The recent uproar around changes to the UCC seems are the result of a fundamental lack of understanding of commercial law, and we may be shooting ourselves in the foot and hampering bitcoin adoption if we don't change course quickly.
Texas Blockchain Council, Bitcoin Today Coalition and Bitcoin Policy Institute are now coordinating to try to correct misperceptions being advanced by some in the bitcoin space around the impacts of recently proposed UCC amendments being voted on at the state level.
The crux of the UCC issue is very well laid out by Carla Reyes in her recently released paper: Emerging Technology's Unfamiliarity with Commercial Law - "Far from advantaging CBDCs, the 2022 UCC Amendments promote stability and predictability in commercial transactions involving cryptocurrency."
If you read nothing else in the paper, please focus on this paragraph. The bottom line is that these UCC amendments actually enshrine bitcoin's core tenets in state laws around the country, while doing nothing to advance CBDC adoption.
If you are going to reach out to your state legislatures, please read Carla Reyes's paper first and gain an understanding of the issue.
You can view Carla Reyes's paper online in your browser by following this link and I will also include a copy of her paper below.

• ABSTRACT

Over the course of a three-year, collaborative process that was open to the public, the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) and the American Law Institute (ALI) undertook a project to revise the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) to account for the impact of emerging technologies on commercial transactions. The amendments, approved jointly by the ULC and ALI in July 2022, touch on aspects of the entire UCC, but one change has inspired ire and attracted national media attention: a proposed revision to the definition of “money.” The 2022 UCC Amendments alter the definition of “money” to account for the introduction of central bank digital currencies, such as the Bahamian Sand Dollar, and create a separate asset classification category for cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin — controllable electronic record. Opponents of this change state concern that the UCC seeks to “ban” cryptocurrency or otherwise advantage central bank digital currencies and disadvantage cryptocurrencies. This essay examines this dispute over the 2022 UCC Amendments, and argues that it stems from a misunderstanding of core commercial law concepts. Ultimately, it seems, diminishing familiarity with commercial law — a side effect of expanding reliance on emerging financial technology products — stands as a key obstacle to the enactment of a legal changes designed to give the objectors the very legal effects they desire.

• INTRODUCTION

Cryptocurrency stories of woe have dominated the news cycle since May 2022. Some of this news coverage reveals the general public’s lack of familiarity with commercial law concepts. For example, when a ruling in the Celsius bankruptcy determined that certain customer deposits belonged to Celsius, and, relegated customers to unsecured creditor status, the world generally seemed shocked. Well, everyone seemed shocked except commercial lawyers. Those lawyers familiar with the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and its interaction with the Bankruptcy Code might have predicted such an outcome, and, indeed, had they been consulted, might have helped prevent it. Unfortunately, as the regular use of checks and other negotiable instruments dwindles in favor of emerging financial technology products, commercial law familiarity also diminishes.
In a somewhat twisted turn of fate, emerging technology’s unfamiliarity with commercial law now threatens the adoption of key commercial law changes designed to improve the use of emerging payment mechanisms in commerce. This essay examines the proposed 2022 UCC Amendments6 and recent claims that the Amendments seek to “ban” bitcoin and facilitate the adoption of a controversial asset called Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The essay argues that such claims rest in a failure of emerging technology’s advocates to understand commercial law terms of art and the purposes they serve in the UCC. Far from advantaging CBDCs, the 2022 UCC Amendments promote stability and predictability in commercial transactions involving cryptocurrency.

• I. THE BACKDROP: BITCOIN VS. CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCIES

Recent concerns that the 2022 UCC Amendments push a pro-CBDC and anti-bitcoin agenda9 stem from a deep cultural and value clash between proponents of bitcoin and proponents of CBDCs. By way of brief background, bitcoin is a cryptocurrency intrinsic to the Bitcoin network. Introduced by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, the Bitcoin blockchain protocol provides a mechanism for recording electronic transactions through a distributed adversarial network in which it is computationally impractical for any party or group to retroactively modify transactions. Bitcoin enables the cryptographic demonstrability and relative permanency of each digital transaction, facilitates direct peer-to-peer financial transactions without intervention by a third-party intermediary, and incentivizes network support and security by issuing new bitcoin, subject to a cap, according to pre-determined rules coded into the network. Bitcoin is a medium of exchange laden with a variety of values, including preferences for: deflationary monetary economics, privacy, autonomy, and freedom in financial transactions.
These values stand in stark contrast to many of the technical and cultural elements of proposals to create CBDCs. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB) defines CBDCs “as a digital liability of the Federal Reserve that is widely available to the general public.” Even while lauding potential benefits of CBDCs, such as convenience, safety, and liquidity, the FRB also expressed concern for potential negative effects. In particular, many worry that CBDCs will increase government financial surveillance, restrict financial autonomy, and potentially disincentivize savings, among other economic implications. Ultimately, as a result of these issues, the face-off between bitcoin and CBDCs acts as a battleground over important value and political differences.
While this value-laden and politically-tense debate over the nature of money and alternative payment mechanisms brewed, a variety of stakeholders began a completely unrelated, deliberative, and open process to amend the UCC considering the last decade’s technological advances. One key issue posed by emerging technology centered on improving the commercial law rules for digital assets such as bitcoin.

• II. THE PROBLEMATIC TREATMENT OF BITCOIN UNDER EXISTING UCC PROVISIONS

A variety of lenders secure loans using cryptocurrency as collateral. As early as 2014, commercial lawyers and scholars pointed out the potential limiting effect of existing UCC provisions for the negotiability of encumbered cryptocurrency. Under the existing UCC provisions, bitcoin (and other cryptocurrency) is a general intangible. When a lender takes general intangibles as collateral for a secured loan, the lender may only perfect its security interest by filing a financing statement in the relevant filing office. As discussed in further depth below, bitcoin’s treatment as a general intangible caused two problems for those lending against bitcoin as collateral: (1) crypto-native lenders lacked an optimal method of perfecting bitcoin collateral, and (2) bitcoin users could only ensure they received unencumbered bitcoin by conducting a search in the Article 9 filing system.
First, crypto-native lenders expressed concern about filing financing statements for fear of reducing the privacy interests of debtors. Lenders worried that third-parties could ascertain when a debtor owned cryptocurrency (including, say, bitcoin) and had perhaps borrowed against it. Debtors sought more privacy than that. As a result, some lenders began taking “control” of the bitcoin collateral by, for example, taking the bitcoin into a wallet the lender controlled. While this was good for gaining access to the collateral upon default, under the existing UCC, that lender, without filing a financing statement with the relevant filing office, remained an unperfected secured creditor. Such status, of course, would pose a problem if the debtor defaulted to another, perfected, secured creditor, or if the debtor became insolvent and filed for bankruptcy. In either case, the crypto-native lender with control of the bitcoin but no filed financing statement would lose in a contest for the value of the bitcoin collateral to a secured party who filed a financing statement or to the bankruptcy trustee. Second, treatment of bitcoin as a general intangible imposed a severe limitation on the negotiability of bitcoin. An onward transferee of bitcoin could never be sure without searching the filing system whether the bitcoin they received was encumbered or not.
Many initially think the answer to the problem of treating bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as general intangibles lies in making bitcoin “money” under the UCC. Under the UCC “money” receives treatment as super-negotiable; a recipient of encumbered money from a debtor takes it free of a security interest granted by the debtor. However, ultimately, this solution remains suboptimal. Making intangible bitcoin “money” for UCC purposes is problematic because a security interest in “money” can only be perfected by possession. Possession in the UCC is a physical, tangible concept. You must be able to hold a thing in your hands in order to possess it. So, if you make bitcoin “money” for UCC purposes, you make it impossible to perfect a security interest in bitcoin, which is worse for lenders than classifying bitcoin as a general intangible — at least as a general intangible, an actual way to perfect a security interest exists.

• III. THE 2022 UCC AMENDMENTS RESPECT BITCOINS NEGOTIABILITY AND DECENTRALIZATION

The 2022 UCC Amendments offer nuanced resolutions to these issues. First, the amendments create a new category of asset for UCC purposes (and for UCC purposes only). That category of assets is called a “controllable electronic record” (CER). A CER “means a record stored in an electronic medium that can be subjected to control under Section 12-105.” In an innovative move, the technology agnostic 2022 UCC Amendments defer to the technical system of the CER to determine what constitutes control as a technical matter, so long the person who has control obtains: (1) the power to enjoy substantially all the benefit of the CER; (2) the exclusive power to prevent others from enjoying “substantially all the benefit” of the CER; and (3) the exclusive power to transfer control of the CER.34 Notably, exclusivity is not lost if it is shared by agreement (or by technology — such as multi-signature arrangements).
This definition of “control” serves two purposes: (1) it serves a definitional purpose — namely, not all electronic records are CERs, just those capable of being subject to the defined term control, and (2) lenders who take cryptocurrency, including bitcoin, as collateral, may now perfect security interests by control.36 Indeed, the amendments make control the preferred method of perfection for CERs over filing. This, of course, is exactly what existing industry players had already been doing — just without the legal benefits they would have wanted under the existing provisions of the UCC. The 2022 UCC Amendments seek to bring the law up to speed with what bitcoin-native secured lenders thought was best all along. Additionally, the 2022 UCC Amendments provide that if a purchaser of a CER (such as bitcoin) is a qualifying purchaser, the purchaser will benefit from a take-free rule; the purchaser gets an unencumbered CER. In this way, treating bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as CERs resolves the two prominent problems lenders taking bitcoin as collateral face under the existing UCC provisions.
Far from favoring CBDCs, the 2022 UCC Amendments seek to facilitate the negotiability of CERs such as bitcoin. Without such rules as the take-free rules, bitcoin and other CERs would be at a disadvantage to CBDCs in terms of negotiability. Instead, the 2022 UCC Amendments preserve the negotiability of bitcoin and other CERs in a way that should better enable individuals to freely transact in bitcoin without worry that they are taking the bitcoin subject to a secret lien. This represents an extremely important change to commercial law rule for the maintenance of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as freely transferable bearer-like instruments.
As the 2022 UCC Amendments were being drafted and debated, El Salvador adopted bitcoin as legal tender. Arguably, El Salvador's move made bitcoin “money” under the existing UCC. Of course, this presents a problem because no lender can now perfect a security interest in bitcoin. Recall that “money” must be perfected by possession and possession is a concept for tangible things you can hold in your hands. The existence of intangible bitcoin as “money” does not fit within that model of perfection by physical possession. Further, some countries already developed CBDCs like the Sand Dollar. The Sand Dollar, as e-currency authorized by the Bahamian government, clearly falls under the UCC’s existing definition of “money,” leaving lenders with no way to perfect security interests in Sand Dollars or other CBDCs, because possession, as a physical concept simply does not work.
Further, as a form of legal tender, many expect CBDCs to integrate with the existing banking system, and the existing UCC rules already account for how to perfect in collateral like a deposit account (namely by control, defined in a different way). Notably, even El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin integrates with the existing banking system similarly to CBDCs. El Salvador implemented its adoption of bitcoin as legal tender through the Chivo wallet, a custodial wallet that does not give users control over their private keys. The 2022 UCC Amendments could have taken its cue from the El Salvador implementation and required that perfection of bitcoin and other cryptocurrency take place via a custodial wallet provider or deposit account. The 2022 UCC Amendments opted for a different approach. Namely, to address the likely integration of CBDCs with the existing banking system while also attempting to honor the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies and blockchain protocols like that found in bitcoin, the 2022 UCC Amendments kept the CER category for bitcoin and created a separate concept of “electronic money.”
“Electronic money” includes any “medium of exchange that is currently authorized or adopted by a domestic or foreign government,” but excludes “an electronic record that is a medium of exchange recorded and transferable in a system that existed and operated…before the medium of exchange was authorized or adopted by the government” (like El Salvador and bitcoin). Notably, this change does not preference CBDCs, but instead deals with unique issues. Namely, if electronic money is credited to a deposit account (which in UCC-speak means a bank account, and could include an account at a central bank), then the normal deposit account perfection rules will apply. If the electronic money collateral is not credited to a deposit account, then a security interest in electronic money could be perfected by control. As a practical matter, because of the nature of CBDCs, the default method of perfection in electronic money in practice will likely be by perfection of deposit accounts. It should come as no surprise, then, as to why treating bitcoin like “electronic money” and folding it into the definition of “money” would be sub-optimal. Namely, such treatment would likely encourage recentralization of bitcoin holdings through deposit accounts or intermediated securities accounts. Such recentralization would be a step in an incredibly wrong direction. Rather, enabling maximum party autonomy by allowing individualized control over a CER to act as a method of perfection for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies represents a more beneficial approach, as signaled by the fact that crypto-native secured lenders employed this approach before the 2022 UCC Amendments project began. The separation between “electronic money” and CERs, far from somehow favoring CBDCs, respects existing commercial practice and the decentralized nature of bitcoin and other cryptocurrency.

• CONCLUSION

The worries raised about the UCC including CBDCs in the definition of “money” while excluding bitcoin center on a concern that other laws might copy the definition for other purposes. In this regard, the private law nature of the UCC plays an important role. The UCC is not regulatory in nature, and the definition of “money” in the UCC has no direct impact on the definition of “money” for other legal purposes such as in taxes, anti-money laundering, money transmitter regulations, security regulations, commodities regulations, or even which mediums of exchange serve as U.S. legal tender. The definition of “money” in the UCC serves a narrow commercial law purpose: to provide predictability and stability in commercial transactions relating to a specific type of medium of exchange. The unique and decentralized nature of bitcoin and other cryptocurrency require a different approach to enabling stable and predictable commercial transactions involving those assets.
The 2022 UCC Amendments seek to preserve the decentralized nature of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, enable secured lenders to enjoy legal benefits of their existing commercial practices, and by protect the negotiability of bitcoin by allowing onward transferees to take bitcoin and cryptocurrencies free of existing encumbrances. Without an understanding of the role that the definition of “money” plays in the UCC, however, bitcoin’s proponents may miss the opportunity to support a law that respects some of bitcoin’s core values. Although unfamiliarity with blockchain-related terminology often motivates sub-optimal legislation and regulatory schemes for cryptocurrency, smart contracts, and other emerging technology, this battle over the 2022 UCC Amendments stems from the opposite: unfamiliarity with commercial law among proponents of emerging technology. Emerging technology’s language wars, it seems, run both ways.
In the case of South Dakota, while the governor’s rhetorical response reflects well on her political judgment, this proposed bill does not, unlike the Governor and others claim, tilt South Dakota toward a CBDC purgatory. Nor does it restrict Bitcoin’s adoption. It’s actually bullish for Bitcoin.
How this misunderstanding has metastasized through political discourse — from state governors to Bitcoin-friendly Congressmen — deserves its own deconstruction, but I’ll leave that to others.
The bill in question — based on an update to the Uniform Commercial Code — not only expands definitions and protections for Bitcoin, but actually creates a legal mechanism for recognizing self-custody and for the protocol’s inclusion in traditional lending, insurance, and commercial transactions.
In a sense, it’s an upgrade to existing commercial law that would allow Bitcoin to be used as collateral for all future financial contracts. It’s “not your keys, not your coins” in commercial law.
Not only would this bill protect your Bitcoin in any commercial transaction, but it would also better define and protect ownership of your Bitcoin in a bankruptcy scenario like FTX, Voyager, or BlockFi.
More at https://www.btcpolicy.org/articles/in-attempt-to-stop-cbdcs-states-are-rejecting-ostensibly-pro-bitcoin-legislation

I absolutely love Stranger Things! It is my favorite show, I love the entire cast, and it’s just so good! I love it so much that I want to be a part of it. I am an actress and have been searching the internet for auditions for season five. So far I haven’t really found it, but I am really just not a good internet detective. I have been looking since the end of summer 2022. So I am posting this today for all the lovely internet detectives and whoever else this might concern. If you could be so kind as to try your best to find me auditions for season five. Obviously I would love to audition for a larger role, but I really just want to see the auditions. I really hope it’s not to late. Thank you and have a great day! 💕

Hello, I'm a young adult who just turned 21 yesterday. Forgive me in advance if my English won't be as good because English isn't my primary language. Basically, I've worked for McDonald's for a month now, around December. Unfortunately, around December 29, I suffered from a serious accident on the way home while I was riding my bicycle which severely damaged my hand and fractured my pinky finger. Now supposedly, it'd have to be supported by like a metal insertion (i forgot what it's called lol) but long story short I didn't have the money for it because it was too expensive and had it casted instead. I live with my mom and she can support me very well with basic needs. My casting was removed after three months and after everything, I finally returned today at work. The jobs were simply too heavy and I had no place to recover well and now.. I think I overworked my injured hand. It has been aching for 10 hours now and I'm contemplating whether to still proceed or quit.
Here's the issue. I've had a call center job (customer service representative) last January 2022 which was a completely different thing. I worked there for three months and couldn't stand the toxicity of the environment so I left for the sake of my sanity. While I completely love the job in McDonald's, at my current condition, I think the only option would be to quit. Quitting would likely be the best logical option right now otherwise I won't recover. I'll need to enroll for a military school this year and we all know how tough it is to get in physically. Ever since my accident, my entire progress was lost and I couldn't even do a single push up right now without the risk of my hand completely breaking again. But.. even knowing this, I can't help but feel like a failure or a quitter. It reminds me of what had happened exactly around these months a year ago and it's not making me sleep. I'd appreciate advices and suggestions. 🤝

20R is a multi-game community with divisions and teams in various games. We are recruiting for our new Overwatch team.
For the general Overwatch Division there are no requirements other than to have a positive gaming experience and a good attitude. If you want to create a casual team you may do so as long as your team is active. For the Esports Overwatch Teams. We are looking to create one large team consisting of all our best players where the best 5 go to tournaments with the rest being subs or forming their own teams to go to tournaments as well. All our Esports teams are one team together. When one wins we all win.
Esports Requirements: Because we are a brand new team there are less requirements and thus will change as time goes on. As for now though, the ones who join now will be the founding members with the ability to shape a team from the ground up
Requirements for the main and secondary team.
- Age: 18+
- Rank: Plat+
- Preferred to be able to play multiple roles and hero's.
- You will need to be available for multiple practices a week (at least one per week)
- Good teamwork and communication.
Coaches: Coaches are also needed! Our coach's need to have the knowledge of the maps, hero's, strategies, synergies, callouts, and the ability and availability to coach. They will also be responsible for raising the skill of those not in our Esports teams. If you believe you have what it takes you may apply.
You can join via our discord: https://discord.gg/20r

I am Mostly writing this to get it off my chest… I (m31) got back from a birthday party a few days ago and the a very good friend f(33) and myself Just basically declared our love for each other. (Certainly that we had feelings) Something which apparently ,I am learning for the first time but everyone else knew about. We have been together in the past , 10 years ago, only for a few months because I had to move and we’re then unavailable.
I really like this girl but I tried to think of her as a friend for a long time but I guess this was the breaking point We we’re at a birthday party, drinks we’re had and it all came out. Nothing ‘happened’ but We talked and it’s definitely something we’re both into (to say the least) I am the problem, I have a girlfriend(f32). I want to break up with this girlfriend but I have absolutely no idea how . we have been together for 6 years, we live together (just renting) we have a dog together and I truly care for this woman. My girlfriend and my problems are that we non-confrontational and will avoid it at all costs.Our sex life eventually took a similar path from newly weds to 40 years married within timespan of months . We still have sex but tbh it feels like we’re just checking the box because that’s what people in relationships do and it separates us from being room mates.
A while my gf went on the pill which, I believe, started a spiral into weight gain and low self esteem but even when she went off the pill she still struggled to lose the weight and eventually gained more. I brought this up but she got upset and I did not bring it up again.
This was not the biggest deal to me, I do enjoy sports and running but I can scratch that itch with friends. Obviously I have to admit I did find her less attractive and I desired her less but we still had sex.
Maybe his would have been the time to call it quits but I am ashamed to say I was in a new country and the stability of a girlfriend helped me. I had limited friends and like I said the woman in was interested in was one of my best friends and I didn’t want to risk losing her also she was unavailable. Not to mention it is not like I was unhappy, I had just been in this mode of complacency that I think I thought this was happiness.
My current gf thinks we are a good couple because we don’t fight and we enjoy each others company but we don’t even say I love you to each other very much and I think it’s because deep down we don’t. Part of me thinks that she believe, yes our relationship is not perfect but it’s safe ,we truly care for each other and basically it’s nice to have a boyfriend.
A little while ago I showed her I had some money saved and she suggested we take some of it and have a party/wedding… this freaked me out a little inside. I had flashes of us being married and I did not like what I see. I even think she would be ok with not being married but the concept for forever was the point to me.
To this point; I thought that I’m also wasting my gfs time, we’re in our early 30s so we’re still young but still getting on a bit . I know there is such thing as the 7 year itch but I think I’m my heart of hearts I’ve felt this way for a while but I’ve let it escalate to the point it’s going cause a lot of pain. There is more but I’ll leave it there.
I’m going to it in 2 days , I will stay at a friends for the weekend, she will have her family over Any way to cushion this sort of thing? I’m nauseous thinking about it.
Summary: I rekindled a past relationship and I want to end my current one. Not really sure how

So what can i say, the people i meet usually have much money and i don't.
I'm very very broke therefore, i always tried for years to stay with my childhood group of friends because they know my very personal situation of my family, and they know i'm broke.
However making new friends from Uni is hard for me i mean, i get along people easily, but i try to avoid this because i don't want people to propose me things that involve much money, and i have to say no.
Let's take an example, months ago they proposed me to go on a vacation for 4 days in a city. Absolutely lovely idea but guess what? I can't, i'm poor. They do not get that, and i don't want to explain them my personal situation.
So yeah saying i don't have money 1 time is okay but saying it everytime gets frustrating.
They could propose me even to go see a match of football/soccer, and i might have to say no.
Also i don't like telling people i can't i have no money everytime, but at the same time i can't make up excuses everytime since they'll think i don't want to hang out with them.
It's extremelt painful and i'm trying to isolate myself from others for this motive.
They are people with no problem with money so they are chill, they can decide things last minute i can't.
And this people are colleagues from traineeship or other students that i don't know as well as my best friends.
Am i being too dramatic?

Part 53
TW: Intense, masochistic sexuality.
Caliope, Clever Little Shit
Caliope sat in the back of the transport, still parked in front of the fancy house somewhere in south LA. Finally, she had her hands cuffed in front of her body, and she could reach her crotch. She dug fingers in her panties and inside of herself, reaching deep, into her posterior fornix. The thrill of stimulation there barely registered, even though it was her favorite spot for a cock or dildo to hit. She was too angry.
She pushed hard, twisting at the cuffs until she fit her entire hand inside of herself, and she could finally reach the scar. It had been there for years, waiting for this exact opportunity.
She dug her fingernails in, the sensitive tissue sending howling signals of pain to her brain, where her own psychology twisted them into signals of pleasure. Blood flowed as she scratched and clawed at herself, but she eventually found what she was looking for. Flesh parted, revealing a small, artificial lump.
She seized in in slippery fingers and pulled it out. It was a tiny handcuff key, with a tiny bit of her own brand of magic stored inside of it, wrapped in layers of cling-wrap. She quickly unwrapped it as blood soaked through her panties and smeared the seat.
She finally got it unwrapped and wasted no time unlocking her handcuffs. The bleeding did not concern her, she knew she would heal rapidly once she was done. She touched the key to the collar around her throat and felt the relief as its magic failed. She quickly used the sharpened tooth on the key to saw through the strap of the collar.
Her own magic filled her, and she let some of it turn to healing. She turned some more into physical strength. Then she checked the doors.
Locked, of course. The DCM was not known for ignoring non-magical security measures. She saw the two officers moving towards her vehicle, and decided that violence was the way to go. She placed her hands in her lap and waited.
They climbed in and started the vehicle.
"Listen," the driver said. "Here's how this works. You don't give us any problems, we don't give you any problems, okay?"
She nodded. "I understand," she said. "No problems."
"Good. We're probably gonna hit a drive-thru on the way. You can get something if you're hungry," the passenger said. Caliope nodded. "Thank you," she said, demurely. A drive-thru would be the perfect time to strike.
She sat in the back quietly as they drove her north. Around Anaheim, they pulled into a Jack in the Box, stopping in front of the menu. "Figure out what you want," the passenger said, turning to face her. "It's my treat."
Caliope smiled at him. He smiled back, then turned to face forward, and that's when Caliope struck.
She felt like she'd gotten a raw deal, the last time. She had never really gotten the chance to fight, except when she faced off with that psycho lunatic who'd surprised her and beaten her to within an inch of her life before she even understood what was happening. She had been training to fight for years and years, and yet when the time came, she managed to catch the guy who was, according to everything she understood, out standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the gods themselves.
But these two, they were former soldiers or cops. Not demigods, not magical beings of immense power.
She surged forward and grabbed the driver by the head, digging fingers into his eye sockets. The man let loose a howl that brought a smile to her face as she blinded him and slammed his head against the seat rest. She brought her feet up and wedged them against the back of his seat even as the passenger spun, a can of paper spray coming up. She ignored him, even as the magical shield triggered by the can popped into place on the man's face and tried -unsuccessfully, thanks to her fingers- to form over the driver's face.
The man let loose and the liquid splattered her face, immediately causing an intense burning sensation. She shuddered as the pain made her cum and redoubled her efforts. With magically enhanced strength, it didn't take long to bend the headrest back, hyperextending the man's neck. His struggles abruptly stopped as she felt something pop in his body and he slumped against her.
The passenger had apparently realized that the pepper spray was just this side of worthless and drawn his sidearm. He thrust it towards he, and she had just enough time to duck her head and seize his wrist before it went off.
The sound was deafening in the enclosed space. Caliope's ears rang as she squeezed the man's wrist and slammed it into his own headrest. He reached back with his free hand and grabbed a handful of her hair, yanking forward and slamming her face into the back of his seat. She felt her nose break and another orgasm swept through her as she grabbed the hand holding her head.
She slammed his wrist again and again, and finally he dropped the gun. She tried to catch it, but missed and it clattered to the floor. She reached down for it, but the man's grip on her hair kept her from it. She strained against him, reaching for the gun.
His right hand vanished, then she felt a heavy impact in her side. She glanced down to see the man drawing the four-inch blade of a combat knife out of her ribs. The impact began to throb and burn as she whipped her head around and warded his knife off with one hand, still straining for the gun with the other.
The knife darted and slashed, opening her arm in two places. She brushed the gun with her fingertips, shifting it. Caliope sucked in a deep breath, ignoring the burning in her side and her arm that made her want to touch herself, and yanked down hard on the hand holding her hair. Her scalp erupted into more burning as he yanked a large clump of hair out by the roots, but she could now reach the gun.
She picked it up and pressed it to the back of the seat, squeezing the trigger until the slide locked back. The guard slumped, his hands going limp. He dropped the knife into the foot well.
Caliope leaned back and gave in to the urge that had been with her ever since the pepper spray struck her. She wiped her face, wetting her hands and then stuck them both in her panties, coming immediately as her vulva began to burn. She played with herself for several minutes, until she couldn't afford to remain here any longer. Someone in the restaurant or the buildings nearby would have heard the gunshots and the local police might be on the way already.
She grabbed the driver and hauled him into the back, then climbed up to the driver's seat. She put the vehicle, still idling, back into drive and spun it around, pulling back out of the parking lot.
She glanced at the body next to her. "You don't give me any trouble, I won't give you any trouble," she said with a grin.
----
A few miles later, she pulled into a mostly empty parking lot in front of a strip mall. She turned onto the road as she reached over and patted the pockets of the dead guard. She found his cellphone in his pants pocket and pulled it out. She used his phone to unlock it, and opened the web browser, typing in a URL that she knew by heart. It took a second to load, and when it did, it immediately loaded a chat room.
U there? she typed and hit send. She waited.
Less than ten seconds passed before the indicator that someone was typing flashed on. A few seconds after that, a new message appeared.
Waiting on u, it said. Caliope grinned.
I no where theres guns an shit, Caliope typed, pausing to check the history of the vehicle's on-board GPS. in san clemente. im in anaheim rn
The typing icon appeared, cycled through its animation and vanished.
Coming there where r u? the chat read. Caliope's grin widened. She hit back on the GPS until it showed her current location, giving the intersection at the top.
Euclid st n katelia ave, in a car w dcm stickers by the arbys
A second later, the icon appeared and then vanished before it could animate.
Omw, the chat read.
Caliope turned and wrestled the other guard's body into the back, then got out and opened the rear hatch. She found raincoats, rifles, a shotgun and assorted gear, mostly tools that would be useful in a rescue situation. She grabbed a raincoat and a blanket and the closed it up.
She threw the blanket over the bodies in the back, then stripped out of her bloody clothes and threw the raincoat on. It was translucent, but she didn't care. She checked their pockets and then the center console of the vehicle, finding a few bills in their wallets and a mass of change in the center console. She took it and walked into a laundromat that was part of the strip mall.
She washed her clothes, smiling at the men who kept sneaking peeks at her body through the raincoat. After they came out of the dryer, she stripped right there and pulled them on. Two of the younger men cheered for her when she pulled the raincoat off.
She left and went to sit in the driver's seat of the DCM vehicle. She waited for another thirty minutes, until a beat-up old Toyota pulled into the spot next to her, and her sister and two men climbed out.
She rolled down the window. "Hulks or ninjas?" she asked the two men. Both sneered at her. "Hulks," one of them said, sounding offended. She smiled. "Good. There's only four guards left to watch the place until the cops come. If we hurry, this should be easy."
----
"Griselda, are you done?" Caliope asked, sticking her head into the kitchen. Griselda sat there, in front of the last survivor of their assault on Garcia's home. He was slumped over, insensate, the hand she had duct-taped to the table by the wrist flayed open to expose muscle and tendons.
Griselda pouted at her sister. "He fainted," she said.
"We're all geared up," Caliope told her. "We're ready to decide what to do."
Griselda stood. She picked up a sewing needle from the table and jammed it into the man's shoulder as she passed him by, but he didn't react. He really was out cold.
The two hulks, Johnny and Bob, stood in the living room, next to the shimmering portal.
"So where we going? We splitting up, or sticking together?" Bob asked.
"Well," Griselda said. "We don't really have any money. Just a couple hundred bucks. And we're on the run, so we need money."
"These guns are worth a pretty penny," Johnny said, hefting a shotgun. Caliope shook her head. "They're not worth enough for us to split up and vanish, the way we need to."
"Duke told us what to do," Bob pointed out.
"He goes by 'Dylan' now," Griselda told him, glancing at Caliope for confirmation. She nodded.
"He did, but the question is whether we want to work for him again," Caliope said.
"I don't give a shit who I work for, as long as I get paid," Johnny said.
"Duke was always good about making sure we got paid," Bob agreed.
Caliope was less sure. She looked at her sister, who shrugged. "Why not?" Griselda asked. "I mean, it's right there. The dead world. We don't even have to look for it, it's right in front of us."
Caliope nodded. Finding the dead world had always been the 'tricky part' of Duke-er, Dylan's emergency plan. But there it was, right through that portal. With that problem solved, the idea of teaming back up with their old boss was a bit more appealing.
"Fuck it," Caliope said. Griselda grinned at her. "Let's go."
They all walked through the portal, checking behind them to make sure the way back was still there as they emerged onto a concrete road, surrounded by concrete buildings and dried-out corpses. It was, the dark ritual room a shocking contrast to the midday sun around them.
"Okay, now which way?" Johnny asked after they'd all walked through. As if in response, a thunderous roar sounded from off in the distance.
"Towards the monster," Caliope said. Griselda took her hand, digging her nails in, making Caliope whimper. She slipped a hand down the back of her sister's pants and slipped a finger into her ass, wiggling it. They smiled at each and turned to share a deep kiss for a moment before they took off, following the two men.
They trudged through the city for over an hour, not seeing any sign of whatever had done the roaring. Caliope noted the bodies and made a game of trying to guess what they'd been doing when they died. She soon roped Griselda into it, and they began guessing out loud. Before too long, Johnny and Bob joined in.
"Those two were fucking, for sure," Johnny said, pointing to a pair of corpses, one piled on the other.
"With their pants on?" Caliope asked skeptically.
"Fine, but those two were definitely fucking," Bob said, stopping and pointing down an alley. Caliope looked, and sure enough, another pair of corpses were piled there. The one on top had pants around its ankles, and the one on the bottom had a skirt that was hiked up.
They all stopped to laugh at that pair, killed in the middle of their tryst.
Johnny walked over and began messing with the corpses before throwing his head back and laughing. Griselda crouched down next to him, then began to giggle and raised the man's hand to slap her palm against it.
"What?" Caliope asked?
"She's got a toy in her asshole, and the dude is still inside her," Johnny explained, wiping tears from his eyes. Caliope grinned. "Adventurous," she quipped.
"Jesus," Bob said, checking it out for himself. "How fucking jaded do you gotta be to have to get your rocks off by getting DPed in public?"
Griselda jabbed him in the ribs, hard. "Don't mock people's kinks," she said.
Bob turned a look on her. "Oh, you like getting DPed in public? Maybe Johnny and I could help you out a bit," he said. Caliope noted a certain gleam in his eyes and decided to speak up.
"How could you do that, Bob, after my sister cuts your dick off?"
"Heh," Bob chuffed, straightening up. "I know you two have your tricks, but I wouldn't need to get big to toss you both around like rag dolls. Trust me, if I decide to fuck you, I'm gonna fuck you."
"Jesus fuck," Johnny objected. "Shut the fuck up, Bob. If you try to rape one of them, I'll help them beat the shit out of you. We've got more important shit to worry about, right now."
Caliope nodded in agreement. She was beginning to like Johnny. He had that big, blonde gringo thing going for him, and he seemed to have a good head on his shoulders.
"Johnny's right, Bob," she said. "And we can target our silence, you know. We could stop you from getting big, while letting him."
Bob laughed, though she detected a tinge of nerve in his tone. "You guys are way too uptight. Can't even tell when you're being fucked with."
"Well, let's stop fucking around," Caliope said. "In fact, we should stop talking, so we can hear if anything's approaching. I'd hate for whatever made that roar to catch us flat footed, talking about whose dick is going in whose asshole."
"My dick," Griselda said, "Goes in everyone's asshole." She stood and brushed sand off her pants, walking away from the fateful lovers.
Johnny joined her, leaving Bob to trail behind as they set off again.
They walked the rest of the afternoon in silence. As the sun set, they stopped to confer about what to do, deciding to stop in an intact building. They had Bob go out and gather grass and leaves and crumbling sticks to make a fire with, and then they heated up some of the camp food they'd found.
After eating, they cleared spaces on the floor and set up their sleeping bags, then went to sleep.
Caliope waited until she could hear three voices snoring before she climbed out of her bag. She stripped down to nothing and walked out of the building. The night sky looked different, she thought. The stars were different and the milky way was thicker and less bright.
She found the bench she'd spotted on their way in. It had small, sharp looking fins protruding from the arms which had caught her eye. She placed a leg on the seat and lowered herself, grinding her hips back and forth. The fins tore at the skin of her vulva, the tugging, burning pain making her body tingle. Blood dripped onto the rusty metal, and she wondered idly if she'd get tetanus from it.
The idea excited her. It was suppose to be a painful condition.
She didn't hear the footsteps approaching over her own whimpers and gasps. She didn't know anyone was behind her until she felt a pair of large hands grab her hips.
She spun, expecting to see Bob there, but it was Johnny. She smiled, seeing him.
"You want to help?" she asked.
"I'm not sure I can, now... You're all torn up," he said. She looked down to see the blood in her pubic hair and on the bench's arm.
"I heal," she said. "Like Dylan used to. It's part of the magic."
"Wish they'd given us that part," Johnny said. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. She nipped at his upper lip, making him pull back. "Don't bite," he said.
"How else do I get you to bite back?" she asked playfully. She ground herself against the bench again, feeling the slight pop as each fin caught and then came loose of her flesh.
"Ask nicely," Johnny said.
Caliope grinned, then contorted her face into a parody of pleading. "Please bite me," she whispered. Johnny eyed her skeptically for a moment, then suddenly dipped his head and sank his teeth into her neck. She gasped as he did and moaned.
"Harder," she whispered. His teeth clamped down more.
"Harder," she murmured. She felt the sudden release of tension as he broke the skin.
"Harder," she said. He let go, and she could see blood on his lips. He lifted her up and bit down on one of her nipples, and the heat of an orgasm swept her mind away for a moment. When she regained her senses, she cried "Harder!"
He flipped her around and dropped her onto the arm of the bench. It jabbed painfully into her stomach and ripped skin at the tips of each fin. She came again, shuddering as Johnny pressed one hand down on her back. She felt him roughly shove a finger into her ass, followed by a second, making her moan.
As she felt his knuckles slip inside of her, another pair of hands, smaller and softer, grabbed her head and pushed it down, smacking her cheek against the backrest. Caliope caught a glimpse of her sister between the metal bars and grinned. Nobody could hurt her quite like Griselda.
"Here," Griselda said. "Let me show you what she likes."
Caliope melted away in an ocean of delicious agony.
----
Bob seemed oblivious to what he had missed out on the next morning. Caliope moved slowly, not because any injuries lingered, but because a slight ache remained low in her stomach, and she wanted to savor it.
Johnny managed to avoid getting clingy, which Caliope appreciated. Too many men thought that fucking her meant they were now a couple of some sort, and that she needed catering to. Johnny didn't care. He packed his own bag quickly and then started the fire up again and began cooking, never so much as offering to help either of the sisters with their stuff.
They got packed up, then got some food, and then set off. Caliope was beginning to worry that they might be moving in the wrong direction, but they had no other clues to tell them where to go.
It was shortly after noon, and they had left the city, moved through a small suburb and out into the dead countryside when she heard voices. She brought a hand up, then turned and pressed a finger to her lips. Everybody crouched down, Johnny and Bob readying their guns.
The voices were getting closer, coming from the left side of the road. Caliope crept into the dead trees as quietly as she could, until she could see a break and the shine of another concrete road.
Eventually, they clarified, and Caliope could hear what they were saying.
"It's not that," one voice said, a woman's voice. "All things considered, especially with how fucking promiscuous he is, I don't really care about you two fucking. I care about him. He's been my friend for a while, and he's in a bad place."
"I did not initiate it," a second woman's voice said. "I know what he's going through. I don't want to do anything that would hurt him worse than he's already hurting."
"See, that's the thing," the first voice said. "I don't know that's true. Let me be clear, okay? I don't trust you. I know where you come from, and while I believe that you are your own person, with your own goals and whatever, I know that all of... You, comes from her. And the reason I came here is because I want her dead. I want her to die in agony, and you're a part of her."
"I am not her."
"I believe you. My concern is how much like her you are."
"Are we just going to talk about how little you trust me the whole day?"
"Nope!" the first voice said brightly. "I was just wrapping up. So if you do anything, and I mean anything, that I could possibly see as a betrayal, I'll cut your arms and legs off, stop you from healing, and feed you to Shadow."
"I understand," the second voice said coldly.
"I knew you would," said the first voice as two figured came around a bend on the other road. Both were young women, maybe in their mid twenties. One had jet-black hair with blonde roots pulled back into a ponytail, and was dressed in black tactical gear with goth makeup on. The other also had black hair, but it was longer and let free to fall down her back. She wore body armor over a t-shirt and gray cargo pants. The goth one carried a rifle, and the way her arm was casually draped over the stock suggested that she was very familiar with it.
Caliope froze, knowing that the slightest sound might draw their attention. She crossed her fingers, hoping the others wouldn't give away their presence, either. The two women walked, silent now, down the road, heading in the same direction they were moving in.
She watched them pass. When they vanished, she waited a minute or two to be sure before she returned to find the others gone.
She didn't have long to wonder where they'd gone, though. A moment after she got there, while she was still deciding which way they must have gone, the dead bushes rustled and began to shed leaves. Griselda and the two hulks appeared.
"Why'd you hide?" Caliope asked.
"There was a dude flying around," Johnny said.
"It was him," Griselda hissed, her face a mask of anger.
"The guy from the TV show," Bob added, though Caliope already knew who her sister was referring to. "The one that led the attack on the compound."
"Shit," Caliope cursed.
"What are we going to do?" Griselda demanded. Caliope held up a hand, demanding time to think.
After a moment, she gave voice to her thoughts.
"He has to be with the two I saw. At some point, he's got to land. If we follow them, we could get the jump on them."
Griselda's angry look turned into an eager grin. "I want him, after we kill the other two."
"Shit," Bob said. "If the other two are hot, I want one of them."
"So we'll kill one and capture two," Johnny said. "You recognize these fuckers, what do we have to deal with?"
"Nothing important," Caliope said. "Nothing dangerous, at least not once my sister and I take away their magic."
They all shared in Griselda's eager look, then.

Today I was prescribed pain meds for my back pain for couple of days until i get x-ray and some physiotherapy. I’ll be taking Guajacuran and Diclofenac. Do you think if i take some kratom in between there’s some potential harm or something? didn’t get a chance to ask the doctor so just curious if anyone might have some experience.

Let me start by saying I'm not in any way affiliated with Kyocera or Verizon, this is just my personal experience I want to share with you guys.
My history, skip this if you don't care: I've never owned a smartphone. My first phone was a Nokia 5210 some 20 years ago. Just amazing, almost waterproof, T9 worked well and it did what I expected from it. After some years th battery died and I've been jumping from phone to phone. That last one that really worked was the new Nokia 3310 2g version. But as 2g nets shut down I bought the 3g version of the same phone. Total disaster, especially the T9 which is full of bugs. I've tried more nokia phones after this but they all sucked. I tried some other brands too during the years but they all had their cons. So I decided to put some money and effort into finding a good one. After a lot of research I decided to make a wild chance and order an Unlocked Kyocera DuraXV from ebay (120$). I say wild chance because I wasn't sure if it could run on Swedish network bands. But it does, at least some.
​
The phone is all plastic but feels vey robust and sturdy. Quite heavy for a dumbphone but since it's a flip it doesn't take up a lot of space. The flip function obviously also protects the screen which is nice. And it has a small display on the outside which shows time, so I don't have to open it to check the clock.
It has no App store, but if you really want, apps can be installed by transfering the APK to the phone and open with the phone's built in file explorer.
The only "Smart" feature it comes with is email (which I have'nt tried) and a web browser, which works quite well. You navigate a mouse with the D-pad. Too bulky to spend hours on, but good enough to look things up. No touchscreen.
My biggest concern when getting the phone was that it does not have support for Swedish T9 predictive texting. But figuing it's an android phone I went to the internet for help and VOILA, I found a T9 app called Traditional T9 with support for many languages and open soruce so I could add Swedish myself.
The camera is not very good, especially inside when it's dark. But it works if you just want photos to remember what you see.
For the more tech savvy: I tried unlocking the bootloader and/or rooting the phone in multiple ways but this seem impossible on this phone. It just won't reboot to fastboot mode and the one click root tools are not working. On the good side, this signals the phone is quite secure.
​
Feel free to ask me anything you want to know if you're looking into this phone. I will try to answer best I can.

Hello!
I'm looking for a (preferably) waterproof comfortable sling that can carry a 24oz waterbottle (about 29cm long) and a few other items like medications and a charger. I am conflicted about what size to look for considering the bottle and what would carry it best without the bag swinging around behind while jogging/biking. So far I've been looking at the aer day slings, peak design everyday slings, and the bellroy venture slings. Any suggestions on which size and brand to go for?
Thank you!

So I have been lurking here for a bout a year, but decided that I needed to make a post finally. I think reading about others experiences and thoughts has helped me a ton, But I really felt the need to vent some since lately I have felt extra low. First of I want to apologies If my spelling is bad or my grammar is not correct. English is not my first language.
I'm in my early 20's and I was molested from I was around 5 until I was 9 by a relative. During the time my parents could not really take care of me for different reasons and that relative took care of me a lot and I pretty much lived with him most of the time during those years. He molested me and took advantage of me. I am not sure if grooming is the right word for what he did, but it absolutely felt like that in a way since he constantly tried to convince me that what he did to me was natural and something good for me. Without going into to much details it was everything from touching me, having sex and showing me pornography. He also used to do it mixed up with normal childs play which of course was very confusing to me.
I never told my parents. After the relative passed away It felt very weird for me to bring it up, although I understand that maybe I should have. I have seen therapists for different reasons as I grew older, and there is where I have brought it up. I have conflicting feelings about this though since I never felt it really helped. I am in no way saying you should not seek help. I am glad that I have tried, and I encourage everyone to do that. To take care about themselves.
I can absolutely resonate with a lot of posts here speaking about the complexity of the feelings my experience has given me. Like, to others it feels so clear to just say "it was not your fault", "it was wrong." I am not crazy. I know it was. But I think many here might understand that it is not only black and white. There where horrible things he did that clearly felt like abuse, even back then. But other things did feel nice (on a physical level) and I as many others have felt extreme guilt for that. Sometimes I feel like I struggle with just that; the mixed experience of pain, humiliation and pleasure. I feel like I had a hard time struggling to distinguish what is what.
I know that it all has affected me much. My life. And my sexuality. I would say I am "hypersexual." It has led me to do a lot of things that I regret. I also feel like it made me not having the same boundaries as others sexually. I often wonder if my kinky interests stem from the abuse and I can really put myself down at times. Like; I think everyone should be allowed to be themselves sexually and I am quite liberal but sometimes I think it's hard to accept I enjoy certain things sexually since I am afraid the abuse "created" them. Maybe I have not made the best choices to deal with my feelings, but sometimes it feels like it helped at least for the moment.
I am actually happy most of the time, and while the scars are always there I feel like I have found a way to not forget but to relate to my past. But other times, like this past week it all feels hopeless. Wondering if I am broken. If I will ever be healed or accepted (even by myself). I think the hardest part for me in these moments is that I get so TIRED. Like carrying all these thoughts and emotions all by myself is exhausting. It's a weird mixed need of being left alone but also not wanting to be lonely.
Anyways, I just wanted to vent some. If anyone can relate and reading this can help I'm glad. Otherwise I just want to thank everybody here that has helped me by sharing their perspectives.

Was wondering if anyone could give me a little insight on MCAS vs Histamine Intolerance Because well? Lately my GP just tells me " You may have this but unfortunately we don't know what can be done about it" even the allergy clinic told me the same kinda thing!
A little back story I have been chronically sick for years, P.O.Ts, Endometriosis,PCOS and Fibromyalgia to name a few.
Like any chronically sick person does, they go through a myriad of ways to try to fix,heal or at very best manage their pain and symptoms through diet.
So begins a trial and error of in and out of Keto,Carnivore,Ketovore,Veganism oh and that one time I fasted for like 30 days..
To cut a long story short- nothing worked and every time I ate certain things I would basically die in excruciating agony to the point a steak sent me to A&E.
My symptoms if I eat any aged beef or aged dairy:
-Hot, painful, swollen Puffy lymphnodes I become so swollen and hot that my partner has to massage me to try and do some sort of diy lymphatic drainage sorta thing. -My sinuses are so sore and puffy that it feels like acid is being pushed all the way into my nasal cavities. -I faint and my blood pressure and heart rate is all over the place but I don't know if its just my POTs. -Burning urine yep -inability to move because I feel like I have acid pushed all in my Veins.
The list could and would go on but basically I feel like my body is attacking itself like any high Histamine food is the enemy however, I've gotten to the stage where I don't even know what sets it off anymore.
As of reccently I was certain it was a Histamine Intolerance but my partner is convinced it is something more deeper then that because I don't quite line up with the same symptoms of the usual Histamine intolerance.
Be interested to know your thoughts!

Context (in case relevant): I am 32yo/F, white/fair, tending towards sensitivity and dryness
I've been using all CeraVe products (or their drugstore knockoffs) since 2019, with great results: I'll get maybe a zit or three due to hormones or stress every so often, but other than that my skin is pretty clear. Before that I spent years experimenting with various brands from health food stores because I wanted to be more "natural/clean," but I finally realized that those products were aggravating and causing breakouts.
I currently use from CeraVe:

• Hydrating cleanser (morning/night)
• Eye repair cream (morning/night)
• Skin renewing Vitamin C serum (morning)
• Skin renewing day cream (spf 30) (morning)
• Skin renewing night cream (night)
• Skin renewing retinol serum (night - but only ~2x/week)

I like CeraVe because it's so gentle and neutral, and does such minimal marketing - I feel like I'm actually paying for the product itself, not for a fancy gold bottle or for influencer giveaways.
I'm turning 33 next month, and I want to make sure I'm giving my skin the best for long-term, graceful aging (along with sun protection, sleep and healthy diet). I'm willing to spend more than I currently am on skincare products if means higher quality and greater effectiveness (but NOT if it's just for hype nd gimmicks). Wondering if anyone has experience making a similar switch or has product recommendations.

(Aside from no longer being chained to that bitch of an ex-wife, I mean)
For me: I don't have to go on vacations with her whole family any more. Good lord what a pain the ass that was. That is really one of the best parts of our divorce.
Her family goes on a trip to the beach for a week every summer. Cool. Not sure why ALL OF THEM have to go, but whatever. But yeah, my now-ex and I would join her parents, and her siblings and their spouses, and sometimes aunts and uncles, and various other family members, at the beach for a week.
The first few times, it wasn't too bad. But then people started having kids, and then the drama started. Next thing you know there were 20 people in this beach house, most of which were young kids. And there was drama between my ex and her siblings and their parents. Every year, just constant drama.
Then there were the Disney trips. Same thing: whole fuckin' family would go to Disney as a big group every few years. Misery is a family "vacation" at Disney, and all your young kids are having screaming fits. Why? Because their mom and grandma have a schedule to try and see everything in the park in one day, and said schedule doesn't take into account that your kids are 2 and need a fucking nap because they're hot, tired, and overstimulated. And it's hot and humid as fuck outside and you're squished into a tiny area with 2 million other unhappy parents.
Not having to go on those stupid "vacations" has been the highlight of my divorce, without question. My stress levels are way down, and I don't have to hear or deal with drama from my (former) in-laws.
A few other thoughts: the ability to go wherever I want, whenever I want, and spend money on whatever I want without someone nagging the hell out of me, has been incredible.

What pain points do you need solved ?
I run a managed service that already solves this - Admin / community curated posts auto backup to website or notion. Like a members only library of best threads
Looking for new ideas / requests beyond this.
What issues do you guys jeep facing regularly that are a time / energy / money drain ?

I (33m) have 3 children (18m, 15f and 10m) from a previous relationship, my first wife died 8 years ago. My now wife (34f) has 3 children (14f, 13m and 11m) from her previous marriage. We started dating 7 years ago and married 5 years ago.
We are currently on vacation because my oldest has spring break from his freshman year of college, we are staying in our vacation home a few states away. Our vacation home only has 3 bedrooms, one for my wife and I, one for the boys and one for the girls.
The issue is there has been conflict between my 2 stepsons, Brecken (13) and Kurt (11). Brecken and Kurt have never gotten along according to my wife but it’s gotten real bad lately and they’re in family therapy for it. Brecken is a good kid, very sweet, he’s definitely the most likely to challenge authority but not always in a bad way. Kurt is more quiet and obedient but he’s had some issues with being nice to others.
The conflict started when my oldest was talking to Kurt and showing him his phone, Kurt’s interests overlap a lot more with my son than Brecken, so they wanted to bond over vacation. The issue came when Kurt was showing my son some texts he sent his friends, this included some truly vile stuff including racism against Brecken’s gf and mocking some of his baseball teammates.
Brecken’s girlfriend is Black, the district we are in is over 90% white. Our family is white. The texts Kurt sent included the n word and were just awful. They also made fun of gay people, it was really bad. Kurt fully knows better than this, he has a high IQ, into some advanced topics like coding and trivia and has even been considered to be a possible grade skipper (he’s in 5th now), but we haven’t bc we didn’t want to stunt social growth.
When we got out of the van, my son said he wanted to talk to me and showed my wife and I the texts. We called Kurt in and he didn’t show any remorse. He made a big deal out of us calling him in which led us to have to explain everything to all of the kids. Brecken, who almost always smiles was angrier then I’ve ever seen before.
Brecken told us he didn’t want to be near Kurt and locked him out of the room the boys are supposed to stay in.
My wife and I agreed that it was best that the 2 didn’t stay in the room together. The couch in the living room is a sleeper sofa, so we told Kurt he needed to sleep there to prevent fights.
We thought this was ok, obviously Kurt was mad at us but we were surprised when the girls started saying we were being “too hard” on Kurt and that we should just let him apologize to Brecken. Brecken said he wouldn’t accept an apology because “you can hurt me, but you can’t hurt my girl or my boys”. We also thought forcing an apology was bad but the girls keep guilt tripping us. He slept on the sofa last night and was a real pain about it. AITA?

My beloved mother passed away 4.5 months ago unexpectedly. She gave no warning signs before her passing but would text me “I need peace” constantly. She was my best/friend soulmate. Since her passing, I’ve isolated myself by staying in a cabin in the woods and I struggle to go back into society. I feel disconnected from everyone and everything.
I’ve also experienced psychosis and had a couple of psychotic episodes. In these episodes, my journey tells me that I am unsafe and people will hurt me and it’s best to isolate myself. These episodes lasted for around two and a half months, but have stopped for now. I am not sure why I had to experience this.
I keep having flashbacks to past traumatic experiences over and over including her passing and seeing her in the casket over and over. I’ve been having nightmares of my mother where she is always dying or in pain. I know this is not her. I also have panic attacks from time to time. Since she died, I hear the same voice in my head over and over again “you need to heal your trauma”. I am convinced this is coming from my mother but I am not sure why.
I have tried to sit still and learn from these experiences and what they have been trying to tell me. It appears that they are teaching me what I really need to heal and what the main issues are. I am not sure why past trauma is the main issue that keeps coming up for me at this time, I thought I have moved on from those memories. Maybe spirit is trying to show me something?
I haven’t been able to feel or connect to my mother in any way and this has been really confusing.
I am in my early 30s and my entire life has been spent trying to overcome loneliness but I was unsuccessful at it. All my attempts at socializing have always ended in negative experiences. I’ve accepted this as part of my journey, that there is something I need to learn in isolation and separation. Since a child I’ve felt disconnected from other people and unable to formulate any connection with people. Trust has always been a factor for me and I don’t know why. With my mother’s passing, I have a fear my loneliness will never end.
I have tried grief counselling but left because I felt in my soul it was causing me more harm than good. I have found therapy for trauma but they are trying to diagnose me and pushing me to see a psychiatrist. I have been against medication my entire life and I am not sure if this is good for me. I prefer the natural and spiritual way of healing. Not sure if therapy is the path for me.
I have experienced lots of synchronicities, numbers like 11:11 and movies have been coming into my life. Movies about God and suicide, facing the past, and stopping drinking. I am thinking spirit or my mother are purposely sending these specific movies into my life. I do have a problem with drinking since she passed.
I am looking into mushrooms, ayahuasca, ketamine or finding a spiritual healer or trying somatic therapy to help me find the answers that I seek.
Finally, I feel frozen in time, unable to move, unable to function. I don’t know what to do and am very confused. I am afraid of going back to my family home where she passed and I don’t know why. I have no peace, can’t escape past trauma through any distraction.
Can anyone please help me and share some perspective as to why this is all happening for me? I would appreciate any perspective.

Update: I posted this in a no contact subreddit and was told this is a legal matter. I appreciate any help on what I should do.
So I’m very hurt by this whole situation. I (19F) was in a relationship with (19M). To make a long story short. We were intimate with each other and he recorded me without my permission and sent it to his friend so he could jack off to it. I have never felt so humiliated in my life. I’m so hurt and mad. Then the whole time he was texting his ex. In theirmessages he told her that “I’m going over her(me) house so I won’t be texting you as much” and she said “she ain’t me…tf” and he replies “Im glad you know” these mfs were laughing at me this whole time.
I’m scared the video will get out. So scared. I’m hurt that he would talk shit about me to his ex. I never want him back. I just hope he feels pain. Im a understanding person and know that all relationships don’t last. I’m understanding enough to get if he wanted to be with someone else. I told him this before with got serious. I just wanted honesty about that so I wouldn’t get hurt. But to treat me like I’m absolutely nothing is too far.
It’s been 5 days so far since I’ve went no contact. Ik it’s not a long but time for me is moving in slow motion. He texted me a day ago saying that he wasn’t over his ex. That he should have never sent the video to his friend. Says all the “I should haves” too fucking late buddy. I just want him to receive his karma for what he did to me.
He is the first and only person I have had sex with. I trusted him with my body and mind. And he gave it away to his friend to jerk off . I know for a fact he will be with his ex after this. That hurts too but not as much as him exposing me like that.
Just like you, I was so genuine to my partner. I really can’t understand how he could think of me that low and poorly to expose me. To have his ex laughing at me. To throw his feelings away for me and keep the ones he haves for her.
I want him to hurt just like I am. I know the first step is not having no contact with him. He doesn’t deserve to see me, hear me, feel me none of that. I can go my whole life without hearing from him. I just want to know when his karma come for him. Until then I’m healing myself. I’m a bright and beautiful person. Being in a relationship is not my problem and men come a dime a dozen.
I can move on knowing I will find someone deserving of my love. But as for him….I want to know he will hurt because of what he did to me.
If anyone is going through something like this I want you to know that you are a beautiful person. Nobody deserves to be violated in this way. I wish you all nothing but the best in y’all’s journey.