I'm not good at explaining but bare with So her and her bf (25m) got together in 2019 amd she was so so happy, I was the one failing in relationships and we became a trio. Fast forward to 2021, she's pregnant. Her pregnancy wasn't too bad except when she got them both new phones. He kept his and used it to message other girls and there were messages such as "I have a free house" from his end. I don't want to say too much as I can't quote all the messages but me and her are thinking he's cheating. This is all while she's fucking pregnant with his baby. After the baby comes, shit hits the fan. All the sudden he's everything not good for her. He is allowed to go out whenever he wants, where as she has to ask permission if it's ok with him if she can go places (food shopping, seeing me, her family etc) especially if she's not taking the baby. If she is out past the time she is meant to be back he would message her to ask when she's coming back, she needs to be back soon to look after baby so he can go hang out with his friends. She says she's going to Tesco for 10-15 mins but also called me to say what's been going on so she's not bottling it up and feeling alone. She then tells me on the phone he's messaged that "it's been 20 mins and she's not back yet" why isn't she back yet what is taking so long. He's calling her names like bitch then going to the fucking BABY and saying "mummy's being such a bitch isn't she? That is too far. He has threatened to jump off the balcony of their flat if he didn't get his way, he's gone into the bathroom, locked the door and said he's going to self harm. All because he doesnt get his way. He has started to do chores around the house like cleaning and washing but if she wants to cook while he's cleaning, oh no that not acceptable. This has been going on for nearly 2 years and it's just getting worse. He shouts at her, calls her names, controls when she goes out and when she has to be back. He's not been physical (what she's said) but it's escalated to shouting making the baby cry and I feel that soon it will get physical. This is just my feelings tho. He's not a physical abuser but he's a manipulative, gaslighting man who goes to bed at 12 every night. Gets a lie in until 12 the next afternoon and all he has so far done with the baby is feed her, change her wee nappies (refuses to change poo nappies) and maybe get her up. He doesn't put her down to bed because he's too busy smoking weed with his friends. She's sacrificed so much for him and her child. He can't even keep a job. Puts her down saying her job is shit, put sher down and says she needs to change, why doesn't she wear makeup for him anymore (they don't have enough money to go on dates so she's in the flat nearly 24/7 apart from when she has to go to work. I've tried telling her that this sint good for her or her baby and that in future the it will have an impact on both of them. I had a call with her yesterday and after she is explaining everything wrong that happened this time I ask what is stopping her from leaving him (the council flat is in both their names but she pays for all the bills, even give him money to spend on weed, take out etc) she's doesn't smoke btw. Even her dad is fed up with her asking her for money for food shops. Bf has also said nasty things behind everyone's back (calling me a "fucking skinny bitch", her dad a "narcissistic prick" (for trying to break them up) and her mum "weird" even tho she isn't trying to break them up?!) She said that they only reason is that she goes to work and needs nursery for her baby to be in (now toddler) but it's like she doesn't want him to know or is putting it off, coz let's face it leaving someone like this is hard and scary. I'm setting up a time where she's coming over to mine and we're searching up nurseries near her that baby can go to. Is this ok to do? I can't stand to see her in this relationship anymore where she's crying to me on the phone. Is it ok for me to get the ball rolling so she feels it's less pressure. If it is less pressure? I just need help on how I can help her as much as possible while not getting involved too much, she's grown she can make her own decisions but she's not started anything. What can I do to help but not get stuck in the middle?

I have breifly considered getting it done. I need to do much more research.
I know of a woman who had it done at least 20 years ago. She's not overweight, struggles in general with weight loss, can barely eat much at all and seems like she has mild gastric distress when she eats more than she can handle (which honestly is like 1/3 of what most people she eats with consume).
I want to know about people's experiences many years on and was it worth it for them.
I suffer from PCOS and have tried hormonal contraception a, fasting, exercise, a PCOS dietician and I am currently focused on dietary routine and enjoying more healthy food. If you wanted to know about me. I currently do pole dancing 2-3 a week and 90% of the week I get my 10,000 steps in or 9,000 at minimum.

Currently my expenses are :
220€/month in food
467€/month in rent
20€/month in phone bill
Don't buy cloth, don't pay for any hobbies.
My income is 1400€/month.
Where can I save more ?
I live in a 18 square meter appartement. I eat and drink 2 apples, 1 boiled egg, 300 ml of soup, 300 ml of thea (plus some water essentially free) and 1 quiche lorraine each day. Thoo it isn't sustainable, only around 700 kcal :/ for now I have a margin some weight to loose (precisely around 15 kg until I have too low of a BMI but currently going down 1 kg a week I need to find another strategy fast.)

Hi everyone, this is the first chapter of my debut novel. For information and links to other chapters click the link down below :
Reddit - Dive into anything
The Great One sat on his throne, gazing longingly into the hearts of man. Something was coming and he could feel it. Destiny riding on a white steed, like the tales of man long ago, coming to uncover his secrets. He could see it all, the wall, the castle, and the so-called gods that built it all. The ego of these creatures was laughable, if only the Great One could still laugh. He could still speak sure, but only through means not of man’s common means. Vocal cords were a commodity long since lost in this place.
As the Great One observed the coming destiny he could feel the approaching storm, in a hail of flesh and blood, the only things that the Great One lacked. He would never give up, never retreat to these things as they approached, for this was the Great One. He looked back to the castle, viewing the scene in its entirety, and he felt something like happiness enter him.
Divinity. That is what connected the walls surrounding Dundis castle, not stone or metal, this was not a mere wall but a divine gift from ones above. Divinity sealed the wall, made it whole, the walls sealed together without mark or blemish, something no man could ever replicate. The wall had stood for a century, and would likely last ten more, there was no weakness, no flaw in design. 50 metres tall the wall was unscalable, unbreakable. No man could break the wall, it was the Vaunghe empire’s crowning gift, their wonder of the world. Those that were hired to clean the wall’s dirt and grime were heralded as the truly faithful, and all longed to help the gift of the gods. And yet despite this the Alizian’s watched, standing with armies around the great wall, waiting to breach its crust and destroy the core.
The Vaunghe had watched their foes throw everything they had, hundreds of men attacking the steel doors of the wall to no avail, an attempted archer attack quickly squashed by the wall's height. The Alizian military was strong, a blend of the Alizian warriors and Strolim blacksmiths made for a truly terrifying army. The army was so terrifying that the Vaunghe inside the castle doubted there were any more Vaunghe troops left, this was the end to a long battle between man and man. Even the soldiers left weren’t particularly important, just those lucky enough to guard the king and a few trainees. But the Vaunghe felt their luck running out.
The food supplies had run low, even if the nobles weren’t in the castle there was no chance of resupply. The few men who had eaten in the past few days stood alert, gazing down from the ramparts at the enemy. The soldiers knew they had to either surrender or fight, but the Vaunghe were passionate people, they could never leave behind their identity in favour of life. So the men waited, bows and arrows at the ready, for the next attack. Heavy items such as ingots and chairs lined the rampart, ready to be thrown off at a moments notice.
They had waited in this position for many cycles, and as day turned to night, and night turned to day the Vaunghe were exhausted, finished with whatever feeble attacks these barbarians had planned. They could throw whatever armies and arrows they wanted at the wall but it would remain unphased, forevermore. When the Alizian’s next attacked they would be met with the last strength of the Vaunghe, and it would be a story remembered for milenia by man and the gods.
As the morning sun rose over the wall, the enemy was revealed in all their glory. Even from so high above the Vaunghe could see the glint of silver from the Alizian military. The bright greens of the Alizian armour created a dazzling sensation that they were one with the grass, which blended in so perfectly with their clothes. They stood in their thousands, armed with whatever they could find, and even on the wall the men could see him.
The slaughterer, the murderer, the man, the myth and the legend Osmund stood alone on an overlooking hill. The fiend was well known by the Vaunghe, he was likely the greatest foe that had come from the opposing sides. Vaunghe generals often fled at his coming, or surrendered first, but rumour had it that Osmund gave no mercy. Overseeing his army to destroy everything that was left, the Vaunghe soldiers knew today really was the end. The figure on the hill moved closer to his army and screamed. The battle-cry of the Alizian’s shook fear into each of the Vaunghe atop the rampart, being so loud that it even reached so high.
The hundreds of troops began to move in sync, forming three individual groups of soldiers, with 10 metre spaces between each. Each contingent comprised six hundred men, easily dwarfing the 82 Vaunghe soldiers that were left. But the Vaunghe were not afraid, at least not afraid of a breach anytime soon. These walls were built to withstand any damage, no man could breakthrough one.
Between the troops was movement, indeed there seemed to be movement down all three rows of men in blue. The Strolime empire had finally revealed themselves, with their short stature and mental prowess the Strolime were gifted inventors not expected to appear on the battlefield. And yet here they were, almost one hundred of them hauling forth three large metallic objects. The sun bounced off of these objects into the Vaunghe’s eyes.
None of the men had ever seen objects like these, seemingly composed of pure metals and on wheels. Some thought they were a testament to the gods, some holy objects, others believed it to be some new invention from the Strolime, however none of them could say anything for certain as they were pushed closer and closer to the wall. The Strolomites stopped in their advance, approximately 20 metres away from the wall. The purpose of these objects had yet to dawn on the men, although one of the younger men on the rampart claimed he could see small objects poking through the metal, which was now aimed at a forty-five degree angle towards the wall.
As the Strolimites halted their advance many began to move away into the safety of the Alizian wall, likely afraid of any precautionary Vaunghe archers. One of them, a rather short and plump soldier, stayed with the object, placing a hand on it and turning to the wall. It was a fleeting moment, but for a second it seemed the man was gazing at the Vaunghe soldiers in shame. One last condemnation to the ones that began this war, before it would all come crashing down. But then the moment passed, and the short man moved as the rest did, doing a slight zig zag to avoid arrows.
And now, just as quickly they had come, the Strolomite’s were gone in the ranks of the Alizians, still waiting in their groups for something, and then they came. Three figures, two women and a man, moved between the lines just as the Strolimites before them. These three wore no armour, only the greens of Alizia upon their tunics. They stood beside the objects and began to reach their arms into the underside of it. Before the Vaunghe’s eyes the objects began to turn slightly, aiming even more directly at the wall.
One of the Vaunghe had enough of this display, and raised his bow. There were low winds on this day, and he was a good enough shot to reach at least one of the Alizian soldiers. He aimed his bow, finger on the drawstring, and released. It is likely that this arrow would’ve drawn first blood in this battle, however the arrow never reached its target.
In the split second before the release of the bow, the Vaunghe noticed the smoke billowing out of the bottom of the devices, the flames that shot out, and finally they noticed for not even a fraction of a second the object that shot out of the metallic thing, something white and red that hit the wall in an instant.
The wall shook, and the following barrage of these objects shattered any notion of divinity. Crashing and crumbling the rampart was launched, sending soldiers flying everywhere. The Vaunghe beside the wall were subject to the falling rubble, both the crumbling stone of the walls and the miscellaneous objects they had left upon the wall. All of the objects crushed the few Vaunghe left, save for the few sickly starving soldiers left inside the castle’s inner walls.
Down went the walls, such a harsh strike against the wall that nothing stood in the path of this monster. The roaring splattered through the castle, the screams of the falling wall waking the King himself from his slumber. Such a vast creation had fallen in seconds before the might of the Alizian’s, and now there was nothing left but to watch the battle unfold.
Smoke flooded the inner walls of the castle, casting the few remaining into fits of coughing and blindness. The walls finished their crumbling, and yet the roars didn’t stop. These were not the roars of the wall but the war cries of the soldiers outside, and they began to get louder, echoing through the walls of Dundis and into the ears of the weak nobles and soldiers.
Through the smoke they came, weapons raised and charging the weak. The few that tried to fight were slaughtered, cut down by a sea of green soldiers. Those that were choking, sputtering or raising their hands in defeat were spared, hauled through the hordes and into one of the stables facing the inner wall. They were to be tried and jailed, for no human regardless of their crime should be killed. It is simply not the Alizian way.
Out of the one hundred and fifty two people who were in Dundis, forty two had died in the wall’s destruction, and a further eleven were detained by the Alizian military. There was nothing that the Vaunghe could do, save for locking their doors, shield themselves and hold out for as long as possible. The Vaunghe forces built barricades in their castle, locking away the Alizian combatants for as long as possible. And during all of this Osmund waited. Waiting for his time to end this war, this travesty of battle that had gone on for too long, and that time finally came.
* * * *
Osmund stood alone atop the hill, and watched the madness unfold. The walls crumbled at the face of these weapons with no more effort than a straw house, and the plumes of smoke assaulted his men, although not to the extent of the inner wall. After a few moments of sputtering and choking the men cheered, for this was the moment that they had been waiting for, the end of such a long war now in the Alizian’s favour.
The Vaunghe capital was in shambles, their military long crushed underneath Osmund’s almighty power, and all that was left was the King. Hiding behind his walls as if he didn’t deserve this loss, this final failure in his life. Osmund was willing to spare as many people as he could, it was the Alizian code, but there would be no mercy for the King. This wasn’t one final battle between two great armies, that conflict happened weeks ago, this was the last breaths of a psychotic monarch being silenced amongst the last of his troops.
Osmund gazed longingly at Dundis, the ruined walls and advancing soldiers and doubted. He felt something was off, something was very wrong with all of this. His heart began to thump, as Osmund’s eyes turned every way to understand what was wrong, what abnormality was here. It grew and grew, Osmund began to shake at what was about to happen, nothing was right here Osmund should be somewhere else helping someone, there’s something wrong here something very-
Peace. Osmund’s heart stopped thumping, body stopping its perpetual shaking. He looked again to the marching troops, now almost entirely inside the walls, and looked back to his back, and the reserve Strolomites that now stood. They were cheering, marvelling at the success of the assault, and how the god’s gift had saved so much effort on their part.
Such strange creations composed of metal and flame, Osmund marvelled at the power the gods possessed. These devices were so unique in design Osmund doubted if any army could defeat them. The large red tubes they released could easily destroy an entire village by itself, but with one hundred of them an entire valley could be bathed in flames. Something truly abnormal in this world, something so parallel to the code of battle that no army would ever think of it.
The Vaunghe were once considered to be the greatest fighters, with the tournaments they created bringing forth the greatest warriors from throughout the land. Their dedication and power were unmatched in ferocity and violence, some called the Vaunghe the standing due to their unmatched will to always get back up. Osmund recalled his days in the tournaments, those peaceful days when he was not yet a hero to people, but a simple military man. He was still only Osmu back then, and yet even those of the time knew he would be something special. As Christoff used to say, ‘Ozzie you’re going places, big ones’. Osmund missed Christoff, It had been so long since their last meeting, and all Osmund wanted was to meet again one last time.
Osmund’s assistant came to him, a younger Strolomite by the name of Gizmu. Gizmu was rather muscular for a Strolomite, a strong figure contrasting his associates' plumper bodies, and stature was fairly tall for one of his people at 6’5 ft tall. Hazel hair protruded through a blue helmet, and for the first time Osmund considered what his assistant could look like. Gizmu was one of the many Strolomite’s who refused to show their face until military success, a tradition that Osmund respected. He had no doubt that Gizmu's true face would one day be revealed to him, as the man possessed genuine prowess in the fields of agriculture, something sorely missed in the modern military.
“Osmund, your team is preparing now, they’ll come soon. I advise you to prepare your armour sir, as it won’t be long before you’re sent in.” Osmund sensed mild concern in Gizmu’s voice, but didn’t pursue it.
“Thank you Gizmu, my friend. I’ll begin my preparations, tell the guests to meet me here when they are fully prepared. And do ensure they understand that there is still risk of injury on this mission, ensure each of them wears their armour.” Osmund’s voice was deep and echoed his long life, commanding a sense of authority amongst all Alizian forces.
Osmund left the hill, passing the cheering Strolomite’s and the peasant farmers who supported the army, and entered the rows of tents. They stretched out on either side, one for every four soldiers, until he reached his own tent. Entering Osmund was surprised to discover a fellow commander still asleep in his bed, snoring away peacefully.
Osmund removes his upper clothing, the clean tunic falling to the ground. While removing these clothes Osmund kicks the sleeping man in the leg, which doesn’t actually amount to anything rather than halting his snoring. Osmund kicks the sleeping soldier again, this time in the buttocks, which does a far better job of riling him. The man looks around wide-eyed, before settling onto the sight of the giant Osmund.
“Hey, why'd you kick me? I almost had a bleedin’ heart attack don’t you know not to meddle with a sleepin man?”
“Don’t you know that you were meant to be on the battlefield at the crack of dawn? I don’t know what kind of promotion you’re expecting when you aren’t even going on the battlefield. Do you really want to be Balmun forever?” Osmund spoke coldly, now reaching for his chestplate.
“Well no sir. But the thing is I actually have a very cunning plan, I thought of it all myself.” A smile falls upon the man’s face, whose head bears an uncanny resemblance to a potato.
“And what is that?” Osmund halted his preparations briefly.
“Well if I say I was there but didn't actually go, who’d think I wasn’t? I can just sleep through it all until the battle is won and no one would be the wiser.” Osmund puts a hand onto Balmun’s fleshy shoulder.
“A fine plan, if I wasn’t your commanding officer you buffoon. By the gods I believe some divine creator mistakenly put a turnip in your head instead of a brain because no noble’s son has ever been as frankly idiotic as you have. You’re coming with me to the battlefield, and I suggest you get dressed or you’ll be facing the last of the Vaunghe army with your flopping cock dancing for all to see.” Balmun stood and began to slip some clothes on, as Osmund completed his own set of armour.
Osmund’s armour bore the mark of a noble family, some rich fools who wanted their family crest to be associated with a bloody conflict and a dangerous murderer. Osmund wore it because of the armour’s quality, customfit to encompass Osmund’s 9’5 ft tall body, something no other armour was able to achieve. Osmund’s height was always an oddity, reaching far above the average 8ft heights of most Alizian’s, and making him one of the tallest figures in the lands. It was this height and his skin’s colour that earned him the name of the black death, which he wasn’t particularly fond of due to the mention of his skin. And even then Osmund certainly didn’t feel like a black death, whatever that was meant to be, rather he felt like death itself. Osmund was to be fifty years old by the end of the week, and it showed on his body. The hair that was left on his head was grey, and while still possessing an impressive form Osmund’s body was not in its prime, he was old.
Osmund looked at himself in the full body mirror, grabbing his longsword and leaving the tent, dragging a half dressed Balmun with him. Back through the tents they travelled, back past the now eager Strolomite’s and atop the hill where Osmund’s infiltration team stood. In any other battle Osmund would’ve despised the one that left this group with him, a collection of subpar and mediocre soldiers with all the military future of an Otter in a stew. But then again Osmund’s battle history did feature a lot of important people dying under his watch, so perhaps this was for the better.
The force began with Edmun, a cross between a prostitute and a noble who unfortunately takes more from the noble. An egotistical brat, as well as a greedy goblin of anything that isn’t bolted down, Osmund had borne the unfortunate duty of his company for months, since the initial assault on the capitol. The man could barely hold a weapon, save for slight skill with a flail of all things which he wore by his side. It was a gold plated flail as well, specifically made for beating in the heads of the poor Vaunghe soldiers stupid enough to get close. Blonde hair obscured blue eyes that spoke to his red-light mother, in fact for a noble’s son Edmun had all the appearance of an incestuous dullard. The man had survived by pure luck, and was the only casualty that Osmund wanted his side to suffer.
The Enick twins Humun and Eumun were up next, named after their family crest of the god of alcohol Enick. In contrast to Edmun these were a pair of real soldiers, Osmund had seen the fruits of their labour many times. They were great at the art of flanking, Humon’s greataxe paired alongside Eumun’s spears proved to be an unbeatable combination. The only issue that Osmund had with the pair was their… peculiar relationship. While the two were great fighters, whenever they were together anything else became impossible to comprehend. Osmund had once caught the pair attempting to seduce a goat wearing a knight’s helm, and while they were drunk there is still clear evidence of idiocy amongst them. The pair were identical in appearance, burly figures of 8’5ft, short cut black hair and overgrown beards stretching down their faces, however the distinguishing feature between the two was Eumon’s cleft lip, which gave his speech a lisp.
Josmu was far more a scholar than a soldier, although Osmund enjoyed his presence greatly. Since they first met the pair had hit it off, often discussing each other’s lives in Alizian taverns across the kingdom. A gifted archer, Josmu was the son of two aspiring poets and enlisted into the military voluntarily to assist in the war efforts. Osmund had a great deal of respect for the man, and hoped that the two would one day have a drink together, and ruminate on the past once more.
And then there was Jumun, a gifted soldier and one of the few Osmund thought could take him in his prime. Long strands of red hair ran down her rough face, a pointed nose and peculiar eyebrow shape giving her a perpetual look of disappointment. At a height of 9’2 ft she stood almost toe to toe with Osmund, in fact there were many aspects about her that reminded Osmund of himself. The first was her attitude, she treated every war as a tragedy of its own, and yet she would never fail to perform against her enemies. Skilled in most weapons Jumun’s life had been long and arduous, her worn out armour covered in patches and dents. Osmund had offered her a new set of armour once, to which she vehemently refused, telling Osmund that she wished to end the war in the armour she started it in. Currently she held a single large sword nearly identical to his own, and Osmund predicted that she couldn’t wait for the battle to be over.
The group stood facing the smoking walls, watching the now descending Strolomite’s retrieve the three gifts from the gods. Pushing them back up the hill would take tremendous strength and a long time, which is why nearly double the number of Strolomite’s assisted in the endeavour. Osmund cleared his throat, prompting the looks of the team. All of their eyes were of Balmun, who was somehow already panting after a 2 minute drag through the ground. Osmund released the man and pushed him towards his new comrades, to which he sulked.
Osmund could see through the smoke of the ruins now, noting the strangely high number of bodies present from Osmund’s view. It appeared that there were more forces than originally estimated, as it was initially guessed there were around one hundred and fifty soldiers inside. Judging by the number of corpses inside those numbers clearly forgot to account for the possibility of trainees inside of the castle. This may be a slightly larger fight than initially predicted, although even supposing there were another hundred or so trainees locked inside rooms there were things Osmund could do against that.
“Alright then, good to see that some of you actually bothered to wake up today, Balmun, and I think we all know that this mission is going to end the war.” Balmun raised his hand.
“Yes Balmun?”
“Sir I have a very cunning pl-”
“Shove your plans up your slacker buttocks, you idiot. Now then, I’m gonna say this once, because quite frankly the more chances I give Balmun to interrupt the more likely I’ll butcher myself with this sword. Now then we are the backbone to the forces, our mission is to help take individual points of conflict from alternative points. We will accomplish this with the leaked maps of the castle gained from Vaunghe intelligence. Now then, originally it was believed that we were dealing with only around one hundred and fifty troops, but it looks like someone didn’t remember the number of rookie troops that are trained here, so we could be looking at a few more troops than expected.” Osmund saw the hand raised but tried to ignore it. The man with the potato for a head seemed adamant however, and raised his hand higher. When that didn’t work he raised both arms.
“By the gods what is it?”
“Well sir, what kind of weapons do you think they have?” Osmund stopped in his tracks, not expecting anything even related to an actual important question. A smile formed on his face, it seems that even fools can think every now and again.
“Decent question my friend, we can probably expect the basic mix of swords and axes, likely shields also, but we may have one or two archers running around however it’s unlikely any survived the wall’s collapse.”
“That is good Osmund, once we take a few down I need a weapon, I like the swords myself.”
“What’s wrong with your sword?”
“I left it in the tent sir.” Osmund cupped his hands into his face, cringing against the stupidity of this man.
“Listen…. just everyone follow me please, I mean by the gods man. Come on. Listen I don’t think we will need any armour with us today, we have the single thickest piece of meat just over there as we speak.” Osmund points towards Balmun, who turns to see what everyone is looking at. Without another word Osmund begins to walk down the hill towards the castle, muttering things that even the gods consider a little racy.
* * * *
The ruins of Dundis stood firm in their strength, with the ruined walls blemishing what was once a grand fortress that none had penetrated. Tall spires protrude from the shapeless stone complex. Along the gateway was a path leading directly into the Dundis entrance, which stood slightly ajar. Fragments of the wall had crushed many parts of the outside, with simple wooden stables and trees crushed by the weight of the plummet of the debris. The architecture that remained spoke to the complexities of the Vaunghe, as spiralling patterns adorned the walls of the castle, interlaced with rare jewels that coated the walls. The Vaunghe were so fortunate with minerals that one could find them coating their walls, despite the fact that no one other than a fellow Vaunghe was ever meant to see such a thing.
A veil of embarrassment and determination clashed as the group descended the hill, weapons at the ready. The group had reached the ruins of the wall now, debris coating the grass and the bodies that were surely there. Even destroyed Osmund still felt some of that divine power the Vaunghe always babbled about, he felt the strength in the walls and not for the first time wondered why the gods would bestow such a gift upon such a vile group.
The group began clambering through the ruins, over the cracked pieces of stone and through the divine walls final remains. There was a smell here, the remnants of smoke colliding with the smell of blood, but there was a third smell, one that Osmund knew well. It was the smell of inevitability, heavy in the hair. That which is unlikely to happen always will happen, and when it does the smell adds to it all, the smell of fate and destiny runs through this place.
Inevitability hides everywhere, in the trees and the skies, carried by the wind through it all. From nature it was born, but in man it thrives, the building’s will one day fall, the kingdoms will fade away, and everything will one day lead to something else. From every beginning comes an end, and each end becomes a beginning, this is how it has always been. This place thought itself against such things, and inevitability infected its walls, creeping along slowly rotting the once great walls into a hellish nightmare. Now the bubble has burst, and the smell of inevitability crowds the world, taking over everything.
Moaning. A low whimper. A cry for something. Calls for assistance. A terrified yell. Osmund approaches the source of these noises, his team close behind. At the source of these screams is a Vaunghe soldier, somehow alive after the rampart’s collapse, covered in piles of stone and smoke. His outstretched hand reaches towards Osmund, who in turn takes it.
The man mutters something, sputters blood, and begins to fade. As he does, Osmund moves towards the rocks, feeling against it. Somehow the rocks aren’t as heavy as they should be, and Osmund slowly moves the rocks. The first and second rocks move, and after some struggling Osmund moves the third rock, revealing a bloody leg, spurting forward. Osmund realises how the man survived, the remains of a metal box squashed around him. As the rampart fell the man landed inside, narrowly missing an immediate demise. Now he sat, bleeding in and out of consciousness, and moaning for help. Osmund put his hands around the man, slowly lifting him, and moving forwards into the inner walls.
There are running medics here, and as they see Osmund’s approach they run to him, taking the injured man and placing him onto a table. The man may survive, they told Osmund, however his bleeding may take too much from him. As Osmund turns to leave he hears the voice, the message of the man.
“T-t-th-than-” It was shaky, interrupted by coughs and convulsions, but bore strength, and Osmund felt the ghost of a smile play upon him.
“It wasn’t an issue.” And with that Osmund left the tent, admiring the surroundings in focus for the first time. Eyes bore into him from his party, and yet no one said anything, they couldn’t. Many had called Osmund a monster in his time, they had seen him do bad things to bad people, and yet none would call him a monster, for there is no such thing. Osmund is not some black death, he’s another beast entirely.
For the first time Osmund admired his surroundings, the inner walls were now filled with wreckage, and looked back to the tent. It was amazing how quickly the medics could establish tents, the battle had occurred for less than an hour and already there were three tents established side by side. Besides the wounded Vaunghe soldier were three other injured soldiers, each seeming to be hit by a minor injury likely from the smoke inhalation.
The captured and surrendered were lined up against the castle's wall, being carefully monitored by over sixty members of the contingent. There were only around twelve or thirteen of the captured, smoke-covered and sputtering. On the ground were bodies, those rookies that tried so valiantly to protect what they cared for. They now lay, looking up to the sky blindly.
Osmund saw the bodies and felt his stomach turn. The desire came back. The shaking returned, alongside it the painful sharp stabbing thoughts. Everything changed, he forgot who he was. What kind of person would approve of this, what even was Osmund was he real or fake, how is he even conceiving things like this. What is reality and why is it real, why can’t he understand-
Silence. Peace. Osmund returned to himself, the shaking never happening at all. He looked down at the bodies and continued to walk. There was nothing he could do for them, not anymore. The eyes of his group bore into him, shattering something that had broken a long time ago. He raised his hand and motioned for his team to follow, leaving this travesty of death and life behind.
Footsteps. Osmund turned to their echoing sound, the way they bounced through the place was unbelievable, the way it echoed between the walls and the castle structure itself. Through open castle gates he ran, a messenger in green, sword in its scabbard and now approaching Osmund. The man tripped on something, a large rock of some sort, before standing, dusting himself off and reaching the group.
“Osmund, we have hit the enemy’s points of defence.” The man was young, maybe twenty, and no more than twenty five.
“And? Where are they?”
“There are three fronts, the first is in the scout’s tower where a group of Vaunghe are amassing weapons and barricades fast. We can no longer enter the tower, as the amount thrown down makes common entrance impossible. The second location is the garden, where we believe the last of the nobles and the King himself are. We’ve faced harsh opposition from the enemies, who have formed a wall of shields to protect the door. Finally we have the guard’s quarters, where a few amount of Vaunghe are in active combat as we speak, although that will likely be taken without need for intervention.”
“Good job soldier.”
“Thank you sir.”
Osmund removes a slip of paper from his garb, and admires it in the sunlight. It was a complex map of Dundis, including the secret passages and escape routes of the entire place. It cost the annulment of many Vaunghe men and women, but was worth all the effort. Consulting the map Osmund noted the existence of an escape passageway inside of the tower. It was obscured behind a wall, thus explaining the lack of windows on that side.
“Report back to your commander that we’ll begin with the tower, there are several clear passages into an alternative staircase. Launching a pincer attack we’ll defeat the enemy and allow for the redistribution of forces. By that time I expect the guard’s quarters to be taken, allowing us to completely overflow any opposition protecting the garden.”
“Yes Osmund, I will inform her now.” And with that the young warrior ran back through the castle’s long iron gates.
And thus, the final battle was upon them. Osmund looked upon Dundis, the last symbol of the people who had taken everything from him, the ones who had slaughtered so many innocents, so many that Osmund cared for, and now the end was finally in sight. But it didn’t feel like the end, Osmund could feel no conclusion approaching, it felt like something else, as if this was all leading into something more, some grand massacre the likes of which Osmund had never seen. There’s a darkness ahead, something far worse to come than the echoes of a fallen monarchy, and as Osmund stands he can feel it inside of him, gesturing sensually, awaiting his return to the beginning. In a mental prison of nonexistent existence lies the mother, a slight smile on her lips. She awaits the grasp of Osmund forevermore.

So I’ve been absolutely inlove with this guy since I was 16/17 it’s nearly a decade later. And he’s 6 years older than me (we’ll call him OG)
Off the bat we used to talk all the time, super close, we’d hang out, go hunting, to breakfast and spend all day and night talking to each other. Since I was younger my dad found out, we had went to a football game together and I went over to OGs house and my dad was pissed. He threatened to beat his ass and I was grounded and it was kinda dumb, but I understand looking back since I was only 17 going on 18 when we actually started hanging out alone.
When I went to college we still talked, and he persistently snap chatted me, flirted, and would send me mildly inappropriate snaps (not full nudes) I finally got up the courage one night to text him and ask “what is this? I like you, we’ve been inseparable for like 3 years now” I got back a reply that he was not interested in anything and that we were basically just really good friends (still got weird vibes but began to accept it was never going to be more, I slowly started to distance myself and move on)
2-3 years later (he had came up to see me at school two or three times but nothing ever happened)
I moved home to the same town he lived in after college and again OG started talking to me constantly, I went over to his house a few times, and one night he sent me a text telling me “you can come over and smd and we can mess around if you want” I was annoyed and frustrated so I just ignored him as I didn’t want to be some fling since he was kind of a manwhore.
I shortly started casually dating, he of course found out (our families are friends and his older brother is my dads bestfriend) he would constantly pick on me and tell me not to be hoeing around and that I was a floozy and I shouldn’t be dating.
I tried to ignore him but we have such a past and with the family dynamic I feel like an ass to not talk to him (and I obviously was still inlove with him) so I would just call him on his shit and tell him to fuck off I was an adult and we weren’t together.
OG would come over and hang out, we’d go out to eat, and I started talking him lunch to work and we’d talk all the time— but I was casually dating a few guys.
I started to get serious with a guy that had kids, and OG found out and started making comments about me dating a guy with kids and shouldn’t I find someone who didn’t have kids and so on. Around this time I told OG once again that I still had feelings for him, and I got nearly the same response as the first time. But I was also super confused, because dude why are you so far up my ass but you claim you don’t like me.
So later that year I started dating the guy that I am still with to this day. OG immediately started to pick on that relationship, and would say things like “you’re never around anymore, how’s the Indiana kid” and just being condescending but trying to joke. He eventually started calling me Indiana because I spent time at his apartment out of state.
During the time I started dating my current boyfriend, I completely stopped talking to OG, bound and determined that it wasn’t going anywhere and I needed to move on.
He got a job transfer and met a girl that he is currently still dating. Fast forward like 2-3 years and at his brothers wedding he made his girlfriend stand up and like proclaimed his love for her and said she was the love of his life 🙄 when the speeches were finished he didn’t go see his girlfriend he came to my table, knelt down and put his hand on my leg— super awkward but I honestly don’t like his girlfriend and I wasn’t going to start anything at his brothers wedding.
The morning after the wedding his girlfriend was out of town to see her kid, and when I got to the venue to help clean up he immediately came and hugged me. After the wedding he would talk to me on and off— but seldomly.
About a year and a half ago my boyfriend got a job across the country, and I was planning to move once my lease was up. Two nights before I left I had plans to go to dinner with his brother and his brothers wife who I am very close with, he of course tagged along (his girlfriend was out of town) we went to dinner and he bought my food and drinks we had a great time, I tagged all of them in an instagram that night after dinner and he untagged himself the next day.
The next day I came back over to his brother and sister in law’s house, he showed up and brought his dog, I sat outside with him and his dog and we talked and then he gave me a hug and told me he’d miss me. I went inside and was talking to his sister-in-law and I was nearly in tears and told her “I need someone to tell me if I am making a mistake, I love OG so much, and if leaving is going to jeopardize that I can’t go”
She told me “we all know you’ve loved him since the day you met, and I don’t know what his deal is, but I know he cares about you, but since he won’t open up and talk about it, you need to forget him and do what’s best for you in this situation.” So the next day I left and moved across the country.
From then on over the next year and a half everytime I would fly home he was always around. He would show up to dinner, or at their house, he would always be right by me, always hug me goodbye and always text me for a few days following us seeing each other.

If you're looking for a reliable and efficient CN2 GIA service provider, look no further than Raksmart. With years of experience in the industry, Raksmart has established itself as a leading provider of cutting-edge networking solutions that cater to the unique needs of businesses of all sizes.
What is CN2 GIA, you may ask? CN2 GIA is a premium global Internet network service provided by China Telecom, which offers high-quality connectivity and low latency for international traffic. This service is designed to meet the needs of businesses that require reliable and fast internet access for their operations.
At Raksmart, we understand the importance of reliable and efficient connectivity for your business. Our CN2 GIA services are designed to provide you with the best possible network performance, ensuring that your business stays connected and productive at all times.
We offer a range of CN2 GIA services, including dedicated internet access, MPLS VPN, and cloud connectivity. Our team of experts works closely with you to understand your business needs and provide tailor-made solutions that meet your requirements. We also provide 24/7 technical support to ensure that you receive prompt assistance whenever you need it.
What sets Raksmart apart from other CN2 GIA service providers is our commitment to excellence. We use the latest technologies and tools to ensure that our services are of the highest quality. We also provide competitive pricing to ensure that our services are affordable for businesses of all sizes.
In conclusion, if you're looking for the best CN2 GIA services for your business, look no further than Raksmart. With our expertise, experience, and commitment to excellence, we are confident that we can provide you with the best possible networking solutions. To learn more about our services, visit our website at https://www.raksmart.com.

All of this is how i remember it but i have memory loss/distorted memory after attending newport. This WILL be VERY LONG. I was admitted to newport academy in san Rafael, California. Its their location known as maoli. I was admitted on march 2 2022 and it was my first and only experience in a residential but i have 3 other (at that time) stays at mental hospital back in illinois (where i live).
I was admitted in the beginning of january of 2022 to a mental hospital and it was my 3rd time in the hospital so my counselor recommended residential. I didn't agree but then later on changed my mind. I was supposed to go to one in the area but was denied because i "set fires" (i do not and never have). My mom found newport by just googling residentials. I dont know how it came about because she set it all up but i had a interview at the end of january with them. I was accepted (i dont know if thats the right way to put it) except they didn't have an available bed. I was in php for a month and a half waiting to go in which i met a gorl that had just gotten back from a newport in a different state and she said she liked it so i had hope (she has now relapsed on nic and weed. I know because we are in touch). They assigned me to a location and changed it twice. With each time they changed the location i had to do another interview. When a bed was available i was given 24 hours to arrive or my spot would be given up.
I got there and did the paper work. I believe i chose the option that they could intervene which ever they felt suitable which i greatly regret. When i arrived there was 4 other girls. The house holds 6. I later found out that there was only 2 girls in the house for 2 weeks so i do not understand why there was no bed available. The other 2 girls arrived a day or 2 before me.
It wasn't horrible in the beginning but there was already a few things that bothered me. It was one specific lady in the beginning. She'd wake us up by blasting music and i didn't eat meat at the time so i asked her not to serve me meat which she didn't listen to. I have anger issues so the more she didn't listen the more mean about it i got to the point i was swearing her out. The people that were there with us all day were not trained for mental health. One being through a temp company. At somepoint i pushed down the toaster button with nothing in it and forgot about it in which the smoke alarms went off. No fire. Just burnt the crumbs. Tjey took the toaster from us. Remember this. Its important later. Ill use letters instead of whole names. My roommate was j. I talk in my sleep and obviously cant control it. She stopped sleeping in our room and slept on the couch which nome of the other people liked because thats where we hung out because we weren't allowed to be im eachothers room. She went to sleep around nine and wed stay up till 1-2 even tho lights out was 11. J told the staff i threatened her while i was sleeping and the staff yelled at me but the other people heard and defended me. Staff didn't apologize. We switched rooms because j was scared of me. Another time i needed a knife for cream cheese and as a joke i said i needed a really sharp one. J took it as i was going to use it on her. The other people took to throwing j's things out of the window. We weren't ever supervised. We had equine therapy and at somepoint i believe we tried to steal the barn cat. We figured out how to take the batteries out of the windows alarms, the pictures on the wall were canvas so we hid things behind them, we would cook our own food twice(?) A week so we were in the kitchen that was typically locked and stole bags of chocolate chips, sugar for tea, and food labels that we put all over the house, z1 (theres 2 zs) was level one so she was allowed to have an electric razor which we gave n an undercut with, we stole command strips from the therapy room to gang up our canvases, people took the staples out of the canvases, broke plastic and took the screws out of the vents to sh. We also used the screws and pen ink for stick and pokes, we had acupuncture and stole the needles to try to do piercings (not stiff enough. Thankfull gor that in the long run) we were actively refusing school on the daily. We would swear eachother and staff out (mostly staff) z2 had an eatting disorder and z1 would make comments about it. N would constantly get misgendered and dead named because he was trans (i would get deadnamed but i used all pronouns at the time). The teacher talked about how he would smoke weed and hed disrespect our boundaries. Our fitness instructor quite literally taught me how to punch someone correctly (swing with hips hit with knuckles 😋) one of our ccs, annie (i believe they were called ccs aka care coordinators) was always talking about her boyfriend. Our therapist was really good at reading us but was never in because she had a new born but the one time we met in person she told me i probably had a loose vagina 😐. Someone wiped there shit on the wall. N, z1, and a constantly made tea and theyd leave their sticky cups all around the house which meant we had no cups available ever. We had a group setion with a counselor over zoom in which she specifically asked me very personal questions (i believe it was about me getting raped but i dont remember too much). Wed go in eachothers rooms even tho we weren't allowed to and they tell us to get our and wed say no and that would be the end of it. We rearranged our rooms. We drew on the walls. We carved things into the dining room table. I had very specific med instructions which they didnt follow and at points they wouldnt give anyone their meds or try to give meds to someone it didn't beling to. N made a fake body to put in his bed and then came in mine and a's room and it worked for 2 nights. Theres probably more but ill move on.
The most tramuatic experience was my last day there which was march 16th. Only 2 weeks in. I was watching a youtube video on the tv and our fitness lady came in. I asked to finish the video and she responded by grabbing my wrist with one hand and prying the remote with the other. Obviously i was mad so i was yelling and cursing and she didn't like that because she was on some shit that she automatically deserved respect even for her bad actions because she was ex military. No one wanted to do fitness in the first place. I went to my room and closed the door. Kim, a cc, came and tried to reprimand me when i wanted to be alone. Shed leave and come back a few times in the span of a few minutes and id reclose the door. I put the bed infront of the door and she shoved the bed on my foot (which sprained my toe and now its deformed) and the hinge to the door fell out. She then blaimed me for destroying property and then i literally just slid it back in place. At this point they evacuated the other kids because they were saying i was a danger to myself, others, and destroying property but the real reason was because the other kids were arguing and defending me. I put my shoes on and grabbed my stuffed animal and just left. I made it probably half a mile down the street and the cops pulled up. I dont know if the cops were called before or after i left. They pulled the car infront of me and annie was behind me so i had left and right. Left was a fast pace road and right was a field with a with a hill on the other side. At this point i wasnt actively suicidal but i was in the beginning of a panic attack. (This is where it starts to get distorted) I made it halfway up the hill when i had officers pulling my ankles to get me to the ground. They said something about how i should get off the hill because of ticks and i told them i didn't care because i didnt want to live. (Not that i wanted to kms. Just that i didn't want to live) at this point i was crying and was in a full panic attack and this is when they got aggressive. I believe i had about 7 officers on me and dragging me down the hill and obviously i was fighting it cause im freaking out and no one wants to be in that situation. They got me to the bottom and hand cuffed me. They gave me the option to stand up and go to the car but i was basically paralized with fear and couldn't really talk. Cops treat the mentally ill like criminals. They carried me to the car and basically horizontally shoved me im the car but the whole time they were talking about ticks and seemed to care more about that then the fact they were hurting me. I was driven to a hospital and i dont remember in between details but somehow i made it from the field to an isolation room. The 2 cops that took me, like 2 nurses and 2 security guards came at me with a needle. Obviously i don't want to be drugged so im struggling. Im cuffed still so im trying to defend myself by biting. I never land a bite. im more or less just snapping at them. They leave, take the cuffs off and im screaming and banging on the glass because im in a paniced state, locked in a room, and dont know where im at. There is a single matress on the floor amd i take the sheets off and try to strangle myself. They come and stop me and take them. I then try again with the string of my mask and now they are saying im just doing it for attention/trying to get them to open the door. They come drug me again and take the mask. There was a water bottle on the floor do i poured the water on the floor and pushed it under the door (idk why tbh). I got very weak from 2 rounds of medication and gave up. I wasnt concious but could feel the coldness of the room on me. I was very cold. I woke up in a different room after being unconscious for about 16 hours and my mom was there. She took me home. They wanted to admit me to the mental unit there but somehow luck was on my side and they didnt. I was coverted in brusies and cuts for weeks after from the cops and the meds they gave me led to my dissociations to become extreme. Remember the toaster? Yeah they said i tried to burn the house down. They also accused me of threatening people and destroying property.
December of 2022 a contacted me on snapchat. I told her my snap while there and out of no where one day she remembered it. We talked about what happened after i left. The staff had told the kids that my mother lost custody of me and i basically belonged to the government now and that i was to stay in a mental facility till further notice and that i was physcotic. Even though it wasnt true it is against hippa. A told me that she had exchanged personal numbers with staff. She told me that z1 stole the teachers phone so everytime they went in and out of the building they were to be metal detected (the school was a seperate building of the house). She told me that kids continued to sh and z1 and her almost got in a fight because z1 was supply people with things to sh. A also told me that the girl i was replaced with they caught her masterbating multiple times. We had yoga pillows we took from the gym and i domt know what they hid in them but they hid something and after the phone incident they did really deep searches and found the things in them.
Honestly newport was wild and didn't even feel real. There was literally wild peacocks roaming the property. I have ptsd from all of it but mostly the cops. I get flash backs, cant get near a cop and cant get handcuffed without panicing (i used wear them for fun time wink wink. Now i cant). I dissociate horribly now. My memories dont feel like my own unless they were tramatic. I became addicted to sex and began using it as a form of sh like i did previously. I got addicted to weed and nic to cope. Ive since got over both but i wasnt sober at all from may 2022 to january 2023. Fuck you newport.

all questions/answers have been taken by the celeb confirmed twitter account. if a contestant's name has a link that means there's a photo attached
Group 1 (Kim Taerae, Na Kamden, Park Hanbin, Seok Matthew, Sung Hanbin, Keita):
Q: You guys must have got closer living together. Can you introduce each others?

Kim Taerae: Han-bin can look cold but he is full of aegyo and he is actually very friendly. As Star Creators will know, Han-bin's leadership skills are very excellent and I am counting on him too.

Park Hanbin: I've been training with Tae-rae together for two years so we get along very well. Tae-rae is passionate about dancing and is a hard worker.
Seok Matthew: Sung Han-bin helps me out whenever I ask him about anything. It felt like having a great brother living together.
Sung Hanbin: I knew Seok Matthew from before Boys Planet, but got to know him better as we trained together. He's an easygoing person who can still put on a smile at difficult times. He also has strong responsibility. I learn from him a lot.
Q. Most memorable moment from the competition?

Seok Matthew: Keita cheered me on saying “Ma! Tthew!” so I went “Kei! Ta!” and laughed together.

Na Kamden: Keita is like a cute raccoon mascot of our show. When I saw him rap during the latest mission, I was thinking "That's our Ketia" I want to do another performance with him. I love him!
Keita: I felt Kamden is quite difficult to approach at first but as I got to know him, I found out that he was very playful and gets embarrassed by compliments easily
Q. Who is the most formidable rival?

Sung Hanbin: I am grateful for people recognizing my efforts. I strive to be No.1 but there are so many skilled and charming candidates here. I would pick Zhang Hao as the most formidable rival. I want to learn from his charisma.

Q. Kamden, how do you feel to see the biggest rise in rank?

Na Kamden: I want to thank the star creators. All moments were so happy, but we won 1st place in our latest mission and got to perform on “M Countdown.” It was like an unforgettable dream.

Park Hanbin: since my trainee days, my motto has been to do my best in every moment.[…]I’m confident in dancing and I guide other contestants on how to approach dancing in a lighthearted way. Stay tuned for the third mission, and I hope to be in the finals. I won’t disappoint!
Q: What do you think is your secret to popularity?

Kim Taerae: It’s my refreshing vocals and my bright smile. (shows off a smile to the camera)

Q: What do you want to say to Star Creators?

Kim Taerae: You’re the ones who let me sing. I’ll show only my refreshing vocals, but other various music genres too.
Na Kamden: (In English) Thank you star creators for always being on my side.
Park Hanbin: You are the ones that make me shine. I’ll make you shine too.
Seok Matthew: Thank you for the support. We’ll improve even more.
Sung Hanbin: Thank you, I really want to say that it’s not my efforts alone; it’s the effort of the star creators that makes everything possible.
Keita: Thank you for watching us until now. Please stay tuned until the end and please do vote!

Group 2 (Kim Jiwoong, Ricky, Lee Jeonghyeon, Jay, Han Yujin):
Ricky: I’m Ricky – young and rich, tall and handsome.
Q. If you had to perform on stage with another trainee, who would you choose?

Kim Jiwoong: We are headed toward the same dream, so I have a lot in common with other contestants. I want to perform with all of them... but the top one is Jay. He has his unique color and various charms – I want to wear that color too and learn from him.

Lee Jeonghyeon: We’re going to show our refreshing yet sexy side in the third mission, and get to try out a different vocal style. I’m very carefree in real life, but I gotta be cute and sexy on stage!
Q. How do you maximize your charms on stage?

Ricky: I was born with swag. I’m confident in my basic dance and singing skills. I also practice a lot of facial expressions. While practicing, I imagine how cool I’ll look on stage.
Jay: My priority is showing stable vocals. But recently, I started to focus on dancing and stage presence as well. I can also play the guitar and drums, so I want to show them off in the future!

Q. What gave you dreams of being an idol?

Han Yujin: Seeing Kai of EXO and Taemin of SHINee perform on stage made me think ‘I wanna be like them too.’

Q. What is your hidden charm?

Han Yujin: So far, I’ve shown my sincere side to Star Creators. In the upcoming stages, I will be bubbly and refreshing. Look out for my new style!
Jay: I’ve shown good vocals and bright energies so far. In the future, I’m confident that I can show a striking, sexy side.
Lee Jeonghyeon: So far, I’ve portrayed a cool image. But in real life, I’m quite the prankster.
Ricky: I may look cold, but my personality is actually lovely. My nickname is 'Lovely Ricky'. I’m good at aegyo!
Kim Jiwoong: I also might look cold on the outside, but deep in my heart lives a cute puppy. I’m trying nowadays to show Star Creators this puppy.

Q. What do you want to say to Star Creators?

Han Yujin: I still have so much talent and effort to show you. I love you a lot.
Jay: There are so many songs I want to sing to you. Please continue sending us love!
Ricky: Ricky still has many hidden charms. Stay tuned till the end
Lee Jeonghyeon: I’m really feeling the increase in fans recently. I’ll repay with great performances
Kim Jiwoong: I’m getting more love than I deserve. I still lack in many areas, but I’ll always improve more.

Group 3 (Kim Gyuvin, Park Gunwook, Yoo Seungeon, Yoon Jongwoo, Takuto, Hiroto):
Q. What do you think are your individual charming points?

Kim Gyuvin: I was clumsy in the early episodes, but I think I’ve been improving. My advantage points are my “physical” and expressiveness.
Park Gunwook: I started with a charismatic image, but with behind-the-scenes videos, fans will now know that I’m a soft person. There's this gap between me on stage and me in real life.
Yoo Seungeon: I’m a visual main vocal. People say my vocals are comfortable to listen to. I’ll live up to your trust!
Yoon Jongwoo: I have a cold first impression, but fellow contestants now know that I’m fun to hang out with.
Takuto: I still have a long way to go. But I’m cute. That's what other hyungs tell me. That’s my charm.
Hiroto: I’m cute like a puppy and charismatic like a wolf. I’ll continue to show more charms.

Q. What is your favorite genre?

Kim Gyuvin: In the early episode, we covered “Reveal” by The Boyz. We were so happy to get positive feedback. I loved the song because I love music with a strong beat.

Contestant Takuto was nervous, but spoke his answers slowly and firmly, filling the conference room with laughter. Yoon Jong-woo held Takuto's hand on stage whenever he seemed nervous.
Hiroto: Takuto always comes to me, like a little brother. He’s so cute.
Takuto: Hiroto has a cute smile. But he’s the cutest when he puts on a fake smile.
Q. What do you want to say to star creators?

Yoon Jongwoo: I came from the bottom of the rank to here, and it wouldn’t have been possible without star creators.
Takuto: We will do our best until the end.
Hiroto: Please continue to send your support!
Kim Gyuvin: Every announcement for the survivors’ lineup gets so many votes, and you guys helped me maintain the top spot every time. Thank you.
Park Gunwook: I never dreamed of getting this much love and attention. It means so much to me and motivates me for every stage.
Yoo Seungeon: Stay tuned and support Yoo Seong-eon the vocalist!

Yoo Seungeon: Thank you star creators for recognizing my talent. On stage or off the stage, I will give you my bright energy. There’s a lot left to show.
Yoon Jongwoo: I started at No. 73. Every mission, every moment, I just did my best so I wouldn’t regret. I think that earned the hearts of star creators, and I want to compliment myself for it too.
Group 4 (Kum Junhyeon, Ollie, Wang Zi Hao, Zhang Hao, Haruto):
Haruto: I’m so good at Korean, that my last name is Ha and my first name is Ruto.
Q. Why did you study Korean?

Ollie: I’m very talkative and chatted with the K team hyungs a lot. They taught me many fun phrases. I’ll study more.
Zhang Hao: I think if I’m to have a professional career in Korea, I should speak Korean well. We speak Korean together in the dorms and during practice. I’m improving fast.
Haruto: I discovered K-pop when I was 14 and got captivated. I wanted to understand the lyrics and started studying alone. Listening to K-pop helped my vocabulary. I love Korean culture, food and watch K-dramas and read Korean books. You get good at what you love dearly.

Zhang Hao: I’ve never been in a leadership position before “Boys Planet.” I monitored my team and came up with reflections every night before going to bed. It was tough, but I learned a lot. I speak quite softly, but I’m trying to be a stern leader.
Haruto: Every day, I feel a kind of happiness that I’ve never felt before thanks to “Boys Planet.” I can’t even put it into words. Let me express it physically then. “Ah!! Happy!!”
Photo: Haruto expresses happiness.
Kum Junhyeon: G group members are so good at Korean, that it wasn’t too hard to communicate. But, it helps to be close to them when they’re speaking, so I can understand them for sure.
And I give them big gestures reacting to what they say, to give them confidence.
Kum Junhyeon: I wanted to enjoy this audition, and star creators can feel my attitude too. I’m very charismatic and energetic, and because I dearly want the final spot, it’s showing more and more each episode.
Wang Zi Hao: All the contestants are so talented – I thank them for the great stage performances. I was lucky to have good chemistry with the other boys.
Photo: Zhang Hao and Haruto helping Wang Zi Hao with his Korean
Q. What's the secret behind your popularity?

Ollie: It’s because I’m cute. Nah, I’m kidding. It’s cos I do my best on stage. (In English)
I think it’s because I treat all of my stages like it’s my last. I don’t want to give up my dreams and won’t let any of you down.

Group 5 (Seowon, Lee Seunghwan, Lee Hoetaek, Zhang Shuai Bo, Cha Woongki, Chen Kuan Jui):
Q. Can you summarize your charm in one phrase?

Seowon: Chameleon. Refreshing, sexy, powerful – I’ve shown them all on stage and can pull it off.
Lee Seunghwan: Confidence with a reason. I step on the stage with trust in my skills and effort.
Lee Hoetaek: Rollercoaster. I’m usually calm but can sometimes burst out in energy.
Zhang Shuai Bo: “One look and you’ll remember me.”
Cha Woongki: Korean shrimp chips. You can’t stop craving me. Go vote for me to see if it’s true.
Chen Kuan Jui: Butterfly. My dancing is soft!

Lee Hoetaek: Through missions, I discovered my limits and started breaking them. I want to thank star creators and other contestants who give me so much energy and boost up my self-esteem.
Seowon: With each mission, I feel how precious a moment on the stage is. I see how hard other contestants work and get motivated myself.
Lee Seunghwan: In my previous audition show, I tried to show what I’ve got. This time, I’m simply showing who I am. I got to reflect on myself and grow.
Cha Woongki: Every minute and second on stage is precious. I want star creators to think “I’m so glad I voted for him.”
Chen Kuan Jui: I’m confident with my ability to express emotions on stage.
Zhang Shuai Bo: I want to give you good energy and show you my smile.
Photo: proof of Zhuang Shuai Bo showing off his smile. 好帅!
that's all twitter user celebconfirmed posted so the end! i think if you look at naver news you can find more detailed responses to these questions but they're all in korean so be prepared to translate
some more group photos

[5"5, probably around 111-ish lbs, white, possible type 1 diabetes, anemia and hyperthyroidism, rare alcohol usage, even rarer cannabis and vape usage, no medication)
My older sister had type 1 and died from DKA at 22, but she was 10 when she was diagnosed. I have never been diagnosed with it, but I have also never even been tested to be fair. I have had problems with hypoglycemia for a little bit now, but I was struggling with anorexia and assumed it to be a problem associated with that, but I have been eating as normally as time restraints allow and have not gained any visible weight. I do not have a scale because that is a slippery slope for someone like me, but the last time I weighed myself, I was 111 lbs (I'm 5"5) which is normal, but I still struggle with hypoglycemia, it gets very severe unless I'm constantly eating, but my job doesn't allow that sadly.
So last week, to deal with this, I decided I should be eating before work, but because Walmart is no longer 24 hrs and I work late into the night, my only option was to pick up fast food until I could make it to the store on my day off. This was fine until yesterday, when at work I had symptoms of what I assume are HYPERglycemia. They were:
- EXTREME thirst, no matter how much I drank
- Having trouble speaking
- Having trouble with thinking (coworkers were asking if i had slept, when i had slept for ten hours)
- Having trouble concentrating
- Having trouble keeping myself walking, as in, I felt as if I was gonna pass out
- A dull pain in my stomach
- difficulty breathing, though this could be because i was a little ill and couldn't breathe out of my nose anyhow
Beyond that, I'm having other little "eureka" moments, like my sweat has had a history of having this strange sweet coffee-type odor and my anemia. I'm very active and when my anorexia was at it's height I was OBSESSED with eating as healthy and as little sugar as possible so idk if it could be type 2 or maybe I'm just psyching myself out? I know I obviously need to see someone but type 1 is always associated with younger people and it's hard to believe I can be 24 and just now having problems.

I have always asked myself this( I hardly ever eat fast food being an athlete) and I know that all fast food restaurants are harmful in a way or another,but what is the least harmful fast food?

Hi everyone
When I was a kid i was diagnosed with a Pyrrole disorder, meaning my body cant effectively absorb or use zinc or b6 from food sources. Throughout my childhood and early teen years i supplemented with a formulation of high dose zinc, b6, vit D etc and my mood problems/mental issues went away and I was much happier.
Around the age of 15- 16 i stopped taking the supplement, it was then around 17 that i started noticing my hair thinning a bit.
Fast forward to now (M19), i am now recently on the mend from my experience with finasteride, which i took 2 tablets of and experienced horrible side effects for months.
During this time my hair shedding stayed the same, and when i got my testosterone checked it was very low for someone my age, especially given my healthy lifestyle.
I am currently waiting for the blood work that will tell me my zinc level. While searching up symptoms of zinc deficiency, many of which I have (low test, joint pain, mental issues etc.) i stumbled upon the symptom of hair-loss, specifically diffuse thinning.
My thinning is all over my head, perhaps more on top and sides, its not terrible but my scalp is definitely more visible and my hair lacks volume compared to what it used to.
I guess my question is has anyone else experienced TE from low zinc or pyrrole disorder? If so how long did it take to regrow and does it sound similar to my situation?

I'm so fucking tired. Every time I wanna have someone over I can't because if they come over and my fat fuck for an older brother walks out shirtless they'll see him and laugh. He's so ficking fat that his tits are bigger than mine, he hasn't gotten a haircut in years, he doesn't shave, he only eats fast food from uber eats. He's fucking disgusting and I'm ashamed. Then there's my sister. My filthy fucking grub of a sister. All I wanted this year was to have 1 friend over for my birthday. That was all I fucking wanted. We never do anything for my birthday. We just sit at home, go out to get McDonald's and then eat a cheap cake from woollies. All I wanted this year was to have my friend come over and join in because then it wouldn't be so fucking boring and miserable but no I can't because my sister being the filthy fuck she is can't keep her fat, grubby, stubby, nubby sausage looking fingers out of her nasty ass overgrown nostrils and now we have to disinfect the house because she has a staaf infection. We never do anything for my birthday and I finally got the all clear to finally have someone to spend it with and I can't because my sisters a nasty cunt. I'm so tired of it. Every year I'm told we can do something for my birthday and then nothing happens because something always happens with my sister. We always have to stop anything I wanna do to accommodate her. She's not even younger than me either. She's a senior in highschool and she still picks her nose. She's fucking disgusting and I'm so done with it. All I want is to do something for my birthday like we always do for them but noooo my sisters a nasty fucking grub and now we can't do anything. I just wanted to have a friend over. That was all I asked for. Just to hang out with my friend for one fucking day. I can't do that now because my sisters a walking plastic bag of horse piss. I can't do anything AGAIN because she's fucking filthy. It's not just on my birthday either. I can't have my friends over on the weekends, the holidays, anything and it's either because my sister invited her whole friend group and my parents don't wanna watch an extra kid or because of shit like this. It's fucking annoying and I'm the one that gets yelled at for it.

In recent years, non woven bags have become increasingly popular as a more eco-friendly alternative to traditional plastic bags. As a leading producer and exporter of non woven bags, China has a thriving industry of factories and manufacturers. In this article, we will take an in-depth look at the operations of a single non woven bags factory and manufacturer in China, focusing on their fast worldwide shipping and working model.
Inside the Operations of a Leading China Non Woven Bags Factory and Manufacturer

Hi, so I will try to be the more concise I can.
Two week aho I habe bought peanut butter, which is a really hard food to digest for me + a eating disorders trigger. So of course I juste grab the pot and eat to much. Resultat was huge pain going all day, needed to rest more, make me tied, etc. But it goes before sleeping The days after that I improove and choose to carefully calculate and take only 50g/a day. My tumly was still inflamated after but nothing too crazy. (Important info for later). Also at this time I was not paying attention to avoid histamine food but I was taking on purpose nettle, vit C, spirulina and caper to try to see if those anti histamine food and complements have any impact
Next week, I start nicotine patches. Huge improove on everything, especially on my mood but also digestion. Weird thing, I fell sick a day after, i have just a cold which make me tied but I was mentally do good! I thought maybe the nicotine trigger the virus but maybe I fell sick at the bad timing. I have no idea if nicotine can do that. So the days after that I eat whatever I want, so happy to have less digestive issues, do a lot of work etc. Wednesday, I felt less sick so I work out two time in the days (my personal session + a "impose" one at evening). So of course the days after I'm really tied. Too tied maybe. Anyways, I go to grocery and buy peanut butter but a brand (skippy) with a little bit of sugars and oil because the first one wasn't here. I binge, thinking I will have less consequences because of the nicotine but ... no 😅 I end up super dizzy, and friday I woked up feeling so bad, stomach ache (never happens to me that something I eat before 4pm still hurt at evening AND the day before), i sleep super badly so I'm really tied, depress and anxious. I'm angry at myself to have eaten so much.
I end up doing a 3 days fasting. It was not at all foreseen but I was not able to fast since my covid, I'm really happy and proud. And I think it's thanks to nicotine for making me mentally way better.
The 3 days fats go well until monday, where I slept only 4 hours, I'm a zombie all my re eat journey. So I have eaten peanut butter to make things worse I guess (damn me) but only 40g. It was still worse but since I have only sleep 4hours it was okay looking at circonstances.
But here is my question my problems. The day after, I slept very well (thanks to anxiolytic and a sleeping pill) so I work out. Feel good. I eat pretty low histamine (and NO skippy peanut butter this is banish) : chicken, onion, shiitake, salad, radish, humus, eggs, some half sourdough bread and goat cheese. Were was a bit of soya sauce, i know it's an histamine trigger but i take this everyday.
And here what I don't undestand : i had like a fucking anvil all day in my tummy. Last until night time. I don't understand what's happen! I had to take anxiolytic and a h1 and h2 to sleep. I'm not sure but I think the h2 calm the pain but hard to tell because I was falling a sleep.
What I don't understand exactly is : because of fast and nicotine, i have way more less muscle pain and i feel so much mentally better so how can my digestion can become this worst? Even before any traitment against long covid my worst eating binge didn't end up like that.
Also couple of weeks before all that, I had increase my digestion by taking probiotics kefir and kombucha. Or histamine food ++ I just don't get it
Today i wil try to avoid for real any histamine food to see if I have again this anvil or if it was something else.
Thank to helping me clear that out, it make me really anxious las night to not being able to figure it out

I am not going to treat this as advice for MY pet, but I want to know in general. This is Not against the prescription foods or the companies....
I have a male cat that had his first episode of struvite(?) crystals & stones.. its the one that DL methionine works for.
My first cat (1995) had it, and the vet had us use whatever food we wanted and gave a prescription for DL- methionine pills. Later after switching him to wet food he was able to stop taking the pills. He lived 20 years & had 1 episode.
Now my 3yo male cat had the same crystals plus some stones. My old vet is in another city.
My vet is insisting that Royal Canin S/O is my best option followed by SD & another.
aside from the sodium in the SO, my understanding is that they add extra dl-methionine... so is it really that different from a pill?
Is tabs and wet or dry food still considered good practice, or next best if the rx food is causing other issues?
Are there other, legit, treatments?
Feeding them a food that worked for them first my ethics second by doing a food I know works with dl-methionine tabs would be my prefereance due to health issues with the RX ones, below
Hx
I switched my cats from Orajin Fit and trim (they have animal sourcing more in line with my ethics)... to Royal Canin S/0. My FUS cat would NOT stop eating it.
I could feed to old food 2x a day & they were a healthy weight.
I have to portion this out to 5 meals so I can make sure the other cat gets enough food.
I fed them the 'right' amount, and he gained two pounds super fast. I cut them back to the obese portion, and no weightloss on the FUS.
Blink is super trim. They are both starting to pica and eat bits of non-foods, which they never did before.
Twist/FUS will try to climb me at feeding time he is so desperate.
For whatever reason, this food isn't working for Twist, and going from a health 13 to 15+ is going to cause other health problems down the line.
It seems to me that they might be missing something from the diet, or maybe Twist has an issue or alergy with grain that is making him fat and crave it.
I worry about Blink getting exta methionine his body doesn't need and maybe making his bladder ph wrong, or cause later issues .. if it was safe to give cats without FUS prescription dl-methionine... wouldn't they just sell it without going throght the prescription process?

Background: 29F, SG, Chinese. Partner is originally South Asian descent but is now a citizen. We have known each other for almost three years.
LONG POST WARNING. STRAP IN AND WITNESS THE DRAMA. BUCKLE IN FOR A RANT/VENT
My mother is quite the character - she nitpicks and is fixated on her 'cantonese heritage' despite my father being hokkien. When my fiance first visited wearing a red t shirt for Chinese New Year, she focussed on the informal nature of the clothes; when he brought a pricey bottle of wine to the gathering as a gift and drank it together with my family over the meal, she noted this as 'alcoholism'. The cherry on the cake was when my fiance gave my family a Christmas gift set of treats, she nattered about the absence of a handwritten card attached to the gift box.
I got engaged one year ago, and in that moment, the saddest thing that struck me was that I was more worried about him getting approval from my parents first than fully enjoying the moment.
Since then, at my request, he did host a dinner at his apartment with my parents and younger sister in tow, to 'ask for my hand'. My parents agreed, with my father asking him to co-buy another property in my name, and my mother wanting the usual 10 tables for the chinese banquet, tea ceremony etc. Unfortunately, in that moment, she said, "I always thought my daughter would marry an ang moh (Singlish for caucasian man)". To alleviate the tension, my fiance laughed it off by making fun of his own skin colour, but that statement weighed on him and he wanted an apology. My mother not only refused to apologise, she and my father sought to gaslight ("No, I'm not racist, I simply meant because you're so westernised, I thought you will marry a white man!", "If he had a problem with it, it's his problem for focussing on his skin colour... if others call me yellow, so what?".
Because of this, wedding planning was deferred. There was a second confrontation last year in June, where my parents and fiance met up separately to discuss the comment. Needless to say, things did not go well. My dad apologised on behalf of my mother, but my mother was still unhappy : NMom: "In all my life I have never apologised, just ask your father!", "He is so rude to tell me that my comment is inappropriate!", "No, I'm not racist, in fact I welcomed him during Chinese New Year although it is inauspicious to have a black face around!"(Note that 'black face', when literally translated from mandarin, means having a disgruntled expression.).
Since then, fiance and I fought multiple times over my parents, with him threatening to leave if I continue to try and nudge my parents around. He has Ultimately, this year, during the first day of Chinese New Year, my parents initially didn't want to have him over but ultimately added one dish to the menu. My fiance also came to take the bull by the horns, coming by appropriately dressed, and even apologised to my mother twice for being "rude" for telling her she was being rude. While the storm appeared to pass, she still uses this episode of my fiance telling her off as a reason for why she doesn't like him.
Fast forward to today, where ultimately I decided to get started on wedding planning and set a date. My fiance and I have always wanted a small wedding involving close family and friends, and as foodies, we wanted to pick a nice, Michelin-starred restaurant instead of the usual hotel ballroom banquet that is the norm in Singapore. To be fair to his family, we wanted to opt for 'western' cuisine. Since then, additional requirements were thrown in that were not discussed before: involving a geomancer to pick an auspicious date, adding in a guo da li ceremony with 10 baskets of wedding cookies to be given, and even mandating an all-Chinese banquet 'to cater to seniors', with at least 100 guests coming from them. Note that (i) 70% of the folks on my mum's invite list comprises of the 'seniors' especially her mother's side of the family, (ii)I have never spoken or interacted with at least 80 of these people, and (iii) in addition to our new house, my fiance and I will be fully footing 100% of the wedding bills and planning for it, with no help coming from my parents. Reasons she has given include: If you invite one, you need to invite all, I'm not giving away my daughter in a low key ceremony, this is about family and you need to invite the seniors as well. Finally, for (iv) the tea ceremony, my mother proudly told me to engage a 'mistress of ceremony' and that she would not be helping with the prepping of the tea, moving of props, etc.
We ultimately booked a venue of our choice, but my fiance gave in and paid the deposit for 12 tables of 10 people, with chinese food, and add on live stations. I informed my mother about the venue, and asked her to just prepare the guest list. As I had not involved my mother at all due to recent history, she never stopped haranguing me about the date, menu, and even how the sit down affair would work, citing reasons like 'As this is a family milestone, it would set us at ease to know how it works'. She even did an excel sheet detailing at least 5 different options for the hotel banquet.
Prior to going for my holiday, I attempted to set boundaries, explaining that we had outstanding financial commitments for the house and we had paid deposit for the venue, and it would be excessive to have two receptions. This culminated in a confrontation via WhatsApp while I was on holiday. Frustrated, I told her that "It is Chinese food, sit down, and you get your chinese banquet of your dreams. This means NO TWO WEDDINGS, ONE AND DONE. I'm giving up what I want, a destination wedding with elevated food just so you have your moment in the sun. I hope you're happy now."
Apparently, she was so butthurt, she immediately withdrew her guestlist of over 80 people and told me to go for the small wedding I liked, leaving my fiance and I with a venue that can accomodate 120, with just our guests of approximately 30+ people. Good outcome? Nope. She nitpicked the venue, stating that it is "cheap", and she didn't want our relatives to criticise or say that she married her daughter out being stingy. For non-Singaporeans, it is not that the venue was inappropriate, in fact, the cost of the venue we picked would be on par with the median hotel ballroom banquet price. Not only did she refuse to hear me on the budget I've set for the wedding, she (i) stood firm on wanting the separate chinese dinner, with her paying and hosting this dinner, and refused to go for the venue we booked, (ii) asked for a pin jin (bride dowry) cash equivalent of the chinese banquet dinner for ten tables, or 100 people, (iii) still asked for the si dian jin (bridal jewelry), plus the guo da li items, (iv) when I tried to establish boundaries by stating the budget limits and how we have tried to cater to her wants, and that costs will escalate with gown rentals and the exertion of energy and time in planning for an additional event, she asked that my fiance "send an elder to speak" to her.
The only concession I could extract was explaining my budget, and with our venue taking more than half of the budget, this would mean we would seriously need to compromise on other things like the gowns, photography, decoration etc just to have two events. I even told her: "Do you really want me to walk in to the venue in a H&M white dress?" She offered to pay for the Chinese dinner, and all we needed to do was show up, but got extremely unhappy when I told her that if she was planning it, we would not be helping in any way, shape or form, and we would not be giving her money equivalent to a second venue. Her rebuttal? "Don't tell me your fiance doesn't want memories of that day", "the groom should pay for the wedding anyway, it's tradition", "Fine, I still want the equivalent of the 10 tables in your pin jin, besides you were going to spend the same amount anyway for your wedding", "If he gives $8, this just shows how much he values you", "a wedding is not just about the both of you... you don't want to regret getting married without blessings. It is a family event, and I want to take this opportunity to get everyone together. Isn't it sad that the only excuse for catching up and meeting up is at funerals?"
I'm really angry and frustrated. I did feel guilty as I still do want to get wed in peace and with immediate family present, and wanted to cancel my existing venue for the smaller venue I preferred while letting my mother have control of her little pet project (the chinese dinner), thus ensuring non-interference in my actual small wedding. Both my fiance and my counsellor told me that this was naive of me as my mother's antics was an exercise in pushing boundaries, and with the escalating demands and shifting goalposts, this behaviour is likely to endure even in her pet project.
What made me really sad was I actually googled to see if I was being a terrible person, and it took reading forums that I am 'normal' in wanting a wedding day for MYSELF, and I deserve to host MY wedding the way I want to feel that my emotions are valid.
Redditors, especially Singaporeans, what do you think?

There is a certain aura, a cultural meme, regarding the United Nations Armed Forces. A very particular version of events that is peddled across the galaxy, generally the result of an interstellar game of telephone. This aura is that of an unflinching, uncaring war machine. One that starts with the goal of total destruction of its opponents, and works towards that by any means necessary.
It is easy to see how this came about. Even putting aside the pre-Contact War conflicts, there is plenty of brutality to be found. The exploits of Spearhead Platoon during the Second Hekatian War, fighting it's way from the Susquehanna to the palace of the Hekatian Emperor, has particularly dominated the popular consciousness for many, and it is difficult to argue they did not experience some of the worst the war had to offer. A still frame of Corporal Heppell, gas mask concealing all but his eyes, half a second away from plunging his plasma-enhanced bayonet into a Hekatian platoon commander, has become one of the most reproduced images of the whole Battle of New York.
While plasma bayonets were only issued to a small portion of British units during the Second Hekatian War, melee fighting still occupied a disturbingly high proportion of the wars with the Hekatians a modern war. The Battle of London (both 2021 and 2025) saw civilians armed with little more than axes and clubs achieving at least some success against mechanised Hekatian forces in the tight urban confines of the city, with their contributions in the Second Hekatian War forming a part of the critical force that halted the Hekatian offensive. Less well commemorated, but by no means less brave, was the near-complete annihilation of the 8th Battalion Rajputana Rifles in the opening phases of the Battle of New Delhi. Caught out-of-position by the surprise landing of Hekatian forces, the soldiers rushed into battle against a far-superior Hekatian force. By the day's end, only 3 soldiers survived from the entire ordeal, but their counterattacks, waged with everything from rifles to chunks of rubble used as clubs, successfully held up the better part of a division for some critical hours. Doubtless similar stories exist across every front of the war.
Infantry fought with all manner of weapons, with KPA forces famously utilising shovels and large quantities of grenades while fighting from trench to trench on the slopes of Mt. Paektu. During the later stages of the Battle of New York, Gurkha units roamed the irradiated rubble of the city, wielding plasma-enhanced kukris: this was so extraordinarily effective that Hekatian units in the Brooklyn area had a bounty set on the weapons, on the basis that each collected meant another of the feared soldiers had been eliminated, and that soldiers would be more watchful in hopes of collecting said bounty. The actual effect was that the number of losses credited to Gurkha units went up, as their soldiers (now aware of just how effective they were) delved deeper and deeper into psychological warfare. Meanwhile, Hekatian soldiers became so jumpy that they often exposed themselves to Human forces by firing away at nonexistent targets, and were so nervous as to lose all composure when engaged. When the United Nations counterattack successfully trapped a large quantity of supply-starved Hekatians in the radioactive ruins of New York, an intimidation campaign of such ferocity was launched that even a century later headless Hekatians are occasionally located within the New York area.
There are, of course, other ways to be brutal than a bayonet or bullet.
The Second Hekatian War, for example, saw the mass deployment of nerve gas against Hekatian forces landing in Southern England, with this considered to be the single deadliest event in the history of warfare (excluding attacks targeted at civilian populations). True numbers on the death toll are hard to come by, but it is estimated these attacks alone killed roughly 100,000 Hekatians, unprepared for the gas as they were exiting their ships, with an unknown number severely wounded. This is at present the only confirmed deployment of chemical weapons in either war: rumours persist of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea having used significant quantities during the fighting across the Korean Peninsula, and into Northeastern China. To this day, neither the People’s Republic of China, nor the Korean Federal Republic have confirmed these rumours, and all files regarding the status of the DPRK’s chemical arsenal have been sealed away until 2155.
Chemical weapons were not the only weapons of mass destruction brought out in desperate defence of Earth. Biological weapons were deployed, albeit in significantly less flashy ways. Though continuously denied by the United Nations to this day, all evidence indicates that a modified form of Tularemia was deployed against Hekatian forces in the United States. By all accounts, this was extraordinarily effective in shattering Hekatian morale, along with generally degrading their ability to resist United Nations counterattacks. This disease, relatively minor as far as biological weapons go, was generally non-lethal, and thus believed acceptable to be used against the Hekatians without causing further escalation if discovered.
Currently, there is significant reason to believe the Hekatians may have deployed biological weapons of their own, which may later have morphed into the infamous Cincinnati Flu, though this is highly controversial amongst war historians, and is believed to have occurred independently of the use of Tularemia. It is also worth noting that declassified British documents speak openly of a large stockpile of anthrax being distributed across the island at the start of the Second Hekatian War, with the intent being to release it en masse as a form of vengeance should Britain fall. Still uncertain is why, even a century after the war and the collapse of the Hekatian Stellar Imperium, several Hekatian-majority worlds (including, most infamously, Kulabaddos) semi-routinely see severe outbreaks of a disease worryingly similar to H1N1.
The most destructive WMDs in pure terms were the InterStellar Faster-than-light Missiles. Effectively the old idea of the Relativistic Kill Vehicle, except with a hyperdrive strapped to them, they saw very little use across the war, except for a few carefully calculated deployments by United Nations forces. Using stolen missiles, the Muaytrov and Hualkinov anchorages were utterly destroyed, followed by the military staging post of Traxio.
But these are not the weapons of mass destruction thought of when the Second Hekatian War springs to mind.
In the course of the Second Hekatian War, nukes were tossed around in large numbers. City after city across the United States of America fell victim to Hekatian nukes, while American strikes (generally tactical in nature, directed at concentrations of Hekatian forces and key command and control sites) usually invited yet more retaliation. Historians are unable to come to much of a conclusion on the effectiveness of this strategy by the American military, in no small part due to the difficulties of credibly predicting what would have happened without it. It is arguable that these attacks were responsible for the collapse of Hekatian morale and eventual widespread mutinies: this can also be attributed to any of hundreds of factors. It must be noted, though, that the Hekatians began the nuclear game with the destruction of Washington DC, and that ultimately all responsibility lies with them.
After the war, there was much debate on the morality of this action, rather than just the efficacy. It was declared by some that Humanity, now no longer in an existential fight for it's liberty and potentially survival, was in a "post-nuclear" age, where it could step away from these insanely destructive weapons. While this did hold for biological and chemical weapons, it simply could not for nuclear weapons, as the reality of maintaining an effective military on the interstellar scale quickly caught up. Nukes are fielded in what could be described as a liberal amount: fashioned into Nuclear Explosively Formed Projectiles or Casaba-Howitzers, they form the backbone of the Stellar Navy’s anti-ship missile arsenal. Special forces units have routinely made use of sub-kiloton devices in the Rigel Campaign, and conventional forces maintain large stockpiles for tactical usage. Even the famous SIM-94, defender of the skies, is more commonly than not fielded with a nuclear warhead of some sort.
These are carefully calculated tactical uses, yes. A Casaba-Howitzer melting a warship is a far different thing than the nuclear bombardment of Los Angeles, both in scale and morality. But most commanders do still hesitate when they order a nuclear strike in an exercise. Failsafes abound for all devices intended for anti-ship purposes to prevent their usage in other ways, while devices for use as bombs are subject to hyper-strict command-and-control procedures. ISFMs are subject to even stricter control, since their misuse could devastate an unshielded planet.

The cumulative effects of such a war have continued to be felt for decades afterwards. The Second Hekatian War is believed to be the war with the single highest rate of PTSD amongst veterans. Post-war advances in medical technology helped to at least lessen the effects of physical wounds, and the general improvement in living standards that followed the wars has significantly helped many veterans, but some things can't be solved by getting to take a holiday to space on the cheap. This is of course not to mention the refugee populations of the former United States, many of them surviving by flukes while losing their entire family. It is a horror no one seeks to experience again.
Yes, the plasma bayonet is still technically fielded by both the Territorial and Stellar Army (though, notably, not the Orbital Infantry, who solely fight in the cramped confines of space stations). But it has not been used in combat in decades, and is widely agreed to only exist because of tradition, and also as a somewhat risky means of cooking food. To the average soldier, the idea of a bayonet charge is unthinkable, not least because it means a lot has gone wrong.
When the Hekatians were at the gates in 2025, it was necessary to project a certain image. The unflinching warrior, remorseless and unplagued by questions of morality. Even at the time, this had serious problems. Now, in 2150, things are different. That image is back in the box as far as the United Nations is concerned, even as the myth continues to spread. But the thing about boxes is that you can always open them up again. The only hope is it never will be.

---Authors Notes---

Some points: the Korean Federal Republic is supposed to be the unified state that now comprises the Korean peninsula. The Rigel Campaign thing is something I have been meaning to expand on for a while now, and has been mentioned before, though not by that name. Fingers crossed I can sort out the relevant stories for that some time soon.
Some may notice that there has been a slight retconning of ISFMs here. Originally they were intended to hit their target at FTL speeds: I have spent at least a year bothered by my earlier concepts of FTL. Firstly, the problem of where they got the energy to go FTL: this was covered by a "no one knows", which was eventually meant to be "no one knows but it's being siphoned from other dead universes and for some reason can't be harnessed by other uses", which was a cop-out to be honest. The second issue was that obviously any shield to protect against this would be absurdly powerful, so absurdly powerful as to render any planet basically invulnerable to everything. Thirdly, they had an interesting effect on space battles, in that they forced them to be more conducted in orbits of planets where collateral damage would prevent the usage of ISFMs. I really like this as a concept, especially since I think it's a kinda nice inversion of how anti-ship missiles work in reality (which force ships to get further and further away), but I realised that ISFMs were basically just too good at this. So I have decided to change it slightly, so that it's closer to a "slipspace" style. ISFMs are now just RKVs with the ability to go faster than light, then they drop out slightly before hitting the target. Still very powerful but less nakedly reality breaking. The point about forcing battles to be more in orbit still stands, but now those ships could better defend themselves or evade. Basically the difference between how hypersonic weapons are portrayed against modern carriers, and their current reality: still capable but not perfect. The same change applies broadly to regular hyperdrives, but they're not really that affected.
Anyway, if you enjoy my work, please consider buying me a coffee, it helps a ton, and allows me to keep writing this sort of stuff. Alternatively, you can just read more of it.

Note from roberestarkk

I am blatantly copy-pasting this from elsewhere to help test a text-to-speech issue

Sorry, for any spelling or a punctuation mistakes I wrote this in my phone I just made this account because I really need some advice with this Situation. For background the people in this story are me (male 19) and my dad (male 45), back in 2022 my dog, Oscar passed away due to old age his loss really hit hard because he was my first dog, I had so many memories of us just hanging out either going on walks or even just watching Netflix together I know it doesn’t sound like much but it honestly felt like we grew up together so when he passed, I was heartbroken. It took a few months but my mom came to me and said that she was thinking about getting another dog at first I was hesitant, but then she showed me the picture of the dog she was looking at I immediately fell in love. The dogs breed was a king Charles cavalier. She showed my dad He said he was cute, but he didn’t think me and my mother could raise a dog because we didn’t know all that went into it, but despite that we ended up getting the dog, my dad named him cue because his head reminded him of a cueball . It took some time getting used to his chaotic nature but me, and him became fast friends He sleeps in my bed. He won’t eat food unless he eats out of my hands and he loves to be held like a little baby. I jokingly call him my son. My mom has been worried that my dad doesn’t like the dog at first I told her that he liked him and she had nothing to worry about but yesterday he prove me wrong. Me and cue were laying on my bed and he began barking like he had to go to the bathroom. I try to pick him up, but then he started doing this thing where he likes to run to the opposite side of my bed, when I try to pick him up (I don’t know why he does this). My dad comes in the room and asked me what he’s barking at. I said I think he hast to go to the bathroom. My dad visibly upset tells me to take him outside. I tried to explain that the dog wouldn’t let me pick him up, but he doesn’t listen stating that the dog knows how to get up and down from my bed and I just didn’t want to take him out. I was annoyed by this, but after luring in the dog with a squeaky toy I was able to get him off my bed. I took him outside and my dad looks at me and tells me I have to walk him around. I say I know and walk him around some. My dad says I always have an attitude when I need to take the dog out, and if I always have an attitude when it comes to dealing with the dog, then we should probably find a new home for him I argue with my dad saying that I like my dog and that I want to keep him he goes on saying that I don’t act like I like him annoyed, I say it seems like you’re the one doesn’t like the dog, I stated that he makes me happy, and has been helping me with my mental health (I had a suicide attempt early 2023) And he said since he is your best friend and is helping you with your mental health that I should not have an attitude when dealing with him, smile, and say he sure is My dad said to not get cute with him and threaten to smack the glasses off my face and that he has enough stress in his life without me getting cute with him. My dad has pushed me against the wall before for not taking my anxiety medication and made fun of me for my inability to not tell the time on the clock or do basic math due to a learn disability, so when he said this, I honestly wanted to fight him, but decided not to (because he would kick my ass )my dad calm down, said that he was just trying to teach me responsibility gave me a hug and sent me inside with a dog. He came back an hour later with the food and said he didn’t like fighting with me. I talked to my sister.(female 25) and she said she was proud of me for standing up for myself. But a small part of me feels like I was in the wrong for being disrespectful to an adult.