My car is an M35 base with halogen headlights. There's a kind of cup gear that is turned with a screwdriver to adjust headlights using some sort of cabling system. The internals are not viewable ( or accessible, I believe). My driver side won't budge from the static setting no matter how much you turn the gear. Is there anything in this brainshare that can be done to get this to work again? I don't believe that any new assemblies are available, but can find a lot of of Xenon and HID types/ thx

I'm 8wpo and I feel like there is no end in sight to the pain and inability to get back to my life. At my 5week check I was healing fine with no infection, but my doctor was really dismissive when I told him how much pain I was still in and that made it worse. I have another appointment next Tuesday (it was the earliest they could get me in) and will ask about pelvic floor therapy and vaginal estrogen, but I just don't know what else to do. I hurt all the time, I can't sleep, my bladder is irritated and my bowels have just gone off the rails. I can't imagine ever having sex again, I can't work, when I'm on my feet for any length of time my back screams and I get the worst swelling/pressure/cramping. But I also can't lay comfortably, I can't sit up straight, it hurts to drive. Nerve pain, back/muscle spasms, it's just one big ball of pain and discomfort all the time. It makes me feel like such a freak/failure when I read about so many people feeling great by week 2 and I just cry and wonder what's wrong with me. I'm so defeated I feel like I'm going to have a breakdown. All I can think of is how much I regret the decision to do this, and I fought for 5 years for an end to my bleeding and pain.
I will add that I do have fibromyalgia, so I know pain is part of my life and my nervous system is really sensitive to what's going on in my body. But this is no way to live and with how shitty the Healthcare system is I just don't know how to get the support I need from that end. I guess I'm just wondering if I'm the only one feeling this way.

My (38f) boyfriend (38m) and I argued about his smoking. 🍃 He is self medicating his ADHD. In addition to smoking he takes Ritalin. I’d like him to quit smoking, because it makes him very irritable and it’s not pleasant to be around for me, and neither for his 2 kids. He’s tried to quit several times…. But unsuccessful unfortunately.
Last time I saw him (sunday) he picked a fight with me for no reason. I came an hour earlier than we agreed upon and instead of being happy it set him off, he said he needed the extra time to vacuum his house and get his finances in order. I live so close so I said no problem, sorry for coming early, I can leave and come back in an hour? This made him grumpy. He has psoriasis and it flared up over the past weeks or so. I thought it was looking better, but he didn’t. He became irritable so I said “ok, if you feel it doesn’t look better, then I trust your judgment because it’s your body.” He was grumpy about it. At this point I became emotional because I felt something was off and he hadn’t really acknowledged our 3rd anniversary. We went to the museum that day and it was fine. Afterwards he took a very long trip to the supermarket and it clicked, I asked if he was smoking again and he said yes.
I was angry because I don’t like him smoking, he becomes so irritable. At this point we had dinner with the kids, and put them to bed. Then we had a calm discussion, no shouting, just him explaining he has a really hard time. I empathize with him but he keeps repeating that I don’t understand. At one point he said “you never ask me about the reason why I smoke!” Or “I don’t cheat, smoking is way less bad than cheating!” Or “the only reason I quit was because your mom died of cancer and you guilted me into quitting.” (Which is only in part true, he had a double pneumonia at the time and he himself wanted to quit. I just don’t get why he’s saying ugly things like me not understanding him. I’m his life partner.
After this discussion he agreed in getting help for his addiction. And I agreed on getting a formal diagnosis for my ADHD (because I forget so much and it’s affecting me badly).
Should I take a step back from all this? I’m emotional about it. I don’t mean ending the relationship, I mean how to best manage my feelings.
Thank you.

Can someone help please? When Microsoft Edge on my Android phone blocks ads, it also blocks some videos as well. When I turn Block ads off, it allows both the ads and the videos! Should I switch to another browser?

Donna Tartt is undoubtedly one of the most well-renowned and talented writers of this generation. However, all I see is praise for only two of her books, The Goldfinch and The Secret History. I happened to find The Little Friend in Barnes & Noble and give it a go- and honestly, despite popular belief, I thought the book was great.
It's a grim coming-of-age story set in Mississippi revolving around a girl, Harriet, who sets off with her friend to discover who murdered her brother Robin 12 years ago, who's death left a marked impact on their family. Throughout the story, the narrative switches between her and Danny, a notorious man part of a crime and drug dealing family and who she accuses to be Robin's murderer. Out of her three books, in my opinion, The Little Friend best executes the theme of the discovery of evil and loss of innocence.
The gradual shift from a kid detective murder-mystery to a bleak, thriller-like novel was astounding. Donna Tartt almost tests our own prejudices by seeing how like Harriet, we assign the guilt of Robin's murder to Danny simply because it makes sense for him to be Robin's murderer, later revealing that he was only a friend of Robin. In a way, Danny and Robin play as a foil for each other- Robin, who was more likely to have led a promising future with loving family and friends, dies- meanwhile Danny, who was abused by his father and raised in a crime filled family is spared by death. The constant subversion of expectations shows Harriet the real, unpredictable chaos that life actually is. She is forced to wake up out of her childlike adventure fantasies and realize- she is not a Sherlock Holmes where she solves the mystery, and the bad guys receive their respective punishment- but in a world where loss is painfully cruel and real, and when a tumble of depressing events pour down on her as she grows up, she is forced to break out of her naive view of the world.
Overall, The Little Friend was a thrilling read and I believe it deserves to be held in somewhat the same regard as her other books. The murder of Robin which captivates Harriet to set off in an adventure, and the gradual hopelessness of her situation as she grows up, were written beautifully by Donna Tartt and should have better recognition.

Kiddo likes to be out with us and run around, on feet and on her bike. In both cases I could give her more freedom to move around if she would just heed my warnings to stop if there is a danger, or to slow down, or to back off if she is being too in someones face. I am either stressed out by her being too far out of reach or have to hold her hand. It's getting tedious. How do I get her to respond properly?

obedient kid

Just trying to make a circuit to turn off the inserter when steam reaches 190k in the tank and on at below 100k.
I've watched videos and read tutorials on RS latches but I'm smooth braining it here.
Most of the blue prints I find connect to accumulators not to steam tanks and I can't get it to adapt.
Appreciate all the help in advance!

For the past 2 days I've been practicing verifying my reality in order to see if I'm dreaming or not. I watched Astral Doorways video tutorial on lucid dreaming and have been using the technique to try and poke my finger through my palm and last night it worked.
I was sitting in my living room and unconsciously poked my palm like I've been practicing and it went through my palm, I immediately realized something was off and I was dreaming.
It came as such a shock that it woke me up fairly quickly so I didn't get to really experience anything but just the fact it worked after only 2 days of practice has me pretty excited. Now just need to learn to stay calm when it happens to not ruin the experience.
Other highlights of the night were what felt like an AP but not OBE, I had visions in this paralysis state where I saw people aboard an airplane, and a older male that started out as a bright light, that came in to focus and walked right by in front of me, as he got to the center of my vision he turned to look at me and felt like we locked eyes.
Very strange experience and caused me to not get much sleep last night. I hope that isn't a side effect of AP, not getting restful sleep?

I’m a little over a month into this hell of a new life and a tiny bit of the fog is lifting and it’s so crazy how oblivious people are. People that have called themselves my closest friends have maybe checked in twice and always saying, let me know if you need help. Like it’s my job to tell them how to be supportive? I’m a wrong that this makes me furious? You’re supposed to be my friend and can’t see that it takes everything out of me to wake up and take care of my baby every day that I could use help with the dogs and groceries and stuff around the house, organizing all the new responsibilities but that that’s not something you ask of someone. I just want to shut myself away from them, tell them to F off. The only people I can count on is my mom and sister who flew thousands of miles so I wasn’t alone but they can’t stay forever. I’m just so angry, him and I always said you can only count on family at the end of the day but it hurts that that’s actually true and now I don’t even have him anymore, my best friend, my teammate, the love of my life. I miss you so much babaloo

~ Ranting time ~ Sorry for the swears, I really needed to get them out.
I'm very self aware and I know some people want to help. But it's the way they ask that really gets me.
It took 6 days for his urn to come back home. I don't remember those 6 days but the moment his ashes entered our home, I felt appeased. Finally he's home. I've been very vocal on this because home is where I want to be. Close to what is left of him. I've explained it on multiple occasions.
Now, it's hasn't been a month, people are non-stop telling me " I can go get you and you can stay with me all you want and balablabal".
It ticks me the füçk off because NONE of them actually listen to me when I explain the feeling of appease I got when the urn was brought home. None are asking me what can be done to help me or how they can help me They presume that them picking me up like a füçking demsel in destress will help me. They presume I don't have food and bring stuff that I don't eat because they didn't even bother to ask what I want. Side note - I have medication prior to all this that diminished my appetite. So much wasted food went to the dump (freezer were already full). I hate wasting food. So that also put me in an unpleasant mood.
Yes they want to help but the help doesn't come from a genuine place or empathetic either. They think on how they can help, "they" is first instead of what I need. Y'all know I am doing the legal paperwork, so obliviously no I can't just leave on a füçking vacation to your place only to be left alone while you work. Jesus füçk, do they actually think or even imagine what my daily life has become? I'm running left and right getting papers and phone calls.
If they really wanted to help, in any way possible, the first question would be "Are you okay where you are ?" And followed by "Is there anyway I can help?" Then you can offer your hospitality to welcome me at your place, but not upfront. Stop putting your need to comfort me above my actual needs.
I'm also aware that becoming a hermit isn't healthy either - so yes I do go out of the house. I'm careful to not turn this coping mechanism into a toxic one. The comfort of home and proximity to the urn appeases my panics.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far. 💣

I was heading to Pittsburgh this morning via Southwest. I entered the flight and walked towards the end seats. I found an aisle seat that was empty and started to put my bag in the overhead compartment. Immediately a black woman on the opposite aisle seat started off like "I'm sorry ma'am but your behind is all up in my face". I didn't even TOUCH her and I wasn't even bending. Simply standing in the aisle. She kept bending away as though she was ducking me and closing her mouth in shock - basically overreacting. I absolutely didn't touch her and it took me all of 10 seconds to put my bag upstairs and sit.
At the end when we had to deplane, I kept waiting for her to get up and get her bag. Instead she stayed put so I eventually got up. She immediately started snickering and ducking me again even though I was absolutely not close to her. I even put my bag in the bin in front not even next to her. And I asked her again politely, did you want to go get your bag? And again she was like "ummm no, there's just too much going on" while gesturing at my bum.
An old white man who was standing in the aisle behind saw this happening and started snickering too. And the two people just started laughing about the situation WHILE I'M STANDING RIGHT THERE IN MY SEAT NOT EVEN CLOSE TO THEM. They mumbled some bullshit I couldn't hear, all I could hear is "what are you going to do with so much, where are you going to put it?" To which the black woman responded "in hands I guess". And they continued laughing. At me.
When I walked ahead too the woman kept holding her mouth in shock. Like what the fuck is wrong with people? Why is it so difficult for them to live around others for just a maximum of 2 minutes? I don't fucking get it - how exactly am I supposed to respond to such situations? Do I fucking apologize for having a huge ass? "Oh I'm sorry my size is such an inconvenience to you". "Oh let me magically shrink myself so that you can feel better for 2 minutes". "Or even better let me just not fucking fly at all since it's already a terrible experience for big and tall people".

Hi, never posted here before. But I’m stumped.
My car (2017 Corolla IM as titled) has been suffering from a weird issue where it’ll be driving just fine, and suddenly the check engine light will come on, it’ll say “Traction Control turned off” then the car will decelerate to around 5 mph and won’t rev past 1000 RPM.
The only way to fix it, is to restart the car a handful of times. But even if the acceleration comes back, the check engine light stays on and the traction control warning stays on. But sometimes, I’ll get in to drive and the warning will be just gone, then it’ll come back either later that day or the next and I’ll have to repeat the restarting process again.
I ran a diagnostic on it with my uncle and it says “Rocker Actuator Arm Stuck” I’m not sure what this is, or if it would cause the issues I’m experiencing. I haven’t been able to take it to a mechanic yet because I don’t get paid till Thursday. So any help would be massively appreciated.

I originally posted this to help, but their mods deleted it and said my post was more suited for this sub, so here goes:
Reddit's current model of reporting suspicious accounts is woefully inadequate for combating bot follower accounts, and I would like to know what reddit is doing about it. If this isn't the right sub for this issue of accountability, please let me know where I can complain.
I have received multiple bot followers recently, and there is no easy way to report an account as a bot. When you click the hamburger menu on a user's account and choose Report Account , you're brought to a support article. The article says that you should report specific posts / comments made by the user rather than reporting the whole account. There is no way to take any action from that link. That same article says, "6185 out of 38806 found this helpful"-- makes sense, as linking to a useless article usually yields a ~16% upvote rate.
While I understand reddit's user-reporting rationale, this policy makes it much harder to report accounts that are very obviously bots. I've seen posts recently like this one where other users have experienced similar frustrations.
Some users have advised others to disable followers, but I think that's a bridge too far; I still want the option to have followers, but I don't want a constant influx of spam accounts either. Edit: I also know you can block users, which I have been doing. Still, that offers no help to others being plagued by the exact same accounts.
What is reddit doing to combat the bot followers that have proliferated recently, and what can we do as individuals besides reading unhelpful documents or shutting off followers altogether?
My suggestion (based on u/Nova1395's comment) would be to allow an entire account to be reported as a bot. Large companies like reddit have tons of private metadata about a user account, such as sign-up time, number of posts, and activity. The reddit admins could vet these reported accounts and auto-suspend the really suspicious ones and offer some sort of appeal process for legitimate users.

to start, i’m 7 months pregnant with my first. this is the first grandchild for my in laws. prior to being married, i would consider my mil a mildly JN. there’s never been a major event, but comments here and there that could be absolutely taken as rude or negative and always exasperated by drinking. my husband and i had open conversations about boundaries, on the same page etc.
After we got married a year ago and now pregnant, she became sooo much more tolerable. here and there some annoying occurrences but way nicer to be around.
also side note, the drinking issue is something SO and i have discussed in detail and are in agreement with for when baby arrives ( she’s a social drinker and when she does, she’s incredibly obnoxious.) concerns with that are mostly related to holidays/bigger gatherings.
now, here’s where i need an outsider to tell me if im nitpicking. i do appreciate how excited they are, but lately the little comments are making me nervous for when the baby comes and have really started annoying me.

1. we decided to wait until 20 weeks to tell everyone outside of immediate family (i’m 29 weeks now). she made comments constantly about how this was so hard for her and she wanted to tell the world she’s a grandma. (SIL and husband did address with her that it’s not about her after a visit where she made this comment legit 15 times).
   
2. she mentioned a gramom in her neighborhood that is always pushing a baby around and how she can’t wait for that. she also pointed out a easter decoration of a bunny and a baby bunny and said that’s her and her granddaughter.just weird to me but whatever i just nodded and said aw
   
3. i was/am stressing ab child care & work & concluded im not comfortable returning to my job FT after my leave. she did offer babysitting twice a week and keeps making comments and working in “how it’s all going to work out” when this isn’t a topic we were even talking about and clearly something that my husband hs told her is stressful for me.
   
4. now this past weekend at their beach house, we stayed 1 night. she offered me food every 15 mins. kept telling me to put my feet up , asking if I needed to lay down, if i’m fine in the sun, need to reapply sunscreen, pointed every single baby and stroller that went by. comments about how often the baby will need to eat. asked ab my prenatals and when i said i would take it when i got home(in 7 hours), made a face and uh oh you need to take them! When i mentioned in another convo myself and my nephew have a vitamin d deficiency, uh oh!! your baby may too!! (this doom and gloom is not subjective to just me and really what i couldn’t stand about her since i met her). when i said i was fine & didn’t need to put my feet up, she said i should..i said no i’m fine right now. under her breath, she said how she was always told t do that. And the one that really pissed me off is her saying she can’t wait to rock my baby in the hammock at the shore house. when my husband said that doesn’t sound safe (like the hammock could flip), she over reacted with “you’re just like so and so and over security dad” i replied with id rather he be that than oblivious, and she backed down “oh of course”.
   

i didn’t bring up what bothered me this past weekend bc i think my husband would say she was just trying to be nice and is excited. With the drinking or major issues, we are on the same page. but with little comments like this , I feel like he thinks I’m nitpicking and is sensitive. idk how to even bring it up since it was 3 days ago now. however I know it’s not gonna stop when the baby comes if not get worse. i also feel like she’s treating my baby like a new toy to show off or a status symbol.
would these comments annoy you or am I just being hormonal and sensitive? lol

The Meeting With the Contact
In one of Unity’s darker and less maintained districts, several miles down an unassuming maintenance tunnel, Aster knocked on a rusty steel hatch. The moment her knuckles finished rapping on the metal door hidden mechanisms squeaked as an internal bolt was undone and the door swung open. She heard the soft ween of servos as they struggled against the bulk of the door.
Without a moment of hesitation Astarte strode through the door knowing full well that the dark corners of the room could have held a waiting ambush. It did not do to show any fear when dealing with the mysterious shadow league. She had heard from Greyson how the contacts valued confidence above everything else. She wasn’t sure why, but had followed the advice anyway.
The contacts never worked through proxies. They had no known dead drops. And were notorious for handling everything in person.
It was a strange practice since logic dictated that information brokers as influential as the Shadow league should act with much more caution. But that same flaunting disregard for common convention was the trait that unnerved Astarte the most.
It unnerved her because it proved that the powerful brokers had nothing to fear.
Maybe it was arrogance, but her instincts said otherwise.
The door closed behind her, the harsh clunk telling her that she was now locked in. Soft lights in the room flicked of a slowly grew brighter to a level comfortable to human eyes. Aster’s cybernetic eye went red and flickered through several different spectrums of light as it scanned the room.
“An interesting piece of hardware.” A soft murmuring voice said from behind the desk in the center.
Astarte momentarily ignored the voice as she finished her scan. Her eye picked out only a single camera behind a fake patch of wall that looked completely normal from the outside. She focused on the camera, telling the rooms only other occupant that she was fully aware of the device.
Her scan complete she turned her head to focus of the short fuchsia froglike person within a bubble-like excursion suit. No word in the Union’s common tongue, or her own could pronounce the name of the person before her. Instead the Union had simply labeled them as Toxoid amphibians. A rather cold, but concise name.
There were many defense mechanisms used by prey species to ward off predators. Some opted to be big, strong, and move in large herds like the Trikes. Some just flew away. Others hid. But very few instead went for the survival strategy of being very visible and toxic as hell.
The creature before Astarte was one of only three Toxoid species in the Union. While safe to members of their own species, their skin could instantly paralyzed and kill any non-deathworld species on Femeri. And if Astarte had touched that bright purple skin she would be instantly floored with the worst pain imaginable. Not dead, but really wishing she was.
The Union definition of Toxoid was any highly toxic species, regardless of the atmospheric conditions. Though this particular species did in fact come from a world with high methane and ammonia content, less then Venus, but still deadly to Terrans. The only reason they weren’t classified as deathworlders was because the low gravity and gentle nature of their star made the claim seem a little absurd compared to your average Deathworlder.
The Toxoid met her gaze and held it without fear. Knowing that Astarte wouldn’t/couldn’t do anything to harm them. There face was pulled into a constant smile. Though this was a factor of their facial structure and not any sort of actual pleasure. This, matched with their small colorful appearance gave off the vibes of something small and harmless. An instinct she would have to actively suppress.
“Surprising, most of your kind are overwhelmed with nurturing instincts upon first seeing me. Especially females of your age.” The creature commented. The internal translator of her suit taking the creature’s hypersonic humming and giving it a squeaky, almost cartoonish, tone in galactic common.
“I’ve encountered your kind before, and the pain I felt that day from just one touch is enough to wipe away any cute impressions.”
The creature made a sounding like birds chirping “So its true, humans really can touch us without dying?”
Astarte grimaced at the memory “Yeah, but I sure wished I was dead. Only touched them with my hand, but in seconds my whole body was wracked with the worst pain my nerves could conjure. Couldn’t black out either.”
The Contact looked amused “And yet you survived.” They said pointedly. “We are in our own ways more dangerous than deathworlders. Even the Kruhur leave our few ships alone. As do most pirates. So why would you attack that particular merchant ship six of your Terran years ago?”
Aster wasn’t surprised by their knowledge, the sources of the shadow league stretched far and wide. “They had something I wanted, so I took it.”
The big eyelids of the Toxoid closed slowly. “Yes, weapons grade plutonium. I heard you made good use of it. Such inventive weapons too. Most think fusion weapons are pointless in space compared to pulse cannons and conventional missiles. Leave it to a human to find a way to make good use of an underutilized weapon.”
Astarte kept her face placid, but on the inside she was roiling at the knowledge that the Shadow League knew about the shield breaker cannon.
“You needn’t worry” the Contact continued “the Union doesn’t know, and even if we stole the plans we would be troubled to find crews with the nerve to detonate a super critical mass of plutonium within their own ship. My kind are quite cowardly compared to your people.”
“Fools rush in where angles fear to tread.” Astarte remarked absently. Downplaying their achievements.
The Toxoid leaned forward “and yet those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.”
This time Astarte couldn’t hide her surprise. “Kennedy? Really?”
More bird chirps “Yes, I am quite amused by human history and the words of your past leaders. Your people strove for the stars long before they had the proper technology to reach them like every other species, on a high gravity world no less. And despite these hurdles you made it to your moon in record time, had stable colonies on a barren world like Mars, and launched one of the most interesting if a bit crude ships. A ship you recently purchased. Had you not met the Union so soon then I believe your people would have continued to shock the galaxy. In some ways your people were cut short, and yet in other ways they were given the opportunity to leap into the future. You are most intriguing, and it would be folly to not keep an eye on you. The Union believes your people to be on the decline, soon to be no longer a threat to their might. I am of a different opinion.”
It was surprising to meet a person who had her completely figured out. From just the subtext Astarte was sure this contact knew all her plans and secrets, or had at least a few very good guesses. And seemed to want to help her out.
Astarte gave the Contact a shrewd glare. “What are you playing at?”
Their heavy eyelids dropped into a lazy half blink before opening back up. She thought the gesture was either one of annoyance or amusement. “A favor, given to the right person, can pay dividends in the future.”
“And what kind of returns are you looking for?”
Another half blink. It probably meant amusement. “That isn’t for me to say. You’ve had a very positive relationship with our agents in Femeri, or Orion as you Terrans call it. it is the League desire to continue nourishing that relationship.”
Suspicious, but one didn’t deal with the galaxy’s most powerful info brokers without some ominous undertones. “Then I take it you know why I’m here.”
Another long blink, this time fully closing their lids. “Yes.”
“Can you tell us where it is?”
“No. Amaterasu was thorough in covering their trail. I can only say that its still on Unity.”
Fuck. Why can’t things ever be easy? “Can you narrow down our search?” Astarte asked changing directions.
“Yes. Property info, delivery schedules, informant reports. And much more. It’ll take time to narrow things down.”
“I’m not short on manpower. Or patience.”
“Good. Now there is just the matter of the price.”
“I get the sinking feeling that you’re not talking credits.” Astarte stated dryly.
“An accurate feeling.” The Contact retorted. “We are an organization of information brokers and middle men, but even we need our own middle men. We cast a wide net to pull in much, but sometimes our needs require a more direct approach.”
“Spies?” Astarte guessed.
“Yes, or simple muscle to get what we need. Lately that muscle has been disappearing, I’m sure you noticed the aggressive way the Station Security treats your kind.”
“Yeah, the charges they tried to stick my men with were downright asinine, never would have stuck.”
Another long blink. “Yes, but the Union doesn’t need to make them stick. You more than most should know that the Union will imprison individuals on suspect of a crime before an investigation can be done to assure innocence.”
Astarte almost heard a click in her head as she connected the dots. The charges had seemed absurd and unfounded, and she had wondered why they bothered. But the Union could, in cases of an extreme crime, arrest and imprison without a trial or evidence. It was one of the major ways the Unions legal system differed from the local laws of the Sol system.
Guilty until proven innocent. It was the precedent that had gotten her mother imprisoned when Aster was four. While they had arrested a terrorist responsible for thousands of deaths and billions in property damage, they didn’t actually have the evidence. And once the lack of evidence had been undeniably proven in a court room Lucile’s sentence was ended and her record expunged of the black mark after spending ten months in the prison on Parox.
Asters throat was tight “How many have been…”
“Thousands. Tens of thousands. I would like to give you a better number, but someone has done a remarkable job at obfuscating that information. People are arrested on petty misdemeanors, if any, and then prosecutors from the central office apply some grander crime. They’re taken to a holding facility, where they stay for a short time before a ship comes to take them to parts unknown.”
“And no one’s done anything about this?”
“Oh, no. There were plenty of riots. But shouting, screaming Deathworlders committing acts of arson and clashing Station Security did little to sway the public. And after the ADCU was born things got even worse for the Terrans.”
“Motherfuckers” Astarte growled through her teeth. She didn’t know where all those people went, but everything so far pointed to some sort of genocide. Unity was purging itself of its Deathworlder nuisance.
“Yes, as effective as the ADCU has been at rooting out actual criminal organizations they have also been a highly effective at smother discontent.”
“And what do you want me to do about it.”
Their head tilted to the side. “You already have an in road with one of their top Officers, one who is the personal protégé of Chief Gin.”
“Do you want me to see where they’re taking people, or figure out why?”
“Both if possible. This has all the odious whiffs of politics, and the League needs to know why the Union is making such bold moves. Any and all information you dig up will be appreciated.”
Astarte drummed her fingers on the desk as she worked through the problems. Something dangerous was happening in the heart of the Union. Something that threatened her own plans. She had idly wondered why Amaterasu had been so bold in making their terraforming equipment disappear, why openly slaughter an entire office of insurance investigators? But now she saw it was par for the course her, and she was only now noticing the rot.
The contacts request was also in her own best interest. She needed to know where this all led.
But you never took the first offer. That was just good business. “It seems to me that our own investigations might help you in yours. I don’t see why we can’t do both at once.”
Another long blink. “You won’t be overextending yourself?”
Aster scoffed “of course not.”
The amphibian’s permanent smile became a little wider, “good. Its always a pleasure working with a professional.”
The contact then reached under their desk to retrieve a small flash drive, preloaded with all the info Aster needed.
“Just a heads up” Aster said as she retrieved the flash drive. “Our plans usually end in chaos and bloodshed.”
“Oh, I know. I’m looking forward to it.” the contact said with a self-amused giggle like gurgling water.
Their business concluded Astarte stood to leave. But the door she entered through didn’t unlock itself. Instead a hidden panel Astarte hadn’t noticed during her scan slid open and revealed a hidden stairway.
Astarte blinked in surprise before shaking her head. never underestimate the Shadow League.
She walked through the door, and ascended several flight of stairs until she exited into the reception room of a small law firm. The Drohodron attendant nodded their furry rabbit like head and gestured towards the exit.
The ride home was mostly uneventful. A group of SS tried to tail her, but some speed walking and a sudden turn down an alley was all it took to shake them.
She left the tram station and entered the industrial district where her ship was moored. She had been so relaxed on her walk back that she even began to whistle a jaunty little tune. She almost mixed the gentle thump behind and slight rush of wind as a blade swept from behind her, nearly taking her head off.
She had only an instant to lean forward to avoid the strike. With the strike barely avoided she took one step forward before drawing Tenken in swinging overhead chop.
Two green tinted blades strapped to her attackers wrists rose into a crossed guard to catch her sword the two of them struggled against each other’s strength. Aster was surprised at the strength the assassin possessed.
They struggled for a few seconds before breaking apart just as swiftly as they had met.
They both took several steps back and began to size each other up.
The assassin was short, standing at maybe 160cm. Their tight-fitting clothes marked the assassin as both human and female. Two curved blades were attached to the assassins wrists, looking like the curved pincers of a praying mantis, which matched the mantis-like mask she wore.
The assassin despite her failed sneak attack, and their inconclusive clash, had the gall to look smug. “Glad to see you haven’t grown weak in our time apart, Daisey.” The assassin gurgled through a heavy voice filter.
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I’ll get straight to the point. I am a 27F and I’m in what feels like a shit load of debt and looking for some outside perspectives on the most logical next move. I am engaged getting married this fall and will include relevant spouse financial info. Excuse format as I am on mobile.
Income: $82,500 10% to 401k 2% stock After benefits and the above, take home is $1800 biweekly
Second job @ $17/hr 6-8 hours a week now increase to 20 hours a week during peak season in winter
Spouse makes $50k annual at full time job and $10-15k at second job. No debts aside from a recent 36 month personal loan of $25k at 8%. $800 monthly payment. Take home is $1400 biweekly from full time job, other job is seasonal with no income in summer months
Credit cards: $20k Cap One - ~$650 min payment - 29.99 % APR ($20k limit)
$12k Wells Fargo - ~$300 min payment - 15% APR ($15k limit)
$1800 Discover - $40 min payment - 0% APR until December 2023 ($2k limit)
Loans: $9,800 Best Egg - $520 monthly payment - 11.15 % APR (Feb 2025 pay off)
Car loan $6200 left - $150 monthly payment - will be paid off in 2026 - pay $100 month for insurance. Selling is not an option
~$70k in federal student loans (avg 4%) $12k private student loans (8%)
Other relevant info: Wedding is paid for Currently in school working on MBA reimbursed by company
Paying $130/month in medical debt, $600 left
Rent is $1575 total we split 50/50 + utilities/etc totals $2200 a month
I contribute $2k annual to Roth IRA currently sitting at $30k
Save $70/week to rainy day but I pull my Roth money from her each year I currently have $3k saved. Fiancé has $10k rainy day.
I’ve cancelled all frivolous expenses. We have the opportunity to move in with parents next year (summer) and with all bills and rent that should save us $2200 monthly minimum. With all my payments and expenses I use nearly $3500 of my $3600 monthly income not including second job income (starting this week)
Getting $5900 net bonus next week planned on paying off medical debt then throwing at capital one.
Thoughts? I will likely get a $8-10k raise by mid 2024 and fiancé will be getting $5-10 k raise this summer.
Edit to add I would love to have a child in 2025 but I’m worried about how to handle it all. Spouses parents are significantly older and we want to have kids before they’re too old. We would like to wait to buy a house until we have most of this under control and understand that means upwards of 5+ years

Hi folks! Any help is appreciated TIA
TLDR: * have a degree and 10 years of experience in a specialized field

• had mysterious health issues couldn’t figure out for a year. Had a major impact on life, was getting worse quickly and small company didn’t give any option to take leave
  
• Was terminated and took year off to work on figuring out my health. Mystery health issue solved and treated.
  
• Not getting callbacks. What do I say about the gap?
  

——
My situation: I was dealing with health symptoms that were severely limiting my life and getting worse. Migraines that included blindness, vertigo, fainting, constant palpitations, flushing, heat rashes, severe gastro issues, constant nausea, insomnia, brain fog, autonomic issues, you get the picture there was a lot of things going wrong. Doctors couldn’t figure it out and I spent a lot of time and money on specialists and testing.
It was affecting my work and pretty much hell to live with. The company didn’t have any leave options like STD, FMLA for me to take time to get it figured out. I needed health insurance and income to pay for the medical bills, so I continued working. Eventually they let me go and I went on COBRA insurance.
I took a year off, went to a bigger city with more specialists and finally after months of tests and visits we figured out that it was due to celiac disease. My body was attacking itself!
With the right diagnosis, adjustments and treatment I’m doing better than I ever was. With my health back I started to look for jobs!

• My problem: Not getting interviews. I wasn’t sure how to address the gap without making employers worry that I could have to take a lot of time off for medical in the future. I have traveled a lot in my life so I put the gap on my resume as a gap year focusing on travel, maybe that’s the wrong approach.
  
• The ask: Is there a way to address the gap without it being a ding on my record?
  
• If the best solution is to mention it was for health reasons, how can I do that without worrying an employer that I could require time off due to illness in the future? I prefer honestly but I need help communicating.
  

The gap took me from a daily struggle and low quality of life to a very healthy and stable place. It was what I needed to get my mystery illness sorted out, I’m just hoping I can find a job now and move forward! Thank you for reading all this.

Hi, never posted here before. But I’m stumped.
My car (2017 Corolla IM as titled) has been suffering from a weird issue where it’ll be driving just fine, and suddenly the check engine light will come on, it’ll say “Traction Control turned off” then the car will decelerate to around 5 mph and won’t rev past 1000 RPM.
The only way to fix it, is to restart the car a handful of times. But even if the acceleration comes back, the check engine light stays on and the traction control warning stays on. But sometimes, I’ll get in to drive and the warning will be just gone, then it’ll come back either later that day or the next and I’ll have to repeat the restarting process again.
I ran a diagnostic on it with my uncle and it says “Rocker Actuator Arm Stuck” I’m not sure what this is, or if it would cause the issues I’m experiencing. I haven’t been able to take it to a mechanic yet because I don’t get paid till Thursday. So any help would be massively appreciated.