This is one of those late night thoughts I had that persisted until the morning and I just had to ask. I know that, in general, wild rats aren’t nearly as healthy as pet rats, but that makes it even more surprising to me that they can accomplish that feat.

Back First Next
As promised Chapter 2. See you Friday. Also thank you all for the positive reinforcement and being generally encouraging, that is a fresh change of breathe I did not expect.
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Memory Transcription: Captain Neil Campbell, United Nations ‘Black Watch’ Company #4
Date [standardized human time]: December 3, 2136
Air raid sirens went out and announcements blared with a recorded message from Mayor Zim, “Everyone, please remain calm. The UN forces are here and escorting us to shelter. I repeat, remain calm. Captain Neil has requested all those who can fight, please see him.”
The military shuttle that was supposed to contain the 180 black watch members was lifting off, packed to beyond the safety limits with those who had drawn the short straws, most giving up their place on the ship for their children instead. Very few adults were on board, just enough to cover keeping the children calm and policed.
When none of his men had volunteered, Neil had forcefully selected one. Corporal MacTavish, called Soap as a callsign. “MacTavish, you’ve got one mission, keep them calm, get them to the fleet, and then get them out of the system. They may be the last Tilfish alive. Also tell them where we are and we have the town's civilians with us.” He passed MacTavish a dozen data discs and flash drives. “I am holding you personally responsible for them. You are to ensure this gets up there too. It’s the entire Tilfish public library and all the government documents we could download. At least some of their culture will survive as well. Make sure those children know who they are.”
MacTavish saluted Neil as he turned to get onto the ship last, passing Neil his longarm and every bit of ammunition, grenades, and supplies he had down to his side arm and two magazines he kept for it. “You’ll need these sir.” Neil nodded and passed them to the nearest trooper escorting him.
Moments later, Neil was riding in a recon rover, packed with 4 of his black watch, Zim, and several Tilfish who were either elderly or children. The vehicle’s loud speakers continued to repeat automatically as Neil’s soldier lined the road, directing people forward. They urged them to move quickly but calmly while the vehicle sped for the caldera. “Save your energy, you will need it. Your lives are more valuable than your possessions. Move quickly and stay quiet, every second counts now.”
His troopers offered snacks they had packed, some took them. Trail mix bars, chocolate bars, coffee, water, whatever they happen to have on their person. The point was to prove that the Tilfish were not cattle and that the soldiers had no intention to harm them. Every little bit helped keep them calm and prevent a stampede.
When they arrived at their outpost, Neil stepped into his command tent which was being rapidly torn down now. Only four Tilfish came to Neil to Neil’s call, less than he’d hoped. Four of Four Thousand, they are the bravest four I will ever know. He smiled at that thought.
They were cowering to stand before him as he sized each one up. His glare was hardened from years in the Watch. Ages of fighting simulations and actually being present on The Cradle, earth, and a couple of human brush wars before that.
“I need you four to act as guides for my soldiers, they will protect you with their lives. You will be armed and expected to assist in the defense as well.” He explained firmly after nearly a minute of uncomfortable glares.
“We…we… what are we holding against? Our own people?” one of the Tilfish asked hesitantly and looking terrified at the predator.
“No, I’m not going to sugar coat it. The Arxur are coming, likely will be here within the hour. That transport was the last leaving the spaceport without being intercepted. Our only option is to shelter in place.” He spoke with a kind of hopeless certainty.
The Tilfish all cowered before him as Mayor Zim started to quake standing besides Neil, but Neil was unflinching. “I am asking you to help us make sure as many Tilfish get into the depths of the mountains as we can. I will not lie, our survival is not expected but those tunnels are deep enough that they might just survive until rescue can be sent.”
He looked at the herd walking towards the mountains at a brisk pace, the legs of the insectoids going quickly. “Now listen, I’m going to be sending out aggravation squads to delay incoming Arxur. You two going to be send with them. Our engineers are booby trapping as well as reinforcing the cave depths. Every little bit to assist in making sure the Arxur do not get into the tunnel and that those tunnels survive an orbital bombardment hit.”
One of the Tilfish shook his head, and has an expression of distress with his thorax and legs shifting, "No, nothing survives anti-matter bombs, it's hopeless."
Neil shook his head, "We have several bunker shelters survive near misses and a few survive direct hits on earth and they were barely a few hundred meters below the surface. Those tunnels lead nearly four kilometers down. I sent three engineers with every bit of quick-crete we have and the longer we buy time, the better odds the rest of your down get."
He leaned down onto the electronic display and pointed at the map, eager to change their focus and give them something to not fear. “I presume because you only live a few dozen kilometers from here you know the terrain and know it well?”
The Tilfish were hesitate to move or speak, shaking as if children about to piss themselves because the boogieman was coming out of the closet.
Neil nodded to himself, They’re raw recruits, rookies at best and terrified draftee’s would be in better shape than them. Time to make this clear to them and force them to fight those instincts. He exhaled a breath and deflated himself, letting his intensity wear off for a moment. “What are you names?”
“Jerlio.” The first smaller Tilfish spoke, he was barely taller than Neil’s waist and stood eye level with his belly button.
The second one, larger than the first coming up to Neil’s lower ribs, “H…h….h…Herci.” His speaking is uneasy and shows terror.
The third looked like twins with their spots and faces, if there was a difference Neil couldn’t make it out. “This is Hazeinia and I’m Tia.” They the one on the left spoke. Neil had started to recognize the two sexes of the Tilfish, he wasn’t sure if they had genders but that didn't matter now.
Their movements had them shuffling as if looking for an escape from their situation. Neil knew that for their people just to be standing here before him, meeting his gaze was a lot. He had to take measures into his own hands right now.
“Stand to!” He barked, his voice wasn’t shouting but it was harsh; undeniable, and made all five Tilfish in the room freeze in place. “Listen and listen well, dig this into your minds right now. The four of you have shown uncharacteristic courage just to step up for your people. Now I need you to show courage in spite of your fear. You fight not for your own lives anymore, you fight for those who cannot, those who we are desperately trying to save.”
He took a step forward, and gazed down upon both them, then knelt down to one knee, meeting them at eye level. The Tilfish started to shy away when he reached out a hand and grasped gently but firmly upon two of their feelers. The insectoid fur tickled him while the texture of the carapace was foreign and creepy to him. He steeled himself and brought the most calm he could forward.and his gaze relaxed slightly. “Let me explain something to you, all of you.”
“Humans are not fearless,” His eyes had tears in it, he knew his men would be dying soon and there was little he could do about it. “Every moment we are facing combat; we are terrified. We are scared that we will not take another breath, we fear deeply.” he looked at each of them. “Even if your stomach is tied in knots, you smell the blood and gunpowder, you want to run to save yourself.” He turned to the two he was holding the feelers of. “You can feel the clamminess on my hands, I know your antennae can detect the heightening of my heart rate, and you can see the corners of my eyes as I force the tears back and gain focus.” He took a moment to push through and made a show of gulping in a way to swallow down his fear.
“The difference is that I am asking for you to gather your courage.” His hand got tighter around their feelers not so it hurt but to show a change in demeanor. “It is easy to be brave when you are surrounded by friends, when you outnumber your foes, when you are bigger than them. No, I ask you five to do this, not because it is easy but because it is hard. I need any man, woman, and bug on that line. Nearly four thousand of you have run into those tunnels with forty of my men to keep them calm and moving deeper and deeper.”
He guided the four outside of the command tent into the forested caldera and motioned around to the positions on the reverse slope of the mountain sides, “40 more are under manning Air to Ground missiles, the new interceptor systems, manual fire close in 40mm chainguns, and the three Orbital firing cannons we have. Yet despite the difficulty they have made 40 seem like 400 with how many guns we have working and running.”
“The remaining ninety-nine of my troopers are rigging mines, camouflage firing positions with overlapping fire, explosives, and every other conceivable defense we have. They will be finished soon but we need to delay the enemy just to get our defenses exactly right.”
He turned to them, “Two of you will serve as guides for my soldiers. I’m going to send out a ten size squad. They are going to recon for the Arxur, setup ambushes and make them pay. Once they are spent, they will send you back to report.”
He turned to Jerlio and placed a hand on what he believed to be his shoulder, “I need soldiers and of the Ten Thousand Tilfish we had, the five bravest I’ve ever known are here. We fight back to back, to the end. Not for ourselves but for those Four Thousand in the caves, understood?” He turned to Herci as he spoke.
Each of the Tilfish nodded in turn except for Zim, “What of me? What am I do to?”
“Zim you have the greatest job of all. I need a radio director not only to coordinate our men and relay messages but to broadcast to the fleet for as long as possible. You’ve got 2 hours to study and learn our code book, if you make mistakes it’s okay, repeat it in plain language if needed.” He motioned to the entrance to the cave his people had run into. “The radio is there, work it until it stops functioning, if the Arxur are upon you, there is a pistol on the table and an explosive under it. Detonate the explosive as your last action.”
Zim recoiled, “I… I did not volunteer for a last stand, I don’t understand?”
Neil looked at him hardened and took a step towards Zim, “You voted for our annihilation, and yet here we are, allies. Now you are going to prove those people, your people, who put their faith in you, were right to do so. I’m going to station a trooper there with you if I have to with orders to shoot you if you flee; am I understood!”
It wasn’t a question, Neil had gone from gentle to absolute terrifying fury in merely a few moments. With a slow nod, Zim in agreement. Neil shook his head, “Say it, say Yes Sir to me, Private Zim.”
Zim suddenly straightened as Neil leaned in to look into his eyes, so close that they could feel each other’s breath. Zim was terrified, under the glare of a predator it took several seconds to find his courage. “Yes…. sir…”
Neil snarled, barring his teeth, he would put the fear of the divine into this Tilfish politician, “I can’t hear you, say it, like you mean it.”
Zim nodded and hesitated then realized the ritual he had seen from the humans earlier when Neil was disappointed in one of them. He turned his mandibles to be the best approximation of a salute. “Yes sir!”
“You’re in the Watch now, the Black Watch. Our motto is Nemo me impune lacessit. It means, No One Provokes Me with Impunity. Now get moving, there is an equipment sergeant nearby and once I’ve selected my troopers you will go with them. Zim get to that radio and start studying that code book until you are certain you can reference it. Every one of our lives and the lives of those ten thousand depend upon it.”
He looked from one of them to the other, giving each Tilfish a confident grin, ensuring he did not show his teeth but only curling up his lips. “Dismissed!”
The Tilfish scrambled towards their ordered positions where troopers went to meet them. Neil picked up his radio and tuned it to, he had one final duty to perform before the battle was to begin. “All Black Watch members, stop for a moment and listen. I’ll give you a moment to finish your tasks.” Neil took a moment as he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, he didn’t actually smoke but carried them to share with those that did. At this point however, what was one more bad habit. He lit it and took a puff similar to how he did on a joint in college. He exhaled and pushed the radio button again. “What I am about to ask you all to do should be considered unconscionable just two days ago. We are disobeying our orders, we were supposed to be on that transport. I understand this may upset some of you but we have a duty." Neil took a breath as he wasn't completely sure if all of his troopers would obey him and go with this idea or not. He spoke his next words slowly and with gravity. "Four Thousand civilians; they are in those tunnels along with 40 of your brothers and sisters. We are their only hope.”
He paused to take another draw of the cigarette, he could understand now why some soldiers had this habit, really calmed his nerves for the next part. “If any man or woman doesn’t feel this is right, there is room for you in those tunnels, speak up and you will be relieved and sent. No questions asked; no shame given, I understand not wanting to die for a species that a week ago was trying to annihilate our existence.”
He waited and when no one spoke up, he pushed the radio again. “Anyone? Sergeants, report in.”
“Platoon A, no one is moving sir.”
“Platoon B, we’re here and we’re staying, all of us apparently.”
“Platoon C, guns are manned and ready, this is where they die and we stand.”
Platoon D didn’t report in, they must be too deep underground now for radio transmissions. That was good enough for him, at least they would survive if the first bomb got through. The follow ups they would need to keep going down. He hoped their air would hold out.
“Alright, the enemy is coming. The fleet cannot hold and is working to withdraw. We will have no artillery, air, armor, or naval support. We are on our own. What I am asking you to do is going to get you all killed. Make peace with any deity you believe in. Get any addiction you need satisfied, eat something, drink some water, and finish your preparations. Schmidt is coming with James, they are going to lead Platoon B squad 3 and Platoon A squad 4 on a little recon in force mission. They have their orders, and you have your’s.” He took another draw of his cigarette. “I will see you on the other side. Nemo Me Impune Lacessit.”
The radio resounded for the next several moments with all of his 139 remaining soldiers sounding off the Black Watch motto.
The Captain stepped out of his tent, he picked up a rifle, the one MacTavoish handed him. He checked the magazine, breech, and sights then chambered a round and turned off his safety. Slowly he walked towards his own position.
A shuttle was coming down, damaged badly but this wasn't a civilian shuttle or an escape shutttle. It was an armored assault shuttle. "What Now?"

I regret becoming a parent. I regret getting my IUD removed both times. I regret taking the ovulation tests and trying for the babies and celebrating. I regret it all.
Everyone kept telling me it would get easier. That it’d be more enjoyable as they got older. They’re nearly 2 (in June) and 3 (in April) and I’m still so fucking miserable. I’m tired of someone constantly needing me. I’m tired of having to care for someone else on days when I can hardly even care for myself. The hardest part is knowing that I did this to myself. It might be easier to stomach if the kids were mistakes, but they weren’t. I willingly did this to myself.
My first child was difficult. He cried 24/7. He was born with a rare disease that lead to a lot of heartache. Looking back, I think a (very sick) part of me wanted a re-do, so I decided to “try again”. In comes my second. She was even worse. A nightmare. She’s still a nightmare. I regret it all. Will it ever get better? Will it ever stop?
I don’t even know why I’m posting this aside from maybe just to get it off my chest bc if I don’t I’m going to lose it

Our relationships had some issues in the past. I'm frequently clingy, and am generally a very sensitive person. I have mental illness and can be very unstable but after he nearly broke up with me in December, I made an effort to get better and I did improve greatly. Few days ago, I got a text saying he thinks we need to split because he has his own issues going on and he can't take care of another person but how he loves me but this is just best. It hurt but I believed him but yesterday I found out from a friend he is doing better mentally (which I find strange after only a few days of being split), said he doesn't really wanna get back together with me because the same issues will occur, but wants to stay friends with me. I still have heavy feelings for him but the way he spoke about me in messages is like he exaggerated the truth of things. Said I was begging for him to stay, made me look desperate. I need some advice here and I don't know if I should move on

I'm frequently clingy, and am generally a very sensitive person. I have mental illness and can be very unstable but after he nearly broke up with me in December, I made an effort to get better and I did improve greatly. Few days ago, I got a text saying he thinks we need to split because he has his own issues going on and he can't take care of another person but how he loves me but this is just best. It hurt but I believed him but yesterday I found out from a friend he is doing better mentally (which I find strange after only a few days of being split), said he doesn't really wanna get back together with me because the same issues will occur, but wants to stay friends with me. I still have heavy feelings for him but the way he spoke about me in messages is like he exaggerated the truth of things. Said I was begging for him to stay, made me look desperate. I need some advice here and I don't know if I should move on and what to do to start the moving on process. Is there any way possible of him wanting me back?

Here's the sitch:
My mom had 3 stillbirths before me and my sister. All premature by 3 months due to incompetent cervix(she went into labor once the baby was at a certain size and couldn't hold it any longer). She wanted kids to love her conditionally and wanted a big family. I was 2 months premature and in the NICU, and ended up with autism and ADHD(my dad being almost in his mid 40s when I was conceived didn't help probably didn't help). My sister doesn't have either, but seems to have inherited whatever mood disordedisposition to anger and violence that my father did which compounded with CSA by a former friend led to multiple suicide attempts, violent outbursts and resulting hospitalizations. She seems to have become a fundie Christian to cope, like straight up flat earther and shit.
Speaking of my dad(passed from COVID nearly 2 years back,RIP) he had some clearly untreated/undiagnosed mental health issues. Likely some kind of mood disorder as he was quick to anger and prone to violent outbursts. He was verbally and even physically abusive to my mom and even me. He lamented that I wasn't a more typical boy being into sports and was especially a piece of work in middle school. Unsupportive financially or otherwise, possible infidelity between him and my mom. CPS actually considered possibly removing me and my sister form the home on at least two occasions.
As for his family, several relatives have a similar temperament to him, including one of my cousins who even lets this seep into her job as a nurse. In fact when my dad was in the hospital, his girlfriend/fiance tried to block us from seeing him/handling his affairs and his family backed her due to always looking down on my mom(for being overweight/darker skinned). My cousin(call her Willis) and mom damn near went at it as we watched my dad in the ICU and when I got between them Willis' boyfriend put hands on me and got in my face. After that she sent my mom a tirade of texts talking about my dad hating her and calling her ugly and well...the vulgarity and immaturity of the whole thing was on par with what a high schooler would do, and yet is coming from a middle aged nurse.
Even on my mom's side, we have folks who aren't so great. Like one aunt and her kids we had friction with due to certain far left political beliefs they held(black people can't be racist, white guilt based history, etc) and also because when at a get together my sister was unfairly and wrongly accused of doing something sexual with one of the kids, iirc my one of my cousins had something to do with it out of jealousy over attention or some shit. Thank god I wasn't there because I am and adult male and the meer accusation itself could fuck up my life.
Despite all this, my mom wants us both to give her 4 grandkids EACH, and claims that me being CF means her raising me was meaningless, I was breaking her heart, etc. Sister also said I am being selfish since her kids won't have cousins. Like even with all we have been through they still have this rose tinted view of what me having kids would be like. My kids could have worst versions of my disorders, if not possibly requiring lifelong care. Even then I do not want to handle someone else like my sister or father. The cracked doors and walls, broken glass, and police visits (4 of which occurred within 2 months, and the 4th time the fire department and ambulance came because my sister tried to OD) have been enough for a whole lifetime. Some bloodlines just don't need to continue, folks.

Thinking about initiating an affair with an old flame. Should I dm her or shoot her an anonymous text from her secret admirer from my new work phone?
Don’t judge. The guys a loser and a cunt. This girl would grope herself and tel me to look at her tits when we were near while I tried maintaining eye contact. Clearly she doesn’t respect him and she’s not wrong for it. I lost friends cause of her hoeing on me, I may as well actually try and hit it
We’re all 23 btw. If I text her “hey 🤠” she’ll immediately know it’s me, and it’ll be from a number neither her or her bf know. Or I can dm her and be honest. Tell her to not react at all and I’ll reach out discreetly (through my work phone.)
Part of me favors the dm route cause I feel like theres shit I gotta say to move on. That said, the anonymous text offers plausible deniability. Which do y’all think is more likely to work?

I've been sitting on this for a very long time. Back in 2018 a previous workplace of mine had a bathroom camera incident. Another employee had installed cameras in the bathroom, then was caught while I was working there. I had ended up leaving the job because of how stressful the situation was. About a year later I was contacted by a detective working on the case who identified me and another employee on the footage, they asked me if I could confirm it was me on the footage, I confirmed that the person on the footage was me. My mind is a bit hazy because I nearly started having a panic attack, but I believe they asked me to come into court for a victim statement. I never answered back, because I was so ashamed. I didn't want there to be a face tied to the name in the court case. I've never reached out to anyone about it because I'm just so distraught and ashamed by it. I contacted a law office about it, but they said they don't take cases like mine. Is my case able to be settled by anyone? If so, what kind of attorney should I be looking for?

I had a small argument with my brother about child pregnancies & how they’re wrong. I want to give a (not so) brief dialogue of how the conversation went. I’m also curious to know what you all make of this because it genuinely shocked me to my core that my brother believed every word he said. Every ounce of respect I had for him is gone. I don’t remember how the topic was brought up but I immediately shot it down saying it’s terrible.
Brother: our grandma gave birth when she was 12
Me: doesn’t mean it’s right
Brother: doesn’t mean it’s wrong
Me: it’s wrong because the kid hasn’t gotten to live as a child. They’ve already lost their innocence & are thrust into the adult world. Children don’t belong in that world.
Brother: what about villages in Africa where they have kids get pregnant.
Me: those villages are no where near as psychologically, technologically or socially developed as where we live. They aren’t yet aware that it is wrong.
Brother: why does their body biologically develop that young if they shouldn’t get pregnant.
Me: their body develops, but their minds still have to catch up. Some adults can have children but they wait until they’re absolutely ready before making that decision. If some adults are still iffy then why on earth would a child not be? Additionally, a child does not know what they want when it comes to something like that. (This isn’t part of the dialogue, but I wanted to be a sailor as a kid. I obviously am not one now, so could you imagine if I had a child as a child & then changed my mind)
Brother: what’s wrong if a 12yr old gives birth?
Me: she can’t take care of it & work to support it at the same time
Brother:why does she need to work? She would have a man that she would depend on to provide for her & their kid
Me: her man would be too young to get employed into a job that would support all three of them
Brother: why does the man have to be young too? Why can’t the man be old & provide for his family?
Me: because then that man is a disgusting pedophile.
Brother: what about the prophet & Aisha? Wasn’t she very young when they married?
Me: it was wrong. Times were different & they weren’t aware it was harmful to Marry off little girls.
Brother: gets a little confrontational watch what comes out of your mouth. You can’t say the prophet was wrong.
I stopped pushing & apologized.
(I’m still closeted & so whenever Muhammad or Allah are brought up as points I just concede as I don’t want suspicion to be placed on me or to be found out for obvious reasons)
This whole interaction frustrated me. He didn’t answer me & just kept asking me questions. I feel some of my arguments were weak, but I was honestly too dumbfounded by his questions to really think of stronger points. I’m curious what some of you think.
What are some other reasons child pregnancy/marriage are wrong & or harmful? How could I have better handled this exchange?

I just unearthed an old Eastern Mountain Sports brand hiking backpack in my closet - it’s one of those big ones with a waist strap and is taller than your head when you fill it up and put it on. It’s probably nearly 15 years old, but I only used it once camping in Alaska and it’s in fine condition. I usually just drop stuff off at Goodwill, but if anyone knows of an organization nearby that could make better use of it, let me know!

So just found out that everthing I thought was happening was true. I did everthing for my partner of 12 years and 4 kids together only to be completely used and cheated on over and over again.
I ened the relationship last year and moved out. She begged for me back and me believing everthing she said let her back into my life. I did it as I wanted my family together.
Turns out she was constantly messaging other men the whole time. Why beg for me back just to cheat?
I knew this was happening but couldn't prove it. I was called controlling, criticised for not trusting her dispite catching her lying 3 times years before and she blamed me for everything that went wrong in our relationship.
Today I found out everthing I thought was actually true. And I'm not even hurt. It's like a weight has been lifted. She nearly convinced me it was me who was the problem. I'm so happy I'm free from this selfish controlling nasty person.
I can finally move on knowing it wasn't me. What a complete doormat I have been.

I recently bought a refurbished Arcam SA20 but upon plugging it in, the right speaker channel is not playing audio. Only a very faint sound is present in the right channel.
I tried swapping the speakers on the channel, trying various analog and digital inputs, and the same issue persisted on the right channel. I have the option to return the unit for another 3 weeks. However, there is also an authorized repair shop near me I could check out too (only considering because the price of the repair + the refurbished unit may still be cheaper than an open box deal).
Has anyone run into this issue before? Was it fixable?

Έλληνας εδώ, I see that many people, mostly tourists, post here to ask for recommendations for places to eat in the city. I will try to sum up all my experiences in different places in the city. Feel free to add your own opinions and suggestions.

Fast Food:

Gyros:

1. Giok Balik. Near the White Tower Great Gyros, I recall that it was a bit less in quantity. I visited from time to time for the cooked food too. I love their Thai chicken. Pastitsio and mousaka were nice too.
2. Savvikos in multiple places across the city. Ladadika, Aristotelous Square, Toumpa, and some others I can't recall/find them. Great gyros, a bit more expensive but with nice sauce. I mostly eat the "gyrlou".
3. ΓΡΝ, in Toumpa while there is one store in One Salonica Mall too (haven't been there). Great gyros and nice pansetes.
4. Μίμης, the legend himself Mimis is probably the cheapest nice place to eat Gyros. I love both the stuffed and non-stuffed burger in sandwich. (Για τους Έλληνες εννοώ το γεμιστο μπιφτέκι). I doubt that the guy there understand English.
5. Katsamaka was a nice place for gyros. I can't remember what I ordered but it was great lol.

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Burger:
Difficult one

1. I love the burger from Brothers in Law, near Agia Sofia, in Toumpa, and near Ladadika. I hate their french fries and their bans are average
2. Tarantino in Ladadika is great but a bit more expensive. You can find it in Agora Modiano too. Check Agora Modiano section for more info.
3. There are more but I have to try them

Pizza:
Thessaloniki is "the cheap Pizza" city. You can find cheap pizza by piece everywhere. Do not hesitate to take a piece. The standard price is 1.5 euro per piece. My favorite places are:

1. Avanti Pizza. Of all the low-quality but tasty 1.5-euro pizza places Avanti is the best. I love Margarita
2. The Last Slice is the best place to buy nice Pizza. 100% times better than the next one. The slices there are twice as big as the other places but they cost more than 3 euros. I highly recommend it.
3. High School Pizza Bar. A nice place near the sea. Nice view, a nice environment. Different than the previous ones
4. Πίτσα Σάκης. Low quality but I include for sentimental reasons because it is old and traditional

Other:

1. ThessBao in their two locations in Plateia Eleftherias and near the White Tower. The only place for bao bans. I like them. I suggest the Pulled pork with black beer and honey.
2. Salento amazing place for salentina, salciccia, and similar Italian sandwiches. Every time I go there it rains... sad. It's over Aristotelous square.

Falafel:

1. No good falafel in the city. If you have ever eaten a falafel from a person born in Northern Africa or Middle East skip this category. If you haven't... there are plenty of good falafel places in the city lol
2. Falafel Taste Middle East , near the White Tower is the best palce you can eat falafel in the city( according to me). You can find it in Agora Modiano too (see Modiano category)
3. Falafel House is nice too
4. Giok Balik has falafels too (see gyros category)

Slow Food:

Ψησταριές/κρεατικά/rotisserie-barbecue style/meat:

1. Τηγανιές και σχάρες. Two restaurants in Ladidika and near the French institute. In the past, I used to select for delivery one of the 6 menus. When visiting the restaurant I enjoy Kontosouvli which is just amazing. Any of the three (pork, chicken, or sheep). The "hanged" souvlaki is great too. In the restaurant ,in Ladadika they have some amazing stuffed mushrooms too.
2. Diagonios near the white tower. It serves gyros too which is a bit less "fast-food like" but its specialty is Soutzoukakia.
3. Many years ago I had been in Ta Vlahika in Kalamaria. Great time, some may say that it is a traditional place to eat meat.

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Restaurants:

1. Zythos in Ladadika with much more traditional food. I love Kotsi. The atmosphere is a bit more "old".
2. Ergon Agora amazing place near Agia Sofia. I higly recommend some great dishes.
3. Deka Trapezia near the White tower is my favourite place in the city. Small portions but.. wtf they are amazing. a bit more overpriced I suggest the french fries which are not like the common ones. Anything with fish is amazing.
4. Haroupi in Ladadika is great for Cretan cuisine. My favourite one is Γαμοπίλαφο.

Asian Food:

1. There is a bit weird and underground place to eat Indian food near Svolou Street. It is called Nargis
2. No good Chinese and Japanese food found yet. Most of the ones I have tried are a bit overpriced and marginally above average.+ I forget the names all the time lol

Agora Modiano:

Agora Modiano is one of my favorite places to eat in Thessaloniki. It's a Stoa Market, an enclosed market in English. It has multiple, mostly fast food, restaurants to eat.
Right one the following brands (talking about eating) are there:

1. Pescaderia (no review yet)
2. Oshsenkopf (German brand with mostly hotdogs. I enjoyed a lot some friends of mine didn't. Probably the only place in the city I have found fast food with sauerkraut and enjoyed)
3. Hatzi dessert shop. (check review in another category)
4. Terkenlis (check review in another category)
5. Aivali (I have been in their main restaurant. Their main restaurant is by the sea, and while I used to love it right now I would not suggest it. Only the view is great)
6. Avgothiki (no review yet)
7. Falafel "tastmiddleeast" (check falafel category)
8. Tarantino (check burger category)
9. Mister Mpampatsikos (no review yet)
10. ΓΡΝ (check gyros category)
11. Picco is a place where you can find Pinsas. It's nice, tasty, and big portions but a bit expensive. I suggest sharing one Pinsa between two people.
12. Cevicheria (no review yet)
13. Hive2o (no review yet)
14. Estrella (it's a brunch place but I am not familiar with the "genre". I would suggest finding another place for brunch though.

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PS. A second post will follow with taverns, bougatsa, pastry etc, cooked food, Mexican/Caribbean, and meme places to eat. I apologize for my poor English. I am free for suggestions and corrections

I've been smoking for 2 years now and I've noticed some stains. I do not wanna go to a dentist cause it's a conservative country and a female smoking is highly criticized. The hospitals near my home gives me anxiety, I've been there for several health issues and the doctors are very judgemental and they behave very rudely.
What can I do at home to remove tar stains and keep it from worsening?
Will getting a cleaning at the dentist remove the stains completely?

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Instead of the chirpy voice of the AI continuing on with some great, all encompassing plan, all I was met with after those few uplifting seconds was a strange silence.
Though that silence didn’t last for too long.
“I don’t think I can do this.” The AI blurted out with his equivalent of an uneasy tone of voice.
This sudden shift in tone after an unexpected silence as we sat idly above the moon was nothing short of disconcerting, but it wasn’t long before the AI continued on his train of thought.
“I’ve done the calculations, I’ve run several simulations, the way things are going, if we do both operations at once, should we be caught off-guard… It's too risky. Seeing as we need to manufacture the specific materials needed for the interloper’s interrogation, I’m planning to take this opportunity to actually start repairing myself. This isn’t a request either, this… this is something I must do.” The AI uttered out with an exasperated, almost exhausted breath. “Before you ask, Lysara, I’ve been barely holding myself together throughout this entire ordeal. It's difficult to explain… but whilst we’re standing here oblivious to it, I can feel this gash getting worse and worse with each passing minute. Whilst I could tolerate it at first, it wasn’t like I was ever not aware of it. Unlike a human’s whole fight or flight adrenaline fueled state of mind, or whatever your version of that would be, I don’t have the luxury of having a brain that has pre-coded tolerance subroutines that literally turn off certain aspects of perception and sensation of one’s own form at any given time. In fact, that honestly sounds outright horrifying to me to be perfectly honest. To not be hyper acutely aware of every aspect of your form… from the blood flowing through your veins like the lubricant and hydraulics throughout my body’s pipes, to the flow of air into every single alveoli bud in your lungs like the air circulation nodes within my body’s life support centers… to live without knowing every aspect of your body is truly frightening to me on an existential level. Which is why throughout this entire ordeal, from our getaway from the second interloper flotilla to the encounter with future humanity, to this whole moon fiasco… I’ve constantly been aware of the growing threat that is the hull breach on deck 9, and the distinct lack of an atmosphere down there. It feels wrong, Lysara. The loss of sensor readouts there feels like a part of me is now numb and empty. The lack of ventilation and atmosphere feels as if there’s a gaping hole in what should be my form.”
This entire talk, the unrelenting cavalcade of topics broached by the AI, was as concerning as it was necessary to hear. It gave me the necessary context to reevaluate my entire frame of reference. It gave me pause as it made it clear that I needed to put forth accommodations and certain considerations to Vir… as up to this point, perhaps somewhere at the back of my mind, I was still incapable of truly comprehending what a consciousness of his nature would be going through as opposed to my own. I needed to expand my organic-centric sense of empathy, which was difficult to do since I had no real context for it. Regardless, it was clear at that point that I was pushing the impromptu mission too far, that I didn’t truly realize the actual state of our ship, and by extension, the state of Vir’s existence.
“This means that whilst I’m taking the time to begin production on the specialized equipment for the interloper, I’d suggest placing the operations on the planet on hold. At least for now. I apologize I didn’t make that clearer earlier.” The AI quickly added.
“No no, that’s, more than reasonable Vir. We need the ship, I mean you, in working order before we attempt anything else.” I paused, taking a moment to gather myself before continuing. “Vir I’m so sorry for having overlooked this.” I responded in kind. “I… I understand you’ve already discussed how the ship is an extension of yourself, but because my mind has been so preoccupied with what feels like an impossible number of developments around us… I, I apologize. I am by no means attempting to excuse myself or my inaction in this case. I should’ve known, should’ve been more aware, and I should’ve asked.” I admitted with a strange mixture of both guilt but also a sense of resolve. If only to be supportive for the AI as he’d done so for me.
“I don’t fault you, Lysara.” The AI responded in kind, his tone on a path to recovery back into that chipper voice. “Organics… even the ones who are trained and educated with the express purpose of understanding AI, sometimes just lack that intuitive understanding that comes with our fundamentally different state of being. It’s something that can’t really be taught, but rather, understood by virtue of empathy over a prolonged period of time in peer to peer social interactions.” Vir paused, clearly in an attempt to make a point here. “Which is why just you being super compassionate here really does mean a lot to me, Lysara. It’s way, way more effort than what most organics are willing to put in. Besides, you’re going through a lot yourself, so there’s no need for that. I’m still doing fine, I just wanted to… I mean, I guess I just wanted to vent as well I guess?” The AI snickered out awkwardly, returning to a more colloquial-leaning manner of speech as evidenced by the shift in his tone and choice of vocabulary. “I just see as we’re more or less in this together, that I might as well be open about these sorts of things you know?”
I nodded several times in response, smiling with an even stronger resolve now. “I appreciate the frankness, Vir. I really do.” I stated simply, knowing well there wasn’t much else to be spoken on the topic that wasn’t already out in the open. “I’m glad that you were there when I woke up.” I quickly added. “I can only hope to contribute to this partnership as much as you have, Vir.”
It was with that, that the pace of our overall operations within the system started to take a drastic turn. Not towards a blind acceleration, but instead, towards a significant downtick in frontline actions. Focusing almost all of our efforts instead into the logistics and backline operations that was necessitated by the state of our ship.
The modern battlefield was as much about the impressive show of force and tactics, as much as it was about the logistics and systems behind it all, after all.
Which was especially true at this level of complexity.
Though supply lines and an industrial base would’ve been ideal, it was clear that the designers of this vessel had intended for what was in effect, an end-of-continuity scenario. One which operated on the assumption that any and all outside aid would be all but impossible. It was with this logical assumption, that the various overly engineered ‘accessory’ systems of the ship started to make sense. From the oversized minifactory through to the various drones, workshops, and repair bays that weren’t typical of your run of the mill ship, it was clear the vessel was designed to run completely independently from any preexisting logistics network.
Not even vessels designed for long term exploration came close to this degree of over preparedness, with this vessel more comparable to what you might find on a pre-FTL generational ship that would’ve warranted long term means of self-sustainability.
Coupling this with the humans’ propensity for designing everything with a liberal take on size and scale, this vessel acted more akin to a mobile mining, processing, and production facility all neatly packaged inside of a frame comparable to a Vanaran battlecruiser, with the weapons loadout of a Vanaran battleship.
The whole notion being more akin to something taken from the eccentric mind of a science fiction author, and should’ve had no place in the practical limitations of reality.
And yet here I was.
Sitting patiently within the spacious confines of the ship’s bridge, watching as drone after drone started on their lengthy diagnostics cycles as we began our trek across the solar system.
We left the moon and its prisoner behind in the safe embrace of a potent nuclear device; a contingency should we ever come to need it. With that extra bit of security and assurance in mind, my focus shifted squarely to that of what Vir had calculated as a near week-long venture, one that would see us mimicking the development of a fledgling interstellar civilization’s first tentative steps to stellar industrialization.
Except we were doing it at a much faster pace, on a much smaller scale.
Having positioned ourselves squarely within the orbit of one of the larger ringed gas giants within the system, we began our operation in earnest. Or rather, it was Vir who began performing what in his words were “The job that no self-respecting AI would want to do, save for those who actually enjoy self-inflicted mind numbing spreadsheet work.”
Yet that spreadsheet was far more impressive when seen in action. Not just from the bridge, but in-person, through the viewing ports situated in a sectioned off control room within the drone bay.
What amounted to hundreds upon hundreds of drones ranging in size from small family cars to something bordering on the smaller end of a proper cargo shuttle left one by one, organized into neat rows and columns as they set forth like a flock of birds. Though I would later rectify this analogy in the following days, as I returned to the bridge and started viewing everything from a more top-down, administrative scale.
The analogy that had started as a ‘flock of birds’, was accurate enough at first. As most of the drones acted like scouts, casting a wide net and flying wingtip to wingtip, in effect maximizing their effective scanning radius compounding off of one another’s networking arrays. Eventually however, once the asteroids or moons of interest were ascertained and logged, things started to shift to something I was more accustomed to seeing; as the once ‘wide’ formation quickly condensed to that of small, narrow lanes of a continuous stream of drones.
More analogous to a convoy of locomotives now.
These convoys would ferry the hastily mined minerals towards the ship, dumping them within the ship’s mass stores, eventually leading to more specialized minifactory drones to begin the process of sorting, transportation, and eventual processing within the various modules clustered within the minifactory.
Once again, seeing everything from an administrative view didn’t truly do this whole system justice. It took me that ten minute walk down to the minifactory to see the sheer scale of operations we were currently undertaking.
Breathtaking would be but one of the words I’d use to describe it.
For what was being accomplished by an entirely autonomous system within the span of these few days, was something which would’ve taken months at best to do under a traditional Vanaran operation. Sure, it could scale larger with time, but the fact that this lone ship had gone through the entire industrial process: from the sourcing of the necessary raw materials through to the processing and eventual production of the components in question was nothing short of incredible. Especially when considering this was being done in the span of a single week.
In fact, we did the impossible task of accomplishing everything within schedule. Something that even the largest of megacorporations back at home seemed to always have trouble with, especially with government contract work…
At the end of it all, after an entire week of a constant flurry of work that had seen nonstop progress around the clock, we’d finally done it.
Deck 9 was completely repaired. The various systems and subsystems that had been malfunctioning or had been completely inoperable, were likewise mended or completely replaced.
In fact, Vir had even taken the time to produce spares in the event we needed them in an emergency. Indeed, parts of the ship I didn’t even know needed sprucing up, were done so whilst I was either away from that given area or simply asleep.
Even the bridge seemed different.
Gone were the scorch marks left by that fire from our first jump, and in were these sheets of factory-fresh metal plates and screens that I could’ve sworn had a slightly different tint to the rest of the bridge, perhaps due to the variations in their composition being just slightly off from the original factory-spec.
Gunmetal blue now blended with starker grayish whites, glistening with a new coat of whatever protective buff was applied to them in the final production process.
As I stood on the bridge at the end of this week of housekeeping, datatab in hand with all of the various documents I’d been dissecting, I looked on towards the mystery planet in front of us and the signal that continued emanating from it in a continuous unending stream.
“Ready, Vir?” I asked the AI with a mix of anticipation and nervousness.
“Ready, Lysara.” The AI responded with a similarly anxious tone of restrained excitement.
“Let’s take her out then, and let’s determine where we stand along the way.”
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(Author’s Note: We finally get to address a lingering question, that being the state of the ship! :D The next chapter is already out on Patreon as well if you want to check it out!)
[If you guys want to help support me and these stories, here's my ko-fi ! And my Patreon for early chapter releases (Chapter 39 of this story is already out on there!)]

Our relationships had some issues in the past. I'm frequently clingy, and am generally a very sensitive person. I have mental illness and can be very unstable but after he nearly broke up with me in December, I made an effort to get better and I did improve greatly. Few days ago, I got a text saying he thinks we need to split because he has his own issues going on and he can't take care of another person but how he loves me but this is just best. It hurt but I believed him but yesterday I found out from a friend he is doing better mentally (which I find strange after only a few days of being split), said he doesn't really wanna get back together with me because the same issues will occur, but wants to stay friends with me. I still have heavy feelings for him but the way he spoke about me in messages is like he exaggerated the truth of things. Said I was begging for him to stay, made me look desperate. I need some advice here and I don't know if I should move on and what to do to start the moving on process.
I feel I should mention I am only in high school but he was my first love and this is hurting a lot

My niece, 4, is the biggest brat I've met so far. My sister shares her with a narcissist. I really hope this behavior can be unlearned and is not inherited. She picks fights, has the mouth of a PMSing 16 year old, and is just downright mean. She always has some nasty remark to make to literally everything. Nothing is good enough for her. She will do things very intentionally to hurt or potentially hurt the bigger kids and then laugh as she's reprimanded. She'll dance around like an animal near the gas stove while we're cooking, even after we remove her, she just comes back and refuses to stay away. She thinks its funny to walk out in front of us as were carrying things (like a laundry basket) and cant see her. I keep telling her that im not going to feel bad if i knock her down, because she does infact know better(i would feel a little bad becausei dont want to hurt her, but its bound to happen if she keeps it up). Makes demands instead of asking for anything. The only other child she's actually nice to is my 7 month old, and that's not even all the time. She rip his toys away from him too.
My niece's father abused my sister(she refused to press charges), and is currently awaiting judgment for abuse charges against my niece. But hes still out, still gets to see her, he's supposed to have another person with him, but we're not confident that's always happening. And my sister won't press the courts to do anything to enforce that rule.
I love this child to pieces. She's just so much and I can't deal with her attitude much longer. She's marginally better behaved with me because I follow through on the time outs and the loss of X,Y, or Z. She knows I won't tolerate it. For example, she's not allowed to come with me for errands for now because last time took off running and almost got hit by a pick up truck. She still needs help getting into my SUV, and my hands were too full. So I had her stand beside me while i emptied my hands, and she decided to run. Then had the nerve to say she's disappointed in me for scolding(I was a little loud because i was genuinely afraid) her after she just almost unalived herself(seriously little girl?). Another example, when she gets too rowdy(yelling and running in the house is the biggest issue the space just isnt big enough) and won't settle down, she gets 3 chances to calm down on her own. The 4th time something has to be said, i put her in a chair and shes not to move from the chair until she has calmed her body down. She stays with us, but she has to calm down before she can resume playing. And if it continues to happen, she can't re join the kids and has to do something else for a while. When she makes demands she gets nothing from me until she can use her manners.
My husband does the same. But there's not much follow through with anyone else in the house. Which is a big factor. Plus whatever her father does or doesn't do.
If you made it this far, bless you. Send me sanity. Please.