this sub, but this one isn’t worth the time.
How I line this fight: No.
Bet or Pass: No.
Notable Props: No.
Live Betting Lean: You could do something productive with that 15 minutes. Lift some weights, make some food, rewatch Ngannou v Lewis instead?
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Bets
0.5u Irene Aldana to Win (+300)
5u Blake Bilder to Win (-200)
1.5u Imavov v Curtis Goes to Decision (-137 or better) (Might not get this kind of price).
Parlay Do’s: Dan Ige, Blake Bilder, Imavov/Curtis GTD, Maverick/Jasudavicius GTD
Parlay Don’ts: Amanda Nunes, Mike Malott, Miranda Maverick

I’ve been working on a comic personally for awhile, and it means a lot to me. However, I feel like my drawing style/ability is too rough and can’t fully depict everything the way I want it. What should I do? Find some fancy tech to make it easier(currently using pen and paper)? Hire an artist? Im just really desperate to take my stuff to the next level. It just sucks because I view myself more as a visual writer than an animatoartist, but I also want my style to remain in the art. Im sure there are people here who have overcome this hurdle, so please lmk if you have any advice

Tl;dr: my fiancé touched himself with the door open in eye view of my younger sister. He’s never done anything like this before in seven years. I found out about this ten days before my wedding. Now just 6 days to go.
I’m a 25 year old woman engaged to a 29 year old man. We’ve been together for seven years and have had a very very happy life together thus far. We both have great jobs and just bought our first house together last summer, as we live in Ontario, this is a huge feat because housing is so expensive. For a long time we were unsure we’d be able to afford a home, and we’re so proud of ourselves for building our lives.
I digress. We’ve been together for many years and we’ve been very very happy. Occasionally we will have our spats, but overall we live a happy life with a lot of love, support, and safety. I always, always felt safe around him, and so did my family who loved him very much.
Cut to ten days until the wedding, when my dad asked me if he could pick me up from work. He came to got me and turned the music off in the car. He told me that he had to tell me something unpleasant.
Apparently, about 2 weeks before this conversation, my 18 year old sister was at our house helping us write names on place cards for the tables at the wedding. I was in the dining room working from home, and my fiancé was in the office just off of the living room. Just as an aside, our house is a 100 year old cottage, and it’s very, very, very small. So all of these rooms are in one tiny space.
My sister told me she passed by the office and the door was open/ajar and my fiancé was touching himself in the room, with my sister and I just feet away. I believe the story is that there was pornography on the computer and his headphones were on but perhaps they had come unplugged and the sound was playing through the regular computer speaker. My sister says she paced outside the door and made eye contact with my fiancé before leaving to another room.
I was absolutely devastated to hear this, and my parents and younger sisters are all very very upset. They say they feel violated and they don’t want to be in the same room as my fiancé anymore as they no longer trust him. I feel absolutely mortified myself.
When I confronted my fiancé, he didn’t deny the accusation but claimed to not remember. He also shared that he has been having an issue with pornography. My fiancé has had fairly severe ADHD since we’ve met but only in the past year or so has he become medicated for it. He said when he was younger with untreated ADHD, he used to have a problem with pornography as well.
This news has completely blindsided me and made me feel as though my whole world has come crashing down around me. My fiancé has never ever given me reason to believe he had any kind of sexual deviancy. He’s always been very respectful of me and my autonomy, he always treated my family with love and respect, and I’ve only ever caught him touching himself once in the middle of the night while we were both home alone and it was to very vanilla porn.
We have built a life together on trust, love, happiness, and respect for the past seven years, and we even lived with my family for 2 years and there was never any kind of issue during that time. I love my fiancé very much but I can’t help feeling appalled and angry on behalf of my little sister who did not deserve seeing something so graphic coming from someone she’s known and trusted since she was 11.
My family says they’ll support me if I choose to go through with the wedding which is now in just 6 days. I haven’t called it off but I’m definitely feeling overwhelmed. My mom got me a hotel this weekend so I could be alone and think but I still feel stuck in the same place. I feel like I don’t want to give up on a relationship I was so happy in and so sure of just a week ago, but I also feel horrified and disgusted.
Nobody knows what happened except for my immediate family, and everyone around me keeps asking me about the wedding. It makes me feel sick and so sad. I feel like marrying him is betraying my sister.
I told my fiancé that if we get married, we will both be going to therapy, both individual (him for his ADHD and me for my severe depression) as well as couples therapy. But I don’t know if things will ever be okay with my family and partner again, and I honestly can’t blame my family for feeling that way.
I feel so frightened and alone. I was so happy and so in love and so excited to be married just days ago…now the happiest time in my life has become a living nightmare where I don’t eat or sleep, just cry, go to work, and stare at the ceiling.
I love my partner so much, and I want to try to save the 7 years and life we’ve so lovingly built together. I’ve never seen anything like this from him ever before, which makes me feel like there’s something wrong and we can fix it as this is so out of character. But maybe some things can’t be fixed at all. I don’t know.
If you’ve gotten this far, thank you. I’m terrified and lonely and devastated. Please be as gentle as possible in the comments.

I never enjoyed my life and honestly I'm feeling that I'm losing the reason to live as I get older. I missed most of my chances so far. Education, relationships, self-exploration. Basically everything I passionately wanted never happened and I cannot undo it because those opportunities are gone. Everyone has grown up, people are in relationships, a some have kids already. I thought I could kickstart my life as soon as I get out of this state, but it never happened and here I am underqualified, barely any friends I can regularly meet, no memories to cheer me up. No relationship, which is probably the hardest part of it. Nobody cares about how gifted I was, because my CV is empty.
I'm not saying your 20s is your one big shot, because it isn't; but it definitely is your big shot to make new friends, socialize, create your social network that'll last your life and experience what it's like to be in a relationship. If you miss all that you'll be lagging behind and you won't be able to make up for it in an age where people focus on their careers and families.
But the worst of it is my thinking and self image. I cannot be as daring and reckless and energetic as a young adult who's still forming their personality and identity. I cannot get out of my own beliefs and behaviour. Even if I could, I'd just be a 30-yo teenager. I cannot go back among those youths with whom I feel I share their emotional stage and need to explore myself and socialize. I never had those and I dearly miss it every day. I feel like I'm a 60yo trapped in a 30yo's body who wants to go back to being a 16yo to create a new identity which would lead to a balanced adulthood.
I've grown to suppress these feelings and numb myself with watching Netflix but everytime I see someone who's my age and way happier than me or who's younger and lives their lives the way I wanted to I want to die. I don't see a way out of this. I'm just getting older and this is what I've become.